Awkwardly Easy

It's been an easy day.

I didn't want an easy day.

I wanted a full day jam-packed with an intense workload that, in the end, would be perfectly completed.

It all started very pleasantly with Lady Lynn and Maid Marian over coffee. We enjoyed a relaxing ninety minutes having a great catch up. It's been a long time since LL could manage a leisurely morning with us, so I think we made the most of it while we could.

I returned home to my workspace, but felt quite discombobulated at my desk.

So many things to do, but where to start?!

I kind of just clutched at straws. I did a little bit of this and a little bit of that, all the while thinking I should be doing something more important.

I watched a couple of webinars on creating passive income, business coaching, upgrading certain areas of your business, decluttering, manifesting - all the totally non-productive stuff that I didn't need to know about, on a day when I should have been super productive!!

By late in the afternoon, I decided that a 'to-do' list might be necessary, so that's what I did next.

Tomorrow should be more productive.

One very fun thing happened today! One of my jewellery orders was delivered!

Some new snap buttons and a few different bracelets/bangles (my apologies for the crappy phone photos) ...

A small selection of the new buttons ...

This was Adoring Husband's handiwork yesterday ...

It was a birthday gift from The Motivator (which was in April) that has finally found a home.

Adoring Husband, at my request, purchased this new skinny cupboard from IKEA on the way home from his trip away last week. It's to replace the ugly old brown one that has been in our bathroom for the last 9 years.

Next on the agenda will be my new desk that AH is booked to assemble on Friday. Watch this space for photos of that!! I'm excited!!

I guess I should get some sleep so that I CAN BE SUPER PRODUCTIVE tomorrow!!

Nite all.







 

Abundantly Clear

It's abundantly obvious that I have money blocks that I need to clear.

You could probably spend a good deal of time writing down many stories from your childhood, youth and adult years where money was a problem.

Can you hear your parents or your partner or even you saying "No, we can't afford it." or "That's too expensive." or "We've got three bills to pay this month, so we need to be careful with our money." or "You've got enough pairs of shoes." or "We can't touch our savings." or "Don't be so extravagant!" or "Turn off the air conditioner or our power bill will be too high."

Do you remember scrounging around in the bottom of your bag to find enough money for that loaf of bread?

Do you worry about breaking that $50 note because it will disappear faster?

Do you wait until that beautiful dress is on sale, only to discover that your size has gone?

Do you have memories of your father getting into trouble for spending the last of the house money on a horse race or a bottle of beer?

Did your parents struggle to find the money for you to go on a school excursion?

Did you wish that you could afford to give your kids the $200 Nike shoes like all the other kids had, instead of the $20 daggy K-Mart runners?

Did you ever have to live in Government Housing because you couldn't afford anywhere else?

Did you ever have to choose between health insurance or house and contents insurance because you couldn't afford both? Or perhaps you couldn't afford any?

Did you ever have to go to the emergency ward at the hospital because you couldn't afford to go to the doctor's surgery?

On the opposite end of the spectrum ...

Did you ever have to miss out on something amazing, like a weekend away or a show because your friend couldn't afford it?

Have friends or acquaintances made the "Life is tough for SOME people." comment because you have regular holidays, or buy a lot of shoes, or wear expensive jewellery or eat at nice restaurants?

Do friends or family often ask to borrow money because they think that you are 'well off'?

Do you listen to people make judgements and derogatory comments about others who appear to be wealthier than the average person?

Honestly, there is so much negativity surrounding money, earning, saving, spending, budgeting etc.

One of my courses required me writing down every money memory that I could think of. I filled ten pages in an hour and every day, I think of more. Both positive and negative .. but mostly negative.

Those are the memories that need to be let go. Decluttering and cleansing the negative money memories and creating new positive beliefs and plans for future money experiences.

There are so many opportunities to create personal wealth and brilliant ideas just waiting for action, but money blocks prevent or limit forward movement.

On top of money blocks, are the self beliefs. Not smart enough. Not good enough. Not fast enough. Not pretty enough. Not skinny enough. Not qualified enough. Not competent enough. Not talented enough. Not strong enough. Not brave enough. Blah. Blah. Blah.

These imagined failings are mostly believed by older women, of themselves, because history has given us roles that were usually caring or supportive roles and we rarely cared for, or about ourselves. We Baby Boomers were always looking out for the men and children. Women held everything together or worked the menial jobs, while the men went out and paved the way for future generations of other men.

Well, guess what ...

The times have changed. With today's technology, opportunities are there for everyone to take hold and create an abundant future for themselves. I want to grab my opportunities and break down my self built barriers every time I hit them ... and I know there will be many along the way ... keeping the momentum will be my challenge.

I have a 'shit to do' journal. It will help keep me on my forward path.

One of the best things to help keep me energised on my forward journey, is a good night's sleep!

So ...

Nite all.    

G & F Sunday

What a perfectly divine Sunday.

Yesterday afternoon (Saturday) when I bought my arvo coffee, I bought two and put one in the fridge so that I could reheat it this morning (Sunday) and climb back into bed.

My morning lasted for it's entirety - it was noon when I decided to greet the day properly.

I completely took over the king-sized bed with my stable table, laptop, iPad, iPhone, journals, books, pens, paperwork, water bottle, glasses, TV remote, fan remote (I had to turn on the fan last night!) and of course, my coffee.

It was heavenly!

Considering it was after midday by the time I rose, I heated up some beef vindaloo curry for lunch, which was extra delicious after 24 hours in the fridge.

I had a quick visit from The Old Speckled Hen and Dirty Old Man when they delivered a birthday invitation to his 80th birthday in August.

After that, I sat down to Netflix and watched (for the third time), Series 3 of Grace and Frankie.

Adoring Husband arrived home from his weekend in Bundaberg just before 5pm, so we caught up with our news before watching some more G & F and eventually, I found my way to the kitchen where I prepared lamb rack with vegetables (beans, peas and broccoli) and fried potatoes. It was delicious and satisfying.

Tonight, I've watched Bridget Jones's Baby (also for the third time) and thoroughly enjoyed it as well.

So, that was my perfect Sunday :)

I hope to spend the next couple of days at my workspace ... I have been very neglectful of my website for almost two weeks and I need to change that.

So ... time for bed.

Nite all.

Ready For Bed

Gosh, I feel like my day has been full on.

I worked first thing this morning, after which I pedalled down to get my morning coffee.

When I arrived home, I drank my coffee, did a quick tidy up, made my lunch to take to Art class and then sat down to order some jewellery that some of my ladies have asked for.

At 9.30am, my lift arrived and we drove to The Motivator's house to pick up her pottery bust. She can't attend the classes for the next couple of weeks, so 'Teach' is taking care of it for her.

We only have one class left next week, before a six week break ... which I'm a bit sad about ... but one of the girls is going on a cruise for a month and then 'Teach' will be away for five weeks, so looking on the bright side, I may even get to sell my wares at the markets next month because I'll have a Saturday free!

My time in class was spent attaching some more tiles to the table top and 'Teach' showed me how to mix the grout, so I grouted all the tiles that were in place, which was about a quarter. Hopefully, I will finish the whole thing next week and MAYBE even get to bring it home.

Once again, the three hours flew by and it was time to leave.

No sooner had I arrived home, when the doorbell rang and Beauty was at my door for a quick visit to pay me the last little bit of her order and look for a gift for a friend.

After she left, I enjoyed a slice of key lime pie and then decided to pedal to the shops to get myself an afternoon coffee. I was almost tempted to buy some junk food, but instead I chose to be kind to my body. I'm pleased that I made that decision now and I'm going to be even kinder, by having another early night.

Adoring Husband drove home from Bundaberg this afternoon to get his medication and immediately left to return to Bundy for the second half of his course tomorrow.

I'm watching the football at the moment and there have been some good games on today. Unfortunately, I have not got any of my tips correct today. In four weeks, I have gone from second on the ladder to about second last!! Ugh.

Anyway, I'm off to bed. Have a happy Sunday!

Nite all.

Oh My Goodness!

Can you believe it? I was in bed by 7.30pm and after reading for a while, was asleep by 8.30pm. I woke at 12.19am for a visit to the bathroom and then slept soundly until 5.30am. How fabulous!

While I sat up in bed this morning, in my summer pyjamas, drinking coffee and reading some more of my book, with the window open and enjoying the crisp breeze floating across the room, Adoring Husband was wandering around the house all rugged up as if it was snowing outside and berating me for being so weird.

When I finally decided to greet the day, I pedalled to the Post Office to pick up a delivery. It was one that I had hoped would be here by last Wednesday, because it contained all the presentation stands for my snap buttons and jewellery. Better late than never.

On the way home, I stopped at The Motivator's house to deliver her jewellery that she'd bought during the week and we had about 40 minutes before some friends of hers arrived for a brief visit. After quick introductions, I ducked out the back door and headed home, where Adoring Husband was packing for his trip to Bundaberg.

He's participating in a 4WD course for SES, but he has gone off without his medication, so he's feeling a bit annoyed with himself right now.

He's also just put the mockers on my footy team, The Broncos, by saying that with ten minutes to go, they should beat the Rabbitohs with the current score of 22-12. No sooner had we finished our phone conversation, and the Rabbitohs scored! Whenever AH makes a rash statement about what he believes will happen ... the OPPOSITE happens!

I told him that if Broncos lose because of his rash statement, I won't go to work for him in the morning.

Time's up ... Broncos won ... lucky for him!!

It's almost 10pm and I think I will head to bed for another reasonably early night.

Just want to say that I have these kinds of people around me ...

You know who you are :)

Nite all.

Run Down

Today, I felt very lethargic and a bit run down.

It's 7pm and I'm yawning my head off, so this is a quick post and I am off to bed.

That probably means that I'll be awake before midnight and then be out of bed at stupid o'clock, but I really need to sleep right now.

Adoring Husband also needs to sleep the last of his illness off.

I've spent the day providing fresh juice, home made soups, fermented vegetables, Vitamin C, essential oils, probiotics and sending him outside to get some midday sunshine. I also had to remind him to drink water. He should be as good as gold by morning (haha).

AH is supposed to be attending a course this weekend, so I plan on spending every waking moment at my desk. I have a lot to catch up on, so I need to be re-energised.

So enough of this frivolity.

Nite all.

A Happy Event

I know!!  Yell at me!!  Slap my forehead!! Grunt in disbelief!! Groan in dismay!!

I did not take any photos today.

Ugh!

I honestly did not expect the day to go as it did.

I imagined ten ladies coming through my door, spending $10-$15 each, sharing drinks and nibbles with me while I delivered a well planned speech to describe my website, who it was aimed at and what I hoped to achieve with it.

What actually happened, was that sixteen ladies came through my door, another three ladies gave me an order over the phone and each of them spent a LOT more than the $10-$15 that I imagined.

Between greeting my visitors, pouring drinks, taking money, putting food out and chatting with everybody, by the time my overwhelm had passed and I could stop and think, half of the ladies had left and the photo opportunities were well and truly gone.

I have to say, it was such a nice day. Everybody was happy and chatting away, giving and receiving advice about their choices. The Motivator was motivating everyone, using her design expertise, to select the perfect snap buttons to accessorise. The Margaritas, Cosmopolitans, Chardies, SBs and non alcoholic punch all went down a treat.

The nibbles got nibbled, the chicken wings and pork/chicken meatballs were gobbled up. I forgot to serve the key lime pie (it's still in the freezer).

So, I forgot to take photos, I forgot my speech and I forgot to serve sweets. They say things run in threes lol.

Speaking of threes, my entry into the Flickr challenge came third this month. The theme was 'Red' ...

I'm off to bed. I'm exhausted.

Nite all.

Very Busy and Important

This will be a very short post because I am busy getting things organised for tomorrow's gathering.

I need to marinate some chicken wings so that I can cook them first thing tomorrow morning. I also have to cook up some mini meatballs with a dipping sauce.

I'm making a key lime tart and some energy balls for sweets to have with tea and coffee.

There'll be a cheese platter, veggie sticks and two dips with crackers.

My new punch bowl will be filled with a non-alcoholic punch, and I'll have two pitchers, one with margarita mix and the other full of cosmopolitan mix.

So much to do, so little time!

I guess I'll see some of you tomorrow (or today as you are reading this now), but I'll be sharing photos here in tomorrow night's post, which I hope will show what a fabulous time everyone has had!!

*happy dance*

Nite all.  

Cleaning Bug

Instead of Spring cleaning, I am Winter cleaning.

Today, my focus was the oven, but I must admit that it was a half hearted effort.

Judge me if you will, but I rarely clean my oven. I do a LOT of my cooking in the oven too, because I hate standing over the stove and wasting time in the kitchen. This is why the slow cooker and the oven are my best friends .. because I can do the preparations, shove it in the oven and then walk away.

The state of my oven is/was pretty disgusting.

I used the Enjo cleaning paste which removed almost all the baked on dirt and grease with just a chux wipe! There was a little muck left over that needed scrubbing, but I didn't put much effort into it and only spent 80 minutes to get a decent result.

Cleaning the sliding doors to the outdoor area was on my 'to do' list today, but I just couldn't be bothered. I guess I'll add it to tomorrow's list.

I made a cauliflower and broccoli soup for dinner tonight, which was lovely, but jeez I made a mess in my clean kitchen! I'm about to give it a good clean before I go to bed. It's not even 8.30pm and I'm hoping to be in bed by 9.30pm.

The only other cleaning that I did, was the floor in the kitchen/family room.

This was my view while chatting with the boys at The Seat of Knowledge this morning...

There is still plenty to do tomorrow, so I'm off!

Nite all.

I'm SO done!

It was difficult getting out of bed this morning.

I'd slept for a solid eight hours and woke up to spend an hour reading, and enjoying a slow start to the day, but eventually, I needed my morning coffee and since Adoring Husband is not here, I had to go get it myself!

Lucky for me, it was a glorious day, so it was an enjoyable ride to the shops.

It was 10am by the time I got home and I sat down to enjoy my coffee before beginning the tasks on my 'to do' list. I turned on the TV to discover yet another terrorist disaster in England. Ugh. The world is now on notice .. expect the unexpected .. anywhere and anytime. It's so horrible and the ripple effect touches us all.

I can't even comprehend how devastating it must be for the friends and family of those who were attacked. Strength, love and light to them.

When I couldn't watch any more on TV, I switched off (so easy for me to walk away - unlike those who are directly affected - and I felt shame) and started working in the kitchen.

Before I started cleaning, I seared a rolled lamb roast and popped it in the oven. That will be my lunch meat for the next few days.

I listened to 80s music on the radio while I cleared out my fridge, cleaned all the shelves and drawers, restocked with the still fresh food and then cleaned the outside as well. I filled a medium garbage bag with everything that was out of date or rotting.

Next I started on the pantry. It was chockers full of bags of flours and sugars and grains and seeds and nuts and cooking chocolate and powders and dried fruits and goodness knows what else! It took a long time to sort through it all and combine bags and store them in sealed containers.

There was plenty of out-of-date packets to toss out and I filled another medium bag to put in the sulo bin. By the time I'd finished, three hours had passed since I began my kitchen cleanout.

After that, I needed a break, so I sat down to watch the football .. a very stressful game where the team that I had chosen in my footy tips lost by just one point UGH!! It was my only incorrect tip for the week, so I missed out on a perfect round because of it.

I desperately wanted that game win, to have even a remote chance of catching the tipping comp leader (who just happens to be Adoring Husband) in the near future.

After the footy, I headed back to the kitchen in disgust and began scrubbing the stove and exhaust fan, clearing the bench tops and decluttering paperwork and recipe books, scrubbing tiles and building up a sweat.

Very satisfying to finally have a clean kitchen, although I should clear out the drawers, but that can wait til another day.

I was pretty happy with my Enjo cleaning products during this process. The cleaning paste for the stove and tiles was fabulous and made the job so much easier. The fibrous cloth for wiping it afterwards was also amazing.

Good enough that I am now looking forward to attending an Enjo party this month and will check out the other products available.

Adoring Husband has been having such a good time down in Armidale with his mate, that he has spent a total of six minutes on the phone with me since he left. This is my passive aggressive way of making him feel guilty enough to spend eight minutes talking to me tomorrow *wink wink*

I can't believe that it's already 10.30pm!  I'm off to bed!

Nite all.

Arty Farty Day

I had a great day at Art again .. although it was my turn to provide lunch, but I didn't realise it .. and on top of that, we discussed last week about me providing my own lunch because the girls don't understand the complexities of 'gluten free' well enough for my tummy to be safe from harm.

So I took a delicious chicken and vegetable soup, which I made myself .. FOR myself .. and the others had nothing haha .. until the teacher was generous enough to make some curried egg sandwiches for the others.

Oops.

We all arrived at the class with arms loaded with tiles and our item which we had selected to mosaic.

I was originally going to do the bird bath, but then at the last minute, I decided to pull the legs off one of the little round side tables in the family room, and mosaic that .. which was funny because when I brought it out to the car, one of the other ladies said, "Oh I have one of those! I might go back and get it so that I can mosaic it too!"

So there were two of us mosaic-ing round tables. The top one is mine and the other belongs to Creative Cat.

When we arrived at the class, our first twenty minutes was showing each other all of the tiles that we'd acquired during the week and pointing out the tiles that were for 'sharing' and the tiles that we wanted to use ourselves.

Then we chose our colour pallet ... and we were all VERY different.

Arty Annie selected browns and oranges.

Sassy Hugger chose lots of earthy tones

Creative Cat wanted creams, greys, blacks and browns with little pops of colour.

I'm certain that you can guess my choices were teals, aquas and soft blues with yellow, white and black.

By the end of the three hours, I was the furthest behind, as usual! Sassy Hugger had been in during the week and broken her tiles and selected her colour pallet already, so she got started right away.

Artistic Annie was very quick to complete her pot, but my phone camera decided to play up and I didn't get any photos at the end of the class. I'll be sure to take them as soon as I arrive next week so that you can see progress shots.

I had only siliconed the outer edges and one small patch inside, when I looked at the clock and there was only ten minutes remaining of the class. Ugh!

It's funny how on Saturday mornings I almost find excuses NOT to attend the class because I have so much to do at home, but then when I'm there, I have such a good time and I just DON'T want to leave when 1pm rolls around!

So that's what's happening with mosaics. I still have a clay mobile to complete and Teach still has to press my house number tile so that I can paint that and have it fired. Our busts still haven't been fired either. Still a lot going on mid-project, but that's ok.

I'm having an easy night so that I can focus on a solid 'to do' list tomorrow.

Nite all.

Bookem Rozzo

One table completely covered with journals, notebooks and books.

I love my journals and notebooks. That empty space that you see in this pic is no longer an empty space.

I've typed up and printed the price lists for this table and also for the purses and wallets.

The tiles that I ordered online arrived today ...

just in the nick of time for Art tomorrow! I'm not even sure what it is that I'm going to mosaic yet. I have the bird bath, but I'm thinking that a plant pot might be better to do first, until I get a feel for the process.

I'll decide tomorrow.

It's almost 11pm so I'd best get some sleep. I have an early start for work in the morning and then I need to ride to the shops for my coffee before getting ready for Art. Oh and I have to prepare my lunch to take with me as well.

My pillow is calling my name.

Nite all.

My Brain is Resting

We started today by spending an hour with our financial advisors. Pleasant, but hardly necessary. A phone call would have been easier and just as effective.

Before we came home, we stopped to check our mail, and I was pleased to receive a package that I've been waiting almost 2 weeks for. From there we came directly home so that Adoring Husband could pack the car and head off on his road trip.

I spent part of the day setting up the tables in my dining area, covering them with my new velvety teal blankets and then walking three kilometres (my watch measured it!) back and forth from my workspace to the dining room to display my wares!

There is still a lot to display yet! It feels like it's never-ending!

I have a lot planned for the next few days including grooming the dogs, cleaning out both the fridge and the pantry, getting the washing up to date, chalk painting the bedside tables, cooking a roast and bulk batch of Hainan chicken, finishing my display and possibly cleaning the windows if I feel like it.

It's almost 11pm and I need to be up with the sun tomorrow for work, so I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Origin Time

Congratulations to all Blues supporters for an awesome win in the first State of Origin game of the series. Great game. Great team. Great win.

I did not like the score line very much at all ...

I've had a great day today (apart from the State of Origin loss) and it all started with breakfast at Aquavue with Adoring Husband. French toast with bacon, banana and maple syrup. YUM! However, I was advised, after I had already eaten some of it, that the icing sugar that had been sprinkled over the banana, contained gluten. Ugh! I had already ingested it, so that was disappointing.

We heard on the news last night that the Pier Markets were on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so after breakfast we headed down to Urangan Pier.

The markets consisted of 6 stalls, none of which had anything worth handing money over for their goods. We were very disappointed.

Next, I wanted to go browsing through a clothes shop called Luxe, but we discovered that it doesn't open until 10am and it was only 9am. I was very disappointed.

We stopped at Go Natural to get some coconut sugar, which cost about $8. We left with $105 worth of fruit, veg and kombucha!

Because Go Natural didn't have the nut butter that I need for those delicious cookies that I baked yesterday, we drove to Nana's Pantry, but they too, didn't have any. So I bought the three types of nuts  - almonds, Brazil nuts and cashews - so that I could make my own.

Our final stop was Stocklands, to stock up on dog food so I don't run out while Adoring Husband is away. We left the supermarket with quite a bit more than that, but we were headed home before 11.30am.

I spent the afternoon laying out the majority of my jewellery on the dining room table ...

There is not enough room for it all and I'll have to set up two more tables. One for more jewellery and one for the wallets and bags and the journals.

So much stuff.

At least everything will be set up, so whatever is left after the party next week can be photographed where it is and I will finally be able to load everything onto the website.

Oh! I also received a package in the mail today with an order that I made just over 24 hours prior to receiving it! Amazing!!

New Business Cards that are SO much nicer than the old ones.

Thank you postcards ...

And a sign to use at the markets or at my (our) shop, if/when it finally becomes reality.

I love it all!

So half of our day had some disappointments and the other half had some happy wins!

Anyway, it's after midnight, and we have an early appointment tomorrow. Best get some sleep!

Nite all.

Achievable

It's been a full day.

Two hours with the girls this morning over coffee and it was lovely to see Lady Lynn join us for a short time. There was a fair bit of snorting happening, a sooky fur baby in the mix, a quick visit by another friend and way too much coffee!

I did some grocery shopping before riding off to The Motivator's house where we sang and danced our way through three hours of decluttering and cleaning. Even though I suffered concussion when half a window fell on my face (I am exaggerating this minor incident), I enjoyed putting my back into it and felt very productive.

I returned home at about 2.30pm to do some ironing for Adoring Husband, but by the time I'd made myself some lunch and ate it, my body had seized up and my brain said 'Nope!'

Instead, Adoring Husband and I discussed which route he would take on his road trip this week and spent half an hour looking at maps online, trying to figure out the quickest and easiest roads.

Between us, we made a really quick spaghetti bolognese for dinner and then while I was browsing through my emails, I found this delicious cookie recipe, which looked so easy that I went straight into the kitchen and it took me 15 minutes to mix it up and get it in the oven. Ten minutes to bake. Twenty minutes to cool down and set. Ten seconds to gobble one down.

Adoring Husband pleaded for a second cookie and then stole a third one, just to make it easier for them to fit into a container.

So AH and I have a breakfast date in The Bay tomorrow morning, which means an early start. It's already rapidly approaching 11pm, so I'd best get to bed.

Nite all.   

I'm All Set

It was a busy day today, with The Motivator and I heading into The Bay in pursuit of some appropriate tiles for our next art project.

I was lucky enough to discover a website this morning that was selling some perfect tiles for the project that I have imagined in my head and there was a clearance sale, which was a bonus!

We acquired some offcuts and one-offs from a shop that had a table of inexpensive bits and pieces for sale and also some bigger broken tiles for free from a crate outside the back door, which was headed to the recycle centre once it was full.

We went to Bunnings (YES! 'I' went to Bunnings voluntarily!) and found some terracotta birdbaths that were reasonably priced and will look amazing when when we're finished!  I like these ...

We had a busy, but enjoyable day together and I feel like we achieved a lot. Not as much as our original plan! But we'll fix that tomorrow.

Officeworks was one of our destinations where I bought some more price tags!!  Wahoo!! So we arrived home and as soon as I walked in the door, I said my 'hellos' to Adoring Husband and headed straight to my workspace where I got some more pricing done.

Even though I didn't get much time at my desk, I'm happy with today's productivity. 

Now I need to sleep so that I'm ready for another big day tomorrow.

Nite all. 

  

Pricing Dilemma

I've run out of price tags!

It's like I have a never ending supply of jewellery! The more I price, the more I find to price!

Luckily, I'm having a Grand Opening Party for Romance Your Life with Roz website next week, so that has inspired me to get moving on the pricing situation, which is why I ran out of price tags. Must get some more tomorrow.

This morning, after a solid 8 hours sleep, I had a plan. I was going to photograph the snap buttons for which I was not able to 'acquire' photos and as I attempted to clear my desk of some jewellery and paperwork, so that I could use it for that purpose, I got slightly distracted.

There were some items still without prices, so I decided to finish tagging them before putting them away. While doing that, the larger gift boxes seemed like the ideal storage spot for the bigger items, to protect them. I still haven't figured out a good storage system for my jewellery. I'm not sure what to do there.

I registered on a couple of the jewellery websites, so that I could double check some prices ... and of course that piqued my interest and I browsed their stock and selected $2000 worth of jewellery which I would LOVE to buy, but refrained. Such control!

When I ran out of tags, I decided to go visit The Motivator to check out her new furniture, buy some crabs, plan our attack for the next Art project and figure out how to productively spend our Monday together ... so much to do, so little time!

I returned home and shelled the crab so that I could sit down with Adoring Husband and watch a movie while pigging out on crab meat.

We had a late dinner of duck breast and vegetables.

Anyway ... big day tomorrow, so I'm off to bed.

Obviously, my distractions prevented me from being as productive as I'd hoped today and it will probably be Friday before I get the time to sit down and focus again. I have a busy week ahead of me.

Nite all.

It's Saturday!

Three hours of fabulously creative therapeutic art, with four fabulously funny ladies who feed my soul (mostly).

Today, I finished my house number tile and began painting the clay baubles that I made two weeks ago. They will be threaded onto chains and become a hanging mobile when they're fired and finished.

As a group, we made the decision to create a mosaic pot for our next project! We are very excited and keen to get started and our mission this week, is to search out tiles and glass and other materials that we can use for our project.

I'm especially excited because I've had a plan, ever since we moved into our house, to mosaic the floor of our outdoor area. My old hairdresser once worked in an old shed with a concrete floor that had a beautiful mosaic design in the entry way and I absolutely loved it.

Once I get a feel for it, I hope that the experience will inspire me to design something amazing for my floor, and during the process I hope to discover a 'tile/glass/other heaven' where I can have easy access to all the materials that I need!

I've spent an hour this evening in Pinterest checking out lots of Mosaic Projects and I've created a board under the Romance Your Life Pinterest page. The most difficult part will be deciding on my design ... but I need to choose a pot first.

I like these ...

I also spent an hour in my workspace this afternoon, where I emptied a draw of paperwork so that I could fill it with the jewellery that arrived last week.

My desk is now a little clearer of jewellery, but it houses a pile of paperwork that needs a home! I seem to be chasing my tail.

I hope to spend an entire day at my desk tomorrow. Sunday will NOT be my day of rest. I want to be super productive!

That means that I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

On the Up and Up

Well, today was a better day.

Slow to start, but I got a lot done in my workspace.

Before I started work, I began watching a series on Netflix. I have Netflix on my iPad, so I signed in while I was still in bed and watched the first three episodes of 'Girlboss' which I really enjoyed, so I will probably start every day with a couple of episodes.

Today, I 'acquired' some photos of the Snap Buttons and Jewellery that were delivered yesterday, so I loaded them onto my computer, edited where necessary and began to add them to my website. I haven't published them for viewing yet, but I hope to finish adding them by Sunday.

Not all of the photos are there, so I will have to take some myself. There is still some work to do, but I can handle it.

Needless to say, my desk is currently covered with loads of jewellery and I'm not quite sure where I'm going to store it.

I guess I'll put THAT on the 'to do' list as well.

Anyway, I have ART tomorrow, so I'd best get some sleep.

Nite all.

Just UGH!

What a crappy day.

Today is twelve years since my Mum died and I reckon it has been one of my worst anniversaries to date. I've been feeling miserable and out of sorts all day. I haven't been able to focus on anything and I've been moody and cranky.

So I've decided to write the day off and file it under 'bereavement'.

First thing this morning as I opened Facebook, there was a musical meme staring me, of Mum's favourite muppet .. Kermit The Frog .. and the background music was 'Rainbow Connection' which Mum loved and often played for Vegan Chickie when she was a baby.

The quote on the meme was...

'The only thing making you unhappy are your own thoughts. Change them."

The quote only served to cement the sad thoughts in my head!

Tomorrow I will change my thoughts ... not today.

Just Ugh!

Nite all.

Today Was Nice!

Adoring Husband had official SES business this morning, which meant that I could spend a couple of hours at Stocklands on my own.

This is a dangerous thing.

One pair of shoes, eight tops, one pair of long black pants and two lipsticks later, Adoring Husband appeared in his uniform and we continued shopping. A haircut for him, a new suitcase for me, a jumper for him (because he will be heading south soon where it's bloody cold!) and some groceries.

Now RUN for the car and don't look back!!

The best part about this time of year, is that the shops are full of Winter clothes and there is always a sale rack FULL of very cheap Summer clothes. I just can't stand wearing sleeves and it doesn't get cold enough here to wear sleeves anyway.

Everything I bought today was at least 50% off and some had a further 50% off the sale price, so at least I was budget conscious!

I LOVE my new suitcase (which was also on sale). Adoring Husband purchased it for me. My old suitcase is about ten years old and has been well and truly worn out. The wheels have worn down and the corners are frayed, so it was time to replace it before the wheels fell off in the middle of a trip.

So no work was performed in my workspace today, but there was a little bit of housework here and there.

Both Adoring Husband and I had a very short nap on the couch late this afternoon, which is not so unusual for him, but very unusual for me!

Here I am, just after midnight, thinking about bed, so ...

Nite all.

Where did it go?

Where the heck did the day go?

Yesterday, I thought I would have the day to myself for a full day of work at my desk ... forgetting, of course, that Tuesday is coffee day with the girls!

So it was 11am before my coffee date was over .. even though there were only two of us. We had plenty to say and plenty to share, so thanks Tweedle Dee for a lovely morning!

I bought some groceries and then returned home to an empty house. Adoring Husband had SES duties today, so I went straight to my desk.

I created my next pdf freebie to give away on the website, but I can't give it away until I've created the next step and that is going to take some time.

Adoring Husband arrived home and we had time to catch up on our day before he started banging and crashing around the house searching for his glasses and then searching for phone numbers so that he could retrieve his glasses from where he left them.

I cleared some emails and printed some paperwork and saved some documents.

Then we remembered that we had a date this afternoon to visit Beauty to help celebrate her successful application for Australian citizenship. Sadly, I missed the ceremony today, but what a fabulous crowd of friends gathered at her house.

Beauty is very loved and well respected in this community and particularly in her very large circle of friends and I really felt honoured to be on that deck with so many lovely people, sharing her delicious food and recognising an achievement of which she is obviously very proud

The other wonderful happening was seeing Rebel Mardi and The Life Saver there when we arrived! I had no idea that they were travelling up for the celebration and it was such a happy surprise. There just wasn't enough time to catch up on all the news!

My intention was to stay for about an hour and a half, which would get me home at 6pm.

We arrived home at 7.45pm.

It was a great afternoon/evening and I got to chat with a lot of different people, which is unusual, because my habit has always been to sit in one place and chat with one person all night. Once again, the Journey work that I did earlier in the year, has had a positive effect on my socialising and I am loving the difference!

It's midnight and I have a big day planned with Adoring Husband tomorrow, so I'd best hit the sack (that term gives me a flashback to my father!)

Nite all.

List Blues

I made a 'to do' list this morning, because I forgot to make it last night.

If I don't have a list of planned goals for the day, I am easily distracted and I get a lot of 'nothing' accomplished.

When there is no list to follow, I 'start' many tasks and 'finish' few.

So this was my list ...

1.  Photograph the new diaries and journals and put them on the website.

2.  Finish a product review that I've started and post it on the site.

3.  Create a newsletter to send to my subscribers.

4.  Do some manifesting.

5.  Spend time on my new idea.

I was in my workspace for more than seven hours and I only completed one thing from my list!

I photographed all of the diaries and journals that were delivered last week. I edited the photos and resized them. Then I added them to the shop with the sizes, descriptions, prices, tags and other information required.

I created a pin for Pinterest with a collage of some of the diaries and journals.

That's it.

I didn't even leave the room for lunch ... although I did take about 20 minutes to put some lamb shanks in the slow cooker.

So I obviously under estimated the work involved and I feel a bit disappointed that I only finished one task, however, I didn't get distracted so I know that it's been a full day's work.

At least I don't have to write a 'to do' list for tomorrow! Haha.

So I'm off to bed for a good night's sleep so that I'm ready for a full focussed day tomorrow.

Nite all.  

Get Fruity

Last night, Adoring Husband wanted dessert.

I knew this because as I walked out of the lounge room, he enquired "Are you going to get dessert?"

I replied "No" but then I walked out of the lounge room again later and he AGAIN asked "Are you getting dessert this time?"

So I went on a treasure hunt in my freezer and found some frozen pineapple and banana, which I whizzed up in the food processor with coconut milk and maple syrup to create fruity ice cream. Last night, I grated chocolate over the top, but today I tried something different.

I toasted some coconut flakes and I made salted caramel macadamia crumble to scatter over the ice cream.

This is my version of 'Fruit Whip Ice Cream' and you can find the recipe here.

This morning I visited The Motivator to deliver her Le Reve order. What was going to be a quick visit, ended up being a three hour visit!! Much was discussed, as always, and I left with that familiar feeling of motivation.

I rushed home to watch a webinar for which I had signed up this morning and even though I was 30 minutes late, the thirty minutes that I actually watched was great and I learned a lot.

Each free course and video that I watch gives me some new information.

There are so many free videos, each competing for my business, each at the end, wanting me to pay thousands to participate in their 'setting up website business' course.

I have watched about twenty five free videos so far.

Combined, those videos have provided me with so much valuable information, I'm certain that by now, I already know half of what their courses would teach me anyway!

At the end of today, I had recreated the dessert above and photographed the steps, edited the photos and added the recipe to my website, then added the link to my Facebook page.

Before I go to bed, I'll add it to my Pinterest page and perhaps Instagram as well.

So that's my Sunday.

Happy with my day.

Nite all.

Three Hours

Every Saturday morning, I share the fastest three hours of the week with a bunch of great ladies.

It seems to pass in the blink of an eye. We laugh and we tell stories about our lives or the week just gone  or our husbands and their unique foibles, or our kids. The conversations only waiver when we have to focus on our art in front of us!

We give each other such a hard time and we make fun of our teacher a lot. We drink coffee and we have a roster for lunches. It's my turn again in two weeks. Since I started classes, the girls always use gluten free bread for sandwiches, which makes me feel very special.

Ten minutes before the class finishes, we all scurry about, cleaning our areas and washing the tools and dishes so that our teacher is left with a clean studio.

Have I told you how much I love it?

I really love it.

This is one of my projects that I have in progress right now ...

It's going to be a pottery house number tile. This is the leather tile that I am cutting the shapes out of so that the soft clay tile shape can be pressed into it. After that's done, I then stain and paint the clay tile before it goes into the kiln for firing.

Next week, we start a new project! I still have this and the clay bauble mobile in progress, so I've brought this one home to finish cutting out the shapes before next week.

Tonight for dinner, I did duck breast with a parsnip and carrot puree. It was delicious, but afterwards, Adoring Husband felt the need for dessert. I had a container each of chopped pineapple and banana in the freezer, so I tossed it in the food processor with half a cup of coconut milk and a drizzle of maple syrup and blended it til it was smooth. I grated some dark chocolate over the top and served a big bowl of it to him.

With my own bowl of ice cream, I sprinkled some Himalayan salt over the top and drizzled some more maple syrup over it. I think it would be delicious with salted candied walnuts! I will definitely put the recipe for the pineapple ice cream on my website ... tomorrow!

Meanwhile, I have one more video to watch from a mini course that I'm doing .. to learn how to do webinars. I don't think I will ever be brave enough to do a webinar, but you never know!

For now, I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Horses for Courses

I've had to practice some strong self control today.

There are many different websites that run amazing courses to teach you how to create a website, build large email lists, make amazing passive income, write ebooks, develop e-courses, promote and market and manifest and be socially networked.

Freshly Implemented, Teachable, Rich20Something, Lucky Bitch, PursuitHQ and so many more, all offering great value for money courses that will help me grow and improve my business. They all start with free webinars and follow up with a free challenge or mini course and THEN they offer the prime package for a cost.

They toss you the bait and then BAM!!!

I was strong. I refrained. I continue searching for all the free mini courses and I continue to grab interesting little tidbits of information that I can put into place in my business.

Once I start bringing in a steady income, then I will think about investing in further education.

I'm thoroughly enjoying the learning process and my brain is soaking up so much right now, I just wish it would move a bit faster .. although, I must admit, I've been so busy learning for the last two days, that I have neglected my social networking and I have only gained one new follower to my Facebook page and one new subscriber to my site.

Still, every little bit helps.

It's now rapidly moving towards 1am and I have just finished watching another educational video, but I should really get some sleep because tomorrow is ART DAY!! Wahoo!!

Thinking of Happy Harry and Lady Lynn and hoping for some good health news soon.

Nite all.

Productively Me

Self imposed workathon today.

I didn't leave the house at all and spent the day at my desk.

I found some more affiliate sites.  I watched a tutorial on how to create and launch an e-course. I watched a tutorial on how to recruit course participants. I designed a mock cover and the index for my book.

I wrote 3/4 of a post for a product review. I made a list of 30 money making ideas. I posted a photo of my lunch, which Adoring Husband made for me, onto FB.  I cleared all of my emails and I did two loads of washing.

I'm sure that I did other stuff too, but I can't remember. Oh I took a delivery of journals, which were the remainder of a previous order that I'd forgotten about.

I had my Himalayan Salt lamp on all day and diffused Frankincense oil. Oh and I did some manifest work too.

I feel pretty good about my productivity level for today and I have a 'to do' list already written up for tomorrow.

Adoring Husband had SES duties tonight, so I got a bit of extra work done and I watched a very good NRL match between Sharks and Cowboys. The Cowboys were winning 14 nil at half time and the Sharks came back after half time to win 18 - 14. Very happy with that outcome.

Here is some writing by Leonie Dawson ...

Today, and every day, you have permission.

You have permission.

Today, and every day, you have permission.

You have permission to say NO to demands on your time that don't light you up and don't give energy back to you.

You have permission to not give a crap what's happening outside your world, and keep your energy focussed on what you are creating.

You have permission to let go of friendships that make you feel like sh&%.

You have permission to say no whenever you like, however you like, in whatever kind of voice you like, without feeling like only Mean Girls Say No and Nice Girls Say Yes. That's bull. Yes and No have equal weighting - what's important is if you use them when they are the best thing for you, not out of fear, obligation or guilt.

You have permission to know that Yes is powerful, and so is No. The power comes from you using either from your highest spirit and truest integrity.

You have permission to change. You have permission to not be the person you once were.

You have permission to get angry and self-righteous, and to also glean the wisdom from those emotions. They are leading you to where your boundaries are, and where they have been crossed, and what you need to do from now on.

You have permission to not be more like anyone else in the world, even if you think they are better, wiser or more popular. You have permission to be more like yourself, your gifts and your wisdom.

You have permission to not care what other people think of you.

You have permission to not try to change what other people think of you. You can't ever argue that you are a good person. They will either know you are, or not. You don't need to spend time with people who don't believe in you.

You have permission to do things that your friends and family do not.

You have permission to be wild, expressive, truthful, exciting and outspoken.

You have permission to not accept friendship requests on Facebook, or anywhere else in your life. You have permission to block people whenever you like.

You have permission to share as much or as little as you like. You have permission to blog, or not blog. You have permission to Twitter, or not to Twitter. It doesn't really matter. As long as it's making you happy, that the best thing.

You have permission to suck at a wide variety of activities. It's okay. You make up for it with your million other brilliance particles.

You have permission to be whatever body shape you like.

You have permission to choose, and choose again. And then choose again.

You have permission to not always be a perfect image of something.

You have permission to be a contradiction.

You have permission to not go to your school reunion, unless it really excites you and delights you, and you would love to really heart-reconnect with people you went to school with.

You have permission to not be interested in the newest fad: harem pants, geek glasses, Polaroid cameras, scrapbooking, macrame. You also have permission to totally obsess with them, if it makes your heart light up.

You have permission to cut people from your life. You have permission to surround yourself with people who are good and loving and nurturing to you.

You have permission to be a disappointment to some people, as long as you're not a disappointment to yourself.

You have permission to do nothing whenever you like.

You have permission to make your big dream come true.

You have permission to not do it all perfectly, or have all your sh&% together.

You have permission to not forgive people. You have permission to forgive people when it's right for you.

You have permission to think some people are crazy. You have permission to think some people are smigging ice-cream with chocolate and wafers and sprinkles and cherries on top.

You have permission to not have the perfect relationship.

You have permission to take whatever time you need for you.

You have permission to make ridiculous choices for yourself.

You have permission to use and listen to your intuition. To feel when things are off, and to remove yourself from them, even when you don't quite know why. You will always find out why. Our intuition is here to serve us.

You have permission to be down. You have permission to be up.

You have permission to still believe in unicorns and fairies.

You have permission to believe in things that other people think are very very odd and strange. You have permission to believe in things that make your life whole, richer and deeper. You have permission to make your own world that is the truest painting of you.

You have permission to suck at colouring in.

You have permission to say bugger off to anyone who has ever told you that you're not good enough, you're not worth it, you are not beautiful, you are not lovable and you are not the most divine, wise, delicious Goddess to walk the planet.

You have permission to know that you are.

You have permission to swear when you like, however you like, to your reckless abandon.

You have permission to not be the best of anything - just the best of yourself. And some days, just the best you can do that day.

You have permission to not always give. You have permission to fill your own cup up first.

You have permission to have things around you that delight you.

You have permission to live in a tepee if you want to, or a mansion. Whatever makes your spirit shine is the right thing for you.

You have permission to make choices on whether it makes your spirit shine.

You have permission to know you are a goddess, even when it doesn't feel like it. Even when you feel utterly human. Even when you want nothing more than to climb under your blanket, or light up the sky.

You are a Goddess.
You have permission.
You have permission.
You have permission.

Big Love,
Leonie.  

I'm so Lucky!

Today, I want to celebrate my lucky life!

I have so much to feel excited and happy about.

For a start ... I spent almost the entire day IN bed and IN my pyjamas! How many of you would feel comfortable doing that? How many of you would feel overwhelming guilt about staying in bed when you're not sick? How many of you have partners who would question such self indulgence?

Most women have been conditioned to get out of bed at a certain time. We have a daily routine or schedule that we follow every day and we fill our days with productive activities and express feelings of boredom if we have 'time' on our hands.

Not me!

I ordered a book a couple of weeks ago called 'Get Rich, Lucky Bitch' by Denise Duffield-thomas and I started reading it last Friday. I hadn't had a chance to get back to it, so I decided that today, I would stay in bed until I finished it.

Adoring Husband brought my morning coffee, just as he always does, but today he made my lunch and delivered that to me in bed too!

It was after 2pm by the time I read the last page and closed the book. And what a great book it was! It inspired me and my imagination is going crazy with money making ideas that I hope to bring to fruition in the coming months and years. Who knew that I could think long term??

So I'm feeling incredibly blessed. I have a husband who supports my indulgences and understands the time and effort required to establish a business, giving me the space and support to do just that.

I have friends who encourage me with my big ideas and who get excited by my successes providing me with emotional support and inspiration to push through the rough spots.

I enjoy a lifestyle that that nurtures my very being.

My kids make me proud in so many ways and for so many reasons. Each of them have their own strengths, intelligence and abilities that amaze me. I breed them tough. I miss all three of them and love them very much. Olive Juice. Thanks for calling. Full Stop No Returns.

I feel healthier and stronger now, than I have for about twenty years.

Life is very good and I am incredibly lucky!

After coming to all of these realisations, I spent a couple of hours in my workspace, where I watched an educational and inspirational video for 35 mins, cleared 2,000 emails (YES, that reads two thousand emails) and checked the stats on my Facebook and Pinterest accounts. I also had one new subscriber to my website today, which was exciting. Once the initial wave of subscribers passed, it seems to be pretty slow going.

I did have one more sale today though, so that's five in three weeks. Small steps haha, but still impressive, comparatively speaking (i.e. compared to most other longer running websites in the academy), so I'm still happy with my progress.

Right now, I'm deciding whether to stay awake and watch the 2nd Bridget Jones movie, or go to bed!

Nite all.

Happy Day

Tuesday is my happy day.

Morning tea with the girls is always a favourite part of my week. There were only four of us very briefly today, but the Blonde Bombshell (aka Yip Yip) left early due to other commitments and then our group reduced further when Lady Lynn had to leave early to visit Happy Harry.

A big shout out to Happy Harry who is having troubles with his health at the moment. May the golden orb of good health swallow your illness and leave you glowing and improving at a rapid rate. Big warm hugs to you xo

Our morning tea group increased again to three when The Motivator appeared and we invited her to join us. We hope that she will join us again in the future!

From morning tea, the three of us walked to the art room which is located behind the Elder's building.  It's a beautiful big space with lots of art and craft products for sale and a big table to work at for people who join the painting workshops. It would have been an ideal space for The Motivator and I to use for our ideas, but alas, it obviously wasn't meant to be.

I returned home to eat lunch and then escaped to my workspace while Adoring Husband was out of the house on SES duties.

I added a new 'Healthy Habits' post on my website. By the time I formatted it to suit all of the devices (iPad, phone and laptop), it took much longer than I expected, so I think I need to figure out a more time efficient way to do that.

I printed out some manifesting sheets from the Lucky Bitch website.

I wrote out a list of recipes to put in my first recipe book.

I finalised an agreement with one affiliate.

I created and added another Quote pic  on Pinterest and Facebook.

I printed out a 'Hashtags for Dummies' course and worksheet. (I'll be able to better explain hashtags to Reality TV Queen next time I see her! She asked me questions at coffee one morning and I wasn't able to give her a lot of detail.) Reading that is on my 'to do' list tomorrow.

So, once again, even though I did quite a lot in five hours, there is still SO MUCH MORE to do. But I'm not panicking about it. I'm going with the flow, taking it as it comes and allowing it to progress all in good time. I'm teaching myself not to stress about it. It's a conscious effort though ... I have to stop my thoughts from leading to that stressful place! Just breathe.

Here we are at 10pm and I am off to bed.

Nite all.



  

... And So Much More

I really love this and there are things that I would like to add, for myself, and I'm sure you can think of your own additions that are meaningful. 

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
Enough money within her control to move out...
And rent a place of her own
even if she never wants to
or needs to... 

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
Something perfect to wear if the employer
or date of her dreams wants to See Her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
A youth she's content to leave behind....
A past juicy enough that she's looking forward to
retelling it in her Old Age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
A set of screwdrivers,
a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...
One friend who always makes her laugh...
And one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
A good piece of furniture not previously owned
by anyone else in her Family...
Eight matching plates,
wine glasses with stems,
And a recipe for a meal that will make
her guests feel Honored...
A feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
How to fall in love without losing herself..
How to quit a job,
break up with a lover,
and confront a friend without
ruining the friendship...
When to try harder...
And WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
That she can't change the length of her calves,
The width of her hips,
or the nature of her parents..
That her childhood may not have been perfect...
But it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
What she would and wouldn't do for love or more...
How to live alone...
Even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
Whom she can trust,
Whom she can't,
And why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
Where to go...
Be it to her best friend's kitchen table...
Or a charming inn in the woods...
When her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
What she can and can't accomplish in a day...
A month...
And a year...

Written by Pamela Redmond Satran

One of my Mothers-in-Law once told me to open a separate bank account and keep enough money in it so that I could move out and rent my own place if it was ever necessary. I thought at the time, that it was strange but excellent advice coming from the mother of my then partner!

Eventually, the need to put that advice into practice became necessary, so it's probably the most useful piece advice that I've ever received! 

I would like to give myself some useful advice right now ...

STOP PROCRASTINATING AND GET BACK TO WORK!!

I have done a lot today, but achieved nothing. Let's see if I can remedy that.

Nite all.

PS In case you haven't looked yet, here is my website ... Romance Your Life with Roz

A Blessing in Disguise

I have had a GREAT day.

I stayed in bed reading and taking notes until 10.30am.

I arranged to visit The Motivator, but she bailed on me when her day was suddenly bombarded with family duties.

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I retreated to my workspace and got a LOT of work done during the afternoon.

I priced and logged some more of my jewellery - holy crap, I've got a lot of jewellery - and I still haven't finished that task yet.

I photographed some more pieces and I added some more of them to the Shiny Sparkly shop.

Tomorrow will be a full day at my desk when I will add a new recipe to my recipe page and update my 'Life as Roz Knows it' blog page. I may even be able to write my first photography story and begin a competition on the Facebook page.

That's a big plan and I shouldn't get too carried away haha.

Today was Mother's Day and I received a lovely phone call this morning from my little Chicklet wishing me Happy Grandmother's Day and Vegan Chickie who wished me a Happy Mother's Day. There was a nice message from Bubbles telling me that she loves and appreciates me EVERY day and thanking me for being amazing (sometimes) lol.

Number One son forgot about me this year - but he has just returned home from a big week in Sydney where he applied for a job that he REALLY wants so he probably has a lot going on in his mind. He will curse me for mentioning it here and for attempting to make him feel guilty lol, but he knows me.

Seriously, even though it's nice to hear from the kids on this day, I've never made a big deal of Mother's Day during their lives, and you can call me cynical, but it's just another commercially created day to make more money for the already wealthy.

Adoring Husband did cook me a delicious lunch of duck breast with salad and little side dishes of pesto sauce, coconut chilli mayo and kimchi. It was nice not to have to think about making lunch, and it was absolutely delicious.

So to all the mothers out there and all the people acting in maternal positions ...

Nite all.