2017.

last night, the sun set on 2016 and this morning rose on 2017. it wasn't a great nights sleep for me and i woke up feeling tetchy and annoyed... the last time the baby woke, i wasn't able to lull myself back into sleep. rather than getting more annoyed, that i was missing out on precious sleep time, i took the opportunity to catch up on the backlog of blog posts that are sitting in my reader.
oh, and now, i'm using the time to tap out this wee post! with a cup of tea beside me of course.



what a big and crazy year 2016 was for bb and i! we brought in the new year knowing that there was a (very) little life growing inside of me and that knowledge and the reality of it shaped and changed our year in ways we never would have imagined even just a few weeks before.

we made a tree change before little ag came along, moving back in with my folks on their acreage to help us keep our living costs down when bb decided to take the year off from work. having that time off has done wonders for his mental health, and the health of our relationship too. living in such close proximity to one another, we've gotten to know one another even better, something i thought we were pretty much on top of after 11 years together!
and then there was ag's arrival! what a big, huge, crazy and awesome change that has been. i feel like a whole new person almost... something i'm definitely still coming to terms with.
bb has been so excellent with ag, such a fantastic dad, with a level of patience that i surely don't have. i've enthused to him over and over again, just how grateful i am that we are doing this together, that he's not had to head back to work and we get to do all of this baby stuff together. it's truly amazing.


now if you know me, you'll know that my brain is absolutely whirring with the possibility of the new year, all the plans that i could make and being that i love a list... well, i can't resist!

so without further ado, a few plans for 2017

* knit through my stash of sock wool - i'd reckon there's enough for half a dozen pairs and thankfully socks are the ultimate portable project. very easy to stash a project bag with a pair in the nappy bag! need to finish these ones up first though!

* enjoy the flux that comes with an odd living space and a baby - i'm a bit of a control freak, and like things to be how they SHOULD be so no doubt this will continue to challenge me... but i'm enjoying the freedom to move things around and make this space our own, and will continue to declutter and reorganise as we go.

* strive for simplicity - my favourite reads for last year were rhonda hetzel's books on simple living. and i thoroughly enjoyed listening to the slow home podcast too. very much hoping to make little small, slow changes to get us on the path to simpler living with a focus on family time and doing what will be best for us.

*make time for myself - i'm already realising this mum caper can be a little all encompassing, even with both of us home, and grandparents within shouting distance. i need to constantly remind myself that they're all capable, and i can take some time out for myself to knit, or drink tea, visit and catch up with friends, go to yoga or whatever i damn well please really!

*get productive in the garden - it's been a long time in between green love posts and a lot has changed, but not much new has gone into the garden. i've cleared space as each crop finished up, but getting things into those spaces and growing hasn't happened too much... i'm trying not to feel guilty as it should be the most productive time of the year in the garden, but i had other, more pressing priorities in spring!
now that ag is getting a wee bit bigger, i'm finding myself with snippets of time to get out there and get things happening, sometimes even with him! it's nice to set him up next to me and have him chat away while i pull weeds or plant out seeds.
some solid seasonal plans will help with knowing what needs to be done when i get those little opportunities i think.

*get back on the meal planning bandwagon - purse strings need to be tightened this year, plus it'll help keen us healthier and use up what we've got growing in our patch! win/win/win!

*volunteer - maybe at an op-shop? or something in this new community we're a part of. definitely feeling the need to put down some roots here!

*blog weekly - this one is definitely inspired by kate, i'm loving reading her little snippets ever friday and really once a week is enough to tell the stories i want to tell, share the things i want to share, as well as being a reasonable amount of time to commit to blogging each week. we'll see how we go!

what are your plans for this brand new year?