Samhain Blessings 2011

…for those here in the South.  As we head into the dark I hope it is a time for hatching new adventures and creating wild plans. Sláinte.

Image: Ninth Wave Designs

And Happy Beltane to my Northern Hemisphere friends. Enjoy the light!

A bit of escapism

This is how I’d like my life to be right now…free and soaring and riding Hippogriffs over Scottish lochs.

Busy Eve

…and I don’t mean someone called Eve who is extremely busy (no jokes about your mother thanks Dave).

Tomorrow I go back to work after my 12 day break.  I can’t say I’m looking forward to it.  It will be busy…right from the minute I get there, my job is always relentlessly busy.   It’s certainly better than being bored, but I’d settle for a nice steady daily workload…the stress becomes a problem after a while – panic attacks at 3am are really not pleasant.

Tom and the girls are still on holiday for the rest of this week which certainly eases the pressure a little, for the next few days at least.  Next week will be business as usual.  In anticipation of this I am planning ahead, I have to be super-organised as we spend 11.5 of our waking hours out of the house.  It doesn’t leave much ‘at home’ time for household/family stuff…never mind resting.  So making sure we have freezer meals ready, washing and ironing is done, schedule marked with which days are sports uniforms, guitar lessons, swimming etc. so we remember to take the correct clothes and equipment with us as we leave the house at 7am.  It has to run like a well oiled machine.  It usually does for the first few weeks then everyone becomes exhausted and forgetful and it falls apart a bit.  By the end of term our schedule is decidedly frayed around the edges. But we survive.

I keep telling myself it won’t be like this forever.  

 

Anzac Day 2011

Remembrance

A little test

I'm trying a blogging iPhone app, this is a trial run.

Happy Easter!!

Buona Pasqua!!

Joyeuses Pâques!!

Feliz Semana Santa!!

Frohe Ostern!!

Peaceful…

…that’s been the last few days.  Although Thursday was spent clothes shopping for the children (why do they grow out of everything simultaneously and seemingly overnight?). It was actually an enjoyable day despite the whole shopping thing.

On Thursday night we attended the Holy Thursday Mass, and on Friday morning we did the Stations of the Cross at the girls’ school.  Each class had made a Station (some made two) so it was lovely for them (and us) to participate in that using the Stations they had helped create.  In the afternoon we went to the Passion Mass. 

Dinner last night was Atlantic salmon, scalloped potatoes, asparagus and cauliflower – there was some wine also.  In case you were wondering.

I’ve been on holiday for over a week and only just managing to feel ok about not doing anything.  I’m finding it so hard to relax these days, even with meditation – being so constantly busy during term time it takes me a long time to slow down…I probably will be quite mellow by Wednesday…just in time to go back to work. 

Today is looking to be another peaceful one, quiet day at home, reading, napping and perhaps watch a movie later.  Tonight is the Easter Vigil Mass so once again we’ll toddle off to St Matthews – it’s all fire and candles tonight.

Tomorrow there will be chocolate.

Looking back…

…on my optimistic January post I can’t help but feel a little disappointed at my lack of progress.

Here’s an update…

Simplify

Not a complete failure here, I have been quite ruthless about simplifying some areas of my life. The ridiculous amount of online activity for a start. I now have Facebook, Twitter (which is still under review) a couple of forums I contribute to irregularly and the very few blogs which I now read from Google Reader*. My own blog was never on the hit list for online simplifying but it seems to have been an unintentional casualty anyway.

There are many other areas that I have not yet simplified. I did write a ‘20 things’** list and I probably need to revisit it. 4/10 for simplifying.

Enjoy Peace

Hmmm, well I do still attempt this and have had some success. My meditation practice is erratic but at least more regular than it has been for a couple of years. I attended our Parish Retreat a couple of weeks ago which was a wonderful day of peace and intend to more of those this year. I am being more conscious of my busy-ness and stress levels, trying to breathe more. I’d give this 3/10.

Create

Fail. Absolutely no creative work has taken place, some of my job type work requires a certain amount of creativity but that’s not what I had in mind here. No art, no craft, no knitting or even interior decorating to express my creativity. 0/10

Write

Reports and project work yes – and that has its place. The kind of writing I want to do. No. 1/10 (because those reports require effort).

Hug trees

This is meant to encompass any communing with nature. I’ve planted some flat leafed parsley. ‘Nuff said. ½ /10

Rest

I wish. 0/10

Clearly I was either over-optimistic about what I can achieve or I’m just not trying.

* The downside of viewing in Google reader is I can’t comment which I find a bit frustrating. The alternative is to click over to the blogs and comment…which defeats the purpose of reading them in GR. I need to think more about this.

** I use a ‘20 things list’ for all kinds of projects. If there’s something I want to do, some project I want to complete or a goal I want to achieve, I quickly jot down 20 things I need to do – without thinking too deeply about it. Sometimes there are more than 20, but I always start with 20 or I get overwhelmed. It’s just something that works for me. Usually.

A post…of sorts

Well, here I am posting to my blog, for no other reason than to get Dave to stop nagging me.

One of the reasons I’m not posting is that I’m too exhausted or busy when I’m actually at home. I hate posting at work because, while I'm happy (indeed keen), to whip up a quick post in my lunch break I absolutely loathe the blogger posting page. It annoys me and messes with the formatting and is generally displeasing and time consuming. I prefer Windows Live Writer but don't have it on my work computer. Excuse made.

So, what's new in Caitlin's world I hear you ask (you did ask didn't you?). Well, there have been a few developments since January. I was asked to move to a new job (with the same organisation) and I accepted. I've been in the new role for a couple of months now, it's ok. Not quite what I'd hoped but I have a very good boss who is keen to let me develop the job to my liking and at the same time hopefully improve the processes we currently use. So, fingers crossed it all works out that way. If not, I’ll be moving on. Life’s too short.

Other than that it's been business as usual. No amazing new adventures to declare, no exciting plans to travel the world and no new children, pets or husbands to report.

If this is all a bit dull for you…sorry, but imagine what it must be like for me.

Palm Sunday

…complete with donkey.