Category: Stuff

Stuff’s been happening

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Not exciting stuff, just life. Chance is slowly getting over his cold and is still keeping me up most of the night which has been challenging. Especially when well-meaning people keep telling me he should be “sleeping through” by now. (Incidentally, “sleeping through” means sleeping 5 hours straight. At this stage, even that would be a blessing! :-)) He also has 2 teeth which he is having fun showing off. He is very happy during the day so we have been having lots of lovely play time and he enjoys being in the pram while I go on walks which is wonderful. I keep telling myself that once he gets over his cold we’ll get back into some sort of routine, but the truth is he’s never “slept through” so I’ll just keep reading my book and hopefully he’ll start getting the idea.

In other news, we’ve decided on a house at Mt Beauty (actually, it’s in Tawonga South) and it’s fully furnished which I’m very excited about. Not that the furniture is anything to write home (or blog) about, but the fact that we don’t have to move as much stuff, and don’t have to buy much when we get there, gets me excited! It has the most amazing view of Mt Bogong so we really hope we have some house guests during our time there.

Hmmm… what else… Hubs is very busy with study + PhD stuff but still has lots of time for us and we’ve been having some pretty special family time lately. We just can’t wait to move so we can spread out!

Also, Chanbe and I are coming up to Brizzie from 15th-22nd June for another visit so would love to catch up with anyone who’s around. And how could I post without including another lovely photo (or 2).

Help accepted!

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I went and had a cuppa with my neighbour this arvo and told her I had some housework to do when I went home and she insisted I leave Chanbe with her so I could get it done without interruption.

I accepted and it was bliss. I got SO much done – the bedroom, kitchen and half the loungeroom in just over an hour. This would have taken me DAYS if Chance was around looking all cute and distracting me. It feels so good now, to be sitting back on a Saturday night with a mostly clean and tidy house.

Aaaaaaah.

Help

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I went shopping on my own on Monday afternoon. Hubs looked after Chanbe and I headed to the chemist and our local IGA (they had our favourite ice cream half price!! Woo!) I had to buy a box of nappies and I also bought a 48 roll pack of toilet paper. Not because we need it right now, but because it was on special (worked out to be 39c per roll! Bear in mind that people usually buy 8-12 rolls at a time.) My point is, I had some big stuff, and I only had a little basket. When the checkout chick said she would go and get a trolley for me, I said “no no that’s fine. I’ll be right.”

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? I’m sorry, am I trying to get the title of “martyr of the year??” Seriously? Who says no to that? After processing these thoughts, I said to her “actually, that’s a good idea. I’ll go grab one for myself.

Why is it so hard for me to accept help from strangers? What on earth am I trying to prove? It was the same when I went up to Brizzie with Chance. I had a 15kg pack on my back, the nappy bag on the stroller, and Chance in it. A few people offered to help me but I declined, justifying it in my head with “if I can’t do this on my own, I can’t do it.” Yet if I saw someone in my position, and I was able to help, I would.

And another thing. We live in a tiny 2 bedroom unit and I struggle to keep the place tidy for more than a few days at a time. I’ve been looking forward to being a stay at home mum for quite a while, and now that I’m here, I’m absolutely loving it, but have to admit that it’s hard work. I think because we have such a small place I should be able to keep it clean and tidy, but because it’s so small, we don’t have designated places to put things away, so more often than not, things just get moved around, and never really put away. I’m hoping this will be rectified once we move house.

About a month ago, Hubs mused to me that once he becomes a doctor and money is coming in, we’re going to hire a cleaner. (Actually, he used the word “maid” but I think he meant someone to generally help around the house.) I was secretly really offended by this at first. I thought “that’s my job!” But then I got to thinking – why should I spend all my time racing around like a crazy woman, being too busy to spend time with Chanbe and subsequent babies, when we are able to get some help.

The thing is, we have no family down here, and no one I can really call on regularly to help out. Even though the offers are there, I find it hard to ask for/accept help. My neighbour is always happy to look after Chance, and I trust her implicitly, but I just don’t like to ask too often. And Chance is sick at the moment, so I really don’t want him to spread his germs around, so we’re just hanging out at home. Our messy, looks-like-a-bomb-hit-it, you-can’t-walk-more-than-3-steps-without-running-into-furniture home.

And at the moment I’m not really looking for any help, but there’s such a mental difference between always knowing help is there if I need it, and, well, not. Chance is currently asleep (and snoring like a freight train) and I “should” be tidying up the house, but instead I’m going to chill out and enjoy some down time. We’re moving in less than 2 months anyway, so what’s the point? 🙂

Scar tissue

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Scars are funny things. Some of them you show proudly, some you try and hide. Some you’ve had for most of your life, others are brand new (pardon the pun :-).

I have a few “favourite” scars. There’s one on my forearm that I got from an extremely hot dish while I was making rusks. The dish landed on my arm while I was turning it over to get the rusks out, and it went down hard on my skin for a good few seconds before I could get it off. To my surprise, it didn’t really hurt that much, and after a while I realised it was pretty deep and must have burnt through the nerves. This scar is one I show off proudly for fun.

Then there are the scars I hide. The stretch marks from my growth spurts. I have quite a few over the usual spots, and it wasn’t that I was growing out (at the time), it was that I was growing up. In more ways than one. I have been self conscious of these scars for years and years, and cover them up as much as possible.

The scar that I’ve had for most of my life is on my chest. It’s perfect in every way. It’s perfect in shape – a beautiful diamond. It’s perfect in position – so much so that when I wear v-neck tops, I line the point up with it, as it sits right in the middle of my chest. And it’s perfect in appearance – you can hardly see it unless it’s pointed out to you (or you’re looking really hard at my chest!!) This scar was from an altercation I had with a tiny piece of hot glass that went down my pyjamas when I was 3 years old (I think?) I’ve always been pretty clumsy! 🙂

And then there’s the new scars. These scars used to also fall under the “scars I try to hide category”. They’re the stretchmarks on my tummy from carrying my beautiful son in my belly for 40 weeks + 5 days. Up until week 38, no stretch marks had appeared on my baby belly and I was so happy about this. Since I’m prone to stretchmarks, I was sure I would be covered in them while pregnant, but it wasn’t until the Monday of my 39th week, that the first one appeared. Chance had “dropped” practically overnight, and as well as the pain and pressure on my pelvis, my skin had to compensate fast. I cried. Hard. I rang Hubs at work and cried on the phone to him. He did his best to reassure me that it was no big deal and that I was beautiful, but I was inconsolable. I texted my friend and tried to put things into perspective, but as the days passed, more and more appeared and I got more and more sad about it.

2 weeks later, Chance was born and the marks were forgotten immediately, and they have since faded quite dramatically. But they are now scars I am proud of. My battle scars. My reminder that my body is able to carry babies and how lucky I am that our little boy was born safe and well. When the time comes for baby number 2, I will be looking at those scars with fondness instead of sadness.

Garage sales

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I love a good garage sale, but I hate crappy ones. Hubs and I have been hitting a few over the last few months here in Wang, and after the last lot we went to, I have realised there are 2 types of garage sale:

Type One is where the owners want to make money, and Type Two is where the owners want to get rid of stuff. Things that you would find at Type One’s garage sale would be an x-box for $250, a couch for $100 and clothes for $5 each. Things that you would find at Type Two’s garage sale would be this awesome coat…

… for $2. Oh yes! It’s almost new and very cute. I have never had a garage sale of my own, but that will change very soon. We are going to have one before we leave for Mt Beauty, and I can assure you it’s going to be a “Type Two” garage sale. I may even bake cookies for the punters. I can’t wait!!!

Steak night!

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I’ve always been a bit nervous about cooking steak – there just seems to be a knack to it that I don’t have. Or should I say, didn’t have, until last night. We bought some eye fillet steak from our “local butcher” (I say “local” because it’s 10km out of town, but totally worth the drive) and after marinating it in soy and olive oil yesterday, I cooked them up last night. Uncle Ben kept saying “you can’t ruin a good cut of meat” and I kept thinking “wanna bet?” But I gave it a go, and they were awesome. Granted, I had a bit of help from Hubs and Uncle Ben, but I feel much more confident about cooking steak after last night’s efforts.

And now tonight, I’m going to tackle some fish. (Pardon the pun. Or don’t :-))

Op-shop-a-licious!

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Some days, I’ll walk on in to an op shop and emerge half an hour later empty handed. Other days, I’ll leave with half the shop in my bag. Today was one of those days. Vinnies had just put out a whole new “season” of clothes and boy did I score. The thing about op shops is that they are mostly made up of fairly run-of-the-mill brands, but some days, like today, you’ll hit the jackpot. Now, I must tell you that the clothes I bought for myself were pretty stock standard, albeit mostly new and quite nice, but I came across one of those op shop finds we all dream of: a 100% silk dress from Brown Sugar. I just had a look on line, and a dress like that would normally retail at over $100.

I paid $8. BUT. And it’s a big but. It’s not my size. And I knew it wasn’t my size when I bought it, but I just HAD to buy it? Am I right? I couldn’t let a find like that slip through my fingers! So I stood there, holding the dress, and thought of who I might be able to pass it on to, and after coming up with a few names, I made my purchase. I really hope that it fits my friend and she likes it! But if not, I’m sure we’ll be able to think of someone else to pass it on to.

I do love op shop shopping!!!

Are you lonesome tonight?

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I’m lonely. There. I said it. Now I’m not looking for sympathy :-), I’m merely stating a fact. I know what you’re saying. “You’re really good at making friends” and this is true. But it’s those long-standing friendships that really sustain a person’s soul. I felt like I was just starting to make these friends in Melbourne and then we left. I still keep in contact with some gal pals from Melbs, and I love them dearly, but it’s not the same as having someone I can call up and meet for coffee on any given day.

I think another contributing factor is that I had all my friends and family in Brisbane so close by for 6 weeks and I really miss that. It was so great to hang out with all the people who know us so well, so we didn’t have to be on our best behaviour all the time.

I also have this huge fear that I don’t make good first impressions. I just get nervous and want people to like me and I end up babbling and telling weird stories. I’m sure some of the mums in the mother’s group thought I was a bit odd the first few times they met me. (I started late – they had already been meeting for a month before I joined the group.) Thankfully (hopefully) I have redeemed myself with a great meet up yesterday over coffee. There were about 8 of us and I was a bit less nervous and bit more coherent. They are such a great bunch of women and I do hope I get to know them better over the coming months.

A few of them in particular, come to think of it, most of them, are really outgoing and friendly which is so lovely. It means I don’t have to always make all the effort so I can  relax a little bit.

Anyway, things really are going tremendously well for our little family. We are getting into somewhat of a routine, and I make sure I get out of the house every day for a walk or lunch with Hubs or a coffee in town. I do love Wang, but we are also looking forward to our next adventure in Mt Beauty in July.

Simple things done well

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The thing about Hubs is that he’s easy to please but hard to impress. (Luckily for me I’m totally awesome so he was totally impressed and just had to marry me! Ha!)

(Moving on…) I may have already mentioned that I can take all day preparing an elaborate 3 course meal for Hubs that he’ll enjoy just as much as spag bol or chicken salad, as long as they are done well. So when we were over at Aunty Alida and Uncle Wayne’s on Friday and Aunty Alida asked if we’d like ham and salad rolls for lunch, Hubs got very excited. I know what you’re saying. Ham and salad rolls? Big whoop. But when something simple like that is made with love (and avocado) then it will always be a winner with us Hubs. And you know me – I love anything that someone else makes for me!

And of course, they were awesome!

This visit kicked off a super weekend in Melbourne for us. More to come…

There’s no place like home

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Every gal needs at least one pair of red shoes. These are my latest edition. I bought them so I could walk to places like Mother’s group or coffee with friends and not have to wear my boring ugly sneakers. And since I have an aversion to paying full price for shoes and clothing, the fact that they were 30% off sealed the deal. Aren’t they just super cute!?