The week that was...

Tuesday
Today is usually newsletter day for me. For whatever reason the wretched thing just won't do what I want it to at the moment and I am beyond frustrated! To paraphrase: when technology is good it is very, very good, but when it's bad it's rotten! Of course not being a techy type person I just expect that what I want is as simple as striking a few keys and Julie tells me that it's not quite the way things work. Ho hum, but I want it too so badly.

Perhaps being up extra early two days in a row could have something to do with it. Hannah left for her first ever high school camp this morning and she made sure she wasn't going to be late for the bus. The alarm went off 45 minutes earlier than it needed to! But she was on time. I was a little teary which is strange because she is always off somewhere or other for sleepovers or on camps with youth club so I totally did not expect to be sad waving her off this morning. Not that I was allowed to stay and wave her off. The only thing I was allowed to do was help her carry her things to the bus and then leave! I was told in no uncertain terms to go, she could manage just fine. So go I did - straight home to a 99.9% fat free hot chocolate. Doesn't quite have the same oomph as my coffee but I am being good and trying to cut right down to just one cup a day.

I'm getting there slowly but it's hard to find a hot drink replacement that I like. And I really like my hot drinks. So far I've tried tea. Not a huge success, I'm just not a tea fancier. I've tried hot lemon drinks and while I love the lemon zing they remind me so much of head colds and winter flu that I don't think they will be the replacement I need. So far the 99.9% fat free hot chocolate is winning but another few weeks and my head will be telling me it's way too warm for hot chocolates. If you have any suggestions for a replacement let me know. I'm getting desperate.


Wednesday
A busy day. Of course. The day I have planned to play catch up turns into a busier than ever day. Ran the boys to school and while I was over that way zipped up to my Auntie's to try and get their car started. They've been away for six months and get back tomorrow night and I thought it would be nice to have the car at least running for them. No luck. Jolly thing was as dead as a dodo so I rang Wayne. Upshot is we went back over on Wednesday night with the battery charger and ended up calling the RACV. The lovely RACV man was able to get it started and Wayne put it on the charger overnight.

Raced home and put the washing out, it was a lovely windy day and I wanted to get it in before I had to head out again. Managed to get some office work done, not much as I was sidetracked by emails, but the basics were covered at least.

Left again for a meeting at noon, had to turn around and race back home because I had left a folder on the desk. Finally managed to get there on time but only because I found a parking spot right outside the door. What a blessing that was. It was just a parking spot, but it was where I needed to be and available right when I wanted and needed it. It made me think about all the single, little things that happen that are blessings just as much as the big things. In fact when I thought about it I realised just how blessed I was each day. So many things just "go right" that I have been taking them for granted and I shouldn't. It's time to start a thankful list I think. A reminder of just how blessed we are.

So today I am thankful for:
Wayne and the kids
Our home
Safe travelling to and from school and meetings
An oven that works so I can prepare food for my family
A fully automatic washing machine for saving me time and energy
A lovely warm, windy day for drying washing
The Internet so I can work from home
Incredible teachers who are prepared to give up their time to go on camp with 40 odd 12 and 13 year olds
My bed - it's a running family joke that if I could just get a fridge and microwave in the bedroom I'd never leave it. I love my bed, it is so comfortable and cosy.

Thursday
I've given up on trying to get the newsletter to do what I want. It will be a very boring looking newsletter this week, but it will still have all the news. Just not look as nice as I want it to. Working on getting it back to normal next week. Actually working flat out on getting it back to normal next week.

I picked my first sugar snap pea this morning. It was very nice and I felt a little tingle of excitement as I pulled it off the trellis. The crunch as I bit into it was so loud, that one little pea was the nicest I've ever had I think.

There are so many flowers on the tomato bushes and if all the baby zucchini actually mature then we'll have zucchini coming out our ears. I can foresee lots of quiche and zucchini pies and hopefully enough for more pickles. We are almost out of the lot I made last summer. The cabbages and cauliflowers have set and little tiny heads are developing. And I have started to pull the leaves off the lettuce and add them to our salads too. With plain old iceberg lettuce being $2.96 each this week that alone will save us about $10 a week!

I sprayed them with dish detergent and water this morning. I noticed something has been eating the eggplant and the capsicum so I gave them a squirt in the hope that whatever it is will disappear and leave my garden alone.

While I was outside I made a mistake. I saw a weed and pulled it out. Then I noticed another one and pulled it. And then there were more. Before I knew it there were so many I had to go and get the garden bin. And then sweep the pavers and the path. That's when I noticed that the bushes in the end garden were getting a little out of control and so I quickly grabbed the secateurs and trimmed them back. It did make it easier to sweep the path. With all the dust whipped up by the sweeping the table and chairs had to be wiped over. And before I knew it I had been outside for an hour and all I really intended was five quick minutes to look at the veggies. But the pergola is looking very nice and tidy and the garden is in tip top shape.

Today I am thankful for:
The RACV being able to get the car started last night
Mum being allowed to go back to swimming, it means her health has improved
Sons who are happy to help out at home without being asked, especially when they know I am feeling swamped
A nice clean car, it's amazing what 15 minutes, a vacuum and a duster can do
Good freeways so I can get from home to the airport easily and relatively quickly
The Internet so I could look up flight information and know that the plane was half an hour early
Meals in the freezer so everyone can help themselves for dinner tonight

Friday
NQR has opened a new shop at Forest Hill so I called in on my way home from the morning school run. It's a lovely shop, a much better lay out than the one I normally go to. And lots of lovely bargains to be had. Valencia fruit juices (2 litre bottles) for $1.89 each, cheese slices $2.79/500g (this equates to $5.68/kg, not a bad price for sliced cheese) and frozen stir fry veggies $1.99/kg, again a good price and they are good to keep in the freezer for quick dinners.

As I was already in the area, actually in the same street, I popped into the Lions Den, one of my favourite op shops. I splurged on a 50c tea cup for a craft project I want to try out. I was tempted by a very cute cut glass savoury dish but bravely put it back. What I did buy was another curtain to make some more veggie bags. Mum wants some made so I've been looking for a cheap curtain. This one was only $3.50 and I'll think I'll be able to get at least 15 bags from it. The girls at the fruit shop just smile at me now when I hand them my "green" veggie bags but they were a little bemused for the first few times. It would be so nice if they caught on. Imagine how many plastic bags wouldn't end up in landfill if everyone used fabric veggie bags?

Hannah is back today and I can't wait. I have missed her so much this week. I've only had to answer one question all week. The boys just don't seem to say "Mum, can I ask you a question?" the way she does. One thing I did notice, apart from the quiet (it's amazing how much extra noise one child can make, you don't miss it until it's not there), is that the house stayed so much tidier. It's amazing just how much stuff one girl thinks she needs to be using at the same time. All week the family room has been tidy, nothing on the floor, no piles of paper or books or craft on the table or stacked on a chair. The boys are planning on giving her a good teasing about it. They emphatically announced that it is Hannah and only Hannah that makes the mess. That's not quite true, they do help, they just don't have as many things on the go at once as she does.

Well it's 2.45 and I don't want to be late for pick-up today. I want to be on time to get my girl and see how much she's grown and changed in four days at camp.

Today I am thankful for:
Discount grocers to help me stay on grocery budget
My girl getting home safe and sound and very, very tired, but full of exciting news
Teachers who cared enough to make sure she put the ointment in her eye each night before bed
Op shops so I can use our money wisely on things we need and on things we just want
Friends who make me laugh and smile with their tales and antics
Daylight saving so Wayne can see what he's cooking on the bbq without using the lights