Lightening Online

It’s been like Christmas around here this week with all sorts of parcels arriving in the post. We only get the mail once or twice a week but every time we’ve picked it up lately there have been parcels, parcels and more parcels!!!! Some things that I’ve ordered for gifts but also PRESENTS for me.

And guess what? PRESENTS make me smile. A LOT!!!!

I used to think that made me materialistic but now I understand that it’s one of my primary love languages. I enjoy GIVING gifts and I’m learning to enjoy receiving them (once upon a time I didn’t feel “worthy” to receive gifts).

One of the things I’m really enjoying through my online presence is participating in Secret Santa style swaps. I was involved in 2 this year and BOTH of them arrived this week.

The first was from my Aussie Bloggers Secret Office Santa:

Aren’t they beautiful? Thank you to whoever my Secret Santa was (I’m yet to find out - wonder if I ever will).

I also sent something pink as my gift to another Aussie Blogger (wonder if they read my blog and will get this hint?)

The other Secret Santa I participated in this year (as I also did last year) was as part of the Simple Savings forum. They set a limit of $5 and I enjoy the challenge of finding things to send to someone that are under that limit.

I haven’t had a chance to photograph what I got but it was a lovely Christmas handtowel, some soap, a couple of tree decorations and a penguin pin.

Also in the mail this week were a Beauty and Lace bag of goodies and a box of a new product I’ve been sent to try and to tell you about. More on that once I’ve had time to try them. The look rather interesting though.

With all the Christmas parties and concerts and so on that we’ve had this week, I think Christmas has well and truly arrived!!! As I write this (Friday night), Farmboy and the children are out at our local Christmas Tree event. So the kids will receive their first present from Santa tonight.

This weekend is a busy one. We have a wedding AND a birthday party on Saturday and then a Sunday School Christmas break-up (which I was responsible for buying and wrapping 50 gifts for - what fun!!!) and the kids are then performing at the town Christmas Carols so it’s going to be a rather busy weekend (which is why I’m home as I write this instead of out).

I hope you’re finding time in the busy-ness of the season to smile.

Happy Smiley Saturday everyone!

Some of you have probably already seen the smiling moon that appeared earlier this week, either in the sky or on other blogs. When I saw it, I knew I had to take a photograph for my Smiley Saturday post this week.

It was caused by an alignment of Venus and Jupiter with the moon.

In other smiley news this week, Trailer Boy turned 5. I did well with his birthday gifts this year. He’s played avidly with each of them and all were things I’ve picked up over time for less than half price (one was 80% off). They’re so easy to buy for at that age though.

Here he is unwrapping one of his gifts:

And here he is helping to ice his birthday cake:

I kept the family cake fairly simple this year and decorated it with a dinosaur candle holder I found at the Dinosaur Museum and some lolly dinosaurs. His birthday party cake ( a pirate ship will be my turn at decorating).

He was so proud of himself.

Farmboy (DH) has finished harvest early this year and so he’s been enjoying having some time to help out with the pirate party we’re having on Monday. I asked him whether we could somehow make the shape of a pirate ship in the backyard. My SIL did that recently and has lent us the black fabric she used.

I never imagined that he’d actually come up with a MOVING pirate ship. I think the kids are going to love it.

Here’s a little sneak peak of Farmboy and Trailer Boy getting the pirate ship ready:

And here we are on our test run:

Instead of a traditional treasure hunt, we’re going to finish the party with a ride on the pirate ship in search of treasure. I’ve put the lolly bag treats into gold boxes and we’ll “hide” them around the trees in our outer yard with some red “Xs” to mark each spot. It should make a good finale to the party.

I think we’ll have lots of smiles come Monday. I’m so excited!!!!

Plenty to smile about around here right now. How about at your place? I hope you’ll join us in Smiley Saturday this week.

We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia which makes sense given the origins of the celebration. However, I think the concept of Thanksgiving is fabulous and see it as a great way to get in the right mindset for the Christmas season. So I thought I’d have my own small “I’m thankful for….. ” session for Smiley Saturday today.

I am thankful:

* for my wonderful husband who makes me feel cherished and safe

* for my beautiful children who often make me laugh

* for my bed which is sooooo comfy and warm

* that I have the freedom to openly follow my spiritual beliefs without fear of retribution

* that I never have to go without a meal or sleep out in the elements

* that we can grow a garden and eat tasty wholesome homegrown vegies

* that I enjoyed an hour of pampering at the hairdressers this week (it’s been a looonnngggg time between visits)

* that we are working toward living our dream with our 3 month trip next year

* that I can see, hear, smell, touch, breathe, walk and cherish so many of lifes rich experiences

* for the feeling of little arms as they wrap around my neck and bid me good night

* for the opportunity to blog and share my thoughts and experiences and make many new online friends

* for the treasured friend who sent me a gift in the mail this week and the many treasured memories I have of times together (thanks Stuffy)

* that I have so many things to be thankful for. More than could possibly be listed in one blog post.

* for those who participate in Smiley Saturday.

What are you thankful for right now?

A little over a week ago, Farmboy wanted to cheer me up so he bought me a packet of Dove Caramel chocolates. The chocolate alone is enough to make me smile but I also enjoy the little sayings they have inside each wrapper. Here are a few of them:

* My idea of housework is to sweep a room ….. with a glance.

* Too much of a good thing is….. wonderful.

* Change is inevitable….. except from vending machines.

* I don’t love chocolate…. I worship, respect and adore it!

* Save earth…. it’s the only planet with chocolate.

* Don’t you look good naked…. I’m talking about the chocolate.

* I’m not ageing…. I’m ripening to perfection

* Borrow chocolate from pessimists….they don’t expect it back.

* Beauty is in the eye of the choc-holder.

When it comes to chocolate, there are very few types that don’t make me smile. But I am particularly partial to this Dove Caramel - lucky that Farmboy knows me well.

Feel free to join us for Smiley Saturday and add your link to the Mr Linky below (please, only Smiley Saturday posts and not links to your blog without a Smiley Saturday post). If you’ve not participated before, please read my Smiley Saturday page for more information.

Happy Smiley Saturday everyone!

I have to admit that smiles have been few and far between around here of late. Things aren’t really going to plan with my medication changes which has been rather disappointing.

So it really did my spirits wonders this week when a couple of bloggers thought of me while passing on blogging awards.

Bettina and Kin passed on this Perfect Blend of Friendship Award.

It comes with a few questions to be answered:

1. Do you have the same friends since childhood?

No. We moved a lot when I was growing up and it was really hard to continue to maintain long distance friendships.

2. What do you value most about your friends?

I have an overwhelming need to be needed. I think my friendships somehow validate that I’m someone worth knowing. The difficult side of this is that I sometimes try too hard to be a friend and don’t allow my friends to be a friend in return. I’ve gotten way too good at hiding how I’m really going (to the extent that I don’t even realise I do this) and have a tendency to deflect conversations away from myself and onto the other person.

3. Are your friends your sounding boards?

Not usually. Although I’m trying to be more open. To an extent my DH is my sounding board (and he is my best friend) but I tend to be “stuffer” (stuff my feelings deep inside of me in the hope that they’ll disappear). However, when it comes to issues with my kids, they’re great sounding boards (and many of my friends have children a little older than mine so they make perfect sounding boards).

4. What is your favourite activity to share with your friends?

I went to an Enjo party yesterday and had forgotten how much I enjoy those party plan style parties. A few friends, some yummy food and SHOPPING!!!

I wish we lived closer to some decent shops as I really miss those days where you wander the shops with a couple of girlfriends. No particular purchases in mind. Just browsing. Sharing opinions and lots of laughter (oh and Mrs Fields Cookies for breakfast).

Thanks guys. I hope that one day we can share a real cuppa together.

The second award came from Dina at The Girl Who Wished She Was Australian.

Thank you Bettina, Kin and Dina for making me smile in a week where smiles have been few and far between.

I’ve also been in a bit of a blog funk. Not sure if it’s related. Comments are way down (although spam comments are way up). Not sure if that’s a result of my blogging funk or the cause of it.

Anyway, I’d like to pass both of these awards on to my Top Commentators list:

1. Bettina (9)
2. river (9)
3. Jason (5)
4. Richard (4)
5. Sharon (4)
6. Babyamore… (3)
7. Kin (3)
8. Prizetastic (3)
9. Gattina (2)
10. Kelley (2)

I know life is busy at this time of year which makes their comments even MORE precious. Thank you for taking the time to comment and be a part of the community on this blog.

In other smiley news:

* Last night Farmboy took me out for dinner. We dropped the kids off at his mum’s for the night and went to the local pub. Even better - it was $10 schnitzel night. Good feed, good company and under $30 including a shared dessert (Cadbury Flake Cheesecake) and drinks.

* All inspired after being at the Enjo demonstration, I came home and cleaned the kitchen. Discovered Enjo actually works a LOT better if you actually USE it (it’s been 3 or 4 years since I last went to an Enjo demo and the stuff had gradually been finding it’s way to the back of the cupboard).

How about you? Do you have smiley moments from this week to share? Perhaps a joke or funny you tube clip you’ve seen? I hope you’ll join us for Smiley Saturday this week and help spread those smiley vibes around!

Some time ago I agreed to participate in a round the world envelope race. This race is all about raising awareness of the humble envelope. I want to post on the race in more detail in another post so I won’t say anything more now but I will say that it is an exciting thing for me to be involved in and it surely made me smile when the envelope arrived yesterday. As someone who is a big advocate of the value of printed mail (as opposed to only digital mail), I’ve really appreciated the opportunity to be involved.

This morning, my children are having a great time watching the Christmas Pageant. I remember growing up with the pageant as a child and it heralding the beginning of the Christmas season. Some people prefer to wait until December to think about Christmas but as a huge Christmas advocate (it really is the most wonderful time of the year, right? ), I like to stretch is out as long as possible.

Christmas and real life touchable mail. Two of my favourite things.

And this year I want to combine the two in a simple gesture to my blog readers. I want to send out Christmas Cards to any of you who are happy to share your address with me.

I know privacy is an issue on the internet and I understand if you’re not comfortable giving me your real name and address. But for those of you who are, simply fill in the contact form below and I’ll send you a simple Christmas greeting via “real” mail. All details will be destroyed as soon as the mail is sent and will not be shared with another soul.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

I hope a card in the mail from me will make you smile!
Happy Smiley Saturday!!!

We’ve had so much happening in our lives of late with a holiday and then a trip away for Lleyton’s surgery, that the poor garden has been on the backburner. Last weekend, Farmboy finally had a chance to build up one of my vegie garden beds. We’ve added a level to make it higher and filled it up with some compost we purchased by the cube.

I LOVE a fresh, new garden bed. Empty and so full of promise.

I usually like to plant a mixture of seeds and seedlings. Seeds for the easier to grow plants and seedlings for those that are a bit more of a challenge (like tomatoes and sweetcorn). With our later than hoped for start, I went for nearly all seedlings this time.

This is one of the tomato seedlings. I’ve planted 2 different varieties this year so we’ll see how they go.

One of the things I really love about our own garden is the chance to try some different types of vegetables or different varieties. What you can buy in the stores is usually limited to the most common things. And in our supermarket, variety is even more limited. I’ve eaten yellow button squash before but not green button squash so it’ll be interesting to see how well these grow and whether or not we enjoy the taste.

There was some leftover compost so Farmboy brought down some old truck tyres and filled them up. While I was seedling shopping, I bought some more strawberry plants. We had 5 (only 4 of which were productive last summer) which wasn’t enough plants to do anything with the yields they produced. We now have 10 (and last years plants are much bigger now) and I’m hoping we’ll do a little better with our harvest this year. There is nothing like the taste of home grown strawberries to bring a smile to our faces.

The large plant is a Eureka Strawberry which I hadn’t heard of before and thought I’d give a try. In the centre is my dwarf lemon tree. I have a much larger pot in mind for it eventually but don’t want to pot it into that until our paving is done. Hopefully it won’t mind this temporary home while we get organised. It was getting a bit tired of being in the small pot it originally came in.

Spending time in the garden is such a therapeutic task and I love the sense of hope and promise that a newly planted garden brings. It really makes me smile. You can read more about my gardening efforts (or lack thereof) on Lightening’s Garden.

What’s making you smile this week? It could be something wonderful that has happened. Or finding joy in the small, day to day things. Perhaps you’d like to make everyone smile with a joke or funny you tube clip. Write your Smiley Saturday post with a link back to here and then enter your link in Mr Linky below.

It really feels good to be home. I’m still very weary but at least at home I can relax and rest. I LOVE our home. It really makes me smile to be here.

We’re also smiling because Lleyton came through his surgery well and is on the road to recovery. One of the positives of having a child who is ill or harmed in some way is the clarity of focus you get on how important they are and how precious each moment is. It’s so important to cherish and treasure what time we do have with our family and to build memories that make us all smile for years to come.

One of the positives that came out of our trip to Adelaide was the opportunity to spend some quality time with Lleyton. It’s been a LONG time since he was an only child and it was fun to spoil him a little, with the attention of both mum AND dad.

The wonderful support we’ve had from friends (online and off) has been wonderful during this time. What would we do without them?

I’m also very thankful for our private health insurance which saved us on waiting time with surgery that needed to be done immediately. It’s not cheap and I’m thankful we’ve been able to afford it.

It’s more of a “thankfulness” list than a “Smiley” list this week but it makes me smile that I have so much to be thankful about.

Happy Smiley Saturday everyone. I hope you’ll join us this week. Simply write your post and include a link back here. Then come back and link to your post in the Mr Linky below.

We had a funny situation at our dinner table during the week this week. Trailer Boy, our 4 year old, LOVES sausages. In fact, I think they’re his favourite meal at the moment. So the other night when we were sitting down to a meal that included sausages, Trailer Boy was most dismayed to see that his dad had 2.5 sausages while he only had 1.5.

Farmboy (that’s dad) tried to explain that he not only had an extra sausage, he also had a lot more vegetables on his plate. It’s a line we’ve taken with all our children. You can have bigger portions of meat when you eat more vegetables. It all has to be relative (otherwise they’d live on meat and mashed potato).

Trailer Boy wasn’t consoled and so Farmboy offered to swap meals with him, on the proviso that he ate ALL of the vegetables before he touched the sausages. Not to be dissuaded by the mountain of vegetables on Farmboy’s plate, Trailer Boy was adamant that is what he wanted to do.

So they swapped meals and Farmboy had Trailer Boy’s eaten in about 30 seconds (okay, it was probably 2 minutes but it sure seemed quick).

At one point I thought Farmboy was going to get out of the meal quite well. I was sure Trailer Boy would get half way through the vegetables and give up, leaving Farmboy with his own sausages (and half the vegetables).

Not so. Trailer Boy attacked those vegetables with gusto. Down they went, broccoli first!!!

AND he finished the LOT!!!!

I was worried he might pop after such a big meal.

He was so proud of himself.

And Farmboy was a tad hungry. LOL. Guess who ended up snacking half the night?

The next night at the dinner table we all sit down and Trailer Boy wails “I want daddy’s tea”. LOL. He didn’t get it.

But we had served him up larger servings on his own plate.

He didn’t eat it all.

No sausages for an incentive.

It was all pretty fun at the time but I guess you had to be there.

If you’re new to Smiley Saturday, you can find out more about it by reading my Smiley Saturday page. Feel free to add your Smiley Saturday post to the Linky below (and don’t forget to link back here so others know where to find us). Thanks to those of you who contribute on a regular basis. It really does make me smile.

I thought you might enjoy a select few of the photographs taken on our holiday. I had planned to write more about the attractions we visited (and may well still) but my illness has thrown most plans for this week out the window.

Gotta start with a snap of the new caravan. I have done a video tour for you - I just need to figure out how to get it onto the computer and then onto the blog. In the meantime, here’s a shot of the van - the kids look excited, don’t they.

Here we are with our Snowman on our much waiting for visit to the snow. By the time this photo was taken, Singstar Princess was already struggling with the cold. We didn’t really have the right clothing for the snow (ie boots that wouldn’t allow the snow in to get the socks wet) so it was good we were there at the end of the season when it wasn’t quite as cold and wet. In fact, we only just made it to see snow before it melted in this particular spot. They had 90cm when we left home but by the time we got there it had almost all melted due to rains. But we had enough for the kids to see it, touch it and play in it, which was all we needed for this trip.

Here we are on top of the world, on the top of Parliament House. I didn’t actually know you could go up on the roof. It’s was so beautiful up there!

This seat at the Dinosaur Museum just cracked me up. It seems appropriate to share it for Smiley Saturday:

I have quite a few more I was planning on sharing but my internet connection has been playing up a LOT and I’m concerned that if I don’t publish this, it won’t get published today. I’ll attempt to add more to this post a little later so I hope you’ll come back and check. If I can’t, I’ll do another post in a day or so with some more pics for you.

Happy Smiley Saturday all. I hope you’ll choose to join us this week.