Week 11

With lockdown slowly lifting and now we are able to see close family, it has made a massive difference to us as a family.

Obviously we still have to social distance but just to spend time with faces we haven’t seen for nearly 3 months is an amazing feeling.

The weather is absolutely glorious and you couldn’t wish for better.

This week has been all about adventures and making memories with the boys.

We have been at the beach and the lake most days and it has been just fantastic to soak up the beauty that we live in.

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It’s true what they say ‘the best things in life are free’. The boys are so happy just exploring outside and for us to be together as a family is so precious, a strange time that we won’t get back.

My eldest boy is returning to school in a couple of week. It’s been a tough decision as most parents will know but it’s the right one for us.

So I’m holding on to these days where we are all together just having fun with lots of love and laughter.

Have you made some memories this week? I would love to know your favourite thing to do when the weather’s like this

Week 10

What a gorgeous sunny week it has been. It makes such a massive difference

The kids play outside for hours and are just happy to be at home.

As lockdown is lifting slightly I do have a little bit of sadness in me (I never thought I’d say that).

But just to think, we are never going to get this stillness of time back with family who we have been with. This is going to be something the kids will remember forever.

The summer where the world stopped and we had to stay at home. We will remember all the love & laughter that we’ve shared not to mention the tears and tantrums (both adults and kids).

This is never going to happen again so I’m clinging on to every day now.

I have loved stripping life back and seeing how we all cope with just the basics.

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There is more love, happiness & understanding than I ever thought possible in our house.

I would love to hear how you are getting on and your thoughts coming out of lockdown?

When the weather is hot, hot, hot I always reach for light dishes for dinner that I can stick a side salad with. This is one of my favourite’s and can be had for lunch or dinner

Let me know if you give it ago

Ingredients

(Serves 2)

2 Chicken Breasts

Half a tube of Tomato Paste

1/2 red pepper (diced)

1/2 green Pepper (diced)

1/2 onion (diced)

50g Goats Cheese

Garlic granules

Italian herbs

Pepper

Method

Butterfly the chicken breast and flatten out

Thinly cover with tomato paste

Sprinkle a good pinch of garlic granules and Italian herbs over the chicken

Next add the peppers and onions (you can add whatever topping you like)

Place on a baking tray in a pre heated oven for 15-20mins

Remove and add some sliced goats cheese on top of the chicken

Place back into the over for a furture 5 mins

Serve with sweet potato fries/chips and a big side salad

Enjoy x

Week 9

Well, not alot has gone down this week if I’m totally honest.

Does anyone feel like all this is just becoming a little bit normal now?

We have enjoyed a few days out walking down by the coast (I love these days).

Days consist of me working in the mornings, then doing a little school work with Matthew, out for a walk after lunch and letting the boys run off some stream then I’m back to work late afternoon.

We’ve just got into this little routine and it works. Everyone’s happy and we just take it day by day.

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I do worry what it will be like when things go back to normal. When life gets busy again, will we all miss this time we’ve had?

I did have a lovely social distancing catch up with my mum and dad during the week.

As things ease off and little glimmers of hope keep appearing, it feels good to know that maybe one day we can slowly start to socialise a tiny weeny bit

I miss cuddles

How are you feeling coming out of lockdown? I would love to hear from you

Week 8

So with the announcement on Sunday night I found everyone slightly deflated, frustrated and worried including myself.

I’m not going to go into my thoughts and opinions on everything because it’s each to their own but, I decided to take myself off social media for a little while as I felt I was drowning in the noise of others and I knew it wasn’t a good feeling to have.

So after a wonderful wine club to lift the spirits up with my ‘Live with Laura ladies’ I wanted to focus on the positives and digest some of the things we are now aloud to do.

Ive really missed taking the boys out to the beach and breathing in the sea air. Every day this week we have been to the coast. It really is such a beautiful place that we live in but i’ve always been a seaside kind of girl as opposed to mountain type (must be the Blackpool blood in me).

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It has helped so much with clearing my mind, enjoying watching the boys run free in the wide open spaces and just being grateful of the small things in life.

I feel like I have wrapped myself up in a little bubble this week (something I do a lot and know I shouldn’t). I just needed some space, these days things quickly get very clostrophobic so some down time has helped me.

I do have an over whelming sense of sadness that my husband goes back to work next week (it helps so much when he’s around). So we are enjoying every day as much as we can until it’s back to me and the boys.

I have been getting alot of questions over the past couple of days about my virtual classes and the Live with Laura group.

I have put together some frequently asked questions and hopefully answered them all here for you.

If you have anymore questions you would like answered, please drop me an email or a message and I will be happy to answer them.

What classes do you run in the Live with Laura group?
Piloxing
Kettlercise
Burlexercise
Dance with Laura
Bodyweight HIIT
Kettlebell HIIT
Stretch It Off
Strength & Conditioning
BootyCamp
Band Burn

What else does the group entail?
As well as all the weekly classes, the Live with Laura group is a fantastic community of ladies that support one another throughout lockdown. We share tips and ideas for life in lockdown. We share the good and the bad days. We also have weekly challenges, live ‘cuppa and catch ups’ and have a laugh on a Sunday night with our weekly ‘wine club’.

Do I have to do the sessions at the times that they are aired?
Not at all, all classes stay on the page so you can do them at a time that suits you

I haven’t done any exercise during lockdown but really want to start. Are the classes suitable for beginners?
The beauty of the group is that I have a range of classes suitable for everyone. Some are easier than others but the group is fantastic as you can move into different sessions as your fitness grows. I always explain the different exercises and give different intensity levels for them.

Am I tied into the group once I sign up?
Not at all. For a 4 week access it is a one of payment of £20. If after the 4 weeks you decide you don’t want to continue with me, that’s absolutely fine.

Do I need equipment?
Some of my classes I do use basic weights like a kettlebell and dumbbells but these aren’t for all the sessions in the group. Alot of the ladies just grab a couple of cans of beans and they are good to go. There are plenty of other weekly classes where no equipment is needed

How do I sign up?
Just drop me an email or a DM on facebook and I will get you signed up and into the group ready to go.

We very rarely had takeaways out of lockdown in the house but I have really enjoyed being in the kitchen more and creating my favourite dishes.

Let me know what you think of this fakeaway dish if you try it out.

Ingredients

1 large pack of frying steak

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 egg, beaten

100g flour

1 green pepper & 1 red pepper, sliced

1 carrot thinly sliced

Spring onions to garnish

Chilli sauce

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 red chilli, chopped

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons tomato puree

100 millilitres water

Rice, to serve

Preparation

1. Coat the strips of steak in the egg wash and flour, salt and pepper

2. Shallow fry for a few minutes on each side, until golden brown

3. Add the peppers & carrots and fry for another couple of minutes.

4. Remove the beef, peppers & carrots and set aside

5. In the same pan, add the garlic, red chilli, chilli sauce, soy sauce, tomato puree and water

6. Stir and simmer until the mixture reduces and is thick and syrupy

7. Add back in the beef, peppers & carrots and stir well into the sauce

8. Serve with rice

9. Garnish with spring onions

10. Enjoy!

Week 7

Brace yourselves…

So when I last left you I was looking forward to some family time at home with the boys and my husband but on Saturday night Gary got called into work and by Sunday morning he had been sent home with a very high fever and flu like symptoms.

As you could expect it was a very worrying time and I can’t explain how helpless, scared and frustrated I felt.

Obviously he had to isolate in the bedroom and I couldn’t go in to check if he was ok or comfort him. I had to leave food, water and paracetamol outside the door and my youngest son was so upset that he couldn’t see daddy which ripped me apart.

After 48 hours his fever had dropped and he could finally get out of bed and go get tested for Covid19

It took 2 long days to get the results. He still had to isolate as we didn’t know what the result would be so it was a case of trying to carry on without him.

Thursday morning the test results came in and they were NEGATIVE

We have never been so relieved and we are truly so lucky.

This week has really brought home how serious this all is and how we need to keep as safe as possible because without our health, what have we got?

Treasure everything you’ve got, every single day.

My family and friends have been my rock throughout all this but I would like to personally thank all my Live With Laura ladies. What an amazing bunch of ladies these are.

They literally picked me up when I needed it and made sure me and the boys were ok every single day. I am truly blessed to have these women in my life.

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We got to celebrate VE day as a family of 4 and it was just perfect. We finally got some family time celebrating a very special landmark day.

One things for sure, we will never forget it.