Happy new year

Hope you had an enjoyable time over the festive season!

I had an unplanned break from blogging in December, mainly due to tiredness. It was a bit of a difficult month all up - just usual pregnancy weariness combined with a (wonderful) husband working long hours, and a toddler who is always on the go! And I developed low blood pressure which means I have to spend more time than I'd like lying down and resting.

I do find in times when it all is a bit too much the struggle I have is to rely on God's strength, not my own. I have to watch my thoughts or I get down in the dumps, thinking I must be doing a bad job because I can't manage everything as well as I would like. I have this picture in my head of someone living my life, but doing it perfectly, and I just don't measure up!

It is one of the challenges of childrearing to find things to do when you're not really well, the weather sucks, you don't have much money, and you and your kid/s are bored bored bored! Finding that balance between getting near enough rest, while not developing cabin fever, is the tricky bit.

It's something I'm working on, and praying about. I want to find the joy in everyday life, because it is there for the taking. Just have to wade past the crud in the way.

Baby

As most of you would already know, Adam and I are expecting our second child. And not only our second child, but our second boy! We are really looking forward to having two little men in the house, and I just feel so blessed.

Bub is due to arrive in late March, so I've got around 5 months to get ready...and to enjoy full nights sleeps!

Hamish will be 21 months old when his brother is born, and I'm basically expecting life to be quite tough for the first six months or so, if not longer - but having been through the newborn stage with Hamish I know that the hard work does pay off in the end - and that spending that time building a relationship with your child is so precious.

Online vs Real Time

I've realise that, when it comes to having decent contact with adults, I've been looking in the wrong places. I've been looking to the online world of facebook and parenting forums for connection and a sense of involvement in the wider world. I've also been missing old friends, who I find it hard to keep in touch with now we don't live anywhere near each other. A phone call every couple of months isn't the same as a regular coffee together, and reading someone's facebook status is a pale shadow of the same.

I read an article the other week by someone who had given up facebook - he had 200 facebook friends, and when he cancelled his account, only 3 got in touch with him. He described the way people use facebook as 'broadcasting' which struck a nerve with me and went some way to explaining why I had been finding it so unsatisfying. It's generally a very shallow and self centred approach to keeping up with people.

Although it has its uses - I've found out via facebook over the past few weeks that four people I know have had babies, and it is good for emailing and photos. It's just if I depend on it for real connections with people, it will more often that not let me down. I usually end up feeling more lonely after spending time on it, not less.

So - I haven't really worked out yet how to move on and develop more rewarding friendships, but at least I've identified the problem! I guess I need to get to know local friends more, and get off the computer and actually ring people up. There's no substitute for actually talking with people is there!

Licenced to Drive!

Yes, I finally have my provisional driving licence! It's been a looooong journey but I've made it. Yay!

Will be a little while before I actually take myself anywhere though because our car has a turbo, and P platers are not allowed to drive modified cars. We can apply for an exemption though so we'll see how that goes.

Doing the test this morning was very stressful, even though I've had plenty of practise around the area I did it in. Luckily I didn't do anything silly and still can't quite believe I've qualified.

It's been around 14 years since I first got my Learners Licence...and I've had the current version since 2004!

Massive thank you to UD for sponsoring my many hours of professional lessons...couldn't have done it without you!

I haven't been posting much lately, haven't really felt like it and I have taken a bit of a break over Christmas to reflect on how life is at the moment.

I've decided for the next few months, at least, to take it easy and only do the bare minimum beyond the essentials to keep life running. The last three months have been hectic and I feel a bit burnt out, so I'm culling my out of house activities in an effort to create some space to recharge.

I'll still blog, perhaps just a bit more sporadically.

What's Your Word?

I've just finished reading a book called "Eat Pray Love" By Elizabeth Gilbert. In it, she meets someone who has a theory that every place and person has a word that sums them up. For example, the word for the city of Rome is SEX and the word for New York is ACHIEVE.

Elizabeth eventually decides that her word is ANTEVASIN, a Sanskrit word meaning 'one who lives at the border', an in-betweener who belongs neither here not there.

This got me thinking - what's my word? After a bit of pondering, I think it's SAVED, because that's how I see myself. It resonates well with me and reflects the foundation of who I am, a child of God who's been saved by His grace.

What's your word?

Mannerisms

Something I notice about myself every now and again is how quick I am to pick up other people's mannerisms.

If I spend a bit of time with someone (and it doesn't have to be very long), I often adopt one or two of their mannerisms or ways of speaking, without meaning to at all.

I mean, I know I sound and move like my mum and dad - for example, yesterday I dropped something and my immediate response was to say "Giddy Art!" exactly the same way mum does. I think it's derived from the phrase "Giddy Heart" but I've got no idea really.

That I can understand, but I don't even have to like someone, let alone be related to them, to start mimicking them.

It makes me wonder - what's me and what's not?? Spooky...