Good Day, Sunshine.

Ahh.. the weekend. This one is sweeter than normal as I'm now on school holidays and I can almost taste the cocktails I'll be indulging in on Hamilton Island.. but for now, what will I be up to?


Running, running, running. I'm updating my playlist as we speak and I'm about to head off and smash a 12km run.


Having a toddler free night, the first one in almost a year! I get to play dress up and actually wear heels, a nice dress and put on *special* makeup as we attend an engagement party tonight.


All the usual basics- groceries, washing, vacuuming... ugh. All the tedious boring things I despise but still need to be done as messiness stresses me out. 


OK. Playlist is updated, now it's time to lace up those runners. What are you up to this weekend my lovelies? 

Gorgeous Hairstyles thanks to Pinterest.

Today I needed something both inspiring and beautiful so where better to look than Pinterest? I'm mentioned my love for long locks before, and now I'm searching for gorgeous hairstyles I can try (when I cheat and put my extensions in, that is). I've always had a soft spot for a messy bun, and I just happen to adore braids, so when I found images combining the two it was love at first sight.


Now, can someone please hurry up and invent a product that gives you long thick hair instantly? Anyone? 

[image]

[image]

[image]

[image]

[image]

[image]

[image]

[image]

All images can be found on my Pinterest Boards

 

A Reality Check.

Chewing my bottom lip, I begin to feel frustration curling around the corners of my emotions as I stare at the little white box with its blinking cursor. I know I'm not the only blogger to feel this way, in fact I've read quite a few posts in recent times that validate that, but right now blogging anxiety has bitten me hard and I don't like where it's taking me. If fact, I'd like my passport back now before it takes me somewhere I'll never return from thanks! 


We all know it's competitive out there. We all know that someone who launches the latest and greatest blogging idea will have a myriad of support, albeit tinged with a hint of green eyed monster underneath. We want those superpowered posts, the ones who gather up thousands of hits as the google analytics graph heads into overdrive. I know I do, and once upon a time, I didn't. I used to feel genuine joy and happiness for other's success, and I want, no, need to recapture that. 


As I grit my teeth and mentally berate myself for not having the shiniest, newest, most engaging blog, and in fact in terms of blogging years I'm metaphorically supposed to have hit my mid life crisis soon, I receive some wonderful advice from a treasured friend. As she listens to my self doubt and calamity about how I wish I was this, that and whatnot, she stops me and says,

Get angry, but put the energy into your blog. Shout out how awesome you are because no one, (besides me) will promote you as hard. 

So true. So much wasted energy his week. Do I love blogging? Tick. Do I love the online social interaction? Tick. The big one- does it make me happy? Tickety-tick-tick! I need to package that anxiety-slash-competitiveness and channel it into shiny awesomeness. We all need to celebrate our shiny awesomeness, because there are so many clever, talented, funny and beautiful woman out there that don't hear enough praise for their beautiful blogs. 


I also had a huge reality check this week when I sat down and thought hard about what exactly I was dissatisfied with, and when I realised it was the lack of engagement on my blog something went *clink!* 


Hello Rhi. You know what you need to do? Stop being so insular, and interact more with others. Yes, work is busy and the Little Lion is at the lightning speed 2 1/2 years of age, but put half an hour aside each night, visit those gorgeous blogs and leave some love. Simple? Capiche? 


I'm not quite sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way recently I stopped commenting and visiting others. Stopped tweeting, sharing links and engaging in wonderful kooky conversations online. I miss that. I believe in Blogging World Karma, and right now I'm not giving enough, which is why I'm not getting enough back. So guess what? I'm starting right now. I really want to get to know all of you who stop by and visit my little piece of the internet. I've installed Disqus so I can comment directly, which is something I needed to do a long time ago! (Ugh. Get with the times Rhi!) Also, while I'm on a roll, I want to let my regular readers know just how much I appreciate them. A huge big thanks to each and every one of you for stopping by and sharing in my life.


I'd love it if you left a comment to say hi, and your blog address so I can visit you. We have a fabulous blog community, so it's time to nurture it. Look out, imma bout to love bomb you all baby! 


 

Wordless Wednesday- A Thousand Wishes.

Playing Wordless Wednesday with My Little Drummer Boys.


 

Jamie Oliver's Empire Chicken

We're lucky to have the kind of friends that we consider an extension of our family. Nearly every weekend they come over to chill out, play with Carter, then get into a good TV series or a couple of movies with us. The sort of friends that help themselves to a cup of tea and know their way around my pantry probably better than I do. 


On Sunday night we decided to catch up again, and we decided to do roast chicken and veggies for tea. I wanted to do something a little extra special, and I had been dying to try a Jamie Oliver recipe from his Great Britain tour called Empire Chicken. This one is particular is full of Indian flavours and looked amazing, so I couldn't wait to give it a go! Just a note, I only made the roast chicken and not the Bombay potatoes or gravy as I didn't have the ingredients for the latter. You can get the full recipe here.

ingredients

For the chicken and marinade
• 1.4kg free-range chicken
• 1 heaped tablespoon each
finely grated garlic, fresh
ginger and fresh red chilli
• 1 heaped tablespoon
tomato purée
• 1 heaped teaspoon each of
ground coriander, turmeric,
garam masala and ground cumin
• 2 heaped teaspoons
natural yoghurt
• 2 lemons
• 2 level teaspoons sea salt

method

Ask any British person what their two favourite meals are and I reckon most people would say their mum’s roast chicken, and a curry. Well, welcome to Empire roast chicken, a combination of both of those things. Your friends and family are going to love it. I love it. You will love it.

Slash the chicken’s legs a few times right down to the bone. Get a roasting tray slightly bigger than the chicken, then add all of the marinade ingredients and mix together well. Put on a pair of clean rubber gloves, then really massage those flavours over and inside the chicken so it’s smeared everywhere. Don’t be shy! Ideally marinate overnight in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6 and organize your shelves so the roasting tray can sit right at the bottom, the chicken can sit directly above it, right on the bars of the shelf. Stab the lemon a few times with a sharp knife and put it right into the chicken’s cavity. Cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.

Once the chicken is cooked, move it to a board and carefully peel off the dark charred bits to reveal perfect chicken underneath. Sprinkle the reserved coriander leaves over everything and serve with any condiments you like. Life doesn’t get much better.


As we didn't have any gravy, we decided to mix together natural yoghurt, lemon juice and finely chopped coriander as an accompaniment to the chicken. Voila! A perfect match, and flavours in the chicken itself were to die for. 


Empire chicken, Homeland finale, cider, wonderful friends and dark chocolate to finish. What more could you ask for on a Sunday night? 

 

Run Run Running... Hello 11km!

My breathing drums a comforting steady pattern in my ears as I step one two, one two to the up tempo beat of Nicky Minaj's Starships. I'm about three kilometers into a run that I've already chosen to make as my longest run yet, and I've fallen into a nice relaxed rhythm.  


Weaving in and out of streets, passing cookie cutter houses and patchworked gardens full of artificial lawn, I remain focused on the distance ahead but still alert as I cross streets and duck around fellow pedestrians. A flick of a smile when our eyes meet fleetingly. A yellow labrador looks at me curiously then begins to run along by my side, a silent companion until he loses interest and scoots off down another path following the invisible scent of something inherently more interesting than myself.  


My hair swings back and forth in it's regulation ponytail as I mentally map out my next turn. It's one foot in front of the other, arms swinging loosely and repeating my mantra at regular intervals.. I choose to run 11km. I choose to make this my longest run yet. I am strong enough. I can do this.


A flash of pink catches my eye, and I idly wonder about the strength of the Powerband the lovely Miss Danimezza sent me, and ponder as to whether it's actually helping me in any way, shape or form. Physically I believe not, but if it's helping me mentally, a placebo of sorts, that can't be a bad thing can it? 


Around the eight kilometre mark I start to feel a slight protest in the knees, and a tightening in my stomach muscles. I concentrate on keeping my breathing pattern steady, and my mind flashes back to the very first run I attempted. Day One, Week One of the Couch to 5km program where I shuffled through, out of breath and full of fear at the end of a one minute run interval. How I needed to dig in, grit my teeth and repeat a few of the tough weeks simply so they didn't beat me. 


After breaking that magical ten kilometre mark last week, I feel something inside me has changed. That the glass ceiling has been smashed, and I'm free to run just as far, and as long as I want. I turn the corner towards home, and press the button on the Nike+ to check for far today's effort has got me..

The possibility of a half marathon in the future starts to flicker around the corner of my mind, an idea wouldn't have possibly entertained even a month ago. I notice that my stamina has improved ten fold as I flop down on the lounge floor and start cool down stretches, excitedly telling Mr Hummingbird the little details of my run. No more gasping for breath, stitches or shuffling at the end. 

Red faced, sweaty, wearing my Lorna Jane inspiration singlet and showing off my magical powerband. Does it really help? Who knows? All I know at this time is that I'm on top of the world, life is good and next week 12km you better watch out. You're mine. 



 

Last Week: Superb Seven.

Last Week:

♥  Wearing The Body Shop Love Lipgloss in Natural

♥ Finding Inspiring Quotes on Pinterest

♥ Cooking and Eating Chicken & Prawn Laksa (can't get enough!)

♥ Watching the TV Series Smash- a drama/musical set on Broadway

♥ Coveting the Sass Alyssa Scoop Dress, perfect with tights and boots for Winter

♥ Listening to Ministry of Sound Chillout Sessions

♥ Buying cute little slouch ankle boots from Target (yes really!)

 

Beautiful Lights.. thanks to Pinterest!

I'm a sucker for beautiful lighting. Give me a room dotted with tiny tea lights or a gorgeous lamp and I'm in heaven. I mean, don't you agree? Little firefly fairy lights and candles in glass jars, beautiful ambience... sigh. Sometimes I wish I had my wedding all over again simply so I could playing with lighting. So many ideas out there, and here's a few I captured on Pinterest...

[Image]

[Image]

[Image]

[Image]

[Image]

[Image]

[Image]

[Image]

So pretty! All images can be found on my Pinterest Board here. 

 

Taking Another Step into my Thirties.

So today, I'm 31 years old. 

I can..

..cook amazing cookie dough cupcakes

..break the 10km mark when running

..straighten my hair in under twenty minutes

.. say 'hello, how are you?' and 'I am a teacher' in Spanish

..enjoy spontaneous trips with mr Hummingbird and the Little Lion

..enjoy so many aspects of my job

..call close friends my family

..look at the Little Lion watch his beautiful personality shape and emerge

..play with fashion without feeling self conscious

..achieve a high score on Just Dance to 'Step by Step' 

..look forward to the sun rising on each and every day

..grow strawberries

..sing all the words to Like a G6 thanks to my long-lost-twin-slash-colleague

..paint, draw and sketch to my heart's content

..watch my little blog grow into something beautiful

..assemble flat pack furniture

..eagerly anticipate future projects

..work an SLR on manual settings

..hike up a glacier

..feel safe in the unconditional love of my family

..embrace my inner child and watch Ratatouille with the Little Lion

..make a wicked pine/lime margarita

..cook a kick ass flourless chocolate cake with raspberries

   

 and look forward to embracing 32. 

 

Wordless Wednesday- Wisps.

 Playing Wordless Wednesday with My Little Drummer Boys. 

 

Apps are Fab. Free Ones Even Better.

In Primary school, we had one computer that sat at the back of the classroom. It was a Mac Classic, which was one level up from the Mac you had to insert a floppy disk in to start. This Mac was coveted by every kid in my class, and it was survival of the fittest when it came to having a go at playing the games on it. Whoever sat playing games such as Dark Castle and Crystal Quest would often have a throng of kids surrounding them, starting at the screen and completely enthralled by those little black and white pixelly characters battling their way through each level. Shazam! Instant popularity!  


Oh, I was queen of Dark Castle, and I wore that with pride. The first one to clock it, take that boys! It did help having a mum that worked at the same Primary School though, so I played the hell out of that game to beat the boredom while she was in meetings after school finished. 

I could throw a bommy-knocker like no-ones business...

There is a point to all this. The point is that the difference between my Primary school experience with technology and today absolutely staggers me sometimes. Every kid at our school has a laptop or netbook, and ipads are available for use anytime. At two and a half the Little Lion already knows how to use an ipad and iphone, and he eagerly grabs mine to play with the toddler apps while we're out grocery shopping, or waiting at the doctors.

I've only downloaded free apps for him at this stage as Mr Hummingbird and I are trying this novel new thing where we don't spend any money on anything other than necessities, and start saving megabucks. 


As I said, novel. (It's absolutely killing me though. Oh Sass dress, how I want you so very badly...)


Anyway, here are a few apps that I've found to be fantastic, and has kept the Little Lion happy and entertained and not straining to grab tomatoes or crying when I won't buy him a Toy Story birthday card. Thanks ever so much Coles put putting them directly at toddler-in-trolley eye level...

• ABC for Kids- Nursery Rhymes, Bananas in Pyjamas and Giggle and Hoot. Carter is quite the Giggle and Hoot fan at the moment, so this one is right up his alley. Although, if I have to hear Banana Detectives one more time...

• Doodle Buddy- An app for drawing, stamping, scribbling and painting in a myriad of colours. Easy to use too- simply shake the phone to clear the page.

• Wiggles Big Aussie Road Trip- The music will drive you crazy so it's a good idea to turn it down. The puzzles are great though, and has definitely taught Carter patience and persistence. 

• I Hear Ewe- 3 pages of animals and transport icons. Touch them to hear the name of each creature/transport object and what noise they make. Carter absolutely loved this when he was younger, but he seems to have grown out of it now. Saved my life (and sanity) when our flight was delayed at the airpot.

• Talking Tom Cat- Tom the cat will repeat everything you say in a funny voice, and will interact you. You can stroke his fur, pull his tail and poke him. Added bonus is he can't swipe your face with razor sharp claws when you pull his tail one too many times.

• Toddler Shape Preschool- A great app for learning and recognising shapes. Colourful quizzes and also offers fun rewards. This app is definitely helping Carter name different shapes! Bit of funky 80's electropop for background music too!

If you know of any other free apps your toddler loves, please let me know in the comments below. I'm always on the lookout for new ones for him! 

 

The Secret to Running 10km.

Late Friday night after talking to my girl Danimezza I sent one last tweet out before heading to bed which read, 'Ok. Setting a goal and aiming for an 8.5km run tomorrow. Wish me luck!'


A few minutes later I got a reply.


'That's not about luck @HumbirdsSong that's about choice #Yougogirl' 


I sat there looking at it for a few seconds, and then something in my mind clicked. This person was so right, and it was my mentality that had been all skewiffed. I've lost count of the number of times I've set out on a long run with some nervous trepidation, thinking about how difficult it may be and how I may fail. How I've always thought it was an element of luck to push me through and record a personal best.


I could almost hear my brain shift gears and implement this new way of thinking. It was definitely my 'ah ha!' moment. Complete clarity. I could do 8.5km. I chose to.


And then, Saturday morning came.


I put on my new Lorna Jane tights, pink inspiration top and grabbed my ipod nano.


I laced my runners.


I opened the door, and pressed play on my Nike+.

And Oh. My. God.

I FINALLY SMASHED THE 10KM MARK!!!

For me, this was monumental. It's been something I've dreamt of doing for so long, and for it to actually happen and see it in reality was so surreal. Once I finished running Lance Armstrong congratulated me for my longest run yet (no, I'm not hallucinating, it was through Nike+. Unfortunately I don't have my own Lance to give me positive compliments every time I complete a workout. A Matt Damn would be very nice though) I burst through the door sweating, red faced and bursting with happiness and adrenaline. Since I could barely speak I held up 10 fingers to show Mr Hummingbird just how far I'd run, and then collapsed on the floor to remove my poor toes from my runners. 


All through that run, I felt an inner peace. I continued my mantra of I chose to run the distance I want. I chose to take the longer path. I chose to trust in my ability. I chose to be strong enough to complete this run. 


I chose to succeed. And I did.  

 

Fresh Horses Brigade- Picture This.

A quick, light hearted post today to link up with Edenland's fresh Horses Brigade. My favourite photo lately? Easy schmeezy.

Dude. You were so, so busted. Oh, and QV Intensive Cream is an absolute bitch to get out of someone's hair. That sucker stayed in for days...


 

Interior Design Love thanks to Pinterest

Scrolling through Pinterest has reignited my desire to get our new house plans finalised and get this building started. Our place is going to be a little bit different, almost loft style with the main living area having huge Orgeon beams, exposed brick walls and seven meter high ceilings. I know. Totes big. 


I want to deck it out in airy whites and industrial furniture, with a little girly and whimsical touch thrown in to soften it up. Vintage pieces and soft textiles. Weathered timbers and beautiful lighting. 


So, what did I find? 

[Image]

[Image]

[Image]

[Image]

[Image]

[Image]

[Image]

[Image]

All images can be found on my Pinterest Boards.