A few days ago I was going through one of my draws in my art room and came across my journal that I created for part one.  It was so much fun to read through them and think back to the different activities.  I thought I had shared my pages last year but as it turns out, it appears I didn't get around to it.

Week one was all about courage, compassion and being enough.

Week two was about cultivating authenticity by letting go of what people think.

Week three we focused on self-compassion by letting go of perfection.

Week four focused on cultivating a resilient spirit by letting go of numbing and powerlessness.




Week five we focused on cultivating gratitude and joy in my life.

Not only was this course so much, but it really challenge me and how I am living my life...which I guess is the point right?  I can't wait to see what Part Two of this course has to offer.

♥  I am now the proud owner of a Kindle and a gorgeous "Tutti Fruitti" cover. I ♥ it!




♥ I also tried a whole bunch of new recipes this month. Most of them were a huge hit, while only one or two were a bit of a flop.  I love cooking and am definitely going to make this more of a priority in the months ahead.

Just four days into this months journey and today has been completely off track from what I had planned. Today sort of got away from me, so I wanted to take some time and reflect on what had happened, what had triggered the changes; and I came up with two main things.  The first was a trial and error problem and not enough preparation.What I mean by that is I made a decision to try some new recipes for my lunches at work and while I did make them, I didn't enjoy them. I ate one of the four meals and couldn't face the second one today.  This shouldn't have been enough to derail me, however here I sit and I have no idea what I am going to eat tomorrow. I have no salad in my fridge which makes any sort of  work lunch difficult. I now realise that while its good to try new recipes, I needed to have had a back up plan. A "just in case" dish to prevent carnage.  The second lesson that I realised is that despite very good attempts by myself, I still need much more practise at not letting other peoples comments affect me to the point of self sabotage.  I posted a new picture of myself on Instagram over the weekend, and the other night I got a text message from my ex ( who I haven't seen in months) and he tells me that he thinks I look really old and my skin doesn't look great in that photo. I tried not to let it bother me, I tried for his comments not to affect my mood or my thoughts but I wasn't as successful as I had hoped to be.  So lesson number two is that I need a plan for situations like that. I need to find a way to really not care, to not let it throw me or my value.
Right now I cant change how I decided to behave today, I cant change the fact that I pigged out and ate chocolates to the point of feeling sick and having tummy ache, of missing dinner so that I could instead just eat rubbish. But what I can do, is take those lessons learnt, figure out a back up plan and face tomorrow with a fresh start and positive thoughts and attitudes.
There are going to be bumps along the journey, and I realise that this is just one of many. I want to document the journey, so that I can see how far I have come and I am hoping that at some point, my journey will help someone else with theirs.

As far as my weight journey goes this month, August has been a very weird month for me.  Overall this month, I have gained 0.4lbs which on its own is disappointing, however if I consider the fact that I went on holiday for a week and enjoyed every moment and every morsel of food during it, and that I had one week of major stress and returned to old habits the slight gain isn't that bad.

I am slowly learning that this journey is not all about the number on the scale but is about growth, confidence and all those non-scale victories that make up every day of the month.  Here are my non-scale victories for August:
✤ Despite the stressful period, I got back onto the healthy eating plan
✤ I haven't given up with this journey - despite the slight gain this month
✤ I went to weigh in every week when I could have given it a miss
✤ I tried several new recipes
✤ I am making progress
✤ At group this week just passed, I won slimmer of the week. Woohoo!!

My goal for September is to lose 10lbs and while my birthday is coming round this month - I am determined to not let it get away from me.

Wow, I cant believe that another week has come and gone. Last week was my first linked up post for She Reads Truth. Last week I knew that I wanted to have an open mind and heart to what God was doing in my life, what He was showing me and what I was learning during the week ahead....and I was not disappointed!  This week has been a very filled week, with lots of decisions being made and lots of things coming into play....that is why I have called this post God at work. This week I have seen the fruit of my heavenly Daddy being at work in my life, to fulfil his promise to me that all things work together for my good and that He has a plan for my life. 

The outcomes that I have had this week have not happened over night. God has been at work, behind the scenes, for months now. Isn't it funny how you can only see God at work after the event?  Sometimes I just wonder if I am not paying enough attention but I guess that is a post for another time.

Here are the life changing things that have happened or come to pass this week.

• Four months ago, the company that I work for announced that by the end of the year, they would be making 300 jobs redundant.  My job was one of those.  Its been a tough few months, especially having to look after a team and manage performance when inside this is playing on your mind.  A few weeks ago I decided that I needed to be proactive about this job situation and so I applied for three different jobs within other areas of the company.  If I am honest, I only applied for them because I need to be able to pay my bills....and again, looking back I think that I made those decisions for the wrong reasons.  Anyway, on Tuesday morning I found out that I had been successful in my application and invited to an interview.  Two hours later, we were called into a meeting and told that our jobs are no longer at risk! (Thank you God)
• During this time my manager asked me to move to another team and manage a new system that was coming out in September. I was hesitant and while I prayed about it and continued to feel uncomfortable about it, I still made the decision to say yes to their request. Perhaps in part because of the feared ramifications of saying no at a time when my job was on the line or perhaps I just didn't want to disappoint my managers.  But I said yes when really I should have said No.  The past few weeks I have been feeling more and more uneasy about this whole thing and finally, I found enough courage to speak to my manager and tell her I didn't want to do this.  It went so much better than I expected and she completely supported my decision. (Thank you once again God)
• I then had to speak to the manager who had invited me to the interview for the other job. Again, another difficult conversation. But I dug down deep and was completely honest with her. I thanked her for the opportunity and apologised for wasting her time.  Again, she understood and didn't have any problems with it. (Thank you God)
• I have also been trying to decide if I should study my last two courses next year so that I can get my degree. Both are level 3 courses and i need to get distinctions in them in order to have a chance at finding a placement upon completion. Along with the time constraints that was going to put on my life, I was worried about how I would afford it.  So I have been going backwards and forwards with the choice to do one subject or two. This week God showed me through a conversation with two different people that I should study both.  My mom made me realise that through my car payments and a loan payment coming to an end I would be in a position to pay for both courses each month and my friend made me realise that sometimes we need to fight for what we want. That at times you need to sacrifice in order to move forward. That the choices you make today don't affect your tomorrow....they affect you twelve to eighteen months down the line.  So, I have gone ahead and registered for both courses. (Thank you God for good counsel in my life)

Thank you Lord for what you have done for me this week. Thank you that you are working in the background of my life to bring things to pass for me. Lord I thank you for not only what you are doing at the moment, but for what you are going to do.  Lord please help me to make better decisions in the future, it appears that I haven't done a very good job at listening to you or making decision's. Thank you Lord for giving me the courage to say what I need to say.

I haven't had much opportunity to do any scrapping this month and I have really missed it. Between working on my course assigment, doing long hours in the office and recovering from a cold and a running injury - scrapping has gone to the bottom of my to do list.  It's a shame really, as doing it makes my soul happy.  Perhaps now that my assignment has been submitted and I am cold and injury free - I will have to re-prioritise some things.

So here are my April pages - I love how they all turned out and how nicely they go together.

Last year was such a busy year for me, a year that seemed to have very little time for scrapbooking or creating.  If i had taken some time to stop and think, to weigh up how i was feeling and how much enjoyment i was having, I would have noticed that i was really missing the art of creating.  That special time that you put aside to do something new, to think of new ideas, to try new techniques or just to get messy with a little paint and glue.  To be honest, i don't think it would have even mattered if I had only spent 10 minutes a week doing something creative, i would have had a little more enjoyment in my day to day life.

These past few days i have been having so much fun.  My lounge looks like a bomb has hit it but right now, I am not really all that worried about it.  I am enjoying myself, i am spending time creating art while documenting my life and journey.

I have never taken a year long craft project before now and here I am having signed up for two....and loving it.  The first one is Move More Eat Well 2012 with Cathy Zielske. I am using this project to document my journey of healthiness.  It's a once a month project with a few assignments to complete during the month, but the focus is on moving more and eating well.  Then, after having my arm ever so slightly twisted by my friend Jodi, i also signed up to Scrapbook*Life*Journal.  Part of my goal towards wholeness in 2012 is growing in my relationship with my heavenly Daddy and what better way to do that than by combining my art with my faith.  This project seems to be a lot more crafting than the other and there is a lot more room for your own interpretation which is making it fun.

I plan to post my pages once a month - probably towards the end of the month so make sure you come back to take a look. I have pencilled in one night a week to spend doing these projects - a great way to ensure that i make time for something that i enjoy so much.