Breathe through the Christmas craziness!

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Sending you all some happy cheer and to remind you to stop and breathe during this busy time! Enjoy the lead up to Christmas and remember why you are running around like a madwoman (or if you are super organised and gliding through this time let me know how you are doing it!!)

Happy 23rd of December :)

Make it as you wish SSSs!

Arienne xo

On My Bookshelf: Getting Things Done

Title: Getting Things Done
Author: David Allen
Website: https://secure.davidco.com/store/catalog/GETTING-THINGS-DONE-PAPERBACK-p-16175.php
Genre: Non-Fiction - Productivity and Organisation

This book took the productivity world by storm. I adore the idea of being organised, having a great workflow and everything having its place. While the system may be a little complex the ideas area great. I would pick and choose what works for you. I use many of his techniques in my organisation of diary and life.

Week in Review 10 - 16 Dec: Inspired moves forwards

A bit behind the times but just got iPhone 4! Now to figure everything out

Went to Rozelle markets and indulged in a Gozleme - yummy!

Local street party Christmas - with Santa arriving on a Harley

Post street party dinner and movie with friends

Picnic in the park with friends and my second set of parents visiting from Bangkok until the rain showed up!

Dinner with work colleague
Cross-stitched every night before bed :)

Meeting to discuss upcoming book with co-author - super excited!!!

Lil' sis Tatiane arrived -woot woot

Went to Toastmasters Christmas party and meeting and may have an exciting speaking opportunity out of it!

Dinner with newly engaged friends in Darling Harbour

Last day of work doing admin and super excited to be doing my own thing again.

Discussion with admin work colleague with another potential speaking/workshop delivery opportunity!

Admin department christmas lunch and then organisation's christmas party - I'm such a ring-in ;)

Bought and received new microphone for better quality podcast and interview recordings!

What did your week look like?

Make it as you wish SSSs!

Arienne xo

Introducing a new family tradition

Some people love traditions, some hate them! Unfortunately my transient family doesn't have very many. It's probably because mum and dad have such different backgrounds and they met while each were living away from their homes. Plus we moved countries a lot due to dad's job.

Traditions create memories and events to look forward to. It is a common bond for each member of the family to participate in.

You may have a tradition that happens weekly (dinners together, weekend brunches or breakfast in bed on Sunday mornings) or perhaps yearly (holidays together, ways you celebrate events like birthdays...).

Traditions can have their benefits. Are there some traditions you dread? If so, replace them with something more relevant and fun. I believe traditions should add something that we value to life. Whether it is family bonding time, keeping some comforting consistency, or the creation of something memorable, think about having some traditions that will be worth the effort!

We've decided to start a new family tradition. It is something that we will be creating together and something we can look back on in a few years time. We're making a Family Interview Book! Okay, maybe I need to think of a better name for it...

My little sister and I have come up with a list of questions that each member of our family will fill out on Christmas day. They are not the most in depth queries but we wanted them to be easy and fun to fill out! We'll then stick the answers into an ongoing book that we can add to and refer to as the years go by.

We're also planning to take a pic of each person to accompany the questions so we can see (and laugh at) the changes we go through from year to year.

You might be wondering what the questions are that we've come up with (you are, aren't you?!). Well here they are:

...

Where, and with who, are you spending Christmas this year?

Where have you been/visited this year?

Where, and with who, do you live now?

Where do you work/what do you do at the moment?

Name a highlight of the year

What did you do for your birthday this year?

Who are you dating at the moment? Or who would you like to be dating?

Professional/Fun crush of the year?

Best/Good/Great Friend this year?

What song is in your head right now?/ Favourite song of the year?

What was the most annoying song this year?

The best movie/book viewed this year?

The worst movie/book viewed this year?

Best meal/ restaurant of the year?

Favourite drink of the year?

Favourite dessert of the year?

What’s you latest techno gadget?

What is your latest obsession/favourite things?

Your current health status is…

What is one plan for the new year?

What are you looking forward to next year?

Something else you want to add?

...
 

I'm not sure if the tradition of wearing the awesome shirts in the picture above will continue...But maybe it will!!

What traditions do you incorporate into your life? Are there new ones you can come up with?

Make it as you wish SSSs!

Arienne xo

Nothing Days

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There are some days where you don't get anything 'important' done, yet they are such nourishingly necessary ones.

I'm sure you know them. The ones where you just indulge in whatever you fancy. Lie in bed all day? Yes! Read a book? Take a nap? Play a game? All of the above? Yes please!

Today was one of those days for me. I did some cross-stitch, had a sleep, played a game on my iPad, snacked on easy food, fiddled with my new phone, surfed the net and played with the dog.

At one stage I had a little bit of guilt creep up on me - that I should be doing something more productive with my day - but I let that come and then go. I've been working at the admin office, feeling inspired, getting things organised, catching up with friends, I needed to have some 'me' time to just do whatever I felt like. And it didn't need to have a result or an outcome.

Maybe tomorrow I will get back to moving forward with the other important things, but today was about a bit of self care for me.


When was the last time you carved out some time for yourself without an outcome required or guilt prodding you to do something?

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

Weeks in Review 26 Nov - 9 Dec: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Yes, you get two weeks for the price of one blog post today! Aren't you lucky. I got a bit carried away with living life last week and missed writing my weekly review...

Caught up with Theta friend and we 'worked' on each other - it was great :)

Went to the wonderful dog park where the little Zander can go swimming a few times

Continued admin work...I turned down some further weeks as the family are coming for christmas

Celebrated The Man's Name Day by taking him out for a few drinks

Visited with The Man's pseudo grandparents and introduced them to Zander

Went for the first time to Sydney Markets - what an experience! Food and trolleys and shouting and chaos and bargains.

Coffee with girlfriend up for the weekend from Melbourne

Dog park christmas party - Delicious Pimms and hungry dogs

Helped girlfriend put together a rough draft of a speech she's giving at a mutual friend's engagement party in January

10thousandgirl Christmas party gathering

Yoga class with fabulous friend - always inspiring

Movie date with The Man - Immortals...Not worth a watch unless you enjoy watching blood splatter in 3D - gross!!

Went to see Mary Poppins with my Dad. It is one of our traditions - going to see musicals together. And we had front row seats - Special :)

Wonderful fish & chips dinner with Miss C down by the water. With the little Zander in tow. It was heaven (but I forgot to take photos to share it!!)

What mischief and magic did you get up to over the fortnight?

Make it as you wish SSSs.

Arienne xo

December Dreams/November Review

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DECEMBER DREAMS
1. Write review/reflection of the year piece for 10thousandgirl (and then do it myself!). I'm really excited to share this with you guys.
2. Celebrate a wonderful family christmas in Sydney (unfortunately minus the sister dearest in London)
3. Celebrate New Years Eve in Style with a delicious wine tasting extravaganza
4. Complete template of family tradition
5. Do first family recipe
6. Create book outline for 10thousandgirl
7. Create book outline for SSS book (ooooh)
8. Enjoy christmas celebrations (several lunches, picnics and work parties)
9. See Mary Poppins at the Capitol Theatre
10. Look at a product that has been sitting on my bookshelf for a while
11. Organise an easy to use Project information flow (i'm sick of all my bits of scrap paper and different notebooks)
12. Volunteer and record a chapter for Librivox - free audiobooks!
13. Carry over from November - SSS email address, garden work,
14. Carry over from November

I'm sure there is plenty more, but that will do for now - will give myself permission to add here if required.
NOVEMBER REVIEW
1. Start creating a herb and flower garden on the terrace and put my not-so-green-thumb to the test. Sort of, I got given a beautiful plant by my Aunty and she planted a money tree off cut. So it has started. Much more to do!
2. Start the family cookbook I've been talking about for the last 11 months. Take pictures and collect recipes of what my family cooks. Dad and I have planned a schedule and started a list of recipes to start on.
3. Talk to Dad about his memoirs and see how I can officially help. We've discussed it quite a few times and he has started putting together the stories of his interesting life. Rescheduled for December
4. Get into the habit of writing 500 words a day - regardless if it is for the blog, my journal, a plan - whatever it is just write everyday. This was inspired by Chris Guillebeau's book The Art of Non Conformity (read it if you want to break out of the status quo). It hasn't quite been 500 words a day, but I've written something daily. There is definitely room for improvment.
5. Start drawing/visual journaling regularly (another habit re-inspired by an awesome book called The Creative License Giving Yourself Permission To Be The Artist You Really Are by Danny Gregory - I have a creative crush on him). Done
6. Create and implement new routine for my new Life. Done, though it is being challenged since I've started a temporary office job.
7. Start juicing again! After the extremely positive experience of Raw Food and the unhealthy holiday in London (and the kilos it put on!), it is time to get back in to healthy eating. Done and yum!
8. Spend quality time with my Aunty Ursula who is visiting from Germany. Done. She left Sydney last week to head back to Hamburg via Perth. The humans and animals miss her terribly! Come back soon :)
9. Run 10thousandgirl Geelong workshop. Done - was a fab group of girls. Geelong was interesting.  I got to see the house we lived in in 1988...Memories...
10. Enjoy T Harv Eker's Millionaire Mindset seminar here in Sydney. Done. Enjoyed some parts, really questioned others...
11. Look at mortgage options with mortgage broker. Rescheduled for December
12. Chair final Steering Committee meeting where we are 'guinea pigging' the final 10thousandgirl Personal Finance Program module. Done! Was sad that the formal meetings have ended. We've gotten so much out of the program, but the friendships are especially important.
13. Create picture wall at home. I've printed the pics and have most of the frames. I just need to put the pics in the frames and hang them.  Done! I am so proud of it. See my photo wall here.
14. Explore new income streams - I still have that mortgage to pay and I have to buy dog food! Tentatively explored some. More ideas coming. Currently temping for two weeks in an admin role.
15. Create my SSS formal email address. Attempted. I thought I was successful in creating it. Then realised I failed. Time to ask the IT experts (The Man - handy!)
16. Start formal SSS plans! This one I didn't get too far on and I'm not proud of it. But I forgive myself...