CONNECTED in 2018

So have you heard the word? The word is to have a word. A word to live by and guide you through 2018.

At the beginning of every year I don't give much thought to this. But by the second or third week, I read many 'word' posts floating around the blogosphere. 

They inspire me to think about my own goals for the year, and the things I want to better at, and fears I want to overcome.

In past years I have had 'brave', which lead me to entering more photography comps, and doing things out of my comfort zone. Another 'no guilt' which I know is two words, but pushed me not be guilty about me time, and all those other silly things that mums and wives seem to let seep into thier feeling guilty filter.

This year I am focusing on being CONNECTED.


HOME

• Connected to knowing when I need a break, some me time. Instead of powering through and falling into an emotional, cranky heap.
• Paying more attention to my health and fitness.
• Connected to what my kids need to succeed, at school(which means more communication with thier teachers, which I am slack at). Listening to them, and asking meaningful questions about their day and how they are feeling. 
• Spending more time together, around the table at dinner time.

WORK 

• Forcing myself to be better at communication with parents of my gymnasts students. 
• Communicating well with other coaches, and committee members at the gym club.

COMMUNITY

• Actually get out of the car and talk to other parents at school pick up.
• Now that the community garden is under other management, get involved. I am actually excited about this, after the circus monkeys that used to run it.
• When someone says "hi, how are you", acutally ask the same to them instead of saying "good thanks" and moving on.

I am not good at talking to people. I seem to avoid it, rather than seeking it out.

I am one of those people who sit back and watch, think too hard about conversation before I speak, and end up not saying much at all. 

It is hard work for me sometimes to actually get the words out of my head, and out of my mouth. I hide behind a smile and for a long time, I have gotten away with that. 

I am sure I have some sort of social anxiety when it comes to talking to new people. I am not so bad at saying hello, but anything further than that is like being a deer in the headlights. Bloody confronting.

So this is something I want to be better at this year. To not be afraid to speak. To say the words in my head, without being afraid that they might sound silly, or they may come out muddled up, which they mostly always do. I am not confident in conversation, especially with people I don't know well.


So my goal this year is so just speak. Communicate, connect.Talk to people!

An InLinkz Link-up

Wrights Bay camping

We spent four days over New Years camping at Wrights Bay in South Australia. It's about an hour's drive from home, located in between Robe and Kingston.

There's no showers, no power, two portaloos and a few drop dunnies, the kind you have to tip in half a cup of lime into after you've done your business.

What it lacks in amenities, it makes up for in gorgeous surroundings. The fees are as cheap as chips, the Mount Benson wine region is on the doorstep and Robe and Kingston are short drives away.

Most people had caravans and camper vans, along with their solar power panels, but there were a few us tent people, running everything on 12 volt and gas. We took along our shower tent and a small barbecue.

It was a fab few days away, especially the New Years barbie the manager put on, with salads and dessert! We were even treated to entertainment, with a karaoke competition and other campers, like a ukelele group and an old pom who could spin a yarn and play the harmonica. It was a really great night where all campers came together with thier chairs and some laughs.

After the sun had set, they put on a bonfire down the beach. The kids had sparklers, when the wind allowed us to light them. We still didn't make midnight, all of us tucked up in our tent while we fell asleep to the sounds of celebration.

 

  

When I first saw this sign, I thought it said 'Taking selfies prohibited'...

The Robe Obelisk

Southend Bush Tucker trail - Coastal connections

At this time of year Natural Resources South East hold the Coastal Connections programs for children in our local coastal towns.

For the last couple of years I have had intentions of taking the kids along, but life gets busy and I forget.

It seems you need to be quick to book in, because places fill up fast. I managed to get myself and the girls booked into the Bush Tucker Trail event in Southend. Isabel decided she didn't want to come(only because I was cleaning a holiday house in Rendelsham on the way), so Summer and I went along yesterday.

We ate icecream on the beach first and went to the "Geltwood" anchor lookout to kill some time before the tour. I can highly recommend the 'unicorn' Gaytime. YUM!

It was very interesting to learn which plants we can can enjoy getting a taste of along our coast. I was even surprised at ones I'd never noticed before. It was a biggish group and most of the time we were lagging behind a bit, so I didn't catch some of the proper names of the plants, and google wasn't much help, so I can't pass on all the names of things. They all tasted okay!

We tried wattle seeds, a bit nutty. The guide said if you roast them they are amazing, a cross between popcorn and roasted nuts. Any wattle seed is edible so I am going to find a tree and raid it of seeds.

I was a little disappointed that the tour guides didn't point out the Muntrie berries to the other people on the trail. I could see them and knew of them. The guides were not from our area, and it seemed silly to me that they wouldn't point out an edible berry, native only to our area of the Limestone Coast.

The guides took us along the Rainbow Rocks walking trail, with fantastic views of the coast line I hadn't seen before, or for a long time. Going back again soon!

Native cherry. The seed is on the outside of the fruit! that little black bit. The fruit is the light pink berry.

This plant has loads of Vitamin C, and seafarers in the old days used it to avoid or cure scurvy. You need to cook it first though or it will make you crook. Bit like spinach apparently.

White berries, don't ask me the name. They don't taste too bad. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Christmas garden art - painted tree stumps

They are supposed to be reindeer. I drilled holes in the top and inserted twigs to look like antlers.

I only usually do crafty, creative shit when I am inspired, and my most recent creative flair comes from these painted tree stumps I saw on Facebook during the week. I am not entirely sure it was even from the page I have linked here, I don't think it was. 

I know I am guilty of it in my earlier days of social media sharing, and probably even recently. But people sharing other peoples stuff on social media, and not crediting the original poster shits me. I even saw it over the weekend, a popular page sharing a pile of washing adorned with christmas lights as thier own photo. Most of their followers asumed it WAS thier photo, and if I hadn't seen it a couple of hours earlier on the original posters page, I would have thought it was thiers. An act of cunning. Facebook is a fickle and deceiving place. 

God knows, most of the photos I post are when things are good, things are pretty and I'm putting the best forward. There is plenty of shit times round here, where I am stressed, swearing like a sailor and crying in the dishwater(because I still wash dishes in an actual sink). I am not exactly reaching for the phone at these times, believe me. I am reaching to flick the kettle switch or for a wine glass. Mostly the latter. Depends on which side of Friday it is.

I don't know about you, but the last week for me has been exhausting. A couple of late nights and I have been fucked. It seems like everyone has wanted their piece of me, and their hasn't been much time for me to pause and catch up. I am so looking forward to not having to be responsibly forced to be up and organised for six weeks. 

I was inspired yesterday, the weather was fabulous and my creative juices were in flood mode. I hit the cheap shop for paint and brushes and got busy in the driveway, decorating the left over stumps from our tree removing from last year. The white agapanthus have relished with the extra sunshine!

I painted three of the stumps and used a few slats from the pallet cubby our neighbour has built for his kids. I am not sure of who actually owns this strip of garden, us or the neighbours, it's like no man's land. I think there is an unspoken truce of halfies. At least thats how I look at it. 

An InLinkz Link-up