Refresh, Renew, Rejuvenate

The week just gone was a particularly busy and demanding one …. both socially and at work.  It started with a brilliant concert by the Foo Fighters on Sunday night – an awesome show, great energy and with great company.  But being Sunday night, the lateness meant that I was tired starting the work week, and really didn’t recover from Monday.

A friend and colleague had organized an outdoor cinema session for Wednesday night – although it was lovely to eat a picnic tea with friends before the movie, it added another late night to my week.  And to top it all off I had trouble sleeping …. Waking up at about 1am each night and then not able to get back to sleep until 4am or some nights not at all.

By Friday I was exhausted ….. I limped my way through the day.  Getting by on trying to stay in the present, trying to capture some quiet moments and to still my mind which seemed to be racing the whole week, both day and night.   I think that what frustrated me most was that I found it too easy to give in to thinking – after everything I’ve learnt in the last 12 months it seemed that I was helpless to the thoughts and emotions. 

In the weekend I sought refuge.  Time to sleep in and catch up on my sleep debt.  Time to spend with the family, to water the garden, to catch up with the washing, to thoroughly clean the kitchen putting away the accumulation of stuff dumped on the dining table over the last fortnight.  Time to catch up with some friends for dinner Saturday night, time to make a lazy cooked breakfast, time to talk with Nan and Grandad on Skype, time to go for a cross country jog with my daughter.  Time to go for a family bike ride, to take in the local community fair.  Even time to relax in a warm bath complete with salts.

At the end of this terrific weekend I feel like totally different person.  I feel I’ve refreshed my mind with peaceful moments of true presence/mindfulness.  I feel rejuvenated with plenty of sleep and without having to rush to a schedule the whole weekend.  My body feels strong and renewed with the physical activity we did – walks to the beach, bike rides through the neighborhood and even a short run with my daughter. 

Here’s to a great week ahead!

How do you relax after a long and stressful week?  I’d love you to share your thoughts, so send me a post or comment or you can email me at livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .   

Humility

I love the word humility and all it stands for, yet others almost fear it and interpret it synonymously with lack of self-confidence or timidity.  The dictionary defines humility as modesty, lacking pretence, not believing that you are superior to others. It has also been defined as having a clear perspective and respect for one's place in context.

 

I certainly don't adopt the meaning of humility as "meek" but there are those that confuse humility with timidity.  In Bruna Martinuzzi’s book: The Leader as a Mensch: Become the Kind of Person Others Want to Follow she poses that “humility is all about maintaining our pride about who we are, about our achievements, about our worth – but without arrogance – it is the antithesis of hubris, that excessive, arrogant pride which often leads to the derailment of some corporate heroes, as it does with the downfall of the tragic hero in Greek drama. It's about a quiet confidence without the need for a meretricious selling of our wares. It's about being content to let others discover the layers of our talents without having to boast about them. It's a lack of arrogance, not a lack of aggressiveness in the pursuit of achievement”.

Bruna also observes that, often, the higher people rise, the more they have accomplished, the more humble they are -- those who achieve the most brag the least. "True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes". (Edward Frederick Halifax). We have all come across people like that and feel admiration for them.

I am reading and listening on Youtube to the teaching of Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now and A New Earth.  His teaching of how to be present, and the fact that presence is the only reality resonates well with me and I will continue to enjoy being a student of Eckhart’s teachings.  Of humility, Eckhart says:

“In essence, you are neither inferior nor superior to anyone. True self-esteem and true humility arise out of that realization. In the eyes of the ego, self-esteem and humility are contradictory. In truth, they are one and the same.”

Being humble and being in a place where I am comfortable to be myself and not have to pretend to be anyone else, or act a certain way enhances my self-confidence, and opens a door to my higher self.  It’s a quality worth encouraging in ourselves and in others.

In a very unlikely place – it was in a book about hunting for shabby chic treasures in flea markets – I recently came across this wonderful piece on humility:

Humility is perpetual quietness of heart.  It is to never be fretted or vexed, irritable or sore, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me.  It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised it is to have a blessed home in myself where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret and be at peace, as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and about is trouble.

Do you value the attribute of humility?  I’d love you to share your thoughts, so send me a post or comment or you can email me at livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .   

Nothing New For a Year Challenge

I’ll let you in on a little secret – I love to set New Year’s Resolutions!  They aren’t gimmicks to me.  The New Year brings about a real chance to set goals for the year ahead, to determine something that I can really connect with and keep focus on throughout the year.  They’ve certainly worked for me over the last few years and when I have achieved the goals I set for myself I feel really proud.  Being able to achieve goals brings much satisfaction to my life and gives me the motivation to do it over and over ….. and so here I am again at the start of the New Year ready to make my resolutions for 2015.

 

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed connecting with a simpler approach to life in 2014, and I want to keep the momentum of this going.  During the year, as my radar detected stories from like-minded people in the press, I read about some particularly inspirational people doing some amazing things in the space of simplicity. 

Sasha Milne is a Perth mother-of-one who decided last Christmas Eve as she stood in a department store with a shopping cart full of items, surrounded by crying kids and stressed parents, that she really didn’t need all the ‘stuff’ she was about to purchase.   She decide then and there to not purchase anything new for 12 months.   In October 2014 she gave a presentation at a local Ted Talks event in Perth, which inspired me along with many others. 

The other inspirational story I picked up on last year was that of The Minimalists (Ryan Nicodemus and Joshua Fields Milburn) who came to Perth in October as part of their national (and international) tour.  They have turned their backs on consumerism and sold off most of their possessions to discover a new way of living that didn’t involve material things.  They found a new level of happiness and appreciation for life, and share their quest for a more meaningful life beyond excess with others via their blog www.theminimalists.com .

It is truly amazing what people can achieve when they set a vision and philosophy for how they will live life.  Natalie Isaacs of One Million Women is another person who holds a strong philosophy about life-style in relation to climate change and the simple things we can do in our everyday lives to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted to the atmosphere.  By not disposing of items to the tip, but instead re-using, re-cycling, gifting, swapping or loaning we can prevent the wastage of materials and ensure that items have the maximum possible life-span, thus reducing the equivalent amount of CO2 emitted by the items if they were simply discarded to the tip.

Considering all three approaches to lifestyle and how I’d like them to shape my life, I’ve decided that for 2015 I will take up the challenge of not buying anything new for myself for 12 months and to limit anything new for my family – with a couple of exceptions being food, petrol and medicine.  I will make a huge effort to make home-made gifts or source gifts for people from recycled materials, or even quality second hand items or antiques.  I don’t expect this to be easy – it wouldn’t be a ‘challenge’ otherwise, and I’ll keep a track of progress in future blogs.

Here’s to a sensational, simplistic 2015!

Do you set yourself New Year resolutions and have you achieved success?  I’d love you to share your aspirations, so send me a post or comment below or you can email me at livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .   

Delicious Summer Fruits

Summer is without a doubt my favourite time of year.  Not only do I enjoy the warmer weather, but I also love summer food.  Meals are more assembled than cooked, and I love the delicious, fresh, crispness of raw foods.

Summer fruits seem to be full of sunshine.   Mangoes are a huge favourite in our family and they are getting more affordable by the season.  We’ve been enjoying them occasionally for breakfast or lunch.  According to the Australia Mango website (www.mangoes.net.au ) a 200g serve of ripe mango provides you with up to 3 times the recommended daily intake of Vitamins A and C.  They also contain more beta-carotene than any other fruit. Beta-carotene is an anti-oxidant that assists with the growth and repair of cells, tissues and skin.

One of the ways we enjoy our ‘mango fandangoes’ is to eat them with banana, and topped with yoghurt and desiccated or shredded coconut.  What a delicious tropical treat!

We also love eating summer berries and cherries.  Berries are particularly beneficial to health in the following ways:

-          They keep you mentally sharp, as they contain anthocyanidins, which cross the blood-brain barrier and locate in learning and memory centres in the brain.

-          Berries have a low glycemic index, meaning that they release their sugar slowly and keep you feeling fuller for longer – the perfect fruit for those with diabetes who need to regulate sugar release to their bodies.

-          Flavanoid packed berries, such as blueberries and raspberries, may one day lead to more effective cancer-prevention strategies.

-          The antioxidants in berries can help your body fight oxidative stress caused by free radicals that can lead to illness. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants can help improve your health, protect your skin and hair, and prevent certain diseases. All fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants, but nutrient-rich berries are some of the absolute best sources.

(Sources:  http://www.joybauer.com/food-articles/berries.aspx and http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition-pictures/amazing-health-benefits-of-berries.aspx )

I usually like to top breakfast cereal with berries, or have them with muslei and yoghurt.  I also like to make an apple and berry crumble – delicious served with vanilla ice cream.  And berries are also great just on their own, or to liven up a cheese board.

Which seasonal fruits are your favourite and how do you enjoy them?  I’d love you to share your recipes, so send me a post or comment below or you can email me at livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .   

Family Recipe Book

Each year we usually spend Christmas with my family in-law in Perth.  It’s a joyful, spirited and rather large event, with a growing number of members as children are born and partners are introduced.   We number about 30 people if we’re all present, and usually share the catering between us with a different host family arranging the lunch or dinner.  Having our two kids at these Christmas celebrations has been great fun – the family love to shower them with presents and affection.  Christmas is much more magical with kids around who are so enthusiastic about Santa’s visit and express their happiness and wonderment in such an uninhibited and pure way.

This year we are going to spend Christmas with my immediate family in Melbourne instead, and I’m so excited about it.  I haven’t spent Christmas with my Mum, Dad, sister and brother for over 10 years!  So, it’s definitely time to do it, particularly while the kids are young.  I’d love for my parents to relive the magic that Christmas brings, which they haven’t experienced since we were children.   

Because we’ll be away, I wanted to give extra special gifts for my family-in-law; gifts that were useful, thoughtful, creative and didn’t cost the earth – being so many people in number.    I found a terrific idea from Cath Armstrong who writes a magnificent blog that I follow called www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au .  Cath had some suggestions for home-made Christmas presents and one of these was to produce a family recipe book.  What a great idea!  With so many celebrations we have shared together over the years, we’ve been spoilt by all the wonderful dishes we’ve shared.  And we all have our favourities both to cook and to eat. 

 

Cath’s blog can be found here http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2014/09/100-days-to-cheapskates-style-christmas.html .

Last weekend I requested recipes from all members of the family and I’m waiting in anticipation for these all to come in.  Will people share their secret recipes for some of the dishes I’ve requested of them?  I hope so!  My plan is to have the children create some pictures to include, which I’ll scan into the document so that the whole recipe collection can be printed and bound.   I might even put the individual sheet sleeves into a display folder if I can find some nice ones, to protect the pages from splashes when cooking.

I can’t wait to put it all together and see the finished product.  I hope the family enjoy them!

Do you have any home-made Christmas gifts you’re currently working on?  I’d love to hear your suggestions, so send me a post or comment below or you can email me at livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .   

All We Have Is This Moment

I took my eldest daughter to her first concert last night.  It was Katy Perry and both of us have been huge fans for over a year now.  We were so excited and the show didn’t disappoint.  There were dances, contortionists, lots of costume changes, conveyer belts, Katy flying, … it was a high energy performance and Katy’s voice was amazing.  The show had everything and was such a great party!

I’ve been inspired by Katy’s lyrics this year, particularly from her Prism album.  Even though she is quite provocative at times some of Katy’s lyrics are very profound and uplifting.  She sings a lot about being the best you can be, finding strength within and being positive.  One particular lyric that has resonated with me is:

“All we have is this moment.  Tomorrow’s unspoken, yesterday is history.”

This is so true.

So often I worry about the future – what do I have in my calendar coming up in the next month?  What have I done in the past that I could have done better?  Thinking and worrying about either of these things is really a waste of time and energy.  What can I effect right now?  That’s so much more important.  How can I make the most out of the moment I am in right now?  Being fully present in the current moment means that I’ll take time to notice all the small miracles that happen every day.

Like when my daughter and I sat down at the concert, one of the few to take their seats early, and realised that across the aisle were seated our previous neighbours!  In a stadium seating 15,000 people what are the odds?  There are no coincidences, only miracles –everything happens for a reason.

My youngest daughter is struggling with living in the moment.  She’s only 4 years old, but worries so much about things… actually she reminds me of me!  I didn’t have the easiest of childhoods, suffering from anxiety, and now I see a similar pattern playing out in my daughter.  It really breaks my heart.  I need to teach her to live in the moment, and not worry about the past or future.  It’s what got me through…. Although it took a hell of a long time.  I wish that my youngest can get over her anxiety much more quickly than I got over mine (only about 10 years!).

Katy’s Perry’s song “This Moment”  says…..

“Can you tell me who called a race?  Can anyone stay in one place?  And when you get to the finish line, will you wish for more time?  …….

“But you know who I think will win?  Are the ones who let love in.  Are they ones who take the time.”

Do you have something to share about being in the moment?  Or taking time to discover life’s small miracles that happen daily?  I’d love to hear your stories, so send me a post or comment below or you can email me at livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .   

Stop Grocery Shopping Eating Out Your Wallet!

How much do you spend on your weekly grocery shop for the family?  $100, $200 maybe even $300?  Do you feel as though your grocery shopping is eating through your wallet, leaving you with little to save at the end of a month?  What if I could show you a better way to shop, where you’re guaranteed to get on top of this often missed opportunity to really improve your budgeting, so that you have more money to save or to spend on what you really value.  And you won’t compromise on the quality of your meals – in fact they are more likely to improve!

I started shopping this way when I was on maternity leave with my second baby.  I had wanted to take a full 12 months off work and had to plan for the loss of income during this period, and really tighten the belt and make every dollar stretch.  This was the time that I learnt the most about budgeting… and I’ve made a real effort to maintain the principles now that I’m back at work again.  If we could live off a lower cost of living then, there’s no reason why we can’t do it now.

One book I read at the time gave me fantastic ideas for following the loss leader cycle of supermarket chains specials.  It detailed a method of looking through the catalogues that come in the post or can be found online.  Then start keeping a notebook to record each grocery item you regularly buy, the price and date.  It’s amazing how quickly you can go from not really taking any notice or remembering grocery item prices, to knowing prices and recognizing a decent special.  You may even be able to predict when a particular item is likely to be on special!

Another book I read was Cath Armstrong’s Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing.  Cath describes stacks of practical ways to save money on many facets of daily living.  Her blog is also full of ideas, recipes, crafts, gardening tips and other advice to help you meet your financial savings goals.  You can check it out here.

Now that I have two growing school-age children and I’m working full-time, I have very little time to go shopping.  So I have switched to ordering shopping on line and having it home delivered.  Through Coles Online, if I book a delivery for Wednesday it’s free of charge.  Wednesdays soon sell out though, so I need to make sure I order groceries on the prior Sunday. 

Not only am I able to get free delivery, I have also found that I save a LOT more money by sorting items by unit price and recognizing real value.  For the past year, I have found that my weekly grocery shopping is always less than $120 per week, and I often save $30 - $50 off usual prices!  This grocery shopping excludes fresh fruit and vegetables and meat, as I prefer to buy these from growers markets or our local Farmer Jacks which sells particularly good value local meat. 

This is the method I use for shopping:

1.        Don’t be brand loyal – buy what’s on special, the best value by unit price

2.       When buying an item like flour, sugar, rice etc I buy cheap store brands as they don’t involve a recipe and quality is just as good as name brands.

3.       During the week/fortnight make a list of items that are running out or low that I need to buy.  Have a plan in mind for the meals that my husband or I will cook over the next week, and add items for these meals to the list.

4.       Don’t be loyal to one supermarket … if not inconvenient shop for the week/fortnight where you get the most savings for the items on the list.

5.       Look through catalogues (in the letterbox or online) and check products and prices against my list so that I can determine where I’ll shop for the week/fortnight.

6.       If I’m going to physically shop, I mark the prices next to each item on my list (usually rounded to the nearest dollar) then add them up so I know how much to expect the shop to be.

7.       If I’m shopping online I’ll see the tally of the total value of the shop before I commit to buy.  If I’ve ordered something that’s stretching the budget I have the opportunity to remove it.

8.       I always sort the list of items online by their unit price so that I can easily see the best value.

 

I had intended this year to shop fortnightly, instead of weekly but I haven’t yet been able to make this discipline stick.  I do want to make an effort to do this though, and get out of the habit of a weekly shop, as I think the longer I stretch the shopping trip the more opportunity I’ll have to save.

My last two weekly shops have been ordered online with free delivery, been within budget and show considerable savings on usual prices:

 

Do you have some tips to share about your successful shopping strategies?  I’d love to hear them, so send me a post or comment below or you can email me at livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .   

Meditation - for inspiration, clarity and creativity

Isn’t it strange that just when you start wanting to find out about something new in life, the topic just keeps presenting itself everywhere you look?  This happened to me just recently, when a friend of mind was getting rid of some old books and asked if I would like any of them.  I found one on meditation, which I knew I just had to read. 

 

In many of the books, blogs and articles I’ve read on different topics throughout this year, there has been the common thread of the benefits of meditation.  Whether I am reading about wealth creation, life coaching, career coaching, living slowly and simply, or building resilience the practice of meditation has been attributed to achieving a sense of purpose, de-stressing and refreshing yourself and focusing energy.  I just had to know more about meditation, and find a way to incorporate it into my life.

Most people associate meditation with stillness of the mind, and the Buddhist practice of emptying the mind of all thoughts.  But meditation doesn’t have to be the absence of thoughts.  It is about finding a relaxed state – totally relaxing your body and mind and just being in the moment.  I like the idea that in meditation I can just let my thoughts come and go, without needing to restrict them.  The most important part of meditation is that you let your body completely relax.  Having some thoughts or images to contemplate such as through guided meditations allows any inspiration or messages from the Universe to come through. 

In the book that I picked up from my friend, it details methods for how to get your body in a relaxed state that will enable you to achieve the best results from the meditation.  I like sitting comfortably on the couch or lying in bed, with my eyes closed and taking a few deep breathes, in through the nose and out through the mouth.  Some guided meditations I have listened to ask that you breathe in and out to the count of 5.  Others aren’t so prescriptive about the counting of your breath, just that you notice your breathing ….. in slowly and out slowly…. and that it’s comfortable.  I also get into a relaxed state by making myself aware of each part of my body, from my head to my toes.  When I do this, I feel aware of the tension that I’ve been holding in each part, particularly tightness in my face.  I tell my body to soften, to feel light and gentle and to let go of any tension, relaxing the muscles.  Once I’ve concentrated on each part of my body from head to toe, I then like to use a meditative visualization to move me into a deeper sense of being, and perhaps focus on finding a solution to a particular issue I’m dealing with.  There are heaps of youtube videos on meditation with calming music, or guided imagery.  I like the mediations by Deepak Chopra and The Honest Guys.  Everyone is different, you need to find something that resonates with you, for the results you are looking for.

I have started to set aside half an hour a day for meditation.  Morning works best for me, as I find I’ll fall asleep if I try to do it at night!  I might take just 20 minutes or half an hour, depending on how easy it is to get into a relaxed state of mind and body and which visualisation I choose to do.  Tom Cronin is a finance broker turned meditation advocate living in Bondi Sydney, and on his blog he recommends taking 2 of the 72 20 minute blocks available in the day for meditation.  For a perspective on why meditation is important for mental and physical health, Tom’s story is particularly interesting, and you can find out more here.

There are many known benefits of meditation, such as:

-          Better focus

-          Lower blood pressure

-          increase in creativity

-          increase is compassion

-          Better memory

-          Less Stress

-          Increased immunity

Need any more convincing?  Click here to find out 100 benefits of meditation!

I have found that through meditation I feel calmer throughout the day, even under very stressful situations.  I find that I can communicate more effectively, with greater clarity.  I have also found that when I need to I can create a positive influence on a group of people, such as in the office – particularly when I have sensed tension previously – at home, and even via meetings over the telephone!  I put this down to meditation assisting me to raise my energy vibration…. I’m just beginning to explore this, so more on raising vibrations later!

So why not go on and try meditation for yourself. All you need is 20 – 30 spare minutes a day and the changes to your life can be immediate and significant.  If you have already been meditating I’d love to hear about your technique and how it impacts your life.  You can post a comment below or contact me at livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .

Being Consumed by Consumption

Material things don’t lead to happiness – we do know this inherently, but so many of us are caught in the consumption trap and find it difficult to get out.  Advertising does a magnificent job of selling in a way that connects people on an emotional level to their products, through feelings like pride, envy, fear of missing out and competitive one-up-manship.  It’s frustrating when we recognise that we have fallen for the lie, and what once felt like an item you just couldn’t live without now sits at the back of the cupboard, unused. 

         Enjoying the freedom of a trip to the beach - it costs nothing but adds to our life immensely!

With easy access to bank and store credit cards so many make the mistake of putting the “I wants”  before “I need”, buying things with money that isn’t even theirs.  In an era when we have so much opportunity to accumulate wealth for ourselves and our families, why is it that we only seem to accumulate things?? 

We consume a variety of resources and products today having moved beyond basic needs to include luxury items and technological innovations to try to improve our lives. Such consumption beyond basic needs is not necessarily a bad thing in itself, as throughout history we have always found ways to make our lives a bit easier to live.  But when the consumption and continual spend results in spiraling debts and traps us in jobs we no longer enjoy, we need to fess up to the fact that our consumption is getting the better of us.

Recognising that we are already abundant is essential to getting off the consumption binge and getting our financial health on track.  Bob Griffiths in his book Do What You Love For the Rest of Your Life says we need to recognise that we already have enough.  He says that a most liberating affirmation that helped him change his perception of the need to accumulate material possessions is: “I will have enough only when I realise that I already do.”

We don’t really need more than we already have!  As Bob says “The reality is that on any given day we don’t need anything except food.  We already possess clothing, shelter and all the other genuine needs of our lives, plus much, much more.”  Another affirmation that Bob suggests may be helpful is “ Today, I have enough; therefore I need nothing.  I desire all that I already have; therefore I have no wants.”

By changing our attitude towards consumption and detaching ourselves emotionally from material things we are taking a step closer to our financial freedom.  By understanding our household budget, we should get to know how much we need to spend on essential items, and recognize how much money we waste on things that don’t make an impact on our lives.  I’m certainly not saying that we shouldn’t spend our money on fun and entertaining activities.  They are essential of course, for leading a truly abundant life!  But discretionary spending on things where at the end of the month you look at the bank balance and can’t for the life of you think where your wages have gone is not wise and needs to stop.

If you have any thoughts on our attitude to consumption, I’d love for you to share them.  You can write me a post or send an email to livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .

Declutter to simplify your physical space and free your mind.

Decluttering!!  Ugh! 

Where do I find the motivation to start?  Should I wait to be in the right mood, the right frame of mind?

There’s no getting away from it.  The best way to start decluttering is simply to start.  And it’s the starting that’s the hardest step, but once I do start the process it seems to just flow and I manage to go from this:

 

To this:

 

I’ve recently decluttered my work spaces, both in my company’s office and in my home office.  And boy does it feel satisfying!  At home it took me about 3 hours to declutter a relatively small room.  The method I used was to create 3 piles of stuff – 1.  To ditch, 2. To file or put away, 3.  To give away.  The biggest pile by far was the ditching pile (why do I keep this stuff in the first place, if all I’m going to do with it is ditch it?)

It seems simple.  Keep your work and house spaces free of accumulating stuff by being organised – a place for everything and everything in its place. But it’s too easy for workspaces, desks and benches to become dumping grounds.  To prevent this from happening after my decluttering exercise I have ensured that I have folders to keep newspaper and magazine clippings for inspiration, and drawers for filing receipts, financial records, invoices and paid bills.

Not only does the space look a lot cleaner, neater and more inviting but there are many other not so obvious benefits of decluttering, including those affecting our health.  The website http://www.inaquandary.co.uk/decluttering-benefits.htm lists these as:

·         You should be able to sleep better in a clean and tidy environment, and spend less time worrying at night.

·         You will feel more energised to start projects and carry them through to their end.

·         You will feel more able to deal with things as and when they happen.

·         You will feel better equipped to deal with life on a day to day basis.

·         You will have more time to pursue hobbies and outside interests.

·         You will be equipped to part with sentimental items.

In his article Declutter Your Home and Your Head, Brian Johnson says “We also have a socially driven tendency to believe that possessing more brings greater happiness. Tackling this assumption can also bring better mental health and happiness. In fact, owning more things brings with it more anxiety about how to pay for, protect and look after them. The simple truth is that owning less is easier than organising more.” http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/sex+relationships/wellbeing/declutter+your+home+and+your+head,16685

“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” - Albert Einstein

If you want to get some decluttering done, I would suggest starting small.  There is an excellent blog page called “Declutter 52 things in 52 weeks Challenge”.  Get inspired and start with just 5 minutes today!  http://theorganisedhousewife.com.au/declutter-52-things-in-52-weeks-challenge/

If you have any tips on decluttering, I’d love for you to share them.  You can write me a post or send an email to livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .

Sunday Night Chilled Out Dinner - Homemade Pizza

I find making pizza a really enjoyable process – from the dough to the toppings to the eating! I can’t substitute the base for anything other than pizza dough from scratch – there’s just simply nothing better. The only problem I sometimes face is not starting early enough in the day – I really need to start at 4pm to be ready to eat at 6pm (our target, given the kids need to be in bed by 8pm latest).

Today I used this recipe:
1 teaspoon (or 7g sachet) of yeast
¼ teaspoon caster sugar
¾ cup of luke warm water
1 ½ cups of plain flour
1 teaspoon salt

I start by activating the yeast. This is done by mixing the yeast, sugar and water in a small container or cup and letting it sit for 5 – 10 minutes until it starts bubbling. You can see mine getting frothy here:

Then I mix the salt and flour and make a well in the centre. I pour the yeast mixture into the well and mix it until it forms a soft dough. I continue to knead the dough in the mixing bowl, before turning it out onto a floured surface and knead for about another 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic (so that it contracts back into place when a section of dough is pulled).
And this is the part that takes time. I then need to leave the dough to proof for 30 – 45 minutes. I do this by putting the dough back into the mixing bowl, which I’ve coated with a little oil. I cover the bowl with either glad wrap or a tea towel and leave it in a warm and draught free place.
After about 45 minutes when it has doubled in size I knock the dough back (punch it in the middle). Actually I rarely do this as for some reason my 7 year old has always enjoyed doing it and always comes in to help at the right time. So today, true to form it was my daughter that punched the dough and then we divided it into two balls to roll out into bases.
I preheated the oven to 220 degrees C. I was following a recipe today which gave a tip to heat the pizza trays before greasing them with a little oil and placing the rolled out pizza dough on them. This was a great idea, as it means that the bottom of the pizza has more chance of cooking – nothing worse than well-cooked topping on a not-quite-cooked base! 
Moving quickly once the trays were out of the oven, greased and the rolled bases laid on top, I started adding topping. Both daughters were in on this action. One pizza was a bacon, pineapple and cheese pizza on traditional tomato sauce. The other pizza was salami, capsicum, jalapeño, tomato and cheese on taco sauce. And here’s the result (one of the two we made):

Unfortunately the 7 year old still doesn’t like pizza, even these delicious creations. Luckily for the rest of us, there’s more to go around!
If you have a favourite Sunday night meal, I’d love for you to share it. You can write me a post or send an email to livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .

Father's Day - Gifts from the Heart

This Father’s Day, the kids and I decided that we wanted to create some home-made gifts for the three main men in our lives – Daddy, Poppie and Grandad.  Through school, kindy and daycare they had already been busy making cards and small gifts for the Dads over the last couple of weeks and I thought we could complement these with some more home-made presents.  The internet is a wonderful source of inspiration and we literally found a million ideas to choose from.

We decided that as it’s now Spring and we’re coming into barbecue season, a barbecue bucket would make an ideal gift for Dad and Poppie.  So, we headed off to our local hardware store to gather the items to go into our BBQ buckets.  We found some excellent stainless steel buckets and for Dad we put in BBQ cleaning products, a scraper and scrubber, canola spray oil, and oil catching sand.  For Poppie, who loves seafood, we put in a BBQ grill cage for fish, some wood chips to add some smoky flavour to the fish, and some cleaning products. 

Here’s the final product!

 

For Grandad – who lives on the other side of the country – we made up a relax pack of magazines ….. Science, Astronomy and Gardening ….. and included some tea, coffee, chocolate, health bars and licorice.  We included a beautiful painting of a rainbow created by the 4-year old and packaged them all up in a box.  The box was promptly mailed to ensure it got to Grandad on time.

As an extra gift for Dad, we put together a 6-pack of snacks.  We took 6 empty beer bottles, washed and dried them and used the templates and printed pages from Lil’ Luna’s blog page (http://lilluna.com/fathers-day-super-dad-pop-box-set/) to add decorative touches to the bottles, bottle tops and cardboard carrier.  The result was terrific and super easy for the kids to get involved in and do.  It ended up looking fantastic:

 

Our bottles were filled with M&M’s , cashew nuts, chocolate coated nuts, Maltesers, jelly lollies and a fruit-and-nut mix. 

The Dads were all so pleased with their gifts and the kids and I found it so very satisfying to have put extra time, energy, effort and love into making the gifts rather than just choosing something off the shelf.

For more Father's Day gift ideas - or birthday ideas for the fellas in your life, here are some wonderful ideas at Melissa Goodwin's Frugal and Thriving blog. 

If you’d like to share your home-made Father’s Day gifts, please send me a post or email me at livewelllivesmart@gmail.com .  I’d love to hear about it!