Do you believe in Karma?

Hello! Its very hot here, so I've got some iced tea (summer fruit flavor by Lipton) and my feet up.

We actually have a pool too so I'll probably go for a dip when the heat isn't so harsh. I'm paranoid about excessive sun exposure, gotta love being in Australia!

Today started off a bit slower than normal. I stayed in bed until 9 am because I had a very crappy sleep last night. I don't think my body is ready for this sudden onset of hot weather we have been having. I've made the most of it so far though ;)

This cider is amazing. It tastes like apple juice but its alcoholic. So refreshing.

I had my much needed ginormous mug of coffee and then I did a couple of workouts. I did the summer slim down videos on the blogilates channel: part 1 and part 2, HIITilates my thighs are dying and the 100 burpee burnout. I know. I'm insane. Its crazy how much my fitness has progressed since when I first did the burpee burnout video a couple of months ago. I thought I was going to die my heart was racing so much and my clothes were SOAKED in sweat. Today it got me out of breath but I felt strong and, you know, not like I had to plan my funeral. 

So in my last post I mentioned that I left my job. I have the belief that if you are unhappy in any aspect of your life you should do something about it. I wasn't happy in my previous job at all. It was stressful, it was tiring and I never got to see my boyfriend at all, which made me very sad. I also missed my friends and family which made me feel very "down" for a couple of months. I wouldn't say I was depressed but I didn't feel like my usual happy self. My boyfriend also commented that my moods seemed less cheerful. I tried to hold out with my job, thinking that it would get easier and better to deal with over time but it didn't. It only got worse and more unbearable. All of a sudden, on a Friday night after a particularity hard shift I thought to myself "what are you doing?". I resigned the next day and my feelings were mixed. I felt extremely relieved, as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders (such a cliche), but I also felt nervous. I wondered whether I would get a job soon or if I would be stuck unemployed for weeks or months.

This is where the concept of Karma comes in. Karma is defined by the following: 

kar·ma

  [kahr-muh]  Show IPA

noun

1.

Hinduism, Buddhism. action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either inthis life or in a reincarnation: in Hinduism one of the means of reaching Brahman. Compare bhakti ( def 1 ) , jnana.

2.

Theosophy. the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in oneincarnation according to that person's deeds in the previous incarnation.

3.

fate; destiny. Synonyms: predestination, predetermination, lot, kismet.

4.

the good or bad emanations felt to be generated by someone or something: Lets get out of here. Thisplace has bad karma.

Source: dictionary.com

In a nutshell, what you send out in the world will be sent back to you. If you are good, and kind and positive towards yourself and others, you will generally have a better life outlook and experience than someone who is not as nice!

When I quit my job, I was very nervous and scared. But I was also very optimistic about my future. I had a couple of days where I could relax and not worry about what was going to happen to me. I wasn't stressed. I could spend some quality time with my boyfriend and if I was ready, start updating my resume so I could hand it out to prospective employers.

Going into this situation with such a positive outlook has definitely helped in staying focused but also, to my great surprise, it helped my likelihood of finding a new job. As soon as I told people that I resigned I had a flood of help and job offers from people that were looking out for my well-being. My friends and family (and boyfriend) were very supportive of my decision and I feel like that I can do anything because there are people who 'have my back' when the going gets tough (so many cliches in this post!). That is truly the greatest feeling in the world!

The take home message from this post is if your'e unhappy do something about it. This is easier said than done but I speak from personal experience. Nothing was going to change for me in my life if I didn't take control and do something about it. Right away. I regret the time I spent at a place that gave me no enjoyment and made me very unhappy.

The second message is to think positive. I know that this is cheesier than those motivational images that you see floating around instagram and pinterest. I am naturally a slightly pessimistic person- sometimes I make mountains out of molehills. Thinking positive helped me stay calm in a situation where I know that my thoughts would get the better of me if I let them. Stay strong, keep smiling and know that there is always someone out there that will take care of you. 

These little faces also help me in staying positive:

Tomorrow is my birthday (happy birthday to me!), and I'll be heading to my home town to celebrate with my family and friends. I probably won't be posting in this time but I will be instagramming @tahlia_renee

I hope anyone reading has a fun weekend! 

My typical day

Hello again!
Thanks for visiting, I hope you stay a while :)

So, the thing I love about my favorite bloggers is that they're a little personal. I like knowing little things about other people from their likes and dislikes to what they get up to on the weekends. I'm kind of a nosy person and have a habit of asking people a tonne of questions when I meet them. I can't help it!

So I thought I'd do a post on what I do on an average (read:boring) day. Not all days are exactly the same but it gives you an idea on how I spend my time.

Its important to note that up until the Saturday just gone, I had a casual job that had me working nights and weekends. I was a bartender and while it gave me the freedom to have the days to do what I wanted, I felt like I needed to move on onto different things. You'll find out why soon!

My day begins by being woken up at 6.30 am while my boyfriend noisily gets ready and leaves for his job. Yes, I still used to wake up at this time even when I worked up until 2 in the morning. Most of those days used to require an afternoon nap.

I then let my two dogs out for their business.

Gypsy is a six year old American Stafford-shire terrier. We got her as a 'gift' from my mother 'in law'. She was continuously eating their veggie garden. Poor Gypsy has some anxiety issues as she came from a family that we suspected used to beat her and abuse her (not my mother in law! her previous owner before that. Poor dog has had a few owners). Thankfully she has found her forever home with us and although she is a handful, excitable and sometimes naughty, she is the sweetest dog ever who loves kisses and cuddles.

Our latest dog is an almost one year old fox terrier x called Gemma. I got her for free from someone who was advertising that they were either going to get rid of her or put her down. Initially, I was just going to foster her until I could find her a home but she kinda hung around. Forever. She is a very independent and strong willed dog with the occasional uncontrollable urge to dig and has left a few craters in my garden. She also likes to nibble feet but I can't imagine life without her now. 

The dogs are let outside to say hello to the dog next door, aka, bark at it through the fence.Then I make myself a coffee and check my emails, Facebook, instagram, twitter...as you can tell I'm a social media addict. (My instagram is @tahlia_renne if anyone was interested in taking a look)

Next I do errands. E.g pay bills, clean the house, organised any appointments such as getting our cars serviced or visiting the physio or dentist (we recently got a very extensive health insurance plan and are trying to make the most of it). My boyfriend also has an inability to organize his own haircuts or doctor visits so that task also falls to me. Its not that he doesn't want to, his memory is like a sieve and by the time he remembers its 5pm and all the offices are shut. Still love him ;)

Next is workout time! I typically don't eat breakfast. I have never been one to be hungry in the morning (I blame a sluggish overnight metabolism!) So I typically just have a large glass of juice and my vitamins. I'm taking one for hair and nails, a multi vitamin and an extra vitamin C- I really do not want to catch a cold this year. I don't advocate that everyone not eat breakfast and I recommend to at least put something in your stomach to get your metabolism going in the morning.

My workout depends on what I'm feeling, what I've done the day before or how sore my muscles are! Sometimes its dedicated entirely to pilates. Sometimes I do a couple of HIIT-ilates videos from the Blogilates You Tube channel like this or this. HIIT-ilates are particularly effective workouts as it combines high intensity interval training and pilates, so you get a good calorie burn plus body weight toning in one workout. They usually leave me covered in sweat. Sometimes I'll just do one short HIIT video like this. Or sometimes I spend a whole hour just stretching. I listen to my body and try not to push it too much. And sometimes, I just don't feel like working out. That's OK as life is too short to beat yourself up about missing a workout. 
On most days I spend 45 minutes to one hour on a workout, including warm up, warm down and stretching at the start and finish. Sundays is my rest day.

At lunch time I make myself a big old salad. So sorry, so healthy, so boring. My boyfriend comes home for lunch too and I get to hang out with him while we eat. We're lucky that we live in a small town where its only a 5 minute drive to and from work for him. When I was working nights this time in the middle of the day was the only time i'd get to see him so I appreciated those moments. 

Next is dog walkie time! My babies love the beach more than anything and again, I'm lucky that its only a five minute walk down the road. I'm a bit spoiled for location here!

 Gypsy goes for the smells and disgusting things she can roll in and Gemma goes for the swimming. This usually results in bath-time for the girls after their walk which they don't really enjoy...

(This picture was from the dog wash which they don't go to every day. Mostly its a hose out in the yard)

At this point I should mention that the reason I live in a rural coastal town is I moved here to be with my boyfriend, who has lived here his whole life. I got tired of driving 2+ hours to see him and while I love living here with him it does get lonely without my friends and family. I try to keep in contact via Facebook, texts and calls, but nothing can compare to meeting up with someone for a coffee or a cheeky glass of wine. Fortunately the contract that my boyfriend has with his work runs out at the start of next year so a move is in the cards for the future!

When I was working I used to start at 5, so I would kill a couple of hours before work with some 'me time'. Sometimes I read a book. Or played 'tug-o-war' with the dogs and more often than I'd like to admit I'd have an afternoon nap. Sooooo Sleeeeeepyyyyy.....

While I was at work I'd snack on fresh fruit or mixed nuts. I'm not healthy all the time, sometimes I used to bring chocolate and jelly snakes. Now I'm not working I'll make dinner for myself and my boyfriend. Usually some sort of protein with carbs and veggies. Or my apparently 'famous' spaghetti bolognese (boyfriend loves it). If we're feeling slack we'll order a pizza or go out for something to eat. And dinner is usually accompanied by apple cider- a drink that we both adore. OK. I adore. The boyfriend occasionally helps me out by having some so I don't feel like an alcoholic.  

We'll watch TV for a couple of hours before bed. I like to stretch out my back on the fit ball to iron out any lingering tightness. We finally go to bed a bit late (12 am) but while we're both young and childless for the time being I think its OK. Sometimes we get so caught up in our conversation or get hooked on a TV show that we loose track of the time. 

Some of my exercise equipment.

So that's my 'day in the life' post. Its fairly boring, and sometimes I feel like I could be so much more OMGBUSY. Or learn something new like an instrument or a language. But right now I'm enjoying my time off and looking forward to my birthday which is in 2 days. I can't wait to see my friends and family- its going to be a good long weekend for me!

Welcome

Hello!

Welcome to my blog, puppies and pilates, thank you for stopping by!
As the name suggests, my blog refers to my love of both puppies and pilates. Sorry for anyone who was looking for a doggie pilates class. 
A little about me: I am a twenty-something female currently living in a rural coastal town of South Australia. I live with my two puppies and my boyfriend. More about them later ;)


                                                                                          

                        (Yes we are dressed as majestic unicorns...just go with it...)


I first 'stumbled' onto pilates by accident. Originally I was a complete cardio addict- running, skipping and cycling were my only forms of exercise. I hated any sort of weight training because it didn't motivate or challenge me, and I would get bored after one set of exercises. 
Last year I noticed there was a considerable amount of pain in my right hip and lower back. I have scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine, yet I unwisely ignored the pain and continued with my intense cardio workouts. It was not until I was being kept awake at night by the pain that I went to a physio therapist who told me that the level of cardio exercise I was doing was putting too much strain on my joints. I needed to take rest days and I needed to stretch and incorporate strength training into my routine. I was doing neither of these things.

I left that appointment feeling a little conflicted. I loved cardio for the 'high' that it gave you after your workout, and I didn't think that yoga or weights was going to give me the same feeling. For a few months I dropped back to only walking my dogs and as much as I love walking my fur babies, it still felt like I wasn't doing enough. I wanted that high back. And I'm not going to lie, I really missed being toned and muscly, especially in my legs. 

So I tried a bunch of things. I tried kickboxing. I tried zumba. I even gave yoga another chance, giving several varieties of classes a trial, but I couldn't make the workouts a habit as I got very unmotivated during the classes. 

One day I was searching for workouts on You Tube and I came across a video by popular pilates instructor Cassey Ho, founder of Blogilates.

(Source)

It was her total body workout for beginners video. I had heard of pilates before, but I always assumed it was like yoga with a lot of stretching and breathing. I didn't think that it would be challenging enough but I thought "What the hell". I gave it a go and became instantly hooked. I had no idea that an exercise could challenge my body and make it shake and sweat so much with simple, dance like movements. I currently still do Cassey's videos because they challenge me in a way no other workout has before. I love the variety, I love the way you can pick one based on what body part you would like to workout, their intensity or the amount of time you have to spare-some videos are 10 minutes long and they give you a great workout. I finally got that 'high' I was searching for.

What I also noticed was my body changing. All of a sudden I had abs! 

     Thin but flabby to... 

                                              
                                                      Aw yea ab sandwich!)
       

I have always been slim but I have never developed any noticeable muscle definition apart from in my legs. I was very happy to see my abs, arms and glutes transform. My jeans fit so well now that I have some junk in my trunk!             
And my chronic hip and back pain that I mentioned above? Gone. Completely. Because of pilates my posture and strength has improved. I am able to carry myself around without putting strain on my joints. 

So these days my workouts consist of pilates and walking my dogs, Occasionally I will throw in a high intensity interval training workout (HIIT) like this or this to raise my heart rate. But most of my fitness comes from Pilates workouts.

Thanks so much for reading my story, and I hope you continue to read as I post about my daily workouts, my eats and everything in between.


-Tahlia xo

P.S:  I hope you like pictures of the cutest dogs in the world because you're going to see A LOT of them!