Life Update and some news!

Well, I'm back and I'm back with a video! Find out what I've been up to below. Sorry if it's a little, incy-wincy bit rambly - practise makes perfect and I certainly need practise! Be kind and thanks for watching. Hopefully I'll return to regular blogging soon!



A bit about Arbonne for if you'd like to know more:

• Arbonne is an award winning, Swiss Ultra Premium skincare and cosmetic brand which is run through a network marketing platform, meaning that it is sold only through independent consultants who are trained in knowledge of the products and can share them with people in person and built their own business around Arbonne.
• Arbonne is 100% vegan and cruelty free - that means no animal by products and no animal testing whatsoever!
• All Arbonne products are botanically based, and free of nasty petrochemicals, parabens, phalates, mineral oils and other harmful chemicals.
• Arbonne's RE9 Advanced anti-aging set is the world's #1 anti-aging product
• Arbonne's Primer is also a world #1 product

If you would like to know anything else, please don't hesitate to ask me in the comments or shoot me an email, I'd love to tell you all about Arbonne's products and the Arbonne opportunity! 

If you'd like to buy any Arbonne products, you can use my Arbonne Independent Consultant ID to join as a client (it's totally free to join up) or you can join as a preferred client for just $27 and receive 20% off all products including your first order, as well as qualifying for a free product if you spend $195 in one transaction in your first month. My ID is: 613297231 and the items will be shipped to you directly. 

An Extraordinary Weekend

I'm back! Golly, it seems I have written those two words wayyy too much on this little blog, but as per the last time I was "back" I do not feel one shred of guilt for not posting lately. Nope, not one. You see, I found out something pretty interesting over the last few weeks. First off, I learnt that moving house the week before your first assessment block for the semester at uni is absolute hell and should be avoided at all costs. Secondly, I learned that when you hate the place where you live, you WILL NOT unpack boxes no matter how much you are willing yourself to be happy there. It just becomes physically impossible. Third of all, I learned that blogging when you've just moved, you are in the middle of an assessment block, you hate the place you live and you spend every spare moment you have travelling down to Lennox Head to breathe in the fresh ocean air and spend time with your boyfriend is impossible. You just won't do it!

Lastly, I learnt that Mumma does indeed know best, and I should listen to her more often. Seriously, she knows me better than I know myself sometimes, and that's a scary thought! Now, on to my extraordinary weekend and hopefully this last little bit of information will start making sense.

Many of you will know by now that I moved to Southport a few weeks ago, and you most certainly know by this point in this post that I don't love it. I'm not sure exactly why I dislike living here so intensely, but I think it has something to do with one unclean housemate, a cat regularly shitting in my bathtub and being away from all the people I love. So, every weekend, I pack my big, green overnight bag and head home. To my true home - Lennox Head. I used to leave on a saturday afternoon, after I finished work and come back on Tuesday morning, when I would head straight to uni for the day, but I lost my job last week via text message and that is the first reason why this weekend was so extraordinary. I got a whole extra day with the man I love.

Secondly, this week I got a (sort of) break from the travelling, and Jake came to stay with me for a change. He loves to trick me and surprise me, and he did that again this week by calling me Friday afternoon to say he wasn't sure if he'd make it that night because he had to work late, and then I turned the corner into my street to see his car in the driveway and my heart melted. That's the second reason this weekend was extraordinary, Jake came to visit me for the first time since I moved with the intention of giving me a break from travelling. Of course, I ended up coming home with him Sunday night anyway to have a few extra nights together, but I still love him for it.

This weekend was also extraordinary because I got to watch Jake ride! I love that my boyfriend does an interesting sport. It is actually so cool to me, sitting at Queensland Moto Park watching the boys ride bikes! The little kids on peewees just about kill me with cluckiness, but that's nothing to how I feel seeing Jake ride. Riding really is his passion. It's what he lives for and every time he is out on a track, on a trail or even just riding around a paddock he is so happy, and that makes me happy. He puts his all into his riding and it really shows. He is so go-for-it and is quite a good rider, with enough patience to teach whoever wants to learn. I got some pretty good photos of him this weekend, which I'm glad of because it's not often he has someone on hand to take photos. Hopefully I won't be the photographer for too long, though! I want my own bike. I want to get confident enough with my riding to hit the tracks, and do small jumps, but I know that's a long while off yet.

`The last, and most important reason that this weekend was so extraordinary is due to an important decision I made. It's no secret that I'm not happy where I am, and I decided to do something about it. Ever since the start of our relationship, I expected that when I started uni, Jake would just pack up and come with me, leaving his job and his family behind. It's what he thought, too. Unfortunately, we have had a crappy run this year and that's how I got to where I am. Now, it seems I have had a moment of realisation. I realised that the Gold Coast is not the best place for me right now. I realised that I miss home, miss my family, miss Jake and am unproductive in my current environment because of this. I realised that there is no point in Jake upheaving his life to come here when we will both just want to move back in two years time when my degree is finished. I also realised that he has a great job, with a steady client base and a boss who gives him a lot of responsibility which will come in handy when he is qualified and wants to set up his own business one day, and that his mum is sick and he should be close to her while she goes through this. I expected my boyfriend to pack up his life and move to a city neither of us love, which we will only be leaving again in two years, and that is unacceptable.

I have made a meeting to find out how I switch my degree over to distance education. I am contacting the real estate to give notice at my unit. I will be leaving in the last week of October and I am never moving back here again. Losing my job freed my mind and enabled me to see clearly what I need to do to find happiness. At long last, Jake and I will be living together in our own place, and we will be doing it with the full support of both our families, nice and close to home. I won't say I'm not worried about doing uni by distance, because I am but I have a feeling I will be much more motivated to get my work done when I am living somewhere that I love. I have given so much to the Gold Coast this year, and it has not given anything back. I have learned from my experiences, and finally I am moving home. Mum said she knew all a long this is what I'd do. I hate that she is right, but the countdown is on!

This little note on my steering wheel lifted my heart this morning as I left Jake's place. I have made the right decision.

The Last Week On Earth

Okay, so it's not really my last week on Earth, but last week was the last week of my uni holidays, and I don't quite know how to feel about that. On the one hand, I am so excited for everything this semester at uni has to offer me, but on the other I just know that by week 2 I will be swamped with assignments and feeling hellish. Anyway, I just thought I'd recap my last week of holidays for you, because some pretty big and emotional things have happened, and that is why last week felt like my very last week on Earth!

How can I put this? Ummm..... My housemate can no longer move in with me, and told me this two days before my lease ran out and then I panicked, and my boyfriend panicked and now if I don't find somewhere on the Gold Coast to live in the next three weeks, I have to move back in with my parents and drive two hours each way to uni, three days a week!

There, said it. Now I can breathe.

You can only imagine the emotions I felt upon hearing this news. I was distraught because I didn't know what to do, and I was panicked. I think I have had three panic attacks since Wednesday, and I have had to basically continuously do breathing exercises to calm myself down. The thought of packing all my stuff is so overwhelming, and the thought of leaving this unit just as it has started feeling like home is just destroying me. When I thought I was going to have to move back to mum and dad's I was lamenting the loss of freedom that would come with living with my family again, and I was dreading telling my boss that I had to leave work, because I really, really love my job!

Thankfully, when I turned up at work yesterday and told my boss my news, at first she was upset, but quickly she resolved that she would find me a place to live come hell or high water, and if I didn't find anywhere by the time my three weeks were up, I'd be moving in with her! Strangely, the fact that I had three whole weeks before I really had to panic didn't sink in until that moment, ad the fact that yes, it is possible I will find somewhere really came to light! Her reaction to my news made me feel good. I would be missed if I left work, and I had actual hope of finding a place to live, so what was I panicking about?

Yesterday afternoon, I watched a good friend of mine compete in a modelling competition (which he WON!) and went out to All You Can Eat Pizza Hut with him and a bunch of his friends from uni who I'd never met before to celebrate. They were lovely, lovely people and I am so glad I finally got a chance to meet them. We had a great time, and so some of us decided it would be a great idea to go out in Surfers Paradise last night to mourn the end of the holidays, even though most of them had uni this morning, bright and early. Even though I didn't have uni, I offered to be deso driver so that I could make sure everyone got home alright and would make it to uni this morning (quack quack, mother duck!). Also, because I live furthest south of everyone, and so would have to drive past all their houses to get home anyway, and I was determined to get home so I could sleep in my own bed! At first i wasn't going to go at all, but Grady insisted that he wanted to do whatever I wanted to do, but I knew he would like to go out, so I gave in. Well, turns out that going out was the best idea that anyone had all night, because I had a ball, and when we met up with other people at the clubs, and I got talking to one girl in particular, I actually found a potential place to live! I'm going to check out her place tomorrow afternoon after uni, and I'm so excited about it! Plus, because it's the smallest room in the house, if I rent it I get the garage to myself as well, and I'm going to deck it out as a combined lounge room/sewing room. Yep, I'm already planning, and I'm planning a bit of redecorating in my bedroom as well when the move takes place. I'm really hoping all goes well when I meet the girl's house mate tomorrow and that I like the room, because it's less than 10 minutes away from uni, and I really don't want to move back in to mum and dad's place!

Wish me luck for tomorrow. Things have just started looking up after a hellish week of uncertainty, and I'd really like to continue along this path. What have you been up to this past week? Have you had holidays where you live?

I Said Hey, What's Goin' on?

Hi guys, this is just a quick update post to tell you all what I'm up to and why you haven't heard boo out of me most of this week!

I"m currently down the coast flitting between Mum and Dad's and Jake's place, because it's my uni holidays (huzzah!), I've been missing them, I'm avoiding house work and food shopping at home (mwa ha ha) and Jake's sister has come up from Gosford (which is about 8 hours away) with her new little bubba and so I have been playing aunty all week, clucking like a chook over how gorgeous she is, how good she is and how great Jake is with her. Those bloody hormones! I cannot afford a baby right now, uterus! Behave yourself!

It doesn't help that Jake's sister has been really gracious with letting me help her with the baby, and I actually seem to be quite good at it. I mean, I know I worked with babies all of last year in the child care centre, but it just seems so different in an at-home setting, without strict rules and regulations and charts and what-not, and with the attentive mother and grandmother watching every move I make. She hasn't cried once while I've been holding her, or tending to her though which is awesome!

Okay, reigning in my uterus, what else has been going on?

The days aren't this light and airy anymore!

Well IT'S BLOODY COLD HERE for a start! Winter has finally arrived in full force here in Australia and I'm practically dying. I was not made for the cold, and winter has come as a huge shock in Australia this year. One day it's a balmy 23 degrees and the next - BAM! It's 12. Australia isn't very good with seasons. It get's pretty jumbled and confuses us poor Aussies so much! Thankfully, I have had copious amounts of tea on hand to warm my belly, and have taken up my winter tradition again for the year of reading the Harry Potter series over. I'm currently up to the fourth book (my favourite) and I swear I love it just as much this time as the first time I read it. So many emotions!

I also had an AMAZING (yes, all the emphases were required) day at the op shops the other day which I was hoping to blog about today. Just the cheer up I needed after having six phials of blood taken at the pathologist beforehand, as it saw me start a new collection, help a friend with her growing business and it could even possibly be the start of something new on the Little Foal horizon! Not saying any more at present, but vintage lovers be warned!

I was planning on doing a Friday's Finds post today to show off my amazing score, but I have a whole carload of stuff to show you, and it's pouring and gloomy and not a good day to be taking photos of things! I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to change the name of my finds post so it's applicable for any day of the week.

This is our cold face!

Well, I started this post at like, 1pm and now it's 6:40pm. I don't think I've ever taken so long to write a post! To be fair though, I spent the last 5 hours with my good friend, Alisha who I rarely get to see. We ate apple pie, drank hot Milo and whinged about the cold. All in all, a great catch up I would say!

I hope the sun is shining wherever you are, and hopefully over the next few weeks I will be spending a little more time at home, and will be able to get into some sort of routine or something. My new housemate is moving in on the 25th or thereabouts. She's a photographer, so I see some outfit photos on the horizon!

A Little Bit of This 'n' That

Hi guys! I am still wayyy in over my head with adjusting to uni right now, and having long, long days on public transport, but there are a few little things I wanted to mention today on the blog.

First of all, how was your weekend?

Mine was very lazy! I escaped to the boyfriend's house on Friday thanks to my dear friend, Ellie, who picked me up on her way down, got the news that I am now an Aunty to two (yay!) little cuties, got to see one of said cuties who is now talking all of our ears off in the third person (cutest thing ever) and got to see a pic of the new cutie, Eva May, who I can't wait to meet! Aside from all the excitement of Jake's sister giving birth, we basically just lounged around all weekend enjoying each others company, eating lots of junk and watching movies. I even got a rom-com out of him! Jake's parents went to Gosford to meet their new granddaughter, so we had the house to ourselves, and can I just say that absence really does make the heart grow fonder! Seriously, lately when Jake and I are together, we are just that - together. There is no squabbling, no needing space. We literally spend all weekend just enjoying each other's company, staring at each other, hugging, holding hands and generally making anyone who could be peeking through the window want to vomit with our cuteness. I feel whole again when he is here, and Jake didn't even pester me about the miserable weather!

That being said, however, yesterday morning when he left my place for work, I got a bit teary. Being away from him all week is not easy and sometimes I feel like I'm not coping. Moving out of home, having the car crash, starting uni, living by myself - it's all taking it's toll on me, and that's why I want to talk about a kind of sensitive issue right now. I had a major panic attack last week, and now I am seeing a counselor. Admitting this is not easy for me, and to be honest, I am a little embarrassed about it, but right now I'm not coping and I need the extra support the counselor gives me. Going into a panic attack, not  being able to breathe and feeling like I was suffocating in the middle of the night while I'm living by myself was not a good experience. I thought I was going to have an asthma attack and was scared that I couldn't even talk on the phone to call myself an ambulance if I did. Anxiety disorders and depression run in my family on both sides, so for me, waking up to the realisation that i'm anxious and depressed was a huge thing. Besides, the counselor is someone to talk to without making mum freak out, she is teaching me to control my panic and anxiety, to deal with my emotions as they surface and because I'm using the student service at uni, it's free. I feel like I'm really getting somewhere by seeing her, and hopefully this will help my blog mojo back too, since I know I've been shocking lately, too busy wallowing in self pity to post. You guys need to get up me for that, ya know? It's not good! Haha

Another thing I want to mention right now is I finally got my scholarship money today, and bought myself a MacBook! So yes, this is first ever MacBook post which is incredibly exciting, although I still have no freaking clue how to use this thing!

And last but not least, I think there is still a few hours left of my Giveaway if you haven't entered yet. There are two $50 prize packs donated by five very lovely bloggers, including tonnes of ad space, so I would really love it if you joined in!

Well, wasn't that a hodge-podge mix of topics to talk about? I really am sorry about that but since I'm run off my feet right now, I felt like I just needed to get some stuff down! I promise you will see me again tomorrow to announce the winner of the giveaway, but t be honest, I'm not sure when my next blog appearance will be. Definitely this week, though, and I'm working on thinking up some regular weekly post topics so that I can be a little more professional and organised on the blog! I hope you all had lovely weekends :)