Marcia Francois's Blog, page 30

{2018 Annual review} What energised me in 2018?

Zumba class every Saturday morning. I won’t lie and say my barre180 class energised me because often the only reason I dragged myself was that I knew missing it would mean I’d be so sore the next week. Kids book club. I wrote on Instagram recently that the best thing about kids’ book club is hearing these kids talk about books they love. It is the actual best. My book club. You know you should expect this of me so here goes: I keep a spreadsheet of the books we’ve read and the rating I’ve...

{goals} Word of year recap and new word for 2019

Before I start the recap, let’s have a quick walk down memory lane and look at my previous words:

2009 – simplicity
2010 – consolidate
2011 – courage
2012 – create
2013 – trust
2014 – shine
2015 – enough
2016 – joy
2017 – give
2018 – fun

My 2018 word was exactly what I needed coming off a year of giving.

I had a great year just by asking myself, “what sounds like fun?”

Your mileage will vary, of course, but reaching a stretch savings goal for me is fun. Fun was also signing up and completing...

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to you!

Thank you for reading along faithfully every week. In a world where blogging is not nearly as popular as it was years ago, I appreciate you reading along about living intentionally and getting organised.

And then, I wish you a year ahead with a guiding word that inspires and motivates you, and the peace that being organised brings.

Lots of love

Marcia

PS If you’re local to Gauteng, and you’re interested in hearing more about a Four Tendencies workshop, add your name t...

Lovely things to do, eat, watch, try in 2019

I made this free printable a few years ago because I like to make a list of lovely things to do when I have a birthday.

It’s like a goals list, but super fun ones

Merry Christmas to you and your family

 

 

Dear readers

Merry Christmas to you and to your loved ones.

I hope you have a wonderful day and that you feel the love of Jesus surrounding you.

Lots of love

Marcia

 

PS come back tomorrow because it’s the start of International Planning Week

{2018 Annual review} What went well this year?

This is part one of my annual review, where I start with the question I always use:

What went well this year?

I read a lot of books (the year is not over and I think I’ll end on around 110). In fact, I read more than I thought I would read, especially since my Goodreads goal was only 80. Many of them were great books, but that’s another post. Book club was so much fun this year. This is year two for us and I think we’ve ironed out almost all of the logistical issues around choosing books, d...

This is our Christmas pep talk

Despite all the gorgeous Instagram and Facebook posts that show beautifully decorated homes, delicious food and every family member being kind and loving, this Christmas perfection is not real life for a lot of people.

In my house, we still have disagreements, tantrums, children not listening or being ungrateful and me stressing about getting all the food warm at the same time.

I’m guessing you can relate to a little something. Maybe there’s a family member or two missing due to death, illnes...

My favourite things about my 2018 diary

As I transition into the new year… and my new diary for 2019, I thought that I’d take a few minutes to note down and review my favourite things about my current diary.

 

Colour. I love the turquoise colour with the gold foil lettering and embossed feel. The pages are white with grey and turquoise shadowing.

Feel. It is gorgeous to the touch.

Zipper. I carried my bullet journal and other bits and bobs inside, and because it zips up, nothing has ever fallen out.

Paper. The paper is thick, sm...

The life-changing magic of not giving a f**k

Despite the title of this book (I’m not a fan of sensational titles), to my surprise, it was a really good book.

If I were asked, I’d say that it’s a book about boundaries… and you know how much I love talking about boundaries. But if you’re super sensitive to swear words, I’d give this a miss because you won’t get her message. That said, I don’t like a lot of swearing too and I found I became numb to it after a while.

In this book, Sarah Knight gives her readers permission to stop wasting...

How to get out of a reading slump

I shared in my newsletter and on Instagram Stories a few weeks ago that I’d been going through a reading slump.

What’s a reading slump?

It’s when reading feels more like a chore than a pleasure, and when you would rather do anything else than actually read.

What brought on my reading slump?

My standard reading life looks like this: a work of fiction started and finished on the weekend, an audible book in the car to accompany me on my daily commute, and a non-fiction read for weeknights. I h...