JPorter - The best gymwear you will buy!

So, I wear my fair share of gym clothes. Actually I wear gym clothes at least 6 days a week.
I am quite fussy when it comes to what I wear. What is comfortable, practical, easy care but has to look good and motivate me in the gym.

Enter, JPorter Clothing. Independant clothing designed in Perth by two amazingly inspiring individuals, the Joshua and Ms Renae Porter.

I found JPorter on Facebook about 6 months ago, via their Perth Sponsored Athlete Jade Mead.
https://www.facebook.com/jporterclothing?fref=ts

Seriously, if anyone can make clothing look good, it's Jade. You can check her Facebook page out here;
https://www.facebook.com/jade.hunt.5811?fref=ts

So after seeing the brand on Facebook I decided to purchase my first tank. The package arrived immaculately presented in black tissue paper with a note card personally signed by Josh. It is the attention to detail that gets you first and you give them credit for their product but very quickly that's replaced by the amazing quality of the apparel.

With the recent release of their tights, I couldn't help myself and purchased a pair of hot pink tights. Seriously, who wouldn't want to rock these, they're amazing!

Designed for girls..................primarily, but in saying that if you have it, flaunt it like Ty Lucas!

You can find his page here; https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ty-Lucas/665296510190336?fref=ts

Despite the clothing being able to sell itself due to its excellent quality, unique design and strong branding, the faces behind the brand are the most humble, hardworking and dream motivated people going around. This is going to only result in one thing - a big takeover in gymwear by the brand name JPORTER.

If you want to be part of the culture that is JPorter, you can find them on Facebook or via their website;

http://www.jporter.com.au/

At the end of the day, feeling the best you can is what it's all about, and that's what JPorter is all about!

The Biggest Show of the Year & our Jemma.

Our year is mostly dedicated to dancing.

Term 1 begins when school begins and most days after school we rush to dance classes. Sometimes I internally complain and whinge about the rushing to do homework, cook dinner, shower kids etc (but never complaining to the girls., how can I - I enrolled them!!)

 

This goes on during Term 2 and then the girls generally participate in Dance Competitions.

Term 3 begins as does the commitment to the End of Year Concert, routines begin as does exams......etc.

End of Term 3, school holidays, girls again participate in Dancing Competitions.

 

Enter Term 4 and the dancing world steps things up a notch. Costume Call Up, Leotard Rehearsal, Full Costume Rehearsal, Stage Rehearsal, another Full Costume Rehearsal and eventually The Concert.

It is on this night that every single whinge goes completely out the window and my entire focus goes towards my two dancing girls and their reward for a year long commitment to dance and to their amazing dance school Centrestage.

Five years ago, my eldest daughter started dancing at what I believe to be the best dance school in Perth. The following year, my second born enrolled. Since that very first day, the commitment towards giving my girls the gift of confidence has been evident.

Five years ago, I was also privileged enough to meet the most amazing, special, unique and inspirational friend, Jemma.
Last night Jemma "hung up her dance shoes" and said a teary good-bye to the school to pursue future dreams.

I sat on stage and shed more than a tear but not with sadness but with pride. How can I feel sadness towards my friend who is following her dreams. I can't and I won't. I refuse to say any form of a goodbye to a friend that I know I will still see all of the time. Don't get me wrong I have a sadness and disappointment that my girls have lost their dance teacher but I have complete happiness in my heart knowing that they have forever gained a beautiful role model. My commitment to Jemma as her friend is to support her unconditionally in her life and I will do just that.

To our Jemma, thank you from the bottom of my heart & soul for being my friend. I cherish what we have and I promise to be here for you forever. You will ALWAYS be a huge part of our family.

To Taryn, thank you for Centrestage. The time you dedicate to the school and the students is impressive and dedicated. The Concert last night was a representation of the commitment you give to the school every single day. Be proud of your achievements and the students you are "raising", they were remarkable last night. We are proud to be part of your awesome school and I am proud to call you a friend.

To the backstage chicks - despite the stress, I love doing what we do behind the scenes because as a team we work together and help put on one amazing show. You (you know who you are!) are all just a pleasure to work with. Your fluros are packed and ready waiting for you in 2014! :).

To my family & friends (and the girls Godmothers), thank you for supporting my girls and their love for dance. For helping me during the year when I need you and for watching their Concert. They thrive knowing you are there in the audience watching them.

xxxxxxx

Bittersweet

Today as I celebrate my 33rd birthday, I have a heart full of emotion.
Today, I celebrate and shed tears at the same time.
Today marks 6 months that we lost our Pop.
The hero of our lives and the most amazing man that ever lived.

So, Happy (kind of) Birthday to me, my first without you :(

I love you and I miss you more than words can say.

Not a single day passes that I don't think of you, you come to me when I'm driving, when I'm standing in the kitchen looking out the window and when I'm sleeping and nothing fills the void you left.

Happy Birthday to you.............in heaven

Today is your birthday.

Every single day we fight against the loss in our hearts and today, our heart will break even more because we can't call to wish you a Happy Birthday or see you to give you a birthday hug.

In our home, we will light a candle & sing you Happy Birthday with tears rolling down our cheeks. I will play P!NK's "Beam Me Up" on repeat, because if I could have just one minute with you Pop, I would just stop and stare, happy to just be there with you.

We miss you, every minute of every day.

Happy Birthday, from our universe to yours. We love you, always. The void you left will never be filled.

One of life's greatest gifts is friendship

Throughout your life friends come and go. You meet people at times in your life and often under unique circumstances and often they become the people that have the largest influences or build the strongest friendships with you.

I think when you have children you really begin to appreciate and value those friends that understand you and walk in the same shoes you do every day.

On the weekend just gone I was fortunate enough to travel to Melbourne to spend four days with three of my greatest friends (disappointingly we had to leave one behind as she has a baby on board)......all three friends I met under completely different circumstances but all three influence me and my life every day and always in the best ways.

This trip for us was a girly getaway, we left the husbands and kids behind (11 kids combined) to travel on a shopping, eating and drinking adventure and I can honestly say it was an amazing, relaxing, laughter and fun filled trip.

We left Perth on the "midnight horror" Thursday night, landing in Melbourne at 6am. After dropping the cases at the hotel, we ventured off to breakfast and hit the Mall at around 9am. Apart from stopping for lunch we did not rest those legs or purses until we entered our apartment for the first time at 5.30pm that evening.

Friday night included dinner at Guy Grossi's Florentino Restaurant in Bourke St, we sat outside and had a beautiful meal and a glass of wine. Followed by a journey to a roof top bar.

Saturday involved our Shopping Tour - definitely well worth the $84 it cost. This included lunch and a glass of wine!
And when you let loose four girls on a shopping tour with a bus to store their purchases it resulted in this;

For those interested, you can book a tour here; http://www.melbourneshoppingtours.com.au/

Big thanks to Tracey for her fantastic knowledge and for being our driver!

Saturday night was filled with laughs. We had teppinyaki at Ginza in China Town. And out came the delicious strawberry dacquiris. I don't think Ive ever laughed so much. There's something so atmosphere building about flying egg and bowl catching that just makes for an awesome night!

I think we left Teppinyaki around 11pm and went on the hunt for somewhere to drink & dance. It was then we relied on Bel to use the extent of her Italian language to find out where was the right place for us and fortunately "Compare" led us straight to The Spice Market & it was exactly what we were looking for....a nice place with great music and good drinks! For the first time in as long as I can remember, we left at closing!

Sunday morning, a bit of a sleep in, then by the time it came to eating, we thought it was more brunch than breakfast, so off to the amazing Brunetti's in Lygon St Carlton we headed. WOW, WOW, WOW, if you have never been there, I suggest you visit. It's sensational. Cabinets and cabinets full of sweet delights, fridges full of whole cakes. A coffee station as big as my kitchen at home and a menu that would please everyone. 

  

  

This place is more than worthy of a visit. Even if it was just to sit in there to take it all in. The food was beyond outstanding and so affordable. I think Melbourne really makes Perth look bad in the food department!

Sunday afternoon we headed up to Chapel St for even more shopping! And of course more laughs!

Then I was clock watching to ensure we made it to our booking at the P!NK Pop Up Store at 5.30. I was like a kid on Christmas Eve, being a huge P!NK fan, I was counting down the hours.......

Enter 5.30 & enter me like a kid in a Candy Store!!! A pop up store with props from the Funhouse Tour made for a laughter filled half hour!

  

Oh & p.s - great friends encourage this kind of behaviour & even if they don't encourage it - they accept it! Just saying.....

Sunday night, our last night :(, off we headed to the Crown Casino. Dinner as usual did not disappoint. Followed by a flutter on the pokies. Me being the veteran pokie player I won an impressive $38!

Followed by Strawberry Dacquiris & Toblerone cocktails at the Velvet Bar that were bigger than our heads!

Monday morning..........our last day. Yep, you guessed it, more shopping in the city. Heading back to the hotel at 3pm for pick up, I just had a gut feeling the suitcases would not fit in the car.........and I was right. But never parting with a purchase, we just accomodate and nurse the suitcase in the back seat on the way to the airport!

  

And the best way to finish off the ultimate girly weekend away.......more wine & "mummy porn" books!

With the warmest heart I want to thank these special friends, amazing mums & inspirational women for our four days together. The laughs we shared will be remembered forever. I'm grateful for all of you!

I feel lucky every day to have the support of friends like all three of you. Life is complicated enough to travel the journey alone and you all make it so much easier. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart, not only for the trip away and for "walking the dog" but for the friendship we share, every day. xxxxxxx

The Bunny's been!

Easter is such a fun time when you have kids, call it "a little white lie", actually call it whatever you like, I love encouraging their imaginations and watching their excitement Easter morning.

My preparation begins Easter Eve. My favourite thing to do is the Bunny Prints. You can find the template here: http://www.e-forwards.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Easter-Bunny-Footprint-Templates-free1.jpeg

I just print it on plain paper, cut out only the circles for the pad of the foot and the little toes and then using plain flour or talcum powder I sprinkle a little bit on top and rub gently with my fingers to ensure the footprint marks the floor. The result is just gorgeous;

As Miss 7 is a bit funny about Santa and the Easter Bunny coming inside, we set this up out in the alfresco and tell her he jumps the fence to drop off the eggs.

Easter morning the girls hunt around the backyard for the eggs he has left them. Then it's inside to eat one for breakfast!

We hope you all had a beautiful Easter.

The question asked most often is "now what to do with all the eggs?"

My answer: Make homemade Rocky Road! A favourite for the kids and any visiting adults!
We love the Coles recipe - we think the Mini Oreos make it that little extra delicious.
You can find the link for the recipe below.

http://recipes.coles.com.au/recipes/887/rocky-road/

Worst day of my life

People walk in and out of your lives every single day. Some people come and go and touch us briefly but others make impressions that last forever. Our Pop George made imprints in your heart and embedded his passion for life in your thoughts.

Whether you were fortunate enough to meet him once, twice or saw him regularly, you would know that the impact he had on people was profound. If you are blessed enough, like we are to call him our family, well then you know as we say this that it was an honour and a privilege to have him.

Pop George had six children, nineteen grandchildren and twenty eight great grandchildren. Anyone who hears this statistic looks at me with a dropped jaw every time we say it. It’s a huge accolade and is something he was immensely proud of. He loved and showed his love openly to every one of us.

 

During my life we have never met a man so inspirational and positive about every aspect of life. We never heard Pop speak badly of anyone nor of anything.

We all have fond memories of times we have spent with our Pop. Every memory we have involves laughter and happy times. Childhood memories are of us piling into the panel van and eating hotties out of the transformed ashtray! Krystel remembers the day she walked with Pop to the corner shop and a kid was jumping on the spot with a fishing hook stuck in his neck, Pop told the kid he couldn’t see it & then whilst pretending to lean in to take a closer look he pulled it straight out.  The kid almost fainted on the spot. James has shared many laughs with Pop. A standout was during our Bali holiday in 2010. Whilst eating out drinking Bintangs, the waitress approached the table and of course Pop gave her a cuddle and looked at our family and said “you can’t buy smiles like these”, with all that we turned around and looked and noticed her teeth that resembled Mr Ed.

 

Our all time favourite memories of Pop involve his traditional speeches at all family occasions. Whether it was pre-arranged or not, Pop always ensured he had his opportunity to talk. A standout performance was James and Leanne’s wedding which is still a hot topic of conversation with James’ mates. The speech was the normal Pop George speech, and included his passion for his family and his favourite line “this is living and money can’t buy people like you people”.

To our Aunty’s and Uncle’s, my heart breaks for all of you on the loss of your Dad. To our cousins, we share your pain and know the grief you are feeling. A special mention to Aunty Barb and Uncle Tom, you should be so proud of the care and dedication you gave to Pop in the final two years of his life. You both went above and beyond in your care and compassion to Pop and opening your home freely to family and friends to visit whenever they wished.

 

To our Mum, who we love and cherish with all our hearts. We promise you our support always. You made us so proud watching your strength, your love and your support for Pop during his unwell times. Thank you to our Dad for providing Mum with all the support especially during the past couple of weeks. With our families and work commitments it hasn’t allowed us to be by her side but knowing you were there put our minds at ease.

 

No-one will ever fill the gap that has been left by Pop. No person will ever fill the void in our hearts.  No-one will ever have his outlook on life and no-one will ever have his commitment to Family.

We appreciate all sympathies and understand the saying “time heals all wounds”, but we all know the ache in our heart will never go away.