Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Ten Things I've Learned This Week...


IMAGE : THE MOTHER LOAD | Ten Things I've Learned This Week
Like many others, we're on school holidays.

I usually equate the holidays to that age old expression, "it was the best of times, it the worst of times" but so far there's been more best than worst thankfully. Having said that, there's still a week and a half to go so I won't be making too many rash holiday statements at this stage. Damn it feels good to sleep in and not have to do school lunches every day though, doesn't it? Almost worth home-schooling just for that. (Clearly I'm throwing my head back and laughing madly into the air right about now. As if). 

Quite randomly, here are ten things I have learned this week:

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Today Is A Bit Shit...


IMAGE : THE MOTHER LOAD | Today Is A Bit Shit..
Despite the gorgeous sunshine that is warming my ghostly white skin and the excellent coffee that is resting in the palm of my hand, today is a bit shit. 

In relative terms the world is not ending, but our Honey dog (affectionately known here as the geriatric) has cancer. 

She recently had a lump removed and it's a secondary melanoma. It's kinda funny isn't it? Too much sunning herself by the pool in her hey day, one might think? Her doggy bikinis were too skimpy for proper coverage? I knew that backyard pool was a bad idea - I always suspected that as soon as we left the house she'd be out there, reclining on a banana lounge. I guess my suspicions were true.

Given that she's about fifteen years old, it feels okay. I don't feel angry or ripped off. It's not a waste and yes, the overused expression "she's had a good innings.." rings true but it kinda makes me sad to know what it is that will eventually take her because after all, she's Honey The Wonder Dog and pretty much nothing was going to take her as far as I was concerned. I guess I was wrong. 

We're resolved that treatment and further invasion is pointless and unfair so we'll let nature take its course and hopefully it will be a long and pain free journey for her. She's fifteen for God's sake - I could shout too close to her and she could drop dead at anytime (if she wasn't completely deaf). As I see it, she'll simply live out her days with us spending lots of time at the beach where she is happiest and when the time comes, she'll be farewelled as only a dog of her calibre should be. 

Anyway, whatever grievances I have with the universe currently (and I certainly have a few!), I'm keenly aware that there is always someone dealing with worse shit than you and today is no exception. So I'm sucking up this news, giving Honey a firm and tender pat on her grey head and we're off to the beach in some well put together, healing sunshine. And that's not so bad by comparison.



Saturday, September 20, 2014

To Be Or Not To Be? Don't Ask Me.....


IMAGE : MORGUEFILE.COM | To Be Or Not To Be Don't Ask Me
Decisions are so not my thing. 

My Mum says I've always been bad at making decisions - even the battle between a vegemite or peanut butter sandwich used to throw my head into a spin when I was a kid and I've been that way ever since. (Remember when we used to be allowed to take peanut butter to school? I know - those were the days).

Some decisions are small (aka peanut butter or vegemite) and some are life-altering. I tend to give equal amounts of attention to either size which means that a huge amount of my head space is wrapped up in a virtual two column scenario of pros and cons. I stand in line at the supermarket checkout silently pondering the big questions - if I go down this path, will this happen? What if I take the alternative route? Will I regret not taking the other?? Etc etc. I continuously recreate my own alternative scenes in my head like the plot from 'Sliding Doors' (minus the cute Scotsman, the Gwyneth P makeover and her cool late 90s hair cut).

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Home Is Where The Bath Is....


IMAGE : PINTEREST | Home Is Where The Bath Is
 * MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS.

We only have one bathroom. 

We moved from a house with a bathroom for every member of the family a few years ago and now, in the name of moving to a more desirable suburb close to school we live in a little "cottage". Calling it a cottage is my way of defining our ridiculously small abode while making it sound worthy of a House and Garden spread. In reality, it's a nice house but should be twice the size given how many family members we have. No really - I'm not being a massive sook, it's genuinely small. 

(Okay, well maybe I'm being a bit of a sook. First world problems and all that. Anyway, stay with me).

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

2014 - I'm Not A Fan!


IMAGE : THE MOTHER LOAD | 2014 - I'm Not A Fan

So I'm interested to hear - how would you rate your 2014 so far?

We're now three quarters of the way through and I'm wondering if you would say this year has been one of your best, one of your worst or one like any other? 

I've been pretty lucky from year to year - largely they've peeled past at a rapid rate, leaving our family relatively unscathed and allowing each of us to take the relevant steps onward and upward with ease and a generous dose of happiness. This year however, will probably go down in our history as one my family might rather put behind us. More accurately, I'd describe it as large bucket of steaming dog turd if such a comparison is called for. For various reasons, we've all found ourselves furiously spinning plates in the air just trying to tackle one life-altering issue to the next; you name it, my relatively small (but thankfully robust) family has tackled it in 2014.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Let's Go Play! A #GenBetter Initiative


IMAGE: THE MOTHER LOAD | Medibank #GenBetter
Let it be said that this is not a sponsored post. I just thought it was worth a share in the name of getting kids active and as much into good old fashioned play as my generation was when I was young (granted, that makes me sound really old).  Regardless, spring is here and we're finally getting a bit of sun so it may be time to wrestle those devices out of the hands of kids and force them out into the Vitamin D. 

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Happy Fathers Day, Dad


IMAGE : THE MOTHER LOAD | Happy Father's Day, Dad

Happy Father's Day to this guy.

He's my Dad. He's pretty cool, as you can see. And he plays the sax like a boss which automatically makes him even cooler.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Exercise - Meh


IMAGE : THE MOTHER LOAD | Exercise - Meh
Exercise.

It's just not my thing.

I do it but only when I've exhausted all of my excuses. I have this ridiculous conversation with myself on gym days that goes something like,

"MUST get to the gym today."

"I'm too tired - my thyroid is sluggish and I just need coffee and good conversation. Exercise - meh." 

"What? Don't be ridiculous. You had coffee and good conversation yesterday!"

"I know but I really like coffee. And I like my friends. And I need more work/ life balance."

"You're being pathetic. Squeeze your saggy ass into those skins, get that ill-fitting sports bra on and pull yourself together!" 

 Sometimes the active me wins, sometimes coffee wins. (Yay for coffee!).

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

My Bad Case Of OPG (Overstated Party Guilt)


THE MOTHER LOAD | Party Guilt
I have a small favour to ask. (I know - I'm needy, but stay with me).

Can we all please just take a large, deep breath and chill out about kid's birthday parties? Please?! Recently, I was wracked by a condition I'm referring to as OPG or 'Overstated Party Guilt', caused by over-thinking the ins and outs of the final invitee list. I had a bad case of OPG but at the same time, there was also a large part of me that was annoyed that I allowed myself to suffer through this silly condition because I made some well considered choices and I didn't particularly wish to invite the entire free world to our little party. Is that unreasonable? No really, tell me because maybe it is. Dunno. I figure I've either lost my radar on what is perfectly acceptable when it comes to kid's party guest lists or the world has gone a little bit mad when it comes to the importance of who's invited and who's not. Nonetheless, instead of feeling the joy of planning a get together for a little person who doesn't especially like big group activities, I found myself guilt-ridden and annoyed.  And that was pretty annoying in itself.
 
Still here? Bravo.

Monday, September 1, 2014

ProBlogger 2014 - You Were Awesome!


IMAGE : THE MOTHER LOAD  | ProBlogger 2014 - You Were Awesome


This past weekend, I attended ProBlogger - Australia's largest blogger conference on the Gold Coast. What a fantastic community of passionate, talented and dedicated people I am lucky enough to be part of.  I'm so pleased I forced myself to attend even though the idea of staying home and remaining curled up under a blanket of bloggy anonymity appealed to me so much more than getting in the taxi to the airport. Now on the other side of the experience, I'm happy to report that I'm changed! ProBlogger has changed me! Not in an "I've found God" kinda way or even in an "I'm going to give up sugar" kinda way but in an "I know where I want to go on my blogging journey" kinda way! Zing! (Yep - waaay too many exclamation marks here I know, but there's no other way to provide you with the full version of my excitement and post-conference energy so bear with me, OK?).