Tomorrow is always a brand new day

This post has been sitting, in my draft box, waiting to be written for around three days now. For some reason the words just haven't seem to be there. Even now I am not sure if they are but I can't hold off any longer. I need to try and get some of it out.


I know that the beginning is always the best place to start but sometimes in life the beginning can be a tricky place to find. Life is but a cycle and as such with it's constant goings round, beginnings and endings can sometimes blend into one. Making it not only difficult to establish where they each stop and start but also the difference between causes and effect.

The last week has been a tough. Though I seem to say that a lot I think. Perhaps this was just a particularly tough day because of so much going on.

Children graduating primary school, new paths being forged while old ones cease to exist, no longer needing to be walked. Hearing of two breast cancer diagnosis and immediate removals of lumps and breast. Mass murders, brutal senseless and unnecessary attacks on innocent lives. Radio pranks blamed for suicide and a media frenzy around issues that at the end of the day should be nothing at all.

My head feels like it wants to explode unable to cope with the emotion of it all.

What is the world coming to?

Oh that's right, come Friday apparently the world is coming to and end. Miss Eleven has heard bits and pieces of this notion. She is on the verge of being beside herself with worry at times. When I look up into the sky and see cloud formations that I have not really seen before, I too struggle to not get caught up in a conspiracy theory about it all.

The crazy weather the world over doesn't help in that department either. Guess which city was one of the first mentioned to get flooded in the doomsday movie 2012?

Oh that's right it was the same that got flooded just recently. New York.

Deep breaths.

Thankfully as long as I don't think about it, I don't worry to much. It all just really serves as a great reminder though



Fairy wishes and butterfly kisses to one and all.

Things I Know About Blogging Awards, Me and Life Itself

Oh hai!
It is Friday, which means of course it is the day to flog the things you know so here I go!




I know that seeing this post gave me all kinds of tingles with a heap of warm and fuzzy thrown in. It also makes me want to break out into song every time I see the title... Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows...

Our knowing hostess with the mostest Miss Cinders, along with the ever so lovely Rita over at The Crafty Expat have kindly bestowed upon yours truly

I know this kind of bloggy love just leaves me tickled pink and I am ever so thankful for the honour.

I know there have been many a time when I have read other bloggers receiving and handing out the same or similar awards and my heart has dropped a little when the realisation my name is not on the list hits. Reading blog rolls a similar effect. 

I know that some days it is hard for life to not be a popularity contest.

What I don't know is why I have such an urge to be popular. I have never been a popular person, the in crowd has never once let me in and for the most part I have been fine about that. Why now do I crave the attention so?

I know that there are a heap of question about me that need answering (as per the award) so I should probably get on with that. Because I just know you are dying to find out more about me

1. Favourite time of the year? Change of seasons. Up here we only really have two seasons, The Wet and The Dry. The lead up to both is very exciting but for greatly different reasons. I am not sure I could pick one of the other. They both seem to invigorate my soul equally.
   
2. Favourite festive movie? Hmmmmm... movies and I are not really friends. I don't have any real favourite movies full stop, let alone a festive one. Does Love Actually count as a festive movie? Anything that has old Hugh in it has pretty much got my undivided attention.
   
3. What is your passion? Writing. Oh and the girls.
   
4. Favourite colour? There was a time when I was obsessed with yellow. I had a yellow couch, sheets, kettle, toaster, teapot.  I loved yellow. As did the someone special I was in love with at the time. When the love dried up I stopped having a favourite colour. Since then I have never been able to commit to a new favourite colour. I did however manage to find a new favourite love and someone special so that is all that really matters.
   
5. Favourite time of the day? Writing time. Failing that bedtime, particularly if it involves children going straight to sleep.
   
6. Favourite flower? Hmmmm... Am I the only one that doesn't really have a favourite flower? If someone is going to the trouble of giving me flowers I am not overly concerned what flower it is. Beggars can't be choosers and all that.
   
7. Favourite non-alcoholic beverage? Totally the most boring answer in the world but by far the answer is water. When you are as constantly as hot and sweaty as you are when you live in the tropics, water really is your bestest of best friends. Or at least it is for me.
   
8. Favourite physical activity? I have two. They both are three lettered words. One is run and the other, well you can work that out I reckon.
   
9. Favourite vacation? Going to DPCON13 in March. Oh, hang on that one hasn't happened yet but I sure am looking forward to it. I guess my next pick is our road trip to Cairns

I know I am glad to be at the end of that list. Talking and thinking about me is not always top of my list of things to do you know.

I know that coming up with ten bloggers who haven't already received this lovely award is not exactly easy. That is of course not to say that I can't think of lots of inspiring and positive bloggers, because I can. It is just once again I am late to the party and everyone I know seems to have this little beauty already.

I know that all the bloggers I am about to mention are awesome. In fact they are more than awesome and I genuinely find them an inspirational. All for very different reasons.

I know that you should totally go and check out the following Sunshine Award recipients

The Mother Experiment

At the Bottom of the Garden

Slightly More Depth Than a Teaspoon

Family of Killers

Always Josefa

My Big Nutshell

The Surprise Beginning

Mummy's Undeserved Blessings

BlunderMum

Bachelormum Style

I know that I have no expectation for any of them to write a post about this. In case you didn't know, Christmas is just around the corner and everyone is flatter than flat out. I just wanted to let you (and them) know how wonderful they are.

I know that I am super glad I can officially say that the school holidays have started. We are not going anywhere or doing anything unusually exciting, just hanging at home with those we love, in a totally relaxed and chilled out kind of way. Bliss I tell you.

What is it that you know?

 Head on over and join on in.

What's that you want to flog?

Go here

So much to say and so little time to write

It feels like forever since I was last here.

Though really it was only a few days ago since I last posted about the things I know about dentists. There are few things that I would like to add to that list now that I think about it some more. Or rather as I have been healing from my wounds.

I will add it to the ever growing list of things I want to write about it. It is nice to know that I have so many thoughts to chose from should I ever be graced with the time to idly write.

Of course it is also incredibly frustrating that I never seem to be able to find that elusive time.

But I digress.

Back to my few days absence from blogging that feels near on an eternity. Mind you those few days have been jam packed with all kinds of actions and emotions. Both in terms of my own little corner of the world and the world at large.

My head is just bursting with all that has come with the announcement of a royal baby. Something that should have been nothing but a joyous occasion forever tainted by society at large ridiculous behaviour. This also added the the ever growing list I mentioned above.

There is no denying that the festive season is well and truly underway here. Whether or not I, or any one else for that matter, is actually ready for it however is another question altogether.

Between pre Christmas dinners, catch ups and get togethers, not to mention all that the final days of the school year entails, this rather shy social butterfly feels like she is flitting from event to event barely stopping to smell the flowers let alone taste the pollen. Every thing is just go, go, go.

Which as with most in life comes with both good and bad.

It is good in the way I don't have a chance to stop and think about all that needs to be done. Bad in the way that there is so much to be done and so many people to see. For the most part I am just doing. There are only three more days of school left. Three days that apparently can not be missed because they have the talent show, awards ceremony and year six final assembly in them.

After that I am sure things will slow a little.

You know before the rush of Christmas really starts.

Sigh.

I can't really believe that my baby, who is really eleven and not at all a baby, will soon have completed her primary school education. Where oh where did those years go? This too is on my never ending list. I get slight heart palpitations when I think that next year I will have a middle school student in the house

For now though it is Tuesday and I am blogging 

with all the cool kids that make

the coolest linky around.

Things I Know About Dentists

Source

For weeks now I have been battling some tooth issues. I had hoped that the power of positive thinking was going to wish it all away. Sadly though that was not the case.

Apparently that is not the way to deal with infections inside your gum though. Neither is chewing through pain killers like they are candy, though that does at least mask the symptoms so it is easier to ignore said problem.

According to my lovely dentist (no seriously he really was quite lovely and incredibly gentle all things considered) the only way to rid oneself of a gum infection is via medical intervention. (Who would have thought huh?)

Deep down I did know what he said to be true. Which was kinda why I was sitting in his chair in the first place. What I don't know  however is why it took me so long to get to the chair.

It is not that I am scared of the dentist or even fearful in anyway, I just don't like going. Mind you apart from one crazy lady I don't know anyone who actually likes going to the dentist. Which is a shame for dentist really because so far all the ones I have met have been really rather lovely.

On the whole I tend to find going to the dentist a rather draining experience more than anything. Draining in that I use a great deal of mental power convincing myself that all will be well. Perhaps if I went on a more regular basis for check ups and the like rather than only when there were rather severe matters at hand to be dealt with things would be a little difference. Perhaps if I was a multi millionaire I would be able to afford such a luxury?

So in light of Wednesday's experience here is what I know about dentists

 I know that it wasn't nearly as terrible as I was expecting. In both terms of expense and pain.

 I know that the pain after it has been a lot worse than I was expecting. A lot worse. But when I think of all I had done I guess it is not that surprising. Not that I want to share two many details as I find it rather embarrassing, but I do have a few stitches.

 I know it is hard not to worry that there is still some infection left and that is why it is still painful. The dentist assured me though that what he was doing would get rid of all the infection.

 I know that dental equipment has really come forward in leaps and bounds.

Source

I know that it I was super impressed the way the x-rays taken didn't need to be developed as they were automatically transferred to the computer screen.

I know that the fact even I could see there was a problem in the x-ray meant I probably should have made an appointment at least a week ago. 

I know  that I was so incredibly thankful that the dental surgery was able to squeeze me in on the day I finally got the gumption to call and make an appointment. 

I know that even though it still wasn't a cheap exercise, it was a lot cheaper than I expected. I know that having private health insurance is great and I am so glad we somehow find the money to pay it each and every month.

I know having teeth removed feels to me like an integral part of me ripped from my soul. I think that is why I put it off for as long as possible.

I know that I just love joining in with Miss Cinders and Grace to flog all that I know

Reindeer Handprint T-shirts

Now I know yesterday when I shared my cute flower headbands I said that today would be about bunting or over the top hair clips, well guess what, since then I came across something even cooler that I just couldn't wait to share.

Today on let's get crafty special that is this week I give to you Reindeer Handprint T-shirts.

And of course they are totally easy to do.

What you will need

Fabric paints and markers
T-shirt
Cardboard
Child to supply handprints (though adults hand would of course work it is just nice to include the kids :)

What you will need to do

Being the visual kind of person that I am, Jess drew a picture to help with the planning.

Take the cardboard and place it inside the shirt. That way the paint won't seep through to the other side.
Paint child's hand and place down on the shirt. Repeat with the other hand.

The hands will form the reindeer antlers. It works a little better if you have the base of the hands tilted in towards a little more than what I have shown here.

Next paint the face. As you can see from the drawing the head is a triangle with round corners, if that makes sense.

As you can see the painting of the face is very serious business.

Using some black paint add some eyes and nose. Unless of course you want your reindeer to be Rudolf and then you should use red for the nose. And there, ladies and gentlemen is one quick and easy hand print reindeer.

Add your own personalisation to the bottom of the shirt.

Prior to washing the shirt you will need to iron the picture with a clean piece of paper over it so that the paint sets.

And if reindeers aren't your thing then you could always try your hand at a Christmas tree

What's more if you don't want to use a t-shirt the kids could make the pictures on paper instead. They would make lovely wall hangings for the festive season.

Make sure you    and share with your friends

Cute Flower Headbands

Hello and welcome to day two of Rhianna Gets Crafty. Yesterday was all about the button bracelet and today is all about cute flower headbands.

Once again they are quick and simple and highly effective. 


Tomorrow I am not sure whether to share some easy bunting or these lovely over the top hair clips.
The girls wore them to carols by candlelight the other night. Well at least they were wearing them at the start of the night.
Some how one may have ended up on my head at one point.

As Christmas quickly approaches I have the overwhelming desire to make stuff.  And with the school holidays only days away I need to find stuff to do with the kids, so it is all a win win really. Especially when you take into account my desire to blog my way to stardom. Leaving you the really winner because you get the low down on some simple things to make and do.

After all what is a mummy blogger without a bit of craft now and then?

Mind you, just between you me and the fence post, my craft skills are somewhat lacking at times. I always seem to have dreams of grandure that are hard to fulfil. Thankfully though I am slowly discovering activities that are not only within my capabilities but also the girls. So let's get back to today's material flower headbands.
My desire to know how to make material flowers has been unfulfilled for a very long time. When I found out just how easy they were at a recent Spotlight in store demonstration I couldn't wait to get home and give it a go.

All you need are
Five circles of material.

These ones are about 8cm in diameter. It is hard to say really as we didn't measure them. Miss Eleven just traced around the inside of one of my bangles.

Clever thing that she is!

Fold a circle in half and with a needle and thread sew along the round edge of your now semi circle. Just do a loose running stitch a couple of mm long. When you get to the end pull the thread tight so that the edge pulls together. Then do the same with the next circle just adding it to your existing thread.
After the fifth petal is attached do a few little stitches into the first petal to secure it all in place. Now all you need to do is add a button to the center.

I initially sewed the button in place because I had no other alternative. However I have since come into possession of a hot glue gun.

Oh me oh my!

How I ever survived without one before I do not know. If you really don't want to fork out the $20 or so for a gun and 50 glue sticks so be it. Sew your button on, it is possible, a little tricky to ensure it is securely fastened but certainly doable. If however you are a little flush with cash and it is burning a hole in your pocket go and get one of these little beauties. I foresee much use of it in my future.

Back to the headbands though.

Once the button is on you need to attach your flower to your head band. Depending on the look you want the possibilities are almost endless.

You could measure out a piece of braided elastic as I did in the picture at the top of the page. It was prior to my glue gun ownership so I just sewed them on the elastic. As you can see I made three flowers and popped them in a row.

Alternatively you could get a pre purchased headband like this


And attach the flower to it. Made oh so easy with a glue gun and a strip of material. Attach the flower to the material and then the material to the headband.


And there you have it. A lovely new original headband.

Feel free to this to your favorite board and share with all your friends.

Joining in with Jess and the gang for #IBOT. 

Share the comment love

Quick and Easy Button Bracelets

As Christmas fast approaches I tend to avoid the shops like the plague. I love that Christmas is a time for giving gifts but where ever possible I like to give gifts that have a more personal and homemade touch than what can just be found at the shops.

For years my homemade and personal touch was a photo in a decorated frame. Some years I tried to scrapbook a page to put in a decorated frame. It wasn't long before people seemed to tire of it though and I had to look for new ideas. Which have ranged from cushion covers and coasters to plants and handmade pottery. Some of which have worked, others not so much.

One of the things I am loving this year, especially for the girls to gift to their friends at school is these button bracelets. I first saw these months ago and while I thought I had bookmarked the page, I hadn't. So using only my limited memory I got out some buttons and thick elastic and gave it a go.

The results spoke for themselves and before I knew it I had button bracelets for everyone. The first few that I made used big buttons and literally took all of fifteen minutes to make. Though with hindsight I should have spent a bit more time really securing the buttons on as the girls did manage to loosen the odd one here and there.

The next batch were a bit more adventurous and a lot more time consuming. Since they were actually going to be presents for some newly turned seven year olds though I thought it worth the extra effort

With these ones I used all sorts of different sized purple buttons. I secured them to the elastic with some rather lovely (and very strong) metallic thread that I purchased a few years ago when I tried to use it to crochet necklaces. Total failure that was. In terms of holding these buttons in place though, perfect. Mind you any old thread would do the trick as well.

So here is what you need to do.

• Grab some 20mm braided elastic and a heap of buttons. Well 10-40 depending on size of buttons and length of elastic.
• Measure the elastic to go around the wrist of the recipient. Mind you I guessed for the girls and went with about 15cm which gave me about 1.5cm over hang at the ends.
• With your needle and thread secure the two ends to form a ring.
• Begin sewing buttons on to elastic, ensuring they are secured tightly. I sewed mine very, very close together, with one button actually being under the other. Which created a nice layered effect.
• Keep adding buttons till you are back at the start and the elastic can no longer be seen.

Easy as huh?

Not only do these make great gifts, but they are a lovely activity to do with the kids during the holidays as well.

Only don't be like me and forget to bookmark this awesome page.

Make sure you

Oh and just in case you are after some more great quick and easy ideas check back tomorrow for some gorgeous material flowers that go great guns as headbands!

Instagram Weekly

Another week over, a new one set to begin. What better way to look at the week that was than through the eyes of Instagram?

       

A stripey selfie on Sunday, clouds floating by, Jam Drops thanks to awesome recipe over at Saturday Morning Orge Mum and the lights waiting patiently to be wrapped around my humble home

Getting ready for Christmas. After ten years of a rather lovely fibre optic tree we went for a change this year with purple. I love it to say the least.

More Christmas treasures waiting to go up. I needed to pull them out a week early so that it wouldn't all be rushed on the first.

  

           

Getting my craft on with material flowers and bows. There will eventually be a post on these little babies I just need to fine tune a few things. Dishes, dishes and more dishes, it truly is a never ending battle. Miss Six lost a tooth, the fairy forgot to come, a letter was written. Whoops. More crafty flowers, this time as a headband.

More clouds, though not nearly as exciting as recent weeks, possibly due to my photo taking abilities or lack there of. Oh well. Me all ready to party at the #fybfxmas party. Just between you and me the whole cracking good Christmas comment that I posted with it really cracked me up! More flowers, bows and gorgeous jam drops. Man have I got those things sorted now.

Buttons, buttons, buttons! Saturday saw me getting crafty yet again. This time it was making button bracelets. Again a post will be written so stay tuned.

   

The button bracelets were presents for twins that had invited Miss Six to their party. The bracelets were not only a hit but also held the wrapping paper on the bubble bath saving me from using sticky tape. I felt so environmentally friendly. Me after a run. Actually after a shower after a run. In the mirror I looked a lot redder. Beautiful lights hanging in my garage. And last but not least, me trying to be all arty with my photos. I was going to save it for next week but I needed it to even out the photos for this post.

Don't forget to

Joining in with Tina and the gang