10 Things You (Possibly) Didn't Know About Me...

If you thought you knew EVERYTHING about me, you need to check this out...



1 ~  I was almost named after a Beatles song... well actually I did end up with Michelle as my middle name... thanks to very young hippy 60's parents...



2 ~  I always thought that I procrastinated because I was a perfectionist... now I'm starting to think that maybe it's because basically I'm just plain lazy...



3 ~  I used to be a Junior Primary teacher... that was waaaaay before baby / toddler / small child brain took over... and I used to think I liked kids... I now know that's only because they went home at 3.30pm...


4 ~ I met my current lovely partner via Facebook after not seeing him for over 30 years... we went to Kindy together and our parents still live across the road from each other... gotta love FB... and we are now living in the house that my Grandparents built and lived in after the war...



5 ~  I like pretty things, and sparkly things, and old things, and useless things, and kooky things, and quirky things, and book things and living things... plants, cats, dogs (not spiders & cockroaches!)... I like to think of myself as a "collector", but I'm definitely hovering near that fine line where collector turns HOARDER...







6 ~ I was almost 41 yrs old when I had my first baby... sometimes I feel like the oldest Kindy mum on Earth... especially when one of the staff refers to me as "Grandma"... or I have to squat down to help at the playdough table... and get back up again...




7 ~ I thought I had a great sense of humour... I think it left me just over four years ago to go on an extended holiday... I sometimes get a postcard to remind me of how things were...



8 ~ I suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome years ago... we still have our little battles but I vowed I'd never let it win again...


9 ~ I don't like bananas, mangoes, honey or humidity... pretty much all else goes... except for offal... good thing I don't live in Queensland... though I do LOVE macadamias...


10 ~ I've wanted to travel to Egypt since I was a young child... and it's still one of the places in the world I haven't seen... yet... but Italy, particularly Venice,  is calling me back too... and Scotland...and... and... and...

Om...

"Om" is the shortest mantra... it is said that it's the "sound of creation"...


My "OM" has just been transformed with a few layers of gold spray paint. Not all that creative or exciting, but it was a job that I had put off for a few years. It was "unfinished business". The letters & the spray paint cans were hidden away in a basket high on top of a bookcase. I unearthed them at Easter time when I needed a basket for TJ to use for his egg hunt. From that moment on they once again became an irritation every time I saw them. A constant reminder of why they were in the "repair" basket.

Originally the wooden letters had also been sprayed gold, and I had them displayed on the kitchen wall in my rented house.  I was newly single, was loving life in my own space, doing a LOT of "work" on myself... reflexology, yoga lessons twice a week, meditation, acupuncture, walking, reading, massage, homeopathy, iridology... I was trying everything I could to find that "inner peace"... to heal from a relationship breakdown, from the grief of pregnancy losses, from a long term insidious mystery illness...

To me "om" signified my yoga practise and my inner work, and was a reminder to breathe and re-focus through some difficult times. And then along came a new relationship.

At some point my new "partner" decided that it was humorous to take to my "OM" with a red permanent texta and colour in the top of the "O" so that it looked like a "U"... now on the surface this might appear to be a little funny... I think I probably saw some humour in it at the time even. But as time went on, that act of vandalism became a symbol of his disrespect for me, my belongings, my beliefs, my friends, my family. And in hindsight perhaps I should have taken it as a warning about the future of the relationship. Hindsight is a very funny creature.

So now the letters have been re-sprayed shiny & new. They are a little wonky and chipped & worn out in places, but the red texta is no more... and while the memory of the incident is still there... it no longer has the energy or power to upset me!

Unfinished business is finished!

Spring Into Clearing Your Clutter!

Spring is traditionally the time that homes were cleaned from top to bottom.  It was when windows and doors could be thrown open to let in the fresh air, and open wood burning fires were no longer being used, so smoke could be cleaned from the walls. 

These days Spring is still a wonderful time to get busy and clear away the Winter cobwebs. There's a natural instinct to have a good clean out as the weather starts to improve and there's new growth right outside your door.

The hardest part is always getting started, but once you do you'll find that all the stagnant energy trapped in the clutter will be released for you to use in other ways. 

So where DO you start?

Step 1 ~ Get motivated.  Sometimes easier said than done... motivation can come and go in a fleeting moment for me... but if I need some prompting I always go back to my favourite book "Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui" by Karen Kingston.  Check out the bagua diagram and read up on how physical clutter affects all aspects of your life, health and wellbeing... that should be a good start!

Step 2 ~ Open your curtains, blinds, windows and doors and let the light and fresh air flood in!  It's amazing how light can change the way you feel about the space... it also allows you to see things that maybe have been hidden in the gloom of those dark Winter days.  Sometimes just re-arranging the furniture can make the space feel better!

Step 3 ~ Prioritise... if you're like me you'll need to start small and get some "instant" results or boredom will set in quickly! Make a list of what is bothering you the most... which area of the house is the most cluttered?  Or which area of a room is the worst?  If in doubt TAKE PHOTOS of the room / space.  It's amazing how things become clearer and you can be more 'objective' when you see the space in a photo.

Step 4 ~ Use "sorting boxes".  This is a great time saver that I use.  Grab a few cardboard boxes, label them with categories like... "charity", "rubbish", "keep but relocate"... and make sure you have one labelled "decide later" for things that you can't make a quick decision about!  Using the boxes saves you from wandering around the house putting things away because if you're like me you get distracted really easily.

 

Step 5 ~ Get the "clutter" off the premises!  If the stuff is for donations, then stick it in the car and drop it off at the charity the next time you go past.

Step 6 ~ Give the space a really good dust and vacuum... maybe even use a bunch of sage to "smudge" the house after you've cleared and cleaned.  It's amazing to feel the energy change after this process is completed.

Step 7 ~ Celebrate!  Take some "after" photos and compare them to the "befores".  Treat yourself, share your success with a friend, invite someone over to show off your new space, be proud of your efforts!