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!