Currently.

I've done a couple of these posts now (here and here) and one of the things I like about them is that this exact moment I have very little of interest to report (see previous post on packing purgatory - still there) but there is so much going on around me and about to happen that I can write about instead. If I wrote about my actual day, you'd never come back as it was ultimately pretty damed boring!

Danielle from Sometimes Sweet does these so beautifully and I can only hope to come close to matching how well she writes but I'll give it a go.

Watching: got a secret, can you keep it? I'm recently gotten re-addicted to Pretty Little Liars. This show was on Aussie TV for a little while at one stage but somewhere it disappeared into the television programming abyss that always seems to happen with programmes I like! Anyhow, I had caught up on all my other de rigeur television viewing for the week and was looking around for something to watch online and stumbled back onto Aria et al. Yes, once again, a show aimed at 16 year olds, but I like it and am only very slightly ashamed to say so! The best part is I only saw about half of season 1 and they're now at season three so I have a lot to catch up on. Currently up to early season 2 so am looking forward to seeing how some of the storylines resolve.

Doing: refer to packing purgatory. I wonder how I accumulated so much in three years? We did a massive cull to move in and with only a smallish two bedroom unit, I really didn't think we had that much stuff. We've been a bit slack today, giving ourselves some time off to enjoy Mother's Day but got on a roll this afternoon and it seems the more we pack, the more is left behind! I must be going soft as I used to be the packing veteran. In fact I lived in more than 25 places before I turned 25 - the joys of having parents in real estate I guess! Since E was born I've tried to be a bit more stable, although 5 years is the maximum I've ever clocked up anywhere, we're a bit nomadic at heart. However I'm finding it all a bit hard this time around, when I thought it would be easy. It doesn't help that I have picked up some bug, likely the same one E had, and my body temperature is all over the place. I'm hot when it's cold, cold when it's hot and feel like I'm going to pass out the second I start getting warm. Urgh. I keep reminding myself I still have another week and a full weekend to do everything but I walk out into my lounge that looks like someone trashed it, and just see mess, mess, packing and more mess. E has dust up his nose and we both just feel really dirty. I know we'll get there but right now I'm just hiding in my room hoping it will all go away!!

Enjoying: Mother's Day, beautiful weather and my awesome child. I got coffee and breakfast in bed (cheese and bacon rolls from the bakery - slightly cheating but anyway!). He bought me the most beautiful shade of lipstick - it's called Cherry Candy and really shiny and I think I will have permanent cherry coloured lips for quite some time, it will be my new favourite! E went over to the shops and bought me sushi for lunch - my favourite. And in between packing, he's had time to create this brilliant Lego treehouse - check out the photo below. I don't know too many treehouses that have televisions and game consoles, but hey, we live in a technological age! It's also got a retractable ladder and a lockable trapdoor, I don't know about you but I'm pretty damned impressed.

Anticipating: my last week of work. I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye, it will be so sad! But so, so soon now we'll be leaving Brisbane and heading mountain-woods and I'm so excited to see our new house and finding out all the little things about our new town.

Eating: apart from sushi our diets for the last day or two and for the next week are going to likely be pretty eclectic. We are trying to eat through everything in the fridge/freezer and not buy anything unless necessary, so the pickings are pretty sparse. I'm going to be dying for a big salad or a meal with fresh vegetables by the time we hit Toowoomba. We have some frozen vegetables in the freezer to go through so at least we won't be completely nutritionally bankrupt. They're not my first choice but I always keep them in case I get home late and tired and can't be assed cooking anything more complicated.

Feeling: tired, sad, happy and slightly unwell all at the same time. It's not easy to pack and move when you're feeling under the weather so I hope whatever bug I have picked up leaves soon. My skin has also taken the opportunity to break out like a teenager's. I've suffered from adult acne for a few years but had it under control, however the last two months it has been ridiculous. I'm hoping it's just the stress and the dirt associated with moving (btw I thought I was a relatively clean person but packing has made me re-think this). Going to be working on improving my skin when I get to Toowoomba, hopefully that clean mountain air will help. Adult acne is the worst thing, it's so embarrassing and they always seem to congregate around my mouth so there's just nowhere to hide. I'm so good at the whole morning/night cleansing routine, but right now it's just out of control. I know it just sounds like vanity, but anyone else who has suffered knows what I'm talking about! And it's so hard to find the right combination of products that help with it, most of them are aimed at fresh teenage skin that just dries mine out and makes me look old!

So to all the mothers out there, I hope you are having a wonderful day and that your children have spoiled you rotten. And to all the men, I hope you've called your mothers today! Pick up the phone now!

Looking forward to the week ahead...let me know what you're currently doing, I'd love to know.

xx

'The Treehouse'

Happiness. Pasta. Bubbles and Boxes. Day 18

Just a couple of days left of my challenge and I'm determined to finish it on a high note! I've been thinking in the last few days about the lessons I've learned and how although the challenge may be winding down, the trick is to keep looking for positives and making sure I don't backslide into any negative thinking.

Moving to a new town will definitely help with this as there will be so many new things to discover and all of the fun things that go along with exploring a new environment and finding where we fit in.

Onwards and upwards, huh?

Gratitudes:

• So happy to see my dad today and spend a lovely few hours with him. We had an amazing Italian dinner which was so yummy but I'm now so full I think I'm about to explode! E had basically an upscale version of mac and cheese, followed by cookies & cream gelati which looked really awesome. Nice to also see that The Voice transcends all age barriers as dad had to rush back to their hotel and us to our apartment to make sure we didn't miss a moment. They're only in town briefly so that my stepmother can have a few tests so this is likely the last time we'll see dad whilst residents of Brisbane (another 'last'!)
• Dad also brought me so many boxes for my move that I think I'm now more than sorted! So grateful for these, boxes cost upwards of $5 each these days so it is a huge saving. Now I'll be able to get started on packing up my place. Reality sinking in!
• So grateful for the long weekend and nanna naps. I lay down to read this afternoon and the next thing I know it was an hour later. Felt so good to have a little snooze during the day, it really is a luxury when you're a mum!

Journal:
Not a great deal to report today apart from seeing dad this afternoon. We had a long, lovely lazy day broken up only by a quick trip to the bakery for some provisions. As the shops were all shut for the public holiday (closing on Labour Day...oxymoron???) I actually had to take the car out but I guess I'm just getting into practice for my move to Toowoomba. Cannot imagine my new place will be less than a 2 minute walk to the shopping centre so I'll have to get used to it!

Was just thinking that there are going to be so many changes to our lifestyle that it's ridiculous. Right now we throw our rubbish down a chute, we'll have to get used to remembering 'bin night' once again! We also have an automatic swipe door on our building so having to use keys will be kind of weird!

But the pluses definitely outweigh any negatives so it's all good.

It was also fun to watch E have his first soft drink tonight in more than a decade. When he was little he was handed a cup of what he thought was red cordial but was actually soda, took a huge gulp through a straw and promptly went red and started spewing bubbles everywhere. The look on the poor little guy's face was priceless and I couldn't help laughing. Since then he's refused to try any sort of drink with bubbles, which has been perfectly OK with me. But he announced the other day that he'd like to try lemonade as he likes lemonade ice blocks. So he had a couple of sips and decided that whilst he didn't hate it exactly, he's still not a fan of the bubbles!

So all in all, it's been a fantastic weekend. So happy right now!


Random Act of Kindness:
I picked E up his favourite meat pie for lunch from the bakery down the road. It's so lovely to have a child who gets excited over something so little.

Meditation:
I was so tired last night but actually made it all the way through and immediately had one of the best night's sleeps I've had in ages! Success!

So hoping you all had a fantastic weekend! We're off now to watch The Voice, hooray!

xx

Seafood pizza. Bacon. Doing nothing. Happiness Day 17

I'm now standing on the precipice of my last few days of my Happiness Challenge and it's made me rather reflective. It's been a fairly time consuming exercise and some days have been really tough to fulfil. There are simply some days that I don't want to be happy, dammit! Although perhaps I can credit this challenge with ensuring the last two weeks have probably had the lowest ratio of bad days I've had in ages.

The challenge has made me think a lot about what makes puts a smile on my face and a spring in my step. Everyone seeks happiness, everyone wants happiness, but what is happiness exactly?

If you google 'happiness' there are over 62 million hits ranging from deep and meaningful to clever and silly. Everyone has their own interpretation of what happiness is, but so many say the same sorts of things just using different words. My two favourites are at the opposite ends of the spectrum but essentially say the same thing:

'Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony'. Mahatma Gandhi

and 'Happiness is like jam. You can't spread even a little without getting some on yourself'. Anonymous

Incidentally, what the hell did we EVER do before google?

Gratitudes:

• I woke up feeling slightly unwell this morning so am thankful that a) it's a Sunday so I can legitimately do nothing and b) it's a long weekend so everything that I probably shoulda, coulda, woulda done today I can do tomorrow instead. Mucho gratitude for this
• I haven't actually left the apartment today but instead have once again been enjoying the glorious weather on my balcony. I really love my balcony and will definitely miss it when I leave, although I'll be trading it in for a backyard and a covered outdoor area which will likely be far more private and green so it's all good. I love to be outside and have missed that in unit living, so my balcony is a godsend
• Thank you for the great response on my post about being a single mum. Sometimes it's really difficult to write about things that are deeply personal however it is extremely liberating and gratifying when your writing catches people's imaginations. I'm still learning about this whole blogging business and trying to find my feet and what people like to read, and if someone can read what I write and identify with or get something out of it, then that is a wonderful feeling

Journal:
The day has whizzed by despite a (too) early wake-up and a lazy day of doing absolutely nothing. I was about to go for a nanna nap when I realised it was past 4pm and that I probably missed my window if I'm going to sleep tonight.

It has been a really lovely day, I cooked bacon and toast for E and myself for breakfast which I haven't done since I can't remember when. Then...blissful nothing.

Now we've made homemade pizzas (seafood, my favourite) and they're in the oven for an early dinner. Mmmmm.

And tomorrow a few bits and pieces of tidying up and then meeting dad for dinner, lovely.

Loving this weekend, if this is what happiness is, I'll take it.

Meditation:
I stayed up far too late last night for no apparent reason and once again fell asleep at some mid point during the bedtime visualisation. Perhaps that's why I feel lousy today?

Random act of kindness:
This is lame but I let E run over and grab sushi for lunch and that's about as far as I got. He was happy so I guess it counts?

So have you had a good day? Do you get a long weekend too and if so, what have you been doing with your time? Would love for you to let me know.

xx

Currently.

I wrote a 'currently' post recently and really loved writing it. I got the idea from Danielle Hampton's Sometimes Sweet and thought after everything that has happened, it was great timing to reflect and write another.

Reading: The 19th Element by John L Becker. I've mentioned before the brilliant Amazon Top 100 free titles list that I stumbled onto. I am trying to save money for what is proving to be an expensive move so this list is a complete godsend. I've read quite a few 'freebies' and make it a point to regularly check back for new titles so there's always something in the queue. I'm reading-obsessed and get an awful feeling if I don't have something new on hand to sink my teeth into. And some of these books are great! Because they're free, I download them no matter what genre (except for cookbooks, overtly Christian titles or those aimed at 5 year olds - anything else is fair game). The best part about this is that I get to read things I would never usually pick up or buy. And some of them are fantastic.

The 19th Element is much heavier fare than I would usually choose, centred around an ex-government spy who makes a connection between certain events to detect a nuclear terrorist threat. I'm surprised that I've been riveted by it, it's well written and the storyline is pretty gripping. I'm about 85% of the way through so just at the really exciting part where I can't quite tell how it's going to end.

Thinking about: my immiment move. I've been working on my Toowoomba Project book and have ticked off a couple more items and started a wishlist which contains some realistic items and some not-so-realistic ones! I've come to believe that you have to get out there and create your ideal life and I am going to be embracing a lot of change once I move 'up the mountain'. Thoroughly excited - stay tuned.

Loving: E's and my 'his and hers' haircuts we got this morning. We're on a strict budget and I can no longer afford my expensive hairdresser but luckily have discovered a great girl at a local cheapie place who did our hair this morning. It's no frills but the cuts seem decent and the price is right - so it's a good win. I've had quite a bit of length taken off and it feels weird to run my fingers through. I keep forgetting it's the length I usually wear it - it's just grown so quickly lately. Love that feeling of freshly washed hair, too, it smells delicious.

Eating: I took E out for breakfast this morning at 'our place' at Chermside Shopping Centre. We haven't been there in a while but with only two weeks left in Brisbane I thought it only fitting to give it a 'last meal' as residents of Brisbane. It's lovely to have a place where the girl at the counter sings out 'the usual?' as we walk up (the 'usual' being their heavenly thick toast, hash browns and cappuccino for me, hot chocolate with marshmallows for E). I am taking special note to really take notice of and enjoy these 'lasts' we're experiencing.

Watching: The Vampire Diaries. I'm way too old for this show but Ian Somerhalder, seriously? How could I not? I love that it's like a mini-movie in each episode, there is no 'filler' time and there's at least 2 dramatic 'game-changing' events per episode. I love it.

Anticipating: a visit from my dad and stepmother on Monday. They're in town for a few days and since their move to Tenterfield I don't get to see them nearly as often as I'd like. They run a motel so time off together is really rare. One of the wonderful things about moving to Toowoomba is that I will only be 1.5 hours away from them, makes a visit that much more manageable. I am so close to my dad and the relationship he shares with E, his oldest grandson, is something that almost brings tears to my eyes. My son is my father's 'mini-me', they are so alike in looks and mannerisms that it's quite eerie. And his grandma of course spoils him rotten as only a grandma can. Grandma is famous for her 'jellybean jar', a huge, foot-high glass jar of beans that gets raided constantly throughout visits and huge handfuls taken for the ride home. Sugar overload much?

Enjoying: the most glorious Brisbane autumn day. It's about 25 degrees, hardly a cloud in the sky and so beautiful. After a hectic morning, I've spent the afternoon sitting on my balcony soaking up some vitamin D and reading my kindle. It's cool out but the sun is gorgeous. Once I move to a house I'll have to mow lawns and do things on weekends so taking advantage of this restful time, the lull before the storm, if you will. Fingers crossed this weather continues throughout the long weekend, it is lovely to have 2 more days to look forward to.

So what are you plans this weekend? Hope you're having as lovely day as I am. I would love to read about what you're up to. Meanwhile you can laugh or cry at our before and after hair shots below!

xx