It's exam season and it's been a bit of a rocky start for me.
I have been dreaming and talking for some time of making a plan to re-register at Unisa and get busy completing my degree. I started a BA Language & Literature, with specialisation in Creative Writing, in 2006. I passed all but 2 modules in that year and was planning to redo those two modules this year, since it would not cost too much and would be a good way to ease back into studying after a long break from academia.
Turns out Unisa has restructured all of its degree courses and when I applied for re-registration at the beginning of this year, I was informed that I would now need to do 4 specific modules to make up the full first year's credits toward my degree. Somehow, I managed to pull of a minor miracle and paid the relevant fees and started.
To say that it has been a balancing act of note would be an understatement. But I've managed to get distinctions on most of my assignments so far and, while I'm certainly not expecting the same for the exams, I think I'll pass them all. Except the first one, which I missed because my old pal, Murphy? Yeah. He's back in town.
Last Tuesday morning, while I was supposed to be getting ready to leave & write my Linguistics exam, I sat instead with a limp and feverish Jack in my arms in the doctor's rooms two houses down from us, having cleaned up copious amounts of vomit and spooned doses of Calpol down my child's throat for much of the night before.
I did actually try to get to the exam on time but traffic wasn't playing along and I just didn't make it.
The doctor gave me a note and I sent through an email applying for a special examination, but it turns out there is a fee involved which was supposed to have accompanied my application and I just don't have the cash. Today is the last day I can apply and I've had to come to terms with the fact that it's simply not going to happen. Instead, I'm going to have to fork out 10 times the cost of the special examination to repeat the module at a later stage.
On the plus side, progress is progress, right? At least I'm 3 credits closer to finishing my degree, right? Right. Or so I'll keep telling myself in an attempt at lessening the loser's complex...
In other news, David and I have been in negotiations with a manufacturing company in Cape Town to set up a distribution agency here in Gauteng. I flew down a couple of weeks ago to deliver our proposal and discuss the general direction we want to take.
I received a draft contract from them yesterday which basically serves as their counter proposal. I won't go into any detail at this stage but I will say that we are both pretty excited about the possibilities, even though they're not quite panning into what I had originally envisioned. More on this later, when the various t's have been crossed, i's dotted and covenants sealed in blood...
And while I'm studying up a storm and storming the boardroom, battering ram poised, life at the ranch carries on regardless.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Why Is the Wine Always Gone?
Me, drunk, is something we could probably all do without seeing. But every once in a blue moon, I have a glass of wine too many and then that's what you get. I can deal.
Tonight, I have gone from smiling as I watch my 3 year old "fly" from couch to couch in my living room, his hooded towel providing the necessary "wings", to *literally* swooning over Adam Levine while watching "The Voice" on SABC 3 (I do believe we have found the replacement for Heath Ledger on my List*), to sitting here, pondering the ins and outs of my current mental state and how much of that is related to the amount of wine involved, to drafting blog posts in my head and wondering whether I might feel differently about how cool they'll sound if I wake up and read them again tomorrow...
For the better part of the past three years or so, I have held back from alcohol to a large extent, largely because I've been really busy being pregnant and/or breastfeeding, followed by a spell of just generally withholding myself from alcohol because 1) I just might have the very smallest of inclinations to want to have more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more, once I've started and 2) while it makes me really, really, really clever**, it also makes me sad. As in, when I've over indulged, I spend a good couple of days afterwards staring down that black dog in the corner and wondering how bad exactly it would be if I just let the fucking thing do whatever it wants.
Fuck. I knew I shouldn't have started this post after all the wine was finished.
This is the thing about being me on booze: Yes, it does all the normal stuff to me. I get sloppy and slurry and too friendly with people I normally wouldn't look at twice. Yes, I pee too much and talk lots of shit and, when the occasion calls for it, make a complete ass of myself. But I do it quite a bit faster than anyone else does. Because I have this wonderful metabolism that pretty much makes anything and everything work itself through my body at twice the speed it would through most others'.
I get pissed fast. And then I'm sober again in time to hate myself for all the stupid shit I've done *before* I've even had a chance to vomit on anyone's shoes and pass out...
If I didn't have so many children, I would more than likely drink a lot more wine a lot more often. But these things tend to make way for the fact that it's infinitely less painful to make breakfast and change nappies without the enormous headache, delicate stomach and shaky hands that one would otherwise have the time to sleep off.
* Ever watched Friends? You know the one where Ross and Rachel each have a "List" of celebrities they could sleep with? Yeah, that.
** Ever notice how much more clearly you seem to understand the world when you've got more wine in you? Yeah, that.
Tonight, I have gone from smiling as I watch my 3 year old "fly" from couch to couch in my living room, his hooded towel providing the necessary "wings", to *literally* swooning over Adam Levine while watching "The Voice" on SABC 3 (I do believe we have found the replacement for Heath Ledger on my List*), to sitting here, pondering the ins and outs of my current mental state and how much of that is related to the amount of wine involved, to drafting blog posts in my head and wondering whether I might feel differently about how cool they'll sound if I wake up and read them again tomorrow...
For the better part of the past three years or so, I have held back from alcohol to a large extent, largely because I've been really busy being pregnant and/or breastfeeding, followed by a spell of just generally withholding myself from alcohol because 1) I just might have the very smallest of inclinations to want to have more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more, once I've started and 2) while it makes me really, really, really clever**, it also makes me sad. As in, when I've over indulged, I spend a good couple of days afterwards staring down that black dog in the corner and wondering how bad exactly it would be if I just let the fucking thing do whatever it wants.
Fuck. I knew I shouldn't have started this post after all the wine was finished.
This is the thing about being me on booze: Yes, it does all the normal stuff to me. I get sloppy and slurry and too friendly with people I normally wouldn't look at twice. Yes, I pee too much and talk lots of shit and, when the occasion calls for it, make a complete ass of myself. But I do it quite a bit faster than anyone else does. Because I have this wonderful metabolism that pretty much makes anything and everything work itself through my body at twice the speed it would through most others'.
I get pissed fast. And then I'm sober again in time to hate myself for all the stupid shit I've done *before* I've even had a chance to vomit on anyone's shoes and pass out...
If I didn't have so many children, I would more than likely drink a lot more wine a lot more often. But these things tend to make way for the fact that it's infinitely less painful to make breakfast and change nappies without the enormous headache, delicate stomach and shaky hands that one would otherwise have the time to sleep off.
* Ever watched Friends? You know the one where Ross and Rachel each have a "List" of celebrities they could sleep with? Yeah, that.
** Ever notice how much more clearly you seem to understand the world when you've got more wine in you? Yeah, that.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
That Thing About the Road to Hell....
And how it's paved with the best of intentions? Yes, that. But then, we all know I'm a bad blogger, so sue me why don'tcha?
But before you do, let's have a quick look at where things are at.
The studies seem to be going okay. I got the results back for my very first assignment for this year. I did okay, but would have liked to do better. Otherwise, I've managed to meet all the deadlines so far. Being my typical self, I have bitten off waaaaay more than I can comfortably chew *again*.
Sometimes I think it has something to do with the fact that I have an enormous chip on my shoulder because I have never really accomplished anything of value. Sure, I've popped out 4 kids and I guess you could say that in terms of family and love, I really lucked out. You could also say that, like millions of other women out there, I've been irresponsible about contraception and that it really doesn't take much to get knocked up.
But when it comes to having actually worked and struggled and pushed through barriers to reach a set goal, I'm afraid the statistics show that I simply don't have what it takes. And that has got to be the single most awful quality one could possess.
And *that* is the obstacle that I must learn to overcome if I am ever going to stop hating myself deep down. There's nothing worse than a person who bitches and whines about something they don't like but who does nothing to change it. I can't stand being that person anymore.
Which is why getting back into my studies is such a big deal. If I can complete this degree, then there will be at least one thing to show for myself, for all the faith people have put in my supposed potential, for 30-something years' worth of bitching and whining about things that aren't as they should be. And if I can do that, then just maybe I can convince myself to push on through and accomplish the next goal, right?
In the meantime, though, I need to get serious about making a living. This is where things get interesting. I'm being offered an opportunity to develop and run the entire marketing division for a company that manufactures a potentially revolutionary coating product. They've basically asked me to draw up a proposal outlining a broad marketing strategy and budget, as well as a plan for implementing it and how much I expect to be paid for my efforts. That this is a *huge* break goes without saying. The question is, am I up to the task?
I am totally thrilled by the concept, of course, and there is no question that this is a job I would very much enjoy doing. But I look at the current marketing scene and at all the technological developments that have taken place over the last few years and, while I know many people who work in the industry and am sure that I can catch up what I don't know, I am paralyzed at the same time by fear. Fear of failing to deliver, of making a fool of myself, of taking on the task assuming that I can learn and grow with the project as I go along only to realise further down the line that I actually have no clue what I'm doing...
And it is exactly this sort of scenario that has replayed itself over and over throughout my life: An opportunity presents itself, I jump in, thinking this is going to be magic and then bail at the first sign of a bump in the road, assuming that I'm not made of strong enough stuff.
Sometimes I wonder whether I'm so caught up in not being good enough that I have built up an idea of what it takes to do something, and that idea is far above any realistic expectation. Other times, that same something looks so damned easy that I think to myself there *must* be something I'm missing - I must be just so sadly lacking of anything like a clue that of course it would look that simple!
Which is why not having had so much as a rejection letter from that company I interviewed with back in January was such a blow: It felt like an affirmation of the thought that I am *that* poor, thickheaded sod who thought she knew something about something but whom they'd all laughed about the moment the door had closed behind me.
Wow. I didn't think that telling you all of that would leave me feeling so relieved!
Naturally, I'm going to have to ignore these voices in my head and go for it, unless I want to go back to being someone's admin bitch and having the soul sucked out of me while I work in a job that offers no prospects for any kind of expansion or promotion, ever. So if you're even vaguely connected to me on twitter or facebook and you're in any way involved in the media/marketing/PR field, you just might hear from me soon... :-/
Anyway, I can't spend forever wallowing in my infinite uselessness - I have a proposal to put together. Wish me luck!
But before you do, let's have a quick look at where things are at.
The studies seem to be going okay. I got the results back for my very first assignment for this year. I did okay, but would have liked to do better. Otherwise, I've managed to meet all the deadlines so far. Being my typical self, I have bitten off waaaaay more than I can comfortably chew *again*.
Sometimes I think it has something to do with the fact that I have an enormous chip on my shoulder because I have never really accomplished anything of value. Sure, I've popped out 4 kids and I guess you could say that in terms of family and love, I really lucked out. You could also say that, like millions of other women out there, I've been irresponsible about contraception and that it really doesn't take much to get knocked up.
But when it comes to having actually worked and struggled and pushed through barriers to reach a set goal, I'm afraid the statistics show that I simply don't have what it takes. And that has got to be the single most awful quality one could possess.
And *that* is the obstacle that I must learn to overcome if I am ever going to stop hating myself deep down. There's nothing worse than a person who bitches and whines about something they don't like but who does nothing to change it. I can't stand being that person anymore.
Which is why getting back into my studies is such a big deal. If I can complete this degree, then there will be at least one thing to show for myself, for all the faith people have put in my supposed potential, for 30-something years' worth of bitching and whining about things that aren't as they should be. And if I can do that, then just maybe I can convince myself to push on through and accomplish the next goal, right?
In the meantime, though, I need to get serious about making a living. This is where things get interesting. I'm being offered an opportunity to develop and run the entire marketing division for a company that manufactures a potentially revolutionary coating product. They've basically asked me to draw up a proposal outlining a broad marketing strategy and budget, as well as a plan for implementing it and how much I expect to be paid for my efforts. That this is a *huge* break goes without saying. The question is, am I up to the task?
I am totally thrilled by the concept, of course, and there is no question that this is a job I would very much enjoy doing. But I look at the current marketing scene and at all the technological developments that have taken place over the last few years and, while I know many people who work in the industry and am sure that I can catch up what I don't know, I am paralyzed at the same time by fear. Fear of failing to deliver, of making a fool of myself, of taking on the task assuming that I can learn and grow with the project as I go along only to realise further down the line that I actually have no clue what I'm doing...
And it is exactly this sort of scenario that has replayed itself over and over throughout my life: An opportunity presents itself, I jump in, thinking this is going to be magic and then bail at the first sign of a bump in the road, assuming that I'm not made of strong enough stuff.
Sometimes I wonder whether I'm so caught up in not being good enough that I have built up an idea of what it takes to do something, and that idea is far above any realistic expectation. Other times, that same something looks so damned easy that I think to myself there *must* be something I'm missing - I must be just so sadly lacking of anything like a clue that of course it would look that simple!
Which is why not having had so much as a rejection letter from that company I interviewed with back in January was such a blow: It felt like an affirmation of the thought that I am *that* poor, thickheaded sod who thought she knew something about something but whom they'd all laughed about the moment the door had closed behind me.
Wow. I didn't think that telling you all of that would leave me feeling so relieved!
Naturally, I'm going to have to ignore these voices in my head and go for it, unless I want to go back to being someone's admin bitch and having the soul sucked out of me while I work in a job that offers no prospects for any kind of expansion or promotion, ever. So if you're even vaguely connected to me on twitter or facebook and you're in any way involved in the media/marketing/PR field, you just might hear from me soon... :-/
Anyway, I can't spend forever wallowing in my infinite uselessness - I have a proposal to put together. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Rainy Days & Mondays
I've been up and down the scale of human emotion these last few weeks, not because anything in particular has happened but just because I have been so completely immersed in every moment that I was left with no choice but to really, truly feel everything. Not all of it has been fun but most of it has definitely not been bad.
What has really struck me as interesting is the way that randomity hits just as soon as you think you've reached a point where you can take a little break.
Somewhere, sometime on the track of my life, someone must have cursed me with that old Chinese curse - "May you live in interesting times." Because, whatever it is, my life is certainly not boring!
This last while, we've more or less managed to sail through the everydays with minimal collateral damage. Sometimes I throw my toys because someone has very thoughtfully forgotten to flush the loo - I share my bathroom with 4 males; It's not pretty! - and other times I rush through the morning's work, the school run, the homework supervision and any other arbitrary bits of need-to-do fluff that fill up the days, magic up a decent supper and then feel the energy drain out of me when I see all the dishes and dirty clothes and school books that have piled up while I wasn't looking...
I guess I really should try to find the time to blog more frequently because this thing where I only rock up every few weeks doesn't work so well when there are so many things going on in my head. There's just too much to say and too little time to say it in.
But I digress.
So it seems I have been keeping my shit together quite well lately, which is great because it's just so draining when everything is such a drama all the time. I like this new thing where, when shit happens, it doesn't consume every ounce of my energy and attention - I have 4 kids who do a perfectly good job of that already, thanks. :)
And on top of mommying, which I guess I'll never be an Olympic champion at but am learning to accept being good enough at, I'm easing back into the student thing quite nicely. This week, I managed to complete and send in my first assignment a whole 3 days before final submission date. Now, I still need find the time (and possibly the cash) to go and buy my prescribed books and figure out which assignment on which module is due next, and then do it.
It's a little bit daunting but also very exciting. I am finally making some progress again!
In other areas, things are not moving along quite so smoothly, though. You may remember I signed up on FlyLady earlier in the year, and was all happy about having started on the Baby Steps? Yeah. Well, since that posting, I haven't actually progressed on the programme. I got stuck on the bit about creating a Control Journal, which, ironically enough, was one of the things about this whole programme that appealed to me the most! I *so* want to keep an organiser that helps me keep myself organised. But somehow, spending money on the bits and pieces I'll need to make it with just seems too frivolous when the kids need PE uniforms for school and we're going to run out of nappies soon and I've got to remember to make a plan about a birthday present for the little girl who gave James his very first official party invitation just for him... :/
And yes, I could probably make a perfectly functional journal out of and old notebook or something I have lying around the house. But who the fuck would be inspired by that? Right?
Maybe it's just that trying to make my house look the way I want it to is simply too fucking exhausting because it's me against 4 other people whose only response to my miniature psychotic breaks every now and then is to be frightened half to death of me? Meh. So yeah, I guess that my Flying Lessons are going to take a bit longer than other people's do.
And I'm okay with that.
For now.
On the work front, some of the things I started looking at in the last year or so are getting closer to happening and a few new ideas and possibilities have also sprung up in the meantime.
I never did hear back after that interview I had last month. I took a bit of a loss on it at first because what that indicated to me was that I am not, at this time, up to the industry standard as a copywriter. Primarily, I suspect, because I lack the digital know-how. But possibly also, let's face it, because I have stagnated as a writer. This is something I intend to remedy.
I may never be the next Margaret Atwood, but if being sort of okay at writing is as good as I'm going to get at anything, ever, then I am determined to be the best mediocre writer I can possibly be.
I think that this time, for me, is about learning to breathe and I guess also to stop worrying so much about what other people think. One of the main reasons I blog so infrequently - and I think I've mentioned this a couple of times before - is that I censor myself almost to the point of silence. Maybe getting more comfortable in my own skin will eventually mean being able to just let it all hang out. Or maybe it'll just shift my perceptions to the degree that some the views I hold now won't be real to me anymore. Either way, I'm looking forward to both the journey and the destination.
What has really struck me as interesting is the way that randomity hits just as soon as you think you've reached a point where you can take a little break.
Somewhere, sometime on the track of my life, someone must have cursed me with that old Chinese curse - "May you live in interesting times." Because, whatever it is, my life is certainly not boring!
This last while, we've more or less managed to sail through the everydays with minimal collateral damage. Sometimes I throw my toys because someone has very thoughtfully forgotten to flush the loo - I share my bathroom with 4 males; It's not pretty! - and other times I rush through the morning's work, the school run, the homework supervision and any other arbitrary bits of need-to-do fluff that fill up the days, magic up a decent supper and then feel the energy drain out of me when I see all the dishes and dirty clothes and school books that have piled up while I wasn't looking...
I guess I really should try to find the time to blog more frequently because this thing where I only rock up every few weeks doesn't work so well when there are so many things going on in my head. There's just too much to say and too little time to say it in.
But I digress.
So it seems I have been keeping my shit together quite well lately, which is great because it's just so draining when everything is such a drama all the time. I like this new thing where, when shit happens, it doesn't consume every ounce of my energy and attention - I have 4 kids who do a perfectly good job of that already, thanks. :)
And on top of mommying, which I guess I'll never be an Olympic champion at but am learning to accept being good enough at, I'm easing back into the student thing quite nicely. This week, I managed to complete and send in my first assignment a whole 3 days before final submission date. Now, I still need find the time (and possibly the cash) to go and buy my prescribed books and figure out which assignment on which module is due next, and then do it.
It's a little bit daunting but also very exciting. I am finally making some progress again!
In other areas, things are not moving along quite so smoothly, though. You may remember I signed up on FlyLady earlier in the year, and was all happy about having started on the Baby Steps? Yeah. Well, since that posting, I haven't actually progressed on the programme. I got stuck on the bit about creating a Control Journal, which, ironically enough, was one of the things about this whole programme that appealed to me the most! I *so* want to keep an organiser that helps me keep myself organised. But somehow, spending money on the bits and pieces I'll need to make it with just seems too frivolous when the kids need PE uniforms for school and we're going to run out of nappies soon and I've got to remember to make a plan about a birthday present for the little girl who gave James his very first official party invitation just for him... :/
And yes, I could probably make a perfectly functional journal out of and old notebook or something I have lying around the house. But who the fuck would be inspired by that? Right?
Maybe it's just that trying to make my house look the way I want it to is simply too fucking exhausting because it's me against 4 other people whose only response to my miniature psychotic breaks every now and then is to be frightened half to death of me? Meh. So yeah, I guess that my Flying Lessons are going to take a bit longer than other people's do.
And I'm okay with that.
For now.
On the work front, some of the things I started looking at in the last year or so are getting closer to happening and a few new ideas and possibilities have also sprung up in the meantime.
I never did hear back after that interview I had last month. I took a bit of a loss on it at first because what that indicated to me was that I am not, at this time, up to the industry standard as a copywriter. Primarily, I suspect, because I lack the digital know-how. But possibly also, let's face it, because I have stagnated as a writer. This is something I intend to remedy.
I may never be the next Margaret Atwood, but if being sort of okay at writing is as good as I'm going to get at anything, ever, then I am determined to be the best mediocre writer I can possibly be.
I think that this time, for me, is about learning to breathe and I guess also to stop worrying so much about what other people think. One of the main reasons I blog so infrequently - and I think I've mentioned this a couple of times before - is that I censor myself almost to the point of silence. Maybe getting more comfortable in my own skin will eventually mean being able to just let it all hang out. Or maybe it'll just shift my perceptions to the degree that some the views I hold now won't be real to me anymore. Either way, I'm looking forward to both the journey and the destination.
Thursday, February 02, 2012
(Bright?) Idea
I was having a little browse on Pinterest earlier and came upon this fabulous idea for couples. I'd really like to try some of these out with #HubbyParkins some time.
The only thing is, the reason I would be interested in something like this in the first place is because we simply can't afford to do the usual Date Night kind of stuff - dinners out and movies and such. Which means that we pretty much can't afford to hire a babysitter either. Which means we have to rely on friends and family to take care of the kids on the rare occasion when we have the opportunity to get out and spend some time with just each other.
Now, getting back to the Pin I was talking about: Many of these things are fun ideas for things a couple could do at home. For us, however, doing "couple" things at home is also not an option. Because, as the universe would have it, any inkling of something out of the ordinary going down (no pun intended!) in our household acts as an open invitation for the kids to barge in unannounced every couple of minutes. Usually this sort of intrusion includes some "reason", ranging from "I forgot to tell you about my school project (typically due the following day)" to, "I just wanted to say goodnight and I love you!"
Which you may safely conclude quickly puts paid to any romantic ideas may have been lurking in the shadows, just waiting to upset the general familial bliss that our household embodies.
So I was wondering whether any of you (particularly other Joburg/East Rand moms) might entertain the idea of a babysitting exchange. I would be more than willing to babysit another mom's kids a couple of nights a month in exchange for the same favour. David and I desperately need some private time together just to enjoy each other's company and get away from laundry, homework, dishes and money worries every couple of weeks or so.
What do you think? Would you be interested?
The only thing is, the reason I would be interested in something like this in the first place is because we simply can't afford to do the usual Date Night kind of stuff - dinners out and movies and such. Which means that we pretty much can't afford to hire a babysitter either. Which means we have to rely on friends and family to take care of the kids on the rare occasion when we have the opportunity to get out and spend some time with just each other.
Now, getting back to the Pin I was talking about: Many of these things are fun ideas for things a couple could do at home. For us, however, doing "couple" things at home is also not an option. Because, as the universe would have it, any inkling of something out of the ordinary going down (no pun intended!) in our household acts as an open invitation for the kids to barge in unannounced every couple of minutes. Usually this sort of intrusion includes some "reason", ranging from "I forgot to tell you about my school project (typically due the following day)" to, "I just wanted to say goodnight and I love you!"
Which you may safely conclude quickly puts paid to any romantic ideas may have been lurking in the shadows, just waiting to upset the general familial bliss that our household embodies.
So I was wondering whether any of you (particularly other Joburg/East Rand moms) might entertain the idea of a babysitting exchange. I would be more than willing to babysit another mom's kids a couple of nights a month in exchange for the same favour. David and I desperately need some private time together just to enjoy each other's company and get away from laundry, homework, dishes and money worries every couple of weeks or so.
What do you think? Would you be interested?
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Change
There's a lot of it going on all the time, I guess, but this is one of those moments (in the big scheme of things) when I seem to have a lot of attention on it, too.
There have been changes for the kids at school. Megan's started Gr. 4 and has to cope with a bunch of new subjects being introduced and quite a lot more homework than before.
Michael's gone to Gr. 2 and seems to be so much more confident and capable than he was last year. I have often beaten myself up for holding him back a year but when I see him slotting in so nicely with his group and managing so well with his school work, I think it might have been worth it.
And for right now, I'm going to let myself have that, and not torture myself with questions and arguments and wondering whether I just took the lazy parent's route.
Jack and James are also enjoying their new classes at nursery school this year. Jack continues to be his cute and charming self while James has become quite the little ladies' man - the little girls in his class queue up at the door to wait for him in the mornings!
The boys have all had their annual haircuts, courtesy of Dad, and while I was sad to see Jack's beautiful, mildly gingery curls go, he definitely looks more comfortable without all that hair to deal with in the summer heat. James'whispy little blonde locks are also gone - perhaps not altogether a bad thing, considering what was left of them after Jack played barber toward the end of last year. From certain angles, he looked a bit like he had a mullet...
You may remember me saying in one of my last posts how our holiday had me thinking about making a few changes in our home life. Well, shortly after writing that post, I read about FlyLady on Pink Hair Girl's blog and over the past couple of weeks I've started doing the Baby Steps on the FlyLady programme.
Some days are better than others, but I can tell you that just doing a few of these basic things has already made an enormous difference to my household!
I must admit that I've been a bit slack on this for the last few days but every time I think about how fantastic it's going to be when I have my life running like clockwork, I feel inspired to pick up again where I've left off. I do believe that putting a little bit of order into my day to day life has empowered me to reach for those things I had given up on before.
Like the possibility of ever completing my studies.
A few days ago, I filled out my registration application for the 2012 academic year at UNISA and tonight David and I made a plan to pay the registration fees. So it's official - I'm once again a student.
Some of you may recall that getting back into my studies is something I've been wanting to do and have failed to manage for a couple of years in a row now, so this is really a big deal for me. I'd like to thank you for being an inspiration in this regard, Laura!
So yes, this is definitely a year for new things (and for rediscovering some not so new things) and I think it's going to be a good one.
There have been changes for the kids at school. Megan's started Gr. 4 and has to cope with a bunch of new subjects being introduced and quite a lot more homework than before.
Michael's gone to Gr. 2 and seems to be so much more confident and capable than he was last year. I have often beaten myself up for holding him back a year but when I see him slotting in so nicely with his group and managing so well with his school work, I think it might have been worth it.
And for right now, I'm going to let myself have that, and not torture myself with questions and arguments and wondering whether I just took the lazy parent's route.
Jack and James are also enjoying their new classes at nursery school this year. Jack continues to be his cute and charming self while James has become quite the little ladies' man - the little girls in his class queue up at the door to wait for him in the mornings!
The boys have all had their annual haircuts, courtesy of Dad, and while I was sad to see Jack's beautiful, mildly gingery curls go, he definitely looks more comfortable without all that hair to deal with in the summer heat. James'whispy little blonde locks are also gone - perhaps not altogether a bad thing, considering what was left of them after Jack played barber toward the end of last year. From certain angles, he looked a bit like he had a mullet...
You may remember me saying in one of my last posts how our holiday had me thinking about making a few changes in our home life. Well, shortly after writing that post, I read about FlyLady on Pink Hair Girl's blog and over the past couple of weeks I've started doing the Baby Steps on the FlyLady programme.
Some days are better than others, but I can tell you that just doing a few of these basic things has already made an enormous difference to my household!
I must admit that I've been a bit slack on this for the last few days but every time I think about how fantastic it's going to be when I have my life running like clockwork, I feel inspired to pick up again where I've left off. I do believe that putting a little bit of order into my day to day life has empowered me to reach for those things I had given up on before.
Like the possibility of ever completing my studies.
A few days ago, I filled out my registration application for the 2012 academic year at UNISA and tonight David and I made a plan to pay the registration fees. So it's official - I'm once again a student.
Some of you may recall that getting back into my studies is something I've been wanting to do and have failed to manage for a couple of years in a row now, so this is really a big deal for me. I'd like to thank you for being an inspiration in this regard, Laura!
So yes, this is definitely a year for new things (and for rediscovering some not so new things) and I think it's going to be a good one.
Saturday, January 07, 2012
One Week
With the first week of the new year behind us already, there is only one week left of our holiday and I wish I could make time stand still for a few weeks until I'm ready to pack up & go home.
This holiday is our first ever, both as a couple and a family. Sure, we've had a day or two away here and there, or maybe even a week or two, but on every single one of those, one of us was working. This time, we actually went on *holiday* for the first time in 10 years and I have savoured every blissful second of it!
Getting away from the everyday grind for a bit has opened my eyes to a few things about our life at home and I hope to make a few changes when we get back. For example, I had no idea how cluttered our life at home has been for the last few years! We have so much *stuff* stashed all over the place at home, most of which we almost never use, if at all. I think we need to have a serious look at de-cluging our space and simplifying a bit. Here on holiday, we still have to cook and clean and do laundry - and we don't even have the luxury of our fabulous dishwasher. But somehow, it's just so much smoother. This may very well be because we're not also dealing with work stress and deadlines and the like, but we're still running around after 4 busy kids all day, every day. Trust me, that takes some stamina!
Otherwise, it has been wonderful to be able to just breathe a bit. Yes, the kids keep us running from morning 'til night, but I have so enjoyed watching them play on the beach and in the waves. I have loved our family meals around the table, TV turned off and just the six of us spending time together.
We've taken them to see some of the sights in the area, such as the budget permits; We saw the Outeniqua Transport Museum in George, where I thought Jack would die of sheer happiness, surrounded by all those gorgeous old steam engines. We've visited the Dias Maritime Museum in Mossel Bay, with the Post tree and the replica of Bartholomeu Dias' ship. We've visited a number of the different beaches between George and Mossel Bay, eating ice creams, building cars out of sand for the boys to sit in...
We rung in the new year at our local beach, watching the fireworks going up over Mossel Bay, sipping a glass of wine and sending off a sky lantern, which we watched as it carried our wishes for 2012 off into the air over the ocean.
And now we're going to wring every ounce of pleasure there is to be had out of our last week here, before heading back home to tackle the rest of the year. May you all enjoy a happy one!
This holiday is our first ever, both as a couple and a family. Sure, we've had a day or two away here and there, or maybe even a week or two, but on every single one of those, one of us was working. This time, we actually went on *holiday* for the first time in 10 years and I have savoured every blissful second of it!
Getting away from the everyday grind for a bit has opened my eyes to a few things about our life at home and I hope to make a few changes when we get back. For example, I had no idea how cluttered our life at home has been for the last few years! We have so much *stuff* stashed all over the place at home, most of which we almost never use, if at all. I think we need to have a serious look at de-cluging our space and simplifying a bit. Here on holiday, we still have to cook and clean and do laundry - and we don't even have the luxury of our fabulous dishwasher. But somehow, it's just so much smoother. This may very well be because we're not also dealing with work stress and deadlines and the like, but we're still running around after 4 busy kids all day, every day. Trust me, that takes some stamina!
Otherwise, it has been wonderful to be able to just breathe a bit. Yes, the kids keep us running from morning 'til night, but I have so enjoyed watching them play on the beach and in the waves. I have loved our family meals around the table, TV turned off and just the six of us spending time together.
We've taken them to see some of the sights in the area, such as the budget permits; We saw the Outeniqua Transport Museum in George, where I thought Jack would die of sheer happiness, surrounded by all those gorgeous old steam engines. We've visited the Dias Maritime Museum in Mossel Bay, with the Post tree and the replica of Bartholomeu Dias' ship. We've visited a number of the different beaches between George and Mossel Bay, eating ice creams, building cars out of sand for the boys to sit in...
We rung in the new year at our local beach, watching the fireworks going up over Mossel Bay, sipping a glass of wine and sending off a sky lantern, which we watched as it carried our wishes for 2012 off into the air over the ocean.
And now we're going to wring every ounce of pleasure there is to be had out of our last week here, before heading back home to tackle the rest of the year. May you all enjoy a happy one!
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