Something to look forward to...

How goes it?

Life here goes on.

One last trip back to the house on the coast to pick up MORE stuff (it's finally empty. Finally). Even the pot plants are now in Canberra. A little worse for wear after their trip up the mountain, but here.

I could not believe my little yellow cichlid was still alive down there! He was in a tiny tank, completely putrid, unfed for weeks, but there he (she? who can tell?) was, peeking out from amongst the muck. I couldn't leave him there, so I popped in a Tupperware container (except cheap and nasty), sat him on my lap and brought him to Canberra too. We even named him Harry - the fish who lived.

Except, he didn't. After surviving all that, he is now in the big fish bowl in sky. I'm unreasonably upset about his death, given I was willing him to die so I didn't have to frig around moving fish tanks. Bloody fish. Rest in peace, Harry.

Apart from that, I believe I have finally unpacked the last box this weekend. And put things in their "proper" place. I can't tell you how much better that makes me feel.

Now things are settling into a routine. Get up, organise some work for the kids, go to work. Come home. So it's time (so the scales say) to include some exercise and healthy food in that pattern. It's time.

I sell travel for a living now. And one of my "selling" lines is to convince people that they should treat themselves to that break, and have something to look forward to because we work hard and life can be a hard slog and part of going on holiday is the antici......pation.

And so, after some conjoling of the other half, we are anticipating our next holiday! My boss found a FANTASTIC deal on Princess Cruises! A balcony stateroom for sub-$100 a day you say??? Well, don't mind if I do!

We fly to Hong Kong, spend a couple of days there (losing my Disney virginity), then board the lovely Sapphire Princess for 9 nights to Da Nang or Hue and then Ho Chi Minh City in Vietname, Bangkok in Thailand, finishing up in Singapore and flying home. Seriously good deal!

Our cabins are located just inside near that round pool!

I'm so excited! Only 6 weeks to count down! I can't wait to share our new adventure with you :-)

Have a great day!!!

Before I start, um, I have to own up to my mistakes - Video Boy is NOT five half decades old. Because that would make him 25. Things to take away from this:

• I can't count or
• Don't drink and blog

Anyhoo...

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned nine half decades old. 45. If you missed my life story, here it is. And the last two years are on the blog!

Birthdays are funny things though. So many messages on Facebook wishing me a "great day"!

Bah freaking humbug!

Birthdays are overrated! Just because it's been another year around the sun does not make that day great. Well, not in my experience, anyway. I don't really get spoiled. I had to work. And I'm another year older and fatter. Meh.

And it would be soooo easy to wallow in that. Let it wash over me, envelope me. Drag me under.

But. I'm happy to be here. Happy to be getting older because the alternative is that I am missing out. Missing out on my kids growing up. Missing out on amazing experiences. Missing out on family and friends. Missing out on seeing the world.

And so I will take that birthday. It may not be a great day (the 'days' hardly ever are). But I'm determined to make it a great life :-)

And panda onesies make everything seem better.
Or at least warmer.

Five half decades later...

Yesterday was my son's birthday. Video Boy is fifteen (15) years old! FIFTEEN YEARS! How can I be the mother of a fifteen year old?

Is this fifteen years ago?

How did we celebrate this momentous occasion?

With New York style pizza in the centre of Canberra:

We decided if it was too cold to watch ice-skating, it was too cold to Segway, so we went to JB Hifi and bought Mario Kart 8 as a birthday present and retreated home and raced each other. I generally came last, except for one memorable race where I swear the Wii U felt sorry for me and I came first!!!

I think I will win the Mother of the Year award, because I gave my son tomato sauce and deodorant for his birthday (a bit of an in joke). Doesn't he look impressed?

I also made nachos and he did get other presents! And he has relative presents on the way too.

His friends from the south coast are staying with us for a few days and over-dosing on computer games, video games, board games and a trip to the movies, which is nice for them.

As I stood in the queue at the movies today, I noticed he was nearly as tall as this giant of a man also in queue. My baby is growing up and as the dude from EB Games reminded me, he can start to learn to drive next year (lalalalalalala).

Happy birthday Video Boy!

Are you the mother of a teenager?

Noticing any upward trajectory?

Can you even remember the baby years?