Happily exhausted

I feel utterly exhausted! Today, it was originally meant to be a fun relaxing day- visiting an aunt-in-law and her baby, doing some shopping, visiting the library and do mild cleaning. As it turned out the only thing I did was cleaning - of course anything but mild!

In the end when my plan to meet up ended to nothing due to my cold and Jake not quite well either, I decided to forgo all other plans and start the decluttering of the house and dusting of cobwebs :) part 1 is now down but need anther 4 days to finish off! However with this thorough process, I am already feeling my spirits lifting. I always find myself wondering, how our surroundings at home, reflect our own state of mind, body & soul.

I am now off for a well deserved relaxing shower :) by which time, I hope my little puppy will be ready to sleep so I can enjoy my husband over a glass of wine and a DVD....I wish you all a nice weekend and happy halloween to those that celebrate it!

Going back to zero

My house is full of clutter & cobwebs and it seems my body & soul are reflecting this. It needs to be cleansed, aired and dusted. There is the need to re balance and re organise my house into a home. A home which although not perfect is cosy and loving and full of new fond memories. A home where we are comfortable and relaxed.

I need to re organise myself, find my path again which I lost sometime in June. Re connect with my son and find a harmonious way how to spend our coming days together. Fill our days with new things to try, laughter to share, hugs & love that overflow. Enjoy the moment in simplicity....no need for complications in a life that is complicated enough as it is. Discover once more the love that holds me & my partner together as in the rush of 2 working parents it got parched and somewhat dried.

Next week. my last week! That is where I start again from zero....find my love, my laughter, my simplicity, my life! Soon, very soon, I am positive all will fall back into place. Looking forward to this new chapter in my life, to its obstacles, its new beginnings.

Show your spooky side -writers workshop

This weeks' writers workshop at Mamakat's is halloween of course :) In Malta we don't really celebrate it, the nearest thing would be carnival in Feb/Mar were children and the children at heart dress up in costumes and have a parade of floats. I don't quite like this celebration but will do my best to document it here next year :)

Back to our original post, my spooky side can be said to be anything scary! I don't watch scary movies unless its morning so there is enough time between film & night time to forget about it! The worse is when I see a film that involves the devil or some such like The Exorsist. But then if I read it on a book it doesn't impress me that much, however I usually end up feeling disgusted (so I still don't quite read them!).

Another spooky side, can be said to be my hubby! He tends to come near me while I am engrossed doing something so of course I don't hear him and he stands there saying nothing till I look up and take the fright of my life (which in the end pisses me off!). I really hate it *sigh* his excuse is that he does call me but if I don't reply it means I haven't heard no?no?

What about you? what's your spooky side?

wordless wednesday

Our little family

Me, myself and more of me

I have been tagged by Miss Always Carried Away and basically I am now requested to write 25 random things about me and my life. However, I do not know what I can write about me so I am only listing 10. So here we go!

1. I love chocolates & fries....I do try and limit myself to once a week but it doesn't always work and if you were to see me now you'd see how true that is with the many spots I got on my face!
   

2. Spots are my downfall and from the day I got pregnant I haven't managed to have a spot free face for more than a week or two!

3. I love nature and can never get enough of it! It saddens me seeing all these people unconcerned about such a beautiful place as our earth!

4. Next week is my last week at work - yay!!! I have a lot on my mind as how to spend my time as a SAHM but haven't got down to actually see if it is feasible.

5. I don't drink teas or coffees - GASP- I know I prefer a hot chocolate ( you wouldn't have guessed eh?)

6. My dream is that mamascircle hits off and I can do an online shop there as well as activities, talks and lots of other things!

7. I hope to start painting again now that I will be at home

8. and do voluntary work with the animal shelter & environmental organisations

9. I wish to become a yoga instructor, but that seems like
a far off dream for now

10. My Favourite colour is blue

Now I should also tag some other bloggers with this but again I am not going to. I hope you don't mind and wish you all a good day!

Gozo in pictures

Gozo is the sister island of Malta, approx half its size. Its a laid back island, greener than Malta and wonderful for walks and relaxation.

me & Greg watching the sun rise

Greg enjoying the feel of the grass

Saltpans view

more of the saltpans area

the sea splashing...it was super rough (gale force winds the previous day)

still in tha saltpans area

Greg eating a rock for lunch LOL

hilly Gozo

broken house with furniture inside (only in malta!)

Our weekend trip

Had a great time in Gozo and Greg simply loved his first short holiday-which is wonderful. We spent 2 days in a great farmhouse (which I would loooove to have as my own home as there is all the space my little puppy needs to run around and discover!), with the wonderful company of family & friends and some memorable moments.

Going there Friday, the weather was incredibly bad with gale force winds and rain. On Saturday Although still very windy, the sun popped out now and than and so we went for a long walk (approx 6 hours) which started us off from our farmhouse, up to Victoria, down through valleys, saltpans and back. You can see the photos here or some of them will also be put up in my next post :). Today the weather changed to calm, hot and sunny and after an early morning to view the sunrise and a short walk nearby which lead us to see some huge jelly fish, we went back to the farmhouse for relaxation by the pool, karaoke and other games. In the end we made our way back home exhausted, yet blissfully happy with the weekend just passed and am already dreaming of our next break in Gozo!

Gozo Weekend!!

I never really post in the weekend :) but just in case no one ever noticed this, I will be away in Gozo this weekend. The weather is terrible- gale force winds, rain & clouds but what the heck! WE will still enjoy it with ponchos and games LOL I can't wait for this crazy weekend....crazy coz with the weather prediction we might be stuck on stuff to do but we will see :)

Hope your weekend is more sunny.

How has motherhood changed me

This week I am trying a new thing! Mamakat makes a writer's workshop prompt every week which you can join and write about. There are 5 of these and the one I decided to write about is how has motherhood changed me!

I admit, the change had been happening prior to me being pregnant but it kind of went fast forward when that happened. Since than I see and yet not quite see the changes in me and possibly people who know me will argue about it to.

To start with I am a very nervous person and yet from the moment I knew I was pregnant I tried to practice patience. When Gregory was born, I was amazed at the amount of patience I managed to master and saw the many benefits that has reaped as well. Motherhood, made me more relaxed---I used to worry about my appearance, how people preceived me, if they'd like me ( I always had a low self esteem from a very young age), but motherhood changed all that. I do things that please me and that makes me and my family happy and I don't think twice about it. I am more accepting & more open hearted and basically life seems a much better place :)

Motherhood changed me in a lot of ways and I am thankful of these changes. My son, my little ray of sunshine, shows me everyday how I can be a better person and because of him and for him I do my best to change accordingly.

How had motherood changed you or envisage it will change you?

Gregory

My little puppy is fast asleep. But just a few minutes ago, he was babbling away, smiling, crawling and jumping all over the place.

he loves exploring, putting everything in his mouth including earth and rocks :)
crawling quickly near when we are in another room

playing with simple things like a box!

that smile! when pleased with his accomplishment

or this when he realised the camera was on him!

My little puppy is fast asleep, but tomorrow we have a new day where we can build new dreams and new accomplishments. Loving every second spent with this little guy who is learning to live in our big big world.

random tuesday

Greg clapped his hand this weekend which was great, we did try to get him
do it again but to no avail!
***
Had fun meeting with friends last weekend and looks like its gonna be
another fun weekend coming up as we are all going to the sister island of
Gozo.
****
Tonight meeting my cousins for Pris's birthday- Happy Birthday Pris!
****
Have a lot of thinking to do to attract people and sponsorship for mamascircle, however at the moment not
enough time to do so *sigh*

I have a lot of other thoughts but I can't think right now!

Featured Reader

My post at La Dolce Vita is up. I would appreciate if you go have a look and leave some comment love!

down hearted

At the moment feeling sad! I just saw in my hands the perfect opportunity for my yoga teacher training and just as quickly it went away from my grasp! Money...why everything has to be expensive ? There is a workshop for teachers & teachers wanna be and another intensive course and unless I win the lottery this week I Will have to pass.

I feel heavy hearted :( maybe it would have been better if I never got to know about it. A bit of a disappointing end to an otherwise perfect weekend.

veggie gratin

Yesterday I tried a veggie gratin and it came delicous so I thought of sharing it with you guys...


You will need:

250 grs potatoes peeled and cut in half
450 grs broccoli in small florets
1 red bell pepper cut in chunks
2 onions cut in wedges
500grs mascarpone cheese
150 grs cheddar cheese
100 grs breadcrumbs
seasoning
parsley

Method:

pre heat oven & butter an ovenproof dish. Now in boiling water put the potatoes for 12 mins & boil the broccoli for 5 mins. saute the onions & pepper till soft & melt all the mascarpone & half the cheddar after which add seasoning and parsley. Next put the veggies in the dish top with the cheese mix, breadcrumbs and the rest of the cheddar shredded. Bake for 20 mins or till golden brown and enjoy it this mouth watering dish!

the count down is on...

The count down is on as I got only 3 weeks left to work and can finally be officially a SAHM. Plans very much abound for the how I am spending my time, starting of with the new website, mamascircle which I have been doing together with a girl friend of mine I met at the prenatal classes. We have big yet modest plans which I hope will eventually get to be a success.



Apart for that, I decided to take things easy till the end of the year so that me and my little puppy can get used to the new routine again slowly and after will start adjusting to add a few things here and there. It will defenitely not be easy to care for a baby who has been given free reign while I was at work and so can be a bit testy at times :) but am positive I will do good changes to him and meet up with a variety of new people whilst in this new position.



I am also going to be a featured reader at La Dolce Vita as from 18 October, and I do hope you will hop by her blog and leave some comment love :). La Dolce Vita not only features fellow bloggers but makes it into a competition and who gets the most comments win one of her beautiful creations. So in view of the competition ahead I kindly ask you to leave me comments ,so you know, I can win something once in a blue moon!!

This a very busy week actually with hubby having an opening to an exhibition he is taking part in today - good luck luvely- and at the same time attend a birthday party of one of our best friends Gabs - happy birthday & lots of hugs- and than this weekend we are planning to visit the Octoberfest which promises, food, booze & entertainment (but its good enough to just meet our friends!) and possibly starting hikes next week with my cousins- yay- in view of which I would be posting pics of my island (Well not quite mine but you know what I mean right?) to get you to know Malta better. Oh yes and I am soon off for a weekend break in our sister island of Gozo! Can't wait!!!! and therefore as from next week, I should finally start posting more regularly and with more sense :) but if I don't be patient...I am still a bit in the hanging on mood of waiting, waiting for the end of the month and my new life experience.

In the meantime I wish you all a grand Wed!

Forgive & forget

I read this post on forgiveness and thought it would be nice to share! Here is an excerpt of it. You can view the whole post on this link.

Neither Annette nor Jake has grasped the basic fact that forgiveness is not
something you do solely for the person who hurt you. It is something you do for
yourself, for the sake of your own inner freedom. You forgive so that you can
live in the present instead of being stuck in the past. You forgive because your
grievances and grudges—even more than hopes and attachments and fears—bind you
to old patterns, old identities, and especially to old stories....

mamascircle

Ok here it goes... me and a friend of mine Daniela, have been working on a new baby which is called mamascircle. This is not just a website with the usual info though we will have a lot of info. We have planned also a blog and activities and basically the beginnings of whole new network on our island of Malta. The blog will just be there for questions sent by yourselves which we will answer to the best of our abilities and if we can't, find someone who can! so if you go on it so far you will find no posts at all even though I did add a link! We hope to do weekly playdates, to do raffles once a month & also a newsletter. Eventually we hope to have a membership for all the mums who wish to and maybe get people to give us talks etc.....its a big thing but we are optimistic that it will take off slowly slowly. So please do pass by our website and send us your opinion...is there something that should be there and isn't? would you change anything? etc etc! Thanks for your input and hope to see you there and our blog often!

Blog Buddy @ One Mum's Musing

Hey all, I am budding up with One Mum's Musing today- thank you Alicia for this opportunity! Please have a look at her blog and at my post about baby frustration.

I can't remember how I hooked up with Alicia, I do believe it was through The Secret is in the Sauce or SITS as it is mostly known! Her blog always has interesting articles on parenting, so if you are a parent its a must to stop there and check her out.

Tea Tree oil

I found this very useful article on care2.com and thought it would be a good idea to share. To view the full article please follow the link.

In 2006, the world consumed more than 3.5 billion gallons of oil per day. A lot of that
oil has caused environmental damage and conflicts between nations. But there is
one type of oil that’s green, sustainable, healthy, and–as far as I know–has
never been the rationale behind a major military intervention: tea tree
oil.
Tea tree oil, explains the UWA Tea Tree Oil Research Group, is the essential
oil steam distilled from the Australian plant Melaleuca alternifolia (unique to
Australia and native to Northern New South Wales). Tea tree oil is usually clear
to very pale golden in color and it exudes a fresh, camphor-like scent.....

Yoga teacher courses

I am searching for a yoga instruction course that can be somehow made in Malta...no luck so far! I am a bit deflated but haven't given up hope. However, any help counts, so if anyone knows of a school which might consider having a teacher here locally teach me and than just go to their school to do the exam that would be fantastic.

October 2

It's only a day and a number....nothing special. However, it reminds me that my son is at the moment the son of 3 ladies not just mine! Since he spends more time with my aunt & mother in law than myself I guess its a fair enough surmise.



I also have to say that all is going smoothly and life at home is quite relaxed at happy for which I am thankful. I have to thank both my mother in law and aunt for the job they are doing. But I can't wait to have him all for myself again.



He started giving stubborn tantrums LOL- yes so far I laugh, don't want to think how it would be later on!!! SO he enjoys going near out TV table and try grab our lovely travel souvenirs and I of course say no, no Greg, come here, no and than NOOOOO and he turns around, goes down to sit on his bum and starts rubbing his legs on the carpet and while agitating them he complains with all his voice...I will try nip him on video to show you LOL

No other updates but am working on something ;) nothing else said sorry when it is ready you will all know!!