(Say hello to) My little exercise friends...

See this? Yeah, it's a cross trainer. MY cross trainer!

Sooo, I bought a cross trainer (off TM) in the weekend. A touch extreme, yes, but I feel that extreme measures are called for sometimes. My scales and my mood/general wellbeing are telling me that shits gettin' real - something needs to be done!

I have been getting out walking 2-3 times a week, but not nearly as often as I'd like. There always seems to be a boy-child home sick, dinner to be made, rain pelting down, walking clothes in the wash etc. Always an excuse to be had! See that cross trainer? I can use it in my undies, on a pouring wet day, with both boys watching from the couch, if I have to. Not many excuses I can make for that one!

Inspired by Pip, Abraham and I are doing the 'C25K' programme on it. Figured it would be good to have a programme to stick to, for motivation. Abraham is kindly playing along, for moral support. He's a good man.

I'm on Week 1, Day 2 of the programme and I can tell you, I'm so pleased I've been walking - if I went, literally, from the couch to this.. I think I would have died. Phew! Sweaty much! Knackered much? But I LOVE it.

I have also purchased a journal from the clever Emma at Emmamakes, to keep track of what I'm eating. I'm not cutting out whole food groups etc, but I'm trying to make portions smaller, avoid eating so much sugar (especially baking!) and up my fruit and veg. Simple but, hopefully, effective.

My final purchase, the most expensive, is a new pair of trainers.

I've had my last pair around 4 years, and my toes poke through at the end and sides - not such a good look. They're a pricey thing to replace though! And it's a hassle to spend time at the store having your feet assessed and shoes fitted properly.
(So thankful to be able to do this without kids. Love you, Abraham!)
I was lucky enough to have Mum go halvsies with me on these, so I could afford to get the comfiest ones I tried. Way more enthused about exercise when my feet are cosy!

So yes, it really is ON!

What about you guys? What's your exercise routine?

Resolutions.

Rhiannon's New Year Resolutions:

1. To listen to more music.This one is a non-selfish one.
I want my children to remember their childhoods filled with music, like I remember mine. I want certain songs to represent certain events for them, like they do for me.
Abraham always has music playing when he is home, but I find it hard to have more than one type of noise at a time (i.e children yelling and Adele crooning..) Also just remembering to change the record/start the playlist etc. So this is going to take some effort on my part.

2. To take more pride in my appearance.I do alright. I never leave the house in trackies and  I rarely go without a shower, but I could definitely put in a little extra effort.
Rather than promise myself I'll lose weight, because that never works, I want to work what I have to maximum potential. This means actually reapplying my nail polish when it is all flaking off, getting my haircut more than three times a year and doing something more effective about my increasing population of stray hairs. Hmmph.

3. 'Quality over quantity'.
This is a bit of a blanket resolution. It applies to everything in my life: possessions mainly, but also food, social activity, op shopping etc.
I want to declutter, and also replace some of our household things with nicer, better quality versions. I want to reduce my thrifting to things I truly need or love, and reduce the energy I spend on relationships/social activities that don't bring me joy and satisfaction.


Happy New Year, lovelies!
I'm really excited for 2013. I have a feeling it's going to be excellent.