What a day - 28th June!

Today is quite an amazing day. Today my grandmother turns 80. Isn't that just an amazing milestone? 


Sadly, my grandmother suffers from Alzheimer's. Her stories and her personality are slowly being taken from her.  The stories she tells now are often not hers and they tend to take off on some fantastic tangent, or they just circle around on a loop until she fades them out. She no longer bakes bread daily, no longer swims in the ocean with her buddies every morning, no longer busy's herself organising amazing seafood banquets for her family - She is no longer the carer. She can't play piano from memory, but she still remembers how to read the music. One of the few activities that brings her joy.


So happy birthday Mana. 


Sx


PS - In other exciting news today, a friend turns 33, my mum and dad celebrate their wedding anniversary and another friend has her house settlement today! What a day! Ohhh, and I'm test driving my new scarf courtesy of Lisa from Knitting Inspirations at Perth Upmarket yesterday - was great fun, but packed! 

Change is good - right?

I notice a gentle wave of change, is it that its finally winter here now?? (Although sun is shining at present!)


Small Change 1
Over the weekend, whilst driving some friends around, a crappy song came on the radio, I did my usual thing, hit the next button in sequence, which had another crappy song (commercial radio). My front seats passenger friend looked at me with exasperation in his eyes and hit the end button, Triple J. And you know what, its still on that station and I'm loving the change.


Small Change 2
Just now, I've had to interrupt my post, one of my dearest friends just called. And we spent 50 minutes on the phone chatting (And yes, I'm at work!), it was all about the subtle changes that have occurred in her life in the past 6 months which have turned out to be very big changes in nearly ever aspect of her life! In a very good way. 


Small Change 3
So to honour these changes, when blogger asked if I'd like to look at some new template options, I thought, why not? So here- my sunnier, brighter blog.


FRIKKEN MASSIVE CHANGE!
Baby Mason - baby boy number three, was born last Friday, so three boys in two days. He's amazing, they are all amazing, simply amazing! 


Sx

Love on a Friday

My heart is filled with love and joy. 


I love how a new baby can do that. They are magic magic little people, they seem so vulnerable and yet so strong. They have an incredible force, they bring love to the forefront, worries dissipate for a short time, the outside world fades for a moment while you stare at this tiny person and wonder what amazing adventures are ahead. 


My two cousins have had babies, boy's, born on the same day but on different sides of the country. And will both probably end up with a nickname of Eli! And I won't get to meet either of them for a little while yet. 


And yet, My heart is filled with love and joy.


Congrats to R and E and goodluck C!


All my love
Sx

Happy Friday's

Ok, quick sneaky post to publish before I duck off for a work presentation for the afternoon (who thought that would be a good idea for a Friday arvo!?!)...

My watch, my Triwa which I trekked all over London with a girlfriend to find, I love it. It's brightness brightens my day, and it never fails to elicit compliments from strangers - today a salesman by the name of Prince (was dying to ask him...) thought it looked 'Fabulous darlink'. Here it is teamed with my evil eye bracelets, a purchase on a day when I was feeling particularly targetted, you probably can't see, but the eye has fallen off the smaller bracelet meaning it has protected me from evil (yay me!).

So, have a beautiful weekend and may compliments come flying your way and deflect the badness out there. 

Sx

Rainy days and waiting

My family is huge, well, my immediate family there's 6 of us, and then the extended family just seems to go on and on. And as we get older we have in-laws and babies being thrown into the mix. It makes for wonderful noisy times. And for a lot of waiting! I have 2 cousins, one also happens to be one of my closest friends, waiting to have babies, actually, sorry, make that 3 cousins. But two of them are due any day now. I'm hovering over my phone waiting for the text message to come through. Its agony, this waiting game!
So to R & C, good luck girlies, I am sending all of my love and positive energy your way and hope that everything goes well. And I can't wait to meet the babes. 
Sx

Me

Me, I'm shy, online and in 'real' life. Always have been, probably always will be. This means that people have called me; snobbish, standoffish, superior, rude, arrogant, quiet, shy and thoughtful (depending on how generous people feel at the time). Until they take a few minutes to talk to me, well, hopefully they still find me thoughtful and I am definitely quiet. I'm an introvert, I've completed Myers Briggs surveys and the like, and they all say I'm introverted and considered in my actions. I like to sit back and listen to others and form my opinions or mold my opinions. (BTW, introverted in this context means drawing your energy from within rather than from external sources, which means if I'm down, then its up to me to bring myself up, others 'upness' doesn't really help me)
I am surrounded by extroverts. My closest friends are always extroverts. I love extroverts. These are the people who are putting themselves out there completely and testing the waters for me. I see they are 'safe' and then I continue walking/running/skipping after them. 
So in honour of my extroverted friends, I'm going to put myself out there a teeny tiny bit and say hello to some of the bloggers I love to visit every day. Just to introduce myself and so that I don't seem snobbish, rude or ungrateful. 
I'm really amazed that people can put themselves 'out there' to the world. I love it, I find it very liberating and thank you to those people, they make my days so much more enjoyable. 
Sx

Willpower

I'm thinking of giving up Facebook. Yikes. Its taken me a bit to actually type that. 
I think like most people I have a love/hate relationship with FB. I love catching up on my friends holiday or party photo's, but I hate how impersonal it can be. 
I have 195 FB 'friends' and I remember reading something recently about how it was only possible to maintain 150 relationships. So once you include family (I have a huuuuuuuggggeee family) and friends who don't use FB, I clearly have a lot of FB friends who are not really close. I swore on my holiday that once I got back home, I was going to do a friend cleanout and was only going to keep those people whom I would invite to my house to have a meal and flick through my photo albums with. Well, clearly that hasn't happened. So will I be able to 'take a break' from fb as my first step? Lets see.... Day one is tomorrow!
Sx

She's Here!

My latest littlest baby girl, she's arrived! I have no details about her other than she is here and is healthy and has dark hair! No name, no birth details, no need! (Apparently!) 

The little one... x 

And so I wait....

With baited breath to hear of the safe arrival of my newest niece or nephew. This will be my sixth in the space of three and a half years. You'd expect I'd be used to this awful wait. 

I. Cannot. Wait.

We have no idea if my sister-in-law will have a girl or a boy, we have no idea if this baby will be a chilled out or a hyper being, we have no idea if they will be a fast runner or a book worm. And I love it. The possibilities for this baby are endless. The opportunities for this baby are amazing. The love this baby is surrounded by is limitless. And we still haven't met baby yet. 


I am filled with love today. 


Sx

This picture is of my niece when she was just hours old, holding my mothers little finger, C was a very little baby.

Post Holiday Blues

Well I managed to cross off a few more things from my list. And had an awesome time doing it. My one disaster for the holiday was losing my holiday pictures due to a corrupt memory card. Oh the trauma! I do have a few, but not many. 
Some other amazing things I did that weren't on my list - cycling around Paris on the wonderful Velib Bikes - staying at an amazing B&B "The Old Convent" in Tipperary (please visit  Christine and Dermot for an out of this world experience in hospitality) - skiing in the most perfect little village in France - and of course being with my buddies old and new.

Have a picnic under the Eiffel Tower - Ski in Europe - Have a Ferg Burger in Queenstown - Attend Melbourne Spring Carnival Week - Knit/Crochet a blanket - Trek through Nepal - Own a beach shack - Own outright my own house - Be fluent in a language other than English - Live in Italy/France for a year - Sail the Whitsunday's for a month - Be in Ireland for St Patrick's day - See the running of the Bulls - Eat Snails - Drive Route 66 - Gamble in Vegas - Learn to play the Guitar - Have High Tea in London - Drink Guinness in Ireland -  Sing "The Hills are Alive" in Switzerland - Own a house with a window seat and a tree house - Send Thank You cards for every 'gift' for a year (and then get in the habit of doing it from then on) - Ride my bike to work for a month straight - Visit Gorillas in the Mist - Attend Anzac day at Gallipoli - Learn about my family history on both sides of my family - Host Christmas at my house - Be airlifted out of somewhere - Own a pair of bespoke boots - Have a suit made to measure - Design a clothing range - Hang all my pictures/paintings - 

Regrets

I'm a firm believer in living without regrets. However I don't strictly speaking adhere to my own moto.... I. Skiminee. Live. With. Regrets.
I regret as a 21 year old, throwing out a black pair of Doc Marten's that I had begged my parents to bring back from London for me. 
I regret as a 30 year old, throwing out a gorgeous white skirt I bought in Nice while on holiday's a few years earlier.
I regret throwing out all my slightly dated but very well made clothes. What the hell was I thinking? I mean really? 
So many times in the past few years I've thought, oh, I need that white jacket only to remember after searching that it was discarded and donated to the local charity bin. I feel ill at the thought of the beautiful pieces I have parted with over the years. And I will never again donate pieces that I still love even though they may not feel 'fashionable' at the time - No matter how rash I feel!  
I just can't bring myself to replace those doc martens, even though I really really really want another pair! (They were perfect, well worn in, perfectly slouchy, argh, what did I do!?!)

The List

- Have a picnic under the Eiffel Tower - Ski in Europe - Have a Ferg Burger in Queenstown - Attend Melbourne Spring Carnival Week - Knit/Crochet a blanket - Trek through Nepal - Own a beach shack - Own outright my own house - Be fluent in a language other than English - Live in Italy/France for a year - Sail the Whitsunday's for a month - Be in Ireland for St Patrick's day - See the running of the Bulls - Eat Snails - Drive Route 66 - Gamble in Vegas - Learn to play the Guitar - Have High Tea in London - Drink Guinness in Ireland -  Sing "The Hills are Alive" in Switzerland - Own a house with a window seat and a tree house - Send Thank You cards for every 'gift' for a year (and then get in the habit of doing it from then on) - Ride my bike to work for a month straight - Visit Gorillas in the Mist - Attend Anzac day at Gallipoli - Learn about my family history on both sides of my family - Host Christmas at my house - Be airlifted out of somewhere - Own a pair of bespoke boots - Have a suit made to measure - Design a clothing range - Hang all my pictures/paintings - 

Happy Birthday to me!

Wow, I'm actually a day late for my own birthday wishes!
So, the purpose of this blog; to accept that my age is a perfectly acceptable age.
Here goes
This is so silly
Right
So, yesterday, on the 16th of February, I turned.... 33.


For some reason hitting 33 has got me stumped. I had this issue when I hit 25. Exactly the same issue. And its not about getting 'old' or being 'past it', its about having my life on track. I really thought at age 25 that I would know what I wanted to be doing with my life, really thought that I would be with a person I wanted to be with for a long time, really thought that my life would be 'on track'. 
So imagine my surprise when at age 33 I still don't have those answers. 
I'm further along in my 'life quest' than I was at 25, but I'm still not at the stage I thought I would be. I'm still definitely living a single life, I live by myself, I eat approximately 1 meal a week at my house - its not even 'my house', I spend an obscene amount of money on clothes, I go on holidays at the drop of a hat and a good majority of my friends are also single. I do however now have a sizable house deposit, I have an investment portfolio, I own a newish car outright, I have my own business and my friends are all in very respectable jobs (some are even married and [gasp] have children), its just that most of us haven't quite 'got there'.
I know its ludicrous, to expect to be at some particular checkpoint in my life, by a certain date. And I didn't even realise that my 33rd birthday was one of those dates, until yesterday! 
So here it is, my self affirmation.
"I embrace 33 whole heartedly. I look forward to the challenges and adventures that being 33 holds for me. I accept that it is not reasonable for me to put checkpoints and date stamps on important events in my life. I love being me"
Hmmm, a bit too Louise Hay, but its a starting point. 

Happy 33rd Birthday Skiminee, may 2010 and your 33rd year bring love and luck.

Mwa
Sx


PS - Don't you love how self indulgent blogs can be? Oh and I received some beautiful presents from my lovely family and friends, particularly a tiny travel journal for my Europe Trip! Thanks Rik! x 

Weighty Issues

As a girl, this is something I have faced my whole life, my weight. It sounds really stupid typing that sentence, I'm not overweight and the only time I was nudging overweight was at boarding school, that's why the first sentence felt odd to type. 


But I'm a girl. Who likes fashion. Who likes to look nice. Who dresses up for the occasion. 


So when people comment on my weight, like most girls I'd imagine, my mind goes crazy. In the past 24 hours I've had 3 people ask me if I've lost weight. Its summer here and naturally my body does tend to loose some weight (eating more salads and fruit, swimming, chasing after nieces and nephews at the beach or the park), but never before has anyone commented on the 'seasonal' weight change. 


So then it gets me thinking, the niece who lives 2 minutes from me is 2.5, so she's very (hyer)active and we're constantly moving, her brother is only 4 months old and is in the "its lovely to be rocked to sleep" phase. On top of the odd skipping meals over weekends cos I'm just too darn busy, it probably has amounted to more weight loss than is seasonly overlooked. 


But then the insanity starts, I'm thinking about the chocolate that is part of my daily diet, the frozen yoghurt with ice magic drizzled over eaten straight from the container, the ham and cheese rolls when I can't be bothered to eat healthier. And insanely trying to imagine how much more weight I would have lost if I had cut out those 'bad habits' in the past few weeks, or imagine if I'd just walked down to my local supermarket instead of driven down, or or or... 


So, I'm stopping the insanity, I'm thanking people for their compliments (if indeed they are complimenting) and accepting that things change. I am choosing not to get caught up in trying to be too skinny, I am choosing to make healthy decisions (I'm choosing to include chocolate for its excellent antioxidant properties!), I am choosing to be happy with my body. 


The End


Sx

I made this

I've decided that I don't want to be reposting from other's websites/blogs. While I was trawling through the many blogs I read each day and as I was jumping from blog to blog, they were referring to the same source of information. It made me a little frustrated, sure, I get that there's not too much original content out there in this world, but please, try and be a little more inventive! 

So, this is my first "I made this" post. 

Bruchetta inspired spaghetti. Was delish!

Sx

Australia Day!

Happy Happy Australia Day! One of those fabulous days on the Australian Calendar, where I will, tomorrow morning, be jumping on a giant inflatable haviana thong and floating out to sea at Cottesloe beach along with approximately 800 others. 

Hopefully they are a little bigger than these Havvies! 

Have a great day ppls!

Sx

La Paris

Happy New Year! 
So I might just be ticking off one of my "to do's" from the list! Hurrah! (I always think of Enid Blyton when I see Hurrah! I digress). I'm holidaying in France at the beginning of March and I am tres excited! As a happy coincidence, this means I get to tick Learning a language off my list. While I  may not quite get to the fluent stage, I'm just happy to be going to French lesson. And I'm loving it. I don't think I've learnt something I had to study for since I left school, some 15 odd years ago. After the first class my head just hurt, you know that same feeling you get after the first day of a new job, the feeling that makes you wonder just how much in over your head you really are? So it was with some trepidation that I returned last night, and hurrah! all is good. There wasn't that nervous energy in the room, everyone was actually relaxed and laughing at our stupid selves. So I'm really looking forward to Monday's class now.
With the preparations of this trip I'm become painfully aware of a terrible habit I have. Whenever I get close to an oversea's holiday, I go on this crazy shopping splurge. And I mean insane. 
So far for this trip I have bought online: 
1 x pair of ridiculously expensive waterproof boots (which I justified by telling myself that at least I'll be able to wear these ones in Australia afterwards)
2 x Cashmere wrap style cardigans, one in Black, one in White (see above justification)
1 x Cashmere camisole (justification was that it would be silly not to reach the 'free delivery' limit)
1 x Cashmere drawstring pants (see above justification) (NB I did actually delete another $100 off the order when sense kicked in momentarily)
1 x Pair of Skinny Leg Jeans (because the other 2 pairs of skinny leg jeans I already have just aren't quite soft enough to travel in)
2 x Hand knitted Woolen Beret, one grey and one mustard colour (justification was I hate being cold and they were just so darn cute!)
1 x length of Boiled Wool Fabric, to make a cape to travel with (justification was that at least I wasn't buying it ready made!)
1 x Short French Course (didn't really need to justify too much, its on 'the list' right!?)


Still to buy
1 x Puffer Jacket (because as much as the cape will be cute, it probably won't be practical at all times)
1 x Skins or equivalent (don't want to be getting DVT! Plus they have dual application, also double as thermals)


So I estimate that so far the trip has cost me $1,400 (which doesn't include items still to buy, and flights and accommodation), bloody hell. 


The stupidity of it all is that I will want to buy things in London! Because, well its London! And fashion over there is just so interesting compared with Aussie fashion - I'm talking affordable fashion here, not high end. 


I'll have to work out a way to curb my behaviour.


Au Revoir!
Sx