My Life in Mono...

Top 10 Reasons to Love Perth

 

"A City isn't so unlike a person, 

They both have marks to show, they have many stories to tell, they see many faces, they tear things down and make new again."

-Rasmenia Massoud

 

I currently live in Perth, Western Australia. It is known to be the second most isolated state capital in the world.  The nearest state capital to Perth is Adelaide, which is 2,139km away.  Flying to Adelaide and flying to Bali, Indonesia takes roughly the same amount of time.   It is closer to fly to Bali, Indonesia than to fly to Melbourne or Sydney. It is also, sometimes, cheaper to fly to Singapore than it is to fly to Melbourne or Sydney.  

I love Perth.  I know a few people that would love to complain about this wonderful city but I am going to give them 10 reasons not to and I hope, they would be thankful to be living in this beautiful city. I enlisted my Perth friends and asked what they like about living in Perth and these are the answers I got :) 

 

TOP 10 REASONS TO LOVE PERTH

The Beaches - The closest beach is at least 30 minutes away from where ever you might live.  The white sands and the clear blue water. Need I say more. The beach is always open even in Winter! Still perfect beach weather!  Our favourite beach is Rockingham Beach. The water there is calm and shallow.  

The weather - We all heard the term, "Melbourne has 4 seasons in 1 day".  Not in Perth.  In Perth, when it is Summer, the sun is out almost all summer.  You will get the occasional rain summer storm here and there but nothing as drastic as 4 seasons in 1 day.  One of my friend mentioned that there is almost no humidity here, you get one or two days out of the year but you are not constantly dripping in sweat as you walk out your home or office. The air in Perth is always fresh and crisp especially when you step out the door in the morning. 

Laid Back - I can't get over how laid back everyone is in Perth.  The colloquial term "No Worries" really mean No Worries.  Perth is a city that is never too busy.  No one is in a Rat Race and you can still find people smiling at each other on the streets.   A lot of my friends mentioned that you can balance work and life so well in Perth.  

The Parks - There are at least 4 parks or parklets within a kilometre radius of my home.  FOUR! Every single one of them within 2-5 minutes walking distance.  You almost do not need a big backyard for the kids to play because of that.  Some have playgrounds some are just big huge open spaces.  Perfect for exercising your dogs and children. :) 

The Wineries -  Because we are so isolated with the rest of the country, we had to make our own wines. At least that is what I'd like to think. HAH! You can either take a 30 minutes to an hour's drive outside Perth to get to the closest wine region or you can drive 3 hours down south and make it a weekend trip.  

The Community - Perth is small.  When one community gets into trouble, you can almost depend on the rest of Perth to rise up to the occasion and help.  With the huge bush fires happening South of Perth, the Yarloop and Waroona community lost almost everything!  The people of Perth got together and help the Yarloop and Waroona community.  I have got friends baking and cooking food.  I have friends collecting school supplies, as school starts in 2 weeks, and the best of all I have seen businesses donating goods and money to help these 2 communities get back on their feet. 

The Traffic - Even in peak hour the traffic is still moving.  Very rare that it gets so bad that we are at a standstill.  The longest I have been stuck in Traffic is 2 hours and that was because of a bush fire happening right next to the road and the road was closed.  That is nothing compared to almost 4 hours that I have heard from major cities like Jakarta or Bangkok.  You can fly to Melbourne quicker. 

Great food - Despite what people say, I do feel like we now have more variety of food choices here in Perth compared to 10 years ago. New restaurants and bars are popping up like mushrooms and I can not wait to try them all! Speaking of great food, M and I tried out this new restaurant on Saturday for our 12 Dates and will be posting a review sometime this week. 

Enough - We have enough of what we need.  We have a few major shopping centres or malls to cater to what we need at the moment. :) What we don't have we can always order on-line.  

The River - Yep. I am grateful for the Swan River and all small rivers that flows to it.  It is because of these rivers, we have beautiful bush lands along with the animals that live in it.  Snakes and all.  

 

Why do I love Perth so much?  

I love it because I have made my family here.

I love it because I can get away from the hustle and bustle of the city in 30 minutes.  

I love it because life is so much easier here.

I love it because I have found my Tribe here.  People who share the same ideals and values.  

I love it because I feel safe and accomplished here. 

And most of all, I love it because it is my home. 

 

Highlights of the week

1. Attended a Happiness workshop at my favourite store and was given a freebie Happiness Journal.
2. Having wonderful colleagues at work.  I love coming to work because of this. 
3. Beauty the Greyhound that I am dogsitting is so laid back I almost forgot that she was even in the house.  

Time for a check up

 

Summer is well and truly here.  Perfect beach weather if you ask me.  We have been outdoors most of the time this summer.  Life has been a little up and down since September.  I won't go much into personal details but it was definitely life altering.  I has made me look at how I value relationships with my husband, daughter, family and friends.  My anxiety has also rear it's ugly head a couple of times since September and I have been trying to manage it to keep it at bay.  Hence why I turn to nature by being outdoors and running a lot. 

Running.  I have decided to run my first Marathon in 2016.  Training so far has been going smoothly.  I wake up early every morning to get a run in before the day heats up and before everyone else hogs the running path. :)  You'd be surprised to see how many people are already out there running and cycling! I am not a morning person but I have learnt how to be one.  Mondays and Fridays are rest days for me and boy owh boy do I look forward to them.  I have a love hate relationship with running to be honest but mostly, I love it once I am out the door and pounding the pavement. 

My little girl will be starting school next year.  I have mixed feelings about it.  One side of me is happy because she has reached another important milestone in life.  I don't have to fork out expensive daycare fees any more.  The other side of me is sad because she is not a little girl any more.  She will be a school age child.  She will have more responsibilities in life.  She will start her formal education that will be her foundation to her life.  I am sad of letting her go into the big world but I know that she is ready.  She is ready to tackle what ever life throws at her and if she feels like she can not handle it, I will be there to hold her hand and give her a cuddle. 

How was your Christmas?  We had a quiet one this year.  One that we spent by the river.  One where we stuffed our bellies with good food and good wine. New Years will be something similar.  Most probably we will be celebrating it by the same river again and most probably with the same food and maybe a different type of wine. :)  Most probably I would start out my day with a run with some friends and then come home for a snooze.  

Every year I look back to see what I set out three things I want to achieve in the year.   2015 was the year I did not do one hence my life was a little all over the place.   So for the next year, I have set out three things I want to accomplished. 

Run a full marathon.  It has been on my bucket list for at least 3 years now and some of my running buddies have started to ask me if I am still going to do it.  As mentioned above, I have started my training for my inaugural race in April at the Bunbury 3 Waters dace so this will be the first goal on my list to be struck off.   Hopefully I am able to do it. I am scared but I know I am ready.  

Practice Gratitude ( I will start my 52 weeks of Gratitude on the blog).  This year, I realised that to get my mental health in check, I had to force myself to seek 3 things in my day that I am thankful for.  Some days it was very very hard and some days super easy.  So for 2016, I am going to practice Gratitude as they say that it is the foundation of happiness.  Instead of complaining about what is wrong with the day, I will try my best to give thanks. 

12 Dates.  This is something that I am going to work with my husband.  We have let our work and busyness take over our lives that we fail to connect and have been neglecting our relationship.  Hence this year we have been fighting and arguing a lot this year.  So once a month for 12 months, we will make time for ourselves sans the Lil' Tiger, and go out on dates.  It doesn't have to be at a fancy restaurant but we have to make it a point to connect and build our relationship once again. 

Blog wise, I will try to keep it as up to date as I can BUT I am very active on Instagram and my Facebook Page.  So please follow me on those 2 social media pages.  

Now, go forth and have a great NEW YEAR! 

New Beginnings

"The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made." - John Schaar

Two months have gone by since I last wrote.  A lot of things have happened since then.  I got a new job, my gorgeous little niece was born and lots of food have been consumed.  I learnt a lot in that short amount of time.  Learning to take things slow and not be too hard on myself.  Learning to let things go, again, and not take things for granted.  Learning to not take myself too seriously and just step back and let things unfold.  It is still an on going process.  Some days I am good, some days I don't want to get out of bed. Mostly good.  Most days I hop out of bed. 

Spring is finally here.  I think Pixel has been hanging out for a warm day.  The poor pup have been in jumpers all winter long and would probably need a summer hair cut soon.  Spring also means that I am outdoors a little more. I feel so good to be able to run outdoors again after a winter of hibernation.  It feels great that the days is a little longer and that it is not dark when I go pick up my little one after work.   

Real Life: In my bag

 I am in a sharing mood today, so let's take a peek of what is in my day to day bag.  I don't have an expensive bag, as you can see, I prefer something big enough to carry things around. :) 

 

Bag:  Colette Hayman

 

Now the best bit, Tadahhh.... And I wonder why my shoulder is always aching. :*) So from left to right and clockwise:

small sketch pad for the Lil' Tiger to doodle in; my day planner, very important if you run a small business and a small family; my Kate Spade wallet, gifted by a good friend; small coin pouch; wet wipes; tissues; foldable shopping bag; NYX blusher; MAC blot powder; Ecotools Brush; self inking stamp; NYX Lipstick, Revlon mascara; Lucas Pawpaw cream; small bottle of bubbles; Epipen, for the lil Tiger; Pluto; Noise maker; NYX Shine Killer; small make up pouch; small pencil case I bought from Daiso; medium sized pencil case for the Lil' Tiger's colouring pencils. 

So there you have it.  As you can clearly see, I share my bag. :*)

What is in your bag?