Honest Scrap award

Thank you, Jillian, for passing the Honest Scrap Award on to me. (Is the 'Scrap' part with regard to a 'scrap book' type entry?) I'm pleased that you find some of my writings interesting and/or encouraging. I haven't been blogging that long, but sharing thoughts and events from my household is something I'm very much enjoying. :)

To keep this award, there are some rules by which I (and future recipients) must abide:
1) Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.
2) Share "ten honest things" about myself.
3) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.
4) Tell those 7 people that they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving it.

Okay, here goes. 10 honest things about me:

• Since I was around 10yrs old, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. Once I had gone through 4yrs of tertiary teacher training, though, I felt like a round peg in a square hole. I also really wanted to be a SAHM (stay at home mum) as my children were growing up. Although homeschooling wasn't pre-planned, I'm glad that I finally found where I 'belonged'. It's also been a huge learning curve. I'm constantly having to swat for new learning styles and activities. Nothing rigid about this lifestyle! :)


• I've always enjoyed trying my hand at doing something new. I know that one cannot be good at everything (for example, my ball-handling skills are pathetic!), but I at least like to know I've had a decent plug at it before I make up my mind to either leave it alone to those with natural talent, or consider pursuing it further. Still, 'having a go' is something I also try to instill in the children, and I have to lead by example .. so they still get to see me make mistakes, and then we all have a good laugh over it! :)


• My greatest fear is falling. I used to think it was heights, but I'm okay at standing up high if there's something to securely hold me. Climbing UP a rockface didn't frighten me as much as abseiling down (and yet the later is easier, so go figure!) .... and no, I'm not that active in adventure type sports now. That was a long time ago, lol!!


• My lifestyle is very much 'city girl trying to live in country girl shoes'. Perhaps part of this is from Dad's side as he grew up in the country, but I've always been in the suburbs. I really like outdoor work, getting my hands dirty, and lots of space around me. This is something we've tried to change (ie: looking for bigger property) but circumstances just don't allow it. So, our family motto is: "We make do with what we have".


• Following from the previous point, I am really enjoying learning about gardening. I'm self-taught in this area, relying heavily on many books and advice from friends. One hope I really do have is that my enthusiasm will rub off on the children so they'll learn 'life skills' to take with them into their futures. It's probably one of the areas on our lives where we can still have some control. You can always grow SOMETHING that's living, even if it's in an old shoe, and if the seed is good, you can grow more.


• Music has always been a big part of my life. We (my brothers and sisters) often sang together, sometimes in musicals or choirs, but most often just in the backyard or around the piano, making up harmonies. It's one thing I've really missed since we've all married and then moved to other parts of the country, but thankfully my husband has shared some of those experiences with me and it's now becoming part of our family tradition.


• This Spring will be our 15th wedding anniversary. I'm astonished time has gone by so quickly!


• To date, I still have never set foot out of this country. My husband and I have made two attempts, though. The first was for our honeymoon, but the airline went bankrupt and alternative plans had to be made. The second fell through because of political trouble in the area we planned to go, and upon advice cancelled. Still, we haven't given up and plan to set out with the children in a couple more years.


• I find it very difficult to sit and do nothing. Whenever possible I like to be working on something: sewing, knitting, cross-stitch, quilting ... but that leads to another problem: I often have several projects on the go at once, so quite often take longer than planned to finish what was started (and as a by-product, can be a little 'messy' ~ ah hem!)


• My home: I try to make it as warm and as comfortable as possible. Country/cottage feel; wooden floorboards, quilts/blankets and cushions, crafty displays, recycled furniture throughout. If I'm snowed under and feeling disorganised, I'd still love to have you visit, so long as you 'take me as I am'. More than happy to put on the kettle for a cuppa.

I'd like to pass this award on to the following people, in no particular order, and look forward to reading their replies. :)

• Louise at The Fig Tree


• Cee at Ceelew


• Mum Unplugged at Unplug Your Kids


• Homehandymum at Adventures in Sideways Living


• Christine at The Home Truth


• Jamie at Rose Cottage


• Lindafay at Higher Up and Further In