Make My Week - Road Kill

Recently there was a 'hard waste' time where people could put out their beds, desks, cupboards... that sort of stuff and the council (and other hoaders visionaries) could/would collect at will.

We needed something to keep our modem off the floor and found this piece of delightful road kill.

I bought one roll (that was all they had) of patterned tape from my local Kawaii (Japanese $2.90) Shop.

With the 10m of roll I managed this. The Atlas says he quite likes the extra black showing, I'm not sure.

Still for $2.90 + free road kill, it's doing the job quite nicely.

For projects that required more talent pop over here.

love you more than a cheap makeover xxx

Speed Reading

Does anyone else ever feel guilty for reading books too fast?

I mean, the author spent hours, months, maybe years writing it and I'm done and dusted in 2 days.

Is that okay?

love you more than an answer to a puzzling question xxx

things the 5 year old says

The Atlas suggests the boys might like to watch a little bit of star wars together. (They've never watched the whole thing just little snippets like the pod racing.)

Bounce says, 'I want the bit with the boobies. I want the boobies. Boobies, boobies, boobies'

My eyes are large and I am looking at The Atlas like 'boobies????'

Turns out he wants the bit with the little bear/ewok thingys in the woods when they do their fight. (It's in movie 6 - the last of the original ones).

There are no boobies in it, well none that I call boobies. Plenty of what Bounce calls boobies.

image from google images

We might need to help him come up with a new name for them I think.

love you more than a boobie crisis averted xxxx

What I'm Reading - The Priority List

This year I am committed to doing more reading. Given the fact that we have few connections here and both the boys are at school, I really have no excuse not to.

I love reading. I find reading engaging and thought provoking and I want to push my reading repertoire beyond my usual go-tos. This year I want to read more and share more of what I'm reading.

This week (in 2 days) I started and finished The Priority List by David Menasche.

David is a high school English teacher. David is one of those rare people who is doing something he is completely passionate about. Teaching is not a job for him it's a passion and a privilege. When, at 34 he is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer he continues teaching. In fact he doesn't miss a day of teaching even during chemo and radiation treatment.

Finally he collapses and loses 80% of his sight. At this point he is faced with the devastation of losing his ability to teach - the very thing that gives him reason to live. So, he embarks on a journey to become the learner. Crossing the states he catches up with students he has taught to see if what he has done has had impact.

The book is much more than a memoir it's a legacy of how one person doing what the love can inspire and encourage others to do the same. I feel like this book was a really timely read for me. In the book he talks about some of the important lessons he taught and modelled in his classroom. One of these was about being truthful, "over the years, I'd witnessed the benefits of openness in the classroom and how it gave the students a sense of liberation they couldn't have if they were living inauthentic lives" p.20. I love this statement the power of shame keeps us so trapped from our potential. This kind of real authenticity and honesty is something I want for myself.

Another part of the book that struck a real chord with me was the idea of actually finding your passion and pursuing it. "Why hope that money would bring my kids happiness, when it was feasible for their happiness to earn them money instead?"  p.158. That whole concept of asking yourself if you had no reason to work, i.e financially you had no needs, what would you do with your time? is such a wonderful challenge. As I enter a phase of having more time and opportunity to pursue things I am holding this treasure and asking myself frequently what I would do.

I found this book very readable it runs like a conversation and holds some beautiful moments where people truly connect and impact each other as well as some life truths that are challenging as well.

This isn't a book about cancer and cancer treatment. It's a book about life, finding your passion and sucking the life out of every day you are given. It's David's story, and there are decisions he makes and advice he gives that might not be everyone's style but they are his and I think that is the message I loved so much. Be bold, live your journey. It's positive and beautiful. It came out in January but you can find it for sale at your usual online choices or if you're not so financial how about recommending your library get a copy?

Want more info?
PUBLISHED: 29th  January 2014
IMPRINT: Allen & Unwin
CATEGORY: Memoir Extent: PB 240pp RRP: $27.99 (AUS) EBOOK: Yes

I am grateful to Allen & Unwin for sending me this great book to review. 

love you more than a good read and couch time xxx

Week Ten

Enjoying our latest toy - inflatable shark

there was much hilarity

Make My Week - train wreck

So I signed up for the postcard swap and thought I would be extra clever and contain my postcard in plastic so that it would arrive safely.

Especially as I didn't have heavy enough card to sew onto the back of the stitched part.

Then I discovered I am seriously lacking in the plastic sewing skills department. This stuff sticks and clings to the machine and presser foot like the badness.

So now I am sending a card that looks like a train wreck, and I managed to put the card part on upside down.

I hope my recipient likes train wrecks....

It's hard to send something I'm not pleased with but I'd rather send something than nothing... perhaps she will blame it on the postal service??? So there it is... a fail shared is sadly not a fail halved.

love you more than good ideas that turn out the way you hoped they would xxx

in my neighbourhood - Adelaide Zoo

We were given a family pass for the zoo from my sister and when we finally hit a cooler Saturday we biked up for the day.

This is a city zoo, being right in the heart of the city, but it doesn't feel at all urban. As far as zoos go this is the greenest I've been to. Most of the time you are unaware of, or unable to see the enclosures and there are plenty of opportunities to get very close to the animals.

Wombat on a walk anyone?

We had the pleasure? of watching a meerkat tear the head off a mouse through a glass wall that was only about 70cm high.

The pandas are viewed after walking through a bamboo forest and most of their enclosure is very open. The day we went we found the panda behind glass about a metre and half away from us eating bamboo like there was no tomorrow.

The zoo also features a petting area for some of the more domesticated animals - goats, quokka, kangaroos...

and lots of green space for sitting and relaxing/picnicking.

The Atlas saw a couple being shown around who were planning a wedding there.

The boys favourite parts were the nocturnal section where they saw fat tailed dunnarts for the first time - these are like hilarious over sized mice and there were 2 in the cage who behaved just like our boys - in, out, over, hide, find. There were also bats in this section too which fascinated Bounce. This section featured some new babies and so as well as being dark we had to be super quiet which just added to the hilarity.

They also (all 3) loved the reptiles section which was full of snakes. Flip was particularly enamoured with checking out whether  they were poisonous or not.

I liked the birds the most - the colours of the birds here is totally stunning. Plenty of pirate worthy parrots - in size and colour.

The zoo isn't a cheap day out but in terms of coming face to face (literally at times) with a wide variety of creatures in a beautiful, non-cagey setting I think it is worth the investment.

** In my neighbourhood, recording our journey and writing the kind of posts about living in Adelaide I wanted to find before we left NZ**

love you more than trying to be quiet and laugh at the same time xxx