10 things in my life right now....

1. Listening

I wouldn't say I am very adventurous in my musical choices.  If I like something, I like it for life, which doesn't leave a whole lotta room for anything new.  And I tend to only listen to the stuff I really like.  But this week I discovered a whole new genre of music I have never listened to before, and frankly, I think I'm in love!

The new music I am listening to is indie/ambient acoustic stuff . I've even seen it referred to as 'forest fantasy' which is actually a pretty cool description.  My new favourites include The Paper Kites; a local Melbourne band, and The Honey Trees, who are from the U.S.

Other big names in this genre are Georgia Fair, Angus & Julia Stone, Owl City and Lisa Mitchell (remember her as a gawky freckly way-too-talented teenager on Australian Idol a few years ago?)

•   Bloom by The Paper Kites 

•   Woodland by The Paper Kites 

•   Orchard by The Honey Trees  

•   Picture Frames by Georgia Fair (which I think was used in an ad somewhere)

•   Big Jet Plane by Angus & Julia Stone 

2. Eating

With all the crap that has been going on lately in my life, I've completely lost my appetite.  This can only be a good thing when it comes to my camembert addiction!  Everything I eat seems tasteless and I think I'm just going through the motions of eating to stop me from keeling over.  If I had to press myself to think about something I would really like to eat, I would probably choose angel hair pasta with crab....probably because its the most delicious thing I have ever eaten (thank you Lamonts in Perth for that dining experience....it was over 12 years ago and I still remember it!)

3. Drinking

Kicking the coffee habit is going well, surprisingly.  I can't remember the last time I bought a coffee....well, it was probably last week but that is some kind of miracle for me.  I've been drinking far too much wine than is good for me (hellooooo white shiraz) and should probably get a free membership to the 'Mums who need wine' club but oh well, whatever gets you through.  And considering that I paid $12 for a PINT OF BEER the other day, I think I'd rather drink wine!  Coming into summer, I'm looking forward to drinking a plentiful amount of Mojitos, yummmmm.  I had a Ruby Red Mojito (infused with crushed raspberries) the other night at Lumia Cocktail Lounge in Crown which was to die for.  I may even have to make my own. Here's a recipe from Gourmet Traveller:

Raspberry and Mint Mojito 

• 7 small mint leaves, plus extra to garnish
• 7 raspberries, plus extra to garnish
• Half a lime
• 1 tsp sugar syrup (see below)
• 40 ml medium bodied rum
• Soda water, chilled

In a tumbler add mint, raspberries, lime and sugar syrup and muddle gently.

Fill with crushed ice, add rum and give a good stir, lifting the mint up from the bottom and through the drink

Top with soda water and garnish with mint and a raspberry

For sugar syrup, combine equal parts sugar and water, bring to the boil, cool completely and refrigerate for up to a year.

4. Wearing

Still in daggy tracksuit mode.  These days I consider it a bonus if I manage to drag myself out of the t-shirt I wore to bed.  It's kind of feral and gross but this is what I do when I'm have a meltdown bad patch.

I know its only temporary and I will 'get my shit together' sooner rather than later so that's okay.  Some days its perfectly alright to wear your pyjamas the whole day.  

I did buy a cute pair of earrings to cheer myself up.  Here's a photo.

5. Reading

Somewhere along the line I have lost my Billy Sing book so I will have to finish that later.  My sister (being fully aware of my WWI obsession and being an excellent giver of presents) bought me a vintage second hand book while she was on holidays last year so I've have been reading that.  Its called 'A Diary of the Great Warr' (with two r's for some strange reason) and is an extremely tongue-in-cheek account of an upperclass middle-aged gentleman's attempts to avoid war service.  The copy I have is an original 1917 edition with a nice inscription in the front 'To Dad, from Campbell, Xmas 1918'.  I'm rather happy Campbell survived the war to give his Dad a pressie at Xmas.  I just had a quick look online to see if I can find a photo of the book, to save the bother of taking one myself, and I found another one for sale on a 'Rare Books' website for $100!  Woohoo!  Not that I would sell it, its too funny a read and it was a present after all.

6. Weather

Last week Melbourne was deluged with the wettest September day on record in 50 years.  During the downpour my roof started leaking, we lost power for 4 hours and I believe a house in my neighbourhood was struck by lightning and caught on fire.  Oh dear.

Melbourne has been voted as the No. 1 most liveable city on the planet.  Obviously weather had absolutely nothing to do with the judging criteria.  I know I sound very petulant, but I just want some sunshine.

7. Wanting

I cannot think of a single physical thing I want right now (okay, okay, so that Hermes wrap watch is still in the back of my mind lol) but really, there is no creature comfort that I "want".  In my 20's I had a hard time separating my wants and needs.  I'm much better at that now.  Its probably a realisation sprung from motherhood - where your own wants become less important.  As long as I have a roof over my head, some form of transport and can feed my children, I'm pretty satisfied.

I am really trying hard to think of anything I actually want.  A holiday would be nice, or just a change of scenery, but I wrote about that last time.  I guess I will have to be more altruistic.....I would like a cure for diabetes (preferably one that doesn't involve stem cell harvesting).

8. Feeling

Peace, equilibrium, calm, solitude, contentment, resolve.  I don't feel any of these right now but the good news is, I know I'm capable of it.  Sometimes you have to ride out the storm to get to calmer waters....and if that involves wearing your pyjamas all day, so be it.

I will be 40 in February and I'm looking forward to embarking on the next stage of my journey.  But I would really, really like it if that stage was as drama-free, angst-free and shitty-nappy free as possible (although I think I have the 3rd one well and truly under control!).

I want to feel light....buoyant even.  I want to take more walks in the grass in my bare feet and feel the sea spray on my face.  I want to feel uplifted by beautiful music and wonderful stories and inspiring works of art.  Most of all I want to feel free.  I want my heart and my mind and my moods and my behaviour to be independent of the moods and behaviour of those who would exert an unwielding influence upon me.

This is my time.  I can FEEL it.

(This is Natsumi Hayashi....you can read more about her awesome levitation photos here)

9. Thinking

I was going to write about something else but this morning I heard the news that Steve Jobs, the founder and former CEO of Apple, has died today and I feel sad in my heart at the news.  

Steve Jobs was only 56 years old and died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer (he had a liver transplant in 2009).  With an estimated net worth of $4.6 billion dollars,  Steve Job's death brings home to me the knowledge that mortality does not care about money, or creative genius, or drive, or passion, or work.  All of those things are insignificant and powerless in the face of death.  We are only here temporarily.  Our lives are but a second in the span of time.  So why should I spend one more minute miserable or powerless or unhappy?  I don't want to waste my seconds.  I may never be the creative genius that Steve Jobs was, or influence the lives of billions of people, but I have my part to play, just as he did.

I've been an Apple geek since Steve Jobs came out of 'retirement' and was welcomed back into the corporate fold by Apple.  I had the original iMac G3 bought out by Apple in 1998 and the cutest little iBook clamshell laptop in 1999.  And then later on I upgraded to my behemoth....a great big blue screen that sat on my desk like a giant whale.  Its old technology now but god I loved that screen.  Now I sit here writing my blog in front of my 27 inch iMac in happy Apple bliss.

Coming from a design background, I don't just love the way Apple's technology works, I love the way it looks and feels.  Hell, I even love the packaging!  Apple has changed the way I work and live and I seriously pray they don't lose their mojo now.  

Yesterday, my brand new iPhone 4 arrived on my doorstep.  Thank you, Steve Jobs.

10. Enjoying

I am enjoying spending time with my children.  Yep, pretty predictable.  Its school holidays and although its been quite mentally challenging to work fulltime from home with the kids here, I've enjoyed their company and they have really been on their best behaviour, entertaining themselves with Lego and watching movies and kicking their footy around.

The boys have just spent the last 2 days with their dad and it was a lonely, quiet, empty house without them.  I've never been so happy to make 10 slices of toast as I was this morning when they were dropped off before breakfast.

I am really enjoying the ages they are now.  Mr 8 thrills me with his thirst for knowledge and his current obsession with Star Wars, Mr 6 pulls at my heart every time he smiles and I see the big gap where his two front teeth have just fallen out, Mr 4 continues to make me laugh with his matter-of-fact pronouncements (mummy, your boobs are sooooo squashy!) and Mr 3, well, Mr 3 is still - and always will be - my baby and there is nothing better than cuddles with your baby.