Projects

I plan things.

I talk about things.

I write things down.

I make announcements that I'm starting something.

I tell my family that "we" are starting things.

Nothing ever changes.

Several projects in my brain are starting to come together.  I physically and emotionally "started" things today.  Its quite exciting.

I want to make more things from scratch, so I've made ketchup, from scratch using real tomatoes.  It was amazingly easy, although time consuming and the transformation from a whole (quite hard) tomato to the thick sauce that you see below is mind blowing.

I"m in the process of  trying cocktails.  For my birthday - and possibly Jamie's birthday in between I want to have Birthday Cake Martini.  It includes as one of its ingredients, marshmallow vodka.  In America you can buy marshmallow fluff vodka, but its not available here (that I've seen on my quick search online), so I've made my own.  Half a packet of marshmallows and vodka, I think I need to add more vodka, that's about 400ml in there. Need to go shopping, I don't have any Amaretto or White Chocolate Liqueur either.  I do have sprinkles and honey though.

 My bed.  To be honest I hate it.  I feel its quite old fashioned, but its what we have so I had better make do.  Anyway, I purchased this bedspread set in Thailand and I do like it.  Today it got finished, I got the little cushions.  Its hard to get it to stay in place as its satin (the packet said silk, but I don't believe it).  I think its quite beautiful, but silky sheets just isn't our thing.  It slips and slides all over the place.  Even when I'm in there by myself, I find myself reorganising the doona several times a night.  But its pretty.  Plans for my bedroom are a bigger wardrobe.  I'd love the whole wall to be a wardrobe - don't worry I know which wall.  Then we would have some space to put things.  At the moment we have a tiny just under 1m wide built in each.  There is two rows of hanging space but it just doesn't work.  Curtains... I hate these more than the ones in the lounge room.  I used to think they were delightfully rich.  Now they just look trashy and they don't hang right.  Colours for this room.  Stuffed if I know.  I just try to stay out of there.  I need it to be neater.

 "Operation Howler" went into action tonight.  First night of Ben without a dummy.  We have had dummies in our family for 3.5 years.  There are far too many photos of our little boys with those revolting things in their mouths.  Ben has been having it less and less in the last week.  He's reasonably happy to put it in his cot soon after he wakes up and then gets it back when he goes to bed at night.  At crèche on Monday he went to sleep without it after a little bit of whining.  Today they gave it to him.  So we have made a decision... no more dummies.  Time to round them all up and chuck them in the bin.  How much money have I wasted on those bits of rubber/plastic?

VERY soon we are having those floorboards sanded and polished (or polyurethaned) and then that room is turning into a dining room and the play room will be moved into the "back room".  I've noticed that for quite some time none of the toys were being played with.  Other than about 10 cars and motorbikes, nothing was being touched.  That big table was covered in crap - looking messy - for no good reason.  I got those underbed storage boxes and neatened the place up.  Tonight the boys went and looked at the table and played with the tea set and toaster.  Ben made me several pieces of toast and really enjoyed it.  The thing we are told about rotating the toys actually works.  Now my lounge room looks neater, the boys room looks neater as I have a new toy box in there.  Everything is neatly put away.  Plus it will be much easier to relocate the play table if its not precariously stacked  with every toy that they own.

Did a wee bit of maintenance on me today.  Had my hair coloured and trimmed (only about 0.5cm).  Its made a huge difference.  Also got the nails done.  A little bit addicted to having nail polish on.  I love the way it makes me feel and then I can grow my nails a little bit.  This is a greyish sparkly colour and I love it.  I think for the first time in my entire life, I had one of my nails cut with a nail clipper.  NEVER been done before, always bitten them down.

I miss holidays

It's autumn (Winter is Coming) and life has just slotted back into the mouse wheel that is ...

food

driving

laundry

Tomorrow -  a little bit of luxury, I'm getting my hair and nails done.

Then I want to get busy with my restyling. Sander and the coffee table.

I've sorted out 200 of the 350 photos that I need for my photo wall, need to "find" the ones pre our move to Melbourne.  I don't just want it to be of the last 6 months of our lives, but if it needs to be... it needs to be.

Balance.

Indulge me a bit will you?

I feel so unbalanced at the moment. 

I'm super busy at home, always seem to rushed and unable to control everything.  Then there is work.  SO slow and so boring. 

Home is noisy and chaotic.  Work is silent.

Home is messy.  Work is neat.

Ok that is enough of that.  

Maybe its just post holiday blues, so far no plans for the next one.  I need to plan another holiday, I want to plan my renovations but I can't see how the renovations will happen.  Jamie is not home enough.



So excited to do my photo wall, found a good way to do it here.  So much better than the other tutorials I had seen.  Need to invest in a hot glue gun.  I'm unbelievably excited to do this photo wall.  I really really hope we can get our floors polished in the next month, then we can decorate the lounge room. 

Lounge room is currently very ugly.  Enormous dark brown curtains that are faded at the edges, the ugliest "sheers" you have ever seen.  A revolting tv stand and furniture that is just placed very very wrong.  We ripped the carpet up what feels like 6 months ago and we have had bare, unfinished floor boards since then.  The old computer room will be our new dining room and its currently called "the playroom".

Plans for the lounge... nice ungathered sheer curtains, a new set of curtains - they don't need to be block out as the window faces the driveway and a fence.  There is a small 50cm window that faces the front.  I think I want a pale green curtain.  I'm not a fan of pinch pleat as they don't stay uniform.  We have a corner window and I dislike that the curtains don't meet.  The current curtains extend over a meter past the actual window - I'm assuming for two reasons, for when the curtains are open you get the full extent of the window; and to give the impression of a massive window when they are closed.  I don't want them to reach the floor, just delicately hang.

I want to hang the tv on the wall in a similar position to where it is now.  Then I want a neat cabinet - maybe of that frosted green glass to house all the necessary electronic equipment.  The DVD player, xbox, that computer that seems to live there.  Make the cords go through the wall, so its not obtrusive.  Not very sure how I want the furniture to go, might have to get a new set of eyes to look at that.  I will sand our coffee table back to bare wood (its currently very scratched, stained and sadly painted with green paint) and re stain it in a darker colour and then polyurethane it.  Nan's china cabinet will probably go back to its old home between the door and the window.  The car mat can go into the boys room and I'm getting a square of carpet, hopefully a chevron rug.  On the back wall I would like to put some sort of storage as our home lacks storage in a big way.  I would really REALLY like a new light fixture, the one there is so ugly and old fashioned.

Plans for the dining room.  Very excited about this.  We've never had the table in that room before.  Its off the lounge separated by a delightful 1970s archway.  I need to do the window treatments the same, but this room has a big double glass sliding door - that we don't use.

I'll move the buffet to the wall that backs onto the kitchen.  The dining table will go in and my plan is "that is it".  One end of the buffet will be our bar with lots of interesting cocktail making stuff.  Above the buffet will be my photo wall.  I'll fill the entire wall with photos from the buffet up to the ceiling.  I believe it is more than 300 photos.  The thought of it makes me giddy with excitement.  It should look spectacular.  Every photo wall I've seen is amazing.  It does leave a whopping big white wall on the other side.  May have to make some home made art for that.  I really wanted to paint my chairs a bright yellow, ala this.  But Jamie says no :(, so instead I will make some chair pads, so they are more comfortable.

grr

I'm currently on hold to Centrelink.  Enough to drive someone to drink!





We've had a super busy weekend, and physically I'm paying the price.  Aches in my knees, hips, back and shoulders.  Not happy Jan.

Currently I live in a massively messy house.  I need to organise the kitchen so its habitable, the laundry (which is seconding as our bathroom) is full of shit (oops I mean stuff).  We have bare floorboards in every room, along with staples and dirt.  OH THE DIRT.

I need to de-staple Ryan's room today, Jamie will sand the walls tonight and then we can paint is either tomorrow or Wednesday.

Went shopping today, bought (or is that brought) 4 t-shirts, 2 shorts and 5 socks for Mark as he appears to have grown on the weekend.  Everything is too small, too tight or worn out.

Got myself 3 tops and a pair of fashionable shoes, quite excited about the shoes actually.

Halloween mask and some cookies for Marko's party / get together tonight.