All things Australia Day....

I guess I have to talk a little about this as it has taken up not only a fair amount of my time but it has also been quite the experience. In three days, so January 26th it will be Australia Day and some how which is still unclear to me I will be running the Australia Day Celebration's for our small area of NSW called Nowra. Now those of you who have logged on before will realise this is funny because I'm actually English by birth, New Zealander by legal defination and very recently as in the last year moved to Australia but I must say even with all that I am very proud to be running this day. Firstly because the community here has been so supportive and lovely to us it is a pleasure to be able to give something back. Secondly because our church who have been amazing and now hold some of our closest friends run this day for the local community I am able to serve them as well as our area and thirdly how often as an adult do you get to plan the biggest most elaborate, crazy party ever? So tomorrow we head into the office to be interviewed for the local paper, the final meetings will be held to tidy any loose ends up and some how we will order a mass of food and drink to feed thousands of people; not a bad job really! There will be a bit of suffering too with setting up for hours, late nights and five am starts but that is why energy drinks exist isn't it? The totally best part for me is the huge amount of people that will be blessed this Thursday by all the work that has gone into this day, not just me by any stretch but stacks of dedicated people who are giving up their day off to come in and serve their neighbours, friends, family and community. It will be an awesome day I am sure but personally I want to thank those few who yet again have stepped up to help make such an important event happen for the many. I will try to post as many pictures as possible of what we get up to but check it out on face book if you get a chance Austrlia Day Brekky Nowra or Nowra City Church website. If you'll be celebrating with us have a great Australia Day, an if your Kiwi's don't worry Waitangi's not to far off and we are sure to celebrate that in style too! Welcome Malaysia and South Korea to the blog, nice to have you visit :) Isobial xxoo

A post-decision making society?

Ok so this is kind of a weird observation and possibly it could just be us but have you noticed how hard people seem to find it now days to make a decision on something? From the brand of cereal, to going out some where it just seems so hard. Personally I like to make a quick evalution of the options and get on with it but it seems for some this is in the too hard basket; especially our younger darlings. From the clothes they where to the take out they'll eat everything is second guessed and eventually swayed by someone else's opinion. Now from observing all sorts of people around me and this behaviour I have concluded that there are various reason's behind this trend. The first and generally attributed to the younger group would be sheer laziness, if someone else can do it for them it is less taxing for their poor brains. Second it seems is the concensus reasoning, if we all discuss it and agree I can't be pinpointed as the one who made the mistake if it's wrong or someone gets upset. Thirdly and finally the full dither, not wanting to risk being wrong the group or individual goes around in circles till nothing has been achieved by the time it is too late to decide. Often this affects both young and old from what I've observed and results in frustration from those who wanted a decision or self aimed frustration for non-achieved goal. I guess what I'm wondering is where has this all come from? it seems so much more common now and I would hate to see myself or family members slipping into it. What happened to the days where deciding what to wear was as easy as looking at what was clean or heading out to do something depended on how much gas you had and money to spend. I do have some idea's, my first would be expectations, I think our expectations of the average child has dimmed some what. Gone are the days of chores, pocket money and responsibility. Now it seems a cash hand out is expected, chores don't fit their agenda and responsibilty is something discussed after the fact; I know this is generalising some what but it fits too many kids observed not to stand out. Secondly I would say media, all those shows that have highlighted the benefit of sticking with the status quo, not rocking the boat and ditching any form of backbone, how easy they have made life look if you just cruise along. Thirdly I guess it is the case of having too many choices, thousands of them. We are bombarded with so much to choose from that it becomes a negative experience that makes us feel like a failure either way. At the end of the day I guess there is really one decision to make...to make a decision to do something about it. Teach your kids to evaluate a situation and form a plan forward, hold them accountable for their actions but praise the good decisions and go over the what if's of the bad. For the older bunch well live your life is what I guess is fair to say. If you float along with no input to where you are going or feeling bad that you didn't decide to do what you were planning then there is only one way to change that isn't there? For me as a human, wife, mum and writer my goal is to lead by example; make as many good decisions as I can, learn from the bad ones that I got wrong and of course give my characters the strength to make decisions! How boring a book would I be writing otherwise? Have a great week! Isobial :)

Bend over an kiss your butt goodbye.....

Well after a fabulous holiday in New Zealand we jumped on an early flight back home to Aussie and from that point on it all went pear shaped. Our late night packing mean't we had missed the toy gun in our son's carry on so immediate confiscation ensued. Then we had to run to get on the flight as it had taken sooooo long to get through. We had to weigh all carry on again for no apparent reason, I got the lovely pat and wand treatment etc so lots of airport fun! Then we were treated to a flight of horror movie capabilities, turbulance the entire way, cold food and disembarking on the tarmac via stairs onto a bus. So white as a sheet from holding off hurling we enter the airport only to find it packed, luggage missing as it was put on the wrong flight and lots of tired grumpy passengers. The only sunshine in the entire experience was exiting two and a half hours later to a much loved family member who was sweet enough to drive us home. Over that flight though I had plenty of time for praying we wouldn't crash and trying to think of distractions which would keep me from hurling all over the poor people infront. One of the things that worked really well was thinking of the kids movie Madagascar 2, where the penguin's instruct everyone during the crash landing in Africa to bend over and kiss their butt's goodbye. It worked really well, kept me chuckling and wondering if it was at all physically possible? Maybe if started pilates or something? Anyway home gain and settling in to routine once more. The two hour time difference has caused a little issue with our body clocks waking us up early wanting food at random times and bed so early we feel like old people but I'm sure it will sort it's self out soon enough. I guess the benefits of all these lovely experiences is the ability to tuck them away into the writers closet so to speak, I have a fabulous vocab now for near death plane rides, holidays filled with continuous rain and crazy body clock antic's; I'll just have to find a story line to match! Hope all your holidays were filled with adventures too. Isobial xxoo