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

My Week According To Instagram

Jenn over at Mountains and Musings is doing a Pantone Postcard Challenge. I was lucky enough to find one waiting for me when I arrived home from the road trip to Cairns



This is me pretending to still be on holidays. I had dropped the car off to the mechanic



My new sister in law gave us this fantastic swimming ring that she had for her girls. Bless her beautiful heart. We had never seen anything like it before and it is definitely the new favourite toy.



As I was scrolling through my instagram feed the other day I came across a call for your happy place. This was one of the many happy places I came across on our travels. In fact this is where we camped in Mount Isa.



A little collage I put together of the infamous tyre blow out. I love the bright colours of the umbrellas up against the dry grass.

There were also four other photos that I posted. Some baskets of clothes that are still waiting to be delt with, a tower of dishes that eventually got delt with, a party pie smiley face and some angel cards. I have tried to include them in this post several times but each time something goes amiss. I am taking that as a sign.

So there is my week according to Instagram. Joining in with Tina's blog hop

Recipe - Bean and Watermelon Salad

Now this recipe is so quick and easy to make that I almost think I shouldn't bother posting it because it is not like a real recipe. However it is so simple and yummy (not to mention healthy) that it would be wrong of me not to share it.

There are even a few little things you can do differently to adapt it to suit your size and tastes.

In it's most simplest form all you need to do is

Dice up two slices of watermelon.
Throw in a few handfuls of a mixed baby leaf salad from your local supermarket.
Mix in a can of tuna and beans (John West has just brought out a new range with a couple of different flavours but don't feel obliged to get it because this is certainly not a sponsored post)

Eat and enjoy.

See I told you it was simple.

Here is what you could do differently

• Get your own tin of beans rather than use the ones that come in the tuna.
• Add tinned corn, beetroot or even pineapple. The super keen may even choose to use fresh.
• Use fresh/frozen green beans
• Drizzle with a light mustard dressing

Just perfect for the sizzling summer before us.

Joining in with

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.

Thankful Thursday - The journey of life

Yep I know, two posts in the one day is not really the done thing but it is Thursday and I am thankful so here we are.

I promise to keep it short and sweet.

This week I am thankful for...

...the mechanic that fixed my car's air conditioning yesterday. Where once it may have been a luxury to have cool air in the car, three children ensure it is a necessity. 

...being able to take it to someone who I knew would be able to do a good job. And that Mr Awesome is as awesome as he is and had no problems with me hanging out with a man who once thought I was the love of his life. Quite the contrary actually. He reminded me to make sure I had something nice on so he could be aware of what he was missing out. Or words to that effect. Men.

...lots of hot steamy loving. Yep perhaps too much info I know, but all this talk of ex lovers has got Mr Awesome and I all down and dirty. In the best possible way ever. Generally I am not fussed one way or the other about whether we do or not, but the last week or so OMG, I just can't get enough and Mr Awesome is far from complaining.

...reaching an exciting little number on the blog stat counter. I know it is not all about the numbers but it is always nice when a number has a few 000's in it at times :) I guess what I am really thankful for here though are all my lovely readers who keep stopping by. It really does make me smile, and write more.

...peace and quite that comes with school and children sleeping. As lovely as it has been having the kids round all day every day it is also nice to just sit and be alone. Today is the last day of school for the term so I am enjoying it while I can.

But most of all I am thankful that I am me and have done all that I have. 

I am thankful for the road of life I have traveled down and can't wait to see where it will lead me to next. 

Joining in

The Mechanic

When I started typing this I was sitting on a rather dusty and old lounge in an unairconditioned workshop. After traipsing  around the city al day pretending to still be on holidays

Me, wishing I was still on holidays

I could no longer find anything else to amuse myself with and had returned to the workshop to wait for the mechanic to tell me he had finished fixing the air conditioner in my beloved Patrol. I was hot and sticky and starting to feel rather worn out. I didn't want to be there and it wasn't just the stifling heat that was making me somewhat uncomfortable.

You see the mechanic was not just any old mechanic. Well he is in many ways but there are also other factors that come into play with this mechanic.

Many many moons ago, before I was a wife and mother this mechanic thought that he and I were soul mates. For a brief moment I did too. Back then I was a wide eye and rather naive nearly twenty one year old. I was ready to conquer the world and all it had in store for me.

My boyfriend at the time had been so since before I finished high school. We had been living together and playing house for a few years, it made me feel very grown up. Studying, working, having a strong secure relationship and all that, but I was suddenly feeling the urge to grow up some more. Unfortunately he wasn't.

What all of this boiled down to was me getting a new more grown up job (working in a surf shop for over seven years did not seem a thing for a grown up to do) and eventually running off with the mechanic. Only back then he wasn't a mechanic but my boss at the phone shop.

At the time I hadn't really needed to do the whole job interview thing before. I had started working in the surf shop shortly before turning fourteen. They looked after me well and it was one of the coolest places to work so I never bothered going anywhere else. It was a family owned business and the family wasn't going anywhere, they were hands on and staying that way. There was never any hope of me being anything other than a sales assistant, so I went searching for more.

Not really sure where to start I went to an employment agency and filled out a heap of paperwork. From there they sent me to work at the new Telstra shop as a temporary employee. Being a temp is worse than being a casual. I felt like nothing more than a mere number and while the paid lunch break was appreciated it was fifteen minutes shorter than what a permanent employee got.

Unfortunately for me there were no more permanent positions there so I kept looking for something in the same industry. As luck would have it a position was up for grabs with another telecommunications company and I jumped at the chance to interview for it.

As you would imagine I was some what nervous about the impending change I wanted to bring about in my life. Especially as I headed off to my first ever official job interview. I felt so grown up. Wiping my sweaty palms on my new 'interview' dress I took a deep breath and proceeded through the front door.

The lady behind the reception desk told me there had been a few unexpected issues arise if I would be so kind as to wait a few minutes it would be greatly appreciated. I took a seat and tried not to concentrate on the millions of butterflies that had suddenly invaded my stomach.

They didn't stay for long. Within a minute of sitting down I could hear a man's voice yelling obscenities into a phone as he heavily paced around a room out the back. This lack of professionalism eased my nerves no end. I suddenly felt like I would fit in just fine.

After about ten minutes the swearing ceased and the man came to greet me and apologize for any offense I may have taken to his language. We then went on and did the interview. Which really just turned out to be a bit of chit chat.

To this day I can still recall the moment I walked out that door. As I turned to close it behind me I remember looking at this person and just knowing my life was about to change. I knew without a scerrick of a doubt that the job was mine. I also knew that the man was heavily attracted to me and I liked it a lot. A real lot.

Anyway to cut a long story short I got the job. Within three days of starting said job I was running off with the boss, who was some fifteen years older than I. All very grown up.

Needless to say this whole affair thing barely lasted six months. However they are some of the most action packed months of my life and in many ways shaped the wonderful person that I am today, but that is a whole different post. Today's is already going on for long enough and I am still not even close to the point I wanted to make.

You see on Monday when Mr Awesome took the car in to get it looked at I said him

"So you know the mechanic is Brett don't you?"

Fully expecting him to say yes you have told me every time I mention taking the car in there it is him, but he didn't. Which is weird because I do.

Instead he looked at me with a funny smile and said.

"What your Brett?"

My Brett??? How the flip after eight years of marriage can anyone be my anything unless it is Mr Awesome being MY Mr Awesome?

At this point we were sitting outside the workshop waiting to go in. The men had already been talking but I elected to stay in the car with the sleeping child. While there are other mechanics that fix air cons in town, Mr Awesome had heard from others that this was the go to guy. Who was I to disagree.

Anyway from here Mr Awesome's next remark just left me speechless. Totally and utterly speechless.

"So he must be well hung then" he says.

WTF!!!

In what crazy universe does a husband ask his wife how well hung an ex lover is? Surely that is on par with does my bum look big in this? There is no right way to answer either is there?

Choosing to ignore his question out loud, my internal voice wanted to scream no but he gave great head because by this point in time it was all a bit much for me. The two had met before and I have always been rather open about all the things I got up to in the past but something funny happens to me each and every time I see this man.

You see I love my husband more than anything, always have and always will. However some of the things the mechanic and I went through together were pretty amazing he really did help shape my life in so many ways. Had he been quick off the mark with a marriage proposal I probably would have said yes.

I am oh so glad he wasn't quick off the mark though, as life would have taken a few drastic turns and I wouldn't be here like this now. And here like this now is right where I want to be. That I have no doubt about.

-fairy wishes and butterfly kisses

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!!!

With tragedy comes beauty

Last night we camped on the banks of a river. It was a beautiful place. Tall slender gums lining up along the water's edge and retreating back as far as the eye could see. A picturesque image that I know my words would never do justice.

After the heartbreak of saying goodbye to my aunt, uncle and my sister, her new husband and their beautiful son, the comfort of a secluded waterhole was exactly what I needed. Though as with a lot of this trip it was not exactly how we had planned.

We left Cairns at about 10am, which was a bit later than what Mr Awesome had hoped for yet hours before I was ready. The plan was to power through till Charter's Towers. Around 600km or six hours away. Just the right distance for the first day.

Even though I had taken the car for a drive the day before I was still a bit reserved about her reliability. Not that there is any validity behind these reservations because she is actually going better than before after her little visit to the mechanics at the start of the week.

After the first two hours I began to relax and soak in the tranquility of my surroundings. By this time the busyness of the city had been left behind the magic of the bush was beginning to work it's magic on my pained soul.


Thanks to the air conditioner no longer working our fuel consumption was surprisingly less than expected and we realized we would be able to make it destination without needing a top up. We had enough snacks and things in the car to ward off hunger pangs so we powered on.

About 50kms after Ingham, and the same before Townsville and around 180kms before our planned final destination for the day we came to a grinding halt. There were cars backed up for further than our eyes could see.

Being somewhat of a sticky beak I put my double pluggers on and jumped put to have a gander at what was going on. I got a few cars down before I came across a truck driver with a two way radio. I stopped to ask what he had heard but apparently what ever was causing the blockage was still so fresh it hadn't hit the airwaves yet.

Wandering on a bit further I could see that the road started to bend and the cars continued to bank up. In the distance I could just make out the flashing of lights. My stomach sank a little, flashing lights were never good.

There were three truckies standing around talking. As I approached I could here the words fatality and three to four hours. Turns out there had been an accident involving a semi and two cars. They didn't have all the details but there had been a death and the road would be closed for a while.

Not needing to actually see any more I headed back to the car. Relaying what I had heard to others along the way. By now it was nearly three in the after noon.

We retraced our steps to try and find somewhere to set up camp for the night. As much as we wanted to go on further waiting by the side of the road for some four hours was not really an option. However we also didn't want to go back to far either as that would just put us even further behind the next day.

In many ways it was almost as if the universe had scripted it all to make us stop and enjoy some of the beauty that mother nature has to offer. Mind you as I sat there bathing in the glorious water way I couldn't help but think of the family that had just lost their son. My deepest condolences to all who knew the 31 year old man that tragically lost his life.

Fairy wishes & butterfly kisses to one and all.

Joining in with Grace for a bit of Friday flogging

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

Thankful For A Baby Sister

Some nine thousand eight hundred and fifty nine days ago a baby girl was born. In the days to come she would travel the world, meet the man of her dreams, have a baby and eventually marry the love of her life.

In that time she would also break many a heart and grow into a beautiful young woman. She would also turn out to be a fabulous friend, a dedicated companion and the best baby sister a seven year old could get for her birthday.

Not a day has passed where I wished for it to be any other way. In fact, to this day I have been more than thankful for my wish come true of a baby sister born on my birthday.

I am thankful that she has found someone so caring and loving. That is prepared to treat her like the princess that she is and we all deserve to be.

I am thankful she has found a life partner to stand by her through thick and thin. Someone who loves her in a way that only family can.

I am thankful that they have invited me to share with them, their very special day. I just know it will be magical in every possible way.

The fact that they have decided to celebrate this wonderful union in a tropical paradise is just another thing I am thankful for. As is the fact that we were able to arrive safely and in one piece.

Being able to take my children on an outback adventure is only more reason to feel like I am incredibly blessed. Though to be quite truthful, right now I am sure there are about a hundred things I am thankful for.

Things like the fact when we blew a tyre, we had a spare. Followed by the being able to replace the tyres that needed repairing.

The warm, welcoming and kind hospitality of our Townsville family is right up there on the list if thanks for this week as well. I am deeply touched by my recent times with them. Especially given some of the transactions of the past.

I guess in some ways that may make me thankful for water under the bridge. Which is not always an easy something to be thankful for but I do think that after the last few days I can say I am. Just like I am thankful that as a person I can always grow.

For now though the last thing I am thankful for is that Kate hosts this awesome meme

joining in with


Fairy wishes & butterfly kisses

Wordless Wednesday - Reef HQ

Joining in with Trish over at My Little Drummer Boys
fairy wishes and butterfly kisses

It is not always roses

As you read this I am more than likely on the final leg of my journey to Cairns. Well if you are reading prior to lunch time on Tuesday that is the case. As I type this it is lateish Monday night and I am feeling somewhat drained.


Yesterday was a mammoth day and saw us travel from Mount Isa to Townsville. Some nine hundred kilometers. Which equates to ten hours or so driving.

After the tyre incident the previous day we felt the need to be as close as possible to a larger town and decided to push through as quickly as possible. Plus since we had a few family members that we wanted to catch up with in Townsville the sooner we got there the better.

Thankfully we arrived without any further issues. Said tyre has now been replaced and we are short $700 from our holiday fund. We decided that it would be better to by two new tyres so they can age at the same time. Being sensible is a right pain some times.

Only getting in the car to travel a short distance this morning was lovely. We went down to The Strand and then had a wander round the local Aquariam. Which will hopefully become a separate post tomorrow as there were some rather cool fish.

Actually getting up and not having to be anywhere was lovely. As much as I have enjoyed all the driving it was nice not to feel like there was a rush to be somewhere. I stayed up far too late last night and woke way too early.
Coupled with some poor sleep it is no wonder I am feeling a little drained.

While I may normally be able to find the silver lining, even on the greyest of days today has been far from that. Instead most things has been an effort and I have longed for some alone time. Not to mention my desire to go for a run. I can't even remember the last time I went for a run and I am so scared that if I don't get out there soon I may never run again. Making all the effort of the past seven months a bit of a waste.

Sigh.

While I am having a whinge, did I mention I smashed the screen on my phone? Yesterday when we arrived here it somehow just slipped from my hands and bounced along the driveway. Thankfully I can still use it I guess. Every time I look at it though I want to cry.

Before you start telling me I should have a cover on it, I usually do. Only it leaves a shadow when I take a photo. Trying to be the best blogger I can and share as much as possible with you, my dear readers, I had taken the cover off to snap the awesome shots for today's post.

Needless to say I don't think they were worth the price I had to pay.
But enough of my moaning because it is #IBOT over at Diary Of A SAHM. Head on over and check out some of the other great posts that are up this week.

Also make sure you check back to see what happens next on our adventure. Perhaps, if you haven't already, you should sign up to have my posts sent straight to your inbox or follow via GFC or Networked Blogs. That way you will never miss out again.

Fairy wishes & butterfly kisses