Se7en’s Fabulous Fun Post #359

It has been a while since we posted a Fabulous Fun Post. I took a bit of an internet break and I have to say, I really enjoyed it… but I am back and my year is rolling into place and I thought perhaps it was time to share some of the things we have been loving lately. We are always slow starters to a New Year and often only really surface once schools go back and we get our complete fill of summer. So we are doing summer to the max, with daily trips to the beacon either side of the seasonal crowds… which really is a small price to pay for the joy of living in a tourist destination.

Just jumping into summer…

Book Giving Day

YASSSSSS…. It is nearly Book Giving Day and we will be ready to bring you a new library project on the 14 February, look out for that post… because we can’t wait!!! If you want to take a peak at the previous Libraries we have created with our readers then take a peak at last year’s library… and previous year’s as well.

Lovely Links from This Week

1. First things first… Here is my hot tip for a New Year… and the first thing I do every year. If you are reading this then I bet email inbox looks just as tragic as mine does… stuffed to the full with a bazillion things you have subscribed to and even more that you haven’t subscribed too… take five or ten minutes… Right Now… head over to UnRoll.Me and just unsubscribe from all the stuff that cannot want to be subscribed to anymore. Don’t waste hours unsubscribing to individual emails… Unroll.me is your friend… and you can thank me later. (and they didn’t pay me to say that… they don’t even know who I am!!!).
2. Can We Talk About the Sketchbook Project… we didn’t join in last year because the exchange rate between dollars and rands made it totally out of reach… but this year one of the Hoods surprised me and bought one for us… there is a sketchbook travelling the world to Cape Town… if you would like to join the Sketchbook Project then follow the link here… and if you would like to see our previous sketchbooks then check them out here.
3. The Brilliant Playing by the Book… is going to have a Literary Voyage Around the World reading challenge 2018. And as a book reviewer I can’t wait to see what she does with all her ARCS (Advanced Reader Copies).
4. I followed along Raising Little Shoots Calendar of Firsts Last year and it is not too late to start your one for 2018… I love this idea, just the thought of it makes me more aware of the nature around me in our everyday life.
5. And while you are thinking about Journals… The Artful Parent shows you how to create art journals with your kids.
6. If you still haven’t gotten your sleep sorted… then watch this video: It will give you “The Why” to get to bet timeously, every single night.
7. The Bullet Journaling Bug has hit our home… and I spotted this on Pinterest 33 Genius Bullet Journal Tracjing Spreads You Need to Try in 2018. Fabulous stuff!!!
8. If you are looking for some delightful homeschooling… then look no further than Reaching Happy and A Closer Look at Birds.

A Blast From the Past:

Look how small they were!!!

• 2009: A Triathlon Party in se7en Steps… or a Trip to the Beach with Se7en Kids…
• 2010: Se7en Silly Reasons Why Moms Say No… and Se7en Thoughts About Babies and Sleep.
• 2011: Se7en Things That Made School More Fun This Year…
• 2012: Se7en + 1 tips for Getting All that School Reading Done… and Se7en+1 Things I Learnt While Homeschooling This Year…
• 2013: Se7en+1 Things that Seasoned Homeschoolers Don’t always Share…
• 2014: How to Create a Sketchbook in Se7en Days…
• 2015: Everything you Need to Know About Our Bread Making… And… Se7en + 1 Ways to Stop Racing Ahead and Just Take a Break.
• 2016: Se7en Ways to Raise Your Game by Doing Much Less…
• 2017: Se7en+1 Steps to a Nature Watch Project and a Year on Elsie’s Peak.

Discovery of the Week

Since starting gym last year I find myself driving across the countryside in the early morning before dawn and audible books have been brilliant. Hours and hours of audible books have poured into me, literally a book a week. Well apart from the audible app, and the obvious joy of discovering that my husband has been an audible member for years and has slowly but steadily built up a fabulous eclectic library… I discovered that he has been downloading the free book of the month from Christian Audio for ever… so just discovered on my phone another library of fantastic books waiting to be listened to… This month’s free book is 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You… this is a great read/listen… it’s free to download… and they have a free book every single month.

Book of the Week

I have been reading a ton over the holidays… after all my review posts at the end of the year, I gave myself a break from reviews and read a few books that I had been meaning to read for a while…

Oh where have I been, I absolutely loved Gretchen Rubin’s Happier at Home, in fact I listened to the audible book of it and immediately got hold of the kindle version and read it again… making notes!!! So good… Gretchen decides on a whim to create a happier home, by tackling a project a month over the period of a school year. When her first project was to clear out her home of all things that didn’t represent them and to create “shrines” to the things that did… it just resonated with me, I was hooked and inhaled the rest of the book. She reveals throughout her book several truths of adulthood. A fun read, packed with home keeping tips, including the big one… you can’t change your family or their habits, you have to change your own. Food for thought. I have enjoyed her podcast from time to time, but now that I have read one of her books you can be sure that I will be reading her other ones as well.

Another Podcaster that I enjoy, Michael Hyatt, launched his latest book… Your Best Year Ever this past week… and along with the launch came a number of freebies, including the free audible book, as well as a 5 lesson tutorial guide through all the goal setting steps he describes in his book. Fun to learn something new, and a great choice of book to read in the first two weeks of the year. Since I am about the worst goal setter on earth, this is a fabulous book for me to read… the book really does bring your goals from completely outside reality into something difficult but achievable. He looks at the difference between goals and habits… and really how not to quit… a great read, if you you think you could do with a bit of coaching.

Movie of the Week

A delightful story of Mary Reynold’s journey from rank outsider to youngest winner of a Chelsea Flower Show gold medal… from the wild countryside of Ireland, she brings more than a touch of magic and creativity to gardening… it is the sweet story about rewilding our gardens… what I loved was that it was a true story and she has written a book full of her very unique artwork… I will definitely be looking out for this in the library. Meanwhile if you want to see her Ted Talk, then check it out here.

Big Screen Movie of the Week

Not a whole lot like the book, movies never are… but my kids loved the treat of a trip to the movies… fun times!!! Not to mention air conditioning on the hottest day!!!

That’s us… hope you have the most fabulous week!!!