We all have choices

Today I attended the "Power of the Past" exhibition at the Milang Field day. I'm sure you're excited at the prospect of reading about my adventure. Let me describe it in one word - torture.

Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain (whether physical or psychological) as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. 

Okay so I'm sure hubby wasn't deliberately punishing, inflicting revenge, forcing information or a confession, nor was he being simply cruel to either youngest MM or myself, but really. Then again, maybe he was.
 
Being woken at 7.30am on a Sunday is a form of torture all on its own. He did make me a cup of coffee in bed though - bribery 101. And admittedly the forty minute drive through the country was pleasant, the weather was delightfully warm and the devonshire tea that son and I consumed when we got there was superb. But...........

Stationary motors, tractors and hotted up cars - try as I might I could not muster a skerrick of enthusiasm for any of them. Son was slightly better than me at being a little interested in what the motors could do and me, well I didn't sulk but there wasn't much of a smile on my face either.

My four day weekend ends today, gotta love a National Holiday which occurs on a Thursday. I really, really like being at home (what person doesn't?) and could really get into the groove of working from home.

We always want what we can't have don't we and it's only once we get it that we decide we really want something different. Is this a benefit or downside of living a life with choices and options? Quite honestly, I think we're lucky to be able to choose how we live. To not have choices or options must be the biggest from of torture.

Hope you've had a great weekend

Cheers, Fi

There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them ~ Denis Waitley

6WS - We all need to have dreams

Sometimes you have to reach and stretch yourself to make your dreams and
goals become a reality. My new blog - Rainbow Dreams is just one more step in
the chain of goals which I aim to achieve in my life.


What are your goals and dreams and what helps you to achieve them?

Cheers, Fi

Thanks Cate, for giving 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. 

The sky is the limit...

I finally created a blog button for my new blog (have you had a peek yet?). It's a while since I did the button for this blog and for the life of me I couldn't remember how the heck I created it. Don't you hate that?

I guess I cheated because I just used the code from this blog and changed the info relating to the blog address and the picture. Nothing wrong with that is there? No point re-inventing the wheel?

I also discovered StumbleUpon this week, what a great site to discover new and interesting web pages. Most of the time I find new sites via the blogroll on other sites but this was a great way to explore. Some days I feel quite 'behind the times' with all these amazing things that are out there in the blogosphere.

I have a couple of BIG goals in the pipeline, ones that won't happen overnight and will take some planning. A bit along the lines of a post I did on Rainbow Dreams called 'How do you eat an elephant?' - the answer - just one bite at a time. How do I achieve my goals, just one step at a time.

These are goals (which for a long time have been quite floaty and airy dreams) which have grown in importance somewhat and will require some pretty heavy duty planning and some further self education. One is the desire to backpack around the world, to be able to go where I want and do what I like and write about the experience.

It's not as if I can get on a plane tomorrow and set off, despite the desire I have some days to do so. I do after all have a hubby and children who need to be considered in this equation. I have three years left on the project which I'm currently working on and by that stage youngest MM will be 17 going on 18 and I will only be 43.

Leading up to that time will be when I start doing some big thinking about the 'right time'

The other goal; in the next three years I want to create a sustainable form of income which can be earnt no matter where I am in the world and which can be topped up with other forms of income if need be. So lots to plan, lots to think about, lots to consider and learn.

Do you have a BIG dream which will take considerable planning? I'd love to hear what others  'before I die and while I'm young enough to still enjoy it' goal is.

Cheers, Fi

Aim for the sky, even if you miss you will land among the stars ~ Neo

Walking out the confusion

Last night I walked and walked and walked. I was angry and upset and walking on the beach has a way of clearing your head and easing the swirling thoughts in your head.

I walked the entire length of the dog beach and was reminded of how often I used to spend down there when we had our dog, just walking and relaxing. Back in that time when my children were young and carefree and a walk on the beach was a good excuse for a dip in the sea for them.

Today is Australia Day, a day to celebrate what being an Aussie is all about and appreciating this lucky country we live in. if you're new to my blog (or not an Aussie) then checking out the Land Down Under tab on my blog is worth a look at my amazing country.

Sometimes when emotions get the better of you it's hard not to make rash and crazy decisions. I have lots of things that I'm thinking about at the moment (and as much as I love all my dear friends and family who visit this page - no real desire to discuss them at the moment either, but I appreciate you all for being there for me nonetheless)

Just coming here and getting the frustration out is enough at the moment. Four days of no work and plenty of relaxation is also a marvellous thing as well as I allow the thoughts and ideas to swirl and settle.

It's 36 degrees celcius today, sunny and warm. A beautiful day to be reminded of the good things in life and the things I do have to be greatful for.

I have my health, I have my mind and I have my family and friends - some aren't so lucky

I hope you're all appreciating who you are and what you have today. I am.

Cheers, Fi

Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.~ Napoleon Bonaparte

The moment of truth

Today, just another day - but also the day my middle MM hit the road solo as a licensed driver. Arrggh! Just another reminder of what old age looks like.

I swear it only seemed like yesterday that I was driving solo for the first time on my own.

How can a half hour sitcom bring tears to your eyes? Home and Away is back on the television for 2012 and Charlie is dying, gunshot wound - because Summer Bay must be the worst place in the world to live because every crazy person and natural disaster happens in this tiny little town on a regular basis.

Make believe towns and cities can be like that and crazy people make those stories even more entertaining, unfortunately real life can often be like that too.

Books, movies, television shows they suck us in and tell us a story and we believe, even for a short time. Some of those stories are so far removed from reality, but it's a moment of sharing someone else's joy or pain or loss which reels us in. These stories can also encourage us to dream and believe in a better life or alternatively appreciate what we do have when others seem to have so little.

Then there's the stories which are true and based on real life and they hit harder than most, because there's no just finishing the story and thinking that was well written and entertaining. It's fact and it stays in our minds. I'm reading a book like that at the moment and the author is a regular visitor here so she knows who she is.

I'm in awe at the strength of this person and what she has endured and the positive outlook she has on life today. It makes you realise that all of us have a choice to make our lives better, we are the masters of our own destiny. We truly can be anyone we want to be.

As I read her story I realise how incredibly blessed and lucky I am in my own life and also how much I've learnt through knowing her.

Do you ever sit down to write something and get totally off track from what you planned on writing. This is that post and my fellow bloggers would probably understand this problem better than most. I believe it's a frequent ailment suffered by bloggers, well by me at least.

So from the blog post that ran away from me and wrote itself, let me now ask this question - who in your life inspires you to dream and why is it they inspire you?

I'm off to read some more...

Cheers, Fi

The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers ~ M Scott Peck

I've been a little bit busy

I'd been planning on creating another blog for a while now - with my aim being to keep this here for me, for ranting and raving and talking about life.

The new blog is more for goals and tips for improving life and will only be weekly posts. I'm sure there will still be plenty of overlaps though.

I still have some work to do on it, but I'm happy enough with it to share a sneak peek here and get your thoughts on it.

Can you tell my hubby has been away for the weekend so I've been able to 'absorb' myself in creating and designing?

I finally downloaded Firefox last night after running into so many roadblocks with Windows Explorer. I needed to upgrade for so many applications but until I upgrade my Windows then Explorer wouldn't support it, hence Firefox. Yada yada yada - co's you really needed to hear all that rubbish didn't you?

In a nutshell though, it was Louise who provided several avenues of inspiration this week for me. She made me feel like I needed a rocket in my pants to do something about the blog site which has been gelling in my mind for ever and a day, well a little while anyway. She's created a new blog and a website all of her own and done it well and this is not to say I've copied her, but she provided the motivation I needed.

Louise also advised that I should download a different browser to enable me to reply to comments on Blooger which I've done so make sure you all leave some comments so that I can finally reply right here and test that it works. Yes, small things amuse some of us, no apologies for that.

Well I have a massive pot of sauce for spaghetti bolognaise simmering on the stove to feed the two older MM's, so I best go get that organised. Hubby and youngest will be back tomorrow and they tell us they've caught plenty of fish and crabs, so at least they've had a good weekend.

Hope you've had a great weekend wherever you are and whatever you're doing.

Cheers, Fi

All of us might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don't. And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity.  ~ Robert Kennedy

6WS- Best things in life are free...

Hubby has gone away for the weekend with youngest MM for a weekend of fishing, middle MM and his girlfriend are out socialising and oldest MM and my grandson are staying with me for the weekend.

Long story, but lets simplify it and say that oldest MM had a wrestling competition with 70kg of steel at work yesterday and the steel won, luckily it was only his finger that got in the way but boy does it look messy, so mum / nani got houseguests for the weekend so she can help them out.

Just gave my grandson a bath so he's clean and sweet smelling and content and now he's cuddled up on the lounge with his daddy and ready for bed. Best things in life...

Two of the girls from my old work came for a visit today and it was nice to catch up. One of them has a toddler who was delighted to be able to run through the sprinkler on my back lawn and play with a bucket of water. That's childhood isn't it - being able to run naked on the back lawn under the sprinkler, every child should be able to do that - the best things in life...

Childhood - memories of sunshine and water and fun. The best things shouldn't cost huge amounts of money. My childhood is full of memories like that when life seemed so simple and easy.

I have another day of reading, writing and relaxing ahead of me - more of the best things in life...

Hope you're enjoying some of the best things in life...

Cheers, Fi

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. 

The best things in life come in threes, like friends, dreams, and memories

Assumptions can be a powerful thing

The thing is assumptions are not always accurate. Have you ever met someone and immediately formed an opinion of what that person is like from the way they talk and act, only to discover later that your first impression was entirely wrong.

Or perhaps you’ve read a blog post, a facebook comment or an email, and based on the words and tone used, you’ve made an assumption about the author. How can you even begin to assume what a person is really like from a few words?

Assume – “to take to be true without proof”

Emails, blogs and comments on social media are very 'here and now' forms of communication, they aren’t necessarily a full indication of who a person is.

We all do it though, we all make assumptions. Sometimes the assumptions are right and sometimes they’re wrong.

People assume that I’m confident because of the job role I have and because of the way I speak and present myself. I’m a fairly confident person - yes, but assuming that I don’t have doubts, or that I don’t question my own abilities or that I don't get fearful about new situations is ridiculous.

The reality - I once suffered so badly from anxiety attacks that I was terrified of leaving the house, I wrote about that time in my life here. It wasn’t exactly good feeling so anxious with a baby and young child and I was incredibly adept at hiding how I felt from loved ones as well. I’m sure many ‘assumed’ though that I was doing just fine.

The funny thing is I’m just as guilty of making assumptions as the next person, about people I meet, blogs I read, conversations I overhear, people I see at the shops and on the streets. Never assume that you know the real person or the truth about a situation until you have all the facts, and never assume that things can’t change.

I visit some blogs which I don’t make comments on because I assume that from the person’s words that they’re confident and capable and that my little ol’ comment would be considered ridiculous. Self-esteem and confidence are strange beasts though. The most confident person can still have fears and concerns like everyone else.

So put your assumptions aside and see what you can discover about your friends, your co-workers, your neighbours and anyone else you meet this week.

Cheers, Fi

“Assumptions are dangerous things to make, and like all dangerous things to make -- bombs, for instance, or strawberry shortcake -- if you make even the tiniest mistake you can find yourself in terrible trouble. Making assumptions simply means believing things are a certain way with little or no evidence that shows you are correct, and you can see at once how this can lead to terrible trouble” ~ Lemony Snicket

PS - Following on from my post yesterday, in case anyone was wondering, the boss and his wife had a healthy baby boy who arrived at 7.22pm last night. All doing well, boss is exhausted.

Growing, learning, dreaming ... always

Some days in my world seem to fly and other days seem to drag. Today was one of those drag days. I hate waiting to hear news.

My boss’s wife is having their second baby today. He’s been calm, cool and collected - or that’s the impression he’s presented - for weeks now. He dropped his wife at the hospital this morning (she’s being induced), ensured she was settled in, arrived at work in time for a morning meeting, made sure we were all set for the remainder of the day and then headed out just before lunch to attend the birth. 8pm and still no news.

I need a glass or two (make that crates) of whatever it is that enables him to remain so calm and relaxed. His wife must take the same tonic because she was out pricing new security for their front gate yesterday and then attended a performance of Chorus Line last night. Last week she was still attending gym sessions.

I never did pregnancy well and I’m slightly envious (make that a lot envious) of women who breeze through pregnancy with barely a hiccup. I was a sloth who ate and slept and did very little of anything else in the final months of my pregnancies. I also wouldn’t have sent hubby of to work on the morning of the day I was being induced either.

Is it all in your mindset? While I’m a strong believer in mind over matter, I’m also a strong believer that some people are born to pro-create and they do it well, while some of us simply exist for the purpose of incubating during those nine months and are capable of little else.

My mind is a mess of swirling thoughts and ideas at the moment, so many things that I want to start. It’s hard to stop the ideas from melding into one big tangled mess of creativity. Blog ideas, web page designs, thoughts for business plans, the urge to start writing a new book, all tumbled up with work plans and tasks, as well as things I should be doing at home.

Focus, planning, steady pace – I need them all at the moment. One thing at a time. Sometimes it’s so easy to get caught up with all the things that we want to do that we never actually get anywhere because it’s all one big tumbling mess in our heads.

I once read somewhere about the mind being like a filing cabinet and that sometimes we need to be able to file everything away in its own drawer in an organised manner. Then we can pull memories and thoughts out as we need them. I guess sometimes there's such a thing as being too organised as well, maybe the best things are created from that tangled mess.

Before I run away tonight, here's something special I want to share with you.

My mum (who's the best source for learning to believe in yourself) knows the things I like and she's shared several video clips via email with me lately, they're from a website called It's all about women which is definitely worth a look. I've discovered a whole heap of great things and of course the Inspirational movies tab is great - here's an example.

Hope you enjoy!

Cheers, Fi

When I quote others I do so in order to express my own ideas more clearly. - Michel de Montaigne

Open mouth, insert both feet

Sometimes you open your mouth and the words slip out before you have a chance to plug the hole.

We’ve all probably done it and we all usually regret it the minute they escape. It also stands to reason that they usually come back to bite you on the butt as well.

Yes, guilty as charged your honour, there was no malice behind my words, no wrong doing intended and yes they’ve come back to bite me on the butt because I believe someone has taken their own interpretation of what I said and told the person concerned.

In a high pressure work environment this is a big no-no when you’re trying to establish trust and open the lines of communication with project team members. Right about now I feel like an absolute twit (and that’s being kind)

My instinct is to defend and engage in the backlash via email but it’s really not worth it. The person really doesn’t know the whole truth or the context based on what that ‘do-gooder’ has told them, but I also know that what I said probably wasn’t appropriate either. Yep, I’m human – I screw up good, and often.

So I have to suck it up, accept that what I did was inappropriate and try to rebuild bridges without engaging in a ‘in my defense’ speech. This is often the hardest thing to do, accept responsibility for something we’ve done and not somehow justify our actions.

The funniest thing through all of this is that guilt is a huge weight to carry. I’d told my boss when I first realised my mistake and told him what I’d said, and then again when the abrupt email came through from the said person. Boss said to let it go don’t make it any bigger than what it needs to be.

Couldn’t help myself, I had to go and apologise because that’s how I am. The irony was that the person says he had no idea what I was talking about and that the email he had sent me was a joke. Basically I was requesting a quote for a newsletter and the quote he’d sent through had been quite pointed and abrupt. Step in guilty conscious which distorts everything.

I’m pretty sure he was just letting me off the hook, but at least the air was cleared and we both had a laugh together. My lesson going forward – think before I speak, then think some more and maybe think a bit more. Only then should I speak, and very carefully. What a great Communications Lead I am.

Cheers, Fi

I'm linking up with Bits of Bee



“Before you speak - ask yourself. Is it kind, is it true, is it necessary, does it improve upon the silence?”

In search of cheese

Arrrgghhh Blogger what are you doing to me? I'm not sure how I feel about the new look Blogger, I do know that I'm not entirely happy that I can't read comments or post comments from my mobile phone any more - not sure why this is.

I also got all excited about being able to finally reply to comments, only to discover that for some reason the embedded option that's needed for it currently isn't working with Windows Explorer, it's sitting with the Google 'technicians' for a solution.

Change and technology - don't you just love them, the irony that these are the two things which currently provide my income is not lost on me either.

Everyone I visited in the blogosphere today was talking about snow and cold weather, today it was humid and 39 degrees celcius where I am. Now I like hot, but this is a bit more than comfortable for me. Youngest son has become a beach bum this summer and spends every day at the beach, how nice that must be.

Middle son had his girlfriend over for dinner again tonight, I'm still not used to him having a girlfriend. As a mother do you ever get used to your children having partners? Seventeen years old seems like a million years ago.

Oldest son is here for dinner tonight as well, so I have the whole clan in one place. My favourite kind of days, even more so when everyone is playing nice. Not sure what it is with males that mean they have to poke, prod, thump, annoy, swear at each other when they are in the same vicinity (and that's not to mention the other bodily functions that seem to amuse them)

I'm doing a lot of work surrounding motivation and leadership training at work at the moment, putting plans in place for our team leaders, organising training sessions and preparing presentations.

My boss directed me towards a story surrounding change today which I hadn't read before, it's based on a book by Spencer Johnson called 'Who moved my cheese'. You can read the summary here - I found it quite an enlightening way of looking at how we all react differently to change. I think I'm a 'scurry' type, what about you?

Life is about change and it's how we handle it that makes all the difference. As scary as it is, it can also be incredibly revitalising and exciting as well. Sometimes it's the kick in the pants we need to move forward and grow.

Hope you're growing and learning.

Cheers, Fi

If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living ~ Gail Sheehy

Life - its all about balance

I had another three blogging free days – and survived. After my week long break from the blogosphere when we were on holiday I was reminded of how much time I probably do ‘waste’, not so much in writing my blog, but in reading others as well. Don’t worry I won’t be stopping either of these in a hurry, just moderating.


Balance is a big thing which has been lacking in my life for quite a while and 2012 is my year for regaining some of that balance. I did a lot of reading on the weekend, spent some quality time with my grandson and son, went out to dinner with hubby and cleaned the house. Not super exciting but restorative if nothing else.

I’ve put out some preliminary enquiries about some courses I’m considering for this year. Strangely enough, I miss studying and I know that it keeps me connected and striving for a better me. At this stage I’m considering either a Graduate certificate or a Masters in Communication, the only difference between the two being the project work at the end (and the cost obviously).

I’m putting some written plans around some business ideas I have, my aim being self-sufficiency and no boss at the close of the project I’m currently working on. That’s still 3 years away, so plenty of time for planning and establishing what I want to achieve.

I’m investigating who in my local area conducts yoga classes – I’m interested both in the fitness and relaxation options this provides. I need something for me, for mind and body balance.

I also read recently that the people you come in contact with the most in your life should somehow reflect your goals and dreams. It’s a case of surrounding yourself with likeminded people to help achieve the mind set you want in your own life. In which case, my current mix of associates is not the right mix for what I want to achieve. Not to say I’ll remove them from my life, I just need a better balance.

So really, I need to mix with fabulously wealthy, healthy and intelligent people. Kidding! I'm actually aiming for a mix of people who write and study, are successful and happy, and who are interested in self improvement and positive thinking. Hoping that all of it will rub off.

I’ve also gone and purchased myself a written journal again, I haven’t kept one of these since I started blogging about 18 months ago because I thought it was a double up. However I plan on using the written journal as a writing tool, goal update, a life checker to keep me balanced sort of notebook - as opposed to a ‘diary’ sort of option like I used to use them for.

I have almost thirty years’ worth of sporadic hand written journals filling my cupboards. I'd go through phases where I felt the need to write, a lot, then things would go quiet for a while.There’s something quite addictive about fresh, crisp new journals and your dreams and ideas written on the pages.

Middle son is only 8 days away from getting his provisional license and being able to drive solo – we’re both counting down the days for different reasons. For him it means freedom and for me it’s another reason for worry. I know I need to trust in him and the universe that all will be okay, or at the very least trust that everyone else will stay out of his way and keep him safe.

So that’s how the first two weeks have rolled for 2012 in my world, what about you – what’s on your list of things to achieve or balance out this year?

Cheers, Fi

I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can't truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles ~ Zig Ziglar

On the road - the visual journey

Today Louise made the following statement and I was inspired. "I am not accountable / responsible for what other's do. I am 100% accountable for what I am doing, what I allow in my life, what I create in my presence"

So much of my life is taken up with worrying about what others do and the ramifications of what their actions (I have a family of all males and I try to control and manage - no wonder I'm so exhausted) I do the same thing at work, quite simply it is driving me crazy.

It was like a lightbulb lit up today when I read Louise's post. I know that I need to take a step back and stop trying to fix the worries of the world - it is not within my control. I know it's not as simple as that, but recognising the problem is a start. Again, no wonder I feel like I'm carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders - because I damn well am. No more!

I've been in a very contemplative mood the last week or two (holidays will do that) I've been trying to understand the source of my dissatisfaction. Some decisions need to be made, some exceptance that some things need to stay the way they are for now for a number of reasons and the understanding that there is a massive load of rot that I need to throw off so that I am able to move forward freely.

Now I need to start putting some plans around all of that, what goes, what stays, what is past it's use by date. I'm not working within change management without learning some vital lessons which can be applied to my life.

Now, as promised - here are the ones who put a smile on my face, make me want to scream with frustration and who make my life worth living. A small selection of photos from our road trip this week.

My hubby and boys and friends who accompanied us on our trip (note - all males)

The big lobster in Kingston (cos every town needs one of these)

Middle MM in his best pose at Beachport

The tribe - 'do we really have to smile?'

Yes the lake really is this blue - it actually looks fake it's that blue

Me and my boys at the state border

Our campsite in Mt Gambier - it wasn't really this clean, we'd half packed up to leave in this pic LOL



 The hard life - fishing and relaxing

 

Youngest MM - smile for mummy



Burnouts at the speedway in Renmark

My gorgeous nephew and his first ever fish caught all by himself

The 'Chookman's' boat in Renmark (smells like a chookhouse as well)

Our 'beast'

Hubby shows us how it's done - first fish caught was a catfish

Whatever you can do, I can do better

Lots more photos, but that at least gives you a taste of our week. Awesome weather, great company, fishing, boating, swimming and family.

In the end we weren't 'forced' to endure Kev's Tractor Display for several reasons - hubby had already been there so he decided because it was 40 degrees celcius that day and none of us were keen on looking at dusty, dirty tractors that he would spare us the pain of having to go. Sigh... madly disappointed - NOT!

We also didn't get to the caves in Mt Gambier because of time constraints and 'little' children with us. This is something hubby and I will go back and do.

Thats all for now, hope you enjoy the pics and a glimpse at South Australia and the men in my life. Only eldest was missing.

Cheers, Fi

Everyone needs a safety valve

I don't do link ups very often (except for Six Word Saturday) due to an inability to allow quality time for commenting and visiting, but I found this one today and I couldn't resist.

It's a quote link up - so how could I resist? So instead of uploading photos from our holiday I'm checking out everyone's quotes and blogs. Hopeless I know.

Two days into being back at work and my stress levels are right back up there. My job shouldn't be so much of a pain in the butt, yet it is. Too many people wanting to do things in too many different ways - yet I don't envy my boss his job. He even got told today by a Senior Manager that his job position must shorten his life expectancy.

Change Management and Communication - the two things in the world which are necessary for ongoing progress and yet are universally difficult because they concern two unknown variables -  people and emotions. I'm sure that there must be boring, easier jobs but heck I guess they wouldn't be half as exciting.

Breath deep and share a quote, that's what I'll do. So many to choose from, but this one grabbed me tonight.

"Tears are the safety valve of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it" ~ Albert Smith

Those of you who know me, know that I cry when I'm happy, I cry when I'm angry, I cry when I'm stressed, sheesh I cry a lot. It's obviously my safety valve letting off pressure. The two older boys are ratcheting up my stress levels at the moment, I worry too much. How does a mum stop worrying, I'm sure if I could answer this question I could retire a wealthy woman.

I think I need to bottle the blood of the youngest because he never causes me stress, let's hope it stays that way. He definitely takes after me (Just kidding mum!)

Probably a good thing that I wasn't wanting to put photos in this post tonight - for some reason Blogger is chucking a wobbly and won't let me insert pictures. Errrgggh. So picture free tonight

Well that's me done for today, if you feel the urge why not click on the button below, I'm linking up with BitsofBee.

Cheers, Fi

Suddenly everything is clearer

Two things have not changed - my 'newish' bed is still awesome to sleep in, even after seven nights of camping and visiting family, and driving in city morning traffic still sucks.

My first day back at work seemed to go for about 205 hours today, all I wanted was an afternoon nap - but then almost four weeks of holidaying does that to a body.

The first few days of our holiday were quite eventful because middle son took his teenage bad attitude with him, but now that we're home all of a sudden everything is so much clearer. Bad attitude, reluctance to be on holiday with his family, an urgency to get home again.

He has a new girlfriend. She came for tea tonight.

He's never bought a girlfriend home for dinner so this is a bit of a monumental event tonight, besides the fact that she lives an hour and a half away and actually caught the bus here tonight. Hubby cooked an awesome dinner - he always does and him and his mates were even on their best behaviour (highly unusual).

Being the mother of teenagers is a funny thing. On one hand you still feel so young and on the other hand it makes you feel really old when they bring girlfriends home for dinner. I have all boys so I can only base it on girlfriends, although I'm not sure that having girls would be any easier.

This is my son who never wants to be at home, who is always out with his mates and when he is home he's on his computer with the door closed. Tonight he's home, they're lying cuddled up together on his bed watching TV with the door wide open (without me even having to play the nasty mummy role) She can come for tea every night if it makes him act normal and polite and human.

Well this post was nothing like what I planned to write tonight but life works that way. Motivation was on my mind after today's project team activity. It went reasonably well, but it's hard when you're working with technical minded people who just don't get what motivation and people work is all about.

I get a bit frustrated when people give you all the reasons under the sun why something won't work or when they don't get moving and acting and making things happen. Errgggh don't waste energy on the why's and why nots.

I have lots of things that I want to achieve this year, so motivation will be a key factor. It's amazing how many people just don't get how important motivation is in achieving our dreams.
It's one thing for others to provide motivation but the true key is finding what works for us so that we can motivate ourselves.

Well I might head off and get some of those photos from our holiday downloaded and sorted so that I can share them.

Cheers, Fi

You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind. ~ Author Unknown

There's no place like home...

We're home - sunburnt and exhausted, but at least home safe and sound. I barely have the energy to scratch myself let alone do anything else. I simply can't be bothered going back to work tomorrow.

Strictly speaking I'm on holidays tomorrow, but we (that is - I) had this grand idea back before we broke up for holidays that we should do a project team motivation thing for our first team meeting, which is tomorrow. I can't really not be there for something I've organised.

Sooooo, I'm going back to work a day early. I'm sure no-one will notice if I'm curled up asleep in a corner somewhere. Besides I will just swap the extra day for the day after Australia Day which will give me a four day weekend at the end of January - so all good.

We had a fantastic holiday, the first few days were unbelievably hot (upwards of 40 degrees celcius) and also had a bit of agro with middle MM. Teenage boys and family holidays, don'tcha just love them. We got him and ourselves sorted out though and then all was good.

Had an absolute blast in Renmark with the family. Three full days of boating and fishing on the river - fantastic fun. I have lots of photos but truly can't be bothered going to the effort tonight to do something with them, so you'll have to wait till later in the week when I find some extra energy.

A shower in my own shower and sleeping in my own bed tonight - nothing like it. It's 7.45pm and I'm ready for bed already. The early morning start is going to be incredibly hard tomorrow.

To my darling brother and sister-in-law, thanks so much for putting up with us and for an awesome few days of boating and fishing. We had the best time and wished we could have stayed longer! Give my darling boy a hug and a kiss and tell him his Auntie Fi misses him heaps already.

What do you do when a three year old asks 'Why are you leaving us?' and then drops the bottom lip and says 'I don't want you to leave us' - you do what I did and cry, my nephew is a total heart breaker and knows how to hit me where it hurts.

I've got lots of reading to catch up on this week, I've been reading some posts via my phone but haven't been commenting because it was all just too hard. So I'll get my way around to see you all this week.

Well I hope you've all had an awesome first week of 2012 and I promise to get some photos up as soon as I can.

Cheers, Fi

Creating family memories

Seven days, two teenage boys, hubby and me in a car travelling to the South East of South Australia - mmm hmm it's going to be an adventure. 

Seriously, I am looking forward to getting away. We haven't been away as a family for such a long while.

Tomorrow night we have a motel room booked at Kingston and then we'll play it by ear from there (me, the controlled and organised one who plans everything) 

We're taking the boat and our camping gear so we'll go with the flow and stay whever the mood hits us. Then we plan to finish up in the Riverland with my family next weekend. So you may see me around here in the next week and you may not.

I've set up my blog for posting from my mobile phone (not sure how good that will be) and I'll have my laptop - but you know how it is, I may post and I may not. It's going to be a little bit of a culture shock not to be posting every day but hubby is a little bit funny (and not the ha ha kind of funny) about electronics and blogging and the amount of time the boys and I 'waste'. Besides my focus will be on family time.

Fishing, boating, swimming, relaxing - yeah someone has to do it. I'm sure that I will have plenty of photos to share.

Here's a sample of where we will be going and what we will be doing over the next week, firstly we'll head south from Adelaide and down the coast...

Kingston - the first stop we will make is Kev's Tractor Collection (hubby has an obsession with tractors - well all machinery actually, so no escaping this place no matter how much I wish we could) But this should put hubby in a nice mellow mood for the remainder of the journey - it's the only place he really, really wants to visit.

Then in Mt Gambier we will visit the Blue Lake - yes, it really is meant to be as blue as the pictures show, something to do with calcium carbonate and warming of the layers - I'm sure I'll learn more when I visit. It's a lake located within several extinct volcanic craters.

and we'll visit the Princess Margaret Rose Caves

and we will visit everything in between and along the way. There's meant to be plenty of rock pools, caves, beaches, lakes and national parks, so I'm super excited. I'm almost tempted to phone the boss and say I might be a little longer on holidays. It's only me that has to be back for work on the 11th, the rest of the family will still be on holidays. Not too well planned that one

From Mt Gambier then we'll head north to the Riverland and Renmark and have a 'belated Christmas' with my family. Yes mum I'm coming, we're just taking the scenic, long route to get there.

So the next week is about family time, relaxation and the great outdoors. Three of my favourite things in the whole world. Hope you have a sensational start to the New Year and as Arnie famously once said 'I'll be back', just not sure when.

Cheers, Fi

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. ~ Joyce Brothers