Don't be discouraged

Don't be discouraged. It's often the last key in the box that opens the lock- author unknown

This quote is important to me because today I feel defeated. Tomorrow Will be better. Tomorrow is Friday.

List of eight

Today is one of those days were all I want to do is sit and cry. Not because my life is bad, it’s actually pretty good. I just feel unfulfilled and aside from finding a job I’m passionate about (easier said than done), I don’t know how to fix it. Over the next four weeks I’m going to attempt to transform my life, and try and find that exciting and creative passion within me that seems to have gotten lost as I progressed through my twenties. In order to achieve this, I’ve come up with a list of eight things which will hopefully reignite that fire instead of floating through life feeling numb.

Read more. When I was younger I used to go through a novel each week. Now as an adult, I’m lucky if I get through two a year. I definitely can’t go back to reading a novel every  week but I can implement a few steps that may help my yearly reading to go up to four books (wouldn’t that be nice!). Over the next four weeks I will aim to read for one hour each day. How I will achieve this? Half hour over lunch and half hour before bed.

      Be healthy and fit. Last week I participated in True Grit (think a baby version of Tough Mudder). After training for 10 weeks, I climbed up ropes and jumped 4 metres into freezing cold water. This challenge put myself completely out of my comfort zone and made me realise the things that I can do if I really put my mind to it. I’m hoping to participate in Tough Mudder next year (need to work on that upper body a bit more) but in the meantime I’m aiming to train six times a week. In order to track my progress I will also take measurements and progress photos each week. I would like to participate in a fun run in the near future so aiming to run 10km would also be an added bonus. 

      Find happiness every day. At the end of the week put these seven things into a blog post. Simple but hopefully effective. 

      Write more. I’m aiming to commit to posting 3 times a week on this blog. I envisage that this blog will be a good use of my time when babies come along and as I hate being stuck at home this will be a necessity.  

      Take more photos. I love photography and used to take great photos. Lately however I feel that I have lost my photo-mojo and most of the stuff I’ve taken recently looks rubbish. If I immerse myself in creating again, hopefully my mojo will come back.

      House renovations. While I love our home it frustrates me. So much work needs to be done and 70% of it requires large amounts of money. While a large amount does require money there is a lot that doesn’t, such as tidying the yard and painting. Even if just do a little bit each week it’ll make me feel better and hopefully feel as though we’re progressing through our renovations.

      Be more organised. While I am highly organised at work, it doesn't always follow me home. We leave for work at 6am in the morning and sometimes don’t get home until 6pm. I do a few things already, such as meal plan and make lunch the night prior however this tends to be quite scattered. I’m aiming to do rigorous meal plans and stick to them each week as well as have lunch and breakfast prepared for the next day. I really do need to add house cleaning to this list also.

Be positive. As shitty as I feel life has been over the past two years, there’s also been a lot of great things. I just have to be positive and believe that this will pass.

By sticking to this list and documenting my progress over the next four weeks, hopefully I will see some changes.

Lately...

Clear Conscience Geranium Pet Shampoo

Last month I was fortunate enough to receive the Geranium Pet Shampoo from the Clear Conscience Soap Company. Now, this was sitting in my cupboard for almost two weeks before I got a chance to use it on Genji and everytime I opened the cupboard this amazing smell wafted out. Not a flowery, girly scent, just a nice clean natural fragrance. 

Bath time in our household is never fun and this is usually the result of running water in the tub.

I'm not moving from under this chair.

My first impression was that the soap may be a bit difficult to use on Genji as we have to work quite quickly with him. However, once he was in and rinsed all it took was a couple of rubs over his coat to soap up nicely.  I don't think Genji liked the smell of the soap very much, he kinda just looked at it with a scared look on his face but I'm sure that was just because he didn't know what it was. 

Once he's in it's always a bit of a struggle hence no photos of him in the tub. But here are a couple of after photos.

This pet shampoo worked wonders. Once all dry, Genji smelled amazing and his coat was so shiny and soft for over a week. Usually we're struggling to make it through a fortnight before he needs another bath (It's bad for their skin to bath every week) but with this soap he doesn't seem to smell as bad come bath day. 

The geranium in this soap helps protect against fleas and assists with healing small cuts and abrasions. Genji hadn't had fleas for a few months prior to using this shampoo, but he hasn't started scratching either which is a good sign. 

I forgot to take a photo of the soap prior to using, but here's a shot after two washes (hair and all). 

This soap has probably lost about 2 cm from two washes, so it won't last a year but for a small to medium dog it suits just fine. I'm estimating we'll get another four to five washes out of this bar. 

I've tried many of the brand name dog shampoos in the past and most of them fail to either condition or prevent fleas. This product gets a big tick for both. I give the Geranium Pet Shampoo a 9/10. I give it a 9 because at the moment the soap is just sitting on the tub ledge being all slimy but buying a soap container would easily fix the storage issue. It'd be great to see a similar product in a pump bottle though. This is definitely a product that we'll be using again and again. Our pup hates bath time so, any product that keeps him cleaner for longer tops my list.

The Clear Conscience Geranium Pet Shampoo retails for $5.60 for a 80g block and can be purchased from their website. Go check it out!

 M.

A day for baking treats

Last Monday was a public holiday here in QLD, which meant resting my tired feet and baking treats.

I got this great recipe for these delicious Cinnamon Pinwheel Buns from Here Comes the Sun. I've only just started following Amanda and her guest bloggers but I already love it. It's also a plus that it's a NZ blog, one of the most beautiful countries in the world. 

M.

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream Review

I've been a bit slow to jump on the BB cream bandwagon. However with the change of season, my skin has freaked out a little bit and all of my current foundations and moisturisers that I loved back in Summer are reacting differently. I always have to use a different foundation in winter but this year my whole regime doesn't seem to be working and my skin is the driest it's ever been. I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting older or the added recent stress but having to fork out money for different cleansers, moisturisers and foundations is just not an option that's available to me at the moment. I decided to minimise my makeup use and focus on hydration before I'm mistaken for a scaly reptile. 

After speaking with a rep at the local priceline who claimed it would hydrate and even out my skin tone, I purchased the Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream. I'm always hesitant to purchase anything with the word "miracle" for obvious reasons but after so much hype for a reasonably priced product I thought it was worth a try. 

It has a great creamy texture that doesn't leave your skin feeling oily like other tinted moisturisers. It evens out skin tone really well but it won't cover up any blemishes. I used a dab of concealer just to hide a couple of red nasties.

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream with no powder:

Garnier claims that this product has 24hr hydration. I still had to use my moisturiser in the evening after cleansing but my skin didn't feel dry throughout the day. This product lasted for about four to five hours before I had to reapply. On the second application I used powder over the top for a bit more coverage. 

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural powder:

This isn't a product I'll use everyday as it doesn't provide enough coverage for work in a corporate environment however it probably will turn into my go to product for weekends and lazy days at home. I had heard reports of people applying cheaper BB creams under their foundation however the two products reacted and I ended up with a slight burning sensation on my skin- not recommended.

Differing from tinted moisturisers, traditional BB creams are supposed to be an all-in-one product that works as your sunscreen, primer, anti-aging cream and foundation. They're supposed to contain anti-aging properties where as tinted moisturisers will only provide hydration and sheer coverage.

I love this product however after doing a bit of research on BB creams this seems to be more like a tinted moisturiser to me. Sure I don't have to use sunscreen, primer and foundation but I still have to use my serum and the Garnier BB cream doesn't seem to contain any anti-aging properties. However for such an affordable price I really can't complain.

The Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB cream is available in original, oil-free or sensitive. I bought the Original from Priceline for $13.99.

*This is not a sponsored post.

M.

Illuminare tenebras

Light up the darkness collection

M.