Health and Fitness Friday : July goals and another 5k done!

It Friday!!

Which means one thing.

Fitness

It's nearly the end of June. WHAT!! Where did that month go. I thought I had more time to try complete my goals for this month. I didn't run 30 miles. Not even close. I did get about half ways though. I managed to work out most days and my sugar intake was way down than it has been in the past. I not only signed up for another race but I completed it. And it kind of acted like a practice 10k too.
 I'm keeping the same goals for next month and I should get closer to the 30 mile mark now that school is out. My plan is to run in the mornings while everyone is in bed. Lets hope I have to will power to pull myself out of the bed. I love my bed!!!

July Goals

1. Run at least 30 miles

2. Workout 5 days a week.

3. Keep my sugar intake down

4. Sign up for another race.

5. Run a practice 10k

The 5k that I ran last Sunday went great. It turned out to be a 6k race. My sister and brother did it with me. They both rocked it.  It was their first race ever. My brother ran it like it was a piece of cake. He did the 6k in about 42 minutes. My sister and I did it a little slower. She did amazing. She ran the most of it but we walked when we had to. We did it in 47.52. I was happy with myself too. It felt easy. It felt natural. I was going at a slower pace but it was one of my favourite races yet.

I'm so proud of them for finishing. My brother has even sighed up to run the 10k with me in July.

Crappy picture but this is me and my sister crossing the finish line.

Health

My meals have been pretty good again this week. I'm trying to cut down on anything with gluten and it's harder that I thought. It's in everything. I'm going to do a bit more research this coming week and see if I can come up with some nice recipes.

Thanks for stopping by!

Last Day of School!!

This is the smiling face of the a little girl who is finished Junior Infants. No school for a whole 2 months. She is now officially a Senior Infants student. She was so excited for today. 

She has grown so much since last september. She is able to read and write and knows how to add numbers. She got on well this year and I really hope that it's this easy for many years to come.

The other thing that she was excited about was giving her Teacher her end of year gift. She had a amazing Teacher this year. It makes such a huge difference if they like their Teacher. 

I got this cute printable off The Polka Dot Posie. This woman has a world of printables for every occasion.

The found the print online. I just searched for teacher gifts and this popped up.

Turned out good. Don't ya think?

What did you get your child's Teacher? Do you do gifts or just say thanks with a card?

Thanks for stopping by.

10 Things I Live For : 52 weeks of Blogging with a Purpose

I'm linking up with Becky over at From Mrs to Mama for 52 weeks of blogging with a purpose.

What do I live for??

I have been thinking about this for the last week. What do I live for. It took awhile to figure what the answers were. I mean I live for so much.. My Family, Husband, chocolate (ha!) But seriously it a tough one when you have to think about it.

Anyway, this is what I live for.

Mr.E (Hubs)

I love this man more than he knows. I would not be the wife I am today or the mother I am today with out him. He is my everything. Even if I want to strangle him on occasion. 

My Kids

These two little monster are the reason I get up in the morning. The reason I stay up past midnight making a birthday cakes. The reason I have grey hairs at 28. They are the reason I keep going. they are my reason for living.

Family

The older I get the more I realize that I don't know what I'd do with out them. The help more than they know. They make me laugh. And even though we fight and argue over an egg roll (long story) we always forgive and forget. They will always be in my life. Just don't go and tell them. Ha!

Running

This is the newest thing that I just could not live without. I never liked distance running when I was younger. I was a sprinter. But the I've come to love it. It's my thinking time, my forgetting time, my Me time. It's helping me get to where I need to be health wise. 

Making Memories

I live for making memories. Going to new places with my little family. Seeing things for the first time. Seeing their faces when we do something new. Being told I'm the best Mom just because we went to the park. It's these memories that I will cherish when I'm older.

Laughter

 There is an old Irish proverb that says " There is nothing a good laugh and a long sleep won't fix". I truly believe laughter is often the best medicine. That feeling I get when my side are sore from laughing and I have tear in my eyes. That really is the best feeling.

Horses

These amazing animals are my first love and always will be. My horse is my best friend. I trust him completely. I put my life in his hands when we go riding. Horse riding is my was of escaping. Galloping across a beach is the most amazing and freeing thing I have ever done.

Taking Pictures

I am that person that always has a camera. That one person that will take a picture of everything. And I mean everything. From taking pictures of horses, which is my favourite thing to do, right down to my daughters first time peeing on the potty. Such a proud moment for her and I have that captured. I wish I could capture every moment my eyes see and put them on my laptop forever. So I will never forget.

Writing/Blogging

I never thought I would be saying this. the girl that did do well in English at school. The girl who hated reading books. But I would be lost with out my little blog. I know it's not huge and I don't have 100's of readers but it's mine. I can say what I want. Write what I want. It's for me. Just me.

Cooking/Food

I love food. All kinds of food. I love cooking food. I love preparing a big feast at Christmas and seeing everyone tucking in. I love the feeling of accomplishment. I made that. I made those people happy, full, content. It's not just about cooking. It's about being creative. I'd be lost without food.

Thanks for stopping by!

Health and Fitness Friday : I'm Injured and Clean Eating

It's Friday peeps!! Wooo!

Fitness

Don't let the title fool you. I'm not injured in any bad way. I did something to my wrist last Friday. I'm not sure how I hurt it but I couldn't even lift a carton of milk. I tried to do my workout on Saturday but I couldn't do any push-ups or even lift the weights. So no 30 day shred all weekend for me. Boo! I heading to the doctor today to make sure I've not done ant major damage.

I did get a 5k walk in with my little girl on Sunday so I don't feel like a total fatty. We didn't break any records but it was a fun day out. I did my 30 day abs Sunday too.

I have a 5k run this Sunday. It's a charity one and it's on the railway track that I trained on for my first 5k. I'm doing this with my brother and sister. They have caught the running bug from me. That makes me so happy. Someone who I can go running with. This will be their first 5k run. I'm not doing this 5k for time. I'm doing it for them. With them. I have promised I'll stay with them and not leave them in my dust {like I ever could, I don't go fast enough to make dust} but It should be fun.

Workouts this week

Saturday : Rest

Sunday : 5k walk + abs

Monday : Rest

Tuesday : 30 day shred

Wednesday : Rest

Thursday : 30 day abs

Friday (today) : ???

There is way to many rest days on that list and It bugs me that I got no runs in. I need to get a system going. I need to find a way to work it around my kids. And I think the only way to get a run in is to get up early and hit the road when everyone else is in bed.

Health

Didn't do too good this week. Dinners were good. But my snacking. OH MY GOD!! Everything and anything I could get my hands on, I ate. Not good!! I'm putting it down to not have worked out much. When I work out every day. I don't seem to want to snack as much and when I do snack,  I snack healthier. It's all connected.

 The other thing I've been looking into is clean eating/ Paleo diet. It seem to be very cut back clean eating which would be good for me. But I'm not sure if I could go all in. I found a great site Paleo Cupboard and the recipes on her Pinterest boards all look amazing. I might try a few this week and see how they go.

Happy Friday !

Have a great weekend.

Blog Makeover and some Freebie Finds

Have you had a look around her lately??

Looks good, right?

Well let me tell you all about it. 

One of my 30 things before 30 was to update the blog and give it a makeover. Now, I was meant to do it by myself but I'm just not that talented. I'm good, just not that good. Ha!

Any way, the blog template came from two very talented sisters over at Loving Life Designs. The template was a freebie from there website and I just love it. It was so easy to download and install. Everything was done for me but I was able to adjust the design to suit me. I made the about me word-art and photo thing. See how I know all the technical terms. Ha! I think it has turned out just fab. 

These ladies also have a lot more freebies like Christmas card , invitation, and poster printable and lots of more blog templates.

How adorable are these!?

Isn't their stuff amazing?

The other freebie I stumbled across is fontsquirrel.com. This site is also amazing. It has a tonne of free font downloads. They are easy to download and install and the fonts are so pretty. I used Dancing script on my blog header. 

I hope you enjoy my freebie finds and enjoy the blogs new look.

Thanks for stopping by.

Am I Lovin' your Blog??

Am I loving your blog? Do you love mine and want an easy way to follow along and not miss a thing. Well Bloglovin is the site for you!

If you don't already know, Google reader is heading out the door, which means that if you read blogs using this site, you will no longer have them in your feed. So, there is an even better site out there to help you organize all those favorite blogs that you love. I think it is so much easier to use than Google reader. 

And to make life easier for you again, here are the easy steps to switching over your feed from Google reader to Bloglovin.

Just click on this link below, and follow the steps to import from your Google reader. It's just that easy!

I have transferred mine and it was easy as pie. I need to update my blogs, as I don't think I have all you lovely ladies added. So link up your Bloglovin account below so we can all find new blogs to follow!

My country girl Ramblings Bloglovin

52 weeks of Blogging with a Purpose : Who I am?

Today is the first day of a series of blogs I'll be doing. For the next 52 Mondays I'll be linking up with Becky over at From Mrs to Mama.

I thought about tell you all that I am a mom, wife, sister, daughter, blogger, the list goes on but then I thought you already know all this. Then I thought about how i preform in these roles. And then it came to me.

I am Me. I am Human.

I am human!! I make mistakes. I'm not perfect.

I'm A Mother. I am a mother that loves my kids with every inch of my being. I the kind of Mom that writes notes her daughter's banana going to school. The kind of Mom who throws over the top birthdays because her kids deserve it. I'm the kind of Mom that needs to be more patient when she has been "Mom'd" for the 500th time that day.

I'm a wife. I'm the kind of wife that need to learn how to be more patient with her husband. The kind of wife who tries to have a nice home but sometimes there is just too much laundry. The kind of wife who tries to get a hot dinner on the table every evening but sometimes we have takeaway. I'm the kind of wife that knows she needs to spend more time with him. The kind of wife that knows it's ok to want to strangle your husband but not doing it cos you'd miss him.

I'm a Runner. I love to run but I don't get to do it half as often as I want or need to. I'm the kind of runner that runs for me and not to win. I'm the kind of runner that is happy running in the rain but I hate the heat. I run to forget about my stresses and worries.

I'm a Daughter.  I'm the oldest daughter in my family. Even though I'm stubborn and would never admit it, I would be lost with out my parents. I'm the kind of daughter that tries too do what ever she can to help her parents even though sometimes it seems I'm doing it the wrong why. I'm the kind of daughter that still need to hear that her parents are proud of her and that I'm doing a good job.

I'm a Blogger. This is the newest role in my life. I love blogging. I love finding blogs that inspire me. I hope that one day my blog inspires someone the way that I have been inspired. I love how I have been able to connect with women all around the world that I would never even know existed if it were not for blogging. I love that I am a Blogger.

But...

I am Human!!

I make mistakes. I get it wrong. I forget. I have good days and I have bad days. I get stressed. I laugh at myself. But I am always me. Honest, open and slightly crazy me. But I am happy with were I am in my life right now. I'm am proud that I am a mother and wife. I am confident in my ability to fulfill these roles. And once I am always true to me and keep trying to be a better me, I'm happy with the job I'm doing.

So, Who are you??

Thanks for stopping by.

Health and Fitness Friday : Food Glorious Food

It's Friday! That can only mean one thing.

Fitness

I have to start today by explaining me a little bit. I get bored easily. If I do the same thing day in, day out, I get bored and it stops being a challenge. I am also one of those people that is always jumping from one thing to another. This is a problem when your trying to get in shape. I get half way through and get bored and quit.  I started the 30 day squat challenge and had to stop that after day 5 because I wasn't able to walk let alone run. I started the 30 day ab challenge and I still trucking along with that but it wasn't enough on its own.

 I found something last weekend that truly is challenging me every time I do it. Every part of me hurts in a good way when I do it. Jillian Micheals 30 day shred is  what I'm talking about. I'm on day 5 today and can I tell you, for a 20 minute workout, it's a tough 20 minutes. I'm working my whole body. Strength, cardio and abs in a 20 minute workout is what I'm all about.

I haven't gotten any runs in this week just because the weather is crap again here. Rain and a hell of a lot of flies. Not ideal. I have a 5k walk coming up this Sunday. It's a fundraiser for Jasmins school. She has been begging me to take her on one of my runs with me but trying to explain to a 5 year old that she couldn't run 5k is near impossible. So, Sunday is going to be for us. I also have a 5k "Nun run" on the 23rd. I have to dress up in a Nun's outfit. I'm going to try get my sister to do this. She reads my bog sometimes so I hope she see's this. Ha!

Workouts this week.

Saturday : 30 day abs

Sunday :  Rest

Monday : 30 day shred + abs

Tuesday : 30 day shred +abs

Wednesday : 30 day shred

Thursday : 30 day shred + abs

Friday (today) : 30 day shred

Health

I've been pretty good this week. I have a Healthy, low fat Shepherds pie recipe for you guys. I love this dish. It's filling, full of veggies and it tasted so good. I also have a new smoothie recipe. I haven't tried this one but it looks amazing. 

Spinach-Mango Green Smoothie Recipe!

- 1 Large Ripe Banana

- 1 Cup Mangoes

- 1/2 Cup Strawberries

- 5 oz Spinach

- 1 1/2 cups Water

Whizz!

I have never eaten spinach and I would like to include it in my diet. It's really high iron.

 Have any of you ladies got any good recipes for spinach??

Another tip that I have for making smoothies is to put your fruit in the freezer for about 20 minutes before you whizz them. It makes your smoothie thicker and colder and it just tastes better. Yum!

 I'm not one for salads but this is one I came up with and I love it.

4 Bacon Rashers

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Onion

Cheese

salt and black pepper

Cook the rasher in the grill and chop everything else. Mix it all together and add a pinch of salt and loads of black pepper. Serve with pitta breads and eat warm.

And that's it. 

Do you have any good recipes that I need to try? Leave a link comment the comment section and I try it and give you props on the blog if I use it.

Linking up with the every inspirational Jen from A Daily Dose of Davis.

Thanks for stopping by!

Healthy Shepherds pie

I have always loved Shepherds pie but I never liked the greasy feeling it left in my mouth.

I also didn't the idea of all that frying of the mince. The fat in it used to kill the Hubs with his stomach.

So, I came up with a healthier and tastier{in my opinion} version.

What's my secret??

Well, it's not a big secret. All I do is boil my mince instead of frying it.

Here's what you'll need:

400g beef mince

handful of frozen peas

1 onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, grated

1 sweet potato, grated

beef stock cube

1 packet of Knorr Mealmaker shepherds pie

700g of mashed potatoes

Ketchup

Firstly, I don't buy mince. I don't like it. I don't like not knowing what is in it. So, I buy chuck/neck/rib steak and mince it in my food processor at home.

Boil your mince with a stock cube in the water.

When the meat is nearly cooked, add your frozen peas.

Drain off the water.

Add the onions and fry off in the pot. Don't add oil.

Add your carrots ans sweet potato and mix.

Follow you packet instructions and add the water required to the pot and add the powder mix.

Simmer for about 10 minutes and add the ketchup.

When it's ready, put it in an over proof dish and top with your mashed potato and cook until your mash is golden and crispy.

It turns out much more creamy and there is on oil or fat in it. 

It become a huge hit in our house and the Hubs doesn't complain of a tummy ache after eating it anymore.

If you try this recipe ,I would love to hear about it? Did you like it? Leave a comment and let me know.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fathers Day Ideas 2013

What do you get for the man that has everything?

I mean, he has an amazing wife and two fab kids but you can't let Fathers day go by without marking the occasion. 

Father's Day June 16th 2013

I found some really cute and cheap ideas for gifts and things to do on Fathers day.

I love taking photos. And I love giving photos to people that they can treasure for the rest of their lives. Something that they can look at and remember the moment they got it.

I may be trying to recreate this little gem before Sunday.

source

Or something like this. Not sure if could get my little guy to sit still to get this done.

Or how about this cute room service card. I know a certain little girl who would love to play chef and make her Dad whatever he wants.

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If the man in you life has a sweet tooth and you love to bake then this next idea is right up your street.

How cute are these cupcakes?

Or wrap his favourite chocolate bar in this cute wrapper and I sure any Dad would be pleased.

source

What about a cute questionnaire? I can only imagine the answer my little wilds would give. This may also be happening in our house.

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My Dad, the wilds Gran-dad loves his neck ties. He's always wearing them. So this next idea is what I'm going to try do for him. I'm going to hit up the charity shop and see if I can find a tie to recreate. I pretty sure he wear it but would go insane if we spent too much on the gift.

source

So if your looking for something special for that special guy in your life then I hope these have helped.

But most of all, enjoy the day with the person that helped you become a parent.

10 on Tuesday : A bit of a catch-up

I kind of slacked off on the blog last week. But if I'm being honest. I don't care. The sun was shining and I was out in it every day. I barely look at a computer all week and I only popped in now and then to the social media world. But the sun is gone and I'm back.

Speaking of the sun. We got up to so much. Took a unplanned trip back to the beach last Tuesday. It was P man's first time at the beach and he loved it. I really hope the sun comes back again so we can go back.

We had a birthday party at Jasmin's friends house. Pirate Jack was he entertainer. He was amazing. Face painting, Balloon animals, Dancing, Games and Tattoos. He really too the hard work out of the party. I might just have to look into getting an entertainer for the next big birthday in our house.

Hello Kitty!

We pulled out the pool the weekend and let the kids play in it. And when I say pool, I mean tiny pick blow up pool. But it could have been a bucket of water and these two would have been happy. Please come back  Mr Sun.

If your wondering what all that stuff in the background is, well let me tell you. My amazingly crafty Husband put up a new post and panel wall at my mothers house. She has the most amazing son-in-law, hands down. He also built a fab gate for her so the too wilds won't go wandering onto the road.

Jasmin had her first school sports day. She didn't win anything but said it didn't matter cos she had fun. So proud of this little one for know that having fun is more important. Next year were going to win the spud and spoon race. 

She also had her first school tour. This little poser got to go to Lee Strand milk factory and see how milk gets put into cartons. For some reason she was very excited about it and had a fantastic day. She got a mug, key ring and a activity book in a goodie bag too. No tears or anything. Slow down little girl. Your growing up too fast.

I started Jillian Micheals 30 day shred on Monday. It is tough. But I excited to see what changes and results I get from it. I want to be able to workout at home. I spend enough time away from home and driving to this and that. Working out is not another thing I'm going adding to that list. 

The garden is coming or well. the sun really helped it. The weeds and grass are doing very very well. Ha! I can't wait to have some spud and cabbage from here. There is nothing like new potatoes. I'm not sure the peas will make the kitchen but they taste so good out of the pod.

I finally got the P man's bedroom done. Thanks to moneysupermarket.com and their room for improvement challange i got it done. You can read all about it here.

Wow, We really got up to a lot over the past 2 weeks. I try not to be so MIA if the sun come back but I can't make any promises. Ha!

Thanks for stopping by.