FYBF: Life Is A Rollercoaster!

Life is a rollercoaster,

Just gotta ride it...

Okay, so the lyrics other than the tag aren't all that apt for my life at the moment, but hey, I like the song and it is a feel good listen. Life is crazy busy, and will be so for the next few months. We are in transition, big changes are in the wind, but to achieve them we have to work our butts off for a bit. Add in kids and other committments and you have MANIA! It will be worth it in the end, but, OH BOY... what we have to do in the near future. Gulp. So if I'm not around as much, please forgive me.

Who ever said running three businesses whilst managing the family stuff was going to be easy? Oh, that's right... no-one!

It's Friday. So this is all you're getting for my FYBF. A whine. But later you can have a wine as IT'S FRIDAY! With my blessing (as if you need it, lol).

Will be back as usual to add all the FYBF stuff when it is open.

Cheers!

PS Somewhere along the line I got a button on Blog This! Woot! Go check it out!

Blog This Challenge 69 - Million Dollar Riff... And Then Some

Blog This Challenge 69:

What would you do if you won the big one. Not one million, or even two million, but a division one prize of 52 million dollars? Would you go public, remain anonymous, use it for good of others, or on family only? If all your financial issues were swept away, what would you do with the rest?

You'd think if I set a topic I'd have some idea of the entry, wouldn't you? Ah, well, no. And to make it worse who else but me would end up with this challenge number? Crikey. What a wedger, as we used to say in my rurally misspent youth. Anyhow, back to the topic at hand. I chose this one because the little newsagency we frequent near work sold one of the winning two tickets in the 52 million dollar jackpot last year. And to think I didn't go down to grab my usual quickpick 'cause I was running late for school pickup. Hell, I may never have had to do school pickup again... I'd just send James the Chauffeur along with Ingrid the Au Pair to do it! Damn, blast and crap. Ah well, on with my entry for Challenge 69....

Million Dollar Riff

Dear friends and certain family members,
I am saddened to inform you we have absconded from this mundane life. Recently our little family of four humans, two dogs, two cats, one cockatiel and several tropical fish won the big one. Yes, that cool $52 million anonymous winner was us. We just didn't want anyone to know. Especially you cousin Errol, you did your dash when blackmailing your eighty-something year old mother into signing blank cheques for your worthless arse to visit her in the nursing home. Oh, and old friend Sue, you may love Versace and Guess but indulging your champagne tastes whilst the power is cut off is not on. So GUESS what? You ain't getting none either.

We have allocated various amounts to worthy people we care about, your burden will be eased. Those of you will already have received the documentation in the mail. Yes, that anonymous windfall was from us. Only you know who you are and it is a legal requirement that you remain quiet or else the payment ceases. Immediately.This trust fund will divest the annuities on a regular basis for the next ten years, so plan well and enjoy life a little more. We have watched you work damn hard and struggle in these hard economic times, same as we did. You deserve this, believe me, and we are so happy to be able to share a little of our good luck.

As for the other $42 million, not that it is anyone's business, but this is where it has gone:

• $10 million bursary to support ASD children within a mainstream environment. Aimed at children aged 6 and over. To help the limbo kids - those struggling with little support, and yet unable to access special schools or public funding.
• $1 million to various charities including Animal Welfare League, Canteen, Lifeline.
• Debt payoff - $1 million.
• $5 million to fund in home care support for the aged, Wise Woman would have loved this.

What are we up to? $26 million down? Ah, yes, halfway.

• We blew $7 million on a private island paradise, think Nekker but better. Eat your heart out Richard Branson.

• Another $1 million on a yacht. Big Boy always wanted one of these.

• Invested wisely $10 million to keep an income coming in.
• Used $2 million for tax advice and avoidance.
• $7 million to play with as we feel the urge.

Do not attempt to find us, we have made sure our trail cannot be followed. Our financiers have been paid in advance to manage the trusts and bursaries, feel free to lodge all complaints and pleas for hand outs to
don'tgiveashit@richbitchmadmother.com.

Just don't expect a prompt response. Or any, to be honest.

Have a nice life.

Yours invisibly,

P.S. Another round of cocktails please Jeebs. Oh, and rub some more lotion into my shoulders would you Simon... Yes, he is the cabana boy.

Disqus, Envy and a Little Procrastination...

Sitting here just a little envious this morning. The amazing Mrs Woog of Woogsworld fame (or is that infamy?) is off to lunch with Google! Yes, you read it right  - GOOGLE! You really know you've reached the pinacle of all blogicleness when Google want to wine and dine your arse! So I told her I wanted to be her! Yes, a little stalkerish. Okay, a lot stalkerish, but hey, wouldn't it be worse if I sat and let my jealousy fester unvoiced behind a false smiling facade? And that leads me to my next point. Disqus. No false smiling facade on MY comments in Disqus. No facade at all - I am faceless. Must admit the envy was creeping insidiously in about this one too. I would sit, muttering madly under my breath "She got a photo. Why does she get one and not me. Who does she think she is? How did she get on the inner? What have I ever done to Disqus to make it treat me with such obvious disdain? Why aren't I in the cool group? *Sob*" every time I commented and had to enter e-mail, enter username, enter first born son's right testicle...

But then I noticed something. A little thing that soothed my jaded spirit. I was not alone. The uber-cool Allison from Life in a Pink Fibro was sitting a couple of comments away SANS photo! So maybe I am in the cool group. and the other is the uncool group! Well, that's my premise and I'm sticking to it.

And now we come to the procrastination bit... As you may have read in my other post, I won Challenge 67 on Blog This. Which meant I had to come up with a topic for Challenge 69 (I know, I know, okay?). After no help from you lot I came up with a topic:

What would you do if you won the big one. Not one million, or even two million, but a division one prize of 52 million dollars? Would you go public, remain anonymous, use it for good of others, or on family only? If all your financial issues were swept away, what would you do with the rest?

Yeah, not brilliant but all I had at that moment (being put on the spot kinda thing ya know). Now I am avoiding as only someone as consummate a procrastinator such as moi can. You'd a thunk if I was the one coming up with the challenge that I'd have some ideas about it, huh?

Lucky I'm a fly by the seat of my pants sorta gal. Because that's what I'll be doing. For this challenge entry and for Muse Wars I would say. Cest la vie.

Oh, and drop over and check out Challege 68 - Valentine's Past. Vote for your favourite - and I'll let you know I was lucky, for this one I had already written an apt post way back last year.

Okay, no more stuffing around. I'll get stuck into it, I promise. Right after I just go and...

Well Whoa! And Hot Damn!

Okay, well here's the thing. I won! Yep, I won Challenge 67 on Blog This. Now, apologies are necessary for the lag in my realisation... this old Madmother had forgotten to update the link in my blog list to the new address. Woops. And I must also thank my friends adoring followers for voting for me. I honestly thought I was second, but must have been a last minute surge in the votes, lol. All that threatening cajoling on facebook must have had an impact...

No, really. You mean you missed it? Oh, well I did seriously consider a bit of biffo blackmail, but then it slipped my mind. Like most things. I guess it must have been this face that swung it for me. How could you resist:

But here's the thing. I now have to very quickly, as time is fast running out, come up with a new challenge. Any ideas? Cause I'm drawing a blank.

Anyone?

How about something like:

If you won the lottery, what would you do?

What betrayal has had the greatest impact in youtr life?

What has been the most positive influence in your life?

Show us yer tits (photographic challenge)?

Yes, I am kidding. But desperate. Hmm, maybe it's not such a bad...

FYBF - Shameless Hussy & Disqus Discontent

Yeah, here I am on a Flog Yo Blog Friday shamelessly hawking for votes. What for, the thousands of new readers, may ask? "Well,' I humbly reply, "for this:

Blog This Challenge 67 "

Yes, voting has opened. So follow the link in above post and look at ALL the entries and then vote. Preferably for me. I did mention shameless, didn't I? Well I am. And competitive. Bahahahahahahahahaha...

I also wish to lodge a formal complaint to the many of you whom I follow who have chosen to jump into Disqus. Yes, the commenting system. I HATE IT! It won't let me sign in under my login (yes, I do have a Disqus log in, but it has some personal issue with me and won't let me use it most days). EVERYTIME I want to comment I have to go through the blah, blah, blah... enter e-mail, enter username, enter website crap. And it won't put my lovely picture in either, just leaves me as a mere shadow of my vibrant self. NOT HAPPY JAN!

Why do so many of you like this system? What am I doing wrong? It is like being the geeky one in plaits and glasses hanging around the edge of the huddle, trying desperately to break through to see what the cool kids are giggling, chatting and circling about.

Come on guys - LET ME IN!

Or else I'm sending the shark after you. Hey If I'd do it to my kid, I'd do it to you!

Now, as linky seems to have changed its rules, I don't know if FYBF is on. But this is mine anyway, linky list or no linky list. After all, I'm quite pracised at tanties now. Just sayin'.

Blog This Challenge 67: Sepia - I think not?

Blog This

Challenge 67

Share your favourite sepia photo with the world.

Your photo can be of anything, just keep in sepia tones!

Boy 2 is my most colourful child so it is ironic I am entering a sepia photo of him into this challenge. It is one I think captures him in all his glorious quirkiness. Ah, my son, my beautiful second son.

Voting Starts: 10th February

Voting Ends: 17th February

Go here and vote - after all, how could you resist this face?

PSSST... my brand new camera only arrived today and Big Boy has not brought it home yet so I could not use it for this challenge.

Blog This Challenge 60 - Life's Hard Lessons

Life is Too Short

Blog This Challenge 60

One of the certainties in life is death. My mother, Wise Woman, always told me life is too short, make the most of it, do not let the small bad things detract from the big wonderful ones. This is the hardest of lessons you will ever learn. I guess it is another way of saying stop and smell the roses.

God decided to try and instil this one in me at a young age of fifteen. He took my sister. Suddenly, brutally, bang - gone! My whole life changed and I became an only child. My parents fell apart and I, the only remaining child, had to attempt to keep our lives functioning in some semblance of normalcy. It was my first life lesson in grief, and my initial experience of life IS too short. Other losses followed, and today I am once more living this life lesson. I buried my mother on Tuesday. The woman who gave me a life has left mine. Not in my heart or my head but in the physical.

Some of you are sitting, reading this and wondering "why on earth at such a time as this would she be doing this challenge?" Simple. Because one of the biggest ideals my mother has left me with is so very important: Life is short. She would hate me feeling the way I do (and I do, believe me, right now I feel like my guts have been ripped out), and be telling me to look at my blessings. They are many. I had a wonderful mother who loved me deeply and shared my life for nearly forty seven years, I have a beautiful family, we live in a glorious part of the world, I have true, loyal friends who support me and hold me above the waves when I sink.

This is not coming out as I intended. What I am trying to tell you is to love those near as much as you can. Hold them, laugh with them, live with them. In the moment. The bills will end up paid, that job will eventuate, the problems will be resolved. Sometime. Children grow up, people die, life changes so EACH new day take time to smile, feel good about yourself, change those things that drag, take control of life on your terms. Live, Laugh, Love. A very Wise Woman once taught me those very things.

Vote, Vote, VOTE!

Shameless grovelling here! The Blog This 50th Challenge is open to vote on. I have two entries. Both have been put in Poll # 3 under strange names.

The entry for THIS blog is under Meandering Mother (What the?), the entry for my Roller Derby post is under Mad Mother. People - it is NOT two words, it is one. Not once has Blog Pissed got it right. The popular group, you know the ones they consider in the clique, NEVER have their names mis-spelt or incorrect. *Sigh*. Yes, it may be petty but it does irritate!

Now to vote you do need to press the little button next to one of my two entries and then press vote down the bottom of Poll 3. You don't need to be a member, or even an Aussie BUT you can only vote once! And voting ends TODAY!


Please. I'll even play nice with the other kids quietly for a while...

Fifty? Waddya Mean FIFTY?

Bejeebus - how to scare a forty something sliding rapidly towards fifty mad female peoples! Mention the F word in a challenge title.

Yes, don't go into shock readers, I am about to dip my toe back into the icy waters of the Blog This challenge system again. I know I moaned and whinged in the past about *ahem* some of the lack of hoopla for winners of the Blog This challenges (well, I was entitled, I did win four challenges, and am pretty sure I was runner- up in one other but by the time it was announced... Ah well, all water under the bridge now) but I figured new crew, new era? Yeah?

So, it's the big FIFTIETH CHALLENGE!

We have open slather to post anything, so long as it equals the big 5-0.

And I sit here with absolutely no bloody idea what to write about! Everyone else has already covered it all. I have to keep up the level I set in my other *cough* winning entries, and let's just say my high-jumping days are long gone, so I'm off to fetch the ladder.

*Cue booming James Earl Jones voiceover*

Now presenting The INSPIRATIONAL LADDER...

Thanks James!

By golly Miss Molly, it worked - I think I have it!

I give you:

FIFTY SONGS TO BE COVERED

 BY THE CAST

 OF GLEE!

Yes Glee! The show! Oh come on, everyone's heard of Glee, even Madonna... Now this is not going to be your average list, but one in keeping with my warped perspective on life. So hold on to your panties peoples, it's gonna be a rocky one.

I could go though each one and nominate a cast member, and I will for a few, but let's face it; half the fun will be you picking which of your favourite Glee-ites could take on what song and own it. And for any lyrics you don't know (being young-uns, some of you) do remember Google is your friend.

1.  Shaddap You Face - Joe Dolce. Perfect for Sue Sylvester, let me tell you.

2.  Holiday in Cambodia - Dead Kennedys.

3.  Sweet Transvestite - Tim Curry, Rocky Horror Picture Show. Hell, the options on this one are endless!

4.  Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again - The Angels

5.  I Touch Myself  - Divinyls. Would love to see the virginal Rachel tackle this one, lol.

6.  My Sharona - The Knack

7.  Blue - Eifel 65

8.  You Talk Too Much - George Thoroughgood.

9.  Boom Boom - Paul Lekakis

10. Happy Birthday - Altered Images

11. Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus

12. Tubthumping - Chumbawamba

13. Who Let The Dogs Out - Baha Men

14. Gimme Dat Ding - Pipkins

15. Pushbike Song - Mixtures

16. Black Betty - Ram Jam

17. Pop Muzik - M

18. Cotton-Eyed Joe - Rednex

19. Cool Cool Change - Midnight Oil

20. Rock Lobster - B52s

21. You'll Always Find Me in The Kitchen at Parties - Jona Lewie

22. Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes

23. Lump - Presidents of the USA

24. Oompa Loompa Song - Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory

25. How You Gonna See Me Now - Alice Cooper

Halfway - woot woot! So what do you think so far? Interesting?

26. Pressure Sway - Machinations

27. I Got You - Split Enz

28. Cars - Gary Numan

29. Computer Games - Mi-Sex

30. Bony Maronie - Hush

31. Der Kommissar - Falco

32. Cum On Feel The Noize - Slade

33. Evie (Parts 1, 2 & 3) - Stevie Wright

34. Out of Mind, Out of Sight - The Models

35. My Humps - Black Eyed Peas

36. Believe It or Not - Mike Post

37. Hungry Like The Wolf - Duran Duran

38. Spirit Got Lost - Mental As Anything

39. Bang Your Head - Quiet Riot

40. The Bitch is Back - Elton John. Now you would automatically think Sue for this one, but me I prefer Terri, Will's wife to take the lead.

WooHoo (as Tigger would say)... Final TEN.

41. Nutbush City Limits - Ike & Tina Turner

42. Pump It Up - Elvis Costello

43. I Need a Lover - Johnny Cougar

44. Anarchy - Sex Pistols

45. Choir Girl - Cold Chisel

46. Dirty Deeds - AC/DC

47. Stupid Girl - P!nk

48. Take on Me - Aha

49. Boys Light Up - Australian Crawl

50. Living Doll - The Young Ones feat Cliff Richard. Ensemble finale methinks? Agree?

So, who did you pick for what? Hmmm?

Don't forget the important bit now: if my fifty got your inner Glee glowing, go vote for ME!

HERE

 I will be grateful...Mwahahahahahahahahaha. And I promise not to sing.

Dilemmas, dilemmas...

A very quick one as it is a glorious day and we are off on an adventure!

I am debating whether to swap to a domain name, ie a .com instead of blogspot.com, but am wondering how to manage all four blogs. I guess you can create separate pages in the domain to host each one? But how is it transferred over?

And since Lori mentioned it, do you keep your comments upon changeover?

Oh, and what is going on with Blog This? If you say you are going to announce the winners of a challenge then please do it! Four days later, new challenge started and no winners from the last one? Always seems to happen when I'm in the top few. Starting to feel like a tall poppy, and remembering why I stopped entering. Challenges are meant to make you feel good, not bad.

*Sigh* Yes, it does make me snarky.

Blog This Challenge 40: Rehashing a past Blog Moment.

Tell your readers about a weird co-incidence, freaky story or a six-or-less degrees of separation moment!

BLOG THIS

I am rehashing a past blog post as this is a topic I wrote about a few months back. Freaky, really. One could even say it is a weird co-incidence that I wrote this exact entry months prior to the challenge being set.

Do do doo do... do do doo do.

(Bad imitiation of Twilight Zone theme song, lol)

My Challenge 40 entry is here:

Six Degrees Of Separation

 
 

Blog This Challenge 39: Ode To The Pure of Heart

After a break from entering I am enticed back into the

Blog This Challenge Arena

 by Challenge 39: The Good Deed.

It goes like this:

So friends, tell us about a good deed you have done for someone or vice-versa. Or how someone elses' good deed that you have learned about has affected you.. did you learn from it? How did it make you feel? Was it a disaster? Did it uplift you?

Now, I could bore you senseless big-noting myself, revealing my actions but to be honest, even though I am a take charge sorta gal it is not why I do it and I'd rather remain a little discreet.

Please stop laughing.

Seriously... STOP LAUGHING!

I can be discreet thank you very much.

Instead I am going to tell you of my own personal good deed merchant. Oi, you in the back there... no yawning, and I can do without the commentary. Waddya mean, "here she goes again?"

Whilst God has sent my oldest son some pretty big bloody hurdles to overcome in his genetic makeup, he also decided to throw in some complimentary awesomeness to go with the awetismness. In fact, I have a walking, talking look for the best - how can I help little ray of positiveness at times. I suppose I better now back up these incredible claims with some evidence, even if purely anecdotal. After all, you have all been deluged with the dramas, the struggles and the dark side of Asperger Syndrome so it may be a little hard to believe this declaration of good deeddomness.

Example one:

• We are mean parents (according to the powers that be: Boy 1 and Boy 2), our children have to earn their pocket money. Boy 1, aged seven, had managed to work his way into the princely sum of five bucks. Now our little school only manages to hold tuckshop on one day a week. Boy 1 was insistent he HAD to take his whole five dollars to school with us this day. Not on tuckshop day... So I asked him the big question. "WHY? "  His answer (whilst looking at me as if I was an idiot... I should know, surely?): "Because I might meet a poor person on the way and they would need it more than I do!" Jeez Mum, get with the programme!

Example two:

• Boy 1's wallet was stolen at a shopping centre. He put it down whilst looking at one of the centre aisle stalls of books, it had twelve dollars he had saved over three months. In his purity and lack of the understanding of human nature we spent many hours, days, weeks explaining to the little seven year old that NO. They would not bring it back because it was not theirs. No. They would not realise their mistake and hand it in. It was gone. A harsh lesson to the pure of heart. After many tears he comes to me one morning (and yes, every morning it was his topic of conversation during this period of learning about the brutality of reality). Instead of the ritual of would they bring it back today he surprises me by being calm and resolved. "Mummy. I think they didn't have any food for their kids and so they needed it to buy some. And they didn't have a spiderman wallet either. So it is okay now."

I know this is turning into another of my mammoth essays, so I will limit my little deity's words of wisdom and good deed delivery to just two more examples...

Example three:

• Starts with a betrayal. A friend turns and months of hell result. Years of therapy are undone. My child disintegrates before my eyes. Heartbreaking. Finally, with the help of some amazing professionals we begin the climb back. I am not ready to forgive and forget, because I feel betrayed also. But once again, my son leads by example, and shows me how much he has grown through the experience. He begins to allow the betrayer back in. His aide questions the sensibility of this. I can only put it in his words: "Mrs **. Even bullies get lonely. And how is a bully to learn what is right and wrong if they do not have a friend beside them to show them how?"

Example four:

• He is being teased at school. I, being the mature adult I am, suggest a taunting comeback. I get the look. And am firmly put in my place by an eleven year old. "If I do that MU-UM, it makes me like him. I am not like him and I will not call him names. He will grow out of it if I ignore him."

Yep, he is my own walking, talking good deedonator.

This is my entry for Challenge 39. This is my son.

Blog This: Challenge 34 HEY, YOU!

What would you tell yourself? Would you give advice? What advice would that be? Ask about your perception of the world? Give us an idea of who you think you were or who you think you'll be in the future...

Blog This: Challenge 34 If I met my Younger Self...

My late teens and twenties, even thirties were great. I worked hard and played harder. I had a lot of good friends and quite a few great ones. A few of those still hover in my life today (thanks Facebook).

But to the child I was in the 1970's I would say the following:

• 
  
  Don't sweat the small stuff, life will throw some really big stuff at you and the small stuff is so unimportant.
• 
  
  Tell your family, especially your sister, what they mean to you. The lesson you learn about how fleeting life is will come too late to amend this.
• 
  
  Fight for your dreams, they are worth it.
• 
  
  Enjoy being a child, being an adult is really hard.
• 
  
  The people who are worth it will always be so, the ones who treat you badly may well grow up to be wonderful people, so don't write them off forever either.
• 
  
  Be proud of who you are, you are an incredible person in your own right. 

That's it.

Do You Vote For Yourself?

Yes. it's that time again. Blog This Challenge 32: Comfort Food voting has opened and I have a question for you.

Come on, be honest! Do YOU vote for your own entry in challenges? I know it is not the done thing, certainly not considered politically correct and most people would deny it until blue in the face, but I do. Not all the time, but when one of my entries captures my heart (and we all have those favourites) like my Literary Whore, or, yes I will admit it, my Midnight Oil Eat It Out entry for this challenge,  I vote for ME!

I also am a competitive git, and as I said in one of my earlier posts, have this immense fear that when I go look at the poll a big fat zero will be there staring right back at me. We all crave acknowledgement or recognition, it is the nature of the beast. Once we have a taste of it, we want more.

The two challenges I have won, the first one I entered: Challenge 26 Quick Fix Meal and the most recent Challenge 31 My New Super Power, have given me an incredible emotional high and confidence boost. And once you have experienced this, well it is addictive.

You see I do not, like a lot of people who write or blog, truely believe in myself. I still find it incomprehensible that I have 58 followers! 58 people who want to see what I write, who find me entertaining enough to want to come back, who like my blog. I think it stems back (at least in my case) to the life change which comes with being a Mum. It is the most rewarding job on the planet BUT you also lose a piece of yourself, of your individuality. A lot of my self-worth was tied into my former working life. It is a situation where if you do a good job, you receive a pat on the back in the form of personal praise, a bonus system, or review. Motherhood rewards are not that clear cut, and usually come from sources who you know have strong personal ties to yourself. And so you lose that little bit of confidence in your ability. Winning these challenges gives you back a piece of that. Others who do not have a strong personal involvement have chosen to honour you and your entry by voting for you.



Get free graphics at blixy.com!

Anyway, enough of my self-analysis, what about you? Do YOU vote for yourself? Just sometimes, maybe? Come on, 'fess up... a bit of self-belief is nothing to be ashamed of.

Oh, and go read all the entires in Challenge 32, and vote for the one you like best. Every one of us who enter would appreciate it more than you could ever realise.

No undue pressure or emotionally charged persuasion from this end this time, but...