Feel Good Friday - What I'm doing more of this month...

Well June is literally round the corner and I'm thinking lots about how I can get the best out of this month, so here are some things I will be dedicating my time, energy and thoughts to and doing more of this month!

Eating Well (and for fertility)...

The weather is promising to get a little better and I am always inspired to eat more healthily through the summer months, anyone who follows me on twitter (@karenspofw) knows that I have lost some weight lately after working really hard to get rid of what I put on being pregnant for a bit at the beginning of the year.

This has really kept me going and given me something positive to focus on, my skin has improved, I feel lighter and have more energy too and it really gives a boost to my mood, my whole family has ended up improving their diet as well, we are now a family of healthy eaters, so with a sun holiday looming I am committing myself to eating well for another month

I also want to improve my diet for fertility so, I will be:

Cutting out caffeine 

Eating more Salmon

Snacking on Pumpkin seeds

Embracing full fat milk (well a small glass a day) 

If you want to find out more about eating for fertility check out this website. To keep track of what we've been eating we have been following the Weight Watchers healthy eating plan - this is the only way I can loose weight comfortably and keep it off!

What helps you to eat well and keep healthy? Any tips?

Reading this...

I was actually introduced to the blogging world through parenting blogs, although I don't consider myself a "mummy blogger" (yes, I know I do feature my family a lot!), I do love catching up with some of them and reading stuff on parenting styles, influences, trends and opinions. It's reassuring to know that other mums are going through the same ups and downs as you and I love picking up new ideas and tips when it comes to raising my baby! One of the many favourites of mine out there is Mission2Mum written by a lovely lady called Gemma, she is stylish, so friendly and really puts you at ease in her company and is doing lots of good work supporting mums through her Mission2Mum clubs, do visit her blog for more information. I'm especially looking forward to having a girly catch up with her next week!

What's your favourite parenting blog, any recommendations? 

Me time...

I am VERY excited to be having 3 whole days in London this month to myself, yes, that's right no husband or baby, just me! I'm actually going to be hanging out with a sweet lady called Lisa (check out her awesome blog Twins, Tiaras and Tantrums) while we venture in to the world of Britmums Live together on June 21st/22nd. I know, I know I've just told you I don't consider myself a parenting blogger, but so many of the bloggers out there that I admire are and I am dying to meet them, share ideas, learn tips and just hang out. There will be loads of fun and interesting things happening at Britmums Live that I know I can take in to my own blogging experience and I am just simply thrilled to be doing something for me, as Karen not as someone's mummy or wife. I'm also going to use my 3rd night to catch up with a dear old school friend which will be exciting too, I fear the alcohol levels in my body will be high over this weekend!

Are you a blogger going to Britmums Live? What are you doing this month to get some "me time"? 

Wearing these...

This summer I have become a little infatuated with Pink, I can't get enough of it in my wardrobe and have been investing in some new pieces to wear, over the Bank Holiday weekend we took a trip to Cribbs Causeway Mall in Bristol so I could raid the rails of Gap, H&M and other such stores that I don't have the pleasure of shopping in regularly because of living in the middle of no where! I happened to discover these little beauties in H&M, in the kids section, for £7.99! Perks of having small feet! (You can read more about my small feet here)

Mindfulness...

Following on from last Fridays post, Mindfulness really is a great way of tackling anxiety and depression and it's something I don't do enough to help me through the difficult days. It can be a hard concept to get your head around and takes a bit of practice but can go a long way to helping you manage your low points. Interested? I'm not going to attempt to explain how to practice mindfulness, I'll leave it to the experts, check out this great website Be Mindful and if you're a parent suffering with, stress anxiety or depression Netmums have a brilliant information on mindfulness too. You can also practice Mindfulness Yoga here with this YouTube clip and read up more about it here.

Do you find time to be mindful? I'd love to know more on your experiences of this and all the things mentioned in this post, do leave me a comment, I love reading them!

Monday's Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 39

At the beginning of last week I had to face something quiet difficult and upsetting, through it all though I had a lovely lady giving me hugs, holding my hand and just generally making sure I was coping OK, despite having her own personal issues going on, she showed me the power of true friendship.

Again, this weekend I encountered it's true power when a very good friend of mine (I've written about her awesome friendship here before) and her fiancee came to stay with us. We had planned a fabulous weekend of catching up, having fun and drinking lots of Prosecco! As the weekend drew nearer something major for our family came up and we had to ask them to help us with this which would mean calling in a massive favour and it was a fairly big one so we gave them the option to pull out the weekend, but in true friendship style my lovely friend and her OH didn't batter an eye lid at the request and took on their favour with enthusiasm and gusto, she knew how important it was and willingly helped out.

I'm always amazed and so touched at some people's kindness, thoughtfulness and ability to put themselves in someone else shoes, sometimes I find it hard to understand why other people can be so dismissive of the ones around them but I know now the true power of friendship will always shine though in the ones that really, really care. Having these people around me is what gets me through the tough times and enjoy the good times even more, these are MY people! 

What has friendship shown you? Do you have people you can count on through a crisis? Has someone you didn't know well seen you through a tough spot and gone on to become a good friend?

I'd love to hear your stories on friendship, do leave me a comment!

Top tips on busting through anxiety

                           

Whether you are making a speech at wedding, attending an interview, have a fear of spiders, or have a full blown panic attack every time you step outside the house, anxiety can effect most of us in some way and to different degrees at different time. You can over come anxiety though or a least keep those worries to a minimum, learning some simple tricks to combat them can make all the difference.

Monday's Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 38

Our minds are amazing aren't they? The biology of the brain fascinates me, at college I studied Human Physiology for a bit, I was so intreaged by this organ, how it works and how it dictates EVERYTHING in our daily lives, how and when we move, what we physically feel and are capable of but also how it controls our hormones and emotions, it's so very powerful, but I know I don't need to tell you any of this!

The well being of our brain, of our mind is so important and powerful that on days where there is an imbalance it can send our whole worlds crashing down, for me personally this can be so debilitating. But what if we could re-frame our minds and thoughts to react differently? What if we could take a moment to step back and look at a situation from a different point of view or what if we taught ourselves to manage our thoughts and emotions differently? Could we then find some strength to over come our adversities, quieten those darker thoughts and allow space for fresh, courageous ones to come through? 

Feel Good Friday - something for the weekend

This week has been busy, I'm actually leaving the house next week and going away to do work stuff, this is exciting for a work at home mum! So I have been tied up sorting out everything that I and my family will need, have, have, want, eat, and go while I'm away, not much time for blogging then!

Well last week I blogged about some feel good things I was going to do for myself that was an investment in me, allowing myself time for these things kept me going through the week and few other things kept me feeling inspired too, so  passing them on in hope that they will keep you smiling and feeling great this weekend...

Fashion Inspiration...

This week one of my favourite fashion bloggers got me in the mood for holiday wardrobe planning for me and my little miss with posts full of stylish yet affordable clothes, I'm definitely feeling inspired about what wear now, go check out her fabulous website Coco Mama Style, a must for all mamas and their little ones! 

The tune in my head is...

Feist's amazing song 1234 has been keeping LC and I uplifted all week, she is obsessed with this song at the moment, she demands it on every car journey and we have to watch the video about a trillion times a day on YouTube. It all stems from her love of Sesame Street, check out that version if you haven't seen it already.

Get me organised...

I decided the only way this was going to happen was if I bought a diary, I got lovely vibrant purple to keep me all cheery, plus it was so inexpensive now that we are almost halfway through the year! I am going to put EVERYTHING in it include shopping lists, ideas, birthdays and to do lists so let's hope it actually works, I'll let you know...

Feel Good Film...

OH and I decided to ditch the cinema the other week on our date night and come home and watch a movie instead, I was coming down with a horrible virus so it was the right thing to do. So we snuggled up and watched The Five Year Engagement instead, if you haven't seen it yet I highly recommend it, it's funny, classy and most entertaining - let me know what you think!

I hope your feeling inspired now to put some feel good into your weekend, I'd love to know what you have planned!

Feel Good Friday - something for the weekend

Just a quick one today! This week I've had the oddest feeling, just can't shake it, I have felt quite unsettled, on edge and just utterly exhausted. I'm wondering if its the after effects of the horrible virus I had last weekend or a bit of mid month blues, either way I know I need to be kind to myself this weekend so this is what I'm indulging in.....

Reading this...

I'm doing a bit of self help love, I'm a big fan of these kind of books, I know others can be cynical about this type of reading but I find them useful and something that will often inspire me to get out of any black hole I'm falling in to. I've felt a bit of self doubt creeping in this week so I need to nourish my self belief a bit, eating well and taking care of my body helps to give me a boost and understanding more about the crazy world of parenting will help me stay more relaxed (we are currently going through terrible twos!).

Bedtime reading

Having 15 or so minutes to actually read a real book is such a treat for me so I will be making time to do this over the weekend!

Pampering...

LC's little piggies with my fav nail polish!

When I have moments of feeling frazzled, physically and emotionally I always feel better when I can escape from the world, relax and invest in me. This means bubble bath, actually blow drying my hair and a DIY pedicure. Sometimes just a little bit of pampering with your favourite products helps you feel more like you again, add candles, some of your best tunes and even a glass of wine and you have got the perfect hour or two of simple, relaxing "me" time, ahhhh! 

 Wearing this...

EBay bargain

My new favorite bag, it's not a designer and it didn't cost me a month wages, in fact I won it on EBay for a fiver, but it does give me a warm glow inside! It's just my style and wearing it makes me feel like me, I find having a few items in my wardrobe that I love and that make me feel great when I wear them always helps when I'm at a low, putting on something I love just gives me an instant boost! 

Well now you know what I'm doing this weekend to feel good, what's your secret weapon to get back to being you again? What will you be up to this weekend to feel good about you?

I hope your feeling inspired too!

Friday's Feel Good, Live Better - Back to Nature

One thing I have learned about feeling low is that getting outside and moving about is one of the best things you can do for yourself to get a boost and a natural high!

When I first met my husband (it still feels weird to say that lol!) I was the least active person you could imagine but his good influence in being active has rubbed off on me. Over the last 5 years I have started to ride a bike again (although it is in retirement at the moment), exercised on and off doing yoga and aerobics - even went to the gym before LC came along, I walk places more, if I can (we live in the country so it's hard) and I've put on a swimming costume and braved the water again! All these things have encouraged me to take care of my body more but also my mind, exercise of any form really is the best medicine when it comes to depression.

So with this in mind and a sun holiday finally being booked for July I have decided to really up the amount of active time Im having, I had put on some weight from being pregnant at the beginning of the year and so with that going up and my mood going down since having the miscarriage I need to do something, plus for our whole family it's so important to teach LC the benefit of being fit and healthy, I want her to feel passionate about being active (at the moment her thing is dance!).

Now that the weather is finally getting better we have been getting outside and this is what we have been up to....

Growing our Garden
This year we are keeping it simple, we have always grown veggies in planter boxes but we are only doing Strawberries this summer, we have loads going on the next couple of months and don't have the time to give our garden much attention. we have a grass lawn at the back (that my OH is obsessed with mowing) and a concrete and gravel patio so we fill that lots of pot and planters full of flowers and put some at the back too, we are waiting to get a few more strawberry plants from our friends but LC and I have been busy planting seeds to grow a beautiful array of blooms!

Planting our seeds..

Pots are done!

Fun with Family
Getting outside and moving about can be daunting for some, I know I haven't always had the confidence to do it on my own, I've always wished I could be one of those people who slings on a pair of trainers and goes for a run! So why not rope in some family or friends for a fun, active day out! Last week we met up with Family and had the most loveliest day messing about on the river! We were on a canal boat so we were jumping on and off, pushing open bridges, winding locks, chasing after dogs and LC and walking, well to the pub for beer and wine but hey it's still walking right? It really was lots of fun, we worked together to sail the boat down the river, although my main job was to watch the little people and the dogs (which I failed at when one of them jumped in to the canal, dog that is, not child!) but I did have a go at steering the boat! Anyway the sun shone, we fed ducks, waved at cows and it felt good to be outside!

Coffee Break!

River ride with her pal

A walk in the park..
This weekend we did a bit of exploring and decided to get out enjoy the sun at one of our local nature reserves. They have a great park - with a sandpit, a big lake and beautiful nature trails and walks, we took LC's bike and football and she had the most fun running around, we saw more cows, rabbits, squirrels and more ducks, even 4 baby ducklings who were very cute and fluffy! OH and I power walked up and down the hills and took turns pushing Madame on her bike. We felt energised just by getting out and about for an hour plus it was more precious time having fun as a family!

A walk in the woods

What have you been doing lately to get out and about? What outdoor activities make you feel lifted? I'd love to hear any tips on being active!