Caniches et Paille ~ poodles and straw : I’m Baaaaaaaaaaack!<a <link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://25.media.tumblr.com/avatar_dfe50c03dadb_16.png" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" href="http://takingiteasy.tumblr.com/rss" /> <style type="text/css"> body { background: #6DA856; background-image: url(http://www.onlinesupplements.net.nz/assets/galleries/19/straw2.jpg); margin: 30px 0px 0px 340px; font: Normal 13px Comic Sans MS, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #666; } #container { width: 520px; height: 100%; margin: 15px 0px 15px 0px; padding: 10px; background-color: #FFF; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; } #header h1 { font: 50px Cambria, Arial; margin: 0px 0px -5px -230px; letter-spacing: -1px; } #header h1 a { color: #fff; text-decoration: none; } #header h1 a:hover { color: #F7C852; } #right { position: absolute; left: 895px; font: 14px comic sans ms,Georgia, serif; line-height: 15px; width: 212px; background-color: #fff; padding: 10px; color: #F80095; 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I know. It has been a big year though :)We’ve had challenged we weren’t expecting to face, but the outcome has been positive. It’s changed our direction for the next few years, but..." /> <meta property="og:type" content="tumblr-feed:entry" />   <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta name="twitter:url" value="http://takingiteasy.tumblr.com/post/1286103663/im-baaaaaaaaaaack" /> <meta name="twitter:site" value="tumblr" /> <meta http-equiv="x-dns-prefetch-control" content="off"/></head> <body> <div id="header"> <center> <h1><img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNjA*ODc2NjEyMzAmcHQ9MTI2MDQ4NzY2OTI4MSZwPTE4NTUxMSZkPSZnPTEmbz*yZGZhYzliMDNmZTE*YzAyOTE*MmYyZGVlOWI3Mjc2ZQ==.gif" /><a href="http://www.mygirlyspace.com"><img src="http://images.mygirlyspace.com/myspacegraphics/images/graphics/prod_444_12964.gif" border="0" alt="Myspace Layouts" title="Myspace Layouts"></a><a href="http://www.commenthaven.com/glitter-text-generator"><img src="http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/632/z4b218109c1ca9.gif" alt="Glitter Text Generator" width="405" height="67" border="0" /></a><img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNjA*ODc3NjE3MTkmcHQ9MTI2MDQ4Nzc3MjU1OSZwPTE4NTUxMSZkPSZnPTEmbz*yZGZhYzliMDNmZTE*YzAyOTE*MmYyZGVlOWI3Mjc2ZQ==.gif" /><a href="http://www.mygirlyspace.com"><img src="http://images.mygirlyspace.com/myspacegraphics/images/graphics/prod_444_12965.gif" border="0" alt="Myspace Layouts" title="Myspace Layouts"></a> <center> </div>  <div id="left"> <center> <strong> <a href="/rss">RSS</a> | <a href="/archive">Archive</a> | <a href="/random">Random</a> | <a href="mailto:natashasteven@gmail.com">E-mail</a> </strong> </center>  <p class="sideheader"><strong>About</strong></p> <p><img src="http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/profile6/1047/2/n715910090_3820.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></p> I'm a young stay at home mum and wife, who wants to appreciate the sweetest things in life. Our house is filled with the chaos created by mysellf and hubby, our two children, the poodle , the cat, and the birds.<br> <br>I'm easily marketed to and very much over the politicing that invades simplicity and happiness. It is a daily conscious effort to change the way we live. As a family we are beginning to grow my own veges and to compost, our lil tot is in cloth nappies. We don't buy bread, yogurt, muesli bars, biscuits or cupcakes anymore, but we certainly still eat them! We are learning, bit by bit, to make our food from scratch. <br><br> I have a book idea in mind, and I've played around with it a bit, but that consumes to much of me at times. There is a fine line between reality and fiction, so I have turned to craft to occupy my mind, and for a sense of achievement that I miss from not studying or being in paid work. <br><br> We have recently moved into a new home, but as we grow our family we will need to find another. I hope to build again, with straw, in a sustainable fashion, a home with heart that will see us through from childrearing to retirement. <br><br> Next year, we embark on another chapter of our lives as I attempt to go from SAHM to working full time, although taking my two children with me. The hubby is heading back to uni to finish his engineering degree, so all of this simple living stuff will be tested to the limit as we attempt to maintain our family atmosphere and live on a lower budget. <br><br> The photos are not my own unless stated, clicking on them will take you to the original site. Here is my treasure box of inspiration, my attempts at achieving some of these goals, my random musings, and my completed projects :)  </div>  <div id="right">  <p class="sideheader"><strong>Find</strong></p> <center> <form action="/search" method="get"> <input type="text" name="q" value=""/> <input type="submit" value="Search"/> </form> <br> </center> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.bloglovin.com/script/blogsifollow.js.php?i=12804"></script> <div class="blglvn-ftr"> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bloglovin.com" title="bloglovin.com">bloglovin.com</a> <span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blogmix/12804/blogs-i-follow" title="See all the blogs that I follow">See all » </a></span></div> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?vv=673&tft=3&dd=0&wid=2e04f1c8bbc35fea&pid=0&proid=0&bc=610673&tc=E2FF05&brd1=FA0889&lnk=F6FCCD&hc=91FF00&hfc=6A007A&btn=000000&ww=178&wne=5&wh=Live+Traffic+Feed&hl=0&hlnks=0&hfce=0&srefs=1&hbars=0"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Blog Stats</a></noscript></div> <a border="0" href="http://www.anotherlunch.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/anotherlunch/blog%20elements/squarebutton.gif" /></a><br><br><br> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://www.slingbabies.co.nz/Cache/Pictures/862244/buttonScripts.js"></script> <script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">  <br><br><a title="Caniches et Paille ~ poodles and straw on Bloglovin" href="http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/2043269/caniches-et-paille--poodles-and-straw/follow"><img alt="bloglovin" border="0" src="http://www.bloglovin.com/widget/bilder/en/widget.gif" /></a> </script> </script> <div id="credits"> Powered by <a href="http://tumblr.com">Tumblr</a> </div> </div>  <div id="container"> <div class="blogtitletwo"> </div> <div class="date"> <a href="http://takingiteasy.tumblr.com/post/1286103663/im-baaaaaaaaaaack">10 October 10</a> <div id="comment"> <a href="http://takingiteasy.tumblr.com/post/1286103663/im-baaaaaaaaaaack#disqus_thread">Comments</a> </div> </div>  <div class="post">  <div class="regular"> <h2><a href="http://takingiteasy.tumblr.com/post/1286103663/im-baaaaaaaaaaack">I’m Baaaaaaaaaaack!</a></h2> <p>I’ve been so slack. I know. It has been a big year though :)We’ve had challenged we weren’t expecting to face, but the outcome has been positive. It’s changed our direction for the next few years, but that’s okay :) Darling hubby is off back to uni to finish engineering, which means that from Feb next year I’ll no longer be a stay at home mum, but rather working full time.I’m also going to commence my Early Childhood degree, and I’m excited about that!</p> <p>On 20th August 2010, we welcomed a new addition to our family, a gorgeous baby boy. So with two wonderful children, full time work, a husband in full time study, a poodle and a household to run, I need to get super duper organized, to streamline it as much as possible. I still believe in a close knit family, and since our income is going to drop rather substantially we still need to focus on simple living, veering away from consumerism.</p> <p>This is a personal record, for me to look back on.</p> <p>And it’s about to take on a whole new direction……</p> </div>       </div>  <div class="post-footer">  </div> <div id="disqus"> <div id="disqus_thread"></div><script type="text/javascript" src="http://disqus.com/forums/strivingforsimplicity/embed.js"></script><noscript><a href="http://strivingforsimplicity.disqus.com/?url=ref">View the discussion thread.</a></noscript> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ (function() { var links = document.getElementsByTagName('a'); var query = '?'; for(var i = 0; i < links.length; i++) { if(links[i].href.indexOf('#disqus_thread') >= 0) { query += 'url' + i + '=' + encodeURIComponent(links[i].href) + '&'; } } document.write('<script charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://disqus.com/forums/strivingforsimplicity/get_num_replies.js' + query + '"></' + 'script>'); })(); //]]> </script>  <div id="navigation"> <p align="center"> • </p> </div>  <div id="credits"> Themed by <a href="http://hunsonisgroovy.tumblr.com">Hunson</a>. 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