I got the sewing machine out again the other week, after a long period of dormancy.

I'm quite pleased to announce that I no longer have a huge pile of mending on the studio floor. And even better, I managed to refashion a heap of stuff (mostly the girls' clothes, a couple of my things) too. I turned pants into shorts, long tops into t-shirts, dresses into skirts - and the girls are happy to have some of their favourite things for another year. Brooke very sweetly told me it was good we weren't wasting her pretty dress, because there's no more room at the tip - I think some of my messages are getting through.

But now, the boring sewing is over, and I can get back to the quilting. If you thought it had been a long time between posts, it's been an even longer time between quilts. I get sidetracked by life in general, but looking at a few blogs lately has reminded me how much I really love this craft.

I'm working on a new bed quilt for Nathan, because the cars and trucks quilt I made him when he was four is getting a little juvenile for my tween. Though, bless him, he still uses it, and now seems to have an appreciation for how long it took me to make it. This new quilt is blue pieced circles, and I love love love it. It just needs quilting, and is an in front of the TV project for me.

There are lots of UFOs lurking in the cupboard. I'm about to piece together some blocks for my husband's quilt, a quilt that was conceived before either of the girls, and since they're nearly 6 and 8, that's pretty bad! It's a black and white sampler quilt, which was a bit of a study in neutrals for me. I like it but don't love love love it, hence its home in the bottom of the cupboard for eons. Having said that, the idea of seeing my husband snuggling under it in front of the TV next winter is enough motivation to keep me going.

There are some new ideas floating around my head, and I headed to Spotlight today and bought *cough* 15 metres of fabric..... so there goes my sanity money for the month! At least there's plenty to play with.

It's been a long, long time between posts. The temptation was there to create a new blog altogether, but somehow that's just too hard.

Things have been very, very crazy round here. I'm now working three part-time jobs - thankfully they fit into the school schedule and all three kids are at school now. I'm also studying Child Care at TAFE, hopefully I'm more than half done. The goal is to get that one out of the way by April next year.

I still crave the creative activities: scrapbooking, sewing, quilting, and I want to get back into jewellery making (I loved it back in university). The writing has pretty much taken a backburner - with everything else going on, something had to give and the kids still demand to be fed every day, so that was it. I do want to get back into it eventually, but I'm not sure when - I'm sure the passion will come back in time.

Life is an ongoing process, and there's been a drastic shift in my focus the last couple of years. I'm trying to be more environmentally aware and the dormant little seed that's been planted in my soul forever is slowly emerging - I'm working on a productive garden. There's a plan that includes vegetables, fruit trees, chicks and a very patient husband.

After too much time winging it, I've also had a pretty significant shift in my financial thinking. Things have been pretty tight around here for a long time, but I'm working on reducing costs and reducing debts. It's an ongoing project that drives people (myself included) nuts at time, but it's a positive step.

So from here on in, this blog is less about my writing, more about the simple life I lead and I'm working on leading. There's nothing super exciting happening here, but I'm happy, and lucky, and blessed - and I figure that counts for a lot. I'm both passionate and fickle, so multiple personalities may be present. Enjoy the journey.

December is Just Crazy

At least that's my excuse for why it's been nearly a month since I posted.

* The writing has been happening a little, though not enough. I'm not entrenched in anything so deeply right now that i *have* to do it now. I've started a new story, and my hero is inspired by the gorgeous footballer, Tom Brady, who's in the Stetson ads in the US. Cute, huh?

* The house is in a fairly organised state of chaos. Better than usual though. Well, not right now because it's the end of the weekend, but generally it's all good.

* The kids adore the new pool, so we've been spending lots of time in there. Both Princess and Angel are learning to swim without any kinds of flotation aids, so that's a fun challenge.

* Christmas is mostly under control. Which means the tree is up, we've got all the kids presents, and have thought about everything else. I'm trying to keep the holidays simple this year, so i'm not doing too much of anything.

* I've fallen in love with High School Musical (1 & 2) (as has Princess) - such great movies :). I'm starting to think it could be my girls' version of Grease (which i have watched about 983 times and know by heart).

* Bones is back on TV here and that makes me very, very happy, though i'd already been watching season 1 on DVD in anticipation. I love everything about that show, particularly David Boreanaz.

* And now, in anticipation of another busy week, i'm off to bed with a book....

Grateful.

Today's been a good day, one of those happy to be alive days. Days like this remind me how blessed and lucky I am.
1. The kids have all been great, the Angel was particularly charming and funny. I told her I was going to hang the washing out, she told me not to let any birds in. Uh, okay.
2. There's been news from friends and family, including new babies, weight loss, writing opportunities and twins.
3. I got the cutest little monogram tree decorations for the kids as this year's new decoration (a Christmas tradition for us).
4. My hubby is finally starting to feel much better after his tonsils op and is eating food other than custard.
5. We took the kids window shopping, giving us tons of ideas for what to get for Christmas (just buy #1 Son the entire store, okay?).
6. Lots of the blogs I subscribe to were particularly inspiring, including Jenny Crusie talking about making birdhouses for your soul - http://www.arghink.com/2007/11/14/building-a-little-birdhouse-in-my-soul/ - which I suppose I'm doing here.
7. I wrote nearly 1000 words and I feel like I'm on the home stretch of the first draft.
8. I've had a few epiphanies about my WIP and also about my writing in general, hopefully this will take me to the next level
9. Two cheques came in the mail.
10. My friend dropped in a big stack of magazines for me to cut up for collaging.

All in all, it's good to be me :).
Now, in a flash of inspiration, I'm off to do some scrapbooking, which I have been neglecting for way too long.

New Habits Forming

I'm still not necessarily writing every day, but I'm nearly there, and I'm reaching my 1000 word a day target. I'm at the 34,000 word mark for my current WIP, and it's sailing along nicely. I might think differently when I get to edits, but for now, I'm happy.

This week has been my magazine deadline week, my hubby just had his tonsils out and is stuck at home for 2 weeks being miserable, and I'm trying to juggle kids and housework and do it quietly so as not to disturb the aforementioned patient (who isn't very patient). Traditionally, this combination of events would be a mighty fine reason to put the writing aside for a while. The fact I'm not doing that pleases me immensly. It would be easier not to be writing right now, but it wouldn't get the story written now, would it?

So I'm very glad I signed up for 70 days of sweat, which is pushing me to make a habit of my writing.

But since I've written my 1000 words for today, I know I deserve to spend the next little while curled up with one of Sweat sponsor Jo Leigh's (http://www.joleigh.com/) Blaze's so I can marvel at her use of description and hope some of it enters my brain by osmosis.

Meanwhile, check what the Princesses are saying about submitting over at http://princessesofthepen.blogspot.com/ this week.

Simplify.

This is one of the things I constantly battle with. I am, by nature, a stuff person. I come from a family of clutterbugs. I don't want to be like either or my parents, who both have way too much stuff.

I am also aware of simplifying the way my family lives, so it's not so much about consumption, and more about making do. We don't have the money for an extravagent lifestyle, but we still have more than we need. I'm aware of the effects on the environment and our bodies tha the excessive use of packaging, processed foods and cleaning chemicals has. I'm quite happy to buy and use second hand goods, it's better for the environment and our budget. I think we have a lot to learn from previous generations, and the excessive consumption that plagues the Western world is a bad thing.

I read a profound feature in Viv magazine yesterday (an exclusively digital magazine available at www.zinio.com) about simplifying your life, with profiles of people who'd spent a year simplifying their lives. I decided to start it January 1, but then I realised I didn't need to wait until a new calendar year rolled around to start, and I could begin today.

So from right now, my goal is to simplify my life, to have less stuff in my immediate environment, and to make less of an impact on the global environment.

I'm starting with shopping habits. I'm not going to buy things unless I really need them. Mainly for myself, but also for the family. Nobody really needs any new clothes. In fact, we're pretty set for everything. We may not have the latest or newest or fanciest, but nobody is missing out around here.

I need to change some habits. I impulse buy at the supermarket, and I need to stop that. This past year we've switched out a lot of processed foods, and our diet is better for it, but I still make impulse purchases that are very rarely of the healthsome variety.

I also love shopping at goodwill stores, I guess it's the thrill of the chase, the notion that one man's trash will be exactly what I'm looking for. But since I don't *need* anything, it's not a good deal and it's a bad habit. That one's going to be tough to break, but I'm determined.

I really need to change my bookbuying habits. I love books, I love reading, and that's a good thing. But I pick up lots of books second hand, more than I'll read anytime soon. I have a shelf that's packed with unread books, plus there are four more boxes under my bed. My kids have more books than they know what to do with. I have to stop buying books. I also have to stop borrowing fiction from the library, because I have plenty at home. This will be another tough habit, but it has to be done.

So I'm limiting my shopping time (because it's a huge time sapper as well as money sapper), not buying more books or clothes, not stopping at goodwill stores and not making impulse buys at the supermarket.

Here's to a simpler life. One day at a time.

After a horrible writing week last week, I'm happy to report the muse is back.
I've written nearly 5000 words in the last three days, so that's well above target.
Better yet, I've got my head around the WIP I'm revisiting and I've got it plotted out enough satisfactorily enough to give myself a general idea of what I'm doing. It feels so good to have some direction again, and I really love these characters.
I'm still loving the challenge of Sweat, because without the commitment to do *something* I'm pretty sure I'd have taken a nice long break somewhere in non-writing land.