My Jar of Happy

You know that saying, "I wish I could bottle it?"  When something is so good we want to preserve it forever or just save it for another day? Well I think I have discovered a way to do just that!

I do not always find time to journal even though I find it very therapeutic. I also find that with my busy household, my memory isn't always so great.  Then, to top off the trifecta, I am often just too tired or lazy to write.  I put it off until after a nap or in the morning, promising myself I will get up and just do it before everyone wakes up and keeps me distracted.

So my desire to write, to record my memories and take conscious inventory of all I have to be grateful for, can often go unmet.  That makes me sad. It frustrates me. It gives me the "shoulds" and we all know that should is a very dirty word that implies so much negativity.

But my new beautiful Jar of Happy is perfect.

She sits there on my shelf, open wide to accept notes of love, gratitude and beautiful memories that are as simple as jottings on a piece of notepad. the back of an envelope or old receipt.  It isn't about how pretty the note is. It is perfect the more imperfect it is because it is from the heart and in the jar.

On dimly lit days of the heart, or when I want to stroll back in time and smile, all I ned do is reach in and take out a small selection of nots and sit back and read. And that just makes my heart sing so loudly!

I also think that it will be a beautiful lesson for my babies.

My oldest son (9) forgets quite quickly that he had fun.  He will be laughing one moment then lamenting the "worst day ever" the next.  I do not want this to become habit for him.  I know it is just a phase.  But i hope that I can encourage him to write his gratitudes, smiles, laughs and joys down and have a tangible place to see and feel and access them rather than leaving it just to sink the bottom of his memory.

I want this jar filled to overflowing.  I want it to be testimony to my life anyhow wonderful it is.

This is not a new idea by any means.  It has and is practiced by many people. Just google and you will find many and varied hits about a vessel to keep your happy or your gratefulness.  This idea is simply new to me and I'm taking it and running with it because I think it will suit my mad, chaotic, hectic and curve-balled life perfectly!

So long as that curve-ball isn't one that I have instructed endlessly, not to throw in the house!

100 Things to do This Year!

I absolutely love Leonie Dawson's Amazing Biz and Life Academy. She has so much good stuff to share to get you all revved up and ready to spread your wings and do what you want to do with your life - rather than just sit and think about it.

My most favourite tool she offers are the workbooks!
There is one for LIFE and one for BUSINESS and they take you through a bunch of (mostly fun) exercises to get you thinking and focused on what you want to achieve and how you want to achieve it!  I say mostly fun because some are actually quite thought provoking and pose a bit of a challenge. But a challenge is good for us all every now and then. It stretches your limits and moves you into new spaces!  I love it!

My all time FAVOURITE activity in the LIFE WORKBOOK is to list 100 things you want to do in the year.  I love it that much I kinda went a little crazy last year and came up with 156 things!!!

As it turned out however, an new little light wanted to be a part of this world and chose me as his mama. So while I couldn't be more thrilled about that, I must admit, he did derail many of my 2014 plans.  I was either too sick or tired to follow my dreams, or I was just too busy managing other things to keep up with them.

That's why I only blogged ONCE last year...  And I didn't even realise it until now!  OOPS!
I was a little distracted!

So distracted that I only fulfilled 13 of my gigantic list!

1. I managed 7 days of a photo challenge (GO ME!)
2. I purchased new underwear (Nursing bras and stretchy belly knickers)
3. I bought a jewellery hanger
4. We made play dough once - no glitter though...
5. Went swimming
6. I have begun losing weight
7. I helped my husband start a business from home (that's almost like doing it for myself!)
8. Signed up to be an organ donor!
9. Created a dream board
10. Became more thoughtful about gratitude and the universe.
11. Got my glasses fixed
12. Bought a pair of jeans but they need altering!
13. I raised $250 for the MS foundation but did not climb the tower.

Not an overwhelmingly long list checked off there! Oh well...

I can fix that this year though!  Now that 2015 is here and my tiny guy is growing like a weed!  I am excited to jump on in and make stuff happen in my life again!

So, to that end, I present my 100 things list! (That may number more then 100!)

1. Participate and raise money for the Red Dress Dash!
2. Participate in and raise $2000 for Step Up For MS Stair Climb and do it in under 20 minutes!
3. Watch 6 movies this year!
4. Walk 50km in a week
5. Read 26 books this year
6. Watch the House series
7. Take part in a photo a day challenge
8. Take part in a writing challenge
9. Sing in public and bust my fear
10. Learn to crochet and make something!
11. Learn enough Dutch to carry a conversation
12. Do a self defence course
13. Take part in a short course or workshop a term
14. Take advantage of the Amazing Biz and Life Academy resources
15. Restring and play guitar
16. Go on a horse ride
17. Knit something
18. Blog more
19. Try making a vlog
20. Restore my old desk
21. Fix the giraffe pot stand
22. Write my children's book
23. Scrapbook 52 pages
24. Journal
25. Draw more - even if it is doodling
26. Research book idea
27. Take the kids out to a restaurant meal
28. Send snail mail!
29. Try Zumba
30. Go on a camel ride
31. Go to lunch once a term with friends
32. Go out for drinks and dancing
33. Get a manicure, pedicure and a massage
34. Have sexy photos taken
35. Spend quiet time with my bunnies
36. Eat outdoors
37. Go for a long bike ride
38. Buy a belly dance costume
39. Try burlesque
40. Buy a corset!
41. Buy a red dress 
42. Acquire some kick-ass boots
43. Update my wardrobe and accessorise more
44. Find creative ways to store things I love
45. Tame my digital photo collection
46. Create a beautiful corner in the garden to sit and think
47. Sit and think more
48. Learn to use routines
49. Have updated address and birthday books
50. Send birthday cards!
51. Convert my old home movies to DVD
52. Plan Christmas in advance!
53. Wake up to a clean and tidy home just once!
54. Find a space to call my creative home
55. Finish the flowers for Celeste's walls
56. Give the boys their own rooms
57. Give Ethan a cute nursery
58. Fill my kids lunch boxes with healthy love!
59. Play more! Laugh more!
60. Focus on making my ritual days work!
61. Play board games and jigsaws all day in winter in front of the heater
62. Play hide and seek
63. Invent a character and make stories up
64. Have a movie night on the floor in a "family bed"
65. Make glittery play dough
66. Put love notes in lunch boxes
67. Take a family trip to somewhere new
68. Go ice skating
69. Release "I love you"
70. Go to the cinema in my PJ's with the kids
71. Take the kids bowling
72. Go ice skating
73. Go to Esperance to visit the family
74. Do craft projects together - footprint butterflies
75. Visit AQWA
76. Visit penguin island
77. Take the kids to the beach
78. Record ourselves singing songs we love
79. Blow bubbles more
80. Go on a picnic with our teddies
81. Renovate the cubby house
82. Spend the night in the cubby
83. Host a kids dance party!
84. Give the kids a birthday party each this year!
85. Toast marshmallows and tell spooky stories by the fire
86. Volunteer at school
87. Take Ethan to play group
88. Learn to do the splits!
89. Drink tea
90. Drink more water
91. Juice and green smoothies!
92. Run 5km
93. Take care of my skin
94. Grow something edible
95. Make terrariums with the kids
96. Get a pap-smear done... (Live the dream baby!)
97. Practice tonglen 
98. Do yoga more
99. Wear jeans
100. Save $1000 for no real reason
101. Save $1 coins
102. Make a living for myself
103. Start a home based business
104. Publish something
105. Pay something off
106. Make decisions about my education!
107. Get paid for something I write
108. Make a $20 backpack for the homeless to give away
109. Sell some Nutrimetics instead of being the worst salesperson eva!
110. Buy something lovely for myself!
111. Send a "just because" gift to someone special
112. Donate blood
113. Keep chalk in my bag and write love notes to the world
114. Pay a total stranger a compliment
115. Buy lunch for someone who needs it
116. Smile at strangers in the street
117. Keep a happiness jar
118. Have a bowl of pretty crystals - healing crystals
119. Help make my husbands food business, Nicely Spiced a reality that allows him to give up his day job!
120. Burn more candles or incense
121. Hang windchimes
122. Paint my nails more
123. Make new friends & renew old friendships (Always)
124. Journal my romances
125. Create a dream board
126. Write my bucket list
127. Write my travel bucket list
128. Research, plan and start saving for a BIG TRIP
129. Focus on becoming more intuitive
130. Celebrate my 40th birthday when I turn 41!
131. Play more podcasts
132. Make my last wishes known
133. Expand my music listening horizons
134. Write my baby's birth stories
135. Wear perfume
136. Visit my tree
137. Take myself out to lunch
138. Learn to let go of things I don't need anymore
139. Learn to use chopsticks
140. Give up doing laundry
141. Have family photos taken
142. Learn a bit of coding
143. Create things and release them into the world

HA... number 140 is a dream I will never realise with 4 kids LOL But I can do my best with the rest!

I am going to print up this list this year and post it somewhere I can easily see it.  Maybe even keep a copy on my phone for quick reference. This year I'm gonna shine!

2014... Surprisingly Good

With only half an hour left of 2014 I am looking back to see what this year held for me.  Boy... What a shock!

It has almost been a YEAR since I blogged!!!  WHAT THE? How on Earth did that time lapse so fast?

Well... Here's how... My year in a nutshell!

• I discovered that being a mother means MY NEW YEAR really doesn't begin until February when the kids go back to school!

• My little girl began kindergarten! While my big boys were in Grades 2 & 3!

 

• I wondered why I was so tired in February and the answer was positive while I went into shock!

• My husband started a food vending business...

• ...and we bought a food van to start renovating! She's almost done!

• We welcomed pets into our home. And sadly lost some too.

• I turned 40 years old.
  
• My Daisybug needed glasses!

•    I TOUCHED KEITH URBAN!

 

• My son Mitchell got to play basketball with the WILDCATS!

• I lost a work colleague and two school friends this year. They all affected me deeply in very different ways. I learned a lot.  A dear friend lost her mother too. Again... I have and am learning so much through her loss.

• I had my baby at 34 weeks gestation. 6 weeks early. We named him Ethan Trevor and he is thriving now after a very tiny start to life. He is my heart's joy!

 

 

• My kids did great at the school sports carnival!

 

• My Ashie Splash had his tonsils out!

• My husband met Peppa Pig and her little brother George!

It's funny. I was thinking that besides the birth of my son Ethan and the birth of the business, 2014 was pretty empty and void of highlights. In fact I was mentally counting the losses and hardships it had brought. But it really wasn't all toil and trouble. There were so many lessons.  But there really was so much to celebrate too.

The year didn't turn out at all how I anticipated that it would. But it served me the most beautiful curve ball I could imagine and I am so grateful.

Now, I get to release 2014 and look into 2015 and dive in! I am so excited!!!

I hope that 2014 was kind to you and that no matter what, 2015 brings you incredible opportunities for joy.

Amazing plans for 2014!

One of my favourite activities to do from Leonie Dawson's Amazing Biz and Life Workbooks is to write a list of 100 things to do this year...

I just love it...

Last year's list can be seen HERE.  I only managed to fulfil 21 of the things I set out to do but really, I don't think that effort was half bad!

I achieved the following:

1. Climbed 1103 stairs in the Step up for MS challenge
2. Raised $1145 dollars for the MS Society of WA
3. Tried yoga and fell in love
4. Visited my friend Coralie at Rainbow Farm and had family photographs taken
5. Visited my Nana
6. Told my Nana I loved her
7. Fell in love with belly dancing
8. Bought myself a bicycle
9. Dyed my hair black, purple and pink
10. Started using FaceTime to make video calls 
11. Bought new pillows (but need new ones again - they weren't so great! LOL)
12. Expanded my music library a little
13. Started drawing and shared my work with a couple of people
14. Completed my training at Lifeline and am now a Telephone Crisis Supporter
15. Started a public blog
16. Consciously asserted myself
17. Volunteered at the kids school a little
18. Went swimming with the kids
19. Got dressed up and went for drinks with the girls twice
20. Tried my first green smoothie... Not as offensive as it looked!
21. Got my tooth fixed

What I didn't achieve last year, I either rolled into this year's list or scrapped altogether.  My theory is that some weren't getting done because they just don't light me up now.

But I love this exercise that much that I kinda went a little overboard.  I have more than 100 and I categorised them so they are easier to find and mark off when I achieve them!

So... I give you... MY LIST FOR 2014!

Challenges…

1.           Step up for MS Challenge – Climb Central Park Tower again in less than 20 minutes!

2.           Raise $3000 for the Step up for MS Challenge. ($250 so far!)

3.           Watch 6 movies.

4.           Walk 50 km in a week!

5.           Read 12 books.

6.           Watch the House series!

7.           Partake in a photo challenge.

8.           Take part in a writing challenge.

9.           Sing in public and get over a fear!

Things to Learn

10.       Learn to crochet.

11.       Do a self defence course.

12.       Learn enough Dutch to hold a conversation.

13.       Attend workshops and courses that interest me.

14.       Horse riding lessons

15.       Dig deep into what the Amazing Biz and Life Academy has to offer!

16.       Restring and play my guitar.

Creativity

17.       Knit something!

18.       Blog regularly!

19.       Restore an old piece of furniture

20.       Write my children’s book

21.       Scrapbook!

22.       Journal

23.       Draw!

24.       Cover my rocking chair

25.       Sew fleecy pj bottoms for the kids!

26.       Restore my giraffe pot stand!

27.       Research my book

Things to Do!

28.       Send snail mail!

29.       Try Zumba

30.       Ride a camel

31.       Spend a day in Kings Park alone

32.       Go to lunch with friends more often

33.       Dress up and go out for drinks and dancing!

34.       Get a manicure and pedicure!

35.       Have sexy photos taken

36.       Take a solo trip to somewhere new!

37.       Try another form of dancing

38.       Spend time with my bunnies

39.       Eat outdoors

40.       Go to the cinema alone to watch a movie that makes me cry!

41.       Spend a day at the zoo alone

42.       Go for a long bike ride!

Things to Buy

43.       Get a belly dance costume

44.       New underwear

45.       Buy a corset!

46.       A red dress

47.       Kickass boots!

48.       Panniers for my bike

Home & Organizing

49.       Find creative storage solutions!

50.       Store my digital photos

51.       Create a corner in the garden just for me

52.       Keep the kitchenette clear of junk!

53.       Have a bathroom again!

54.       Work on routines to make life smoother

55.       Update my address and birthday books

56.       Convert old movies to DVD – relive the memories!

57.       Have an organised Christmas I enjoy!

58.       Decrapify my home – bless others with my excess!

59.       Let go of the baby stuff

60.       Create a ‘creative haven’ for myself

61.       Decorate Celeste’s room

62.       Make a jewellery hanger

63.       Spend time making things pretty

Family and kids

64.       Bake and make interesting lunches for my children

65.       Spend more time playing!

66.       Make icecream sundaes

67.       Do jigsaw puzzles and play board games on a rainy afternoon

68.       Play hide and seek!

69.       Make glittery play dough

70.       Invent a character and make up stories

71.       Play practical jokes

72.       Take a family trip to somewhere new

73.       Go ice skating

74.       Say “I love you” more!

75.       Go to the movies in my PJ’s with the kids

76.       Go bowling

77.       Visit AQWA

78.       Go to Esperance to visit Nanna

79.       Do craft projects together

80.       Go to penguin island!

81.       Record us singing songs we love

82.       Foot print butterflies

83.       Blow bubbles!

84.       Go and feed the ducks

85.       A family dinner somewhere new

86.       Go on a picnic

87.       Renovate and redecorate the cubby house

88.       Sleep in the cubby one night

89.       Toast marshmallows and tell spooky stories by a fire

90.       Go to the beach!

91.       Volunteer at scouts

For my health and fitness

92.       Join the gym

93.       Learn to do the splits

94.       Give up cola

95.       Drink tea

96.       Drink water

97.       Get a massage

98.       Run 5kms

99.       Take care of my skin

100.        Grow food!

101.        Green juices!

102.        Go swimming

103.        Get a pap smear – living the dream!

104.        Create a meditation practice

105.        Create a yoga practice

106.        Give up resistance to taking my medicine

107.        Reach a comfortable weight.

Money and Career

108.        I want minions!

109.        Earn Money

110.        Sell on ebay ($10 made so far!)

111.        Save my $2 coins

112.        A regular Lifeline shift

113.        Start a business from home

114.        Make something worth selling

115.        Publish my book!

116.        Pay something off!

117.        Make decisions about my future study!

118.        Write something I get paid for!

119.        Make money from Nutrimetics

120.        Pursue speaking engagements

121.        Release my fear of money

Feel Goods

122.       Become an organ donor

123.       Send a “just because” gift to someone special

124.       Donate blood

125.       Volunteer at school

126.       Keep chalk in my bag and write love notes to the world

127.       Pay a total stranger a compliment

128.       Practice tonglen

129.       Buy lunch for someone who needs it

130.       Smile at strangers in the street

Just for me!

131.       Sit alone in the sun and think

132.       Sit alone in the star light and think

133.       Wear jeans!

134.       Have a bowl of pretty crystals - healing crystals

135.       Burn more candles or incense

136.       Hang windchimes

137.       Paint my nails more

138.       Make new friends & renew old friendships (Already underway!)

139.       Journal my romances

140.       Create a dream board  DONE!!! Upcoming blog post!

141.       Write a bucket list

142.       Write a travel bucket list or blog for my travel dreams!

143.       Become more assertive! Keep growing those gonads!

144.       Expand my intuition

145.       Celebrate my 40^th birthday

146.       Listen to more podcasts

147.       Be more grateful!

148.       Make my last wishes known

149.       Listen to the radio – stop being such a mushroom to the world

150.       Deepen my relationships

151.       Write my baby’s birth stories

152.       Spend days being crafty – to hell with what I “should” be doing!

153.       Expand my music library

154.       Get my glasses fixed

155.       Wear perfume
156.    Visit my tree

Here's to checking a lot more off this list this year!  I'm so keen!