framed

rarahs

And we are all in one frame!  It didn't last long.

Perthlings

This blog started out as a gift to all the Earthlings I know.  It is a way to share our lives with those far away and stay connected.  It just feels better than a facebook status update and allows me to express how I feel and journal where we are at.  I want everyone who we have left behind to stay part of our daily lives in some small way.  I want the grandparents to know when the boys' teeth fall out and when they get medals.  I secretly hope that when we do make the big trip back to SA, the blog has bridged the geographical divide between us and allows us to just pick up where we left off.  It is so encouraging when I get a message from a friend who is appreciating my words.  It is great to get a comment from a distant shore about our activities.  I feel as if we can still be part of your life, even though it is fair to say you have moved on and the hole we left has closed.

So you can imagine how confronting and humorous it is when I see a Perthling and they comment on my blog!  I start to reread recent entries in my mind hoping that I haven't in any way offended the locals or sounded like a migrant!  More often now I see friends who may say, " I see you went to Mandurah on Rob's birthday" or "Hugo looked great with his Tiger face paint".  It takes me by surprise and I have to laugh.  They are visiting this site.  Big Brother is watching me. 

The truth is, you can keep up with my life even when you are a daily part of it!

The blog is published for Earthlings not Perthlings.  But how fabulous that Perthlings peak too!

Thermochef

Since our arrival on this continent, the dinner table/picnic/barbecue conversation almost always touches on the Thermomix.  Or as it is fondly known, the TM.  Instead of discussing who is staying and who is leaving or what Malema said last, we now discuss who has a TM, who wants one and who can't be bothered.  This little baby is like another set of hands in your kitchen.  Not only does it chop, grind and grate but it has a built in heating element to cook as well.  The result is that you can literally throw your veggies at it from 5 metres, push a button and leave it to make a beautiful smooth pureed soup within minutes.  The TM kneads pizza or bread dough in one minute.  It weighs the ingredients, makes white sauce, biscuits, muesli, smoothies and much more.  With the TM by your side, you can have coleslaw within seconds, fresh hummus, gorgeous dips and warm fresh custard readily available.  It has revolutionised the kitchen and literally chopped out the prep time.  And just when you thought it couldn't get better, you find that it has a steamer attachment which fits on top of the jug as well as a rice basket which fits snugly inside.  So while your rice is cooking, you can also be steaming fish and vegetables in two layers above. 

But all this good news comes at a price, and a big one too.  For $2000 you too can grind your sugar to icing sugar, make strawberry daiquiris and smouldering curries.  I wasn't convinced.

The truth is I didn't really get it at all until I attended a home demo which is the only way to see and purchase this little cooking dream.  Well, forget about FB friends, I became obsessed with having my own little TM friend.  I started working out how many bras would buy me this chopping frenzy.  I looked at every recipe with TM tinted glasses.  I stewed and curried over it.  But I still couldn't bring myself to jump the $2000 hurdle. 

Just before I fell over the line, it finally happened.  A competitive product hit the shelves of our local Kitchen supply shop, aptly named the Thermochef.  I attended the in store demonstration and fell deeply in love.  It's a rip off of the real German deal.  Its mom is Spanish and its dad is Chinese.  How it bypassed the patents, I will never understand.  But hey, it does EVERYTHING that the TM does at just more than a third of the price.  I rushed out with my $760 to fill the void I had created in my kitchen and my life.  We make a great couple.  I love my TC.  And I love all it gives me in return.

together forever

We have been, and also hope we will be, together forever.  Not to steal the thunder from Rob's "all-the-fours" birthday, it was also the day we met, 18 years ago!

He doesn't look that pleased to be framed in a heart with me, but I am so happy!  Thanks Rob for a thrilling ride through 18 years.  You are still divine.

All the FOUR's

Rob is 44!!  We celebrated our gorgeous man's birthday last Sunday.  In our efforts to be a bit different and spontaneous, we invited some friends to join us for a drive to Mandurah which is about an hour south of Perth.  It seems that our friends are also keen to get out a bit and four families came along.  We had a great lunch at The M restaurant and pub while the kids played on the boardwalk on their scooters and Ripstix.  We then walked around the waterfront development and bought ice creams and had a play at a great kids' park.

It was all very relaxing and family friendly! 

We are so blessed to have a fantastic husband, amazing father and Godly man leading our home.  I am so grateful for Rob's health and happiness on this special birthday.

Happy Birthday, my man.  May there be many, many more!

This life

Before this life I have chosen, I had no idea:

• that skirting boards get covered in dust so quickly
• that the kitchen cupboard fronts need constant wiping
• that hanging out washing can take out years of your life
• that boys can wee so skew the dustbin next to the loo gets covered in urine
• that the floors need constant mopping
• that finger marks stick on everything
• that food leaves the boxes in the pantry at night and wonders around the shelves
• how much stuff you can retrieve from inside your own couch
• the microwave gets mucky so quickly
• what an effort it is to defrost a freezer
• that fridge shelves get sticky
• what a workout it is to clean properly

Before I chose this life I had no idea how hard it is to keep your own house clean.  I have done it today.  It is all sparkly and clean.  Thirty more minutes before the troops arrive to unravel all my good work.

Phew, I am exhausted.

gnomesville

While on our Bunbury escape we stumbled across some gnomes who impressed me so much, they deserve their own moment in my blog.


gnomes everywhere



As far as the eye can see is a field of gnomes near Bunbury.  These little men and women have been left here over the past few years in honour of a loved one who has passed away or to remember a significant occasion such as a "hens' weekend ".  They represent various schools, Rotary Clubs, churches and social groups from around Western Australia and beyond.  There is an unwritten invitation to paint and place your garden gnome where you feel he/she will be happy for all to enjoy.  It is a treat just walking through the pathways and reading each plaque and taking in each story.  There are young gnomes, old gnomes, naked gnomes and smoking gnomes.  Each has a story to read and enjoy.

I am told that the thing to do in Australia in the 80's (when gnomes held pride of place in the front yard) was to steal your neighbour's gnome and then send postcards back to its owners from the gnome as you traveled around the country.  These little fellas then found there way to an open field near Bunbury and Gnomesville began. 

I even managed to hold an INTIMO lingerie party in Gnomesville as I found a group in dire need of a panty upgrade.

tough customers

My favourites were the gnomes who were clearly far from home.

migrant gnomes

Then you have to love the sense of humour in this:



Bunbury - Adults only!

A couple of weekends ago, Rob and I headed south for the weekend with three other couples and NO CHILDREN!  That was a first for us since arriving in Perth and we had the best time.  The six of us had clubbed in to give Mark and Di Zwitser a weekend away as their 40th birthday present and then invited ourselves along too!  We played a murder mystery on the Saturday night and all dressed up in the dress of our designated character.  We played Bananagrams, had walks, breakfast out, slept in and read books.  It was a wonderful break from the reality of our busy lives and it really recharged our batteries.

We stayed in a wonderful old home on a wine farm in the Ferguson valley called Kingtree Lodge.  It only has four double rooms and a collection of ornaments and artifacts that would get the Antique Roadshow excited.  There is an eclectic ensemble of all kinds of bric a brac on every surface and in every corner.  Our bedroom was home to a very large porcelain doll who stood on a corner table staring blindly across the room at us.  In order to get some sleep she had to be blindfolded with a sock!  A large bronze dolphin graced the edge of our bath and numerous gold framed oil paintings covered the wall papered walls.  It is such an interesting old federation style home overlooking the valley.  At night, as we sipped on our sun downers, hundreds of kangaroos came out of the bush to stare up at us in the last daylight.

The rain didn't even stop us from having a picnic under cover at the Wellington Dam.  We loved having lunch out at a brewery and drinks at the local pub.  Everything was done at a civilized adult pace and conversations flowed uninterrupted.  Bliss.

A weekend like that needs to become a regular in our plans but the reality is that three busy boys are not that easy to leave behind at this stage.  Ondine and Chris looked after our boys after school until Saturday afternoon and then they went to Liezl and Jaco until Sunday afternoon.  They had as much fun as us and were spoiled at both homes.  We are so grateful that we do have such awesome friends who we can trust to take great care of our boys to allow us this glimpse of another kind of life.

When our friends have recovered, we may have to do it all again.

cubilee

Today is the day that 1500 cub scouts from around Perth gather for a day of fun activities.  Hugo and I drove out the the venue with the intention of dropping Russell, Adam and their friend Connor off and returning home.  Once we had found our group and starting looking around it became quite apparent that this was a day out never to be missed!  Hugo and I joined in the fun and took part in many of the planned games.  There was water bomb missiles, air rifle shots at targets and a giant blow up bootcamp adventure.  One stall offered the chance to see how many flip flops you could throw into a bucket from a distance, another was a horizontal pole for pillow fighting a partner.  There was candy floss, Marie biscuit icing and popcorn in a cup that you had to make out of a sheet of paper.  There was a marble competition and a giant potato shooting catapult!  The children made gazoo's out of ice cream sticks and elastic bands, hammered wood together for a project and answered a cub Promise and Law quiz. 

It is a full day.  There are hundreds of parent volunteers and fabulous games and activities on offer.  It is truly remarkable how much effort has gone into organising this event.  Our boys will no doubt come through the door, weary and delighted at the great time they have had all day.

Bubble Trouble

The trouble with this wonderful spa pool is that it relaxes us too much!  Rob and I have lovely chats in the bubbles late at night and then sleep like the dead until morning.  The children love to play in the foam and are also quite worn out after some jacuzzi time.  When I should be doing admin or blogging, this little baby is calling to me with a monotone hum just outside my office door.  It is very tempting to shed what little clothes I am wearing and soak for a while.

Mmmm....  this may be the last entry for the night x

Halloween

Russell and Adam had dress up night at cubs on Wednesday as part of the week's Halloween celebrations.  We are not big fans of the vampire and ghost costumes that come out, nor the fake blood and devilish disguise that all appear at the end of October.  The boys agreed that they would come up with costumes to counteract the evil of this celebration and joined up with their friends to form a biker gang in chains, tattoos and piercings.  Their t-shirts, under their leather waste coats read:  Bikers for Jesus and they wore their meanest expressions below spiky gelled hair. 

Russell the Dude

Seth, Ben, Micah, Russell and Adam

Hugo was not going to be left out and dressed up too. 

He was trying very hard to show off his muscles in case anyone wanted to take on the gang!  What a trooper!  We ended up walking around the neighbourhood gathering sweets on a balmy summer evening yesterday.  The boys had fun and we caught up with a few families we haven't seen for a while.  The bikers made their point and wore the cross proudly and we all had some fun.

Beep Beep Beemer

It still has two doors but now there's a sunroof!  It is far more stylish and very fast.  The old Rob is back:  he is driving a BMW again.  His car was the one possession he really missed after leaving SA and he now has it back.

Brainwashing is evident as the boys tell me how much better and faster dad's car is than mine.  Train commuting has gone out the window with the upgrade but our man is happy.  He loves his racy little Beemer and it's great to have a slick "date car". 

I live in man world and the toys are just part of the deal.

Blogging in my head

October just got swept up and blown away.  Life is so busy now that I am juggling work, chores and play that all my blogging is in my head!  I have lists of bloggable events but not a moment to massage the keyboard.

Launching my new INTIMO lingerie business has eaten into my time but what fun it has been.  I have done around 20 presentations already and have 16 booked for November.  The product is beautiful, comfortable and supportive - what more could we want?  Bras are recession proof and everyone needs to restock from time to time.  Most importantly I am meeting amazing women who have great stories to tell.  They open up in the bedroom and share their lives with me and that is an awesome privilege.  On my run the following day I pray for each woman that I fitted the day before and her situation.  I pray for the wisdom to know when to listen and what to say when I speak.  Yesterday I achieved my sales targets for September and October and received the new summer range of lingerie absolutely free as samples to show my clients.  Now these are free samples that any girl would want.  Rob noted this week that we now have one more thing in common:  we both think about boobs all day!  You gotta love men!

So when I am not fitting a bra on a beautiful body, I am emailing my client base, confirming bookings, handling exchanges or marketing my business.  Away from INTIMO I am usually ironing, cooking or cleaning.  I am still running and attending a morning bootcamp.  The boys' lives are busy and "mom's taxi" is working hard too.  I am still a regular at the wonderful bible study at our church on Thursday mornings.  There is always work to do on the house and at the moment I am going from window to window removing masking tape that was left there after painting and has now baked into the glass.  Urggh! 

Summer is here in full force and we are stealing swims around the neighbourhood.  The heater will soon be off the jacuzzi as it becomes our little plunge pool. 

In between all of this Rob has been throwing himself at his job and loving the challenges and fast pace of the company.  He pushed a bit too hard and crashed with a sinus infection and flu last week but has bounced right back again. 

I can't let the detail of October go undocumented, so a series of blogs will come in rapid succession as I try to catch up in pictures and words.