‘When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen’

A.A Milne, winnie the pooh

I’ve been doing a lot of this lately, looking for answers and procrastinating big time. Taking a step forward and then two back, ‘Chasing a Dream’  which is lifting me to new realms I hadn’t thought about. It’s time to remind myself of who I am and where I want to be, how I want my life to look and all those dreams still to come to life around me.

We are shaking off our hibernation, recovering from our various coughs and colds and moving forward. Sam is on the mend from his gall bladder operation and has lost five kilo he’s walking each day, (I’m still thinking and talking about walking each day lol). He’s changed his diet and we are eating wholemeal pasta (and the occasional kebab) more fruit and more veggies from our garden.

Having seen the brilliant results ahieved by some close friends of ours I can see that it’s not just about changing diet or location or partner or job, it’s about changing mindset. This is something we all know is true yet here we are still in the same place, not for me, not anymore.

We are drawing up a mind-map at the moment and it’s amazing how this simple way of visualizing your thoughts and dreams has us coming up with ideas we’d never even mentioned to each other. Next step is to get the kids on board and find out what their mind maps look like, what is important to them and how can we help them achieve it.

It’s funny that this post is mostly colored with grey and white, I feel like lighting my life up with color right now. Hot pinks and tropical blues, lime green and orange…. florals and flowers, warmth and sunshine, thank goodness for our wonderful electric orange house up on the hillside. It shines like a beacon.

It’s time to put back the spark of creativity into my life, here on the blog and in my home life…Time for Chasing a Dream

What I’m planning this year is a journey of discovery, taking steps each day to move my life in the direction I am inspired by. I am surrounding myself with those who inspire me to dream big, embrace life, enjoy the everyday, and really savor the small moments.

I’ve been enjoying the videos on facebook at the moment, created as a gift by facebook they show a persons life on facebook in the space of a minute or so, mine even inspired me. I can see how far we’ve come, all those things we set out to do we are doing right now, living the life we created and even though it’s not always easy it’s amazing.

I’m wondering how our life will look a year from now, five years from now….I am creating that life in my mind and taking steps towards it everyday even if only small ones.

I hope you’ll come along, be inspired, embrace your own dreams and have them light you up. I’ll be sharing our renovations of course, our ups and downs, and life here in the borgata, we will be on the road around June of course heading to Paris for my 50th birthday, my in laws are coming for a visit and just next weekend we have some facebook friends coming for lunch that we’ve never met.

“The world is opening up in ways we never planned, we literally left Australia for Italy without a future income, without knowing how we would live, not knowing how it would all look, we just knew that if we didn’t take the chance our dreams would grow smaller and die a slow death, and we’d be miserable.”

I remember actually telling Sam when we were back in Queensland (thinking our house would never sell, that we’d never get back to Italy, that we’d have to put our dream on hold another year), that we should just get on that plane and work it out when we arrived. Making the move without all the answers to some fairly big questions took courage and belief that we will find a way, we’re here now so we have no other option than to work it out or go back to Australia. It’s one way to put your fears and dreams on fast forward, doubts and joys pull me in every direction.

It’s time to find that inner compass and set a steady course, time for some structure and planning, time to expand myself and to gather my family together, a time to set sail, a time for chasing a dream and I hope you’ll be inspired to come along.

This year we are celebrating the things that matter most.

We will be slowing down, enjoying what we have, creating new dreams, loving where we live, connecting with friends and family and creating a simple life.  As the seasons change  we’ll be growing our own food, raising animals, finding treasures, traveling to unknown destinations, and creating a home base that jumps for joy.

I’d like to think that the small things we are doing here will make a difference to you, that you can create a dream and share it with us, that this year will be ‘The next best season of my Life’…….

I am also honored to be on the short list for Italy Magazine’s Best Living in Italy Blog award.

Now take a look at your own life, what’s the one dream that lights you up?