Dear Puff Pieces

Dear Puff Pieces,

I feel I have been neglecting you of late, so I thought I would write you a little note to let you know what has been happening.

So what has been happening? Well that’s a really good question. In a way quite a bit, and in a way not much really! Here are a few things in no particular order as to why you may be feeling unloved of late.

• My brain is seriously consumed with all things baby. Most of the time therefore spent on the computer is looking at baby stuff. (Hello eBay, I love you).
• I’ve been ‘working’ from home. This has been slightly harder than I expected to get into full swing. See previous point. But I’m slowly getting through the work before bub arrives!
• Nesting, nesting, nesting. Everytime I sit down at the computer I look around and get fixated on another cupboard that I could be cleaning out. My thinking here is that I should clean before blog while I can still move around relatively easy!
• We got Foxtel. Yes I’m sorry my lovely pretty pink blog, I have been neglecting you to watch crazy American teenage mums, and Bridezilla’s lose the plot instead of devoting time to you and thinking of clever and witty things to share with the world.

So there you have it, my excuses. Can you forgive me? I do promise to type all my travel stories before bub arrives, because after bub arrives, Lord knows I’ll have a whole other list of excuses for neglecting you. And yes I’m afraid, the list will still probably contain Foxtel, unless of course the novelty has worn off by then. Oh, yes and the fact that I’ll be a first time mum.

Thanks for your understanding Puff Pieces.

Your neglectful owner,
Ami.

Choosing baby names.

Choosing a name for your baby is a huge responsibility. Ginormous in fact. This is the name that your future child will have For. The. Rest. Of. Their. Lives. Yeah, no pressure at all!

When Hubby and I were on our way to pick up our new puppy from the RSPCA, we literally decided in about 2 minutes that he was going to be called Jack. That was seriously the quickest thing we’ve ever agreed on. That, and I’m the best wife in the world. No arguments there. Smart boy. Anyway, sorry, I digress.

So Jack was Jack in a heartbeat, but when it comes to naming an actual human being it’s quite a different story. Like most girls I picked future baby names out long ago, just like we start planning our weddings when we’re about 10 years old.

In the first few weeks of being pregnant I of course instantly started running some of my baby names past Hubby to guage how many of my negotiating skills I was going to have to call on to get my own way. Let’s just say I thought I was going to have to pull out everything I’ve got, as in a heartbeat most of my girl faves were met with the reply, NO, and I don’t think so. It goes something like this:

Me: What about Audrey*?
Hubby: No.
Me: But….
Hubby: (Butting in), I said no.
Me: Well what about Ingrid*?
Hubby: Definitely No. And then some explicitives about bad that name is, and how our child will be teased in the playground.

See what I’m up against! The other problem I’m having, as if a disagreeing Husband wasn’t enough, is that I’m really really crap at making decisions. That’s right, I’m a Libra! I can’t decide what to have for breakfast on the best of days let alone name another human being! If I had to name a baby 10 years ago it would have been Lili or Olivia for a girl and probably Brandon for a boy. I still love the girls names, but not really the boy’s name. So what happens in another 10 years time. Will I still like the names I gave my children? Oh, the drama of it.

Initially it seemed that boys were easier to name than girls. We, well I, had boy’s names coming out of my ears, and for the most part we tended to agree. But coming up with girls names? Well I’d rather try and cut my dogs toenails! Having said that we’ve now probably got 3 boys names and 2 girls names which is making choosing a girls name much easier! Oh how the tables have turned!

I’m thinking though that at 24 weeks Hubby’s just getting warmed up with his opinion! I’m sure he’s got a secret list stashed somewhere.

How did you choose your child/children’s names? Did you just know, or was it a hard decision?

*Not the real names. Names for demonstration purposes only.

'There's no place like home' ~ Dorothy

I promise I’ll get back blogging soon, with plenty of travel adventure stories! Right after I clean my teeth with tap water, have a sleep in my own bed and smother my dog with kisses and cuddles!

I have to post a photo from my computer library and talk about it. The best bit is I don’t have to sit here agonising over which one as the decision has already been made! It has to be the tenth photo in my library.

Here are the (official) instructions:

1. Open the first/oldest photo folder in your computer library

2. Scroll to the 10th photo

3. Post the photo and the story behind it

4. Tag 5 or more people to continue the thread

So here’s my pic. It’s in Hobart and the year was 2007. Hubby had given me a digital camera for Christmas that year but for some reason I didn’t use it on Christmas Day! Anyway, there’s me, Clo and Jen at about 6am on the morning of the 30th December. We’d been up all night, literally sitting on the dock since about 2am waiting for our other halves to come sailing in, in the Sydney-Hobart yacht race!

Me, Clo, Jen

Us girls flew down on the 27th and had a few days of shopping, eating and drinking before greeting the boys and then jumping back on a plane to Sydney that afternoon! It was a great trip, and the atmosphere is great fun in Hobart. I remember the first pub we went to after the boys arrived and my shoes kept sticking to the floor from all the rum! Good times!

So now it’s my turn to pass it on, so without doubling up here’s my picks…

Ellen at The Spice Rack

Belinda at An Account of Social Commentary

Bern at So Now What?

I’d say don’t eat too much chocolate but that wouldn’t be any fun now would it!

Catch you all next week. xx

Agent 99

I borrowed this from Megan over at Writing Out Loud! And now have the song “99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer….”

Anyway enough about beer, here’s how this 99 things thing works:

Just copy and paste these 99 things onto your blog and bold the things you HAVE done… here are mine:

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to DisneyWorld

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris (will be there again in about 3 weeks! Yippeeee!)

13. Watched a lightning storm

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child (No but adopted a fur-child, (puppy) if that counts!)

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill?(and put on the fake sick voice…)

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (No, but hopefully will in a few weeks!!)

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (England)

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theatre

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a cheque

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Got a tattoo

94. Had a baby (Not yet come back in October!)

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

Wanker drivers speeding through school zones, horrible people just having no regard for other people’s property in general and worse other people’s lives.

Then last week what some would think was a very minute thing happened that made me smile. A short little message on Twitter from my ‘online’ friend Jodie that said: “Say hi to bubs from Aunty Jodie for me, ok? x”

You see I’ve never met Jodie in the sense of we’ve never met in real life. We met online through our blogs. I know that Jodie is a wonderful Mum to 3 boys, is actively involved with their school. And writes beautiful and funny posts which I look forward to reading every day. And while all this happens online, I feel like Jodie is an old friend who just lives around the corner and would in fact be a surrogate Aunty to our bub!

People often turn their noses up at people who spend a lot of time online, but for me it’s second nature. When I’m at work I’m in front of the computer all day long. When I’m at home, and Hubby’s at work, I’m usually on the computer most of the day too. It may come as a surprise to learn that I can actually be quite shy around people that I don’t know. And being able to read other people’s experiences and share mine all from the comfort of my own home really appeals to me.

I’ve written before about what an amazing community the online world can be. Perfect strangers offering support and love and sharing happy and sad stories.

So thanks Jodie for making me smile! I’m sure in the not too distant future when bubs no doubt learns to tweet before it can talk, it’ll say hi back, to its fave online Aunty!

Happy Birthday Puff Pieces!

Today marks 1 year since Puff Pieces was born and I published my very first post! It almost feels like it’s been more than a year with all that has happened!

Ranting and raving on clothes, pets, relationships, community issues, celebrities, news, a Wedding, and now a baby on the way!

After 222 posts and 367 comments a big thank you to everyone who stops by Puff for a little while or a lot!

So here’s to another year of Puff Pieces, which is clearly going to be interesting as I become a Mummy Blogger!

Thanks again everyone!

xxx

Woohoo a blog award!

I’ve received the Beautiful Blogger Award from the ever gorgeous Jodie over at Mummy Mayhem!

Here are the rules:

1. thank the person who nominated me for this award

2. copy the award and place it on my blog

3. link to the person who nominated me for this award

4. share 7 interesting things about myself

5. nominate 7 other beautiful bloggers

I remember when Jodie first found my blog. She was like a breath of fresh air, who loved to comment, and what blogger doesn’t love getting comments!! Jodie also gives great advice, and I especially love reading her tales on Mummy Mayhem, from the soap opera that was her finding love to crazy things her kids do! If you haven’t been to Mummy Mayhem then you should. Off you go, go on!

OK, so now 7 interesting things about myself:

1. I was an Aunty before I was 3 years old!

2. My sister is 20 years olders than me, and there’s only 9 years between my mum and my sister. Don’t worry we have different mum’s!

3. My hubby and I knew each other for nearly a year before he asked me out. He thought I would think he was too old, and I thought he would think I was too young. (He’s 12 years older).

4. Our family dog growing up was called Tara and it contained all our initials: Tom, Anne, Raymond, Ami.

5. I hate exercising. I’ve begun to enjoy taking Jack for a walk but I would never willingly go to the gym out of enjoyment! Hence why the gym took all my money and I never used it!

6. I hate the white bit of eggs, especially if they’re a bit gooey. If I’m eating fried eggs I’ll cut it all off, or if it’s poached eggs, I’ll eat all the yolk out and leave the white. But the yolk has to be runny.

7. Like Jodie, I always just wanted to be a mum. I had a great time studying and then finding my feet in the big wide world of the workforce, but always knew that eventually that I just wanted to be a mum.

Now I’m definitely going to be doubling up here, but here’s my Beautiful Blogger list:

1. Jodie of course from Mummy Mayhem! I won’t continue to gush, she might get a big head!!

2. Thea over at Do I Really Wanna Blog. Thea’s posts are always so honest, and when she writes about her kids, it’s just gorgeous!

3. Megan at Writing Out Loud. Megan is one of those really easy writers, that you just love to read! There’s currently some especially cute pics of her bub on there at the moment! The clever little thing has also just launched another blog, You, Me & Georgie.

4. The ever inspiring Cate Bolt, is no doubt well on the way to changing the world. As well as running a charity in the hopes of building an orphanage in Indonesia, Cate is also about to shave her head for the World’s Greatest Shave. Please support Cate any way you can. Oh and when you visit Cate’s site, take some tissues. She writes the most beautiful hearfelt posts.

5. Bern over at So Now What? will seriously have you in stitches. Not only can this lady write, but it’s always so heartfelt, and if you’re eye’s aren’t welling up with emotion, you’ll be crying with laughter!

6. Belinda’s blog An Account of Social Commentary is one I can definitely relate to! She always has great posts ranging from babies, exercise (or my lack thereof), travels, and hair!

7. Last but certainly not least is Ellen over at The Spice Rack. A newbie to the blogging world, I of course especially enjoy Ellen’s posts about Grace the dog! Probably because on more than one occasion I can relate to the puppy shenanigans!

Um, which way?

I’m the first to admit that I’m not so crash hot at giving directions. Actually I’m not that good at direction in general. Sometimes I sit in the car and have to mentally figure out how to get somewhere before I leave the driveway. Yes, sad, I know.

Then I was driving around today running some errands, you know going to the pet shop to stock up on things for Jack, buying Season 5 of The Hills, the day it came out (a now not so secret obsession of mine!) and for the first time I started looking at street names.

I started thinking about my crap sense of direction, and then realised that when I do know where I’m going, it’s just that. I know where I’m going, but I couldn’t for the life of me tell you most of the street names en route somewhere. If someone asks me for directions, I count sets of traffic lights, or say things like turn right at the 5th street, bugger me if I know what the 5th street is called I just know that it’s the 5th one!

Sometimes I wonder how I actually make it anywhere without getting seriously lost. And yes I am indeed one of those people who has to turn a map around so the roads are pointing in the direction we’re going. I’d rather read street names upside down than pretend I can be tricky and tell my husband to turn left when it looks like it should be right, but really is left, but only looks left when you turn the map around so it looks like it’s going in the same direction as you. Confused yet? Me too.

So the moral of this story is? Don’t ask me for directions, and can someone please buy me a GPS!