an extra day

Today is a bonus day!  It only happens once every four years so I plan on making the most of it.  I am taking time to blog, to do a bit of sorting out at home and am stopping for a coffee with a friend.

My friend, Geraldine, moved house yesterday so I am going to stop by with some rusks, lunch and dinner for their family.  I started today with an awesome run followed by a meeting in the park with two girlfriends to pray.

I am counting my blessings in this beautiful city and am so fortunate to have this extra time, this extra day, this extra space.

Then I will leap into March!

Salvos

I have taken to this second hand shopping culture!  In Australia there are so many second hand shops called Salvos, Good Sammys or Vinnis.  There is no stigma attached to browsing at the local second hand store for a bargain.  Jeans or jackets are always a good purchase there and wetsuits and swimming fins are also often a great find.  People will theme their birthday parties with the small print reading:  "outfit must be bought at the Salvos".  Our friends come out dressed in the most outrageous gear that they picked up at their local dealer!

One of my girlfriends recently saw me in a t-shirt from Woolies in SA and said, "I have that shirt!  I got it at the Salvos!" 

In the more upmarket suburbs you can often find designer dress shops that stock "previously loved" label dresses at really affordable prices.  Now these are the ones I love!

With all the black tie  and formal functions that we go to with Rob's work, I am fast running out of dress options.  Last week I found a gem of a shop in the very classy Applecross shopping village!  With the help of my very stylish friend Wendy, I quickly invested in two fabulous new dresses.   This is one of them.  And I absolutely LOVE it!

40 under 40

The 40 under 40 Club in Western Australia celebrates individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to business while balancing their personal lives and giving back to the community.  And all this before their 40th birthday!  In recognition of outstanding businessmen and women, anyone can nominate a candidate for this award.  After a lengthy written submission and interview process 40 achievers are celebrated in a gala black tie function for the "who's who" of Perth.  Thankfully I am married to one of those so we were given tickets and had a really memorable night out.

It was so much fun getting dressed up and walking the red carpet at the Perth Convention Centre with a few hundred other guests.  The entertainment was world class and the dinner outstanding.  Each award winner was acknowledge with projected photos and voice over detailing their successes.  There are truly amazing people out there who have grabbed opportunities and run for their lives.  The outstanding achievements across all businesses and professions is quite inspiring.  We did have a moment of feeling that we had missed that boat somehow!  But then, just to be there, was very special.

After the 40 achievers have been announced there is an overall winner who is named "best amongst equals".  A few years ago, Rob's boss, David Flanaghan, received that accolade for powering forward from a small exploration company to launching Atlas Iron as a major player in the mining industry.  He just turned 40 last month!

It was really a fabulous night out and a great way for the city to acknowledge those who are keeping the wheels of industry turning. 

movie party

Adam's party was a movie theme.  We borrowed all the beanbags from our church and a projector from Rob's work and turned our tv lounge into a beanbag theatre.  The Smurf Show was projected on to the wall and twenty little bodies sprawled across the beanbags. 

The best part for the children was the fake Movie Cafe.  The invitation was a movie ticket that also included fake money with Adam's face on it!  They had to bring their money along to spend at the Movie Cafe.  They just loved coming out and using their money to purchase popcorn, pizza and drinks.  Adam had a great time and it was a relatively easy party for us to set up and manage!

So party 1 for the Wilsons is over for 2012.  What a great night for Adam and all his friends.

eight is great

February has been a whirlwind month!  The highlight has been our darling Adam racing to Eight!  He is the one family member who thoroughly enjoys birthdays and plans his parties and all the celebrations around his birthday in great detail.  His actual birthday was on Monday 20th which clashed with my Intimo quarterly fashion show and team workshop so it was difficult to celebrate.  Adam was perfectly relaxed about that and went about filling all the days in the rest of the week with fun celebrations.  This photo was taken by our friend Steve Lim.  We had lunch with the Lim family on Sunday and turned it into a birthday party for Adam!  The Friday before we had been out for family pizza.  On Monday morning we opened presents before school then took cupcakes for the class.  Rob made an early appearance and took the boys swimming at the river while I worked. 

The culmination of all his birthday celebrations was the party last night.  Eight is great!  He is more handsome now that his front teeth are in and he is growing in confidence and stature daily.  We thank God for the blessing of our wonderful healthy son.

haircuts again

I have done something right to be surrounded by so many handsome males!

at it again

This is our family bathroom:

We are at it again.  Somewhere I found a new spurt of energy to tackle the last internal renovation job:  the family bathroom.  Our home is really looking beautiful now and that last bathroom was just an eye sore that I could no longer bare.  The shower was over sized, the tiling really badly done and super ugly and there wasn't a bath.  It had to go.

On Friday the bathroom was gutted and our plumber has been back on site jack hammering the floor and putting in new pipes.  He should be finished by Tuesday next week and then we have to get the tiler in to screed the floor and brick in the bath.   Then it's the plasterer's turn to smooth the walls.  The tiles then go on, the painter finishes off and voila:  a new bathroom.  The difficult part is getting all the tradesmen lined up to follow behind each other without great big gaps between.  I really want this to happen quite quickly but the finish line seems weeks away.

Anyway, it is happening and it is exciting and Hugo cannot wait to soak in the bath.  We will have two beautiful bathrooms and will be one step closer to building a pool.  Did I mention that the temperature has been hovering around 40 degrees these past two weeks?

I am sailing

 

While the "has been" Rod Stewart was crooning those words in Perth last weekend, Rob was actually doing it!  Rob has joined a work colleague on his boat a couple of times this summer.  He is a hardcore racing skipper who likes to win and quickly realised that Rob knows what he is doing and can find his way around a deck.  Rob is now in hot demand for races and is loving the thrill of keel boating again.  Last Saturday there was plenty of wind to make it really exciting and we all went down to Mounts Bay Yacht Club to see the boats off.  The boys and I then went on to our favourite scooter ramps for a play and were able to watch the race from the river bank.  Rob was on the boat with the blue and red spinnaker open.  He had a great day and crossed the line in second place (after handicaps) which was a great result with a huge fleet of contenders.

This really is a great sailing city and many children take up Optimist sailing lessons on the weekends or holidays.  Our boys are dead keen but we just have to fit it all in their busy schedules.  All the male members of our family are chomping at the bit to own a boat, be it a fishing/ski boat or of the sailing variety.  The opportunities for water sports are fantastic and varied and we just want to make the most of every moment in this beautiful city.

And as for Rod Stewart, he was still asking:  "Do you think I'm sexy?".  And the answer is still "No!".

Girl fun

The picture is a bit blurry but probably just as well!  My working life is so much fun!  In January I jetted off (alone!) for a five star, all expenses paid trip to Melbourne with INTIMO.  The models are a bit wasted on us women but we had an absolute blast.  The conference was slick and professional and gave us all a great surge of energy to tackle 2012 with vigour.  The new product line up is so beautiful and it was a treat to be surrounded by inspiring, successful and professional women.  It was also a treat for me to be away from all the home responsibilities and just have fun while learning and growing.

I returned from Melbourne with a new attitude to my business.  I realised the potential that it has and the heights of success that can be achieved and I am fired up!  I have already qualified for Brisbane's conference in July and have set my sites on the rewards trip to Phuket in October. 

Whatever happens, I am having fun, meeting amazing women and am energised by having my own business, money and freedom! 

back to school

Back to school today!  The boys were all ready and excited about a new start for another school year.  Hugo was the most excited as this is his first year on main campus in a school uniform and he will go everyday from 8.45 to 3pm.

We now have a Pre primary, a Year 2 and a Year 5 and it is the first time in 10 years that I will have a whole week without children during the term.

Best of luck boys for an awesome year of learning and growing!