Where have I been???

Ok yes I know I have been AWOL for a little while but I do have a really good excuse. You see last year while  Fred was posted overseas, on a remote South Pacific Island without me might I add, I bought a house.

In Tasmania.

Over the internet.

Without Fred.

Which until a couple of weeks ago he HADN'T seen in the flesh so to speak!!!

Yup I bought a house. It's not a palace but she has good bones and she is just a little tired and in need of a face lift. We have moved my Mum into her and we have started down the time honored path of "RENOVATIONS"!!!

So here are some of the before and after photos

The Bathroom BEFORE being reno'd

Pretty much a shocker huh???
 But check out the bathroom now!!!

 We took out the wall between the toilet and bathroom, took out the shower over the bath and the bath and put in just a shower, new vanity, took off all the dark and dingy wood panelling, put in a new toilet, replaced all the original plasterboard,installed an IXL Tastic which heats and has the exhaust fan built in, painted it all, put in laminex splash boards, and instead of a swing door we made use of the wall cavity and put in a sliding door. Oh and the washing machine now resides in the bathroom as the current laundry is going to be turned into a pantry!!!

The interior of the house had a paint job from HELL!!! From the horrible green/blue in the kitchen and lounge to the apricot in the hallway and sunshine yellow in the toilet....prepare your eyes for this...

 to this....

Amazing what a bit of paint and some new carpet throughout will do for a place.

Most of the transformation work has been done by my Mum as it's a bit of a commute from here In WA to Tassie and we will be eternally grateful for what she has done so far. Mind you we did manage to get a fair bit done around the place while there over Easter....mainly in the Gardens...although Fred had to completely rewire the shed and he did put up a washing line in the Garage for Mum. All in all she ( the house not Mum) is coming along nicely. All things going well the new kitchen will be going in later this year depending on how nice the Taxman is to us....

So may I please be forgiven for being AWOL now....I can get a note from my Mum if you need it....


PS here are a few more photos from around the house

Little Miss K and I out the front of the house

new garden bed

front garden

the new washing line in the garage

A CRAP-TACU-LAR morning

I got out of bed this morning
Felt like crap
Still breathing so I figure that has to be a bonus
Felt like crap
Had a shower
Felt like crap
Got dressed
Still felt like crap
Took Fred to work and Little Miss K to school
Feeling even crappier
Wrote this blog which is all about me feeling like crap
It is definately a CRAP-TACU-LAR day

I'm going back to bed

I have "The Lurgy"

I have 'The Lurgy'

My teeth itch and my hair hurts

I ache all over

My nose is all stuffed up

My throat is sore

....and I dont know what I want or what I want to do!!!

Yup I definately have 'The Lurgy'

My wonderful Fred is looking after me bringing me drinks, drugs (paracetamol) and asking if I want food.

I think I will go back to bed now my brain hurts.

A Prince and Princess in PINK????

When two people (That would be me and Fred) who were sports mad until our late teens and beyond produce a child one would expect that aforesaid resulting child would ALSO turn out to at least have some interest in participating in some sporting event. WRONG!!!! I have never met a child so NOT into any form of sport...well she did try Little Athletics at 5 but broke her arm 6 weeks after starting it....in fact Little Miss K will tell you she doesnt play any sport because she doesnt like exercising!!!

However whilst Little Miss K doesnt like exercising she does dance. In fact she dances 6 dance classes a week!! Jazz Ballet, Hip Hop, Cheerleading, Acrobatics, Classical Ballet and a private lesson to rehearse and develop competition routines. She would love to also do Tap but being I am such a MEAN and NASTY mother I said no to that as she needs a life (actually I need a life) outside just dancing. 5 days a week you will find Fred and or myself at a dance studio dropping her off and picking her up....but according to Little Miss K dancing isn't exercising it's just fun...

Which leads me to " A Prince and Princess in Pink".  A second member of our Clan has taken up dancing...in fact Classical Ballet....in work boots!!! Yes Fred is going to be dancing as Little Miss K's dance partner this year...not only in the end of year dance concert but ALSO in Competition later this year!!! For a man who has two left feet and no sense of rythmn AND the fact he has to dance classical ballet steps in work boots he is doing really well. You see Little Miss K begged her Daddy to dance with her this year and I'm proud to say he agreed to do it. He has accepted that he WILL be wearing a pink leotard with a pink tutu and work boots. He has accepted he will be wearing full face make up while wearing his beard. He has accepted he will be wearing fake eyelashes with jewels on them. He has accepted he will be the clown to Little Miss K's prim and proper ballerina trying to teach him to dance.

So to date they have been rehearsing each week and I was allowed to see some of the rehearsals and they are coming on really well.....but I am concerned...while looking at plain hot pink lycra the other week for his leotard Fred quite calmly announced...." I want sparkles" in a voice reminiscent of a Little Britain Character sort of an "I want that one".... Maybe he is getting too serious about this....or maybe he is getting in touch with the inner girlie within in....I think this needs to be kept an eye on...

So there you have it a Prince and Princess in Pink....photos will be posted as soon as we take some...

Who the hell am I??? Well....

....some of you who follow my blog have met me in person and so have an inkling as to who I am and what I like...some of you are friends I have made online and met in real life and the rest of you have met me online and have become someone I call a friend...so I thought that just maybe I should give you all an insight to me so here is a list of things you might NOT know about me...

- I like Old Master Paintings - Rembrant, Rubens, Bottecelli etc
- I like my steak well done and dead...not mooing and still bleeding and running around my plate
- I dont wear dresses as a rule....OK I wore a dress the last time we were in Tuvalu but that was only because we went to a wedding!!!

- I have a metal bridge in my mouth with 4 false teeth on it
- Vegemite is my favourite spread on toast or a sandwich
- I have several tattoos

- When Fred snores he drives me bat shit and I have been known to bruise him in an effort to get him to  SHUT UP!!!
- Mummy time is NEVER interrupted by Fred and Little Miss K..unless blood is involved
- Having an underactive thyroid is a major contributor to my weight problem
- I dont have a problem with being overweight...but apparently other people do GET A LIFE PEOPLE!! Just because I'm fat doesnt mean I am stupid or lazy!!!
- I am terrible at housework....I have an extremely well lived in house...it is untidy but clean
- Who says you have to wear matching socks??
- I am renown for going out wearing my t-shirts inside out, back to front OR both at the same time
- Hubby and I have been together 14 years...married for 13yrs this year.....but due to his work hubby has been away for around 8 years in total during the past 14 years
- I dislike hot chips
- but I like baked potatoes
- I kill everything green and growing except 3 cactii Fred and Little Miss K bought me 3 years ago
- Picnics in bed are great
- I'm not a fan of ice cream but when I do eat it I usually prefer vanilla
- I havent met a chocolate I didnt like yet
- I have two middle names... Henrica  and Elizabeth after both my Grandmothers
- One of my Grandmothers is still alive at 92 and she still lives independantly

- I hope I look as good as my Oma when I get to 92
- I love reading other peoples blogs
- I am a hoarder....I have married a hoarder
- This is my second marriage...Fred says he is being environmentally friendly and recycling me
- Fred is 7 1/2 years younger than me...that makes me a COUGAR...yeah baby

- I have a very ecclectic taste in music from the classics to heavy metal and everything in between
- I was a champion swimmer in my teens
- I love to cook
- I love to scrapbook...paper or digital...I do 'em both
- Fred tells me I am anally retentive when it comes to correct gramma and speling and punktuation
- I cannot text using shrtcts or abb. txt I have to write everything out
- Little Miss K has to do everything for me with the tv remotes...once she goes to bed I am stuck on whatever channel is on most of the time
- I have a Diploma in Canteen Management and Operation
- I love to travel but hate flying...I dont have a fear of flying but it just drives me nuts to be stuck in one place for so long til I get to where I am going
- I dont iron....except when Fred asks me to iron his uniforms
- I dont buy clothes that need ironing
- I can spot a mark down at 500 paces
- I can whip a meal for 30 people up in under half an hour
- I cant cook for 3 people....we eat a lot of leftovers in this house
- IKEA is the best place on earth!!! I love it....last time we went there I was after a $300 wall unit...thank goodness Fred put the trailer on the car as I spent $3000!!!! Then he had to put it all together
- I am very quick in the shower
- I hate sewing and knitting because I dont do them well


So Dear Read know you know just a little more about me.....many thanks to Romina over at the Martyr-hood blog for giving me the idea for my blog today.....

Testicles, spectacles, keys, wallet, watch........

....yeah I thought I might get your attention with that blog heading!!! This is the mantra Fred recites almost without fail before he/we go out anywhere....and you'd be right if you thought "well thats a typical blokey thing for a male to say" and you would be right. You see my Fred is what I like to think of as a "mans man". He's hairy and boofy, he releases odiferous man smells, he likes a drink he ONLY shaves his face, he likes to watch sport, he thinks fart jokes are hilarious and therefore it is his duty to share all of his farts with us and so on.

He is I think a dying breed. These days we seem to want a more effeminate style man. One who shaves more than his face you know the whole back, sack and crack deal....men who cleanse and moisturize their "manhides".....men who are more in touch with their feminine sides. Check out ANY womens magazine and thats what you see men denuded of all their body hair and articles on how your man should act in keeping with todays world and todays modern woman.

I dont know about you Dear Reader but these days our men seem to have lost all of their rights to be "blokes" in exchange for us women getting equal rights. Todays man must walk the tightrope of political correctness and a whole range of issues to avoid offending we women.

Generally as a rule Fred and I DO have an equal partnership we share household chores and child rearing duties (when he is living in the same house in the same country of course) but there are still things he does because it's the blokey thing to do and he chooses to do them. He mows the lawns, changes lightbulbs, puts out the rubbish, cooks the BBQ's when we entertain (I do the whole salad and nibbly bit), he changes the flat tyres and puts air in the tyres too. I like it...I like it a lot...dont get me wrong he's not chauvanistic but he feels that part of his job in life is to look after his family and I really appreciate that AND it makes me feel special.

I love my not so politically correct, hairy, odiferous man...he rocks my world just the way he is...well not the odiferous part so much.....this is what makes him HIM!!!

Why do you Blog??

I have had many friends ask me this....why do I blog...well there are lots of reasons why I blog. Initially it started out as a place for me to "show off" with what I was doing scrapping wise and about mine and Kaitlyns travels BUT now it has turned into a place for me to vent, write about something that has happened to me or my family and even a place to air my views. This is my space for what ever is rattling around in my head. I dont blog every day and sometimes an idea might take a day or two to germinate into something I want to share.

I dont have a lot of people who follow my blog through other blogs but I have a lot of people who follow it via Facebook....wonderous place that it is...and it's funny I can post my latest blog there and  even if I only get one comment on what someone thought about my "thoughts for the day" it can really make my day.

I dont mind  if you agree or disagree with what I have or find something I wrote funny or not funny but the fact dear reader that YOU  have taken the time to read it and make a comment on it can be a real boost. It's the small things like this that makes lifes journey that little bit more special...so feel free to comment anytime any place....

Toilets and telephones!!! Part 2

Well this is more to do with toilets than telephones but have you ever noticed that from the time we start toilet training our kids, and even before we start training them, how fascinated they are with toilets??? Just pushing the button kept Little Miss K amused for a long time as did the idea of unrolling the toilet paper tearing it into small pieces and shoving it up her nose until it was so tightly packed a trip to the hospital was required....but I digress.

To we adults a toilet is simply a place to take care of bodily functions....but to a child it is almost like a magical place. Put something in the toilet....push the button....oooooh it's gone!!! Lets put Mummys phone in the toilet...push the button...nah still there...put Mummys letter in the toilet in little pieces...push the button....ooooh it's gone....ooooh look dog biscuits float in the toilet...now flush...ooooh still there!!!

This fascination with toilets isn't just contained to the family home...when we get ready to go out we tell the kids "go to the toilet before we leave" and as sure as eggs are eggs the minute we get to where we are going, even if it is only a 5 minute drive,  "Mum/Dad I need to go to the toilet". Whats with that??? Do they also have a "fill bladder instantly on arrival" gene?? Nope it's the "I wanna check out the loo" gene. Shopping centres, supermarkets (Show me a Mum who hasn't done the "in the middle of grocery shopping" toilet dash with a small child "I have to go NOW Mum), local parks and even friends houses. I have to admit I now know where the toilets are in nearly every shopping centre, service station and local parks  between the East and West Coasts of Australia along with all Australian airports and a few international airports thrown in for good luck.

Even now at the grand old age of 9 1/2 years of age Little Miss K will need to go especially if it is somewhere we havent been before....

Oh and by the way has anyone seen my mobile phone???

Toilets and telephones!!! Part 1

Probably two of the most useful inventions of all time would have to be the flushing toilet and the telephone! Both of these items have given me some memorable conversations with my daughter, Little Miss K. You see I believe she has a "must talk to Mum" gene which is only activated when I either go to the toilet OR am having a phone conversation with someone. We can spend a WHOLE day at home together and she will have only spoken to me a couple of times and then I go to the toilet and WHAMMO!!!

Little Miss K: (screaming from the other end of the house) Muuuuuuuuum where are you???

Me: I'm in the toilet

Little Miss K: If you are in the toilet you will get wet Mummy

Me: Ok I'm on the toilet


Little Miss K: What are you doing Mum???

Me: well I'm doing what most people do on the toilet

Little Miss K: Oh so you are doing poo's and wee's Mum? Can you read me a story Mum???

Me: can I do it when I get off the toilet??

Little Miss K: Ok can I have something to eat???

Me: Yes I will get you something in a minute

A few seconds of silence then ensue followed by

Little Miss K: Muuuuuuuum are you finished yet???

Me: Almost

Little Miss K:Well I'm really hungry Mummy. Dont forget to wipe your bottom Mum...and wash your hands

Me: Yes Sweetheart thank you for reminding me

So you get the drift I would also add that there is also no privacy when it comes to toilets in our house with  Little Miss K.She has been known to almost fling the door off it's hinges to have a conversation with myself or Fred while we sit contemplating life!!!

Then of course there is the telephone no matter what Little Miss K will start a phone conversation with me while I am talking to someone on the phone. Mind you this has had it's advantages. In the days prior to the Do Not Call Register I would get unsolicited phone calls from people trying to sell me stuff. But I would politely tell them I wasnt interested but would they like to talk to my daughter??? Oh yes came the reply...so I would duly hand the phone over to Little Miss K, whose favourite film at the time was "The Lion King" (well she was only 3) and she would start rabbitting on about the movie. It was so hard not to laugh when she would look at me with tears in her eyes as she told me "Dey did hanged up Mummy"

To be continued.........

Quality Time

Quality time is an informal reference to time spent with loved ones (e.g., close family, partners or friends) which is in some way important, special, productive or profitable.

This is something that plays a VERY large role in the lives of Little Miss K, Fred and myself. You see Fred and I have been together since 1997, 14 years, and we married in 1998. When we first met he was posted to a patrol boat in Western Australia. He would go away for 6 weeks then be home for 2 weeks (still going into work each day), go away for 6 weeks then home for 2 weeks that's just how it was and I accepted that. If I wanted this relationship to work then that's how it would be. It was made harder by the fact I moved to Melbourne for 9 months to get away from a not so nice ex-husband while Fred was still in the West.

But we worked at it...we had to....we snatched periods of time together we made the most of them. In our first 12 months together we spent a total of 52 days together and that wasn't in one big hit either it was a week here a few days there. Each moment had to be cherished and made the most of. Now 14 years on I look back and sometimes wonder where this time has gone....but we STILL today manage to have quality time together.

Quality time isn't something you can measure into a definative thing....it doesn't have to cost you money ...... all it costs is time well spent together.

I look back over the last 14 years and I bring out those memories of time spent with Little Miss K and Fred , each one of them polished and wrapped in the love of our family, some of them photographed most of them just memories in my mind, some make me cry, some make me laugh but ALL of them make me feel all gooey on the inside.

Fred and I actually sat down one day not so long ago and worked out that in 14 years he has been away serving his country for around 8 years of those 14 years....but I wouldn't change a minute of any of it because we always manage to have quality of time together. I would rather Fred be the kind of Father he is, one who  sits down and plays Lego or colors in or reads a story or watches a movie with our daughter and only be home with us part time than be a Dad who works 9-5 five and spends bugger all time with his child.

For Fred and I our relationship does take a back seat to our daughter needs HOWEVER we still find time for US...it might be sitting on our bed having a picnic dinner watching a movie with a few glasses of wine or it might be just sitting in each others company. Even mundane things like going grocery shopping together becomes quality time together. we wander up and down the aisles, shopping list in hand, I push the trolley he gets stuff off the shelves and we talk...and we talk...and we talk...he puts naughty stuff in the trolley (stuff not on the list) and I take it out again!! We don't have the luxury of having family close by so when we go to visit my Mum we always have a night away while Little Miss K spends the night with her beloved Nanny. So your time together is what YOU make of it......

People often ask if I get jealous of the amount of time Fred spends with Little Miss K and how they go off and about together and my answer is always a most emphatic NO!!! People forget that while he may only be home with us for a few weeks I have had the joy of being with her for all those months in between seeing him. If anything they should be asking him if he is jealous of all the time I get to spend with her!!!

Mmmmm I seem to have rambled a bit tonight....but I figure Dear Reader you will have by now gotten the drift of this post.....make the most of the time you are given with your family quality NOT quantity is what counts.....make memories to last that have been polished with love.

Finally  we have Fred home on what is called a "Shore Posting" for 12 months. 12 months of him coming home every night (in theory nothing is concrete when you deal with Defence ) . 12 months of being able to be with him and talk to him and just do stuff as a family....lots of memories to be made here.....

THAT MAN!!!! . . . . . a love letter

THAT MAN. . . . . . . as many of you would be aware my husband of 13yrs has recently finished a 2 1/2 year overseas posting to Tuvalu.....for 2 1/2 years he has come in and out of mine and Little Miss K's life....home for a few weeks then gone again.....or we would fly up to see him in Tuvalu.....or we would meet him in Fiji for a week to 10 days.....

For 2 1/2 years I was Mum and  sometimes Dad....I did the washing, the cleaning, changing light globes, putting the bins out, doing school lunches, doing the school run, almost living down at the dance studio while Little Miss K did 6 dance lessons a week, attending School Mass, parent teacher meetings, nursing Little Miss K through coughs and colds, cuts and bruises, wiped away her tears, feeding the dog, doing the grocery shopping and putting it away and every thing else that running a household entails.....dont get me wrong I knew that this was how things would be when we got together and that married  life with an RAN sailor would be hard at times and interesting and testing and trying......but suddenly WHAMMO!!!

THAT MAN is suddenly back in our lives!!! Suddenly there is another person in my bed who likes to hog the covers and snores....this person suddenly takes on jobs I have been doing for the last couple of years....I mean who does he think he is??? I am PERFECTLY capable of putting the bin out and I do know how to use the washing machine you know......I am sure that I can load a dishwasher.....take  Little Miss K to school and dance.... oh and did I point out that your odiferous man smells are still just that very odiferous but now I have you and Little Miss K and the dog all competing to see who can be the stinkiest of the lot....

You forget at times you are no longer driving in Tuvalu where the speed limit is only 30kph and then you think you can do whatever speed you like...life isnt as "relaxed" as it was in the South Pacific....

BUT....it is nice to be part of a pair again.....nice to have an adult to talk to at night.....nice to have someone else do the washing, putting the bins out, take Little Miss K to school and dance, feeding the dog, helping out with the grocery shopping and the putting away of aforesaid groceries, doing all the driving ...even if I may possibly need trauma counselling soon , I can even put up with the snoring and the doona hogging.

I have missed THAT MAN and he has so easily slipped back into our lives, the transition has been a lot easier than I thought it would be. Yes we still have our moments but THAT MAN is MY MAN!!! He treats me and Little Miss K like Princess's...nothing is too much effort for him , he rarely complains even when he has to clean up any "accidents" the Fur Baby may leave from time to time, he does the washing, he is a dab hand with the "Easy Off BAM" cleaning stuff. No matter how horrid I am to him from time to time- well ok a right BIATCH- he loves me unconditionally no matter what and accepts me for who I am.. He is the best Daddy in the World (just ask Little Miss K)

THAT MAN!!! is THIS MAN

My husband, lover, best friend, soul mate, my reason for living....This is My Fred....I love you!!!!

Maree


PS

We still need to work on the odiferous man smells!!!!

My life in a box!!!

You know what the best part of being a hoarder is??? BOXES!!! Add to that I am married to a hoarder who is just as bad as me so it makes for twice the boxes!!! Fred and I have recently been going through boxes and more boxes....some of them we havent opened since we left Darwin 11 years ago!!! Yes you read that right boxes unopened for 11 years. Oh the memories that have come out of those boxes ..... our wedding photos, the flowers I carried on our wedding day, old clothing, books, stuffed toys from when Fred and I first got together, cassette tapes (remember those) and the list goes on.

So the dilema is what to do with it all .... do I throw it all out??? I know many of you will be saying if you haven't used it or missed it you dont need  it. Which is all fine and well but there are a lot of memories that I DON'T want to part with but I dont want to put these things out on display either. Obviously the old clothing, which may I say a lot of it is still in good condition will be washed, is heading for the Op Shop ... and there is some stuff that I have wondered "why did I keep this" that will find it's way down to the local recycle and rubbish centre.

The answer to all my problems lies at one of Fred's favourite places to shop  ...  BUNNINGS!!! Plastic crates with clip lock lids. This will be a way to store mine and Fred's precious memories from climate and mice and bugs and we can store them neatly in the garage AND I can label each one with what is in it. I know it's not the ideal long term solution but with the possibility it could be another 20 years before Fred and I ever buy and live in our own home due to his work comittments it is the best we can do for now. Dont get me wrong we did and have culled a LOT of our "junk" but some things I just cant part with  .... how do you throw out your old Brownies beret, belt and badges??? You dont you put them in a plastic crate and then just bring them out from time to time .....

Of course what happens when 2 hoarders have a child??? Yup Little Miss K is now turning into a hoarder!! But hopefully she will eventually figure out the "good" stuff to keep and NOT every scrap of paper she owns!! We are going to have to work on that.

Oh look some more boxes..............

So much to think about...

Since I decided to revive and bring back to life my blog I have almost been over whelmed with the simple question of "Where do I start?" So much has happened in the last 2 years...Little Miss K has grown so much...Fred has finally completed his 2 1/2 year overseas posting in Tuvalu....Little Miss K and I have clocked up 32 domestic and 30 international flights which is no mean feat when you consider how vast Australia by itself is....we have spent a LOT of time in Fiji and Tuvalu and made a LOT of new friends...we have become a part of a family in Fiji and welcomed into our new familys village Little Miss K now has a Fijian name which is Kallora.... Fred and I bought a house in Tasmania which my Mum is living in and looking after it for us....

As I sat and thought about it I figured that you dear reader wouldn't mind whatever I write here and if it's not in chronological order then thats ok too...so I think I will just have to go back through the literally thousands of photos we have taken and begin to post them here for your perusing pleasure...

So off to the photo mines I go!!!

Oh Dear has it really been that long????

I have been playing with the idea of getting back into my blog for a few weeks now and when I popped in here to have a look I was ASTONISHED to see that it has been nearly 2 years...yes 2 years....since I had written on my blog!!!

How on Earth did I lose two years???

Nah can't have lost two years!!!!

Yup I have two years of Manic Musings that I haven't written about.....so I am going to go and have a little sit and think about this.....this needs to be rectified....I think I need a lay down....but

I'M BACK BLOG WORLD!!!!!