LOOKING FORWARD TO A NEW YEAR

cresting the hill

THE YEAR AHEAD

It's nearly the new year. 2016 is just around the corner and I can't wait to leap in and see what it has in store for me. I wrote about some of the good things and the changes that 2015 brought with it, so I am keen to see what lies ahead. I'm not usually so positive about where I'm heading, but this year it just feels right to look forward instead of back to what has been and gone.

Read more »
Posted by at 22 comments
Labels:

AFTER THE KIDS CAME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

What it's like after the kids have returned for Christmas - expectations and reality. #Christmas #expectations

RE-DEFINING CHRISTMAS

A week or so ago I wrote a post here about the anticipation of having our adult children and their spouses come home for Christmas. Christmas is now behind us and they've left to go back to their own homes and lives....but not before I do a recap of what this family Christmas meant to me!

Read more »
Posted by at 32 comments
Labels:

WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS WHEN YOU'RE IN MIDLIFE

When you reach Midlife, you realize that Christmas is all about family. #midlife #Christmas

WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS TO MIDLIFERS

I think I am on the same page as most women my age when it comes to Christmas - it's not about the presents or the colour co-ordinated decorations or the carols or the Christmas lights, what Christmas truly is about is family. The nativity family and the joy of a Saviour born to save the world, but also our own little families that gather together to celebrate this special time.

Read more »
Posted by at 15 comments
Labels:

SUFFERING FROM A BAD CASE OF P.O.P.D

cresting the hill

OBSESSIVE CHRISTMAS DISORDER

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw a quote (on Pinterest of course) asking for forgiveness for the person's OCD problem. I thought that I was the only person around with OCD - Obsessive Christmas Disorder. I can't help myself... I like my Christmas tree to look balanced and colour coordinated - with a different colour scheme each year. I'm not a decorator or stylist by any means, but I have a very orderly mind and there are certain things that are required when putting up the tree.
Read more »
Posted by at 19 comments
Labels:

WHEN THE "KIDS" COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

#midlife blog crestingthehill.com.au

A VERY BRADY CHRISTMAS

I've always been guilty of wanting a Very Brady Christmas - it's one of the first things I ever blogged about because I've had to learn the lesson that real life Christmas and Brady Christmases rarely intersect. I've learned over the years to accept whatever I can get in family time over the holiday break and be grateful that I see my children for whatever time they can fit me in.

Read more »
Posted by at 47 comments
Labels:

FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT

cresting the hill

THE OFFICE MOTTO

The expression "fake it til you make it" was something I heard back in the days when I worked at a government call centre. Because it was the government, there were always changes to policy and new stuff popping up every day. It could all be a little daunting at times. Team coaching was a big part of the culture of the organization and this was a catch cry that our team was taught.

Read more »
Posted by at 27 comments
Labels:

AN EXCUSE IS WORSE THAN A LIE

cresting the hill

DIFFERENT WORLDVIEWS 

An interesting thing about having my mother staying with me is seeing how my values have changed over the years. Every so often she will say something from a world view that is completely alien to me, one I realize that I grew up with but have moved on from as I have become my own person.

Read more »
Posted by at 35 comments
Labels:

MY AWARDS, FEATURE ARTICLES, AND PODCAST INTERVIEWS

my awards, features, podcasts and where I party with my blog

AWARDS, FEATURES, PODCASTS AND MORE

Sharing some of the wonderful awards Cresting the Hill has received, as well as where my writing has been featured and a the podcasts I've been interviewed on. It's such a joy to have my work appreciated and shared by others.

Read more »
Posted by at
Labels:

LOOKING BACK BEFORE LOOKING FORWARD

cresting the hill

A LOOK BACK

The end of the year brings with it a time of reflection and I'm sure there will be a lot of blogs looking back over the year that has been and almost gone. I think it's good to look back in a positive way - not to regret what's happened, but to look at how far we've come over the 12 months that have passed.

Read more »
Posted by at 43 comments
Labels:

KEEPING THE CONNECTION ALIVE

cresting the hill

KEEPING THE MARRIAGE LINES OPEN

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that my mum is staying with us for a month or so after having knee replacement surgery. It has been a steep learning curve having her living in our (previously) empty nest and it has made more of an impact on my relationship with my husband than I would have expected.

Read more »
Posted by at 40 comments
Labels:

BLOGGING - BEGINNINGS, MIDDLES AND ENDS

cresting the hill

DON'T COMPARE

I have been a fan of Jon Acuff for many years - his "Stuff Christians Like" blog was one of the first blogs (in fact it was THE first blog) I ever read regularly. He has since moved on and done lots of other amazing stuff - but in that blog he often came up with some excellent one-liners and the quote below was one of them.
Read more »
Posted by at 32 comments
Labels:

WHERE I'M FROM

cresting the hill

THE WHERE I'M FROM POEM

A few months ago I read the poem by George Ella Lyon titled "Where I'm From" and then found that it had been used as inspiration for a writing exercise. 

Read more »
Posted by at 28 comments
Labels: ,

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT ME

cresting the hill blog owner

WHO I AM

Hi! I'm Leanne and I live in the southwest of Western Australia - about 2 hours drive south of Perth (our capital city). I blog about enjoying Midlife and the empty nest, early retirement, and thriving in your 50's and 60's. I'm loving every minute of my life: my marriage, my family, my friends, my hobbies, the free time I have now I'm no longer working, and Midlife in general.
Read more »
Posted by at
Labels:

A LOT CAN HAPPEN IN A YEAR - IT'S MY FIRST BLOGAVERSARY!

cresting the hill

A LOT CAN HAPPEN IN A YEAR

I can't believe that it's been a year since I started this blog! The time has just flown past and what started as a place to put down a few thoughts, has turned into one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done. Who'd have thought that something so straightforward could have such a positive impact?

Read more »
Posted by at 47 comments
Labels:

IT'S NOT THE PROBLEM, IT'S HOW WE DEAL WITH IT

cresting the hill

A CAUSE CLOSE TO MY HEART

I thought I'd write a little bit about how things are going with the little boy I mentor through a program called Kids Hope. This is a program that links a church with a local primary school and the school chooses children who would benefit from some one to one time. The church provides the volunteers, who each get matched up with a child for an hour every week. A small amount of time that can make a real difference in that child's life.

Read more »
Posted by at 22 comments
Labels:

SOMETIMES YOU NEED THE PATIENCE OF A SAINT

cresting the hill

SAINT OR SINNER?

Caring for an incapacitated mother can be very good for building up those quality character traits that you didn't know you were lacking in. I always assumed I was a relatively patient human being - not a Saint, but not a screaming loony when dealing with the quirks of others. That was until my mother moved in for a few weeks!

Read more »
Posted by at 23 comments
Labels:

4 NEW HATS TO WEAR WHILE I'M A CARER

cresting the hill

WHEN YOUR MOTHER COMES TO STAY

There was a big change in our peaceful empty nest last week.....my mother moved in with us for a few weeks while she recovers from knee replacement surgery. She lives alone in the city and there was no way in the world I would let her go home on crutches! This decision has brought with it a few changes in my usual routine.

Read more »
Posted by at 22 comments
Labels:

7 LITTLE THINGS I JUST LOVE

7 things that I just love - little jolts of joy

7 THINGS CHALLENGE

I love a challenge, so when I was asked to share 7 things I love, I couldn't resist digging down and having a bit of a feel-good share. So, here are seven of my favourite little things - nothing big, but they all bring little jolts of joy into my life.

Read more »
Posted by at 48 comments
Labels:

MEMORIES OF BEING A YOUNG MUM

#midlife blog crestingthehill.com.au

LIFE AS A YOUNG MUM

As I look at my grown and flown adult children, I have moments where I slip back in time and think about them when they were little and how naive I was as a new mum. I'm a fairly logical and ordered person and I assumed parenting would be a straightforward exercise of a + b = c. In other words, love + discipline = perfect offspring. Little did I know......
Read more »
Posted by at 32 comments
Labels:

CHOOSING ENTHUSIASM OVER PASSION

cresting the hill

DO WE NEED A "BURNING PASSION"?

I've read many, many articles on "finding your passion" that tell me that my life is not complete unless I find something that I am completely passionate about. I think there is a lot to be said for swapping the word "passionate" with the word "enthusiastic". That way you can embrace lot of different experiences without being consumed by just one.
Read more »
Posted by at 23 comments
Labels:

DO I HAVE THE RIGHT TO WRITE?

cresting the hill

IS MY WRITING WORTHWHILE?

There are so many blogs out there written by people who have exciting or dramatic lives. People who have experienced loss, or pain, or passion, or innumerable life events that I have no claim to. When I think about these writers, I wonder if I have the right to write too?

Read more »
Posted by at 44 comments
Labels:

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN RE-VISITED

cresting the hill

WHEN YOUR PERSPECTIVE CHANGES

A while ago I wrote a post about the phenomenon that is the "invisible" middle aged woman. It was something that I had been feeling at the time - before I started connecting with all the fabulous Midlife women bloggers who've slowly but surely begun to change a lot of the assumptions I'd been making about life in my fifties.

Read more »
Posted by at 38 comments
Labels:

WHAT WAS TRUE THEN IS STILL TRUE NOW

cresting the hill

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE WISDOM

Laura Ingalls Wilder was a very wise woman - she lived through some very austere times and yet she and her family survived and thrived. I still remember where she describes her excitement and pleasure with what she and her sister received for Christmas when they were living in Kansas....

Read more »
Posted by at 22 comments
Labels:

MY TOP 5 RESOLUTIONS FOR A REGRET FREE LIFE

cresting the hill

THE YEARS AHEAD

Life is short and it's too easy to let it run away from you while you are trying to be all things to all people. As a woman I think it becomes a snare and an obligation where you can allow yourself to be taken for granted and lose yourself in the process.

We forget that we have choices - more choices than women our age have ever had. It's time to use those choices to decide how to spend the years ahead wisely. 

Read more »
Posted by at 30 comments
Labels:

LEARNING HOW TO CREATE STAINED GLASS

#midlife blog crestingthehill.com.au

STAINED GLASS AND MY BUCKET LIST

I've never really had a bucket list - well not one in writing anyway, but one thing I've always wanted to try my hand at was leadlighting (or stained glass). Last week was my birthday and my present from my lovely husband was a two day stained glass/leadlighting course. I've never had the time or the opportunity before because competent teachers are hard to find - and quite expensive. I'm also not the most creative person in the world, and I worried that my complete lack of crafting ability extended to stained glass making too.

Read more »
Posted by at 28 comments
Labels:

WHAT BRINGS A TEAR TO YOUR EYE?

cresting the hill

WHAT BRINGS A TEAR TO YOUR EYE?

I wracked my brains a bit over this one because I don't cry very much at all nowadays. Then I thought back to my life a few years ago where I was crying all.the.time. I was having a big hiccup in my marriage, I felt irrelevant as a mother because my children were independent and living away from home, I hated my job, and so the list went on. Then things changed.....

Read more »
Posted by at 30 comments
Labels:

CELEBRATING "DELICIOUS AMBIGUITY" ON MY BIRTHDAY

cresting the hill

TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY

It's my birthday today - I had to pause to think how old I actually am - I'm sticking with "early 50's" for now because I still scrape in! Birthdays are a time of life where you stop and take stock of where you've been and where you're going.......and that's something that I'm still trying to work out. I know where I've come from but I'm still figuring out where I'm ultimately headed.

Read more »
Posted by at 34 comments
Labels:

3 AFFIRMATIONS TO OWN IN MIDLIFE

cresting the hill

THREE AFFIRMATIONS TO OWN IN MIDLIFE

I came across a three part mantra a while ago that said "Let there be silence in my mind, warmth in my heart, and peace in my soul"  - nobody seemed to attribute it to an actual author (other than 'unknown') but I loved how profound it was and how it spoke to me the moment I read it. So much of it resonates with how I'm trying to live my life.
Read more »
Posted by at 28 comments
Labels:

THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO LIFE THAN A JOB

cresting the hill

WORKING FOR THE MAN

I worked full time last week while my co-worker was on holidays - visiting her daughter on the other side of the country. It's only been five months since I left my old job where I worked almost full time, but after only working two days a week for these last few months, I certainly noticed the impact of working Monday to Friday again.

Read more »
Posted by at 15 comments
Labels:

WHAT DOES YOUR SOUL LOOK LIKE?

cresting the hill

I'D LOVE OTHERS TO TRULY SEE MY SOUL

I wish other people could see my soul and know what is at the heart of who I am (not the superficial physical 'me' that they see on the surface). But the question then becomes....."what does my soul actually look like?" 

Read more »
Posted by at 32 comments
Labels:

LEAVING THE CHAOS BEHIND

cresting the hill

LIFE AS THE GOOD DAUGHTER

I grew up in Australia in the 1970's. While lots of girls my age were out experimenting and having a good time, I was being the good daughter who did what she was told and made sure I never overstepped the line. I grew up in a chaotic family with a narcissistic father, a complicit mother and rules that changed regularly - all in my father's favour! It made life very difficult for us all.

Read more »
Posted by at 22 comments
Labels:

going with the flow versus micro-managing

cresting the hill

YOU'RE TRYING TOO HARD

One of my biggest faults is my need to micro-manage every detail of my life. This includes what I'm doing at any given time and also the people who are around me. It kicks in big time when I'm facing a new situation or something a bit scary - its seems to be my go-to method for dealing with stress.

Read more »
Posted by at 19 comments
Labels:

WALKING THE LINE WHEN DEALING WITH AGEING PARENTS

cresting the hill

WHEN YOUR PARENTS CAN'T SEE THAT THEY'RE "OLD"

We've just spent some time with my in-laws trying to find them a possible house to move to now that they are getting old and frail. The only fly in the ointment is that they still see themselves as sprightly sixty year olds - which is as far from reality as you can get.
Read more »
Posted by at 27 comments
Labels:

CIRCUSES, MONKEYS, AND A LIFE MOTTO

cresting the hill

DO YOU HAVE A LIFE MOTTO?

My answer to the life motto question is yes and this is it:

Not my circus......not my monkeys" which is apparently a Polish saying that basically means "not my problem.

I discovered this quote on Pinterest (oh how I love Pinterest!) and it has stuck with me ever since, probably because it spoke volumes about my approach to life and the changes I needed to make.
Read more »
Posted by at 30 comments
Labels:

NEVER APOLOGIZE......

cresting the hill

I'M SORRY....

I have spent way too many years saying "I'm sorry" for way too many things! At times it feels like I've used it as a punctuation mark or a way to excuse having an opinion on something that might be different or less acceptable.

Part of this is the baggage that comes from being a woman who grew up in a conservative, male dominated home. Part of it comes from being a people pleaser. Part of it comes from lack of confidence in myself. Part of it is feeling that my opinion doesn't really count in the grand scheme of things.
Read more »
Posted by at 19 comments
Labels:

LIVING AND LOVING THE AFTERNOON OF LIFE

cresting the hill

LIVING LIFE WELL

Getting older is something that happens to all of us. Many in today's world are doing all they can to fight the process and stay young. It all comes down to appearance for them and trying to keep the ageing process at bay. Perhaps a better way to approach life would be to get on with living it so well that you don't notice you're getting older.

Read more »
Posted by at 26 comments
Labels:

how do you define abundance?

cresting the hill

WHAT DOES ABUNDANCE MEAN TO YOU?

I was thinking about what a rich and meaningful word "abundance" was......and then I got to thinking how the meaning of "abundance" changes depending on your world view and what you consider to be important in life.

Read more »
Posted by at 20 comments
Labels:

we interrupt this blog with a very important notice!

cresting the hill

I'M GOING TO BE A NAN - FOR THE FIRST TIME!

Yes! I'm going to be a Nan - it's officially up on facebook so I can do a shout out to Nana-dom! What more can I say other than I'm stoked that our son and his lovely wife are having our first grandbaby - due April 24th next year.
Read more »
Posted by at 29 comments
Labels:

BECOMING A NOT TOO CRAZY CAT LADY

cresting the hill

FROM DOGS TO CATS

I spent the first half of my life thinking I was a "dog person". I grew up in a 1970's home with the prerequisite dog and a budgie (all Australian kids have a dog and a budgie at some stage) and it was the same with all my friends - I didn't know a single person with a cat.
Read more »
Posted by at 38 comments
Labels:

CHOOSING TO SAY "NO" TO SELF PITY

cresting the hill

NO SELF PITY

My husband has this D.H. Lawrence quote as the screen saver on his computer:

I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself

It's a reminder to him that self pity is a human condition and one that we need to combat wherever possible. Nobody likes a light sucker and nobody wants to be around someone who is always feeling sorry for themselves.

Read more »
Posted by at 24 comments
Labels:

3 NITTY GRITTY LIFE LESSONS

cresting the hill

LIFE LESSONS

How many truisms are contained in the words above? Somewhere along the way we were told life would be easy and smooth sailing on a balmy day. Somebody forgot to mention the nitty gritty details that make up part of our lives.....the bits that build character and stop us becoming too smug. Three of those things I've listed here.....

Read more »
Posted by at 27 comments
Labels:

FOUR MONTHS DOWN THE TRACK IN MY NEW JOB

cresting the hill

A LITTLE LIFE AND JOB UPDATE

People often talk or write about new jobs and new adventures and the excitement that goes with them - or (in my case) the low grade terror of launching into the unknown. You don't always get an update of how the journey has progressed and whether it lived up to the initial hopes and expectations.
Read more »
Posted by at 24 comments
Labels:

ARE YOU PARENTING SUCCESSFULLY?

cresting the hill

HOW DO WE KNOW IF WE'RE PARENTING WELL?

We all see that social media highlight reel of the perfect family every time we look at Instagram or Facebook - and ours never seems to measure up. Does that mean we aren't doing well at this whole parenting gig? Not at all - I think there's so much more to successful parenting than a pretty picture or two. Ultimately it comes back to each individual family unit as to how you measure whether you feel like you're doing a good job.
Read more »
Posted by at 32 comments
Labels: ,

FOR THE LOVE OF JIGSAW PUZZLES

cresting the hill

ADULT COLOURING AND OTHER PASTIMES

The latest craze for adult stress relief is colouring-in. It seems like every woman and her dog has jumped onto the colouring bandwagon. The young guy at the supermarket checkout even told me he'd just bought an adult colouring-in book from his local bookstore while he was away on holidays. Then he started waxing lyrical about the specific brand of colouring pens he needed to buy to be able to do the tricky bits with!

Read more »
Posted by at 31 comments
Labels:

HAVE YOU EVER "GHOSTED" SOMEONE?

cresting the hill

WHAT'S "GHOSTING"?

'Ghosting' is a term being thrown around on the interwebbities a lot lately. Apparently it's the new way to leave a relationship without suffering the pain and embarrassment of actually having the "it's not you, it's me" conversation or writing the "Dear John" letter.

Read more »
Posted by at 32 comments
Labels:

FEELING LIKE I'M SEVENTEEN AGAIN

cresting the hill

TO RE-UNION OR NOT TO RE-UNION?

I'm not a big fan of high school reunions. I went to a large high school in the city and I've never been back for a reunion. I still keep in touch with a few of my friends from those days via Facebook but as for the rest, well I haven't missed them in the last 35 years so I doubt I'll be in a hurry to see any of them again! But there is one type of reunion that I never miss and they are the ones organized for the youth group I attended as a teenager.

Read more »
Posted by at 16 comments
Labels:

SPEAKING POSITIVITY INTO YOUR MARRIAGE

cresting the hill

ARE YOU INVESTING IN YOUR MARRIAGE?

When you've been married for a long time you come to realize how important it is to invest in the person who you have made a lifelong vow to. It's so easy to take each other for granted and to not show appreciation. It's also easy to make "funny" comments about the other person that can be hurtful or unhelpful.
Read more »
Posted by at 30 comments
Labels:

BEING CONTENT WITH LESS THAN YOU EXPECTED

cresting the hill

A QUOTE THAT HIT HOME

A quote that spoke to me this week was this one from Marguerite Gardiner about contentment in the small things:

Happiness consists not in having much, but being content with little.

Contentment is such an overlooked emotion in today's "give me give me" world of discontent. It seems everyone is looking for the next big promotion, the next big holiday, the next big romance or the next big crisis to keep things exciting. People constantly complain about the cost of living and how much they need to earn to live a life that they think is satisfactory. Contentment gets lost in the process.

Read more »
Posted by at 34 comments
Labels:

JUST BREATHE AND LET IT GO

cresting the hill

WHEN LIFE FEELS HEAVY

It's so easy to let life knock the me down. There are so many petty little things that nip at my heels every day, just waiting to get a good grip and pull me backwards and sink me into a funk. So many times in the past I'd let that happen and let it affect my mood without realizing that the impact these things have on me is really my choice.

Read more »
Posted by at 20 comments
Labels:

A MIDLIFE MANTRA IN THREE CHOICES

cresting the hill

IT'S TIME TO RETURN TO THE BASICS

As I learn to embrace this Midlife stage of life, I keep coming back to the basics. I think we complicate our world far too much and we need to redefine what is important so that we can find contentment in where we are today, rather than always looking for what's coming next that will finally make us happy.

Read more »
Posted by at 22 comments
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)