12 week turnaround: week 4

Well, just when you think you're on the road to getting things sorted, life throws something at you that you weren't expecting. Two days after writing this post, my relationship of (almost) 3 years ended - it came out of the blue, just like that, and it totally floored me. The past three weeks have been a bit of a blur as i've tried to come to terms with things, whilst simultaneously burying myself in my work. Needless to say, I have spent a lot of my time feeling very, very sad about the whole affair. The break up has brought new challenges with it, as i've had to pack up 'M' and the girls belongings and accept that our plans to move in and spend the rest of our lives together are no more.

I am slowly coming to terms with things, it's going to be a long process and i'm sure there'll be ups and downs along the way. Today though, I have felt better, I spent the morning pottering around in the greenhouse and I could feel the old, positive Vicky returning. I went and caught up with a particularly wise friend yesterday, was told a few home truths and I feel that marked a turning point - the message: I need to focus on myself more and show myself the same kindness that I offer to others - I will. As the weeks have passed I have started to reconnect with old hobbies and passions that I just didn't have time for when my weekends were committed to spending time with M and the children. Meditation, yoga, reading and visiting family and friends have all featured heavily and i've even bought myself a new tarot deck to explore - it's amazing what parts of yourself you can lose (sacrifice) when you're in a relationship. Today though, I feel hopeful; hopeful that my heart will mend, hopeful for the future and hopeful that I am slowly letting go of the person I have loved so dearly, without bitterness or resentment. There is hope.

12 week turnaround: week 1

I've just completed the first week of my 12 week turnaround and what a busy week it's been! Despite going away for the bank holiday weekend i've managed to tidy and declutter the cupboard under the kitchen sink, rehomed 3 cookery books, taken 2 foot off the very overgrown hedge, cut the grass and given it a much needed weed and feed, waterproofed the front of the house ready for winter and washed down and repainted the porch ready for my new front door which arrives on Wednesday. It's amazing what you can do in a week, although I have been off work so I suspect not all of my weeks will be as productive as this one. I've also learnt how to prune roses, it's been on my to-do list for ages but i've never got round to it, now after a quick search online (whatever did we do before the internet!) i'm a rose pruning 'expert' and my roses have just started to flower again.

I've also had a few offerings from the veg patch this week - some gorgeous freshly dug potatoes, broad beans and a large courgette. There's plenty more to come, especially courgettes as my 'dwarf' Verde di Milano courgette plants from the Real Seed catalogue  are taking over the veg patch!

I can't believe how huge they've grown, they've sprawled about a metre in width, and as I thought they were dwarf plants i've planted about 6 so the veg patch is slightly over-run at the moment. I suspect it's something to do with the erratic weather we've been having, or perhaps the huge mound of compost I planted them on, but i'm not complaining as they're producing plenty of flowers and hopefully lots of courgettes to follow.

12 week turnaround

So much has happened since my last visit to this blog. I've expanded my chicken flock, invested in an Eglu, refurnished the main bedroom (and even built my own flatpack furniture!), decorated the middle bedroom, decluttered and re-homed more things and had the house re-roofed. Phew! There's probably more but that's all that springs to mind at the moment.

The middle bedroom went from this...

...to this!

Despite my efforts, there still seems to be so much to do, so i've decided to mix it up a bit and see how much I can turn things around in the next 12 weeks. I'm not going to give myself a to-do list as it'll be so huge that i'll feel like giving up before I start, i'm just going to focus on turning things around one step at a time. Whilst the main focus is reclaiming my space, i'm going to apply the 12 week turnaround to my life in general and make time to enjoy long-forgotten hobbies and maybe discover a few new ones along the way! It feels exciting to be on the brink of something so fresh and unplanned. I wonder where i'll be 12 weeks from now?

Hetty, Betty and more decluttering

Sadly, Anais and Lily have recently passed away - I think as ex barn hens they were just 'egged out' and exhausted. This left Violet wandering around the huge run on her own and looking rather sorry for herself so i've got her a couple of new friends, a couple of bantams named Hetty and Betty:

At first there were fireworks as Violet chased them around the run, ensuring that they knew that she was the boss. I brought out extra feeders and drinkers, lifted them into the coop for the first couple of nights and by the end of the week she had accepted them as part of her flock. As you can see from their barely visible combs, they're only young so i'm not expecting any eggs from them until spring, but they seem happy and quite clucky in their new home.

I've also got another, rather exciting, new addition to the run coming very soon, but i'll save that for another post...

On the 'housey' front, I spent yesterday morning decluttering the cupboard underneath the stairs. I've found a few old coats that i'm going to drop off at the charity shop tomorrow and i've managed to finally organise my tins of paint and painting supplies from my 'decorate two bedrooms in two weeks' challenge in August (yes I do like to put the pressure on). I also got rid of two bags of junk that were lurking in there, recycling what I could, and I also discovered a bag of hay from my guinea-pig keeping days (over 2 years ago!) which i've rehomed in the shed ready for when I build my no-dig raised bed in the spring.

Today, i'm hoping to keep up with the decluttering vibe that's currecntly enthusing me by cleaning out the cupboards under the kitchen sink. I'm sure i'll find more junk, but hopefully some useful things too!

Progress

Remember the junked up area at the bottom of the garden that I posted about here, well four months later and i'm pleased to say that i've finally finished it (I said I was a flighty person!). The junk area has gone from this:

to this:

As you can see i've created another compost area and have started to lay down some cardboard to kill off the weed growth. I've also been given a load of tyres which i'm planning to grow next years potatoes in. The area isn't completely finished yet as i'm planning on building a no-dig raised bed there but i'm waiting until the weather's a bit warmer before I begin that, otherwise the bed will keep in the cold.

Well at least that's one thing I can tick off my list and my life now feels slightly more clutter-free!

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.