Wednesday, February 8, 2012

tips on living life (and playing catch-up)*

Let's start this post with a VERY HAPPY smile... 
Good day, my name is Lin and I'm trying to play catch up 
being a mama to 2 children, a wife to one husband (hehe), 
a business woman (to myself) and an entrepeneur (to prove to myself that i can really do it all). 
Then I'm not even speaking about my other parts...sister, friend, daughter, domestic goddess (!), 
lover of life (this is for my brother..hehe)... 

I've been wanting to sit down and take different events/days in our lives and write about it. And puff... it's February. I realised it is never going to happen, so instead I'm being honest with myself (and you) and am going to give you a peek into our lives these last few months.  Let's see... enjoy the ride and take note of the tips... (insert big smile here...) 


Smile to strangers, your husband, look your children in their eyes..and smile.... 
We've been living in 'happy'....giggles, laughter, a few tears (because my mom always says 
'van lekker lag kom lekker huil')... living in extreme love 


Watch the sun rise & listen how the world comes to life. 
We've been watching the sun rise...seeing that our little girl wakes up at 5:30.... but it was only a thing...the mama has found the trick... and now she is sleeping until 07:30...magical... 
we've been living the magic (happening) in our life...


Love every season.
We've been seeking out the blue skies of this absolute perfect summer! 
We've been outside, embracing the heat and loving every drop of sweat... 


Climb that mountain, come-on! you can do it! 
We've been climbing our own mountains.... Kellen started EC2 in his school, 
Bella is sitting and crawling.... for the adults...normal stuff like balancing the cheque book, 
balancing time with the family, sneeking in me-time :-) and trying to get more hours of sleep :-) 


Spend time with YOUR wife/husband & children. 
Family outings are as important as 'me-time'. With our beautiful weather we've been 
spending lots of time at the beach walking and playing and laughing...
treasuring every moment we have together.... 


Find love. 
Love find us everywhere! Every day, every hour.
We and 'Love' have became best friends. 


Be courageous & funny. 
To truly grow within ourselves, we have to face the daily challenges with 
courage and humor.  Hehe...in this photo Bella is tasting some new form of food... 
as you can see definitely not her favorite.... 


Go for a walk. Get out of your head.
Every day is a good day to go for a walk...make it beautiful.  
Look for the beauty in every step and treasure it... 


Challenge yourself... 
every.single.day. 
i dare you.


Be kind to yourself. 
Wrap yourself up in love...
Don't be so hard on yourself. 
You can try again tomorrow. 


Celebrate. 
for no reason. 
Get balloons, blow them up, play with them and then... 
then jump on them and burst it! 
Yell and giggle. 


Don't look too far ahead. 
Only focus on the now. 
Here, right here, is more than enough. 


Look for the beauty & say thank you.
There are 2 roads that I can drive to Kellen's school. 
I choose the 10minute longer one... 
for it's beauty... it reminds me that we live in the most beautiful country, 
i love the mountains, the winelands, the blue skies... 
i feel grateful & happy. 


Be innovative. 
Try new things. If you wonder about something, experiment and try something else. 
Don't just except an answer. Question and question some more. 
But keep in mind that sometimes the answer can just be: it is what it is.  


Surround yourself with people that inspire you.  Make a mess. Clean up. 
Spend time with friends that really 'sees you'.  
Have fun. Be honest. Open your home for them.


Look people in their eyes when they speak to you. It's good manners. 
Be proud of who you are.  


Pick strawberries. 
It's such fun. And so hot. 
You'll be grateful. With every bite into that delicious strawberry you will be so proud of yourself, 
for picking it yourself, for 'trying something new', for doing it. 


Exercise (or play on your bed). (hehe) 


Be different. 
Be courageous and try something new... 
the new hairstyle, the new dance style, that dress you always wanted to have...
go out and do it. Even if it means your brother has to encourage you all the way. 


Make a mess. 
Clean it, don't clean it. Stop trying to be so perfect. You have permission to 
let loose and do something outrageous! 


NOW is the perfect time. 
Don't wait for 'one day' to do something...if you hear the whisper... do it. 


Be proud of who you are. 
Lift your chinny-chin-chin (like Kellen would say)  and say loud and clear 
'I am ..... and I'm proud of who I am'. 


Get a different view/opinion. 
Sometimes you are in your head too much and your vision get blurred. 
It takes one person to give you a new perspective. 
It's great, try it. 











Surrender.
let someone take care of you.
you are so loved. 


Rest in the knowledge that you are love(d).
Love someone... love yourself.  







Stand in your power. 
know who you are. 
watch a sunset. 
embrace life.