Update on New Years Resolutions!

Afternoon All!

It's been a month since Christmas Day and almost a month since I made my 2015 year years resolutions (see that post here) and I thought I'd do a quick update type overview of how I've been doing when it comes to sticking to my resolutions, I did mention that I would use my blog to hold myself accountable as to how I've been doing so that's just another reason to do this update/overview of the first month of my resolutions. 

• Eating/Cooking Better - My first resolution was to eat and cook healthier foods. I've made this resolution several times over the years and I've never stuck to it for more than a week or so but I'm pleased to say that I've been sticking to this resolution without much difficulty, I'm learning to cook healthier foods and I'm actually enjoying them too. I've learned several new recipes and my favourite is the Garlic and Honey Chicken (pictured right) which is very yummy.  At the moment I'm borrowing my Mam's and Grandma's cookbooks but I'm hoping to buy myself some nice cookbooks of my own sometime this week so I'll be able to make even more delicious things. Overall I'm pleased with how I'm sticking to this resolution so far, hopefully I'll keep going with it. 

• Exercise More - This one is the resolution I had the biggest apprehensions about, normally I would make resolutions like 'lose weight' or 'get down to a size...' and so on but I literally never stick to them at all. So this year I decided to change that to 'exercise more' not like go running everyday or walk 10 miles just little things like take the long way to my class in college, walk to work, park further from the college entrance and stuff. I'm extremely happy to say that I have been doing all those things and more! I've been doing simple things like that and I've also been walking for 20 minutes every other day and I even signed myself up to a Yoga class (I love Yoga) and I went last Wednesday and it was absolutely fab! I'm noticing a major difference in how I feel, I don't necessarily want to lose weight as I simply don't think size matters but I care about my health and I want to host my fitness levels a bit and it's definitely helping my health. For the past few years I've been overly stressed, not eating properly as I'd skip meals or grab unhealthy stuff before college/work for lunch and I'd go the quickest rough to get to wherever I needed to go just to save time. Thankfully between the healthier eating, Yoga and a few other changes I've made to my daily lifestyle I've been much less stressed, I feel better in my general health and I'm much happier. I'm so pleased I've managed to stick to this resolution this year and I'll definitely be keeping it up. 

• Leave My Comfort Zone - This is something I'm not very good at but I have made a major step this year in leaving my comfort zone as I am currently in the middle of creating a Demo CD to send to a vocal agency in a local town! I've always enjoyed singing and I thought this resolution would be a great way to get things started so I shall have to see how this goes and I will keep everyone updated in that front. :)

German notes :)

Image from Google

• Learn a New Language - I was most excited about this resolution as I've always wanted to learn a different language and for a while now I've wanted to learn German, so I bought myself the Mindsnacks Learn German app form the app store, I believe there's 50 lessons including numbers, colours, adjectives, grammar, months, days and lots more. So far I've managed to blast through 24 lessons and I'm really enjoying them, also I've recently found out about a 10 short night course that my college provides for only £85 which starts February 26th so if I can build up the money I will definitely be taking that opportunity!

So, I think my resolutions have been going pretty well so far and I hope that I can keep up with all of them, thanks for reading everyone!

Love Katherine. X

My Fitness Wishlist!

Hey Everybody!

I'm going to start this post by quickly apologising for no posts yesterday, that was purely because I've been so ill with this stupid flu thing that's going around at the moment but I'm feeling minutely better today so I'm taking advantage and writing up todays post. 

Today's post was initially going to be Fashion Friday January look book type affair but I simply can not be bothered to do my makeup, get out of my comfy, fluffy PJs and take photos of myself; instead I'm going back to my NYE resolutions and doing a Fitness Wishlist. I got to thinking today that I've not had the energy to keep up with any of my resolutions because of being so ill but I'm determined that as soon as I'm better I'll be getting stuck into those resolutions, one of which was to boost my fitness level. 

Right, lets get down to it.

Obviously, for getting fit I'm going to need a good pair of trainers, so far all I own shoe wise is 6/7 pairs of converse, Ugg ankle boots, a new pair of heeled boots I got today and a battered pair of Nike running shoes. I absolutely LOVE these shoes from Sports Direct, they're the USA Pro Tone Gym II Ladies Trainers in black and pink. I only usually work out in black clothes because I walk a lot so I get muddy sometimes and these trainers would go really well with my outfits. There are also some good reviews of these shoes, they're supposed to be really comfortable and are on sale at the minute for only £18, a bargain not to be missed when NRP is £49.99.

I'm aiming to build my upper body strength this year also but because I'm not a fan of the gym, in fact I loathe those places, I tend to enjoy exercise much more when I'm alone or in a secluded environment. So the next thing I'd like is the Bodymax 12KG Vinyl Dumbbell Set from PowerHouse Fitness. These dumbbells are a good price of £28.99 and they're around the perfect weight for a beginner like myself, plus the colours make them more appealing. 

I'm really into Yoga because it helps me relax and really manages to stretch out and tone every muscle, it's a really good way to push yourself to your limits without overstepping any breaking points. You definitely feel the results of yoga the next day though ha. That's why I'd love this Pro Fitness Yoga and Pilates Set from Argos, it has everything in it for a through yoga session at home or in a group environment. It includes a gym ball, yoga mat, two pilates bands and two dumbbells, this is a fab set although slightly overpriced at £24.99.

Also it's really important to stay hydrated when you're exercising, particularly in my case because I tend to dehydrate a bit easier than most so I've got to take a drink wherever I go nowadays so it would be wise for me to invest in a water bottle. I like the Slazenger water bottle in back from sports direct, it's only £1.50 so it's worth it in my opinion. 

Finally on my list I would love some new Yoga pants and a workout hoodie, I'll probably buy these from Yours Clothing or something, to be honest I've spent loads of money on clothes from ASOS, Yours, Simply Be and Debenhams that I'll hopefully be blogging about when i'm feeling better next week. But anyway because of that shopping spree I'm looking for some nice cheap bargains to grab for exercising now and the pants and hoodie are included there. I don't have pictures for those because I don't know what type I'd like yet but hopefully I'll find some soon. 

Thanks for reading all. 

Love Katherine. X