Blue, speckled surprises

Bird's Nest

Among the trees

Is a bird's nest,

And in the nest

Her three eggs rest.

And in each egg--

Hush, you'll be heard!--

There lies asleep

A tiny bird.

H.N. Bialik

I was so very excited when we saw these eggs had been laid. The mother bird was preparing her nest for some time. We had a peek but it was empty. The next day, there they were. 3 perfect, spotted, blue eggs. Precious!

Forget you!

Just found this on thobeka's blog, a new found favourite. Love it!

Fill the blank: I...

I'm playing along again after a bit break.

1.   I feel happy when I am relaxed and counting my blessings, when Toby brings me flowers or cooks me dinner, when I am being creative and with my family or friends.

2.  I get silly when I am overtired or feeling fragile.

3.  Something that makes me sad is abuse, neglect and suffering. 

4.  Something that makes me annoyed is  when I feel that others aren't pulling their weight or when you are not appreciated.

5.  A time that I've been truly surprised was when Toby proposed- I didn't think it was happening on that day... well I did... but then the day was nearly over so I thought that it wasn't going to happen!

6.  I am so thankful for  my Tobesly, and to have family and friends who love me.

7.  I feel loved when I get a letter in the mail or when someone says something kind for  me. I'm generally a words of affirmation and physical touch girl, but I like a bit of everything I think!

Keep your chin up

Source

Everything will be O.K.

Currents

listening: the gentle hum of my laptop, the clock ticking, Sandy miaowing! .
eating: less sugar
drinking: water.
wearing: a very old black cotton dress with blue flowers... it keeps me cool
feeling: hmm... sleepy
weather: humid and wet... yeck!
wanting: to do lots of scrapping and home arranging
needing: to spend more time with God and my bible
thinking: how blessed I am and how often I am not grateful for that.
enjoying: the safety of my home and family
wondering: how long it will take me to go to sleep tonight

Boys will be boys

You've met my nephews Cooper and Ty before. We LOVE them! We've had a lovely time playing together in December and January.

These photos were taken on Boxing Day last year, when their mum, Rach, was enjoying the sales and my brother, Tim, was off to the doctor with a migraine. :(

Ty was given the cute lawnmower from Rachel's parents for Christmas. He loves it! It makes real mower sounds and bubbles come out when you 'mow'.

Our parents bought the boys this amazing trampoline for Christmas too, but I'm not sure who loves it most. Coops or Uncle Tobes!

Queensland needs help

Queensland is a beautiful state in Australia. 


Where blue skies and sunny days rule. 
Where the white sandy beaches beckon locals and tourist alike.
Where the stereotypical Australian laid-back nature and care of others is commonplace.  


Much of Queensland is in a very different position tonight.
It is now a place where homes are fully submerged.
Where cars are piled against each other and buildings have become floating missiles down the swollen river.
Where roads are now rivers, and high hills, islands.
Where people have lost their lives.
Where many are missing, and many will not be found, after being caught up in floodwaters or being isolated.








It's all over the television.
It's all over the radio.
It's all over the newspapers.
It's too terrible to think about.


But we do have to think about it because people are in serious trouble. 
The ramifications of this flood will be long term.


We are making a donation, like so many other Australians, to the Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal. You can too. There is provision for Australian and International donors.


And you can pray for those in the thick of it.
For those who have lost their loved ones and their homes. 
May we never fully understand their burden. 

spicy meatballs with coconut noodles

Toby kindly gave me a subscription to Donna Hay Magazine for my birthday last year. I love Donna Hay! Her recipes are always quick and simple and include ingredients that I usually have on hand.

As part of my 31 before 31 list, I set a goal to cook at least one thing from each magazine. Last night I tried the spicy meatballs with coconut noodles, from Issue 54, Dec/Jan 2011. It was delicious and really easy to make- all in the wok.
Quick and tasty!
It isn't something that I will make regularly due to the coconut milk, but it will be a nice sometimes food I think. :)

Cha-cha-changes

I've been having a play on blogger today and I've added some pages and made it look a little different.
You won't notice this in a reader.
What do you think?

First roses from home.

If you've been following this blog for a while, you'll know how much I loved the roses at the old house.
I've missed not having them here. We have a few straggly, sick looking roses out the front. I know they will come good with a hard prune when the weather turns, and my mother in law has also promised to buy us some when the weather is right.

Today however, I went out the front and was surprised to find these 3 little fighters, who had survived and probably come out of the mess in this hot weather.

I think that they are beautiful and look gorgeous on the dinner table, just where I used to have them in the old house.

Ever had your nails done?

This reminds me of the cheap nail bars that I very occasionally visit. Too funny!

Valuing health

A dear friend of mine has had a very rough week. She's been in hospital for a full week, enduring lots of tests and some surgery. It was a pleasure to care for her daughter, M, as her mum underwent surgery on Friday and to spend time with her again today as mum was discharged and came home! Yay! We spent hours painting, reading, watching the ducks at the park and trying to make things as calm as possible for sweet little M, who has had what must be an unsettling week, even with her fantastic dad doing all he could to make things normal and many people loving on her.

It's made me reflect upon and consider once more a number of things...

~ that health is important.

~ how much we take it for granted.. 

~ that there is a special bond between old friends.
~ it is a privilege and an honor to care for others when they are most vulnerable.
~ it is precious to be loved by a child and to have them announce you as their friend.

These are all things that I knew before, but they've been at the fore of my mind this last week,
and I am grateful.

Busy night

Yep... it's been a busy night here.

Can you tell? ;)

Today's Letters

I must be the last to know about this blog.



They are a married couple who blog together. This is taken directly from their blog- Today's Letters" began on April 19, 2010 as a result of posting letters every day in my status updates on Facebook. After much encouragement from friends (and after picking up a few new ones along the way), I finally migrated all of my posts over to this blog (you can read them in the archives folder titled March 2010).


 I've had a little look around there today and read some of their posts. Some that held my attention for longer than others were this one, about 10 things that have made all the difference in their marriage, this one about questions they ask each other once a week and this one about a small metal box.


I'm looking forward to talking about them with Tobes and considering how we can borrow aspects for our marriage. 

Nyla

Nyla is a special pup, When she grows up, she will *hopefully* become a Customs sniffer dog. Her job will be to sniff out any illegal items that people try to bring into Australia.

She is currently fostered by a boy that I taught last year and his family.
Lucky for me, I will teach this boy again this year, and I will continue to have visits from Nyla.
In this very clear photo (ahem...), she is sitting on my knee for a cuddle. Do you think she likes me?! ;)

It took 5 days...

but I am now back up to date with Google Reader! :)

31 before 31

Hi everyone,

Yes I'm back! It's been a bit stop, start since 2011 begun, but I think that my posting will become more regular again now that Tobes is returning back to work and we're back in Melbourne. I do miss it.

Two blogs I follow belong to KP and Elsie. Each year, I've noticed that they make a list of goals or achievements that they'd like to see accomplished before their next birthday. I love this idea and have been toying with the idea of doing the same for some time. Seeing as I've now reached 30, I decided to make my own 31 list.  

Some things are everyday, 

others are a bit special, 

some are things I've been putting off for too long 

and others are just things I want to make sure we get to!

I'm looking forward to crossing them off.

Do you have a list like this too? I'd love to read yours.

Post a link in the comments if you'd like!