Sunday, January 31, 2016

Believe and Trust No-One

I'm so stoked to say that I watched 'The X-Files' movie last night; and it still creeped the crap out of me after all these years. When I first watched it, over 10 years ago, I didn't fully appreciate it. But now, I totally enjoyed everything about it.

And tonight, they're airing 'The X-Files' the mini-series, which is going to kick off the return of the television series again. 

I can't wait! 

And yes, I used to watch the original show way back when it was a dorky little show on channel 10 in the 1990's. We didn't think anything of watching it on a Saturday night and enjoying it for what it was: a great story of sci-fi proportions. I even went so far as to own the soundtrack, a coffee mug with 'The X-Files' on it and yes, I have one of the original t-shirts still in my wardrobe too (and the big 'X' on the front actually glows in the dark. This is something I didn't know until recently when my brother told me he could see me walking up to his house in his backyard and he had turned out the back light - he thought it was creepy as hell and turned the light back on!). So, what things from this show have you guys have (if any)and do you still enjoy the music and talking about it all? Have you read the books written from the shows?

However, Mum and Dad have been taping it and catching up on the old episodes lately and they watched a couple of them one day with me and found that they were really gross and in-you-face. Mum didn't realise how in-depth they were when it came to the details in these shows and can totally understand where I get my fascination for enjoying 'Supernatural' and its horror/fantasy.

Anyway, I'm going to finish watching a sit-com I have on dvd and then ready myself for the wonderful mini-series tonight. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Future Pressures of Being Perfect

I just watched a 2-minute video on Facebook about being a woman in today's world. It was made with women from my parents' generation telling the camera that if they could have their time again, they'd slow down more, take their time to be themselves, hold their babies close and dance longer on the dancefloors before coming home - all while they had the time.

In today's world of everything being perfect, everything happening right now, everything having to be done before a certain deadline of yesterday, women forget that they have to take care of themselves first. 

We forget that there is time to sit down and read those books we've always wanted to. There is time to get in and learn how to sew that lovely dress or make those curtains just the way your Mum or Grandmother used to. There is time where you can tend to the garden you've always wanted... you have to make the time in your life to do those things.

I realise there's other things to get done. There's work during the week, family to care for, bills to pay, kids to take to their sports and activities. However, there has to be time for you and you alone; and if you leave this 'me' time until your children leave home and head off into their own lives, you'll find that you've given away your 'me' time, that you haven't looked after yourself in any way; that the things you've always wanted to do have been pushed to one side and been neglected for so long, you won't know how to get back into them because you may have simply lost interest in them.

Years ago, I found I was the most unhappy person; and because I lived alone, I knew I couldn't blame anyone else but myself for my unhappiness. So, I went in search of my lost happiness. I tried out so many things - and it took me years to find the right things that triggered my happiness - and found that there was my inner child and teenager telling me that I had left them behind. 
At some point, I had become a serious high school dropout who went off to college, found myself a job and was suddenly earning a wage aged 18. I needed to nurture my inner self and allow my inner child/teenager to have the fun I used to have. I started collecting records/vinyls. I started gardening, reading and writing exactly what I wanted to. I stopped trying to please so many people, and my life became better.

This is what so many people have found is lacking. The video on Facebook is what all young people aren't doing. Its message is telling us of the younger generation to slow down and enjoy the world we have, the life we have exactly the way we have it. It's not because once we get old we can't do anything, it's because years fly by and we'll look up from our phones and realise the world has changed too much around us; and we'll wonder why the hell we didn't experience it when we had the chance instead of stressing over the technologies that have us brainwashed into thinking we're supposed to be the perfect humans.

We're not perfect.

We're not supposed to be perfect.

What we are supposed to do is just live life and enjoy ourselves.

Is that so hard to do?

Busy Few Days

I've had the busiest few days, so much so, I haven't had much time to myself lately. Amongst the decluttering of the townhouse - which is going really well - I've been working with my next door neighbours concerning the welfare of both our places due to termites.

Yep, those nasty little critters munched on their place years ago and the people who got the place treated back then didn't repair the house. Instead, they just left it to fall apart, thinking it'd be okay. But it's not.

So, we're talking and working out what to do; seeing my place to be treated as well.

Anyway, yesterday was shopping day and I went out early to the Rochedale Fruit Markets only to have to turn around and come back because I forgot my keycards and money. I hate that. But then, everyone does that every once in a while.
I bought Dad's Birthday gift, paid off part of my vinyl of David Bowie's 'Blackstar' at the music store and then did my grocery shopping. It's been going well.

Then, today, I went out and did some small stuff which turned into big stuff. All I wanted to do was drop off my 3rd Donation Box of goodies to Vinnies, go to Spotlight to buy some more tapestry and check the mail on the way home.
I ended up at Mum and Dad's place, at the mechanic's, at the post office, at the tattooist's... anywhere but finding my way home. Sure, I passed it a number of times, but I didn't get anywhere close to pulling into the driveway for around 5 hours; on a day when I was supposed to be out for only an hour. 

Oh well, I guess the best laid plans do go astray. And this weekend is going to be spent doing something I don't want to do instead of hanging out at home... well, until my next post take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Monday, January 25, 2016

Hot Summer Days

It's only days away from when the kids all go back to school - another year older, another year on in their schooling. Some of them are going onto college and university and some are going into high school, while the younger tots are heading into their first year of primary school.

This year, I've seen a lot for the first month. There's been so much sadness this month; and we all feel as though we've lived a year before the first month has gone by.

David Bowie - our most brightly-coloured of the colour spectrum of singer/songwriters, actors and artists - has left us to make the night sky look so very different in every way. He's even got a star constellation named after him and there's a David Bowie Day now (20th, January - mark that down in your diaries for next year).
Then, Alan Rickman died the next day. What a great loss to the movie world this man was. He wasn't my favourite movie star, nor one of the most attractive ones, but he was a classic star all of his own - a very traditional actor of our time.
And to make things worse, Glenn Frey of the Eagles died. Damn! How much worse could this month get? A mere week after David Bowie, this wonderful guitarist left us without his brilliant riffs to air guitar to; and we all went out to buy Eagles music again and play it all up loud. 

I've been cleaning out the house faster than I thought I could. I'm onto my 3rd Donation Box and it's filling up quickly. I've thrown out a pair of jeans which have a tear in the bum (and I haven't worn them in a year) and so I'm going to look for jeans that fit me this year and give away the size 14 jeans that don't fit me, as they're too big. Why I bought them, I'm not sure, but I will get in and make sure I have clothes I love and will wear all the time. 

This 31-day Challenge has been great. I've done well this year; and have only a few things to clean out before I delve into a couple of drawers around the house and some bags of paperwork, then I'll have a house which is much easier to work with. I don't want to be living in a house filled with so much stuff I don't know what to do with it. And yet, I don't want to be a person who's moving and finding that I have a whole lot of crap I should have gotten rid of moving with me. 

Anyway, this year has been a lot easier to do the first clean-out than in previous years where I struggled with it. This year, I know what I need to throw out, what I need to keep and how to let it go. It's not what my family will think of it all, it's what I think of it all; and that's what counts in the end. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Early Start

It's a Sunday. Normally, I lay about in bed until around 9am and make myself pancakes with my coffee. However, this morning, I was up at 6am and to the paper shop to buy the paper. Since David Bowie passed away, the newspapers have had tributes about him in every paper around. And the Sunday Mail was no different. Richard Wilkins had written a large piece about him and his thoughts about the rock icon; as this man was one of those who met a lot of rock/pop stars.

But I didn't stay up. I went back to bed. I just didn't have the energy to keep going... sleeping in was on my agenda today and so I did just that until around 8am and then, I got myself going. 

Today, I've done well, really well! I got in and did two loads of laundry (and with this warm day and strong wind, it's already dry!). Before I put any laundry out, I mowed the lawn, pulled weeds and threw out my Buddha statue because it was falling apart on me. Pity... it was a nice statue. But then, when I bought it, it was deleted stock - and little wonder why. This is probably why it was. 
Anyway, the laundry was hung out and I went inside to clean up the lounge. As I did, I listened to the tribute to David Bowie - it was a repeat of yesterday's. I had missed half of it, so I sat down with the paper and read what Richard Wilkins had to say about David Bowie and enjoy the music on Triple M. Then, I suddenly got the urge to write a poem! It's been years since I pulled out my poetry books, and I had to go looking for them. To the music on Triple M, I wrote a poem about David Bowie's music, his life and how we're all going to miss him using some of his song lyrics.

I finished reading the paper (and it's still on the lounge) and then made myself a drink and put out the rubbish, added to the 'Donation Box' for tomorrow and then jump online. For the rest of the day, I'm going to do ... not much... because tomorrow is going to be a full day of being out for a couple of hours in the morning before I return home and fill the donation box again. Well, until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Goodbye to Everyone's Starman

I don't think the music world will be the same this week after the shock news of the passing away of David Bowie. 

He was Ziggy Stardust.

He was the Thin White Duke.

He was our Starman.

I grew up with his strangeness on the radio and loved every minute of it - even when my friends thought it wasn't the most in music around, and they went off and listened to Bros and other boy-bands. I stuck with my favourites I'd known since I was young:

The Cure
U2
The Police
Pink Floyd
The Who
Queen...

yes the list goes on... but I loved my English bands as well as my Aussie bands and US bands. But David Bowie was a musician who struck a certain chord in me I couldn't tell anyone about. It's like looking at a painting and finding something in it that nobody else can; and yet you're the only one who can see it.

However, I think everyone has this feeling with Bowie's music at some point in their life. 

And David Bowie wasn't just a musician, he was an actor as well. He was the Goblin King in 'Labyrinth' and played a very serious role in 'Merry Christmas, Mr. Laurence'.

However as with any musician or artist, David Bowie's work is what he will be remember by the most, as well as the things people knew about him. He was a left-handed person, who played the guitar right-handed (I noticed this in a film clip from 1972 of 'Starman'). And he wore just about anything in that decade and coloured his hair a collection of colours too. He also had one blue eye and one darker eye - which wasn't really true. The pupil in left eye was permanently open after something happened to it when he was a teenager causing it to stay open like it has for the rest of his life - otherwise he had blue eyes. He also loved to read as well. I will miss him horribly, as we all will. But he's joined the other great legends up there in the clouds - Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, The Big Bopper, Buddy Holly, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and any others who have left us here too soon. But the difference with David was that his work was completed; and he was ready to go there. Listen to his work, enjoy is music and remember how great he was, and will always be. 


Thursday, January 7, 2016

31 Day Challenge

I've jumped back into Peter Walsh's 31 Day Challenge on his Facebook page and on Youtube. And so far, I've given away 1 box of charity goodies to Vinnies. 

Yay!

Well, that's a good thing to get done in the few days we've all been doing it worldwide. I've also cleaned out the shampoos and conditioners in my bathroom and thrown a lot of them into the bin (these are ones which were all mostly used and were of no use to me anymore). 

Over the next few days, I'll be working on putting away all my laundry and making sure the living room is tidied up again and I'll put away the Christmas decorations; making the house resume its normal everyday look until next year.

There's still things I have to look at throughout the home. There's bags of rubbish I have to sort through and throw out, there's clothes I want to look through in my wardrobe to give away and there's still a lot of things I want to do to make sure the house stays in good working order. Mum's stayed here over the time I had my sun cancers done last year, and she said that the cupboards are all incredibly organised, but the rest of the house is the problem - I just don't seem to have the space for anything around the place. She can see how I have problems trying to keep things in their own places - they don't have any permanent places to live; every place I put it is temporary, and that's not good.

Well, this is why I keep on cleaning out, so I can find permanent places for my things I want to keep. Well, until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Looking Good'n'Pretty

I have been looking around the internet lately - and noticed something which has become something of a style lately: not dressing up to look good.

Now, I'm not sure if it's just me noticing this or if it's all about what's in the news, magazines or what I saw around the partying arena on New Year's Eve, but I have noticed that there's less and less women taking pride in their appearance these days.

A lot of them just won't dress up in a nice outfit, put on the make-up, do their hair, figure out the right ear-rings to match along with the necklaces, rings and maybe a broach, strut their stuff. Okay it takes time - maybe an hour to get all that stuff done - but really, it means you have self-love, you want to put your best foot forward and you want people to see you take pride in what you're wearing.

I'm in my 40's and when I first lived where I do, I found it was a poor area, but my Mother told me to keep my standards up - to never let the people of the area cause me to wear anything less than what I should be wearing normally. And you know something? She's right.
As time went on, I dressed in my good clothes to go shopping, with my make-up on, did my hair nicely and wore my best jewelry as I never knew who I'd be running into while I was out and about grocery shopping. And a lot of the times I was dressed better than most of the mothers out there doing their normal grocery shopping... who at the time went shopping in their pajamas! Yes, it was at that time, that people really didn't care what they looked like. I was stunned to find people walking around in their Winter P.J's, dressing gowns, Ugg boots with their handbags and messy hair... talk about not giving a rat's arse about what they looked like! And they gave me strange looks wondering why I was dressed up.

Well, now - about 5 years later - there's not so many people doing that anymore, but I still find a lot of people have taken to walking around in yoga pants, track pants and Active-wear. They don't go to a gym, but they own Active-wear and go out shopping in it. I don't understand why they own it when they don't go jogging, to Yoga or any other fitness classes but they think it looks good to do this? I mean, just go out in your ordinary clothes - jeans, t-shirt, jacket, sneakers - is it so hard put on those things?

As I get older, I know I'm going to feel better in wearing what I want to wear and make sure I look just right before I go out. This is because I've been brought up to dress up no matter where I'm going. At Christmas, I dressed up to go to all my Christmas parties and loved it when all my friends did the same - however, we did have the odd non-committed type of person who looked out of place with us and they simply told us that they got sick of dressing up just go out. 
I don't think I could ever get sick of dressing up when I go out. I love to show off my outfits as I don't have anyone in my life to take me out. So, when I'm invited somewhere I make sure I really look great - even if I am overdressed a little - at least I know I'm going to have a great time; because you never know what'll happen when you're all dressed up with nowhere in particular to go and you get to meet somebody new. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Promises

Happy New Year!

Now, I don't have resolutions, I have promises. This is where I promise myself things that I hope to do this year; then if I do break those promises I know it's something bigger than a resolution. So, I've got a few promises I'm going to write down to make sure I have done by the end of the year. 

1. Get another tattoo. 

I'm already saving up for this one. I'm hoping to put away money for it every fortnight and make sure I have enough by April to get it done.

2. Read more books from my collection.

Now this is something I didn't do much of last year. This year, I want to get in and read more - especially in my lovely big Reading Chair.

3. Refine my home's clutter.

I've been decluttering my home over the last few years. This year, it's time to bite the bullet and give away those things that I really just don't use anymore - some of those things will be hard to let go of, but once they're gone (because they're coated in dust), I'll be feeling better that they'll be in a better home.

4. Save money for another trip.

It's been almost 20 years since my last big holiday somewhere. I'd love to just get in Little Green Machine and go somewhere and sight-see. So, I'm hoping to save the money for this too. This will be the beginning of another saving lot for me too.

5. My Garden

I have to get in and work on my garden again. It's lovely, but there are a few plants that need repotting this Winter and so I have to buy newer, bigger pots and that's something I need to budget for.

So, what are you promises for yourself this year? Some of mine are for this year, some are more for the next few years (like my holiday, but I have to start somewhere). Well, until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.