Last weekend I spent some well needed time with FuriousDee for her birthday. We shopped, drank, saw the sights and generally messed around in the capital city.
The outfit ready for party-time | Our view from Tower Bridge | Memorial statue at Green Park
Outfit number one | My BFF rocking awesome pinup hair | Peg face | FuriousDee
JD and Pepsi, that’s how we roll | The gun show | No make-up
The British Museum | Egyptian statue | Egypt’s version of the grumpy cat
Egyptian artifacts
Fist bump with the big hand.
Rawr | Outfits number two
Our awesome faces | Weird British Museum stuff
Apparently I like taking pictures of the weird stuff
Dead guy preserved in the sand for years | Selfie | Mesoamerican heads
Bumblebee | Birthday cake | Sisters
Thingy tails and food
Rock snowplow
I changed outfits halfway through this evening. I went from a leopard print dress to leopard print trousers.
This is pretty much how the night progressed with lots more Jack Daniels.
Leopard and giraffes | New shoes | Exhausted – we walked 20 miles in those first two days with another 10 miles to follow!
I thought that once I went freelance it would be easier to fit workouts into my daily life. I’m nearer the gym, it’s fine to sit at home a bit sweaty after a workout and my schedule isn’t always 9-5.
However, now that I only get paid for the time I work, it’s not as simple as just swanning off to the gym when I feel like it. I have to get everything done before I can even think about working out what to wear.
I have to think about how long I can take out of my day to gather my things, get changed, head to the gym, work out for 1-2 hours, go home, have a shower. That’s a huge portion of the day. I think I’ve got my head around it now, though, so here are a few tips for juggling fitness and work.
Early in the morning
Get up an hour early and go for a 30 minute jog. It sets you up for the day and you can do it in the area around your home. If you’re not one to go out running then perhaps do a workout video. The Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred is amazing and just 30 minutes. If you want something a bit more challenging then go for the Insanity workout. It’s…. insane.
I normally get up at 7:30 (ish) but I find that if I get up at 6am, run three miles, shower and then get straight to work, I’m much more productive throughout the day.
Lunchtime quickie
You don’t need hours out of your day to get some fitness in. There are studios that offer 30 minute classes, if you’ve got one nearby then you should take full advantage of this.
If you don’t want to get too sweaty at lunchtime then perhaps just go for a walk around the block. It beats sitting at your desk, staring at your computer and eating a sandwich.
Don’t make excuses
“I don’t have time to get to the gym.”
“I don’t want to be sweaty at work.”
“There’s no personal trainers near me.”
“I can’t find any classes I want to go to.”
“I know I need to workout but I can’t find the time.”
I’ve heard all of these numerous times, I’ve even made them, but now I have quick answers for every single one of them. If you don’t have time to go to the gym during the week, go at the weekends, or in the morning. A one hour workout is 4% of your day, just get up earlier or watch less televisions in the evenings.
I think you’d be hard pressed to find a gym that doesn’t have showers. If you don’t have time to shower just pile on the deodorant and change into clean clothes. You’ll smell fine.
That’s a lie. What about personal trainers that will come to you?
Then don’t go to a class. Go for a jog around the park.
Watch less TV, get up earlier. Stop being lazy, stop making excuses.
Watch this video, it’ll make you think hard about the next time you use any of those excused.
Convenience
Try and find the most convenient form of exercise you can. If you enjoy it, even better. Perhaps go for a personal trainer like those at Moose X-Training. They come to you. Wherever you are, whenever you want. They’re single-handedly giving you no excuse to not workout.
Motivation
Set yourself little challenges and goals that will keep you motivated. If you’re working towards a race or a certain body fat percentage then you’ll know that you’ll need to keep your fitness up. It’s much easier to make time for something when you know you have to do it.
I’ve been out most of today but I got back to see a package awaiting for me. I knew exactly what it was, a gorgeous t-shirt from Choies.com that I’ve been waiting for!
This t-shirt just screamed out to the crazy cat lady in me and I had to buy it. It’s still available on the site for $20.99. I love the jewels in the cats’ foreheads, a lovely touch. I’m glad I got a large, when I got it out of the packet it looked so small. I wonder when there will be a standard size for S/M/L?
In Choies, Forever 21 and similar shops I’m a size L but in the concessions at Dorothy Perkins and New Look I’m a M bordering on S, depending on the item. It’s odd but at least it’s an excuse to try things on! I dread to think how really skinny girls fair when brands don’t go below an S.
With the Choies.com tee I wore some new floral trousers from Very.co.uk. They’re a little small at the moment but they certainly fit better than when I got them a few weeks ago!
You can also see my new shoes. Sequin slippers by Buffalo. More about those coming in a separate post. I just about managed to wander around Southwold in them today without cutting my feet to shreds. That’s a sign of a good shoe!
I have a bit of an obsession with trying on anything and everything I can get my hands on when I go shopping. It’s part of developing my style and I’ll never understand people who won’t just try stuff on. People always say ‘it’s not my style’, ‘it wouldn’t suit me’ or ‘it won’t fit’. I ignore all those little things and give it a try. If it doesn’t work, no worries. If it does work then you’ve just discovered a whole new element to your style!
I headed to Westfield Stratford with my mum over the weekend and we had a mammoth shopping trip. I only took photos of the start of the trip, simply because I was too exhausted by the end!
My OOTD – Boots: Coolway via Spartoo | Skirt: Internacionale | Top: F&F | Necklace: Dorothy Perkins
I bought this dress from Forever 21. I get a bit confused by their sizes. I tried on a medium in most things but I’ve got a feeling that’s more of a size 12 than a size 14 like it is in most other places. Regardless, this medium dress seemed to fit quite nicely.
Here’s an example of stepping out of your comfort zone to try something on. I don’t have the body for a crop top but with my high-waisted skirt, this sort of works. I didn’t buy it though because I look incredibly flat chested and it makes me look completely out of proportion.
We stopped for wine and a fish tasting platter.
Scuba material orange dress from Topshop. Not exactly flattering because the waist sat too high.
We stopped for cocktails. Then we visited another shop, more drinks… So on and so forth.
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