When will I, will I be`famous?

Does anyone else remember this song from the late eighties?

Apparently, it was my favourite when I was like 5 and I would sing it around the house all day. I vividly remember running through the halls at my grandmas house singing it at the top of my lungs, much to my grandma's dismay.

I thought since then that my dreams of fame and fortune were just that.. a dream. Until one day last week, I saw a blog site looking for a new contributor. Someone to write on their blog. I thought, hey, I can spell! I can do that!

Anyway, so I applied and got the gig! Woo hoo!!

So every American Friday (or Australian Saturday) you can see something random that I come up with at Pear Shaped Thoughts.... which is a cute little blog about nothing. It's like Seinfeld, only not.

I put my first post up today - so check it out!

Making disappointment FUN!

We have been wanting to go on an adventure. Somewhere like this:


It's a picture of Thursday Island, between Australia and Papua New Guinea. We had hoped that we would receive a transfer there for work. We had been told if you say you will go super remote (which, hello, is there more remote than that?) you will for sure go... so we hadn't even considered the possibility that we would stay. So, we purchased a townhouse close to shopping centres and main roads that would rent easily. We did little decorating, I put off buying winter clothes knowing that I wouldn't need them next season on Thursday Island (one of my saddest moments), and we just lived in bliss as we waited to go country. Well... you can imagine our sheer shock and surprise when we were told we were staying. WHAT?!??!

So here we are. In Brisbane for the next 3 years (unless of course we take a change of career or something...) But for now, here we are.

I took a few weeks to recover from my disappointment. But now that I know we are staying, I have been shopping for bargains to do some decorating. I can't believe we are living in a townhouse with very little backyard with a dog the size of a small horse for the next three years, but alas, I make the best of it!

I've loved looking for bargains. If you know me well, you must know I love a bargain. If you tell me you bought a $3000 sofa I will think you're nuts. But if you tell me you got a $3000 sofa for $600 I will think you're a champion. One of the things I like most about my engagement ring is that Josh got it for a bargain price. I'm a weirdo.

Firstly, we decided to buy an armchair or two for our living room. We wanted a colour to contrast well with our cream couch (which will get replaced in the future but for now it's okay) so we decided on green or blue. We found a bargain that I love, did a bit of re-arranging (and recovering from the fact that it's WAY bigger than it looked in the warehouse and realising we definitely should NOT have bought two) and put it here:


Then, realising we now had 2 and only one fits in the living room, we have changed our spare bedroom into a second living space. We never used it as an office anyway, and now it gets used. To make that room feel homely, I've started a photo wall. It is by no means complete, but it has begun and I love it. All fun memories of our lives together on one wall...


I made some little art pieces, put up some vinyl, and bought some new vases for above our piano (which I refinished just before having Noah but REALLY need to recover the seat):


And my super talented husband made a bench seat to match our table. Which I love. We also bought those cute leather chairs for either end for $20 a pop (one is in the living room while we have the table pressed up against the wall - you can tell by our slightly-too-large-for-the-space furniture that we hadn't planned on staying here long - ce la vie).


It may seem materialistic, but it has really made me feel happier in this space. And hey, if it's giving me a project and something to enjoy - who cares :) I'm now on the hunt for the perfect rug for our two living spaces and our bedroom. Still trying to find the perfect 'bargain'...

What do you do to make your house feel like a home?

They grow up so fast!

I haven't blogged in months, so I thought I'd do a little baby update.

We recently bought Noah a new play centre. We found he was getting bored of sitting in a bouncer or lying on the floor. Because he has strong legs, he wants to be stood up all the time. This required me to hold him! So we went to Toys R Us and got us a play centre. Problem solved. He can stand as much as he likes and play at the same time. He loves it!

At 4 and a half months, we started feeding Noah little bits of solid food. He got two teeth in his fourth month. He is growing up so fast! He isn't a big eater yet, but he's getting the hang of it. Josh is better at feeding him than me, but I have no idea what he does differently!

We took Noah to his first movie on Friday - he had just turned 5 months. He didn't watch a lot of it really. He was a little confused... Not sure whether to sleep because it was dark or to look around and find the source of the noise! But all in all he did well. He did end up falling asleep.. hehe... It was just all too much, I guess :)


The photo below was my view yesterday morning. Noah woke up really early (well, early for him - 6am) and so when I fed him at 7, he fell asleep. I couldn't help but take a picture. He is so cute when he sleeps. It's actually just what Josh looks like when he sleeps... but on a smaller scale and less drooling. hehe. Just kidding honey :)

Life has changed, but changed for the better! I love him more and more each day.

"I've gotta walk the dog"

An amusing anectdote.

When I go to bed at like 9pm (yes, I got old), I set an alarm for myself to wake up and feed Noah. Usually, I set it for 11pm.

A few nights ago, Josh went to bed early with me as he had to start work at 6am the next day. When my alarm went off, Josh sat bolt upright and moved to the edge of the bed. I said 'Honey, go back to sleep' and went to feed the baby.

When I returned about 20 minutes later, I found Josh still sitting on the edge of the bed, but he had fallen over sideways and was now snoring. If only I had taken a picture. I woke him, as gently as possible, and said 'Go back to sleep honey' and he said 'Ugh, I've gotta walk the dog' in a gruff, half asleep voice.

Clearly, at 11.20pm he does not have to walk the dog. But as he had planned to walk her at 4.30 before heading to work, he assumed it was his alarm clock waking him so rudely.

I cracked up laughing and told him what time it was. I can see some good pranks in the future.

Love

I'm grateful for so many things since beginning to think about it more often. I've been having good days, and even though nothing more exciting is happening, I'm enjoying life much more.

1. Love. I LOVE love. I love being loved, telling people I love them, love hearts, red roses, cuddles, and all things love!

2. A vacuum cleaner. I hate dirty floors so I am grateful to be able to clean them.

3. Ginger beer. It's delicious.

4. A baby bjorn to use while I walk the dog. So much better than using the pram!

5. Full night's sleeps.

6. Kate - for keeping the notes she took at Noah's baby blessing since I lost mine. Thank heavens for wonderful friends (I have more lifelong wonderful friends than any person deserves in a lifetime. I love you all!)

7. Laughter. Doesn't hearing someone laugh, or laughing yourself, just brighten your day?

8. Makeup. Thank heavens for being able to mask what I really look like :)

9. A baby who has learned to put himself to sleep without the tantrum. Not all the time, but most of the time. Ahh.. Don't change Noah!!

10. Life. I have a good life. I'm grateful for it!

Gratitude - Day 2 and 3

Having a new baby means I don't do this every day. But here are some things I was grateful for yesterday, and some things I am grateful for today.

Day 2:

1. I can read, and that I can read quickly and understand the information easily. This is a gift!

2. John Bytheway. I was listening to his talk 'Rough start; great finish'. It's a good one!


3. That my baby slept through the night for the first time - 11pm-6.15. That was fun.


4. My mum visted.


5. I can now fit my wedding rings!

Day 3:

1. The smell of rain - It's so fresh, clean and makes me feel happy!


2. Clean carpet - My carpet rarely looks clean because it's a dark colour and shows up everything. I just vacuumed it so right now, I'm in love.

3. Friends. I just started to list them and thought I'd feel horrible if I left anyone out. So I'll just mention one right now - Alicia. I'm grateful for her because she has really looked after me since having this baby. Thanks Liss!


4. Naps. I love naps. And showers. I LOOOOVE showers.


5. Losing my baby weight.

Gratitudinal Profiling

I've noticed latley that I haven't been looking for the good in things as much as I should. Things are becoming more expensive, I'm overwhelmed at times, and find myself feeling unsuccessful. I have decided I need to focus on being more grateful and positive. Thus 'gratitude profiling' begins.

I am planning to try and think of a few things each day that I am grateful for. I know there are lots, and I may not actually blog it each day, but this is where I'm aiming to be held accountable.

1. A husband who loves me, puts up with me, and is willing to help with the household tasks I find most repugnant.


2. A sweet, sweet baby. I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful one! Sure, he still wakes me up once a night, but he is just heaven on a platter at all hours of the day, so I don't mind.


3. Long hair. I don't know what it is, but I'm addicted to having my hair long. I'm grateful that it makes me feel pretty, can hide my back if my shirt is a little low, can cover my shoulder if the baby has thrown up on me, etc. It's wonderful.


4. A house to live in that is safe, comfortable, and mine.


5. Something to believe in.