Thursday 31 December 2015

2015..... You Sucked...







2015....

Wow where do I start.....you sucked....big time!

From the day that we returned home from our relaxing Christmas holiday in January you decided to bite us on the arse with a flea infested house and a fridge that did not work.

And you didn't stop there....there was the lawn mower that died, the shower head that broke, the microwave oven that started to send out sparks, hubby's car broke down, the hot water service sprung a leak, the kettle gave up the ghost, my car needed a new water pump....a week later it needed a new radiator....hubby's car needed a new battery....and that's not even the half of it.

Add to all of the above the fact that work was scarce and hubby had to spend a lot of time working away from home just to get some turnover.

The money worries that 2015 brought made me quite literally feel sick to my stomach. There were days when I did not know what we were going to be able to eat for dinner.  Days where I didn't know where the next mortgage payment was going to come from.

There was stress, there was worry, there were tears.


Suck as you may have 2015 you couldn't keep us down.  There have still been some good times, there have still been some laughs and there has still been a lot of love.

There were even times throughout the year that I believed in miracles.  When hubby would be away and I would literally be down to my last few dollars there must have been someone watching over us.  Sometimes it would be some money arriving in the mail from my in-laws, other times it was something that had been listed on eBay for months finally selling.  A random act of kindness from a Facebook follower just before Christmas really touched my heart and it was moments like these that kept me going.

You don't go through a year like 2015 without taking a long hard look at your life and thinking of ways that you can make changes for the better.

I've been a stay at home mum since forever and whilst I don't really want that to change I had to look at the bigger picture and eventually started looking for work...I even went for a job interview...my first in a very, very, very long time!

I didn't get the job but that prompted me to think outside the square and a few months ago I decided to put myself out there as a Virtual Assistant....Virtual Veronica !!!  I've completed a few jobs and now have to look to grow my business so that I can contribute financially to the household ......without leaving home.  So if you, or anyone you know, needs a VA....let me know  ;-)

I also signed up as a consultant with Jamberry nail wraps....love the product so thought why not!   Pop over to my Come Wrap With Me page on Facebook if you want to find out more!!  

It's all about not having all my eggs in the one basket!!

So as I sit here at home for Christmas and New Years and every day of the holidays because we clearly can't afford to go away.....I am counting down to the end of 2015 and I am full of hope and enthusiasm for 2016.  

Wishing you all a wonderful new year!!  Here's hoping that in 2016 we can kick arse !!



























Thursday 10 December 2015

10 on 10 Photography Circle - December



When you do a monthly project it really highlights how damn fast the months go!!!
Here we are at the 10th of the month again, time for our 10 on 10 photography project where a group of us share 10 pics from an hour, a day, a week...or if you're like me from pretty much whenever!!!

Those of you who follow me on Facebook would know that there's not much Christmassy happening around here at the moment as we move furniture from one room to another!  

But I have not missed a single month of the 10 on 10 photography circle...and long time readers will know that I usually can't stick with anything!!!  So for fear of missing out on this month I grabbed my iPhone, scrolled through the camera roll and ta-da...I present you with my November highlights!!!

Once you've checked out my chaotic life be sure to pop over to the next member of the group and then make your way around the circle!





We went to the Circus!!!  And this is the only photo that I still had on my phone...the others were no doubt deleted to make way for other photos!!! 

The last time we went to the circus was about 12 years ago and I have wanted to take the girls for ages but well.....expensive much !!!!  So when The Great Euro Circus came to town and set up in the grounds of where my sister works and she got free tickets and gave them to us....OMG awesome!!!!  It was amazing....and the tickets were for the night of Miss 7's birthday so bonus!!




Having rushed to eat dinner and get to the circus we then headed home for birthday cake at like 10pm...because you know, 7 year olds will not compromise!!!




That weekend Miss 11 went on a 2 night girl guides camp.  I have no idea what she is doing in this photo!!!  But she packed up her bedroll and off she went!!




Same weekend Miss 17 and I went formal dress shopping for the first time and a week out from the formal...eek!!!  We did not take after photos because they would not have been pretty!!!  






Same weekend, coz we love to cram everything into one action packed weekend....yep that's how we roll!!  Soccer presentation for Miss 17 (it is actually the day of her birthday so from here on she will be miss 18!!), Miss 16 and Miss 14.  The pic is of the coach (hubby lol !! ) giving miss 16 her trophy for being players player...woohoo!!!




Yep same day, home for dinner with the in-laws for Miss 18 and Miss 7's birthdays!  And Miss 18 doesn't like cake so a cheats pavlova base purchased from Woolworths after presentation it was!




A few days later Miss 16's year 10 formal!!  Quite a transformation for our jeans and batman boots wearing gal!!




And the very next freaking day!!!  Miss 18's year 12 formal!!  In the rain!!!  But we were prepared!!  By the way what she is wearing is actually a dress with a skirt over it!! Yep it's the dress in photo #6 from last months 10 on 10 photography circle  and the heaviest tulle skirt ever!!




And right up there as a highlight for November I discovered that you can cook bacon in the oven....OMG this is totally revolutionary!!!  Pop it on an oven tray, into a preheated oven at about 200 degrees celcius, 15 mins later crispy bacon!!  

And this is not breakfast...it's actually dinner...but they should just be thankful that they got food at all!!!!




And to end November we had to drive an hour and a half to Wollongong Uni for Miss 18 to receive and award for her year 12 design and tech major work.  She won overall best product runner up!  Then we drove an hour and a half home again!!  

I think I may have caught a glimpse of the ocean for a millisecond on the decent down Mount Ousley...or maybe I dreamt it!!



So there you have it....November!!!  No wonder I was tired and broke!!!!

Be sure to pop over and see what Cathy has been up to this month....she never fails to impress me with her photos!!  Just click here to see them!

And don't forget to make your way around the circle!!



Tuesday 8 December 2015

Christmas Gift Guide - 11 and 14 year old girls


So last post I gave you an insight into what Miss 7 would like for Christmas....if you missed it you can check it out here.

This week I am sharing what Miss 11 would like for Christmas and that's pretty easy because the only thing on her list is a watch....but oh no, not just any watch to tell the time with , hell no!!  She wants a Baby-G watch...what the heck...Google here I come again!

Okay so luckily I was sitting down for my first search because the prices coming up were totally WTF......seriously  $269 and above.....for a watch......so she can tell the time.....when she doesn't even have anywhere she needs to be...!!!

We tried a bit of gentle persuasion, you know the kind where you tell her that there is no way on earth that we, ahem I mean Santa, is gunna go for that.

So she took to google herself and presented us with a list of links to places that we could get the watch that she liked at a better price.

Eventually hubby and I decided that if that is all that she wants from Santa then it's better than getting 10-12 things just that will just clutter up our diminishing space even more.  

So Ebay it was!!  And the watch will be here next week for well under $269, in fact for half of that....so she might still get that handball that she has been wanting too!!







If you are thinking of buying a Baby-G watch for anybody this Christmas be sure to check out www.cocomi.com.au for huge savings on some of their watches...and make sure you get the code to get $10 off your first order.


Now let's move on to Miss 14.  Now you don't get a traditional handwritten list with a Miss 14....oh no!  Here's what you get....

Pinterest boards....yes a whole set of Pinterest boards that she then makes you follow from your account!!!

Take a look at them here!!

But wait, there's more!  You might even get an email with links to all of the things she wants as well!!  Like all of these clothes....listed in order of preference...OMG!!!!

http://www.dressgal.com/New-Lady-Womens-Fashion-Sleeveless-O-Neck-Sexy-Slim-Mini-Hooded-Solid-Casual-Jumpsuit-g21955.html





Total -$47 
Order most to least needed 
Good value 
Good price 



So there you go....Christmas list of the 14 year old!!!

It's probably time that I actually pop over and check out those pinterst boards...after all it is only 2 and a half weeks til Christmas.....eeeek!!!!!


Linking up with Essentially Jess for #IBOT