Awe-Summm Blog Award - thank you Kate

Kate James nominated me for this Blog Award - I am not sure if my words are that full of wisdom or my thoughts that insightful but I do enjoy the world of blogging and the sharing of information, images, thoughts, ideas.....

Below are the rules and guidelines to the Awe-summm award:

* List 7 things that make you Awe-Summm and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers you love.

* Make sure to tag your recipients and let them know they have won!

* And finally link back to the blogger that tagged you.

7 things that make me Awe-summm! Wow! That is seriously hard work and putting it into writing even harder!

1. I like to help people – being a typical Libran I like balance and order. Helping others to see the wood for the trees is something I enjoy and think I am good at (is that the right saying?)

2. I notice the detail in things

3. I like to talk and am able to communicate with people and naturally fit into most social settings

4. I am open to new concepts,ideas and philosophies and am interested in other's views and ideas.

5. I go out of my way for my friends and acquaintances – offering help where I can

6. Being a mother fills me with joy and wonder and I love being a part of our school community

7. I appreciate how fragile our environment is and am making conscious steps to act responsibly and instill these ideas in my daughter

I am new to the world of blogging so my list of blogs I follow is not huge but I have some lovely ones I do follow. From my gorgeous meditation teacher Kate James to the wonderful ideas and thoughts of Zen Habits. A Heart in Provence is beautiful and feeds my love of all things that are gorgeous. Some of the images are astounding. The same could be said for the beautiful images in the Smitten Kitchen gallery of photos. Truly amazing.

Everyday calm
Smitten kitchen

Zen Habits
Pocket Nap

Open
A Heart in Provence

Happy blogging!

A hidden gem

I love it when I find a hidden treasure - today we visited a lovely sculpture park just behind Frankston. Hidden on a main road is a delightful, tranquil, artistic oasis. We roamed the tracks in the bush finding carefully placed works of art that elicited squeals of excitement from my 5 year old, Lucy.

I can't take the credit for finding this gem (http://www.mcclellandgallery.com/), a friend of mine from Seddon told me all about it. She travelled from her side of town last weekend and raved about her experience. I found the visit a wonderfully energising experience. The day was mild, the sun shining, the trees and sculptures reflected on the mirror like surface of the duck pond and the unique pieces of art sparked excitement in Lucy. Seeing my 5 year old appreciating, touching, noticing, commenting and responding to the art was wonderful.

I had forgotten how art fed my creative nature. How I love; feeling the different textures, noticing the warmth or coolness of the different materials, observing how the piece of art sits in it's environment and the way a piece of art makes me feel. I will continue to seek out art that is a tonic for my soul and hopefully I will pass this appreciation on to Lucy.

The lovely Kate James has nominated me for a Blog award - quite baffling as I am not sure if my ramblings are that interesting. I will take a little time to put together my list of 7 things that make me Awe-Summm and my 7 favourite blogs and respond to the nomination. I also thank Kate (my meditation teacher) who opened my eyes to not only meditation but triggered my quest to explore the idea of wellness and happiness.

Aaaarrggghhhhhhh....finding time

Time - where does it go? Why can't I seem to motivate myself to manage it better. I used to list it as one of my strengths, but somewhere along the way I seem to have lost the ability or will to be productive.

It is stressing me out a bit that I don't seem to be able to "manage" all aspects of my life at the moment. I need to get better at doing the work stuff that has to be done when I can do it rather than waiting till the last minute.

How can I motivate myself to get the less enjoyable aspects of work off my to do list and in doing so de-stressing myself!

Why is it I will spend half an hour on facebook and not balancing the bank statements in MYOB? (ok that is an obvious one). Why is it I will sit and write on my blog rather than attending to the mountain of paperwork on my desk at the moment. At 37 I would have thought I would be more conscientious than when I was younger - but it doesn't seem to be the case. I seem to be going backwards.

Somewhere along the way I have lost interest in my work life (apart from the social interaction). I lack career ambition and really, really don't know what I want to be when I "grow up". This lack of clarity is impacting all areas of my life.

Reading, researching, talking and exploring alternate options are high on my to do list. With lots of scenarios up in the air at the moment hopefully I will find a "solution" soon.

Until then I will plod along, doing what I have to do to pay the bills and keep the business running, and at least enjoying the wonderful things in my life at the moment; the lovely Lucy, interaction with our new school friends, hanging out with friends, gardening, listening to music, going to the beach and collecting shells and sticks, enjoying a latte, reading and watching the leaves autumnal showcase.

Bake bake bake...

What is there to do on a cold wintry weekend?

Yesterday we walked the coastal trail from Mentone to Ricketts Point (not that far but considerable for a 5 year old) collecting shells and sticks along the way. Rock pools were a source of great delight for my 5 year old in her new gumboots! The joy in something so simple, so natural - just priceless!

A wintry day at the beach is one of life's hidden wonders! There were only a handful of us brave enough to venture out, but that just added to the feeling of doing something special. We greeted the few beach goers we encountered with a knowing smile or nod! Like we shared a wonderful hidden secret.

During the week in my normal search of the internet for new and wonderful organic/natural products I found a fantastic website which had a recipe for Morning Glory Muffins (http://www.ebfarm.com/). Saturday's batch were so wonderful and nourishing that I made another batch today to freeze for school lunches! Just call me Martha!

The wonderful Earth Bound Farm also has a recipe book that I have ordered - The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook - full of what looks like delicious, organic, seasonal food. The muffins are full of fresh organic apples, pineapple and carrots and make you feel good just looking at them.

I finished the weekend off by inviting a couple of girlfriends over to do some "baking". Living on my own (with the lovely Lucy) I tend to be lazy and eat the same thing over and over. Solution - bake and freeze. Today my house was full laughter, good company and the aroma of chickpea curry, veggie lasagna and muffins.

The only other thing that would have made this blast of winter absolutely perfect would have been a fire to sit in front off, alas I don't have one of those, but I can dream!

...business closing

I'm sitting at my computer aching in spots I didn't know existed. We shut one of our children's wear boutiques yesterday and have spent the last two days with my sister and brother in law stripping out the shop.

We did it much quicker than we thought we would and it was incredible that what took us years to get up and running could be demolished in under 48 hours. The hours labouring over projected financials, countless visits to France to meet and deal with our Franchisors, negotiating with the real estate agent for what we now know was a lousy deal and the many hours spent trying to grow the business was all gone in an instant. We were left with a big cavernous, dusty and very empty shell.

My sister asked as we breathed in the dust removing the flooring if had been an enourmous failure. I had to think about that one. It was a failure of sorts in that it didn't meet our expectations - but were our expectations flawed? It was a failure in that it didn't meet budget and led to a nasty falling out with our third partner. It was a failure in that we never quite met the needs of the clients in the area.

As a business in it's own right though, one might argue that it wasn't a failure. Like all new businesses they need time to "grow up". Two and a half years is possibly not long enough to establish itself. We also needed to "grow up" as managers and owners of a retail business. We now know a lot more about running a business and will use these skills to better manage our other shop in Port Melbourne.

The improving status of the Port Melbourne shop could be attributed to lessons learnt in Hawksburn. Without the shop in Hawksburn we wouldn't have had the chance to get the good retail site in Port Melbourne.

While we now find ourselves still hugely in debt I don't think our business venture in Hawksburn was a failure. It has strengthened my relationship with my sister (although at times it didn't feel that way), it brought out the best in our parents who also pitch in to help along with a plethora of other friends, it has allowed my sister and I to travel to France numerous times and it continually challenged us to think out side the square and operate very much out of our comfort zone.

So as we contemplate the next step I am optimistic and feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders with one less retail site to manage. My workload will be reduced and I hopefully won't find working part time as well as running the business as much of a chore. Maybe we might start enjoying it, and if some of that "love" can be injected into our business we might see it grow and meet some of our original expectations after all.

What I love...

I did some exercises yesterday as part of a book I am reading and reviewing for work (Spiritual Business). I had to list 40 things I love......I started slowly but was surprised once I started, how easily lovely and wonderful things filled my mind...the purpose of the exercise it to remind ourselves of the things we like rather than always focusing on those we don't.

On my list were; the smell of cut grass, the beach, my daughters laughter, my home, shells, warm weather, flowers, the colour green, chocolate, olive oil soap, lavender, candles, Christmas, coffee out or at home, smell of the ocean, rock pools, nature, jasmine, good food (a bit too much), things that please my senses, Barwon Heads, bushwalking (not that I get to do much of it), essential oils (orange and lemon burning at the moment), a cold crisp charddy,......the list went on.

It was an enjoyable and worthwile exercise and supported my quest this year to take each day at a slower pace and to appreciate the moments a little more.

Contemplating the serenity

Term one is over - I can't believe I have been a "school mum" for a whole term already. It is April and the year seems to be flying by.

I'm sitting here on a dreary Sunday afternoon contemplating the quietness of my home. Lucy has gone to a friends house for a sleep over and I am experiencing something I haven't for a long time - quiet, and not just for an hour or two, a whole evening of serenity. No organising dinner, tidying up after a very splashy bath, arguing over bedtime and going to sleep. Quite a bizarre notion for me but one I will realish as it doesn't happen that often.

This afternoon I received confirmation from a friend that she and her husband were splitting up after years of marriage and having two young children. I spoke to her during the week and tried to assure her that she and the children would be fine and possibly better without the ongoing tension and I did something I haven't done for a while. I wrote a letter.

I wanted to send her some guided meditations as I thought she needed to find some time just to zone out and didn't feel I could just send the cd. I found my writing paper (in the back of the cupboard) and wrote some hopefully supportive words. It reminded me of how we used to communicate with friends and I found it a bit sad that we no longer write like we used to. There is something more personal about a handwritten note or letter than an email or facebook post.

I reminded her to appreciate what is good in her life right now. By focussing some of her attention on the good things - her beautiful children, her lovely warm home, her wonderful supportive family, her beautiful beachside suburb, her friends - hopefully she can find some energy and strength to deal with the hard couple of months ahead.

While I look around my warm house now I appreicate so many things - including the current peace and quiet. By tomorrow I will miss the noise and constant 5yr old banter.