5 happy things
It was an incredibly busy weekend, which left me pretty exhausted, but so filled with happy moments that it was hard to begrudge it or deem it unworthwhile.
To start with, Friday night was a gathering of friends to celebrate Lys & Etienne moving in together, and it was nice to catch up with everyone, particularly my girls.
rawking the animal print and happy smiles!
S also keeps upping the “perfect boyfriend” bar by sending me a little “romance is alive” gift after I had a bit of a melt down about being 30 and frumpy (shh, i know, i know, but let me have my moments!). I saw a quote a friend posted on facebook that was something to the tune of “Women aren’t made to be understood, they’re made to be loved” and I’m super lucky S gets this down pat every time. Instead of trying to fix my (totally non issue) problems, he just lets me rave and rant and then shows me he adores me anyway. LOVE.
long stemmed, and gorgeous.
After performing for the first time in months on Saturday night, S and I also spent Sunday in the garden, enjoying the great weather and the fact that we can start working on the house together again now that spring seems to be officially here. I did pretty useless things given my physical limitations, but did manage to pot my gorgeous new azaleas for right by the front door. Aren’t they pretty and welcoming?
And as I did this, S, to my utter awe and amazement (see above re “perfect boyfriend”) – pulled up ALL the grass and soil in the backyard with a spade, then re-soiled with over 20 bags of soil, and then reseeded it all. It took him over 9 hours of solid work, and he never stopped. And now, we have what is looking like a lush and healthy backyard that will be some very pretty lawn soon (hopefully!).
that cherry blossom is just about to bloom too!
Lastly, we did what we always do for the week ahead – prep our lunches. It’s a soothing 1-2 hour activity that we adore doing together. Except this week I also made a bunch of asian boxes for me – rice covered in sambal eggplant tomato and mushrooms, stir fried vegetables and grilled pork belly. Oh, heaven that’s gonna last me all week long.
i had one today for lunch and it. was. good.
So yes, it was a good weekend. Did you have a nice one what with the incredible weather? Any particularly good moments? Somehow the sun being out seems to correlate with good things happening, or at least a better mindset to view everything in a better light, don’t you think?
Read More5 happy things
It’s wonderful to be able to list some extremely simple things that make me a generally happy person. I think too few people realise the simplicity of happiness, the extreme privilege we face in living in a first world situation, the miracle that is our existence.
Some things that have made me incredibly happy in the last 10 days:
1. Travel with my team
gleeful after some great performances!
It astounds me constantly that I am able to travel for dance, my passion, and go around Australia and sometimes the world, teaching, performing, making new friends and learning so much about different places. Mostly though, I’ve enjoyed spending some ridiculously good times with my amazing team. We are so good together, and these trips always make for memorable weekends that we will reminisce about with joy in our old age. The Adelaide Salsa Festival that just passed was a shining example of such a trip.
2. Celebrity moments
I was invited to a little VIP soiree for the Melbourne Latin Festival Launch Party last week, and taught a dance class whilst I was there. Fabulously, I got to meet some really cool people but also, look!
fame! i'm gonna live forever!
This was in the Herald Sun on Saturday. I know it’s not REAL fame, but hell, S’s parents (without being told I was in it) very cutely sent me this message: “We see you are a celebrity, we see your photo in the paper!”
And you know what? That’s good enough for me!
3. Great news
That my dad is going to be coming to Melbourne very soon to spend some quality time with his favourite child. (This is a test to see if my siblings read this blog, let’s see how long it takes for the excuuuuuuuse me phone calls to come in!)
poor Sheil.
This pleases me to no end – it’ll be wonderful to spend a few weeks with my favourite man ever, but also, I’m excited for him to see our home that we’ve made, and experience a bit of my life. I’m excited about slow walks, holding his hand, and cooking for him. It’s going to be tiring, but lovely.
4. Getting more clarity
And coming to terms a bit more with the limitations of my body. This week was a bit of a landmark, whereby I brought myself to sell a few pairs of shoes I’ll realistically no longer wear due to my back injuries. It’s probably the first time where I’ve managed to rationally do something so… final… about what my life is slowly but surely becoming.
ay. goodbye my pretties!
If you know me at all, you know how much I love my (large) collection of heels – and don’t worry, I’m not getting rid of them all, just the ones that are either over 5 inches, OR just that bit unstable (and I no longer have the capacity to totter about in). A few friends messaged me saying they were a bit sad or amazed that I had made this step, but it made me feel mentally and emotionally stronger about it all. Yes, I know they’re just shoes, but hell, when even choosing footwear can make or break your day, you know your mindset has to shift dramatically.
5. Surprises from my darling
I got back from the Adelaide Salsa Festival exhausted and on the verge of falling sick, and all I wanted was a cuppa tea and bed. A little note from S on the kitchen counter would’ve been a bonus. So imagine my joy and surprise when I came home to a PRESENT!
awesome present, straight off my wishlist.
There’s nothing better than a gift, except a gift that you’ve specifically wished for, and briefly mentioned the week before. And there’s nothing better than knowing your sweetie was thinking about you whilst you were away, and went out of his extremely busy way to spoil you. Uh huh. Love!
So there’s my 5 happy things this week, what are yours? xx
Read Morelove is…
Last night, one of my closest girlfriends got married to an incredible man – I’ve been drafting a blog post about it but choosing the right photos out of 250 shots of gorgeousness is proving difficult, so you’ll just have to wait a little longer to get a sneak peek of her beautiful wedding that was filled with love.
What was a nice aside was that S and I finally got to take some photos all dressed up – because of the back injury we haven’t really been out, much less gotten frocked up for an event. I asked the lovely Noel to step outside and snap a few quick shots of us… it was too good an opportunity to pass up!
I love this man, I really do. Yesterday, in particular, there were many reasons to love him. To start with, I was in pain and rushing to get ready for the wedding in 20 minutes flat, and hadn’t eaten for 14 hours. That is a lethal combination. And all he did as I ran around, squawking at him, shrilly snapping out demands and grumbles, was benignly ignore me, and help me get myself together to leave the house.
All the way to the wedding, in the car, I muttered and huffed about how I didn’t feel pretty, how I was so hungry I could bite his arm, and discovered I’d brought the wrong envelope for the wedding card (oh, the shrieks of despair). Don’t judge me – when I don’t eat, I am a lunatic. You probably are too, so there.
Calmly, he kept reassuring me about how stunning I was, pulled into a service station so I could pick up a chocolate bar and a new wedding card envelope, and kept holding my hand tight, reminding me about how exciting it was that Liz was getting married.
Finally, he became, as usual, my hero. I am still angry with my back for not managing to hold up all night, but after all the speeches, the pain set in pretty crazily. I disappeared to the bathroom, where Gemma later found me, teary and distraught. S got the maitre’d to organise a back laneway exit for us (so we wouldn’t disrupt the happy merry-making), helped me hobble to the car, sat with me whilst I lay down and collected myself.
When it was obvious that I wasn’t going to recover (but I was too confused and discombobulated from the pain to be lucid), he made the executive decision that we had to leave, escorted me back, explained to everyone that we were going, collected my various girly accompaniments (purse, shawl, camera), and swept me home swiftly to a hot water bottle, cuppa tea, and a warm blanket on the couch.
What a man.
I know that all the above seems so.. normal. Why WOULDN’T you expect your partner to be so utterly thoughtful, loving, patient and wonderful? Why would you be with them otherwise? Yet, I know that I have been in relationships where all the above would not have been sure things, and I know of relationships that don’t have the same support and adoration.
Most certain of all, I know of no man who completes me more on so many levels, in addition to doing all those things above, and makes me feel so loved, adored, so special, so relaxed, and like life is complete.
love you long time
I love this shot of my parents, taken when we all went to breakfast on this last trip S and I took to Singapore. 38 years together, and still holding hands onroute to kaya toast and roti prata breakfast.
My mum and dad – ever my “true love” inspiration.
Read Moremore bedtalk
I have mentioned before that S thinks he’s hilarious.
Picture it. We’re cuddling, just before bed, indulging in some sweet nothings and romantic words. I don’t even remember what we were talking about, but I said, “No need lah!”
S: Ooooh, some Singaporean popped out!
Me: Honey, it’s not called “Singaporean”, it’s called “Singlish”.
S: There’s no such thing as ”Singlish”.
Me: Yes there is.
S: No there isn’t. “Singlish”, pfft, sounds silly.
Me: There totally IS. Wanna bet on it?
S: There is NOT such a thing as Singlish. Let me tell you this now.
Me (feeling triumphant at imminent win): How much would you like to bet on it??
S: [silence]
Me: How much would you like to bet on it?!
S: Umm…
Me: How much would you like to bet on it?!
S: I would very much like to bet on it!!! Very much! I would very much like to bet on it! Geddit? GET IT?!
He bursts into guffaws of laughter. Evidently at his killer combination of cleverness and charm.
Read More
Who Is This Girl?
Tweet Tweet
Commentary: