messy Miss Kate

Living to 100 : Getting into the Smoothies!

April & May are always busy for our family with lots of celebration for birthdays. I am sure I harp on about that every year, maybe every post during the two months!  Anyway, its an all consuming time adding to an already full schedule.  So things have slipped a bit. There has been lots of temptation around & I've enjoyed it.  Overall I'm maintaining but I'd like to continue moving forward. I remind myself each week, that I have a fresh new week to focus again & kick things off well, make good choices etc.

Today I decided that Monday would be a great day to head to my local green grocer & buy a bunch of freshies & set up some smoothie packs for the week for my Living to 100 post this week. I've always tried to set up my whole week starting on the Sunday. But by doing this, I actually push myself to squeeze the tasks into every corner & crack there is on the weekend so that we have a [actually never] perfect start to the week Monday. It occurred to me that it is eating into my chance for weekend relaxation. And relaxation is important!

So I am very pleased I had this a-ha moment today & I'll be looking to set up some good systems for each week from now on, once the Monday school drop off has been done & the pressure is off.  And a lovely little trip I did have this morning with the 3 little ones, taking time to smell the lovely flowers. 

I bought a mix of veg, citrus & other fruit & set about washing, peeling, cutting up & bagging up 6 smoothie packs to freeze. In this batch I've used kale, ginger, banana, pineapple, carrot, strawberry & kiwi. And I've added a teaspoon of LSA to each bag plus a little sprinkle of chia.  

Me: Right now...

I'm taking time out this week to catch up on all sorts.  So I'll catch up on my Living to 100 post next week, I don't want to rush it.  April & May are always so busy for our family with birthdays every 5 minutes, almost ;o]

Since my birthday last week, I've been enjoying a lovely Mothers Day weekend with my babies, looking after my sick self [chest infection thing going on, barking like a dog & sounding like a man - delightful!]. Chelsea has it too.  We are the lame ducks in our family that seem to catch everything going around! We both smell of Vicks right now. Anyone else love that smell?  Must get another Vicks Inhaler - fabulous addiction LOL

So this week I'm trying to catch up on some more arty homework, I've been doing lots of drawing, some painting & I'm also getting ready for my Georgia Poppy's birthday. She is going to be 8 this weekend! I cannot believe it!

Last week I was in & out of the printers and just today, I collected my full set of prints for my new collection [see above!] which I'll be releasing this week! Need to squeeze in time to upload to the shop!

So anyway its one of those itsy bitsy catchy-up weeks that is needed every now & then.  Hopefully I'll be back later in the week with my ETSY all bursting at the seams with new artwork. Originals & prints!

Must dash, here's a couple of pictures from the last few days that I have to share.  And after that, its back to my graphics work & bill [not at all exciting] paying. 

Me & my babies on Mothers Day. Looking & feeling a bit average but important to get in front of the camera occasionally! Love.

And here are all my lovely Mothers Day gifts. Handmade double sided hand printed tote bags from the twins at pre-school, sweet smelling sachet, bag clippy holder, lovely new uggs, a great stylus [I'll be reviewing soon!] & lovely cards, handmade flowers & bookmarks.

Spoiled & truly grateful.

Hope all my lovely readers had a lovely Mothers Day & are having a good week!

Living to 100: Self Compassion

In my quest to find a healthier happier me this year I've been reading & writing about all sorts of topics. So far I guess they have been mostly related to getting a healthier 'body'.  Thats a big part of the work I want to do but there's also a healthier 'mind' & 'soul' that I don't want to forget either. Going around in circles year after year isn't going to move me forward if I'm not considering the complete package.

Lately the universe is delivering some pretty strong themes to me. For starters, I've been seeing 'whales' everywhere!. I know! But thats a post for another day.  

I've also been noticing the topic of 'self compassion'.  I tend not to log into twitter too much, just pushing things through from ETSY or Instagram. Checking in occasionally to catch up on direct tweets to me. But one night last week, maybe it was the week before, I logged into Tweetdeck for some global 144 character banter.

What I noticed, was that Tweets popped right out of the feed, linking to statements on self compassion

Living to 100: Conquer fear, get checked.

So I am looking to find that healthier me this year.  That doesn't just mean better nutrition & regular exercise.  It also means being responsible about my body for me & my family.  And that means heading in for necessary checkups & / or whenever something is a bit unusual.

There is no point sitting at home in fear, letting things fester.

1] Stress is not good for you.

2] Its probably nothing.

3] If in the event it is something, the earlier the detection, the more chance of fixing. 

Right? Right? So why is it then that I just put off having an annual check up for 3/4 year longer than I should have?  

Fear.

With 3 ladies I know in the same age group as me, all being diagnosed with breast cancer last year, I guess I was just a bit frozen & didn't want to face up to the possibility.

Well....

Living to 100: Get busy living...

Its one of my favourite quotes, 'Get busy living or get busy dying.' - Shawshank Redemption.

This weeks post is short but important & I for one want to make it habit.  Last week I wrote about finding your passion.  This is like that, but its also different.  Some people have passion for things and either are or are not pursuing them. Choices.  Personally, I cannot imagine living a life without passion & I am so grateful I have rekindled passion for one of mine.

Passion aside though, when I delve into the meaning of that quote and ask myself... Am I busy living? Or am I busy dying?  Its a striking & personal question that makes every cell in my body stand up & listen.  I know I would like more quality time with my family. I know I'm busy with routine.  I know I am pursuing my passions.  I know I want to live for a long time.  

So whats the habit?  The habit is getting busy living & all that goes along with that. Not getting stuck.  Its about the balance between living in good ways & of course avoiding [!] the dying bit!  

Definitely taking every opportunity to chuck routine & the mundane [obviously not ignoring overriding responsibilities], & going out & living doing things with your most important peeps, whenever you can.  Changing the busy, a new fresh kind of busy.

Together, fresh air, new things, favourite things, things that make your people happy. Exploring.  But also resting, refreshing your mind & thoughts, relaxing, recharging.  Big picture stuff that is so important for your soul.

Does that mean chucking out the health conscious mind?  Not at all.  Sampling some of lifes sweet offerings & enjoying. Savouring.  But making lots of nutritious choices along the way & moving your body in new ways, natural ways, invigorating ways.

Right now, Jeff has some much needed holidays from work.  Its school holidays here too - my most favourite time of year!  So we're off busy living, busy enjoying, busy relaxing, busy together.

Beach walks, train rides, chasing seagulls, hot fresh corn on the cob, ice cream, early nights, reconnecting, talking, singing, walking, exploring.

Yep, thats right, we are getting busy with living right now & we are loving every minute of it.

Living to 100: Find your passion

For the last week or so, in between my main responsibilities, I've been keeping myself busy with things that I REALLY LOVE to do.  Its been a fabulous way to distract myself from my normal routine of fussing around, from habitually hanging around the kitchen, munching on this & that or snacking while sitting at the computer or watching TV.

It occurred to me that this is a great habit to add to the good list:  find passion in something else & keep yourself distracted, away from snacking & temptation.

Recently I have rediscovered my passion for painting & creating art.  I mean, I'm always passionate about it & I am ALWAYS thinking about it but I've just recently decided to force myself to get back into my studio. And the creativity has been flowing.  My studio doors are wide open, the music is on & the kids are coming & going all day long.  I stop to make meals but I'm not snacking or getting bored or walking past the fridge.  I'm busy and I'm loving it.

I've given myself permission to spend time doing something that will break the cycle & reacquaint myself with something I love. You could do it too!  It might be phoning a friend, like with a real telephone & chatting for an hour, enough time to let those cravings go!!  Maybe its getting out into the garden?  

Everyone is so busy all the time. But it is possible to just stop.

Maybe it'll have to be after work or on the weekends. Spend minimum time in the kitchen, just the time you need to prepare food for the family.  Do projects around the home if thats your thing. Take your kids to the park.  Forget about making beds & sweeping after every meal & scrubbing skirting boards with toothbrushes. Even just for a week.

Sometimes behaviours & habits are difficult to break, sometimes we just need new ones to replace the not so good.  What better way to do that thing you said you never had time for?  Break the habit. Build in more time distracting yourself.  Fall in love with reading all over again. Watch a favourite movie. Get painting!  Play scrabble.

Its up to you, its up to me. From my perspective, its a no brainer. Do what you love. Drop the bits you don't need.

Enjoy some wonderful distraction this week. xo

Kitchen: Big Salad week

The other week I blogged about how I was going to try 7 new salad/veg dishes [combo of hot & cold] within the next 7 days.  

Here's some of my pics.

So last week I made 5 out of the 7 new recipes.  The week of course coincided with Easter & that long long weekend brought about spontaneous & changed plans.  I did make one of the new salads twice however to share with family and also squeezed in one of my tried & true [and delicious] recipes too.

Here's all recipes & /or links below...

Living to 100: Accountability, is there an App for that?

Being a huge Apple computer & device lover, I'm often checking out new apps in the App Store.  I've come across a few lovely health & wellness related ones I thought I would share this week.  

In the past I've used My Fitness Pal, Runkeeper & Livestrong to track exercise & calories in & out.  They are still all right up there in my opinion as excellent daily trackers of performance.  Because I'm trying some different things this year & trying to make positive changes rather than get fanatical about calories, I'm looking around for other tools to help make me not only more accountable but to give me the encouragement & inspiration I need to make good choices.

This weeks habit:  using an App or some other method to help make you accountable, give you inspiration &/or help you track along to achieve your goals. And of course it doesn't have to be digital. It might be engaging a personal trainer, keeping a food journal, asking a friend or partner to be your sponsor, setting a daily alarm for exercise/seeking out new recipes/working out your weekly meal plan. Wherever, whatever help you need the help most.

So, here's some cool apps I'd like to share...

 

1]  Green Kitchen

This isn't an accountability tool, its for inspiration & its FULL to the brim with beautiful green food options.

    

Arty Things meets Living to 100

Everything outside of family things that I'm focussing on lately seems to be either 'arty' OR my healthy living-to-100 quest.

My two worlds.

And this is what happens when those worlds collide. Drink bottle water spill meets visual diary.

It was a slow drippy kind of spill that penetrated about 50 pages right in the centre of the book.

A week worth of drying page by page and its all rescued. Well sort off.  I can make out most of my ideas, they are all just blurred. 

Anyway, I thought maybe it was some sort of odd metaphor about my life right now & the concentration I need for each of those worlds to make them both happen.  The two worlds don't necessarily work nicely together, if I tip the balance in one direction, the other suffers.  

Its like the two sides of my brain are being so overstimulated & competing for time & attention. When the two get fired up & get in fisty cuffs, there's a spill.  A message from the universe to chill out maybe?

Perhaps not.

Perhaps just overthinking.

Living to 100: No excuse exercises

So how was Easter for you?  A difficult time of year if you are trying to make good choices.

All the yummy chocolate around plus the usual family & friends socializing with more scrumptious food right?  I guess I was a mix of healthy & shocking over the long weekend.  Its important to celebrate & enjoy lifes treats but when we have other goals too then we shouldn't forget them totally.  Lets all muddle on forward together. The best way we know how.

In our house, all the kids eggs & bunnies & freddos [which will see them through until almost Christmas!!]] have been put away out of our sight & will be shared out in small doses as we see fit.  

Good, Easter is done, I'm moving on.

And how timely, this week sees the start of a little local competition that I have entered before, called 'The Biggest Loser!' One year, I actually won it for losing some 20+ kilos.  Whilst this year I have been plodding along at a reasonably slow comfortable pace & slowly losing & keeping off kilo after kilo [with the exception of my Easter kilo!], getting my mind straight, forming new habits & trying new things as I go, I haven't been able to conjure up the necessary enthusiasm for exercise like I have in the past.  So I'm using this little competition as a little personal kick up the bottom to really get moving again.