Food For Thought

Happy Friday friends xo 

Achievement unlocked!

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I did it! The 30 Day Yoga Challenge is complete and for once in my life I didn't give up :) There is no one in the world prouder than I am of myself right now! Please excuse the exclamations! I'm happy! 

This challenge was just the beginning of the mind, body and spirit journey and I'm looking forward to pushing myself further. I mentioned in my last post that I want to learn how to do the splits so I consider this my next big challenge. On Monday I followed a video detailing a yoga practice with splits as the goal and though I was nowhere near the ground, it was a start. Unfortunately I must have stretched a little too much because the next day my legs were sore and achy (and still are!) I decided to take a day or two to recover instead of stressing my body even more which leaves us at today...Wednesday and on the lookout for a new video. 

Since I'm still recovering I decided to go for Yoga with Adriene's healing practice which I'll do just before hitting the shower for work :) 

That's my little update. Is anyone thinking of starting a challenge of their own? Or already started? xo

The challenge is almost over

Happy Sunday! Yes, I am working today and I'm still happy. That's got to say something right? When you've been out of work for almost six months I guess you learn to be grateful.

With just a few more days left of the 30 Day Yoga Challenge I thought I would write a little update on how I'm feeling. When I started this challenge I had been out of any real committed exercise for quite some time. I hadn't practiced yoga since summer 2013 and had kind of lost my way. I was weak and about four kilos heavier than I was last July. It's been a tough month what with starting a new job and having to absorb massive amounts of information, not to mention I've needed to adjust to working shifts so my routine has been a little out of sync so admittedly, I haven't practice yoga every day. But almost.

If anyone reading this is thinking about starting yoga but doesn't know where to begin, then I think this challenge is perfect for everyone. Yes, you'll probably find it tough to begin with and want to stay in Child's Pose for half of the practice sometimes but you'll want to succeed! The practices are less than twenty minutes each and you go as far as you want to. I was incredibly weak at the start of this, particularly in my arms and in this last week I have found myself feeling strong; my planks are much better formed and I don't need to go on my knees to Chaturanga most of the time. This for me is such a big achievement!

I've decided that when I've finished this challenge my next step will be learning how to do the splits. Something I have always wanted to learn! I'm also going to start the 30 Day Yoga Challenge from the beginning again find a new video to follow. I also really want to start running again! Finding time is going to be my issue...I'm a serial procrastinator!

I hope that anyone reading this decides to give this challenge a go. Erin Motz, who presents it seems really lovely and fun! Let me know how you get on if you do :)

Have a great day! xo

Kiwi & Banana Smoothie [Vegan friendly]

The simplicity of smoothies is one of my main reasons (aside from them being extremely delicious and healthy) that I enjoy making them daily. It's also really fun to experiment with different mixtures!

You'll need: 

1 Kiwi chopped

1 Banana chopped

2 tablespoons of plain Soya yogurt 

Almond milk/Soya milk

You'll also need a hand mixer or blender to whizz it all up into a super smoothie. 

Put your Kiwi and sliced Banana into your blender or jug for mixing. Add two tablespoons of Soya yogurt and a generous splash of Almond or Soya milk and mix! 

Introducing [Fair-Trade]: The Zambian Soap Company

 

I love products with a story to tell, don't you? I guess if we dug far enough we could find the beginning of a story in everything, even those corporate chains that seem to rule the world. The problem is that these companies seem to have forgotten their roots and are only interested in one thing. Can you guess what that is? Yep, money!

I want to support the people behind the products that I use by buying Fair Trade whenever I possibly can. Fair Trade companies pay their workers a fair wage in order to not only survive, but to live and support their families and communities. I was searching for Fair Trade soap when I stumbled upon The Zambian Soap Company. I never used to read the 'About us' page of online shops but nowadays it's the first thing I look for. I want to know who is making my products and where it's coming from and I think that it's my duty as a blogger to spread the word about the amazing and sustainable products out there! 

Let's be the change.

It's always a little daunting to try out new things. It's also really exciting! When I received my package from The Zambian Soap Company I couldn't wait to open it; I could almost smell the soaps through the packaging. There are currently three types of soap - Lavender, Spearmint, Cassia and Lemongrass. I wanted to buy one of each but the Lavender was unfortunately not in stock when I ordered so I went for the other three. They look and smell wonderful! I particularly love the Cassia because of the Cinnamon scent (or as my mum says, it smells like Christmas, ha). I love Cinnamon! 

The spearmint is a little more subtle but still very nice. The soaps lather up really well and make my skin feel amazing! I was a little hesitant about using it on my face because I have quite sensitive skin but I had no problems at all- if anything my skin feels cleaner and clearer due to the organic ingredients :) They're also vegan!

I'm really happy with The Zambian Soap Company and will be more than happy to buy from them again!

You can find this awesome company here! Be sure to check out their story and read about Zambia and the workers :)

This is not a sponsored post and my views are my honest opinions of a brand that has positively impacted me :) 

Life is full of challenges

This week I'll rename Friday. It's Freeday!

After a *long* four days of work I'm happy to be off and enjoying my day doing very little at all. I'm still absorbing as much new information at my new job as possible but it hasn't been easy and I still feel very uncertain about what I'm doing most of the time. I know that it will get easier the more I learn but until then I question everything. I take my time, meticulously ensuring that each step I take is correct and then take the leap. I try not to burden my team with my questions which are often about the same things, but most of the time I have to or else I might make a mistake...I just need to accept that I'm new and mistakes do happen. My mistakes in this job might piss a few people off but they're not going to kill anyone if I make them. I just need to learn from them.

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I've also learned that I will be facing a lot of "trolls" in the industry I work in. There are a lot of people out there who will just want to make my life a misery by being incredibly rude and inhuman and I need to accept that this is just the way some people are and behind every action or abuse there is a person on the other side who has their reason for acting the way that they do. It doesn't make what they do or say right, but it makes it easier to know that it's not personal (even if they do accuse you of having learning disabilities).

The 30 Day Yoga Challenge is going great! I completed Day 21 today which was learning how to do headstands! My niece came in to join me so we had a little yoga session together :) As for headstands...well, that's something which will need a little work! I can manage them against a wall but free-standing is another story. I will get there though!

 

Summer has well and truly started in Malta. The heat is ON. Not complaining though, let the sun shine!

Lucy is definitely feeling the heat, poor girl

Much better!

Anywho, wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

xo

Blueberry & Banana Smoothie [Vegan friendly]

Smoothies are one of my go-to breakfasts! As well as being really healthy, they're also very filling and will keep you satisfied til the lunch bell rings (in my head there's a bell at least). 

I'm not sure it's been mentioned on the blog before but I'm nine years a vegetarian (no meat, no fish but yes to dairy kind of one). Lately I've been consumed with the idea of taking it a step further and venturing into a vegan lifestyle. These notions came about after watching some pretty horrifying documentaries about the food industry and I felt pretty ashamed about some of the processes that I've taken for granted; such as how we get our milk and eggs for example. I could write a whole post about it but I'll keep this one light and fluffy. 

Basically I'm trying to decrease my impact by cutting out all animal products wherever I can. In this case it's milk and yogurt. Instead I've been experimenting (and absolutely loving) Almond milk as well as soya yogurts! So this, my friends is a Blueberry and Banana Smoothie that you can be proud of drinking. Vegan high five!

You'll need:

1 cup of Blueberries
1 Banana sliced
2 Tablespoons of plain soya yogurt
Almond milk

You'll also need a hand mixer or blender to whizz it all up into a super smoothie.

Put your cup of blueberries and sliced banana into your blender or jug for mixing.
Add two tablespoons of soya yogurt and a generous splash of Almond milk and mix!

It's really as simple as that. If you think it needs more milk then go ahead. This will make enough for one or two humans. 

Enjoy it you lovely people :)

Little update, lots of happy

 

This week has whooshed by in a flash! Can't believe it's Friday tomorrow.

I've kept up with the 30 Day Yoga Challenge this week though I've unfortunately ended up with a trapped nerve in my back - ouch *sad face* I did still practice although I'm not sure it was such a good idea but I find so much joy in those 15-20 minutes that I just really wanted to get on the mat!

I'm down to 67.1kg which is just over a kilo less than when I started so it's a slow but steady loss and that makes me happy. I've also cut down on bread from this week; only eating bread on my two days off so that should definitely help!

Work is going really well. I'm not doing very much, just the basic emails at the moment but my team are lovely which makes me happy.

Today I received my first order from Roots&Feathers and I absolutely love my necklaces! I received them in a little package this evening all beautifully wrapped with some cards and a thank you note which I thought was a really nice touch. I can tell that Laura puts her heart into her business. You should definitely go and check out her store and blog if you like bohemian jewellery <3 I'll be showing you all soon :)

Phew! What a week.

 

Wow, I haven't had the time or energy to write since Sunday. In my last post I mentioned that I would have three weeks of training...uh uh - wrong! They decided to condense my training into one week to prepare me for the World Cup (the company I work for is one of the biggest in egaming). Since I have a fair amount of customer service experience in the gaming industry already, they're hoping that I will pick up the job fairly quickly.

One week later and I'm feeling positive! There was a lot to learn in a short space of time, particularly because I haven't had any experience in betting, casino and poker before and to be honest when it comes to poker I still have very little knowledge...meep! It's something I'm looking forward to learning though. The other part of the job is learning the T&C's and my way around the site and back offices (there are loads!). Everyone has to start from somewhere though so hopefully I'll get the hang of it all fairly quickly. Tomorrow is my first day on the floor and I'll be sitting alongside a buddy who will help me all day. 8am start...waaaaa!Writing about it is making me nervous but I'm sure it will be fine.

I was extremely exhausted throughout the week so I didn't practice any yoga :( All I wanted to do was sleep when I finished work. I know that sounds like a weak approach but I had to listen to my body on this occasion. Almost six months without work and then a week of 9 hour days of new information entering my brain really took its toll. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with my practice/training for the week coming. Yesterday I caught up with two days of the 30 Day Yoga Challenge and it felt awesome to be on the mat again. I'm now on day 12 which I will do a bit later :)

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