After being let-go from my job in January 2009, I chose to make a huge move – figuratively and literally. I chose to go back to graduate school; but in all honesty I did it for lack of a better option, not because I actually wanted a higher degree. Therefore I figured if I was going to subject myself to more tedious school work (of which I have never enjoyed), I might as well do it somewhere I may enjoy. Flash forward a few months, I received my acceptance letter, booked one-way tickets and packed my bags.

On July 10, 2009, I stepped off the plane and onto Australian soil to begin yet another sector of my life. I spent the next few months meeting new people, exploring new places in and around Brisbane, and cracking away on schoolwork. In December, I secured myself a job at a hostel and began to meet more people and learn even more about different cultures and their perspectives on life.

Since then I have experienced more changes of highly personal matters. I have dealt with a series of mishaps…heartbreak – I wont say love but there were significant feelings involved, food and exercise struggles, significant decrease in my value of my self-worth and self-esteem, and finally an unexpected and unwanted interruption of my current path.

So here I am now, in the midst of a collapse of my new life, and I’m unsure again of the next step. I am unsure if I should take the necessary steps to continue this path, or just pack up now and try something new. (I know what I’d like to do…if I could do anything I wanted). But due to a few factors, I believe this path is not in my cards right now – but I do believe I will make it my reality in the future. If only patience was a strength of mine…I’m horrified at the thought of disappointing my family (again) with this news; and the idea that I may choose a new path that may not be completely supported or understood by them.

I’m worried far too much about what others think and not enough about how my actions affect myself. Above all, I am worried about the things that have shaped me in this last period of my life.

I’m not sure I was prepared to be exposed to so much. I’m not sure I can go back. I didn’t know it would affect me so greatly. but I know for sure I can never forget.

My life now, as I have said, is literally in shambles. I am grasping on to anything and anyone that gives me a spark of hope. And as a result, I have been crushed more times than I’d like to admit. I’m glad I was taught to keep a strong facade…keep a smile and the world will smile with you. Now it’s time to figure things out. The facade is fading and the truth is sneaking through. I’ve always been able to get up when i’ve been knocked down. I don’t see any reason for this to change now. I’m done lying to myself and i’m ready to make things right. I don’t yet know how to do this or what will happen from this all, but I do know I’m ready to try. Again, I’m prepared to pick myself back up, brush off the dirt and get it together. I’m ready to put my focus back into those things I love…exercise, nutrition, fashion, adventure and travel…feel free to follow me along my latest ventures as I try to fix my displaced pieces.

I ended up getting a TON of produce at the supermarket…which was foolish (and I knew it as I was doing it) because I’m going to be gone all weekend and won’t get home until late afternoon/evening on Monday….but the sale prices were soooo good! I just had to! After my little shopping excursion, I begin the walk home…again 2.5/3miles…not a bad walk, except I had a bag of heavyyyy groceries. But I finally made it home and began breakfast…

Egg white omelete w/spinach & red pepper, strawberries, grapes!(I LOVE grapes), H2Omelon and mixed berries consisting of blueberries, raspberries,  blackberries and red currants(bought them frozen during this morning’s trip – quality sale item!) and of course water and coffee (again, HAD to drink coffee before I could snap the pic)…

While eating I called my Grammy to wish her a Happy (89th!!!!!!) Birthday!!! I love and miss her greatly! And proof-read my assignment to consider it “done”. Probably will attempt to organise some stuff as well, but more importantly need to pack for the next three days of excitement! I made a list, so hopefully I won’t forget anything. I wanted to go shopping this afternoon…but I’m already pretty behind the proposed schedule, so it looks like that won’t be happening ….

However, reflecting on my grocery shopping I realized I got some great deals…special chicken sale, tuna cans for $1 each, cheap produce and some snack items for when I’m stuck at campus…

Protein Crisps, bbq flavor…I got a bag of these last week and love this flavor!!

And these bars were only $1…to clear them off the shelves (just as I discover them, they’re going to be gone ) I found the Vanilla Almond earlier this week and liked it a lot…this supermarket had Cranberry Crumble as well…so I grabbed two of those in case they’re just as good! Both flavors are 80ish cals and have a good amount of protein (5 & 8!), fiber, omega 3 and calcium. YUM!

And finally I found this…not sure what it is…but it has all healthy ingredients and looks like chocolate so I’ll give it a shot!

But now I must get packing and hit the road!! It’s almost time for me to head into the city… And, “I’ve got a feeling, that tonight’s gonna be a good, good night!”…well actually all weekend

And even better that I got my favorite snack item at the store…(since it got to be 7pm before I made dinner!)

Then I got on to making dinner…I decided to just throw something together that wouldn’t be too much work… a salad! consisting of…iceburg lettuce ( I love it!) ripped up into small pieces of course, handful of spinach, 1/4 small avocado, shredded carrots, 1 small tomato, a mini-can of tomato/onion tuna (they don’t seem to like plain tuna very much here…or can it in just water!!) then I quickly “warmed” some eggplant on the stovetop in canola spray and threw it in the mix…SOOO GOOD!

I had to proof read my assignment and sent it off to my group members to look through for the presentation aspect of the assignment. Then I was just about to get to some fun stuff, when I realized I still needed to update and go to bed! I have a very busy tomorrow and even busier weekend! Hopefully I’ll be able to update over the weekend, but if not, I’ll be sure to take heaps of pictures to post when I return! 

I returned home to shower and get on with my day(complete with the runner’s high). Skyped with my mom for a bit, then talked to  my BEST BEST BEST friend from back home!! YES!! I love her and miss her sooo much! I downed a cup of coffee during all this…once that excitement was over, I knew I needed to get some breakfast in me!

Eggwhite omelete w/spinach&red pepper, H2Omelon, 1/2 banana, COFFEE <3 , and water…

Soo good! yummmm! But I seriously need to do schoolwork…I have a few things that need to be completed today! EKK! Good thing I work well under pressure…and my day is definitely going to include 1+ more cups of coffee! But I’m going to call my sister first <3 …THEN I’ll get to work

]]> http://viiivee.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/chilled-high/feed/ 0 indulgeimmerseemerge food8 002 http://viiivee.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/tech-no-good/ http://viiivee.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/tech-no-good/#comments Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:47:34 +0000 Lindsey http://viiivee.wordpress.com/?p=138 ]]> My internet decided to stop working from 11am on…thus no update until now! I truthfully did not get any schoolwork done…1.the internet was down so I couldn’t research and 2. I got distracted by countless other things and therefore did not get myself any more organised. But I’m done with school until Monday so I have time. Plus a ton of other stuff to get done in the meantime. This afternoon I went to Uni for a group meeting and then lecture…and am now just home at 10pm! Really ready to life closer…sooooo ready!!

On to fun things….I finally made the GREEN MONSTER Smoothie…well I only made a half-serving because, despite all the reviewers loving it…I couldn’t bare the thought of wasting ingredients on something I may not like…Also, I altered the recipe a little bit – most included peanut butter but I didn’t want to.

My selection of ingredients…

Into the blender went 1/2 cup of soymilk, 1 cup of spinach, 1/2 frozen banana & a generous tsp. of  baking cocoa (I didn’t actually end up using any ice…)

It looks gross…just like all the pictures I’ve seen from others…but I put on my brave face for the taste test…

verdict…approved!! actually quite good! I think I’ll try some ice next time, but otherwise tasty and very nutritious!!

Of course at this point I was now running late again…so I rushed around to get all my stuff together and pack up my Green Monsta…however, realised I had no bottle to put it in…hmm…luckily I noticed my hydration belt and stared at the little bottles for a minute…another “why not?” moment and I proceeded to fill one of my mini-bottles with the smoothie for the road…It fit perfectly!!

I really did enjoy it and will definitely make it again…not sure if it will become an everyday thing…but will appear often enough! And like everyone else claims…it really does taste good! Ok, your turn…I DARE you to make it

Back at the home-front I showered, did laundry – washed and hung out on the line! and gathered all of my school items to organise all assignments by due dates (I am so unaware of that aspect right now…thank goodness for my friends!) and eventually I will begin to work on/research materials for the assignments. So productive already by 10am!

But before I got too “serious” I needed to make some breakfast! I cut up some more H2Omelon ( ) while my egg white omelete – with spinach this time – cooked on the stove…then I cut up half a banana to complete the dish. And of course coffee <3  and water to accompany it…

As you can see…I was very impatient and could not wait to drink my coffee…I’m surprised there was that much left when I took the pic!!! I’m boarderline obsessed with coffee…good thing I allow myself a second cup

This is my view out the patio door…EVERY morning…not a cloud in the sky…

I supposed I need to get my act together and do some schoolwork…or at least shuffle it around a bit so I feel like I did something…osmosis? No? Well, I’ll update again after my attempt at the GREEN MONSTER in a bit …

6.4mile run to start off the day…lovin it! It was going to be another hott day…I intended to get up at 6:31 to run before the heat..but as always, woke up early on my own(5:23 this time)…not so awesome considering I went to bed at 11:30pm and Tuesdays are my longest day…ohh well! The run was good…tried a new route and really liked it…only bad thing was the strong head wind for the mile span of 4.5-5.5…but I pushed through it…and I timed well considering it was already 72 degrees when I left my house at 6:25!! Came back nice and sweaty for a cold shower and breakfast.

I thought I should take a pic of my “typical breakfast” since I haven’t before…

Ice Cold water, Coffee with soymilk, Egg white omelet(with tomatoes today) and H2Omelon

I ate my yummy breakfast while skyping with my mom and sister! It was so good to talk to them both, even if they were distracted with one another and sometimes ignoring me …I didn’t get to make the Green Monster like I wanted to since I spend so much time talking to them…but that’s alright…I’ll just make it tomorrow!

I also did another attempt at my butter bean hummus…didn’t use any of the liquid at first and I rinsed the beans to get rid of some of the excess salt…wayyy too thick…the blender wouldn’t even turn, so I added about half the liquid back in and it came out great!

It actually has the hummus texture…still a little sweeter, but it’s fine for now…

I won’t talk anymore about making hummus…promise! I do want to try to create and/or find a recipe for an eggplant or avocado dip…cause I like to get those once in a while, so might as well try my skills at that!

So, I finished getting ready and literally ran out the door…I knew I was cutting it close with the bus timing…Keep in mind it’s about a 1/4 mile walk to the bus stop…as I’m power-walking up towards the last turn, I thought I heard the bus’s breaks screaching at the stop before mine…I pumped my legs and arms a little harder, and JUST as I was at the corner the bus was passing by…THANK GOODNESS there was someone else at my stop, so the bus stopped and I made it to the bus just in time to show my pass and hop on…the ONE day the bus comes 2 minutes EARLY!!! Seriously??? Regardless I was able to make my bus and was 11 minutes early for the train to Toowong.

I stopped at the library real quick so I could pick out a new book to read on my travels…

And no, it isn’t about actual chocolate…I wish it was though!!

So on to Uni I went(it’s now mid 80s)…met up with my friends, went to lecture, hungout a bit, then went to our second lecture and tutorial…nothing exciting to report in any of that…hopped the bus back to Toowong, grabbed a few quick groceries – the necessities…chickpeas(for real this time, and 70cents!), watermelon, eggs and carrots! yumm…such stables in my life! But due to my lack of sleep lately, I’m going to try to head off to bed a little early…

I plan to fall asleep to the BEST movie in the world <3 …

passed this little sign on my way (now I’ve seen Nemo and Doorey!!!(sp? whatever, don’t ruin my thunder…)

Stood in the glorious 7am sunshine…and stood…and paced….and kicked rocks…you get the idea, the bus was late AGAIN!!! I knew at this point, even if no one else got on at any other stops AND we hit every green light to the station, I wasn’t going to make the 7:57 train …so as we pulled up to the station at 7:59, I somberly trudged through the mall entrance to waste some time at the supermarket since I had 29 minutes before the next train…

Luckily I did, because I found this little TREASURE!!!! It is soooo good (understatement)…

In case you couldn’t read the package…it contains melted milk chocolate bits…yummmm!!!

So I munched on them a little before the train…then out of calorie-consciousness, I stopped. I even shared some with B. later in the afternoon, AND still have some left now! MAJOR accomplishment for me, especially considering it’s a single-serve package…but it is granola, so I would deem it more like 3 servings…

But anyway, back to the day…went to lecture for a few hours…went to the real estate agency to drop off our financial information/IDs (fingers crossed!!!!)…then ventured off to try to find the “race office” to pick up my race packet for this weekend. Eventually found it after quite a bit of confusion and even more hysterical laughter…not to mention the fact that I literally FELL into the room after tripping through the doorway…with all 5 volunteers staring at me from behind their tables…and just like in the uncrowded bank or dunkin donuts line, we had to walk back and forth across the room through the roped areas to ensure that crowd control/order was maintained…

After completing the rope entrance test, I was rewarded with my bib number, timing chip, shoe laces(umm really?) and a race-day booklet…

Thus onward to the mall we went…we returned our library books(I need to get a new one tomorrow, whoa!) Wandered the mall a bit…then ended up at the supermarket for real shopping….I knew there were a few things I wanted to get since this was one opportunity that I wouldn’t have to carry it all too far…so I grabbed my little basket and packed it full…PACKED full…mushrooms, carrots, spinach, bananas, WATERMELON (finallyyyy!!!), soymilk, and 3 cans of chickpeas(more on this in a minute)…it was h-e-a-v-y! Then proceeded to self-checkout (which they JUST installed last week – everyone is overly intrigued/impressed/confused/annoyed with it…ahh the joys of being thrown back in time…

At this point me and B. parted ways and I hopped the train back to Ipswich…by the time I walked through the door it was 4pm and I was STARVING! I was able to unpack my groceries before attacking the rest of my hummus with the mushrooms.

After that was devoured, it was time to cut my watermelon…DELICIOUS!!! (PS it was 92 degrees today…yep, still winter here, and we busted the heat record set in the 1940s!!)

Keeping with the food frame of mind, it was time to make more hummus, so I could have some with dinner…I grabbed the lemon juice, cumin and a can of chickpeas….

Wait, what??? BUTTER BEANS!?!?! HUH?!?! So clearly I did not grab chickpeas…but butter beans…I guess that’s what happens when you see cans on sale for 70cents…nothing matters but the price? But I figure, eh why not give it a shot. So prepared it just the same….not so bad…a little sweeter than the chickpeas and sadly a little watery-er(even though I didn’t use all of their liquid this time) and a little lighter in color…

I like the taste of chickpeas better – a little heartier, so I probably won’t make it again with the butter beans, well okay I will 2 more times to use the cans I bought, unless I find another use for them…

But here’s a little pic in my defense…tell me the price cut wasn’t a clear blinder to these VERY similar cans…

So I’m beat. Dead Tired. Stayed up too late last night…woke up early today…clearly did a lot (all of this in the 90 degree weather) plus I did homework when I got home!(spared you the details on that excitement…) so yeah, done. Well it’s already 10:40 pm so, well past done… I’m getting up nice and early again tomorrow to run before the heat since it’s going to be another sizzler!! And then I will return home to shower and use my purchases from today to have my first attempt at the GREEN MONSTER SMOOTHIE !! Ahhhh can’t wait, goodnightttt!

I got a lot accomplished today…proof-read/printed my first grad school assignment, finished my “casual reading” book (HUGE accomplishment, because I am NOT a reader at all, I’m a magazine/blog girl all the way), vacuumed the whole house, then attempted to walk the 2.5miles to the supermarket, but since it was already wicked hott outside – I was almost immediately sweaty!!, I stopped at the mini-mart that’s a little over a mile away and settled for something there (I was really only on a mission for chickpeas…), read some blogs…and it’s still only late afternoon, so I may get more done! (or I may just consider myself done and be lazy the rest of the night…)

So in regards to my trip to the store…I just got the chickpeas so that I could finally make my own hummus…I have a severe addiction/obsession with hummus, so I decided maybe it’s time to start making my own. I finally found a recipe without Tahiti, so I took that as a sign to make it…

To go with it in theme…I made it like a real chef (aka no measuring)…

I used a can of chickpeas,

Couple shakes of cumin…

Approx 1.5 Tbsp of lemon juice…

And blended it all up!!

it came out a little watery but sooo delicious…

The recipe didn’t say whether or not to drain the chickpeas, so I didn’t…maybe next time I will only use 1/2 the chickpea liquid or 2/3…the recipe also called for olive oil, but a “reviewer” said she made it without the olive oil and it came out just fine(therefore I conclude that the chickpea liquid + olive oil would’ve made a watery mess) but in any regard, it is delicious, low calorie(!!!) and will most likely be gone tonight At least I know how I will make it and can get more chickpeas at the store tomorrow on my way home from class

After another sampling ( <3 ) I had to take one more pic…