Working Bee

Adoring Husband worked his butt off today to prepare two of our rooms for the impending arrival of our family.

He had to, because he is now playing golf for most of the weekend and won't have any other time to do it!

So now, we are ready and waiting and counting the hours.

I'm feeling a bit low on energy tonight so this post is short, and I'm leaving some photos that I took last year at Preston Peaks Winery, which is near Toowoomba in southern Queensland.

Even though Adoring Husband did most of the work, the working bee has taken it out of me today and I need to rest my brain and my body :o)

'Honorary Placenta Tree' Planting Day

It was an emotional moment for Vegan Chickie and The Bare-chested Chef.  Across the Tasman, at the same time that they were burying Chicklet's placenta, Adoring Husband and I were planting the Honorary Placenta Tree together in our back yard.

Because they are leaving New Zealand much sooner than originally planned, it is too soon to plant a tree with the placenta before they leave (it's necessary to wait a year before burying a placenta under a tree), so for them to ask us to share the moment with this symbolic gesture, it was a huge honour!

For us, it felt like we were welcoming new life into the world and it was an invigorating and happy moment.

They have one night left in the house where their little Chicklet was born and they are feeling a little sad.  We, on the other hand, are feeling very excited that they will arrive in less than three days and we will get to spend quality time with them and with our little grand daughter.

I get a little teary every time I think about it!

Vegan Chickie and Chicklet burying the placenta

The Bare-chested Chef (not so bare-chested) burying the placenta.

The honorary placenta tree (avocado)

Adoring Husband doing some extra landscaping

... and a little bit more landscaping.

The finished product with decorative froggies .. because we all love froggies!

Me, presenting the honorary placenta tree :o)

It's been a good day!

One more time with feeling!

Today was vegan peanut butter cupcakes day and they are now Adoring Husband's new favourites.  These vegan recipes are so delicious, it's difficult to choose which one to try next!  Coconut and lime look nice, as do the lemon and macadamia nut.  Yummo!

 

Did some bartering today and swapped a dozen eggs for a lovely big home-grown pumpkin.  Time for a big batch of pumpkin soup to freeze, in preparation for Winter!

Tonight we had a birthday dinner for one of our more loveable friends at the local hotel.  She turned fifty six.  There were about twenty five of us and even though we were only out for just over two hours, it was loud and happy with lots of laughter.  

Kaz is very much loved by her friends and even her acquaintances, because she is kind, caring, generous with her time and is a great listener.  

She is beautiful and exudes a warmth that makes you smile the minute that you meet her.  I consider her a close friend and I wish we had more opportunities to spend time together.

It was a lovely evening and I think she enjoyed herself.  She looked happy. 

May 5th is the final voting day for the photo contest in which I've submitted my feeding bird photo so I just thought I would post the link one more time.  My photo is on page three.  If you go to the site, find my photo and then click on the word 'vote' under the photo, it would cause me to ***happy dance***!

http://www.discoverwildlife.com/wildlife-nature-photography/photo-contest/april%202011%20photo%20contest%3A%20baby%20animals

Shopped Til We Dropped!

What started out this morning at 9am, as a short trip into The Bay to get a few plants, some vegan ingredients and a nappy bucket, turned into an epic shopping trip that ended with slowing down for school traffic this afternoon!

Veggie garden is under way at last!  After a short drive to the plant nursery on the edge of town, we acquired egg plant, snow peas, beans, rocket, spinach, a few varieties of tomatoes, cucumber, leek, a massive birds eye chilli plant and a STACK of new herbs like basil, sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme and dill, among others!

One honorary placenta tree in the form of an avocado, now waiting for the 'placenta burying date' on Thursday :o)

We decided to have lunch at our favourite lunch spot.  Aquavue, on the water.  The tide was in and sun was glistening on the water and there was a gentle sea breeze.  Perfect.

A visit to Adoring Husband's favourite store ... yes, you guessed it ... Bunnings Hardware, to get tomato stakes and to look for some more veggie seedlings.  Unfortunately, the seedlings arrive on Thursday, so we were two days too early.

It took trips to two different supermarkets, miles apart, to find all of the ten remaining ingredients for the vegan cupcake bonanza baking fest, which now has to be postponed for twenty four hours because we used up the whole day doing other things!  The boys at The Seat of Knowledge will be very disappointed!

Not to mention Adoring Husband, who has been harassing me all night, to go into the kitchen and knock up a batch of the same cookies and cream chocolate cupcakes that I made yesterday!

One more dvd to add to the already massive collection.  Little Fokkers.  One nappy bucket and one changing mat for one very precious little Chicklet.  Six kilos of fresh dog mince.  An unsuccessful visit to a car yard or two, looking for the perfect used car for the perfect new family.

When we arrived home, I sat down to watch the ABC news and the best part of the coverage was a story about the early arrival of the whales at the Gold Coast on their migration north for the Winter!  They are about a month early!  Very exciting!

While a massive black thunderstorm built up over our heads, I made a delicious vegetable quiche for dinner with a crispy skinned baked potato.

I was hoping to capture some lightning shots with the camera, but the storm was too close and too scary looking and I didn't dare set up the tripod on the front porch for fear of getting struck down!

To finish off an already great day, one of my favourite TV shows started a new season tonight.  Australia's Got Talent.

So, we shopped til we dropped and wowsers, Australia has definitely got some talent!!

Vegan Cookies and Cream Chocolate Cupcakes

For my birthday, Vegan Chickie, The Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet gave me a a book called "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero.

This afternoon, I baked my first vegan cupcakes using a recipe from this book.  Cookies and cream chocolate cupcakes with dark chocolate icing with almonds and topped with a mini Oreo.

Easily the most delicious cupcake that I have EVER baked.  So rich that it's impossible to eat too many. I ate two and felt like I'd eaten a dozen!!

Cookies and cream chocolate cupcakes with dark chocolate icing with whole almonds and topped with a mini Oreo

I just can't wait to try another recipe out of the book and I think I might take some of the chocolate cupcakes down to the Seat of Knowledge tomorrow and share them with the boys.

This will give me the perfect excuse to bake up a new batch tomorrow!  Perhaps the carrot cupcakes, coconut & lime cupcakes or peanut butter cupcakes!  Decisions, decisions!

Of the hundred or so recipe books that I have, it could very easily slide into my top five!  I can't wait to share them with people who think that any food with the word 'vegan' attached must taste bad!

THE PROOF WILL BE IN THE PUDDING!

Such indulgence!  It almost feels sinful!  Adoring Husband said to me after his first cupcake "You couldn't eat more than one.  They are too rich".  Ten minutes later, he walked into the lounge room with a saucer holding two more, which he gobbled down faster than I could blink!

Tomorrow, I will share with you the next indulgent episode of cupcake mania, and I would appreciate it if we all understood the fact that they are vegan, which makes them SUPER healthy!

The author's decision is final!  No correspondence will be entered into!

Honorary Placenta Tree and Organic Vegetables

Adoring Husband has spent a few hours in the garden today and prepared the veggie beds for planting.

The herb garden now has an orange tree in it!  There is also the asparagus that has been cut back and looks like it's about to explode with regrowth.

The rosemary, basil, mint and comfrey are all doing very nicely.  The parsley, sadly, has passed on and will have to be replaced.

Two strawberry plants have survived the Summer of neglect along with a chilli plant and there is plenty of room in the bed to plant some new herbs.

 The Lovely Laying Chookies have been given their own garden bed to play in and will hopefully remove a years worth of weedy grasses that have been trying to take over that particular bed and have almost succeeded!

Hopefully, while they eat the grasses, they will also fertilize the ground at the same time, but that bed will need to be rested for a while.

So far on the list for planting, we have corn, tomatoes, beans, cucumber, zucchini, lettuce, snow peas, capsicum and egg plant.

We haven't had any luck with the traditional Winter crops like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage here in Queensland because it's too warm and the bugs and worms take over!

Thursday afternoon this week has been set aside for planting.  There will be an avocado tree planted in honour of Chicklet's placenta, which is being buried in NZ at the same time.

Avocado, Pears - Womb & Cervix
These Foods target the health and function of the Womb and Cervix of the Female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 Avocado a Week, it Balances Hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and Prevents Cervical Cancers. 
   And how profound is this?
It takes exactly 9 Months to grow an Avocado from blossom to ripened fruit.

Appropriate I think!

Then the vegetables will be planted after that and in a few weeks we can start eating fresh organic food from the garden again.  I think it's been about a year since we grew anything!  Now that the beds have all been rested and composted with lots of delicious stuff, the garden should thrive again!  I can't wait!

So this week is 'honorary placenta tree and organic veggie' week!  Bring it on!

Bella and Poppy Time!

One week from tomorrow and the population of our house will more than double!!  

One week from tomorrow is Mother's Day and I will receive the best present EVER!!  My lovely little Chicklet will be arriving from New Zealand and moving into our home with her Mummy and Daddy for a while :o)

I'm a bit excited about this!

Dribbly beautiful little Chicklet (this is not her real name, in case you were wondering!)

This is one of the other kids that lives at our house.  This was the look he gave us for four days after we put his brand new collar on him with the registration tag.  He really hates wearing stuff!

Cranky Jack

This 'look' pretty much epitomises his personality, although sometimes (for about 10 minutes every day) he can be fun and playful.

I imagine that he will give us this same look when he discovers that there is a new little person living with us!  He'll get over it.

This is Colli looking expectantly.  When something new happens, she copies Jack for the first ten minutes, which usually involves growling, barking and looking scary.

  

After she's finished, she gets curious and her look usually reads 'is this my new toy?'  She's a bit dopey.  

I don't have a photo of Ruby, the happy one, smiling.  I will make that my mission.  To capture her smile.  She will be very happy to have three new friends.  She will love them and lick them and jump on them and wag her tail very happily every time she sees them!

So, the transition period for our three kids, might be a little tough on all of us.  I imagine that after about a week, they should settle into a new routine that includes the extended family, and everybody will be happy :o)

Then it will be Bella and Poppy time for a while!  We will enjoy every moment while it lasts and soak up all the Chicklet happiness that we can!  Its' gunna be great!!

Coral and Bill and William and Kate

I would like to introduce to you, to a couple, who are on the shortlist for my Calendar of Characters.

This is Coral and Bill.  Bill turns eighty years of age tomorrow and he was one of twenty children!  They have lived within a fifty kilometre radius of this town for all of their lives.

Coral goes for a walk every morning and they both ride their bicycles to the boat ramp most mornings.  Bill can't walk distances due to arthritis in his knees, but they both still take their little tinny boat out on the river regularly, casting for prawns, crabbing and fishing.

Anything that they don't know about the area isn't worth knowing and they are both respected and well liked in town.  Bill is a real character and is always good for a laugh.  Coral tolerates his cheeky demeanour, but they both love each other very very much and that is obvious.

Coral had a fall about a year ago and although she didn't break any bones, she was very badly bruised and had trouble walking for a few weeks.  Poor Bill was beside himself with worry and took such good care of her until she was able to fend for herself again.

They make me feel all warm and fuzzy and every morning when they arrive at the boat ramp, I call out "Good morning kids!!"  They tell me, it makes them feel young when I say it.  I do look forward to seeing them each morning, along with my other boys.

So there you are.  A first introduction.  I will bring stories and photos of others on my list as the weeks go by.

On the note of love ... I have just watched the royal wedding of William and Kate and I have to say that it's been surprisingly enjoyable!  I thought that Kate looked beautiful and her dress was lovely.  The whole atmosphere in London was so happy and full of love!  Just amazing!

Today, I am feeling the love with Coral and Bill and William and Kate!

Calendar of Characters

I've been mulling over an idea.

Our little town is full of interesting characters.  Some of them are locals who have been here for almost forever.  Locals who have stories told about them on a weekly basis.  Stories from the old days when the town was an even smaller community and every member played an important role in keeping the community on the map.

Some of them are newcomers.  People who have escaped the rat race, were advised to move due to ill-health, people who have spent thirty years of annual holidays here, retirees and other habitual movers.

Others are business owners who have moved here at various stages over the past ten or twenty years and have set up successful businesses that comfortably support their families and who support their community in many different ways.

People who have suffered terrible tragedies in their lives and who have been carried and supported and brought back from the brink by this very loving community.

Strong characters, controversial characters, eccentric characters, loud and funny characters.  Characters who are either loved or hated, but no in betweens.  Talented characters who inspire and entertain.  Movers and shakers, who bring the community together at all the festive occasions during the year.

I would love to acknowledge all of these characters and I'm thinking about creating a 2012 Calendar or perhaps a small coffee table book with their photographs and a short story about their lives.

I don't want it to be a historic or serious book or calendar.  I'm thinking more along the lines of an anecdotal pictorial.  I'd like it to be light-hearted, with a bit of humour and something that everybody wants because they are either in it or know most of the people in it.

I want it to bring happiness and joy to the town and create conversation and laughter.  While doing this, perhaps I could make it a fund raiser and I could donate the proceeds to the local SES or other non-profit organisation or charity??

Off the top of my head, I can think of a dozen people who I'd love to photograph and I know there will be many more when I sit down with pen and paper to form my plan.

But right here, right now, this is the idea that I've been mulling over in my head and over the coming weeks I hope to develop the idea further and eventually create my Calendar of Characters!

This time .. the force will be with me!

I feel like I may have gone off track a little bit.

I am referring to number forty-four on my 'fifty-two things to do before I turn fifty-two' list.  Lose five kilos.

It's quite possible that since I wrote the list, which is only a week ago, that I may have actually GAINED five kilos!!

Chocolate, chips/crisps, Oreo cookies, icy poles and rocky road easter eggs.  These have been my downfall over the last week and I can feel the two spare tyres that sit loosely around my mid-section have almost grown into one big, full, tight tyre.  Oh, doesn't that conjure a pretty picture?!

I am generally a healthy eater, but just lately, I find myself making excuses for the bad food that I eat.  The voices in my head say "Just one packet of chips won't hurt." or  "If I have this block of chocolate today, I can make up for it tomorrow." (which of course never happens).

In reality, I shouldn't even be considering this junk food, or I should be happy with one little row of chocolate each day.

What is happening in my life at the moment that is causing me to search out the junk food?

It's not just the junk food either!  Lack of exercise or physical activity is contributing greatly.  I haven't played golf or tennis for almost two weeks because of the weather since we returned from our golfing week down south.  Water aerobics ceases for the school holidays.

I need a plan.  A solid exercise and healthy eating plan!

As of tomorrow, I am going to start a short stint on my cross-trainer and increase by five minutes every day until I reach thirty minutes.  I will do this until I can get back out on the golf course!

No more chips, chocolate or cookies!  I will focus on healthier food choices and I will endeavour to count my calories in the Calorie King website.

My health is of the utmost importance.  I need to increase my energy levels and focus on loving my body again and reducing my waist size.

This will all start with an extra hour of sleep at night!  So it's good night from me and even though I failed to fulfil the statement the last time I posted about my health, I will say it again ... TOMORROW WILL BE THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF MY LIFE and MAY THE FORCE BE WITH ME!!

Some Kind of Wonderful?

There is a double obsession happening in this household at the moment.

Adoring Husband bought himself a new camera.

So that I would appear loving and generous, it was agreed that this would be his anniversary gift from me!  ***insert smiley face here***

He is 'technically' minded (in a 'Sheldon' kind of way) and is reading the manual from cover to cover.

He also finds it necessary to share this new information with me... notice the glazed look in my eyes @@

Actually, thanks to him, I HAVE learnt some more about my camera, but I can only absorb short, sharp bursts of information.  If there are more than two sentences involved in this information-sharing, then the big black curtain blankets my brain and my eyes glaze over.

"All I can hear is BLAH BLAH BLAH" I advise Adoring Husband.  You can imagine his frustration!

So while he is absorbing all the technical details, I am exploring photographic websites and studying the composition of various award winning photographs and the different styles belonging to award winning photographers.

I'm also researching different photography competitions, while Adoring Husband is researching possible career opportunities and business names.

We spend hour after hour, sitting beside each other on the couch,  clicking away at our laptops, planning and dreaming about our bright futures in whatever industry we eventually choose to enter.

Adoring Husband is the impulsive, jump in the deep end decision-maker, while I am the methodical, procrastinating, think long and hard about it, decision-maker.

You would imagine that if we put both of our heads together, we might create 'Some Kind of Wonderful'!

OR we might create some kind of human volcanic eruption!!!

Is there anybody out there studying Psychiatry or Psychology at Uni and needs Case Study subjects?  ***waves hand in the air*** PICK US!
    

Advance Australia Fair

This is the epitome of being Australian!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiEycVMKoJo

If you're Australian, you will 'get it'.  If not, it might not mean much to you.

To really enjoy this clip, there are three things with which you probably need to be familiar:

1. Adam Hills, the Aussie comedian performing here. 
2. Jimmy Barnes, the iconic Aussie singer (who was actually born in Scotland), whose song Adam is using the music from, for our National Anthem. 
3. The Aussie National Anthem.

In reality, it's a private Aussie joke, that to Aussies, is hilarious!  The clip has been around for about four years, but it gives me a good giggle whenever I see it.  It usually does the rounds through email every Australia Day and every ANZAC day (which is today).

Anyway, just thought I would share that today, along with a couple more photos.  

Tonight's sunset

Lavender flower

Ruby

That's about it from me today :o)

Tooth Fairy

I have had this loose tooth for quite some time.  I think it has been pushed loose by a wisdom tooth.  Yes!  That's right!  It's one of those big teeth in the back of my head.  A top rear left molar.

It's a most unpleasant feeling to have a tooth wobbling about in the back of your head!  It's quite impossible to leave it alone and I often found my tongue sneaking back and wiggling it.

Everybody advised that I should go to a dentist and have it removed.  When I poo-pooed the idea, they responded with raised eye brows and screwed up noses.

Why would I go to a dentist and pay hundreds of dollars to have a loose tooth removed?  Why not wait til it falls out?  It's not causing me any pain or discomfort.  It just feels a bit weird!

Ok, so, aside from my fear of sharks and toads, I am also terrified of dentists!  Adoring Husband is also odontophobic and he flies to Sydney to have his teeth fixed under general anaesthetic!  My phobia prevents me from even doing that.

The last time I went to a dentist, I think, was around 1995.  I had a broken molar and had taken twenty four pain killers in twenty four hours, but the pain did not go away, so, in sheer desperation, I went to a dentist.

It did not end well.  My tooth snapped at the roots, which meant surgery was required and then I experienced 'dry socket' (an incredibly painful condition) which required medication and the whole process was expensive, painful and extremely frustrating.

So, this time,  my loose tooth became looser and looser until it was only attached by what felt like a narrow thread.

Yesterday, I began to feel a dull pain in my gum and last night, it became very uncomfortable and felt like it might be spreading into my cheek.

This, I felt, was a very bad sign and I was just beginning to wonder where I might find a dentist over Easter, who could fix my problem.  Thoughts of infections moving to my brain and irreversible brain damage began to invade my head!  Ugh!

So I went to bed last night, fully expecting to wake during the night, either in severe pain, bleeding uncontrollably or with blood poisoning.  My imagination conjures the most dramatic conditions and we all know that the imagination is ALWAYS much worse that reality!

I woke up this morning with absolutely no pain.  All of the discomfort from the day before had disappeared and I was feeling incredibly relieved that my brain damage would be minimal at worst.

At lunch time I decided to have a watermelon and pineapple frosty fruit icy pole (for which I could very easily form an addiction!).  With the first bite, I felt this strange sensation and when my tongue found it's way to my loose tooth, the tooth came free!

Yay!!  No pain.  No tooth.  No infection.  No problem.

I asked Adoring Husband "Do you think that if I put it in a glass, the tooth fairy might take it and leave me some money?".

He looked at me like I was crazy.  "Probably not." he replied.

Personally, I think the tooth fairy should leave me a small fortune!   I mean, how often is he/she offered a tooth with so much wisdom and life experience?  These teeth are rare and priceless I would have thought!

So, Tooth Fairy, if you are reading this ... my tooth is in the big rubbish bin in the back yard.  If you think it's of any value, please repay me by letting my Oz 7 lotto ticket ring some winning bells when we check it next week!  Much appreciated :o)

Happy Birthday to ME ME ME!

Today, I get to cross off one of the fifty two things to do before I turn fifty two!  I enjoyed turning fifty one!

Adoring Husband already gave me Bob (the camera) for my birthday and so had fulfilled his husbandly birthday duties and then some!  However, upon my arrival home from the markets, he greeted me with a dozen red roses and a box of divinely delicious chocolates!

This was already much more than I expected and left me feeling very loved, but then there was a 'BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!' moment.

Tomorrow is our first wedding anniversary but Adoring Husband, unable to contain his need to bring me more joy, handed me two more gift wrapped boxes.  One long narrow red box with a bow and another that I guessed might be a soft cover book - perhaps on Photography I guessed to myself?

I opened the first box to find a beautiful long stemmed red rose to represent one year of marriage.

As I opened the second gift, I watched Adoring Husband's face as I did it.  He was like a little boy with the most amazing facial expressions, watching expectantly as I got closer to revealing the gift within.  I can't explain the joy I got from just watching his face.

Anyway, the traditional symbol for the first wedding anniversary is 'paper'.  Adoring Husband had beautifully gift wrapped a packet of A4 Glossy photograph paper and attached a note suggesting that I could use this paper to begin creating the photographic memories of our marriage.

If there is one thing I appreciate in life, it's a gift that has a lot of thought put into it and requires little cost.  It's even more special when it comes from Adoring Husband because it's a new concept for him and I am so impressed with his successful efforts to date.

At Christmas, for the first time ever, we gave each other a spending limit of $35.  To begin with, Adoring Husband was panic stricken and really struggled with the whole concept.

He eventually found the perfect gift, without any outside assistance - painted and carved timber trees that I could use for display stands for jewellery on my stalls.  I was ecstatic!

So, once again, my lovely man has made me feel special on my birthday and after lots of phone calls and lovely facebook messages from friends and family,  it has been a happy birthday for ME ME ME!

Excellence in Parenting (or lack of it).

After yesterday's effort at being non-creative, I had reason today, to question the 'fear of success' comment.

I've begun reading a blog called 'Single Dad Laughing' http://www.danoah.com/? and the first post that I read yesterday was called 'Worthless Teenagers and the Parents Who Make Them'.   

For a male, he is wise and perceptive.  I love the way he writes and I love the way he thinks.  He made me think about my efforts as a parent.  I responded to his most recent post today, and a part of my comment reads:

• I shake my head in disbelief at how thoughtless and selfish I was as a parent of young  children and  teenagers and I shake my head in wonder at how well they are doing as adults despite my dreadful shortcomings.  I can't begin to imagine the limits they put on their own potential because of me.

*******

An intelligent human being with a bit of life experience behind them, will look at the way their parents raised them, recognise the magic and use it thoughtfully.  They will also recognise the mistakes and figure out a way to NOT make the same ones with their own children.

Parenting is more complex than you can ever imagine it is before you take on the role.  To even do an adequate job, it requires 100% dedication and commitment.  I certainly did NOT do that.

I was young and immature and selfish and if I could go back knowing what I know now, how different life would be for my kids.

There are lots of contributing factors to my inadequate parenting (too numerous to mention) and considering my many errors in judgement, my children became pretty amazing adults.

Thinking of all the defining moments in their lives, moments that I witnessed and those that I didn't, the decisions that they made at those times were, on the whole, the right decisions for them.

They didn't make any life destroying decisions.  They have made mistakes, which we all do, and they have learned from those mistakes and their characters have certainly been strengthened.

I wonder if, like me, they hold back.  I wonder if, like me, they find reasons or excuses to not do something amazing instead of believing all of the reasons why they SHOULD do something amazing.

I wonder if they have missed opportunities because I have passed on my emotional baggage to them.  Or worse!!  What if I have created NEW emotional baggage?!  Ugh!

Let me take this opportunity to tell my grown children ...

Early on, I certainly made life into a bit of an obstacle course for you and you have shown such strength of character to struggle your way through and over all the obstacles that I (and others) placed in your life path.

I apologise for passing on so much of my emotional baggage to you during your childhood.

I so hope that you can find even some small glimpses of magic in your experiences with me that you can use when raising your own kids.

I also hope that you don't make my mistakes, but make your own, be they small,  that you can apologise for in the future.

I think that taking all of my shortcomings and some of my terrible life decisions into consideration,  you guys have turned out to be pretty amazing human beings!

I am incredibly proud of you and I reckon that if you can survive the first sixteen years of your life with me, you can survive ANYTHING!!

So open your heart and your mind to all the potential that is yours and don't hold back!  I will love and support you and take pride in your achievements.  I will love and support you and give you a shoulder to cry on if it takes more than one try.

Please don't be afraid of more success.  Don't have regrets.

Most importantly, be happy.  Life is short and feeling your heart bursting with joy is something that you should be trying to experience on a regular basis.

If you are already doing all of these things, then my work is done!  What an excellent parent I have been and excuse me while I bask in the glory!

      

Overwhelmed by my non-creativity

At some point over the past few months I was feeling creative, artistic and imaginative.  I believed that I could jump into the realms of the artistic world, and suddenly the juices would flow, my imagination would come alive and the universe would bow to my arty farty greatness!!

• I have filled my jewellery making stocks almost to capacity.  
• I now have in my possession, the camera to cause envy among the masses.  
• I have the quality pastel pencils and top grade paper for my planned portrait extravaganza.  
• I have a complete set of soft graphite pencils for amazing and awe inspiring sketches.

With all of these high hopes and promises (in my own mind) of genius brilliance, I have placed myself under so much pressure that my brain has drawn that big black curtain of dazed nothingness across my thought processes.

My head is now full of mashed potato with little pieces of chopped up raw onion - NO that's wrong because I LOVE mashed potato with little pieces of chopped up raw onion - so that would be a good thing!

My head is now full of .... nothing!

I am incapable of even deciding which of these artistic pursuits I want to tackle first!

I was told by somebody who knows me well, that I am afraid of success.  I don't think I am alone there.  I believe that many people are afraid of success ... and afraid of failure ... or just plain afraid.

So I guess my next task is to figure out how to dig myself out of this brain numbing nothingness and make a plan.  I think I need to create some kind of structure (which kind of goes against the whole essence of being artistic!).

If I was a bloke I could multi-task.  Males can do lots of things at once.  They don't do any of them well ... kind of like a Jack Of All Trades but Master Of None hehehe.  I bet Adoring Husband is seething at this comment hehehe.

I need to focus on one thing at a time.  I also need to do that one thing well.  Otherwise there is no point in doing it!

Even with housework.  If I don't have the time to do a chore perfectly OR if I'm not in the mood to do the chore perfectly, then I just won't do it at all!  It's all or nothing!

This is where my brain is at.  I am overwhelmed by my non-creativity.  I'm all flumozzled.  I think I just made that up.  Oh!  A creative moment!

Put a smile on my dial!

Could you ... would you ... go to this website and vote for my photo???

Here is the photo:

Here is the link to vote:

http://www.discoverwildlife.com/wildlife-nature-photography/photo-contest/april%202011%20photo%20contest%3a%20baby%20animals

Thank you, thank you, thank you for putting a smile on my dial :o) 

Fifty two things to do before I turn fifty two!

I have been advised that anybody who reads my blog in a reader, can't see the side bar with my 'Fifty two things to do before I turn fifty two', so I have been requested to do a dedicated post for it.  Here goes:

1. Make somebody smile every day.
2. Enter the Canon EOS 5 competition.
3. Watch 'Love Actually' on Christmas eve.
4. Enjoy turning 51.
5. Have a technology-free day.
6. Go to a Broncos footy game.
7. Host a lunch for the girls.
8. Have a romantic candlelit dinner for two with Adoring Husband.
9. Go out at dusk for a photographic trek.
10. Get up at dawn for a photographic trek.
11. Get a foot massage.
12. Eat a purely vegan diet for a week.
13. Enjoy every moment with Chicklet.
14. Tell Adoring Husband every day, that I love him.
15. Visit my BFF (2000 kms away)
16. Create a website for either my jewellery or my photography.
17. Learn to make vegan dumplings.
18. Take my dogs to the free dog whisperer at the park.
19. Get to the 2011 Childers Multi-cultural Festival.
20. Go to a concert or a show.
21. Keep DDD up-to-date.
22. Watch the complete series of 'Friends'.
23. Create a green smoothie habit four days a week.
24. Complete three pastel portraits of friends.
25. Go to the midnight screening of Breaking Dawn.
26. Walk along the beach with the dogs once a week.
27. Continue writing my blog.
28. Practise and experiment with my camera
29. Go whale watching.
30. Write a letter to Nellie every month (and remember to post it).
31. Make something for Chicklet.
32. Try five new recipes from Vegan Chickie's blog.
33. Give up ice cream for six months.
34. Make a batch of soup for the boys on the 'Seat of Knowledge'.
35. Have a picnic lunch by myself at the park.
36. Create the necklace that BGWLBH asked for two years ago.
37. Watch all of the Twilight movies in one day.
38. Go beach exploring.
39. Educate myself about frogs.
40. Spend some time every week reading in my hammock.
41. Plant more veggies in the garden.
42. Invite five people outside my usual circle of friends for morning tea.
43. Write a poem.
44. Catch the bus into town and spend the day alone.
45. Lose five kilos.
46. Clean out the spare bedroom.
47. Set up my jewellery stall at the Howard markets.
48. Finish the big crocheted bed spread.
49. Read the Macrobiotic book from cover to cover.
50. Phone my sister monthly.
51. Host a dinner party.
52. Have my eyes tested and get some prescription reading glasses.

I will commence to check things off this list beginning 23rd April 2011, which is the day that I turn fifty one!!  The only real challenge here is to REMEMBER to do one thing off the list every week!!  

Glory or Flame Lily

Gosh!  What a grey, wet old day it is today!

The rain stopped and sun shone just long enough this morning for me to jump on my trike and pedal down to the bakery for my morning coffee.

I squeezed in about forty minutes with the boys at 'The Seat of Knowledge' before I noticed those big black clouds scudding across the sky towards us, so I jumped back on my trike and headed for home.

There was a soft mist of rain to ride through for the last couple of minutes before I arrived home, but I made it home before the heavens opened up, yet again.

A good day for getting comfortable on the couch and watching movies, reading magazines, researching photographic competitions online, watching cooking shows or, as Adoring Husband is doing right now, falling asleep and shooting out some ZZZZZZZZs!

Cooking shows aren't always a good idea on the first day of a healthy lifestyle change ... especially when the subject is 'Desserts'.  I am drooling over a delicious looking Trifle and a Lemon Curd Tart at the moment.  Pure torture!

I made a frittata for lunch, with the leftover roasted vegetables from last night's dinner.  Very nice, but how I long for a big bowl of Granma's famous trifle (Yes Granma, you know who you are!  I know you are reading this!).

The other form of pure torture that I've suffered today was watching a Science Fiction movie that Adoring Husband was keen to see, called 'Skyline'.  My advice to you is DON'T BOTHER.

If you read my post on April 16th, where I showed a beautiful flower that I had discovered during my walk along the river, I accidentally came across it's name yesterday.

I was looking at somebody else's photo stream in Flickr (which is a website for photographers to display and share their photos), when I came across a photo of the same flower!

It was such a strange co-incidence, since both Adoring Husband and I had tried, unsuccessfully to find the flower online.

We googled it and discovered that it's the National Flower of Zimbabwe.  We also discovered that, as with so many of the most beautiful flowers and berries, it's highly toxic and regarded as a weed in Queensland!

I don't care.  I still love it!!  It's called a Glory Lily or a Flame Lily.

PS  Notice to the right, my 'Fifty two things to do before I turn fifty two'.  This begins on 23rd April!

Healthy living

So, I mentioned a couple of days ago that my life would be perfect if I could eat all of my favourite food in large quantities without it affecting my weight or my health.

The reason I said it was because THAT is exactly what I have been doing for a couple of months now and even though I haven't weighed myself, I can tell by my clothes that I have gained weight around my middle.

I have a couple of spare tyres.  They aren't too bad while I'm standing up, but when I sit down, they spread beautifully, filling out my clothes until they are stretched most unattractively around my mid section.

Today, I decided that it was time to do something about it and get back to my healthy eating and exercise plan.

The dreadful wet season that we've had in this part of the world has meant that my golf mornings and tennis evenings have been cancelled more often than not.

I haven't replaced them with any other form of exercise, even though I have a cross trainer, exercise bike, mini trampoline  and mini weights here in the house.

In the past I've used a web site called Calorie King to help me count my calories and diarise my exercise.  If any of you are interested, here is the link http://www.calorieking.com.au/ 

The reason that I count my calories is so that I can work out whether I can have the yummy treats at night!

I eat lots of fruit and vegetables and nuts and grains, but if I'm not careful, I can get a bit carried away with the cheeses, creamy sauces, potatoes, bread and chocolate.  If I count my calories, it actually psyches me out of eating those things!

I also know that I'm not eating well because I'm losing all of my energy by 2pm and needing a nap!

So today is the first day of the rest of my life!  I'm not going to mention my actual weight (because that's just plain embarrassing!), but I will update my weight loss  each week here on my blog and we will keep progress together.

According to all the weight charts, I need to lose about fifteen kgs, but I would like to lose ten.  I would like to lose these kgs by the 1st July, which is when I am travelling down south to visit my BFF.

Onward and upward ***raises hand in the air*** and May The Force Be With Me!!

 

Mother Nature's Miracles

I have spent so much time with my old and new photographs in the last couple of days, that I thought I might share some of them with you.

After doing the photography course last weekend, I am looking at them all with different eyes.  Some, that I thought were great photos, now look very ordinary and others just needed playing with to look better.

A little cropping here, a little straightening there and suddenly it's like a brand new photo!  I'm not a fan of photoshopping, so I left that program on my old computer.

Bob (the camera) came with it's own program for bringing a bit of happiness to a photo.  My aim, every time  I press the button, is to take a photo that doesn't require touching.  A photo with such good composition and clarity and colour that it can go straight from camera to computer to viewer and receive a perfectly positive response.

I know that there are photographers who have worked for years and still haven't fulfilled that dream, so I don't expect it to happen soon.  That doesn't mean that I won't stop trying!

Here are some sunsets from my part of the world.

Every sunrise and every sunset is different and they are never boring.  Even on a clear day, when the sun rises over the water or sets behind the trees, it still brings joy to the heart.  

I love to photograph people, animals, flowers and trees, landscapes and all things from nature, but sunrises and sunsets, they are Mother Nature's miracles and considering how angry she has been lately, we should be taking pleasure from her daily miracles.

Living the Dream!

I have had a most enjoyable, self indulgent day.  When I think about it, most of my days are enjoyable and self indulgent!  That's exactly why life is good!

My 'chores' consisted of making the bed, hanging out a load of washing, cleaning out the refrigerator, feeding the chooks all the food that was ejected from the refrigerator and doing some grocery shopping.

My self indulgence consisted of morning coffee from the bakery, then sitting with my boys at the Seat of Knowledge for a bit over an hour discussing my week away and catching up on the local gossip.

I spent about ninety minutes wandering around the park by the river and practising the things that I learned in Maleny with Bob (the camera) and got a couple of nice shots in the process.

I found this most beautiful flower and even though I have investigated online to discover it's name, I've come up empty, so if there is anybody out there who knows it's name, I would appreciate the education!

What am I?

Reluctantly, I came home and did my chores before sitting down with my laptop and Bob.  I checked out my photos, then uploaded some to my Flickr Photostream, spent a couple of hours going through my discs of old photos and put a couple of them onto Flickr as well.

I caught up with my emails, had a look at facebook, sent my pic of the day to Vegan chickie and my daily photo to my photo group.  I then enjoyed five episodes of 'Friends' before preparing tonight's dinner!  Here I am, finishing my day with a blog post!

There is really only one thing missing in my life and if I had this thing, my life would be spot on, ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!!  This thing is ... the ability to eat all the food that I love in large quantities without it affecting my weight or my health.

Yes, I know.  If that's all I've got to wish for, then I'm doing exactly what all those bumper stickers say and I really am LIVING THE DREAM!!

Equal Air Time

Number One Son has now requested equal air time and I promised that I would fulfil that request tonight.

After a very tumultuous and traumatic start to his youth and then struggling through to adulthood, he joined the Air Force at the age of twenty, learned some self discipline and became an Avionics Technician which set the foundation for a promising career and future.

He is now 29 yrs of age.  He left the Air Force just over a year ago and has been a single man since about November last year.  He recently made a bad error in judgement.

As a result he had an EPIPHANY!

Suddenly, he can see his future more clearly and he has set himself goals. He has a plan.  His 'error in judgement'  may end up being the best thing that ever happened to him ... if his plan comes to fruition!

I must say that I have heard many of Number One Son's plans in the past and at the end of those conversations, I knew that the plans were ideas in his head that would never eventuate.

This plan, however, seems to have quite a bit more conviction behind it.  There is a change in his attitude and a confidence in his voice that I haven't heard before.

He has quit drinking alcohol.

I can sense the seed of change has been planted and I'm looking forward to watching it grow.

Number One Son is also quite a talented artist.  He has recently picked up his pencils and began to draw again after putting his art on the back burner for a few years.

He is a big fan of the Copic Markers at the moment!

So, being the lovely Mum that I am, my goal for Number One Son is to encourage (insert 'nag') him to quit smoking, help educate (insert 'nag') him about healthy eating,  set an example (insert 'nag') about having an active lifestyle and remind (insert 'nag') him to drive, drive, drive and get his driver's licence.

None of my children, who are aged 31, 29 and 26, have their driver's licence and nor do I.  None of us have learned to drive!!  Strange, but true!!

So, I can end this post by telling Number One Son - I love you.  I'm proud of how far you have come since those tumultuous teenage years and I am looking forward to watching your new life journey unfold.  There are no limits to your potential!  

There is your equal air time - now get cracking so that I can brag in future posts about your progress!

   

One Birdie ALL Day!

No!  Not me!  Adoring Husband did it of course!

Today, we played eighteen holes of golf at the Hyatt Regency Coolum, which is where the Australian PGA is held.  Adoring Husband was so excited about this, that his enthusiasm rubbed off on me and I was excited too!

We drove up the long driveway to where the concierge opened the car door for me.  We dropped off our golf gear while Adoring Husband parked the car and then made our way to the pro shop.  This is where we checked in for our game and were issued instructions about the carts and where to tee off.

Considering how expensive it is to play on this course, I was very surprised by how busy it was.  Carts were queued up at the first tee and they were sending people off in groups of four, which meant that Adoring Husband and I were paired with another two people.

Bob and Peter were our golfing buddies for the day.  Bob had just bought into a pre-existing membership, and told us that it entitled him to 40-50% off his games.  I'm guessing he was in his late sixties and he was a very tall, fit and strong man.  He was about three inches, at least, taller than Adoring Husband, who is six feet tall.

He was a lovely old bloke who was very helpful explaining each hole and where the tricky parts were and he was very patient with my game.  He was encouraging and funny while I had the WORST game EVER!

His son, Peter, would only have been in his early thirties and was even nicer than Bob.  He quietly told me to relax and enjoy the game and not worry about them being there ... after I had told him that I was feeling a bit under pressure playing with three big-hitting males.

The course is VERY tough, which is why they have the PGA there.  All three men lost, on average, about a dozen golf balls each.  I lost four!  There are water hazards on all but two holes and a couple of them are almost impossible for females to hit over.

Adoring Husband played the best hole of the day with his birdie.  Even though the other men were BIG hitters, they weren't very accurate, HOWEVER, they made a tough day of golf much more pleasurable and I thanked them for that when we parted company.

This afternoon, as exhausted as we were, the Noosa National Park beckoned us and we drove out there with Bob (Bob, the Canon camera, in case you forgot).

There, in the wild, perched high in a eucalyptus tree, was this gorgeous little fellow ...

Neither Adoring Husband or I, have ever seen a Koala in it's natural habitat before.  We've seen them in wildlife parks and zoos and we've even held one, but this was more exciting for us than any of those experiences!  How amazing!

We've had a great day!  There was only one birdie all day ... and a koala :o)  

Life is good!

  

Full Stop, no Returns!

I'm in trouble.  That should be trouble with a capital 'T'.  I'm in trouble with my youngest daughter, Bubbles.  It was Knight in Shining Armour's (her boyfriend's) birthday today.  The date sneaked up on me and I didn't send his birthday gift.

I am also in trouble for not mentioning them in any of my blog posts so far.  I tried to explain that I only mention people if I have actually spent time with them and shared some kind of recent experience with them and now I have been ordered to visit them in Sydney, so that I will have something to write about!

So, we talked on the phone and I took my punishment like a good mother and mother-in-law should - by making jokes, blaming my age and pleading stupidity.  I think that I'm forgiven and we are all still friends but they rubbed it in by telling me that they are sending MY birthday gift in the mail tomorrow!

I am a bad mother/mother-in-law ***sad face***

It was very nice talking to them though.  ***happy face***  We always have a good giggle.  But we don't talk often enough.

Bubbles lived with me until she was twenty four years of age.  She moved out on her own just before we moved to Queensland. She didn't want a long distance relationship with Knight in Shining Armour.  The things we do for love!

I hope she is happy.  She is a bit like me.  Quite stoic.  She doesn't let her feelings show (except when she is angry!) and it's difficult for us to keep up with each other's lives, because we live 2000 kms apart.  Facebook is our friend :o)  She works long hours.  Like I said, we don't talk often enough.

Bubbles and her lovely Mum (that would be me!)

I love you Bubbles :o)  blah blah blah full stop and no returns!

PS  I DIDN'T forget ... it just sneaked up on me 'all of a sudden-like'!!!
PPS  Am I forgiven?  I have finally introduced you to the world!!
PPPS  Adoring Husband owes you a big favour, because I had a special blog aimed at him tonight - you saved him (for now!)

Exhausted but happy!

Thank goodness the rain stopped during the night and golf was able to commence on time today, without any hassles.  To our delight, we woke to a beautiful sunshiny day and hundreds of lorikeets screeching across the sky!

Our lovely driver, Jamie, arrived at 7.30am with his bus and trailer to drive us to Twin Waters Golf Club.

We wondered why he was taking so long to get out of the bus to unlock the trailer for our golfing gear, and when he finally hobbled around the corner, his leg was bandaged and he was on crutches!

Golf, apparently, is a very dangerous sport.  He bent down to pick up a ball and snapped his achilles tendon.  Another friend of ours bent down to put a ball on a tee and slipped a disc in his back.  I think we had best take it slowly this week ... who knows what might happen!

It took a good thirty minutes to drive to the club.  We were directed to our cart, which was part of the package deal, and were sent to the tenth hole to commence our game behind the last of the veterans who were playing their comp day.

The veterans were very slow and were obviously playing for solid gold golf balls today, because they were taking a very very very long time with their putting.  Needless to say, Adoring Husband and I, spent a lot of time waiting around for them to finish each hole, which created a bottle neck of other players behind us.

Apparently, veterans don't have to wave people through, so it made for a bit of a frustrating and longer day than expected, for me anyway.

Adoring Husband was uncharacteristically calm and relaxed through it all - probably because he was having such a good game.

Perhaps he needs old blokes slowing things down so that he has time to think about his game!

Ahhhh, it all makes sense to me now!

The grounds were quite lovely.  A bit wet and slushy in parts.  There was lots of wildlife and bird life, beautiful big ponds with flowering lillies,  fish jumping everywhere, little mini rain forests scattered about and a lovely girl in a shiny red cart who scooted along the paths selling refreshments.  How cool was that?!  Although selling beer at 8.30 in the morning didn't seem quite right to me!

After it was all over, we found our way to the club house and ordered some lunch and drinks.  Salt n pepper squid with salad for me and a Thai Beef Salad for Adoring Husband.  Once again, DELICIOUS!  We have been very lucky so far with our food choices.

Thirty minutes in the bus home was just enough time for every muscle and every bone in my body to sieze up.  Even though we had a cart, I still tried to walk as much as possible, as long as it wasn't going to slow us down too much for the people behind us.

We had planned on walking this afternoon and going in the opposite direction to yesterday to check out the local shopping, but I just wasn't up for it, and needed to rest up a bit.

Adoring Husband seemed quite put out by this.  He informed me that we were on holidays and he didn't want to spend all day at home in the apartment.  Of course, I then reminded him that we had just spent almost 8 hours away from the apartment!

"Well" he retorts "I'm going for a walk!"
"Excellent!" I reply "Could you please bring me home a take-away skinny cappuccino?"
"I'll see if I can find a place that sells them", he says.

With that, he walked into the kitchen,  made himself a sandwich and plonked himself down onto the couch.  He ate the sandwich, finished the beer, lay down on the couch and promptly fell asleep!  I'm so pleased that he's not wasting any of his precious holiday time!

I'm looking forward to going out for a nice dinner tonight and hopefully a good night's sleep will ease all the bits of my body that are complaining so loudly.

Despite Adoring Husband's obvious need to fill every waking moment with activity, we are exhausted but happy!

Rain, rain, go away!

Well, here we are, Adoring Husband and I, at Noosa, in a lovely self contained apartment, all ready for our week of golf which should commence tomorrow morning at 7.30am.

We spent the morning browsing through shops in Maleny, then visited Andrew at his Gallery in Montville, where we got to see some more of his work and spent an hour chatting with him and learning just a tiny bit more about photography.

After we left Andrew, we had a delicious lunch at a lovely restaurant with views that took in all of the rolling green hills, mountains and all the way to the ocean on the coastline.  Just spectacular on a perfect sunshiny day.

The drive from there to Noosa was about an hour long and uneventful.  We were pleasantly surprised when we stepped over the threshold of this lovely apartment and after we unpacked, we went for a walk along the Noosa River which was a hive of activity.

Kayaking, houseboats, jet skis, charter boats, ferries, private boats, surf skis, in fact the river was busier than the main road!  We then walked back on the opposite side of the road where all the restaurants displayed their menus, and we chose a couple that we will return to later in the week.

It was still quite early, so we decided to go for a drive to the National Park, where they have bush walking trails that were recommended for good photo opportunities.

The first place that we stopped was just so busy, I couldn't imagine it being peaceful anywhere along the track, so we left there and drove in the opposite direction and came upon about 20 kite surfers all in the water having a marvellous time weaving in and out and between each other.

It was a spectacle, so Adoring Husband and I made ourselves comfortable on a bench seat and sat observing them for about an hour.  We both took lots of photos, some of which I will add here after we get home next week.

We could see lots of big black clouds building up in the West and expected to witness a spectacular sunset, but it kind of fizzled out to nothing.  By now, it was getting late, so on the drive home, we decided to order Thai takeaway from a menu in our information booklet.

It was delivered to our room less than an hour later, and we both agreed that it was the BEST Thai that we had ever eaten.  Absolutely delicious!!  A perfect way to end a most enjoyable day...

... until the rain came!  It has been pouring rain for over an hour now and doesn't look like letting up!  Will it stop before morning?  Will it be dry enough to play golf?  I love the sound of rain at night and I think that we will both fall asleep happily listening to it ... but we will be ecstatic if the rain would just go away before morning!!

Education, Relaxation and Feeling the Love!

I've spent the whole weekend with fourteen other camera lovers, including the teacher, Andrew Goodall, who owns a gallery in Montville called 'Nature's Image Photography'.

He is a great teacher who uses simple language,  is willing to answer any question (no matter how stupid it seems) and shares his knowledge and experience freely.  He talks about the composition of photographs and how to get a great shot, instead of telling you to take any old shot and then fix it in photoshop (of which I am not a big fan).

This weekend, I have learnt a lot about my new camera and even more about photography.  I now look at the photos that I thought were pretty good and see that they are pretty average!  It's time to start again and aim for much better results!

I am inspired!

If you are interested in doing a workshop, checking out his work, or visiting his gallery, here is the link:

http://www.naturesimage.com.au/

I highly recommend him as a teacher and even as an all round nice person!  Very talented and very down to earth.

The other great thing about this weekend is that it was in a little town called Maleny, which is up in the mountains on the Sunshine Coast.  Rolling green hills, lush healthy rain forests, waterfalls and lakes, streets lined with craft stores, cafes and restaurants that cater to all tastes including vegan and vegetarian.

It's a town wrapped up in a welcoming warmth and the hippie in me feels very comfortable and happy here.

I spent an hour in the markets this morning before my lift arrived to take me to the course.  It was set up in a hall across the road from the pub where I am staying.

I bought a lovely silk/wool blend scarf in deep purples and greens and a lovely purple beaded shell necklace.  I could have spent LOTS of money there, but I think that I controlled myself pretty well!

Lunch, today, was spent with two other students.  Gail, about my age, who is a Psychologist with her own private practice and Summer who would be in her late twenties and is a Supervisor with a mining company.  Both lovely women, intelligent and very interesting to talk with.

Tomorrow, Adoring Husband is coming to pick me up and we are going to spend the morning in Maleny and then drive to Montville, where I will visit my teacher's gallery, before we head to the coast to check into our motel for the week.

We plan on spending every morning playing golf at different courses and every afternoon sight-seeing and finding photographic opportunities.

It's going to be a fabulous week and I am very excited to be spending some time with Adoring Husband with no obligations except to have a good time together and feeling the love!