So, I think most people that know me well know that I dream of one day having a portrait photography business. To try and help fund my little venture I am trying my hand at selling some non-portait-y photo canvases in a local cafe. I hung five canvases last week and two have sold.
Tonight I have just ordered two more to fill those blank spots on the wall. This is one of them.It's one canvas, storybook style. Didn't really want that white space between the two but had didn't know how to get rid of it. What do you think?

Gee, well some things just never change do they. I've been trying to load photos for this post for half an hour and blogger is being 'difficult'. I am going to go on regardless, in case I change my mind and can this now.
I am going to give you a very brief idea of what's been happening in my world since my last post. Very brief. I will gloss over lots of things and omit others altogether. And no, I 'm not omitting things because they are outrageously scandelous or anything exciting like that, I am omiting things that are tedious and boring. Although, no doubt, I will continue to include things that are tedious and boring.
I rely on your initiative to look at the stuff that interests you and ignore the rest.
OK?

Three weeks after my last post last year I lost my Dad to pancreatic cancer. I am not one of these people who writes beautifully and expresses themselves well with the written word, so I will not do him the disjustice of trying to say anything more about it here. I loved him very much and still some days when I think of him I 'forgot' that we no longer have him. It sucks. Plain and simple.

I have had to acknowledge that I am mum to two kids and will not be mum to three, four, or five children. That sucks also. Again I am not at all eloquent with words and won't try to be so. While I have constant reminders of how very lucky I am to have the children I have that doesn't actually take away the urge to slow down and grab things I do not, and will not, need as I cruise down the baby aisle in the supermarket. Nothing, if not utterly pathetic, really.

And that's all I have to say about the sad parts of life lately. I am not here to spread the misery, I am here to obliterate it.

On to the happy stuff.

My big girl turned 5 and started school. These two things happened within two days of each other. She learned to tolerate (oh, actually no she didn't tolerate it, scratch that) having her hair brushed properly and pulled up into little pigtails in order for me to indulge my love of hair ribbons on little girls. School was the perfect excuse. I told her she HAD TO have her hair done like that. School rules, I said. Yes, I'm quite sure there is a place in hell for mums like me, lol.


I turned into a mad woman, reigniting my passion for covering school books in brown paper and whatever else takes my fancy.

She had her first 'proper' party. The kind where you actually invite people who aren't related to you. It was still pretty small, we had it in our back yard. We decorated the Hills Hoist and had sack races and a pinata and one of those smash-it-up pinata cakes, do you know the ones I mean. It was fun.

I would show you pictures but Blogger just isn't coming to the party on that.

Clary turned three!!! I still can't believe it. He is hungry 24 hours a day, sneaky, and into everything, ALL THE TIME. So I guess, just another little boy, lol.

Oh, and I got married! Yay me. In fact got married so recently that I don't even have my photos yet to show you. Although I can give you a sneak peak over at the photographers blog here. Carsonhall Photography are Fiona and Bec and they are completely lovely.

We had the best day ever on our wedding day, it was fabulous. An on-a-budget, big fat country wedding. Fun. After eight years together and a seven year engagement I guess we just thought it was time, lol.

And in between all of that I continue to make big messes in my house, feed my magazine addiction and bake cakes and yummy bikkies to try and compensate for the fact that I am the worlds worst cook. Love to bake. Hate to cook.
And while this pav may look like a train wreck. It tasted divine.

And thank you Jody and Amber for your comments yesterday. Appreciated.

: )

So if a man speaks his mind in a forest and no woman hears him, is he still wrong??
Oh, I am kidding people (although I still find that VERY funny), don't hate me. What I'm really wondering is, if I start posting again, will anyone actually be reading? Yes, it has been some time between posts. I think I am ready to blog again. Is anyone ready for the blah, blah, blah?

Clary loves himself a little bit of ipod time. He is listening to 'She & Him' here. He loves popping in the little earpieces and wandering around. I do make sure it's turned right down and he doesn't have it long. Just long enough for a little fix.

And the big girl is turning in to a little bath diva I think. Like her Dad. He has a bath every day, up to three baths some days. For hours (if he's lucky), with either a book or Phantom comic, and snacks. And apparently Ruby's been taking notice. Yesterday morning she decided she absolutely had to have a bath. A very, very long bath which she cut short only when I told her that her little mate from next door was down at the fence calling out for her.

What a life.

Squeaky clean.

Hey hey

I am quite embarassed at how long it has been since I last posted. I have been busy, really. There have been a few times when I have sat down to post but as more time went on it just felt awkward. Like when you ring a friend and it's been, ah, say 12 months since your last phone call. I mean, really, when there's been no legitiment excuse for letting it go that long? Except, that just 'things' popped up and stopped you. From ringing, or posting on your blog, or whatever it is that you just let go too long.
My sewing is pretty much non-existent. No time, no space. Frustrating. It's definitely still on my list of things I would like to be doing. But any spare time I do have (and I have none) I spend on photography. I feel very 'stuck' with my photography, like I'm just not moving with it anymore. Hilariously, given my track record here, I am contemplating starting a photography blog, LOL.

Anyway in other even more trivial matters, I am very much looking forward to Summer. We are quite lucky here as the weather really is pretty good at the moment. I even took to wearing my thongs (flip flops, whatever people) today and pretending that Summer is a lot closer than it actually is.
I am hoping that in a couple of months we might be able to head off for a week at the beach.
And I would love to be able to pack something like this. (Anthropologie)
Or this. (Pin Up Girl Clothing)

But let's face it, these are made for people with actual boobs. Which I don't have.
And, ooh ooh, I found this I would love for Ruby.

But more than likely I'll just be packing my trusty old black Speedos. And Ruby will take her pick of about five swimsuits she already has : )

And Clary? Well he won't give a rat's, he'll wear anything.

One of the other things we're doing is working on our little garden, getting ready for spring. We have silverbeet, brocolli (kind of), garlic chives and onion chives and plan on planting lettuce, zucchini, carrots, cucumber and, um, more, can't remember.

Not making any promises but hopefully it won't be five more weeks until my next post.

I can almost smell the Developer.

I can still remember the first camera I ever had, it was pink and took 110 film. I can't remember the brand or model or anything but I can still see it in my head. It was like one of *these* (<- that is a link there, can never get my link words to look like links), but pink of course. I loved it and tried to take all kinds of fantastic pictures with it, I wish I knew where they all went. Although they were just all blurry-with-the-heads-chopped-off kind of pictures.

I took photography in high school and I can almost still smell the developing chemicals we used to use, mmmmmm. Loved it. Wish I could have that smell in a bottle.

I moved on to using my Dad's old SLR for a while, until it just didn't work anymore (although I still have it and hope I will be able to have it revived one day). Then I just fell back to point and shoot cameras until I remembered how much I love taking photographs. And by then things were turning digital, and so that's what I got.

But I've always wanted to have a film SLR again. Wasn't in a hurry, just something I wanted 'one day'

Yesterday I found one. I got this Minolta with three lenses and a funky carry case for $75!!!! Cannot wait to use it. I'm sure the results will be somewhat disappointing at first (it's been a while) but it will be fun!

And bugger blogger and it's crazy picture placement.

Blogging.

I have been wondering if I can keep this blog up. My posts are getting further and further apart, and more 'nothing-ish' every time. I have a lot to say, but everything in my head spins around so fast, and more and more I just don't have the time to slow down, sort it out and get it out.
It's very frustrating. But I don't want to can this just yet. Want to get back to it. We'll see how I go.

So, as anyone who has kids would know, nothing is ever, ever the same after you have them. Grocery shopping, sleeping, holidays..............they will never be the same. Even making beds. Used to be that I would just strip a bed, get new sheets, make the bed.
Now I strip the bed, get the sheets, start making the bed, leave to check on my beeping washing machine which is threatening to back it in, then back in to the bedroom to this...........

What could it be??? Now I'm watching 'Ghost Whisperer' as I type this and I think maybe I have a ghost in my computer because I had another very cute picture of Clary playing in the sheets here...............it just disappeared. Hmmm.

So it takes a while to get new sheets on the beds these days with all the hide 'n' seek and peek-a-boo games.

Keeping with the theme of non-stop excitement, LOL, we now have chooks. Seven of them. Well, we kind of have them, because they came from our next door neighbour and they keep running away back to their old home. Ruby is monster excited, now calls herself a 'farmer' and spends a lot of time down in the chook pen 'cleaning', and having a blast spreading copious amounts of grain feed all over the yard. Clary just stands at the pen going 'book, book, book, book', it's very cute.

It's getting a bit chilly here. I have wasted a lot of kindling, fire starters and matches over the last few days, trying to get a decent fire going. I just don't have good fire starting skills unfortunately. Freezing.

Yesterday afternoon I thought I would have a go at getting some pictures of me with the kids. Not that I like having my own picture, but I hate the thought of not having pictures of all of us together.

As you can see Ruby really got in to it.

Not.

Clary wasn't much better. Look at that filthy little nose.

Such a cheeky devil.

So looks like I am destined to have any pictures which include me to be taken at arms length by me.

Will have to set the tripod up. And get a new remote for my camera. I had one but I think Clary's put it away for safe keeping somewhere.