by Mollie Millington | Sep 27, 2020 | exercise, quickie
Remember to go for QUALITY over quantity. If you are unclear what the exercise is I am describing, please look for a video or arrange for an in-person tutorial with me. Please consult your doctor before engaging on any fitness regime.
Don’t forget to breathe! Please email me if you want tips on how to make the quickies easier or more challenging (mollie@ptmollie.com).
Warm up- Walk up and down stairs for 3 minutes
1 min– Wall sit
1 min– Plank
1 min– Jumping jacks/star jumps
1 min– Hold arms out in a lateral raise (so body is ‘T’ shaped). Hold for 1 min. If easy, hold a can of soup or weight in each hand.
1 min– Wall sit
1 min– Plank
1 min– Jumping jacks/star jumps
1 min– Left leg one legged squat
1 min– Right leg one legged squat
1 min– Wall sit
1 min– Plank
1 min– Jumping jacks/star jumps
1 min– Mountain climbers
by Mollie Millington | Sep 20, 2020 | exercise, quickie
Remember to go for QUALITY over quantity. If you are unclear what the exercise is I am describing, please look for a video or arrange for an in-person tutorial with me. Please consult your doctor before engaging on any fitness regime.
Don’t forget to breathe! Please email me if you want tips on how to make the quickies easier or more challenging (mollie@ptmollie.com).
Warm up– Walk/run for 2 min, skip rope for 2 min
1 min– Squats on bench/chair (to help you bring your squat low, touch bum to seat without transferring weight)
1 min– In a doorway, push hands out to sides against door frame and hold
1 min– Walking lunges
1 min– Jumping jacks/star jumps
1 min– Calf raises
30 sec– Left side plank
30 sec– Right side plank
1 min– Bicycle crunch
1 min– Swimmies- lay on stomach with arms outstretched. Move all limbs in a flutter pattern slightly off ground to engages lower back.
1 min– Push/press up on knees or toes
by Mollie Millington | Sep 18, 2020 | family, product review
On the home page of my website is my mission statement that I want to teach clients to balance work, life, fitness, food and fun. This is something I work on too so I thought I would share a bit of my regular life in today’s post rather than the fitness side.
At the end of August, I shared in an Instagram post I would be going alcohol free in September and October to help my marathon training and to hopefully reduce excess calories. In order to make it achievable (hurray for SMART goals), I gave myself two times when I could drink within that timespan. The first was my 10th wedding anniversary in September and the other was my husband’s 40th birthday in October. Being British, drinking is a big part of his culture (not to say it isn’t in America, but I do think we tend to favour eating over drinking in most celebrations). I would always choose dessert over a drink anyways so I didn’t think the challenge would be too hard. Although I am discovering the late summer weather is making it quite tough to stick to my word!
James and I were married on a Friday afternoon in Upstate New York in 2010. Our 10th anniversary was a Thursday night in early September. I had run home from work and James had gone on a bike ride with some friends that afternoon. We didn’t do presents or cards that morning because I am usually headed out the door by the time James is getting up. For the last 10 years (much to James’ chagrin), we have been inspired by the anniversary themes when choosing gifts. I told him this is the last year we have to do presents. We have learned that these forced gifts don’t always work out. Here are a few examples:
1st anniversary is traditionally paper– James tried to purchase a Liberty voucher for me because it was my new favourite shop in London. Unfortunately their vouchers were coins! I did end up with a lovely necklace though.
6th anniversary is iron- James and I are both avid readers and apparently not very creative. We order the same iron bookmark from the same Etsy shop with slightly different inscriptions. The ironic part is that neither of us ever use them because they are too bulky and heavy.
Tenth anniversary is tin and this was so tricky! Most of the gifts I could find were lovey-dovey tin signs covered in hearts, which is not our style at all. Another popular option seemed to be tins of mints or tea, which was a little under my budget. We tend to be practical so when James suggested he get me something not made of tin, I was a little relieved! It definitely took some of the pressure off.
What did we end up giving each other? I got James:
Personalized tin enamel mugs for camping. These I found on Not on The High Street. There was one flaw I noticed then I opened them up. James has always been Mr. Millington and then became Dr. Millington in 2007. It felt a little silly to have his establishment date of 2010 but when paired with mine, it looks cute. To make these mugs more accessible for camping and hiking, I added on carbineers to clip to rucksacks or picnic blankets.
Custom framed artwork from Etsy. What did couples do before Etsy? To keep with the theme of 10 and the fact that James loves maps, I chose a mountain landscape from the DreamSeizeCherish Etsy shop with different destinations we have travelled together over the years. It was easy to order, and when placed in a wooden frame (I could not find a tin one!) it will look great on our wall. To make it more personalized, I changed the lovey example quote to one from Winnie the Pooh (Tao of Pooh is one of James’ favourite books).
Personalized champagne bottle.* This got the best reaction from James of them all. He is incredibly hard to buy for because he is practical, picky with clothes, and can really get himself anything that he really wants. When Say it With Champers reached out to me, I thought this would be a fabulous idea. At the time, we weren’t exactly sure how we would be celebrating so I figured it would be a nice treat with dinner if we ate at home or if we went away for the weekend (and we could use our tin mugs!). The bottle quickly arrived after I approved the design proof. The bottle was inserted into an inflated bottle case and then in a cardboard box. It fit perfectly so I just put a bow on the box rather than waste wrapping paper (we like to be environmentally friendly when possible). With a large clumsy puppy tearing around, I didn’t want to risk the bottle breaking if I put it in a gift bag.
As soon as James opened it, he laughed. I had sent a selection of photos of the two of us and Say it With Champers were quick to respond and advise which would look best on the bottle. Apparently they made the right choice! Because of the personalized labels, there wasn’t much space on the label to learn about the champagne itself. The label indicated it was Brut so we knew it would be dry rather than sweet. According to Say it With Champers website, their champagne is either sourced from Philizot & Fils or produced by their own family in Festigny, both in Champagne regions of France. I think we Philizot & Fils and we loved the taste, easily finishing bottle with our dinner that evening. The empty bottle is now placed prominently on our dining room shelf.
James got me:
A ginormous bouquet of flowers. It is quite rare that I receive cut flowers. James feels they are not sustainable and therefore prefers to gift potted plants. On our recent camping trip, we bought a very nice (small) vase and I think he had hoped to put these flowers in the vase. James admits he “might have gotten carried away” when we realized all of our vases (we have three) are small. Even after cutting the flowers down, they ended up going in the dog toy storage container. The lilies are still blooming and looking fresh. Flowers are something I tend to go to for self care so it has been lovely having them around the house. Luckily, Maple has only knocked them over once.
Vouchers for driving lessons. During lockdown, I struggled to take my inflatable stand up paddleboard to the Royal Docks. The kit is very heavy and I technically wasn’t supposed to be on the Tube. Also, I think James would appreciate a back up driver when we are trips and he wants to head to the pub. I am a mediocre driver in the US, where the roads are wide and straight. I dread to think hope I will do on London’s streets. Stay tuned as I am sure I will share my adventures on Instagram.
A car shaped cookie cutter. He tried to get some tin in there. We are fairly certain it is not tin though. You may not know that I love to bake (yes, I don’t just eat raw cookie dough). I have a fairly large collection of cookie cutters and would make them more often if I had a large table or counter to roll the dough out on. As a Christmas tradition, we always make a variety of cookies, including cut outs.
If you ask me, I think we ended our anniversary gift giving on a high note with this year’s gifts. I don’t want to say we are settled into married life, but we know each other well enough to get practical gifts (our flat is too small for more crap) but can still surprise each other too. I put a lot of time and effort into this last anniversary gift and now need to start over for his 40th birthday next month. A personalized bottle of champagne might be a good start.
Come back next week to read about our active staycation in Oxfordshire where Mollie’s Motel and Diner was our base.
We look so young!
Thanks to Say it With Champers for the complimentary bottle. All opinions are honest and our own.
by Mollie Millington | Sep 15, 2020 | charity, running
After George Floyd’s death, I felt so helpless. As a white woman living in England, there wasn’t much I could do it seemed to bring about change in my home country. I made many donations to support causes that aligned with my beliefs- education about racism, counselling for trauma experienced by ethnic minorities, and supporting legal teams to help bring about justice. A few of my friends took part in online panel discussions and I eagerly tuned in to learn more their personal experiences.
I took to books to educate myself further, learning more about American and British history and how racism was an underlying current. The non-fiction books I read were White Fragility and Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race. Natives and How to Be Antiracist to add to the list now that I have finished what I originally purchased.
While Gone with the Wind is fictitious (and seriously long!), I had already started it during this time and followed it up with Queenie, The Tubman Command, and If Beale Street Could Talk. There are so many more books I want to read, questions I want to ask. A black man was killed by police recently in my hometown, sparking protests and even getting a mention from Trevor Noah. Fuelling this fire of unease is the US presidential election where both old white male candidates were raised in a different time (for example, when segregation was legal).
In an effort to amplify black Voices and help drive a change in America’s leadership, I am joining the virtual event Womxn Run the Vote. Oiselle USA is organising a #WomxnRunTheVote relay to benefit Black Voters Matter. Last day to register is 17 September and relay starts 21 September. You don’t have to run to take part. You can walk, cycle, swim, row, etc. to clock up your miles. While I considered making my own team, but I thought it would be nicer to support others. Aptly, there is a team called Happy Runners (close runner up was team Run for Cookies), so please join the Happy Runners team if you would like to support this great cause. The team will need to split up the miles (680 in total) so let’s get registering asap. Sadly, the unique custom event gaiter is sold out and there isn’t a medal, but there are a few online events to attend as a benefit of registering. That means that $23 of your $30 goes right to Black Votes Matter. That is a pretty good trade off if you ask me.
Here is the official blurb about the challenge:
A virtual race for real change, Womxn Run the Vote is a 680 mile virtual relay from Atlanta to Washington DC.
This virtual course takes runners on an empowering journey from the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site in Atlanta to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial in DC. Along the route, you will travel on the US Civil Rights Trail and follow in the footsteps of generations of activists.
A portion of the proceeds from this event will go to support the Black Voters Matter Fund, an organization whose goal is to increase power in marginalized, predominantly Black communities through effective voting, which allows a community to determine its own destiny.
Designed to be accessible for as many people as possible, this event allows you to run, walk, ride (or any of 80 other activities) and then log your activity and see yourself move on our map and leaderboards. You will be able to see a Google street view of your virtual locale and then cheer your real fellow teammates in the chat. Learn more about the activists and change makers that helped shape the modern civil rights movement with our interactive maps.
Looking for a team to join? If you search #WomxnRunTheVote on Instagram or Twitter, you will see info about teams with open spots.
Leave a comment below when you have registered so I cheer you on. Let’s run together to get more people registered to vote in the USA to make a big impression through voting in the upcoming elections and improve lives of American citizens.
This posted contains affiliate links to Amazon. They cost the buyer nothing additional and help support the running of this website.
by Mollie Millington | Sep 13, 2020 | exercise, quickie
Today’s workout requires a pilates ring (also know as a magic ring) and a dumbbell (or gallon jug of water. Pilates rings are very versatility and easy to travel with. Be sure to seek out a dumbbell swing tutorial as risk of injury is great when done improperly. I provided a link but you might need to search out additional information.
Remember to go for QUALITY over quantity. If you are unclear what the exercise is I am describing, please look for a video or arrange for an in-person tutorial with me. Please consult your doctor before engaging on any fitness regime. Don’t forget to breathe! Please email me if you want tips on how to make the quickies easier or more challenging (mollie@ptmollie.com).
Warm up- 1 min marching in place, 1 min squats, 1 min jumping jacks/star jumps,
1 min– Chest press with ring
1 min– Place ring between thighs just above the knees. Squeeze ring with inner thighs.
1 min– Hamstring curl by placing ring under bum and on back of ankle. Press heel towards bum to squeeze ring.
1 min- Tricep dip on chair
1 min– Bicep press by placing ring on shoulder and pressing wrist toward shoulder.
1 min– One legged squats on chair
1 min– Dumbbell swing – Snap your hips forward! For beginners, don’t worry about getting the dumbbell very high.
1 min– Reverse lunge – Lunge by stepping backwards.
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