10 things in my life right now....

1. Listening


I've been in a strange, somewhat unsettled mood this past week and what do I listen to when I'm in a strange, unsettled mood?.....why indie pop/electronic rock of course!  Favourites on my playlist include - 

• Glory Box by Portishead (truly one of the best songs ever!!!)
• Life in Mono by Mono 
• Mad World by Alex Parks
• Teardrop by Massive Attack
• Radiohead's Creep - this one is an accoustic version performed by Chrissie Hynde from the Pretenders
• Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill performed by Placebo (love love love Placebo - do yourself a favour and listen to this track, its awesome)

Finally my No. 1 awesome song for this week - Goldfrapp's Ooh La La.  Its sexy, its sassy and if you pump it up really loud, it puts you in a much better mood.   I defy anyone to keep still while this song is on - I think it would be a great song to do the vacuuming to, if I actually did the vacuuming.  

2. Eating

My family and friends already know about my penchant for Anathoth Jam, but now I am ready to share my addiction with the blogging world.  Let me just say, unless you have tried Anathoth Jam, you have no idea how delicious jam can really be.  Not only is it a TASTE SENSATION, it actually looks good enough to dip your finger in and the consistency, oh the consistency!  Its just perfect.  And to make it even more perfect - there are no preservatives, no thickeners, no added colours.  This is jam how your granny used to make it (if your granny used to make the world's best, most delicious jam).  My favourite is Raspberry and the Rock God knows not to come home with any other jam other than Anathoth Raspberry Jam unless he wants to drive back down to the shops again.  Anathoth Jam is made by a family business in New Zealand but you can buy it in Woolworths and its very reasonably priced.  Plus it comes in cute plastic 'pottles' that are handy for storing bits and pieces in afterwards.  By the way, I am receiving no endorsement from Anathoth Jam for this post - I just love their jam so much I had to tell the world.

3. Drinking

My drink of choice when having the occasional piss up night out is Bourbon & Dry, on ice.  In a short glass please.  No straw.  And definitely no pre-mix, ugggh.  I am not a fan of alcoholic beverages that are sickly sweet (if it ends with Breezer, its not coming near me), or a shade of green or blue.  I like drinking Bourbon & Dry because it tastes 'alcoholly' without making you gag; its refreshing in summer because of the Dry and warming in winter because of the Bourbon; and I seem to be able to consume rather a lot of them without getting messy - I don't know why, maybe its just me?  I only recently discovered the difference between Bourbon and Whiskey.....apparently all Bourbons are Whiskeys, but not all Whiskeys are Bourbons....to be a Bourbon, the Whiskey has to have been made in America and aged for at least 4 years (whereas Whiskey can have an ageing life of only 2 years).  So there you go.  If you are ever asked that particular question at a Quiz Night you now know the answer.  I shall be looking forward to a few short glasses of Bourbon & Dry this weekend, hold the straw.

4. Wearing

Jodi from the Scribble Den recently posted about her love for lipgloss.  I am a big lipgloss fan too - there is nothing like a bit of mascara and a dash of lipgloss to make you feel 'done' in as little time as possible.  But my next favourite thing is liquid eyeliner.  At the ripe old age of 39, I have only just started using liquid eyeliner but I am loving it and have made it part of my morning mascara/lipgloss ritual.  There is nothing like a sexy cats eye or french flick to get you through your day with a bit of pizzazz.  A word of warning, it does take a bit of practise to get it just right but once you have mastered the steady hand it takes no time at all.  To make it last all day (and I do mean a full 24 hours) I pat a bit of concealer on my eyelid first and then brush a little powder over it to set.  Then I put the liquid eyeliner on.  I generally close my eye, and create an angled line from just above the corner of the eye, tapering it down along the eyelid (you might have to do this a few times to get to the thickness you prefer) then I open my eye and draw a flick from the corner outwards.  Then on with my mascara and oila!

5. Reading

I have barely had any time to think - let alone read - this last fortnight, but I have just bought a new book about Billy Sing, a sniper at Gallipoli, which will be my next exciting read.  In the meantime, I want to tell you about this AMAZING book my sister bought for my big boy who turned 8 this week.  My sister is an excellent buyer of children's presents - last year she bought him a book about Farts, complete with sound effects.  This year, it was an amazing pop up book with the awesome title Encyclopaedia Mythologica: Dragons & Monsters.  The artwork and intricacy of the pop ups in this book are incredible - I've never seen anything like it.  The book is by Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda and is the third in a series.  The other two are Gods & Heroes and Fairies & Magical Creatures.  There is also a set of 3 about prehistoric animals.  Considering the level of detail in these books, they are very reasonably priced - I have seen them online for around $30.

6. Weather

Today is the first day of Spring - yipppeeeee!  Oh, how I have longed for Spring.  I'm not sure if its just Melbourne or everywhere else but this winter has dragged on FOREVER.  Last week we had some lovely days when the sun came out and the skies were blue and I managed to get a heap of washing done without going near my dryer.  I know quite a few people who suffer from SADS (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and this weather has really contributed to them feeling low.  To be honest, if this  winter had kept up much longer I think I might have been pushed over the edge myself!  Coming from WA, I am used to a lot more sun than we get here and some days I literally crave to sit outside and feel the warmth of the sun on my back.  There is no better medicine than that!  Unless its over 35 degrees and you get skin cancer....but you know what I mean.

7. Wanting

Last time I wanted something rather selfish (that divine French provincial table from Early Settler).  But I suppose many of our wants are quite selfish in nature, aren't they?  That's why they are wants and not needs.  There is nothing I am particularly craving for at the moment so I will just have to generalise.  On the high brow, altruistic side of things I want the famine in Africa to end, I want the dolphins in Japan to be saved and I want my kids to be able to walk down to the corner shop without being abducted, molested and killed.  On the low brow, lustful side of things I want a Hermes wrap watch and a tropical holiday.  Oh, and also this cute tote bag I saw on Pinterest which had 'Namaste, bitches' written on the side.  Ironic, really.

8. Feeling

As I said at the beginning of my post, I've been feeling a little unsettled this past week.  This generally happens when I haven't had enough opportunities to express myself creatively, mostly due to a lack of time or not having a project ready to work on.  The other thing that tends to make me unsettled is the general aura of people around me.  Although I love Facebook, sometimes other people's negativity can really get me down.  I can only read so many 'f*** my life' status updates before feeling like I want to retreat to Iceland, live like a hermit and not have to deal with anyone's issues.  And I know I can be guilty of this myself.  So I have decided to make a conscious effort to promote positivity around me.  I am pretty sure it will make me feel better anyway.

9. Thinking

Its coming up to September 3rd.  On that date, 95 years ago, a young boy just 18 years old climbed out of a trench at a place called Mouquet Farm, near Pozieres in France, and went into battle.  He was never seen again.  That boy was my grandfather's oldest brother and to this day we wonder what happened to him.  His body was never found and he has no known grave.  His name appears with over 73,000 others on a wall at the 'Memorial to the Missing' in Thiepval, France.  To this day, the photograph of Bill in his Army uniform hangs on the same nail of the same wall in the same house that he left back in 1915 and never saw again.  At this time of year I think a lot about Bill.  I think about him lying there somewhere under the grass and red poppies of France and it reminds me of Mark Twain's epitaph for his daughter... 'Warm summer sun, shine kindly here; Warm southern wind, blow softly here; Green sod above, lie light, lie light - Goodnight, dear heart, goodnight goodnight.' 

10. Enjoying

Yesterday, my big boy turned eight.  I think eight is a pivotal year for a child in his parent's eyes.  Its really the end of the 'little boy' phase and the beginning of the 'big boy' phase.  At this age, Bailey can read, count, work out consequences, take responsibility and engage in conversations with deeper, universal meanings.  I have enjoyed all the stages of Bailey, but I think I will particularly enjoy this one as his personality develops and becomes more defined (and before he becomes a smelly, horny, ungrateful teenager haha).