Jikana Damaru

A Special Person

You know when you meet those special people! Those heart of gold, look on the brighter side of life, support you know matter what, I'm there 'til the end type of people! I believe good friends are hard to find these days. There is so much drama, competition and bitchiness that goes on between girlfriends that honestly is just to much negativity for my liking. I keep my distance. My favourite quote is "Surround yourself with people who are going to lift you higher! Life is already filled with those who want to bring you down" I try to surround my self with beautiful positive people and if anyone brings negativity into my life I slowly distance myself. I don't make a drama of it, I just drift. I like it this way! I know I have true friends. And if your arround, you know you are special!

Every now and then you find a rare rose between all the negative thorns. The rose that shines so brightly you have to just smile and be thankful for the day. This 'rose' in my life has been around for many years but a tight friendship was never formed! We worked together many moons ago and lost touch after we both moved on to different places. Then my favourite place "facebook" brought us together! It's amazing how much of a tight bond can be made through an electrical wire. I have never met someone with such beauty and love for everyone in her life. No matter who you are or what you have done she is there supporting you and praising you with the most heartfelt words. Her positive outlook on life and her passion for her friends is just so infectious! Yes that's the best way to describe her! Passionate and Infectious! Her partner, her beautiful son, her family and her friends are her passion in life! She has a spark, a funk, that presence that you just want to soak up and live with forever! Life is always bright, life is always happy! She's not afraid to be honest and admits to when she is scared but immediately turns it all upside down and looks at every situation in a positive way. Every day I find myself smiling because of her. She gives me hope every day and reminds me that life is ok! Life is beautiful! Life is fun! Life is crazy! What amazing gift she has...just by being herself!

No words of mine could ever explain how much I respect, love and cherish this beautiful lady! I know I can speak for the both of us when I say that my sister and I are so truly lucky and extremely blessed to have this beautiful soul in our lives! She is always pushing us, encouraging us and loving us every single day! I am so grateful for her friendship and I hope she knows what a beautiful person she is!

Krystal Finch ~ Thank You for being YOU ~ Never Change

Thank You for being my Rose

x S.K.K x

school holiday snippets

one week down & it has been a nice start to the holidays. Plenty of time to visit the park, enjoy lunch out & not have to look at the clock so much. The girls are now out at a local primary school riding their bikes so it is very quiet & peaceful here at home. I have a few photo sessions to edit & then might enjoy a warm mug of fraus. (you must try if you haven't already?!) I hope you are enjoying your days too.

strawberry picnic days...

Let's sprawl out on the overgrown lawn and eat some happy food.

Paper and Scissors = makebelieve FUN!

I saw this on Etsy today and got excited. Very excited. Because as a parent, you are on a constant and often fruitless hunt for activities for kids that are:

- stimulating
- creative
- fun
- inexpensive and (perhaps most importantly)
- able to keep 'em entertained for more than 4 seconds.

Printable play clip-art. Need I say more? I think I am as excited about this as I am certain Fern and (one day -- when he stops thinking paper as a snack before lunch --) Elliott will be! Oh, the glorious afternoon that would be had printing and cutting these little beauties over banana milkshakes... and the hours of make believe fun to be had after!

And have I mentioned these sets are $7 each?

The only question I have is -- which one to choose? Buy them here. I'm pretty sure that tea-set will be in Fern's Xmas stocking!

30 weeks!

I am three-fourths the way to meeting our daughter. Words can not explain how happy writing that makes me. Though I will be honest and say there are moments it also scares me. I know my world will be forever changed. I know it will no longer just be me and my husband, free to do whatever, whenever. Gone will be the days as I/we now know them. We will have a tiny life to take care of, to raise, to nurture. She will be fully dependent on us. And while I feel I am ready, I don't think anyone is really ever ready for all the changes a new life brings.

Addison is a rolly polly girl. She rarely ever kicks me hard, she just flops around and stretches now making my stomach push out in certain areas. Most the time I can rub her back down if it gets uncomfortable. The other morning I was hit in the rib for the first time, it didn't hurt, just a weird feeling! She moves ALL the time now. It's an amazing feeling, like I'm already getting to know her. I love it! She also has the hiccups daily :)

(pair being busy with being lazy and a work bathroom mirror pic is what you get)

I have gained roughly eleven pounds total so far (don't know why I feel the need to tell the world that other than it's a question I'm often asked *why?!*) I'm still feeling great minus getting good sleep. It's so hard to get comfortable and have back support. I'm constantly flipping from side to side, stuffing pillows and blankets around me, and trying my hardest not to sleep on my back (which is so comfortable to me). Then throw in getting up to pee at least twice a night...I guess this is just preparing me for lack of sleep when she's here! Other than that the heartburn is getting worse, egh; 3rd trimester fatigue is starting to hit; and pregnancy brain is increasing! Still, I can barely complain, there are times I totally forget I'm pregnant!

The past seven months have flown by, and now there are just ten weeks to finish preparing. There's a lot left to be done. Nesting began early with me but as of lately it has subsided. My baby shower is in two weeks (eek!) and I'm hoping that will kick things into gear. But I will probably slack until :)

Don't forget today is 7/11 ...which means FREE SLURPEE DAY at 7/11! Can't beat free ;)

Me interviewing Me

If I had to offer three pieces of advice to a girl just reaching adulthood, what would I tell them?*

This question kept me awake last night. Me interviewing Me often keeps me up and busy in the middle of the night. Do you do that too? Ask yourself questions as if you were being interviewed and the masses were hanging on your every word over their morning cuppa? Hmmmm, perhaps that's just me...

In particular, I used to be at my most witty and charming when being questioned for the 'Upfront' section of the Good Weekend and was gutted when they removed that section during one of their thoughtless makeovers. They've replaced it with 'You Do What?', which examines all the fascinating jobs lucky ducks get to do (like run Lord Howe Island) while the rest of us get to answer "yeah, I sit around on my fat arse all day typing acronyms into a computer and wondering why my life has no meaning." Hmmmm, perhaps that's also just me...

Anyway, in the spirit of Me interviewing Me, I like to revisit that old Upfront column from time to time and thought I'd share my latest (most witty and charming) answers with you. Look away now if you have a low tolerance for boredom.

My earliest memory is... driving from the Territory to Far North Queensland for Christmas. My little sister is still a baby in her moses basket on the seat between Mum and Dad upfront. My older sister and I are sitting in the back of the station wagon on a mattress, watching the brown land whizz by.

My school report usually said... "Easily distracted". Probably due to the fact that I was interviewing myself in class constantly.

My first relationship... was all in my head. Thank god.

I don't like talking about... people's dreams. If you think this is boring, imagine if I'd started this post with 'last night I dreamed I was a...'

My most treasured possession is... my creativity. Is that a possession? Probably not. Okay, I'd say my children's early artworks.

My father always told me... that Maths was logical. Such lies.

In the movie of my life, I'd be played by... some poor B-list smuck who thought the gig would be more interesting than waitering. How wrong she was.

I wish I had... the ability to hear through walls without using a glass. Not that I'd know if the glass trick works, of course.

I wish I hadn't... eaten approximately 10,000 kilos of chocolate over my lifetime. As soon as it's swallowed, the memory is gone. It's like getting fat for nothing.**

My most humiliating moment was... probably unfolding as soon as I hit 'Publish' on this post.

My guiltiest pleasure is... see 'I wish I hadn't' above.

My last meal would be... savoured. Or probably just wolfed down like a starving mongrel dog like all my other meals, old habits and all that. Regardless, I'd be eating anything that I didn't have to cook myself.

Can you believe we're only half-way down the Upfront list? I think I'll save the other half for another post, but in the meantime, dare you to answer the same questions! Copy and paste these questions in the comment box:

My earliest memory is...

My school report usually said...

My first relationship...

I don't like talking about...

My most treasured possession is...

My father always told me...

In the movie of my life, I'd be played by...

I wish I had...

I wish I hadn't...

My most humiliating moment was...

My guiltiest pleasure is...

My last meal would be...

And answer away! Or do your own post and pop the URL into the comments so I can go and check out your interview.

Me interviewing Me is really rather fun! Promise!

* Today I would say: being alone is different to being lonely, get to know yourself; Marry the man who makes you feel single; Be grateful for the little things because that's where happiness can be found. But tomorrow... well, I'll have to think about that tonight!

** With kudos to my Mum, for this is her favourite expression. She rates many things as 'getting fat for nothing' - dark chocolate, blue cheese and pasta carbonara among them.

[Image found here]

Lounging around

Today in my series of posts "Inspirational Pins", I bring you some gorgeous pictures of sofas that have got me dreaming of just lounging around for a day or two! I am loving the washed out vintage colour palettes, delicate prints and the array of textures - all with a hint of glamour!

Have a sweet day!