From Ruin to Renovated; Open Plan Living

Goodbye chimney, hello open plan living!

Yes, we're back on the renovating bandwagon and the first thing to go in our house was the wall that seperated the loungeroom and kitchen area.

Needless to say, the disappearance of the chimney left a gaping big hole in the floor and for awhile there I thought we would be mudwrestling in our kitchen but have no fear, my husband has managed to cover up the hole with some plasterboard...topped with a floor rug to stop any creepy crawlies entering the house.

There's something incredibly empowering about destruction. I dunno if it's the joy of swinging a dirty big hammer and using all of your energy and mite to smash down bricks and turning them into rubble that does it or the knowledge that you're making a change for the better?  Anyhoo, demolition = stress relief, well that is until you realise the great big clean up that you have ahead!

Fortunately for us my husband is a boilermaker and was able to make the scaffolding to secure the structure so that our house didn't collapse after the wall was removed. So far, so good - the house is still standing!

Here are some before and after photos of the changes.

 While we still have a very long way to go, it's exciting to see progress and our vision coming to life.

Our next step is to make the foundation of the house stronger by putting blocks underneath it, and then we're going to replace the front window, rip down all of the walls, reclad the space, paint and lay redgum floorboards.

 

We're going to focus on one zone at a time to break it down to bite sized pieces!

I can't wait to see the finished product.

Watch this space.

Have you ever renovated a whole house?

Where did you start? 

What tips do you have for others? 

Look after yourself and those around you,

Kirsty xxx

Guest Post; How Autism Changed Our Lives.

Autism is a word that is often tossed around and used to label a person with a illness, but quite often many people don't understand how having Autism impacts a person's life and those around them.

Today I invite the gorgeous Christie to my blog. I remember Christie talking about her sister Grace, and how her face would light up every time she'd tell us that she was going home to visit her on the weekend. What is super special about Christie's relationship with her sister, is that Grace suffers from Autism. It is clear though, that this has only strengthened the bond between the two girls, and goes to show that just because you suffer from a disability, your quality of life and relationships don't have to suffer too.

Take it away Christie.  

Loving sisters! So cute!

My name is Christie and my little sister and best friend Grace has autism.

I'm  not really sure where to start but growing up with a sibling who has a disability is 

definitely not without its trials and hard times but honestly I wouldn’t change it for the 

world!!

Grace has the biggest heart out of anyone I know and she will trust anyone 

implicitly. This is what I love about her because she is not worried about the worlds 

judgements and no one is any different to her in her eyes!

I believe that everyone can learn something from this! I am so grateful to have her in 

life to show me that there are differences in all of us but that should not change how 

we treat each other or how we are treated!

Grace has her little quirks.. like the fact that she LOVES music! It is her escape and 

a chance for her to get out of this world, be by herself and clear her head. I love 

the fact that she has found that release and escape because I have no idea what 

her world would be like but i know even in my world i need that release. Music is 

something that we can bond over. We often sit down in the lounge room and share 

head phones just chilling listening to music! We also be silly singing and dancing 

around the lounge to our favourite songs and we have a ball!! I love seeing the joy 

in her face when she is listening to her favourites.. and boy does she have some 

favourites! You know when she has found a song she loves because she starts 

singing her lungs out, dances around like a lunatic and has it firmly on repeat!! It 

drives Mum nuts!! lol.

Of course there are times where I wish that she didn’t have this disability because 

I am worried what the future holds for her and what kind of life she will have! I also 

think about what she will miss out on! Like all of the normal things we go through like 

having our first crush, having girly chats with our best friends, falling in love, those 

crazy nights out with our friends and just having that normal sisterly relationship. 

Then i think our relationship is perfect just as it is and i don’t think it could get any 

better! Also she has such a supportive family and community around her and so she 

will never really know what she is missing out on. 

I have nothing but praise and thanks for our home town community and how they are 

with her, especially the kids in her class at school! They are all wonderful with her 

and celebrate any milestone achievement for her with her just as much as we do! I 

definitely believe they have learnt from her as much as she has learnt from them, as 

having Grace in their class has taught them all about tolerance, patience and respect 

for other people. We live in a world now that has so much pressure on young people 

and especially young girls so i think it is such a positive thing for the girls in her class 

to be reminded that it doesn’t matter what you look like or who you hang out with you 

can have such confidence in yourself.

So I ask you have you been too quick to judge people on their looks or judging a 

parent with a screaming child? It may not look like it but you dont know the struggles 

that they may be facing behind closed doors! 

Please don’t be so quick to judge and respect everyone for who they are not for any 

differences they may have! Love everyone equally and we will live in a much richer 

world! :)

I love my sister now, I will love her forever and nothing can change that! I love her 

exactly the way she is and I would never ever want her to change!

Christie xxx

Recognizing and Managing Anxiety

Sometimes life can become a little crazy and all of a sudden, you may find yourself struggling to juggle all of the balls at once without letting one fall to the ground.

More often then not, our bodies have been giving off signals for some time to try and make us slow down and take a break,  but quite often we're stuck in routine and we're focused on certain outcomes that we forget to listen to what our body is trying to tell us.

Your body is a pretty amazing thing and sometimes it knows your limitations and stress levels way before you accept that things are becoming a bit much.

Signs to look out for include;

An inability to sleep because you can't turn your brain off.

Feeling like you have an elephant sitting on your chest, making it difficult to breath.

Light headedness and feeling dizzy.

Inability to concentrate on simple tasks.

Second guessing your thoughts,  decisions and actions.

Losing confidence in things that you were once comfortable doing.

Pimple and ulcer breakouts.

Weight loss or gain due to appetite loss or gain.

Headaches.

These are signs that your body is experiencing negative stress, and is activating flight or fight responses to manage the situation.

It's really important that you listen to your body and realize that it's time to make some changes in your life so that you can manage your stress levels, and avoid anxiety attacks.

While it's often difficult to accept that you're not coping as well as you thought, there's no shame in needing to slow down your life to put your health first.

At the end of the day, if you can't look after yourself then you can't look after anyone else.

It might mean that you have to step down from a role for awhile, or change jobs, or speak to someone about how you are feeling. It could be a matter of writing a pro's and cons list about things in your life and realizing where it is that you want to focus your energy and what things aren't so helpful at this point in your life.

Sometimes it might mean that you have to make difficult decisions and changes,  but it will always be worthwhile if you come out feeling less stressed and more in control of your life and emotions.

Anxiety is a really tough illness to suffer from and can have real impacts on your life and how you think,  act and feel, so it's really important that you take the time to assess your stress levels to try and prevent anxiety from taking hold of your life.

Just remember that your health is more important then anything else in your life and that it's okay to make changes to manage your stress.

Look after yourself and those around you,

Kirsty xxx