Stop to smell the roses

This time of year is always so busy with christmas parties, last minute christmas shopping and catching up with friends before you all head off to spend time with your families. 

Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year. This month I've been writing all my Christmas cards to friends and family while listening to my favourite Christmas carols (yes this includes Mariah Carey and Justin Bieber!) 

Christmas to me is all about family and creating memories together. This year we're camping in Denmark in the south west of Western Australia for a week with my family. You can imagine my excitement levels incorporating three of my favourite things - family, camping and Christmas! 

I'm looking forward to Christmas with a difference this year. We'll be doing daily fitness workouts with the whole family (that way I'll feel less guilty about how much I eat) and I'm looking forward to having a bit of fun together and being active at the same time. I'll also make some yummy smoothies for the family to enjoy, and I've reassured certain family members (I won't name names!) that they can add alcohol to theirs if they would prefer. 

This will be the perfect opportunity to sign off and not use Facebook as often as I normally do (which is a lot!). I want to be present in the moment and enjoy the special time with my family. As much as I love using Facebook for networking and to connect with friends all over the world, I'd like to take some time out and give my undivided attention to my family. 

Far too many of us are guilty of spending too much time with our faces buried in our phones or laptops - unfortunately it's just the way of life for most people these days. And I'll be the first to admit that I'm one of the worst at wasting too much time on Facebook. 

In February this year I had a month off Facebook and loved it. As much as I missed seeing what my friends were up to, it meant I had so much extra time on my hands for other things. 

The posts on my blog will be sporadic over the next six weeks because after Christmas we fly out to take on 5 countries in 5 weeks. I've got a few ideas on the go at the moment so I might post them over that time, but it will depend on Internet access and how much free time I have. If you don't hear from me until February, you now know why. 

This will be my last post for 2013 so I want to take this opportunity to wish you every happiness over the festive season and hope that you have a lovely time doing the things you love, with the people you love. 

The end of a year is the perfect time to look back and reflect on what you've achieved, how far you've come from the person you used to be, and what you want to achieve in 2014 to get closer to your goals for the future. 

I've made so many positive changes this year in lots of different areas of my life, and I look forward to developing further on those changes next year. I've ended unhealthy friendships with people from my past and created some amazing new friendships, I've achieved amazing results with my running and my fitness in general, and I've started towards a much healthier way of eating and nourishing my body. I feel more like 'me' than I've ever felt before because I'm living a happy and positive life. 

When I started this blog I had no idea of the direction it would take, or whether anybody would even enjoy reading it. I've had so many beautiful messages from people that love reading my posts and take advice from my writing to use in their own lives. I love sharing my stories with you all and look forward to continuing to do the same in 2014. Together we can move towards living the happiest life possible. 

Thank you for the support and encouragement you've given me since starting my blog. It's always scary starting something new, sharing personal aspects of my life and opening myself up to criticism, but your kind words have kept me motivated and inspired me to keep going. 

Something we should all do at the end of the year is set goals for the year ahead. I've got lots of goals which I'll share with you throughout the year as I take steps towards achieving them. I'd like each of you to write at least 3 goals for 2014, keep them in a safe place, somewhere you can easily access them so that you can refer back to them to make sure you're on the right track, and then start taking steps towards achieving your goals. Don't wait until tomorrow or the new year, start today!  

My 'New Years Resolution' this year is to improve on my time management. This will mean making more time to relax, including making time to start my scrap booking that I've been talking about for twelve months (my first step towards this will be to spend my scrap booking voucher that Scotty/Santa gave me last year) and just generally making a more even distribution of my time and how I spend it. Wish me luck! This is something I really struggle with so it won't be easy, but I'll be so grateful once I've mastered it! 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

30 by 30

Which countries do you want to visit? 'All of them!' 

For about 10 years I've always said that I want to travel 'everywhere'. But up until now I'd never really put much thought into what that actually meant or how I'd make it happen. 

I travelled to my first new country when I was 17 - NZ. It was for my grandad's 80th birthday and we went for a family holiday. Since then I've spent 4 years living there and done many trips between NZ and Australia. 

The other four countries I've visited so far are:

Fiji in 2008 for my 21st - I had planned to go with my girlfriend but she had to pull out so I decided to go by myself. It was an incredible trip and I met some great people from all over the world that I still keep in touch with through Facebook. I did an island hopping tour for 14 days which meant I got to see a lot of Fiji and experience a lot of their culture. Travelling alone meant I made the effort to socialise with other people but also got to spend time relaxing and reading my book on the beach. I was very spoilt on my birthday and everyone at the resort I was staying at sung me happy birthday at dinner and the owners gave me a bottle of wine. 

Indonesia in December 2011 - Scotty and I went to Bali for 4 nights. It was a couple of months after our wedding and our first ever holiday where we spent the whole time relaxing. Well, sort of. We still went snorkelling and white water rafting but the rest of the time was spent swimming in the pool, laying in the sun, eating, shopping and getting massages. We stayed down in Nusa Dua which is out of the hustle and bustle and a great place to relax. We'd like to go back to Bali one day to visit Ubud and other parts, but I'm stuck in my ways for now and don't like to go back to the same place until I've visited everywhere else! 

United States in April/May 2013 - this was our first big international trip. We went for four weeks and travelled to LA, Las Vegas, San Fran, San Diego and Alaska. The main purpose for the trip was to celebrate our aunty's 50th birthday and to attend a surprise wedding for our aunty and uncle. It was an incredible trip and we saw so many amazing places. We can't wait to go back and spend more time there. It's on my bucket list to visit every state in America.  

Thailand in September/October 2013 - Scotty and I travelled around northern and southern Thailand for 2 weeks this year. It was such an amazing holiday and we got to see so many different aspects of Thailand. Northern Thailand is definitely our favourite area, especially Chiang Mai and Pai and we'd love to spend some more time there at some stage. 

On 30 December Scotty and I fly out to Singapore for New Years Eve and then on to Malaysia, China, Hong Kong and Japan. I'm so excited to add those countries to my list and to experience the different cultures they each have to offer.

As you all know by now travelling is a huge passion of mine, so I've set myself a goal of visiting 30 countries by the time I turn 30. This will only be possible if our plans fall into place over the next couple of years - but I'll have to keep those to myself for the time being until they are finalised. 

One thing I can share that I am beyond excited about is ticking Canada off our list at the end of next year. We'll be heading over to have our first white christmas!! This will be like a dream come true for me! And Scotty can't wait to get to Alaska for a proper winter there. 

During the school holidays next year we're torn between wanting to visit new countries and wanting to visit some of the beautiful places Australia has to offer... Once we finally decide you'll be the first to know! 

But, it's not all about me. How many countries have each of you been to? Have you finished with your travelling, or are you just getting started? 

It's all about me

The last two weeks have been a bit different for me, but I've learnt a lot about myself and the importance of taking time out to relax. 

On 25 November we took some time out from our normal routine to travel to Brisbane and spend some quality time with family and friends before Christmas. 

Normally when I'm working on a new post I will start on a Monday afternoon and add to it all week, making changes and adding or deleting things as I go. I do a final check on Monday morning before posting it for you all to read. I usually have at least two or three drafts on the go at once because I think of an idea that might be better suited to posting another time, so I'll work on it when ideas come to me and then leave it for a later date. 

Over the last two weeks I haven't really been doing any writing, which means just a short post last week and now this post being a day later than I would usually post it. 

With Christmas fast approaching and lots of social commitments I've been focusing my attention on other important aspects of my life instead of writing. 

I've also been taking time to rest and relax this past week because I've felt as though I need it. It's been such a busy year and we have a very busy couple of months coming up with Christmas and our overseas adventure at the end of the month that I knew now was the right time to focus on getting in some rest. 

'Me time' can mean so many different things depending on each individual. It might mean sitting on the couch to watch your favourite program, going for a run, laying in the sun to read a book or attending a yoga or pilates class to enjoy some meditation... The list is endless. 

My 'me time' means all of those things and so much more. 

While we were in Brisbane I took a step back from exercising and eating healthy 24/7 and enjoyed eating chocolate if I felt like it, or having dessert after a meal out. I still walked lots but I didn't do any other exercise and really just took some time to relax. It's always harder to do your normal workouts and stick to your normal eating habits when you're on holidays, so I took the chance to be a bit more flexible. 

We had a busy week visiting family and friends and being tourists around Brisbane. I wanted to make the most of the quality family time we were having so I didn't want to take away from that by putting time aside for my blog. Whenever we're with family it usually means late nights and early mornings so that we can make the most of our time together. 

Once we arrived home I wanted to continue with my relaxed routine leading up to Christmas. I went back to my healthy eating, but I'm still having some time off from the gym and just doing workouts at home and enjoying walking in the beautiful sunshine. 

It's so important to take time out each day from your busy routine to just relax. It might be for 5 minutes or for 30 minutes, but make sure you have some 'me time' every day. It might be as simple as sitting down and taking a few deep breaths in and out and clearing your mind of everything that's buzzing around in your head for a few short minutes. This will make you feel calmer and more relaxed and you will be in a better frame of mind to take on the rest of your day. 

Last term I was far too busy and never took time to relax. I would work in the morning, go straight to the gym or for a run (or both), get home and have lunch (or meet a friend for lunch) then quickly shower and get ready for work at 3pm. I also had to fit in catch ups with friends, visiting my sister and nieces and having quality time with Scotty. I literally wouldn't stop from the minute I woke up to the time I went to sleep.

This term I've cut down on my training so that I've had time to enjoy other things. But of course this hasn't meant being any less busy, my time has just been transferred and re-prioritised. I've tried to make more time for relaxing and having some 'me time', but I'm still trying to master that. 

As our days get busier leading up to Christmas I want you all to try and take at least 5 minutes each day to do something that you find relaxing. Look after yourself first so that you are feeling fresh and ready to take on the festive season. Of course this isn't just something you should do when you're busy or leading up to a busy time in your life, it is something you should do every day, all year round. 

Training for Life

People often ask me what I'm training for... Sometimes I can answer them with the name of a race coming up, but that's not always the case. There doesn't need to be a race or event that you're training for, train for life. 

Living a healthy lifestyle and making fitness part of your everyday life means you will always be working towards being fitter and healthier than you were yesterday.

Even on our recent trip to Brisbane where I went slightly crazy with the lack of quality and increase in quantity of food that I consumed I still made sure I was having a relatively balanced diet on a daily basis and doing some form of exercise each day (mostly walking). 

Exercising not only makes you fitter and healthier which enables you to participate in more activities, it also helps with your mental health which makes for a happier life. 

Something I posted recently on my Instagram page talked about training all year round and not waiting until summer before deciding that you want to have the perfect bikini body. If you want to look great during the summer, you need to workout during the winter. Looking good and feeling great is only one of many reasons you should exercise, but for a lot of people it is the biggest motivation. And that's fine, find what it is that motivates you to live a healthy lifestyle and use that as inspiration on a daily basis to make healthy choices. 

This is just a short post because I took time out last week to focus on another aspect of my life as well as spending quality time with my family and friends in Brisbane. 

It's always exciting finding new blogs that share the same opinions on certain subjects that I do. I'll leave you with the following link which I saw on Facebook the other day which provides one person's insight into her thoughts on 'training for life'.  

Things-i-want-my-daughter-to-know-about-working-out