Scattered leaves

It has been a stunning autumn here in Palmy with calm, sunny days and the trees turning all kinds of beautiful colours.

We have had my Mum and her partner here for over a week and it has been fabulous.  They spoiled us all rotten and lavished lots of attention and outings and presents on the kids.  We all piled in the people mover and headed down to Wellington and had a catch-up with my brothers.  It was great to have that family time.  Mum leaves tomorrow morning and I'm sad to see her go.  We might not see her for quite some time as her next visit to NZ might be at the same time we are in the States.

The quest for healthy eating continues.  I got a bit off track having visitors here and have started drinking coffee again...agh.  But I'm determined to keep on making an effort and after a beautiful dinner out last night (our long awaited date night seen as Granny could babysit) I'm back to vegies, fruit and protein.

Last night at dinner we talked about our dreams for the future and we both have ideas for blogs and podcasts and other things.  We just need to make the time for them to be a reality.  So today I'm taking time out to work on some ideas I have for a professional blog.  I better stop procrastinating with writing this blog and get to it!

Health and Vitality!

I had a B12 injection last Tuesday and Wow! What a difference.  I feel like a fog has lifted and I actually have some reserves of physical energy now.  We have stuck with the no-sugar eating (basically Paleo) for over two weeks now.  I have definitely noticed a difference in my waistline and I just feel generally healthier and less of a slave to cravings for unhealthy food.

Family life has been pretty full-on.  The baby's PORSE carer and her little boy have been sick so we have had no childcare for two weeks.  It takes it's toll on me - just not getting any time out I end up feeling grumpy and overwhelmed.

No time out has meant no time on the business side of things either. It would be great to get some massage gigs but those take some time to promote and set up, and time is something I haven't had lately.

So, the plan for next week is to take a few hours to do some marketing and see if that leads us anywhere.  I guess I can only try.

Swings and Roundabouts

I took this photo when we were in Wellington for the day on Easter Tuesday.  We left super early and arrived in town around 8am.  Too early to phone anyone to meet up, so I drove round the bays and took the kids to one of my favourite cafes - Maranui in Lyall Bay.  Because it was so early in the morning it was pretty quiet, so we were able to get a table by the window looking out over the ocean.  We then walked along the beach and spent some time in the beachside playground.  The rest of the day was full of catching up with friends and family and it was a really great visit.

The day after we got back from Wellington we started a 10-day sugar detox plan from the Blood Sugar Solution by Dr Mark Hyman.  Man - that was a shock to the system after our Easter indulgences but I am so glad I did it.  The first few days I had a killer headache from the no coffee, but after that I did notice a reduction in cravings and even though I often felt hungry, it just didn't bother me as much. Whereas before I would be in a panic of "I MUST EAT!" after just a few hours without food, I am now able to tolerate a bit of hunger until I have time to prepare something healthy.

The only thing that is really getting me down is that I have not had the surge in energy promised in the detox book.  I fact I have been waking up feeling pretty crummy both physically and emotionally.  I think I have some kind of virus and I've had a sore throat for over a week and just feel exhausted and wiped out.  Also, my tolerance for the kids and any kind of inconvenience is way down.  I have an appointment with my nurse practitioner on Tuesday and will get a B12 injection then, which I really hope will up my energy.  In the meantime I'm continuing with the no-sugar diet.  It just doesn't make sense to poison my system with junk anymore.

On the plus side, our garden is really coming along.  Marolyn cleared the vegie patch and my step-father did a whole lot of weeding.  We have planted out the herb garden and have put lettuce and kale in the vegie patch. Everywhere else we have planted lupin to feed the soil.  Since then, we've had some really good rain so everything is looking happy.  I'm also loving being back at Massey.  It's such a beautiful environment to work in and I'm looking forward to all the autumn leaves.

Reaping what I've sown

I started this blog in Spring with a photo of our wildly overgrown vegetable patch.  While the garden was not a huge success this year, mainly due to the paucity of time and effort that I put into it, I did manage to plant some potatoes and here is what we harvested the other day.

The wind of a job opportunity that I heard about just before Christmas turned into an actual job and I started last week.  It's just 10 hours a week.  Mainly in the evenings.  I love getting out of the house and having some time to devote to something else.
The pay is good. The people are lovely.  I feel very blessed.

We booked some tickets to Los Angeles for later in the year.  Manaaki is very excited about visiting Disneyland.

My business goals have fallen somewhat by the wayside as I've adjusted to the new routine of work but I still have plans to pursue them.

I don't feel as tired and demoralized as I did at the end of the school holidays.  It's still a struggle but I feel like I'm winning a bit more of the time.

If there is one lesson I have taken out of this it is 'Never let an opportunity to reach out slip by as you don't know where it could take you'.

Life's no picnic

Today we went and visited our very dear friend Kedron at a house she was house-sitting and she treated us to a delicious lunch including this bread pictured and a mouthwatering pasta al fresca.  We even got to pick raspberries from the garden and put them our drinks.  The garden was amazing.  It's inspiring to see what people can do with a space.

I don't mean to whine but I've really been struggling lately.  I'm exhausted and most days can't drag myself out of bed before 10am.  Understandably, this puts pressure on Marolyn to cope with the breakfast routine by herself.  I just feel sapped of all energy and have got very little done around the house.  This compounds the problem as the house is a tip and looking around and trying to get things done in a mess is demoralizing in itself.

On the plus side, I emailed my old boss to say Merry Christmas and she called me right back with wind of a job opportunity.  I don't really know anything about it other than it is part-time but it is exciting to think I might be able to back up my business income with some regular hours of employment.  Now I just have to wait for the contact person to get back from leave so I can find out more.

It might seem strange that while I'm struggling with this lack of energy I'm pursuing work outside the home.  I actually think a work routine would do me good.  I think I need some stimulation and the chance to focus on something other than cutting up apples and stopping the toddler from eating rocks - her favorite activity right now.

There is food at the end of my hands

Today I am working on a business plan for my massage business.  The idea is I will dust off my 15 year old Diploma in Massage Therapy and do some corporate chair massage.  I still haven't come up with a name for the business yet.  I meet with the bank tomorrow and I'm quite excited.

We have Mum staying at the moment which is great.  Yesterday we had a relaxing time at the Esplanade and took the kids on the scenic railway.  Today Mum has taken Rangimarie for a long walk and M and Manaaki are on a bike ride.  Last night M and I snuck out for an ice cream and a walk while Mum watched the kids.  It was great to have some space to be together and we are both feeling really inspired about new creative ideas.

Hopefully, 2016 will be the year of making some of our entrepreneurial dreams a reality.

Whiri, Whiri!

Today feels hard for some reason.  It's been an exhausting week and sometimes I wonder whether I will ever feel like I've caught up.

I went to the market this morning and stocked up on fresh vegies.  Our favourite vegie stall had kale again so I'm hoping to boost my energy with a green juice sometime this weekend.

In the meantime I'm getting the sleepout ready for my Mum coming to stay.  Very excited about that.

So, weaving it all together - the good and the bad.  Will wait and see how everything turns out.