5 on a Monday

I only lost 0.2 kg at Weigh-Less on Saturday. During the talk I figured out what's going on. Since I've joined about 6 times before, I thought I knew everything and didn't even crank open the book or properly eat all my food.

The thing with Weigh-less is you have to eat the entire formula (right now as I'm blogging I'm eating my last yoghurt of the day) or it doesn't work.

So I made a spreadsheet and I'm marking off as I eat food.

Hopefully things go better this week.

 Generally on a Monday I go to a 6:30 class at the gym and when I get back, D goes. Tonight I said, I can't BEAR the thought of going to gym so D said let's all go. I remembered Robyn's been doing that with her family so I agreed (madness!) and it was actually fun.

I'm not convinced that it's sustainable while the kids are in school... but it might work if we feed them supper before.

They told us, "Mummy, we were the only two kids in pyjamas. Even the little babies wore normal clothes" so I said, "well, aren't you lucky kids, getting to be out in your pyjamas?" :)



So school starts on Wednesday. The kids are excited, we're (mostly) ready and all that needs to be done is to buy 4 white facecloths.

I made banana and raisin oatmeal muffins the other day - I intended them for quick breakfasats if the kids were late getting up for school but they were so yummy they're all gone :o



I've just finished all the photos from the Drakensberg holiday so I can start blogging those soon. But the December photos are far from done.

I'm itching to finish it all up so I can finish up my Project Life, back up my disc and do all those sorts of things.

When I'm done I plan to do a photo post in numbers for 2014.



For fun, how many photos do you think I took on the big camera in 2014? 

I have no idea about the iphone.

PS these photos are from last year this time :)

The something that makes me pull out my camera

There's usually something - a moment, an angle, a flash of something - that makes me take out my camera at a party. Otherwise I could quite happily chat til the cows come home.

For Miss K's party, it was this pic of Robyn's H and her granny. I love it - the two of them totally absorbed in their book.
 

I asked Connor to hold this bowl outside because I wanted a pic just like this

Laura dashed off early but not before I got a pic

We had a lovely afternoon celebrating Little Miss K's 1st birthday. Gosh - wasn't it just the other day she was born?!

What makes you pull out your camera?

You're being rude!

So I want to quickly talk about something that's driving me nuts.

The kids have picked up this phrase, "you're being rude" and they throw it out with wild abandon when:

1. we say the word "no"
2. we tell them they can't do something
3. we tell them they can't wear something 
4. we raise our voices

(in other words, for normal methods of dealing with kids)

For example:

Me: Kendra, you can't wear those shoes to the gym (flimsy, slippery, really just pretty things but no good for actual running and climbing, etc.)
Kendra: Mummy! You're being so rude!

D: Connor, we have to fit on your school clothes before you put on your pyjamas.
Connor: NO DADDY! You're so rude.

Somehow this doesn't bother D as much as it does me, but it drives me UP THE WALL.

And then I get "rude" because I will raise my voice.

I tell them "rude" does not equal no or something you don't want to hear. In that case, the whole world is "rude", right?

Do your kids do this?
Suggestions?

PS I'm this close to saying if they say that phrase when it's unfounded, I will take a star off their star charts.

PPS Some blurry pics of the kids when I let them sleep in the same bed one night. The hour of giggles before they got separated was worth it to me :)

Thanks to Mandy, I now know where to find the monochrome setting on my Canon!

Thanksgiving at the Westcliff

I had a Thanksgiving work function at the Westcliff. The pics of the work people are the best but of course you're not seeing those, so these will have to do :)

golden hour!

turkey burgers - oh my word, these were amazing

Golden hour/ sunset is my favourite time of day to take photos.

What is your favourite photo-taking time of day?

And now... my 2015 word! (and a linky)

So you know the whole saga about the word of the year ....

Well, after I felt all "noooo, this doesn't feel right", I said to myself, "Self, what do you want more of in your life this year?" And the answer was ENOUGH.

So I went to the Bible app on my ipad, typed in enough and there were 62 references.

And then, as it always does, all these other things flooded my mind so let me share why my word is ENOUGH.
 
 
I am enough. My confidence was knocked quite a bit last year and while I know that I absolutely am enough intellectually, it's taking a bit of time to line up my whole being.

You have no idea how, when a huge part of your identity is about being competent and accomplished, and then when people keep acting like you're not and that what you are is lacking, how that knocks you.



God is always enough. He's always been enough and it's a good reminder when the tendency is to freak out, to remember that He is enough. There's a song from years ago - "He's more than enough for me" and he is all that and then some. One of the Casting Crowns songs that PULLED me through those Monday mornings driving to work in tears was a song called Always Enough. "You're always enough"

I have enough. It's tempting to look around at others' lives on Instagram, Facebook and such and compare lives. Sometimes houses. Mostly holidays :) I don't envy other people's stuff but I must say, the holidays are a thing :) I just love holidays too much!

The truth is we have more than enough  financially so even though my business income was appalling, we still have enough and it's good to remember this when vacuum cleaners have to be repaired, when I look at the price of holidays, when I look at the price of school uniforms. My God is more than able to provide.

And then last, I have some bad behaviour patterns that I'm saying ENOUGH to this year.

• emotional eating
• shouting
• too much living on the internet 
• my tendency to want to flog dead horses :) I've spoken with two friends in the last 2 - 3 days about how all three of us have tended in the past to invest more in others whether they invest back in us. This year, no more of that. I'm going to have to work on the letting go.

And last but by no means least, I keep hammering on about how I wrote 31 days of Enough Time last year.

I loved that series.

Wait. I love that series.

It's a really good reminder to me that there is always enough time to do whatever I want. It's all about my choices (see the living on the internet point above!).

So I could say YES to more reading, more creating, more relationships, more God but instead I'm reading about strangers' lives on the internet?

There's enough time if I make good choices. There is enough time to connect with 3 am friends if I invest in those relationships instead of 20 that are of lesser importance to me.

What do you think?
(this feels 100% right for me)

What is your word for 2015?

Link up if you've written a word of the year post. I'll delete any other post because it's frustrating to people to have to read other stuff if they want to read your word.
PS the word I thought was going to be my word of the year is CONNECT

What worked and what didn't... part 4

1. What did you do in 2014 that you’d never done before?
The most notable was resigning without a job and having a 4-month sabbatical.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for this year?
I don't do resolutions but I do set goals, and yes, 82% achieved. Of course I'll make more this year.

3. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve?
I had big plans to have a big praise and worship evening, and then supper. Only one friend could make it but we still had a good time even though it was different to my original idea.

However, that praise and worship evening is going to be a regular thing. I had a glimpse of GLORY (jokes!) but seriously, I had a glimpse of how things used to be in ministry, and it was a beautiful thing.

So you're all invited - last Friday of every month.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Thank goodness, no.

5. What countries did you visit?
None. But as soon as I get my head around this school holiday business (which I'm still in denial about), I'll be thinking, planning, scheming....Thailand is calling my name.

6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?
More patience. I really want to work on not getting cross so quickly. Ps 37:8b "Do not lose your temper - it only leads to harm" Um, yes.

7. What date from 2014 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
25 April - the day I skipped out of my old work's building :)

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Resigning without a job



9. What was your biggest failure?
Bad business income. Sheesh - I did full financials on Saturday night and it was the 6th worst year of my 9-year business.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Emotional, yes. Physical, no.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Probably the Fitbit. On a smaller scale, I love the purple/ orange skirt many of you have seen me in and my ballet flats (I have purple and the red ones in the picture above)

12. Where did most of your money go?
Holidays :)



13. What song will always remind you of 2014?
Well, this album will - Until the whole world hears - Casting Crowns (it PULLED me through those horrible months at work) and Happy by Pharrrel because the kids sang it non-stop

14. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Relaxed. This is the same every year... what can I say?!

15. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Shouting...

16. What were your favourite TV shows?
I don't watch TV, so I have to say The Amazing Race (was there a season this year?)

17. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate is a strong word, but I have zero respect for the same people from last year!

18. What was the best book you read?
Torn between 7, The Nesting Place and Bread and Wine.

19. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Does Casting Crowns count? :)

20. What was your favourite film of this year?
I watched a total of 6 movies; 3 - 4 of them in the comfort of my lounge... but of the ones I saw at "the real movies", it would have to be Philomena. Did you watch it?




21. What did you do on your birthday
I was on the beach in Ballito - thoroughly recommend it!

22. What kept you sane?
Jesus, D and your prayers.

23. Who did you miss?
I miss my two ex-bosses quite a bit, for our long, meaningful conversations.

24. Who was the best new person you met?
I met 6 new friends last year but I have to say that my three friend dates in CT were some of my favourite times this year.

one
two
three

25. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014
Trust your instincts. If it feels wrong, it IS. Don't be an idiot and try to make it right over and over and over.

And that's me!

Anyone else feel like doing this?
Leave me a comment so I can come read.

This word of the year business

Okay!

This year's been interesting in that I didn't feel a big WHOOSH with the word thing.

I could explain everything I was looking for in a few sentences but somehow the word wasn't coming.

So I joined a Facebook group and wrote on there... and then I got emailed with TONS of great ideas. Some were nice... but not for me...and some were great and needed more thought.

And then I had a fleeting thought, like this is going the way all my bad ideas go - too much advice and not trusting my own instincts enough.

So I stopped reading for a day or so and I took out my worksheets and I did the work.

Novel idea.

And I had a word that was perfect.

I made a list last night of things outstanding before the work week starts and one of those was taking photos for the blog.

This afternoon I pulled out the big camera, took two photos and I thought, "what the heck! this word doesn't feel right anymore". It's definitely a good support word, but not THE word.

So I asked myself, "which word is speaking to my heart right now?" (not which word would I LIKE to have...)

and a word came to mind/ heart.

I feel relatively sure of this word but just in case, I went and googled (Olive Treed?) that word to see how many times it appeared in the Bible and it's 62, if you were wondering. I read most of those references quickly and it's looking/ feeling good.

But JUST IN CASE... I'm going to sit with it for a day or two longer to see if it still feels right.

To end off, I thought I'd leave you with some words from my top 10 that didn't make the top 5 :)

Now, let's have some fun...

Anyone want to guess what my old and new words are?
(Jayme, last year you guessed correctly!)

Do you have a word? Share in the comments.

PS all these images are from my Marcia favourites folder of 2014
PPS previous words from 2009...simplicity, consolidate, courage, create, trust and last year, shine.

Christmas, Africa style - when do you take down your tree... and what is your cleaning thing?

I usually wait til the 6th Jan or the day of the kids' half year party. But this year I can't wait.

I've been taking a few things down every night - this was mostly an effort so that Nanny M could clean properly.

Speaking of which, have we spoken about the nanny yet?

She is very sweet, but probably too submissive for me. She means well, but we don't click and she doesn't get my style. So I have to tell her things over and over... and I've even typed up a manual for her... because she's forgetful...

She is obsessive about mopping floors so the floors are pristine but the dust bunnies are hopping up a storm.

We had a once-a-week nanny about 12 years ago called Bea. In fact, she helped us move down to this house too. Bea was amazing - fierce, bossy (great for the twice-a-month gardener) and super fussy (which is really good when the person is cleaning your house). Bea's thing was wooden floors. Oh my, she loved it when our floors were sparkling and shiny.

Do you have a thing?

I have a clean bathrooms thing. And a no clutter on surfaces thing (actually that's my main thing). And an everything in its place thing. I have a lot of things, it seems :) 

What is your thing?

In more current news, I received a New Year's Day SMS at about 6:30 pm from Nanny M resigning (yes, she was due at work the next morning). If you're counting, we've had 2 nannies in two months, not counting Nanny S....

Scramble, scramble, scramble (this stuff is annoying for me - I won't bore you with reading about it too)


PS I'm counting down the days til Nanny S comes back (56 if you're counting)

A hodge-podge of thoughts around documenting the year ahead

So I posted a sunset on Instagram last night, from my kitchen door, and asked which photo projects people were doing this year.

One lady said she was doing this fmsphotoaday thing. I don't even know who that is except I gather it's some famous blogging person (for the record, I don't need to follow even one more blogger - my goal is to unfollow!

I already follow Practising Simplicity, an Aussie mum, who hosts a weekly photo roundup where people post portraits of their children.

1. Basically it's one photo a week of your kid (s).

I like the simplicity (!) of choosing just ONE photo. And at the end of the year, you have 52 photos documenting their year.

Boom - easy does it.



What I currently do

I go about my month without thinking about this too much but in my final OCD organising, I select 4 photos of each kid for printing. That's it.

4 because that's what works in the album. Some months there have only been 2 pics of individual kids and then I'll add a Connor and Daddy, or Connor and Mummy pic :)

2. I choose pics that show the things they're doing, so they are not always the best smiley pics (matter of fact, I hate cheesy, smiling pics - if it's not natural, then give me a good scowl).

For instance, when they were in the extreme monkey stage, there are photos in both their albums of them climbing my burglar bars....


Why this project?

Well, I already get my four pics a month, but now I'm thinking of using the iphone to share those pics weekly on Instagram. I'm not mad... so they will still be taken with the big camera otherwise we'll never get a decent pic. My kids don't stay still.




I used to do a month in review with ONE pic summing up the month.

Then I did Project Life and it grew to 6 - 8 pics (I use a mini album with 80 photos) a month.

And somehow I stopped the 1 card summaries which, for me were the main thing - the month-at-a-glance.

So this year, the 1-card summaries are coming back.

3. This year, I'm going to continue my Project Life. Years ago when I was crazy (I would not pay those prices these days), I ordered Seafoam (about 4 months after ordering Turquoise), and at the time I also ordered 3 mini albums. I used the Rain one in 2013, the Kiwi one last year and this year I'm using the Midnight one.


Is anyone still doing Project Life?

(I have Nov and Dec to print - once I finish organising December - and then I'll show you. I do show one distant shot on Instagram when I finish a month. Have you seen them?)

So, over to you.

What are you doing with all those photos you guys are taking?

PS don't you wish Instagram had a thing where you could save a pic somewhere (as if published) but without bombarding your feed with 5 photos of the same thing? Or is that only me?

PPS I have my word! Hopefully I'll blog it nicely on the weekend. For now, I want to work on photos!

PPPS Amazingly, the friendship stats are unaffected. All 3 friend dates happened as they were meant to (makes my little J heart so happy!) :)

Happy New Year!

Happy 2015, everybody!

What are you up to today?

PS do you have a word for the year yet?