Pick Ups

A quiet evening at home after a longish day at work and it was finally time to catch up on the blogs that for some reason don’t stick in my reader, despite adding them over and over and over again.  It bugs me that they won’t stay in my reader as there is always something great to read.

After reading about the Kay’s favourite pick-up lines over at her blog and then her suggestion that people leave their favourite pick-up lines in the comment section, it got me thinking about the best pickup line I have ever experienced.  It was too long to mention in a comment section so here I am writing a post about it instead.  

Now I need to set the scene.  I was 17 or almost 18 and had just moved to Melbourne to study.  I was boarding with a family who lived near the college I was attending.  Now the head of the family was a single mother who was dating a man who lived in the country.  He coached and played in the local football team in the town where he lived.  She went to every game to watch him play and often I would go along for the drive and to spend a relaxing afternoon in the country.

Now the day of the fantastic pickup line was one of those days.  The football team were playing at a different ground, a ground that was in the middle of a state forest, surrounded by majestic trees and deliciously fresh aromas of the Aussie bush.  Needless to say the  footy match was uninteresting but area was beautiful.  I was perched on the bonnet of the car with a book in hand enjoying the autumn sunshine, oblivious to the world.  

All of a sudden there was another body leaning up against the car.  I glanced up and saw someone I had never seen before looking at me.  He started talking to me, just general small talk about the weather, nothing exciting.  We chatted for a minute or so with the conversation going something like this…

Him, “Gee isn’t this a very picture-skew area?”

Me, thinking briefly, wondering if I had been wrong in my understanding of language for all of these years eventually asked, “Isn’t it picturesque?” 

Him, “mumble, grumble, gah” before wandering off hanging his head, never to be seen again.

Now whenever I am in a particularly beautiful location I have the urge to comment on how ‘picture-skew’ the location is.  

Reliving Childhood Memories

Many of my childhood memories involve a not-so-lifelike plastic doll.  Nothing big and blow up, merely a collection of almost 12 inch dolls.  I loved my Barbie dolls, in fact I collected Barbies for a quite a while and still have a shelf full of brand new dolls, still in boxes that girl-child is only able to look at, drool over and imagine playing with.  In actual fact it is clear that I still love my Barbies.  

To many she is a totally disproportionate representation of a woman but to me she is a woman who can do anything she chooses.  Yes she is totally misrepresents the true body of a woman but she is so elegant and beautiful, not to mention well dressed.  She may have a short attention span and change careers even more frequently than I have been known to, but she is accomplished in all of her chosen career paths.  Seriously, who else can be a teacher, astronaut, vet and olympian as well as a business woman and socialite with family and friends who clearly love her (and boyfriends with plastic underwear).  

Anyway, I loved and still love Barbie.  I can remember writing Christmas wish lists when all I wanted was a Barbie.  The weeks of anticipation, wondering if I had been good enough for Santa to get me a Barbie, especially when all I wanted was Western Barbie and Dallas her horse.  Apparently I was a really good girl that year because not only was Western Barbie and Dallas there waiting for me under the Christmas tree, but Barbie was there in her 4wd jeep and towing a horse trailer.  I was over the moon – it was the best Christmas present EVER.  (OK, so Loving You Barbie that I received the following year was actually the best Barbie that I ever received but she was also the cause of or at least part of a terrifying series of nightmares but that is another story for another time entirely.  Now that I have moved on from the nightmares I can raise her to the status of my favourite Barbie).

I love Barbies so much that I have shared my love for the plastic doll with girl-child.  (I have also shared my hatred of other similar sized dolls with oversized heads and skanky clothing with her.)  She was given her first Barbie doll when she was 3, the same year that she inherited the huge doll house that dad made for me when I was younger.  I really wanted Barbie to have the same significance for her as she does for me.  She loves her dolls but unfortunately she doesn’t treasure them the same way as I do.  I think that the main reason for this is because she has so many.  In the last clean up of her dolls she had more than 20 Barbies as well as dozens of Kelly dolls (that’s Barbie’s little sister), it is no wonder they aren’t so precious to her.  Now the dolls are so inexpensive that it isn’t uncommon for her to receive half a dozen or so more than one for a birthday.  I have even been guilty of allowing girl-child to give her friends a Barbie for a birthday gift.  I even have vague recollections of giving a Barbie just for the hell of it.  It is no wonder they are losing their significance.  

Now back in my day Barbies were expensive.  You didn’t just get a Barbie doll for the hell of it, only for a birthday or for Christmas.  In fact a Barbie doll was your main present for Christmas.  They were an item wished for and if you were lucky enough to have a Barbie or one of her friends you treasured them and looked after them right up until you were too old and too cool to play with Barbies and then you practiced your hairdressing skills.  Not that I ever cut my Barbie doll’s hair, I only played hairdresser with my sister’s dolls!  I did manage to amass many Barbies over my childhood and I still have them now, they are at my parents house and I love it when girl-child drags them out to play.

So I have lost the point of this post, the part where I shared my love for the disproportionate doll with my daughter.  To cut to the chase, the Forever Barbie Exhibition celebrating 50 years of Barbie beauty is in town so to celebrate a few of us went along to check it out.  

We were there the day after the exhibition opened, arriving just after it opened for the day at 10.  Already there was a queue to get in but fortunately it moved along quickly and we were inside in only a few minutes.  We wandered around looking at all of the dolls.  There were some dolls from my childhood there, as well as many dolls that are still on my wish list.  My favourite part of the exhibition were the dolls that children had dressed and the captions that were written under them.  

Naturally, at the end of the exhibition there was a merchandise area.  You should have seen the crowds with huge shopping bundles.  Now I know that I have just said that Barbies are inexpensive, I wasn’t referring to these dolls, these dolls were kind of expensive.  It wasn’t just the dolls that were expensive the other merchandise was insanely expensive.  Tiny tins of mints for $20, carry bags from $60, after that I pretty much ignored the price tags on everything else there.  I did give in and purchase girl-child and her friend another doll.  I know, another doll but this one was special, girl-child was able to customised it.  They had computers set up where you could choose your own doll from a limited selection and then choose the clothes that she would wear.  After you printed out the picture of your doll and paid for her she was ‘made’ for you to specification.  Once she was made the doll paraded around the catwalk before being boxed up and then delivered.  Girl-child was so excited to make her own doll and then have it made for her, it was definitely worth the insane price tag.  

Milla and her Milla Barbie

 

 

It was a great morning sharing my memories of Barbie with girl-child and her friend.  If this is what the holidays are going to be like I am looking forward to them.

Minor Collisions

My worlds almost had a mini collision tonight and it was kind of weird.  I played netball and it was a great game, surprisingly enough we won!  Anyway, to celebrate the game or realistically the fact that we played an early game and still had an evening ahead of us, we all went to the pub for a drink.  As we arrived, I ran into a friend from the kids school who was there to meet with other mums and attempt to be creative.  

It was a great night sitting around and actually getting to know the other players in the team in a social setting.  There are some fantastic people on the team that are really interesting and dynamic and did I mention young?  It wasn’t that they are physically all younger, but they are all engaged or newly married and have no kids.  They all have the ability to go out whenever they want, to play sport as often as they like and I guess to some extent they can be selfish.  

It was refreshing to be there with new and exciting people.  Instead of feeling old or so much older than the ‘young uns’, I actually felt young and involved.  I didn’t feel out of place at all knowing that my monsters were tucked in safe and sound in their beds as man-child played poker with friends.  

What was strange was having two different elements of my world meet.  I am a very much a mum and there is no disputing that; I have kids, I do the trek to school each day, I have different projects that I undertake with and for the kids, I like to knit or sew or generally be creative, in essence I do mum-like things.  I also love to be sporty, or pretend to be.  I love playing netball, I am back coaching football and I love being involved in soccer even if I don’t know all the rules.  Being involved in sports and the outdoor/active lifestyle (although netball is played indoors) is very much a part of who I am.  

I guess what I am trying to get at is that there were 2 very different groups at the same venue that represented who I am but the differences in the two groups were astounding, with little or nothing in common.  It wasn’t a bad thing, just something interesting that I thought I would write about as I contemplate sleep.

The Wagon

You see there is a metaphoric wagon that I was riding along on, quite nicely too if I do say so myself, in a world where I was feeling fit, healthy, energised and alive.  Some time in the not too distant past, I fell off this wagon.  Actually, to be honest I didn’t fall, I took a giant leap from the wagon, landed awkwardly and lay sprawled on the ground for a while.

It wasn’t all that bad and as I said as a part of the discombobulation, I have had fun.  I have managed to see baby Billy kicking like a football superhero during Lil Sis’s ultrasound (all is going well thank you very much).  I then convinced my kids to take a day off school to visit nan and pop, giving me a Friday night to go out and have fun.  My night went from being a potential kid fest at home to a birthday dinner in the city with grownups eating delicious real food and drinking wine, it was fantastic.  The kids and my parents came back the following day, after we had a chance to sleep in and relax.  The remainder of the weekend was filled with more birthday celebrations and more cake as well as celebrating the arrival of Pommy Boy.  Three birthdays and far too much birthday cake and of course many glasses of bubbles is really no way to try and stay on the wagon.  

It didn’t help that I stopped Shredding around the same time.  My excuse at the time was not having to get up early because the kids were away and all of a sudden the habit was unformed.  One day without Shredding became a long weekend.  It really wasn’t worth Shredding for the rest of the week, I mean if you aren’t going to do it for the full week there really isn’t much point in doing it at all, right?  Now I have realised that it is really dark when I was getting up to Shred, oh and it is cold too.  My bed is toasty warm and did I mention that sleep is good?  

All that said, prior to stopping the Shred I had noticed that I was getting into shape.  I was starting to find muscle definition in my arms.  My clothes were fitting me better and I was feeling good about myself.  I don’t feel good about myself now, and not just this second after having eaten Indian food for dinner followed by a block of chocolate (I didn’t eat it all, just most of it) but for the past week or so.  It really isn’t just tonight’s food but my diet in general of late.  I forgot to buy more diet shakes so I ran out and ended up eating food that I shouldn’t.  I haven’t eating huge amounts of junk, but that combined with foods my body doesn’t tolerate and dramatically decreasing my exercise and all of a sudden I am feeling sluggish and heading back towards a frumpy square one.  

I really need to pick up the pace again to get back in to shape.  I should start Shredding again some time soon.  The thought of the pain that awaits me as I start back.  I think I want to do more than just Shred so I will work up the energy to start the couch to 5km some time soon to alternate with the Shred.  All I really need to do is to get started.   Just to support my resolve to get into shape, as I was typing this a tweet popped up linking me to this - Making the 30 Day Shred Easier on the Knees.  It is almost as if the internet was pre-empting my excuse list.  

Speaking of excuse lists, mine is quite extensive, I know that I need to start at the start of the week, it isn’t something that I can begin in the middle of the week, but then there are school holidays coming up and another birthday – more excuses as to why I shouldn’t start just yet.  Oh and we have an exchange student staying with us for a month and who really wants to embarrass themselves in front of new family/friends?  Hmmm, some time soon I will find a way to get back into shape.  At the latest I will begin the week that the kids go back to school.  It is still 3 weeks away but perhaps during this time I will find a way to improve my eating again or at the very least plan a way to climb back on the wagon and actually stay there.

 

Discombobulated

I feel like I have been away from this space for eons when in fact it has been little more than a week.  It is such a strange concept that I have really missed being here.  Nothing major has happened, yet I have felt the urge to be here documenting exactly that – nothing.  Well actually a lot has happened but I have been having too much fun living life to document it and haven’t had time to devote to the making to post.

That said I haven’t been here.  I have been busy, working crazier hours than normal and I have barely had a second to check email and read blog posts let alone write them.  It makes me wonder how other bloggers manage to work,write witty and insightful blog posts, raise children, make sure everyone eats well and stays safe and somehow still stay sane?  Me, I feel like I can do one, maybe 2 of those of those tasks sometimes but barely.  It is like we can eat healthy meals or have clean clothes but if you want both then I will have to forgo sleep or sanity, perhaps both.  

Everywhere I look, the internet seems to be filled with posts about parenting with the current debate that seems to revolve around who has the hardest role – stay at home mums or working mums, whether they work in or out of the home, full or part time.  These other bloggers can do a much more convincing job or selling their story or plight.  For me, I know that I am a better parent when I am working.  I enjoy going to work and escaping the insanity of home yet I look forward to getting home to the family to catch up with the daily happenings.  My favourite time of day is walking home from work and school, hand in hand chatting away.  My biggest trouble is trying to find the balance of work and home so that I can get everything done.  At the moment I am not at work enough to get my job done properly so I end up doing extra hours or days, or even working from home at night.  I don’t know the solution, but there are extra work hours on offer and I am debating over whether to take them or not.  

I guess that right about now I am feeling a little disconnected.  Work isn’t exactly fitting in as I has planned and there are major changes on the way, not only the hours of work but also the office location and to some extent the job description.  As usual inter and inter-office politics are playing a big part in the my feeling of connectedness or lack thereof.  The next few weeks should be ‘interesting’ if nothing else.  Just to make it more challenging I have to juggle school holiday insanity!  

The disconnectedness continues through other areas of my life, I just don’t have the literary ability to describe how or why at the moment.  When I actually started to write this post, I had it all planned out in my head but I couldn’t actually remember the word disconnected, for some reason all that kept popping into my head was discombobulated and I really wasn’t sure why until I saw an online definition -  dis·com·bob·u·lat·ed, dis·com·bob·u·lat·ing, dis·com·bob·u·lates, To throw into a state of confusion.  Bemuse or bewilder.  Then it all made sense – I am in a state of confusion, I am not actually in control of my life at the moment, everything I do revolves around or impacts on many other people and decisions are no longer easy to make.  This post has wandered miles from where I imagined it heading, but the words have just tumbled out and I don’t even know if they make sense.  

Discombobulation aside, I somehow made reference to the fact that I have been too busy, having too much fun living life to have time to blog and then instead of filling you in on what has been happening I wandered away, distracted.  There are still stories that I want to tell but they deserve more than just an add-on to a blurting post.  Now really doesn’t seem the time to now go back and tell all, hopefully I will be in a better headspace tomorrow (or some time soon) to fill in the gaps.  If not, know that I can still be having fun even if I am discombobulated.

Back Again and Feeling Refreshed

So I have been away for a while now with lots to update but I will leave that for another time.  Instead I will tell you the story of a great day – TODAY.

The day starts off not unlike any other; the sounds of the kids playing filter up the stairs before the sun has risen.  A quick shout down the stairs from the comfort of my toasty warm bed reminds them that it isn’t wake up time until 7am.  Surprisingly they both retreat back to their own rooms and quietness engulfs the house again.  The geriatric cat had climbed off my head as I shouted and I had the ability to roll over and go back to sleep for an extra sleep cycle without the noise of her incessant washing.  I wandered downstairs much later to find the kids dressed ready for school having already eaten their breakfast.  (Did I mention my kids rock?)  With only a little prompting teeth were brushed and readers were read.  Soon lunches were packed and we were all ready to go out into the world for the day.

The walk to school was meandering, entertaining and involved much discussion about whether a mummy or a zombie would live in an empty cardboard box and what would be the best halloween costume; a zombie or a pokemon?  (Pokemon won the vote 2:0)  

Finally we made it to school as the music began to signify it was almost time for the school day to begin.  Girl-child, anxious to get into her class line before the bell rang, ran off.  She tripped over on the asphalt and grazed both her hands and also her knee and elbow.  Before I even had a chance to run to her, her buddy ran to her, helped her up and gave her a hug.  There were a few tears but she still made it into her class line with no further mishaps and was happy to start the day.

I left both kids happy at school (no mean feat in itself) and wandered over to catch up with a friend T who had arrived from NZ last night.  This is the same friend who when she found out just how craptastic the start to the year had been for me, booked me in for an aromatherapy facial in the city.  Well today was the day.

Our appointments weren’t until noon so we started off the day by wandering down to Racecourse Road to get not just a hot chocolate, but one of the best hot chocolates ever.  With our steaming chocolates in hand we set off on a stroll towards the city.  We stopped on the way to have a look at a shoe factory outlet.  I found a new pair of slippers that I hope to go back and buy when I don’t have to carry them around all day.  My friend found a gorgeous pair of ballet slippers that she can wear here and still be able to pack to take back with her as they are so tiny and lightweight.  We continued wandering into town, chatting easily and enjoying the beautiful sunshine and blue skies of a not so cold winters day.  

We arrived in the city in plenty of time so made a detour to get a delicious juice to keep us energised.  Finally it was noon, the time of bliss was upon us.  

For an hour an a half, my face and neck were scrubbed, cleansed, exfoliated, masked and massaged.  It didn’t stop there.  As the masks were doing their maskey goodness my arms and legs were massaged.  It was a blissful time that passed far too quickly.  We both could have stayed there all day, relaxing and enjoying the pampering but all of that walking followed by all of that relaxing was exhausting and we were both famished so it was time for some lunch.

We wandered through Melbourne Central and over to GPO to get some udon noodles.  My time in the city was rapidly coming to an end, I had to head back to collect the kids from school and T had some more time to reacquaint herself with the city she once called home.

Fortunately I had no public transport dramas today and was back at school minutes before the bell sounded for the end of the day.  Boy-child had arranged to go to a friends house so it was just the girls heading home to get ready for soccer.  

Girl-child wasn’t terribly pleased about the prospect of having to go to soccer training (she doesn’t actually play) but was appeased when she saw treats in the snack bag I had packed.  We arrived at soccer and set up.  We were on time but almost everyone else was late.  That didn’t matter, the sun was shining and it was great to be outside.  When the other players turned up, girl-child was happy to have someone to share her picnic with, someone who also had no intentions of playing soccer.  

It was our final soccer session for the winter and we played until it was too dark to see each other or the ball.  We made plans to start training again when the days are longer and we can stay out later and headed home.  

Boy-child had had a great time at his friends house and made further plans for an upcoming sleep over.  I am just happy that he is fitting in better at school and making friends again.  

Dinner was uneventful and since no-one had immediate plans we decided to have a soak in the hot tub.  Man-child was waiting for a delivery so I jumped in with the kids.  We soaked away for ages playing ‘pass the story’ and invented a story about John the king of the Britains, his dog Boris, cat Scruffy Licia and emu Mr Pickles and all of their adventures.  When story time in the tub was over, the kids climbed out of the water and into their jammies.  I had no such luxury, I had to put sports gear back on ready for netball.

Despite the lack of motivation to go out to play sport at 8.45pm, we had a great game.  It was competitive, hard fought, aggressive without being angry and surprisingly a lot of fun.  To top things off we actually won.  

That pretty much brings me up to now, it is almost time for bed.  I am feeling good.  I have actually had time to catch up reading a few more blogs that I have been missing as well as catching up superRelish.  The house is kind of tidy, I don’t have to work tomorrow and I have plans to sit around all evening with friends watching So You Think You Can Dance.  One great day blending into another.  I am really starting to love this life!

My Eight

So I mentioned in my last post that I have some bloggy goodness to celebrate and share.  First off, Lea from over at the Whites in New Zealand I have been tagged to do ‘8 Things’, so here goes

To do list (i.e. “the rules”):
1. Mention the person who tagged me. 
2. Complete the list of 8’s.
3. Tag 8 bloggers & tell them I tagged them.

Eight things I am looking forward to:

1. Becoming an Aunt in October.
2. Enjoying part of the long weekend as a DINK and then the remainder with extended family.
3. Surprisingly, I am looking forward to working part of this weekend.
4. Being a DINK and going out for a birthday dinner tonight and not having to consider getting home early to the sitter.  Did I mention pre-dinner drinks tonight?
5. Welcoming Pommy Boy back to Melbourne.
6. Birthday cakes – a friends tonight, Pommy Boy’s tommorrow and Lil Sis’s on Sunday.
7. Sleeping in and not waking to a bomb site
8. Meeting heart friends soon, but not soon enough.

Eight things I did yesterday:
1. Got to see Billy swimming and causing trouble in-utero (all appears to be well at this stage)
2. Facilitated a soccer program for local kids who know much more about soccer than I do.
3. Intervened in a heated discussion amongst primary school students about who has the best religion.
4. Played netball badly and lost.  We were robbed I tell you!
5. Was cajoled into having a full body massage – free of charge!  It is oh-so-tragic when a neighbour knocks on the door begging for your assistance, ‘Can I borrow your body, I have to practise for my exam on massage!’
6. Convinced my kids that it was OK to wag school for a day if you were going to go to nan and pop’s house for a holiday.  It was actually harder than I anticipated.
7. Sat around listening to a bunch of guys trying to sing along to songs from their glory days.
8. Laughed (a lot) at the word substitution that was taking place in above mentioned songs when they forgot the lyrics.

Eight things I wish I could do:
1. Find some time to craft and create.
2. If I find time to craft, find a way to ensure that I don’t leave a whirlwind of disaster in my wake.
3. Say no to unreasonable or unrealistic people and requests.
4. Go on a holiday and totally relax.
5. Wake up one morning and find that my bathrooms have been renovated.
6. Teach the geriatric cat that there are better places to sleep than on my head.
7. Eat wheat and dairy products without ill effects.
8. Get a really great camera and learn how to use it.  

Eight shows I watch:
1. House
2. Castle
3. Bones
4. NCIS
5. Satisfaction – well I have started to watch the first few eps and loved it, I must borrow the series
6. True Blood – I need to borrow this series too
7. Doll House – when I get time to watch/stream a series that isn’t here yet
8. Dr Horrible’s Sing Along Blog on my iPhone whenever I get the chance.

Eight favorite fruits:

1. Mango
2. Bananas
3. Mandarins
4. Kiwi
5. Bananas
6. Peaches
7. Pears
8. Watermelon

Eight places I’d like to travel:
1. New York (again – unfinished business)
2. Tokyo to visit friends
3. Thailand to explore and to totally relax
4. Bali – I think I am the only Aussie who hasn’t been there
5. Florida, something about gators and swamps and lots of retirees fascinates me
6. New Zealand, revisit favourite places in the North Island and begin exploring the south
7. All around Australia, especially the top end
8. Realistic, I will go anywhere I just can’t afford to!

Eight places I’ve lived:

1. Tungamah, a tiny country town in north east Victoria
2. Pascoe Vale, in 2 different houses within a 10 month period
3. Kensington, for the third time
4. Ascot Vale, the first house I owned
5. Wellesley St Auckland
6. Blawenburg, near Princeton NJ for the a mere month
7. OK, I am clutching now – a serviced apartment in Flemington for three weeks when our house flooded and had to have a new floor laid and kitchen re-installed
8. I’ve got nothing else, but I spend holidays in Yarrawonga on the NSW/Victoria border, does that count?

 

People I’ve tagged:
In no particular order -

Callipipertree

My Little Drummer Boys

Freckle Face Girl

A Cranberry Blog

Craftivist

Lost in Smith Street (see you soon!)

Perhaps we Learn

Turning Japanese

Moving On

***So this was the post that I had written yesterday and forgot to publish.  It may be a day late but it is still relevant.  Things ARE great!***

Well the list of reasons why today should have been a bad day is extensive.  It includes having to sit through an ‘oh-no-it’s-swine-flu’ meeting, leaving my phone in the office (but not my office, a colleagues office in a different suburb), missing the train, catching the wrong train in a hurry and being super late to pick the kids up from school.  Last week any one of those things would have pissed me off, but not today.  I have moved on from letting everything getting me down and drive me insane.  It is a new month, a new season and things are looking good.  Despite all the crazy in our world of late, we are actually closer together as a family than ever before.  We are all enjoying each others company and seem to actually like each other!  The world is a wonderful place and I am happy to sit back and enjoy life as best I can.  It shouldn’t be too hard, there are so many things to be excited about.

The love of my Lil Sis’s life arrives later this week.  I need to work out some time to get over to her place and finish the painting and do a spot of decorating to help her to spruce up her apartment ready for them to go out and buy baby furniture.  I had planned having much more time to spend with lil sis, just hanging out but all of a sudden I am out of time.  It isn’t that we won’t get to spend much time together it will be just be different, new and exciting.

As a result of her concerns that she won’t have much time to spend with us as a result of her expanding waistline and preoccupation with her pommy boy she wanted to do something extra special for us so last Sunday we all went to see Wicked.  The show was fantastic, again.  Girl-child, lil sis and I have all seen the show before and loved it so much wanted to see it again.  I think I spent more time during the show watching the kids enjoy the show than I did actually watching the show. 

Not that the people sitting around us in the theatre would ever be reading this, but just in case they do, I sincerely appologise about the discussions that were held in semi-hushed tones during the show.  As expected, boy-child did freak out at all of the noise and wanted reassurance that the show was make believe, then he was happy to dance in his seat.  Having already seen the show and a regular listener to the soundtrack, girl-child sang along to many of the songs!

An unexpected outcome of going to the show is that boy-child wants to go back to dance class.  I have really enjoyed not having to run to after school activities this term, but I really miss knowing that they are both doing an activity that they love and can widen their horizons.  It will also give us te opportunity to try the new dance studio in the area.  And to top off the dancey goodness, So You Think You Can Dance (the US show) will be back on TV in less than 2 weeks so I don’t need to find time to watch it online.

Other good things, hmmm well I have a few bloggy like awards and meme’s that I should respond to at some stage but they are really worth of posts of their own.  Oh and to use a phrase that I have heard/seen online quite a bit lately ‘heart friend’ – a person who shares your heart,a friend who you have met online and with whom you love and want to know in real life.  I have also found out that I am going to meet a heart friend.  Only last week I had realised that I may never get to meet my heart friends and less than 24 hours later I received an email to let me know that a heart friend in New Zealand is going to be able to fly to Melbourne next month.  She is an amazing woman and will be in town with her family and I will get time to meet them – hooray.

As the title of this post says – Moving On, I am moving on from being dragged down by everything that happens.  I am going to enjoy all the great things around me, my wonderful family and my friends.