Hola Buenos Aires! – South America Part 1

3 Comments October 1, 2017 Lennae Stubbs

The Obelisk, Buenos Aires.

Hola my friends, how are you all? I hope all is well! I have been a little delayed with getting back to my world of blogging, but am now back to catch up and fill you in on all my on goings!

I have loads to catch up on and fill you all in on. The most important thing I want to share with you all now, is my awesome adventure to South America!

As some of you may know travelling to South America has been a goal of my ever since I became unwell with ME/CFS. The fact that I was able to get to this point and visit was huge!!! I will be writing about my adventure over a few posts, so let’s get started and onto the good stuff……

After a 12 hour flight, from Sydney to Santiago, then a 3 hour delay at the Santiago airport and getting to know it (spoiler alert it’s not that big), then our connecting flight of 2 hours to Buenos Aires, Argentina. We had finally arrived at our Destination! Welcome to BUENOS AIRES BABY!

Feeling very tired, foggy minded and only just managing to keep our eyes open, we jumped into a taxi and headed to our hotel in downtown Buenos Aires. The drive was an experience, but we were yet to learn that was nothing compared to the Bolivian drivers in La Paz.

Luckily, we arrived during the evening, so as soon as we arrived at our hotel it was heads to pillows. Due to travelling through 12 time zones in the opposite direction, our body clocks were all over the place, this lead to a lot of ridiculous early rises over the next few days.

The weather was mostly wet and rainy and it was the middle of Winter. Thankfully we invested in some waterproof windbreakers and made good use of them, by hitting the city and exploring the streets of Buenos Aires.

Some of the attractions and areas we explored were;

The colourful suburb of La Boca, worth a visit to enjoy the atmosphere and markets. If you’re a football fan this is definitely the place for you with this suburb being the home ground to the famous Boca Juniors.

Plaza de Mayo, the government square, usually there are protest’s etc. It appeared we had missed the on going’s, however when we visited, the riot squad were still lingering around.

La Recoleta Cemetery, the famous cemetery where the rich and famous are buried. This cemetery is located in the suburb of Recoleta, it is a lovely suburb to visit and looks a lot like New York city in the movies. The tombstones at the cemetery are out of this world!

Palacio Barolo, it has beautiful views of the city. It has a lighthouse on top of the building that is worth climbing up the tiny staircase and into as the city views are amazing. During this visit we enjoyed a tour of the building and this is where I started to really learn about the Spanish and their inquisition.

Puente de la Mujer Bridge, enjoy a walk along the river set among some lovely restaurants.

Avenida 9 de Julio, the widest avenue in the world. The road has 7 lanes running on each side, whilst also having trams and buses run through the middle.

El Ateneo Grand Splendid, the beautiful book shop that once was a theatre. Having lunch at the cafe on stage was a lovely treat, while admiring the beautiful store.

Floralis Generica and the Obelisk are also must see attractions.

One of my favourite things about Buenos Aires was the cafe culture. I don’t usually drink coffee, but I found myself indulging in coffee and enjoying the cafe culture the city bought. I have heard people say Buenos Aires is the Europe of South America and I can now see why.

Buenos Aires, you were a real treat, you were friendly and chilled out, you were patient with us while we struggled with our Spanish! You were the best start for the beginning of our South American adventure. You also introduced us to Dulce de leche aka caramel sauce (which goes on everything), Maté Tea aka yerba and proved that Argentinians know how to do amazing Steaks.

Until next time, Adiós Buenos Aires and Adiós my friends! I need to get writing about the next part of my South American adventure!

Ps: Here’s a couple of snaps below.

Lennae xxx

La Boca.

Puente De La Mujer

El Ateneo Grand Splendid.

Plaza de mayo.

View from the top of Palacio Barolo.

Goal kicking 4 years on!

3 Comments July 3, 2017 Lennae Stubbs

Photo by Farid Askerov on Unsplash

It occurred to me that I’ve just hit my ME/CFS anniversary and I think it’s safe to say that I’ve kicked it to the curb! This past year has been filled with a bit of goal kicking and it’s not stopping anytime soon! Yeooow!!!

Four years ago, I can still vividly remember how my health went downhill fast. The first year was the hardest, I barely had wins and as much as I tried to keep positive it was hard. I held onto goals and put up pictures of things that symbolised my goals. I convinced myself that I would achieve these goals one day…….even though at the time, it seemed hard to believe. I held onto the idea and kept it for when I needed it the most.

Finally, I have achieved a number of these goals. I am extremely proud, to say four years on I am celebrating and smashing my goals! The hard work has paid off and most of all, the illness is no longer ruling my world.

A huge victory is that I am heading to South America in a few days, yep you heard right!!! It’s literally days away. South America became a long-term goal of mine when I become unwell. Most of my close family and friends know this and probably got sick of me saying one day I’m going to go when I get better! Haha well that day has finally arrived and I am pinching myself! I really can’t believe it has arrived.

It is very random how it all came about, it happened to be in my very early days of my illness. At the time, the doctors still didn’t know what was wrong with me. I was trying to keep positive throughout the whole ordeal and I decided to make an inspiration board of what I was going to do or work towards when I got well enough. The picture of Machu Picchu came to me, I had no desire to visit it before. But that image of Machu Picchu stuck with me and I thought to myself ” I’m going, when I’m well enough.”

And it’s been with me ever since.

City2surf is another big thing that I have been working towards, which I’m excitedly fit enough for. City2surf is happening in August which I am excited to be competing in the event and I have also been fundraising for it. The charity I have chosen to fundraise for is emerge, they are an Australian based charity that dedicates themselves to raising awareness and funds to research for ME/CFS.

Returning to work and working like a normal person would, was another big goal. DONE! This also includes other living “like a normal person” life goals again. DONE!

My next ass kicking goal will be a tough one and means heading back to school! Bring it on!

It’s not until you lose something, that really puts things and life into prospective for you.

Any way my friends it’s time for me to love and leave you, I need to go pack!

Can’t wait to tell you all about my South American adventure.

Much love

Lennae xxx

Photo by Abraham Osorio on Unsplash

Walk for ME!

22 Comments May 2, 2017 Lennae Stubbs

Taking in the view.

Hello beautiful readers, I hope you’re all well!

Can you believe it’s May already? Where has the year gone?!

As some of you might be aware for a few years now I have been suffering with ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). My health is a lot better now and my days with ME/CFS feel like more of a distant memory, however May 12th is International awareness day. As we are approaching awareness day pretty quickly, I want to put it out there that I will be dedicating a huge goal of mine to raising awareness and fundraising for ME/CFS.

Back in 2012 I participated in City2Surf for the first time ever, l had a fantastic time and was eager to participate in the following years event. Unfortunately that year I became unwell with ME/CFS and haven’t been able to enter since.

Well friends, I’m extremely excited to announce that this year is the year, that I will be taking on this goal! Exciting isn’t it! It’s been worth the wait! I have always vowed to myself that, when the day arrived I would dedicate/ fundraise my race to the Emerge charity to help fundraise for ME/CFS.

If you’re not familiar with City2Surf, let me tell you a little about it. It is a 14 km race from the Sydney CBD out to the famous Bondi beach. The event is held in August and usually attracts more than around 80,000 people, making it one the largest runs of its kind in the world. It is a fun but challenging event that is suitable for most people with a bit of a fitness level, whether you are entering for the competitive race or just for fun, dressing up is always optional. You can find all types of entertainment along the race, it truly is a fun morning out.

I am super thrilled to be entering this year, this has been something I have had my heart set on doing for a few years now. I have built up my strength day by day from being bed ridden to where I am today.

I have meet many wonderful people online, world wide who suffer with this illness. They have all helped make what was a very difficult journey a much happier and brighter one. This one’s for you team!!!

I have started an everyday hero page through the City2Surf website, this page is where you can join me on my journey. You can view my training that I will load up a couple of times a week, with my number one trainer Snowy. I will also keep you posted on my Instagram, but for my everyday hero page click here. I would love for you all to pop over to my page, share it, donate or just say hi, Snowy and I would love the encouragement!

Much love

Lennae xxx

City2Surf 2012.

Wrapping up 2016 and Bringing on 2017!

26 Comments January 10, 2017 Lennae Stubbs

Photo credit @a.m_banks- Instagram

Welcome to 2017….. Where on earth did 2016 go!!!

I know I’m a little late to the party, but I can’t help myself I love wrapping up a year that’s passed and looking forward to the beginnings of a year ahead! I don’t know about you guys, but a new year just brings a whole lot of exciting and endless possibilities!!!

Although I can’t say I have completely recovered from ME/CFS (Myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome) I am more functional and active than what I have been in a long time. 2016 was a good year for me, my health turned it up a notch and showed me that my days with ME/CFS are becoming more like it was all just a bad dream.

Throughout 2016 I did have a few issues with my health, but they ended up not being ME/CFS related. How good is that!
2016 showed me a normal and active life, that I am more than welcoming back. I was able to work my way up to working 15 hours a week and maintain that. I will increase the hours more at some stage, but right now I am happily enjoying this work life balance. I also enjoyed a bit of travelling, going interstate, as well as heading over to Singapore off on a cruise. I remember feeling on the cruise like I wasn’t a sick person (how amazing is that). I was also studying some of last year, however I did have to place my studies on hold. I hope to continue them at some stage, possibly in a years time. Putting my studies on hold allowed me time to complete my main goal of returning to work and also allowed me to focus more on my fitness. Which Snowy and I have been loving!

Anyway enough about 2016, we are now in 2017!!!

Whoohoo, bring it on!!!

This year one of my main goals that I will achieve, is dedicated to when I first became unwell. When I first became unwell in 2013, I could barely move. At the time all I could do was lay in bed or on the couch. I did a lot of soul searching and googling online about ME/CFS and came across mostly negative stories. This did not help my frame of mind, I needed something positive. I had no idea when I would get better or how long it would take. However I needed something to look forward to. I decided to make a vision board, it was something I hung on my wall, where I looked every day and helped when I wasn’t feeling the best (which at that stage was everyday). My vision board consisted of destinations that I wanted to visit and stuff that I wanted to be doing once I finally started to get better. The one thing that stuck out to me however was Machu Picchu. I have no idea why, it just did. I decided when I was finally well enough and able too I would go there someday. Thankfully my beautiful friends I am well enough to get my butt over to that amazing place and show ME/CFS who the boss is now!!!

To some it may not seem like a big deal, but to someone that has been suffering with a chronic illness it means having your life back. Suffering from a chronic illness is hard work, but recovering from one is even harder. Achieving your goals is rewarding, here’s to a year full of achieving your goals and setting new ones.

Have a happy 2017 my friends! I hope you all have a fantastic year ahead, sending lots of love, hugs, spoons and positive vibes your way.

Lennae xxx

Photo credit @a.m_banks- instagram

New day, new year, new GOALS!

5 Comments December 31, 2015 Lennae Stubbs

Credit @abanksy1 Instagram

New day, new year, new beginnings.

At the end of every year we look back and reflect on what we have and haven’t achieved and what we have and haven’t done. We then go ahead and set more or less the same goals, plus a few more and bigger ones.

I’m allowed to dream, but sometimes I find I set myself up to fail with all this goal setting!

Since I’ve been living with my Chronic fatigue, I’ve learned to do things differently with my hopes and dreams. I’ve always had high expectations of myself and it can be extremely frustrating when I want something so bad, but can’t get there due to circumstances out of my control. That’s why I feel that it’s important to re-assess where you’re at regularly. Your circumstances are always changing, it’s important to factor them all in.

I want to share with you all a few of my tips that I have found to be quite useful;

Write your goals down. All of them…… Big goals, small goals, short- term, mid- term and long- term goals. Write them all down, tell the world and get them out there. Writing your goals down gives a sense of organisation, we want to make this happen! These goals are going to be my b****!!!

Regularly review your goals. To track your progress you need to regularly review your goals. Do you need to re-assess any of them at all? You may need to re-evaluate your goals, are you being realistic? Or are you exceeding your exceptions. Its ok you will get there, it may take more time. Only time can tell.

Try new ways to achieve your goals. Some goals need a time-frame while others do not. Try different tactics and try looking at your goals a little differently. Think outside the square. Be realistic and don’t be too hard on yourself.

Focus on one goal at a time. It can get a little overwhelming if you try and attempt all you goals at once. Focus and prioritise your energy on one thing at a time. It will all fall into place with patience and persistence.

Create a vision board of your goals. If you’re a visual person cutting out pictures and making a board can help you visualise your goals. Keep your board somewhere where you can see it daily. Or put pictures up around your home, preferably rooms you use regularly. The pictures become small daily reminders of your goals.

Enjoy the journey. The Journey is where you put in all your energy and hard work, enjoy it. Achieving your goal will bring you a sense fulfillment and achievement, however the journey you have traveled always brings a sense of pride and relief when reflecting on what has been achieved.

Remember, tomorrow brings a new day to try and start again. It’s not easy, but you can always start again. “Try and fail, but don’t fail to try”.

Happy new year my beautiful readers, I thank you all for all your love and support! I wish you all an amazing 2016!

Much love

Lennae xxx

Credit @abanksy1 Instagram

Hello Health & Hello 2015!

8 Comments January 12, 2015 Lennae Stubbs

Hello lovelies! I hope your all well and enjoying this fabulous year of 2015 that is now upon us!
It has been a while since I have posted any updates… brace yourselves, here it all is.

It’s been pretty smooth sailing for me, Ive actually turned up a gear since November and I keep on going up at the moment.
Which is fantastic!
I have had a bit on as well and have managed it all quite well!

Whoohoo!

Much of November I spent buckled down studying hard for my exams. I had started attending Yoga classes which was really exciting and managed over half of the class! Snow bear has been getting regular walks by me and not 10 minute walks either I’m talking 20 – 40 minute walks! I completed and passed all of my assignments, but I had a lot of study to catch up on. A plan was also set and put into place for me to return back to work in January. I know scary stuff right?

Exams were over by the beginning of December and unfortunately I didn’t pass them. I was a bit upset but reminded myself that I had done really well considering my situation. The day of my last exam my lovely in-laws arrived over from New Zealand. It was 10 days of being out and about with them! We stayed up in Sydney and hit the shopping malls, my step counter was getting a real workout! I can’t believe it but I smashed out over 13,000 steps in one day! I had a few rest days in between going out, shopping and being out and about. I was able to re-sit my exams in-between my in-laws leaving and going down the coast on holiday with the family. I successfully passed my exams! Whoohoo, time to relax!

Our holiday with the family down the South Coast was lovely. Christmas was spent down there and it couldn’t have been any more relaxing. Most of our time was spent swimming, walking the dogs, kayaking, paddle boarding, a tad of shopping and relaxing. After our holiday I had a well-rested week back at home, with a few day trips as well as spending some down time at the beach. I bought the New year in with my good friend Laura & darling husband Cameron. We spent it down at the beach watching the fireworks! I must admit that I was pretty excited to bring in the New Year. I’m excited to see what lies ahead in the year for me, it can only keep on getting better!

I have re-enrolled to study and am currently enjoying my holiday from it. I’ve got lots of excitement in the next few weeks ahead, I’m starting back at work, heading up to Byron bay on a plane!! Whoohoo! As well as celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary, plus Cameron & I both have our birthdays coming up!

So there’s lots to celebrate and look forward in Lennae’s world! I have lots of exciting plans and goals for the year ahead. I hope you all have a fantastic year and are excited about 2015 as much as I am!

Lennae
xxx