Goodbyes, work, and bikie chicks!

The kids woke up this morning, and were not happy that the school holidays ended. Billy-Joe was okay, especially considering as I thought he may have felt apprehensive about today, Sammy just wasn't happy, and Mickey cried. I wasn't happy about being up early either, but that's the way it is.

By the time I dropped them off, they were all happy and set off ready for the day with optimism. It was quite cute, because I drop them off and then they always walk up the stairs and turn around and wave. Today Sammy and Billy-Joe forgot to wave, dear little Mickey must have upped them, because I waited and they came running back to the top of the stairs to wave........too cool!!

Last night, I got an email to check my phone. Mmmmm, I wondered what's up. My girlfriend must have sent the sms to the wrong person I think. She asked me if I wanted to go to Montville today for a coffee ON THE BIKE!!!!! She admitted that fifteen minutes after she sent it, it hit her, she won't come! Well I surprised everyone, most of all myself and I went up for a ride. By the time we left Nambour, I thought that it was alot scarier than I remembered it. All that stopping and starting and gear changing isn't easy......... I was grabbing Lisa with my legs and I think my nail prints are permanently embedded in her leather jacket...........and that was just from getting out of my street and going to the service station. She wanted me to get off the bike at the servo............"And I have to climb back on with all these people watching?" "Yes lovey, you do" I must say the second and subsequent times I hopped onto the bike I was a lot more lady like that the first attempt. I just about clambered all over her, to get on as that was all I could hang on to. By the time we got to Montville and then to Mapleton for lunch, I wasn't hanging on for grim death anymore. I did enjoy the ride. It's being so vulerable that I am not so fond of. I like to drive myself, because I am in control, being on the back of someone's bike, you have absolutely no control at all. You really have to trust the person you are with. She was very good, and rode slowly although going downhill it felt quite fast.......... Coming down off the range is an experience I tell you. I like doing it in the car swinging around those bends, it's a whole new ball game on a bike.........

I wish I could post a photo, but I couldn't take my camera it's too big. Lis took her camera, but left the batteries on the recharger........so we can't scrapbook today. Does that mean she will take me again?

So, that's my day. A far cry from washing, dusting and cleaning.............but heck, I'd done that before I left!

While I was in Montville - Kenilworth asked if I wanted a day a week's work................I said yes of course. I love that class of kids, they are excellent. Those two days a fortnight bring me back the centrelink payments I have lost because I put in an estimate in case I am working, so that brings me back to what I was getting when I wasn't working. Not good, but I can manage the bills with that income, and any extra will be cream on top.

A highlight that needs its own post

I met a fellow blogger - Suzy We had an enjoyable coffee together. The time went by far too quickly. I would have liked to have chatted more. She is sweet and very easy to talk too. I look forward to continuing to read her blog, getting to know her better and seeing her again soon in the future. They only had a flying visit to the Sunshine Coast and I was honoured that they took out a chunk of their time to come and meet me. Thank you Suzy, you are a lovely lady and a very thoughtful one too, the ear rings you made me are just gorgeous.

It is really bizarre meeting someone that you have met online. I have met girls before from message board type situations but this is the first blogger. I find it really weird and sweet that she commented on things that had happened in my past. I was touched that she remembered them, and also a little startled that she knew so much about me.............you forget that your blog is quite personal in a very public kind of way lol..............

I am going back to read over some old posts of hers too, to get to know her better.

Thank you Suzy, you are a lovely lady and a very thoughtful one too, the ear rings you made me are just gorgeous. Who knows, maybe you will move up here one day!!!

I will post a link to a photo of us when Suzy posts it on her blog.

The holidays are over

The last two weeks have just gone by in a blur. I thought they would be peaceful, quiet and relaxing. They were some of those, in pockets of time, but generally they were very, very busy. The kidlets were in holiday care three days a week and on those days I always did heaps. Except the first Tuesday when it was freezing cold, Peter was painting and I knitted and drank cup of soup while sitting under a granny rug..........bliss!

Highlights of the holidays
* spent time with my sister in law and her kids. She cut my hair and Billy-Joe's and we had lunch and chatted away the hours. On another day, she shouted the kids a day at the bowling lanes. We had a lovely day. The weather was perfect and finished off by a lunch at the Alex Surfclub Kiosk and an icecream at the Cold Rock.
* I got my new glasses
* The kitchen is finished, apart from a few fiddly things
* I cooked heaps, and baked heaps too
* I had fun at Daisy's as usual
* I spent some time with my parents
* I spent some time with Peter's parents and kept in close phone contact
* I have nearly caught up on my housework

Back to school tomorrow. I know I need to work more this term, I wonder what the term will bring.

Washed and still working

Absolutely amazing!

I downloaded some photos from my card reader onto the pc the other day. I put the card in my pocket, to put back into my room into my camera. Alas, I never did that! But I did wash my dressing gown..........it's nice and clean too. And so is the memory card. I took this photo with it today, with a very clean CF Card.........





So now my boys are squeaky clean too...............

And SanDisk must be an awesome brand.

Enjoying the holidays

It's so good to be able to sleep in a little. Truth be known, I am not getting any extra sleep, but boy it feels good being able to go to bed later and get a up a little later. I have had things to do everyday this week, so it's been quite busy. Peter is home this week finishing off our dream kitchen.

I went to Dr. Williams today and he was very happy with me. From today I cut my Avanza down to half a tablet every second day and the same with the oral HRT. In a month I can stop the Avanza and in six weeks I can stop the oral HRT. Interestingly, with my 'no diet' way of thought, I haven't put on an ounce in three months, plus the exercise hasn't been like I was doing before with the kitchen and Mickey. My fat percentage went down, not a lot, but I was rapt as I have lost weight before but the fat percentage has stayed the same. I am excited about dropping off those other meds.

The doctor is expensive, but I think it's well worth it.

The kids are really happy to be on holidays too. My sister in law has given them a PS2 as her son has a new Wii console. My kids are over the moon, and have no idea they actually have it on a long term loan. Perfect timing for over the holidays.

The weather has been cold and I am loving it. I love wearing winter clothes and I bought two pairs of winter footwear last Saturday. I got a lovely pair of boots and a pair of Colorado closed in shoes. I have worn one pair of them everyday this week. They keep my tootsies warm.

I am knitting again!! Can you believe it? After I put my knitting stuff in the St. Vinnie's bin earlier this year, I have been inspired by Suzy . Thank you Suzy for getting me started again. I am just knitting a scarf, something nice and simple. I haven't knitted in about ten years, and haven't made anything complicated in about 20 years, so I thought a pair of socks might be a bit ambitious.......

We are going out this afternoon to pick out the colours for the exterior of our house. Our house looks rather daggy and is in desperate need of a freshen up.......

I will post the colours when we choose them. I am a huge fan of Resene Paint It goes on really well and is quite thick and also hard wearing. I love it.

Living gets in the way of life.

It feels like that sometimes doesn't it? I thought that with having Mickey home all this week, it would be a quiet time. I was welcoming it.. How wrong I was! We had things to do everday. I was out every single day this week. It was inconsequential stuff which really needed doing.
* I bought a new heater, and then took it back because it wouldn't work on the carpet, and then with the same money bought a cheaper heater, two windcheaters for Mickey and a couple of throw rugs for the kids to snuggle under in front of the TV.
* Bought Mickey some new shoes as the others were cut off in Emergency.
* Bought and tried sample pots of paint. Have chosen this colour for the kitchen. It's called Sea Nymph (see above, typical blogger I couldn't put it down here........)
* Had an unexpected cuppa with a friend which was nice.
* Cooked a divine pizza for dinner on Thursday, will post recipe on food blog.
* Cleaned and tidied and pottered around in my kitchen
* cleaned and vacuumed my house
* Baked Jam Drops in my new oven after the electrician got everything hooked up
* Picked up the slate and wall tiles
* Visited dear father in law in hospital, who is doing very well
* Had a couple of girlfriends make a flying visit
* Spent the day with my Mum yesterday and bought a pair of boots and a pair of Colorado closed in winter shoes. The sale was buy one pair get the second pair half price. Gotta love a good sale. I will have those shoes forever. I hate having cold feet and only having a pair of court shoes and a pair of sand shoes as my only closed in ones. We also haunted every kitchen shop in the Plaza. I bought a new stab blender too, as I killed the last one - so only got a cheap one this time.
* A grocery bag broke and a 2L bottle of cordial and a 2L bottle of soft drink fell on my toe. It was black and swollen it looked like a plum. I put a needle through it on Friday night, so at least yesterday I could wear shoes and walk around all day.
* Took Mickey to outpatients appointment on Thursday morning.
* Went out and scrapbooked on Friday night
* Went dancing on Tuesday night.
* Am exhausted just reading about my week.
* Sammy's eyes are playing up again, so doing the drops again
* Mickey still on antibiotics - he will have sutures out tomorrow.
* Had to take disciplinary action toward my eldest son. His behaviour and attitude is not the best at the moment, so we have an action plan, which includes losing all his privileges which he has to earn back week by week with the right behaviours and attitude. I think we got through him. Now we just have to stick by our plan and hope and pray he breaks ties with these kids that he is hanging around with at school. Have made the teachers aware of this, so Billy-Joe knows we will be keeping a close eye on him.
* Have read a book called 'A Boy called It" By Dave Pelzer. A gut wrenching true anecdote of a child suffering abuse......... Should make my own kids read it, especially Billy-Joe and then he will realize how blessed he is- and how tragic others lives can be. This was not light, relaxing reading, so I will have to find something else to read for enjoyment. Mind you this book was like a car crash, I couldn't put it down. I had to know that it would be alright. I have the other two books to read as well. Obviously he endures more..............

I am sitting at my pc today, with it covered as the dust is flying through the house, hopefully for the last time, so tonight I will do another big clean. I can't wait for it all to be finished now!

Oh Mickey

The long weekend started really well. I got up latish, and then decided to go out and buy the tiles and slate for our new kitchen. Billy-Joe came with me, I had to do the groceries too.

My alarm bells started ringing about 35 minutes after I left. I rang Peter from the tile shop and he didn't answer the home phone or his mobile. I thought maybe, he'd gone to the hardware store. a girlfriend rang me about 1 1/2 hours later and said she'd rung at home and it rang out. I was quite worried by this stage. I got home, ran inside and no note to be found. The back sliding door was open!! I went around the house looking for blood. CSI would have been proud of me. I went across the road and asked a neighbour if she'd seen Peter leave in a hurry, she said she hadn't noticed.

Just then Peter arrive home. He had been in casualty with Mickey, who had shot himself in the foot with the nail gun. He was given antibiotics after the nail was removed and the shoe was cut off. He was apparently very brave, and did the whole thing with happy gas. About an hour later, the hospital rang and they wanted Mickey brought back to the hospital to stay and to have surgery to have the wound debrided. So I took him up - waited until he was comfortable and asleep and I left. I was still unshowered and hadn't eaten. I dropped in to see the girls and got home around 10.30pm. At 2.30am I got a phone call, Mickey was unsettled - would I come and stay. I packed up and spent the weekend with my little boy in hospital.

He had surgery on Saturday morning, and was very brave. He didn't even cry until he was coming out of the anaesthetic in recovery. It was then that he wanted to go home. The whole weekend he was so good. He just lay quietly in his bed watching 'Spongebob' cartoons and the odd dvd. We were very happy to come home yesterday afternoon. I slept like a log last night. Sleeping in a crappy bed with a lot going on was surefire way of me not getting much sleep. I just slept in little snatches - so I was very happy to be in my own bed last night.

Today I awoke and felt like crap. So often once the crisis is over, I feel really awful. I feel better now, this evening. I have gone back to enjoying my kitchen. Don't get me wrong, not for one moment over the last couple of days did I count my blessings - especially considering the accident with Mickey could have been horrific, I just needed time to get my 'zing' back. I am planning on waking up with it in full force tomorrow.

Brrrrrr

It's so cold here at the moment. I must say I quite like it - it makes a nice change. I had to buy the kids new flanelette sheets for their beds as they said they were cold last night. I am about to hop into the shower to clean it, but will shower myself and get into my jammies. I love snuggling and being cosy in this type of weather. The air is so brisk - we don't have cold here much. When this uploads I will check out my weather pixie to see how cold it is. My southern counterparts will laugh - I know - because it really isn't anywhere near as cold as it is for them. I don't have to wear a coat or have to have an electric blanket - necessities when I lived in Geelong No gloves, scarves or woolen beanies.........except the beanies the kids, have mainly for fun. The kids are outside with track suit pants on and long sleeved t'shirts. They are all barefoot - no sense no feeling lol.......... I have the doors shut, which happens only on really cold days and makes the house feel really weird, I am so used to having everything wide open. I didn't even have my ceiling fan on last night.

I think it's pretty cool from here south, so I hope everyone is keeping snug. I just checked the weather pixie, it says 17 degrees. I always say that anything under 20 degrees is cold. Funny thing is though the poor weather pixie is wearing a midriff top!!!

Always the scrapbooker

If you haven't already, check out the kitchen blog if you are interested in updates on our renovations.

I wouldn't be a scrapbooker now would I if I didn't take a picture of this little boy. I also asked him to keep crying while I got the camera. Mickey has no problems with such requests. He had a lot of fun playing outside but was quite cold by this stage.

No animals (err children) were harmed during the filming of this event. He is now snug and warm in his pjs and will no doubt sleep very well tonight.

A very productive day reno wise. I am so excited for this to be finished, it's so close now.

Us

I never like my photos when they are first developed. I am always, always disappointed in them. One of my best friends the other day reminded me of that fact.........very funny, she knew me better than I did. Sometimes it only takes a few hours until I can appreciate them, sometimes it takes months. This photo I did like, but only as time has gone by do I truly appreciate and love it. It's us in Ricky's spa in Gin Gin.

I am...........therefore I scrapbook

Just a photo of all my scrapbooking accoutrements from a retreat late last year. It was the best way that I could explain why I scrapbook.......... I am - therefore I scrapbook. Live Life, create Art.....

I love this layout, has lots of sequins on it which probably don't come out on the scan. Thanks to SuzyQ for the inspiration on this one.

Christmas Mickey

I love this photo of Mickey putting the star atop the Christmas Tree. I used a vintage action on this shot. I love how it turned out.

My latest layouts

I will beat blogger at their own game. Because I can't put my comments with each layout or image, I will just upload each one as a seperate post.

Here's the first one, photo of Billy-Joe cooking his first meal in the last school holidays. He was making porcupines.

Flat Days

I don't hate hate them as much as I used to. Simply because they aren't as frequent, nor do they last as long. Probably what annoys me the most, is that I never know why this happens. I get this sick feeling in my stomach and I just want to stay really quiet.

The kithen renos are going well, although it's a little stressful in that, it's getting closer and I am still hoping everything fits. I am worried about whether a new dining table will fit into the area. The dining room is going to be longer, but not wider. I know that longer tables are generally wider too. I am going to talk to Paul Bell today about whether we can crib some room from the width of the kitchen. I also am having a slight apprehension with the rangehood I bought. Does it vent out through the wall? Because it has to! Kleenmaid sales people don't start until 10am, so I am waiting for a call back from them.

I felt great on Saturday, very upbeat and happy. Woke up yesterday and felt flat! It didn't help by the fact that I shut my fingers into the car door, and just smashed two acrylic nails. One quite badly, as it went right down to the nail bed, the pain is quite severe, I can't put any pressure on the end of the nail. Thankfully my nail technicial is a lovely girl and fitted me in first up this morning. I should have done the gym, but I just wanted to get home.

Mothers' Day 2007

I love this day. It's one of my favourite days of the year. It celebrates all that being a mother is about, and it's a wonderful way of stepping back and taking stock of all that's good in one's life.

We started the morning, latish, 8.30am, even though that's earlier than I normally would get up on a Sunday, but we had loads to do, so we could have got up earlier. No time to have breakfast. Now that brings me to breakfast in bed! Am I the only one who doesn't get it? I could think of nothing worse than sitting, half slumped in my bed trying to juggle my breakfast.......... Firstly I would be on my own, (having kids jumping around would really make it enjoyable!!!!) and then I would be eating in a non eating place. I don't get it! I never have, and fortunately my dh and I are totally in agreeance, and he doesn't get it either lol....... Anyway back to my story, no time for breakfast, but I put the percolator on so had a good cup of coffee before we went out. Peter's Mum had cakes for morning tea, (another reason why I didn't have breakfast) and a yummy pot of tea. Was a lovely morning catching up with family and then we headed back home to await our guests - Mum and Dad. Mum had the idea that as it was Mothers Day and her and Dad's anniversary that there was no cooking, so she ordered chickens from woolies. I bought those bake at home rolls and we had beer batter chips, and Mum made her delicious coleslaw. We had nibblies and champagne beforehand too. I made a cheesecake, (recipe will go on blog when I upload photo), which was yummy, accompanied by some good coffee........

Probably the best part though, was how excited my kids got. They bought me goodies from the school Mothers' Day stall, and little Mickey could barely contain his secret, to the point that he'd already told me I would like them, and that I could eat them, and then as I was unwrapping them, that they were chocolates........too funny and so cute. Sammy and Mickey both did lovely cards at school, treasurs that only a mother will cherish forever. Billy-Joe wanted to take pocket money to the stall. I was reluctant to have him spend more than $3-4, but he insisted it was $12 and it was just perfect for me. He told me as I was unwrapping it, that he saw the gift when he took his buddy to the stall the day before and asked if he could reserve it! How cool is that? I unwrapped this rather large present which looked like a generous serving of fish and chips and there was a lovely hand towel and washer set, with talcum powder and hand cream. I will use all of them.........my little boy is growing up and is already learning the art of buying the perfect gift. I was so touched by the gesture, and the lengths that he went to to secure this gift for me....... I am so very, very lucky! My darling man bought me an electric toothbrush. It wasn't a secret, I asked for it, and he also bought extra brushes so we can all enjoy this new toy. I'd used my brother's when we went to Gin Gin last, and I was hooked......

No better way to spend a special day.....
A lovely day.............just perfect!

If the shoe fits

Dancing last night was fantastic. Gosh I love it..........so much. My shoes were actually comfortable last night, it's the third time I have worn them, so I was really pleased. I didn't even wear them with the blister preventing bandaid. The first week I wore them I had the worst blister I have ever had, on the outside of my big toe. Last night, it actually felt uncomfortable when I slipped my foot back into my 'day shoes'. I was quite surprised that I had been that comfortable, especially as they are 2.5 inch heels.

Last night when I was lying in bed, I was thinking about shoes, dancing shoes in particular. I have wanted to dance ever since I was a kid. I wanted to do ballet so bad it hurt. I read every ballet novel in the high school library. A good friend of my parents' owned a ballet studio. My brother and I were allowed to go to the dress rehearsals. I was in fairy land......... I can still remember the sound of the shoes on the stage floor. The swooshing of the satin on the boards and the thud of the wood from the point shoes. I can't explain it but I love that noise. I can still recreate it in my head, and it's been over 30 years since I have heard that noise. Can you imagine my delight, when I started ballroom dancing and there is a new shoe noise........... I was so excited.... The suede on the base of the shoes combined with the heels makes it's own unique noise, which I find I like. I don't only want my dance shoes to dance, I want them to sing!

At dancing last night, I found I was concentrating more on technique rather than the
steps which is a great development. Now I can concentrate on looking like I know what I am doing. The good thing is you get to dance with lots of different people. You only spend about a maximum of 5-8mins with the same dancer, and it's usually alot less when the dance is commenced and it's progressive. I find I am dancing with men who spend the whole time looking down at their (and my) feet. How do I tell them, not to look down, you actually concentrate in your head, not by looking at your feet. Your feet do what your head tells it to do. If you look at anyone's feet, look at someone who knows what they are doing, and then try to copy it. I guess my years of aerobic dance experience has given me the confidence to follow auditory cues and to also have faith that the dance is in my head. I can see myself doing this for many, many years, and, who knows where it will lead.



Pain Management
Instead of making another post, I thought I would just change tack with a heading. It's been an interesting journey using the Joint Factors 4500 (fondly known as crushed crab shells). I have found that I can't miss a day as I feel like something a truck has crashed into. I don't get the coverage like I did with anti inflammatory medication, which is to be expected, but nonetheless was a rude shock, as I really had no idea what my pain levels were without the medication. Truth is, I would be a wreck without some kind of help. I can go to the gym, I can jog lightly, I can dance..........and without the CCS I would be in alot of pain, and unable to do all those things. I have also discovered though that mornings are not real good. So I have started taking two panadol when I awaken and then by the time I get out of bed, I feel really good. Problem solved, and I feel fabulous when I get out of bed. My last GP always said she would rather me take panadol four hourly than NSAIDs on a permanent basis............okay to say when you are not the one in pain. I am happy though to take two a day..........and to use the CCS to give me the other coverage I need, so I can enjoy being active.

Blogless

Slack again! When I haven't blogged for a while, I am always surprised at the date of my last post. The time just goes by so increcibly quick.

Winter is creeping in.

You know it's Winter, when, the kids are at school with their gloves, jackets...........................and shorts!!! I arrived at work with slingback sandles, 3/4 pants, singlet top and a cardigan! I am really lucky with where I live. The weather is just glorious at the moment. I love this time of the year. Some of the nights have been quite cool (flanellete pj cool) and the days are just full sunshine and very warm. A few mornings this week have been quite cool around 12 degrees...... Even the 'real' winter here, is so mild. I wear winter garb for about two months. And my work wardrobe comprises of long pants, closed in shoes, (no stockings or socks) long sleeved blouse or top and a jacket for the morning. I don't wear jumpers as they are far too hot. We get alot of the stuff in the shops here, looks great, but would not get worn by me - so I just pat the furry collars in passing and wonder who buys them.

As you can gather I have been working. After a drought, I have worked one day last week and three days this week. I can't wait for the money to come in.......hopefully it will be next week. That's a big problem, you work and then don't get paid for a month - which works quite well at the other end and you are no longer working, at least some money comes through, but not good at this end. The fantastic plastic is looking sick, (credit card) and will be a nil balance again after tax time, but at the moment, I don't even want to use it, because I am only putting on the minimum payments.

Dancing is still going well. There was one dance I just couldn't get and my gf who goes with me, wrote the steps out and I got it! But we haven't done it again for me to try it again! We have started doing the samba which is a fairly easy dance, alot of turns and stuff, so I really have to watch my ankle. I got to the gym only once this week, and I am sore in my arms, chest and legs, so that's good. I do an interval training on the treadmill, walk brisk for 3 mins and then a slow jog for 3 mins. It gets the heart rate up. I can't just walk and increase the incline, because my achilles and calf muscle doesn't like it....... sound like a decrepit old thing don't I? I do all this because I don't want to be a decrepit old thing, who can't move, and aches at every turn. With my problems, that would be an easy route, but I am sure in the long run, I am far better off, staying active. I am not an old lady yet!!

Renos are going sloooooowwwwwwllllly...................I do have some updated photos, but I will put them in the the kitchen blog

More layouts

My good friends laughed and laughed at me last night........I was almost not game enough to bring out the layout I was working on..........(grin) because it is the same layout I have been working on for over three weeks! Fortunately I am not getting paid an hourly rate...... But boy don't I have some fun.

I have been having alot of fun with flowers and with sewing of late. I have even added the odd bead on the 'Caloundra' layout. Thanks to my design consultants Sue and Alison, I have some great guidance.

It's Friday

Here is my kitchen.........okay maybe I am being a little premature here....... I was so excited when the truck pulled up with all these bits. I hope the guys know what they are doing. Hopefully the old floor will be pulled up and replaced with the new floor on the Anzac Day holiday. I hope they can do it quickly and without lots of problems. I know these things never go to schedule/plan but I can live in hope hey......




I couldn't wear these on Tuesday. (Gosh I wish there was an easy way to put the images where you want them, instead of where blogger puts them............) So if you are still with me........ I had to go to the dr for a checkup yesterday and I thought while I was there I would get my ankle looked at. Can you imagine my fright when he said, "I think we should get it x-rayed, you may have broken it." In my head I was saying "Ahhh, you don't understand, I cannot have a broken ankle. I am a mother of three young children, I am taxi, I work, I work out, I DANCE!!! So you see I cannot be that badly injured." The polite me, said "Oh!" So I went and had the x-ray, had a coffee and a whinge at Daisy's, felt better, went and got kidlets, took said kidlets to footy training, went back to radiology to collect images, went back to doctor, (with Mickey), read the results on the way and saw it wasn't broken, phew!! Waiting at the dr. and then had heat and ultrasound on it. I bought a compression ankle thingy at the chemist today which I will wear when I am dancing. I had treatment today and will go back on Monday. My new gym program is good. Luke has me doing alot of strengthening exercises. Standing on one leg with my eyes shut, and that's on a disc on top of a flat ball which wobbles everywhere. I can do it, so that's good. I hope to strengthen up the ankle, so I can go back to aerobics one day. (I didn't tell the doctor I dance - methinks he would't be too impressed. The thing is, it doesn't hurt when I dance, as long as I don't go over it again, like I did on Tuesday, but I can do that easily on flat ground in flat shoes.........

Scrapbooking tonight. I love it! It's a fabulous night, I always hate it when it ends, at around 1am!!!

As I mentioned before I have a new gym program. I haven't had a full workout yet, have just spent two sessions going through the new program with Luke the new trainer. I am so sore today. Everytime I sit down or get up, I do it very gingerly. Heaven only knows how sore I would be if I hadn't been doing anything of late. I am looking forward to this, I love lifting weights and getting stronger. The cardio component is okay too, I do bike and treadmill. I prefer the walking to the bike.

Will see if I can fix these images on this post.....

I have started a new blog, just to document our renovations. That way it keeps everything in the one place.

Not happy Jan!!!

I am totally peeved..........no I am pissed off! And it's at myself. I did my ankle several weeks ago, and it's been slowly getting better. I was really lucky, in that I was able to get around okay, and I didn't really reduce my exercise. Mind you, when I did my calf muscle, they banned me from aerobics............... I have never been banned from anything, and then I am banned from one of my favourite activities........... Anyway I was recommended to do gym workouts with a rehab component to strengthen the ligaments. So today I organized that..........and did some creative accounting so I could afford to do it. I will enjoy the gym, but I loved the aerobics. I will miss Pump and yoga the most. Anyway I went over my ankle this afternoon outside Lanhams. One of the kids hadn't shut their door properly, and, because of the child safety lock, I had to get out of the car and open it to shut it properly. When I walked back to the car (peeved because I'd had to get out in the first place) I rolled my ankle on a slightly uneven bit of bitumen. I felt ill! It was that painful, that I couldn't even talk and the kids were asking me what the matter was. I have iced it, taken pain medication, but dancing tonight is out of the question. I tried my dance shoes on three times, and I can hardly stand straight in them, let alone dance.......................

Anyway, it's dinner time now, will maybe post a more positive post afterwards. It's a big episode of Biggest Loser tonight, so will be good. I can't believe it's nearly finished and then "Big Brother" starts.

Easter, Eggs, Family and love.

I have had a funny week. A very quiet one. I have good days and I have some pretty crappy ones too. I think I have realized though, that the powder I am taking in replacement of my anti inflammatory medication, is working really, really well. If I am slack and forget a day or two in the week...............I feel like I have been hit by a bus. It's awful. I knew they (the pills) helped me alot, enough that I knew to take something else, rather than just stopping............but I had no idea how old and decrepit I would feel. I want to live, look after my family, move, go to gym, dance and do all those fun things..............and without a little help, that just would be so much more difficult. I just hurt .........my neck, my upper back, my hips, my knees, my elbows.........shit there' s almost nothing left not to hurt.............. So, I am now a good girl and take the stuff every day. I have changed the time so that if I am out at night, I will still have had it during the day........

So, because of that, and school holidays, I have been busy reading about other people's Easters and have been slack and haven't written about mine..........

We always have a great Easter. On Saturday we had a 50th to go to, which was good fun. Mil and Fil looked after the kidlets, so they had an absolute ball. We picked them up when we went around on Easter Sunday, had a lovely morning tea and then came home and prepared for our BBQ lunch with my family. We had loads of yummy food, yummy champagne........(dh bought me Henkell Trocken, which I just love........) and we spent a great afternoon. We had so much food left over we did the same again the next day........

My brother and his wife came for a bit, so that was good, and a little unexpected.....

I have edited one photo so far from the day. I love the Easter Egg hunt........

My Heritage

I am an Australian...............through and through........or so I thought, once upon a time. My parents are German and Austrian, and that has put a huge inprint on me. Every Christmas, my specialties, which I love to bake, are Austrian. Mind you I make a pretty mean fruit cake, which surpasses every fruitcake I have ever tasted, even if I say so myself - that's my Australian component of my Christmas cuisine.

Every Thursday, (when it's on) I watch "Inspector Rex". It's not the fact that it's an excellent show that I watch it, it's because it's in Austrian. Austrians speak German but it's as different as Australian English to English English! I hear the program come on and it gives me goosebumps. It takes me back to all the years that I spoke the language at home. German is my first language! I spoke only German until I went to school, and I still always had to speak it at home. It's funny, but I can come across someone in the supermarket talking to their friend/partner in German and I want to respond in German, especially if they are asking a question about something and I think I could help........bizarre, because I would never be so rude as to actually butt in. But the whole 'German' thing is so strong and so close to my heart. Even my dh pricks up his ears at the language and feels a closeness to it, which I find really sweet........

I am a proud Australian, with extrememly proud German and Austrian roots..........

Recent layouts

These were taken on Sammy's birthday. We took him down in the backyard and Opa brought the bike down the side of the stairs while Billy-Joe covered his eyes. It was a delight watching his response.


Mickey's first day of school. I also journalled about Billy-Joe and how he takes care of his younger brothers. I am so proud of these kids.....



I took this photo on Sammy's 7th birthday and the layout says '7 things i love about you'



href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9ugC3NtFlFmQGeP-F1Xgqrqr6VRtcU8bshh6a52sS316ns-4ylC90xmeKBfqG8Yz0wLs6i1p4c1U76ch7EnLg3klH_hRP_Z8gfigB_QCSkjmKiO2aauqLsLpXK58lkX8PGLT/s1600-h/home.jpg">

Photos of the houses where I lived when I was a child growing up in Geelong. This was the first time I had seen these houses in 16 years.




Some Christmas Eve snapshots.

Good night

It's late, midnight in fact - and I am heading off to bed after a marathon weekend of scrapbooking. I went last night, and was home at midnight, so, earlier than normal and then ran around this morning like a hairy, old goat doing my housework and washing while dh took the kidlets to the football. By the time he came home I was organized and almost ready to head out again. I am taking part in a survey which looks at the road system on the coast. As I am often complaining about the constant influx of interstaters and yet the total lack of infrastructure to cope with this - I felt obligated to take part when I was asked. I have to map everything thing I did yesterday, plus my kids and my dh. I had 12 stops yesterday!!! It couldn't have been on a day where I stayed home all day............no I had alot of things to do, and I had to write about every stop, the whys and wherefores........so I did part of that this morning before I left. I have spent the day with my best friends, laughing, eating, laughing and scrapbooking and having a fabulous time. I actually did some layouts too, I will upload the finished one tomorrow. I am home now............hoping for a better night's rest than I had last night.... I just wanted to wind down before I headed off to bed.

I took a photo today of Sammy with his missing teeth.........oh he looks so cute, and more mischievous than normal. I will upload that tomorrow too. In the store, Barbi had these little gauze bags for the tooth fairy to collect the teeth from........(bit more flashy than a tissue) - Sammy will find that under his pillow in the morning and believe that the tooth fairy left it for him. I am so lucky that the kids believe in these wonderful things. Billy-Joe will be 11 and his faith in the tooth fairy, Easter Bunny and Santa is still very strong..... I am bracing myself for that to change. He has already asked about it, but is not prepared to let go of that magic yet, and I am grateful for that. I think the biggest gift I can give my children, is their childhood and all the mysteries and magic that comes with it...........

Good night..........God Bless!

Happy Thursday

I've had two nights on half dose of my medication and I am doing great. I feel a bit headachey in the afternoons, but have surprisingly been sleeping quite well. I have been waking up alot, but my ipod is my saving grace, and I turn it on and just drop back off to sleep. I wake up rested, which is great.

I have still been going to the gym even with my foot, I have been modifying what I do...........(I know some think I have gone back far too early..........even dh wonders why I am not sitting around resting.........duhhhh..........imagine that!!!) Anyway, I think the strain of favouring the other foot, was too much for my left leg, and I pulled a calf muscle in my left leg. It's very painful. It's pulling me up more than the sprained ankle did, as far as putting weight on my leg and being able to walk. I have an appointment with my masseuse tomorrow, who will hopefully work her magic. I can't stop the exercising, I feel like I am finally seeing a benefit as far as muscle development goes, and I don't want to halt that. I lose condition really quickly, when I stop.

Today I was at a seminar all day. It was run by Literacy Solutions. I asked my school where I do most of my work whether they would pay for me to attend, thinking that as I was 'only' a relief teacher, they would probably not. I was pleasantly surprised, especially as the principal is new and doesn't know me..........I had to put in a formal application, and when it was approved I was very pleased. It was at the RSL club and we got lunch and morning tea. The foot wasn't crash hot, but still nice to be out. The content was presented well, and I felt like I learnt something. It makes me wish that I had my own class. Maybe I need to research whether or not me having a permanent position would ever be possible......... I have never done country service, so a permanent position in this part of the state is something I have been told I would never have! Food for thought anyway......

Thanks Michelle, Tina, and Suzy for your comments and support. It's much appreciated, and Michelle, if you are willing to give me advice, that's fine........you take the time to read, and I respect the fact that you take the time to reply and comment......and you are right drinking lots of water, can make a difference, so I have been working on increasing that again. I get slack........you drink, drink, drink, and spend half your time, (and night) having to pee........so I get lazy and don't drink enough, so the reminder was timely.

Am I doing the right thing?

Do you ever second guess yourself? Do you ever thing about something, and a part of you thinks you are doing the right thing, and the other part of you is really unsure and quite nervous about the thought of change.

I have come to a point in my life where I am evaluating everything that I am doing with my body. I have kissed dieting goodbye............. Do you know, I have had enough! I don't want to eat low fat, low taste crap ever again! I don't want to have to weigh my food, I don't want to have to feel guilty about eating something nice. If I am hungry, I will eat. If I want something yummy I will have it and to hell with the guilt. It's very liberating.......... And the amazing part of it all, is that I haven't put on any weight. Can you believe it??? I am actually more satisfied with my food, feeling more content and am eating less. I am eating good quality food, and I still eat healthy 90% of the time anyway, because I actually prefer wholegrain breads, and I love salad and vegetables, and I love lean meat, chicken and seafood. I love yoghurts, I now eat low fat Vaalia which is yummo, but I buy some greek yoghurt for a treat too. I drink full cream milk sometimes, or I buy low fat, I won't have skim anymore, I can't drink it. I drink about 1-2L of milk a week, it's not going to kill me if I don't have skim. And it tastes like real milk - not like insipid blue crap that only passes for milk if you squint and drink it really quickly. I had been drinking it for over 20 years.............. I don't have cake in my house very often, and when I do, I am going to eat some. I don't have chocolate in the house all the time, and if I do I am going to have some. I don't eat chips and other snack stuff. I have maybe one take away meal a week, and it's usually a Thai meal with a girlfriend. I love that meal. I have pizza about once a month........... I do everything in moderation...... I can hear my Mum's mantra........." Everything in moderation " I think I get it now......... I love to drink wine. I pour my wine into a huge goblet and put the smallest amount of wine in it, because I don't like it getting warm. This way I have three wines and I have probably had two small glasses in reality.........

Okay, so I have looked at the food and the drink, I exercise at the gym, which I love doing. I do a pump class with the weights and I love doing the old fashioned style aerobics with legwork that nearly kills you. I don't jump around like a lunatic........the high impact stuff went out a long time ago...thank goodness. I love the feeling of developing muscles and getting stronger. I also really enjoy the pilates or yoga classes when I can fit it in....... (you know, sometimes life just gets in the way lol..........)

So that left one more thing which I ingest..... My medication. I have despaired over my body shape for the last few years (post kids) I always had a good figure and now I feel like I have the body of an old lady. You know the ones, fairly slim everywhere but have a tummy like a bubble...........that's me. Muffin pants to the max - just the most beautiful look....................accccckkkkkk!!! So what am I doing wrong?? I do alot of reading and research on the 'net and I have come to the conclusion that maybe my medication is the problem. Dh has read an article too, where it states that anti depressants, HRT and anti inflammatory drugs can lead to resistant weight loss. Well - have a guess what?? I have the trifecta!!! I am on all three drugs. So,I have some changes to make here. I have been on antidepressant s on and off now for 17 years, and continuously for the last 4 years. I feel fantastic~ maybe now it's time to go off those. So last night I started dropping the dose, and I lay in bed with my heart going a gazillion miles and hour. You see they help me sleep and I was literally shitting myself that I wouldn't sleep! I was all set to just relax, listen to my ipod and just be prepared to ride this through, because the next week or more can be a bit tough........ I had a great night's sleep. So I will continue with half a pill for a week and then I may try a quarter for a week and then none................. That's the change that is really scaring me. I have felt so good for the last two years now, that I don't want to go off the drugs, because I am scared of what I may go back to. But I guess, it's that kind of thinking that may head me in the wrong direction,so I just need to be confident in myself that I can do this. I feel good about this decision........... The next thing I already changed was I stopped my anti inflammatory medication. Since my back surgery in 1989 I have been on them on and off, and then in the last couple of years i just take one every day. When I had my breast reduction done, I had to stop those tablets before the surgery and I was in so much pain. I didn't realize how much those pills helped me. And it's not just my back, my hips, my achilles and my thorasic spine, all gave me grief, all the arthritis and old injuries came back to haunt me big time..... So I have bought a big tub of Glucosamine, MSM and Chondroiton powder which I now take instead. Does't taste the best, but I can stomach it, because it's better than taking a pill. So that leaves the third medication.

On Friday I am seeing a new Doctor about natural HRT. He has some great success and will monitor me closely with blood tests, so I am confident that he will look after me. If it was someone who said, just use this cream and you will be right, I would be dubious, but he redoes the bloods to keep an eye on me........ I just wonder what will he think when he meets me. I am a hormonal cocktail. I have my oestrogen from my current HRT, progesterone from my Mirena, and testosterone from an inplant!!!!!

I will report back when I have spoken to him. It will be very interesting indeed.

So the new journey begins in earnest.

An unreal week

I have had the most amazing week. I can attribute that to many things. I started the week badly with spraining my ankle - and from there it went sharply uphill. As I hobbled with assistance out of the gym, I had no shortage of sympathy and assistance. Alicia, whom I have known for many years, and Di a new friend, both offered to drive me home. (Which in hindsight I should have accepted, because I felt quite ill when I got home.......probably from the pain). I had ice, help and advice on how to look after myself. On Thursday I saw Lu and had my nails done. Alicia came in and saw that my foot was swelling while I was sitting there, she took off my shoe and made me put my foot up. Di, brought out some cream and rubbed some into my foot..........I felt like a queen. Anyone walking past would have wondered who on earth I was that I was receiving so much attention.

During the week, as you know I put a deposit on an amazing range of kitchen items. My parents took me down to the store, so I could do that as driving was still a bit painful. I am so lucky that I have my parents around, and that they are close by too. We always get on so well, and when I work so much, I don't see them near enough, so with my sore ankle, it meant we spent some time together which was great. I realized that another reason why the week was so great, because I have all three children at school, and I didn't work the whole week, so I felt organized and not like I was running around chasing my tail. I had more patience for my kidlets and felt very content with my lot in life.........

Yesterday I decided to attempt a pump class, as you don't really need your feet other than for standing on. I did lunges, but without the weights, and then stopped a bit before ...............I hate lunges!!! Afterwards Alicia and I went to coffee. Three hours later we decided to check the time!! We hadn't moved, hadn't had lunch, just had a ball. We ordered a lunch which we shared and then I came home after 3pm. Time to organize my clothes off the line, have a shower and then go to scrapbooking. I had to shopsit last night for about 4 hours. I had a great night, Al was there and Kerrie was there too..... I had lots to chat about.

I have a lot more to add later. I am considering a few things....

Kitchen Update

We got a late call last night, that our finance was conditional. Apparently they had already done the driveby evaluation, and the rest of the process is just a formality........so........today I went and paid the rest of the deposit on the kitchen goodies, as I am 99.9% confident that all will be okay. Plus Kleenmaid has said that if for some reason the money doesn't go through, then we get a full discount. If I hadn't paid now, I would have missed out on $1800 savings, which is a huge amount. I will include some pictures of what we have bought..........Can you tell I am over the moon, very impressed and incredibly excited. I have always, always, always wanted a large kitchen with scmick appliances........and I never ever thought that I would actually get it.

I had another run through on all the appliances and am really impressed with all the functions on everything, I can't decide which appliance I am more excited about, the dishwasher, or the oven. The oven and the really awesome rangehood, are bonuses.........I never expected to get top quality of those, because I knew how expensive they are.

Deb, the manager at Kleenmaid, made me a divine coffee, from one of their machines and then just took her time with me, I am so impressed with the service. She knew my name, and was very, very helpful........

I had a brief chat with a gf on msn this afternoon, and her Kleenmaid oven died, and, instead of having it fixed, (without a quote) she was given an oven from a friend who was remodelling her kitchen. She is not happy with the 'new' oven at all and is sorely missing her Kleenmaid one and she is sorry she never had the repair quoted on. She said the difference in quality is amazing......

Appliances

Well..............

I did it, I put a deposit on our new Kleenmaid appliances. Not only are we getting the dishwasher, but we are buying the stove and rangehood as well............ Spending quite a bit more than we had planned - but I feel happy and content about our decision. I was happy with the service when I walked into the store. The showroom is fantastic. The manager of the store served me, and even though I was only interested in a dishwasher she told me about a fantastic deal, that if you bought the oven and rangehood you would get the dishwasher half price! In the car on the way home I thought that after my intial thoughts of it not being manageable, I decided that if we wanted to do it we could!! I told Peter about it, he was inititally reluctant, but after thought has decided it was the right thing to do. I feel that we are planning on staying here for a long, long time, and I want quality products. If I can afford them now then I think it's worth it. This is our first house, a house we never thougth we would own, and I think we owe it to ourselves to get the best we can possibly afford. I am so happy with the quality of the goods, and the customer service is fantastic.

I am very happy with our decision.

Now if only I could say the same about Homeside Lending...............nearly three weeks on and I still don't have a definite answer yet about our finance. The mortgage broker assures me there is no problem, but I would like to know for sure. Kleenmaid would even refund our deposit if for some reason the money didn't come through.......

Injured

I am so mad at myself. Just when my fitness regime was going well and my fitness levels were increasing - I had to go and badly sprain my ankle. I started the Taebox class yesterday morning, my foot stuck on the carpet, because I didn't lift it high enough as we were travelling across the floor and I went head over heels.........must have looked like a lead weight rolling across the floor. Today it's a little better. I can put weight on it, but can't twist, turn, crouch or do anything with my foot, like push things aside etc. This morning I woke up and my other leg is quite sore too, from doing all the work. I stood and cooked last night, on one leg. My main worry is how long it will be before I can get back to the gym. I am really disappointed about that. Everyone at the gym was fantastic, they took such great care of me. I have only been going there for about 2 months and I had offers of lifts and help with hobbling around, ice packs and comfort. They are a great bunch of people, the other class mates and the girl who owns it.

I am off to the Kleenmaid sale today. I can't buy anything as yet, because the finance still hasn't been approved, but I can research and see if I can afford their dishwashers. Maybe the sale will still be on by the time the money is approved. I should have heard yesterday, but the bank is dragging their heels. I think when you are not borrowing several hundred thousand dollars they aren't really interested.........

Happy Weekend

It's Sunday, and the weather is glorious, although a little on the hot side, but that's okay. We have had the most amazing summer this year. It has rarely been unbearably hot like it normally is. We have been very, very lucky. We have also had alot of rain of late which is good, but I think the places that really need it are still not getting anywhere near enough. We really do live in a wonderful place. I love it here.

Our middle son played his first game of football yesterday. I must admit we were worried. I was worried that he wouldn't cope, that he wouldn't get near the ball and that he would become extremely disillusioned very quickly. He absolutely amazed us...........I don't know why we even thought to worry. He was fabulous - even scoring his first try!! Can you believe it? I have attached some photos - I only took 182 of them, so I was lucky and there are a few keepers. He is so proud of himself. We had a great afternoon. His brothers, especially Billy-Joe were delighted with his skill. This will be so good for him - will do his confidence no end of good. He just loves playing, and now it's good leverage to get him to work even harder at school. The kids know that if they don't behave/work well, the sport goes....... That's just the way it is in this household.

So today I sit back and enjoy the photographs and wonder why I ever thought to worry about him playing a competitive game. We even tried to get him to play in a younger group because his birthday is on the 29.12. But their rules are strict and they wouldn't allow that.

I have worked alot in the first four weeks of term, which has been great. Last week was only one day, but that was okay because I didn't feel well for a couple of days. I don't have anything further booked, so I hope something else comes up.

The mortgage broker seems to feel we will have no problem getting the extra funds for our kitchen, so we should find out this week.......... Can't wait for all that to start happening. Can you believe I will have a huge kitchen soon? I am still shopping around for a new dishwasher, and haven't decided on a brand or model. I am tossing up Asko, Miele and maybe Kleenmaid. I have yet to go to the Kleenmaid showroom, they may be out of our price range.

Back at long last...........

I don't think there's too many that read this, but I know maybe a couple of people have wondered where on earth I have disappeared too. I got the bright idea one day to change ISPs and went with Dodo.......not the wisest consumer choice I have ever made. I have had huge dramas. I won't put all the boring details here, but, suffice to say - between sigining up with Dodo, not being notified of my new connection and only finding out when I ring Optus tech support because one morning I have no dsl!!! Then I spend hours trying to connect to DoDo, and after many fruitless hours, and, them telling me my modem doesn't work, not does my line work, I have decided to cut all ties with DoDo and return to Optus. That decision was the start of new troubles. Dodo was determined to have me pay out the term of my contract................. so after many more fruitless phone calls and then finally getting a good resolution through a contact given to me by the TIO, I was able to leave DoDo without having to pay any fees, rightly so I might add. Then it's taken another couple of weeks for Optus to take the line (phone) and dsl connection back. Mind you they haven't been much better in all this. Was I not computer savvy this whole affair would have been impossible!! I spent a couple of hours on the phone on Monday night with Optus, and finally got my new connection going. The bizarre thing is, though, that my old email address is still active............strange!!

So where is my life at the moment.........Well - it's incredibly busy. I have been working my butt off for the last four weeks. And I thought I wouldn't get any work at all this early on in the piece. I have really enjoyed being back too.........I just wish my self confidence didn't take such a battering after every hiatus that I have. The Christmas break was even more damaging, due to its length. I just feel like I don't really know what I am doing, and think that what little knowledge I have will disappear again. Obviously those that call me in have faith in me, so that's always heartening. Yesterday I put an application in to do some Professional Development. I didn't think they would accept the application.......it's $185 plus GST, so not cheap and not something afforded to casual teachers. Today I got a phone call to say that the new principal had approved my application. I was really pleased about that. It's a literacy workshop, and takes place in March. I am looking forward to learning some new skills.

We are in the throes of doing all the homework to do up our kitchen. My house is very small (the tissue box) and the kitchen is extremely tiny. We are going to extend over the verandah and have a beautiful kitchen built, complete with dishwasher, large stove and canopy. Our finance guy is coming on Monday, so when we have the money approved I will be really excited. I don't envisage any problems there......... How many people have a mortgage where the repayments are $160 per week????? We are truly blessed, and with my work and Peter's extra work, finance won't be a problem......... Mind you I will still be very happy when it has the rubber stamp on it. I will post a picture of our kitchen, so you have a before and after.........although on the photo the kitchen actually looks bigger than it really is......

Life is good......

The kids have settled back into school really well. Mickey, my baby, started grade 1! He is doing really well. It's great having them all at school together now......I have to make the most of it, as Billy-Joe only has two more years of primary school left!! Unbelievable!!! The Bunny Rabbit is well.......working hard, as he loves to do. We are all healthy and enjoying a busy and happy life.

The Bunny is home.......I need to leave the PC.

After the class

My first class was a Fitball class. Goodness, I never imagined you could do all those things with the ball. At one stage, I even had to step, two step, or grape vine while bouncing the ball.......... Now I am not the most athletic person in the world, but thankfully I am quite co ordinated........so didn't make a goose of myself at all. Tomorrow is a Pump class, I am looking forward to it already. Then it's the weekend, so I will have a few days rest and a few days to allow the pain to subside. Mind you, these days I don't get as sore as I once did. Plus the muscles build alot more quickly too. An old gym instructor once told me, that it's like the muscles respond quicker as they have done it before. I can remember aeons ago, I went to an aerobic class..............my Mum came too........ For days afterwards I struggled to get up from chairs or the toilet. My legs were in agony.............. I don't remember how many times I went....it may have only been a couple of times, but the pain will remain in my memory forever.

I did a good thing yesterday. I sliced up all the cake and put it in the freezer for the kids' morning teas. Out of sight out of mine.... I've been known to eat frozen chocolate in the past, but not frozen cake......... :)

A kitchen guy is coming today. Wonder what the verdict will be.

On the road to a healthier me..........

No, no, no..........don't groan............I know I have said it all before. But I am determined this time. This is it! Today, (actually I started earlier this week) I am beginning the road to a newer, healthier me. And I am not using the word 'diet'.............I hate that word, loathe it's conotations, and restrictive vibes. I know that places like WW etc, are trying hard to put out to everyone, that it's all about lifestyle changes, not just something you do for a short time.......man am I living proof of that or what? I am about to head out to my first aerobics class in over 7 years. It's a fitball class, so a good one to start on. The gym I checked out has a good range of classes, there's something different everyday, including yoga, pilates and pump classes which I used to love. I want to do my exercise in a set time, so I can't procrastinate, and if it's a led class, I won't slacken off either.

Inspirational

Spending time on the internet and receiving alot of forwarded emails, you read alot of different things. Quite often I check them out and find out that the story about the man giving you a perfumed card to smell wasn't really true.............and people believe that there are people out there giving people cards to smell which have chloroform on them......... So many of these things are simply urban myths. Also many of these things are repeated and repeatedly so!! They just come with different pictures. Many things are touching, but again, one gets a little blase at times, because there is just so much of it about.

Then I came across this...........
If you have broadband, take the time to read the story and watch the video.......

I read it, watched the video.........listened to the song......and cried!

[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay For their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.

But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an Institution.''

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes Followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was Anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''

"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want To do that.''

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore For two weeks.''

That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, It felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''

And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a Single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''

How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud Getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you Think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world Record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to Be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the Time.

``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' One doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.

``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''

Christmas Photo 2006

Christmas Photo 2006, originally uploaded by Jazzmin.

I have to make the most of this! When my boys were little, they wouldn't go and sit with Santa. They were absolutely petrified! This photo is the second one I have had done, and I know they are expensive, but it's great and the kids just love it. This one is actually the one I took, as I wanted to be able to convert my own to B&W. Their clothes are so bright, it makes choosing scrapbooking papers really tricky!!

Like I said this is the second year in a row that we have had photos done. The boys love it, and are so good too. We then go and have morning tea at Donut King, which they love. When we got home we had lunch, and then we made our bon bons (kids call them bom boms) for Christmas Eve dinner. That was alot of fun too.,

It's beginning to feel alot like Christmas!

CSIRO: Total Wellbeing Diet 2

As I sit here drinking my glass of champagne.......Henkell Trocken no less, I am in the throes of preparing for the weeks ahead. No, I am not talking about Christmas shopping, partying or even baking, I am talking about how tomorrow I start on the CSIRO : Total Wellbeing diet. I bought the book yesterday, and am starting this tomorrow. It's higher protein, lower carbohydrate, and supposed to be really good. My plan is to go until Christmas, and then to review progress after the Christmas/New Year week. I may return to NO Count Weight watchers, or just revert back to Wellbeing Diet. The higher levels of protein are good for curbing hunger, which is necessary as there is no snacking. You can have 300g of fruit per day which isn't huge amounts, but still okay. I can also stick with low fat milk, as I am never going back to skim milk again. The thought of it makes my tummy feel icky. B is keen, he is always there to support and encourage me, hopefully he will lose some weight too. I will keep a log of my weight on the blog, to keep me honest. If you are interested in reading about the diet, go here

Mothering.......

Mothering, the most rewarding, and most wonderful thing I have ever been privileged to do......however it's the hardest and the most frustrating. I have been trying very hard, with the help of alot of prayer and contemplation, to try another tack with my parenting style. Unfortunately I raise my voice too much........and I hate it. I hate the sound of my own voice, I hate the anger that wells up inside of me. That's no good for the kids and no good for me either. I feel ashamed afterwards, and often apologize to the kids if I have really gone ballistic. So, all this week, I have tried really hard, not to raise my voice at all. It's amazing how well it has worked. I don't feel sick in the stomach, and the kids are responding better than when I yell at them. I don't want my kids to think I hate them, or disrespect them, nothing could be further from the truth, but sometimes these little people are easy targets and it's too easy to fall into that trap of frustration...........and anger. Motherhood is such a blessing, and it's something I never take for granted. Nor, for one moment do I consider that I am the best mother in the world. I am trying every single day to be the best person I can possibly be. I am aware of my shortcomings, and I am trying to make myself someone my family (and God) would be proud of. I had to write that down, I had to write down the freedom and happiness I am feeling with this new direction my parenting technique is taking. Prayers are definitely answered, and my prayers asking for guidance and strength have been answered loud and clear. I feel much stronger, and calmer for this change.

It's Quiet

I am coping well with the fact that I don't have set work days. Mind you I am actually missing it. If I work one day a week I will be happy, more than that would be a bonus. It's week three and I have only worked two days so far. Sammy wasn't well today, so it was good I didn't have to go to work.

I have been spending the time, making my blog more interesting, editing photos, collecting layout ideas for the upcoming retreat and talking to my friends in messenger.

I went to the Home Show on the weekend with Mum. The show was woeful. We ended up going shopping and spent a great afternoon together, bad home show notwithstanding. We always have great fun together, it doesn't happen enough of late though. Life is rather hectic at times. I guess that's one advantage of not having to work so much, gives me time to really enjoy the things I love to do. I have been appreciating my leisure time so much more. I find I am not so lazy, which is always a good thing. I am motivated to do things which I want to do, instead of procrastinating and then getting nothing done.

Will be interesting to see what the weeks ahead bring.

Term 4

It's term 4 and I have no set days to work this term. I am a little excited but very scared about that state of affairs. I am down to do supply work at my school, and decided that I wouldn't do anything else. TRACER rang me this morning to confirm my details, and I have said I am available every day!!!!! My heart was racing,I felt ill...........for about five minutes after the call, I felt dreadful. How am I going to feel when they actually ring me??? I have a strategy - ring Bunny!!!! I am so lucky that he is so supportive of me working and so helpful at home. I couldn't do this without his help and his being able to come home at the drop of a hat.

Mum and Dad are closeby and always ready to take Mickey, so that's a huge help and a big weight off my mind too.

I wish I didn't react so physiologically to big changes in my life!!!