The News in my Life

Recently I have welcomed some new things into my life. Over the school holidays I've really embraced these things and thought I'd share!

Exercise

I realise (as do you, if you read my posts) that Jeffrey's and my wedding is still 13 months away however after trying on wedding dresses and starting to get fitted, I have decided I need to thin down a bit. I'm not huge or over weight but along with most girls, I have certain areas I'd like more toned. Once a day I've been pedalling my parents exercise bike for 15 - 30mins per day. So far I've managed to do it 6 days per week. It's a bit of an old, noisy beast but I can read and pedal so it does the trick!

I've also dragged out one of dad's lightest weights and am lifting it to help tone my arms.

Piano practice!

When I was younger I had many years of piano lessons which I just did nothing with. Over the fast few years Jeff has always tried to encourage me to play the piano again (but I wouldn't). He believed that I could play it but I totally didn't. So recently he gave me a massive shove to start playing again and I agreed. Turns out his belief in me was true and I actually can play!!!! However I believe that God is trying to teach me patience through piano playing as it drives me absolutely CRAZY that I cannot play quickly straight away. I'm very temperamental you know lol!

I've discovered that I can play every single melody line of all the songs in the hymn book (which is a lot of songs.) However I will have to practice very carefully to play all of the parts. Someday I hope to be able to play well enough to accompany my singing.

Tonight is my Poppy's 80th birthday party which I think is a massive milestone so I'll hopefully upload some photos to facebook in the next few days. I'm taking the SLR to get some nice snaps of this day.

5 Thing I’d Recommend

Everyone has things they use that are brilliant so I thought I’d just share 5 of mine with you. If you are a blogger maybe you could write a post like this too! Sharing is caring afterall!

1. Tupperware Happy Chopper – I bought this from one of Talia’s Tupperware parties and I could not be happier with it. I can chop veggies, fruits, herbs (dry them first), nuts and I can even mince foods and puree foods. I use it just like a mini food processor. It’s safe because your fingers are away from the blades, quick to use and clean.

2. The Body Shop Warming Mineral Mask – For almost $30 for a smallish tube, this stuff is quite expensive but use it sparingly and it’s fantastic. It just seems to draw the oil out of your skin and leave it feeling clean and natural. I love it and use it about twice a week. Also feels nice as it warms up on your face. It lasts me around about 6 months a tube.

3. GHD Hair Straightener – Again I realise these are very expensive but if you save up they are well worth the money. I can turn it on and 10 seconds later it’s more than hot enough to do the job. At its full heat it straightens so quickly and you can even be used as a curling iron.

4. Pasta Maker – Talia introduced me to making pasta and I just love it. It takes a tad bit longer but the taste is so different and really yummy. I find it hard to eat packet pasta now. Making your own means you know exactly what is in it. I’d definitely recommend spending a little extra and getting a good quality pasta maker as mine is a $25 one and it’s bending and the blades are not sharp anymore. I’m buying a new one from MYER when I’ve saved up.

5. Bamix – Another one for the kitchen! My parents own a Bamix and I can use it for so many different things. Whipping cream quickly, pureeing, making soups, milkshakes, frothing hot milk or my scrambled egg mix so they are light and fluffy.

Overall I think I recommend that spending a little more on certain items is important because they work better. My parents have bought good quality kitchen items and 30 years later still have them working perfectly. I hope that some of these might interest you and that you might recommend some things to me in your blog or in my comments.

Holiday Time!

At last it's the school holidays again woohoo! I'm really enjoying not getting calls at 6am to work and in general not having to work at all! I've pretty much just spent time at home so far but am doing a little wedding planning with mum while we have time.

Being organised is just the best! So far our wedding plans are totally happening! Today we went to the most amazing little studio to look at flowers. I was just blown away at how beautiful they look and I think we'll probly go with this florist! I also found this website for getting flowers freeze dried http://www.theflowerfactory.com.au/. Not sure if we'll do it as it's pretty expensive but it's a great idea!

Last week Jeff and I were blessed enough to be able to go out a few times after he finished work. We went bowling (he beat me lol), had quite a few nights of coffee and went to the movies. The girls saw The Proposal - great movie but had some bits that weren't really appropriate or necessary.

Life is wonderful and I'm very blessed to have such a wonderful fiance, family and friends.

Attacking the Garden

Today I decided that I needed to do something with my herb garden. It was totally over grown and just looked like a mess. I dug out all the old plants (which by the way had HUGE roots) and turned the soil. It's looking much better now and I just have to decide what I'd like to plant. I'm thinking garlic, ginger, spring onions and perhaps cherry tomatoes.

Yesterday I went over to my grandparents house to try on the first practice run of my wedding dress. It's so exciting and I'm keeping up my photo journal of everything to do with the wedding. This picture I've added doesn't give anything away about the dress, it's not even the real material!

Thursday night I got my engagement ring back (it had been getting fixed and re-plated) and Jeff also bought my wedding ring! It's going to take 6 weeks to be re-sized but I'm so happy we have it now. Another thing to check off the list.

In general we've both just been working, saving and trying to spend much more quality time together. I'm feeling less stressed as I can see God's amazing plans unfolding for us both and we have not a worry in the world!

Flu Season

Flu season has arrived and I'm starting to feel the effects of a sore throat and stuffy head. So I thought I'd share a few of my tips for chasing away the start of a cold or helping yourself once you've got one. After all we all want to be well and fast!

Tip One: garlic and horseradish tablets and ecinasia (sp?) are the best you can get for colds!

Tip Two: as soon as you feel you are getting sick e.g sore throat or stuffy head, then take a dosage of the tablets. They wont hurt you.

Tip Three: Try to eat healthy and get enough sleep each night. You'll keep healthy and prevent anything coming near you.

Tip Four: Fresh orange juice (or any fruit or veggie juice) is excellent for getting rid of sickness.

Tip Five: Get your hands on some REALLY good quality honey... look out for ones that are NOT heat treated as they hold the most anti-Bactria ingredients to keep colds away or help you get well fast.

Tip Six: add garlic to as many meals as possible! Nothing well come near you then lol!

Well I hope these tips are of help. They are probly common sense but are what I use!

Material

After much thought, trying on many many dresses and asking all my nearest and dearest their opinions, I decided to get my grandma to make my wedding dress. Today Mum, Nanna and I headed out to the shops and bought everything needed to make the dress. Different materiel's, buttons, zip, layers of tulle (sp?), button loops, patterns etc!!! In total it cost the fraction of a store bought dress and I think will have so much more meaning to me then something off the rack. I'm very blessed to have someone to make it for me. Over lunch the three of us tried to sketch my 'dream dress'. I got a message from Jeff while I was out that I thought I'd share, tis very sweet.

'I love you sweetie, I hope you find the dress of your dreams for the wedding of your dreams.'


So all systems ahead for the dress making and because its not off the rack, no one will know what it looks like until the day! I've included a few pictures and I'd love to add more but my sweet husband-to-be likes to read my blogs too!

I've also decided (under the direction of my mum lol) that I'll need new glasses before the wedding because my black ones are very 'loud' with white! So amongst the challenges of finding shoes in a shade of pink and picking out invite paper, we also have to find a set of glasses frames that are a softer colour and fit my crazy thick lens.

PS: Did you know there is 21 shades of white. INSANE!!!!

Stress!

What does stress mean to me! I thought I’d write this blog because I’m really starting to feel the pressure at the moment. I’m certain that I don’t need to feel stress at all, in fact God instructs us not to worry. But I thought I’d share what happens to me when I feel stressed out.

- Headaches
- Neck ache
- Sleepless nights
- Hunger
- Thinking, thinking, thinking
- Planning, re-planning, re-re-planning!!!
- Talking and talking and more talking
- Busyness
- Pacing
- Praying
- Eye rubbing
- Writing

So maybe your wondering what I do to help relieve stress.

- Talk to someone, anyone, everyone
- Write it down (blog or prayer journal)
- Long warm shower/bath
- Music
- Write down plans
- Get away from the stress
- Pray, Pray, Pray (nothing else helps more than prayer)
- Eat
- Cuddles from Jeff!

I don’t know how you feel or how you react to stress but if you have anything interesting to share then drop it into the comment box. Sharing is caring J