6 month point – highs and lows

Can anyone believe that it is already June. Seriously where has this year gone!

It’s been an interesting year thus far. I set out with the best intentions but haven’t been able to succeed with all of them. But you know what I’m not going to beat myself up about it, it’s just something that happens. I want to focus on the positive as I have stuck with some of the things.

My diet has been going from strength to strength, I do have days of where I cheat or eat thing that I shouldn’t. But it’s ok you know, because I have the discipline to go back to my diet and not stray every day.

My exercise hasn’t been as great. I still work out every second week or so but its not as rigid as I had hoped. But I had to listen to my body. My body wasn’t ready for a constant exercise program yet.

With my shoulder injury, my autoimmune diseases and glandular fever I have really learnt how to listen to my body. And to be honest I don’t have the same energy levels as a normal person does. I’m fighting to make it though an average day let alone beating myself up about exercising.

I do understand that exercise is a form of medicine but when you are juggling so many things sometimes it’s the thing that falls off the radar. It’s a great stress relief.

I’m now seeing a massage therapist that specialises in Chinese medicine, cupping and other massage techniques. And the improvement that I have seen in my shoulder, back and general feeling is amazing. I am now starting to be able to hold my body weight when I plank or push up again and I’m able to start to take a top off over my head without it hurting.  I’m deadset cheering – I know it’s the little things. But this was something I took for granted, it’s not something that I ever thought I wouldn’t be able to do.

Now saying this I hope in the next 2-3 weeks to start training seriously again. And I’m so excited.

It’s amazing the mental fight you have when your injured. And how it impacts on so many levels.

This has been the battle I have been fighting and I am pleased to say that I’m not letting it beat me and I am going to win.

Rambling post – yes, but I wanted to take the time out to verbalise how proud I am of my achievements to date. And you should be proud of yours too!

Everyone has a battle they are fighting. How do you celebrate overcoming your everyday battle?

Em

Feeling stressed – ain’t no body got time for dat!

It has been a couple of months since my last post and what a couple of months it has been.

I started uni (which I’m loving), working casually at my old job (until I have trained up the new team) and have been travelling a couple of ours a day (to uni and work). I was doing really well, keeping up my fitness program and then I started to become overwhelmed. I was running out of hours, putting so much pressure on myself to get through certain things within a certain time. Over easter I had mid semester break which I had planned to catch up on my study notes. But instead I didn’t do a thing.

And it was fantastic.

I feel revived, and ready to focus again. Ok I probably am a bit behind in my study notes and that may come around and bite me during exam time but I will work that out then. Besides I still have 5 weekish to catch up – whats a couple of days. There was no point forcing myself to do all of this study if it wasn’t going to sink in. I needed that break and to stop putting so much pressure on myself so I could actually relax and enjoy myself. I caught up on sleep and I feel as though it helped me get a bit more energy back to fight this virus that I have been the host to for the last couple of months.

Underlying message is, remember your only human and you need to listen to your body. Give yourself permission  each day to do something that you love.

And don’t stress on the small stuff. Relax, breathe and remember to smile, because it will all turn out ok in the end.

What is your favourite thing to do you do when your feeling stressed?

Em

Lifestyle change 1.0

As you can imagine from my previous posts, 2014 was an tricky one for me.
I was slammed at work, working in an environment which I just wasn’t enjoying. I could do the work, totally fine. If anything I was nailing it. But I just didn’t like the environment, the organisation I was working for was a top firm and I was in one of the smaller offices so there was no priority to supporting me and helping me. I was working what 4 people did when I first started and now there was just me and a junior, who worked in a different office. I didn’t drop the ball on anything, never turned down anything, always helped out. I took it in my stride and got shit done.

You can imagine what this stress did to my relationships, body and health (both physical and mental). I think the line in the sand was when I started to get pains in my joints, and couldn’t get rid of this paralysing pain in my shoulder (even after months and months of physio and chiro appts). By this stage I was feeling terrible, I wasn’t happy and no matter what I did I couldn’t get enough sleep.

When I finally went to the doctor and got my results back, I was semi in shock but also relieved that there was a reason why I was feeling so terrible. Because if you looked at me, there were no major signs to demonstrate why I was experiencing these feelings.

At 26 I was diagnosed with my second auto immune disease, rheumatoid arthritis. I also have a thyroid condition which also at this point had flared up as my body had been in overdrive for months now.

It was at this point I began to think, I’m ruining my body and I’m not even enjoying what I’m doing.

So I began to think about what I wanted to do with my life. I decided to take a risk. I applied for uni, in a completely different field. Resigned from my job. Began a healthy lifestyle, exercise program and diet.

I can always fall back on my previous education and experience if it doesn’t work out.

But at the moment, am the happiest I have been in a long time! I couldn’t ask for much more – maybe except for winning the lottery!

This is the beginning of a very exciting journey for me and I hope to share it with you and maybe even inspire you.

Have you ever taken a life changing risk?

Em

Wish list

It always happens, I try to save but then I watch youtube videos or read other beauty blog post and it makes me want to go shopping.

I neeeeeed things.

At this stage I am lusting for a number of products. Mainly eye shadows palettes. I dunno why but I am obsessed.

Firstly can I say Naked 3, Lorac pro palette one and / or two.

Or the Hourglass Ambient palette, like really, talk about gorgeousness.

Which one should I get?? …… First 🙂

Em

What I’m waiting for – first edition

Don’t you hate the wait after you purchase an item online.

Especially when it’s international.

I recently have done a bit of online shopping, and am waiting for my goodies.

The first items I purchased were some makeup geek blushes, z palette and I think I bought an eyeshadow – but I only got the shipping information this week so looks like it will be another couple of weeks until I get it. I will post a review of these and take some pictures of the swatches. I saw makeup geeks pictures on Instagram and I am hanging out for the foil eye shadows – they look to die for!! And I think they are coming out Novemberish.

My second item that I purchased was the Nume Titan 3 – this looks sooo good. I really am struggling to curl my hair and then have the curl stay. I have read such good things about the titanium barrel on this one – so fingers crossed it works as well as what I’m hoping it does!

Finally, I purchased a little something from beautybay.com. I purchased the Ellis Vaas foundation and concealer. Ekkk I’m a little keen to get my hands on this. I was tossing up whether to get this from Mecca but I saved myself over $20 for purchasing this one online.

Fingers crossed at least one of these parcels arrive this week to put me out of my misery.

Are you waiting on any exciting packages in the mail this week?

Em

Spring is in the air.

I’m so excited that the colder months are getting further behind us and the warmer spring weather is starting to draw closer. I looked into my wardrobe this morning and was completely uninspired. Everything is black, grey and charcoal.

Urgh.

I think it’s time for a bit of a wardrobe overhaul, but before I do that I want to start feeling better about myself – I need to start exercising again. Even if it’s just a walk. My problem is however, that I have managed to really hurt my shoulder. This has now been going on since June and I have been seeing a physio since the end of July.

Anyway looks like I have done some random injury that is more common with a traumatic footballers shoulder injury – yay. Haha but anyway it is getting better just is taking time and draining my bank account.

I really hope the spring weather stays around for a bit longer – I find it motivational and I can’t wipe the smile off my face.

Happy September!

Em

Moving Day

My Partner and I moved house recently. When I say recently I mean 3 weekends ago. As we were only moving a couple of suburbs over we tended to leave the packing to the last minute, and used bags and, and various other forms of storage to move things from one place to the other.

How people move from state to state, or town to town. Man, my hat goes off to you guys. Moving is such a pain.

I actually don’t think that sentence even starts to explain or define how I feel about moving.

We moved from a 1 bedroom apartment, that was bigger than most ‘apartments’ or hotel rooms that you stay in when you go away. Super depressing. Like you couldn’t even swing a cat in there let alone a 6’3” man and me in there. Honestly I think if we had have stayed in there much longer, there probably would not be any more ‘we’. It was horrid.

The only reason we stayed there for 2 years was because, when we first moved here. The market was sooooo hard to get into. Like I mean ridiculous. And we scored a really awesome landlord. We never had an inspection, we got bottles of wine and chocolates for Christmas. Really nice, right?? Wrong.

When we had moved out, we had a final inspection with the former landlord, and the next day I got a weird text message, like kinda stalkerish / creepy. So that nice ‘experience’ that I had in my head of our first place we rented together, just became totally ruined.

We moved to a lovely townhouse, that is much bigger than our previous place, and it is also privately rented. This time, the landlords, are super lazy, and I have to chase them to get anything done.

They left a mattress and bed here when we moved in and said, ‘you can have that’ making out that they were doing us a favour. To be honest with you sweetheart, I don’t want anyone’s second hand mattresses / bed that they can not be bothered moving. So I politely said to them that we weren’t interested in it and they can take it.

Thing is, they were supposed to come and pick it up the day after we had our keys. We have had them for nearly a month…. I can just imagine how fun this is going to be if / when something serious happens. URGH!

But getting back to the point that I originally started on this post about, is that moving into a bigger place is making our current arrangement look really crappy. We now have so much space, and we need new things but I have no time to get them.

You’ll probably notice from future posts that I’m a bit makeup and hair driven. I love getting my hair done, and changing the colour of it. And I love trying a new foundation or lipstick or bronzer or blush and the list goes on.

And currently in my situation my makeup is still in boxes… I know. I have my essentials. But I can’t mix it up (not that I normally did, that much, but I liked look at my goodies everyday). So part of me feels in complete without my makeup being set up and readily available. Same with my wardrobe. Like it’s semi complete. But I still have clothes in washing baskets.

Before you say anything about well what have you been doing on your weekends in between?? Well the first weekend we moved, we moved the main stuff you know, like kitchen, lounge and I did my partners cupboard in hope that he would help me with mine. Infact, he didn’t even notice I had done his… And then the next weekend, we went away down to the Crossfit Regional’s in Wollongong. Which was so nice to get away – it was soooo warm!! And this past weekend, I had planned to go to Ikea, but I have been sick. Sick as a dog. And this weekend coming I am going home to see my family and a good friend who had just had a little bub.

So I’m hoping one day I just wake up, or come home and the fairies have done all the work for me.

Somehow I think I will be waiting a while for that to happen.. Sigh.

Do you have any moving day advice?

Em

My First post… Regaining control

Hello my name is Emily, and I am a 25 year old who is somewhat lost in life.

I have 2 degrees from university, a lovely boyfriend of a number of years, a loving family but deep down I’m not happy within myself. I think my career / current job has a lot to do with this feeling.

I feel lost, like I’m trapped, so in order to help myself a) mend and b) find something to do that gives me some direction, I am going to start a blog.

Crazy, I know. It’s something that most people start and then laugh at later, but I am desperate to find something I enjoy and I think I need a bit of direction.

I keep talking about direction, but what I truly mean is, a need a passion, I feel like I have lived my life pleasing everyone, and worrying about what everyone else thinks / says I should do, that I have lost myself.. sad I know. But, I wonder whether this blog, by having to sit down and write a post every so often, that I actually have to think.. About something other than work. Because currently I feel rather consumed by it, and that’s all I feel like my brain thinks….. even sadder, I know!

Therefore (I raise my hand) – I promise I will post at least once a week, actually make that twice. About something that I am loving, whether it be makeup, food, my thoughts, or something that has really got up my goat.

I have previously started up a beauty blog, but that didn’t work, I think the most posts I ever wrote were 3 or 4. I just feel like some beauty blogs are just too commercial / fake, like the posts are so sponsored that if someone had not received the product for free, then they wouldn’t have gone to the effort of writing, which I know, I can hear you saying, nah daaaah. But you know what I’m getting at. Although some of the other beauty blogs are just amazing.

I will sign off now, and hope that that my first introduction of myself, isn’t too sad, depressing or lame. I just wanted to air my dirty laundry, so to speak and get my intentions out there. I actually, think / hope that this in fact, is just the first step in regaining my control on my life.

I look forward to writing another post for you, soon.

Em