Feeling stuck

For a while now I've felt pretty lethargic and dissatisfied, it's almost like the princess and the pea syndrome, something isn't quite right and I can't put my finger on it. I thought it was work (which has been pretty stressful of late) but I'm currently on a weeks holiday and the 'somethings-not-rightness' just hasn't shifted. Maybe I'm feeling bored and in need of some inspiration? I'm really not sure, but I do feel like something's zapped my energy and I need to get it back. How I'm going to do that, I have no idea. I think a good place to begin is by taking it back to the basics - eating well and getting plenty of rest. Then reconnecting with the things I love - reading, writing and playing games (which I haven't done in ages!), with perhaps a touch of creativity thrown in. So basically plenty of 'me' time is required.

I think I quite possibly am exhausted - 2013 was a busy year with the majority of my holiday's being spent decorating or building flat-pack furniture, copious amounts of home improvements including a brand new roof and new front door, as well as a rather traumatic relationship break up. Looking back, I don't think I ever appreciated all that I achieved - in fact I've probably never really given myself credit for my successes and have always demanded more...the result, as with anything, is burnout and the more I give myself the space to write on this tiny little corner of my blog, the clearer it becomes. So it's time to try and put things right, to spend the rest of my week off taking care of 'me', resting and doing the things I love.

And here's a little reminder in case I forget...

Cutting down on caffeine

I've decided to take my self nurturing routine one step further and reduce my caffeine intake. I've always been a tea lover but the effects the caffeine might be having on my body has bothered me for a while now so i've decided to cut down, partly for health reasons but partly just out of curiosity to see if I feel the benefit. Tea has always been a family ritual with fond memories attached to it, whether it be sitting around a roaring coal fire at my grandparents, chilling after a busy day at work, or  idle chats in cafes, tea has always conjured up feelings of warmth and security. I think it's the nostalgia of tea, rather than the taste, that i'll find so hard to give up so I need a plan to keep me on track.

What i'm hoping to do is gradually reduce my normal tea and replace it with herbal and rooibos teas. I usually only drink about 5 cups of tea a day so i'm hoping to gradually replace these with 'kinder' teas, hopefully by taking it slowly i'll avoid too many withdrawal symptoms. I've stocked up on some tempting sounding Pukka and Yogi Teas ('morning time' and the rather lush sounding 'choco' tea) and have a big box rooibos too so i'm ready to take my first steps into a life without caffeine...well apart from the occasional chocolate treat.

I'll also be making sure I keep up my green smoothie routine in the mornings to give myself an extra energy boost!

 Cheers!

Taking time

I've been reading Kris Carr's 'Crazy Sexy Diet' for a while now and it's really hit home and made me consider what I eat. I've not rushed in, all guns blazing, and turned avid raw foodist overnight but it's message has slowly seeped into my brain, colouring the way I view my body and the food choices I make. After reading the book, I wanted to try adding daily smoothies to my diet and so decided to invest in a Vitamix. Five months on and I'm convinced it's one of the best investments I ever made. I now have a smoothie every day before work, nothing fancy, just banana, pineapple, grapes and spinach, and not only does it help to keep hunger pangs away until lunch time, but it has also kept those horrible cold and flu infections (that come as part of the territory when you're a teacher) at bay. 

I've recently been experimenting with making soups too, especially after discovering that the blades rotate fast enough too heat the soup, so no extra cooking is required. I made tomato and basil soup using all home-grown ingredients and I have to say it was one of the best I have ever tasted!

Taking the time each day to look after myself and give my body some much needed tlc has certainly opened my eyes and made me realise just how hard we can push ourselves and the need for us to take time out, even if it's just 5 minutes a day, to nurture ourselves.

Photo Reflections Day 5

I love my driftwood clock. I bought it when I was on holiday in Cornwall and it really was love at first sight. It's made by a local artist called Dom Harvey, you can see some of his work here. This clock was one of the first really colourful things I bought for my home and since then i've started to introduce more colour into my life. My funky sweet table was inspired by it.

I've been conscious of time today, the day seems to have passed me by quickly as i've tried to get through my to-do list. I'm off work at the moment with labyrinthitis though i'm due to go back on Wednesday, so i've been trying to use my time wisely by getting a few jobs done. I've done quite a bit but it's surprised me how time, when you're ill and unable to do anything, ticks by ever so slowly, and yet when you're back on your feet time slips away oh so quickly. So this evening I'm going to try and savour what's left of the day and be conscious of every minute.

December intentions

I feel so much more focussed when I have a mini plan to follow so i'm going to set some intentions for December. I feel my life lacks creativity at the moment so i'm going to focus my December intentions on being more creative and mindful. So this month I will:

1. Take a photo every day - this must reflect some aspect of myself or my life (a photo reflection) and i'll post it to my blog.
2. Meditate for at least 5 minutes every day - I need to do this to start to centre myself as i'm feeling a bit wobbly and ungrounded at the moment.
3. Crochet a dishcloth - I want to learn how to crochet and I can't think of a better way to learn than to start off by making something that I will actually use.

So those are my intentions for December and now i've unleashed them into the big wide world i'll be much more likely to stick to them.

I borrowed this from the lovely Megg at Creating Wings, it really resonates with me at the moment.

29 today...

It's my birthday today and with everything feeling like it's so up in the air at the moment with regards to my relationship and my future, I have decided to take some inspiration from the wonderful Susannah Conway and make a list of 30 things i'd like to do before i'm 30 (though i'm sure Susannah's list was slightly longer *wink* ). So for the past week i've been busy thinking about the small and not so small things i'd like to accomplish in the next year before the big 30 arrives on my doorstep. I plan to revisit this post throughout the year and tick off those things i've achieved and i'm sure i'll be blogging about my experiences along the way. So here's my list, why not make up one of your own?

30 things to do before I'm 30:
1. Meditate
2. Drink more water
3. Update my blog regularly
4. Learn to play the didgeridoo
5. Read more books
6. Eat healthily
7. Buy myself only beautiful clothes that I love
8. Take more photographs
9. Buy a polaroid camera
10. Make home-made Christmas gifts for my family
11. Learn to crochet
12. Relax
13. Rediscover myself
14. Spend more time with my friends and family
15. Try a new recipe once a month
16. De-clutter my home
17. Deepen my understanding of the Tarot
18. Make soap
19. Turn my house into a home
20. Do my reiki second degree
21. Recycle
22. Buy a new car
23. Exercise more
24. Grow my own vegetables
25. Find a career that I'm passionate about
26. Worry less
27. See Tim Minchin live
28. Buy a plum tree for my garden
29. Work through "A Creative Guide to Exploring Your Life"
30. Experiment with affirmations

Right, now to the important stuff - cake anyone?

The first tentative step...

Welcome to my blog, my own little bit of cyberspace where I hope to share snippets of my life and things of beauty that I happen to stumble across - such as the beautiful artwork of FreyaArt who I only discovered yesterday but who has already captured my heart with her quirky style and inspirational quotes. The print below is one of my favorites, I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't like to be told that they are a "strange and magnificent creature". Strangely enough no-one has ever said this to me, but I think I might have to make it my daily mantra and say it to myself as a way of celebrating my own strange magnificence. maybe you should too?