I have been so wonderfully busy!!

I just had my birthday last week, which was awesome.
My brother & his wife had their baby on the 6th - a tiny little girl, 4.5lbs. She's ok now, but was in ICU for about 9 days.

I am also now working part-time, and I have the most wonderful job you could imagine! I only work there 15 hours a week, which is enough to still give me time to paint, write & film!  I absolutely love the job - it's for a company that customises wheelchairs & walkers etc for (mainly) kids (but adults too) with disabilities & mobility impairments. My Manager is a beautiful person, and I feel I may have found someone I could be friends with for many many years to come. She's just wonderful.

Anyway other than that, the last time i got on here, i think the kids were going back to school, and now they're about to go on holidays again LOL... I'll be working, so my MIL is taking the kids in the 2nd week, into the city, DD is doing a modelling/makeup & deportment course, and DS is going to be catching up with friends, seeing films, hanging out with his gran... will be good for us all.

In case you are yet to see it, I urge you to watch The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne. It is about a whole heap of stuff that I've read about & believed for years, and here she has put it all together with a beautiful synchronicity. You will love it too.

cheers xxxx

Party at my place tomorrow LOL! The kids go back - YIPEEE!!! (oh so DS doesn't go back til thursday, but you get my point!)

i LOVE having the kids home, and then LOVE sending them back off at the end of the hols... i think it can get a bit wearing on all of us, particularly as we haven't gone away except to the folks for christmas... i think they've had a lot of fun just hanging out, playing games, riding bikes, playing cricket etc...

today i'm totally BLITZING the house - washed all the sheets, got my 4th load of laundry (or maybe 5th LOL) out on the line - i've run out of pegs DOH! just want to get it all back in shipshape order before i send the little luvs on their merry way!

worked out an awesome routine with each of the kids last night, after we had our weekly family meeting. DS is on supervised homework so that we don't have the dramas we did with his school report... there's a nice balance of time for himself, time to study & also time to do his expected chores (which we have decreased in order for him to be able to study more effectively)...

anyhow, got more to do - mainly the loungeroom & the kids bedrooms... oh & the darn mopping eek!

xxx

it's been crazy insane here, but all is groovy!
had a fabbo christmas - hope you all did... a quiet new year thanks to a tummy upset blech...
i just got my new car yesterday, which is supersexygorgeous (just like me really haha)...

kids are on hols of course, being ok most of the time tho they have had their spats here & there... what can ya do? GIVE THEM MORE CHORES! ha!

dsalmost15 is doing a 3 day science course at uni, and ddalmost11 has been superduper helping me FLY the house as we head into the home straight of the END OF HOLIDAYS!

i've got my plan of action for the year ahead, and look forward to tackling it once they're back at school... first up is to get the last 3 pieces (oil on canvas) finished (hangover from 2006), complete a commission, and then get 5 more pieces done by end march... then it's off to the photographers & get them printed up, and then time to schlepp my stuff around to some galleries. am in negotiations to have some work up in a funky cafe, so will see what comes of that...

anyhooo i'm off to bed... it's midnight, i'm hot, tired & have to be up early for a walk!

xx

been a busy day -
completed a new painting
posted all my chrissy cards (ummmm i think - i always end missing one or two people)...
mum is going back to hospital on thurs - putting her back under to check out the bones again, and then replaster from thigh to toes.

got a nice walk in early today... did some FLYing of the house & generally feel good about the world...

cept i've got a headache now & am going off to bed!

congrats to jess who won the roomba thingie! way to go!!!

x

loads has happened... DH & i had our 15th wedding anniversary (the day mum broke her leg)... i feel like i've been trapped in the car driving kids about. DS is in the middle of exams and returned from his week-long camp/hike in the grampians having narrowly avoided being evacuated due to bushfires... his entire group drank foul water & they all got the spews & trots, and a few ended up in horsham hospital. eeek.

DD is flat chat with ballet concert, and TFG it will all be over after sunday. she's had 3 exorbitantly late nights this week... one rehearsal went til nearly 9.45pm... not impressed.

looks like DH is going to set me up with a studio. we've been exploring a few options, and i'm open to suggestion, but current likelihood is getting two 10sq sheds & using one as the studio & the other for storage. as we rent (banemarie of my life) we don't want to mess around with council permits & concreting so we'll get the size under the council specs (requiring no permit) and put down a floating floor - nice & temporary. anyhoo no rush on that. will happen when it's ready.

the other doozie is trying to sort out my anniversary pressie which we still haven't organised but it's decided: i'm getting a new mazda 3 yay! finally we will become a 2 car family... we're going with a manual (which i haven't driven in donkey's) but as DS will be learning to drive soon (god no - didn't he just learn to walk??!) it's best to teach him in that!

anyhooo

that's me for now.
luv to all!

xx

busy time in our household.

we're heading up to Ballet Concert time which means, as my daughter said "My soul belongs to Miss A----- doesn't it mum"... poor thing.

just got back from gym. did stacks. happy.

now got to get stuck into the housework.
ds14 is on camp for the week, hiking for outdoor ed. yay!

xxx

well... i thought i should perhaps explain my picture  before everyone thinks i'm a pervert! LOL

some people will instantly recognise the character Andy Pipkin, from the BBC TV show "Little Britain"... i happen to love his character, so thought it was a cute pic to have (plus for some reason, my photo of ME won't work LOL)... the other thing i'm majorly excited about is I HAVE FRONT ROW TICKETS to the Little Britain stage show!!!! YAY!!!!

anyhoo - that's the story behind my pic LOL...

today has been pretty good...
had DS14 to the orthodontist today, had his braces tightened. DD10 also sat in the chair for a sec, and now the two of them are off for XRays in January... DD will need braces too, but she still has 11 baby teeth - but he wants to see where everything is at. He needs to check where DS roots on his teeth are as he's had the braces on for 12 months now. I don't imagine DD will get braces on for another 2 years - when she's in Year 7...

still need to take DD to guides tonight - and i have a client coming over this evening to discuss her forthcoming commission piece, so a bit more of the day ahead for me.

hope you're having a great day!

x

kids are back at school today yay!

i've just been to gym with DH & had a PT session with my fabbo trainer, Em. I'm still a bit under the weather re chesty/sinus thing, but doing ok.

today's plan:

get stuck into my bedroom - clearing & decluttering hopefully will cast some beautiful magic in there & invite some sensational energy... great for dreaming & loving!
work on commission painting
write 500 words of freelance article
quick clean of the house
make dinner ...

ds finishes at 4.30 today, he does community service with school, at the old folks home down the corner from his college. once a week he & the boys from his group go down there, read, play bingo, generally just listen & talk to the oldies, which is nice. i know someone mentioned in an article earlier today about teaching kids civic responsibility, and i think volunteering is definitely one way of doing that.

have a great day!

i have the kids (DS14 & DD10) home for 4 days thanks to Melbourne Cup Day....
as a kid growing up in the country we never got th day off - i remember going to school and having classroom sweeps and coming home having often won the sweep... sharing the prize-bag of minties with the kids on the bus for the hour-long ride home.

my kids being home today... what does that mean?
well.. DD has a friend about to rock up on the doorstep so they can work on a project together (they're filming their project - what happened to doing a dodgy job on coloured cardboard?!... thank goodness mummy is a filmmaker & has a camera & editing equipment to help!)... DS is moping about in typical emo fashion, and despite a request for the bare minimum of pre-exam revision is currently holed up in his room probably playing a computer game or... heck doesn't bear thinking about!

me?
well so far i've been a good flybaby & have shined the sink, and am about to catch up on some laundry. i've got 3 commission art pieces to get cracking on, so i think that's where a big part of my day will reside.

cheers!

just popping in a quick entry to say thanks for the welcome!
i've come down with a sinus hayfever thing - nice & headachy & snotty. cripes. i didn't sleep at all thurs night, and was out in the cold half the night so i think that's why. DOH!

so today is a busy day here - saturday mornings.
DD is off to her girl guides sausage sizzle, raising money for the group. she has ballet later this morning.
DS has piano after that.
and DH can run them around hehehe!

have a great weekend!
xx

oh yar!
here's a couple of "life rules" i live by:

*lead & they shall follow *
(works great with kids, friends, partner - everyone... rather than b*tch & whine, or complain, i've found it far more effective to lead by example...everything from housework to dietary choices & exercise...)

*don't make assumptions
always do your best
be impeccable with your word
don't take anything personally*
(yes, these are The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz. read it. live it. it may save your life, your relationship or your sense of self...)

*an apple a day...*
(or in this case, Bragg's apple cider vinegar 3x daily... has helped immensely with boosting my immune system - after over 3 years of illness, i'm on the road to greater health - it has many other uses & i've even managed to get rid of a plantar wart on my foot & a big ol' one on my daughter's toe... highly recommend it!)

*do something you love each day*
(pretty obvious... i'd even go so far as to say do 10 things a day just for you - whether it's go for a walk, take 5 minutes to yourself, rub in some hand cream or burn some incense or listen to your favourite song... you DESERVE wonderful things - create the life you want by taking babysteps each & every day)