It’s been a while – another update!

Like my title says, it’s been a while since I made a post, but that’s just because I’ve been busy doing things elsewhere!

I’m still going to the gym (yay!) and just did my first 60 minute workout on the treadmill since.. well.. ever. I feel pretty pumped! I’m going to go to the kickboxing classes again soon – maybe Thursday night if Ben’s home to watch Jasmine.

My tomato plant seems to have caught some wilt disease yet it seems to be a fighter! It’s produced about 6 small green tomatoes even though it’s on its way out. Respect. Hehe – I’ll try a plant better suited to Queensland conditions next time. My parsley seems to be flourishing though, so that’s some good news! Oh yeah.. I noticed a tomato-like plant with suspicious red fruit crawling limply over my garden today. I can’t believe a wild plant (most likely blown over from my next door neighbour) has grown all on its own and much better than my potted tomato attempt. Maybe I’m just not meant to be a gardener!

I think I am meant to be a sewer though! I’m constantly improving and it feels great. Check out my other blog if you want to see my latest creation – a friend kindly ordered it from me and I’m really proud of how it turned out. You can check out my craft blog by clicking the link on the side of this page.

Oh, also! I’m having a GIVEAWAY on my other blog. You can win a $70 lighting gift voucher (aussies only sorry) so go check it out!

Til next time,

Romi

 

My First Session at the Gym!

I have had THE BEST day!!

The gym was awesome. I’m glad I decided to get the courage to check it out. My personal trainer’s name is John and he’s really friendly and super nice but also very encouraging! I love being pushed a bit further than I thought I could do. I just wish I could afford a trainer more often!

Jasmine seemed to have a good time at the creche and the carer was lovely she earned heaps of cuddles from Jas, so that’s a good sign!

Ben’s home tomorrow which means I don’t have to pay for creche for Jas, so I might pop across and do another cardio workout.

I’ve also been eating really well – I’m so proud! I had no cookies today!! (I am currently in love with choc chip cookies – damn you cookie monster!) instead I ate fruit and veggies and made healthy dinner! I feel so lean already! hahaha.

I’m really excited about this I think the key is that I’m happy and having fun and that’s what life is all about.

My Clean Bedroom!

I’m so proud I just borrowed this book from the library called “It’s All Too Much” by Peter Walsh and it helps you go through your home, room by room, and declutter! It’s not just a ‘how to’ book though, it provides you with some really great perspective on the psychology behind it – the kind that is life changing.

The idea that fuels me is to “Imagine the life you want” for example, if I want a nice peaceful, relaxing bedroom to re-energize myself and spend quality time with my boyfriend, how am Isupposed to do that if it’s cluttered with a TV that we don’t use (though the idea of watching DVDs in bed is nice) and we have storage boxes in the corner of the room keeping clothes that haven’t been worn for years, but we still insist on keeping “just in case”. Well anyway, you get the point.

Today I cleaned out my bedroom – took the boxes out, moved Jasmine’s toddler bed from the end of ours (making it hard to get out) and moved it beside our bed where the boxes were (maybe she’ll start sleeping in it now!) and I even put a bedside table between them for our alarm (which was previously balancing on the telly) and some storybooks too – because that’s an important night time ritual that I think deserves a place in our home.

Everything that isn’t either functional or beautiful, is going outta here! If it’s good enough to give to a friend, we’ll give it to charity, otherwise (and I’m sorry mother earth) but it’s going to the tip. I really do wish we had a better recycling program. But that’s another topic – right now I need to reclaim my home! It’s supposed to be a place of happiness and support, not an overwhelming nightmare that I need to escape from!

My next job is to tackle the wardrobe and sort through those boxes of clothes. I’ll save that for another day – maybe tomorrow after the gym and the library if I have the energy!

For anyone that’s curious, this is my list that I’ve been working through.

GOAL 1: BEDROOM

Ideal function:  Sleeping, dressing, cuddle time
Who should use it?  Ben, Romi & Jas
What should it contain?  Bed, clothes, story books
What has to go?  TV, storage boxes

Bedroom
1. Make the bed nicely – use fresh, clean linen
2. Move Jasmine’s bed – make it too
3. Move TV and boxes out of room
4. Tidy and vacuum – room should be pretty now

Wardrobe
1. Go through all the clothes (let Ben do his) only keep clothes that:
a. I love
b. fit me well now
c. make me feel good when I wear them
2. Sort clothes by season, then by type, then by colour
3. Sort shoes – toss old ones!
4. Organise socks and underwear – only keep good ones!

Accessories
1. Sort handbags
2. Get a jewelry box and collect it all
3. Move laundry hamper somewhere useful

TOSS or GIVE items no longer needed away!

TIDY EVERY NIGHT BEFORE BED!!

My 3 Week Challenge

I’m giving myself a 3 week challenge to boost my health and fitness!

I’ve signed up to the gym across the road and my first session with a personal trainer is tomorrow. There I’ll work out an exercise plan to follow.

I also picked up this wonderful book from Women’s Weekly that has 21 days worth of healthy, low-fat, affordable meals! So I’m going to use it as a guideline and as inspiration for a healthy eating plan.

Wish me luck!

Oh my tomatoes!

Haven’t they grown! Compare this photo to the one in my previous post.. and the dates!

A few new photos to share

I just have a few new pics to share with you all

First.. these are the tulips and choccies as described in my previous post. Aren’t they lovely! VERY inspiring when it comes to keeping a pretty clean kitchen!

And these are to show how much my veggie plants have grown in the last few weeks. Check out the parsley! The tomato plant is actually bigger than it appears in the photo – we must be getting close to flowers soon, I can’t wait! This is also my dear sweet 17 month old baby girl, Jasmine, who has learned to help me water them.

Anyway we had a big day with my grandma’s commisioning at church and all kinds of things, so I have to go now, but I promise to update on that book soon enough

Have a good one!

Kitchen Clean!

Today, I’m going to clean up my kitchen!

Well, it’s actually quite clean already – on the outside – thanks to my happy day yesterday (see previous post) however this time I’m going to be giving it a nice thorough decluttering.

I’ve written up a list of tasks for myself and printed it out, but I thought I’d post it up here quickly too. I’ll update this post when I’m done!

Having a clean, organised kitchen is important to me – if it’s a mess and disorganised, I’m not likely to cook healthy meals, let alone enjoy preparing them. And clean kitchens make my boyfriend happy too It’s a good thing I have some beautiful tulips on the bench to inspire me as I go!

My list:

1. Clean out the fridge
2. Clean out the pantry
3. Clean out the drawers
4. Clean out each cupboard
5. Streamline kitchen appliances/utensils
6. Sew matching aprons, tea towels, pot holders, dishcloths (fun project!)
7. Decorate with plants or flowers (I have tulips!)

• All rubbish goes straight in the bin
• Collect items that aren’t useful anymore and give to charity
• Work out what containers we need for storing food properly
• Work out a meal plan and stick it on the fridge
• Write a shopping list based on meal plan, excluding items we already have

That’s it for now!

My Happy Day

I am happy! I had a good day.

Before you read any further, I just wanna point out that its almost 1am and I’m tired so please forgive my poor grammar etc. Anyway:

I am happy and I had a good, no.. great! day. It wasn’t always good – I was actually kind of sad and feeling down mid-morning – a bit tired too. But then I went for a walk. I didn’t have much money, so I decided not to go to the shops, and it was too hot to go for a walk on the bike track, so I pushed Jasmine in her pram down to the library where we stayed until baby rhyme time. She had heaps of fun and I picked up a good book.

On the way home I stopped by the shops – a lovely friend gave me $5 as a token thank you for this dress that I made for her daughter as a gift and she wouldn’t let me say no, so I gratefully accepted when she suggested putting it towards fabric for my next project she’s a sweet lady. Anyway, I went to the shops and bought some apples to make apple pie – a rewarding treat that’s full of fruit and reasonably healthy since I’m in control of how much sugar goes into it.

So, I got this book at the library and after getting Jas into bed and having a nice healthy, satisfying lunch, I had a read – a much better past time than constantly checking all my internet forums hoping for some interaction and acknowledgment that I exist, I tell ya.

The book, which I can’t remember the name right now because I’m SO tired, but I’ll post about it later, is all about the clutter in your life and why it exists and how to battle it – but not only that, it’s about the connection that being overweight (or obese) has to having a cluttered house. I’m not gonna talk about all the things right now and will save that for my review, but let me just say that it gave me some fresh perspective. And get this, I was so proud of myself when I realised that I’d already started to make the changes! For example:

I already decided to get rid of this box filled with junk (ok there are four of them) that are crowding my craft/pc room.

I already cleaned my kitchen and thus had room to prepare a healthy meal – which I had already planned in advance just by visiting the butcher and being inspired by the meat selection.WHICH also meant that instead of just throwing the chicken and some chips in the oven, I had the energy to portion out the meal with a nice serve of salad and replaced the chips with seasoned rice.

Anyway.. so my boyfriend kept in touch with me throughout the day like we always do and because I was sad, he cheered me up by telling me a surprise he had been working on. You see, I don’t have my drivers license, only my L’s. It’s a long story for another day, but it’s a big issue for me. And in secret, he’s been logging my hours for my log book so that he could take me to get my P’s for my birthday. I was in shock when he told me! He was hoping to save it but knew I needed the pick me up and I tell ya.. that did it! It’s not so much about getting the license (or the freedom it means!) but the fact that he thought about me and is helping me. He’s the sweetest.

Anyway, so because he hadn’t eaten anything all day being in a hurry and also being too broke to buy anything (we’re living off one wage and paying off debt and are still learning to manage it better) I said I’d have dinner ready for when he came home. His revelation inspired me to be good to him too! So I went down and cleaned and cooked and when he came home, and I even threw out some clutter and started to fold the ironing while watching my daughter play at the same time.

When he stepped out of the car I thought I’d have the surprise for him – the clean kitchen, the cooked dinner and his fav choccies waiting for him on his desk.. but I was the one surprised! He was standing there with a beautiful bunch of tulips and a box of chocolates!! I love flowers – they’re pretty. Usually Ben shows his love for me in other ways (like massages) but for him to get flowers was such a thoughtful, sweet thing!!

We had a yummy dinner as a family and watched a TV show together and just hung out spending family time together. It was a great night!

Anyway, that’s why I’m still up at 1am in the morning typing this post, because I’m buzzing from spending time with him and I’m really happy and this new book has also really encouraged me and given me some great insight. I’ll share more about it tomorrow but for tonight, I’m just going to be really happy for me and appreciate how lucky I am.. and hopefully get some sleep now. Nini!

My Goals

I don’t feel like writing something really philosophical right now, so I’m just going to keep it short and sweet.

This is a list of a few goals that I have decided on in order to live the kind of life that I want. Overall, I need variety in my life. I thrive best when I’m passionate!

Anyway, my current goals are:

• Start doing an active hobby of some kind in the next few weeks, like belly dancing or martial arts.
• Save my money for a few weeks so I can buy the first bolt of fabric for my new small business idea.
• Drive every chance I get, so I can get my drivers license before my birthday in November

That’s it for now! I just wanted to put this here so I see it all the time. I might print it out and stick it up as well, to remind me.

Brisbane Dust Storm

This is only the second time I’ve ever seen one of these – both within the last two months, though this one is definitely worse than the last. I woke up this morning to see slightly yellow skies and now at 1pm, these are the photos. I hope it clears up and we have a bright sunny day again soon. Usually our skies are a beautiful blue and the grass is green.. just not today.

This is the view from my computer/sewing room on the second floor:

Update: This is from this afternoon at 4pm. The sky is like.. white/grey instead of yellow now that the sun is over here. Not quite as scary as the red that some people were getting but definitely very strange.

Oh by the way, behind the trees in the distance is actually more trees and hills that you just can’t see. I’ll have to take a photo on a sunny, clear, bright day just for comparison.