shifts in thinking

Over the past few months I've made a few changes to simplify life, and especially how we eat. In a lot of ways it is a fairly natural progression, with one change leading to another, leading to another.

I love my job teaching in a Special School, but it can be physically and emotionally draining. It's full on, loud, there isn't any down time, and no matter how prepared I am things often happen that mean you are thinking on your feet.   I am passionate about my job and the kids I teach and I find it difficult to switch off, and not give 100%. Most of the kids in my class have autism, and when I'm not on top of things, the day can go downhill very quickly! I was getting to work by 7, and getting home after 6, and often spending part of my night laminating or cutting or velcroing resources.

I was exhausted, my skin was crazy, and I was relying on sugar hits to get me through the day (I lived for my 3 o'clock chocolate!!). I realised that my body couldn't keep going like that. Between this I was also planning a wedding, and trying to (slowly) renovate a house. I was staying up too late, and pressing snooze time and time again, I was too tired to exercise and luckily L enjoys cooking, because if I was living alone I would have been eating breakfast food for dinner every night. I actually made some mid year resolutions here in April, which was at the point when I realised that things had to change.

Some of the changes are fairly non-negotiable. I now make sure I move my body for half an hour each day. I go for a walk, I go to yoga, I do a Michelle Bridges DVD or yoga DVD at home. I often don't want to do it when I'm starting out, but once I get going, and especially once I'm finished I feel better for it. I've never actually regretted it. It's that funny thing where the more I exercise (and I'm not running marathons here...) the more energy I actually have. I sleep better and get that down time.

I've also changed my diet quite a bit. I try to eat only 'real' foods, and have cut out most processed foods from my diet. I've also cut most processed sugar from my diet-I still eat fruit and add a little honey and maple syrup at times. A by product of cutting most processed foods and processed sugars from my diet has meant that I've also cut my gluten intake considerably. I feel so good. I have so much more energy, my skin has cleared up so much, I just feel really good. I'm not strict. I definitely had cake at my wedding, and again at a friends' birthday last week, and I went out to dinner and had pasta through the week too, but I am much more conscious of what I am eating, and making sure that most of the time it is nourishing me. I'm not gluten free, I'm not sugar fee, I'm not vegetarian, I'm not raw, I'm not paleo, I'm not any of those things, but I am trying to make healthier choices around food. I've found and cooked some amazing recipes, and waited for L to say how good it was before telling him it was healthy. Breakfasts, dinners, cakes and desserts, that he now requests over the unhealthier alternative.

Well done for making it this far-why am I telling you all of this? I'm going to be making some changes to my blog, mostly it will remain the same, but I'm going to start sharing some of these recipes here along with the renovating, organising and decorating. I've also started a veggie patch to grow some of our ingredients, which will hopefully keep on expanding (as well as growing!), so I'll be sharing that with you too.

I still have more wedding posts for you. I still have more renovating and decorating posts for you in the works too. But I wanted you to know that I have had a shift in thinking and a shift in how we live in our blue house, and with that has comes some additions to this little blog.

Have any of you had any shifts in thinking lately?

days off

I really did have the best ANZAC Day yesterday, but was so scatty come today. My body just wasn't happy with only 1 day off. I was a bit confused!

I watched L surf, and came back and cooked crepes for breakfast, I love them so much, much prefer them to thick pancakes. Just add lemon and sugar!

I continued my weekend theme of watching Season 5 Mad Men, and laminating, cutting and velcroing work for my kids. I have quite a pile now.

And spent most of the afternoon having girl time at the surf club. I am so lucky to live where I do. 

Is it ok to be at the surf club from early afternoon, until the moon rises? We did move areas...

Our camellias have started flowering! Our first flower came out yesterday, and today one bush has 3! They are about to explode!

Then I ended the day by climbing into bed, with fresh sheets. How good are they? If only I had a servant, I would have fresh sheets every day! If only I had someone else to do it for me it would be perfect. I have two sets of sheets, and I don't iron them (I had to pop these in the dryer to finish them off due to the weather-usually they come off the life pretty crease free!). I don't mean to brag-but I am awesome at folding fitted sheets. 

Lay it out on a flat surface, and square off the corners, with the elastic folded in. This is the most important step-if you get it pretty square here, it's easy.  

Fold it in half. Make sure the elastic stays on the inside, and doesn't poof out (technical language). You should have a rectangle.

 Fold in half again. Keep the corners square.

 Fold into thirds. Keep the corners square.

 Fold into thirds.

 Done.

Even being a bit scatty today, I could handle a mid week day off every week-especially if they were all like that!

bird watching

I noticed recently I have a bit of a collection I didn't know about. I looked around one day and realised, and once I noticed it I kept finding more and more-in my house, in my wardrobe, and in my jewellery. 

Birds. They are everywhere. Not owls, which I know some people collect (although I have one or two thrown in), but more like swallows. I have had some of the things for 5 or so years. 

I have ornaments.

I have necklaces.

I have bedding.

I have lots of Christmas decorations, which are packed away.


I have clothing.

I have cushions.

The thing is-I hate birds. Loath them. 
They are flappy and unpredictable (I definitely see the irony with relation to my job...). 
I think they are dusty and dirty (which is probably untrue for most birds)-like rats of the air. 
I had bad experiences with swooping magpies as a child, my 20 minute walk to school could take 45 during swooping season due to detours. You know how if you look at them they aren't supposed to swoop you? Well I have definite memories of looking right at a birds beak as it flew directly at me. 

In recent years I had a horrifying experience with plovers-evil cousins of magpies with sharp horns on their wings. I had to run towards the plovers, after my student who thought it was hilarious-until the birds started swooping us, and I had to tackle him to the grass to protect him. I don't know who squealed louder-me or him or the birds. 
Plus they have beady eyes... I can't even bring myself to watch Alfred Hitchcock's movie. 

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I really don't like them. 

Yet they are everywhere in my home. 
Do you have a collection that you didn't know about? Do you hate birds too?

something very close to my heart

April is Autism Awareness Month, and is a cause really close to my heart. I teach kids with disabilities, and over the past few years half the kids I have taught have had an autism diagnosis.

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Whether due to environmental factors, or better diagnosis, the incidence of people being diagnosed with Autism or Aspergers is growing at an alarming rate (it is defiantly NOT caused by immunisation). Around 1 in 110 people is diagnosed with Autism. At that rate you will likely know someone in your life who is affected by autism. 

Autism is incredibly misunderstood. It affects peoples social and communication skills, and often people with autism react differently to sensations. They may require a lot of sensory input to get a response, or they may be very sensitive to light, to noises, to smells.

The autism spectrum is a scale-and I have experienced kids who are very high functioning, to those at the other end of the scale, who are non verbal, have severe intellectual impairments and-whether through frustration, anxiety or due to sensory needs-can be violent to themselves or others. 

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I'm incredible lucky to have found a job I love so much. The kids I work with every day are amazing. It isn't without it's challenges-it's often loud, always busy and can get a little crazy most days. I take my hat off to the parents of all kids with disabilities.It's my job to help these kids-and all the kids I teach-become as independent as they are capable of being, to learn to handle their emotions in a positive way and deal with what life throws up. 

The kids I teach are incredible. The world doesn't make sense to them, and is full of things they don't understand. They are made to do things that they don't want to do, and rules are broken all of the time. Things are unpredictable. Yet they develop relationships, they play games, make me laugh, they are CHEEKY. They come to school-most days at least-happy and WANTING to learn. 

Autism Awareness Month isn't about 'curing' autism, it's helping people living with autism in their lives feel less alone, less like they need to hide their child, their sibling, their disorder away. It's bringing autism out from behind closed doors. 

Source -a blue Opera House for World Autism Awareness Day