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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Inspiration from Aneets.




So, last weekend I actually met someone that reads my blog.
I won't go into how I met the lovely Aneets because quite frankly, it's a long story and a little bit unbelievable.
I will say though that it was an absolute pleasure to meet her and she said some nice things about 'Box of Tricks' - which was great too.

This is Carla Bruni (the song is called ' L'Amoureuse)
- first lady of France, super-model, ex of Mick Jagger.
She is also a great singer. I have had 2 of her albums on my Ipod for a while and I'm a bit of a fan. She sings perfect Sunday afternoon music. Perfect relaxing/pottering around music.

So, in a kind of Richard Mercer, Love Song Dedication way - this is for Aneets.

Thank you. xo

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Guess who's back?


Hi there,

I'm not sure if there is anyone actually out there anymore - and if not - that's fair enough. It's been ages.

J is nearly seven months old now and it seems like an eternity ago that I was talking to you about being pregnant and waiting for his arrival into the world.

As you would imagine, alot has happened since I last spoke to you. I will fill you in over the next few weeks. I kind of forgot about being here and how much I liked it.

I hope everything in your world is great!! My world currently consists of household chores, ABC 702 on the radio, trying to teach myself to cook, and also quite alot of learning how to be a mother.

On the whole, things are good.

xx

Monday, June 7, 2010

Song of the Week.


Clap your hands - Sia

Love the song.
Love the video.
Love Sia.
Hope you do too.

This is from her new album 'We are Born' - out later this month. Can't wait! xx

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Glee night!


Hi all,

I've had a hard day at the office (aka home). J is going through a bit of an unsettled phase at the moment. He knows what he'd like to be doing but he's not sure how to make it happen. So he's a bit frustrated. And...I'm a bit tired.

Anyhoo, I'm eating Smiths Salt and Vinegar Chips and having a glass of wine and looking forward to watching 'Glee'. Sd is on baby duty - which he is happy to do because it's been a few days since they've been able to hang out together.
I only started watching this show 2 weeks ago when they had the Madonna special - and I love love love it.
It is exactly the right kind of escapism I need right now. I've never really appreciated escapism before. Now, I get it. I love my life, but I get it.
If you haven't watched it yet, give it one only episode. You'll be either enraptured or looking for the remote.
I was on the enraptured team in the first minute.

xx

Monday, May 24, 2010

Refresh.


I've decided to hit the Refresh button on my life.

I have survived the first four months of motherhood and I'm ready to 'get on with it'. I feel like my life is a bit stagnant. Time to change things up a bit.

There is so much I want to do. Here is my list so far;

1) exercise daily - like I used to.
2) work one or two days a week
3) learn to use the sewing machine I got for Christmas
4) do a post here per day
5) learn how to use our coffee machine ( you know, in case of caffeine emergencies! I took one look at it when we got it and decided that coffee making was Sd's job.)
6) sort out our family budget
7) organise our holiday for the end of this year. 2 weeks at the beach - can't wait!
8) read regularly - I've done well in the last week or so because I started reading Oprah's unauthorised biography by Kitty Kelly and it's fascinating.
9) go and see someone about my anxiety. I really thought that I had gotten on top of it. But no.
The last thing J needs is an overly anxious mother.
10) decide what I want to do next - another baby? think about planning to open the store I've had in the back of my mind? something else?

There are about a million more things floating around in my head but I wont get carried away. I think these are more than enough for now!


Ps. Happy 4 months J - you're the best baby ever. xxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooo



xx

Monday, May 17, 2010

Tiny Dancer.



How amazing is this little boy? What a gift he has!

His name is Luke Spring and he is seven. Bless!

I want to do 'over the tops' and wear orange tap shoes too.

Enjoy!


xx

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Things I like on Saturday (on Sunday).


This week I have spent the whole week 'on the road'. Sd went to Armidale, Tamworth and Narrabri for work so J and I went too. It was fun, but hard work, but fun. A three month old in a car or a hotel room for an extended period of time works for no one. Let me tell you!
I'm running a day late with this post because I have been wading around in all our dirty washing.Nice.
I haven't really been able to discover many new things this week...but I have managed to find a few;

* The Circle.


I love the women on this show. I watched this every day last week and I often watch it at home when I am feeding J. The hosts of this show - Chrissie Swan, Yumi Stynes, Denise Drysdale and Gorgi Coghlan - are all very natural, real and funny. That's what I want to see on daytime TV or any TV for that matter. It's not rocket science and it has infomercials galore but these people are authentic and it's a breath of fresh TV air. It's on Channel 10, 10 - 12 each morning.


* Addison Road/Marrickville Growers markets.


We went to these markets today for the second weekend in a row. You can get all kinds of organic fruit and vege, eggs, cheese, meat here. It's all really inexpensive and a relaxed environment to shop in - which is important on a sunny Sunday morning. We even saw Gary Meighan from Masterchef here today!
There are all kinds of beautiful muffins, rolls, malaysian and vietnamese food and great coffee ( the coffee stand as you walk in NOT the coffee stand in the middle of the markets). If you menu plan - as we have just started to - it is worth a try. So much cheaper than normal stores!
There are also stalls with clothes, furniture, and other bits and pieces for you to explore too.


* Silly Billyz bibs


This one is for all the mummies out there who go through 5 gazillion bibs per day. Silly Billyz. They have a layer of plastic on the back which means it takes a lot longer for moisture to soak through onto clothes. Saved my life and sanity this week.
Best.Bibs.Ever.


xx

Bloggers Without Makeup.




These photos are of me at 10pm on a Saturday night - just after I have washed my face and am off to bed. This is what I look like at the moment without makeup.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank whoever it was who invented concealer. I love you. Thanks to you I look normal most days...

Having said that, this is me.

Mother of a 14 week old baby , amongst many other things...

Quite frankly, whatever I look like is fine by me.

The 'Bloggers Without Makeup' is the idea of Jodie from Mummy Mayhem. There are heaps of other lovely bloggers doing this so go and check them out here!


xx

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Things I like on Saturday.


Hi!

This is one of the posts I thought of doing while feeding in the middle of the night! What a multi-tasker I can be when I try!:)

Each Saturday, I will give you a little list of things I like at the moment.
I love reading other people's posts like this - because it gives me bright ideas and also introduces me to things that I otherwise may not have discovered...so if you have anything you like on Saturday, don't forget to let me know!


* Luxe Expresso ( Missenden Rd, Newtown)
This is a relatively new bakery/cafe in Newtown. We have eaten there a few times and it was nice but I am a fan of the bakery part myself. Their bread is superb - and so are their cakes and pastries. My favourite so far is the Crimson Grape bread which was a foccacia style loaf with grapes baked inside and on top of the loaf! So moist and delicious! And don't miss the Wagyu beef sandwich. OMG, it's good.

Their coffee is great too and the people there are lovely. It has a similar seating arrangement to 'Bills' in Surry Hills and Darlinghurst - with large tables to share with other people. There are tables for smaller parties too though.
I do like to share generally speaking ,but not so much my table in a cafe - so I like the option of your own table too!!


* Ebay
As you may have read elsewhere on this blog, I hadn't ever even looked at Ebay before I became pregnant with J. I decided one day to have a look when I realised that organising to buy baby stuff was very similar to organising a wedding! Everything seemed very overpriced so I decided to try Ebay to see what I could find.
Well folks, I was a changed woman after that day. I bought furniture for J's room, maternity clothes, maternity formal wear, and various baby bits and pieces (not all at the same time though!).
Everything except the furniture was new too!
This weekend will be exciting as I am actually going to try to MAKE money on Ebay. I cleaned out my wardrobe and I'm hoping that the proceeds from the sales will pay for a few baby-free nights out in the coming months!


*Moss


I like moss. That's a strange thing to say I know but I've seen a few gardens online and in magazines lately that have incorporated moss into their design. My favourite would be a tiny apartment in NYC that features a terrarium - complete with my gorgeous moss.
I haven't written about it here much but I am a bit of a gardener. I'm not a good one, but I love to try to be a good one. I think a garden ,no matter how small, is an essential part of a home. It's life-affirming to have beautiful greenery around you all the time and it's lovely to watch things grow and change with the seasons.
And of course, if everything dies because you forget to look after your garden, all you need to do is pop down to Flower Power and start again. Easy!


*Max
This is an online store I love for basics.
It is reasonably priced , good quality AND they have great sales.
Thought you might like to have a look.


*Seed femme
Another great place to shop for basics. I especially love their shoes.


*Mt Franklin sparkling mineral water.
I am a huge sparkling mineral water fan. I don't have a favourite brand ,however, I do like the Mount Franklin water because as the ad says - it's lightly sparkling. Which is nice - because sometimes you just don't want those big bubbles.

Wow, I sound like I need to get out more. And that's probably true, but mark my words, lightly sparkling? Thumbs up from me!


Hope you are having a lovely Saturday!


xx

Friday, April 30, 2010

My handy hint of the week.


Hi there,

I read somewhere that Shannon Lush (cleaning lady extraordinaire)recommends putting a tennis ball and a dry tea-towel in the dryer with your wet washing to cut your drying time in half.

I tried it today and it works wonderfully! Just like Shannon said!



That is all.

Have a great weekend!


xx

Five Year Plan.


Actually, I don't have one.
I'm not a planner.
Well, I'm not a long term planner.
I am a highly organised short term planner - but for the big picture?
I've got nothing.

I've always been this way. I hate the idea of my life being all mapped out. The element of surprise is very important to me...especially as I'm getting to be quite the old lady now and I do have responsibilities that mean I won't be popping off for an impromptu overseas trip or spending all my money on big trashy nights out. Been there, done that.
So, what's next?
That's what I've been thinking about this week.
Sd and I are relatively laid-back people. He moreso than I , but we are both 'go with the flow' type people. And we've gone with the flow and here we are! Sd is about to start studying at Uni again ( for the next 5 years) and I hope that I am looking after and having babies for a while yet ; so I think we've come to realise that it's time to make some plans for the future. Even if it goes against how we've liked to live so far...

Our life is just fine but I'm starting to see the necessity and value of having a concrete plan and a definite direction and putting our energies into getting there.

Now, we've just got to make that happen.

Do you have a five year plan?
How did you come up with it?
Any words of wisdom for me?


xx

Saturday, April 24, 2010

It's back.


As you may know if you have read this blog for a while, I have had major problems with anxiety in the past. In March 2008, I started going to see a (phenomenal & inspirational) acupuncturist because I wanted to do something to support my body and general health. I'd had two miscarriages and I was an overwraught, skinny, brittle person trying to keep it all together and get on with my life.
It wasn't working.
Jan - my acupuncturist/hero - told me in no uncertain terms that she felt that my anxiety was essentially crippling my body. I saw the anxiety and the miscarriages as two separate problems and after a few months of weekly treatments - the toll the anxiety had been having on me physically finally became obvious to me.
I achieved a kind of calm and comfort in my skin that I hadn't felt for a long long time. I realised that I had been internalising virtually all of my negative emotions and fear for quite a while and forcing myself to 'toughen up' whenever these feeling arose. So they just built up and festered away inside.
For me, acupuncture has been literally life-changing and I plan to have regular treatments forever! It might not be for everyone, but it works for me.
And no, the needles don't hurt!

Anyhow, my anxiety even through IVF and pregnancy was at best - almost non-existent and at worst - easy for me to manage, and since J was born I have been virtually anxiety-free.
Great story isn't it?
Except that the anxiety is back. With a vengence.

Last night I had nightmares, couldn't sleep, woke up about 100 times, diagnosed myself with 3 ( yes 3!) different types of cancer, and this morning I am walking around with horrible feelings of dread and fear. I just went for a walk and that has helped a bit and I decided that it's probably best to write all this down and try to get it out of my system.

My anxiety is triggered by a fear of having some kind of serious illness that will impact on my family. I have been in the situation of being investigated for a serious illness in the past and after that situation was resolved - my anxiety began.
This time, I suspect it has been triggered by the article in last Sunday's paper about multi-vitamins impacting on breast cancer. But really, anything in that vein can do it.
Then it slowly grows till it comes on like a tidal wave.Or a tsunami.

That's the most annoying thing about it, you can understand it, recognise the triggers, acknowledge the irrationality of your thoughts, but still the anxiety is relentless.

I have an acupuncture appointment on Tuesday morning, so I guess I will just hang in there and try my best to be positive and calm till then.
Hopefully, that appointment will help me to stop climbing the walls!

Thanks for listening.

Have a lovely weekend!


xx

Friday, April 16, 2010

Starry starry night.


I am currently reporting to you live! from a serviced apartment in Canberra.
That may not sound as exciting as I would like it to but I am actually quite thrilled to be here because it means I can write two whole posts in one day! ONE DAY!
TWO POSTS!
I am in Canberra because Sd has been here for work for the last two days and J and I tagged along in order to make our (my) life a bit more exciting. This afternoon we went to the French Masters exhibition at the National Gallery. It was absolutely fantastic. It was fabulous to see those paintings 'in the flesh' - so to speak. There was a crowd around all the Van Gogh paintings and a quietness in the room where they were hanging.
Except for the wailing coming from our pram.
Lovely J did not care about any bloody French Masters!!
Our visit to see this exhibition was a bit pear shaped actually but I hope we get some points for trying. I breastfed amongst the tapestries of the Ancient Middle East, I tried (and failed) to effortlessly move my pram out of the way of the record crowds who had come to see the Masters, I got my pass out and went outside to sit on a step and breast feed AGAIN because J just wasn't satisified with the one earlier. Yep. It was NOT a bundle of laughs I can assure you. It was exhausting. But well worth it.
'The Starry Night over the Rhone' was my favourite.
It was magical.

We then went out for dinner. I was really reluctant to go because I thought J was on a bit of a roll with the crying and screaming in public places. I was loving the idea of takeaway and Friday night TV in a serviced apartment. I think that gives you an indication of how traumatised I was at this point - that I actually wanted to do that rather than go out for dinner!
We went - to a great Chinese restaurant called 'The Chairman and Yip' which I loved and I am proud and relieved to say that my son slept through the entire event and as I type,continues to do so.
What a fantastic child!

So that's what I'm up to. I'm drinking a glass of red wine and typing this. Bliss!

We are off home tomorrow morning and I'm going to the movies with my friend tomorrow afternoon. How exciting! On Sunday we are catching up with some friends and their kids for lunch. Should be fun!


What are you up to this weekend? Whatever it is - Enjoy!


xx

Something lovely.


One day a few weeks ago, I was walking down King St with J. And I saw something lovely.

An older lady who I'm guessing who was in her seventies (and she was definitely a Lady) was walking along the street alone. She was impeccably dressed. She was wearing a powder blue skirt ( falling politely under the knee), a matching powder blue long-sleeved jacket, a white blouse with a Peter Pan collar, stockings, white mary-janes with a low heel, a white hand bag and not a hair out of place. She looked like she had arrived straight from a church service circa 1971.

I noticed her because she stood out quite alot on King St. You do see all kinds of interesting people and outfits here - but you don't see this kind of lady and outfit very often. I also noticed her because she was wearing white gloves. You know, like the Queen. It reminded me of when I was at high-school and we had to wear gloves outside school grounds in winter. We were told it showed our good grooming! I hated it.
Anyhow, I noticed her gloves and also noted the 30 degree temperature - and my fascination with her grew.

She also looked very uncomfortable and a little bit afraid - not because of her attire on a 30 degree day - but because the usual crazy contingent on King St was hovering and the traffic was very loud and I'm guessing she wasn't a Newtown regular. All that stuff.

As I walked past her, another woman in her thirties approached her , touched her gently on the arm and said 'Excuse me, I just wanted to tell you that you look beautiful. You don't really see people dressed as immpecably as you are anymore and I just wanted to tell you that. You really look wonderful.'

Well, my lovely old lady's face just lit up. She was touched , proud , flattered, reassured and comforted all at the same time. She thanked her admirer and then continued on up the street with a large smile on her face.

Such a lovely moment.

It made my day.




Happy Friday everyone!!



xx

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Happy Easter !


Hello!

Obviously my routine for J is still a work in progress, so there has been no advancement in the time I can spend posting here. But I will keep trying.

This time last year, Sd and I were spending a beautiful long weekend in Orange. We went to lots of seriously gorgeous restaurants, stayed in a fantastic B&B with no TV, internet access or mobile reception. It did ,however, have a spa in our room and a big balcony overlooking miles and miles of bushland. Not bad huh?
Sd played golf, I read and then in the evenings we ate and ate and ate. And drank. Did I mention Orange is quite the destination for wine-tasting?
We returned from that trip away more relaxed than we had been in a long time. It is amazing how having no technology in your life can lead to a whole new kind of relaxed. A better kind if you asked me!
That Easter weekend I started to take the meds for our first round of IVF. The first step is easy - you take the contraceptive pill to basically get your hormone levels to a balanced low level - from which to begin the injections. I spent quite alot of time alone that weekend ( due to Sd's golf) which I needed - to get my head and heart into the right place to start the treatment.
I went into IVF with zero expectations. I was hopeful (otherwise I wouldn't have done it I guess) and I was afraid. I tried to put all those things aside and just do what was required of me each day in the IVF process and keeping thinking about it to a minimum.

As you all know, that cycle was a success and now we have beautiful baby J.
So, this long weekend, if you are dealing with things in your life that are difficult and scary and even beyond your control - look at my little Easter bunny and know that sometimes, even though may logic tell you otherwise, great and amazing things will come to you.


Happy Easter lovelies!


xx

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

White wine anyone?


Hi there!

It's been a while hasn't it!
I don't actually have time to type a post really but I miss my blog and you all - so I just wanted to send you my fond regards!

J is 7 weeks old now and everything is great. I feel like everything is going as well as it could be. This week I am trying to start a bit of a routine - which includes time to write here - so please don't hold your breath or anything - but maybe by the end of the week I might be back! So wish me luck!

I have had quite the long day today - hence my white wine reference.
Quite frankly, I would drink pretty much anything alcoholic at this point. Except maybe methylated spirits. Got to draw the line somewhere haven't we?

No, it's not that bad...but if someone brought me an icy glass of sauvignon blanc, I reckon I would give them a pretty great reception!

Hope everything is going well for you all - out there in the real world!

Hope to talk to you soon!




xx

Monday, February 22, 2010

Short and sweet.


Hi!

Just catching up on a few personal administration matters ( as Sd calls them) and although I don't consider my blog to be in the personal administration category - I thought I would check in quickly to say Hello! and also to tell you that I am getting my life back on track slowly - so soon will be able to post regularly and read your blogs regularly again. Yippee!!

I am getting the hang of being a mummy - the sleep interuptions are less than ideal(!!) but surprisingly I never feel too bad the next morning. Although, I must stress that I have gone from being a woman who is partial to one coffee a day to some kind of caffeine desperado who starts to climb the walls if no coffee has been had by 10am. There is now a compulsary afternoon coffee as well as the obligatory morning one.
A round of applause for the coffee bean please!
I can assure you our coffee machine has never worked harder...

So, as the 3.30am feeds continue to kick my arse, I want to assure you that I am using that time wisely to think up all kinds of lovely posts that once I find the time - I promise I will write for you.


Have a wonderful Monday! ( I'm pretty sure it's Monday... :)


xx

Sunday, February 14, 2010

My Valentine.


Happy Valentines Day!

Well, as you would be aware by now, my wonderful husband Sd is my Valentine.

Before I met him, I was not a February 14 fan.
I thought it was tacky.
But now, I kind of like the over-the-top romance of Valentines Day.
It's so bad that it's good - if you know what I mean!

Tonight we are having a romantic dinner at home.
We are having some beautiful French champagne, oysters and then an asian inspired salad that is our favourite at the moment - featuring unhealthy but very satisfying amounts of pork belly.
For dessert, we are having a summer pudding with creme anglaise.
Sd is preparing everything - I am supplying the candles and also I may get out of my track suit pants as a special treat!!

So - I'm excited!!

I might take some photos to show you if I am super-organised this evening!
Super-organised is not something that comes so easily to me at the moment - but you never know!!

I hope you all have a wonderful day and maybe even a bit of love and romance too!!



Ps. I love you Sd! xxooxxoo



xx

Friday, February 12, 2010

Good bye Alexander McQueen.


A very sad start to the day today, when I woke up to hear that Alexander McQueen had been found dead in his London home.

He was an extremely gifted designer and a fantastically creative person.
His runway shows always looked like something from another planet and always seemed to have a bit of an ' Alice in Wonderland' quality about them ; lots of intricate detail , lots of colour , lots of interesting shapes , lines , and structure.
Most importantly, his shows ALWAYS featured the completely unexpected.

Probably not the most wearable designer but certainly one of the most inspiring and truly brilliant.

The world has lost a special person.











xx

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Baby of the week.



Hi there!

Thank you for the comments you left after I did the last post.
I honestly couldn't wait to tell you our news!

I'm not going to post about J very much because I want to keep this blog how it is - and that's not a blow by blow description of how wonderful my son is!!:)

He is indeed wonderful and also marvellous and superb, but I don't want to bang on about that here.

I will have a J blog - for the grand parents and other J fans and I'll let you know what it is at some stage.
Of course , I will still talk about J here but it won't be a running commentary of his life or anything! Having said that, because I haven't done a flowers or song of the week for a while, I thought I would get one gratuitous proud mother video in.

Here is the first and last 'Baby of the Week'! on Box of Tricks.
I think 'Baby of the Week' will be a regular feature on J's blog though...

Here's J - having a chat with his dad.




Hope you like it!


xx

Thursday, February 4, 2010

It's a boy!


He looks enormous!


Two of the happiest people you ever will see!


This photo was taken today - and I think it's hilarious! He looks very, well...intense.



Hi everyone,

This will be a very short post but I just wanted to let you all know that Sd and I are the very proud parents of a 3.94kg baby boy!
How exciting!
His name is Jay and his middle name is Orion (after the constellation).
I'll explain how we came up with the name later on.

He is a great feeder and sleeper (for the three days we've known him anyway!)and we are completely and utterly in love with him!

I'll post again after the weekend when I am back in the land of the living and out of hospital.



Thank you again to you all for all your lovely comments and the support you've given me. It's been absolutely wonderful!



Have a great weekend lovelies!


xx

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Up E-A-R-L-Y.


So it's 5.30am and I am off to the hospital now.

Just wanted to thank you all very much for your messages.

As you can guess - they made me cry.
I could cry for Australia in the Olympics I reckon!
I'm a gold medal crier!

Also, thank you for all your support all the way through this saga!!
It has helped me more than you'll ever know.

I'm feeling quite calm and I have all my anaesthetic patches on in preparation for the big needles I'm going to have! Yuk!

So without any further ado, I'm off to give birth!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

I think the 2/2/10 will be a very auspicious day.

I hope something magnificent happens to you too!



xx

Monday, February 1, 2010

Shopping in slippers.


I just went super-market shopping in my slippers.

Yes I did.

I didn't forget I had them on or anything like that.
I did it intentionally. They are lovely and comfortable.

If you knew me, you would know that I WOULD NEVER NORMALLY GO SHOPPING IN SLIPPERS! EVER!

A sign of things to come?

Oh please NO!


Let's just hope it was a one-off and it won't happen again!



They were very comfortable though.



xx

I'm having a baby tomorrow.


That's a nice post title isn't it!!!:)

As I mentioned a few months back, I am having a caesarean. And that will happen tomorrow.

I guess I am as ready as a first time mother can be - ie: not ready in any way , shape or form - but that's to be expected I suppose.

I'm ready to have no idea what I am doing.

Theoretically, I actually know quite alot about babies. I have been advising mothers about baby-related things for years now through my work. That seemed to go ok! However, it's funny how now I suddenly can't remember any of that stuff anymore!?
Hopefully, when I get home from hospital - slowly but surely it will come back to me.
That would be very helpful wouldn't it?!

So, the rest of today will be spent doing some last minute jobs and then alot of couch sitting.

So I'll talk to you later I expect!

Have a wonderful Monday lovelies!


xx

Sunday, January 31, 2010

I won something.


The lovely Kellyansapansa tagged me with this award and it was a very nice surprise indeed.

I need to list 7 interesting things about myself.

Not sure how interesting these things will be - but I'll give it my best shot :)

1) I am becoming much more creative as I get older. I'm also becoming happier and happier as I get older - so there could be some connection there...

2) I will be having botox (or something of that ilk)as a 40th birthday present to myself.
I never would have thought that I would do anything like that - but nothing like having your 36th birthday to get you REALLY thinking about stuff like that!
I might add that Sd is four years younger than me - and uses eye cream!
That may have contributed to my decision.

3) My birthday and my sister's birthday are one day apart. I am two years older than her.

4) I have zero idea about football (soccer) but I LOVE to get up in the middle of the night for a couple of weeks every 4 years to watch the World Cup.
Can't explain why - but I absolutely love it!!

5) I have a fully fledged love/hate relationship with working anywhere near customer service.
Can't live with the general public, can't live without them.

6) I did 4 years of my Naturopathy diploma ( it took 6 years back in the day) and although loved every minute of it - stopped at the end of the fourth year.
I realised though that I would always struggle to make a living and that the world ( at least the Australian 'world') was about to be flooded with Naturopaths. I took my career in a different direction and have never regretted it.

7) I used to believe in Astrology. I no longer do.



I tag these beautiful bloggers;

Anything Fits a Naked Man

Pink Patent Mary Janes


LolaConstanceEvelyn

Fleur Delice

The Truth about Mummy

A Day in the Life

Living my Life,whatever


They are all very different from one another but are all beautiful!!


xx

Friday, January 29, 2010

Song of the Week.


Stand by Me - Leicester School Boys Choir


A while ago , I happened to see a documentary on the ABC I think or maybe SBS - about a choir master - Gareth Malone, who went into an English boys school in Leicester for a term and started a choir.
Success at this particular school was predominantly measured by how good you were at sport, as it is in many boys schools. The arts and (particularly music) were not a priority here.
It was also a school where there were some boys with quite difficult backgrounds and tricky behavioural problems. These boys were encouraged to be in the choir - and caused Gareth a fair bit of grief along the way!

In the end , he did manage to form a choir and at the end of term they performed at the Royal Albert Hall! How exciting!

It was so wonderful to watch them perform and to see all their hard work pay off. It was just a group of boys with no singing or performance experience who gave something a go and triumphed!
So beautiful to watch!

You might need some tissues at the end. Or maybe that's just me...

Enjoy and have a lovely weekend!


xx

The best eyelashes of 2010 go to...


In honour of the birth of the CUTEST baby born this week
( obviously the cutest baby born next week will no doubt be mine!) - I give you Manzi.

She was born at Mogo Zoo earlier this week and I think she is possibly the most adorable animal I have ever seen.

That is all.


xx

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Love it or hate it?


I'm not sure.

This is a dress from the Givenchy show at Paris Fashion Week.
I love love love this dress ( or should I call it a gown?) - from the waist up. It's divine.

Now, from the waist down - I'm torn. I love the colour and I love the graduation of the shades of colour. I'm not sure about the puffy bits at all.
I like the mix of textures but maybe not the sequins, the puffy bits, the different colours,the split in the front, the geometric waistband juxtaposed against the organic curvy puffy bits...all in the same garment.

It's all a bit much.

Or is it?

Torn, I tell you!


xx

Monday, January 25, 2010

Week 38.


Hello!

Good Lord - it's Week 38!
Well lovelies , if I thought it was surreal last week, Week 37 has nothing on Week 38!!
I now have virtually no body parts that I recognise as my own - except my head - occasionally.
I have also suddenly realised that I am not going to be sleeping for a very very long time and that has filled me with fear!
On a more positive note, Sd is reading some baby books - which has impressed me immensely. It's also lucky because despite having done quite a bit of reading myself, I can barely remember anything I have read. As my friend said, reading baby books is like reading a book on how to sail a boat - without the boat or the water.
Couldn't agree more.
Hopefully, Sd has a better memory than me!

Anyway, not much more to report because as per usual, I have been sitting on the couch for the best part of the day.
I can't begin to imagine how large my bum must be.
Oh well, hopefully anyone horrified by the size of my arse will be distracted by either the size of my stomach or the delightful heat rash working it's way down my body!

Beautiful! That's me!


xx

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Magazines and me.


I'm not a huge magazine lover. I suspect my impaired Gemini attention span has something to do with this. I'm the kind of person who goes shopping and is so overwhelmed by the amount of things to look at, the bright colours etc that I often forget why I have come to the shops , what I need and what already have at home. That's why I have 6 striped singlets. I am honestly shocked each time I come home with another one that there are any already in my wardrobe.

I expect that for similar reasons, I don't like to read magazines much. They overwhelm me. When I finish reading them I can't remember anything I've read about or seen and I feel a bit dizzy!!

As a result, I only read four magazines regularly; Vanity Fair, Notebook, Frankie and Real Living.
My brain seems to cope with these publications quite well!!

There are many many others I like but I don't buy them because I can't bring myself to. I think I have reached a certain age where I can tolerate very minimal amounts of 'celebrity' anything. I have an aversion to trying to emulate the 'style' of a particular famous person. Don't mind if someone else does it...it's just not for me.

Don't get me wrong, I have particular people that impress me when it comes to their fashion choices or how they decorate their home. You can read about that here.
However, I don't want to be like them or have a smaller bum than them , I just think they do what they do well.

I want to do a really good job of being me, dressing like me and decorating like me!
The afor mentioned magazines help me to do that and that's why I like them!


Which magazines inspire you?


xx

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Week 37.


How time flies!

Just went to the Ob and all was ok. Which is lovely.
I think that he thinks Sd and I are slightly strange because we do not appear particularly excited about the impending birth of our child. We're kind of not. I think we are slowly going into some kind of shock. Especially when our doctor says things like 'less than 2 weeks to go!' and we just smile and say 'Yes'.
Not really the reaction to that statement you'd look for in expectant parents!
Underwhelmed anyone?!

Like I keep saying, it is becoming more and more surreal each day that soon we will have a baby.

There is definitely a part of me that will not allow myself to contemplate our future because of what has come before.
When this baby is out of me and in the world then I will feel more able to comprehend what has happened.

Strange but true.

I am sounding more and more deranged as this post continues, so I might leave it at that for now - I think you get the picture!


Hope you are having a lovely week!
And thank you so much for your comments on my last couple of posts.
They were very very kind.


xx

Monday, January 18, 2010

Hip Hip Hooray for 100 posts!


I couldn't just do the venting post today.

For those who could bring themselves to read the angry angry post I wrote earlier today, I am calming down now and I just want to clarify that of course I am so happy that my mum is well and that I do appreciate that she has been through a terrible time - alone. As per her choice.
I am just shocked and very disappointed that someone who has taught me and guided me as to 'how to be', used information she had hidden from me as a verbal 'slap in the face'.

Just wanted to make that clear. I do love my mum alot!


Anyway, moving on...

This is my 100th post. Not really the festive one I had hoped for but I guess sometimes things don't go exactly how you'd like them to - and that's life isn't it?

Here's to the next 100 posts and minimal amounts of venting!!


xx

Vent vent vent.


You know how something can completely take the wind out of your sails? Well, that just happened to me. And this post will be me venting so feel free move on over to the next blog if me venting is not something you feel like reading on a Monday morning!! ( can't imagine why you wouldn't!)

Without going into the gory details, I just rang my mother and in my view she said some things that, to say the least, were extremely childish and hurtful and wrong.
Essentially, she told me that she 'didn't feel like' doing something and then when I asked why she told me that she wasn't well. I said to her that that was news to me and then she told me that recently she had been investigated for an extremely serious illness and has found out she does not have it.
In order to defend herself.
She also said that she didn't want to tell me about it because she didn't want to ruin the birth of my child!?
Because it would be so much better to reveal that she had a life-threatening illness AFTER I had a baby!!!!!
Sooooo much better - obviously.

Although , she felt it fine to suddenly reveal it all in a phone conversation a couple of weeks before the birth of this baby in order to bite back at me when I asked why she 'didn't feel like' doing something. Fantastic decision.

I guess it is her business what she decides to share with other family members however I am devastated that she would choose to keep this from me and my sister and moreso that she saw fit to reveal it in such a way - using it as ammunition in an argument.

I'm furious. Can you tell?

I would like to add that she is surprised that I am angry ( because everything is fine and she does not have a terminal illness). So what's the problem?

Oh, and also that when I got married 2 years ago, my (chronically ill) father had shingles and was extremely ill on the day. I was so stressed that day because I could clearly see that my dad was a million times sicker than usual and everyone kept telling me he was fine. After the event, his condition was revealed to me and I made it very clear that that kind of 'protecting' of me was to never happen again.I thought we were clear on that.
Apparently not.


Off to set something on fire now. See you later!



xx

Friday, January 15, 2010

Song of the Week.


Miss Li - Dancing the whole way home


I found this song on the Perez Hilton website.
I just want to admit that straight up.
Please don't let that dissuade you from listening to the lovely Miss Li - she's great! She is Swedish and this particular performance of the song 'Dancing the whole way home' is live. I always prefer live performances. Much more interesting and exciting.

As I said, forget about Perez and enjoy this song!
I guarantee it will make you feel happy!

Have a wonderful weekend.


xx

Week 36.


Well, as you can imagine, moving around and doing things is not my forte at the moment.

That would explain my frequent posting here, although I also am trying to get a few extra ones in before the baby comes.
Not sure there will be many posts in February...I will try though.

Due to my general lack of activity, I don't have much to report because I haven't done anything or been anywhere really.
I've said this before but I am constantly amazed by the amount of time that I can spend doing absolutely nothing!
One thing I have managed to do is get the baby's room sorted. I will take some photos today hopefully so you can see what I've done.

It's strange, even though the birth is drawing closer, the idea that we are going to have a baby we started trying to have in April 2007(!) is becoming more and more surreal! It is wholly unbelievable that after everything that has happened between then and now - that Sd, the baby and I are at Week 36.
It's amazing.

Guess I need to spend some time sorting THAT out in my head asap!
Poor child!

I'm going to do a post for each of the remaining weeks. Hope I don't bore you too much!


xx

Just lovely.


Morning!

The other day I told you about a website that I love to visit
( and not buy anything from!)
I showed you some of their furniture and homewares but primarily they are a gorgeous fashion website.

Well, this morning I see on Jezabel that they have a new 2010 catalogue and it's stunning!

To take a look, click on the Jezabel link and you should find it easily. Look in the top left corner of the home page.

Enjoy!


xx

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Something funny and yet scary at the same time.

We watch 'The Jon Stewart Show' on the Comedy Channel most nights.
It's an American show featuring political satire.

The show is very funny and at times it can also be inspiring.
He has some very eloquent guests and although he does aim to make his audience laugh, Jon Stewart manages to inform as well.
Each night at the end of the show he has a 'Moment of Zen'. This usually involves a Republican or a die-hard Republican masquerading as a free-thinking journalist on Fox saying something ridiculous.
Last week, the 'Moment of Zen' was a bit different. Stewart played a part of an interview he did with Calvin Trillin in 2006. In the interview, Trillin is referring to Richard Reed - the man who tried to blow up a plane by putting explosives in his shoes. As you do.

This interview obviously took place a long long time before a Nigerian man attempted to blow up an aircraft over Detroit on December 25, 2009. By igniting explosives in his underwear.

Spooky.




xx

Look what I found!


I love Frankie magazine. It has just the right measure of quirkiness and originality for yours truly.

I just saw on Facebook that they have have quite a few new wallpapers that are available to download - and they're lovely!

Here is the link - http://www.frankie.com.au/wallpapers

Maybe you'll find one you like!

The one above is my favourite.


xx

I miss Sparsley Kate.


I miss Sparsley Kate.

I assume that some of you also followed her blog, but, if you are unfamiliar with the heart-felt, often hilarious and all-round superb writing of the one and only SK then I all I can say is that she was an awesome blogger and writer and hopefully one day you will get to sample some of the fabulousness of Sparsley Kate yourself.

Her blog disappeared towards the end of last year, then it was back and I was overjoyed! But now she's gone again.

One of the reasons I loved her blog so much was that she was completely honest with her reader and herself - which is difficult to do at the best of times - but when you are going through difficult times - it can be too too much.

I respect her wishes to have time to herself and also to maintain her privacy. I just miss her.

So, if you're out there Mel/Sparsley Kate - a big Hello from me.
Happy 2010 and hope to hear from you soon in whatever form that takes.


xxoo

Weird way to start the day.


Disclaimer: I am a long time ( and I mean long) Dannii Minogue fan. I used to watch her every Saturday night on Young Talent Time and taped the episode so I could watch it again during the week. Just to make sure I didn't miss any Dannii details. I wanted to look like her, sing(!) like her, dance like her, do everything like her really.
Since she left YTT, about 500 years ago, I have not followed her career at all however I remain totally devoted to Dannii! Well, not devoted, but let's just say old habits die hard!



This morning I turned on the TV and apparently Dannii Minogue ( my life long friend!;) is pregnant. Usually when I hear this kind of celebrity information I generally have no reaction. However, this is Dannii we are talking about here and I have found myself feeling so happy for her and slightly in shock that this is the case!! And that now I am posting about it!

Anything for Dannii though.

So congrats to her and her partner Kris!! ( now I'm acting like he is my life-long friend too! Hilarious!)

Great news!


and now on with my day....


xx

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

People wearing sunglasses.



In November we headed down to Melbourne for a wedding and at the beginning of the weekend we caught up with our lovely friend Dave. He is a photo-journalist and he literally has a camera with him at all times. We spent a lovely afternoon at the Belgian Beer Cafe on St Kilda Rd catching up and hearing about his plans for his next trip to far flung places...

He emailed us this photo recently - taken that afternoon - entitled 'People wearing sunglasses'.

The people are actually Sd and I. I really like this photo because it is simply a moment in time. Nothing more, nothing less. We really don't take enough photos and I'm really hoping that when the baby comes we get our act together and make photography a bit more of a regular occurrence.
Or we will just have to organise to see alot more of Dave!


xx