Oh, how life has changed...BUT I LOVE IT!!

As i sit here 9.25 on a saturday night i ponder my life.

 This time 10 years ago my man and I would have been out for dinner, socialising or somthing like that.  We were contemplaiting moving towns {which we ended up doing for some time}, taking us to new adventures, new friends and new beginings.  Life was fast, busy and always changing.
Now, 10 years  and two kids later here i sit quietly on a saturday night on my lounge in my jammies with both my kids lying half over me, half over my husband...eating homemade pizza, a glass of wine watching a 90's movie that is on tv {and loving it}. 

 Im not out partying, im not out wining and dining, im not dressed up/makeup on, hair done and wearing killer heals...but Im happy!  Im content! Im simply loving my life right now at this moment...there is no other place right now I'd rather be.
Last night { Friday night } we had a backyard fire, roasted marshmellows, talked and laughed with our kids.  Tomorrow we head west to the mountains.  We are going to the natural arch with the kids, going for a bush walk, checking out the stunning waterfalls and after enjoying a yummy picnic under a grand old tree.  Im so lucky to have 3 amazing people to share this life with...Andrew, my amazing husband, Miss Mimi the most beautiful princess in the world and lil' T...my wonderful, strong amazing lil' man....life doesnt get much better!..and I wouldnt change it for anything.
nity nite xoxo

I love 'date day'!! ooh laa laa ♥

I just had to share my wonderful day with you all.  Today is Friday 1st April and on a typical Friday here its like anyother weekday.  You know...Get up super early, hang out washing, make lunches, get breakfast, eat breakfast, wake the kids, get uniforms ready, put dinner in the slow cooker, tidy kitchen, have shower, get dressed, do hair, do daughters hair for school, make sure kids have packed homework...show and tell and any other bits and pieces they need for school, look for the lost school shoe that my son misplaced and for some strange reason ends up being somewhere like the shower??, tell them 158 billion times to brush their teeth, make beds, make sure house is tidy and have all this done before 8.30am *phew*...No wonder I get so tired LOL. 
Anyway, today was a lovely change.  Yesterday my dear husband came home last night and said he can get today off work which rarely happens.  It was a little exciting because it meant we got to spend the day together. 
So this morning, instead of my husband being gone to work at 5.30am he was there lying next to me when I woke up *yay*.  The extra bonus was 'it was pouring with rain'.  Theres just somthing about waking up in your mans warm arms wrapped around you and hearing the rain falling outside, ahhh simple pleasures.
Next, When we got up (which was a little later than normal for a week day) HE got the kids breakfast, while I quitely sat in front of the telly sipping a coffee watching sunrise and having my breakfast.
Next the kids got dressed while I packed lunches and then my wonderful husband offered to take the kids to school for me *another yay* so I got to stay warm, in my jammies and have that 2nd cuppa.  I slowly got up to have a shower.  When my wonderful man came home he said he was taking me to George's Paragon seafood restaurant, at Sanctuary Cove....ooohhhhhhh!  For those of you who dont know this place its only the "BEST seafood resturant....in the world".
I got all pretty-ed up ...and I felt pretty too (for a change) .We had the best date day ever.
The resturant is overlooking a bay of yachts and stunning water views...it realy is nice. 5star service, top quality food and delish wine.
Next we went for a little stroll though the sanctury cove village and we just had to have a coffee and dessert (as you do).
It was DEVINE...we ate just a little too much today me thinks but it was well worth it.  We talked and talked and talked, it was just so refreshing.  The best thing for us both.
This past week we had yet again, another...hmmmm, shall I say *cr@p* time with "family issues" so I think it was a nice little escape for the two of us.
I must admit I was a lil' spoilt today...it was a bit spesh.
We then picked the kids up from school, went to the dvd store, picked up a dvd and a couple of wii games for the kids.
we have all just piled into the loungeroom this afternoon for a lazy night in....games, movies etc, after all it is still raining outside and I JUST LOVE spending time with 3 of my most favorite people of all time....Andrew, miss mimi and Little T.....

♥ Ahhhhh, aint life grand ♥...Gotta get back to it........just had to share.

High tea in the garden ♥

Goodmorning All,

I must admit Ive been a little thin on blogging for the past few months, I  have had alot of other things going on.  I wish somtimes I had more time to blog as I realy do love it.

Anywho...with that in mind I will fill you in on one of the fun things I have been doing. Last sunday Miss Mimi and I threw a 'High tea'.  Her best friend that she has known all her life {her mum and I were pregnant together} is moving away to Tasmania.  She was devistated so we decided to throw a little afternoon tea to try and ease the pain.

8 eight year olds and a tea party is just too cute.

Here are the invitations we made...

I made these little invites straight from the computer...edited, prited cut & pasted...Voila!

I also loved the look of the party pompoms that are inspired Martha stewart. They are so pretty almost like big bouncy flowers.  I attempted to make them and THEY TURNED OUT YAY!!!!  So pretty.  We hung them in trees above the table.  The only problem is, the day was a beautiful autumn day but the wind was terrible. So my little pompom flowes not only danced in he sun but they fliped and twisted and got a tad tangled.  I tied them up with fishing line so you couldnt see it, but the line got twisted...OH WELL, it still looked ok.  Take a look at the setting...

I also made cute little dancing sticks and placed on the back of each chair.  Once the girls finised eating thy danced beautifully in there 'twirly' dresses spinning their sticks.

So much fun.  As it was lunch time we hd savoury foods first.  These coonsisted of heart shaped cream cheese and ham sanwhiches, the inevitable 'cucmber' sanwhiches...They werent a hit, as I guessed but whats tea in the garden without cucumber sandwhiches?  W also had tiny homemade pizzas and butterfly chicken nuggets, mini pies and meat balls.  They ate them soo fast I wa suprised they had room for dessert. Heehee.
After lunch came the best part....cupcakes, jam tarts, tiny biscuits, jam rolls, marshmellows.  It was all washed downwith 'rosie tea' {blackberry juice} in little tea cups.
 I didnt get any pics as I was busy rushing around making sure everything was good.  My sister took a few snaps thankgoodness, so If I get them from her I will post them.
All the mums stuck around too and we had champagne, ginger beer...homemade gormae pizza, cold bbq chicken and salad.  It went down well, after we also had tea and cakes.
It was a beautiful, beautiful day and EVERYONE had such a lovely time...I cant wait to do it again.

Bedroom makeover.

So, last week I got in my head to paint renovate my room....somthing that has been on my mind for a while.
As I havnt got the money to just go out and purchase anything I want in one big hit I decided to spread it over about 8 months.
Over the past 8 months Ive been eBaying, at the shops looking for bargains, thrift store hunting and surfing the net for the best deals.
I have been storing them up and putting my purchases away for the big reveal.
Last weekend i  painted and put it all together and i must say...Im VERY happy with the results.  Tell me what you think of my 'new' room...

I took before shots on my phone as I cant seem to locate my camera atm.  Anyway I will work on that as I realy want  you to see the before shots...It always seems to add more impact.
Let me give a verbal (or is that written...?) description of before. 
Ok, The bed was a natural rustic wood.  A Lovely bed however after 12 years was a little over it.  I didnt want to get rid of it as this is the first thing my husband and I ever baught together.  Im kinda attached to it...weird I know but I am.  Also, it is such a solid, strong bed it would kind of be silly to get rid of it.  I painted it a cream colour.
I had no curtains above the bed in that window...just the blinds. 
The bedside table and tall boy were a dark teak, they're now a cream colour (same as bed) The 'old' curtain on the slididng door was beigey/gold.
 The walls were white (not too bad) and the doors and trims were apricot *ugh*.  My quilt cover origially was white but about 2 years ago it ripped *sob~sob* so I have been using our old cover which was blue and white.

  Overall it wasnt too bad but just not nice.  It didnt feel connected and I felt like it was old and dirty looking.  I needed a change as well as a nice retreat for hubby and I to go to at night. 

We now joke and say...we feel like we finally have a grown ups bed room...LOL.
The colour paint i used for the wall was  Dulux Tapestry Beige in quater strength.  Such a beautiful colour.  For the doors and trims I simply used plain dulux white in a gloss.
The curtains are Ikea Vivan curtains purchased for half price on eBay.  All the frames are from a thrift shop that I spayed in a gloss black.
Overall...Im happy with our light, airy, fresh, romantic bedroom.  One of my biggest project to late, completly done by me alone...in 4 days.  Room, doors and trims painted, bed bedside table and drawers painted, curtains up and decorating.  I loved every min of it.
Next is miss Mimi's room....

My heart goes out to my fellow Queenslanders...

I just wanted to send some thoughts to my fellow Queenslanders.  In the past month they have endured the worst floods and a level 5 cyclone.  Thankfully (so far) there havnt been any fatalities or missing from the cyclone last night...cant say the same for the floods that were only 45 mins away from here. *eek*.

Nature has been unleashing some force lately and its scary...makes me glad I have 'go bags' and 'survival packs' ready to go at the drop of a hat for each member of my family (food, shelter, first aid and medication, clothing, personal items etc ) ...just in case.

I hope all in North QLD can rebuild their lives and get back to normal as soon as possable...here's hoping its the end of the scary weather.

Pins and needles make me better :0)

Back in November I blogged briefly about a natropath that I was seeing.  It been about 6 weeks now that Ive been going and seeing her and I gotta tell ya, I starting to feel good. 
She's treating me for alot of lifetime alements that I just took as the norm...now Im relising that I can feel better.
My kidneys are sick...not from alcahol etc but from stress *ugh* This is causing alot of issues healthwise.  Ive always had achy kidneys but after a few years I honestly stopped noticing (except when it was realy bad...infection etc)  now its on the road to getting better...Yay!
My energy levels are defently on the increase, my sleep is slowly improving and my overall mood is lifting, my headaches/migranes are easing.   A whole lot of other things too...
I even got food poisening in that time that she succesfully helped me with.
She is an amazing woman.  When I go there she is almost like a counciler.  She askes me lots of questions and is helping me with alot of childhood "issues".  I never thought I needed councelling before but now Im seeing the benifit in it.
Im learning to not only physicaly heal but emotionally heal too.  Its great.
Here is some info I found on acupuncture from the acupuncture.com.au website....

Acupuncture is for almost everyone. The best thing is that you don't have to be sick to benefit.


It is said by its practitioners to be an effective form of preventive medicine because it helps detect and treat energy imbalances before they lead to disease.


It can also treat specific disorders to relieve symptoms and help reduce complications and recurrence or can be used for the maintenance treatment of a long term problem, to help reduce the need for medication and surgery.

How does Acupuncture work?

The goal of acupuncture is to establish healthy body function by restoring the natural circulation of energy, or life force known in Chinese medicine as Qi. (This is pronounced as "chee" and is also commonly spelt as ch'i, chi or ki).


Qi is a fundamental concept of everyday Chinese culture, most often defined as "air" or "breath" and, by extension, "life force" or "spiritual energy" that is part of everything that exists.


The pathways through which this vital energy flows are known as meridians.


According to Chinese medical tradition, theres constant interchange between the Qi of the body and the Qi of the environment: external Qi, which can be good or harmful. Within the body, Qi is said to perform several functions, one of which is protection against harmful Qi. If this protective Qi is strong, it acts as a defence. If it is weak, resistance is lowered and you may become ill.


Along the bodys meridians, there are over 500 acupuncture points. Good Qi is thought to be restored to these areas by stimulation for example with needles, although occasionally massage, herbs, or suction cups may be used on these points.


What conditions can Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treat?

The following is a comprehensive list of some of the conditions treatable by Acupuncture & TCM, as outlined by the World Health Organisation.


Diseases or disorders highlighted indicate that there is more in depth information available on this condition on Acupuncture.com.au


The diseases or disorders for which acupuncture therapy has been tested in controlled clinical trials reported in the recent literature can be classified into four categories as shown below.


1. Diseases for which acupuncture may be considered mainstream treatment: (Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which acupuncture has been proved through controlled trials-to be an effective treatment)


Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy
Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
Biliary colic
Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)
Dysentery, acute bacillary
Dysmenorrhoea, primary
Epigastralgia, acute (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and gastrospasm)
Facial Pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
Headache and Migraine (View detailed Acupuncture Q&A information)
Hypertension, essential
Hypotension, primary
Induction of labour
Knee Pain
Leukopenia
Low back Pain (View detailed Acupuncture Q&A information)
Malposition of fetus, correction of
Morning sickness
Nausea and vomiting
Neck Pain (View detailed Acupuncture Q&A information)
Pain in dentistry (including dental Pain and temporomandibular dysfunction)
Periarthritis of shoulder
Postoperative Pain
Renal colic
Rheumatoid arthritis
Sciatica
Sprain
Stroke
Tennis elbow

2. Diseases for which acupuncture is effective, but further proof is needed to include it into mainstream healthcare: (diseases, symptoms or conditions for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown but for which further proof is needed)
Abdominal Pain (in acute gastroenteritis or due to gastrointestinal spasm)
Acne vulgaris
Alcohol dependence and detoxification
Bell's palsy
Bronchial asthma (View detailed Acupuncture Q&A information) (most effective in children and in patients without complicating diseases)
Cancer Pain
Cardiac neurosis
Cholecystitis, chronic, with acute exacerbation
Cholelithiasis
Competition stress syndrome
Craniocerebral injury, closed
Diabetes mellitus, non-insulin-dependent (View detailed Acupuncture Q&A information)
Earache
Epidemic haemorrhagic fever
Epistaxis, simple (without generalized or local disease)
Eye Pain due to subconjunctival injection
Female infertility (View detailed Acupuncture Q&A information)
Facial spasm
Female urethral syndrome
Fibromyalgia and fasciitis
Gastrokinetic disturbance
Gouty arthritis
Hepatitis B virus carrier status
Herpes zoster (human (alpha) herpesvirus 3)
Hyperlipaemia
Hypo-ovarianism
Insomnia
Labour Pain
Lactation, deficiency
Male sexual dysfunction, non-organic
Ménière disease
Neuralgia, post-herpetic
Neurodermatitis
Obesity
Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence
Osteoarthritis (View detailed Acupuncture Q&A information)
Pain due to endoscopic examination
Pain in thromboangiitis obliterans
Polycystic ovary syndrome (Stein-Leventhal syndrome)
Postextubation in children
Postoperative convalescence
Premenstrual syndrome (View detailed Acupuncture Q&A information)
Prostatitis, chronic
Pruritus
Radicular and pseudoradicular Pain syndrome
Raynaud syndrome, primary
Recurrent lower urinary-tract infection
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
Retention of urine, traumatic
Schizophrenia
Sialism, drug-induced
Sjögren syndrome
Sore throat (including tonsillitis)
Spine Pain, acute
Stiff neck (View detailed Acupuncture Q&A information)
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
Tietze syndrome
Tobacco dependence
Tourette syndrome
Ulcerative colitis, chronic
Urolithiasis
Vascular dementia
Whooping cough (pertussis)


3. Diseases for which acupuncture is worth trying, because the treatment by western medicine is difficult: (Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which there are only individual controlled trials reporting some therapeutic effects, but for which acupuncture is worth trying because treatment by conventional and other therapies is difficult)
Chloasma
Choroidopathy, central serous
Colour blindness
Deafness
Hypophrenia
Irritable colon syndrome
Neuropathic bladder in spinal cord injury
Pulmonary heart disease, chronic
Small airway obstruction

4. Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which acupuncture may be tried provided the practitioner has special modern medical knowledge and adequate monitoring equipment:
Breathlessness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Coma
Convulsions in infants
Coronary heart disease (angina pectoris)
Diarrhoea in infants and young children
Encephalitis, viral, in children, late stage
Paralysis, progressive bulbar and pseudobulbar

The following are other conditions Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine can treat which are not classified using the above system.
Acute sinusitis
Common Cold
Acute bronchitis
Acute conjunctivitis
Central retinitis
Myopia (in children)
Cataract (without complications)
Toothache, post-extraction pain
Gingivitis
Acute and chronic pharyngitis
Spasms of esophagus and cardia
Hiccough
Gastroptosis
Acute and chronic gastritis
Gastric hyperacidity
Chronic duodenal ulcer (pain relief)
Acute duodenal ulcer (without complications)
Acute and chronic colitis
Acute bacillary dysentery
Constipation
Diarrhea
Paralytic ileus
Trigeminal neuralgia
Frozen shoulder
Pareses following a stroke
Sequelae of poliomyelitis (early stage, i.e., within six months)
Meniere's disease
Nocturnal enuresis
Intercostal neuralgia
Cervicobrachial syndrome

Ive always known about acupuncture but never realy thought about trying it...SOOOOOO glad I gave it ago.  I recomend it for everything.

Im Baaaack!

Ive been M.I.A lately.  Ive just so much going on...7 weeks of school holidays, start of the new school year, AND I managed to give our bedroom a makeover (more on that later).
Anyways, just logging on to touch base and say Im back in the world of blogging.
xoxoxox