Category: Month in a word

Month in a word- February

Published on by seasidesparkles
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FRUSTRATION my word and feeling of the month but also a game we’ve liked to play this month!

 

My word for January was Homemaking and despite all my hopes for a fun, frolicking February I think it’s another f word for February, frustration! It’s been a month of domestic disasters, I’m pretty realistic and sanguine that these things happen but it’s the frustration to get things resolved that has caused the problems. It’s been a month of waiting and waiting and waiting… days have been wasted on the phone and stuck indoors waiting for engineers and second visits and deliveries (and redeliveries)

I don’t like to dwell on the negatives so away from the frustrations this month, I have loved the half term break and all our little treats, particularly our theatre trip to Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat which was amazing and very memorable. During the month, we’ve had pancake tossing, a lovely Valentines meal out and now we’re all having lots of fun with the new football goal in the garden which replaced our slide broken in the storms. Here’s to the Spring and blossoming of March.

January 2016 – Homemaking

Published on by seasidesparkles

In 2016 I thought I would start a series of monthly posts and theme them with a word to describe each month. January has been a very long month full of wet and miserable weather and lots of days hibernating inside. It’s been a month focusing on our home and the more domestic aspects of life so my word for January is homemaking.

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By virtue of the weather, spring cleaning has come early to the Sparkles home this year. Kitchen cupboards have been cleaned and refreshed, wardrobes have been blitzed and organised, book shelves have been renewed whilst I am really pleased how we redesigned the playroom with the new white storage unit which fits beautifully. To counter the darkness of the winter days, we have had fresh flowers each week, tulips are one of my favourite flowers and I love when they are in season as they are now. I have also used my lightbox to help brighten the days as the little phrases bring a smile.

In home making I have looked very carefully at the food we eat too. I did a detox for 3 weeks this month and it was remarkably simple, effective and really made me focus on fresh, wholesome food, how to nourish ourselves to give us the goodness we need not to merely survive but thrive. As a consequence I have purchased a few books, Jamie Oliver and Bee Wilson and followed a few new Instagram accounts for meal inspiration, including Deliciously Ella. I have cooked so many new recipes this month and they have been delicious. I’ve used lots of different herbs and spices, ingredients such as legumes, chia seeds and wholegrains and feel so much better in myself. I have also been using My Fitness Pal to record all my food and have used the nutrition features carefully. I did think that I had a generally healthy diet but my work this month has seen a few tweaks which are rewarding me with more energy, stamina and food appreciation. This all seems very noble and like a new year resolution, its more coincidence and that the new year has afforded me a little more thinking and planning time. It’s rare for me to have used January for new starts.

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I’ve not bought much for the house this month save a few new kitchen utensils, it’s been more about cleaning, decluttering and following the advice to keep things that ‘spark joy’

I love being at home and making our home, warm, welcoming and cosy.  To me homemaking is a positive and creative focus.