soooo cute

Thanks to my LL friend for sending this link on to us all. Having heaps of fun. Aren't they just adorable?

http://elouai.com/doll-makers/candybar-doll-maker.php

I am the master of my own destiny

Hit me like a ton of bricks today. A realisation, a cold hard fact. As obvious as it may seem and no matter how many times I say it to the kids I finally understood it's true depth of meaning. The only person who can achieve the goals I set for myself is me. I did say it was obvious!

So me and my little mantra went on a walk today with a friend who I have not seen in a long time. With our best intentions and walking shoes on we headed off to Kangaroo Point. Got ourselves a little plan and set the wheels in motion.

I look back at what we use to do not so long ago (12 months) and think yeah we can do that! All 67 steps of Kangaroo Point 12 times - man they are a killer, great workout definelty makes you feel alive... once you start breathing normally again.

I especially love the city run. Works out to be about 10k, followed by some breaky by the river side. It really is the simple things...

I am off to bed with a spring in my step, a mantra to go to sleep too and a great attidude for tomorrow.

One Saturday Morning

Once upon a Saturday morning a young (not yet 30) woman checked her emails. Staring at her in bold print read "meet me for coffee 10am" (okay, this is a very, very, very short version of a few back and forth emails). Eeewww she thought. "A brunch date with a lovely lady". She kissed her husband goodbye, applied a new coat of raspberry lip balm, and said she would be back a little later. Her daughter sat in the front seat smiling at the little rendevous that was beginning to unfold.

The not yet 30 woman stepped out of her car, thought about realigning her very ordinary car park and changed her mind when she caught a glimpse of the smiling face she was going to meet. Crossing the road with her daughter she greeted her lovely date with a warm smile that replicated the kind of day it was. Sunny, with a coffee shop smells lingering ever so faintly in the back ground.

The three children brought along by the women played contently on the cement ground, but to then it could've been a lush, green park, it wouldn't have mattered. With their babycinos, marshamallows and mentos they were happy.

Some time later, the ladies said their goodbyes, smiled as much at each other as how nice the past couple of hours had been. With energetic waves and radiant grins the children farwelled each other and skipped happily beside their mothers'.

The young (not yet 30) woman returned to her husband, said she had a lovely time with a lovely lady over a lovely cup of coffee.

To the LL (lovely lady) who may be reading this. Thanks for the chat and coffee. Hope you had some fish for dinner. I thought of saying that I had a pleasant morning with a friend over a cup of coffee, but a little story is much more interesting to read. :)

Cadbury Fundraisers are B-A-D Bad!

One of my favourite Layouts (completed last week) I sooo love those Heidi Swapp Ghost hearts.

A delightful student came up to me today with the dreaded purple box full to too many choices chocolate! Hhmmm would I go the crunchie? No, perhaps the coconut rough, maybe I should stick to trusty plain.... No, can't go past the Fruit and Nut. So without thought or reluctance I handed over my $2 and proceeded to put the chocolate in the drawer. Half a block later and the thought of "stop it, stop it, stop it" did enter my mind. I figured out of sight, out of mind was a theory worth a try. Sooo, in the bag it went. Long story short... Needed some sugar on the way home to keep me awake. Burrowing through my bag and what do you think I found....

Frustration

After an exceptionally frustrating day at work I still feel no better. I don't know whether it is a lack of sleep, a constant headache or just one of 'those days'. Or whether it is actually a genuine frustration at the ignorance of some people. In a meeting today two young fellow work mates were speaking about 'difficult' children and how parents need to be made more accountable and it is all the parents fault blah blah blah. Note here that these two do not have children and have not reached 30!

I raised the point that we have to be careful to not generalise and say all 'difficult' children are a result of poor parenting. It is too easy to blame the parents for a childs behaviour and attitude without either looking at our own professional practices or gee, I don't know how about firstly making the child responsible for their own behaviour???

Needless to say I was shot down rather quickly by these, obviously, very experienced mature adults with a vast array of life experience and as parents of school aged children! This frustration (and conversation) continued on for some 2 and a 1/2 more hours.

I believe we are in a profession where we have the power to influence an enormous amount of people now and in the future and it just frustrates me to no end....

ANYWAY.... I know this blog entry will be excpetionally boring to most of you, I guess I am just using it to vent...

I will go to bed, wake up tomorrow thankful for another day in paradise and do my little bit to help the world and I don't know maybe make a child smile along the way.

How lucky am I?

My four year old asked if she could give me a massage tonight. After her repeated asking I finally gave in and handed her over the moisturiser. Well I got my shoulders rubbed, my back tickled, my head massaged and am feeling thoroughly relaxed whilst sitting here typing this. She even had the thumbs going in the shoulders! How lucky am I????

21 days

Rocky Road made for Easter...soooo yummy....

I have been seeing a dietican for 12 months with the attempt of losing 15 or so kilos. Pretty pathetic that in that 12 months i have lost anywhere up to 7 kilos only to promptly put it back on again. I think one of the scariest aspects of weight loss is that there is no-one else to blame but yourself. My dietician

I chose to not go for a walk (too cold/tired/busy/sick/windy... insert your own word here) I chose to sit and chat with friends on-line (hey keeping the friendship boat afloat is important too), I chose to have that extra piece of pizza/chocolate/biscuit/champagne/hot chips (agian, insert your own word here).

SOOOOOOOOO in attempt to get serious (note here that the little cynical devil angel is sitting on my shoulder with a champagne in one hand and a packet of chips in the other going "yeah right lovey, been hearing that one for 12 months) I am going to make a do-or-die effort.

I have my inspiration in my friends RR (her amazing dedication and commitment, both past an ongoing, to her weight loss. Amsie (a friend who has made enormous changes both personally and professionally and continues to suprise me) and Fiona Wood (2005 Australian of the Year, mother of six, head of the burns unit in Royal Perth Hospital, Professor at the University of Western Australia and a triathlete!!!!).

So as the start of the working week looms close (I know tomorrow is a PH) so too does my path to weight loss and improved fitness. Research has shown it takes 21 days to break a habit. We will see at the end of the 21 days how much my 'habit' has broken....

Fish Sauce

Cooked a new receipe tonight (sweet chilli chicken and rice) . Dead easy and very yummy. The only thing was the receipe called for Fish Sauce, so I added it, stirred it in and then nearly puked at the smell! It was possibly to worst smelling thing I have ever come across in cooking. I refused to taste the dinner so I made my husband do the taste test. He assured me it was fine. I reluctantly had a taste and well continued to help myself to three servings. Very, very yummy but very, very, very bad smelling!!!!

Srap Night In

Had a great time with some great friends creating some great pages. I love the company of the ladies I scrapbook with. Unfortunately it was not a complete girly cirlcle tonight {note to R.R - we were thinking of you...and those brownies :)}

The thing I love about these ladies is that they are completely seperate from my 'work friends'. There is no discussion about kids or teachers at school, what we are teaching, or anything else to do with 'shop talk'.

Note to ladies if you are reading this - I love the giggles! I always feel so happy after a scrap out with you guys.

Why Oh Why do we do it????

Just made a double batch of Rocky Road (mmmmmmm....). As any true chocolate lover would understand there is never an excuse to wasting perfectly good chocolate! Someone had to lick the bowl. All follwed by a drink of cold milk. Yummo!

Matter of perception or matter of truth?

I love holidays! Who doesn't? What I love most about holidays is being by myself doing what I want when I want. Obviously this can be a little difficult at times considering I have two young children and a husband. I often look at my single or childless friends and envy their lifestyle. I know that at times they look at my life and do believe that the grass is greener on the other side. Oh how to deal with it when you want everyone in your house to 'go away' for a while???

Don't misunderstand what I am saying, I love my children, I love my husband and I love the network that we have together as a family...and what makes it all the more better is I don't pretend to be 'susie-homemaker'. But I do feel, at times (lots of times at the moment) that there is something missing from my life.

Can anybody relate?

Random Thoughts explained...

I love to talk, share thoughts and communicate in a written or verbal form. I also only like doing these things with people I like or have time to listen to. I Get most frustrated and impatient with those people who continue to ramble either a)about things they know little about b) whingers and c) when I'm in a bad mood.

I created this blog for many reasons, to be able to share with family and friends, to just have my say, in my time, in my way anyway the randomness takes me.