Whatever I Want And Whenever I Want

Ah the ability to relax and not do anything at all if I don't want to or to do anything I want when I want to without having to worry about anyone else. Today my son Nick and his girlfriend left for home and my sister and mum left Friday. It was nice to have them all here but at the same time even though I love cooking, it was hard work keeping up with meal times and it's nice to just have whatever to eat instead of having to whip up some gourmet meal that suited everyone's taste buds and preferences, especially at this time of year, Christmas when gourmet is expected. Looks like it may be toasted sandwiches or eggs on toast for dinner tonight? Not sure.....but who really cares...only me!
Steph

Blog Has Done It's Job.....Made Me Grateful

It's nearly the end of the year which means my blog is coming to an end, after all it was for 2012 and it has well and truly done what I set out for it do do, that being to make me grateful for the everyday things we take for granted and to make me realise how lucky and blessed I am. This is not to say that I will not be grateful in 2013 and beyond, it just means that my new blog will be focussing on other creative adventures that of course I will still be grateful for. 
Steph

Christmas Day Successful

Hi All! I've been so excited about my new blog I have slacked off on this one, I have however cut and pasted the Christmas day blog below but you will have to go to my "passionate about creating" blog at passionateaboutcreating.blogspot.com or I think you can access it if you click on 'my profile' and 'my blogs' to view the rest of the pics and more. Here is the post...........

Well we managed to survive Christmas day and we ate well but not as much as we normally do thank goodness, although I did go to bed feeling rather full but I think that may have had something to do with the amount of alcholic drinks I had and the water I drank to counteract it. Well it is Christmas and unfortunately the Christmas spirit results in drinking more! I'll be better today, I promise! Today my boys are coming for dinner.....we are having our proper Christmas feast today because all of us will be under the one roof. So today is the day and this also means more cooking and more eating. Yesterdays food was delicious, I made prawn and avocado salad, broad bean and cherry tomato salad, kipfler potatoes with rosemary and seasalt and stuffed chicken breasts (stuffed with my own concoction of mushrooms, onions, thyme, garlic, parsley, olive oil, butter and bread crumbs). It was the first time I had ever stuffed a chicken breast and I can safely say I will be repeating it. They all enjoyed their chicken and the salads were pleasantly different and tasty. For dessert we had mixed berry and marshmallow mousse which was delectable. I woke this morning thinking about today's cooking endeavors and realized that I forgot to put the starter in the bread machine for my sour dough bread, it will now be too late to make it, perhaps I can find a recipe for bread that will be quick to make. Oh I should also mention that I was pleasantly surprised to find that Karen joined my new blog.....exciting! Thank you Karen, can't wait to get some comments.

Steph

Excited About New Blog Passionate About Creating

I am a little excited today because I woke up with much more motivation for cooking and being creative which had me thinking about my new blog I am starting up for 2013 and onwards. It's about food, art, gardening, decorating and family. Basically it's a blog that sums me up......it's about me and the things I love. I want to share photos and stories about what I love. Hopefully someone will read it and if not, it will be my record of my creativity.....which hopefully in turn will push me to actually do the things I have wanted to do for a long time because previously I either didn't have the time, energy or motivation. So wish me luck on my new adventure! The blog is called "Passionate About Creating"  Here is the link    passionateaboutcreating.blogspot.com
Enjoy, I know I will!
Steph

He Does Love Me

Hubby and I had a few words last night.....some not so nice mostly coming from my end. It all started that morning when he was asking me what I wanted for Christmas. Firstly you need to understand that at Christmas time, the present buying is usually left to me except for my present, so all Dave has to do is to buy one present, just one! Anuway I gave him a couple of suggestions, one was a sketch pad for pastel drawing as I plan on drawing more over the school holidays. His response to this was how boring! Not boring to me. My whole day (I think) was ruined because Dave didn't have a clue what to get me and disregarded my suggestions, and to me that meant he didn't know me at all. I felt flat and teary most of the day. Later that night we watched a movie and there were some romantic parts in it, as well as some scenes where the guy is so thoughtful and remembers what the girl likes and gives her and did things she liked. It was really sweet and it made me feel worse and then I let Dave know exactly what I thought and that if he can't think of any ideas on his own then I don't want any presents from him. I went to bed very annoyed and sad. Dave went to bed angry at me! Luckily our relationship is strong and all it took was for me to say sorry and a little explanation of why I said what I said and all is good and we are okay again. He may not know what to buy me this time around but I know he loves me and does know me, and I am grateful for that.
Steph

Happy Birthday Glad We Met

Happy Birthday dear husband......I am hoping you had a great day even though you did have to work. I am grateful that I met you and that when we did we clicked and we talked all night, which made me wonder why I didn't have that with my first husband. I am grateful that we remained friends and kept in touch and that when my first marriage was well and truly over you were there which made me more independent and stronger. It helped me to find myself and to be myself.......in doing so I have learnt to love and respect you more for being selfless sometimes and putting my needs before yours in order to make me happy. I thank you.
Steph

Excited About Christmas

This week has really gone slow! The more stuff I have to organize before Christmas the slower it is going, I can't believe it's still only Wednesday today. At least I have almost finished present shopping, there is only one small thing I need to get and then it is all done, except of course the groceries I need to buy to feed the masses that will visit us. I am still excited about it all though. It's Christmas, and I always get excited about Christmas!
Steph

Confidence

Words can't explain how confident I feel today, as a teacher and as me. I am proud of how far I have come since this time last year....at that time I was miserable and wanted to end it, and now I'm feeling confident about me as a teacher, in my social life and personal life too.
Steph.

World Vision Gifts

I sponsor a child through World Vision every month and have done so for around three years now and I am proud of this. Each year at Christmas time I purchase gifts from World Vision that help those in need, gifts such as a chicken or a goat. Not everyone understands this as when they have opened their card and read what gift I have bought. They seem happy I think but a little dissapointed that it's not a gift for them personally. The gift is actually bought on their behalf.  Instead of buying them something they could buy themselves or something they didn't really want or need I have bought an extra gift on their behalf that doesn't really benefit them but benefits someone else that needs it more. Maybe, just maybe it will make them realize how lucky they really are.
Steph

More Time

Today I am grateful for the fact that I am going to be working part time (three days per week) next year instead of the current five I do now, there was a position at work available and I grabbed the opportunity and hopefully it will pay off.. I was sitting on the couch before and thinking to myself all the things I would like to be doing such as the garden, finishing off the inside of the house, cooking for money and drawing, but haven't got the energy or the motivation to do right now, and then I thought about the extra time I'm going to have in a couple of weeks (school holidays) and the extra couple of days a week after that, that I will have time and hopefully be motivated to do all of those things.
Steph

Managing Money

Feeling a little flat and teary today, not sure exactly why but it starts me thinking all negative and about stuff I shouldn't really be thinking about. One such thing is money! For some, money is evil and for others it's bliss. We are not poor nor are we rich, we work hard for the money we get and then we have to give most of it away to the tax man or to pay for our house and for the bills that pop up in the mail as soon as we have a little money come our way.  Some people don't work for there money and get it given to them, I don't think this is very fair unless you are really trying hard to find work and can't or you can't work because of an illness or disability. Some people make their money last by budgeting and searching for cheaper options, while others buy the best they can afford and never have to shop around. What makes me feel truly sick in the stomach is when you see money being spent or wasted on things that are tuly a waste of money, while others are struggling to make ends meet. I am grateful that although we aren't well off in money and we do have to work hard and budget, we do manage to pay our bills and every now and then we are able to buy things we really want by saving or shopping around, and that the things we do buy are truly appreciated. 
Steph

Not At All Disabled Or Stupid

I am grateful that Dave (my hubby) is not mentally challenged, that is, there is nothing wrong with him and he has no disabilities whatsoever! The reason why I say this is because every now and then he puts on these voices and pretends to be annoyingly stupid......he is funny though but not at all sexy at this point. So for our marriage and intimacy sake I am grateful.
Steph

Relaxed And Easy Day

A relaxed, low stress, easy day where I am calm is what I am grateful for today.
Steph

Alex And Dave Cooking Dinner

Today I came home from work with a migraine so I had a lie down after taking some tablets. Lucky me Alex and Dave cooked dinner, which was nice. I'm grateful for that.
Steph

On The First Day Of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas I went Christmas shopping and I put the Christmas tree up and decorated it with a little help from Zoe. It looks beautiful. I also found out that both my sons will not be sharing Christmas Eve or Christmas day with us because they are going to their Dad's place this year. I will however see them on another day.....which I think we will turn into Christmas day! Why not....who says we can't celebrate Christmas as a family on a totally different day? We just won't look at the calendar. I am grateful that for all the years I have had the pleasure of my children they have always spent Christmas with me. This will be the first. I suppose it will get worse once they settle and have families of their own. I will just have to annoy them and visit them instead and somehow we will be together.
Steph