Post Vacation Blues

We arrived back from our annual holiday and for the first few days I had what I coined 'post vacation blues'. Normally I am really happy to go away, but very happy to return home again.
We use our annual holiday as a time for renewal. We make our plan for the upcoming year, talk about our focus and and areas of improvement we will launch into for the upcoming year.

We also totally relax.

I enjoyed watching 'Chocolat' ( must be about the fifth time I have seen it and still love it!)

I enjoyed having lazy breakfasts like this.

and of course there was lots and lots of this.......

I think I got a little too used to having someone come in and change the towels. I even joked about employing some person who I never actually meet who will come in like the tooth fairy and do things while I am not looking. lol

But.... thank goodness that feeling has passed and I am now ready to face the year.

We had family come and stay last week, so it was nice to be home and to enjoy spending time with people you love.

Now it's time to put my 2010 plans into action.

Time For Reflection

Christmas is over for another year. It always seems to be such a big build up and then it is all over.... just like that!

Now, it is time for reflection. The days between Christmas and New Year are a time to examine the past year and look at the year to come.

What did you like about 2009 ? What worked well ? What were the challenges of 2009 and what lessons did you learn from them ?

What are you planning for 2010 ? What are you going to be working towards - in your home, your family, your career, your personal development, your relationships ?

We are not talking about new year's resolutions, we are talking about mapping your way for 2010. The best thing about following a map is that even if you end up on the wrong route, you often discover something fantastic!

As I move into a blogging break, I am wishing you and your family Peace, love and joy in your time of reflection. So.... relax and enjoy and remember...... Your Life Is Your Design - you can make it anything you want it to be!

Busy Bee

Ask anyone how they are at this time of year and the answer will, without a doubt include some reference to how ‘busy’ they are.

Why are we so busy ? Is it because our to-do lists have a deadline? We HAVE to have things organized by December 25th?

I find that my days are busy because I have so many things that I would like to achieve, but many of them are attached to specific time frames so I actually feel a lot busier.
I wouldn’t normally group my whole to do list together, but every time November falls from the calendar I find myself looking at everything that needs to be achieved between then and Christmas.

Sometimes I have things playing on my mind that I can’t physically do anything about until they arrive, like attend end of school functions and Christmas parties – but they are on the ‘thinking of them at 3am’ mental list I tend to keep.

Add to the mental and physical list making the constant input from television, newspapers, radio reminding us of how to have our ‘best Christmas ever’ and how to ‘show someone you REALLY love them’ and ‘buy now’ ‘pay nothing’ ‘buy, buy, BUY, BUY’. AHHHHHH

No wonder they call it the silly season.

Please remind me, when I start down the path that society says I should be on, that I can chose to think differently. I can choose to participate in the frenzy or to step aside.

I choose to cultivate the spirit of Christmas. To think deeply about how I will bring PEACE to my house. How being prepared, planning ahead and thinking about things slowly will let me feel peace and let my family experience my peace.

I will think about how I will bring JOY to my home. Joy comes from a lack of stress. Joy comes from having the time to sit and play card games with your children, a family game of tennis in the front yard or watching a dance concert performed in your lounge room.

I choose to cultivate LOVE. What my family members want from me is not the latest and greatest catalogue item, they want my time and my efforts and my appreciation for what they do and who they are.

So….. the challenge now is working through the “must do” list so that I don’t sabotage my own Christmas Spirit.

Think…..peace……think…….joy……….think………love.

Desiderata

At this busy time of the year, I am reminded of sections of the poem 'Desiderata'.

Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence.

Fishpond

If you haven't finished your Christmas shopping and are looking for books, DVD, music, toys etc try Fishpond ( for Aussies). I have been using them and find the service to be excellent.

There is free postage for order over $49 plus I seem to get a $5 voucher each time I purchase.

As one of my affiliates, by supporting this Australian online business you are also supporting A Vision Splendid and I sincerely THANK YOU

According To Martha ....Six Things To Do Daily

According to MARTHA who has positioned herself as THE world wide authority on all things 'homey' we should be doing the following 6 things every day in the home.

1. Make The Bed - because tidiness begets tidiness, meaning if you make the bed you will feel like cleaning the rest of the room.

2. Manage Clutter - we are meant to grab clutter every time we walk out of a room and encourage other family members to do likewise.

3. Sort The Mail - open, read and sort as soon as we bring it inside.

4. Clean As You Cook - rinse and pop things into the dishwasher as you are cooking ( great advice for those that actually HAVE a dishwasher )

5. Wipe Up Spills While They're fresh - almost anything is easier to remove if you attend to it straight away.

6. Sweep The Kitchen Floor - every evening after you have finished cooking so that dirt and grime don't build up.

Well..... sounds easy enough when you read it in a pretty little list. How do you rate in the Martha stakes ?

Back From My Blogging Break

Ahhhhhhh!!! { Standing and Stretching}.

Time to return from my blogging break. It has been rather nice to have a break from writing, although my brain didn't take much of a holiday. It is always churning through philosophical analysis of events that are taking place around here.

Thank you to all the readers who sent me emails worrying about where I was {lol} I didn't realise you cared so much! {blush}. Your kind words were very encouraging.

One of the fabulous things about working from home or for yourself is the ability to take time out as required, depending on your family's needs or the need for a personal sabbatical.

So..... what have I been doing ?

Well, quite a bit actually. I have been teaching a lot more card making classes, organising ourselves for Christmas, 'gyming it' every day, learning lots more 'from scratch' recipes, planting lots of things in the garden ready for summer and selling excess possessions on E-Bay to create extra spending money for the holidays.

I am hoping that you are all ready for Christmas. You may enjoy reading Seven Steps To A Simple Christmas that I put together for the ABC radio interview last year.

And lastly....... I have written previously about having problems with my email system directing emails from the website to my inbox. I have been able to access the emails ( particularly the newsletter email form) from inside the site and there are over 200 emails yet to process! I am working through them, but please be patient if I take a little while to get to yours. I will do my best to respond.