Day 9 and 10 - Back to Perth

Although my last morning at home started off with a few hours of research results writing i took myself to the pool to get some good exercise in away from running. I went past the busy netball courts and had a hint of nostalgia remembering the good Saturday mornings of school netball, i think that deserves a post of its own sometime soon! Then getting to the pool seeing swimming club training reminded me of those days especially in the old outdoor pool and doing whirl pools with everyone... good memories :)

Paddling along looking at that black line on the bottom i realised why i like swimming so much, you don't have to be good at it to get the closest feeling i flying i think you can get while not actually in the air. Cutting through the water seeing yourself and those around you 'floating' over a land known as the pool floor... you would rather be floating over it too with the used band-aids and little treasures you can often find :P I love the feeling of using almost every muscle to pull yourself through and pushing off the wall feeling the water rush beside you :) I was quite happy i didn't get sore after the swimming, my weights must be paying off for my arm strength! And i successfully swam 2.4km with 1km of 25m sprints/25m recovery, 400m breaststroke and some board kicks.

At Lali's 21st :)

Then after a trip to the shops for some gifts it was time to head back to Perth. We went to Lali's 21st (from Medicine) at the Grey door/Claremont Hotel which looked a little dodgy going through an alleyway around some bins and through a 'grey door' so named, but the room itself was nice once inside :) Although it was nice to see a lot of people i just wasn't feeling the social mood and felt deflated every time people talked about their week off considering i felt like mine was a little bit of a flop. Kyle was a bit under the weather that night too so i was glad to go for a little walk outside with him and we ended up sitting at Koko-black for a hot drink. I value any time i have with Kyle and after feeling like a failed girlfriend and not being able to make it to see him over the week off i was so glad just to spend time with him. We went back to the party for the speeches which were really really good, Lali is such a lovely person and her speeches did her justice :) I was also very proud of myself as i didn't have a cupcake at Lali's that night, but i think feeling a little unwell i wouldn't have had one anyway!

Sunday i woke up feeling off again and couldn't even bring myself to enjoy my time at the gym but still managed a pump class and bit of a ride. I was so thankful to be feeling better as the day went on though! Em and i finished and sent off our results section (hooray!!) Then after lunch i had a really nice arvo at Kyle's and he made protein pancakes!! They are so tasty and good for you too, i could eat them all the time :P

Then i headed over to Lexi's (after a detour through unwanted streets again) and we had a lovely night cooking dhal for the first time which turned out well! I love Lexi's bread she makes too with chilli and garlic it was perfect with the dhal! It was so nice to chat and have a little catch up through her study and exams too, i love our dinner nights and was so excited when her puppy Tilly and other Dachsund Bella came up to greet me and played with me too!!! Maybe they do remember me? :) Here is the recipe for our dhal...

Lentil Dhal

• 1 cup (210g) red lentils, rinsed well
• 1 eggplant
• 3cm fresh ginger, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 ripe tomato diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garam marsala
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• 1/2-1 tsp salt
• 
  
• Method

1. Place lentils, ginger, eggplant and cinnamon in a large saucepan with 3 cups of cold water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring to prevent sticking for 10-12 minutes. Discard spices and set aside.
2. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan over a medium high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato, garlic, turmeric, cumin, garam marsala and chilli flakes and cook for a further minute or until fragrant. Stir in the lemon juice and season to taste with salt.
3. Add the lentils to the pan and mix well. Cook for a further 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Serve hot with naan bread or pappadums.

Emma and I also had a busy Sunday between our outings switching rooms for our half way through the year swap. I had the big room (with a large bed and balcony) for the first half and now have moved into the smaller room. It was actually so good to be back into a smaller bed and room! I don't know why, i think i never feel snug in a large bed and get so cold and don't like sleeping in big open spaces, em also left her extra padding on the hard trinity beds and it was the comfiest i have ever been on a trinity bed in all my 3 and a half years here!! How did i not have some myself before.... I will upload a photo of my new room and the Dhal soon but my computer is being a little temperamental and not recognizing the SD card.