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I’m Back!

How is it already December of 2018? My last post on here was January 2017. So much has happened since then. My blog was out of action for a good part of my unplanned hiatus, since there were issues with hosting etc. Thankfully Matt has fixed it and I’m back.

I haven’t done a 2018 goals post and I don’t think I quite set out things for this year at all. I had a few rough goals in mind but it didn’t quite eventuate and this year hasn’t quite turned out as we would’ve expected.

We tied the knot in June 2017,which has definitely been a highlight of last year. As much as wedding planning was stressful, I would’ve done it again in a heart beat as the day turned out as perfect as can be.

We went our honeymoon at the end of 2017, with visits to Malaysia for my cousin’s wedding, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau. We hadn’t been travelling in a while and the trip was a great way to recharge & spend some quality time together. We spent Christmas & New Year’s in Hong Kong. It was juts magical. Yes, we did go to Disneyland and bought a truck full of souvenirs!

The day we were setting off on our honeymoon, we got news that my work situation was going to change dramatically due to some changes in government. Definitely wasn’t the greatest way to start a holiday but we managed to put that behind us until we came back home.

We also had put our house on the market and then took it off the market after 9 months as we weren’t getting any realistic offers. We’re still in the midst of making it our home & decluttering things as we go at the moment. It’s only since July 2018 that we’ve had a proper place to call home together as a married couple. Living out of a small selection of clothes while having home opens most weekends was not the most pleasant thing.

Which brings us to present day. I’m still waiting to hear what’s happening with work. I’ve been transferred to work way south of the river, albeit acting in a role I previously have done, so it isn’t a bad thing. I’ll be there till March, and after that I’m not sure as we’re still waiting to hear about what is going on. The not knowing what’s happening is definitely affecting morale at work & is not helping with stress levels. I’ve been keeping an eye out for other potential roles but nothing exciting has popped up so far. Also looking at other avenues for making money & if I’m honest, I’m more excited about the other avenues than I am about my current work industry. I’m not ruling out any opportunities but I’m not locking myself in either.

Thus has been a brief recap of the last 18 or so months. I’m hoping that it’s not going to be that long between posts again!

Flu Shot 2015

I had my flu shot over the weekend & it’s resulted in this giant lump yesterday. It’s about as big as a standard size mug bottom. The ring around it was done by my colleague who wanted to make sure it didn’t grow any bigger.

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I was not a happy camper at all. My boss has the theory that it’s a reaction indicative of how bad a flu I would have caught had I not got the injection. Old wives tale or partial truth? You be the judge to that.

Ways to De-Stress

I’ve been in a bit of a foul mood yesterday (I blame PMS!) & have only just started really getting my head out of the funk today. I’ve been thinking about the things that can lighten my mood & make me less snappy & came up with the list below.

1. Listening to radio or music

I’m quite lucky that my boss and workplace allows me to listen to music/radio as long as my work is done. The office can get quite noisy at times which is quite distracting,
most staff have earphones plugged into the computer & listen to things on YouTube or radio. Being able to tune into music & just concentrate on that plus work really helps with getting my head back into the right space.

 

2. Having a quick browse on the Internet
Being able to quickly hop on to one of my favourite blogs or cooking websites helps me break up the monotony of the day. Browsing yummy food on the Internet definitely takes my mind away from things!

 

3. Taking a relaxing shower/bath

This has to be one of the more relaxing things for me. The hot water really loosens & relaxes my muscles, which in turn helps with making me feel at ease & more comfortable. It helps if I also have some nice smelling shower gels to use. Coming out of the shower/bath feeling squeaky clean is one of the best feelings!

 

4. Watching TV

Need I say more about the idiot box?

 

How do you relax after a stressful day? Leave your comment below, I‘d love to find out to add to the things I can do to help 🙂

The Story of How We Missed Our Graduation

This is perhaps one of the more epic stories up here on the blog in more recent years. Matt and I were due to graduate on Tuesday 24th February 2015 – him for his Masters & me for my Grad Dip. I had gone down to Rockingham by train so that I could drive us up to Curtin to have our 10 seconds of fame for all the hard work we’ve put in. On the way down, there was impending chaos as there was a bushfire along the Kwinana near Anketell Road, causing the authorities to shutdown the Freeway from Armadale of Rowley Road to Mortimer Road, a pretty decent stretch & one of the main arteries in and out from the South metro area. On the train, I noticed a lot of people gasping & plenty of camera sounds. I looked up and no joke, I saw trees burning right by the side of the Freeway, with flames higher than the tree tops. The roads looked like a ghost town & by that stage, the fire had already jumped the Freeway to burn on the other side.

 

Our graduation ceremony started at 7pm and we were to be seated by 6.30pm for a video briefing. We left Rockingham at about 4pm, thinking we’d give it plenty of time for us to get through the traffic, given that the Freeway was closed where we needed to get on. Lo and behold, we had started driving & soon it became apparent that things were not looking good. We tried to get on to Stock Road, but traffic was really bad so we attempted to get on the Freeway on Thomas Road, given that either way we’d still be stuck. Got to Thomas Road and at the on ramp to the Freeway, there was a cop redirecting traffic as the Freeway was still closed. We got back on to Stock Road to try to give ourselves a fighting chance to get to our graduation. By the time 6pm came around, we hadn’t even reached Spearwood (20km from our initial starting point) & we had to call it quits as we were only halfway there. Both sides of the road were jam packed as far as the eye could see, we weren’t going to get out of there any time soon.

 

Turned around at that point & got to Phoenix to try to get some grub but all the back road were also congested & stopping to get food didn’t seem like such a good option as all the carparks were full. So back around to Rockingham we turned & we got to the local Maccas by 8.15pm. I needed to stretch my legs as they were cramped and my butt hurt from the 4 hour long drive. By the time we got back, my dad had messaged & said that the fireworks had come on after the graduation ceremony.

I must say I wasn’t too bothered about it all as it is my second degree and a Grad Dip. We’ve organised it so that we can go to the winter graduation ceremony mid-year. That’s probably a better option, given that the regalia is so thick & heavy, it’d be better suited to colder weather conditions teehee 🙂

What’s your graduation story?

Why I Don’t Often Eat Fruits

About a week ago I had quite a strong craving for some fruit, namely bananas or mangoes, preferably in smoothie form. I must admit, I am not someone who automatically reaches to the fruit bowl each day for the recommended daily dosage of them natural sugars, but I don’t despise them at all. I actually like fruit, I just don’t have a natural inclination to eat them unless it is in front of me.

 

I’m not exactly sure why that is, but it might have something to do with not having fruit on a daily basis while growing up. I spent a great proportion of my childhood/teenage years at babysitters’ houses & ate whatever they gave me. More often than not, fruit wasn’t a big thing there. I got the occasional banana, apple and sour oranges. I used to love ice cold turnips dipped in plum powder, that’s the taste of my childhood.

 

Moving to Australia & seeing everyone eat fruit & it being pushed at every direction has slowly altered my mindset to try to consciously include it in my diet. I used to eat a banana or two a week & no other fruit. I’m actually a walking billboard of what not to do with your diet, I might not look like I’m unhealthy, but I can guarantee you that if a doctor ran me through a barrage of tests, I wouldn’t fare well. I’m actually making a conscious effort to try to eat fruit each day (I managed to find a slice of kiwi & green apple at work today!) and am slowly trying to make small changes to the way I do things.

 

As long as I don’t have full control of what I eat each day, I am going to add to my diet a bit at a time in way of fruit. It is a bit of a hard habit to break, 28 years of not having fruit regularly is ingrained in me. Baby steps each day.