Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

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Link love is such a wonderful tool for stumbling across wonderful like minded people and even fascinating unlike minded ones that share great new ideas, challenge ones you thought you were sure about and inspire you to try something new.

The other day, through Much Love I came across Miss Jennifer Lee's blog and saw a snazzy idea called The Me Project. (thanks Jen, for giving me the go-ahead xx)

It was so interesting to browse through her answers to these questions and by the end I felt I knew the person behind the blog so much better than if I'd been randomly piecing together an idea of who she was by trawling through endless posts that I'll admit I don't have the time to do sadly.
Some people have been around much longer than me so it would be impossible to read through everyones archives no matter how interesting they are. (Trust me I've been giving it a red hot go. My hubby will vouch this fact... poor neglected soul.)
If only blog reading and posting could be a full time career option... *sigh*

Well anyway, I guess this means you can start tingling with anticipation or zone out for the next month. (although please hold out from unfollowing me. I promise to scrap it if it goes terribly bad.)


The Me Project:
Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
Day 02- The meaning behind your Blog name
Day 03- A picture of you and your friends
Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to
Day 06- Favorite super hero and why
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about Blogger and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you recently
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Your favorite song.

A bit self indulgent? Yes-Sir-Ree!!! But I love it all the same!

(I do remember saying my life's not that interesting and that this wouldn't be an online diary - but lets treat this more as a social experiment and less like narcissistic self exploration, 'k? Thanks :)

Hopefully this little bonding experience brings us closer instead of boring the pants off you but it remains to be seen.
Fingers crossed xxx

GRRRRRR!!!!!

EMI i rue the day you were born!
Why must you fight me at every turn?!

So my dear readers if the next time you click on one of my music posts and the video happens to be disabled, just know I did my best to share my love of music with you.
On behalf of EMI i apologise for the major stick up their ass that restricts me from sharing anything affiliated with them.
Sorry.

Regretfully yours,
Kat  :(

Just a Minute in... July

I first saw this beautiful meme through Daydream Lily and then again with Anna of Much Love a few days later and just had to join in.

So I waited ever so patiently till the end of the month to give you Just a Minute... In July.
I'd love to hear about your minute in July so go ahead and click the link if you'd like to play along :)

Watching... Sons of Anarchy seasons 1-3. My hubby gets in these mini series marathon moods and suddenly I find myself addicted to shows I never thought I'd be remotely interested in.

Listening... to Adele's album 21. Every song on there has me trying to mimic her till I'm hoarse. I'm sure I look like a right ass singing my little heart out alongside traffic but I just can't help myself.

Reading... Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger as well as The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. While the first is a poignant literary classic that grew on me the further I got into it I still have to say I found the style of writing a little hard to get into. It didn't draw me in but I was determined to finish it and I'm glad that I did. The second has had me on the verge of insomnia since I first picked it up. A much better read. But that's just me.

Making... my nephews happy by spending every spare minute and day off by their sides. I'm completely at their disposal leaving a million tasks undone but I figure they'll be gone in another week and my chores will still be here waiting.

Loving... Spooning with my hubby and cuddles with Oscar. That's one good thing about winter - plenty of excuses to spontaneously snuggle.

Completing... Dry July! Hoooray for me. So proud of myself for going a whole month without giving in to my impulses (besides using my Golden Ticket at the Love is Here launch but even then I think I only had around 4 glasses of wine throughout the whole night including at dinner.)

Planning... to try my hand at making home made soy candles. I hear they're really easy to do at home and thankfully its simple to clean up after. If I make a mega mess (as I always do) they clean off with soap and water. It seems like a fun little project and it'll be a nice distraction once my sister and her beautiful cherubs go back to Penang leaving me with heaps of spare time. Just as soon as I catch up on my backlog of crappy tasks of coarse.

So tell me, what have you all been getting up to this month?
Hope it's been a good one xx

My Old Friend, Plonk

Alright, so it's still 3 days till I'm allowed to have a drink but it's almost Friday... so in the spirit of ingesting every alcoholic beverage I can't get my sober little hands on, This post is for you.

Firstly I bring you....

Jamie Oliver's Mulled Wine

Mmmm... Just looking at it makes me feel all toasty and warm inside.

Shattered I couldn't host a Christmas in July feast this year. 

(Damn it, if I can't drink with you then neither will you - Baahumbug!)

And lastly I give you this latest offering from Rekorderlig.

Winter Cider

But it's not just any winter cider.

.... It's one you heat up

..... and drink warm

This could be good ... or it could suck.

Right now I really don't care.

In my mind I'm imagining apple, cinnamon & vanilla flavoured angels dancing naked on my tongue but basically at this point it could taste like stewed socks and I'd still happily chug.

Well it sounds as though this will be my first science experiment - boiling something you don't want to boil sounds harder than it seems. They say you want it to be hot, not warm, but not too hot as you'll cook off all the alcohol. Kinda defeats the purpose if that happens I suppose.

Hmm ok so maybe I need to invest in a cooking thermometer... how else am I supposed to know before it gets to 77degrees?

Or maybe I'll just try the basic rule of thumb. Stick your finger in it and if its "almost" too hot to do that... then I should be right. Right?

Well, we just won't know till next week now will we.

Unless of coarse you'd all like to try one of the above this weekend and let me know how you go?...

nah, didn't think so. Fine I'll be your guinea pig. Just don't expect an unbiased opinion, remember I've been deprived.

Thinking of drinking

- Kat xx

Dreams

Like a trapped bird my heart flutters

with the delicate wings of dreams,

The morning sun taps my eyelids

and a glow seeps in through the seams.

Your face is already fading

and my mind is clouded with doubt

As to what is real or fiction

and which world I'd rather keep out.

- Katerina 27/7/11

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Wishful Thinking

Today I'm wishing & hoping & praying for something long awaited.

I have the feeling, deep down, it wont eventuate but at the end of every month I can't help but raise my hopes with baited breath all the same...

It's funny how the human spirit insists on shining this little ray of hope - even against all odds.

xx

Image Sources

P.S. Linking up again with Faith, Hope & a whole lotta Love as well as This funny place.
(even though these images aren't exactly mine they've reminded me to have Faith & keep Hope that someday soon I'll be feeling a whole lotta Love of the maternal kind. AND I've epically failed at being worldess... Again! Sorry. Hope you guys don't mind)

Also just reminding everybody that this is the last week of my
Dry July challenge wherein I've been resisting all allures of comforting winter warmers of the alcoholic kind in order to raise funds for adults living with cancer.

All proceeds go to the The Royal Melbourne Hospital departments of Clinical Haematology and Medical Oncology.
So far I've only managed to raise $65 - which doesn't feel like a lot but it's helped this amazing event come up with $203,810, and that's certainly nothing to sneeze at.
I only wish I could donate thousands of dollars to all the charities close to my heart.
I will however be doubling whatever I raise by the end of the week so if you or someone like you would like to contribute to this very worthy cause please click on the Dry July link above as these are the last few days to make me put my money where my mouth is :)

Tuesday Tunes

Two very different music genres ahead:

Every time I hear something new from these guys I instantly fall in love with it.

And this last clip I just love for all the cool snips of Melbourne in it.

Not to mention Australian hip-hop has started to grow on me.

Gotta admit it's a pretty catchy tune :)

It's becoming pretty clear that I have a rather schizophrenic taste in music.

Please don't judge me... I'm an aquarian, it's not entirely my fault ;)

Love Is Here

A Whole Lotta Love

Heart Cluster

Part of a Heart Cloud -
It was raining Love... 

As promised these are the rest of my shots from the Love is Here launch on Wednesday night.

More can be seen on my Flickr page.

Being Monday I've decided to join in on another Much Love game

(have I mentioned how much I love these little links?)

So this Monday the things I am loving are:

♥ Placing on-line orders: 

I love that I don't have to leave my cozy little space to be assaulted by the winter blast AND when my goodies turn up on my doorstep it almost feels like Christmas  :)

♥ Great Heating: 

For making the above enjoyable.

♥ Visiting:

Popping in to see my hubbies Nan this weekend was a real treat. She's such a special lady, I just love having a great chat over a coffee with her. Not having any living grand-parents of my own, I feel rather blessed to be able to share her with the rest of my new family.

♥ Having a wonderful Mother in-law:

I'm not sure if many people can say this of their in-laws but mine is an absolute gem.

I couldn't list all the wonderful things she does for us but the fact she organises a great meal for us to catch up over on a weekly basis is a particular treat. She even sends dinner down to me when she knows I'll be working late! I'm so lucky to have two special Mums in my life.

If you're finding yourself suffering with a case of Mondayitis try checking out the other entries on Anna's page. Who knows you may be inspired to join in too.

Much Love -

Kat x

Sunday Sessions: Covers

Well this is my second Sunday joining in with the lovely Thea at
Do I Really Wanna Blog?.
The general guidelines for Sunday Sessions are:
You pop your two favourite songs on your blog. An oldie but a goldie. And a newbie, fresh from the charts, or fresh from the past five years. Rules are meant to be broken, so of course I have!
Here are my picks for this week.

(Original by Gnarls Barkley)

Such a beautiful voice from such a beautiful Australian artist.

Didn't think I could love this song anymore than I already do but she's managed to woo me.

(Even more than the gorgeous José González)

The Rolling Stones perform this like no one else but I think this is a rather pretty version too don't you?

I've chosen to combine my oldies with newbies and have added a twist.
When I first fell in love with these songs they were performed by male artists so when I heard the female versions it gave them a whole new lease on life for me.
At least I've stuck to a common theme this week :)
You can play along by linking up with Thea too. 
I often find some great new music this way and would love to hear your picks.


Happy Sunday everybody!

Costume Change #6

Told you I'd change it a million times already.

This backgound seems more user friendly.
I should really hold off making major changes to my blog till I've researched my options more extensively.

Anyway this one may be temporary but for now at least my posts can be read.

No more changes (today) - I'm off to seize the day!

Happy Saturday xx

-Kat

New Background

So..... it's sad to admit but it's Friday night and I've been watching 17 Again (you know that Disney movie staring Zac Efron? No?.... ok I admit it then, I'm sad), playing with my blog settings, and scouring the internet for entertainment. Yea it's rockin at my place.

Damn you Dry July!!!
What the hell do non drinkers do on their weekends anyway?
I need to develop some hobbies STAT!

Anyway this was meant to be an uber quick post to say:
Welcome to my new layout and What do you think?
Do you Love it?
Do you Like it?
Or does it make you wanna Meh?
Maybe even Blegh...
All suggestions are welcome. You can be honest - I can take it.
I'm not entirely sold personally - its especially tricky to figure out what colour to assign my text so that it's at least readable. Agh... I'll probably change it a million times before I go back to my original settings anyway.

Oooh, look at that, Juno just came on so I think I'll be off now.

Night all
xx

Keep Swimming

Just a little song of encouragement today for anyone stuck in the pits (I know I and a few of my nearest and dearest have had a terrible case of the winter blues of late coupled with some crap happenings.)
Chin up darlings & just keep swimming :)

Always remember:

Wishing you a fantastic Friday.
With love from my alter ego
- Dory xx

Golden Moments

 Wasn't sure which of these two editing options I liked more. 

The top image is closer to the true colour of the original but I love the way the hearts "pop" in the bottom one.... hmmm couldn't decide.

What do you guys think?

Either way I'm sure you'll agree I have one very talented brother-inlaw.

He may be modest but at last nights Love Is Here book launch & art exhibition his piece was certainly the focal point of the room.

I know I'm not the only one who's proud of him for putting his work out there.

If you'd like to see more great street art by this disgustingly gifted street artist check out his website 

HERE

Stencil found on the way home from the gallery.

Above the bar at Match Bar & Grill  - Melbourne
If you ever find yourself in town stop in.
Worth every penny :)

State Library of Victoria
I'd forgotten how many pretty buildings we have in Melbourne.

Bright City Lights

Last night I was lucky enough to be invited out for a night of feasting on gastronomical and visual delights

(I'm saving those pics for a whole other post) 

But even more excitingly I had a GOLDEN TICKET thanks to a donation from my wonderfully generous friend.

If you don't know what a golden ticket is - It's basically a free pass to drink for one night only during DRY JULY.
And boooooy did I enjoy. Wooo Hoooo!!!

Thank you Ambs. 

I know I can make it through the rest of this month now xox

Limited Words Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday:

That is an almost totally impossible task for me to adhere to.

Who ever heard of a wordless Greek? I can only do my best to attempt Limited Words Wednesday haha! :)

Road to Cradle Mountain

Cradle Mountain Lodge - (Cabins)

Snowy Path

This time of year I usually escape Melbourne's dreary winter weather (which is neither snowy or special - just grey and mostly bland) by running away to either extreme.

These pics are some newly edited, old snapshots of our holiday to Tasmania a few anniversaries ago.

I just love how green and lush it is over there. A true winter as it should be. Poor Victoria and our seemingly endless drought :(

We were very lucky to have made it just as it had snowed - my first time getting to play with it, I was shocked by how crunchy it is. Not at all soft and powdery like I had imagined but certainly as cold.

Being newly wed we've decided to ditch the routine this year
(how I'm pining for a winter escape like you wouldn't believe) and are waiting it out till our belated honeymoon to Hawaii instead! Oh so much pent up excitement on that topic... Sephora, MAC & Urban Decay I'm coming for you baby!!!

Developing a crazy crush on link love and linking up today with Faith Hope & a whole lotta love - There are so many beautiful links on there to inspire warm and fuzzy feelings. Feel free to check it out and of coarse join in on the fun xx

p.s. A great big hello and welcome to my new followers and visitors. Thank you all for your lovely comments.

Fellow blog love always makes me smile xx

Sweet Shot Tuesdays

So for now some sort of sweet shots of my muse Mr Osk.
(Oh and hubby's in there too hehe)

Once upon a time there was a puppy...

Who grew up to be a cheeky dog.

But luckily knew how to turn on the charm (just like his daddy)
 :)

Today I would have loved to participate in a lovely little idea called "Sweet Shot Tuesdays" that my very creative mentor shined my way. But alas I am a little stuck as to how I'm supposed to link up to this particular blog.

It seems I need to install a linky widget to my blog and that just seems too daunting to attempt tonight for this little novice. (I don't even know what it's called let alone how to install it)

In case you haven't noticed I really don't have much of an idea what I'm doing on here.

This whole blog/web/sharing thingy everyone else seems to find so effortless is a really huge learning curve for me - I hope I get better with more practice.

It is just trial and error after all.

Plus my camera decided to play funny buggers with me this afternoon while I was trying to capture a "sweet shot" so I missed out on the image I really wanted to post anyway.

Maybe next time...
Oh well.
Still happy being a snaperatzi for this humble little cyber space xx

Much Love Monday

So today is a new day and the start of a new week.

I've made a positivity pledge for this week. Happy thoughts only :)

Moosi Love
(Moosi I & II shown here)

Some things I'm Much Loving today are:

• School holiday fun time with my nephews - They show me so much love every day I'm with them. I feel very special whenever they're around
• Long leisurely lunches with my hubby
• Waking up with Oski curled up against my tummy. Spoony puppy cuddles are the best.
• Buying shinny new playthings for my salon & clients - I'm about to set up my new wizbang massage table right after this post
• Playing around with this fotoflexer website. Haven't got it quite down pat yet but it's been great fun mucking around with it. Prepare to see multiple pics of the same subjects - sorry hehe 

Linking up with Anna of Much Love Monday - oooh so scary...

Hope the blog gods are kind to me today xx

Sunday Night Finds

 

These may or may not be new to any of you.

Three very different songs but I've been enjoying them tonight non the less.

Hope you do too :)

xx

Linking up tonight with Thea's Sunday Session

Hump Week

And what a hump it has been.
This weekend marks the end of week 2 of Dry July (and quietly, also my detox month) so you'd assume it would all be down hill from here right?
Wrong.
It all started going downhill as of last Monday.
Tiredness, no thanks to my thyroid, combined with the nonchalance losing weight brings to me was my inevitable undoing. (I had almost reached my goal weight - just 1.5kg off according to my scales on Mon- Yippee!)
You see while others see results as a reason to spur them on, I seem to suddenly relax.
I thought that even though I hadn't done a smidge of exercise all week that my past efforts would make up for it and that I owed it to myself to have a little rest on the healthy eating and fitness plan seeing as I'd been so good on the alcohol front all month.

Imagine my horror when I hoped onto the scales and saw a 3.5kg weight gain!   WTF?!
I'm back at square one and then some!
Not only have I fallen off the wagon, the wagon's dragged me along the asphalt all week and trampled me for attempting to hang on.

Needless to say I had a little cry this morning, moped around the house for a bit then decided to pull my shit together and get back on the horse.

Sorry for getting back on the negativity train, but honestly - I didn't believe it was possible to gain that much weight in less than a week but lo and behold I've set a new standard. And when i really stop to think about what's been going into my mouth all week it actually makes sense. It's like the flood gates opened up and my mouth along with it ready to ingest whatever came my way.

• Dumplings, dumplings and ever more dumplings
• White bread, white pasta, white rice, fried chips, cheeese, cheeeeeese, cheeeeeeese!!!
• Snacking on double brie and smoked ham on Savoys or in a sandwich every day
• Two pieces of toast with breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• English toffee ice-cream every night (it was fat free ok, so by my deluded calculations I could eat a quarter of a tub per sitting)
• And of coarse, sleeping in and sitting on my ass at every free opportunity I could find

Any wonder I'm not coming to you from an insulin induced coma right now.

I know I said my PCOS condition was a blessing in disguise because it stops me from treating my body like shit.
And that's very true.
But sometimes the weight of it all - the diabetic diet, the hormonal imbalances, the inability to conceive, the constant struggle with my weight and need to work out twice as hard as the average human being in order to maintain it - can feel like too much to bear.
Sometimes I just wish I could have it easy for a change.
And then I remember. It's not a life threatening illness. I'm not powerless to create change. I can control my symptoms and while yes there are people in the world that have it way easier there're are so many more who have it way tougher than I do.
So today I chose to take this weeks lesson and run with it - literally.

I cannot afford to give up. The payoff's too important xx

FotoFlexer

I've been searching for an application to fill the void that iphones and instigrams have created - and this one comes close-ish.
Still really really really want an iphone. Hurry up Apple and release the iphone 5 already!

Winter Wanderings

I'm reeeadyyy!!!

Loving trees and the silhouettes of bare branches against a winter sky at the moment.
And of coarse, who could ever get enough of the ever cute Mr Oskie? Especially in his winter wonderland get up :)