Life, Love and the Everyday

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 blac...

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...