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ten resources to help me stay sane!

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Artwork by Melissa Smith Letter Press by Ann Ong Whiteman Park Print.

This week has been crazy busy, so I thought I would write a quick post with ten resources that help me stay sane in the midst of busy seasons.

1) Task lists, Weekly Schedules and Overviews are my go to!

Click here to find my favourite free downloads. Schedules

2) Water

When I am busy, I deliberately drink more water. Lately, I have been using this to help me keep an eye on my water input. Here is a great app, to help you keep on top of your water intake.

3) Inspiration Input

When I am busy, reading is often the first thing to go, as I am so tired. I have been listening to audible books lately and although I fall asleep, I am still inputting inspiration. Check out one book for free here.

4) Facetime

This morning one of my favourites facetimed me. She was walking her dog, I was cleaning up corn flakes off the floor and we connected. This is a cheap facetime app for your mac computer.

5) Urgent Over Important

It is often easy to get stuck on the urgent tasks in a busy week than to actually focus in on the important. It may feel satisfying to swipe off everything from our list, but what is being left behind that is not asking for attention. Here is a simple tool to download and print that will help you quickly use the eisenhower matrix. What is urgent, what needs to be delegated and what is important.

6) The Creatives To Do List

I love this printable and I use it with clients a lot. Write a massive list and empty your mind of all the tasks and then find ways to schedule what needs to be done. This one from Jennie Designs is a total favourite.

7) Say No Printable

I have found a printable that I save as my screen saver on my phone and can be printed out and put up somewhere visual. Using visuals to help find peace and strength in times of stretch and challenge has been such an amazing tool in the past. Say no to unnecessary crazy.  Here is also some helpful phrases in saying no. Learning and practising these phrases helps us set boundaries.

8) Spotify the House

I fill my house with music in times of high stress. Lots of Classical music and inspiration music. Here is my current favourite from spotify.

9) Coffee each morning

A quiet coffee, with music before the day begins and one in the middle of the day is my little mindful moment to help find my peace. What is your ritual that re-grounds you? Find one and make it a part of your rhythm. Yesterday someone asked if there were any jobs over the weekend I needed and I said, you know what? Can you bring me a coffee on Saturday morning? It will be the one thing I wont prioritise in my 8am start, but it will be my one moment of mindfulness.

10) Remind myself how far I have come

One of my greatest weaknesses in times of stress or pressure is I am harder on myself than I am anyone else. I easily can be defensive, because I am trying to quickly be effective in what I am working on. Every day I need to remind myself how far I have come and that I am still a work in progress. I love this print from Melissa Smith.

Happy Weekend friends,

Why don’t you take time this weekend to retreat and #dateyoselfie

When we take time to rest, we allow our lives to be ever becoming.

Amanda Marie

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inspire creative retreat

inspire 2

What I can do is offer
myself, wholehearted and
present, to walk with the
people I love through the
fear and mess. That’s all
any of us can do. That’s
what we’re here for.
Shauna Niquest

This weekend a hundred and fifty women are retreating together in the South West of Western Australia. We put together this Magazine, to inspire and encourage the women coming.

I thought you might want to take time to retreat as well this weekend and have a little read as well.

So here is the EMAGAZINE download link.

Have a great weekend and if you are the praying type, keep us in your thoughts and words.

Hoping you take time this weekend to rest, even just one hour, by reading the articles by our amazing writers and remembering that you are enough.

“Wholehearted living is about engaging with our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating the courage, compassion and connection to wake up in the morning and think, ‘No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough.’ It’s going to bed at night thinking, ‘Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging.” 

Brené Brown

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ten lessons that enchanted me from Beauty and the Beast

Last night as the sun faded and the moon swayed, we walked into a rose clad cinema and picked up our flute of champagne. Dancers waltzed through popcorn and strawberries were served with chocolate on sticks. We watched the Perth premiere of disney’s latest film release of Beauty and the Beast and it was worth every bit of the hype.

As I watched the film throughout, I found myself breathing in inspiration with themes that moved my heart.

Here are ten lessons that enchanted me from the latest disney version of Beauty and the Beast

1) Ignorance is the reason of fear

The crowd and its culture struck me raw in last nights movie rendition of Beauty and the Beast.

We don’t like what we don’t understand, in fact it scares us, and this monster is mysterious at least…

Belle

When was the last time you rejected someone, or called them a beast because of the way general society was speaking about them? Ignorance my friend is the reason of fear.

2)Finding freedom in the release

The greatest act of love is letting people go. This saying as old as time rings true as much as ever…”If you love someone, you must let them go at some point.” Beauty and the Beast proved this to be right. Sometimes, because we have priorities, we need to be set free. Seasons change, friendships fade, moments transition. There are many times in the highs and lows of our lives that we need to find freedom in the release.

3)Beauty is deeper than face value

This is such a simple truth and of course when we say it logically we agree. What about in our Instagram follower focused culture? How often do we priorities someones perceived success by their online following and filtered feed, rather than the consistency of their character? Beauty is deeper than face value and success is not as simple as how many people follow.

4)Reading has the capacity to take you anywhere in the world

I want to adventure the great wide somewhere…

Belle

Every time we read something from the mind and heart of another we grow. Our world grows, our empathy grows and our impact on the world grows. Reading is the greatest armchair traveller. When we expand our minds, it also expands our futures.

5)Ever learning

When I was a teenager, I made this simple decision and it has honestly changed my life. I decided one day, I will never, ever stop learning. There is something profound when we constantly sit in the seat of the student, rather than thinking we know it all. Both Belle and her Father, lived lives that were ever learning. This on trait, bought them to places that only the seeking could have found.

6)A chipped cup can still do the job

Little chip warmed my heart. He made me feel an affinity with the innocent and childlike parts of ourselves that just want to be a part of the bigger picture. In the midst of a team and a community, I find the chipped cups with character, the most rare. You know those people. You smile when you see them coming. They bring light and life into dull corridors. If you are a little chipped, don’t worry I believe you can still do the job.

7)Happily Ever After looks very different to what we think

It is so funny to think, what I thought Happily Ever After looked like as a young adult. I had such bizarre thoughts around marriage, motherhood and living a life of my dreams. Today I am very much living my Happily Ever After, but it looks nothing like I thought it would. Sometimes we miss the gold, because we are looking for it in the final package. Every prospector must look for the gold. What are you missing, because you are unwilling to dig a little?

8)Finding your unique and celebrating your weird

I often find myself feeling small and strange in a room. I always have food on my shirt, I am the first to drop my plate and it smashes, my mind is often away in a distant land. When we celebrate and find our unique we live a life that is far more satisfying. Belle’s Dad, was a man on a mission to explore the unique in his world. In the end this was the one trait that found him whole and his daughter living the life of her dreams.Love means accepting each other’s weirdness because it makes what you have special.

9)How society excludes and promotes

Lately I have been really aware of the power of rejection and elitism in our world. Belle was a idealist and she often spoke of far off distant lands with quotes like…

I want more than this provincial life

Belle

It was so apparent in this movie that the society that surrounded Belle excluded and isolated her because of her idealism. Our society often excludes those who are pioneering a new way and rejects them. Our society often promotes people who seem to be going with the flow and have the loudest voice like Gaston. Hatred and exclusion, will not win in the end. I am so sure of it. If you want more than the provincial life my dear friend, go for it.

10) Anger and love find it difficult to co-habit

Lastly, but most profoundly anger and love find it difficult to live together. Anger, harsh words, insecurity and walls prevent those closest to us from finding the true place of our hearts. We need to find positive ways to express these feelings of betrayal, disappointment and mistrust. It is difficult to love in an environment of anger and hate. How are you going in the area of Anger? When was the last time that you found a positive way to process emotions in your world?

These lessons that enchanted me last night are just the beginning…

What is your favourite lesson from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast?

Amanda Marie

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Making home the safest place on earth.

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MICI MAGAZINE

February rocked me like I’m not sure anything has before. Moments, memories and reminders of the past came knocking and I stood there at the door completely surprised by their arrival. I didn’t realise becoming a full-time School Mum, would require so much emotion and intention. I kind of expected a quick transition, lots of cafe time and a whole heap of silence.

Have transitions like this ever left you reeling?

Unsure of who you can trust and what is fact versus the rolling hills of movement and change.

March found me human again and each day I have been unpacking what it means to walk my family through difficult seasons of change.

We have all been there. The seasons when we would rather stay in bed. When the thought of showing up for our friends and family is overwhelming. We send sharp replies over text, we pull away hoping our closest people don’t notice and more than ever we seek comfort in the mundane.

My husband and I have been reviewing our intentions in this season around the sacredness of space and safety in our home. Creating rhythms that keep our fortress safe and knowing that once again we will rise.

This sounds so very intense, but maybe my little being away from me five days a week has created the space that I required to really unpack the pain left dormant from the past. Maybe facing my primary school once again every day has confronted my forty-year-old self, with thoughts from my five-year-old self. And maybe giving myself permission to fall apart when my little person doesn’t need me as much anymore.

Today as we drove home from school in the rain and my mind swirling with questions, I remembered the foundation that my little home is built on.

Safety,

Our Fortress,

Expression,

And Creativity.

Comfortable Silence,

Allowing ourselves to unpack and recover,

Warm blankets,

And Kind Words.

Hearts Raw,

Cuddles and Candles.

Soft, Gentle Words,

Faces and Eyes that Smile.

Sorry’s that tumble quickly,

And tallies of wrongs not counted.

Just like my Father in whom I trust and rely upon. When people confuse me and let me down, He is my fortress, He is my deliverer.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”

In these days when we find it difficult to know which way to turn and how to recover from the weight of our season. What if we created a fortress, full of light and love?

What if those closest to us, became our hiding place, rather than the people we hurt with our words?

What if encouragement became the bedrock of our homes, building up, rather than tearing down?

What if we were the ones that made our homes the safest places on earth?

Amanda Marie

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ten ways to be less serious and have more fun

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Ten Ways with Amanda

TEN WAYS TO BE LESS SERIOUS AND HAVE MORE FUN

My friend Tracy makes me smile even when she is not with me. I think about her and my happy increases. Last night she navigated the traffic, left a sick little in the care of her Dad and came over to my house for dinner. I knew she was here even before her car door slammed. She was laughing, she was in her PJs for a dinner party and honestly, she is everything that I love about humanity.

Every day she wakes up and sucks the marrow out of life. You would think if you met her that she lives a very simple existence, but you know what she is once of the most focused, productive and amazing women I have ever met. Everything she does is with intention and brilliance, but it is so playful. My pyjama wearing friend is a university lecturer for Paramedics. I cannot imagine what her students think of her antics, but seriously she is hilarious. She is also the class leader for parents for her school. She is a key member of her local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group at her local church and guess what? She has never, ever had a social media account and she inspires me more than most people on the internet.

I want to be more like my dear friend Tracy. She inspires me to live a happier and more playful life.

Here are ten ways I am learning from friends like Tracy to be less serious and to have more fun.

Rock Up In Your PJ’s

Like seriously. What if you turned up to a dinner party or the movies, or your friend’s house in your Pj’s. Often I think we overthink our days and we miss out on the fun that is awaiting discovery. In a couple of weeks time, we will be gathering down south with a group of women and the first night of the retreat is a Diner en Blanc Pop-Up Party. It is amazing to me, that something as simple as wearing white, has sent women into a frenzy. Why not rock up in your Pj’s? Why not wear a two dollar dress from the op shop. Some days we just need to throw caution to the wind and do things we have never done before.

Put down your phone at the park

Yesterday I was chatting with my husband at the park, how he gets to leave his work in his office, but I never feel the satisfaction of feeling like I am finished for the day. We were sitting on a park bench, watching our children play and he just looked at me and said: “Babe put down your phone at the park.” Have moments and times when you are uncontactable. And jump up on the play equipment and leave your phone at home.

Camp out in the loungeroom

Lately, we have bought a new family tradition to our gang and it is a weekend camp out in the loungeroom. Movie nights and tents inside, finding ways to mess up our routine and enjoy one each others company. When was the last time you camped out in a friends loungeroom? When was the last time you had a sleepover? Camping brings out our inner child and you can’t help but smile in the midst of the mayhem.

Listen to a funny podcast

My husband works in an extremely serious and intense work environment. He is super intentional about transitioning from his work persona to his home persona. The best way he knows how to do this is to listen to a funny podcast the whole way home. He laughs, he repurposes and he smiles. Each month over on kinwomen, we publish a podcast and we seriously laugh a lot. If you are looking for one to start with you could try here.

Record your funny stories

My kids come out with hilarious things and sometimes I forget them as quickly as they have happened. Lately, I have been trying to write a little note on my phone about their funny stories. Little reminders so I can tell friends and family. Celebrating the crazy in the midst of the madness.

Say yes to uncomfortable things

Say yes to the quiz night, say yes to the movie invitation, say yes to things that you would normally say no to and sit at home on the couch instead. Sometimes it just takes a different atmosphere and environment to shake off the blues that try to overwhelm us.

Ride your bike

Is there something you did when you were younger that you haven’t done in a while? I got a text message from my husband whilst we were away last weekend on a speaking engagement and he said “I just rode my BMX to the beach at 9.30pm at night” Wohooooo. Sometimes we just have to pick up our bike, feel the wind through our hair and shout a little as we ride through the neighbourhood. Take off our corporate wear and pull on the active wear. Stepping into the sheer pleasure of life and love.

Ignore the mess and do something you love

This week I felt the heaviness of a life sown and I said to my husband, “Want to come op shopping with me?” Knowing it’s not his favourite thing in the world, but I needed to ignore the mess, the emails and the piles of laundry. I needed to do something that I loved. What do you love? What makes you smile? Is it riding your motorbike through the bush? Is it splashing around paint? Is it baking? Ignore the mess this weekend and do something that you love.

Eat popcorn and watch a kids movie

Tonight we are eating popcorn and watching a kids movie. In our pj’s and surrendering to the immaturity of it all. Popcorn, crazy songs, little happy dances and a life lived cray.

Stop worrying about the future and engage in your today

One of the greatest hindrances I have found to being playful is how much we worry. When I think too much, my life becomes way too serious. When I focus on the present and stop worrying about the future, I have way more fun. When you find yourself lost in thoughts and consumed with worry, replace those thoughts with things that make you happy. In this little notebook above, my dear friend sent this too me and the times I find myself stressed and worried, I pull this notebook out and I list the things that make me happy in the present. It works, it reframes and it is powerful.

What makes you have more fun?

Happy Friday friends. May this weekend be full of love and laughter.

Love

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Amanda Marie