teaquotes1aThis month I am grateful that I could raise money for brilliant causes by taking part in three challenges – and yes, the nothing but water to drink for two weeks was infinitely harder than the walk 65km in a week challenges šŸ™‚ I am grateful to everyone who sponsored me, and to my sweet husbee for offering to join me, although one was one challenge I didn’t expect him to take part in with me…

With thanksā€¦ Tuesday March 1ā€¦
Today Iā€™m grateful that it wasnā€™t an office day, cos I went to bad with a blinding migraine last night, and woke up with one this morning. So it was a kinda sucky day, and the painkillers werenā€™t much help, so I didnā€™t get much work done, and I didnā€™t work out, which is pretty unheard of!
But Iā€™m glad I managed to get a little bit of editing done as it finally began to ease a little late at nightā€¦
And Iā€™m grateful for time with Juz tonightā€¦

2016_march_nature_instaWith thanksā€¦ Wednesday March 2ā€¦
Today I am grateful for the beauty of my neighbourhood as I walked home after work ā€“ I discovered the coolest community garden that had taken over a car spot or two, with a little sign saying people were welcome to take a few leaves for their dinner, but to please not steal the plants. Nature in the city makes me so happyā€¦
Iā€™m glad I got up early to do a workout ā€“ T25 Gamma ā€“ although my heart wasnā€™t really in it ā€“ think Iā€™m a little over everything mentally at the moment, which is making everything a struggleā€¦
And Iā€™m glad I made it through a crazy/busy day at workā€¦

With thanksā€¦ Thursday March 3ā€¦
Today Iā€™m grateful for time to get a bit more organised for the Story Queens launch next week. It will be fun!
Iā€™m glad I made myself work out, even though I really really didnā€™t want to šŸ™‚ Some days require way more convincing than others! Lucky I have some favourites to fall back on ā€“ today was an hour of Pumpā€¦
And Iā€™m grateful for a quiet night in with Juz ā€“ we watched Love, Rosie, and drank lots of tea, and then I even read a book for a little while. Bliss!

With thanksā€¦ Friday March 4ā€¦
Tonight I am grateful for dinner with Mum and Juzā€¦
Iā€™m grateful for the cooler breeze as I walked to the station, and the more obvious signs of autumn in the airā€¦
Iā€™m happy that I managed to fit in an hour of BodyCombat before work (early mornings still suck though ā€“ wish they didnā€™t!), and that I hit 15,000 steps for the dayā€¦
Iā€™m glad I got lots done at the magazines, although I still feel a little like Iā€™m banging my head against a wall at timesā€¦
Iā€™m happy that Labor moved a motion to allow a vote for marriage equality in parliament today, but disappointed (yet unsurprised) that the Libs denied it. But itā€™s only a matter of timeā€¦
And Iā€™m excited ā€“ yet bummed ā€“ that the proof copy of my new mini project arrived today, but instead of the courier leaving it at the office downstairs, they took it to the post office, and not the post office thatā€™s open on a Saturday morning. So I have to wait until Monday to pick it up šŸ™

With thanksā€¦ Saturday March 5ā€¦
Today Iā€™m grateful for a day at home with Juz, drinking tea, reading a bit, plotting and planning, and just hanging outā€¦
Iā€™m happy that I got some editing work done ā€“ I can finally see the end of it, thank god!
Iā€™m grateful for a long chat with Dadā€¦
Iā€™m grateful for some more launch planning with the Story Queens ā€“ not long now!
And Iā€™m grateful for a quiet night in with Juz, watching To Kill A Mockingbird. So sad, but amazingā€¦

With thanksā€¦ Sunday March 6ā€¦
OMG! Tonight I am so so grateful to my favourite artist. And so excited! And kinda speechless at the mind-blowing amazingness of her work! I canā€™t reveal anything yet, but squeeeee! Iā€™m so so happy!
Iā€™m so grateful to the friends who have sponsored me in the Walk In Her Shoes Challenge and/or the Water Aid Water Challenge, which both kick off tomorrow. Iā€™m a bit nervous about giving up tea/juice/coffee/milk/protein shakes/etc, but it will be interesting! Have been chain-drinking tea tonight in preparation, ha ha.
Iā€™m grateful that I did a fair bit of work today on the editing project ā€“ although the hour before midnight I was too excited, hee hee!
Iā€™m grateful for a beautiful day with Juz, and grateful to him for making me cups of tea while I worked.
And Iā€™m glad I made it to bed by midnight as promised. Didnā€™t get to sleep, but I was lying there, so thatā€™s gotta count, right?

2016_feb_dawnWith thanksā€¦ Monday March 7ā€¦ Day 1 Walk In Her Shoes (20,379 steps) + Water Aid Water Challengeā€¦
Today Iā€™m excited that I finally got the proof of my new mini project, and it looks very cool! All will be revealed at the Story Queens launch on Friday šŸ™‚
Iā€™m happy that I hit 20,379 steps for my first day of Walk In Her Shoes ā€“ itā€™s 10,000 a day, so I have a little up my sleeve just in caseā€¦ And it was really beautiful ā€“ I am so grateful for the awesome park we have across the road from us. I left in the pre-dawn almost-dark, and every step was a photo opportunity, from the teeny tiny waning crescent moon that slowly faded into the pink/lavender/gold of the sky as the sun prepared to rise, to all the cute creatures ā€“ pelicans, swamp hens (including a couple of baby ones!), young magpies, ducks, butterflies, birds. And dogs, there were lots of dogs. The sky was amazing, going from just-after-dark to the sun rising half an hour into my walk, and climbing through the second half. And I only sighed a little bit when the cafe in the park opened just as I was walking past there, and I could smell the freshly brewed coffee. Iā€™m earning these sponsorship dollars for sure šŸ™‚
Iā€™m glad I got lots done at the magazines, although this is a stupidly crazy week again, and it was annoying that I had to stay lateā€¦
Iā€™m glad (sorta!) that I saw the chiropractor, and happy that it was a 3000 step walk there and back šŸ™‚
And Iā€™m grateful to Juz for precious time together when I made it homeā€¦

With thanksā€¦ Tuesday March 8ā€¦ Day 2 Walk In Her Shoes (11,229 steps) + Water Aid Water Challengeā€¦ Dark Moon blessingsā€¦
Wishing everyone beautiful blessings of the dark moon, as we approach the new moon and the eclipse. May you find the strength and courage to look within at this potent time. Bright blessings xx
Tonight Iā€™m grateful for dinner with Mum and the Diggers, before she heads back home in the morning. (I sure missed our customary cup of tea afterwards though!)
Iā€™m happy that the copies of my new mini book arrived, in plenty of time for the launch on Friday.
Iā€™m glad I managed to record my mini video for our launch ā€“ it was mortifying, and so bizarre to see myself that way, but I did it šŸ™‚
Not so happy that I woke up with a blinding migraine at 1am, and barely slept all night, and felt terrible all day. Not sure if it was just a worse than usual migraine, or caffeine withdrawal, or a bit of both. But I drank lots of water (cos thatā€™s all I can drink, ha ha!), and set off on my walk at 8am, around the neighbourhood, since the park would be too hot and shade-free by then. But it was still really pretty ā€“ lots of frangipani trees, orange jessamine, gardenias, lots of pretty purple flowers and lush green jacaranda trees and a cat who stopped to say hello as I walked past. Shame I felt like throwing up, ha ha. Funny too, I really noticed that every single person I passed was holding a coffee cup. Except for one ā€“ but she was telling her little daughter that they had to get mummy a coffee first, then theyā€™d get the busā€¦
Still, I managed more than eleven thousand steps for the day, so all good, Iā€™m still on track with my challenges! (If anyone would like to sponsor me for the Water Challenge, my page is here xx)

With thanksā€¦ Wednesday March 9ā€¦ Day 3 Walk In Her Shoes (16,035 steps) + Water Aid Water Challengeā€¦ New Moon blessingsā€¦
New moon blessings! Wishing you a month ahead filled with love, inspiration, creativity, passion and joy, and the power of the eclipse to push you forward with your dreams xx
Today Iā€™m grateful that I woke up feeling amazing. No migraine, and not exhausted. Seems sleep really does have magical qualities šŸ™‚
Iā€™m grateful for the beauty of the world as it wakes up ā€“ I walked through the park again this morning, up and down hills, around the lakes, through the trees, around the oval that was all mist-shrouded and cool-breezed, and past pelicans, swamp hens, butterflies and so many gorgeous birds, all while the sun began to slowly peek over the horizon then sail up into the sky all blazing gold and beautiful.
Iā€™m glad I survived a stupidly stressful day at the magazines ā€“ my own fault, I could have not suggested doing an extra 16-page craft section, but it seemed only fair since there was no gift with this issueā€¦
Iā€™m happy that I passed 16K steps for the Walk In Her Shoes Challenge, and that I survived another day without tea šŸ™‚
And although I had to work back a bit, Iā€™m grateful for precious time with Juz when I made it homeā€¦

With thanksā€¦ Thursday March 10ā€¦ Day 4 Walk In Her Shoes (13,200 steps) + Water Aid Water Challengeā€¦
Today Iā€™m glad I got up early and did an hour of BodyCombat before work, and happy that I passed 13K steps for the day šŸ™‚
Iā€™m glad I got lots of work done at the mags, and managed to send everything that needed to go for approval before leaving, although not getting home til late again made me a bit sad ā€“ I miss Juz!
Not so grateful for a migraine today, but it was just a normal range one, and the painkillers worked, so it was okayā€¦
And Iā€™m excited about our Story Queens launch tomorrow! xx

2016_march_sqlaunch2With thanksā€¦ Friday March 11ā€¦ Day 5 Walk In Her Shoes + Water Aid Water Challengeā€¦
Today Iā€™m grateful for an awesome launch day for the Story Queens website. And Iā€™m glad I switched my days so that I worked at the mags yesterday, because although I was only hosting for an hour Friday night, I was in and out all day, chatting and having a super-fun time with so many book lovers!
Iā€™m grateful to my awesome fellow Story Queens for a wonderful event, and all our meetings and catch ups and sharing of advice and support and inspirationā€¦
Iā€™m grateful for cool conversations with so many lovely people, and fantastic entries for the competitions, including the most adorable character art paintings/drawings.
I was excited to reveal and launch the Into the Mists Journal, and grateful that I sold a few too šŸ™‚
Iā€™m grateful to Juz, for being so sweet and supportive, and not complaining that I was online for most of the night, and for making sure I had enough sparkling water to drink, along with a little bit of chocolate (Iā€™m sticking with the ā€œcaffeine-withdrawalā€ excuse for having a few squares in lieu of tea, ha ha!), although he felt sad he couldnā€™t make me cups of tea.
And Iā€™m grateful that I walked so many extra kilometres this week, because I woke up with a really sore neck, so didnā€™t work out straight away, then ran out of time to go for a long walk with all the launch excitement. So although I didnā€™t hit my steps for the day for the Walk In Her Shoes challenge, Iā€™m still way over for the weekā€¦

With thanksā€¦ Saturday March 12ā€¦ Day 6 Walk In Her Shoes + Water Aid Water Challengeā€¦
Today Iā€™m grateful for a fun morning with my Story Queens friends.
Iā€™m grateful for the beauty of the world ā€“ the dawning of a beautiful sunny day in Sydney as I walked to the station before I was quite awake, the beauty of the mists turning the world soft and grey as the train snaked through the national parks, then sunshine again on the Central Coast for our catch-up.
Iā€™m glad I got some editing work done on the trip, although I did doze off a little here and there šŸ™‚
Iā€™m grateful for time to catch up on comments and comp entries from yesterdayā€™s launch, and grateful for a few orders of my new book šŸ™‚
Iā€™m glad I managed to fit in almost 10,000 steps for Walk In Her Shoesā€¦
And Iā€™m grateful for a little bit of time with Juz before I headed back onlineā€¦

With thanksā€¦ Sunday March 13ā€¦ Day 7 Walk In Her Shoes + Water Aid Water Challengeā€¦
Today Iā€™m grateful to Juz for his patience. I was back at the Story Queens launch for quite a while, replying to comments and judging the comps, then signing books and packaging them up so I could take them to the express post box by 5pm šŸ™‚ So next weekend, no work at allā€¦
Iā€™m frustrated that my neck is still so sore ā€“ I havenā€™t been able to work out the last couple of days, which is driving me crazyā€¦
And Iā€™m grateful that I walked so many extra steps early in the week, because the last few days have been so busy that Iā€™ve been a bit under ā€“ but Iā€™ve walked 65km this week, so I more than hit my 50km goal for Walk In Her Shoes šŸ™‚ And I havenā€™t drunk anything but water, so as much as I miss my cups of tea, I can tick off week one of the Water Aid Challenge too.

With thanksā€¦ Monday March 14ā€¦ Day 1 Water Aid Walk (20,186 steps) + Water Aid Water Challenge day 8ā€¦
Today Iā€™m grateful for the beauty of the dawn sky as I walked through the park ā€“ it was so much more vividly orange and deep pink and gold than last weekā€™s gentler, subtler colours, heralding a grey and cloudy morning, and hopefully a slightly cooler weekā€¦
Iā€™m glad I got some urgent work done at the magazines early, before meeting a friend to go to the Kung Fu Panda 3 screening (itā€™s very cute), then catch up for a little while of calm amidst the storm.
Not to grateful that by the time I got back to work my head was killing me and I felt horribly nauseous. I got a bit more work done before having to leave ā€“ and made it halfway home on the bus before having to get off and walk, worried that Iā€™d throw up in public (made it home though, phew!). Plus side, I passed 20,000 steps for the day, a great start for the Water Aid Walk Challenge. And the no tea, just water continued into its second week. Man I canā€™t wait for a super strong earl grey tea! Six days to go!
And Iā€™m grateful for some time with Juz when he got home, an episode of Flash, a couple more orders to package up, and making it to bed just before midnightā€¦

2016_march_prizes_waterWith thanksā€¦ Tuesday March 15ā€¦ Day 2 Water Aid Walk (10,516 steps) + Water Aid Water Challenge Day 9ā€¦
Today I am grateful to everyone who has sponsored me for the Water Aid Water Challenge and the Water Aid Walk Challenge. Itā€™s been a pretty intense fortnight, but itā€™s worth every second of missing my cups of tea to be able to raise money to help people in our region who donā€™t have access to the bare necessity of safe drinking water.
Iā€™m grateful for grey skies and soft rainā€¦
Iā€™m happy that I got a chunk of editing done on the trilogyā€¦
Iā€™m grateful for lovely messages from prize winners from the Story Queens launchā€¦
Iā€™m glad I passed 10,000 steps for the day, mostly due to a long walk to the post office to send out a few more book ordersā€¦
Not so grateful for the migraine, but relieved that my neck seems to be almost better…
And Iā€™m grateful for time with Juz when he got home from workā€¦

2016_march_earthhourWith thanksā€¦ Saturday March 19ā€¦ Day 6 Water Aid Walk (10,167 steps) + Water Aid Water Challenge Day 13ā€¦ Earth Hourā€¦
Tonight I am grateful to Juz, for sitting in the dark with me during Earth Hour, enjoying the cool breeze and the night-time quiet, the scent of apple and cinnamon candles and the play of candle flame in the apartment, just hanging out, dreaming, scheming, no distractions, just beingā€¦
Iā€™m glad I took the day off from working, to spend time with my beloved after last weekendā€™s launch craziness. We watched some Once Upon A Time (okay, a fair bit), and just chilled out and enjoyed being at home togetherā€¦
Iā€™m glad I did a cool hour of BodyCombat, and passed 10,000 steps for the day, and managed to resist tea for another day. I really canā€™t wait til Monday though, so I can finally have a cuppa!
Friday I still had a migraine, but at the least the painkillers worked šŸ™‚ I got up early to do an hour of BodyCombat, then got quite a bit done at the magazines, and even managed to leave on time for once! Had a beautiful night in with Juz, and at some chocolate ā€“ itā€™s making me feel better about no tea, ha ha, and I ended up hitting 13,600 steps for the day, so all goodā€¦

Thursday I was happy it was one of my days, so I could work on my book, and package up a few orders, and walk the long way to the post office to hit my Water Aid Walk Challenge steps ā€“ 10,155 for the day. And the end of my two week drink-only-water challenge is drawing closer to the end, phew!

Wednesday my head was hurting, but I got up early and fought my way through an hour of BodyCombat, and ended up hitting 12,835 steps for the Water Aid Walk Challenge by the end of the day. Work was crazy, and my head has been pretty bad this week, which is making me a bit sad and grumpy, although I hide it well šŸ™‚ And Iā€™m grateful to all the people who have sponsored me for these kooky challenges ā€“ Iā€™m happy that Iā€™m raising money for a great causeā€¦

With thanksā€¦ Sunday March 20ā€¦ Day 7 Water Aid Walk (12,031 steps) + Water Aid Water Challenge Day 14ā€¦
Today I am so grateful to everyone who sponsored me over the past two weeks to help raise money for Care Australia and WaterAid Australia. Itā€™s beenā€¦ interesting šŸ™‚ Some days the walking wasnā€™t too hard ā€“ I managed two 20,000-steps-a-day days, and the early morning power walks up and down hills and around the lakes in our backyard park were beautiful ā€“ but other days were tougher. But it was the drink-nothing-but-water challenge that was the hardest for me šŸ™‚ Knowing I was raising money for two great causes made it worth it thoughā€¦
Iā€™m grateful for an early morning walk through the park for my last day of the WaterAid Walking Challenge, and the beauty of the day as it dawned, and the cool breeze that tempered the heat of the sun. I love autumn!
Iā€™m grateful for a cute adventure into town with Juz, for hanging out in comic and bookshops, and finding a birthday present for his work friend, and birthday cake for the Diggersā€¦
Iā€™m grateful for a beautiful afternoon tea (minus the tea for me!) to celebrate my uncleā€™s birthday, and catching up and lots of laughterā€¦
And Iā€™m grateful for a quiet night in with Juz, and an early night šŸ™‚

teaquotes4With thanksā€¦ Monday March 21ā€¦ Pump Revolution x 2 + 11,059 stepsā€¦ Equinox blessings!
Equinox blessings! Mabon love to my friends in the south, and an enchanted Ostara to my friends in the north. Wishing you much love and strength and harmony at this time of balance within nature and ourselves xx
Today I am grateful I could drink tea again šŸ™‚ Itā€™s funny how much I missed it. It was also cool to be able to take my liquid iron again, and have a protein shake after a tough Pump workoutā€¦
Iā€™m glad I got up early so I could fit in an extended upper body-focused Pump session before workā€¦
Iā€™m glad I got lots done at the magazines, and am happy that I could take a lunch break ā€“ I went to Gloria Jeans and did some trilogy editing while drinking a big soy chai šŸ™‚
Iā€™m grateful for beautiful comments about my books, and a couple of ordersā€¦
Iā€™m grateful for the soothing rain in the morning, and blue skies and golden light by the time I left work.
And Iā€™m grateful for time with Juz when I got home, a couple of book orders, some Once Upon A Time, and no migraine for a third day, hooray! xx

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me!
Over the last two weeks Iā€™ve undertaken three challenges to raise money for two great causes ā€“ and thanks to my lovely friends, I raised almost $800 between the two.
Someone asked me why I take part in these events, and I guess the answer is because I can. I am so fortunate ā€“ plentiful food and water, a safe place to live, access to education and healthcare and so much that we so often take for granted ā€“ so I feel that the least I can do to show my gratitude is to pay it forward and help people who arenā€™t as blessed as me. It especially breaks my heart that so many girls and women in developing countries are denied all of these things, and especially the most fundamental necessity, of access to clean drinking waterā€¦
The first week I walked 65km as part of Care Australiaā€™s Walk In Her Shoes, to help women and girls who have to walk an average of 6km every day to collect water and food and firewood. The money raised will provide these essential items close to home so that girls have more time for school, women can earn an income and together they can help their communities step out of poverty.
CARE Australia (www.care.org.au) is an international humanitarian aid organisation with a special focus on helping women and girls lift themselves and their communities out of poverty, and Walk In Her Shoes aims to raise money and awareness for projects that help break the cycle of poverty.
The second week I walked 72km as part of WaterAidā€™s Walk For Water Challenge.
And for both weeks I drank nothing but water as part of WaterAidā€™s Drink Water Challenge, where I made ā€˜just waterā€™ my only beverage to raise money to help provide lifesaving safe water to others. This one was the most challenging for me, because I missed my cups of tea! But it was worth it ā€“ thanks to my awesome friends who sponsored me, I raised almost $360 for WaterAid for the water drinking challengeā€¦
WaterAid Australia (www.wateraid.org/au) is a member of WaterAid, an international non governmental organisation whose mission is to transform the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people by improving access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. WaterAid Australia coordinates and funds programmes in Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon IslandsĀ and Timor-Leste, four of the poorest countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Drink Water Challenge
Walk for WaterAid
Walk In Her Shoes

2016_march_once_jillWith thanksā€¦ Tuesday March 22ā€¦ Jillian + 10,417 stepsā€¦
Today Iā€™m grateful for the soft grey rain and cooler dayā€¦
Iā€™m happy that I woke up feeling sore from yesterdayā€™s extended upper body focused Pump workout šŸ™‚ And Iā€™m glad I got up early and did a Jillian lower body workout.
Iā€™m grateful that I had a couple of book orders, so I had to walk to the post office ā€“ I went the long way to get more steps in šŸ™‚
Iā€™m happy that I got some work done on the trilogy edits ā€“ I want to be done by the end of this week!
And Iā€™m grateful for a quiet night in with Juz, and an episode of Once Upon A Time (I thought you lovely Lynn)ā€¦

With thanksā€¦ Wednesday March 23ā€¦ Pump + 10,210 stepsā€¦ Full Moon Blessingsā€¦
Wishing everyone love, joy and magic on this beautiful full moon night. May its sweet light illuminate you with inspiration and inner wisdom this month, and the drive to work towards your dreams and goals, and may you harness the energy of the eclipse for a little extra enchantment… Bright blessings xx
Today Iā€™m grateful to a sweet friend for the awesome drawing he did of Juz and me šŸ™‚
Iā€™m happy that I got up early to work out ā€“ an extended Pump session, which was tough but awesome, and Iā€™m still feeling sore from yesterday, which makes me happy tooā€¦
Iā€™m very grateful for another day without a migraineā€¦
Iā€™m glad I got a lot of work done at the magazines, and although I stayed late, it meant I donā€™t have to go in on my day off tomorrow, so all good šŸ™‚
And Iā€™m grateful for time with Juz when I got home, and planning and dreamingā€¦

With thanksā€¦ Thursday March 24ā€¦ BodyCombat 63ā€¦
Today I am grateful for an awesome parcel in the mail šŸ™‚
Iā€™m glad I got the Trilogy edits finished (at around 1am) ā€“ now on to the ebook (sigh)ā€¦
Not so glad I woke up with a migraine, but it wasnā€™t a super-terrible one, and it eased off for a while, so, it could have been worseā€¦ And Iā€™m happy that I finally felt okay enough to do a cool Combat workout just before dinnerā€¦
Not so glad either that all of a sudden both Juz and my eftpos cards donā€™t work, and I spent 40 minutes on hold before we even got through to the bank. They re-activated mine for two hours so I could get some money out, but are reissuing them. How handy, the night before a four-day-weekendā€¦
But Iā€™m grateful for a sweet night in with Juz, little vegie pizzas, treat night chocolate and Once Upon A Timeā€¦

With thanksā€¦ Friday March 25ā€¦
Today Iā€™m grateful for a much-needed chilled out day at home with Juz.
Iā€™m (sorta glad) for an early morning text from my other bank, saying theyā€™d detected fraud on my credit card and cancelled it. And yes, they were right, I did not charge $2500 to my card in Baltimore while I was sleeping at home in Sydneyā€¦ Kinda creepy, that people can do that, but kudos to ANZ for picking it up so quicklyā€¦ Odd that two banking issues at two different backs both happened on a four-day-weekend thoughā€¦
Iā€™m happy that I got some work done on the Trilogy ebook, although itā€™s kinda dull workā€¦
And Iā€™m grateful for a lovely night in with Juzā€¦

With thanksā€¦ Saturday March 26ā€¦
Today Iā€™m grateful for a cruisy day at home with Juzā€¦
Iā€™m glad I got a fair bit of work done on the ebook, and equally glad that I took some time off to hang out together and just chillā€¦
Iā€™m grateful for laughter and planning and dreamingā€¦
Iā€™m grateful for cups of tea, and Once Upon A Time, and precious moments togetherā€¦

With thanksā€¦ Sunday March 27ā€¦ BodyCombat 53 + 10,154 steps ā€¦
Today Iā€™m grateful for heavy rain and soft grey skiesā€¦
Iā€™m happy that I got up and did an hour of Combat right away ā€“ no excuses šŸ™‚
Iā€™m grateful for a cute lunch date with Juz at our old favourite cafeā€¦
Iā€™m glad we could go visit the Diggers and drink tea and eat Easter eggs and talk politics and laugh a lotā€¦
Iā€™m grateful for people who stand up to hatred, inequality, racism, sexism, homophobia and all the other fear-based responses tearing us apartā€¦
And Iā€™m grateful to Juz for precious time together ā€“ this long weekend has been awesomeā€¦

With thanksā€¦ Monday March 28ā€¦ Jillian day 1 + 10,039 stepsā€¦
Today Iā€™m so grateful for another day off with my beloved, and time to hang out together and just beā€¦
Iā€™m happy that I started a new Jillian program ā€“ today was Shape Up Front (triceps, shoulders, chest etc), and I did it first thing so I didnā€™t have to spend the rest of the day trying to convince myself to do it šŸ™‚ Itā€™s short though, so I did it twice. And just managed to hit 10,000 steps for the day šŸ™‚
Iā€™m glad I made heaps of progress with my trilogy ebook ā€“ formatting sucks, and itā€™s long (310,000 words), so itā€™s taking a while!
And Iā€™m grateful for a relaxing night with Juz, dreaming big!

With thanksā€¦ Tuesday March 29ā€¦ Jillian day 2 + 12,140 stepsā€¦
Today Iā€™m glad I got up early and did my Jillian workout ā€“ Shape Up Back (back, biceps, hammies etc), yay! Itā€™s one of her earlier ones, so sheā€™s kinda goofy and a little awkward, but sheā€™s no less tough than she is today šŸ™‚
Iā€™m glad I got some ebook proofing done on the way to work, and that I got lots done at the magazines, although not so glad I had to stay til 8.30pm.
But Iā€™m glad I could race out to watch The Jungle Book in the afternoon so I can review it ā€“ and it was mind-blowing. Not really for little kids ā€“ nature is pretty brutal ā€“ but so beautiful. And I just canā€™t get my head around how they made it look so real!
And Iā€™m glad I got to chat to my sister for her birthday, and hang out a bit with Juz before passing out šŸ™‚ xx

With thanksā€¦ Wednesday March 30ā€¦ Jillian day 3 + 11,054 stepsā€¦
Today Iā€™m grateful for a work at home day, so I could make a bit more progress on the ebookā€¦
Iā€™m grateful for a fun coffee catch-up with a friend, and for coffee šŸ™‚ I hadnā€™t had one for at least six weeks šŸ™‚
I woke up with a bad head, but painkillers helped, and I finally managed to work out late in the afternoon ā€“ 65 minutes of crazy Combat, hooray! My face was so red by the end of it, and didnā€™t fade for ages. Love working that hard!
Iā€™m happy my replacement Valentineā€™s pressie for Juz arrived ā€“ and that itā€™s even better than the original one šŸ™‚ The thing I ordered in January still hasnā€™t got here, but he loved this one, so yay!
And Iā€™m grateful for time together when he got homeā€¦

With thanksā€¦ Thursday March 31ā€¦ Jillian day 4 + 10,210 stepsā€¦
Tonight Iā€™m grateful for time with Juz, and sharing about our days, and planning fun adventuresā€¦
Iā€™m glad I finally got to work out late in the afternoon ā€“ an awesome Jillian front of body workout that I loved so much I did it twice šŸ™‚ I was pretty much spent after the first time, and I was shaking a little by the end of the second go through. Iā€™ll be nice and sore tomorrow, and I love that it made me feel strong after a super-frustrating day of trying to sort out my two bank stuff ups and the fall out from themā€¦
Iā€™m grateful that I managed to get a little bit of work doneā€¦
And Iā€™m bemused that tomorrow is the first day of Camp NaNoWriMo ā€“ and Iā€™m so woefully unprepared, as usual šŸ™‚ Oh well, time to be brave and dive in! xx