Another Fist Pump Moment

Friday 11th October 2013

  

I am so excited about how things are going I thought I would post a photo from the day I started my new lifestyle and a photo that was taken yesterday.

I have had another awesome fist pump moment since my last post and I just had to share it with you (whether you like it or not!) because I am so proud of myself.

Last week I was feeling like poo.  Getting very dizzy and nearly fainting.  This is not like me so I reluctantly took myself off to the doctors and shelled out $70, that could've been spent on a pair of awesome shoes, to find out what could be causing this awful feeling.  As it turned out it was a great reason that was causing these symptoms and I can't believe I didn't work it out for myself!  For the first time in years I had low blood pressure! 

Even when I was skinnier than I am now I still needed blood pressure tablets.  I always joke that I am a high performance vehicle and I run on the good stuff and I was so used to taking the tablets that I didn't think this would be what was causing all the problems.  

Now, thanks to regular exercise and a healthy diet, I am drug free and still have low blood pressure!  I have also noticed that I am not as anxious as I used to be and I have a lot more confidence in myself and I am a lot more relaxed and I have ever been!

This awesome feeling certainly is worth all the effort!  I will admit that I have been missing my chocolate and wine but I have started introducing small doses back into my diet and have still been losing weight.   I now have faith in myself that I am strong enough to do anything without using wine or chocolate as a crutch to make me feel happy.  From now on I will stick to my exercise and instead of having regular wine, chocolate and coffee I will treat myself to some new shoes instead!  Luckily shoes don't have any calories I would definitely be in trouble.

I look forward to my next fist pump moment so I can share it with you :-)

Fist Pump Moment

Thursday 26th September 2013

I love those moments when you feel so awesome that you want to put your shirt over your head and run around the room doing the aeroplane!  Today I had one of those moments, and if it wasn't for the extra clients looking on I would've been flying around like crazy!

This morning was my appointment with my dietitan for a weigh and measure.  I have dreaded these days for my whole life.  I am a firm believer that all scales are evil and must be destroyed.  We have had a hate/hate relationship my entire life but for the first time ever I am not hating the scales as much as I used to.  I was even called "a star student" by the dietitian (and for a nerd like me I was totally wrapped with the praise!).

Since I started a program with my dietitan I am so much happier, I feel more energised and even though I am eating twice as much as I used to, I am losing weight so easily!  Holy moly!  The experts were right!

The kids are loving it too because we have an agreement that if they help me stay on track and not eat junk that I will give them $1 each for every kilo I lose.  At this rate I am going to be broke!  Lol.

The old me would've used good news like this as a reason to have a glass of wine or some chocolate to celebrate but instead of doing that today I celebrated by swimming laps while the girls had diving lessons.  Either I am going crazy or I am getting healthy, either way I'm loving it!!

Soldiering On!

Wednesday 11th September 2012



Today I am writing a post to celebrate some of the hurdles I have overcome.  Some of these obstacles I feel like I have been struggling with forever and others are just recent blows that life has thrown at me as life usually does.

For those of you that know me would know that I have struggled with my weight and digestion for my whole life.  It is like I am constantly on a diet and always depressed about how I look.  This year I decided that it was time to take the diet monster by the horns and beat the crap out of it!!

I had developed some really bad habits when I was in my previous job.  I used to be so busy that I would skip lunch and then eat a chocolate for energy.  The worst part was there was no access to toilets without closing the store so I wouldn't drink water during the day.  While I was working there I put on 15kg.  I always joke that I should've gotten workers comp for getting fat!

Anyone who has struggled with their weight will understand how depressing it is to get dressed every morning.  I got to the point where I excluded myself from going places so I didn't feel like everyone was looking at me or talking about me behind my back.  I had convince myself that everyone else was as obsessed about my body shape as I was.  Haha as if they don't have better things to do!  I was totally paranoid.

Back in July my friend and I decided to do something about it.  My friend had nowhere near as much weight to lose as me!  We got a training plan and diet and we stuck to it but I was finding that my body wasn't responding the way I wanted and my digestive system was so slow that I felt awful and wasn't losing much weight and my friend was a weight loss machine!  Instead of my usual reaction of giving in and going back to my old ways I went to see a dietitian who gave me a meal plan to help with my digestive problems.  After that, not only did I feel fantastic, the weight starting coming off!  Still not at the same rate as my friend but at a good rate.

Around the same time as our new workout program I was offered a position in the field that I am studying in.  This meant that I couldn't get to the gym as much as my friend or as much as I wanted to but this position was exactly what I was looking for so there was no way I was not going to take it.  I just had to make sure that I didn't give up the gym and my healthy diet plan in the process!

I am now happy to say that in the past 2 months I have lost 7kg.  I have lost 3cm off my bust, 4cm off my hips and a whopping 16cm off my waist!!

I have tried every shake, pill, carb free diet and "quick fix" known to man and none of them have had the lasting results that I have been able to achieve so far from this healthy plan.  If you are like me and are looking at long term results please go and speak to a dietitian, your body will thank you for it in the end and since it's all real and accessible food the whole family can eat it is easy to follow and you are never hungry!

I am so proud of what I have achieved so far and am still motivated to keep going to stay healthy.  As I see it, I am not on a diet, I have had a lifestyle change.  I have also noticed that I am not having the negative and toxic thoughts that I so easily succumbed to before.  I know that I will never be model thin or a size 8 and for the first time in my life I am comfortable with that.  As long as I feel great and I am happy with what I see in the mirror then nothing else matters.  I don't have to be anyone else's ideal, just my own.  It has been a long journey to get here but it has been worth every single step and although I know that I will stumble along the way I will always think back to how terrible it was feeling so low and make sure that I never get to that point again!

Feeling the Burn

Friday 5th July 2013

It's so easy to fall back into negative habits (mentally and physically) and I find that when one side seems to slip that the other follows pretty quickly.

Since we got back from our big trip our whole family has been super busy with work, school and study that we haven't had the time to spend on our physical fitness as what we have had before.  This was really starting to get me down and I was turning into a bit of a reclusive hermit.  That's when the negative thoughts start to take over.

I was getting to this point and decided enough was enough so I have gone back to the gym to sort myself out.  Now I am the first to admit that I am easily distracted from my goals and I hate working on the machines there.  I like to know that when I am working that I am going somewhere!  So after weighing up all of my options and limitations I decided on the gym at the aquatic centre.  Not only were their prices the cheapest around, they also have a lot of classes I love and if I can't get to the class then they have the pool where I can do laps.  This was the clincher for me because I love to swim!  I have been getting so frustrated because I have been working most morning when the classes are on so by the time I finish I didn't bother going to my old gym because I don't like the machines.

The other bonus has been that I can take the kids in the school holidays and work on our swimming together so they are getting an outlet to release their energy as well!

Now I just have to keep my head in the zone and not stray off the path!

Staying on Track

Tuesday 4th June 2013

Sometimes it is so easy to slip back into some old habits that aren't always that good for keeping a positive mind.  Whether it is a reaction to something that a person has said or done or a situation that is out of my control, I still find that I don't always handle things in the way I would like to.  Then I have to remind myself that I am only human and that the first step to change is recognising my reactions.

I always find myself feeling a bit flat in winter, I really miss the hot days and warm nights.  But instead of dwelling on things and wishing the winter months away I now look for fun things to do to stay warm and keep the negative cloud away!

I can't control the environment around me, I can only control myself and my actions.  I am finding that although this looks good on paper that it is so much harder to live it in real life and instead of being so hard on myself when I fall over, I should be focusing on the fact that I pick myself back up and learn from my mistakes and move forward.

I think the airline industry might be onto something when they charge for excess baggage,  I need to remember to leave my excess baggage behind because I always pay for it when I carry it around with me!

So today I am going to sit back and enjoy a nice cup of coffee and be grateful for my lovely friends and family and also bask in the glow of passing my first semester in my course.

Living the Dream

From the moment we booked the flights, to the day we went and now that we are back home and back to reality, I still feel  like it has been a dream!  I am so grateful for being lucky enough to win the money to be able to take our family on the trip of a lifetime and go to places that I have always dreamed of going but never thought would happen!

Even now I keep pinching myself to make sure that I am awake and not dreaming!!

For those of you who don't know, last year I was lucky enough to be invited to go onto a game show.  The most exciting part was that I won a little bit of money and for the first time in our lives my hubby and I decided that we were going to do something fun and not be our boring sensible selves!  We sat the family down and all said "if there is one place in the world you could go to on a holiday where would it be?" 

The kids and my hubby picked Hawaii and I jumped at the chance to be able to go to Las Vegas and renew our vows with Elvis!  We also decided that since we were over that side of the world that it would be totally ridiculous if we didn't go to Disneyland and LA and all the other exciting places while we were there.

Once we had decided on where we would like to go we set off to the travel agents without list of things to do.  We had booked 3 weeks of awesomeness and adventure that would give us a lifetime of memories!

It has been over 30 years that my hubby and I have been wanting to go to Disneyland (it's every kids dream isn't it?!) so to be able to share this experience with our girls made this trip even more exciting!!  Throw in extra trips to Universal Studios, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, San Diego Sea World, Legoland, the Grand Canyon and Hawaii and you have the ultimate dream holiday!!

Even now I can't put into words how grateful I am to be able to go on such an awesome adventure with my most treasured loved ones!!

This has definitely been one of those memorable moments in my life that I will always carry with me and that I wish everyone could experience!  There is nothing better than that feeling you get when you can live out one of your dreams!

Now I will start chasing my next dream because I have proven to myself that you can catch them!  And it's definitely worth it when you do!

Still in the Positive Zone

Although my positive challenge ended a few months ago I am happy to report that I still living with the same positive attitude.

When I finished my last post for the year I will admit that I was a bit nervous about being able to stay positive everyday without having to write about it.  It is always a bit confronting when starting a new and different journey.  But I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised how easy it has been to stay on my positive track, and that was with a few personal confronting challenges thrown in as well.  The challenges I have had to face have helped build my own self esteem and made me realise that not everything that goes wrong with others is my fault and even though sometimes I am in the receiving line of negativity I am now confident enough to deal with it and not fall into the usual pool of self doubt and anxiety.

I know now just how life changing this positive challenge was for me!  When I started out on my quest I was living in a bubble of dark and negative energy and was focussing on anything and everything that I could complain about.  It was a vicious cycle that I just couldn't seem to break and starting the positive challenge was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life!

After I started forcing myself to focus on the positives it was surprising how many good things I overlooked each day and how many opportunities I missed out on!  Any one who knows me will definitely see how much my life has improved since I changed my outlook and attitude.  Not only is my family even closer and happier than before but I am on a solid path to a career that I love, I am healthier and, with the help of my family, I am now losing weight that I couldn't shift for years!  And to top it off, my family is going on the trip of our dreams!  This is something that I could never have imagined would happen in a millions years and now it's here!!

I am so excited to be continuing on this journey!  I encourage everyone to give it a go and see what a difference a little positivity can make.  It has not only completely changed my life for the better but my hubby and kids are more confident and happy as well.

A Positive Year - Day 365

Day 365

Woo hoo!!  I did it!!  And this is from the person how never finishes anything!  I start a lot of things and then I get bored or distracted by something shiny and more exciting and then give up or forget about it.

Well today I can finally say that I finished something.  Today is my final blog for a year.  I have absolutely loved looking for positive things in everyday life and it definitely changed my attitude and lifted me out of the negative slump that I was slowly sinking into before I started this.

It only took me a couple of minutes each day to write about something positive in my day but I spent the whole day looking for all the positives around me so that I would be able to fulfill my challenge.

Some days it was a challenge but I have to admit that even on those down days there was always something that happened that I could write about.  It's surprising how many good things you miss out on when you are in a slump and not looking for them!!  But because I was on the lookout for somethng positive so I could write about it, I was surprised at how many things I usually would've overlooked because I wasn't in the mood to see them.

I want to thank everyone who read my blog over the past year!  Even though it wasn't the most exciting blog in the world, it definitely served its purpose in showing me how good things really are and I can thoroughly recommend this to everyone and even though I have finished a year of entries I will still be writing about my positive experiences, that way I will always be on the lookout for them.

Now it's time for my next blog challenge.  Any suggestions would  be greatly appreciated!!

A Positive Year - Day 364

Day 364

Gees I didn't know how old I was getting until I starting hanging out with my 16 year old cousin!!  He is up on holidays at the moment and has been hanging out with me and my girls having a blast while my poor hubby has to work.

Don't get me wrong, I have kept up with everything that we have done so I am not that soft but I must admit I am ready to crash by the end of the day!!

Yesterday we got our tickets for Dreamworld on our way home from a trip to Harbourtown.  I have to say there is nothing like an unscheduled trip of fun to end the day!  The looks of the kids faces was worth the extra effort in getting the tickets from a website on my phone.  And what an awesome invention the smart phone is!  There is no way we could've gone there without it!  Now who would've ever thought a phone could be smarter than it's operator!!

Today we are heading back there for a day of fun, rides and waterslides.  I just hope this old duck and keep up with the younger ones or better still show them how it's done!!

A Positive Year - Day 363

Day 363

Last night I finally got back to a zumba class!  I had forgotten how much I missed it!

I have been so busy that it has been impossible to find the time to get there so I was so happy when my friend posted on her facebook that she was going and I was able to tag along with her.  I was also pretty proud of myself because my fitness levels are a lot higher, thanks to my girls, that I was able to keep up with the whole class without absolutely killing myself.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy and I was pooped and very hot at the end but not as much as I used to be.

I was also happy to be able to come home and cool down in the pool while catching up with my lovely friend that I hadn't seen in ages.  Top it all off with a roast cooked by hubby and it was a perfect afternoon!

I am now looking forward to my next adventure for today :-)

A Positive Year - Day 362

Day 362

Today we have taken things a bit easier.  We were all a bit tired after an afternoon of rollerskating yesterday!  We decided to head into South Bank this morning and show our cousin around the beach area and the markets and then we headed out to a nice pub near the waterfront for a spot of lunch.

It is a perfect summer Sunday arvo and now we are relaxing around the pool.  Just to spice things up a bit I have decided to go to zumba tonight for a bit of fun dancing.  I haven't been for ages and I am really looking forward to some girly time and the added bonus is I get in some extra fitness!

All in all I have to say this has been a pretty awesome week!

A Positive Year - Day 361

Day 361

This morning reminds me of the beginning of a Christmas story but the only difference would be "not a creature was stirring except for Miss H".  My youngest daughter is always up early regardless of how tired she was the night before!

Yesterday we had a huge day!  We spent the day down at the Gold Coast playing at Time Zone and going Jetboating.  Then the boys topped it off by going to Whitewater World for the night session.

A great day was had by all!  We all got absolutely soaked on the jetboat and I ended up with a cheek ache from laughing and smiling so much!  I honestly don't know how anyone could go jetboating and not sit there with a cheesy grin on their face!  It is such a rush and so much fun you just can't help but smile!

I am not sure of our plans today because most of the house is still asleep after such a big day yesterday, but I am sure that whatever we do it will be a blast!

A Positive Year - Day 360

Day 360

It really feels like we are in super holiday mode at the moment.  We are playing tourist for the next week and will be heading out all over the city to have some fun!

Today we are heading down to the Gold Coast for a morning at the beach and then a spot of jet boating.  The added bargain is that thanks to Adrenalin.com.au we were able to get out jetboating tickets at the awesome price of $35 per person which is a huge savings!  That just makes our jetboating adventure extra exciting!

Tonight my hubby and our cousin are off to White Water World for some waterslide action!  The girls and I are going to have a quiet night at home to recharge the batteries for the rest of the weekend.  I think we are going to need it!!

I can't wait to see what we decide to do next!

A Positive Year - Day 359

Day 359

We had one of our cousins fly up today from Wagga to spend a week with us.

We have had so much fun planning all the awesome things we want to do over the week!  Already he has settled in and has both my girls wrapped around his little finger!  We have had an afternoon of swimming and playing pool and just having fun.  It's so nice to have him want to come and stay with us and the girls are really enjoying spending time with their "cool" older cousin!

Tomorrow we are off jetboating and then the big boys will go to White Water World while us girls chill at home and have a girly evening.

This is what summer holidays are all about!!

A Positive Year - Day 358

Day 358

I love making plans!

We have our cousin coming up to stay at the end of this week so we have been looking about for some fun things to do.

It's surprising how many things are out there to do!  It's just now a case of working out what order to do them in.  I love it when we have friends or family come up to stay because we get to live like a tourist and do the things that we would usually look over because we are too busy.  I think we should all stop what we're doing every now and then and live like a tourist every once in a while or you can miss out on so much.

All I can say is that it's a perfect way to finish off the school holidays!

A Positive Year - Day 357

Day 357

I am absolutely loving these slow starts to the morning.  Although I usually have to be up early to drop hubby at the station, the girls get to sleep in and then we take our time getting ready and sit down to a decent breakfast without feeling rushed or stressed.

As I am writing this my big girl is still asleep and my youngest girl is watching a movie while enjoying beans on toast.  Everyone is happy and relaxed and in a good place.  We have no solid plans and we don't have to be anywhere so there is no rush.

If only we could live in this relaxed state forever!  But then I guess after a while it would get pretty boring!  So we will just have to make the most of it until the rush starts up when school goes back.

A Positive Year - Day 356

Day 356

There are only two more weeks left of the school holidays and I can't believe how they have flown by!!

It will be hard adjusting back to the busy school/work/study schedule but I am determined that we will make the positive changes needed to have a healthy balance between work and a healthy lifestyle.

The positive differences in everyone in our family is worth working towards.  This quest has gone way beyond just me wanting to lose weight.  It is now about the health and wellbeing of the whole family.  It is also about us spending time together doing something constructive. 

Last night we took the dog for a walk and really checked out the neighbourhood.  We went on a path we had never been on before and were fascinated by our discoveries.  If we hadn't gone for a walk we never would've known about the dam that is not that far from our house which someone has built a man made beach and pontoon with a jumping trampoline going into it.  We also found a couple of farms and acreages.  This is something you don't expect to see in the suburbs and only 20km from the CBD.  I love that we live in an area that still offers the fun of living in a rural area but still has all the convenience of the city.

We are now looking forward to our next post dinner discovery when we head out tonight.  You never know what you will stumble across!

A Positive Year - Day 355

Day 355

Continuing on our quest for a healthier lifestyle, our family went out to the markets to buy some fresh herb seedlings to plant our own herb garden.  We are discovering a lot of different flavour sensations by trying out some new fresh herbs in our cooking and in our salads.

We also planted some cherry tomatoes and a passionfruit plant because the girls love them so much and we go through that many that we thought it would be handy to grow our own.  The next thing on our list is to plant the tops from our pineapples to see if they grow.

It's been another fun and healthy task that we have been able to do together as a family and I love how it bonds us all together having a common goal to work towards.

It's funny how busy life can get that you forget about the simple things like what we did today.  The past few years have been so full on for us with work and a busy lifestyle that we missed out on so many simple pleasures because we were too busy stressing.  After taking a step back and going back to basics I appreciate the little things a lot more than I ever have before and the girls are much happier that we get to spend more time together as a family.

A Positive Year - Day 354

Day 354

Another gorgeously hot summer's day in paradise equals another fitness session along the waterfront.

It was a bit too hot to be hitting the mountain trails today so we thought we would take the dog down to the waterfront for a walk/run.  I can't believe how fast my fitness is picking up!  The girls have been so great these holidays in supporting me in my quest to be healthier and they really encourage me to push myself that little bit further.

Between all the training and the healthy eating I feel like a new person!  We are saving a fortune by not buying pre packaged crap and are buying a lot more fresh fruit and veg.  We always ate a lot of fruit and veg but we are now having more than ever, especially with all these gorgeous summer fruits in season!  I have also notice a change in the girls and their behaviour by cutting out all the extra packaged food for them too.  The best part is that they haven't even missed them!  They haven't asked me once for any junk and prefer it when I bake them something fresh and homemade.

It's a shame there is only two more weeks left of the holidays and we are thrown back into our busy lifestyles!  But I am determined to keep these positive changes going, even when it does get busy!

A Positive Year - Day 353

Day 353

Both my girls are back home today and a little bit tired so we are having a nice quiet day at home. 

While I am writing this post I am listening to them splash and sing in the pool.  I love moments like this when they are happily getting along and there is no fighting or bickering. 

I don't know if it's because they are getting older but these holidays have been so easy and peaceful.  Don't get me wrong, they've still had the occasional argument but they seem to be getting along a lot more than they are fighting.

The other thing I have noticed is that they haven't been whinging that they are bored!  Although if we didn't have the pool I think it would've been a different story!

This afternoon we will top off a nice relaxing day with a long walk to wear us all out before coming back for another swim.  This is certainly the life!!

A Positive Year - Day 352

Day 352

We had solar panels installed on our house just before Christmas but we haven't been able to use it until Energex came out to calibrate our meter.  So for the past couple of weeks we have been patiently waiting until we could switch it on.  Well finally Energex came out first thing this morning and we are now officially up and running!

We were quite lucky that they came out so quickly (their wait time is up to 6 weeks!).  So firstly I am very grateful that it only took just under 3 weeks for them to come here, and that included a few public holidays!

Hopefully we will notice a huge reduction in our bills.  It will be nice to have that money spare to spend on other things that are a lot more fun and exciting!

A Positive Year - Day 351

Day 351

Today is opposite day from yesterday.  I get to have some one on one time with my big girl while my youngest is off at her friend's place for the night.

I love spending time with both of my girls together but I also love our one on one times where we can really bond. 

I feel so lucky to have two such gorgeous girls who are both so completely different but still share the same ability to care and love so greatly.  I am so proud to be their mum!

A Positive Year - Day 350

Day 350

My eldest girl was out with a friend today so I got to have a nice one on one day with my baby (not that she is much of a baby anymore!!)

I left it up to little miss to decide what we would do today and she decided on a movie so off we went to see Rise of the Guardians.

It was such a nice time sitting together, sharing popcorn and frozen coke and enjoying the movie.  It's not often that we get to have a little bit of one on one time and I cherish every time because they are growing up so fast!

The added bonus is that my little miss is out with a friend tomorrow so I get to do it all again with my big girl!!

A Positive Year - Day 349

Day 349

I am so proud at the healthy choices my girls have been making these holidays.  Usually holidays were like a green light for junk food for them.  They would be forever complaining that they were hungry and always had their head in the pantry.  Since I employed them as my motivators and trainers they are making healthier choices and opting for fruit instead of junk and they aren't complaining about being as hungry as they usually do!

Yesterday after our bike ride we took the dog for a walk and we were talking about our healthy change and they were quite shocked when I mentioned how little junk they had eaten these holidays.  I could see the pride in their faces and hear the surprise in their voice when they mentioned they hadn't even missed it!

I think this has been a good change for all of us and I am so happy that they have embraced the changes with such enthusiasm!  There is no way I would enjoy this healthy challenge as much if they weren't along for the ride!

A Positive Year - Day 348

Day 348

I woke up to the sound of rain this morning.  It is a sound I had not heard in a long while!  Although it didn't last forever it was great to hear.

I love the sound of rain when we are inside and all relaxed.  It is a nice reason to stay inside to be a little bit lazy for a change.

We have had a full on year and it just keeps going to it's nice to put the brakes on every now and then and just chill together!  Although I don't think we can sit still for too long or we would all go crazy!

Now that the rain has stopped and the clouds are starting to part we hope to venture out for a family bike ride for the afternoon.  This should be a pefect way to end the day!

A Positive Year - Day 347

Day 347

We decided to head on up to the Glasshouse Mountains today to go for a bushwalk and check out the view.  We were not disappointed!!

It was raining on the way up which was threatening our chances to go but luckily it had stopped by the time we got there.  It was a 3.8km round trip up to the lookout which is super long but it was long enough for the kids, especially the hill to the lookout.  I will admit I was puffed by the time we got up there too.

By the time we got back to the car we were all pretty hot and feeling good after the ride so now we looking forward to a nice cool swim to relax our muscles so they don't start to ache later.

Tomorrow we are setting off for a family bike ride.  This whole family fitness stuff is a lot of fun!!

A Positive Year - Day 346

Day 346

It's Fun Mum Friday again!  This is my favourite day of the week!   It holds all the anticipation of a full weekend ahead of us and marks the end of another busy week.

The girls are a bit tired today after a busy week so we are taking it easy today.  That doesn't mean that we will be slacking off on the fitness training though!  We have already done some early morning laps in the pool and will be certainly doing some more later.  But for the moment the girls are relaxing and watching a movie while I write this blog and have a cuppa before tackling the ironing.

These holidays are just flying by and I have loved every minute with my girls so far.  It was even better last week when hubby was home too.

The only change I am making to our regular Fun Mum Friday is that I will be swapping my afternoon glass of wine by the pool with some more laps.  This whole fitness thing is getting addictive!

A Positive Year - Day 345

Day 345

Isn't it funny that when you start to question things the answers seem to come to you in the wierdest of ways!  I, like everyone else, have a habit of overthinking and over analysing things that shouldn't have taken up so much time and when I get myself all tied up in emotional knots I will read something or something happens to put it all into perspective!

I didn't always pay attention to what the world is trying to tell me so I was an emotional wreck on the inside most of the time.  Now I am much more at peace, and even though I still have these moments, they don't last as long as they used to and I am more aware of the signs to look for.

I used to be pretty sceptical of people who used to say to me that the answers will come to me if I know where to look but now I can totally understand what they are talking about!

It's surprising how much more relaxed I am nowadays and I am also noticing that my hubby and kids are more relaxed too which is even better.

A Positive Year - Day 344

Day 344

My big girl has a friend sleeping over tonight so my two girls and their friend are out in the pool having a great time in this heat!  I love hearing the sounds of their laughing and the games that they play!  It reminds me that even though the players have changed the sleepover game is still the same as when we were kids!

While they are off having fun I am relaxing in the shady breeze reading the most eye opening and inspiring book.  If you ever get a chance to read The Buddhist Boot Camp I thoroughly recommend it!  It certainly makes you look at things from a completely different perspective and change your attitude and view on things in a positive way.

I know I have changed over the past 12 months and I know that not everyone will like it, but I feel that I have changed for the better.  I no longer rely on others to make me feel good about myself and I no longer feel that I have to spend all my time to please others to get their approval.  I also used to be the type of person who had to hang around with a lot of people to feel important whereas now I am happy with my own company don't have that urge to have to be with a big crowd to know that I am loved.  I think the difference is that I have allowed me to accept myself for who I am and not what others think I should be.

I still love hanging out with my friends but the difference nowadays is that I don't need to hang out with others to be happy.  I do it now because I want to, not because I think I need to.

A Positive Year - Day 343

Day 343

Happy New Year everyone!!

We were very soft at our house and didn't even stay awake to see in the New Year but it was a perfect way for us to see out the old year.  This is the first time in a long while that I wasn't desperate to see the year end because it was the first year in a long while that was absolutely fantastic!  I don't know if that was due to my attitude change or something greater and I don't care but I am grateful of how good it was.

My wish for everyone for 2013 is that you have as good a year as what we had in 2012 and that you are all healthy, happy and full of love and laughter.