I'm a very well behaved guest ...

Today I'm doing something a little bit different .... I'm guest posting.

I feel like a very grown up blogger indeed!

The gorgeous and incredibly generous Rebecca of Pomegranate and Seeds invited me to write a post for her "school ready" series.

So of course I immediately jumped at the chance.

As this is my first guest post ever ... and let's face it ... quite probably my last ... I'd LOVE you to CLICK OVER ... and check it out.

While you are there you'll fall in love with Rebecca's blog .... she's one of those clever folk who have the uncanny knack for taking normal words and turning them into something quite, quite beautiful.

Happy Bloggy Birthday ...

This not so old blog of mine turns one year old today.

What's more it even got a present ... to mark the occasion.

The lovely and talented Olivia over at The Magic and the Mundane ... had a giveaway on her blog last week ...and surprise, surprise I won it.  Which is amazing ... because I never win anything.

Inside my brown paper package tied up with string ... was this fabulous painting ...

Which is pretty appropriate ... because I am loving this whole blogging caper.

Thanks Olivia and thanks to my lovely readers ... regulars, irregulars and one night stands ... you simply couldn't "meet" a more gorgeous bunch of ladies human beings.  I'm an equal opportunity blog.

xx

Green thumb?

Yet another beautiful winters day ... in this ... the warmest Sydney winter on record.

The sun is shining ... begging me to come outside and spend a wee while.

So I justified my little sojourn into the sunshine by pretending I was doing a spot of gardening.

Hubby planted some carrots a while back.

Today, I noticed how their plump juicy bodies were peeking up from the dirt.  Too big to be contained within the soil for a moment longer.

I began to experience delicious visions of  carrot soup, carrot sticks in dip, creamy coleslaw, carrot cakes with cream cheese icing ... or what the heck I could just chomp straight in ... Bugs Bunny style.

So I knelt down in the warm earth ... my fingers reaching for that glorious orange jewel ... pulling it free from the soil that had lovingly nursed it into maturity.

What the????

Houston ... we have a problem!

I guess that's why they call it the blues ...

This week Jane's Shiny T Tuesday fashion prompt is ... "Something borrowed ... something blue".

Now I live in a household that is male dominated ... I am in fact the only female ... and that includes the dog ... which leaves the chances of me "borrowing" clothes rather minimal.

I considered "borrowing" one of Hubby's blue business shirts ...after all he has more than enough ...

but that would have been more appropriate for last week's Pin Up prompt.

So I decided instead to ask Master 16 ... being the resident fashionista ... to "style" me for this week's fashion post.  He could choose what I was to wear ... provided it was blue ... and it didn't belong to me.

No sooner had I donned HIS shirt and HIS jeans and HIS jacket and MASTER 13's beanie and I was overcome with an overwhelming wave of teenage attitude and angst.

The urge to loll around on the lounge could not be denied.

The insolent expression could not be removed from my face.

There was an uncontrollable urge to put my feet up ... ignore everyone around me ... and text people.

It was suddenly imperative that I shoot as many people as possible ... and congratulate myself on my exemplary kill streak.

I paused only long enough to check my Facebook status ... my Instagram followers ... my Snap Chat updates ... and my Viber messages.

Before I realised I was hungry ... again.

Chambray Shirt:  Topman

Skinny Jeans:  Roger David

Utility Jacket:  Roger David

Slouchy Beanie:  Factorie

Headphones:  Beats by Dr Dre

Shoes:  Converse

Sullen Expression:  Model's own

Make Love ... Not War ... and maybe a tie dye t-shirt too ...

A while back Master 16 ordered these off the Internet ...

... at EXORBITANT expense.

At the time I chastised him ... gently ... calling him all kinds of nincompoop ... because clearly we could have made them ourselves at much less expense.

Now be careful what you say to your children ... as you are chastising them gently ... because they just may take you at your word.

Last week he declared he was ready for us to make him some tie dye t-shirts.

Now at the time I may have inadvertently implied that I was some kind of tie dye expert ... with vast experience in all things tie dyed.  Alas ... I may have been exaggerating ... just a little.  I can't actually recall tie dying anything ... ever.

But how hard can it be?  If hippies can create tie dyed masterpieces while high on whacky tobaccy and magic mushrooms ... between bouts of free love .. then surely I ... while stone cold sober ... can come up with something to satisfy a 16 year old boy.

I thought about googling or you tubing for some tie dye instructions ... but in the end I just went and bought this ...

... that way someone else had already done all the research for me ... not to mention all the measurements too.

So I just had to get into my very best ... crafty pants ...

Mix up some kind of salty stuff into a bucket of water ...

... and add the t-shirts.

Let them soak ... while I added water up to the line for the dye.

Then follow the directions and add the dye to the t-shirts ... as artistically as possible.

Once they were suitably soaked in dye you have to put them into plastic bags and leave them for 12-24 hours.

The next day ... you simply rinse them in cold water and then pop them into the washing machine.

The time of reckoning is almost upon us ... fingers crossed!

You hope for a warm, sunny day ... and hang them out to dry ...

Now because I wanted to make sure they dried safely ... I selflessly stayed by their side ... on this warm, sunny day.

And then they were released to the critics ... I was a little scared ... these critics can be harsh!

"All we are saying is - Give peace a chance"

"And if you can't be with the one you love ... Honey ...  Love the one you're with"

SUCCESS!!

34/52

"A portrait of our children, once a week, every week in 2013"

Master 16:  Dinner out for your Dad's birthday ... taken on the iPhone.

Master 13 :  Ditto

Dinner and cake and calories galore,

Things we enjoyed in Week Thirty Four.

Joining in with Jodi.

Selfie ...

There is something that I have come to understand over time.

My phone and the contents held within are for public consumption ... everyone else's phone and the contents held within are private ... KEEP OUT.

Every message I receive ... or photo I have taken ... or phone call I have made ... or missed ... are the business of my entire family and can be opened, discussed and queried.  But watch out if I enter within a ten metre radius of anyone else's phone ... their privacy will be protected with the zealous enthusiasm of a snarling guard dog.

As a result of this "what's yours is mine and what's mine is my own" attitude it is not uncommon to find on my phone any number of apps downloaded and photos taken ... which have absolutely nothing to do with me ... the selfie being the most common example.

Like this ...

and this ....

But surely things have gone a bit far when I find these ones ...

Old age is not so bad ... when you consider the alternatives ...

It's Hubby's birthday today.

This is good news for a couple of reasons ... it means I don't have to cook dinner ... because it's birthday boy's choice ... and he chooses Chinese food.  It also means there is a very good chance I will have the opportunity to eat cake ... though I probably WILL have to cook that.

The not so good news is that I had to find a present for him.  Hubby always claims "I don't want for much" ... which is code for you'd better get me something good ... but I'm not going to tell you what it is that I want.

I made several suggestions for gifts he might like ... like remodelling the bathroom, or replacing the carpet, or making over the front garden or even these ...

... in size 5.

Surprisingly he refused all these offers ... there's just no pleasing some people.

After some serious consideration he came up with an alternative ... a new golf club.  Now as golf clubs are not my area of expertise I suggested that we go shopping together ... he could choose the golf club ... I would pay for it using my credit card ... and then he could pay the bill when it comes in at the end of the month.  That's what I call an excellent plan.

Now given that it is Hubby's birthday ... this leads me to dwell on the serious matter of ageing.  Hubby's ageing ... not mine.  I thought about the fact that he is now a year older than he was yesterday and I came to a startling conclusion.  I am now married to an old man.

Several factors have led me to this epiphany.

• He goes to bed at around 9:00pm and wakes up before 6:00am.
• He gets cranky if he doesn't go to bed at around 9:00pm and wake up before 6:00am.
• He likes to eat dinner at 6:00pm.
• He grumbles about young people and how easy they have it in this day and age.
• He has a tricky knee, a bad back and a dodgy shoulder.
• He has stockpiled more pills, painkillers, liniments and vitamins than a hospital pharmacy.
• He wears joggers with jeans.
• He turns electrical appliances off at the wall.
• He thinks sleep ins are wasting the day.
• He talks about superannuation and retirement funds ... a lot.
• He tells "dad" jokes.
• He listens to talk back radio.
• He wonders where his taxes go.

Yep ... the evidence is clear ... he is officially old.

Happy Birthday Old Codger Hubby!!!

I am a domestic poster girl ...

Hooray ...  Jane's Shiny T Tuesday is back ... and this weeks fashion prompt was ... "A Pin-Up ... Regardless".

Now when I think of Pin-Ups ... I think of the fifties ...which in turn makes me think of the glamorous efficiency of the fifties housewife.

And honestly ... could there be a better fit for me??

Pfffttt ... YES ... just about anything would be a better fit.

But not to be deterred ... I soldiered on and channelled my inner Domestic "Pin-Up ... regardless".

*****

It is the housewife's duty to keep the house spick and span and the home fires burning ... awaiting the return of her hard working husband at the end of each day.

Although a housewife's work is never done ... what with so many wifely chores ... she must always do her best to complete them with a loving smile and a generous spirit.

It is my role in life to create a relaxing oasis of comfort in my husband's home ... free of complaints and problems.  After all he endures so much strain and pressure at work all day long.

So here are just a few of the ways in which I endeavour to be an excellent housewife.

I do my very best to stir the pot.

I tinker with my husband's machinery.

And I try really hard to keep it clean.

I believe that at all times the housewife must look her best and be an asset her hard-working husband can be proud of.

"How was your day, my Dear?  I'm sure it was filled with very important men's business.  Oh what a silly little ninny I am ... as if I'd understand business talk."

"Would you like a drink ... after your hard day ... playing golf and eating lunch and drinking beers ... Darling?"

"Right ... well get your own ... this bottle's MINE!!"

*****