The Beginning

Here is the Who, What, Where, When and Why of this blog


WHO

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I am a 34 year old mother of an 18 month old son. Wife of TBone (he's wanted that nickname since he was little, surprisingly it hasn't stuck (ha ha), so I thought I would give him his glory on these pages!). I am an Occupational Therapist by trade, work three days a week and I am almost at the end of completing an MBA.

I said I would be honest on these pages, and I have already broken that promise by using a cartoon image of myself - if only I looked like that picture, but it is missing the wrinkles, the bags and the double chin. I hope over the next few months I will have the confidence to change that image to the real me.

I love my life, I love my family and my friends. We lived in Leeds, UK, for 7 years, working and travelling, before coming back home and settling down in Perth. The time away certainly solidified what is most important in our lives.

I love cooking, eating, the outdoors, wine and a good book. I try to be generous, giving and reliable. I know my short comings include procrastination, I don't suffer fools, can be very negative about myself (to make sure I beat other people to it) and I am the most untidy person you will meet - the house often has what I like to call a "lived in" look going on. I also have a tendency to use apostrophes and commas in inappropriate places, so I apologise in advance for this. I must admit that I also tend to use exclamations!!!!!!!!! and emoticons sneak in every now and then without me really noticing :o)

WHAT

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I am not really a journal person, so I want this to be a good record of how things are in my life  and the world around me. The posts will be about me, my family, parenting, travelling, friendship and things that take my fancy. I will, on occasion, be self indulgent and I also want to use this as a place to store posts/letters to my son so in years to come he will have a record of what his life was like.

I am about as funny as a wet fish, so there will be feeble attempts at humor - just watch the tumble weeds go by! 

WHERE

I live in Perth and am not ashamed to admit I love it. Of all the places in the world we have been, this is definitely home and one of my favorite cities. It might not have the grandeur or history of some European cities, but I see it as an emerging hub of very clever people. We have amazing artists, designers, talented chefs and business minds. It may be because I am a country girl, so am easily dazzled, but I find there is no end of things happening in this city if you look for them. The "Dullsville" tag may have been appropriate 10 years ago, but the life that is coming from the city now is exciting.

I am currently writing this on my bed. We have a terrible internet set up, so this is the only option. I am in the process of cleaning out the junk room to make it into an office and a play room. At the moment it looks like this: 

The hope that in two weeks when my holiday has finished, I will be at a desk, sitting on a chair, hopefully using a computer that is utilising a wireless connection - just go to get myself sorted! I also want it to be a space that Master Z can have his table and chairs and blackboard so he can be close while I work. 

WHEN

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I am putting it out there that I will post three times a week at minimum. I will post Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and will aim to post something frivolous each weekend. I would hope that this will increase in the future, but I need to set low targets for myself to make sure I meet them, or I will throw a tantrum and give up :o) 

WHY

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Since going back to work I have found there has been no time to read any books (mainly as I am not a chapter a night girl, if I read a book, I read it cover to cover and the world around me has to stop). So to quench my thirst for stories, I have been reading blogs. I love reading about people's lives and views and reading the blogs I follow each morning and evening, fills the void that a good book would usually fill.  

This month, I am turning 35 and the last few weeks have been the first time I have been thinking that I am getting old. In my head I am 26 and will stay there for a few more years, but I think hitting 35 is making me stop and evaluate things about what I have done, where I have been and who I am - and what I want out of the next 35 years. Writing things down is the best way for me to get clarity, always has been.

For this reason, I thought I would have a go at blogging, mainly to keep a written record of our life, but also as a way to improve my writing skills. 

And all the cool kids are doing it :o)

So that's a snapshot of things, I look forward to hearing from anyone that may cross my path, please comment - mainly to furnish my need for instant feedback, but also to let me know your thoughts on whatever happens across my page.

Chantel x

(and I promise posts from here on in won't be so 'wordy')