A blog giveaway!!

And it's not mine!! Although in my haste to get an extra entry in the draw by linking it to my blog I did manage to spill and entire (large) cup of apple juice all over my desk, assignment notes and keyboard - crap crap crap.

Anyway . . . lol

Cathy from Cherry Blossom (and my friend from nappycino.com.au) is holding a giveaway on her blog The Barbarian Hoarde Go and check it out and post a comment to be in the draw :D

Can I just say, I know I'm not on here much but I somehow doubt that in between my last visit and today that I have had an additional 10 000 visitors lol Spambot anyone??

Okay back to try and salvage my assignment notes now :(

When the husband is away . . .

I will play!!

Shan has gone away on a houseboat for a couple of nights, so I don't have to be quite so concerned about keeping the house clean which in turn means SEWING TIME!!!! It has been quite a while since I have been able to have some creative time and from 7pm onwards I am back to assignment writing, but I have had a pretty productive day.

I whipped up a quick shirt for Em first thing (no pics of it yet) and then cut up an ill fated attempt of a dress for myself and used this tute to make a pretty summer dress for Em. If I were to make it again I'd make both the bodice and skirt a little longer, but I am fairly happy with it :) I could not get the crazy chicken to stand still, so I got a crazy dance photo!! LOL

I also found a tute on one of my fave blogs Blueprints for a cute little toddler bag. My girls are always walking around with backpacks full of goodies going to the shops/school/on a treasure hunt and I thought that these would make cute gifts for some of my neices so I rummaged through some of my bits and pieces and found a pillow case and an old pair of jeans I could donate to the cause and made one up to see how easy it would be. I don't have a need for one in those colours, so I'm putting it up on madeit.com.au.


I find I have so many ideas but I never get around to them because I spend any free time I have thinking of even more ideas or procrastinating!!! Today has been so great because there is no pressure to be cleaned up by a certain time and I have achieved so much !! I LOVE SEWING!!!

Who you callin' Dummy???

I have a hard time making clothes for me that actually fit. Lets just say my 1920's Ese Jane Dressmaker's Dummy has never had children!! So what is a girl to do?? Make a lifesize version of herself of course!! So by following this tute and purchasing gummed paper tape from here I enlisted the help of my sister and we got to it.

In all it took about 3hrs, but we also had to include about half an hour extra after I passed out. Oops! (Note to anyone trying this, you don't have to remain perfectly still, make sure you move your arms and legs as much as possible or you too will come crashing down and bust open your hard work!!)

In the early pics you'll also see that I did originally have little capped sleeves to see where my shoulder actually sits, but the pain got too much after not moving them that we had to cut them off VERY quickly!! But I think this will be fine.
I must say, it is very confronting to see yourself in 3D for the first time. All those little (or not so little now that you can see them properly!) things that you thought "That looks alright" don't neccessarily look alright!! Although my sister didn't see anything out of the ordinary, obviously, because that is how I actually look!! My brother in law kept telling me "stop playing with your tits!" and " Would you like some alone time??" because once it was off I couldn't stop looking at it and playing with it to try and get it smooth.

It now lives over my ese jane and is currently wearing one of my bras, which strangely enough, it fills out perfectly!! Now off to spotlight for some grown up fabric . . . :D

I got a job!

I went for an interview today and they offered me the job :D Nothing major, but very suitable for me. It is in a bakery which sells preservative free, some organic and some gluten free. They are very excited to have someone studying naturopathy and nutrition join them and I hope that I live up to their expectations.

The best bit is that it is on a casual basis and fits in nicely around Nn's work, mainly on weekends and Thursday nights, so when the kindy eventually opens in early next year, the time the girls are there I can actually study!! I have my first training next Monday :) Very excited :D :D :D

Flowergirls' dresses

Just thought i'd update and put up the pics of Em 'practicing' in her flowergirls dress (ie; me making sure that the sockings wouldn't show through the open back, that the jacket was the right size over the dress etc) I am so stoked with how they turned out :)

Deleted Post

Thanks to those who responded, I have now deleted that post . . .

Change to Diet: 3 week round up

Well the 3 week challenge is up. To be honest I find it hard to tell if the things that have changed are due to the diet change or the seasons, or the ages of the kids . . . or a combo of all three!!

Positive health/health related results:

* Z's rash on her face has cleared away and most of mine have gone, besides the contact dermatitis on my hands
* Emily is now (mostly) sleeping in her own bed all night and also not needing to get up to go to the toilet during the night
* Z has slept through a couple of times
* I haven't noticed my tinnitus nearly as much as normal
* Pre Menstral Symptoms non existant (normally I am ripping heads off in the few days before my period arrived, but it snuck up on me this month!!)

Things Unchanged:

* Sinuses are still stuffed (including with my lactose free trial week)
* One migraine (that absolutely knocked me for six) and a few headaches
* Foggy head (but more often when tired)
* Lack of concentration/motivation - trying to study but just can't get into I like I used to

Regardless of whether it was food related or not, there are some permanent changes that I am going to be making.

As often as practical artificial colours will be out. There is no need for them and alternatives are available. It does no alter the taste of the food in any way so is unneccessary in my book. That said, if there are lollies at a party, I wont say no to the girls eating a couple(but will likely provide a naturally coloured option as well).

I will be ruling out as many preservatives as possible, mainly done by making food from scratch. I was dissapointed that the one type of wine I drink is preserved with 220. We found some on the shelf wich didn't have 220, but it stated that it were preserved with sulphates - same thing different name! Since I drink so rarely, I am going to allow that to slip through. I now have frozen squeezed lemon juice in the freezer so I won't use the preserved stuff again.

MSG and other Glutamates (flavour enhancers, yeast extract) are gone from my house. I have found a few pre-mix jars that do not have any for easy meals and have a stockpile of, well, stock in my freezer so I don't have to rely on the store bought variety. I am missing vegemite though :( And having a hard time finding a suitable BBQ sauce. Anyone have any ideas??

Naughty things that will be making their way back are pork products (nitrates), Coke (yes I know I deserve a slap on the wrist for that one) and 'flavour' although I will be looking for natural flavours over random unknowns.

I am disappointed that my sinuses showed no improvement to be honest. It is my one health issue that bothers me the most and since I am still breastfeeding I can't take my previous medication for it - quite frankly though I am sick of NEEDING medication for it!! I guess it is something I need to keep exploring to find my solution!

Other things I have been up to!

Goodness! Three posts in one day!

We are still waiting for our no-dig garden to be delivered (grr) after 7 weeks when it should have been a 3-4 week delivery time . . . apparently they will call us today . . . I won't hold my breath! They were quick enough to take our money though . . . hmmm

But I do have a whole heap of seedlings ready to go in though!! The only thing that hasn't sprouted is my ox heart tomatoes. I might try thm direct in the garden when it is up.

I have also been doing some other sewing with the hopes of earning a little play money. I haven't sold anything yet, but I am using up my quite large stash of material, so I'm not outlaying anything to give it a go.

You can find my stuff at madeit.com.au

Other things I have been up to: Wedding Sewing

I have promised a couple of times to update this with other things I have been doing, but have been a bit slack - sorry!!

Namely, I have been sewing!! With BIL and SILs wedding in 4 weeks, I was put in charge of making the flower girls dresses. The first attempts was HORRIBLE and is here forth known as the potato sack dress. It was FAR too wide and didn't sit right at all.
So that one was out (might fit her as a swing top when she is 12?? lol) so on we went. A blog I follow (and adore) has a corset dress tute. I have made a top from it before for Ashlyn's 5th Birthday but hadn't done a dress. I managed to score some cathedral satin on clearance from Spotlight and whipped up a practice one. I used an existing top as guidance for the top and a circle skirt for the bottom. We have a winner!!! After showing the bride-to-be she was hooked too, so we now have 2 of those dresses in red with ivory straps that I made up on the weekend.

Now to my gripe (I'm sure you knew there was one coming!!) The wedding is in 4 weeks. I have met the other flower girl once (not a big deal) and have asked for her measurements for the past 3 weeks! I was sent through some measurements and I had to ask for some others. I called sent her a message saying I need these measurements today (Saturday) or I might not have time to do the dresses . . . it got to 6pm and I still hadn't heard from her, so I messaged again and they were about to be going out to her Dad's place (where the other flower girl lives) which was an hour away. I asked if she could please just call ahead and get the measurements because I really needed them. Heard nothing and she was not answering her phone. It got to 8pm and I had still heard nothing! So I called again and apparently she was just about to call me. I asked for the little girls height . . . they gave me shoulder to floor, waist to 'just below the knee', no back measurements or anything else and she had since gone out - GRR!! So I have pretty much winged it! At lease with the back being lace up it is adjustable. I have made it about 3cm longer than what I think it should be, because it is easy to make it shorter - but longer - not likely!!!

I'll leave you with one final image . . . me telling Em it was time to take the dress off. . . not a happy camper!!

Change to Diet: Week 2 review

There have been a few slip ups this week. I discovered that the lemon juice that I had in the fridge has preservatives 211 and 223 plus flavour . . . after I used it to make cupcakes(on Friday), I've been drinking coke again :( and on Friday night I had some bacon in my (home made)fried rice. I have remained snuffly all week, Z's rashed on her face have flared up again and on Saturday night I had a horrible migraine, complete from being blinded to throwing up - lucky me. other things that may bave contributed to my migraine was that I was ovulating (hromones?) adn very tired after only 4hrs sleep the night before.

This week I am going to try going lactose free to see if that changes my sinuses.

This is a list of somethings I have been eating (brands included) that have none of the excluded ingredients:

Sauces and Condiments:

Masterfoods or Rosella Tomato Sauces
Woolworths select Mayo 97% fat free
Heinz Capsicum and Chilli Sauce
Trident Sweet Chilli

Spreads:

Woolworths Homebrand Peanut Butter
Woolworths homebrand Nut Spread (their Nuttella)
Woolworths Select Strawberry Jam
Honey
Golden Syrup
YLC Dairy Blend

Biscuits etc:

Arnotts Milk Arrowroot
Arnotts Saladas
Quite a few of the red rock deli chips

Jars/packet Mixes:

Woolworths Home Brand Taco Mix
Chicken Tonight Lite butter Chicken
Maggi Cottage Pie Packet

Maccas: (needed to find something I could eat while out - still waiting to hear back from subway about the ingredients in their products)
Chicken Nuggets
Ketchup
Garden Salad
Apple Slices
Water (obviously!)
Nudie Drinks

So that is a few things that I found I just had to change brands to still be able to eat the same foods :)

Failed

Yet again I have failed . . . had 2 cokes today . . . I guess everyone has to have a vice?? At least it's baddie is 'flavour' rather than colours or preservatives.

Not having a good day today :(

Change to Diet: First week review

One week down, two to go!!

I don't know if this is helping, but I am determined to see out the 3 weeks. Most probably I have a cold which is what is making me feel a bit yuk this morning but geez I could go a coke right now . . .

The rash on my eye has cleared up, but now my fingers are covered. but I think that is from now wearing gloves when washing up a few days ago. I haven't had a migraine this week, which is good, but I certainly am not breathing any better :( At the end of these three weeks, if my sinuses are not any better I might try Lactose free for a week or two and see where that gets me.

Emily has had some ups and downs this week. She had her first sleep through in a VERY long time - a whole night in her bed!! It was great! Although Z has been waking once or twice a night and feeding for about an hour at a time!! ARGH!! So still very little sleep going on. At about 5am this morning Em found her way into our bed again though . . .

We have had numerous meltdowns from Em this week, one of the biggest being because I couldn't get her some water from the magic fountain in the Barbie 12 Dancing Princesses movie. Yep, that will do it - over an hour of screaming . . . nice. Also simple things like not being in the same room as her when a song came on to dance to would set her off. Time out has been used MANY times this week, mainly for hitting :( Both Z and I have copped it from Em this week :( At times she can be a little angel, but at others . . .

I am learning very quickly not to assume things. For instance we had a BBQ at my Dad's place yesterday for a combined birthday get together (mine and my SIL to be Laura) We took Plain Doritos and Spicy Bean Salsa dip, Natural Confectionary Fruity Chews and a pack of Australian Gold International cheeses. After getting into the cheeses, I had another look at the packet and while some of the cheeses were preservative free, others were not :( Also, according to the book Friendly Food, potato flour and arrowroot are amongst the foods listed as okay, and many of the recipes call for them. But when I got them home both had preservatives :( I also seem to be missing the word "flavour" when I am reading labels, but out of everything it is probably the best to miss!

Shan is not impressed with my change of eating habits. I have tried to explain that the trial is only temporary and that I am doing it to try and get to the bottom of my ongoing list of problems, but he just isn't listening. I think he thinks I am doing it to be difficult. I made a cake to take to the BBQ because someone was just going to pick one up at woolies on the way and I didn't want the girls to miss out. He spent most of the trip there cranky at me (even though I made it while he was still asleep so didn't affect him at all) and then made fun of me and said that my cakes taste like crap in front of everyone . . . happy birthday to me.

I also got NOTHING from my siblings, not even a card. We normally do a card and scratchy for birthdays and I just feel like no-one could even bother to do anything for mine even though I have never missed one. It was Laura's 21st and we all got her a gift voucher and she gave everyone else a hug except me and Shan . . .

Anyway, I will try and post later a bit of a more upbeat post about other things I have gotten up to this week, but right now I am feeling kind of invisible.

Change to diet: Day 4

Great day life wise, BAD day food wise . .. oops!! But hey, it was my bithday, and if Nn decides to surprise me with a Cheesecake Shop white chocolate mudcake (drool) I'm hardly going to blow out the candles and then not have any . . . and if he has already made a booking for Hogs Breath Cafe, I'm not going to turn that down either (he also bought me 2 bottles of wine preserved with 220 - but I haven't opened them yet!)

I was spoilt rotton for my birthday. Cake, flowers, subscription to Organic Gardener Magazine and an IOU on a bracelet that he wants to buy me on the weekend - PLUS a $100 dinner at Hogs Breath - good ness me! Add this to the Twilight Harcover Boxset which came with a $40 bookshop gift voucher 'the girls' got me for Mother's Day and he has set the standards pretty darn high for Father's Day and his birthday. I haven't given (nor been asked for) any hints either!!

Okay, so the damage for yesterday was:

Ricebubbles and A2 milk for breakfast, Natural cupcakes for morning tea, steak and salad sandwich on baker's delight bread for lunch (with Masterfoods tomato sauce), a crunchie (which I did look at the label but didn't notice 'flavours' listed) for afternoon tea (first oops of the day), Cheesecake shop white chocolate mudcake (whcih I found out after calling them today contains 'flavour', preservative 220, Antixidants 320, 319, also 322 and 307 but they are not on my list to avoid. I imagine that the writing on the icing would also have artificial colours). I did only have a tiny slice (and so did the girls) but there is more in the fridge . . .

As I have already said, we went to Hogs Breath Cafe for dinner - YUM!!! I am waiting for an email back about what is actually in their food, but we shared a jug of orange juice, a finger food combo and I had a Hickory Sauce Steak with vegies and fries.

This morning I woke up sluggish - food related or just tired after being up with Z twice last night?? I have a slight headache, sinus-y and feel foggy headed. Em has been screaming a lot for no reason again today too - not a fan.

All I can do is get back to it today and go from there :)

Change to diet: Day 3

It has occured to me that although I write Day 3, in reality I am talking about day 2, but meh! I'm sure you can all handle that okay lol

Well yesterday I can certainly say I did not go hungry lol

Rice bubbles with A2 milk for breakfast, homemade hamburgers (organic mince) on baker's delight country grain rolls with heinz capsicum and chilli sauce and woolies homebrand light chips (as in hot ones) with masterfoods tomato sauce for lunch, cupcakes made my a beautiful girlfriend of mine with natural sprinkles and strawberries and creamy chicken pasta from here made with homemade pasta made with the pasta machine that said gf brought me as a pressie for my birthday (which is today!). I also drank 3 glasses of magic cordial with sparkling mineral water and a couple of glasses of plain water to boot.

No headache last night, but my rashes are flaring up a bit (the one on my eyelid is driving me nuts!!) and Z has one on the side of her face which has flared up again and she has scratched it until it bled :( Since she is still breastfed, maybe something that I had been eating was going through my milk and affecting her too??

Hopefully this eating change will benefit my girls too!

Change to Diet: Day 2

I have to confess, anytime I start on a new way of eating (be it weight watchers before my wedding and post babies, or just this) I find that I eat very poorly in the first couple of days because it all seems too hard. I KNOW I have suitable food in the house, but the whole thinking aout it gets to me.

So in this theme, yesterday I ate:

4 Arnotts Milk Arrowroot biscuits
1/2 a pack of Woolworths light potato chips (less than 10% fat, but also less than 10% taste! YUK - The girls ate most of them!)
2 x toad in a hole
2 small glasses of 'Magic Cordial' from the book Fed Up mixed with sparkling mineral water
1 small glass A2 milk
and Potato and Leek soup for dinner (made with homemade chicken stock I did over the weekend) with 2 slices baker's Delight Country Grain Bread (yum!)

Not the best start to the week and I must make an effort to try harder and eat more regularly and not just graze during the day.

I also had a shocking headache last night, which could be from lack of caffine and/or sugar (remember I have dropped from a 2-3 can of soft drink a day habit + juice to none!) or even just lack of fluids in general.

Off to see what day 2 has in store!!

Change to diet: Day 1

Starting today I am eliminating all artificial colours, flavours and preservatives from my diet. I was looking at going completely Failsafe (see here)but thought that I'll start with this as a baby step and see if it makes a difference.

The reason I am doing this is that I am never really 'healthy'. I suffer from excema, dermatitis, tinnitis, mood swings, migraines, constant rhinitis and sinus problems (to the degree where I have had surgery which helped a bit but not enough!) and gyno problems as well. I am hoping that by changing what I eat I might be able to feeling good not just okay.

I am going to trial this for 3 weeks, if there is no difference then I'll move onto the very strict elimination diet outlined on that website and through Sue Dengate's book "Fed Up" and I will record my journey on here. :)

So what am I cutting out?? A LOT!!

Colours:
102 tartrazine
104 quinoline yellow
107 yellow 2g
110 sunset yellow
122 azorubine, carmoisine
123 amaranth
124 ponceau, brilliant scarlett
127 erythrozine
128 red 2g
129 allure red
132 indigotine, indigo carmine
133 brilliant blue
142 green s, food green, acid brilliant green
151 brilliant black
155 brown, chocolate brown
160b annato, bixin, norbixin (a natural colour that causes reactions in some people_

Preservatives:
200-203 Sorbic Acid, all sorbates
210-219 benzoic acid, all benzoates
220-228 sulphur dioxide, all sulphites, bi sulphites, metabisulphates
249-283 all nitrates and nitrites
280-283 propionic acid, all propionates

Synthetic Antioxidants:
310-312 all gallates
319-321 TBHQ, BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene)

Flavour Enhancers:
620-625 glutamic acid and all glutamates, MSG (monosodium glutamate)
627 disodium guanylate
631 disodium inosinate
635 ribonuleotides
Yeast Extract, HVP, HPP

Flavours:
Anything listed as just "flavour" because who knows what they are!!

also, 951 aspartame, not included in the list in the book but something I personally won't consume.

All those things put in foods to make it look better, taste better or last longer . . . what about eating just good quality, fresh ingredients?? I tell you what, since reading labels carefully I know that there is a lot snuck into everyday products - I must be consuming a LOT of this junk! YUK!

And what does any person about to embark on a major diet change do the night before?? Eat EVERYTHING they aren't meant to . . . STUPID!! So I have started today feeling rather worse for wear!

I think drinks will be my big downfall. I have been building up my home cooking but I normally drink far too much coke and some fanta, which are now both out . . . you never know I might lose some weight out of this too!!

Wish me luck!!

Getting ready to garden

For convenience and to allow me to get something done NOW rather than in six months time, we have ordered a no dig garden. One of those ones made out of a cut down water tank - 2.2m x .9m. It should be arriving here in the next few days and I am REALLY excited!!! I am finally going to have a REAL garden to plant things in, not just pots!! WOOT!!!

In preparation, I have just spent the morning planting seeds so we'll hopefully have something to plant in it when it arrives (and after we get around to filling it and then letting it sit for a week or so!) I have planted 72 punnets with about 1/3 of those destined for my sister who is also getting one delivered.

Today I have planted:

8 x Green Migeonette Lettuce
4 x Rocket (Bec)
4 x Snow Pes (Bec)
8 x Greenfeast Pea
4 x Cucumber
8 x Rainbow Silverbeet (4 for Bec)
8 x Winter Giant Spinach (4 for Bec)
4 x Green Sprouting Broccoli (2 for Bec)
2 x Capsicum
3 x Black Russian Tomato (1 for Bec)
6 x Ox Heart Tomato (3 for Bec)
3 Cherry Tomato (1 for Bec)
2 x Coriander
4 x Calendula
4 x Black Beauty Zucchini (2 for Bec)

I really hope that they grow well!!! I have a few other things that I'll plant around these while they are still growing - quick growing things that will be gone long before these are matured! I also plan on putting in onions and garlic when the bed is here, so I dont have to move them around. I do have carrot seeds, but not sure if they are worth the space!! I'll figure that out a bit later I think!!

We ended up having to postpone Emily's party afterall because the birthday girl was sick herself!! But we ended up having it the following week and she had a blast!! There were a few family dramas with SIL bringing her brand new baby (wub!!) but she still hadn't told her Dad (who was also there) that she was even pregnant!! Everyone was civil but the fallout is still being felt now. I just don't get some people!!!

Mixed bag - birthdays and swine flu

I can't believe that my beautiful girl is going to be 3 on Sunday!! It have been a very full on 3 years and Emily is growing into a real little person more and more every day!

We have had to postpone her birthday party which was supposed to be tomorrow because we are all sick :( Last thing we want is to pass our germs around to all our closest friends and family lol Fairly sure it is just the garden variety cold but Em did have a fever last nigh so we are keeping an eye on things.

GMIL will be able to come now too because she wasn't going to b off quarantine for this Saturday. Yep she was on the cruise that had swine flu on board!! After havong to go to the hospital for further testing (only a cold!) she is now back at home on quarantine until Monday.

I'm in two minds about this whole swine flu thing. In one way, it freaks me out, but in another isn't it just another strain of flu?? The 'normal' flu kills up to 3000 Australians every year . . . yes that is a horrible statistic, but people don't freak out hugely about it?? I have also read that swine flu has a much higher contamination rate, which I guess is cause for concern in itself.

But what degree do you take it to?? I know that prior to postponing Em's party because WE are all sick, we were excluding anyone who had first or secondhand contact with GMIL just to be safe . . . but MIL continued working (what else could she do) and I guess things like this are going on all over the country. For example, the schools that are being closed because of one student with swine flu . . . all those children are kept on home quarantine, but what about their families that are still working, and then their co-workers . . . 6 degrees of separation and all that???

One figure I read said that 'experts' are predicting 1 in 5 will have swine flu this season!!! 1 in 5!! In that case do you just go on business as usual?? Or crack out the antibacterial hand sanitiser (which I have mixed feelings about)? Or hibernate all winter, never leaving the house unless absolutely neccessary??

One thing is for sure, I can see the Brisbane Ekka being a flop this year!

Blog Giveaway

Yay - my first blog giveaway!!

As mentioned here I was the very lucky recipient of a whole stack of Grassroots and Earth Garden magazines. Upon going through them and adding them to the few that I already had, I have discovered a few double ups, so I want to pass them on to someone who reads my blog :)

The magazines on offer are:

Grass Roots #170 (Aug - Sept 2005) - Ex Library Edition
Grass Roots #168 (Jun - Jul 2005)
Earth Garden #81 (Sept - Nov 1992)

Simply place a comment in my blog under this post and they are all yours :D

Hooray for sewing mojo!!

What is the best thing for getting your sewing mojo back?? Moving near your sister who only just been bitten by the sewing bug!!! Although a big chunk of my time was originally spent fixing things (if I never have to replace elastic in another itti I'll be a happy girl!!) but I have also made extra PJ pants and a nice warm fleece jacket for Em :D I used a sz 4 pattern but it was still quite short (and the arms were HUGE) I plan on making it again with a few modifications. It is See and Sew pattern # 3947
The pattern called for a 30cm separating zip, but the smallest I could find was 40cm so I used buttons instead.
I'll use a zipper on the next one.

Family news

We are in for a doozy of a year this year!! We have recently found out that my BIL and SIL (Clive and Tellie) are expecting their 3rd baby at the end of the year. Their ID twin girls Jessica and Arabella will be turning 2 5 days after Tellie is due. Congratulations guys and I wish you the very best for an healthy and uneventful 6 and a bit months :D

We have also been let in on a little secret that I will share here since none of my ILs know this blog exists . . . BIL Kyle and his girlfriend, Ashleigh, are getting married!! They have it planned for the end of July when Ashleigh will be 7 months pregnant but they haven't told pretty much anybody yet. Kyle has asked Nn to be his best man, so we are in the loop . . . boy there are going to be fireworks when MIL finds out. One day she'll realise that he is a big boy now and he has to live his life how HE wants to, not how it will best please her!

So with these latest revelations we now have FOUR babies and TWO weddings before the end of this year!!! Babies due May, August, September and December and wedding in July and November (shame they aren't in the same season so we can save on outfits . . .lol)

I love seeing our family grow *wub*

Freecycle goodness, I am in heaven!!

What does any self respecting simple living greenie do when they move house?? Sign up to their local FreeCycle as soon as possible of course!! :D After off loading our moving boxes and some other bits and pieces we found while unpacking that really shouldn't have wasted space in the truck, I posted a wanted ad for books or magzines on gardening/self sufficiency. I had a response from a lovely lady saying that she had some old mags that I was welcome to.

So off I toddle, hoping that the 25 minute journey wasn't going to be a waste and when I arrive she has 3 green bags FULL of mags and books for me!!

Included was 76 copies of Grass Roots, 32 copies of Earth Garden and 3 books on green living!!! She also included packet of snake beans for me :D I am so thankful to receive this lovely gift and can see myself spending hours ouring over these mags!

The earliest one is a Grass Roots (#27) that was printed in 1981 - before I was even born!

If you haven't already joined your local FreeCycle, give it a go! You never know - somebody's trash might be your treasure!!

I'm baaaaaaaaaack . . .

Okay, I know it has been a while . . . life has a funny knack of getting in the way sometimes! Well we are, for the most part, moved in and settling in nicely. We have been here 3.5 weeks now and today is the first Emily free day I have had, I big change from her going to kindy twice a week!! She is at my MILs today so that I could get the first bit of study done in nearly 6 weeks!! Let me tell you, Anatomy and Physiology is not a good subject to stop for so long . . . I have pretty much had to go back over everything because I had forgotten so much!!

Since it has been so long, I think I'm better off breaking this post up into a couple for ease of reading . . .

We bought a house!!

Woo hoo!! Very excited that we will soon be in our OWN home again!! 18 months renting and having to ask if we want to do anything (resulting in us NOT doing anything lol) and we can now put nails where we want, paint walls, plant gardens - BLISS!!!!

We'll be nice and close to my sister (hi Bec!) and I love the fact that my girls and her girls will grow up together! As well as having long nights of singstar, morgorgage culkin and froggin' it in skippo lol (in human-terms - playing monopoly and skip-bo lol)

Shan will still be travelling to work every day (35 minutes on a good run) and boy doesn't he like to tell me about it *sigh* If you didn't want to move there why did YOU suggest it?? Hmmm??

Trying to figure out what we can do in our backyard. I'm sure someone mentioned that a 13ft trampoline was rediculously large for any backyard besides what we are currently in . . . oh wait . . . that was ME!!!! If we keep the tramp we have, it will take up almost a full third of our backyard!! But it was a present from the jolly man, and of course 8ft is STILL too small . . . hmmm

Also trying to work out in my head how to do the vegie gardens (and there WILL be vegie gardens!!!) The backyard is approx 6m x 12m - so not incredibly big but luckily there are 4 parks within very easy walking distance. I have also been looking at these fruit salad trees as a way to get a good variety of fruit in a small space :) We have a water tank so I will actually be able to water at this place :D

Anyway, my text books are calling to me and since Em is at kindy today I had best make the most of it!!

Take care everybody :D

Bushfires

Like most Aussies, my heart has been breaking watching the news coverage of the bushfires ravaging Victoria as we speak. At last count, 108 people have lost their lives, nearly 1000 houses destroyed, entire towns basically wiped off the map. Everytime I read another news report I get goosebumps.

Changes and a new start in 2009 . . .

What a month or two!! Good things, bad things, surprising things all rolled into a very short period of time!!

DH and I hit a very bad patch and effectively hit rock bottom. It was either sort it out or move on :( After a lot of talking and figuring out where we are in life and where we actually want to be, we have decided to sort it out :) Things have been much better since (although there have been a few blow ups along the way) and I do really hope that things continue along this road. Fingers crossed. We have both made compromises and one of mine is to lay off him a bit about my "greenie shit" . . . oops.

So that aside, Chritsmas was, well, Christmas. As always we spent FAR too much money, got given gifts that we REALLY have no use for or just don't like, and spent the whole time running around and listening to other people whinge . . . sigh. Christmas Eve at my Dad's was by far my favourite time but was punctuated with Emily throwing up all over Nn while we were opening pressies! Nice.

We spent the week between Christmas and New Year at the Tweed Coast in a cabin which was really no bigger than a small caravan. Lets just say that the experience was . . . interesting . . . and I can't see us doing it again in a hurry. Maybe in something bigger but there really was no room to even turn around, which wasn't great with a 2 1/2 yo going through a defiant stage!! This was also just before our 'rebirth' of our relationship too, so being in such close confines while arguing constantly is never a good idea!!

Some exciting news from me is that 1: I have a new sewing machine . . . WOOT!! :D and 2: I am starting to study this year!! I am freaking out a bit because it has been nearly 10 years since I finished school (my reunion is coming up later this year!) but I am SUPER excited to get my teeth into it!! I am going to be studying an Advanced Diploma in Naturopathy, which also gives me an Advanced Diploma in Western Herbal Medicine and Advanced Diploma in Nutrition at the end of it :D I am doing it externally and have up to 6 years to complete it but hope to have it done in about 3. The plan is to get qualified by the time the girls are in school so that I have a 'real' job to go to, as well as using my brain a little more than "How many nappies do I need for today" or "How can I turn this toilet roll into a snake" lol

Now in surprising news, there are 2 new pregnancies in our (well nn's) family. My Step-brother-in-law and his girfriend are expecting baby #5 (following 4 boys!) and my bil is expecting bub #1 with his girlfriend. So come this time next year, there will be at least 3 new nieces/nephews running (well maybe laying) around!!

This is a huge post so I think I might end it there. Thanks to everyone for their well wishes over this trickytime. Things are looking brighter every day so I think I have made the right decision :)