4 am.....

I have a feeling me and this time of morning are going to have a very deep and meaningful relationship over the next couple of years.

4 am - it's still dark and a little cold  - a time when I can study in peace with a fully functioning brain....ahhhh it is actually quite blissful! I get so much quality work done!

I am hopeless at nights (after 7pm to be precise....), I have no motivation, and my brain is basically fried from the kids intermittent screaming, silliness, and constant chatter ....though I love them dearly. :) I much prefer to go to bed at 9pm or earlier (if I am lucky) and get up at this magic hour, make a pot of herbal tea and get stuck into it.

After, if I am feeling super perky I will go for a treadmill run or deck workout and enjoy the sunrise from our awesome view. 

All before 6.30am. (I only do crazy early 3 times a week - though more when I have assignments or exams)

Thank goodness I am a morning person!!

What's Inspiring Me At The Moment.....

The Clean and Lean Diet.....

Its brilliant - Its not a book I would have picked up on my own. I owe it all to Mum and her massive 'mind body soul' book addiction. (Her collection is seriously huge!) After hearing her dropping random tidbits of info from her reading and changing her exercise plan I got a little curious.

Exercise wise it promotes leanness - not excess muscle, and  no slogging it out at the gym or on the treadmill....but regular (3 times a week) light weight sessions super easy to do at home. Coupled with whatever exercise you like to do, that doesn't stress your body out (I am cutting back my running) and a bit of yoga. The sessions definitely get your heart rate up and feel so good (you will look HOT! - I promise) and are in four stages (with the first one being weight free), so you can work your way up. I am doing the second at the moment - and have been for about a month (?) I haven't been doing them as regular as I want, but I am getting there.

The 'diet' (not really a diet, but a way of eating all the time) - cutting out Caffeine, Refined sugar, Alcohol and Processed foods....C.R.A.P :) with an emphasis on organic food, antioxidants, and good fats. It makes sense and is rather hard, but your body will love you for it!! (Note: sugar is soooooo baaaad!) Bizarrely, but maybe not so bizarrely, it points out how important it is to chew you food completely - as that is how you get your nutrients and you will notice the difference, especially in your stomach. I eat so fast normally, and I have to keep reminded myself to focus and slow down.

Anyway, Its super brilliant and I just wanted to share it with everyone!!! Check out this link here....it talks about the book and has a clip of James Duigan showing the right technique for some awesome fat burning/toning exercises (squats, push ups, lunges etc).


Check.It.Out if you want to look good, have loads of energy, be really healthy and feel great!

My Father The Hero.....

I am really loving Father's Day this year - I am exploding with big love and appreciation for my Dad's awesome-ness.

My working, surfing, movie watching, mowing in his speedos, creative cooking, Bridge to Brisbane running, big sook, pistachio eating Dad.
  

Back in the day  - me (holy cheeks!) and my Dad before my Formal

He's been by my side through all the good bits and the hard bits - he doesn't tell me what to do (mostly...*wink*) and lets me live my life and make my own decisions, wrecks and all. 

He is also a super G'dad to the kids, and even more so because their Dad isn't around. He takes them to the beach, up to O'Reileys, to the movies at least once every school holidays, last night he took them to Riverfire on his own.

He really is my Hero. Love you Dad.

PS. Making yummy pancakes for breakfast (Dad styles - with beaten egg whites), and looking forward to Dad's Choice dinner - smoky BBQ ribs and sticky date pudding....oh yeah! :)

Race Day Eve....

....and I am super excited!!.....

I swear half the fun is in the preparation....clothes ready, iPod ready, eating carbs to stock up my energy stores, working out what time I have to get up to drink and still have time to find a toilet before the race (gotta love the mum bladder) etc.....I love it!

I started a tradition last year of getting a new singlet for the race....I like 'em bright! :)

 Wish me luck!

Little Miss Good Intentions......

When I was in Young Women a bunch of years ago we would often have 'secret friends' (I am sure there was a better name, but I can't remember it) and one time my 'secret friend' gave me the Little Miss Helpful book - it scarred me for life! For ages I couldn't figure out if she bought it because she thought it was cute and that I was helpful or that she actually read it and thought it was highly applicable!

If you don't know the theme of the story, Little Miss Helpful tries terribly (too) hard to be helpful and more often than not ends up wrecking everything - hence my ensuing 'secret friend' depression. *sigh* ;)

All teenage trauma aside, I had been thinking lately, if I created a Little Miss character based on one (I have many ;p) of my shortcomings (as seems to be the theme of them) mine would have to be "Little Miss Good Intentions". I am full of them. The list of the things I get into or start with the best of intentions and never finish or stay committed to (for whatever reason) would be extremely massive!

Talk about frustrating....ugh! :) I think I don't write lists or set super concrete goals for fear of overwhelming myself and getting depressed when I don't come with the goods. Cause seriously, failure is a b*tch!

But I get it.

It's life - the constant re-assessing and re-focusing, the getting back up and trying again, is all part of the journey....and if all goes to plan we may even learn something! (wow....) I have to say, I find the repetition rather amusing....

Cause if I didn't laugh....

I may just cry. :)

“Do not expect to be free entirely from trouble and disappointment and pain and discouragement, for these are the things that we were sent to earth to endure. “The scriptures promise, ‘There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it’ (1 Corinthians 10:13). “The Savior said, ‘Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me’ (D&C 88:63).”

My Academia.....

So I haven't blogged for about a month - mostly because Dad cut off the internet...and to save getting my own service provider for the last couple of months I am here, M hooked me up so I can piggy back off Grandma's connection next door (relax - she knows....) - However, this means I have to sit in the middle of the hallway at the other end of the house to get a good signal (which kinda sucks)....and haven't really been in my own comfort zone to blog.....

Anyway - at the moment I am up way too late stressing about uni....more specifically my degree and what I am going to major in. Thought I had it all figured out - Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Accounting (I dabbled with the idea of a combined Accounting/Law degree - although I ended up deciding it would cost too much money and take too long) - its what I like, what I have experience in....AND I am reasonably good at it....

BUT

....As it turns out, I am really loving Finance....like REALLY loving Finance! This is my first subject in the area, aside from a brief couple of classes as part of my accounting subject in high school - and I basically don't have a clue! I like what I am learning - and its the first time I have actually read a whole chapter of one of my text books because I actually WANTED to understand.  Its fascinating stuff!

The Problem: My tutor is a complete nerd....a super cool guy, but a complete nerd....He has degree in Maths and Physics with a PhD in Maths (there is more, I think - but you get the point)....anyway, bottom line is, he is crazy smart....and I am not. I am just a little bit smart and rather afraid that isn't going to be enough.

Hmmmm.......So that is where I am at, madly surfing the internet to find out what jobs there are in finance....and wondering if its for me - and worrying just a little because I feel like I don't have time anymore to make career choice mistakes! I need to get a degree and support my family, I can't afford to mess around - and I want to love what I do! Is that too much to ask??

*sigh*

I seriously think my brain is going to explode.....

Good night. :)