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Posts tagged Aqua
The Olympic Legacy: Keeping Fit
2
5 years
It has been a few weeks now since the London Olympics finished, and the incredible event that is the Paralympics is slowly coming to a close. For me, the last month and a half has been the most important time of sport I have ever experienced, as it has truly made an impression on me, and inspired and encouraged me to become more active and take part in more sport.
Up until a few years ago I was rarely interested in sport. With Athletics as the exception, I dreaded and loathed doing PE at school. I didn’t support any teams, and watching a game of sport was my idea of hell. Over the last few years, thanks to my partner, I have started to enjoy watching some sports, namely rugby (my city is home to the Leicester Tigers, one of the best rugby teams in the UK) and the UFC, but even through my sport-hating childhood I always had a soft spot for the Olympics. I remember spending hour after hour watching various events, but once the games were over they soon disappeared from my consciousness and I carried on as normal. This year was different, however.
With the 2012 Olympics being held in London I really felt the buzz of the lead up to the games. I went to see the Olympic and Paralympic Torches being carried through Leicester (which I blogged about here), and once the Olympics began the country felt so positive and a nice place to be. Team GB performed amazingly well and I was glued to the screen every day, shouting my support and feeling so proud. I felt part of something big and I didn’t want it to end. And it didn’t! When the Paralympic games began last week I couldn’t wait to see how well our Paralympians would do, and so far they have been outstanding! Every single British Olympian and Paralympian has inspired me with their performance, and it is because of them that I am writing this post, because without that inspiration I wouldn’t have been encouraged to be more active and to keep fit!
I recently posted about reaching my weight loss target, which involved healthy eating and some good old-fashioned exercise, but I wanted to do something more than just walk everywhere. I learnt to enjoy exercise more on my journey to change my lifestyle, but since reaching my target I felt I was lacking a goal. As a result, and thanks to the Olympics, I started to look for activties where I could set myself goals to visibly and physically improve and hopefully become good at something, and here’s what I’m starting with…
1. Swimming
A new swimming pool recently opened at the university I used to attend. I taught myself to swim in the sea when I was 4 or 5, and have always preferred swimming in the sea to pools. I thought I’d give the new pool a try though, and as it happens it is lovely. It’s clean and modern and doesn’t smell too strongly of chlorine, and its a pleasure to swim in. I’ve been a few times now since it opened and I have already seen my swimming improve. I have cut a few seconds off of the time it takes me to swim a length, and I have noticed that my body is starting to tone up.
2. Aqua Aerobics
I will be going to my first ever Aqua Aerobics class on Friday afternoon with my mum. I’ve been wanting to try a water fitness class for a while, so I decided to take the plunge (excuse the pun) and book a place. The class is 45 minutes long and will involve a lot of splashing about to music, I imagine. I’m hoping it will be a lot of fun!
3. Jogging
I haven’t actually started jogging properly yet, but I now have all the kit to do so (I didn’t even own a pair of jogging bottoms up until a month or two ago), and I have every intention of going jogging at least once a week. If I don’t, force me to. It must happen!
4. To Be Continued…
That’s right! I don’t know what I want to try next, but I am going to look for another sport or fitness class to try out, so watch this space.
This is what I’ve done so far to keep the Olympic spirit alive. I’m determined to make the legacy of these wonderful games last and carry on keeping fit, trying new sports and being active, and I hope you will join me on my mission to do so! In fact, I plan on updating my blog with my fitness ventures every couple of months, so if you see me slacking give me a nudge.
Has the Olympics inspired you to try any new sports, or to keep fit?
Naomi x
NOTD: Avon Nailwear Pro+ Nail Enamel in ‘Cosmic Blue’
10
6 years
by Naomi in Nails
Hello everyone,
As some of you may recall, last month I entered my Very Hungry Caterpillar Nail Art into Avon’s ‘Perfectly Polished’ nail art competition. Though I didn’t win the main prize, I was lucky enough to be chosen from hundreds of entries to win a bottle of Avon’s new Nailwear Pro+ Nail Enamel! I won because the judges chose my design as one of the best 50 entered, which I’m very happy about 
Avon’s Nailwear Pro+ range features a wide range of stunning shades and boasts an improved formula to the old Nailwear Pro range. I have quite a few Nailwear Pro varnishes which I quite like, so I was looking forward to seeing whether the Pro+ really is better. The shade I was sent as my prize is ‘Cosmic Blue’.
In the bottle, ‘Cosmic Blue’ looks quite similar to the old Nailwear shade ‘Blue Shock’, just slightly darker. ‘Blue Shock’ was VERY watery in consistency and it took about four coats to achieve an opaque look with it, so I was a bit worried this would be the same, however, it isn’t! When I first applied ‘Cosmic Blue’ I did think it was quite thin, but it only took two coats for it to be completely opaque. So obviously the formula has been improved! I guess the thin consistency doesn’t matter too much as it stops it going gloopy and it spreads easily. At first I kept wiping too much off the brush just in case it dripped, meaning it wasn’t holding enough paint to cover one nail, but that was soon fixed as my confidence in the product grew
As you can see, the ‘Cosmic Blue’ colour is VERY striking! I absolutely adore it. Inside the house it looks like a luscious royal blue, which is lovely in itself, but once you get outside it just explodes with aquatic depth and shimmer – I just can’t take my eyes off it. In fact, I think it’s now my favourite blue nail varnish out of all the blues that I own, and I own a few.
The nail enamel dries fairly quickly too. I’ll admit, it’s not the fastest (the first time I applied it I smudged it as I started getting changed before it had fully dried), but it dries a LOT quicker than most nail varnishes I’ve tried, especially once your top coat is applied. From what I can tell it lasts a while too. So far it hasn’t chipped at all, which is also testament to the improved formula as the old Nailwear Pro would chip early on. Give it a few days though and I’ll let you know what it looks like then haha.
Basically, it is really obvious to me after trying this that Avon have indeed improved their nail enamel formula, and the colours have far more depth to them now than they used to. Bravo, Avon!
Will you be trying the new Nailwear Pro+?
Naomi xx
