So here they are, the hits of the week… (I’d love to hear yours as well you know- sharing is caring, after all).

1.Bringing back blog. I had a funny start to the week- a bit wobbly in some ways, and I realised I wasn’t taking enough time to do the little things I like. Nothing astounding, just a bit more water, a bit more sun on my skin, and a bit more mucking around on the keys. Not piano keys (I won’t torture you with my rendition of Ode to Joy, which is the only song I know), but the keys of this little golden MacBook. It has a way of pulling the truth out of my fingers and I didn’t realise how much I had missed that. So “hi”.

2. RIP kettle (yes the little fucker is almost brand new), so hello warranty claims and all that happy crappy. (That’s a lie, that stuff is never happy is it?). The upside- and there always is an upside isn’t there- is that I was “forced” to go out for a coffee which slowly grew into a second breakfast, perched up in the Noosa treetops at Peppers. Big high ceilings, the chirp of holiday-makers, and staff that let you savour your moments. Five stars.

3. Heres’s another double-edger: a girls’ weekend away at The Goldy with The Heathers (I’ll tell you about them sometime- maybe that’s a story for the Secret Asher Stories?) canned due to Rona, so for once I’ve decided to gift myself the weekend off. So Cokesi and I will trundle down the Big Bruce to BrisVegas for some gyoza-fuelled shopping time. You’ve gotta grab your moments these days, don’t you? We are grateful that we are able to drive more than ten kilometres for something that some would consider non-essential (those someones clearly haven’t seen Coco after a Bubble Tea, diving into Zara Teens.

4. The Joe Dispenza course I completed this week. Thanks Hay House for marketing like MoFos until I finally signed up. The learning and the mediations are ace, but most of all, Joe got me clear on me. The Mind Movie “memory of the future” is a deal-breaker for a visual learner like me, who also loves some groovy (yes, I said groovy and I’m standing by it) music, and some words of affirmation. Hit me up if you want to know more. Bloody gold.

5. Old records. I reckon they hold some magic in their ridges. Telling stories of tunes past, each jump a reminder of a time when I danced too hard and too close to the needle on our old floorboards, or carelessly shoved a record back into its sleeve, rushing for the next song, the next song. Today I’ve got this one on rotation. I’m pleasantly surprised about how many of the spaces between the mondegreen of words I actually get right. Good songs get into your pathways don’t they? And they know how to take you to that place.

Hello old friend, I remember you.

So that’s it for my hits… What are yours? Did you have a moment of “Lively Up Yourself” this week?

…From The Ashers…

So, the hits of the week are….

1.  Mother’s Day.  I think it should be every Sunday.  No whinging, no working and: PRESENTS.  I would even forgo the sleep-in if required, just to have the other stuff.  Look that these cute little hands.  Have you ever?

Plus, it gave me a pretty good reason to sloth about (you know how I loathe love such behaviour) for much of the day looking like this:

I know, I can’t believe I’m posting this pic on the internet either! Me, sans makeup and with some of my loot…Note the excellent uggs I purchased for myself.

2.  Food Revolution Day TODAY Friday 16th.

Are you cooking anything with your kids?  We are doing tacos and burritos (shredded beef in the slow cooker OF COURSE).  It’s cheating a bit because we are using store bought tacos, but we are doing the tortillas from scratch thanks to BabyMac with the recipe.  Move over Taco Boy, here come the Asher Kids.  We are also making cupcakes, cooked and decorated by the kids.  They’ll be like door-stops, because I know not what it takes to make a good cupcake, and they’ll be garish, for my kids know not what it takes to make things look palatable, but we will have fun, and that, I think is Jamie’s point.  We are actually doing Food Revolution Weekend- the kids have designed the menu (yes it does involve homemade pizzas and herbs from their own garden), so according to the experts, that should make them want to eat it.  Hmmmm… I’ll get back to you on that one.

3.  Astrology charts.  Have you ever had yours done?  Well I haven’t, but just got Coco’s done, and I’m getting the rest of ours over the next couple of weeks.  It’s amazing.  And confusing.  So you need a consultation with the person to interpret it for you, but HoleyRoses it’s pretty crazy.  Tells you all sorts of stuff about the person, not in a prediction type way, but I guess it could do that, but more in an understanding why the hell they are so nut and why the do blah when they should could do blahblah, way.  In my non-professional opinion every parent should get one done for their kids.  It might help in understanding the kid you have, instead of trying to make them into the one you think they should be.  Maybe.  If you want details of the chick who did ours, let me know.  I think you can do the consult part over the phone, so you don’t have to be on the Sunshine Coast.

4.  This slightly cooler weather.  I know! Who’d have thought I’d ever say that?  But I am kind of liking getting my tootsies into some footwear that aren’t thongs, and maybe even considering a scarf one day soon.  Don’t worry, I’ll be back to my whining about the cold soon enough, but let me have just this little bit of joy.

Today. It’s not really what other people call Autumn though…

5.  These shoes.  I’m on my feet all day on a work day, so I like, nay REQUIRE a comfy pair.  In my ripe old age, I have resorted to wearing Birkis in Summer.  (Shhh, don’t tell Nikki and Jools, they’ll FREAK)  But in the cooler months I need something more.  I wear my twenty-six year old Doc Martens in full winter, but for this bit I usually get a pair of Merrills.  And then I found these:

I’m not necessarily in love with the buckle (I wanted another style but they didn’t have my size) but they are SO BLOODY COMFY that I can forgive them.  I have kind of narrow feet, so ballet flats are often too wide for me- I have to have structured ones, which aren’t very comfortable, or elastic ones, that can dig in, leaving train tracks all over my delicate princess-pods.  These are elastic but NO digging.  They rule.  And they were CHEAP, so cheap that you got some deal with the second pair half price.  #Winning.  The brand is Novo.  Nope, I’ve never heard of it either, but they have a whole shop at the Plaza so I guess they’re a chain store.  Go there now.

….That’s all folks….  And no, this is not a sponsored post (sigh).

…From The Ashers xxx

Here’s the hits of the week:

1.  Call me juvenile, but I’m reading another John Green book.  I’m not finished yet, and I know it’s going to be sad, but I can’t help it.  He is such a ripper of a writer, and, I love young fiction.  Always have, since I was a teen myself.  Maybe it makes me feel young again, or maybe it’s because the characters are just so full of potential.  I like the way they look at the world.

2.  The lovely lady who designed this blog, Anna Spargo Ryan won her category in the Writer’s Centre Best Blogs awards.  If you read her blog you’ll know why I love her so much.  Her prose just glistens with light and life and truth.  Well done Anna, you rock!

3.  This Sunday is Mother’s Day, and, not that I’m a control freak or anything, but just in case nobody in this house figures out the perfect present for me, I decided to get myself these babies:

I haven’t had Ugg Boots since about 1982.  Don’t worry, I won’t be wearing them out in public, but my goodness, I can.not.wait until Sunday arvo when the cool air comes in and I can get my little toes all toasty.  Happy Mother’s Day, me.

4.  The fact that the kids have forgotten about the Easter eggs they put in the fridge.  I moved them up the back, just in case they might forget, and then they did. Winning!

5.  And talking about books for the young people, look what I found in the local bookshop:

I can’t believe it’s still in print.  Do you remember sneaking a quick read when you went to your friend-who-has-an-older-sister’s house in the late 70s?  What a revelation in grossness it was.  I can still remember reading it with my eyes as big a moon.  My parents did WHAT?  Sweet baby cheeses, why, WHY?  So in the interests of sharing the love in all it’s gory details, I got it for the Evil Geniuses.  They have had the scientific “talk”, but I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces when they read about how they came about, in full cartoon colour.  It’s gonna be epic (as the young people like to say…or random, they like to say that a lot too).

What hits do you have this week?  Have you read any of my books of the week?

…From The Ashers xx

Here’s the hits:

Shhhh, spoiler alert: if you are one of my nieces, do not read point one.

1.  Christmas shopping, all done. How good is it once it’s all over, and you can sit back, relax, gloat, and drink things with cranberry in them?  Note to self: must remember to gloat.  We have close to one billion nieces to buy for, and this year, I was saved by GreenB the best clothes ever for Summer, or so the young people tell me.  There’s even a singlet called Ali and some shorts called Coco.  So clearly: they got style.

2.  Hangin’ out with my offspring today in the sunshine. We had a grouse morning, walking over to the Chalet, sitting in the sun, eating ice-cream and refining our Santa wish-lists.  Yes people, they HAVE CHANGED THEIR BLOODY SANTA LISTS.  WHAT THE ACTUAL?   Refer to point 1 above.  Parents=0, Evil Geniuses=1

3.  Friday night tv.  I’m kidding.  It’s not a hit, it’s a SHIT.  A massive poo in an otherwise lovely relaxing aromatherapy bath.  What is going on, television?  Why is Dannii Minogue now a judge on a modelling show?  If she gets a gig commentating the cricket I’m moving to Greenland.

4.  In other excellent telly news; in watching the ads on Friday night tv more avidly than the actual shows, I have discovered that SYTYCD is coming back on.  I have no idea when, but I know that I will love it.  I can’t tell who the judges are from the promo, but my boyfriend Jason better be on it, or there’s gonna be trouble Channel whatever.  You’ve been warned.

5.  THE LONG APRON restaurant in Montville.  I’m writing it in caps lock, because OHMYGOD.  We went there for lunch on Sunday and I must tell you, for the love of all that is sweet and pure, you simply have to go there as soon as you can.  Run, don’t walk.  It’s all kinds of magnificent.  I will give you a run-down in a post next week.

Here’s the hits you’ve been waiting for:

1. Setting up the Christmas Tree.. Yay!  Christmas is finally here (sort of)… We have a busy weekend of work and parties, and trimming the tree is a bit of an event around here; we have a roast, a christmassy dessert, and of course a cranberry inspired bevvy or two.  So we’ve set it up a day early (we usually do it on the 30th).  We listened to Rod Stewart croon the shit out of those carols, lit the chrissy candles and had a fine ol’ night.

2. The school Christmas Carols. Very sweet to see the kids onstage and working as a group.  For the first time Unit Two was down the front with her peers and then up on stage.  No Mummy-leg-holding.  That’ll do me for Chrissy thanks.

3. Catching up with some idiots I love on the weekend.  Idiots who know me better than most anyone in the world, and yet still seem to like me (most of the time…dance moves not withstanding).  How tolerant.  How spesh.  Nothing much else to add, other than “Cosmos anyone?”

4. Getting a few twitter RTs this week from Mrs Woog, John James and Kelly Exeter: Twitter and blogging royalty.  Puffed and chuffed, me is.

5. A visit from the Mother-In-Law.  So far she’s done all my ironing, pretty much handled the aforementioned roast and played shit games with the kids. All whilst plying me with a very tasty savvy b… Who knows what I will be able to get her to do* before the weekend is through?  You rock Jenna.

* One of the things she will be doing is making us her cray-cray ‘no bowl’ slice.  It has a tin of condensed milk, so you know only good things can come of it.  Winning.

Have a great weekend.  Are you trimming your bush tree this weekend?

Do you make an event of it?

The Hits:

1.  Having My Friend John and Olive here for the weekend.  Even if Friend did fall asleep after nowhere near enough beers, whilst putting Olive to bed… Still, so good to hear those kids laughing and giggling and smiling together.   Then as an added bonus, we got to have lunch with some of Hayls and John’s friends on Sunday.  Some we knew, and some we didn’t.  Lovely, yet bittersweet.  I just missed her so bloody much.  And of course wanted to get her ‘run down’ on who was who, and how they fitted in.     Sigh.

2.  The sound of the green frog (please, please, please be a frog and not a cane toad) in my down-pipe, or spouting, or wherever he is. Funny little thing must be thirsty- he’s been singing for days.  We’ve had precisely 17 drops of rain.  Yet still he sings.

3.  Grandparents day at school today.  The youngest was very excited for Nanny to take them to school, jumping up and down like popcorn.  The oldest was more reserved, and pretended he didn’t care (that’s 9 for you), but loved Nanny being there to see his classroom, and check out whatever crazy things he’s been up to.  Such precious times.

4.  Pimms and lemonade.  Need I say more?   My new fave drink for a long, hot Queensland Summer.  Lucky I have a good supply of mint.  Thank you Mr.Pimms.

5.  Today Coco came upstairs crying because Liam had called her “a penis”.  I have no idea why, but I found this immensely entertaining.  Coco was beside herself, because “it’s mean”.  Once we were able to discern that, in fact, she wasn’t a penis, I was able to get her to see the funny/ridiculous side.  I’m now waiting for Mr.Vagina to come upstairs crying….

The Shits:

1.  Another casualty in the Asher Apple Orchard.  This time Liam’s iPod.  The bloody thing literally jumped out of my handbag and onto the concrete when I was getting out my purse.  Damn you Apple and your seductive, irresistible and fragile technology.

2.  This wind. Beat it wind.  You are no friend of mine.

3.  No daylight savings.  Come ON Queensland, this bird and bright light bullshit at 4.30am is doing my head in.  It must be the menopause, but I can no longer sleep through all the rays and ruckus.  Please Clive Palmer, I implore you: save me.

4.  My sore toe.  Three weeks and still not healed.  Toe, you sir, are being ridiculous, and are impairing my shoe wearing capabilities.

I may have to be hospitalised..

(If you can’t tell, it’s my little toe.)

5.   Nonsense click-bait blog posts from women who know better.  Yes Mia, I’m looking at you.

Have a great weekend everyone.  Hope you rack up the hits and don’t get the shits..

Any plans?