Well, this has been a successful venture! Oh man...where do I start?!
Well my wonderful declarations however long ago have been majorly derailed by...well just about everything. Well that's what it feels like anyway!
Where to start.
1. It's winter. Enough said! I enjoy winter. I like that I can wear jeans and jumpers and scarves. I like that I can cook soup and bake things. I don't like not being able to hang washing outside and it taking the better part of 2 days for anything to dry. I don't like that it is dark and cold in the morning and in the evening when it is slightly possible to get out of the house and do exercise. I don't like how feral the kids turn when they are inside all day cos it is raining and/or freezing.
2. My back has been sore (like could barely walk sore). This was valid but now it's not. I have been trying to be faithful and do my stretching exercises (Thank you Stu www.clconcepts.com.au). Easier said than done but I'm doing what I can and it is actually feeling really, really good.
3. Food... has been hard. Our fridge broke and so far to replace it we have a camping fridge. Pretty well an esky which plugs in. It is hard to fit anything like vegetables in once there is a 3 litre bottle of milk, some cheese and last nights leftovers in there. The main reason we don't have a proper replacement is we are moving at the end of August (to a place with no power yet connected) and what is the point of getting something for such a short time (cos we won't be able to use it with no power). (That is not my opinion, but rather my amazing and wonderful husband[who sometimes annoys the daylights out of me!]) Anyway, aside from shopping everyday (with 2 kids no thanks) we do not have the capacity for fresh food and therefore haven't really been eating anything fresh.
4. My kids, my husband, myself and my excuses!
However all has not been lost. No! I haven't been sitting around on my ample backside complaining this whole time! Let me tell you about some of the positive things which have been going on in my chaos!
One positive thing is I read a little book called The Clutter Cure by Judi Culbertson. Being about to move into a place that is about a 1/3 the size of the place we are currently in, it was just what I needed. Of course it is loads of common sense, but she talks about getting down to why we keep the stuff we do and our emotional connections to our stuff. I have thrown out or given away loads of stuff that I have been holding onto for many reasons: sentimental reasons, someone gave it to me so I must keep it reasons, I'll get to it on day reasons. You name it I've kept it! Like old school work (particularly art or creative stuff, which I was proud of at the time but really wasn't that good). I have given away things that I was going to turn into a masterpiece for the last 5 years but haven't and most likely won't! Wedding gifts that I have never used because I don't like them or have not use for them. It has been a very cathartic experience. Some things I wanted but had no real place for so I took a photo of those things. I really didn't need to hold on to my first pair of Chuck Taylor All Stars (gosh lame I know!), so I took a picture. What a good feeling to toss all that stuff away. Judi talks a bit about feng shui, suggesting that you need to get rid of the things which are keeping you tied to the past and not allowing you to move into the future. I'm not sure that I believe that completely but I see the idea has merit and I definitely feel lighter and almost relieved to toss away the burden of a lot of my stuff!
Another positive is I have also been doing my dishes 9/10 nights. My kitchen used to always look like some degree of this.
Now it more often than not looks like this!
What a difference that makes! Wow! I love having a clean kitchen. It is so much easier to do anything in a clean kitchen. It is never spotless, I have children, what can I expect! But it is nearly always tidy and the dishes are almost all always done (until my hubby brings his coffee cup in and empties his lunch box!...but that is a whole other blog!) I figured out what my problem is with the dishes. I have always said it would make my job easier if you (dear hubby) would clear the drainer for me. That is empty and put away the already clean dishes. While this is a true and perfectly valid statement, it rarely happens. Therefore, I guess in some kind of retarded protest I would NOT wash the dishes cos there was no room for them in that drainer. Well I was struck with an epiphany! While it is lovely and does make my job easier when the dishes are cleared and put away for me, it doesn't happen. So get over it and do it yourself! What a difference that makes. AND I'm not doing it grudgingly, I'm just doing it, cos it needs to be done. It's good for me!I can probably add more but I think I'll leave it at that for now. I guess I'm feeling a little like my weigh loss journey is at bit of a stand still. I'm finding it very difficult to fit in any exercise which doesn't involve a pram and the shops or the park, and while that is good, it is not enough to see me shifting any kilos. I don't really know what I'm doing. I feel like I'm just floating along with life and I don't have the power to go that extra mile for me. Maybe it is not the right time to be trying to do this. What do you think? I'd love your feedback :) That's for reading. I fear this is very rambling, cos it is late and I have been thinking about this for weeks! Meh :)
