Embracing my Active Wear

Active Wear, Active Wear...writing my blog in my active wear.

I've felt the pressure in recent years to not be seen too often on my active wear. Firstly, because I am never actually doing any exercise when I wear it, kind of just thinking about it for half a day.

I've seen online discussions that degrade those who tend to choose active wear as a regular outfit, even if they are exercising regularly.

I also don't have the correct brand of active wear to officially be allowed to be proud to wear it. It would seem that if you hand over your hard earned cash to LuluLemon or even Lorna Jane or the top sports brands than you receive a little more leniency from the anti active wear brigade. But the no name brand of lycra is not as acceptable in polite society.

Recent back injury (again, yawn) has meant I've been cruising about more in elastic waisted leggings and stretchy tops. I added a new fleece hoodie to the mix to make myself look particularly unstylish yet comfortable. The only suitable shoe to match this ensemble is my sneakers.

And it's been fantastic.

Wearing my active wear has made being active so much easier. I don't feel restricted by shoes or belts or buttons or dresses. My slow moving back gets supported in special support leggings (also from Target because that is what the rehab Physio at work suggested was the best option, not the ones that you pay $200 for).

The more I wear my active wear, the more I am actually active.

It would seem that those people who do don their dorky but comfy active wear attire might move a little more. It's easier to run after the kids in active wear, it's easier to pack a dishwasher, to run for a bus, to push a shopping trolley, to write a blog or walk to the shops for milk.

The more you wear your active wear, the more you realise it's bloody fantastic.
It's not expensive to buy if you go for something unbranded.
There is no ironing involved, ever.
It's easy to wash and fast to dry, plus it's often black so marks from little grubby hands don't show so much.

It's so comfortable that you just feel happy wearing it.

Active wear, it's time for me to embrace you more. 

Marched through that one

Oh March, you’ve been and gone and never even gave me a chance to blog. That’s how super impressive you were. All that’s left is the opportunity to sum you up in one nifty post.

Here’s what went down for March 2016.

Making:

Better use of my time. I am working more and I have had to break up my tasks. When you’re forced to work more efficiently at home, you can still get everything done

Drinking : Gin with lemon sorbet! Yep, that’s a cocktail that includes some gin, some vodka, a touch of lemon and some sorbet. It’s dessert and a drink in one handy glass.

Doing: Packing for our trip to Jakarta.

Reading:  Mr Wigg. A delightful book about an old man and his fruit trees. It’s a slow paced book in the way that it makes you slow your day down. I usually speed through a book to get it finished, but Mr Wigg, talks and thinks like an old man and I love old people and their stories.  Link 

Wanting:  Autumn arrived so of course I am wanting a new puffer vest. And a puffer coat. And a new work coat, and a coat for things like school pick up.

  

Looking: At the view from the top of a very large building in Jakarta where we went for dinner. The bar is called Cloud 9 and the velvet covered seats, which we didn’t stop to sit at, looked super inviting. 

Playing:  Acoustic music which no one else in my house seems to appreciate.

Deciding: That it’s really ok to only blog when it suits me.

Wishing: That Detention Centres were just not a thing.

Enjoying: Young Adult books – if you don’t have kids you probably don’t know that you need to read the books by Morris Gleitzman, Once, Then, Before and After. You’ll read them quickly and be surprised at how well an author can craft stories for a young audience yet share the horrors of the Holocaust and also have you glued to the pages wanting to know if Felix is ok.

Wondering:  If anyone will notice a few Easter Eggs have done missing.

Loving: School Holidays. I hear parents count down the days to when school goes back, but never me, I love the school holidays.

Pondering: How best to cope with five months of cool weather. I am thinking soups, pies and puffy jackets will help. 

Considering: Perhaps I shouldn’t have eaten the Easter eggs.

Buying: I scored big time. You know I love the Facebook Buy Swap and Sell Page and this week I grabbed a vintage Oroton bag in white mesh, still in the original box. I am not sure if I’ll use her much, but I just like looking at her in all her glam and glory. I also just looked at a bit and wondered where this bag has been, was it bought for a wedding, a celebration, a special place? Why did it get carefully placed back in the box and kept so well? If this bag could talk, what would it say?

Watching: The Dressmaker. I read the book about 12 years ago and was a bit disappointed with the movie, but isn’t that always the way?

Hoping: the sunburn on my nose doesn’t peel and make me have a flaky face.

Cringing: at Baby Competitions. I don’t know why people want to enter them so much. Please don’t ask me to vote for your baby. I think all the babies I have ever met are the most gorgeous little things ever. I love their bald heads or spiky hair dos, I love their fat rolls or skinny wrists.

Just believe your child is the most amazing kid on earth, you don't need a marketing competition to convince you you're right.

Questioning: why Osteo’s are not on every corner like hairdressers. Those of us with bad backs and sore body parts just need them so much.

Smelling: Coriander. LOVE IT. Never had a coriander meal I didn’t love.

Wearing: Navy. And white. Really not sure any other colours are even required.

Noticing: There is a lot of traffic in Jakarta.

Knowing: There needs to be a solution to the level of traffic in Jakarta.

Thinking: How will they fix the traffic in Jakarta?

Admiring: My Mum. Who doesn’t drink alcohol but decided to make a Pomegranate cordial from scratch to then make up a Gin cocktail for her guests. Those same guests declined a drink that night so I had to assist in the consumption of said Gin Cocktail myself. The things I do for others.

Disliking: broken backs. 

Opening:  the fridge to see if someone decided to make a cake and leave it there for me, so far no luck.

Feeling: a hatred of the pantry moth, and laughing in my head at what it would look like if I accidentally dropped the r from pantry.

Snacking: me? Snacking? Never.

And that's all March. See you next year.

Just the one day for women. 2016

It's International Women's Day 2016.

A day to remind the world of how far we still have to go before our daughters will be treated the same as our sons.

Each year I read articles that push out the comment that It's important to remember that a man is not a financial plan. This is so true. But of course it means we have a lot more work to do.

Right now in Australia: 

If you're an older woman in Australia you are more likely to live in poverty, having limited superannuation and assets because you never had paid jobs, instead doing ALL THE THINGS for everyone and getting no super. No savings. No house in your name. No car. Then you'll just find yourself in retirement hoping that things are going to work out ok.

If you're a female university graduate with the same qualifications in the same job as a male you will earn less income.

If you're a mature professional woman working right now, you're only earning 83 cents for every dollar your male colleague is earning.

If you are one of the nations best sports performers you'll only get media coverage and sponsorship if you are also highly attractive, even then, you'll need another job to support yourself. Your actual games are unlikely to be televised.

If you're a little girl, you'll be learning that the boys are stronger then you. You'll be seeing that only men play sport on TV and that your body is for people to look at and critique on a regular basis. You won't get a plastic drill for your third birthday or be expected to make real things like aeroplanes with your lego, but you'll be able to build the cupcake shop or the hairdressers.

If you're a parent of girls you'll be doing everything in your power to teach your girls to GIVE NO FUCKS about what society tells them they should be. But often you'll feel alone in that ocean.

You'll cringe as you read pages and pages of comments on social media about how women should just accept that men and women are different and stop giving men a hard time. 

You'll hope that no one you know, no one you love is hurt in their own home. When you see the stats that more than one women is killed by her partner a week, you'll think it must be wrong.

To women everywhere - today is your day. And so is tomorrow. 

Get your hair wet. Wear your active wear or your high heals but speak loudly when you think something needs changing. Be brave when the conversation gets hard. Be confident that you deserve more. You are worthy. You are important. You can do this.

Hey there February 2016

Hey February,

Did you know I could never get the first r in your name; it’s a tricky one. I give it one more century before you lose it. But for now, I am going to tell you a few things about life right here and now, on the extra day you’ve given me this year, which you usually keep to yourself. I have been:

Making:

Better use of my time. I am working more and I have had to break up my tasks. When you’re forced to work more efficiently at home, you can still get everything done

Drinking : Impressed Juices. 

Doing: Took the kids to Werribee to be photographed for the Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt for Good Friday. They had a ball and were paid in chocolate. But guess what, they were in the highest read newspaper in the State and not one person noticed them...so how many people are reading the newspaper these days?

Reading:  Crap books. I am usually a bit of a book snob, but the last month, actually all of this year, I’ve been reading stuff that other people like. It’s kind of like eating McDonalds, I know it’s doing nothing for me, but in that exact moment, it’s actually pretty fine thank you.

Wanting:  Clothes are always on my want list. Today it’s these dresses from Gorman. It’s a fabric feeling thing, both just feel so good to touch.

  

Looking: At houses with pools. It’s a thing I do when I have time to waste.

Playing: Spotify. I finally subscribed and we all now have silly lists of songs to listen to. It’s the best thing for people who previously had limited music to listen to.

Deciding: That we need to plan more weekends away, otherwise the weekends disappear without us ever getting away.

Wishing: people who left ignorant comments on social media got electric buzzers on their fingers as they typed to remind them that they are being assholes.

Enjoying: Hot cross buns – ok, so the ones with chocolate and orange have been enjoyed too much.

Wondering:  If July is a good time to holiday in Noosa?

Loving: Kiddle the google for kids. I already have Kids YouTube on Immy’s ipad and it’s so good. My blog doesn't even get through...too much saying fuckity fuck fuck.

Pondering: What my next blog post will be about.

Considering: Buying Easter decorations.

Buying: things on sale. David Jones had a massive sale and I was there right at the exact time it happened. It would have been stupid not to buy things.

Watching: Movies with the smalls. Immy is one of those kids who LOVES a good movie and we have a date each Friday night now where she chooses something to watch. This week we had Nanny McPhie. I think she is going to be the next David and Margaret at the Movies.

Hoping: I will always always hope for healthy days for us all.

Cringing: at my credit card bill.

Questioning:  Other parents parenting.

Smelling: my roses. Every day. They are kicking goals in the flower garden and making my house wonderful.

Wearing: Active wear, active wear…I am picking up the kids in my active wear 

Noticing: My hamstrings are not working.

Knowing: Cardinal Pell is not a very nice person.

Thinking: About new projects and what they might end up being.

Admiring: People who just say yes and find a way to make everything happen.

Disliking: pimples. 

Opening:  the fridge to see if someone decided to make a cake and leave it there for me, so far no luck.

Feeling: Excited about ideas in my head.

Snacking: on peanut butter with chia seeds in it and then having chia seeds stuck in my teeth, not so glamorous

Hearing: TimMinchin sing about Cardinal Pell and then hearing that the funds from that song went to people who deserve it so very very much.

That's it Febby, I hope to see you again in 2017 to tell you all about another great month. 

xx

Impressed by Kale. Really.

This is a sponsored post

Life gets dull if you don’t take a little look at how you’re living sometimes. It’s silly to think that what you’re doing right now, how you’re living, can’t be improved just a little with a slight change here or there.

I don’t make new years resolutions but I do write down some little changes that I am going to make a few times a year.

Last year I decided to listen to a wider variety of radio stations. Why? Because if you don’t flick around the stations, you only hear one type of opinion, and that opinion can slowly become yours.

At first I rolled my eyes at what I had to listen to, with both commentators, callers and music choices, but after a few months I found I was producing less eye rolls and had a greater acceptance of why some people might like to listen to a certain station (just not all the time!)

This year I decided to give up soft drink and hot chips.  The soft drink isn’t really a big deal. I’ve been a big fan of the marketing for ReThink Sugary drink, I picture the drink in my head as a glass of lard and just prefer not to drink it. There is just no reason to tip that stuff into your body. For me, it becomes much harder to abstain when I go for a social drinkie. 

If I am not drinking alcohol, I’ll always pick lemonade or a coke and if I am drinking alcohol, soft drinks are often mixed in…Pimms and lemonade anyone?

When the Impressed Juices team asked me about any changes I was planning to make this year, I thought maybe I could replace the soft drink for a healthy juice option instead.

Let’s be very honest here.

1) I will never own a nutribullet and make my own juices.

2) I still think the best green smoothie is a Midori and Lemonade

3) I don’t believe in kale.

But Impressed Juices had me at totally ‘Australian made’ and that they are offered at a price point I think is very reasonable (I am also of the thinking that any type of Franchise Juice bar is a total rip off) so I was happy to check these new juices out.

The juices arrived at my door and I instantly saw the word kale on one of the bottles and must admit there was more eye rolling.  But I opened up my Summer Greens drink, drank it down and then had another one just to make sure I liked it. It's fantastic. Perhaps my bias against kale means I've been missing out on good stuff???

The next day I opened the Berry Beets and tried to get Miss 10 to drink some. She refused to let it pass her lips. Miss 7 wouldn’t even hold the bottle. Mr H had a few sips and asked if he really had to drink the rest. The beetroot juice just wasn’t going down well at all. So I took them to work to try out with some of my team.

They all said good things, it contains carrots, pears, beetroot, cucumber, strawberry and blueberries, which is an amazing way to get your fruit and veg for the day. My work mates drank their full bottles worth. I let them have a taste of my Kale Juice to compare flavours, but they all preferred the Berry Beets the most.

Over the next fortnight Mr H and I actually fought over who was drinking the Ginger Ninja juice, a delicious orange, carrot, ginger concoction.  One night I tried it with a splash of vodka, just to test it out. It didn’t really work, this juice is best left on it’s own or served over ice. 

It was also the favourite for the kids, not that I think most kids will want this, the flavours are more grown up, unless your kids drink fancy stuff a lot more than mine do (highly possible).

I’d started out thinking Impressed Juices would be a way to substitute for when I desired a soft drink, but it didn’t. Instead, it has started to become my breakfast on the go.  I work three days a work and have a long commute after I drop the kids, it’s the perfect time to drink one of my Impressed Juices. I throw it in my handbag and feel as though I have started the day better off, it also means I am not looking for a muffin at 10am to go with a hot chocolate.

The thing with Impressed Juices is, once you’ve drunk one, kale and all, your insides feel happy. It’s like giving your internal workings a nice big hug and after a few days, you want that feeling every day. I ended up relaxing on a weekend with my book and my juice and I really started missing them when my trial drinks run out. Lucky, all I had to do was throw them into the trolley on my next shop, and bingo, breakfast is now sorted when I am running out the door.

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