Currently - August

 

Frozen Magaritas to celebrate the end of the holiday

Doing

This week is a slow week. I have only just come home from vacation so it’s a weird mix of tiredness and being completely warn out after a first working week back at school. I’m trying to stop myself from spending too much money too as the debts back home are looming. So overall it sounds very boring but lots of restful nights in a some games nights with friends has been fantastic. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to be resting.

Reading

I have recently finished the new Lauren Weisberg book which is the sequel to ‘the devil wears prada’. I was really loving the girlie indulgence up until the final chapter where it all went a bit pear shaped. Other than that I have a copy of ‘The Great Gatsby’ to start. It is shameful to say I have never read the book all the way through. I know what happens but I love the decadence of it all. The characters are all so egotistical and flambouent. I can’t stop reading. I am missing books so much. I hate not being able to just pick up one from the charity shop where I buy boxes of them for less than a pound.

Eating

I’m trying to eat nothing. I have gained so much weight from the Korean Rice and beer that I’m starting to become a blimp so I’m on a stricked regime of limited food and as many gym visits as humanly possible. The gym here is awful in some ways but brilliant in others. I can still taste the Thai food from holiday which is definitely up there with my favourites. I do have a care package coming (at some point) so I’m hoping with it will come stupid amounts of British loveliness , including CRUMPETS!!!!! Epppp

 

Weird Korean food like this shouldn't be good but it is!

Drinking

Drinking has slowed with the effort to save money and lose weight but I did have a sneaky dirty martini this weekend. I wish I liked them but I just don’t. They are too straight for me. They just taste of gin. Even though I asked the barman to make them filthy it still just tasted of hard liquor. It makes me a child but I like my cocktails sweet.

I did try some red wine the other day even though I’ve never been a fan but I loved it. I am now an adult. I always thought that red wine, plain nuts and fish were the items I needed to like to make me an adult. So I’m just a few plain nuts away from being a grown up.

 

This lady gave me my first red wine last year

Listening

I’m not listening to too much. In the gym I am mainly listening to cheesy K-pop to keep me running but I have found a soft spot for Mumford and Sons. I just love them. I imagine meeting friends at the airport, dancing in friends weddings and laughing with friends when ever I hear them and I love them.

Watching

I have been watching too much. Breaking Bad is back so of course I am counting down the days till the next episode. I also need to kill a friend of mine who has got me addicted to the worst television show ever created. Gossip Girl. I’m even embarrassed to write that but it’s the perfect buffer to desk warming and a great accompaniment to lonely afternoons in the English room.

I haven’t been to the cinema in far too long. We saw Snow Piercer (a Korean/English mix) which was quite good. I enjoyed it but it had an awful ending.

Planning

TOKYO!!!

So what is coming up? Lots! I am heading to Japan in September which I am ‘cheek hurtingly’ excited for. I also have my best friend coming to visit me in October. I feel bad that she is traveling half way across the world for me but I can’t wait! I am stopping myself from planning every second as its too far away to be counting the days. Apart from that I am not looking forward to Monday as a close friend of mine is leaving our Korean shores and we will be sad to see him leave. He is going to Venice for a few months so we can’t feel TOO bad but Korea won’t be the same without him.

So overall it’s a quiet month but I’m still enjoying every second.

I am having big boughs’ of home sickness daily and wishing I was animating as well as craving a more vintage lifestyle but here is still good.

How to not procrastinate your time away

first printed story

Learning something new.

When it comes to resolutions I can sometimes become addicted. I love learning new things and I have a thirst for knowledge. The problem is I've never had the time.

Things have recently changed meaning that I have an abundance of time due to a very weird job as an English teacher that allows me hours of waiting for classes.

Now my only problem is, what to do first?!?

I think that it would be a waste to finish this year and not have completed at least a small few things.

I have always thought I was a procrastinator and worried that I'd never accomplish anything but I've been so happy to realise that it really was just the lack of time I'd been searching for. If I can get off my behind and actually start being able to do things then please believe me, anyone can.

I had a few months between jobs a long time ago and I was so angry at myself because apart from watch all of Homeland I have no idea what I accomplished.

Then out of no where I knew I decided to travel. Making that decision meant I needed to do a huge list of things to make it happen and although it was the most stressful few months it worked. It was a weird moment to realise that if you do things, things happens (yes I'm slow on the uptake)

It was definitely my slap in the face moment.

I dedicated myself to finding a way to keep on being productive. I realised that putting myself in a working environment helps. If I can't get away with being lazy then I wont. If your friends or family can see your computer screen you are less likely to go on facebook for hours. I would also recommend very do-able to do lists. Make such easy steps that you can tick lots of them off because you need to start small.

Since moving to Korea I've managed to:

.Learn a lot more about Photography and editing,

.Learn Hangul

.Finish a short animated sequence

.Maintain and write blogs

.Write for two magazines.

.Written 4 chapters of a childrens book

That above list makes me stupidly happy and I can't believe I've done so much in 6 months but I now need to push myself to a new level. I'd like to say it was hard to change my routine but unfortunatly it was easy. I say unfortunatly because I can see how much time i've been wasting.

So here is my new list of 'To do':

.Write another 4 chapters of my book

. Learn conversational Korean

. Learn a little German

. Learn a little Japanese

. Keep blog maintained

. Learn more about photos

. Read more

. Improve my drawing

. Go to the Gym more

. ANIMATE MORE

. Create a new showreel

I think that life before children is a gift. I know I really want children and I feel that time is coming up stupidly fast (don't worry at least another 7 years) but still is my only time to be free.  I see so many woman online with many kids and businesses that were more efficient than I had ever been and I had no excuse. They inspired me to get up and about because it just seems to be a skill that grows.

Once you start to use your time well time seems to double, then triple.

I hope that you are making a list yourself.

Travels and such

Hello again everyone!

I am back from my travels and what exciting travels they were. Here are a few choice photos from the thousands I took. 

22gb of editing later and I’m all done. Phew!

Ruby Woo

Ruby Woo

I realize I should be as excited about this as I am but I have finally made an adult purchase and bought my first Ruby Woo lipstick.

I realize that this isn’t an event everyone would get excited about but I have been dreaming of owning a Ruby Woo every since I was about 15 and I started delving into the vintage world of glamour.

I have mentioned on here before my past fears of bright colors on my nails so the idea of ever wearing red lipstick terrified me. I ventured into the lipstick world a year ago with the purchase of a Rockalily red and I loved it. Not just loved it, I was in love with it.

Wearing it made me feel like a million pounds. It was my secret magic stick that made me feel like a different version of myself.

I have to admit that to begin with I’d put it on and run to the bathroom to wash it off the second I had it on but over time I came to feel comfortable in my own skin.

If people stared who cared since it made me happy. That was my biggest hurdle with wearing red. It was the fact I know that over 50% of men hate it. I felt weird annoying people but then I realize I shouldn’t care. If I’m happy then that’s what should matter.

I wasn’t wearing it for men. I was wearing it for me.

The first time I read about Ruby Woo was an interview with Dita Von Teese. I had to go on the internet (these were the days before Google!) to find out what this magical stick was.

I didn’t get it as my first purchase because it is stupidly expensive in the uk. I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with my Rockalily as much as I did but it is only occasionally released so I decided to bite the bullet and join the Mac ranks.

Its tough getting use to a new Matte lipstick but I love it.

So here it is. My lovely Ruby Woo.

Motivation

I have just arrived back from a busy 10 days holiday and I couldn't have enjoyed it more. I have so many photos to edit which i'm sure i'll get around to sharing but I definitley let myself go this holiday.
Its funny how you stress and stress about your beach body but don't care the second you are done with the beach.
I have suffered from this problem since moving to Korea.
I use to go to the gym 3 times a week as well as dance classes before I moved abroad and for the first time in my life I was happy with my body but since being here I've put on over a stone and let myself get so lazy.

So I have decided that enough is enough.
Tonight after work i'm hunting down dance classes and gyms. I have been inspired by the stunning Ree Ree at Rocklily to get motivated as the results she has achieved are phenominal.

My plan is to make small goals, not weigh and just work till i'm happy and fit.


I also want to sort out my food habits.Its extremely expensive to cook here in Korea unless you eat the same thing every night and i'm so often that its impossible most nights but this is just a rubbish excuse that I need to change.

Ree Rees advice was to start off on areas you see visual results fastest to motivate you so i'll concentrate on the stomach. I also love boxing which they don't do here so i'll find a way around it by trying a few classes.

Fingers crossed by the time I go on my Winter vacation i'll be in better shape, have better eating habits and hopefully be more flexible.

Fingers crossed.