Merry Christmas, One and All

I love this time of year, and what it is meant to stand for. Merry Christmas to the few who follow this page and the many who do not. Oh well! So nice to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, and what he stood/stands for. Wonderful to come to the end of the year and to have the time, hopefully, to reflect upon the past twelve months. For myself it has been a rather turbulent but also an enriching time. My design course has now been completed and I can move on from there. Good, but a sigh of relief, too. It was a slog at the end, I have to say.

More importantly though, it has been a good, fulfulling year with my family and friends, my two lovely boys, but very sad re the Miners and the Christchurch earthquake. Makes one take stock and reflect upon the smallness of our seemingly large problems, and the fact of how every day, how lucky and blessed we are, just to live in this lovely land. Blessings, New Zealand, and best wishes for 2011. Merry Christmas. God Bless. Family time is the best.

De-Facebooked, forever.

Having deactivated my Facebook acconnt awhile aback now, (not for the first time, though, I'm sorry to say), I am this time around not missing it at all.  Tired of all the inane commenting, by both myself and others, for me, it became a dangerous drug. This sounds over-dramatic, but I was a Facebook freak for far too long.. I have finally realised what a huge time-zapper it can be, and just how empty it is, although sometimes it had its uses. Celebrity pages are the most interesting, but can be static, and often a one-way event. I just don't see the point in having loads of 'friends' who I've never even met, and I'd rather meet the ones I do have face to face over coffee, etc. Does the technical world have to take away everything that was face to face, for real, and in the moment? Nope. Far nicer to see people in the flesh, to see their facial expressions, to have a laugh with them, to enjoy their actual company. I have avowed not to return to the drug of Facebook, and its one New Year's resolution I intend to keep. Also gives me more time for reading books, writing letters, doing art, hanging out with the family, watching movies, cooking, etc, etc, etc. Social networking. I'm over it!

Working Mum versus Stay At Home Mum, guilt still rules

Having tried it both ways when my kids were really small, staying at home full time, against working four full days a week, it's really hard to be guilt free either way. With working, you feel like you're leaving the raising of your littlie's to others, missing out on magic moments, on quantity rather than just quality time, whereas staying at home is far more relaxing I found, lovely having all that time on your hands with your babes, but the guilt remains; no longer are you earning money so you have no right to the usual little treats, no one thanks you for what you do (not that they often did in the workplace either, and there is less of a feel-good, achieiving, I-can-do-this job, and love it, factor. But at the end of hte day, I think there can be a balance; work part time, work from home, work when the kids are in school. Overall, staying at home with the kids was the best choice, and I would hate to get back onto the working full time and mothering treadmill, now. Their smiling faces have been worth it, and the time just goes so fast.....teenagers soon....a whole new ballgame....or not! Support groups like Mainly Music, coffee mornings etc, was really great, the mums very relaxed and friendly, when I was staying at home. I am happy not to return to the corporate world, they don't and will never ever understand the plight of the working Mum!