Sharp 100 Years

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I remember growing up my Dad coming home one day with that real proud grin like kids get when they hit a huge milestone that they know you've been waiting for, like wiping their bum for the first time.
Only while all my friends were getting the latest and greatest, being CD players, my Dad came home with this.

I groaned at him about how uncool it was. Why couldn't we just get a CD player like everyone else? And he mumbled something about how I needed to "learn a true appreciation" and how "money doesn't grow on tree's".
When my friends came over I was mortified, and used to be all "Oh that old thing? It was out in the garage, but Dad brought it in" not wanting to admit he actually paid money for the huge box that couldn't even play a CD.

Still, I sat by it late at night on the weekends taping songs from the radio that I would play all week.
I still snuck my parents Journey records out, and configured some seriously cool, and lame dance routines to songs like Open Arms bossing my sister around until she got it right.

And would you know it, the thing only died a little before Greenie was born. That huge embarrassment, like a ball and chain was there, kickin' on for 15 years. And trust me, my sister and I did not treat it with the care my dad insisted of us.

Now Sharp is turning 100 on September 15th. Can you believe it? Has technology really been around that long?
To celebrate, because everyone should throw a birthday bash if they make it to 100, Sharp are making us, the consumers a promise "To continue offering you quality products and services that grab your heart."  But that's not all.
Share a video of you celebrating something special in your life over on share.sharp100years.com/ and you go in the draw to win a trip to the west coast of the United States or some Sharp products. How easy is that?
I know we all grab our camera's to record those special moments. Now all you have to do is choose one, send it in, and watch it be made into a work of film that will be displayed on the website during the campaign.
Ticking the five minutes of fame goal off my to do list right now.

Also from now until September 15th Sharp are donating the proceeds from every purchase of AQUOS TV and Plasmacluster generator/air purifier to support health programs such as vaccinations for children. We all know that health care shouldn't even be a question when it comes to children. It should be given in abundance. Well Sharp want to give back to all of those who have purchased their products over the years by creating a better life for all.
I'm all about the bigger picture.

Do you have any Sharp memories growing up?

Winter Warmers

Image found here

Winter can be a little depressing with the cold, and the wet, and the cold, and did I mention the wet?
*yawn*

So that's why I've put together a few wonderful products that have made me smile this winter and I'm hoping they can make you smile too.

A Milk pack as seen here thanks to Milk valued at $100. The pack includes 375ml of bath time wash, 150ml protect me + sunscreen, 150ml moisturising shave milk, 150ml face moisturiser sunscreen SPF15, 75ml fairy detangler.

2 x Hallmark pack valued at over $115. The pack includes a selection of cards from the interactive range, the licensed Disney range, the polka-dots range, and classic range. As well as a double forever friends CD featuring tracks from The Script, Michael Buble, Delta Goodrem and many others, and a Hallmark recordable storybook.

2 x Herbal Essences winter style prize pack is worth over $60 each. The pack includes two Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner variants, the entire Tousle Me Softly styling range, a treatment product and a Supersized Set Me Up hairspray.

A custom personal planner as seen here from personal-planner.com. The winner will receive a digital gift card via email for a personal planner of the winners choosing.


How could you not smile with one of those showing up on your doorstep?
To enter all you need to do is provide an email address I can contact you on and..
Tell me in 50 words or less what you need to get you through winter.
Winners will be chosen based on the most creative and amusing answers.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please refer to the T&C's below and good luck.

The Mummy Autobiography Winter Warmers competition will be judged on skill. For the content and value of the prizes please refer to the descriptions above.The competition opens Friday June 22, 2012 at 1PM AEST and closes on Friday, June 29, 2012 at 6PM AEST. One entry per person. Winners will be contacted via email and announced on The Mummy Autobiography. Winners will have 72 hours to contact me via email with postal details or I will re-draw the prize, so please check your spam folders. Entries will be judged on creativity and originality. This giveaway is for Australian residents only, sorry. 6 prizes to be won with a total prize pool value of $320. The winner will be notified via email and name published on the blog. Entries remain the property of The Mummy Autobiography and may be republished.

Generic is boring

It's no real secret amongst my friends and family I'm a bit of an organisation junkie. Schedules and routines are a big part of our life much to Mr Black's "fly by the seat of your pants" preference.

Since the move over a year ago I've struggled a lot with my ability to just get myself together and to the places I need to be on time with what I need. I'm not sure why for so many years I've done fine recalling all of this information from my head, and now I struggle a great deal. I'm going to blame my sleep issues.

When I was contacted by the wonderful people at personal-planner.com with the opportunity to try out their planners that you personalise to suit your needs I was all up on that.

Firstly, I love that the creator is so simple to use. Want to try one of their layouts? Just click and have a browse. Maybe you just want to use one of their funky images, but change the inside pages, you can do that. Or, if you're anything like me, you can upload your own pictures to use.

Once you've got your covers decided we move on to the inside. This is where I feel personal-planner differs from most personalised planners. You get to design in here too. You can choose from the many options how you want your pages laid out, the colour scheme's, and what you need included. You can even choose what language you want them to use!
I adore the optional clip in ruler. How many times have you used the side of your phone or a serviette to rule a near straight line? Yep, well I won't have to do that anymore.

You can also add in your personal dates so they will come already printed in there and you don't have to have that gruelling task of filling it out with all the dates you need to remember for the year, like extended family birthday's. As well as choosing if you want it as a yearly planner or a financial year planner, which is much more handy than you think.

I haven't found a personal planner that doesn't have the yearly overview yet. Personally, it's not something I have ever used, but this is again optional. Don't use it like me? Then why not change it to some music sheets, or even some colouring in pages for the kids. There's even an option of having some Sudoku puzzles! Or maybe you're a teacher and would like some teachers sheets?

Basically it offers everything you could ever need in a personal planner, but it's all completely optional. Even the elastic closure is optional, and you can choose the colour.

The folks at personal-planner don't just do planners, they also do notebooks and blog planners.

Tired of the boring generic planners you find in the shops, that rarely offered you everything you wanted? Try one of these, and thank me for it when it arrives because I know I will be making it a staple in my handbag every year.

Take note other companies, this is how it's done. The bar has been raised significantly!

Do you use a personal planner in your house?

Do you struggle to find one that you love each year?

I was gifted my own personal-planner for review purposes, and frankly guys I can't stop putting it down.

Party Games

An important part of keeping the sanity at a child's birthday party is the games.

We had chosen to keep Bluey's party short meaning I had half an hour which to cram in some games.
We also do not have a large backyard, so we needed something that didn't take up a whole lot of space.

I talked to Bluey about what he would like to do thinking he would be the best measure of what his peers would enjoy. The first request from his mouth was pass the parcel. Easy. Done. huge party hit, and the best part is it tailors to a wide range of ages and we had children from two to nine years old, and it gets them sitting down and listening so it's a great way to kick off the party games.

After doing two rounds of pass the parcel we moved on to the eating the donut off the string game. I wasn't sure how the kids would go with this but it was a huge hit. The kids found it both hilarious and frustrating and even once the winner had finished most of them continued to try and finish eating that donut sans hands. I was hoping it would be a classic game that many weren't familiar with, so they would enjoy the "newness" of it whilst also keeping it easy and simple for me. Setting up games isn't something you want to spend too much time on when you have a backyard full of children.

Finally we did "Put the tea bag in the tea cup". Bluey had requested pin the tail on the donkey but failing to find any of those posters, I decided that I would paint up my own poster and to make it easier tie it in with our party theme.
The hardest part of this game was losing the attention of the children who had finished their turn. Thus having to hunt down the winner. It's a great game to finish up with so the kids can venture back into playing at their own choosing.


Do you try to tie in your party games with the theme of the party?
Are you an old fashioned kind of party game person, or do you like to come up with new games?

Down The Rabbit Hole

From the get go I had idea's about a warm afternoon spent with the sounds of children laughing, of the chatter of adults, the smell of freshly baked bread, and the colours white and blue.
I was perhaps a little too ambitious. That, or the fact my troop of promised helpers to set up failing to show up until half the guests had arrived meant that I was yet to have any food on the tables and only had the decorations up when the first guest arrived. Cue me panicking and forgetting touches I had planned.

I knew I wanted a white table cloth, blue plates, white serviettes, doily's, topped off with bunting.

I knew that I wanted pom poms vs. balloons.

I knew I wanted a touch of quirkiness. The same quirkiness my boy holds, the same quirkiness of the Mad Hatter.

I knew that I wanted the children to walk in feeling welcome and excited.

Most of this was made by me. Much of it using stuff we already had at home. I brought the the bunting once I realised I just wasn't going to have the time to sew something up.

I set up a hat stall so once the kids arrived they were invited to come and make a hat to take home. Glitter, sequins, pom poms, stickers and flowers featured here. It was a really great way to ease the children into the party spirit and still leave me free to greet other people as they arrived.
Designating an adult to the hot glue gun is a must.
If you're smart you will rope someone else in because you obviously need to "greet guests".

Upon their departure I had little party favours like this ready for them to take home filled with lots of little trinkets and a handful of lollies.

Do you over commit?
Would you threaten to chuck a tantrum if people started showing up before you were ready? I nearly did.

Party Food

I was very specific when wording my invites to invite everyone along for an "afternoon tea".
For some this would not have registered, such a tiny piece of wording, but for me this set the tone and the idea that I should not be expected to provide a meal for their children, but light snacks.

*cough* So I wasn't able to take photo's before the kids hit the table because I was busy, you know, bringing the food out. Time management fail.

Bluey had been asking for me to buy some coloured popcorn for months, so I promised him we would have it at his party. Greenie is a bit of a fairy bread fan, and so that too was provided (But honestly what is a party without it?). My kids couldn't care less about lollies, so I put out a small bowl because I am aware they are the minority. We iced up some arrowroot's because biscuits are a necessity at a tea party and way easier than scones. (Kids dipping or spreading stuff onto food in winter should be avoided if you do not care for the plague to hit your house.)

Adults table, which was also raided by the kids somewhat, held tea and coffee, soft drink, and in addition to the kids party food some jatz and dip, and corn chips and salsa.

For drinks I whipped up some pink lemonade for the kids in these cute little bottles I had been collecting. I also offered water as an alternative as well as putting out plastic cups for the smaller children.


Finally, we get to the holy grail. The cake.
Let's face it, the party is all about the cake.
I liked that most people were all "A white cake? What is so special about that." And true it does tend to resemble a blob of white, even if it is an off point two tiered square cake.

Bluey was bursting with strict instructions of not to tell the kids what was inside. They were all 'Whatever, it's just a white cake. Those cake pop's your mum made were way cooler.' and he begged them "Wait. Just look when mum cuts it!"
Then, the oooh's and aaaah's began, and it didn't matter that I spent the entire day before in the kitchen, because I killed it.

Yeah I know, jumping on the bandwagon, but this cake is super easy, yet time consuming, to make. Make one, just so you can stare at the pretty colours.

What's your party food must have?

Half Measures

Image credit.

Life is many many different colours, but sometimes it can be black & white.

We need that simplicity to balance out the complexities that face us. Life is difficult enough without keeping what we can easy.

For me, that's how friendship basically goes.
It's black & white as to who I will call my friend.
If I don't like you, I won't talk to you.
Real simple huh?
I don't feel the need to troll you, or ask about your business, or forge some fake friendship. I just won't engage with you.
I choose to spend that energy elsewhere.

The thing about friendship, to me, is I don't do anything without meaning.
I don't speak and share information, or offer help, or tell you what I think about you if I don't mean it.

I know what I am unfiltered which means I have a huge case of foot in mouth syndrome. That I don't think before I speak. I can tell you that while sometimes my words may unintentionally hurt, and that my actions may seem distant and calloused, that it's more of a lack in my own confidence. It's me and my faults. My issues.
That if I don't like you, if I want to upset you, I'm pretty direct about it.
It's who I am.

So to those I have shared words with, written or spoken, please know that they do come from my heart. Emotion doesn't show on my exterior much, but it doesn't mean it isn't felt on the interior.
I offer help because I want to help.
I tell you what you mean to me, what I like about you, because I want you to know.
I'm vague because I struggle a lot. Daily. It's not meant to offend, it's because I am realising more and more I can be quite fickle and I don't like to break promises.

I mean what I say and I say what I mean.
You read into that how you like. It doesn't mean your interpretation is right.
Oh, and I make inappropriate jokes. A lot.

I don't like to live life by half measures.



Who are you as a friend?
Do you think there are things that can be black & white in this colourful world?

What's Age Got To Do With It?

Today I was asked my age.
I'm used to the shocked responses these days. This time was no different with the person saying they thought I was in my late twenties.
I'm not.
I know sometimes I appear older, more lived. Catch me on the flipside and I'm exactly the opposite. A teenager still fumbling to find her way. Burning her hands countless of times. Drinking too much and saying inappropriate things.

If this is your image please let me know so I can credit you.

I laugh at a lot. I mean, a lot. Usually really inappropriate things too. The cruder the better. I think why cry when you can laugh? No matter what happens I want to be able to laugh about it, eventually.

There is not much I know about myself beyond the superficial. I am scared too seek answers about myself because I am scared of the answer, even if I spend a lot of time frustrated at my lack of answers.
Sometimes I talk too much. About myself, my opinion, or nothing at all. In the same moment I can be cold and unwelcoming. It's because of my internal push and pull to want to reach out and connect, but also protect myself.

I am impatient and restless. I like quick results. I think it's because I live life like it's a race. There is just too much to do, too many answers to find, and not near enough time.

I don't do emotions well. It doesn't make me heartless, and I don't expect you to understand it.

I am a lazy perfectionist. Yes, figure that one out.

I'm always thinking. Over thinking. Reading into situations. It's tiring and yet I can't seem to stop.

I know I have a warped sense of myself. I am learning that I need to listen to others, not be afraid to ask their opinion of me, and take that on board. I do fear others perception of me, so this doesn't happen often.

I am completely unsure of who I am, and I'm mostly ok with that. I'm ok with always learning about myself. What's important is who I am to you?

Linking up with Edenland for...

I'm playing my cards.

Along with Bluey's Birthday comes the party.
Now a party is a rare thing around these parts. I do love them, but I refuse to do them yearly or even bi-yearly. Much rathering doing a family thing. A special day of the birthday persons choice.

Both of my children have only had one party each.
Their first birthdays.
I had promised Bluey a party for his fifth birthday, but due to the move we had completed including a change of schools weeks before we agreed that it was ok to put it off a year.
Only that meant I had to do it this year. And well, I never do things by halves.

A party begins with idea's. I was full of them having mostly planned out his party last year in my head.
You decide if you're doing a theme? How many people you will need to invite and cater for, where you're having the party and when. Once you have that out of the way the next step is the invites.

I am fortunate enough to come from a killer artistic family even though I may have missed out on that gene. My father was only too eager to take on my idea's and put together the perfect invite.
With a little cutting and aging from me, it was perfect.

Now, I'm a little left of centre, and I knew quite a while back the theme that Bluey would love and I could work with. And I wanted the invites to tie in to our theme.

It's a playing card.

We decided on a Mad Hatter's Tea Party.


What theme would you choose for your children right now?
Do you do themed parties?

Crystal Gazing



Image found here

Psychics.
I've never believed them too much. I've found that people are eager to open up and they're experts in reading your body language, and into the tiniest of words you share. It's part of their art. Their skill set.

I went to one shortly before Bluey was born. It was a tarot reading and there wasn't much that was shared that has stuck with me now, but one thing, which was incorrect at the time. I've never been too sure since if it was co-incidence or not.

I went to a psychic yesterday. I had a lot of nerves leading up. What if the questions I had weren't answered? What if I just wasted my money and came out with nothing. Why am I even going? A psychic isn't someone I should allow to make my decisions for me. Will anything they say even change anything at all?

Part of the angle is rarely do people go because they're "killing time". They go because they want answers. Some sort of direction. They go with a purpose.
I was there with a purpose. Long building questions swirling my mind. They were keeping me up at night, and causing me to be quite rattled through the day, and the pile just kept getting bigger. Why not give this a try? It either works or it doesn't.

I entered the room nervous. I had my guard up, and felt highly alert amidst my tiredness. I was on the look out for anything so I could shout "See! It's all a crock of bullshit! There is no such thing." I wanted to be right.
To laugh at the thought of "destiny" because really, would destiny have it that life can hurt so much?

I started shaking five minutes into the session. Too much was said that no psychic could have read from my body language, or in to my responses. The tiniest of things that not even Mr Black would have known about me. Not my parents. No one.Questions answered without my even uttering a word. With zero reference to my fears. I'm not even sure she knew that she was answering a concern for me.

So many things that were said stood out to me. None more than her comment of "I need to tell you that you're a good mother. A fantastic mother. You are always putting your children first and you shouldn't have to worry about writing taking time away from them."
It wasn't something I even felt needed addressing.
She had no idea I had a blog or anything of the sort. She had only moments before said "You don't have children do you? You look too young but I'm being told you have two children."
Two kids. An easy guess yes? But how I feel about them? My worries? That I write?

No, I don't feel like a great mother to my children. I make mistakes, all.the.time. Mistakes that really I shouldn't be making.
Impatience.
Disconnection.
Ignorance.
I'm guilty of all of those. I'm not proud to admit I'm guilty of all of those, but I am.
I've pulled away majorly from being online, from writing and reading because of the guilt I carry as a mother. Because right now I am choosing to try and be more active in their lives instead of spending a couple of hours a day on blogging I'm spending that time with them, or doing things that I would otherwise do when I could be spending time with them.
It wasn't an issue. If it came down to it who would you choose? Your children or your blog?
It wasn't until she spoke those words that I realised what I was doing, and how much I needed writing for me. I need it to help understand myself better.

So I will continue to write. I'm not sure on what level yet. Right now, I do need more time with my children. But I know writing isn't over for me yet. I still feel the itch every day. I need it like I need to feel the sun on my face. Yeah, I will live without it, but it's so important to my existence.

Are you a believer?
Would you give up writing for your children, or is it something you need too?
Have you ever been to a psychic before? Please share your stories.

Banishing Grey Dull Skin This Winter

It's cold. It's usually rainy leaving you feeling damp, even when you don't leave the house. So you curl up under a blanket for as long as possible, and eat all sorts of comfort foods.
At least, that's what I'm doing.
Right now in fact.

What you may not realise is that while this cold wet weather is wearing on your mood, it's also wearing on your skin.
It's an easy recipe for your skin to dull and lose that bright sparkle that comes out so easily during the warmer months with the help of the sun. It doesn't have to be though.

Milk Baby Bath Time Wash $14.95. The way I see it, if it's good enough for my kids sensitive skin, then it's going to work wonders on mine. This is an all natural soap developed by Lindy Klim that can be used on both your body and hair. It's packed with delicious ingredients such as lavender oil, chamomile extract, neroli and jojoba oil making it smell divine. And it's all organic, which is a huge plus for me. It hasn't dried my skin out at all like some soaps can, which is important to look out for, especially in winter.

Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Moisturiser Cream $10.99. This is great if you have really dry skin, but it works equally as well for normal skin. My skin dries out a lot in winter, so much that you can see cracks in the skin on my legs. After having a hot shower and exfoliating I lather this all over my body. It soaks in quickly and I wake up the next morning with my skin feeling silky. I would recommend using this twice daily, but you need to be moisturising all over at least once a day.

Bio Oil $14.99. I don't just use this on scarred or stretch marked skin, but also on places like the pads of my feet, my knee's and elbows, and anywhere else that is prone to drying out badly during the cold months. You know, in addition to helping give a little spring back to my stretch marked places. Let me just say that Bio Oil has a place in every woman's house. It is basically a super moisturiser, in oil form.

Clean & Clear Morning Burst Skin Brightening Facial Scrub $10.99. Ok so I will admit I am loving the new Clean & Clear face products range. They're now packed full of goodies, this particular scrub has caffeine, lemon and papaya, as well as being oil free. My skin is a bit wish washy and I am lucky enough to be fighting the aging battle as well as constant break outs.

We all know to cleanse twice daily, but you also need to add a scrub to your routine using it twice to three times a week to get in there and do a deep clean of your pores helping to prevent any blockages. This is even more important during winter, and the lemon and papaya really help to add a little glow by brightening the skin. Just try it, and thank me later ok?

And don't forget, you still need a light sunscreen, even in winter.

Your skin is the largest of your body's organs. So, what are you feeding your skin?

Indebted

Image found here.

Seven months. That's how long I waited, anxiously, watching my belly swell. Wanting to meet you. Needing to meet you.

Twelve hours. That is how long from the moment you took your first breath until I was able to lay your tiny body into the crook of my arms. To kiss the top of your head and feel your fingers wrap around mine.

Three months before I shed a tear. Going back to work was the hardest thing I ever did. In hindsight I would never choose that again. It wasn't that you weren't ok, it was that I wasn't.

Eighteen months until we found a place of our own. Things were really tough at the start. We still stumble now, only difference is we have gotten better at picking ourselves back up.

Thirty Three months until you could call yourself a big brother. You never missed a beat, and still remain enthusiastic.

Four and a half years. You proudly marched through the school gates to start your first day at school. While the other children held their parents hands tightly you put on your dazzling smile and shooed us away. I am still waiting for the day when you proclaim that you don't want to go to school.

Six years. That is how long I have held the title "mum". It is how long I have realised I do have a heart, even if it is hard and cold at times, there is still a warmth deep inside. It is how long I have hurt simply because someone I love is. It is when the world finally felt right even when everything was all wrong, simply because I have you by my side.

I have been in debt to you for six years. A debt that I would gladly do for six hundred just to see you smile.

I loved you before I met you.
I loved you before I even knew you existed, and that love? Baby there is nothing in the world that could reduce it, even slightly.
Simply, I love you.