'Meet the Parents'

So this occurred over the weekend...but in this real life scenario I was playing the role of Ben Stiller and thankfully no one found out that my real name is Gaylord (shhh don't tell anyone!)
 

 

Looking back, I'm not sure why I was so anxious to meet them; they were incredibly nice and funny! The night before I was making constant outfit changes to wear the 'perfect' outfit to meet them. I'm sure Andrew was sick of it by then haha but I finally decided on something (which I changed last minute in the morning) and then continued to pack my bags...yes, that was a plural! For two nights I needed two bags. It must be a girl thing, but I NEVER know what to wear that I must have various options. You never know if it will be hot or cold, how your body will feel, how you will feel. There are numerous factors that straight men should just NOT question.

After packing all but my toiletries (because duh! I needed them in the morning!) I headed into the kitchen to whip up some domestic goodness. I wanted to impress them so much, that Andrew and I even brainstormed the weekend prior as to what cookies they would enjoy. We settled on Jam Drops.

They actually turned out quite well, and judging by my dads reaction: he approved the taste test! haha

The following day I drove over to Canberra and waited patiently for Andrew to finish work: aka window shopped and tried to look invisible in his shop while customers came in-one even started to ask me questions about stock...I had no clue but pointed them in the right direction (to Andrew!)

The drive to his parents place was about 2 hours all up. I knew they lived on a farm, so I was prepared for that...but when we pulled into their driveway I couldn't hold back my tears. Lame, I know! You see, I guess it was all the anticipation, excitement, nerves just finally coming out. That and the fact that when we pulled in, all I could see was this splendid garden. Granted I couldn't see much being night time, but it was this instant beauty that consumed me and took my breath away. It was perfection right in front of me.

His parents came outside to greet us and as I mentioned earlier: they were super friendly (no polygraph testing on this Gaylord Focker!)

I had a quick tour of the house and was blown away by the vintage and obvious passed down beautiful pieces in the family...I learned that the house was built at the end of WW2 by his dad's side of the family and I was lucky enough to spend the night in the spare room which was once home to Andrew (before he moved into a bigger room) as well as his dad and uncle when they were young lads. It felt kind of special to be in there: and dare I mention how COMFORTABLE the bed was? Well, oh my...it was heaven.

The following morning I woke to enjoyed some yummy granola type muesli in such a pretty bowl that I got kind of excited and started instagraming right away!

 

While I enjoyed breakfast, Andrew and his dad did their sports betting for the day (it was Saturday after all!) and I then got ready for the day.

We had learned the night before of a fate/festival type event that was on in town to celebrate 100 years of the Red Cross, so we decided to go across with his mum (his dad stayed home with his form guide: like I said, "Saturday" haha)

 

First stop was by his grandmother's place. The whole house inside was painted this pale pink, the same colour I had my dining room painted when I lived in Sydney. It was awesome! She had the most beautiful roses by her window sill that had this pure and fresh fragrance. So of course I snapped some photos ;)

 

 

At the fair was numerous horses, singing, cake stalls etc.

 

There was even a BBQ of course, and a pig on a spit which despite me being a vegetarian: I couldn't stop looking at the poor thing. I just felt so sympathetic for the being.

 

 

I would say the highlight of the visit to the fair would be seeing Mr Darcy...

 

 

Well he looked like Mr Darcy haha. He is a Lord of Scottland, who married a lady from the town. Oh and he was wearing a top hat. I joked to Andrew "Why am I with you and not with him?" when I found out he was a Lord. Of course he knew I was joking!!! Also, hands down: best accent!

 

Later that day Andrew took me on a tour of the grounds. Did I mention there is 1000 acres? Forget Pooh's hundred acre wood!
The most memorable part was when we visited their personal cemetery with a ruined Church.

 

Looking inside the run down Church with no roof was beautiful. It was as nature had taken its course and brought life to the dwelling. Looking inside from the windows was luscious grass that was feeding on natural light: it was like an open courtyard, all that was needed was for some flowering plants to be scattered inside for it to be even more picturesque (if even possible).

 

 

Looking in through the caved in doorway, I couldn't help but feel blessed to be here. It was like I could feel the presences that entered these doors many years ago as if it was yesterday.

 

Here is the gateway to the cemetery.

 

For those that know me, you may know that I have a 'gift' in sensing things. You may not believe in it but what I experienced next when I entered was so overwhelming yet peaceful that if you felt it: you would certainly believe in spirits, ghosts, God? I'm not sure. You would believe in something!

 

I followed Andrew into the cemetery, focusing carefully on stepping directly where he once stood and being careful not to step over anyone's grave. He introduced me to his late grandfather and went on to talk a little about him. There was I think seven or eight graves maybe in there? All of relation. I instantly felt a profuse feeling of love and happiness rush around me and as if it was pulsating into my blood. At the same time I felt great amounts of pain and suffering rush over me. I could feel them standing there beside us. It was one of the most intense spiritual experiences I have ever been

through.  

 

I could not stop the tears, Andrew must of been so worried...but I could just feel them, it was as if they were their tears coming out of me. Tears of joy, happiness, peacefulness, sadness, pain, regret, love. It was like I was feeling so many emotions in one second. It wasn't overbearing though, I was happy to stay in there and experience it.

 

Once we left the gate, the crying stopped and I couldn't feel them any longer. It was truly beautiful and something I will never forget.

 

Later on we just hung around while they did their sport stuff still (Saturday sport is allllll day it seems haha), and we later on went out to dinner in Cootamundra.

 

 

Dinner was lovely, I got to meet Andrew's godfather and his wife. We had an amusing dinner and thanks to two glasses of wine, I was able to be myself and open up. I lie, it wasn't just the wine. They all made me feel welcomed and at ease. It's great how easy it is around them all!

 

Andrew's godfather actually owns an orchard and provided this luscious fruit: oh yum!

The following day was a pretty lazy day (especially since it was home time after that and we had to pick up Tessa).

Here are some scenery pictures from the back of the property to get an idea of the views:

 

Oh and I also used a tractor and didn't crash!!!! GO LOUISE GO! Mind you I was only in second gear driving at like 2km/ph

 

 

So hopefully when our parents meet for the first time it won't be like 'Meet the Fockers' and end up like this...

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGF6lvZLYI0 HAHAHAHA

 

 

 

But if it does, it'll make a funny story to tell to the grandkids :)

Peanut xxx



Newest and Cutest Trick...

Why is it when you're having fun, time flies by so fast?

Andrew came down the coast on Friday after work to a Mexican Feast that was yuuuuuuuuuuumy made by Tessa's wonderful Panda (aka her grandmother). We then followed dinner by a game of poker. I lost, because: well I'm not too good at the game! Also my parents play poker in town like 4 nights a week so they have the game sorted. Panda won easily by a long shot!

 

Saturday found us getting up early with a big breakfast followed by taking items to my storage unit and pretty much playing Tetris in there to fit all the extras in. We could of picked a cooler day to do so, I was standing trapped in a corner trying to stack boxes and boy was it hot in there.

 

For the rest of the day we played with Tessa and just relaxed in the cool of the house. Tessa played broom broom cars!

 

 

 

 

Come Sunday, we made pancakes for breakfast which Tessa didn't seem to enjoy...but she did enjoy constantly saying "cheers" and knocking our glasses together...this is her newest and cutest trick.

 

 

 

 

We then went to the Botanic Gardens for lunch and a play around. Tessa enjoyed her own lunch as well as a bit of ours too! She also enjoyed the sandpit...the sand was everywhere.

 

 

 

Oh and because we had a such a loooooong weekend, Teddy fell asleep on the couch while Tessa watched ABC...it was so cute!

 

 

 

And because I am one lucky girl, Teddy got me this piggy which I named Spencer. But it has to stay at his house...no fair! But I guess I do have one too many piggies already in my room so it's only fair he needs to start filling his room with pigs haha!

 

 

 

 

Peanut xxx

Domestic cake mix?

Yep, I love baking :) And normally, I'm a from scratch kind of guuuuurl...but for $3 for a box of cake mix, I couldn't resist to try them out. Especially after last week I made brownies from a cake mix and they turned out delish too!!!

So using a Coles Home Brand, I whipped up these beauties this morning while Tessa commentated the event; for when Bear arrives tonight. I tried one (ok I tried two) and they were delish! Only tiny but tiny is good!

 

 

 

And thanks to Marie Antoinette:

 

 

 

I must admit the icing was the best part...I made it too liquid-y by accident, so I added soooo much more icing sugar and it was actually perfect. I didn't think it could be made any better!

 

 

Stay tuned for this weekends adventures.

 

Peanut xxx

Why the female idea of beauty is skewed.

What is beautiful? Today's society shows us what we should all look like; but is this realistic?

 Let us start with society BEFORE things like photoshop and filter apps existed. Back in the pin up age, it was beautiful to be voluptuous, curvy, sexy...real! But how real is this really? Especially after seeing images like this...where the model posses for a photo and then the artist recreates the image. Sure, the recreation is beautiful and a much better body image than those that are constantly in peoples faces from TV, to magazines, advertisements, movies, instagram etc...

But who is to say that the original image isn't that much more perfect? I feel the first image is beautiful, sexy: real! I would certainly aspire to that: so why do people feel the need to alter an image?
Let's now fast forward to todays day and age...where girls such as Meghan Rienks on YouTube are exposed to females of all ages with 691k subscribers. Don't get me wrong, I love; love; looooooooove Miss Meghan, I go on YouTube daily longing to see her videos because she just reeks of beauty to me...of course being a Beauty Guru and being paid for this by YouTube...I have a little girl crush on her....

Now let me break this down for you though and show you how unrealistic this idea of beauty is.

All her videos are of beauty, OOTD (outfit of the day), vlogs and that's pretty much it.

Her make up videos are beautiful, filled with great ideas for make up and style...this coming from a girl who hardly wears make up: normally I will only wear make up if I am going out somewhere special or for a wedding or birthday; not to go shopping in Target.


In this particular video, she shows you how to do a "No Makeup" look...and I admit she looks great.

And I love that she shows her before face, blemishes and all...but this does not scream the typical beauty to me. Is it because I: as part of society has been brainwashed into what 'should' be beautiful as opposed to what actually is? Yet she still looks beautiful to me, inside and out.
Taking note of her blemishes, is also another reason as to why I do not wear make up on the daily...when I wear make up for more than a day, my face starts to break out: just like Meghan's has here and that is really not on top of my 'want' list. It just equals a vicious cycle of covering up which causes you to need to cover up.

 

Then if we look at Instagram or even tumblr, we can see endless selfies of faces, bodies, legs...all to make them seem perfect. And I'm not going to lie, I too have taken many photos of the same thing to just get it right...especially of myself before filtering with apps and then posting. But this is what society and social media has done ....and the worst part is that we have let it.

 

Here is a typical photo on Meghan's instagram....when she isn't posting photos of her legs. This to me is beautiful...yet I will never, NEVER obtain this level of perfection in my eyes. To the people close to me, I will surely: but for my self confidence? Probably not.  So I will continue to use filters and effects to create an ideal of beauty for myself like the majority of people out there....creating an endless idea of skewed beauty.


Meghan is an everyday person like you or I. She isn't world wide famous, not like people like Britney Spears.

And this is where it starts to get very unrealistic and creates such a poor body image for viewers. It makes me wonder, if it creates such a poor body image for me; than what does it do to the celebrity? No wonder they have breakdowns!

 

 

Granted, Britney and Scarlett are naturally pleasant to view...but they certainly do not need these unrealistic photoshopped pictures to prove they are the ideal.

 

Sadly, it isn't just women with the issue...even men have the photoshop bug. It certainly isn't as wide spread and horrific as females, but it is still there which is concerning.

 

 

“Beauty is about being comfortable in your own skin. It's about knowing and accepting who you are.”- Ellen DeGeneres  

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. - Confucius

I find beauty in unusual things, like hanging your head out the window or sitting on a fire escape. - Scarlett Johansson

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives the passion that she shows. The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years. - Audrey Hepburn


What we all need to understand is that beauty really does come from within...looks fade with age, photoshop, filters, plastic surgery, make up...it's all great in theory: just don't let it destroy your perception of who YOU ARE. 

And for fun, here is some great reasons for photoshop....

 

 

Peanut xxx

Canberra Balloon Festival 2014

 

Over the weekend I stayed in Canberra with my bear and one of our exciting adventures included him practically pushing me out of bed at 5.30AM so we could go play witness to the Canberra Balloon Festival.
Even though the balloons didn't take off due to strong winds, it was still a marvellous morning and I am glad he got my grumpy self out of bed that early!
When we arrived, the sun wasn't awake and the balloons were starting to inflate.

 

There were around seven hot air balloons that we could find, three of which were of interesting designs...below you will find our personal favourite: Pegleg Pete...a pirate themed parrot...

 

and then there was this guy...a made up creature called a Skywhale to apparently represent 100 years of Canberra with what looks like 10 unnecessary female body parts....we made some impromptu gestures being the mature couple we are (hey! In our defence, baby Tessa was with her dad that weekend so we didn't have to hide our immature nature!!)

 

Once the excitement of the balloons wore off (and our tummies started to grumble) we headed over to the big tents to see what the fuss was about. Listening to the entertainment by The Bridge Between, we lined up endlessly for Dutch Pancakes (which didn't turn out so nice after all) while I ate an apple, followed by an amazingly yummy muffin.
We then sat and watched while obviously bored kids started to make their own entertainment. A bunch of primary school kids were playing what seemed to be tip? But the pack leader was rather bossy and kept telling the other players to go sit in the corner cause they were "out"...they came over to where we were sitting quite upset and sat them selves down, heads facing the ground in defeat. When he had exhausted all players, he ordered the game to restart, yet this time another boy was going to be in. He was tagged almost right away mid commando roll and we couldn't control our laughter when the boy 'in' pulled at Mr Bossy Pant's shirt and pointed to the corner haha. He then sulked the rest of the game in the fetal position. Don't worry folks, he wasn't harmed! He got up when the game ended to play again, bossing everyone around!
I can only hope Tessa doesn't turn out like Mr Bossy Pants.

The best part of the day was when we were leaving, we started to drive past a field of flowers: mostly roses! I couldn't contain my excitement when my bear stopped for me to take various photos. Prepare for flower overload...

 

 

I'll end this entry with a picture of the two of us, while a balloon is being fired up: totally not a planned shot, but it worked out perfectly!

 

 

 

 

Peanut xxx