Life, Love and the Everyday

LIFE Something I have learnt this past month, if you are unapologetically yourself - no matter who people are and what they think of you - you won't be sorry. Its human-nature to compare yourself to others, to want to please people and try and be that person you know they would like you to be - but in the process of that, you lose yourself, you shrink your presence and in the end, you'll resent yourself and the people that you wanted to please in the first place. Don't go there, because it takes awhile to find your way back. Just be true to yourself and be happy - and anyone who doesn't like it can take a hike (far, far away...) My favourite song at the moment is Redneck Woman by Gretchen Wilson - I like the way she lays her cards on the table, that she's proud of who she is and where she came from. When I next have a Bundaberg Lazy Bear (in 12 weeks time) I'll salute the Gretchen Wilson's of the world. LOVE A. and I are very excited about our upcomin

LIFE There is nothing like the first sip of your morning coffee. Especially on an overcast day and you are thirteen storeys up with a view of Dymocks in Brisbane City.  Dymocks is my favourite book-store in the world - to be honest, working in a book-store is my dream-job. I love the kids I work with, don't get me wrong - its just I like how a book-store is always quiet with the crisp fresh scent of unread books.  Then again, would I miss the noise if I was somewhere quiet? Would I miss the glitter and play-dough stuck on the bottom of my shoes and little hands pulling the hem of my work shirt? Hell yeah. Call me crazy, but I would! For the past three weekends, A. and I have been enjoying a taste of the corporate life-style. Spending two weekends in a row at The Capri and last night we stayed at Oaks Festival Towers. A. asked me last night. "Can you imagine us living somewhere like this?" "Yes!" I answered before saying. "But theres nowhere for my

LIFE These days I feel a sense of expectation, my steps are bolder, louder, and there is confidence in my voice. I have a plan for next year and I have started to put it in motion. At this point I can't really say more than that. Something I can tell you is I sent a manuscript to a publisher - and I was day-dreaming about receiving an offer of publication when I missed my bus-stop by three stops! Reality bites - but the prospect of pay-day and dinner at the pub makes a good band-aid! LOVE I had a revelation a couple of weeks ago and that is that I am completely fine that A. and I haven't got kids - or have any plans to do so in the near future. I used to work myself into a frenzy, reading books about having PCOS and pregnancy and dreading going on diets where I imagine myself asking myself 'Is this pro-baby food?' Stuff it, screw it. Someday, hell yeah - bring on the gromits if I'm lucky. Until then, I'll enjoy my Saturday and Sunday morning sleep-in

LIFE Last Saturday at this time, I was getting started on eating a sea-food smorgasbord. This Saturday finds me back in Bris-vegas, alternating between hating on my messy abode and studying. And while I am aching to see the sight of waves breaking and the smell of the sea in my nostrils. I'm going to tell you a funny story about me and my eye-brows. And it all began at Surfer's Paradise last weekend... A. and I were at the shopping centre on Cavill Avenue and after a lovely breakfast of banana and nutella crepe, we both decided to split and meet up again in an hour and a half. I browsed for a new dress but couldn't find one that I liked in my size. Then I walked past a tattoo parlour.  And walked past it again. Shyly. Tentatively. And repeated the process in the space of half an hour as I browsed in other stores.  Each time I walked past it I hummed, hawed and chose another direction. I have a couple of ideas for tattoos. A feather quill with little black sparr

LIFE A. and I have just eaten a smorgasbord of sea-food - we cannot move, don't want to either! Tonight we are staying at Surfers Paradise - another day, another hotel room. This morning we ate at The Guilty Rogue which is across the road from the Brisbane Bus Transit. Good travel grub, its hot and gives you sustenence and the staff are friendly. Its got a hipster chic vibe happening. After our breakfast A. and I went to wait two hours for our bus. A. watched movies on his ipad and I read Death Du Jour. We arrived at Surfers around 3:00pm and checked into our hotel. I felt drowsy from the bus ride but made plans with A. to see a 7D movie, have drinks and hit TimeZone before coming back to the hotel for dinner. Turns out there was a 7D movie package for $30. A. chose Bloody Road. Its a charming...(and I use this term loosely) movie about being chased by pyschotic zombies with chain-saws. It doesn't end well... The next movie was a wacky roller-coaster ride with mosquitos t

LIFE My week finishes the way it started - in a hotel room with a view in the city. I'm seven floors up with a view of traffic, city lights and Hotel Jen. I find myself once again resisting the heralding call of the mini-fridge with all its sugary splendor and delight. Instead I will tell you about the books of substance I have been reading. I have been reading I Am Malala. Its a really courageous read about a young woman and her family striving to make a difference in a world that is falling down around them and campaigning for girls to have proper educational opportunities while experiencing set-backs under the eye of the Taliban. What I learnt from this book is resilience in the face of adversity. To have faith in God when you cannot see beyond the next moment.  And having strong conviction with no compromise. The next book is called A Year Of Living Danishly when a London journalist and her husband have an opportunity of a life-time to move to Denmark. Its like having

LIFE Six days into my low-carb, no sweets cleanse. Tomorrow I'll be jumping up on the weight scales. I am fervantly praying that I have earned the results I locked in with my p.t last week. The goal was to lose two kilos and I hope to hell that I have, because I passed up two birthday cakes and four hot chocolates this week and right at this very moment, I am distracting myself (rather successfully) from the Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Bar and Mars Bar that is lurking in the mini-bar in my hotel room.  Even last night I was tempted when I went to grab dinner from the corner shop. I eyed off the Sara Lee Rich Chocolate ice-cream and a bottle of Barista Bros Iced Chocolate...I had even reached in to grab the Barista Bros Iced Chocolate when I imagined my p.t standing behind me, arms crossed and shaking his head. I thought about the progress I had made this week, all the wholesome cooked meals I had spent up to an hour making down the drain-pipe. One thing I learned this week

LIFE Four days down on my low-carb and no sweets regime. It's not going so bad. As a matter of fact - I am going really well - I have been filling up on home-cooked meals and have more energy than I've had in months. There is something else that has kept me on track this week and that is a good read. On my morning bus route while I waited in sunny and rainy elements, I read a book.  Its either fiction or non-fiction but these past two weeks I have been leaning towards something more sustaining rather than just an escape. Some books you pick up when you are in the season that you need them.  Last week it was Stasi Eldredge's "Becoming Myself" and this week it is Larry Hutton's  "Internal Affairs"  Last year at a church conference Doctor Larry was speaking - and I thought he was so awesome that I bought his book and it has sat on my book-shelf ever since, waiting patiently for its turn. This is one particular paragraph that really captured

Life I think I need glasses because last Monday morning I misread a school sign. At first glance I thought it said 'Cuddles and Robotics Here'! What it really said was 'Coding and Robotics' here. Aiiii! I don't know whether it was Monday Morning Mayhem playing on my Before Coffee brain or whether I need to get my eyes checked. Love A. and I have found a place for the engagement party. Its in the process of becoming official. So that means we have to start crackin' on those engagement invites. Today we are looking at a potential venue for the wedding. A. is fairly optimistic and I am just going to keep an open mind. & The Everyday In the wake of realising that my attitude towards certain aspects of my life needs pixie dust and sparkle, I have been sprinkling, dusting and polishing what I know needs work. The end of the year is fast on our heels and now is the time to take out the box of Procrastination so there is less to worry about next year.

LIFE  What I love about books is that they are available around the clock - your imagination can absorb words and take you on a journey, pages away from your life. What would life be without J.K Rowling, Kathy Reichs and Jane Austen? Pretty lousy, that's what. Then there are books that make you feel brave, inspired - and I have been reading such a book this week. It's called Becoming Myself by Stasi Eldredge. I have read it a couple of times and loved it - and I have read it again this week - it's about loving yourself, quirks and all - embracing the beauty that is soul and surface. There were three topics Stasi mentioned in her book which really stood out to me. Body Image, Friendships and Mothers. Last Tuesday I weighed in at 99.1. My whole adult life it seems, has been about losing weight. It's my fault. I have eaten in quantity rather than moderation and skipped on the 30-45 minutes of exercise most days and that's on me. Literally. On that score, I lea

LIFE Life after the Engagement Story is the same - except I have a sparkler on my finger that feels like an extra body part. Following A.'s proposal, here is what I didn't expect to feel. On top of that estastic joy, there was also anxiety. As a girl, and until my recent engagement; I had pictured doing the whole schbang. Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue. But hours after my engagement, I realised that I was daunted - not by marriage but the wedding itself. After four and a years with A. I can say that its high time and over that we tied the knot.  I even told A. that we could take our families and a few close friends somewhere and get married by a pastor or an Elvis Presley impersonator with a Civil Celebrant License. But A. assured me that everything would be fine, that the celebration of our union would be amazing with the right people there. And I am very lucky to have very beautiful people in my life. I did the math last night -

LIFE It is Sunday night and I am mentally preparing for Monday morning. I have my feet soaking in a foot-spa with water and Listerine and I am about to share some important news! Two weeks ago today, A. proposed and my reply was 'Yes, a thousand times yes!' I wish I could say that response is original but that would be lying, I am a big Pride & Prejudice fan. After seeing Mr. Bingley's interesting proposal to Jane which began with "I have been an inexplicable fool..." I have always wanted to say 'Yes, a thousand times yes!' to Mr. Right. Luckily, he found me on a couch at a party four and a half years ago. In Townsville he asked me if I wanted to go for a walk and I actually really wanted to read my new copy of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on a beach chair overlooking the sparkling blue ocean - but A. doesn't do walks. He doesn't do big boulder rocks either but on that clear, sunny afternoon he asked me. "Do you want to climb u

LIFE Sometimes you have to get away from 'what is' to see 'what could be', you can plan it but if the opportunity is there - climb out the window and run as far and as fast as you can. A. and I had a wonderful opportunity for the taking this morning and we embraced it, our opportunity was tucked away in the luscious hills and fields of Mt. Tamborine. We went for a small road-trip with our neighbours Alan and Jess and enjoyed the smorgasbord of music 97.3FM had to offer as the car ate up the miles. My parents used to take me and my sisters there a lot when we were kids. My Mum is a country girl and I think that love for the big open spaces has rubbed off on me because every time I go to Mount Tamborine, it gets harder to get back in the car and go back to the city; back to the noise and bustle. I love the quiet. The quant shops and cottage retreats. I can't wait to go back! And one day, I want to go back and stay.   LOVE Love is in the air! Duh-dum-dum-duh-

Life What more can I say? Life keeps everyone busy. Everyone is going through a different season and are trying to adjust to what comes under the sub-heading of that season. Some people are going through a season of joy and laughter.  Some people are going through grief, heart-ache and pain. And others are just trying to find their place in a world that is exciting as it is unpredictable. There are times when I wish I could see the future and what it holds for me and A. I try to guess, estimate, presume and sometimes try to help God along a bit but when I do, I usually find my help is not appreciated or needed - and then I get worked up about it, I begin to analyse and dissect and then end up flustered because I don't know what to do, because I don't know The Plan. When I try to snatch the keys away from God, I find I can start the car but can't make it drive. Love For the past six months I have been adjusting to the fact that my close family unit are spread o

LIFE Our lives won't be the same now that Pokémon Go! has invaded the phones of game lovers everywhere. For the past couple of days I have been looking at A. and he's on his phone catching fantasy creatures. Last night A. and I were walking along Queens Street looking for some dinner before catching the Jimoin show at QPAC and this group of young bucks walk by talking loudly. One of them exclaim. "After all this time we still haven't caught Pikachu!"  This morning A. and I were sitting at the Pig'N'Whistle in Queens Street Mall and while I am eating my p&j toast, I look up to find his phone angled at me.  Which is why I know he wasn't taking a photo of me, but catching Pokémon. Bloody Pokémon! Life is going okay. There are just days when I wish I had studied Literature straight out of high school because back then I was an empty slate. Now that empty slate has other things written on it and I don't know if they are what I want. Maybe th

Life It's 7:23am and I am at the bus stop at Garden City. It's a cold morning and the first day of the work week. If you ask me Australians would definately benefit from a three day weekend! On the whole, life is good. I did a huge spring-clean in my room yesterday and shifted furniture around to make room for my new reading nook. I am thrilled about it but there is still the matter of my Work Within A Legal & Ethical Framework assessment. I know what to do but I don't know where to look. Ugh! Love A. and I are going great. He's awesome. I'm fabulous. He looks hot behind a polling desk and for once in my life I think it's a shame you can't vote twice. However, I just want to talk about my sisters *Victoria and *Cassandra. We had a sleep-over and had a movie marathon and I know it sounds juvie but I hope that even when we are over forty that we'll still have movie nights. The three of us have already made a pact about our daughters - that if

LIFE I am absolutely loving the weather we've had the past few weeks, the consistent rain and the cheeky wind that makes you wish you didn't wear that dress with no leggings! I need a new pair of jeans because my only pair are a tad baggy - A. has kindly offered to buy me a new pair but I told him there are just some things a woman should do on her own - there's no need for both of us to suffer. I hate jeans shopping - how you get pairs that fit one thigh, or emphasize your muffin top or fit over your hips but don't zip up, or even worse, gives you a camel-toe. You also have to be in the right mood to shop for jeans - optimistic and cheerful and with the right company. You know how you get awesome shopping buddies that wait for you while you try stuff on and you get other people who just whiz through the shop and make a bee-line for exit and you're there like 'What's their hurry?" Retail shopping is like a creamy chocolate mousse, you can't rus

LIFE I went shopping with *Victoria while A. shopped for a new phone. When he got himself a fancy Samsung 7 and I was given his well-preserved Samsung 5. It's nice to have a phone minus the crackles. As to what I bought myself, a deep red long sleeved shirt which I have attatched to this blog. It's not the most glamorous picture but I like it because it's accidentally creative. Enjoy! *Victoria splurged on two sets of Diana Ferrari shoes and they are beautiful, just like her. We walked past this kid store that had a three storey doll house and we both looked at it. "Look, Sarah! Somewhere for your ponies to play in!" She giggles, referring to the My Little Pony Collection I have stashed at the top of my book-case. The ponies are rather sentimental because they helped improve my speech and how I got into telling stories so theres no way I can get rid of them - they deserve a golden retirement. "Kids these days get all the awesome stuff!" I exclaim and

LIFE Last night I did something I rarely do - bought a bottle of wine and filled half the glass, I was tempted to pour more but if I didn't end up drinking it that would have been a sacrilegious waste of grapes and sugar. It's with blunt honesty that I know I don't want to do the adult thing today. I don't want to honour the beginning of this week's new exercise leaf that I swore up and down that I'd do. I feel like eating raw brocilli, strange as that is. No, I'm not knocked up. Just...blah. I know I'm usually a lot more upbeat than this, more motivated, happy-go-lucky than this. Maybe life has just been a bit too much of the same lately, I go to work but don't do anything to break up the week except gym. I need simplicity, creativity and another me who likes to study! (Don't we all?) Okay, moving on from the angst crap. Time to simplify, create and build. But hey, first things first! LOVE With me working most days, A. has been home

LIFE  When I was five I was diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorder and you can say that the doctors had the odds stacked against me. They told Mum and Dad I wouldn't be likely to succeed at anything other than having a comfortable life. I would never be independent, I would never be a great communicator and my reading and writing level would be grade three at best, I would never reach the mental maturity for my age group or enjoy having a husband and children. But here I am today, at twenty-seven years old, for the foreseeable future I have a stable income, I am reading and writing literature, I have mastered the necessary life-skills to thrive in this day and age, and I am planning a future with the man I love. So if you have the odds stacked against you, it's okay - be proud of it, because it's a testimony of how far you have come and how far you are yet to go. A friend of mine once told me that if you've got the devil on your tail, it means you have an amazin

This morning I went to church for the first time in about four months. It hasn't been because I haven't wanted to, there have just been big changes shaking up my world and I was waiting for the dust to settle. But I woke up this morning with a strong, clear conviction to go to Hillsong Church just down the road from me. When I think about it now it seems appropriate because back in August 2010 the same feeling arose one Thursday morning...let me tell you about that. My Mum had been going to church there for three months and back then I was strongly opposed to all churches because of the way Mum had been treated at my childhood church.  Mum had run the children's church and facilitated the youth camps and she did amazing job but didn't get the recognition and respect from other members of the church board for the long hours she did, when she would say no they would quote Bible scriptures to make her feel guilty so she would do what they asked. That's one sure way

LIFE I was thinking about how I ended up on this road. It's beautiful scenery with off-beaten paths, most days it's grass and some days it's gravel. I like what I do in childcare and I strive to do it well. There are moments when I think "Now why didn't I do literature straight out of high school?" but then there are those Ahhh-haaa! moments that connect the dots. But there was something else that God reminded me about today, it came out of nowhere while I was washing out paint containers. I realised that God had been preparing this destiny for me all along even as a young girl in primary school. I was a quiet kid, tucked away in the special education unit most of the time and I found it hard to relate to my peers - so I would go to the library at lunch-time and that was my haven. My primary school had a medieval castle fort in the library and I relished walking up those stairs to go to my reading nook with its little window and bond with my fictious frien

I come from a lineage of strong women and their testimonies of courage are the reason why I'm here. Great Grandmother Joan was the eldest child of a big family in The Great Depression and when her father died, she had to step up as a provider so her mother could stay home with her siblings.  After the Second World War was over, she moved to Australia with her husband - they came with hardly anything except hope for the future in a brave new world. The eldest of her six daughters is my Grannie, she convinced a country boy to give up the sticks and move from Kin-Kin to Brisbane in the 70's, there she raised her four children and worked as a barmaid at my local pub to help my Grandad, a factory worker, make ends meet. And then her youngest daughter, my mother, spent most of her adult life staring down the Black Dog  - and winning - while putting three girls through school, keeping house and giving advice. These three women are strong, not perfect. Nobody is. But they had v