Category: Happiness

I have been waiting a long time for this

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It started not long after Quindy was born. Chanbe was quite put out but the new human being taking so much of his Mama and Dadda’s time, and he let those feelings be known. Frequently. I shed tears over his behaviour towards his little sister. I wondered where my gentle little boy had gone. I couldn’t leave them in the same room together, and whenever he was around her, I was on edge.

I would be so jealous when other mums gushed over how their older child was so kind and gentle with their new baby. I wondered why he was acting this way and how I could possibly make it stop.

The answer? Understanding. Patience. Gentle teaching. Time.

The combination of these things has resulted in Chanbe growing into a very loving and caring big brother. Oh how I have waited for this moment.

They play together so beautifully now. Most of the time. They still have their disagreements, but it’s more that Quindy is sticking up for herself and Chanbe will come and tell me if she’s doing something to him he doesn’t like. It takes a lot of self control for me not to say something along the lines of “buddy, you had it coming”, instead I take the approach of “if Quindy is doing something you don’t like, you need to ask her to stop” just as I have been teaching Quindy that for months. She can now say “No” to Chanbe if he starts getting a bit over enthusiastic.

A few times, the kids have wondered upstairs together, and after a little while and a lot of silence, I’ll go and check on them. I’ve found them a couple of times like this:

Chance reading Quindy some stories

This “milestone” for want of a better word is all the more sweet, having had to work very hard and wait a long time for it. It has certainly made life easier and more harmonious around here.

Happy Ruby

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My parents celebrate their 40th Wedding Anniversary this year. The actual date is still 2 weeks away, but we were almost all in town (poor Hubs had to work 🙁 ) so we went out for a fancy-pants lunch yesterday at the Ocean View Estates Winery. It’s also the same place where one of my cousins is getting married next April, and where my dear friend got married back in 2007. The weather was absolutely stunning.

I didn’t realise Mum was mid-blink for this photo! But it’s still cute 🙂

This was taken during dessert – I ordered the chocolate fondant with Guinness ice cream and salted caramel. Oh boy. It was ridiculously decadent. I had ordered the crusted prawns for entree which were delicious and the crispy lamb ribs for main which was probably the best lamb I’ve ever had in my life. Oh man I want to try making that at home.

After dinner and a few beverages, Aunty Kate decided to join Chanbe on his rolls down the hill. It was rather gorgeous.

And although Uncle Kris didn’t partake in the rolly-poly, he was happy to do some spin-arounds.

And Grumpy was happy for a footrace down the hill, and a slow trek back to the top.

We decided to hire a mini van so we could all travel together. That is, so everyone who could drink, did drink, and I drove the booze bus home 🙂

It was such a wonderful day. The kids were absolute angels in the restaurant and made me very proud. The food was delicious and the ambiance and view were delightful.

Happy Anniversary Mum and Dad. Here’s to the next 40! 🙂

Electric Blue

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You know when you have a great night out, and on the way home you get treated to some awesome tunes to top off your night beautifully? That’s what happened to me this weekend. On Friday night I met my two dear friends from high school – yes, we’ve known each other over 20 years! – at the Alfred and Constance for dinner and lots of chats. It was a great night out and after catching the train from The Valley to Eagle Junction, I jumped into my car and cranked the tunes, hoping for the best.

I got a few gems including “More than Words” which is one of my most favourite songs and a great one to sing along to in the car. I was on a high when I got home, really feeling blessed that after 20 years of friendship, I can still depend on these lovely ladies in my life, and that is a great feeling.

And it happened again tonight. I met 2 of my dearest friends from uni, girls I’ve known for 15 years and have been a huge part of my life for that whole time. We went to a place called The Royal which is an Italian restaurant in Nundah. The food was so yummy and the company a delight. I hopped in the car and started cruising home. A few sing-along songs came on, but the one that finished off my night, and ended just as I turned the engine off when I pulled up, was Electric Blue, by Icehouse. This was one of the first albums I ever bought on record and it’s still sitting in my parents’ collection. I put it on sometimes when I’m visiting the house at Kelvin Grove. Good times.

So that’s 3 dinners with 6 of my most favourite women in just over a week! And there’s more to come this week too. This is incredibly therapeutic and I’m really enjoying such great quality time with the wonderful women in my life. Thanks ladies. I’m looking forward to more great times to come.

Happy Birthday Ma

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The main purpose of our visit this time around was Hubs’ Mum’s 60th birthday. Hubs and I took it upon ourselves to organise the “do” and it was so lovely to be planning such a lovely occasion and being surrounded by family is always wonderful.

We stayed at the family house in Wooloowin which was  vacant at the time, so it was a bit of a “camp out” which was fun! And a bit chilly in the mornings!

We came across my old violin that I had in primary school. (Did you know I played violin for 3 years? I then saw the light and switched to double bass. I never looked back, and I think everyone was grateful!) Hubs decided to pick it up and give it a crack, and I asked if he’d like me to teach him to play Happy Birthday for his Mum. He did as much practice as time permitted (not much) and Chanbe was happy to help him out with a few pointers too.

Saturday, the day of the party rolled around, and there was lots of preparation to be done for the 4 potjies we put on. Okay okay, Hubs put on! I was his Sous-Chef for the day and just did what I was told (within reason…) He was the master of ceremonies though, and did an amazing job keeping everything bubbling away.

He did 4 pots in total; 1 lamb, 1 beef cheek and ox tail, 1 beef brisket and 1 goat. I was rather skeptical about the goat but it was incredibly tasty!

This was the final product: 4 amazingly tasty dishes, each with its own flavours, served over polenta. Everyone raved about the meal and I was very proud of Hubs’ efforts – feeding 30 or so people is not easy!

We then took our places around the fires and kept toasty warm. It was a rather chilly evening, so I was so glad we had these. It also created a wonderful party ambiance. 

Ma made a lovely speech and Hubs said a few words too. It was so special for Ma to have her 4 kids and partners and all of her grandkids together.

Everyone had a lovely afternoon and evening and it certainly kicked off a great holiday for us!

Happy Birthday Ma! And here’s to the next 60! 🙂

Call Me Al

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The synthesized organ begins and my hairs stand on end. I’m immediately taken back to the Transcontinental Hotel* in my 20s as Paul Simon starts telling me about a man walking down the street. I have to stop what I’m doing and listen. I know the words by heart but never tire of them.

This is my song.

The song builds up, the rich harmonies wash over me and sooth my soul. I breathe them in, waiting for the bass solo which I always have to air guitar in my head, if not physically. I start to get sad as I know the song is coming to an end, and as the repetitiveness of the chorus begins, I am brought back to the task I had abandoned to absorb myself in those nights out with friends at The Trans, listening to my favourite cover band play my favourite song.

It’s back to reality. At least for now…

*The Trans did not look like this when we used to go 🙂

Dinner with the girls

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Get a photo. I told myself at least 5 times leading up to tonight’s dinner. Get a photo.

I arrived back at the car. Dammit. I forget to get a photo.

I just had dinner with 2 of my best friends. I’ve known these girls my whole life and they’ve known me most of theirs. They’ve seen me at my best and my worst. They’ve watched me triumph and they’ve seen me struggle. They’ve celebrated my joys, and wept for my heartache.

They have always felt more like sisters to me than cousins. Up until last year they didn’t even know they were identical twins. I was always convinced they were fraternal, because I could not remember a time when I couldn’t tell them apart. Plus even though they were similar, to me they have always been very different people.

But one thing has remained constant. They have always been there for me. We are all living in different cities these days, which makes nights like tonight incredibly rare and special. Just the three of us. Reminiscing, talking about family, our parents, our current challenges and future plans. I’ve never been embarrassed to tell them how much they mean to me, and their ability to ring or text or email at just the right time is uncanny.

Amy and Emma. You are beautiful, talented, generous, loving souls and I miss you heaps. But I know we’ll always be a big part of each other’s lives, and we’ll always have Spaceballs.

Happy Birthday Hubs

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On Hubs’ birthday last year, we found ourselves at a cocktail party, drinking far too much and finding out our friend Sonia had decided to apply to go to Mount Isa in 2014, mainly because of all the extra financial incentives. Hubs and I told her she was crazy and that was that. Or so I thought. We then started joking about how funny it would be if we considered Mount Isa. Then we looked into it. Then Hubs applied. And the rest, as they say, was a disaster… ha ha. I mean history… We still joke about that night with Sonia and now that we have made it halfway through, we are feeling like we have achieved something that we found quite challenging at the beginning.

So what does this all have to do with Hubs’ birthday? Well, since his birthday falls in the middle of the year, and since we move every year, we have usually established some new friends who make up the guests at Hubs’ birthday gathering. And as I looked around at the 10 adults and 5 kids that made up our little group, I couldn’t help but feel very blessed that even though we haven’t had the best of years, we have still managed to befriend some wonderful people who were excited to be a part of the celebrations.
Although Hubs had to work the night shift that night, he still had a lovely time and I know he appreciated our new friends making the effort on a Monday night. Chanbe had already told me that we had to make a green dinosaur cake for Dadda, so I had to oblige. Certainly not one of my most skillful efforts, but with Chanbe decorating with the smarties, it turned out pretty cute. And it was this recipe which is my current chocolate cake go-to. So delicious!
Just happy.

Happy birthday Hubs. It’s been an interesting year, that’s for sure. I love how you still say and do things that surprise me and keep me guessing. You are such a good egg and I love that so many people get to find that out for themselves. You show them the real you and that’s who they get to know and love, just as I have and continue to do. 

The good stuff

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I’ve spent a great deal of time and blogging space this year listing the things I don’t like about Mount Isa, I think it’s about time I shared some of the things I do like.

Winter
Wow. Mount Isa seemed to bypass Autumn entirely, with temps ranging from 22 to 36 degrees one week, and down to 10 to 22 a couple of weeks later. It’s been getting down to under 10 overnight since I arrived back from Brisbane a week ago, and I must admit I was caught completely off guard. People told me it would get cold here, but after what felt like the endless summer, it was very hard to believe. Now, I believe it.

Dark mornings
It doesn’t get light here until after 7am which means the kids are generally sleeping in until then. This is such a bonus and we are loving the later mornings. Even in summer it doesn’t really get light til 6:30am, so it’s been a pretty nice change from Townsville.

The transient population
This can be a good and bad thing, as friends come and go frequently, but the good thing is there’s not much of an “us and them” mentality amongst the “locals” as there are very few of them! And if you’ve been here more than 5 years, you’re considered a local! Very different to some small towns we’ve lived in.

The small number of celebrants
A win for me! I’ve already lined up 2 weddings this year through celebrants who are leaving town who had my details. My networking when I arrived sure paid off! This is very exciting as I’ve really missed doing weddings. I have 3 in total booked in in a 6 week period; 2 up here and my cousin’s wedding in October down south.

Bin collection is twice a week
Okay, this may seem like a weird one, but it’s actually fantastic. Especially in the height of summer with stinky nappies in the bin. There is no recycling up here so bins get fuller quicker. But I think it’s more to do with the stinkiness in summer. Regardless, I love that even if we forget to put the bin out one day, it’s only 3 days til the truck comes again. And with a 3 year old boy in the house, it’s bonus entertainment!

Size of the town
Yesterday I had to go to from one side of the town to the other, twice. It took less than 10 minutes each time. No traffic, no hold ups, only the regular RBT to have to contend with. Easy peasy.

The playgroups
The playgroups here are so fantastic. I’ve met some really lovely mums through the 3 different groups I go to. A lot of the same people go to the same groups so there are always familiar faces which is nice.

The 4WD tracks
We have been 4WDriving a few times since we arrived and it’s been lots of fun! We have met some people who are also keen and generally free on the weekends to do fun stuff. The weekend just gone, we headed to Rigby Falls (they were pretty much dry) and went fossicking for Maltese Crosses, without much luck. But it was a great day out and Chanbe rather likes going on a “bumpy drive.”

Hubs’ timetable (at the moment)
Hubs is currently working in emergency which is a 8 days on, 6 days off timetable. And those 8 days are a mixture of 4 different shifts, so there are only 2 days where he is away from 7:30am until about 8pm. The other days he either has a late morning start, or an afternoon start, or most of the day off followed by an evening or night shift. Granted, he spends most of the next day sleeping, but it’s still nice knowing he’s right there. Those are the days the kids and I are mostly out to give him sleep, so it’s extra incentive to get out there!

There are other little things I like about living here, but these are the things that immediately came to mind. This is also part of my better attitude I am striving towards at the moment. Baby steps…

The photo shoot

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I’d better warn you now that I’m not actually going to show you any photos from “the photo shoot” I had today. I know. What a tease. But I can assure you that you will see at least one of the photos very soon 🙂 This is all part of my new blog that is currently being thought out and put together. To say I’m excited would be a crazy understatement. Today was a lot of fun and I was proud of how I can look at the photos and feel good about myself. I’m not too concerned about the extra squishy bits here and there; instead I can look at the photos and know that my body can do a lot, and is doing a lot for me right now, and that I rely on it every second of every day. And that it’s doing a pretty damn fine job.

I’m slowly learning, after so many years, that I have to be happy with how I am “now” if I am to be the best I can be. Yes I’d like to lose some weight, but that’s because I want to be able to move more without feeling out of breath; I want to (ready for the cliche?) keep up with my kids; I want to feel more confident in less clothes. But in the mean time, I’m getting to be more happy with just being me. If nothing changed for the next 10 years, I want to be able to be happy with that.

I’m getting there, slowly.

The sleepy kids

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Oh my heart. On our way home from wherever we went yesterday (what? We’ve been doing A LOT!) I turned around from the passenger seat to see this. My little possums super sleepy after a big day. Ah. Now I remember – we went over to the family house at Kelvin Grove so I could sort out some of my things, as Mum and Dad are looking at selling the house in the not-too-distant future. Then we popped in to Mum’s work on the way home to say hi to a friend. A big day and a nice relaxing drive home before peak hour traffic.
Of course as soon as we got home they were full of beans and asking Gran and Grumpy to take them down to the beach. They were very nicely tired out and went to sleep rather happily and a little earlier than usual. 
In the frustrating, upsetting times, it does me well to remember these moments.