Skyrim Hoarders

Two of my favourite varieties of entertainment combined - Skyrim and Hoarders!

Skyrim Hoarders. (I can't seem to embed this one here.)

They missed buckets and brooms though... those are the things my Skyrim character seems to hoard the most.

Instagramming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's got your blogging stopping, Georgia?

Lately I've been trying to work out why I haven't been blogging much.

Recently, Caroline seems to have really found her blog-mojo again but mine has been AWOL for a while. There are obvious physical reasons like most of my time is spent looking after a 2-year-old but I knew there must be other mental reasons.

It occurred to me that maybe I'm spending too much energy trying to blog like (some) other bloggers. I had it in my head that I had to blog like the cute 20-somethings who like to go out to abandoned factories and pose in their favourite outfits from Modcloth or Urban Outfitters. Don't get me wrong, I have bought some nice things from Modcloth in the past but I'm not a cute 20-something who likes to be in front of a camera and I couldn't blog like that if I tried. I am me. A 30-something who does like a lot of the things that appear on those sorts of blogs but who is also a mum who likes looking for vintage Fisher Price toys on eBay for myself my son or sewing wonky bibs for him. I need to keep reminding myself to stop trying so hard to be something that I'm not. It's an old lesson but it pops up at various times in life doesn't it?

From now on I am going to try to stop attempting to create a 'blog persona' and just write about the things I have actually been looking at, doing or thinking about. Maybe it doesn't seem like I've been trying to be someone else here on the blog... it's hard to know without having some distance from the blog... but that's how it seems inside my head. Hopefully a change of attitude will make it easier for me to write again.

Here are a couple of things I've been looking at or thinking about lately.

1. The Small Object - 2013 Daily Resolution Chart.

I've printed this chart out and put it on the fridge door to track my 'Quit Coca Cola' progress. There are a lot of other cute things on The Small Object blog and in the shop too. I've been visiting the site for quite a few years now.

2. Without getting into politics, I like our Prime Minister Julia Gillard's new glasses.

I know it is probably old news now but I think they look good. I'm not sure I'd call them 'hipster' glasses like in the linked article but they are quite stylish. To tell you the truth, I'm not entirely sure what a 'hipster' is these days... but who cares anyway?

Number(s) of the Day - 7, 8 & 9

Catching up with 7, 8 and 9.

 

 

Number of the Day - 6

6 on the 6th.

How to Quit Drinking Cola Without Really Trying.

Yeah... I've got no idea... It's time to try though.

I've been drinking too much of the stuff for too long so at Christmas time I was talking about this problem with my family around the dinner table. My aunt and sister have both decided to make a deal with me. If I can quit drinking cola by Valentine's day I 'win a prize'! I believe part of this prize will probably be a small purchase from one of Caroline's and my favourite clothing stores in Sydney, Dragstar. Will that be motivation enough to put the habit behind me? I hope so. It is an expensive and unhealthy habit for sure. There are plenty of other reasons to give it up I know.

The last time I stopped drinking cola was when I was pregnant. It tasted absolutely foul to me so it was no effort to stop it that time around.  Once the morning sickness passed and our little boy was born it tasted normal again and I fell right back into the habit. A refreshing can after struggling to get the baby to sleep seemed good but once you start worrying that you don't have any in the house and you must get to the supermarket as soon as possible you know you have a problem, right?

So here I go. Operation Quit cola 2013.
Wish me luck. 40 days until the deadline.


(And thanks to my family for encouraging me to do this again. Gah! Where's the ibuprofen?)

Number of the Day - 5

Number 5.

 

 

Number of the Day - 4

4

 

 

Number of the Day - 3

Day 3.

 

 

Number of the day - 1 & 2

Daily number pictures.

 

 

Getting in touch with our '90s.

This week Caroline and I are gearing up for a '90s flashback. With tickets to see Juliana Hatfield and Evan Dando, my memories of gigs-gone-by and in-store appearances are flooding back. They were two of my favourite acts in my defining years. Not the only defining acts but my Juliana cassettes were on very high rotation in my Walkman in my final years of high school.

Here are a couple of shots of Evan Dando taken by my friends and I at an 'in-store' (from 1992 or 1993 maybe?) alongside a Juliana Hatfield magazine clipping in my old clippings folder. I have  a vague memory that she wrote about this photo in her book When I Grow up: A Memoir. And I have a vague memory that Evan was a bit 'floaty' at the autograph table.

I know I saw The Lemonheads play at least once in my youth. There was definitely one gig at Sydney Uni with Tumbleweed as support. We spotted a very young Ben Lee wandering around... and when I say 'very young' he was only a few years younger than me but I was pretty young.

Here is an old Lemonheads favourite of mine, 'Rockin' Stroll'. I believe the clip was filmed along Glebe Point Road and that the child in the pram belongs to one of the girls from The Hummingbirds (another of my favourite bands from the time).

I have only seen Juliana play once so far but my memory of that gig is a bit clearer. I think it was 1996 and it was at the Wollongong Uni Bar. It may have been the student end-of-year party. I went along with my brother that time and it was a great show for sure. This time I will be seeing her with my sister... so of course, here is her song 'My Sister'.

Sunday Somethings.

1. Summertime.

 

2. Too-late musical discoveries.

Sometimes you discover a band and it's too late. It's their last album. You spend some time catching up on their back catalogue and then you want more... but they are gone. They were already gone when you came across their music. There are some bands you just wish would reform, for one more album, or for one more tour. The Sundays came into my life around 2000 or 2001 and I would love more.


And how about those '90s fashions? Black bodysuit with Levi 501s - cuffed of course, wide black belt with large buckle, and you can probably assume there are some Doc Martens in there somewhere too.

2. The Parker - Palm Springs.

I wish they made hotels that look like this in Australia! If you like mid-century style and breeze-blocks then you might enjoy the pictures of this stylish looking place.


3. Bad Garage Sale Signs. 

What ever happened to the art of good garage sale signs? Doesn't anyone own a thick black texta or some black paint anymore?

"Oh, I know what will get noticed by passing cars - pink highlighter texta on an A4-sized piece of paper."

Wrong! Try again!

"Oh, well, what about if I stick it to a tree some distance from the road and the footpath? I'll put it behind this one that only has tape at the bottom now so you can't read it anymore because it has fallen over on itself. Will that be OK? People stop their cars to get out and read small signs don't they?"

Examples of poorly placed garage sale signs. (The one written with pink highlighter was gone when I went to take a photo of it unfortunately but I'm sure you can imagine it.)

4. Computer Game Glitches.

I think I love a computer game graphics glitch almost as much as I love watching shows about hoarders. Here are a few that made me chuckle as I've gamed over the last couple of years.

Skyrim glitch - "Oh, don't mind me - my legs are now encased in stone but I still like a chat."

The Sims - what happened to that cat!? My video card just isn't up to scratch when it comes to the Pets expansion pack.

The Sims - alien baby.

The Sims - I can't quite get the hang of this guitar.

The Most Average 'Before and After'.

Have you ever seen a more average-looking 'Before and After'?
This is the path down the side of our garage. It is a space we rarely even look at let alone venture into. A couple of weeks ago I decided it was time to give it a bit of a tidy up because the stepping stones were completely covered with leaves. Just as I was starting I thought to myself 'Hey! This would make a great average 'Before and After' for the blog we have been neglecting lately.' So here are the (average) pictures from my phone camera.

Before.

Half done.

After.

After from the other end.

The old shower frame still needs to be taken to the tip and the roof tiles were there to stop a previous neighbour's dog from getting into our yard.

Enjoy! ;)

Bookmark Sorting - Saving Seeds.

Last year I did some internet searches for tips on how to save your own tomato seeds. Not only did I bookmark a few links to help me on my way but I also actually tried it out. (I often just bookmark then forget.)

Here are a couple of the links I found helpful. 

•  How to Save Tomato Seeds by Colleen Vanderlinden, Planet Green

• Saving Tomato Seed - Aussie Organic Gardening Blog.

  
  

This Spring I popped some of my saved seeds in a pot and some of them are actually growing! Is this the ultimate form of recycling? Well, probably not but I'm enjoying the process. If they actually grow edible fruit I will be very pleased. I can't even remember what sort of tomatoes they were, (cherry I think.)