New Year's Goals

I love, love, love writing lists. Shopping lists, jobs lists, lists of phone calls to make, bills to pay, things to organise, lists lists lists are my favourite! Infact, as I sit here, I am writing a list of things to write about for the blog. Long lists of ideas... Love it.

I remembered that I have written my favourite kind of list a few weeks ago. My New Year's Goal list. This is my list of things to ensure I am moving forward. I like to know I have pursued something new and something interesting throughout the year. I hate the word 'resolution' it is too.... resolute. Rather, I like the word 'goal', it gives the picture of aiming for something.

Here are my 2011 Goals (insert daaa-daaaaa music here)

MR COOL

1) More dates

2) Weekly "Meetings" to discuss ... stuff!

KIDS

1) Swimming lessons

2) Piano lessons

3) More friends over to play

SOUL

1) Keep a prayer journal

2) Read 10 books of the bible

3) More reflection time with Mr Cool

4) Learn to play piano
5) Read min 15 novels

BODY

1) Get to my WW goal weight by my birthday

2) Run 10km at the Gold Coast Marathon weekend

FRIENDS

1) Don't lose touch with Mrs Style & Grace and Mrs Writes & Amazes

2) Fortnightly girlie time with my peeps

3) More time with my sisters

WRITING

1) Write a blog post once a week for all the blogs I write for....

2) Get more things published around the place

HOUSE

1) Keep an indoor plant alive

2) Paint and mould-treat the inside of all wardrobes

3) Plant a vegetable garden

4) Get gardens established

FINANCE

1) Track finances better (at all would be a start!)

2) Save up for a family holiday

3) Be better at filing and organisation

CRAFT

1) Get scrapping girlie - I am now years behind!

2) Sew more clothes 

3) Learn to put in a zipper

4) Learn more crochet stitches

COOKING

1) Make Tarte Tartin

2) Make Creme Brulee

3) More cooking with the girls

4) Blog photos once a week

I know this seems like a lot. But it helps me to stay balanced and to remember the important things in my life. I am excited about this year and look forward to working at being content. Because that is cool.

TIme to be cool...

Well, it has been a while since my last blog post.  What I started with trepidation, got some momentum and then ... life got busy and then I kinda ran out of steam.

I know I have not ended my quest for cool, but I never really realised that to pursue cool would require constant vigilance and dedication to the cause.

However, after spending the morning people watching, I had a bit of a revelation. Cool is something that just is. I know this sounds kind of dumb.  I watched a young mum with three very hip children and she looked so cool:  fab sunglasses, truly cute hair, great jeans, funky sparkly flats and a groovy striped cardigan. She just looked so well put together (is that the correct English?) - but she was also handing out wipes, cleaning faces, giving out lollipops and taking her little ones to the loo, just normal 'mummy' things to do.

But what set her apart from the crowd?  It was the way she looked so cool without really trying - her outfit did not look pretentious, it looked as if she had just rummaged through her wardrobe and dressed for comfort and practicality - which I think is cool.  What I realised is - if items are chosen carefully and not impulsively - then your chances of hitting 'cool' is pretty good.

I know a lot of my friends are great at this, cool sneakers, cool jeans, great colours etc. I need to remember this and not grab t-shirts and things on sale just because they are on sale. Sometimes sale items are just that because no-one wants them - which is not cool.

I am also trying to not get bogged down in thinking that cool should cost money. We are now on a single income again, thanks to a gorgeous little round person who is currently nappy in his cot. But, I will not let this stop me from pursuing coolness.  I am also not going to think that cool is to be achieved only by the very young and hip. Surely, surely, I can achieve a bit of coolness in my (ahem) early thirties? Surely there is cool enough for everyone?

So the pursuit of cool continues. I have finished up work for a while and look forward to more chances to work on my blogs and get stuck into meeting some new blogging friends out there.

Hoorah, let me know of any cool things out there for me to do/think/read/pursue etc.... I need all the help I can get!

100 cats let loose in Ikea.... This is so cool!

Thanks to my friend Linda, I am so 'grateful' that she brought this to my attention. We have watched it over and over....


100 cats released in Ikea...

An English IKEA decided to release 100 live cats overnight. Why? Why would you question such a thing? The video is the most amazing and life-affirming event. Ever. Embrace it. Watch it a thousand times. Watch it ten thousand times.

Things worth paying for...

There are some things that I think are worth spending money on... This is piggy backing off my reading about Style - there are not many books on Cool... I think the line is very blurry between the two.

1) Shoes - we aren't getting any younger folks - let's be kind to these two little miracles. Bunyins, corns, callouses etc  are not cool.
2) Jeans - from humble beginnings as workers' clothes, they are now a staple in any cool person's wardrobe. Due to how much they are worn, buy ones that are the right fit and length - when in doubt - go long...
3) Coats/Jackets - these are not one season items, make your money work for a few years not a season.
4) Decent bras - keep those puppies tamed girls! Nothing more uncool than puppies on the loose, especially under a t-shirt. Also remember, one of the top identifiers of a 'Bogan' is dark underwear under a light shirt, also the number of Torana parts stored under your bed - you have been warned.
5) Sunscreen - UV rays are ageing us every day. The thinnest skin on our bodies (requiring lots of attention) is our lips, under our eyes and our decolletage, use SPF 30+ everyday. That is right - EVERYDAY - rain, hail, shine, fog, or dust storm.

Polyvore is really totally cool!

Thanks to a Crafty Mummy who pointed me towards this website. I had many happy hours playing with backgrounds and designer clothes. When else can a girl see if an Alexander McQueen gown would match with a pair of Chanel earrings?  I have been happy to sit beside my lovely husband while he watches football to play with clothes and bags etc.

Above:  I call this 'Spring by the Sea'. This outfit would be perfect to wear to stroll through beach side shops. I imagine tanned legs, icy drinks looking for a great place to have a luscious lunch with someone cruisy.




Above:  I call this 'Shopping Anyone?'  Stylish, comfortable and versatile. Who wouldn't want to stroll around in this stunning dress?



Above:  I call this 'Doing the School Pick-Up', it is easy to wear, simple, fun but the shapes are all very classic. As those of you who have been reading my blog, know that black, red and white are my favourite colours to wear.


Do some playing for yourself at www.polyvore.com

The Coolest Thing

I  had a really cool weekend recently.  We had to be in BrisVegas for a variety of reasons and the bonus was we got to spend some time with good friends who had recently moved away from our friendly clutches.

I could list the things we did like; markets, brunch, watching old movies, eating cake and just hanging out...  But that wasn't the coolest part of our weekend.  The coolest thing was, I finally worked out what the coolest thing in the world is..  It is friends.

Yup, that simply:  it is friends.  People who share the journey of life and voluntarily stand on the side lines and cheer you on.  Now family is cool too, but they HAVE to love you - warts and all - that is their function, but friends, they don't HAVE to do anything, but they do, I love that.

I have an amazing little snatch of friends.  I hold onto them dearly.  We were thrust together by a haphazard coffee morning and have been inseparable since.  We have shared so much life together, that I think we are now permanently linked together, threads in each others' tapestries of life.  I could not imagine my life without them.

I have been going through a tough couple of months, for a variety of reasons, which are not cool to go into here.  Basically, I am always wishing I was better, thinner, smarter, healthier, smilier etc etc, but these three women in my life (and you know who you are, you gorgeous things) just accept me and listen and love me, and I think that is cool. Through my friendship with these three gorgeous women I have become a much better mother, wife, cook, friend, teacher ... well person really. I am so grateful that they are in my life.

But it is not just my relationship with these three women that give my life its coolness. I have lots of friendships and they all have their degrees of coolness; Friend #435 and I meet once a month for 'prayer' - our husbands think we just talk (pfft what would they know!), Friend #653 and her gorgeous family, share Easter with us every year and we have many catch ups through the year, Friend #198 lives in London and although she is oceans away, text messages and emails keep us in touch, Friend #878 is quite new to my friend list and is so refreshing in her quirky and thoughtful ways it challenges the way that I think and Friend #651 has grown children but shares her life stories and experiences with me.

I love that I have discovered the coolest thing in the world.  I also love that it is free, environmentally friendly, decomposes, comes in pretty packaging, sustainable, non-poluting and energy efficient.  But more important than all of that it is renewable; it will just keep going on and on.

Crumbs

When I started this blog, there were some topics I just did not want to touch on.  Firstly, I did not want to comment on children, especially my children, as I really don’t think I should be giving any advice, stories, findings or evidence that may result in me having my children taken from me. I would miss their cute little faces. Secondly, I did not want to write about cleaning. How dull. Cleaning is something that empty nesters or real grown ups talk about. I also wanted avoid to eluding to the lunacy that is intertwined in my thinking regarding this topic.

But, here I am, about to do something I said I never would. I am about to discuss Crumbs. Sigh.

I hate crumbs. Crumbs wreck a perfectly clean floor. They wreck a clean tablecloth. They work their way into drawers, cupboards, corners and cloths. They require more work to get rid of than I have time to give to the task. They blow from tables to floor, they are indiscriminate in their origin and can be made from virtually anything. They are also created by another thing I was not going to discuss on my blog - children.

One of the nick names for my five year old is ‘Captain Crumbulator’. She has an amazing ability to make crumbs out of anything. We have a little joke that she can make crumbs when eating yoghurt. She is a shocker. Can you sense the conflict I live with?

Now, I do love having a clean house. I know that this probably puts me further down the cool thermometer, but that has to be a reality I live with. I like to know that my house is ready for people to drop in any time - not that this happens in this day and age anymore. My mother lives not ten minutes away, that is reason enough to keep my house in some form of order! I have a little mental list in my head of the bare minimum to be done each day, week, fortnight and month but I have to be careful not to get too thingy about this as it kind of stresses everyone out. However, I do love a clean house.

I have been quite remiss in my cleaning for the last couple of months and I have a good reason. I have been pregnant and I have been working part time. This has meant that for the past 6 months I have been either sick, tired, aching, bloated, swollen or generally stressed pretty much the whole time in varying combinations.

Now, lets meld all these pieces together. 

1. I like a clean house
2. I do not like crumbs
3. I have not been cleaning
4. I do not have much time 

Of course you have made the connection; my kitchen drawers have been a disaster. I had put off cleaning out the kitchen drawers for ages, knowing that this is one job that just could not be half done, once I started it, I wouldn’t be able to stop until every drawer had been completely gone through and cleaned.

So, the day came when I could not avoid it any longer - I had run out of excuses, the crumbs were out of control. We had gotten to the point where I thought by putting utensils back in the drawers would make them dirty again.  It didn’t actually take that long to do in the end, and I was able to get rid of things from my drawers that I hadn’t used for ever and my children got some new things for their pretend play stash.

Feeling rather sorry for myself for being so danged boring, I vented on Facebook. My status basically said that,  ‘I would rather be people watching sipping lattes in a trendy cafe, than cleaning crumbs from drawers.‘ I was hoping for a whole heaps of ‘Me too’s but this is not the response I got. I got a whole stream of people commenting how cool it was to have a clean cutlery drawer. Or how cool a clean house is. One of my Facebook friends has since said that there is nothing cooler than a clean house.  So.....  I guess I am cooler than I thought!

There is a cup Friend #458 has at her house that I like to use, it says, ‘A dusted house is the sign of a wasted life’. I think this is hilarious, and I chortle away while sipping tea from it, secretly trying to track how much of my life I have wasted dusting and polishing, cleaning up crumbs and arranging my house. Years I imagine. Drats.