The Movie Review ~ The Theory of Everything

Rating: 5/5

This movie completely blew my socks off. It was brilliant! Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones deserve the Oscar hands down. 

It was the most beautifully made film, and so well acted. 

The script was brilliant and the story was one I did not know 

- a real love story. I never realised what a story Stephen Hawking had to tell. It was truly heartbreaking. 

But I have to say this film was literally all about the acting. Redmayne and Jones just hold you completely captive. 

There is no denying the power of this film and if you have not seen it you must go, but take tissues! 

Meet The Duchess

Meet my new baby. 

THE DUCHESS

Today I took her to her first official ride from Woodstock to Charlbury. With TidyBoys help I mastered the multiple gears and even gave him a run for his money on speeding home! 

She is as light as a feather which will be making the commute a whole lot easier!

I have kitted her out replacing the red 'bits' like the seat clamp with HopeTech purple ones. 

I also bought a igadgitz for the front of my bike so I can monitor my speed etc... and cover up another red bit!

I am looking for a purple water bottle holder and bottle so if anyone knows where to grab one let me know!

The only sad thing is my coffee cup holder won't fit the handlebars!

The Big Shake Up!

How I Feel at the Moment!

Madly loving this commercial

How I feel after the last few weeks in the gym & commuter cycling!

App-icted!

January has been a month of serious exercising! TheTidyBoy however sees the exercising but chooses to mostly comment on my addiction to the 'accessories'. I bought a new bike (post coming soon), I bought a new gym kit (thank you Auntie D), I hired a personal trainer and kitted my phone out as my fitness buddy! Never before have I become so obsessed with apps! 

My first app is Strava this tracks my walking, running and cycling. Recording your workout from the get-go it provides you with statistics, records personal bests of a repeated route and tracks your exact mileage and speed. 

Through Strava I came across MyFitnessPal. I wouldn't have started using this app if it hadn't been for my personal trainer who told me to start tracking what I ate and being aware of calories - especially as I do have a problem with sugar consumption! This app allows you to enter in your food for the day and see where your calories add up. It also has a pedometer which takes off the calories you burn throughout the day by working. When synced with Strava it also takes off your workout calories too. It is a real eye opener. 

I heard about WaterMinder through a blog. After trying (and failing TEGChallenge for water drinking) and simply trying to drink a lot of water throughout the day (and failing) I thought I would give this app a try. I am so glad I did. My drinking is becoming a lot better. At first it really shocked me how bad my water consumption was. Now when the buzzer goes to remind me to drink I do! It is great!

Breeze is a fun app pedometer. Everyday it sets you a goal to complete, adjusted based on the day before. I never really thought about walking and how many steps and how many calories are burnt from walking now I push to walk to hit those goals! 

Sleep Cycle is an app I bought a while ago to help me get up, but actually paying attention to my sleep and how much time I get in bed is interesting. Also the waking up is a really great tool as it monitors when you are near waking and wakes you up then. It makes getting up a lot easier. 

Finally I found yesterday Strong. This app allows you to write down your gym workouts and monitor when you are working out. It is great for me to monitor my four days a week! I love marking a dot on my workout book so now logging it on my phone makes me feel even better!

Give these a go! They are great fun and are really helping me meet my New Years Resolution! 

The Big Shake Up!

A Wall of Wannabe! ~Inspired in 2015~

Be Like: Audrey Hepburn

Body Like: JLaw & Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting

Inspire Like: Emma Watson, The Everygirls & JK Rowling

Style Like: Blair Eadie, Reese Witherspoon, Olivia Palermo, Blake Lively

The Movie Review ~ The Woman in Black 2

Rating: 4/5

For some reason I have been obsessed with “The Woman in Black” since Daniel Radcliffe brought the horror to screen. I have read the book and shown the movie to countless people. I even wrote my first year essay on it. So when the second movie was announced I could not wait to go. 

Tidyboy and I went together (we share this passion) and we were not disappointed. Although the experience of watching the movie was not good as the theatre was filled with kids the movie itself was great. Not as spooky and not as many jumpy bits, but the storyline was brilliant. What was really clever was they took pieces from the book that were not in the first film and edited them a bit to fit the second film keeping it well within the spirit of the original. 

The WW2 evacuee theme was brilliant and having the all doubting character, (who quite literally comes face to face with the woman) was an added brilliance. The thing that was lacking was the village itself which was completely absent except for a weird man. So why were evacuees sent there, and why was there an airbase there too? So a few things were a bit off. However, the horror of the woman in black, especially the creepy from the ceiling bits were brilliant! 

Another bonus was the ending which could have been completely predictable ended up being cleverly different! Awesome... the passion for the woman is still there! 

(Cannot wait to see the theatre production next week... for our anniversary!)

Fit and Fabulous!

2015 is a time for change, a time to become the person I want to be. 

"If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is Wake Up!"

After The Big Reveal Makeover last Autumn I am happy with myself and my fashion. The next step is my body. I do not have the shape or the fitness level that I want. Therefore, the start of this new year is The Big Shake Up! 

It began from the get go of New Year with Maggie and myself hitting the commuting route! 

Today it was all about the GYM! 

My new personal trainer Mark put me through my paces today and this is the plan. 

Warm Up:

• 1 KM on the Cross Trainer

Circuit A 3 Reps

• Lower Back Deadlifts with a 7 kg weight (13)
• Lunges with 2 kg weights (16)
• Seated Row 13 kg (15)

1 Minute, level 10 Bike

Circuit B 3 Reps

• Burpees (12)
• Chest Press with 4 kg weight (15)
• Upright Row 8 kg (15)

1 Minute, level 10 Bike

Circuit C 3 Reps

• Squat Jumps (15)
• Tricep Flatback Pulldown  8.7 kg (15)

1 Minute, level 10 Bike

Circuit D 3 Reps

• Russian Twist with a medicine ball (16)
• Ball Crunches with a stability ball (20)

1 Minute, level 10 Bike

Circuit E 3 Reps

• Ankle Taps (15)
• Straight leg crunches (20)

1 Minute, level 10 Bike

The Big Shake Up!

The Key to being Yourself is...

If there is one thing I can accredit to keeping myself myself since the makeover is maintenance. Keeping myself primped and proper whether it be a little plucking, a bit of home hair dye and of course a new coat of paint on the nails. 

I have noticed that when I feel down or a bit fed up theres something a miss. It could be chipped nails or overgrown brows. With a quick lick of paint and the mood has changed. It affects everything, typing at the computer at work and noticing the gorgeous new colour of your nails. Straightening your hair before work and noticing your new colour shine through. 

It doesn’t take much to maintain yourself. A box of dye every six weeks for £6.99. Giving a night to paint your nails. £12.00 every six weeks for an eyebrow wax. The hair trim every eight weeks (that is the expensive bit).  It makes you feel that much better and keeps you (or it did with me) feeling yourself. 

The key to being yourself is to keep yourself! 
Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance!