Day 124 - Today I am grateful for....Memories you can wear

I wonder sometimes how people come up with things....

You know, there is a lot to be said for an idea, an inspiration, a single thought. Whomever came up with the idea of a charm bracelet really was an "ideas man". Furthermore, whomever modernised that notion deserves a medal. What a beautiful idea! To be able to actually wear a memory....

When my Mother bought me a Nominations bracelet a few years ago. I had absolutely no idea what it was but I loved it.

Each year on Christmas and my Birthday she would buy me a little tile to add to my collection.

When I travelled around the world two years ago, I realised that the Nominations brand was Italian and I was able to easily add to my bracelet until it was full. Nominations tiles are difficult to locate in Toowoomba....not so in Italy. I was spoilt for choice! I have a tile for each country I have visted, I have tiles signifying my love of animals and my birth sign. Each one means something important and special.

Not many people have ever heard of Nominations nor seen a bracelet like mine and that's why I love it so much. Each little tile holds a cherished memory.

In my 30th year last year, given that my Nominations bracelet was full, I suggested a new idea to my Mum....the Pandora bracelet.

With my 30th & 31st Birthdays combined plus a charm at Christmas time, my Pandora bracelet is now full too! Each charm is from someone different and each one represents a piece of their heart that I carry with my heart.

Every second person has a Pandora but not everyone has a Nominations and not many people have both! I'm a lucky girl :-)

I just love it. I love memories that I can wear. I love being able to look at my bracelets and know exactly who gave me what and when. I can wear cherished memories with me everyday.

So to all the people whose memories I wear, I love you x
Grateful.

Day 123 - Today I am grateful for....no hangover!

Again....I'm a little bit behind in my gratefuls but Sunday week ago I was uber grateful I didn't have a hangover!

I was stepping pretty high by the end of the night and it was definately time for me to head home at 3am.

I'd had an absolutely cracker of a Birthday!!

I'd been hooking in to the Jager Bombs so there was a very real possibility that I could have been hugging my friend the toilet bowl but thank God - I didn't.

I went home alone at a fairly reasonable hour, I was coherent and lucid and alone. I paid the taxi man the correct amount of money and I was not ripped off, injured or molested.

And to top it all off.....I didn't have a hangover the next morning! Win!

Although very tired and Fibro-sore, I avoided the hangover. Grateful....

Day 122 - Today I am grateful for....the BEST Birthday EVER!

Today (a week ago) was my Birthday and I literally had the BEST Birthday EVER!!!

I turned 31 on Saturday 5th March 2011.

I was spoilt rotten from the moment I woke up. In fact, I was spoilt yesterday too!

Yesterday, Karissa spoilt me with a whole day long non-Birthday event including balloons, cards, profiterole cakes and presents! I also received a beautiful bunch of flowers from my work family :-)

And then today on my Birthday, I was taken out for Breakfast with Bradley, Megan, Nathan & Vic to Cafe Valetta.

After Breakfast, I spent a lovely day with Vicki doing Wedding stuff and we located her Dress, Shoes and our Bridesmaid Dresses. Very productive day!

On Saturday night, I enjoyed a lovely dinner with 40 of my closest friends (minus a few who couldn't make it) at my fave restaurant and then proceeded to dance the night away at Fibbers!

I really honestly had the most enjoyable Birthday I've ever had. I don't think I've ever felt so loved and special in such a long time.

To everyone who made my Birthday so lovely.... Thankyou!

For all of my lovely gifts...Thankyou!

For being a part of my life....Thankyou, from the very bottom of my heart xxx

Grateful!

Day 121 - Today I am grateful for....something that works!

I was hypnotised for the first time in my life today and I have come out of it feeling amazing....

I've been thinking about quitting smoking for a while now but when my Husband left, there didn't seem to be a reason anymore.

Gone was my hope of starting a family, so why not just keep on smoking? It certainly helped with stress and when I didn't feel like eating, I always felt like smoking.

I'm not even really sure how I started smoking? It just kind of happened one day. I certainly felt accepted by my peers and developed close friendships over the years.

But ultimately, it was time to quit. I simply cannot afford it anymore.

I wasn't a fan of patches. And I hated the gum. I had a really bad allergic reaction to Champix, when combined with other medication, so I was kind of all out of ideas. All I knew was that it was time.

I'd grown tired of hearing all of my friends tell me to quit. My Mum coughed every time I went near her - even if I hadn't had a ciggie, it lingered. My mouth always felt like the bottom of a budgie cage. My clothes smelt. My hair smelt. My skin looked like poo. I felt like poo. It was time.

And so I went on the search for a hypnotherapist in Toowoomba and I finally found one...quite innocently actually but it was obviously meant to be. It will have been an expensive exercise but well worth it in the long run. I've had some bloody fabulous times smoking and being around smokers but at the end of the day, it's really bad for me and I acknowledge that. I acknowledge that eventually I will die if I don't do something about it now. And so I made the call.

It doesn't mean that I can't be around smokers anymore, nor will I be judging a smoker. I refuse to be one of those reformed smokers that you just want to punch in the face. It's a person's choice at the end of the day and this is mine.

I was worried though. I didn't want to put on weight. I've come so far since my Husband left that I would rather smoke and keep my 20kg off than not and end up fatter than when he left. Whether that is the reason that he left or not, I'm sure it didn't help. So there was a 2nd reason for heading to a clinical hypnotherapist for help.

I'm not going to lie, I was apprehensive about it. It's been a long time since I've been a non-smoker. I'd also never been hypnotised. Was this man going to make me cluck like a chicken? I was genuinely worried.

I shouldn't have been.

I've come out feeling amazing. I remembered everything. It was basically a very intense relaxation therapy session. And now not only have I quit smoking but it feels like I've never smoked before! In real time it has been over a week and I feel great. I have no cravings at all. I haven't really been grumpy. And I have been trying very hard not to replace cigarettes with food.

But when the Hypnotherapist spoke to my Sub-Conscious Mind, I'm thankful that he did whatever he did because my life will be much much better now. How does that even work?

I don't know and I don't care.

I'm just.....Grateful.

Day 120 - Today I am grateful for....My Mum

So....this time 31 years ago, my Mother went into labour with me.

That's right. Today is the 3rd March. I wasn't born until the 5th. The poor woman endured 36 hours of torturous pain with me as the end result.

There is a lot to be said for child birth and the pain that a woman goes through to bring a child into the world. I applaud all the Mothers out there because I really am a gigantic sook. A big girls blouse. God help the day that it's me there pushing a watermelon out of a pin hole.....

I couldn't help but think about my Mum today though, it's nearly my Birthday after all and without her, I wouldn't be here. Each year around this time that I sit down and really think about our relationship and how truly blessed I am.

She is my best friend in the whole world. She knows everything about me and loves me just the same. She completes me and I am but a shadow in life without her.

We really are so similar in so many ways (not only to look at), but she is so much stronger than me. Our mannerisms are the same but she is smarter and far more courageous than I. She is the rock in our family and the glue that binds us together.

 So many times in my life, and often daily, I marvel at the fact that I'm lucky enough to have her as my Mum. Not only is she an wonderful woman, but I am actually selfish enough to be pleased that she's all mine and I don't actually have to share her with a sibling....

We've been through everything together. Good times. Hard times. Happy times. Sad times. She is my mentor, my life coach, my friend. I go to her with every stupid problem in my life and she fixes it because that's just what Mum's do.



Every decision in my life (big or small), I continue to run past her because she is my voice of reason. For the times I can't see something clearly, she can.

 So thankyou Mum, for being you and loving me. I love you and am grateful for you every day xxx

Day 119 - Today I am grateful for....No Name Brands

I am currently hooking into a Coles Brand Chicken Risotto for dinner and it is delicious! I'm a little bit shocked. Not sure what I was expecting.

I guess you could say I've always been a no name kid though. Food, clothes, furniture. I didn't care when I was young and I certainly don't care now.

I grew up shopping at Target and a Big W - so what? They have good stuff! I like simple basic clothes that I can mix and match with. I've never been a trendsetter nor a trend follower. I wear what suits me and I feel good in. And I definately love love love a bargain!

I've never been able to justify (or get my head around) spending so much money on things, just to say that it was a Gucci whatever or a D & G whatever. Or similarly if it is Sportsgirl or Polo Ralph Lauren. Whatever. Aside from the fact that I can't afford it, who actually cares? I certainly don't.

And these days, the knock offs are so close to the originals, that I can't tell what's what!

I'll admit that when overseas I purchased a knock off Jimmy Choo handbag and various other knock-offs but at the end of the day, it's just a bit of a lark isn't it? Image is apparently, everything.

It is the same with furniture, electrical goods, food, clothes, sunglasses, homewares....and so the list goes on.

But who decided that expensive was better in every instance?

There is a big misconception in our world that if it costs more then it must be better quality. I disagree. There are some things that can be just as good quality and half the price. Other things, well you really do get what you pay for (ie my $30 DVD player that I purchased from Silly Sollys in 2004 that caught fire....hmmmm). That said, on the flipside, things are just simply not made like they used to be either. So it's a bit of a catch 22. Do you pay extra for something that will likely last as long as or be just as good as something half the price? Well, yes.....I do.

Look at food though - Home Brand (like Coles / Woolworths etc) staples like flour, rice, pasta, milk, bread, toilet paper, soap etc are all excellent. I'll admit that sometimes it can be a hit and miss kind of deal when it comes to things like sauces or microwave meals etc but the good old staples are just fine. They come out of the same factory, just a different label! Although, at Aldi, well I just don't know where their stuff comes from - most of it is God awful!

You know, so many times in my job, I marvel at the lack of quality in things nowadays too. For example, ovens. They just don't make them like they used to! Long gone are the days where you buy an oven and expect it will last you 20 years. Some don't even last 2 years. It's a shame. I guess that's the money making game. Things are made cheaply to trick you into having to come back again in a short amount of time.

I make no apologies for bargain hunting. If something looks nice on, tastes good or looks lovely in your home, then what does it matter where it came from and who cares what it costs?

Likewise, the times that you are expecting to pay more for something and you end up stumbling upon a bargain - how can you lose? Those are the best kind of surprises!

There is however, no such thing as a knock off diamond or knock off Manolo Blahnik shoes. Sorry boys but a diamond is a diamond and Manolo's are Manolo's. The End. There are just some things in life that cannot be compromised on :)

But my name is not Sarah Jessica Parker, and I'm not getting married any time soon, so today I'll just be grateful for being down to earth and loving my no name brands! Grateful.

Day 118 - Today I am grateful for....my new office

I totally decluttered my office on Sunday.

I'm feeling so virtuous, it's disgusting! ha ha

But honestly, I really needed a brighter space to work in. It was so bloody dark!

I'm getting back into my Interior Design course with gusto! But I needed to clear out my office so I can think.

So today, I'm grateful for my new office space and excited for the things I will achieve here.

Grateful!