Hay Hay!

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Last year for our wedding anniversary and Christmas present, I bought Hubs and I tickets to see Colin Hay at the Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre. A good friend of ours kindly agreed to babysit Chanbe and we headed out for an adult night out.

To say it was amazing would be an understatement. To say it exceeded all expectations would be putting it mildly. To say it was one of the best live performances I’ve ever been to would be getting closer. Colin (yes, I’m on a first name basis) connected with the audience on so many levels. In between songs, which included tracks from his new album as well as some of his classics (Overkill, Land Down Under), he regailed us with stories of his childhood in Scotland, his friendship with Paul McCartney, and the lawsuit involving Land Down Under.

He did a 2 hour set and I was captivated throughout, and was very sad when it was over. My spirits were then lifted when we were advised that he would be signing copies of his CDs out in the foyer afterwards. Oh, and of course I asked for a photo!

It really was an incredible evening that will remain with me for a very long time.

By request

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I’m a bit excited to publish a post that has been requested by one of my readers! After mentioning my new purse, I have been asked to show it off. I’m also trying to take better photos, so let me know how I go!

Here’s my old purse that I bought at the Queen Victoria Markets on a trip to Melbourne in 2005 to visit my friend Ezza. (Yes, that’s pre-Hubs!) It’s leather and it cost me $35 which I think is a real bargain. Especially since it lasted me almost 7 years!

It had loads of space for all my cards – 14 pockets in all! And you better believe that I used every single one of them, some of them with 2 or 3 cards!
And you can see the blu-tac marks from where I had one of my photos
Enter, my new purse (with one of Nanny’s old coffee cups, as well as one of her crocheted creations!)
This photo was taken before Hubs got home.
And this one was taken after I learned about aperture! (again)
This purse is also leather and it cost me only $15!! BARGAIN!!
The purse doesn’t have nearly as many card slots, but I was looking to downsize the crap cards in my purse
So even though there’s still a fair few bits and pieces of paper, I’m being more diligent about not keeping lots of stuff in my purse. (Although this backfired when I threw out my Coles docket and realised that I’ve bought a bulk 4kg box of washing powder that’s front loader for our top loader machine. Hopefully I can convince them to exchange for me!!)
I chose this colour and pattern as it suggests a level of sophistication, as well as a bit of playfulness. There were lots of colours and patterns to choose from, but this one really grabbed my attention.
It usually takes me a while to adjust to a new purse, but I instantly loved this one. If anyone would like me to purchase one for them, I would be happy to visit the market in a few weeks time to pick one up for you! (Just email me or leave me a comment and we can make arrangements!)

Fireman Chance

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A couple of weekends ago we went to the Mount Beauty market day. Not only did they have some cute stalls where I bought a new purse, but they also had the local volunteer fire brigade looking to recruit members. Chance was kind of keen.

Actually, he was VERY keen…
The firies were ready to recruit him on the spot! Maybe one day son!

Bring on the PMA

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My friend and I frequently use the term “PMA” (Positive Mental Attitude) in our day to day lives. When we’ve had a rough night with our boys, we try to instill a PMA for the following day.; if we think something is going to be too hard, we try our darndest to have a PMA and get through it.

On Sunday afternoon, my PMA was nowhere to be found. Hubs was working in his office for the afternoon, and I was tired and defeated by the thought of tidying the house and packing for Wang. I had written my list, but I wasn’t prepared to act on it. So I sat down and started writing a “my life is so hard” blog post. I was reading through and editing when Chanbe needed my attention so I left it, planning to return and publish the post later on.

Chance was going a little bonkers inside the house so we went out onto the deck and played with his cart and trike. We had a really good time and as I was watching him I thought “I have the power to turn this around!” Bring on the PMA!! So we came back inside and I started tidying and packing. Just doing one task at a time, playing with Chance for a bit, then doing a bit more.

I had completely forgotten about my blog post until hours later when I found it, had a quick read, and promptly deleted it. It felt goooooood. So thanks to my super organising, we were pretty much ready to go by Sunday night at 10pm! Chance woke us up around 7am (very reasonable!) and all we had to do was eat brekky, pack the esky, pack the car and make our cups of tea for the road. Which meant we left an hour early, which meant we arrived in Wang an hour early, which meant the 3 of us could walk to Hubs’ work together and grab lunch on the way!

I love it when hard work pays off! Speaking of hard work, I also joined the gym yesterday afternoon, and between walking there and back both yesterday and today, and the pump* class I did this morning, I’m beat! But, you guess it, it feels gooooood. I might just have a little nappy-nap before Chance wakes up 🙂


*I only wish I looked as good as the guys and gals on the video!!

Plummeting back down to earth…

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… with an almighty crash. 

This time last week we were surrounded by family and friends and a support network. We were staying in the same house, night after night, week after week. We didn’t have to pack and unpack and pack again every week. I felt relaxed and faced each day with anticipation and excitement, and had such a great time.

It’s hard to come back to our “normal” (I use the term very loosely) life after such stability. I am sitting here with my diary open, planning the next couple of months. 5 days back home in MB, then next week in Wang, then back to MB for a week, then the following week in Wang, then back here and so forth for maybe 2 months. Oh, and a few trips down to Melbourne thrown into the bag just for fun as well. 
I realise the choice to go to Wang with Hubs is mine. But at the same time, it’s not really a choice. If Hubs is going to be away for 5 of 6 days, and he’s going to a place where I have a whole bunch of awesome friends, well… what would you choose? I think the hardest part about this lifestyle is that I don’t know anyone else going through the same thing. So people can say they understand, but I don’t think they do. 
This is why next year, I need for us to go somewhere and stay put for a year or 2. We’ll go on holidays of course, but not every single freakin’ week. It’s already getting me down and we haven’t even started. Man this is going to be a long year.

In 6 months time…

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I’m currently looking at my life, thinking “things will be better in 6 months time.” There are a few things that are getting me down at the moment, that are completely in my control to change, that I would really like to change gradually to make them stick.

You see, I’ve put on a few extra holiday kilos (actually, they started creeping on well before we left MB) and it has been a very long time since I have felt this down about my body. A comment from a (I hope) well-meaning relative back home didn’t help things at all. But that’s okay. I have a game plan and my first day (today) went well. It’s going to be a long journey, but I’m committed. I have to be.

Also, I don’t really like my hair length at the moment – I want it long. I know that in 6 months it will be a great length to tie back and put cute little clips in.

Oh, and my fingernails. I’ve been a chronic nail-biter since I was 5 years old and the only thing that used to make me stop was $20 bribes from my aunty. Once I got the cash though, it wouldn’t take long before I was back into the nasty habit. I’ve actually been mainly not biting them over the last 10 or so years, and the most recent massacre was when I was driving behind Hubs when he had just picked up his new motorbike. It took about 300km before they were all gone again, and I haven’t given them any chance to grow back. But I love having fingernails (and hate hate hate the look of my chewed nails) so I have set myself the goal of growing them nicely for a couple of weddings I have in March.

The other, probably most important thing, is that I haven’t felt like my faith is getting much of a look in these days, and thanks to my good friend who gave me a daily devotional for Christmas, I can re-connect which always seems to make the rest of my life better and easier.

Hmmmm… what else? There are a few other little niggly things that I might share at the 6 month mark. Wish me luck!

We’re home

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(This post was supposed to be published last night…)

Aaaaaaah. It’s 11:30 on Wednesday night, and we weren’t planning on being home til tomorrow afternoon, but here we are. Chanbe is in bed, and in a few minutes time, we’ll be joining the little guy in dreamy-dream land.

We left Kempsey at 9:20am and planned to spend tonight in some random hotel in Goulburn, but we decided to press on and try our luck. We had a big break around 6:30pm so once we got back in the car, Chance was ready for sleep. we did the last 3.5 hours in one hit and although the yard is ridiculously overgrown, it felt so nice to pull in.

It’s so funny to think that we were in Queensland yesterday morning; that Hubs went for a swim in the ocean at 6am; that Chanbe had a power spew in the car not far over the NSW border (coincidence? hee hee); and that our long-awaited, much anticipated, wonderfully enjoyed trip to Brisbane has come to an end.

I guess there’s only one more thing to share! Road trip photo!

Wifey’s last night in town

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It’s just after midnight, we are leaving Brisbane in a matter of hours, everyone else is in bed, and I’m watching the Australian Open Men’s final. It’s amazing. I can’t go to bed!

I may also be trying to delay our saying goodbye as long as possible. It’s been such an amazing 2 months being around family – it’s hard to imagine having to do everything with only the 3 of us. It has certainly made trying to decide where to go for Hubs’ internship next year very tricky.

We leave after lunch and we’re aiming to be home sometime Thursday. There is so much packing still to do, but still seemingly a lot of tennis to watch! (go Nadal!) Oh, and this is my first blog written and posted on my new Galaxy SII. I hippie to work out all the quirks soon for future posting!

Face off

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Hubs and I were enjoying a lovely JJJ Hottest 100/Australia Day Party with our friend who always hosts a JJJ Hottest 100/Australia Day Party. We were gathered around, enjoying conversations about what will be number 1 on the countdown, sailing trips, and our friend’s upcoming overseas move.

And then we started talking about facebook. I don’t normally buy in to discussions about the pros and cons of facebook, as I know I have my reasons for not wanting to be a member, and although I’m happy to explain those reasons, I don’t like to be made to feel like I “should” be a member. But a friend asked me to explain why I didn’t partake and so I did. (see here) He wasn’t convinced and tried to give reasons why my reasons weren’t valid. So I explained further, but he still wasn’t satisfied. I got a bit fired up and made my point with a couple of swear words (probably would have made the point better without them, but you get that) and he said he understood where I was coming from and that was the end of it.

On our way home, it got me thinking and I said to Hubs “It makes me really sad that I feel like I can’t be involved in something that could be really amazing.”

Hubs’ response? “You are involved in something amazing. It’s called life.”

He started saying more but I stopped him and said I wanted to bask in the words he had just said. It. Felt. Gooooood. I have had a lot of people in my life tell me how they think it’s so great that Hubs and I really make the most of things; how we’re always doing exciting stuff and wonder what adventures we will begin in the year to come. And I love that. I LOVE that we have such a transient lifestyle, as we really do make an effort to make the most out of the time we have in each place. (Of course it does drive me crazy sometimes, but there’s always more good than frustrating!)

So I will continue to live my life without facebook, and although I will miss out on things from time to time, I feel like I will be using that time to live my life.




(I certainly don’t wish to ostracize those who are pro-facebook, it’s just not for me.)