A year of blogging

I'm back,
First up- I hope you understand how much Abi and I both love this blog, and do everything we can do make sure we are able to keep posting. In the last month, we have been through something that has made it impossible for us to continue posting and sharing on Laotong. What's been going on is  a story for another day, but the good news is that we should be back to normal now. Maybe posting once a week for the next few.

Anyway, today is a excitingish day because it is the one year anniversary of our (my) first blog post on laotong, which was then poppy and mop. For me, blogging is a way to share my ideas, thoughts and stories- it allows me to escape ‘everything’ and just be me. It is a place where I can be completely me, and no have to worry about what people will think of what I say. Ever since we started Laotong (or as it was then known, poppy and mop.) I have known that there is always a place for me to say anything, and it has been invaluable.

Sometimes, when it feels like I have nothing to say  I will just share some photos, and I love that I can do that. Here I feel under no pressure to achieve anything, I can write something or I can upload a few of my favourite photos. I could share a page long post about something I believe in, or a recipe that I love.

I love being free to share anything on Laotong, and reading your thoughts on what I have shared. In this year since I have started blogging I have learnt so much (just look at one of my first posts!), and I have slowly become more comfortable sharing anything and everything. I am unbelievably grateful for the day that our mum’s helped us sign up to blogger, nearly 7 years ago, and for the moment a year and a bit ago when Abi and I decided to take on this challenge, and create Laotong.

A lot of things I have read said that the first few months to a year of blogging are the hardest, and it hasn’t been easy- everything from endless researching to googling a vital piece of code-, but I have loved every minute.

Can’t wait to see what happens through the next year.

xxxPoppy

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Camping- January 2017

It's gotten to that time, I'm sure you know what I mean. The start of the school year is alright, meeting your new teachers and getting to know your classrooms, but most of all not having any stress! But by now you've gotten used to everything and exactly how long the school year is going to be has set in. (It always makes me wonder how we get through every class of every day- that's almost 200 days!).

I'm starting to miss the endless nothings of the holidays. Which makes this the perfect time for a holiday post.
I've (finally) gotten around to editing all the photos from my summer camping trip, and today I am going to be sharing some of my favourites (plus some stories) with you.

But first I'd better explain. Every year my family go camping with 4 other families in the last week of the school holidays. For the last 8 (I think?) years we've gone to the coast. But this year we went inland, to a river north of Sydney in New South Whales.

It took a while to find, but the camping spot was amazing. It was a private property right on the river, with a stunning tree avenue and countless piles of things to explore. The first few days were incredibly hot, 40 degrees Celsius on one of them! So the river was the best place to be. The cooler days were perfect to take photos on, I reckon I could have spent hours and hours just looking at things to take photos of. Even as it was, I ended up with almost 500 photos to sort through. I haven't been through all of them yet, but I've had a quick look and picked some of my favourites for you. Enjoy xx.

Let me know if you liked these photos in the comments below!

xxxPoppy

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My Back to School Goals for 2017

Gah! I don’t know where the summer holidays have gone, but tomorrow is my first day at school for the year. I’m kind of excited, because I am doing some fun subjects this year, but then again, the thought of studying and homework does not appeal to me (or anyone really).

One of the worst things about going back to school is having to set goals for myself, and share them with my teachers. I have no issue setting goals, and I think that it is important to know what you need to do and what you want to achieve. BUT I don’t like having to share and discuss them with my teachers (again, I don’t think anyone does), so I am going to put my goals on here, where I can be reminded of them, and share them so I stick to them…but don’t have to talk to anyone about them. So here goes…

1.Always give it my best

Especially towards the end of the term, I find it hard to stay motivated and always give my best effort. This year I want to focus on always trying to do the best I can, and not just settling for what I think is the bare minimum. I also think I need to accept that sometimes I am just going to have to live with something not being perfect, and that it ok, as long as I tried as hard as I could.



2.Manage my time effectively.

I am a perfectionist, and sometimes (when you are trying to get something done) it is a bit of a curse. I am not saying that I want to stop doing my best (because that would be going against what I just said in my first goal). But I do want to try and learn to balance my time and recognise when I have done a good job, instead of trying to make it better when there are other things I could be doing.



Those are my two main goals for the year, I plan to have other ones, that might be a bit more short term. But I hope that by sharing them, and taking the time to really think about what goals I wanted to set, I will be able to keep to them throughout the year.

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Back to school tips

It’s almost time to go back to school. It’s kind of a weird mix of sadness and excitement. It is always sad when the holidays are over, but I’m also kind of excited to start some of my new classes, especially the ones I have chosen that I haven’t been able to do in previous years. Today I wanted to share some back to school tips.


1.Buy your books and stationary early.

If you get in before the summer holidays, or as early as you can, books and stationary it usually cheaper, and there is a lot more to choose from.


2.Get organised before term starts

If you need to do any cleaning out, the best time to do it is before school starts. It is always easier to start the term organised and ready, instead of having to rush around and be lost before you’ve even been at school for a week.


3.get rid of all your old school things that you don’t need anymore.

There is no need to keep your sheets from four years ago, go through and throw them out before you collect any new ones for the year. Sometimes it could be useful to reuse books, but if you don’t need them don’t keep them.


4.try on your uniform and buy new clothes early.

Don’t pull out your uniform the day before school starts and suddenly realise that you need a new one. It’s possible the shops will be sold out before then.


5.don’t take all your books on the first day.

I have 8 subjects, that means at least 8 books. Nothing is worse than having a heavy school bag and sore back. If you don’t have 8 subjects on each day, don’t take all your books. I would take my maths one, and five others. But I don’t label them first, because that way you can label the books that you need, and save your back.


Let me know in the comments below, if you have any back to school tips.

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5 Projects for 2017

Woohoo! We made it to 2017!
I hope everyone had a wonderful new years eve, and enjoyed any celebrations last night. Today (I know, three posts in three days!) I am going to share 5 projects that I am going to try during 2017...

1.Weekly Scrapbook

I've been inspired by the project life scrap booking system, and in 2017, I am going to try and create a yearbook with their project 52 cards. Hopefully I'll be able to give updates on the blog, and be able to keep this up all year. I know that it will be something to treasure in years to come.

2.Gratitude Journal

I started this in March this year, and have plans to continue it during 2017. Each night I write a few sentences about my day, and the thing I am most grateful for.

3.Bullet Journal

I started my bullet Journal in September of 2016, and I definitely plan on continuing to use it in 2017. I haven't worked everything out yet, but I have got some ideas for pages to start off the new year.

4. Creative Bug, creative boot camp course.

I can't wait for this creative bug course to start on the 3rd of January. It goes for 6 weeks and is run by Lisa Congdon. Here is a link so you can check the class out.

5. 365 Photo Project

I've been reading about these for a while, and I've decided to give it a go. In a nutshell, a 365 photography project involves taking a photo everyday for the next year. I'm not too sure how long I will be able to keep this up, but I am going to give it my best shot.

6.Happiness Jar
I found this idea on pinterest, and I am going to give it a go this year. It involves simply writing down some of the good memories, feelings and things that happen throughout the year and placing them in a jar. On New Years eve, you open the jar and read all of the amazing things that happened throughout the year.

Are you planning on starting any projects in 2017?

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goodbye 2016

Wow! The sun has just risen on what is the last day of 2016. It always seems that the start of the year drags on and then you blink and the year is over. Today I am going to share a few things, looking back on 2016.

First of all, I've chosen my favourite memory from each month to share.
JAN: Camping at the coast
FEB: Seeing all my friends again.
MAR: Easter camping
APR: Spending lots of time with Family.
MAY: Beautiful autumn leaves and evening walks.
JUNE: My birthday
JULY: Seeing the snow
AUG: Time with friends
SEPT: Queensland
OCT: Whale Watching at the lighthouse
NOV: Finding out about an overseas holiday next year
DEC: Christmas

Next, I am going to share a short letter I have written, as seems to be a common thing in the blogging world.

Dear 2016...
Everyone keeps saying what a horrible year you have been. And I know that some things have been difficult. But it hasn't all be horrible, lots of amazing things have happened in the past 12 months and I have certainly learnt a lot of lessons.
To begin the year, I had a wonderful time camping at the coast. A relaxing and fun way to end the summer holidays and begin my 9th year at school.
Adjusting to all the new pressures, stress and challenges that came along with this new year proved to be a challenge, but before I knew it term one was over...and I'd learnt important lessons about dealing with pressure and coping with change.
March came with a welcome break, in the form of the Easter  long weekend. Abi and I went camping in the mountains and while mother nature might have tested our resistance to the below freezing temperatures it was nice to get away.
April and May  flew by, helped along by mountains of never ending school work.
By the time it was June and my birthday, I could barely believe the year was half over. I had an amazing birthday, and go to see a lot of my family and friends.
July brought with it a wonderful trip to the snow, and a week of chickenpox. Being out for a week gave me a chance to get ahead of my school work, preventing the stressful last minute work I'd dealt with in the first semester.
August was reasonably uneventful, what you could call a normal month.
September was one of the best months of the year for me...because it contained my trip to Queensland.
October was when it began to get warmer. My family and I were lucky enough to go to a lighthouse and watch some whales.
November was Abi's birthday, and we got to start planning our overseas trip for next year .
And all of a sudden it was December, and Christmas time!
You have taught me many lessons, 2016. I've learnt and grown a lot and am very different from the person I was 12 months ago.
Thank you,
xxx Poppy


I hope you enjoyed reading about my year, and I'd love to hear your goodbye 2016 letters in the comments below. In the next few days I will be sharing a list of projects for 2017, so stay tuned! Have a wonderful New Year,
see you next year,

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