As promised, here are the rest of the photos from my day with Grace. She is one rad, real, un-assuming, wild and just plain gorgeous lady.
She’s one of those chicks that makes you feel chuffed to be walking next to, like, “Pfft! Yeah! She’s mah friend! Be jealous!” Do you think you can catch ‘pretty’, via osmosis?
x jessica
Aaaaahhhh!!! To have a day alone at home! I am very happy about this, to be honest. I get to wear no makeup or bra, I get to catch up on reading all the posts in my blog reader (it’s more like a wonderful virtual magazine, really), and I get to faff about on here with you.
There are a few posts I’d like to prepare today. I am sorry that I really haven’t had the time lately to maintain it all as much as I would like to.
As you may know, I have been busy working, socialising, and also spending time with family. That’s not to say that I don’t have any time to blog, it’s just, after working during the day, sometimes I feel that it’s more important to spend time with Dana in the evening, rather than staring at my computer screen until 1am.
Plus, I am a really shitty multi-tasker, so if I am trying to write, or edit photos, or think, or even scratch my leg, I can’t concentrate if there’s talking going on!
Anyway, today, I would like to share with you the reason I moved to Adelaide. I know I have touched on this all before, but it is really important for me that I keep reminding myself.
For my whole life I have missed my sister and my brother. When I was five, I moved away from Adelaide with my parents, and ever since then, have visited Adelaide a couple of times a year.
Every stinking time at the end of my visit, we would arrive at the departure lounge of the Adelaide airport, my sister and I would cry and snot and spit and sob and choke. Every. Single. Time. For YEARS.
I would then proceed to cry for almost all of the plane flight home, and then off and on for a few days after that.
Ridiculous!
THEN, my brother married a gorgeous woman, and had gorgeous babies, and so did my sister (except, she didn’t marry a woman – you’re not allowed to do that here in Australia. Yet. She married a man. But, she had gorgeous babies too.) And every week, I’d talk to my sister on the phone and she would tell me about this and that, and about how lovely it was to see the cousins playing together, and about how disgusting it was that Nicholas and Samuel (4 and 6 at the time) had just chased their dog around the yard whilst trying to piss on the poor helpless animal, and I would laugh.
But then after, I would just feel sad.
I didn’t really want my nephews and niece to grow up vaguely knowing that they have an auntie in Queensland. I didn’t want to miss them growing up!
I was sick of having to get re-acquainted with them every time I would visit Adelaide.
I wanted for them to be comfortable with me. I wanted to be nice to them when they cried, and to have impromptu emergency discos with them in the living room.
Living so far away, I missed out on so much.
I actually wanted to, for once, be sick of them. What a luxury!
I wanted to borrow clothes from my sisters, I wanted to have family dinners, and I wanted to be used for copious amounts of babysitting.
So, lately, that is what I have been thinking about. I realise that right now, I have exactly what I have always wanted. And, OH, how this makes me smile.
Even so much so, that occasionally, I have days that I just want everyone to go away! But, aren’t I blessed to have my family around and on top of me so much so, that I need some space.
I am so thankful for my beautiful family. They are fun, and awkward, and annoying, and just wonderful.
The other day, I got so frustrated with Nicholas, my eight year old nephew, that tears came out of my eyes, and then I ran to my bedroom, slammed the door, and sat on my bed sulking for twenty minutes. You see, he put his foot on my crumpet. The crumpet that I was going to toast for breakfast. His FOOT. And although I had instant big-sister-like rage at the time, it all really just makes me laugh.
Samuel, my six year old nephew, has a sense of smell about as freakishly accurate as mine.
Jayquin, my other eight year old nephew, despite the fact that he’ll never say ‘yes’ to being asked for a hug (rather, he runs and screams, arms flailing), actually LOVES it when you just grab him and squeeze him and cover his little round cheeks with smooches.
And Sydnee, my 1 year old niece, well, you all know a lot about her.
Dana and I live in a medium sized three bedroom, one bathroom house in Adelaide. We share it with my sister, and her two sons.
And a lot of the time, I am really freaking sick of it. This makes me so deliciously happy.
(From top – bottom: Samuel, 6yo nephew, Michelle, sister, Nicholas, 8yo nephew, ME.)
Yesterday I had the pleasure of hanging out with a very lovely friend – Grace. As we are planning to do some photoshoots together in the near future, I thought I’d bring my camera along to our lunch date in the city, and take a few shots – just to get Grace used to being in front of the camera.
I don’t have time to show you all of the shots this time, but I just wanted to post this one up today before I get ready for work. I’ll post the rest up another time.
Isn’t she beautiful?!
I am so incredibly jealous of her freckles and long strawberry blonde hair.
I hope you enjoy your day – It’s FRIDAY in Australia, so have a wonderful weekend!
x Jessica
PS. Thanks to those who have entered their Top Five Bands, in my last post. I have a lot of fun reading your comments! If YOU haven’t commented yet, you should! You’ll go into the draw to win a mixed tape. :)
Oh me, oh my! This is a big deal. TOP FIVE BANDS… look out everybody!
Firstly, I am very happy to announce that every person who comments on this post with their Top Five Bands and ‘likes’ Other Such Things on Facebook, will go into the draw to WIN a personally made and hand-picked MIXED TAPE (CD actually). All the songs on the winner’s mix will be put together just for you by me. Now, doesn’t that sound fun?!
Secondly, I would like to say ‘thanks’ to all of you who have participated in my other Top Five lists so far. I really enjoy reading your interesting, and even sometimes hilarious comments, and learning about the things you like.
I know that getting it down to a definitive five (in almost any given topic) can actually be rather difficult. In fact, I know that some of you have even almost blown a fuse trying to decide! So before I start, I wanted to make it perfectly clear that your Top Five is exactly that… *yours*. It is whatever you want it to be.
So, if that means you only include four in your list, that’s ok. If it means that you only list your Top Five in a specific genre inside of the topic, that’s ok too. Even if you list more than five, rest assured that everything will be ok.
I do realise that a Top Five that I write today will probably be different than one I will write in two years time, or maybe even in two months time. But I think that that is what makes it fun.
So… for this instalment, I have chosen: Top Five – BANDS.
For ME – I am choosing to list my Top Five most favourite bands/singers ofalltime, as they currently stand. It is funny though – if I were to choose my Top Five bands at the moment, my list would be totally different.
Anyway, so as to not keep you waiting any longer, here they are:
1. The Cure
My love affair with these fellows runs long and deep within my veins. My earliest memory of this band is of when I was four years old. I was obsessed with their song, ‘Lovecats’. I loved it so very much, that I begged my mother to make me a cat costume. She sewed me a little pussy cat tail, which had an elastic band I could attach to my waist with velcro, and she sewed some little pussy cat ears to a black satin headband. I would team this with a little black bodysuit. (The word ‘bodysuit’ just sounds so much better than ‘unitard’ – right?!)
Then I would play the ‘Lovecats’ track, and crawl around my living room, meowing and hissing and rubbing up on the side of the couch, and on my brother and sister’s legs.
Great story Jessica.
My adoration for The Cure pretty much hasn’t changed since then. Dana bought me tickets to see them play on their Australian tour a couple of years back. I cried for their entire two and one-half hour set, thinking, “Robert Smith, oh! I love you!”
On second thought… I probably would have caught his attention, had I donned a super awesome home-made cat costume. Mum! Where were you when I needed you?!
Oh well, better luck next time.
2. Cat Power
A voice so smoky and smooth, an uncanny shyness, deep and sensual lyrics, and gorgeous to boot. Chan Marshall (and your voice): you have my heart!
3. MewithoutYou
This music and these lyrics really speak to me. This band’s music is, to me, the soundtrack of the time in my life that I fell in love with Dana – who, as most of you know, is now my husband. Also, I have always admired the lead singer, Aaron Weiss, for his take on liberal Christianity. Not that I agree with anything and everything he does, but I certainly hope that I can have the balls to love people as fervently as he seems to.
4. Radiohead
The intricacies and layers in the music that this band creates will never grow old to me. I would pay insane amounts of money to see them play in real life.
5. Smashing Pumpkins
At a time in my life, a particular time I can’t be arsed going into right now, I hid my thoughts under this music. Their grungy melancholy, I suppose, was something I really identified with at the time. Plus, I have always sported a strange crush on Billy Corgan.
6. Sufjan Stevens
Ok, so, I am cheating, I know, but it is my list after all. I’ll have six in my Top Five if I want to. This man is a musical genius, to say the very least. His music makes me happy. If you haven’t listened to his music, stop wasting your life, and go listen now. Ok, good. Glad we talked.
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I am really excited to read about all of your Top Five Bands!
Remember, to be in the running for your super cool mixed tape, all you need to do is tell me YOUR Top Five Bands, and ‘Like’ Other Such Things on Facebook if you haven’t already (follow this link here to do it).
Wishing you all lots of love, and a wonderful week ahead.
x Jessica
Today I am going to tell you some random and completely pointless facts about me. Why? Because this is a blog. And blogging is most certainly one of the more popular outlets for narcissism of this generation. :D
Ok, here we go:
1. Nobody can say, or do anything to cross anybody in my family, without me holding a very curt grudge… for practically the rest of time.
2. I cannot eat canned tuna. It makes my teeth itchy. I am not even joking.
3. I have been wearing my eyeliner the same way, ever since I was 14. In 2034, when I am 45, I’ll be the equivalent of those women today who still tease their fringe, and wear dastardly blue eyeshadow and too much gold jewellery.
4. I have a really annoyingly accurate/obscure sense of smell. Sometimes, I will smell something, and immediately identify another, completely different thing that smells the same. This ‘skill’ has been known to put my husband off of many a meal. (I am sorry honey.) Take for instance, cooked pumpkin with oregano, smells just like a wet chux dishcloth. Also, there’s a certain bath soap that smells just like sneeze. Gross.
5. In another, and much less lazy life, I would love to be a: hairdresser, naturopath, musician and graphic artist.
6. When you are not looking, I will almost certainly eat off of your plate.
7. I feel akward. ALL the time.
8. I haven’t been without a boyfriend since I was 14.
9. Only this year, in 2011 have I finally learnt and mastered the skill of happily being by myself. And I really enjoy it!
10. As a general rule of thumb, most people meet me three times, before remembering ever having met me. And yes, I do have quite a complex about this.
11. I almost always have one of the following songs playing on repeat in my head: the happy birthday song, the alphabet song, the theme tune to the Garfield cartoon, or the theme song for the movie Fatty Finn. I am usually as unaware of this, as I am unaware of breathing, or blinking… but as soon as I become aware of it, it can be quite irritating!
Well, there you have it.
I bet you’re glad to know all that!
What are some things about you? I’d really like to know, no matter how mundane or silly they may seem to you.
Don’t let me be the only fool on this blog!
x jessica
