dreams

I sometimes dream of a simple life, a life where I don't have to worry about so many things and don't have so many tasks to do.  That cleaning was easy and the stuff did not take over, toys breed and multiply at night I have found.  I realise that we have a lot of clutter (too much) and I wonder what it would be like to not have it. I remember a time when we first moved into our home about 16 years ago (give or take a year) and we had a table, a bed, a fridge some chairs from work, a television and not much else.  We had nothing much and had a lovely time. Cleaning was easy and life was much easier too. The house echoed. Now we have filled every room and over flowed some!

I do a cull and then stop again. I find that the area that I cull becomes cluttered again very quickly. I wonder why?  Something that I will ponder whilst away at an early time in the morning.

I have been looking at a blog that has a simple life.  Ohhh for this life,  Zero waste!  It is not just about waste or lack of it.  It much more than this, looking at all aspects of living. I was discussing this with my other half. I don't believe that we have that much waste, we compost and we don't seem to throw things out, (Do we now!)  We reuse things, we donate things and we trade and pass on things.  It is only the start really.

I think that coming home from school and not having a list of chores a mile long, being able to find my clothes for the morning and not have a mess in the cupboard would be grand.  To make more sustainable and economic choices if that is what is necessary.

Today was the last day of school for a little bit, however the amount of work that we have to do whilst we are "on holidays" is quite overwhelming including study for the first of the exams.  I handed in my assignment today and I didn't breath a sigh of relief. It all feels quite overwhelming and I am feel everyone else is class is doing much better than I am.

Off to read up on my pregnancy massage for a booking tomorrow.

cupping

Today at school we were doing our elective subject of Cupping.

Using glass cups and flame methods we were doing theory for the first 5 hours and then the later part of the day we were cupping anyone lying on the tables. Every cup that we could find would go on and off the back whilst trying all different methods.  My back is an amazing picture of circles and marks.  My practitioners were a little disappointed that the really dark marks were not appearing, I put that down to the juice and water and the improvement of diet and lifestyle.

Whilst the marks look quite painful, they are not at all.  They are just the toxins being drawn out of the body.  Each colour means something.  Sometimes the skin is left cold, sometimes warm and sometimes moist.

I have never had cupping prior to this and never seen it done before so I was able to go in with an open mind and quite fascinated by the whole experience.  I immediately purchased cups after the end of the day today.  I am not quite keen to try them out again and I will be incorporating them into the massage if anyone is happy to have them done, or at least try them. I think it is well worth trying if you haven't experienced it.  I would start with the glass ones and find someone capable of doing the flame method.

Earth hour has come and gone it was lovely having the house, peaceful and dark.

more savings and things.

We have always enjoyed our take away fish and chips on Friday.  There are the odd occasion that we don't have it but mainly this is tradition.  What has changed is that we are actually REALLY enjoying it again as we are a buying fresh fish to cook ourselves.  We have noticed the immediate change firstly in the price that we pay which is much more reasonable and secondly in the quality.  We were ordering fish and getting Basa which they were selling as a Butter fish.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact Basa is much cheaper retailing for about $5.00 a kilo and I imagine that fish shops would be paying a lot less.  We don't really like it, so this is the improvement for a start.  We were being charged about $6.50 a piece (this is a conservative estimate) and then the chips as they were wrapped up and steamed in the paper until they were home are also an improvement.  We get oven chips from Aldi's for about $1.99 or less and they give us more than we did at the fish and chip shop for about $5.00.  We also include a salad or peas or something lovely as well. We are cutting down on the fat content and not having potato cakes as well.  Who knew our substitute fish and chips would be much better!

I am happy to say that some of the surveys are starting to pay off.  I have been spending a few minutes each day doing surveys and the awards are starting to add up.  First you have a choice, I tend to avoid the other rewards and go for the cash in the accounts. I have a $20 one coming through and almost have a $100.  I miss doing the taste testings however I don't have the time to do that now.  Taste testings pay more quite a bit more and sometimes you have the enjoyment of trying something really good. My assignments and homework and massages are already devouring most of my time.   I think every little bit helps and I can make that go quite far these days.

Our actual expenses have been reduced to very little each week. We pay the bills, we go to the farmers market and we eat all our meals at home. I take lunch to school and snacks and my lovely friends occasionally shout me a chai (Soy of course) for having them over and feeding them meals and helping with practice.  We deal with cash only now. If we don't have the cash on us then we don't buy it.  It makes spontaneous splurging very difficult especially when you go out with the right about to get what you have to.  An enforced budget does make a difference. Also writing down what you spend makes a difference as you have to be accountable for all those "little purchases that add up very quickly".    As we are not just spending on things that we see and we would like we have to find ways to either include it in our budget or find another way to get something the same or similar for less if possible.  What do I have to sell to afford this, what do I have to do in regards to hours of work and massaging, surveys or other way to find income to afford this item/good.

I listen to my friends and share ideas for cheap meals, I share ideas and do research on buying clothing and other items and I watch prices in supermarkets and shops, sales are great if the item of clothing that you want suddenly goes on sale and you save 40 or 50%.   Lasoo is great for looking up catalogues and seeing what is on special or on sale.

I think the most important thing that I have learnt is:
- you can probably do it better yourself.
- good fresh food does not take that long to prepare.
- baked goods are great treats for kids and grown ups alike.
- you can almost always find it cheaper if you do a bit of research.
-  do you really need it?

Still working on the assignment for trigger points so off to finish this off and do some housework whilst everything is quiet.  

more savings.

Our children had their sports day today and I had tears and sadness from my Hurricane and my Petal was just accepting of the fact that she will NEVER win any of the races no matter how hard she tries. I find this fact very difficult to accept and wonder if something different could be done to make the sports day a bit more fun and not just competitive.  That we watch the same children year after year winning and returning home with lots of fabulous stories of triumph.  Lots of cuddles and a few treats seemed to help make things feel a little less problematic.

We have now changed the health insurance policy and managed to save nearly $80 a month without making any sacrifices to our cover, in fact we found that we could claim more.  Next on the list is the electricity and gas. We have searched on I Select again and found that we could save with our own provider so the next step is to either contact them or Energy Watch and let them do the talking. Either way this will help with our finances.  Any reductions for nothing more than a few clicks on the web and a phone call has to be good. After that insurances for the car will be checked.  I have to say that I was very surprised but pleased with the outcome to date.

I have a few massages booked in for next week and it is looking like the school holidays will fly by.  I am busy everyday next week with either school, assignment or massages.  I am wondering when things will not be so hectic. I feel the sense of guilt creeping in again, especially when my other half suggested that we do a day trip and I looked at each and every day and wondered when I would be able to squeeze this in. The reality is that I will not be able to go!   I think a trip to the movies will be my only change to spend lots of fun family moments together and dinner of course.

I am about to do a cupping course on the weekend and I know that I will have a few willing clients only to happy to help me with my assignment and practice. Yes, another assignment!

dehydrating continues

So I had a thought that more things needed to be dehydrated before I was sure that this large gadget was staying. A few lovely apples was just not earning it's keep yet.

So after the apples, came strawberries, banana's and we are about to do kiwi fruit and oranges.  A lovely fruit salad of dehydrated fruit.  I also have been told about beetroot and I was thrilled with this idea. Beetroot chips sound wonderful. I am going to make sure that fresh beetroot is on the list for the farmers market this weekend.  Fruit leathers has been requested and so that will following soon.  I do like looking at all the little pieces lined up in the dehydrator.  I love the low hum coming from the kitchen each night too.

I didn't soak the banana's and strawberries in the lemon juice like I did with the apples.  The apples  have kept a lovely colour that is appealing to look at.  After a day or two they are softening up a little. The strawberries are my favourite as they are so small but packed with flavour. Everything tastes so lovely and makes a yummy snack for brain food for the children at school.   I am sure that we will be using them on our muesli too.

I had school today and so didn't have my juice as we have had every other day. I really felt the difference and missed the energy levels and the feeling of wellness. I am not sure if it's in my head or  I actually feel that way.  i have been enjoying the juice and even had some yesterday instead of breakfast and went out and did a massage.  I wanted to see if I could happily keep up my energy levels when exercising for a long period of time. No problems in fact I felt very happy afterwards.

We have been talking about alternative health options and benefits at school quite a bit. ( I have been continuing with my no milk choice substitute soy or rice milk.  In saying this I have not had rice milk yet and I have already had a couple of people waiting for a report on what it tastes like. )  Each time our teacher gives us something else to think about. "how can we talk to people about fitness and health if we don't have this ourselves"  So that is something else to think about. I am walking and juicing tomorrow and considering what else I can do to improve my health and wellbeing.  I am not looking to do sport messages however I will do whatever the client wants and I need to be taken seriously. I need to pass on information and knowledge that I am accumulating and answer question relevant questions and predict outcomes.

I have an assignment calling to me, I just realised today that instead of having another weekend to complete it, as it's due next Tuesday. I don't as I have classes all weekend so that is makes things a little bit more complicated. Thank goodness I have been working on it.





 

A lovely blue bowl full of capsicums

I forgot that we also got some lovely flowers from the Market yesterday. One bunch for me and a pink bunch for my petal.  She felt that she wasn't going to miss out and the lovely man at the market gave us a great price for 2 bunches instead of one.  Any excuse to use my lovely green vase.   A present from my mum so all the more important for me.

We managed to do the apples last night and they were dehydrated over night in the Fowlers dehydrator.  We bought it years and years ago at the Royal Melbourne show.  We did use it originally and then somehow it had been forgotten.  After using again last night I am thinking about the next thing to dehydrate? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  The children both have the apples with a bit of cinnamon on them in their snack box today. So we will have to wait for the verdict.  We used about 1 kilo (just over) and filled up the trays.

A little veggie garden has been renovated. We did leave one tomato plant as it has quite a few little ones on it nearly ready for picking.  After they are removed we will be planting the broad beans.    Still looking for an apricot and lime tree. I am also hoping to get another garden bed just like this one and put it in the garden as well as one bed is not enough for us to produce the food we require and not really utilising our garden to the best of it's ability.

This is our lovely blue bowl and this time full of capsicums. I am going to turn some into roasted capsicum chutney with ginger and the rest I am probably going to stuff again as this is great for dinner and for lunches.  I love all the colours of the capsicums in the bowl and use it as a decoration.  A constantly changing one.  It's just lovely having all the beautiful colours from nature in the house at the moment.

I did my massage today (my first paid one) which was great. The client is such a beautiful lady and I felt very energised after doing this. I can also use this lovely lady as part of my logbook assignment.  I hope that I will get another appointment in the near future with her. I also have to say that the best part was afterwards when I sat down for a cup of tea and cake.  Beautiful china was bought out and fresh baked cake.  I felt like royalty and the conversation was lovely. I have to dash off and collect the children from school and ring a dear friend who is not feeling well (poor love).

I have an assignment on trigger points due in 9 days.   I am working on it. slowly, there is so much information and amazing the things that can be achieved with trigger point.  I was thinking before that I would not be able to use on children however that was a mistake.  this technique from what I have read now can be used on children in fact it is best to get rid of the trigger as soon as you discover it. I found a couple today however I thought I would wait until the next appointment before we ventured into this territory.

caramel popcorn

Last night we made salty caramel popcorn for dessert whilst watching a movie with the children.  So good and we have decided this is a new favourite. So much cheaper than buying the bags of popcorn and even as good as our lovely organic popcorn, which we make sure everyone is addicted to.   We found the recipe on google, although I did see an amazing recipe for salty caramel on The Circle this week. Unfortunately we didn't have glucose so we were unable to do this. Time was slipping away as well and we need something quick and easy.

Our very dear and lovely friend lent us a few dvd's to watch and we have been enjoying them immensely.  We watched some of Julie and Julia and cooked the whole time whilst watching.  I think we would have been starving if we hadn't it was grand and I am looking forward to watching the rest whilst ironing.

We decided to try a farmers market today as we were running low on a couple of things that we need. Normally we only go on a Saturday to one of the four favourites that we like. Given that there are five  Saturdays this month we will need to find another one so today we went to Templestowe Farmers Market and was so surprised at all the wonderful things there. The kiddies made friends with some lovely new stalls especially Ursula at the baked goods stall. We made juice before we went to starve off the hunger pains and then the children found the Breakfast Doughnuts and scoffed 2 each.  Ursula was happy to make a fresh hot batch for us whilst we waited and the Red Headed Hurricane told her how beautiful her goods were and he would be happy to come and help her make things.  He was free during the school holidays and would visit her then.

We all had a lovely time there and enjoyed this one so much we are definitely putting it on our schedule.  We bought tomatoes, a passionfruit tree, spinach plants and peas.  (snow peas and shell peas).  Some ham, bacon, beans, apples (yes some more can believe that!) and oranges. A lovely big box full for $10 picked fresh, eggs, pumpkin, onions and some herbs, sages was given to us 2 lovely bunches, so we I am finding some recipes for these and some coriander.    The children walked around eating and drinking the whole time for gifts that they collected along the way.

Off to plant some spinach and peas which we were told would get 2 years out of it. When the seeds come up we pick them off and the leaves would re shoot. (the spinach that is)  We need lime to help the soil. We are taking the tomatoes out now and then preparing the soil for the peas as well.  One of the compost bins is full and full of worms, they fall out there is so many when we take the lid off so we will use some of that plus transfer some of the worms to work in the other compost bin.