Being Creative

Being Creative

by Tracey Buckley ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Creative Sunday

I love being creative; I love the creative process and just seeing what develops.

Creativity is fun for me.

My new song, Princess Heart, has been out for a week now, and it is such a dream for me.

I am so grateful for everyone who has helped along the way and for everyone who has listened to the song.

I love the day before release, when you look at Spotify and your song isn’t there, and then, on the day of release, it is.

I love to sing, and I am always singing; I think if I am not singing, then there is something not quite okay.

Lately I have been loving junk journalling. There is so much to discover.

I love that it is called junk journalling; it doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be whatever you want it to be.

I have decided to fill up some of my notebooks. I don’t know about you, but I have quite a collection of notebooks that I had started in and then not finished.

I really can’t stop buying them when I see one that I haven’t got, well….. I really like the ones with blank pages. Oh, and yes, I did buy a new one in the school holidays; it was perfect for junk journalling.

So, in the school holidays I decided to work through one of my notebooks to finish, and I am loving the process. I have been using stickers, paper, washi tape, card, coloured paper and decorated paper.  A lot of the supplies I am using I already have. I really haven’t had to buy anything for it, only double-sided glue tape.

I find it is such a nice thing to do after work instead of scrolling on my phone.

I am creating and discovering things.

Have you tried junk journalling?

I would love to see what you have created.

Will share more soon.

School Holidays

School Holidays

by Tracey Buckley ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I am in my second week of school holidays, and I am grateful for the holidays.

If you have been following me you will know that I work as a primary school Chaplain, a job I love.

I also find myself making list to achieve things to do on my holidays, and that does include sorting my house. I think my list really needs longer then 2 weeks to achieve but I love a good list.

I find it is time to go at a slower pace and to lean more into my creativity.

Last Monday I had a session online with my music mentor Merelyn who is in Melbourne.

We worked through 3 of the songs that I want to record and I am really happy with how they are going.

I have continued with my gym journey, showing up and training toward my next comp in 2027. Monday I had a training session with my coach and I learn something new all the time. I love going to the gym and seeing what I can achieve.

Monday morning, I picked up my niece, and I have her here until this afternoon. I love spending time with her playing one of our card games, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. Last night we watched Bridge to Terabithia. I love that movie.

Tomorrow sees the release of my song Princess Heart, which I am really excited.  This is a dream of mine, and I am so grateful for everyone who was a part of this journey.

Holidays are the time to watch some movies and TV shows that I have been wanting to watch.

I still have 3 more days until I return back to work and I am just going to enjoy the time.

What is something that you are grateful for today?

Will share more soon.

My New Song Princess Heart

My New Song Princess Heart

by Tracey Buckley ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

You can now pre save my new song Princess Heart, scan the QR code.

Princess Heart is the first song that I wrote. It talks about finding your identity, worth and hope,

I wrote Princess Heart in Melbourne with my music mentor Merelyn Carter.

Brett Wood plays guitar on the song, and we recorded it at The Song Store in Melbourne.

I remember being in the recording studio and saying this is my dream.

Remember that you are worthy, valued and loved.

New Song Release

New Song Release

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I have a new song coming out in July, it is called Princess Heart.

I am really excited about this.

Princess Heart is the first song that I wrote while recovering from an eating disorder.

It is a song about hope, about recovery and about faith.

I wrote this song sitting in the kitchen of my music mentor Merelyn Carter house in Melbourne.

It was the first of many trips to Melbourne over the years.

I remember writing this song it was difficult and I didn’t want to finish it.

This song was written in 2008, and we reworked it last year.

I am so excited to share this with you, and I hope that it encourages you.

I will share more when the release date is finalised and where to find it.

June Goals

June Goals

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We are now halfway through the year and it is officially winter here in Perth, Western Australia.

I have two Frangipani trees out the front of my house and I love watching the changes in them. In winter I notice the leaves start falling to the ground, the flowers are gone and it is time to shake off the old and watch what happens next. They are changing and what looks like pruning they are actually preparing themselves for the next season.

It is a bit like us, seasons come and go and changes happen.

Today I am thinking about goals for the next few months, I love to have goals.

I have a girls’ group at my schools which I run, last week we looked at goal setting and what we are working towards for this term.

My thought today is we have six months till the end of the term and what will your six months look like?

What changes do you want to see happen?

What areas in your life do you want to grow and achieve new things?

I love using SMART for my goals-

 Specific

 Measurable

 Achievable

 Realistic and

 Time-bound.

Some of my goals for June are-

 Setting up my private practice in counselling

 Releasing my song Princess Heart

 Updating my website – The Heart Project

 Continuing my gym workouts 5 days a week to work towards competition in 2027

 Looking at speaking opportunities

Go to an open mic.

What is a goal that you are working on or towards in June?

I would love to hear from you.

Let’s encourage one another.

June is going to be a place where growth will happen.

June is a space to create something exciting.

I will share more soon.

Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone

by Tracey Buckley ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

The past few years I have been setting myself goals and when you set goals, you find yourself stepping out of your comfort zone.

I don’t know about you but stepping out of your comfort zone takes courage, it takes a yes moment and you may be doing it with some nervous energy.

You maybe doing it with quite a lot of nervous energy.

It is saying yes to new things when you really just want to stay home and hide under the covers.

I think that growth happens in the moment of the inbetween, that decision of the goal and then reaching the goal.

I describe myself like a duck on the outside, people will see me gliding across the water without making a ripple, but don’t let that fool you, I am paddling for my life underneath.

Goals are scary because it is places we have never experienced before and stepping into those places is where you learn so much about who you are.

It is stepping into the unknown.

How do we do this without shrinking back and not believing in what we are capable of?

To be honest, it begins with a yes.

Yes, I will commit to this goal, yes I wll talk to others that can support and encourage me in working towards the goal.

Shrinking back and playing small is what I have done for most of my life, especially being a people pleaser (I am still working on this).

We all have a dream, a goal, a desire in our hearts.

It may be buried at the moment, but the joy is in discovering the hidden dream.

Take that dance class you have been thinking about doing, go to an art class, try something just for fun.

You never know what will happen.

This week, decide on one thing that you would like to do that you have been thinking about.  Then say yes and see what happens.

I am cheering you on and you have got this.

I will share more soon.

Rest Is Important

Rest Is Important

by Tracey Buckley ♥ 2 Comments

Today is the first weekend in about 4 weeks that I have nothing planned.

It has been a very productive last 4 weeks, and I am very grateful for every opportunity.

I have entered a bodybuilding comp and am now working on growth phase, so I am still working out Monday to Friday, cardio three times a week, steps to get in and practising posing.

I also was interviewed on the couch about my song Rise, which was a great experience. You can watch that on YouTube or Foxtel.

Last weekend was one of my niece’s 21st birthday and then Mother’s Day.

I also had a session with my music mentor and am working on one of my songs, Another Summer and Butterflies. We are getting this ready to record.

Also, I am working in my role as a primary school Chaplain five days a week, which I love.

Today is a day of rest, one where I am staying home for the whole day. There is still meal prepping to organise, steps to get in and things to do around the house. Working on my website as well.

Recovery is important, rest days are important and slowing down is important.

What do you do to relax and look after yourself?

What is one thing that you could plan today, even for 30 minutes?

Take the time to rest, take the time to recharge and take the time to look after yourself.

I would love to hear from you about how you rest.

Body Building Competition

Body Building Competition

by Tracey Buckley ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Saturday, 25 of April, I competed in my first bodybuilding competition in Perth, WA.

I have been training since I committed to my gym journey on May 11 2023.

I said to my coach I need a new goal, and I decided to compete.

It has been an interesting journey, and I have learned so much along the way.

I have an amazing coach who supports me and listens to my many, many questions.

It has been a journey of early mornings and following my training and meal plans.

I loved the whole process of this journey. Except for my little moment on registration day when I got my outfit. I was in the moment of. I don’t think I can do this. I am so not ready for this. I was already so invested for me there was no turning back, and I had already paid for everything.

What have I learnt along the way-

 Trust your coach

 Follow your meal plan

 Get organised

 Meal prep

 Ask questions

Trust the process

Show up everyday for your gym sessions

It is cold in the mornings in winter (but it is okay)

 Believe in yourself

 and

 You can do it.

Peak week I found so strange, I am so used to singing and speaking on stage, but this was so different. This was a different level. I know for me there were so many new and unknown experiences.

There were so many new experiences, 3 layers of tan, finding the venue, seeing the stage for the first time, just finding my way around,

Did I like it? Yes. Would I do it again? Of course.

We are looking at April 2027.

Now the new goal is to build more muscle, eat more, yeah!

The journey continues.