The Sights of Singapore

Singapore was pretty much exactly what I expected... A westernised Asian country. Really it was the perfect way to ease into a 5 week trip around Asia. It has a great mix of big city life, parks, shopping and so much more.

I'll start by saying that it's definitely not the cheap holiday you get in most Asian countries, the exchange rate is pretty much on par with Australia so what you pay... is what you're paying. And personally I think that's fine. In a way it makes it easier than having to try and do the maths in your head every time you pay for something. 

We stayed in Clarke Quay for the three nights that we were there which was the perfect location for us. It was right by the city, and the river. There are shops and markets everywhere, not to mention all the bars and restaurants. 

Our first night in Singapore was spent at a rather dodgy backpackers. The room was tiny, only enough room for a bed and a wardrobe - definitely no room to move around, and our luggage had to go in the wardrobe. It was the first time we'd ever really stayed at a backpackers, and to be honest, it did put us off a bit. Not necessarily the size of the room, because we're camping people, so we're used to sleeping in tents which aren't exactly known for their space. But it was the bathroom/toilet that put us off. It had a joint bathroom and toilet which basically meant that you could sit on the toilet and have a shower. Because they were shared facilities it meant that there was water everywhere and they weren't exactly the cleanest facilities I've ever seen. 

Luckily for us we'd booked a night at the Carlton for New Years Eve. It was a short walk away, but it felt worlds apart when we stepped into the huge hotel where everything was shining and sparkly - the free upgrade certainly helped too! But in all fairness, it did cost more than 3 times the amount we were paying at the backpackers, so you really do get what you pay for. Unfortunately we'd only booked one night in the fancy hotel so it was back to the backpackers for our third night - oh how the mighty had fallen!

Clarke Quay had amazing waterfront restaurants with fantastic views of the river and the surrounding city skyline. Seafood was in abundance, with tubs lining the front of the restaurants with lots of weird and wonderful things for you to try. But just like any other city, if you eat on the waterfront, be prepared to pay top dollar! Just one street away you can get cheap meals that taste just as nice - but of course being the first night of our holiday we treated ourselves to the waterfront dining and nice views.

Singapore was full of colour, the buildings, street art/graffiti, and we also had the added bonus of Christmas decorations hanging all around the place. Something I learnt while we were away is that generally cities look more impressive at night. All the lights are on and everything is lit up. Walking around Clarke Quay was beautiful with so many hotels lit up and bridges changing colour as we walked by. 

Orchard Road is a must-do if you love to shop. There are department stores and designer boutiques everywhere! And it was made even better by all the Christmas decorations that were still lining the streets and filling the shop windows.

While we were in Singapore Scotty was training for his 100km race in Hong Kong which meant we had to find parks or places for him to run. We found a great place for running, walking and stair repeats - Fort Canning Park. It was only about 10 minutes from Clarke Quay and there were so many people utilising the space for exercise - and a few couples here and there having a cheeky snog!

A must-do while in Singapore is a trip to Sentosa. It really is a world of it's own. We caught a taxi up to Mount Faber Park and then got the cable car across to Sentosa. You get fantastic views from Mount Faber Park and even better views from the cable car. We were lucky enough to have a cruise ship in the port at the time so we got to see all the fun activities they had on the upper deck. Sentosa was like a mini theme park, it had so many fun rides and activities. We knew we would be going to a theme park in Hong Kong so spent our time exploring and having dinner instead. Sentosa is also home to Universal Studios, so if you have the time, that is definitely worth a visit. We discovered the Malaysian Food Street that had all sorts of amazing food to choose from for dinner. We shared a chicken clay pot which was delicious! We were also treated to a Mirlion Light Show while we were there which was a nice surprise. 

New Years Eve in Singapore was a highlight for us. I mean, what girl doesn't enjoy getting dressed up on New Years Eve and being taken out on the town. We had a fantastic meal at an italian restaurant at Chijmes, a beautiful area with lots of bars and restaurants built around a gorgeous old church. And then it was off to check out the glitz and glamour of the Marina Bay Sands and Casino. The casino was very impressive, and obviously everyone else agreed because the line was huge! Luckily it moved very quickly and we were playing roulette before we knew it. After losing on roulette and have a look around we made our way across to the Marina Bay Sands for a drink. It was oozing class and sophistication and the price tags on the drinks reflected just that. 

Just before midnight we went across to the river to find a good spot to watch the fireworks. There were thousands of people already there so it was a pretty tight squeeze. The fireworks left a lot to be desired. The first few minutes were great, but unfortunately after that the sky filled up with so much black smoke that you could hardly see anything. I'm guessing this was normal for the locals because they were all still shouting with delight. All in all a fantastic New Years Eve finished off with room service back in our hotel at about 2am. 

Singapore was fantastic. We were only there for a few days but I feel like we saw everything we wanted to see. I'm sure there were a lot of places we didn't even know about, but that just means that if we go back one day there will still be new places to explore.   

Next up... Malaysia!

Singapore Skyline

Some of the street art/graffiti around Singapore

Wandering around Clarke Quay

Fresh seafood

Fort Canning Park

Cable car to Sentosa - day and night view

Malaysia Food Street

Marina Bay Sands

Looking down onto the ground floor of the Marina Bay Sands Casino

'100 Happy Days' Challenge: Days 50 - 56

WE'RE HALF WAY THERE!! This week marked the halfway point for this fun challenge. Geez time flies when you're having fun!

I'm learning a lot from this challenge - I have so much to be grateful for, I have such an amazing family and some of the best friends you could ask for, and I'm blessed with such a happy and healthy life.

Something I truly believe in is a saying that I'm sure you've all heard before - 'Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day!'

Who else is taking part in their own version of the 100 Happy Days Challenge? You might not be posting photos on instagram or facebook, but are you taking time each day to be thankful for the good things in your life, the things that make you happy!

I marked the halfway point with a fun collage of photos of Scotty and I because no matter what, I know that he will always be there, and he always knows how to make me smile! Here's the collage and the rest of the photos of some of the things that made me happy this week:

Day 50 - 'WE'RE HALFWAY THERE! My husband, my best friend, my everything! He is by my side through everything, sharing in the good times and the bad. And he makes me happier than I could've ever imagined! Just a few of the thousands of photos we have together.'

Day 51 - 'Spending the afternoon with these two princesses definitely put a smile on my face.'
I love hanging out with my nieces and my big sister - these two are growing way too fast!

Day 52 - 'Just found the perfect way to spend Easter Sunday in Sydney.'
Scotty and I are meeting in Sydney for Easter this year after spending a week apart and this will be the perfect way to celebrate.

Day 53 - 'This just happened! In my defence, we did walk to Gelare before devouring this amazing sundae.'
I have such a sweet tooth and sometimes I feel like overindulging with tasty treats like these.

Day 54 - 'Spending the night down at the Lark Hill Sporting Complex supporting our friends doing the 50/100km Dusk til Dawn Race.'
We had the best night cheering on all of our friends and the other competitors. We had a great set-up with glowsticks and music to keep everyone entertained while they ran around in circles for hours in the dark. 

Day 55 - 'This was a gift from my beautiful mumma a very long time ago (probably about 15 years) and it's moved around everywhere I've lived in that time. I've now got my greenstone that she bought me about 10 years ago (which I used to wear every day until I took it off on my wedding day 2.5 years ago) sitting with it. Things like this hold such sentimental value, I hope that I can keep them forever.'
By taking these with me every time I move it makes me feel like mumma is never too far away!

Day 56 - 'Spending the morning with these crazy kids was so much fun.'
My little sister was up for a few days and it was so good to see her! As you can see we all love our selfies!

Tarawera Training - Week 4

This week started with just the boost of confidence I needed.

I had to do a 3.5 hour hilly run so Scotty suggested going down to Mt Cooke. I'd never been down there before but I knew it was Scotty's favourite place to run in Perth so I jumped at the opportunity. 

We set our alarms for 3.45am on Sunday morning. It's an hour to get down there and we were having lunch at a friend's place up north at 12pm so we had to get going early. 

Scotty ran with me for the first 6km or so when it was relatively flat/undulating and then took off ahead. A few kms down the trail Scotty was running back towards me and said he'd show me the way up over Mt Cooke so that I didn't get lost. The funny thing was I was expecting to be faced with a big mountain to climb but soon realised there was no big mountain and that I was already half way up Mt Cooke. 

I was going to turn around at the top but decided to run down the other side and continue along to the powerline road before turning back. Scotty did the same but once we got to the bottom of Mt Cooke on the way out he went off ahead and I didn't see him again until he got back to the car after his 4.5 hour run. 

I had the best run. The scenery was amazing and it was a great challenge climbing Mt Cooke and then heading back towards the car before heading out in the other direction and climbing Mt Vincent. 

I felt really strong and finished feeling really good. It was a nice cool temperature the whole run except for about the last 30 minutes where it started to warm up a little bit, but nothing compared to what it's been like - the joys of starting at 5.30am I guess! I was even complaining it was too cold when we first left the car! 

Monday was an 80 minute easy run which I wanted to squeeze in early so that I could meet up with my girlfriend Cheryl and go to a pump class. I decided to run from home to save on time and went out around the river. It was a great run and it felt like it flew by after doing 3.5 hours the day before. I went out in a good pace and then picked up the pace on the way back. It was nice to finish feeling strong. 

After a quick cold shower to cool down Cheryl came and picked me up and we were off to pump - my first time in the gym since the end of November. I made sure I used light weights because I didn't want to over do it. 

In saying that, I still woke up on Tuesday morning with tight and sore muscles in my legs. And the same again on Wednesday! It was definitely clear that I hadn't used weights in a long time. It was then that I decided it was too close to the race to worry about lifting weights, so I put my membership on hold and will head back to the gym after Tarawera. 

I had to do hill repeats on Wednesday and Scotty had to do an easy run, so we went up to Bold Park. I did an easy warm up and then started on my hill repeats on Reabold Hill. I took things really easy on the way up because I didn't want to burn out early on, and then pushed hard on the way down. 

When I was doing my final set Scotty had come to fill up his water and ran back up the hill with me. We were chatting on the way up and when we got to the top Scotty said 'By the way, if you're talking all the way, you're not pushing hard enough!' I laughed and ran back down the hill as he took off to finish his run. Next thing I knew Scotty was running up behind me. He'd come to make sure I pushed myself hard for the final two repeats! Lucky me...

I really noticed the difference for the final two climbs and I was breathing hard. Scotty always says I never push myself hard enough... He's probably right! It was great to have him there pushing me. It didn't feel great at the time, but I knew it would be worth it. 

Kate and I met in South Perth on Friday morning to do a tempo run. It was pretty warm (surprise, surprise!) so I made sure I took plenty of water. We got around to the bell tower and then realised that we couldn't continue along the river. We were redirected up towards the city and then back down towards the river past the construction. After finishing our tempo sessions Kate had to head off so I did my cool down and then sat on the grass under a tree to relax before heading home. It was such a great way to start the day. 

This week went really well and with only two weeks until race day, it's time to start looking at some times and sort out my pacing. I have no idea how things will go on race day, but I've got to give mum at least a rough idea of what time to expect me! 

The elevation profile for race day. Just a few climbs to keep me honest!

'100 Happy Days' Challenge: Days 43 - 49

Well it's that time of the week again, Grati-Tuesday! And even though things still haven't quite settled back to their normal amazing self this week, I am well on my way to being 100% happy again.

Something I read online this week really got me thinking.

A lady I follow on facebook was talking about the fact that some people don't appreciate hearing how positive she is all the time and she often receives negative comments from people (including so-called friends) that it can't always be rainbows and butterflies and that she can't possibly be happy all the time.

This really struck a cord with me because it's something I feel very strongly about. Life isn't always going to turn out according to plan and there will be many bumps in the road and challenges along the way. I've spoken about it before in saying that it's how you deal with the tough times that determines how happy you will be.

Personally, I feel that if something isn't going right in your life or there is something that's getting you down, it's not going to make the situation any better or easier to handle by complaining about it to other people. Don't get me wrong, there are times that I would love to complain about something or have a whinge, but that's not going to solve anything and all that does is bring the other people down that you are complaining to.

No matter what mood I'm in or what's going on in my personal life, I always walk around with a smile on my face, and when people ask how I am I always answer in a positive and happy way.

There would be nothing worse than someone saying to me 'Hi, how's it going?' and then me unloading a whole heap of negativity onto their day.

And that doesn't mean that you can't turn to your friends or family for support in hard times, but if you can learn to respond with positivity, energy and a smile you will feel so much better, and the people you are talking with will feed off that positive energy.

Always try to turn the negatives into positives, learn from the tough times and spread happiness wherever you go!

Day 43 - 'I've never been so happy to see a sculpture of a camel as I was today after my long run in the heat.'
Running for 3 hours in the heat was a real struggle, so getting back to my car at the Camel Farm was definitely a highlight of my day.

Day 44 - 'We got a nice big payrise at work today! Now that is definitely something that makes me happy.'
Who doesn't love a payrise!

Day 45 - 'Life is forever changing and plans are reassessed and changed too. When something's not working for you anymore, change things so that you are 100% happy. Excited to share our plans with you as soon as they have been finalised.'
We're in the process of making some big changes and will be able to share them all with you in a few weeks.

Day 46 - 'I love listening to the songs we used at our wedding, it always brings back the best memories. We played this song as we walked back up the aisle after saying 'I do!''
Choosing songs for our wedding was so much fun, we made sure we chose songs that reflected us, how we met and our life together. 

Day 47 - 'Received lots of goodies in the post today thanks to my beautiful friend Shelley - can't wait to try them!'
I'm not really one to spend much money on beauty products, but I knew Shelley would know exactly what I should use, so she sent me these from her shop in Karratha. 

Day 48 - 'Planning my trip to Rarotonga and discovered this amazing hike I can do while I'm there.'
I can't wait to visit a new country and explore the amazing things Raro has to offer. I'll be training for the Kep 75km so this hike will definitely keep me busy.

Day 49 - 'Monday catch ups with my beautiful friend Cheryl - exercise and smoothies! Perfect!'
Cheryl and I try to catch up once a week to exercise and catch up on everything each of us has been up to. It's something fun to look forward to every week.

Tarawera Training - Week 3

This week started off differently because of a wedding we were going to down south and then changed again when I ended up with food poisoning! 

We didn't have time to do a long run on the weekend so my coach scheduled that for Monday instead.

On the Saturday I was supposed to do an easy 10km while we were down south. Scotty came with me because it was a rest day for him and unfortunately my pace doesn't really register on his scale for running! As it turned out it was quite hilly and really sandy on the Cape to Cape Track where we ran so instead of doing 10km we just ran for about an hour. It was nice running along the Cape to Cape Track because when we'd started to do the walk for our honeymoon a couple of years earlier we'd stopped in Yallingup (long story - too many snakes) so hadn't seen the section we were running on that day. 

Sunday was a rest day and thank goodness for that because I ended up with food poisoning and could barely eat anything let alone run. 

I decided not to do my long run on the Monday either so that I could give my body a chance to recover from being sick. 

So Tuesday it was for my 3 hour run. Scotty had done his long run the day before so I was running solo. I went out to the Camel Farm and decided I'd do an out and back towards the Mundaring Weir and then an out and back towards Kalamunda. 

The first 45 minutes were good, I felt pretty strong. After about 1.15 hours the heat started to get to me but I was still running quite well. I refilled my water at the Camel Farm and then headed out towards Kalamunda. 

At about 2.20 hours I was standing at the bottom of a valley and it was hot! I stopped to catch my breath, looked around at all the trees and the lack of human presence and suddenly thought 'Geez, I really don't know if I'm going to make it back to the car!' I'd never felt like that before, and hopefully I won't feel like it again! I had enough water, but it was just so hot. I was struggling to walk up the hills and I just couldn't cool myself down. 

Finally after a bit of running, a lot of walking and far too much sweating I made it back to the Camel Farm. I don't think I've ever been so happy to see the car! 

Wednesday was supposed to be stair repeats so we set our alarms for 4.30am thinking we'd go before work. Unfortunately the alarms went off and then we realised it wouldn't be light for at least an hour... Epic fail. Back to sleep!

The rest of Wednesday got away from me so I didn't end up doing anything that day. Thanks to my fantastic coach I emailed him for his advice and he recommended doing my intervals on Thursday and then doing my stair repeats on Friday. 

After the morning shift on Thursday Scotty and I went out to The Dell and did our intervals/tempo run on the Munda Biddi. And surprise surprise, it was a scorcher again! After my warm up and my first 15 minute effort I was roasting, I'd gone out way too fast! I struggled through the rest of the session and was so pleased to finally finish my cool down 1.5 hours later. The only plus side was that I had plenty of water so I could tip most of it over me while I ran. And I was eating my Gu and Chomps like they were going out of fashion. 

Friday was a great session. I met Kate up at Kings Park and we did a warm up before heading to Jacobs Ladder to do stair repeats. It was fun having some company and having someone to high five on the way up and down the stairs. I felt so much stronger on the stairs than last week which was really good - finally starting to get some strength back in my legs! We even had the pleasure of Scotty's company for some of our run - but we all know he was only there for the coffee and breakfast afterwards! 

Three weeks down, three more to go!

In just one moment...

22 February 2011 was just a normal day. I was working at a law firm in Christchurch up on the 5th floor of our office building; and Scotty was working out on the farm with Karel. 

I remember that day so clearly it's scary. 

I was covering reception while the receptionist had her lunch from 12pm-1pm. The reception area was out the front of the office with all of the rooms out the back closed off by doors. 

I was texting Scotty and we were talking about what we'd do that night - we thought it would be nice to ride our bikes out to Sumner. 

And then just like that, everything changed...

The building started to shake hard and fast. I screamed and jumped under the desk. I held onto the underneath of the desk and just kept saying 'Please stop shaking, please stop shaking!' over and over again. It was in that moment that I thought I wasn't going to make it out of the building alive. I didn't think I'd ever see Scotty or any of my family again. I just kept waiting for the building to collapse and take me with it. 

Finally like some kind of miracle the shaking stopped, but the building was still swaying from side to side. 

I reached for my phone and called Scotty straight away. I was hysterical by this point so he couldn't make sense of what I was saying. Being out on the farm, a long way from the earthquake he hadn't felt anything and thought I'd gone out at lunchtime and been hit by a car. Even once he realised I was saying there'd been an earthquake he still had no idea how serious it was. He asked if he needed to come back into town but I was delirious by this point and didn't really know what was going on. Looking back now I'm so thankful I reached straight for my phone and called him because after that call the lines were too busy and there was no way of getting through to anyone. 

By now one of the partners had come out to check that I was ok. Over the next 15 minutes we all met together and had to figure out how we were going to get out. The fancy glass lifts on the outside of the building were now shattered into a million pieces on the footpath. 

One of the partners went down the stairwell to make sure we could get all the way to the bottom. We all followed after him having to leave all of our belongings behind except for our handbags and wallets. There were cracks in the stairwell that you could see through all the way to the ground. 

As we exited the building the ground began to shake again and I remember screaming and running across to the river, dodging bricks as they fell from the building on the corner. 

We all gathered by the river and had to try and figure out how we could all get home. We split up into 4 groups depending on where we lived (north, south, east, west) and started walking towards home. 

I walked with some others to a friend's house and she was going to drive another friend and I home. Once we finally got to her house and got in the car we soon realised that driving wasn't going to be an option - the traffic was gridlocked. 

So my friend and I got out of the car and started walking. It was the longest walk of my life. There were people screaming and crying everywhere, houses and buildings collapsed, and the ground was completely torn apart with liquefaction everywhere. I kept thinking that if I had to picture what 9/11 was like, it would be this. We walked arm in arm all the way home.

We finally got to my street and I looked up to see Scotty and Beckham (the Hawker family dog) walking towards us. I was so happy to see them both, but I was in too much shock to cry. 

We walked my friend home who lived around the corner and then went back to see the damage at home. The driveway was so risen that we couldn't get into the garage. The kitchen was an absolute mess. Everything from the cupboards and fridge were smashed all over the floor. I remember being so annoyed that there was beer smashed everywhere and we didn't even drink. 

Although our house was a mess, it was still standing and for that we were so grateful. We had no power and running water so we weren't going to be able to stay there. 

I was a complete zombie, walking around trying to clean up and wipe up all the mess in the kitchen with tea towels because there was no water. We packed up everything from the freezer, packed some clothes and toiletries and got in the car. 

I don't remember much over the following few days. We made our way very slowly over broken roads and footpaths and around piles of liquefaction out to the farm to stay with Karel and Janet. I am forever grateful to them for opening up their home to us and looking after us with no questions asked. I felt safe there, it was out of Christchurch and we couldn't feel the aftershocks. 

Sitting out on the farm at Karel and Janet's Scotty and I were talking and that was when we decided that having a 'long engagement' to save for our wedding was pointless, money should never be a deciding factor when it comes to such important decisions. So, we got out the calendar and starting looking at dates. After lots of swapping and changing we finally decided on 9-10-11. I quickly called mum to tell her the news! 

We were due to move to Perth on 27 March so I only had a couple of weeks left at my job. I had a week off while they were figuring out what they were going to do and trying to sign a new lease for offices away from the city. 

I really didn't want to go back to work and I asked if I could work remotely from the farm but they needed me to go in and help set up the new office. 

I didn't want to let them down so I reluctantly went back to work the following week. I borrowed a mountain bike off one of the partners because my bike was stuck in the carpark building in the city.

By now we were back at home and I hated being there. I hated every minute of the ride to work and home again in the afternoon. I was on edge every minute of every day waiting for the next big shake. There were aftershocks every day and every time they started I worried that it would be worse than the last.

We had to completely start from scratch at work, buying everything you can think of to start up an office - pens, pencils, computers, printers, files etc etc. I helped one of the partners shop one day until we had everything we needed. 

I remember carrying my bag with me everywhere I went for about 2 weeks, I wouldn't leave my seat without it, and it was with me every time I left the house. It had a battery operated radio, torch, water, snacks and anything else I thought I'd need if there was another earthquake. It was my security blanket and made me feel safer. 

Going through life over those few weeks was like nothing I've ever experienced before and I hope I never have to experience again. I was just a shell with nothing going on inside. I had no spark, no sense of humour. I couldn't even bring myself to sing along to the radio. 

It certainly wasn't the farewell to Christchurch that we thought we'd have. We had to cancel our farewell party and barely got to say a proper goodbye to our friends and family. 

And instead of leaving with the excitement of moving back one day, I left knowing that I could never live there again. 

On the first anniversary of the earthquake I was working at a law firm in Perth - this time only one storey up. I tried to avoid the news or any articles online about it because I knew it would upset me. Once arriving at work it all seemed to hit me and come flooding back, so after a short while I was back at home again. I decided to watch the news since I was home and didn't have anywhere to be, thinking it might help. I sat on the couch and cried. Watching footage from the day and stories of so many people that lost loved ones - I felt truly blessed to be alive. 

Writing this post was tough - there were quite a few tears. I've told the story a lot over the past three years, but writing it down and thinking about it in such detail made everything seem far too real. 

In saying that, I think it's been therapeutic and also a timely reminder to make the most of every day; to appreciate what I've got in life and the people I get to spend my life with. 

Something changed in me that day. It helped mould me into the person I am today, someone that cherishes every moment in life and lives life to the fullest. There's no second chances, once the time has passed you don't get it back. Don't let the days or weeks or months slip away without creating the best memories you can with the people that mean the most to you. 

Don't wait until a traumatic experience or something bad to happen in your life before you start living the life you truly want. Start now! Spend your days doing things you love and with the people you love. And tell the people you care about how much they mean to you as often as you can, don't wait and think that you can do it later, or tomorrow.  

'100 Happy Days' Challenge: Days 36 - 42

This week has thrown me a few curve balls, but it's also shown me that amongst some negatives there are so many positives. 

Life can't always go according to plan - although it would be great if it did! It's how you handle the negatives or tough times that determines how happy and positive your life is. 

So remember, smile through the tough times, accept the things you can't change and change the things you can! 

Day 36 - 'Found the perfect shoes to go with my dress for a wedding in Yallingup this weekend! They were in the first shop we went into and they were on sale. That's my kind of shopping.'
For those that know me know that I'm not much of a shopper. I like to get in and out as quickly as possible.

Day 37 - 'I love Wednesdays. They always feel like I'm just about at the end of the week. My night for kitchen duty at work is done and dusted and there's only one more day of work until 3 days of freedom.'
I love our roster at work, it fits perfectly into our current lifestyle.

Day 38 - 'Scotty sent me a text this afternoon telling me what I needed to do tomorrow morning: 1. Go for my training run; and 2. Go and treat myself to a new outfit for Valentines Day and then meet him back at home to leave to go down south at lunchtime. Just when I thought I couldn't love him any more!'
I feel very lucky to be spending my life with someone that is always doing things to make me smile.

Day 39 - 'After an eventful afternoon we made it to the restaurant with 15 minutes to spare before they stopped taking orders for dinner. We had an amazing meal and a very naughty chocolate brownie for dessert.'
There are always things to be grateful for, even when things don't go according to plan.

Day 40 - 'We've just arrived home from an amazing afternoon/night celebrating the marriage of two beautiful people. I can't wait to see what grows in our funky wee pots that we were given.'
Such a cool idea for wedding favours!

Day 41 - 'Today is the first day I thought I'd struggle to find something that's made me happy. I've been up all night feeling very sick and it hasn't really improved all day. I never get sick so it's been horrible. On the plus side, it's given me a lot of time to think about the future which has been really exciting.'
Living such a busy life means never having much time to stop and think (normally we only get the chance when we're taking a road trip or on a plane somewhere) so although I was sick, it was nice to have some time out to make some exciting plans for the future.

Day 42 - 'After spending the afternoon inside at work it was such a nice surprise to step outside tonight and see this beautiful sunset. This photo really doesn't do it justice.'
I love being outside and try to spend as much time as possible enjoying the outdoors.