my week as a disco ball

Andrea at Fox in Flats has done it again... she dared her readers to sparkle from morning to night for seven days straight and like a crazy lady I agreed. Then I realised that I only actually own one top with sequins and only two tops that really sparkly. With an overseas holiday coming up soon (tomorrow!!) there was no chance I could justify buying anything. So I went through my jewellery and then my shoes and phew, it looked like I could do a week of it. So here I am sparkling my little heart out...

It was only day 1 and already I felt like a cheater, the closest I could get to sparkling on my Sunday morning run followed by a cheeky coffee at the most lovely Taylor Blend with my sister was to add an necklace and earrings. It did turn out to be comment worthy. Both my daughter and sister wanted to know what the deal was with the running decorations!

For day 2 I wore a top with silver sparkly thread. I normally only wear this out at night. I had to wear a singlet underneath, it felt a bit too cleavagey for work. But I wasn't so comfortable with the way it looked. I did get a compliment at work though. So thats a win!

I was already feeling stuck and it was only day 3! I added a brooch to my head scarf and popped on my sparkly sandals and was super happy. I suspect that my hair flopped over the brooch, because I didn't get any comments on it, or it just looked crap!

 Out came the big guns on day 4, I bought these earrings about a year ago, and I have only worn them once or twice and only at night. They were just cheapys and I always felt that they looked a bit cheap in daylight! I was definitely not comfortable. But they were certainly showstoppers and everyone at work commented on them. (I'm still not sure that they will get another daylight guernsey)

I wore my only actual sequinned top on day 5. I love this t-shirt, I love the illustration. And the sequins are really quite subtle. I was well within my comfort zone and very happy.

You can't actually tell from this pic, but my top for day 6 has gold thread running through it. I love this top and I added some extra sparkle on my ears and neck, just because I wanted to! This top was also perfect for Fat Mum Slim's March photo a day challenge theme of green. 

I have to admit to being relieved to reach the end of this challenge, for day 7 I was repeating day 3's sandals with some arm sparkles and my favourite love heart necklace. But compared to my daughter I had nothing! 

What I learnt from my week as a human disco ball:

1. I should have thought first before I agreed to this dare
2. But sometimes its fun to be impulsive and let everything sort it's self out.
3. If I could fit into children's size 10 clothes I would have smashed this challenge!

Do you ever jump in with out thinking? What happens when you do? 

PS I'm off on holidays tomorrow, if I can I'll try and post while I'm away, otherwise I'll see you back after Easter xx

happy 10th anniversary to us

It's been ten years since we stood atop Mount Lofty on our wedding day. It doesn't feel like that much time has passed. It was such a beautiful day.

four more sleeps

I am so excited! We are heading off to England and France on Tuesday. I need to get stuck in to the laundry tomorrow so that I can then get stuck into packing.
I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep you updated with some snippets from our journey, if I can just work out how to post from my phone or iPad. If you are reading this post then it worked!
I'm about to press send, so fingers crossed!

day 68-74 (or march photo-a-day day 8-14)

Day 74 - clouds (March day 14) 

I am starting to get very excited. We are about to head off on our first overseas holiday since our honeymoon. My husband has been living in Australia for 40 years, but still does not have an Australian passport, so today I was off to immigration to get his new re-entry visa. At the moment I was fully committed to the task, I heard thunder, and the skies opened and I was completely soaked! Of course it is Mr G's fault. I came out of the immigration office and the rain had stopped and I even saw this little bit of blue sky peeking through the clouds. 

Day 73 - sign (March day 13) 

I love the way Splash Adelaide have decorated Chesser St. I wish that it could stay as a pedestrian street forever. I especially love the tree growing out of the VW.

Day 72 - fork (March day 12) 

Not super-excited about day 12's theme. I can't even think of a story to make up about this one! 

Day 71 - someone I spoke to (March day 11) 

I love it when we get lots of time with my stepson. The fact that he has not made too many appearances in my photo-a-day pics is probably a good indication of how little time he spends hanging out at home. The condition of me using his photo was him choosing which shot I use. He chose the top one, but I really like the bottom one.  

Day 70 - loud (March day 10) 

Normally I sit and drink coffee while my daughter does her Saturday classes. But in a burst of enthusiasm I went for a run instead. I always like a change of scenery and checking out all the different houses and gardens. Normally I run with my sister or my neighbour, and chat non-stop. But I love the change of cranking up the tunes on my jogging playlist and marvelling at my musical mastery. 

Day 69 - red (March day 9) 

Day 9 was a pupil free day, I love Friday pupil free days. I don't normally work on Fridays, so when there is no school on a Friday it is such a massive win! No morning shouting, no making lunch and no rushing. This Friday was particularly good. Miss M had a friend sleep over and the two girls just get along so well. They put in a request for doing craft, so I got the craft supplies out and they let their imaginations loose. And I saw an opportunity for day 9's red theme. A little later I was trying to finish making the plans for our holiday and my computer was having a little moment. To pass the time I took some extra red photos.

Day 68 - window (March day 8) 

I was back in Chesser St again on day 8 and on my may to get my morning coffee. I looked up and thought old windows plus new windows. The sun reflection is luck not good judgement, but I do really like the way it looks!

Hopefully I can work out how to post from my iPad, so I can keep updating you on our trip, I'm still going to keep taking the photo-a-day pics while we are away, so if I can't work it out there may just be an epic post when we get home!

Hope you have been having a fabulous week!

day 61-67 (march photo-a-day day 1-7)

In a burst of enthusiasm, tiredness and overwhelmedness (hmm spell check is telling me overwhelmedness is not a word, but I'm keeping it) and following from yesterday's theme of trying to get my act together and stop being so late and disorganised, I have written myself some little goals, and a bit of a schedule. Lets just say that I almost achieved it tonight. But the part I am achieving is that I am designating Wednesday to be the day I share my Fat Mum Slim March Photo-a-day pics with you. And here I am doing what I said I would. Unfortunately I need to type faster, because I told myself that screens have to go off at 10:00pm. So I have 10 minutes to finish. Eek this could finish up being a PB for typos!!

day 67 (March 7) - Something I wore

I got dressed really quickly this morning. I really wanted to get to school before the bell, but I had slept in a little, so was a bit behind from the start. After my shower a quick scan of my wardrobe saw this hanging, calling out to me and I said yes! It is an absolute favourite of mine. I love the colour and pattern and it does not need ironing or hand washing. It is comfy for cycling in and suits layering in winter.

day 66 (March 6) - 5pm

5pm should have been in the middle of Miss M's basketball game, but I was too distracted and excited to be thinking about photo challenges. Our school team has not won a game all season (the season started in term 4) The kids are so good about it and just keep on trying hard and having fun. But we know that they all really want to get a win (and let's be serious the parents probably want it more!!) So anyway for the first time we scored first and managed to stay in front for the whole game. And actually win!! This is Miss M's last game for this season. This photo is actually 5:20pm in the tree outside the stadium. Because why wouldn't you celebrate a win by climbing a tree?

day 65 (March 5) - a smile

A chilly smile. It was a little cold for swimming lessons, but for me, it was perfect for sitting by the pool watching and chatting to a friend.

day 64 (March 4) - bedside

I have discussed my bedroom before and nothing has changed, I really don't like it and I really need to prioritise a bedroom makeover into our budgeting and planning. In the meantime for the bedside theme, I looked down to my daggy fluffy slippers sitting on the ground. They were a Christmas gag gift. There was a funny story that went with the reason why they were given to me. But I have forgotten it! And as it turned out, I actually quite like these slippers.

day 63 (March 3) - my neighbourhood

We are very lucky to live in the beautiful Adelaide Hills. I love it. Except for the buses, or lack of buses. If you are travelling Monday to Friday during peak hours you are fine. But any other time forget about it. During the day the buses are one and a half to two hours apart and there are no evening or weekend services at all. On the plus side you will quite often spot a koala while you are waiting for the bus, and my husband has even seen kangaroos early in the morning.

day 62 (March 2) - fruit

I get my groceries delivered by the very lovely Banana Blue, a local online supermarket. I like the surprise of ordering a mixed fruit and veg box full of whatever is in season. It's not all local, but that's okay(ish) I do love seeing what we receive and the challenge of making sure that I use everything.

day 61 (March 1) - Up

Super excited that I have kept this going now for two months. I am so excited by the idea of having a photo for every day this year. My girl is sitting up the top of the steps posing for me, slightly annoyed because I made her stop watching TV for 2 minutes while I took this. It's a tough life. 

Although day 1 was kind of tough for her. We were back to the orthodontist and she had braces put on her bottom teeth (she already had them on the top ones). Getting braces on can be kind of uncomfortable, so I let her have the afternoon off school and we have a very fun shopping trip to the (now not so new) Zara at Burnside Village. I am not normally at the shops during the day anymore, and I had the disconcerting realisation, as I looked around at all the mums of babies, toddlers and preschoolers out shopping and having coffees, that I no longer have anything in common with them. My girl is now so completely past that stage, that the feeling of camaraderie, seeing mums juggling with dummies and nappie bags and baby wipes and sticky fingers that I used to experience was completely gone. On the plus side I now LOVE shopping with my daughter. She no longer runs away, she can be relied on to wander in a shop and browse with out wrecking stuff, and she will even give me advice on whether something A. looks good on me and B. is my style!

It's now 10:30, so I am half an hour behind my schedule. But that's not too bad. How is your year going? Have you kept on top of your goals or are they dropping away? What do you do to boost your goals when they start to slow down?

february in pictures

It's been a busy month, and that is for sure! It's already halfway through first term. My goal of punctuality has not been going terribly well. In fact there is a chance that I have actually got worse! I have taken the step of asking my daughter to enforce the same morning rule on me that applies to her. That is, no free choice activities until I am ready. I get too distracted reading my iPad checking what has been happening while I was asleep, and then I leave it too late to make lunch and get in the shower. Next thing I'm freaking out because we are running so late. So if I can get myself ready early, then I can have the privilege of free time. Now I have said it, I have to do it. And hopefully my girl will yell at me if I slip up!!

Back to Chantelle from Fat Mum Slim's February photo-a-day challenge... I have been loving it and I thought I would share some of the things I have discovered:

1. I love that some of my real life friends are playing along. I especially love that my sister and I have connected with the same people on Instagram, just like we do in real life.
2. Sometimes it has made me try something new or make something happen that I have been meaning to do for ages. 
3. It's been pushing me out of my comfort zone.
4. I really enjoy writing and I love the photo as a point of departure for a story.
5. I don't make enough time to proof read and am constantly discovering typos after I push publish!

Are you playing along for March? Let me know if you are so I can check out your interpretation of the challenges.

a most awesome surprise

I received the most awesome surprise a couple of weeks ago when Leese from A Life of Domestic Bliss left a comment on my blog telling me that she had nominated ME for a Leibster Award! A quick google search for the origins of the Leibster award doesn't really shed much light on it. What it does confirm is the most beautiful intent with which the award is given. The idea is that once you have been nominated you share five little known facts about yourself and then pass the honour along to five other blogs with under 200 subscribers that you enjoy reading.

I "met" Leese (or @domblisleese as I know her) through Instagram. I think it was from admiring each others pics in Fat Mum Slim's January photo-a-day challenge. I do remember our point of connection. We were staying at Pt Vincent with my family, my sister and her family and our parents. Leese posted a photo of her two dogs on Instagram. I saw it and couldn't believe that her dogs matched my sister' and my dogs. I showed Leese's pic to the rest of my family and we all thought it was hilarious to find our Bizarro World dogs on Instagram. I then had to post a photo of our dogs to show how similar they are.

I have been loving using Instagram and the other Instagram users I have connected with I thought I would like to share some of the blogs I have found or connected with since meeting their creators on Instagram. I am making some guesses about the size of these blogs readership. So if you are actually bigger than I am guessing, I hope you will be flattered that I thought to put you here, not annoyed that I underestimated your subscribers!

But first, five little known facts about me...

1. I'm allergic to mussels, but I still keep trying to eat them anyway. I got food poisoning from eating mussels about 15 years ago, and I now get sick when ever I eat them. I took me about 4 or 5 goes of getting sick to realize that mussels were the problem. But I still love the flavour and smell of them, so I keep trying them anyway, just in case I've outgrown the allergy!
2. I have a tattoo of a sunflower on my back. I had it done when I lived in Canada and I still love it. Absolutely no regrets.
3. I secretly like watching 'Stoked' and get very distracted from whatever I'm supposed to be doing whenever my girls is watching it.
4. I have a big scar on my leg from falling out a tree when I was 12. I'd been showing off to my sister that I could climb higher than her, so when I fell she just laughed! I'm pretty lucky that the cut on my leg was the only injury.
5. The reason I didn't apply to do visual art or graphic design straight from high school was because I didn't know how to put a portfolio together and was to stupid/shy/insecure to just ask my art teacher what to do! But I don't regret the path I chose. I am still friends with two of the girls I met studying Hotel Management and their friendship is so worth it.

And onto my Leibster Award nominations, five blogs I enjoy reading and who I connected with through Instagram...

1. Tracy from Our Life in Blog Form
2. Anna from Green Tea & Toast
3. Leah from Sang the Bird
4. Amy from the Misadventurous Maker
5. Sarah from Mismatchbox

Click through the link on their names and enjoy a little time in their worlds. I don't have specific individual reasons for liking this group of girls. I just think they are kinda cool and I like their take on life.
Thank you to Leese from A Life of Domestic Bliss for making me so happy by nominating me for a Leibster Award.

Do you have any favourite blogs? Who would you give a shout out to?