Today

Today.
Today I had one of those mornings. I have a Company lunch at a nice Italian restaurant today. I’m looking forward to it very much, and already know what I’m ordering! I plan on ordering linguine with marinara sauce and large prawns. Since a holiday back in 2004-ish I always order prawns/shrimp with my pasta.

I knew I had to dress up a little more this morning, but for the life of me couldn’t get it together. I was looking at my wardrobe full of skirts and dresses, and felt confused. It took longer to get ready, longer to get my food together for the day and longer to brush my hair… yes, it was one of those days. I ended up being 5 minutes late for work. My brain was asleep. I never drink caffeinated coffee in the morning (I figure if I need caffeine to wake up each morning, there is a problem. But this morning I relented and slowly poured a strong coffee without any guilt.

Once the coffee was downed I looked at my odd ensemble for the day. My outfit doesn’t quite make sense. Its ok. But odd. My tights don’t quite match the skirt I’m wearing. The proportions of my outfit are a little off. I’m ok with that though. There are far more important things in this world that don’t quite make sense.

Yesterday we had a storm in California. It was so nice to have rain, although I wasn't prepared for it. At lunch I took a walk in the rain with my weak umbrella. Thankfully my umbrella didn't pop inside out!

I was hoping it would rain tomorrow (my day off!), but there are blue skies again. Still, its nice and chilly. I plan on cleaning, reading my book and starting a mosaic on a terracotta pot.

Granny Chic

Thursday morning. I’m not feeling so well and I’m not sure why. I feel like I’ve been fighting something for a couple of weeks. I’ve been getting “chills” and have horrendous allergies – which in themselves make me feel unwell. I often think I have a cold because allergies cause the following: headaches, fatigue, cough, constant sneezing etc. But last night I went to bed feeling nauseous, it woke me up in the night and I still felt sick with chills this morning. But no sore throat, no temperature. So I’m not really sure whats going on! I don’t think it warrants a doctors visit anyway.

So, I’m at work. Yesterday was fun. I’ve been playing a song on piano by Mendelssohn – the Venetian Boat Song. It’s a very romantic piece of music. When it comes to classical music I always favour the romantic melodies. I got to practice that for about an hour all up.

I just went to this danish bakery near my work. There were 3 old ladies all dressed up ordering their morning coffee and biscuits. I smiled to myself and thought about being their age someday. I hope to grow old with my husband and closest friends. It might sound weird but I am looking forward to being an old lady. No longer worrying about that extra biscuit I had with my cup of tea. Being a little more ballsy and not caring so much about what other people think. Wearing whatever I want, being as eccentric as possible. I plan on being very eccentric! I like being young of course and having a lot of energy – youth is wonderful. I’m not so sure about middle age – I’ve always thought a person is young until… they are old. Does that make sense? Eg. My husband’s parents. They’re stylish parents with a whole lot of energy and pizazz. They are in their 50’s/60’s. In my opinion they are still young. They love to go bikeriding, love to go for walks and are very active. To me that’s young. I think a person at 80 would look at 50 year olds and say “yeah, I was young and I didn’t even know it”.

So anyway, since I was feeling not so well, I thought I’d treat myself to a biscuit and coffee since I am at work - a bit of a "yay, you made it". A little stroll in the sun did the trick and lifted the spirits. They have these chocolate drop cookies I just love. It’s a small Danish butter biscuit with a big swirly dollop of icing on top. That paired with a cup of coffee – wonderful! It pretty much made my morning. Curiously, when I walked back up the stairs to my work it smelt like a wash room, you know, the delightful smell of fabric softener? Its one of my favourite smells. I love to walk by the wash room in our apartment complex at home.

I’m starting to feel pretty fit these days. I don’t look super fit, but I’m feeling it. Yesterday I went to the gym and did a run for 40 minutes and didn’t need to stop once. When I first started going to the gym I struggled to do a 10 minute run. I’m pretty pleased with this. Its my goal to work up to an hour. I don’t do a full on fast run, but it’s a run nonetheless. I’ve been going to the gym twice a week for months now. That along with a 30 minute walk a couple of times a week (which I've always done, for as long as I can remember). My Mum used to go for a 30 minute walk every evening and would drag me along. I'm grateful now for the routine of that.

Last night I woke my husband up because of sleep talking again. Then he woke me up to stop the talking.

End of random thoughts for today :) Hope you're having a swell day.

The Lists

I’m excited about a few projects underway. After 2.5 years of marriage my life is in order and I can think clearly again. Its time to indulge in some passions. I was so caught up in moving country, dealing with homesickness and building a life here and learning to be a housewife, I let a lot of the things I love to do be ignored. Unfortunately I engaged in some retail therapy. Not so much that I can’t pay it off soon. But more than I would like. After all, things don’t make us happy.

The Thinking about List: Here’s a list of what I have been thinking about.

A creative writing course. I’m yet to look this up to see if any course times fit in with my Wednesday off.

Sewing course. This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, but I’m struggling to find a class that fits in with my schedule. So this will have to wait for the time being.

The Regardless List: Things I can do regardless.

Daniel and I are buying a camcorder! I have always loved making movies/silly comedies. So I’m real excited about this. I was thinking of embarking on a project about Southern California. Going to my favourite spots, explaining different things about our lives here. It would be interesting for our friends back home in Oz, and my parents. We’re going to Florida soon, and I’d like to make movies about our travels in the US.

Guitar lessons. I’ve always wanted to learn guitar. I’m going for it. I was looking on Craigslist and there are a bunch of guitars being sold really inexpensively. Its time.

I want to learn another Sonata on piano. Its been a while since learning a new classical piece. Lately I’ve been learning a couple of songs from a Nat King Cole book. “Mona Lisa Smile” and “Smile”. I’ve been trying to jazz them up a little. But, I’m eager to work on a classical piece that is a little grittier.

I love my little plants on our balcony which currently consist of a miniature rose plant given to me by Anna and miniature cactus plants which are growing more steadily than I anticipated! So I want to get a big rectangle flower pot from Home Depot. We have a bunch of 40% off coupons from Michael’s so am going to do a mosaic on the flower pot. I thought that would be a nice way to celebrate my pot plants.

The regardless list is things I’m going to start doing in the next few weeks. The thinking about list will have to wait. There are only so many hours in a day. And only so much money in the pockets. Mosaics will be nice and inexpensive. There is this junk yard close by that has a bit batch of old tiles for next to nothing. If I scour junk yards, the only cost will be glue, the flower pot and eventually grout and sealer (once I get to that point).

Guitar lessons. Well. I’m not sure what to do there. Professional lessons will be best. I have a knowledge of music already (piano) which will hopefully help me. But I want to get technique down, instead of forming my own bad habits from the start.

All that aside, things are going nicely. I’m enjoying having a day off each week. Many weeks I’m busy in the mornings and in the afternoon I do some study and then ride my bike to the coffee shop to read the book of the moment (currently reading Breakfast at Tiffanys by Truman Capote). Then getting home and cooking dinner. Last weekend we went for a bikeride by this lake near a mountainous area. It was beautiful there. The bikeride was somewhat strenuous (no gears on my bmx!). We stopped by the lake for about an hour in between our ride to play a boardgame. My husband always brings a boardgame, just in case we get the opportunity to play a game, even on a dusty bikeride.

The first of many Wednesdays

Yesterday I had my first Wednesday off. I can’t believe I’ll be taking Wednesdays off every week! It seems to good to be true! It was such a nice feeling waking up, knowing I could do whatever I wanted. I had planned to go to the record store to check out some new music, listen to records I can’t afford to buy. Get a membership at our local library, and do a salsa class at the gym, and do some cleaning. I started off the morning with a bang by doing some reading over breakfast, then starting the housework. Housework ended up with me getting very into it and it turned out to be spring cleaning (although I know its fall here – my husband pointed that out to me). I decided I’m going to do the same thing next Wednesday. So my house will be in spit spot condition. I’m planning on buying a scrubbing brush and scrubbing those floors next week. Usually I use my foam mop, which I don’t believe cleans well enough. I also plan on going over all the skirting boards properly and cleaning my blinds (and getting a window cleaner in). Yesterday I did solid housework for 5 hours. What a workout! I was exhausted by the end of it. Today I feel such a sense of accomplishment. After next week I’ll keep Wednesday mornings to do my own thing and the afternoons can be set aside for cleaning.

The most important meal of the day...

Breakfast is not only the most important meal of the day: its my favourite. Other meals I can take or leave – I’m happy to snack throughout the day on bits and pieces. A good, healthy and satisfying breakfast however is at the top of the list of priorities in my day. A few weeks back we were up in LA – I was very excited to go to a bakery café for breakfast. The Vienna Café. It has become a fast favourite of mine. The eggs benedict are to die for. Complimentary red velvet cupcakes and a basket of hot, freshly baked bread and rolls.. yes please!

I was reading Real Simple magazine – an article on healthy snacks. I’ll be the first to admit that I indulge in way too many snacks with preservatives. 100 calorie snack packs, otter pops, candy. All the good but bad stuff. So, I made it my goal to eat healthier, more sustaining snacks. Today I had Fage greek yoghurt with a dollop of honey and plain oats. What an amazing breakfast. So healthy and extremely filling - very delicious. Usually I will eat yoghurt and cheerios for breakfast. Or toast with jam and a piece of fruit with yoghurt. I’m totally sold on Fage greek yoghurt. Its wonderfully creamy. My friend Anna has talked about the greek yoghurt in Greece. Anna is in Greece right now. She says there is nothing like the yoghurt there. Mmm. I’d love to try it someday. My other snack for the day is a chopped up apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter to go with it. For lunch I’m planning on a boiled egg and salad. Its my preservative-free eating day. I’m wondering if I will feel fuller on “real” food? Usually I eat a mix of quick foods and natural foods. I love to shop at organic stores and Trader Joes/Henry’s/Whole Foods. Unfortunately the convenience factor of a quick packet of chips gets in the way of my healthy eating.

What is your favourite meal of the day?

Uh oh

I'm on a shoe roll...

These are fierce!

But not too fierce... while I like the bondage-style shoe (aka amped up gladiator), these are a happy medium for my somewhat conservative (?) self.

Getting ready for "Fall"

I'm totally in love with these boots:-