Wednesday 29 February 2012

Leap into love

Ladies, today is day that you can 'officially' propose to the man of your dreams!

Lads, this is the day when you wish you'd bought a better pair of running shoes!!!

It's the 29th of February, which can only mean one thing - It's a Leap year!

I hope lots of lovely ladies are popping the question and hearts are fluttering all over the world! 

You may be wondering if I'd joined those lovely ladies and popped the question myself? The answer is no, The Boy and I celebrated our two year anniversary last weekend, there isn't a white dress in sight and we couldn't be happier. 

There's always 2016 or 2020 or 2024 or 2028...

Anyway as I was saying we couldn't be happier, but according to an article I read in the Metro today your happiness can actually change depending on where you live. 


Well we don't live in London or the West Midlands so that's a start, we're apparently less stressed and happier than people who do. The happiest people of all though are those that live in Northern Ireland according to the Office of National Statistics. 

The Boy is actually from Northern Ireland... hmm... maybe we should up sticks and move to his home town? I'd be quite happy to reside on the Emerald ailse.

Or maybe we could stop being conformists, I'll propose tomorrow and move to London next week!

Your thoughts as always are welcome :)

Love

L

x

Tuesday 14 February 2012

In this box of snaps - 6

First of all let me start by saying,

Happy love day everybody!

Inside this box of snaps you will find a little smushy-ness, but hey it's the day of love so whatever! Also included are a couple of pics about reflection and the idea of life and death... sounds deep but it's not really so no need to prepare yourself or anything.

First up is a place I love - 

The view across the lake at the Llyn Gwynant campsite in the heart of Snowdonia. This area of Wales is just so stunning, the way the clouds dance gently on the peaks of the mountains is breathtaking.

Cloudy Waters.

Next up is Pixie one of the family cats. She's just perfect in every way and I love her very much, but her attempt at the 'puppy dog eyes look' still won't give her permission to sleep on my bed no matter how cute she is!
Pixie perfecting the 'puppy dog eyes' look.


A present from someone I love - I received a beautiful rose plant for Valentine's day today (not the typical bunch a red roses I hear you cry) because The Boy knows how much I hate it when flowers die, I get a little upset if I'm being honest. Hopefully I'll be able to keep this plant alive for a very long time. 

It feels lovely to be loved.


A little snippet of a short love story that I've been working on - if you need a handwriting translator feel free to ask and I'll type what it says. 

Love story in the making.


To round off the smushy-ness - Nothing says I love you better than chocolate!

I <3 Chocolate hearts.


This picture was taken in St James' Cemetery in Liverpool. Although I took the picture I can't take full credit for it, The Boy pointed out how 'cool' the roots looked from the tree and I agreed and snapped away.

Remember your roots.


The final picture in this collection is that of a couple of dead Chinese lanterns. The paper textured plant which was once a vibrant red has now died and leaves behind it's fruit.

There is life after death.


As always I hope you've enjoyed looking at my pictures and getting an idea of where and why I take them.

xxx

Find me on Instagram - Inthisboxofsnaps

My Kettlebell Hell!!!

Last week my Sister (gym buddy) and I went to our first Kettlebell class... Oh my lord we did not know what we'd signed ourselves up for!

Kettlebells have a bit of a murky history, it seems that people don't really know where they originate from -perhaps a Scottish curling stone, or a Russian military cannonball (the handle making it easier to load). The most likely explanation is that they originate from Russian farmers who used the weights as a counterbalance.

With movements such as the swing, snatch, clean and jerk, which are supposed to mimic farm labour, it all sounded a little like hard work! I like my gym classes to come with plenty of smiles and a few fits of laughter!

There was no laughter in this class - There were smiles but they were most definitely of the grimace variety.

The class started ok with a basic warm up to the latest dance tune - a little like the start of a Zumba class but without the booty shaking. Whilst we did the warm up the kettle bell assigned to me lay on the floor in front, looking innocent and not evil in the slightest... The instructor guiding us through the steps, smiled encouragingly and flicked her golden pony tail as she clapped her hands, looking innocent and not evil in the slightest... oh how naive I was...

What followed was a series of movements that pushed me to the limit - I swung, snatched, cleaned and jerked like my life depended on it!

The Angel that stepped from side to side with us at the beginning of the class had now swapped bodies and had become some kind of twisted army sergeant!

She barked orders at us over and over again:

'Get lower girls, lower!'

'Squat! I said squat! You won't get anywhere standing there looking pretty!'

'Don't stop!'

'If you don't like it you know where the door is!'

'It's meant to hurt!'

'Don't make me come over there!'

... You get the picture...

I have never been more terrified, I couldn't help thinking - am I totally crazy to be paying for this?

I'll tell you something though her technique albeit scary definitely works, I didn't stop once in the class and I tried my hardest to make sure she had no reason to come over and shout at me!

It was a tough class and I sweated like nobody's business, they're definitely not lying when they say you can burn up to 1,500 calories.

When the class finished and most of the participants looked like they were about to die, the instructor warned us that next week would be harder and if we couldn't handle it then we were not to bother coming back!

Well...

We're going to find out just how much harder it gets because we're booked on to the class this Thursday!!!

It's hard but it's certainly one of the best workouts I've done in a while. This post doesn't seem like I'd recommend it, but I would I definitely definitely would!!!!

Evil, evil, evil!! But good evil :)




With thanks to  www.powercore-fitness.com without your section on kettlebell history I would have been in the dark writing the history-esque section of this post.

Tuesday 7 February 2012

In this box of snaps - 5

What's in this box of snaps this time around?

Well I've gone for a little trip down memory lane this time, taking a few old pics and sprucing them up with Instagram.

It's a bit of a mish mash (some of the pics aren't oldies) but I hope you like it!



This first picture is a new one taken down at the Pier Head in Liverpool. In the picture you can see two of the famous three graces, the Cunard building and the Port of Liverpool building, also you can just make out the new Museum of Liverpool and Liverpool's Big Wheel.
Liverpool by night, it's even pretty in black and white.

 
A beautiful baby lamb happy to pose for the camera - 
taken on a camping trip to sunny Wales last year.
Not long before we see these little babies again.



One of the best signs I've ever seen! Certainly beats the old faithful 'Mind your head' -
taken at Caernarfon Castle.
Oww!!!




The famous graffiti artist Banksy leaves his mark in Liverpool - It was a like a wild goose chase (in the rain) to find this pic, but it was well worth it!
Is it a bird? Is it a plane?.. No it's a Banksy!



A beautiful summer sunset at Crosby beach - This picture makes me feel relaxed and warm instantly.
Heading straight towards the sun.



Almost a year ago me and The Boy went on a wonderful city break to Amsterdam. It was amazing! - This picture was taken just outside of our hotel by the central train station.
There are nine million bicycles in Amsterdam, that's a fact.


This final picture was taken in Ireland (near Donegal) two years ago now.
It was my first trip to the Emerald Isle to visit the home of The Boy, it did not disappoint.

Look at Ireland being all beautiful. No editing needed!


I hope you've enjoyed a look in my box of snaps, why not share some of your photographic memories with me?

Love

L

xxx