Oh Bali...

Oh Bali, you are just exquisite. The way your sunshine beats down upon my skin, and the way in which you surprise me with your hidden gems, makes me feel all gooey inside...

The way your silky smooth water engulfs my body, and the way your gritty sand feels beneath my toes..

Your presence is warm & kind and your people too..

And the views, oh the Magnificent views...

When your delectable delights hit my lips my tummy gurgles with joy...

I could watch you, feel you, smell you, taste you, relax with you, and throughly enjoy you, every day of my luckily little life...

But for now, I will soak my exhausted, beer riddled bod in your indulgent bath & dream of many days to come in this magical land..

Forever a huge fan,

Gemma

Thought of the day "

Shit I miss these sons of guns"

See Ya Later Suckers

Hey folks, I'm just popping into say hi & bye! 

The time for Bali has arrived, so for the next child-free week, you won't catch me on my phone, as Abbey and I will be parked up somewhere around here;

Bintang or ten in tow, & a big old grin smeared across my sunburnt face. 

I wonder how many hours & beers it'll take before I crack & blubber on to Abbey (or whichever poor stranger will listen), about how I've never EVER been away from my little darling kiddies and I miss them sooooo much already. My vote is on night number 1, five drinks in.

Tragic is my middle name.

I'll be back with full updates for you all, beware of Bali bragging, there'll be shitloads of it going down right here. 

Meanwhile, I better scoot, bags to pack, husbands to smooch,

Have a wonderful week won't you!!

Gem 

Thought of the day "gastro threatened to take me out pre-holiday but I made a full recovery just in the nick of time- thank EFF"

A Simple Smoothie & Scrambled Eggs

Simple is one of my favourite words. Simple works for me and my time limitations, so if it isn't simple, I don't make it. 

Which is why this recipe totally rocks my socks. 

The simplest, smoothest, smoothie recipe; 

All you need is what you see. Bananas, mixed berries (thank goodness we had chosen the cheaper select brand rather than 'Nannas' huh?), chia seeds, honey, and almond milk.

Blend & serve.

This deep pink, perfect concoction, caused quite a feeding frenzy at the zoo.

**Did you spot the mini jar of raw honey in that pic? I picked that little gem up from the markets last week, and little did I know that raw honey blows supermarket honey out of the hive! So deliciously sweet. 

Another of my most favourite (and simplest) foods to make in this entire world is scrambled eggs. Their versatility paired with thier tastiness makes for the perfect brunch, lunch, or sometimes (if I'm super lazy) dinner food. 

Sunday's brunch

There is nothing, I repeat nothing, better than scrambled eggs & feta. Maybe, scrambled eggs, feta & avocado (mine weren't ripe on Sunday which nearly bought me to tears). However, this was an absolute taste bud bonanza. Simply scrambled eggs (whisked vigorously with a dash of dark blue milk is the key), roasted shrooms & toms, rocket, some crispy bacon & a sprinkle of feta. With a side of watermelon for good measure. 

Speaking of scrambled eggs, I imagine my brains currently resemble a big old serving of them at the mo. I am so far from cool, calm & collected, that I feel like a tightly strung guitar ready to go PING #%*+*% at any moment. A thousand thoughts racing to & fro upstairs, along with ten thousand worries. Finances, time management, and to do's just to name a few. Adulthood is rough isn't it? **Note to self, make sure this is the only time I ever get married. Ever. 

13 weeks. That's all the time we have left. 13 teeny tiny weeks. Considering half the time it feels like Friday's are Tuesday's, this is somewhat of a worry. On the other hand, I know that by the time it is actually here, there'll be no time left to worry, only to relax & enjoy what will no doubt be, the greatest couple of weeks of our lives. It's all of this pre 

-wedding madness that is sending me bonkers. The build up of anticipation, nerves, excitement, and total and utter fear, would make any sane person a complete wreck. Alas, it'll all come together & it will run as smooth as a babies bottom. It has to. Right? Yes right. (Reassuring myself is a necessity at times like these)

Between the bouts of madness and frenzied organisation, we've been up to our usual antics;

Beachin'

Incarceratin'

 Scrubbin'

And my ridiculously talented, genius of a fiancé, has been creatin'. He has started collecting really funky, old, industrial style pipes & shower pieces to make these lamps. Which are more like works of art than your plain old desk lights. So cool right? This shower head creation gives off the most magnificent 'disco ball' light effect. 

I've got yee old pen & paper spread out in front of me as we speak, ready to dig into this speech business, and when I'm finished, I will fold it up and lock it away somewhere where I can't read it a million times over until it all sounds totally stupid. Over thinking eh? Killing great minds since way back. 

Hope you're all enjoying your Tuesday!

Gem

Thought of the day "6 sleeps 6 sleeps 6 sleeps"

Older & None the Wiser

"Why on earth did I do this to myself? Whyyyyyy?!" (Said with a horribly unattractive, sobbing, feel-sorry-for-myself face)

This was the question on repeat in my clouded & dehydrated dome all day yesterday. Natalie and I went to 'Laneway' festival in Fremantle on Sunday and it happened to be the first festival I had been to since before Blake arrived. Infact, the last festival I attended was New Years Rhythm & Vines 2011, where upon driving home from Gisborne I was keeling over clutching at my guts, thinking the powerful cramps were due to the concoction of toxins I had been feeding my body. However it turned out to be a teeny tiny baby Blake travelling through my Fallopian tube, making one helluva scene... Fast forward 3 years and there I was on Sunday, primed and prepped, ready to paaarrrtttaaayyy.

Yeah so turns out I'm just not cut out for that shit anymore. 

Despite it being truckloads of fun, involving many laughs, throwing my hands up in the air like I just don't care, making small talk with strangers and whipping out my phone to shove pics of the babes in their intoxicated (and uncaring) faces (yes I was that gal), I just cannot deal with a marathon drinking session, followed up with a day of responsibilities & tiny humans relying on me to survive. 

It's also super duper unhealthy (captain obvious). Not only for the entire day of liquid calories, but for the next two days when all I felt like eating was mountains of grease. KFC, Mac n cheese, and Indian were all inhaled in the aftermath, and this morning, I feel like a giant greasy slob. Yick. 

However, Its totally ok to blow out like that every once in a while, everyone's got to live right? I'm not going to sit here & beat myself up about it, I'm going to get straight back on the bandwagon and drag my sorry ass to the gym. If endorphins can't cure this then nothing will. 

There were a handful of snaps taken, and within that handful only two that are appropriate for public viewing;

So now that I've relived my youth momentarily, I'm going to go right ahead and return to retirement. It's cosy there.

On the agenda this week; go to bed at 7:30 (after Friends) every single night, go for a sunset swim, do some painting with the sprogs, and begin the countdown for this Bali trip! 

Hope you're all doing swimmingly folks!

Gem

Thought of the day "mistaking a selfie stick for a jar opener was the highlight of my week" 

Nearly 11 Months Postpartum

Crikey dick I can't believe it's nearly been 11 months! I know I bang on about how quickly time goes far too often (shut up gemma we get it already!), but I'll say it again, holy shit time flies doesn't it?

It's about time I updated you all on the big changes my bod has undergone as of late...

First & foremost, weaning the baby elephant from the boob. The first time around, when I weaned Blake, I was pregnant within the month, so I really had no clear idea of how it would affect my weight. I had assumed, if anything, I may gain a bit as my calorie intake is no longer being sucked dry. With Oscar my appetite dramatically decreased almost immediately, and my big, bulging GG hooters shrivelled up to 10D's (they feel like teeny tiny mozzie bites in comparison), so those were two big ticks. And then surprisingly, I seem to have leaned out quite dramatically. I can't say whether it was definitely because of weaning, as I have also recently upped the ante on my exercise whilst simultaneously cutting out a lot of junk. So it could just be put down to plain, old fashioned, health & well being that's causing the changes. Regardless, I seem to be finding muscles in places I never even knew muscles existed! 

10.5 months post baby elephant 

I couldn't bring myself to do one of those cringe-worthy "flex" poses, but if I do flex my legs, I have these really impressive quads & hammies that seem to have sprung up out of nowhere. But most noticeable at the mo is my abs. Slowly sprouting some stomach definition has got to be one of the coolest feelings ever after being pregnant, twice. The changes are so subtle on a daily basis that I barely notice until I take a squiz back a few months. And then I'm all like, woah, ok, shits really happening here. 

It is just so blimmin brilliant seeing these changes in the flesh, it's like getting a big fat (muscular) reward for all of the hard work I've been putting in. And also, it's amazing to actually know it is entirely possible to bounce back after you have babies. I guess it just comes down to the old saying, you get out what you put in eh? (I hate sayings, but some of them are annoyingly spot on.)

On the food front, I've been consciously making small yet significant changes over the last few months. Most notably, I've drastically cut my sugar intake. Unintentionally might I add. Somewhere along the line I stopped craving sweet things every evening, and finally managed  to break free of the addiction. It's liberating. And it's done wonders for my mind, skin, and bod. In saying that, I did have this for dessert last night;

I'm still human. 

Most days my meals are an exciting selection of oats, nuts, fruit & veg, eggs, and chicken. You know, all the usual boring stuff. But it works. I had attempted to have fewer carbs in my diet recently, but just thinking about not eating that bread or those potatoes was way too much of a pain in the ass, so I kicked that idea to the curb. Also, since I've been running loads more, I've been finding the bod has been craving carbs more to replenish myself post run, so I just do what I'm told. 

Exercise wise- I simply cannot get sweaty enough. 5-6 days a week I have been doing a variety of running, weights, and plyometrics, and I feel absolutely fucking phenomenal. Upping the cardio has increased my fitness levels tenfold, and I can now bang out a 10km run no sweat (ok that's a lie, there's loads of sweat but I don't die). Whereas a few months back, running 10km would have seemed like some sort of sick joke. 

Feeling this fit is a totally new experience for me, it is euphoric. And addictive. I find myself itching to do something on my rest days, and smiling and singing en route to the gym. (Looooooser). I figure there could be worse things to be addicted to right? 

*side note- Lately, when I go to the crèche to drop the kids off before I workout, I've noticed so many fresh mums dropping their babies off and then wandering around the gym looking exhausted & bored. It's made me realise there is the hugest market out there for new mammas to get onboard the healthy bandwagon post birth. I want to help them! I want to grab them by both arms and tell them 'I know how you feel! You feel like you're about to embark on an impossible journey, it's ok, you're not!'. I just have no idea how to go about it. Any ideas mammas?

Anywho, in conclusion, I am healthy and happy with where I am at right now. I don't want to improve on anything, or try to look like someone I'm not, I just want to continue with what I am doing and accept the changes my body wants to make naturally. 

Hope you guys are having a wonderful week thus far,

Gem

Thought of the day "

This was the view from our bed last night, moody as fuck!"