Close your eyes and imagine the best version of you possible. That’s who you really are, let go of any part of you that doesn’t believe it.

C. Assaad (via suspend)

It’s a good day to have a good day

Tonight the man and myself are drive to Newcastle. We arrive very late and after his appointment in the morning, we leave very early. Due to the briefness of the visit we have decided to sleep in the car. It’s actually 10/10 snug (in a good way). Fast food is the easiest option, but never the cheapest on road trips. Instead I have made dinner, that we will take with us. Although this is barely even a trip, we are saving roughly $40 on food alone. Truly, even breaking a small habit of just getting the easiest option can make a huge difference. Instead I have spent the morning watching The Nanny and cooking delicious, healthy low-fat dinners. Being with someone I get along with so well makes everything we do so unusually exciting. Road trips late at night while we listen to A day to remember and falling asleep against his shoulder. I’m so lucky. Recipe’s will be provided later this evening :) 

It’s days like this I regret beginning my academic career as a mature aged student. Seeing women around me with their friends just makes me recognise how lucky I have been to have such amazing people in my life. Most whom have moved away to begin their new lives, which is the bittersweet result of my personal choices. 

Tonight we had to go shopping quickly as we both have another exam tomorrow so this will be quite a brief post. 

Lunch was leftover from last night’s soup. $0 = Bargain

Dinner:

1 clove Garlic

1 Tbsp Fresh Dill (On sale for 98c, quite happy)

1 Tbsp Butter (Nuttlex, olive spread, whatever)

Quarter of a lemon

1 Basa Fillet (Also on special woo)

Any greens you prefer

1. Preheat oven 200 Fan Forced, Line baking tray with baking paper/wax paper. 

2. Melt butter in bowl and add garlic, dill and salt and pepper if you would like. 

3. Pat fillet dry with paper towel, place on tray and pour over mix. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until fish softly flakes apart. 

4. Steam greens. 

Easy and delicious. Appetite is low due to mood, but it’s a cheap and fast meal that leaves you feeling satisfied. I love you all x 

2 Hours until exams. Watching crash course biology and trying to re-learn an entire semester’s worth of content. I’m finding it interesting that the more I learn about the intricacies of the human body, my actions and behaviorism are being affected. Now being able to slightly understand the mechanisms of our biology, I feel like I am in the beginning of an episode of HouseMD everytime I go to eat something. Learning how to understand yourself further in any possible way is a really great thing. Especially for those of us who feel completely lost the majority of the time. 

After Dean and I moved into our little space and being away from our dogs (who still live comfortably on a farm with my parents nearby) we decided we couldn’t live without some kind of pet. We tried and failed to parent sea monkeys so of course we went to something a little less complicated. BUNNIES. Beemo (Charcoal) and Luna now own the apartment. They are both rescue babies and quickly became best friends. Not only are we lucky enough to be provided with constant joy and happiness, but instead of throwing our their poo, we use it as fertiliser. If you are a plan enthusiast or like to grow herbs, rabbit poo is one of the most amazing manures to help with organic growing. Rabbit poo contains high levels of nitrogen, potassium, calcium and zinc just to name a few. Rabbits poo contains such high levels of vitamins and minerals that they produce specific droppings for them to re-digest themselves. Its really amazing. Rabbits are amazing. 

Familiar?

I really, really like winter.

Although, I guess I can’t really call this winter considering we slept with the air conditioner on last night. Yes, I understand the added costs of the AC but thankfully our building has excessive solar panels which reduce our electricity ridiculously. I actually dream of living in the snow. Being cozy, hot coffee, fireplaces, baby mooses?, christmas. Everything good comes to mind in one word. Tomorrow I have my first Biochemistry exam as a 1st year Nursing Student. Studying has been the pinnacle of the first week of so called ‘’uni break’’ but luckily, us Nursing kid’s get tested quite immediately, leaving the rest of our break to live freely! Dean - being currently in the same position in his degree, stayed locked up inside with me all day, starting at our computer screens and drinking lemon water, trying to make amends for the atrocious amount of junk food we have consumed in the past 48 hours. Tonight, I was feeling quite ready for something a little more healthy (without leaving the house) and keeping in the ‘’Winter’’ (Yea right Australia) theme, I opted for quick and easy lentil soup. Honestly, this recipe is absolutely interchangeable with any ingredients you would all have on hand and can be suited to any acquired taste. The additives of meat or other spices will only result in enhanced flavour, so please do not be concerned to vary to your liking. 

Here is the recipe I threw together tonight, which turned out amazing. (Seriously, it was so good) 

Hearty Green Lentil Soup 

 Prep: 10 mins - Cooking: 40mins-1hour

1 Peeled and diced large carrot

2 Peeled and diced potatos (I used Australian White, any will do)

1 Small diced onion

2 cloves of garlic (minced or diced)

½ pack of 375g Whole Green Lentils (Rinsed)

5-6 Cups of water depending on desired consistency 

2 Cubes of Vegetable Stock

+ any herbs you would like to add. I used a generous amount of garlic powder, paprika, pink Himalayan salt, cracked pepper and chilli powder. 

1. Place all diced veges in a pot with some coconut/olive oil and let them sweat for 4-5 minutes until garlic and onion become fragrant. 

2. Pour in water, stock cubes, herbs and spices and stir. Bring to boil and let simmer for 40-60 minutes, stirring occasionally and bringing down the heat if necessary. 

3. Taste that lentils are cooked through and mash with potato masher to achieve desired thickness or you can blend. I personally like the soup to have a little bit of chunky veges left throughout to give it that hearty texture. We served with a squeeze of lemon and a dollop of sour cream because we suck at being healthy but it was WORTH IT.

Enjoy :)