The Simple Pleasures Part II

So where was I? Oh Yeah- make your pleasures count! Don't try to 'multi-task' pleasures and don't allow distractions. Coz then they're not pleasures any more.

I used to follow the 4 pleasures a day rule very well with the support of a friend and a handy list on the fridge. Then life got in the way and it dwindled. And then I forgot about it. Now I need it again and I'm trying to remember what was on that list??? A cup of Tea, sure. But the others I can remember aren't really the same for me any more. So, to make a new list! It should be fun, making a list of all the things I love doing, but it's not, it's daunting. And I'm procrastinating because the making of the list means I have to ask myself awkward questions and stuff. Like- "I know! Eating chocolate-I love eating chocolate. I think. Do I? I mean I do it a lot, but do I really get pleasure from it? No, not really, any amount of pleasure I might feel is always overwhelmed by the inevitable guilt. So why do I do it? Habit? I don't know. This is too hard!"

And then I realise I have no real hobbies or interests. I do stuff, like crafts and knitting and netsurfing, but I realy only do it to fill in time. So what makes me happy? Eww, another awkward question. I'm even questioning whether or not I'll post this now, because I feel like a tool! How hard can it be? So my list so far is:

Weeding (no laughing)
Watering the lawn
cup of tea (in peace!)
Bath 'n' book combo
internet

Now I'm no mathmetician, but at 4 a day I'm gonna need more than that. Or I am going to have to start weeding and watering the whole suburbs gardens. Time to look inside myself (Gulp) and ask the hard questions. Tomorrow - I am a procrastinator after all ;)

If you would like to share the little pleasures that help you get through your day, please comment!

The Simple Pleasures

So a couple years ago I was involved in a little self-help, support type group for new mums with depression and/or anxiety issues. We learnt a lot of really useful stuff. Oneof the things we learnt was to take time out for a personal 'pleasure' (not rude!) at least 4 times a day. I know what you're thinking- 4?!?! A day!?!? How am I going to find time for that? I know that's your reaction because that was our (loud) reaction.

So we were calmed down and it was explained that the pleasures needn't be 'big' things and they actully don't necessarily take any more time out of your day. For example, when I was asked, I said one of the things I liked to do was just to have a cup of tea in peace and quiet- I had a 6month old and 21month old at the time. If I did actually find time to make a cup of tea, I usually got distracted and didn't end up drinking it, because the wshing machine stopped or the phone rang or a baby cried. And thn when I found the cold, undrunk? tea I felt even worse - I'm so useless I can't even drink a cup of tea before it goes cold I'm so unorganised!

After a bit of probing it was discovered that get out of bed at 7am every day, put on some washing and do some other stuff before the baby wakes (between 7 and 7:30am). So it was put to me- what if the first thing I do when I get up isn't washing but to enjoy a cup of tea? The washing will still get done and I get one of my pleasures in. And it a nice way to start the day.

Another scenario- I like a cup of coffee,but now I just drink it in between getting the kids ready for school and making lunches etc. So wht if you sat down and enjoyed your coffee first? Then you could savour it and relax and then you would feel happy and refreshed and better able to deal with the morning rush.

Doing the chores during the ads of your favourite show is also a no-no. You come back one minute too late and miss a crucial part. Just give yourself permission to do nothing but enjoy the program for half an hour. Much better.

On that note, my show has just come on, so I will take my own advice and post the est of this thought later : )

1000 Awesome Things

Hello Friends!

I just wanted to draw your attention to the newest addition to my favourite sites...

Everyone Please Welcome... 1000 Favourite Things !!! It's Awesome.

Movie Review

So today I feel like doing a movie review blog- be warned, I don't use the usual 'out of 5' rating system. My system is based on how much I would pay to see it and is follows:

Gold Class- splash out for this one! Best rating possible
Full Price- Still an excellent movie, I don't pay full price often
Tight-arse Tuesday- Worthy of the whole cinema experience, but at a cut rate
New Release- Worth the full $7, probably a 3.5 on the old scale
3 Day Hire- better than weekly, not as good as new release
Wait for weekly- you know, when you're desperate to find a couple weeklies to make up a package deal and you probably won't watch them anyway? Yeah.

So I watched a DVD at home today- Charlie and Boots. I wasn't expecting a great deal, out of my usual genre but I like Shane Jacobsen. It was a good movie. I laughed, I cried, I was satisfied. Rating?...New Release

Clash of the Titans I saw at cinema (not in 3D, 3d makes me sick), again, someone else's choice but I loved it! Gold Class! 3D if you can stomach it!

Paranormal Activity- huge disappointment, like watching paint dry. Wait for Weekly.

Lastly, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, awesome movie! Gold Class again!

Keeping the blog short by not posting descriptions of each, you can google it ;)

Love to hear your opinions of my reviews or hear about great flicks you want to recommend

Public school for us, for now

So every once in a while you are involved in a conversation which makes you stop and think about major life decisions you have made. This is a good thing - people change, priorities change, times change. So I just did a quick reassessment of my decision to send my daughters to public school.

So when it came time for my eldest daughter to start kindy I made appointments, and did inspections and interviewed teachers at the local public schools. Private was not an option, finding one without a religious (patooie!) base is difficult, and to be honest, well out of the price range of a single mum. Then we suddenly had to move a week before the school year commenced and all the hard work I had done finding the best of the local schools went out the window. I made 2 phone calls with the help of a street directory and enrolled in the most convenient to me. The stress of the sudden move and rent double that of the old place far outweighed any need I felt to get the choice of school perfet. That sounds terrible, but you do the best with what you know at the time, and I'm OK with it.

So the local Steiner school had a fete/open day that year and I made an effort to go along an actually check out the school to assess whether it was right for our family. I didn't know much about the Steiner method (no internet access) but went in with an open mind. The dealbreaker? Prayers. On blackboards, in workbooks, everywhere! No, no, no, that wouldn't do.

So a show on ABC called "This is Emily Young" caused me to consider home schooling more seriously. Emily (who I presume is home schooled) goes into the real world, questions the people who work there, and participates to learn. I am excited by the method of learning. Of course the student/teacher ratio is a bonus too. But who am I kidding? While I think I am smart enough to home school my children, I also feel that they would be missing out on other important things by not attending mainstream school (the benefits of mainstream public school in another post).

Back to today, where I am reassessing my quick decision to send them to a local, convenient school. Am I happy with their school? Yes. What are they missing out on that they might otherwise benefit from by being Steiner/home schooled? Nothing really. And I think this is because (quite subconsciously) the things I like about the other schooling methods have crept into our normal home life. Everything we do is an opportunity to learn - cooking, cleaning, washing, talking, shopping, driving, even watching (Gasp!) TV. Now I'm not pretending to be perfect, my kids watch too much TV and sometimes "Because it is" is the best answer they'll get from their tired, old mum- but it works for us. And maybe in a couple years something else will make me 'reassess' and I feel good that I can objectively do this.

School Holiday Happiness

Share your free/low cost school holiday activities below:

I took my two young children to a local Garden Centre which specialises in water features and koi fish. I asked, and they gave my daughters each a small bag of food to throw to the koi in the main pond. The fish jumped out of the water and over each other to get the food, delighting the children and entertaining them for a while. It provided conversation for the rest of the day and when we got home the girls got out their textas to capture the bright colours of the beautiful animals. And it was free and local!

These are a few of my favourite sites...

(to the tune of "Favourite Things"- The Sound of Music)

When the house is a mess, When the budget bites
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favourite sites,
And then I don't feel so bad

Bad cakes on Cakewrecks and loonies on Black Bikini
post-its on Passive Aggressive Notes and horror stories on fmylife,
Texts from Last Night has some really great stuff,
These sites I log into I can't get enough

Ruminations by Aaron Karo is also good too,
David After Dentist is the best on YouTube
If you have another site
that you think I might like
Please comment below
If you want to complain about my lyrics I don't want to know

This blog is for me
to share the things
that make me smile
I hope if you like it you'll visit once in a while!