WINTER COMFORTS

I don't like winter. It's being cold that gets to me. You know how it is. If your feet get cold your whole body gets cold.

It's not the rain ( god knows we need it ) or the storms. I actually love it when it thunders and lightening lights up the sky. I just don't like being cooped up inside.

But there's a bonus with these wintry days and nights. Comfort food. What can I say. I'm a sucker  for all winter meals.

There's nothing like curling up on the couch, reading a book, heater going and the delicious smell of  cooking wafting through the house. Stews and slow cooking, roasts and apple pies. Picking up the knitting or craft work and the seductive rhythm that comes from within. 

Winter is a time for slowing down. Reflecting on how far you've come and the road ahead. Making new plans and adjusting others. All of which I'm doing myself.

 I'm looking forward to spring, sunshine and the busyness that comes with it but will make the most of this time while I can. I still don't like being cold. 

PUTTING YOURSELF FIRST

Part of my problem over the last year was that my todo list was so long that it was really over whelming. I made a new schedule this week with just the basics logged in. You know the ones. Work, shopping, housework and any outside activities that are non negotiable. It left so much time free. :-) 

I penciled in a few "15 minute chore" throughout the week and walked away. My long list is on the side of the fridge out of sight. I'm taking one of them and 15 minutes at a time will slowly attack it till its gone. No more pressure to get stuck in and exhausting myself, no more feeling guilty about not getting on top of the list.

It will all get done eventually but for now I'm enjoying the down time I've made for myself and actually am looking forward to doing my 15 minutes.

Don't forget to take time out for yourself. We are important too.

SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO LET GO

I've been reading alot lately about goal setting, being frugal and putting yourself first. ( because we all know that as parents we rarely do )

Putting yourself first means different things to each of us. For me it can be as simple as 1/2 hr to just sit to putting in place an auto payment that stops me from having to run around at the last minute to pay a bill. 

In other words anything that leaves me tired and run down each day, something that left me rushing around at the last minute or more importantly stuff I really don't want to do but have to, I need to have a good look at and see if I can get rid of it...change it....make the most of it.

Which brings me back to my title. Just because I've always done stuff a certain way, shopped certain places, bought the same brand foods, maybe it's time to try something new and remind myself that sometimes you just have to let go.

IT'S PERFECT

How often do we take things to the extreme. We never seem to be satisfied with something being good enough, but continually push for perfection.





I'm not perfect, far from it. My home isn't perfect and neither are a lot of things I do. But you know what, that's ok. 

Perfection is a sterile house that is clinical and cold because it's spotless and everyone is too scared to touch anything in case it gets dirty. A perfect house doesn't leave room to grow and explore. 

It's what's important to you that defines what's good enough. A home  that's filled with the sound of children playing and laughing. An afternoon spent with friends having coffee and chatting away an afternoon. 

The feeling of warmth and welcome when you walk in the door. These are what's important to me and despite the mess that sometimes happens and the odd dish still in the sink when I'm surrounded by these things in my life I can honestly say that everything is perfect.

Have a great day
Jan

LOVE IT OR HATE IT = TECHNOLOGY

YOU'VE GOT MAIL

I would like to share a response to yesterdays post with you. It highlights what we all go through and why I'm finding it ever more important to put a little distance between myself and the modern world sometimes. Even if it is just one day a week.

I love technology. How everything seems to now be just at your fingertips. Not sure about something, look it up on the net - the how to's, dyi and video tutorials are amazing. You woulnd't believe some of the stuff you can find on the net. If you can think it up, the chances are, there is something on the net about it. And unlike many people, I don't think it's jeopardised my communication with friends and family. In fact, I now speak to people again I haven't seen for years, who I grew up with, who live on the other side of the world, who I would have lost complete contact with if it wasn't for the net. And opportunities have opened up. But like you said, there is a downside to all of this. And one of the major ones of all this instant information, I believe, is people's unrealistic expectations. They think people can be as instantaneous. Send an email, and they want a response pronto - if they don't get one in 10 minutes, they're on the phone asking why no one's rung them yet or responded yet. They forget that even though there is all this wonderful technology to help make life easier, it is still just people at the other end of it all, and they can only respond at human speed and unlike the web, they aren't awake 24/7. It is a vicious circle - all this wonderful technology I love so much has brought made my life easier in so many ways, but has also doubled the amount of things I need to do!!


This so true. The problem we have been facing since the industrial revolution has been the increase in work load that is now expected. I have no desire to return to the days where washing took all day to get through but as machines have made the tasks easier and quicker, instead of enjoying the free time it has opened up we fill it with another task.

 Instead of doing one task and doing it well. We now do multiple tasks, often at the same time and don't achieve the pleasure of a job well done. No wonder we are exhausted at the end of the day. 

The sad thing about all of this is the simple fact that at the end of the day when you go home instead of solely focusing on your family and relaxation, the world still wants to intrude. 
We are at the beck and call of everyone and this also includes work. 

How often is the phone call late at night work related. How many times when you go on holiday do you still get work emails. 

I also love technology, this blog  wouldn't be achievable with out it, but I sometimes just want to turn the world off and enjoy the sunshine. That's why I try to turn everything off on the weekend and give myself some time out.

Have a great day
Jan

WE WERE HEALTHIER BACK THEN

One of the reasons I decided to slow down and live an easier life is to see if over time I can be self sufficient enough that I no longer have to rely on shops and technology for all our needs. The amount of additives, colourings and preservatives in food ( all which have numbers...Read chemicals ) is growing all the time.

When I was growing up there were very few kids with allergies. Now asthma, food allergies, skin irritations and obesity is part of the norm. We didn't have all the processed food that is around today. Yes we ate cake...it was made from scratch by Mum. Yes we ate fried food but again it was made at home. Toasted sandwiches and fry ups on Sundays. Often meat and 3 veg was the main meal. Not the healthiest of diets you say, no but there was no junk food, only fish and chips as a treat once in a while. Yet we didn't get ill. We didn't have reactions. It was basic but clean honest food. We ate , we played and slept well.

Milk came in a bottle with cream on top. Homogenised only. Again no problems. Very few people were lactose intolerant. Everything was full fat, full cream. Yet we weren't overweight. 

We only watched TV after dinner, we were too busy doing other things. We helped around the house. Played in the streets and talked to each over. A Saturday night often found the family at the kitchen table with all our friends playing cards.

No one was lonely, no one was bored. Life was busy and happy.

Was it a bed of roses. No not always but sometimes I have to wonder how much of ourselves have we lost by becoming so enchanted with the fast paced world with its fascinating technology that consumes our time every day.

Enjoy your day 
Jan

LEARNING TO LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE

If one advances confidently in the direction of one's dreams, and endeavours to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

Henry David Thoreau

There will be many times when your choice of lifestyle will cause some raised eyebrows. 

It could be friends or family members. At the end of the day it is your life to live. 

Whether it's downsizing your home, becoming more self reliant, trying new experiences. What ever the obstacles you can over come them. 

For those that can't or won't understand your plans for the future just stop telling them about it and get into living it. 

Share your excitement and dreams with those that are like minded.

Just remember  IT'S YOUR LIFE...GO LIVE IT

Jan

ARE YOU LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?

Because People cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Tommy toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-Decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say ? And why are you waiting ?

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask 'How are you?' Do you hear the reply ?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see her sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi' ?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away.... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.

'Life may not be the party we hoped for...

But while we are here we might as well dance' !

FAMILY

BECOMING SELF SUFFICIENT

A SIMPLER LIFE   

  Learn to cook at home

·         Learn to grow vegetables

·         Learn about green cleaners and rid your home of harmful chemicals

·         Learn to recycle, reuse and make do

·         Learn to change your own oil

·         Mow your own grass

·         Learn to do basic home maintenance

·         Learn to iron your own laundry

·         Learn how to sew

·         Learn how to give a basic haircut

·         Learn how to do basic gardening 

·         Turn off technology for the weekend

Living a simpler life by becoming more self-sufficient isn’t hard it just takes a desire to take back control of your life and do for yourself.

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