…is time well spent.  I love to spend time in my garden.  At this time of year it may be getting hot, but my roses are blooming their hearts out.  I spent quite a bit of time in the garden weeding and deadheading flowers.  I could have spent much more time out there, but had to go to work.  A bit at a time.

I cleaned and refilled the birdbath.  Love seeing all kinds of bird splashing around in it and having a drink.  Need to refill it quite frequently in the summer.

This was taken before I started.  Need a good rain to get the lawn lush and green again.  Standard roses underplanted with Border Stars.  I look forward to the day they completely fill up the garden bed.

Blessings,

Coastal Girl

Today was “one of those days”.  Full of small annoyances that just seemed to keep on going.  Now that it is finished though, I see how much I managed to remain poised and deal with it all methodically with good outcomes.  So really, it was a good day.

New items bought, some returned, car washed and a good work day.  I have been wearing my Amethyst lately and I do find it has a calming effect on me.

Tomorrow is another day.

Blessings,

Coastal Girl

feeling relaxed and refreshed after a good night’s rest.  A comfortable bed is a wonderful blessing.  A safe place to rest and allow our bodies to regenerate after a busy day.  It is amazing the difference this makes in our lives.  After all, we spend a third of our lives in bed.

To that end, I have invested in some good quality bed linens (bought on sale so even better/affordable) and have created as peaceful a space as possible.  I no longer read in bed or use electronic devices.  I have discovered it is best kept as a haven of peace that extends to a decent night’s sleep.

The serenity of it.

Blessings,

Coastal Girl

I have put the folding table in my guest room as planned.  I am now ready to start the BIG sort out of photographs.  Have labelled some piles using copy paper and a sharpie pen to indicate the different categories.  Time for action.

This brings me to todays topic.  How to deal with digital media going forward.  We all have tons of pictures on our cameras, smart phones, tablets, computers, etc.  I have done a few things to try and organise my pictures, but am still not entirely happy with my system.  We don’t want to lose our precious memories after all.  Well this morning whilst checking out Facebook, I came across a post by Becky Higgins for someone who has done just this.  Absolutely synchronous or Divine Timing as they say.

I have written down her strategies.  Going forward I intend to slowly work through the backlog, and then develop a habit where by I attend to such things on the fly.  I do not want to be in this position again.

I have held off getting a dropbox account, but now think “it is time”.  I have learned a good way to label my files for easy retrieval and a colour coded system which will tell me at what level of organisation that file is in the system.  ie. photo edited, ready to print, etc.

I will share more as time goes on.  Hopefully this is food for thought for you too.

Blessings,

Coastal Girl.

I spent time last evening sorting through photographs, I had the television on in the background so I could catch up on some recordings from past weeks.  There are so many more photographs than I ever realised.  Some true gems are being found/rediscovered.  Sorting is a mammoth task.  As I take my time to categorise them, my lounge room is becoming increasingly more disorganised.  Hmmm, I may have to take it all to the dining room table!  I need to empty some containers and sort, sort, sort.

NB…Had a light bulb moment!!!  Instead of messing up the dining room table, I will put up my folding table in my guest room and sort stuff in there.  Love it!

As I said in yesterdays post, I intend to use the Project Life system for my scrapbooking.  I will be starting with a trip I took to Europe back in 1995.  As good a place as any I figure to start the process.  Several reasons for this. 1. I have so many pictures and memorabilia of this trip and 2.  I already have these set aside.  No brainer really.  Then, in the background, I can be chipping away at the other photos/memorabilia in readiness.

In amongst all this, is the need to clear off my studio desk so I can actually create!  This room, like my house, garage and life in general, will be totally transformed in the coming months.  It is time!  Join me as I journey onwards to finding out who I am.

Blessings,

Coastal Girl

It’s that time of year again when resolutions are made, and, more often than not, broken before the month is out.  I am not doing that this year.  My goal is simply to be a better person than I was the day before.  That is it.  Simple.  Done.  This also fits in with my new scrapbooking philosophy.  As Becky Higgins (creator of Project Life) says, “Simple = Done.”  Project Life is my new way of actually getting the job done.  Slip the photo’s in the pockets, Journal on a card, Add a title, and filler cards (if needed) and it is DONE.   Will be nice to have the photos out of boxes (and a myriad of other places), the associated memories documented, and then placed together into an album.

Being that it is the first of the month, I have set up my planner to enable me to stay on track and achieve those things that are important to me.  Aside from this, today has been about tidying the house post holidays.  This has meant taking down my beautiful, coastal inspired, Christmas Tree.  If the last year is any indication, it won’t be long and I will be putting it up again!

So where will 2016 take me?  Time will tell.  Taking care of myself first, because, as the saying goes, we cannot care for anyone else if we put ourselves last.  We simply do not have the energy.  To that end, I started my health and fitness goals last year and will continue to build on those results.  I am feeling better about myself, have more resilience, increased confidence, not to mention being able to buy a new wardrobe.   I have also been catching up on some reading, and, as a result, I am  following the new spiritual path that has opened up before me.  The Journey To Me.  I am learning who I am and discovering what it is I want out of my life.  Like everyone, this is an ongoing process. At the moment,  I am reading “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin.  Loving it and I feel as though she is inside my head.  We seem to think so alike.

Anyways, this is enough for my first post of the year.  Let me know how you are doing, what goals you have and let’s stumble though this thing called life, together.

Blessings to all,

Coastal Girl