Month: November 2015

Taking on Bullying in Schools with Sticks ‘n Stones

Taking on Bullying in Schools with Sticks ‘n Stones

Last month saw our Jetstar Flying Start panel convene again to (somehow!) choose between this quarter’s 160 amazing applicants.  I LOVE being part of this team – hearing about the incredible community initiatives happening all over New Zealand is nothing short of inspiring, plus, we 

The Running Gear that Gets Me Moving

The Running Gear that Gets Me Moving

The Skecher’s Women’s 6k is now only 4 days away!  I’ve upped my training over the past few weeks with Coach (hubby lol) and I’m feeling pretty good about it – excited even!  I rarely get to run such a straight, flat course so I can’t 

My Top 5 Tips for ‘Getting Your Groove Back’

My Top 5 Tips for ‘Getting Your Groove Back’

Top Mummy Blog new Zealand Top Fitness BlogThe Sunday after the Rugby World Cup final my body hit a wall.  Two weekends with late nights + 4am starts had left me struggling come Monday and starting the week off feeling sub-par is SO not a habit I’m keen on continuing. Many things have contributed to the general feeling of ‘blah’ that has taken hold of my body lately;

  • Late nights writing/not writing, watching Netflix, leaving bedtime routines until 11.30 (!!)
  • A pervasive and circular habit of ‘business’ (it’s totally on-trend to hate that word right now isn’t it? But I’m stumped for how to avoid it)
  • A constant state of dehydration
  • Too much alcohol – fluid, but not the RIGHT kind lol
  • STRESS – and not managing it
  • All of the above contributing to poor food choices. 

Five days ago I said enough was enough and began putting some ‘Melissa Systems’ in place to change the way my body feels.  This is not about losing weight or getting ‘bikini ready’ (yawn), this was simply an exercise in wanting to wake up each morning feeling freaking awesome.  Who doesn’t want that?

How I’m Getting My Groove Back

1.  Start the day as you mean to continue

Not enough hours in the day?  Get out of bed an hour earlier and devote some quiet time to that which is lacking.  It could be exercise, writing, meditating, reading……..Whatever you do in this time try and maintain focus.  Put your phone away and make the most of this ‘extra’ hour you’re carving out, just for you!

2.  Implement a ‘Healthful’ new routine

You may have seen the image above on Instagram last week, but what a way to kick off your morning!  500ml of water with the juice of half a lemon, a kick-ass smoothie, a black coffee and a wicked Women’s Multi from Healtheries to make sure I stay charged throughout the day.  After taking daily multi’s religiously pre-kids, I’d honestly forgotten to include them in my daily self-care routine over the past few years.  5 days in and I’m feeling so much better for it.  Healtheries One-A-Day Multis contain high potency B Vitamins and Siberian Gingseng to support energy and vitality, NZ Marine Collagen to help maintain healthy looking skin and key immune supporting antioxidants such as Vitamin C, D3 and E, Betacarotene, Selenium, Iron and Zinc to support healthy immunity.  Heck yes!

3.  Kick those bad habits to the curb

Take a good, hard look at what could be holding you back from feeling 100%.  For me it was alcohol.  Daily indulging in a glass or two of wine was becoming far too habitual and wrecking havoc with my body.  I’ve decided Sun-Thurs will now be alcohol-free days, with moderation and good judgement in charge of Friday and Saturday lol!

4.  Proactively deal with Stress

My stress levels rise when I feel a lack of control.  I feel lacking in control when I have too much work/blogging to do.  I need to learn to say no and to block out portions of my day to dedicate to work, rather than phaffing about and writing a bit here and there.

5.  Realign your priorities and your purpose

Constantly riding the rollercoaster of ‘busy’ can result in your priorities getting totally out of whack.  My family comes first, blogging/work comes second.  Realigning those two allows me to focus on the purpose and motivation behind why I write, and my work improves as a result.  Don’t slack on this one!  Getting lost in your head or heading down the rabbit hole of social media is a massive distraction but all it does is negatively turn your focus outward, onto others.  Bring it all back to you and yours and expend your energy close to home xx

I’m super fortunate that Dave is my biggest champion and cheerleader and is always on board with trying to make positive changes in our life.  He’s my running coach and motivator but also a driving force in our family’s nutritional choices.  He has also been reaping the benefits of adding a Multi to his morning routine this week – the Healtheries Men’s Multi One-A-Day is specifically formulated for male nutritional needs and requirements. Containing high potency B vitamins and ginseng to support stamina and performance plus essential antioxidant minerals such as selenium and zinc and tribulus to support immunity and sexual health. 

Top Mummy Blog new Zealand Top Raw recipe Join me by tweaking a few key parts of your day to make for better seasons ahead, I’d love to hear some of your tips – leave me a comment below!  Find out more information at www.healtheries.co.nz 

Some Days There’s Shit on the Carpet before 8am

Some Days There’s Shit on the Carpet before 8am

6.38pm.  I’ve just had a coffee.  And to be honest, I’d kinda like another one. This morning, in the throes of the school/kindy departure I discovered the wet patch was back.  This pesky spot on the floor that we just can’t find the source of. 

Book Review  | The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton

Book Review | The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton

I hadn’t read a quality, eerie thriller in a while and was surprised to find one on my hands with Lupton’s third novel. Set in Alaska, The Quality of Silence unfolds in a manner perfectly matched to the landscape in which it is set.  A 

A better way to TV

A better way to TV

Around eight years ago when we moved our little family from San Diego to Auckland we ‘splashed out’ and purchased our first flat screen TV.  A massive (!) 32″ Sony Bravia that we paid way too much for by today’s standards.  It was and still is a really great TV – perfect for our second lounge which runs the daily gauntlet of life with Ethan and Nixon.  

Bucking the consumer trend of unnecessary obsolescence, we have held on to our seemingly prehistoric TV despite its lack of built in digital access.  After the digital switchover in 2012/2013 we purchased a Freeview box so we could continue to use the old girl to enjoy regular programming.  It was an inexpensive and easy option as we weren’t and still are not interested in a Sky subscription.

Fast forward to 2015 and Freeview’s had a wee makeover! Top Mummy Blog new Zealand FreeviewPlus is the newest service on offer, bringing On Demand to your TV and as the tagline states, it’s definitely ‘a better way to TV’.  It comes built in to the latest TV’s on the market from all of the major players such as LG, Panasonic, Sony and Samsung.  For those of us with slightly ‘older’ models a new aerialbox is available with loads of new features.

There are so many ways to use FreeviewPlus, I feel like I’m only scraping the surface at the moment – pretty sure this free service is going to become a fast favourite in the Jack house.

With two super active kids, my husband travelling a lot, a wonderful Nana who is an integral part of our household splitting her time between Auckland and sunny Northland and me trying to squeeze in blogging at all hours of the day and night ::yawn::, keeping up with the TV schedule is not too much of a priority.  This is going to become more and more apparent as we head into summer and we all want to maximise our outdoor time rather than sit on the couch.  As such, any service offering our family a flexible, smart way to keep up with our favourite shows adds a lot of value to what time we do allocate to relaxing with some TV.

I’ve had a great play with this service and have identified my 3 FreeviewPlus Favourite Features;

Enhanced FreeviewPlus TV Guide  Despite our rather fast and loose model to watching TV, here are shows that we are quite ‘invested‘ in lol.  Shorty, Peppa Pig, Robson Green, The Block, Masterchef, The Voice……..but we certainly don’t plan our lives around our TV schedule!   The new enhanced FreeviewPlus TV Guide eliminates the possibility of a day without Peppa by letting me roll back up to 8 days to mitigate any toddler-withdrawal-tantrum situations.  I like.

Top Mummy Blog new Zealand
This is the TV Guide: using the side arrows on the remote you can move back and forth over the programming of the past 8 days, skipping ahead or going back 24 hours using the coloured button shortcuts (bottom right of the screen).

Favourites Menu

This is an easy way to navigate, record shows (just plug a USB storage device into the aerial box), set reminders or watch on demand episodes.  Just add shows you love to your personal favourites menu for easy access.Top Mummy Blog new Zealand

Easy Browsing

Not sure what to watch?  Check out the featured shows or browse by TV, Movies or On Demand Content.  Within each category you can view all offerings within a particular genre.  I selected TV > Kids and could immediately view all kids content currently available to view – TV is now super easy to filter! Top Mummy Blog new Zealand Top Mummy Blog new Zealand

FreeviewPlus is available to purchase from leading electronics retailers nationwide (e.g. The Warehouse, Noel Leeming, JB Hifi, Harvey Norman, Dick Smiths, Smiths City etc.) To browse the 2015 range go to www.freeviewplus.co.nz.

To be in to win a FreeviewPlus AerialBox of your own, just complete the steps required using the Rafflecopter Widget below.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cook, Eat | Zoodle Bowl with Creamy Kale

Cook, Eat | Zoodle Bowl with Creamy Kale

A couple of weeks ago I attended the launch of the totally SUPER new GO Superfood range from Go Healthy.  We were challenged to try some new recipes to get us thinking a little out of the box about how we can use superfoods in ways other than 

Grown Ups Go Free | Our Top 5 School Holiday Activities

Grown Ups Go Free | Our Top 5 School Holiday Activities

  I LOVE making lists and planning activities for the school holidays.  Even better when I begin early!   Now that we are a family of four, I’m really feeling the pinch when I see those expensive, special occasion attractions creep onto the kids Holiday