5 things I'm grateful for

On Thursday Laura wrote me a really lovely email.

Hi there,

David and I do this when things are rough and it works for us - maybe you already do it but thought I would suggest it - it may help a little :)

Every day we write down 5 things we are grateful for - it can be anything from a cup of tea to your relationship with D!

It helps to shift the focus a little bit.

Thinking of you xx



I 100% agree that it will help to shift my perspective, so I'm going to write about things I'm grateful for at work.

this pic was taken with my iphone while out to lunch with Louisa

1. Busi - the tea lady that washes my mug and bowl, and brings it right to my desk every day. She's also the lady who gave me a big hug the day I had my little breakdown.
2. The CBD and especially this building. I literally turn my head diagonally to the right and look right at it. Gorgeous.
3. That I've just finished a piece of work I'm really proud of (and passionate about), and I get to work on an extension of it for another week later this month.
4. The smiles I get from watching a colleague cross off the days til her holiday.
5. I'm super grateful that my job means we can afford to go on holidays... to the beach...even if only for a long weekend!

What are you grateful for today?

All pics taken with my iphone. My favourite is the middle one.

I always get a little jealous when I read about Thanksgiving...

the turkey, the mashed potatoes, the pumpkin, mmmmm :)

I just decided that I'm putting it on my bucket list!

Side note - I just mentioned it to my friend and she said she's going to do thanksgiving for me, with all the trimmings!

I love it when a plan comes together :)

But seriously, I am SOOOOOO thankful for each and every one of my readers whether you comment or not, and I'm extra grateful this year for the time I was able to spend with my extra-special friends in the USA this year :)

Honestly, that's bucket list stuff and it makes me smile every time I think about it.

And then today, just now in fact, I went to do some networking with potential job people.... and I'm so energised. I don't know if it's my E coming out to play, or that I'm really getting over the gastro, or what, but I'm on a bit of a high.

Then I spied this view and friends, I had to stop, haul out the iPad and do some photo-taking because this, THIS, is BREATHTAKING.

 

 

What are you grateful for today?
PS I checked through the disc properlyl. After some careful editing and cropping out my fat, I actually have 49 pics I can use :) 

A different kind of gratitude list and meal planning

 

So I've been reading all over the internet about these gratitude lists.

I'm a very grateful person but I've never been able to keep a gratitude journal. Isn't that strange? The best I did was last year when I gave my day a rating out of 10 for a whole month to keep a coaching client company :)

Today I'm grateful for ... 

1. a post on Facebook that still makes me laugh every time I think of it. A certain blog friend wrote, "I'm grateful for a husband who is very good with his hands" and of course, I couldn't help but think dirty thoughts :) LOL
2. my new work laptop that finally arrived today at 4 pm after working with a defective PC for 3 months. I was a MACHINE until 5 - I'm sooooo happy I can actually leave my desk and not worry about a blue screen when I return
3. 6 meals in my freezer - yes I cooked on the weekend and tonight
4. light at the end of the iphone tunnel
5. a really neat and tidy study. About to go do two shelves inside the cupboard while I'm in the mood.
   
   But let's talk some more about meals and meal planning.
   
   One of my friends has her menu planned out for the whole week - they eat the same thing every day.
   
   I love the idea of knowing what's coming up but I get bored with food far too quickly so I like lots of variety.
   
   As you know, I've been menu planning nearly 7 years so I write out the meals Mon - Fri on a pad on my fridge and then I move things around within the week if I feel like it. Like tonight, I didn't cook Mon's meal because I wasn't in the mood for pasta when I got home.
   
   I do make sure we don't have the same carbs two nights in a row - so it'll be rice, pasta, potatoes, wraps, etc.
   
   What I've been toying with though is to have a chicken night, meat-free night, pasta night, fish night, etc.
   
   But tell me about your system.
   
   Do you plan your meals?
   What's your system?

A good day and gratitude

Today was a good day.

I think from now onwards, any non-Vaseline day is going to be good :)

I had my first mentoring session this morning and got some cool personal insights from the facilitator. It was not all sunshine and roses though as there were some who were very negative, not about me, but about parts of the process.

That session ended 40 minutes early - bliss since I desperately need some desk time at work because my to-do list is growing daily.

We had our divisional awards event this afternoon - again, fantastic. Short and to the point, with yummy food, dancing and connecting with team members. And home by 5:30 pm :)

There are only 7 awards up for grabs out of 350 ppl. One of our own won an award and the other 3 of us at the table all burst into happy tears.

I was and am so proud, it's like I won the darn thing. I do feel a little bit guilty that I didn't nominate a single person - I was feeling stroppy at the time of nominations. Apparently my boss and another senior person nominated me which is a really nice pat on the back but adds to the guilt.

Moving on...

I re-recorded the section of my workshop tonight and my heart nearly stopped when after 50 minutes I checked and didn't see anything in my folder... but it had saved in another folder. I seriously would have FLIPPED out. How I hate technology when it doesn't work.

As for the babies... Connor's new trick is climbing onto the back of the couch and perching there. My heart stopped the first time I saw this and I had to refrain from screaming and surprising him.

V tells me that he got even more creative today by holding onto the security gate (trellidor-type thing) and walking along the bottom section of horizontal bars. I am DONE!


Do you have a climber? Do you let them? How do you create some safety?

Mine spur one another on. I already see Kendra trying to climb things...

And then, my parcel full of cuteness arrived today. I am beyond excited to start making stuff. She also sent me extra things not pictured - so nice of her.

I also have another parcel full of crafty goodness arriving tomorrow. I couldn't resist ordering some stuff from Scrapadoodles and since I email them so often (!), I've even asked the lady to please get some washi tape in :)


By the way, do you consider yourself a grateful person?


If yes, how do you stay grateful?

PS the photos just make me happy; they have sweet nothing to do with this post :)

Birthdays, organising and me-time

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!

I had a lovely day - I said to Julia (yes, you're one of the 5 bloggers!) that it's certainly been my best birthday since the twins have been born. Just being honest.

The one after they were born was honestly one of the worst - D and I were fighting so much because we were both sleep deprived, I had one of the 3 - 4 crying sessions in those first few months on my birthday and it was just super-terrible.

I think the key to this year's success was that I kept my expectations really low :) and I didn't feel guilty about not answering the phone.

And, of course, the kids are just super cute so I kept staring at them in wonder, amazed that they are mine. They are real little people and I wish I could bottle up their energy and cuteness and remember every little thing.

*sigh*

****************************************

I was reorganising some stuff on my desk and in looking through some folders, I found recipe lists mixed in with my business stuff.

Which of course made me grab everything and start sorting.

I have been feeling like I need to clear out a lot of stuff - old papers, things I now see I have no intention of doing...., etc.

My self-imposed rule is if I have a piece of paper by the next "sort" (which happens about 2 - 3 times a year - Jan, around April/ May and then usually September-ish) and I haven't made any progress or had any excitement, then out it goes.

No matter how good the idea.

My desk currently has three piles - business, household and personal.

And because of the interest in yesterday's virtual craft night, I have a new Bible cover (it was the nearest convenient, suitably sized thing) stuffed full of some of my "crafting" ideas.

Yes, I've made a list as I dumped things in so that I know what's in there.

My preferred way of keeping my paper organised is

1) as little as possible
2) as simple as possible
3) regular tweaking

I'm going to use a flipfile (clear plastic sleeves bound together in a folder) for each of those three piles and make the papers fit.

How do you organise all the different categories of paper in your life?


On Tuesday we celebrate Women's Day in South Africa. Of course this means a public holiday.

I love Women's Day and I look for excuses to celebrate the whole month :)

Another of my self-imposed rules is to always take a day off next to a Tues or Thurs public holiday so I'm off work tomorrow.

I briefly entertained noble ideas of going to the gym but quickly changed my mind.

My work gave each woman not one but TWO movie tickets for Women's Day. I could NOT believe how ungrateful some people were.... "I don't go to the movies, moan moan moan......... GRRRR. Quite honestly, I don't care if you don't go. Be grateful anyway.

So I'll be going to a movie, have to run one or two quick errands (posting baby gifts and some clothes to my sister), will hopefully get my hair done and I want to spend about 3 hours on the photos.

What are you looking forward to this week?

P.S. Even if you're not in South Africa, think of something fun you can do on Tuesday for Women's Day :)