The Circus

Thanks to some stars shinning over my head (and a sick friend who gave me their ticket) I unexpectedly found myself at the Circus tonight.

The Joseph Ashton Circus has been in town for the past three days, tonight was their last performance and I am so incredibly glad that I was able to go and see them.

Growing up the circus came to town on a fairly regular basis. I loved it then and I loved it last night as well. I remember sitting there looking at those beautiful girls on the trapeze, with their sparkling outfits and dazzling displays. The very next day I would rush outside to my swing in the front garden and relive the act only this time I was the star. Naturally I was limited it what I could perform, but to me I felt just like the lovely ladies I had seen the night before.

Natural instinct and desire sure has a lot to answer for, as the men in tights and their big bulges is my next fond circus memory. Of course their strength and muscles also stands out, but not before those tights!

Circus Joseph Ashton did not disappoint any of my memories. In fact as the opening act begun I could feel the tears welling. Watching these people with their smiles on their faces as they ran around flipping and somersaulting through the air you could see this is what they lived for. They were living a dream that many of us have wished for at one time or another.

The photo today is taken from the Circus Joseph Ashton website and is of Joseph Ashton and his lovely family. All of whom are fantastic performers. The fact that everyone in the show was related just added to my enjoyment. One can only imagine what a close knit family they must be and the bonds they have formed while performing this death defying stunts is are sure to be unbreakable.

If they happen to come by a town near you, I strongly suggest you go. It is money well spent and will help ensure these treasured performers do not become a thing of the past.

For more information on the Ashton Family please click here

Success - or was it?

I sit here tonight very stiff and sore. It has been a long hard day. Sports day down at the school, and while I did not actually participate in any events as such my body feels similar to one that has just run a marathon!

Carrying a two year old for the better part of the day is not really as easy as it sounds. Despite her weighing little over eleven kilos, after a few hours it starts to become a strain. On the upside think how muscular it could make me. (Mental note to carry her on the other side tomorrow to even things out).

Seriously though my left bicep feels like it has been lifting hundred kilo bar bells!

This was the first sports day that I helped organise and being the ever critical analyst that I am I can't help but wonder whether the wider community will view the event as a success. Last year the food was under catered. This year, after ordering extra, we naturally had too much. (Murphy's law if ever I saw it)

In my opinion there are around a thousand things that I could have done better and or improvements that I would make should I ever do it again. So my question is do these possible improvements for future events, detract from whether or not this particular outing could be rightfully deemed a success.

I guess when we start dissecting the term success, we need to consider what we were hoping to achieve. The desired out come for tonight was that the school community be adequately fed while raising much needed funds to lower the cost of the summer swimming program.

With that in mind, I guess it is fair to say that this was successful. We certainly fed a lot of people, even if we did have some left over. However as the money counting does not take place until tomorrow sometime whether we actually made any money in the process is still unknown.
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My photo today comes from squidonius whose work I found on stock.xchng

The link found here is to a poem I wrote a while ago.
Feel very special as it is not often I openly share my poetry. There are a couple of reasons why I choose this tonight. The first is because I started a new poem tonight, (unfortunately it is not finished yet but you will be the first to know when it is published) The second is because of a recent conversation with an old friend.

Facebook

While the rest of the world may have jumped on the Facebook band wagon some time ago, I, as ever am incredibly behind the times and have only recently opened an account there. My first ever friend from high school convinced me that it was a great way to stay in contact. She also said the same about mySpace until she found FB.

Anyway as she is one of the few people in my life that I have known for more than ten years, I like to stay in touch with her. Rather than stay in our sleepy old town and raise a family like I have, she set off to conquer the world, and is getting closer to achieving this every day. She is currently in PNG doing some fantastic work within local communities, and I love following what she is up to.

However, FB not only gives me the chance to follow her, but also opened up a whole world of people from the past that I had not given a single moments thought to in many a year. Sure I have heard about FB but until I got my account I had no real idea what it was really like.

I was amazed today to find out that they have games. Heaps and heaps and heaps of games. Granted the majority are crap and nothing more than a waste of time, but do you think that I can stay away from them? Noooooo! The main reason my writing has been non existent is because FB games has drained what little of my brain was left. Fingers crossed I can break free and salvage what ever might be left of a writing career.

The thing that disturbs me most about FB is that despite it being some 13 years since I finished highschool, as I scrolled through my friend's friend list I was struck down by the same fears and emotions that plagued me through high school.

Now before I go on any further I should say that for the most part I enjoyed my five years of high school education. I wasn't the coolest kid but I guess I wasn't at the bottom of the food chain either. I was relatively pretty and fairly smart, but one thing I never felt was popular.

I guess the main reason for that was because I wasn't. I was on the debating team, helped the elderly and actually liked learning. I won endless awards and always had my shirt tucked in. I had a select group of friends that stuck by me (for the most part), but on the whole I felt that there were more people laughing at me than with me.

Anyway FB has kindly given me proof that I am still not very popular. After 3 months I still have under 30 friends, the majority of which don't really talk to me! Anyway at least I got a post here. Again my original intentions when I sat down to post were not conveyed, but I guess it will keep for another day.

The photo for today is another one from my own collection. It is of a local sunset. Though it reminds me of dawn.

Today's article is an oldie but a goodie. It is contemplating whether women know what it is they want in life? Click Here

Success at last

Finally I am able to sit here and say that are few changes have taken place. The dishes are almost under control (providing someone does them from dinner tonight). The back veranda is clean and tidy and shows slight hints of organisation. The dog has also been washed, as has his bed and the washing is slowly decreasing. However now it sits on the couch waiting to be folded. Can't win everything I guess.

I am also very proud to report that this is the third consecutive day of posting, so well done to me! The fact that some may claim that there is a lack of substance to what I have written, is noted but at this point I am choosing to ignore it. Being the ever lasting optimist I can find the slightest sign of good in anything. The fact that I have been able to think (and then actually post) of anything is wonderful, I can work on substance later!

Progress at last

I was beginning to think that the dishes were never going to get done. Thankfully I was grossly mistaken and hubby kindly got them out the way for my earlier this evening. Of course he only did the dishes on the promise of food so naturally there are dinner dishes waiting to be done. At least all the three day old dishes are done!

I was able to successfully waste most of the evening playing silly Facebook games. Unfortunately this is not very helpful for writing. I don't understand way my inspirational words never come when I have nothing to do. Instead it is when I have ten other things to do I that I discover my wiseness.

Anyway I was actually off to bed but since this is only day two of the new rules I didn't want to break them already! So the picture I have chosen for today is one from when I was in Katherine recently. As for a link....hmmm..... have a look at this for something a little different

A Real Ramble!

I believe that it is fair to say that I have let life get a little to far out of control. As another long day draws to an end I am sorry to report that the cyclonic state of my house which I have earlier discussed remains the same.

Granted certain piles have grown and others reduced, the fact still remains that there are piles of mess all through the place. Like the dishes. They have all been nicely rearranged a few times now. A few have actually made it into the cupboard (hard to believe I know) However wherever you look the kitchen is still full of dishes that need doing! Oh well I guess there is always tomorrow.

Do you know tomorrow? I seem to be forever saying I will do it tomorrow. Only recently I have realised that tomorrow never seem to comes. We(or rather I) seem to spend excessive amounts of time thinking about tomorrow, rather than living for today.

When I first sat down to write this post I titled it "Gaining Control" now however I am thinking it needs to be changed! I seemed to have gotten a little sidetracked along the way......
...... Anyway in a bid to make this site slightly more interesting, I have decided to introduce some new posting rules for myself.

1. Each post must have an article link
2. Pictures are mandatory
3. Posting must occur daily
4. Post must be entertaining, readable and if possible thought provoking
   

So in line with rule number one here is a link to my Child Development Lens at Squidoo

The photo, which unfortunately is at the top, actually started it's life as a rainbow above my house. After much experimentation with paint.net that is what I ended up with. Made me feel very creative really!

Insight to my mind

A little over twelve hours from when I awoke this morning I find that not much has really changed. That is not to say everything has remained the same, for it hasn't. Despite my efforts to maintain some degree of order, it appears as if chaos clearly reigns in my home.

After many attempts my lounge room floor still has toys strewn all over it. Much like it was when I first came down stairs. The pile of dirty dishes that adorns my kitchen sink and surrounding bench space has grown slightly. While the kitchen table is now covered with bags of shopping patiently waiting to be put away.

It is fair to say that my life is a shambles.

I know that the term life my seem some excessive to most. Many housewives and mothers struggle with the constant battle to maintain order with their domain. Washing, tidying and general chores are just part and parcel of daily life. Well for me they are my worst nightmare.

Almost everyday it feels like I look around the inside of my four walls only to be greeted with a sight that resembles the aftermath of a cyclone. My life is a day by day kind of existence, so based on this I am justified in saying my life is a shambles.

While I would love to continue sharing right now, my duties as "head chef" are required. I must provide food for the starving massed (aka 2 children) who need their nourishment before bed

A few words

Life is a constant barrage of activity. There is always something that needs to be done yet there rarely seems enough time to get it all done. (My lack of entries here is testament to that)

Some might say that my journey through the ocean of life of late has been rather choppy. It certainly has not been smooth sailing of late. However it was nothing a harden sailor, such as myself, couldn't handle. Just between you and me though I probably could be doing a slightly better job.

I mean sure I have not been a messy bundle curled up on the floor but I certainly haven't been standing strong at the helm directing my boat as needed. I have just left it to steer itself! Which on the whole hasn't been to bad but it is fair to say that my boat has veered slightly of course to say the least.

The good news is that I am slowly clawing my my back and the waters appear to be calming a little. I just need to remember that it is all about perspective really.

Credit for the photo must go to Marco Caliulo His great shots can be found at stock.xchng

Ramble

As we travel through life there are times when we suddenly awake from the daze that is our perception of reality.

Generally this awakening is rather sudden, possibly even considered by some as rude. While that may be so, it is in fact irrelevant, as generally speaking, such reality checks are more than needed if not long overdue!

Recently (today) I was given such a call. I don't really like sharing great personal details so please be with me if it seems sketchy in places. I was informed that people don't like the way I speak. Naturally, I was hurt and instantly became defensive, however imagine my pain when I stopped and heard myself the next time I spoke.

This person was right I had not been speaking very nicely to them. While I felt pressured and uncomfortable to even be in the same room as this person (and others), my current situation prevented me avoiding contact with them. I thought I had been making the best of it, but today I find out that I had been making them less than welcome.

I tried to defend my actions by explaining how I felt.

In case you are interested, I feel very hurt by these people, well one in particular. If our relationship was a business transaction, they have everything to gain, while I only lose. The problem is winners don't care what other's may lose, that's what makes them a winner. I must make sure I am the winner. Oh no wait, this is not a race, there doesn't always need to be winners and losers. We want win-win.

Then when I thought about it some more, I realised with an attitude like mine, I deserved to feel bad. I have been behaving in an unbecoming manner. I haven't really given these people a chance to let them put their cards on the table. A chance to show they may have something to offer in the exchange.

Maybe there is no need be so defensive, perhaps it doesn't really hurt to let people in sometimes.

Further reflection led me to the awareness there are actually a whole range of different people in my life that when I think about it are currently complaining about the way I speak to them. I know that life has been a bit rough for me lately but I really had no idea how poorly I was coping.

The great news is that now I am aware of a need to change I can. So when I have to meet with these people again I will just take a deep breath, let down my guard and show a vulnerable side so that we can all be reminded that I am, lucky everyone else, only human.

I may even find a way to entwining this new attitude with the Quit Club

The Good and The Bad

It is a well known fact of life that with good comes bad and vice versa. I have always been a big believer in the two going together. If there were never any downs then we would never know when the ups are about.

For the most part of my life I travel along in varying levels of up. Without bragging or being conceited I feel that my life is truly blessed. It is full of goodness, love and happiness and I don't really think there is much more I would ask for.

Having said that though, when the downs come, I swear it is the biggest roller coaster dip you have ever been on. I am currently in the process of a down at the moment. Any way the point today is not to whine about how crap I feel my life is at present, but rather illustrate how even simple activities can be full of both good and bad.

1. It was good that I managed to get some washing done today. It was bad however that a tissue managed to slip in with the dark clothes.
2. Again it was positive to do the washing (we are all down to our last pair of knickers), however now it all needs to be folded and put away!

Ok so it is not an extensive list yet but at least it is a start!

Credit and thanks for the photo go to LadyAustin who can be found at stock.xchng

Pig Personality Test

So by drawing this pig I was able to gain insight into my personality. Very exciting! Here are the results

Value Your Parents

So today my dad was taken to hospital, nothing serious just one of those things that take you by surprise. (Well not really a surprise as he is a 79 year old with many serious health concerns but anyway...you get my point)

Naturally such an event makes you stop and consider various aspects of your life. Not being really ready to deal with these thoughts just yet I thought I would seek refuge online.

Needing to boost traffic to my parenting site I registered with link referral. The first site I am sent to review today had this beautiful piece a daughter had written to her elderly mother. It was all rather touching, so much so I have been prompted to share it with you.

edited 22/11/12
I am going through and fixing any broken links, which this post had a few of.

Fantastic Site for Children

One of my fellow writer friends has just launched a great new blog full of original children's nursery rhymes. They are hilariously funny and provide a refreshing change from the standard rhymes that currently fill the minds of out little ones.

Have a look and check it out Funny Rhymes

Smoking Cat

I wish I could give a credit for this photo but unfortunately I know not the mastermind that created it. A friend of mine sent it to me in a email entitled what happens when computer get bored.

Unfortunately my limited computer knowledge permits me from being able to transfer the image here in it's full glory. In the email the paw actually moved making the cat inhale.

Aside from the sheer coolness of it I wanted to share this due to my recent decision to quit the terrible habit myself. While I have made the decision that I plan to quit I haven't actually put it into action yet. It is however quickly approaching the top of my To-Do List so I imagine that Quit Day is not to far away. I will certainly keep you posted!

~may in every way this be a special day ~

Wind and Kites

The following is a product of a Little Blue Book entry. It is an attempt at creative writing. Not something I do often so please read and enjoy

So here I am again. Time to myself with nothing to do but write. And yet again this freedom of mind leaves the written page blank. Which is such a shame.

I thought that this would be the perfect scenario for writing...

Sitting high up on a balcony. Over looking the sea.

Through the tree tops I can watch the foaming white waves gently crashing about. They never even make it to the shoreline.

I am not contactable and there is no one here to disturb me. The phone is on silent so I won't even hear it ring.

I pause for a moment, taking it all in. Hopefully deep breathes of air and the wind on my face, will bring inspiration...

In the distance I can see a kite surfers kite. There is just enough wind to raise it and hold it in place, but not enough to make it move out of position. The strings holding it in place can not be seen. Neither can the person holding the strings for that matter. It looks like it is just suspended in air. Held by the magic of wind.

This place, this balcony that I am looking out from. I have been here before. It is familiar yet unknown. I know that I have been here before. I remember coming. I don't remember exactly when it was. Some time in the distant past. Ten years or so I imagine, maybe less. I guess it doesn't really matter now.

In fact it is questionable what really matters at the best of times. Life can be such a fickle experience.

Of course love matters. Love always matters. For without love, what is left?

Love is the glue of life, it holds us together. And tears us apart.

There are two kites now. The new one is red. The wind has picked up now as well. It keeps blowing them out of site, behind all of the trees.
I wish I could be blown away. Not that I am unhappy here. I just think it would be a nice feeling. To be picked up and blown around like a fallen leaf. Lifted and carried from one place to the next. Stopping every now and then for the wind to catch her breath.

Even the wind runs out of air sometimes.