Ideas Lady

I'm all inspired with an exciting idea. I get these now and then. Then they fade into oblivion. But anyway, better to be inspired and have it go nowhere, than to never feel inspired, right?

Every time I read frankie magazine, I feel that magical muse come and tap me on the shoulder. Can't think of another magazine that does that for me. It's filled with art, photography, writing, people and cute knick-knacks that just get my imagination firing.

So here's my frankie-inspired idea this month (or shall I call it this bi-month because it comes out bi-monthly?) - a magazine sorta like frankie, only it would be called flossie! Why? Because Flossie is Sienna's nickname, and this magazine would focus on babies' and children's paraphenalia, art, writing and people! Can't you see it now? Instead of flogging chain store garb, it would promote handmade children's clothing and toys (often retro) and fledgling artists who are creating for the love of it, rather than mass-producing shoddy disposable clothes and toys.



Library Bags from Two Little Monkeys



Alvin the Aardvark - he was a rad toy

 

Because I really despise the way children are sold on growing up too fast these days, I'd like the philosophy of the mag to be about the joys of actually being a child - like us Mums did back in the day. This fits in nicely with my love of homemade stuff, retro clothes that aren't just mini adult outfits and the overall perks of keeping things simple - for example, why pay loads for a huge cubby house when you could be all creative and make a fort out of cardboard boxes and doonas and sheets?

Keeping in this vein, I was trying to think of a good catchphrase to sit beneath the heading. Here's some brainstorming in action:

Flossie: Because the best start is Childhood
Flossie: Celebrating being a child at any age
Flossie: Childhood is fab, yeah

Obviously it needs more brainstorming! Although the second one I don't mind, actually.

Here are some segments I've had fun thinking up:


My darling Flossie in her borrowed vintage Christmas frock - December '09





1.  Books/toys/clothes/games we loved as kids
2. Cheap/imaginative ideas for games/ activities
3. Promoting worthy causes - keep it personal by maybe doing a write-up and some photos re: a child who is sick or suffering from some condition or other
4. Drawing of the month - a really cute drawing by a child will be published
5. Creative writing page: As a writer/poet, I'll just have to print some poems/short stories about parenting/babies/children
6. Patterns to make clothes/toys
7. Recipes for meals/snacks/treats that kiddies will eat
8. Little essays with a different theme each month, like in frankie. ie. this month could be four or five different contributors doing a little piece about their favourite childhood memories
9. Book reviews
10. Profiles on parents who might be doing something cool like running their own business or making things to sell at markets or even just being honest about parenting
11. Promotion of market/stall-holders who sell babies and kids' stuff

Silly Milly Bow-tique - A favourite Ballarat market stall of mine

Will come back at'cha with more soon. Am taking Flossie to Mainly Music soon so we can dance up a storm, and indulge in the fruit of the rich - they provide banana as part of the kids' morning tea! Will have to tell you more about Mainly Music in the first issue of flossie!

Love,

Mish

What Next?

What do you do when you have no shows to be addicted to? I was watching Being Erica during Sienna's afternoon naps a couple of days a week, and Community with the husband several evenings a week. Now I patiently await the next seasons of each wildly entertaining series, which, alas, are a few months away.

I know there are plenty of good series out there, but I can't think of any I'm willing to commit to at this stage. Maybe it's time to cut down on the telly time anyway.... oh, but I like quality shows I can zoom through the seasons of! They're a nice antidote to The Wiggles and Dora.

I was doing some research, hoping to locate a TV series similar to Being Erica, which, if I was to narrow down to one genre, would be Time Travel Chick's Telly. Erica's time travel therapy is still fun to watch, but after three seasons, I find that the joys and pitfalls of Erica's determination to build a successful publishing company with her friend Julieanne, who was previously the boss from hell (Go Sisters! See, you don't have to hate each other, you can complement each other instead and start up shit- hot companies!) a lot more entertaining and addictive. Maybe I just need another series about women starting up their own fantabulous businesses.

Go Sisters! Julieanne and Erica (Erin Karpluk and Reagan Pasternak)

And Community? Well, that's kinda like Scrubs, but instead of hospital interns, you're presented with Community College students.  If you were to simplify it heaps. The show revolves around a group of students who unwittingly form a study group. They range from high school graduates Troy and Annie, through to old timer Chevy Chase, who plays the racist, homophobic Pearce to perfection.

Troy and Abed are the new JD and Turk, and they're even more lovable - and come unencumbered by WAGs (thus far). They're big adorable nerds, and are kings at making forts out of bed sheets and pillows *until it becomes mainstream*. Abed comes across a little Aspergers-esque and it's in the most charming of ways.

Troy and Abed as Bert and Ernie

Troy: (checks watch) My cousin's funeral is today.
Abed: Oh, that was today?
Troy: I knew there was some reason I couldn't do this today!

Anyway... think about it and get back to me. I need a new show. And don't talk to me about Season Four of True Blood coming up soon. I'm really sick of vampires and gap-toothed Southern Belles.

Later!
Mish x

Xanadu The Musical: A Review

After mentioning Xanadu the Musical in my last post, I thought I might go on a tangent, as I'm wont to do, and include my review here. Enjoy!

Xanadu The Musical: A Review

It goes without saying that Xanadu the Musical is a camp kind of venture. This show was cleverly adapted for the Broadway stage in 2007, taking the infectious pop hits and fun stylings from the original 1980 cult movie, and thickening the plot to result in a delightful, rib-tickling show.

Where the movie was more a flimsy, albeit delightful, vehicle to display the beauty and singing talent of Olivia Newton-John, the musical uses the soundtrack to its advantage, advancing the plot via the songs, rather than despite them.

 Christie Whelan makes the perfect Kira

 About that plot: Kira, a muse, is brought to life in human form to inspire a struggling artist named Sonny. The answer to his prayers is to start up his own roller disco – but naturally! Where the movie was unintentionally funny in parts, the rollicking musical is just plain funny, albeit in a cheesy way.

The show, held within a big top at Docklands, aka ‘Xanadu Land’ mocks and celebrates the movie in equal measure.

The show is peppered with corny, laugh-inducing jokes. The only real cringe comes when Kira/Clio, practicing her new fake Aussie accent, utters the line, ‘By the fires of Hephaestus... I mean . . . by the fires of all the shrimp on the barbie!’

The new and improved version of Sonny is a lovable himbo with strong pipes, played charmingly by Sam Ludeman. Sonny’s forbidden love, Kira, is played to perfection by Christie Whelan, who gives Olivia a run for her money – she is beautiful, with an angelic voice and undeniable star quality. This incarnation of the roller skating muse also possesses impeccable comic timing; she's an adorable dork through and through. I can’t wait to see a lot more of Whelan in future theatre productions.

Kira’s meddling, jealous sisters Melpomene (Cherine Peck) and Calliope (Susan-Ann Walker) are entertaining indeed, bringing a much-welcomed slice of villainy to the piece. Melpomene, the muse of tragedy, manages to sum up the whole show when she comments that ‘It’s like children’s theatre for gay forty-year-old men!’

Another of Kira’s nine sisters was impossible to miss - Terpsicore, the Muse of Dance - who was played by a large burly man (Damien Bermingham) who looked more suited to riding in a Hell’s Angels convoy! He was highly amusing, epitomising the campness of the production.

Danny McGuire, the jaded owner of the initially run-down Xanadu auditorium, is played with pizzazz by John McTernan. The jazz-tinged ‘Whenever You’re Away From Me’ is a major highlight, complete with amazing desk-top tap solo from an astounding Luke Alleva, as well as some delightful scatting from Whelan.

The song, ‘Dancin’, an electric merging of 40s and 80s musical styles is performed with chutzpah. The energy-laden 80s boys thrilled the ‘floor’ audience by interacting with them, making it hard to resist the urge to get up and dance. (Alas, I had to seeing I was on stage and denied the opportunity to steal the show!)

Yes, you heard right – I was on stage! 'Settling' for the cheap seats was a wise decision, as my friends and I had the privilege of becoming part of the scenery, so to speak. I had the pleasure of having my head massaged by a paint roller during Xanadu’s renovation scene. Also, a very fit skater in tiny shorts parked himself on the ledge of my seat for a brief moment before spiriting himself away for another dazzling roller-dance sequence. Although I'd love to see the show again, with a traditional front view of the production, I have to say that watching the backs of the actors' heads for much of the show didn’t affect my enjoyment of it. It was wonderful to be amidst the action!

The actors/skaters managed spectacularly within a very tight space - their ability to perform within those confines was impressive. Although most of the skating was nothing to rival Torvill and Dean, the obviously professional skaters, who saved their dazzling appearance for the titular number, wowed the crowds. The already-delighted audience was in rapture. Us lucky audience members sitting on stage were given glow-sticks to wave as we sang along to the infectious ‘Xanadu’!

A large part of the audience’s enjoyment was derived from the fact that all the actors on stage were obviously having a spectacularly fun time. The musical has now finished its Melbourne stint due to poor ticket sales, so it was wonderful to see that this news hasn’t dampened the cast and crew’s enthusiasm.

I know I felt like a kid at the circus, grinning foolishly throughout the whole experience. I went mad buying up on merchandise and posing in ‘the stocks’, to resemble a demented version of Kira, as well as Sonny. That’s just the kind of whimsical joy the musical inspires!

Live 80s band ‘Stand and Deliver’ performed in a separate part of the big top after the show, adding yet more frivolity to the atmosphere.

So if you are on the lookout for a smile-inducing time, and especially if you’re a child of the 80s, let Kira, the roller-skating muse, take you on a crazy journey you’ll want to see more than once!

Hamming It Up with my buddies!

MOPS-ophile Alert

So it's that time again - I only have three more days of work to endure and then I'm on maternity leave! I am pumped about it, not least because I am so big and heavy and tired... and three days a week feels like too much. I miss my little girl and can't wait to spend some more quality time with her before this big (at least it feels big), extremely active baby arrives.

Two things I've missed are Mothers' Group and MOPS http://mops.org.au/. MOPS in particular - what's MOPS? you ask. Yeah, I asked the same thing - it's not a well known entity, and it darn well should be.

MOPS stands for 'Mothers of Pre-Schoolers' - which doesn't mean your child has to be in preschool, it just means your child isn't in school yet. So you can start as soon as you're ready - even before your first child is born, I believe. You can advertise your status at the meetings by sporting one of the cute little badges provided as you enter and pay a nominal fee - there's 'Baby On Board' for us pregnant goddesses - and on your name tag, there are pink and blue markers and numbers. For example, I have one daughter, so I ticked pink and the number one! It's a good conversation starter, and the other Mums don't have to skirt around the issue of you being pregnant because they don't want to insult someone who might just be on the larger side and not in fact pregnant!

MOPS is a rare and beautiful concept, and such an empowering one to women and mothers - 'cause unlike play group or Mother's Group, you can leave your child in the care of an amazing volunteer while you go and enjoy the company of other Mums. You can take your child with you to the Mums' part of the proceedings if you don't yet feel comfortable, or if your little darling is pining for you, or vice versa; it's up to you. But if you do leave your child with a carer in a bright cheery room filled with other children their age and a plethora of amazing toys, you can rest assured knowing that your little tyke is pretty much just in the next room if you do decide you need to check in with each other! I don't think there's anything else out there quite like it.

I've only been to MOPS the once - work got in the way of it when I upscaled to three days a week - yet I'm totally sold. When we attended, Sienna only took a few minutes to realise that the toys and kids were more fun than me, so I walked a few steps away to join in with the other delightful Mums.

To break it down, the two-hour plus session we attended involved cake, coffee, laughter, Celebrity Head, a visiting GP who did a talk about kids' illnesses, craft and Discussion Groups. Everyone was really enthused, genuine, friendly, chatty - they seemed happy, nay, excited - to be there, and were able to discuss not just their children and parenting, but also themselves and their work, passions and weekends. We even had a bit of a sesh talking about which musicals we'd seen and one of the Mums swore by Xanadu The Musical. It's not very often you meet a fellow Xanadu fan, let alone a fellow Xanadu fan who's a fellow Mum. These Mums have charisma. They're honest about their parenting experiences - they share their joys and revel in all there is to be grateful for, but they're not afraid to admit that mothering can be bloody hard work too.

The website summarises it better than I do though: 'Once the children are settled, the MOPS mum joins a program tailor-made to meet their own needs. They can grab a cuppa and something to eat and not have to share it, actually finish sentences and use words with more than two syllables!'

At the end of the session Sienna didn't want to go home and neither did I. And they let us continue to skulk around and chat! No getting kicked out until it's imperative - that's nice! Sienna tried to sneak into the bigger kids' play area and did her best to look like she was supposed to be there. We had to drag ourselves away, really.

Just to give you another example of how fabulous it is, we missed out big time around Mother's Day, as apparently MOPS, (at no extra cost), organised manicures, facials and massages for the Mums, along with little gifts. It's unheard of, I tells ya! The volunteers are amazing people, is all I can say.

So, needless to say, we'll be scooting back to MOPS ASAP. I've already told all my Mummy and Mummy-To-Be friends that it's a must-do mission. I just wish we'd started attending earlier. Hopefully I have enough energy to attend for as long as possible, seeing as I'm 33 weeks' pregnant right now! I don't know how easy it'll be to get there once the new baby arrives. I imagine we'll be recluses for some time. Then again, we may have to get out of the house to prevent Sienna going nuts and burning the house down.

FYI, MOPS is trying to raise funds to set up more MOPS groups around Australia.
I was surprised to hear that one of the Mums from my Mother's Group who moved to Melbourne doesn't even have one in her area - it's wrong!

To begin to rectify this problem, MOPS Australia organised a 'Mothers On The March' walkathon of sorts to raise funds and publicity (Check out http://mops.org.au/archives/897) Unfortunately I felt too pregnant and weak to take part, but I'm so going to get on board for it next year! I notice that Ballarat had the highest rate of participation too - 'Go Ballarat!'

Anyway. I'll speak for my daughter when I say that we're looking forward to being a part of it all, and hopefully even helping in some capacity each Wednesday fortnight, rather than sitting at work, fielding calls from irate taxpayers.

Wish me luck on my remaining three days of work!

M X

Book Worm

I love books and reading. I can't see myself ever buying a Kindle. I love the feel and smell and texture of books too much. I think I might love adding a just-finished read to my shelf to befriend my other books-to-keep more than I care to admit.

Anyway, I have shared my goodreads page with you so you can see what I'm reading, have read, and hope to read. 'Cause obviously you're dying to know:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5379593?shelf=read

I love childrens' books. I love the ones I cherished as a child and I love seeing my daughter grow to adore particular books of her own. At the moment she seems like her Dora The Explorer Storybook Collection most of all.

We possess a very battered, torn and defaced version of the above book, which belonged to my sister when she was little, back in the seventies. Wouldn't mind finding a newer version of this. It's pretty amusing that the mother comes home with a new baby, wearing a dress and heels. Of course the father barely makes an appearance. As opposed to...

...this book that we found at the local Book City and bought for our beloved big-sister-to-be. The Mum gets to wear a dressing gown in some scenes and hangs some washing up on a clothes' horse! It's great. She doesn't wear heels and her husband is there caring for the baby about as much as she is! The Good New Days.
Both books are adorable anyway.

Well, must go read.

M x

Physical Attractiveness Relative to Television Viewing Opportunities Ratio

My husband and a mate of his, who's also a Dad of a toddler, were talking about how Justine Clarke from Play School is attractive, but then again, she's perhaps not as gorgeous as their recent perceptions have led them to believe - it's just that she seemed extra pretty because she's one of the few human females they get to see on telly these days! Everyone else on ABC for Kids is animated or clay-mated... and seeing as ABC for Kids is about the only telly they get to see these days, they gotta take what they can get (other than their lovely respective wives/partners of course!)

It got me thinking... is Jay Laga'aia as hot to trot when he's not acting the goon on Play School, making stuff out of cardboard and feeding imaginary foodstuffs to Big Ted? Yep, I think so... I think I may have caught five minutes of him on Home and Away one night, and liked what I saw just as much. There's something sexy about a man who can be a big kid (and this guy is big - like a human version of Big Ted really, only yummy) and is good with kids, but I don't know if that goes the same for women - do men love a woman who can growl like a tiger and throw tea parties with Jemima? Well yeah, I can see how those two things could attract a feller. Will have to ask the husband. All I know is seeing a whole class of Dads with their babies at a swimming lesson I helped teach was one of the most appealing sights I've ever seen... but do men get excited seeing Mums pushing prams around and nurturing the young'uns? Hmmm, good question.

Ohmigod, just as an aside - according to Wikipedia, Jay is 48! Man, he looks even better than I thought then! A well-preserved man!

Anyway - Matt from Play School is definitely attractive - I liked him on Always Greener before I fancied him on Play School, after all!

Not sure about Jimmy Giggle though. I developed a little crush on him, sadly enough, but somehow I don't think he'd appeal to me in 'real life' - he needs his homey Hoot to boost his fly-ness, I think. Hmmm. although when I was searching for the above pic, I saw a photo of him with kids at some kind of shopping mall appearance and he looked really cute and caring. Ah, I'm a sad case! Have to dig a guy whose favourite colour is orange though.

There is one animated boy I quite fancy - he's not from a kids' show as such, but he is a cartoon! Trent from Daria! Yes, I knew you'd agree. He's a lovable slacker and he's in a band.

Anyway... might go have a nap before I watch Play School with Sienna after her nap!

M x

Goodyear Blimp

Hi there,

I'm 32 weeks' pregnant today and feeling enormous and heavy. Grumpy too. So tired. But I wanted to do this blog entry so that I could feel like I did something writing-related today. Looking after Sienna, sleeping all the time, doing housework and just getting through the day as a roly-poly baby-incubator takes its' toll, so it's nice to do something that's just for me.

We took the trip to Swan Hill at the weekend to see my folks. Stayed one night. Sienna woke up every couple of hours', to say 'Dad? Dad?' just to ensure he was still in the bed across from hers. I was there too but she didn't check for my presence! It was lovely to experience at least a bit of sunshine, which took the chill off enough for us to play at Riverside park and eat outside at Macca's while witnessing Sienna on the slides and in the tunnels. Sienna impressed her Nanny no end with her confidence and skills on the play equipment! She's got good sense when it comes to risk assessment, as she decided to bail on the spinning apple once the big kids scrambled into it. If only I'd been so smart when I was little. If only I'd been so coordinated, for that matter!

We discovered our Guardian Angel Horsies on the way home when we had to change an explosive nappy on the grass out in the country somewhere. Two horses came to see Sienna through her challenge, and entertained her until we were done. Then they quietly cantered (or is that just walked?) away... I think two horses should appear and just 'be' in times of need more often.
So I've written a few poems and short pieces about my lovely daughter, from before she was born and post-entering the world. I finally discovered a website that's just perfect for submitting these pieces: it's called http://www.parentingexpress.com/. They've agreed to publish two of my writings so far. I think the general consensus it that it seems less of an achievement to be published on a website, rather than a glossy magazine or a newspaper - but the fact that they took quite some time to get back to me, and are taking another passage of time to actually publish my work at least makes it feel like you have to have some modicum of talent to be published on that site! Besides, most of the stuff I've read on there is quality reading. I'm just happy to get my work out there either way; to have written something worthwhile that my daughter can hopefully read in the years to come, and gain a sense of just how much we adore her - to feel special that I took the time to get all poetic about her!

I don't know how this whole blogger thing really works yet, but I trust I'll enjoy figuring it out. A couple of my friends have blogs here at blogger, so I think it'll be worth linking up to them somehow. I'm sleepy. Good night.

Ooh, ooh! My poem is all up in lights at the site now! Check it out at:
http://www.parentingexpress.com/Stories/Poems/0087.htm
I feel slightly famous. I've had a long day - just humour me!

M x