#806 Bubbles

Bubbles.

There is something magical, a surreal quality to them. They appear out of seemingly nowhere, transformed from liquid with the assistance of a simple breath, and float like transcendent clouds around you, transfixing you with their iridescent reflection and amplified view of the surrounds, until, quite suddenly –

POP!

I spent some time with baby girl today out in the yard, getting excited over these beautiful clear baubles. We used all manner of bubble instruments. First a battery-operated bubble machine that pumped them out at high volume; next was the bubble gun that responded to your finger trigger, shooting them out wherever it was pointed; and lastly, the basic and simplest of them all, the wand.

I showed her how to get the large bubbles out, by waving slowly yet with strength from side to side, to produce the big bubbles you see above.

I kept telling her I was going to go inside and start dinner, and that each time I spent waving the wand, or watching her wave it, would be my last…

But I couldn’t go away. There was something beautiful in the moment that made me stay.

#805 Chaddy shopping day no.6

It’s always a good day when you get what you set out to purchase. This happened at Chadstone today, where I got a pair of new jeans I have been desperately needing.

A doughnut helped us move along too.

😉

#804 Pre-work cafe writing

Today, I did that little thing that I do sometimes… I left the house for work at 7am, even though I didn’t have to start until 9:30am.

No, it doesn’t take me 2 and a half hours to get to work. It takes me 1 hour when things are going well – so where were those other 90 minutes going?

I got to work and parked. I then walked

down the path to my destination of choice –

A CAFE.

I had brought my laptop in with me, so as I woke up with an indulgent egg and hash muffin, so too did the words on the screen light up and come alive…

With the help of some caffeine too.

I never would have thought that I’d ever forgo sleep to get up and get some ‘me time’ in. It’s not purely the ‘me time’ that dictates what time I get up though: I want to get up and out of the house early so that baby girl isn’t upset if she sees me leave for work.

Avoiding an angry and sad child is a STRONG motivator. Wanting some writing time, is the extra icing on the cake.

It was a perfect and relaxed start to the day. The more I ‘cafe write’ the more I feel absolutely legit as a writer.

Wait a minute. I am not a writer solely based on where and how I write, and what it is I write, and whether I am published or not…

I am a writer, simply because, shortest English sentence here – I AM. 

And YOU are too… simply. Whatever you want to be, you already ARE.

#803 New place, old feels

I was in a new place within my old ‘hood today…

And no matter how new and improved some places become, still, the ‘feels’ remain. The emotions and memories and time spent there with loved ones, the catch-ups and stories you can tell about what happened many moons ago, well those are priceless. No amount of renovating could take that away.

I have no qualms about new and improved, and renovations. Noooo, siree. I caught up with an old work friend in the new entertainment eatery section of Westfield in Plenty Valley, and while baby girl had a ball climbing in the above NEW suspended rope tunnels in the funky outdoor area, I enjoyed a bird and brie burger from an eatery which may or may not have been there before… but it was still all NEW to me.

I am happy for changing and for trying new things, embracing what is ahead while still holding onto what is dear to me from the past. That was what was representative of today.

And over time, those new places give you new feels, which over time turn into old feels… and that’s how memories are made 🙂

#802 Parcels of boy/joy

I placed the order at least a month ago. Not long ago I got 1 out of the 2 parcels I was expecting, and then I proceeded to wait… and wait… and wait…

I started to worry the second package had gotten lost in the mail, so I went through my junk mail folder to find a confirmation email from the supplier that had a tracking code for my parcel.

I would click on it every day, and watch the status update:

Arrived and processed in NSW Australia Post

Arrived and processed in Sunshine Australia Post…

I watched and waited, eagerly waiting for the next heading underneath to light up.

Today it did.

Your order will be delivered today!

So, when I saw a Fast Track van come to a stop near our house after I had picked up baby girl from kinder today, I wasted no time.

I mean, we had waited a month for this. Hubbie was home for lunch too, and there was no way I was letting him miss out. This, would be GOLD. I ran off to a closet where I had stashed the first, unopened parcel, and then ran into baby girl’s play area to find two of her dolls – Anna from Frozen and Rapunzel from Tangled.

Because you see, I wasn’t excited about a parcel or special something I had ordered for myself… even something for Hubbie… but the object of my wild anticipation at crazy happiness was for our little girl. A little girl, who would no doubt have a big reaction at what she didn’t know was coming.

Because two of our girl’s favourite dolls, were getting BOYFRIENDS today.

Baby girl had expressed sadness some time ago that in playing with her dolls, she couldn’t marry off Rapunzel and Anna to their on-screen movie beaus – that being Eugene and Kristoff. Although what she calls them are the girls ‘best friends’ – aww, so perfectly fitting when you think about it. There were none to be found in any toy shops we visited, and I knew there and then that they would undoubtedly be found online, but of course, for a $.

I found them for a somewhat ‘ok’ price. And all of this time, feigning that I didn’t know how to find them, that we had to keep looking, pretending it wouldn’t happen, I was secretly brimming with helpless excitement, at the thought of baby girl LOSING HER FREAKING MIND.

And she did. I brought over her dolls and told her they wanted to look in the boxes – the presents were for them, NOT for baby girl. Baby girl protested, even though she was clueless to the contents “yes it is for me!”

“Are you sure?” I asked cheekily as I slit the tape from the boxes to make it easier for her to open.

OH THE SCREAMS! The high-pitch! Her high voice already makes me deaf, and today I was made more so. Watching her losing it over dolls she wasn’t expecting AT ALL, especially today, was such a joy to witness, I laughed out loud during it all. SO WORTH IT.

You can be sure we spent most of the day following the delivery playing with her dolls… and after all of her earlier fanfare, she tells me now that Eugene and Kristoff DON’T want to marry their girls.

Ha. Typical boys.

 

 

#801 Anzac Day gratitude

Each day is what you make of it. Even if you aren’t doing something you would like to be doing, you can still adjust your attitude, and look for ways to make things better for yourself.

I was working… on a public holiday… AGAIN. But the streets were quiet, I had no traffic both to and from work, and I revelled in this momentary ease of work commute, knowing I wouldn’t get another one like this mid-week anytime soon.

And because of the public holiday… we got free pizza for lunch.

I know, I know, carb-fest. So sue me.

I then had a tiff with Hubbie, so spent some of the day feeling lowly, but we made up when I got home, as he had started a…

BBQ! Baby girl photobombing AGAIN. Yes I only made up with him because of the BBQ. 😀

No, but really, I was happy to be home with my family.

I haven’t watched a proper game of AFL since before baby girl was born. But suddenly, I had the intense desire to see my team the Pies go against the Bombers in their classic April the 25th clash…

And what a game to recommence viewing of this fine sport. THEY WON.

And as I listened to the team song echoing out across the MCG, the player’s interviews, clapping along myself to it all, I looked out towards the view beyond our window, and saw this.

Yep, another sunset. But it was a sunset that meant so much more today, as today we were honouring the Anzacs, the fallen men and women who served our country in war, providing for us the freedom and democracy we have in the beautiful country we live in, today.

That sunset was for them.

Many things to be grateful for, on Anzac Day… least of all, the Anzacs.

 

#800 Milestone and sunset

It’s “whoop whoop” time! That’s because today we hit another milestone, that of the

8-0-0 kind.

:):):)

And to celebrate, Mother Nature put on a beautiful sunset for me.

Awww. Thanks love ♥

Out of curiosity, how are you finding this blog? Do you find it inspires you with its positivity, or do you find it frustrating, perhaps a bit too rose-coloured glasses like for you?

Please, honesty. I would appreciate it immensely as I’ve been tossing up things in my head as of late… is there anything you would like me to explore, or write about?

Thanks for reading and sticking around XOXO

 

#799 (Tiny) kitchen hand

I was preparing dinner. One of the things on tonight’s list were these too-easy mini pizzas I make using puff pastry, and they work just as well as a side dish as they do in baby girl’s kinder lunchbox.

She spied me, making them.

“Mama me help?”

I must have grumbled, or made no response. I was in one of those moods. You know that mood where you just want to get shit done, instead of entertaining someone and being all patient?

Sadly in that moment, I wasn’t the ‘let’s do this together honey!’ Mum I try to be. Rather I was the short-tempered and cranky ‘I’m busy!’ Mum.

I must have realised this though, because even when her back was turned as I got to a part that she could do, instead of quickly finishing them off myself, I called her over.

“Do you wanna help me sprinkle cheese?”

And after she did that, narrating “sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle” as she went, she then asked

“Can I roll?”

I breathed in deep for that one. God help me how would they turn out? … But sure, why the hell not? It was just rolling.

They turned out beautiful. One broke in the middle half-way through, but I didn’t even care. I had suddenly seen ourselves through my eyes 5 years earlier, and realised that she was helping me – wanting to help me in the kitchen – something a pre-Motherhood SmikG would have clapped her hands with joy for. Something a pre-baby me would have thought was the most cherished and beautiful thing in the world to share.

And so I pushed my busy-ness to the side, and stood in the glow of gratitude.

#798 Coffee breaks heal ALL

A new one in this series, only because there are so many time that a coffee visit can help:

Fatigue

Sadness

Hangover

Soreness

Inactivity

Crankiness

Boredom

A big weekend, EVEN

All of the above!

Today the instigating feelings were fatigue, soreness and crankiness

Who was with me on said coffee break? Why none other than my Hubbie and baby girl.

And the site of said coffee break? Via Boffe, with my initial review of the place done here. They have moved up considerably in my eyes since, with consistently good coffee, and sweet and petite desserts that are just enough, and yet somehow have you craving for another visit.

#797 The mutual middle ground of love

Over time, you make friends.

Signs of a really tight-knit group though? Becoming friends, with their friends.

Tonight we were at a birthday. These were originally my sister and bro-in-laws friends, though to be fair I’ve known the birthday boy almost all my life.

And over the years, they have also become our friends.

We invite them to our shin-digs… and like tonight, they invite us to theirs.

But it’s not just the official stuff. Birthdays and major celebrations and what not. We visit each other. We genuinely enjoy each other’s company. We don’t just see each other, over obligation to my sister and bro-in-law in the middle.

Speaking for myself… we really are friends.

And the fantastic part is… this has widened. And was made more official tonight. Because not only were we at this birthday party…

…but our OWN friends, were at this birthday party too!

What a marvellous thing when your friends are adopted, and invited into the circle, by your own family and friends.

All it takes is one invite. Just one. Once you are in the circle, that is it. You are in. And it is the funniest, most hilarious, genuine, happy and love-filled circle there is. Only good things and support and real friendship. That is ALL.

And that is also what counts the most.

So tonight was amazing, to be expected. To be in a room of family and friends where you have adopted people over the years, they have adopted you over the years, and now your own friends have been adopted…

:):):)

Today, tonight, I am grateful to the middle men/women, and also grateful that in being one ourselves, our circle GREW.

♥♥♥