Wednesday 18 September 2013

2 days to go..

There are only 3 days until we are in Bali, and there is still SO much we need to do!
****PANIC****
There have been a few recent hiccups in my well thought out plan for packing (*cough*), which included resigning from my current job, and having to get myself prepared to start a new one as soon as we return from holidays... which is a little exciting, and a lot stressful. :(

Our first leg of the trip is one night in Perth on Saturday to meet up with an old friend of Travis' and see the beautiful and mysterious Western city. :-P
I am personally extremely excited to go, because I've never been over the other side of the country, so I look forward to seeing it! (I will post pictures of everything!)

Our next flight is to Denpasar on Sunday morning, where we should land at mid-day to meet my sister and some friends, who will then escort us to our lovely villa in Seminyak (hopefully with chilled beers waiting for us) :)

I am SO looking forward to the break. Hopefully it will help to ease the new job anxiety!!!

Tuesday 17 September 2013

The Scarecrow




My sister sent me this link yesterday saying "this is right down your alley", so I checked it out, and she was right! It is an amazing clip, with an even more amazing message to convey.

The cartoon was made by fast food chain Chipotle, and it is aimed at factory farms and food chains who use steroid enhanced, and cruelly treated animals for their products.


I love everything about this ad: the presentation, the music (Fiona Apple, Pure Imagination - from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), the story, and most importantly the message is gives. Absolutely beautiful.
Everyone should watch! :)


Monday 16 September 2013

Documentares that helped us transition to Veganism

Lately Trav and I have been trying to learn more about what we eat... or don't eat. Which means watching a lot of documentaries! (Not to mention the hours of research done in our own time.)

I thought I'd present to you a short list of a few of the documentaries that have impacted on us the most - whether it be the message or the story, I think there is something in this list for anyone interested in learning  a little more about where their food comes from! (Whether you're vegan, vego or omnivore!)

Our first foray into the world of factory farming expose was Earthlings.. We jumped right into the deep end with this one....


Earthlings Poster


It took us 2 nights to watch - not because of the length, but the content. I simply couldn't sit and watch a lot of it (I couldn't see the screen at times through the tears and hiccups).
It is a beautifully created masterpiece (narrated by Joaquin Pheonix, score by Moby) full of gut-wrenching footage of some truly inhumane practices including the "kosher" slaughter of a cow, euthanizing cats and dogs, and the general disgusting practices within places like slaughterhouses, factory farms and circuses.
I would recommend everyone watch it, but I would also recommend a box of tissues.
You can watch Earthlings for free on their website.

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead
I LOVE documentaries like this one! I love transformations, people gaining new life skills (healthy eating), and I love seeing people come out of their shell!
This documentary starts by following Joe Cross, and Australian businessman, from Sydney to America on a quest for better health.... by juicing...


Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead Poster - Joe Cross


So I have always been a little sceptical of juicing being that amazing for anybody, but this documentary showed how much Joe's health improved just by drinking green juices for 60 days! Everything is improved for him by fasting, then by following a vegan diet after the 60 days of fasting is over.
It is amazing to watch him become visibly healthier.
Joe then meets another man who is overweight and sick, and he then helps him to start his own journey.. It is quite amazing. I sat there absolutely floored by the improvements in both men.
After Trav and I watched this one we both started raving on about buying a juicer.. it is yet to happen, but I'm sure it will... We're both suckers for a health craze. (unless its an ab machine.. we're not that silly)
The only negative I can think of with this film is Joe's accent... I guess I understand that the Australian accent sounds funnier when it is exaggerated (loved travelling in the US and replying to the "where y'all from?" with "'Straya".. because it's fun), but in this film, it made Joe sound uneducated every single time he said "g'day mate".... Ugh. The Crocodile Dundee/Steve Irwin accent isn't an accurate representation of how we truly speak... some of us can be quite well spoken. (Please do NOT look up Australian accents on YouTube)
This film can be bought on Amazon.

Vegucated is the most recent film we've watched. I found this while looking at a few other films about veganism. This one is about a vegan who decides to try to convert 3 meat-lovers (found on Craigslist) to veganism (makes it sound like a religion! Haha).
So the idea behind this is that if someone tries it, and sees how easy it is to live vegan, then they will realise that it isn't so crazy/extreme/hard after all! It's a good idea, and all of the people she enlisted showed amazing signs of improved health after only 6 weeks, but the fact that some were resistant to the change made it a little more of an uphill battle. There was one girl that frustrated me to no end, and it was like watching an episode of a reality tv show through parts of it, but overall I enjoyed watching people's perception of veganism change throughout the course of their experiment. :-)

Forks Over Knives is the one that changed Travis' mind about veganism. He was a little undecided on the whole idea until we watched this one.. And I am eternally grateful to T. Colin Campbell and Caldwel B. Esselstyn for the amazing research they have done!



This film has definitely been my favourite of all that we have watched so far. The research that was done prior to this film being made is SO thorough and comprehensive, that I don't really understand how everyone isn't living vegan? The evidence is there that this diet can prevent so many issues and diseases, and yet people are still dying from heart disease, diabetes etc. every day when some of these deaths could have easily been prevented by eating a healthier diet.
Travis' reaction to this movie was: "I don't want to die from drinking milk" and from that moment he went from vegetarian to a devout vegan. <3

Supersize Me is a common one that most people would have heard of, and our reaction was the same as most peoples to that one - pure disgust.
The World According to Monsanto is one that isn't focused on veganism, but is about the big business of food, and in my opinion is one that most people should watch to learn where their food comes from, and who is profiting most from small businesses/farms losses.
I think it is a good idea for people to educate themselves on not only what they're eating, but where the food they're eating comes from - GMO's are bad y'all.


Have you watched any documentaries or films that have been particularly inspiring lately? I'd love to hear about ones you've watched that have interested you, or made you make a change in your life that you wouldn't normally have considered. :-)

Saturday 14 September 2013

Time to get back to reality...

My goodness! I have had SUCH a ridiculous time of it the last few weeks! It is finally time to take a breath and start preparing myself for relaxing and holidaying...... excceeepppttttt I still need to do all of the pre-pack washing, cleaning, preparing food for the puppies and also getting myself ready for another crazy week of work before any relaxing can happen...... poo. It would be great if this hangover would cease to pester me too.

Oh well, at least I have right now to take a breath! :)
Unhappily for me I have spent the last month doing 2x the job I do already, so I have had quite the busy schedule/work life. Thankfully the woman I have been covering for is now back, and I can spend some quality time here with you!

So, let's see... What's new with me.....
I got a library card!
I have 1 week of work left until we leave for Indonesia.
...
...


My god! I'm SO boring!

It is sad that the most exciting thing that has happened to me in 3 weeks is that I borrowed a book from the library..

Ugh.

I (finally) got a library card!

I have been sick of trying to find new books (with no spare time) that I can read on the train on my way to work (and CandyCrush really won't keep anyone occupied for 2 hours of train-ing), so yesterday I thought to myself: "why not join the library?" So i did! YAY!
I have not been a member of a library since I was a child, so this was shiny and new to me! I borrowed my first (non study) book in over 10 years, and have been avidly reading ever since.

The first book borrowed
I know I'm an adult, and I really shouldn't be this excited about it... But shhhhhhh! I like that I can be excited over small things.
A few reasons why I love our library:

  • I can borrow from any council library within our shire and still return the book to my closest library.
  • They have an online selection of e-books that I can download to my e-reader! (for free!!!!)
  • They set up a pop-up library at my train station once a week so that commuters can return any book they have borrowed, and they can also pick up a new book for their train ride! -Personally I think that part is AMAZING! 
My pretty little library

I have always had an issue with borrowing.. mostly because of my LOVE of owning books (book hoarder right here).. I love to look at my bookshelf and see all of the wonderful titles that I have read and loved and read again. But I decided that there is absolutely no way that I can continue to purchase all of the books I read. I simply can't afford it!!! It seems like the cheapest way I can still get a book fix without forking out.
I have decided that I will still buy the books that I have loved and cherished, such as the 3 that I have recently purchased for our holiday.. But I will get to those later! 

Do you prefer to borrow or buy books? 
Are you a member of your local library? Some of them have amazing things to offer if not! Definitely check them out - mine lets people borrow a tandem bike for the day!