#FebPhotoaDay

So I've decided to give up on my photo challenge I was doing on my blog and do this one instead:

You can follow this by following me on twitter: @samiati, or following me on your Instagram iPhone app. If you're one the lucky people who have my facebook, you can keep up with me there. But I won't be bothering to post it on my blog every day, sorry.

My limited twitter feed can be found to your right ------->

What does my baby need?

I live in a first world country.

Getting married I learnt this. Your basic services suddenly cost twice the price because it has the word 'wedding' attached to it.

Having a baby seems no different. A top is classed as 'maternity', it's twice the price.

Having a baby isn't cheap by any means, excluding the optional extras. And that's fine. You have a new life and you need to look after it.

But when did all of these optional extras, these 'wants' and 'nice to haves' become needs? Do they even fit in Maslow's hierarchy of needs? How are these needs different to the third world? And when did we replace 'we're blessed to have this' with 'we need this'.

What is it going to teach my child when I replace 'we're blessed to have..' with 'we need..'

And although it's a month after Christmas already, when I see this picture, I wonder what He really needed?

Saving the world through organisation...

So today I have been busy... Some would call this business 'nesting'. I will post more on what I've been up to later, but first I am going to share how I made our bin area neater today.

Mess!

This is what our bins looked like. We broke the purple basket and decided to use it as a recycle bin. Previously we had been using a cardboard box.

How awesome are laminators?

I went to the $2 shop today and bought a bin, which was ironically $7. The thing that has annoyed me most about our recycle bin is things don't get rinsed (ew, mould!), or things end up in there that shouldn't, like plastic bags.

So I went to our local councils website and printed off a pretty PDF file about what you can and can't put in the bin. I then laminated it so that it was that bit more waterproof and stuck it to the side. Hopefully people will read it and be educated!

Now we have two bins, so I wanted to distinguish this new one some how. I got a permanent texta and copied a 'recycle' symbol off a simple google search. I think it adds a bit of a personal touch :)

The bin fits nicely in the corner of our kitchen now, and looks much better than a broken purple washing basket. 

Note how the recycle bin is bigger than the waste bin? That's because you should make twice as much recycling as waste. (That's why the wheelie bin is bigger too!)

Hungry Caterpillar collage

So I'm a little mad on the Hungry Caterpillar. It's one of my favorite children's books. The book actually lives in the back of my car so that when I am teaching I can just whip it out and read it in an instant given the chance.

Given that I'm now expecting, and without knowing the gender, I made this picture for my future little caterpillar:

I made this 12 weeks ago, but only just bought a frame today. (So hard to find a nice A4 frame).

So step 1, I whipped the book out and pretty much had a look at the picture. I realised I would need a few different colours to complete my collage.

-Green + hint of yellow (body)
- Red + hint of blue (head)
- Yellow (eyes)
- Brown + hint of yellow (nose and feet)
-Watered down blue (antlers) + red pencil/crayon.
-A4 Yellow + hint of red/orange (as my background)

I painted onto the paper sizes what I thought I would need

Step 2. Using acrylic paint, I painted the colours I needed. I semi-mixed the colours, meaning, I would paint a whole piece of paper green, add in the yellow so it was still visible, not so that it would mix totally with the green. I used different sized paper dependent on how much I needed.

Step 3. Once it was dry, on the back of the paper I drew, using pencil, what shapes I would need to create. I used the book as a reference. Just remember that when you cut it out it will be 'backwards'.

Step 4. Carefully cut out and stick onto the background paper (mine was yellow, but you can choose whatever colour you want, really). I used PVA-style glue as it is clear and has a bit more hold than the old glue-stick. Use a paint brush for the more intricate shapes.

Step 5. Using a red pencil or crayon, create detail on the antlers.

This project only cost me the price of the paint and paper (which I already had) plus a $2 frame from Big  W!

Totally unrelated to anything

As you can see my MacBook is closed and I'm trying this out from my iPhone. Let's see...

laugh

Day 08 - a picture that makes me laugh...

Totally comes from a mobile phone, but I will never forget so many of the times that made me laugh in Kendari.

This time in particular was when four of us squeezed onto a tiny wooden boat and a little boy rowed us to this tiny island. We all screamed the whole way.

Kendari was always a place I thought I would go back to very quickly. I even considered working there for a very small wage, just because life there seemed so amazing. Oh how different Kendari is to Jakarta.

Perhaps some day I will go back to Kendari, but for now, I will explore more of Indonesia when the chance comes. 

Here are some more photos from that day:

The locals looked on, intrigued by these new white visitors...

Some people go to Bali and have coconut juice... But have you ever had it freshly picked for you off the tree?

The scariest boat ride ever...

Treasured

Today's photo blog... My most treasured item... As much as I'd like to say it's him....

I think that it's kind of cruel calling him an item.

And as much as I don't want to be all materialistic, the most treasured item I have, that I wouldn't leave home without is definitely my...

Why my iPhone? Because it's more than just a phone for me. It's a very handy tool. My job requires me to go to new places all the time and so it acts as a map. It plays music. It connects me to the world and gets me out of trouble.

So, probably my most treasured item would be my iPhone. I'd be lost without it. I guess it has kind of become my security. (Is that sad?)

Trade

Just a short one today... Today's photo (is supposed to be a person) is of who I want to trade places with for a day:

Sasha is my Mum's kitten. She is very well loved and spoilt. I was on the phone to my Mum the other night and she was being naughty. My Mum says, "Oh! You're so NAUGHTY!" to the cat... while patting it and giving it lots of love.

Yes, I think it would be nice to be Sasha for a day. Getting fed, sleeping as I wish, sleeping where I wish... But only for a day.

Memory

Today I must think of my favorite memory. Hmmm... I have lots of great memories... But I think this one tops it off.

My boyfriend and I were going to the snow. We had planned this pretty much ever since we had met, as we both love exploring the great outdoors. We took two friends along, too!

After almost killing the car getting up the hill, we explored and went tobogganing... Did I mention that it was a really nice sunny day? In fact, it wasn't even cold! I ended up taking my big jacket off!

After lunch we went exploring again. We started walking up the hill as my boyfriend told us all how much he loved this place. Then suddenly he needed to go to the toilet. So off he went, and the rest of us walked further up the hill.

While waiting, we started to make a snowman! My friends were saying that we should go and look for my boyfriend, but I insisted we keep working on the snowman. We added a few sticks for hair, eyes and a mouth. Then I decided to put my hat, scarf and glasses on it. My friends were now begging for us to go and find my boyfriend. But I insisted that the snowman needed hair. Little did I know that at the time my boyfriend was anxiously waiting for me just a little way down the hill.

Finally we started walking back. I was kind of surprised to find my boyfriend just standing there. I ran over to him and gave him a cuddle and started telling him about our snowman.

Suddenly, my boyfriend started talking about how he loved me, and how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. Instantly I knew what he was asking. My friends got their cameras out and started filming this happening - they knew exactly what was going on!

Then he dropped to one knee, pulled out a little box and asked:

"Will you marry me?"

To which I definitely said YES!

He then put a beautiful ring on my finger, and I asked if he had asked my Mother! 

We then went on to get married 9 months later... And then again 3 months after that! (yes, married twice! In Australia and Indonesia!)

And although I could have chosen my wedding day as the most favorite memory, I think this was more spontaneous. The wedding, I planned. This I didn't.

night

So I have been very slack with this blog, and I'm really sorry. Months ago I started a 'photo a day' challenge, which I haven't been keeping up with. I'm up to day 4... How slack of me!

Day 4 is a photo of my night. Sorry but I didn't take any photos last night and it's 3pm and the sun is shining at the moment, so let me share with you what I did, at night, just before New Year.

Christmas was spent at home with my family. My home town is semi-desert and what a lot of people like to call 'the middle of bloody nowhere'. But despite the isolation, I love being in the country... Perhaps just not when it's 40 degrees and I'm fat and pregnant.

There is a different beauty in the Mallee. You can go out into the bush and watch the sunset linger for hours. You can see thousands of stars by night. I'm hoping that later in the year when it's colder I can go camping, with a bonfire!

Anyway enjoy the photos that I took with my iPhone (using instagram):

This one's my favorite...

Oh and if you are interested in visiting this place, we were at Pink Lakes, which is about a 45 minute drive west of Ouyen, Victoria. There are also good national parks as you get into South Australia as well.


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