Body Acceptance - An Ongoing Battle

Anxiety is something that affects many people and in many different ways. To me, it has always been something that I have felt in varying degrees but couldn’t really explain and passed it off as just being worry. In 2013 the frequency in which I feel anxiety has increased, or maybe I am just now more aware of the feelings and can identify it.

I have always been a “worrier” since I was a kid and just dismissed my anxiety as that. I always thought ahead in everything I did trying to anticipate what comes next and worrying about every possible outcome. I was scared of many things and was just quite a nervous child. I think to a degree it was a learnt behavior from people in my family who unconsciously passed along the trait.

However, this year I have come to realise that it goes beyond simply worrying. I feel extremely nervous and sick to the stomach before seeing my best friends or even family. I agonise over my appearance – I annalyse my outfit choice, whether I look super fat today, whether I picked the wrong eye shadow, does my hair look messy or boring, should I tan today so I don’t look so pale, is red toenail polish the right choice. I spend so much of my life thinking about how I look to other people and wonder whether they are judging all the parts of me that I don’t feel confident about. My greatest fear is looking embarrassing or saying something embarrassing which is just silly because you can’t be the perfect image of yourself 24/7.

As an adult my worrying has manifested into anxiety related to what other people think of me – strangers and acquaintances alike. I think that I'm a person who try’s to be a good human being, I don’t intentionally hurt people, I try to help others, I'm compassionate to people and animals, I'm loving and caring. But what I'm not confident about is my appearance. I spend so much time thinking of ways to make myself look different or look better.

Being constantly bombarded with images of the ‘perfect women’ in advertising, TV, movies and the entire world around us make me think “how could I possibly feel confident about myself when I don’t look even a small part like these ‘perfect’ women”. I'm lucky to have a husband who loves and adores me in all my forms and showers compliments on me. But the sad thing is, I can’t hear these compliments because in my head I'm thinking “that can’t be right because I don’t look like how I’m supposed to look to be considered attractive".

I know that I shouldn’t feel like this and I do really want to be someone who is confident in herself and can spread a positive body image and body acceptance message to those around her. I just can’t get past this feeling of inadequacy. I have moments and days where I feel good and say FUCK YOU to the media and people who advance this “perfect women” image but I always come back to self-loathing.

I want to – no – I need to get past this. For my own sanity and self-worth and for my husband who I know it pains to see me being so negative towards myself. I want to see myself as more than my appearance, that the way I look is not the total sum of who I am. That even on a bad hair day I can feel confident because I actually like me….maybe 2014 will be the year that it all clicks into place…I know one thing is for sure, I will be doing everything I can to make this true.

 

 

It has been a while…

Oops, it’s been over 3 months since I have posted on this blog. Really, that long? I feel like I’ve blinked and suddenly the year is coming to an end.

Now, I'm not making excuses but this year in general and particularly the past 3 months have been overwhelmingly hectic between work, uni, family and friends and just life. It hasn’t all been bad, a lot of good things have come from this year – a settled career choice, enjoying time with my favorite people, figuring out the things I want in life and working towards future plans.

There was a time that things were a little rough for me with some anxiety issues (I wrote about it briefly) but for the most part it’s improving and I can appreciate the good days which outnumber the bad.

I'm not going to make any grand promises of a certain number of posts per week (I know myself well enough – I won’t stick to it…) but I will try my darndest to post more often! That is, if anyone is still reading. Are you out there? Heeeellllooo!! hehe
 

Here is my favourite We Heart It photo quote of the day (anyone else addicted to that app, i LOVE it!)

 

 

 



 

 

 

Today is not a great day...

This morning I woke up feeling very anxious. From the minute my alarm went off I instantly had that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that comes with anxiety. I was agitated and felt a sense of dread. All day I have felt the same and at times worse to the point were I’ve felt like I'm about to have a panic attack.

 

My mind is foggy and I am struggling with basic decisions. It’s like I'm in slow motion whilst everything around me is in fast forward. I think I’ve been less than useless at work today and can’t wait to get home put some pajama’s on and try to relax.

 

As mentioned above I have felt like this before but there has always been a reason; a stressful situation, a nerve-wracking job but today that wasn’t the case. I had an amazing weekend with my Gav. We enjoyed the sunshine and beautiful weather, went to a film festival, ate delish food and enjoyed a few quiet drinks, I submitted a uni assignment yesterday that I'm really happy with and I'm feeling really inspired about my career path. I just don’t know what caused the way I'm feeling today, I havent felt stressed at all lately.

 

Do you ever have days were you feel like this for no reason? What’s your remedy for helping your mental state?

 

I'm hoping a walk to the beach followed by a bubble bath and hugs from my husband when I get home tonight are my cure!

 

 

 

 

Update

It has been 4 months since I posted anything on this blog. I feel like a lot has changed in the past 4 months, there has been more change in that short amount of time than in the past few years.

I started this blog as a way to document moments of my life and to talk about different things that interest me. It didn’t quite pan out that way, I found myself not really writing anything except recapping things I had done. I found myself trying to document moments thinking ‘I need to put this on my blog’ rather than enjoying and being in the moment. Whilst I only wrote about my life and didn’t embellish or exaggerate looking back and re reading posts it felt a little fake. There wasn’t any heart or soul in what I was writing about.

So this is my attempt at ‘Love From Jenna – Mark II’. I want to use the blog as way to express what I'm thinking and feeling. I want to post about topics that mean something to me. It won’t always be deep and meaningful; sometimes I might post about my love of coffee or post an obnoxious amount of cute animal photos.

As I have mentioned above a lot of change has happened in the past 4 months. Whilst some of the change has been large physical changes like moving most of the change I talk about is change within myself and small aspects of my life.

In March my husband Gav and I made the move into the CBD of the city we live in. That might not sound like something major but to us it was. It was something we had wanted to do for years but we hadn’t found the right place or the right time to do it (rents are high and most property’s don’t allow animals). This move has had a major impact on our lives and is really what started a lot of change for me. We love city life! We spend our time walking to the beach and harbour or strolling through the city streets, picnics in parks, visiting art galleries and watching documentaries, dinners and nights out with friends and family, lazy afternoons spent in coffee shops and just generally enjoying our city. It has opened us to a whole world of experiences.

Living the life we want has made us feel content and happy in a way we weren’t expecting. It wasn’t that we weren’t enjoying our lives before; we are just exactly where we want to be right now, living our own little dream without the societal pressure placed upon us. We choose to do things differently than the norm. We have gone from a few years ago owning a home in the suburbs, getting married and planning to really settle down and have a family to renting in the city, having fun and experiencing life in a way we didn’t in our early 20s and just doing what we feel. We have both never been happier, our marriage has never been better and it has had a profound impact on me.

I feel free. I feel more myself than ever before. I'm less fearful, I'm stronger, I'm more self-confident, I'm more independent, I’m much more willing to try new things and have new experiences, I'm a better friend, I'm more social, I'm a better wife, I'm ok with making mistakes. But most of all, I know what I want from life and the type of person I want to be and I am very content with that thought.

 “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.”
― Steve Jobs

 

 

 

Happies and Crappies - Week 6!

I am once again linking up with The Vintage Modern Wife and Scissors and a Whisk for this week's Happies and Crappies.

HAPPIES

• It's nearly the weekend!!!!! This week has been the work week from hell with long hours, constantly busy and just never feeling like I am actually ticking anything off my to do list. Rest and relaxation is the plan for the weekend!

• My lovely husband treated/owed (see in my crappies as to why) me a little shopping spree last night and I had so much fun wandering the shops which I havent done for a long time. I came away with, a super cute new bag, new work dress and 4 casual-ish tops for weekends, going out for dinner etc.

 

• Jets game tonight! Gav scored us tickets in the Chairmans Lounge through work meaning we get to have cocktails and canapes during the game plus there is a talk from the club chairman before the game. Excited!

• Despite my disappointment during the week from missing out on 2 rental properties we are again going to be on the search tomorrow and I'm feeling hopeful. Fingers crossed we find (and get!) something we love!

 

• I started my design course this week. I am doing an Advance Diploma of Graphic Design. One of my first unit its Drawing and ill sum it up by saying I suck BUT I am looking forward to improving. The only way is up really - I cant get any worse!

CRAPPIES

• I was starting work early one morning this week so Gav decided to help out and iron my absolute favroutie dress which I was wearing to work. Let me get this straight, I normally dont spend a lot on clothes as Id rather have ten items than one really expensive item but I splurged when I spent $250 on this dress. This dress just makes me feel good. Disaster struck as soon as Gav put the iron on the fabric - it was too hot and burnt/melted the dress! Cue me being upset and Gav feeling really bad about it. But because he is so sweet he promised to replace it. Best husband ever!

Its been a long week, very excited to have a relaxing fun weekend! What are your plans for the weekend?
 

Disappointment

 

Disappointment. An emotion I absolutely hate but have sadly been feeling this week. Early in the week Gav and I had applied for 2 rental properties that we viewed on the weekend and fell in love with. I was trying not to get too excited about them but Gav was incredibly excited and his excitement made me excited and suddenly we were talking about when we could move in, where our furniture would go in each place and how amazing our new lifestyle would be living a 2 minute walk to the best restaurant and pubs in town. When the news came through that we had missed out on each property we were both gutted and just super disappointed.

 

As we usually do we had romanticised each property and to find out we didn’t get them was really sucky and reminded me why I shouldn’t get ahead of myself! I hate feeling disappointed and am going to do my best to not let it get to this point again.

 

I know it’s a first world problem and we should feel lucky that we have the option to live in a nice home in a safe, beautiful country but this has been a big part of my week this week which is why I decided to blog about it.

 

How do you handle dissapointment? Is it worth getting your hopes up about something or best to stay neutral and not get too excited about things?

 

 

A 50th Party & A Surprise!

Happy 50th Birthday to the kindest, sweetest most caring mother in the world!

Last week my mum turned the big 50. To celebrate my mum threw a big party at her favourite venue and invited 70-80 of her favourite people to celebrate with. The night began with hugs and kisses and catching up with family members and old family friends. Mum had a huge smile on her face overwhelmed by the amount of people that wanted to wish her Happy Birthday and shower her with gifts and affection.

During the planning stages my parents kept mentioning that at 8.30pm on the night of her party that there would be a surprise. I wrongly assumed it would be some kind of performance (perhaps a drag show) but I was way off.

At 8.30pm on the night my parents both seemed to disappear for a few minutes and I spent that time asking anyone I could what was going on. No one knew anything! All of a sudden an MC appeared with my parents at her side and she started welcoming everyone to my mums 50th. She then started talking about my parents’ marriage, as they were also celebrating their 30th Wedding anniversary. I then figured it out; my parents were renewing their wedding vows!

Everyone in the room was shocked and overwhelmed. My dad unbuttoned his nice formal shirt to display a tuxedo tshirt, which definitely got a laugh from everyone. Mum and dad then recited their vows to each other in the form of lyrics from songs that have been popular throughout their marriage.

I couldn’t stop myself from getting a little emotional (but also giggling a lot over the song lyrics) and the rest of my family was the same! It was just so sweet to see my parents who are normally shy people take the spotlight and tell each other and the world how they feel. Their marriage hasn’t always been easy and has had its ups and downs like every marriage does, but it is really inspiring to have them as role models for how a marriage should be. It would be tough to find 2 people as in love as they are after 30 years together – they are closer and happier than ever!

Here is a photo of my parents from there dating days (wasn’t my mum an original hipster?) and also a photo from their wedding day 30 years ago.

Isn’t love grand?

Happies and Crappies - Week 5

HAPPIES

• It was my mums 50th party last Friday night along with my parents 30th wedding anniversary. They completely surprised all of there guests including my brother and I by renewing there wedding vows! It was so sweet and cute! I'm going to write a post about it in the next few days.

• We have been looking for a rental place for the past few weeks and there hasn't really been much available but some amazing places popped up this week. We are spending our Saturday going to open houses and putting applications in. Very excited!

• I'm really feeling in the swing of blogging again after taking a week off to spend some time reformatting my Mac. Lots of exciting posts coming up!

• Its the first day of Autumn today! I have had enough of summer this year, not a big fan of ridiculously hot weather! Plus clothes in Autumn and winter are much cuter than summer!

• This week my friends and I decided to plan a Sydney shopping trip in April whilst Gav is overseas. We are staying in a really gorgeous hotel right in the centre of the city, shopping till we drop than having dinner and cocktails at Jamie Oliver's restaurant. Cant wait!

CRAPPIES

• We have had constant heavy rain for the past few days meaning lots of local roads a flooded. Major pain in the butt driving home from work! 

As usual, don't forget to check out the blogs of the 'hosts' of the weekly Happies and Crappies post - The Vintage Modern Wife and Scissors and a Whisk.

What have been your Happies and Crappies this week? Feel free to leave a link to your Happies and Crappies blog post in the comments below!

Liebster Award

Firstly, a big thank you to the lovely Aaliyah from Eyeshadow Eyeliner for nominating me for the Liebster Award. What is the Leibster Award you might ask? Well, it's an award that is given to new blogs with fewer than 200 followers. It allows bloggers to promote there blog and meet lovely fellow bloggers along the way.

The rules for the award are the following: 

• Nominees must link back to the person who nominated them.
• Nominee must list 11 facts about themselves.
• Nominee must answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated them.
• Nominee must than choose 11 people/blogs to nominate that have less than 200 GFC followers.
• Nominee must provide 11 questions to be answered by the people they choose to nominate.

Ok so here goes, below are 11 facts about me. I have tried to make then different to other facts I have given about myself, I don't want to rehash old info.

1. I have only been blogging since the beginning of the year (after thinking about doing it for about 12 months).
2. I choose not to go anywhere without makeup on - it makes me feel well presented and put together.
3. I spent my childhood doing ballet,jazz and modern dance from ages 4 till 11 however I retained none of the skills or coordination that I learnt.
4. I love football (soccer), watching not playing although I did play for a season a few years ago. My favourite position was the bench!
5. I am addicted to Mexican food.
6. I love energy drinks, Blue V is my favourite.
7. I am a very indecisive person whether its a small or large decision. What to have for lunch at work can sometimes take a good 10 minutes of pondering.
8. I would spend all my time in pyjamas if it were socially expectable - Peter Alexander PJ's of course.
9. I have what has been described as quite a high pitched voice. My work colleagues say my voice gets to such a high point that only dogs can here me.
10. I have to set 5 alarms each morning to wake me up for work because I'm a very deep sleeper and lazy when it comes to getting up.
11. I am about to start studying Graphic Design. I still am unsure about whether I'm creative enough to do it but I'm excited.

Next, here are my answers to the 11 questions posed by Aaliyah...

1. What is your most used website?
Blogger and Google.

2. Do you prefer shimmer or matte eyeshadow?
Shimmer - love me some sparkles!

3. If you could have an unlimited supply of anything what would it be? 
An unlimited amount of money would be pretty great!

4. What are your top 3 beauty products? 
I love Face of Australia Primer, Revlon Colourstay Foundation and Rimmel lipstick in Drop of Sherry.

5. Do you prefer ankle boots, mid-calf boots, or tall boots? 
Ankle boots.

6. What is your favorite type of candy? 
Reece's peanut butter cups.

7. How often do you check your emails per day? 
What feels like every 3 seconds but I really just glance at my iphone email about once an hour during the day.

8. Do you prefer volumizing or lengthening mascara? 
Volumising.

9. What is your favorite color for nail polish? 
Red, Black or Grey.

10. Do you have any pets? 

Yes, two adoreable cats called Baxter and Harry.

11. Which season is your favorite? 

Spring!

Now here are the blogs I nominate! Unfortunately I only have 4 nominations but they are all wonderful!

Full of light
Girl in Flight
Caudill Clan
Whats New Nini Kat

To the lovely blogs nominated, below are my 11 questions for you!

1. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
2. Are you a Facebook or Twitter person?
3. What is your all time favourite movie?
4. Sweet or Savoury?
5. Who is your favourite person in the entire world?
6. How do you like to spend your spare time?
7. Are you a Mac or PC person?
8. If you could change the world in one way, what would you choose?
9. What is your favourite animal?
10. Tea or coffee?
11. What do you enjoy most about blogging?

Go forth and spread the Leibster love! I look forward to checking out your responses!

Currently....

WATCHING...

Lots of soccer! I have become a very obsessive fan over the past few weeks. I think it's because the finals are so close and I have a husband who loves his soccer.

Being super busy over the past week has meant not a lot of TV watching (this could be seen as a good thing...) so I have lots of our regular shows to catch up on!

Any recommendations for good movies that are out now/recently? Remember I'm in Australia and we can sometimes be a month or two behind you cool American kids. We have quite a few free movie tickets that expire at the end of March that I really want to use. Is 'Beautiful Creatures' good? Disclaimer: I realise this movie seems silly but I love teenage type movies and add in a supernatural element and I'm usually hooked!

LISTENING...

Nothing new this week. I've just had my iPhone on shuffle replaying lots of songs I love. 'Same Love' gets played at least a few times in our house each week, I still find it to be such a powerful and well written song.

PLANNING...

We found out this week that my hubby will be going overseas again for about 10 days for work. This time he is off to the UK and Germany. I am incredibly jealous, plus neither of us function at all when we aren't together so Gav has offered me a BIG shopping spree whilst he is away to try to minimise how miserable I will be. That boy knows me SO well. So, I have roped in a few friends to go for a shopping weekend in Sydney. We will shop all day, stay in a nice hotel, have dinner and cocktails at a great restaurant and then shop again the next day. This is like my girl heaven! I will still be majorly sad the other 8 days he is away but those 2 days in Sydney are going to be pretty great.

THINKING ABOUT...

How much I am going to miss Gav when he is gone for 10 days. We have been together for 11 years this year and have spent no more than one day apart in that time except when he went to America for 10 days last October. It doesn't sound like a long time but we are incredibly close and to not see each other every day was even more difficult than we thought. There were tears on both ends of the phone during that trip. Plus at that time, our little cat Harry just had a major cancer scare and was transitioning onto a new diet to help with the condition he has. He went from being a big cat of about 5kg to weighing only 3.3kg - he is now back over 5kg thankfully! At the time, he was sick after everything he ate and I had him at the vet every few days - definitely the worst time for Gav to be away. Both our cats are now very healthy so I'm sure this trip will be much easier for us both.

LOOKING FORWARD TO...

Girls night out Saturday night! Whilst I regularly catch up with friends for coffee or lunch dates we haven't had a girls night out in so long. Plus its an event to raise money for charity so its a feel good night as well.

READING...

During the craziness over the past week I have somehow managed to devour not one but two books! That shows my priorities, right? First i read Mindy Kaling's book 'Is everyone hanging out without me' which was laugh out loud funny. So many times in the book I would start giggling to myself like a crazy person. The second book I read was 'The Younger Man' by Zoe Foster. I could not put it down! If you are not from Australia you probably wouldn't be familiar with Zoe Foster but she is an author, insanely knowledgeable beauty expert and former writer/beauty editor of Cosmopolitan magazine. Plus she is married to a very popular radio/tv personality and they are just adorable. The book is somewhat based on the two of them getting together. Anyway her writing style is very funny, if you like a good Chick Lit book along the lines of Lindsey Kelk or Paige Toon you will love her books.

MAKING ME HAPPY...

I know I tend to harp on about him a lot but my husband Gav truly makes me happier than anything else in the world. I get so excited driving home from work knowing I'm going to see him. We are both too impatient and excited to just talk to each other when we get home that we usually call each other as we are both driving home (on handsfree of course) and purge all of the good and bad points of our days and any silly stories we have. There isn't a day that goes by were I'm not hugely grateful to have him to share my life with.

What has been going on in your life over the past week? Feel free to leave comments below, I love hearing from you guys!

I Return! // Welcome New Followers!

Hi Everyone!

Wow, I cant believe its been a week since I last blogged! Work, family, and friends have kept me super busy and slightly stressed over the past few weeks but I'm nearing the end of the craziness. I plan to get back to blogging regularly - 4 times a week is my goal. I have lots of posts planned! Stay tuned over the next few weeks!

A big WELCOME to my many new followers that have joined from the group giveaway over at Tales of a Twenty Something. Thanks so much for following my blog, I hope you find something enjoyable here! Over the next week or two I plan on visiting each and every one of your blogs.

Unfortunately that's it for now! I have been up since very early this morning for a work function so I am currently falling asleep over my laptop - my bed is calling my name!

Sweet Dreams!

Currently...Week 5!

It's that time again....my weekly currently post!

WATCHING...

This week I have been trying to catch up on my favourite shows; The Office, The Mindy Project, Chicago Fire, Smash, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl.

 

The hubs and I also went to a short film festival on the weekend called FlickrFest and it was amazing! Neither of us had ever really seen short films before but it was so great, we laughed, felt sad, and I covered our eyes in some parts (I don't do scary) - it was a good mix of movie genres.

  

LISTENING...

I am loving anything by Loon Lake at the moment and my song of the week this week has been "Lay It Down' by the Rubens.

PLANNING...

We are still planning to move house however there aren't a lot of options available at the moment. The Newcastle rental market is crazy right now, rents are high and vacancy levels low. Fingers crossed something we like will pop up soon in the location we want.

THINKING ABOUT...

I've been thinking about how I am going to manage 2 Design Units when my course starts in March as well as work full time, blog and have a social life. Things will be busy but I'm excited.

LOOKING FORWARD TO...

I am very much looking forward to a busy weekend catching up with friends and family. It's my mums 50th Birthday party on Friday night so I cant wait to get dressed up and have a fun night celebrating with my family and the billion guests my mum has invited. We then have an engagement party on Saturday for a close friend of Gavin's. Everyone is so busy these days that we don't all get to catch up often so events like this are always good. I can see Sunday being pretty much recovery day after 2 big nights out. Sleeping in till noon? Yes please!!

READING...

Nothing new this week, its been a very busy work week so by the time I get home of a night I'm exhausted.

MAKING ME HAPPY...

My kittens (technically they should be could cats given that they are both 5 but kittens just sounds nicer). They are always super affectionate and can sense when Gavin or I are feeling a little down or stressed so they show even more affection. They truly are like our little fur babies.

Here is a pic of both boys napping...so cute!

Again, if you would like to take part in the weekly "currently" post, leave a comment below with a link to your blog so that I can check out your post each week!

Hope your having a super week!

Weekend in Review // The Week Ahead!

I can’t believe it’s Monday already, I feel like this weekend flew by! I’m feeling really drained and tired today plus a case of Mondayitis isn’t helping! I love my job but after having such a fun weekend always makes it hard to come back to work.   

Here are a few instax photos from our weekend drive through the countryside. How did you spend your weekend?

This week is shaping up to be super busy! Work is crazy at the moment as we are short staffed and I have a deadline looming for the publication I design which is making me stressed. On the personal side of things, Gavin and I have a busy weekend coming up with an engagement party, family BBQ at our house and my Mums 50^th Birthday Party. Busy but all fun, I just have a lot of last minute design work I need to do for my mums birthday. I am happy though that I bought a new dress yesterday which I can wear this weekend – buying a new outfit always makes me even more excited for a night out!

I am trying to stay on top of things at the moment but when work is busy and my personal life is busy I find I can get overwhelmed really easy. I just have to keep reminding myself ‘This too, shall pass’! How do you stop from getting overwhelmed during stressful times? 

Happies and Crappies - Week 4

HAPPIES

• I had a really perfect Valentines this year. Gav & I exchanged sweet presents and cards featuring love puns - so funny! After work we got all dressed up and went out for dinner to a great restaurant, ate amazing food and just chatted about our life and our plans for the future. Just percect!

• This week I have felt really happy, content and settled in my life. Its a great feeling! Despite the fact that we are looking to move house in the next month and we are both really busy with work, I just feel very happy with where life is at the moment and the direction we are headed in.

• My Firmoo glasses arrived and I love them! They are very good quality particularly considering the price. I will be ordering from Firmoo again for sure.

• Gav had to go away for work this week, it was only one night but it meant I was home alone! Normally if he has to go away I pack the kittens up and stay with my parents but this week I was feeling brave! I grabbed pizza for dinner after work, watched my favourite shows and got a great nights sleep. I wasn't scared once - feeling super proud of myself (I realise this seems like a weird thing to be proud of but I hate being home alone over night even though we live in a safe neighborhood). Jenna 1, Irrational Fear 0!

CRAPPIES

• I have not completed any C25K training this week! Ahh, feeling guilty about this but its been a busy interrupted week. I am starting back Monday morning - no excuses!

 

As usual, don't forget to check out the blogs of the 'hosts' of the weekly Happies and Crappies post - The Vintage Modern Wife and Scissors and a Whisk.

What have been your Happies and Crappies this week? Feel free to leave a link to your Happies and Crappies blog post in the comments below!

Currently...Week 4!

Ahh! With Valentines Day and a busy work schedule I completely forgot about my weekly currently post! Anyway, belatedly, here it is!

WATCHING...

SMASH! I loved the 2 episode season premiere and am so excited to see what happens throughout the season!

I have also been watching the below You Tube clip over and over again and it always makes me laugh hysterically. It is well worth a look!

  

LISTENING...

Nothing really new this week. I've just been listening to a play list Gav and I made for our trip to Kiama last month. Re listening to it makes me remember how great the trip was.
 

PLANNING...

Its my beautiful mums 50th Birthday part next weekend so I am busy planning decorations and a bit of a photo montage - the cheesier the better!

THINKING ABOUT...

How there are so many good, kind people in the world. I have had so many lovely blog comments this week and they really brighten my day!

LOOKING FORWARD TO...

This weekend! Tonight we have a Jets game (if you haven't already noticed, I'm soccer obsessed!), tomorrow I have a gorgeous friends baby shower and tomorrow night we are going to a short film festival. Sunday will be spent as a lazy day, maybe a picnic for lunch and shopping for my mums 50th present. Any present suggestions?

READING...

Unfortunately a busy work week has meant I haven't had time to read anything this week apart from blogs. Hoping my Mindy Kaling book arrives soon so I can get stuck into it!

MAKING ME HAPPY...

My blog! Like i said before I have received such sweet comments this week and I am really starting to feel a part of the blogging community now. I just wish there were more of us in Australia to have meet-ups and cool blog conferences like you lucky Americans!

Again, if you would like to take part in the weekly "currently" post, leave a comment below with a link to your blog so that I can check out your post each week!

Happy Wednesday!

 

Valentines Day Love

Happy Valentines Day to my super sweet, amazing followers!

Today is Gavin & I's 10th Valentines Day together (that makes me sound old!). Over the course of our relationship we have both celebrated and not celebrated Valentines Day for various reasons. 

But this year we made a point to celebrate! We said no over the top gifts, just a $20 limit and homemade presents encouraged! We are going out for dinner though to an amazing restaurant we have been dying to go to. As part of Gav's '12 months of Dates' Christmas present (I'll blog about this soon) I included a voucher for 'Rustica' and tomorrow we finally get to use it! Follow me on instagram (@mrsjennachapman) to see photos!

And now to my amazing and super sweet Valetine - Gavin. I know we tell each other everyday how we feel but I just wanted to make sure that today you know just how crazy I am about you. You are my world! Love you to the moon and back bub! And just like I already told you today, if you were a transformer you'd be Optimus Fine! Hehe