My Week in Bliss

The first week of the Bliss challenge is over. The very first thing I learnt is that scheduling Bliss might be a good start, but it very rarely works out! Failed iPods, postponed appointments and cancelled dates make for quick thinking when you have a challenge at hand haha. After all that, this is what Blissed me out this week -

Britney Spears 'Hold it Against Me'.

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Call me obsessed, as many of you already do, but I love her, and I love this song. Britbrit is on my bliss list, and I can't blame my love of her on nostalgia. I have a distinct memory of sitting in the back seat of a hot car in 1999 while my 10 year old sister played '...Baby One More Time' on repeat and Mum didn't see the need to stop this monstrosity. I'm pretty sure it wasn't until 'Toxic' that I got on the Britney Wagon, and I haven't stopped since. I may always revert to rock, but singing along to Britney makes me happy. I had planned on a day of her catalog on shuffle, but the aforementioned iPod decided to sync all crazy and instead I listened to Hold it Against Me about seven times in a row. I am not ashamed.

Challenges and Inspiration

On the same day as Britney, the General Manager of our company came and sat with the frontline staff and took calls from customers for 4 hours until 10pm at night. As a trainer and someone that frequently does the same, I got to sit with him and assist. He wanted to see and hear what the frontline deal with, struggle with the same struggles and hear the good and bad from our customers. Why? So he can fix it. So he can make the working environment better for customers and staff alike. So the little people have it easier. He doesn't only care about a bottom line or the next change in statistics. He is taking on challenges that aren't easy but he's getting on with it. When I grow up I want to be just like him.

itsallmythought.com

Being Alive

The next day I woke up in a seriously good mood. Finishing at 10pm meant I went to bed not long after getting home and I woke up in the same great mood I went to sleep in. I had planned to get my haircut that night, which I love, but the world had other plans. At 12.50pm a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 3km below the surface, 10km outside of Christchurch. We live in Auckland, so we didn't feel the quake, but I have kept up with the news every waking hour since. 146 are confirmed dead, 200 are still missing, and I am ALIVE. I spent the night watching the news, and instead of being pampered, I coloured Squish's hair for her, in front of the TV. I spent time with my Long Haired Boy and with Squish, I pampered someone else, and the only thing I would have liked more is to actually help out in our Garden City.

Green Grass and Good Friends

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Wednesday saw us join Monty and Nurse B at Glover Park in St Heliers for Movies by Moonlight. It was our second foray into outdoor movies this summer, watching 500 Days of Summer, and it was not to be our last, because we joined Mum and Squish the very next night for Julie and Julia. We had picnic dinners, say cocooned under duvets with pillows. We watched moths lit up like fireflies by the projector as we stared up at the stars in a sky as deep as it was dark. Although we enjoyed both movies, it didn't matter what was on the screen. We had fresh air, grass under our feet, and loved ones at our side. Perfect summer nights.

Being Pampered

Thursday I got that haircut I had been waiting for. My hair was quite long but it was badly damaged by bleaching-gone-by and the huge Cheap-Haircut Mistake of 2010. Courtney's Step-mum's niece (got that?) did it for me and she did an amazing job. She laughed when I said I was looking forward to having my hair brush fall off the end of my hair in the morning, but isn't it a great feeling? Refreshed and renewed. I stopped a lot of my pampering efforts over the last 6 months as Europe savings too priority, but I don't think I can prioritise the awesome feeling I get.

The pampering didn't stop there! On Friday I got a massage, express facial, eyebrow wax and tint and eyelash tint. It was a 1 hour treatment package that I got myself and my sister off a last-minute deals site. I desperately needed my eyebrows tinted (blonde eyebrows kind of disappear when you have black hair) and the girl did a great job. Unfortunately I can't recommend the salon because the customer service when both of us tried to book was seriously atrocious, to the point we considered not going at all for fear of the treatment we would get. Not wanting to waste money, I went, and I'm glad I did.

cookingchinchillas.blogspot.com

There was a very good reason for all my primping and preening this week - on Saturday Mum had booked photoshoots for my sister, herself and me. We each had our hair and make up done, individual shots and group shots. I got made up with 50's pin up make up and hair, which i LOVE. I will share photos when we have them.

Random Acts of Kindness

This one was unintentional but after the photoshoot

Singing in the Car

There is little I enjoy more! I feel like I'm annoying people when I sing around the house. I should get over it, because I love singing, and I'm not tone deaf. In the car, I have ultimate freedom. I don't care that other drivers see me, I love seeing people singing in their cars!

My Long Haired Boy

We had our third Saturday Breakfast Date this weekend, and I can happily say this new tradition was a brilliant idea! There is no better way to start the weekend than sitting with my LHB eating amazing food I would never have cooked myself, in the sun, with trees and sea air. Thanks Mecca Stonehouse.

Mexican Food

www.mexicancafe.co.nz

Blondie's birthday dinner went down a treat! I hear mixed reviews about Mexican Cafe but I am yet to have a bad experience. Soul Buddy was there with her hubby and everyone had a great night. Their cocktails are to die for and last night I didn't have a single one. Viva La Sugar-Free!

Decluttering

So it's not pampering, its not glamorous photo shoots and its not fine dining, but damn it feels good. Inorganic Rubbish Collection week is AWESOME. We also have a house inspection tomorrow so when I finish writing, I start cleaning. Britbrit, I'm going to need you on form for this one. It's gotta be LOUD!

So, the end of the first week, and it was a success. My week wasn't perfect, I had a big argument with Courts over stupid little things (it's all A-OK now) and a drunken (on their part) argument last night after dinner. Neither needed to happen. With Courts I needed to just chill out and relax, which I think was in part because I haven't had much time to myself. We're working on that though. The other I'm still not a hundred percent sure on, but it will be resolved. I'm not an angry or mean spirited person and both incidents really got to me. I'm real though, and that's why I'm mentioning them to you. As long as I focus on being more patient and chilled out, and bringing the bliss in, things can only get better.

What did you Bliss out on this week?