photostory friday: this is where i'll be in 37 sleeps, and if u knew how cold it was here, you'd be happy for me

it's called the peninsula something

and it's on the sunshine coast (in australia)

where apparently it's sunny (a lot)

and warm too

which it isn't here right now

or likely to be for several months *sigh*...

miss 20 has a 6 week break from uni starting friday and miss 18 has a FIVE week break starting NEXT friday.

misses 12 and 13 have THEIR end of term/semester 2 holidays starting july 2nd, and there's a 10 day overlap where we could ALL holiday together

so i'm pretty happy

as it turns out, we're travelling on the EXACT same dates as when we took the girls to the gold coast back in 2006

Hosted by Cecilyand Mamarazzi

wordful wednesday: my daughter's a frikkin' genius

...s'all i'm sayin...

well, of course that's not all i'm sayin', coz i'm NEVER short of a word or three, and it IS wordFUL wednesday

this is miss 18's stop motion project for her rapid visualisation class at uni (college)

it's over 400 photos and hours and hours of work

ISN'T SHE CLEVER???!!!

for more wordful wednesday, visit angie over @ seven clown circus

EDITED: she got an A for this!!!

photostory friday: as if i needed any reminding that i'm married to the original geek

...when i was cleaning out the cupboard under the stairs

(harry says hi btw)

i found this (well, MANY like this)

still, when you're looking for the ultimate combo to make great babies, you surely can't go past my good looks, sense of humour, creativity - and modesty(!!!)

and his smarts

i mean, look what we made:

so proud...

wordful wednesday: however wet i look in this pic - trust me, i was a WHOLE lot wetter!

so, our first game of the netball season rolled around

i didn't pay particular attention to the forecast, because i always OVER dress or UNDER dress

(no more obvious than today!)

my coat was actually IN THE CAR, because when we got there the sun was shining down from the blue sky above!

about 15 minutes before the end of miss 12's game (which she eventually won 21-6) the skies opened

and when i say OPENED, i mean it HAILED

i was wearing jeans, sneakers, this lightweight sweater over a long-sleeved tshirt

it rained so hard i couldn't even see

it rained so hard i actually had water running down the INSIDE OF MY BRA.

(i'll give you a minute to get that visual)

in this pic i was on my way back to the car, because we had 1 1/2 hours before we had to come BACK TO THE COURTS!!!

yes we did.  miss 12 is a junior umpire and they did not cancel the morning 'for a little bit of rain'.

thankfully, the rain DID stop, and i was able to go home for a hot shower and come back to enjoy the rest of the morning.

for more wordful wednesday, visit angie over @ seven clown circus

i'm not here today

i'm here

the lovely angie over @ seven clown circus asked me to guest post, but if you're all clicked out, i'll save you the trouble...



WEDNESDAYS WITH KEN

when angie asked if i wanted write a guest post, i knew exactly what i would write about.

in a way angie inspired this post

but then again maybe it was fear

cancer,  definitely

...and friendship too

angie wrote this post back in february of this year.  she had run into a friend she had known growing up who was dying of cancer, but didnt say anything when she saw her.  angie was deeply upset by the way she handled the situation, so went home and wrote her friend a letter.

at the time, i felt like that post from angie was written just for me.

this is ken

two days after i took this photo, ken died.  it may well have been the last photo of him.  i don't know.  all i know is that i'm glad i have it.

he had been sick for a while, but almost a month before this photo was taken (to the day), ken was given one month to live.  when i found out, i was literally paralyzed with fear.  i wanted to do something, but what?

i couldn't pick up the phone (too intrusive)  i couldn't email (too impersonal).  so i wrote him a letter.

i wrote of all the things about him that make me smile.  i said that my letter was his invitation to call me, because i simply didn't know what to do (or how to do it).

the next day he called.  he said he was so very touched by my letter and that he wanted me to come visit.

during his treatment he had developed a sweet tooth, with a penchant for anything lime and peppermint - so on wednesdays while my girls were at their singing lessons, i visited.

the first week i came with peppermint slice.

the next week i brought lime mousse

the following week i brought lime jelly.  he never ate that jelly, but i did get this pic.  that's the tip of his thumb you can see at the bottom of the shot giving the thumbs up.

during his funeral i discovered that as well as being a pioneer in software sales back in the 80s (ie, he was ahead of his time), he was also an amateur boxer, had his helicopter pilot's licence, and was an equestrian 3-day eventer.

all this in addition to being an all-round funny guy, great friend and loving husband and father to his 2 daughters, who at 18 and 20 are now without their father.

my first thought when i think about the girls, is that he won't be able to walk them down the aisle, but it's not just the big occasions where he will be missed.

he will simply be missed.

those weekly visits meant more to me than he will ever know, and i'm so glad i overcame my fear and did something.  i had angie and her friend guiding me.  i had my friend bernice in my ear too.  a relative of hers had once said (regarding the same situation) - "whatever you do, just don't put it off".

wise words indeed.

photostory friday: gettin' busy

i have not been idle during my past few weeks of unemployment.

in fact, i have gone completely gangbusters on the rumpus room downstairs.

every single inch of this room has been vacuumed and vacuumed good; and it's only partly true that i've moved furniture that's been in the same place for 10 years simply to vacuum up the GOOK with my brand new all-singing, all-dancing dyson.

ok, it's mostly true...

and now for the photographic evidence of all my hard work:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

so to recap:

sold bunks

sold desk

sold bookcase

bought single bed w/trundler

threw out a lot of crap

sorted out even more

feeling pretty virtuous right about now...

on the job front:  on monday i had a 1-day contract which was pretty cool, and i'm starting a one month contract on monday.   FULL-TIME!

yikes!

wordful wednesday: mothers' day

this pretty much speaks for itself, and could easily pass for wordLESS wednesday, but you KNOW ME - i'm never short of a word or ten!!!

it reads:

"one day i went to get a gift to blow you away

to make you jump with joy this mothers day

i'm writing this poem to say that i didn't buy you something it's true

because even the whole entire mall couldn't say how much i love you

happy mothers day mum

i'm so lucky i have you

love [my baby], smiley face and heart

(any dry eyes left??)

and like the daughter of a true scrapper,

on the back it's dated with her name, age and occasion

i really did have a wonderful day, and this is just one of the many reasons why.

for more wordful wednesday, visit angie over @ seven clown circus

PS:  this totally explained the paint splatters around the kitchen and family area we came home to one night!

photostory friday: getting and 'ang of it

i can't remember the first time i saw an ali edwards 'in-the-mirror-self-portrait' pic, but i have always marvelled at how easy she makes it look.

a certain PSFer is also none-too-shabby at it either...

anyhoo, despite bad light and a crappy mirror, i have persevered,

and i think i finally NAILED it

well, i like them anyway!

(if only i could line them all up straight!)

happy PSF

Hosted by Cecilyand Debi

bad blogger: again

what can i say?

i blame facebook.  again.

i've just realised i'm only updating on wednesdays and fridays, so thought i'd thrown in a monday update just to keep you (my 19 readers) on your toes.

i'm in my third week of unemployment (not that i'm counting) and am enjoying ZUMBA classes.

for women 'of a certain age', they are the most freeing thing

that's the only way i can describe them

i've sent packages of bloggy love to some long-time blog friends

do let me know when they arrive!

i've loaded anything that isn't nailed down onto trade me (ebay) and i'm doing a lot of laundry (ok, that's not new)

i've applied for SEVERAL jobs, but most of them are through recruitment agencies and well, i've not found that avenue, PARTICULARLY helpful.  at all.

i'm off to my first hen's night in ...  years (she has 3 kids now, so it's been a while!)

and a 25th birthday on saturday

after mum and dad's 50th last saturday and an engagement party in the weekend, i feel i have all the bases of milestone celebrations covered for now.

i've posted this video before, but it makes me smile every time i watch it, so i'm going to share it again

we were on our way home from a fathers' day breakfast (2 years ago).

take 2 minutes out of your day to enjoy my 4 girls singing sara bareilles' "love song".

the quality is a little fuzzy due to compression, but enjoyable nonetheless

happy monday!