Mish Mash Up Date!

Hiya

She's Baaaack! About time I gave a wee update, so here goes.

1) Credit card - it's not going to be paid off in time, but I'm keeping the goal on here so I can do it eventually. A new job with a big paycut saw this plan go pear-shaped, but I've got a plan.

4) Writing Course - went once. Just couldn't do it with the new job etc, but oh well.

5) 3 Articles Published - woohoo, I've had one published in DOLLY mag, one more submitted to be published in next month in same mag.. so I'm edging there : )

9) Relax - I had a massage last fortnight, and another one booked in for next fortnight. I have stopped working 7 days a week (yippee!) and although I'm now spending my weekends in bed (bloody D). But I'm getting through it.. one step at a time.

: )
Catch you soon x

Exercise

It feels so so good after you've done it.
So why is it so hard to do it???

Cause Goober made me do it!

ABOUT ME MEME

Relationship status: free as a bird
Height: 5’3 (yes, short)
Shoe: sometimes 7, sometimes 8, depending on the shoe
Parents still together: Not since I was 3
Siblings: Two. Older bro and older sis.
Pets: none. Would love a dog but studio living isn’t really the best place for a pup. Neither is my lifestyle (not home all that much)

FAVOURITES
Colour: Yellow
Number: 2, 4 or anything even. (what’s the go with 5?!)
Animal: Dog dog doggy dog, I love ‘em
Drinks: Water. Weird, I know. I crave it tho.
Soda: Coke – real stuff too, not pepsi.
Book: Ditto to goober. Just one? I don’t know. Impossible! But Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert rates pretty high.

DO YOU?
Colour your hair: Not for ages, used to do rinses alllll the time when younger tho. Now I’m too lazy and poor.
Have tattoos: Star on the inside of my right wrist, 3 small stars on small of back (my friend has a matching one)
Piercings: labrette, tongue, belly, ears pierced (2 in left ear) and used to have nose but not anymore.
Know how to drive: auto all the way!

HAVE YOU EVER?
Been in a physical fight: Just when I was little, with my sister (strangely, not my bro).
Kicked someone in the nuts: Um, yes. Sometimes just flicked them too, and figured out that hurts just as much. Heheh LOL. (sorry goobs)
Stolen anything: Um, not really. But I have knowingly walked away with more change than I should have received a number of times! (not telling you the last time)
Held a gun: Only a plastic one.
Drank: Confirmed binge drinker (double ditto to this)
Cried over a girl: Yes. It sux to lose good friends.
Been in love: Go figure. I thought so but surely it has to be reciprocated to be real? Again, go figure.
Lied to someone: Who hasn’t??
Cried over a boy: Way too many times. I think that has more to do with my own self-esteem rather than the boy per se…

CURRENTS
Current clothing: Am curled up on the couch after a long, rainy day at work so just managed to flick off the boots. So currently, black top, denim skirt and one pink sock and one blue sock.
Current mood: tired… but content. Looking forward to a day off tomorrow too : )
Current taste: red wine. Sweet red wine on a rainy night, yum.
Current smell: I’ve got the oil burner going with orange oil and a relaxation blend. Other than that, I’m smelling rain, it’s nice.
Current thing I ought to be doing: Um, writing a newsletter for my yoga class, or cleaning. Tomorrow will do!
Current CDs in stereo: Stars on the ipod on the bus home. Looking forward to the album of ppl doing their covers!
Last book you read: Jodi Picoult’s 'Plain Truth', and cried in it too. Went to the library last week for the first time in ages!
Last movie you saw:
(on TV) Bring It On! Be aggressive, B-E aggressive! Love it!
(on DVD) Um I think it was Shortbus on DVD. Weird. Weird. That’s all I can say. Good soundtrack tho.
(at the theatre) Running with Scissors – LOVED it. Go see it!
Last thing you ate: Oh dear. Chips and a veggie burger for dinner. That followed the 3pm sugar binge on kettle chips and maltesers (hey! I work in a cinema!)
Last person you talked to on the phone: I took a phone message for my Mgr at work… last text on mobi was to Pica…

DO YOU?
Do drugs: Daily meds, yes. And the big D has seen a pretty clean living lifestyle over the last coupla years.
Have a dream that keeps coming back: Not really. My dreams are pretty boring, standard and un-remarkable. But when I do remember them, they’re normally cause they’re horrible. Like losing a job or something. Blah.
Play an instrument: Got up to 5th grade AMEB in piano and theory. Could play my major chords on the guitar (do you know how many songs you can play when you learn those chords?!). But now, nada. All gone. Used to play by ear too!
Read the newspaper: Working in publicity, it’s kinda a tool of the trade. I read the Sydney Morning Herald daily (well, I go to the media section, and read most of it online) and even when I wasn’t in this job I purchased the SMH on Saturday (I love the Good Wkend mag) and both Sunday papers (again, love the mags).

So there you go… shiny in a nutshell!

My Travel Wish List

I've been lucky enough to have travelled a lot. Back in the old days (pre-mortgage) travel was a priority and I'd try and head overseas at least once a year. So it is with disappointment that I must reveal that I haven't left the country for almost 3 years. I miss the buzz of planning trips, working out the movies that would be shown on the flight,

I was reminded of some of my unrealised travel dreams when I stopped by The Urban Vegan's blog and found her post about a recent trip to Belize. Belize...how I want to visit you! I did an assignment on Belize's eco-tourism industry at university and decided that it was a place I had to visit. Now I've seen these pics I remember why. Sigh.

Here are my other travel dreams (the current list anyway). I hope I get to go to these places while I'm still young enough to enjoy them.

• New Mexico - another travel dream inspired by a university tourism assignment. It has my perfect mix of food, culture, architecture, art and landscape.
• Japan - I'm fascinated by Japan! I love the food and in my mind everything is so cute and compact. I would love to go there during the Spring Blossom festival and see geishas, punks and schoolgirls while singing at karaoke bars, travelling on bullet trains, visiting pagodas and eating lots of sushi.
• England - When I actually lived in England I didn't have the knowledge of the Tudor era that I have now, so I really have to go back and check out all of Henry viii's palaces as well as those of his wives. And since I'm over that way I'd have to make a pilgrimage to Hampshire - Jane Austen Country. Economies of scale and all.
• Byron Bay - I want this to be a place full of surfing, massages, lotus positions and spiritual epiphanies. I suspect that it is all that...tinged with binge-drinking high school kids.
• Bhutan - I guess from a professional perspective I'm intrigued by the way that Bhutan is managing it's tourism. Visitors pay at least US$200 a day just to be there - that includes almost everything though. Can't think of any other country that is taking this approach to control the types of people that visit and the influence that tourism has on locals. I'd love to know if it's working.
• Singapore, Hong Kong & Macau - to see friends there and to see how Chinese New Year is really done. I had planned to do this trip this year (the Flight Centre still has my $100 deposit) until I realised I couldn't really afford it.

Runners up - Sabah (Gorillas), anywhere in the US, Cuba, Greek Islands, Italy (only a dream).

As I write this list I realise how much I want to go to these places. Especially the ones I've been dreaming of for years. I need to make some of these dreams come true. No excuses!!

1/4 of the way through the year...

SCARY!! This year has gone way too fast although sometimes I feel like that's a good thing. It's not going to go down as one of the greats I suspect. It's my own fault though - I tend to put "life on hold" til I think I'm ready to participate. Hey it's only 1/4 of the way through the year so things can only get better!!

One thing I've realised is that work sucks up too much of my life, even when I'm not there. I become so drained that I can't find the energy to do much else. I need to sort out that whole work to live vs live to work thing.

Anyway enough musing. Let's see how my goals are going:
1. Diet - I'm really trying to work towards this one. It's always going to be a work in progress but I'm making the effort.
2. Travel - I hope I get to go somewhere (anywhere!) near the end of the year. I'm going to start using my savings account to get ready for this.
3. Fitness - I'm seeing a trainer who I really like but ultimately I am just a very lazy person. I admit it! I can find far too many reasons not to exercise (too tired, don't feel good and don't feel like it are the main ones) rather than just getting on and doing it. I keep reading about people who say that even after years of exercise, they still don't like it - they just do it. And I need to too.
4. Weight - So far this year I've gained weight. And that's on top of the weight I gained last year. I'm a weight gaining maniac!! But at last the scales are going down. My first goal is to lose this year's weight and we'll take it from there. Optimistic.
5. Creativity - Reviving my interest in photography. Thinking of joining Batucada - but nervous about the committment that requires. Want to paint again but don't for no particular reason.
6. Money - I haven't really reduced my spending during the work day to date, but I'm hoping this changes with my changing diet. I think my money management is getting a little better so feeling okay about this one.
7. Punctuality - I am getting to work a lot earlier than I did last year. Now if only I could get up early enough to actually walk there or do some exercise beforehand...
8. Giving up on this one.
9. New experiences - I'm playing indoor netball and I've camped. This is proving my theory that if you try new things you may just end up liking them.
10. Giving up on this one too.

So I need to come up with two new goals. One needs to be around relaxation and work/life balance (maybe incorporating meditation into my day and having regular massages) and I'm not sure about the last one...

Back in the Game

I haven't picked up my camera since the end of the photo project. I felt completely drained and the thought of the camera dominating my life again like it did in February left me cold. But I'm starting to want to take photos again (note to self - you must do things for fun rather than for achievement!) so I think I might start working on a new project - watch this space for what I come up with... Hmm maybe I should take suggestions from you - give me a theme, any theme, as literal or as abstract as you like, and I'll try and work my magic.

Oh and a friend wants to use/buy some photos from me to use on a viral marketing blog. Not sure how they'll be used but hey, it's nice to "have my work acknowledged" and I think they want me to do more variations of some of the stuff I've done so that's pretty cool.

Other things/people that have inspired me creatively recently are:

• The Gotan Project who I was lucky enough to see live last month at WOMAD. Tango meets beats and breaks meets moving pictures.
• Hone Tuware - a New Zealand poet whose work you study at uni - New Zealand lit 101 - but once you get past that (took me a while!!) you realise that he puts words together in a really powerful way. Oh Africa makes me think this - if there weren't elements of African society that weren't so totally corrupt and barbaric, would it be able to handle its natural obstacles a whole lot better and not be as "developing" as it is? ie have people f*** ed it up?

Oh Africa!

On bloody acts
That make less human
Mankind’s brighter sun,
Let revulsion rise
Eclipse the moon’s
Black evil, so that
Innocence and the child
Shall reign
So that we may dream
Good dreams again

• I've been listening to some old-school music lately - Cyndi Lauper (did you know She Bop is about masturbation??? Check out the lyrics - makes complete sense. Am I the only one who didn't know this???) , Talking Heads and the Pretenders (LOVE Chrissie!!), James Brown and the Cure. James and Robert are old favourites but the Pretenders has blown me away -must uncover more of their stuff. I want to listen to Talk Talk and The The again too - because of their names.

Step by Step inspiration

How does a mouse eat an elephant? Bite by Bite.

There is some cute little quote very similar to the above, and while it conjures up all these crazy images, it is very eloquent in its delivery. You don't start out exercising by doing 3 circuits and a marathon in a day. You don't start lifting weights by going gung-ho with 100kgs off the bat. No, you break it down. Step by Step.

So here is some simple inspiration to give us gals the motivation to see results and to help break things down... step by step.

3 goals in 3 days:

FOR PICASSO
- one x 20 min walk over the next three days, listening to fun music. You don't have to let exercise be a habit, you just do it because you have to. Like you have calcium strong stuff to make yr bones strong..... 20 mins specifically, not just incidental.

- OK! Write down 5 of your values. Then, write down 5 ways you can achieve one tiny step towards these values. You don't have to activate these steps, but just see some small ways of how you can implement them into your life.

- last, taken from 43things. Stick a post it note up on yr bathroom mirror TONIGHT, reminding yrself to say something nice to yrself each of these 3 days in the mirror. Every day, say somthing nice to yourself in the mirror.

FOR SHINY
- You need to write down your plan for Monday's eating - food every 2-3 hours with protein at every meal.

- Meditate for 5-10 mins each of the 3 days

- Write down 3-5 things you would like to do in your ideal day. Choose a whole day when you will have your ideal day and do it!!!

Camping!

Camping is not an entirely new experience for me (I was a girl guide for a couple of years after all...) but I must confess there are some aspects of camping that I've never been particularly enamoured of - the trekking to the toilet/shower etc IF there is one, the sense of being stifled in an airless tent in the middle of summer and let's not forget the complete lack of dignity involved in climbing in and out of the tent.

I recently gave camping another bash, and not in the most ideal of circumstances either. It was pouring with rain and I was staying in a borrowed tent with no fly (note my easy use of camping jargon!). I was saturated. But there was something kind of fun about it nevertheless. There's a certain camaraderie you find in camping that don't get when you stay in a motel. The bbq probably helped as did the alcohol.

I Waste Money

I am not a pauper by any means. I make a good income and yet I still seem to have to resort to using the credit card at the end of the fortnight. Why? Because I waste money. There...I said it. It's quite true. I spend a LOT of money on food - snacks at work, coke at work, bought lunches, impulse supermarket shopping etc and I don't even eat that well. Except at lunch time I do eat quite healthy lunches so maybe I won't forgo those. As for the other stuff, it's all a complete waste of money.

I have a feeling that my new eating style (see my new blog Simple Eating) is going to cut down on my spending in a big way. Less money spent on rubbish means more money to spend on good stuff like travel. And clothes. And my new tent. And other important things.

Fat Burning Zone

So things still aren't going that great with the old kilo situation...BUT...there is a light on the horizon. Even though I gained 3 kilos in the last month (and you could not be more horrified than I am at this!) I have lost 5% of my previous state of fatness. In 3 weeks time there will be another fat measuring fiesta and I want to lose another 5% so it's all about low fat food choices and lots of cardio in the fat burning zone for me now.

home cooking rules

Friday night it was a tomato and pasta stew plus vegies. Tonight I whipped up a vegie lasagne and salad.

Tomorrow it's leftovers before I whip up a lentil and rice dish on Tuesday.

Yay for home cooking and regular eating.

Fingers crossed I stick with it :)

The Protein Do..

10. start eating better - more homecooked meals, less takeaway
so, how's this going? well, it could be much much better. I mean, I eat ok... not horrific. But I am so tired, so busy, so needing to just VEG that I eat lots of takeaway. and you know when you start filling your belly with processed, sugary foods.. you crave more processed, sugary foods.

and can I tell you.. I've been feeling it. My bowels have been feeling it. Ok, more info than needed but I do realise just how great I feel when I eat properly and how GROSS i feel when I don't.

Anywhoo, another reason to really do this is because of the whole depression thing. At our last session, my therapist told me that a big thing to do with my moods is the whole sugar level thing, and it makes perfect sense. Don't eat good food, regularly (every 2 hrs), my sugar levels drop, I binge on sweet stuff/alcohol to spike me up, and spike me up indeed is what happens.

So she said - every 2 hours (literally, timing it) I need to eat some protein. Tuna / nuts / cheese / hummous.. whatever. But proper protein.

It's pay day on Saturday, and I've got my first day off for ages, so I'm going to do this. SHop up, prepare meals, prepare snacks, and start feeling better.

It's quite exciting to come upon a new lead :)

Could Do Better

I went for my monthly fitness test last week and I was mildly disgruntled to see that while my fitness has improved, it hasn't really improved that much. Which is not what my cardiac arrest-like symptoms tell me when I go to the gym. But I also accept that while I am now factoring exercise in my life, I'm still not putting in as much effort as I could be (it's so hard!!) But the good news is I now have a very clear goal to get to the "Below Average" section of the fitness chart. As opposed to my normal home on that chart which is "Poor". With a few more Step classes in the mix I reckon I can do it!

Indoor Netball

Playing team sports when the team is made up of work colleagues strikes fear in the heart of any normal person. But I swallowed my pride and said "Yes, I will join the work indoor netball team." Today I played. And while I certainly worked up a sweat and a bright red face, I really enjoyed it. In fact, I scored goals!

Just do it!

Oh la la la, I'm excited! You know when you have those friends (or it could be yourself!) who always say.. this is the year I'm going to ..... (insert exciting fun thing to do here) .......?

Well, I do that.. and I've got friends that do that, so when one of them suggested we go to the ballet, I shot up and said there was one in particular I wanted to watch : Swan Lake, the male version. Yeh!


So come March, that's where I'm going to be.



And come this weekend, I'm TRAPEZING!


Stay tuned for photos.
This goal is happening!!!

Exercise is Fun!

Repeat until you believe it!

Actually believe it or not I am actually enjoying my sessions with the trainer. She makes me huff and puff like a steam train but that's not a bad thing I guess. Especially since it's the only way I'm actually going to get anywhere near the "Good" Fitness level. It's interesting that the thing I'm most struggling with in my strength training is the cardio aspect of it. It's not the aching legs or the sore arms that are letting me down (much!) but the breathlessness of having to squat and do shoulder presses at the same time. Oh that's the other thing I've discovered! I'm a real unco. Watching me multi-task in order to squat/shoulder press or lunge/arm pull back thingy must be hilarious. Oh well...I CAN do it (as I keep telling myself) and that's the main thing!

Break it down, James Brown!

Ok, let’s not talk about the plans that haven’t worked up until this moment. Instead, I’m focusing on the here and now, and breaking it all down into numbers numbers numbers. A bit of a budget to achieve this plan.

March • April • May • June • July

This means I have 5 months to pay off the damn card (more than enough!) – that equals $600 a month, or roughly $150 a week.

The way to do this:
1) Each week starting next week, I will earn $100 a week from yoga – this will go IMMEDIATELY onto the credit card.
2) Each pay (fortnight) I will put $100 to the cc as well.

In 3 more weeks (come mid-March) I will be earning $150 a week from yoga (so $50 more) so I keep the same payments up and the card will be paid off a little earlier.

There.. can breathe a little easier now! This really looks achievable!

*sigh* i'm in a funk

A COMPLETE FUNK.

I was hoping to get this year off to a flying start - and I kinda did. I worked HEAPS, in fact, didn't stop, but this silly tax stuff meant I got paid less than half of what I was expecting. This has completely put me behind in everything, with mounting bills to pay.

Good stuff - I know I'll get a nice refund at tax time, but for the moment, I'm in that black cloud and feeling a bit in over my head... again.

Gee Picasso, I hear you about your post below. It's bloody hard sometimes.

I was watching The Biggest Loser tonight and it's inspiring, you know? Here are these ppl really changing their lives and putting it all on the line. Well, some of them. It's great. And I know we can all do this too. Not with weight, but with our own battles.

I guess that as well as following our own posts in this blog, it's about inspiring others to some degree. Gee, we're all human. We all fall down. But it's about getting back up again and I hope I'm getting back up again soon in regards to a few things....

Here we go.

Be Aggressive! B-E Aggressive!!

If you are reading the title of this post and have a yearning to step from side to side and clap rhythmically - then Bring It On Funk Soul Sisters! You know exactly what we're talking about!!

I've been playing round with Goals 1,3 & 4 for a month and really getting nowhere. In fact, with Goal 3 I've actually progressed in the wrong direction. Time to do something about it and step up my efforts. So I've started a 12 week programme that my gym offers called Body Revolution. I have an eating plan to follow and I'll have two personal training sessions a week. Plus I'll have to do a whole lot of extra cardio the rest of the time. By the end of the 12 weeks I want to reduce my fat percentage by 5% and I want to be of "average" fitness. Hopefully not too much to ask if I put the work in.

It's going to mean some major lifestyle changes including:
* Going to bed a lot earlier
* Waking up at 6am and exercising in the morning
* Having breakfast
* Having a proper dinner
* Choosing low fat
* Planning and organising my food in advance

Phew! I'm not freaking out. Honest I'm not!! I really want to see some results so I'm going to think like an athlete and pursue this for all it's worth. Be Aggressive! B-E Aggressive is my new motto (and I think Shiny's too but for completely different reasons) so bring it on!!

Life resumes..

So great news - I got a job! I've finished up at bdo and I'm really looking forward to starting a somewhat normal-ish life as of tomorrow! Monday to Friday full time work, weekends for me, and regular hours.

So here's a bit of a weekly plan regarding exercise this week:
Monday - morning walk
Tuesday - morning walk
Wednesday - 6am yoga at Yoga Synergy with Simon
Thursday - 6.30am yoga at Samadhi Yoga with Amelia
Friday - 6am yoga at Yoga Synergy with Simon
Saturday - walk
Sunday - rest day

* take lunch to work every day

This week I start my yoga course (Wed & Fri), and I will be going to yoga each Thursday with Mary. I want to keep up with the walking - even just a 10 minute quick walk most days minimum, so let's see how this all goes : )

No More Stuff

I have no idea where my money goes. There. I said it. I know there's some that goes towards paying off my credit card when I have a periodic blow out and there's food and bus fares and petrol etc. But on the whole I'm really not sure where a lot of it goes. Shame on me:(

So February is going to be a little bit different.

I'm going to track my spending AND I'm going to tell you at the end of the month how much I spent in total on the following categories:
Groceries
Meals Out
Junk Food - I want to be shamed into submission!!
Entertainment - movies, pub etc
Transport - bus fares, petrol and parking
Clothes (including make up, accessories etc)
Incidentals - library fees, magazines etc

I'm also going to post how much I saved.

As part of my February mission to start cutting back on my rampant consumerism, I'm going to participate in a Spend Free Week - that's right - I'm taking a shopping sabatical for a whole week. I'd love to be able to do it for the whole month like the crew on No More Stuff. Wish me luck and I'll report back for better or worse on the 28th.

6.55am wake up, 8am yoga

You read right... on my first day off in aaaages, with no alarm clock set and the intention ready to have a great old sleep in, my eyes peeked open and my mind was wide awake at 6.55AM this morning. eep.

So I got out of bed, pottered a bit and went up to an 8am $5 yoga class with one of my favourite teachers of all, Amelia, at Samadhi Yoga in Newtown.

What a refreshing way to start my day off! With a month of solid 7-day a week work behind me, I was literally aching to get back on the mat and I'm on a high right now. The class was mixed level so was quite easy going, but I found it worked me hard! That is one of the things with all things fitness, I suppose, it takes some hard work and determination and committment to build up to a certain level, but it can so easily disappear.

But challenging is good - and now I'm going to snuggle up on the couch with some new yoga books I've got, and dream of some more classes : )

She's a Cinema lovin' girl

Hip hip hooray!

My new job (just found out this week!) is going to mean I get to see lots and lots of great, arthouse and indie movies. And I'm so excited!

This ties in perfectly with Goal 9 - to relax, and watch movies. How often do we fall in the trap of living to work - instead of the other way round? Finding a couple of hours to sit and watch a flick seems indulgent at times, but we have 24 hours each and every day, that is 168 hours each week, so if we can't spare 2 or so of those for some escapism, something is wrong with this scenario!

Stay tuned for some fab movie reviews heading your way soon ;)

Bend & Flex!

Only 2 mins to write, but update I must!

In the first weekend of Feb I’m doing a weekend workshop with Simon Low from the UK. I did some training with him during my actual teacher training course, and this will be fantastic.

I am also going to go for some power vinyasa yoga classes on my first day off, and I’m considering doing a Sutras course (theory) at Yoga Sanga. It all comes down to money so perhaps that won’t happen as yet and I’ll save the money, putting it towards the A&P course at Yoga Synergy. We’ll see.

But in the meantime, I’m SO excited to go and do a bunch of yoga classes.

I’ve been sitting at a desk way too much this month and while going for a buggy ride around site the other day, I actually got out and started to do some forward bends and warrior poses. Am sure I looked a bit loopy but I felt SO good. Wasn’t aware of how tight I’d become in just a few weeks, but it just goes to show how much I love it.

Dust Off That Passport!

I have 2 lots of tentative plans. Both involve Shiny!

1. I have airpoints to use and weight to lose so the plan is to give myself a certain amount of weight to lose (I'm thinking a kg a week-ish) by May 21st - the week my airpoints expire. If I achieve this - I get a trip to Sydney on my airpoints some time in July/August. If I don't - I lose $220 worth of airpoints. I'm REALLY hoping this will motivate me big time!!

2. Shiny and I are going to Thailand in November to celebrate her 30th in style - preferably on top of elephants!

Yipee!

How Do I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?

One of my biggest barriers to creativity is myself - or more specifically, my mind! "I'm not good enough", "My work isn't as good as theirs", or the perennial favourite "I can't do it". Tonight I showed my first lot of photos at the photography course I'm doing and got a rousing reception. So what I've found out is that I am good enough, my work is as good as theirs and I can do it pretty damn well actually. Still not stoking on the whole Summer theme I have to do but I think I'm going to be able to come up with something pretty interesting involving some or all of the following themes - drunk women, tools for beautification and normal women enjoying life. There's definitely a thread of feminist thinking running through there but I still need to work out how I'm going to tie it all together...

Massages & Green Tea

Stop working 7 days a week? Phooey! January is actually the month when that won’t happen at all. But looking further ahead, I actually declined taking on a class on Saturdays. Do you know how hard that was? Gee, normally I’d jump at the chance to take on another class, but I’m very definite that I’m going to have one proper day OFF each week.

As far as doing something conducive on days off, I had a half off a couple of weeks ago and booked in for a massage – and actually went! That is my thing, I get excited, know what I should do, book things in, then cancel them as I’d just prefer to sleep. But this was great – felt so good after it.

So this goal is off to a positive start.

Elephants in Thailand!

Overseas trip – on the horizon! After I get paid for BDO, I’m putting a deposit down on this trip, which will then truly make me go on it! It’s great to have a solid goal like this.

So yep, the trip is Thailand, with the gorgeous Muse, and the options are: Thailand Unplugged, Treasures of the North, and Kingdom of Thailand. They’re all with Intrepid so they’re gonna be small groups (no more than 12) and we’ll get to ride elephants, best yet – we’ll get to hang with the locals! Some of them have home stays, others have trekking… all look amazing.

Have passport – will (finally!) travel! And we’re also going to go during November, so I’ll get to spend my 30th overseas!!!

Moving - but in the wrong direction

Now that I am all about health, it's time to address Goal 4. I will lose 20 kg this year. But first to remove that pesky stray kilo that just popped on last week.



No more coke. No more chocolate. Lots of water. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. My body is my temple etc etc.

Mantra

My primary focus this year is on my health not my job.
My primary focus this year is on my health not my job.
My primary focus this year is on my health not my job.

Repeat until sunk in.

I have to keep reminding myself of this because: I have lost no weight, I have not started an exercise routine and I am still drinking coke. Sigh...

Summer Goddess

I have just started a brilliant course on creativity using photography as the medium. I have to admit my photography skills aren't that great but I figure I'm going to be learning pretty quickly! I have to produce a conceptual piece using the words 'Summer' and 'Goddess'. It would be really easy to do something really literal with this, however I have had to abandon the idea of the photo essay on Miss Whangamata since it's been and gone and was too cold for bikinis anyway. Here are some of the ideas I have been brainstorming so far:

• a little girl as an emerging goddess
• women dancing at the Organic Festival - bound to have a Woodstock vibe about it
• something around Wellington's summer weather which can best be described as "wintery"

Gobble gobble gobble

Oh how tempted I am to try 'Eat Fit Foods' 10 day detox - however, the $500 + cost screams out a big NO!!! January is an insanely busy working month for me so I tend to not eat well at all - too tired to cook, too tired to do anything. So the idea of home delivery - be it from a healthy food place or the local & not so healthy takeaway - proves extremely appealing.

However, I really must commence with a healthy eating plan in 2007. More fresh foods, less processed crap, and an abundance of healthful meals. All of this will give me energy (woohoo!) which my body is crying out for.

Tonight is the last day of 9 days straight working, and I'm going to whip up a quick tuna, mushroom and tomato wheat free pasta dish. This will be the first meal I've cooked in 2007 (hangs head). So here's to many more home-cooked meals and fresh, healthy food.

Shiny, in the writing room, with a beret

Very excited to confirm that I am doing a writing course come February. I've paid my deposit for the "Feature Writing for Magazines" course at the Sydney Writers' Centre, with journalist Valerie Khoo, and I'm so excited!

I love courses and learning but lack of money has always dictated what I've done (or have't done, as the case may be!) so I’ve really bitten the bullet here, paid the deposit, and have a month to come up with the rest of the money. And indeed I will!

After studying journalism at Uni but then falling into publicity (which I do love), I have an urge to follow my heart and really dive head first into the writing again. I am currently in the process of writing an article for a glossy teen mag at the moment, but would love to get even more work.

So here goes! You can check out the details for the course right here. Sounds fab!

Money makes the world go Round...

so they say : )
And as this is my money-focussed year, I'm starting work on my goal of having a nice little savings account. I haven't really had one of these for a long time.

By the end of 2007 I hope to have $1000 in a proper savings account - somewhat of an emergency fund that is not to be touched, but stays there for a rainy day. In 2008 I'll work on growing this emergency fund into a 3 months of salary full emergency fund... perhaps.

But pleased to say that as of today, I have $530 in this account.

I got paid from my last 8 working days - crazy & long hour, insane working days, and gee, was it ever worth it! I am paying one month's rent from it, and have managed to put a tidy sum into the savings account, so I'm happy.

Here's to being well on the way to debt free!

Cock-a-Doodle-Doo

Become an early bird – especially during the week: Mornings have never been my thing. I drag myself out of bed kicking and screaming most days...well if I had the energy I would kick and scream. Instead I seethe silently directing all the anger I can muster at the alarm clock. Most of last year, my relationship with my alarm clock reached an all-time low. So did my punctuality at work. I'm not too proud of it and I recognise it's time to get back on track and make time and space in the mornings to get things done.

I've been on holiday for the last 2 weeks and have been staying up late and waking up late. With work looming on the horizon it's time to start having earlier nights and getting ready to wake up earlier than 10am again. Oh, and I need a new alarm clock so I'm shopping for one tomorrow. After getting up at 7am.

The Only Way is Up

Have my fitness at the level of "good": How committed am I making an appointment for a fitness test at the gym on New Year's Day?! The idea is to shock myself into action as well as set the tone for the year. I'm going to have a fitness test of the first of every month this year and watch my fitness soar. So I guess you're wondering about the result of my January fitness test? Poor. Luckily it wasn't Very Poor. Okay so there is no Very Poor - Poor is the lowest you can get but I'm not looking at this as failure...it's a starting point. I felt suitably shocked to trot over to the cardio area afterwards and cycle away (at 80% of my maximum heart rate of course) for 30 mins so this could be the start of a whole new me. But don't worry, I'll still be the same person on the inside.