Steve's Seaside Life

Tagged: Family

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Spring comes early

Spring comes earlyWhere I live we have a micro climate, we always get better than average weather, a lot less rain than just a few miles inland.  But this Winter has been amazing,  in fact it feels like we have missed winter altogether.  the last month it has only rained a couple of days and most days we have had at least some sunshine.  I took this picture of the flowers as we walked along the beach promenade on Sunday, the picture was taken with the built in camera in my Treo 640*480, but good enough for the odd blog posting.

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Housework

HouseworkSince I started working from home I have increased the amount of house work that I do, my share is:

  • Washing the clothes and putting them away
  • At least one set of washing up
  • Tidying the kids rooms
  • Bed time stories

I don’t mind doing it to much,  but I have recently found that I actually quite enjoy it because I listen to technical conferences or pod-casts on my Treo to keep me occupied (except when reading the bedtime stories :-)).  Today I was listening to the 2nd Tablet PC Podcast that JK has just started, more details on his blog.  and I found that I was actually looking around for more cleaning to do so that I could listen to the end.  Debbie (wife) was pretty pleased when she got home!

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Looking Back

I thought I would take the opportunity to look back on my year (and a funny old year it’s been) before looking forward to the new year in a few days.  It’s nice and quiet in the house and after such a lovely time (Christmas Morning) it’s left me in an appropriately reflective mood, so here goes:

 

Health

What a year it’s been, around the middle of January 2004 I started with another flare of Adult Onset Still’s Disease, which had been in remission for about 8 months.  This time no remission has occurred and one year on I am still suffering. However I have come to terms with it well and am approaching the point after many experiments (often painful) and lots of record keeping, research and analysis I think I am on the brink of getting things under control. …

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Christmas

It’s Christmas day today and the girls have had a fantastic time opening and enjoying their presents.  It started like this:

 

  1. On Christmas Eve the girls were allowed to choose one present to open, inevitably they chose ones that looked most like clothes so that they could where them on Christmas morning!

  2. They all went to bed nice and early without a peep (very unusual) as they all understand that Father Christmas misses any houses where children are awake J

  3. Debbie and I acting as Father Christmas’ helpers then packed up 4 gift bags that Father Christmas was to deliver that night to their bedrooms, one of the nice touches is that during holidays the Twins sleep in bunk beds with their older sisters instead of together.

  4. On Christmas morning we let the kids open their presents from Santa at 7:00AM (and the rest after breakfast) although they often hold one or two back to open on boxing day; which is my Birthday.

  5. This morning Debbie crept into their rooms just after 6:00AM and found them sitting on their beds surrounded by unopened gifts patiently waiting for 7:00 to arrive (bless) I think she let them sneak a …

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If you only read one blog, make it this one …

I continue to be amazed by Dave Pollard and how he manages to provide us with such thought provoking insights into How To Save The World on a daily basis.  To give you a glimpse of his motivation look at the following snip, and then read his bio.

Five years ago, at the age of 48, I decided it was time to stop complaining and being depressed about the state of the world, and start doing something about it. I began to read voraciously, an average of two books a week, and gradually put together a picture in my own mind of the current state of the world, how we got here, and what we needed to do about it. In February of last year I started a weblog, in part because I wanted to share what I had learned, and in part to discuss it with others and find out if they felt the same way that I did

 

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Staying Fit & Weight-Less While Working At Home

Home Business recently had an article on this topic and offered the following tips:

Find a professional. There are many experts that can help you plan an individualized diet and exercise program that will benefit you the most while suiting your preferences and lifestyle. Visit professional organizations’ web sites like those of the American Council on Exercise (www.acefitness.org) to search databases to locate certified personal trainers, group fitness instructors, clinical exercise specialists and lifestyle and weight management consultants, or the site of the American Dietetic Association (www.eatright.org/) to find food and nutrition professionals.

When possible, combine business and exercise. Walk to get office supplies or as you talk on your portable or cellular phone; ride a stationery bike while you read your mail; or invite another home business entrepreneur or customer for a game of tennis and afterwards have a business “power” lunch (low-cal, of course).

Plan your meals. Persons who plan their meals and snacks lose weight and eat healthier than those who just grab whatever food is nearby when they are hungry.

Make exercise a regular habit. Skip the cinnamon bun and coffee break and instead schedule short, regular exercise breaks during your work day to dance, stretch, …

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Luck

Just recently I have been reading about luck and whether there is such a thing a lucky person.  It’s a big subject, but two ideas stuck with me:

 

  1. People interact with so many people and things in so many different way these days that statistically “miracles” happen.  If you define miracles as events that have less than a 1 in a million chance of occurring then I read somewhere that most people will hear of one about once a month.  That means that people are going to come across someone being very lucky/unlucky , (perhaps 1 in 10,000 chance events),  pretty much every day just based on chance.

  2. The second idea is much more interesting.  It seems that people who describe themselves as lucky seem to know more people than those that describe themselves as unlucky.  Not surprisingly the more people you know the better the chance that one of those people will be able to help you out in some way, or will know someone who knows someone ….This networking theory although obvious once it’s explained is pretty powerful.

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Happiness and the Olympics

It seems that in an analysis of the expressions on Olympic medal winners faces on the podium the happiest people won gold, then bronze then silver. It seems that the people who won bronze were thinking “I nearly didn’t get a medal at all”, whereas the silver winners were thinking “if only I had tried that bit harder I would have got gold”.  I then got to thinking about how I think in these terms and it goes something like this:

 

  1. I always think about the worst that could happen.  I think through the worst scenario but while I am doing so I look for something good that could come out of it.

  2. I don’t dwell on this worst scenario though, I am quite a positive person so I quickly accept it as a possibility, and then assure myself that its fairly unlikely and move on.

  3. If it’s a repeat of some event that happened in the past I try and remember something good about that event as well.  

  4. Any outcome from that point onwards is then better than the worst scenario that I have already accepted as a possibility, but then set aside and not …

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Prize winners at the library

Our local library celebrated its centenary today, there was a fete and a fancy dress competition, my wife loves making costumes and the girls all love dressing up so it’s no surprise that they all entered.  Stephie as Catherine Linton, Jenny as Heidi, Tessa as Mary Poppins and Anna as...

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A Cinderella Story.

I am not feeling too well at the moment so in search of an easy afternoon I took Jenny, Tessa and Anna to see A Cinderella Story.  Its sad to say but I found it quite watchable which must mean I am becoming much less demanding, and much more accepting of the fact that kids really enjoy these simple romantic comedies, and I just need to sit back and accept the fact and enjoy it as best I can.  In this case the story would have worked slightly better for me if poor “cinderella” had not had a mobile phone, car, personal computer, friends, and a whole host of loving adults around her to compensate for a nagging step mum and annoying sisters.