B-Day Reflections (and a pretty sunflower)

Tomorrow is my birthday. I'll be 26, it's not a big one. Yet, strangely, it feels like a big one.

Is this where I thought i'd be in my life at the age of 26? Heck no! Is this a bad thing? Umm... I used to say yes, but lately i've been thinking perhaps no.

Here's a sunflower that's opening in my garden. 

Because it's symbolic, and also just cos it's pretty...

I'm the type of person who always has to have “a plan”. And it's usually a long term plan, with all the benchmarks along the way. But in the last couple of years i've been focusing more on just the immediate future, with a maximum of a one-year plan. And i'm finding that's been working really well. On a day-to-day basis, I love my life. A lot.

Recently I was going through a draw and I found a “26 Things To Do Before I'm 26” list. I wrote it around my birthday last year, put it away and I haven't come across it since. But it's funny, i've done nearly everything on that list. Upon reflection, the couple of things I haven't done are mostly because they were “list fillers”. The kinds of things I would LIKE to do to increase my knowledge of and exposure to certain things. But that just aren't real life-changers.

Wanna see my list? That's not a euphemism, it's an actual list...

26 Things to do before i'm 26...

in no particular order

1. start a creative, expressive blog  (hello, dear reader)
2. keep a personal journal (I think blogging will be that)
3. do a solo body acceptance photo shoot (heck yes! must share photos on here)
4. set up a sewing & writing space
5. get a chest of drawers & organise my clothes
6. get rid of the warts on my foot (TMI. But they're gone!)
7. get my computer fixed before applecare runs out
8. pay off my credit card (I'm possibly most proud of this - debt totally blows)
9. implement pilates into my regular routine (meep, no...)
10. ask a boy out on a date (epic fail. but still, I did it!)
11. get my lady issues sorted (again, TMI. But yep, nearly all sorted)
12. visit an ostepath at least 4 times
13. go to the dentist
14. create a piece de resistance dress/outfit for myself (bit bummed I didn't do this one. But I did make some KILLER costumes this year)
15. explore 12 director/actors
16. become familiar with 6 musicals
17. release a Zombie Scooter Club EP (no, but we have a new band member and I feel things are moving along swimmingly)
18. visit Townsville
19. book an overseas adventure (I booked and WENT to Burma! Photos soon)
20. write to an inspirational person (YES! I wrote Tess Munster. And she wrote back! *swoon*)
21. start sculpting
22. work with resin
23. reflect and write a small something on each book read
24. have photos recovered off ext. hard drive
25. carry a notebook with me and make jots (well, kind of. I bought a small notepad, but I still just mostly use my phone for notes)
26. try a new recipe at least once a fortnight (not strictly, but I have been trying new recipes sporadically). 

17.5 out of 26! This year, I don't think i'll force myself to write a “27 Before 27” list. I think i'll just make a list of my priorities (with maybe a few specifics), and keep working towards those.

What do you guys think? Do you do birthday resolutions? 

Sunday Kind of Love

Well today was lovely. It was my first day to myself in ages, and it was just what the doctor ordered. No OOTD, because I looked like some sort of unfashionable labourer. But I did still play around with that snazzy camera I borrowed from uni, so here's some stuff that happened today...

Firstly, I listened to this. A lot. (Polite suggestion: hit play, and keep reading)

I made a tuna bake casserole, which isn't normally my kind of thing, but HO-LY SHIT this is nom! I don't think we ever had anything like this when I was kid, yet it's so delicious and comforting it feels like childhood. The secret ingredient is RITZ CRACKERS crumbled over the top. The recipe came from one of my favourite lifestyle/DIY blogs, A Beautiful Mess.

Here's what mine looked like, fresh out the oven.

I stalked Gomez a little bit. He was basking in the sun like the sultan he is.

I also played around in the garden a bit, because it was such a lovely day. I only have 2 sunflowers that took this year, and they are late to open and much smaller than last year. But, it's nearly happening!

Cliche as it is, I adore red roses. They climb the lattice work of my porch, and i'm training them to growing horizontally over to my bedroom window. Beauty!

Now i'm “studying” (blogging counts, right?). That's it for a Sunday! :)

General Whathaps

I've had 2 people in 2 days ask me if i've lost weight, and it got me thinking: a year ago, I would have taken that as SUCH a compliment. Now, it's left me with really mixed feelings that i'm having trouble putting my finger on. “No, I haven't”, I reply. Then I hold my tongue when what I want to add is “and I haven't been trying to, because I don't feel the need. And if you're detecting an extra quality of 'attractiveness', perhaps it's increased confidence?”.

Which ties in with this incident:

Last week, I posted on Facebook that I had bought a bikini, and the response I got was a little overwhelming. People I don't even usually have communications with were liking and commenting, and it surprised me to notice that I had these feelings:

1. Honoured that people were taking the time to support me doing something brave and scary

2. Sad that it was so obviously considered "brave and scary" by so many people. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's considered brave and scary by ME. But the response I got reiterated the fact that our society inherentely does not consider people outside of a certain mould, entitled to wear and behave what and how they want.

But i'm feeling a change, so it's definitely happening. So excited for what's to come and that arena!

Speaking of bikinis, I ended up getting an email from the Customer Service liaison at swimsuits for all. It said this:

DID YOU READ THE “FOR FREE” PART?!?!

SO MUCH EXCITEMENT! I am going to Queensland this week, and it will be warm, and we'll be going to Magnetic Island, so: BIKINI TIME!

But then, my package arrived and... devastation! It only had the bottoms in it!! (Which, by the way, are AMAZING – here's a peek...)

So I emailed the company again to tell them how disappointed I was (again), and I got this back:

To which I replied and thanked them so much for the kind gesture, but since it's coming from the US, I will be gone and back before it even gets back into the country. To which Samantha very promptly replied with this:

So, all in all, they are strangely incompetent, but are delightfully wonderful in attempting to make ammends. Provided I get the new bikini (which I believe I will), I wouldn't be hesitant in ordering from this company again, or to recommend it. The only thing I would suggest is, don't try and order on a short time frame for a special occasion.

Other exciting things that are happening at the moment:

• I ended up going to the Hey Fatty market on the weekend before last, and I met the 2 WONDERFUL LADIES who run it! They are total babes, and they gave me a free pair of their undies, which I am sporting wildly here!

• 
  Check out their website: http://www.heyfatty.com.au/
  I also got 2 ADORABLE vintage dresses! I was going to photograph them, but I want to wait till I do an OOTD with them so they get the time and accessorising effort they deserve.

• Speaking of OOTD, I decided to just DO IT. I did. I did it today. I rushed out the door to meet my friend for breakfast, so I have no makeup on or anything, but when I got home, all full of bacon and feeling motivated by a couple of coffees, I just set my tripod up and took a couple of snaps on my shitty camera.

Here they are:

Unicorn Jumper ~ Jay Jays (I know, right?!)
Lime Green Cut Offs ~ Kmart
Tights ~ random cheap shop
Tartan Boots ~ random cheap shop
Octopus Necklace ~ a pop up stall at my local shopping center – made of stainless steel, the latest and greatest thing: no polishing needed, EVER. Doesn't he have an adorable grumpy face?!

• I finally hauled ass to IKEA and got a couple of large frames for my STUNNING Hilda prints! I need to get some black matting to put behind them, but here's the one that's hanging above my bed:

These prints are actually vintage calendar pages from the 1970's. A company called Brown & Bigelow used her as their mascot, and I think their tag line is pretty cute:

"Bulging with Value... Never Slim on Service"

If you don't know who Hilda is, this is the most complete collection of her available: http://www.toilgirls.com/hilda/gallery.html

This is part of a thing i'm slowly doing, to make my room a really wonderful place to be - a true sanctuary, so I can be surrounded by stuff that makes me happy and inspires me. Stay tuned for a few more things! 

• A have finally enrolled in A Beautiful Mess's BLOG DESIGN ECOURSE! I'm only on the first lesson, and i'm trying not to skim ahead because I really want to absorb it all properly, but it seems so great. BIG THINGS COMING!

• Lastly, I arrived home from breakfast to a package from Amazon, of 2 books that I ordered a while ago and had forgotten about! I forget where I read about them (I think it was probably that babe The Nearsighted Owl: http://www.nearsightedowl.com/), but I knew immediately that I wanted to devour them, so I popped on over to Amazon and purchased them. So excited to read, will review asap!

• Lastly, I'm going to QLD tomorrow for one of my best friend's birthdays. I'm sure it will be a great time, but especially excited to give her her birthday present. It's so rad, I wanted to keep it. But I won't. Here it is:

That's all for now. What? Isn't that ENOUGH?!

Kobi

PS> GAMEOFTHRONESGAMEOFTHRONESGAMEOFTHRONESGAMEOFTHRONES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Status: Pending

Well there goes my resolution to blog regularly. Yep. Ah well... i'm here now.

Things have been happening. Big things. My world is yagoogely.

Firstly, my bestie was pretty ill (hospitalised twice) with a mystery illness. She is ok now, but it really threw our world. As a result, we had to postpone (hopefully not indefinitely?) our Toddlers and Tiaras themed combined birthday party. Boo hoo!

Secondly, I left my permanent office job to do casual work. This is a big thing for me, leaving the security and predictability of a regular 9 to 5 job. I used to know exactly when I was working, and more importantly, how much money I was going to have, and I could set my life to a timepiece. Now, for the first time in many years, I don't have that. And it's a bit scary.

But it's also exciting, because it has reminded me that I am, first and foremost, an artist. I have a casual job that is not rigid and does not demand all of my attention, because I WANT to commit myself to a life of expression and creativity. It's what i've always wanted. I just got lost in the easy road of “security” these last few years.

The other big thing is that I joined a dating site. Putting aside the excitement and nerves of actually meeting cute boys, it is actually a really big thing for me to process the act of “putting myself on the market”. I mean, I know it's not this black and white, but I have worked so hard over the last couple of years to be independent and self-sufficient, i'm struggling with the concept of opening myself up romantically to someone, without considering it seeking validation or 'completion'.

So, current status = reprogramming myself to consider a potential special someone as “an additional bonus” and not a complete affront to my personal freedom.

THINGS I AM CURRENTLY WORKING ON!

My band (Zombie Scooter Club) is working on a little film clip in which I get to dress as a glamrock Steel Panther fan. So I am making an awesome t-shirt for that! Think glitter lettering, fur shoulders, and CHAIN.

My other goal at the moment is to sort out my camera situation, and organise my space so I have somewhere to start taking same OOTD photos, because BOY have I been coming out with some crackers lately! I think it's because I ADORE colder weather, and it really inspires my wardrobe.

Oh, I also just found this photo, and I quite like it. Especially considering I don't usually like open-mouthed smiling photos of myself. (Also I haven't posted a photo on here yet, so I probs should).