Relaxing in the pool
Posted on by Debbie

January Time – taking stock

Talking Time 

It’s interesting looking back on my posts from January to see just how often the word TIME is mentioned or as a theme for the actual post! In fact over half my posts in January have the theme of TIME!

Time just happens to be my Word of the Year (WOTY) and I didn’t set out to write so many posts about TIME, but it seems to have happened that way all by itself!  My subconscious mind is taking over 🙂

Grab a cuppa, make yourself comfortable and settle in for a chat as we look back over the month together.

So where did January go?

SUMMER – TIME

In case you didn’t know it’s been a sizzling HOT summer down-under.  In our little town we have had only one day under 30 degrees celcius (86F) throughout January and that day the temperature was 29.9C 🙂  A few days it climbed to over 40 (104F) degrees which made it difficult to even leave the house.  We have also had wild summer storms with giant hailstones and gusty winds which all but ruined my delightful sunroom in the garden.  Thankfully the Mathematician is on the job and thinks he can put it back together again.

Storm approaching
Mooloolaba Beach, Queensland
Rainforest Retreat

FAMILY – TIME

January was a great month for catching up with family members.  Surprisingly, it turns out I was away more days than I was at home during the month (my bag stays packed and ready in my bedroom these days) with visits to Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and the Mathematician visited Nowra on the South Coast of NSW.

I stayed with my sister in Melbourne while she underwent breast cancer surgery and we enjoyed our sister-time, with reading, watching movies, visiting an Escher exhibition, watching tennis and making Bitmojis of ourselves and having fun sending messages using our doppelgängers (yes we are very immature and way behind on this craze but hey, it made us laugh).  I also rediscovered my ability to recreate my daughters’ favourite hairstyle – the side pony – on my sister’s hair, while she was at my mercy 🙂

My mother, brother and I enjoyed a few days away at a tranquil rainforest retreat in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland as we remembered the first year anniversary of losing my dad.  I also caught up with my youngest daughter while up north, and that was a real bonus!

My middle daughter and my granddaughter live closest to me, in Canberra (a mere 3 hours drive away), and I managed to catch up with them during the month too, which is always such fun.  While out walking with Emilia in the pram as my daughter had an appointment, I was taken for her mother – I think they need their eyes checked but I thought I’d just mention it here anyway!  Oh my, Emilia is growing up so fast, slow down baby girl!

My eldest daughter lives in England and we had a few FaceTime chats with her, marvelling at the difference in temperatures and weather conditions as well as catching up on all the news.  I love technology and being able to see her lovely face.

So all in all, I ‘saw’ most of my family during the month.  While I was up north with my mother, my husband was spending time with his mother and sister and entertaining the Exchange students – so between us we’ve been very family orientated.  Family is everything when all is said and done!

My sister, keen to bring back the side pony!
Enjoying a cup of tea with mum
Brotherly love

TENNIS – TIME

While I was in Melbourne with my sister, the Australian Open was on. In previous years we had been regular tennis visitors but not so much in recent times.  As my sister had lots of visitors planned, and at her suggestion, I took myself off for a day at the tennis. It was a humid, showery day but I enjoyed myself immensely with hundreds of thousands of other people!

Me at the Australian Open
Rain delay with all hands on deck

BLOGGING  – TIME

I managed to write a few fun posts during the month but the best thing to happen was meeting up with a blogging friend in real life (IRL).  Sue, from Sizzling Towards 60 and Beyond, and I have been blogging friends for ages but had never managed to meetup in person, mainly as she lives thousands of kilometres away from me!  But it happened just last week and we chatted away like old friends despite never having actually ‘met’ each other before.  My mum was with us and thoroughly enjoyed the catch up too.

Colourful Bloggers Sue and Debbie
Colourful Bloggers Sue and Debbie

My favourite post this month was writing about the time my parents joined us on a 2 week bike and barge tour, cycling from Paris to Bruges – over 500km!  This was in response to a Facebook memory that popped up a while ago and fitted in well with the timing of things.

It’s also TIME for the Annual Bloggers Bash Awards with nominations now OPEN – read here for the links on how to nominate your favourite bloggers –  NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN. This year the categories have all changed so make sure you read up on the rules and instructions.  Good luck to everyone, I’m trying to sort out who to nominate as we speak – it’s very hard with so many of my favourites out there!

ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE – TIME

We’ve had lots of experience with Rotary Exchange Students over the years and last year on our Odyssey we visited Annabell in Germany.  She had been an Exchange Student in Tumbarumba for a year in 2016/17 and decided to visit everyone for a brief visit in the first weeks of the new year.  It was lovely to see her again and have her stay with us.  It was also good that she got to meet up with our current Exchange Student Anna, from Hungary, who is living with us at the moment.  It’s been a long time since I had teenage daughters at home, let alone two!  We all enjoyed ourselves and tried to stay cool.

Anna and Annabell with the Mathematician
Hammock fun

ANNIVERSARY & BIRTHDAY – TIME

January is always a big month as we were married exactly a month after my 19th birthday, which means we celebrated 39 years of wedded bliss this year!  Where has the time gone?  And the Mathematician celebrated another birthday – his first as a grandfather as Papa G!

39 years wedding anniversary
Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun!
Birthday wishes from Emilia

PHOTOGRAPHY – TIME

I have always enjoyed photography and while in Melbourne my sister and her husband very generously gave me some pointers and lessons on macro photography and editing processes.  We enjoyed an impromptu photo shoot of some flowers my sister had received and I shared some of the purple roses in this post- Purple roses not purple rain .

Here are a few of my favourites:

Purple rose #1
Purple rose #2
Purple rose #3
Purple rose #4
Purple rose #5
Orange lily
Orange lily #2
Pink rose
Reaching out

READING – TIME

I’ve started my 2019 reading challenge quite well and am reading a mix of genres as per usual!  I have just finished reading Pastures of the Blue Crane by H F Brinsmead.  I should say re-reading, as I first read this book as a teenager.  It was set around the Murwillumbah area, the town where I was born and visited for many years as my grandparents and cousins lived there.  It’s where my mother still lives today after moving there with my father quite some time ago.  It resonated with me more-so as a teenager but I still enjoyed the nostalgic trip, despite the dated language and ideas.  Have you ever re-read a book that your younger self had read and enjoyed?  It’s quite a weird feeling.

Reading time
Reading time

Why did I choose the word TIME for my WOTY?

It’s funny how sometimes a word keeps jumping out at you in what you read, what you listen to or just in everyday conversation.  That’s what happened with TIME, it just kept cropping up, so I decided to go with it and jotted down a few ways I am going to try to focus on TIME in 2019.

You can read more about my WOTY in my post – How to get more TIME in 2019 but in the meantime here’s a brief excerpt.

  • TIME for self
  • TIME for others
  • Take TIME
  • Make TIME
  • Give TIME
  • Lose the guilt in relation to TIME passing
  • Use TIME wisely
  • Try not to waste TIME
  • Down TIME
  • Limit TIME on social media
  • Make the most of TIME

THAT’S A WRAP – TIME’S UP!

Taking stock of January

I think you’ll agree that was a pretty big month – full of fun, family and a great use of my TIME!

Thanks for reading my post, and I hope you enjoyed it 🙂

Wishing you all a happy February, may you use your time to your advantage and make the most of your days.

I’m hoping February will be a bit less busy but will have to wait and see what the month brings!  What have you got planned?

Deb xx

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Linking up here for the weekly #MLSTL party (Midlife Share the Love), Esme’s Senior Salon and A Sentence a Day

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Time

58 Replies to “January Time – taking stock”

  1. You are such a cutie pie. What a fabulous January you had. I didn’t realize you were such a talented photographer, too. The purple rose series is beautiful. I have always wanted to learn how to edit to eliminate all but one color in a photo or to alter the colors. I can fiddle around with filters after taking the photos but I don’t know how to isolate only one color.

    So glad you and Sue could pick and elevate your friendship to real life status. I haven’t met a single blogger that I am friendly with. But I think I am about the only blogger in El Paso, Texas or within miles! I am very shy so it might be fore the best.

    Yay for time, family time, time to yourself, giving time and using it wisely. Excellent choice for your WOTY.

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    1. Thanks for your lovely comment Leslie, I really enjoyed reading it. I am trying to improve my photography and am lucky to have my sister and brother in law as talented photographers. They share their tips with me and offer support and encouragement.

      It was fab meeting Sue, she is just so lovely. It’s so fun meeting up in real life, I hope you get to do it at some stage.

      Time is something we all have limited amounts of and so it well worth spending it wisely! Love having you pop in and your comments are always well received. 😊

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  2. Sounds like you’ve had a busy month. Glad you got to be there for your family. January was busy for me too. I’m taking some time off in February, before our next move in March. I enjoyed your post, Deb. Hope you get some cooler weather soon.

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  3. Pingback: SENIOR SALON 2019 ROUNDUP: Feb 4-8, 2019 ~ Esme Salon

  5. Hello Debbie! Well, time goes by so quickly – I can’t even find the time to do a summary of January! Well, done, you fit a lot into the first month of the year 🙂 And it’s nice to have a record of your achievements right here. Good luck with February! Visiting from MLSTL and pinned. 🙂

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  7. Deb, Isn’t it interesting when our WOTY suddenly becomes visible everywhere?! I love how you articulated TIME …Make Time, Take Time, Make the most of Time. Really makes the word come alive… and I expect it will continue to pop for you all year long! visiting from #MLSTL

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  8. Great word Deb and you have definitely made the most of it already. What a whirlwind January you have had. I hope you get to take a few deep breaths in February.

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  9. I read this understanding from your words in comments that February has left you a little flat. I am not surprised. I reckon our emotions tell us “enough” by this. You sure have planned your TIME, measured your TIME and had quite a TIME doing so, but maybe now the TIME is for some reflection and rest. You have been going January really hard and full-on for all the right reasons…and despite the crappiness of Feb’s weather, I hope you can find some downTIME. Much love sent your way Denyse x #mlsl

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    1. Your are so very perceptive Denyse and I totally agree with your comments. I am trying to rest and take time to reflect, it’s certainly been a big time emotionally bas well as physically. I really appreciate your support and promise I’ll try to slow it down a bit. You take care too xx

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  11. That was your time well-spent in January, Deb. Keep doing what you enjoy with the people you love. How lovely that you and Sue met after all these blogging years. Have a wonderful February! #MLSTL

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  12. A great month Deb – lots of family time – which is definitely the BEST way to spend time. So wonderful that you could be there to support your sister and also to take time out with your Mum (with the added bonus of meeting up with Sue!) I’m heading towards the end of my Qld visit – but still have my lunch date tomorrow to look forward to with the other blogging girls – LOVE the Blogging Life!!

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    1. Thanks Leanne, it was a good month with family and I’m very lucky to be able to do what I do. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed your Qld visit and enjoy your lunch date with your blogging girls x Can’t wait to hear all about it.

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    1. Haha!! Yes it took me a while to write up during the month but it was time well spent 🙂 As you know I do enjoy meeting up with my blogging buddies. Sue was lovely, just as I imagined her to be, but she’s tiny, tiny!

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    1. Yes sending heat over now, it’s on the way to you! Thanks for your comment re my sister’s hair do, I was very happy with my hair skills and despite having three daughters I was shocking at doing their hair. They learnt to do it themselves pretty quickly 🙂 Thanks for stopping by Hayley!

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  21. What a busy month Deb, so nice to be able to catch up with friends and family as much as you have. And meeting up with Sue must have been brilliant. Its so good to bring these online friendships out into the real world isn’t it? Not sure we could have handled those intense temperatures but hopefully they’ll be starting to ease up now. Keep cool.

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    1. Lovely to have you join me for my monthly catch up chat! Meeting Sue was brilliant and I agree, it’s always been the best feeling meeting up with bloggers in real life. Hoping the temperatures are going to settle now but not sure, usually February is our hottest month :0

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  25. You made the cover of TIME magazine – well done Deb 🙂 It was wonderful to meet up with you and I look forward to the next time. Your month has certainly been busy and full of mixed emotions. Time is so important isn’t it and I know I want to not waste any more time in my life. I think it is a great WOTY. We actually all talk about making more time etc but then let time take over. You have used your time so well in January and I look forward to reading your February catchup. Sending love xx

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    1. Hi Sue, yes the cover shot says it all 🙂 You’re right about letting time take over and I’m trying hard to take control of it more. It was a huge month full of emotions and I’ve actually been quite flat since I’ve been home. It was so good to meet you and I too look forward to next time xx

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