Fitness Friday: Total Warrior

 

So I only went and bloody did it! Total warrior has been and gone and I thought I'd fill you in on how I found the whole experience.

 

Basically it was harder than I thought. I don't know why but I really didn't expect so many hills, the very first part of the course consisted of running up and down two very steep hills and it through me,  I had to slow right down for these parts. The rest of the course was quite hilly too. I probably should have expected this to be honest and it's my own silly fault for not realising before. If I'd of thought I would have definitely trained for this.

The obstacles really varied in difficulty but there was definitely something to test everyone. I personally struggled with the climbing walls which I expected as I don't have a lot of upper body strength, it's something I'm working on. I ended up doing Total warrior by myself so often had to rely on strangers giving me a boost on some of these. Everyone was so kind and more than happy to help but it made me wish I was part of a team as it would have been much easier to get through the tougher obstacles faster. My personal favourite was the slide, it was amazing! You just throw yourself down a massive plastic sheet covered in soapy water and go flying until you land in the mud. Speaking of mud, there's a lot of it and it will get every where (use your imagination). It didn't always smell like just mud either but it's probably best if we don't think about that.

 

Half way round the course I decided that I wouldn't do it again but now that I've had time to forget about the difficult parts I think I would. (I've heard that's what child births like) I would definitely get myself more organised next time round and make sure I had a decent sized team, I also think team training would be great too. On that note I definitely needed to train more and do more specific things. Because of all the steep hills and mud, running became almost impossible and I really should have focused more on my strength and stamina instead.

 

All in all it was a great day and I feel really pleased with myself for getting through it. The staff were amazing from start to finish and the whole thing was organised brilliantly. There were photographers all along the course but sadly they were only three very bad ones of me which I didn't think were worth paying for (hence my angry warrior face pictures). Of course this means that I now have something else ticked off my New year's resolutions list, wahoo!!!

Summer drinks

 

 

 

So hold the phone...I think we may actually be experiencing summer! If I know a British summer time like I think I do it might not stick around too long so I thought I'd help you make the most of it with some delicious summer beverages! They're very simple and don't require many ingredients so I think you'll like them!

 

 





Fruit infused water

This one is incredibly simple. Simply chop up whatever fruit you like, I went for strawberry and lemon, leave it to chill in the fridge until the water becomes deliciously fruity. You can then pour into your glass, add some ice and your ready to go! It's very refreshing on a warm day and not a calorie in sight.

 

 

 

 

 

 Fruity iced tea

Again this is really easy but really really nice! I used the Whittard's English berry tea. It comes as a powder so I just added some to cold water and mix mix mixed. I then added lots of fruity ice cubes which I made by putting some summer berries cordial in an ice cube tray. I added some frozen blueberries too!

 

 

 

 

Lemonade float

 



This is my personal favourite although definitely the least healthy among the three...meh! All you need is lemonade and vanilla ice cream. Pour the lemonade into your glass and add a big scoop of your ice cream. Make sure you leave space for the ice cream at the top as it can fizz up quite a bit, you can tell by the pictures that I learnt that the hard way!

 

 

I hope you enjoyed today's post, try them out while it's still sunny!

My attempt at strobing

        So lately I've been hearing a lot of people talking about strobing, it makes me think of some kind of rave but basically it's a form of highlighting. I am more than interested in anything that can make my sad cheek bones stand out a bit and I do love glowy skin so I thought I'd give it a go.   I started with the Elemis pro-radiance illuminating flash balm. This is the limited edition version, they donate some of the proceeds to breast cancer which is amazing, plus the packaging is just gorgeous. This is both a moisturiser and primer but gives the most gorgeous, dewy sheen to the skin that I thought would be perfect for today's look.  

I then used Benefit's high beam on all the high points of my face, I actually used quite a lot of this as I wanted it to really show through my foundation. I applied my Rimmel match perfection foundation over the top of this. I applied this very lightly using a stippling brush being very careful not to rub the highlighter off.  

   

After I applied my foundation I went over the top of the highlighted areas with the Loreal lumi magique pen. I then carried on with my normal makeup. I don't think it's showing up amazingly in the pictures but it real life it's a look I quite like. I would definitely reccomend the Elemis flash balm as an illuminating primer too, my makeup seemed to go on really well after using it.   I hope you enjoyed today's post, keep checking back for more. I have to say I apoligise for having simply terrible hair in these pictures, let's all pretend it's much better....thanks!

Resolutions recap

 

Hello!!

 

So even though it seems like a fortnight since Christmas we're around 6 months through 2015 already. Like most people I set my self some new year's resolutions back in January, these turned out to be goals for the year rather than new year's resolutions but either way I thought I'd let you know how I've been getting on with them. I'm actually really pleased! Considering how fast 2015 seems to have gone, I think I've actually accomplished quite a lot!

 



 

1. Passing my driving test. This maybe wasn't the best one to start with as it still hasn't happened. It is seriously frustrating how long it's taken me and how many tears I've shed after each failed test attempt. I'm past the point of embarrassment now and I really am determined to make it happen. Sooner rather than later though please!

 

 

2. Leave the country. I must have been feeling dramatic back in January because this seems really quite negative reading it back. I actually do love Britain and realise I'm lucky to live in such a lovely country. I still really want to travel though, such a big world to see and all that. I don't have too much planned for this currently but have a few little ideas on how to organise this so I'm still convinced I will!

 

3. Grow my blog. When I wrote this I had 0 followers, now I have 5! I realise this is pretty slow going but in my eyes it's still progress so I'm pleased. If you've read this post you will know that I decided to mix things up a bit around here recently and I'm having fun doing this. I also have a cheeky giveaway planned for the near future so keep your eyes peeled for that!

 

4. Do something sporty. If you've been reading my fitness fridayposts then you'll know that I will be doing Total Warrior in August. This has pushed me to try a few different things in terms of exercise which, so far, I've been enjoying. Obstacle races have turned into such a big thing so as long as I don't accidentally kill myself in August I might actually sign up to a few more.

 

5. Go on a game show. When I wrote my resolutions in January this was the one I thought was least likely to happen. I thought I'd just apply to lots of different shows and if anything happened it would be a bonus. I'd only applied to one show before I heard back. After a couple of skype auditions I was told I was succesfull and given my date to record the show! It was honestly one of the most fun things I've ever done and I get the giggles every time I remember it happened because it just seems so bizarre! The show is called Two Tribes and my episode hasn't actually aired yet, I may write a little recap after it has so I can share my experience a little bit more. 

So there we go! They haven't all gone quite to plan but I'm really pleased with how I've tried to work towards all of them I definitely think setting yourself goals makes it so much easier to actually do things you want to do! It's really nice to reflect on them afterwards and see what you've accomplished.

Messy Ponytail

 

I have to have my hair tied up for work which most of the time is a good thing. I takes hardly any time and it's really healthy now. However, sometimes it's a bit boring so I thought I would try and jazz it up a bit. Basically I've just added a bit of texture but I really like how it looks and think it would be nice for a beachy/summer look. (If we ever get one, what's going on England weather?)   To create this look I added a few curls with my Babyliss curling wand but any tongs would do, I actually think something with a bigger barrel would work better. I then added some V05 give me texture spray, any texturising spray would do but I really like this one. Then I just back comb the roots slightly then scrunch the whole thing into a lose, high pony tail. You could people small sections out for a messier look too.   There we go!! Hope you enjoyed today's post!!

90's grunge look

 

 

 

 

I recently bought the Mac lipstick in Twig, to me it is so 90's, I'm sure  Rachel from Friends and Buffy would have been all over this if it was out a few years ago! It made me want to try out a really 90's, slightly grungy look. So that's what I did.   It was actually really simply to create and not too different from my day to day makeup. I just smoked up the eye and went a little bit more subtle on the cheeks. I really like the way it turned out!

What I used

Rimmel match perfection foundation
Mac buff blush
Maybelline colour tattoo in on and on bronze
buck and smog from Naked 1 palette
miss sporty liner in 002
maybelline brow pencil in dark brown
Mac Lipstick in Twig
Maybelline the falsies mascara in black drama