OrganiSed Chaos » Australia

Fairy dust for a special little girl

anonymum — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:07:44 +0000

Some fairy dust for Miss Stella as she goes home today.
Yes, after more than 3 long weeks, finally the words we’ve been waiting to hear.
As I type, she is having the stitches out of her knee.
Her drip was the first thing to go, which I’m sure she was pleased to see the back of.
I know her mother was, and so are we.
I’m not able to express what I’m feeling, but I can tell you it’s very warm and fuzzy inside me right now.
There have been many sleepless nights, unwanted thoughts and worries, and that’s just Mark and I.
As a parent, I can only imagine the emotional roller coaster Tash and Stick have been on, and that’s not to mention the logistics of the last 3 weeks.
There are 4 children in the family I speak of, and a father who has needed to be all things to the 3 boys while Tash was with Stella in hospital, one of which was quite some distance from home.
Tonight I’ll sleep well knowing this precious little girl is home in her own bed, and that Tash will be able to tuck all the kids in before she goes to sleep in her own bed, safe in the knowledge her family are where they belong.
Together and at home.
Mark, it was only a few hours late, but you did get that phone call you wanted so badly

Burnie and Blondie

anonymum — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:05:07 +0000

Happy birthday my precious.
I hope your day is full of nothing but sunshine and smiles, and that you get that phone call you want so badly.
Tonight we shall wine and dine, and, well, let’s leave the rest unsaid shall we?
Don’t want to be upsetting the kiddies now do we???
Having said that, I’m sure the picture already has them covering their eyes!

53?
And here was you thinking it would be a lucky thing if you got to 50.
Enjoy your day {and your night} and know I look forward to celebrating many more of your birthdays with you.
Always remember, I love you no matter what.
Now, most of you would think that’s the end of the post, yes?
Wrong.
It’s someone else’s birthday as well.
A special friend I found through blogging has a birthday today as well{yes, blogging has been very good to me}
I find it ironic I’ve never known anyone who has a birthday on the same day as Mark until I met her too.
Blondie, I hope your day is relaxing, full of family, love and good food, and that your night is X rated!!!
Have a good one honey.
*mwah*
Love you.
I got you a pressie, and he even bought his own rubber with him!
Hope you like him!

Stella’s fairy

anonymum — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:21:56 +0000

Little Miss Stella has been in hospital for 10 days, much to everyone’s dismay.
What started as a temperature due to an infection in her knee joint has morphed into 2 operations, an IV for antibiotics, painkillers, regular blood tests, and now, a blood transfusion.
When I’m troubled, worried, or distressed, or if something comes from deep inside me, I use fairies.
This fairy is for a very precious little girl.
We don’t see a lot of Tasha’s 4 children, but we were lucky enough to spend a week with them at Christmas.
Inside 5 minutes this little minx had wrapped us around her little finger.
She is not the apple of her mothers eye.
Oh no!
In her mothers words “She’s the whole bloody tree”
The youngest of 4, and the only girl.
An unexpected little girl in a family of boys, and oh so very, very loved.
This fairy is to keep her safe, help her heal, send her home to her loving parents and brothers, and to put this trying time behind her.
Tash has been beside her every step of the way, and the strength she has shown is nothing less than remarkable, and makes me swell with pride.
To see another of my daughters go through hell with one of their children has me sleepless, restless and decidedly difficult to get along with.
Being so far away is very difficult, and I’ve had to fight the urge to fly down.
With Mel it was different.
I could be there and hold her when she needed to be held, soothe if I could and give her a shoulder to lean on.
Not this time.
Maybe with the posting of Stella’s fairy, sleep will come, fairy dust will surround this precious little girl and hopefully some magic will help her, and her mother, along?
I pray it does.

I’m an Aussie and bloody proud of it!

anonymum — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:30:10 +0000

It’s Australia day here today.
That day of the year when we celebrate living in this magnificent country of ours.
For the non Aussies among us, I give you some history on the day itself, so you have some idea of what I’m waffling about.
We have many, many reasons to be grateful in our country, and many have explained it far better than I ever can, so this is just to say:

AUSSIE
OI
AUSSIE
OI
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!!!
OI OI OI!!!

Celebrate being Australian!
If you’re short of a quid, knock on the next door neighbours front door, cos he’s sure to have a few snags on the barbie, and will doubtlessly share them, whether he likes you or not.
It’s just the Australian way after all.
Have a fabulous day people.

Contentment

anonymum — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:00:19 +0000

Not exactly sure who looks the happiest here, Poppy or Zoe.
It’s hard to tell I think.
There is nothing quite like the bond between grandfather and granddaughter is there?
I must give credit to Kelly for the pic, which was taken at Christmas.
There were many more she took, but this is my favourite, if for nothing other than the happiness that is evident in both of them.

A change of pace

anonymum — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:13:36 +0000

I’ve never been one to post recipes on my blog other than when a request was made or a question asked.
So, I thought, just for a change of pace, I would.
The biggest problem once this decision was made however, was to choose a recipe.
A salad?
Nah!
Too common.
A roast?
A roast isn’t something that really needs a recipe, and I’m not much into cakes or sweet things, so I looked to my favourite foods of all time.
I’m a chicken freak, I love Indian/Asian food, and chili is one of my favourite ingredients, so the logical choice was Chili Chicken of course.
The recipe you see below is one that has been made in my kitchen more times than you could count, and there is little left once we eat.
Maybe a little for lunch the next day, but not too often.
Feel free to copy and paste, then print it out and try it.
If you like your food with some authority, this is for you, trust me!
The chili can be made more or less depending on taste is what I like about it.
I use bucket loads, others use just enough to give them a little taste.
It’s entirely a matter of choice.
The simple method for this is one of the reasons I love making it.
So few steps involved you may think you missed something.
Trust me, you didn’t.
It really is that simple.
So here we go.
One of my favourites.

Ingredients:
4 -6 chicken thighs {you could substitute breasts or a whole chicken cut into serving pieces if you prefer}
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
3 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
3 tbsp red chili powder
chopped habanero chilies to taste {as many as you want, and with or without seeds depending on the heat you want to create. I use 5 or 6 ordinarily, and leave the seeds in}
2 tbsp finely chopped shallots
2 tbsp finely chopped onions
Dried red chili pods {again, as many as you want and with or without seeds depending on the heat you want}
Chicken stock to taste {I say this because how much you use is dependent on how much juice you like. I like lots so tend to use a lot of stock}
salt and sugar to taste

Marinate chicken with red chili powder, turmeric powder, and garam masala spice. Set aside {as with anything, the longer you marinate it, the better…i do mine overnight}
Stir-fry the minced shallots, onions, coriander, mustard seeds, chilies, and dried chili pods till fragrant. Add chicken and pan fry on both sides until nicely browned.
Add water, salt and sugar to taste. Cover and simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes OR until fully cooked.
Serve with boiled/steamed rice.

Achieve

anonymum — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:02:56 +0000

Throughout the year, Kelly has done To do lists.
As each item on the list is completed, she goes back and crosses it off.
I’ve always thought it a great idea because it gives a person not only some purpose, but things to aspire to.
On New Years Day, Kel did another one.
You’ll find it here.
At the bottom of that post, there is a line that grabbed me.

Feel free to write your own list. If you do, please be sure to let me know. Who knows, if there are enough of us I may devote a page to it and get a webring/blogroll happening for it…

Sounded like a good idea to me, so I thought I’d give it a go and do my own list.
Like Kel, these are not resolutions because I don’t do them, so I’ll say “these are the things I want to achieve this year”
None of them are impossible or unrealistic, so there is no reason I can’t do them either.
{A couple of them are the same, but then we are mother and daughter so it’s not that surprising, and these are in no particular order}

not

badly

Certainly not lofty ambitions, nor are there a lot of them, but they’re more than enough of a challenge to keep me occupied throughout the year.
If you want to play along, feel free, and if you let Kelly know that would be a bonus.
For now, I’m off to check out what TAFE have on offer in the culinary skills department.

Wandering

anonymum — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:33:29 +0000

As the new year begins, I’m sure many people look forward to better things than the year just gone had to offer.
Hope envelopes them with that sweet feeling only hope can create, making them all warm and fuzzy inside, buoyed at the thought of life being gentle, and easier.
I’ll admit I tend to do the same and rarely look back, however at this time of year I become reflective and take the odd walk down memory lane.
When I think about the year that was, it’s mostly with fondness and a smile, as opposed to anything else.
2009 bought much for us.
The bulk of it was good, with only a few little speed humps to traverse.
There were highs and lows, but that’s life isn’t it?
I’m realistic enough to admit my life was never meant be smooth sailing from beginning to end.
Yes, there were times last year when all I wanted was to go to bed and not wake up, but they were few and far between.
In general, I look for the polish on life.
Others tend to turn things over, and around, looking for the tarnish, however I see little to be gained by doing that.
Some of the highlights from this year were welcoming a new grandson in Lucas, taking our first trip overseas to discover some of the most amazing people you could ever wish to meet, Mark {finally} getting the promotion he worked so damned hard for, me getting my job under some semblance of control, and with the year being rounded out by close to the best Christmas we could have asked for.
Among those highlights were the odd worries.
Lucas had problems with his kidney which gave us some sleepless nights, the trip overseas, as good as it was, proved to be decidedly disappointing in some ways, we had an atrocious 6 weeks before Mark got the promotion, I nearly resigned my job before it came good, and Christmas could have been better had we manged to get all the girls and kids together, but do you know what?
None of those things matter, because the good outweighed the bad in every single case, and the end result of them all, was just what we wanted.
Lucas is now fine and has no need for a specialist until next year, and then it’s only to check things are as good as they currently are.
The trip overseas gave us more than we ever thought we could get from 2 weeks, and the disappointment was, as it transpired, quite unimportant compared to the gain.
Mark now has the job he wanted and is thriving in it.
My job is just what I thought it could be once I got my head around it {and the staff that gave me so much grief are now working well and with me as opposed to against me}
Christmas was fabulous regardless of not having them all with us, because we got to see and spoil those we rarely see and rarely get to spoil.
On the radio yesterday there was some twit holding forth about the terrible year that was.
Death and destruction, bush fires, floods, devastation worldwide in some cases.
And he’s right, there was.
But there were many, many good things that happened as well.
As with my year, for every bad thing that happened, there was a positive that had the bad fading.
In the coming year, when life hands you a gold coin, enjoy it!
Don’t turn it over looking for the tarnish, just enjoy it.
Deal with the bad when it gets there, sure, but don’t look for it.
You may get a pleasant surprise and never have a bad part to deal with.

Organised soɐɥɔ

anonymum — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:00:55 +0000

The title of this post is the normal state of my life, so I felt it nothing less than appropriate I call my second home just that.
It was a flippant comment made by Kelly one night when we were discussing what name was best once I’d decided to change the name of my blog.
It struck a chord, and seemed more than fitting for the place where I’ve logged some serious hours.
When I say serious, I mean serious.
If I added the time up, it would be staggering, without a doubt.
For the inverted text in the tagline, I thank ~m.
He sent me the link some time ago, and I’ve been waiting for the right time to use it.
Given Australia is considered “down under” again I could think of nothing more appropriate.
Not only that, it adds to the chaos I think {in an organised way of course!}
I thank the same person for being my sounding board in relation to the theme.
His and my idea of how a blog should be just so are very, very similar, so who better to pick the shit out of it as I fiddled to get it right in the last few days?
So there you have it people.
Organised chaos it is, and soɐɥɔ pǝsıuɐƃɹo it will stay.
As well as this change, I’ll be making an attempt to be a better blog buddy this year.
The last few months have been mad, mad, mad for me, but I’m hoping to see that turn to some semblance of normality with the new year {whatever normality is, of course!}
I want to get back to posting, and visiting, daily.
There was a time when I did not miss a day to visit and comment and that’s the way I like to be, so let’s see how I go shall we?
No, it’s not a resolution because I don’t do them, but it is something I want to do.
Please let me know what you think of the name and the theme.
Feel free to let me know if you find a 3 column, dark theme with a customisable header as well.
I’ve been looking for one for God only knows how long, so I’m pretty much over it.
Maybe the original theme whore will manage to find one somewhere??
That’s me, I’m off to do some visiting!
Oh, and Happy New Year!
There are fireworks for the occasion as well, and don’t forget to check out the rotating header images!
Wicked!!
I hope 2010 is good to you and brings all you hope for, and deserve.

If that’s Christmas, we’ve had it

anonymum — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:07:36 +0000

So Christmas 2009 is done and dusted.
We had a good one.
Went and did Santa with the part of the family we weren’t spending it with before we left, and made 2 children very, very happy, plus delivered a very special teddy bear, to a very special little boy, from some very special friends.
On the plane the next day to see those we see far too little of in normal times.
Santa came to Mark and I throughout the year, so we didn’t do the present thing for each other.
Between a trip to America {which included a Christmas in July}, a new laptop and flights down south we figured we were out close to 20k, so we decided being together with family was enough for us this year.
Given we’re also going back to America this coming July as well, we thought that would add to the booty we already have/had!
Sounded like a plan to us anyway.

We will hold in our memories and hearts both the brilliant time we had in July and the wonderful time we had watching 5 of our 8 grandchildren rip open their presents on Christmas morning, and the priceless gift of being grandparents to those same 5, who we don’t get to spoil very often, and then of course there was a madcap Skype call!!

It was fabulous to see my Dad too.
I’ve not seen him in close to 3 years, so as you can well imagine I enjoyed the few short hours we had.
With Christmas out of the way, my mind turns to the New Year, and what awaits us.
First and foremost, for me anyway, will be a new blog name and tagline, plus a new theme to play with.
That will happen at midnight on December 31st.
The New year for me heralds a new beginning and a whole year to enjoy life and whatever it has to offer as I thank the stars I’m alive with a wonderful husband and family to share it with.
Work holds much before the end of February with 3 stock takes to be done, and all that after end of half year.
Hmmm. Thinking about it that way makes me wonder if I need to add another vitamin to my morning collection??
Could be an idea.
Before the end of December we have little miss Zoe’s birthday {tomorrow actually} Caleb is in early January, as is Isaac, and it also sees a good friend have a birthday, so I’m sure there will be some mayhem to create there!

February will see Mark and blondies birthday {on the same day} Wil’s, March has us into Sarah, Stella, Kelly’s and Steve’s birthday, April will bring Melissa’s, May is mine, our anniversary and Mother’s day all within a week of each other.
Mid June sees Lucas turn 1, then on top of that I’ll have end of financial year at the end of June, then we’ll be on the plane to Boston in mid July, so before we know it half the year will be gone again!
Scares the bejesus out of me when I think about it that way, but that’s life I guess?
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.
Time is a predator.
It waits for nothing and noone.
It stalks us until it decides there is none left for us, one by one.
Other than the new blog name, I don’t think there will be another post before the new year, so I will take the opportunity to wish everyone the best for 2010, and I hope all your dreams come true.
I’ll try to do the rounds before then, however make no promises other than I will do my best.
I hope your Christmas was everything you wished for, and that Santa was good to you with nothing less than you all deserved.