a reader's random ramblings...

The Hunger Games, the weather, and feeling tired.

2012-02-13T10:27:00.000+11:00

Have you read The Hunger Games?I have now!

Josh received the trilogy for Christmas and is working his way through them. Once he'd finished The Hunger Games I grabbed it quick smart and devoured it! Now he's reading the second book Catching Fire, and I'm trying to be patient.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the movie with him when it comes out. It's lovely to have something fun to do together.

I find it incredibly easy to find things that Alana and I like to do together. We regularly spend time on our mutual obsession with all things Vampire Diaries.

So it's particularly nice to find some common ground with Josh.

In other news, the weather has been consistently crap with only small glimpses of sunshine. I do feel that it's affecting my mood and sense of well-being.

To be completely honest, I'm struggling with tiredness at the moment. When I get overly busy and tired I'm in danger of sliding into depression, so I'm making an effort to look after myself. Hence the lack of blogging lately. If I get to the end of a long day and don't really feel like blogging, then I don't. I don't force myself to do things out of a sense of obligation.

So even though I enjoy writing, I'm only going to write when I feel like I have the energy for it, when I feel inspired, or when I feel like I've got something important to say.

Thanks for reading and understanding :)

Hats, juggling and quiet time

2012-01-31T12:25:00.000+11:00

I wear a lot of hats.

Not literally.

I juggle many different roles, and I'll wager that you do too.

I've struggled over the years with feeling overwhelmed. Now that I'm feeling strong and healthy, I feel myself slipping into the dangerous zone of trying to "do it all".

I'm fortunate enough to have a husband, two children, and a whole slew of extended family. And a dog. I want my family to have whatever love and support that they need and I can provide. I want my household to run smoothly and for my family to be happy and healthy. I want notes to go back to school on the right day, my nieces and nephews' birthdays to be remembered, and everyone to get to the right after school activity on the right day at the right time.

I want my husband to get enough sex so he doesn't get grumpy!

I work two part time jobs, one as a librarian at a university library and the other running a small business providing private mathematics and music tuition. These are both demanding jobs. I enjoy the intellectual challenge, and I want to do well in both.

I have friends. I have hobbies. I have a blog.

I have a lot on my plate. And whichever metaphor you're partial to, I'm just as likely as the next person to be "stretched too thin" or to "burn the candle at both ends".

Because I want to be awesome. I want an awesome life.

I believe that what I need to do to avoid burnout, is to find my centre.

I need to find the essential part of me that defines who I am and sets my priorities.

I'm calling it my spirit, and this year I'm working on nourishing it.

Because if I don't, I'm liable to become just another over-stressed person running about like a chicken with its head cut off, not achieving anything of real value. And that's not awesome.

I believe that I'd really benefit from setting the habit of a morning quiet time in order to set the course of each day. To take some time to be still and quiet and decide what is really important today.

I'm just having trouble actually doing it.

I'd love to hear from anyone with advice on how to put this into practice. Is it really just a matter of having the discipline to set the alarm half an hour earlier? Just gritting your teeth and doing it? And how do you fit it in if you have kids to get off to school or work to get to? Is that where the getting up earlier kicks in? It all sounds so virtuous and mildly depressing. Isn't there an easier way???

Let me know.

The one in which I quote Harry Potter

2012-01-21T19:08:00.001+11:00

Oh dear.

Apparently I don't blog anymore.

Or update my Facebook status.

Or tweet.

As we say in my house, "Fiona Jones, FAIL!"

For those that don't know, that's a reference to the UK version of Top Gear. The episode in which Jeremy Clarkson keeps failing to qualify for his motorbike license in Vietnam. It's GOLD.

Anyway, my family have quite a lot of funny sayings that we have stolen from various TV shows and movies.

For instance, whenever we're driving in the country and see a cow, either Chris or I will say, "Cow." Then the other will usually reply, "Another cow." Remember Twister?

There's a Harry Potter quote for every occasion. Whenever anyone says, "I'm only joking.", they always continue on to say, "I am Fred."

And I've lost count of the number of times we've needed to say, "Stop, stop, stop. You're going to take someone's eye out!"

How about you? Does your family make use of scriptwriter's talents on a regular basis?

An un-quiet month...

2012-01-10T11:14:00.000+11:00

About a month ago, I wrote this post about trying to liven up the month of January by doing something new and exciting every day.

It turns out that I needn't have worried about being bored!

We've had appointments galore; doctor, dentist, hairdresser, dog groomer, vet.

We've had a couple of typical Aussie summer BBQ's with family and friends.

We've been to see both the soccer and the cricket.

Between the movies, shopping, ice skating, bowling, pool, beach and play dates that the kids have scheduled; and the fact that I'm starting back at work next week; before I know it January is going to be over.

So, yeah, not so boring after all.

And then we'll be back to school-ing!

And I'm starting to feel busy and overwhelmed instead of relaxed and in holiday mode.

So what exactly was I worried about?

And what am I going to do to ensure that I stay sane and healthy over the summer "break"?

If you're an Aussie mum, how are the school holidays treating you? Is January turning out to be a good month?

Reaching Your Goals in 2012

2012-01-05T10:29:00.000+11:00

How are those New Year Resolutions going?

Or perhaps you prefer to call them Goals?

I'm focusing on three things for 2012:

My Spiritual Health

My Parenting Skills, Methods and Tools

Making a Positive Difference in the World by Being Loving and Giving

These goals may sound a little bit vague to you, but I know what I mean and I'm taking my time to think through what I really want. The definition of these goals is a work in progress and that's fine with me.

Over the past few days I've come across a few great articles that might help you kick start your New Year:

The Clutterfat Challenge

52 Weeks to Simplify Your Life

12 Questions to Make 2012 Your Best Year Yet

So how about you?

Are you feeling inspired about reaching your goals this year?

What are you reading?

2012-01-03T21:43:00.000+11:00

What have you been reading?

I've just finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

It was a Christmas present and I really enjoyed it.

From the author's website:

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

I can't pretend to be particularly knowledgable about the civil rights movement in the United States, but I did find it interesting to explore these issues from a different perspective.

The characters were sympathetic and I found it easy to become emotionally connected to the story. It was a good read.

I'm currently reading Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne.

It's one of those classics that I've never read. Having received an iPad for Christmas, I decided to take advantage of the fact that apparently its copyright has expired because it is free to download. I've also grabbed War and Peace, Treasure Island and The Time Machine while I'm at it!

Alana and Josh both received books for Christmas that I'm planning on pilfering once they've finished with them!

I'm particularly looking forward to The Hunger Games trilogy, Shiver, Linger and Foreverand The Vampire Diaries - Stefan's Diaries series.

How about you? What are you reading?

Begin with a bang!

2012-01-01T21:07:00.000+11:00

I've started the New Year with a bang, and I'm not talking about the fireworks!

This morning I visited a new church. Well the church isn't new, I've just never been there before.

I'm prioritising my spiritual health during 2012, so I'll be trying a few new things in the process.

Do you attend church regularly? Pray or meditate? What works for you when it comes to the spiritual side of life?

This afternoon we all went to the local public swimming pool. I did half an hour of laps, which seemed particularly hard work today!

This evening I did some prep work for a BBQ we're having at our place tomorrow, marinating steaks and cooking some bits and pieces that I need for some fancy side dishes that I'm making.

And now I'm blogging.

And now I'm tired!

How's the New Year going for you?

Yay for the New Year!

2011-12-30T12:07:00.000+11:00

This time last year I wrote this post telling you how I feel about New Year's.

I think I did a pretty good job of explaining myself, so I'm directing you there instead of saying it all again.

I love new beginnings!

I'm going to use today and tomorrow to think about what I really want from 2012.

How about you? Are you a fan of the New Year?

Thankful Thursday

2011-12-29T11:25:00.001+11:00

Today I need a bit of a lift. I'll be honest, I'm feeling a bit out of sorts.

So I'm doing something that I know usually works for me, which is focusing on the positive.

Please go visit Kate says stuff to join in with Thankful Thursday.

Today I'm having trouble looking at the big picture. I'm having trouble finding something profound to say.

But I do have much to be thankful for.

So today I'm thankful for the little things...

I received a Christmas card from a dear friend that I haven't seen in years today. How lovely that she included some photos of her daughter that I have never met. And how wonderful that I will be able to see her in person next year when my family travels to London!

I guess that's not such a little thing after all! That's what I love about taking the time to be thankful. Once you start counting them, blessings multiply!

I have an appointment to have my hair cut and coloured tonight. Isn't it lovely to sit back in the hairdresser's chair and be pampered? I especially love it when they wash your hair and give your head a massage. Bliss!

I have books to read! How delightful to be able to have a little lie down with a good book!

How about you? How are you feeling today? Maybe a little thankfulness would brighten it.

Have you survived Christmas?

2011-12-26T20:04:00.000+11:00

Just a quick post to say that I hope you've not only survived, but have thrived through Christmas.

I've had a very tiring couple of days.

Tiring, but good.

I've been blessed with time spent with family, special foods, and wonderful presents.

A highlight for me was receiving my new iPad. This is my first attempt at posting from it and it seems to be working ok so far.

A lowlight was dropping a bottle on my foot and breaking my toe. I haven't exactly had time to get it x-rayed or have a doctor look at it, but it's black and blue and swollen and it hurts; so the combined wisdom of myself and family members says it's broken.

I think I need a little lie down now.

How are you guys holding up? Any especially fabulous presents? Any Christmas injuries?

Christmas cards...To send or not to send?

2011-12-21T15:46:00.000+11:00

I didn't send Christmas cards this year.

Not even Christmas emails.

Here are my reasons:

Feeling too "bah humbug".
Didn't have time.
It's environmentally friendly.
It seems to be going out of fashion because I'm receiving less cards these days.

Yeah, I know, those reasons really suck.

Really, I just didn't think I could see the point.

What do Christmas cards mean to me? To me, it's about making a list of all your family and friends and then acknowledging them with a message of love at Christmas time. And now that I've written that and see it in black and white in front of me, it sounds like a very good idea indeed.

However, the card itself isn't important. Too often Christmas cards are either overpriced and overblown, or cheap and tacky. Though I'll read the cards that I receive and will display them while the Christmas tree is up, I'll usually throw them in the recycling bin once the New Year is here. Harsh? Maybe. But I don't have room in my life to keep every card I've ever received.

Also, the time of year isn't really important. Does that sound sacrilegious? I don't mean that Christmas isn't a special time of year, I just mean that any day is a good day to send family and friends a message of love.

So now I'm going to send off an email of thanks to the girlfriends of mine that sent me Christmas cards, letting them know that I appreciated them and that I'm thinking of them.

And then I'm going to make a plan for making sure that the people I love know that I love them, even though I didn't send them a Christmas card.

How about you? Are you a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas cards? Do you send photos of your kids and letters describing their achievements?

Or perhaps you don't celebrate Christmas and have some different traditions at this time of year?

Giving Thanks

2011-12-19T10:41:00.001+11:00

There's nothing like an attack of the "bah humbugs" for making me feel spiritually bereft.

This year I have struggled a little to shake off the stress that comes with being a busy mother at Christmas time to discover the underlying joy of the season.

Someone once told me that are lives are like cars that need to keep all four wheels on the road. In our case, our wheels are our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. We have to make sure that we are looking after all four wheels in order to stay roadworthy.

Luckily over the past few years I've become quite adept at reading the signs that something is not quite right in my life. I'm better at keeping an eye on the gauges on my dashboard, if you like. So it's good that I'm aware that my spiritual health needs a bit of attention.

So today I'm stopping to give thanks every few minutes. Thanks for all the blessings in my life.

Sometimes, with all the bills to pay, it's easy to forget how rich I am. Today I'm taking the time to remind myself that I have more than I need. I have been blessed with abundance.

How are you going keeping all four wheels safely on the road of life?

Doors, windows and jobs.

2011-12-17T09:36:00.000+11:00

Have you ever heard the saying "God doesn't close a door without opening a window"?

Of course you have. It's one of the most overused cliches out there.

Right behind "everything happens for a reason".

And these cliches are probably very annoying to people who are going through a hard time.

If you have an eye for the ridiculous, then click here and see what the Bloggess has to say about it.

And while it's fun to be all sarcastic and ironic and cool, this is where I'm going to reveal my Pollyanna tendencies to you all.

Sometimes when it seems that things are going to hell in a handbasket, it is just plain hell.

But I believe that often when things don't seem to be going quite right, another opportunity presents itself which turns out to be just as good, if not better, than your original plans.

This week I had a job interview. For a two year full time contract at the library I've been working at casually this year.

Those of you that have been following this blog for a while know that I have spent all year looking for permanent library work, desperately trying to launch my career.

Prior to completing my Masters in Librarianship, I thought long and hard about my goals and dreams when it came to work. I knew that I wanted to choose something that I'd find stimulating and challenging for the long term.

So, if you've read this far, you probably know what's coming.

I didn't get the job.

But I did get a call from the library manager offering me an extended period of three days a week work during the first half of 2012.

Which actually suits me better.

Of course I'm still actively looking for permanent, rather than casual, work. But three days a week is much more manageable for me right now with Josh still in primary school. And the fact that we are having an overseas holiday in the middle of next year means that it's nice to not be committed to work and needing to ask for leave.

So what do you think about the old cliche? Do you believe in the concept of doors and windows?

Oh how pinteresting!

2011-12-15T09:08:00.002+11:00

Today I'm linking up with Michelle at The Vintage Apple for "Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesdays". (Even though it's not actually Wednesday anymore - oops!)
If you haven't tried Pinterest, but you love to waste time looking at stuff on the internet, then you really should head there right now and sign up.
Or head over to The Vintage Apple and read Michelle's post and you'll get the drift pretty quickly and see if you think it's something that you'd like to play with.
Confession time: I suck at Pinterest.
I'm really good at trolling through everyone else's "pins" and "liking" them and "repinning" them. I'm great at wasting eons of time. What I'm not so good at is sourcing great images to pin and share with others. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't feel like I contribute much to the experience.
I think I've figured out why I'm not so good at it. It's because I don't really have a goal for my Pinteresting. I don't really know why I'm there.
But guess what?!? I've had a brilliant idea!
I could use Pinterest as a virtual vision board. I could pin pictures that represent things that I want to manifest in my life! Please forgive me if I'm far, far behind and eleventy-billion people have already thought of this, but it's a new idea for me.
And I've thought of it at just the right time, seeing as it's almost the New Year and the perfect time for setting new goals and having visions!
So stay tuned for my Pinterest pinboards to explode with awesomeness!
In the meantime, head on over to The Vintage Apple and check out what everyone else is pinning.

Christmas traditions

2011-12-13T20:05:00.000+11:00

Last week I posted about feeling un-festive.

But today, I discovered this post by a very good blogging friend of mine, Dillypoo. In which Dillypoo explains that she is a reformed Christmas tragic who now focuses on love for family and friends over Christmas, rather than presents and decorations.

Can I get an AMEN?!?

Dillypoo also linked to this post by another fabulous blogger, Liz. Liz has instituted some special traditions in her house, following the lead of St Nicholas, the real Santa Claus.

Liz ensures that her children give as well as receiving on Christmas Day. And she has limited the gifts that they receive by using this catchy little rhyme:

Something you want,

Something you need,

Something you wear,

Something you read.

I think that this is a pretty good idea. And I'm quite taken with the idea of bring the whole Santa thing back to its origins of giving to the poor.

I think that I may be trying something new next Christmas.

How about you? What Christmas traditions do you follow? How do you deal with Santa and the huge amount of gifts that children get/want/expect these days?

I'd love your feedback.

An ode to virtual friends

2011-12-12T12:28:00.000+11:00

Look at that! I've managed to attract a couple of new followers!

(I've hardly posted lately, and I can't imagine what has drawn you here, but I think it may be foolish for me to mention that.)

Welcome friends!

(Every now and then I get an email from Twitter letting me know that I have a new follower, and I'm similarly stymied trying to imagine what on earth I have tweeted that makes me appealing.)

Oh dear, none of this is coming out right!

It's just that I haven't been particularly active in the social media world of late. I haven't felt very dynamic or engaged.

What's your favourite social media forum?

Mine would have to be Facebook, for good or for bad, whatever that says about me. I usually check it first thing each morning to see what all my friends and family have been up to and what they've got to say for themselves, and I check in again several times each day if I'm not working. I love it when my news feed is full of photos and links. I like to "like" posts and to share things that I enjoy.

I like a lot of blogger's pages, which means that I always get links to their latest posts on my news feed. I also like local and national news pages, which means I often see the headlines via Facebook before the news bulletin airs. I've also discovered inspirational pages, local businesses and online magazines.

I enjoy the fact that I catch up with friends and family much more regularly than I would if I relied on seeing them face to face.

Some people seem to think that it's a bit tragic to enjoy Facebook and be on it too often.

They think that it means that you don't have much of a real life.

What do you think? Sometimes I feel a bit sheepish about my Facebook "addiction".

But when it comes down to it, I love my virtual friends!

Feeling Un-Festive

2011-12-08T12:04:00.001+11:00

I'm desperately needing an infusion of Christmas Spirit.

And while I wouldn't say no to alcohol, when I say Christmas Spirit I'm not talking about a few margaritas followed by a bottle of wine.

I'm talking about that warm, fuzzy, good-will-towards-men feeling that I should be getting about now.

Confession time.

My Christmas tree is not up yet and I don't even care.
I bought myself a very expensive present today, and I don't even feel excited about it. Just kind of sick about the amount of money that I spent.

On the positive side of things, I have a job interview next week. And I've applied for two other jobs that I'm waiting to hear about. So although I think that the timing leaves a little bit to be desired, I'm trying to focus on making the best possible case for myself. And fingers crossed, I might have some regular library work next year.

I've also been reminded a lot lately about how very blessed I am.

Christmas or no Christmas, as long as I have my husband and children, I have everything I need.

Lately I been feeling my heart bursting with love and pride every time I look at my family, or even think about them. I may even have been shedding a few happy tears.

So friends, how are you all feeling about the fast approaching Christmas season? Are you bursting with joy? Struggling a little? Have you got an advice for me to help me start to feel festive?

One Interesting Thing for January

2011-12-07T09:29:00.001+11:00

So, how's December treating you?

We're all busy, busy, busy - right?

When you've got kids, the end of the school year brings with it a whole raft of special activities.

Josh had his gymnastics display. I had photography fail.

This is Josh mid leap during his pirate themed tumbling display. He did awesome flips of all kinds, and this is the best that I can do. FAIL.

Alana had her school presentation assembly.

Alana is the one on the left. Here she is with her besties posing with her certificates.

I've always thought that it is especially bad timing that in Australia, the school year ends just before Christmas.

I'm not sure what the end of the school year is like in other countries, but I imagine that there are recitals and prize-givings and the like, just as we have here. But who needs to be dealing with all these extra events at the same time as they are preparing for Christmas?

It means that December is particularly stressful.

And that January is a wasteland.

Don't get me wrong, I love summer holidays as much as the next person. It's just that January feels particularly empty coming straight after December.

The kids don't have school, and their after school activities are on hiatus for the holidays.

So I've decided on a plan.

I'm going to try to do one interesting thing each day of January and blog about it.

Great plan, right?

If you'd like to make any suggestions for family friendly and budget ideas for me then leave me a comment.

Get creative!

NaNoWriMo - putting a positive spin on an epic fail!

2011-11-30T14:26:00.001+11:00

Wow! November sure went fast didn't it?

About a week before the start of November I signed up for NaNoWriMo.

National (though it's actually international) Novel Writing Month.

Setting myself the goal of writing a 50 000 word novel in 30 days.

What was I thinking?

Certainly not that I'd get called in to work in the library for 12 of those days.

Certainly not that I'd discover that working 9 am to 5 pm, even only 3 days a week, is hard work when you have a husband, two kids, a dog, a household to run and a part time job running a business from home!

Certainly not that my daughter would have end-of-year ballet concerts to get to, with all the extra rehearsals that entails.

Certainly not that the closer and closer we got to December, the busier and busier life would get.

Now that I think about it, what was I thinking!?!

The idea of NaNoWriMo is to write a novel quick and dirty.

Just get the words down on the page.

No deleting.

Just do it!

As of today, I have written 4 609 words.

So you could call my NaNoWriMo attempt an epic fail!

Or you could say that I gave it a go, made a great start, and can continue writing whenever I want to.

I don't have to limit myself to a November deadline.

Let's think positive, shall we?

Catching up

2011-11-24T08:38:00.001+11:00

It's been two whole weeks since I last posted here.

I found myself feeling overwhelmed with life, so I made the conscious decision to step back and say "no" to things.

Even things that I really enjoy, like blogging, because I simply didn't have the extra energy for it.

I'd like to encourage you all to follow my example and take care of yourself.

There's no need to worry about me. I'm OK. But I'm only OK because I made sure that I said "no" when I needed to, and I didn't allow guilt to get me to say "yes" when it wasn't right for me.

And you don't need to worry that I've been struggling with difficult situations. I haven't. My life has been full of blessings. Just a little too full, if you know what I mean!

Highlights?

Alana and I went to see Breaking Dawn together.

We enjoyed it, and I thought that Kristin Stewart did a good job of portraying the range of emotions that Bella experiences. But I hate it when they split a book into two movies and you have to wait ages for the second half. Aaaaargh!

We had some nice weather and I got the chance to wear my new swimsuit to the beach.

Unfortunately, the weather has turned foul since then and we've had nothing but cold and rain.

In other news, I sent in two job applications and had an interview for a third. Fingers crossed!

How have you all been?

Did losing weight make me a happier person?

2011-11-10T11:35:00.000+11:00

I had lunch with some old school friends last weekend.

The great thing is that we have about thirty years (or more!) of history behind us, and whenever we get together we can just pick up where we left off.

Even though we're all very different to each other, we somehow fit together. Even though we work in different industries, we live in different areas, and our partners and family circumstances are all unique, we genuinely like and respect one another. We don't agree on everything, but we're more than happy to allow each other to be true to ourselves.

(Here's a gratuitous shot of the cafe where we ate. A stunning location!)

The girls hadn't seen me since I lost all my weight. They were suitably impressed and happy that I looked so healthy. But what surprised me was that they all commented about how happy I looked.

They're not the first to comment on the fact that I seem happier since I lost weight.

I've been told several times by different people.

I've also been told that I am more confident, more affectionate and more outgoing.

Now you might think it's a no-brainer. Of course I'm happier slim and healthy rather than overweight. And I guess that's a reasonable expectation. But I'm not aware that I'm acting any differently. I still feel like the same person, so I'm surprised that I've made such an obvious transformation.

So, being me, I've been thinking about it.

And I think that I've come up with something.

See if it makes sense to you.

I believe that I am happier because I have reached a point in my life when I am loving myself and caring for myself. I believe that my weight loss is not the reason that I feel good but is the result of me feeling good.

Let's just hear that again.

I lost weight because I'm happy, rather than being happy because I lost weight.

Yeah. I think that's right.

What do you think?

I'm linking up with Pour Your Heart Out at Things I Cant' Say. Click on the button below to visit Shell and read some wonderful, heartfelt posts.

Friday Confessional

2011-11-04T19:49:00.001+11:00

It's time for our weekly confessions! Visit Mamarazzi to link up or just read some confessions.

I confess that...

...this NaNoWriMo caper is harder than it looks!

National Novel Writing Month happens every November.

The goal: to write a 50000 word novel in 30 days.

Don't get me wrong. I didn't think it would be easy! I just didn't think it would be this hard.

The good news is that I have outlined my whole novel. And I think that I've got a good story to tell.

The bad news is that so far I've only written 1689 words. I'm falling behind!

I think that I've underestimated the number of hours that it takes to peck away at the keyboard and get the words out.

I know what you're thinking! GET OFF THE BLOG FIONA AND BACK TO YOUR NOVEL!

...I may have accidentally boarded the end of year silly season crazy train roller-coaster!

Last week I shared that I hadn't done any planning for Christmas yet. I still haven't. But I did make a positive decision about how I was going to deal with it.

I like to do one thing at a time. I like to make a list of what needs to be done and work through it one step at a time. I know that this is the way that I work. I know that I always manage to get everything done in the end. So I decided to just let myself do my thing and not worry about what everyone else is doing.

So what if Christmas planning hasn't made it to the top of my list yet? I'll get there.

But it's hard to keep calm and carry on, when every day someone is adding something to my list! Excuse me everyone, I have enough to do already. Please stop sending notes home from school, emails, or calling me with helpful suggestions of things I need to do. I have ENOUGH!

Want to know what the biggest problem is?

None of the things being added to my list are extraordinary or unreasonable. No-one's being demanding. It's all just completely normal day-to-day running-a-household-and-family stuff. There just seems to be an awful lot of it at the moment. And lots of these things have deadlines that fall before December 25th.

What does that mean?

Christmas is sliding lower and lower down my to-do list. It has almost fallen off the bottom! I'm worried that it will not make it to the top in time.

And so I'm getting tempted to jump right on the crazy train and start stressing. Somebody stop me!

What have you got to confess this week?

What I'm Loving

2011-11-02T20:46:00.000+11:00

Linking up with This Kind of Love for What I'm Loving Wednesday.

I'm loving...

...Glee! is back <3

TV viewing has been pretty lousy lately. There haven't been a lot of choices. Glee! is reliably entertaining and I'm glad that it's back!

Blaine is my favourite...

...My new earrings

I've been wanting earrings like this for forever. Mine are the yellow ones :)

...That I've got a day off tomorrow and I can take my doggy Lucy for a nice long walk and do some writing for NaNoWriMo

Working 9 - 5 is kicking my butt! It's going to be so lovely to have some hours at home to potter about. Not that I'm not loving having work, but...you know what I mean.

Don't forget to visit This Kind of Love to either link up or read what everyone else is loving today.

Has a book ever made you cry? Definitely yes.

2011-11-01T21:21:00.000+11:00

Oh dear.

I'm working at the library this week, and while I'm loving the work, I'm finding it dreadfully difficult to fit in everything else I'd like to be doing. Like writing a wonderful blog post to link up with The Broke and the Bookish for Top Ten Tuesday.

Today's list is the Top Ten Books that I had strong emotions over. (Click the link to visit The Broke and the Bookish.)

I like it when a book makes me cry. Or laugh. Or feel gutted and emotionally exhausted.

I think that a book that elicits a strong emotional reaction from me has done its job.

A good book should make me think deeply about an issue, or allow me to identify strongly with a character. A good book will make me laugh out loud, or will cause me to read excerpts of it aloud to anyone within earshot.

Books that don't effect me strongly are easily forgotten.

I started my list, but I've run out of time to finish it. So here are four books, and I'm looking forward to reading the other lists.

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J K Rowling.

I'm a tragic Harry Potter fan. I was one of the people that pre-ordered my copy of the book, picked it up on the day it was released, and then locked myself in my bedroom to read it undisturbed.

But. I got most of the way through the book and I had to stop. Tears streaming down my face, I closed the book and went to sleep. I knew I'd be able to face the rest of it in the morning, but I just couldn't face it at that moment.

I don't want to get into spoiler territory here, but I think nearly everyone in the world has either read the book, seen the movie, or both.

Let's just say that when Harry viewed Snape's memories in the pensieve, and knew the enormity of the courage that he would need to face his destiny, I came completely undone.

I read the book aloud to my children, and choked up big time when I got to that scene. My kids looked at me with disbelief as I struggled to get the words out.

2. The Montmaray Journals by Michelle Cooper.

Click here to read my reviews.

Love these books. The narrator's voice is delightful! I must admit that I read many passages aloud to whoever was nearby because they were just so delicious! I love it when I am grinning from ear to ear as I read, so aware of how much I am enjoying the experience.

3. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.

Click here to read my review.

This book was a revelation to me.

It transported me so completely into Grace and Sam's world.

It was so divinely bittersweet.

4. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

Click here to read my review.

This book is a story of suffering that touched my heart and made me thankful for all the good in my life. I found the hardships described absolutely horrifying and harrowing. My respect for people living in oppressive regimes and war zones grew one thousand fold.

Don't forget to visit The Broke and the Bookish to read the other lists.

Confession Time

2011-10-28T18:35:00.000+11:00

I'm doing the Friday Confessional again!

Click the pic to go visit Mamarazzi and play along!

I confess...

...that I'm not finding the planning of my "world tour 2012" very enjoyable.

Let me catch you up if you're new around here or visiting from Mamarazzi's. My family is going on a big, awesome, round-the-world holiday next year.

It is a very big deal and it is going to be awesome.

And it's not even just in the wishin' and hopin' stage; it's really happening! We have forked over our thousands of dollars for the flights. We are visiting our travel consultant tomorrow to spend some more money. Yay!

But I've got to admit that trolling through brochures and surfing the internet, comparing prices and making lists, is getting old real fast. And when Chris and I talk about it, some very real cracks are starting to appear in the "perfect holiday plans", given that he and I have very different personalities and, I think, ver different expectations for the trip.

I hope that the travel consultant is not called upon to do some impromptu marriage counseling tomorrow!

...that I have not done a thing so far to prepare for Christmas.

No. Just no. Not a hope in hell that I'll ever have something like this for Christmas.

Please don't tell me how many shopping days are left until Christmas. I don't want to know.

I have no idea what I'm buying for the kids, or what to tell other relatives to get for them.

I have no idea what I'm buying for the assorted relatives that I need to buy for.

Christmas cards? With a cute picture of the kids/family on them? Haven't done them since 2001. Seriously. I buy my Christmas cards in the supermarket and send them off in reply to cards that I receive. I know. I suck.

...that I signed up for NaNoWriMo.

What was I thinking???

For those of you not in the know, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. Yes, novel writing. In a month.

For the month of November, I'm going to be madly scrambling to write in every spare moment to reach the magical goal of 50000 words (yes, you read that right!) and get this novel out of my head and onto the page. Pages.

Go here to find out more!

Well that's all for me. What do you have to confess?

Thankful

2011-10-27T19:50:00.002+11:00

I'm linking up with Thankful Thursday at kate says stuff.

Click here to visit Kate and link up!

I believe in being thankful.

I believe that our minds are very powerful. How we think and what we think about has a huge impact on what we experience in our daily lives.

I try to practise gratitude every day. As someone who has been through a bout of depression, I know that for me, gratitude is an important tool that I use to maintain my mental health. Focusing on the positive is a great way for me to develop resilience and the strength to face challenges.

Of course, I'm always thankful for my husband and children. That's a given.

Today I'm thankful for...

...my library

Now those of you who regularly read my blog will know that I'm a recently graduated Librarian. So you may think that I'm giving myself a bit of a rap here! But I'm not kidding. I'm so thankful that I have easy access to information via my local public library.

I use my library a lot. I've currently got seven items out on loan, including a book and CD set to help me learn Italian! I borrow lots of fiction from across the genres; if I don't like a book I don't have to force myself to finish it. I just return it and try again! I also read a lot of non-fiction, and my library allows me to borrow big beautiful books that would cost a fortune if I were to buy them.

Long live libraries!

...possibilities

Every day brings new opportunities. Really.

I'm thankful for change.

For new things.

I'm thankful that I'm not finished yet.

...more work

Since starting to write this post I've received a phone call from my boss at the library where I work casually, offering me four more weeks of work! Hooray! I'm so thankful for the opportunity to gain more experience and for the fact that this time I'm on a contract and will start to accrue sick leave and holiday leave. What a blessing!

What are you thankful for today?

What I'm Loving

2011-10-26T20:02:00.002+11:00

I'm linking up with What I'm Loving Wednesday at This Kind of Love. I want to get this post up while it's still Wednesday here at my place, so I'm hitting publish even though the beautiful Jamie at This Kind of Love hasn't posted the linky yet.

Click here to visit This Kind of Love. (Link will take you to the home page.)

What I'm loving...

...warmer weather

Spring weather is unpredictable. One day it's pleasantly warm and sunshiny, the next it's cold and rainy. But this past week we've had a few warm (even hot!) days, and I've finally been able to wear some of my new summer clothes. I've worn my new shorts, denim skirt and sundress - all three items are above-the-knee! (And the dress is sleeveless!)

I'm loving feeling comfortable to wear hot-weather-appropriate outfits, and I'm finding that now that I'm at a healthy weight, I don't feel as uncomfortable and tired in the hot weather as I used to. I think it's going to be a great summer!

...wearing my hair curly

I've got the type of hair that, depending on the weather, or how I've styled it, or how it's been cut, can be curly, wavy or straight. (Or, of course, frizzy.) Usually I blow dry the front of my hair straight and try to make the rest of it sit smooth in nice controlled waves. But lately I've discovered that if I just let it be when I wash it, it dries nice and curly and doesn't look half bad! As I write, however, the weather is rainy and I've got a ferocious frizz going on because I didn't blow dry it. I need to find something that I can put on dry hair to keep the frizz at bay. I think I need to get me some of that fancy Moroccan Oil that my hairdresser uses!

...sharing encouragement

Every day, pages that I "like" on Facebook publish photos that are posters featuring inspirational and encouraging quotes.

I like to click "share" so I can pass on the inspiration.

What are you loving?

Let's catch up!

2011-10-24T13:30:00.000+11:00

How about I catch you up on what I've been up to, 'kay?

I have tickets to see The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1.

I told you I'm a sucker for the teen stuff! How about you? Are you on board for another episode of sparkly vampires and shirtless werewolves?

Alana and I have read the books and watched the movies. We've chosen our seats and printed out our advance purchase tickets. We're ready to go! Come on November 18!

The kids' passports arrived today.

And guess what? We've booked and paid for our round the world airplane tickets. No way! WAAAAY!

I made a photobook using snapfish.

I used to scrapbook, once upon a time. But then I stopped using film and started taking all my photos digitally. And got really lazy about printing them out. So all my family photos from the last few years are either sitting in a file folder on my computer or in a Facebook album or on this blog. For shame!

I'm getting together with some girls I went to school with in a couple of weeks time. We try to get together once or twice a year. Sometimes we make it a family affair and all bring our partners and kids, but this time we're just doing a girls-only lunch.

One of the girls suggested that we should each bring along some photos of the kids, and that's what prompted me to get my act together and put together a little album.

I found snapfish easy to use and good value.

How about you? Do you scrapbook? Make digital albums?

I still don't have a permanent library job.

The whole looking-for-work thing is getting me down. I've done some casual work in a library and I loved it. I believe that I did a good job and that my employer would like to give me more work if it becomes available. I also know that if something permanent or some contract work comes up, I'll have to apply and interview along with everyone else. No guarantees.

Jobs that I'm seeing advertised are generally for librarians with a significant amount of experience.

I really don't mind starting at the bottom. I'm just more than ready to get up, get dressed, put my makeup on and go to work in the morning. I also have all kinds of ambitions for my career, and I can't really make a start on it until I have a job!

So there you go, you're all caught up! What have you been up to?

Confession is Good for the Soul

2011-10-21T20:45:00.000+11:00

I confess...
...that I am using a fellow blogger's linky meme to give my blogging a little bit of a pep up.
I've been feeling unfocused with my blogging lately.
Lacking inspiration.
So I've been on the lookout for some blogs that host regular linkups. I thought that joining in would give me some much needed motivation to write about a given topic.
I confess that if linking up with Mamarazzi's Friday Confessional brings me a few more readers and/or followers, that wouldn't be such a bad thing either.
I confess...
...that I'm finding this a little bit harder than I thought I would.
It's pretty easy to write something flippant and leave it at that; it's harder to share something of myself in truth.
So I'm going to try to walk the middle ground here.
I confess...
...that I like wine. A lot. And I have to be careful, when I'm relaxed and enjoying myself, not to drink too much of it. Or I might get a bit tipsy. Which is fine, but not so much when I'm at a family gathering with the kids in tow.
I confess...
...that I like teen-centred TV shows waaaay too much for a woman my age. I think I may be suffering from a case of arrested development. I'm ever so happy watching things set in high schools full of teen angst. The Vampire Diaries being my latest crush. I've been like this for a long time. I don't think that I'm likely to grow out of it any time soon.
So that's me for today.
If you've got something to confess, click on the pic at the top of this post and visit Mamarazzi.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

2011-10-21T08:40:00.002+11:00

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I'm a breast cancer survivor, and I'd like to remind you all to take care of yourself and make sure that you know your breasts, know your risk, and know the best way to make sure that you stay healthy.

I'm linking here to a post that I wrote earlier this year on the subject. Go read it!

If you live in Australia and would like more information about Breast Cancer, try this page of useful links from The National Breast Cancer Foundation.

If you live elsewhere in the world, please leave a link to your local information source in the comments.

And remember to pass it on to the other women in your life - remind them to look after themselves too!

The post in which I wish that my kids would go to bed earlier.

2011-10-17T21:14:00.001+11:00

Lately I've been finding myself getting a bit frustrated at around 8:30 pm.

I long for the days when by that time of night my children were safely tucked away in bed, fast asleep.

Back in those days, at 8:30 pm I would be settling in for some quality TV viewing. Or reading a book. Or I'd watch TV for an hour and then head to bed with a book. It's what I like to do at that time of night.

Those days are long gone.

Nowadays at 8:30 pm my house is a hive of activity. The kids are completing homework, or You Tubing or Facebooking or watching TV. They're still hungry, and are begging for some dessert, or they're just arriving home from dance class or some other activity.

These days our bedtime routine doesn't even start until 8:30 pm, when I make some noises about having showers and brushing teeth and "wouldn't they like to go to bed with a book?". The kids aren't "safely tucked away in bed" until at least 9:30 pm.

All this is putting a serious crimp in my preferred nightly routine.

I've been pushing back against it for a long time. Trying to pretend that it's not happening and that I can somehow magic it all back to the way it used to be. I've been in denial.

No more!

Today I realised that life is about change.

You can't stop things from changing, you just have to be prepared to be flexible and adjust as necessary.

Because any animal that doesn't evolve will become extinct. And I don't want to become extinct!

So what am I doing differently? Not much so far, but my attitude is different.

And let's face it, attitude is everything. I find that when I face situations with a positive attitude things just fall into place more easily.

And so, at 9:10 pm, I'm writing this blog post while Alana does her maths homework beside me. And soon I'll just take myself off to bed to read for a while. I can always get back up again if I'm needed.

How do you go at facing change? Do you rebel against it like me?

It's all happening!

2011-10-12T13:23:00.000+11:00

Hey there dear readers, I'm feeling a bit manic today.

Things have moved into overdrive on the whole World Tour 2012 thing.

What is the World Tour 2012? Well...

It started off as a little idea I had of doing a house swap. I put out the call to see if anyone wanted to come and stay at my place in Australia and let my family stay in their house.

I was lucky enough to receive two offers of accommodation, one in England and one in the US. Thus the idea for a "World Tour" was born.

So, I've been fluffing about trying to do some planning here and there while waiting for the optimum time to book our tickets. I had a travel consultant put together a proposal for us.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, and suddenly everything's happening!

I've had to fill out forms and get photos taken for the kids' passports. Who doesn't love filling out forms? I also had to find someone to sign the kids' photos to confirm that it really is them. Then I have to take the kids to the post office for a "passport interview". I can't tell you how much fun it is!

At the same time, we discovered that the travel consultant who put together our proposal has left the travel agent. She doesn't work there any more. The fares that she put together for us are no longer available. We have to start from scratch.

So I freaked out a little bit.

And went to three different travel agents and sat down with three different travel consultants in one day.

And now I have some tickets on hold that have to be paid for ASAP and it's all happening so fast!

Breathe.

I've got travel consultants waiting on my call. And I've discovered that I'm actually quite good at diplomatically telling someone that I've decided to go another way. But I'm still finding it stressful.

It will be a lovely relief when we've handed over our thousands of dollars and I know that everything is locked in.

I'll keep you posted.

A Confession

2011-10-07T19:23:00.000+11:00

So. Where do you stand on the issue of Intellectual Property?

Ever broken a copyright law?

Bought a pirated DVD?

What do you do when a TV show that you love isn't showing in your country but is available online?

I think you can see where this discussion is going...

The Vampire Diaries

Here's the story of my love affair with this show.

I stumbled upon Season 1 showing on Go! TV. As soon as the season was available on DVD, I bought it.

Season 2 also showed on Go! Each episode was "fast tracked" from the US, meaning that we were only days behind. As long as I didn't read too many blog posts or follow too many Twitter users that tweeted spoilers, I could enjoy the Season along with everyone else. As soon as the season was available on DVD, I bought it.

Which brings us to Season 3. Four episodes have aired in the US. And Go! doesn't have an airing date yet. Grrrrr.

Enter Project Free TV.

Would you?

I consider myself pretty law-abiding.

I don't download the episodes to my computer. I don't distribute the episodes to anyone.

I just watch the episodes.

And when the season is available on DVD, I'll buy it.

What do you think? How bad is this on a scale of one to ten?

And what do you do?

Date night!

2011-10-04T18:16:00.001+11:00

Once upon a time there was a girl. She was sixteen and had her whole life ahead of her. So many choices, so many possibilities.

Then the girl woke up and was forty. Wait. What???

For my fortieth birthday I thought it would be really nice if Chris and I went out to a fancy restaurant. Not just the local Italian place down the road. A really, really fancy restaurant.

And so....the date night to rival all date nights.

Here I am getting ready. I'm sure you're sick of dodgy in-front-of-the-mirror outfit shots by now. Sorry. But I thought you'd like to see the beautiful new dress that my mum and dad bought me for my birthday.

Unfortunately, the weather was not accommodating. So I had to pair my dress with some tights and a jacket to avoid hypothermia.

Here we are all ready to go. I think it's cute that we look positively giddy with excitement!

First we headed off to the movies to see Crazy Stupid Love. Which turned out to be the perfect date movie, especially for a forty-year-old couple who've been together since they were sixteen and were celebrating the fact that they're still in love!

Here we are in the cinema...

I know the photo is ridiculous, but I thought I'd share anyway. By the way, does anyone know how to take photos in the dark on your iPhone? Is there any way to get a flash? Maybe an app?

Then we headed off on the Manly Ferry to Circular Quay.

For those of you who are not Australian, I'll share a little bit about the Manly Ferry.

The thirty minute voyage between Manly Wharf and Circular Quay is an iconic Sydney experience.

Though Bondi is the best known Sydney beach overseas, Manly is just as well known here and is on the north side of Sydney Harbour.

The trip to and from Manly takes you right past the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, so you get plenty of great photo opportunities.

The swell was larger than usual on our trip so it was a bit rough!

Here's the Opera House...our next destination...

We had a little pre-dinner drinkypoo at Opera Bar. Here's a link to the cocktail menu, in case you're interested. I had "Buds and Bubbles". Of course I did.

Finally it was time for the main event - dinner at Aria.

Aria is celebrity chef Matt Moran's restaurant. It's pretty fancy. We felt just a teeny-tiny bit intimidated as we went in.

Luckily we had a delightfully friendly and helpful waitress and we also engaged the services of the sommelier (wine guy!). I told you it was fancy! Between us we managed to put together a menu that was just delightful.

It's hard to look classy taking photos in a fancy restaurant, but here I am with my entree - Scallops spiced and roasted with glazed witlof, pistachios and dried apricots.

Here's my main - Snapper seared fillet with chorizo, zucchini, lemon and a romesco sauce.

I wish I could show you a photo of my dessert as well, but I just couldn't fit one in! Believe me, I wasn't thinking about the points. I would have eaten one if I possibly could. In the end, I couldn't even drink all my "Fall in Love" tea (tea infused with rose, vanilla and chocolate - absolutely divine!).

Chris and I had such a wonderful time that I wanted to share it with you all.

What's the best date you've had?

Happy Birthday Josh

2011-09-30T09:02:00.000+10:00

It was Josh's 11th birthday yesterday!

Here he is, just chillin', playing his new Pokemon game on his DS while watching something on YouTube. Who said males can't multitask?!

We had what was, in my humble opinion, a great day! Relaxing and fun.

Josh wanted to go ice skating for his birthday outing. In my house, the kids take turns having birthday parties. This year it was Alana's turn, which means that Josh got to choose a fun family outing instead. He and Alana had a lot of fun on the ice while I tried to stave off frostbite with a cappuccino from the "cafe". I'm not even kidding. I wore a scarf and gloves and still my fingers and toes went numb. One of my fingers in particular went an alarming shade of grey! Luckily I appear to have no lasting injuries...

After skating we came home and just hung out playing with toys and games.

When Chris got home from work we went out to dinner at Gourmet Pizza Kitchen - Josh's favourite.

We had a fantastic time at dinner - laughing the whole time. I love these guys!

Happy Birthday Josh!

Lurking in the corner? Leave me a comment :)

2011-09-29T14:38:00.002+10:00

Hey there.

Who are you, my lovely reader?

What makes you tick?

What do you love? Hate?

What posts of mine make you think? Laugh? Cry?

Part of the reason that I blog is the sense of having an audience. A readership. And unlike other writing forums, in which the readership is largely silent and unknown, when I blog I know that my readers can continue the conversation. They can talk back. Easily. Immediately.

That's what the comments are for.

Now I won't lie to you. Of course it's great when I receive a positive response in which the reader lets me know that they enjoyed what I wrote. I enjoy words of affirmation probably more than the next person. It's my "love language"; how I express my love to others and how I like to receive love. So praise me - please!

But really I'd just like to know that you're out there. And get to know you a little.

So please, if you read anything on this blog that touches you or angers you or makes you question something or interests you; if you have comments, criticism or questions; then leave me a comment.

I receive an email every time someone leaves a comment on my blog. I then reply directly to the comment via email. I love to have these little conversations!

If you use Blogger to write your own blog then you need to ensure that you have checked the box on your profile that says "show my email address". Otherwise I won't be able to email you back because Blogger will just use a generic "no reply" address to email me your comment. Confused yet? If a comment is emailed to me from a "no reply" address, then I can't reply. The only way I can continue the conversation is by leaving a comment under your comment on the original blog post that you commented on. Which assumes that you're going to come back later and read that post's comments again just in case I replied to you. Which is a bit messy, isn't it?

If you don't use Blogger then to be honest I'm not sure how it works! So if you want to leave me a comment then we'll find out together!

I hope you don't think I'm too lame, begging for comments. I just really love to exchange ideas and share with others. And I hope that you do too.

By the end of this post I feel better

2011-09-28T11:04:00.001+10:00

Hey there.

I got nothing people. Nothing.

I'm literally forcing myself to write in the hope that some inspiration will strike.

I haven't written anything lately because I've had nothing to say. Simple really.

Why haven't I got anything to say? I don't know.

Life has been frolicking along as usual. It's school holidays here and we've had a ballet eisteddfod and it's Josh's birthday tomorrow and I've got a list as long as my arm of "things to do"...

...And no motivation for anything.

Deep breath.

I've been here before. When I get tired I'm susceptible to depression. That's just something I've learned about myself. And a "red flag" that indicates that I might be heading down that road is when I can't find the motivation to do things that I usually find fun.

Aha! I think we've gotten to the bottom of things now.

What now?

Thankfully, over the past few years I've developed a "box of tricks" to put into action when I feel myself starting on the downward slide. I'd like to share them with you.

1. I am my own best friend. I love myself and care for myself.

The important thing for me to remember is to not wait for someone else to take care of me. By all means, I should speak up and tell those close to me what I need. I should ask for help. And because I have awesome people around me, I will receive love and care. But I must not wait passively, hoping that others will notice that I need a bit of extra care. And I must not rely on others to provide me with all the love and care that I need.

I must put on my "big girl pants" and think about what I really need and make it happen. I'm an adult and it's my job to say "yes" or "no" to things as is appropriate to my needs. It's my job to make my needs my first priority. I'm no good to anyone else unless I'm healthy and happy.

2. What feels good in the moment isn't always good for me.

It's tempting when I'm feeling a bit down to try to pick myself up by spending money or eating lots of chocolate or hibernating. And although I can kid myself that I'm giving myself a much deserved treat, these things don't really make me feel any better. Again, it's time for the "big girl pants" and a sensible approach to what will really make me feel good. As boring as it might sound, eating healthy foods and exercising and getting amongst it with friends and activities are actually the things that feel good in the long term. I very much enjoy a glass of wine, but when I'm pouring myself a glass every night I know that the alarm bells are sounding.

3. Writing helps me to work through what I'm thinking and feeling.

Everyone's different. Maybe writing isn't your thing, but it works for me. I don't always do it this way, in a public forum. I keep a journal beside my bed, and I find it helpful to write last thing at night or first thing in the morning. Just like in this blog post, I find that even if I start off not knowing what I'm going to write about, I always find that as the page gets filled, my thoughts and feelings unravel before me and start to make sense.

Guess what? I feel better now. Ready to face my "to do" list.

I think I might take the dog for a walk and get some fresh air.

*** This post has been a bit like doing therapy in public. I hope I haven't overshared. I also hope that this post may have helped you in some way. ***

Lost: one woman's mojo

2011-09-22T19:05:00.001+10:00

It's been a strange week.

This time last week I had just finished my last day of work at the uni library. I had worked four days a week for seven weeks.

It was a great experience. A foot in the door. A fabulous opportunity.

And I actually enjoyed the work. It provided me with just the right amount of challenge. The hours were great. The people were nice. No down side.

And yet, when it finished I was looking forward to having more free time. To blogging more. To getting back into my much neglected Twitter account. To reading. Pottering about the house.

You get the drift.

Somehow, it just hasn't lived up to what I was expecting.

I've been grumpy. I haven't felt like I've achieved anything even though I've been racing around like a blue-tailed fly. What's with that?

I obviously haven't transitioned very smoothly back into my "normal" routine.

As I write I am enjoying a glass of "chardy" and planning to hop into a lovely deep hot bath. With a book.

Wish me luck in finding my mojo.

Photos of summer salads

2011-09-17T19:42:00.001+10:00

I accidentally published my previous post a bit early. For recipes, click here.

I meant to add some photos.

Here is my Green Bean Salad.

It turned out yummy, and tasted pretty much exactly like the one at ate at the cafe. So yay for me and my awesome palate and for being able to work out a recipe after eating a dish just once. Maybe I should consider auditioning for Masterchef!

Here is the Warm Potato Salad.

Roast Potato and Bacon

Adding the dressing...

The finished product.

And it tasted just as yummy as I remembered it.

A great success all round :)

2011-09-17T14:58:00.000+10:00

For the first time in what seems like ages, I've been doing some creative cooking today.

The weather is warm enough for a barbie for dinner and so I'm experimenting with a couple of salads to go with our steak. Mmmmm steak...

The first salad I'm calling Green Bean Salad. It was inspired by something I ate at a cafe near me. As soon as I began eating I knew that it was something I would try to recreate at home. It just seemed so perfect for the warmer weather and was a treat for the senses - the crunch of the beans complemented by the creaminess of the avocado; the peppery-ness of the rocket a perfect foil for the sweetness of the mango.

I'm sharing the "recipe" below, but be warned! I fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to cooking. I've created my own version of the dish based only on my experience of eating it once. I may need to tweak the recipe a bit for next time.

Ingredients

A couple of big handfuls of raw green beans, topped and tailed and cut into two-inch pieces.

A couple of big handfuls of baby rocket.

Half a large red capsicum, sliced as finely as possible.

Half a spanish onion, sliced as finely as possible.

A large avocado cut into small chunks.

A large mango cut into small chunks.

A drizzle of red wine vinegar.

A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Method

Toss the beans, rocket, capsicum and onion in a salad bowl.

Dress with vinegar first, then oil.

Gently toss through avocado and mango just before serving.

The second salad is one that my sister served us recently. I helped her make it that day, so though I didn't have the recipe in front of me when I made it today, at least I had a fairly good idea of what went into it. Here's my version of Warm Potato Salad.

Ingredients

Enough new potatoes for everyone, cut into bite-size chunks. (I used about 750 grams. I didn't actually weigh them. I'm just guessing.)

A generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Diced bacon. (I used four short-cut rindless rashers.)

About half a cup of whole egg mayonnaise.

About a quarter of a cup of sour cream. (I used "light". Who was I kidding?)

Three good teaspoons of wholegrain mustard.

Method

Fry the bacon.

Put the potatoes into a baking dish and toss in the oil. Sprinkle the bacon over.

Bake the potatoes in a hot oven for 40 minutes, tossing halfway through cooking time.

Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream and mustard for the dressing.

Put the cooked potatoes into a serving dish and dress immediately.

Allow the salad to cool a little before serving.

Can be refrigerated and served cold.

Braving bare legs with body bronzer

2011-09-09T09:12:00.000+10:00

Spring weather is very unpredictable where I live.

One minute you're enjoying wearing a short skirt with bare legs and stressing about the whiteness of said bare legs. The next you're layering up with jeans and cardigans.

The other day we had an awesome warm springish day and I decided to bite the bullet and wear a skirt with no stockings, tights or other leg covering materials. I'm super brave like that now!

I just needed a little something to give me the confidence to bare my legs, so I decided to give some Le Tan Body Bronzer a go. It's like make-up for your body. You can click on the link to visit Le Tan's website and check out the product for yourself. I didn't receive any for free or anything. I'm not being paid or compensated to write this post. I just like to share information when I can.

I applied the lotion generously to my legs and then washed my hands with soap and water to avoid having bronzed sparkly hands all day. My legs looked pleasantly golden with a little bit of a shimmer. I was a little bit worried about the shimmer to be honest. I work in a library and I didn't want my legs to look like they were dressed for the disco! It wasn't a problem, however, because the shimmer is subtle and only really shows up under strong light. Out in the sunshine I glittered a little, but not enough to look like I was auditioning for a role in a Twilight movie!

The bronzer stayed put on my legs all day and didn't rub off onto my clothes. When I showered it washed right off with soap and water. I think I'm a convert now!

Do you have any little tricks that give you a bit more confidence to face the world? I'd love to hear them.

And if Le Tan want to send me a truckload of Body Bronzer I'm happy to receive it!

Skinny Ass Saturday

2011-09-03T07:52:00.001+10:00

I just thought I'd share...

I'm on the Maintenance Plan with Weight Watchers now!

As soon as I got below 58 kg I clicked "maintain this weight". No more losing for me!

Maintenance is awesome. I get 6 more points a day - hooray!

I've been on it for all of one week but it's going great so far. What's not to love about 6 points more each day? Except for the fact that in the back of my mind I've been a teeny bit worried that those 6 points were the only thing standing between me and obesity. You know the irrational fear that as soon as you stop losing weight you will automatically start gaining again?

I started maintenance at 57.9 kg and was determined to stay under 58 kg. So I wasn't giving myself much room to move! This morning I checked my weight and it was 57.3 kg. So now I'm feeling a bit more relaxed about the whole thing.

I'm going to link this post up with my pal Brandy at You Don't Know.

Please click through to visit Brandy and encourage her to keep up the good work!

Almost too busy to read.

2011-09-02T08:31:00.000+10:00

What have you been reading?

Unfortunately, my life has reached a level of busyness that has rendered me almost too busy to read. What??? I didn't think it was possible.

I used to tell people that insisted that they were too busy to read that it would never happen to me. I have my priorities! But I'm struggling these days to get through a book in two weeks, sneaking in a few minutes of reading here and there wherever I can. What is the world coming to?

I have discovered two series that I'm enjoying.

I've started reading Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series. Click here to visit Kelley's website.

The first book in the series is Bitten. It tells the story of Elena, the only female werewolf in the world, and her attempt to live a normal human life. Trouble in the werewolf pack draws her back into the supernatural world and into danger...

I'm currently reading the second book, Stolen.

The other series that I've discovered is Nora Robert's Circle Trilogy. Click here to visit Nora's website.

The first book in the series is Morrigan's Cross. It begins in medieval Ireland with the sorcerer Hoyt battling the vampyre Lilith, but the action quickly moves to modern-day New York where we meet the beautiful and powerful witch Glenna. Hoyt and Glenna are charged by the goddess Morrigan to assemble an army to fight the vampyres and rescue humankind from annihilation...

I'll soon be heading to my library to borrow the second book in the series, Dance of the Gods.

Have you got any new favourite books lately? Any authors that I should be looking out for?

Happy reading :)

Happy Birthday to me!

2011-08-26T08:26:00.000+10:00

Let's have a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday", shall we?

I turned 40 this week.

I'm more than OK with being 40. The last ten years have been a roller coaster of ups and downs. I'm physically and mentally healthier and stronger than I was at 30. I'm happier. And I have more skills to face the inevitable difficulties of life. I know how to look after myself now.

Here I am on the morning of my 40th birthday. Not too shabby eh?

I chose this outfit because I thought it would take me through work at the library, maths tutoring in the afternoon and then on to dinner. Yes, I had a busy day!

Note the use of black opaque stockings. Please send fake tan advice so that I'll be able to ditch the tights as the weather gets warmer!

Those closest to me know me well. I'm not the sort of girl who likes to receive practical gifts for my birthday. No siree! It's luxury all the way for me.

My beautiful sister got me this ring. Love, love, love it! I've worn it every day since I received it.

My wonderful husband and kids got me this perfume. Likewise, I love, love, love it and have worn it every day.

We went out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant. It's a family friendly place with generous servings.

Check out my dinner. Chicken with prawns and asparagus, served on a bed of fried potato and smothered with a creamy Worcestershire sauce. I didn't bother counting the points.

Here are the kids hamming it up with their meals.

Oh yes, that is a car behind Alana. Don't worry, there wasn't a nasty accident involving a car driving into the restaurant. The restaurant has a theme and displays cars and car memorabilia.

Here's Chris and I looking happy.

And here's my dessert. Or what's left of it. Raspberry creme brulee...yummy!

I'm such a fortunate girl. Blessed. And even though I haven't got life all worked out yet, I'm looking forward to the next 40 years! Bring it on!

Things to see and do in London - Part 1

2011-08-22T19:56:00.000+10:00

I'm trying to make some progress on the trip planning front.

First task: make a list of all the things that we want to see and do in London.

Accommodation in London is frightfully expensive and our current trip itinerary has us staying there for 5 nights before we travel on to Paris. I've been encouraged to decide if we really need to stay that long!

Here is Part 1 of my list of places to see and things to do in London. They are in no particular order; but I have provided a link to a website for each one so that anyone interested can follow the link to find out more.

Tower of London

Shakespeare's Globe

London Eye

The British Museum

Maritime Museum and Observatory Greenwich

Westminster Abbey

Buckingham Palace

St Paul's Cathedral

There are still many more touristy places of interest so I'll be needing a Part 2 for my list. And I think it's pretty obvious that I'll be able to fill in five days of sightseeing in London no problem at all.

Have you been to any of these places? I'd love your feedback on whether or not they lived up to the hype.

Do you have any suggestions for Part 2 of my list? (Bearing in mind that I already have plenty of ideas!)

I wonder how we'll turn a huge wish list into a manageable itinerary?

And if our whole holiday is this action-packed, I wonder how tired we'll be when we get back!

I still here

2011-08-18T20:50:00.000+10:00

I still here.

So busy running from one place to the next, no time to actually sit and think and process what I'm thinking. I find that this sitting and thinking and processing is what leads to blog posts. Without the sitting and thinking and processing, I don't know what I want to write. Wouldn't have a clue.

Here's a photo for your viewing pleasure. Last Saturday night Chris and I went to a friend's 40th birthday party.

Here we are all ready to go to the party! Aren't we a handsome couple ;)

We had heaps of fun and did that thing where you hold out your phone in front of you to get a photo with your friends.

So, yeah, that's all I got.

2011-08-12T08:21:00.000+10:00

It's been a busy week.

Last Sunday we visited the travel agent. We sat down with a lovely travel consultant named Katherine and outlined our "World Tour 2012" plans. A couple of days later she got back to us with her initial proposal covering our flights and some accommodation in London, Paris and Orlando, Florida. Exciting! It's wonderful to have moved beyond the wishing and hoping and on to the actual planning!

I've worked a lot of hours this week between my time at the library and my teaching. I've been busy, also doing my bit to keep the house and family afloat, but I've been happy. The library work is going really well and I'm doing my best to make such a good impression that I'll be offered more work once my current block finishes.

Now that I'm at a healthy weight, I've been steadily building up my wardrobe. I'm really enjoying being able to fit into anything I like, and I'm trying to hold myself back from going the "mutton dressed as lamb" route. I see all these cute little dresses and tops - and I can actually fit into them - and sometimes I forget that I'm not 18 years old any more! I need to take a good, hard look at myself in the mirror to be sure that what I'm buying is "age appropriate".

What do you think? Are there rules for dressing at (almost) 40? No bare midriffs, obviously, besides, no amount of weight loss will ever get my stomach back into midriff-baring shape! What about skirt length? I'm only 5'2" and I find that above-the-knee works best. And what about hosiery? My legs aren't fat, but they're snow white and have a few veins and a bit of cellulite. If I'm going to wear a short skirt, black opaque tights are my best friend. But come summer, I'll need to ditch the leg-wear. Does anyone know of a fake tan product that works miracles?

I've been meaning to take some photos of myself in some of my new clothes, but I just haven't found the time. Soon, I promise.

So, what have you been up to?

Pictures as Promised

2011-08-06T11:04:00.000+10:00

I just got home from the hairdresser. Look how prettiful my hair is now!

I tried to take a full length photo so you could see me wearing my new "leather" jacket. Sorry, the picture quality is hopeless.

I ran the picture through one of the filters on Instagram to see if I could improve it a little.

In other news, I'm heading to the shopping mall tomorrow to pick up a few new items of clothing and visit the Travel Agent...

Random Bits and Pieces

2011-08-05T19:34:00.000+10:00

I'm finally getting my hair cut and coloured tomorrow. It's long overdue. I know I'll feel fabulous once I'm all primped and preened! If you're very lucky, I'll post a picture sometime over the weekend.
I've got a new leather jacket. It's fake, but I don't care. It's dark brown and cropped with a little gather at the shoulders and ever so cute! If you're very, very lucky then I might post a picture of my hair in which I'm wearing my jacket.
I've totally given up Cityville. I'm now addicted to Spider Solitaire. I also haven't played Hanging with Friends for ages. Spider has totally taken over my life.
I'm thinking of trying a different browser after reading that users of Internet Explorer have the lowest average IQ's of all the browser options. That doesn't sit too well with me, so I'm going to try another one. Recommendations?

Success!

2011-08-03T19:21:00.000+10:00

Today I had a fairly unhappy customer at the information desk.

"Well, I've only got a minute, I've got a train to catch!" she started. Not a good start for me. I may have possibly felt just a little teeny tiny bit of pressure to be very quick with my help!

She slumped into the chair I offered her. "I've never used libraries until the last couple of days and since then I've had nothing but trouble." Oh dear. A new student, unfamiliar with the library, feeling unenthused about what help I'll be able to offer. Now I have to be not only quick, but brilliant!

She was actually a lovely girl. Just not feeling confident and happy about using the library. We had a chat, I showed her a couple of things, and lo and behold when she got up to leave she said,

"Thanks. You've actually been really helpful."

And she smiled. And walked away with a bit of a bounce in her step.

It makes this "baby librarian" very, very proud.

Sending the love to my blogging buddies

2011-08-01T20:32:00.000+10:00

I love you guys!

I so much enjoy being part of the blogging community. I love my blogging buddies!

For this reason, I hate it when I get slack about posting. I hate to think that my blog is not regularly bobbing up to the top of your Google reader. I hate to think that you might start to forget about me!

For the next seven weeks I'll be working 20 hours per week at the library as well as continuing my private maths and music tuition business. So work wise, I'm going to be busy!

It's important to me that during this time I continue to be the best wife and mum that I can be. Especially important to me is that I am really "present" when I'm with my family. The best way I know to show my husband and children love is to give them attention; to really listen to them talk about their day, give them eye contact and hugs, and to "read between the lines" for what they need but they're not saying.

Because it's term time, my children are busy. They both go to academically selective schools and get quite a bit of homework. They also have always been very keen on after school activities and so we do a lot of running around six days a week.

My husband is a fabulously hard worker. He works full time, coaches a junior football team and picks up the slack when "mum's taxi" needs a hand. When I'm teaching in the evenings he makes sure that everything in our home runs smoothly. He spends his "free time" working on the house, which he has been renovating bit by bit for the last couple of years.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I won't always be very regular with posting on this blog. But I'll still be thinking of you all. I'll also stilll be visiting your blogs regularly and I'll try to leave comments every now and again so that you know I'm still alive!

Love and hugs to you all out there in blog land!

When is a cold the flu? With added Taylor Swift, Hamish and Andy!

2011-07-29T10:02:00.000+10:00

I've had the flu. Or something. I never know at what point to stop saying that I've got a cold and start calling it the flu.

I've had four days of fevers, headaches, muscle aches, sore throat, blocked/runny nose, sensitive stomach and fatigue. I spent most of my time wrapped in a blanket on the recliner in front of the TV. So I'm calling it the flu.

I've passed it on to Alana because I'm just a caring and sharing kind of Mum. Boo to me :(

Now I'm feeling better. Not "better" as in "well", but "better" as in "able to face the washing up and even thinking of leaving Alana for an hour or so to do some much needed grocery shopping". Better.

Last night Hamish and Andy's Gap Year premiered and it was pretty funny. But what I really enjoyed was their Taylor Swift interview. We all know that Taylor is a great singer and songwriter, and if you've ever seen her interviewed you'll know that she's a sweetheart :) What we learn from her appearance on the Hamish and Andy show is that she's smart and funny too!

Moving on and New Clothes

2011-07-23T16:54:00.000+10:00

What's new at my place? I've been wearing some new clothes. Because my old clothes don't fit me any more!

I got Alana to take this photo of me. I'm wearing her jeans. Gotta love that, wearing your thirteen-year-old daughter's jeans! It's cold, so I'm also wearing socks and boots; and a singlet, long purple top, and a cardigan buttoned up. I also need a hair cut and colour, but that's another story.

I'm now trying to quickly build up a good basic wardrobe of things that fit so I can add to it as I go along. Alana came shopping with me today and we had a good laugh in the fitting room together. I'm going to be working four days a week at the library starting Monday week, so I need a reasonable selection of "work" clothes. It's not as fun as shopping for just any clothes that I love, but taking Alana along certainly helps. I only have a limited budget, so I have to shop smart and get things that work together and look professional without being overly dressy. I tried on a grey dress that Alana and I named "the prison uniform" today. It was just awful! I'll be steering clear of anything that will make students too frightened to approach me at the library information desk!

I'm not quite at my goal weight yet. The last 4-5 kgs (10 pounds) seem to be hard, and slow, to shift. But I'm not focussing so much on the numbers any more. It's more about feeling good and (I hope) looking good.

I feel like I'm ready to move on from the chapter in my life in which I'm focussing a lot on weight loss. I'm sticking with Weight Watchers, I'm still tracking my foods and exercise, I'm not falling off the wagon! I'm just not going to spend so much time thinking about it any more. I have a family to love, work, and a holiday to plan! I don't want to get stuck in the rut of being all about the number on my scale.

How about you? How are you travelling on your journey?

Click the button to visit Brandy and link up for "Fat Ass Friday".

Big Plans

2011-07-20T15:35:00.000+10:00

Did you know that the earliest that you can confirm flight bookings is 330 days before travel?

And since my family is planning a five week overseas holiday for June/July 2012 it is not long until I can start booking flights?

Hooray!

I have started working out a couple of tentative itineraries for what I like to call my "World Tour 2012".

Here are some pictures to give you some clues...

All that in just five weeks? Well I didn't say that we were going to get much rest!

Once I go to see my travel agent and talk $$$ I'll know more about what we can and cannot do. Although I have kind offers of accomodation at two of our planned destinations, I still have airfares/train fares/car hire to consider; accomodation at some of the most expensive places on earth (sob!); and of course we'll need to eat! Some of the places we'd like to visit also have attractions with hefty entry fees. I may have to scale back our plans and spend longer with kind friends (!), ultimately having a more relaxing holiday but seeing less. Isn't it horrible to have to be sensible some times!

I'll keep you posted...

2011-07-16T13:19:00.000+10:00

It's been over a week since I posted. I totally suck.

What have I been doing? Not much.

The kids have been on school holidays. We've done a bit of this and a bit of that.

I'm still sticking with Weight Watchers and I'm nearly at my goal. I've only got about 4.4 kgs to go!

I've just found out that I've got four or five weeks work (twenty hours a week) at the library! This is awesome for me. It's just enough work; five hour shifts (during school hours!) four days a week. Could it be more perfect? I'm very much looking forward to actually feeling like I'm part of the team. So far I've only worked two shifts, a month apart, and both have been during the quiet time after the semester has finished. Each time I've met new people who have to be introduced to me as "the new casual librarian". Each time there's not much to do, and while it's always nice to be paid to sit behind a desk and look pretty (!), it will be fabulous to go in to work each day and have the library buzzing with students at the beginning of the new semester. I'll learn so much more about the job from actually doing it under normal circumstances. I'm sure that some days I'll be run off my feet or make a mistake or be asked a question that I can't answer and feel foolish. But I don't think there's anything for it, I've just got to "sink or swim" so to speak!

I'm soooo looking forward to tomorrow! It's Chris' 40th and we've got a fabulous afternoon and evening planned. We're going to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and then having dinner at an Italian restaurant afterwards. It should be wonderful!

I'm going to link this post up with Brandy's Fat Ass Friday even though I've only briefly mentioned weight loss :)

Click on the button to visit Brandy.

The Montmaray Journals by Michelle Cooper

2011-07-07T10:00:00.000+10:00

A little while ago I blogged about some books that I was less than impressed with. Books that sucked me in with pretty covers and intriguing "blurbs" but didn't live up to their promise.

Today I'm going to tell you about some books that I absolutely adore!

Sophie FitzOsborne lives in a crumbling castle in the tiny island kingdom of Montmaray, along with her tomboy younger sister Henry, her beautiful, intellectual cousin Veronica, and Veronica's father, the completely mad King John.

When Sophie receives a leather-bound journal for her sixteenth birthday, she decides to write about her day-to-day life on the island. But it is 1936 and the world is in turmoil. Does the arrival of two strangers threaten everything that Sophie holds dear?

From Sophie's charming and lively observations to a nailbiting, unputdownable ending, this is a book to be treasured.

Forced to leave their island kingdom, Sophie FitzOsborne and her eccentric family take shelter in England. Sophie's dreams of making her debut in shimmering ballgowns are finally coming true, but how can she enjoy her new life when they have all lost so much?

Aunt Charlotte is ruthless in her quest to see Sophie and Veronica married off by the end of the Season, Toby is as charming and lazy as ever, Henry is driving her governess to the brink of madness, and the battle of wills between Simon and Veronica continues. Can Sophie keep her family together, when everything seems to be falling apart?

An enticing glimpse into high society, the cut and thrust of politics as nations scramble to avert world war, and the hidden depths of a family in exile, struggling to find their place in the world.

Before Alana's birthday, I wandered the aisles of a large bookstore, poring over the Young Adult section. There, amongst the thousands of black and red covers, (vampires anyone?), I found these two books. Enticing covers - check. Intriguing blurbs - check. I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best, noting that a third book was still to come.

I needn't have worried. These books, by Australian author Michelle Cooper, are brilliant!

If you have ever enjoyed historical fiction, you'll love these books. If you appreciate the gentle irony of Jane Austen, then you'll love the voice of our narrator, Sophie. Honestly, some of the passages are so delicious that I found myself reading them out loud to Alana, even though she'd already read them herself!

The author assures me (via her blog) that she is "madly typing" the final chapters of Montmaray Three as we speak. Unfortunately, it won't be out in Australia until next year (so long to wait!).

The first two are out in the US now. Their covers might look a little different, so keep your eyes peeled. I highly recommend these books for both young adult readers and their mothers. In fact, I think any adult reader would enjoy these books.

Love, love, love :)

A new me from the ground up!

2011-07-02T09:50:00.000+10:00

Current weight: 63.1 kg

Goal weight: 57 kg

Only 6.1 kg to go!!!

I really need to take a few pictures of myself to show me in all my slim and healthy glory! I need a new profile pic too. Otherwise, if you ran into me in the street, you might not recognise me!

First I need to buy me a new wardrobe of clothes. I need to start from the ground up, and when I say the ground up I really mean it. Not only do I need some new "foundation garments" (bras and undies), I even need a new boob!

I'm a breast cancer survivor and I wear a mammary prosthesis. A fake boob that I slip inside a special pocket in my bra. Since losing weight, my surviving breast has shrunk in proportion to the rest of me, so I've been feeling a bit uneven.

So look out world! With only 7 weeks and 3 days until my 40th birthday, I'm nearly ready to unleash the new and improved Fiona on the world!

Click on the button to visit Brandy for "Fat Ass Friday".

Waiting Sucks

2011-07-01T08:23:00.000+10:00

I was so looking forward to Sunday 26th June.

Why?

Last season I bought each episode from iTunes the morning after it showed on pay TV here in Oz. Which was very soon after it aired in the States. So all was good. Each week I got my fix and stayed up to date with True Blood related gossip on the interwebs.

Monday morning I checked iTunes. Nothing.

Tuesday I checked the Aussie pay TV program for signs of Season 4. Nothing.

Wednesday I posted a question to the True Blood page on Facebook. Someone replied telling me she had downloaded the episode (I assume illegally) because she couldn't wait. More power to her. I don't know where to go to download it illegally. I'm that lame :(

Today it's Thursday, and still no sign of True Blood Season 4 Episode 1. Boo :(

In happier news, can't wait for July 17th! It's my hubby's 40th and we have tickets to see...

Yay! If I can't have my vampires, then at least I can have my wizards :)

Sometimes I suck, but sometimes it's blogger's fault

2011-06-29T13:02:00.000+10:00

You may be thinking that I've been a bit slack on the blogging front lately. Not many posts. Not many comments left on the blogs that I follow.

Well it's true. Sometimes I suck. I get lazy and don't take the time to blog.

But the commenting thing. Sometimes that's Blogger's fault. Sometimes I get stuck on your comment form on an endless loop that keeps asking me to sign in to my Google account. I bet that happens to some of you guys too.

I'm still visiting and reading your blogs.

And when inspiration strikes, I'll be sure to write it here.

My heart

2011-06-27T12:54:00.000+10:00

Now that's what I'm talking about!

Winter sunshine and family. A weekend in the country. Fresh air and food and wine and the most beautiful country house in the world.

My heart is full!

This photo makes my heart smile. My two beautiful children, my brother's three beautiful children and my sister's three beautiful children. All is right in the world.

It was brilliant for Josh to have a weekend of unstructured time to just play!

Alana and the bigger girls got all artistic and created a fantastic picture of the farm.

Am I not the luckiest Aunty in the world? Feeling the love :)

In which I talk about work and my desire to have a house cleaner

2011-06-16T16:37:00.000+10:00

I bet you've all been wondering what I'm doing for work these days!

For two years, 2009 and 2010, I was busy studying for my Master of Education (Teacher Librarianship). In fact, my studies were what led me to start this blog. If you're feeling all nostalgic, you can click here and read my very first post!

All the while, I was working from home, tutoring high school students in Mathematics and teaching Flute and Music Craft (music theory).

Once I finished my Masters, I started looking for work in a library. So what's been happening?

I recently starting working casually as an Information Services Officer at a University Library near me. Yay!

This is actually the real library in which I work!

The job involves sitting at the Information Desk and waiting for patrons to come and ask questions. It's pretty much my dream job, apart from the fact that I'm only getting one shift per month at the moment and have to wait for someone to go on sick leave/maternity leave/long service leave to get more work. Should that happen, there would certainly be more involved than just manning the Information Desk, but it would all revolve around helping to connect Library users with the information that they need.

I also have a job interview on Monday for a year's full time (maternity leave) work as a librarian in a smaller academic library. So things are progressing on the career front.

What would be lovely would be for me to become securely installed in a permanent position so that I could stop looking. That would be a relief. I'd also love to give up the maths tutoring/music teaching. It's not that I don't love my students. It's not that I don't enjoy teaching them. It's just that my work hours are between 4pm and 8:30pm on weekdays and I just don't enjoy working at that time. Firstly, I find it hard, after being at home alone all day, to get myself motivated and excited to start work when it feels like everyone else is almost finishing.

Secondly, I'd like to be able to have dinner with the family and then enjoy the evening. As it is, our family is awfully busy after school. The kids have activities and of course homework to complete. I'd like to just come home from work and wrangle with kids activities and homework like a "normal" mum, rather than having students trooping in and out of the house and having to leave Chris to deal with the family.

I also have a confession to make. If I got full time work, I'd feel entitled to pay someone to clean my house!

I don't think I'd need a whole team!

Wouldn't that be just bliss! I'm not very good at housework and I don't take pride in it, but I would looooove to have a really clean house. I think it would be divine!

So what do you do for work? Are you in your dream job? And do you have a house cleaner?!?

Midwinter Malaise

2011-06-15T10:00:00.000+10:00

Do you find that the weather has a big effect on your mood?

At my place it's winter, and I mean WINTER. It has been cold and miserable and it has rained A LOT. It hasn't been the cold that has bothered me particularly. I can appreciate a beautiful winter's day as much as the next person. But it has been so dark and wet! I need sunshine to feel my best.

So I'm going to blame my blogging slump on midwinter malaise.

Winter at my place hasn't looked pretty. There have been no postcard pictures.

THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN NOWHERE NEAR MY HOUSE

Winter at my place has looked grey and dreary.

This is the view from my front door. Notice the water pooling on the lawn.

All the rain has made it impossible to dry the laundry. I don't like to put clothes in the dryer if they are marked do not tumble dry. This means that I have wet washing EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME.

I do have drying racks, but in this weather the clothes take a LONG time to dry on them, even inside. I don't use heating in the house during the day, so not only do I sit around wearing cardigans, jackets and sometimes even scarves (!) inside the house, but my washing just hangs there, limp and damp, for days on end.

No wonder I've been escaping to the shops for central heating and to cheer myself up by spending money!

Also (while I'm having a whinge I might as well get it all out!) the cold, wet weather has been making me so hungry! I can't tell you how many cups of tea I drink during the day to keep me going, and I've been craving hearty, warming foods. A bit of sunshine would go a long way towards lifting my mood!

How's the weather at your place?

What I'm...

2011-06-14T10:57:00.000+10:00

...wearing

Skinny jeans!

...reading

a brief history of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper.

...watching

Downton Abbey.

The Fallen Novels by Lauren Kate

2011-06-07T09:48:00.000+10:00

Some angels are destined to fall.

Instant. Intense. Weirdly familiar...The moment Luce looks at Daniel she knows she has never felt like this before. Except she can't shake the feeling that she has...and with him - a boy she doesn't remember ever setting eyes on.

Will her attempt to find out why enlighten her - or destroy her?

Love never dies...

It took Lucinda an eternity to find her beloved angel, Daniel. But he waited for her. Now they are forced apart again, to protect Luce form the Outcasts - immortals who want her dead. During their separation, Luce learns about her mysterious past lives. But the more she discovers, the more she suspects that Daniel is hiding something.

What if Daniel's version of the past isn't true? Is it really their destiny to be together? Or is Luce actually meant to be with somebody else?

I absolutely love the cover art used on these books! I must admit that it was a major factor in my decision to buy them. The blurb further intrigued me so I was sold.

The premise of Fallen fascinated me, but the execution disappointed me. I think that the author had a fantastic idea and that she could have done so much better with it. I know, I'm not an author. I have no idea how hard it is to write a novel. Obviously this book has sold a lot of copies. People love it. But for me, Fallen failed to live up to its potential.

I enjoy reading fantasy. A major factor in my enjoyment is the author's ability to create a setting and mythology that results in a fully realised world in which the action takes place. While reading Fallen, I couldn't help feeling that the author had not successfully communicated her vision of the world in which Lucinda and Daniel live. I felt that I had to join a lot of dots myself. In fact, I had to use my intuition so much that I sometimes wondered if the author herself had actually thought it all through. There's nothing that dampens my enjoyment of a book more than wondering if the author actually knows what's going on while I'm reading!

I'd already bought Torment, so I soldiered on. And was pleasantly surprised. Torment was a big improvement on Fallen. I actually felt that the author had gotten her act together and knew where she was going with it!

Passion is due to be released June 14 2011. I'm tempted to buy it simply because I already have the other two and it will complete the set. However I usually only buy books that I really love, and I've got to admit that buying Fallen and Torment was an impulse and a mistake. What to do?

Sweet Treats

2011-06-03T14:38:00.000+10:00

Click the button to visit Brandy and play along!

Current weight: 66.5 kg

Goal weight: 57 kg

9.5 kg to go!

I only lost 0.4 kg this week, but that's ok by me. Now that I'm getting closer to my goal, I understand that my weight loss rate will slow down. As long as I'm still losing I'm happy!

I've been really enjoying my cooking lately. I think it's because I'm focussing on eating fresh fruit and vegetables and protein sources such as fish, lean meat and chicken. I'm not relying on processed or packaged foods which are generally "too expensive" in terms of WW points. I'm enjoying experimenting with different ways to prepare vegetables and salads, using herbs for flavour and trying new combinations.

I've also been making some desserts. It's nice to be able to have a sweet treat now and then, and at least if I make my own from scratch I know exactly what has gone into it and I can count the points accurately.

This Chocolate and Meringue Torte is a WW recipe. It only had 5 points per serve! I enjoyed flexing my cooking muscles a bit separating the eggs and beating the meringue until it was glossy :)

This Pear and Raspberry Bread was not a WW recipe but it was a real hit with all the family. Delicious served warm with some custard!

Have you been cooking differently since you started on your weight loss journey? What have been your most successful recipes?

Bad Weather and Spending Too Much

2011-06-01T14:03:00.000+10:00

It's been raining an awful lot at my place, which I know is nothing compared to the tornados that some of my blogging buddies have been suffering. But I have been feeling a bit housebound and the wet washing has been piling up!

I escaped the house to engage in a little "retail therapy" today. For me, shopping is only fun if I'm spending money. The more the better. Boy do I love spending money!

For a while now, Josh's bedroom has been a complete disaster area. Chris and I have decided to try to address it by getting him some new bedroom furniture.

This is the bedroom suite we have ordered for Josh, except we have chosen to get it in all white. We've also ordered a small wardrobe with some hanging space and shelves. We are getting it on an "interest free plan". I'm well aware that you must be very careful with these plans; you pay nothing up front and have small monthly repayments and it all feels so easy. But if you don't pay off more than the minimum monthly repayment you get into trouble when the interest free period ends and suddenly you're being charged a bajillion per cent on the balance owing. Lucky I'm so sensible and this will not happen to me :)

We're also going to repaint, so we've allowed Josh to look at some paint charts. He likes the look of a high voltage orange called "Energy". Believe me, this boy does not need anything that looks like Fanta in his bedroom! We already have trouble getting him to go to sleep before us at night. Seriously, Chris and I are having trouble finding "special mummy and daddy time" because I'm usually asleep before Josh is.

We're also letting Alana pick some colours to repaint her room, especially after she told us that she felt like "the less favoured child" when we were picking out Josh's furniture.

I love picking out colours, but Chris has long given up on the idea of me actually doing anything helpful like painting. But it's super fun to look through paint charts and I tend to get a bit over-excited and imagine buying all new bed linen and curtains and lamps and throw cushions and... you get the idea!

I may also have "accidently" bought myself a couple of books. And visited the library to borrow a few more. What can be better than curling up with a good book when it's cold and rainy outside?

I couldn't resist Charlaine Harris' latest Dead Reckoning today.

It's the latest in the Sookie Stackhouse series which has been re-imagined as the True Blood TV series. Speaking of which, I believe it's only 23 days until the new series starts! But who's counting...

So, how's the weather at your place?

Done any shopping lately?

Rocking the Vampire Uniform

2011-05-27T08:31:00.000+10:00

I'm baa-ack!

Participating once again in the fabulous Brandy's Fat Ass Friday.

You should click on the button and visit Brandy as soon as you've finished reading this post ;)

Goal weight: 57 kg

Current weight: 66.9 kg

Counting down: 9.9 kg to go!

I've been starting to think about the clothes that I'm going to buy when I've reached my goal weight. I'm planning on maintaining and never gaining it back, so I want to buy stuff that I really love and that makes me feel great.

I know exactly the look that I'll be going for. This blog http://www.youknowyoulovefashion.com/ that I've just discovered calls it "the vampire uniform" of fitted jacket, understated tee and tight, dark pants. In other words, I'll be looking like a mixture of Caroline, Elena and Katherine from The Vampire Diaries.

Here's Caroline wearing "vampire at a picnic"! Love everything except the boots.

Elena wearing "doppleganger at the vampire sacrifice chic".

And Katherine looking "just plain sexy vampire".

And don't get me started on the dress that Elena wears to the funeral.

I. Need. This. Dress.

So watch out world. Coming soon - Fiona rocks the vampire uniform!

A nifty knitter

2011-05-18T14:42:00.000+10:00

I've gone all crafty.

The weather's gone cold and I like a scarf. It's so easy to add a bit of colour and movement to the plainest of outfits by adding a scarf. Not to mention the added advantage of keeping your neck warm.

I've been toying with the idea of knitting myself a scarf for a week or two, but what gave me the final nudge was when Alana got her knitting out.

Alana and her friend had to write and perform a duologue for a school assignment. They wrote a charming and humorous piece featuring two grandmothers discussing how kids have changed since they were young. It featured such lines as "Is that Helen from Bingo?" and "It looks like he won his drivers license in a raffle!". They even had props.

Hence, the knitting.

Seeing the needles and the wool pushed me over the edge. I just had to go and get myself some wool and get knitting!

I will admit, I had to Youtube "casting on knitting" because I'd forgotten how, but I seem to be going swimmingly now.

I'm actually pretty impressed, the brand of wool that I picked up from Big W has a website with lots of patterns. Go here http://www.seansheep.com/ to see for yourself.

Here's the thing. I didn't have the correct size needles at home so I just used the ones I've got. I just figured that when it comes to a scarf, near enough should probably be good enough. Fingers crossed!

The other thing is that the pattern I'm following has me purling and knitting in a pattern which is supposed to make a sort of ribbed pattern down the scarf. It looked good in the picture online. On my scarf, not so much. I'm really trying to count my stitches carefully and I don't think I'm making mistakes. I wonder why I can't see the pattern? Not that I mind too much, I'm not exactly an expert knitter, I'll be glad to have a scarf that turns out the right size and shape! But I am a little bit disappointed that I'm taking the trouble to follow the pattern and nothing's happening. Advice anyone?

About love and self-acceptance

2011-05-12T09:19:00.000+10:00

This post is inspired by the episode of Glee that aired in Australia last night. Episode 18 of Series 2 - the Lady Gaga "Born this Way" episode. If you're in Australia, you can watch it here.

If you're not a Gleek, let me fill you in. The episode was about self-acceptance. It was about celebrating the things that make you unique, and realising that the things about yourself that you struggle with might turn out to be your greatest strengths.

When I decided to join Weight Watchers and set a goal to lose weight, it was not because I did not love and accept myself. It took me a long time to commit to weight loss because I got a little bit confused about the relationship between self-acceptance and wanting to lose weight. I thought for a long time that making a consistent effort to change my body was a rejection of myself. It took me a while to sort it out in my own mind and to realise that I wanted to change not because I hated myself but because I loved myself.

In the Glee episode, Emma struggles with owning the fact that her Anxiety and OCD, rather than being a quirk of personality, is a mental illness that is holding her back from being the person that she was born to be. Loving herself means accepting that she has this illness, but not accepting that she has to stay sick. The best way that she can love herself is by seeking help to get better.

In a similar way, my weight was not just a case of being born "big boned"! I had a high percentage of body fat, making me much less healthy and more susceptible to life-threatening diseases. By getting help to make a change, I am doing the best possible thing to love myself.

I know that there can be a fine line sometimes between self-acceptance and loving yourself by making a change. I understand that sometimes it's hard to the difference. Society often gives us mixed messages about what parts of ourselves are acceptable and which parts need to change. But I'd like to leave you with a special message...

All of you is acceptable exactly the way you are. More than acceptable. Wonderful! If you decide to make a change, do it because you love yourself right now, and know that the change will help you to be the best you that you can be.

I won't love myself any more than I do now when I reach my goal weight. Because I already love myself completely. I am awesome! I'm losing weight because I love myself so much that I want to be as healthy as I can be. I want to be around for a long long time so that the world gets to experience my awesomeness for as long as possible.

If you find this post inspiring, please share it. And maybe you can let someone know that you love and accept them just as they are today. Even if that person is you.

Mi Casa es Su Casa = My house is your house

2011-05-10T16:26:00.000+10:00

Ever since I started working on my crazy plan to take my family on an overseas adventure next year I've been wondering something.

How does the "typical" house vary from country to country?

You see, I'm cunningly planning for my family to live in real people's houses when we travel rather than stay in hotels. And I'm offering that if anyone that I get to know over the interwebs would like to visit Australia, I will happily allow them to stay at my place and will especially enjoy showing them around a little.

Whenever the idea of house-swapping comes up, or the concept of hosting visitors from overseas, everyone starts to get a little bit nervous. What if my house is too small, too messy, doesn't have a nice enough yard, isn't decorated elegantly enough or is located in an entirely boring area totally bereft of interesting tourist attractions?

What if my guests cut their stay short or move to a hotel because they can't possibly live in the hovel that I call my home? What if they cancel their plans to let me stay at their place because one look at mine has demonstrated that I'm "not their sort of person"?

Every insecurity about our homes seems magnified when faced with the prospect of opening it up to people from another country because we're not always sure what is considered "normal" or "acceptable" in their homeland when it comes to living arrangements.

Firstly I'd like to say that when it comes to being hosted overseas my family will be easily pleased. We are excited about the opportunity to see new things, meet new people and learn about other countries and we're not at all fussed about staying anywhere fancy. As far as we're concerned, our accomodation will simply be somewhere to lay our head at night; a "home base" from which to explore our surroundings. We are extremely grateful to the people who have offered to host us, and it is their company and conversation that we are looking forward to, not a king-size bed and back yard swimming pool!

I'll share with you a little bit about my house so you will know where I'm coming from.

I live in a single story house on a 700 square metre (7500 square foot) block of land in a quiet suburb. My house has four bedrooms, one of which we use as a study, a lounge room, dining room, kitchen, laundry and bathroom. Chris has undertaken a couple of renovations, one of which extended the kitchen to give us a "family room" or "eat in kitchen". The other was to convert our garage to a games room in which lives a couple of lounge chairs, a desk and computer, a big screen TV and the Wii and Playstation.

My house is not nearly as big or fancy as some others in my suburb, but it's enough for us. If I had one thing I'd like to improve it, it would be an ensuite bathroom for Chris and I. Also, I wish all our furniture wasn't second hand and that we had new carpet! Also the garden could do with a bit of a makeover! All in all, however, I'm satisfied with what we've got.

I'd love to hear a little bit about your house and how it compares to others in your area. Are you looking to upgrade, downsize, renovate?

I'm not going to bother with a linky because I'm not anticipating a flood of responses, but if you do post about your house then let me know by leaving me a comment.

Fat Ass Friday- the fashion edition

2011-05-06T14:04:00.000+10:00

I went shopping yesterday. You know, clothes shopping.

I decided to take everyone's advice and go to Target and look for one inexpensive work outfit to wear to my training day next Friday.

Target have really expanded their work wear range. They have pants in skinny leg, boot leg and wide leg; in three or four different fabrics, in about five different colours. Most of them also come in short, regular or long leg lengths. Then of course they have a bajillion different skirts and quite a few blouses. And one jacket. What???

Now bless their little hearts, the Target customers don't seem to be all that careful about keeping all the different items of clothing in the right place. They seem to just put them back wherever they like once they've taken them off the rack to look at them. And I guess Target don't have enough staff to regularly comb through the racks and tidy them up. Here you can see the librarian in me coming out! Imagine if you went to the library and couldn't find the books you wanted because they'd all been shelved out of order? Frustrating, right?

Anyway...it was quite a gruelling task to find a selection of items to take to the fitting rooms, but I got there eventually.

I don't have all that much stamina for trying on clothes. All this getting into and out of different items, only to discover that you're not the size you thought you were after all, or that "skinny leg" really does have the emphasis on skinny! So then you have to get yourself all presentable, gather up your items, and head back out onto the floor for another round. Too much of that and I'm losing the will to live.

So I'm in the fitting room and can overhear two ladies talking in the next cubicle.

"That's a great colour on you," says one.

"Thanks. I like it, but I think it's too short," says the other.

"Ok, so you're not happy with the length. We'll look for something longer but I think we'll stick with that colour."

Hmmmm... I've got a great imagination, and I'm thinking that it sounds like someone's got a personal stylist with them.

A little later...

"Do you wear dresses often?" says "stylist" to customer.

"Would you believe I don't have any dresses in my wardrobe in the moment."

See, it does sound like a stylist; certainly not a daughter or friend who would know what her mother/friend wears!

And then...

"I'll just go out and get you a larger size in that."

Where, oh where, can I get me one of those helpful shopping ladies? I'd love one! Someone who could honestly tell me what they think of what I'm trying on and could help me search through the racks. They could also pop out and get me a different size if I needed it. I know you can take a friend or family member shopping with you, but they're not always capable of being honest! And I'd feel mean making them run around after me all day!

So, I guess you're wondering if I had any success.

I did come home with a pair of pants.

Sorry about the quality of the photo. Needless to say, I didn't get this blouse which looks like a sack!

Unfortunately I didn't find a blouse that I was happy with. I also tried on a couple of dresses.

The top half of this dress was a bit too voluminous!

I thought this one looked pretty good! I didn't feel really comfortable in it, however, so I didn't get it. Maybe after I've lost a few more kilos.

How are you coping with your changing size and shape?

I am a Librarian... almost

2011-05-04T13:03:00.000+10:00

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go...

Next Friday I'm going to a fabulous library for a training day, in the expectation that, all going well, they will have some work for me in the future. Yay me!

I am not superstitious, so I don't want anyone to point out to me that next Friday is Friday-the-13th!

The library manager rang to personally invite me to come in for a full day of training and is going to be looking after me on the day. She didn't give me much information about the upcoming work that might be available, just indicated that there would be some. I'm taking all this to mean that she wants to get a good look at me in the library environment before she employs me!

Needless to say, this is a great opportunity for me! And just a little bit daunting...

It's exciting to me that the library manager is prepared to put time and energy into training me. I'm thoroughly looking forward to a full day in a workplace that seems to be ideal for me. It will be wonderful to meet the rest of the team and see the variety of daily tasks involved in the job. It will be great to be in a busy, dynamic workplace meeting people. I'm also aware, however, that I will be "on trial". The library manager will surely be watching to see how suitable I am to be employed by her, so I do want to make a good showing.

I'm planning a recon trip to the library to get the lay of the land. I've only been there once before, for an interview, and I didn't see much of the library. I want to walk through the whole place so that I know where everything is. I'm going to watch the library clients to see how busy it is and how the library is used. I'm going to observe the library staff to see what sort of tasks they are undertaking and how much action the reference desk is getting. Can't you just imagine me hiding behind bookshelves eavesdropping on a librarian helping a patron? Just kidding, I would never invade a library patron's privacy that way.

I've also been trying to figure out what to wear.

Of course when I'm on my recon trip I'll check out what the other librarians are wearing. Beyond that, my main problem is that I have nothing that fits me! Having lost 11 kg over the past 12 weeks (yay!), my two pairs of work pants are falling off! I've been on a couple of shopping trips, but I don't want to spend money on nice clothes that might only fit for a short while. I'm still losing weight and figure that I'll drop another couple of dress sizes over the next few months. Advice please!

What else should I do to prepare to wow them next Friday? Any suggestions very welcome.

A New Goal!

2011-04-29T18:32:00.000+10:00

Starting weight: 80.5 kg

Last week's weight: 71.1 kg

Current weight: 70.2 kg

Loss this week: 0.9 kg

Things are going well in the weight loss department. I seem to have conquered my need to constantly check my weight and I don't appear to have plateaued yet!

I have now reached an exciting stage in my Weight Watchers journey. Because I have lost 10% of my weight, I have been given the option to either move on the the maintenance plan or set a new goal weight.

I don't know how it works if you go to meetings, but I like this about the online plan. It means that WW acknowledges the fact that I've lost a significant amount of weight, am much healthier than I was before, and may want to just work on maintaining this loss. I think this would be a perfectly valid choice for lots of people, particularly if the 10% loss had put them within the healthy weight range for their height, or if the loss had taken a long time and they needed a break from losing for a while.

For me however, the healthy weight range is 50 - 62 kg, so I still have a way to go. And the loss hasn't taken very long, only 11 weeks, so I'm still feeling motivated and ready to keep going.

So I've set a new goal: 57 kg

I know it's pretty light (only about 125 pounds) but I'm short and I weighed in the 50-55 kg range when I was first married so I think it's probably do-able.

Onward and upward, or should that be downward?

Now I highly recommend that you click on the button at the top of this post and go visit Brandy at You Don't Know. She has a picture of her toxic toe blister that you just have to see! (She's a runner now.)

Thanks for stopping by!

Anzac Day

2011-04-25T10:31:00.000+10:00

On April 25, 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps - ANZACs) formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied navies. The ultimate objective was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany. It was the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

The Australian and New Zealand forces landed on Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated, after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers had been killed. News of the landing on Gallipoli had made a profound impact on Australians at home, and 25 April soon became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in the war.

It is the day we remember all Australians who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. The spirit of ANZAC, with its human qualities of courage, mateship, and sacrifice, continues to have meaning and relevance for our sense of national identity.

(For more information see http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac-tradition/ )

I believe that Anzac Day has become the most universally significant holiday for Australians because the focus is squarely on our servicemen and women and their courage and sacrifice. There is no glorification of war, nor is there political debate on Australia's part in current conflicts. We pause to reflect and remember.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

Addicted to weighing and trying to avoid the dreaded plateau

2011-04-22T17:05:00.000+10:00

Starting weight: 80.5 kg

Last week's weight: 71.5 kg

Current weight: 71.1 kg

Loss this week: 0.4 kg

I was totally disappointed this week on weigh day. Why? Because a couple of days earlier I weighed myself and got 70.8 kg and I thought I might even get down to 70.5 kg and post a 1 kg loss. Then I got on the scales on "the day" and got 71.1 kg. Boo :(

Now that I've got my fabulous fancy scales I'm getting a little bit addicted to weighing myself. I really should restrict myself to once a week on weigh day only. How often do you weigh?

Now that the weather is getting a bit cooler and less humid here, I've started going for longer walks to amp up my exercise a bit. I've still got quite a lot of weight to lose and I'm concerned that the rate of loss is dropping off and that soon I'm going to plateau. I'm trying a pre-emptive strike of extra exercise to avoid this. I guess I'm concerned that my body will get used to working with less calories and will become more efficient and I'll stop losing weight. Does this happen? Does anyone else out there worry about things like that?

Now I'm going to do a bad, bad thing. I'm guessing that this post might get more traffic than my usual ones due to the fact that I'm linking up with Brandy at You Don't Know. So I'm going to include a link to my last post in the hope that if you're visiting from Brandy's blog, you might click on the link and check it out.

http://readersrandomramblings.blogspot.com/2011/04/you-host-me-and-ill-host-you.html

And if you haven't come from Brandy's blog then you should definitely click on the button at the top of this post and go visit her straight away!

You host me and I'll host you!

2011-04-22T15:06:00.000+10:00

Plans for my World Tour 2012 are underway. The money for airfares is in the bank, so the biggest obstacle has been removed. Hooray!

(It turns out that we have built up a fair bit of equity in our house over the almost sixteen years that we have been paying it off, so the bank was happy to loan us a bit more!)

As you may know, I've been searching for potential house-swappers so as to eliminate the need to pay for accomodation. With accomodation costs minimised, the family and I will be able to holiday for much longer and really have an authentic experience of living in another country, rather than just playing tourist for a short visit.

The good news is...

...two different families in two different countries have offered to host my family! How kind and hospitable and wonderful!

The first family is an older couple who live in England. They are the parents of a very good friend of mine who have a large house in Exeter and have said that they would be glad to have us stay with them! How exciting! I am beginning to investigate things to see and do in both the immediate vicinity and further afield. Of course we'll have to see the sights of London; and I quite fancy getting "Lost in Austen" and my "Potter On".

We're also quite keen on popping over the channel to France! With a bit of luck and good timing, my sister and her family might be in Paris and able to show us around. They are hoping to houseswap with two different families, one in Paris and one in a small town in the Brittany region of France.

But that's not all! One of my blogging buddies who shall remain anonymous has offered us accomodation somewhere in the US! (I'm keeping it a bit mysterious at the moment until all the details are hammered out. It's still over a year until we'll be there and I want to give her every opportunity to back out if she needs to!) The most exciting part about it is that it's not an actual houseswap. She'll be there to host us during our stay! I cannot tell you how excited I am about meeting her in person and being shown around her town! I think we are going to have so much fun and paint the town red!

I'm really, really hoping that I'll be able to repay the hospitality by hosting her and her family one day when she visits Australia. I'm already planning all the things we'll be able to do and all the places I want to take her and things I want to show her! I think that this "you host me and then I'll host you" is soooo much better than an actual houseswap. So much more fun!

So as you can see, I was not kidding when I called my holiday plans my "world tour". We're definitely doing the UK, some of Europe, and some of the US!

Would you like to jump on board?

Would you consider letting my family stay with you next year? We'd happily sleep on mattresses on your floor or even camp in your yard! (We're planning on coming during the northern summer.) Don't make a quick decision. Just think about it. Obviously we'd have to get to know each other well over the next year to make sure that we trust each other. It's not an offer to make lightly. But if you hosted our family on our adventure, we'd be happy to repay the favour by hosting you on your Australian adventure.

I'm so looking forward to your comments!

Happy Birthday Alana!

2011-04-19T09:58:00.000+10:00

My beautiful girl turned 13 yesterday. I'm so proud of her! It's difficult for me to find the words to express how much I love her.

A Discovery of Witches

2011-04-16T14:19:00.000+10:00

If you're a sucker for a vampire (pardon the pun!) then you'll love A Discovery of Witches.

Likewise if you enjoy historical fiction or are interested in the birth of scientific thought.

Diana Bishop is a historian who specialises in the history of science. She's also a witch, descended from a long line of celebrated and powerful witches and wizards on both sides of her lineage. Studying in Oxford to prepare for a keynote address on Alchemy, Diana inadvertently finds a long lost manuscript said to hold the secret of the origin of witches, vampires and daemons.

The discovery of this manuscript puts Diana in grave danger, and as a reluctant witch who has never learned to harness her powers, she needs help to protect herself. Enter a tall, dark stranger...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which I bought as a school holiday treat for myself. I tried hard to ration out my reading time to make it last, but here I am not half-way through the holidays and I've finished it already! I passed it on to Alana because I think she'll enjoy it too.

Much of the action is set in libraries - perfect for me! Along the way, Diana comes into contact with many old and valuable books, and explores them for clues to explain the source of her power and the relationships between witches, vampires, daemons and humans. If you have read Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code etc) and enjoyed his exploration of symbology, then you'll find the discussion of Alchemy and the illustrations and poetry employed by ancient scholars fascinating.

If you've ever fallen in love with an overprotective and morally upstanding vampire (Edward anyone? Stephan?) then you'll truly appreciate Matthew Clairmont. A knight who hunts animals rather than humans and has senses so acute that he can smell what Diana is thinking...what's not to love?

This book is the first of a trilogy and certainly ends leaving you wanting more. Damn that cliffhanger ending!

Attack of the Killer Sausage Rolls

2011-04-15T20:15:00.000+10:00

So I told you all last week about my new scales. I've weighed myself on the old scales and the new scales and I've tried to figure out the difference all mathematically.

New, adjusted starting weight: 80.5 kg

Current weight on whizz-bang scales: 71.5 kg

So, although it looks like I've gained weight since last week's post, let's focus on the big picture and notice that I've lost a total of 9 kg! Yay! And who am I kidding? No-one other than me is really paying that close attention to the numbers anyway.

I feel like I've settled into a reliable routine when it comes to what I'm eating. It feels pretty easy. The problem comes when I have to eat out. Here are some examples:

I managed to offend a relative by refusing her home-made sausage rolls at a family birthday party. They were hors d'oeuvres before the main meal, so it wouldn't have been a big deal that I didn't eat any, except that my mum helpfully said something along the lines of, "That's how you're losing so much weight, Fiona, by not eating things like these sausage rolls!". Helpful. Later when I had a glass of wine with my meal, the sausage roll maker said, "Is wine allowed on your diet?" rather archly. Oooops.

After a family Christening, everyone decamped to the nearest pub for a celebratory light lunch. It was all finger food: crackers with cheese and cabanossi, pies, quiches and sausage rolls (again!), fried chicken pieces and cake. I'm serious, there was not a vegetable in sight, nor a healthy, low-points option. Now I could have just not eaten, but I was hungry because we'd had to leave home about an hour and a half before the Christening to travel. And then the service went for a loooooong time. And I knew I had a long drive home. So I nibbled on a spinach and cheese triangle and half a mini quiche and wished for a glass of wine but didn't want to waste the points on one since I was already eating buttery pastry and cheese.

It's Alana's birthday on Monday. We're going out for dinner with some of her friends to GPK - Gourmet Pizza Kitchen. They have a huge range of toppings so I'm really hoping that I'll be able to find something with lots of vegies that I can relax and enjoy. I know that WW includes extra weekly points for just these sorts of occasions, so I'm hoping to use some of my extras for birthday cake!

How do you manage when you have to eat out?

{This post is part of Brandy at You Don't Know Fat Ass Friday. Click the button at the top of the post to visit Brandy and/or play along.}

The Easter Bunny's Early Arrival

2011-04-11T11:29:00.000+10:00

Even though the title of my most recent post included the words "Yay for shopping!", I don't really enjoy shopping. What I like is buying. Notice the subtle difference?

There's been quite a lot of buying going on at my place lately. We got a little cash injection via the bank to fund some orthodontic work for the kids and our planned holiday overseas next year. And while there's money to be spent, you can be sure that we can find things to spend it on.

We went shopping - the whole family - after Alana's ballet eisteddfod yesterday. We needed some stuff, like new shoes for the kids and new clothes for the husband. So we hit Erina Fair.

The husband likes shopping. He's a browser. We head into a shop with a specific item to get, and before we've taken three steps in the door he's become distracted by something hanging in his eyeline. Or we'll be striding down the mall, headed to a particular shop, and he'll veer off into a store just because something catches his eye! The people that design shopping centres in order to get you to part with as much of your money as possible have really got his number.

Anyway, while we were in KMart, supposedly looking for some new school shoes for Alana, the husband called me over to the home entertainment section. Uh oh. He showed me a Wii package and looked hopefully at me. He's been wanting a Wii for a long time, like since Christmas. He suggested that we ask the children if they'd like a Wii for Easter instead of chocolate.

What's a girl to do? A Wii definitely wasn't on the shopping list. We've got plenty of things to spend our money on that we really need. But the husband works hard and he deserves a treat. So I put on my serious face, found the kids, and put it to them: no chocolate for Easter, but instead a Wii. What do you think they said?

Now it's the first day of the school holidays and the Wii has been on since the crack of dawn. The husband is at work and I am wrangling the fights over turns. I wonder how the kids will feel on Easter morning when there's no chocolate? That's still two weeks away, enough time for them to forget that no chocolate was part of the deal.

Do you enjoy shopping with the family?

New Scales! Yay for shopping!

2011-04-08T19:27:00.000+10:00

Starting weight: 78 kg

Weight last week: 72 kg

Current weight: 70.5 kg

Weight loss this week: 1.5 kg

Guess what? I went shopping yesterday and bought myself a whiz-bang set of digital scales. You know the fancy-pants ones that calculate your body fat percentage, muscle mass, bone density and body water percentage? Yeah, those ones. You are so jealous right now, aren't you? The scales were on special at Myer for $55 down from $149.95. Bargain!

I've tried them out and guess what? My old scales weren't giving me a very accurate weight. Who'da thunk it? So, boo, I'm actually heavier than I thought :( It doesn't take away my weight loss, it just means that I was heavier than I thought at the beginning :( Unless I have a super weight loss week it probably means that I'll show a gain next week because I'll start using the correct measurements.

Now click on the button below and go visit Brandy. I'm posting this even though she hasn't put her Fat Ass Friday post up yet because I know I'm going to be busy tomorrow.

Graduation Roadtrip

2011-04-06T14:58:00.000+10:00

Last week Chris and I took a mini road trip to Wagga for my graduation. Here are some maps to show you where we went. I'm starting with a map of the whole of Australia, then zooming in progressively so you can see our actual route.

It was about five and a quarter hours driving each way, and we only had one night's accomodation, so we didn't really leave time for much in the way of sight-seeing. I think that was a real mistake, as I'd never been to Wagga before. What we should have done was make a week's holiday of it and take the kids with us, but that just didn't seem like a viable option when we were planning. I'd definitely like to go back again.

The countryside that we drove through was what seems to me to be typical Australian farmland. I've enjoyed a fair few family holidays driving through New South Wales, and though I've seen it all before, it never fails to lift my spirits to see it again.

The above photos were taken near Gundagai. We stopped at "The Dog on the Tucker Box" on the way home because I'd never seen it before. Let me tell you a little bit about Gundagai and the dog...

First listen to this popular old bush song, sung by Australian country music legend Slim Dusty.

Now here comes a confession to my lack of Australian historical knowledge.

I knew the song, I knew it well, I'd sung it many times. But I did not know what on earth the dog on the tuckerbox was all about. I'd heard of it, of course. I know that "tucker" is Aussie slang for food, so I know that a tuckerbox is something you keep your food in. I knew that it was a story from Australia's pioneering days. I had some notion in the back of my head that it was a monument to a wonderful, loyal dog who had guarded a drover's food. But I didn't really know.

We got to the dog.

And there I read this poem:

I'm used to punchin' bullock teams across the hills and plains.

I've teamed outback for forty years through bleedin' hail and rain.

I've lived a lot of troubles down, without a bloomin' lie,

But I can't forget what happened just five miles from Gundagai.

'Twas getting dark, the team got bored, the axle snapped in two.

I lost me matches and me pipe, so what was I to do?

The rain it was coming on, and hungry too was I,

And me dog shat in me tucker-box five miles from Gundagai.

Some blokes I know have stacks of luck, no matter where they fall,

But there was I, Lord love a duck, no bloody luck at all.

I couldn't heat a pot of tea or keep me trousers dry,

And me dog shat in me tucker-box five miles from Gundagai.

Now, I can forgive the bleedin' team, I can forgive the rain.

I can forgive the damp and cold and go through it again.

I can forgive the rotten luck, but 'ang me till I die,

I can't forgive that bloody dog, five miles from Gundagai.

Um, what?!?

That's the dog we build a monument to?

Anyway, as to the graduation itself, you can read all about it at my "other" blog here.

Presents

2011-04-05T14:28:00.000+10:00

I'm way overdue in showing you the rest of the contents of the package that Dillypoo sent me. I'm sure she's going to be embarrassed if I make too much of a fuss, but I really wanted to show you all what fabulous stuff she sent me. Waaaaay better than the stuff I sent her!

I looooove this all natural Lavender soap. It smells divine!

Something to put on my toast when I don't feel like Vegemite!

Cute! I'm guessing that the Armadillo is the state animal of Texas :)

Hahaha, I didn't mean to look so serious in this photo!

Lots of books! I've got enough recipes to cook something new every day, I'm practising my Texan twang, and I know just what to see and do when my family visits Texas.

I haven't used this cookie-cutter-in-the-shape-of-Texas yet. It's quite big, so I'd have to make quite a bit of dough to use it!

I have all four of the personalised tags Dillypoo got us on my keys. It makes me smile to see them there!

Last but not least, Dillypoo included a set of cards with pictures of "The Professor"'s artwork. Go here if you're curious and want to find out more!

Many, many thanks to the ever-delightful Dillypoo for all the gifts that she sent. She'll know better next time that international postage is a lot more than domestic!

Fat Ass Friday, again.

2011-04-01T15:41:00.000+11:00

Hey y'all.

Are you getting sick of me saying y'all yet?

Guess what? I went on a road trip this week! To attend my graduation, so I'm now officially a Master of Education, fat lot of good it's doing getting me a job. So yay for me!

Here's a picture of me in my gown, hood and trencher.

I'll write more about my graduation road trip when I get around to it. Anyway, on with the show...

Starting weight: 78 kg
Weight a fortnight ago: 73 kg
Current weight: 72 kg
Weight loss this fortnight: 1 kg

I missed last week's festivities due to package excitement and a Texan Feast.

I still feel like I don't have confidence in the weight loss that I've achieved so far. I feel like I'll step on the scales and suddenly discover that I'm right back where I started. My clothes and the tape measure are telling me that I'm getting slimmer, but I just don't feel like it's really sticking yet. Any of you guys feel the same?

I really wish I had a set of digital scales. I'm doing WW Online, so I weigh at home, and my scales are the old-fashioned dial sort. I can step on them three times and get three different weights. I step on and off about ten times and adjust the little knob to make sure the needle is pointing EXACTLY at zero before I finally record my weight. It's annoying. So if there are any digital scale manufacturers out there reading this, please send me a set and I promise I'll mention your brand and promote it to death!

Thanks for all the encouragement everyone. I love all your comments.

Now click on the button below so you can visit Brandy. While you're there, I recommend watching the video of her Zumba-ing!

Texan Feast - Recipes and Photos - Part 2

2011-03-28T15:56:00.000+11:00

Did you miss Part 1? Check it out here.

Ok, so now everyone's up to speed; a fabulous Texan dinner with the following menu:-

Appetizer

Crackers with Cream Cheese and Jalapeno Jelly

Main

Texas Chili...

So let's continue shall we?

I was worried that the kids would find the Texas Chili too spicy, so I cooked a "pretend chili" for them using mince simmered in Napoletana sauce. I served it with Fettucine. With kids, you can never go wrong with what was basically spaghetti bolognese.

To go with our Chili, I knew we needed something breadlike. The last time I cooked southern food I attempted Biscuits, and they didn't turn out too good, so this time I thought I'd take a crack at Corn Bread.

Luckily Dillypoo sent me this little gem:

Prize-winning recipes!

I chose "Jalapeno Corn Bread" which won Best of Show/Breads at the 1980 State Fair of Texas! I'm sure you can't get any more authentic than that!

Here are the ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal

(For Australians, that is Polenta. It's a little coarser than what Americans call cornmeal, but it's all we can get.)

2/3 cup buttermilk

(Everything Southern I've cooked so far requires buttermilk!)

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp soda

1/3 cup melted shortening

(For Aussies - I used Copha which is vegetable shortening, and also happens to be an ingredient in that children's party favourite - Chocolate Crackles. That's a story for another time.)

4 oz green chilies, finely chopped

(I was a bit scared, so I just used one de-seeded chili.)

1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese

1 cup cream-style corn

And now here's how you make the Corn Bread.

Mix all the ingredients, except for the cheese, in a bowl.

Pour half the batter in greased 9-inch pan. Spread cheese over batter.

Pour remaining batter on top of cheese.

Bake 30-40 minutes in 375 degree oven.

(190 celcius for the Aussies.)

Here it is straight out of the oven. You can see that I look pretty pleased with myself!

So here's our table with the Chili, Corn Bread and Green Salad.

Yum!!!

Now I'm sure you're wondering, what about dessert? Dillypoo also sent my some Praline Pecans. I decided to keep it simple and serve vanilla icecream over which we could sprinkle some of the pecans that I chopped up. I also served some pecans in a little bowl for us to nibble on with our coffee.

Yum!!!

I am so pleased and happy with how the meal turned out! Love and hugs to my sweet friend Dillypoo. And there was still MORE stuff in the box she sent me, but I will have to tell you about that another day!

a reader's random ramblings...

The Hunger Games, the weather, and feeling tired.

Hats, juggling and quiet time

The one in which I quote Harry Potter

An un-quiet month...

Reaching Your Goals in 2012

What are you reading?

Begin with a bang!

Yay for the New Year!

Thankful Thursday

Have you survived Christmas?

Christmas cards...To send or not to send?

Giving Thanks

Doors, windows and jobs.

Oh how pinteresting!

Christmas traditions

An ode to virtual friends

Feeling Un-Festive

One Interesting Thing for January

NaNoWriMo - putting a positive spin on an epic fail!

Catching up

Did losing weight make me a happier person?

Friday Confessional

What I'm Loving

Has a book ever made you cry? Definitely yes.

Confession Time

Thankful

What I'm Loving

Top Ten Books to read during Halloween

Let's catch up!

Confession is Good for the Soul

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The post in which I wish that my kids would go to bed earlier.

It's all happening!

A Confession

Date night!

Happy Birthday Josh

Lurking in the corner? Leave me a comment :)

By the end of this post I feel better

Lost: one woman's mojo

Photos of summer salads

Braving bare legs with body bronzer

Skinny Ass Saturday

Almost too busy to read.

Happy Birthday to me!

Things to see and do in London - Part 1

I still here

Pictures as Promised

Random Bits and Pieces

Success!

Sending the love to my blogging buddies

When is a cold the flu? With added Taylor Swift, Hamish and Andy!

Moving on and New Clothes

Big Plans

The Montmaray Journals by Michelle Cooper

A new me from the ground up!

Waiting Sucks

Sometimes I suck, but sometimes it's blogger's fault

My heart

In which I talk about work and my desire to have a house cleaner

Midwinter Malaise

What I'm...

The Fallen Novels by Lauren Kate

Sweet Treats

Bad Weather and Spending Too Much

Rocking the Vampire Uniform

A nifty knitter

About love and self-acceptance

Mi Casa es Su Casa = My house is your house

Fat Ass Friday- the fashion edition

I am a Librarian... almost

A New Goal!

Anzac Day

Addicted to weighing and trying to avoid the dreaded plateau

You host me and I'll host you!

Happy Birthday Alana!

A Discovery of Witches

Attack of the Killer Sausage Rolls

The Easter Bunny's Early Arrival

New Scales! Yay for shopping!