What’s the most time you’ve ever spent apart from your favorite person? Tell us about it.

My significant other.

As I remember, it was nearly three months.

I got a new job in Perth, Western Australia and it involved training in Brisbane, Queensland. Initially, it was for 4-6 weeks.

It is our 30th wedding anniversary in two weeks time.

Daily prompt. Do you have a favorite quote that you return to again and again? What is it, and why does it move you?

“Make the most of yourself. Be daring. Above all, have fun”.
–Elsa Schiaparelli

I try to live like this every day. To me, the quote means doing my personal best in everything I do.

This is the beginning of Fast Ed Halmagyi’s The Food Clock. Today’s Daily Prompt says: “Take the first sentence from your favorite book and make it the first sentence of your post.”

You might think this is a strange sentence to begin a cook book, and you’re probably right. But it is a wonderful start to the accompanying novella that is interspersed throughout the book.

I read a lot, and my tastes are somewhat eclectic, so I am not able to pick a favourite book. However, my favourite at the moment is ‘The Food Clock’. My good friend DB gave it to me, he said, to thank me for dinner the previous weekend as he cannot return the favour.

The recipes are organised into 16 chapters following seasons of food availability from “hot o’clock” (summer) through to “warm o’clock” (spring), including ‘quarter past’, ‘half past’, and ‘quarter to’ o’clocks. The photographs are definitely food pornography and these are tempered with graphics and illustrations to give the book a worn albeit glossy feel – complete with red wine glass stains.

So far I have made:

• Rhubarb Pudding
• Chocolate Almond Pinwheels
• Chicken with Black Olives and Oregano

And, I am making the Red Onion & Lentil Soup tonight.

All dishes that I have made have been superb, so much so they have been repeated over and over. Which is funny because the inside fly-leaf reads “Most of us cook the same few dishes over and over again because we′re busy and have lost our connection to the changes of the seasons”. I think it is going to be difficult to try all the recipes, without getting stuck on some of them

I took the rather heavy book on holiday with me, planning to read the novella from beginning to end. But we ended up having a rather active and full-on time away, that I only read the prologue and first chapter. It is the story of Henri Petit-Pois who is somewhat reflective while working in his garden, shopping for ingredients, and preparing food for himself and guests. Perfect for a holiday read, but it is definitely the wrong format to read in bed, on a plane, or on the beach!

What is great about the book, is that it is about eating seasonally which is what I try to do to keep my food miles down.

How would I know? Why 11th?

When I get to 11, I’ll let you know.

I had to google what is a ‘bucket list’, and found:

• What’s on Your Bucket List? 101 Things To Do Before You Die
• Changing your life is hard. Doing it by yourself is harder.
• www.barefootlist.com

I have goals, but I’m obviously not waiting or counting!

The idea of keeping a gratitude journal was the “Woo-Hoo” moment, as I already have one – this blog. The purpose of which has wobbled around a bit, picking up things in which I became interested, and silence around things that I no longer find interesting. Also, I recognise that there is almost a two year hiatus, which I may describe some day to fill in the gaps for myself.

Actually, it may be a bit harsh to say that I have become disinterested in things. It’s just that I have found additional things to be interested in, and I am finding it overwhelming to fit them all in.

The “Breakthrough” point is that although I did not write here for all of two years, I did read some entries and reflected on when and what things happened, and to read some old how-tos to see if they could assist me with new stuff I was trying to figure out.

kikki.K has some adorable journals and resources to record resolutions, happiness and things to be grateful for, but I will continue to write here, participate in the Collaborative Happiness Project, and the Daily Post.

The gist of the ‘Power of Gratitude’ article is to write down 3-5 things a day you feel grateful for, express your gratitude, look for what is right about a situation rather than what is wrong, and practice gratitude with family and friends.

I read somewhere about having a gratitude jar. I’ve decided to have a ‘gratitude piggy’. Instead of saving money in my piggybank, I’ll write down on slips of paper the things I am grateful for and put them in my piggybank to be opened at a time yet to be determined.

This morning I am grateful for being able to have a break from work over Christmas and New Year including a trip to Eco Beach (1 1/2 hours drive South of Broome, Western Australia), waking up early and listening to the birds as I type on my keyboard, the opportunity to make choices of how I will spend my last day of the holiday, and that I am in good health to make goals for the coming year.

Have you ever made a New Year’s Resolution that you kept?

Yes, last year I resolved to become stronger and fitter.

It wasn’t what some people would say is a SMART goal, but I just wanted to go for the year making mostly the right decisions about nutrition, sleep, stress management, and health.

I am stronger because I can:

• peddle my bike better by having increased my cadence. Note: Christmas present last year was to add an electric kit to my bike, so the only way I know how I’m doing is to look at cadence.
• see that I am a lot more flexible while doing the Pilates and Dance videos on SparkPeople.

I can see that I am fitter because I have gone down a size. This has also helped with my decluttering, as I have thrown out or donated my big clothes so I am not tempted to fill them out again.

This year I am going to crank it up! Finances permitting, I wish to add dancing, swimming, Pilates classes, and running to my repertoire. Also, there are a couple of exercises that I find difficult or cannot do – yet. I want to be able to master:

• Planks (SparkPeople)
• Pilates roll ups (YouTube)

Currently, I am continuing to practice planks and roll-ups, but I will start swimming next week when I return to work. The plan is to go twice/week on the way to work.

January, February and March I have streaks happening, but cranking up the exercise fits in with these, as it makes me happy, helps with the decluttering, and I’m sure will help me study better.

I lost 5kg, rode my bicycle to and from work/university (20km round trip), and completed the year’s units in my Masters well.

What I have learnt during the year is that it is ok to make an appointment with myself, and doing my best most of the time instead of aiming for perfection is key to achieving my goals.

I didn’t do this all by myself.

The Progress, Not Perfection SparkTeam and many SparkPeople friends greatly assisted me with consistency in good nutrition, getting enough sleep, and exercising both mind and body.

In addition, I participated in a Stress Management Programme at The University of Western Australia’s Robin Winkler Clinic facilitated by two research students as part of their degree. I benefited greatly from participating in this group, and the tools and skills I learnt from this are still with me months later. Almost every day I practise:

• relaxing or calm breathing,
• thought challenges, and
• non-negotiable self care.

Less frequently now I practise progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), although I have it on my self care list to do now and again.

I am not going to make any resolutions, but I will do some more streaking – a new one every 30 days.

January streak is to do more of what makes me happy. and because a “goal without action(s) is only a wish” I am planning on reflecting on the day and practising gratitude as part of kikki.K’s The Collaborative Happiness Project.

February streak is to find new ways of decluttering and jumpstart the decluttering I started year before last. Admittedly, I started this on New Year’s Day by joining eBay and since then listing something new on eBay every day.

March streak is the most challenging of all. I do not have any units to take in first semester having completed them all, so although I am enrolled I will not be taking any units until Semester 2 starts at the end of July. I want to form and implement a plan of self-study to revise in preparation for a 3/4 load. That’s if meteor doesn’t make us dust!

The idea of streaking is that you go for as long as you can. However, while searching for decluttering resources I came across the idea of a 30-day trial. That is, you try a new habit for 30 days, and if you like it, you keep it, if you don’t give it up. So this is why I have three streaks leading up to the doompocalpyse.

The boxes were from previously acquired electrical goods and tools. Most of the boxes had been there for at least two years!

I kept the boxes as the warranty or guarantee was for two, five, or ten years – depending on the ‘stuff’.

The instructions and warranty were filed, non-recycleable packaging put in the bin, and the cardboard flattened to go in the garden ready to put under the mulch (hay).

Yay, week three of The De-clutter ’52 Things in 52 weeks’ Challenge accomplished.

Being Saturday, we did the usual Saturday things first. H went out early for a bike ride with his group out of Garlands, and I woke up slowly listening to the radio. Then it was making the weekly menu and shopping lists, and off together to the farmer’s market and supermarket.

The weather was humid, so cooking earlier in the day to prepare for our picnic was not much fun. But we had a shower to freshen up, then cycled down to the river to look for a gazebo to sit under for the light.

The foreshore is very ugly at the moment with temporary fencing erected for the Australia Day activities. Just about everywhere you look, there is a fence that made me feel I was in a cage. I decided to sit in the gazebo facing H.

It was very pleasant eating our picnic of chicken sausages poached in champagne with apple and cinnamon sauce, potato fritters, and rocket. I couldn’t fit in our prepared sweets of Morrocan figs, pears and red wine and yoghurt. We drank the rest of the champagne that didn’t poach the chicken sausages, and a very nice bottle of my favourite champagne – Veuve Clicquot, UC’s present to H for his birthday.

What added to the atmosphere was other people that were making use of the BBQ’s and gazeboes. There were many sounds of enjoyment and laughter.

I had my eyes closed for the first few minutes of the film as I don’t like needles. It was difficult to know when to open them as I don’t speak French, so I just listened until there was some dialogue recognising that using the needle either required much concentration and or was a private activity. But once the sharp bits were out of the way, I enjoyed this film immensely.

It is a sad story, but a feeling of hope and transformation unfolded from the miserable beginnings of drug use and bereavement. The characters were believeable, and apart from the ‘Mother’ likeable. The film ended unexpectedly, which was a delightful twist, and it did leave me wondering whether there was going to be a sequel.

The evening could be called ‘The Refuge’ too. It was wonderful to be able to just turn up and enjoy the film, company, food and wine. D brought the wine, and H and E brought the food. It was a great end to a busy week.

The ride home on our bikes was great. It was quiet along the cycle path, and the wind was with us most of the way.