When I was growing up, baking a cake consisted of going to the pantry, deciding what cake you were going to make (Chocolate, Vanilla or Madeira) and opening up the cake mix… yep cake mix! You empty it in a bowl, create a hole for the egg, add the milk and stir!! Pancakes were even easier; just add water AND SHAKE!! Hahahahaha!

I’ve always been enticed by baking things from scratch, using proper ingredients, but I’ve never had the confidence to do it! I feel like baking is a science and unfortunately science and I have never been friends! Anyway, I remember when I first saw someone baking from scratch, I was living overseas and a friend had invited some people around for breakfast (side note: brunch is my favourite meal of the day!!). We were having PANCAKES (YUM!), my friend had made all the batter herself. I was mesmerised! Now I know making batter is a simple task, but I didn’t at the time.

 So I’m proud to say that I have baked my first cake from scratch (with a little help, of course). Baking is actually easier than I thought! You just need a good recipe, the right ingredients (a lot of them) and a good stirring arm – Get those guns out people!! There are a few “musts” of baking. Firstly, you MUST check that you have all the ingredients (ha! we almost didn’t!). Secondly, you MUST get messy, it shows that you’ve had fun. And thirdly, you MUST lick the bowl and spoon!! If you don’t do number three, have you really been baking?

 

 

 

 

So, I hope you feel inspired to bake something from scratch. It really is a lot of fun!!

I leave you now with some thoughts of how baking and life are the same:

You need the right recipe
(Life is the same, you need the right instructions to guide you)

Doing it with people makes it FUN
(Life without people isn’t LIFE!)

Heat produces the good stuff
(Life gets heated at time, hang in there the good stuffs coming)

Even if it doesn’t work out, you can always try again
(Life isn’t over, pick yourself up and try again)

 

 

 

Photo by Erik Witsoe on Unsplash

I am such a movie person; my parents love movies and I think I must’ve gotten the gene from them. I grew up watching all different kinds of movies like Back to the Future, Labyrinth and The NeverEnding Story… it was a time where VHS dominated the world (is anyone else with me?).

Photo by Gabriel Petry on Unsplash

Being such a movie buff, I was quite surprised to note that I had never been to watch a movie in Gold Class… how was that possible? I still don’t know. For me, nothing beats the whole cinematic experience. You know what I mean… the need for an excessive amount of popcorn (that only lasts the previews), a drink the size of Texas and a choc-top that will find it’s way into your popcorn (it’s a totally normal thing!!)… And that’s just the food!!

So because I love the whole experience in, lets face it, cattle-class, imagine my jubilation to experience Gold Class for the VERY FIRST TIME!! Now, I could talk about the separate lounge area where you can hang out before or after the movie. OR the fact that you can get whatever you want to eat or drink at anytime (YES, ANYTIME!!!) OR even the big screen. BUT the one highlight for me was…. THE RECLINING CHAIR!!!

The reclining chair was AMAZING!! I would do it all again just for that!! Spacious, leather, comfortable and so wide that there’s no chance anyone will take your armrest. You could control how far back you went and how far up your feet could go.. it’s the way EVERYONE should enjoy the movies.

I know what you’re thinking: IT’S JUST A RECLINING CHAIR FOR GOODNESS SAKE!!!!! You’re right, it’s just a reclining chair, but I have found that it’s the small things in life that matter. When you lead an extremely busy life, watching a movie on a reclining chair is simply good for the soul.

So go to Gold Class; Eat, Drink & Recline to your hearts content!!

I was so excited to add this to my list!! The reason being, I had heard sooooo much about it and I felt like I was the only person in Sydney that hadn’t experienced it yet haha!

To be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what was at The Grounds of Alexandria. All I had heard was that there was great coffee there and it was very popular!! So in my mind I had developed an image of what I thought I was going to see and feel. An image that totally got smashed.

Let me explain, the place is called “The Grounds of Alexandria”. So what do you think of when you read grounds? If you are like me, you think of beautiful gardens with perfectly cut hedges, sweet smelling roses and manicured grass. It was only as I was having dinner with friends the night before that it was revealed to me that there are NO GARDENS…I REPEAT; NO GARDENS!!! It turns out “grounds” is referring to coffee grounds (insert facepalm emoji)!!

Although I was off to a shaky start with the name mishap, I had such a great time!! This cool café-cultured bubble is nestled in between office buildings! It’s a place where you can just sit, eat and chat for hours and not even know time has passed.

You can’t experience The Grounds of Alexandria alone; I went with my dear friend Lisa (pictured below). I don’t know the name of the café we went to but I know that the coffee was great, the desserts looked perfect (almost too good to eat) and there was someone’s cat (YES A REAL CAT) next to us! May I add that NO ONE seemed phased about the cat’s presence hahahaha!

So I encourage you to experience The Grounds of Alexandria, it’s cool and quirky! And when I say quirky I mean quirky, there was a massive pig (pictured below) just laying around and I still don’t know why hahaha!

 

This was one of the easiest things to put on my list (hence it being #4)!!

If you haven’t played netball before I thoroughly recommend it. There is nothing like the rush you get as you try to stop your opponents from gaining ground and putting points on the board. It’s a fast-paced game, you’re constantly moving and constantly needing to be alert!

Netball is guaranteed to get your heart pumping – I can testify to that! Without any exaggeration, in my first game back, I couldn’t feel my legs properly for the last 6 mins hahaha! I think my heart was working overtime to get the blood to my legs haha!

I wanted to play netball because it’s a great game but also to look after my health. The fact that I’m 36 and have no major health problems is AMAZING and something I’m very grateful for. However, I’m aware that if I don’t look after my health properly, in 10, 15 or 20 years time I could be in for something scary! I see playing netball every week as a signpost to greater things, proof that I’m committed to something and a foundation that I’m gonna build on.

Now to the position I play!
It’s all summed up in one word…. DEFENCE (Hannah flexes her guns!!!).
The two defence positions I play are Goal Defence (GD) and Goal Keeper (GK).
My job as a defender is to make sure my opponent DOES – NOT – SHOOT!! OR IF THEY HAVE A GO – THEY MISS!!!!

Honestly, the defence positions come naturally to me. They are positions of grit, loyalty and pushing back… in a lot of ways THAT’S ME!!! I’m proud to be a woman of grit (substance, depth, tenacity, authenticity). I’m loyal to my tribe (not just biological but all those along the way). Also if I really believe in something or someone I back them, defend them and will stand with them (till the cows come home).

I leave you with some wisdom from a defender…
Stay on your opponent

You are not alone 

Play your part

Mistakes will be made – move on quickly

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

This blog has taken me so long to write!! I don’t know if it’s because my holidays are over and I’m back to the reality of work, or if it’s just the weight of the topic. Either way here we are hahaha!

Writing a letter to your future self might seem like a weird thing to do (or even a girly thing), but I encourage you to give it a go! The reason why I decided to put this on my list is because sometimes in life your growth and progress isn’t clear. You’re on this journey but have you moved on the map? AND ARE YOU GOING THE RIGHT WAY!!! Sometimes you can feel like you’re going backwards!!

Now, I’m not gonna lie it’s a hard letter to start. First things first, you have to decide how far in the future you want to open the letter. For me, I decided to open it in 2 years time when I’m 38 years old!

Ok so once that’s decided, you move on to something harder, we’re about to go deep people!! You have to ask yourself the question: what do I want to say to my future self? This is a hard question to answer, because you have no way of knowing where you’ll be living, what you’ll be doing or what events would have occurred in your life! To be honest, not knowing is kinda the thrill of it! Will your own words be encouraging you in a time of disappointment? OR will they be championing you on in a time of hardship?

For me, I found it easier to start with the status of my life and write down what is currently happening. I started listing my residence, my occupation, relationship status, family status and church status. You could add things like who your friends with, what you’re studying or financial status etc.

Then, you’re on your own! Go crazy & wild! I gave myself encouragement, warnings and advice. I shared my dreams for the future and my hopes of what would be happening in my life as I read the letter as a 38 year old.

So, let me raise a glass to our future selves!!
May they know joy
May they know love
May they know laughter
And lastly, may they be content in both the valleys & mountain tops of life!

Photo by Rachel Pfuetzner on Unsplash

Prayer is an important part of my faith and my relationship with God. The idea of a prayer board came from a dear friend of mine; she has one on the wall of her home office. It can be easily seen and it’s colourful. It has all different kinds of things displayed; her desires, her needs, her wants and her dreams.

Unfortunately the saying “out of sight, out of mind” is all too true for me in regards to prayer. So I wanted to do something about it, which is why having a prayer board resonated with me. I want to be intentional about praying for the people in my life and the desires of my heart. Sometimes my life gets so busy, subconsciously I can adopt a “if I remember it, I will pray about it” kind of attitude… now I know my brain and trust me THAT’S NOT GOOD – there’s A LOT going on up there hahahaha!!!

So here it is, my prayer board!! I’m not allocating a specific time to each point. My whole purpose is to create a habit of prayer.

If you look at the photo closely, you will notice that I have strategically placed my prayer board next to the light switch hahahaha I’m getting good at tricking myself guys!

Lastly, truth from a French Archbishop…

“Time spent in prayer is never wasted”
Francis Fenelon, 17th Century

Photo by Arnel Hasanovic on Unsplash

Hopefully you’ve read my home page and you’re getting a feel of what I want to achieve this year. You may be thinking “Why a blog? Everyone is doing a blog these days” or “Why not just do the 36 things and NOT tell the world about it?” They’re both valid questions. I understand that due to social media it seems that we are constantly being bombarded with every detail, thought and second of people’s lives… but that’s not why I’m blogging.

There is one main reason why I need to write this blog …… ACCOUNTABILITY!! In all honesty, I want to inspire and encourage people to achieve their “things” for 2019. But I reeeeeally need this blog to keep me accountable and I’m hoping that you, as the reader, will help me too.

I’m a laid back, happy-go-lucky person and I tend to live in the moment, which is great and I wouldn’t want to change it! However, there are some downsides, one being I get easily distracted. If you have ever seen the Disney movie UP, I totally identify with the dogs that get distracted by squirrels. If you haven’t seen it – YOU MUST (please promise me that you’ll search “squirrel scenes from UP” on YouTube).

So in a way, I am tricking myself into achieving my 36 things. Because if I have to blog about EACH thing, that means I actually HAVE TO DO each thing otherwise there will be NOTHING to blog about. I wish I had started tricking myself earlier as the original idea to have this list came to me in September, yet in true Hannah fashion I am starting in January (see, I need accountability guys!).

Now, a special note to you, the reader. Although I will be achieving 36 things, there may not be 36 blog posts. This is for various reasons, such as, protecting the privacy of important relationships.

A few people have asked what my 36 things are, I want to keep the mystery alive on most of them but I am happy to show you a sneak peak below.

#4 – Start playing indoor netball again

#11 – Cook a lamb roast & veggies (I’ve NEVER done it – can you believe it?)

#21 – Learn a song on bass guitar

#23 – Start a thankfulness dairy (1 entry per day)

#26 – Visit my childhood homes

#29 – Tie-dye a T-shirt

Lastly, encouragement by the master of adventure…

“You’re off to great places, today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting so get on your way!”
Dr Seuss – Oh, The Places You’ll Go!