Balancing Act

My new job, won’t be as flexible as my current one. No more gym at lunch, no matter how up to date I am. I’m guessing here. But it is super old school, I think. But I am going to need to much more organised and selective in what I do and when I do it.

I want to include, running, yoga and swimming. Along with what my trainer gives me. But I also want to be more social than I normally would be during these cooler months. And my eating needs to be pulled in, serious.

I have the time, I can make it happen.

Slowly does it

I feel like I’ve neglected this space, although I’m not sure if it’s having that much traffic…no matter. Whoever stops by, thanks!

Just between you and me, I’ve kind of set this year to start making real changes in my life. Looking more at myself in my positive light, and be more honestly, myself. It’s a slow process, but it’s getting there.

One of the most positive changes I’ve made (or jinxing free will make next week) is in my work life. After quite a stressful and angst ridden almost 2 years at my current job I’ve decided to move on, and applied for and have been offered a new job in a related area but much more specialised. I sign forms etc next week, and will begin shortly after Easter break. I’m rather excited. But I do have so much to do before I finish up at my current work.

I’m also staving off flu currently, awesome, you know with the weekend and all. On a more positive note, tomorrow is Friday

Preparing for hibernation

I’m currently in a slump about winter approaching, its only just Autumn. Half of me looks forward to colder wintery nights, the other more sensible but meh half is wondering what on earth there is to enjoy! I think I just miss the light, more than the warmth.

So I’m going to prepare slowly so when it comes, it won’t be such of a huge deal. This prep won’t overtake me learning to enjoy autumn though, as I don’t want to keep not living in the moment. So I’m just going to focus on being organised.

The Pantry I’m going to slowly stock up on things dry goods to go in soups, and collect and search for hearty and healthy recipes. And just build up on stocks, and rice, and dry goods, along with saving vegie tops to make stocks. Lots of pulses, lentils, beans. And some meat in bulk now and again. I want to try and go to the market once a week and stock up on fruit and veg, unless it is absolutely pouring with rain! and I mean pouring. And look into planting herbs for winter! Not sure how they will survive in our wind tunnel of a balcony, but i’ll try!

Clothing My jacket that I bought when I first moved here, is waay to big, and it was too big last year. If one thing to get this year, it will be a new rain and windproof jacket. And maybe some ear muffs! And a nice warm wrap or something to wear in the office for the times when it gets cold in there.

Electricity Bill The dryer is going to get a crazy workout over winter, but I also want to try and reasonably dry as much as I can on our drying rack, sometimes this just isn’t possible as our lounge room takes ages with our heater to warm up. We need to use our heating in winter, we do, no double glazing, and an very airy but not damp house means that, the ONE heater we do have gets a damn good workout. Previous times I’ve tried not to bring it out of the cupboard until the last minute, I’ll do the same this year. And try and turn it off a little sooner at night. And try not to sneak it into my bedroom, when everyone else has gone to bed… I’m also going to call our electricity company to see how much winter cost us last year so we can slowly build up the flat account to cover the cost rather than get hit with the cost

Training I’m planning on running my first ever half marathon toward the end of June. So i’ll be doing alot of running outside. Hmm, will need to purchase some wet weather, and cold weather gear for that! But yeah, just getting outside, and finding different things to focus on, so things don’t become mundane with my training. I raced my first 7km almost two weeks ago, and I need to switch my training about and stuff.

Now I just need to look at Autumn and find things to enjoy for that, yeah I’m really not a cold weather person. I would be if there was double glazing and central heating, but no, that does not happen here!

Things I love Thursday

• My new envirosax I love it! It rolls up into the palm of my hand, has a snap button to close it in place. And it’s HUGE! I don’t think I’d ever need more than two!
• Selling off my old bed, and the old old bed I used when I first moved here. Talk about cleaning the garage out! They both will be gone by the weekend.
• My new room. I’ve been working on organising things, and all is going to plan. I will post before and after photos when the transformation is complete.
• Swim squad. Ah, I’m a slow fish, but a fish nonetheless.
• Banana bread, toasted. Seriously never thought about toasting it, ever.
• Gardening. I’ve been thinking, not doing yet. I have a wind prone balcony. Hmm.
• Mr Newmans Organic Peanut Butter Cups-they do not sell them in NZ But people keep talking about them. I hold out hope!
• Sleep-ins. I’ve been making an effort to get my 8 hours sleep even if it means I get into work later, I just stay later to make up for it.

Where did it go?

Summer appears to have come and very quickly gone here in Wellytown. I can count about 5 days since the start of December when it has been sunny and still. As I write there are gale force winds abound, and heavy rain. Don’t get me wrong, its not cold. If it were it would be exactly like winter.

I’m trying not to let it get me down. But you know the drill, yes parts of winter are lovely, but you look forward to a nice stretch of sunny days. We have a beautiful deck that wraps around our apartment. I was able to spend about fifteen minutes on it the other day, then the wind picked up and my hat blew up and away. I like many here, are hoping that the weather improves, as most other parts of New Zealand are experiencing lovely sunny weather.

I’ve got a rather large pile of books from the library to get into, and other things to organise on my resolution list. But I just want to be outside this time of year. I have a quiet week lined up social wise. It’s mainly a work and gym week this week. It might do me some good to take myself off to a movie mid week. And enjoy the fact that although the weather is truly horrible., I can still wear shorts.

six places I can’t be sad in

the library

the pool

in the sun

the beach

baking

in the florist

for some reason it’s where happiness finds me

Where does it find you?

From the floor to the wall

I got my tidy and organise mojo on today, except for the table next to my bedroom door in the corner there…

I ALWAYS have paper on my floor – notes, mail, lists, timetables etc. If I had a study, I’d put them all on a corkboard, or just on the wall. So today I decided in the merriment of organising, there was nothing stopping me on putting me on the wall behind the door, as that part of the wall can only be seen when my bedroom door is closed. Score for the geeky wall!

My geeky wall includes!

• postcards – i love them, and love receiving them. When friends go away I always ask for them to send one, even if they are just traveling around NZ. I received a surprise postcard from the lovely Phil a couple of months back, and it just happened on the day I got it I had been having quite a bad day, it made my day!
• advertising cards – random ones from about town
• yoga timetables – i will find time to go again
• training timetable – my general one
• the other training timetable -for this
• photographs – i heart them
• food plan – hopefully will help having it in more places than my diary

I also noticed today whilst tidying up how much more plastic we had than I thought, containers, bottles, covering, and bags.

Argh!

For something completely different i’m heading to another part of the country tomorrow morning to celebrate the first few days of new year with friends. I can’t wait. The weather here has only just picked up in the last couple of days, and there is usually very good weather in the bay, so fingers crossed.

I’m also doing the primal stride five @ five which should be fun, though I’m kind of hoping there are not too many late nights in the next few days…ha!

Be good, and Happy New Year!

I resolve…

I had a think about some resolutions for the coming year. Also take a look at this! ONE Care more for the environment -use less plastic -recycle, reduce waste, especially at work where somedays all I do is print -buy local/organic when possible -use the dryer less (kind of impossible when the house is freezing in winter, but i’ll try!) -cook more vegetarian and vegan meals when possible, that are tasty! -take my lunch to work at least 4/5 days -buy a reusable travel coffee mug, and use it -grow what herbs and lettuce/spinach I can

TWO Be more tidy/organised I think i’ll just start with making my bed, progress is progress people.

THREE Become financially organised. Kind of goes with two, it’s more about organising automatic payments etc. I just normally pay everything manually. It would save time, if I just set up the payments to go out already sheesh! Plus i’m in charge of the flat account, so being more organised would save me trawling the account history to see if I did actually pay the electric bill etc which 10/10 times I have done.

FOUR Getting my learners permit Yeah, I don’t drive. I should really get started on at least getting the permit.

FIVE Ride around the bays I desperately need to become more bike confident, I don’t think hearing/reading cycle horror stories has helped. Plus I used to manage riding to uni without getting hit by a tram, just need to get some self confidence!

SIX Go regularly to swim squad I really want to get back into swimming, but at the moment i’ve got running training, strength training, interval work, and boot camp part THREE coming up in february, so for now at least once a week.

SEVEN Keep a health diary I’ve started tracking my exercise here which is brilliant, free, quick and easy. I’m also going to be more diligent with my food diary, tracking! I have a notebook, but I did see an amazing wellbeing diary the other day which if its still left I might get in the new year.

EIGHT Use my juicer at least once a week I bought a second hand juicer two weeks ago, it has seen NO use by me. I keep saying its because of the weather, but yeah, the thing kind of scares me, in that it may take my hand along with the apple. There is nothing wrong with it by the way.

NINE Make new friends I’d like to meet and get to know some new people, most people I have met here have moved back overseas. This includes bloggy peeps!

TEN Reach my healthy weight range My healthy weight range is between 61-76kg, I think I would prefer to be closer to the 76 than the 61, but i’ll really have little idea until I get there. If the past twelve months has taught me one thing, it more about the food you eat than the exercise. If I had taken more care with what I had eaten, whilst getting fitter, I would be much closer, if not at goal. I really enjoyed my massive increase in fitness this year, I just need to eat less, period. Make better choices, period. No crap in the house, period. I’ll also be very very happy along the way to get my BMI under 30 which would be about 92kgs and remove me from the obese category, whoot! And it is possible, its only a little over 500g per week to get there.

Ten things does seem a lot, and they do have mini goals within, but they all tie in with wanting and needing to be more organised. Period.

Plastic Plastic Everywhere

I normally have the usual resolutions, get rid of more weight, don’t eat so much cake, cupcakes, the usual. I don’t currently have a list for 2010 running about in my head, however.

I will be more kind to the environment!

image from www.inhabitat.com

I used to be very good especially when buying groceries to bring reusable bags pretty much every time. Now, never, maybe twice this past year, if that. Insane. I still don’t put my fruit and veg in the little plastic bags, they all go in my basket – so that is better than nothing, but still!

In the last few weeks I have switched our dishwasher powder over to something more friendly and will be doing the same when our other cleaning and household products run out. Plus the local organics shop from what I remember has a system, where you can come in and refill your empty containers with new powder etc, so that’s a bonus! It’s quite easy to do, and in my apartment I’m the person in charge of the flat account, so as long as my other two housemates have access to the goods, all is good. It really isn’t going to cost that much more in the long run. And they are not HUGE changes, but in effect they WILL make a difference.

My plastic drink bottles should get replaced with something akin to this.

And those plastic bags with these.

I’m sure there are plenty of more things I could do around the house, or even at work. I should compile a list.

If anyone has any ideas or thoughts…

Eve

I finished work at lunch today, went to the gym – it was desolate, being packed the previous two weeks with people trying to starve of the indulgence of the season. It was funny, in that the only people around were ones who I recognised from seeing pretty much consistently throughout the year. I went because I like having that transition from work to home, and because I like it in a way I never thought I would.

I’m spending Christmas this year with some friends, we all have family and loved ones overseas or travelling. So we are having a BBQ lunch, with traditional puddings and alike.

Even though Out & About is only very new, thank you to everybody who has stopped by, and to those that have left comments. Your support and kindness has meant the world to me.

Whatever way you spend this time of year, enjoy.

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