I have moved my blog to the following address -
http://lifeattheoldbailey.wordpress.com/
This blog will no longer be updated.
I hope to see you all at my new blog - Life@theoldbailey
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Printable Dramas
Have you ever created a printable? I have - oh ok! I've tried to create printables. I can do ok in Publisher with a plain background and some pretty fonts - but that is about as far as I get. No-where near as purdy as those gorgeously designed printables you can find on just about any blog, Facebook and of course, Pinterest.
I am yearning to set my creativity free, I'm searching for the program that will work for me and my needs. I feel like I've tried them all, but in reality I haven't. I've had a play with Picaso, a squiz at Creative Kit, I fiddled around with Picmonkey and I've downloaded Photoshop 10. I haven't gotten anywhere yet.
I'm looking for suggestions on what programs I could use. What works for you? What didn't work for you? What have you found to be the easiest to work with? The hardest?
I'm oozing creative juices here people!
I am yearning to set my creativity free, I'm searching for the program that will work for me and my needs. I feel like I've tried them all, but in reality I haven't. I've had a play with Picaso, a squiz at Creative Kit, I fiddled around with Picmonkey and I've downloaded Photoshop 10. I haven't gotten anywhere yet.
I'm looking for suggestions on what programs I could use. What works for you? What didn't work for you? What have you found to be the easiest to work with? The hardest?
I'm oozing creative juices here people!
Monday, September 17, 2012
Children, sulking & only child-ness...
Yesterday Master R. was asked to write a birthday present list so that the rest of the family know what he would like for his 8th birthday. I did say that he didn't need to do the list right this minute but he got his pencil and his sheet of paper and set about writing his list.
Master R. got about 5 items in and then started sulking. You know the look, shoulders slouched, staring unhappily at the task, sulky look on face. So I asked him what was wrong - apparently nothing was wrong. Well, if nothing is wrong, why are you sulking? *shrugging shoulders here*
I never did find out what was wrong, but I ended up telling him to put the list (that he had proceeded to cut up) in the bin, get a new sheet of paper and stick it on the fridge. I thought the list would help him keep track of all those things that he comes up to me really excited about, and then forgets a week later.
Obviously I've gone wrong somewhere along the line, we had a list for Christmas last year and it worked pretty well. At least, we didn't get any of the sulking I'm getting now. Perhaps my timing is off, since it is the last week of a fairly long school term (11 weeks!) and he is tired - those horrible blue/black lines appear under his eyes from about midday and he is sulkier than usual. I can only hope that he will pick up after a weekend of horsey fun and then a week of having to do nothing strenuous then his chores.
Speaking of chores, I'm considering making up a chore chart for young Master R. Over the last couple of weeks he has started enquiring as to "why do I have to feed the chickens?", "why do I have to feed the cats and the dog their biccies?" "why do I have to turn the sprinklers off?". My answers have always been the same... "why do I have to go to work?" lol.
He wasn't to impressed with that reply, so I broadened my explanation. I have to go to work, I do the P&C minutes, I do the cooking and cleaning, washing/drying/folding/putting away, the holiday planning, the home improvement planning, the garden planning, the heavy work, the hard work, the grown up work. He has to clean his room, vacuum & mop his floors, strip his bed and help make it, put his clothes away when they've been folded. He also has to do the chores mentioned above, as well as assist with some of the other things around the house like picking fallen palm fronds up and putting them on the bonfire.
I got the look after that explanation. The look that says he doesn't agree with me, that he would rather watch tv and eat junk food all day, but because he can't come up with a better argument he will leave the status quo. I figure that's progress, at least I didn't get the sulky look again!
Do you have a chore chart for your littlies? How do you find it works? I'm worried that it would look pretty lonely with only Master R's name on this big sheet of paper, but unfortunately that's one of the downsides to being an only child. Another downside to being an only child is having no one else around his age to play with right this minute. You know the times when you say "right, go outside and play" and he walks around with that look on his face like... what can I do? Ok, I exagerate a little. He has his trampoline, his bike, his skateboard & ripstick, his horse, his lego, his books, his pencils/pens/cardboard/paper. Sometimes I think he lacks ideas on what to do, because when he hits on an idea he's off doing 'child stuff'.
I was lucky as a child, I had my amazingly awesome younger brother who put up with so much from me. I also had my horse, and since I was a horse mad girl that was often enough, I could spend hours just brushing and plaiting my horse's mane. Master R. likes horses, loves his mare, but isn't horse mad enough for hours of grooming to be enough occupation.
I live in hope though, he has come from wanting a pony, to not wanting to ride horses/be around horses/have anything to do with horses at all to wanting to ride, to handling them of his own accord. One day that horse mad gene might kick in and he'll be trying to sleep with Bella in the horse yards like I did many years ago with my Nicnac.
Master R. is home from school today, he slept in until 9.45am which is a prodigious feat from him, 8am is usually the absolute latest you can coax from him! This long term is taking its toll on his concentration, several times he has started a sentence when speaking to me only to forget what he was going to say! 4 more days of school left and then he can sleep in as much as he likes, except that he won't want to sleep in! I can't win lol.
Master R. got about 5 items in and then started sulking. You know the look, shoulders slouched, staring unhappily at the task, sulky look on face. So I asked him what was wrong - apparently nothing was wrong. Well, if nothing is wrong, why are you sulking? *shrugging shoulders here*
I never did find out what was wrong, but I ended up telling him to put the list (that he had proceeded to cut up) in the bin, get a new sheet of paper and stick it on the fridge. I thought the list would help him keep track of all those things that he comes up to me really excited about, and then forgets a week later.
Obviously I've gone wrong somewhere along the line, we had a list for Christmas last year and it worked pretty well. At least, we didn't get any of the sulking I'm getting now. Perhaps my timing is off, since it is the last week of a fairly long school term (11 weeks!) and he is tired - those horrible blue/black lines appear under his eyes from about midday and he is sulkier than usual. I can only hope that he will pick up after a weekend of horsey fun and then a week of having to do nothing strenuous then his chores.
Speaking of chores, I'm considering making up a chore chart for young Master R. Over the last couple of weeks he has started enquiring as to "why do I have to feed the chickens?", "why do I have to feed the cats and the dog their biccies?" "why do I have to turn the sprinklers off?". My answers have always been the same... "why do I have to go to work?" lol.
He wasn't to impressed with that reply, so I broadened my explanation. I have to go to work, I do the P&C minutes, I do the cooking and cleaning, washing/drying/folding/putting away, the holiday planning, the home improvement planning, the garden planning, the heavy work, the hard work, the grown up work. He has to clean his room, vacuum & mop his floors, strip his bed and help make it, put his clothes away when they've been folded. He also has to do the chores mentioned above, as well as assist with some of the other things around the house like picking fallen palm fronds up and putting them on the bonfire.
I got the look after that explanation. The look that says he doesn't agree with me, that he would rather watch tv and eat junk food all day, but because he can't come up with a better argument he will leave the status quo. I figure that's progress, at least I didn't get the sulky look again!
Do you have a chore chart for your littlies? How do you find it works? I'm worried that it would look pretty lonely with only Master R's name on this big sheet of paper, but unfortunately that's one of the downsides to being an only child. Another downside to being an only child is having no one else around his age to play with right this minute. You know the times when you say "right, go outside and play" and he walks around with that look on his face like... what can I do? Ok, I exagerate a little. He has his trampoline, his bike, his skateboard & ripstick, his horse, his lego, his books, his pencils/pens/cardboard/paper. Sometimes I think he lacks ideas on what to do, because when he hits on an idea he's off doing 'child stuff'.
I was lucky as a child, I had my amazingly awesome younger brother who put up with so much from me. I also had my horse, and since I was a horse mad girl that was often enough, I could spend hours just brushing and plaiting my horse's mane. Master R. likes horses, loves his mare, but isn't horse mad enough for hours of grooming to be enough occupation.
I live in hope though, he has come from wanting a pony, to not wanting to ride horses/be around horses/have anything to do with horses at all to wanting to ride, to handling them of his own accord. One day that horse mad gene might kick in and he'll be trying to sleep with Bella in the horse yards like I did many years ago with my Nicnac.
Master R. is home from school today, he slept in until 9.45am which is a prodigious feat from him, 8am is usually the absolute latest you can coax from him! This long term is taking its toll on his concentration, several times he has started a sentence when speaking to me only to forget what he was going to say! 4 more days of school left and then he can sleep in as much as he likes, except that he won't want to sleep in! I can't win lol.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
This afternoons escapades...
← Spot the cat...
Did you spot my adorable floppy cat Gremlin? →
He helps me with the laundry, follows me out to the clothesline to hang the washing out, follows me back in and has a cat-nap until I fold the laundry and then tries to help!
This afternoon I got a wriggle on and prepared dessert early. Dessert is either an after dinner after-thought or piece of toast or an apple in our house lately. Master R's eyes popped out of his head when he realised I was making my favourite Self Saucing Chocolate Pudding today. I have included the recipe below for those who are interested. I started with this Taste recipe, but since we were out of butter I substituted 3 tablespoons of margarine (without melting it) and I doubled the water for the sauce because we like more sauce (ok, we ♥ more sauce!)
Ingredients...
1 cup S/R flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 egg
3 tablespoons margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup milk
Sauce ingredients...
2 1/2 cups boiling water
1 firmly packed cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
Method...Sift flour, cocoa powder and sugar into mixing bowl. Add egg, milk, vanilla and margarine. Mix well with electric beater until thoroughly combined. Pour mixture into a lightly greased glass oven proof baking dish. Set aside after smoothing the surface.
Lightly sprinkle the remaining cocoa and brown sugar over the surface, then gently pour the boiling water over the mixture. Pour the hot water onto the mixture over the back of a spoon to stop the boiling water from messing up the mixture.
I covered the dish then with a double layer of alfoil and put in the oven on the middle rack at 150°C (fan-forced). I baked the pudding for 40 minutes, checked it and then lowered the heat to 100°C for another 10 minutes. 
This is how it turned out. As you can see, the sauce is nice and thick after standing for about 10 minutes to cool. The cake is soft and very fluffy, it just melts in your mouth. As a side note, this is how my under sink kitchen cupboard turned out after the 20 Day Challenge. There's not much I can do with it at the moment until I find some containers that will be suitable, but at least I can find things in the cupboard now!
My progress so far...
As you may know, I've been taking part in The Organised Housewife's 20 Days to Organise Your Home Challenge.
Here is a recap of my progress so far:
Day 1 was to clean my kitchen and this is the end result...
Day 2 was a challenge I was looking forward to, clean and tidy the main bedroom *excluding the WIR* which means I got a weeks worth of good sleep. I'm one happy person at the moment!
Day 3's task was a laundry room clean up which has made life so much easier for me, which is evidenced by the fact I managed to wash, dry and pull in 7 loads of washing today!
Day 4 saw me in the lounge room, and it looks pretty amazing if I must say so myself...
Day 5 had me cleaning the floors, which really raises the happy feelings in this household, especially now that we have finished installing our Jarrah laminate flooring.
Now, I got behind task during week two, and have there for spent most of today catching up. Today I cleaned and organised my bathroom, which involved scrubbing the shower floor tiles with a scourer!
I haven't completed Day 7's task of cleaning the fridge or Day 8's task to clean and tidy the spare room but they're on the catch up list. Day 9 was spent on tidying the junk drawer... and organising the calendar. Now that was fun, now that I'm using Google Calendar! I love how it syncs my home Outlook calendar, my work Outlook calendar and my Android phone's calendar. Now I have no excuses for forgetting something!
Day 10 had me cleaning the oven and organising kitchen cupboards.
I must say, I'm really enjoying the tidy house, it feels so much more welcoming and open. I don't have to worry about unexpected visitors and I don't feel stressed first thing every morning, which is obviously a great thing!
Are you following the challenge? How are you going with it? I'd love to hear about your progress so feel free to comment on my post!
Here is a recap of my progress so far:
Day 1 was to clean my kitchen and this is the end result...
Day 3's task was a laundry room clean up which has made life so much easier for me, which is evidenced by the fact I managed to wash, dry and pull in 7 loads of washing today!
Day 4 saw me in the lounge room, and it looks pretty amazing if I must say so myself...
Now, I got behind task during week two, and have there for spent most of today catching up. Today I cleaned and organised my bathroom, which involved scrubbing the shower floor tiles with a scourer!
Day 10 had me cleaning the oven and organising kitchen cupboards.
I must say, I'm really enjoying the tidy house, it feels so much more welcoming and open. I don't have to worry about unexpected visitors and I don't feel stressed first thing every morning, which is obviously a great thing!
Are you following the challenge? How are you going with it? I'd love to hear about your progress so feel free to comment on my post!
Friday, September 14, 2012
Spring is here!
Spring is here! Hooray! Yippee!
This week has seen us tidying up the yard and doing all sorts of general gardening and household stuff. The sort of stuff that you do in Spring.
Our animals are shedding bucketloads of hair which is always lovely - not! There hasn't been a day this week where we haven't walked out the door wear cat or dog hair couture.
I put a down payment on a birthday cake for Master R. today. I'm starting to get really excited about planning this suprise party for him. I also bought a digital watch for him off eBay after we had a big discussion about whether he can read analog clocks easily or whether it would be better to get him a digital watch. I considered the education factor of wearing an analog watch for a 7 year old, but I realised that if he can't read it easily he won't wear it and then it will end up in a box of junk at the bottom of his wardrobe.
Now that the weather has warmed up and we are almost finished giving our trees a much needed hair cut a bonfire will be in order to clean up the massive piles of branches and leaves we have scattered around the place. The winds have finally died down around here over the last couple of days so as soon as the leaves have browned off the bonfires will be lit at dusk and we might even toast some marshmallows - if they survive being in our house that long! We have plenty of good sized logs to keep the fires going for quite a while, and with the school holidays less than a week away it will be a great time for a little Mother/Son bonding time over a softdrink, nibblies and a bonfire.
After the bonfires have died down, the ashes will be scattered over our garden beds under a thick layer of mulch and then we'll look at planting some spring colour the week before my big Tupperware/birthday party.
As you can tell, I'm getting pretty darn excited about my party as well as Master R's, and I've been busy searching for yummy recipes for nibblies and snacks I can make for the party. My guests had better come hungry 'cause there's going to be a tonne of food!
If you have a yummy party recipe, feel free to share it!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
I'm on a mission!
Your mission, if you choose to accept it... is to organise your paperwork into some semblance of order!
I have accepted the challenge and I feel like I'm part-way through this mission. What am I doing? Simple.
I went and bought 5 plastic tubs with click on lids, 6 lever arch binders, 300 sheet protectors and filing tabs. I also bought a freestanding hanging file system which includes 5 hanging files and tabs. You don't have to do this. You can buy one folder or tub at a time and work that way through mount paperwork, or you can use folders/tubs/archive boxes/filing cabinets that you may have in your house.
I've designated my tubs '2011', '2010', '2009', '2008' & 'Up to & Including 2007'. I think that's pretty self explanatory? For those of you who are half asleep, I'll explain. As I sort through mount paperwork, I make little piles of paperwork, according to year level. I don't try to sort the paperwork into categories in those piles because they're only gonna be chucked into the relevant year tub.
Then, when I have finished sorting mount paperwork, I'll put a packet of damp absorber in the tub, maybe an incense stick for scent, chuck the lid on and label the tub with the year. Once labelled and sealed, I'll store the tubs up in the shed. Voila! Archiving!
Meanwhile, I haven't ignored those lever archer binders. They've been labelled with the following -
So far, I have tidied my computer desk, my kitchen table, 4 bookshelves in my other bookcase, 2 archive boxes from my room and assorted miscellaneous documents that were hiding in my favourite handbag.
'What about the freestanding file?' I hear you ask. Well, I have sat it on one end of my kitchen bench (although it may end up being moved to the sewing cabinet due to the close proximity of the kitchen sink) and have so far labelled the files with 'To Be Filed', 'Tupperware' and 'Bills - To Be Paid'. I still have 2 hanging files to use, and they will be labelled when I have a use for them.
These methods seem to be working pretty well for me so far, but as we all know, the real test is how long I stick to this particular system. I'll be sure to keep you updated with how I go! This is an indication of how much junk paperwork I have thrown out, I've already chucked 3 boxes out!
I have accepted the challenge and I feel like I'm part-way through this mission. What am I doing? Simple.
I went and bought 5 plastic tubs with click on lids, 6 lever arch binders, 300 sheet protectors and filing tabs. I also bought a freestanding hanging file system which includes 5 hanging files and tabs. You don't have to do this. You can buy one folder or tub at a time and work that way through mount paperwork, or you can use folders/tubs/archive boxes/filing cabinets that you may have in your house.
I've designated my tubs '2011', '2010', '2009', '2008' & 'Up to & Including 2007'. I think that's pretty self explanatory? For those of you who are half asleep, I'll explain. As I sort through mount paperwork, I make little piles of paperwork, according to year level. I don't try to sort the paperwork into categories in those piles because they're only gonna be chucked into the relevant year tub.
Then, when I have finished sorting mount paperwork, I'll put a packet of damp absorber in the tub, maybe an incense stick for scent, chuck the lid on and label the tub with the year. Once labelled and sealed, I'll store the tubs up in the shed. Voila! Archiving!
Meanwhile, I haven't ignored those lever archer binders. They've been labelled with the following -
- Tax & Super
- Payslips
- Shea - Personal
- Master R. - Personal
- Bills - Paid
- Banking
So far, I have tidied my computer desk, my kitchen table, 4 bookshelves in my other bookcase, 2 archive boxes from my room and assorted miscellaneous documents that were hiding in my favourite handbag.
'What about the freestanding file?' I hear you ask. Well, I have sat it on one end of my kitchen bench (although it may end up being moved to the sewing cabinet due to the close proximity of the kitchen sink) and have so far labelled the files with 'To Be Filed', 'Tupperware' and 'Bills - To Be Paid'. I still have 2 hanging files to use, and they will be labelled when I have a use for them.
These methods seem to be working pretty well for me so far, but as we all know, the real test is how long I stick to this particular system. I'll be sure to keep you updated with how I go! This is an indication of how much junk paperwork I have thrown out, I've already chucked 3 boxes out!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Gearing up for October
The end of September and October will be a busy month for our house.
School holidays start on the 21st September for most Queensland public schools, which means I'm off work for 2 weeks (one of the joys of working for Education) but also means that I need to keep Master R. occupied over the fortnight. I can see that he'll be waking me up early every day asking to play the PS3 or the Wii!
Our first weekend on holidays will see us loading the two horses into a friend's horse float and heading to her house for a weekend Confidence Clinic. We are looking forward to spending time with our horsey friends, who we don't see as often as we would like, since I sold our horse float to help fund the kitchen renovation. Although I'm not lacking too much confidence handling and riding our mares, it certainly won't hurt me to get yelled at for my crappy riding position and will help me to lead and handle my mare, Flicka, better when she tries my authority. Since Reinhard has only just started to confidently ride his mare, Bella, off the lead-line at walk and trot, with the occasional canter, the Confidence Clinic should really help him to feel more in control when handling the old darl'.
Luckily the local swimming pool opens tomorrow afternoon after being closed over winter. This means long, lazy days in the sun enjoying the sunshine. The warmer weather also means that our vegetable garden is going crazy, we have corn, beetroot, tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, lettuce, onion and various edible flowers sprouting all of the place. Our biggest issue is keeping the various chickens locked away in their coop, there is one hen in particular who is an expert escape artist and she keeps scratching up the seedlings, soil and mulch in our garden beds. Our vegie garden is fenced off, but she just flies over the top.
While we're still in the garden, we spent last Saturday giving one of our Tamarind trees a severe haircut, and also cut back several other trees and bushes that were in desperate need. The job isn't finished, we still have several dozen Captain Cook's to go (they're a declared pest) as well as several hedging plants that were never tamed into a hedge and have gotten out of control. All of these haircuts are in preparation for the upcoming storm season, and also for my upcoming Tupperware/27th birthday party on the 6th October.
I'm getting pretty excited about the party and have finally started using Microsoft OneNote to keep track of my party planning and all the lists of party games, food ideas and guest list. I haven't used OneNote a lot in the past although my Boss (at school) uses it religiously for his note-taking, meetings and general day-to-day stuff.
The Tupperware party will also be my debut into the world of being a Tupperware demonstrator. I'm looking forward to learning how to be a great demonstrator, and the incentives are pretty darn cool, especially for a chick like me who has a new kitchen to kit out!
My Tupperware/27th Birthday party aren't the only celebrations in October though. School holidays wrap up for us on the 8th October and I'll be back to working 5 days a week instead of my current 3. Then Master R. has his Suprise Birthday Tropical Pool Party on the 20th October. As I'm sure you can imagine, I'm having a lot of fun planning his Suprise party, and whats even better is that he hasn't the slightest clue that there is a birthday party on his horizon! This is because I told him at his last birthday party (his 5th) that he would only have a birthday party every 5 years.
'Every 5 years!' I hear you exclaim - yep, every 5 years. I'm breaking with routine here, but he has been so good and done so well at school and at life in general that I thought a suprise party might be appropriate for him. He was so proud of himself today, and so he should be since he got 4 A's and 1 B on his latest school assignment. I'm pretty darn proud of the kidlet too, in case you can't tell.
On top of all these celebrations, the school is going back to swimming lessons, with 3 a week for the first couple of weeks due to a swimming carnival in week 4!
How are October and the rest of September looking for you and your family? I hope you are looking forward to the next couple of months as much as I am!
Finally, here are some snaps of my nice clean house as part of the 20 Day Challenge. As you can see from the pics, there is still work to do -
School holidays start on the 21st September for most Queensland public schools, which means I'm off work for 2 weeks (one of the joys of working for Education) but also means that I need to keep Master R. occupied over the fortnight. I can see that he'll be waking me up early every day asking to play the PS3 or the Wii!
Our first weekend on holidays will see us loading the two horses into a friend's horse float and heading to her house for a weekend Confidence Clinic. We are looking forward to spending time with our horsey friends, who we don't see as often as we would like, since I sold our horse float to help fund the kitchen renovation. Although I'm not lacking too much confidence handling and riding our mares, it certainly won't hurt me to get yelled at for my crappy riding position and will help me to lead and handle my mare, Flicka, better when she tries my authority. Since Reinhard has only just started to confidently ride his mare, Bella, off the lead-line at walk and trot, with the occasional canter, the Confidence Clinic should really help him to feel more in control when handling the old darl'.
Luckily the local swimming pool opens tomorrow afternoon after being closed over winter. This means long, lazy days in the sun enjoying the sunshine. The warmer weather also means that our vegetable garden is going crazy, we have corn, beetroot, tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, lettuce, onion and various edible flowers sprouting all of the place. Our biggest issue is keeping the various chickens locked away in their coop, there is one hen in particular who is an expert escape artist and she keeps scratching up the seedlings, soil and mulch in our garden beds. Our vegie garden is fenced off, but she just flies over the top.
While we're still in the garden, we spent last Saturday giving one of our Tamarind trees a severe haircut, and also cut back several other trees and bushes that were in desperate need. The job isn't finished, we still have several dozen Captain Cook's to go (they're a declared pest) as well as several hedging plants that were never tamed into a hedge and have gotten out of control. All of these haircuts are in preparation for the upcoming storm season, and also for my upcoming Tupperware/27th birthday party on the 6th October.
I'm getting pretty excited about the party and have finally started using Microsoft OneNote to keep track of my party planning and all the lists of party games, food ideas and guest list. I haven't used OneNote a lot in the past although my Boss (at school) uses it religiously for his note-taking, meetings and general day-to-day stuff.
The Tupperware party will also be my debut into the world of being a Tupperware demonstrator. I'm looking forward to learning how to be a great demonstrator, and the incentives are pretty darn cool, especially for a chick like me who has a new kitchen to kit out!
My Tupperware/27th Birthday party aren't the only celebrations in October though. School holidays wrap up for us on the 8th October and I'll be back to working 5 days a week instead of my current 3. Then Master R. has his Suprise Birthday Tropical Pool Party on the 20th October. As I'm sure you can imagine, I'm having a lot of fun planning his Suprise party, and whats even better is that he hasn't the slightest clue that there is a birthday party on his horizon! This is because I told him at his last birthday party (his 5th) that he would only have a birthday party every 5 years.
'Every 5 years!' I hear you exclaim - yep, every 5 years. I'm breaking with routine here, but he has been so good and done so well at school and at life in general that I thought a suprise party might be appropriate for him. He was so proud of himself today, and so he should be since he got 4 A's and 1 B on his latest school assignment. I'm pretty darn proud of the kidlet too, in case you can't tell.
On top of all these celebrations, the school is going back to swimming lessons, with 3 a week for the first couple of weeks due to a swimming carnival in week 4!
How are October and the rest of September looking for you and your family? I hope you are looking forward to the next couple of months as much as I am!
Finally, here are some snaps of my nice clean house as part of the 20 Day Challenge. As you can see from the pics, there is still work to do -
- tidy bookshelves
- clean windows
- install kitchen floorboards
- sand walls
- paint walls and lounge room roof
Monday, September 10, 2012
Very lucky chick
Last Thursday night (ok - super early Friday morning) I was laying in bed trying to sleep, when I heard this 'cheep cheeeep cheep cheeep' coming from somewhere in my bedroom.
Of course, I climbed out of my waterbed and turned the light on, only to find this -
Luckily it was caught by the youngest cat in the house (Gremlin) and he had only carried it inside and was watching it 'cheep' on the floor of my bedroom. It was uninjured as far as I could tell so I picked him up and put him in a box with hot water bottles and stuck him under a lamp to keep him warm.
TBH, I didn't expect the adorable little critter to survive the rest of the night, since in my experience birds don't tolerate shock real well. I figured that if he survived I'd drop him into the vet in Townsville since I was heading that way later during the day. At the time we were thinking that chick was a baby kookaburra or kingfisher.
Off to bed I toddled again, and Master R. and I were pleasantly suprised that the baby bird was still alive and still 'cheep cheeeep cheeping' in the morning. I refilled his hot water bottle, took the above happy snaps and loaded him and his box into the car. I then enjoyed his little 'cheep cheeps' for the hour and a half drive to Townsville after dropping Master R. at school.
When I took him into the veterinarian's, the ladies on staff cooed and aahed over the poor little mite. They took him off my hands and put him onto a heat pad - that was the last I saw of him. The vet nurse that I gave him over to told me that he was most likely a Curlew, like this. Looks like we have these beautiful birds nesting in the area around our house, since Gremlin doesn't usually travel to far from home.
Of course, I climbed out of my waterbed and turned the light on, only to find this -
TBH, I didn't expect the adorable little critter to survive the rest of the night, since in my experience birds don't tolerate shock real well. I figured that if he survived I'd drop him into the vet in Townsville since I was heading that way later during the day. At the time we were thinking that chick was a baby kookaburra or kingfisher.
Off to bed I toddled again, and Master R. and I were pleasantly suprised that the baby bird was still alive and still 'cheep cheeeep cheeping' in the morning. I refilled his hot water bottle, took the above happy snaps and loaded him and his box into the car. I then enjoyed his little 'cheep cheeps' for the hour and a half drive to Townsville after dropping Master R. at school.
When I took him into the veterinarian's, the ladies on staff cooed and aahed over the poor little mite. They took him off my hands and put him onto a heat pad - that was the last I saw of him. The vet nurse that I gave him over to told me that he was most likely a Curlew, like this. Looks like we have these beautiful birds nesting in the area around our house, since Gremlin doesn't usually travel to far from home.
Life - and death
How many of you wonder about those annoying life insurance and funeral plan insurance adverts on tv? I get sick of being bombarded by ad's that take up my valuable viewing time, and I really wonder whether the ad's are effective or not.
How many of you have actually bought insurance from a tv advert? I know I haven't. When I have bought insurance of any kind, I thoroughly researched what I was after and then got quotes from various different companies.
I have insurance for the following things -
The only insurance that I'm considering at the moment is funeral insurance. I guess that being bombarded with all those funeral plan advertisements on tv are having some effect after all!
I investigated one day, and found out the following...
If I were to get insurance for a funeral plan at my current age (27) for $143.28 a year for a benefit of $8000 and I kept the insurance until I passed away in say, 30 years I would pay a total of $4298.40 over the 30 year period. This of course, doesn't take into account the increase in premiums as I age.
I just can't wrap my head around spending that kind of money over that time frame, when if I put that money in savings, it could a) be used for other things and b) be used for my funeral if I passed away. Of course, I might have to supplement the $143.28 to make up the $8000 I was quoted on.
Of course, having funeral cover would really help out if I passed away in the first couple of years of holding the insurance. I'm really going to have to give the whole funeral insurance thing a whole lot more thought.
Remember - I'm not giving advice relating to your circumstances, I'm simply discussing my thoughts on the funeral plan idea. Please seek advice that is appropriate for your circumstances and financial situation.
How many of you have actually bought insurance from a tv advert? I know I haven't. When I have bought insurance of any kind, I thoroughly researched what I was after and then got quotes from various different companies.
I have insurance for the following things -
- contents (I rent)
- car
- cat
- dog
- life insurance (with both my Superannuation fund and with a different company)
The only insurance that I'm considering at the moment is funeral insurance. I guess that being bombarded with all those funeral plan advertisements on tv are having some effect after all!
I investigated one day, and found out the following...
If I were to get insurance for a funeral plan at my current age (27) for $143.28 a year for a benefit of $8000 and I kept the insurance until I passed away in say, 30 years I would pay a total of $4298.40 over the 30 year period. This of course, doesn't take into account the increase in premiums as I age.
I just can't wrap my head around spending that kind of money over that time frame, when if I put that money in savings, it could a) be used for other things and b) be used for my funeral if I passed away. Of course, I might have to supplement the $143.28 to make up the $8000 I was quoted on.
Of course, having funeral cover would really help out if I passed away in the first couple of years of holding the insurance. I'm really going to have to give the whole funeral insurance thing a whole lot more thought.
Remember - I'm not giving advice relating to your circumstances, I'm simply discussing my thoughts on the funeral plan idea. Please seek advice that is appropriate for your circumstances and financial situation.
A 'sort of' beginning...
Wow - my first post in my first real blog. I say 'real' blog because I started a blog back in '09 for a Uni course, but never actually finished the course so didn't continue with the '09 blog.
This is a new start, which will be my first real adventure into the world of blogging. Come and join me for the journey, I'm sure it will be interesting to say the least.
Ok, a bit about me now. My name is Shea (as in the Irish O'Shea) and I'm turning 27 this year. I guess that means that I should be mature by now, but some days I'm not so sure I'm not a child in disguise. Speaking of children, I have one. I'm going to call him Master R. in this blog and he turns 8 this year.
For those of you who have done the math, that means I had Master R. when I was 19 for less than a month. Exciting times - sort of. I was never interested in having children, I wasn't a motherly girl, so Master R. was a bit of a suprise, but he has definitely grown on me! Couldn't imagine life without him these days.
So now you know there's Master R. and I. Nope, there isn't a man on the scene, hasn't been one for quite some time but we're not going further into that side of things, except to say that, 'hey! I'm single and while I don't love it every day, I do love it most days'.
We live on an acre block of *mostly* weeds in a rural mining town in North Queensland, Australia. We share our space with 4 roosters (I know! 4!), 7 hens, 1 border collie, 4 cats and 2 horses out in the paddocks, which are also mostly weeds.
I'm hoping to blog about our lives living in this beautiful part of the world, our adventures and mis-adventures with home renovations and decorating, and also with our kitchen experiments. Oh, I can't forget that the blog will also help me to record Master R's ups and downs, the crazy antics of our various critters and my ups and downs - of course!
At this very moment, I'm sitting here watching the news and enjoying a cold drink after installing some new flooring in Master R's bedroom. I'm a little miffed at myself, back in June I ordered a whole heap of flooring from Bunnings (enough to do Master R's room, the lounge, dining and the new kitchen area - or so we thought) and after installing what we had and realising we didn't have enough, I went back for more - only to find that Bunnings no longer stocked that particular colour.
So, since the section of unfinished floor was in the lounge area, we pulled some up from Master R's finished room and laid the lounge area. This of course left Master R's room incomplete, so I decided to buy the same brand of flooring but in a different colour. At least now he has a completed floor once again!
I'm also on a bit of a home organisation phase at the moment. I tend to let things go until the mountains of clutter and miscellaneous items start falling over, or I can't find a school note that was supposed to be handed in last Tuesday. I have decided to follow along with The Organised Housewife's 20 Day Challenge (Day 1) because Kat is so organised and has really come through for all those clutter-sick women (and men!) out there. She has cute printables and gives you a daily task list that is super simple for busy working Mums to finish.
I'm going fairly well with the challenge, I have completed the days 1-5 and have to get my butt into gear and finish today's challenge which is cleaning the bathroom... eeek! Feel free to let me know how you are going with the challenge, I'd love to hear from you!
This is a new start, which will be my first real adventure into the world of blogging. Come and join me for the journey, I'm sure it will be interesting to say the least.
Ok, a bit about me now. My name is Shea (as in the Irish O'Shea) and I'm turning 27 this year. I guess that means that I should be mature by now, but some days I'm not so sure I'm not a child in disguise. Speaking of children, I have one. I'm going to call him Master R. in this blog and he turns 8 this year.
For those of you who have done the math, that means I had Master R. when I was 19 for less than a month. Exciting times - sort of. I was never interested in having children, I wasn't a motherly girl, so Master R. was a bit of a suprise, but he has definitely grown on me! Couldn't imagine life without him these days.
So now you know there's Master R. and I. Nope, there isn't a man on the scene, hasn't been one for quite some time but we're not going further into that side of things, except to say that, 'hey! I'm single and while I don't love it every day, I do love it most days'.
We live on an acre block of *mostly* weeds in a rural mining town in North Queensland, Australia. We share our space with 4 roosters (I know! 4!), 7 hens, 1 border collie, 4 cats and 2 horses out in the paddocks, which are also mostly weeds.
I'm hoping to blog about our lives living in this beautiful part of the world, our adventures and mis-adventures with home renovations and decorating, and also with our kitchen experiments. Oh, I can't forget that the blog will also help me to record Master R's ups and downs, the crazy antics of our various critters and my ups and downs - of course!
At this very moment, I'm sitting here watching the news and enjoying a cold drink after installing some new flooring in Master R's bedroom. I'm a little miffed at myself, back in June I ordered a whole heap of flooring from Bunnings (enough to do Master R's room, the lounge, dining and the new kitchen area - or so we thought) and after installing what we had and realising we didn't have enough, I went back for more - only to find that Bunnings no longer stocked that particular colour.
So, since the section of unfinished floor was in the lounge area, we pulled some up from Master R's finished room and laid the lounge area. This of course left Master R's room incomplete, so I decided to buy the same brand of flooring but in a different colour. At least now he has a completed floor once again!
I'm also on a bit of a home organisation phase at the moment. I tend to let things go until the mountains of clutter and miscellaneous items start falling over, or I can't find a school note that was supposed to be handed in last Tuesday. I have decided to follow along with The Organised Housewife's 20 Day Challenge (Day 1) because Kat is so organised and has really come through for all those clutter-sick women (and men!) out there. She has cute printables and gives you a daily task list that is super simple for busy working Mums to finish.
I'm going fairly well with the challenge, I have completed the days 1-5 and have to get my butt into gear and finish today's challenge which is cleaning the bathroom... eeek! Feel free to let me know how you are going with the challenge, I'd love to hear from you!
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