Hello world; this is me!

Excuse the sleepover club reference within the title (or for those of you who didn't notice... don't look too much into it) but yes it is meeeeee!
After a (too) long hiatus I am back at the keyboard. Apologies, sorrys and yada yada. I have had a ridonkulously fabulous few months and have simply been too busy doing this - =D to post anything. So that this entry doesn't become the length of Noah's doorlist - I will summarise in chunks.

Home/Love life - Sigh. I am once again a FIFO wife. Note - without the title wife and the benefits of the mutual funds that come with being said wife but anyway. David started FIFO again in late September (which correlates exactly to the time that I gave up on my wittle blog). The thinking was/is that we will put in the hard yards and save for our first house (eek!). The thinking currently is more along the lines of 'wahhhh!'. In truth I've been pretty strong and have only cried once in the 3 months! For those of you who know me well, that is a record and a half for old blubber butt over here. I've been absolutely blessed (funny how these things work out - thank you universe) with the arrival of two housemates over this time. Bec and Cat - my little ports in the storm. Cat is my irish kindred spirit - so fortuatous that the two of us should come into each others' lives. We will 'room' together for a total of 6-7weeks and will say farewell (or by for now) next week. Cue cry number 2 methinks.

Kitchen - Still cooking and brewing and creating and baking. This month's brag book includes - my first fondanted cake for my darling Emma's birthday (NO photos sadly!); the best dinner creation ever of kale, sweet potatoes, beetroot, feta, flaxseed oil and seeds; raw brownies (yes I made them again); healthy Italian hot chocolate (rich and gooey and hooley toiltoes amazing!); mushroom and lentil patties and a shiteload of salmon. Mmmmm!

Fitness - chugging along is the best way to describe it! Have started to up the ante on the weekends with my long runs in hopes to eventually make it to that alluring 21km goal in 2013. But we shall see how that train chugs later...

Friends and Family - Fabulous and blessed. I CANNOT WAIT for the christmas break - please let it be known if you are a friend or family member - Emily is coming for the mother of all cud cuds! :)

Work - Busy! Business has really taken off these past few months with full days booked up on all of my private days. Can I get a yahooo?! I am absolutely loving everything about work at the moment - I lucked out with all the kids I have. The most beautiful little souls.

General - happy happy happy healthy bubbly Emily.

MERRY CHRISTMAS ERRYBODY!*

Love and cuddles and kisses.

*because we all know the chances of Emily doing an entry in the next few weeks is rarer than finding a black hair on me daddy's head (but it IS possible!!).

Post Birthday Reflections.

My last post was written on the eve of my 24^th birthday so I felt it was only fitting that I do a reflective birthday summary.

The Day I turned 24 –

I was woken at 3:30am by David, before he left to drive up to Perth for a work induction, to receive the first of my gifts for the day! I got a big snuggle and a lovely pair of pearl earrings and the warming dressing gown on the planet! After Dave left, I chose to snooze for a few hours and then headed to the gym before work to start my day. On the kitchen table was a HUGE bouquet of red roses (23 red and 1 white). In between clients in the morning, my beautiful mummy surprised me by walking into the clinic with a big bunch of flowers and a big hug! Best surprise imaginable!! In between afternoon clients, she took me to lunch, and kept me company. At 4pm I had to say goodbye and watch mama drive away – wahhh. Still sucks every single bloody time saying goodbye to mum (and dad and shan) but at least it was only one more sleep til I saw them again).

But at home I found David and even morrrre pressies, being very spoilt this year, and got a beautiful framed series of photos of him and I, annnnnnd a wetsuit! SO EXCITING! Dinner was a beautiful piece of salmon with steamed veges.

A perfect Emily day J

My First Weekend as a 24 year old Woman –

I’ll save you the boring deets and summarise my wonderful weekend in bullet form:

·      Friday night Japanese with my family. A wonderful belated birthday dinner with the family I love so much J

·      Saturday morning coffee catch up with Jen(ny from the block). Sharing stories of what we’ve been up to since she left for Europe 8 weeks ago!

·      Saturday surprise birthday date! Fellow September birthday lady Emily took me to a wonderful lunch at Nobu (located at the newly named Crown Casino). It was INCREDIBLE! The best lunch of my life. The sashimi salad and, obviously, Miso Cod were my favourite dishes. Very spoilt, and I really appreciately the amazingly generous gift.

·      Saturday night (before). Reunited with my girls for the first time in weeks to months. There were tears. And cupcakes. And balloons. And smiles and laughs and ‘congratulations’ and cuddles and kisses and a very friendly taxi driver.

·      Saturday night (after). Hooley tolitoes. Words cannot express how happy I was on Saturday night. Singing out loud (and as the affirmation suggests – like no one was watching) and dancing with my amazing girlfriends (two of whom also shared my birthday weekend, happy birthday my munchkins xx) and beeeautiful sister, gazing at Taylor Hanson’s pert behind as he bopped around on the keyboard. I was in heaven. If I died, my corpse would have revealed a cheesy Cheshire cat style smile.

·       Sunday morning breakfast at the Juricev’s. With David’s darling mother making sure there was yoghurt and muesli for me amongst the fry up. Sigh, after five years they know me all too well.

·      And again on Sunday morning. Popped by for the end of breakfast w dear school friends. So lovely to see them all and get lots of cuddles J

·      Sunday afternoon. Jen(ny from the block) dropped off an INCREDIBLE birthday cake for me. Dangerous and very rich but holey devils I love it (and so does my butt. Nom nom nommmm*). *my butt does not eat the cake, it merely deposits tiny bits of the cake under the skin’s surface to create and overall dimpled effect. Yummy!.

·      And again on Sunday afternoon. FINALLY got to visit my beautiful friend Josie and her husband (hehe it’s still novelty saying that!!). She made me smile and we just enjoyed sitting with one another (on her amazing new lounge room rug) and caught up on what feels like a years’ worth of news and developments!

·      Sunday night. A long drive to Capel solo while Hanson’s Middle of Nowhere blared over Gretzky’s sound system.

·      Later on Sunday night. Date night with my beloved before dreaded fly out day. Wahh.

·      Even later on Sunday night. Birthday skype dates with my sister and cousin to open presents. I scored a BEAUTIFUL pair of Oroton sunnies. And got to see their faces JJ Also my cousin had recently finished her masters thesis and has now officially graduated from the Post Graduate Masters Program (can I get a whoop whooooop?!).

And so concludes my birthday adventures. I’m going out on a limb and in fact suggesting that this could be my most amazing birthday yet. Would have been lovely to spend more time with family and friends, as always, and missed seeing some over the weekend but (after having a mini breakdown about that) I have realised that even if I don’t get to spend lots of time with these people, I know that I will cherish the time that I do have and that helps to make it even more special.

And, yes, if you find yourself asking yourself as I have done over the past week – I AM the luckiest girl in the SouthWest J

Mle xxx

I am twenty three going on twenty four ...

 

This is exactly how I feel on the eve of my 24th birthday! Not necessarily that I don't have my sh*t together but I definitely don't feel as 'adult' as I thought I would at this age!

By 24 I thought I would no longer -
Be scared of the dark
Miss my mummy and daddy
Faint from needles
Be scared of getting married and having kidlets
Be an anxious driver who only fills up at empty petrol stations
Be a worry wart in general
Still have 'body issues' and insecurities (but seeing my beautiful mama still scrutinising herself despite near perfection, I'm guessing that this'll be a life long accompanyment).

But on the eve of my birthday it's also the perfect time to make wishes and set goals for my 25th year on this planet -
Spend more quality time with family and friends
Run a half marathon
Develop my business and mayyyybe even expand it to include more therapists or multidisciplinary caseload management
'Settle' into my community and get involved in ole Busso town
And on the complete flipside - plan our South America extravagannnnnza
Compete in the Summer Tri series
Create weird and wonderful culinary experiments in my humble little kitchen
Get to 25 with a big smile on my face and feeling as happy as I do on the lead up to my 24th!

Wishing everyone a safe, happy and healthy weekend. I am off to Perth for a reunion with my friends/family and to see Hanson - live.in.freakin.concert (eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!).

Love and Cuddles,

Mle xx

EXCITEMENT!

Two of my very best friends have announced their engagement and I literally cried and shook for hours after they told me. Please everyone and anyone who reads this, send good thoughts, love and prayers to Em and Mat - wishing them a long, happy and above all loving life together.

 

 

Mle xx

Race Recap - My 2nd and Daddy's 1st CityToSurf.

 

Nothing short of impressive, dad chose to begin his fun run career in style and with gusto, opting for the 12km City to Surf in Perth. After training fairly consistently, on both Australian and international (Indonesian) soil, dad felt he was ready to give it a go. True to the Meagher style though, he completely underestimated what he was capable of. We had agreed on a plan of attack the night before, as I was still pretty anxious about dad over exerting himself on the course and aggravating his freakin heart condition. We said we would walk the hills, and aim for a 2km/run and 1km/walk interval system. I don’t know our official numbers etc but that plan went out the window and became more of a 3 and 1 rotation. But I’ll try and recap in a bit more detail – such a special and fun day for us.

Night Before – Mama made us an amazingly derish pasta w beef ragout sauce. It went down an absolute treat.  It was an awesome family night in and after a hectic day driving around and up to Perth, very much appreciated. Made all the more special with a visit from my beautiful cousin.

Morning Of – Alarm went off at 6am, and although I could technically sleep in for a while more, I got up as my infamous ‘nervous tummy’ was in full swing! Daddy was up a short time later and I could tell, as nervous and anxious as we seemed, he was overwhelmingly excited too. We electrolyted up w a drink and then had toast for pre-race fuel. We made really good time and ended up getting into town 2hrs before we were due to start... Oh well! We pottered around (and it allowed us time for emergency toilet stops for yours truly!). Eventually meeting up with Dad’s long time mate and my ‘uncle’ Pol who had agreed to run with us. And impressively so, we found out he had been sick with the flu all week!

Daddy and I about to head out the door!

The Run – I cannot emphasise how blessed we were with the weather. Absolutely beautiful day. Started off well, jogging at the very beginning (our first deviation from the plan!) and quickly encountered the first hill up alongside King’s Park. WHAT THE FRIG? It is a ridiculous hill! Haha. Anyway, as soon as we got to the top, it was run time. And the man can move!! He is a quick little silver fox and was darting through the crowds to try and gain ground. According to my Garmin when we were running – we were averaging 5:30-5:45min/km. THIS MAN DIDN’T RUN 5 MONTHS AGO AND HE IS (easily) KEEPING UP THAT PACE! We kept this rest and run plan throughout the run. I don’t know if it was the sentimentality of it – running alongside my dad was pretty special and something I had looked forward to for ages – but it was one of the most enjoyable fun runs. Everyone’s energy and the motivational support on the sidelines was so encouraging (I think I high fived about 20 random children along the course, they would stand there with their hand stretched out for runners as they came past – how could I not!?).  Running over that last hill and seeing the beautiful coastline was the best feeling. We only had 1.5km to go and I knew dad would absolutely smash it and there was sooo much support on the final leg of it.

DONE!

 

We crossed the finish line at 81mins 49seconds. Dad wanted to get under 90mins for his first run and CLEARLY he killed his goal!! We finished with smiles on our faces and soooo thirsty. We collected our medals, powerade and hobbled off to the exit. Dad and Pol felt fine, one of my muscles in my hip has a tendency to flair up and sure enough it did. But after some stretching and walking – I was better. We walked to our designated pick up spot (approx 4km away!), but I think it was good for stretching out our legs, and headed into Scarbs for a celebratory drink (a juice and granita!!).

Dad, me and Uncle Pol.

Overall it was an amazingly perfect start to a day. I am SO proud of dad. Beyond proud. I have no words. And even more than that, I am impressed! All his dedication and training definitely paid off and was reflected in his smile at the finish line.

Still Smiling :)

Can’t wait for the finish line photo!!

Mle x

One of 'those' days.

Do you ever have those days where you struggle to get to the end of it, look back over and assess how your day went and have one of those 'sliding doors' moments where instead of 'making your train' (or in my case, getting out of bed) it may have actually been better for your emotional and mental sanity if you had called in sick, snoozed the alarm, pull the covers over your head and ask the world to kindly eff off for just 24hours.
A little melodramatic I'll admit but, yes, this is kind of how today went for me.
*I might also add that I just, that second, got up to check on some muffins that I lovingly prepared for David only to find that they are in fact burnt and lopsided and stupid. (I am so tired that I cannot think of a more emotionally laden descriptor than stupid...).
I have wanted to update my blog and do another entry for ageeeeeeeees but unfortunately the one night I actually sit down to do it, I'm sorry, is tonight where you all have to bear the bane of my frustrations and anger towards anything and everything.

Ok so it's not that bad. August is just a bit of a hectic month, and it signals the change of even greater hecticness that is the month of September. The clinic is going well and is fast filling up with clients and contracts and all sorts (which is fabulous) but becomes a little scary when you're all on your lonesome. I am fighting off, will all my might, the potential invasion of cold and flu bugs that saw me almost go home from work today and has also induced the appearance of an odd rash on my arms and tummy (don't worry - I'm watching it!!). SO many colleagues, clients and families have had this cold/flu over recent weeks and I was just saying to someone the other day how lucky and grateful I was that my body held up and didn't succumb (damn you Murphy and your law!). But as long as I keep rugged up and keep topping up my multivitamins and eating healthy - I should be right as rain (which, incedently, is coming down in buckets down here in ole Capel) very shortly.

Rather than being a hagged and bitter old grouch of a lady, I'm going to now turn this blog entry upside down and finish on an optimistic note - by listing all the things that I am currently grateful for:
- the lovely families and clients that I have been blessed with at the clinic, who make it very easy to come to work to.
- my weekend mini victory over my mental demons. As part of my training, I had a 60min training run scheduled for Sunday. And I frikkin did it. All by myself, in the rain, with cramps and headwind. I experienced that amazing numbness in my legs and feet that comes from a hard slog and I knew that mentally I was strong if I could come out of that run with a smile on my face.
- a beautiful weekend w family. We were lucky enough to have Dave's cousin and her hubby come down and spend the weekend with us. We filled our days and nights with yummy homecooked meals, a visit to Duckstein brewery, a visit to the Venissan farm, a round of Supa Golf, nintendo64 marathons and lots of Olympics watching and commentating. It was so lovely to spend uninterrupted time with them.
- my sister. Nothing in particular really but just being away from her has been one of the hardest things and knowing that I have a weekend coming up in which we get to spend 48 wonderful hours together makes me soooooooooooooooo happy! (Bad day, shmad day .... bring on Saturday!!)
- my friends. I miss them. I love them and I am ETERNALLY grateful for them.
- mum and dad's amazing sounding holiday. Currently in the lap of luxury in Bari Bari, I think a beautiful holiday couldn't go to a more deserving couple and I hope they are loving every minute of it!
- the month ahead. As overwhelming and busy as it will likely be. I'm so excited September is almost here. That means it's Spring, it means my birthday is coming, it means HANSON is coming, it means that dates with my girls, it means family gatherings, it means outdoor runs in the warmth, it means AFL grand final, it means netball grand final, and most excitingly it means a very momentous celebration for David and I with our 5 year anniversary also coming up in September :)

So, yes, there are crap days and days where you'd rather chew off your own arm than even think about getting through, but without these kinds of days, we might not appreciate the amazing ones. So I guess I'm grateful for this shitty one, because it's made me realise how much amazing stuff I have to look forward to in the next few weeks. So here's to you mother of all poopy days and stress, thank you for allowing me to see the end of you and, I cannot emphasise the sincerity enough, please go away and never come back so I can have my days filled with rainbows instead of stupid (again, I'm tired...) clouds and greyness.

Mle x

A well overdue update.

Hello and big kisses everyone! I'm far too often apologizing on this blog for my sparse updates so let's skip over that bit! July has been slash was absolutely insane and flew by. There were some big and exciting changes and adventures - and a few visits to Perth and cuddles with my favorite people! To try and cover the basics and the important things, I will structure this post to cover a few different headings!

Work
Probably the biggest aspect of my life that's a-changin! The start of August saw the celebration of the practice's first month of operation! Wahhhooooo. It's definitely proving to be a steep learning curve, with all aspects of the business so far being handled by myself (yes, me Emily, the girl without a freakin financial/accounting/business bone in her body!). But I have been so so blessed to have had the most gorgeous clients come on board and my days have been filling up quickly! It's currently a pretty even spread of adults and paediatrics, in terms of new referrals coming through. But with the existing client base that came along w the clinic, I am seeing lots of little kiddies throughout my mornings. It has been a pretty exciting, and often terrifying, time for me. I have to admit that I have had a few moments in which I doubted the new venture and questioned why the frick I had done it so early on in my career. But I decided to stop whinging and doubting myself and instead frikkin harden up, buckle down and work my ass off to prove myself. I am woman hear me roar mother cluckers!!

Culinary Creations
Not much to report actually. Dave and I continue to cook weird and wonderful things that keep our tummies full and smiles on our faces. I tend to get obsessed with random little recipes and edibles and this month has been no different... So in no particular order, these are the bits and bobs that have been featuring heavily on my plate this month:

• Raw chocolate brownies (I had to impose a self-ban because I was downing far too many of these bad boys and, frick me, they were wonderful)
• Green Sushi Salad (discovered in January and feeding my soul ever since. Yum-bo.)
• Long Macs (ok so not really an edible, more a drinkable. However, if you know me well, you will know that although I claim to love coffee, the truth is I still have to have a small amount of choc in it to soften the blow. I'm slowly weaning! From soy mocha w half strength choc, to cappuccinos and now long macs topped up - the girl is growing up!!)
• Oatmeal (Smooth oatmeal with honey - where have you been all my life?! )
• Coriander (Holy poop - I don't know how I didn't used to top all my meals with this but I sure as shootin do now!)
• Vegan Italian Hot Chocolate (Ok - another drinkable. But this thick, rich desert is honestly the most amazing thing. Made w raw cacao and soy milk, it actually provides heaps of antioxidants so is an occassional desert that you don't have to feel guilty about. Shibby!).

Running and Fitness

Ok so my commitment to training has been more up and down than Oprah's pant size but I'm still chugging along, clocking up the kms and doing lots of cross training amongst it. I'm really excited about tri season, fast approaching, and am planning on doing a few across the summer. The first two are women only 'have a try' style ones, so they will be lots of fun and hopefully will be good practice for the sprint distance tris in December! But I promise to keep you all posted. Rather than boringly blab about my ups and downs in running, riding and x training; I'm going to use this space to do a shout out...

MY FREAKIN' DADDY is a bloody champion. For those of you who don't know, Dad had a little scare at the start of the year and had to have a stress test (15 minute walk on the treddie w HRM attached) and a (slightly scary and slightly invasive) angiogram. The angiogram revealed a blockage in one of his hearts' major arteries. The doctor then told him that he needed to try and 'self medicate' with healthy eating, less drinking and more physical exercise. Since that day, he has pretty much changed his habits completely. From walking to jogging to running - he keeps getting stronger and faster and, most importantly, healthier! He had a previous PB of running 1km straight, did even better on his 53rd birthday and did 2km, then a week later topped it to 3km! I was bursting with pride and, just quietly, struggling to breathe as the little bugger is FAST! Daddy and I are all signed up for the City2Surf 12km  fun run and I literally cannot wait. I am so proud and honoured to run alongside the silver bullet (HA!), but in all seriousness, I am super proud of him and can't wait to try and convince him to do a tri with me... hehe.

Izzie

It was only a matter of time until she got her own section, hehe. Pup is growing bigger with every passing day. At her most recent check up, puppy tipped the scales at 19.2kg. She is not even 6 months old! We are in for one chunky doggy. She gave us a bit of a scare this week - Iz injured a ligament in her knee and was essentially a three-legged dog for almost a week, with her little back leg tucked right up. She wouldn't put any weight on it. Which scared the poop out of us but after the all clear (basically) from the vet, she was encouraged to have strict rest (haha - yes a rottweiler pup 'resting', nice thought doc) and now is definitely on the mend! And she continues to be cute and has me wrapped around her little puppy claw

Love kisses and farewells and sending Capel cuddles...

Mle xx