I was just thinking about looking for a funny clip on YouTube when the following email came into my inbox from my SIL. It fitted my plans for Smiley Saturday this week perfectly.

MEN ARE JUST HAPPIER PEOPLE………

NICKNAMES

What better reason to smile this week than to celebrate a birthday. I had a lovely quiet day. It began with some pressies before the kids went to school, continued on with a couple of nice emails and a loonnngg soak in the tub reading one of the magazines Farmboy bought for me. Some computer time in the afternoon followed by birthday cake when the kids got home from school and then out for tea with another family.

Plus of course there was the win at the netball carnival.

If you’d like to make me smile this week, please consider joining in our Smiley Saturday.

While in part this blog was supposed to be about my journey toward a more simpler life, I will admit that I still LOVE shopping. Not that I think Simple Living and a love of shopping need to be mutually exclusive (hee, hee, I just used something I learnt in MATHS on my blog - shock, horror!!! ). I think the point with Simple Living is to shop MINDFULLY. Some would also say it’s to shop for NEEDS more than WANTS. So perhaps I’ll never be as “good” at Simple Living as some. But that’s okay, I’ll happily carve my own path in life.

Where am I going with all this dribble on such a fine Saturday morning? Just self-justifying a little here, that’s all. Cos I want to show you a couple of purchases that made me smile this week.

First up - we bought a new television:

It wasn’t quite within our original budget or plan but that had changed before we went shopping. We talked the whole “digital” vs “analogue” issue over and in the end decided on a budget of $1000 instead of $500. We received some extra money from Centrelink after our last tax return was done (part of the old baby bonus that was spread over 5 years) and I suggested that we could use $1000 of that toward the television.

Farmboy did well and spent only $850 of it. While it was the “baby” of the television screens in the store, this one fits our cabinet perfectly and has created lots of smiles from the whole family. One thing I do enjoy about being frugal is that when we do “splurge”, the gratification is quite high.

I bought myself a netball:

Singstar Princess wanted to take it to netball training this week instead of her own netball. Farmboy and I allocate $40 each per month as personal spending money. I usually spend mine on magazines, chocolate and craft supplies. Oh, and sometimes clothes. Due to my lack of organisation so far this year, we got 4 months of spending money all at once. $160!!!! What a windfall! I felt very decadent and rich. One of the things I really like about having our own money is that I can say “no, it’s mine. I bought it with MY pocket money”.

She can hardly complain. I bought her netball for her - she didn’t even have to spend her OWN money on it. Of course, I am going to need someone to do some passing with me!!!

While I’m on the subject of netball. Some of you have probably picked up that my netball coach is a regular reader and commenter here. Next time she makes a comment along the lines of “it’s not boot camp” - DON’T BELIEVE HER!!!! We ended up training for 2 HOURS this week. 2 HOURS!!!! I certainly slept well Thursday night!!! Fingers crossed I actually play better this week as a result.

My new shoes:

Ever since boots started making their appearance in stores this season, I’ve been hankering after a pair. These weren’t actually my first choice. My first choice were more than twice the price. Unfortunately, when I got to the check-out, I realised they were damaged and they didn’t have any others in my size. So I bought this pair instead. I REALLY liked those with a much narrower heel but my knees didn’t like the unsteadiness. *sigh* Must be getting old. I have to settle for low boots cos my legs are too fat!

So, there you have it. Lots of new toys to make me smile this week.

Sticker Swap

How are the Sticker Swappers going? I’m sitting here looking at mine waiting to be posted off (sorry Trish ). Has everyone been able to at least make contact with their swap partners? Please let me know if you’ve hit a snag there.

Why Not Join Us?

Anyone can join in Smiley Saturday. If you’ve not done so before, please read the Smiley Saturday page before posting your link into the Mr Linky below. I have added the regular particpants list to that page also. If you’re blog doesn’t appear there and you fit the criteria mentioned, please let me know and I’ll add you.

Wishing you all a wonderful Smiley Saturday everyone.

I have to admit that I’m really thankful for my plans to focus on nurturing myself this month. This past week my body has been busy fighting a virus (a cold) and it’s been a good opportunity for me to put my nurturing into practise.

In spite of not being well, there has been plenty to smile about this week.

Farmboy began the groundwork for putting down the pavers in our patio. He is planning to do the whole job himself.

The younger two had a great time playing backyard gladiators with the punching bag Farmboy had dismantled to move out of his way:

Leighton the “princess tennis star” is always making me laugh with his antics:

I took some time out to appreciate a sunset from our front verandah (porch):

These new bedsocks have been a GREAT way to pamper myself. Sometimes it’s the little things that can make a big difference to rejuvenating our spirit. These feel like the softest little hug on my feet. It’s such a special way to end the day - snuggling in my bedsocks. They ALWAYS make me smile.

What things have you done this week to nurture yourself?

I look forward to reading your contributions to Smiley Saturday this week. Please remember to link directly to your Smiley Saturday post and link back here as well.

Paying more attention to my own needs has been great timing this week as my body continues to struggle with withdrawing from my meds. It’s bearable though. In some ways it’s been quite a BIG week.

Monday my brother and his girls visited the farm.

Tuesday I had a life coaching session (I’m still to finish writing the post about that)

Wednesday was my day to head into town and my GYM BUDDY was back (yahhh!!!!)

Thursday was a nice quiet ME day with sleep-in followed by a 2 hour soak in the bath-tub and then out to netball training.

Friday I took Trailer Boy for a drive to a nearby town where we had a casual day of browsing shops and a brief visit to a friends place.

In keeping with my theme for June of self-nurturing, I wanted to share with you this simple chair yoga video (that I think Carole tweeted the link for during the week?). It’s simple, you can do it right in front of your computer and it takes less than 10 minutes per day. But it will leave you feeling GREAT!

Anyone like to join me in my challenge to do this yoga every day for the next week?

The following Linky is for anyone participating in Smiley Saturday. Please link directly to your Smiley Saturday post to make navigation for visitors easier and remember to link back here so your readers can find other Smiley Saturday participants.

As a thank you to those who participate in Smiley Saturday on a regular basis (which is totally optional - you can participate as little or as often as you would like), I’m going to start a list of regular participants on my Smiley Saturday page. If you have participated in 3 or more Smiley Saturdays and plan to continue to do so, could you please leave me a comment below so that I can add you to the list.

I want to dedicate this week’s Smiley Saturday post to the idea that we need to care for ourselves more.

As someone who is still recovering from a Nervous Breakdown (it’s now over 2 years since this occurred), I KNOW I need to find ways to care for myself.

Carole from The Healthy Living Lounge has issued a challenge to her readers to put themselves first for a month. She has some great suggestions for how you can do that.

I have decided to take her up on her challenge and really focus on caring for myself and putting myself first this month.

A couple of ways in which I intend to do this are:

• Cutting back my time spent on the computer (don’t worry, I’ll still be blogging but could spend less hours a day on here and still do that).
• Focusing on slow and controlled breathing. And in general just being more self-aware.
• Spending more time outdoors (a challenge in winter but one I’m prepared to tackle).

There are plenty more ideas I’d like to do but better to keep it simple I think.

What about you? Anyone else prepared to put their hand up for this challenge? I’d love to hear from you at least one thing you’re prepared to focus on this month that puts YOU first.

Make sure you read Carole’s article for the whole story and you might like to consider following her on Twitter. She puts out some very inspirational tweets that remind you to do small things to rejuvenate yourself.

It’s important to remember that if we’re run down, we’re of less use to those around us. What better way to bring a smile to our faces than to look after ourselves?

For those who are participating in Smiley Saturday this week, feel free to post your link below (it doesn’t have to be on looking after yourself - your Smiley Saturday topic is entirely up to you). If you’re new to Smiley Saturday, please read my Smiley Saturday page BEFORE submitting your link.

Happy Smiley Saturday everyone and hope you have a wonderful weekend.

We have an announcement Smiley Saturday post this week.

Firstly, the Smiley Saturday Sticker Swap Partners are:

Widdle Shamrock and Leigh

Mariposa and Kate

Lightening and Trish

Sarah and Lynda

Details for the swap and your partners contact information can be found on the original post here.

If you have any trouble getting in contact with your partner, please let me know and I’ll help you get in touch.

I’m not going to set a DEADLINE for this swap. Just stay in touch with your swap partner and get your stickers in the mail when you can.

Above all, have FUN!!!!

Winner of the Madame Rouge Giveaway:

Thank you to everyone who entered my Madame Rouge Giveaway and visited the Madame Rouge site.

I used a more “traditional” method for choosing a winner this time. Pieces of paper folded and shaken up in my Madame Rouge pink box. I did make sure ALL pieces of paper were identical - okay, maybe not “computer cut” identical but pretty darn close.

And the winner is……

**** Lil****

Congratulations Lil.

I hope you enjoy your massage therapy kit from Madame Rouge.

I will email you soon to get your contact details from you.

And here’s something from LOLcats which I hope makes you all smile:

Cat’s are such funny creatures. They bring a lot of joy to a lot of lives. Can’t say that I’ve ever seen one cleaning their teeth though.

If you’re new here, welcome. Anyone is free to join in Smiley Saturday if they wish to. More details can be found on the Smiley Saturday page.

This is an automated message: Sorry, Lightening’s not here right now. She’s off playing NETBALL!!!! She will be back later and be sure to respond to all your lovely messages.

Yes, the big day is finally here. It’s kind of strange for me to be writing about it in advance but then, I usually write my Smiley Saturday posts on a Friday (shhh…..don’t tell anyone ). The price we pay for Saturday sport.

So say a pray for me today (or cross your fingers, send positive vibes and what not) that I won’t make a total fool of myself. But mostly that I’ll relax and enjoy myself rather than getting all tense and freaked out like.

Singstar Princess is also playing her first game today. Hers is just a practise game because our opponents don’t have a team at that level. So the girls on their “practise year” are helping to make up a second team so they all get a game. She’s not so sure she wants to play so we’ll see what the day brings.

In other smiley news this week, Farmboy has finally been able to start putting our seed in the ground. May is optimum timing for planting seed so we’re glad to be able to get going.

I also came across a great website this week. It’s called Found Shit but don’t let the title put you off. There are some fabulously funny photographs posted there. If you need a bit of a laugh, it’s a great place to visit.

For those who haven’t already, don’t forget to enter my Madame Rouge massage oil giveaway.

Plus of course, it’s still not too late to sign up for the Sticker Swap. If you’re the type of person who enjoys something special in the mail, here’s a low cost, fun way to receive a little bit of joy in the post.

I look forward to reading all your Smiley Saturday posts while I’m recovering from my day today. If you’re new here, you can find more information about joining in on my Smiley Saturday page.

Wishing you all a WONDERFUL weekend full of joy and laughter!!!! 

Who’s up for another “Smiley Saturday” Swap????

I’ve been thinking about a “theme” for another swap since we had our last “pink” themed one. I chose pink because “Lightening Loves Pink”. So it made sense to me to choose something else that I love.

If we have enough of these swaps then you’ll all get to know me quite well through them.

What I’ve chosen this time around is something that is nice and cheap to post. I’m hoping that we can get a good mix of international participants as this is something that would be doubly fun if you’re sending to someone overseas.

The only restriction I’m putting on this swap is that the contents of your swap MUST fit inside a standard sized envelope. In Australia a Standard Sized Envelope is 110×220mm. I’m not sure if this is the same in overseas countries but it’s basically an A4 folded into 3. There is also a restriction on how thick and heavy these can be so if you’re not sure, you might need to check that out.

So, I guess you want to know what we’re going to swap then????

Well, Lightening LOVES…..

STICKERS!!!!!

Please tell me I’m not the only way who is a sticker fanatic?

One of the things I LOVE about the Scrapbooking craze has been the increase in the variety of interesting stickers available in stores.

So much fun and so many reasons to smile. Then you can use your stickers to make others smile (or use them in your Scrapbooking or craft if you like).

How many packets you send your partner is entirely up to you (as long as they fit a standard envelope). The kind, colour, shape and so on. Totally up to YOU.

So, anyone interested in a “Smiley Saturday Sticker Swap”? C’mon, you’re NEVER too old for stickers!!!!

I’m going to keep the Swap sign-up open for 2 weeks. If you’d like to mention it on your own blog, that would be wonderful. The more people we get involved, the more fun we can have.

To participate in the swap, simply leave a comment on this post with your email address in text format (for example mine is lightening at lighteningonline dot com). If you could include the country you live in as well, that would be wonderful as I’d like to pair people up to partners in different countries as much as possible. If you don’t want to leave your email address in the comments, sending it to me privately is fine.

For those who are new to Smiley Saturday, the Mr Linky box below is not related to this swap but is available to anyone who would like to participate by writing their own Smiley Saturday post. You can find more information by clicking on the Smiley Saturday page.

I hope you’re all having a wonderfully Smiley Saturday.

I have a LOT to smile about this week because I am feeling better than I have in about 5 years!!!! One good thing about struggling with depression is that you REALLY appreciate feeling good.

Other Smiley moments this week:

• My Lovely Day
• I got to feel my niece/nephew (in utero) kick!!!!
• Leighton came home from school camp in one piece (AND didn’t lose his brand new Crows jacket)
• Leighton played a fabulous game of football last week and ended up being voted best player. I’m happy just to see him improve his skills and confidence but getting best player sure did make him smile.

Now For The Moment You’ve All Been Waiting For……….

What? You don’t know what I’m talking about????

Haven’t you been hanging out to see who won the Ecofriendly Shopping Bag Giveaway????

Alright, here’s the big announcement.

The WINNER is……….

***CIARA***

Congratulations Ciara. I have your email so I will contact you to get a mailing address from you.

Do Not Despair

You can purchase your own bag (or 2 or 10) here.

PLUS……. There are LOTS more opportunities for fun coming up on Lightening Online.

NEXT WEEK

I will be announcing the next “Lightening Loves…..” Smiley Saturday swap. Make sure you check in next Saturday to find out more about that.

ALSO COMING SOON

Another great giveaway

AND

Something a little bit different

So stay tuned peoples. There’s more fun to be had yet.

JOIN IN

If you’d like to join in with our Smiley Saturday meme, feel free to borrow the image above, link back here and leave a link in the Mr Linky to your Smiley Saturday post. Remember, funny photo’s and video’s make great Smiley Saturday posts too! You can post whatever you like as long as there are smiles involved.

Have a GREAT weekend everyone and a wonderful MOTHER’S DAY for all mother’s out there celebrating Mother’s Day on Sunday.