#Blogmas My Happiness Project – Thursday 1st December

** New Blog post each day during December #BLOGMAS at 6pm **

You may recall earlier this week I shared that I wanted to focus on creating my happy self and drive personal focus to see just what fun and joy I could create out of this specific focus on a number of areas in my life.  And today is the day it starts – Thursday 1st December 2016.  You can feel the excitement already!  And with it being the annual Blogging community “Blogmas” during December in the lead up to Christmas, what better motivation to use it as an excuse to try and blog each day about my musings along the way.

My main focus areas this month will be all to do with my Health & well-being and these are:

1. Eat better
2. Exercise better and consistently
3. Sleep more
4. Stress less

Right off the bat with eating today prompted me to go out and get as many good vegetables as I could and make a huge pot of homemade soup for us (including the weaning baby) to enjoy.  Nothing is more comforting and nothing is more comforting and joyful than that.  I have such fond memories of homemade soup in my life – my Mum’s and Gran’s homemade soup are both unique and none of my attempts to make them similar come anywhere close.  Homemade soup seems to take on the character and soul of whoever is making it – and what is winter without that warm nutritious feeling with every spoonful.  I am truly glad I took the time to make it today, and need to remember to make it more!

I also took a trip to the local butcher and went out my comfort zone to try some Ox Tail pieces for dinner today – so they are sitting in the slow cooker right now for us all to see if we enjoy them for dinner.  I adore my slow cooker, and often find my best meals for us all as a family with a toddler and weaning baby are the ones that use the slow cooker.  It must be the #hygge that is brought into the dish just by taking its time to cook.  I don’t know – but whatever it is usually means it is a tasty and wholesome meal for us.

Exercise wise, I have invested in myself in quite a dramatic way in the past 3 weeks and returned back to a personal trainer.  However, this is a personal trainer with a difference as it is Arete Personal Training and Arete Academy.   This isn’t just going to their gym once a week – this is where I learn exercise knowledge and food knowledge to a far deeper level than just being a casual by-stander at my local gym and going along to Body Pump.  I’m definitely in my less confident stage of post-pregnancy, but within the past few weeks of putting their knowledge to the test, I have noticed small changes with every week in my tone and figure.  It is a sacrifice for me to take time out from maternity leave and raising my boys for a dedicated hour each week then at least one follow up session on my own at my gym – but it is worth it.  I can’t wait to see what the rest of December will bring exercise and fitness wise and what I will be saying at the end of it.

Today I got to the gym for my own session based on what I have been taught – and I found it wonderful and relaxing strangely enough to have those 30 mins to myself to focus on achieving a positive health goal.  I really hope I get to do it again before the end of the week, to feel like I really have achieved good outcomes this first week in the month.

Sleep last night was a much needed delight from the past week as both of boys slept from 7pm to roughly 6.30am (I know I have the miracle 4 month old baby who sleeps through the night!).  We have had a household filled with colds and coughs the past week, so from going from sleeping on the baby’s floor for most of the night to make sure he is breathing ok to a night of uniterrupted sleep was bliss.  Total bliss!  Recently in November my husband and I have been making a decision to go to bed generally before 8.30pm and asleep between 9.30-10pm as he has to leave our home by 6.15am usually for his daily commute, and I have really noticed how much we both enjoy the early nights together and the positive effect it has had on our lives during the day.  Raising babies is tough and mentally tough at that – so when we all sleep well and a good solid sleep – it makes life much easier.

Here’s to the start of an exciting December ahead!

#blogmas #mblogger #vlogger