Lots of Red

I haven't been growing many new plants in my balcony lately - just happy keeping those I already have growing and happy.

The past few weeks of sunny weather has been good for my flowering plants! I stepped out into my balcony this morning and was rewarded with lots of red and pink.

The 2 hibiscus weren't doing really well a few weeks - Ms Flamenco hadn't been flowering much and the other red hibiscus was infested with aphids. But a good dose of bonemeal plus a couple of sessions of washing for the red hibiscus fixed the problems. (I'd post about what I mean by "washing" in a separate post)

I especially like the colours of the periwinle - dark red with a spot of white and yellow in the centre. The flowers look so much like fancy butterflies!

Simple Living #1 - Baby Steps

A link from Sinfonia had me seriously thinking on this topic again. This particular family (Dervaes Family) has an urban home which they transformed into an organic and sustainable micro-farm.

Going through their blog has me thinking - do we really need lots of money to live? Or can we live simply.. with minimal income.. yet live really quite well.

I've blogged about Simple Living before. At that time, I said I'd make a plan.

Sadly, I haven't really done anything since then.

It's time to do something. For starters, a few things about our lifestyle bothers me -
1) We consume lots of electricity at home - our air-conditioner is always switched on most of the time and the TV is always on, although no one may be watching it
2) I buy too many things I do not need. I'm a bit of a facial products junkie - I think I have supplies enough for 2 years, at least.. with what is in my dresser at the moment. Maybe not 2 years.. but at least 18 months.
3) We stock too many things in our larder and end up having lots of food expiring, then throwing them out. It's a similar situation for the fresh food we buy. We put them into our very full fridge and don't cook them quick enough so they turn bad

It's going to be hard to move towards simple living. I'm just going to take baby steps for now by:
1) Cutting down on my consumption of electricity when I can
2) Not buying facial products for the next 6 months
3) Being careful about what I buy in the supermarket and at the market to reduce waste

 Thinking time.. what else can I do?

2011 New Year Resolutions

I'm later than usual this year because it is March and I am only writing my resolutions down now! Well... better late than never!

There are so many things I want to do this year..

Firstly, I really do want to work on improving my patience this year. Recently, my quick temper has caused a bit of grief and frustration to people around me. Putting aside who is right or wrong in the situations - I should really learn to take a deep breath and chill when I'm upset.

Secondly, I want to try to eat more healthily this year. I exercise quite a bit (or at least before I twisted my ankle) so it was a surprise to me when I was told I have high cholesterol. I do need to start watching what I eat and seriously consider going on a few days detox like Ting did.

This year would be a super busy year at work.. (assuming I'm still working where I do at the moment) But I do want to try to still make sure I leave work at least at a reasonable time once or twice a week - to go to the gym or just head home to cook dinner.

Lastly, I want to make sure I do a few things to help people this year - whether it's doing something for a friend.. or making a donation to a charity.. or just volunteer work. I have no clue what I should do.. only that I want to do something.

Wish me all the best in keeping to my resolutions!