6 ways i blow off steam..

When I'm in a heated situation, caught up in a negative moment or just plain frustrated, these are ways I use to blow off a little steam, re-cooperate and simply fall into a place of relief & positive re-assessment.

★Turn it on up! Listening and singing along at the top of my lungs to an all time favorite song. Gets me giddy, upbeat, caught up in the song and not whatever else is going on around me “Never fails”

★Breathe & get your stretch on. Mind, body & soul are all connected. It’s always made sense to me to just breathe deeply and strike a yoga pose. I’ll plonk myself down or across the middle of my living room or simply close the office door for some meditation therapy. “Powerful stuff!”

★Take a hike. Disassociate from the moment completely. Walking away sometimes helps for me to remove myself from the ‘negative space’ or the ‘ora’ around me. Whether it’s a walk to the next room, walk around the block or a walk along the beach. “When I need to take it easy”

★Boot camp that body. Yes exercising of course!! And I’m not talking walk… I’m talking; intense breath stealing, sweat producing exercise! Boxing, running, swimming, cycling, weight training, aerobics. Any type or form. Exercising not only improves blood flow giving the body more energy but it is also know for releasing endorphins - positive and happy chemicals and ‘state of mind’. Healthy body, happy heart, peaceful mind.   “Bonus”

★Get your nerd on. Read a good book. If not a book, a magazine. If I choose to read a magazine at the time, I make sure it is an interesting article that I’m going to pay attention to and read it until the end. Watching TV or flipping through pages and looking briefly at images leaves space and time for your mind to wonder and think and feel emotion you’re trying to divert from. The whole point is to be completely part of the story; engaged, focused & attentive to every word.

★Simply assess and analyze.  Sometimes one is not able to divert the frustration or anger and you need to deal with the situation or problem then and there. Find a quiet place and give yourself a moment.  Change your mindset and strive for a clear point of view and solution to find a place of harmony.

“Anger, rage and frustration can be most unhealthy to the body, leading to high-blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks, as well as the entire body, physically and emotionally, being affected adversely.  In a study of almost 13,000 subjects, it was found that individuals with the highest level of anger had almost twice the risk of coronary heart disease and three times the risk of heart disease than people in the study with lower levels of anger and anxiety.  Therefore, it is crucial to human health and well-being to find ways of dissipating the feelings of anger and anxiety through healthy ways.  These emotions should never be suppressed, just expressed, alleviated, dealt with or settled in a better way for overall better physical & psychological health, relationships and friendships, other people and interactions”  [©helium]

Therefore, these ways I’ve found to blow off steam, yet simple and sometimes obvious, are rather critical to being a happier, healthier me. Dealing with stress and anger effectively result in having an overall better life and attitude towards life, people and situations

Fitness Freak

With me recently 
leaving my full-time job for something more part-time to give me time to prepare for leaving to work in USA or CT & to look at studies for the year ahead and next, I have had so much time on my hands it’s been fabulous!!

Time for ME! Time to breath, spring-clean, get life in order, spend time with family, spend more time with friends, and spend most of all quality time with my man! I’m finding myself again, discovering, & re-discovering my love for life, my passions, goals, hopes and dreams!

One thing at the top of my list is to get back into gym and on the road again cycling & running, getting lean, fit & the healthiest I've ever been! My recent purchase of the book titled "Skinny Bitch" uncovers all the facts and truths about what food, chemicals, hormones and junk we continuously put into our bodies on a daily basis! From coffee to meat and everything in-between! This is helping me to gain knowledge, direction and to formulate the best healthiest eating plan - that isn’t a "quick fix / diet" but rather a long term food lifestyle choice. For me personally, diet & exercise have a snowball effect on each other. Once I am eating healthily & have a good relationship with food I find I am more obliged and motivated to exercise.. And the more exercise I do or the more fitness goals I want to achieve, the more motivated I become to have a healthy body & good balanced diet!

Being at the gym every day this week so far has been amazing! A few new Addidas gym items & a new watch have got me all giddy and amped to go out & take on my daily exercise regim. I think sometimes we need that. Something just to get us going! Not only do I have a great support system with friends around me gyming & having goals of their own fitness wise, my biggest motivation is entering races! There’s nothing more encouraging than working towards an event.  I have thus far entered for a trial run, mountain bike race, forest marathon and a triathlon and I have only done a run & a cycle once if twice in the past!
So I’m setting my goals high and getting very excited
to tackle all the above.

Spinning classes are my best friend at the moment, the rush, fast pace, endurance, strength and interval training is just too groovy! 3-in-1, how about that :) Running I do on the road, at the gym and best of all on the beach! Swimming is my only less than average strength but I guess we all have to start somewhere, and I have a swimming program to follow too which will get me where I want to be. I’m quite excited to take Justin on a mountain bike track this weekend. Would be awesome to train together so holding thumbs he enjoys it & get ADDICTED!
For now my toning and weight training is going to be kept minimal doing a super circuit once a week and powerplate routine 1-2 times a week. Its only been 4 days and I feel like I can take on the world. Feeling the burn, but loving every second of it !!!

Whatever it is you want to do achieve or have,
grab it with both hands and don’t look back ♥

Keep Calm and ...

So after a stressful and worrying day today I decided to go the classic keep calm route :) These helped me through the day and can hopeful inspire you to keep calm, keep on going & stay positive! 10% of what happens to you in life is uncontrollable and undetermined, 90% is how you react & the outcome there of!! Don’t let people, things, situations or circumstances undermine you, affect your happiness & or ruin your day/week! SMILE, be optimistic and make the most of every moment, no matter what curve balls the world throws at you!

Dress for your shape

Hour glass? Busty? Pear shaped? Boyish figure and dont know what type of dress would best suit and compliment your figure? I have compiled a tip for each to head you in the right direction! So when youre shopping for next best look, remember these :)

 ★ Boyish Shape: Look for dresses with details like pleats and frills to give the appearance of curves.

 ★ Hour Glass Shape: Look for dresses that accentuate your waist.

 ★ Petite: know your body shape (you can be petite and have a boyish shape, petite and have an hour glass shape, etc.) look for no fuss options that come no longer than 2 inches below the knee to avoid looking like you’re playing dress up in your mommy’s closet. Heels are your BFF.

 ★ Pear Shaped: Look for dresses that bring the attention to your smaller upper body while avoiding busy patterns or loud colors that emphasis your bottom half.

★ Top Heavy: Go for dresses that have sleek bodices with open necklines (v-necks, sweetheart, u-necks) and that have some flare at the bottom which will visually balance your bottom half with your buxom top half.

 ★ Flabby Arms: Go for dresses that have flowy fabrics that drape around the arms. Short sleeves are very tricky to pull off with full arms because they often end right where the arm is fullest–instead either go sleeveless, 3/4 sleeve, or long-sleeve.

★ Plus Size: Know your body shape (you can be a plus-sized boyish frame or a plus-sized hour glass, etc.) But stay away from fabrics that are too loose and hang away from the body to avoid adding on visual pounds.

Monday is back.. AGAIN :)

What an eventful and busy week at work last week. My favourite sisters were down from Jeffrey’s Bay and my Tuesday & Wednesday nights were filled with awesome catch up sessions, wedding chats & much more. So exciting!

Thursday night brought a ladies dinner club eve to the cards at the infamous Chingadas Mexican Restaurant. Nothing like even more awesome company, girlie chats, cocktails and a delicous quesidilla, working it off afterward having a good dance.

This past weekend yet working was pretty eventful in itself. I spent a great night in chilling with my man. We got to a wedding on Saturday, owning the reception of course, open bar, cascade, plenty laughs and thee best company :) Congrats again to Taren & Bruno! Not only did we hit the town afterwards with friends, we had a mad jol! Sunday saw a traditional outing lunch after work and an arvo of napping with a cosy 8'o clock movie.

Events whether positive or negative, and conversations alike can change worlds. Besides all the fun this weekend has been, it has been pretty life changing in a sense. If something’s happened to you or something’s shifted in the universe & turned your world the right side up, like it has mine, hold onto it and make the most of it. I can with all my heart say that I might not know HOW I’m going to get to where I want to be, but I definitely know where I’m heading, and that’s the most important thing. I am such a lucky girl to have such an amazing boyfriend in my life to love cherish & be happy with.
 Thank you for this weekend.

tuesday shoesday :)

Edgy★Different★Fun★Hardcore★

A message from my heart

Choose to live by choice, not by chance; to make changes, not excuses; to be motivated, not manipulated; to be useful, not used; to excel, not compete.

Choose to find enough inner strength to determine your own worth, and not dependent on another's judgement of your life, who you are, who you want to be or the things you want to accomplish.

Choose to never expect, to never assume & never demand; to never let failure get to your heart, and success go to your head. Choose to surround yourself with people that will lift you higher and simply trust God ...some days that's all you need to get through the day.

PinUp Love

50 lessons to learn in life & continue to learn.. ღ

• You’re stronger than you think you are.
• Mistakes teach you important lessons. Every time you make one, you’re one step closer to your goal.
• There is nothing to hold you back except you.
• You can press forward long after you can’t. It’s a matter of wanting it bad enough.
• No matter how much progress you make there will always be the people who insist that whatever you’re trying to do is impossible.
• You are limited only by your own imagination. Let it fly.
• Perception is reality.
• Your instincts can be trusted.
• There is only one question to ask yourself: “What would you do if you were not afraid?”
• It’s often hard to tell just how close you are to success.
• The only mistake that can truly hurt you is choosing to do nothing simply because you’re too scared to make a mistake.
• Never let success get to your head, and never let failure get to your heart.
• You have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life.
• Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
• Do what you love, not what you think you’re supposed to do.
• Laughter is the best medicine for stress. Laugh at yourself often.
• If you want to feel rich, just count all the great things you have that money can’t buy.
• Forgiving yourself is far more important than getting others to forgive you.
• If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, you’ll often find that you’re right.
• Be nice to yourself.
• For the most part, it doesn’t matter what people think. Follow your own truth.
• No education is wasted. Drink in as many new experiences as you can.
• Making one person smile can change the world.
• Don’t forget to enjoy your journey!
• You never know how strong you really are until being strong is the only choice you have.
• Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.
• You cannot change what you refuse to confront.
• Crying doesn’t indicate that you’re weak. It doesn’t always solve your problems either.
• No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.
• Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
• You can learn great things from your mistakes when you aren’t busy denying them.
• Give up worrying about what others think of you.
• When you stop chasing the wrong things you give the right things a chance to catch you.
• You have to accept that some things will never be yours, and learn to appreciate the things that are only yours.
• As Henry Ford put it, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.”
• Don’t be afraid to move out of your comfort zone. Some of your best life experiences and opportunities will transpire only after you dare to lose.
• Giving up doesn’t always mean you’re weak, sometimes it means you are strong enough and smart enough to let go.
• You’ll rarely be 100% sure it will work. But you can always be 100% sure doing nothing   won’t work.
• Don’t dwell on the past or worry about the future for too long. Right now is life. Live it.
• No matter how cautiously you choose your words, someone will always twist them around and misinterpret what you say. Just say what you need to say.
• Not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of good luck.
• If you are passionate about something, pursue it, no matter what anyone else thinks. That’s how dreams are achieved.
• If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.
• What lies before us and behind us are tiny matters when compared to what lies within us.
• Don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.
• It’s not about getting a chance, it’s about taking a chance.
• If it were easy everyone would do it.
• Be vulnerable.
• A problem is a chance for you to learn.
• Regardless of the situation, life goes on.

Holiday VIBES

After an extremely long and busy working December I finally got to have a 5 day week off this month to have a break, relax, revitilize and refresh! Justin and i deceded to take a vacation to the Western Cape and visit some of our favourite places Plett, Kynsna & George.

It was short lived but what a fabulous time it was.

I want to plan going back to Knysna soon and schedule more time for a boat trip, hiking and mountain biking in the Kynsna forest. Far Hills Country Hotel remains my favourite luxurious & peaceful gettaway, and Plett sunshine, surf & views are unbeatable, neither is their well know skydiving adventure, which is a def on my bucketlist. Cannot wait :) 

Farhills Country Hotel ♥

Walk around the hotel. Getting settled & view from balcony ♥

Drinks on the deck. Chilling out and taking in the beauty ♥

Kysna Waterfront Shopping & Refreshments ♥

Superb 4 course meal at DryDock on the Waterfront ♥

Baffalo Bay Beach. Tanning, swimming & Ice Creams ♥

Kysna Lagoon View from our bedroom ♥

The view while having our 4 Star Hotel Breakfast ♥