my creative space . . . 'an Olympic challenge to improve the Limp Bits of your life'

Greetings all,

I'm Olympics mad.  I love sports & the Olympics take my breath away.  I was an athlete, ditto my husband & now our 4 children.  Track, field, teams . . . love it all.  I was lucky enough to run in the Sydney 2000 Torch Relay (i was so overwhelmed after my part, i didn't even recognise my own daughter!!)  SO in honour of the . . . .

 . . . where athletes have trained for years to reach the pinnacle of sports performance . . . for fear of being sued for using the sacred word 'Olympics' . . . i'm encouraging bloggers to peak too, in a Creative Limp Bits Challenge - that's right, sounds like Olympics, only it's Limp Bits.  Challenge yourself to fix the Limp Bits of your cooking, craft & photography.  

It will run 1st to 15th of August (3 Wednesday link parties) you're encouraged to join in & be challenged to find something you haven't cooked, crafted or photographed before to reach the pinnacle of creative performance.

Week 1 Limp Bits Challenge: bake, cook, roast, sauté, BBQ, grill, smoke, poach . . . something you've never tried before or haven't for a while.  One of the Limp Bits of my life is that i've NEVER cooked a roast, nope, never.  I'm going to try & shall present it on Wednesday 1st August for the first link party.

Who's with me??  Prepared to fix the Limp Bits of your life by Olympic proportions??  

Week 2 Limp Bits Challenge: sewing, crochet, knitting & design.  

Week 3 Limp Bits Closing Ceremony: Photography!!  

Gold, Silver & Bronze blog badges will be awarded!!  Are you a join'er in'er??  Maybe just the cooking, baking or photography challenges??  If it went for longer i'd add Bargain Hunting & Vintage Finds too!!  International players very welcome.  Australians like beating other countries in anything & everything!!  

For more creativity, check out Village Voices Creative Space, love Posie

Grab the badge & start planning.  I'll be practising crochet watching Aquatics.

AEIOU link party June 2012

Greetings all,

Welcome to this month's AEIOU: a mid-month-link-party of self-belief, improvement, acceptance, love & learning!!  It's a get together to celebrate life's highlights.  Your 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
. . . you might like to do a full AEIOU or just one or two particular themes . . .

To kick things off, here is my AEIOU for June.

Awesome - i constantly find surprise images the children take on my camera.  Isn't this incredible . . . a breath taking sunset against our new car.  What 10 year old thinks to grab the camera & photograph this beauty?? 

Exciting - unexpected parcels of love in the mail, thank you Tania & Jane!!

 Interesting - my husband is making up all sorts of delicious, interesting & spontaneous juice combinations with the new juicer . . . think celery, carrot & apple . . . i'm his happy taste tester.  Note to self: use a straw, or you go out in public with a big orange smile!!

Opportunity - i love these new Le Creuset casserole dishes & have plans to really enjoy dinner for the rest of the year because MY HUSBAND HAS BEEN POSTED BACK TO CANBERRA UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!  I can't believe this unpresedented opportunity either, takes the edge off living apart for 4 years!!

 Understanding - this sweet girl has the most understanding teacher, we are blessed to have her educating our children.  She's one of those guitar playing, ethereal teachers who is strict but lovely & kind to the children . . . even spends her lunch hour & after school coaching children who are struggling with a topic (in our case spelling) from the goodness of her heart.  She's only in her 2nd year of teaching yet understands children innately, an incredibly gifted & natural teacher.  Anyway, she has been teaching our 3rd girl to practise the weekly spelling list in a very different manner - rainbow words - where you write each letter of a word in a different colour, over & over, building muscle memory in your fingers.  Sure enough, since our daughter has applied this method to her learning, she has had only one spelling mistake in the past month + she's willing to attempt more words on the list, beyond the 20 recommended (some weeks there are up to 30 or 40 words)!!  Teachers play such a pivotal role in children's lives, every child deserves a super special teacher at least once in primary school.  FYI true to form, her twin sister has experienced a mid year teacher change, 5th year in a row at this school, yet copes brilliantly, always said she could teach herself.  We're so extra proud of our children when they triumph through a challenge.  I'm not a natural speller so totally emphasise with my daughter.  Our other children are robots, see the word once, it's locked into their memory forever.  I wish!!  

Love Posie

AEIOU link party May 2012

Greetings all,

Welcome to this month's AEIOU: a mid-month-link-party of self-belief, improvement, acceptance, love & learning!!  It's a get together to celebrate life's highlights.  Your 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
. . . you might like to do a full AEIOU or just one or two particular themes . . .

To kick things off, here is my AEIOU list for May.  

Awesome - how stunning is simple Winter produce??  Such beautiful shapes, colours & super fresh taste, from Farmer's Market.  My children seek out the fruit with leaves attached -  more authentic.

 Exciting - thrilled to add a new recipe to my repertoire . . . the Ragu!!  It's a simple &  delicious belly warming Winter dinner.

 Interesting - as i flick through the pages of magazines like Peppermint, Mollie Makes & Frankie, i feel like i'm reading about my handcrafted industry from the outside.  It's very competitive & i'm comfortable that i've stepped down, after a successful decade consumed by sewing at home.  Lately i've bumped into many designers who are shocked i'm closing down my business, they say the most lovely things about my craftsmanship, passion, attitude & presence at markets.  Nice to know you're missed!!  But also very happy under my pom pom blanket on the freezing weekends, reading magazines rather than manning a stall.

 Opportunity - a school mum had to sell her farm & move closer to the city, which meant leaving, relocating & giving away many of her animals.  These friendly Silver Spangled Hamburgs found their way to our place.  They're very happy in the coop outside, but the cold snap has halted egg laying.  Baby chicks are still living indoors, under lights.    

 Understanding - i like technology served up to me on a platter, need to know only, just tell me how to send emails & blog, thank you.  I'm pretty pleased with how i'm getting around my first ever Mac computer & loving it's new location in the living area, with all the children's laptops (such is education these days) - research homework is very efficient.  The children love the mysterious black apple (where the in fared wireless gadgets connect) spooky.

Now it's your turn . . . do join in . . . links go live on the 15th of each month, this is a party to celebrate you!!  Love Posie  

AEIOU launch link party April 2012

Greetings all,

Welcome to the first/ maiden/ inaugural AEIOU: a mid-month-list-link-party of self-belief, improvement, acceptance, love & learning!!  It's a middle-of-the-month get together of life’s highlights. Your 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
. . . you might like to do a full AEIOU or just one or two particular themes . . .

To kick things off, here is my AEIOU list.  It's been a busy month here with Easter, school camps, sports clinics & finally school holidays.  My AEIOU is a light & breezey one.  Next month will be heavy as we're in the final countdown to handsome soldier coming home!!
Awesome - as our children grow, so do their needs, like a communal computer area.  I played swapsies this week: pinched this desk from a bedroom, swapped for an armchair, et voila, a whole new space has opened up our lounge - for the price of 3 tractor stools - not to mention awesome cook book storage.

 Exciting - my 3 youngest had their school camps, it was my son's first & the independence he showed getting organised, leaving & since he's come home, has been amazing.  Camps overlapped, leaving my eldest an only child = Japanese dinner & the  Mirror Mirror movie (fabulous).  I was giddy just making ONE lunch each morning, glee!!

Interesting - enjoying FatMumSlim's photo-a-day challenge this April.  Wait until you read about what this bracelet means to me.  Millions of images are involved, now that is some following Mrs Slim.

Opportunity - i did over the high schooler's bedroom today (she shares the front of the house with my studio.)  New desk (seeing hers went missing??) & arm chair + new size (i pushed my fabric racks deeper into my studio.  The middle girl is having a sleepover in the huge new space - look at them, sisters, makes me heart sing!!  Please ignore the outdoor German Shepherd, opportunist!!

Understanding - even though we're not religious, we appreciate what religious festivals are all about.  My high schooler has Religious Education classes & is teaching us, while we munch on Lindt Bunnies who were hiding in toadstools.   

Now it's YOUR turn . . .

do join in . . . links go live on the 15th of each month, this is a party to celebrate you!!

I hope you enjoy the large icons, random order & long text space to share your AEIOU link, enticing visitors from our beautiful blogging community to follow the link to your blog.  Don't forget to link back to this post & pop the AEIOU logo on your post/ blog side bar too if you wish.  Thanks for joining in - it's open all month, love Posie

PS what a lovely way to spend my 550th post with you all, squee!!  About time i started a link up right??

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.