Thursday 27 September 2012

Long weekend is almost here



It's the long weekend this weekend. Do you have plans?

I am off to a health retreat with my good friend Elissa. I have never been to a health retreat before and I am so excited. Three days of healthy vegetarian food, exercise, a massage, terry towling robes (I may have made that one up), long walks and meditation.

I have also packed two books, The God of Small Things and the new Marian Keyes book. Two books may be optimistic but I don't care.

I look forward to returning refreshed and rested.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

x

(Image via pinterest)

Monday 24 September 2012

The carousel




Do you ever feel like you're on a merry go round? Going round and round and not realising you're stuck until you pass that same landmark for the tenth time.

I often feel like I’m going around in circles, and no matter how much I learn and think that I have grown, I fall into the same bad habits. One of my cycles is my tendency to react to feeling tired/sad/stressed or overwhelmed by making myself super busy and agreeing to a ridiculous amount of plans so I don't have to acknowledge what is really going on.

I have been known to book out entire weekends and weeknights with back to back catch ups, to the point of occupying a table in a coffee shop and having people lined up to meet me on the hour.

A perfect example is last week when I had breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner plans booked all in one day, and then convinced myself at 9pm I had to make muffins for the week ahead.

From the outside, I know this is insane, I know I am destined to fail and staying so busy with no down time is completely unsustainable.

But I don't do this on purpose, and most of the time I don't notice what I have done until I get sick or feel like I'm about to collapse. It’s only then that I'm prompted to stop and ask myself why... 

And there they are... weeks of endless plans rolling back at me like a bad midday movie. Anyone watching can see exactly where this is all going, but the leading lady is absolutely clueless and has no idea what's waiting around the corner.

So I did it again. For the last week I have felt so unbelievably exhausted that my energy levels, positive thinking and healthy eating have all gone out the window. I feel so tired, a little bit fluey and a tad sorry for myself.

Why oh why do I never learn? How do I not recognise the signs?

Do you have cycles or bad habits you routinely fall into?

(Image via 500px) 



Sunday 16 September 2012

Five things...


Five things I am grateful for this weekend...

1) Fresh spring flowers

2) Campos coffee

3) Spending time with good friends – old and new

4) A $24 pedicure

5) Baking gluten free chocolate cupcakes for my yoga class to celebrate the end of term



(Image via ellabella floral )

Sunday 9 September 2012

Spring smoothie



I wanted to share a yummy and healthy new smoothie recipe I have been enjoying the last few weeks.

One cup of frozen blueberries
Half to one full banana
Half a tablespoon of LSA or Flaxseed
One teaspoon of chia seeds
One cup of milk (I drink rice milk rice)
Blend

Enjoy

x

(Image via observando ) 

Wednesday 5 September 2012

What's next?



I am always busy planning and working towards my next goal.

A uni degree, a promotion, a house, an adventure, a new job, a wedding, a honeymoon.

It’s what I do. I plan and I move and I work towards something.

Recently it dawned on me that I've got nothing big to plan for. I've got the job I wanted that requires me to stay put for the next 2-3 years, I've got the unit that we love and that for financial and lifestyle reasons we will probably live in for the next 2-3 years, I've got the husband and we've just exhausted our funds on travel and a wedding.

All the 'big' milestones - house, new job, children, big travel - they're all a few years off and I have nothing to keep me busy planning.

I know for some people this might sound wonderful but for someone who has spent her entire adult life planning and consuming herself with 'what's next', I feel pretty lost.

I am not accustomed to stopping. Pausing for reflection. I don't know how to just be. My instincts are all shouting for action, for change, for something.

But for all sorts of reasons, I am here and I can't run away, or move and I don't want to waste the next three years planning for what comes next.

What's next has to be what's now and to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure where to start.  

(Image via shotgun-season )