I love...

• the fact that my friend made her cat a facebook page... and that the cat now has a hyphenated last name of hers and her boyfriend's. Awwwww, they have their first furbaby together!
• getting carried away in future plans with SB... falling in love with a property and plotting ways to buy it then realising we haven't even been together for six months! Ahem... dial it down a little folks. It was a really awesome starter home though, my mum even thought so LOL.
• arriving at uni for proper this week and realising that I didn't miss out on much other than extra time within which to do my assignments... subject content-wise though, I'm sweet.
• starting to say no and be a little more selfish - focusing on what is important to me (well, kind of us - SB and I) and sticking with that. I have a tendency to be a bit of a promiscuous friend and I think it might pay to start focusing on a smaller group of friends but giving them the attention they deserve.
• leopard print... call it my inner bogan screaming out but yesterday I wore two pieces of clothing that featured the pattern (okay, one was the lining of my shoes, but still).
• being taken out on a dinner date with the boy and an opportunity to give one of my new pretty dresses a debut!
• warm foot baths - this may be TMI but I have an infected blister on my foot... SB has been making me nice antiseptic foot baths to soak my feet in while watching TV to try and heal my manky foot.
• playing Tybalt as we ran through the first scene of Romeo and Juliet in one of my papers. I've played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet before but Tybalt is an awesome character... although no one does it as well as him.
• Going to a friend's house tomorrow for drinks and chill-time for no other reason than that it is Saturday - a nice change after all the milestones in July :D
  

Literary Inspirations: John Wanamaker on Recreation

People who cannot find time for recreation are obliged sooner or later to find time for illness.

-John Wanamaker (19th century merchant)

In my steps to create a healthier lifestyle moving forward, I have to bear this in mind. I went to have a look at what the actual definition of recreation is (English teacher, hello!):

rec⋅re⋅a⋅tion 
/ˌrɛkriˈeɪʃən/ [rek-ree-ey-shuhn] –noun
1.
refreshment by means of some pastime, agreeable exercise, or the like.
2.
a pastime, diversion, exercise, or other resource affording relaxation and enjoyment.
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.

I picked a few important pieces out of this -

Refreshment: It is important that whatever I consider doing as recreation actually refreshes me in body and in spirit. A walk along the beach in brisk winds? Yes! A walk along an avenue of a crowded mall? No!

Exercise: A leading defence against the illness that has plagued me this year is exercise! I'm one of those people that loves getting out and enjoying time and activity in the sun and warmth. Wet cold winter? Not so much. I've been getting SB to show me how to use his home gym to do some exercises and I really need to make an effort to get out and walk about when it's sunny to get that cardio input. I'm already looking at getting a treadmill next winter if SB and I have moved in together (which looks like it may be on the cards).

Relaxation: Going out clubbing and partying hard with friends is all well and good in moderation, as is using my time at home to study and complete assignments. The issue here is that neither of them are particularly relaxing things to do. Moving forward, for the next month or so, I will make sure I'm reading at least one book for pleasure each week and that my weekends include one night that is relaxation, whether it's a night in with SB or a quiet chillout at a friends house.

Enjoyment: I recently changed my plans this weekend - I had made plans to see someone I knew from a long time ago. As I sat flicking through my plans for the weekend, it struck me. Why? Why would I go? This particular person and I never had a particularly strong friendship and although I'd be seeing other people that I did care more for, the effort seemed disproportionate to a friendship that really only lasted a season. It would frustrate me more to go than the enjoyment I would get from going. So I sent my apologies and instead will be relaxing (see point above LOL) with SB, spending some quality time together.

I will be making time for recreation, peaceful and wonderful moments in my life for the people that count - stuff this being sick bullshit LOL! How bout you, Scribblettes?

But what if I miss out?

Last weekend was crazy busy - I spent Saturday morning working on an assignment and time just slid away. By the time that I'd finished my laundry in the afternoon, I'd run out of time to visit my grandmother before having to head out for the evening. After a brief stop at SB's house, we headed out to a 30th birthday dinner which we then departed early from to go to a housewarming around 30kms away from the dinner party. Sunday was barely a sleep in before going into church early to do a job there, shot up into the central city (again, about 30kms, not a small drive) to attend a baby shower, which I departed early from to attend the 2nd birthday of Ms.Bee's daughter. By the time I got back to SBs at around 6pm that evening, the last thing I felt like was cooking dinner but I had promised that I would. SB picked up the load once I had seasoned our burrito beef and then we curled up and watched Grey's Anatomy... well I did, he read a magazine.

SB looked at me on the couch looking absolutely shattered... he said gently that he worried that i over-commit myself. I agreed, and told him I didn't plan on doing it again this semester as I have so much to worry about at uni and I also value our alone time - I think it's important for all relationships. In my head I have this picture of saying yes to maybe one or two things each weekend, depending on how busy I am with uni stuff.

BUT The little whiner sitting on my shoulder is going "What if you miss things?" "You need to stay in touch with your friends" "How are you gonna choose?" "People are going to be sad if you don't choose their thing". I'm getting to the point when I need to knock that little whiner right the hell out. It's no life if I sacrifice the things that are important to me in order to make everyone else happy. Does anyone else struggle with managing their friends and responsibilities while creating the right life for them?

Smile on my dial...

This gorgeous video comes courtesy of Polka Dot Bride - absolutely LOVE it! What a unique and happy way to start a fantastic occasion! I really believe that weddings should be a reflection of a couple and I bet this would be a wonderful couple to befriend!



And those vintage sunnies are awesome!

When it all gets too much...

I turn into a really snarky bitch. Pretty blunt, I know, but it's the truth. If I am stressed out, uptight and generally wound tighter than a pair of hand-washed smalls, I am not a nice person.

Take now for example. I've had the flu for almost a week. I've had constant headaches and general body aches during that time. Being off uni has been more stressful than you could imagine because it is my first week back and right now I have no real idea of what is going on and what I need to know. I haven't had a chance to see SB until tonight (doctor asked me to voluntarily quarantine myself) so we've been conducting a phone/email/text love affair and that isn't fantastic.

Mum made a mistake today, it wasn't huge but it stressed me out even more. And Ka-Boom! The bitch came out to play. I hate it when that happens. It destroys my illusion that on the whole I am a nice person. Yet I don't know how to change that default reaction.

How do you react when it all gets too much? Does it make you think less of yourself? Tell me in the comments...

Loves and not so much loves...

Loves: Having dinner parties with a whole bunch of friends, cooking for a crowd and making them happy.

Not so much loves: Doing the dishes for aforementioned dinner party - we're out again tonight so I couldn't leave them for StunningBuns to do when he gets home from work... he will be coming to my parents instead. I loathe doing dishes and this took me four sinkloads (for seven people and three courses, it could have been worse)

Not so much loves: The awkwardness of seeing exes at parties

Loves: I actually want to bump into Ex-S. Total commitment phobe that he is, he told me when he dumped me that it was because I wanted babies and children. He dumped the next girlfriend because at 35, her biological clock was ticking loudly. He struggled to find another girlfriend after that and went back to 35-yr-old for some booty. Guess who's going to be a daddy? The bitch in me wants to just go up to him sweet-as-pie and tell him congratulations. Thanks big guy upstairs - needed the laugh!

Loves: Stunning Buns for not thinking that my cattiness is appalling :D

Not so much loves: Feeling super-catty at the moment due to PMS... seriously, not cool.

Not so much loves: The superhungry feeling I get sometimes with the PMS - I don't want to get any bigger than I am...

Loves: Eating the remainder of the cheese ball I made... oh so yummy!

Loves: Party tonight with dear friends

Not so much loves: How the heck did it get to this time??? Four hours and I'm still at SB's house.... zipping off for now. Ciao Scribblettes!

Literary Inspirations: Dale Carnegie on Busy

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

-Dale Carnegie, Lecturer and Author

As part of my week of building good foundations, I feel like it is all about taking action and powering through what needs to be done. If I think about how busy the semester ahead is going to be, I can get a bit of stage fright on... being paralysed by how much I have on both academically and socially. By making lists and sticking to a format for each day, I'm doing as much as I can to be prepared and stop melt-down later on.

On this note, does anyone know where I can find a DVD copy of the movie "O" - a modern day take on Othello? I'd like to use it as a teaching resource for my assignments next term and all the NZ sites seem to be giving me dead ends. It's the one nitty-gritty bit in my to do list that won't get done!

Building Good Foundations

I'm in the enviable position of finding myself with the best part of a week with no study and very few work commitments... what to do with this time?

• Exercise - the weekend weather has been totally crap and really limits the amount of time you can spend out and about soaking up some Vitamin D while getting fit. Today, stunning blue skies. Walking is always more fun when you have someone to talk with so I'm hauling mum out to pound the pavement with me, trying to build a habit for the semester ahead. I tend to let fitness go down the tubes when assignments are due so it's good to get this sorted now.
• Reading - I have a lot of reading to do for my courses next term and I am lucky enough to be aware of some of it already. This afternoon will find me curled up in my favourite armchair, vanilla chai in hand, reading my way through some of what I consider Shakespeare's more challenging works.
• Research - Along with reading, the courses will require further research into related subject information. With ample time and ability to print resources, why wouldn't I get a head start on this?
• Gift Purchasing - I have several milestone events coming up - big birthdays, engagement parties, baby showers. I really hate battling shopping crowds on the weekend so I will use some of my time this week looking for those perfect gifts to make those people smile.
• Catching up - I'm currently in the process of making arrangements to have lunch with people various days of the week. When combined with the walking, this gives me enough time out of the house to make the time I spend in the house more productive.

I'm hoping that all of these combined will create a good foundation for moving forward next semester. A mighty house is built on strong foundations so let's hope it goes well! How are you laying foundations, Scribblettes?

Christchurch Re-cap

Warning, this post is a little picture heavy and may take some time to load... bear with me! I think it's worth it!

Hotel So - a small yet gorgeous hotel right in the Christchurch CBD and where we stayed for our sojourn. Arrived there early in the morning and we were able to check in straight away, thanks to a hotel staff member we soon nicknamed superhappyexcitedgirl :D No one should be that perky before nine in the morning. She may have even used the phrase "lovelyjubbly".

The Christ Church Cathedral - one of the most famous landmarks in Christchurch. In the top left of the photo you can see a tower - we climbed that sucker, baby!

Just one of the beautiful examples of artwork within the cathedral - the interior design could have been a blog post in itself!

Told you we climbed it! However we weren't about to fall prey to the tourist trap of buying 2 $2 pieces of paper :D Those steps were steep and disorientating but it was still fun!

The foyer of the Christchurch Art Gallery as seen from the first floor - definitely worth a visit just for the architecture. The collections themselves were the icing on top of the cupcake!

And now the reason for PianoMan's moniker change to Stunning Buns. It is in honour of this eating establishment (which to be fair, the food was fantastic at) and our holiday that he now wishes to be known as StunningBuns or SB for short. Look at that sign, the curved line even looks like a bottom!

Punting on the Avon River - divine, romantic and historically quite interesting... even though Andrea's LOML told us that he used to make up historical facts when he was a punter!

New Regent Street - on the historical tram route, I just found the colours and the vibe of this street generally quite amazing. Christchurch is such a mixing pot of design styles!

Akaroa - the only French settlement in NZ. Having been there last summer, I was amazed at how deserted it was in winter... it did however give me the opportunity to walk around more slowly and take pictures of tiny old cottages like this one. SB and I couldn't conceive of living in something that small, yet people did (and by the look of it, still do!).

Akaroa Harbour as we were leaving - the foggy weather meant that we couldn't get some of the more spectacular landscape views from the summit but I still think that this looks gorgeous.

We drove through the Lyttleton Harbour tunnel and around the harbour heads to Sumner (the head of the harbour you can see to the left of the pic). The roads were fairly narrow with sheer drops off one side - picturesque but scary in a large Holden rental car!

View of Christchurch from the top of the Port Hills - it isn't until you get this perspective that you realise how vast the city is. As tourists you only explore a small part of the area and tend to forget about outlying suburbs. It isn't as big as Auckland of course, but the laidback feeling you get here is quite appealing!

My intrepid SB continuing to take photos while I seek refuge in the rental car!

The view of Lyttleton Harbour from the top of the gondola station - such a cute little township nestled into the hill like that!

Our last touristy thing before StunningBuns had to catch his earlier flight back (damn jobs, work and general reality!) was the New Brighton pier. I'd wanted to walk the pier back in summer but my cousin had brought her dog with her and there were no dogs allowed. SB cajoled me to walk the length of the pier with him (that is the shoreline and the local library in the distant background) and while I whined and complained, I'm glad he made me do it! Certainly blew the cobwebs out :D

Some of these ladies may be familiar to you - others maybe not so much. I had the absolute pleasure of chatting about life, the universe and everything with these three gorgeous lady bloggers. It was great to make better friends with Andrea, Bridey and Charlie - plus the food at Chinwag Eathai was divine! Definitely worth another visit.

So that's a recap of some highlights of my Christchurch stay - also love Yellow Rocket bagels for breakfast, vintage shopping with Andrea, mood lighting in our hotel shower, laughing at the huge population of emos, Coffee Culture Vanilla Chai, corgi statues, sprinting down a museum hall in a dress and boots (part of a human body exhibition - measuring how fast you run), snuggling and watching movies and having some relaxing time out of AKL. Thanks for reading!

News in brief...

Funny, when I type that I hear little news bulletin blips in my head (does anyone know what I am talking about or do you all just think I'm crazy?)...

• I had a fantastic time in Christchurch - full recap to come! I spent time with Andrea and we had dinner with Bridey and Charlie, fantastic blogger fun! I will be in Christchurch more often with my sister moving down there so it's good to make better friends with these awesome girls.
• The one downside of our Christchurch holiday was the spectacular spill I took down concrete car park stairs on Saturday. I don't even have the excuse of *ahem* impaired judgement - I was just busy talking to PianoMan and pulling the hotel key out of my handbag - which I might add was totally unnecessary at this stage - and there she goes. The bruise on my lower back is still coming through!
• Speaking of PianoMan, he has now decided to go by the moniker StunningBuns or SB for short. The reason for this name change will become apparent in the Christchurch recap. It's not just because he has an extremely handsome rear end, people. He will still play me a mean rendition of the Foo Fighters on the piano though :D
• I've been back since late Tuesday afternoon and haven't yet had the chance to blog - bad blogger I know. I stepped right back into the breach at work and covered a shift on Wednesday (and one this morning) and went on a $500 shopping spree with mum yesterday for some desperately needed teaching clothes.
• I'm feeling a little bit blue post-holiday. Real world is not so awesome sometimes - no long sleep ins with handsome boyfriends, no Yellow Rocket bagel, no awesome hotel. I'm sure I'll snap out of it shortly LOL
• Parties for the next three weekends - milestones abound! Birthdays, engagements, housewarmings; all very different ways of moving forward but proud of all my friends nonetheless.
• About to wrap up this cover shift and have lunch with a very dear friend... ChCh recap tomorrow morning Scribblettes!
  

Literary Inspiration: Abraham Lincoln on Happiness

People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.
- Abraham Lincoln

I went out shopping today for a pair of thermals. It appears that I left it too late and all the ones for women of a curvy nature have disappeared off shelves. Hauling on a pair that I knew would be too small to fit, I could almost smell my own discontent. Stupid thermals, stupid shop, stupid-fat-ass-on-me-why-the-hell-don't-I lose-weight grrrrrrrrr.

Then I lifted my head up to the fitting room and mirror and smiled. I don't really have that much to be upset about. I get to go on an awesome holiday tomorrow with my darling PianoMan and we get to stay in a gorgeous hotel and spend some uninterrupted time together. If I'm freezing, it's just a good reason to snuggle.

So often, happiness is just how we choose to frame something - what we focus on as being important. Sometimes we can be less-than-happy, choosing to live in the now than focus on the joy yet to come (I know that this happens with university work and I A LOT) and sometimes it is the reverse, spoiling the happiness of now with what must unfortunately and inevitably come (like end of holidays).

Not finding thermals today meant that I had the cash to buy a pair of three quarter leggings with lace around the ends (had been on my must buy list), means I have more money to spend in Christchurch and meant I was out of the mall earlier - meaning I could come into work earlier and earn more cash. Frame the situation right and the happiness will leap out at you.

Scribblettes, what's something you can reframe today?