Home

It's already been two years in our home and the time seems to have passed so quickly.  I remember moving in and how much of a mess the place was after all of our stuff was brought in and sitting in a massive pile in one room.  And when we moved in we didn't have a driveway or even a blade of grass.  It has been raining and the whole yard, front, back and side was just a giant mud pit thanks to the high clay soil type of our land.  A few weeks later once the driveway was poured we had to continue parking in the street due to excess crap filling up the garage.  We did manage to get one car into the garage before the wedding.  Fortunately for us we had two weeks after the honeymoon before going back to work that allowed us to really work on the place and deal with all our stuff we had collected for so long for this very moment.

The last 12 months has all been about making this place a home and even though there is still a long list of things to do and now that we are settled and have been here two years, maintenance on the place has suddenly become something to do, I do feel that this place is home.  When I walk in the door now it feels like home.  It has that enveloping feel to it that this is a place of rest.  It truly is our sanctuary from the world, a place we can escape to.  We can turn the phone off, disable the doorbell and just be in our little oasis.  

The most pleasure I get from our home is on Saturday mornings.  Hubby loves to sleep in and I love to get up early.  Really early at dawn.  I make a coffee and sit in the lounge, open up the curtains, let the fresh morning air in and sit down and read.  The house is so quiet and the whole neighbourhood is quiet, I hardly even hear any traffic.  That moment for me each weekend is total bliss.  It is my perfect serenity and the moment where I feel the most relaxed for the week.

I do struggle sometimes, because deep down I know that this is not my forever home, this is just my home for now, and for the next few years.  I try to appreciate it knowing we won't always be here and remind myself to live in the present and embrace the present.  And I do embrace this home we have created, our sanctuary, our retreat and I look forward to the next 12 months as we continue to work on this place and increase this wonderful feeling of home.

Review

I thought it may be helpful for me to provide a quick rundown at the end of each month on what has happened.  I want to focus on the positive and the good and pat myself on the back for what I have achieved in terms of my two operations and to fire myself up for the next month.

For the fertility side of things I have managed to weigh 1.3kg less.  I have also been a lot more mindful about what I eat and my 'toxic load'. I manage to drink 1.5L of filtered water on most days and I am happy about this. For February I want to focus on exercise, just walking like I did before things became a little too busy.  I will also be planning my meals (which I have done) but making more of an effort to stick to the plan.  If you fail to plan you plan to fail but then as I have learnt this month, in order for a plan to work you kinda need to stick to it :)

As for the house/home, it has really been a lot of little things, just ticking off a few things that have been sitting around for a while.  Clearing out the filing cabinet, getting the paperwork into a manageable order and lots of cleaning.  I have been out in the yard most evenings attending to my hedge, looking after it and I am pleased to say that it is growing, each plant has lots of new growth and I am looking forward to reaping the benefits at the end of the year.  February is going to be a big month in terms of the house.  We are back into the garden on Saturday with another 15 plants arriving and we are arranging quotes for the deck.  I think also February will involve a little bit of painting too.  Our breakfast table is pine and it has been stained honey.  I love timber and I like honey timber, but just not pine, whenever I see pine I have to paint it, this is what I am wanting:

Image

January has been a good month, going with the flow and pottering about doing lots of little things, and really getting ourselves ready for February, I have looked at my diary for next week and already it is packed.  Bring it on.

Cold People

There has been a bit of a heatwave going on around here lately, although it is difficult for me to know.  I wake up and turn the a/c on, get into my car and turn the a/c on and when I get to work (and park underneath the building) the a/c is also on.  Then after work back into the car and then home.  When clients come in and tell me how hot it is I smile, hoping it conveys the message that I can relate, when really I have no idea.

Hubby and I are cold people.  We love the cold, Autumn and Winter are our seasons, we prefer to dress in many layers that to wear a single cotton layer for the day.  I have friends that are hot people, they are loving it right now, on the weekends they are out at the beach or at the lake on the boat, they are in their element in this heat wave.  For Hubby and I, this weekend was our second weekend in a row where we stayed indoors.  We did pop out briefly for the required Vitamin D hit and fresh air, but most of the time was spent inside with the a/c on, nesting, cooking, cleaning, reading, relaxing and napping.  This is what we do.

But as soon as the air changes in late March/early April that is when we come out of hibernation.  I love getting up at the crack of dawn in those months and opening the front door and letting in all the fresh, cold air.  I LOVE the chill in the air, the crispness of it hitting me in the face.  I love to layer myself in wool and more wool.  I love to be out and about doing stuff, yes we are that couple in the coffee shop sitting outside in the morning air while the hot people cling to their hot coffees inside around the heater as if they had hypothermia.  We go out every weekend, to the beach, the lake, country day trips filled with wine tasting or antique hunting, we are in our element.  Oh how I long for those days.  

For now and the rest of summer we are retreating inside.  We are working on the house, quietly, and talking about our dreams and the future.  This weekend we have found ourselves nesting and making lists on what we want to do on the house for the rest of the summer and using this time the best we can because when the air changes it will then be time for us to step out and thrive.

Resolutions

All the goals Hubby and I have set can really fall into one of two categories, or as I will refer to them, as Operations.  That is right we have two Operations this year that will be our focus and take up our time, energy and money and with all things going to plan have us in a much better position in 12 months time.

First up is Operation Fertility.  Note the word Fertility not Baby, there will be no baby this year (although I understand not everything is within my control so of course if something was to happen it would be celebrated with more joy than our wedding).  This year is about getting my health on track and getting PCOS to disappear so next year we will be in optimum health for Operation Baby.  The biggest goal to fall into this category is to reduce my weight by 30kg.  Other goals include having my fasting blood glucose test result to fall into normal range and some financial goals because my current 1996 model, 2 door car with no room for a baby seat (or two, twins is in the family) just won't make the cut therefore having some money for the inevitable bigger car purchase is needed.

Second is Operation House to Home.  Changing our house from something that looks (and even feels just a little) like a display house to a home that is welcoming, inviting, personal, comfortable, private and when you open the door you feel that you are walking into a family home.  Goals that fall under this category include building the deck, finishing the hedge, landscaping the front yard, putting photos up on the walls, changing the Baby Room from a junk/storage room to an EMPTY room, finding suitable storage for our collection of books and finally, sourcing a retro bar/drink cabinet.

On top of these two things I also want to be a better blogger.  I do neglect this space and have so many blog posts in my head, yet when I finally do sit down they don't seem relevant anymore or I cannot remember them.  So I want each month to have at least the number of blog posts in the double digits and for every single person that takes the time to comment and say hello I will take the time to say hello back.  I want to start regular posting as well, some common post every week, I am thinking about Friday Night Cocktails as it will be a great excuse for me to actually start making some (and would also be a great reason to find the retro bar sooner rather than later).  

Here is to a wonderful, productive 2013, I have a great feeling about this year.

Stressed?

Just a little.  I am tired, as every day this week after work I have been running around doing things, then I get home rest a little and then start running around the house doing things before going to bed at 11, which is an hour past my usual bedtime.  We are having Christmas Day lunch at our house.  This was never meant to happen and was only decided upon less than two weeks ago.  Very long story.  Fortunately it will only be for four people.  Next year is another story that I will not worry about until maybe September.

On top of all this I am working up until 12pm on Monday 24th and tomorrow morning after a quick dash to Sydney for an appointment that cannot be cancelled we then have to race back to meet my in-laws, who are bringing with them my sister-in-law, her partner and her children who have never seen the house.  So of course we want to make the house looking as lovely as possible, but it is hard when I am also trying to get ready for Christmas Day.  A little voice in my head is saying "Welcome to Married Life".

The house is ok, clearly we won't show them the junk room cos the work in that has stalled of late and we are going to try our best to hide the yard, which after the recent bout of landscaping looks like a bomb has hit it.  Next year when we have everyone for Christmas the landscaping will be complete and we will have a lovely timber deck to sit out on and enjoy.  The house will be open to all and no room excluded and the walls will be covered with photos and mementos.  I think that is what annoys me most, how it still looks like a display home with very little personal touch.

Which brings me to one of my goals for 2013: Operation House to Home.  It is time to make this house truly ours and make it the house we see in our minds.  It will take a whole year (maybe more) but I want to be able to look around this time next year and be proud, and to feel that this is our place.

For now we will do the best we can, just to get through until the 28th when things have settled, we have seen both families and we can squeeze in just a little alone time before the New Year.  Better get back to it, the floors await my attention.

Goodbye

It's not personal, it's just that we like our privacy.  And with the slope of the land it does make things a little difficult.  I mean, admit it, I have seen you a few times sticking your head through the blinds of your daughter's bedroom window to have a little 'sticky' and next door to you the kids have also pulled themselves up to peer over the fence at our boys.  Besides, it is 2012 and we just haven't officially met, apparently people don't meet and greet their neighbours anymore, so really it was time.  We are having a big Christmas next year and the deck will be done so a little privacy would be nice, and in 12 months time our little hedge should be at least 2 metres, it also means we can open up our blinds and not have to stare at an ugly, bare Colorbond fence. 

Of course this is a work in progress, we have done what we can for now and will continue again in January when we sort the drainage out.  But I am happy that I can walk outside and see a little bit of green along the fence.  I will be honest with you, I went for practicality.  In a perfect world I would love a hedge of rich pink and white camellias.  But in a perfect world we would be on acreage and wouldn't even be able to see your rooftop, let alone hear your conversations (and what about your daughter's recent interest in R'n'B?  If we can hear it, maybe it is a little too loud for her).  

It is not your fault.  We wanted to move onto acreage, but with land prices these days, well, we had a choice, a unit in Sydney or a house up here with a little slither of yard, we chose the latter.  A little bit of green is better that none.  And lets face it.  We are not here forever, maybe 5 years, 6 at the most, and perhaps then you would have gone.  But I digress, we wanted privacy, so we choose a fast growing hedge, up to 2 metres in 12 months!  Thick and dense and it can grow up to 6 metres overall.  It is a native as well and can tolerate both full sun and part shade.  What's that?  You want the details to protect yourself from your other neighbours?  Sure, it is a variety of Lilly Pilly - Acmena Smithii "Goodbye Neighbours", subtle I know.