Gunna Girl

First, can I just say I was at odds as to how to spell 'Gunna' - 'Gonna'??? Went with phonetics. Please correct me if I am totally wrong.


I am a Gunna Girl. It is one of my worst traits and something I really try to curb.


I get grand ideas, get really passionate about something, make elaborate plans with the best intentions, then fail on the follow through. 


I have the most beautiful pile of fat quarter material sitting in the cupboard calling out to be made into a quilt - I went to the quilt shop, googled heavily, bought every quilting tool imaginable and now just occasionally stroke the pretty fabric.


I have piles and piles of scrap booking 'stash' - just waiting for me to bring my photos to life. I even promised one of my best friends a scrapbook album of her wedding photos - that never translated for her - something I am not proud of.


I was going to be a celebrant - researched it all, went gung ho at how I would design the website, how I would market it, what my niche would be - that idea has gone all but quiet.


I started talking up how I was going to do law when I finish my MBA - again researched thoroughly, spoke to heaps of people - now I have gone quiet on that one too.


I was always 'gunna' sponsor a child through World Vision. I talked about it, would often look it up, then something would come up, or I felt money was needed elsewhere at the time. My privileged life got in the way. That personality trait of mine disgusts me and makes me ashamed. 


We aren't well off by any means, but at the end of the day, we have enough money for our mortgage, clothes, holidays and not having to worry about where our next meal comes from.  Above all, we are fortunate to be able to take our safety for granted. There is no worry that we might be at risk of kidnap, that we wont be able to access medicine when we need it, or that our kids won't be able to receive an education.  Eden, one of the greatest Aussie bloggers has been in Niger for World Vision and has written brilliantly and with passion about what she has seen. She has inspired me to get off my butt and do something very simple and sponsor a child. 

I went to the World Vision website and was faced with thousand of children to choose from. I felt quite 'dirty' choosing as it felt like I was rejecting one child over another. I eventually used the selection criteria of 'Boy' and 'Aged 2', the same age as Master Z. The search gave me a little boy called Sidy from Senegal, so he is now our sponsor child. I can't wait to get the starter pack so I can read more about him, where he is from and what programs World Vision have in his area. I can't wait until Master Z is old enough that we can talk about where Sidy is from, what his life is like, so that he can begin to understand about the rest of the world and appreciate the easy, privileged life he has been blessed with.  


I am by no means patting myself on the back for donating to charity, but I am happy with myself that I finally followed through on one of my 'gunnas'. And I hope that I may even get around to that quilt!

Chantel x

Rollercoaster

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 My week has been a rollercoaster.

• New nephew arrived last week, that new baby smell makes my ovaries burst.
• News of friends' pregnancies makes me feel warm and fuzzy knowing that they are bringing another special version fo themsleves to the world
• A tinge of personal saddness, wanting it to be me in that position. Must keep my Pollyanna plaits firmly in place.
• Group of work colleagues have won a lotto 1st division - 10 of them sharing 1/19th of the jackpot - not "chuck in your job" life changing, but enough for them to have some breathing space and hopefully some fun - proof that real people can win lotto.
• A good friend's brother passed away on the weekend in tragic circumstances. My heart aches for her and I want to be able to take away her pain.

All these things make me so grateful for my journey of life and I will be giving my boys extra big hugs tonight.

So many things running through my head at the moment. So many happy things and also so much saddness. So many blog posts to write, but I can't get the words to form onto a page. I need to sit back, take stock and work out what I want to say.

Chantel x

Grateful for......Urrgghhh!

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I am so grateful my three bridesmaids when I got married did not organise a stripper for my Hen's Party.
I am glad they know me well enough to know I would have left the party rather than have to go through that.


I have never enjoyed strippers, no matter how drunk I am, I find it cringe worthy. This is no judgement against anyone that does enjoy them, I just get so embarrassed that it takes away any enjoyment. If the attention was directed towards me, I would find it terrifying and uncomfortable. I also just don't enjoy seeing naked guys - I find down to a nice pair of boxes very sexy - anything beyond just looks like Da Vinci's Anatomical Man.

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My attitude and lack of interest may have come about from the work I do. As an Occupational Therapist, I have seen so many naked men of all ages, sizes and colours in my working life, that I am just not interested. I will admit the majority I have seen are elderly - so I have a very good understanding of where things are heading. Maybe I am a prude and just not comfortable around things that overtly sexual, but then surely deep down I would enjoy it........Maybe I am just too old for this now - it true -most of the guys working now are "young enough to be my son" (if I had a son at 16 of course!)

I remember being dragged to see Manpower by one of my friend's when I was younger - I hated it. No matter how much I tried to get into it, I didn't enjoy it at all. The crowd was going feral for them - mainly women of cougar age. I didn't get the appeal. My friend has since come out and has married her wife, so I am not too sure how it affected her......

I have a Hen's Party to go to tonight and I am sure there will be stripper / strippers there. I will be the one cringing in the corner with my cocktail, just praying for it to be over quickly! 

Am I just a prude and in the minority? Do most women enjoy naked reviews?

I am linking up today with Maxabella's Grateful for...... linky. Head on over and see what others are grateful for today.

Chantel x

Grateful for Spring Picnics

   

Today was a wonderful spring day in Perth. The sun was shining, there was a gentle breeze and we went on a picnic! I love picnics, I always have. I have such fond memories growing up of our family picnics, which used to be the greatest adventures.


We attended TBone's company picnic at a local winery and the setting was magnificent. The grounds are immaculate and the grass runs for miles with beautiful, old trees providing much needed shade. There are several picnic benches and tables dotted around the grounds, but we were content with the good old picnic rug - which has seen better days - and camp chairs.

We ordered a wonderful platter of local produce and sampled the vineyards best wine. It was the perfect setting for a wonderful family day out and Master Z had the best time running away from me. Such a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon - bring on more Spring picnics!!!!

How did you spend Saturday in your neck of the woods?

Linking up with Maxabella's Grateful for.... hosted today by Sonia from Lioness Lady

Chantel x

Grateful for......

Today, I was going to write a post about birthdays, as it s TBone's birthday and we also have a 21st to go to tonight - and I LOVE birthdays.


I was in the shower getting ready, formulating what I was going to write, when it struck me that what I was really grateful for today, was hot showers. A hot shower, my one time of solitude and relaxation and the place I can process things and hear myself think.


So what I had planned, went out the window and the simple fact is that today, I am grateful for hot showers.

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Linking up with Maxabella's Grateful for... hosted today by Brenda at Mira Narnie. Head on over to check it out.

Chantel x

Today, I am Grateful for my Hairdresser

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I love my hair. I find it is my one redeeming feature. Even when I feel 'blah' about my weight, like I do  the moment, I have good hair. I am fortunate to have never really had a bad haircut either - well at the time, I thought the bleached blonde spiral perm I sported in 1993 rocked!

I always find a visit to the hairdresser solves my problems. If I get in a funk, I find a change of colour or a new style goes a long way to making me feel better. If I am ever at a cross roads with a big decision to make, I visit my hairdresser and the decision seems easier. If I am upset, a haircut makes the sun shine again. I don't know if it is the massage and attention to my head, the 'me' time,or the changed look that does the trick, but it always seems to work. 

I was a blonde until puberty, then became a murky baby poo dark blonde. I spent ages and a fortune trying to relive that colour, but have now resigned myself to dark brown and spend $11 once every six weeks with a 'do-it-yourself' dye. My hair has never been healthier!

I used to attend a fancy pants, super expensive salon, where I would spend the GDP of a small country to get a half head of foils done, but am very fortunate that the chick I saw there - super cool and very talented - has moved up the road into the back of a tattoo parlor and I gladly followed. Same service, one third of the price!!!

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I rarely have an actual hair cut - when I was trying to be blonde, it was probably cut every 18 months, just getting different amounts of foils at each visit. Then I had Master Z and I didn't even visit the hairdresser for 18 months! It was down to my bottom, dreadlocky and not healthy. I made the leap and got it cut in line with my scapulas 8 weeks ago. Tomorrow I am having it cut  again and may go shorter - maybe to sit on my clavicles. Never too short, my face is too round for that - the pixie look doesn't work on me. I have a wedding to go to, so even if it doesn't get cut, it is so nice to get a professional to style it instead of the hour and a half it takes me to blow dry it.

I love my hairdresser and I am so grateful she is amazing at what she does, she has great conversation and we share a birthday (albeit I am 10 years older!), so that must mean something!

Have you got a good relationship with your hairdresser? Have you ever had a dud haircut?

Today I am linking up with Maxabella's Grateful for... linky, being hosted by Kimmie at 'a day in the life of us' - Hello Kimmie! -waving .

Chantel x

Grateful for......

There are so many things to be grateful for the past week, I thought I would choose my top five:

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1. TBone - I am off on another manic venture in my quest for working out what I want to be when I grow up. This week, it is a solicitor and I have decided that once I finish my MBA next July, I am going to commence a postgraduate law degree. This will only work if I stop working part time and TBone is very supportive and happy to allow me to explore my dreams - probably because he knows next month I will come up with a new crazy plan. (but I think this one may be a goer:o))



2. My parents - they have been overseas for six weeks, arriving back on Tuesday and having them away for so long, made me realise how much they do for us, not only with Master Z, but just being there for a chat, or unwind.

3.  Birthdays - what started out as a shamozzle in my head, turned into one of the best birthdays a girl could ask for. When I stopped throwing a tantrum and took stock of things, slowed the pace down and accepted that not everything needs to go the way I planned to still be great, we had a lovely weekend. I also looked very ungrateful and can't believe that with all the terrible things people are going through in their lives, I felt the need to whinge about this.

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4. Our health - our house hasn't been well for the past 8 weeks, with one of us down with something or other each time. But the lurgys we have had are fleeting, symptoms controlled with paracetamol and rest. We are so fortunate to be healthy.


5. Wine - I love wine, I love white wine, I love red wine. Our quarterley wine club dozen arrived yesterday - nuff said!!!


What are you grateful for this week? 


Linking up with Maxabella's Grateful for Link

Pretty Lady

I am a slave to Princess K, but wouldn't change it for anything. She is our beautiful 3 year old Bernese Mountain Dog, who has brought so much to our lives.


We got her just after we moved into our first home. We wanted to practice our care skills on a puppy before we inflicted them on a child. She hasn't worked out too bad. Apart from the usual puppy mishaps, and few holes dug as a demand for a walk, she is well behaved and follows commands if she wants to.


Her nature and temperament is wonderful. She is a gentle giant - except for a tail that wags with enthusiasm with the power of a propeller. She has knocked Master Z over with it on several occasions and then shown a look of horror when she registers what she has done (well, what I perceive to be her look of horror.....) 


She is excitable and playful. She does the typical Berner thing of trying to get as close to you as possible, looking for pats. She will place her enormous paw on your feet and lean into you to let you know she loves you. She can be needy, but likes nothing more than to just know we are close. As long as we are in sight, she is happy.


She has a huge bark that fends off strangers - but in reality if anyone approached her, she would probably pee herself and run to the corner of the yard - hopefully no-one is ever willing to test that theory. I am pretty sure she would put herself in front of us if there was ever any trouble and she can look pretty menacing to those who don't know her.


When I had a miscarriage prior to Master Z, she knew we were sad, she was quiet and calm, not her usual boisterous self. She sat in the lounge next to me with her head on my lap as we cried over one of the most painful things we have had to deal with. She somehow knew and was there for us in the only way she knew how.

She is fantastic with children and likes nothing more than hugs and pats. She knows she is pretty and expects passers by to stop and comment and fawn over her. She looks put out if she gets ignored.


Not just a pretty face, but a beautiful nature also. We are so fortunate to have her in our lives. Today I am linking up with Maxabella for her Saturday Grateful for.......

Head over there to check out what others are grateful for on this beautiful day.

Chantel x