for another Wordless Wednesday

Someone near and dear to me is preggers with twins and last week we found out the genders!!!

Joining up with other Worldless Wednesday blogs!

   

to confess my celebrity crush!

When Kirsty at My Home Truths gave this weeks prompt as confess your celebrity crush I was overwhelmed with images of hot celebrities!! How could I choose!!!

So I decided to follow on from last weeks "Who are you when no-one's looking" prompt where I confessed to being a wannabe country music superstar!

So here are my country music celebrity crushes that I would LOVE to do a duet with! (a girl can dream can't she....!). It was SO hard but I decided to limit myself to 5 so here goes, in no particular order...

5. Dierks Bentley

 4. Keith Urban

3. Kenny Chesney

 2. Luke Bryan

1. Tim McGraw

I feel there is no need for words here as these pictures speak for themselves!!! *sigh*

For Wordless Wednesday!!

Spent Wasted a lot of time researching lounging on the couch scrolling on Pinterest over the weekend and come across these funnies....!

Enjoy!!

 

Linking up with 

         

Check 'em out!!

to confess who I am when you're not looking

One of my favourite country singers is Blake Shelton! Love him! Well he sings a song called 'Who are you when I'm not looking?' And as soon as I read Kirsty's prompt for this week's I must confess linkup the song has been playing over and over in my head!

If you've never heard of it, check it out!

Anyway, so it always gets me thinking 'Who am I when no-ones else is around?' Because if we think about it, that's who we truly are I believe... I think we learn to change our behaviour in certain ways that are appropriate in the context we find ourselves in (at least most of us do, some were never taught that sadly!).... For example, who I am and how I speak, act and dress are quite different if I am going to work, going to the movies with friends, going to a rodeo or going to a Pink concert! (Yes I am one of many people who are! Can't wait...eeeek!). But who am I when no-one is around.,.. That's the ultimate confession today........so here goes......


I am a country rock queen!!!!! Lol....
Yep, when I am on my own and in the right mood I can rock out to a good ol' country song like there's no tomorrow! I love nothing more than turning on my ipod, turning it up loud and having a bit of a boogie around the house! More often than night I will even take my iPad into the bathroom and crank the tunes and have a big sing and dance in the shower! (I do often wonder what might happen one day if I slip and fall and can't get up, how long would I be there before someone found me and how awkward that could be! Lol...)

So there you have it.... In my dreams, when no-one's looking..... I am a country music superstar.....

What do you have to confess???

for the weekend...

Another week almost over and so it's time for things I know this week....

I know....

that this week it's great to be a Queenslander.....If you are an NRL fan then Wednesday night was one of the biggest games this year. The decider between NSW and QLD was an intense and at times breath-holding game with QLD coming out on top, just, and claiming an 8th straight series in a row! All credit to NSW though as they certainly played tough and strong but on the scoreboard (where it matters) QLD was on top at the end of the 80 minutes! WOOOTTT!

that I have been at PD at QTAC in Brisbane and it's bloody confusing! QTAC stands for the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre and is the organisation that sorts through all the Year 12 university applications. Part of my role is to support the Year 12's through this ver daunting application process and so I need to get my head around it and it is damn confusing!

that I am so looking forward to the weekend as it has been a crazy out of routine week and I am looking forward to getting home this afternoon and praying to the Roadwork Gods for a relatively clear run home!

that I have no idea what they are doing on the Toowoomba Range apart from clearing  A LOT of trees and making a mess... (can any Toowoombaites explain it to me??)

that I am getting more and more disturbed by some of the stories I see on the news. Last night on the news it was report that 2 violent offenders got reduced sentences because they confessed.....this seems terrible to me!! Admit that you did that horrendous thing and we'll go easier on you!!! hmmmmm........

that I am a little excited to wake up this morning and see Eddy on Sunrise reporting the weather surrounded by lots and lots of cowboys!

that I need sleep...... I hate that over the holidays I can sleep no worries, fall asleep fine, don't wake up during the night, lazily wake up when I am ready....during the term it's the complete opposite! Can't get to sleep, restless nights, waking up at least twice during the night, this morning I woke up a full hour before my alarm was due to go off and 10 minutes after I get up I am yawning and wanting to go back to bed.

that I can't wait to get to the gym tomorrow.....could it be possible that I have turned into one of those crazy people that looks forward to going to the gym and has withdrawals when they can't get there....???

that organising an excursion in a school off 850+ teenagers has an indescribable level of frustration!

that I am a sucker for a good reality singing show and the ads for X Factor give me goosebumps!!

that I decided not to do any school work Tuesday night and instead created a Facebook page for my blog and adding the link on here!!! Thanks to Google I did it all by myself!! WOOT! Have you liked me on Facebook yet!!?? Go on!!!! You know you want to!!!!!

Linking up this week again with The Miss Cinders for Things I Know and With Some Grace for FYBF!!!
Check 'em out!

                 

for a 12wbt update...

It's been a while since I blogged about my progress so here goes...

I have just started week 10 of my second round of the 12wbt challenge. I had decided to stay on for a second round as I was determined to give this my all after having some injuries prevent me from exercising as much as I would have liked during the first round....

It didn't really take long for the wheels to start wobbling as I tried to juggle the expectations of the program and the expectations of me and my life..

I spent some time a few weeks ago reflecting on what it was that I really wanted out of this and decided it was time to refocus... you can read about that here..

So now I have more or less moved right away from the 12wbt designated meal and exercise plans. I have by no means given up and I am still checking the meal plans, printing off new recipes and living by the philosophies of the program but I have made it suit me and my lifestyle..

I am very close to calling myself a runner. I am following the program I downloaded almost to a T, even running 7km non-stop on the treadmill on Sunday! Something I am not sure I could have done 3 months ago. I have been pushing myself and making sure that my times improve EVERY time, even if it is just by 30seconds! My weight has plateaued but I am not terribly concerned. I am only 1kg off my goal weight but I am not focusing on that because I just feel so much better in my skin now. I know, as like any woman, I will never be 100% happy with my body and there will always be things that I want to change but feeling good in my skin is something I haven't felt for a while.

Some inspiration I have beside my treadmill...My gym class timetable, motivational poster, running program where I keep track of my times and tick off when I'm done, and my 30 Day Ab Challenge I was attempting in June...will fess up and tell you it didn't happen! :-(

 Over the holidays we were lucky enough to have some beautiful weather in Toowoomba so I took advantage of it and ran outside for the first time in a loooong time just to see if I could do it! And I gotta say my time was better than the treadmill. I downloaded this app to my iphone to track my distance and time!

There's many out there but this is the one I have "Map My Run"

I knew the key to my success this term was to spend some time over the holidays getting organised. I had a massive big cook up one day to the point where I had to go and buy more containers and clean out my freezer to make room! and then stop because I ran out of room... Before I knew it I had 31 frozen meals ready to go! While I still download and look at the meal plans from Mish I find that I am coping really well on my own. I know what and how much I can eat and still count the calories and 95% of what I eat comes from her recipes. I still will cook 'fresh' meals from time to time but it so handy knowing that I can just grab something and defrost/reheat and I am still eating 'Mish approved".

some of my many many meals all now in the freezer ready!

As soon as work started I knew things would get crazy and I was NOT wrong..... We have only been back at school for one week but I feel like I have completed a months worth of work already. This term is a big one for Year 12's as they do their QCS tests as well as applying for University. Year 10's are also making big decisions around what they want to do next year as. Year 11's have had one Semester of subjects and many of them came to the realisation that Year 11 is harder than they thought and so I starting completing numerous subject change forms! So I had a never ending line up of students come through my office for subject information, subject changes, uni advice, traineeship advice, general counselling (I'm being bullied, I'm stressed, I'm not getting along with my parents etc etc...and here is where I secretly thank god I am not a teenager anymore!) as well as sorting through the mountain of paperwork that has arrived during the holidays from universities, organising students to go to 2 upcoming career expos.... So a typically day for me looks like:

5:30/40am ish - Alarm goes off and I am in complete denial as it is still pitch black outside, get dressed (I always try and have organised what I am wearing the night before as I will stand there and look at my ridiculously overflowing wardrobe and think I have nothing to wear.. lol..). Go downstairs, have breakfast, pack my lunchbox etc etc

6:45am ish - leave for work - I have to be out of here no later than 7am to ensure I get to work on time given the state of the roadworks and I like to go that little bit earlier to avoid the school zones which kick in at 7am

8:00-8:30am - Arrive at school, check my appointment book, my pigeonhole, my emails and get ready for my first appointment.

9:10-3:05 - Back to back appointments with very little time to stop. Each appointment is scheduled 35mins. It's always hard to tell, some go for longer, others much shorter. Appointments aren't scheduled during break times but I always have kids just drop in, which is fine... (unless I am busting to go to the toilet! lol)

3:05 - 4:00pm ish - Continue working on all the things I didn't get done during the day now all the kids have gone home. I like to try and be out of school by 4 but that's not always possible.

4:00pm - Drive home

5:30pm ish - Get home from work, don't sit down or I know I won't get back up, get changed straight away and do whatever exercise is scheduled for me but usually jump on my treadmill and run while I watch Ellen!...

6:30pm - Have shower

7:00pm - Have dinner (either cook or something from the freezer) and watch Home and Away - my down time!

7:30pm onwards - Continue to work on anything that still needs to be done or sloth on the couch with the ipad

9:30pm ish - bed..... and wait for it all to start again tomorrow!!!

Friday is my exercise rest day and I relish it!! My weekends are then usually spent working out at the gym and catching up on all those jobs I don't get done at home during the week. Cooking, cleaning, washing, shopping, catching up with friends and so on...

So with a little under 3 weeks to go I am hoping that I can continue the great start I've had to the term and look forward to writing about my results!

Stay tuned.......

Linking up with Essentially Jess because of course it's Tuesday!

for a free dinner!

A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go to this 'place' with her where we would have a tour and free dinner...now it may have just been the free dinner that sucked me in and I probably should have gotten more information before agreeing but I didn't! I had a vague idea, surely that was enough.. lol....

So on Saturday she picked me up and along we went to the Pure Land Learning Centre here in Toowoomba. It was established here in 2001 and on their webpage they say their goal is "to provide a good learning environment for students who aspire to learn and practise Pure Land Buddhism and the teachings of the sages, and to train and nurture successors to continue the propagation of Buddhism." But I quickly learnt it was much more than that....

Now people who know me will be surprised to read this about me, people who don't know me should know that religion and religious faith is something that escapes me.... I never set foot in a church until I went to boarding school and the only time I have been in one since has been for a wedding :) or a funeral :(

I wouldn't say that I am an atheist, probably more agnostic (and yes I had to look them up and I could possibly still be confused...perhaps I'm both!)... I would like to believe that there is something good in stall for us after we pass but I'm not convinced of the whole pearly gates and God thing.... I also believe that these are my beliefs and my opinions and while I won't push them on you I also don't like when people try and push their beliefs on me...everyone has the right to believe what they like. 

A few years ago a friend (who doesn't know about this blog so I think I am pretty safe) gave me this book.....

Now I will admit I was taken aback a bit especially when I read the letter she wrote on the inside cover.... and I quote "When it comes to Judgement Day, and it will, I want to see you beside me choosing eternal life...." we had many discussions about her concern that I would be going to hell..... Now don't get me wrong, I am totally and utterly appreciative that I have someone in my life that loves and cares about me but I did have to tell her to back off before it started to affect our friendship. I don't believe anyone should push their beliefs on someone like that and I told her that IF it was something I wanted to know more about then I knew she would be there to ask but in the meantime don't judge me for not believing and I won't judge you for believing....

So going along to this Pure Land Learning Centre certainly wasn't something I would normally do but I must admit I found it very interesting and surprising. We arrived at 4pm and were given a tour of their grounds which included a vegetable garden where they grow everything they need and are trying to gain organic status and are starting to sell their veggies to the public (every Saturday if you are in Toowoomba and interested), we saw their Study Hall where they do their lessons in Buddhism and once a month (I think it was) they invite someone from another faith to come and share a lesson with them as they believe that to live in the community harmoniously they need to understand the beliefs of others. We saw their meditation hall where we observed some people doing sitting and walking meditations. The walkers were chanting a very majestic chant as they walked around and around the perimeter of the room. The Venerable that took us on the tour explained that people can walking meditate until they feel at peace and sometimes this can go on for up to 5 hours!

We were given a beautiful bracelet and some books, all free, and the kindness and generosity was overwhelming. The books, whilst written by a Venerable, do not push the Buddhist faith but rather talk about living the best life you can and showing courage and compassion towards others. Now THAT I do believe in...  

After our tour we were special guests at their weekly "Friendship Dinner". Every Saturday they put on a free dinner for the community, anyone and everyone is invited and the dining hall was PACKED. Some of their students had to leave and eat in the other hall to make room. We were served a vegetarian meal with everything coming from their own garden. Whilst I was a little apprehensive to try everything, what I did try was amazing! And they don't keep any of the food for themselves, if you wanted seconds, thirds, fourths, you were welcome to it and then given a take away container full as well if you wanted it. Each Saturday they invite a group from the community to perform or a guest speaker to talk to the masses. We were entertained by Sing Australia, a lovely group of oldies who sang a few songs for us. 

Throughout the whole experience our tour guide and Venerable kept telling us that Toowoomba was chosen by their Master as he believed it was the place that could be used as a Model City for Peace and Harmony for the rest of the world. The work they do in our community probably goes unnoticed by most but it was so lovely to hear them say how much they love it here and how they think the people of Toowoomba are so welcoming and accepting and the faith they have in the Toowoomba community was inspiring.

It's good to know that it's not only Miss America contestants that are wanting and working towards World Peace!


Linking up this Tuesday of course with Essentially Jess for IBOT!