5 steps to help improve your overall wellbeing

We often dream of living a more fulfilling and positive lifestyle, but the pressures and responsibilities of daily life often mean balancing work, parenting and wellbeing is really hard. Many will relate to this problem. We also find there are fewer opportunities to treat ourselves as many indulgences, even small ones like going to the movies or grabbing a drink with friends, seems like a waste of money that could rather be spent on something 'useful'. However, in this internal struggle, we can forget that our happiness and mental health are paramount. It is necessary to set aside time to look after your needs and you don't need to put a dent in your wallet to do that. There are small and easy steps you can take to improve your overall lifestyle that will help you feel happier and more fulfilled every single day.  Here are some ideas  Embrace the outdoors Humans were not built to spend 24 hours a day indoors, moving their attention from one screen to another. We need to spe......

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5 action packed things to do in Dubai for Adventure seekers

While many people know Dubai as being the business capital of the United Arab Emirates and world-renowned for its luxurious hotels and shopping malls, well it's also a bit of a hub for those adventure seekers out there and in this blog post I'm going to show you the best activities that's on offer for those adrenalin junkies from sky diving to surfing to trying to most exotic foodie dishes, you can do it all in Dubai along with plenty of sunshine to boot.  1. Sky Dive over the Iconic Palm This is one for the extreme adrenaline junkies out there and there are many places you can brave a skydive but taking the plunge over the breath-taking Palm Jumeirah Island. You also don't need any experience to go skydiving in The Palm dropzone as you can fly tandem with an experienced instructor. This is something you won't forget in a long time that is for sure.  2. Go Skateboarding at a world-class skatepark XDubai Skatepark really takes park design to another level, this 3.100......

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7 Actions sports you can try at any age

*This post contains affiliate links  Learning new skills, gaining new hobbies and trying something different that takes you out of your comfort zone, can be really fun and fulfilling and it's certainly not just for kids. As adults, we sometimes forget that we too are curious and deserve some fun and you never know you might fall in love with a new sport and past time. I am passionate about making the most of my days and wanted to share a few adventure activities I have been enjoying the past few years and encourage others to also give them a go, of course in the post-lock down world we live in you need to do your research before you do anything to make sure your equipment is safe if you're having lessons that they are socially distanced. 1. Stand Up Paddleboarding I've done a fair bit of Stand Up Paddleboarding over the years and the first time I ever did a taster day the guide said he taught people of all ages from 5yrs to 85yrs and that it was one of most fast-......

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Ideas for enjoying an Active Easter weekend

Easter doesn’t have to be all chocolate, bunny rabbits and egg hunts. It’s a spot in our diaries that lends itself to free time to explore the outdoors, both near or far and getting away from it all, but so often sees people falling into the same routines. If you don’t fancy a bank holiday that’s over before you’ve so much as shifted off the sofa, here’s how you can make the most of Easter this year. Make use of the time Most of us will have two bank holidays to enjoy, with a four-day weekend opening up many options. Sure, you’ll want to chill out at some point across the weekend, but with so much time on your hands, get the diary out and start making plans and they don't have to cost much at all. We have already put together a small bucket list of things we want to do and experience over this year such as hiking different mountains and hills in the Brecon Beacons, cycle paths we want to explore, villages we walk to wander through and long weekends are the perf......

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5 Positive ways to be happy in 2019

Well what a year, full of ups and downs and everything thrown in-between. 2018 saw a real movement to normalising things like Mental Health issues and getting more people sharing and talking about their own experiences, also the huge shift to Body positivity , owning your body and feeling less guilting about being a bit more selfish and making time for self care. Woman in general have also taken somewhat of a centre stage in standing up for our rights and using more platforms to have a voice and be heard. Diversity has also been key, what makes one person happy doesn't apply to others and that needs to be respected, health and fitness means different things to different people but doing what feels good is key and that is something that should follow through into 2019. With the world seeming more manic it's important to not get overwhelmed and to be easier on ourselves and not be too many things at once, which in turn can cause stress and a sense of failure. Here are a few ......

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A Day in London with Nickelodeon and Ninja Turtles

Over the weekend we were invited to the Rise of the Ninja Mutant Turtles Nickelodeon event in London at Bay Sixty Six skatepark, a skatepark I used to visit when I was much younger and was really looking forward to taking the boys along for an action packed day of skateboarding, pizza and checking out the new TV series, we even watched one of the Ninja Turtles films the night before to get into the mood.   As usual the kids were fantastic on the train journey from Cardiff to London, it's become somewhat of a regular journey for us and as we pack tablets away during term time we do allow them to play some apps when we are travelling so it's something they look forward too. My eldest who has recently got into skateboarding and scootering was especially excited to visit BaySixty6 as well as see the new series of the Ninja Turtles. As soon as we arrived at Baysixy6 the boys where handed some Ninja masks and my youngest wore it pretty much the whole ......

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17 Family Friendly things to do in Cardiff when it rains

If you are a regular reader you probably already know we love being outdoors but living in Wales does mean dealing with rain on a fairly regular basis and therefore we always have some sort of back up plan for those days when it's really coming down heavy. Luckily for both those visiting and living near the city there is plenty to do from education museum visits to hitting a wave pool or a round of putt putt we pretty much have it all in the Welsh Capital and I thought I would share a few of our favourites. 1.   National Museum Our National Museum by many standards is not the biggest but it's housed in a beautiful building and offers something for all ages from modern art and touring gallery exhibitions to the permanent and popular dinosaur and wildlife display. It's easy to spend a couple of hours in this museum out of rain, there are also two different places to grab a bite to eat and on weekends The Core room is open giving the opportunity to get up close and pe......

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January through Instagram

As it's coming to the end of January (how did that fly by so fast?) I thought it would be nice to just share a little round up of what we have been up to through the eyes of my instagram . The weather has been so up and down but we have made the most of the dry days as well as enjoying some quality family time and good food...what have you been up to? 1. We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon in the park with friends and came across a beautiful wall with a dragon on it in Caerphilly 2. Both the boy and I are going to attempt to learn the Ukulele this year. 3. Finding those moments of calm with a cup of coffee, notepad and an inspiring magazine 4. Exploring Cosmeston country park 5. A little brunch date with this guy in Whitchurch 6. Nothing beats a good cup of coffee, this is a flat white but my new favourite is a Cortado 7. Some homemade gluten-free finger waffles and chopped apple. 8. Poached eggs with spinach and Hollandaise sauce is a great way to start the day 9. Even ......

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Lets go skateboarding

I was always into alternative sports when I was growing up spending lots of weekends at the beach, surfing for hours on end and when the surf was flat then you could find me cruising around on a skateboard in the summer sun. A few years ago I damaged my knee, had surgery, recovered and shortly after had my eldest son which has not left me that much time to get back on the board although with Mr A now showing an interest in learning it's really exciting to get back on a board and encourage him to do the same.  So when Plain Lazy got in touch asking if we would like a go at one of their super cool and colourful retro boards we literally couldn't wait for it to arrive. Penny boards as they are more commonly known are great for learning the basics and with large wheels and Abec 7 bearings for a smoother and faster ride they are great fun speeding along a promenade. You can also choose your colour combination of wheels and deck, we went for yellow and blue. ......

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Travel Tuesday - trendy Barcelona

In 2007 me and a bunch of friends travelled to Barcelona for a week, we rented an apartment (a very small apartment) and our main purpose was to have fun, celebrate New Years and skateboard. I use to do a lot of skateboarding a few years back, in fact I won the UK Girls Skate Jam in 07 but due to having a bad knee injury and two subsequent knee surgeries I don't do nearly as much as I did. This trip also happens to be the last time I flew - thats not to say I have not travelled since becuase I have in fact I have travelled to many countries and have done many long and overnight train/bus and car trips all across europe but I have to admit I am terrified of flying, even though I have been lucky enough to fly around 30 times in my life, I have a major fear of flying which has got worst with age, but I hope to face my fear sometime soon. Sagrada Familia taken on my old film camera I loved this trip, we used the underground system daily, we walked all across the c......

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