Hello my loves! Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve written a post for you all- this feels strange, but also so good!

Happy New Year! I hope you’re all doing as well as possible and that you managed to find a little light relief over the last few weeks of 2017. I have to admit that 2017 really rocked me, as I think it did for a lot of people. On the plus side, I completed a yoga teacher training course, which had been a big goal of mine for a while, travelled to Italy with my husband and got to spend a lot of lovely time with my family. However, I also lost my Grandfather, who I was incredibly close to and who was a bit of a role model for me, and I also had to have my appendix taken out. Although this is seen as a fairly routine operation, it really shook me, and it took a lot longer to recover than I thought it was going to. While recovering, I also had a lot of time to think (maybe, too much time!), and the parts of my life where I was playing small really revealed themselves to me.

I have to admit that I’m not much of a long-term planner. I’ve very much adopted the ‘it’ll be ok’ attitude, and that it’s better to live in the moment to a certain extent, but I’ve realised recently that these ideas have left me directionless and a little unsure of where I’m going. I also realised how much I’ve been looking outside of myself for answers, so I decided to ban myself from reading self-help books (you can read a little more on why here), and I also deleted Instagram and Facebook from my phone, and have only been going on Facebook very occasionally. Please accept my apologies for being ‘missing in action’, but I felt that I really had to go through the motions at the end of last year- it wasn’t very pleasant, but I’m so pleased to be moving forward into a new year.

At first, cutting myself off from the newsletters, podcasts and books of other wellbeing/health bloggers and writers was absolutely daunting and I realised how much I wanted to keep up with what was going on in the wellness industry. But, I also realised that I was still using self-help as a band-aid, even though I didn’t need to. I was swept up in whether I should be totally gluten-free, whether I should focus on gut-health, whether what I was doing was really ‘enough’, but this all stressed me out even more. Being totally focussed on what was going on outside of me meant that I had completely lost touch with my inner voice and my vision for my life (I’m currently reading this book which has really helped with this!). I had so much to be grateful for, but couldn’t really see if because I was caught up in comparisonitis. I knew that something had to change in 2018, and I just thought I’d let you all know how this will affect the blog and how you can work with me.

I have been self-employed for a year and half, and have my own business teaching children after school. However, this was leaving me with a lot of time during the day. I found it quite ironic as someone who used to have CFS that I have a lot of energy in the morning, and because this wasn’t being put to good use, I was feeling a little frustrated and out-of-sorts. I also really missed working with a group of people rather than being on my own all the time. There’s a part of me that thinks of this as divine intervention, but I’m very happy to say that I’ll be returning to high school teaching in a few weeks’ time. To say that I was surprised that I wanted to go back to teaching is an understatement, but I know it’s the best decision for me at this point in my life. I’m terrified, but also very happy!

Changes to the Blog

There won’t be many changes to how the blog runs, but please know that I won’t be posting much on Instagram (if at all), and that Facebook posts will only be put up when I really have something to say or tell you about. There’s enough noise out there as it is, so I don’t want to add to it for you. While we’re on the subject, if my blog or social media posts aren’t resonating with you, please feel free to unsubscribe. I’ve just unsubscribed from a lot of things recently, and it’s so refreshing to have a clear-out once in a while!

I will also be publishing a Little CFS Book of Sleep very shortly, to go alongside my other ebooks, so stay tuned!

How you can work with me (for a very limited time!)

As part of moving into my new role, I’m refining the ways in which you can work with me. Some of these are for a very limited time only, so please act soon know if you’d like my advice or help.

• I will no longer be offering one-to-one mentoring (yeeep, that ‘s right- I said it!). In order to respect my own energy levels, I’m withdrawing my mentoring sessions, but will instead be offering short, recorded mentoring sessions via Soundcloud. These are personalised sessions and I’ll email you with a link to listen back to – bookings will close on Friday 19th January at 6PM AEDT forever. Click here for more information and bookings. This might be your very last chance to work with me(!), so please book yourself in if you’d like me advice.

• Intuitive readings will only be available for the next week or so. This breaks my heart, but again, this is so I can respect and honour my energy levels, time and responsibilities once I start school. Please click here to book yourself in! These readings will close on Friday 19th January at 6PM AEDT indefinitely.

Books that have really helped me recently

• Stephen Covey- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (currently reading)
• Mark Manson- The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck (everyone should read this book!)
• Sarah Wilson- First, We Make The Beat Beautiful: New Story About Anxiety
• R. J. Palacio- ‘Wonder’ (a fiction book for teenagers, but very feel-good!)

Essential oils that have been rocking my world

I know, I know- essential oils are everywhere at the moment, but for a very good reason. These oils have really helped support me over the last few months (I use doTerra’s oils), and I just wanted to mention a few of them:

• Frankincense
• Lavender
• Geranium
• Vetiver
• Peppermint
• Balance (grounding blend)

Please fill in the form at the bottom of this page if you’d like more information about the oils.

Thank you so much for being here, lovely ones and for your continued support. I’ve been thinking about you all during this difficult time, and hoping that your thoughts were being a little kinder to you than mine were being to me! Wishing you so much health and happiness for this new year- you really deserve it.

With love and gratitude,

Katie     xxx