3.22.2009

Time To Evaluate

It has been 9 months since I threw in my job as a solicitor and started living a more simple and deliberate life. Today I was re-reading the entry from June last year that I wrote regarding the decision.

I guess this means it is time to put my money ( or lack of it) where my mouth is and commence the experiment. Can a thoroughly modern mum live freely in a modern world. Can she produce food? Can she cook from scratch? Can she knit socks(gulp!)? Can she raise chooks for eggs? Can she learn to sew properly (gulp!) and........ can she still afford to buy the occasional vanilla latte on skim milk that has become her signature coffee ?
I believe that my user name "BusyWoman" is about to become an extremely accurate assessment of the days to come. I look forward to it with a sick sense of excitement. I hope you will stick around for the journey.


Time for an evaluation.......

I haven't been blogging as much lately about the usual topics because it seems that I have those things under control and blogging about them again seems somewhat repetitive. I haven't even been reading many simple living blogs because I have found them to be following the same themes all the time. Is there only so much one can write about the topic before there is nothing new to say and day in day out it is just the same ? I hope not!! I am always looking for a new challenge.

You see, in June last year I was worried about whether or not we could produce our own food, whereas today I am in the habit of going and grabbing things out of the garden as required, especially things like herbs and shallots which are generally an after thought on the shopping list. The thing we need to improve on is succession or staggering the planting so we don't have thousands of vegies harvest then nothing for the next two months.

Cooking From Scratch..... another thing that we have under control. It seems so natural now to bake bread, make pasta or try new things like the challah loaf.

Chooks...... another normal part of the day now to get up and feed them and talk to them and in return they fill the fridge to overflowing with their beautiful eggs. We certainly need to give away or sell some more because one fell out when I opened the fridge door yesterday! lol

On the knitting front..... well........ my excuse is that knitting is a winter thing and I don't sit down long enough in the summer months to be able to do it! ( are you convinced?) Ask me again in the winter months how I am going.

Even our house seems to be slowly falling in to line. I like a clean crisp and clutter free environment, it's just that it usually only stays that way for about 35 minutes! Over the months we have thrown out more and more "stuff" which makes things a lot easier to keep clean. Once I started doing yoga I became very conscious of our living environment. It's hard to relax and do yoga poses with a clear mind when you are staring at a basket of ironing! lol I believe that your home environment has a HUGE impact on your mental well being. It is much easier to relax and feel at peace in an uncluttered space.

There are still a couple of projects I want to do in this department. Tackling the filing cabinet is one of these jobs. time to clean out some old paperwork and revamp the file headings. Can you out your hand on any piece of paper or financial record in less than thirty seconds or do you have to go digging? My aim is to be the thirty second girl!

So.... with the food gardening, cooking, home management and even the cash budget under control is time now to move towards looking after myself personally. Time to work on regaining my personal health and becoming more active and fit. I don't mean a " lose 30kg in 3 weeks" type of thing, I mean adopting a more healthy approach to eating, drinking and exercise for no other reason than to feel great! That includes looking after my skin, hair, nails etc and doing the best with my god given self, in a way that still reflects my values for an old fashioned approach ( meaning I won't be getting botox injections for a wrinkle free face lol! )

I have been really inspired recently by Libby ( www.libby.withnall.com ) who blogs in her fitness section with tremendous honesty about her weight loss journey. I love the way she shares her ups and downs, good days and bad days. She gives me so much motivation !

So, my question to you all is this........ If you're reading this blog you obviously have an interest in simple living. How would you rate your health? Do you nurture your body the way you nurture your garden? Do you feel healthy and happy and energised? Are there changes you would like to make about the way you look after yourself ?

Are you interested in following a journey to health, the simple, frugal way ? No group programmes, no personal trainers, no membership fees and no hype? I wonder if it can be done. let me know if you would like to join me on the journey.

9 comments:

Paola said...

Hi, my goal is simple living and simple fitness is art of that. My fitness routine is a bit haphazard due to my work as a casual teacher. I never know when I will be working. My rule of thumb is if I am not working on a particular day, then I try and get 1 hour's exercise in.
My routine is varied,except for my weekly Iyengar yoga class which I always tell my husband will be the last thing that goes should push come to shove.
I try and do a yoga practice or two at home during the week.
I swim at the local pool about 2-3 times a week. My kids do swimming training, so I swim while they are swimming. Apart from the fitness, I think it is good for the kids to see their mum looking after her health in her forties.
If I have been working, I go for a 45 minute walk before dinner, often with my kids riding their bikes with me for company.
I bought a set of free weights and have devised a routine with them after consulting a library book.
I'm petrified about osteoporosis.
And the vegie garden and gardening in general offers plenty of opportunity for walking, bending, lifting and hurling.
That's it. My yoga class costs $14 a week, but that is offset by no more chiropractor visits. My chronic neck problems have been cured. I buy a pair of cossies and a pair of decent running shoes about once a year on sale.
Even though I'm not running marathons, I'm happy with my level of fitness.

Emma said...

I have not been looking after my body like I do everything else and this year I am determined to change that.

I am also trying to get healthier without joining a health club or weight loss thing. I found that alot of 'diets' use prepackaged and artificial food products.

I am aiming to cut out all prepackaged, refined foods this year and I think this will be a huge step to becoming healthier (and losing weight).

Good luck
Emma

Julie said...

I'm having issues with staggering my vegetable planting too. Its all or nothing here some months here too.
Love the 30 second rule, somehthing else for me to aim for. I am trying for the clutter free home too. It does wonders for your mental health not having too much stuff. When the fires were burning a few weeks ago I got to thinking about what I would and woulnd't miss if we lost the lot. It has made getting rid of a few things a lot easier.
Love knowing there are others out there striving for a similar life.
Julie. :0)

Creative Wishes said...

Yes, yes and yes! Just this week I have made a commitment to get my health in order. There is a great site (all free)called calorieking. You can record food, calories, exercise and much much more.

Child of the New Forest said...

Hi Michelle,
I have been following your blog for a while now and would be happy to keep reading on your journey to better health. Don't feel bad about changing the focus of your blog, it's good that blogs evolve just as the people who write them do. Would still like to read the odd "simple life" post tho.
take care

Lis said...

Hi!
Glad you are back to blogging, you are a constant inspiration to me.
I'd love to join your journey - I think it helps to have a buddy.
I'll be doing some yoga at home as well as I can no longer justify paying $12 per class :)
Lis

xo.sorcha.ox said...

My goal is to be increasingly aware of the way that I live, especially in relation to the food that we consume. The decision I made about seven years ago to become vegetarian started my particular "journey". Sometimes it can be really difficult to know where to start, or where to go next, and that is what I really like about all the blogs I read - they provide insight and inspiration for me to work towards achieving my own sustainable and simple existence. It is most certainly an ongoing, never-ending experience, but I am really enjoying it!
~S.

white_lilly said...

It all sounds good and I would love to follow you on your journey and improve my health as well. There is always room for improvement. I would like to spend more time on myself now that my kids have left home, how long for I don't know.

libby said...

Hi Michelle,

So glad you get something out my fitness ramblings. I think I'm mostly talking to myself but I find it's good for thinking things through. If you're still reading you'll know I've just re-committed to eating healthy again. How is journey going? It's not easy but it's definitely worth it.

Libby

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