And The Planets Aligned

Look how beautiful it was here in Brisbane on Wednesday. It was a gooood day. Mild temperatures, gentle breeze. Positive outcomes.

I knew there was something in the air as soon as a few of my readers messaged me, saying that they felt I was going to find a place in which to live that very day!

I did! We're leaving West End...... and moving a little further out of the city... to live in a house and to enjoy some green space and lots of bike tracks.... while I look for some land and get the next house started. My boys are very happy with our decision. Little one was quietly whispering to me, as we were inspecting the new place, "please, please". Easy decision. He had me at "please". 

In the meantime, we plan to seriously treasure our last few weeks here. 

I am going to miss watching the sun come up over the river....

... and watching it set.

I am going to miss having my coffee on my deck....

... and feeling safe in my little 'concrete bunker' on rainy, stormy days.

I am going to miss the beautiful view....

... and the warming western sun in my kitchen.

I am going to miss my daily runs through all the little streets...

... and all the little daily surprises.

I am going to miss being able to ride into town for my errands.

I am going to miss Justine's coffee shop.... which became my morning office workspace.

Bye-bye Justine's Haloumi Special

I am going to miss Bill....

... and James.

West End, I have enjoyed you and I will carry my West End experiences (good, bad and seriously tragic) with me in my heart always. I am grateful to have called you home, even for a short time.

On the packing front, I do have this 'packing thing' mastered. It takes me no time to pack up a house these days! I think our poor piano finally will deserve a tune after this move. It will have been moved 7 times without a tune #howslackami. Big son informed me that it is a whole tone out now. It sounds woeful!

Righto, deep breaths. Time to start sorting, decluttering and packing.....aaaaand loving it!

Happy Friday!

P.S I have a teeny, tiny garden in my next place. Just teeny... but green! The boys have acres in which to play. Our place is in a green estate...that has a beautiful pool, lots of land on which to kick our soccer balls and kilometres of bike tracks. Nice change. Variety is the spice of life... and we're livin' it alright.

Getting Started

Thank you for all your wonderful play date recipes! So many shy, self confessed 'lurkers' also emailed me recipes too.... so I have enough to even compile an e-book of them all... "The Idiots 'Non Bakers' Guide To Play Date Catering"... or something like that.

I hopped on my bike and hightailed it to the local store for ingredients and had some pinwheels, melting moments and banana muffins whipped up in no time. Problem with baking is that you eat the stuff though. Thank goodness the first batch is gone.

Came across this dear little place on my ride. I know. West End. Full of surprises. 

Ok, now seriously, I've got to get back to work. My shed is beckoning. So is my inbox. 

I am not at peace when my inbox gets to over 100 'to action' emails. Ridiculous that it has even gotten to that. 

I have lots of these to send out (aren't they beautiful?... I digress for a minute of gratitude for my lovely stock). My 'I can't start work yet excuse' is tied in with the fact that my couriers are on holidays and I need more courier coupons... so therefore I can't work. Pathetic really. Arghh my inbox.... I could start there. And those who read my blog and have 'in-boxed' me, I am sorry, I am starting this week.

Any minute now.

Even though I just want to do this for just a teeny bit longer. Why is it you just start to relax when you have to get back to work?

I'll start small. Isn't that the technique? Just start? January 3rd. Or should I start next Monday? Just one more week? The problem with working for yourself is if you don't work, no-one else pays the bills.... and I have a teenager to feed! 

I need to go back and reread my mantras. How do you get fired up for the new work year? 

I'll go for a run, clear out the cobwebs, have a coffee, then I'll start...after the school holiday morning activities... or maybe after lunch... or tomorrow while the boys are amused with their play dates. 

...or maybe I'll just tidy my desk today. One thing's for sure, I will be baking! Thank. You.

Happy Tuesday!

Oh, P.S.... I have an offer in on a block of land/knock-down dog-box house. Haven't heard anything yet. It's been hard getting these real estate agents out of bed. Why advertise the place when you are not going to answer your phone or even get back to a phone message? There are some people/me out there who only have time to look over the holidays. Anyway not excessively hopeful though as I'm not budging one inch from my offer. "Make your profit when you buy" is my mantra... does that make sense? .... as I made it up for me. It's all about the land. xx

No Work And All Play

I blame the book. My little daily meditation book said, "do something fun today".

"If you're relaxing, let yourself relax, without guilt, without worrying about the work that is undone..... Today I will do something fun, something I enjoy, something just for me. I will take responsibility for making myself feel good."

Can't argue with 'the book', even if it was a Monday and a work day and my inbox was full. 

I took myself off to the movies, watched the world go by in a coffee shop, while eating a big slab of carrot cake, hung out in a book shop and bought this little set of 'City Walks With Kids In Paris'. I am living 'as if'...... as if I WILL be doing those city walks with my boys, sooner than later! Somehow. So that little box, plonked on my desk, is my sort of my vision board. 

I must admit I spent the afternoon/evening actioning my inbox... so much so that the kids stayed in the pool until dark and they were all wrinkled..... but I fell into bed happy..... and so did they!

It's so good to do something really nice for yourself. 

Happy Tuesday!