It's All About Me

30 days of me - day 16



I'm sure you've seen enough pics of me to last a life time but day 16 requires me to post another. This is the most recent... taken when Whitesnake and I were brunching at a local cafe. The coffee was excellent and the food yummy. You'll be able to read more about it at a later date when Whitesnake and I start a new blog venture... Pubs and Grub. Anyway, enough of that for now, let's get back to me. Me likey this pic 'cause my hair looks cute even though I just rolled out of bed. Perhaps I should have bed hair more often. I'm rambling now so I will go and leave you in peace.

Have a great day. I'm busting to tell y'all some news but it's Whitesnake's news so I will have to keep you in suspenders till he spills the beans. Curious much? Hehe!

Bye for now
Love KB
xxx

More of my 30 days of me can be found here.

Microfiction Monday

Here's my contribution to Microfiction Monday, brought to us each week by the lovely Susan.

Please forgive us Father. We cannot replace your beloved leopard but the meat from these bulls will feed our village for many moons.

Have a great week.
Love KB
xxx

Music To My Ears

30 days of me - day 15





Put you ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play

1.  Scissors Cut - Art Garfunkel

2.  Kiss - Prince

3.  Rockstar - Nickelback

4.  Change - Tears For Fears

5.  Perfect - Jenny Morris

6.  Black Coffee - All Saints

7.  Pressure Down - John Farnham

8.  Postcards From L.A. - Joshua Kadison

9.  The Sound Of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel

10. Whitesnake - Fool For Your Loving

Love KB
xxx

More 30 days of me here

Simply Delish - Steak Diane

My post for today is over on our joint blog...Simply Delish Steak Diane

Catch ya later.

Love KB
xxx

Keeping It In The Family

30 days of me - day 14

Pictures of me and my family

KB and Whitesnake

KB and Sis

KB and Coco

KB with Mum and Dad

Hope you enjoyed the pics. All is well here and I'm feeling much better today.

Bye for now
Love KB
xxx

More 30 days of me here. 

Keeping Up With KB

I'm full of a cold so I will keep this post short. Whitesnake had a wonderful birthday and will post pics soon. I missed most of it 'cause I was not feeling well.

I've posted pics for Walkabout over on our joint blog...pics of Mellons Bay and Howick Beach.

Righto, that's all from me, I'm going to put my feet up and read a book. My thoughts are with the families of the Pike River Miners. There was a second explosion yesterday and no longer any chance of survivors. A sad day for us all in New Zealand.

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends.

Love KB
xxx

Happy Birthday Whitesnake

Here's my contribution to One Shot...

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday darlin Whitesnake
Happy Birthday to you

Not very original I know but I'm feeling a little under the weather. Hope you'll join me in wishing whitesnake a wonderful Birthday.

Love ya babe
xxxx

Whitesnake's One Shot is here

Yearbook

Here's my contribution to Microfiction Monday, hosted by the lovely Susan.

Albert wore his school colours with pride, in the hope of appearing in the yearbook. The caption would read - most likely to get a head.

Have a great day/night all.

Love KB
xxx

A Letter To Nobody

30 days of me - day 13

A letter to someone who has hurt you recently

Well, nobody has hurt me recently *knocks on wood* and if they had, I would have talked to them about it rather than write a letter and post it on my blog.

That one was easy, hehe. Heading out with Whitesnake now.

Have a great day all.

Love KB
xxx

Keeping Up With KB

Hi all,

I'm feeling soooooooooooo good today. I've made a great start on step 2 of my 30 days to a happier, healthier me challenge. I've had my two alcohol free days for the week (which I started on Thursday as I said I would). It was a lot easier than I thought. The first day, I kept telling myself during the day that maybe I should start after the holidays but once I'd decided to go ahead, I stuck to it. Yay, go me. The next day was easy and  I barely thought about it. It made me realise how much I have relied on alcohol in the past. Some days, the thought of having a glass of wine after work was the only thing that got me through the day. I know that sounds terrible but I need to be honest with myself about these things and as you know, I tell you lot everything. I'm not sure if that's a good thing at times but it's just me being me. Anyway, I feel really good about achieving part of my goal and I'm looking forward to continuing on with my 2 alcohol free days a week and reducing my alcohol intake overall. My next goal is exercise and I'm going to start working on that after our little holiday.

Speaking of holidays, Whitesnake and I are looking forward to some well deserved time off, starting tomorrow. Woohoo! We're not going away anywhere but we have made plans to catch up with friends for Whitesnake's birthday (it's on Wednesday - don't tell him I told you), we really want to watch the new Harry Potter movie and the rest of the time we're going to relax and enjoy the nice weather.  Can't wait!

I've posted a recipe on our joint blog - Simply Delish Cheesy Twist Muffins. The recipe is soooo easy and delish. Go have a look and leave a recipe of your own if you wish. We're hoping to cook up a few recipes while on hols, that our friends have shared with us.

On a sad note,  29 miners are trapped underground on the West Coast of New Zealand. My thoughts are with the miners and their families. I hope you will join me in wishing them a speedy rescue and recovery.

Love KB
xxx

P.S. I've been a bit slack with my visits to all my wonderful readers but I'm going to put some time aside to visit y'all during out little break. Thank you so much for all of you who read, comment and click on my goggle ads. At this rate, I should be able to afford to buy a postage stamp with my earnings in no time, LOL!  It's very much appreciated and you're all very important to me. 

           

Friday Flash 55 - The Palace Hotel

Here's my contribution to Friday Flash 55, which is brought to us by the talented Mr G-Man. My story this week is in honour of a beautiful, historical building which was demolished last night. RIP old girl!

PHIL DOYLE/Fairfax

The old girl stood proud for one hundred and twenty four years.
She was to be converted into a brothel
Her foundations creaked and groaned in protest
Is it any wonder cracks began to appear?
A decision was made quickly to put her to rest.
She was demolished overnight.
To be remembered at her best.

Bye for now
Love KB
xxx

I Love My Blog

day 12- how you found out about blogger and why you have one




Me when I first started blogging  


I found out about blogger from my good friend, Missy. She started a blog a few years back and encouraged me to do the same. I was unsure of what I would write about in the beginning but once I started, there was no stopping me.

I started blogging to connect with others. I was feeling very lonely and lost at the time. I began writing about funny things that happened to me during the day and really enjoyed the way I could make others laugh through my writing. Missy also introduced me to Friday Flash 55 which encouraged me to write a short story each week of only 55 words. You can read my first 55 here. This took me on a different blogging journey, I would continue to write about my day but I used the 55 stories as a way of processing things that had happened to me in the past and putting them into a short story. Once I started opening up, I found I needed another outlet and this was the time I began writing poetry on my blog as well.

I love blogging, I can sit down at the computer (often with no idea of what I will write) and the words flow out of me. I'm often surprised when I read back what I've written because I hadn't realised I was feeling a certain way or I had anything to say.

I started blogging to connect with others but it actually took me on a journey of reconnection with myself.  A journey I am loving and will continue to blog about for many years to come.

Happy blogging
Love KB
xxx

The previous 30 days of me are here.

Love Isn't Easy

Here's my contribution to One Shot. I wrote this one a couple of years ago. Looking back at it now makes me realise how far I have come in a few short years. Loving myself is much easier than it was back then.

Emotional uncertainty lurks inside.
Laughter erupts as tears subside.
High maintenance emotionally.
Isn't easy loving me.



Questions raised at every move.
Much to gain, more to lose.
I need you now! No, let me be.
Isn't easy loving me.



Crazy stories, out of the blue.
Thoughts I share, amusing you.
More inside than what you see.
Isn't easy loving me.



Laughing and loving, what I do best.
Others come first but the real test.
Loving myself will set me free
but, it isn't easy loving me


Love KB
xxx

Whitesnake's One Shot is here

Easing Up On The Drink

30 Days To A Happier, Healthier Me - Day 2




Ok, now I know where I am health wise, it's time to move on to the next stage.  My first goal is going to be the hardest for me, which is why I put it high on the list. I want to reduce my drinking. I've already reduced the amount I drink by half but I need to drink even less to stay within a healthy limit.

Next stop....NZ Alcohol Advisory Website.

According to ALAC, a safe limit for me is 14 standard drinks per week, with a couple of days alcohol free each week and no more than four standard drinks per drinking occasion. Sounds reasonable until I looked up how much a standard drink is - a very small glass of wine. Yikes, I spit out more mouthwash than that when I brush my teeth.. Oh well, I'll give it a try and see how I go.

So, what have I learnt?

No more than 2 bottles of wine per week.
2-3 alcohol free days a week...nightmare!
No more than 1/2 bottle of wine in one sitting.

By the way, the limits are different for men, lucky buggers.

It's not exactly the best time with holidays, a special birthday and Christmas coming up but I've gotta start sometime...right?  Me thinks I'll start when Whitesnake goes back to work, so that's this Thursday.  Wonder how many drinks I can get in before then? Hehe.

Wish me luck..I think I'm gonna need it.

See you tomorrow,
Love KB
xxx 

See more of my 30 days to a happier, healthier me, here.

Show Me The Way Home

Microfiction Monday is brought to us by the lovely Susan. Please feel free to join in with the fun and games.

Jose was thinking that being dropped off in the desert, with only the clothes on his back and his walking stick was a mistake. Now what?

Happy MM everyone.
Love KB
xxx

Taxi For KB and Whitesnake

Righto, so now I know where I am health wise and my next step is cutting back on alcohol. This is going to be the hardest step for me which is why I wanted to put it early on the health list.  I was going to start this yesterday until I was invited to dinner at my parents place AND our good friend G offered to drive us there and back. This was the first time in a year, I wasn't the designated driver ('cause Whitesnake doesn't drive). I decided to go with the flow (OMG that is so unlike me) and have a few drinks with my family. We had a wonderful time and I still made many healthy choices throuout the day. I'm feeling good and ready for my next healthy step.

Here are some of the pics...

Have a great day/night and I'll see you tomorrow for Day 2 of my health challenge.

Love KB
xxx

Simply Delish - Sesame Chicken

My post for today is over on our joint blog, Simply Delish Sesame Chicken - yummy.

See you tomorrow
Love KB
xxx

Know My Numbers

30 Days To A Happier, Healthier Me - Day 1

Summer is well and truly on the way, the perfect time to make a few changes to bring me closer towards my goal of having a healthier lifestyle. I'm doing really well and have taken on board many changes already but my aim for this challenge is to be more consistent with the healthy stuff.

My first step was to find out where I was health wise right now. I bought myself a notebook and jotted down a few results. I decided to work on lowering my cholesterol and losing a little weight around my middle. Blood pressure and resting heart rate are normal.

I also logged onto knowyournumbers to enter my blood pressure and cholesterol. My heart risk is normal for my age. This was great news to me as there is a history of heart disease on one side of my family and it's something I worry about at times. I'm a natural born worrier but Whitesnake has made me so happy, I have to now invent things to worry about, hehe.

My next stop was realage. According to Dr Oz, I have a few years more under my belt than I should have. I really like this site as it calculates what your real age is and then gives you little tips to improve.

Righto, so now I know where I am health wise and the few things I want to work on. No surprises there really...I need to excercise more and drink less wine.

See you tomorrow for Simply Delish. I cooked up a sesame chicken recipe and it was sooooo good. Whitesnake licked his plate, much to the disappointment of Coco, 'cause there were no left overs.  

Love KB
xxx

Keeping Up With KB

Things are going really well with me. I've had a little anxiety but it's been manageable. The level of anxiety comes down a little every day after I've had a big panic attack. As long as Whitesnake doesn't come up behind me and scare the life out of me by tickling me (as he often does), I should be OK.

Watched a couple of good DVDs the other day/night. One was Marley and Me , which I loved apart from the ending. I will apologise in advance in case you don't already know but the dog dies in the end. Why do people have to ruin a perfectly good story by killing off the dog in the end? I cried buckets and spent an hour telling a rather bewildered Coco that I loved her so much and I wanted her to live forever.


The next movie was about a girl who cooks her way through a Julia Child cook book and blogs about it. Hmm, cooking and blogging, why didn't I think of that?  I refer to the movie Julie and Julia which I really did enjoy but poor Whitesnake had to sit there while I continuously paused it and said, "I could have done that AND I would have been funnier." A life of cooking and blogging sounds like heaven to me.


In other news...our babies have grown to double the size. Don't worry, I haven't had some kind of alien birth, I'm referring to our baby fruit and veg. This is the first time I've attempted to grown anything and I'm so excited. I keep jumping out of my seat at the most inappropriate moments saying, "I must check on the babies." or " I must water the babies." I wonder what the neighbours must think?

I'm going to begin my 30 days to a happier, healthier me tomorrow. I've taken on board Whitesnake's advice and I'm not going to stress myself out if I can't do it in 30 days. Actually, I'm doing most of the steps already, I tend to be really healthy for a week and then decide I must reward myself by drinking a rather large bottle of wine or eating lots of chocolate and end up right back where I started. So I'm not going to move on to the next day until I feel comfortable that I have the first day sorted. I want to be more consistent about the whole healthy living thing. It'll probably take my 30 months rather than 30 days but if I can get the end result I 'm after, I don't care if it takes me a life time.

Righto, that's me all caught up. Time to organise Whitesnake's dinner and check on the babies again.

Bye for now
Love KB
xxx

The Show Must Go On

Why do we not consider having 'women's problems' as my Mum would say as being ill? I woke up this morning with a sore tummy, pounding head and my hair looks like an oil slick has taken up residence there. But today is Whitesnake's day off and we have made plans. I want to crawl back into bed with a hot water bottle on my tummy and a cool face cloth on my forehead but we women are made of stronger stuff, aren't we girls? I will finish my coffee, take a couple of nurofen, wash my hair, put on a little eyeliner and with a smile on my face I WILL have a good time with my man.

On with the show...

Love KB
xxx

The Other Side

Here's my contribution to One Shot.

Two sides
to every story
One party
strives for glory

Emotional blackmail
confuses the heart
Constant control
keeps you apart

Deceit and lies
become the heroes
Empathy and love
totaling zero

The battle is short
one side victorious
But life is long
people are curious

Another scenario
begins to unfold
The true story
finally told

My darlin' Whitesnake's One Shot is here

Have a great day/night

Love KB

xxx

   

30 Days To A Happier, Healthier Me

These past few days have been a little rough for me due to a huge panic attack I had. You can read more about my panic attack here. I'm feeling much better today thanks to some excellent work books (The It Series), some me time and the support of my darling Whitesnake.

I've been enjoying taking part in the 30 days of me challenge and although I am still working on the challenge, I've decided to go off on a bit of a tangent (as is my way) and start my own challenge - 30 Days To A Happier, Healthier Me. This will help me get back on track health wise which will in turn help me overcome my anxieties. I've given myself a rough idea of how I will go about this but I've also allowed myself the flexibility to change this and go with the flow. One of the reasons I have had problems in the past is because I like to make a plan, stick to it and beat myself up if I don't stick to it...not good for me in the long run. I've also given myself permission to not have to move onto the next challenge until I am ready to (so it will most likely take me longer than 30 days). I can feel myself relaxing already!

So here's my plan of action:

1.    know my numbers

2.    reduce alcohol intake

3.    30 minute walk

4.    5+ per day

5.    try a new recipe

6.    go walkabout
7.    walk 2x this week

8.    treat myself to a beauty treatment

9.    read

10.  eat a healthy breakfast

11.  cut down on caffeine

12.  get enough sleep

13.  challenge my brain

14.  walk 3x this week

15   date night/day

16   get my hands dirty

17   have a me day

18.  gratitude journal

19.  take a multivitamin daily

20   don't eat 3 hrs before bedtime

21   protect my skin with sunscreen every day

22   remove makeup before bed every day

23   floss

24   wear perfume

25   walk x4 this week

26   drink more herbal tea

27   relaxation techniques

28   increase calcium intake

29   mc twice a week

30   review




Feel free to join in with me if you like, your feedback and support would be great too. I'm still going to work on the 30 days of me challenge, when I have time but my own challenge is more important at the moment.

See you tomorrow
Love KB
xxx

Me Time

My regular readers will know I have had many issues with panic attacks and anxiety disorder in the past. It's one of the reasons I began blogging, I found being able to write and tell complete strangers how I was feeling, really helped me. Now I have made HUGE changes in my life, my anxiety is manageable, I've come off my medication and the strangers I used to rant to have become my friends. Last week, I was feeling happy and balanced and then out of the blue I had a HUGE panic attack. I was really shocked and to be honest, quite frightened by it.

The past couple of days, I've been calming myself down, with the help of my darling Whitesnake and thinking a lot about what brought it on. I'm feeling much better today but still a little out of sorts. In the past my panics have been because I have had problems to work through but I honestly feel that I had this panic because I was feeling so happy. I know it sounds crazy but after all I've been through, I'm not used to things going so well. I'm scared I don't deserve it and now that I am at a place I am content, it will be taken away from me. Self-sabotage me thinks. What do you think?

Anyway, I have some really fantastic work books I use when I feel this way and I am going to have a read today. I also find that when I am feeling anxious, it's often because I haven't been looking after myself and slipping back into those bad habits like drinking too much wine, not exercising etc, so I'll look at this as an opportunity to get myself back on track health wise.

So I just wanted to let you know that I probably won't be around much for the next couple of days but I'm doing OK. Time for some KB self reflection me thinks.

Love y'all
KB
xxx         

Simply Delish - Spaghetti Bolognese

My post for today is over on our joint blog  -  Simply Delish Spaghetti Bolognese.

We're looking for simply delish recipes which use everyday ingredients. We've added a Mr Linky this week so come on over and share a recipe with us. We're going to choose a couple to cook up on video and of course, if you we chose your recipe, we'll link back to you and give your blog the credit.

Happy weekend all
Love KB
xxx

Friday Flash 55 - Coco's World

Here's my contribution to FF55, brought to us by the amusing Mr G-Man.




It’s cold and windy outside
My paws will get awfully wet
With one eye open I’ll hide
If I stay in bed
Mum and Dad will soon forget

Not long till they’re out the door
I won’t move a muscle till then
I’ll try really hard not to fart
Go Coco!
I’ve fooled them again

Coco usually rushes out the door in the mornings to play outside, unless it's raining. When it's raining or really cold out, she hides in her bed and pretends to be asleep. She did it again this morning. So funny.

Have a great weekend all
Love KB
xxx

Skywatch - Eastern Beach, NZ

Here's my contribution to Skywatch.

Have a great day
Love KB
xxx

Keeping Up With KB

Whitesnake and I have enjoyed a few days off together. We had a busy and fun time.

If you've been paying attention over the past few days, you'll know we planted our first veggies. The lettuce is the star so far...can't wait to tuck into that.

Our Simply Delish recipe this week was for Tomato Salad and we decided to video it. It was so much fun. Whitesnake is a natural performer and I thought I did an excellent job with the video camera. Sir Peter Jackson, if you need any help filming The Hobbit, I'm available.



The weather is improving all the time and we've took advantage of a fine day and headed to a local beach.
More Eastern Beach pics over on our joint blog.

Halloween night was a bit of a disappointment. I bought a bag of lollies and waited for the children, it's hard to see our house from the road so we didn't get any visitors. I'm still eating the lollies...yum!


I think that's me all updated. Going to head our shortly to buy some fireworks. I'm not usually a big fan of fireworks but this will be the first time Whitesnake and I will have the opportunity to set some off together, so looking forward to it. Surprisingly, Coco LOVES fireworks night.


I'll probably be back later on today.
See you then.
Love KB
xxx

Beginnings

Here's my poem for One Shot. Hope you likey.

Beginnings are so wonderful
The spirit soars, the heart is full
Hard times and worries melt away
Thinking of him gets me through the day



Romantic music, candles and flowers
Staying in bed, talking for hours
Sleepless nights just being together
You know that this will last forever



I wonder when we begin to forget
Those special feelings when we first met
Time is spent surviving the daily muddle
Who has the time or energy to cuddle



But I love him more and more each day
I know we'll survive, we'll find a way
So I'll think back to the first time we kissed
And know time spent together is not to be missed

Don't worry all is good in the KB and Whitesnake world. This is about a relationship I tried really hard to make work but in the end, it just wasn't meant to be.

Whitesnake's One Shot is here.
I'll be back later with Walkabout Wednesday

Love KB
xxx

KB and Whitesnakes Patch

My post for today is over on our joint blog - Whitesnake and I have started growing our own veggies.

See you tomorrow for One Shot and Walkabout

Love KB
xxx

Simply Delish - Tomato Salad

My post today is over on our joint blog...video recipe of a delish tomato salad 
filmed by KB and presented by Whitesnake.

Hope you enjoy
Love KB
xxx

More Simply Delish recipes here.