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

Proximidade

Lea over at Whites In New Zealand has given me an award…

The Proximidade Award is described as:
‘This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY – nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes for self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!’

This blog award should be sent to your favorite eight bloggers and they, in turn should forward to eight of their favorites. You should include the text for Proximidade (above) in your announcement blog.

I have been sitting on this award for a while now, trying to work out who to pass the award to, there are so many amazing and supportive blogs out there that I read so frequently that I feel as if I know the owners.  Now as Lea said, “It is hard choosing favourites, because I like so many different blogs, but these blogs always cheer me up!”   I like that concept, so I will also link to blogs that cheer me up, or can at least look at positives in imperfect situations.  

 

Here they are, in no specific order… (well actually in alphabetical order so as I don’t show favourites!)

Chatabox

Don’t Take the Repeats

FreckleFaced Girl

Life: the Ongoing Education

Miscellaneous Adventures of an Aussie Mum

My Little Drummer Boys

Perhaps We Learned Something

Sarah and the Goon Squad

Please check out their sites and share in the Proximidade.

And for a completely different style of blog, and one that doesn’t fit the above definition of PROXIMIDADE, but it is a beautiful site that supports a community that supports each other and is worth checking out – Shape of a Mother

This is part of the introduction to the site – “It is my dream, then, to create this website where women of all ages, shapes, sizes and nationalities can share images of their bodies so it will no longer be secret. So we can finally see what women really look like sans airbrushes and plastic surgery. I think it would be nothing short of amazing if a few of our hearts are healed, or if we begin to cherish our new bodies which have done so much for the human race. What if the next generation grows up knowing how normal our bodies are? How truly awesome would that be?”

On the Bandwagon

Well as predicted Harry Potter has already made his way onto the screen.  I thought that I would use this time, not to do one of the gajillion loads of washing waiting, nor to clean the floors after yesterdays shindig but to borrow a meme and type away.  Thanks for the distraction Ash at Chatabox.

This is a nice, simple meme all that is required is to highlight the entries on the list that you have done.  Here goes…
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band  - OK, so it was with other 6 year olds in my parent’s lounge under flashing yellow lights, but I say it counts!  I played acoustic guitar and also had a recorder solo
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland 
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked – kind of, we tried but no-one picked us up and we walked all the way home.  Fortunately someone saw and told our families and we were all grounded
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language 
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance – almost, treated in an ambulance for a concussion at a concert but not transported 
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie – crowd scenes only
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Guide Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Hmm, so I have done almost half of the things on this list and in most cases I am happy that I have done said things.  Many make me think of things that I did as a kid growing up in a rural area with every freedom you could imagine.  It makes me wish that such freedoms were affordable for kids today, that life were more simple.  Then I remember small town mentality and I am glad I have escaped.