Diaries, Donations and a Day Out.

The diary

One of my friends that does a lot of travelling gave me the idea to keep a travel diary in our car.

In it you can write a mini review of the places that you have been.

I was keen to make one to keep in our new camper van.

Of course, I had to craft it up a bit first. I gathered my supplies. Notebook, contact and some colourful pages from one of my vintage caravan magazines.

Here is the finished product. I knew all those years of covering books for school would come in handy for my own projects one day.

One of the pages I have completed already.

On one side of the page, I wrote the date we went away and the camp site we had.

I include details about the amenities and what was good to keep Miss R entertained (crucial info as far as I am concerned as a bored child equals no relaxation for Mumma).

I put in the best and worst things about the place we stayed as well as any site we would prefer to have next time so if we ever go again we might get a better spot.

On the opposing page I put any paper work that relates to the park we stayed in.

In this case, I've included the park site map and the rules that apply in the park.

I hope it will be a handy reference in the camping years ahead.

The Donation

Miss Rhianna earned herself $300 through a challenge she did this year.

At the beginning of the year I promised her $100 if she did not eat nor ask to eat McDonalds fast food. When her Dad heard of this challenge he said he would throw in a further $200.

Well, I am happy to say she made it easily through the year with not one cheeseburger crossing her lips.

She was super excited about having $300 in her hot little hand and we talked about a trillion things that she could buy with the money. I tried to talk about savings accounts and the like but got shouted down with cries of "No, I want to spend it Mum".

Then, the other night I was tucked up in bed reading the latest Woman's Weekly when a brochure fell out regarding World Vision donations. Rhianna picked it up and asked what it was all about. I explained that you could buy a gift for a family in another country such as a goat or a piglet.

Rhianna read the whole brochure through before announcing she was buying a cow.

A cow for $265.

I thought for sure it would be a two minute wonder and the next morning she would change her mind. But no, she was committed and today a cheque for $265 was posted to World Vision for a cow to be bought and given to a struggling family in a third world country.

I hope we can afford to do this every year and make it a new family tradition.

I can't tell you how proud I am of my daughter as she is not usually one for selfless acts.

Maybe the tide is turning.....

A Day Out

I've had a day out planned with one of my besties, Linda for a while now so when I was up half the night with Rhianna and gastro I thought the day would have to be cancelled.

But lovely girlie days out are few and far between so I bit the bullet, bundled up the girl and headed to Castle Hill, Sydney.

It's about a 40 minute drive from our place and my girlfriend Linda and I used to be neighbours there many years ago. Now I live in the mountains and she has moved to Mona Vale which is by the sea but we catch up at the midway point of our two houses as often as possible.

Of course it had to be pouring with rain and we ran into a traffic jam caused by a road accident but we soldiered on.

Rhianna keep my company by singing me lots and lots of Christmas carols. Did I mention that I made sure I took my anti-anxiety medication BEFORE I left the house.

First stop a coffee and a muffin to fuel ourselves for the fun bit - gift buying for the people we love.

Three hours of shopping later we met said bestie for lunch.

I didn't get time to take a breath let alone a photo of us shopping.

If you haven't started your shopping yet, it might be time to get started - it's getting really crazy out there now.

After a delightful lunch at our favourite cafe Rhianna and I headed back home.

Love, love, love the girlie day out.

2011 - My Year

After much umming and ahhing I have decided to continue on with my blogging.

Around Christmas time I decided to stop altogether as I was bored with it to be honest and my interests are diverting a little from the general theme of the blog.

But today, looking back through old posts I decided that its such a great visual diary of our life as a family it would be a shame to stop documenting our little lives.

We've also been incredibly busy and I must admit to living my life a little bit more than photographing it lately. Especially during our annual Christmas party where not only did I forget to take any photos but I also forgot that I had put food into the oven inside while I was partying outside and burnt everything to smithereens - fire brigade anyone??????

Anyway......I am going to continue with this blog but it will be more in a diary format than as an address to the general public.

The things I'm still passionate about are.....

family
retro living
organic living
green living
non-consumerist pursuits

The things I'm not so passionate about anymore are....

craft
knitting and crocheting
scrapbooking and card making
baking
cooking (in general)

This years focus is on......

fun
travel -mainly our trip to New York in June and Fiji in October.
losing weight
doing new things
leaving behind the stuff that doesn't work for me anymore.

August Challenge - Getting Started

The challenge has really spurred me on to get myself moving. Tonight I am cooking another new dish - Peanut Crusted Chicken (pic tomorrow - just to prove I actually did it). 6 new meals to go.

I've also planted two new little colourful plants out on the craft cupboard today. So only 6 to go now here as well.


And one cupboard in the laundry done. Not really sure what this cupboard is meant to be used for. It has some photo albums, stationery and my small but growing collection of stamp stuff. I actually managed to cull 2 bags full of stuff from this cupboard. Yes, I have been ruthless. 7 draws or cupboards to go.



Only a small post today to let you know how I am travelling. Hope you all are having a great week also.

The Eighth Month Challenges

As August is the eighth month and also in my opinion the longest and hardest to get through, I have designed an "8" challenge to get myself through it.

During August I will endevour to.......

* Cook 8 new dishes.

* Scrapbook 8 pages or make 8 cards.

* Organise 8 birthday or Xmas presents.

* Repair or mend 8 items in my home.

* Declutter 8 cupboards, drawers or shelves. (yes, again)

*Plant 8 plants or herbs.

*Donate 8 things to charity.

*Ebay 8 items.

*Clean 8 windows or screens

*Read Rhianna 8 bedtime stories.

* Master 8 new things.

*Visit 8 new places.

What do you think? Genius plan or hair brained scheme?

Quick Update

I've been quite busy lately so sorry about the lack of posts.

I have had to reapply to the Department of Education in order to be able to teach in schools again so that has been a time consuming and tedious process involving much paperwork.

I've also become a Curious Kids demonstrator. It's a party plan business, which I know makes a lot of people groan but I was finding it harder and harder to find good quality educational toys and games for Rhianna.

This company has fab stuff ,not like anything that is in the stores and a lot of it is wooden which I love.

In fact one of the toys, I have to say is one of the best toys/games I have ever seen. It's called Camelot. Have a look for it on the website:

www.curiouskids.com.au

Wish me luck, I am having my first party tomorrow night.