The sound of silence...

Hi!

*waves*

Yep still here.

Not posting a lot (well, obviously...), but still around.

I've been thinking about the blog a fair bit recently, and I reckon it's time for a wee change of direction.

When I first discovered blogs, and made the decision to start my own, I had visions of becoming some handicrafting maven (aka...well, too many wonderful blogs to mention really!). I had high hopes of regularly posting my crafty stuff and being all wonderful and stuff.

But, then I found I had trouble committing to regular blogging about my crafty pursuits and remaining 'focussed' on my blog. And my handicraft pursuits - such as they were - were really just me following the herd. Nothing new and ground-breaking for me in other words. And, I think that disappointed and somewhat discouraged me. Rightly or wrongly.

Anyways, as my reading of others blogs widened -away from specifically the handicraft based ones and into fashion, DIY, decorating, cooking etc etc, I discovered that although I was reasonably "crafty" and creative myself, there were things I was not...

- A 'leader' in terms of handcrafting / creativity.

- All that keen on vintage / thrifting.

- Able to fully commit to blogging about crafty pursuits in a meaningful and regular fashion.

But, I also discovered things that I WAS...

- wildly interested in home decorating.

- freakishly good at organising.

- apparently also considered somewhat stylish :P

So. This "revelation" (if you will...) has led me to think a trifle more about WKDN and the direction it might go in, and I've decided to recommence the blog, but with a changed direction. A little less of me trying to be like other 'craft' bloggers (which I have discovered I'm not all that!!) and a little more of me, trying to be like, well, me!!

There'll be a little more fashion / personal style commentary.

A modicum more of my home decorating.

Some snippets of organising goodness.

Plus, a trifle of crafting when I think it adds value and is interesting.

Now - a wee disclaimer - I can't make any promises about the regularity of posts! In my defence I hold down a reasonably pressure driven full-time job in Banking (which involves long hours and travl), plus I train for triathlons / Ironman / Half Marathons, and I have a partner who works FIFO (Fly In, Fly Out for those of you not au fait with the acronym :D) in the mining industry. So when he's home, I like to devote my spare time to 'us'.

That said, I'll do my best, and that's really all that can be asked of me!

So, all two of you that read (and I love you, I really do!!) I'm hoping you stick around.

K xxx

July, August, September, October AND November update.

Well - I could apologise for not being on here, but, you know what? This is my blog. I post when I can. When I feel like it. When I think I have something to say.

Life has been painful, awkward and busy. And I haven't felt like posting.

So, no apology :)

Well. Things have been happening. Not all good, but as a wise friend of mine comments, "whatever does not kill you will only make you stronger". Without going into too much detail, here's some updates!!

• Well. Bachelor # 1 proved to be a jerk. I moved onto Bachelor # 2, who seemed to have a LOT of promise. Turns out he was an emotional retard. *sigh* think I might have been the only one who got hurt out of that. Thanks again to my friends for their tolerance of my general down-in-the-mouthedness during that period!!
• Got sent to Melbourne for work. Yays!! Meant to stay a week and then fly back on Saturday. Got a last minute phone call begging me to come back the following week. Soooo, work basically paid for my weekend accommodation and meals in Melbs :)
• My friend had a beautiful bebeh girl. Ahn. So cute! Both momma AND bubby that is!
• Work moved into our spanky new building. It is full of awesome.
• Took two weeks holidays. Didn't go anywheres :( My employer has this "rule" where you must take 10 consecutive days worth of leave in a 12-month period. I had not done so, thus was 'forced' to take leave. Darn them.
• Joined some online dating sites o_O I figured after recent dating failures I could hardly do much worse!! It's been fun thus far. I highly recommend dating (casually of course - nobody is sleeping with anyone!!) a slew of men ALL AT THE SAME TIME. It stops one from obsessing why one guy isnt calling you as you have too many other dates to even have time to clean your freaking house :)
• Per the above - have actually met a couple of lovely boys :) We'll see how that pans out!
• Did very little crafting. Started a scarf for a friend. Missed the delivery date. Negotiated a second delivery date. Have still to finish it. Nothing else really of note in the craftiness area...
• Heaps of athletic pursuits! Triathlon Pink over here in sunny Perth. V pleased with my performance. Mucho improvement. All those winter training sessions in the cold have paid dividends. Great Bike Ride last weekend also an improvement on prior performance. Lookin' good in lycra...well, as good as one can look!!!
• Farewelled my BFF and her significant other who are off for a three month overseas jaunt. Not. Jealous. At. All...(miss them already!)

Hmmm. Feel sure that I have missed something...numerous friends birthdays...work...training...dating eligibile batchelors...work...training...nope :) think that's all of note.

I'll try not to leave you so neglected next time!!

More crafty shenanigans to come over the next few days.

Pinky swear.

Belated June Update!!

Hello my little cherubs :D

Whew! It's been a little while hasn't it?

Anyhoodle, I've been terribly busy doing non-blog and non-craft related stuff. June was so jam packed that it literally flew by and before I noticed it was July!

So, June was a great month to....

• Meet new people. Some of them boys. Some of them jerks...actually of the three (seemingly nice) boys I met, 66.66% of them turned out to be jerks. The remaining 33.33% (recurring) are doing well so far......ssshhhh, he might be a keeper ;)
  
• Not do very much crafting at all. I have been horribly lax. My craft room has been unattended, vacant and ignored even. I did make one teensy tiny tissue paper flower...but that's about it. I started a knitted baby hat. And thats where that finished! Oh well. It's not as though I have lost my crafting mojo, it's merely on a brief hiatus and I have a feeling it will be back soon;
  
• Celebrate my dear old dads birthday. Ahn. Bless him. 63 years young and still the man I judge all others by. I love my dad (could you tell?). The bestest thing about dad is that I know no matter what I do in my life (perhaps short of committing a serious crime) he will always love me and never judge me. Jeez, I love that man!!!
  
• Finish my Bento Box quilt. Finally. Refer to post from 9 June for more deets on that long-winded project;
  
• Catch a cold. Bleurgh. Twice. And still not over this last batch. Yuck. I am quite possibly the worst sick person this side of a man-flu sufferer. I've been going through about a box of tissues every two days. I should buy shares in Kleenex damnit because I sure am keeping them in business at the moment!!!
  
• Have dinner(s) and drinks with friends. I love my friends! They listen to all my neuroses and shenanigans and over analysing of situations and then provide a voice of reason. And despite all those hard yards - they still love me! You guys are the best!!!
• Get a Facebook stalker. ummm. Awkward!
  
• Volunteer. My work gives us time off with pay to volunteer with community organisations and the like. It's a really cool programme and they promote various things through our internal internet. Things like weeding gardens at elderly peoples houses and helping with maintenance, or setting up for fund raising events for childrens charities. Cool stuff that is good for the community;
  
• Join the gym. Yep. Despite my ridiculous amount of triathlon training I have not been a member of a gym for quite some time. However, I have now joined up with my housemate and we have been going to copious amounts of classes...well, until I got sick and forced myself to rest!
  
• Farewell one of my colleagues who has gone off on maternity leave to prepare for her first bub. So cute - she is getting all out in front with baby at the moment, but still over a month to go!
  
• Farewell another colleague who left to set up her own marketing, communications and events management business. If anyone needs anything like that in Perth, get hold of Suzanne at http://www.creativeelements.net.au/ and tell her that Kylie sent you!!!

Hmmm. I think that was all. I mean aside from the ridiculous busyness that is my paying job. *sigh*. Global Financial Crisis (I love how people - including myself - capitalise the words) means I will continue to be wanted, needed and loved (or perhaps slightly loathed) in a work related manner for quite some time!!

Yay.

And in closing, there's this...well...there was going to be an incredible photo of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine (ggrrrrrrrr!), but Blogger appears to be having some photo techno issues so I am afraid there's no photo. Just visualise instead :)

Stuff 'n' Updates

Am just watching "The Zoo' on television.

OMG - I am such a sucker for baby animals :)

They just had a baby langur (sp?) monkey on. Oh. My. Goodness. So very, very, very cute!!

So, what's been happening? Well, I've FINALLY finished my Bento Box Quilt (per last weeks post). I've also finished the bulk of the cross stitch on my Les Lapins project, so now just all the outlines to do (bleurgh. My least favourite bit). I've finished 95% of a skirt for work - just need to attach the lining and finish the waist and hem. My first item of clothing that I have made since Home Ec in High School...

Hmmmm......what else?

Let me see...Oh yeah! My work and Facebook stalker! I really shouldn't laugh, but there was this guy that works for the same company as me who had taken a sudden and unexplained liking to me. It's a long and complicated story, but suffice to say, through a bit of subterfuge and a few little white lies (I know, I know!!!) my friends and I believe we have staved off any potential issues. Of course, I now have an imaginary boyfriend. He's pretty hot, you know (lol). A cyclist, 6 foot 5, in great shape, works as an engineer....what!!? Well, if I'm going to have to lie about having a boyfriend to see off a potential stalker/suitor, I am totally going to make it worth my while :D

Anything else.....oh yes.

ItotallymadeoutwithanotherguybutItotallydontknowwhereitsgoinganditssupercomplicatedandohmygoodness.

::ahem::

Sometimes I wonder what I'm thinking.

But usually only after I've done something I probably shouldn't have.

Cos THATS when you should do your thinking...

May Update

Yes - I know it's only halfway thru the month, but a few things have been happening around my place, so rather than do interminable small posts, I thought one larger one would be better.

I also notice that I have skewed slightly away from the craft content in the last week or so. *shrugs* Hope nobody minds ;)

The house-hunting is going well, especially since the Budget announcement that I don't have only 6 weeks within which to sign a sale contract. Thanks K-Rudd. Finally, something for meeeeeeeeeeee in the budget! Unfortunately, I am one of those people who tends to miss out on the 'good' budget stuff. I don't earn a six figure income, but I do earn enough so that I hit the highest tax bracket for part of my wage. This means that I don't receive the whole $900 stimulus package as I earn a trifle too much. I don't have children so I don't receive family benefits (hope that's the right terminology!) or baby bonuses or anything children related. I'm not on a pension (thank goodness!) or a family or a student etc etc, so the First Home Owners Grant is one of the only things that directly benefits me. Oh, I realise there are roads and other infrastructure projects which benefit me, but it's different when you can get hold of something tangible ;)

Also, I am far less freaked out than I was last week in regards to actually getting a home loan. After calming myself the hell down and cogitating over it, it's much much less daunting now!!

Am off to the Craft and Quilt Show here in Perth tomorrow. Squeezing my visit in between my early morning cycling training (should be running but I am still out of commission slightly on that front) and a physio visit (see previous bracketed comment...I think my physio is paying off a boat $72 at a time!!). Should be fun, but must try not to spend too much money, both due to trying to maximise savings vis a vis new house purchase and also because I have quite enough craft stuff thankyou very much :)

Tomorrow night marks my official entry into the 'singles scene'. I've been single for nearly 6-months now, which is the longest time in my life since I was about 16. I've been on a few dates with a guy that turned out to be a bit of a chump (no matter!) and met one other lovely guy who is sweet but unsuitable (but lovely!!). So, I'm going to a Singles Party. Gulp. Gents up to the age of 39, which probably means that I will be one of the oldest ladies there...oh dear!! Will let you know how THAT pans out!!

Completed the Mothers Day Classic here on Mothers Day. This event raises funds for Breast Cancer Research by the staging of running and walking events across Australia. Here in Perth there were something like 2,500 entrants this year. Despite my physio's advice, I did complete the 7km run, in an OK (for me) time of 44m22s. NOt too bad for someone who is injured and couldn't train for the two weeks preceding. My hip didn't hurt too much, but I'm sure the physio will have something to say when I 'fess up tomorrow...

Have been on holidays from paying work this week, which has been lovely. Have been doing very little for the last two days which has been rather nice, as I haven't had a break from work where I had nothing to do for nearly 18-months. In fact, if I didn't have important appointments to attend to next week then I'd probably ring my boss up and tell him I wasn't coming in next week as well ;)

Promise that craft content will be resumed shortly!!
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Day 14 of 31 (or 365) - nearly halfway through my 31-day blogging challenge. Hope no one else is bored! I'm actually rather enjoying it at this point.

Whatever Wednesdays

Oh.

My poor, poor, horribly neglected blog...

Any excuse I offer would be just that...an excuse.

A quick rundown of what's been happening since the last time I visited (gulp)

1. Have completed three further triathlons, and two fun runs (although the term 'fun run' always seems a little of an oxymoron to me...);
2. Another Brown Owls meeting :) this time at Baby Goose in Inglewood. Small group but good. I brought along my knitting and whipped up a pair of baby ballet shoes for one of my pregnant friends;
3. Work work work (at my paying job). Very busy, but now my new boss has started - after being a one woman band for a period of nearly FOUR MONTHS - so should settle down;
4. The guy that I was sort-of-casually-seeing-dating-kind-of turned out to be a schmuck and a bit of a loser. Oh well. Worse things happen at sea!!
5. My birthday happened!! I will not divulge the total number of years, suffice to say that I am as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth :) I was roundly spoilt I must say. My birthday occurred on Easter Saturday so I got a long weekend as a gift! Yay! I celebrated with morning tea with my aunt and uncle (bearing gifts from the parentals) on Good Friday. Hot Cross Buns, homemade orange almond cake and chocolate cups. Breakfast on the day with my good friend and housemate Bec. High Tea at the Hyatt with the girls followed by cocktails at the Hula Bula Bar! Yippee and thanx to all who attended and made it fun (and although it's unlikely that the person mentioned in point #4 is reading this blog, your decision to come along to my birthday and then proceed to try and pick up other women at the bar? Just wanted to let you know that despite your best intentions it did not ruin my night, merely opened my (and my friends eyes) to what a dog you are :) now instead of just me thinking you are a clown, there are about 10 other people who think it too!) Got lovely gifts which will post photos of later :)
6. Finished two knitted beanies now that I've worked out how to knit in the round. Frogged both of them as the first one was too big (and I wanted to use the yarn in a scarf instead) and the other one didn't turn out quite as I had hoped...
7. Finished a lovely scarf using some bamboo / acrylic mix yarn. So pretty with photos to follow;
8. Started a ruffle scarf for BFF/Roomie Bec in a white acrylic mohair. Pretty so far and I hope she'll enjoy it;
9. Started a mini quilt with some fabric I got in the Amitie Blog VIP mailout. Perfectly pretty. Again with the promise of photos to come...
10. Finally...despite my recent dating (almost) failure (hey, I don't think I'm the one with issues here!!!) have agreed to be kinda-sorta set-up with a friend of a friend. *sigh* but NOT a blind date, just a low-key group get together type thing...like I said to the friend with the friend, what's the worst thing that can happen? I make a new friend!!!

Hmm, I'm sure that there is more that has gone one in the last (ulp!!) almost six weeks, but these are the highlights!

Rest assured that my recent 'romantic disappointments' have not dissuaded me! The events have been meticulously dissected by innumerable female friends and one very wise friend of a male nature, and we have unanimously shook our heads at Fellow from Point # 4's antics.

He, he...onward and upward! So many men...so little time (as they saY) BWAHAhahahahaaaa :D

More posts to come over the next few days. Promise.

Ciaou bellas xx