Corner View {whatever}

Corner View this week is 'whatever' ... I guess that means we can share whatever we like !  I was thinking and thinking about what I would do and I've decided a little blog tour might be in order !  I've had a bit of a break (4 months!) from blogging.  Well, from this Simple Beauty blog anyway.  I've kept up The Beans Blog which is my cooking blog ....

So, here you go ... a little bit of what you will find on my blog ...

My first post on August 30th 2006 said this ... "For a long time now, I've been wanting to start a blog. I have a few friends who have them and I think it is a great way to keep up with what is happening with them ! Now, being that I write my weekly email, I thought I would do my blog a little different. I may post photos of us with newsy bits but for the most part I want this to be a tribute to loved ones. ( there are many so it will keep me going for ages !! ) I've wanted to write about the people that are important to me for ages but just never could find the right platform to do it from. I'm hoping this one will work"

I had no idea what  blogging was about !  I didn't know that OTHER PEOPLE would read my blog !  Strangers !  Strangers, who in some cases, have become friends.  And, in some cases, strangers who are strange !!  I got a fairly disturbing comment in 2008 that lead me to an even more disturbing website having to do with children ... Since I had heaps of photos of my children on my blog, I immediately made it private.  But, then I was removed from the blogging community !!  So, I started this blog and made the decision to not put pictures of my children's faces on it.  This has given me more peace of mind and also let me stay part of the blog community I so enjoy !

What do I write about ?  Well ... the things that I love ...

I love my husband, our story and our children. I love routine, and breaks in routine. And I love my life.  I love my job.   I love being intentional about what I do.  I love planning and organizing. I love creating systems. I love re-organizing and creating new systems. It's an ever changing cycle that I love !  I love to use things we already have on hand to organize.

I love simplicity.  How I wish I could live even more simply than we do.  I talk about our journey.  Doing the dishes together as a family ... and then about a new system that works even better ! I talk about changes we've made to live more simply, about balance, budgeting, more budgeting, and about scheduling 'slow times' into our days ! I talk about being thankful, our thankful tree and how it started,  making time, and a couple (embarrassing) video logs on my 'brain book' !

I talk about freecycle,  knitting, and defrosting your freezer.  I talk about buying our first house and how much we love being home, being crafty, and cherry margaritas ! I share excellent quotes from my parents.

Exercise and fitness.  I talk about my journey with both.

I love playing games, as does my family.  Here I teach you how to play the dice game, and ask some questions about Mah-Jongg.  And recommend good games for families to play together.

 
I love to cook.  And to eat.  And cook with the kids. I blog a little bit about food on this blog, but all the recipes are over on my cooking blog ... you all know it, right ?  The Beans Blog.  You can follow along on Facebook ... just hit the "LIKE" button and then all those yummy things we cook will show up in your news feed !!

I'm a menu planner.  I talk about that, and about online grocery shopping.

I love photography and playing with my camera so I post a lot of photos.  I love my garden.  And the birds.  And the bees.  And the frogs.  And the dragon flies !! And all the little things that can be found outside !  Even the spiders and the cheeky grasshoppers.  Being in Australia, this includes kangaroos !!  And many beautiful flowers.  Beaches !  Trees !  Strawberry Picking ! Picnics ! Mountains to climb ! The SKY !! Ah ... it's really just endless beauty !

I love to read so I share some thoughts on reading. My children love to read too, even out loud to each other !  I talk about where to store all those library books too ... so they don't get lost !

I enjoy painting and share a few of the painting I have done ... Uncle Phil and Jono,  Jardin de Fleurs, and Mundo de los Recuerdos.

 I talk a lot about parenting and childhood.  About our children having chores, about encouraging their abilities, and how they make their beds.  About our journey of how we taught the children to eat what we eat, without complaining ! Fun lunch time surprises, mud loving boy moments, adventures, and playing in the rain.  And our home management station and how it helps, and adding to it.  Also the funny things I find the kids doing.

I talk about choosing to forgive, and about the freedom it brings, and life being what we make it.  I talk about choosing to slow down, forgetting how old I am (!!) and making changes.

I recently got to share at a ladies conference ... I shared my international life story.  I talked about what we want our family life to look like,  and about the importance of family traditions.  I went into some things that may keep us from cooking regularly and shared some possible solutions. I talked about getting organized and a few tips. And I finished up with some stuff from the Bible that has helped me along the way.

And there you have it ... Simple Beauty, in a nutshell, all the things I love !

I hope you stay and have a look around !  And if you leave me a comment, I'll pop over to your blog and return the favor ! :) 

See you soon ... I'm off to check out 'whatever' in other corners of this big amazing world !