Simple Living

I found this video to be so inspiring, simple living at it's best. 

There is also a website that I'll be exploring.

Bye for now, I'm off to declutter. I hope your day is a lovely one. xxoo Julie

Nina Joyeux "simple life"

Rhythm and Beauty

Now that Christmas and New Year are over, and our visitors have left,  I feel it's time to get back to some sort of rhythm in our days.

One of the things I want to do in this daily rhythm, is to remember to slow down, and appreciate the beautiful moments, and the beauty, all around us. The "Beauty in the Everyday." 

Everything is growing well in the vege garden at the moment, including the weeds, but in amongst the weeds I found some beautiful things growing today. I hope you enjoy them too.

Sunflower...

Kale.... (this goes into my daily smoothy)

Petunias....

Lettuce, gone to seed..... (I will save the seeds and  plant these)....

Nasturtium......

Carrots.....

Dandelion flower..... (even these are pretty)....

Dandelions.....

Pumpkin flowers.....

I hope your day is a lovely one. xxoo

Inspiration

For a good read pop on over to SouleMama and have a look at her interview with Heather from Beauty that Moves. In Heather's words she is a "dedicated yogi, yoga teacher, artist, homemaker, holistic nutrition coach, mother, and wife."  Heather is conducting a Wholefood Kitchen Online Workshop, beginning 6th Feb. 2012,  that I will be participating in. 
Over this past year Heather has been an inspiration to me. Heather's passion for wholefoods, nutrition and a healthy balanced life have re-ignited these passions in me. I feel like Heather has lit a fire inside me. I feel like this is a new beginning for me.
I became interested in nutrition and health while I was in year 10 at school, at about the age of 15. During this year and in subsequent years I adopted a very healthy diet. I found that I lost weight , my skin was clearer and I felt so much better. In years 11 and 12, at school,  I then chose Home Science as one of my subjects, which involved the study of nutrition and health. My love of these areas was further ignited. After school I went on to university where I further studied  health and nutrition  and I became a Home Economics teacher. I enjoyed my seven years of teaching but I didn't like the school setting. I didn't like being in a noisy, crowded, busy place for  five days a week. 
In 1997 my  husband and I moved to a new area. I didn't have my teaching position here and I was quietly relieved. I really enjoyed my break from teaching and I was soon pregnant with our first baby. After a few months we moved again, back to coastal NSW (in Australia) not far from where I grew up. Now happily pregnant and enjoying being at home, this is where I stayed. 
During these past years I have enjoyed being at home and caring for my husband and two boys and our home and garden, far away from the confines of a classroom. 
I now feel like Heather has re-ignited my passions of health and nutrition. The words health, nutrition,  holistic health coach and holistic nutritionist excite me. I can see myself looking into these areas in great detail. Doing Heather's course feels like a new start to me. A new start , not that I totally moved away from these areas, but I became busy in the world of mothering, a world I love. Now as my boys are getting older I am finding that I have a bit more time, just a bit, to begin exploring these interests of mine. I wonder where they will lead me? I don't know yet, but I will continue to listen to my heart, that  voice that is deep inside me, and I will go where it leads me. 

this moment

A healthy meal enjoyed with family.


{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 
Inspired by SouleMama

Green Smoothies are Great

Other than water, a green smoothy would have to be my favorite drink.

A green smoothy makes me feel happy and healthy.  It is full of vitamins and minerals.

I usually have a green smoothy for either morning or afternoon tea each day. I enjoy the taste of it and after drinking my green smoothy I feel revitalised, ready to take on anything.

What do I put in my green smoothy, you may ask? In mine goes kale or spinach, frozen bananas, an orange and a dash of filtered water. Just a little bit of water for a thick smoothy and more water if you want a thinner one. Then just blend it all up.

 You may be thinking, like I was before trying one for the first time, that it would taste disgusting, but let me assure you it doesn't.

Along with the "greens" you can put in any fruit you like, but I would always put in some frozen banana as the banana  makes the smoothy nice and creamy. If you don't like the taste you could add some stronger tasting fruit like pineapple.

Here is a great smoothy to start with.  It contains:
1 kale leaf - stalk removed ( it is good to start small while you get use to the "green" taste.)
1 orange
1 frozen banana
1 nectarine ( as they are in season, where I live, at the moment).

A New Year

I love the start of a new year.


I also love the start of a new month, a new week and a new day.


A new year, month, week and day bring new possibilities. They are a new beginning. Time to start again. Time to set new goals.


So, in keeping with this theme, I have set myself some new goals for 2012.


My goals for 2012 are:


:: to appreciate the beauty in the everyday 


:: to make family, health and happiness my top priorities. 


:: to be me....... to listen to my heart, my inner voice.......to follow my instincts. 


I have also set myself some daily goals:


:: drink water ( 2 litres)


:: make and eat healthy food


:: do some exercise and/or yoga


:: spend some time outside in nature. 


So, lets begin.........


Welcome to 2012  and to the start of my new blog. 


I sincerely hope 2012 is a great year for you. 


xxoo Julie