I’ve just imported all the posts from my old TypePad blog. I don’t know why I didn’t try earlier, the blog is currently suspended as I’m no longer paying the monthly fee but it’s still up and being viewed twice as often as this one.
Probably due to the high quality posts…snort!
On a whim this morning I decided to see if I could export the content despite it being suspended and was delighted to see I could. So now the blog reaches all the way back to May 2007.
That’ll keep ya busy for a while.
So, how have you been? We’ve been terrific by the way…sure, the kids saved a mouse from the cat only to have it die on them minutes later.
But this is all just the rich tapestry of life, cycle of life, all things must end, circle of life, kicked the bucket, etc. etc.
And nothing quite compares to the joy of both your children finally going into full time school. I know a lot of mums out there have been lamenting the lose of their children, sobbing at the thought of their precious little ones stepping out into the world and the sinking realisation that yes, they are growing old, and there’s nothing they can do about it.
I’ve not been like that. Having both kids in school has opened up a whole new world of life for me. Finally I can clean the house and it stays clean for the rest of the day, no longer is there a young asking for food every five minutes, and lets not forget the blissful silence in the house because the relentless noise of kids TV has finally been turned off.
Precious little things, they do look happy too. Perhaps it’s the relief that their tired, grumpy mum is not nagging at them all day.
My arms have been so sore from the kitchen revamp saga (as I’m now thinking of it) that I’ve not done any soap making at all. But I’m feeling sufficiently tough enough now to get back to work and have taken new photos and listed what I’ve got left in stock for the Etsy shop.
You’ll notice my shop has no sales or feedback or anything. That’s because I’ve got a new shop called Empire of Delight. The old one Delight Society I’m keeping for my arts and crafts and fun thing I make and sell.
I could have changed the old name to Empire of Delight but would have lost Delight Society as a name forever and didn’t want to do that…so new shop it is and it looks like I’ll have to start all over again.
But what the heck…visit it anyway and buy if you are so inclined.
My mates on Facebook know all about my awesome buy and I thought it time to post pictures up. Our local (read 30 minutes away) Freedom is having a closing down/end of lease sale and have some great deals on and I thought we’d be crazy not to take advantage of it.
This is our old table:
It’s stolen off my sister and while ok is nothing to get excited about. But lets take a minute to see what it looks like with the tablecloth off.
Even the dog is unimpressed and she thinks everything is exciting. I did paint it in a feeble attempt to brighten it up and have it looking newer. But that was a total fail. It was really not up to scratch so when mum found a table at Freedom she thought I’d like we popped over to have a look.
And it was perfect…and it’s in the dining room right now:
Oh yeah baby! Look at that sweet ride right there.
And here’s the kicker…the price. It was originally $900 but during the sale was dropped to an amazing $445. Great right? Well just take another 20% off as it’s floor stock and you suddenly find yourself with a brand new all wooden table for the low price of $352.
Mum picked up a similar table for around the same price too.
Bonkers isn’t it? And mind blowing.
I also bought a few odds and ends and spent a total of $455 that day, but when I added up the original price of everything it came to $1075, a saving of $620.
That, is bonkers!!!
I’m getting excited. I’ve just ordered my first album from Becky Higgins’ Project Life collection. We do not have a single photo album in the house and I just feel the kids are missing out on something that was very enjoyable for me as a kid; flipping through the family albums and remembering happy times.
{ Example page by Jennifer Woodbury | From the Amber Edition }
This is not like scrapbooking, the thought of which fills me with dread, it’s more like a photo album with sections to add text and info about the pictures. It just looks easy to me; print out the pictures, add a little bit of text about what it’s all about and plonk in a couple of pretty patterned cards if you need to fill a bit of space.
Easy…
My fab new kitchen makeover (found here) has taken it’s toll on my poor wrists and arms. You may remember me mentioning all the sanding I did, well I am certainly paying for it now. The strain has caused my mild carpel tunnel to flare up and I’m wearing my wrist braces again.
My left arm just has a tight bandage around it, although this is the first time I’ve had any problems with it at all so it was a worry. Especially when you wake up one morning with a throbbing pain in your forearm, the most terrible causes suddenly pop into your head; blood clot, impending heart attack, alien invasion or zombie bite which is right now changing you into a flesh eating monster.
The thought of “Gosh, that sanding really was hard work” is always the last thing you think about, and usually hours later.
The other hand is wrapped in a black brace complete with metal wrist support and swathes of Velcro. Much to the amusement of my father.
In other family news we’ve eaten our body weights in grapes.
If anyone is looking for grapes and cannot find them as the shops are inexplicably out, we’re sorry, we’re really really sorry.
Kinda.
I thought I’d post a pic of my front door Christmas decoration.
It was originally designed to go outside but it gets so windy here it kept blowing over. I thought it was cheery and Christmassy but I’m sure Brad thought it was over the top and waaay too kitsch.
If you’d like to make your own you can using the instructions I used over at That Village House. This year I plan on improving it by using more coordinating wrapping patterns and finding a better stand.
Brad ran off with the kids over the New Year weekend. It was quite possibly one of the best New Years I’ve ever had; the quiet, the lack of yelling, mess and shrieking and best of all, the lack of cartoons on the TV.
While the children and their grubby hands were out of the city and visiting family in Bunbury I took the opportunity to give our little kitchen a bit of a makeover.
Nothing too drastic, there were no Jamie Durie style makeovers or Oprah style throw-everything-out-and-put-in-new-everything. No, it was just one new thing: a new kitchen counter.
Before:
I know what you’re thinking, these pinkie/salmon/pale-yuck coloured bench tops are divine and don’t need to be touched up at all! Well if you feel that way then you are definitely on Team Brad, he see’s nothing wrong with anything in the house and loves everything as it is.
But if you’re on Team Jacquie you won’t be listening to any of that and will be all for a makeover. And just as well, as I’ve already done it.
I used a product called Rust-Oleum Countertop Transformations to cover the kitchen counter. I picked it up at Bunnings for around $300 and spent New Years Eve and New Years Day recovering the counter.
The effect is not, I’ll admit, perfect like a marble or laminate counter but for the price I’m thrilled with the results and it’s only a temporary solution until we can save our pennies and buy a new stove and oven. When we buy those and install them I’ll definitely need a new counter.
The new counter is pretty smooth and feels tough and hard wearing. But there are flaws all over it, places I didn’t smooth down the base coat as well as I could have, or spots where the varnish top coat is a bit less smooth and thick. But all in all it’s a much better looking counter than it was a week ago.
It’s really simple to do but I will warn you, there is a lot of sanding involved. The old counter needs to be sanded down and then once the tar-like base coat and a million little flecks of black and silver chips have been applied you need to then sand down the counter again to a smooth finish.
The sanding, without a doubt took the longest to do out of all the steps.
During:
This is a quick snap of the counter during the transformation process. I’ve just applied the colour chips and they’re everywhere. You can see them on the floor, in the sink and covering the stovetop. Despite the plastic covering cupboards little flecks still got in and I’m still wiping them out of all sorts of places. You had to fling them at the base coat with a special dispenser so they would stick but it also meant they flung about all over the place.
You can see the blue tape I put on the tiles and it’s also all over the sink and stove but you can’t see it because it’s all covered in the chips.
Next up is replacing the tiles I have with nicer ones. I’m so sick of roses which dominate the theme in every room that I can’t wait to tear them down.
Every child is an artist, and my little-un prefers to express her talents through photography.
So in honour of her great and developing talent I’m holding a little art exhibition right here right now so we can all be amazed by her.
I’m not sure what her collective theme is for this display. It could be a reflection on todays population, their growing reliance on animal companionship and feelings of incompleteness.
Or she could be exploring the innocence and purity of the worlds youth and their inability to see the “big picture” and therefore fail to grasp the full implications of their choices and decisions.
But perhaps it is the growing suspicion of constantly being watched and of watching, the voyeurism in todays society and the growing attachment to affluence.
Or lastly, and I’m not suggesting this one is most likely, she is after all a remarkable and sensitive child. Perhaps it is the desire to point a camera at the first thing that takes her fancy, be it sparkly shoes, a happy dog or herself.
Only Chaise knows the true meaning behind these gripping and poignant images, and she’s asleep right now, she we can only stare and wonder.
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