Showing posts with label Anniversaries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anniversaries. Show all posts

Saturday, 3 December 2016

The Month That Was November






Hi there lovelies! Hasn't the year just flown by? Here we are in December and Santa is well and truly on his way! 

But before we bring on Christmas and ALL THE FOOD let me tell you a bit about November. 

After four years of ad hoc blogging I finally started an online blogging course! I was powering through it, reading all about editorial calendars and scheduling posts and what not, when I I suddenly had this STUNNING thought: 

Yeah, nah. 

I'll just continue in my usual ad hoc fashion. Yay! 


The thing is, the course seems to have come up at a time when I have my regular round of the 'blogging blahs'. Meaning, I just couldn't be bothered blathering on here about myself. Which is weird because we all know that I'm completely FASCINATING. Shut up.  

During November I didn't get to all the blogging link ups that I normally would. But I did manage some. I pondered the importance of exams and the things I'll be remembered for. Additionally, I paused to take stock and recall the news I'll never forget.


What else happened in November?  Oh, that's right! Mr 7 became Mr 8! It was his birthday, just for the ubiquitous Captain Obvious... He had a laser tag party and, of course, CAKE! 

On November 11th Mickey Blue Eyes and I celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary! It was also my parents 50th anniversary! We went out for some brunch and enjoyed the day. 

And then, there was MORE CAKE when we celebrated my dad's 78th birthday! 

Last weekend we took off for the weekend to visit the Hunter Valley Gardens Christmas Lights Spectacular. It was awesome! On the way in I randomly bumped into the amazing Mim from
LovefromMimIt was wonderful to meet her after following her breast cancer diagnosis at around the same time as mine.  

Here are some of my craptacular SPECTACULAR photos of this merry event: 


















Skillz, people! Be very jealous! I can't imagine why Mr 15 doesn't want to be seen in any of my photos...  Ahem...

It was a very fun way to spend a weekend and the boys ultimately enjoyed it, despite originally being HORRIFIED that they had to go. Imagine your parents torturing you with a weekend away!? What are we like? 

Last Wednesday Mickey Blue Eyes and I headed to the central coast to visit our friends Kim and Mark who moved there earlier this year. A lovely, relaxing day was had by all....until....

December rolled around. 

Apparently we can't do Decembers without some sort of drama... 

But lets leave that for the December round up! Sorry, just a nice little cliff hanger there... 

Cheeky, I know.  Stay tuned! 

And that was another November! 

Linking up for The Month That Was  and Archive Love.


What did you get up to during November? 

Monday, 17 October 2016

Which Anniversaries Are Special?







Hi there! Here we are on another MAGNIFICENT Monday! Everyone's favourite day of the week. When it's a public holiday. Today isn't.

But you probably already know that if you're at work. And may I say, you have made a most excellent choice. Procrastinating from work by reading my musings. Well played. I certainly won't tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me. 

I'm all about making your Monday all better in any way I can. So I'm here to provide you with a few minutes of escape from your to-do-list. (Although I can't imagine why reading here wouldn't be at the absolute TOP of your to-do list. You need to sort your priorities).

Anyway, let's get on with it! 

Once again I am joining in for Life This Week. 

We are talking anniversaries.

This is timely, because in a few short weeks Mickey Blue Eyes and I will be celebrating our 21st wedding anniversary! 

It sounds quite impressive, doesn't it? That is, until I mention that on the exact same day it's my parents 50th wedding anniversary! How awesome is that? That definitely deserves bold, italics and an underline. Done! 

In order for Mick and I to clock up such an impressive record of marital stress bliss I have to live to my 70s and he has to live to his 80s. Bonus points if we actually remember each other if we get there. Stay tuned!

My parents, who I call Mum and Dad, and everyone else (except my brother) calls Alison and Michael (because that's their names - a bit of the old Captain Obvious is always handy...), were married on November 11th, 1966. They were exceptionally good looking. See below.

This explains why I'm so strikingly attractive. You can abandon your futile attempts to resemble and emulate me. It's not going to happen unless you were born into this gene pool. Sorry to break it to you. If it's any consolation, it's not easy being so gorgeous, but some one has to do it. It's a burden I must bear. So sad. 




My parents, Alison and Michael Lafferty, on their wedding day,
 November 11th, 1966


But back to anniversaries...

When Mick and I were planning our wedding, we didn't have any particular date in mind. We just decided to have a spring wedding because we like to be cutting edge and ground breaking.

It turned out that November was the only time we could get holidays to go away for our honeymoon. Believe it or not, I did actually go to work back then in the 'olden days'. Well, that's what our boys call the 1990's.

Coincidentally, the weekend that was free (to book the church) was the same day as my parents anniversary. November 11th! 
I asked them if they minded if we were married on the same day and they didn't.

It some ways it seemed right. They'd gotten married in the registry office and didn't  have a big wedding. Not that our wedding was over the top or anything lavish, but it was still more than what my parents had. So yes, November 11th is a very special anniversary in our family.

Having said that, it must be admitted that we don't always do anything specific on the day. But we do remember! Especially considering that it's also remembrance day! We'll probably have a meal and a glass of wine or two. Then we'll do something super exciting. Like sit on the couch and stare at our laptops as per usual. Sounds like a plan! 







And every single year we get a phone call from our elderly former neighbours to wish us a happy anniversary! It's so sweet of them to remember. 

Naturally, birthdays are also important dates around here. Because CAKE. Duh!

They are all conveniently spaced throughout the year: mine is January 15th, Mr 12's is on March 15th, Mr 15's is on July 10th, Mickey Blue Eyes' is August 11th and Mr (soon to be) 8's is on November 2nd. It's always good to have consistent cake opportunities placed throughout the year. And also the week. I mean, you should always have cake handy for special occasions. You know, like any day that ends with a Y. That sort of thing. 

This year also marks the beginning of a whole new kind of anniversary. I'm not sure I'd call it a 'special' one, but it's certainly one I'll remember...

December 4th will be the one year anniversary of my breast cancer diagnonsense. Needless to say, last year wasn't a very merry Christmas. I'm determined to enjoy it this year! 

Twelve years later, I can't remember the exact date that Mickey Blue Eyes was diagnosed with his bowel cancer.  So I have my fingers, toes, legs, arms, eyeballs crossed that the same thing will happen for me. Hopefully, the date will lose is significance as the years go by. 

Meanwhile, November 11th and all our birthdays will ALWAYS be special. 

So bring on the cake! 

Not on November 11th, right now! Monday ends with a Y! See? 


Linking up for Life This Week.

Also linking up for Open Slather and Mummy Mondays




Which anniversaries are special for you?

Thursday, 22 May 2014

In My Own Distracted Little World

As the tag line underneath the title of this blog suggests, I am very easily distracted. Constantly off in my own little World. I simply can't help it if this alternative universe is preferable to the real World. It's not my fault. I've always been an off with the pixies space cadet. In addition to this I am constantly forgetting things. In fact, I recently came to the stunning conclusion that the only reason I've managed to exist on this planet for 43 years is because eating is the one thing I don't forget.

Seriously.

As my Mother is fond of saying "If my brains were dynamite, they wouldn't blow a part in my hair. She doesn't say it about me, she says it about herself; in spite of the fact that she has a sharper mind than me at almost 73.

Lately though, something very strange has been happening in the land of Nessville. Yes, I'm certainly as distracted as ever, but this time the distractions are not cake shaped with frosting. It seems that the real Ness has been abducted by aliens and in her place is this creature who is eating healthy food. Additionally, I've also been cleaning and attempting to be ever so slightly more organised. Who is this person? The emphasis is on the word 'attempting'. All of my past efforts to do this were monumental failures so we shall see how long this little foray into la la land pans out.

Case in point: I certainly haven't managed to become an organised blogger. Oops. Maybe I'll get there. One day. Eventually. Definitely. Maybe. Did I mention that I'm also indecisive as well as distracted?

The one thing that distracts me the most is my fascination with Karen Carpenter. I could spend hours watching every piece of retro footage that she appears in on Youtube. I belong to approximately ten million Facebook fan groups where we discuss every little detail of her short life and her music. This is quite bizarre when you consider that as a general rule I couldn't care less about most celebrities, particularly current ones. In fact, in most cases I couldn't even tell you who they are! However, when it comes to worshipping in the cult of Karen, I am shameless. The only consolation I have is that I am not alone. There are lots of other weird people like me around the interwebs. One of the good (and bad, depending on your point of view) things about the online world is that whatever your unique brand of crazy is, you can be sure you will find like-minded individuals in a Facebook group/Blog link up near you. Isn't that right, my fellow Karen devotees and bloggers?

Quite often when I am miles away in Carpenterland, the boys might be attempting to kill each other right in front of me while I'm utterly oblivious.

Micky Blue Eyes will bark at them to stop and then continue barking at me: "They were right in front of you! Didn't you see that?"

This will cause to me to abruptly have to land back on Earth with a thud and a sheepish admission that no, I did not see or hear because I was totally and blissfully tuned out. I do feel - perhaps selfishly- that if I am in my own house I should be able to indulge this inclination to tune out; to a degree, anyway. But Mick doesn't always agree with me and it can be a source of frustration for him at times, which I do understand. I can see that I could be a pain in the butt to live with, but aren't we all at times?


It's amazing that anyone manages to stay married when you think about it. We will be clocking up an impressive 19 years this year. Only one more year until the big two zero. It remains to be seen if we will do anything to mark the occasion. When it comes to birthdays and anniversaries we are a very low key and low maintenance family. If I've been able to remember them in the first place then I consider that a win. I don't want to push my luck any further by attempting to plan a party. I'm disorganised as well as distracted and forgetful. Plus, I'm notoriously socially awkward. Therefore, I'd rather be the quiet person in the corner at a party and not the hostess. Frankly, I suck at that. Especially those painfully awkward type of get togethers where you try to mix your family and friends and everyone just sticks to their own cliques while you're in anguish imagining that they are all miserable and not enjoying themselves.

It certainly seems easier to just book a party at the bowling alley, like we did for Mr 10 in March. That way I can just hover around drinking bad coffee as my eardrums burst and the paid for hostess does all the shouting. Works for me. Besides, the boys love it anyway. As long as there is cake, that's all that matters, right?

Speaking of cake, I appear to have gone cold turkey. ONE WHOLE WEEK cake free! I haven't exploded and died, surprisingly.  I was watching Australian Story the other day, which was about Olympic swimmer Kieran Perkins and I was struck by something his Mum used to say to him; which was: "Never give up on what you want the most for what you want at the moment." This seemed fitting since what I want at the moment is ALL THE CAKE but what I want most is to be healthy. Damn. So where's my Olympic medal? I most certainly DO deserve one for resisting cake! HMPH. After all it does take the equivalent of Olympic style dedication and herculean effort for me. It's like an addict trying to give up heroin. Sugar is my heroin.  Ahem.

My Get Healthy coach called yesterday to check in. I proudly reported all of the above.

"Have you noticed that you've been agitated and/or cranky lately?" she asked.

"I have, now that you mention it," was my rueful reply.

She told me this was likely to be due to sugar withdrawal. Apparently sugar does make you sweeter. Who knew?

If you are still unconvinced that I deserve an Olympic medal, then let me tell you the following; Micky Blue Eyes, my parents and I went for a drive out to Windsor for the day last Friday. While there, we had lunch in a pub where I watched them feast on steak with chips and gravy. Meanwhile, I stuck to grilled fish and salad.  Mr 12 is fond of drawling: "So? Do want a medal?" in response to just about any statement. Why yes, I believe I do want one. Hand it over!

Other than all of that, the most exciting occurrence in my life at the moment is watching Offspring on Wednesday nights and Call The Midwife on Thursdays. Yay! Okay, excuse me while I go and get a life...

Okay, later dudes. Over and out.

Linking up ridiculously and pathetically late with Kirsty from My Home Truths for I Must Confess.



Also linking up with Kylie Purtell: A Study In Contradictions for The Lounge.


                                                     What's been distracting you lately?

                                                     How do you celebrate birthdays or anniversaries?