Australia Day 2012

Australia Day - and a very different one for our family this year.

Normally we set up the BBQ and the tables in the back paddock make sure there is a pathway mown to the dam and invite all and sundry and then some to bring along a picnic and celebrate with us.

This year we did things a little bit differently - we weeded the garden, took rubbish to the dump and then lazed around most of the afternoon until it was time to walk to the Club for a drink - now dinner is cooking away (and smells great) in the oven because - we have no BBQ !

How unAustralian is that ? No BBQ on Ozday - why you ask?

Well when we moved we got rid of the old one and thought we would get something a bit smaller and more suited to a suburban home deck ( and I wasn't sure if I cleaned all the muck off the outside of the old one that it wouldn 't fall apart!).

So we looked and researched and eventually settled on the one we wanted - which wasn't in stock - so we paid a hefty deposit safe in the knowledge it would be here by mid January - until early January when we got a call to say it would be here in February - because it is a very popular model.

Then naturally we get a phone call last week to say it won't be here until March - March !!!! March - BBQ season is over in March - it gets cooler in March - football starts in March.

But I am determined to look on the bright side the new bbq will still look new for Next summer - unless the phone rings again........in which case we might be picking it up next summer.

Daisymum

New Years Resolutions

Well it is that time of year again - a time to reflect on what has been and what is to come. I don't make resolutions as much as plan for the year ahead.

Although last New Year as I sat on the beach contemplating who knew that we would sell DaisyMountain and move to the 'burbs'? I certainly didn't plan for that.

What I did plan for however was to Simplify my life - and that came through selling our five acre property and large house - and with them the hours spent in maintenance, cleaning and travelling.

I planned to spend more time with my children - and that came through selling DaisyMoutnain and moving closer to work so while they have been on holidays I can come home for lunch, take them to the park after work for a play and spend longer at home with them in the morning before heading to the office (2 minutes away).

My other plan for the year was to streamline my business so that I could do more of it - and that has come through selling DaisyMountain ..... you get my drift

That is the thing with "resolutions" or plans when you give it up to the universe you acheive your aims but sometimes in ways you least expect. And sometimes it is as simple as one grand leap achieves several aims.

So for the year ahead my "resolutions" or plans include:

- taking some of this extra time and spending it on me - and in the process getting healthier, thinner and gaining more energy.

- sticking to my new business plan - a very streamlined simple plan which will get me the results I want

- and ticking some things off my (yet to be created) bucket list - which I call the Daisy Do list.

Have you got one of these? It amazes me how many times I have been told by highly successful people "write it down and it becomes a reality". This year I have done a lot of writing down and those things have become reality.

I am not sure what to add - oh there are a few things like waterski again, snow skiing, get back on a surf board. But in the few minutes I have spent thinking about this list I have realised that my dreams are pretty light on - maybe a bit safe - so for the next few days I will be going all out and thinking outside the square - thinking big and thinking bold - to compile the DDL.

My "almost New Year" challenge to you is to do the same - It doesn't have to 100 things but there have to be some things that will require effort and planning - something that will be an ACHIEVEMENT in every sense of the word.

Until Next time

Daisymum

Sunday afternoon

Thought I would share a photo I took at a new home I listed last week - this Wisteria is simply gorgeous. The photo below is just part of the garden there too....look at that Queensland bottle tree.

Well another lazy Sunday has passed with usual round of cooked breakfast quick game of cards with the kids and loads of relaxing and playing games together.

Daisygirl16 went off to school camp today - at the Sheraton !!! - it is a hospitality camp - funny how they didn't need any parent help on this it is probably the only school camp I could see myself on! !! Although the girls are going there to work - making beds, serving food etc we still had to pay - not sure that is quite right but oh well.

The kids seem to be the only ones going anywhere at the moment - Daisyboy15 just got back from the trip of a lifetime to New Zealand with his rugby team - they played a game, watched a couple of world cup matches and did the usual tourist stuff in Wellington.

Mind you daisyman and I are going on a fishing trip later this month to raise money for the Harcourts foundation. Now you all know camping is not my thing but I am rather looking forward to waking up on Teewah beach in a tent.... but I reserve the right to change my mind if it is raining !! The Harcourts Foundation is largely supported by agencies who donate a percentage off the top of their commission - it is a lovely worth while thing to see the money be distributed to worthwhile charities. Next year the major fundraiser is a trip with a terrific bunch of agents walking the Kokoda Track to raise funds for the Foundation.

Actually when daisyboy15 went to New Zealand we were having trouble getting the boys a game as it was school holidays - because of the sort of company I work for I was able to send the CEO Mike an email asking if he could do anything (Harcourts started in NZ in Christchurch) - after six long weeks and a series of emails going higher and higher up the food chain - they got the boys a game at Poirura College - daisyboy and his teams mates said it was the highlight of the trip staring down the Haka performed by the opposition!! It made me realise how proud and lucky I am to work for a company that really does live its core values - Fun and Laughter, People First, Do the Right Thing and Be Courageous. The Foundation is another example of the company living its values not just paying lip service to them.

Until the next time I have five minutes spare !

Daisymum

Sunday Beautiful Sunday

Well I have to tell you all my mood has improved greatly since the warmer weather has arrived.

I have to go to work for a little while in half an hour but then I am going tot he nursery to get some seedlings and get into the veggie garden.

DaisyMountain as some of you will recall has been on the market but we have decided to stay here for another 12 months or so. A decision that has been harder than I thought it would be.
But once it was made it sure made getting out in the garden a lot more fun and more productive.

At the moment I am sitting here with the gentle perfume of the Brunfelsia I cut yesterday wafting through the house. I think I might just cut a big bunch for the vase on my desk as well.

While my time is limited with work, and the demands of the family - there is a gentle balance that has settled itself over our lives at the moment and I plan to take full advantage of it. SO some simple vegetable gardening and some gardening - nothing startling just bits and pieces that I can do in the few linutes I find spare every now and then.

The trick to working full time I have discovered is not to wait for large chunks of time to open up to get tasks accomplished - just take a few minutes here and there to do a bit.

Clean out one drawer in the kitchen while you are waiting for the toast to cook, because I guarantee that the hour and a half that you need for the whole job is much harder to find than the bonus five to ten minutes, that present themsleves during the course of the day.

I have revisited Fly lady recently - it is a "home life organisational system" that I used for years and years - it is probably more relevant now than it ever was.

I hope you are all using this beautiful day to full advantage - doing, relaxing, or connecting with people you love.

Until next time

daisymum

Changes afoot

Hi Guys

Wanted to post this to my business page but it is down for some reason - the tecchies are working on it now. So I will regale you all with my thoughts:

This article appeared in my inbox today:

Industry slams new stamp duty legislation

Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Matthew Sullivan
"The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) has slammed the Queensland state government’s decision to remove the stamp duty home concession.
From 1 August, the government will remove the concession which non-first home buyers receive when buying a new or established home as their principal place of residence.
In addition, the government said it would also introduce a $10,000 grant to people that are building or buying a new-build home or unit priced up to $600,000.
REIQ chairman Pamela Bennett said while the incentive to increase housing supply and create jobs in the construction sector is a positive for the economy, the removal of the stamp duty concession for non-first home buyers will wreak havoc on the Queensland property market.
“The government is obviously trying to fill the financial void that has been left by the weak property market, and the subsequent lower stamp duty receipts given the marked reduction in property sales over the past 18 months,” Ms Bennett said.
“A better way to stimulate the economy would have been to provide financial incentives for all buyers of all types of properties which in turn would have increased activity and therefore helped the government’s bottom-line.”
According to the REIQ under the new legislation, home buyers purchasing a median-priced house in Brisbane will now be hit with more than $15,000 in stamp duty – an increase of more than $7,000."

So what does it all mean:

1: get in quick and buy a house before August 1st if you are thinking about it

2: get in and buy a block of land and build a new house if you are a first time buyer and get $17000 as grant before January 2012

3: get in and buy an investment property becasue prices are down, interest rates are down and the stamp duty thing hasn't changed for you

4: if none of these apply - take some advice from "The hitchhikers Guide to the Universe" - DON'T PANIC
The reduciton in stamp duty for buyers of a Principal place of residence was introduced as a result of the GFC to help stimulate the housing economy somewhat. Australia is in pretty fair shape still and indications are that we will remain in good shape for the foreseeable future. So this in one way is an indication of that - but more importantly there will always be a percentage of the population "on the move" - stamp duty or no stamp duty this won't change. People have to move for work, family reasons, lifestyle changes and nobody is going to sit put because of this - in fact in six months time nobody will even think about it - death and taxes it comes to us all.

( the real estate daisymum)

Another fabulous Day Off

It never ceases to amaze me just how many beautiful spots there are within a short drive of our home.

This morning we headed to Walkabout Creek at Mt Nebo and had a look through the Wildlife exhibit it was great - seeing the platypus and the snakes and the wombat (reminded me of some teenagers I know). Check out the face on this fish - he was so angry looking it was hysterical.

Then we headed off to Mt Glorious and stopped at the Camp Mountain Lookout which we have never done before. The view of the village from one side was great but the view of the CBD from the other was just breathtaking - the photos are from my iphone so aren't great but you can always pop up and see it for yourself.

Then we headed down to the Cedars and stopped for a picnic by the creek - the three (well four ) boys had a great time chucking rocks in the big pools, skipping stones and paddling and swimming in the water hole. Lunch was a simple chicken and salad roll , hot coffee from the thermos, juice and a few left over Easter Eggs.

On the way home we stopped in Mt Glorious and bought ice cream for the kids and coffee for us then a short trip down the hill and we were home - a gorgeous day out and never more than 25 minutes from our door !

And there is still so much we haven't done just in that drive there are three more lookouts to check out and the winery to stop at. But being so close to home we can do that one Satuerday afternoon after I finsh work - or even on a Sunday on the way home from football.

I hope you all enjoyed your day off and did something relaxing, exciting, with family, on your own - doesn't matter as long as you feel refreshed and happy.

daisymum

I found my old life for a few hours today...

Being a Saturday I had Open Homes but being Easter Saturday I only had two! This meant I was finished early, took daisyboy10 shopping for new footy boots, had a coffee, then went to Bunnings and did some damage in the nursery!

Home,changed and then went outside potted up some plants, repotted some geraniums that have been struggling to survive, tidied and moved the garden furniture around.

Then I got out the good cloth, the good cups, heated up some hot cross buns and made a pot of tea and sat and enjoyed it with the kids, Daisyman and a dear friend.

What a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

Reminded me of what my life used to be like before I got a career!!!

If only there were enough hours in the week to have it all...but maybe there are...we will see the new "set business hours" plan kicks into gear after Easter. It should bring me more days like this and that can never be a bad thing.

Happy Easter everyone

daisymum