I did. I left the job I loved but was driving me crazy. It was a perfect use of my skills, interesting, challenging, fast paced...but it wasn't healthy. I was stressed, exhausted, frustrated and generally a horrible person to be around. It pushed me over a dark cliff and forced me to think about things I didn't want to think about.
12 months ago I quit my job to freelance as a website content writer. I've had fun, been busy, learned boring intricacies of Australia's tax system and met some wonderful people. I've also realised freelancing comes with incredible freedom and incredible amounts of admin. It had been a while since I had to do my own filing and it was a rather rude shock!
So where to from here?
I have no idea. I love writing. But I hate admin. And I love policy. But hate bureaucracy. There's a whole glorious world out there and I intend to be more open to it and trying new things.
And shh...don't tell, but I'm expecting my first child in December. I have no idea about children, how I'll cope or how my marriage and lifestyle will suffer. But I have my eyes open and am willing to find out!
Image credit: Passage of Time by ToniVC
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]]>I'm now standing in the nakedness of having made a Big Decision™ and I've noticed something pretty important (and not just that I'm a bit tubby).
Silenzio by Sunshinecity
Most people don't look at your stretch marks and knobbly knees.
When you share your vulnerabilities people rally around to support you, and not just those you would expect to.
Since I've let my guard down, I've forged new and closer relationships; truer relationships.
The glorious risk has certainly been glorious.
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]]>It kept popping its head up and I've largely been suppressing it - continuing on a path that wasn't working just to avoid a glorious risk.
And then it was all about to fall apart. All of the tiny neat stitches holding it all together started to come loose.
I was dropped into quiet and darkness and the spectre of a decision.
I've been quiet on this blog as I have been in my day to day life, allowing thoughts to silently, slowly wash over me without outside influences or editing.
Image credit: Nowhere by J. Star
As I allowed myself to venture into the quiet I found a different self. A self unafraid of quiet, unafraid of slow. A self prepared to be raw and exposed in a more genuine way.
I doubt I'm the only one who took advantage of fast-paced life and noise and chaos to avoid true reflection and self-understanding.
Nor am I the first to realise I was hiding behind urgency and using lack of time as a crutch for lack of guts.
Image credit: Sometimes the smallest touch is enough
Interestingly as I allow myself to accept my real self, I've got to know others better too. I've discovered that many of my friends have amazing skills and talents that I hadn't even begun to recognise before.
Over the next few weeks I'll tell you more about my own new direction and will also introduce you to some of my supremely talented friends.
I'm looking forward to hearing your stories too - please post your thoughts in the comments, or send them to me privately if you prefer.
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]]>It may not surprise my friends or regular readers of this blog but I don't have much patience for fancy-shmancy pseudo-coffee drinks.
You're likely to get a slightly odd look if you ask me for sugar in your coffee before tasting it - the same way I'll quietly glare at liberal use of salt and pepper before tasting my cooking.
I apologise to the girl behind me in the queue at Velvet the other day who ordered a large skinny decaf with two sugars - yes, I did laugh at you.
So now you see where I stand. Firmly in the uninformed but self-righteous camp.
True Love at Home
Which is why it eventually just wouldn't do to have an automatic coffee machine. While it produced coffee and it was free as it was my father's old machine, we tired of not-quite-good-enough coffee and regular servicing.
Isomac Tea
After a bit of consultation with the friendly people on the coffee snobs forum, a chat with the all-knowing king of self-righteousness himself, Matt from Abstract Gourmet (who will hopefully take that in the good humour with which it was intended) and a friendly tip from baristaapp on twitter, we decided on an Isomac Tea (pronounced Teh-ah).
For those clever about these things, it is an Italian-made HX machine with an E61 commercial group head. All I know is that it will look rather pretty in my kitchen and it makes fabulously rich, almost syrupy coffee.
My long-suffering husband who usually rolls his eyes when I tell him about something we "need" was way ahead of me on this one.
After I told him about various opinions, sent him links to look at and details of our friendly local stockist (thanks Ashley from Five Senses) it was all happening.
It took just one excellent ristretto and a fabulously textured flat white to sell him completely.
Stimulating the Economy - Thanks for the Rudd Bucks
Mazzer Mini-E
I do however know enough to know that there is no point having a great espresso machine without an even better grinder.
I've deployed my Rudd Bucks (for those outside of Australia, there has been an almighty cash handout of up to $900 per tax-payer earning under a particular amount) and bought Miss Tea a friend.
She's a Mazzer Mini-Electronic. Glad to see the money is going to those in need...
The Value Equation
While I'm not an advocate of wanton spending, I do believe very strongly in carefully budgeted luxuries.
My husband and I do drink a fair amount of coffee and we entertain at home a lot too.
Having excellent coffee at home will reduce the temptation to drink coffee out (and with it, often a piece of cake).
I'm also a proponent of the buy cheap buy twice - so always try to buy the best value (not necessarily the most expensive) I can afford.
Our new toys also contribute to one of our major goals - to enjoy time entertaining friends.
Photo credit: Holding Love by nicely85
I'm looking forward to wonderful coffee at home.
Things I do know about coffee
- The skill of the person operating the grinder and espresso machine is an important factor. Accordingly I'm sending my husband to the WA Barista Academy.
- Fresh coffee is everything. We buy our coffee freshly roasted from Five Senses
- Milk quality is important in a flat white or latte. We get Bannister Downs milk whenever we can - it becomes fabulous microfoam very easily.
- Michael at Cafe Grendel knows more than I could ever hope to know about coffee
- I prefer the taste of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe over Kopi Luwak, the world's most expensive coffee, pre-digested by an East-Javanese civet cat.
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]]>I read enough zen and life management blogs to know it really should be easy - do what you love and what is important to you.
Doing it all?
But what if you're a greedy Gen Y who wants it all?
Perhaps, just perhaps, having
- a stimulating, challenging career;
- health (including a healthy weight) and fitness without gyms, sacrifice or monotony;
- quality and quantity time with food, wine and the people I love;
- a conscious, sustainable, environmentally friendly lifestyle;
- being a domestic goddess (or something remotely resembling that); and
- contributing to society in a positive way;
all at once, really is impossible?
Life balance in 140 characters or less
I asked some of my friends on twitter to tell me how they created and maintained life balance. I'd like to share some of those ideas and comments with you.
sunili, who is what you could conservatively call a crazy brilliant high-achieving Gen Y (read all about it at de minimis ago curat blog) told me:
I don't but I try...
Oddly, it is rather reassuring to see that I'm not the only one struggling with this. Personally I think she's doing a pretty good job of managing her career and living in accordance with her ideals and convictions.
photo credit: justice is blind
I also got some practical advice from frank_in_oz:
I work my butt off 10 months of the year and have 2 months off for short breaks - hiking, travel, camping. Goal - work 6 mths
Frank is the consummate active traveller and outdoor lover and has hiked in some absolutely breathtaking places, including some of my favourite parts of the world.
This is great advice if you can swing it. My heart leaps at the thought of that much travel. But. What if the 10-month work cram is just too hard, or just not possible? My husband and I are in the stage of our careers where taking this sort of time off work each year is all but impossible.
photo credit: dove lake
Balance is the level of compromise you can live with.
Sage advice from hazelblackberry who proves you can do anything after a Bex and a Good Lie Down. I really think this is key.
photo credit: fruit balance
Via a tweet from tessgiles who blogs at Anchors and Masts I discovered Magpie Girl's Do Less Campaign. Magpie Girl reminds us that sometimes, it just isn't possible to do it all and we just have to do less. The campaign officially starts tomorrow, Friday 15 May and will be a step-by-step approach to doing less and feel better.
So if you're feeling like the balance just isn't happening, you might want to head over to Magpie Girl's blog to take a look.
Alternatively you could try what has been my strategy to date - try to do everything, over-commit, collapse in a heap and then fail at everything.
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]]>Now I've done my fair share of the latter (think impossibly perfect goat satay and delicate yet sharply spicy, flaky and moist fish, under a completely non-signposted and unlabelled umbrella set up halfway off a cliff just out of Pelabuhan Ratu for only a few hours every few days) but that kind of exploration takes serious planning and hard work. And just forget about matching wines with your dinner - the local stuff is closer to what you find in cardboard boxes back home - just slightly less refined.
But then there's Vanuatu. Inexplicably and incompetently jointly managed by the British and the French in its days as the New Hebrides, the French influence remains on the table.
Just don't leave your pain au chocolat on the table too long - the humidity here is no friend to pastry.
Organic beef, fresh coffee cherries, gargantuan tropical fruit and schools of deep sea fish find their home in the lush environs of Vanuatu. Combined with the precision of French training, enthusiastic local chefs and baristas, a wide selection of French wines and proper butter in the supermarket, white sand and gently cleansing waves, you've got something very special indeed.
Vanuatu is an island archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, just North-East of New Caledonia and West of Fiji. It is only a few hours flying time from the East coast of Australia. Flights are available from Sydney and Brisbane and fly to both Port Vila (the capital, on the island Efate) and Santo. Vanuatu is also only a hop, skip and a jump from New Zealand.
The local Ni-Vanuatu people mainly engage in subsistence agriculture but the tourism industry is a growing source of employment. We met locals who proudly showed us their community crops, including bananas, coconuts and the oddly named breadfruit tree, which were tended to and available to the whole village. We were also shown markers in the water that were used to rotate fishing locations and protect fishing stocks for future generations.
The welcome we received from the locals was significantly friendlier than that given to some early European arrivals - many of whom soon became star attractions at the dinner table.
Vanuatu is now better known for its beautiful beaches, amazing scuba diving and snorkeling. There are American WWII relics that were thrown into the sea after the war and now make interesting and relatively accessible dive sites.
As keen snorkellers we spent plenty of time underwater. The visibility from the surface is impressive, particularly if you can avoid the touristy areas which have suffered from coral bleaching.
For political, military and history buffs, Vanuatu's past is interesting and worth discovering. Its recent status as a tax haven and the zero income tax also make it an interesting proposition - but be warned - it seems that the Australian Federal Police are as fond of Vanuatu as we are, and the Vanuatu Government is being increasingly cooperative.
Check back later or subscribe to see my reviews of accommodation and dining options in Vanuatu.
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]]>Yes. it is Wednesday today, not Monday, but remember that I promote flexibility! Unfortunately I'm getting far more acquainted with my office than I'd like and the whole working for a living thing is getting in the way of blogging at times.
So what are we eating this week?
On Monday, we had spaghetti and meatballs. This is really a cheat's meal and I love it. My local butcher (or his mother) makes lovely italian style herbed meatballs and sells a whole tray fresh for about $3.50.
It's a matter of browning some onion and garlic, sealing the tiny meatballs and then simmering them in a rich tomatoey sauce (try crushed tomatoes plus passata or bottled pasta sauce, with a generous amount of salt and pepper, plus oregano, thyme, parsley or whatever herbs you have lying around) until you can stand it no more, and serving over al dente spaghetti.
On Tuesday we went out for dinner. It is wonderful to take the opportunity to relax over someone else's cooking and talk about the few things we each do at work that isn't classified. Luckily we always have plenty of other things to talk about - a conversation about what was done in 10 hours of work is over within about 30 seconds.
I have the day off on Wednesday so I get to visit the friendly butcher, baker and candlestick maker. Well not really. I don't know a candlestick maker. I am toddling off to the fishmonger to get some freshly cooked crab - to make Angelhair pasta with crab and lemon. This recipe was on last week's menu but was rudely rescheduled due to that silly work thing I do from time to time.
Check back later on for the recipe and run down on this one.
We'll be graced with the presence of my sister and her boyfriend on Thursday night and I'll be making the risotto with tomato, prosciutto and basil that I planned to cook for them last week. My clever last-minute-cooking sister is going to bring something lovely for dessert.
On Friday we'll throw together some homemade pizzas - I'm thinking rocket (aragula), smoked salmon, red (spanish) onion, fetta, capers. We cook the bases brushed with olive oil and spices and then add the other ingredients cold, once the base is cooked.
On Saturday we'll be having some lamb cutlets in a spicy crumb, served with steamed greens, saffron basmati rice, eggplant kasundi and natural yoghurt.
As usual we'll be doing the family thing on Sunday.
Photo: Knife and Fork by nickwheeleroz
So how's your week shaping up? Leave a comment and let me know and then pop over to Chive Talkin' and I'm an Organizing Junkie to see what other people are eating this week.
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]]>On Monday, I told you what I'd be eating this week. Like many of you, I have a somewhat crazy, hectic existence, juggling work, home, family, friends, blogging, admiring handbags and more.
Sometimes things don't go to plan.
In fact, that is why I plan. It makes things easier when it all goes wrong.
The hiccup
On Wednesday, I planned to go to the butcher (opening hours aren't all that open here in Perth-town) but ended up in the office instead.
Surprisingly, I couldn't find any lovely cooked crab or fresh, home-made angelhair pasta or even any beautifully hung sirloin steak in my CBD office. I did however find an overstuffed in-tray, too many emails and a meeting or two. Not that tasty. But hey - I had leftovers for dinner! Thanks, Tuesday!
The complication
By Thursday, my eyes were bulging, my nose was running and my brain was trying to chip its way out of my skull. I DO NOT HAVE SWINE FLU. My husband announced he would be going to the pub after work (sometimes he forgets about the existence of Fridays).
At about 7:30pm it occured to me I should probably find out if he intended to come home any time soon. He told me he'd be getting the 8:00 bus home. Good. Great. I continued to chat to a friend on facebook.
Photo: Bus Stop 3 by Bartek Kuzia
At 8:10 he called when he remembered that there *is* no bus at 8:00pm. So I threw some clothes on, got in the car and proceeded to drive a few blocks past where I said I'd pick him up. A roundabout or two later he was in the car, it was 8:30pm and we were hungry (and he was slightly drunk). We went to KFC and had zinger burgers (no chips!).
Photo: I'm sorry, I can't be perfect by Leeo
It wasn't that bad. I am not perfect.
The plan is dead
So, here comes Friday, my brain had pushed itself halfway out my right eye, the house was spinning and my tongue didn't know how to make sounds any more. My husband called a few times and on the 3rd time I answered it and slurred at him that he should come home early because gobbledegook. I don't know if he responded because I think I hung up then.
He got home at 4:30pm (I was still in bed), he attended to the dry cleaning and then made dinner of some sort. It resembled food and I ate it and I think I felt better because then I went to sleep.
Photo: body by wise.adam
Flexibility - adapt, change, compromise!
A menu plan is a guideline to make things easier for yourself - when grocery shopping, when you get home tired from work and don't have to think about what to cook.
It is not the be all and end all.
It must be flexible.
As Chive Talkin says - you rule your menu plan - it does not rule you!
What now?
So now it is Saturday and I'm about to head off to the friendly neighbourhood butcher to pick up some steak. The herbs and vegetables are in the fridge waiting to be turned into seared beef and noodle Thai-inspired loveliness.
I'm cooking the beef first, not the crab, because coriander and mint can be a little fragile in the fridge, whereas lemons grow on trees. I'm also still slightly delirious and feverish (if you can't tell) and it is always easier to cook something you've cooked a million times.
The angelhair and crab now gets moved onto next week's menu and my sister, her boyfriend and my grandmother can call in a dinner rain check. Easy!
How was it for you?
Did you have a crazy week? Or did things go to plan for you? Let me know in the comments.
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]]>I've previously mentioned how I use technology to plan my meals and write my shopping list. Of course, not everything is digital - I still have handwritten, scribbled notes and many favourite, sauce splattered and annotated cookbooks.
Try something new
I like to try at least one new recipe a week, and this may come from a cookbook, an idea posted on another blog, or something I invented in my sleep (this happens fairly often). This meal is usually scheduled for a weekend or a day I'm not in the office. I like to make things as easy for myself as possible.
Keep it fresh
My planning also takes into account my access to fresh produce. I prefer not to freeze steak or seafood for example, so I will always plan those meals around when I can buy fresh.
Save time with bulk cooking
I also like to ensure that at least one meal a week is something that can be doubled or tripled. I prefer not to have the same meal twice in a week but instead will use the extra from the first meal to make something a bit different. Alternatively I will prepare something and freeze it so we won't starve if I'm sick or I get home late.
This week I spread out some cookbooks and clicked through some favourite foodie websites. My husband chose Jill Dupleix's Angelhair with crab and lemon as the new recipe on this week's meal plan. He gets extra bonus points for choosing something quick, easy and light. He usually doesn't!
Photo credit: Betty Crocker by 427
Keep records
My planning system also includes recording each day's meals on our synchronised google calendars. It avoids the mid-day phone call, "what are we having for dinner tonight?" And here it is for you.
Monday:
Garlic and chilli king prawns stir-fried with onion and still crispy red capsicum, green beans and broccoli, lightened with oodles of fresh parsley, served on steamed Basmati (I use Basmati a lot as it is lower GI than other types) rice. I'd prefer brown rice but I haven't won that battle in my household yet.
Tuesday:
Home-made chilli and herb crumbed chicken schnitzels (oven baked), with macaroni cheese, roast grape tomatoes, baked herb field mushrooms, steamed greens. For some reason unknown to me, my macaroni cheese provokes bizarre reactions of rapture amongst my friends and family. My husband regularly begs me to make this, and due to the fact it is so insanely easy, I do indulge him. My version isn't too heavy either - the sauce is a roux enriched with mustard, cheese and herbs and lightened with low-fat milk.
This meal will give me leftovers - extra cooked chicken schnitzels to go into the freezer (I can then pull them out later, defrost in the fridge overnight, then top with a tomatoey sauce and cheese, then chuck under the grill) plus leftover macaroni cheese to have with a salad for lunch on Wednesday.
Wednesday:
Angelhair pasta with crab and lemon plus a simple garden salad. With any luck I'll be able to buy some fresh pasta from the Italian place down the road, but if not I have some decent quality dried pasta in the pantry. I don't mind making my own pasta but I'm better at ravioli or lasagne sheets that don't need as much precision!
I'm not in the office on Wednesday so I can skip over to the fishmonger and then the butcher for tomorrow's dinner.
Thursday:
Seared beef and rice noodle salad. I can make this one in my sleep and it is lovely and fresh and flavourful.
Friday:
My grandmother, my sister and her boyfriend are coming over for dinner to have my famous risotto. This one will have prosciutto, tomato, basil and baby spinach. We'll go heavy on the carbs with some home-made bread and a few simple salads. Dessert is likely to be sorbet and fruit or perhaps some cupcakes if I get time.
Saturday:
Duck salad with rocket and baby spinach, just warm slow-roasted tomatoes, red onion, capsicum and snow peas, drizzled with chilli jam.
Sunday:
On Sunday nights we usually have dinner with my parents or in-laws. Otherwise it'll be a quiet night at home with takeaway Thai or a wood-fired pizza with a few glasses of wine.
If you'd like to see what other people are cooking this week, you'll find more meal plans at I'm an Organizing Junkie and Chive Talkin.
Check back later in the week for recipe reviews and results!
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]]>My exercise philosophy has always been no. Too hard, too boring, too sweat inducing, just no. Until that horrid turning point in my life when my previously fast metabolism decided to be as lazy as I am. All of a sudden I started putting on weight. And it didn't come off.
While I'm modifying my eating to be more healthy, even I have to admit that being active has to be part of the bargain.
A way to a healthy life by Abdullah AL-Naser
I considered a number of options for introducing exercise into my life. Despite the fact that I can't see the logic in working more hours to be able to afford more things to save ourselves time and effort and then paying to exert ourselves, I was even prepared to invest some money in my future health and fitness.
Swimming at the local pool
Good:
- I'm not completely hopeless at it
- Not expensive
- Easy to get to
Not so good:
- Crowded swimming lanes
- Being seen in my bathing suit
- Poo in the pool
Gym near home
Good:
- Not pretentious: low number of posers
- Not ridiculously expensive
- Easy to get to
- My husband and some friends go there
Not so good:
- Gym equipment confuses me
- My husband and some friends go there
- I'd have to get up before 6:00am
Gym near work
Good:
- I could go immediately before or after work, or during lunch
- Lots of nice equipment
- Great, encouraging staff who will show me not to look like an idiot
Not so good:
- Sweaty gym hair at work (ew) or wet hair for the rest of the day (it takes two hairdressers a long time to blow-dry my hair)
- I'd have to take gym gear/makeup/work clothes on the bus to and from work
Jogging or running by myself
Good:
- Fresh air
- Can do it anywhere
- Free!
Not so good:
- How would I stay focussed?
- I have no idea what I'm doing
As tempted as I am to say that the above lists prove that exercise is no good, I did some more research.
Lazy Cat by dougww
I found out about the Couch to 5K program. The program was designed by Cool Running and involves, um, running. The program is a gradual one, progressing from couch level fitness (which is where I'm sitting right now) to being able to run 5 kilometres. At once. Without stopping. It takes about 2 months to get to that point (although depending on fitness level it can be slowed down a bit) and involves a three day a week commitment.
The Couch to 5K website gives you a handy guide for how to progress your running. There is a schedule (I like schedules) prescribing what to do on each run. This solves my problem of not knowing what to do or how to do it.
To keep up the motivation and to make it easy, Robert Ullrey has made a series of podcasts for the program, incorporating music and directions on when to run and slow down during the workout. I found my husband's old ipod and was able to easily load them all on.
To top it all off, you don't have to pay a cent for the program or the podcasts. It is all provided free from the goodness of peoples' hearts. I figure if they're going to do all this to help me get fit and healthy the least I can do is get on with it.
So I checked with my doctor, (which is a very good idea if you're starting a new fitness program, particularly if you have medical conditions, are overweight, over 40 or just hopeless like me) and with her approval I've gotten off the couch.
What you need to start
- Couch to 5K program
- Couch to 5K podcasts
- An ipod, mp3 player or mobile phone that can play mp3s
- 45 minutes, 3 times a week
- Properly fitted running shoes
- Health check-up with your doctor
I'm now at week one - which means we can do it together if you'd like to join me. I'd also like to know what fitness and exercise you prefer and what your health goals are - tell me in the comments below.
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