#1901 3 beach day

I stood on the sand after 4pm, telling baby girl’s friend’s mum, that it was in fact my third visit to the sea and sand that day.

“Oh, you poor thing,” she teased.

I did in fact, feel bad to say it out loud. 3 beach visits in a day? Gee, sounds stressful!

But it happened rather randomly and unexpectedly, and the way it happened felt like it was MEANT to happen.

Maybe because things have been so shit for some time, the Universe aligned to give me a great, sunshine-y day. 🌞

I had important errands this morning after school drop-off, and after they were done I grabbed an egg and bacon toastie from Banjo’s, a cappuccino from Store Fifteen, and walked on down to the beach.

• 

• 

I’d had an egg and bacon toastie from Banjo’s YONKS ago, and back then it had blown my mind. Well it was pretty delish today, not really any mind-blowing, but that’s because I think I had cheese then, and not today.

Having not had any food since waking up, that brekkie on the beach was the best thing ever. I made friends with the seagulls, squinted into the sun, and watched a sea plane land in the water! It was incredible.

Then my sister and parents visited after lunch, with the sole purpose being, ‘a beach visit.’

So, again. First it had been Mothers.

This time, Mills.

• 

• 

I really loved that my parents seemed to enjoy it. Sis enjoyed it of course, for sure, she loves the water as I do. She dipped her feet into the mild waters, and Dad even did a light jog alongside the water, which we were rapt to see.

I went to pick up baby girl from school hours later, looking forward to a chill afternoon. The last few days had been pretty busy.

But she and her friend had another plan in mind.

They wanted a beach playdate!

And so we found ourselves at Mills again, 30 minutes later. 🤦‍♀️

The water was colder, and the tide had come in so much, it actually blew my mind how short the span of sand now was. But us Mums sat and talked, the girls wade through the waters looking for so-called pearls, they made sandcastles, and we saw what we were pretty sure were dolphins, far off in the waters, spraying up water! Unbelievable.

3 beach visits. I know I’ve had 2 in a day before, but this is taking the cake, AND for the last day of April, in Autumn… just wow.

And it may seem overly boastful, or excessive… but trust me, with the way things have gone since last year, I need about 54 beach visits in a day to make up for all the hard times that have transpired.

But 3 is good for now. I’ll raincheck the rest. 😉

But now, I AM BUGGERED. Think I’ll stay home and do lots of washing tomorrow… 😂

#1900 My morning thanks

Firstly, 1900. ^^^

Woop woop!

Secondly, I took a photo from my bedroom this morning:

Now this is different, because we all know I love a good sunset photo (or two, three or 576?🤣)

But something was different this morning. I was different.

I was on a high from last night. I was happy, I was hopeful.

There was no sleep in! I had to get up and get baby girl to school, then I had to start work…

But still, I was in the best mood.

And so I drew the curtains… I looked outside at the glorious day that would be… took a deep breath, and said –

“Thank you.”

🙏

#1899 Hope in another backyard

I’ve had a pretty crazy day.

Two appointments on the other side of town, visiting my parents and sister and fam in between that, and then a big writers meet-up at the end of the night back home.

It’s been a lot.

It’s been a day of a lot of things. Hope. New directions. New people. New plans.

I’m a glass half-full gal, and things are starting to feel right. That glass is filling up again.

With HOPE. 🤞

I’m going on, rambling a bit, I know. I just don’t really know where to rest my creative mind, to release these thoughts from, what to centre on when much has given me happiness today.

But I will talk about nature, because it inspires me.

Specifically, my parents and my sister’s backyard.

I used to love spending time in the backyard of my childhood home. All those memories, all those fun times, so much joy within those trees and the shady spots. I was amazed and surprised then, when I found myself loving my parents’ NEW backyard, finding beauty in little pockets of grass, verdant greenery full and lush underneath your feet, life brimming and blooming from the smallest spring of herb, to a wide-reaching leaf of a fern.

That beauty extends equally to my sister’s backyard.

I was admiring this gorgeous tree, sprouting golden Autumn leaves. We were in her backyard sitting and talking, and so many times I was accidentally witness to a yellow leaf floating easily to the ground.

Before my very eyes.

It was a magical sight.

And I realised later when I headed off, how I find beauty in both of their backyards, and how that must mean something more… for those we love, we find the beauty inherent everywhere, all around them, because they are love.

We are doing renovations at the moment… small ones, yet they will hopefully be long, beautiful and lasting.

(On us, or our backyard do you think????)

One day I hope, someone will look at our yard and see the beauty lying in wait, wanting to be found.

I hope we find it there too. 💖💖🌳🌳

#1898 A change in hair

A hair colour is as good as a holiday, isn’t that what they say?

(Something like that?)

I had a few things change today, appointments cancelled on me… and as I walked back to my car after dropping off baby girl at school, it occurred to me –

I could get my hair done!

It was last minute, sure.

But also, it was Tuesday. A drizzly, cloudy Tuesday morning.

Not a busy, let’s-get-this-party-started Saturday.

I called the hairdressers, and guess what?

They were free!

I’ve been chocolate brown for sooo long. But I’ve had this really super annoying thing, where these lighter coloured pieces of hair keep stubbornly making their way to my hairline, mostly at the front, and like I said, it’s REALLY ANNOYING…

😂👩‍🦳

I mixed it up a bit and put very light foils through my hair, highlighting lighter bits throughout, that should help detract the eye when those annoying lighter ones decide to poke on through again…

But for now, yeah yeah. New hair. 😁

#1897 Here comes the light

Today we got most of our lights replaced.

Our old, ancient, 3 globe flowery, faded, burnt-out, vomit-coloured light fittings were replaced, by simple white downlights.

Flush with the ceiling. Not hanging dangerously low, so low you can whack it out of it’s screw so easily. The number of times someone has knocked the ones in the lounge room while dancing, doing yoga, or just stretching up in the air…

Or in our bedroom, they hang so low, they might as well lie on our bed between us. 😬

Or, they used to.

Or like the low light that was in baby girl’s room… one simple glass shaped globe, that until recently was also hanging a bit too low for comfort, proven when she swung something and the entire glass casing shattered around her.

They aren’t just ugly, they are bloody dangerous.

And now, they’re all gone!

Our house has been lifted, the ceilings feel higher, and we are suddenly in line with with the rest of our ‘home’ vision.

#1896 Moving me and moving her

I’ve happily settled into a regular exercise routine.

It’s something I’ve been trying to do for a while, and yet things have kept popping up, life stuff, health stuff, that have made me put a big brake on it all.

I decided a couple of weeks ago that I couldn’t wait anymore. I wouldn’t let anything stop me. I was going to keep going, keep moving, and in doing so, move myself physically.

It doesn’t really matter what the motivation is behind my new routine. I’m not only feeling better physically, but mentally, it is really doing WONDERS.

I used to question how people could do exercise at the start of the day… didn’t it leave them spent? Tired? Unable to do anything else for the rest of the day?

But I get it now. Once you get past the initial huff and puff of the workout, the energy coursing through you becomes contagious. Addictive.

All that blood, flowing.

It awakens your senses.

You’re not even that cold – it’s like it sets you up for the day, because you’ve worked your muscles, and now you’re reaping the benefits of strength, of warmth.

There is a spring in your step.

You become motivated to get stuff done.

You motivate others, to get stuff done.

The other day when I was doing a really hard rep in my home workout, that involved a plank-type position where I had to lower my arms, and then lift myself up again… well I managed to do like 4-5, barely, before I pretty much collapsed on the yoga mat.

I took a deep breath and pushed myself up, trying to do as much as I could in the time allocated.

I had looked up, and through the window saw baby girl. She was outside, watching me. She had watched me fall.

I nodded, disgruntled, in her direction, and before I looked away to keep going, she smiled and gave me a thumbs up.

No. I was wrong. She hadn’t watched me fall.

She had watched me get back up.

And it really hit home when days later, she searched for my exercise routine on youtube.

I said “honey, those exercises are for adults! You run enough at school, don’t hurt yourself.”

And she said –

“But Mummy, I want to be strong like you.”

Oh. My heart. 💖💖💖💖

I’ve held those words so close to me. They have given me strength, hope, and courage to keep going, no matter what life throws at me.

Children model their parents’ words, their parents’ actions… their whole way of being.

It’s amazing that as I choose to do something really good for myself, I also choose it for my beautiful daughter.

My baby girl. 😍😍

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.com

#1895 Shopping with my girl no.9

Oh wow. I haven’t done one of these ^ posts for over 2 years.

We knew we were staying in tonight, and for someone who works from home (me) staying home all day on my day off is not ideal.

I have to get out sometime.

So baby girl and I hit up our shopping centre and had a decent spree!

It was all the more fun because we had zero expectations in buying anything, and in doing so I had a really good run of finding new tops 😂

There’s nothing quite like coming home with unexpected good finds, and then enjoying your family night together feeling content and satisfied about it all.

#1894 From the earth

Check out what I’m drinking:

What the hell is that you ask? That is RAW HERBS.

I’ve had a couple of health things that will not go away, and this was suggested to me by someone who I’ve grown to depend on a lot in recent times. They are pungent, with a deep earthy smell, a bit sweet, extremely rich, and they look freaking cool in the pot too.

As I was boiling it down three times tonight, I exclaimed happily to Hubbie “Look at my bark! Look at my bark!”

And just as it looks like it’s been stripped from a tree, so too is it good to go back into the ground, apparently as great compost.

Good for all. 😂

I gotta laugh, I gotta do something.

Let’s see if they work. 🙏🤞

#1893 No work tomorrow

Need I say more?

Ok, just a bit. Coming off the back of school holidays (i.e. no solo ‘me time’ AT ALL), also the fact that this day off is butted onto the end of the week, that happens to be the best day ever, Fri-yay (insert my Friday post from last week!) I am pretty chuffed that I have the house to myself for 6 hours tomorrow.

#1892 Published at your feet

😁😁😁😁

(Fuck, something has to go right in my life about now…)

Excusez-moi my F bomb, but after a certain amount of time, zero Fs are given.

I walked up to my wonderful words today, to see my story come true before my very eyes.

Yes, that is me, I am breaking smikg protocol and displaying myself for all (or am I, really, am I? 😉)

I participated in a wonderful initiative last year by submitting some works towards a community project… the writers club I am part of teamed up with the local shire to get writers to create a mini fiction, no more than 6 words, on the theme of community, to be drawn and displayed along the streets of Rosebud.

Why, having my words out there for all to see? How could I miss the opportunity!

After finding out yesterday that yes, it DID happen yesterday, I headed on down with Hubbie today to pinch myself.

You know what’s funny about that photo? The sun was shining DIRECTLY on the SHINE part, but the photo didn’t show the light and dark well so I got Hubbie to like, hug me from the side so that we could block out the sun… can you see his outline? 😂

I got a little teary, I won’t lie. I’ve been longing to be published in some form for so long. And even this, on the footpath, just 6 words… it makes me so happy. It’s given me the much-needed boost I’ve needed, in the midst of life difficulty, frustration with everything, and very regular bouts of writer’s insecurity, like “am I good enough?” “my writing isn’t as good as theirs,” and “who’s going to want to read this?”

But to be published, just once, anywhere… it’s broken the spell. It’s crashed through the dam of insecurity, of doubt, and now the water is crashing down, happy and unbridled and free, and it wants to do it all.

I can just stare at that, like ALL DAY.

I will enjoy this moment, and hold on, as much as I can.

Yay. PUBLISHED.

Happy dance!

***Big thanks to @rondelle for her fabulous artwork, and @peninsulawriters along with @mornpenartsandculture for this great opportunity to try and inspire. ***

#footpathfiction