My Top 5 – Week 6

Well, week 6! Wow.  I can’t believe this will be the sixth week I remember to do something for me! I may not get all 5 on my list checked off but if I manage at least one, it’s a massive achievement.

I am slowly letting go of the “mumma guilt” that has plagued me for years at even at the mention of doing something for myself.

I still find that finding the time can be difficult and, unless I do something at night one the kids are in bed, I am doing something with Sienna in tow, but that’s ok.

She is still only 2 and pretty happy to go along with whatever plans I have as long as there is snacks and drinks. 🙂

This week I again managed a surprising 4 out of 5 things on my list.

1. Coffee at the cafe. This week we visited Julie’s at the Rectory. They do a fantastic hazelnut latte and were only to happy to oblige my 4 shots of espresso I required to get me through most mornings!

2. Restart a knitting project. Well, I found my old project, a simple scarf, I had started a long while ago. Unfortunately the kids also found it and dropped a lot stitches from the needles, so I have restarted, from the very start!

3. Read a book. Yup, I let the housework slide (slightly kicking myself now that I got sick over the weekend and am WELL behind), sat in the morning sun and read!

4. Rest. Well up until Sienna got sick, I had fairly early nights and woke most mornings actually feeling refreshed. A good nights sleep is heaven!

Thursday brings Ray home again – YAY – and I hope to fit in a few things by myself.

My Top 5 – Week 6

1. A trip to the beautician. My eyebrows are in desperate need of some attention!

2. A night away on my own… I have a jewelry party penciled into the calendar and I hope to make it!

3. A shopping trip. Our Winter wardrobe is looking a little bare and with the temp dropping, it’s a top priority.

4. A sleep in. I’ve almost forgotten what it feels like!

5. Lunch date with my husband. I really miss his company and sometimes we become just as busy when he is home that we forget to take time out together.

So, that’s this weeks list. Are you playing along at home and taking time out for you?

My Top 5 – Week 5

I’m late in my posting of this I know. We are already into day 2 of the week and I am only just getting this done.

For a few days (4 to be exact) I lost a bit of my blogging mojo.

My motivation has been lacking and my time just seems to taken up by so much other stuff. I am back though and will attempt to get back into the swing of things.

Last week I really attempted to do more for me than I have in previous weeks.

My cast came off on Thursday (yay!) so I crammed as much as I could into the days that followed. I, in fact, managed to tick 4 out of 5 things off my list!

Recap….

1. I finally found the time for a trip to the library and borrowed not one but two books, now to just read them. 😉

2. An early night. My body and mind was so grateful for the extra sleep. I must do this more often.

3.With my cast off, I snuck off to have a nice, long, hot shower and wash my poor neglected hair.

4. Wine with a girlfriend. We drank, laughed and consumed just enough cheese, chocolate and wine. Perfect!

It was nice to be able to take the time out for myself. I certainly need it this week and will be trying my absolute best to do it!

My Top 5 – Week 5

1. Coffee. I know this seems to be a recurring theme each week, but I am an avid coffee lover and it always feels like a treat when I head into our little town and watch the world pass by while sitting on the verandah of a little cafe.

2. Restart a forgotten knitting project. I learnt to knit as a little girl and its something that always reminds me of my Nanna.

3. Read a book. I borrowed the books, now to find the time to read them. 🙂

4. Rest. My body (and mind) is starting to tell me that I am stressing too much and relaxing too little. Being home on my own with the kids, I can’t afford to get sick, so I need to rest and relax.

5. Watch a movie. Nothing is better than to curl up on the couch under a big doona with some chocolate and a chick flick.

Week 5’s list is written. Have you done yours yet?

 

My Top 5 – Week 4

Normally I start my new Top 5 post for the week with a recap of what I did for myself the previous week.

Well last week not too many things were ticked on my list courtesy of my wrist but I did manage a few.

Firstly, there was the phone call with my best friend in Victoria. I love talking to her. She always knows how to put on smile on my face.

Secondly, op shopping. I didn’t end up getting what I was looking for, bookcase for the kids playroom, but it was something I wanted to do and a tick on my list.

That was the extent of my “me” stuff. A fractured wrist kind of put a dampener on wanting to venture too far or do too much. 😉

This week, with cast still in place and a husband back out at work my list of things to do for me will be on a much smaller scale. It is also a bittersweet day today. My sister, mum and cousin are all off to Hawaii later this evening for a holiday. A holiday I was initially booked to go on to celebrate my cousins and my own impending 30th birthday’s, but with Ray starting a new job and our recent move, I had to make the tough decision to pull out of it.

It was a really hard decision to make too. It would have been my first overseas trip and also my first holiday away with my mum and sister. I know they will have a great time, I just wish I was still able to join them. 😦

My Top 5 – Week 4

1. Enjoy a coffee at one of my favourite cafes in town.

2. Go to the Library – a carry on from last week’s list.

3. Go to the hairdresser and get my hair washed. It’s near impossible for me to wash my hair right now!

4. Get an early night. My weary body needs more rest.

5. Enjoy a glass (or two) of wine with a friend. This one should be an automatic tick. My girlfriend is coming out to spend sometime this weekend and I’m looking forward to it immensely. 🙂

So that is my list for this week.

Remember to be kind to yourselves this week and that taking time out for you is not selfish!

 

My Top 5 – Week 3

Week 3 of remembering to spend a little time focusing on me.

But hang on, what happened to Week 2. The only focusing I got to do on myself was sitting down to some Indian takeaway with hubby.

There was a few things I wanted to be able to do last week. Especially because Ray arrived home on R&R on Thursday. I thought I would have plenty of moments to be able to get just a few hours in to do some things that were on my priority list.

It didn’t happen though.

Why is so hard for our family to sometimes see that we are just as important? Is it all families or just mine?

Why is it such an issue for them to want to take time out to do something that I would enjoy? For example, I have wanted to go to the Sunday market held a few towns over for months. This weekend I made it my mission to get up early on Sunday and go. Ray and therefore the kids wanted to come along. No worries I thought.

From the minute we parked the car, the complaining began. Every stall I stopped at brought more complaints. In the end we turned around and left with not even half the things on my list I wanted to get.

To say I was annoyed would be an understatement. I was pissed off! I couldn’t even have one hour out of their day where the focus was me.

But the insult didn’t end there.

Due to the water tank issue of Saturday, our planned trip to the Rail Workshops Museum in Ipswich didn’t happen. So where did we go? Of course we went there.

I will admit, I was not the best company for the rest of the day. I should have made it a nice family outing but I was still angry that they couldn’t enjoy my activity earlier in the day, therefore allowing me to enjoy it, but now were expecting me to be happy that we were out doing something they really wanted to do.

So, my question still remains. How do i get my family to realise and understand that I’m not being selfish in wanting to focus on myself on occasion and that by taking time out for me, I am a better mum and wife to them?

I am at a loss now of what to even list for my Top 5 this week. I have a meeting to prepare for and then conduct and that is going to take so much of me this week I know. I now question whether fitting time in for me should be a priority, but I will.

My Top 5 – Week 3

1. Go to the library. I need a new book to read. Even if I only get to read a few pages before I lay down at night.

2. Get my nails done. Still on the list from last week. I really want this one!

3. Visit the furniture op shop. I am looking for some furniture to repurpose for the kids new playroom.

4. Study! Oh my, who would thought this would actually make the list, but I need to do it and I want to do it.

5. Ring a girlfriend. I rarely find time for phone calls and therefore feel like a terrible friend. They are my sounding boards when I need them and I should make more of an effort not because I need them, but because I love them.

My Top 5 – Week 2

So I will class Week 1 as a success. I spent time thinking about me. That was the aim!

I managed to cross 4 out of 5 of my indulgent things off my list. Number 5 – exercise – sadly didn’t get completed. I set my alarm for 5am for a few mornings in order to squeeze it into my schedule but it didn’t eventuate. I could come up with a million and one excuses as to why I didn’t exercise, but the one thing I have learnt is, there is no excuses if its important enough to you.

Here is a recap of what I did manage to do for myself though….

1. A nice long soak in my fabulous bubble bath…. and it was heaven!

2. A treat of breakfast at my favourite cafe in town… Eggs Benedict and a caramel latte was the order.

3. Time out from the day to day stuff to sit and read my magazine… cover to cover!

And 4. This! Devoting more time to my blog. 🙂

This week’s top 5 will involve doing some things for myself ALONE! Yup, Hubby is home on R&R so I hope to fit in some child free hours to myself.

My Top 5 – Week 2

1. EXERCISE! Ok. So it didn’t get completed last week which has made me even more determined to make the time for it this week.

2. Getting my nails done. I’ve decided my monthly treat when hubby is home is to go and treat myself to some nice nails. 😉

3. A trip to the library ALONE. We often take the kids, but being a small town library, by the time the kids have finished choosing their books we are well and truly ready to get outside and run!

4. A nice dinner. This one I will share, but with hubby. A change from eating the kids favs will be a blessing.

5. A trip to a shopping centre. What better way to while away the hours than to window shop…alone. 🙂