journey of the soul or journey of the mind?

When my "escape" journey started I had a different idea for my project. Initially the journey I had in mind was exclusively a journey of the soul and my aim was to collect some stories and experiences to highlight the huge difference between life in the city and life in the country. It was a concept that I was trying to develop inside my head and it was fascinating to me simply because as a city girl and mother of three I knew that life in the city had become extremely stressful and very intense. It can literally drive you insane at times! And having experienced moments of depression and "insanity" myself I knew how difficult it is to bounce back and regain control of your life. The pressure women like me are under every single day is the same pressure that dictates us how to act and where to go - basically tells us how to run our lives. Unfortunately in "our world" we are not allowed to stop and take a deep breath, because we constantly need to perform at the highest level in all occasions and in all aspects of life. The strength we need to achieve that impossible dream is beyond ourselves and the price we pay for it is extremely high. On the other end the country sounded like a better choice to me and even though I had absolutely no idea what life was really like in the country areas, the idea of a more relaxed and healthier environment really appealed to me. At the end of the day, mine was just a great desire to slow down my rhythm and bring some much needed relief to my life. So while I tormented myself with the thought of how wonderful it would be to start a new life in the country I also started to ask myself if perhaps what I needed more than anything else was to get in touch with my inner self and really try and understand what I wanted to achieve and where I wanted to go. So that is how the other "escape" project came about and how my mind started to then follow a different path and a new direction. Perhaps my change of direction was due to the fact that I now felt stronger and I was slowly regaining control of my dreams.

My "escape" journey was now becoming a journey of the mind. I was back! But I realised then that, that is what us women and mothers do, we put ourselves on the sideline for the sake of our partners and our kids, we work hard to make everyone happy and comfortable all the time but somewhere along the way we loose sight of our dreams until the day we realise that not all is lost and that after all we are still in charge of our own lives.

For me it was perhaps my old dream of being a writer that started the whole process again, and being inspirational to people is probably one of the other reasons! The word inspirational itself though brings all sorts of great and scary things to mind! Oh well, it was never going to be easy- and that is one thing I am pretty sure of!

escape the everyday

The rain is so refreshing! there's something so incredibly satisfying about the sound of the raindrops falling on the ground and the landscape around. I don' know what it is exactly but it just makes me feel good. It's very soothing for my thoughts and my soul...and it's liberating. It magically releases the stress accumulated over time and helps me refocusing on my objectives and regain the kind of confidence I need to take on my daily challenges. Speaking of challenges, they surely never stop coming at you and sometimes I wonder if I should just step aside and be a witness to my very own (daily challenges, weekly challenges, monthly challenges) instead of taking the leading role and all the headaches that come with it. Is it possible though? Is it possible to live life like a play and learn my lines bit by bit, day after day, pausing and listening to myself and to the ones around me... the ones I love, the ones I hate, the ones I would love to delete forever, the ones that come and go... It should be easy and not necessary to create a peaceful setting, a shelter for ourselves and our loved ones, perhaps a bit of a dream and a bit of reality... it doesn't matter... as long as it feels right and it's filled with what makes life enjoyable and fun. Laughter, joy, serenity...a book, a play, a DVD, music, food, drinks, sand, snow, sky, water, friends...list goes on forever... And there you have it, the perfect state of mind in the perfect hideaway, far away from phones, computers, annoying ring tones and extremely annoying human beings! What's the price for it all? The price? Incredibly that price would be nil as in zero and zero only! What part am I missing here? Where's my mind taking me? If there's a place I can get to whenever I want, where I can relax, dance, cry, do whatever I want and it doesn't cost me anything to get there...then what is the catch? And what am I still doing here? Am I that dumb not to realise that life is just what we want it to be and that the daily routine, the torture that we put ourselves trough each day is just our way of trying to impress other people. Yes other people, not ourselves. In reality I'm already here, in my hideaway place even if my mind doesn't know it and it plays tricks on me, interesting tricks...what a journey I have ahead of me.

Pebbles, rocks and all things furry...

I love pebbles, I really do, infact I love collecting them, drawing them and am fascinated by their shape and texture.

the creative home

I enjoy moving furniture and artwork around. At my house nothing stays in the same place for too long, my belongings often find themselves admiring the house and garden from different angles. I think this exercise is healthy and creative and stimulates the mind and soul. My kids love changing things in their little spaces too and they also enjoy creating new artwork which could be anything from a painting to a paper sculpture.

We also love to make edible creations of course! We do a lot of baking and cooking and we often make up our own recipes! Yes I'd like to think of ours as a creative home, a relaxed and wonderful place where everyone is allowed to express themselves. "Our little corner of the world"...it's a bit of a cliche' I know, but it's rewarding and good for the body and soul.

Well of course our home is not always a wonderful and creative place but we're only human... and very, very far from perfect!

my little corner of paradise

It's Monday and everything starts all over again

Yes, its Monday. Not always my favourite time of the week but on the other end I do like fresh starts and new beginnings so...why not? I think the best way to approach it, is to...look forward to it! No, I'm not mad and yes I really mean it. I know Monday is Monday and it will never be Friday but I also know - I've learnt my lesson - that it's okay to relax and embrace some of its energy which will hopefully allow me to focus on the rest of my week and be prepared to delegate, allocate, scream, laugh, cry and...all other things in between.

It's not an easy task but it can be achieved easily if planned ahead.

It does help to have a few other plans on the side, just in case something happens. We all know what it's like to deal with work, families and kids! You never know what's behind the corner!

So, get on top of your week and make Monday your best friend - it will be your secret and believe me, it will be worth it!

Some shortcuts might help to. And my recipe below is just an example of course!

Here is my "Monday spaghetti" recipe.

500 gr. Spaghetti

1 tin chopped or crushed tomatoes

half jar of pesto

olive oil, fresh oregano, 1 shallot

For the sauce, heat the oil and shallot in frying pan, add tomatoes and cook on high for five minutes. Add oregano and pesto and mix. Cook for another few minutes then turn flame off. Cook the spaghetti according to packet and when done pour sauce in and mix. Add parmesan cheese if desired.

Enjoy!

And never forget that life is about being happy on the inside and enjoy each moment of the day no matter which day of the week that might be. Because - and I'm quoting someone else here - "happiness is not a destination but a journey".

Sunday morning

...Then Sunday morning comes and we love to make our pancake recipe below...it's our little indulgence and it's lovely when the five of us sit around the table and...enjoy each other's company...