things i'm loving . . . 'link parties'

Greetings all,
Things I'm Loving this week with PaisleyJade is 'link parties' & the community they create, around the world.  Viva la blogosphere.  So i've decided to start my own . . . AEIOU: a mid-month-list-link-party of self-belief, improvement, acceptance, love & learning!!

With a nod to all the great blog link groups i’ve played along with . . . about being Creative, Grateful, Loving & Photography . . . i thought a middle-of-the-month get together would be a neat summary of life’s highlights.  So here goes nothing . . . AEIOU might go a little something like this . . .   

Awesome – something you baked/ created/ photographed/ a bargain you found
Exciting – share your news/ event/ holiday/ a gorgeous butterflies-in-tummy moment
Interesting – teach us information/ discovery/ facts/ a chance to show off your quirky side
Opportunity – embrace the unknown/ put yourself out there/ show off a new experience
Understanding – learning to appreciate/ forgive/ love/ unleash what helps you grow

The AEIOU adventure will scratch the surface of who you are.  I think the words Awesome, Exciting, Interesting, Opportunity & Understanding are positive & therapeutic.  I spend a lot of time alone, thinking, tune out & free my mind.  I am positive to the core, however, have a lot of stress in my life, pressure to perform & tremendous responsibilities.  When i was 21 i could have been a fully qualified psychologist - what would i have known about life??  I had travelled & was about to get married, but experience??  I’m often told my blog posts & comments offer down-to-earth advice, because i’m a different person now: 4 children, 15 years of marriage, 6 addresses & a husband going to 5 war zones will do that.  I’m more grounded & wide eyed than ever, shedding negativity from my life & truly believe in blogging as therapy.
 
So here’s my list to kick things off . . .
I found an Awesome bureau/ desk.  I’m sanding the wood, painting & papering it for . . . I’ll worry about that later, it was $15 & my furniture repurposing skills are improving with every second hand find!!
My husband came home last month for a visit, it was so Exciting waiting at the arrivals lounge, it’s the best feeling in the world.  I never know what he’s actually going to look like - full beard, silly moustache to tickle me, or clean shaven.  It was short beard, it tickled, i giggled, then he shaved it off to unleash the dimples.
My children’s school assignments unearth endless Interesting facts.  Years 5 & 6 created “Guess Who I Am??” posters & introduce themselves to the class.  I learned that Lewis has 21 convicts in his ancestry, hmmm . . . count your pencils at the end of each day children.
I have this fantastic Opportunity to do some blog PR for Baker’s Delight (hot cross buns), Esprit (children’s clothes) & Dunlop Volleys (baby shoes) – they all contacted me in the space of one week, yay!!  There will be giveaways folks.  
Hmmm, Understanding is the topic i could write the most about . . . like why our automatic car’s electrics blew just before i had hand surgery, it was the car I was going to drive during recovery, save me from changing gears manually.  Dumb things happen, that’s life.  Like my credit card seizing at the Country Road counter during the sale yesterday.  Deep breaths, I had cash.  I don’t stress about things i know i can’t control, like banks.  Why are people rude, mean, nasty – it’s their problem, not mine, i don’t let it flatten me, rather, fill myself up with happy thoughts of personal development (mine!!)
      
Meet me here on Sunday the 15^th of April to play along with your own AEIOU or just one particular letter might take your fancy.  Will you join in??  Have lovely weekends everyone, love Posie
 
Images courtesy of Esprit Children's Clothing, just bursting with life & positivity don't you think??  Not to mention gorgeous Winter fashion, i'm a HUGE fan & any excuse for cute baby faces.  Many Esprit clothing pieces lasted all 4 of my children, i wear their clothes & my husband loves their jeans.  I was not paid to say any of this, i just truly believe in the quality & style of this brand, for over 25 years of personal experience.  'tis all.

Paper Pear Gallery, Wagga Wagga

Greetings all,
You will have heard about Wagga Wagga NSW with their flood crisis (the CBD was spared) but did you know there is also amazing shopping??  When we were in Wagga last month visiting our best friends, i was also catching up with Emma Kidson from Jewellery Stories/ Japonicity/ Kidson Jewellery.  Some days she can be found at the Paper Pear Gallery in Gurwood Street, a gorgeous collection of art, cards & jewellery in a beautiful building.  

 I love inviting windows with pretty merchandising.

 Toadstools came home with us, quelle surprise.

 Isn't red the best accent colour of all time??

 Amazing variety of art works & Kidson jewellery.

 Artist Catherine Stewart features heavily with her country inspirations.

 I'm still longing for a property with an old shearing shed on it.

 The building has tonnes of character, perfect for a light filled gallery.

 There's Emma, wrapping our goodies.  She's travelling the world right now, lucky girl!!  Can't wait to see what inspiration & influences she brings back from Dubai & Bangladesh.

I know where i'm going to fill our homestead with art!!  I love visiting country towns, they have so many treasures to find.  Enjoy, love Posie
PS fabulous giveaway to win a copy of Australian Story: an illustrated timeline, ends Sunday.

the mixed pot of posts - bad, slack, icky & useless

Greetings all,
A mixed pot post to start my week on a Tuesday, thanks to the Canberra Day long weekend. 

The bad - my ambitious middle girl, in happier times on Sunday . . .

 & again this morning, sporting cuts, bruises & a nasty open wound on her shoulder as she took a dive off her bike onto the road yesterday afternoon.  Her face is badly grazed & her torso looks like a bear attacked her, nasty & not fit for school today!!  You may remember this child from when she smashed her front teeth out coming off her scooter & splitting her chin open running down the hall.  Her greatest hits!!

 The slack - i loathe the tooth fairy tradition, it's exciting for your first child, but i believe our children are indulged enough.  Sweet story aside, our tooth fairy can take days to come & sometimes borrows coins from money boxes.  My 3rd grade son lost his first tooth, which promptly went missing after parading it around.  My children assume there is a 'no tooth, no fee' policy as our forgetful fairy often doesn't deliver, he did get same day payment . . . we'll see how long that keeps up.

 The icky - will not include any images thank you very much.  I was looking at our trailer today (as my lovely next door neighbour mowed my front lawns yesterday) & discovered . . . trailer really does equal trash.  I spied a used condom, in our trailer, parked in front of our house.  Ewww.  Worse, the wrapper was there too (just in case i was kidding myself it was a plastic bag) so i think someone had sex in our trailer, 50cm from our home.  I've already disinfected it, & the tyre iron used to remove it, revolting!!  FYI we live in the most dead boring family neighbourhood, i'll never look at that trailer the same way again.  Trashy trailer.

The Useless - we live in a suitable house provided by the Army at reduced market rate rent (no it's not free housing) & when things require maintence, we call Defence Housing & they organise a tradesman.  So when our under-the-sink pipes started dripping yesterday, i called them.  Naturally the 'public holiday' meant no plumber is poor enough to come out to fix my pipes, until the next business day (today).  By 11a.m., no plumber so i called again & wouldn't you know, it was never booked!!  It's scheduled & this is exactly what the plumber's receptionist said to me "i understand you have children to pick up from school so can you make yourself available between 1-4p.m.??"  Urgh!!  There are actual holes in the pipes, i'm not a plumber, it's not my house, i'm waiting for a professional, patiently, but when exactly do they think school finishes??  I've been expecting them all morning, so i have errands to run now. 

 In the mean time i have a washing machine filled with wet towels, sorry MARCS!!

Does incompetence make your blood boil??  I'm a really relaxed person, very patient & forgiving, however, it's so mind blowingly brain numbing that people get paid to do jobs that require common sense & time frames, yet they are lacking in both.  How are you spending your day??  I'm emptying buckets of water under my sink & re-disinfecting my trailer.  At least it's sunshiney!!  Blogging as therapy folks, thanks for listening.  Love Posie
EDIT: Plumber been & gone before 1p.m.  Ripley's Believe It Or Not/ Guiness Book of Records entrant here!!

i see condemned tree, my children see . . .

Greetings all,
Today we headed down to the Kingston Foreshore on Lake Burley Griffen, thinking it would be 'done up' by now (it wasn't) but i parked & let the children run free ahead of me.  I saw this condemned tree, must have fallen due to the endless rain, landing over the storm water canal.  I knew what would happen next . . .

 like they were in a trance, being pulled by the lure of the Bridge to Terabithia & adventure.

 Great way to work off the muffins, cup cakes & macarons we had just bought at Old Bus Depot Markets. 

 I wish we had a climbing tree at home, we have a sad solo stick tree, it's pathetic.

 Shoes were kicked off . . . climbing high & far out of sight, eaten up by the branches.

 Like this shot, carrying her ballet flats like her life depends on it!!  I love listening to their games & imaginations going wild.  Twigs were broken off & made into wands, spells were cast & they had a ball. 

 Tee hee, always a sister lurking behind your back!!

 See, look closely, behind the orange Tshirt on the right!!

 How amazing is this bark??  Stunning, but it's has rubbed off all over their new jeans!!

 Yes, that is a child about to fall on the right.

 Here is one landing & laughing it off!! 

People often tell me that their children can't/ won't climb trees.  I don't understand.  When we lived in Darwin we inherited 3 neighbourhood trampolines (neighbours moved or upgraded) & my 4 children, aged 8 & under, positioned the trampolines so they could leap out of the Jacaranda & Palm trees - landing on a one, then bounce to the next.  No broken bones people, sometimes you have to trust their ability & judgement.

 Oh delicious, lavender & honey macaron, mmmm. 

Such a lovely day out, free park fun in glorious weather!!  Home to gobble down our market olives & ride bikes, then we munched on the most delicious wholemeal sour dough bread with soup for dinner.  I bought some pizza bases from the market too, for lunch tomorrow (not quite up to making my own dough yet) as it's a public holiday - Canberra Day, partying like we're 99.  Love Posie

Australian Story: an illustrated timeline . . . GIVEAWAY

Greetings all,
Welcome to the Australian Story: an illustrated timeline BLOG tour.  Author Tania McCartney has presented the history of Australia to children in such a clever way . . . bold images from the National Library of Australia's digital collection, a running timeline along the bottom of each page, dates & details highlighting this country's milestones.  The book instantly captures children's attention . . . from the chunk of Gondwanaland, dinosaurs & first plants.  Give your primary school aged child some perspective about where they fit in to life & they are the key to what happens next. 

 Things start to get really interesting when Indigenous people arrive in Australia & the land masses break off (good bye New Guinea) & hello Warrigal (dingo). 

 Never under estimate children's love of facts & figures, they'll be quizzing you. 

 Q: Which European disovered Australia first?? 

A: Dutch explorer Willem Jansz in 1606. 

Australia was called New Holland when James Cook landed in 1770 to claim it for Great Britain.  Then the first fleet came with Arthur Phillip & convicts on 26th January 1788 - Australia Day - first celebrated in 1838 with fireworks, lamingtons, Union Jack car flags & a BBQ, maybe not, this is non fiction.  Anyway, you'll ace Australian trivia after reading this book. 

 We were lucky enough to attend Tania's entertaining book launch at the NLA, where she read to the children & involved them in a human time line: my 3rd girl was Captain Cook & my son was a 1956 Melbourne Olympics team member!!

This book is filled with inventions, currency, sports, gold rushes, World Heritage sites & achievements, all the big names are in it too - explorers Flinders, MacQuarie, Stuart, Burke, Wills; Holden cars + Phar Lap, the world's greatest racehorse.  You'll have flash backs to childhood history projects & it's a neat quick reference guide, a book, who knew, you don't have to google everything!!  Tania McCartney, making history cool for children, 47B years, $24.95, order here. 

Want to win a copy??  Just follow this blog & leave a comment here, closes midnight Sunday 18th March.  Good luck, love Posie

things i'm loving . . . 'goodies with my husband'

Greetings all,
Things I'm Loving, yay, i'm the luckiest girl in the world . . . my husband may have missed a dozen wedding anniversaries but look at this special piece of hard core jewellery i got for our 15th!!  As if his charm, dimples & all round gorgeousness weren't enough . . . he went shopping at Tiffany's on the way home from Afghanistan & i absolutely love it, i mean him!!  EDIT: Tiffany's Dubai, there isn't a Tiffany's in Kandahar.

 We have a fantastic French patisserie hidden away in Fyshwick (industrial area) with glorious treats, like this sampler for $6.50, mmmm, love The Flute!!  We sat in the car in the rain & shared these, outside a hardware store, glamorous i know, but it's all about the company you keep.  EDIT: so glad The Flute is famous for my readers. 

 My darling patient husband knows not to question when i squeal & find a silver pineapple - it's made friends with my pears already.

 Da dah, bilateral carpal tunnel decompression surgery, 2 weeks on, talk about key hole!!  Still swollen & tender, my palms are precious this week & you can see the numb left thumb here, sporting a purple hue.  The Third Bird heat pack is just the right size for my thumb to warm up & rest on.

 Do you ever use your 4c/L fuel discount to buy magazines when you fill up your car??  You should - it halves the price of the big glossy magazines.  I used to absorb Marie Claire, Vogue & Elle as a high school & uni student, i love fashion, accessories, decor . . .  tripping around Europe on my honeymoon was such an eye boggling experience, Via Condotti Roma anyone??  My parents would take us children into all the designer stores we'd read about, it was magic.  I haven't bought a Marie Claire magazine for ages, i'm excited, Claudia is so beautiful.  It will take me back to my teen years reading by the pool or on the train, tucked into my chemistry folder, tee hee.  EDIT: use your 4c/L for fuel & the 'spend $5 at the service station for an additional 4c/L' for magazines, much better than spending it on junk food & very handy for me who has an 85L tank & 65L reserve tank, magazines are practically free!!

 I flick through these magazines now, gathering ideas for my daughters.  I have hired most seasons of The Hills & The City while resting my hands, what brilliant reality shows to give young folk a taste inside the fashion, magazine & PR industries, not to mention dating, room mates & parties for those young, free & single girls in their early 20s.  My husband doesn't watch . . . but his favourite is Lauren.  

 Have to say, most of our lovely relaxing plans while my husband was home on war leave, did include picnics, walks & general things which required sunshine, alas we got rain. 

 Mmmm . . . fruit flan, my local little bakery does a delicious one.

Ok, as i said last post, i'm guilty of wishing time away so my husband is home with us this Winter, ahhh, snuggling up at night.  Can you imagine 9 months in a war zone, trying to get a good night's rest in an IKEA bunk with your boss sleeping above you??  Ok, so he's not sleeping in the dirt or under a vehicle these days, but at home, we bought a new mattress for our king size bed, it's so high (Sealy Tranquility Plush, half price, you know how i shop!!) with our glorious wool underlay & new crisp cotton sheets . . . even the children refer to our bed as 'the cloud' & they're not allowed to go near it, after using our last mattress for gymnastic floor routines!!  Giggles, love Posie
PS final days for this giveaway to win books from the National Library of Australia. 

those flash-before-your-eyes weeks & it's only Wednesday

Greetings all,
I feel like a year has flown by in a moment, so busy!!  One thing i am really loving while recovering from hand surgery, is taking time with my children.  My eldest is helping with cooking (saucepans weigh SO much), my middle girl is very enthusiastic with washing (the boring part - folding, sorting & putting away), my 3rd girl is my heat pack warmer & cushion positioner, not to mention vacuumer, gardener & puppy feeder, then my boy, well at 8, unless he can drive his sisters to school, he's just here for cuddles & dimples.

Why has my week flown by??  Well i really miss my husband & i'm guilty of wishing time away until i see him next & already this week i've . . . 
met with my wonderful hand surgeon, he's so pleased with the results & recovery, concerned about my numb left thumb, but he'll check again in 2 months.  My eldest had a Moderation Day, where all the private high school children (it seems) have a day off school (year 12 had classes/ tests) & converge on every shopping centre in Canberra.  I know this as i took my sweet teen to the cinema in the south, then shopping in the city centre, with a grocery top up in the north.  Teenagers EVERYWHERE.  While we waited for the primary school bell, we indulged in ice chocolates, mmmm.

 Then a swimming carnival.  As swimmers, my children make great runners, but this young lady has started coming 4th in all her races now, great improvement.  She took her role of vice house captain seriously, leading cheer leading & entering all the races - for the house points!!

 My sequined child was exhausted & only swam one race, it was nice to hang out with her.

 As my boy is a child of 2004 vintage, this was his FIRST competitive swimming carnival & he swam his heart out.  Dressed in anchor shorts & boat shoes, he looked more yacht ready than swimmer, but he got a place in every race, with a 1st in breast stroke.  We might finally have a swimming ribbon to add to the athletics ones in the study nook.

Poof, my hands are aching, i really do need to allow 6 months for them to repair, no boxing classes for me!!  I normally assist at the carnival, stop watch in hand, but it was fun to relax & be a spectator, massage my numb thumb.  So happy to be pulling back on everything in my world other than my family, i love looking at their faces, they are growing so fast - how did i suddenly have a child in year 8??!!  When i hug & kiss her in the school carpark, she still says 'love you mummy' ok, under her breath, but yay.  Love Posie