Tree Change?

 I have just spent the weekend in a beautiful part of our country - Myrtleford.  Ok, I had to spend eight hours in the car to get there and back, but gees - it was worth it.  Just as we were heading in to this lovely little town, I decided I should get out my iPhone and start snapping some pictures.  The Autumn leaves reminded me of the trip I made as a teenager from the Gold Coast to Melbourne, and how stunned I was to see REAL LIFE Autumn leaves for the first time!  Queenslander's may have beautiful weather, but they miss out on one of nature's glorious shows.

Please don't judge me on the squashed bugs, as these were obviously taken through the car windscreen!

Whoops....these are my travelling jeans getting in the picture!

Why did we spend four hours in the car on this beautiful day I hear you ask?  Well, it was one of my dearest friend's 40th birthday party - so it was a Road Trip!  Danni had spoken of the beauty of her new little town, and how much she loved it.  To be perfectly honest, I think we were all astonished that our uber-fashionable friend, who was most at home in her Sass & Bide, would be content with her "Tree Change", but after seeing her gorgeous new home and the amazing surrounds, I can sort of understand.

Driving in to her street....

The little piggy pen

So freakin cute!

Amazing backyard view!

The Little House on the Prairie

You can sort of understand too now?

When the invitation came through for the big bash, I looked at the list of accommodation in town, and got straight on to Stayz.com.au and booked this darling pad - The Old Dairy.

Located on the main street, this converted dairy building is now a beautifully decorated three bedroom abode.  Perfect for the five of us who had shacked up together.

Divine little courtyard that caught the sunshine perfectly at dusk.

Stunning

And just for laughs....the ceiling fan that does not require blades.....interesting.

Conveniently positioned bakery across the road - great coffee I've been told!  Another random fact about me - I don't drink coffee!

Me & My Gal Pals!

So - that is Myrtleford!  We will definitely be back - but next time it will be with the tribe, and we'll go exploring in them there hills!  We won't be making a tree change anytime soon......but in exciting news - we had our home loan approved last week!  And we have a house lined up!  And now the hard work begins - renovations!

Would you, could you make a Tree Change?  Or are you more of a Sea Changer??

Another Nanna Post

You may have read this is some form, somewhere, somehow on some sort of technological gadget, but I only received this via email today.  So, sticking to my seemingly Nanna-like behaviour of late, I am going to share it with you.  It literally made me laugh out loud.  I am also going to copy and paste it on to the 13 year old's Facebook and may even "tag" all of his friends in it?  Or would that make me REALLY look like a Nanna?  Enjoy....

  

   
   "If you are 36, or older, you might think this is hilarious!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot... BOTH ways...yadda, yadda, yadda 

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But now that I'm over the ripe old age of forty (PLEASE NOTE - THIS IS THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OF THIS - NOT MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!), I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.  You've got it so easy!  I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!  And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it! 

1) I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet.  If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalogue!! (how many of you know the Dewey Decimal System???

2) There was no email!!  We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen!  Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there!  Stamps were 10 cents!

3) Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us.  As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe!

4) There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes!  If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!

5) Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up!  There were no CD players!  We had tape decks in our car.  We'd play our favourite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless.  Cause, hey, that's how we rolled, Baby!  Dig?

6) We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting!  If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!

7) There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOSH !!!  Think of the horror... not being in touch with someone 24/7!!!  And then there's TEXTING.  Yeah, right.  Please!  You kids have no idea how annoying you are.

8) And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was!  It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent... you just didn't know!!!  You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

9) We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics!  We had the Atari 2600!  With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'.  Your screen guy was a little square!  You actually had to use your imagination!!!  And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen.. Forever!  And you could never win.  The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died!  Just like LIFE!

10) You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing!  You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!!  NO REMOTES!!!  Oh, no, what's the world coming to?!?!

11) There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning.  Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastards!

12) And we didn't have microwaves.  If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove!  Imagine that!

13) And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long.  Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort.  And if you came back inside... you were doing chores!

14) And car seats - oh, please!  Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on.  If you were lucky, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!

See!  That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten!  You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in the 1970's   or any time before!

Regards,
The Over 40 Crowd"

Relate much?  Or are you a young whipper-snapper whom this makes absolutely no sense to?

Random Rambling...

Today, I was going to come and write a post about others cynicism towards all things good.  Then I changed my mind and thought I would write about something else.  Then I started writing.....

 My annoyance rose from a very innocent flippant comment, I'm sure, the other day regarding the Kony 2012 campaign.  Said person questioned its success, and pretty much judged it a flop.  I was a little disappointed.  Sometimes I think people question the validity of social consciousness basically because their conscience is failing them?  Perhaps they would like to see things fail because it would make them feel better about not being supportive?  I was more than happy to let them know that on my way to work that day I saw this:

Just a random traffic light post, in a random suburb far far away from Africa....

I also know for certain that quite a number of regular Aussie kids sent away for their Kony 2012 packs and have been educated by this campaign.  So I guess in my eyes, this was far from a fail....

Let it be known these little men are very proud of their involvement!

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A lady I like to call a friend, even though I have never met her, nor had a conversation with her  - Eden Riley - wrote a post this week that broke my heart.  I blogged about the profound effect Eden's trip to Niger, on behalf of World Vision Australia, had on myself and my family.  It was a week in Eden's life that I cannot even imagine.  Well, it seems a whole bunch of naysayers decided they would target Eden and question the way she wrote about her trip as well as the way she is living her life since said trip.  This infuriated me to say the least.  How dare someone else, who has NO idea of what someone has been through, question them?  I just DON'T GET IT?  Another case of people feeling guilty about their lack of involvement, their lack of social awareness and their lack of tact and manners.  Shame.

I see this sort of crap daily.  Over a wide variety of subjects.  People dragging people down, to make themselves feel better.  And it makes me proud that I am no longer the cynical teenager I was once judged to be.  

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So that's what I was GOING to write about.  I did a good job not writing that didn't I?

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I'm also linking up with The Studious Stitch today!  So feel free to hop along to the other blogs linked up - you may just find something you like!

Tell me - what would you write about today?

WOODLAND COLLECTION - Market Night!

Yep - I decided I would cause myself some much needed hard work on the sewing front and hold my second Market Night over at Ms Midge!  I thought I would be very smart and give myself four weeks to get my act together and put enough time in to have a whole collection - but as always my timing is impeccable!  Those four fantastic long weeks just happened to coincide with two weeks of school holidays - fab.  Needless to say, I have been working against the calendar to get it all together!  

Anyway.....here are some of the gorgeous outfits available on THURSDAY night - the 26th of April.  8.30pm Melbourne time - be there or be square!

You can find the whole Woodland Collection HERE.

In other sewing news, I have made items for a couple of other events happening this week....

Little Pink Tea Party's 1st Birthday Showcase

Handmade Love Showcase - This is only ONE of the entries there!

And I still have to work on some goodies for The Sewing Library's 1st Birthday celebrations!!!  Man - a hell of a lot of celebrating going on this week!  Phew!

So - what do you think?  You like??

I have a BUTTON!

Now for anyone reading this who does not have a Blog - you are probably wondering WTF is a Button?  Have no fear, I shall educate you!  A Blog Button is a generic term for an almighty technological nightmare for me!!  But for others, who can actually manage to not go cross-eyed when trying to BE technological - it is a whole lot of funny codes added to a pretty picture which then can be added to a Blog so that other Blogs can GRAB A BUTTON.  Like this...

<center><a href=" http://www.msmidge.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Ms Midge" src="http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz171/OzGirls/buttonmsmidge.jpg " /></a></center>

My lovely friend Gemma, over at Pretty Bobbins, sent me the links for the tutorials today, on how to make your own Button.  But try as I might, I could not get past designing the actual photo!  Me + codes = FAIL.

In stepped another lovely friend Louise, from The Oz Material Girls!  She is now, to me, the smartest human being on earth!  Not only was she able to put a code together for a Button for me ONCE - but she did it THREE times!  Because once I figured out how to put the pretty picture for the button together, I then decided to muck around with it until I got the above result.  So thank You Louise!

What I did learn today (apart from the fact I am code challenged) is that I have a wonderful group of on-line friends.  Yep, people I have NEVER met in real life, only chatted and socialised via Facebook and Email.  Isn't that fab?!?!?

Another one of my on-line friends is going through a really rough time at the moment, so I just want you to all throw your prayers, wishes and positive vibes my way - so I can forward them to her.

To end, I ask you - Are you technologically challenged?  Or am I on my lonesome?

Playground Politics

When I was in PRIMARY SCHOOL, I was blessed to make some wonderful friends.  Some of them I still count as my closest confidantes.  That doesn't mean those seven years went by without little issues.  I don't ever recall being bullied.  I'm pretty sure that if I WAS bullied - I would remember?  There was the odd name calling or similar, but nothing really worth writing home about.  I do remember when I was in grade 3 and I had called another little girl a BITCH.  And I also remember going beetroot red when the teacher made a point, in front of everyone, of informing me what the correct meaning of a bitch was.  I think about this meaning every time I hear that word!  Cudos to the teacher....

I can also remember times when playground politics would arise.  There were a number of "GAMES" in which such politics could come in to play.....Here are but a few of them:

  * The Sacrificial Friend - Where one friend would cover another friend's butt, or their own, at the expense of the third friend, by lying about what had happened in the playground.  I am guilty as charged, and can remember one such incident 30 years later, because I still feel guilty about it.  If you're reading this T and S - sorry!!!

  *  The Merry-Go-Round -  Where one friend tells another who they can and can't play with.  You could be best friends with someone one day - and the next - you had no idea where you stood!  Luckily, we had a pretty awesome year level, so regardless of where you got off on that merry-go-round, you always found a friend, even just for that day.

  *  Friendship Monopoly -  When one friend will tell another that someone isn't worthy of an invitation to a party, a play date and well, just about anything really!  Another one I can remember well!  It all boils down to popularity I'm afraid.  I was the kind of girl who floated between the "popular girls", the "everyday girls" and the "unpopular girls".  This followed me right through until High School.  All the girls I went to Primary School with went their separate ways and made their own little groups.  They found their "place".  I did too, but always managed to mix between them all anyway.  But I ALWAYS had that one friend I could count on.

  *  Chinese Whispers - Self explanatory.  We ALL know how that one works.

You may be curious as to WHY I would be writing about this at age 37?  Well, simply because my daughter is getting through primary school NOW, and it seems the exact same games are still popular now!  And not only amongst the children.  If someone had of told me a few years ago that I would be faced with grown women playing these games, I would have laughed hysterically.  But two years ago, I was confronted with being what is, in this post-facebook era, now commonly known as "de-friended".  And it gutted me.  Threw me for an absolute six.  And devastated me beyond words.  I sorta kinda wrote about it way back THEN.  And I have wanted to write about it many times since.  Because it got to the stage where it CONSUMED me.  I had no idea how to cope with it all.  Being ignored, made to feel invisible and alienated was not something I was familiar with, and I ended up seeking help to deal with it.

I am pleased to say I am "over it".  But it does not mean that I do not notice the ever-changing dynamics of the school yard.  And put two and two together to realise they are not adding up to four!  It saddens me.

So this is my experience.  What I want to know is - Is this common in other school yards?

Menagerie

Three years ago, my darling husband surprised shocked me with an early birthday present!  He came home from work and was all like "Hey honey, I have to give you your present early" and I was all like "No, I don't want it early, I don't like early birthday presents!" and he was like "Tough shit, you have to have it early!"......  So I reluctantly closed my eyes and held out my hands, and nearly fell over when I opened them to find a teeny tiny little puppy dog.  And of course I fell madly in love with him - momentarily.  I was torn.  How can you not fall in love with a puppy dog?  EVERYONE loves puppies yes??  SO I loved this puppy dog (whom I named Hamish), until about 2am when he wouldn't stop frickin howling!!!  And then reality set in.  I had three children who were four years or older.....and an eight month old baby.  And a puppy.  Shit.

It took me a few days, but I had to come clean with the husband.  I was not a happy camper.  Not only was I busily trying to care for four children, I also had to deal with a little puppy.  He said it came with a seven day full money back return policy.  I looked at him strangely and asked how were we going to explain to the kids "Sorry you loved that little dog, but we took him back to the shop"??  Nope, I just made him promise me he would NEVER EVER buy me a pet for my birthday EVER again!

Fast forward to today..................

This is how this evening at our home panned out

Yep - we are now officially classed as a Menagerie!!!

Two weeks ago, Andrew took the kids to a pet shop.  Chelsea begged and pleaded for a kitten.  I said NO F***ING WAY!!!  She has since fed all of our menagerie every single night.  Kind of trying to prove that she could look after another bloody animal.

To say Chelsea was thrilled would be an understatement.  To say she will be getting off easily would also be an understatement.  Within minutes of her exciting surprise, I had read her the "riot act" and told her under no circumstances will I ever be doing anything for this pussy cat's upkeep!  It was all up to her.  She has agreed enthusiastically.  And she was also fine when I joked about how she would be getting no presents on her actual birthday!  

Why oh why?  I'm a bloody pushover!  We I now have a husband, four children, two dogs, a guinea pig, a cat who really isn't a cat and a kitten!  Enough already!!!

Now - if I could only find this little kitten........black kitten + dark spaces under lounges = hard to find.  Glow sticks on the agenda for tomorrow.....

Are you a sucker for punishment?

Breathing not Yelling

Hi...my name is Midge and it has been three days since I have yelled at my kids!!  And I'm feeling rather good about it!  Not only that, but I also caught up with a beautiful friend this morning, who has been going through a really tough time with her littlest boy enduring a shitty few weeks with an infection in his leg - that went septic.  I've shed tears for her and her little boy these last few days.  Nobody likes to see a little person go through so much pain.  I'm so glad that he is going to be ok.  And I'm so glad that I could lend a shoulder today.  We talked about my blog post the other day and I had one of those "ahh-haa" moments.  Letting it all out has enabled me to reflect.  Sort of like working out why on earth I was doing all of that yelling?  Still don't have all the answers, but was able to note some subtle changes since then.....

Whilst not yelling at my children, I have been breathing.  Literally.  Example - this afternoon Chloe decides she would like to take the hair ties box, a decent sized My Little Pony and a hair brush with her in the stroller to school pick up - as You do.  I tell her that she's not taking the hair ties and the tears start (hers, not mine) the feet get ready to stomp, and it's at about this time I usually open my lungs and let rip.  Nope.  Not today.  I took a few breaths and tried to reason with her.  Compromise is my new best friend.  She is calmed with the knowledge she can take the damn pony and brush.  Phew.

Whilst not yelling at my children I have spent some time with them.  I picked Chels and Cadyn up from school yesterday afternoon and we went to the shopping centre.  I bought them a slurpee when they asked - they were in shock.  I let them act like fools whilst I earnestly tried on dresses in the fitting rooms at Myer.  Cadyn commented on one dress telling me I looked nice.  Nice.  I'm trying really hard to choose my battles a little more wisely.  This is advice I was given many years ago, and sometimes forget.  I mean really, if wrestling on the ground outside the change rooms is going to allow me to get what I need to get done, and they're not hurting anyone (except their ears) then why bother trying to make them sit still??

Whilst not yelling at my children I have asked them very politely to go about a few chores.  They have been doing them, with very minimal huffing and puffing or eye-rolling.  Cadyn was having trouble with the broom this morning, so I offered to take over and whilst trying to get beside the lounge I picked up Chloe's little play stroller and flung it over the other side of the room.  Cadyn asked me if I was angry?  It's moments like those that make my stomach drop.  My kids think I'm angry.  I told him I wasn't angry, I was just moving the stroller in a rather quick way!

Whilst I haven't been yelling at my children, I have noticed I'm getting some serious lovin' from them.  Chelsea popped her arm around me whilst we were walking through the shops yesterday.  Cadyn has been giving me random hugs.  Chloe is the same little 3 year old who is possibly too young to figure out that Mummy is trying something different!  And Lochie arrives back from his Dad's tomorrow, so will probably think he is entering the Twilight Zone.....


So it looks like I'm on track with my plan!  Not only did I have a REALLY good talk, I went for my first run in months tonight!  Which means I will most likely not be able to walk for the next couple of days.....

Look, I'm not perfect (don't tell my husband I said that - I like him to believe I am).  Never will be.  But I'm trying!!! 

Something new I tried last week

Yep - The Oz Material Girls had me guest post again this week.  Another lovely pattern, which I have reviewed and can recommend!  You can check it out HERE.

I hope you're all having a lovely day!  I will be back soon with more extremely interesting and riveting drivel - promise! xx

Heavy Words make for Lighter Shoulders

A couple of nights ago I let you in on something.  Something that had been bothering me, but not overwhelming me.  What HAS overwhelmed me is the amazing amount of support I have received from that one little post.  Countless messages, posts on my business page and emails.  Mixed in with "real life" friends checking in on me.  It has been very heartening.  So thank YOU.  Thank you for letting me know that I am not alone.  Thank you for letting me know that by writing how I was feeling, and struggling, helped you out in some way.  Thank you for your tips on how you get through.....with life.  It has been lovely.

You want to know something strange though?  Since hitting the "publish" button, I have felt a whole lot lighter.  And brighter.  It's like I had been holding in a little secret.  And now that it is out, I feel like some weight has been lifted.  It's very promising.  My husband told me I was a legend......a brave one.  No wonder I love him.....

That post has also made me think more about how I am feeling.  I'm tired!  Perhaps from all the thinking?

Saw this on Facebook today.....It is So me.....

 No, seriously, I'm wondering if my 37 year old body is heading in to a new "phase" of life?  Has the post-hysterectomy honeymoon come to an end?  Please explain....

After I had my hysterectomy, (yes, in my great Father-in-law's words, I now have a driveway, but no garage.....) besides the awful nine weeks post-op, my entire physical and mental make-up was rejuvenated!  It was like my body was celebrating having the nasty parts that were causing it grief removed.  I have laughed endlessly at the visualisation of my poor little ovaries wavering in the dark, wondering where they are and why they are no longer attached to the parts that were taken??  I wonder where the little eggs that are still released each month must end up?  Just floating around aimlessly...... The PMS that caused me, and let's face it - everyone else in my household grief, all but disappeared.  And the fact that I didn't have to put up with feeling like shit for two weeks every month was great.  Life was fabulous!!

Now, it's like my body has gotten comfortable, like an old marriage.  I think I need an overhaul!

Sooooo, the next step for me I have decided, is to get moving again.  I don't know how, or when, but I need to get out and get some exercise.  I love running.....but the only running I do these days is to the computer when my Skype starts ringing!  Not a good thing.

I'm also going to start talking more.  To everyone.  I'll apologise in advance - especially to my real life friends who will probably get sick of me!  I think we sometimes forget to talk.  Like REALLY talk.  About how we are feeling.  How we are doing.  

So that's where I'm at.  Today anyway.  I now have to go and relax.  Stop thinking....and start watching "Offspring"!!!

To Medicate or Not to Medicate - THAT is the Question.

I have thought about writing this post for a few weeks now.  Sort of mentioned it here, but something always stops me.  I'm going to try.

When I started blogging, way back here, my little "tag line" was - "From One Un-medicated Mummy to Another."  Back then I WAS un-medicated, and still am.  But it hasn't always been that way....

I was told by my GP back in 1999 that I was depressed.  I was 24 years old and had a little baby boy who depended on me.  I can still very clearly remember returning home to my then husband and telling him that "The Dr says I am depressed".  His response?  "You're not depressed".  This pretty much summed up the support system I had at the time.  Zilch.  I soldiered on for a while longer until I decided I should fill the script for medication I was given.  It was only a year or so later that I realised I wasn't really depressed - I was really unhappy.  In the boldest move I would ever make in my life (I am was a chronic people pleaser) I decided I would take control, and left my husband.  Strangely enough - my depression left.  And so did the medication.

I was lucky enough to meet my fabulous husband - Andrew - about 14 months after that.  Bliss.  We have now shared over ten years together, and that unhappiness that weighed heavily on me has never shown its ugly face again.  For that I am grateful.

Regardless of my giddy happiness, and complete and utter fulfilment family wise, my dear old brain and its battle with serotonin have led me to medication a few times.  Well, three times to be exact!  It seems one of the downfalls for me whilst being pregnant, was that I felt like a crazed woman.  I couldn't control my temper, my emotions, my anxiety.  I had no control.  Over anything.  I was in the fortunate position of having a wonderful obstetrician when pregnant with Chelsea, and he suggested anti-depressants could possibly help.  And he was right.  They did.

I always made a point of explaining to people that I was NOT depressed.  Anti-depressants, for me, level me out.  They lessen my stress levels, my anxiety, and make me a little more "zen".  Throughout my last two pregnancies, a point would come where Andrew and I would have a conversation that went something like this....

Andrew - "I think maybe you might need to go and see the Dr?"

Me - "I think maybe you're right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I wish I had of had such insight back when I was pregnant with Lochie.  I was the same anxious, stressed ball of emotion back then - but did not have the support or type of relationship where it was acknowledged.  There were warning signs.  Like the time we got in to a fight (I was probably 7/8 months pregnant) and he locked me out of the house to calm down.  In the rain.  Not a good idea.  Let's just say I ended up kicking a glass door in.  Hmmmmm......should have taken that warning sign and run with it!?!

Anyway.......... The reason I am writing about this NOW is that over the past few weeks, well months really, I have admitted to myself - and Andrew, that I'm struggling.  Struggling with everything.  And unfortunately I take my frustration and lack of control out on my beautiful kiddies.  I've always been a bit of a "yeller".  Not something I'm proud of, but it's me.  When I feel like I have been feeling, I lose control, and I can scream like a banshee.  I hate it.  I hate myself when I'm doing it.  I hate myself after doing it.  

I'm super aware of the fact that mental illness is part of my family.  It's part of my genetic make-up. I figure I shouldn't put it off, so it's off to the Doctors again.

I have a LOT of people ask me how I do it all?  How do I have four kids, work, run a small home business and still have it all together?  I generally laugh it off and joke about how I manage.  I look like someone who has it together, but THIS is the truth.  I don't!  I'm not worried about it.  My darling friend at work reassured me that sometimes we just need a little help.  SO I'm going to get it.

My question to you - How do you do it all?

WTF - Another What The Friday!

Lots going on this week! When isn't there?  I've had some very amusing and weird things happen, as well as GREAT moments that I think I will always remember.  Here's just some of them....

I'm always trying to make the process of washing, drying, folding and putting away clothes easier and less time consuming. Yes, this is what my life has come to.......  I have ALWAYS folded the clothes as I take them off the line (and have successfully trained both my husband and Lochie to do the same!).  This week I've found another way to cut down time - take one person's clothes off the line at a time!!!  Then all I have to do is take a clump of washing out of the basket - already in a pile and put the friggin things away!  Or, leave them on the dining table for a few days until someone gets sick of eating around them.....

I went for a "personal" appointment last weekend.  Yep - waxing.  Another horrifying conversation to confirm to me that I am, indeed, getting old.  Or maybe I'm just sane?  The lovely 19 year old torturing me with hot wax was discussing with me all the different ways people request to be waxed.....ie. all off, landing strips etc etc.  She then conveyed to me that a 13 year old came in and asked for a brazillian!!!!  I was so shocked I didn't even feel the hair ripping from my BROW.  WTF??  She very maturely chose to tell this 13 year old that there was no way she was doing that, and that it was against the law.  Apparently said 13 year old was unimpressed.  Next shocking story was of a "Mother" who brought her 14 year old in to have her NIPPLE pierced!  WTF??  What on earth in going on???  Thank God for some sanity and common sense on behalf of this salon.  They straight up refused.

We received our sponsorship package on Wednesday for our lovely new daughter/sister Keniya!!  I showed Chelsea who immediately grabbed a little card and wrote to her.  This fills my heart.  And I think it will continue to do so.  I received a lovely message on my business page today from a customer/reader who said my blog post last week has inspired her to sponsor a child.  Thanks again go out to Eden who has started a chain of goodness.

My stoopid migraine that set up camp last Sunday has left me with the glorious migrainer hangover all week long.  I was going to go and see my Mr Miyagi for some more torture today, but it would mean missing out on Cadyn's jumper presentation for footy tonight.  I emailed my husband about this and was somewhat humbled brought down to earth with his reply.  Apparently my quirky little 7.5 year old commented to his Dad "I can't wait to play basketball, because Mum watches basketball".  It made me stop in my tracks.  I miss most of his cricket season due to work, and also miss half of his footy season for the same reason.  Needless to say - I popped some pain relief and suffered in silence to cheer him on as he received his footy jumper tonight.....

I had a really good conversation with my Mother-in-law this week.  We've had them before, so no surprise there, but she gave me some really good advice as well as some insight.  I still need to process it before I do anything with it, but am grateful....

I've been convinced we need another frickin pet!  Yep, she of the "we're never getting another frickin pet" bandwagon, is getting another frickin pet.......  I'm a sucker for punishment.  New said pet will come in the form of a kitten.  And will be a birthday present for Chelsea who started this strange turn of events by batting her eyelids at her Daddy and begging.  Timing is impeccable and it turns out a lovely friend of mine has a sister with a kitten needing a home.  We pick her up next week.  Stay tuned - for I am sure I will have plenty to say about this in the near future.....

Major excitement yesterday!  Prince's concert dates were released!  I'm so damn excited.......  The Diamonds & Pearls Tour was the first concert I ever went to - back in 1992 I think?  And I still class it as THE best concert I've been to....and I've been to lots!  Friends and I have organised to go in May - it will just be a case of fastest fingers Monday morning to try and get the tickets online!  Hooray!!

Remember THIS post?  The bit about the exciting news??  Well, I'm still excited.  But things came to a bit of a grinding holt.  Wanna know what's going on???  Do ya?  I'll tell you next time!

What's been happening with you this week?  Spill!