Taking stock.

There are cute little assignments on the Blog With Pip course - they don't feel like study assignments. Sometimes when I want to write but I don't have the energy to put all the words together, lists are good to get started. Little bits of writing get me thinking. Like this one: taking stock.

Making : I made a terrarium the other night! I was so lucky to be a guest of Inner Sanctuary Design - Samantha showed a cafe full of eager green thumbs how to create a cute terrarium. It's brought new life to my desk. Cute and fun! I want a figurine to live in it :)

(Disclaimer: I was a guest of Inner Sanctuary Design - coordinated by Nuffnang. I didn't pay to make the terrarium but I did buy my own food and drink at the cafe.)

Cooking : warming comfort foods. Earlier this week I made twice cooked ham hock with the ham bone from pea and ham soup. I cooked it in a glaze of cider, brown sugar, cinnamon and cloves, served with mashed potatoes (Adam is the mashed potato king of our household!) and red cabbage sauerkraut. Amazing.

Drinking : Elderflower cider. It's $7 for four at Dan Murphys. So yum!

Reading : Making is Connecting by David Gauntlett. It's about how the Internet fosters creativity and brings people together.

Wanting : to tell you some amazing news about an event I'm involved in. Soon, I promise!

Looking : at wedding themes on Pinterest. I'm excited about the decorations! I want a million little bottles of flowers there.

Playing : episodes of Catfish and Mr Bean on iView and YouTube before sleep. So good!

Deciding : on a wedding date. We have a venue. A perfect venue.

Wishing : I wasn't so sore. Enough already.

Enjoying : my day job. I love it. And I get to use what I do here there!!

Waiting : 'the waiting for you dance'. It's so funny living with a man. I was on the toilet one afternoon and I heard some shuffling feet. And when I got out, Adam was dancing - feet moving on the tiles and hands in the air. I asked him what he's doing. "The waiting for you dance", he said. He dances while he waits for the loo.

Liking : Lorde's Pure Heroine. Cannot stop playing it.

Wondering : when I will feel back to my normal. I'm so very sore.

Loving : Adam.

Pondering : what goal I set next? When will I get the time to implement these goals?

Considering : my outfits for Problogger. I like to be prepared. And I'm looking forward to some Queensland warmth.

Watching : The Time of Our Lives on ABC TV. Justine Clarke and Shane Jacobson (Bernadette and Luch) are my fave TV couple. Every episode is filled with great dialogue, music and fashion too.

Hoping : that my scarf will still be at the post office after I left it there. This striped scarf has been left and collected so many times. Nine lives like a cat.

Marvelling : at winning dinner for two at Prix Fixe on Thursday. I retweeted their tweet and bam, Thursday afternoon I got a text saying I'd won. Dinner was French, amazing. Four courses which included choux pastry filled with bechamel, red wine poached egg, duck a l'orange, truffle Camembert and passionfruit chocolate cake with gold flecked sorbet. I felt like Julia Child.

 

Needing : to get back to the gym. I'm craving those endorphins. When I'm less sore, of course.

Smelling : beautiful scented candles. I bought a lemon friand one from Finders Keepers the other weekend. Smells just like baked lemon friand.

Wearing : my thick purple coat in the picture above. I got it in NYC two years ago. Northern hemisphere coats are much warmer than any I've bought here.

Following : Sophie Monk on Instagram. Funny. Also following a few wedding planning groups on Facebook.

Noticing : that I'm better at living with someone than I thought I'd be.

Knowing : I am loved. And it's the best feeling.

Smelling : beautiful red roses in my kitchen.

Thinking : about how much has changed in a year. And how much good I've made come into my life.

Feeling : pain like I'm not used to.

Admiring : Lauren Moss, my amazing friend I met via The Skin Deep Project. She is kicking goals - she's a finalist for the Australian Women's Weekly Women of the Future initiative. We had dinner in the week and chatted about goal setting and our role models and leadership and she is so brainy.

Sorting : the Blog with Pip course has inspired me to pretty up this blog and I want to sort that out soon.

Buying : merino jumpers and spencers. So cosy.

Getting: a present! Adam bought me this bangle from McKean Studio. It's the Paris skyline.

Bookmarking : How Ira Glass works. He's the host of This American Life. I love that podcast.

Disliking : Instagram accounts that are selling me something. I don't know whether people are hashtagging brands because they've been given something for review or because they're wanting to catch that brand's attention to get free stuff or because they bought the product.

Opening : my new iPhone! I'm not one to update my phone every year or at the end of a contract, but my current is not working well and I wasn't getting messages or able to take photos (maybe as I'm a digital hoarder!).

Giggling : over episodes of Mr Bean. But gosh he was a mean-hearted man.

Feeling : content.

Snacking : smoked cheddar cheese. It's amazing.

Coveting : a new MacBook Pro.

Wishing : for world peace. Because there's so much awful news out there. I'm no Miss Universe though.

Helping : answer people's questions about life with Ichthyosis. I love getting questions about my experience and passing on what I know, do and feel.

Hearing : my body telling me to slow down. Rest will heal. I hope.