Friday, February 27, 2015

Four seasons in one day!

The weather here in Australia has been a crazy mixture this week. Scorching hot sunshine one minute and massive rain downpours the next! Gareth got caught out on a dash from the school gate to the car. A few minutes later Rhiannon sauntered out as the sun shone and didn't have a single drop of rain on her!

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Tuesday, February 24, 2015

I'm back in the saddle!

For anyone regularly reading this blog you will know that in 2014 I had a goal to take a daily photo and blog it here. It was a big challenge and there were many busy days that I nearly didn't bother but in the end I achieved it. On January 1st of this year I gave a sigh of relief and then told myself I deserved a break. I just didn't expect the break to last this long! I have continued to take photos and send them on to blogger as draft posts, I just didn't follow through and publish them. This week I've decided to get back in the saddle again due to some gentle prodding from friends that it has been a while!

So forgive me while I go back through my draft posts and publish them retrospectively! If you are still here then thanks and I look forward to hearing from you and catching up with the comings and goings of your 2015 so far...


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Saturday, February 14, 2015

Valentines Heat.

There was a spicy theme to this years Valentines day.
Instead of giving Mr B chocolate I found some amazing looking Chilli plants.
Yum!

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Sunday, February 08, 2015

Windy Murphy

Another weekend walk in Newcastle. This time to the newly re-furbished Merewether baths. There was a strong breeze and I caught this fun snap on my phone!

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Thursday, January 29, 2015

A new chapter...

The day has come. Gareth's first day in High School. I don't know who will miss who the most? 

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Thursday, January 22, 2015

What is this Beetle?

Does anyone know what this very colourful beetle/bug is? I saw him on my evening walk with Murphy. It was hard to take a photo because there was a breeze blowing the tree branch back and forth but I think you get the general idea?! He was about the size of a 5c coin...

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Sunday, January 18, 2015

Preparing for back-to-school.

It's that time of year again where the kids are trying on their school uniforms and seeing what still fits, what needs mending or adjusting and what needs to be bought before the new school year begins again in a couple of weeks. The kids are enjoying the last few days of holidays but I can feel the itch  to get back to some kind of routine...

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Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Fitbit crazy.

I still love my Fitbit. We recently bought them for the kids too. We thought it would show them what couch potatoes they were but they have surprised us with how many steps they register on an average day. 

Byron and myself both still aim for 10,000 steps a day and see how many days in succession we can do without falling below our goal. We often make it for many months without failing. Some nights I pace the bedroom floor and watch it go 9,998 9,999 10,000 and fall straight into bed! Other days I exceed the 10,000 steps, particularly if it's a Monday when I walk with a friend as the kids play tennis. 

This screenshot is a particularly crazy day. I was decluttering and cleaning, running up and down the stairs over and over as I brought things down to the box for this weeks charity shop visit. I also had a mammoth phone call home to my mum where we caught up on loads of things but I walked as I talked (Thank you Dr Michael Mosley documentary for that tip!) Followed by my Monday evening walk.

My grand total as I fell into bed was over 30,000 steps. I slept like a baby! Do you have a pedometer or activity bracelet? I can't imagine not having one now. It really has been amazingly motivating. What keeps you at your optimum fitness?

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Saturday, January 10, 2015

Walking on Nobby's dog beach.

Since getting Murphy our weekends have changed. We now gravitate to beaches and parks that allow dogs to run off the lead. This small beach in the middle of Newcastle is perfect to let him free to run around and meet other dogs big and small. He's still not too sure of the sea, he keeps going down to the waters edge and then starts running backwards as the waves come towards him. It's like being with a small child and watching them experience something new. It's getting us out of the house too and moving which is a good thing to help shift those Christmas calories!

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Wednesday, January 07, 2015

De cluttering

I got an email from a friend after Christmas. It told me about a book I just had to read called the "Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo This is NOT a sponsored post. Marie Kondo does not know I exist and I am not a poster girl for her de-cluttering concepts. She suggests you de-clutter your entire house in one day. That's right! Your entire lifelong belongings in one single day. You have to be ruthless and hold each and every item in your hand and decide if it makes you "fizz" with joy! If it doesn't then pass it on. Bin it, recycle it, give it to a friend or a charity shop. Just don't keep it. 

Buying and reading this book didn't make me try to follow the KonMarie example. I just couldn't be as disciplined as she is. Instead it started a huge urge to spring clean room by room. I have cleared bags and boxes of "stuff" from our house. Each week the large whizz bin is dragged down to the kerb overflowing with junk and broken things I thought I might just have had a need for someday. Our neighbour is away for a few weeks and I got his permission to use his bins too so I can get rid of double the junk each week and keep his house looking occupied too! 

The local charity shop has been visited at least once a week and each drive there the car boot is laden down with clothes and toys that we have grown out of. Cupboards have been re-organised and re-purposed to adapt to the changing needs of our older family. Less toys, craft kits and dressing up and instead more designated storage for school work, laptops and study areas.

I do think that the book was the trigger for this big clear out and I may actually do a true KonMarie day at some point in the future but I think it will be a more manageable thing to do if I have already thinned out the contents of each room beforehand. 

Have you heard of this Japanese lady and her belief that everything you own should "spark" and "fizz" you with joy? Or do you just think I'm a lunatic for getting excited about it?! 

Byron says that as long as I can reassure him that he still makes me fizz with joy he's happy!


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Sunday, January 04, 2015

Boys in a row

One of the best things about having cousins is the ability for a boy who is normally surrounded by sisters to find himself immersed in testosterone. And what do boys do when they find themselves spending the day together? Sit side by side, not talking about anything except the here and now and loving every minute of it!

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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

31:12:14 365/365 Complete!

And so we say goodbye to 2014.

It has been a rollercoaster year. A year where we have watched our children grow and spread their wings, face challenges and celebrate achievements. A year where we have stood side by side with our friends as they celebrated birth and mourned death. A year filled with laughter and tears. We have spent time with friends old and new and have retraced our youth by visiting our home towns with our kids in tow, filling every second of our trip with stories of people and places that were a part of our becoming who we are today. 

We have taken a photo to mark each and every one of the days of 2014 and put them here on our blog. The special and the ordinary rolled together in a mix of what this year threw at us. Because that is life. Not always the edited version. But all gloriously colourful and real and true. 

I will end this 365 days of 2014 with a photo I couldn't have predicted on New Years day. A new family member that I was not ready for and took a while to get used to. Because we never really know what the next year will bring, do we? 

Thank you for sharing this year with us. We wish you all the love and health and happiness that you deserve. Thank you for being our friends. 

Here's to 2015!

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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

30:12:14 Mad Auntie Gina


​Because every family has the crazy Aunt who tries to get into the otherwise lovely family portrait!


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Monday, December 29, 2014

29:12:14 Afternoon Walks


A new routine for us this year. Walks with Murphy! The day started hot but an afternoon of walking beside the lake we get to enjoy the shelter of the palm trees and the cool breeze on our skin.
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Sunday, December 28, 2014

28:12:14 Crystals

I love how this collection of crystals on Rhiannon's windowsill catches the light. I was only supposed to be ducking in and out of her room to drop off some clean laundry but found myself mesmerized by the colours and textures. Walk away from the shiny things Gina, the housework won't do itself....!

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