So, we had an amazing weekend. We wrote in the sand and took some arty style pictures (well in my very unartistic opinion, but they look great when other people do them so I am hoping for the best). We collected shells. The girls got to spend some time with their great-grandparents and I know one day they will look back and realise how precious this time was and how lucky they were to have had it. I got to reflect on how lucky I am to have ex-in-laws who still make me feel so much of the family despite the stupidity of their grand-son for losing me! (hehe ... I am allowed to have a dig sometimes! I am sure this is ok). But this is not the post I am writing today. Hopefully tomorrow when I get the photos off my phone and onto the computer.
Today is a random post. And possibly one with a little too much information. Consider yourself warned!!! You can stop reading now if you want!
Ok ... we drove down late on Friday night. Left home just before 8pm and arrived at 11:30pm. I knew it was going to be a late one so had caffeine loaded all day. Needless to say there were several bathroom breaks on the way down.
At some awful hour(s) of the morning I wake up busting for the toilet. Of course I lay snuggled in bed half asleep hoping the feeling would just go away and I could go back to sleep without having to move. Then a thought hit me. I kid you not, my half asleep brain which is concentrating on willing the full-bladder to just disappear, has the following thought:
"I wonder how many hours of sleep I have wasted lying being half awake not getting up to go to the toilet when if I had have gotten up straight away I would have been back to sleep in no time".
Naturally that is slightly paraphrased. I don't remember the exact words, but that is pretty much it! Seriously?! WHY?! Then the next thought is:
"Oh. That would make a good blog post".
So, I just had to share. Firstly, because I do think it is a legitimate thought, but secondly because you all were my next thought and now you can think about it too. I am nice like that. Although I am a little skeptical in the light of day about how good a blog post it actually is, but I just can't not write it now.
Now I just need to learn balance my desire to not get out of bed with the desire for that extra few hours sleep. And perhaps not drink that much caffeine again.
Showing posts with label life lessons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life lessons. Show all posts
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Bittersweet
It is my birthday tomorrow, but this is not the reason for the slightly melancholy title!
Friday night our budgie died. For those of you who regularly read my waffle, you may remember earlier posts I have done about how the pets are not mine. They belong to the girls (and in the budgie's case, the ex, but that is a whole other story). But I am sad. Actually very sad. Sad for the girls who are truly devastated. Sad for their dad who was away at work and the girls were crying so much it took them an hour to be able to talk to him. Sad for me, because I am really going to miss his chattering. I already do. Grief and mourning for the loss of a loved one is an important part of life and I think losing a pet is an important part of growing and learning, but it does not make it a fun lesson. It also scares me about life events that this lesson might be preparing us for.
Saturday night was a celebration for my birthday. This was the fun part of the weekend! I insist on calling it a gathering. I am always too scared to call it a party in case no-one shows up or if people do and it is boring it will make it a bad party. I just feel that calling it a gathering puts a lot less pressure on me! (Paranoid much?!). And just in case you are concerned, people did show up and I had a fabulous night. I feel very loved and very looked after.
I do have a funny Aimee story to share from the weekend to end on a happy note. I had a Board meeting Saturday morning so one of my friends came to babysit. The girls decided to decorate the house while I was out and just as I was leaving Aimee asked could she decorate the balloons. This bit was no problem. However, she was entirely disgruntled with me because my birthday was not for another few days. Apparently this meant she couldn't write "32" or "32nd Birthday" instead she decorated the balloons with the words "32 on Tuesday". Accurate I suppose!
So this is officially my last post at aged 31. Next time I write I will be older and I am keeping my fingers crossed for wiser. Please note, just my fingers crossed, not holding my breath. I am not that optimistic!
Friday night our budgie died. For those of you who regularly read my waffle, you may remember earlier posts I have done about how the pets are not mine. They belong to the girls (and in the budgie's case, the ex, but that is a whole other story). But I am sad. Actually very sad. Sad for the girls who are truly devastated. Sad for their dad who was away at work and the girls were crying so much it took them an hour to be able to talk to him. Sad for me, because I am really going to miss his chattering. I already do. Grief and mourning for the loss of a loved one is an important part of life and I think losing a pet is an important part of growing and learning, but it does not make it a fun lesson. It also scares me about life events that this lesson might be preparing us for.
Saturday night was a celebration for my birthday. This was the fun part of the weekend! I insist on calling it a gathering. I am always too scared to call it a party in case no-one shows up or if people do and it is boring it will make it a bad party. I just feel that calling it a gathering puts a lot less pressure on me! (Paranoid much?!). And just in case you are concerned, people did show up and I had a fabulous night. I feel very loved and very looked after.
I do have a funny Aimee story to share from the weekend to end on a happy note. I had a Board meeting Saturday morning so one of my friends came to babysit. The girls decided to decorate the house while I was out and just as I was leaving Aimee asked could she decorate the balloons. This bit was no problem. However, she was entirely disgruntled with me because my birthday was not for another few days. Apparently this meant she couldn't write "32" or "32nd Birthday" instead she decorated the balloons with the words "32 on Tuesday". Accurate I suppose!
So this is officially my last post at aged 31. Next time I write I will be older and I am keeping my fingers crossed for wiser. Please note, just my fingers crossed, not holding my breath. I am not that optimistic!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Memories
Some memories don't just happen by chance. Some memories are created. Well, I think they are anyway. You know, the things you did that when you were younger that you want your children to experience. Whether it be a regular Sunday roast at the grandparents' or a favourite book or holiday destination. In my case we will often have a big puzzle which lives on the main table that is an on-going work in progress. I actually don't really like jigsaws. But I love the memories of them being something we did as a family during school holidays or on rainy days. I want my girls to have those same memories of 'family'.
I can't remember if I have mentioned it before, but I grew up (until I was 13 anyway) on a sheep station in the middle(ish) of Australia. As in a 600,000 acre and 20,000 sheep type station (and those numbers are right, I double checked!). This means that a lot of my favourite childhood memories are a little, or in some cases a lot, different from lots of my friends and from my children's.
In the last year or so I have become friends with a farmer who lives about an hour and a half out of Perth. It is so very cool. She invites us out lots and my girls have now got to do some of the things that were such a part of my childhood. Playing in a shearing shed. Picking mulberries straight from the tree. Catching yabbies from a dam. Riding in the back of a ute. You get the idea. Clearly it is not the same, but it is a taste! And it is awesome. The friend has also said in a year or two when they are a bit bigger they can go and stay during part of their school holidays while I am at work and really get to do stuff. Wonderful for me, but such an amazing opportunity for the girls!
We spent the afternoon up there today. We picked mulberries. The girls got to do this last year and they have been dying to be able to do it again. Then we spent two hours cutting bulrushes out of a dam! Knee deep (or in my case waist deep) in water cutting and pulling and carrying. Real farm work! They are learning to earn their keep. I got some serious exercise in today. My friend got to do a job in an afternoon that would have taken her all week. We will all be sleeping very well tonight!
Memories. Hopefully these will be some that my girls will want to re-create for their children one day!
I can't remember if I have mentioned it before, but I grew up (until I was 13 anyway) on a sheep station in the middle(ish) of Australia. As in a 600,000 acre and 20,000 sheep type station (and those numbers are right, I double checked!). This means that a lot of my favourite childhood memories are a little, or in some cases a lot, different from lots of my friends and from my children's.
In the last year or so I have become friends with a farmer who lives about an hour and a half out of Perth. It is so very cool. She invites us out lots and my girls have now got to do some of the things that were such a part of my childhood. Playing in a shearing shed. Picking mulberries straight from the tree. Catching yabbies from a dam. Riding in the back of a ute. You get the idea. Clearly it is not the same, but it is a taste! And it is awesome. The friend has also said in a year or two when they are a bit bigger they can go and stay during part of their school holidays while I am at work and really get to do stuff. Wonderful for me, but such an amazing opportunity for the girls!
We spent the afternoon up there today. We picked mulberries. The girls got to do this last year and they have been dying to be able to do it again. Then we spent two hours cutting bulrushes out of a dam! Knee deep (or in my case waist deep) in water cutting and pulling and carrying. Real farm work! They are learning to earn their keep. I got some serious exercise in today. My friend got to do a job in an afternoon that would have taken her all week. We will all be sleeping very well tonight!
Memories. Hopefully these will be some that my girls will want to re-create for their children one day!
Monday, July 18, 2011
And the clock strikes 11
So for those of you who are wondering why I am still up, the story goes something like this ....
A (planned) late afternoon visit led to a (planned) evening visit to Ikea for dinner and browsing. Ikea is not particularly close to us so we use any excuse to go to that part of the universe to sneak in a visit. We do love Ikea! So we get home latish, but no dinner or anything needs to be cooked (yes again for those of you who read my post from Saturday)
The girls go to bed. I check facebook, play some facebook Scrabble, chat to some people on the phone and on facebook, catch up on some blogs (reading and writing) and do some pottering. I cuddled Aimee when she woke up with a sore tummy and googled some places to get my car fixed. Then suddenly, it is 10:30! Bed you might be thinking except I hadn't exactly finished (you could read this as started) baking the promised cupcakes or boiling the eggs needed for tomorrow's picnic. Or washing a promised jumper either I may add.
And the lessons of distractions don't end here! I have a horrible feeling I put too much milk into the cupcake mix so I am hoping they turn out ok! If not, we will be going cupcakeless tomorrow. At least I tried.
So the moral of the story is: Multi-tasking is great, as long as you remember all the tasks that need doing!
And the final thought(s) (1) be impressed I am a baking again! Second batch today (the first ones were great); (2) how many posts is too many for one day?; and (3) yes we do have a grandfather clock so I really did hear it strike 11!
A (planned) late afternoon visit led to a (planned) evening visit to Ikea for dinner and browsing. Ikea is not particularly close to us so we use any excuse to go to that part of the universe to sneak in a visit. We do love Ikea! So we get home latish, but no dinner or anything needs to be cooked (yes again for those of you who read my post from Saturday)
The girls go to bed. I check facebook, play some facebook Scrabble, chat to some people on the phone and on facebook, catch up on some blogs (reading and writing) and do some pottering. I cuddled Aimee when she woke up with a sore tummy and googled some places to get my car fixed. Then suddenly, it is 10:30! Bed you might be thinking except I hadn't exactly finished (you could read this as started) baking the promised cupcakes or boiling the eggs needed for tomorrow's picnic. Or washing a promised jumper either I may add.
And the lessons of distractions don't end here! I have a horrible feeling I put too much milk into the cupcake mix so I am hoping they turn out ok! If not, we will be going cupcakeless tomorrow. At least I tried.
So the moral of the story is: Multi-tasking is great, as long as you remember all the tasks that need doing!
And the final thought(s) (1) be impressed I am a baking again! Second batch today (the first ones were great); (2) how many posts is too many for one day?; and (3) yes we do have a grandfather clock so I really did hear it strike 11!
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