One Little Word - Blog Hop - February

"to become different in some particular way, without permanently losing
one's self or its former characteristics or essence."

Its been a whole month since our last blog hop - its going to be a monthly event - entitled One on 1 (isn't that a cool name - thanks to Margie), if you have arrived from Jan's blog hello - if you are starting here that's okay - this is a huge hop ... so grab a cuppa and hop on board.

I am very pleased I am taking the OLW classes because it would be so easy to forget that I have a chosen word - eight weeks in and already we are back into the monotony of the working week, school, after school activities etc etc.  So the OLW classes are helping me to remain focused on my word CHANGE.

A few of my close friends have commented on the first post (read it here) and said that I must make sure that I hold onto the person within whilst I go through this period of change .... and when I read the quote above - it rang true and I thought that it should be the focus for me during this journey.

This month's OLW task was to find nine photographs which represent your word ... easy you  might think .... I thought so when I started .... but so far I haven't found nine, I need help :)  Here's a selection of some of the photos I have so far.

This pair of well loved trainers and my pedometer have become my firm friends.  I attach the pedometer to my waist band every morning and off I trot - its amazing how far one walks in a day when you are reminded of how many steps you have taken ... and if it is an exercise free day I always make sure I have at least walked into the 'healthy' range - even if this means walking round and round the garden a few times.

Come rain or shine you'll find me beating the pavements and tracks near my house with my husband and the two dogs - its been great fun and I feel so much fitter that I did when I started in early January.

Last week I achieved my first goal at Weight Watchers - 5% of my total weight gone ... disappeared ...have you ever wondered where it goes to?  Total weight loss since 7 January 4.7kgs.  I'll be honest with you - this progress is slow .... but slow and steady wins the race - and I WILL win this race this time around.

Having said that, I am still enjoying this part of the journey - the whole family are eating healthy meals and the shopping trolley is loaded with fresh fruit and veggies every week.  And for those nights when time is lacking - there is always a meal on standby in the freezer as I spend a few hours every Sunday making a few extra dinners.  I love to cook and organisation is the key for me - organisation makes me happy.

I bumped into a friend a couple of weeks ago and she told me that 2011 was going to be her year of Change - she told of how she was going to become a butterfly .... I loved that analogy and hunted through my photos of the butterfly house at Melbourne Zoo - what a beautiful way to embrace change.  She isn't one of my blog readers so our conversation did take me by surprise, it touched me and made me stop and think - and one day I'll own up to owning a blog and show her these posts.

And the biggest and most important change of them all in February was that my little boy (yes I am going to call him that because he doesn't read my blog so he can't tell me off) has finally gone to high school.  I am now the mother of two high school children which makes me feel a little bit old and a little bit sad.  But when I look at both of the children who are now taller than me, organising themselves with their uniform and their books, hopping on and off buses and trains and non stop texting and Facebooking - I am very proud of both of them, and I am looking forward to the next chapter in their lives - more changes that I need to learn and grow with.

And talking of new chapters ... March is the beginning of the real changes for the Sadler Family - my husband is finally off to trek around the country for a few weeks before he starts his new posting with the Navy.  Its been four years since he was away from home so March is filled with trepidation, worried children and more fresh new beginnings.  

Thank goodness I have OLW to keep me out of mischief :)

Thanks for visiting - it is now time to hop along to visit Amanda to find out how she is embracing her word this month.

Happy hopping ... and if you have any ideas for photos just leave me a comment -I'd really appreciate it :)

Nikki

x 

ps - just in case you get lost .... here's the list of the OLW-ers taking part today:

1.   Margie http://xnomads.typepad.com 
2.   Monica B http://scraplifters.blogspot.com
3.    Jill  http://jillconyers.typepad.com/
4.    Miranda  http://mirandasscrapsite.blogspot.com
5.    Donna http://www.donnabryantdurand.blogspot.com 
6.   Lynn http://www.crafty-creativity.blogspot.com          
7.   Stacey http://www.TheAcornGarden.com/blog
8.   Lisa http://backtoallen.com/writers_blog
9.   Cassie http://craftycassiescorner.blogspot.com 
10. Abbey http://athomewiththerichardsfamily.blogspot.com
11. Nicky http://seejanebake.blogspot.com
12. Holly  http://lovingrobots.blogspot.com 
13. Karen  http://breathenowsmile.blogspot.com  
14. Claudia  http://creative-moms.com 
15. Rebekah  http://istampscrapcraft.blogspot.com 
16. Kimberly  http://foreverdaisies.blogspot.com 
17. Kat http://www.katswonderings.blogspot.com
18. Kristina  http://ciqis.blogspot.com 
19. Jan http://mysimplelittlelife.typepad.com
20. Nikki  http://www.inkyart.com.au - this is where you are now
21. Amanda http://www.scrappnbee.blogspot.com 
22. Lisa  http://luluoz.typepad.com 
23. Sam  http://learncreatedo.wordpress.com 
24. Maureen http://cookingmylife.blogspot.com
25. Kristi http://theprojectofme.wordpress.com
26. Tere http://terecontodomicorazon.blogspot.com
27. Karen http://womenontractors.blogspot.com
28. Katrina http://k84mansramblings.blogspot.com
29. Monica Bergler http://questtoperfectimperfection.blogspot.com
30. Mandy http://captureandcreate.wordpress.com
31. Lisa  http://makeyourownescape.blogspot.com
32. Chrissy http://getcraftywithchrissy.blogspot.com
33. Lee   http://linarstudio.typepad.com
34. Jen http://www.byjen.com
35. Sylvia  http://baxtersmom1.blogspot.com
36. Christianne  http://christiannemarra.blogspot.com
37. Cheri http://cheriandrews.blogspot.com
38.  Joy  http://www.undiscoveredjoy.blogspot.com
39.  Beth http://justbebeth.wordpress.com
40.  Jennifer L http://www.studiojenn.blogspot.com
41.  Kathryn http://www.katlodesigns.com
42.  Heather http://www.scrappyhare.blogspot.com
43.  Cindy http://seriousplay.typepad.com