What I Ate Wednesday

Hey guys! The weeks are absolutely flying at the moment aren't they? Can't believe it's already Thursday?! Time really needs to chill out, I feel like life is a bit of a blur at the moment..

Yesterday I tried a wee experiment, I took photos of & noted down everything I ate. A few of the blogs I follow do this once a week and you're either gonna love it or hate it (boooooring). 

For me, I find it really interesting to see what others eat throughout an entire day, how they balance meals etc & also, I almost always end up testing out a recipe or combination they have used. Bit of inspiration to freshen up those tired old daily habits- can't go wrong really..

I'm not going to lie, knowing I was going to be held accountable for what I was eating, subconsciously, had an impact on what I ate. Which I guess is a good thing? I ate what I normally would throughout the day but the dinner was a lot healthier than what we would normally have. Although admittedly, the night before we had had toasted sandwiches & hot chip sammies for dinner so all that bread made me feel super sluggish and just bleh, so I wasn't too keen on a heavy dinner anyway. Also, I should let it be known that it was 37 degrees here yesterday. Thirty seven. This obviously also had a major impact on my food choices. 

So here goes; (oh and the pics are all off my iPhone so they aren't the best quality sorry, but getting the big camera out for every snack seemed like far too much work)

My morning ritual rarely changes, it's always a bowl of Carmens muesli and a cup of warm water & lemon. I used to have oats with the works each day but my new pregnant self just doesn't appreciate it like I used too;

I didn't end up eating again for quite a few hours as we were heading in to town for our midwife appointment and I was unorganised. After we had that appt, we randomly stopped in to see Oli at work and he conveniently had some fresh cans of icy cold coke, by this stage it was 11am and 35 degrees- I couldn't think of anything better!! Generally I'm not a big soft drink person, as in, I don't even remember the last time I had a can of coke before yesterday. But oh my GOD it was delicious, as soon as the liquid hit my lips I was in fizzy heaven. I know what I'll be reaching for this summer when I'm a big, sweaty, grumpy whale.

After that I knew I had to eat something although the coke really filled me up, so I grabbed a hard boiled egg. I eat at least one every single day, and now Blakes jumped on the bandwagon and is eating one with me which is excellent as finding new snacks for babies is a daily struggle..

I then put  Blake down and put my feet up for a while before deciding I should probably pull together something for lunch. So I grabbed some quinoa and rice square crackers and layered them up with avo, spinach, ham, tomato and cracked pepper. Normally I would just make a sandwich with all of the above, but as I said I was not in the mood for bread.

These were really good! I also had some delicious fresh watermelon just after this. 

I was guzzling water like you wouldn't believe yesterday, I've always been a big water drinker (at least 3 litres a day) but when it's sweltering hot I go through a lot more. Think I had 5 pump bottles + my other drinks and 2 glasses of water. Needless to say, the baby-on-bladder situation was terrible.

 

And before I knew it, it was 3pm and I felt like I deserved a bit of a break, so you know what they say;

I had a break, and I had (2) kit kats. I knew I should probably have something more substantial then before I had 2 more kit kats, so I made a smoothie. I've been making them daily at the moment and they've been a really good afternoon tide over to dinner. Although this one wasn't that good, I think it was the blueberries? Every time I add blueberries, the smoothie is rather bland and tasteless... 

So I added some lemon in the end to up the 'zing'. This concoction consisted of; spinach, ice, water, chia seeds, watermelon, half a frozen banana and blueberries. 

Average. 

Before we knew it was dinner time and I was in the mood for something fresh, light & delicious. I had booked in for my first pregnancy Pilates class at 6:30 and knew I couldn't be overflowing with food for that. So I made up some amazing Thai prawn lettuce cups. I kid you not, these were so good. All they consisted of was some cucumber, coriander, lime juice & red cabbage (sautéed in lime juice and olive oil), and then the prawns which I cooked in a splash of soy sauce and fish sauce. Oh and some fresh red chilli, can't forget the chilli. I think anything with fresh chilli, prawns, coriander and lime is delicious though, so if you're into those flavours this would be right up your alley too. I had every intention of adding avocado too but just plain forgot in the end. 

The final product;

I ate a good 6 of these and for once I didn't feel overly stuffed after dinner which was actually great!

However, later on after Pilates I started to feel the ol' tummy rumbling again, so I had a few pieces of whitakkers hazelnut choc (to die for) & then a piece of Vegemite toast. 

So that is a very detailed account of what I ate for an entire day, hope I didn't put you to sleep! I feel strangely vulnerable putting this up, it's quite a personal thing what one eats. But like I said, it's a great way to think twice about what you eat, and possibly choose the healthier option (minus the coke & the choc, trust me when I say this was tame though).

I've been doing the odd sugar free week here & there lately, but Oli and I have recently implemented permanently sugar free days, these are Tues & Thurs for now and so far it seems to be working out well, hopefully soon we can throw in a third day and then the goal is to eventually have 4 sugar free days every week. Slow and steady wins the race.

I'll let you know how we get on!

Thought of the day "it's Thursday, and I have a freezer full of paddle pops- great"

Gemma 

If We Won Lotto

One of our fav late night conversations is about what we would do if we were to hit the jackpot and win lotto..  If you were to listen in you would quickly notice our voices become more animated as we ramble on, throwing ideas back and forth at each other- some a lot more absurd than others.

But is it just us, or is it incredibly exhilarating to think about limitless money? 

As much as some hate to admit it, money really does make the world go around. Especially now, as we are currently living in the greediest era to date. Consume consume consume. Prices rise & we consume some more... 

I'm not going to go into some big spiel about how we should all be happy with what we have instead of always wanting more, although this is 100% true, but the fact is with products & travel being sold to us left right & centre it's kind of hard to NOT want these things or want to see these things right? I know I do anyway. 

Just entertaining the idea of possible financial security for life gives me shivers. 

I do think if we were to win lotto it wouldn't all be rainbows and butterflies and range rovers though... Infact I think it could cause a lot more grief than its worth, after all, with great wealth comes great greed, possibly a lot of laziness,and definitely a loss of value of money. Some would disagree with that but I think that trio would be hard to avoid. There would be family feuds and people with their hands out at every turn, and for us personally, it would be bloody hard not to raise a couple of spoilt brats. 

So would it be that great? Sure financial stability for life would be wonderful- but who knows... Chances are we won't ever have to find out, but in the meantime I do enjoy a good journey down "imagine lane"..

This is what I envision our life to look like if we were to win lotto;

Firstly, a house right on the beach, preferably a weatherboard with a huge surrounded deck somewhere with gorgeous temps year round. Not to be too fussy or anything.. 

We would most likely take the leap and say our vows sooner rather than later, preferably somewhere like this too. Yes, that would be quite nice. 

I would definitely go to Europe and buy a bike just like this, with a bell, and travel around like the Brady brunch on a bicycle for a year. 

Who am I kidding? There would be a LOT of this.

I would never clean again. That's not very motherly of me is it? But really, who actually enjoys cleaning? Ugh. Bane of my life. 

Oh, and Oli would have to have one of these. A Valiant VF 4 door sedan. I thought I had better put one of his choices on our wish list too, seeing as we're a team and all that jazz.

There would be more than a few of these little fullas around home, I'm thinking at least 5 dogs and 2 cats.. 

And besides all of the things we would buy / do / see, there would be a lot of extended family holidays for all, houses for every family member and maybe the odd (good) friend, obviously a lot would be put aside for the kids, and I would be taking a hefty chunk down to the SPCA.. 

Even just thinking about doing all of that makes my heart smile... 

That's about all I've got folks, I probably could go on for a lot longer and google image a lot more to add to that but you get the gist of it all, 

So what would you do if you won lotto?

Thought of the day "I need a maid"

Gemma 

20 weeks

What's been happening: More like what hasn't been happening!! He is growing at a ridiculous rate at the moment. He now weighs approx 360gms and is 27cm in length. Which is nearly double the length from the 18 week update! As for me, I am feeling great! My skin has finally cleared up, thank god as that was beginning to take a serious toll on my confidence.. I'm feeling really energetic & fit, and I'm sporting quite the cute wee bump now. Loving every minute of it lately. 

Weight gained:  I don't know & I don't really care. What I do know though is that all of the variety of exercise lately has been making me feel loads better so I'll just stick to that rather than hanging out by the scales. 

Workouts: Lots! Went to the gym 4 times last week, mixing up cardio & weights + yoga and spin. Yes spin. Somehow on Sunday, I felt the urge to return, I think I like it? Even if I do feel slightly harassed afterwards... 

Movement: All day everyday! He is a busy boy that's for sure. Oli felt his first kick over the weekend too & I think it finally dawned on him that we are going to have another baby! Should have seen his face... 

Food Aversions: Nada really, I am loving my food lately, I can work with anything. 

Food cravings: Over the past week I have had; 3 paddle pops, 2 snickers icecreams, 1 drumstick and 1 gelato. So if you do the maths, I've had icecream everyday. I fear as the temp rises these numbers will rise with them.. How freaking good are snickers icecreams though? 

Sleep: Blake has been waking at 2am consistently for a cuddle lately, it used to be cute but the novelty has kind of worn off now. What I don't get is how Oli sleeps through it every single night? Unless he's just a pro pretend sleeper... Either way- I'm well and truly ready for a full nights sleep. 

Miss anything: Same as last time- beer. 

Fun/ interesting things for the week: When we went to the beach yesterday I got some hilarious looks, I was holding Blake on one hip in my bikini and I think people couldn't figure out whether I was pregnant or just hadnt lost the tummy from Blake yet. Some people just stared for an awkward amount of time & some looked so confused, I had to laugh. I think of the pregnant belly like a balloon though, surely people can tell the difference? When you're pregnant it looks inflated, and after you give birth it looks deflated and saggy, unless you're Miranda Kerr, but she's not human. Fembot for sure. 

Stretchmarks; None yet, I didn't get any on my belly last time but I already have a fair amount on my hips/ thighs, I hope they don't increase. And there's just no hope for my boobs, they were stretched beyond return when my milk came in last time. 

Happy or moody: Happy as a hippo

Looking forward to: Bali!! I'll be 6 months preg when we go & what better time to kick my feet up by the pool, read & eat copious amounts of food. It'll be a babymoon- how Hollywood of us!

Bump update: This morn pre breaky (I probably should have put some pants on but I couldn't be bothered dressing for the shoot) I definitely feel bigger at this stage than I was last time but I'm enjoying this size immensely. Can't bloody believe we're already halfway either! 

Wanderlust

Pinterest, you've done it again. Every time I scroll through the travel pins I add a new place to visit on our ever-growing destinations bucket list. Quite often I find myself just floating away to these spots, the imagination is an incredible thing... 

Here are a few of my favs;

Portofino, Italy. 

Amsterdam, Holland 

The Maldives 

This is a Parisian window, the beauty of this picture is unreal. I can't wait until the day I am sitting in one of these window sills overlooking Paris with a pinot in hand... 

Machu Picchu, Peru

Oli and I recently watched a doco on Machu Picchu and how it was built hundreds of years ago, it is absolutely fascinating and I can't wait to one day take the 4 day trek to the top

Mexico 

And finally, Bali. Now this one is definitely the most compelling as we will be parking our white arses up on this beach in less than four weeks, oh how I have missed this beautiful place..

The countdown is on!

Happy day dreaming friends 

Reading / Watching / Tunes Vol II

Hey everyone, how was your weekend?

Ours was incredibly relaxing, we took advantage of the sunshine and spent most of it lapping up the rays and the waves at the beach.. Other than that we didn't do a hell of a lot, we are in serious save mode for this impending holiday so it's all early nights in and home made brunches at the moment, not that we actually do late nights anymore anyway- but that's beside the point..

So today I thought I would update you on what I am currently filling my cranium with;

Reads;

Ok so firstly, I haven't even made it past Chapter 1 of "The Luminaries", I don't know why I veered off track with that one to be honest but I do plan on digging into it in Bali. As for the "Whole Foods" book, nope. Just can't be bothered really, so instead I downloaded a couple of others that I have already finished and thoroughly enjoyed.. 

"The Antenatal Group" Amy Bratley

When I was pregnant with Blake I read SO many fiction novels on pregnancy / motherhood / birth etc.. It was just a fixation I had & I seem to have it again! This novel was pretty predictable and very very light but the characters were well developed and it was an easy enjoyable read.

"When I found you" Catherine Ryan Hyde

This book was incredible!! It was about an elderly man who finds a newborn left to die in the woods, he then offers to adopt the baby but the infant is instead left in the care of his grandmother. He keeps in touch their whole lives and is eventually given custody of the boy when in his teenage years he rebels & his grandmother can no longer cope with him. The relationship between the old man & the boy is beautifully touching, the old mans character is so well written out that I feel as though I know him after reading it.. I wouldn't really know which genre to put this novel in, but trust me when I say it's a really well written story, I highly recommend it!

And so now I've just started reading a new one called "The light between oceans" which has amazing reviews so I'll let you know how I get on.. 

Watches;

Breaking Bad

I was simultaneously excited for and dreading the season finale of BB. This is hands down the best television series I have ever seen. The finale delivered all that was to be expected and the characters were all rounded up brilliantly. I was a tad shocked when Hank was murdered though, that was the only real surprise of the season for me. So after 6 incredible seasons I was so sad to see it come to an end.. The main character Walter White played by Bryan Cranston was just outstanding, he really blew both Oli and I away. If you haven't watched this show, start from the beginning and get stuck in- you won't regret it! 

Prisoners

Oli and I watched this movie over the weekend after hearing some pretty good reviews (on Triple J). It's about two suburban American fathers who's daughters go missing together after playing outside on thanksgiving.. Hugh Jackman is the lead and he plays a pretty  heavy part- he gets rather gruesome on one of the suspects and it's really gnarly. I love some good gore though so I was lapping it up. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the lead detective on the case and I don't normally like Jake but he nailed this role, he had this weird facial twitch throughout the whole movie and I kept thinking how hard that would be to keep up so I was impressed! All in all the movie was well done, it does have a pretty good twist at the end and just when you think all is doomed for everyone involved- you're pleasantly surprised. I think my only critique was that it was slightly too long and drawn out (2.5 hours), and also I didn't expect to be such a pussy about it either. Having your own daughter really changes your perspective on these kind of stories even if they are fictional.. It was hard to keep emotions at bay that's for sure. 

Tunes;

Portishead

I realise I'm about 10 years too late with this band but man I am digging this album lately! I didn't actually discover them until around 3 years ago & I was hooked. It is a a sweet mix of alternative rock & folk which may sound terrible but it is nothing but! The lead singers voice is captivating, and so soulful, I feel like every time I listen to "Roads" I'm taken on some whimsical journey. So if you haven't listened to these guys/gals, download this album & you won't be disappointed. 

Bob Marley

Oli has been cranking Bob left right and centre lately and we are all digging it, B was boogying to "Stir it Up" on Saturday and it was one of the funniest things I've ever witnessed. I just find Bob to be suitable for any occasion, whenever or wherever. But he always seems to pop up when the sun comes out around here, and I love it. 

What's everyone else been listening to/ reading / watching lately? Would love to get any new suggestions! 

Happy Monday

Gemma

Lucky in Love

**Beware of lovey dovey cringe-worthy mushiness throughout this post**

Isn't love just the strangest thing? 

It starts out so incredibly powerful, spreading through your entire mind & body like wildfire. All you can think about is that one person, you (being a girl) over-analyse every single conversation, every single txt message until the words are twisted into something completely different to their original meaning. I know that's what I used to do anyway, if Oli would say "yeah come over later" I would freak out & have a mind explosion, "does he want me to stay over? Should I pack just incase? Would that make me look too eager though? But I stayed last night so surely he wants me to stay. He asked me to stay. 

I think he loves me."

When really, he just wanted me to come over later. 

Haha, ohhhhh I miss those days. Even though they were incredibly frustrating sometimes, the beginning of love is always an incredible experience... 

Oli and I had been friends for 3 years before we shacked up together. It was weird, because one day he was just Oli- the shy, lanky guy who barely said boo amongst our group of friends. I loved that about him though, he was very intriguing- and when you did talk to him he always had something really thoughtful or intelligent to say. Fast forward a few years and suddenly, one evening, as we all sat in the same group drinking the same pre-mixed drinks we did every weekend- Oli became handsome. I don't know how he did it? Maybe he was always handsome but I had just never noticed, he would like to think so I'm sure. And that was that. I had to have him. 

Fast forward 8 weeks and I was in love. I know that may seem far too early, and a lot of people don't think you can truly love someone until you've been with them for at least a year or whatever, but that was not the case here. I was 100% head over heels in love with this guy. He was incredibly attractive, charming in his own awkward way, intelligent, and most of all downright hilarious. His wit was what had me in his web. 

Funny how someone so interesting can be sitting right in front of you for all that time and you don't even know it.

And so we became Oli & Gemma. 

That was 5 and a half years ago now and I love him now more than ever. It may sound cliche, but he really is my best friend, my confidant, my rock. 

It certainly hasn't all been a fairytale, a lot has happened in that time. We had a year break back in 2010 which left me completely devastated, but it taught us a lot..  Most importantly it taught us that we do infact love each other and want to be with each other so I'm incredibly grateful for that time in that respect. 

Since having Blake I've found our relationship moved to an entirely new level. The trust, respect, admiration and loyalty sky rocketed and I am truly in awe of him as a father. When he gets home each afternoon and plays with her, watching them together makes me physically feel warm inside. It is magic. It has also been one of the- if not the most- hardest times for us. It takes a lot of patience and practise to get this parenting stuff flowing, but I couldn't have picked a better person for the job. Oli not only works all day but he gets up first thing with Blake, changes her & feeds her, to allow me a sleep in. He also baths her every night after work and gets her ready for bed. Grateful doesn't even scratch the surface, he is one of the good ones that's for sure. 

So here we are, engaged with nearly 2 children. Even just writing that out sounds absurd. Oli Tabak? My husband? The father of my children? How did that happen?! But I could not be happier... I seriously feel so lucky to have found him at such a young age, it means we literally get our whole lives together, how cool is that!! 

(Cheeese, but I don't care as this was the best day of my life, he may kill me for putting this one up though but I'm taking the risk)

I hope everyone gets to experience love like this at least once in their life. There is nothing greater than the power of love, embrace it at every opportunity I say. The world would be a better place if there were more lovin' and less hating that's for sure. (I couldn't bring myself to write hatin' there, I just..... No it couldn't happen)

I'll leave you with one of my fav Bob Marley tunes to suit the theme, "Is this love" he is a musical genius. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHekNnySAfM

Happy Friday people.

Love Gemma 

Hump day happenings

Hey everyone, how is your week going?

What a brilliant day over here, the temperature is really starting to rise and we reached a balmy 28degrees today! 

I kicked off the day with a bit of a different breaky, normally I'm all about the muesli- quick, easy and delish. But upon seeing a few recipes floating about on Instagram, I decided to give some of those healthy pancakes a go. I didn't actually follow any particular recipe, I kind of just chucked it all together and hoped it would work out...

Ingredients;

1/2 mashed banana 

1/4 cup quick oats 

1 egg & 1 egg white 

Splash of milk 

2 tbs LSA 

I threw all of that together in a bowl to make the batter, and then I spooned them into the pan which I had already greased up with some coconut oil. It was my first time using that oil actually, I bought it a while ago but nothing I've cooked since has really called for it. I thought these babies would be perfect for it though.  It really is rather coconut-y, which makes it hard to use for cooking, I might try it for a hair mask though (My friend recently gave it a go and swears her hair was definitely smoother and shinier afterwards.... Interesting) 

So anywho- a few mins on each side on really high heat and waddya know? They turned out perfectly! I topped them with some PB, strawbs, banana, desiccated coconut and chia seeds. They were surprisingly delicious, I say surprisingly as its very rare to make up a recipe and pull it off ... For me anyway. I am no Martha Stewart. 

Final product;

After all the excitement of the pancakes, Blake and I headed off to the gym. I decided today I was going to toughen up and do something semi intense. Rather than just my usual procrastinating on the  treadmill in order to avoid doing any weights. So I only did 10 mins of treadmilling before I did a legs session. I mixed up squats, lunges, leg press and dead lifts and I literally felt like I couldn't walk afterwards. I took the lift down to my car rather than the two sets of stairs- that's how fragile I was feeling. The gym has been going really good lately, normally I go hard there one week then switch to other types of exercise but I'm sticking to my guns and doing it at least 3 times a week. Tomorrow I'm going to do a yoga class there which I tried last week & was really impressed with so I'm looking forward to going back, although my legs probably won't be happy about this. 

I realised today I haven't done a 19 week pregnancy post this week, it's a bit late as I'm nearly 20 weeks now. But to summarise, my shadow looked like it has doubled today outside, my tummy seems to be growing by the second, and I've had sushi nearly everyday this week. And I loved it. I don't even feel guilty anymore so it's even better! Here's a bump update from earlier today;

I wasn't in togs for swimming purposes either by the way, I just purchased this set today from David Jones. I've been wanting to get them for weeks but couldn't bring myself to fork out for them as they were quite pricey, but they were the last pair and I couldn't risk the devastation of missing out, so I took the leap and swiped my card.. I figure the amount of time I had spent in the last few weeks trying on cheaper alternatives only to be disappointed makes up for the extra dollars. And besides, Bali is only four weeks away (!!!!!!) these were mandatory. My lesson has been learnt- big boobs = expensive togs. I should have figured that one out years ago. But seriously, why does everything only get to C cup? It's beyond frustrating. 

I also picked Blake up a pretty swish paddling pool from Kmart while we were out, $15 was such a bargain! 

So we have spent all arvo out back in our little patio area splashing up a storm. I may need to invest in an adult pool shortly though, I was more than a little jealous of all of Blakes fun..

Also, only 2 weeks until we take a little roady down south to Margaret river to stay with our friends Lee & Tali. I am SO excited to get away and enjoy some quality time with Tali, and also to explore Margaret river as we have never been and heard such great things! And 2 weeks after that we are jetting off to Bali, that speaks for itself, I can barely contain my excitement! 

That's today in a nutshell, I hope everyone had a good one!

Thought of the day "will I fit in a paddling pool in a few more weeks?" (It's not looking likely)

Gemma