Work week...

Apologies for my lack of presence... work seemed to take over my life a little for the couple of weeks! Having gotten used to a cushy two day a week contract since January, my body rebelled at the idea of working for nine out of ten days and I have barely done anything other than work, eat and sleep! No joke! It sounds pathetic, I know, but four months is a long time for someone to fall into a routine. Throw in having to cope with life, trying hard to keep up with some writing goals, and my to-read pile, and I have scraped through and am still going at the end of it.

During this nine day stint, I finished off the Waterstone's cluster by working in both the Sheffield, Orchard Square branch, and the little shop in Chesterfield town centre :) I can now say that I have worked in all six stores on the cluster! The bus and train to Chesterfield was an experience and a half though, I'll tell ya... you don't half get used to the comforts of your own car! I also got to try my hand at a window display - check out my handy work!!

But anyway, with the work marathon over, I have had the entire weekend off - a first in a while! I had a lovely lie in yesterday morning, one which I believe to have been well deserved and made me feel so much better, then we went for a picnic in the park where we got to enjoy the glorious sunshine - and maybe end up with little pink cheeks!! Plus we got to play hide 'n' seek! No need to guess who the winner was (I'll give you a hint - it's the smallest one!)

Angry Jesters rounded off last night with the gig at The Ark, an ace night as always... many laughs were had all round.

And to top it off, Simon and I drove out to Cleethorpes beach in the early hours of the morning so that I could get some photographs of the sunrise over the sea for one of my book covers! Not random at all - and definitely not suggested! I have only just got up after making it to bed at half past six this morning... photos look great though, I can't wait to get started...

So, now I have the rest of today to attempt to be productive, then back to work tomorrow, but on a three day week! I have writing goals that I need to get back on top of as I have deadlines fast approaching and this week has thrown me right off! So, you know where to find me - I'm attached to the laptop!

Till next time...

Body Blitz

So I did a thing - and when I say a thing - I mean I did something ridiculous! In my wisdom, in a way that only a blonde can, I decided that I would try something new in order to get me motivated and on the move to try and lose a little bit of weight and tone up ready for the summer. I have a few events happening, including a recently booked holiday, so I thought it might be nice to feel and look a bit better!
I considered the whole jogging thing again - but in all honesty, I'm not very good at it... I can't run in the cold weather, I don't run very fast and I get lonely without someone to go with, and when you do have someone to go with it starts getting hard work organising it - especially as I work weekends and am free when everyone else is normally at work... Pain in the rear end right??

So, in true bookworm fashion, I had a nosey at the shelves at work and bought a book...

I bought Chloe Madeley's 4-Week Body Blitz! The theory was that it would give me a great boost and then I could keep going after that with the things that I had learned from the book...
Sounded like a great plan - I got it home, read through the intro and all the information at the beginning, then flipped through the exercise section straight to the recipes. Not quite what I'm used to, but I marked all the ones that I liked the sound of, and made a shopping list.

It was all going great - until I started the workouts on Day 1! It turns out that I am a lot less fit that I originally thought I was, which wasn't much anyway, I can tell you... I only completed half of the workout before I had to call it a day; before I actually did myself some damage - but I argued that it was better than what I'd done the day before - which was a whole load of nothing!!
By the end of the day I thought I was dying - too much too soon I think. The meals weren't bad though, and my other half cleared the plate too so it was still edible away from the dieting idea.

The next morning I pulled myself out of bed and got on with the workout for Day 2, proud that I was trying, despite aching everywhere!! I still didn't complete the entire thing, but I did more than the day before, and felt good for getting up and getting on with it. I discovered a few more meals that I liked, (this chicken and egg salad being my favouitie so far) and one I didn't and would not be trying again!
By the end of Day 2, I ached in a few more places, and my legs were barely able to hold me upright - but I was still trying - I even went to the pub and just drank water...

Day 3 - the workout was hard now that every part of me hurt, and I struggled to get through half of the workout, but achieved my goal of half way, and felt good for trying. More recipes and more empty plates - not a bad effort - though I was starting to crave something sugary... the small piece of grated chocolate on my breakfast just hadn't cut it.

This morning however - it all started to fall apart... My legs seem to have just about recovered, and my stomach and abs aren't screaming as much as they were yesterday, but I have a stiff neck and a bad shoulder... I didn't do my workout this morning, but did stick to the meal plan. Better than nothing right?? I have also left the car at home twice today and hit the pavement to nip out to the shops.

What have I learned from this brief encounter with physical exercise?? That I am not built for that kind of movement - and I should have stuck with the recommendations of friends; get out and about more! So, despite the niggling part of my brain that is telling me I'm a quitter - I am going to ditch the workout scheme and try it my way (bearing in mind that I do have a lot longer than 4 weeks to achieve my goals) and just stick with using some of the recipes from the book to keep healthy. I have plans for countryside walks, mountain scrambles and maybe some jogging now that the weather has warmed up some!

I will try to keep you posted - for a more up to date account of my attempts and actions feel free to follow me on Instagram where I post reasonably regularly - though not always about fitness... there are books - lots of book related posts!

Vanessa :)