On being a learner...

I am finding myself in a ponderous mood, and yes, procrastinating slightly by coming here. How come, when there is something difficult to do, all those things that one has been putting off suddenly seem doable?!

To be honest, I am doing really well as a beginning teacher. Feedback is good. I should look at that. However, honestly, I am having a glass-one-third-empty moment.. there's one thing I am finding hard to crack.. and it's the only thing really, as far as I can see. BUT.. it's getting me down. OK, I am letting it get me down and, just by writing that, I can clearly see that it is my perfectionist tendencies that are getting in the way. Learning is juicy. Learning is hard. Learning is bumpy, and requires stretching. I. am. tired. of. stretching.

That really is the plain, simple truth. I have had a big year. And yes, there are only 5.5 weeks to go until I can experience my first, paid 6-week summer break. But I am knackered! Juiciness is squeezing itself into my teaching... I am loosening up, and so loving the rapport I have with my kids in my class. We have a lot of laughs and that is fab. Oh, suddenly their faces come to my mind and I wonder what my droaning on is all about :o)

Ahhh, amazing how a little off-loading can lighten the load! How could you lighten your load today?

Cheryl :o)

PS: there has been a bit of crafting-arting.. however, it is my step-mum's birthday gift (for her birthday which was in July! Hmm, maybe I could have told her it was for her next birthday!) I have some lovely photos but can only put them up here once she has received it. Stay tuned!

PPS: I have, amidst family health issues, been participating in a delicious e-course called 'Mondo Beyondo' - run by Jen Lemen and Andrea Scher. I promise to share more... someday soon! head over to their website if you want to suss it a little http://www.mondobeyondo.org/

The birthday!

Well, my son has turned 8. He was a beautiful babe, if a bit chubbily!

And here is a shot of the birthday, with a look of glee at the prospect of opening his gifts!

Birthdays are amazing coz they always remind me of how precious my family and friends are .. with some many different possible illnesses, and dangers of daily living, it really is quite an achievement when our children our healthy and happy. Ahhh, memory lane.. it really seems like a few short months since that 'hottest day for 100 years' in July 2001 (Surrey, England) when he was born... What a sweetie he is.

And, speaking of sweet things, here are some photos of our creative pursuits in the rainy school holidays (which, unlike Ciaran's birth, do seem like a distant memory, amidst the sea of 'getting back to work'!)

This is Ciaran's first ever stitching project, a brooch he made for himself:

and my foray into the world of molly chicken (a blog I found and thoroughly enjoyed reading through!) resulted in this cute chicken, and numerous mice. I did NOT attempt the doghouse, although Em was keen!

The chick has a wee pocket at the front that you can put the wee heart into. Mrs Molly Chicken offers that a diamond piece of jewellery could be put into there if one's husband was so taken. No diamonds have appeared in mine as yet!

Anyway, amidst life and school, birthday celebrations have been had, a safer, bigger (read: impressive) motorbike have been purchased, and the sun shone today. I have plenty of blessings to count, and some work to do.. so off I pop.

C x

decluttering update...

Hmmm, the deliciousness of the last post continued through the week, I am happy to say. The culmination was yesterday when Wayne and I had a day out together. A. whole. day.

It made us strong enough to declutter our budget today. That was scary. We had to be brave. Actually, it was me who had to be brave. Courage was required for the confirmation of the sneaking suspicion that we fritter a great deal of money. Well, obviously I'm not talking millions.. haha, if only, eh! but you know, I'm realising it's about choices. The choices of what we keep. The choices of what we collect. The choices of swapping money energy for space energy, for inspiration energy, for soothing energy, nurturing energy.
Goddess Leonie and Lisa have brought this to my attention with our ecourse. Powerful changes are afoot, and they are requiring courage.
My own tidbit of learning has been to 'chunk up'. I think it's an NLP term - instead of seeing dishes to wash, to put away, clothes to wash, to fold, to put away, a bathroom to clean, I am thinking of it in a bigger chunk: the slice of my life I call 'nurturing my family and our home'. Therefore, it makes all of this delicious!

And now, I will finish, and get on to decluttering in another slice of my life (all these food metaphors!).. school.
Bye for now, C x

A Nourishing Sunday!

Ahhh, I am slowly filling my well and it feels lucious.

First, due to a stinky cold, I tucked myself into bed early last night and had a deliciously long sleep..

This morning I provided for my family by going grocery shopping at some very early hour (ok, it was only 8am but I'm not usually out that early, unless it's for my walk to the beach), then, after coffee and crumpets, I got to talk with some very special people on Skype...my Dad, my step-mum and her daughter..

My Dad lives in America, married to a beautiful woman I am proud to have in my family. And, upon gaining a step-mum, I also gained a step-brother and sister - although because we are grown up, I don't really think of it like that! My step-sister, sort of soul-sister (I wonder if she'd agree with the feeling that conveys? We do seem to have a lot in common for the complete strangers we were before our parents met!) is an inspirational, courageous woman too, and so kind-hearted. And.. because it was 'Granma Tricia's birthday, we called her pn Skype to sing, and chat. Shelly was there too, and of course, my Dad.. As always, it was love-ly to see them, and chat with them.

And then, as if this wasn't enough deliciousness.. we donned our new tramping boots and went for a walk up a local track.. we were away for an hour or so and had a peaceful time with the tui and the ferns... Ahhh.

OK, it wasn't entirely peaceful because Ciaran decided to count all the steps we climbed up (there were at least 500, but the exact total is under debate!) but my soul was soothed. Delicious.

And... as if THAT wasn't enough, Emma and I made pikelets for lunch. Homemade, and scrummy with jam (and that cream I whipped!).

Oh, I forgot to mention Rhubarb. He's the donkey who lives at the camp beside Colonial Knob. Ciaran fed him a carrot before we commenced our climb. (Em fed him a carrot too but Rhubarb scoffed it before I could get a photo!)

Happy Sunday to you!

C x

PS: decluttering still continuing! One trip to Trash Palace (what a hardship that was) yeilded a clutter-free hallway, and now it's just back to the lounge, then the budget (that's another story!) TTFN

Parched ...

is how I feel today. The days are cold (though we did see the sun this afternoon), my children have been sick again, and I am really looking forward to a few days in the school holidays to fill my well. It's drying up after this big term of learning. Have you ever been satisfied and parched at the same time?
Hurumph!

A plus at the moment is the decluttering focus (in the in between moments). There is the decluttering aspect and the 'shining goddess in me' aspect: I am loving both. Years ago, in Auckland, I was part of a goddess group 'goddess wavy platt' we were called.. it was a magical time in terms of womanly get-togethers with older, wiser souls (I was the youngest and greenest in the group). This part has been woken up. I like that. I had a hilarious experience on Sunday, going for my morning walk (it's only a weekly thing these days) and doing a Goddess Leonie meditation at the beach. It was quite powerful - and funniest thing was, when I opened my eyes, a young labrador pup who was bouncing past, just stopped. He stared right into my eyes and I swear, he smiled! It was hilarious. He seemed to feel the humour and perfect timing of his connection and came up for a pat (I don't usually 'do' dogs - cf kitten pictures below). What a gift!
Right, back to work..

I hope this finds you keeping warm, and connecting with those dear. C x

Pausing

Today I am pausing. (It's Monday, not Sunday like the date on Blogger says?!)

E & C are under the weather so we didn't go to school. I knew this was a good idea when the blessed woman who sorts out relievers (at 6 in the morning) found a lovely reliever for my class. The sun is shining, and small jobs from the 'Important but not urgent' category are getting done.

Like a housewarming card for a dear friend.. I've included a copy of the recipe for her favourite cake which I have to take each time I go to visit; like a phone call to the washing machine man to service our washing machine.. you know those jobs.

I remembered I promised photos of the Sliding Patch. That was fun!

There is an action shot of Em. And, I had a go, after much enticing!

Remember those mad kittens? They have made themselves quite at home, and are providing lots of cuddles and laughs!

Off to do some more bits and bobs.. waiting in anticipation for my Magical Decluttering to begin!

Hope all is sunny and well with you today!

C.

Delicious!

Oh how delicious to be back here.. funny how I schedule time to come and blog and it doesn't happen, but if I go with the flow, well, I find myself here!
This morning I was perusing Kelly Rae Robert's blog, as I tend to do, and I clicked on a colourful link to Goddess Leonie
www.decluttergoddesses.com

I have looked at her site before but this time, the link was to invite me (I'm sure it was there especially for ME!) to be part of her decluttering course. I was in the middle of de-cluttering my bedroom floor (again!) and Wayne was in the middle of decluttering his bedroom drawers (again!).. can you see where I'm going with this?

We need help to make our home as delicious as we are .. our dreams and goals are noble and humble - yet we keep going round in circles. No more! I have elected to do Leonie's course, and am thrilled to also find something I can do as a distraction from teaching, and will move us further in the direction of our dreams. The teaching is delicious too, but I'm finding that I am either planning, teaching, tidying my class, or recovering from doing all of the aforementioned. Plus running my delicious home. I want to get some things in place to do the living bit.. and the saving for home renovations.

Any other wisdom to share?? Hmm, yes, just a word to remember to look for the sacred in the ordinary.. I practiced that yesterday and found some magic in a small co-op craft shop in Johnsonville that Em and I happened upon. I met a woman who invited me to a craft group that meets on the 4th Sunday of each month at the Johnsonville RSA - from 12pm. Free, community-based, for crafters only (no children!) and pure kindness that Linda wanted to share this with me! Thank you Linda!

bye for now.. C

Yes!

Yes! I have practiced the antidote to frustration and it worked: I took action and.. amazingly enough, my home is more organised and spacious!WOW! That is a great feeling - and more spaces are looking calm and orderly. Things have places, and things that didn't have places have found the bin, or the Trash Palace bag.

(Another little-known fact about me is that I love going to Trash Palace, and immediately after I've been, I am scheming about when I get to go again! Hence the bag: if I have stuff to take there, then I have to go, don't I!)

Well, that's all really. Just wanted to share some 'virtual sunshine' about everything having a place, and being in it!

My son Ciaran is reading over my shoulder and he thinks I should write about what we did today! Here goes: first we had to go looking for Wayne's mobile phone on the side of the road coz he thought he might have lost it there (he didn't. It is lost altogether) (an excuse to get another fancier one, methinks!); then we organised Ciaran's room: he bravely let go of some of his belongings to order his room and make it easier to tidy..

while this was going on, Emma played on her DS and played with the kittens, and Ciaran helped and practiced his cartoon-drawing, and played with kittens!

Emma made us lunch! That was a delicious act of kindness as Ciaran and I were nearly done with the tidying and got most starving: both at the same time. We had bread rolls, muesli bars, and chocolate buttons .. Yum!

After that (and several loads of washing) (and tidying the plastic container cupboard in the kitchen)(and playing with kittens), we went to get C a haircut, plus did a spot of shopping. C got the Monster vs Aliens blobby thing he wanted, and E collected yet another Bakugan (this time, using money from her US-Aunty Shelly). After that we, hmmmm, had hot chocolate, did some more cartooning and, hmmmm, had hamburgers, and, well, got our jammies on. What a great day!

Tomorrow has us doing numerous chores and.. having an exciting trip to the Sliding Patch! Will reveal tomorrow - with photos.

How are you?
Cheryl

today..

Well, today had me pondering in one of my favourite spots... It's the school holidays so that is GREAT - I welcome the break, and am giving myself this first week off from thinking about school. I am sooo pleased I made it to the end of the first term. I have grown a lot! (funny how 'a lot' is merely the tip of the iceberg! So many growing moments in 10 short weeks of Term 1). And in my breathing space, I have such great plans for our home and our savings account and my wardrobe.. and our home, and the kids' wardrobes...

Yeah, that's why I'm pondering really

(This was the image in front of me as I pondered... arghhh! Good work to get all that washing dry eh! Who is going to put it all away???)

I've created my reality with the full-time job and lovely second income, and we've even gone so far as to decide it's time to get serious with house renovations (we've dreamed of this moment since living in the UK many moons ago) ... what's missing is the vision. I love, really LOVE, pouring (pawing?) through those Your Home and Garden mags; Life&Leisure is another favourite, and I so want to have a nurturing home environment that soothes the soul, and mirrors the souls of those who live here. On one level, I reckon our chaos in this house does mirror our souls - but are we that chaotic!? We've toyed with the idea of moving home, but this place is where it's at for now. Golly.. such ramblings! Is having a lovely home environ more about 'allowing oneself to have it' than affording it, making choices/indecision, etc? I wonder...

PS: We have two new members of our household. Meet sweet Evee (top photo) and Neo:

OK, I'm inspired now!

I picked this bloom at my friend's house today - it was growing wild up the side of her house (and she says she can't keep any plants alive!) Isn't it beautiful? My Granny used to grow dahlias so I've always loved them - their colours. I've put this one on the wee bookcase beside my bed. It's in a vase my Nana gave me, on a coaster with Snifters on (a minty New Zealand sweet), and you can see my current bedtime reading. Well, I don't actually get to read coz I'm getting to bed so late, but I like to think I could! It's the lastest Your Home & Garden, and Stephanie Dowrick's Choosing Happiness. I just bought this book from Borders yesterday with some vouchers my sister gave me for my birthday. Delicious!

The small yellow thing with black on is an owl token Wayne brought me back from Canada last year. Have I mentioned I love owls? This one gives me strength when I want to feel wise.

Ka kite!

OMG - where does time go?!

Well, 2009 is well and truly with us.. what a whirlwind life has been so far.. I have begun my teaching career! All is fabulous about this as I gained my dream job teaching juniors at my local school - where my children go, and where I have been teacher aiding for the last 2.5 years. That is GREAT news!!
However, as is often the case, just when you reach the summit of a dream, there are new dreams and more footsteps to take, in an onward direction. That has been the exhausting bit!

Hence, I have planned posts, and visited my favourite blogs during this time, but this is the first time in months that I've made it here. Thank you to my friend, ahiparagirl, who encouraged me to post anyway - without photos, without even anything momentous to say. And here I am! I plan to arrive here more regularly now I am attempting to keep boundaries on teaching, and reclaiming the rest of my life! I look forward to sharing the journey.

How have you been? Is 2009 a year of dreams coming true for you??
:o) Cheryl