My Sweet Family Life

So i'm again participating in the new " Sweet Life " meme brought to you by the gorgeous Melissa over at Suger Coat It. Basically Melissa wants us to celebrate the good things in life, the stuff that makes our lives worth living, and loving. This week, she wants to know about our sweet families...

 Those are my beautiful boys, who make me laugh, smile and burst with love everyday. Sometimes they make me cry  and want to tear at my hair, but isnt that part of being a family? And i've always been a believer that the bad/sad/frusturating times are there to help us appreciate all the good stuff even more. But its not just my fiance and my son that make my life sweet. No, i have to count my extended family in that aswell, with a special mention to my mum and dad... or Grandma and Poppy as they are now more frequently called.

Thats Flynn and my mum at Mayfield Gardens a few weeks ago. I think having grandkids keeps my mum young, because she spends so much time playing chasies in the garden or building block towers that she doesnt have time to ponder any " ah, i'm getting older! " thoughts. And she's always willing to help me out - whether its coming round for a visit, or taking Flynn for the afternoon so i can do something on my own, or whatever. She is one sweet Grandma. But the real sweet star in the family?

Pop. Flynn is in love with Pop, Mick admits to having a man crush on him, and i've always been a Daddys girl. My dad is the most giving person i know, whether it be time, or money, or advice... the man does it all. All the help he gives us - we, a young family, just trying to find its feet - is what helps make my life sweet. I think, without my dad especially, my life would be vastly, vastly different....

Polly Dolly - Royal Wedding Bells

Ok, so its time again for the Polly Dolly challenge, brought to you by the lovely Dani at Danimezza. A few weeks ago our Pollys got married, and we created a beautiful set for our beautiful Polly brides. This time our Polly is a....

I thought yellow was an appropriate colour for what should be a nice, spring wedding - but i also think yellow is quite a "casual " colour, so i've tied in the dark purple shoes and fascinator to keep everything appropriately formal for a royal wedding. I've kept the jewellery quite simple so as to not overshadowed either the dress or the fascinator, so i've gone with simple shapes in silver and amethyst. Soft make up and a classic French manicure keep everything polished. So i've got my wedding outfit - please invite me Will and Kate!

30 Days of Music - Days 11 + 12

These music posts dont seem to be getting too many comments so i feel like i'm doing them mainly for myself but anyhoo, i'll carry on... if only to prove that i can keep a theme challenge going for the required amount of time! So day 11...
Day 11 - For you, what song defines the 80's ?

Do i even have to explain this one? Title song from the biggest selling album of all time, geniusly talented ( if somewhat personally dubious ) artist....yada, yada, yada.

Day 12 - For you, what song defines the 90's ?
Because the 90's the decade i grew up, the one where i really started to love and appreciate music, where i started out a 6 yr old listening to teeny bopper pop and finished up a cranky 16 yr old girl rocking out to the Foo Fighters, Live and Silverchair.... i've had a tough time answering this one. However, i thought really hard and came up with this -

I think " All The Small Things " by Blink 182 sums the decade up for me because its kind of a middle ground between the boy band pop that i started with and the grunge/metal/rock boys i ended up with. Plus its a funny song and one that everyone at my school loved when we were in Yr 10. It might have been released in 1999 so it only just makes the 90's, but its the song that defines the decade for me...

I Wanna Get Naked With Gok Wan!

Ok, maybe not literally naked ( although i sure could use a makeover ). So what am i on about? The gorgeous Dani over at Danimezza was lucky enough to not only meet but interview the fabulous Mr Wan, and she wants to share a special part of that with her readers - by giving away a copy Gok's latest book, " Through Thick and Thin ". To enter Dani's competition, we need to make a " positive body image " kind of post, and share our favourite body part with the world... and for me that part is this:

Yep, those are my shoulders right there. I have to say looking at them in a plain old photo they dont really look anything special but i really do like them. My shoulders and upper arms are quite toned, and have stayed that way even through pregnancy and weight ups and downs. As you can see, i have two small crows tattooed on my shoulders, and though some people think tattoos on women look cheap and nasty, i think mine only add to my shoulder-love. The tattoos, being crows ( who in various mythologies carry or protect the souls of the dead ) represent two people i have lost in my life, and i think they add a sexiness to my already nice shape. Its the same thing with my upper arms:

I love how toned they look in strapless dresses or singlets ( thanks a great weights routine pre-baby, and lugging said baby around since... ) and i love this tattoo. Its Chinese script and it roughly translates to " have faith in yourself ". Its there as an everyday reminder to never fall back into the black hole of depression, and to trust that i can do whatever i put my mind to.
So, to summarise ... Toned + Meaningful Tatoos = Sexy = Body Lovin'!

30 Days of Music - Day 10

Ok - todays prompt for the 30 Days of Music challenge is kind of hard.
Day 10 - For you, what song defines the 70's ?
Well, for someone who wasnt born until 1984 its kind of difficult to judge what defines an era i didnt live through. I really only have my parents album collection and the soundtrack of movies set in that decade to go off ( and, you know, what i know of history and what not ). So, with all that in mind, i'm going with this song...

Oh yea - " Rock and Roll All Nite " by Kiss!  There were so many genres of music prominent in the 70's so i went with Kiss because they were a little bit glam, a great big chunk of rock and had those amazing costumes that incorporated 70's fashion. I also think this song defines the decade where the focus moved away ( a little ) from the protesting of the late 60's/early 70's and onto more of a crumbling of those stifling societal expectations. You know, less of the traditions of the 50's and 60's and more of the " me, me, me! " attitude that would filter on into the 80's...
Ok, yep, kind of deep for a music post, but there you go. Thats my song. Play the video, turn your speakers up all the way, and rock on people!

30 Days of Music - Days 8 + 9

Another combination post, because yesterday being Easter Sunday i was a bit busy doing other stuff, and i just couldnt bothered trawling through YouTube when i finally did get a chance to sit down. But i digress - where am i up to? Oh yea, days 8 and 9 of the 30 Days of Music challenge. So wheres the music?
Day 8 - Whats the last song you listened to?

Thanks to Mick, the last song i listened to was " Need You Now " by Lady Antebellum. He was playing it on his phone while i ate my breakfast. If it weren't for him i would have had to have found a video for Josh Groban's version of " Crying " ( originally by Roy Orbison ) because thats the last thing i heard on the radio. I dont mind Josh Groban but i didnt like his interpretation, so i'm glad i got to go with Lady Antebellum instead!

Day 9 - Whats the earliest song you can remember from your childhood?
When i try and think back to music in my early childhood i remember roadtrips to the beach at Nelson Bay, around 4 and half hrs drive away - which means we needed a lot of music to get us through the trip. It was the late 80's but my mum and dad were teenagers in the 70's so we got a bit of AC/DC, a dose of Dr Hook...and a lot of The Eagles. And the one Eagles song that sticks out in my mind?

Oh yea, " Hotel California " - how many times i did hear this song on family holidays? Luckily its a fantastic song that i really enjoy, even to this day. If it comes on the radio while i'm in the car, i'll turn it up and sing along to the words i know. The Eagles rock!

My Sweet Life

So ... the wonderful Melissa over at Suger Coat It has decided that being postive and positively loving your life is the way to go. Your sweet life, as it were. And what she wants us to do is start celebrating our sweet lives ( if thats what we have ) by sharing with each other something that shows how sweet life is, or can be. So, in the spirit of joining in ....

He's slightly blurry cos he's running... go Flynny go!

That right there - thats a good summation of my sweet life at the moment ( minus my lovely fiance ). Thats sunshine, and the outdoors and my sweet little boy-monster. Flynn and I went on a little day trip with my parents to a 6 hectare garden two weekends ago, and although he looks rugged up in the photo ( dont you love his little jacket? ) it was a beautiful day. We strolled around in the sunshine, enjoyed the impressive manicured gardens, marvelled at the enormous house which made me feel like we were visiting Pemberley ( cue the " Pride and Prejudice " discussion... ) and laughing at Flynns crazy toddler antics.
Family, laughs and sunshine? Couldnt be sweeter than that....