Thursday 9 January 2014

The Year of Being the Best you can be.


Welcome to the new year.

Does it feel shiny for you?

An opportunity to begin again?

Or are you not so much into that?

I kind of like the feeling of popping on a new outfit, so to speak.

To de-clutter the old and look ahead at new things.

My kids and I had a chat about this year & what it means for us.

We decided on it being 'The year of being  the best you can be'.

It was inspired by a speech my 11yo gave to his school about what he believed being a leader was.  He believes it is about being the best you can be and in doing that helping others to be the best they can be.

I really latched onto it.  SO wise. So good.

I like the idea of trying your best to be your best.

So this year that is what I am going to do.  Trying to be the very best I can be.

It doesn't mean being perfect.  It means being real.  Living with meaning.

To me it means being mindful, being able to see the good around you, being able to give things a go.  Step out and forward in the things you do.  Let go of negativity and strive to see the positive.

To me it means taking care of those I care about, making time to be with people that are good for me and my family.  Working hard at all I do.

I think there are real benefits in doing all of these things. I think it is good to take stock and be considered in how we behave and how it affects others.  People are what I care about most.

Does it sound like something you would like to try and do too?

Or maybe you have other things you are trying to do/achieve this year. Let me know!

We have just about come to the end the first week of Mr Girlfriend being back at work after an ever so lovely Christmas/New Year break.

We had loads of extra people here and it felt like one of the best recharges ever. SO many of our very favourite people around us.

We took the opportunity to finish the build of our wood oven- it has been a LONG and ongoing project, interrupted by life, busyness and a large renovation.

I will post about the building of it soon- lots of you have asked!

I first posted about it here.

We have been cooking from it nearly every day.

The very first thing we cooked was Pork Crackling. Appropriate non?

Then the most gorgeous & simple pizza. It was the BEST.

It was such a heart filling project.  Built by a community of loved ones in just the manner we intend for it to be used- eating the food from it, with people we love.  The very best sort of food experiences.
























We have been listening to this a lot.



9 comments:

  1. You're back! Yay!!

    Your ideas sound great & I do have a little chat with myself as the new year rings in too. This year I'm focusing on finding balance. I need to balance my day to day life so it's not all about getting the chores done, so it's not just about getting the kids organized & it's not about letting small things build up until they seem too big to conquer. I need to find a bit more time to do fun stuff just for me & not let being a mum/wife be all my days are about. It all needs to be balance. It's going to be hard, especially with Tim still working away, the big kids needing me, the baby needing me more & the new baby arriving in May but I'm going to do it!

    Here's to a fab new year Ruth! xxx

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  2. I love the freshness, the feeling of a brand new year. I have a couple of writing projects that I'm ready to start.
    After a gorgeous beach break I'm enjoying these last few weeks of the holidays with my kids, the second one starts kindergarten this year so it feels very bittersweet for me. We've just been taking it slow, hanging out at home. I want to soak them up before school starts again. My kids and my husband truly are my fave people to hang with.

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  3. GourmetGirlfriend9 January 2014 at 11:11

    i love the 'SLOW' of the summer break so much

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  4. GourmetGirlfriend9 January 2014 at 11:12

    OMG another new baby for you! CONGRATULATIONS Reannon! how absolutely WONDERFUL!
    finding balance...a lifetimes work!
    good luck!

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  5. So so wise. I'm loving these photos too Ruth! x

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  6. Your oven looks fantastic Ruth. Wood ovens have a wonderful way of drawing people together, we built one ourselves last year and it makes me smile every time we use it. That pork crackle is perfect! I love that your boys have their names on it too.


    Your thoughts for the new year are very wise. One thing I want to do this year is live each day more gently. Happy 2014 to you x

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  7. that looks so amazing! and that pork crackling... i mayyyyy be salivating.

    very wise new year's words. if you're being the best you that you can, there's nothing that can keep you down ;D

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  8. Thanks Ruth. It is wonderful, exciting, scary & a whole heap of other emotions but I am so pleased, & very,very shocked, to know we are finishing off our family with a healthy little girl ( just found out yesterday). We totally expected,& were happy with, another boy so when they said girl I almost died of shock!
    As for the balance thing....I'm hoping if its at the forefront of my mind it'll help me focus on it more than if I threw it in with a heap of other goals :)

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  9. My new year has not been shiny my Dad had. A series of heart attacks and my sis had a very bad diverticulitis infection and she was also in hospital but they are now both on the mend and I am grateful to have my dad around for a wee bit longer ,I do love your community spirit Ruth ,just love it xx

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