Blog Everyday in May - Favourite Quotes and Blog Love

Okay so we are at Day 4 and 5 and I am cheating already. Surprised? Probably not HA!!

Day 4 & 5

Favourite Quote...My own, this is a printable I made a couple of years ago but it still stands true and I gaze upon it everyday when in my lady den.

A down loadable copy is available. Just shoot me an email for the link.
I wonder if Jenni when creating this challenge realised the impact she was going to have on the 500+ contributors and millions of readers. Sometimes these blog gigs blow me away, how quickly they become viral. Jenni if you read this, you should be incredibly proud of yourself and the community you have created.

Day 5
Publicly profess your love for another blogger etc. Now I am going to break tradition here and not do this.
Bloggers by large are a wonderful lot. They are all things to each person differently. I have many blog friends that I turn to or read for many different reasons. Singling one out doesn't seem fair. I have somewhat of circle happening, we support each other through thick and thin, my readers are their readers so in fact know who they are. I've seen blog rolls and shout outs and I often wonder to myself how do other bloggers feel about it. I am human I have felt left out on many occasions and it hurts but you put your big girl panties on and keep going because supporting others is not about getting recognition or support back it's about creating good Karma. Those that have been reading for along time know the passion I have for Karma. For me, how I treat others is far more important than how I am treated. If I can go to bed feeling happy and with an empty mind I know that I have done all I can in that day to make what was in my power a positive experience.
Well that's enough mumbo jumbo feel good malarky for one night, see you all tomorrow for Day 6.

Blog Everyday In May - Things That Make You Uncomfortable

Day 3
Gosh this really is becoming harder and harder. I'm only at Day 3 FFS. Get a grip woman.
What makes me uncomfortable.........
Crowds make me uncomfortable. Painstakingly so. I rarely go to events or get togethers now because I feel a rush of claustrophobia. I feel everyone is in my face and I can't breathe. I shop when it is the least crowded and online as much as possible, especially as the holiday season kicks into gear. Which makes life very awkward because you miss so many opportunities to meet new people and make new friends. School concerts O...M..G are my worst. I am in and out and talk myself through the whole thing the entire time I am there.
When you try to explain this to people, they mostly just think you are fobbing them off and an insanely good story teller. Not so.
Both my girls are not sufferers. They thrive on crowds and attention. They talk to anyone without hesitation, walk in a room and own it. I am so very proud of them.
As I lead up to 40 I am going to take a leaf out of their book and live life like I just don't care.
With the jaunty shrug of the shoulders and flick of the mane I shall embrace life outside my inner sanctum more.

Oh and one last one....geckos, they are weird. Full stop......

Blog Everyday In May - Educate Us

Okay so as I previously stated in my Story, I am not overly awesome at anything in particular.
I am good at a lot of things. Mostly craft related. This has not come about on sheer natural talent.

Day 2

If you are going to embark on a new craft, my suggestion is arm yourself with the best tools you can afford. Good tools make a world of difference in crafting. Buy Buy Buy when you see an item on special. Trust me, in crafting you will always find a use for it. Source locally or overseas, ensuring you divide the total plus postage by amount of items purchased to ensure you are in fact getting the best price possible.

Invest in staple items. eg  hot glue gun, paper trimmer, excellent scissors, tape, card stock in all the colours, hole punchers in as many designs as you can afford, twine in all the colours, kraft paper, stamps, stamp pads

I buy the items I use regularly in bulk. It is far more cost efficient for me to buy Kraft paper for example in 10 metre rolls than have to duck out and purchase a couple of metres etc. I wait until somewhere has a closing down sale or a financial year sale and purchase items in bulk. I wait until the New Year to purchase the following years Christmas items. If you wait until a holiday has ended i.e Easter etc you can pick up some unbelievable bargains for the following years event. I buy all my tissue paper from the dollar store. They have dozens of colours and I don't need to spend a fortune if I am experimenting. Have a dig around your local dollar stores or cheap shops, you will be shocked as to how much good craft stuff they have, cheap.

YouTube will become your best friend. Always. Amazing people who are in fact naturally gifted in Arts &
Crafts have gone to huge efforts to record how they do things for your benefit. Watch, pause, watch, repeat over and over until you get the knack.

Once you have all your staple items, unleash your creative being onto Pinterest. You will be lost for hours on end in there seeing all the pretty things. Since you took my advice and stocked up on all the bare necessities you will be good to go and not have to procrastinate any further in waiting to get to the shops and purchase that one thing you may need. I have been caught out before and by the time I sourced the item I had lost all interest in making it.

Homemade items I believe hold far greater value than store bought. People appreciate the effort you have gone to and you make items far more personal doing it yourself. This applies especially to those members of family who are the hardest to buy for.

Making it yourself, your also saving money. I am all about spreading those pennies as far as possible.

Most of all have fun. Get your kids involved. Have a Go

See you tomorrow for "Things that make you uncomfortable"....that could be a long one

Blog Everyday In May - Story of My Life

This is an exciting challenge to be embarking on. It's going to be tough and pushing myself further in my blog journey than before. Bring it. I'm ready. Hi Gemma from My Big Nutshell, who sent me in the direction of Jenni originally.

Day 1

You see I am all things to a lot of people. Yet I am not exceptional at any one of them. I have yet, at 37 years of age found my calling. Strange? Maybe
What I have discovered in those years is that I work best under pressure. Intense pressure.
Recently becoming a SAHM, I am struggling. Far more than when I was Corporate Mum.
How is it I feel I am failing with more time than ever before.
Another for instance, this blogpost, deadline 1 hour and here I am.
The upside of this trait? If in a real life Hunger Games I would totally kick arse.
I really hope in the next few years I do find something I love instead of flitting from one thing to another, most importantly because I think I am setting a very dangerous example to my daughters. Or..... am I teaching them versatility....See, I really have no idea what I am doing.
Just winging it man the best way I know how.

Joining in with Jenni from Story Of My Life for this amazing journey she has prompted us all on...

Spotlight Knit Along Project

Hi There!!
How are you all going. Remember I mentioned the Spotlight Knit Along project.
Here are some photos of the finished product provided by Spotlight.

The Above Pictures are Found on the Spotlight Facebook Page 

Don't worry if you haven't started yet or are behind I am still only up to Week 2 huh!

All of the information can be found on Spotlight Facebook Page. 

This is not sponsored in any way, I just love this project as last year I did their Crochet Along project and it was a tonne of fun. 

If you want to get started or have missed the whole thing, below are the PDF's I have been saving each week 

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

I've chosen to do mine in whites/pinks/purples as preteen has already baggsed it! 

If you do decide to start, I'd love to see your pics 

Have a great week 

Return Overload

Hello there......

It's been a long time huh?

Let's just say the re-entry into Domestic Goddess has been a rough one. 

But enough of that, let's talk purchases. More importantly what I did for the last few weeks of my contract. 

You know what I hate? The cost of some of the things I love to play with the most. Enter anything craft related. I am unsure why things cost so much more in Australia and it's damn annoying. 

So I researched some of my wishlist things. You see I had a list. Things I really wanted to play with when I returned to Domestic Goddess duties. Some I'll share with you over the next few weeks and how I saved, literally hundreds of dollars. 

First up......my favourite yarn at the moment. I am not joking when I say, I am fussy, super fussy about what I use. I love colour, lots and lots of colour and my favourite store Spotty McSpotty can be a bit of a downer on the colour front. 

So I searched and searched, joined a few groups here and there to talk yarn and low and behold my eyes were truly opened with these babies 

Isn't she delicious? The yarn is called a Stylecraft Special Double Knit (DK) and is from Deramores. This UK based supplier has, wait for it, 54 shades, I repeat 54 shades of this sherbet goodness. 

The pack above is called a Lucy pack, named after the crochet genius that is Attic 24. Go and check out Lucy's page. It really is a sensory overload of gorgeous colour and pieces she creates. 

Anyhow back to the yarn. It is 100g ball at $2.69 Aus Dollar. Now I pay $2.99 per 50g ball at my local and only about 1/4 of colours. Including shipping it works out to be $3.45 a ball. Much cheaper and so much more selection. I waited around a week for it arrive, so maybe not an option if your not a plan ahead kind of person. 

Now the best bit, this yarn is the softest acrylic I have ever felt, very similar to a baby yarn actually. 

Here are a few more pics for good measure 

I shall never go back to cheap and nasty yarn....ever... 

Is anyone else doing the knit along over on the Spotlight facebook page? You knit one block a week and then join the blocks to form a throw....anyone....anyone...Bueller 

Next few weeks we are going to get into the nitty gritty of PAPER CUTTERS/TRIMMERS, I know! hold onto your bloomers ladies...seriously though as you hit mid 30's you do need to invest in some serious elastic...anyway by for now my loves, let's get this Blog Mojo started 

Charlie - The Third Child

After reading Maxabella's call to arms about our pets for her gig at Kidspot Village Voices I decided to put pen to paper so to speak. Please note I managed to find my way out of the bottom of a chip packet  to do so Bron (cough cough).
Here's the tale of Charlie........
Once upon a time there was a little girl who liked to spend her Saturday afternoons at the puppy store admiring all the puppies her mean and horrid parents wouldn't buy her. She indulged each one of these orphans with all her little 6 year old heart could muster. There were fat ones and skinny ones and overly priced need to get a second mortgage, needs a diet better than we do ones. On this wet and windy afternoon she went about playing with these bundles of fun like any Saturday ritual, until her shrewd and eyeful mother noticed she had disappeared. Behind the screen that said "staff only".*
Once her Mother had stopped screeching to "get the hell out of there" she noticed a little white bundle of joy licking her daughter within an inch of her life. Upon further inspection, this little ball of fury, had in fact completely destroyed his cubicle with a big red sign on top.

Mother and Father immediately looked at each other with that unspoken look of NO. Then the weak minded soft touch of Father relented when he spotted a large lump on the pups chest. He immediately demanded to see the Vet to see what this was all about. The Vet explained to the getting weaker by the minute Father that the pup was unwanted. He had been placed out the back because it was putting off the prospective adoptees in buying a puppy. He may as well have said "Would you like dog food with that?"

Yes folks that is how Charlie made his way into our little family. He underwent surgery not long after this pic and had said nasty lump removed and has been creating havoc for his "mother" ever since. He is fantastic with the kids and my little mate. He is lazy and extraordinarily loud for a staffy, just like every other member of this family. Perfect fit

*Doesn't everyone's children go into no go zones