Tag: smile

Simple Pleasures

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In New South Wales, Australia at present Delta has everyone terrified. Nine weeks ago it started in Sydney. Eight weeks ago all of Greater Sydney was locked down but the regions were free. Then suddenly last week the virus escaped Sydney. People doing the wrong thing brought it to Newcastle my home town and we were instantly locked down. Delta was free and there is no stopping it. Everyday another part of regional NSW or Australia is infected and instantly locked down as we work at containing it.

Because of the health orders in place our lives are very simple. Stay at home unless you are allowed to go to work, are exercising or attending medical appointments. For me this got me rethinking my priorities in life. While I am currently appreciating what I can’t do, I am gaining joy from the simple pleasures I can do. For example creating a meal from scratch, being more mindful, reading, walking and getting back to my blogging. All of these activities I had lost focus on as my life got “too busy.”

Today while walking for my essential shopping I stopped in my tracks as I walked past a house. I smiled as I remembered seeing the same chalk board last year during lockdown.

Such a simple idea and I love the fact that the kids had invited the community to join in. For me it was also personal. When my father was very sick in hospital as a family we also created a joke of the day on his white board. It gave us something simple to focus on and share with the nurses and doctors – many of whom added a joke of their own.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Growth

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On the 26th Nov, I was excited to finish planting my last vegetable garden before leaving on our holiday to Perth, the next day.

Two weeks later Dec on 10th, I returned from Perth and was surprised by the growth.

However, today Jan 6th the GROWTH is amazing. Who knew I had green thumbs.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/growth-2/

Cozy Time

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I like to get cozy everyday. Taking time for myself, alone with no other distractions, is something I like to do at the start of the day as well as in the evening. Sometimes I am lucky enough to have some added cozy time after work before I start my nightly routine.

For me, cozy time is sitting in my very comfortable lounge chair focusing on what I want to do. In the morning it’s thinking about my goals and planning out my day. At other times it might be reading, blogging or slowing my mind down by watching a movie on Netflix.

In the above photo you can see the love we have shared over time by the creases in her folds. She has been a dear friend for nearly 2 decades now and if she could read my mind the stories she could tell.

Sometimes it only takes 5 minutes but my cozy time is my favourite way to centre myself.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/cozy/

Christmas Calendar 2017 # 10

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I like to think of mistakes as miss hits. At least in the attempt to do whatever it is I am aiming to do I learnt something. If I wait till I am sure I’ll get it right I’d never start anything. So, join the club and one day you might actually hit the target by mistake and them the challenge is to work out how to do it again .

Christmas Calendar 2017 #9

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Yesterday I feel down by not being able to post my quote. This was because I didn’t have my computer with me so I will be catching up today and tomorrow. Yes I could have just forgotten about it, but instead I have decided to follow the advice of today’s quote and stand up. We can’t always control every thing. Sometimes we just have to pick ourselves up, dust our selves off and keep going.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Cheeky

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Initially I was puzzled about what my take on this prompt would be. Then as we were driving around Margaret River wineries last week, we happened upon Cheeky Monkey Brewery where we had lunch. It was perfect. A bit of unique crazy in a beautiful setting, with great food as a bonus.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/cheeky/

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Serene

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This serene setting is literally the view from my girlfriends front door. We were sitting having coffee one morning, when I was so taken by the view that I quickly took these photos and added them to Facebook with the caption “it’s a tough life but someone’s got to do it.”

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/serene/

Coffee Catch-Up #22

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If we were having coffee I would tell you that I can’t believe it has been six months since our last coffee catch up. Wow how quickly that time has flown. Life has a funny way of changing sometimes. When I started Inspiring Max it seemed all I did was work and blog. These days I work half as much but I am having so much fun, I haven’t been prioritizing my blogging. Fortunately for me, my blog has continued to work without my input so I am inspired to get organised and make 2018 my best blogging year yet.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how excited I am my veggie garden is complete. I finished the last garden just hours before departing for my holiday to Perth. It took months to do all 4 gardens as they were all created from scratch or given a total revamp with the help of my husband. I have been enjoying some of the herbs and lettuces that I planted earlier on a daily basis as I prepare my salads for lunch. I can’t wait to see how much they have grown while we are away.

If we were having coffee I would tell you about my last trip to Bunnings (a very large hardware/gardening store.) While I was gathering my gardening soil I suddenly felt eyes staring at me. I looked ahead and much to my surprise was a waterdragon sitting on the pallets like he owned the store.

If we were having coffee I would tell you about Kellie. Kellie is the name my daughter gave to the kookaburras who come to visit our backyard. They seem to enjoy being there, as they come often in groups of 2 or 3. Their laughter is very infectious and never fails to bring a smile to my face.

If we were having coffee I would tell you we are having a wonderful trip to Perth, Western Australia. According to the fridge magnet I bought yesterday it is the the most isolated city in the world. This could easily be true as it is nearly a 5 hour flight from Sydney.

To have a bit of fun with the distance my husband and I decided to allow the Pacific and Indian Oceans to meet. At 7am we went to Bar Beach (Newcastle) and walked into the Pacific Ocean. We gather some of the Pacific Ocean in a bottle and took it on the plane to Perth. At 7pm the same night we walked into the Indian Ocean at Bathers Beach (Freemantle). We then poured our bottle of the Pacific Ocean water into the Indian Ocean. Bucket list item complete.

P.S We didn’t wash our feet or legs between oceans so they were also mixed together on us.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how weird it felt to see the sunset over the ocean in Australia. Living on the east coast, we always see the sun rise over the ocean. I am hoping to view the sunset again, with more vivid colours next time.

If we were having coffee I would how amazing the Paul McCartney concert was on Saturday night. Prior to the concert I wasn’t a huge fan but I am now. What a show! I would have to say it was the best concert I have ever been to. https://www.inspiringmax.com/the-ageless-paul-mccartney 


If we were having coffee I would ask you what is happening in your world? Let me know in the comments.