Back to Work

While most teachers still have another week or so (depending on how organised their classroom is) I start back tomorrow. That's right I said tomorrow. Why? Well I'm teaching Summer School again. Am I just a sucker for punishment? Perhaps, particularly when my lovely friend and her family only have 2 weeks left in town and I'm trying very hard not to get sad about it all... but that's another story...

So, Summer School. Originally I signed up just to do the June Summer School as a favour to the teacher who has been running it for years, as she was due to go on holidays, but right before SS started her husband was diagnosed with lymphoma and they left Roma in a whirlwind rush as they moved closer to doctors and treatments. I only had 5 kids at the last SS and I should have that many again. Plus the extra money was great!!

This time the unit is one I have read through many times before, and I helped my first year co-teacher teach this unit in our SEP last semester, so I'm reasonably happy that I don't have to spend hours and hours at school during the week. But I will be there a lot today. I have to go in and arrange all my furniture and make the place look nice again!!

So with great sadness, I say "Goodbye Summer holidays - it's been great" and "Hello School - I'm just about ready for your challenges" for another year!

Emily xoxo

Looking forward and being more positive!

A lovely scrapbooking friend of mine shared this blog post today on facebook and I wanted to share it with you, my tiny but lovely group of followers. The blog is called Positively Positive and this post is about 12 tips for Happiness. I think that they are just wonderful and exactly what I needed to read today. Check it out! Seriously.

I'm so impressed that I may have to change my goals this year or just say I'm going to try and follow these 12 tips.

I'm so serious about it that I'm making myself a card to keep in my purse with the 12 tips on it, to remind myself. It is so easy to fall back into old habits of thinking, and my thoughts aren't always productive or positive, particularly about myself.

So here goes. In 2012 I am going to try really really hard to:

1. Let go of my 2011 baggage.

2. Change the conversation (for me this is my internal conversation) - focus on the positives and what I love about my life.

3. Give.

4. Take a ME break.

5. Get naked (hehehehe) with my truth and be authentic - I already try pretty hard to do this. I hate fake. I don't 'do' fake. Fake people, fake friendships annoy me.

6. Get Creative - I bought Project Life and have already started!!! Sewing, Scrapbooking and Smocking - the 3S's relax me and help me to keep life in perspective. When I felt close to burning out during 2011, what was I neglecting? My creative side. Not in 2012!!!

7. Do innovative exercise.

8. Practice the F-word (as in Forgiveness).

9. Eat mindfully - trying to lose weight!!

10. Be Authentic.

11. Sit back and receive (yes please, I'll take a baby or two please!)

12. Expect miracles (yes please, definately a baby or two!)

Anyone else think they might give this a try?

Emily xoxo

Another new year!

With a crazy allergy attack that saw me rise with what appeared to be a bruiseless black eye, 2011 passed and 2012 arrived. We spent the evening exhaustedly playing ten pin bowling at the Nelson's on their Wii and had to leave before 12 due to my allergy attack. We did have heaps of fun earlier in the evening with the four boys playing with sparklers and glow sticks!!

So what do I see in store for me in 2012??

1 - My main goal is to not burn out this year at school - I know that sounds a bit drastic but I barely survived 2011 intact.

2 - I want to get fit and trim down - I know that has been my goal before, but I have already started this journey last year so all I have to do is keep the ball rolling!

3 - I bought Project Life for the first time and I intent to keep a record of this year and whatever it brings.

4 - Declutter and simplify

5 - Laugh more!

Emily xoxo

Scrapping the journey

In 2005 I joined weight watchers and lost 32kgs. I've now joined again and am hoping for the same success and to go even further. I'm trying to recreate that motivation I had by looking back at what I did. One of the things I really enjoyed doing was scrapbooking the journey and although the original album remains unfinished I am starting a new one for the new journey!! (I know that technically it's all one journey but I want a shiny new album!!)

Now as you have probably realised from my lack of posting, I haven't scrapbooked in a rediculously long time. So last night I sat down and created my cover page (below)!!

And this is the first page of my new album!!! Thanks Moira for your advice over the phone!!! You totally rock!

The plan is to take photos every 5 kg and at other special milestones. I already have two photos from the Community Garden, one before I started WW and the other was taken just after I cleared 5kg mark. At the moment I have only printed them on ordinary paper, but I will get proper prints so I can scrapbook them.

I'm really pleased with how it is all going. Although I've been home all week with a chest infection and laryngitis I've stuck to my points and on Monday we'll see how I went considering I did no exercise at all!! Let the shrinking commence!!

Emily xoxo





Progress on 'The Master Plan'

We are now nearly at the end of October and looking at what I wanted to achieve in the garden I'm not sure how I feel. My tomatoes that I started early using softdrink bottles to cover them from the frost, are looking amazing. I think they grow about 10cm a day, I feel like I have to tie them up every day. The potatoes have all reached the tops of their bags and so I'm ready to start planting the next lot of potatoes. Marko thinks I'm slightly insane with the potting mix bags lying around everywhere with potatoes growing out of them, but I'm sure he'll be supremely impressed when he eats my delicious crop. The snow peas yielded an incredibly bountiful crop and are now composting in my new composting bin. They have made way for 3 little cucumber vines.

After a big chat with Becc about the virtues of my shade house through summer, I've decided to focus on growing a ton of lettuce. I have the space and lettuce will grow better without being in the rediculous heat. They will go to seed quickly so the plan is to succession plant and not let them get too big before starting to harvest. Becc has a better bed for Carrots and has had amazing success so she'll keep growing carrots for us. My carrots haven't been so successful. Mine are in polystyrene boxes and they are also a different variety.

The beans I put in are starting to produce but I planted them too close to the beetroot so they may take a while to grow...but its all good!! I'm learning as I go.

Progress with the front garden has been dismal. I wanted railway sleepers and I didn't want to pay the earth for them. New sleepers are nearly $20 each and I needed so many. About 2 weeks ago Becc noticed the lady over the street and down a few houses had a pile of about 11 railway sleepers sitting on the footpath. Now Becc is a lot braver than me. I would have just sat and looked at them trying to wish them to my house. Becc on the other hand, went over and asked what she was planning on doing with them. She said a friend was supposed to have come and got them out of her backyard but she was sick of waiting for him and that if he didn't pick them up by last weekend we could have them...FOR FREE!!

Lucky for me the friend never collected them, so last Sunday morning Marko, Becc and I loaded all the sleepers into the back of Becc and Luke's ute and brought them over. I'm very excited but also know that there aren't nearly enough of them. I'm thinking I'll do the two gardens on either side of the path with them and then if I have to use the old timber or new sleepers for along the front of the house I will. I've been out there since about 6:30 pottering around the garden and decided to prepare one side for the sleepers. I finished at 8 and came inside hoping Marko would be awake (I can't lift the damn things on my own) but he is still asleep. So I have to be patient.

I will add photos soon!!

Happy Gardening!!

Emily xoxo

Waistline Wars

Over the past few years I have made several attempts to lose weight. Last year I was horrified to step on the scales and discover that I had reached an all time high of 139.9kgs. I was totally determined not to step over the 140 mark and was able to lose some weight on my own having read Women, Food & God. Although I would love to be able to say that reading that wonderful book changed me enough that I dropped it all, the problem was that if I wasn't reading it regularly I wasn't getting anywhere. I successfully lost 7 kgs but that wasn't enough.

Back in 2005/06 I lost 32kgs while attending weight watchers. There is something about paying to go each week and having to get on the scales each week that makes me more accountable. So 5 weeks ago, I rejoined weight watchers. So far I have lost 5.8kgs. Yay me! I'm more motivated than I have been since 05 and I'm enjoying my success. Marko wants me to figure out what I'm going to get for myself as my reward for each 5kg. I'm not sure yet but I'll figure something out. I'm thinking a pandora style bracelet and I can add a bead/charm for every 5kgs would work quite nicely.

So let the kgs melt away as I put less energy in than I expend in an effort to trim down!

Before:

After losing 5kgs!!

Pretty cool isn't it!!



Emily xoxo

DAW 2011

Last year a group of people concerned about people in our community with disabilities met and decided to form a branch of the Australian Association of Special Education out here in Roma. We formed because we felt that there was no effective way for all of the different services offered to people with disabilities and their families to communicate and share knowledge. After forming our South West Branch of AASE we decided we wanted to do something BIG for Disability Action Week and put a plan in place. We ran a week full of workshops and activities which led up to a wine and cheese evening where all of the artwork and photographs of activities were displayed.

It was so successful that we decided to run it again this year and last night was our Wine and Cheese Exhibition Evening. Let me just say that although I am incredibly exhausted from the week, it has been an amazingly rewarding week. I ran two workshops - scrapbooking and create a patchwork bag. Other workshops included bush photography, ceramics, totem pole grafitti, jewellery making, tapas cooking, woodwork, pottery, gardening, soccer for beginners, sports ability, lawn bowls, t-shirt painting, canvas art, hands on craft and creative photography. All week we were driving students to and from workshops and helping where needed. All of our students did us proud and were amazing in their attitudes and behaviour. I'm just so proud!

The exhibition was a real hit. Everyone is always so amazed at what our students and adults with disabilities are able to create and I just smile and say this is why we do this, to help people to see their ability not their disability.

I'm already starting to jot down ideas for workshops and who we can approach to run them for next year!!

Here are some pics of what we did. I don't have the rest, but I'll upload more soon.

Emily xoxo