Company Girl Coffee

Posted: January 12, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: company girls | 1 Comment

I’m a bit late with this but with holidays and not much routine the days are just running into each other.  This has been the week of the Great Purge as we prepare for the Mighty Garage Sale on Saturday morning.  We’ve been having a last look at our baby toys, sorting duplo, cleaning up a high chair and a few prams.  I’ve still got to go through the book shelf as it is time for the little board books to go and a few peg type puzzles.  I’m also releasing several bags of clothes into the cosmos.  I can’t wear them now because they don’t fit and I’ll buy newer ones as I get down to different sizes.  It is such a giddy feeling to know that soon all we’ll have under the bed is a set of empty suitcases.

In other news I’ve been knitting from my “wonderball” I got for Christmas.  But it deserves a post all of its own.

Go and see Rachel Anne’s Home Sanctuary Blog for more Company Girls

The week that was

Posted: January 1, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Anthony, cleaning, company girls, sleeping | 3 Comments

It is sort of a Limbo between Christmas and New year.  The old year isn’t over. The new year hasn’t started and I always feel a bit blah.  This year I found the Christmas preparations a bit stressful so I was sort of glad it was all over. A has started a mad cleaning and tidying frenzy all over the house but nothing is exactly clean and tidy yet – it’s just – re-arranged.  He had nominated a date for a garage sale however which is very very good.  He also has plans to get rid of the old microwaves (yes plural) and dishwasher that are under the house – oh joy!

My biggest project in the past week since seeing the dr on Tuesday is re-adjusting my sleeping patterns.  My “official” getting up time is 7:00am and I’m not quite there yet but I’m pleased to sat that I have two lots of cyber friends (the girls from the FLYing in Australia Yahoo Group and the girls from Courtney’s Women Living Well Message Board) that I can be accountable to.  So my party trick of the moment is getting out of bed as soon after 7 as possible, logging on to the computer and then staying awake for the rest of the day.  I’m sure it doesn’t sound very exciting but I assure you my life will become more exciting when I can get my 8 hours sleep at the right time!

See more of the Company Girls Here.

The Week That Was October 31

Posted: October 30, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: company girls | 3 Comments




I think the “moral of my story” at the moment is that I need more structure in my days because I haven’t got much done at all this week. I worked one day and drifted through the rest. Yesterday I had a routine dr’s visit and was offered a swine flu vaccination so I decided to have it. I had a really sore arm last night and today I have had a few flu-like symptoms but I’m keeping up the fluids and trying to take it easy.
Of course, throw Halloween into the mix and I was creating two very “last minute” costumes this afternoon. We have a family in our street who come from Canada so they organised trick or treating for the street. The boys have a nice haul of lollies and we’re having a late dinner. We’re lucky to live in a very friendly street where we know a lot of our neighbours.
Tomorrow is a Pentathlon for Eric and in the afternoon he is going to a Sacramental workshop in the afternoon. Anthony is taking him to the work shop so that I can go to my once a month knitting group. I’m really looking forward to it.

A Slow Week

Posted: October 2, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: company girls, knitting, Little Athletics | 4 Comments



I think the highlights of this week were mainly today!
(Aside from the super awesome Gold Class movie experience on Wednesday night!) We had a slow sort of week for the second week of the school holidays, pottering around the house and not getting much done at all. But in brighter news I have re-discovered my knitting mojo and I’ve been knitting up a storm in order to finish my Noro patchwork top.
This morning I did a knitting class at Threads and More and learned about the fine of art of putting knitting pieces together. I’ve sewn up 5 out of 14 sections of one side of the top and I’ve got 2 1/2 sections to finish knitting before I can assemble the second side. The pieces go every which way as they are joined together so it makes an interesting effect. It would take one good knitting night to get the knitting finished but for the sewing and weaving in of loose ends I’ll need some time where I can sit at a table. If I don’t get much work this week who knows what could happen! So knitting class was a highlight and tomorrow I’m going to a social knitting group where I might be finishing my top or starting a face washer (wash cloth) knitted in scrumptious cotton yard in teal and cream. That will be the first highlight of next week.
The other high point was this afternoon’s Little Athletics meeting which was my first as Chief Recorder in addition to being Registrar. I was kept very busy all afternoon and we got nearly everything right. I just forgot to write times on one lot of 800m tickets but they’ll live. One of the new parents was my assistant and we had a great time chatting in between recording times and registering people. I have met some of the nicest people I know at Little Athletics. The boys did alright at their events but they are still getting into the swing of things for the new season. E did his very first 800m this afternoon and ran 3:58.3 min which puts him at red level which is the second achievement level for his age group. I think he goes well over a long distance and if I were to attempt anything similar I’d need an ambulance to be called!

The Week That Was September 19

Posted: September 18, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: company girls, craft, Eric, routines, sleeping | 5 Comments




When I look at my iCal page for the week it is bristling with appointments and things scheduled but I certainly didn’t get to all of it. I did get to the medical appointments but not to the gym or Weight Watchers. I did make a big effort though to get things done here at home so that I can enjoys the two week school holidays with the boys and so that I am on the way to being organised for life as a relief teacher which begins in two weeks.
I’ve also been enjoying some individual time with Eric as we plowed through Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I was reading him a chapter a night but he’s now finished on his own and I have to finish it myself tonight before we start tomorrow on HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban. We also did some craft together this afternoon. I suppose it isn’t the most manly thing to be doing – ripping up floral rice paper and gluing it to a ceramic jug and bowl set but it is good for his fine motor skills!
I’m having sleep issues which are making my mornings extremely difficult but I’ll be working on getting a good routine going during the holidays.

The Week That Was

Posted: August 29, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: company girls, Contours, home making, knitting, Little Athletics, organising, routines | 3 Comments


I seem to have done a lot of “tail chasing” this week. My motivation levels are really up and down so I seem to have tackled small parts of many tasks without getting a whole lot done. So I’ve done part of the washing. I’ve been to the gym only once and I planned and cooked meals for part of the week. I feel a bit guilty about this because I certainly don’t have work to get in the way of me getting things done at home but everyone keeps telling me that it will take time to establish a routine.
On Wednesday I went to a social Knitters group at Threads and More. It seems to be a very social group and I got a lot of knitting done. I also got a lot of knitting done last night while I watcher Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone with Eric (who has read the book!). I went to a Trivia Night at school on Friday night where I sat at the Prep parents table. We didn’t do particularly well at the trivia but we certainly had a good time.
The biggest task was probably the Little Athletics Sign-On day yesterday where we signed up 77 athletes which is a bit down on last year’s numbers but still promising. I was much less stressed this year as I know the registrar job now and I had spent a lot of time getting prepared. Eric came and helped as a “model” for the uniform and to hand out the extra water bottles and ticket books for families with more than one child. He was very useful to have around so I’m hoping to persuade him to do it all again next week when we are likely to be even busier.
We packed about 100 goodie bags to give out at the sign on yesterday and today I went back for a Little A’s working bee where I packed about 100 more. It is good to have all of that “stuff” out of my house after only a week. 300 water bottles take up a LOT of room.
My goals for the coming week involve exercise – there’s no reason why I can’t go to the gym 6 days a week as it is only a 30 minute session and cooking – I’ve planned meals, something to bake and a salad that I can make and eat over a few days. I hope to be reporting in with some more progress next week!

Catching Up on the Week – Company Girl Coffee

Posted: August 22, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: blessings, company girls, Daniel | 2 Comments


I know I’m a bit biased but is this not one of the cutest little guys you’ve ever seen?
Five little cousins ranging in age from 8.5 to 7 months
D the Scientist – I love the concentration on that face!

The biggest event of the week was today with the baptism of our newest family member, our 7 month old nephew. Anthony and I were godparents and the little “man of the moment” seemed mildly amused by the whole thing and then fell asleep. 9kg of sleeping baby gets really heavy to hold after a while but is delightful at the same time. We got some lovely photos of the boys with their cousins. In other news, D will present his science experiment “Ocean in a Bottle” to his prep class tomorrow. Being a SAHM (for the next six weeks anyway) I get to go along and watch.
Join Rachel-Anne for more Company Girl Coffee Chat

The Little Things Add Up

Posted: August 14, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: blogging, company girls, cross stitch, friends, teaching | 4 Comments


I’ve got a lot of blogs in my Google Reader – probably more than I should try and keep up with but I sit down and read a bit at a time and I really enjoy keeping up with my fellow bloggers. I have my blog organised into categories –
Cross Stitch blogs – some very talented stitchers I’ve come across who show off their work and inspire me to keep on stitching
Friend Blogs – people that I’ve met on-line and known for years and in a couple of cases have met in real life as well
Homemaking blogs – there’s a wide variety in this category from organizational to decorating to spiritual and almost everything in between. Some of these I keep reading so I can see what people’s kids have been up to because they tell such wonderful stories.
GTD blogs – these are based largely on the theory of Getting Things Done which is based on a book of the same name by David Allen. I could also refere to this category as “personal development blogs”
Teacher Blogs – a wide range of blogs from fellow educators.
One blog that I’ve come across fairly recently is called Home Sanctuary by Rachel Anne Ridge. She focuses on the little things you can do to make you home better. She’s not about long lists of jobs to do or complicated schedules to work out – just the little things one can do to make a difference. Rachel regularly issues challenges to her readers and even allocates points to tasks in case you want to keep a tally. She calls the people who join in her challenges and blog about them Company Girls.
I’ve had a lot of “little things” done for me in the past few weeks that have made a big difference. People have rung me, written e-mails and in one case a handwritten letter. One of my neighbours has had my boys plays with her boys at her house a couple of times. Our former cleaning ladies offered to do 2 hours for free so that I could get back on track. And many of my colleagues at school have offered to “keep an eye on” the boys. In fact the boys had better not do anything naughty at school because there is a large number of people watching.
So I’ve decided to be a “Company Girl” as well and join in Rachel Anne’s challenges whenever I can. Her last challenge was to make a connection with some by letter, e-mail or phone call. I’m too late for points (but it isn’t about the points for me) however I’ve answered 3 or 4 e-mails from people that were sitting in my in-box and I’ve starting making plans via e-mail for lunch with a former workmate. The social connections are just what I need at the moment because I am a bit lonely now that I’m not working.
I’m not going to get this whole house organised and every running smoothly in one week or even one month but if I keep doing the little things they will all add up.