weird

I think I have mentioned before that I live close to the CBD of my town. This has great benefits but also some negatives - like finding it difficult to get a park out the front of our house. The other day on our way to the gym ( so early early dark still) we walked out the front gate and there were a pair of shoes and some roughed up dirt. WEIRD! What was even weirder is that later in the day they were gone. I am wandering if the rightful owner came looking for them perhaps when they weren't feeling quite so under the influence...

a problem

I already mentioned that we have a mini skip - now I know it seems like we have one all of the time - and this would make people wander WTF we throw in it all of the time. Just to clarify - we always fill it up with garden cuttings etc, but then there is the other stuff. I am constantly moving things around in the house - for example we no longer have a spare bedroom, we have a craft room. ( no one ever does Craft but that is where all of the stuff lives) Because our house is old we have a 'sleep out' style verandah. Anyone who has ever had a sleep out knows that they can quite easily become a junk yard. Ours is no different.

This post is getting quite lengthy - and I hate that! So I will cut to the chase. I sorted through a cupboard on the sleepout and found a heap of bags from our 2004/2005 trip to America. REALLY PEOPLE! These bags have been carted around the world. At the time I thought I would die if I did not bring home a Bloomingdale's Medium Brown Bag - bag. Of course they have never been used. So tomorrow they go. Now we have an empty cupboard that is going to be the new home for the CD collection.

Did you want to know all of that? I swear I am NOT a hoarder! I swear!

a relaxing Sunday

at home for the most part. Once I had been to the gym, done a few odd jobs, some washing, been to Bunnings, done the groceries, had a chat with Shirl - I came home and put my feet up and caught up on some weekly viewing. If you want to know what I did on Friday night - check out this link .

do you think

it's time to mow??

you better believe it

No 'photoshopping' has occurred to bring this photo to you. It is still up, and no doubt yet another weekend will pass and so it will remain. Obviously the culprit is pictured

Turning Japanese...I really think so

Haven't uploaded a pic of myself recently - so thought it was probably about time. I have had this dress for ages, but switched it up today by tying my belt kimono style. I love the graphic print on this dress. I also wore cute new red shoes that I bought on the weekend - if you can believe it they were Homy-Peds. I will have to get a photo at some point - they did not hurt me at all - not a band aid in sight.




PS Can you glimpse what is behind me in this photo? Can you? This was taken this morning.

Christmas in February

is just ridiculous - but if you came to my house today this is what you would see

My housemate has made several - obviously idle - threats to take it down. I have also made several - not so idle threats of my own. One day the housemate will come home and find it in the middle of her bed!

Sorry it is dark photo and I couldn't rotate it.

been

Pottering around

I have also been doing some household 'chores' whilst on holidays.  One of them was this - organising the book case.  We  have a new piece of furntiure - another bookcase and so that it doesn't sit empty some rearranging was needed.  I have also sorted out the books I really don't need to keep.  I am planning on having a huge sale one day - just haven't worked out if it should be a garage sale or if I should go to the local Sunday markets.  This was a big job, and I am happy to say that it is finished - kind of.  Let me just say that you can now get through the hallway without the fear of stubbing your toe.

seriously my time is like...

totally disappearing. Don't know where the time is going in the afternoons, lucky I took some excess photos last week.

so still continuing in the theme of stuff around the house. I like putting little collections of things together. So this is my vase collection.

In other news I had to pick up my passport today - yes they processed that horrible photo. Damn them! I was kind of hoping it would be rejected and then I could try again. Apparently the passport office is happy for me to have that photo for the next ten years! Let me just say they are 'sliding off'.

continuing a theme

I do have a new theme in line for this week, but still have some photos left over from last weeks and didn't quite get around to taking today's theme picture.

I love candles! I think the light they give off is really nice. I liked this wall hanging / candle arrangement, but it has a fatal flaw. The candles when they burn down, spill over the edges. That is not a good thing - so most of the time this has no candles burning in it ever - at least it looks nice on the wall. Can you get non dripping candles??

Back together

I think the Internet and I are back together!







I have spent the last few days at a conference - I on the whole liked it - but there were a few people who really annoyed me - and I was all like.."SERIOUSLY...SHEESH! WHAT IS WITH YOU PEOPLE..." AS a summary I learnt

• that I do not under any circumstances like playing icebreaker games - big SNORE. ( although I did meet someone during one of the games - who had a strange set of four things in common with me. For example - I had a godson called Xavier, he had a son called Xavier - now you don't come across that kind of thing everyday)



• that manners do not get you anywhere - especially if you want to leave early



• that people can very easily - in the words of my Mum "SLIP OFF" my radar and into the land of no return.

Because it is Saturday my running update is thus

• ran for 1 Hour and 2 Minutes ( I had to finish the song I was listening to), which equated to 7.3kms and 960 calories...I didn't think I was going to make it to the 45 minute point but then I did and somehow found a second wind and could push on. I know it is not really fast but I did try and run at different paces today - even up to 9 at some points.

Continuing the theme of things around my house - today's photos are of some pictures/frames that I have around the house that I love. The first set I bought in New York - I didn't realise that 3 of them were landscape and 1 portrait orientation - I just bought them because I liked them. I also didn't realise that when I was hanging them - but I kind of now like that one is out of order. AS my sister would say it is a "Point of Difference" and this is always to be encouraged. The second frame are photos I took when I lived in the Ville. The frame was a gift from friends for babysitting their delightful children one time - and we were discussing this just last night. Again we don't love the wall colour in our house - but alas New York calls so repainting comes in second.

A super long post from me today...SNORE! I have a theme ready for next week, but do you have any suggestions about themes that I could use. It has t be something I can take a photo of

10 pink bottles

hanging on the wall, and if one pink bottle shall accidentally fall - there'll be...

Hope that song doesn't stick in your head too much. I have a 'room' off of my bedroom - it has become my walk in wardrobe -thanks again T! It was obviously part of a verandah in a previous life so it has a funny door way - I put these 3 pink bottles up recently. I think they catch the light nicely

say something

We all know how I love little inspirational sayings , daily affirmations etc. This is one that I saw and loved and had to have, but I have absolutely no recollection of where I bought it from - none what-so-ever! It hangs on my bedroom door and I think it is a good strategy to live your life by. I think most days I manage all three to different degrees. Do you?

design dilemma

AS you know my house has been undergoing a change - we've been moving things around basically. Now this sends me into a bit of a tizz - because where do you put everything? So for the last week or so I have been rearranging all of the nic-nacs we have - and there are a gazillion. I arrange things then I assess them from afar - then I move what needs to be moved - and well let me say this little arrangement here is still a work in process - as you can see.

PS

you might also notice the horrible terracotta ceiling we have in the bathroom - why anyone would paint their ceiling this colour is beyond me. WE will change it one day...promise

put some light on the subject

Over the last few days - ok maybe a week or more, we have slowly been running out of lights in our bathroom. WE have been running on one light for the last few days now. This does provide a challenge when you are two girls trying to get ready in the morning. See the problem is thus - you cannot just but these light bulbs anywhere you have to go to a specialty lighting spot. I normally buy them in bulk , like 30 bulbs at a time. We had even run out of them. SO this afternoon I went to buy some more and you know what she told me that soon they will not be allowed to import the light bulbs - what will happen then? I think I will be buying them in bulk between now and October. Also I went to a new shop and from my memory they are a lot cheaper then the last shop I got them from. So that surely is a good thing

minty goodness

Did you know that I love growing herbs - sometimes I have great success and others not so good. I used to have a thriving herb garden at a different house, but at my current house I haven't had much success. I've tried different spots in the yard. I've tried different pots . I've tried buying the herbs from different locations. All to no avail - until now. I am very happy with my mint. I think it looks full of minty goodness and I can't wait to use it in my cooking. I will be all like " Garcon go and get me some mint". ( we all know who 'garcon' is in this instance don't we...)

going going...

The bin is being picked up today, and as promised I have taken a picture of it before its departure. I have absolutely worked hard to get this skip full, I have alternated between sore back, sore neck, sore legs as a result of the big garden clean up. Also because there was also a heap of flood damaged stuff in the bottom I didn't get to throw out anything that needed it from within the house..Oh well there is always another skip waiting to be filled I guess.

You might also notice that again it is super early- this is part of my regime to get back to work ready. I made a promise to myself that I would get up at 5.30 each morning and go to the gym. Well I am happy to report that I have gotten up at 5.30, and HAVE NOT been to the gym. Yeah for me :)

It has arrived...

the much sort after skip! This morning at 7am the truck arrived to off load the skip. I truly love the skip...truly...love it! The next week will be filled with the liberating feeling of throwing junk that has accumulated over the year into the skip. WE also have a lot of storm damaged stuff to put in it - so no doubt it will fill up quickly. Dad is coming up tonight to help us throw in some big stuff - because you can't just be all haphazard about the order of throwing in - we have learnt this over many years. I am being a super housewife today - well sort of - and I have already started preparing tonight's dinner - thai beef salad - so the beef is currently marinating in the marinade I whipped up this morning ( the one I learnt at the thai cooking course) - I am looking at the housework and will probably have to do some of that as well...maybe...

I will take a photo when the skip is full and before it leaves us next Wednesday again I know you find this absolutely riveting

appropriate?

The annual big clean up (as alluded to in previous posts) has begun. We recently have decided to actually make use of a certain part of our yard (which by the way prospers even though we have not spent any time/money on it) - and this means that we have to cut stuff back etc. So on the weekend we started, and well don't you think that thongs and a pretty dress are just the right sort of clothes to be doing such activities in?