Love in every sense of the word!

I thought I would change the pace a little and talk about another kind of LOVE.  We talk about loving and doing special things for our kids our marriage and our husband/partners but what about SELF-LOVE!  Self-love, self-worth, self-esteem to me it is all combined.  As mothers and as women we naturally think of others more than ourselves.

Over the last 6 months I have gone on my own 'journey' I have always been a fit person involved in sports from a young age competing in swimming and running at a national level.  When I had the girls I must be honest, I 'let myself go a bit'.  It was more of a time factor and care factor.  I enjoyed spending time with the girls, between work and running my business the time just didn't permit me to do exercise.

One day I decided its time to get back into shape, its time to put some ME time aside.  So I set out on a 'journey'.  I enrolled myself in a 12 week body transformation program and right from the get go I was determined to shed some of the weight I was carrying.  Over the 12 weeks I shed 10.5kg (23lbs) and over 45cm and my entire outlook on myself changed.  I was back to my confident self, I LOVED how fit I felt, I LOVED how healthy I was eating, I LOVED how my body looked, I LOVED my little girl telling me my bum was little like hers (hehehehe) and I LOVED how hubby LOVED my new/old (pre-baby) body again.

My tips are:

• Do it for you!!! Not hubby but for you, you deserve to feel sexy, fit and healthy
• PLAN - organisation is the key, if your not organised you will be your own worst enemy
• MAKE TIME - either you have to get up at 5am to go to the gym or a run or whatever your fitness of choice is, just make the time and stick with it.
• Set goals and WRITE them down - as a kid my mum would sing me this song - 
• Set a goal and you will never fail, you can always do what you want to d;
•  Set a goal be sure to write it down and you'll see what it can do for you.
• Teach your children - my oldest is 3.5yrs and she would see me doing sprints or lunges, squats, push ups and want to be involved, so I showed her how to do them and she would exercise along side me. One day she asked me if I would take her for a run, so I did and she ran 1km!!!! She's only 3.5yrs old but she saw Mummy staying fit and wanted to do the same.

You CAN do it!!  My Personal Trainers motto is "NO EXCUSES"

You can do it Ladies, your never too old, never too fat, never too unfit.  You have to start somewhere and sometime and that can be today!  Something as small as starting with a walk around the block, take your kids, let them ride their bikes or push them in the stroller.  YOU CAN DO IT.

Those Moments that Change Everything

I watched a movie the other day called Eat, Pray, Love with Julia Roberts and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It was a story where she is on a search to find herself and balance in life. In the end, just as she finds her balance she ends up finding the man of her dreams. But to really be with him, her new found balance had to be completely thrown off with a spur of the moment decision. There is a guru that predicts events on her path and gives her amazing advice throughout the movie. I wrote down something he said. This isn't a direct quote because I modified it but I give full credit to the movie. What I wrote I down was “You lose your balance in life, you lose power but sometimes you need to lose your balance for love.”

It’s interesting how love works. People always say that you will find the right person when you least expect it and I think it is usually when you finally are ok with yourself as you are. If that time doesn't come when you are younger, sometimes we get more and more withdrawn and nervous about love, like the risk gets bigger (or so it seems). But if you allow yourself to do something different, even for a moment, who knows the happiness or even just the learning experience it could bring. It is easy to stay safe but it makes the day so much more worthwhile if you smile at that person whose eyes you have been avoiding, say a quick hello to people as you walk by, ask that guy to dance you have been eyeing off all night, wink at the cute guy in the car next to you and maybe even drop a hint to the one who has been chatting to you for weeks.

If you keep guarding your life’s path then no one will have to chance to cross over it. I think we all need to get out of balance sometimes because you can only progress by learning to juggle new things. If you have already found that special someone maybe there is something you can do to alter it for the better, perhaps all you need to do is take an extra moment to make them feel special. 

What are some moments that you took which completely altered your life? 

He stole your heart? Arrest him!

So, I wouldn't usually direct you to someone else's blog... BUT! I loved this.

It's a fun date where you arrest your partner or date because he Stole Your Heart.

Click on this link and check it out. Comes with printables and everything you need to pull this date off! Might take a little prep, but what good things don't!

ENJOY!!

Dating is just as easy at home!

I love a good dinner at home. I say it all the time, but I think a vase of flowers and a nice tablecloth change the whole feel of dinner. Or set up a cute picnic blanket in the living room and use your picnic and create some casual romance in your 'date at home'. Plastic wine glasses are still wine glasses.

But what should you cook that's delicious, simple and not going to give you a heart attack?

Drinks:
Your choice, but use wine glasses for whatever it is!
Non-alcoholic wine is usually my go to. Or Sparkling Apple Juice.

 

Entree:
Cheese, grapes and crackers.
I just can't go past it. It's easy, delicious, and you can get whatever type of cheeses you like. Mmm. Why grapes work so well in there, I have no idea.

Main:
Chicken Enchiladas
Maybe it doesn't sound that exciting, but these are really yum and easy to prepare ahead of time. You can even freeze the whole thing, defrost when ready and then put in the oven for 20 mins for a perfect, easy and delicious meal sure to satisfy.
To make it look cute, serve it on top of sliced lettuce and tomato pieces. Makes it look cute, rather than having a salad beside it. You'll find the recipe at the bottom of this post.

Dessert:
Lemon Brownies
These are amazing. I'm doing a chocolate free year so I am always looking for something delicious and rich without it being chocolate. This is it. Add ice cream or cream if you like. I also realllly like mini pavlovas for their cute factor on a date night. So you can choose. The recipe for the lemon brownies is also at the bottom of the post.

Enjoy your date night!!

Recipes:

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Ingredients

Meat of ½ BBQ chicken, shredded.

1 x taco seasoning sachets

1 tin diced tomatoes

1 jar passata

1 small tub sour cream

1 small tub cottage cheese

Spray oil (or small amount of oil)

Grated cheese

Tortillas

Optional grated vegetables

Directions1.     Preheat oven to 180 degrees.2.     Fry chicken in oil with taco seasoning. Add diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, sour cream and cottage cheese and cook until combined.3.     Pour a large scoop of the mix into a tortilla and roll up. Place in a large baking dish. Repeat until you have a layer of rolled up tortillas. 4.     Scoop some mixture and pour on top of the layer of rolled tortillas.5.     Begin a second layer, with the tortillas facing the opposite direction. Continue until layer is complete. 6.     Scoop some more mixture and pour on top of the rolled tortillas.7.     Top with grated cheese.8.     Bake til cheese is melted and tortillas look slightly crispy.9.     Best served with salad and sour cream.

LEMON BROWNIES

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup flour
2 eggs, large
2 tbsps lemon zest
2 tbsps lemon juice
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

For the tart lemon glaze:
4 tbsps lemon juice
8 tsps lemon zest
1 cup icing sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease an 8×8 inch baking dish with butter and set aside.
3. Zest and juice two lemons and set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the flour, sugar, salt, and softened butter until combined.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined.
6. Pour it into the flour mixture and beat for 2 mins at medium speed until smooth and creamy.
7. Pour into baking dish and bake for 23-25 mins, should turn golden around the edges.
8. Allow to cool completely before glazing. Do not overbake, or the bars will dry.
9. Filter the powdered sugar and whisk with lemon zest and juice.
10. Spread the glaze over the brownies with a rubber spatula and let glaze set.
11. Cut into bars and serve.

Surprise!!

I have been married 1 and a half months now and last week was my birthday. My new husband decided that he would do a survival class this semester and therefore, also had a compulsory camp to go to … on my birthday. Now I don’t mean to be a big whinger, it was a little sad that I also away from my family for the first time, but what Jacob did to make up for it was really a smart idea I think.

At first he had asked me if I wanted to go out on Saturday (when he got back from camp) and I thought it was a good idea. Then later in the week he asked me if I wanted to come for lunch on Thursday (the day before the camp) and I had a lot of school work and so, a little reluctantly, I accepted. Little did I know that he was planning a surprise lunch for me and at the time we agreed to meet he rode up to me on his bicycle with a large picnic basket and soft blanket to lay on. We went to a pretty park and had a fun lunch that he had taken time to plan out. This totally took my mind off the fact that he would be away for my birthday as he had surprised me before the fact and took the time to plan something fun.

I think the moral of the story is that surprises are the best. Everyone loves to feel special! And I think if there is something important your missing, it’s best to make it up before the fact. Maybe you feel like some spark is lacking from your relationship and that your partner ‘should’ (I hate that word) surprise you!! Well, who knows? Maybe your surprise and special treatment will inspire them to do something special for you too. A few hints in the right direction don’t hurt either.

Love is in the air!

So when you first get married you are generally under this impression that your new bride or husband are perfect. They are flawless and amazing in every way. Every moment you spend together is magical and you glide along on a magic carpet powered by a special mixture of love and naivety.  However, somewhere in the first year the ride starts to get a little bumpy. 

The towel is on the floor in the bathroom again, the cupboard door keeps being left open and why on earth are those socks sitting there? You find yourself looking at this perfect being and feeling confused. How can this be? Surely they must understand how these frustrating these things are? Then an awakening dawns…  They are human too!! And the things they find annoying are different from the things that annoy you. Hence the age of compromise is ushered in.  Yes perhaps occasionally the discussion may get a little heated but that’s the great thing about being married, its just so much fun to kiss and make up.  Together you create your new routines and expectations. The best part is you come to see your partner for who they really are and love and accept them. You learn to appreciate their strengths and learn from each other.  Before you know it that fart in bed will smell like love.

Things I love about being courted...

When I was younger I always imagined myself being picked up by a goodlooking and gentlemanly American, in his 'truck', to take me out on a date. We would drive around from fun place to fun place and enjoy every minute. He would treat me well and open doors for me and make me feel really special. In my mind it was the perfect idea of a date.

We all love it when a guy does those sweet things and goes out of his way to make us feel loved and adored. I think the Americans (compared to the Aussie boys, no offence guys) as a general rule, have this down (or maybe this is only stereotypical?).  Anyway, I think Jacob (my husband) was one example of how to court a lady really well. I love him for that! I don't mean that your men don't do a great job either, but I think he did key things really well!

These are some of the things he did:
- went out of his way to track me down and ask me out
- invited me out to do something fun - go hiking!
- always opened the car door and other doors for me - he still does!
- observed how the evening went, suggested a new fun idea for a date and asked me out again
-  offered to pay for things, but let me pay every now and again too!
- when we went on a group date he would spend time with me and look out for me but also give me space to come back to him

 

When we had been dating for a while he continued to be sweet and kind and would:
- always gives me the bigger half of anything
- always think of new fun date ideas to take me on
- listen to my concerns and talk to me about everything
- encouraged me to do scary things, I normally wouldn't do - like bridge jumping!

Maybe I am biased but I loved being courted, and especially by Jacob :) I love it when a guy goes out of their way to make you feel special. I am sure you all have ways you loved to be treated by guys or things you love that they do for you. You know, it doesn't hurt to tell them! They may be wondering :)