Beware of curiosity

Curiosity killed the cat and also totally ballsed up my blog template. Playing with Blogger dynamic views when you're not sure what they do, without first saving the original setup, is plain dumb.

That's what happens when it's a public holiday and I have time to explore and experiment. There are certain elements of my blog which I really like so then why wouldn't I wipe them all out and have to start again.

When you mess with things you don't understand, this is what happens - oh well! Therefore some things are back to normal and some things are a little different. That's life for you.

Yesterday I had a moment after commenting on a blog when I came back here and wrote a little comment as an after word for being so darn positive and happy when another is suffering and doing it tough. Further to my words I realise that in reality we should never apologise for being happy.

After further thought though, I'm sure that posts about how super happy and fantastic my world is at the moment are entirely boring and unreadable. What is it in the human psyche that makes us more likely to want to read about doom and gloom and bad fortune.

Bad news days sell more newspapers and gain more viewers to news channels, so it stands to reason that bloggers who write about surviving doom and gloom are likely to be more popular than happy and positive 'my life is gold' blogs. A sad state of affairs really, but true.

It must be from my upbringing that the nasty, shitty moments in my life while alluded to and even hinted about here in these posts will remain private and not for general consumption. I'm not sure why some people feel comfortable about airing their dirty laundry for all to read and comment on, Facebook allows too much of that as it is.

So I'll settle for the mildly entertaining and a touch too positive posts rather than airing all the skeletons in my closet for the world to read about. I'm conscious that many friends, family and co-workers drop by here on occasion so I'll save the controversy and uncensored posts for a blog where no-one knows me. Now there's an idea.

Have a great week people

Cheers, Fi

Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will. ~ James Stephens

Feel good ripples

I love those little ripples of feeling good that you get when everything in your world is just right.

Don't get me wrong, my world is a happy one most of the time, but it also has it's rollercoaster ride of crap moments. This is reality after all.

You know what I mean by this though - don't you? There are times when you might be having a war of words with your partner, your children might be acting up, the weather might be dismal, work might be crazy busy.

All moments in your 'good' life which cause you to feel a splurt of tension or stress or even distress (or even a tidal wave as opposed to a splurt)

Then you have days like today - when the sun is shining and the weather is beautiful.

I had my grandson for a sleepover last night and he is all recovered from his gastro bug last week which took him on a visit to the hospital. He's now back to healthy and last night and this morning he was happiness personified.

All boy children in my world are behaving and are not arguing or causing any stress - this in itself is a monumental achievement in my house. Hubby is calm and relaxed, and that means no agro between us.

My cough is almost gone, I feel almost normal and I suddenly have energy again - hallelujah! As a result, my house is nice and clean and all of my housework is up-to-date. It's also a long weekend in Adelaide so I still have tomorrow to relax and have more 'me' time.

Time to write, read and be creative - enough to put a smile on anyone's face. Well anyone who likes reading and writing I guess.

I watched the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" last night with Will Smith in it. The movie is based on a true story and it really brought home the fact that even in my hardest times when my children were young - we never really struggled or suffered. Times were tough but not as tough as for some. We live a fortunate life compared to many and for that I am very thankful.

Life is good in this moment, so I shall revel in it, enjoy it and even savour it. Hope you are too.

Cheers, Fi 

As a side note - I've just left a comment on someone's post and having re-read my post for today I feel sick to my stomach. I'm not even sure what the blog etiquette is surrounding this. I fervently hope that she doesn't visit my blog because I'm sure that she'd prefer a hint of the happy I feel, after the week she's had with a critically ill husband. Hugs, prayers and much of my happy are wished for you (you know who you are) if you are reading this.

The three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for. ~ Addison

You sleep in the bed you make

What makes a person either good or bad? What determines those who will be successful, those who will try but give up easily and those who won't even bother to try?

What makes the difference between a person who has ethics and morals and those who have none?

Is it our upbringing, is it our family and friends, is it something we are born with or is it a combination of all of them, or perhaps none of them at all.

Many of my thoughts above come from a conversation I had earlier this week about teenagers and peer group pressure and the people we eventually become. The other person in this conversation intrigued me with her insight and maturity and her understanding of people in her world - she is young after all.

I'm one of those people who has to restrain myself from staring and listening too intently to those around me. I think it must be the writer in me who is fascinated by human nature and what motivates people and makes them do what they do. I don't think I'm kooky in my fascination though (well I hope not anyway)

As I write these words I think I sound a tiny weeny bit freak-like, or maybe just a little bit strange. So be it, I am what I am. Me - I think I'm a melting pot of my upbringing and my family and I truly believe that some of who we are is in-built, maybe genetic, maybe ingrained through our childhood - I'm not sure. I'm no scientist.

I also believe the best upbringing in the world can be brought undone by peer group pressure, in the end though, I think our sub-conscious thoughts and our inner being will see us back towards the path we are meant to follow.

My thoughts possibly sound kinda idealised - but then so do a lot of my posts. That's the beauty of having your own blog - it's me, it's my thoughts and my opinions. It's not to help me win friends and influence people, although a little of that doesn't go astray.

Okay people, do you agree or disagree - what makes a person who they are?

Cheers, Fi

I believe in a higher power and I believe in good and bad, right and wrong. You sleep in the bed you make. ~ Leif Garret

I've taken the first steps

Coughing is exhausting and being home from work because I'm sick is proving to be expensive, not because I don't get paid (I do). Five years of accumulated sick days do pay off at times like this, but lying on the lounge and watching daytime television means I see things that I normally never see and spend money I normally wouldn't.

Last week on my sick day off, I bought a hair straightener / curler from the television shopping channel and today I restrained myself from buying a steam mop, but I did get serious. I paid for membership for the South Australian Writers Centre and noted the workshops in my diary which I plan on attending. I also made some preliminary enquiries about writers groups.

I can't have dreams and not start taking steps to make things happen. I also made enquiries about some of the courses that I want to do, so now it's about balance and fitting in the important things. In between all of this I coughed and slept and coughed some more.

Tonight I feel like I'm getting back on the road to wellness, I still have this hideous cough but it has improved and at least its forced me take steps to arrange an appointment to see an ear, nose and throat specialist because it's all sinus related and hubby has been at me for years to get it sorted.

I'm quite excited about the Writers Centre and the opportunity to meet some writerly minded people. Last year I wrote my first novel and still it sits in my bottom drawer. I'm not sure why, because I was happy with the content and I just haven't done anything with it. Fear - maybe, but more likely due to not knowing what to do next.

The other thing, the number one rule of writers, is to write every day. Other than work and this blog, I haven't been writing every day. I know that this theory works because when I was at uni and writing all the time then the creativity just flowed, same when I was writing my book last year - it just kept coming. I need to regain that zest.

Do you write, how often and what do you write. What gets the creative juices flowing for you?

Cheers, Fi

The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.

I have a dream or two...

Image credit

Being sick gives you plenty of time to lie around and think. That's about all I'm going to say about being sick because I am well and truly over it - I don't do sick, it frustrates the $%#@ out of me.

But it did allow me the time to think long and hard about life and what I want from it.

Brother and sister-in-law were down from Renmark Sunday night and I was definitely not the hostess with mostest (that saying sounds so stupid when you put it in words)

Lets just say that I wasn't feeling very lively or sociable but it was good to see them anyway.

I went to work yesterday and coughed all day, to the extent that I started feeling like I had a big 'infectious control needed' sign over my head. I felt very self conscious every time I coughed. So, today I lay on the lounge and did lots of thinking and not much else. I had no energy to read or surf the net or even read blogs.

Do you ever have moments when you think 'I could have done that, or I could be doing that now' I have those sorts of thoughts now and again. Don't get me wrong because I wouldn't change my life for a second, I've made my choices and I'm happy with them. But I still have moments when I think what could have been.

My biggest dream as a young girl was always to go into journalism and I still get those occasional flashes of what if, especially when I'm watching news reporters on television who fly into the thick of action stories around the world and bring us the news as it's happening.

There's something in me that still dreams of the writing and the travel. My first youthful dreams didn't come to fruition but I can guarantee that in some shape or form it will play a part in my future. I may be old, bent up and on a walking frame because of old age by the time it happens but I will do it in some way.

So do you have a youthful dream that may not have happened in quite the way you hoped due to life and choices you made but which you will adapt to suit your life circumstances and will still achieve in some shape or form?

Cheers, Fi

Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream preceded the goal ~ Pamela Vaull Starr

6WS - Please send me the good fairy

I think the sick fairy has waved her glitter wand over my family this week and said 'tag you're it' because we're not the healthiest bunch at the moment.

I very rarely get sick but this is the second time in 12 months I've been laid flat, after not having been sick in years and years.

My cold has eased up but I think it's moved to my chest so I now have a cough that could possibly dislodge one of my lungs if I'm not careful.

Yep, six months of not smoking and I can still bark like a dog. I thought healthy eating, no smoking and yoga was meant to be good for you - what gives?

Youngest still has a cold and my grandson has a gastro bug so I'm staying right away from him this weekend. A cough and the pukes - hmmm wouldn't be a nice combination for him or for me. Eldest son is dealing with a sicky bub and doing a super job, he's even given up tickets to Clipsal (V8 car racing) tomorrow to stay home with him.

So this Saturday night, my awesome cough (who's not very socially adept) and I are sitting in front of the television and watching "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" - the version with Jonhny Depp. Such a cute movie but so many lessons about people and personalities when you look at it from an adult perspective.

Tommorow I'm hoping the bark and the chest congestion take a vacation so that I can attend the Adelaide Writers Festival. It occurred to me when I considered whether I would go or not (aside from feeling like crap), that not one of my friends would probably be interested in going. None of my non-bloggy friends write, in fact a lot of them don't even read.

Sort of puts paid to my belief that we should surround ourselves with like-minded people who share the same hobbies and past times as we do. I think I need to make some writer friends.

This week is one of the most culturally diverse and interesting weeks in Adelaide's calendar and the town goes a little crazy with a massive influx of people. We have Clipsal which is a 4 day car race extravaganza, the Adelaide Festival which is 16 days of theatre, music, dance, comedy shows and activities and of course the Writers Week which runs in conjuction with the Festival.

You couldn't find two more different groups of visitors than for these. The crowd who drink wine and go to cultural shows up against the blokey blokes who drink beer and like the grid girls and fast cars. Excuse my extremely stereotypical descriptions because I'm sure there is just as much cross over between the two groups of people and the activities as well.

Plenty to do and not a week when you want to be sick or working for that matter. Too much to see and do.

What's happening in your world this week?
 
Cheers, Fi

I'm linking up with Cate who gives us all a place to visit and connect. Want to play along with Six Word Saturday, it's easy? All that's necessary to participate is to describe your life (or something) in a phrase using just six words. For more information, try clicking here. Feel free to explain or not explain. Add an image, a video, a song, nothing. 

Short and sweet

You know that saying about the best laid plans, well I had such great plans when I created my other blog Rainbow Dreams - posts on a weekly basis, helpful and useful regular posts.

Then there's life and reality, so a big fat raspberry to plans I can't stick to. I'll just stick with updating when something grabs my fancy, when I feel a need and of course when I have the time.

So my first paragraph eventuated from the fact that I have written a new post which came about partly because of a post about changes and fear of them is on a blog I visit fairly regularly, because my work life is all about change management and associated fears of change at the moment and because courage and lack of fear is something all of us aspire to have.

Why not go and have a peek at my latest offering Courage doesn't need to roar and share your own tale of courage and / or facing your own fears. 

Cheers, Fi

Did someone see the truck?

I've spent the day on the lounge today, not sure whether it was youngest son or grandson who lovingly shared their cold with me but I had a disgusting sleep last night and woke up this morning feeling like I'd been hit by a truck.

So consequently I spent the whole day on the lounge and most of it sleeping. I had a shower and changed out my jammies about an hour ago, (in time for dinner). Not something I do very often. I'm still feeling less than ordinary and it's definitely the sort of weather to stay snuggled up indoors.

Can you believe that last week it was in the high 30's and this week it's cold, windy and we've had that much rain that most of the south-east of Australia is under flood watch with hundreds evacuated. 200 - 300mm of rain is a lot and luckily while we've had plenty of rain - at least where I am is not affected by flooding.

I had plans to go to an aqua aerobics class tomorrow night which seems kind of ironic when there is such wide spread flooding - but given that I'm still feeling less than ordinary, I think I'll pass this week.

Not feeling very creative or witty tonight so will make this a short post especially after last nights monster post.

Cheers, Fi