Messages from the Universe

It is no secret that I am a huge believer in all things fairy like. I have also always been pretty open about my belief in the powers that be and everything happening for it's own (not always apparent) reason. It is a belief system that has served me well through out my thirty five years of existence so far.

Image found here
Thanks to Billy Frank Alexander Design

Sometimes however it is not always as straight forward as what I might like it to be.
Sometimes all I feel is a jumbled mess with far too many possibilities for me to face.
Sometimes what I think is a message full of meaning turns out to be something a lot more simple and vice versa leaving me wondering what on earth I am meant to do. Which may very well be what I am faced with now.

Actually I am always wondering what I am supposed to do now, just this time I am drawing a complete blank and have no idea as to which way I should go.

The other day thanks to a bloggers Facebook group that I am a part of I heard that the Oz Blog Hosting Facebook page had a ticket to up for grabs to attend the ProBlogger event. Even though it is on the Gold Coast and even though I am not exactly financially flush with cash I entered anyway. As if I would win.

Naturally I won.

So thank you Universe for that one. But what about the plane tickets? And accommodation? Not that I want to appear greedy, just realistic.

There is a part of me that says to hell with the expense just book the tickets and run with it. After all the universe did send the event ticket your way...

Then the sensible part over rules and shouts down the stupidity of that idea. After all things like food and the mortgage really need to be given top priority don't they? Especially since when I decided to go the Digital Parents Conference back in March I knew it ruled out any prospect of making it to ProBlogger.

Only upon returning from said conference in March I am left with a whole range of emotions that leave me hankering to go to ProBlogger. Things that I thought I would get but didn't, the first time round, I am sure I will get next month. If of course I was there. Which I could be because I have a ticket, if only it weren't so far away.

Sigh.

Oh the toils and tribulations of being a blogger.

Anyone with some spare frequent flyer points they want to share?

Or a business looking for some blog exposure?

Call me as quick as you can!

Oh and just in case you still haven't seen my latest vlog now you can

Joining in all the fun of blogging on a Tuesday with Jess for #IBOT

Escaping to Umbrawarra Gorge

Rather than sit at home for the May Day long weekend, we decided to runaway from the clutches of reality and escape to the picturesque Umbrawarra Gorge. A place where were were under the impression that was only known to a few. Previous visits to this natural beauty in the wilderness have seen us have this bush oasis almost exclusively to ourselves. Naturally we were kind of expecting the same again.

As we neared the campground we began to see a sea of car rooves. Our secret destination was apparently not so secret after all.

 Following this many cars out of town is very unusual for here. 
Since they all turned off well before us we were certain of solitude when we arrived.

After a three hour drive, the last of it on a rough 4WD dirt track, we had few options but to see if we were able to squeeze ourselves in somewhere. The remoteness of it all meant that we couldn't just see if there was somewhere else nearby. We had to make room or face more long hours in the car.

As fun as it was getting here, we were in no rush to do it again, at least not immediately.

Turns out not only were we able to squeeze ourselves in but also spread out quite comfortable. Luck would have it that there were some day campers leaving right next to the last patch of greenness that we had our eye on. Before long our new home for the next days was set up and it was time to check out the water levels.

Umbrawarra Gorge is a seasonal waterhole. Some years if there is not much rain then there is not enough water to dip your big toe in. Other years however it floods and you can stand with water over your head. While there might not have been much rain over my house this wet season just gone, there certainly seems to have been a lot out this way. 

In all our years of coming here this was by far the most water we have seen. Mind you it is the earliest in the year we have been there so that may have a little to do with it as well.

As disappointing as it was not to be the only ones to visit this special bush retreat this weekend I was determined to not let it spoil my time. In true Rhianna fashion it wasn't long before I found the inevitable bright side.

With so many people in such close proximity it was the perfect opportunity for some hard core people watching.

The first night saw us sharing our fire with two young couples. And when I say young I mean late twenties/early thirties. So perhaps what I am really saying is more about how old I feel but that is a post for another day I am sure. Regardless of this though to me they were highly entertaining.

The two women, let's call them Yvette and Shannon. Which may or may not be their actual names, and either way it doesn't really matter. Anyway it was beyond evident that Shannon and Yvette were not friends. They only reason they managed to be as civil to each other as what they were was due to their respective partners, Josh and Reece. Who were clearly long time bum chums and would never not have each other in their lives, regardless of what some bimbo girlfriend may or may not think of the other's partner.

Due to the proximity of our respective sites I could not help but hear and as such listen to their conversations. The snarly comments from Yvette to Shannon were hilarious. All kinds of entertaining I tell you. 

Well actually I can't tell you because I can't remember the specific one liners that made me giggle the most.Which bugs me endlessly. I spend so much energy if you will, enjoying the moment and really being in the moment, that the next day I can't actually remember the specifics of what made me tickled my fancy.

Which is exactly why I haven't written about how at DPCON13 I said something so funny that I made the very lovely Tina Gray snort. Not once but twice. I think though the second one was as a result of me saying I made Tina Gray snort, I am so blogging about that after the first rip roarer of a snort I managed to somehow induce.

For now though I must bid you adieu. The block of this post was written while we were away. Mr Awesome took the girls for a bit of a rock climbing adventure leaving me to pen this masterpiece. The next lines I have scribbled down go ... 

... Anyway I would love to sit and keep sharing the antics of our adventures but the tribe has returned from rock climbing and is in need of food. The description of the toiler will have to wait. Which I am sure you will just be on the edge of your sit with anticipation as you wait for that one.

The dunny pit, as my girls liked to call it, not that they actually used it mind you
Stay tuned for all the exciting details :)

It's Tuesday and I have blogged. 

You should too then you could join in with IBOT over at EssentiallyJess.

Do you like escaping to the wilderness?

Are you a people watcher?

Where you there when I made Tina snort?

If you were and can recall my humorous moment please drop me a line.

Things I Know About School Holidays

I know that I really and truly love the school holidays. I am by no means one of those mum's that dreads the start of school holidays. Nor do I long for them to come to an end. In fact quiet the opposite.

I know one of the things I love most about the school holidays is that time almost ceases to exist. There is rarely a need to be anywhere at any particular time, particularly before 9 am in the morning.

I know that I do not miss the morning chaos that comes with the school term. Not at all. Not one single bit. Quite the opposite in fact. The peace and tranquility that resides over the morning during holiday time is pure and utter bliss.

I know that school holidays are all about having fun and getting outdoors so we can make the most of our time together. It means we get to do things like...

early morning kayak paddles

 climbing to the tallest tower

 frolic in rock pools

 hang out at public pools

have pancake picnic breakfasts

I know that the fact there is only one week left of the school holidays makes me a tad sad. Actually it makes me a lot sad.

I know that even though I am sad about the holidays ending there is also a lot of good that will come of it. Like being able to slot in a run without anyone complaining that they don't want to go.

I know that while it has nothing to do with the school holidays you should totally go and enter my giveaway for a Personal Planner. They are seriously all kinds of cool.

Giveaway entry page can be found HERE

I know that I am going to share all I know with all those who know to flog their blog WithSomeGrace. If you are after some great blogs to read, that is the place to start.

If you know stuff you should totally go over to Miss Cinders and share all the stuff that you know, it seriously is the best way to get Friday underway. Not only that it is a great way to interact with some great blogs that you may not have already known about.

Fluffing Along

So as you are probably aware it is Tuesday. Being that yesterday was Monday and tomorrow is expected to be Wednesday there is little else for today to be other than Tuesday.

Which means that over at Diary of a SAHM, Jess is hosting #IBOT. I Blog On Tuesday for the unacquainted. One of the most linked to link ups this side of the black stump I am sure.

As an esteemed 

I like to make sure I have something great to share on a Tuesday. 
Of course being an Allstar is not so much about the posting as it is the commenting. Which I look forward to each week. Seriously I do. It is my way of ensuring that I actually make time to read other blogs rather than just worry about what my own little piece of the interwebs is doing.
In actual fact while I was away I greatly missed my normally comfortable day in front of the computer or with the iPad on my lap as I peruse the greatness that is the Australian blogosphere. I felt disconnected and removed from a community spirit that I normally thrive upon. I also felt just a tad rude still posting and not reading nearly so many posts as what I generally do. 
But every now and then somethings have to give and for me for the last few weeks that has been blog commenting.
Last week, which was the first Tuesday back at home for me I resisted the urge to run straight to my Mac and plonk myself in front of it from the moment I got up. I even managed to keep my distance once the kidlets had been dropped off at school. It was Mr Awesome's last day off so I figured giving him my undivided attention was the least I could do. Thankfully I still had some holiday thoughts left to share so posting was easily scheduled.
Part of me wonders if he will ever truly appreciate the sacrifice I made for him.
This week, as Tuesday quickly approached I was unable to find the necessary inspiration to ensure a post was written and waiting to post first thing Tuesday morning. Did I mention this was the first and only week of school holidays here?
Instead of blogging I opted for a game of Monopoly, followed by a swim and poolside picnic and an afternoon of various wii activities. Honestly life doesn't get too much better than this. Unless of course you are child free and are able to solely dedicate your day to #IBOT reading.
So why as Tuesday draws to an end, am I persevering with this fluffy post of nothingness? Basically because as Veronica points out some days a girls just has to write.
Joining in with the crew that proudly say

The Things I Know About Returning From Holidays

Without a doubt the first thing I know about a returning from a good holiday is that you just don't want to. Not at all. As much as I knew that coming home wasn't going to be something that I wanted to do I didn't know just how much I didn't want to return to the normality that is my life.

And when I say normality I think I actually mean mundane and boring.

I know that this holiday and time away from the daily grind is really making me stop and think about what our life is really all about. I know there are some changes that I need to make.

I know that I loved how easy it was to make the time to write every day. Well at least every day that we were on the road. Without planning it we fell into a bit of a routine on driving days. Mr Awesome would do the first shift while I typed away on the iPad. When we reached a town I would post my entry and feel as pleased as punch with myself. It really is the little things some days.

Mind you for as much as I wrote while away I didn't write as much as I thought I would. Just between you and me there was a part of me that expected to have the better part of story done and dusted. The bush was supposed to inspire me and ignite a burning passion that couldn't be stopped.

That's not to say I wasn't incredibly inspired at times, it was, as it is always, just never at the time when I could actually write. It seems aside from dinner time my most favourite time to become inspired is when I am driving. In an ideal world I would have been able to just pull spit out the wordy gems within me and carry on our merry way. Three little people, and one big person stood in the way of that being the case. Sigh.

I know that my to do list still seems to be growing at exponential rates. There are never enough hours in the day.

I know that I was glad to get home with time to send the girls back to school for a few days before school holidays started. Especially since Mr Awesome had a few extra days off, which allowed us to pretend we were pre children adults during school hours.

I know that I feel terrible for poor Mr Awesome having to go back to work but the bills just don't seem to pay themselves.

I know that despite all that went wrong while we were away, we had the best time ever. I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

I know that for now that is not really an option though.

Joining in with

and

You should swing by both of them and check out all the other awesome posts  that have been included this week.

Wordless Wednesday - A hidden roadside treasure

The other day I wrote of this place.

The only photos I took that day were with my camera.

The only way I could get photos on the blog while I was on the road was if I took them with my phone.

 Now I am home however, I have more photos than I know how to share.

I long to be back here now.

Joining in with an almost wordless post for Aussie Wordless Wednesday hosted by

Arriving home and returning to normality...whatever that may be

When last I left you we had spent the night camped illegally by a river somewhere between Ingham and Townsville. I believe it may well have been Rollingstone or something very similar. Despite the circumstances causing us to rest there, it was in many ways one of my favourite parts of the trip home.

This is one of the last photos that I took on the way home. It was taken as we were heading into Mount Isa on Friday afternoon. It had been a long day as we had been trying to make up for lost time the previous day.

This one was taken around the same time

I am not sure which one I like better. 

Though I am also not sure as to why I felt the need to take photos of myself in the wing mirror. 

I'll stop now I promise.

Our last day of travel saw us leave Mount Isa at around 8am. The plan was to see if we could plough on through to Darwin. It was a massive ask on both the kids and the car but Mr Awesome and I had decided that home was where we wanted to be and that was that.

Not long after 1am we pulled our weary selves out of the car and into the comfort of our own home. The biggest and smallest children stayed asleep during the transit from car to bed. The middle one however decided that it was all too exciting and sat up for a further two hours.

After a quick three hour nap Miss Two woke me, and her sisters, so we all trundled on downstairs and prepared ourselves for the longest day ever. There was not a lot of action going on anywhere but the smiles on the girls faces showed how happy they were to be at home and reunited with their pets.

As much as I hated to rush of school this morning it was nice to be able to spend time with Mr Awesome. I will miss him so when he returns to work on Wednesday. My dream, well one of them, is where we are able to spend all our days together and somehow still make an income. He really is such lovely company. 

As you read this, Mr Awesome and I will be enjoying our final day of holiday together. I am not really sure of what it will entail but I want to make the most of it. I really do love having him all to myself while the girls are at school so once again I will be a little slow, or perhaps absent with comment love.
I know, I know, the last few weeks have seen me being a terrible commenter but I do assure you this will be the last week that I am a slacker. A big thank you to all who have been stopping by and sharing in my adventures.

Joining in with the lovely Jess over at Diary of a SAHM for the most awesomest linky ever...IBOT!!!

Thankful Thursday

As I type we are just beginning the long trek home. A journey that I am not nearly as excited to be making as I was when we embarked on this wonderful adventure nearly two weeks ago.
But then again who ever wants a holiday to end?
Especially when it means saying goodbye to an aunt and uncle that you are not sure when or even if you will get the opportunity to see again. Traveling from one side of the world to the other is not exactly something either of us can do at the drop of a hat.
Needless to say in some ways I am struggling with being thankful today. My heart is to busy breaking from the goodbyes I didn't want to say. Thankfully though my mind can see through the haze and know just how lucky I am and the abundance that I have to be thankful for.
In fact there is so much I am thankful for that I am not sure I can even squeeze it all into one post so please bear with me while I go into list mode for a bit.




~ taking the time to go to this beautiful spot even though at the time I didn't feel like it
~ being able to share in my sister's beautiful wedding
~ the fact the car broke after we reached our destination, rather than the middle of no where
~ being able to easily get the car fixed
~ spending time with family I don't get to see very often
~ a wonderful apartment to stay that really was a home away from home
~ technology that let me record and share the memories of our time away
~ technology that keeps children amused and quiet as we travel the nearly 3000kms home
~ having the opportunity to show the girls this wonderful country that we live in
~ spending time in the butterfly sanctuary surrounded by hundreds of beautiful butterflies
~ being able to convince a blue macaw to sit on my shoulder
~ Mr Awesome. Who without fail gives me strength when I need it most. He grounds me and keeps me sane and can always make me smile
~ well behaved children when I needed it most (ie the wedding ceremony they featured in)

Joining in with

Fairy wishes & butterfly kisses

Wordless Wednesday - Butterfly Kisses

Joining in with Trish for Wordless Wednesday over at

-fairy wishes and butterfly kisses

Not roses but not thorns either

Last week I wrote about how life was not all roses. Which for someone on holidays it was not exactly the post I was expecting to be sharing. To be quite honest even as I was writing I wondered if I was not tempting fate just a little. This week I feel like I have been somewhat punished. In a weird and hard to explain kind of way.

While I may have been a little hard done by and faced a little bad luck what I failed to mention and perhaps even internally acknowledge was just how blessed I really was.

You see for as much as it was terrible having a tyre blow there were many good things that also happened. Like the fact there was no further damage done to the car or more importantly us. We were also very fortunate in the fact we were able to quickly an easily get some new tyres.  Having a kind mother in law help to pay for some of the costs was also incredibly awesome.

As much as I may have tried to make last week's post humorous it was still essentially a poor bugger me post. One that was not really called for.
Because as I have since found out things can always get worse.

Yep, that's my car.


Being put on a tow truck. Unable to be driven until mechanical attention has been given. Turns it a flat tyre was the least of my worries.



I won't bore you with the details, partly because when they were being given my brain shut down and refused to take it in and partly because the details are, well, boring. And aside from all that it is all fixed now.

We were incredibly lucky and able to find a mechanic who was able to fix it without charging an arm or a leg. Which was a bit lucky because dinner the night before was a little more excessive than what we would normally have.

But oh so worth it.
An exquisite seafood platter for two. Would have been rather romantic had it not been for the kidlets tagging along. And the fashionable bibs the waitress gave us. I am sure you are disappointed I neglected to take a photo of that.

In between all the car dramas there have also been many a fun and wonderful time. The wedding was spectacular. As was Green Island and hanging with family I don't get to see very often. All of which I will get around to writing about as soon as possible.

In the meantime I am going to make the most of these last few days in this tropical paradise before I have to make the trip home to my own tropical paradise. While I do that, go and check out some of the other wonderful IBOT posts that have joined in with Jess for

The Adventure Begins

In my head I had hoped that we would be able to leave around ten o'clock. Mr Awesome thought we should have been able to leave much earlier than this. Especially since all the bags were packed and waiting to be loaded into the car.

As it turned out we were ready to hit the road by 9.30. Mind you we did have to stop and pick up a oh cat that had been left behind at a friend's house earlier in the week. Shortly after ten we were on the highway and ready to roll.

Driving away from suburbia and heading towards the beauty that is the Australian outback I could feel the worries of the world fall away. The holiday magic was kicking in and I was loving every second of it.


Just after lunch we reached our first destination, Katherine. After stocking up on some meat pies from the local (and only) bakery we found a shady tree and had a picnic.

While being one of the Territory's major towns there is not a lot there. It is pretty much a pass through town and set up as such. There is one main road and not much else. Well not much else for us to see on this trip. Being only a little over three hours away we have actually been here quite a few times before.

Being a responsible driver Mr Awesome had a quick check under the bonnet. Turns out the radiator was a little wobbly and in need of a cable tie to hold it in place. Cable ties - there is little they can't fix.

Once the girls had had a bit of a run and stretched their legs we bundled them back into the car and continued on our merry way. The first two days were going to be our longest and hottest and we wanted to get them out the way.

Shortly after dark we arrived at Renner Springs. With their small and very basic motel rooms we decided that enough distance had been made for one day. As much as I love night driving it probably wouldn't have been very fair on the girls to keep going.

After a muchly needed hamburger and chips we headed back to the room and crashed. Who knew sitting in a car for some seven hours could make you so sleepy?

Turns out my body is under the misguided impression that it only needs five hours sleep so by 3am I was wide awake and ready to go. Laying there staring into the darkness I contemplated whether I would be able to get everyone into the car without waking up so we could get a super early start and make some great ground I the cool early morning.

As much as I may have liked the idea I knew it wasn't really feasible or fair so I rolled over and tried to convince myself sleep was not impossible. Which of course it wasn't.

By 7.30 we were up, fed, dressed and back on the road ready for the part of our adventure.

Fairy wishes & butterfly kisses

Planning to plan

I should be sleeping.

And if I am not sleeping I should be sorting clothes. Sifting through and seeing what looks nice enough to wear in the company of strangers while we kick up our heels on holidays. Or at least that was the plan. Get the clothes sorted and out the way. Leaving room and time to get all the other things done. Fun things like cleaning so everything is nice for us to come home to.

We are meant to be leaving in on Friday. Apparently that is only four sleeps.

That can't be right. I have way too much to do for there to be only four sleeps till we leave. My heart is racing faster the more I write. This is how I had it all planned.

The world is speeding up and starting to spin too fast. I am not sure if I can hold on for much longer.

Actually that is not completely true, I may be exaggerating it all a little in the hope of getting a blog post out. Which is not such a bad thing since it is Tuesday and all. Which for those out of the loop means Diary of a SAHM is hosting #IBOT (I Blog on Tuesdays). Only the coolest weekly linky this side of the blank stump and possibly even beyond.

Blogging has taken a bit of a back seat of late. I hate it when that happens, but sometimes that is just the ebb and flow of the writing world. Looking back through the years though these months always seem the lightest in terms of writing. I guess there is just too much fun to be had at this time of year.

Fingers and toes crossed though that there will be plenty of writing time on the road trip and a flood of posts that follow. Mind you given how much I love watching this wide brown land of ours fly by there is a chance writing time may get over looked.

Have I mentioned how excited I am?

One of the things I am really looking forward to most is the alone time we will have together. For some four days, the five of us are going to be stuck together. Total bliss I tell you. When all the other outside forces are removed we all seem to get on so much better.

Mind you I still have to get through the next few days. One of those times when so much to do you have no idea where to actually get started. I have little half piles and projects all over the place, which may make it look like I am very busy but instead I find myself questioning how much is actually getting done.

Sitting here staring blankly at the screen isn't really helping either.

I always manage to come up with such wonderful plans but so rarely do those plans pan out like they should. Perhaps there is a fault with my planning skills. Perhaps I am not really planning perhaps I am actually just creating an idea that is need of a plan. Hence why nothing goes to plan. Perhaps.

One part of the plan that has gone well is that Miss Eleven's hockey team did not make the grand final. Had they have made the final our plans to leave on Friday would have been dashed and instead we would have had to make a new plan to leave lunch time Saturday. It was quite bitter sweet watching the game. I was torn between want to leave and wanting her to succeed. In many ways it was supposed to be a winning situation.

None of it really matters now though, other than the original plan still stands.

I plan join this in with all the other awesome bloggers who can proudly claim 

Wordless Wednesday - Sydney

Joining with Trish from

Kicking Back

Well here I am at my seaside retreat and let me tell you life is wonderful. Actually it is more than wonderful. My new nephew is just divine. A perfect little bundle that I could just hold forever. One that makes me even sadder about sister's true love decision to move some four thousand kilometers away from me.

I do sort of understand her attraction to the place though. This was taken from my balcony earlier today
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