A Grand Decision

All week I have been looking forward to having a day off work tomorrow, with 2 year old daughter GG still booked in at kindy. Imagine it!! A whole day, to do with as I please. To go to the shops and not have to enter into negotiations that would make General Ban Ki-moon envious just to be able to try on some clothes. To be able to sit in a cafe and tune out the entire world. To potter round at home and not have some little person creating a wake of chaos behind me as I tidy up. To watch an inappropriate movie on TV and have a shower long enough that I get to shave both legs. Ah, such lofty ideals I have, huh?

Well anyway, as an early Easter present, GG has one-upped me. We were at my Mum’s today for a quick visit as we passed, and she pipes up, “Anma (Grandma), I stay at your place tonight?”. Well, Mum was so chuffed that GG asked to stay of her own volition that she immediately agreed. Being the best Grandma in the world, she actually has everything GG (and six other babies) could possibly need, already at her house. Ever since GG was a tiny baby, she has had a fully stocked room for GG; the cot, playpen, clothes, nappies, bottles, toys, you name it! So all I needed to bring over was the little lady herself. It made it awfully easy to just pop in the car and go visit Grandma. I think that may have been part of her plan...

Anyscheme, I was also thrilled to hear GG ask to stay at her Grandmas. Not because it means a child-free night (although that’s a nice treat), but because I so very much want GG and her Grandma to have a close relationship. I was raised to be very close to all four of my Grandparents, my Mum’s parents lived just up the road and were always very interested in us all, and involved in our lives. They attended school events, watched us play sport, took us out places, had us over at their big old house, we’d even all go on big family holidays, just up to Brisbane, or even just the north end of the Coast, but the point was to be having fun together.

My Dad’s parents lived in a rural area just south of Brisbane, and had a farm with cows, chickens, dogs and the odd rabbit. Nan also bred pedigree Birman cats. My sister and I would spend half each of every school holiday with them, which I’m only just realising how hard it would’ve been for Nan, especially when we were little, but she was always a force to be reckoned with! My sister and I continued to go visit all the way through high school and even beyond, until they moved down to live with us, and then ultimately in a nursing home close by as they got older.

I may not have realised or appreciated it at the time, but a close bond with my Grandparents was invaluable to me growing up. It gave me a separate point of reference than my parents. It gave me people who would love me and spoil me and not concentrate quite so much on the rules that, by necessity, are not relaxed at home. They never undermined Mum or Dad, they always backed up any decision they made, but my Mum was smart enough to know that everyone needs to feel a little bit spoiled, and selfless enough to let that be done by other people.

I have often worried if GG feels she is being foisted off on Grandma sometimes, when Mummy is off doing other fun things. I know she loves her Grandma, Mum has been a big part of her life ever since she was a newborn. They do things together like go to Playgroup every Friday, and Mum has taken her to Play School and Dora concerts, but GG rarely gets a chance to choose to stay over – she is usually told she is going to stay at Grandmas, as a result of me having made plans. So I was really pleased to see GG seek out her company, and reassured that she does see spending time with her “Anma” as a treat, and a chance to be spoiled rotten. And I’m sure that the biscuits Grandma had just given GG in no way influenced her decision. :)

Have fun girls!!!

Quix-ology

I saw this on Do I Really Wanna Blog and it says I HAVE to do it and because I have no better ideas am an obedient little thing... I'm doin' it!!

If you’re reading this, you’re tagged and you have to do it! Do it and title it with your name-ology.

FOODOLOGY:
What is your salad dressing of choice? None, but if pressed – Italian


What is your favourite sit-down restaurant? You mean there are places I can actually go eat and

stay seated the entire time?! Not jumping up and down getting a drink, clean fork, more food, no, not that bit, that bit, more, no more, no, now it’s too much... where are these places you speak of?


What is your favourite fast food restaurant? None really, but Asian is always a hit when I can’t face the prospect of cooking.


What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? Nothing, I have a very small attention span. Oh wait!! Chocolate.


What are your pizza toppings of choice? The Moroccan lamb pizza done by Crust in Coolangatta – truly the BEST PIZZA EVER!!!

TECHNOLOGY:
How many televisions are in your house? 1


What colour mobile phone do you have? Pink

BIOLOGY:
Are you right-handed or left-handed? Left. All geniuses (and polar bears) are!


Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Yes, a child!!


What is the last heavy item you lifted? My 2 year old.


Have you ever been knocked unconscious? Yes. I also repeatedly bash myself all-but unconscious on the stupid clothesline crossbar thingy. Once I did it so hard that when my husband asked if I was okay all I said was, “I smell purple”.


Have you ever fainted? Also, repeatedly. I have always had low blood pressure, so whenever I got sick, I’d likely faint and swoon like an 18th century romance heroine. In my early 20’s I had some weird thing going on that whenever I got highly stressed, I passed out. Like when my boyfriend and I broke up in a club, and I passed out and they thought I was a junkie. Fun times, fun times...

BULLCRAPOLOGY:
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? No way!!


If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock. Points if you can name the reference.


How many pairs of flip flops do you own? 3 – and they’re thongs!!


Last person you talked to? My daughter, in the car after dropping hubby and mate at the footy.

FAVORITOLOGY:
Season? Spring.


Holiday? Anywhere I can swim up to a bar....


Day of the week? Sunday – it’s the only day hubby isn’t working!


Month? December – what’s not to love, Christmas, my birthday, New Years Eve and heaps more excuses to drink during the day!


Colour? Blue.


Drink? I’d love to name some trendy cocktail, or a snooty wine (like Penfolds Grange, which I’ve actually tried once... bliss!!!), but really, it’s probably a good cup of tea!


Alcoholic? Oh, insert trendy cocktail or snooty wine here! Actually, my current favourite tipple is Brown Brothers Moscato – retailing at around $10 – high flyer I am!!!


CURRENTOLOGY:
Missing someone? Hubby, at the footy. Grandparents, in heaven.


What are you listening to? My dog snoring. Seriously, I think I can see the walls bowing with each breath. SHUT UP!!!!.


What are you watching? The Castle is on in the background, making me giggle. “Tell him he’s dreamin!”


Worrying about? The usual, finances, the state of Sandra Bullock’s marriage, how on earth I’m going to fit everything I need to do in the time I have available to do it, should I have my lights off for Earth Hour or is it a pointless PR exercise given that the amount of power produced at the plants will be in no way affected by a few people turning their lights off for an hour, what the heck is wrong with that dog’s sinuses, will GG be terribly disrupted when I have to put her in the car later tonight to go pick up the guys from the footy, how am I going to get a scene from images in my head to words on a page for my book, what is that thing on my leg, what games can I come up with for my sister’s impending baby shower, seriously, what the hell is up with that dog!!!!


What’s the last movie you saw? In its entirety? Finding Nemo on TV the other night. In a cinema? Avatar.


Do you smile often? Probably, yeah.


If you could change your eye colour what would it be? Golden, because I’d be a good vampire. :)

What’s on your wish list for your birthday? A Dyson (yes, I’m a terrible romantic, as in – I’m terrible at being romantic).

Can you do a chin-up? Ah, probably not these days. Given that I still have a massive bruise under my bust from when I went to jump my own fence (to break into my own house because I had left my keys at home YET AGAIN!!!) because I didn’t jump quite high enough and didn’t have quite enough strength in my arms to straighten them and pull myself up so ended up giving my metal fence a massive chest bump and landing flat on my embarrassed ass!

Does the future make you more nervous or excited? A little from column A, a little from column B. Again, points for the reference.

Have you been in a car wreck? Well, I’ve been wrecked by a car.

Have you caused a car wreck? Only when I stop traffic with my fabulousness! *snort*

Do you have an accent? Yeah mate...Aussie!

Last time you cried? Can't remember but it probably wasn't that long ago.

Plans tonight? Finish this, read a few more blogs, stay awake long enough to pick up drunken boys and deliver them home, fall asleep, stay in that state for 8 continuous hours.

Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? Yep. Then I went further down.

Name three things you bought yesterday? Yesterday? Nothing. Today? Hair dye (vanity won – I’m going back to coppery brunette), Easter eggs and a latte.

Have you met someone who changed your life? Many, actually. I suppose if you really think about it, everybody you meet changes your life a bit, right?

For the better or worse? Some worse, most better.

How did you bring in the New Year? Umm... *looks down, shuffles foot*... asleep. I’m so totally an old nanna.

Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? Only way back, back to the future!

What songs do you sing in the shower? Whatever’s stuck in my head, or the “wash, wash; wash, wash your body” song I invented (sung to the tune of Metro Station’s Shake It) if GG is with me..

Have you held hands with someone today? My Gorgeous Gal.

Who was the last person you took a picture of? Predictably, my daughter.

Are most of the friends in your life new or old? Old friends, but I probably “speak” more often to my cyber-friends.

Do you like pulpy orange juice? Yes.

Last time you ate peanut butter and jelly? Well, jelly in this context is what Americans call jam I think, and it’s really an American thing. I think a bunch of us tried it as kids, but can’t remember.

What were you doing at 12 a.m. last night? Sleeping. Just before GG came in needing the stinky-est pull up in the world changed, and then decided she wasn’t going back to bed so slept instead on her “other” bed - which is a doona on the floor beside my bed.

What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Whose finger is up my nose?

My Kitchen May Be Bi-Polar

Actually, my entire house is probably schizophrenic, given the mish-mash state it lives in now. The joys of juggling working outside and inside the home.

This morning I had one of those moments when one minute you're simply swiping off some crumbs from the toaster, the next your pulling apart that whole corner of the kitchen and scrubbing everything within an inch of it's life. I lifted up the toaster, and could've crumbed a bronto-burger with what was under there! And I swear I found intelligent life in the back corner...

Anymould, as usual the job needing to be done far outweighed the time I had to do it in, so I settled for a having half a clean kitchen and ran out the door.

On my return home, I marched into the kitchen ready to tackle the other bench... and.... made a cup of tea and fired up the laptop instead!!! Hey people, I said I found balance, not turned into Martha cold-dead-heart Stewart!

So, for your voyeristic pleasure...

Ah, order, peace and serenity...

Oh, good God, make it go away!

Ah well, maybe I'll get a burst of energy to tackle the rest shortly. Once I've put out the last load of laundry, put away yesterdays two loads, tidied the playroom, done the ironing, swept and mopped the floors and cleaned the bathrooms of course. Yeah, that'll happen.

Muse-ic for the Soul

Yesterday, out of nowhere, I got an idea for a book. Even more amazingly, as I started sketching out my idea, it began fleshing itself out, giving me ways of connecting plotlines and characters. Whole conversations even started playing in my head, and my fingers were literally flying over the keyboard trying to keep up.

Now, my husband has been encouraging me to write a book for ages, but I have always been reticient. I started this blog as a little baby-step towards bringing writing into my life, but until now I have always struggled to build a whole book out of any idea I'd had. A book I'd want to read anyway.

I sat down last night and wrote, and wrote, and wrote. I hit a bit of a snag on my main characters occupation, I really liked it, but couldn't find a way to make it work with a plotline I wanted to follow later on. After obsessing over sleeping on it, I woke up this morning with a solution and have been re-writing since. I was sad to see my first part go, mainly because it was the first section I'd written, but also because it had some great dialouge. I'm hoping to use it elsewhere, but much happier overall with how the pieces fit now.

This whole thing has got me well, very excited actually, but also thinking about muses, inspiration and the writing process in general. I used to think that people were being vague and a bit 'airy-fairy' when I would hear them talk about the 'process' and 'letting a story reveal itself' and so on. The thought of a story wafting around in the ether, waiting to show itself to some unsuspecting writer seemed a bit daft to me. But the way this idea seemed to take on a life of its own has got me re-thinking that idea.

It's a little bit like what I have seen Elizabeth Gilbert talk about, as shown in the clip below - it's a bit lengthy, but well worth a look:



Did you watch it? No? Yeah, I tend to skip them too. Basically, she talks about how the ancient Romans believed that people themselves weren't geniuses (geni??), rather they had a genuis, sort of like this divine attendant spirit, visiting them and bestowing gifts of creativity and inspiration. Kind of what we call muses now. Or, as Elizabeth puts it, a bit like Dobby the House Elf.

I sort of get what she is talking about now. It certainly felt like this story was being fed to me, rather than dredged up from inside me.

It's funny really, all my life I have lived very much in my imagination, but only now am I realising that perhaps these daydreams might translate into something else. Perhaps they are my own little house elf's way of inspiring me. Either way, I think the obsessive side of my nature has come back to the fore. My Mum dropped in for a visit today just after hubby and GG had gone to the shops, and I was desperately trying to get down a description of a scene that had just come to me before I lost it. I "sshhh!!!"'d her and wouldn't let her speak to me til I'd got it down. Nice, huh?

Hmm... looks like some fun times for my family coming up!!!

Dory Time

I've been watching Finding Nemo with my Gorgeous Gal, and thinking about Dory. You know, the scatter-brained blue fish with the three second memory.

Years ago, way before I had GG, my Mum and sister saw Finding Nemo with another young family member, and promptly started calling me Dory. I, having no idea what the hell they were on about, rolled my eyes and ignored them. Then, I watched the movie and realised that Dory was umm.. Dory. I would've been a bit miffed, and taken the issue up with them, but I got distracted by something shiny and then forgot all about it.

Watching the movie again though (actually, for about the millionth time), I have decided that being Dory is a good thing. I think she has a lot to teach us.

Like staying in the moment. Forget the bad stuff that's happened, heck, forget the good stuff in the past too. It's the past, gone. Just concentrate on here, and now.

Just keep swimming. Sometimes, that's all we can do. When life gets tough, and things have got you down, what can you do? Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. Keep going, and have faith that something better is just around the corner.

Take your joy where you can get it. Whether it's making a game out of escaping a jellyfish cloud, or riding the waves in a whale's mouth while waiting to find out of you're going to be eaten or not, grab every opportunity for fun. It just might be your last.

Dory also teaches us that it's good to be open to life's adventures. When Nemo's Dad tells her that he promised he'd "never let anything happen" to Nemo, Dory reminds him that "if you never let anything happen to him, then nothing will ever happen to him. Not much fun for little Nemo". Well, she gets his name wrong, but you get the idea. It's a fine line between giving your children protection and independence, but we need to remember that we can't keep our children in bubble wrap forever. Mainly because they couldn't breathe!

And of course, a second language is always handy. Even if it's whale.

Thhhaaaaaaaaaaaank yooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!

Welcome back, Kotter

Well, thanks everyone for your prayers, thoughts and emails. Dad came home today and is doing really well, swears he is off the ciggies now (he'd better be - I'd hate to see him try and smoke after I've chopped both his hands off!!) and has a bunch of follow up referrals to chase up, but should be 100% very soon.

Thank God I don't have to schlep all the way down to the hospital anymore, if I see one more pregnant teenager smoking on the sidewalk, I might think I've moved to Inala.

Actually, through thorough and exhaustive socio-economic studies, I have compiled a detailed list to help people identify whether or not they may be... a bogan. (For international readers, a bogan is the Australian equivalent of a redneck, a yobbo, a chav, white-trash etc., etc.)

Are you ready? It's quite comprehensive, so go grab a cuppa or something. Ready? Okay.

You are a bogan if...

... you live in Tweed Heads.

The End.

Balancing Act

So you've probably noticed that I've not been posting as much.


Part of this is because I've been busy, but hey! Mums are always busy and it didn't stop me in the early days of my blog-addiction from getting out of bed at 1 in the morning after I'd just had an awesome idea for a post and didn't want to forget it. Yes, that actually happened... I'm not sure if I'm proud or ashamed of that... hmm...


Part of it is because I have been suffering from a distinct lack of inspiration and a significant dearth of post topics. Hmm.. could it be that I have finally got everything of my chest?? Heavens no, I'm much more opinionated than that - something is bound to piss me off soon, and I'll race to the laptop to frantically pound on the keyboard til the bad feelings go away.


I think mostly though, I have found (gulp) balance. That elusive middle ground that exists in between the very addictive nature I have, which had me gleefully grabbing the laptop the very second GG had gone to sleep or was otherwise occupied, and the guilt I used to feel when I ignored things that needed doing around the house, or even convinced GG to play by herself or watch a DVD so I could get that post that was scratching the inside of my head out there.


I have recently gone from two days a week to three at work, and am really noticing the difference. So is my house. I have a lovely little vegetable garden, which used to give me so much satisfaction when I would bring in my home-grown organic food to feed my family, but my last harvest was a couple of months ago, and I am yet to re-plant anything. This is partly because of the scorching summer we have just had, and partly because everything needs to be pulled out, turned over, re-planted and re-mulched, and it's kind of a daunting job.

I have also noticed that even though I am away from my Gorgeous Gal an extra day, on the days I am home, I am much more engaged, and more likely to be found sitting on the floor playing. I know she still has me four days week, and of course every morning and night-time, but sometimes I really feel like I’m not getting much time with her, and so I find it easier to be patient and calm, as well as fun and playful, and just drink in the time we have together, just us.

So now the pull of the blog-o-sphere isn't so strong; GG is getting more quality time, I will eventually sort out both my garden and the laundry pile and balance has been restored to my universe. Looks like the only person missing out is... you, dear reader.

Things I've Learned in Life

1. No matter how loud you yell at it, laundry does not put itself away.

2. You can please some of the people all the time, and even all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all the people all the time.

3. You need to make very clear to husbands that the ‘no metal in the microwave’ rule also applies to alfoil.

4. You cannot control what people do, even the things that make you crazy, but you can control how you react to them.

5. Everyone you feel envious of has things in their life you would never wish for.

6. Be DAMNED careful what you wish for.

7. Money won’t make you happy, but a lack of money sure as hell doesn’t either.

8. You will always, always, always run into ex-boyfriends, high school crushes and potential employers when you look like crap. I’ve done all three, and I think I was wearing the same pair of sweats for all three!

9. Ironically, shampoo stains carpet, and doesn’t clean it. It will also foam to roughly the size of Uluru if you try and clean it up using a wet cloth.

10. Some days are just shitty.

11. Some days, just smelling your daughter’s hair, damp from the bath as she snuggles up for a cuddle, can make a shitty day disappear and your heart smile.

AWOL

I have not been abducted by aliens, witnessed the killing of an organised crime boss and gone into the Witness Relocation Program, or been invited to take part in the latest space shuttle misson.

I've just been, really, really busy lately, and super, extra-than-normal, scientists-may-need-to-study-me tired.

Quixotic will return to normal programming very shortly - after I've dealt with a weekend that involves parents-in-law visiting, finding a birthday present for one half of the aforementioned parents-in-law, making a birthday cake and dinner, convincing hubby to just pick a damn cafe already to all go out to breakfast in, trying to attend the christening of a good friend's children on the other end of the Coast, keeping the mud all throughout the yard of both the child and dog (and therefore my carpets, lounge and floors), doing an entire weeks' worth of washing in the about 25 seconds of sun we are likely to get and somehow trying not to scream.

Memoir Monday: So You Think You Can Dance

Hooray! I finally made it back on Travis' bandwagon - check it out here to see more fabulous, outrageous and most importantly, true stories.

This little memoir is actually about my wedding day. Don't worry, it's not going to be one of those sappy "oh, I wasn't complete until the day I married this man" schmaltz (although it was one of the best days of my life)... it's more about how I get drunk and forget stuff.


Anybubbles, you know the recent trend for having awesome dance routines for your first dance as a married couple? I totally started that! You see, in the lead up to our wedding, back in 2005, we (read: I) decided we were going to have a proper first dance. Yessir, none of that awkward shuffling with hubby's hand on your ass for me, uh huh! We were going to dance! And spin! And twirl! The day I mentioned the possibility of a Dirty Dancing style-lift was when hubby-to-be put his foot down. Spoilsport.



So we picked out "our song", and trotted off to the Dance Instructor. She choose a fox-trot based dance as the best to fit our music, and started teaching us the basic steps. Awesome. Then she decided that we should have a little routine done for us, so that we wouldn't just be doing very stylish circles around and around and around. Even awesomer. She choreographed a little routine for us and started teaching it to us (this is why now, when So You Think You Can Dance comes on TV, I can totally talk with absolute expertise about "picking up the chory"; "feet, feet!!" and other techy-lingo type stuff! *snort*).



All going well so far, wouldn't you agree, hubby-to-be and I dancing blissfully in each others arms (counting to ourselves the whole time, but blissful nonetheless), wedding plans well on track, all good.


Of course, me being me, while rushing out of work , late for another friends wedding two weeks before ours, I trip, fall down the steps (when will I learn, Stairs Are Not My Friend) and badly sprain my ankle.


Oh man, it was a bad one too, let me tell you. Mainly because I simply strapped it up with some tape from the first aid kit and went as planned to the wedding. Four hours and a lot of champagne and hobbling later, I am in the emergency room, getting my stockings cut off my ankle (which is now the size of a watermelon) and a Doctor is explaining why injuries, alcohol and especially painkillers do not all get along together. Bastard wouldn't give me any drugs til I sobered up apparently.


Over the next two weeks, I panicked, went to the physio, yelled at caterers etc. on the phone, panicked and went to the physio. On my first visit, they told me there was no way I was going to be able to dance on that ankle, maybe not even walk on it. By the day before the wedding, I could walk on it (while it was strapped), but had missed the last two dance lessons, which was where we "put together" the whole routine, with it's begining, middle and flourishy little this-way-that-way-slide-and-dip ending. I watched from the sidelines, while the intructor taught hubby, since at least the guy leading would know the routine. Hubby claimed he had no faith in his ability to remember this, dancing wasn't really his thing. So I paid close attention, I even took notes for God's sake! Little drawings of stick figures in various poses. I had the whole thing memorised, I was down with the turns, and knew the ending down pat. I figured it was all up to me to remember this, because hubby was no good at this sort of stuff, he had said so himself, it was all up to me!!!


So, the wedding day arrives, and I am drinking champange with my bridesmaids at 6am. I have snuck out and bought a pair of silver strappy sandals, since my shoe of choice for the day had like a 6-inch heel, and I thought I might need some back-up! We are run off our feet, between hair, make-up, flowers arriving, photographer trying to get a look-in, the whoel box and dice. We are steadily chugging our way through the champagne, and even though my Mum was smart enough to bring some sandwiches up, and I was starving, between the busyness and my nerves, I never got around to actually eating anything.


We have the ceremony, and it's lovely, I managed to wear my high heels down the aisle without collapsing in a heap (thanks to a very strong arm to lean on from Dad), and then I swap to my sandals for the photos etc.


We arrive at the reception venue and it's awesome, but I'll just fast-forward to when the MC calls us out for our first dance. Between getting ready, all the toasting and various stuff, I have drunk pretty much my body weight in champagne (which has always made me a little light-headed) and eaten ummm... nothing. I'm smashed (but in a totally classy way - white dresses will do that to you). Hubby tows me out to the dance floor, and we hold each other. "Do you remember the routine?" he asks. I look at him like I'm trying to pick him out of a line-up (gee officer, I know the face, I just can't think where from), "ummmm...."


"Don't worry" he says, and proceeds to lead me, very expertly, around the floor. I start wincing when I use my sprained ankle, so he skips a couple of the turns and holds most of my weight for me, we come up the big finish and he quickly whispers, "Forget the left one, just do the turn to the right and I'll catch you". He does, and then he dips me. I am left dumbfounded, light-headed (I will NEVER admit to swooning, it was the champagne dammit!) and SERIOUSLY impressed. When did he learn how do do this?

Moral of the story? Stairs are not my friend, and marry a man who can lift your bodyweight.

What's in your private place?

Calling all voyeurs, come take a look in a woman's most private place. No, not there, you gutter-minded swine, here - in her handbag!

Okay, I stole this idea from Allie at In A Beautiful Pea Green Boat. The idea is to photograph the contents of your handbag. You know how they say you can tell more about a woman by looking in her handbag than by talking to her for half an hour? Well, it took me roughly half an hour to catalouge everything in my bag! See that rather deflated looking handbag? It somehow, through a magical kink in the time/space continuum, manages to contain all the assorted detrius you see surrounding it...

Let's see, what have we got in there? Wallet, check; phone, check; keys, check; magical fairy wand, check. What, you don't have one??? There's also a dinosaur toy, a binkie (dummy) and a pair of size 3 knickers - this may be why, when I ended up having to dump the entire contents of my bag on the desk at the Nokia Service Centre to find my service card, I felt the need to assure the clerk at Nokia I was not in fact a child predator, just a harried Mum.

There are also sunnies for myself and GG, keys to my Mum's place, a face washer (I don't know either, it just sort of ended up in there), moist wipes (called Sticky Fingers - how cute is that!?!), a re-usable bag, a USB with photos on it I have been meaning to print out for approximately 3 years, notepads, pen, a sparkly glitter hair clip long been given up for lost, 45 cents worth of change, the garage door opener, tissues, Panadol, hand sanitiser, 3 receipts for things I can't remember buying, scraps of paper on them with either a phone number or an address, but no other identifying information, and a pack of snacks for when I forgot to eat breakfast GG. There are also 3 supposed all-day lipsticks in pretty much the same shade, but one is in the shade I wear, but has no clear gloss left, the other I don't really like the shade, but use the gloss with the other lipstick, and the other is a cherry gloss I wear on it's own. Oh, and lip balm, for when I'm not wearing make-up. No, I'm not as addicted to beauty products as it may seem, but I chew my lips when I'm stressed or confused.. and that's pretty much my default setting.

Oh, and my Justice of the Peace official stamp, inkpad and paraphanalia. Yes siree, I am OFFICIALLY an upstanding member of the community, responsible beyond reproach. (Unless, of course, I have been drinking, then I'm up for mischief and low level lawlessness. Absolutely.)

And of course, my Little Box of Tricks. I think this may need some explanation... You know when you find yourself saying, "Damn, I wish I had a safety pin/something to close this packet/Band Aid for my rubbing shoe/miniature pack of playing cards/sewing kit/tweezers/bit of superglue/hair band/something to take for this cold!" Well, I'm your go-to gal. I have it.

There is nothing the Box of Tricks can't fix. It once McGuyver'd a heli-plane out of pipe cleaners and duct tape to spirit me to freedom when lost in the Louisiana swamplands... okay, maybe not, but it's very bloody handy, especially when you break things a lot, like me!

You know, for someone so organised, you think I'd be more... well, organised.

So there you have it, I have laid my soul bare... and it's a far cry from when I used to sail out the door with nothing but a phone in one jeans pocket and a ATM card in the other... oh, the freedom...

So c'mon, tell me... what's in your private place???

Quick update

Thanks everyone for your bloggy-love and to all those who emailed to ask how my Dad is doing. Who'd have thought my cold, impersonal laptop would give me such warm fuzzies!

Well, Dad had his operation today, and all went well. This afternoon they have been weaning him off his sedation, so he is slowly coming around. He is very groggy, and not able to communicate yet, which he is obviously finding, umm... frustrating, to say the least. I can only imagine.

Thanks everyone for your prayers, wishes, thoughts and positive vibes. We still have a long way to go, and no doubt my blog postings will be fewer (more like every few days) for the time being whilst I juggle work, hospital visits, running the house and covering every bloody spare bit of space in my house with laundry because THE BLOODY RAIN WON'T GO AWAY!!!! but rest assured, I won't give up my addiction that easy.

Oh, and speaking of addictions, those cigarettes are now in the bin.

Sunshine in the Downpour

Well, it just won't stop raining here on the sunny Gold Coast. Hurumph.

In spite of all this drearyness, I have been nominated for a couple of bloggy awards, both with a Sunshine theme. To say these have brightened my day is like saying those mint-chip mini chocolate eggs are only a little bit addictive.

First up, the lovely Allie at In a Beautiful Pea Green Boat gave me this:

This is my first award for commenting, rather than my own blogging, so it was really nice to get that sort of appreciation. I know I myslef love to get comments, reassuring myself that people are actually interested, or at least amused, by what I have to say.

I have a lovely little "tribe" of regular commenters, and want to pass this award on to all of them, so hang in there... here we go:

Sharni @ Chronicles of Sharnia (or Sharnanigans)
Dual Mom @ We're at Dad's That Week
Gucci Mama @ Mama Still Wears Gucci
Katherine @ Lessons from the Monk I Married
Alex @ Whoa Mumma
Gun Diva @ Just Another Perfect Day
Caitlyn Nicholas
Krissa @ Halfasstic.com
Daffy @ Batcrap Crazy
Singed Wing Angel @ Angel Believes

I truly appreciate each and every comment I get, so bring it on ladies!!!

Then, just the other day, Gregory J at Living My Life, Whatever, gave me this:

Pretty huh? There's probalby a whole bunch of rules attached, but all I really want to do is say that to all those listed above, and these lovely blogs below, you bring a ray of sunshine to my blogosphere!

The Bad Moms Club
Alone in a Holy Land

Alrighty folks, I think that'll about do me, I now have about 7 hours of notifying to do, so if I miss you - Surprise!!!