What the #%@*! have I been up to lately?

Read on!

LISTENING:
Cosmic Pyschos 'Down On The Farm' on CD in the car...turn it up. orsum!

Bob Dylan 'Highway 61 Revisted'...on vinyl....after enjoying 'Blonde On Blonde'earlier this year I am now on to this....has taken a while, but I think I finally get Dylan.


LIBRARY STUFF:
I love the library!
Currently out on my card is this great bunch....which includes Patti Smith's book JUST KIDS (yet to start!), a great book all about LEGO!, latest Frankie and Vogue Living mags, a chunky book stacked with crazy Star Wars paraphernalia, Pip Lincolne's latest crafty book and a G N-effin-R bio...

....not shown here but loving all the same is James May's Toy Stories on DVD - what a great series! The house built of Lego was a hit around here of course. Other recently read books include Dave Graney's '1001 Australian Nights' and 'Watch You Bleed' Guns N Roses bio by Stephen Davis, which has stirred up the circa 1988 angsty 15 year old me in myself and now I cant get 'One In A Million' & 'Out Ta Get Me' out of my head.

I unashamedly love Axl.
Lets admire some Axl mugshots throughout the years, starting with a very young BILL BAILEY in Lafayette Indiana....




I have also been...
GIG ATTENDING:

I made it out to my first GIG since 2007! Mick Harvey, Angela Howard, Phil Calvert & Ron Rude performing vintage Rowland S Howard at the St Kilda Bowls Club on saturday night. With my mother. Was a thrill and a laugh.

WEARING:
I just bought these pink slim ox converse for $50 today.
I am hoping I can keep them this pristine whilst wearing them.

...and scoring some really cute, cheery, and CHEAP tops from the local op shops.


LOVING: Bon (aged 4.5) in the past week has suddenly become Picasso Junior going through every bit of paper I can throw at him fast enough to whip up some amazing illsutrations which I can ACTUALLY TELL what they are! Vehicles of every kind are his speciality...some quite specific like a 'backhoe loader' (which I had no idea what one was until I learnt through Bon's love of trucks, etc.)

This one is 3 helicopters and 3 police cars, which of course, you can tell, right?





WORKING:
I got a job!
On sunday I start work at the gorgeous little shop that is LARK in Daylesford! It was the first job interview I went to in 14 years and my first job since having kids...come in on a Sunday to say hi and make me extra fumbly nervous!


Wish me luck : )

People Say We Monkey Around

Sad to hear the news about Davy Jones this morning.
The record above is my copy of 'The Monkees Greatest Hits' and was one of the first records I owned and loved and played repeatedly (alongside ABBA's Arrival!) as a kid.

So let's remember some Monkee moments!

The gorgeous Julie Newmar (as 'April Conquest'!) making an appearance on The Monkees TV show...(she's 5ft 11 and he's 5ft 3!)



And that awesome episode of The Brady Bunch when Marcia (who is the 'President of the Davy Jones Fan Club') tries to get Davy Jones to perform at her school prom!


Davy Jones in the Monkees movie 'Head' appearing in a scene with Frank Zappa walking a cow around...


And the Monkeemobile.... just because!

Iggy Pop

I'm sick
I'm sick of all my kicks
I'm sick of all the stiffs
I'm sick of all the dips

I'm sick

I'm a lengthy monologue
I'm livin' like a dog

Just another slimy bore

Chiiiiiddy Baaaaaang

We currently have triple j's hottest 100 2010 out from library and Bon and Billie's fav song is CHIDDY BANG which is getting repeated viewings.

And I have only just seen for the first time (on above mentioned DVD) this..

(yes i am very behind the times) I thought it was hysterical.

Diamond Dave

'Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside it.' - David Lee Roth

Killer

Sublime.

Muppet Day

Today we headed off to Ballarat to the beautiful Regent Theatre on Lydiard Street to see the new Muppets movie.
There was an awesome Muppet promo display set up outside the door and I just had to take a photo of Billie & Bon sitting on it.

There was a short Toy Story animation screened before the Muppet movie and being a Toy Story fan I was excited about this, although Billie started nagging me she needed to go to the toilet even though she went only 30 minutes earlier..so I missed half of this. Sure enough, this trend seemed to continue through all of the Muppets! I totally loved the first 30 minutes....then there was some kind of techicnical issue which saw the movie STOP and lights go on...argh! After 5 minutes of nothing, the movie came back on and we had MISSED some crucial storyline! Well this put me in a shitty mood not helped by Billie's further wriggly whineyness....so, it was a mixed bag as far as enjoyment was concerned, but that's ok! To be expected with a 2.5 year old....we'll no doubt get the dvd when it's released so I can catch up on missed bits. I loved the blatant theme of nostalgia, which probably means NOTHING to anyone viewing this movie who is under 35!
We have been listening to our Muppet Lp's and watching the original Muppet movie quite heavily the past few weeks, so at least Bon & Billie had some basic understanding of all these crazy characters.
I loved Walter proudly wearing his little Kermit watch just like the ones pictured in here!

Now, where can I get one?!

Dr Suess Sneakers Cubbies Bob Dylan DIY Apricot Jam Lego Boxes US Vogue Rum Guns N Roses

Planning...

...feeling organised with my 2012 Colourforms calendar bought for 70% off original price.


Watching Reading Listening.....

latest Australian Country Style, Real Living, Australian Vogue Living.
Bob Dylan 'Blonde On Blonde', 'Paper Giants', Grand Designs Australia, and
The September Issue....

...all from the library (except Real Living mag).

Loved 'The September Issue'.....I thought Grace Coddington was pretty awesome and intriguing, mad cat lady and illustrator.
And that trollop Sienna Miller on the cover - pffft!...not even Mario Testino could polish a turd. How fascinating that the best in the business (Vogue photo shoot hair stylist team) struggled to work with her manky hair.


Cooking (and eating).....

Apricot jam (and a little plum too)
..and using the cute labels that were in a Frankie mag last year.


Making...a cubby house...


and Painting it too....


..and each other...


Wearing...
Billie not me...these...finally they fit one year after we bought them on sale for $10 during our trip to the U.S last year.
They have a double tongue with 'one fish two fish' 'red fish blue fish' printed on it. Billie's favourite movie is Cat In the Hat so she is pretty excited about these Suess related gems fitting her feet right now.
I wish they were in my size.



Hoarding...

..I just can't bring myself to throw out all these Lego boxes!

Regressing...

....by drinking too much rum and listening to favourite records from 23 years ago.

An Early Lego Memory

Lego!
Lego is king in our house.
Lego rules.
Lego Lego Lego!
Every day this word is uttered many times over by all who roam our house.
We have a whole extended dining table in the lounge room which is The Lego Table covered in bits of Lego.
Today I had 7 children sitting around it merrily playing with our loads of Lego scattered all over it.
I have to admit, I think I might nearly actually maybe be a fully fledged Lego nerd now myself.
Maybe not quite as hardcore as the Adult Fans Of Lego but it could get there.
I never had any Lego as a kid, had no interest, although in the toy box that resided at my grandparents house there was indeed one set of Lego.
Lately I have been thinking about this one set of Lego I recall fiddling with during visits to my grandparents house, over 30 years ago now. So I decided to look it up on the net to see if I could find an image of it, and sure enough, I did, thanks to the incredible data base that is Brickset.
And there it was...'set 363 - the Hospital Set' from 1975.
Amazing.
Staring at that image it all came back to me, every little detail!
The little flat grey tiles that line the driveway through the archway. The little white doors on the back of the ambulance. The flag, and no-entry sign. The Hospital sign (sticker on a lego brick) above the entrance. The white clad Hospital worker minifigs wheeling about the sick.
I have no idea how it eventuated at my grandparents house, although have to laugh that a hospital theme was chosen as my nana certainly was fond of hospital stays.

I love the modesty of this little set.
Lego sets these days seem way more excessive in their details with a more is more aesthetic.
And after Googlyoogling what releases lie ahead for 2012, I am super excited about an upcoming monster theme expected later in the year that appears to nod to the classic age of cheesy horror films.
Maybe it is time for me to acquire my very own set of Lego?!

Pimp My Training Wheels - Bike Makeover!

Sometime ago our kind neighbours who have three older kids gave us some bikes and trikes their boys had grown out of.
Billie loves this little bike and feels like such a big girl on it......

.....well...she DID love it until Christmas day when she saw her friend - our 4 year old neighbour on the other side - riding proudly around the street on her big girl BARBIE bike complete with pink streamers, pink pink pink everything....then Billie didn't want to ride her dear little red and yellow set of wheels anymore.
So, I took some action and decided to try pimping out her bike to make it all girly and pink and silly so she would like the bike again!
I havent taken any real progress shots 'cos I was just too busy trying to get it done as two year olds can be IMPATIENT!
So here is a shot of the bike all prepped up...masking tape and newspaper to cover all the bits I didn't want pink...


...and VIOLA!

Just like that it's complete and she's thrilled!
From Kmart for $4 I found the little white basket that sits on the front, plus a $5 pink bell, and they had run out of streamers which was really annoying so I decided to try and make some up myself using bits and pieces I found around the house....sparkly paper, ribbons, trimmed to same length, sticky tape around one end and jammed in to the handles....done!
Other stuff I needed was one can of pink spray paint and some masking tape.
For Christmas Billie received some stickers - Tinkerbelle, Smurfs and Disney Princess, so the ones that hadn't been stuck all over random things around the house found their way onto the bike also for some finishing touches.

the basket is perfect for placing dolls and puppies in to take for rides...

So this is a story of how one unwanted bike can be given a new lease of life for very little cost and make another little kid very happy!

All The Stuff Goin' Down Right Now

Sitting.....on this most fabulous outdoor setting (that seats up to ten!) that I WON from Real Living Magazine and just had delivered prior to Christmas! Still stunned about this!



Splashing.....in the croc pool 'cos it's bloody hot.


Drumming...the whole household taking turns.



Drinking....AC/DC Angus red, and home brew rum, both ensuring a positive bogan blood alcohol reading!


Picking...(with permission) our neighbour's apricot tree and contemplating making jam.




Anticipating....setting up my new Mac Mini!



Viewing...someone play too much Lego Batman video game, all these kiddy flicks and (particularly enjoying) the not-for-kids but involving kids THE SLAP (which I have read).



Listening....The Blues Came Down From Memphis, Misfits, Mickey Mouse, Rowland S Howard, Bing Crosby Christmas, Less Than Zero soundtrack.


Reading....'House Of Sticks', and (Bon's) 'Lego Ideas' book.


Receiving...a Cath Kidston bag!


Watching....a happy girl with her new pram...

....and busy fairy with her magical new wings and - one of two - wands.


Eating...the last of the Christmas cake our kind neighbours made for us.

Building.....the most awesomest Lego police station...

....and playing with a whole heap of new Lego.


Sipping...lots of pretend cups of tea in Billie's newly set up big girl room, see previous blog post!