Reasons To Leave

As cliche as it is, I think I should make a list. Ever since we spoke with FMIL my head has been buzzing non stop with all the options available, as soon as I wake up I am thinking about it, and I am still thinking about it when I go to bed, so I have to get all these thoughts out of my head and in front of me so I can be 100% sure that whatever we choose is the right thing to do.

• I would be debt free by the end of the year. The result of that is we can put a lot of money into our savings account and we would be in a position to buy a house in the new year, it will no longer be a fantasy dream that will happen at some unknown point in the future. It also means I can go back to uni next year. I have wanted to go back for about two years now, but always put it off because I "couldn't afford it". If I put all my income into my debt and savings account I can go back next year and get it done.
  

• I would have the option to work part time. This is my fantasy life. Working part time and studying part time or just doing whatever I feel like. At the moment I find it hard, as The Boy and I both work full time, it is hard to come home after work and make a really nice dinner, and clean the dishes and do the washing and all the cleaning, and I am so sick of spending Saturday morning cleaning the bathroom and vacuuming the Penthouse. If I worked part time I could get more housework done spread nicely over the week and I could create wonderful healthy dinners made from scratch and with love every night. Of course the major benefit of working part time is that I could easily have my book up to publishing standard in 4-6 months time and my dream of being published could become reality as early as 2010.

• Country lifestyle. Clean air, relaxed way of living, less people, less traffic, being able to go to the shops and actually move without hitting people with my handbag. Having people serve me at the shops. Being able to see natural landscape and not having my lungs get congested with fumes from the highway. Surely this would benefit my anxiety immensely, my shrink even told me she thought it would be best to get out of Sydney ages ago. Perhaps this could be an environment and way of life that I would thrive in. I could even join the CWA, something I have always wanted to secretly do.

• Adventure. At the end of the day this would be an adventure. I have been wanting to just do something out of my comfort zone, I was thinking about going off to Europe and travelling around, but maybe this could be my adventure instead. A smarter adventure with many benefits at the end of it. It is only for 6 months, and I could just be free to do whatever I want, whenever I want. I could work when I want to, learn to knit and bake scones, I could set up a veggie garden and begin producing my own organic vegetables. We would have the ability to actually go away on weekends and stay somewhere nice. I would be starting from scratch, and whatever happens is up to me. I have nothing to loose, the only thing keeping me in Sydney would be friends and family, I was going to get a new job anyway, so now is the perfect time for me to just pack up and leave for an adventure.

These seem like good points, there are not a lot of points, but they are all very good and very big things. I can see a lot of dreams being achieved this way. Now it is time to think about why I should stay

Image: Flickr

Re-Discovering Past Hobbies

With my passion for tennis re-ignited, I decided it was time I explored some more of the things I loved when I was younger to see if I wanted to get back into them. Sewing (clothes and all forms of needle art) was one of them.

At school I did Textiles and Design and in Year 10 we had to make a dress and complete a needle art of some form. Most girls choose cross stitch. I decided to be a little different and after talking to mum I found myself learning tapestry. I received full marks for my piece and I was in love with it. I continued doing tapestry while at uni, but of course, like everything else, once I began working full time it stopped. That was until last weekend.

This Christmas I want to give gifts that have been "made with love". So I decided for one particular person I was going to make them a tapestry. I found my old books (thankfully I still have as they are no longer in print) picked a design (one had always wanted to get around to doing) and went to visit one of the only places in Sydney where I could get supplies. The previous weekend The Boy and I went out to another 'Supa Centa' where both Spotlight and Lincraft were located and they only catered for cross stitching (and even that was very limited). So last weekend it was off to the wonderful ladies at The Crewel Gobelin. If you are in Sydney and into any kind of tapestry, cross stitch, stitchery or anything similar I recommend you go there, it is worth the trip as they have abundant supplies and old fashioned service.

I spent almost half an hour there as the woman helping me very patiently picked out everything I would need. While I was there I also went through their items for sale and picked up two stitchery kits, something I have been meaning to learn, which will be done after this tapestry. Once I was home I couldn't wait to get started, and began the lengthy task of assembling the frame, finding the exact centre point of the canvas (I am a perfectionist so naturally I counted every single square and worked out the absolute centre from there) and tacking in the centre lines. After that I was finally able to begin.

It all came back to me, how addictive it is, the sense of achievement from every completed section and looking at the canvas beginning to take shape, and also the relaxation and peace you get from it. I now have a new favourite thing to do on Sunday mornings. I always do my beauty routine then, hair mask, let that sit in a towel for an hour, then full body scrub followed with lotion and a full facial. And now as I sit with my hair mask or face mask I am now sitting on the lounge with my tapestry while watching Sex and the City. Utterly relaxing as I get into the rhythmic flow of weaving the needle in and out. I was the most relaxed I have felt in a long time.So there is my work. I am totally loving re-discovering past hobbies. I wonder what it will turn into, and more importantly, who will be the lucky receiver of this gift? I know what I will be doing this weekend, what about you?

I Finally Gave In

The last two days I have had a headache, I woke up this morning and it was really really bad. Finally at 12:59pm I popped two white pills. Nurofen. After 6 months I finally gave in. Just to clarify no I do not, nor have I ever had a painkiller pill addiction. But 6 months ago I after some serious research into all the crap out there that I put into my body, medication, preservatives, additives, artificial sweetener, I decided I was going to take action. That action meant that I was going to cut out all the man made rubbish I was consuming as much as possible in a bid to have a more healthy, natural body.

Obviously it is an on-going process. But slowly I have made some significant changes, such as always using sugar, no more sweetener for me. That also means no more diet yoghurt and a whole range of "lite" dessert products. I now always check the ingredients to make sure I am not getting that stuff. Same goes for preservatives, I have changed to a lot of brands now because they are preservative free. Also I discovered a certain home brand had all their stuff made overseas, so even though it costs a little more, I get "Product Of Australia" everytime.

Anyway, part of this change was no more medication (except for the stuff from the Dr, but hopefully I can get off that at the end of the year). So if I had a headache I would drink more water, go for a walk outside, massage my neck, go to bed early, have something to eat or just walk away from the computer screen. It always worked. Until now, where it appears I have a migraine. So after sitting at my desk for over 4 hours in sheer pain I finally gave in and popped the pills. I didn't even have them in my bag, but The Boy insisted I take them to work today "just in case". I'm still waiting for them to kick in, I hope it is soon.

Oh well, it is done now, and if I begin to feel better soon it would have been worth it. Hopefully once I get home I can have a long soak in the bath and jump into bed and have a great nights sleep and feel a lot better in the morning. I will keep you posted.

Image: Flickr

Country Girl For A Day - Part Two

At around 6:30am on Sunday we managed to get out of bed. Usually when we go to visit The Boy's parents we are around 1-2 hours late, due to me and the fact that it takes me so long to get ready, but I knew that The Boy wanted to leave early so I decided to just get on with it and had a quick shower, put on a little make up and packed my bags. I even skipped breakfast just to ensure we could leave on time. He wanted to leave at 7:30 and at 7:45 we were pulling out of the garage. I was very pleased with myself on that achievement.

So the journey began up the freeway, it was a beautiful morning, and The Boy and I just chatted about life. We stopped for coffee and my breakfast and then we were off again. Towards the end of the freeway we spotted a cop in the medium strip with a radar. It wasn't an issue as The Boy wasn't speeding, however, 500 metres from the end of the freeway the cop was behind us and waving up to pull over. He got out and decided to breath test The Boy. No alcohol was present, which we knew. He asked to see his license, The Boy handed it over and the cop looked at it and pointed it out to us both that his license expired only THREE days ago! He said he would "run some checks" and went back to his car. Five minutes later he returned with a ticket of $400!!!! No demerit points, just $400!! No warning, nothing. It was only three days and the RTA wasn't open on Saturday as it was ANZAC day so when was The Boy meant to renew? I could understand if it was a month or something, but three days? What check was he running? To see if he had reached his monthly quota was my guess. Of course that now meant The Boy couldn't drive. The cop looked at me and said I would have to drive.

"She can't drive manual" said The Boy. The cop asked for my license, I gave it to him.
"Doesn't say here that you can't drive manual" he said returning it to me.
"Why can't you drive a manual?" He asked.
I opened my mouth to tell the cop "None of your business, you're not allowed to ask those questions" but The Boy jumped in and said "She lives in Sydney"
The cop nodded.
What just happened?? City people only drive auto's and country folk drive manual? I was about to speak up again but the cop said "Well you better get someone to pick you up."
I looked at him and said "Well I guess I better learn to drive manual pretty quickly then".
He gave me a dirty look and said to The Boy, "You have 21 days to pay that notice" and he left. It was time for me to learn to drive a manual.

The Boy put a call into his parents at 9:15 am for them to come and help, however while we were waiting I demanded to be shown what to do. The Boy looked at me, and looked around at his car that he bought brand new just over a year ago and reluctantly gave me instructions on what to do. There was a side street right where we pulled over and I went up and down that to get the hang of it and then it was onto the freeway for a few hundred metres and then over to Thornton. I pulled over to the side of the road a few times and several times stalled the car and started to panic as there were people behind me, but I managed to travel a few km's towards his parents house before they met us and rescued us both.

After a coffee stop we went back to their place and they had out for me old videos of The Boy. I loved it!! He was such a nerd back then, but so was I and we are both still nerds at heart so it works well. I saw him in a school play and playing in the family band (they are huge muso's his brother and mum both have albums out). I don't think he was thrilled about the trip down memory lane but I was loving it.

Afterwards we went into Morpeth. We took The Bus. The Bus is an old school bus (that only seated about 12 people) that they have turned into a little camping van. It sleeps 4 and has a fridge and freezer and is used primarily for travelling to and from shows. I had never seen it before but I loved it. We were told we could take it whenever we wanted to for travelling. Definitely going to take them up on that offer as it will save a lot in accommodation costs. We went to Morpeth, had pizza, looked around and finally headed home. Some family friends were waiting back there and before we could do anything The Boy's mum insisted that The Boy sing for us. It took a lot of persuading but he agreed and serenaded us all with Can't Help Falling In Love. It melted my heart and I was grateful I filmed it. Afterwards we all swooned over The Boy's car and a few of us had a very short ride in it before we ALL had to head back home to Sydney. His mum took her car with her friend and the other family friend took The Boy's car and we drove back home, arriving at around 10pm. A very very long day but it was a lot of fun.

Finally, I haven't worked out what it was or why, but during the day not once did I think about the future. That day was completely lived in the moment and it was so relaxing to do just that. The day also brought The Boy and I closer. I think with all the moving we have had recently and just life in general we had let the romance slip a little, but after being serenaded and cuddled and kissed on the cheek all day long with no thinking or planning or worrying, we are now in another place, a deeper place, and I am very very happy right now.

Country Girl For A Day - Part One

Yesterday The Boy and I went up the freeway to visit his parents. It was an amazing day and we both had a lot of fun. I took a few pics to show you just a glimpse of it all, and I will do another post about it later. Enjoy

A trip to Maccas on the way, we left at 7:45am on a Sunday so by half way up the freeway we both needed a coffee and I needed to eat breakfast which was an English muffin with jam. It is surprisingly easy spreading jam on a muffin doing 110 km/h.

I just love driving early in the morning, the feeling of anticipation about what the day may bring, but also a little bit of impatience as you want to ask, "Are we there yet?"

This is The Boy's brother's dog, Brandy, who greeted us at the door. After his brother left, The Boy 'inherited' Brandy, and once The Boy left she was left with his parents. She is a very loyal and playful dog, and approves of me as being the main woman in The Boy's life (something no one else has achieved....)

This is the view from his parent's back yard. They have all these wonderful gum trees at the back, while being surrounded by farms and several km's away there is national park. It is the perfect place for a picnic.

This is to the right of their house, more grazing land. Not many neighbours at all and plenty of fresh country air which my lungs were very grateful for.

We decided to go to Morpeth for lunch, I love Morpeth and the Hunter River provides a stunning backdrop.

As you can see it was a very very windy day, my hair was going everywhere, I was convinced I looked awful and I was very thankful for the warm clothes I put on.

This is Morpeth Bridge. To be honest I don't really get the whole fascination with Old World engineering, but I can appreciate the beauty in this bridge and driving over it definitely takes you back in time.

This is The Boy's car. The car that he bought (before he met me) and restored and did what boys do to cars. He is going to sell it (totally his decision, I had nothing to do with it, I am actually starting to grow fond of this car even though driving in it scares me and has me screaming to get out) and I have assured him, that once we have made some significant progress in our mortgage then he can buy another one.

A view I could get used to, you certainly do not see sunsets like this in Sydney.

Simple Life

This weekend has made me realise just how much I want a simple life. I want to move to the country and get away from Sydney. I was born and breed here and now that I am approaching 27 I have had enough. I am over all the noise, the sirens, the traffic, I hate that it takes so long to get anywhere because of all the traffic. I am over people, everywhere you go there are lots and lots of people everywhere. All in my face and making noise and getting in my way and no one has any idea on personal space.

The Boy and I went to the shops to get something. We decided to have coffee. We didn't enjoy it very much as there were multiple children screaming, and hundreds of people walking past, so much noise and so much movement, it was awful. Get me out of this place!!

I used to really like the noise of Sydney. I found comfort in knowing that there were so many people around, but now, I don't like it. I want to live on a farm and have some peace and quiet.

The Boy is a Country Boy, and when we go to his parents place there is so much peace. Everything is still and you can hear the birds. You cannot hear any cars. You look around and you see farmland and bushland and it is beautiful. The air is so clear. You go to the shops and you don't need to worry about finding a park, there are plenty of spots. There is room to move in the shopping centre, the volume of noise is right down that we can hear each other talk. You go to the bathroom and the woman walking out as you walk in actually holds the door open for you and smiles. In shock you smile and say "Thank You". That never happens in Sydney, in Sydney the woman slam the door in your face. In the country the shop assistants smile and wish you a good day, in Sydney they are too busy talking to even notice you and continue to rudely talk as they put your purchase through the cash register. I am so over this city.

I always knew deep inside I was a country girl, I had always dreamed of living on a farm when I was little, that was why I studied Agriculture at school and loved it, it was my best subject and I did exceptionally well at it. At the last minute I choose a Biology degree instead of Agriculture. I realise now that was a mistake, and plan to go back to uni next year and get that Agriculture degree. I know that was a big thing that attracted me to The Boy, that he was a Country Boy through and through.

So we have decided that next year we are moving, we are leaving Sydney and going up the coast, and into the hinterland. We are going to buy some land, I can always get another job, I can travel to uni two days a week by train, but I have had enough of Sydney. I want peace and I want a simple life. We both want space and silence. We want land and we want to get some animals and grow our own veggies. We want to live more naturally, no more eating processed rubbish, but instead, baking our own bread and making our own jam and just living a simple life. I know the peace I get when I visit his parents, and I want that, I believe that is the cure for my anxiety.

Above is a picture of a Pizza we ate at Morpeth. It was amazing, made of fresh ingredients and cooked in a real wood fire oven. I have never had pizza taste so good. The Simple Life is what I crave, and that is next years goal, to move into the country and to live a simple and peaceful life.