Ali J Art & Illustration

Oh Christmas Time!

We started to set up the Christmas tree, and I decided to decorate all my loved ones with tinsel.  =)

The bump is a watermelon

We've started photographing my baby bump.  It is amazing how quickly my body is changing, and I love the idea of having a visual diary of it.  Here I am this week at 22 weeks pregnant.  Past halfway!  I've only put on 5kg, which I'm quite surprised about because it feels like so much more.  I'm happy, I'm eating healthy, and I'm really pleased with how things are going.  I'm enjoying being pregnant.

I had a bit of a sore back today so I lay on my stomach for a short while whilst Mr R massaged me.  The first time I've lay on my stomach for weeks.  The whole time I felt like I was lying on top of a water balloon, and I felt a bit like an oompa loompa with a big roly poly belly!  It felt so weird.  I am now definitely carrying a watermelon and it is just such a surreal experience.

I'm keeping up with as much fitness as I can, I'm really enjoying it.  We found a new spot the other day to walk the dogs to.  Recent rains have resulted in a lake overflowing creating mini pools of water.  The dogs just adore playing there.  Cash spends the entire time retrieving huge sticks whilst Jem just chases him about.  They love swimming so much, I'm sure they were fishes in their past life!

 

See what I mean by a big stick?  This wasn't even the biggest!  We have no idea how he manages to pull them out of the water, but he loves it.  It is nice to see his obsession with tennis balls cease for a few minutes.

High School Reunion

Here I am in year nine.... what a dork!

Saturday night was my 10 year high school reunion.  It was such a strange and surreal experience, but I'm so glad that I went!  It was organised through facebook, and at first I only thought 30 or so people would attend, but in the end it was closer to 50.  (Out of a class of about 120.)  Some people brought partners, but most people came on their own (or with an old high school friend).

My pregnancy brain threw me off a bit and we got their quite early as I mixed up the starting times, but it was kind of cool to sit there and spot people as they entered the room.  We thought we'd be there for a very short time, but in the end I managed to make it to about 11.30pm until the baby became so active (the music woke it up) that it was sending me to sleep!!  A selection of people from every 'click' at school was there - the cool people, the dorks, the brains, and of course the quiet ones like me who didn't fit into any group in high school.  I remembered most people, unfortunately couldn't put a few names to faces.  It was great to hear what people were doing now in their lives.  I had no real shocks at all, everyone was doing what I guess I expected.  Some people were married and had kids, but most in general were still single.  I was the only noticeably pregnant woman there on the night, shocked some people with that, others didn't even realise.  Which was a compliment to me because my nice round plump belly keeps getting in my way!

My best friend was there, so that was comforting.  I didn't actively seek people out, I kind of moved around the room and stood in one group until they noticed me and then slipped into the conversation.  Then moved onto another group.  I'm really surprised how sociable I was, I think it helped drinking a few sugary soft drinks - they really calmed me down!  A lot of people there I'd already bumped into the past two years, but there were a few there who I hadn't seen, and was very happy that I did!  There were three ex boyfriends there in total which was super surreal, I only spoke to one of them, but that was the first time I'd seen him in many years so it was nice to see that he was happy.

A lot of the guys had aged beyond their years with receeding hairlines, thinning hair, some with grey hair.  What I noticed most of all though was how tall some people were.  When you are in high school you have such a different perception of eachother and the world.  It really is an interesting moment when you all meet again as adults and see eachother for what we really are.  So many people hadn't changed one bit.  I do like that now the 'click' barriers had fallen and everyone was happy to chat to one another without prejudice.  I was even surprised when a number of the cool people knew my name and said hello - I never knew that any of them though I existed!

If you ever get the chance to go to a school reunion, embrace it.  It was a strange and surreal experience but it was also one of those pivotal moments in life that you can never relive.  You'll be surprised by the friendships that are relit after such a long time as though you'd never been apart.  Oh, and the enemies you still don't like and refuse to talk to.  LOL.

Current State of the Economy

When I tell people I have my own business some of the most frequent comments I get are "wow, you must be rich", "it must be so easy to work for yourself" or "surely anyone can sell their artwork, it can't be that hard?"

Ha, far from it.  Working for myself has been one of the biggest challenges of my life.  Sure, I am my own boss.  However that means I also have extra responsibilities.  My official title according to the tax office is freelance illustrator.  In reality I am the boss, bookkeeper, administration, accountsperson, promotion manager, staff member, checkout chick, designer, factory worker.... this list goes on.  I am the one who comes up with the idea, creates the artwork, reproduces it into a product - which I create with my own hands, promotes the product and then makes it available for sale to either a store, market or exhibition.  Oh and by the way I'm also supposed to turn the clock off everyday and have a real life, which of course rarely happens.

You hear on the news all the time about people losing their jobs and so many people say to me I'm lucky because no matter what I can keep my job.  Well, yes and no.  Whilst I may have this business at the end of the day it needs to make money to pay bills and everyone is affected by the global financial crisis.  No-one more so then those who own small businesses.

I hear a lot of other designers & creators complain about how the state of the economy is affecting their business.  How they are making nothing at a market, or barely their stall fee back.  How no-one is buying their $350 necklace or $1200 dress.  Sure, I know my paintings aren't going to race out the door considering they are a 'luxury' item and most people are only spending money on necessities.  But that is the reality of the day.  I know I have to change my business to reflect the economy if I'm going to survive it.

We can't all go to a market and walk away $5000 richer at the end of the day otherwise we'd all be working in this job.  We work hard, we don't always reap financial rewards, but in times like this we have to think outside of the box.  Use the time to work on new products, improve current products, discontinue lines and even evaluate what we are doing and why.  I know many people this year whose businesses have completely changed from one genre to another.  There is a reason businesses fail and anyone who goes into business to purely make money won't remain afloat for long.  Personally I run this business because I absolutely adore it.  I enjoy interacting with customers, seeing people walk down the street wearing my artwork and flipping open a newspaper to see one of my products on a store shelf!  I also enjoy the many daily challenges that are thrown my way.

What has been disappointing for me in regards to markets is the low numbers of attendance.  Of the past five markets that I've participated in, crowds have barely been 1/10th of their expectations.    These markets were a mix of everyday markets & designer markets spread out across Perth.  I can understand that everyone is strapped for cash, but when you see people racing out of Myer with arm fulls of bags, or Target with trolleys full of products and laybying multiple flat screen televisions it does leave you to question things.

1. Are there too many markets in Perth?
2. Is designer & handmade not good enough? 
3. Is a bag from Myer really better then a bag by *** sold at a market - even if they are exactly the same?  The only difference is that one is from a retail store and the other straight from the designer?
4. Is supporting independent businesses and locally handmade ever considered by those shopping?  Do you check where your items are made/come from?  Do you care?
5. Has anyone started Christmas shopping yet?

I'd love your feedback on those questions and even what you think about buying from independent designers like myself.

To show you just how much markets have changed around Perth and the crowds another designer Jane organised a photo of the PICA car boot sale to compare it from 2007 to the event in 2009.

Now, how is that for a comparison?

How can we keep markets alive in Perth and keep designers within Western Australia?

Green Thumbs

We are trying more and more each day to be as organic & environmentally happy as possible in our everyday lives.  We  exercise, we walk wherever we can, we recycle, we use fresh fruit & veg, we use as little processed foods as possible, we use organic bath & body products and try to buy secondhand when we need clothes or furniture. 

Something that we've really been enjoying at the moment is gardening our own food to eat.  We use organic compost, our own homemade compost and our worm farm.... and our plants are growing like crazy!  I can't wait until we have produce we can use in our meals.

Mr R staking up the peas.

 

Pumpkin grown from seeds (they sprouted in our compost!!)

Mmmm.... lettuce in all shapes and sizes.

Strawberries

Runner beans flowering

Runner beans flowering again.

Mr R staking up the runner beans.  Look how high they are getting!  I love having them outside my kitchen window, they provide a welcome sight each night when we cook & clean.

 

Sweet potatoes growing wild and crazy!

Our temporary vegetable garden.  Everything is in pots as we are expecting to move in the next few months and want to take our garden with us.  It is also hidden around the side of the house where my crazy vegetable obsessed dogs can't get to them!

Tomatoes.

Doesn't the sight of it all just make your tummy grumble?  I just adore seeing all the fresh food.  I don't have any pregnancy cravings for a certain type of food, rather I just want a certain texture.  The crunchier, juicer and fresher the food = the better!  I absolutely love munching on salad right now.  Yum, yum, yum!

365 Day Project - Day 162

Wow, I can't believe I'm already 162 days into my "365 day project".  It's been 105 days since I last blogged about what I've been up to with my business so I thought it was time for a bit of a round up.

Business Update

Christmas orders have started to flood in, so I'm on overdrive at the moment.  Luckily I'm now 5 months pregnant (as of this Saturday) so my energy levels have returned enough to cope with it all.

I'm working on a whole range of different projects at the moment, all with rush deadlines, all due to be completed within the next 2-4 weeks.  The great thing is that now I'm getting a whole variety of projects to work on and keep driving my illustrations to the next level. 

When I think of client jobs I will admit I do have a bit of a chuckle.  Just after I started illustrating back in 2007 I applied to various illustration agencies at the time and was told that they couldn't take me on because they didn't think I'd be able to get client jobs.  Well Mr Agencies.... look at me now!   I absolutely love client jobs/commissions.  (BTW - Applying to illustration agencies is once again in my future sights, but I've decided I'm going to wait for the baby to come first)

So.... I'm currently working on the following projects -

• CD Design
• Poster design for a series of community art courses
• Commissioned painting for a wedding gift
• 3 x character illustrations for a lifestyle website
• 3 x dating illustrations for a dating website
• wholesale orders
• proper multiple page spread & interview for a major magazine (eep!)
• graduation show

+ more jobs not yet finalised.....

I am a little bit panicked at being so busy during peak market season, I think I've got 12+ markets before January already!  I don't want to cut back on them though as this will be the last few months I'm going to do markets for a significant period of time.  Our aim is to earn as much as we can through the business so we can put as much $$ aside as possible for the baby.

My aim for the next few weeks is just to work, work, work and keep the flow going.  I've got so many plans for the future but until I know where life is heading, I don't want to overplan the business.

But great news - I've been accepted into the Life In Style trade show next year!!  My first trade show, and I'm super excited.  =)

Life Update

In 5 weeks time both myself and Mr R graduate from our studies.  Hooray!  Our plan once that has finished is to take a few days off housesitting to recharge before throwing ourselves into work again.

The downfall is that because our studies finish, so does our financial support from the government.  I won't be able to get help again until I give birth, Mr R's income from the army stops as well (they go on holiday) so it will be an interesting time relying completely on me and the magical artwork I can create.  He's applying for jobs in the interim period, but no-one seems to want to hire anyone right now.

We have our 20 week ultrasound booked for next week that we are SO excited about.  I can't believe we are already 1/2 way through the pregnancy.  Oh, speaking of halfway Mr R and I have our 6 month anniversary on Thursday night.  We are going to go out for a meal, so exciting!

We're just impatiently waiting now to discover if Mr R has a job teaching next year, and where that may be.  As soon as we find that out we'll organise a house, move into it, then set ourselves up.  I'm hoping that can be done in January as I'm not keen to move during the hottest month of the year - February where temperatures often sit at 40 degrees+.  Yuck!

Pregnancy wise everything is going great.  I have very little problems, just little niggly things that remind me of what I'm going through.  I feel like a dried out shell everynight.  I can't drink enough water and my skin, mouth and nose are bone dry.  I'm affected quite badly by hayfever at the moment, first time in my life.  My record of sneezing so far has been 21 sneezes in a row!  Other then that I've been keeping my fitness up by both walking and swimming - sometimes laps in the pool, other days in pregnancy fitness classes.  I really really miss exercising stronger, and I've been aching to run up and down sand dunes.  Of course I can't, so I'll just have to wait a bit longer.  Oh, and I've started to waddle.  But don't stare!  LOL

Last of all, I just wanted to share a sneek peek with you about an upcoming exhibition I've got one work in.  I really wanted to do more works for it, but had a reality check that time just isn't on my side.  This exhibition revolves around fairytales.  The story I was given is "Puss In Boots".  So here is a sneak peek.... when the exhibition opens I'll show you the full image and the story behind it.

Sneak Peek - "A Gift For The King"

Here is the exhibition poster.  It's been getting a lot of press, and it has been so exciting to see my name everywhere (including a mention in the latest Frankie magazine!)

So I hope your day has been going well.  Hopefully I can pop back onto here quicker next time with plenty of new things to finally share!

Life is great

The past few weeks have been fantastic.

• Mr R has officially moved in.... now this place really feels like home!
• Mr R insists that the cat is the devil (her eyes), and was so proud he took a photo of her that turned out to "prove" it (above)
• I've finally got a good internet connection back after watching too many episodes of the final season of ER (Whoops!)
• I've only got about 6 weeks left of my art course before I graduate and finally have a couple of artworks finished for it
• I'm now 16 weeks pregnant and totally LOVING it!
• Mr R has finished all his exams & assignments and only has prac in a school (he's a secondary school teacher) for a few weeks before he graduates

I'm a very happy girl right now.  I'm feeling the passion for my art coming back to me (finally!) and can start seeing the future again.  It is such a nice feeling to feel like everything has happened this year for the right reason and great to finally feel truly happy.  =)

Pet Hate For The Day

Today I just want to rant.

I'm so sick of being signed up to company "mailing lists" without being asked or opting to do so myself.  It totally turns me off any business that does it and I refuse to shop with them or visit their stores.  Now I'm finding it isn't just the big companies doing it, it's the little independent crafters/designers as well.   (Who get so upset when I want off their list)

Why do it?  Doesn't anyone find it impolite?  At least at home I can choose to put up a 'no junk mail' sign on my letterbox to prevent the spam, but how do you stop others putting you on their mailing lists?  How can you politely tell them you simply aren't interested?

Is it just me or does it irritate you too?

An excited mum!

I can't help myself, I'm so excited at knowing it won't be too long before I'm a mum.  We've worked out that we are now already 1/3 of the way along in pregnancy!  Woohoo!

So, I'm going to gush and show off for a few moments.  We had our ultrasound scan on Wednesday and were delighted to see our baby.  We had no idea how 'real' it would look - to think it is only just over 7cm long!  The baby moved and wriggled and bounced all over the place.   The only downfall to the whole experience is that Mr R thinks the person who did our ultrasound let it slip whether we were having a boy or a girl.  Something we wanted to keep a surprise.  At least we've got a few more months to go yet before we find out whether she did or not!

It isn't super clear but the baby has its hands up beside its head on either side.  It was doing what Ryan does all the time - stretching its hands up & then arching its back.  Freaky!

Nurse Ali

The past few weeks have not been good health wise.  I've only had morning sickness for about 2 weeks so far - but when I did I had it 4-5 times a day and had to spend most of that time on the couch dozing off.  Since then I've been utterly and completely exhausted. Unable to draw, to think, to create, to do anything really.  I've had urgent work to do but just physically haven't been able to finish it.  A first for me, and certainly a learning experience. 

Then Mr R was sick with the flu and we tried our best to stay away from eachother until he was better.  Unfortunately we broke our 'curfew' a few days earlier then planned and I became sick with the flu.  Which was not a good thing because I'm pregnant and I'm choosing to go all natural with everything until I give birth.  That means no medication and no panadol which means very little relief to what I've been used to in the past.  So for the past two weeks I've been coughing so much I coughed my voice away for a week and my permanent spot in the house was wrapped up in a blanket on the couch.  Mix in pregnancy hormones and there were plenty of coughing/crying/no sleeping moments.  Disaster!

All I can say now is thankfully the sickness has passed.  I'm starting to feel a little more alive which is nice.  I'm now officially 12 and a half weeks pregnant and things are looking brighter.  I've got energy, I don't feel so exhausted, I'm not hurting as much as I did.  I never realised how painful/awkward/uncomfortable pregnancy was until I started reading all the pregnancy books and then experiencing it.  Now I'm starting to get over all the 'sicknesses' and starting to enjoy my ever growing bump which is nice!  I still don't feel inclined to do anything creative though.  So I've been spending my time cleaning, rearranging the house and finishing off odd jobs, some that are years old.  It is nice to catch up.

We've been picking up bits and peices for the nursery, but at the moment everything is going straight into storage.  Our plans next year are to move to the country so Mr R can get a job as a secondary school teacher and we can live the country lifestyle for a few years until we decide where we want to settle down.  We both grew up in country lifestyles and miss it, so we are very keen for the change.  Until then though the house is absolute chaos as we've got excess furniture, boxes, baby items, and unwanted goods strewn everywhere.  We're selling everything we can on eBay or at swapmeets, but it just feels strange to have so much in limbo.  We find out in a few weeks where in the country Mr R will be offered as a job, so we are super excited.

Other then recovering from being sick I haven't been doing a lot.  The markets last weekend weren't too bad except that I was sick during them and the weather was terrible.  Photos to come of that soon.  First time I've displayed all my new packaging together - it looked great!

This week I've been taking care of one of my dogs Jem.  When we went for a walk on Monday she ripped both of her paws up on some concrete, so I've been nursing her back to full health.  The poor thing could barely walk and had to be carried around a lot.  She's so cute in these pictures - and a big sook!  To help relieve walking on her feet I had to put something on them that she wouldn't be able to pull off that would still pad them.  Lucky for us we had some spare padded baby shoes.......

 

She didn't like that she was captured on camera though!

Exciting News!!!

OK, I can't hold it in anymore.  I can't stand to keep secrets.

I'M PREGNANT!



That is right, Mr R and Ali J are having a baby!  =)

Now if anyone told me a few months ago this would happen, I would have laughed so hard it would have hurt.  But here we are, it's happened and we are SO excited!!  It wasn't planned, so I will admit that it has been quiet a shock & and something to get used to.  Now a few weeks have passed we are getting used to the idea, and can't wait for the future!  Spending the rest of our lives together was obviously just meant to be!  (Not that we doubted it, we've barely spent a day apart from another since we met!)

Little Possum is due March 31st, 2010.  Although Mr R wants it to be born on April 1st so that it will be an April Fools Day baby.  LOL.  So I'm currently 8 weeks, and whilst I know that is still a few weeks early before the general 'telling everyone' time, I'm showing considerably and it is no longer something that I can hide.  None of my clothes fit, I've gained 13cm on my waist in FIVE days!  (Or should I say - what waist?)  I think I look about 3-4 months already!  But no we are not having twins - thank goodness!!

So that is the reason why I've been quite ill these past few weeks - exhausted, not motivated, and generally just trying to get my mind into gear!  I've been getting morning sickness 3-4 times a day but I've learnt it is brought on my motion & heat, so I'm staying cold and keeping travel to a minimum.  To keep myself & the baby safe I've had to cut back on a lot of the business for the next few months, hence the cancellation of my solo exhibitions.  I will still be running the business but it is strange that now my priorities have had to shift to the baby first and I have to be sensible.

It's going to be an exciting next few months, and an incredible year next year!

I'm going to be a MUM!!

Stepping Back

So you've most likely noticed that I've disappearred a bit lately.  Unfortunately I've been a bit sick, and struggling to keep up with everything.  In fact I can say that I haven't been keeping up with most things and have made a decision to cut back.  Afterall my health must be the top priority.

So with great dismay I must announce that both of my solo exhibitions this year have been cancelled.  I've also withdrawn from a couple of smaller group shows.  I will still be participating in a number of market stalls for the remainder of the year thanks to the assistance of friends & family but I won't be taking on any new projects.  Of course my products will still be available in retail stores and I have a whole range of client jobs that I'm finishing up and I can't wait to see the end products of.  But in regards to the remainder of the year it is time for me to scale back and concentrate on the simple things - painting & creating, until I feel healthy again.

Thankyou for your support.  xox

Mystery Holiday = Cervantes

I've returned from my mystery holiday and WOW what a wonderful experience!

Mr R is brilliant.  I don't want to be anywhere else other then by his side.  Across the holiday we spent no more then about an hour apart - it was wonderful!

So...... a recap.....

We went to Cervantes.  He admitted it in the car ride on the way to the destination when he accepted we were lost and he needed my help to get there.  Ha ha!  Funny thing is I'd been guessing for weeks where he was taking me and Cervantes was the first destination I guessed when the only keyword was "North" so I was pretty proud of myself.



Cervantes is a pretty isolated destination.  It is a beachside community surrounded by National Park - and of course the beach!  Here Mr R and I stood up on a lookout overlooking the land for miles.  It was scenic - and incredibly windy!



Pristine beaches.  On this day we hiked along the beach for 7 hours and didn't encounter a single person.



We came across these amazing sand dunes and of course the inner child in me insisted on sliding down them....



We had cosy accomodation in a campervan.  (Yes - that is two single beds you see! Which of course meant super cosy nights on one of the beds when you wanted to watch a movie!!)



Mr R is a brilliant cook and cooked our dinner most nights.  We ate really well considering we were on 'rations' and only cooked inside the campervan with the equipment we were given.  This night we had pasta.

Funny thing with the food is that meat was super expensive.  500 grams of chicken was $22 (I'd hate to think what beef or lamb was!).  We ended up buying a small pack of a different type of chicken and then rationed ourselves to 2-3 mini chicken bits each night for a few nights.  The rest of the time we ate lots of rice, pasta, vegetables and egg.  It was quite enjoyable actually!  I'm so glad we shopped for food at home before travelling - especially as we were on such a tight budget!



We did lots of day trips.  This day we went to Greenough - a settlers village from 1860.  It was incredible and had a school, a jail, a police station, settlers quarters, shop, 2 x churches, an orphanage and a lot more.  All within a short walk.  I'd highly recommend it to anyone - they setup all the vintage equipment and you could touch/use anything you wanted.  Mr R and I just happened to get there at a time when no-one else was there and we were completely in our elements.



Everyday the weather and landscape changed dramatically.  So beautiful!



On one of our day trips we went past a wind farm which was an incredible sight.  So futuristic and unusually quiet.



Mr R and I decided to take a picture together in the gardens at New Norcia - a settlement of Spanish monks.



Of course a lot of you may not know the name Cervantes, but it is famous for one particular thing.  The Pinnacles.  I've seen a lot of pictures, and heard a lot of things, but nothing - absolutely nothing - prepared me for the experience.  It had an aura, a feeling that just took my breath away and warmed my heart.  Only a few of the Pinnacles (rocks) are beyond people height, most come up to the waist.  There is a walk path and a drive track that takes you through them and personally I think they are too 'tourist' affected.  Footprints everywhere, tourists everywhere, cars every few moments.  It would be nicer if it could be appreciated for the natural wonder it is.

We stayed for a few hours in the end, and just enjoyed the magic walking through them!



Overlooking the Pinnacles.  As you can see they go on for a short distance.  They literally are in a desert in the middle of bushland - a national park.  Oh - and how blue is the sky??  Who would have thought that we were smack bang in the middle of winter?



Now Mr R likes to make me laugh, and has a great sense of humour.  On this day he was channelling his 'funny' side and decided to pull faces on all of our photos.  Classic!

 Of course much more happened on the holiday then I could photograph.

We went on daytrips to Geraldton, New Norcia & Moora.  We also stopped off at many little places along the way to check out tourist spots, lookouts, nibble some food go to historical sites.  We also did homely stuff in the caravan - cooking, cleaning, relaxing.  We also rode our bikes around a lot & hiked.  On the second last day I accomplished a 60km bike ride to Jurien Bay!!  I'm SO proud of myself.

Of course a holiday isn't real until something goes wrong.  We lost the petrol cap to our car,  Mr R's LCD screen cracked and my hairdryer blew up - flames and all.  Good thing though was that it only rained for 1 day and 2 nights the whole time we were away - which was great!!  It certainly didn't feel like winter.  Although I noticed it when the temperature got down to zero on most nights.  A great time to snuggle under a blanket, but awful when you have to run outside at 1am in the morning to go to the toilet!  Another strange moment was showering in the communal shower block in thongs.  Weird.

You know they say bad things always come in three?  Well, I disagree.  I'm leaving the best for last.  One night I was sitting on the bed chatting to Mr R who was facing me.  I felt something crawling down my arm and looked at it, thinking it was a little spider.  Upon closer view I realised it was a tick and checked with Mr R, who agreed with me.  So I freaked out, disposed of it and we continued chatting.  Half an hour later I felt crawling again, this time on my neck.  I pulled it off, looked at Mr R in complete panic, and showed him (and of course killed that one too.)  He looked at me and simply said "I think we've got to check you, I think you may have ticks".  I really freaked out after he said that and it was a miserable experience as we quickly found ticks embedded in our skins - I had 6 and he had 2.  We'd received them from one of our hikes through the bush that day.  Thankfully we could pull them off us, but unfortunately they are still itching, have turned to welts and I wake up most nights with nightmares that they are crawling over me!  yipes!

Overall though it was a brilliant holiday. 



I'm looking forward to many more holidays and so very, very happy.  As Mr R said, it is no longer R or Ali.  From this day on, we are one, forever.

Awww............ xox

Homely days and warm nights

The weekend is over, and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.  Mr R and I had a great time doing homely things.



We went to watch my neice Sophia in her dancing class.  She turns 3 soon, she's the one in the black and silver striped jumper.  She was wearing the most adorable heart stockings, and had a blast.  I beamed from ear to ear the whole time so proud of her!

In the remaining time we ran a few errands and whilst they'd be so boring on our own, they became fun because did them together.  Our first stop was to stock up on winter clothing at secondhand shops, which was an absolute blast.  I've got lots of snuggly jumpers, new t-shirts and even a dress.  Mr R found some great jackets, t-shirts, pants, and even some scarves!  Now we won't freeze when we go on our holiday in just over a weeks time - spending a few days in a caravan in the middle of winter.  I can't wait!!

Other then that we stocked up our homes with plenty of great tasting groceries and because we had to much fresh food we then proceeded to spend Saturday night cooking up a storm.  I cooked chicken spaghetti bolognaise, chicken lasagne, cheese, spinach & tomato quiche, as well as vegetables (potato & pumpkin).  My intention was to cook up a load of food to then freeze for future meals.  Yum!  It was so much fun, we really enjoy cooking together.  Plus, to make it even more fun we turned the radio on and tuned into the party mix station.  Then spent the rest of the night feeling like we were at a disco, singing a bit, and (he won't admit it) even dancing a tiny bit.  So much more fun then watching a television.

Then last of all.......



Mr R surprised me by cooking up some Mulberry Crumble!  Doesn't it just look amazing?  Yum!

Translators gone wacky

I'm a bit tired right now, trawling the net and just checking on stuff.  Anyway, came across a recent post from my blog very badly translated on some other page.

Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha

I haven't laughed so much in a very long time.

So, here you go -

It sounds charming. I took a affected to tinkle a guardian angel and thrash alibi a capability contract. However instanter I’m distracted, and carry out forcefully b energetically on more stressed. I basic to cover these ’til jobs/exhibition dispose finished and alibi the door so I can brazen up my cancel from the mind to improvise of concepts all over additional dispose. Somehow we both came to the purposefulness that we had to plug up working and invest the darkness eating a advantageous go too far and fitting relaxing in beginning of the TV.

Still distracted I called Mr R, fitting to witter it alibi, he’s as stressed as me (studying to be a doctor & he is on a 3 week prac teaching in a school). Even allowing we both had so much dispose and stern deadlines. So we initiate ourselves a hornet’s nest. Well, exceptional sufficiency I finished the two paintings with formerly to award.

We had 2 hours to wrap up dispose of all our ’til jobs all over the darkness, and then we could let go. I had no formerly to improvise or tergiversate about what I was doing, I fitting had to go on a pub-crawl it alibi. Paint it alibi I did, and the charming happened in a wink again. Still stressed allowing about my critique/assesment tomorrow. I fitting fervour both of the artworks! Even had sufficiency formerly to go on a pub-crawl them multiple times and communicate with hanging implements on them. At least I’ll cover a advantageous go too far into me.