I've been toying with this for a while, because I really do feel like my life is all about keeping up with these short people I've spawned :)  I'll keep this brief , if it's available, my blog url will be changing to  herdinghobbits.blogspot.com.au !  So please hop over & follow me once I change it (I'm guessing that you have to do that??)  If it's not available... well I'll still be right here where you left me lol

A day or so ago I notice that my blogger background was deceased.  It was a freebie from delightfuldots, and I had JUST put it up for summer (Not sure if y'all noticed, I like to change my template for the seasons hehe)  and I guess the way she has you install them links to HER  photo sharing site (whereever they are stored) and doesn't have you download the file to your computer.  Big problem because her traffic is clearly enormous due to the links and it has exceeded bandwith :(  So I had a blanky blog.

So I finally took a few minutes to go searching for a new one.  I found THIS beauty and had to have it!  Alas there was a problem with the site and it would not download!  A scroll down the comments underneath showed it has been a problem for a while.  SO, I managed to find it at another site and downloaded it!  It required a fair bit of tweaking to fix all the widgets that were in all SORTS Of bizarre places, and the date was UNDEFINED... but once I sorted that out I was giddy lol.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I live for a nice posh coffee.. and if I am sitting at this laptop blogging, there is probably a cuppa riding shotgun on my left LOL.  I have (almost) never met a coffee I didn't like, so this blog template is SO me that it's just not funny!

So, does anyone know if it stuffs up subscriptions/follows if you change the name of the blog ONLY in the header?  I've been tossing around the idea of a new name for a little while now... not really settled on anything yet, but just not feeling this one anymore if you know what I mean?   The new theme kinda begs for something caffienated, don't you think???

Bite me blogger for eating my post!

I think I am almost ready to forgive you for being a fascist and eating my nice posts.  So,  I'm back-ish.  

I really do think it's the simple things in life that make me happiest :)  Today hubby & I were cleaning, since not much of THAT has been done while everyone has been sick (and we've been sleep deprived!).  There are a few places that NEVER seem to be tidy.. one of those is our bedroom lol (but no, I did not tackle it today), another is the kitchen bench where the phone & water filter live.   I have high hopes of getting a couple of bar stools for the family room side of the counter, but the MESS that lived there would have made them pointless.  I'm kicking myself for not taking a before picture, but oh well.  There was a fruit bowl there, without fruit... but it DID hold massive piles of CRAP!   In it were: a zillion tiny letters that went to a business stamper, a WAD of christmas ornament hooks (don't EVEN ask how), and those were tangled up amongst an old mobile phone usb cord and one of those silly vertical blind chains!  Add to that many pens, a few crayons, a random spare key and more absurd little bits of paper than I cared to count.. and yeah.  It was a mess.  

THIS is what it looks like now!  The area on the right side of the counter was the offending corner.  Now there is nothing there but a phone :D    Of course, one of the boys came along just a second before I took the pic and deposited his water cup on the bench *scowl*   I left the offending bowl there, but rest assured it will be finding a new home so that it can't play black hole again, and suck in any surrounding items!  

If you enlarge that pic, you'll see my very favourite Fat Cat cookie jar... He's got a tiny crack around the rim, so he doesn't get used.  But he DOES get loved.  I have to smile every time I look up at him hehehe.  Also there are the awesomely cool medieval style wine goblets mum gave us for our anniversary.. love them!  I feel like I ought to slip into one of my renaissance costumes when I bring them out ;)  I think they definitely call for something 'wenchly', don't you? 

 This is another simple thing.  When you have 3 sickish boys, you will do almost anything to stop the whinging and make them forget about being sick... even for a little while!   Nick Jr. to the rescue!!!    As you can see it had everyone rivetted,  'cept Sam, who had to cheesy grin for me.   Oh.. and all that crap you can see on my desk in front of the boys?  THAT got decluttered today too.  Yeah, what can I say, I'm on a roll!  

The most exciting simple thing though, at least for today, was not so simple lol.  I have tried numerous times to add a related posts function to this blog but it never worked.  I've been through numerous tutorials on how to do it and could never figure out what went wrong.  Well, after attacking the kitchen AND my desk, I decided to reward myself with a little time wasted on the web.  I stumbled across another way to add related posts and grudgingly tried it.. and it worked!!!  Go Me! lol    I thought it would be neat to have so that some of my new blogosphere friends can, if they have time to blow ;),  can read other posts and get to know me and my Hobbits a little better.  

So please, have a wander around!   With that.. I do believe I'll crank out a cuppa and go reading some of my favourite blogs myself. 

Happy New Year!  I hope you all had a fabulous one.  We welcomed in the new year with Striders' family by staying overnight, watching fireworks at midnight and just generally hanging out and enjoying each others company.    I was feeling particularly introverted from around 10pm onward, so I tossed on my lovely new black satiny jammies and wrap and retired to the balcony for a while.  The full (and Blue) moon was just amazing... it was so bright there were shadows dancing across the lawn.   I wish I'd gotten a pic of it.  The breeze was cool and wonderful (Gods I miss living by the Bay!)   

I had brought my journal with me...  I am not an avid journaler by any means.  I started it in September 08 and did keep it through my trip to the US when Jon had his accident. But I only write in it occasionally these days.  I figured NYE was a good time to record my thoughts.  And boy did I have some.. I think I rambled on for 4 pages or so!   I wrote about my goals for the year (see previous post ;) and my goals for myself, among other things.   I'll look back on that on NYE 2010 and see how my year has measured up.   I'd also like to try to keep up the conversation with myself that a journal provides.  I had quite a few surprise insights during that bit of writing and I enjoyed it.

As we speak I am undecorating the tree and putting the holiday season to bed for the year.  In it's place will go the treadmill, that has been residing (unused, due to incredible heat out there) in the garage.  I am going to commit to using it 4 times a week to start, hopefully working up to daily as my stamina builds.  I loved putting the ipod on at the gym and just walking to nowhere... but I just couldn't handle the heat, so air conditioning FTW!  I am going to have to budget for a new pair of walking shoes though... mine are just shot (they are ancient, so no big surprise there!) 

Also for 2010, I'm feeling myself drawn to creating another blog on an actual 'topic'.  (ya know, instead of this rambly mess that I so love!)If I do this, I'll still post my everyday stuff here, of course.  I am not sure yet if I want to link it to THIS blog though, as the topic makes me want to have a bit of anonimity.   It involves a lot of specifics about us that make the portion of my brain prone to tin foil hat theories (it's a small portion,  really it is ;) a bit nervous about people being able to identify us if they really wanted.    This is still just something I'm kicking around though, so I'm not at all sure where I'm going with this venture yet.   Not even completely settled on my blog topic yet ;)  

So fellow bloggers, what're you hoping to accomplish in 2010?