'Bed of Roses' Creative Colouring PDF Download

 

Click HERE to download my free 'Bed of Roses' Creative Colouring PDF

 

Spread your wings to make you fly

Lay a bed of roses to rest your head at night

 

 

Get Remarkably Organised: The Perfect Week

As a business owner, no two weeks are ever the same. I think I had embraced this point a little too much, and realised I had to have more control of my weeks.

 

After reading the Get Remarkably Organised book earlier this year I realised that my lack of a weekly routine was causing chaos in my life. As a result I felt I always had work on mind, no matter which day of the week it was, no matter what time of day. The house was a mess, I was spending $20+ a week on a gym membership I no longer used and unfinished personal creative projects were piling up (or were never even started in the first place).

The simple fact was I was allowing other people to fill my schedule for me, without giving any thought to when the best time of the week to do certain tasks and activities actually was. What is the point of working for yourself when you are still allowing others to choose when you work anyway?

When I got back from a recent overseas trip, I knew it was time to actually do something about it. Travel never fails to allow me the opportunity to reassess what is and isn't working in my life at the time. The weeks went by while I struggled to get back into a routine. This was mainly because I didn't actually have one to begin with!

Around this time I saw that Lorraine Murphy was doing a workshop about to the techniques and tricks. The timing couldn't be more perfect!

First things first, I needed to claim back the weekend. As a photographer who understands I need to provide some weekend availability to my clients, I decided I would continue to work Saturdays and allow Sundays and Mondays to be my days off. Before I rarely had two days off in a row, so this was a huge deal for me. I realised the importance of having a proper two-day weekend, not just two days off  each week.

I was also considering hiring a cleaner, as I felt I never had the time in my week to focus my attention in this area. But after claiming back my weekend I realised I actually did have time to clean, I just never had a specific time blocked out in which to get it done. This would also mean saving the $80+ a week I realistically didn't actually have to be spending on a cleaner.

Monday is now my favourite day of the week. That's a sentence I never thought I'd say! Not only because it's now one of my days off, but because it sets me up to have the best working week I possibly can. By the end of Monday my house including my office and home studio is clean, ready to have clients over for meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday. I've had the chance to get to the gym (Body Balance and Zumba are my classes of choice), meaning my head is clear for the week to come. The mental clarity I now have is a game-changer!

I also now book photoshoots back-to-back on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays only and very rarely make a special exception to this, so that I'm travelling to and from locations less often (saving money on petrol) and using my time more efficiently.

You can download the My Perfect Week worksheet to design your own!

The Weight of the World

 

This is the most difficult post I have ever written, as it is deeply personal. 

 

 

In early 2014, completely out of the blue and with no clear indication of what was causing them, I started experiencing terrifying vivid dreams almost every night. The nightmares are extremely traumatic to experience, with highly graphic and disturbing content. They are often very violent and threatening in nature. They are very difficult to shake upon waking due to the intensity and frequency of them.  I feel like I've been watching scary movies for 8 hours every time I wake up. Almost every time I sleep, even daytime naps, no matter what the duration. I am tired ALL. THE. TIME. For me, a proper restful sleep is nothing but a memory.

I also suffer from Excessive Daytime Sleepiness and occasional hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations as well (which occur during the transition from wakefulness to sleep just after you head hits the pillow, or during the waking-up process. People report hearing voices, feeling phantom sensations and seeing people or strange objects in their rooms).

After much time spent desperately searching for answers and self-investigating due to clueless and/or unhelpful General Practitioners telling me there was nothing wrong (GRR!), I was eventually diagnosed with Nightmare Disorder by the team at The Sleep Clinic. I had undergone an overnight sleep study which eliminated all other possibilities. 

 

I have to accept that there may be no cure for Nightmare Disorder yet, but I am still searching for ways in which to manage it. Again through time spent self-investigating, I came across the concept of weighted blankets as a treatment for sleep disorders. Despite what the www.neptuneblanket.com.au website promises, I knew there was no real guarantee it would work for me at all – but it was worth a try. 

After all, I’d tried almost everything else: seeing a sleep psychologist (recommended by The Sleep Clinic), yoga, more exercise, a sleep restriction technique, meditation, Image Reversal Therapy, hypnotism, medication, white tea, a red light, blackout curtains, dream catchers, minimising the content of TV and movies I watch... and the list goes on... without any success whatsoever. I have found the symptoms of Nightmare Disorder to be extremely consistent and persistent, occurring every night and causing me much distress. 

Weighted blankets aren’t cheap, but for me even the chance of being able to wake up in the morning and say ‘I had a good night sleep’ was priceless. I wish I could say I no longer wake up feel the weight of the world on my shoulders... but that would be a lie. The blanket has not reduced the frequency of my nightmares, but it has ever so slightly reduced the intensity in which I feel them. The blanket limits my movement, which means less thrashing around and less screaming out. It moulds to my body and mimics a hug, which I’ve found can be a little comforting. 


Although I still feel the weight of the world on my shoulders during and after sleep, I also feel the weight of my blanket... and so far that’s been more beneficial than any other suggested treatment option I’ve had from a health professional for my sleep disorder.

Backpack Bed For The Homeless

 

I have made the decision and commitment to donate a Backpack Bed for the Homeless once a year, every year on my birthday from now onwards.

 

'This year 40,878 Australians will sleep on our streets. Backpack Bed for Homeless provides Backpack Beds to street sleeping homeless people without shelter. The Backpack Bed has been specifically designed for people on the streets - a 2.9kg backpack that rolls out to an all weather protected bed. Distributed via over 500 homeless agencies across Australia. The Backpack Bed is study proven to improve homeless health, dignity, sleep, warmth, comfort, self esteem and safety.'

DONATE TODAY at https://backpackbed.org/au/

Seeing In Colour

There were no vibrant shades or hues

No tones but black and white

She couldn’t see the colour

That would lighten up her life

 

She couldn’t see the rainbow

So she went and bought some paint

She started painting through the night

Wild and free without constraint

 

When the morning sun came up

The walls were no longer white

All the colours of the rainbow

Were now everywhere in sight

 

She painted every wall

Until her world was filled with colour

Each brushstroke what she needed

To help heal and to recover

 

Red, yellow, pink and green

Purple and orange and blue

You all know how the song goes

But now she can sing it too

 

Her heart was truly happy

When she looked at what she’d done

The war inside her tired mind

Was now well and truly won

 

The pot of gold was waiting

She could see it at the end

The well deserved reward

For the soul she worked to mend
 

The Moon & The Stars

 I’ll give you the moon

I’ll give you the stars

Just hold my hand

And it will be ours

The Sun Room

They call it the sun room

It’s the sunniest room of course

In my parents house atop the hill

It could certainly be worse!

 

With the most amazing view

To welcome you

Along with a hug and a smile

You’ll surely want to stay a while

 

There’s laughter and there’s warmth

There’s family, fun and food

There’s always someone there to talk to

No matter what your mood

 

From kids through to teenagers

Then to grown-ups we would bloom

We now hold a lifetime of memories

In the sun room

 

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