Tag Archives: being mama

It’s About Time

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I am still working my way through Organized Simplicity and the latest chapter deals with Time. As I predicted, the key takeaway for me is that I need to cut down on screen-time, both TV and iPad/laptop/iMac. I knew that this was going to be an area that needed tackling and despite my best intentions, I still spend far too much of my time in front of the box – especially in the evening.

After reading the chapter in the book, I felt like I need a strategy for this. Sheer willpower won’t be enough and I actually value a lot of my television viewing as a way to unwind and be entertained – it is not all rubbish that I am watching. By refocusing on just watching Quality Television, I should be able to carve out quite a bit of time to spend on both fun tasks like crafting and the less fun stuff like housework.

I also find that during the day when I am home, I can waste at least one of Evelina’s naptimes watching something which does not fall into my definition of Quality Television. This tends to happen more if I am particularly tired, under the weather or feeling down. In other words, I am comfort television-watcher. A bit of structure to my week will help this – I always work better with specific goals and a deadline!  So step one: Make a list of the things I need to do and the things I want to. Step Two: draft a weekly schedule, including downtime so that I stay balanced.

I have also organised my craft area a bit (MUCH still to do here!) so that I can quickly access some smaller projects. When I feel like I need some downtime, I will be able to pick up my Halloween mini-quilt (see, I like a deadline!) or my Liberty bibs (that deadline is approaching too – Evelina will be off bottles in a month!!).

Next chapter: Money (and therefore, the dreaded D word).

Nine Months

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I managed to write my nine-month letter to Evelina just one day after the monthiversary. A record!

Your ninth month Evelina

 

As your daddy and I celebrated our birthdays at the end of July, we left you for the night with your Grandma and Grandpa – our first night without you! While we went for a curry and a film at the Birmingham IMAX, you were a perfect angel and slept well for your grandparents. In fact, August was a busy month for us with … Read More

via Mama Kate

The Next Day

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Yesterday, I went to a new hairdressers for a much-needed colour and cut.  I really like my usual hairdresser, Hannah at Toni and Guy in Leamington, but maternity leave = having to make frugal decisions.  One might argue that the colour part could have been achieved using a shop bought colour but I have not attempted my own colour since I was 21 and I don’t know how it would end up.  Plus my Mum and Dad treated me for my birthday so I could have it done guilt-free.

My usual beef with new hair cuts – especially when someone is not used to my child-like fluffy mess of thin, fine hair – is that it always looks great out of the salon but the next day, it is impossible to get it to behave.  This is why today, on Day 2 of this haircut, I am thrilled that the shape and cut look perfectly acceptable in spite of the fact that I have done nothing but wash and comb it.  No blow dry.  No product.  Nothing.  My natural curl has been awakened (which, by the way, I would have been thrilled to know when I was 13 and started to perm my hair for body – something that continued WAY too long into my twenties) and the colour still looks good (as well it should).

I could well be returning to Kim at Christian Hair & Beauty in Kenilworth for my next cut in another four months time (because, let’s face it, that is when I will get around to it again!).

Organized Simplicity

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Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional LivingOrganized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living by Tsh Oxenreider

I have just started reading this book because ricardo and I decided that this year, we were going to wrestle our finances into order and simplify our lives. I have been reading Tsh’s blog Simple Mom for a while as it is a great source of inspiration when it comes to organisation and home management. However, now that I am a mama myself, it has become even more relevant.

The term Intentional Living refers to the idea that you don’t just let life happen to you but instead you live with conviction and have more certainty about why you make decisions. It seems to me it is activity versus passivity and proactivity versus reactivity.  This approach is very appealing to me, especially since I would like to get a hold of the things that constantly need to get done and shake this constant feeling of falling behind.  I want to be able to sit down and spend an hour sewing without feeling guilty. I want to want to sit down for an hour to sew rather than watching year-old episodes of Oprah. I want to be able to fully enjoy this incredibly blessed life I have.  I have a feeling that one of the changes will be ‘watch less TV’ but, you know, baby steps…

As a first step, I have made a short list of my goals for 2011 with this in mind. I will share my progress with you here and I have even changed one of my horizons to ‘Simplify‘ so you can easily find posts about frugality, the simple life and all that good stuff.

Finally, I will be participating in Project: Simplify over at Simple Mom.  The first hotspot is the wardrobe and that is definitely an area that needs attention.

Sidenote: The ‘z’ in the title caused me more pain than it should – I am no pedant after all – but it is the title of her book and who am I to impose my British spelling?!