Hiatus...

Hey guys,

I know, I know. I've been away for a while. Days... Weeks... Months actually. And I do apologise.

But...

This hiatus will continue for a little while yet. This is a blog about me, but also, about health and fitness. And lately, I haven't been doing well with either the health, or the fitness.

Now, before you get concerned, no I haven't been sick. But my eating has gotten out of control, my exercise is non-existent (if you take out the few hours I work a day), and I just feel flat and blah. Not exactly a great contributor for a health and fitness blog.

I'm also in the process of job and house hunting in Sydney. Yep, still living at home, and house and job hunting in another city. Difficult with a capital D! But, I have 2 weeks off from Saturday (16th) and I will be staying with a friend of mine (who we have decided is going to share a place with me) and doing the walking the streets handing in resumes to anyone who will take them thing. I am also trying to organise house/apartment inspections with real estate agents for the week/2 that I'll be there. Most have open houses on Saturdays, but if I can get in and see some of them during the week, then we can apply for some of them before the open house, giving us a better chance at securing the place.

So, until probably January, or even February, this blog will be on hiatus. Once I've got the job and the house, and the moving is done, and we are all settled in (including the adorable little kitten my housemate is getting), I can start to focus on me again. THEN I can start to get myself back into a routine, and back under control. Once I'm back in a routine, I will re-commence blogging on here.

In the meantime, you can find me over here at my other blog. This one is a little more personal, and it will chronicle everything including the house and job hunting, moving and settling in.

Hope to see you there.

Danni

Night In

How I love a night with the house to myself! Or a day! Or... anytime really.

My parents are visiting my grandmother, who is, thankfully, getting better. She has her good days and her bad days, but the good seem to outnumber the bad now. I'm so grateful she wasn't hurt worse than she was.

So, with my parents out of town, I have the house to myself today/tonight/tomorrow morning. So, after working the lunch shift (which I don't normally do, but the money will be helpful), I did a quick detour on my way home to see about ordering some yellow roses for my grandmother. I'm hoping I can get over to see her next weekend. She loves yellow roses, and of course, they're the ones you can't always get, but the florist said she should be able to order some in, so I'll call in early this week and order a bunch for her. I also bought a few more notebooks for my uni study that starts again next week, and a few snacky things. I love red frogs :D

So, after I got home, I spent at least 2 hours re-organising my study and getting all my uni stuff sorted and put back into place. I burned my new scented candle (can't do that when dad's here, he's sensitive to it), turned my music on, and lost myself in printing, and organising, and labeling, sorting folders and papers, and notebooks. I also went through some older notebooks, throwing out pages I no longer need, finding things I thought I'd misplaced, just generally making my space feel more study orientated, rather than the mess it's been since exams a month ago.

Then, a wonderfully long hot shower where I did all the things I don't always have time for (or the hot water, coz I think our water heater is on the way out). I shaved my legs (thanks god for fair body hair, and not a lot of it so I don't have to do it very often), exfoliated, used a face mask, washed my hair and used a treatment, and relaxed under the hot water.

Following that I slathered myself with body lotion, foot lotion, hand cream, face creams, and settled in with a very yummy dinner to watch Pirates of the Carribean. I love that movie :D Then I painted my nails (toes in a wonderfully vibrant red, fingers in s clear hardener). Love these days.

I'm currently sitting in my PJ's, with a cup of milo, watching Batman Begins. Love it.

The other thing about having night on my own that I love? It gives me time to reflect on me, myself and I. It allows me to look back on the past month, or 6 months or year. It allows me to look back on this time and work out what I want out of the next month/year etc. This time on my own has come at a good time... the end of the month... the end of the first 6 months of 2013. I find that this is a great time to reflect on the first half of the year and to decide how you want the rest of the year to go.

Did your first 6 months of the year go the way you wanted it to? Did you achieve what you set out to do? What are your plans for the next 6 months? How close are you to your goals?

Me? My first 6 months went kinda to plan. I didn't really have a complete set out of what I wanted to achieve this past 6 months, but I did achieve some things. Not everything, but I've come to realise that that's ok.

Firstly, I went back to study as you all know. I've decided to study a Bachelor of Sports Science (Clinical Exercise Physiology), and this first semester has involved studying things I haven't even looked at for at least 8-10 years (wow that makes me feel old). Chemistry, biology and maths. I passed Chem and bio, but not math. I'm amazed that I passed chemistry because I really struggled all semester, and I felt terrible walking out of the exam. Biology I was ok with. I have a basic understanding from previous studies and I knew I wouldn't have a great mark (spent all my time on math and chemistry), but I knew I had done enough to pass. Math... I struggled with it throughout the semester (as I did in high school), but I thought I had done enough to pass the exam. Although, the exam was worth 70% of my grade so... I'm not too upset. I may have the chance to sit another exam in October (have to email my lecturers on Monday) and if not, then I just sit it again next year. No biggie.

Weight/fitness wise... disaster. While I haven't put on any weight, I haven't lost any either. I started really strongly with going to the gym a few times a week and running on a regular basis, but I just couldn't get my eating in line. Then, when the last few weeks of term came around, and exam stress, the exercise fell over too. So, I need to get back on the wagon in this regard too.

I also need to save some money :D I think this, like the weight/fitness goal, is an ever moving goal post, but that's ok too.

So, looking ahead to the next 6 months:

Study:

• I want to really get a study timetable sorted out, and stick to it. 
• I have to make sure that I don't get carried away studying my exercise science, and sports psyc units, and neglect chemistry, which I know will be even harder this term.
• Focus on my time management, and get my assignments done BEFORE the day they're due! I'm a horrible procrastinator, so it's something I need to work on.
• I would like a distinction in psychology and exercise science, and a pass in chemistry. While I would love to get a distinction in chemistry, I'm all about being realistic, and I just don't think it's gonna happen. I just struggle to get my head around some of the concepts, and I don't want to put the bar too high.

Weight/Fitness:

• Get the junk back out of my diet. It's crash landed, hard, back into my diet and I am feeling horrible. I'm tired, sluggish, and just feeling off. I know I feel better when I eat fresh, and whole and healthy, and I need to get back into it.
• I need to get back into the gym. I want to go 5 times a week; 3 strength, 2 cardio days, and go for a run/walk on the 6th day with a rest day thrown in there somewhere. My fitness has suffered lately, and this will fix it. I'll start slow though, and go with 3 times a week to start.
• Also, trying to get to bed before midnight on school nights. I've been staying up way too late, and that just has a ripple effect on everything else in my life.

Money:

• This all comes down to saving. I need to save more money, and spend less. Not that I've been spending a lot, but I do need to save more.

Morag and I are moving at the end of the year. (Notice I say we are, not we want to). We've booked in 2 weeks at the end of November to go job hunting and house hunting, and then we're moving to Sydney. We both just need to get out of this town, and out into the world. We need to start living our own lives without our families breathing down our necks. I'm so excited, I can't wait. As usual, I'm counting down:

Uni starts on Monday

8 weeks of uni

2 weeks of break/res school

5 weeks of uni

2 weeks of exams

then about a month between the end of exams and when we have the time off. I'm going to use that month to job hunt, set up interviews etc, and search the housing websites so we have something set up for when we get to Sydney. And of course sorting accommodation for the 2 weeks we'll be there. And set up some stuff for us girlies. Maybe a show, some clubbing, some relaxing at the beach. Lots to plan, lots to anticipate.

The next 6 months are going to be AMAZING!!!!

What are your plans for the next 6 months?

Day 26; Something I read online

I found this the other day. As a personal trainer, someone studying exercise physiology, and someone who is currently 20kg overweight, this really struck a chord with me.

Have a read and then have a think. It's one of the most straight forward articles I have read on obesity. It's not meant to sooth you like a lot of them have been recently. It doesn't make it out to be your fault harshly. It's told from the perspective of someone who deals with obesity, the risks, the outcomes, and the pressures on our health systems on a daily basis.

It really opened my eyes a little.

I can only hope it opens yours too.

Day 20: Struggle Street

Once again, I have been left with a prompt that made me think (do you sense a recurring theme yet?)

The prompt for today is to talk about something I'm struggling with.

I'm struggling with a few things at the moment, but none of them major. I mean, they're major to me, but it's not like I'm homeless, or jobless. My family isn't finding it hard to eat, or living in a cold house because we can't pay our electricity bill. We have cars that run, and money to put fuel in them. We are able to eat, and work, and do things.

So, in that regard, I'm not struggling. But at the same time I am. And with so many different things. School, family, work, money, me time, friends, independence, finding myself.

Firstly... school *sigh

I went back to university this year to study Exercise Physiology. I knew, going in, that it wouldn't be easy. I knew that I would be studying stuff I haven't done since high school. Chemistry, biology and math. I thought I'd do ok with biology, and I have been. But the exam scares me. I thought I'd be ok with chemistry because I did it in high school and have that basic knowledge to fall back on, and it's been... semi ok. My lecturer is an asshole, and the assessments are wayyyyyy too hard (much harder than the exam is supposed to be which I'm heaving a sigh of relief at), and there is just so much info to take in in 13 weeks of a semester. Math, I thought this would be hard. And it is. I thought I would really struggle with it, and I semi have been. My marks for my assessments have been great, but come the exam, I'm really not sure how well I'll do. Again, so much info to take in in just 13 weeks.

I spent a lot of my time initially focusing on math because I thought it would be the one I would struggle the most with, to the detriment of chemistry. I then spent a lot of time on both math and chem, to the detriment of biology, because I thought that would be the easiest of the 3 courses. And it is, but there is still a lot to take in.

My exams start on the 4th of June (2 weeks), and I still have 4 assessments due before then. Somehow I have to find time to do 4 assessments, and study for 3 exams. And eat and sleep and go to work.

All of which leads me into my work/school/life balance that is practically non existent.

I am working on this, I really am. I just have a tendency to focus on one thing at a time, and can't seem to evenly spread myself, or my time around. I find that I get into a rhythm (as most people do, I think), and once that rhythm is broken, be it because I have to go to work, or the phone rings, or some other distraction happens, I just can't get back into it. So, I go off and do something else, and usually study gets put on the back burner. I really need to work on being more time conscious, and learn a bit more time management (which I'm working on), get a little more of a life-work-study balance (which I think will come later in they year when M and I move out, more on this later), and work on being more 'in the moment'. That's definitely something else I struggle with.

My independence is a struggle because I'm back home living with my parents and when I come home it's like I'm suddenly a 5 year old. I'm sure most people who have moved back home struggle with this, but it is getting better. My mum definitely doesn't treat me like a 5 year old, that's more my dad, but I'm dealing. We have had a few major arguments about it, but that's par for the course.

Work!!! I hate it. I hate the job, the people annoy me, and I'm barely making any money. I'm working in the kitchen of a pub (I'm sure I've said that before) and it's ok because it gets me out of the house, but I asked for more hours because I need the money. I asked to do a few hours behind that bar, something different, and was told by the publican that yes, I can do some hours behind the bar. Then he hired 3 other people for the bar. One of which is a friend to his daughter (the cook), one who was supposed to be in the kitchen with Alix and I, and one other girl to do a few fill in hours. It pissed me off. Especially when they all complain about the girl who was supposed to be in the kitchen, then give me her kitchen hours because she can't do them anymore, then leave me in the kitchen to cook/clean/wash up/do floors etc, so that Alix can be behind the bar during lunchtime, because he won't pay someone to do 2 hours for the lunch shift so she can be in the kitchen and cook!!! And the money isn't great either. If I was earning decent money I wouldn't complain so much, but I'm not. It definitely sucks. Then to realise that my sister (who has moved out with her boyfriend) is still having mum and dad pay her phone bill etc while I have to pay my own is something else I struggle with. I have been working since I was 15. I have paid my way through uni (mum and dad paid accommodation but I paid everything else), paid for everything every time I went overseas, am paying for my new car, my phone etc. The only thing mum and dad pay for is food, of which I barely eat anyway because I'm not here for dinner. It really pisses me off. My sister gave up her job her first year of uni and hasn't worked since, and I've worked right through for 11 years (minus the 6 months I didn't work when I went to Canada). I struggle with that. I struggle to understand how she was allowed to move out when she's still not paying her phone bill. i struggle to understand how she was allowed to move out when she isn't working. Ok, so her boyfriend's got a job, and she's at uni, but she could still get a job for a few hours a week! 3 days a week packing shelves at the supermarket for a few hours maybe? But no, she doesn't want to, and mum hasn't made her. I understand she's studying, but so am I!

Ok, rant over. I really can't think about money and my sister because it pisses me off too much.

I guess, really, I only struggle with the everyday problems a lot of us face. I definitely have little to complain about when it comes to my life and my struggles.

Thanks for another great prompt :D

Day 14: Things that make me Happy!!!

Animals!!!

All animals but really, baby, fluffy animals. (Insert kitten and husky pictures, puppies, tigers etc)

I don’t have an animal at the moment (and I hate it), but I’m still living with my parents and I really can’t have one. Hoping to move out to a place of my own (and a friend) at the end of the year, so maybe I’ll get a kitten then. Not a puppy, as much as I want one. It’s not fair to put a big dog in an apartment/small house etc. And because I’ll  be renting, I probably wouldn’t be allowed to have a dog anyway.

Travel!!!

I love it! There’s something incredibly freeing about being a stranger in an unknown city. You’re free to reinvent yourself if you want to/need to. I love it. And I love doing it, both with friends and on my own. I love soaking up the history, the feeling, the atmosphere, everything about it. The food, the people, the things to do and see. I could wax poetically about it all night, but I really wasn’t good with poetry.

Music

I love music too. I used to play flute in a marching band, and I still play occassionally, but unfortunately that has fallen to the wayside a little lately, but I still have music going as much as I can.. in the car, on my ipod/phone, at the gym, when I study etc. You name it, I more than likely have music going. It's even my tattoo :D

Exercise

I grew up playing sport, and it's followed me into adulthood. There's something about a group sport, or a group fitness class, or a good long run, or a dance class, gymnastics etc, that just makes my heart race, my face break out into a huge smile, and my body pump with joy. I absolutely love it

Movie days

Whether it's going to the actual movies, or staying at home with friends and miles of junk food, there's something about the movies that makes me happy. I don't know if it's the movie itself, the zoning out part, the mix of emotions that movies send you through, the friends I have these days with or something else, but these days are always amazing, and so much fun.

Fresh flowers

I love fresh flowers, especially when you're not expecting them. In particular I love lilies. Even if I have to buy my own, I love having fresh flowers in the house.

Sunny Days

Who doesn't love sunny days? The warmth in the sun, the smell in the air, the long days, the outside activities... I love everything about them 

The water

There's something so incredibly calming about the water, whether it be a river, lake, dam, or the beach. I love being in it, walking beside it, sitting near it reading a book, lazing on the beach, having a picnic near the lake or river. After getting my scuba diving qualifications I am now even more in love with it.

A good book

I always have a book (or 2 or 3 or 100) in the process of being read. I'll read almost anything from fact to fiction, horror to romance, teenage/young adult to the current best seller. Almost anything catches my attention. I love Stephen King, and I love ancient mysteries. I especially love curling up in winter with a book, a blanket, a cup of tea or Milo, and the fire. Best way to have a lazy day, or to end a day.

Rainstorms

I love the smell of rain in the air before it hits, the sound of it on an old tin roof, the thunder and watching the lightning roll in. I love the clean smell after it's gone. I can sit and watch them for hours, and there's no better way to sleep than to the sound of rain on the roof.