YouTube ain’t got nothing on me! 💁🏾‍♀️

Hello my Lovely peoples!…

Ok ok… so the headline is very bold and confident, but erm…why not!

New Vlogger alert! Heeeeeeey… 👋🏾🚨

Covers face in a little embarrassment.

I’ve had so much fun putting together this very raw footage of myself…

I couldn’t even get it into landscape! Had a palaver with the editing, couldn’t find the right font, how to make the links appear and or how to fizzle in and out some captions and all those fancy pop ups…

Actually I’m just thankful I made it to the end of the video without one of my kids doing some sort of chicken dance in the background half naked!

HOWEVER! If I wanted it to be perfect for my very first video then I may never do it.. and I’d be just sitting in the corner beating myself up about it, so here it is and hopefully there shall be better and more to come.

Comments good or bad highly appreciated!

Also if you know some reputable apps for good video editing I’d be very grateful to know and any handy tips too!

Thank you for watching and if you enjoyed the video please Subscribe! 💋

Mummanopoly hugs!

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I did it and I’m sticking to it!

So… Erm, I’ve recently overcome my Procrastination… (such an ugly word) of starting gym again and I can honestly say, I feel so good and chuffed about this.

In Mummanopoly’s world, this is a huge leap and a good way to use my small pockets of “me” time!

“GYM feels great!”

This is the end of my full Second week in and I feel so fresh and as though a butterfly is emerging out of its cocoon.

I think the picture below is a good representation of how sluggish, restless and lethargic I was feeling in my old state before gym particularly with the recent dull weather spells.

“I felt I needed to add something colourful to my day to day routine and Gym has done just that!”

Dance Class & Pilates 💃🏾🧘🏾‍♀️

I’ve mainly been attending classes (Zumba and soca dance , power pump, abs blast and Pilates) as my aim is not weight loss but simply to add a good helping of oxytocin and build some muscle tone!

Dance classes are the way forward and personally this has boosted my confidence and brought out my playful side too. The classes are so much fun and relaxed, everyone is there first thing in the morning with the same agenda ‘to listen to some feel good music and exercise’.

Following my dance class I usually attend Pilates , which is good for stretching, meditation and relaxing my muscles straight after an intensive dance class. The lights are dimmed very low and the contrast in atmosphere is exceedingly soothing.

The benefits

I’ve also been doing some background research along the way and the benefits of general exercise, pilate and dance is quite interesting.

The benefits I have noticed personally already is amazing and I have listed some below.

1. Reduces stress and anxiety levels

I feel less irritable and knowing that I have nourished my body by exercising feels like an incredible achievement straight after a work out, which sets the day ahead nicely, my mood is lifted 10 fold and I feel I can take on anything, honestly. I feel sexy when I walk out into the fresh air and I walk with such a bounce in my step!

2. BOOSTING self confidence

In a room full of confident bold women of different shapes and sizes there is no room for shyness or embarrassment and it’s just the perfect environment to let your hair down for an hour and really have fun.

3. Good stuff for your brain cells

One reason why exercise is so good for your brain may be because it stimulates the production of a protein called FNDC5, which in turn triggers the production of BDNF (Brain-derived neurotrophic Factor). In your brain BDNF not only preserves existing brain cells, it also activates brain stem cells to convert into new neurons and effectively makes your brain grow larger. Which helps to enhance memory, attention and concentration skills.

4. Better sleep and energy boost

According to studies exercise done in the early morning and afternoon helps to reset the sleep wake cycle by increasing our body temperature slightly, which in turn allows it to drop and trigger sleepiness a few hours later. By having better sleep and deep sleep this will considerably improve your concentration and alertness the following day. Deep sleep helps us to boost immune function, support cardiac health and also eliminates symptoms of depression and anxiety.

5. Slows down that ageing

According to an article by VOA News Exercise reduces cell ageing people who have consistently high levels of physical activity have younger cells as measured through the length of telomeres.

Telomeres are protein end-caps of our chromosomes, which shorten as we age because the school time a cell replicates they shorten a tiny bit. Exercise appears to stave this off.

6. Add a glow to your skin and feel Gorgeous!

Our cells renew everyday, so why not keep our cell banks active and fully charged for this cell making process. Exercising increases our blood flow which helps to keep a smooth transition of oxygen and nutrients throughout our body and a surge into our skin.

Have you heard of that new face mask called ‘Sweat’ it’s a Fab facial!

 

Thanks for reading guys, I hope I have encouraged some of you to keep going, to start gym or to take up a regular fitness activity into your day to day routine … (What was that?… I’m sure I didn’t hear you procrastinate? ) – Mummanopoly 💋

The Love Bounce-back

Happy Vals Day my Lovelies💋

Remember… Expressions of Love is not just for one day.

Show and express Love EVERYDAY as well as good deeds whenever and wherever possible.

Keep making your expressions of Love deposits and fill up that love account.

Love is far more easy to do than hate.

Hate is made up of all things negative and ugly and Love is made up of all things glorious and beautiful.

Don’t keep your heart full of envy, grudge, jealousy and all that jazzzz keep it full of Love and it will radiate all over you and simply make you beautiful inside and out (who doesn’t want that).

Therefore, the quick math is – Hate = Urrgly and Love = Beautiful.

That Love will also bounce back to you abundantly when you most need it and when you least expect it!

-Mummanopoly ❤️

#thatisall

Help!! My little old lady dilemma.

I live in a block of flats and one of my many neighbours is an elderly woman (approximately 83 years in age).

So, One day (3 months ago) I was returning home with my son from his nursery and I could see a familiar elderly lady standing aimlessly outside the flat entrance or maybe the word I’m looking for is confused (she looked very confused), clutching onto a blue rubber bag, the type you get from the fish market when you buy an ounce of prawns, except it looked as though there were a couple of documents in this ‘sacred’ rubber bag.

I recognised her by her hunched back and fairly frail frame. It was a cold blustery day and she looked so alone, I just wanted to hug her! I could see her head scarf blowing erratically against the motion of the violent wind. I briskly walked over to her and asked if everything was OK. She explained in a very well spoken voice; Oh yes dear, I’m looking for Halifax bank, is there one in the area and I said yes there is but it’s a bit of a walk from here. I had made the quick assumption in my mind that it would be practically impossible for her to walk that distance alone. She mentioned that she would usually travel by bus from the bus stop directly opposite the flat and would go to another town centre, this bus would stop about 1 minute walk away from the Halifax Bank. She explained, however, that because of her decline in mobility she could no longer make the journey alone.

I could tell from her demeanour that she is normally a very strong stubborn character that would not give up lightly.

I seriously wanted to help this poor old lady but I had my son clasped onto my calves reminding me of how hungry he was and so I explained to the lady that if she could wait until tomorrow morning I would gladly take her. Initially she said she didn’t want to bother me but after profusely advising her that it was no bother at all I could see the growth in delight within in her eyes. I was so pleased that I could help this elderly neighbour of mine.

The very next morning immediately after my children’s school run, I went to knock for her, she was so happy to see me (she had brought her blue rubber bag with her). She clasped onto my arm with all her might and we gradually made our way out and crossed the road to my car. She then gasped and said “Oh wow you are chaperoning me in your car too woooo what a Lucky lady I am today”. I chuckled and then helped her to put her seatbelt on. I don’t know why, but I felt so emotional putting on her seatbelt thinking wow one day we will all be helpless and back to how we started, as babies who are dependent on the help of others. This made me somewhat sad.

We arrived at the town centre and the walk to the bank would usually be about 5 minutes but we walked gradually at her pace. We had to stop in the EE phone shop because I could see she was becoming very tired. I explained to the staff that we only wanted to sit down for some rest – they all understood. But I could see some puzzled faces looking at us like.. what is an old white lady doing with a young black girl and they look extremely close, well, that’s what it felt like they were thinking… people were taking second, third, forth looks.

She began to talk at length about how lonely it can be and not having friends and family, she never had children and never married, she was really opening up to me and then stopped herself in her tracks to apologise for rattling on. I guess it was only natural, who knows when her last in depth conversation was?

I could see that she had regained strength so I encouraged her to continue our journey to the bank.

In all, the 5 minute walk took us about 25 minutes, but we made it safe and sound.

Once we arrived at the bank, we got more stares. A member of staff made her way to us and asked ‘how would you like us to help today?’ and then my dear old lady announced she would like to take out £3,000!!! I was alarmed, I wasn’t expecting her to withdraw such a large amount of money. Immediately, I remembered her little blue bag and thought to myself, huh, where are you going to put £3,000? in the blue rubber bag?

The staff also look concerned, the cashier immediately asked(of course);- “is this lady (me) your carer? The old lady happily explained this lovely young lady is my neighbour.

They asked her if she had a carer then she said oh no no no, I don’t want a carer.

The staff then pulled a chair closer to the counter and asked her a few more questions such as what will you be doing with the money she then explained bills, food and general living allowance.

The staff then asked where are you going from here ( I felt like such a criminal the way the cashier looked at me after asking) only then did I realise how this might appear to onlookers.

The old lady profusely explained in a stern weak voice that she simply needed her money in a lump sum because she cannot afford to go back and forth from home to the bank and She then went on to explain that she has several bills to pay and for food and this money would be for the next 3 months.

Once the staff had practically been told to get on with it I stood there like a pole for a moment and then sheepishly asked the old lady in a very quiet tone why she doesn’t want a carer or professional help she then said no no I’m quite capable just the walking bit is getting a little difficult she said. She then said I’m so grateful for your help today I haven’t been able to eat for the past 2 days because I had ran out of money, you’re a Godsend she said .

By this point all I had to do was blink and I would have been in floods of my own tears. I couldn’t even respond, I stroked her shoulder and just about broke a smile.

The cashier had now counted all the money and the old lady then brought her plastic bag forward, the cashier paused and said ‘erm, do you have a secured handbag?’ and she said OK give it to her and she held on to my arm as if to say please just put it in your bag. I felt so awkward and it felt like the whole Bank was watching us like ‘Breaking News’ on Channel 4. I opened my bag and the cashier placed 3 plastic wallets of £1,000 into my bag. We both walked out and all I could think of was this little old lady hasn’t eaten for 2 days. We made it back into the supermarket car park and I asked her to stay in the car and wait for me. I gave her her money back and placed it into her blue plastic bag and locked the car behind me. I ran into the supermarket holding tears back and just started grabbing essentials such as milk, bread, butter, sugar, tea, biscuits, and things that I thought little old ladies would love to eat. I purchased the items and ran back into the car and we drove back home. As I dropped her to her flat she thanked me profusely and begged me to come inside I said I’m sorry I have to rush to get my son now, but this is for you and as I was about to hand her the shopping I realised she wouldn’t even be able to manage. She was incredibly thankful. She looked so frail and delicate so I agreed to come in and I unpacked all her shopping and made her a cup of tea and biscuits with a plate of fresh strawberries, she was so delighted.

I then asked her again why she didn’t want a carer and she stopped me in my tracks and said please No! I can manage myself honestly.

So now, this is my dilemma… if there’s anybody still here reading… let me just say thank you! But yes, this is my concern.. this little old lady undoubtably needs a lot of help.

I am concerned about her wellbeing but she will not allow me to seek help on her behalf and she clearly needs help. Simple things like getting into the bath bath she has not done so for years she said 😣😔😐

Even cooking and cleaning is practically impossible for her.

She has no family and friends and relies on strangers to help her.

Should I speak to our local council about help for her against her wishes?

Any advise would be gratefully taken.

Thank you.

Get to the Root

You can prevent the ability of a cavity if you have stability in your mentality and the probability of a cavity would be less of a possibility with more positivity and less negativity. – Mummanopoly 🖤

We must be proactive in the way we think and if we don’t we shall surely sink.

We must be proactive in the friends we make, for our own sake, it is not always fate.

We must be proactive in maintaining our health, if it’s not done by yourself, don’t expect it, because you’ll truly regret it.

We must be proactive and take action each day and then success and greatness will always come our way.

Get to the root of your problem before the root of your problem gets to you. – Mummanopoly 🖤

Daily Prompt – Cavity

The Effect

No Time to Look Fine

With all the hustle and bustle of life, looking half decent everyday and particularly for the school runs in the morning can be right at the bottom of the pile of things to do, like our children’s odd socks that we seem to collect and fold into one big sock ball at the back of their drawers!

BUT, It’s so sad to see beautiful mothers who have stopped trying a little or all together. I am not an advocate for having a full on mask parade for the school runs or for going to work but just looking like our face peeped a mirror before leaving the house at least would be a good thing to maintain.

One stroke of mascara and some barely there Lippy can go a LONG way even as far as to lift our mood and confidence.

Many studies have shown that there is in fact a link between cognitive ability and self esteem.

The Power of a lil’ Lippy

Did you know that lip-stick is a power-stick?

Yep, you heard right!

A simple application can transform a woman’s facial look and add a ton of confidence.

A new research Carried out by researchers from Harvard Medical School, USA, and the University of Chieti, Italy, has even found that not only can it boost your confidence but it can also make you feel… are you ready… Lipstick can make you feel ‘smarter’. This is not a well known fact but apparently it’s the truth girl!

We all know that make up can make us feel more physically attractive and increase how we come across in confidence, personality, attitude and self-esteem.

and I’ve certainly always felt a little bounce in my step after some small application of make up.

Looking good certainly makes us feel good and also generates endorphins for our moods. I for sure know that looking groggy makes me feel groggy 110%.

Notice the difference?

Even if you get a little compliment in the morning from another Mum or from Margaret who sits in your pod at work is enough to give you a little backseat booster for the day! Honestly, it makes a difference.

A little Make up can certainly add some confidence and self esteem.

Don’t be put off by the “and where do you think you’re going” comments, because guess what, that’s not their prerogative. You’re wearing a little lip gloss or mascara for yourself and no one else and there is no need for an explanation! Or you can just say… because there’s so much pollution in the air and this little bit of lippy acts as a barrier to protect my skin. Ha!

And always remember make up doesn’t need to look like you have any on, the subtle notes are always best for the day to day looks.

It’s also amazing to go bare every now and again and to let your facial skin breath.

Look out for my skin care routine and how I keep my skin looking supple and fresh!

💋

H, I,J,K,L,M, NO – Me!

Say NO Confidently and 10 Reminders Why.

NO is just two letters right;- N and then O just joint in matrimony and they live comfortably together in the alphabet without any effort at all, but boooooy is it a meaty word! Or we think it is…

Why do so many of us struggle to say No, just simply No?

I, for sure do. In fact, I often find myself sacrificing what I want to do simply because the mere word ‘No’ struggles to pass my lips, and it just takes a comfortable seat in the back of my mouth whilst I make way to please friends, co-workers, family members even strangers at times to the point where I actually begin to resent them because of my own incapability of going with what I want to do. However, have you noticed that we often say Yes to the things that are more detrimental to us than if we were to say no.

We must remember we are not here to live our lives for others. My life is for me and your life is for you, Right? Therefore, I should be in charge of my yes or no! Ha! If only it were that simple ay!

For me, being a mum has definitely been a fast-track for my friendship with the word No and I have come a long way, but I can’t lie and you should own up too… Haven’t the kids come in handy for the Deputy No moments? whilst we don’t actually say No, Deputy No steps in and we seem to find so many excuses for the reason why;- we can’t fulfil the social gathering which we never really wanted to go to in the first place but we somehow agreed to; to seem as though we would love to come but then we decide to cancel the day before, ‘due to an ‘unforeseen emergency’ (instead of saying No politely) or we can’t have Mary’s daughter sleep over for the weekend because your dog has got a vet appointment, (instead of saying No politely) and your sister wants you to do a favour and pick up the cake 3 miles away from home during rush hour for the party – I’ll leave that for you to caption…. (instead of saying No politely). These requests can be time consuming and may get in the way of something you have already planned or you’re just tired and simply can’t be asked.

“No” is sometimes the hardest word to say, yet It’s also the most necessary at times.

Ive heard myself saying yes to the wrong things and I’m sure you have too.

No has a bad reputation because if you say “No” you can be perceived as negative, rude or not diplomatic.

Here are 10 reminders why we should say No when necessary and confidently

  1. No one knows us better than ourselves.
  2. Because if we keep saying yes it can leave us feeling emotionally, physically and mentally depleted and what good are we at that stage anyway.
  3. Because you don’t want to suffer from a well known condition called the Disease to Please, where it becomes auto pilot to say yes before even considering the impact it may have on ourselves.
  4. Because you need to take some of your power back, be in control and live the life best for you (not them).
  5. Set boundaries and you will be surprised at the respect you receive from others.
  6. It will set you free.
  7. Demonstrates to others the commitment to yourself and what you value, because your needs are also important to you.
  8. Because you have an owed responsibility to yourself. Why sacrifice your happiness?
  9. Because you are mature.
  10. Because we must be productive in our own lives and in order to do this, we need to keep deposits of energy in our own banks.

Dare to begin…

Comment below if you have encountered an experience where the outcome of saying No was not so bad as you had anticipated.

Do you struggle to say No? Or have you struggled in the past to say No sometimes?

Look forward to hearing from you…