Updates, Apologies and The Weekend

As you can all see I've updated my blog yet again. The reason I've done this is because I received some feedback from people who love the blog but find it a little difficult to read with the type of font and font colour I had selected. So being that I don't want to lose my readers out there I have changed the background and kept the font more easily readable. I hope everyone enjoys the updated blog as much as the old one.

For those who loved it and didn't want to see it change I apologise and hope you enjoy the new format as much as you did the old format.

Now for what I've been up to this weekend. We really didn't do a lot when I think about it but it was a very productive couple of days. Saturday was mostly catching up at home with cleaning, laundry and more laundry etc. Chris helped Dad out for a bit in the morning and again in the afternoon and came home with a chain saw and a ladies golf putter for me, so not bad payment for helping out. Once Chris was home we took the girls to his most favourite place, yep you guessed it, Bunnings. I'm sure you all remember me telling you how much I love Bunnings, well I felt another visit was in order as I had harvested the spring onions, leeks that didn't do to well because I found out a little too late they need to be 'hilled' to become bigger and thicker and the celery that was great but too skinny and I think that may have been a water issue. So with the vege garden harvested and empty I decided I wanted to plant some summer veges for all those lovely fresh salads we'll be eating. We bought some lettuce, capsicum (as the dogs destroyed the last lot I had planted), basil, cucumbers and we're going to attempt to grow some watermelon. I also got another beautiful rose called 'Pascali' to go with the red rose I got the other week for the rose garden. So Sunday morning I spent putting in all my lovely new plants and praying the snails would stay away, though I have to say since I put a few snail pellets down I haven't seen a snail in sight. That will teach them to mess with my garden, now I just need some tomato dust to stop the ants attacking them and the strawberries, who would've thought ants would eat fruit and veg?? Not me that's for sure. Now the garden is stocked with veges and has been given a healthy dose of thrive, I just have to monitor everything and keep watering and hopefully we'll have good success, especially with the watermelon as I've never attempted to grow it before.

Sunday afternoon we decided to go to the car show that was on but the traffic was so bad we couldn't even get past the roundabout that takes you out of town so we headed into town and took the girls to the foreshore, bought them an ice cream from the best ice creamery in the world, Simmo's, and decided to let the girls paddle their feet and have some fun. Of course Bec got wet. I knew that would happen but she was having so much fun with Eva I didn't worry about it. At one point Bec was running behind Eva and tripped over her own feet and fell flat on her face, kissed the ground and got back up and kept chasing Eva. I tried to see if she was ok but she shooed me away. My girl is tough, even with sand down her face and in her mouth and now wetter than ever, she just got up and kept playing not phased at all by the fact she just kissed the ground. When we finally got to the car I said to Bec 'I'll take your dress off you in the car because it's too wet to wear home.' So I turn to open her car door and as I turn back around to pick her up I see she's already stripped her dress off and is standing next to the car in nothing but her knickers...lol. I couldn't help but laugh, she's so like Luke, they're so literal that they just do things and don't wait and after a not so great week she made me laugh and put a big smile on my face. Chris I think was a little mortified and just shook his head. So I put her in the car all but naked and we headed home so I could finish my gardening that was so rudely interrupted, hehe and then Chris' brother dropped in for a visit on his way home from the car show.

So although I guess the weekend was slow and we didn't do a great deal it was still productive and enjoyable. I got my new veges in, we made it out for a while, we relaxed and we had fun. What more could one ask for from her family on the weekend, except maybe for the girls to sleep in past 6:30am on a Saturday and Sunday morning, other than that I'm happy.

The Nesting Bug

I'm in a nesting mood this week for a reason I can't quite figure out. All I seem to want to do is garden, fertilize the lawn, harvest my veges, put new plants in the ground, clean my house and cook til I can't cook any more. I blame the weather personally. Spring has finally come with a bang and the weather is warm and friendly and inviting me outdoors no matter how much house work there is to do. This morning I was outside at 7:30am watering the front lawn simply because it was a beautiful morning and I needed to be out in the fresh air. The street was quiet and I was lost in my own thoughts thinking how I needed to buy some fertilizer before it gets too hot and where the lawn really needs attention and when are we getting the trailer and getting the side dug out over the weekend and getting my roses in. My mind was going one hundred miles an hour when I was brought back to reality by the girls calling out to me from the front door, 'we're still hungry.' So I fed the masses and decided I was going to make some sweet monkey bread today. (For those who don't know what monkey bread is look under the recipe tab above.) And while searching through my recipe book I found my pesto recipe I thought I had lost so tomorrow night it's home made pasta and pesto for dinner. Tonight is lamb and rosemary rissoles with veges.

Why is it nesting only seems to affect us women?? Is it because we have the ovaries? Is it because we are maternal and men aren't? Or is it just simply a case of we women can be bothered and the men couldn't care if they lived in tents?? Whatever the reason it just will not leave me alone this week. It all started on the weekend, we had beautiful weather so Chris and I decided to go and play nine holes of golf. Neither of us have played before but my dad has given me some clubs so we thought, lets try it and see how we go. Well it's got to be one of the funniest but frustrating games I've ever played and while most people will think golf can't be funny, trust me it can be when you've got two novices' on the course. The funniest part aside from us continually missing the ball and not getting it in the hole was Chris hit a really good shot, then it hooked to the left, then it hit the trees and then a magpie (a bird I hate most) came squawking and flying off his branch so fast we couldn't stop laughing. Chris had taken out the magpie and after years of being swooped by them I finally felt like a little retribution had been done. But for all you animal lovers out there, don't worry the bird was not hurt just knocked off his perch, seriously funny, it's four days later and we're still laughing about it, guess you had to be there. So any way after golf I decided I wanted to go to Bunnings to buy some stakes for the tomatoes as they're on the ground. Chris hates Bunnings and any other hardware store for that matter, I for some reason I've never quite figured out love Bunnings and all hardware stores. I think it's because the smell reminds me of my pop's shed. I like to wander around and take my time and see what's in the gardening section and I always come away with more than what I went in for which is apparently why Chris likes to get in and get out, so I can't over spend, hmmm. I said to him, 'you're the bloke, aren't you supposed to love the hardware store and I'm supposed to hate it and want to get home? I think there might have been a gene mix up when we were being made hehe..' to which he responded, 'maybe, so we're just getting the stakes right?' hehehe he should know me better than that by now. I found what I needed plus got a beautiful red rose and some Jasmine, so I was happy, Chris was happy once we got home hehe.

Now we're half way through the week and I've staked the tomatoes, mowed the lawn, watered the lawns, pruned the lavender, put out snail pellets to stop those pests from eating every vege I'm trying to grow, planted the jasmine, done the laundry which is a never ending job with a family of five, made a loaf of rye bread and the monkey bread and am already looking forward to hitting the shop tomorrow to get the OO flour I need to make home made pasta. Anyone would think I've just moved out of home and this is all new and fun for me but in reality I've been doing this for the last twenty years yet just now this nesting bug has hit me big time. All I can say is watch out kids, watch out Chris, watch out pets and make way for all the projects I have planned to do over the summer.

I do have to wonder how long this nesting bug will linger for..........

The Best Parts of Life

Have you ever had a week where people really know how to get on your nerves?? Well I have over the last couple of weeks and I find it makes me frustrated, grumpy and cynical, so I've decided to counteract those feeling by reflecting on the positives in my life of what and who make me happy.

• Of course first is Chris, I could not have asked for a better husband and the fact he's quitting smoking just makes me smile even more, I'm so proud of him. It still feels surreal at times that I've married my high school sweetheart, how lucky am I to have found him again after so much time had gone by. So happy.

• My kids, all five of them. James, Luke and Lauren, all grown up now and I can't believe it, especially proud of Lauren or Lol as we call her. She's all but 16yrs old and moved out of home back to the city six months ago now and is standing on her own two feet, paying her own way and working her butt off. Keep going strong Lol. Then there's Bec and Eva, two girls I couldn't imagine not having in my life now. With Bec I feel like I'm raising Lol all over again and with Eva, well she's definitely her own person, stubborn, strong willed, temperamental but despite this she is bright, smart, amazingly good at craft for her age and funny, she has the loudest cackle I've ever heard. You just can't help but laugh with her when she starts.

• Music! I could not live my life without music. Get rid of the t.v, turn off all the computers but don't ever take away the music. Music is in my soul and my blood, I'm not quite sure how it got there or from who because no one in my family really plays an instrument or anything but I absolutely love music. All sorts of music too not just a couple of genres but a whole bunch of genres. 

• Being outside in the garden. Some days it takes more motivation than others but once I'm out there and the sun is on me I feel great and then of course I feel even better when I stand back and take a look at my hard work and what I've accomplished. I can get lost in my own thoughts when I'm gardening and forget everything else going on around me, I feel at peace then.

• And of course having people in my life who I love and who love me, respect me and encourage me in all areas of my life. I decided a long time ago to be as positive as I can be as I believe in the old philosophy of you get back what you put out there. It's a bit like the bible scripture from Galations 6:7 'whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.' So put out into the universe love and appreciation and sit back and watch what comes to you! 

These are just a few things I thought I'd share that I consider to be the best parts of my life and I'm sure there will be many more to come in the years ahead. So take a moment to sit and think, what do you consider to be the best parts of your life?

Friendships

It's funny how friendships come and go from our lives and how some fade away without us ever really realizing it and then there are those friendships that just stand the test of time no matter how often you see or speak to each other.

Take my friend Linda for example, we have known each other for the last sixteen years and while we have had periods of time when we haven't seen each other we always catch up with one another and talk for hours like no time has gone by at all. I last spoke to Linda about two years ago when we ran into each other at our local shopping center, she gave me her new number and I said I'd call soon to catch up. Well I went and lost her number and couldn't find the address book which at least had her mobile number in it. So a few months later I find out I'm moving three hours away and it all happened so fast I didn't have time to even try and contact her to let her know.

 I have thought of Linda a lot over the last eighteen months and finally I found her daughter on facebook and asked her for Linda's number which she gave me as well as her Dads' email address. So I sent an email with my numbers and within hours Linda called and we talked for hours. It was so good to hear her voice and catch up and fill her in on what's been happening with getting married and the works. Linda has had a rough twelve months herself from what she tells me and I only wish I could have been there to help her through her hardships but hopefully things will start turning around for her and her family and they will have a good year over the next twelve months.

Peta and I on my wedding day.

Then there's Peta who I've known for the last eight years and the funny thing about Peta is we actually went to the same primary school but she was a year ahead of me so we really didn't know each other too well. We also went to different high schools so we had no contact with each other until our kids met up at school. My kids knew her kids through attending their dads church where Peta attended too. I was picking my kids up from school one day when Lauren started jumping out of her skin saying, 'there's Peta and her kids,' and I'm looking around going who and where. hehe.....she introduced herself and invited the kids over to play and it wasn't until we were having coffee at her house and talking about our own school that we made the connection that we went to the same school and were in the same school plays etc.

Peta has been a wonderful friend over the years and we have helped each other out whenever we can as friends do and for this reason I asked her to be my maid of honour for my wedding which she was stoked about. Even though we now live three hours away from each other we still catch up regularly through email, sms or phone calls and whenever I go to Perth I try to catch up with her in person though sometimes it's just not possible.

Of all my friends I've made in life Linda and Peta have stuck like glue and for this I'm grateful because true friends are hard to find in this world where so many are deceptive. The best piece of advise I can give anyone to find real friends is to surround yourself with positive people and say goodbye to the negative ones who only want to bring you down and hurt you.

Also there is a bible passage that says, 'He that is walking with wise persons will become wise but he that is having dealings with the stupid ones will fare badly.' - Proverbs 13:20................this small but wise piece of information is so true and good guidance to find true friendships, so keep looking with wisdom and you will find those who make your life happy as I have done. Thank you my friends.

Outdoor & Indoor Projects

Spring is finally here with all it's warm days full of sunshine and cool breezes that make it enjoyable to be outdoors working or taking the kids to the beach. I love spring, there is so much to do and if I keep busy then I rarely get bored however there also never seems to be enough hours in the day to do all I want to do. Chris is probably glad when the end of the day rolls round because I'm always finding things for him to help me with. I mean he is taller and stronger than me, so it's only fitting I borrow his height and strength. Yesterday he told me I was a slave driver!!(jokingly of course) Can you believe it? I was on a roll in the garden this weekend and Chris isn't the most enthusiastic when it comes to gardening but he does help me. We worked pretty much all day Saturday and a good half day Sunday, the only reason we did half a day was because we started early and finished early. Now both front and back yards look great and we can look forward to having friends and family over for bbq's all through the summer months. Of course there's still a few things I want to do just to finish off a bit more and make the yard more inviting.

The only downside to finishing a project is it leaves a gap until the next project comes along and depending on what it is you're looking to do it can take a while for a project to find you, so thankfully I'm not completely done in the garden as it's always ongoing. I also happen to have another project waiting for me to start it, yet I  just haven't had the time but I think I will be making a start tomorrow no matter what. I have a desk that I bought from an op shop years ago now and while it's still going strong and doing the job it's intended for it needs to be freshened up. So out comes the sander and the paint, it'll be done before I know it. Will post before and after pictures soon so keep looking out for it.

I'm also wanting to paint the house as I did Eva and Bec's playroom a few weeks ago and it came out fantastic and it's just inspired me to freshen up the whole house and I find a coat of paint always works wonders in freshening up a room quickly. There's also new curtains to be made which hopefully I'll be starting next week as soon as I pick up the fabric. So many projects to do and I have to admit I'm looking forward to all of them, especially the desk. My grandfather was a carpenter and I think wood work may be in my blood and while I loved doing wood work in high school I wasn't really brave enough to continue on with it as it was really considered a boys class. I now wish I had of done more as I enjoy working with wood and stripping it right back and  freshening it up by staining or painting it. My first attempt at stripping a piece of furniture was at least five years ago now and even my Dad was impressed with how well I did and how the dresser looked. I basically taught myself as I went along with a few phone calls to Dad to make sure I was doing it right. I love wood furniture and the smell of wood, it smells so natural and fresh. So here's hoping the desk proves to be an easy enough job to do. One thing I learnt and haven't forgotten since doing the dresser is if you're a girl and working with varnish make sure you have a hat on your head when working underneath furniture as I ended up with varnish in my hair and it was not easy to get out but it was worth it for the way the dresser looked when I was done.