tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46055534278549368102024-02-20T00:52:02.884+10:00Pursuit of FelicityFelicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-11885682199062268022023-03-21T14:18:00.001+10:002023-03-21T14:18:30.540+10:00We Bought A House!<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9WUuoJO2Nd51fOi82bGklsqzrNyfS5Qf5yBFOwZL7t448g9MMOY-A2dak3T5tJSG-5WNHe6Hgr1fUGNGWcSXAaktBWVq9SXuFGRHRA2GsIQgCCXeelcD9pCx0fmI9JJWnucWAPldujJew9rK4vJLj7QYnF9q6G6CzhKH0upiAparmQVpF3gpXyLzaAQ/s5901/pexels-jessica-lewis-creative-1652402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3924" data-original-width="5901" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9WUuoJO2Nd51fOi82bGklsqzrNyfS5Qf5yBFOwZL7t448g9MMOY-A2dak3T5tJSG-5WNHe6Hgr1fUGNGWcSXAaktBWVq9SXuFGRHRA2GsIQgCCXeelcD9pCx0fmI9JJWnucWAPldujJew9rK4vJLj7QYnF9q6G6CzhKH0upiAparmQVpF3gpXyLzaAQ/s16000/pexels-jessica-lewis-creative-1652402.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As per usual, I am a few months behind in sharing the news on this here blog of mine.. but in my defence, buying a house and immediately commencing full blown renovations hasn't exactly left me with plenty of time on my hands. Since buying our new home towards the end of last year, D has been over there pretty much every single evening and weekend working non stop on creating our dream living space. This has left me looking after M around the clock when not at work (which I have currently stopped due to starting maternity leave) and with very little downtime to even think about opening my laptop. I still have very little downtime, even on the days where M is at daycare, as I am busy preparing for our new arrival.. but today I decided to take myself down to a local plant based cafe for lunch and spend a couple of hours just for myself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, back to the house.. it's amazing! 3 bedrooms downstairs, 2 bedrooms upstairs, and 1 bedroom off the double garage. 1 bathroom downstairs, 1 bathroom upstairs and 1 bathroom off the garage. After converting the garage to a "granny flat" we essentially have three separate living spaces. It hasn't been easy though, and we are still in the midst of renovations, but we have completely modernised the main living areas and bedrooms with square set ceilings, polished concrete, click flooring and a whole new paint job. The big jobs still on our to-do list are the bathrooms and kitchen (and kitchenette in the granny flat), deck out the back (we did get a new patio roof installed however) and the laundry. Everything else can be completed as time and money allows.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In saying this, it is unlikely the main renovations will be finished before bub is born (not for lack of D's extremely hard work), so in the meanwhile I am trying to prepare our already limited space at my mother in law's for two under three. I'm not going to lie, I am finding the whole situation pretty stressful, but I just keep reminding myself that we've waited this long and we can wait a little bit longer - especially if it means moving into a gorgeous new home and not having to live in the middle of a renovation job. Babies don't take up a lot of room anyway, right? ;)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Watch this space!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">
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Until next time...</div>
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Felicity <span face=""quicksand" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-8544608772523750592023-01-23T17:47:00.000+10:002023-01-23T17:47:08.501+10:00To The Rainbow After Our Storm.<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQP6A_N2vTk088hTM05_Ee3fSNSY__A2JdA-xBaj1i1oxrQjXM-6woOI4I-6Qac3WJsnlCg60ms39NyqU1pvRt0jEBPqdy4lCiBfSyyScY5SPuGpaR_2yunEe1ydXvkGYMoVyU8WlNenFUeTEXoYqBa-cP_YmJ04zbIPW5iF6LshpDe7X4CmARISwgw/s891/IMG_20221220_212843_885.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="891" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQP6A_N2vTk088hTM05_Ee3fSNSY__A2JdA-xBaj1i1oxrQjXM-6woOI4I-6Qac3WJsnlCg60ms39NyqU1pvRt0jEBPqdy4lCiBfSyyScY5SPuGpaR_2yunEe1ydXvkGYMoVyU8WlNenFUeTEXoYqBa-cP_YmJ04zbIPW5iF6LshpDe7X4CmARISwgw/s16000/IMG_20221220_212843_885.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Apologies for the delay in posting little one. I promise it was not out of fear or lack of excitement, but simply due to being overwhelmingly busy with your sister (almost two) and some big life changes. Throughout it all you've been a constant source of happiness and inspiration for me and I am beyond delighted to finally announce you on this little blog of mine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After the loss of what would have been a very unexpected sibling for M in March/April of last year, you came into our lives in a way that was very much planned and hoped for. Not to replace the baby we had lost, but to fill our hearts with the love we now knew we had for another little member of our family.
It was Sunday July 31st, 2022 when I first saw that faint pink double line. I had been testing early like I always do when trying for a baby, and found out at 10 days past ovulation just like I did with your sister. I was so excited to see that positive test that I took a digital immediately after and almost screamed with excitement when I saw the words Yes+ appear on the screen. Your Daddy was sleeping in this day though so I didn't want to wake him, instead opting to start planning a surprise for him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After losing your sibling I had purchased a Friends themed tshirt for M to wear that said "the one where I become a big sister". I had planned to use this for our announcement of your existence on social media, in keeping with the same Friends theme we used to announce M's existence back in 2020. Anyway, I decided to dress M in this shirt that day and covered it up with a zip down hoodie. Once your Dad finally woke up, M was already down for her first nap of the day, but when he came in to say hello he noticed she and I were dressed similar which prompted me to secretly get out the camera to record him while I asked him to unzip her hoodie. Happy tears instantly filled his eyes as the realisation that we were expecting another baby set in. There was no fear from either of us in this moment, just pure excitement and celebration, exactly as it should have been.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fast forward a few weeks and we were sitting back in the same ultrasound room we'd been in previously when we were told your sibling most likely hadn't made it. Fear definitely set in that day, but we brought your sister along to make things a little easier for us if we were to receive bad news. Fortunately we were quick to see a healthy little heartbeat, albeit measuring a little behind. This meant a follow up scan two weeks later where everything was back on track again, exactly as expected in line with when I had ovulated. These scans confirmed your due date to be the 13th of April, 2023 - the same date as mine and your father's 4 year wedding anniversary!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since then we have had multiple scares but also many reassurances that you are absolutely fine and healthy in there. At present I am 28 and a half weeks pregnant and at the beginning of my third trimester. We were recently cleared for any sign of gestational diabetes and so far we are all clear for any sign of preeclampsia. I've just started getting my first bout of heartburn, but other than that, everything is great right now.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am all set to give birth in the birth centre this time, provided everything remains low risk for us. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I just have this really strong feeling that everything is going to go really well this time around and I won't need to be induced. I'm actually really excited at the idea of going into spontaneous labour. I wonder if you will come early, on time or keep us hanging on for a while. Either way, we are so sooo excited to meet you little one! You are already loved beyond measure and have been bringing us so much joy each and every day!<br />
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Until next time...</div>
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Felicity <span face=""quicksand" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-35080223179127530392022-04-21T09:36:00.003+10:002022-07-26T21:21:32.465+10:00To the baby we never got to meet.<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIanQ4CcVPDz3yh4SVUA0V_g70TDb4KzvGB0xjafQdW6WPdxaOdGCfem6Qt_t5tOZ9yfWcWFAFOMr1k8Ai1ge58V3GOz4O2bS_Ue_taXl5tXuyHy3QNbt2RaCIsMGxpJ63qhn53Zmm6fVN1v6MaG6AxjROsnTpQEk6l2fyEqW6x53tr-i2fiVs8C_1LA/s1080/1648456158826.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIanQ4CcVPDz3yh4SVUA0V_g70TDb4KzvGB0xjafQdW6WPdxaOdGCfem6Qt_t5tOZ9yfWcWFAFOMr1k8Ai1ge58V3GOz4O2bS_Ue_taXl5tXuyHy3QNbt2RaCIsMGxpJ63qhn53Zmm6fVN1v6MaG6AxjROsnTpQEk6l2fyEqW6x53tr-i2fiVs8C_1LA/s16000/1648456158826.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>To the baby we never got to meet,</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>but who already touched our hearts.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">We were so excited (and surprised!) to learn of your existence.</div><div style="text-align: center;">You came into our lives so effortlessly,</div><div style="text-align: center;">like you were always meant to be,</div><div style="text-align: center;">and then just like that.. you were gone.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">We couldn't wait for M to become a big sister.</div><div style="text-align: center;">She has such a big heart and so much love to give,</div><div style="text-align: center;">she'd have absolutely adored and doted on you.</div><div style="text-align: center;">While we were a bit apprehensive about having two under two,</div><div style="text-align: center;">we knew you would be worth all the chaos.</div><div style="text-align: center;">We were so looking forward to spending this Christmas as a family of four.</div><div style="text-align: center;">To watching you grow up alongside your sister,</div><div style="text-align: center;">thick as thieves, a bond unbreakable.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">We were going to announce your existence on Mothers Day,</div><div style="text-align: center;">because what better time to announce to the world that I am now a mother of two!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Unfortunately the Universe had other plans,</div><div style="text-align: center;">but that doesn't change the fact that you will always be our baby.</div><div style="text-align: center;">That you will always be loved wholeheartedly. <span style="text-align: justify;">❤️</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">------------------</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSV73U5SPNS6gS_C4WClB1ZImLfoeCel2ZvYIx-jaLndYg3Le7KRC4vcCXsBETynSkeZ3zycx1v4ej5EZtD7Y3TmsWLr4gcUxXG2Xry5Imn04ipv_xD12RPba1uCxtuEh0_qiSC5reG5cdc9zIsgt8xgW_wH-aCkDRoFItWL90xGWPcP14c13YtoiFg/s1080/1650348775235.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSV73U5SPNS6gS_C4WClB1ZImLfoeCel2ZvYIx-jaLndYg3Le7KRC4vcCXsBETynSkeZ3zycx1v4ej5EZtD7Y3TmsWLr4gcUxXG2Xry5Imn04ipv_xD12RPba1uCxtuEh0_qiSC5reG5cdc9zIsgt8xgW_wH-aCkDRoFItWL90xGWPcP14c13YtoiFg/s16000/1650348775235.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Our Story.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shortly before my first ultrasound, I noticed a small amount of spotting. I had spotting all through my first trimester with M so I didn't really think much of it. To say we were blindsided when the scan indicated a possible early loss is an understatement. The simultaneous pain, fear, helplessness and hope we felt over the next two weeks we had to wait for (what we already knew in our hearts was) confirmation of a loss was a combination of emotions unlike any we have ever experienced. It was paralysing, all consuming.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I tried so hard to remain present in the moment, grateful for my many blessings, but my mind always wandered to the "what ifs".. the "why me?".. the "why now?".. the "what am I supposed to learn from this?" scenarios bouncing around in my head.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What I did learn is that 1 in 4 women and their families will go through this pain at least once in their lifetime. However, despite how often this occurs, you will rarely ever hear about it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I know so many families personally that have been through this heartache before, many behind closed doors and without the support that we have had. I cannot imagine how painful it must be to go through something this big alone. To hold a place in your heart for a child only to never speak their name.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So here I am, sharing our story, in the hopes it makes someone else out there feel that little bit less alone in their torment. You are strong, you are deserving, and you are most certainly not alone. Please reach out for support where you need it, in whatever way you need it, and do not feel as though you need to hide your pain because you don't feel your pain is as "big" as others. I can attest to the fact that the reality of early child loss is incredibly painful, incredibly isolating and incredibly real. 💔</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For me personally, the hardest part about our loss was the fact that my body didn't get the message to miscarry naturally. My body continued to grow the gestational sac, and produced all the usual hormones that caused me to have morning sickness, fatigue and even shortness of breath. I had hormonal acne, a baby bump.. the list goes on. So many indicators of a healthy pregnancy. Knowing my body could deceive me in this way was such a cruel feeling.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the end, I had to receive medical intervention to speed the process along. I was at risk of infection, of losing my milk supply, and of losing my mind. I was constantly in fear that I would start having a miscarriage while at work or while I was out and about. I wouldn't leave the house alone unless I was just going down the street. It was a very stressful time in my life and something I can only hope to never have to go through again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While the procedure itself went as well as one could hope, and the doctors and nurses treated me with so much care, this is still a trauma I will carry with me for a lifetime. As I was wheeled past a children's area of the hospital on my way to surgery I struggled to hold back my tears and thoughts of who this little baby could have been. A caring nurse must have sensed my pain, quickly trying to distract me with questions about M. I am so thankful for the level of empathy and understanding that was shown to me that day.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Moving forward I (we) would really appreciate it if friends and family could please refrain from asking questions about when we are planning to have another baby. I was asked this so many times during the two week wait to confirm our loss and it tore me up inside to try and keep a straight face and keep from bursting into tears. I know everybody means well and are just excited to see M have a sibling, but please be patient and wait for us to share the news when that day comes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thank you to everyone who has supported us on this journey. Your love and kindness means the world to us!<br />
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Until next time...</div>
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Felicity <span face=""quicksand" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-492432568958737222021-05-04T23:34:00.047+10:002022-07-26T21:35:07.349+10:00M's Birth Story!<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmGCn6cut5babDF25fIjDPhBkjKKqukorRBEtwaPfMFn1KoC_kLi61ixtGZsc7T3MR5Br7mzEDDmWlglSN7xtrR_hpPZOS-_2cCkq4acLLh11k40_5CnywdLdW4LVHnlWK-4uUMmSJM9G/s2048/20210228_021949.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmGCn6cut5babDF25fIjDPhBkjKKqukorRBEtwaPfMFn1KoC_kLi61ixtGZsc7T3MR5Br7mzEDDmWlglSN7xtrR_hpPZOS-_2cCkq4acLLh11k40_5CnywdLdW4LVHnlWK-4uUMmSJM9G/s16000/20210228_021949.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">
Before I get started, I just have to say, how exciting is it that I'm finally writing M's birth story?! For anyone who knows me personally or who has been following me for a while, you will know that becoming a Mum has been my life's dream for as long as I can remember. The reason I originally started this blog was to store memories for my future children to be able to look back on one day, and now here I am, writing the story of my first born daughters entrance into the world! As tough as the early months of parenthood have been, I still pinch myself multiple times a day because I just can't believe this is finally my reality! I'm well aware that this post could turn into a ten part series, so I'm going to do my best to condense things down and keep this to one long post. If you haven't yet read the post about my <a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com/2021/02/our-pregnancy-preeclampsia-journey.html#more" target="_blank">preeclampsia journey</a>, I suggest reading it first as it leads on to this post. Enjoy!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">----------</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After what felt like the longest week of my life trying to induce labour at home before my scheduled induction date, Saturday the 6th of February rolled around and in I went. We arrived at the hospital at around 2pm and I was given a vaginal exam by a midwife who informed me that I had a bishop score of 5 and that I wouldn't need any cervical ripening methods prior to having my waters broken. All we had to do was wait until a bed in the birth suite opened up. As the hours passed by, D and I were chatting with our hypnobirthing instructor, Jess, who told us a bishop score of 5 is not ideal for being induced and that it should really be an 8 or above. The more we discussed this, the more we felt uncomfortable going ahead with the induction without cervical ripening, so by the time they wheeled me down to the birth suite at 11pm that night we had decided to advocate for ourselves and asked the obstetrician on duty for a second opinion. The obstetrician conducted a second vaginal exam (as she needed to do this anyway if we decided to go ahead and break my waters) and she actually agreed that I wasn't ready and could do with some cervical ripening. I opted to go with the cooks catheter ripening method at the suggestion of Jess, as this is more natural than the ripening gel. The obstetrician inserted the catheter there and then, which was essentially two small balloons, one which sat inside my uterus and one which sat in my vagina, and pumped them up with water. I was told this would be kept in for up to twelve hours, but that it may fall out beforehand. This was inserted at 11.30pm, and my gosh, what an uncomfortable feeling! It instantly brought on really intense cramping and my blood pressure shot up to 165/100, so they gave me extra blood pressure medication on top of what I was already taking for the preeclampsia, pain killers and a sleeping tablet to get through the night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was at exactly 11.30am the next morning (right on the 12 hour mark) that I went to the bathroom and the catheter fell out on its own. I alerted the midwife on duty who informed the birth suite that I was ready to go. Unfortunately, it wasn't until 27 hours later that a spot in the birth suite opened up as so many spontaneous births were taking place that were considered a higher priority. This meant another night in hospital (fortunately the vegan meal options were fairly decent at the RBWH) and not being taken down to birth suite until 2.30pm on Monday the 8th of February. Funny story - it was at the time I was finally being wheeled down to birth suite that D had just gone to buy me a new phone as the charger port on my existing phone had stopped working that afternoon. Luckily I had to sit in my birth suite room for another three hours until my waters were broken. During this time my first midwife for the evening helped me to set up my birth space the way I wanted as encouraged through my hypnobirthing course. For me this meant low lighting, familiar sounds (I'd set episodes of 'Friends' up on the iPad), bouncing on the birth ball, and keeping myself well fed and hydrated. At 5.30pm my waters were broken, at which point I was told my bishop score was still a 5. They basically said that as so much time had passed since the catheter had fallen out that any good work the catheter had done was no longer evident. That or the catheter simply didn't work. Either way, I had been in hospital for more than 50 hours at this point, and as I was still considered a high risk pregnancy due to my preeclampsia, we needed to get things going.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The feeling of having my waters broken wasn't that bad. The insertion of the cooks catheter was much more uncomfortable by comparison. It wasn't like the movies with a big gush of water. My recent ultrasound had shown that I had very little amniotic fluid left, and as bubs head was engaged, it made sense that I would only notice a small trickle if anything. At the same time as having my waters broken, we also had a monitor inserted into bubs scalp. There is probably a more technical term for this, but as I will never do this again, I have no intention of remembering what it was called. Basically I was told that it would be the best way to monitor bubs heart rate during labour and would allow me to move around more freely, however it was totally unreliable and seemed to cause more issues than it did lessen them. The thought of having a monitor inserted into my child's scalp (no matter how much they claim it doesn't hurt them) still doesn't sit well with me to this day. I just keep reminding myself that preeclampsia is a serious condition that was putting my child's life at risk, and I did what we felt was best with the information we'd been given at the time. I almost wasn't going to share that we did this as I still feel so much guilt, but I think it's important to let others know that this isn't necessarily a helpful option of monitoring.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Two hours (and a few episodes of Friends later) after having my waters broken, I was hooked up to and started on the synthetic oxytocin drip. This was to bring on contractions as neither the cooks catheter or breaking of my waters had done so. The amount of synthetic oxytocin being released into my system was raised little by little every 30 minutes, and it wasn't until 9pm when my second midwife took over that I started to feel much at all. I knew early in the night that the way I would feel most comfortable contracting was on the bed, on all fours, leaning over the back of the bed. D was an amazing birth partner and set up the iPad in front of me, massaging me and advocating as needed. Prior to active labour, which kicked in around midnight, I was using a very low level of gas and air, watching Friends, and using our TENS machine on low on my lower back to mimic the feeling of being in the shower. The TENS machine and gas and air were used in time with my contractions, and I quickly adopted a rhythm and routine that made the time fly by and made the whole experience manageable. I say manageable, because let's face it, induced contractions are intense. I was under no misconception about this going into things, which is why I set myself up with the tools I needed to get through it all. I cannot thank Jess enough for all of the invaluable information, tools and support she provided us.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJeKeYSz4zl5ucorrNt86BWiDIC7_KgHMpUEeubeqh69sNRN4IET5HQMeoMQJboDRk4X4WGAMS-siRZiO9EbE6bCDlBSZtnr_NO5zC_7d-12SvmbSpF1Xp-c2vpw-wlaSXwPkUeiezulm/s2048/20210228_021153.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJeKeYSz4zl5ucorrNt86BWiDIC7_KgHMpUEeubeqh69sNRN4IET5HQMeoMQJboDRk4X4WGAMS-siRZiO9EbE6bCDlBSZtnr_NO5zC_7d-12SvmbSpF1Xp-c2vpw-wlaSXwPkUeiezulm/s16000/20210228_021153.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrHWpCf75YrEfdTx9cwPlnFlPLCFJ6If_bp3_F9IlSppMVTq3IQYv5S4kppjTNQJ5dKNjmUArbBiCapdXWlWFKmBzlGYv3agU8LMWxBjzqS9pD1teTI1Y6CDm1CapMBtzQt6Gy0pr4ESX5/s2048/20210228_020937.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1539" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrHWpCf75YrEfdTx9cwPlnFlPLCFJ6If_bp3_F9IlSppMVTq3IQYv5S4kppjTNQJ5dKNjmUArbBiCapdXWlWFKmBzlGYv3agU8LMWxBjzqS9pD1teTI1Y6CDm1CapMBtzQt6Gy0pr4ESX5/s16000/20210228_020937.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrmWTQKZoITHUoMEp8lPJm17glK0n8xFBxPujqlz43qjNUa6pIHUUKOqNMU0kL8ZqOshEBkfX1VyodePTLHW5JHdoph8yr3ntGEaN6uSZ74Yl_bTc7XiuBzqnT9bJsC2MprvSLHyXZnYi/s2048/20210228_021408.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrmWTQKZoITHUoMEp8lPJm17glK0n8xFBxPujqlz43qjNUa6pIHUUKOqNMU0kL8ZqOshEBkfX1VyodePTLHW5JHdoph8yr3ntGEaN6uSZ74Yl_bTc7XiuBzqnT9bJsC2MprvSLHyXZnYi/s16000/20210228_021408.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At midnight, going into the early hours of Tuesday the 9th of February (at 39+5 weeks gestation), I was given another quick vaginal exam where I learned later on that I was now 4 centimetres dilated. At the time I didn't find out how far along I was as I stated in my birth preferences that I did not want to hear numbers, as I did not want to feel disappointed and potentially halt my labour if I considered the number too low. I was, however, informed that I was now in active labour, which was really exciting and equally terrifying as I could definitely feel the contractions ramping up. It was at this point that D muted the iPad for me (but we kept Friends playing so that I had a familiar and comforting visual directly in front of me to zone out to) and used our portable speaker to play affirmations from the positive birth company app 'Freya'. These affirmations were super calming and helped me to focus more on my breathing. I stayed in the same position, gradually increasing the gas and air and the level on the TENS machine to match the intensity of my contractions, and focused with everything inside of me on just keeping to the routine that had been working for me so far. I know each person and labour is different, and for me in that moment, this was what worked for me. I did not want to go in the shower (despite wanting this so badly my whole pregnancy), I did not want to walk around, I simply wanted to kneel against the back of the bed frame and let gravity do its work.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At what I believe was around 2.30am, the contractions were getting super intense and I began to question whether I could continue without an epidural. My midwife prompted me to get out of bed and go to the toilet, saying that if I didn't do a wee that she would need to insert a catheter. I was so annoyed that I was having to get up and walk around, and the contractions were so intense by this point that I could barely see in front of me, but I'm pretty sure that getting up for five minutes was what brought me to the point of transition. If you don't know what transition is, it's around the last 5-10 minutes of active labour before bub is born. It's when most women truly begin to question themselves and whether they can keep going. This was the case for me, but I also knew that when I started to feel that way is when my baby would soon be here, so I was able to find comfort in this knowledge. For me, the last 10 minutes consisted of being told to lie down on my back to check my progress (and D being shown bubs head so that he could let me know that it was 'go time'), me fighting to get back on all fours as lying on my back was excruciating, and then being asked to get back on my back again as they were worried about my baby's heart rate and wanted my legs up in stirrups so that they could place external monitors onto bubs head (again, I will never do the scalp monitoring again as it was useless in the end anyway).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wouldn't say that my birth was traumatic, but the last few minutes were very hard for me. Knowing that I would be giving birth on my back was incredibly disappointing. It was uncomfortable (I did not have gravity to help me anymore) and it put bubs head into a position where it was very painful and difficult to birth. As bubs heart rate had dipped (something I later learned is completely normal), a bunch of hospital staff ran in at the last minute, turning on all the bright lighting and talking about using a vacuum and performing an episiotomy. I was pretty much unable to advocate for myself at this point. All I could see was white, and I really had to focus in order to see the obstetrician who was now in front of me. Luckily D was well aware of my preferences and told them I wanted to tear rather than have an episiotomy. It was at this point I yelled out that I would only agree to an episiotomy if they truly believed I was at risk of a third or fourth degree tear. They could not say they believed that (how were they to know really) and instead tried to push the idea of using the vacuum, convincing us that it was needed to get bub out quickly and safely, and suggesting that I was putting bub at risk by deliberating any longer. We reluctantly agreed, overwhelmed in the moment, however the vacuum would not attach (something I am grateful for in hindsight). They again pushed for an episiotomy, and D asked that I be given a chance to push first. I pushed four times from memory, trying to visualise doing a large bowel movement (as I learned from hypnobirthing) but due to being on my back I just couldn't get bubs head out on my own. I could actually feel that bubs head was stuck, and with each push it felt like I was going to split in two. They pushed for an episiotomy once more and this time I agreed. I was in so much pain that I felt like I was going to die (I won't sugarcoat it), and hearing that bubs heart rate was dipping had me scared for his or her wellbeing. Once the episiotomy cut was made (a 1cm diagonal cut), bub was delivered with the next push at 3:11 am.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The relief I felt was incredible, but not as incredible as the feeling of having bub placed on my chest and hearing David introduce me to 'M'. I had such a strong gut feeling throughout my pregnancy that this baby would be a girl, and to hear that my gut feeling was correct made everything fall into place for me immediately. This may sound silly, but not knowing the baby's sex throughout the pregnancy was both exciting and difficult. I wanted so badly to be able to visualise my future child, so I think I had to lean a particular way to help me create this visual. I would have absolutely loved to have had a little boy as well, but to have the vision in my mind match up with reality made things really easy for me. It all just felt meant to be. Hopefully that makes some sense. Basically I just felt so completely elated and nothing else mattered in that moment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As my placenta was being delivered (I can't put into words the physical relief I felt after this, it was like my preeclampsia symptoms disappeared immediately), M made her way to my breast all on her own, feeding from me within minutes of being born. Her latch was perfect from the get go and the oxytocin high I was riding meant I barely even noticed as I was being stitched back up. M had an Apgar score of 9 at both one and five minutes post birth, so the hospital delivered on its promise of delayed cord clamping and uninterrupted skin to skin time (for both myself and D), only weighing and measuring M once we felt ready for them to.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijUy_77WC3nDu69NXD3JExHhnUWVN43R9HVCbw8o-op_bo_upKp7rE1Y9ZQDRtT62r4-LJqqlseNDTj0oWovdqh4wK5iMSg7WVU5tkrK1Qm7J3hZlW1VnT7baLEZLMtaUN_4g5wm4dKdm9/s2048/20210228_021542.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijUy_77WC3nDu69NXD3JExHhnUWVN43R9HVCbw8o-op_bo_upKp7rE1Y9ZQDRtT62r4-LJqqlseNDTj0oWovdqh4wK5iMSg7WVU5tkrK1Qm7J3hZlW1VnT7baLEZLMtaUN_4g5wm4dKdm9/s16000/20210228_021542.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrBXQYkKs7i87DPx2bYe5mDhtwvSCSJWcgpZNRJnA34FhduT82SgE2WXkcPFiHuaVyA-CkY60zoTqdGPT6OJPrw4TBK6TQLq3tcLIqnmThfUuCyMPMtS6x7VBLByH8-DD2zfZtbEaX-n6-/s2048/20210228_021707.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrBXQYkKs7i87DPx2bYe5mDhtwvSCSJWcgpZNRJnA34FhduT82SgE2WXkcPFiHuaVyA-CkY60zoTqdGPT6OJPrw4TBK6TQLq3tcLIqnmThfUuCyMPMtS6x7VBLByH8-DD2zfZtbEaX-n6-/s16000/20210228_021707.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzW_OEVBHYUGb8rx38ftNxngK-uFWRsydZ7MOIGVjtuPUkBiqFcy1h3Go0HdMNP_mbx71Ii4MVDPHZNUE6X1xyZr-s1HSRIIq6r_MA8GZYMUtz2rQg06791rJgRkfN-0hmS3-5m8OPH5F/s2048/20210228_021835.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzW_OEVBHYUGb8rx38ftNxngK-uFWRsydZ7MOIGVjtuPUkBiqFcy1h3Go0HdMNP_mbx71Ii4MVDPHZNUE6X1xyZr-s1HSRIIq6r_MA8GZYMUtz2rQg06791rJgRkfN-0hmS3-5m8OPH5F/s16000/20210228_021835.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOaAcPqb4OnDv2_9QzhMMiT-TEWL2ewBjhy-qcibNFvrOgCZTAeSyK65a6j-qM5C5CVjf2cf9XKfmrNUCHJGrP-nv71QICvfu1bgqXDY_-vPbKIgaWy7hgwCJPFG6HG1jUdSo0JAhS0pOW/s2048/20210228_022109.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOaAcPqb4OnDv2_9QzhMMiT-TEWL2ewBjhy-qcibNFvrOgCZTAeSyK65a6j-qM5C5CVjf2cf9XKfmrNUCHJGrP-nv71QICvfu1bgqXDY_-vPbKIgaWy7hgwCJPFG6HG1jUdSo0JAhS0pOW/s16000/20210228_022109.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The next couple of days were a complete blur as M began cluster feeding on day one to bring on my milk quicker, and by day three I was back on my blood pressure medication for postpartum preeclampsia. I was also dealing with a painful episiotomy cut which still til this day feels uncomfortable. All in all, however, I feel I had a positive birth experience. I am so proud of myself for delivering at full term, and for birthing vaginally without an epidural despite being induced. There is nothing more empowering than giving birth and I am so glad and feel so fortunate that I was able to have this experience.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One thing I will mention that did take away from my positive experience was learning after the fact that my hospital was on the list for the "Perineal Protection Bundle". Essentially, the hospital would receive a fine if they allowed a woman to suffer a third or fourth degree tear, and would be awarded money if they performed an episiotomy. Given the 1cm cut they performed on me, I'm guessing a third or fourth degree tear wasn't very likely. If I had known this information prior to giving birth, I never would have agreed to the episiotomy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;">If you are reading this and have any questions about preeclampsia, being induced, hypnobirthing, etc. please feel free to send me an email. I am always happy to share and support.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Until next time...</div>
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Felicity <span face=""quicksand" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-73148767125389477922021-03-09T09:23:00.001+10:002022-07-26T21:37:10.404+10:00Welcome To The World - Baby 'M'!<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsNPE49KzwKbNNtOEaJK4kUdVm4CLdjSJTW6yeSSmk4o6Y30ocwCri9Y7lDEPINBjae9z7ng69MUOvV-yPT5M3N_HvdQcnKvsqtc2AQb9dlcaJzrxahswrg2WufK7C9rXr7SuB3aAnIQe0/s2048/matilda-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsNPE49KzwKbNNtOEaJK4kUdVm4CLdjSJTW6yeSSmk4o6Y30ocwCri9Y7lDEPINBjae9z7ng69MUOvV-yPT5M3N_HvdQcnKvsqtc2AQb9dlcaJzrxahswrg2WufK7C9rXr7SuB3aAnIQe0/s16000/matilda-2.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Baby 'M'.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;">Born Tuesday, February 9th, 2021 at 3:11am. Weighing 2.8kg and measuring 50cm long.</div>
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Today marks one month earth side, a total weight gain of 1.6kg, and an infinite expansion of love for her in our hearts.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I look forward to sharing her birth story as soon as I get the chance (which may not be for a while) but given the circumstances I am happy to report that we had as positive a birth as possible!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Until next time...</div>
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Felicity <span face=""quicksand" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-63984518608299785882021-02-01T20:44:00.003+10:002022-07-26T21:41:08.881+10:00Our Pregnancy + Preeclampsia Journey!<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEZemS7sZIwzAlpTPwUSG8K0Old9B3NMjNpEg9t5TU8dVsPe6Ib3HncMCievkKhsdDckniXe0r48c-Gxl6jWkKPN8pEGRTdhv5WrcejMd73AyJ4jCSpYFChopARv0f94t_UkwZYoi55cW/s2048/felicity.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1367" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEZemS7sZIwzAlpTPwUSG8K0Old9B3NMjNpEg9t5TU8dVsPe6Ib3HncMCievkKhsdDckniXe0r48c-Gxl6jWkKPN8pEGRTdhv5WrcejMd73AyJ4jCSpYFChopARv0f94t_UkwZYoi55cW/s16000/felicity.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It's been so long since my last blog post, around 25 weeks to be precise. How I ever thought I was going to be able to blog regularly while continuing to work full time, prepare for the arrival of baby, and fit in a social life is a mystery to me. In saying that, here I am with a 38 week pregnancy update, and definitely my last post before baby is born. My next post will be their birth story. How amazingly cool is that?!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So at the end of my last post I had mentioned that the first trimester wasn't the greatest for me, and I am happy to say that things mostly improved from there. I definitely went on to experience all of your classic second and third trimester pregnancy symptoms, however it was nothing I wouldn't do over in a heartbeat to bring this little baby into the world. My cervical ectropion calmed down pretty much as soon as the second trimester commenced and has only reared it's ugly head on the very odd occasion after sex. I haven't noticed it at all in the third trimester actually and could not be happier about that. In saying all this, the third trimester has definitely been the most stressful for me as I found out right on the 36 week mark that I have preeclampsia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was very early in the morning on Wednesday the 13th of January when I woke up with an unbearable pain that felt like a giant had grasped my upper body in their hand and was squeezing me to death, sinching me in just under my breasts and across my back. I realise that sounds pretty dramatic but that's honestly what it felt like. The pain went on for a good three hours total and wasn't relieved by antacids, going to the bathroom, etc. D ended up calling the hospital and the person who spoke to us over the phone actually said that they didn't believe it was pregnancy related and said it sounded more like a gallbladder issue. They told me to take some panadol and that if I still had the pain in an hours time that I could either go to emergency or go see my GP in working hours. As I'd already put up with this pain for some time at this point, the pain actually did subside within the next hour, so I booked in to see a GP for 9pm that night (my regular GP was fully booked and this secondary GP only works in the evenings). I was completely pain free for the rest of the day, the only annoying symptom I had was swelling in my legs, feet, hands and face. I continued to work that day as normal though and was not expecting to go into the GP and hear that my blood pressure was 160/100. Given my excessive swelling and raised blood pressure, he immediately sent me to the hospital for further testing and advised me to pack an overnight bag.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once at the hospital they tested my urine and found that I had a high enough protein creatinine ratio to be diagnosed with preeclampsia. While I was waiting to be admitted for 24 hour monitoring so that they could start me on blood pressure medication, the same sinching/tightening pain across my chest from the night before kicked in, only this time it started even more suddenly and was considerably more painful. I was in tears within minutes, and was quickly given some pain relief and then sent to bed with a sleeping tablet. It turns out this pain is what is referred to as right upper quadrant pain, and while this can be linked with gallbladder issues, it is also commonly linked with preeclampsia. It still annoys me to this day that that lady on the phone dismissed the pain I was in as being anything pregnancy related. If I hadn't already been in the hospital when that pain hit me for the second night I would have honestly been going to hospital in an ambulance as I dead set felt like I was going to die.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next day was a bit of a blur to me. I was seen by so many different doctors, all of which had something new and different to tell me. They had basically convinced me that, best case scenario, I would need to be induced at 37-38 weeks max and only if they could get my blood pressure back under control. I was ruled out by ultrasound scans for any kind of gallbladder, liver, kidney etc. issues, and my blood test results from that first day in hospital ruled out any liver issues as well (liver issues can develop very quickly with preeclampsia). They ended up keeping me in for a second night as my blood pressure still wasn't all that great, and after taking one last lot of blood tests, they sent me back home on Friday at lunch time on medication and on the provision that I rest up and finish work a week earlier than I had planned. No sooner had I returned home however and I received a phone call to say my morning blood test results had come back with raised liver enzymes and a significantly reduced platelet count within a matter of 24 hours. The doctors were now concerned that I may be developing a serious condition called HELLP (haemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count) syndrome and wanted me back the next morning for more tests and observations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately, the next day, my bloods were almost back to normal again and my blood pressure was just low enough (hypertension stage 1 rather than hypertension stage 2) for me to return home, so long as I came back twice weekly for monitoring. D, who had been running around in a panic buying all our last minute baby items, installing the carseat, detail cleaning the car, etc. had already purchased me a blood pressure monitor for home, so we hesitantly but hopefully returned home and began to start taking my pregnancy day by day as opposed to week by week. I'd lost 4kg by the time I was out of hospital and my swelling was almost non existent. By the 37 week mark we were told that everything was still looking manageable at home, and much to our surprise we were given another week before they would want to discuss an induction. Looking back now I see this as nothing but a positive, but at the time D and I had emotionally prepared ourselves for me to be induced within a matter of days, so this conflicting advice from the different doctors we were seeing was sending us through an emotional loop. I was also scared for mine and baby's health as everything I had read and every doctor I had seen up until that point had stressed just how high risk a preeclampsia pregnancy was. I was frightened to death of having a seizure, stroke, or of losing this baby in some way.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I spent the next week coming in for twice weekly monitoring, and at around the 38 week mark, just last Friday, we came in to see the head obstetrician (I'm assuming that's who she was anyway, as that's what the junior doctor was referring to her as) who advised us that we would be given yet another week at home (in the hope of going into labour naturally) and booked us in with an induction date for just past the 39 week mark. I haven't read anywhere of women being allowed to go this far without a scheduled induction once preeclampsia has been diagnosed, so either I am extremely lucky (to be honest, I probably am - had I not gone to see my GP about that upper right quadrant pain, there is no way I would have realised that I even had high blood pressure until my next antenatal appointment) or there may be something to expectant management beyond 37 weeks. Whatever the reason, I am super grateful for these extra few days, and even if I don't go into labour naturally before the induction, I can take comfort in the fact that our baby will be full term when he or she arrives. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another reason I am feeling so at peace is due to the support and education D and I have received from our midwife friends and hypnobirthing/positive birth instructor. I could write a whole post on our hypnobirthing education, but I'll touch on that more when I write up our birth story post. I may not be able to have the birth centre/water birth experience I had hoped for originally, but if things keep going well I'll be able to have a calm and positive birth experience regardless of the monitoring and potential interventions. With less than a week left until our scheduled induction, I would love to hear of any positive induction or preeclampsia experiences, as well as any tips and tricks for bringing on labour naturally. There isn't a lot we haven't tried at this stage, but I am willing to give almost anything a go at this point.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Please wish us the best of luck and we look forward to introducing you all to our first child very very soon!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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Until next time...</div>
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Felicity <span face=""quicksand" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-1061741765339642032020-08-04T07:37:00.001+10:002022-07-26T21:46:06.599+10:00I'm Pregnant!<div style="text-align: center;">
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"I'M GONNA HAVE A BABY!" (imagine shouting this in your best Rachel Green voice over and over). I've basically been saying this phrase on repeat in my head since the moment I found out. The one thing I have been dreaming of my entire life, more than anything else in the world, has finally become a reality and I just can't quite believe it!<br />
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You see, ever since I was a teenager I always had this awful thought in the back of my mind that I might one day have trouble getting pregnant. I knew it was irrational to think that way but it was a nagging feeling that was always there. Fast forward to 2015 and I was told by my doctor in Townsville that I had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and would likely have trouble when it came to conceiving. I started taking immediate steps to rectify the situation as much as possible, however I'd be lying if I said this didn't further solidify my irrational fears.<br />
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Going forward even further, it was around July 2019 that I decided to book in with a specialist in Sydney to find out why I had been spotting between periods and bleeding after sex. Recently married, D and I were starting to plan for a family and wanted to make sure everything was okay. Although we didn't get answers for my spotting at the time, we did find out that I had absolutely no cysts on my ovaries anymore. I was shocked. I had read that giving up dairy could reduce cysts, which is one of the reasons I went vegan after my initial diagnosis in 2015, but could this have cured me completely?<br />
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Well, after several months of trying to fall pregnant we decided to go and see a specialist in Brisbane in May 2020 to pick up where we had left off the year before. This new specialist was a trained gynaecologist and immediately sent us for all kinds of tests without us even asking for them. In a few short weeks we found out that <b>1.</b> I don't and never had PCOS (she explained how I had been incorrectly diagnosed) <b>2.</b> I have perfect levels of oestrogen and progesterone (both equally important to conceiving and sustaining a pregnancy) <b>3.</b> D had perfect swimmers <b>4.</b> That the spotting between my periods and bleeding after sex (not to mention 5 years of inconclusive pap smear tests) was the result of a harmless but annoying cervical ectropion. Basically there was no good reason for us not to conceive naturally.. and that's exactly what ended up happening for us that very cycle! When we ended up telling our specialist that we were pregnant she told us that this was very common after couples had been in to see her. It was as though she was able to take away all the irrational stress we had built up in our minds. I think it is so unfair that some doctors will refuse to help couples until they have been trying for over a year. A few simple tests and all our worries quickly dissipated.<br />
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The day we actually found out was three days after my 31st birthday. I had been tracking my ovulation for a while at this point and this was the first month where I ovulated early rather than late. This gave me this strange new confidence that this could be our month, and I might even get so lucky as to find out on my actual birthday if I started testing early. Well, as it turns out, had I been testing with the first response tests from the get go instead of the internet cheapies I'd picked up off of eBay, I may well have had a birthday positive. Unfortunately the internet cheapies only picked up the faintest of faint lines on the following Monday when I had already convinced myself that I was out for the month, but fortunately this gave me the surprise of my life as I was no longer expecting to see anything.<br />
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It was June 1st, at around 8.45am, and I was due to start working from our home office at 9am. D was still in bed at this time and so when I saw that super faint positive I began rushing around the house trying to test a first response test as well for confirmation. When that test came up positive also I decided to grab a clear blue digital test so that I could see the positive result in writing. Well, that test didn't work at all - it was faulty. Ugh, frustrating! So I tried yet another digital test and while this was loading I quickly arranged the below set up on D's work desk. I was expecting to hear when D came out, thinking he would go to the bathroom first, but he ended up getting a work phone call and came straight into the office at a billion miles an hour. I quickly rushed to set up the phone to record his reaction but ended up filming his crotch the entire time. Also, the digital test was still loading as he came out, so while he eventually figured out what was going on he was a bit confused for a while. It was actually quite comical looking back.<br />
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<br /><p style="margin: 0px;">After telling D the next person we told was his mum who we are currently living with. We showed her the digital test which said "Pregnant 1-2" and she thought the 1-2 weeks indicator meant 1-2 babies! Honestly the funniest reaction of all! The next few weeks were a blur of telling our immediate family and a few close friends. We even managed to tell my Nana the night before she passed away. The timing of it all was so surreal. Check out our announcement video below to see some of our friends and family members reactions!</p><p style="margin: 0px;"><br /></p><center><iframe data-blogger-escaped-allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" data-blogger-escaped-allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R5gFaGld3PI" width="560"></iframe></center><p style="margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;">In case you're wondering when we're due, we are actually due on the 14th of February, 2021.. yep, right on Valentines Day! I have a feeling he or she will likely come early based on our recent ultrasound though. Oh, and as for finding out the baby's sex, we are going to leave this as a surprise! I mean it's one of the only true surprises you really get in life, right?</p>
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I'd be lying if I said that the first trimester has been easy. It hasn't. That cervical ectropion I mentioned earlier.. well, it's been quite the little troublemaker. It has caused me to bleed almost every day of my pregnancy so far, which as I'm sure you can imagine has been quite terrifying and meant lots and lots of doctors appointments. I also went through some pretty awful morning sickness 24/7 from the beginning of 6 weeks until the beginning of week 11. I am currently almost 13 weeks pregnant and basically I just feel super tired all the time. Super tired but super excited!<br />
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I think I will leave this post here for now but definitely stay tuned for more pregnancy related posts in the coming months. It's crazy to think that in just 6 short months I will be taking care of a tiny little human!<br />
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Until next time...</div>
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Felicity <span face="quicksand, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-50250671886100115992020-04-13T16:30:00.001+10:002022-07-26T21:51:10.947+10:00Thoughts On Our First Wedding Anniversary.<div style="text-align: center;">
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I honestly can't believe it's already been a whole year since I walked down the aisle and married my best friend.<br />
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It feels like just yesterday that I was waking up on the Gold Coast in the air bnb I rented out for myself and a couple of friends (who doubled as my hair dresser and celebrant on the day - thank you ladies!) and feeling like an absolute pampered princess. We didn't need to be at the venue until 3pm, so it was a pretty relaxing morning. My mum, brother and photographer joined us around lunch time, and we managed to snap a few nice shots of me getting ready.<br />
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My best friend K did an amazing job of my hair, and I decided to do my own makeup which I was extremely happy with. I bought my dress secondhand and once again K came to my rescue and made any minor adjustments that needed to be made to it.<br />
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D was at the venue waiting for me at 3pm for our first look ceremony. This wasn't something I had originally wanted to do, however as our ceremony could only take place at 4.30pm, we weren't leaving ourselves much time to get photos taken before dinner unless we had some photos taken before the ceremony as well. Our wedding venue consultant was super helpful though and gave us a private spot where we could have a first look ceremony and capture that special moment when D and I first saw each other on our wedding day. I actually really liked this experience in the end. Not only was it nice to break up all the photos being taken (my mouth was so sore from smiling!) but it also eased my nerves before walking down the aisle.<br />
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As you can see, our photographer was just amazing. Her name is Belinda and we came across her at a wedding expo the year before when we won a free engagement photoshoot with her. The photos were so fantastic that we hired her as our wedding photographer on the spot, and we intend on making Belinda our ongoing family photographer. I wish I could share every photo in this post but unfortunately there are just too many. For this reason I have tried to keep the photos to just D and I, as I would hate to leave anyone out.<br />
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I could spend all day sharing photos of our ceremony. It truly was the most special moment of the day, and probably of our lives so far. My Dad walked me down the aisle, and my youngest brother, L, was our page boy. Our friend, S, was our celebrant. Neither of us wanted to have a bridal party as to be honest, we have too many close friends to choose from, and we also wanted the focus of the day to be on us. We each wrote our own vows and made everybody laugh, especially ourselves. It really was such a lovely ceremony. I will cherish this little moment in time forever.<br />
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I'm thinking I might have to save the rest of our wedding photos for our second wedding anniversary post. There are just far too many for me to share in one go.<br />
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Before I go though, I thought I would share some thoughts I have when looking back at our big day. Some thoughts that may help some of you when it comes time for your own big day, or perhaps thoughts that some of my fellow wives will be able to relate to.<br />
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<b>1. If you are going to invest in anything, invest in a good photographer. </b>I swear we could have gotten married anywhere and our photographer would have made our day look like a scene out of a fancy wedding movie. These photos bring me so much joy to look back on and were worth every penny.<br />
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<b>2. Buy Secondhand. </b>I purchased my wedding dress second hand from a girl on Facebook, and saved myself around $3000. While I was at her house I was also able to get wedding ideas off her, and in the process, ended up going with the same wedding venue that she had done. I was able to see her own wedding photos and really imagine myself in the dress. This was probably the best decision I made after choosing our photographer.<br />
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<b>3. Don't go overboard.</b> By this I mean, sometimes simple is better. Take our wedding theme for example. We went with a simple rustic, woodland theme, which was predominantly white with touches of wood, burlap and gold. This allowed for the few decorations we had, such as our vibrant flowers (thanks J!), cake and fairylights to really steal the show.<br />
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<b>4. Hire friends where you can.</b> We were super lucky and had some of our friends gift us their time and services, and others who offered us mates rates, but even those we paid in full were worth every penny as they truly cared about making our day special. They also knew us better than a stranger would which made things so much easier.<br />
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<b>5. Plan your day to include ample time as a couple.</b> Try to plan your big day so that you have plenty of moments to be alone together, or as alone as possible, to truly enjoy what your big day is really about.. the two of you! As we didn't have a bridal party, D and I were able to spend every meal together at our sweetheart table, which was a welcomed break from all of the photos and congratulations. We also spent a good 20 minutes alone together in-between getting our photos taken and the dinner commencing, which was really special. We were able to share a drink together and take our first selfie as husband and wife. I would definitely recommend making sure to have this time together.<br />
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I hope you guys enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any wedding day tips of your own, feel free to leave them in the comments!</div>
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Until next time...</div>
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Felicity <span face=""quicksand" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-49832643350151182972020-04-02T09:25:00.001+10:002022-07-26T21:53:54.527+10:00I'm Back + Long Overdue Life Update!<div style="text-align: center;">
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Wow. I cannot believe it has been over a year since I last updated this blog. I mean, I knew it had been a while, but I had no idea it had been sixteen months! All I can really say on the matter is that I've been super busy, and when I'm not super busy I've been resting.<br />
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Fortunately, or not so fortunately I should say, I've had a lot more time to rest lately due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so I thought what better time for me to jump on and update the old blog that I used to enjoy sharing my life on so much.<br />
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For those of you who have been around since the beginning, you will notice a few changes I have made to the blog. The first change being that I have purchased (and then tweaked) a new design for my blog. I know, I'm shocked too. One of the things I used to enjoy doing so much so that I created an entire business off of doing it was designing my own blog. As the saying goes though, all good things must come to an end, and for me my love (and patience) for designing fizzled out quite a few years ago. Since then I have become even more of a minimalist and perfectionist than I was previously, and so I just haven't found that drive within myself to redesign the blog from scratch. I haven't lost my love of writing though, so I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase a pre-made template that I could easily tweak to my current aesthetic. What do you guys think?<br />
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The second change I have made is that I deleted most of my old blog posts. Once again, this was the perfectionist in me. I still have them all saved as draft posts however, so who knows, maybe I will re-share some of the oldies but goodies one day!<br />
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As for what I've been up to since my last blog update, if you follow me on instagram you will know that quite a lot has happened. The main thing being that D and I got married. That's right, I am now officially Mrs Clarke! We got married on the 13th of April 2019 at Parkwood International Golf Course. It was a relatively small and simple wedding, exactly as I had imagined. We ended up going with a very natural and rustic woodland theme, and for the most part the wedding was relatively stress free. I always thought I'd be sharing endless blog posts when it came to planning our big day, but between working full time, exercising and staying up until late at night organising everything, this blog was the last thing on my mind. We were so very fortunate to have our friends and family assist us with various things, from altering my wedding dress, to doing my hair, to organising all of our floral arrangements.. I don't know how we could have pulled things off so seamlessly without everyone's support. It truly was the best day of my life so far, and I am so lucky to be able to call D my husband.<br />
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We didn't end up having a honeymoon immediately following the wedding (how anyone can afford to do that after saving up for a wedding is beyond my comprehension), however we did end up going to Bali at the end of October for our friends' wedding. This was my first ever time going overseas, and although I'm not rushing to go back anytime soon, I did really enjoy myself. As there were so many of us who went over there we all put in to stay in a gorgeous villa in Petitenget where we were pretty much waited on hand and foot. It was out of this world luxurious and I enjoyed every minute of our time in the villa. We were also staying right down the road from the infamous Kynd Community, so I made sure to head there a time or two before we left. Their mushroom schnitzel burger blew my mind. I only wish they had a restaurant here in Australia.<br />
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Shortly after arriving back in Sydney, I received some amazing news that I had been offered a promotion back up in Brisbane. This wasn't exactly a shock to me as I had flown up for the interview before leaving for Bali, but it was definitely a huge surprise nonetheless. D and I had always said our end goal was to move back up to Brisbane when the time was right, and so I had just started applying for roles I felt would be worth the move back.. I just didn't realise I would be offered the first role I applied for. As D was not in a position to move back at that time we decided that I would move back on my own as the position was too good to pass up, and would hopefully set us up for long term success as a couple. So at the beginning of December I moved back to Brisbane and started living with my mother-in-law. Four months later and I am still living here. I have settled into my new role quite wonderfully (still the same sort of thing I was doing previously, but in a senior position with more responsibilities) and have adjusted better than expected to being back in a long distance relationship with D. I guess the fact that we started off long distance has made the whole thing a little bit easier for us. The timing was also kinda perfect because I had recently found out that my Mum had breast cancer again (she is fine now, the mastectomy was a big success) so this allowed me more time to visit her.<br />
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I am crossing my fingers and toes that D and I will be reunited again properly soon, but for now I'm at least taking comfort in the one positive to COVID-19 which is that D flew up just before they closed the borders so that he could work from home with me. It all happened so quickly, and they almost cancelled his last minute flight, so I am feeling like fate is on our side and wanting us to be together as a family. So far the three of us have been living in self isolation for the past 7 days, only leaving the house for our daily walk around the park with the four dogs. We have been getting our groceries delivered and basically doing anything we can to avoid leaving the house. D's mother is in the 'at risk' category due to her age so we are refraining from leaving the house for anything considered non essential.<br />
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The only other big thing I really have to update you guys on is my hair. I had been planning on letting it grow out and be totally natural, and had already cut out most of the blonde that was previously in my hair (as you can see from my job interview photo), but the short blunt bob trend that has been super popular lately kept calling my name and so I finally gave in back in February and had the chop.. along with a new splash of blonde to lighten things up a bit. As much as I love it I am already dreaming about growing it back out again (always wanting what I don't have haha!) and considering we are all going to be isolated for goodness knows how long, it looks as though this may just happen. My only concern is what will happen to my fringe. I suppose I will just have to grow it out and get it trimmed again once this all blows over.<br />
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Oh, I almost forgot, I have also lost 4.5kg since the beginning of February after taking part in the F45 eight week challenge. This has actually been a huge part of my life recently and something I am so glad I took part in. I have found a new love for exercise and a whole new understanding on nutrition that I never really cared to have before. I honestly feel like a whole new person and can't wait to see where this new outlook takes me.<br />
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So tell me, what exciting things have happened to you guys in the last year and a half?</div>
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How are you guys handling the COVID-19 restrictions?</div>
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Until next time...</div>
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Felicity <span face=""quicksand" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-37080096185512723702018-11-18T18:03:00.001+10:002022-07-26T21:54:34.465+10:00Sydney Life.<div style="text-align: justify;">
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I'm not going to lie, the only reason it took me this long to write another blog post is because I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to take the photo above. You see, not only did I need to wait for us to move in, or for the dogs to arrive from Brisbane, but I also needed there not to be a car parked directly outside our front door so that we could even take the photo. We also needed the sun to be out but not so bright that we were squinting (believe me, this isn't us squinting.. you should have seen our other attempts haha!). We got there eventually though and now here I am, gracing you all with my blogging presence.<br />
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The last few months since moving down to Sydney has definitely been a mixture of highs and lows. We spent the first month living in D's old rental place which had quite bad water damage and flooded every time it rained, and it made me feel sick just to be there. As in physically sick. Fortunately I had my new job to distract me and the shitty housing situation basically forced me to get outside and explore my new surroundings.<br />
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I have to say, I've been pleasantly surprised with how quickly I've adapted to the Sydney lifestyle. I guess it helps that I'm a foodie, because I will never get bored with the endless dining options that Sydney has to offer. The suburb we live in is pretty much known by everyone as vegan food central. The next suburb over has the same reputation - so I'm pretty much set. I'm also loving how busy Sydney is. I honestly thought I'd hate it but it actually makes me feel safe. For example, I can walk by myself at night and not feel (completely) afraid. It's liberating! It also makes me feel like I'm a part of something bigger. I can't really explain why, it's just something I've noticed feeling. Probably due in part to the suburb we live in being really close to the centre of Sydney. It's only a 30 minute walk to Central train station (and my new office!) and I'm a slow walker. We also live right by the water which makes evening walks with the dogs less of a chore and more of an adventure. There actually isn't much to complain about at all now that we are in the new place.<br />
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The best part about moving though, aside from being with D, is definitely my new job. I wasn't exaggerating when I said this was my dream job. It is the perfect blend of helping others, crunching numbers and all these other little things that I enjoy doing all rolled into a flexible 9 to 5. I'd love to talk more about the role itself, and maybe one day I will, but for now I've decided to keep my work life and personal life separate. Just know that your girl is happy and thriving, and where she is meant to be!<br />
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In other news, we've set a date for the wedding! April 13th, 2019. It is our hope that the weather won't be too hot but also won't be too cold. We will be having the wedding back in Queensland to make things easier for our family and friends. I've already sorted my dress, and the venue has been booked. Now we just need to sort out the guest list and save the dates before December rolls around and life gets even more hectic than usual. We also need to plan the honeymoon. I'd honestly be happy to delay the honeymoon at this stage. Wedding planning is stressful enough without trying to organise my very first overseas holiday! We will definitely be going overseas sometime next year though. No putting it off any longer!<br />
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Anyway, I hope you all are well, especially my friends back home. I miss you guys more than you know. Queensland will always have my heart. Not even the Sydney food can keep me away for long! ;)<br />
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Until next time...</div>
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Felicity <span face="quicksand, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-39342602230650512522018-08-24T00:09:00.002+10:002022-07-26T21:55:12.313+10:00I'm Moving To Sydney - Finally!<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>As you guys will know if you've been following this blog for a while, I've been looking for a job in Sydney for close to a year now so that I can move down and live with my fiancé D. For the past eleven months I have been living in D's renovation house in Brisbane that we have been finishing off together, getting ready to rent out once I moved down. Sadly the renovations were finished a lot sooner than it took me to find a job, but it was definitely worth the wait.<br />
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For so long now I have been silently feeling like a failure for not doing something worthwhile with my career since finishing my University degree five years ago. Sure, I started my own design business, which was incredibly fulfilling for a while there.. but there really wasn't any money in the design work I was doing, and I slowly began to lose my passion after creating what felt like my thousandth cookie cutter design. So I allowed myself to fall into the comfort zone of working for my part time job at a supermarket. The pay was reasonable for the work I was doing, I had lots of friends, enjoyed being around the public and not locked up in my home office all day.. but I knew in my heart that it wasn't leading anywhere. At least not in a way that would fulfil me long term.<br />
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Then I met D. His enthusiasm for helping others and drive for success was a breath of fresh air for me. He inspired me to set my sights higher and believed in and supported me completely. I decided it was time for me to stop settling for "comfortable" and start reaching for what I actually wanted and knew I deserved. For me, this was working for the government in a role where I could help others on a deeper level. The security and benefits of a government job had always appealed to me (one of the reasons I used to want to be a teacher), but to be able to give back to others and know that I am making a real difference in the world is what I had been yearning for the most.<br />
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So I did it. I stopped dreaming, pulled my finger out, owned my shit and applied for my dream job!<br />
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It wasn't an easy feat. The application itself was similar to that of a University essay. There was online testing, an extensive interview process which involved flying down to Sydney, and a super long waiting game. Then finally, a few days before mine and D's engagement party (sorry I haven't shared a post about that but I've just been super busy recently), I received the exciting news that I had been selected for the role. I was finally on the path to where I truly wanted to be in life and I couldn't have been happier!<br />
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I finished up at my supermarket job yesterday and I start my new position in just over a week. The next few days are going to be pretty hectic with saying goodbye to everyone, moving out, cleaning up the renovation house, etc. but I really am so excited. We will be spending the next month living in D's current rental place in Sydney before we move into our new, newly renovated, terrace apartment in early October. This is the fresh start I have been waiting for for so long and I can't wait to share this new journey with you guys.<br />
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Until next time!</div>
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Felicity <span face="quicksand, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-41280333470691947332018-06-29T20:54:00.002+10:002022-07-26T21:56:16.324+10:00We're Engaged!<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It finally happened you guys! The moment I have been dreaming of ever since I was a little girl opening her first barbie doll. That's right.. my real life Ken bent down on one knee and asked me to marry him!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are honestly no words to explain how elated I feel right now. I really don't think one can prepare for such a moment. It was everything I could have hoped for and yet so much more. I always thought I would cry when I was finally proposed to, but absolutely nothing could wipe the smile off my face.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let me explain how it all went down..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Okay, so for weeks I had been planning a surprise 34th birthday party for D (or Beaver as he is lovingly nicknamed). He knew he needed to be in Brisbane for the 23rd of June (I still haven't moved to Sydney but that's for another post) but he had no idea what I was planning or where the surprise would take place. With the help of many of D's awesome friends, operation #theultimatestitchup was well under way.</span><br />
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I planned to have us leave our house around 5pm and then have our friends Rachael and Aaron come over to set up the party. I had most of the decorations ready in a cupboard in one of the spare rooms, gave our friend Suzie the cake to look after, asked everyone to bring a plate of food, and borrowed a friends palaroid style camera so that we could have a photobooth. D's best friend Adam also made us a cool personalised frame to use as a photobooth prop. Everything was going off without a hitch. Adam even messaged me on the day saying he had made some extra signs for the party.. little did I know that these signs were all D's doing and had a special message waiting to unfold for me inside.</div>
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Fast forward to the evening.. we left the house at 5pm as planned and poor Aaron and Rachael had to clean up after D as I knew that if I ran around tidying up last second that D would be suspicious. We arrived at his brothers house for "pre drinks" at 5.30 and since I'd made D pack a bag earlier that afternoon it seemed like we would be going into the city. In reality we were going straight back to our house.. but not without me taking the longest and most obscure route possible. I may have blindfolded D and made him a little motion sick, but it was totally worth it. It all nearly went off perfectly too until we arrived back to the neighbourhood dogs barking their heads off haha. Fortunately our friend Aaron had the bright idea of creating a little footbridge to our front door which completely threw D off.</div>
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Needless to say D was surprised and much to my pleasure the party was a hit. I honestly couldn't have been happier with how the night was going.. that was until D decided he was going to do a speech thanking everyone for coming, which just so happened to turn into him proposing! Mid way through his speech he thanked me and turned me around to kiss me, and while this was happening I heard what sounded like fireworks behind me. When I turned around to see what was happening his friends had pulled down those last minute "Happy 34th Birthday" banners that Adam had made and put up for me earlier, and inside was printed "Will You Marry Me". I couldn't believe it. He completely turned the surprise back onto me! Absolute best moment of my entire life. :)</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>Now for the fun part of organising the engagement party, wedding planning, etc. Planning is not my forte, despite how well the party turned out, so hopefully everything is relatively smooth sailing for us for the next 12 months. We're already thinking about locations and have a date in mind. I'm even viewing my first wedding dress tomorrow which I'm super excited about!<br />
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Thank you to everyone who saw the proposal video on instagram (check it out <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BkcZ9GzhPS9/?taken-by=pursuitoffelicity" target="_blank">here</a> if you missed it) and sent us your congratulations. It means the world to us to have you guys supporting us!<br />
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Much love!</div>
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Felicity <span face="quicksand, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-51766431447107383962018-01-20T16:24:00.001+10:002022-07-26T21:56:59.711+10:00Life Update.<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Where do I even begin.. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">been almost 6 months since my last blog post and so much has happened since then.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The last time I sat down to write a post I was living with my flatmate and her toddler. Shortly after writing that post we changed internet providers, and long story short, things kept going wrong and we ended up without the internet for a good few months. Without the internet I pretty much stopped using my computer completely. I had my phone for my daily social media apps, but blogging took a backseat as there was no way I was going to attempt to jot out a blog post on my phone.</span><br />
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During this time things came to an end with the guy I had been seeing, May through July. This was hard for me at the time as he was the first person I had allowed myself to be in a "relationship" with since leaving my long term partner the previous year. It was an absolute blessing in disguise though as it opened me up to meeting D, pictured above, who I have been dating for the past 5 months now. Basically my flatmate encouraged me to get back on the online dating apps and find myself a "distraction". At this point a distraction was the most I could hope for. I had essentially given up on finding love at that point in time. Lucky for me, the universe had other plans, and D burst into my life and my heart before I even knew what had happened.<br />
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There really are no words to describe the connection I have with D. Meeting him was like finding a missing part of me that I wasn't aware was missing. I knew he was the one for me before we even met in person. We'd talk on the phone for hours on end and it was like talking to a best friend I had known my entire life. We'd already decided that if there was no chemistry when we met that we would still be friends because of how much we had in common (same nicknames, same starsign, had the same breed of dogs, studied the same thing out of high school, had both been graphic designers in the past - the list goes on). Fortunately chemistry wasn't an issue and we were instantly drawn to each other. There was no awkwardness or having to get to know each others bodies/minds and ways of doing things, we just meshed together perfectly.<br />
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Things moved very quickly with D, and two days after we'd met he asked me to be his girlfriend. There was no messing about with this guy. He knew what he wanted and he didn't hold back. This was such a turn on for me and solidified in my mind that he was just the guy I had been looking for. Things weren't completely smooth sailing though, at least not logistically. It turned out that although D owned his own home in Brisbane, he was actually working and living in Sydney. We decided early on that the most important thing was for us to be together, and so me moving to Sydney quickly became our goal. In order for this to happen D decided he needed to finish off the renovations on his Brisbane home as quickly as possible so that he could rent it out and save some money, making it easier once I'd move down. This meant that D would fly back up to Brisbane almost every weekend, which made the long distance thing a million times easier. Despite this, to make things even easier, we quickly decided that I should move into his reno house so that there was less mucking about when he'd come up to work on the house. This was perfect for me as his house is virtually around the corner from my work, whereas my previous living quarters was a 40 minute drive away. His house also had a huge backyard for my dogs and so much more space and privacy. Things just seemed to be working for us, and they have been continuing to.<br />
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Fast forward to today and D and I are stronger than ever. The reno house is pretty much finished, and hopefully soon I will be moving down to Sydney. All I need to do now is find myself a new job down in Sydney. The rest will figure itself out. The universe is on our side. :)<br />
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So tell me.. what have you guys been up to? I'm almost certain that nobody reads this blog anymore, but just in case I'd love to know what has been going on in everyone's lives!<br />
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Until next time..</div>
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Felicity <span face=""quicksand" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-84840784814593142922017-07-28T16:34:00.005+10:002020-03-29T16:05:12.108+10:00Vegan Macaroni Cheese.<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Something I had been craving for the longest time since going vegan was a really decent Macaroni Cheese. I had tried a few different recipes when I first went vegan involving potatoes and carrots and things like that but they were never on the same level (and some plain tasted foul!). It wasn't until recently through simply playing around with another favourite recipe of mine that I found the perfect vegan Macaroni Cheese! My housemate is a cook who only gives honest feedback, and she absolutely adored this recipe, so I feel safe sharing it with you guys. Also, whilst my opinion may be biased, I am genuinely in love with this recipe and if cashews weren't so damn expensive I would make this every night. Enjoy!<br />
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250 grams macaroni pasta shells<br />
1 cup cashews<br />
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1 tsp onion powder</div>
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1 tsp garlic powder</div>
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Salt + pepper</div>
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1-2 tbsp nutritional yeast (the more the cheesier!)</div>
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1/2 cup soymilk (I used vitasoy's soy milky because it is the best!)</div>
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Handful of your favourite vegan cheese (not necessary though)</div>
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Sundried tomatoes</div>
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1. Cover the cashews with water and soak in the fridge overnight. Alternatively, boil in a saucepan for 15 mins.<br />
2. Pop your macaroni shells on to boil and cook until al dente.<br />
3. <span style="text-align: justify;">Drain cashews and place in blender. Add soy milk, onion powder, garlic powder, nutritional yeast and salt and pepper. Blend.</span><br />
4. <span style="text-align: justify;">Drain macaroni and put into baking dish. Stir through the sauce, adding your vegan cheese of choice (or not, you don't need to!) and sundried tomatoes as you stir. Sprinkle with pepper.</span><br />
5. <span style="text-align: justify;">Cook in the oven until the top starts to brown and the cheese starts to melt. You'll need to keep an eye on it because cooking time and temperature depends on the oven and the depth of the baking dish.</span><br />
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<i>Serves 4.</i></div>
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Felicity <span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: quicksand, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-1470734578614717262017-07-16T09:08:00.000+10:002020-03-29T16:05:40.221+10:00It's been a year.<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, just over a year anyway. Just over a year since I made the biggest decision of my life and ended my long term relationship of almost eight years. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It feels like a lifetime ago to me now. So much has changed in the past </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">twelve months. Some positive, some negative, but mostly positive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now while I'm not normally one to dwell on the past, I do like to learn from it, and if I can share what I have learned in order to help other people then why the hell not? If I can give even just one person in the same position that I was in this time last year some peace of mind that things will get better, then I feel like writing this post is worth it. I've decided to write this post in a Q & A style, answering the questions that I myself was asking shortly after the break up. I know that the answers other people gave helped me, so hopefully my answers will help someone else too.</span><br />
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<b>Q:</b> <i>Will I ever love again?</i><br />
<b>A:</b> Yes. Of course. It may not feel like it in the first few months after breaking up, but once you make the leap into this sea of other fish that everyone keeps talking about, you will quickly be swept up in the excitement of a fresh start and being seen with a fresh pair of eyes. Even if you don't fall in love again straight away, by putting yourself out there you will meet people who reawaken your soul and help you to see the beauty inside yourself that you had long forgotten about. You will feel so many emotions that you had forgotten even existed. Pretty soon one of these emotions will be love. And it will be magical.<br />
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<b>Q:</b> <i>Will finding a new relationship be difficult?</i><br />
<b>A:</b> Short answer, yes. You will probably date a bunch of different people, likely in quick succession, trying to find the one who is worth your time. After investing eight years of your life into someone who just wasn't as invested as you, you will undoubtedly become very fickle and not want to settle down unless you find someone who is ultimately worth the risk of potentially losing another huge chunk of your life to. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though. You will learn a lot about yourself very quickly. You will also learn a lot about other people and be immersed in a bunch of different, exciting situations that you never would have been in otherwise. Even once you find someone to settle down with though, things will still be difficult. Issues from your past relationship may rise to the surface, causing insecurities and doubts and unfortunately comparison. It is how you choose to react to these issues that will make things difficult or not. I've found that by simply sitting quietly with these issues to reflect and learn from them, you can turn these into a positive.<br />
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<b>Q:</b> <i>What is the hardest thing about starting a new relationship from scratch?</i><br />
<b>A:</b> The hardest thing I've found with starting a new relationship is breaking old habits. Going from living with someone and being in their pocket everyday to only seeing someone 2-3 times a week has been a real challenge for me. I find myself coming across as clingy because, let's face it, when you're falling in love with someone all you want to do is spend time with them, never mind adding the habit of being with someone everyday to the mix. I've learned to embrace the fresh start though, and now I find our time apart to be just as important as our time together, as it gives us the chance to miss each other as well as focus on our individual goals - giving us something to talk about when we are together again. Something else I've found hard is having to wait for things that you were already used to having. Like a relationship with your partners family. Knowing their childhood secrets. Learning their deepest fears and their biggest goals. These are all things you have to look forward to though, so if you think about it like this it can really only be a positive.<br />
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<b>Q:</b> <i>What if things don't work out?</i><br />
<b>A:</b> Then come back to this post. If there's one thing I've learned it's that there are no guarantees in life. There are only lessons to be made, connections to be formed, and feelings to be felt. If it feels good in the moment and benefits your emotional happiness in the present, this all you can really ask for in life. If things change, react accordingly. Do what feels right for you. It's never too late for a second chance.<br />
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I wish you guys all the luck in life in love!</div>
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Felicity <span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: quicksand, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-52155391961256197212017-04-27T22:10:00.003+10:002022-07-26T21:58:19.688+10:00I've finally moved out!<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hey guys! Sorry I've been absent. For once I actually have a good excuse though, and that's that I've been busy moving out and settling into my much awaited new place! </span>I ended up moving into a small two bedroom duplex with a lovely lady named J and her toddler who also just happen to be vegan! Talk about a match made in heaven. :)<br />
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As this place was originally J's I literally only needed to move in my bedroom items, so I'm still storing a bunch of stuff at Mum's place which I am hugely grateful for. I did manage to squeeze quite a lot into my new bedroom though without too much overcrowding, as you can see from the photo above. How gorgeous is my colour scheme by the way? I am so happy with it. Mostly white with pops of dusty pink, purple and copper/gold. My room has such a cosy vibe, perfect for the winter months we're about to head into.<br />
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Aside from the move there isn't much new to share with you guys. I'm currently looking into my next move career and hobby wise. Any ideas? In terms of my career, any job that allows me to help others without me having to bring my work home with me is a great place to start. I'm honestly not that fussy. I'm much more focused on enjoying life than having some fancy career to look back on when I'm dead.<br />
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So what's new with you guys? Does anybody even read these posts anymore?<br />
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Felicity <span face="quicksand, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-46599845978626018792016-12-11T23:18:00.001+10:002022-07-26T21:59:05.117+10:00Brisbane Vegan Markets.<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the best things about being back in Brisbane is all of the awesome vegan events that keep popping up all over the place. So far I've been to a Sea Shepherd event at Southbank, Eco Fest on the Gold Coast, and then today I went to the Brisbane Vegan Markets in West End. Whilst the markets weren't as exciting as the first two events (Eco Fest was by far my fave! I had such a great day) the food options were beyond amazing. From mac and cheese, to "chicken" drumsticks, to custard tarts, there was something there for everyone. Sometimes I wish I had a second stomach just for these events - I always leave disappointed that I couldn't try everything.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Icecream made with liquid nitrogen</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vegan "chicken" drumsticks and nuggets</td></tr>
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As much as I wish I had my Townsville vegan tribe here to enjoy these events with me, I am lucky enough to have found myself some lovely new vego babes to share in all the awesomeness. B (pictured below) couldn't get over the fact that we weren't actually eating real chicken. It's pretty incredible how closely we can imitate real meat these days.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The rest of the markets, food aside, were pretty good as well. I wish they'd had a few more stalls though. I really wanted to buy one of the dainty pendant necklaces pictured below but with Christmas coming up I decided I should probably save my money. Definitely purchasing one of these in future though. First I just need to decide between the banana, avocado and watermelon design. They were all too pretty!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After the markets we spent the rest of the afternoon bumming around Southbank. It was such a nice day for it. Although I do miss the chilled atmosphere of Townsville, there's definitely something to be said for city living. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">If it wasn't for my dogs I would totally consider moving even closer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's funny, actually, how I never appreciated Brisbane for what it had to offer when I lived down this way previously. I was always so daunted by the idea of catching public transport in or trying to find a park that nine times out of ten I'd just give up on going in completely. Oh well, better late than never they say!</span><br />
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Felicity <span face="quicksand, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605553427854936810.post-67617548258700768142016-12-10T23:56:00.002+10:002020-03-29T16:08:19.444+10:00Here's to New Beginnings!<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After well over a month without access to a computer after my old computer decided it was time retire to computer heaven, the one thing I really missed the most was the freedom to just sit down and type out my feelings on this little old blog of mine. Now that I am back in the blogging business though I'm finding it oddly difficult to pick a topic to talk about. You see, during my hiatus I had plenty of time to go back over my old and incredibly cringe worthy blog posts, and looking back I feel as though I was painting a false reality and not being as honest with my readers (or myself) as I could have been. So going forward I feel as though I owe it to myself to pick up my game when it comes to telling my story. The last thing I want is to look back on this blog another five years from now and be just as bored reading it as I found myself recently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">With that being said, here's to new beginnings - both in life and blogging. It's good to be back!</span><br />
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Felicity <span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: quicksand, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">♡</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.pursuitoffelicity.com">www.pursuitoffelicity.com</a></div>Felicity // Pursuit of Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15216398392848509394noreply@blogger.com2