100 Posts and a Change of Address

That's right ladies and gentlemen. A drum roll if you please. This is officially my one hundredth ramble. It has taken a little over a year but eventually I have reached a little milestone. Here's hoping that the next hundred come a little quicker :)

Anyway all this time I have actually been hosting my blog at rhiannasrandomrants, even though the header is Random Rambles. Well today I discovered that I can easily change it to be http://rhiannasrandomrambles.blogspot.com/ which I find very exciting. Of course this means that my existing links are not longer in existence. Which sorta bites a little bit. Perhaps I will have to do something about it.
Also my share button isn't working anyone have any suggestions?

A Busy Day

I bet you were thinking that after all the work I did here on the weekend, I would now go MIA, well let me shout all you non believers down! I am here baby and I am here to write!

Well actually I just wrote a great post about my little fairy friends and how they helped me out during the day.

I must say though on the whole it has been a fairly busy day despite it being one full of changes. Everything I went to do was canceled. I had back up plans however even they went astray at times. In the end all's well that ends well I guess.

Ok so maybe my little catch cry earlier that was I here to write was a little over extended. It really is passed my bed time and I have been highly productive so I am thinking rather than ramble on about nothing I might just leave it here.

I haven't done my linkreferral links today and it doesn't look like I will get them done. (well at least not tonight) I have however washed and folded well over three loads of washing, which deserves me a huge cheer as I hate washing with a passionate vengence. My post for today at the fairy garden was also a 700+ worder so that is also worthy of a bit of a back patting!


Thanks and credit for the photo goes to Nafrea from my very fav photo site stock.xchng.
Click here to view Nafrea's profile

AddThis Button, please share me

So I am trying to add and AddThis button to my posts. I have somehow managed to do this on My Fairy Garden yet it is proving to be a little tricky over here on Rambles.

The joy of an AddThis button is that it allows readers to easily share any posts that take their fancy. So with the click of a button you can recommend my post to any number of social bookmarking sites.

Why would you do this?

Well firstly it would increase my exposure which may in turn increase my hits which may then in turn mean the odd extra cent for me here and there. I am a huge believer in every bit counts!

Any back to the button. If all has gone to plan the button should look like this

Just move the mouse over it to see your options. Some may require membership but others will not. Thanks for making me feel special by sharing me with all you know.

If all goes well and according to plan then this button will be found at the end of every post. I have a terrible feeling though it will only be on post from here on in. Oh well, can't win them all I guess...

A Sign of the Times?

Excuse me if I seem a little disjointed in this post. I am still shaking from a near on encounter. Actually all it really turned out to be was a severe case of a rather over zealous imagination. Still left me feeling a little rattled though.

Here's what happened

It is rather late (after 11.30pm) on a Saturday night. I had been tirelessly working on my layout revamp and decided that it was time I take a well earned break. I ventured out to my small front patio. There was a slight cool stillness to air. Just enough to take the stickyness off the skin but not really enough to drastically reduce body heat.

Anyway, as I sat there deciding which mindless electronic device I was going to whittle my time away on I noticed a car doing laps of the complex's car park. On the third time round they parked in an undesignated area. It is not a very large area nor was it ever really thought out well.

Despite a strong urge to tell the driver to park in a designated park I figured now was not the right time to play parking inspector.

As the car doors opened I heard cheerful banter of young male voices. Followed closely by the sound of aresol spray cans. Instantly I assumed that they were in fact trying to graffiti a parked car. My next thought was, that is wasn't just any old car but it is mine!

The more I listened the more convinced I was of what was happening.

I could feel my heart begin to race as I contemplated how I would catch these little vandals. Not ever being one to feel fear, and often lacking in common sense, I got up and turned the light on and stood in a position to clearly survey the situation.

Standing there waiting for my dog to realise there may be some action about to occur, I saw four bodies move away from the cars and head towards one of the units down the far end. I took in a breath as I went to call out to them, I was overwhelmed by the aroma of deodarant.

Suddenly through the fog of their 'shower in a bottle' spray I could see what was really going on. These young men were not here for some personal vendetta against my car or me. They were here to pick up the young women from number 17.

Quickly I jumped back into the shadows and turned off the light. I must remember more often it is not always about me.

Sitting back down I willed my heart to please stop beating so hard and fast. I couldn't believe that I had actually thought so ill of people. I know that society is full of undesirables and the world is not always a nice place however for the most part I manage to block these factors out and only see the good in people.

Tonight was far from that.

At no stage did I give these guys a chance. I am just so thankful I entered the realms of reality before I actually confronted them. I guess with all the crime and horror that fills the newspapers these days I am not entirely to blame for my over reaction.

Have you ever misread a situation as badly as this?

Nothing like a coat of paint!

As some of you may remember I have recently expressed a desire to make some cosmetic changes to my rambles. Well I would like to unveil to you the new and improved Random Rambles. I still need to add a few more widget/gadget things down the side but so far I think it is a step in the right direction.

I would also like the chance to welcome the 2 new recent followers and invite anyone interested in staying up to date with the crazy world I live in to either join the followers list or hit the subscription list.

I am also a huge fan of comments so please feel free to leave any thoughts you would like to share. Nothing like knowing people are reading to keep me writing!

Let's Get Political...

As a general rule I tend to stay away from political content. There are a few reasons for this. The first being is that politics takes a lot of brain power. Now I know that I am not exactly lacking in that particular department. Quite the contrary. In fact I am well aware of my brain's capacity I just choose not to utilise the majority of it.

Now I don't know why that is, but it is.

Anyway recent events in the political sphere has caused me to think outside my own little box.

Pacific Brands, the creator of iconic Australian labels such as Chesty Bonds, King Gee and Kasyer has decided to sack some 1800 Aussie battlers. These national top sellers are now to be manufactured overseas.

Naturally public outcry has ensued. After all the current economic downturn means need to support local industry is stronger than ever. With those in the know predicting an escalation of unemployment in coming years, possibly even months, one can't help but wonder why Pacific Bonds would want to lead the way.

To add flame to the raging fire that has union members up in arms here are a few interesting side notes that you may or may not already be aware of.

It has been revealed that in the past two years The Australian Federal Government has given Pacific Bonds $14.5 million. Now while on the surface that sounds very nice and is incredibly generous, it must be pointed out that this money was essentially that of the average Australian taxpayer. And nobody ever asked them if they were interested in investing in what has turned out to be not such an Australian Company.

Apparently Pacific Brands has been planning this move for 18 months. Which is only six months after the Government first started handing out fist fulls of cash.

Pacific Brands head honchos earn ridiculously high wages which were recently raised to even crazier levels. It escapes me how you could possibly run a company into the ground, force manufacturing operations overseas and screw over so many people while taking home such a huge slice of the pie.

A large proportion of Pacific Brands Australian workers are migrants and skilled only in the textile industry

I fail to see how brands that are supposed to be representative of the Australian way of life can possibly be made overseas. Chesty Bonds and King Gee are widely seen as representing the different forms the strong Aussie bloke may take. While Kayser has the sexy yet incredible practical and sensible Aussie sheila down to a tea. There is always something to suit everyone.

Now however these great labels will be forever referred to as sell outs. When the going looked like getting tough they got going before it happened. Far cry from being Aussie I say.

So for all those out to buy some knew socks jocks or undies with the soon to be paid second stimulus package... think again... maybe blowing it on the pokies isn't such a bad idea after all, just make sure to have a drink at the same time :)

Shhhh!

A little while ago (here) I wrote of the dramas I was experiencing getting my darling eight year old to go to sleep. Well I thought that should give you an update of how things have progressed.

Before I go any further I must say that it is with great caution that I share the following with you. There are a few reasons for this.

The first is that I never really wanted this blog to be a recount of my life. I am not sure what I wanted it to be but I didn't think my life as such could be that interesting. Turns out that there is a chance it is.

My second reason is...actually I've forgotten. As I try to write this I am having two different chats, watching a movie and trying to find some decent cards in PackRat. To say I am slightly distracted is an understatement. So I guess it is no wonder I am having difficulty keeping track of my thoughts. Since I fail to recall what my second reason was I am now going to go with the notion that it was never really of much importance in the first place.

So nearly six weeks later (perhaps even more, time is not really one of my strong points) I am pleased to say that I appear to have possibly overcome my daughter's sleeping issues. Something I am sure many of you can understand. I may have spent many years thinking I was the only parent to struggle with getting children to go to sleep but recent times have helped me realise it is more than just a common parental difficulty.

How did I possibly manage such success I hear many of you cry? Well I must say that at the end of the day it was really quite easy.

All it really took was consistency, commitment and not taking any crap.

On the whole it sounds rather easy but if you are anything like myself the above can be easier said than done! Having said that though I am very proud to announce that I have successfully established a working bedtime routine with my darling 8yr old angel. Granted it is possibly a little later than what it should be but there are no tears, no arguments and everyone is left with that warm fuzzy feeling so that is really all that counts. She is asleep within 10 minutes of me leaving the room and I don't have to spend half my evening cohersing her to go to sleep.

I take her to bed, tuck her in (with special toy), sing song (What a Wonderful World), give her a kiss and say; "Sweet dreams, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite, see you in the morning light, happy and bright nighty night, I love you". Then depending on the time, lay with her and how I am feeling for between one to ten minutes. Somewhere in between it all I rub her back and face and sometimes even her arms and legs (the latter only if she has been behaving beautifully)

For me sleeping has never been an issue. I have always been able to send myself off into a deep sleep whenever I need to. Regardless of the time of day, I can make my body sleep. Even if only for 15 minutes.

Until I had children and a husband I never really realised what a gift this was, it was something I just assumed everybody could do. For years I thought that this was just the way that everybody operated but I have since discovered it is more a skill than natural ability. It appears however that nature must have some part to play as my youngest has been able to put herself to sleep as much as what I can. Thankfully my eldest seems now to be learning the ways also.

For those of you who recall the start of my post... well I have just remembered my second reason for not sharing this info earlier... I didn't want to tempt fate! I was worried that if fate heard me bragging about my success she might send me a few more difficulties to see if I could cope.
So shhhh this is our secret don't tell her!

Has it really been 3 weeks?

Part of me feels it has been much longer, while another part struggles to think it has not been very long at all. Either it is still not exactly what you could call regular. Mind you if you were a regular reader I am sure this post would seem pretty average as it is the start of most of my posts (when ever I manage to get them up!)

Where have I been? What have I been doing? I hear you all cry. I wish that I could say I have been jet setting around the countryside or sailing the high seas but sadly that is not the case, no exciting adventures to report back with. In fact there are not even any boring ones! None the less I do have a beautiful story to share. In fact this experience has touched me so much I tried to create something new.

So what happened?

Well firstly my Dad, thought he was having a stroke so he called an ambulance. He rang me also to let me know what was going on. Did I mention that this was at 1.30am? No? Well it was. Anyway I went to his house and then followed the ambulance to the hospital. As it turned out they didn't believe there was any cause for concern but given his age, and medical history it wasn't worth the risk.

Once I was sure that Dad was all comfortably settled I headed home (even I need some sleep). As I headed out the hospital doors two women asked me if I could give them a ride home. Naturally I agreed. No one leaving the hospital in the early hours of the morning is ever having a great time and it was still another four or so hours till the first bus would be. It was the least I could do really. I have been chemically designed so that when I am at my lowest I feel inclined to help so all in all it was a winning situation all round.

While my father was not having a stroke it did turn out that he had an infection and needed medical treatment. Which also meant that he would be staying in hospital for a few days. Thankfully the hospital is fairly nearby. On one of my visits though I locked my keys in the car. Which is strange in more than one way. You see I rarely lock my car. Why I did on this day I am not really sure.

Cutting right to the chase. (I know I can ramble on a times and I fear that I was about to start!

A beautiful person, no angel, stopped and offered to drive me home to get some spare keys to solve my problem! When she pulled up and offered I nearly fell over. I couldn't believe that such kindness existed, but I assure you it does.

Hmmmm ... ... ...

So the every day thing has not happened. Hands up all those who were surprised. Not me that is for sure. I did think though that after 31 days I might have had a few more than just 6 posts.

I am trying to find a perspective to make it look better than what it is. I mean there is no school that would really accept 6/31 as a pass mark, is there now. On no level is 5% acceptable. So how can I make 6 posts in 4 weeks a positive step to be coming a fully fledged writer?
It is slightly more than one a week so that has gotta count for something.

In a bid to make up for my slack efforts for the month I went through and published all the half posts that were left laying around. I think there were only three in total but again something is better than nothing.

Getting back to writing statistics.

Since I began this blog back in June 08 I have written (including this one) a total of 91 posts. 91 posts in 245 days. Just under 38%, a slight improvement for the month of January but still not a pass mark. Fingers crossed next month will be better!

I am, You are...

We are Australian.

For those of you not native to this great land where I reside, the above words may not sound all that familiar. For my fellow country men (and women) it will either remind you of the great band called the Seekers or a dodgy Telstra commercial that polluted our airwaves and possibly brought great shame to the above mentioned band.

Today is Australia Day. A day to celebrate all that is Australian. Beers, meat pies, big noisy utes, sports and possibly even sun burn.

In recent years there have been cries from some members of society to cease the celebrations as to them it is nothing more than invasion day. After all it was on this day some two hundred and thirty years ago that Captain Cook land in Botany Bay with the first settlers.

Given some of the atrocities that occurred in those first early years I can to some point understand why the Aboriginal community may not feel the need to remember and celebrate the day. However to me that was all in the past. I didn't personally do anything wrong and as far as I know I didn't even have any distant relatives that were involved. We can't change what has happened so let's just move on and be done with it.

So how does a true blue Aussie celebrate the birth of this great nation?

Of course it is each to their own, but to me it was all about fun and family. A nice quite day with all my family that live close by. We walked the children to the end of the road to see the ute parade, then back home for a BBQ by the pool.

For others it is about drinking as much as possible, thong throwing and possibly being a bit of a redneck. Which ever way it is I hope you enjoyed celebrating the birth of this great nation

The Result

Ok so last night sitting outside and writing while my darling daughter went to sleep didn't work so well. None the less though I am giving it a second shot.

So what made it such a failure last night? I hear you ask. Well it certainly wasn't a case of writers block. Oh no, the words were more than willing to flow, there was no worry there. It was all her!

For some reason she decided it was battle time. Apparently as she informed me i could put an end to it all by letting her play an electronic device for half hour or an hour. Naturally I did not accommodate such a request and things went down hill from there. Alternatively she said she was happy to go to sleep on the couch, a request that was also denied.

Eventually though after much yelling and screaming and carrying on she fell asleep, as did I. So after nearly twenty minutes tonight I find myself with a similiar situation on my hands tonight. Only tonight she hasn't provided me with a list of demands that would see her sleeping in an instant.

Perhaps on some level it is slowly starting to sink in. That mum means no. For the first few years of my children's life I went to great lengths to not use the word no around them. I didn't want the negative connotation rubbing off on them.

Now however it sometimes feels as if it is all I ever say. It is not that I am an unreasonable mother, who wants to spoil all their fun, they just seem to be forever wanting to do things that common sense says is wrong or not advisable.

The joys of being a parent I guess.

Anyway it turns out that while not perfect tonight was slightly more successful than last so that is something. Not only that but I did manage to get a few words out here and there so it is a win win really. Between to day and yesterday I have managed to string together just over 1000 words so i am heading back to words my incredibly easy to attain goal. I have even done some work on few photos so I feel very productive! Guess that means I can go and be wasteful for a while.

This and That

I am not sure exactly when I last wrote but I know it wasn't yesterday. Which is not a good thing.

I just went and checked it was 5, yes FIVE days ago. I should be ashamed of myself. Two days into the new year and I am unable to find the motivation, inclination or even dedication to try and achieve an easily attainable goal.

I mean all I had to do was write at least five hundred words a day. It didn't even have to make much sense. i was happy for any old ramble to come out. As long as these little fingers typed out five hundred words a day a feat of wonder would be achieved.

But nooooo. Apparently that was too hard and I find myself starting to fail before the first week has even passed. I just don't understand why that is. Why when writing is meant to be something that I do for myself I am unable to do so.

No one is making me write every day. No one has even said I want you to write every day. It is meant to be what I want so why can't I do it? Why am I so easily distracted?

One of the mysteries of the world perhaps?

Not likely, I have a feeling I know the answer but would love to hear what you think.Followers will know that I am a big believer in looking for the positive side. In the past i have even gone so far as to say I was an optimist. Currently though I feel more comfortable being aligned to that of a realist.

As my life is that of great fortune reality involves a lot of positivity. Though sometimes it is not always easy to see.

Take tonight for example. After a incredibly exciting day which saw a beautiful rainbow lorikeet called Summer joined our family, my eldest offspring decided to turn bedtime into a battle.

At seven, nearly eight power struggles are frequent in our daily life. Sometimes she wins and sometimes I do. Then there are times when neither of us score a victory and we are both left licking our wounds.

Getting her to sleep has always been an issue. Unless everyone else was going to sleep then she didn't want to. For the first few years I was happy to share her bed time. After a while though things changed and my sleeping habits could no longer accommodate such early hours.

My days had become filled with work and house duties needed to be attended to at night. This meant that my little angel needed to be going to sleep by herself without my full attention. Somewhere along the line I discovered that on the couch in front of the TV provided the quick and easy sleep solution that I had been searching for. Even at four she was light enough to easily carry to bed once she fell asleep. Anything was worth a painless bedtime.

Naturally though there came a time when sleeping on the couch became inconvenient. Not to mention the fact her burning desire to test her precise levels of luck. As with most children she yearned to know exactly where the boundaries lay. So with time even the easy way out could become a battle.

Anyway back to the story at hand.

Tonight as the battle ensued i had what I thought was a brilliant idea. Since her biggest gripe about going to sleep upstairs was that she was lonely i could sit outside the room and do some writing. After all the whole idea of the groovy little laptop was so I could write anywhere, anytime.

So this is where you find me now. Sitting on my quaint little balcony enjoying the cool breeze that is trying to blow.
Unfortunately though my brilliant plan does not seem to be going to plan. :(
She is still fighting sleep like it is the devil itself. Perhaps it is time for a change of tactics. Will let you know how it goes!

Something is better than nothing

That is my motto for the day and the basis of this post.

Right know I can't think as my head hurts. Ten minutes ago though it was full of ideas. they were rushing around bursting with action ready to spring into fruition. I wonder if that is my my head hurts now.... too many thoughts at once.

Today has been somewhat productive in terms of writing, I have managed to steal a few moments to get some words out here and there. They are of course not the greatest words in the world but at least it is a start.

• I have so far managed three separate blog posts which is probably enough for one day. There has to come a point when quality must begin to over ride quantity.

• In terms of housework the house is in a reasonable condition. I did wash the dishes this morning but naturally there are still some more to do.
  

• I also get a big tick for cooking one of the best dinners ever. In fact it was so good that I may actually devote a whole blog post to it but not just yet.

• I am slowly introducing a schedule to my day. To make it an enjoyable transition the first event is a fun one.

Remember
Something is always better than nothing, the thought does not always count and it is never to late to spring into action!

Dreams and Limitations

As always the start of a new year inspires me to start writing. I am hopeful that this year it will be something that I continue you with rather than lapse into sporadic sessions on a haphazard basis.

Since my dear parents were kind enough to give me a funky little laptop for Christmas I feel some what obliged to write more regularly than in the past. There is certainly no denying that on some levels my parents are incredibly supportive. Like everyone though, even they have their limitations.

My youngest sister, who is the baby of the family has recently moved interstate. We are what some would consider as a very close knit family so the move took quite a toll on my parents, particularly my mother.

At times you would think that my sister has fallen off the face of the earth never to be seen again. In reality of course she is a mere four hour plane trip away. Her boyfriend, who she moved to be with is a pilot so she naturally gets super cheap travel and has assured us she will return regularly. With the wonders of modern technology we are able to web cam and talk to her as if she was just down the road.

Her boyfriends mother, who I have never met sounds like a lovely lady. She has gone out of her way to make my sister feel welcome and part of the family. While I find this quite comforting my mother is highly distressed by the fact that my sister seems to be settling comfortably into her new life.

It all gets back to the perspective that you take. Don't get me wrong I miss my sister greatly, she was greatly but I find comfort in the fact that she has been taken in and is not all alone. I wish that my mother could see that as well, but the ugly green eyed monster seems to be getting in the way. Since she is my mother it is obviously not possible to point out the error of her ways so instead I will listen to her complaints in silence

Happy New Year!!!

So 2009 has arrived! Though I must say there was no bang to accompany it, at least not any near where I was. Rather than brave the crowds we opted for a quiet family event with close friends. Someone however forgot to mention the quiet aspect to the children who spent the night running around the garden screaming at monsters and ghosts.

The start of a New Years brings is often the time for resolutions and change. At least for most of the world. Personally I tend to avoid these like the plague. I love the notion of resolutions but the actual practice is something entirely different. Resolutions require dedication and commitment, both of which I am in short supply of. Not only that but the desire to change is also necessary and again I fall more than a little short.

Change, as I may have mentioned somewhere at some stage is not something I am really a big fan of. I know that change is important and it is in fact an integral part of life. Without change we become stale and stagnant. However, I really like the rut my life is in. I like knowing what is going to happen. The predictability and constants of my life provide me with a comforting stability that I don't really want to lose.

Having said that though there is a little voice inside my head which has been getting rather loud lately. No matter how hard I try it doesn't seem as if I can ignore the Wind of Change (WOC) for much longer. So it is with great reluctance that I publicly admit to the need for some personal change within my life.

In between the screams for adjustment the WOC has assured me that it is possible for things to happen slowly and with only baby steps at a time. In fact the WOC has had some very wise words that may actually be altering my deep rooted fears of change.

The first of these was that rather than use the word change I should think of it as growing or developing. This makes great sense as for the most part changes scare me, for some reason I have a negative perception of change. If I can alter my mindset as to what change is about then hopefully I will be able to begin to become more accepting of it all.

So I won't be rushing out with armfuls of resolutions, I will however take a few steps towards making a few modifications of my daily existence. I have seen numerous articles on how this is the worst time to actually begin such tasks so I will leave it a day or so before sharing with you what they will be.

If you are one of the many hundreds of thousands who have decided to make a change for the new year, I wish you all the very best with it. In fact to one and all I wish you all the very best for 2009.