.Inspiration.

You may know that recently I have picked up running again. This time I have ran more and further than I ever did before and I hope to become a runner for life. I found this video to be so inspirational, I hope to keep running and keep losing the lbs!! I don't know if I will ever do Iron Man (probably not) but I do know that one day I will run a marathon. And then I will run another and another....the elementary - college self of me is going to be SOOO impressed that now I can do something I never imagined before. 

Another month down another 10 lessons learned

When a month of living in Australia passes us by I think it is important to reflect and see what little lessons the world has provided us with. You can find month one and two, here and here! Now onto the next 10 lessons learned since arriving in this wonderful country and city!

1. People from your past can come back and make a great difference in your life.  When I posted about Getting Healthy and needing help with being accountable one of my best friends contacted me to help out. She and a few friends from high school email weekly and help each other with struggles and being accountable and they welcomed me into their group with open arms. I haven't talked to these friends for y.e.a.r.s. and I realize how much I missed having contact with them and how they are helping make a difference in one of the hardest areas I struggle with. Without their constant support I don't know if I could be as successful in getting healthy. So thank you ladies, I can't wait until we can have a mini reunion when I get back to the states!

2. How not to be obsessed with "cool".  During my first month here I found that I was OBSESSED with trying to be cool and what did that even mean, etc. Now that I have made a true effort the last months to not be unconcerned with what others concept of cool is and how I fit into it, being cool doesn't really cross my mind. I don't look at others with envy wishing I was that cool. I now just put my best foot forward and stay tuned to what I like, want, and don't really worry about anyone else. I don't even say the word "cool" anymore, which is shocking because it was in almost every other sentence when I first arrived here. 

3. I want to have my own little bookshop/music shop in the future.  Dave and I have always talked about having a secondhand bookstore when we retire, but after working at the bookshop I want this more than ever. When I work I feel so content and happy, I could be there for hours doing little things with the books and talking with customers. It will be years before I have my own store, but during that time I will be doing LOTS of research and saving my moola! I think I want to call our little shop, SHOAVE'S. hee heeeee

4. Dave & I have come a long way during the last year.  A year ago both Dave and I were going through our own personal hells. I can't speak for Dave (because that would just be rude and wrong of me) but for me, I was deeply depressed. I was having a hard time after my father-in-laws passing, it brought up a lot of things from my mothers passing 4 years earlier, I was emotionally drained due to going through my own things, helping Dave with his path of healing, and putting a brave face on at work day in and day out. This depression lasted for at least half a year, and when things were bad Dave and I would say to each other, "Don't You Wish You Could Go Surfing?", always thinking about how the escape to Australia would be. A year later, we have dealt with our little hells, we have grown as partners, and now we are loving life and all the little challenges and adventures it brings us. I'm SOOO proud of us for coming this far in our lives, together I know that we can take on the world. 

5. Not to walk out the door not feeling good about how I look.  I have made a vow to myself to never walk outside the front door not feeling good about how I look in.  When I do this I find that I am more self conscious about everything and how people look at me. When I wear an outfit that I feel good in, I find that I have more self confidence, I don't worry about how I look all day, I smile to people more, and I feel like the world is mine. Why would I want to leave the house and not feel this way?

6. Mexicans - Not Just People born in Mexico.  Dave told me this little bit of information that I thought was very interesting. People of the state New South Wales refer to residents of the state of Victoria as Mexicans. Why do they do this? Because Victoria is south of New South Wales and they relate the term Mexican to mean below the border/state line. Interesting, no?

7. If you could bottle up the joy of child has while playing on the beach, you may never be joyless again.  Nothing beats watching kids running around playing in the waves, building sandcastle,hearing their little giggles, and seeing their huge smiles. NOTHING.  

8. Some Aussies pronounce the letter 'H' differently.  Dave and I learned this by watching, Beauty & The Geek, as known as "research" for Australian culture! So after hearing how some people pronounced the 'H' on tv, I did some of my own research (a.k.a. asking my co-workers). Some people pronounce 'H' as "hech", I was told it was because they went to a Catholic school...I'm not sure if it is true, but it's what my findings are!

9. Books hold keys of wisdom.  A lot of the books I have been reading the last two months have me thinking about life, the future, and have inspired me. I believe that almost every book has a piece of wisdom in in, all we need to do is take the time to read it and see what it unlocks in our hearts, soul, and mind. 

10. I am ready for change.  I have been wanting to be ready for change, but change can't happen until you are truly ready for it. I am happy to share that I am FINALLY ready for change, I have my arms open to it and can't wait to grasp it.  Everything has been working together for this moment and oooooohhhh am I ready for it!

That is 30 lessons so far since landing in Australia!

What lessons have you learned lately from living this crazy thing called life?

.What I Want: Relationships.

September was my month to figure out who I wanted to be, October I worked on getting healthy and November is going to be all about working on relationships. I even have my playlist ready for the month with a friendship theme!

What I Want...Relationships:

• To be an engaged and active member of the community
• To continuously nurture and grow the relationships I have
• To be someone that is trusted and relied on
• For my love never to be doubted or questioned
• To find my "tribe"
• To be open to new experiences and new people
• To control my anger and not push others away
• To feel 100% comfortable with myself and with others
• To give love so deeply that it hurts at times
• To be vulnerable

My gansta wedding party

From the list above I am going to be focusing on: To Continuously Nurture & Grow the Friendships I Have. If you ask any of my friends you will find out that I am not the best person at keeping in contact with others. I don't call (.ever.), write emails, text..I always seem to get wrapped up in my own life and just assume my friends are also wrapped up in theirs, so I never put the effort in. But that needs to change because my friends are truly like family to me, they love me and accept me as I am...that is a HUGE thing and they deserve more love and respect from me.

I plan on doing this by:

• writing e-mails at least twice a month to say hi and check in!
• Sent surprise gifts or snail mail to let them know I have been thinking of them.
• Open myself up more/be more vulnerable with them...really tell them how I am doing and when I am struggling.
• express how I feel about our relationship and what it means to me
• build a relationship where we can challenge and hold each other accountable when needed
• be honest
• make time: friendships are as important as other relationships in my life

To be honest, I 'm really really excited about this month and working on my relationships! I know this is going to be both rewarding to me as well as the others I hope to reach out to! I will keep you updated on how things go during the month!

Does anyone else struggle with this?

How do you keep connected with friends?

FPW: Oct. 31st

Drying my clothes outside makes me happy and smile. 

.this is typical.

Work: I love being surrounded by books! 

OOW: Husband Edition

The hubs was looking extra cute this weekend (he is always cute) so when we went to take my picture for OOW, I had to turn the camera on him!

Shirt: Big W, Pants: Ralph Lauren, Shoes: Converse

After this we went out and bought him some more items for his ever growing wardrobe! I can't wait to see him wear some of the new things that he picked out today. His style has definitely changed since we first starting dating, and let me just say this is a good thing!! He is no longer the nervous boy in pleated khaki pants but is the confident man in converse.

.Aussie Signage.

Before we left for our adventure Down Under, we got this great travel book (its soo good, that we actually have two of them! ):

The book is filled with pages that have you document things that you might not have thought about while traveling. For example: there is a page that tells you to shoot photos from the hip height for the day, to purchase an ordinary kitchen item that you will use when you go home, to ask people you meet to draw you a map to a place they love in the neighborhood, etc. 

I am going to try and document some of the pages that we complete in the book, so everyone can share in the fun and adventure.  Today's entry is based on page that reads:

" Choose a particular subject matter for your trip and search for traces of it."

 

As you may have guessed our subject matter is : SIGNAGE

These are signs that have caught our eye on being a little different than the signs that we have at home in the states! Dave has named the Crosswalk signs as 'The Ska Man' and then at times proceeds to dance his way across the street. 

Stay tuned for the next entry which will be based off of writing SHOAVE on a map and discovering where our name takes us!

.Books Read This Week.

This week I finished reading three books. I told you I was becoming a lean mean reading machine while down here in Australia!

I wrapped up reading Traveling with Pomegranates on Sunday afternoon during our trip to Sydney. This book is written by Sue Monk Kidd (The Secret Life of Bees) and her daughter Ann Kidd Taylor about their adventures traveling together while rediscovering themselves and their relationship. I really enjoyed this book because I could relate to the struggle Ann faced in trying to figure out who she was in this big world. The book made me reflect on my life and struggles as well as look forward to hopefully one day traveling with my own child. 

More info!

The second book I read this week was, The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. I watched the movie in 2009 after it won the Oscar for Best Motion Picture as well as Best Performance by an Actress (Kate Winslet) and was blown away. I highly recommend both reading the book and watching the movie, both are equally good and well done. The book is about the relationship of an older woman and a young boy, her past and how it affects the boy his whole life. It is an easy read, I started it on Sunday afternoon and finished it on Monday evening!

More Info!

The third book that I read was Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho. What an amazing book this is! I know that this is a book that I will keep with me and reread over and over again as I move forward in life. Veronika tries to commit suicide and ends up in a mental hospital in which she is told she only has a week to live. The book follows here through the remainder of her days, how she feels and digs deeper into her own being, and hopes to live..all while inspiring a few others in the hospital to live. This book is brilliantly written, which is to be expected from the great Paulo Coelho.

More Info!

Now I am going to start reading the last three books of the Twilight Series! Dave is not excited about this at all!! He keeps telling me that I have left him and entered the dark side. But the lady at the bookstore where I got the books said the books were for research, I agreed with her, I'm just researching what is popular within our culture. By reading Twilight I am just following my scholarly pursuits! 

Do you keep track of your books on Good Reads? I'm just starting so you can check out what books are on my reading list and what I'm currently ready, just click here!