~it's the journey, not the destination~

Who knew, when I trotted out a pithy and witty speech about this for the Grade 12 public speaking competition, that it would become my mantra?  Certainly not me - I was headed for University, a career, travel...

Life as a (mostly) SAHM to three littlies was NOT on my "to do" list.

The joys of a 3 minute walk to the shop taking 45 minutes because you have to investigate every gutter, fallen leaf, dead bug on the way, the hidden pleasures of singing that one song over and over and over again with different voices, the utter thrill of discovering how playdoh feels mushed into 100 different surfaces were not known to me.

So yes, my life is not quite as I imagined it.

It's slower, richer, more rewarding.

And every day I learn more about my capacity for patience - -sometimes as I mutter ..."its all about the journey...not the destination" but  more often as I revel in their achievements alongside them - thanking someone for the blessings of this life.

And so to today's lesson...

Cooking - one of those activities I love to share with my kids...we learn, we laugh, we have time together and from it we create something yummy. 

Or so the plan goes.

Often its derailed by the fights over who gets to break the eggs, the first turn of the sifter, the first lick of the spoon...

Or at 5.30 pm, when speed is of the essence and I'd really rather they just watched tv,  the "me help mummy" and "I'll peel the potatoes" (from Lady L who bless her heart wants to help but hates having dirty hands and is so determined to get it just right that it takes 20 minutes for each spud)

But today was a good day.

We took turns, we shared, we listened to silly songs turned up loudly and sang along, we didn't spill anything all over the floor and 20 minutes later the smells were amazing.

Ta da!!

And we gobbled some down quickly while they were warm.

And they were divine. 

Lucky we did, as it turns out.

10 minutes after the shot was taken and we were enjoying playing outside and finishing off our first ones, Piccolo, our gorgeous but devilish kitten, took it upon herself to sample the top of every single one.

Aaaargh....

(cue: the mantra)

♥

~mail love~

I love getting real mail. 

You know, that stuff with a stamp, real handwriting and a non-white envelope.

I've always loved it.

I was one of those geeky kids who had a pen-pal.  And kept them.

I remember writing to one of my best friends who went away to South Africa for a year - every week for a year.  The fun I had choosing the paper, the envelopes, the little bits and pieces to include kept me going while I was missing her so much.  And of course it meant I got some replies.

I still get that little frisson of excitement if I see something handwritten and addressed to me in my letterbox - it makes my day.

So its no surprise that I joined up with a postcard swap I found over at Zoe's amazing blog.

(I would have joined the snail mail I found here in a FLASH if we had been around for the posting dates). 

We have received some lovely postcards with reading recommendations in the last couple of weeks.

 

We've loved reading the cards, looking at the stamps and just enjoying the little thrill of mail from people we don't know.  That we've found some fabulous new books to enjoy is a bonus.

So its got me thinking about sharing the love - I plan to spend some time every Sunday night writing a letter or two to some friends (instead of the brief facebook or email message that I seem to resort to when guilt strikes) and see if I can't inspire some return mail love as well.

♥

~new beginnings~

Empty pages are inviting and daunting in almost equal measures...where to begin?

 

I've been thinking about blogging for a while now...I stumbled upon a couple of blogs, linked to a couple more, dared to comment and felt I wanted to participate in a bigger way.  Then the volcano in Chile volcanoed, our school holiday trip to Melbourne was torpedoed and I found myself with some time on my hands...

So here I am,  hoping this is the start of something good (or amazing).

I think I'll probably post photos  - I'm slightly obsessed with my camera,   I'll talk about pretty things, the things I love and what I'm thinking about.  There's certainly going to be lots about the wombles as I try and remember all those precious moments of their growing.  There might be bits about books, the garden we're hoping to improve and the house we're loving.

I'm hoping some of you will join the conversation (and now I sound like Richard Fidler!).

Welcome....and stay tuned.

♥