Wedding Bells

Okay maybe not wedding bells quite yet but they are now in the plans ...

That's right .. We're engaged!!! 

On the 13th of December 2014, our 5 year anniversary Grant proposed!!! 
And of course I said YES!!

We hadn't really planned to do much for our anniverasy except go out for dinner, to one of our favourite restaurants Aqaba, and then maybe to the movies. Only because it was 5 years, as we are soo not the type to celebrate every bloody month!

I made us French toast for brunch, with Bacon, Banana, Strawberries & Blueberries. 

We headed to dinner at 6pm and took our gifts with us (as per Grants request). We had the dips & spreads (Toasted pita breads with sundried tomato dip and basil pesto) for our entrée .. and ultimate BLTs for our mains (Bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, camembert, cranberry sauce and aioli on toasted focaccia), with a side of Fries & Aioli). We were going to have dessert but we were both full from dinner!

While we were waiting for our mains we exchanged gifts ..
I got Grant a Skull Case, a JB Hi-Fi gift card & filled the rest of the case with his favourite sour lollies (Toxic Waste & Warheads).

I then unwrapped my present, on the outside of a box was a printed voucher for my next tattoo, which I was very excited about! until opened the box - then I was just speechless!! The note inside the box said "I am not going to kneel and embarrass us both but I would like to know ... Will you marry me?" and of course I said yes!! 

Once we had finished our main & paid the bill, we headed to my parents house to tell them the news. Grant had told me that Dad already knew, as he had asked him! So it took the initial surprise away for them, but both my parents were very happy. Apparently Mum already knew too, she said Grant had told her, however Grant does not remember telling her. 

Dressed up for dinner!

When we left my parents, I called my brother in Australia, while Grant called his family in Australia. My brother was soo excited, he was screaming & I could hear him jumping around! Grant's family were also very excited, we could hear his twin 16 year old sister screaming, and they were at the other end of the house! I also txted my Aunty, Uncle & Cousins to tell them the news.

Once we got off the phone we decided to end our night by going to the movies.
We went and saw "The Hunger Games - Mockingjay Part 1" - which was awesome!  

The next day I called my grandparents and my Aunty & Uncle in Australia to tell them the news, while Grant called his grandmother and his Aunty & Uncle. I then Facebook messaged and txted my closest friends to tell them the news before it would be posted on Facebook.

On Monday night, Grant changed our relationship status on Facebook and it all became "Facebook Official" - for the rest of the night our laptops and phones were beeping with notifications of likes and comments. A week later I posted a close up photo of the ring on Facebook and Instagram.

And now all those 100s of wedding pins on Pinterest can be put to use as the planning begins!  PS - if you have a wedding blog or page comment below!

Andrea xx

Topic 20 - Year 2024

I promise I haven't given up on the 31 Day (Topic) Blog Challenge!
I have just gotten side tracked with other things!! 

Topic 20 - Where I want to be in 10 years time ...

Marriage - I've been with my partner Grant almost 5 years now, so would like to think that within the next 10 years we would be married. 

Family - within the next 10 years I would love to have started our own (human) family - already have our own furry family but would love to have at least one little human added to our family too. 

Jane's Jewels NZ - I hope that during the next 10 years my little jewellery business Jane's Jewels NZ would be still going, and stronger than ever!

Health & Well-being - in 10 years time I really hope to be maintaining my goal weight (because I WILL get down to my goal weight way before then!!) and living a healthy life with a balanced diet and continuing my gym workouts and walks! 

and at last but not least simply continuing on my life journey of
Living, Laughing, Loving Life & being HAPPY!! 

Colour Dash NZ

 Participating in a Colour Run has always been on my "Bucket List" and now I can say that I have done it - I walked but I did it! Well at least a version of one - the "Colour Dash NZ" 5km, two Sundays ago on the 19th of October (yes I'm a bit late writing this post). Maybe not a big deal to some people but for me it's huge! 

The Colour Dash is a 5km fun run/walk for people of all ages, shapes and sizes with participants been splashed with special colourful dust along the way! Every Colour Dash NZ in 2014 is raising both awareness and money for Ronald McDonald House.

 

 My boss was entering a team and invited all us employees to join her. I was rather nervous about agreeing to join, as I didn't know if my legs would cope (I have problems with my calf muscles). But I grew some courage and along with some encouragement from my awesome workmate Ashleigh, I said YES let's do it! 

Ashleigh came around to my house first and then Grant drove us to our boss's house. We got changed into our white Colour Dash tshirts, then all 10 of us hopped into the centre van and headed out to Massey for the Colour Dash. After a quick toilet stop, we waited around near the start while they did all the pre-race activities, like presenting the $18,000 cheque to Ronald McDonald House!

At 2.17pm we were off, all 10 of us pretty much stuck together for that first km.
That first km was pretty easy and seemed rather short, unfortuantly my calves were already starting to hurt but at that 1km mark there was the yellow coloured dust been thrown & there was a wait to get through.
Once through we kept going and our group split into two, one faster group that speed up ahead and the slower more causal walkers (like me).

By the 2km my calves were killing me, but I had to keep going, I wasn't giving up! I did think to myself that I really must go back to the podiatrist and get something done about my calves. It was great having 4 others to walk with, it kept me going, kept my mind off the pain and made it fun! It was awesome having a different coloured dust at each km mark, as you knew how far you had been and how far you still had to go. It was a little disappointing at the last two colours though, as the 4km coloured dust was running very low and the 5km dust had completely run out! We were near the back but there was a good bunch of people still behind us.

 We finished and completed the whole 5km walk just a few minutes before 3.15pm when there was a huge colour dump - where everyone stood together and buckets of colour were thrown into the air. I was pretty pleased to realise that we had completed the 5km in less than an hour!

So proud of myself, completing the 5km, and it was so much fun! I totally recommend it to anyone and can't wait to do it again next year!! 

Gym Junkie!

Okay not quite a Gym Junkie ... but I joined CityFitness Gym & I'm loving it so far!

For the past few years my mum suggested (a few too many times)
that I should join a gym and at the time I didn't want to, so I didn't! 

At the beginning of the year my boss, Kellie, started working part time as gym instructor and kept suggesting to all of us to join her gym, which I didn't not want to! And plus if I was going to join a gym it would NOT be the one she works at or goes to! Then a few months back my good friend, Kylee wanted me to join the gym with her, which I did want to do, but the cost was holding me back. 

Now on Monday (26 Sep) I cleared the mail at work and there was 2 CityFitness brochures amongst the mail, advertising gym memberships for $8 per week, so I kept one brochure as I was very interested .. then on Tuesday, I checked the mail at home and there was the same CityFitness brochure, so I checked out their website and then decided to go into CityFitness the next day!

So on Wednesday (24 Sep) after a bit of shopping I went into CityFitness and inquired about joining. I was informed about the two different membership options. 
I decided on the $12 contract, as I liked the idea of been able to go to classes if I wanted to. I filled out my information, signed on the dotted line & I was a member!! 

$12.00 a week, for everything (equipment, weights & classes), plus a bag, discounts on products, hour orientation personal training session, access to all CityFitness gyms in NZ and no contract.

On Friday the 26th September I had my orientation session with my Personal Trainer, Aidan. Warm up was boxing & was lots of fun! Oh my goodness though, if it was just me, I would have been done just after the boxing but nope we kept going! Aidan then showed me how to use & got me doing weights, which I never in a life time imagined me doing ... He also got me doing squats - OMG I was sore for 4 days after those!!!
I didn't end up quite completing the hour training session (didn't do all weights (no arms) or cardio at the end) as I got very light headed, apparently coz I'm not used to it. All in all though I really enjoyed the personal training session and once I have all my finances under control I want to book regular personal training sessions.

Since joining the gym 10 days ago, I have been 7 times (8 including the PT session) & strangely enough for me (who is usually not a big fan of exercise) LOVE going!
I even got my partner Grant joined up! 

We have the alarm set for 7 tomorrow morning, as Grant has his orinentation PT session, and I will be heading in for a workout too! So seeing as its 11.20pm I best get to bed for a good night sleep ready for tomorrow!
Night all xx

 

Facebook "Friends"

Making more changes on my Life Journey! 

I am realising more and more that my Life Journey is not just about weight loss and learning to be happy but is about so much more! Life is everything after all!

After a discussion with a great work friend about the happenings of this weekend,
I decided I needed a very clear line between personal and professional!

To begin this process I started on my Facebook "Friends" list .. I started with over 280 "Friends" and really come on admit it, how many of us really have that many friends!
I know that a good chunk of them are Family (or my partner's family - who are now my family) and people I met while I was in America (post on that experience later). 

I went through my Facebook Friend list and started thinking would I stop and talk to this person if I saw them down the street? Would I even say Hello? Would they even recognise me? And every person who I answered NO for I deleted (unfriended)! 

I am glad I deleted all those people because really if I would stop to even say Hello to these people - why the hell would I share everything else with them!!
Think about all the stuff you post on Facebook .. Photos, Life Events, Sucesses!
None of those people would be there for me in any struggles or problems so why would I share all the wonderful things with them!! 

I then deleted everyone from work who I didn't want to be sharing my personal life with (eg most staff members & all parents of children attending my work) creating a much needed personal professional line. 

I then had the great pleasure of deleting anyone I can't be bothered with! Including those people who are always posting all that "look at me look at me" crap! Like one "friend" (from high school) who posts almost every hour complaining! 

End Result - from over 280 down to 245! 

A great start at least - now I am wondering if there is anyway to group Facebook Friends?? Would love to group all Family together, all my American friends together & all study colleagues together. 

I would then be left with a very small selected group of friends left but really it's so much better sharing your life with a few real friends!!

While I was having this very rewarding time of deleting people off Facebook, I was also browsing around Pinterest (as ya do) and saw this & thought it was perfect for the occasion so shared it on both my Facebook & Instagram! 

Map My 4km Walk

I knew I wanted to go for a walk after work today, but instead of doing the usual walk around the block, I decided to walk to the couriers and back, since I had a few parcels from Jane's Jewels NZ to send.

I marked out the walk on Map my Walk website and it told me that the walk to the couriers was 1.76km, so return was 3.53km in total, which sounded pretty good to me, since my usual walks are around the 3km mark, so this added an extra
500-ish metres to my walk.

I then got changed into my walking gear, grabbed the courier parcels, put on my headphones, put the Halti (head-collar) on Atlas (to stop him pulling) and I was ready to go. I started up the "Map my Walk" app on my iPhone and started walking. 

 I just love the Map my Walk app, it connects to the GPS in your phone and tracks your entire walk. I have the "Voice Feedback" turned on, so I get informed at every kilometre, how far I have walked, how long I have been walking and my current pace! Which really keeps you motivated, especially if you want to walk for a certain amount of time, or a certain distance.

I was just around the corner from the couriers when the app told me I had walked 2km! Which told me that website was a bit out with it's measurements but meant that my walk would about around 4km in total! Yahoo!

Once I dropped the parcels off at the couriers, we turned around and headed back home. We were almost home when the app told me I had walked 4km! I was very excited, as all my previous walks had only been 3 point something.

When I got home I stopped the app and completed the record.

The app told me I had walked 4.19km in 45 minutes & 4 seconds, that my average pace was 10.45 minutes per kilometre and that I had burned 1674 kilojoules.
Whoop Whoop! Next Goal is 5km!!

Atlas was pretty well behaved, and didn't pull too much. There were a few roads to cross but he sat (when told) at each intersection and waited for me to check for cars :) During the walk there is a few huge sections of very long grass! Which Atlas had never experienced before but loved exploring!

Me at the 4km mark!

Atlas exploring the long grass.

A Nailing Bad Habit

Topic 19 - My Worst Habit

Nail Biting!!  

My worst habit would definitely have to be nail biting! It is a horrible habit that I have always had. I have had this bad habit so long, I can remember in primary school getting in trouble (from my mum) for biting my nails!
And now at 27 years old I still bite my nails!! 

I have tried the "Stop That" nail biting, nail polish that tastes bad ..
Just plain pretty nail polish ..
Even getting acrylics .. 
 

18 October 2012
Only photo I could find of my Acrylic Nails!

 Which helped for a while but end up biting them (but not breaking them) which causes them to weaken & lift up earlier than they should so they end up coming off before I get a chance to get them infilled again .. And once they are off, my nails are longer but I just end up biting them again. 

I have tried to narrow down and figure out why & when I bite my nails. 
I know I bite them when I'm bored or stressed out but so often I don't realise I've even bitten my nail until it too late! 

Do you bite your nails? Have you gotten over this habit?
If so please share your tips with me!!!

Getting Back On Track

I don't know how other people work, but I find myself searching on Pinterest when I have something on my mind .. like at the moment I am feeling really bad about my weight and that I NEED to get back on track!!! 

Soo that is what I searched .. and this is what I found ...

So reading that I shouldn't beat myself up about it .. BUT really come on, this year was meant to be different!! and now we are in August - the 8th month - and not only have I not lost anything .. it's worse I've put on more!!! 

So this is it! I have had enough! I AM going to do this!!

First I need a goal to keep me motivated ...
My brother is coming home (from Australia) in December for Christmas and I haven't seen him since last Christmas, so I REALLY want to show him how well I can do! Especially since I know that he has been working hard, going to the gym, losing weight & doing a 12km run! 

My Goal - 20kgs by 20th December! 

Starting today - the 1st August
means I have 4 months and 20 days! 

or 20 weeks & 1 day! 

hmm bit of a pattern in the number 20 there! 

Wonder if that means anything?

Scaredy Cat!

Topic 18 - What am I afraid of? 

As someone who "suffers" from A-Typical Depression I am often anxious, nervous, worried, afraid .. I guess it's a negative, pessimistic side of me. I'm always afraid of things going wrong and getting things wrong .. But my biggest "fears" would be:

Falling - being a heavier plus sized women I hate going on things that may not be able to hold my weight - like bridges ... or the time had to go up into the roof to get something for my partner & was so scared that the ceiling wouldn't hold me and I would fall through the ceiling!

Failing - Which of course goes with the being afraid of gettin things wrong .. And is one of the biggest reasons why I still haven't gone for my full drivers licence! And I need to renew my restricted next month as it expiries! But yes I am afraid of failing!! 

And last of all Clowns!
Well maybe not necessarily afraid of them but they freak me out! 

Favourite Children's Book

Topic 17 - Favourite Children's Book

The actual topic for today is "Favourite childhood book" now I can't remeber exactly what my favourite book was during my childhood but one of the books I do remember being a favourite was "My Cat likes to hide in Boxes" and then as I grew older I loved "The Babysitter's Club" books.

 As an ECE teacher who owns her own collection of children's books I now have many favourite children's books .. 

My current favourite books are "Monkey Puzzle" & "The Very Cranky Bear"

 I love reading most children's books, especially if they rhyme.
There are also many great CD books available that children always LOVE!

Check out my growing list of "Great Children's Books" on Pinterest. 

Daily Timeline ..

Topic 15 - Timeline of my day 

I have decided that I am not going to completely follow this topic suggestion and write a timeline of my day because really you aren't going to learn much from it .. 

Some people say "Everyday is Different"
but really most of the time it's all "Same Shit Different Day!"

 My timeline depends on the day of the week .. 
Mondays & Tuesdays - I work from 9.30-5.30 
Thursdays & Fridays - I work from 7.30-3.00

Wednesdays and Weekends - No Work!

On the days that I work it is all really same shit different day..
Get up, go to work and then go home - then depending on what time I finish
I walk Atlas & do a few chores around the house or in town. 

 At night it's all make dinner, eat dinner, clean up and then go on laptop & watch TV

Except for Tuesday's when we currently have Obedience Classes for Atlas,
or any day I may have a staff meeting to go to.

My days off are different depending on what I have planned, 

like the Wednesday just been ... where I mucked around at home, met my Mum for lunch in town, spent a few hours at their house with their new puppy & my grandparents dog, went home for a bit before going to a Professional Development meeting at work, then it was home for a late dinner and TV/bed!
But sometimes I end up wasting the day away & get nothing achieved at all. 

Right now it's 9.30pm on a Saturday night and I'm sitting in bed, on my laptop and watching "A-Team" on DVD. Once I've published this post I'm actually thinking of turning off my laptop and laying down to finish watching the movie and sleep ...
What a Nana huh!! 

Good Night xx

Crosses

A Cross .. 

Is it a shape, a religious symbol or both ???

I am personally not religious, I believe that everything happens for a reason, that is may not make sense straight away, but there is always a reason. 

I have nothing against anyone who is religious, a few of my closest friends are Christian. I believe that everyone has their individual right to believe in anything they wish, whether it be God or Aliens!

I could go on about this but do not wish to start a debate, so back to my original question .... A Cross .. a shape, a religious symbol or both ???

My answer ... Both!

To some people a cross is a religious symbol, but it is also a shape ... I love the shape of crosses and have quite a few different cross necklaces .. What I find very interesting though is that when I wear one of my cross necklaces I have been asked or assumed to be Christian .. Like last week I was wearing one of my favourite necklaces, which happens to be a multicoloured wire wrapped cross, and one of my workmates commented on it saying "I like your necklace! (Thanks) Is it a cross? (Yes) Are you Christian? (No) Oh.." And this was just because I was wearing a cross - Where actually I just like the shape & that particular necklace. 

What do you think?

Handbag Inventory!

Topic 14 - What is in my handbag?

Like most women I keep almost everything and anything in my handbag! My ex's dad (Mark) used to call it my Tardis (from Dr Who for anyone who doesn't know).

So here is what's in my handbag ...

Pouch with Vouchers - Keys - Glasses - Cookie Time Breakfast Cookie - Wallet 
Receipts - Hairties - Work Notebook - iPhone - Gloves - Impluse
Nurofen - Tic Tacs - USB Stick - WW Bar - Lip Gloss - Lipstick - Lip Balm
Perfume - Mini Hand Santizer - Pen - Hot Chocolate Sachet
Pill Container - Tampons - Quick Eze

Looking at all the stuff in that photo you would think that I have a huge handbag, but nope just an average sized black handbag (which I really need to replace, as the strap is falling apart) so wow no wonder Mark used to call my handbag a Tardis .. I can't believe how much stuff is in there!

Do you keep as much as I do in your handbag? 

Live Laugh Love & My Blog

Topic 13 - My Favourite Quote 

Anyone who knows me and has been to my house knows that I have a
"slight" obsession with the saying "Live Laugh Love"
as it can be found in almost every room in our house! 

 As well as home decor I also have an awesome "Live Laugh Love" necklace
which was made for me by the amazing Alysia at DNA Jewels.
The next tattoo I have on the plans is to get "Live Laugh Love" done
on my right wrist .. but that will be once I have some money saved up :)

My blog name also gives away what my favourite saying is ...
I came up with the name of my blog by combining my obsession with the saying "Live Laugh Love" and the fact that my blog is all about so many things but most of all LIFE, so putting it all into one I came up with the title "Live Laugh Loving Life" and it really explains my life at the moment! 

PS - You can also find my blog on Facebook!

If I won the Lottery!

Big whoops .. I keep getting to busy and forgetting about this 31 Day Challenge .. I think we can safely say that I have failed on the 31 Days part .. BUT I am not going to give up .. I am just going to alter this challenge to be 31 Topics!

Topic 12 - If I won the Lottery!

Winning the lotto is something that everyone dreams about .. including me ..
which may one day come true for some people .. but properly not for me considering I don't buy lotto tickets!

My partner Grant does though .. I remember when the lotto Jackpot was up to 10 Million and I told him that if he won, all I would ask for is for my home loan to be paid off .. and of course he agreed considering it would have been less than 5% of his winnings! Maybe I should have asked for more lol :)

Okay so here is what I would do if I won a One Million Dollar Lottery ..
and beware I'm extremely boring ...

• $500,000 (half) into Savings .. told you I was boring!!
• Pay off my Home Loan! (and any other debt)
• Renovate - Brand New Furniture & fix every tiny little thing!
• Travel - Australia (visit family) Europe, America & somewhere Tropical!
  
• Business - put money into my little business Jane's Jewels NZ and get a new logo, website etc

 

What would you do if you won the lottery??

See you next time for Topic 12 :)
I would say tomorrow but with my record I can't guarantee it!

My Proudest Moment

Day 11 - Most Proud Moment

My Graduation!! 

After 4 years of studying and working my ass off I completed my qualification and graduated with my Bachelor of Education (Teaching) majoring in Early Years 0-8 and graduated May 2010!

Coming a very second close to my own graduation was my partners graduation.
After being with him during his entire 3 years of study, I was very proud to see him graduate last year :)

First Celebrity Crush!

Day 10 - First Celebrity Crush 

My first celebrity crush, well the ones I remember about were ...

Beau Brady, from my Home & Away watching days ...

 

 

and Leonardo Dicaprio, from watching Titanic over and over again on Christmas Eve with a very close family friend, wasting as much time as possible until Christmas.

and last but certainly not least .. Heath Ledger.

The younger Heath Ledger especially when in "10 Things I hate about you" 

 

 Now I know the topic for today is "First Celebrity Crush"
but come on what better excuse to post some recent eye candy too!
So here you go .. some eye candy for you to enjoy :)

 

 

Piercings & Tattoos!

WHOOPS! Got so busy and completely forgot about the 31 Day Blog Challenge!

My last blog post was Day 8 - Old Photo of Me ... and it's now the 18th!

So today instead of been Day 16 as it should be ..
I will continue on from where I left off ..

Day 9 - Piercings & Tattoos!

Everyone has different opinions about piercings and tattoos, personally I like them and don't believe anyone's character should be judged on any sort of body modifications whether they are piercing, tattoos or even hair colour! 

I have 3 tattoos which you can see and read about on my previous post "My Tattoos"

The only piercings I now have are my ear lobes, and I very rarely ever change my earrings. This photo is one time that I did actually change my earrings as I got the very cute
Genuine Disney Winnie The Pooh Earrings! 

Sometime around 2005 I got my tongue pierced, loved having my tounge pierced but took it out around 2010 as I had chipped a few teeth from the metal bars and my dentist kept telling me I should take it out, so I finally listened after a big dentist bill to fix my teeth!

So getting back on track with this Blog Challenge I will see you tomorrow!