Valentine's Day

I am not one of those people who hates Valentine's Day. But in saying that, I don't go crazy for it either. 

For me, it is an excuse to celebrate. And why deny yourself the pleasure?

It was the intention at the end of last year, before the wedding and after numerous nights and weeks of hard work that 2015 would be the year of relaxation. We worked so hard in 2012, 2013 and 2014 that 2015 just had to have some pause in it. The way we intended to do this was by going away for one weekend each month or so. It didn't need to be far, or expensive. But just go away and re-energise and enjoy. 

I intended to go away in February. Not necessarily on Valentine's Day, but just one of the weekends. 

Yet here we are and nothing was booked. Because we kept putting it off and part of me also feels like, we have this gorgeous house and I am perfectly happy just lazing around in it. 

So it hasn't been a failure of a plan as of yet, but I feel like I don't particularly need re-energising at the moment. It is still summer and the new year and Australia Day long weekend still feels fresh to me. 

However I would really like to get away in March. 

So that's why I don't mind Valentine's Day. It's a cute little reminder to do something sweet. It's a reminder to love, to enjoy, to eat chocolate, light a scented candle and fill a vase with flowers. These are things I wish I do each week. Although the candle thing is a staple In our house (we adore Glasshouse), as my garden is not yet at fruition, my desire to go outside and make myself a bouquet to display is not possible at the moment. 

Hopefully soon. 

Last year's Valentine's Day, we worked as it was a Friday. Then we visited our house that was being built. I remember it was just at frame stage then. We both agreed we wouldn't get each other anything as we were saving ever dollar we had for the house and the wedding. But my then fiancé sweetly surprised me with flowers and a gift. And I surprised him with a set of 3 kinder surprise chocolates that I hurriedly bought during work. And then ate one. So I actually gave him 2. 

We then proceeded to have pizza for dinner. 

This year we have decided to celebrate it a little more traditionally. Although I don't know what we are doing during the day, I am looking forward to an Italian three course dinner. Yum. 

I hope you enjoy your Valentine's Day. 

Weekend Diary

Posting this quite late but better late than never! 

Friday 

- worked late 

- rushed to meet friends and almost missed the start of The Imitation Game due to my lateness 

- thoroughly enjoyed the movie. 

- feeling super relaxed driving home 

- entertaining our friends with YouTube videos, wine, beer and port 

- feeling sleepy 

Saturday 

- slept in 

- reluctantly woke up 

- headed over to the mother in laws house so that the hubs could work on his project car 

- feeling sleepy - the past week has been intense at work 

- taking a nap

- heading home and relaxed for a few hours 

- went to my mums house for dinner 

- feeling thoroughly relaxed 

Sunday

- waking up to heat. It reached 35 degrees today. 

- having a smoothie for breakfast 

- doing some laundry and cleaning up 

- checking out the brand new train station that was opened today in our estate 

- doing some furniture shopping

- eating Portuguese chicken for lunch 

- doing the weekly vegie shop 

- visiting the mother in law for a cup of tea 

- heading home to watch a movie 

- eating chicken cacciatore for dinner 

- relaxing before a big week ahead 

Eating Healthily

I Since the New Year, I've been making an effort to make some slow yet drastic changes to my diet. 

I don't think I used to eat badly. I have always disliked snacking on things like chips and biscuits, and if I have too much junk food I tend to do everything I can to avoid it rather than become addicted. The downfall with that though, is that I then suggest eating out in a restaurant, where you can have garlic bread, your main and a cheeky dessert. Although the food tastes a million times better, I was still eating way too much on a regular basis. 

It started to show. Not immediately, but gradually as I left my teenage years and entered working life. Working meant money, and money meant take out and going out for dinner to avoid cooking after work. 

I actually joined a gym last January again after cancelling my prior membership at another gym as it wasn't a 24 hr gym to meet my crazy schedule. I approached gym differently last year, and did zero cardio, opting for strength training instead. I loved it. It changed my body for the better and I know that I am much stronger now. 

Come this January in 2015, although I was stronger and my legs and arms looked fantastic, the devil for me was a bit of excess weight and bloating, which made me feel bigger than I am. 

I did some research and came to the conclusion that gym isn't the only solution. The fuel must be decent. 

I had this mindset for most of December, and I found that for Christmas dinner I didn't overeat and only had one type of dessert rather than gorge on the buffet. 

I felt better. 

Right after Christmas, I went with a group of friends to a beachside holiday for a week. A massive stack of alcohol was bought, and easy food like instant noodles and frozen foods were on the menus for the entire week so that we don't have to cook too much. 

By day 5, my body was crying out. Heat, excess alcohol, no nutritional food. It made me tired and sick. I was craving vegetables. 

I am glad I went through that experience. We are now in February and I've been doing quite well. I've cut down sugar to a bare minimum. I haven't touched McDonald's or KFC. We are cooking  more and I have been exercising more than ever - and I don't think it's going to slow down. 

I feel better. It's incredible how great I feel now. This feeling just reinforces the fact that I'm on the right track and keeps me going. This is not a diet or a weight loss challenge, but a lifestyle change. 

I intend to post some of my tips of how to eat and live healthily. I think the trick is to do it gradually. Cutting everything out and going cold turkey may be a little unrealistic for something so life consuming as one's diet. In my opinion, you need to feel it first. Feel what it is like for your body to be getting the nutrients its craving, then one day when you eat a large cupcake after a few weeks of clean eating, you will notice the high sugar's effect on you. 

Please let me know if you have made a lifestyle change this year and your tips to stick to it. 

Weekend Diary

This is something I've adored from a blog named Love Audrey. It is essentially a quick recording of what happened over the weekend.

The reason I love it so much is because each dot point will bring back a memory. Even the little things like having a cup of tea or a small walk. In the midst of the working week, it often feels like the weekend was far away. In the same vain, if the weekend was filled to the brim with errands or tasks, it can feel like no weekend was had at all. I have done this a few times on paper and it has always helped me out things in perspective, and let me enjoy the now rather than regret the could-have-should-have-but-decided-to-not-gym-and-eat-that-extra-slice-of-cake. 

So this was my weekend. 

- woke feeling like I dreamt a lot but could not recall anything

- slowly getting ready for the day and putting on a new playsuit in my favourite colour (blue) 

- meeting up with the husband's beloved mother, aunt and uncle and complimenting said uncle's brand new shiny car. 

- taking back the Dyson for a service as it wasn't working up to scratch. 10 minutes later it is good to go. 

- having a poached eggs with spinach, avocado and pesto on sourdough for brunch. 

- purchasing some stools we had been eying for the island bench

- stocking up on plain and white tees as I always seem to lose them. 

- meeting up with friends to look at the shops 

- making last minute plans to go into the city to watch the Asia Cup final. 

- heading home and admiring the stools in the kitchen. 

- lazily watching an episode of The Originals. We are obsessed. 

- getting ready for the night 

- catching the train into the city and feeling ready for dinner. 

- having Thai with extra veggies 

- taking a long leisurely walk to the Star to watch the match 

- thinking the Star too full when we couldn't find chairs to enjoy the game. 

- after my feet hurting from a cut i sustained earlier in the week, and a growing headache, we decided to quickly head home to watch the second half. 

- walking past a bar on the water that was half empty with available seats in front of a very large screen showing the match. 

- not believing our luck and promptly sitting down with beer and cider in hand. 

- watching the crowd fill the bar only 10 minutes later. 

- cheering, screaming and yelling at the match for the next two hours of what was an exciting and nerve wracking game. Australia won! 

- admiring the Sydney 9pm fireworks right behind us, which conveniently went off at half time. 

- walking back to the station and chatting on the way home. 

- waking from yet another night full of dreams. 

- resisting the need to get up for as long as possible

- hurriedly getting dressed and heading to an electronics store to choose a brand new dishwasher 

- being very excited with our purchase. We both dislike doing the dishes. 

- feeling hungry but having a long to do list. 

- letting my husband go pick up the dishwasher with a larger car as I stayed home 

- overcoming obstacles with the installation but being successful. DIY is no longer daunting to us. 

- finally having lunch and relaxing 

- the husband headed off for a soccer game as I headed off to costco for a huge grocery run 

- feeling quite healthy as I put through my items, which were predominantly green. 

- catching the last of the husband's game

- heading to dinner at our favourite Chinese restaurant with my parents and brothers. 

- quickly popping in for a cup of tea at my mother in law's. 

- cleaning up the kitchen and admiring the dishwasher. It works great. 

- making green juices for the week ahead 

- watching another episode of The Originals

- heading to bed for the week ahead. 

Beginning

Ok. 

I have wanted to do a blog for a few years now. I have started a couple and then stopped because it never felt right. The name didn't feel right, what I was writing about didn't feel right. The same still applies with the name - I want it to feel like my diary, my little piece of the Internet. I may have to think about it a little more. 

But I have decided to bite the bullet and just write. I used to be a writer back in school. It was one of my favourite past times. It was a way to look into my subconscious and let the words flow. It aligned my thoughts and let myself think freely - if my thoughts were on paper, I wouldn't worry about forgetting them. 

That is the purpose of this blog. I am 22, turning 23 this year. A lot happened to me over the past few years, that changed the direction of my life onto a path I never imagined. I am married to the sweet guy I met when I was 14. We have a beautiful home together. I graduated university and have been successful in applying what I have learnt into a full time occupation. But all of this happened so fast, and I must say, quite young.

It seems that only a few short years ago I was a teenager in uni eating McDonalds for lunch after a mere 3 hours at university on a Tuesday. Wait, that was just a few years ago. A few years ago I was 19. Back then that felt so... ready. Like that was the age of adulthood. I was ready to take on the world and the world was going to take me on board. I was going to join the ranks of the successful, the ones with the nice cars and houses. And it was going to be glorious and fantastic and I am going to be so sophisticate and grown up with make up from a department store, not the drugstore. 

Yes, that has happened on the most part.  The foundation is not from the chemist, and my car is no longer 20 years old.  But what I didn't realise was that being an adult is full of responsibilities. There are bills to pay, a house to clean and dinners to cook. After a long day at work. On a Wednesday. Before the gym but after sorting the laundry. 

But of course, with a glass of red in hand and music playing. 

This blog is not going to be a complaint. It is going to be a documentary. My diary. My thoughts and recordings of the little tricks and tips I pick up as life marches on. On life, health, art, fashion, anything that catches my eye. I intend this to be a blog that records my particular brand of lifestyle, so that I materialise the memories.