Yesterday was our 9th wedding anniversary - 10 years since the day we met. We had a low-key celebration this time around....just fish'n'chips for dinner at the Lake with the kids. I can't believe it is 9 years since we said "I do" and 10 years since the day I first laid eyes on my soul mate. He has brought me so much joy in our first decade together. He supports me through the tough times, and with my health over the last few years, there have definitely been tough times. I am so incredibly lucky to have him as my life partner. Happy Anniversary Dan. I love you with all my heart. xxx
Simple things are sometimes the most fun. The boys have been occupied for well over an hour building card pyramids with the Uno cards. While it can be super frustrating, the exhilaration of constructing a house of cards is awesome. Of course I had to take some photos......
I sometimes feel like I've fallen off the wagon in my attempts at living a simpler life. My stint of regular meal planning and shopping and sticking to a housekeeping routine - which worked brilliantly - was brought to a halt by my hernia surgery and fibromyalgia fluctuations. Then it was the Christmas build-up, all the end of year school activities, kids sports etc. etc. You know how it is......one minute you're OK and the next your home is chaos, you're eating too much takeaway food and it seems like too big a chore to get everything back under control.
Of course I'm always so hard on myself when things go pear shaped! I beat myself up no end and feel like a bit of a failure as a home-maker.
But I sit back, after looking around my chaotic house, and I've decided to focus on how far I've actually come. I'm going to cut myself a little slack :)
In the last twelve months : I've established a healthy vegetable garden and I've learned an incredible amount about growing our own food; I've made many hand-crafted gifts, and all my own greeting cards; I've re-learnt how to knit and I've taught myself how to crochet; I've made my first couple of clothing items and built upon my basic sewing skills. Along with all these new skills, I've learned the benefits of thrifting, repurposing, repairing and recycling and most importantly I've gained a better understanding of my health and what it takes to manage it.
This list makes me proud and reaffirms my committment to a simpler lifestyle. While these achievements may seem trivial to those still living busy, frantic, consumerist lives, to me (and to my family) they are worthwhile accomplishments. They give us a better quality of life.
I know there are lots of areas to improve on, but that's ok. You never stop learning and growing. I'll never have it all perfectly managed, but I can make to journey more meaningful, less stressful and more satisfying by my efforts to simplify.
Of course I will work on re-establishing the menu-planning and housekeeping routines that have worked so well in the past, although possibly not properly until the kids go back to school in a couple of weeks. It is so much easier to get into a rhythm when everyone is back into their usual routine.
Baby steps.....two steps forward, one step back, but making progress and enjoing life.
Nah, just slacking off in the holidays. Have been enjoying hanging out with the family on Danny's last week of holidays. Next week it is just the kids and I. We are doing "fast-track" swimming lessons and hopefully we can have a playdate or two with some of their friends. I'm sure we'll find plenty to keep us occupied. We'll miss having Danny around every day though. I'm sure he doesn't want to get back to work....he seems to have had a good, restful break and is hopefully feeling refreshed and ready to get back into the work routine.
We've been playing board games and card games together, gardening, reading, watching tennis, playing lego, walking the dog and just "being" together. It's been a great four weeks.
Here's a few pics from the last week:
Playing......
Growing............
Eating...........
Just being together and having fun......
I'll be back soon with more of what I've been pondering in this restful time. Take care and come and visit again soon. Love Anita. xxx
11.35 am and it is already 36.3 degrees here. Yep, it's a stinker by anyone's definition.
Just popped outside to check how the garden is coping. We were up watering with tank water and Bokashi juice (the product of my new Bokashi Bucket - thanks Mum & Dad) nice and early this morning. We also put up a screen of shadecloth in front of the tomatoes as we had several of the green tomatoes suffer "sunburn" on the last few hot days.
Hopefully they will be a little bit protected behind the shadecloth.
I noticed the leaves on the zucchini are HUGE - they will hopefully protect the flowers and baby zucchini forming underneath them.
As for us, we are hiding inside with the cooling pumped up. We have a couple of DVDs to keep the kids occupied and the fridge is stocked.
It's chicken and salad for dinner tonight. I'm not turning on the stove today. Maybe I'd
better duck out to the garden and pick a lettuce and some other salad goodies now,
before they all wilt and/or fry.
Incidentally, we have new neighbours moving in today....what a day to move into a new house. Poor things! Think we might save the introductions and pleasantries for another day.
Hope everyone in Victoria and South Australia is coping with the heat as best they can today. Stay cool! Love Anita. xxx
It's going to be a scorcher here tomorrow. The latest forecast I saw said 43 degrees, but I have heard reports that they're predicting 45! I don't generally mind the heat. I'm definitely more of a summer girl than a winter girl, but when it gets up above 40 even I fail to see the funny side!
Danny is like a bear with a sore head in the heat. He hates every second of it.....just as much as I detest the freezing cold. Fortunately, the following day is supposed to be back in the low to mid 30s (some cool change huh!?)
We do have evaporative cooling, which is generally fantastic, but it is no match for temps in the mid 40s. I guess we just have to sit through it and try our best not to overheat.
We had a bit of a practise today as it was 36 degrees out here. The boys had a splash in their little wading pool. No fancy-schmancy inground pool at our house, but you can cool off a bit, and have a surprising amount of fun in 25cm of water. Corey was even practising his freestyle stroke at one stage - crazy kid!
Hopefully the garden, the husband, the kids, the dog and I will all survive the heatwave....I see there will be a need for several "Sunny-boys" and icy-cold drinks along with a dash of patience and hopefully, good humour.
Best of luck if you're headed for a hot one tomorrow too. I'll let you know how we go!
Can you believe that my big boy Jayden turned 8 yesterday? I certainly can't! Where did those 8 years go? When I look back, so much has happened in the 8 years since he made me a Mum. But I'm still shocked when I look at him and see how BIG he is. I'm also astounded at how intelligent and inquisitive he is (now I sound like a bragging Mum!). But the thing I'm most proud of in Jayden is his genuinely kind, caring nature. That is the thing that will hold in good stead throughout his life. He is a good person and that means everything as far as I'm concerned.
Here are some pics from his birthday, which he described as "the best birthday ever!"
Reading his card made by Mum (that's it, below).
Then it was off to his birthday party at the local Roller Skating Centre. He has a great time with his mates.
Hard to believe, but he actually wore my roller blades - while I think they were a little on the large side for him, he insisted they were a perfect fit....hmmmm. At least they had the cobwebs blown out of them! lol!
There was cake and lots of roudy singing at the party..........
..............and more cake and slightly less roudy singing at home that night with Aunty Laura, Uncle Gary and cousin Mitch. There was also a Skype chat with Granmama and Papa in Myrtleford, and the Summers family in Jindera, along with quite a few phone calls from other family members.
By his side the whole day through was his best buddy, his little brother Corey.
Overall, I think you could say that Jayden's 8th birthday was truly a celebration; a celebration of one very special boy.
Hi to all my buddies out there in blog-land (and to any new-comers, a very warm welcome to you). So glad you decided to stop by and visit. Welcome to simple.creative.life 2010-style......not sure it will be noticibly different from 2009 style, but hey, you never know. What you're likely to find here this year are more of my ponderings, family news, health progress, home and garden happenings, and crafty creations of all varieties.
I've taken the last couple of weeks to rest and recuperate after Christmas and I can honestly say I've enjoyed every second of just pottering around at home with my 3 boys and my baby girl, Molly (our puppy - for those of you who aren't up to speed!)
The new year brings lots of thoughts about how life is progressing, what's working, what's not and what changes I'd like to incorporate into my life. While I stop short of making New Years Resolutions, I've certainly been doing a lot of reflecting and rethinking. I think you'll find that my focus in the months coming is more on health, home, garden, simplifying and making the most of what we have.
My word for this year has got to be "FOCUS" - while I have been saying that I gave up my nursing job to focus on improving my health, the truth is, I've been distracted from the task by day to day stuff. I have settled for less than optimum nutrition, increased stress levels, over-doing things, lack of exercise and fresh air, and a neglect of my spiritual wellbeing. My health, while better than it was a year ago, is certainly still fragile. I know that with focus and dedication, I can improve the quality of my health and therefore my life. I am not saying that I will be able to "cure" my fibromyalgia (I have finally accepted that this is an unlikely outcome), but I do feel that I can better manage it and make the most of the situation that I am in right now. I can live a meaningful life within the confines of this condition. If I stay focused on my health and wellbeing, all other aspects of my life, and the lives of my beloved family, will benefit.
I invite you to pop in and visit me as I document my journey this year. I will be as honest and open as I can in sharing my story with you. Less "stuff" and more substance will probably be the theme around here for 2010....at least that's the plan.
I have so many thoughts to share with you - I am learning so many things about simpler living, becoming more self-sustainable, growing our own healthy food, reducing our exposure to unnecessary chemicals and toxins, becoming more in-tune with nature and taking the time to really be present in every moment of my life. I've been looking at improving my skills in lots of areas and increasing my knowledge in many fields. I have always loved to learn new things, and I'm excited by the things I've been learning about lately.
By the way, I've started taking a photo each day to document the year. 6 days in and we're going strong. You can find my daily snapshots at Everyday Images by Anita. While I'm not promising a new photo every single day for the year, I will do my best and hopefully at this time next year I'll have a meaningful collection of images that represent 2010 in my life. Feel free to pop over and have a look from time to time.
Thanks so much for stopping by, and I sincerely wish you a wonderful 2010.
