Dear Reader

Today was a good day.  I came into work and found a little gift on my desk.  I have no idea who it was from - well actually I have a sneaking suspicion but I don't know for sure - and it was a little beeswax candle in a jar, all done up in a pretty little bag.  I'll take a pic tomorrow and add it here.

I had a fairly productive day at work and have also finalised some of the meetings I have lined up in NZ next week.  I had a nice relaxing lunch with a colleague and we noticed two more of our colleagues sitting nearby painting in water colour.. very talented artists too.  Just shows we don't know the hidden talents of those around us sometimes.  

A late finish from work meant a late arrival home, which was followed by a visit from my youngest son and later a phone call from my sister.  So it's all been happening today!

I'm feeling really tired though now, so am going to finish here and scoot off to bed.  I'll post photo's tomorrow of the candle. G'nite!

Ack, Monday arrives way too fast!  The upside is, I only have 7 more work days until I have 8 days leave.  Very much looking forward to that.

Today was busy as always, but I don't mind busy as it's always interesting and the work day goes faster.

I had a slight movement with my weight today and I'm wondering if the fact I've stopped taking the pill has helped with that.  I was only on it for a few weeks to alter my cycle, however, I'd forgotten gaining a little weight was a side effect previously when I'd used the pill for short periods of time.  Time will tell I guess.

I've had a rather productive few days and feel like some more of my retreat plans are coming together, along with ideas for further retreats.  I'm also going to be able to do some training through work that will be helpful in my workplace, as well as for my retreats so that's a big bonus.

I seem to have an enormously busy few weeks coming up, but also exciting too and I'm looking forward to it all.  

It's date night on Wednesday night for Tiara and I.  This month's plan is to go to either a Chinese or Thai restaurant because she will be going to Thailand in a few weeks, with a couple of brief stops in other parts of Asia.  

Wednesday night is also Xavier's 5th birthday, so I'm going to take him on an excursion to Underwater World when I get back from NZ and Yamba.  It will be the first time we've done something like that together too, so it should be fun.  

I was back into my yoga nidra this morning, I seem to fall off the wagon a bit on weekends, but I sure notice the difference when I'm doing it regularly.  I need to remember that difference each morning when sometimes the enthusiasm for sleep or dozing is a little stronger!

Today's pic is of another little watercolour I did a few years ago.  It was one of my favourites.

What a glorious day it was today!  The sun was out and there was a good breeze that eased the heat and humidity that we had last week.

I attended the local Mind Body Spirit expo this morning, which is on a much smaller scale than the ones held in some of the capital cities.  I'm heading into the Brisbane one next weekend, so looking forward to that.  It was good to attend the one here in the Redlands though because I was wanting to check out their space and see if it may be suitable for workshops.  And yes, it definitely would be!

After the expo, I visited my eldest son and his family who just live a short way up the road.  He has two gorgeous little boys and the youngest is a very busy little soul.  From there I went and visited my 3rd son and his little girl who is absolutely adorable.  She may come and have a sleepover with me next weekend so that will be fun.  

Came home, did a few chores, put some silverside in the slow cooker, did some programming for the buddies retreat, had a nap and woke wondering what the neighbours were cooking because it smelt good.  Went downstairs and realised it was the silverside I could smell and yes, it was delicious!

Tonight I've lit some candles for a young asylum seeker, Reza Barati, who fled his country of origin to seek safety and instead was locked up by our government on Manus Island and then murdered a couple of nights ago.  The way our government treats vulnerable people, such as Reza, is truly appalling. To my way of thinking, it's purely about punishment rather than offering a safe haven.  

All that aside, my heart goes out to Reza's family.  I can only imagine the heartache, pain and grief they would be feeling.  RIP Reza.

I've decided to do a Sunday morning post given I didn't do one last night. Yesterday was a full and productive day, spent with a friend who accompanied me on my travels and explorations for the day.

It started with a delicious breakfast at a little Italian cafe near my work place called La Dolce Vita.  The food and service is awesome.  From there we headed up to the Sunshine Coast to check out the accommodation I have booked for the first retreat.

I was very happy to find it's ideal for this retreat.  A very picturesque little place tucked away among some rainforest type gardens.  It has a pool, hydrotherapy spa and sauna, plus has plenty of grounds to roam around in where you can find a pond, wishing well and waterfall if there's been recent rain.  

We drove all around the local area and found a few places and activities that can easily be incorporated into the weekend.  It rained much of the trip but that didn't dampen our enthusiasm and it turned out to be a lovely fun day all round.

I have decided to change my business name, so will keep you posted once I've registered the new name.  It will more reflect what I hope to do and is back to the name I liked before I chose the one that I ended up registering. Funny how it often turns out you should go with that first instinct!

Today's pic is one I took yesterday in the Mapleton Falls area.  

Ah dear reader, my apologies for missing a couple of days.  It's been a crazy busy week and this middle aged body has been feeling the effects of that busy-ness.  

I met with a business planner on Thursday night who was really helpful and gave me plenty to think about.  She is sending me a basic business plan to start working with and I can email that back to her for feedback when I'm ready.  I'm also able to continue seeing her when/as I need to.  What a wonderful service our local council runs!  

One of the first things to consider is the business name I'd chosen and registered.  She pointed out there is nothing in business name that tells people I'm running retreats or workshops.  The funny thing is, another name I almost chose would have done just that, but I was concerned about wanting to do other things as well and went with an umbrella type name.  Sounds like my first line of thinking may have made more sense.  Ah well, I will do some more checking out around that and who knows, may well register a slightly different name specifically for the retreats and workshops.

I'm feeling very despondent about my weight at the moment.  It's doing the see saw thing and has been up a little this week, so I've felt rather uncomfortable and blobbish.  Most days I've been home too late to go out walking (I don't feel entirely safe walking at night) or I've had something else on.  

Hopefully I can get this sorted a little more next week, although I've noticed the days are starting to become a little shorter (in relation to sunlight) as we head towards autumn.  Not that the weather seems to be aware it's almost autumn, it's been stinking hot and humid this week again.  Bring on winter I say!

That aside, I'm considering getting some exercise equipment when my son moves out and I will have the room to put it in either the garage (which is full of his gear) or what is now his bedroom.  I'm considering an exercise bike initially or perhaps a walking machine.  But I would also like to get another pushbike too, especially when some of this weight starts to come off.  

I'm determined to do some painting sometime this weekend too.  It's been way too long since I've painted so the time has come to change that.  

Well I'm off to try and catch a few more zzz's before I get into my day.  I hope your day has some awesome in it.  Today's pic is of the view I had from my hotel room last Sunday evening.

I flaked last night, hence the quick early morning post before I head off to work.  I didn't sleep well the night before and had a huge day, so it was an early night for this girl.

Well, an early night after getting all my gear together ready for the meeting with the business planner tonight.  I will go there straight after work today.  I have a few questions for her and have also been coming up with more ideas. 

I think perhaps I need to plan an artist's date as such, squirrel myself away somewhere quiet and cool where I can plan and work away, get things together a little bit more.  I need to corral these ideas a bit, put them into some type of order as to where they can work best, whether they are for now, the near future or later.

This time in 2 weeks, I will be getting ready to fly to NZ.  I can hardly wait.  I know it will be an extremely short trip but the thought of spending some more time near Lake Wanaka fills my heart with joy.  I'm also planning to stop near Lake Tekapo and soak up the atmosphere a while.  A good place for a driving stop.

Well this is just a short one today and I'll likely be back tonight.  Today's pics are of the little blowhole in Kiama.

Hi ho hi ho, it was back to work I go...  and what a busy full on day it was! Not to mention rather productive as I finally completed my performance review (aka MPR) and have sent it off to my line manager. 

We chatted last week about it and I wasn't sure whether to mention my retreat plans, whether it was an appropriate thing to put in my 3-5 yr plan. She was very supportive though and noted where my plans and the skills I will be using in my workshops and retreats can also link very nicely into the work I do as team leader with a team of case workers working in a fast paced environment assisting some of our most vulnerable people in the community. Anyways, good to finally have it done and we will have our follow up discussion around it next week.

Oh my goshes, I had the most scrumptious dish tonight.  I've never made a laksa before and tonight I made a seafood laksa.  How is it that I've never made or eaten this before I wonder??  It was absolutely delicious!

Well I checked my weight this morning and was somewhat disheartened to see absolutely no change whatsoever.  I guess the good thing was there had been no increase, but it's not quite what I was hoping for.  I'm feeling very big and self conscious about my weight at the moment too. 

I realise I need to put more effort into healthy eating and I recognise that one of the big factors is my work hours and how tired I am when I get home.  I think more pre-planning may be in order.  Pre-plan quick easy simple healthy evening meals.  Go back to the salads or soup for lunch.  Fruit or cereal for breakfast, although I can't do the cereal every morning so I need to mix it up a little.  

I also need to move more.  My job is very sedentary and I spend a large part of my day sitting.  So it's about moving regularly during my work day.  I use the stairs whenever I go to the bathroom and go either up or down to the next floors.  I think it would be helpful if I went out walking or found some type of exercise I could do at home in the evenings.  

It was good to get back to my yoga nidra this morning.  I'd not done it at all while I was away and was really feeling I needed to get back into it as soon as possible.  I really notice the benefits.

Tomorrow night I need to get a little organised and have all my paperwork together in readiness for a business planning meeting on Thursday night, to help me get this fledgling business of mine off the ground.  I'm very excited about it. 

I've been having little niggles of doubt this last week or so and I think having this meeting will help.  It's probably also time I touched base with my mentors again.  I also need to start writing my questions down again, as I had been doing previously.  At least once they are down, I can start addressing them.

Well, I'm off to bed.  Thanks out there to anyone reading.  Tonight's pic is of the fog over the mountains in the Jamboroo area outside of Kiama.  There is some very beautiful countryside around there.

Hello out there!!  I'm back after my trip to Sydney and Kiama, feeling like I've had a nice little break from the world and from the awful heat and humidity I returned to.  It rained most of the time I was away, so it was awesome to enjoy some slightly cooler weather.

On Friday, I wandered about Circular Quay and enjoyed the sights of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.  I lunched with a friend I hadn't seen in a while and another friend of hers.  My friend's friend (are you still with me there?) and I had a lot in common as it turned out, so there was plenty of chatter and lots of laughter throughout our few hours together.

I caught the train down to Kiama in the afternoon and met up with my friend down there.  It was good to see him again and to see the changes he's making to his house.  He's started doing some woodworking and has made some great furniture.  He even has some pot plants that are alive and flourishing!

His lady friend joined us for dinner on the Saturday night and she and I got along really well.  So well I think he may have had second thoughts on whether it had been a good idea to introduce us... because together we were quite the pair and teased the living daylights out of him.  In a nice way of course.  After all, there was plenty of payback that had been waiting for him. 

Sunday, his lady friend and her little boy joined us and we went off to explore the Kiama Markets, then take a drive down to Berry.  I need to go back to Berry!!  We didn't have nearly enough time there.  It was a gorgeous little place.  Over the next few days, I'll post some photo's of my time away.

Sunday afternoon I headed back to the city, where I stayed overnight before flying home today.  I was meant to catch up with another dear friend and have dinner, however, she had a mini disaster with some flooding following torrential rain.  So once she'd mopped up, we had about an hour and a half chat on the phone.  

Both of us are growing new businesses and my friend had plenty of wisdom she was happy to share with me.  Some of our work may even intermesh together down the track a little, so that's a bit exciting too.  Although we didn't catch up in person, it was great to chat on the phone for so long.  It probably would have been longer had my phone battery not been dying!

Given I no longer had a dinner companion, I went down to the lobby to ask whether there were any Thai or Asian restaurants nearby.  I was directed down the road to a tiny little Thai place that was tucked away in among some old buildings with no signage.  Oh my goshes, their food was amazing!!  Some of the best Thai food I have ever had.  I will definitely be going there again next time I stay at that place.

Early flight home this morning and arrived to very hot humid conditions.  It was pretty horrible weather.  I was feeling rather unwell and then couldn't find my car.  I spent 45 mins checking all the levels of the car park, then going across to another car park.  After checking my bag for the 3rd time, I finally found the piece of paper I'd written down where my car was parked and went back to where I started!  I was on the right level of the first car park when I started looking, in the right row, I'd just been at the wrong end.  Sigh.  All good though, I found it and was extremely grateful for the air con in my car.

Today's pic might be a two pic post as I'll put up the pics of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

Yay!  Gotta love it when Thursday is technically your Friday when it comes to the end of your work week.  Well for this week it is anyway.  I'm jetting off to Sydney in the morning and have to be up and out of bed in 6 short hours, so I won't be here too long.  

I had planned to leave work early today, instead I ended up working late. I have to say it was a good feeling to switch off my work phone once I got in the car to come home though!

I'm now pretty much packed (just the last minute things such as toothbrush and hairbrush) and ready to go.  Have I mentioned I'm looking forward to the break?  Ohh, just once or twice eh? 

I now have some time to play with for a while once I arrive in Sydney, so am contemplating what I can do with my day.  Shall I do a harbour cruise? Visit the art gallery? Perhaps the museum? Wander about Circular Quay?  I'm sure I'll find something to do and enjoy.  

Well this is it until next week.  Be good!  

Today's pic is of a water colour I painted a little while back.

Good grief, this tired thing is no fun at the moment.  I do my yoga nidra of a morning, I'm usually awake for a short while before I do it, but the last couple of days I've really struggled to stay focused and not sleep during it.  I've felt better afterwards but it's sure been a task to not go back to sleep, despite having slept pretty much all night.  Well pretty much all night usually includes being awake once or twice at some stage, but eventually going back to sleep. Anyways, hopefully it's nearly finished bothering me and I will go back to feeling not so sleepy real soon.  Tomorrow sounds like a good starting point I think!

Work was pretty intense today, which probably wasn't helped by the tired thing and I had to do some self care stuff to get through the day.  Like actually go out of the office and walk at lunch time.  I had a meeting mid afternoon outside of the offices, so I took my own car and went home after the meeting instead of returning to work.  The meeting didn't finish until after 4, so I would have only had to drive back to office in a work car then finish up anyway.  All I did was cut about half an hour off.

I had a few chores to do on the way home, so I did them and then went out by the water.  I needed to feel the grass and sand under my feet and then get my feet wet.  I was really yearning for that all day.  I guess it's that sense of grounding after an intense day.  The water was like a warm bath and the sand isn't exactly the fine white stuff, rather a course brown-ish sand, but it didn't matter.. it still served it's purpose.  And I managed to get a nice sunset pic while standing in the water too.

I'm so looking forward to my weekend away.  I know I've mentioned that in the last few posts, but I'm at the point where I'm almost bone weary.  Once I come back, it's only another 3 weeks until I have 11 days off work.  I will have a quick trip to NZ as mentioned previously (for work/retreat related things) and then back home to attend a retreat in Yamba.  Near the water.  With yoga.  And meditation.  And good food.  And rest.  And beach walks.  I come back from the retreat and pretty much return straight to work  but I figure I should be pretty chilled out after the retreat so all good.  

Going back to the Sydney/Kiama visit, I'm unsure if I'll be able to post while I'm away.  I'm not taking my laptop as I'm planning a computer free break.  I will have my mobile phone, but am not very good at accessing sites like this from there so may just give it a miss until I get back.  If that's the case, tomorrow night may be my last post until Monday night.  Any that appear in between will be a bonus!

Today's pic is of the sunset this evening at Wellington Point.

I'm a little late posting, so this may end up a two in a day type of thing!  I was wiped by the time I got home yesterday.  Work has been crazy busy and I've done some long hours the last two days.

Yesterday I also had the pleasure of doing a belly cast for a woman I did one for about 3.5 yrs ago.  I met the little girl who was the reason for the last belly cast, a gorgeous little poppet by the name of Olivia who introduced me to her parents using the first names.  Very cute.

The mama to be called me two days ago to ask if I could do the cast and I mentioned I was going away this weekend, so perhaps the following weekend. I then asked when her baby was due and found out she was already 38 weeks pregnant.  Oops.. waiting another 2 weeks probably not a good idea, so plan B was to do it after work.  A nice way to finish a full on day.

I forgot to take a pic of the cast though, so will have to ask her to send me one.  I might get her to send me a pic of the two casts side by side too. Hmm which gets me thinking about the 3 casts I did for another girl for each of her babies, that would be a cool pic!  

Have I mentioned I'm very much looking forward to my break away this weekend?  I'm so ready for it!  I'm hoping to get a walk on the beach in too.  

Well that's about it from me for now.  Time to get organised and moving. Back later.

Hi to anyone out there reading!  That dang fatigue has caught up with me again today and I have that burny eye tiredness happening so I won't be too far out of bed.  

I did the longer yoga nidra session this morning and although I struggled somewhat to stay present and attentive (rather than drifting off) through all of it, I was glad I'd done it and felt like I wasn't quite so draggy.  

I was up and out of here a bit earlier for some reason, so I used the few extra minutes to go down by the water for 5 mins before heading into work.  Was lovely to spend a short time there first and I'm thinking I might do that again tomorrow.  And maybe the next day.  And the next.... 

Hoping with a few early nights, that fatigue will wander off again before I head down to Sydney on Friday for the weekend.  Will be great to have a few days away.  

I had a phone call out of the blue today from a girl I did a belly cast for a few years ago.  She's having another baby and asked could I do another cast for her.. the only hitch is she's 38 weeks pregnant, so not a lot of time to play with given I've only got after work hours and I'm away at the weekend.  So hopefully we find a time that works for both of us.  Íts been a little while since I've done a cast so will be fun to do another one.

Well just a short message tonight.  Will catch up with you again tomorrow. Today's pic was taken at my brother in law's farm.  I miss that place and unfortunately don't get down there to visit often.  This was taken the last time I was there in 2010.

A very quiet Sunday today, which was kinda nice.  I'm feeling really tired at the moment, so I think quiet is probably good for me right now.

That said, I did some pottering around the house and did a pile of baking, including some mini quiche's, some chicken and sweet corn soup, a tuna casserole, a spinach and ricotta canneloni, an apple tea cake, then some satay chicken & veggie stir fry for dinner. The soup, quiche's, tuna dish and canneloni have been done up into meals and put in the freezer for quick and easy work lunches or late home from work type dinners.

I finished off a couple of chores I didn't do yesterday, then the rest of the day I spent napping and doing some more retreat planning and programming.  So I guess it was kind of a full day but at a slower pace.  

Feeling a bit heavy in the chest again at the moment, so not sure what that's about.  Possibly because I've missed my yoga nidra and deep breathing the last few days.  Over the last week, I was doing the short 15 minute session, rather than the half hour one.  While both are good, I think I may have been getting more from the half hour one, so perhaps time to go back to it.

Aiming for an early night, so will finish here and catch up again tomorrow. Today's pic is a reminder for me to start making art again.

Ah Saturdays!  Today was a mix of pampering, grabbing a few groceries, doing a couple of chores, napping and generally chillaxing.  Pampering involved a trip to the hairdresser to hide some sneaky sparkly hairs, have a trim and they straightened my hair which looks VERY different!  Grabbed a few groceries so I can do some baking tomorrow and make a few freezer meals, chores were the ones I put off last weekend and the nap was very much needed.

I was a blubbering mess today when I told my son about the little boy greeting his Dad yesterday.  Their story has touched me deeply.

I had planned to go for a drive up to the Sunshine Coast tomorrow, but I may just see how I feel first although I am keen to walk on some sand and get my feet wet.  I need that feeling of grounding, peace and calming which being near the water always brings to me.

I haven't weighed in, I think I know what it is and I don't want to know about it today.  I'm feeling very frustrated at the moment, but I'm also my own worst enemy.  I need to find something else I can do while I'm still building up my strength after being unwell for so long.  Walking is good for short bursts so I guess that's a start.  I just need to be a little more consistent with it.  

I may get my paints out tomorrow, I have some ideas swirling around and I want to get them on canvas.. hopefully in some way similar to what I'm thinking.

Well another short one today.  To anyone who may be reading, thank you!

Ugh my post is late again!  My internet connection is impossible on the weekends, especially in the evenings and Friday nights is often the worst for some reason.  Every time I open a page, it freezes.  So I'm trying an early morning post instead when things are working ok.  I may have to do the same for this evening's post too but will see when the time comes.  

Yesterday was a somewhat emotional day - in a good way, but it held one of those special moments that made your eyes leak.  I can't go into detail other than to say we had a family re-united today after a long period apart.  

A child's reaction to his papa coming home was absolutely priceless and didn't leave a dry eye in the place.  It makes me tear up just thinking about it now. There is something very bittersweet about seeing an injustice righted.  I think their story will stay with me for many years to come.

I was able to finish the day with two close friends, the pair I attended school with.  Was so good to have that down time and a hug.  

Not really any more to add today, my heart is full so I will leave it here until later.

Today's pic was taken a few years ago of my cat, who thought he couldn't be seen!

Ack, I missed a day!  I guess that happens in a crazy busy week.  I don't think I've mentioned previously what type of work I do.  I have the honour and privilege of working with some of our most vulnerable people.  I don't say honour and privilege lightly, as these are people who have experienced things that the majority of us will hopefully never experience.  Their resilience in the face of adversity and trauma never ceases to amaze and humble me.

I work with asylum seekers, those who have arrived by boat and who have been locked up in mandatory detention as seen fit by our government, and who have later been some of the fortunate ones who have been released from detention centres to live in our community.  

Yesterday I attended an art exhibition called Love & Hope: Through the Eyes of Refugees.  Refugees being asylum seekers who have had their claims for asylum recognised and been given a permanent Protection Visa.  (Sadly this system has now been changed and there are no more protection visa's being issued for these people but that's a whole other story).

It was only a small exhibition, but incredibly moving.  Some of these paintings resonated at a deep level, the artwork depicted some of their experiences and showed what we see in our work with these people who have come to our shores seeking safety.  I was able to take some photo's but I'm unsure if it's ok for me to share them here, so until I find out about that, I will just have to describe some of the paintings that moved me most.

One was an incredibly detailed image of an Australian goanna which the artist had seen at an outback detention centre.  Another painting showed many faces, some filled with hope, others with uncertainty, and throughout the painting and across the top, appeared to be doves as symbols of peace and hope.  The same artist had also painted a very confronting piece of something he'd witnessed.  That of a boat breaking up and a woman and child falling into the sea.  The inscription below the painting said they'd survived but he'd captured the fear in their eyes which spoke volumes.  

There was a water colour painting of a child looking through the crack of a door, uncertainty and perhaps a little fear on his face.  We see this so often in children in the early days.  Another water colour was of an Iranian woman and her baby.  One that I found really emotional to look at was of a Sri Lankan woman.  This woman had lost her entire family and was sitting in a detention centre, eyes downcast, a look of deep sadness on her face and in her posture.  It made me wonder where she is now and if she is ok.  It was a painting that made my eyes well up.

There were some other artworks that reflected joy and hope.  One of a woman performing a traditional dance.  Another of two sisters, one of whom is giving her sister a gift of a goldfish in a fish bowl.  Gifting a live fish is a symbol of life and hope.  The exhibition was all in the one room so it only takes a little while to go through it, however, we spent around half an hour or so there. It is probably the most deeply moving exhibition I have ever attended.  All I could think was these paintings need to be shared more broadly in the community.  The saying a picture is worth a thousand words is so very true in this instance.

My team and I wandered off afterwards and shared some lunch nearby.  It gave us time to reflect on what we'd seen and lighten the mood a little over a meal before heading back to the office.  I'm truly blessed to work with such amazing people, both my colleagues and the people we work with.  

After work, I attended my first session to look at the anxiety thing.  As I've mentioned previously, it's not constant anxiety, it has very specific triggers. Dr's, needles, dentists, absolutely anything remotely medical, and flying.  I found I had a good rapport with the therapist so I guess that's a good start.  I was a little concerned I may be seen as a bit ridiculous given the work I do and I turn up with anxiety around silly things, but she wasn't like that at all.  

I finished the day having dinner with a friend.  It was a perfect way to end the day, that was full in so many ways.

So up to today!  Not much else to report for today really.  Another busy one at work, but a good one too.  My weight is stubbornly stable and not budging. I've done my yoga nidra yesterday and today despite struggling to stay with it and on track so to speak.  

I'm sure there's more to write, however, I'm a little tired again tonight and I can't recall what else.  Yesterdays thoughts were the ones I really wanted to get down and I've done that.  Oh.. one other little bit, I picked up some brochures for NZ (not that I have any shortage of them, but the ones I have are from last year and the year before that) and have possibly found another activity or two that could be handy for the retreat. 

Well that's it from me tonight.  I trust all is honky dory in your part of the world.  Until tomorrow!

Tuesday proved to be just as full as Monday!  Not quite as crazy busy, but certainly a very full day.  I had some underwhelming training for the first 3 hours at work, a truly poor presenter.  Poor guy.. I hope he improves sometime.

I finally managed to connect with a woman who helps people in my region get started with new businesses.  It's a free service run by the local council and she helps you with your business planning.  She was lovely and very positive, so I'm looking forward to meeting with her in a few weeks time.

I had an embarrassing moment today when I had lunch (a healthy stir fry) at an awesome little Thai place near work.  I sometimes go there when I need some time out of the office and choose a quiet table where I can sit and read/work over lunch.  

Anyways, I took a different bag with me, one that fitted my books in, and just threw my phone, glasses etc into the bag.  All good until I went to get my wallet out to pay for my lunch.  BIG oooops.. I'd left it at the office. Thankfully the owner recognised me (my team has get togethers there sometimes), well more to the point, knows me and some of my team by name now so he was all cool with it and I was able to go back down later to pay.   

Have still struggled with tiredness a bit today, so I'm hoping it's nearly ready to wander off and leave me alone.  Thank goodness for my yoga.. I'm sure that's helping to keep me going during the day.

I had a phone call from my youngest son tonight.. the one that seems to have been somewhat accident prone over the last 18 mths or so.  He's had two rather serious accidents which have both left him with permanent injuries, although that said, he's recovered extremely well from them and far better than anticipated.

Anyways, today was his 3rd accident.  This time no injuries but his work vehicle was written off and yes, he was very lucky not to be injured as the cabin of his ute was partially crushed, breaking the windscreen and causing most of the dashboard and it's components to pop out.  Counting our blessings tonight!

Well that's it from me and I'll be back again tomorrow!

Wow, what a flying start to the week Monday has been!  The day seemed to fly and was super busy which is a good thing because I felt really super tired whenever I stopped.  Not sure what that's about but probably due to my sleep being a bit out of whack yesterday and last night.  Hopefully tonight will be much better!  I'm grateful for my yoga practice as even though I was tired, I still believe it gives me much more energy than I might have had otherwise.

I was also back on track a bit more with the food intake today, not perfect but a big improvement on the weekend.  Made some chilli for dinner tonight which I love but usually pay for later as my tummy doesn't enjoy it as much as I do. At this stage it's a couple of hours on and shhh, no reaction as yet... fingers crossed, I may get away with this one!!

I've had lots of thoughts brewing today.  Well early this morning to be precise, the day was too busy once I was at work to pay much attention to them.  I've noticed I always seem to have a lot of good ideas in the shower, where I can't exactly do much about them and the trick is to remember them by the time I've finished!

This morning I wrote down one or two words in an A4 art type pad, then took it with me and sat it on the front passenger seat of my car.  I kept writing down my ideas at the red traffic lights.   It was the fastest hour or so I've ever spent in the car driving to work!!  Probably because the mind was ticking over between the lights and then I was scribbling madly when I stopped.  It was great having a larger art pad.  No lines so I wasn't worrying about neatness, just jotting the ideas down wherever they landed on the page.

So what was I jotting down?  Well I've managed to plan the basics of what I'd like to cover in around half a dozen 2 hr workshops that I hope to run once a month.  This is something that I've been thinking about but not yet paid a lot of attention to and just like that, I've got more than enough to get started! 

I think it's time I started checking out a space to hold a women's circle in.  I had bit of a look before Christmas and have two possible places in mind.  One near me and the other about an hour away in the opposite direction to me. Both places would have their advantages.  

Too many thoughts brewing at the moment.. but they all kind of mesh together in a similar theme of what I'd like to do and I think if I get started, then it will all just start coming together a bit organically.  If that doesn't sound too airy fairy.  But bottom line is I think they will all interlink just nicely.  

And here I was thinking I wouldn't have much to write for today.  A whole page has just appeared as I started telling you my thoughts!

When I gather my thoughts together a bit more and firm up the plans a bit, I'll share more here and link to my facebook page.  And web page too once that is created.  (it seems a loonngg way off at the moment, especially for a tech novice like myself).

Thanks for reading!  I'll be back here in the same place tomorrow :)

Ok, so I fell off the wagon today.  In a fairly big way.  Sigh.  Today was a massive fatigue day and I had a case of the couldn't be bothered's which is never a good thing, especially if it coincides with a fall off the wagon day.  

I ate terribly, things that I know don't make me feel good afterwards.  Ok at the time, but not a little later.  And I drank soft drink.  And made a mars bar slice because I craved something sweet, which doesn't happen often thankfully as I prefer savoury rather than sweet things.

The fatigue today was full on.  I was feeling the effects of it within a couple of hours of getting up this morning.  My littlest granddaughter slept overnight and we didn't have a hugely late night and she slept til 7am, however, I was awake around 5am... as you do on a Sunday morning!

I went to drop her off and ended up taking her and her daddy off to get some groceries, so got home late morning.  I had a go at making a risotto in the rice cooker (my first attempt at a risotto) which was rather nice and then flaked.  Slept a couple of hours and then struggled to get moving all afternoon.  I really felt the heat today too, although I don't know that it was hugely hot, but that was what woke me.  

Anyways, that's my whinge for the day.  All self inflicted (except the fatigue, I'm not sure that one is self inflicted) and thankfully, tomorrow is another day. 

The good part is I'm generally feeling much better than I was even a few weeks ago.  My weight is the same and still fluctuating in the same way, however, the feeling very unwell and the symptoms from my bp medication have eased and the last particularly challenging day I had was about 10 days ago.  

I've had two dodgy days since then, today's fatigue being one of them, but nothing like I was feeling before.  I strongly believe the yoga nidra is helping me and although I've not done it over the weekend, I'm hanging to do it in the morning.  

The fun part of my weekend has been enjoying time with my grandbabies.  As mentioned yesterday, I had the boys yesterday afternoon and brought Miss Charlie home for a sleep over.  She is such a delight.  Just 2 yrs old and loves her hair being brushed.  She doesn't talk much but she sure knows how to let you know what she wants.  She will pick up the hairbrush, bring it over and hand it to me, then turns around with her back to me waiting.  

I had great plans for this afternoon and had hoped to do some painting as well as program planning for my retreats.  But I was so dang tired that I slept.  A lot! Hopefully that won't impact on my sleep tonight.

Anyways, given I'm yawning pretty well now, I'm going to head off to bed. Thankfully tomorrow is a new day and it's the start of a fresh week for me to climb back onto that wagon again.

Wishing you a week full of awesome!

PS.. had an email today saying my dear friend Washuntara will be arriving back in Australia next weekend.  Will be nice to catch up with him again.

Today has been fun.  A little grocery shopping first up then off to collect the boys, Masters 5 and 18 mths.  They had a busy afternoon, spreading out the toys, eating lunch, watching Winnie the Pooh, playing with blocks, eating banana, playing the drum, eating grapes, playing some more... then off to Uncle Josh's place to play with Miss 2.. their cousin.

Miss 2 later came home with me and is having a sleep over.  She is so cruisey and does her own thing.  Potters around, tidies all the toys, empties them out again, picks them up and puts them in the little trolley, rinse & repeat basically.  

She didn't think she needed to go to bed tonight, so sat up with me and watched a chick flick, still wasn't keen on bed so I put her in my bed while I got on here to read a couple of emails and she was asleep in around 5 minutes if that.  Left her for 15 mins, then transferred her to the cot without a sound.  Hopefully she will sleep in a little after her late night!

That's about it from me today.  Thought I'd add a pic of the boys today.