rugby again

This time all three are out there having a go.  Hugo is playing his first season of under 6 rugby, a year ahead of when he needs to be there, but why not?  It beats hanging around on the side line watching his brothers belt it out and the boy has natural talent. 

He has watched enough rugby to know what the game is about and has really taken well to the passing and running.  Our biggest stumbling block to date has been getting him to accept that U6's only play tag rugby.  Last week he refused to practice because he had worked out that his team wasn't playing "real" rugby like Russell's team.  He wanted to tackle.  "What's with the baby game of tag?" he asked.

I fear that is going to be an ongoing discussion as tackle and scrumming only kick in at U8!  The best part for me is the cute little boots.  They could double as decorations on my rearview mirror.  If I lived in Goodwood, of course.

Too cute.  If I say so myself.

grub camp

Or was it cub camp? 

The boys, especially Adam, returned from cub scout camp looking like great big grubs.  They were so filthy!  It took hours of soaking to get the clothes to a state that the washing machine could handle.  What fun these two brothers have on these great weekends away.  They hike, cook, play games, stalk the lantern and do obstacle courses.  And for Adam, that all happens in the same set of clothing, it seems.  He wins the laundry prize and I doubt his bag gets unzipped to find his toothbrush!

The cub pack spent the weekend down south on another epic adventure.  Rob, Hugo and I had a very relaxing weekend in Perth.  We went out for a lovely pub lunch on the river's edge, had an afternoon sleep, did some gardening and lazed around.  The general house volume was low and Hugo basked in the attention that an only child gets.  What bliss!

ruling the roost

I love the way the Aussies keep the rules and avoid conflict while doing it.  Sometimes, however, it does make me laugh!  There is a franchise here called Red Rooster.  It's a take away joint for everything roast chickenish.  You can drive thru' or walk in and dine.  You can order chicken pieces, burgers or the whole darn bird!

On a recent Sunday morning our friends at church decided that it was a good idea to congregate at our house for lunch.  We agreed and I decided to rescue the empty pantry by making my first-ever stop at Red Rooster for roast chickens.

To Russell's delight we decided to do the Drive-thru and dutifully stopped when we got to the window and requested:  "Four roast chickens, please!"

To our utter amazement our very reasonable request (given that this is exclusively a roast chicken vendor on a Sunday lunch) was met with disapproval.  The sales lady informed us that each customer was only allowed to purchase two chickens unless a pre order arrangement had been made a few hours before!  An argument ensued where I politely pointed out that she was selling chickens and I was buying them.  What was the problem?  I could go down to my local IGA (read Spar) and clear out the hot chicken oven and nobody would bat an eye.  Here she was telling me she didn't want my fifty bucks.  Insane.  Recession?  What recession?  Rules are rules and theirs is only two chickens per car so that everyone can have lunch!

I backed down momentarily, cleared my throat and started again:  "Two roast chickens, please".  To which she gaily responded, "that will be $24.95, please."  I paid.  We left.  I drove thru and parked in the adjoining car park.

I told Russell to wait in the car while I just went to buy the chickens.  He looked on in bewilderment as I marched through the front door of the very same Red Rooster and greeted the staff with a smile at the counter.  "Two roast chickens, please,"  I said.  They looked at one another in total disbelief and nudged each other forward.  Eventually they called the supervisor from the back.  She tentatively approached the cash register, looking me up and down.  I could tell she was deciding whether to take me on or not.  I spoke clearly and concisely and made my plea known:  "Two roast chickens, please."

"That will be $24.95," she said.  I took them and left.

Fair dinkum!

return to sender

Address unknown.

We have booked our tickets to South Africa!  We arrive in Cape Town on Wednesday 19th December and stay for four weeks.  Rob leaves a few days earlier on Sunday 13th and the boys and I plan to be in Johannesburg catching up with my sister and her family as well as the Blanes, for a few days.

We'll have Christmas with family and friends and will be there for Lindsay's 40th. 

We are all looking forward to seeing everyone again.  The boys are dreaming of Yogisip and Jelly Tots.  We're on the look out for a house to "sit" for anyone who is going to be away for all or some of that time.  It would be really perfect having our "own" place in Cape Town for a while.

This year is already turning into a fun and busy one and it is great knowing we have a month's holiday at the end!

bras sold and lost

This INTIMO business is just so much fun!  I am working pretty hard to build it up and am taking it quite seriously and it has proven to be really worthwhile.  The great part is that I only work the hours I choose to work which means that I never miss a school athletics carnival or swim meet and I am always available for school drops and pick ups and homework.  Our family has agreed that I will work two nights a week, most Saturdays for 3 hours and whatever mornings I can manage.  The result is that I book 4-5 parties a week plus personal fittings.  I do my admin in the morning when I have a gap.  My diary is booked two months in advance!  The real plus of selling good quality, comfortable bras is that you notice when you are not wearing one and they do eventually wear out.  Customers phone through top up orders all the time and drop me a line when they have a bit of extra cash to spend on themselves.  Husbands are great customers too!  Once they know that I am the one that knows their wife's sizes and "likes" they trust me with the gifts.  After all, it is the gift that keeps on giving!

I see it all.  There are bras being held together by shoe laces and safety pins.  There are beautiful bras that are NOT holding the boobs in and ugly ones that are way too big!  I have learned that you can make someone smile by putting them into lingerie that looks amazing, feels comfortable and holds "them" up.  I have learned that women need to feel good about themselves and too often put their own needs on the back burner.  Women need to be reminded that lingerie is about THEM, no one else and that feeling good starts with small steps.  I have learned that the right under garments can transform an outfit and a figure.  Before INTIMO I didn't realise how many women pad their bras!  I had no idea that some women don't wear underwear.  Sadly, I also didn't believe the "1 in 10 women with breast cancer" statistic.

The funniest (and also the most tragic) story from my business so far is that one of my hostesses failed to hand out the garments to her friends before her husband got sick of the box in the entrance hall and threw it in the recycling bin.  It left with the truck before he realised that he was throwing away $1300 in underwear!

The great news is that I have recruited two ladies on to my team and am training them up for their own INTIMO success.  I have qualified for Brisbane conference in July and am on track to enjoy a rewards trip to Phuket. 

Best of all, is how much I laugh.  Women are great soothers for the soul.  Girl company is so much fun.  Everyone has a story worth sharing and we are all coping with so much as we multi-task our lives. 

I feel very blessed to be having this much fun while building a business.

Rob's job

This has been one of those life-changing months in Rob's work life.  The stress levels are rising with the work load as he climbs another big career mountain.

After 7 months at Atlas Iron Ore Rob has proven himself to the board and senior management.  The business is at the beginning of a significant growth phase as it completes projects which will enable it to increase the production of iron ore exponentially over the next decade.  Rob brings enormous experience of big capital projects to the table from the years spent at MacQuarie Bank and can see the pitfalls and opportunities lying ahead.  Atlas needs to go through major restructuring internally in order to meet the challenges in its path.  Rob has been ear marked as the one to take the driving seat through these changes and has been promoted to Chief Development Officer effective 1 March.

It is never easy to implement major changes throughout a business and the challenge is huge.  Rob is very excited by the opportunity while also daunted by the task that lies ahead.  He is back to working long hours and is doing a bit of midnight pacing again!  He is focused and stimulated and is undoubtedly the best man for the job.

The boys and I are so proud of him.  This job is, at last, the culmination of all his years of experience.  He has a leading role within one of Western Australia's major players in the mining sector and he is such a star!  We are totally behind his success and are supporting him in every way we can.  I pray that he will draw on God's strength, not his own, and manage to reach the summit, respected and acknowledged.  Right now, it is just one day at a time, onward and upward.

I miss you

I miss our coffee together as I tell you my news.  I miss picturing you reading about us and having a laugh.  I miss the sense of accomplishment that comes with each "chapter" I complete.  I miss sensing you at the end of the line.

"An extra day" I wrote and yet it just wasn't enough.  March did exactly that:  it marched past too quickly.  I drowned in paperwork as I build my business, I dashed from bra fitting to lingerie party and became totally absorbed in Grade 2 reading and Grade 5 maths.  Just when I could see a gap to blog the laundry pile caught my eye!  Our lives are over committed, frantic, wild but also so much fun.

There are aspects of March that I can't allow to slip under the blogging mat.  I will have to punch them out while multi-tasking my emails and orders.  I WILL keep you in this loop, I WILL journal our lives.  It's so important to me, too, you see.  I love pretending we're catching up over coffee or a glass of wine.  My life just isn't the same without you.

And, I really do miss you.