Packing! Or should I say... SHOPPING!

Hi Team!

It's happening. I'm coming to America. Voluntarily and for real this time.

I am so excited. I don't want to take any of my clothes. I just want to buy new ones in the US.

Currently I have towering laundry baskets and piles of clothes.

I have thrown my heart rate monitor and workout clothes into the pile. I need to buy new running shoes, which bring me to my list!

1. Running shoes
2. More workout pants/ tops
3. Running bras
4. VS panties (theyre the best)
5. VS bras
6. Socks (I can't justify buying socks here)
7. New winter coat
8. More jeans
9. Skinny jeans
10. Colored skinny jeans
11. New suit
12. Blazers
13. Sweaters
14. Fun dresses- work and play
15. Makeup- as much as I can fit!
16. Shoes- flats, heels, boots, cowboy boots

Holy crap. Is that a list or what?! I might need another suitcase.

All my MLFC ladies are helping me find bargains so hopefully it is an absolute shit show of new clothes!

Oh and I am going to Cozumel, probably should buy a new bikini!

Yeah buddy! This is gonna be fun.

Xxx
Tori

Angry Run.

I was driving to the farm from my week at work. I was tired and drained, it hadn't actually been a great week at all. I just wanted to get home, hug my honey, and go to bed.

Well, said honey called to say he was buying a carton of beer and the having a few drinks with neighbors. This is normal for him, but he usually waits until I get back from Perth and usually takes me with him. He called to get me to come over and I just flat said no.

He didn't understand, because he's a dude. I was angry because I just drove two flipping hours to see him. I was exhausted after fighting crowds at the grocery store for the long weekend. I was mad at myself because I had made some very bad choices with my eating... Reeses pieces anyone?

I was at my breaking point. So I fell asleep. For me, everything is much much worse when I am tired. My emotions are intensified and my rational brain switches off. I slept for maybe 40 minutes and woke up feeling okay.

I was still mad that he hadn't come home, but I couldn't control that. The one thing I could control was me. I pulled myself together and put on my running shoes. The sun was setting so I knew I had to make it a short fast run. 4ks would be adequate.

Five minutes in, I couldn't believe my pace. 10 minutes in and I was flying. 20 minutes and I was already well on my way back to the house, my pace had slowed but I was still going. I felt strong. I was running off all the anxiety and tension I had felt building. It was therapeutic in every way. It was the first time I didn't think "I hate running... Why am I doing this?.. I run so slow... People walk as fast as I run."

As my anger died away, I realized I had a rock in my shoe. Normal people would have stopped and removed the rock. No. Not me. Not today. That damn rock was not going to stop be from running the fastest 4ks of my life. Then I became angry at the rock. Really angry.

I ran my fastest paced run ever. Including when I was a teenager and an athlete. Most people probably think (i don't care what most people think) it's slow average, I usually run about 13 min/mile. This run I was hovering between 9-11 minutes a mile. I finished my run. 4kms in 26 minutes. What?! At that pace, had I kept going. I could have done a 5k in 31ish minutes. I usually run one in 40-45 minutes!

Holy crap. I was so excited. So proud. And had realized how trivial I was being earlier when I was upset.

My emotions fueled my run, but once it was over, my emotional chaos had disappeared. Talk about burning off steam. I hope I can learn to channel my emotions rather than just let them build.

Do you ever have an angry run? Do you ever get a blister because you won't stop to remove that damn rock? Because I did.


Love you all! Australia Day recap to come!

Xxx
Tori

My Secrets Revealed! (kinda like the masked magician but not as cool)

I hope you weren't thinking this was going to be deep. I really meant random things about my life that no one is around to observe.

1. On the 12th of every month I get super excited because it is magazine buying day. I normally would buy a bottle of wine and read them cover to cover... But buying fitness magazines and boozing is a bit ironic. So no booze!

2. I read Weight Watchers magazine habitually. I have done so for the past year. Do I do WW? Nope. Do I count points? Nope. Do I use the recipes? Nope. Why buy it? I think because it is the only fitness magazine where they gear it towards women on a weightless journey. They don't assume every reader is super fit and could hold a plank for five minutes.

3. I love spicy food. Okay not a secret. But serious obsession. I have nearly finished off an entire bottle of rooster siracha sauce in a couple of months. Paraphrasing Rhianna "My mouth is on FIRRRRRRRRREEEEE!" should be the theme song to my life.

4. I love watching cheesy, age/subject inappropriate, pre teen movies. LOVE. Old school Mary Kate and Ashley movies= Heaven. Thus I sit on the couch currently and watch The Last Song. BTW. I miss the old Miley.

5. My nail polish always chips on my nails after about 4 hours. Always. So annoying. So annoying!! No matter what, I can't prevent it.

6. If I am going to binge eat something, it is most likely pretzels. I have heard you need to face your fears in order to confront a problem. So I eat individual portions of pretzels almost every day :)

7. Ben and Jerrys Chocolate Fudge Brownie frozen yogurt is my favorite. This is probably not a secret, considering I wrote an entire post dedicated to these two men.

8. I am picky about my Q Tips. There are dodgy ones here. I'm stocking up on good ole Johnson and Johnson when I head stateside.

9. I like to take pictures of myself doing random things and send them to Jono. He never responds. He hates texts. Does this stop me? Ha! No.

10. I'd rather hire someone to clean my house than do it myself. Hands down.


So those are my secrets... Maybe I should have called this fun facts about me.

Love you all!

Tori

A day in the life...

We are a week into my healthy eating plan. So far I am feeling much better. I have cut a majority of sugars, but added back a bit of chocolate. I was just grumpy without.

So a day in my life: Food

Breakfast- Chobani and green tea (Chobani is new to Perth and I am in LOVE)

Morning snack- dried apricots

Late morning snack- plum

Lunch- sashimi, miso soup, Japanese salad (one bite of rice!)

Afternoon snack- apple with laughing cow cheese

Mid afternoon snack- Luna protein bar

Late afternoon snack- 100 calorie pretzel pack (I can't live without pretzels)

Dinner- garden salad with Greek yogurt/ranch dressing and ranch chicken breast

Dessert- chocolate covered goji berries and chai tea

Calories consumed: 1371 according to myfitnesspal app.

I eat a lot. Small meals every 2-3 hours today was more sugar than I would have liked. Tomorrow I will be strict!

I drank 3.5 liters of water, about 120 ounces. Yay hydration!

A day in the life: Workout

I walked about 20 minutes through the city for work.

Then I went to the beach and did Pilates. I usually do a beach walk before, but work ran late.

A day in the life: Work

Umm it's work. I found out my raise. Don't get excited.

A day in the life: Personal

One thing that sucks. Being in the city and my boyfriend is at the farm. With no cell phone service. Working at all hours. Can't call him because I might wake him up. He doesn't get texts. It sucks. It makes me miss him. He's busy, I know. But I have days when it is so blasé and I want to talk to him. He is my person. The rest of the people I love and can cry to are usually asleep by the time a day has become a bad day.

Strudel is officially okayed to live with me! I am booking her flights! Jono doesn't understand that Strudel is going to be my little miniature transportable love bug that cheers me up at the drop of a hat. He thinks it's a waste of money to bring her here. I don't think he gets how good it will be for me. I am unbelievably excited.

So I'm taking the good with the bad, and remembering I will be home (texas? Im a person with two homes and my heart belongs to each place. Its hard) in a mere 8 days. Yeah buddy. I planned a trip to Fredericksburg today. We are wine tasting and maybe hiking along with some brewery tours. Awesome. I'll give more details on the trip in the future.

I talked to dad and rach and one of my besties! This always makes my day. I love my peoples.

So that's a day in the life of me!

Thank you. Love you all! And goodnight.

Xxx
Tori

Fitness time! And a skinny recipe!

Heh roh!

Today I managed to get in a sneaky 30 minute run. Even though I did NOT want to. I just did it. I've decided to start C25K over. I want to run faster and really focus on my form.

According to my trainer (who I am missing dearly and haven't had a workout with her in over a month due to holidays!!) I have a sloppy running form. Friends and family, this is no new news. I run like a chicken with my head cut off, but add flailing arms. Not pretty.

So my goal is to really get my form down. I want to look at my shadow when in running and think- I LOOK LIKE A NIKE COMMERCIAL! I have no problem with running in public, I just know I could cause injury/harm to myself, others, cars, animals, the environment if I don't get a handdle on my chaos.

So because I am sure you want a healthy recipe to go with the New Year. Here are my DELICIOUS chili mussels. I'd never eaten them before coming to Australia, but now I can't live without them. It is such a fantastic treat meal for me... Without the guilt.

This serves 2-3 people

2kgs mussels washed/ debearded
2 tins of tomatoes (whole or diced)
2-7 chilies chopped
10 cloves of garlic minced
1 onion
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 handful fresh basil
1 handful fresh thyme

Dice your onion and sautée it in the chicken broth add garlic and chili. Obviously add as much chili as you think you can handle. I can take about 15 and then add some fresh chopped on top. Jono can take 1 so I settle for a happy medium of 7. He's sweatig and I am loading it with extra chili until I sweat. I love spicy food. Okay now add the tomatoes and fresh herbs. The sauce should look pretty thick. Add the mussels and stir around. Put the lid on and allow to steam for 5-7 minutes. Stir. Place lid back until all/most are opened. These little beauties of the deep would have released their juices (thats what he said) and there will be the most luxurious tomato sauce.

I plunk the entire pot on the table and we eat! Jono like to have fresh French bread to soak up the sauce, but I treat it as a soup and just use a spoon.

Yum! I think I will begin posting a recipe once a week. Because I am sure y'all are loving them!

Xxxx
Tori

Umm Hi. When did I become a grownup?

So today was one of those days. I really had to pull on the big girl panties and act like a grownup.

I have meetings with execs often. It is part of my job. Due to the industry, I am generally interacting with men. Is it tough? Yes. Do I want to be taken seriously? Yes. Do I get taken seriously? I honestly don't know. I know I walk through the door, and it probably takes 5 minutes for them to realize I'm on their level :)

So it's true women have to work twice as hard to get half as far.

I'm glad I'm starting young. But this often works against me, people think I'm a rookie. Which I probably am, but I am a fast thinker and an awesome bullshitter. JK! But thinking on your feet is such an important part of any business.

I know I made mistakes at the start, but have I learned quick! My best advice: ask questions, push your ideas, learn from others, adapt and evolve business practices already in use, and believe in yourself... Eventually others will too.

Fake it til you make it!

Kisses! Love you all!

Tori

.... obviously my closets a bit messy... And need to clean that mirror...

Out with the old...

So it's not quite springtime... I missed the spring cleaning by a country mile. But it is time for some wardrobe summer cleaning?

I have a lot of clothes that I need to throw out for a variety of reasons.

1. I'm not 21 and throwing caution to the wind and wearing scraps of clothing
2. I have had a major lifestyle change since leaving Texas. My nice clothes are no longer fit for clubs but for the office.
3. My workout clothes are getting a bit raggedy.
4. My summer dresses are not farm appropriate.
5. I bought a bunch of not cute fat clothes. After losing 40 pounds, I deserve some seriously cute clothes.

So I am starting to throw my old clothes out to donate to charity. Any clothes that are too raggedy... Go to the workshop and become rags!

Jono managed to rip 8 pairs of work jeans this winter. He's already put holes in 4 pairs of shorts. I'm setting some aside that I can realistically repair on my new sewing machine! But he also has several clothes from when he was younger that just take up closet space, I might start culling those as well.

So what does this mean? SHOPPING! We depart for Texas in 10 days. Heck yes buddy. So where should we shop? What's hot and what's not?

My favorites were: Neiman's, Nordstroms, Express, American Eagle, Victorias Secret, and Forever 21.

What are yours? I'll make a list tomorrow of all the things I want to buy!

Love y'all!