Fun with a Slendertone belt

So for Christmas one of the things I received was a Slendertone belt (my choice by the way), you know one of those magic belts that vibrate all the fat away from your stomach and give you a 6 pack without any work or effort - I know this isn't the case, I'm just using it as a supplement to my current diet and exercise routine.

In the past week I've discovered a plethora of things you can do whilst 'exercising' with the added freedom of a Slendertone belt.

1. Watch TV.
2. Check email/Facebook etc.
3. Read.
4. Lie down in bed (haven't quite managed to fall asleep with it on yet).
5. Drink (OK this might be exclusive to the Christmas period)
6. Eat
7. Go to the toilet (although the vibration from the belt makes this a little trickier than usual!).
8. Play computer games (Played and still managed to beat the family at Buzz whilst wearing the belt.).
9. Watch DVDs (watched one of my Doctor Who DVDs this morn with my belt on).
10. Actually exercise (haven't quite managed to do this one yet).

Whilst I'm on about Slendertone, their website sucks. Have written 2 diary entries so far (one on or around Christmas Day when I first started using it and one today), neither have saved despite me pressing the submit button (my weight has somehow managed to save though). Think I'll report any progress on here, be easier!

Tattoo

As mentioned in one of my posts earlier I finally got a tattoo.

Here's a pic taken shortly after it was done:

Not easy taking a pic of your shoulder!

It says 'Nolite te bastardes carborundorum' which is a quote from 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood and is Pig-Latin for 'Don't let the bastards grind you down'. The quote's stuck with me ever since I read it at college when I was 19 (I think) so the best part of 10 years. Thought it was pretty apt and serves as a reminder to myself not to let other people get to me.

I knew after my major depressive period 2 years ago that I wanted this done and when I was home alone in May I finally got the courage to stroll inside a tattoo parlour and book myself in. Didn't cost too much and I even got to use the font I'd found online. Yay.

Mega Hike Pictures

Just starting out (5.30-ish)

Rained non stop for about 5 hours!

A reservoir

Lookout point, about 12 miles in.

Rain

More rain!

Another reservoir (there were 100s of them!)

Rain, rain, rain. Supposed to be summer. Oh wait I forgot I live in England!!!

Hebden Bridge

That valley was a bastard.

Hebden Bridge was stunning, bit hilly but stunning.

At this point my Blackberry completely died. Useless piece of crap!

Catching some water about 30 miles in.

Check out the damage the walk did to my feet! This was the day after (I went on to lose a further 5 toe nails including the 2 big ones - only the small ones hurt and they all took about 4 months to grow back so not as bad as it seems.

The toenail that came off during the hike.

Swollen to buggery.

I know, eugh!! Next time I'm bringing more socks and shoes with me. Gotta look after your feet. learnt the hard way.

2011 Highlights

Just a quick run through of this year's highs (not going to bother with lows, does no good to dwell on them):

• Meeting Sue. This girl is such a big part of my life and it sucks why we can't be together but hey I still have the pleasure of having her in my life.
• Mega Hike. 50 miles in 24 hours trekking across the Pennines hills. Managed 46 miles and had to drop out at the last checkpoint. At this point my feet were swollen and I was totally demoralised as it was dark (my head lamp was pathetic to say the least!), the group had gotten a little lost a few times, all my group bar me had dropped out miles and miles ago it was just me and a bunch of strangers left. Really annoyed at myself for giving up just before the end but also proud I managed so far. I know I can definitely do it if given another chance. This year I'm packing 10 pairs of socks (changing them at every checkpoint/water stop) and at least 3 pairs of shoes (1 being a pair of sandals to air my feet). Realised the key is to look after your feet. My fitness wasn't a problem but my swollen feet from the sweat was a major problem! Oh and because I've not been blogging you guys don't know that I lost 6 toenails because of the hike! Lost one on the actual day and the other 5 in the subsequent weeks.
• Going into the recording studio for the 2nd time (hmm not going into the last recording the other month) to do this. Was such an uplifting experience. Still love the guitar solo which I wrote in just a few takes. Inspirational stuff. :)
• Gourmet Burger Kitchen. This year was definitely the year of GBK for me. I discovered that they have opened a restaurant at the Trafford Centre and have been at least 3 times now (as well as a trip to one in Birmingham too). First had a GBK burger about 5 years ago at 'Party in the Park' in Manchester and still maintain to this day that it was the greatest burger I've ever had. Visiting GBK at the Trafford Centre confirmed this (they even have a wider selection on menu too. Squeeeeeee!!). Love, love, love GBK. Cannot recommend them enough to anyone.
• Deathly Hallows pt 2. The one and only time I swallowed my inhibitions and went to the cinema on my own. I've missed so many good films because I had no one to go with and didn't want to go on my own. Not this time!! I was due to see the film a week later with my best friend Chris (we did, it was awesome again and we even had a GBK with plenty of beer to wash it down with too!) but couldn't wait. Turns out he couldn't either as he saw it later the same night! Anyhoo it was absolutely brilliant (except for the Neville scenes which they ruined! Grrrrr!!!) though I think I just about prefer DH pt1.
• Speaking of losing inhibitions. I finally manned up and got a tattoo.
• Oh and I had a photo shoot done too! My mate Chris (a different Chris to the one above) at work is an amateur photographer and after chatting to him one night via Facebok I decided to go through with it. Now I've got some pretty decent photos and they even helped attract Sue (she still has copies of them saved to her laptop). Yay. :D
• 19. Need I say more? :P

Annual Update

Wow, totally neglected this blog. I mean the New Year's post is still showing on the home page, that should be pages and pages back, hidden in the archives gathering metaphorical dust. Guess it just goes to show how much things like a job distract you, was so much easier to blog when I was unemployed!

Anyhoo, I'm still alive (Just! Some pretty negative thoughts have crept in lately but I'm still here), still working (meh), still making music (still just me!), still fat (did lose a stone since October but then Christmas happened!) and still single (though I did find love in 2011 and it's still kinda up in the air at the mo - officially though it's over).

Guess I should do the annual New Year goals:

• Lose weight (This is a given! I have found out that 20 min of weights everyday is far more beneficial than 45 high intensity cardio 5 times a week for losing weight (weird that but my recent weight loss is proof of it.).
• Join/start a band. 
• Pass my music exams (hopefully with distinctions). Oh I haven't mentioned I've been having lessons have I? Well it all started around May/June. I wanted to improve my vocals. I know I have a voice but my breathing was absolute pants! Anyway after a few months of this and the aforementioned relationship I came to the conclusion (with some heavy hinting!) that I could teach singing and guitar as a profession hence my decision to do my grade exams (I'm also doing grade 5 theory and once that's out of the way will move onto grade 8 guitar and poss take on another instrument). Anyway back to the goals....
• Save money. I need a holiday and the only way to do this is to save. I do have £150 stashed away in a savings account so far but as it doesn't automatically come out of my bank account and what with Christmas and all I haven't added to it these past 2 months.

So there it is. Not bad for an I'm ok, still alive post. No wonder I setup this blog, def couldn't fit all that into one tweet!