Life of Cat.

What a wonderful life these cats of mine lead.
Swap lives anyone?
You don't have to do anything except eat, lie down on various surfaces and bask in the sun.
Any takers?

Maybe just for a week or two...

xx

Pearls of Wisdom.

This is the latest Blog this challenge. I haven't done one for ages so I thought it was about time...

Pearls of Wisdom - what is the best life advice you've recieved? How did you use that advice and how has it impacted on your life's path? What pearl of wisdom have you passed on to others?


So, the best life advice I've received?

Well,I've received two pieces of advice in my life which I carry with me always. The first is from my dad and has kind of turned into our family creed ;
' Trust no one and wear two pairs of underpants.'
Now I will grant you that immediately you would be thinking that my lovely dad is (a bit) mad and (alot) Monty Python-esque. You would certainly be correct there and I have to say that from a young age I thought that this piece of advice was a bit silly, a bit funny and also quite a bit paranoid and 'cup half empty'.
But it has stayed with me.

The other piece of advice is from my grandad, although it was his daughter - my mum, who passed it onto me;
'Everything in moderation'
I always thought this was a good one, but when I was younger - of course I didn't feel that it applied to me. Other people? Sure. Just not to me!

How did you use that advice and how has it impacted on your life's path?

As I have gotten older I have come to find that for me, both pearls of wisdom are little messages that I like to have in the back of my mind from people I trust that help me to navigate the trials and tribulations of this complicated life.
Dad's sage advice now means to me as an adult, that in life you have to go your own way, whatever that may be. You cant do things you know aren't right for you to please other people. In short, follow your heart. You also need a back up plan! Things don't always turn out how you think or hope they will and that's ok and that happens.
Most importantly though, this piece of advice reminds me to not take myself too seriously. It's all about having a sense of humour. It is in my family anyway.
My mum's advice, now that I have reached the ripe old age of 36, is just a gentle reminder that too much of anything just might not be the best idea. I actually KNOW that now. Hello, 13 years of smoking , LOTS of late nights, crap eating habits, stressful private and work life...
That's all in the (fabulous) past now and I have mended my ways.I'm not a saint - my mum and especially my grandad would NOT approve of any saintly behaviour at all! But I'm much much more moderate now. Now that I am an older lady ;)!!!

Which leads me to the next question...What pearl of wisdom have you passed onto others?

I'm not really one for passing on advice to others. Not sure why. I guess I tend to think that I have so much more to learn in life that I feel like a bit of a wanker handing out advice unless I am 100% positive that what I am advising is 100% right for the other person.
However, hopefully, in February I will become a mother for the first time. It has taken me 3 years , 3 miscarriages, and a cycle of IVF to get to this point.
I am going to have to be supplying a few pearls of wisdom here and there to my son or daughter.
I will definitely pass on these ones that have meant something to me, and I will also pass on the one that I have come to know is true on the long journey I have been on to meet my child;

Have faith that if you try your hardest and never give up, you will never have regrets in life.
And if you're very lucky, what you need will come to you.


xx

Flowers of the week.

I've been a bit remiss with the old blog here. I haven't posted anything for ages and I must apologise. I've been busy doing not much at all. Hence the lack of inspiration...
BUT, 'Flowers of the week' are always inspiring so I thought in order to 'get back on the horse' so to speak, I would post about these lovely orchids. My favourite flowers of all time. I must say that white ones are extra special aren't they?
I hope you like them.

I'm off to wrack my brain for something interesting to talk about!

Hope all is good with you.

xx

Hello lovelies!

Like some of the other bloggers that I follow, recently I have become sick of the sound of my own voice. Strange that it is happening to a few of us at the same time. So, I've not posted for a while - I needed a bit of a break from hearing about and thinking about myself!!!

I've been thinking about what I'm doing here with my 'Box of Tricks' and I have decided what this is and has always been is my diary - for me. But you get to read it too.

I love love love hearing from you and reading your blogs and so I think I will continue with my/our diary and see how it goes.

Anyway, it would be a bit pathetic to give up after only 52 posts. Lets try for 100!

xx

Week 16.

So, I am 16 weeks pregnant today.
I've been feeling a bit crap for the last couple of days, quite alot of fear, a bit of dread, and quite alot more fear is seeping into my life and I'm having trouble getting on top of it. So, I thought I would try and get some of it out of my system by writing here.

Please feel free to skip this post - it's a not-very-nice one.

As far as I know all is ok with the baby. But, as I have discussed here before, that means sweet FA to me due to my past experiences with pregnancy.
I've had about a month which I've spent mostly anxiety-free but as I said, over the weekend I started to think about how things might not be ok, that I don't really have any way of knowing until I see the OB next Monday and then after that the 18 week scan and then after that... you know how it goes...
Yesterday, I read the article in the Herald about Mia Freedman and her new book. I have been reading her blog Mamamia for about 2 years and I visit daily. If you don't visit already, I thoroughly recommend it!
I've thought before, from the way she has written about it, that she may have experienced miscarriage or something awful like that, and reading the interview yesterday it turns out that unfortunately she has. At 19 weeks she found out that her baby had died at 16 weeks. So sad and so so hard.
To be honest, reading that sent me RIGHT over the edge. Fear of God territory. And I don't think I am quite on the road to recovery just yet.

Anyway, I shall persevere and try to get the better of my own mind as soon as possible.

Thanks for listening.

xx

Flowers of the week.

Never really liked carnations. They always seem to look a bit dried out and a bit, well, cheap and nasty.
However, I have been trying to keep an open mind about them and actually, they're not bad. Not bad at all!
I chose the carnations this week because I wanted to get my nan's old milk jug out again and use it as a vase. I love love love that shade of green!
So, I was looking for a colour for the flowers that would contrast perfectly with my beautiful green.
ANYWAY enough about the fascinating workings of my mind!?
I hope you like the end result and if you aren't a carnation fan, maybe you will give them a chance in the future.
They really are quite nice!

xx

Little shop of dreams come true.

As I've mentioned, we moved last month. We now live about 10 minutes away from our old house and although it's not been a big change, we are having a lovely time exploring our new suburb and finding all its treasures.
We get our coffee most mornings from Black Star bakery on Australia St, in Newtown. On my way to Black Star that very first time I found , drum roll please , the shop of my dreams.
If it is possible to actually find a perfect representation of my aesthetic - then - this is it.

It's a little shop called 'Newspaper Taxi' and to describe what lies inside, in a word?
Wonderful.

I won't go on, because it's better if you click on the link and see it for yourself. In all it's glory!!


Enjoy! Happy weekend!

xx