Friday, April 29, 2011

Today I am thankful - errands, fresh and wedding!

(I was thankful yesterday, I just forgot to tell you!)

- for an errand day, where I got lots ticked off my list - hairdresser, doctor, chemist ... even remembered to take my Angel perfume bottle to be refilled!

- for beautiful, fresh produce quickly turned into dinner - the most amazingly clean, white mushrooms from the market, perfect avocado from the vegie box, fetticine, cream and butter.

- for that wedding! I love this stuff - watching all the docos over the past few days makes you realise this is really a moment in history. Even though it seems only yesterday Price William was born just a year or so before my firstborn and I watched them all growing up.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Today I am thankful - Royals, memories and real!!

- for Royal watching: yep, in the lead-up to the Royal wedding, I am indulging my interest in Royal history :) and reflecting on how it can't really be 30 years in July since Charles and Di married on my 18th birthday!!

- for memories: still enjoying all the looking-back on my old school group on Facebook - and I am not the only one who still has my treads!!!

- for the news a friend won a replica of The Engagement Ring - not the $49.95 one we saw advertised on telly this week (in two easy payments) but a real one from the jewelers!!!!!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Today I am thankful - productive, reading and sunshine

- for a productive day in the kitchen, prepping food for the next few days - so much easier for me to eat well on my work days if I put in a little effort on my non-work days. A batch of Olive Oil Granola and Roasted Pumpkin Brown Rice Salad.

-for reading time: realising I am ten books behind in my 52 books in 52 weeks challenge on Good Reads, I set about knocking off the half-read books clustered on my bedside table and in my Kobo! One down ...

- for a glorious day - walking to the chemist with Molly, we took the long way home as she basked in the joy of it all.


52 Weeks of decluttering - #16 Getting those drawers under control

I lucked out again - the area I had planned to attack is the one featured in this week's prompt @ organizing junkie!

There is very little in the way of drawer space in our 70s kitchen, just five tiny drawers. I really hadn't organised them for quite some time and had come to realise my previous system was no longer working as effectively. So time to do over! I only remembered to take one before photo, so you'll need to use your imagination! I my sights were the cutlery and utensil drawers.

Half-way through emptying the plastics drawer
The system I had in place was two utensils drawers - one labelled Metal Only, the other Plastic Only. While this was, in fact, working with our cleaner and the family, the result was too easy for everyone to just dump and run, which meant there was stuff in there we didn't need.

Such as half a dozen swirly straws my 23yo married daughter who has lived out of home almost two years admitted were hers! (She happened to be visiting when the project was tackled, so was co-opted to help!)

We had been shopping at Howard's Storage World earlier, as I wanted a new cutlery insert and other containers for the project. I found just the right cutlery insert:

Nice and simple

And was able to reuse the old one in one of the utensil drawers:

I was fed-up with sliding the top tray at every meal time.
Apart from wondering why we own so many chopsticks, I worked out that this insert was just right for some things but others needed something different. We were heading to Ikea the next day, so my mission was to find the right containers. Sadly, all the Ikea ones are designed for huge drawers and were no good to me, so we ended up at a different Howard's Storage and I was able to work out just what I needed and which sizes best fit the space, resulting in this arrangement:
Much more control
I got rid of a heap of duplicates (elder daughter is also planning on setting up her own home soon!) and got rid of the useless (6 kiwi fruit spoons???) And I am mostly happy with what is left. 

We did decide to keep the fork from the set of baby cutlery - we are sentimental like that ;)








Monday, April 25, 2011

Today I am thankful - daughters, containers and ANZACs

- for daughters, who love the same shopping destinations as I do (the biggest crime is to go to Ikea without one of them!). We wandered around Ikea, shopping and lunching and then tackled the adjacent shopping centre. A lovely, girly day.

- for containers of just the right size, to fit our kitchen utensil drawer and finishing my decluttering project for the week. Will try for photos tomorrow - as the days shorten, it is back to lack of light at the right moment!

- for defiant WW2 veterans, refusing the instruction to retire from marching and take their place in cars instead of with their units - if they drop dead, there is probably no place they would rather die. Leave them alone! Lest we forget.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Today I am thankful - sleep, rest and planning

- for a good night's sleep :) If I could only sleep like that every night, I could take on the world!

- for a doona day, blog-hopping and chilling out.

- for plans: tomorrow the girls and I are off to Ikea! 

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Today I am thankful - Mornington, mittens and Molly!

- for the joy that is taking our dog Molly to one of her favourite places - the Mornington Main Street shopping precinct! It is said that King Charles II issued a Royal edict that no King Charles Spaniel can be denied entry to any public place and Molly stands by this right! However, we only allow her to enforce it in pet shops, where she "browses" amongst the food displays with her nose in overtime. We love that Mornington is dog-friendly and not only allows, but welcomes dogs. Most shops and cafes have bowls of water outside the front door and the footpath cafe tables are host to all sorts of dogs and their owners. Sadly, they are not allowed at all in the Frankston CBD, so those retailers miss out on our business and trade :(

- for rainbow winter warmth: at my favourite Himalayan shop, I found just the arm warmer/fingerless mittens I searched for last winter - rainbow stripes! And a woolly scarf to match - a total of only $25 all up :) and the profits go back to people in Tibet and Nepal :)

- for one on one time with my married daughter, as we took it in turns to browse our favourite shops, while the other stood on the footpath with the dog and her adoring crowd! 

Book review:A Life Stripped Bare: My Year Trying to Live Ethically by Leo Hickman


This book was originally published in 2005 (this edition in 2006) and it is surprising how dated it seems in some areas - we have made a lot more progress than we credit ourselves: or perhaps Australia is just miles ahead of the UK?

Once again I was struck at how lucky we are to have an abundance of produce grown in our own country, meaning we really do not need to trun to overseas-sourced fresh foods. There are food mile issues as northern and southern, eastern and western parts of our country exchange foods grown locally, however the local economies are all dependent on this and the variation in climates means no area could be entirely self-sufficient without sacrificing variety (you cannot grow sugar in the south!).

Friday, April 22, 2011

Today I am thankful - traditions, scrapping and reading

- for a peaceful day at home: I do not practice any religion, however the cultural traditions at the time of year are important to me, so Good Friday is a day of hot cross buns and fish for dinner. 

- for scrapbooking! Yes, I actually worked on a new layout today :) and realised just how far behind I am long it has been since I have done any. My plan to start scanning my pages in high res was thwarted when I could not get the A3 scanner to scan any bigger than A4, however I did get to upgrade all my image management software ;)

- for reading time: I finished the book I started at the beginning of the week, the quickest read in a long time. Nothing like a chance to focus!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Today I am thankful - uninterrupted, long weekend and staying home

- for an uninterrupted morning: everyone must have been out panic-buying food for the long weekend, because the phone was silent and nobody crossed the threshold. I was able to focus on video management, setting up the menu and transferring files. The very moment I sat down in front of the TV with my lunch and the remote in my hand to test it, a mother and her three children arrived!

- for the Land of the Long Weekend: the Easter weekend is a long established tradition in Australia, where we take Good Friday and then the Monday in lieu of the Sunday for public holidays. So we are positively delirious that ANZAC day falls on Tuesday, giving us a five-day long weekend! (Unless you work in retail, as the shops only close on Good Friday). I plan on serious restoration of my body and scraproom!!!

- for living local: while the masses will sit in their cars with grumpy children and grumpier adults, inching along the highway at the end of our street, we will hole up at home, venturing out only if we wish. With all our family living nearby, there is no obligation to go away and with the beach at our doorstep, no incentive either :)

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Today I am thankful - away, dynamic and fish

- for anticipation of a weekend away: have just booked two nights at a B&B in Daylesford next month, for Melissa and I on our annual weekend at Back to Booktown in Clunes. As well as the ultimate in second-hand book sales, we look forward to shopping in the Daylesford shops :) 

- for a dynamic drop-in day today: on days like today, it is hard to imagine Dandenong without our Breastfeeding Centre. Mums seeking help were also providing support to each other while children played, books and booklets browsed, videos watched and babies fed and fed!

- for fish delivery: in addition to our weekly salmon, this week I ordered white fish and prawns in our Aussie Farmers Direct order - brilliant! No need to brave the easter shopping chaos.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Today I am thankful - toilet, tech and bag

- for signs of growth:  today I finished transforming the second toilet in our office back to that role. Since we opened 2 1/2 years ago, it has served as storage space but with more staff and more visitors, it is needed! (Still houses the vacuum cleaner though!)

- for sorting out our technical issues - we are now all systems go for running our video educational resources from the hard drive to the big screen - hopefully this will mean I spend less time kneeling on the floor! Thanks to my tech son and his mate for sorting me out.

- for my new bag, which arrived in the post today :)


I was motivated a couple of weeks ago by this post on MM's Missions. Her idea of "a purse in a purse in a purse" will hopefully solve a similar dilemma in my life. I initiated stages one and two right away, discovering a clutch bag I bought for the wedding last year (but didn't end up using) was just right to act as my day to day wallet but also could hold my phone and keys, making it perfect for me to toss into my shopping bag or just grab to pop into the chemist or supermarket for a quick purchase. Tucked into my bag, it meant no switching. So then I needed to find my stage three bag: a tote big enough to hold my existing handbag plus my work stuff like my lunch, gadgets and stuff. I adore my two Louenhide bags (a purple Baby Rhombo and an orange Baby Barrel) so went to their website and there was the perfect solution: the new Switch!!! It holds my either of my existing bags, with plenty of room for my lunch-bag and more! And on those days I don't work, I can just pull out my bag and go! I will take some photos when I get a minute so you can see how it works :) And if I need to, it is also big enough to hold my laptop or double as a shopping bag!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Today I am thankful - transport, local and classic

- for public transport: when half my brain double-booked the other half, I found myself with my car booked for a service when I was supposed to be at the Breastfeeding Centre for a meeting! So I got to test out the alternate commute by catching the bus. Much as my greenie-self would love to do this all the time, the reality is the trip to Dandenong takes twice as long by bus as my trip by car - and that is before I factor in another bus from home to the transit station :( However, the trip via hybrid Smart Bus has been shown to work, so a handy back-up if needed.

- for local living: once back in Frankston I had half a day to fill before collecting my car. On foot, I visited my chiropractor, spend time reading at the library, shopped for books at the Savers store my daughter works at, browsed books at our local bookstores, enjoyed lunch and then afternoon tea and did a little shopping at the supermarket.

- for my super-car: 27 years on the road next month and still astounding the mechanics! Today they replaced the original front brakes for the first time! Every time I have work done on her, we discover yet another original part finally retiring! She is now officially a classic car and has car buffs drooling over her everywhere from roadside assistance to car parks! 

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Today I am thankful - Seaford, phantom and clumps

- for a sunny Sunday in Seaford: Molly and I headed to the farmers market this morning and finished off with a walk on the beach. Market purchases included home-made soaps, free range eggs, vietnamese mint, dog treats and strawberries, while for breakfast we had an egg and bacon roll (with spare bacon offered to Miss Molly!) followed by fresh lemonade and a chai! So we needed the walk along the shore in the sunshine.

- for phantom music: when  you play a song in itunes and in that heartbeat after it finishes, your brain begins whatever track used to follow it on the original album!

- for the last of my batch of granola: I mis-measured or something with this batch made a couple of weeks ago, so it is extra sticky, resulting in massive clumps that are reminiscent of peanut brittle! Addictive snacking.

52 Weeks of decluttering - week fifteen: Organizing Closets

I feel back in control a little this week, because I have managed this prompt over the past (chaotic) month.

I try to switch my wardrobe twice a year, around the Equinox in Spring and Autumn. Probably 2/3 of my wardrobe is in use year round, so it is only the items for extreme weather variation that move in and out - my fisherman pants and peasant skirts that are my base summer weekend wardrobe and my winter coat, jumpers and boots. My wardrobe (closet) is just over a metre wide, so I value the space I can free up by putting off-season garments away.

I have come across this a couple of times and toyed with the idea, but a quick count of garments on hangers blows the limit, before I even look at folded items, shoes, bags, scarves and jewelery! I tend to wear layers, which seems not to fit the minimalist capsule wardrobe concept :)
I hang by colour - helps me find things!

I use all the precious space

Off-season lives in the box - both ends are labelled, just turn them around!

I store my bras and knickers here and stack vertically. Other boxes hold singlet tops, tshirts, socks, scarves.
Also some shoes slot in here. Leggings are stacked in the corner/

Room for new additions! You can just see my leggings stack behind the scarves.

My favourite shoes live here, with my jewelry.

Having my jewelry displayed where I dress means I wear it more.

Perfect use for that little space
Because the walk-in robe is actually a walk-thru to our en-suite bathroom, I can dress easily when I am getting ready for the day. I usually plan what I will wear the night before, if it is a work day. Colour coordination means I can mix and match and I enjoy trying new options.

This week's questions:
Questions:
1.  Will you be tackling a closet this week?  If so, don’t forget to follow the PROCESS to make it quick and simple.
I take everything out of the wardrobe and reasses every item before it goes into storage or back on the hanger. If I don't love it, I don't keep it.
2.  Did you run into any road blocks last week?
Time and energy are my road blocks lately but life will calm down a bit now.
3.  Since starting this challenge can you name one habit you’ve been able to develop that has stuck?
Interestingly, I am shopping more conciously and considering if I have space for new items.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Today I am thankful - enthusiastic, friends and time off!

- for enthusiastic mums-to-be, keen to learn as much as they can about breastfeeding before their babies arrive.

- for old friends coming out of the Facebook woodwork, as our school group grows like topsy!

- for Melissa getting the time off, so we can plan to go Back to Booktown in Clunes in May!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Today I am thankful - reminiscing, jeans and watching

- for reminiscing about high school days in a new Facebook group, chatting about teachers, students and events that are fresh in our minds - but thirty-ish years ago in our lives!

- for new jeans. I used to adore jeans but as my body has changed in mid-life, finding the right pair is agonising. But fitting into a new Levi style called "Demi Curve" made up for being surrounded by young, thin models on the walls. As did having my daughter along for moral support ;)

- for watching the world: a round, bald man at the traffic lights, wearing a tshirt that declares "F@#$ You - I'm from Frankston". two older men viewing the pedestrian traffic over their coffees: "I would say the young people mostly wear black." says one, with blinding insight into Melbourne fashion :)

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Today I am thankful - apples, cats and rug rats!

- for autumnal fare: I had an urge for baked apples last night, so acted on it when I arrived home from work. They are in the oven. Shall be followed over the next few months by crumbles and other applely delights :)

- for safe cats: Merry and Frodo (our Hobbit Cats) went there and back again when the back door was inadvertently left open - they are fully indoor cats, both for their safety and that of our local wildlife. But their adventure outside was not all they dream it to be, leaving them wet and bedraggled from the rain! Told ya!

- for crawling babies: the Mum's Group who meet at the centre each week have abandoned their strollers and now the babies are starting to sit and crawl on the floor - rug rats! They love having our space to explore and remind me of any child-proofing issues I may have overlooked ;)

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Today I am thankful - printer, drop-in and amazon delivery

- for a new printer in the office! We have finally been able to update from the lovely, but unreliable, printer to what we hope is lovely & reliable! If it is, we will make a permanent altar to the printer god, rather than daily prayers!!!

- for a busy drop-in day with several mums and babies coming in across the day and leaving with things to try and smiling faces. And a great learning day for the student midwife who came to observe - and her baby-holding skills were well-appreciated too!

- for the arrival of my own copy of Multiple Sclerosis and Having a Baby from Amazon: relax - as a reference text for my Ms, Mums & Milk project! Now all I need is a bit more time to focus on the book I am planning.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Today I am thankful - humour, busy and toys!

 - for the sense of humour that prevailed as Melbourne peak hour chaos was made worse by the intense rain: reporter on the radio said today was a good day to "spend quality time with your car" 

- for the busy phone line today, as women we promoted BEC breastfeeding classes to over the weekend all hurried to book their classes! Most expressed a sense of relief they hadn't missed out.

- for the excitement of a four year old girl arriving at the Breastfeeding Centre with her mum who was hiring a pump, nearly jumping with joy at the sight of our play area and toys, which she had all to herself!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Yvette's Favourite things - Baby & Toddler Expo: Orange Hope and Ecocubs

I came across a couple of great ideas at the expo on the weekend that I want to share. I like to support mums in small business, but I need to like the product too!

Orange Hope - this stand was right next to our ABA one, so we got to chat quite a bit! I joined their Facebook on the spot on Friday and was pleasantly surprised to be greeted on Saturday with a copy of the book I had won by doing so! It is a lovely book and I plan to have it at the Breastfeeding Centre for mums to browse while they feed or wait for sleeping babies to wake so they can feed! The book is full of things new mums can do to look after and nurture themselves.

From the website:

Do you want to naturally navigate motherhood?

Sleep well at night and enjoy the daylight is like having a champion for your success at your side, day and night:
  • When you have just come home from hospital
  • When you are learning the ropes
  • If you return to work
  • If you are a mum of one or many
  • If you need advice
  • If problems arise
  • If you are a mum who needs to connect to the woman within
Learn how to do 5 things differently;
  1. sleep soundly
  2. feel liberated
  3. see happiness
  4. receive support
  5. nurture and inspire your inner self
Buy now and spend a lifetime growing more passionately with your new family, connect to the woman within and live a passionate and fulfilling life now. This book’s easy design will give you the versatility of a picture book for a moments inspiration or a full 52 week guide bring many opportunities of motherhood into your awareness to be pondered over.

“Every mother hopes to be the best mother she can be…Let Orange Hope support, nurture and inspire your amazing motherhood journey”

Rockin Green and Ecocubs - Rockin Green is a laundry alternative that ticks all the boxes from an environmental and ethical perspective and is suitable for all your laundry but particularly so for modern cloth nappies (which I think are wonderful, just 20-30 years too late!)

The mums who are distributing this are just so lovely and great supporters of ABA, breastfeeding and gentle parenting, so I would be delighted to point my purchases toward them. Then they told me about their business - ecocubs: not just an online store for modern cloth nappies but also running a cloth nappy library and a demonstration service - just the thing for the modern cloth nappy day I have been pondering for the Breastfeeding Centre (like our Slings and Things)! So check them out!!






Today I am thankful - sleep-in, leggings and afternoon tea

- for a lovely sleep-in and rest this morning, catching up after the weekend and watching the second half of Midsomer Murders on iView (because I fell asleep watching it last night!)

- for the arrival in the mail of the coloured leggings I ordered online from We Love Colours  - set now for my winter wardrobe!

- for a lovely afternoon tea at Kaitlyn's house with Melissa and Molly - the humans were taste-testing a new tea product designed for soy milk drinkers. And Kaitlyn's yummy mini quiches and chocolate brownies, all lactose-free and mostly gluten-free too!

Today I am thankful - for the past weekend

- for the wonderful feedback so many women made a point of coming to give us over the three-day Baby & Toddler Expo - we accepted many wishes of thanks on behalf of all our volunteers. ABA makes a difference in people's lives, for which we can all be thankful.

- for the company of Jacinta Covington as we stood in pouring rain waiting for trams, sans umbrella or any form of rain protection on Saturday. 

- for the beauty and elegance of the old Royal Exhibition Buildings in Carlton, where the expo was held for the last time. Jeff's Shed (aka the Melbourne Exhibition Centre in Southbank) is much more comfortable and user-friendly but has none of the charm. 

- for the common sense so many parents-to-be showed, whispering "I don't think we need half the stuff here!" to which I agreed! Honestly, some people see expectant parents as a license to print money!!!

- for the healthy food available at the cafe, so I was able to stick mostly to my eating plan across the weekend.

-for the friendship of ABA volunteers past and present, with whom it is always a delight to spend time. It is like one big family :)


Friday, April 8, 2011

Today I am thankful - volunteers, bed and sunshine

- for ABA volunteers, who did a fabulous job today at the expo :)

- for having a bed to stay in only minutes from where I have been all day and need to be all day again tomorrow - and the next day! Thanks Sarah!

- for another beautiful autumn day - one more tomorrow and then they tell us to expect rain.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Today I am thankful - patience, autumn glow and 60s

- for patience. It was tried sorely today, when I was delayed in what I needed to do by an unplanned 3 hour delay, but I kept reminding myself it was beyond my control, I had the time and to just relax and wait. I got there in the end!

- for more beautiful autumn weather - have I mentioned I love autumn? I think I might have, but the blue sky and the long, slow sunset in the late afternoon cast everything in such a lovely warm glow.

- for the Swinging 60s - looking forward to tonight's episode of Turn Back Time: the high street. I am really enjoying the series and will be sad when it ends next week.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Today I am thankful - Dickens, Facebook & workforce!

- for Dickens! I just saw an ad on the ABC for a DVD set of Jane Austen dramatisations, and I thought 'meh', then they said they also have a set of three of Dickens - Bleak House, Oliver Twist and Little Dorrit - all of which I thoroughly adored on TV! So I accept I am not an "Austen Girl" but I am a "Dickens Girl" - I have read none of her works and have read most of his!

- for Facebook! Facing a three-day weekend of commuting an hour each way between home and the Baby & Toddler Expo in the City, I asked on my Facebook Wall if anyone could give me a bed for the nights. I got TWO offers, one an easy tram ride away from the beautiful Exhibition Building in Carlton! I am blessed.

- for the luxury of being able to go photocopying at Officeworks, knowing Kintara was holding the fort on drop-in day! This is exactly why we needed an extra staff member and gee it feels good! When I got back, she and a family were chatting, waiting for my return.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Today I am thankful - flowers, beach and pork

- for these, which brightened up my day as they sat on the table at work.

- for my new tshirt, which I popped on to take Molly for a beach walk when I got home from work, because the weather was just so utterly perfect. I do so love autumn :)

- for coming home to a roast dinner! Melissa decided to try her hand at roast pork - and achieved great crackling - and I don't even like crackling!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Today I am thankful - discussion, transplant and OK

- for a really inspiring ABA Dandenong group meeting this morning, which discussed breastfeeding, women and work and extended into discussion about women and work over the past half century and beyond! Can we have it all? What is it all?

- for successfully updating the 2GB SD card that came in my new phone with the 16GB one I had in my old phone! And I didn't lost either of the microscopic things either!

- for the all clear for Molly's ear at the vet :) 

Me & My Shadow

I mentioned in my de-cluttering post on the weekend that I am having a bit of an MS flare-up and, as usually happens, received lots of care and concern on my Facebook and in the comments.

I am never going to knock back care and concern!

However, fear and panic I just don't need to arouse in those around me, so I thought I would share a little more about how I manage my health and the strategies I use to balance all these twirling plates!


I have a very mild form of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis - that's the kind you want to have if you have to have it. It has been a part of my life since 1995 and is similar to diabetes and arthritis - I need to accommodate it in my life but prevent it becoming my life.

There are factors in day to day life that can increase the risk of a flare-up or exacerbation - but it should be noted you can neither cause nor prevent these happening, only reduce the risk. For me, a flare-up will include fatigue and probably some mild sensory or cognitive  imbalance. I might lose feeling in part of my foot or hand or experience phantom sensations on my skin (a scalding burn on my arm, a hair brushing th tip of my nose), or I might forget information or struggle to input new data in my brain (its like working with a dodgy lap-top!)

For me - and most people with MS - the things that increase the likelihood of a flare up are - stress, heat, lack of sleep, lack of exercise and illness. So my management plan is to minimise all of these. Some are completely within my control, like eating well and others are beyond my control, like catching the common cold or living in a heatwave.

I thought the traffic light analogy sums things up quite well: 

My ideal place is in the green zone - plenty of quality sleep and rest, good nutrition, regular exercise, no viruses and good stress management.

The amber/yellow zone sees me managing to achieve most of these but with some areas of concern.

The red zone sees me extra busy over an extended period, with no chance to attend yoga or aqua class, prepare or eat good food, with poor sleep and lack of rest periods, with hot/humid weather and high stress loads in my work or personal life. Which all decrease my resistance to infection and my ability to fight it.

While my goal is always the green zone, reality means I am usually floating around in the yellow one. This means you might notice more bed days, more moaning about tiredness and complaints about not getting to class or eating well - all of these can be cause and affect!

You might actually notice I am the red zone, even before I do! That is because I am so in it I cannot see it and am just working on getting through each day. It is not helpful at that stage to point out I am in the red zone, but it is helpful if you act to reduce those triggers in some way (make sure I eat, don't let me stay up past my bed time, share the workload etc.)

Most of the above is not exclusive to MS and is equally applicable to other chronic illnesses. In fact, even the healthiest of people benefit from avoiding the red zone and getting the heck out of there if they stumble in!!!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Today I am thankful - workshop, car and wardrobe

- for a wonderful time today at ABA Nepean regions workshop, who listened to me waffle on about BECs and breast pumps. It was wonderful to be able to welcome them into the Breastfeeding Centre after a last-minute venue hiccup and lovely to put faces to names of new trainees I hadn't met before. And then they gave me the most glorious bunch of flowers as a thank you - a mass of purple and orange blooms!!!!

- for the timely arrival of roadside assistance when my car wouldn't start after everyone went home. he got me started and warned me not to stop on the way home! And only a couple of hours later, the new starter motor has been fitted by a mobile unit in my driveway! It has a two year warranty: my car is 27 years old!

- for swapping out the last of my wardrobe yesterday and welcoming my Winter wear from storage, while sadly packing away my fisherman pants and peasant skirts tile Spring - no doubt we will now get a heatwave!

Mobile me

Just testing Blogger on my new phone now you'll never get away from me!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

52 Weeks of decluttering - week 13

Sticking to my motto - I am never behind, I am just where I am!

The past few weeks have been a challenge for me physically, as I juggle a bit of an MS flare-up with my work and personal care. So decluttering has been low on the list - not of it completely, but more micro-organising as I go rather than Decluttering Projects.

I still feel less than 100% (to be fair, I can't remember when I last felt 100%!) but the mind continues to churn even when the body is in rest-mode!

Today, I tackled a small-but-irritating area - a set of drawers in our en-suite bathroom. So a lesson in decluttering for those having a Bed Day :)

I placed a towel on my bed and transfered the drawers from the unit:
Really a dumping ground for stuff we never use

But prime real estate under the vanity!
The bane of my life, it took only TEN minutes of my life to deal with! Turning mountains back into mole-hills!

Only ONE item ended up in Give Away!

I relined the drawers with some paper from my scrapbooking stash and sorted the contents so like is with like and - 
Ta da! Spare room, even!

Over on Organizing Junkie, this week's prompt is a subject close to my heart!


52 Weeks: #13 Purge magazine backlogs

which is on my hit list!

Your questions of the week:
  1. How far back does your magazine backlog go?
Not including my collection of NMAA/ABA newsletters, which I keep for reference/historical purposes and go back to the 1960s (!), I have a couple of collections going back up to five years.
  1. Will you be able to part with some of them?  What is the hardest part of doing this for you?
I have actually made the decision before now to get rid of most of them (excluding the above) and keep just a handful of scrapbooking ones I especially want.

I have weaned myself from magazines and no longer buy any! Not bad for someone who has had a serious addiction in the past. I now read two or three titles at the library but get my "magazine fix" through my blog reading these days - serves exactly the same purpose! I use Google Reader and have their NEXT book-marklet, so with a click, I scroll through articles  covering all my interests. It is a rarely-ending chain of information.

I might explore eMagazines on my Kobo when they come to Australia, more for browsing options away from home.

So I have a pile ready for the recycling bin and another to go to the charity shop my daughters works at.

  1. What area(s) are on your list for next week?
Kitchen drawers are next on my list :)

  1. For fun…do you do your laundry folding standing up at a table or sitting down?
I rarely do so these days, my cleaner does ;) but my preferred place is on my bed while I watch TV.

Yesterday I was thankful ;) - Desire, lunch and fuss-free

- for my new HTC Desire mobile phone, which I got yesterday afternoon. It side-tracked me so much I forgot to post I was thankful! I have gone over to Android from Blackberry and so far, it suits me really well.

- for lunch with Kaitlyn at the cafe she works at. Occasionally, I time a visit that fits with her break - we never plan this, it just happens!

- for the chicken pesto pasta I squirreled in the freezer last weekend, which was just the trick for my "Fuss-Free Friday" dinner! This is a variation of "Feed your own face Friday" where it is everyone for themselves!