Happy New Year

It feels like ages since I've posted. I've had a few small windows of opportunity where I have spent time on the computer since before Christmas, but it's just been enough to read my emails an download my photos and videos from my cameras. I've a few blogs and commented on even less. I am a little sad now that I didn't keep a daily diary so that it would make this post more comprehensive. I often lose the details so quickly when life is so extremely busy. I may even just dot point my events, this way if it doesn't flow properly it won't be so distracting to read. So grab a cuppa before you read as it's quite long.

The days leading up to Christmas were extremely busy. Even though I'd done the shopping early enough, there was so much I wanted to achieve at home. The baking of my goodies took up quite a fair bit of time and I was getting a bit stressed as I felt I'd left it late. I found that I would create myself more work, I just had this funny feeling that when I sat still I should have been doing something so actually created myself jobs which was probably a stupid thing to do. I made too many extras. I will end up freezing half my Christmas cake and saving it for Easter, when it will be more appreciated as at this point I still have quite a bit left over, and I don't want to be eating it anymore.

*One of our big jobs was painting in the lounge and dining room. No more photoshopping out the wall above the lounge woohoo.......... It looks fantastic, and I'm thinking I'll endeavour to do some more on my own.


* Christmas Eve was just the best Christmas ever. I probably say that every year. But it was just the best fun. We all got really cool presents, and felt very spoilt. I got a video camera, which I was lucky enough to have the batteries ready to go so I have much of Christmas Eve on video. The main thing that stood out was the amount of laughter and frivolity that was coming out of all of us. Our small, humble home was filled to the brim with 11 of us, and it was really really special. Aunty Ricky and Aunty Dee came and brought the girls. They'd had a long drive down that day, and had a short rest at the motel before they got here. I made Ricky's night by giving him my 300D. He was taking photos with it and has told me it takes awesome photos. I am so pleased I gave it to him. It has served me well, and I know that he will love it as much as I did. He was over the whole shutter lag issue with his Fuji, so this was fabulous for him. I never did find out how much it would cost to fix the flash, but with my workaround, it all works fine. Bunny was rapt with his car radio/cd player. The kids were delighted with the Wii console. We had a play at it straight away, and I couldn't help but realize how much the kids have grown up, that I had bought something like that and the kids were setting it up and not me. We had a go at tennis and boxing. I overdid the boxing, and Peter said he'd never seen anyone box like that before ever!! My back and arm muscles ached so much over the next two days I had to take pain killers!! Look forward to much more fun with that game.

*The food was a hit on Christmas Eve. I will definitely do the 'cold' thing again. It was so much easier, that after a bottle of sparkling shiraz, some champagne punch and a few jelly shots I didn't have to think too much about the food. I might do a ham next year rather than the stuffed chickens. I didn't end up buying a ham this year, which I'm so glad about because we had food left over, and a huge ham would have just been painful. I still have some chicken frozen.

* Christmas Day was really nice, but I just didn't want to be there. I would love to spend Christmas Day quietly at home, but I know that 's not possible. The kids had a ball, although I had to keep a very close eye on them. The house had a pool and canal frontage, so I had to keep an extremely close watch on Sammy and Mickey as neither of them swim properly yet. They had an absolute ball. The food was beautiful and the day was relaxing otherwise. I was very happy to get home and I felt so very tired. I fixed what I'd gotten Billy-Joe for Christmas. A friend from work told me about a chip which you can get for the Nintendo DS, and then you can download games free off the internet. I had set it up for Billy-Joe, complete with games, but it wasn't working. Christmas Day evening, I worked out what was missing and then got it up and running for him. He was rapt when we got it all sorted. One thing that was extra special about this day and the next, was the amount of smses I received from my friends. I was rapt with the friends and even my MIL who remembered that Christmas Eve was our big day.

* Boxing Day I hit a wall. We spent the morning tidying and getting the house back in some semblance of order. It was so untidy, with new gifts still out and under the tree. Once lunchtime came, my Bunny just looked after me the rest of the day. I felt dreadful. I don't know if it was the anti climax or what it was. I felt miserable. I had no energy and was filled with that awful feeling of dread. You know when you have to sigh all the time, to release the adrenalin or whatever it is. I felt it come upon me a few time before Christmas and found that the treadmill really helped. I just had no energy this day for the treadmill.

* On the Saturday we went to friends' house and enjoyed a delicous Indian meal. It was a pleasant afternoon, but unfortunately ended in a huge argument that evening. It was horrible at the time, but it really cleared the air, and gave both of us the chance to really express what we were feeling. So even though it was traumatic at the time, it was very much a blessing in disguise. It was sad that the kids witnessed their father's anger toward me. I am very concious of the kids being around, and that things can so easily escalate, so I don't yell or swear. The kids, especially Billy-Joe was heartbroken and sobbed in my arms. I explained to him that adults don't always agree with each other but that we would work things out. I went in and saw him later that evening and told him all was well. He cried again and said he was so scared that something bad was going to happen. I told him we loved each other very much, but that didn't mean that we don't get upset sometimes. Thankfully arguments happen so rarely so it's not something the kids have ever really witnessed. In hindsight it was a valuable lesson for him. A lesson that showed him that conflict and then resolution is a natural part of life and especially marriage.

*This episode was the pinnacle of me feeling like crap. As you can imagine, it did nothing to improve my demeanour or the feeling of dread. My birthday was looming and I didn't want to do anything for it. I didn't want to think, or plan, or organize. Since I share that day with Sammy I can't really let that day go by without some kind of fuss.

*We decided on a BBQ for our birthdays. I didn't bake a cake, as Sammy wanted a Woolies mud cake. We bought nice meats, a pasta salad, and some nice things for nibblies. I made a yummy roast pumpkin, feta, pine nut and rocket and spinach salad which was delicous. My parents came with a birthday gift even though I wasn't expecting anything due to the beautiful gold heart pendant I receieved for Christmas. They walked in with a huge mortar and pestle and I was delighted, and couldn't believe they'd bought it for me. I promised then, that I would cook Bunny a yummy Indian dinner soon. We bought Sammy a Lego Agents - Mission 5, which he loved. Mum and Dad bought him 'Egyptology' and I got a Horrible Histories book on Egypt which Billy-Joe gave to him. We had a lovely afternoon, and I'm glad we just had something at home, rather than going to Sizzler which was one of my ideas when I was in my 'couldn't be bothered mood'.

* The next few days were where I began to relax and feel like I was in total holiday mode. The feeling of dread was gone and I was content and happy again. We headed to the beach for three days in a row which was just gorgeous. I even got my hair wet and headed out on the boogie board, much to the delight of my family. I got Bunny to buy me a new beach chair, one of those low ones so I can sit on the sand in comfort. It's really nice seeing the kids have so much fun, and having them a little bit bigger where I don't worry quite so much. We swim in between the flags these days and it's a comfort knowing there's extra eyes watching my kids too. We took time out to go and visit Peter's parents which was really nice too. My FIL had had a bowel operation done a couple of weeks before Christmas and both of us were quite shocked by how frail he looked on Christmas Day. He looked much better. I still thing he's aged dramatically in the last 12 months. He's a couple of years younger than my Dad and seems much older than him. MIL looks fabulous which is great.

*The last few days have given us a chance to chill out, to throw routine out the window and to just enjoy being together, which is how holidays should be. In some ways I like how it works in the northern hemisphere. Their Christmas holidays are very short, and their summer holidays are unhampered by all the excitement and stress of something like Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, but can see advantages to a totally stress free summer holiday.

* Bunny bought me a CSI game for the Wii. Billy-Joe has helped me with one case which was quite an eye opener, and made me realize how mature he's become. The game is M rated, and while I certainly wouldn't let him play it unsupervised, I was impressed with the maturity he displayed when we came across 'adult issues'. To his credit, he was neither embarassed or silly, and we just set about solving the case like two pros lol.........

* In my determination to use my new mortar and pestle, I chose some Indian recipes and set Bunny out to go 'hunting' for the ingredients. It was around 3.30pm when he headed out and by about 4.10pm, I was thinking he'd be home soon. It was almost 5pm before he came home. He'd had problems getting certain ingredients and had basically run all over town to find everything we needed. While he was gone I had the yeast dough for the naan bread proving. I made tandoori chicken, with the tandoori from scratch. I made vegetable fritters with a yoghurt dipping sauce. The sauce was delicious with cumin seeds, coriander, mint, garlic and chilli in it. I cooked rice and also made a cucumber and yoghurt side. We also had mango chutney to eat with the main meal. The feast was divine. My mortar and pestle worked a treat and I am looking forward to using it tonight as I'm making a green curry from scratch. The mortar and pestle weighs a tonne. I was cooking and I picked it up and moved it, and then lifted the bowl with the proving yeast dough for Bunny to smell and I nearly wore it on my face, as I misjudged what I was lifting lol........... The dough had a nose print in it and I was cracking up with laughter.

*Last night I went back to scrapping for the first time in two weeks. It was wonderful to catch up with my best friends again. I was spoilt rotten with more birthday presents. Karen gave me a beautiful Cheese board with two knives, one for hard and another for soft cheese. Lisa gave me a gorgeous salt caddy. It was ironic actually, as when I was at my SIL's house the other week, she told me her husband likes to use salt flakes in his cooking, so that's what I'm going to put in it. It's quite funky with bright colours in it that she knows I love - I love a thoughtful gift. Barbi gave me a beautiful desk calendar with daily Bible quites and inspirations from Max Lucade. She knows I'm slack with reading my Bible, so this is a nice way to have a daily reminder of my faith. I've never considered msyelf deeply religious, but take a lot of comfort from the Bible, when it is put in 'everyday context'. I can't keep my faith strong with things I don't understand.





Wretched blogger is such a pain sometimes. The cream walls are the 'after shots'. We've had enough of deep blue walls. We redid the feature wall the same colour. Now I'd like to replace the drapes. It's a shame these are such good quality otherwise I would have already changed them, seeing as they used to match when we had our yellow sofa.

Mickey playing with Billy-Joe's hair.

Brothers

Uncle Damian with his nephews.

Sammy with his birthday cake.

Me with my beautiful boys on our birthday.

All the kids on Christmas Day.

The many blessings I have

Yesterday was a horrid day. It was also an awesome day.

Marriages are hard work, fraught with their many ups and downs. Fortunately we have a complete devotion to one another and it's fraught with many more highs than lows. Yesterday however, was an extreme low. We, or rather initiated by me, addressed an issue that has been an issue for all the years we've been together - which is 19. The issue has been like a thorn in my side, and, had I not been married twice before, I wouldn't have stuck around long into our relationship. But, my previous relationships have taught me that nothing is perfect. No-one is perfect and if you believe in something you have to fight for it.

I think with me being rather stressed of late, and the onset of Christmas and all it entails, just brought things to a head. And I needed to address it as I couldn't go into next week with this hanging over me. I won't go into details here, as it's private but the horrid day became an awesome day, when we were able to sit down openly and discuss the issue. No denial. No argument. No accusations. Just honest feelings. And a knowing resignation that things do indeed need to change. Yesterday was a turning point for us, and the outcome of our talk, headed our relationship into a stronger and an even more devoted path. I love my husband dearly and he idolizes, me which is a pretty amazing thing to be the recipient of. My respect for my husband, which had hit rock bottom - went up many many notches yesterday.

A day of emotional crisis turned into a wonderful day filled with love. The love of my husband, my brother and my dearest girlfriends. It's amazing how things can turn out sometimes. God's timing - Barbi always says. I love that woman and her wisdom. Yesterday we exchanged gifts. Barbi listened to me and didn't give me one. After her letting me go to Heidi Swapp in her stead, I certainly needed nothing for Chrismas or my birthday coming up. Karen gave me another gorgeous Willow Tree figurine. It's the Angel of Prayer, which after the day I had yesterday made her gift even more poignant. I don't do ornaments. I find dust collectors. Don't get me wrong, I have them, but when you have a small house, I don't go out of my way to collect them, or buy them. These, however, are different. They are beautiful in their simplicity and made special because they are given to me by one of my closest friends. The fact that she loves them and thinks I'm special enough to be given one makes it an amazing gift. I now have three - The Angel of Friendship, which was a Christmas gift, The Angel of the Kitchen which she gave to me when our kitchen was finished, and now my new one. I wonder if three Willow Tree figurines constitutes a collection? I now have them all together and they are just beautiful. They remind me of her, and our friendship. She is one of those girls that you just love being with, and, last time I figured out exactly what it is. She is peaceful! It's weird, because she always talks about how stressed she is, and how busy she is, which she is with four young children, but to me, she's just peaceful. So, last night I was surrounded by wisdom and peace, I was in a pretty amazing place.

Yesterday when I needed someone to talk to, because I didn't know what to do, or whether the problem was all mine. I rang my Mum, first port of call -but she wasn't home. Then I rang my dear brother. We've always been there for each other, and I sent him a sms saying I needed to talk, and he rang me immediately. I just poured my heart out to him. He made me address the situation head on, and for that I am eternally grateful. I am blessed, great friends, great family - it doesn't get any better does it.

Last night, we had a great time. I made my gift tags for Christmas and had a ball stamping and using the new Fiskars Threading Water punch. They aren't elaborate, but they are pretty. I'd made a digital one, which took me five minutes, and then I changed my mind, and decided that I had all this wonderful scrapbooking stuff, which I really need to use. It's funny how I just find it easier making things on the computer, than IRL. We watched music DVDs. The Eagles Farewell Concert, which was great, the Concert for George, which I didn't listen to as closely, but was good also, then we watched the MIKA concert which I would have loved to seen all of. That guy has an amazing voice, with a huge range. We ate Thai from the local restaurant, which was nice but not as good as usual. The rice was quite bland I felt. Karen brought in these delightful mini cheesecakes, and I brought in some mince tarts, which weren't homemade, but still yummy. I came home at around 1.15am. Funnily enough with the day I'd had and my late night, I didn't hurry into bed. One of my close girlfriends is away, and I wanted to email her, plus I sat to see who'd updated their blogs while I was out. I had a great night's sleep - and woke up refreshed. Thankfully it cooled down in the night, so today is a pleasant 26 degrees (celcius) where as it was ten degrees more yesterday - not pleasant at all. The a/c was working overtime.

Today, I've just pottered around. I hung up some tinsel on our beam which retains the new part of our kitchen. The kids have been pestering me, and it does look nice. I have taken photos of all the walls as tomorow we are painting the living/dining room to make it all nice for Wednesday.

Tonight we are having visitors and I'm cooking a yummy but simple dinner. The menu is,
Tomato and olive tart with basil oil
Eye Fillet steak with anchovy butter
Greek Salad
Garlic Bread
Karen's left over mini cheesecakes for dessert.

I was going to post a link to the book, but I think it must be an older issue, mine was published in 2008. It's called 'Easy Summer Food: simple recipes for sunny days.' by Ryland, Peters and Small

It's getting closer

It's nearly 4.30pm, and apart from lunch and breakfast, it's the first time I've sat down. I can also see a light at the end of the tunnel. Remind me, next year, not to leave everything until the week before Christmas won't you? Please??

I baked my 'Linzer Augen' on Monday and today I baked my 'Vannilin Kipferln'. The latter were actually quite easy to do, I think I've mastered them well and truly, and having the mixture in the freezer definitely helps. I made the mixture in Oscar, who struggled a bit I think. One of those big mixers would come in handy for stuff like this. I did have one once, and I have no idea what happened to it. My hands with the arthritis in my fingers, just find mixing and kneading quite difficult, so a mix master would make light work of things. I wrote the inserts for my cards. I didn't want to do the newsletter thingie, but I didn't want to handwrite as I can type much faster than I can write. Some I added an extra message, and some I left fairly generic. Now I have to do the envelopes and they are done. I must say they were much more fun to make than actually write lol...... I can post them away tomorrow, and hopefully they'll actually arrive before the fact.

I rang and ordered the wine this morning from our wine club. That should arrive in time too. We ordered a box of bubbles and a box of mixed whites and reds. With mine and Sammy's birthday, and New Year's there's lots of celebrate, and it does work out cheaper for us than a trip to the bottle shop every time we want a tipple. We like this wine club, because unlike the ones we've looked at before, you choose what wines you want. I don't want a box of what they want to get rid of, from obscure wineries. Even their labelled stuff, (which I call home brand) is very very good. We use the Wine Society in case you're interested in looking them up.

I stayed in my jammies, until after lunch. I'd cleaned up from my biscuits, made lunches and then had a shower. Mickey and I went to Daisy's where I gave Suzy her birthday and Christmas presents. She was pretty excited, which is lovely to see when you give someone a gift, that you know they will love. Then Mickey and I went to the paint store, and bought the cream paint for our dining and living room. This way my walls will be painted BEFORE Christmas, because my photoshopping isn't good enough to fix the bits of the walls that aren't painted properly from our kitchen reno, which was only completed 18 months ago!!!!! The red feature wall will remain but will be re done to freshen it up.

I have cooked my dinner, the pasta bake is ready to be put into the oven, so I am officially finished now for the day, except for the post dinner cleanup, but all the washing up is done except for our dinner dishes of course.

I am going to finalize my grocery list for tomorrow, and work out what I will go and buy on Monday - all the last minute fresh things I need for Wednesday....

Tomorrow I'm getting my hair done. Cut and Coloured. I have pictures of different hairstyles, but am unsure how I will go. My current hairdo is easy to look after an always looks neat, so part of my doens't want to change, because I might end up with something that's harder to look after. I blow wave my hair everyday, but it's done quickly and always looks sleek and shiny.

It's nearly wine o'clock. Off to write my shopping list.

A Day with Heidi

I thought that once I was on holidays, I could blog daily - but I've still got lots to do, so it will be spasmodic at best. It's not that there's nothing to write about, just sometimes the writing mo jo escape me and at other times, I just don't feel like writing heaps.

I was incredibly lucky last week.

Nearly twelve months ago, an announcement was made that Heidi Swapp was coming to Australia, to Brisbane and Melbourne and that she would hold an all day workshop. Create08 sounded like it was going to be awesome, but with a $240 price tag, was a little too hefty for me to contemplate in any level of seriousness.

Last Tuesday, during the second part of Suzy's album class, Suzy approached me and asked if I would go with her to the workshop in Barbi's stead, as it looked like Barbi wouldn't be able to get away from the shop. I was stunned!! My initial reaction was total surprise, and then with a jolt of reality I realized that Peter would probably be working and that I wouldn't be able to go. So you can imagine my delight when he said, he was really glad I'd given him an excuse not to work!! So on Saturday, Suzy, myself and about 145 other lucky ladies, spent the day with Heidi Swapp.

It was an exciting day. I woke up very excited and not only about the prospect of spending it learning new stuff, but because it was a day that Suzy and I could spend together. We had a ball. We worked out butts off too, the pace was very very fast, and the space we worked in was rather small. Barbi would have been proud of us lol......

We made a calendar, or rather we did two pages, with all the stuff to make the other ten. We also made a mirror album. I'll post some pics when I get my small camera back - probably when I've done something worthy of posting. We got loads of freebies, stamps, papers, the calendar, masks, rub ons, ink, a smudging tool. I still haven't gone through the bag properly. We were challenged, Suzy and I both, as we were doing a style which was unlike both of our styles. It was very grungy and lots of stamping and inking, but definitely something I will play with some more. Heidi Swapp is a gorgeous girl, inside and out and I feel really lucky that I got to meet her. She is a real sweetheart, and I take my hat off to her. She is a mum with five kids and I think she's amazing. She was sick on the day, apparently better than she had been, but she often had to stop to cough, and she kept her high level of professionalism throughout the entire day.

It's late, I need to head off to bed. I promise I'll update some more tomorrow or the next day.

I still have some baking to do. I still need to send my cards (plus write them lol)......

I went to the beach today which was just awesome. I actually got up early to go and it was just beautiful down there. Much nicer than when it's stinking hot.

Okay, now I'm really going to bed.

Here's some photos, they're straight out of the camera and unedited - so at least I had something to post.

Suzy and I

Me, Heidi and Suzy

Christmas lights

Due to one son missing a shoe, I actually missed the optimum picture taking time for Christmas lights, but I still got some lovely shots.

Productivity

I love being home and being productive - and not having to look at the clock once all day long - well maybe now, because it's getting close to when I am going to start cooking dinner. But, a sleep in, no rushing to school, no watching the clock to do the pick up - heavenly.

In the morning, I cleaned my oven, not just the top, but the actual oven. I took the glass panels out and cleaned them, plus the filter from inside. I removed the bottom plate, and cleaned it too. Because the oven is self cleaning, there was ash on the bottom which needed wiping up. I cleaned the racks, but they didn't come up 100% but are okay. I cleaned all the elements, I hate it when they get little discolourations around them. I put on a load of washing and hung it out. I was pretty hot and sweaty, but decided to just get into my jogging stuff and headed down to my treadmill. Not before I'd roused on Mickey though - who spent time in time out.

After my jog and weights I came upstairs, had a shower and then took Mickey down to Erbachers, a local fruit store which has much nicer stuff than the supermarket, but I often don't get down there because of the time factor. I called into Woolies on the way home and bought some fresh ham, and then made us yummy ham and salad wraps for lunch.

I cleaned out the Tupperware cupboard, and matched up all my containers with their respective lids. Wonder how long it will stay like that - I just need to be more careful. Looks wonderful now. I sorted out the other drawers too, and was disappointed that I couldn't ditch more stuff.

I finally have sorted the last of the kids' stuff that they have brought home from school - much of it filed in the wheelie bin.

I have also spent the last part of the afternoon finishing editing all my pictures for the 2007 Christmas Album, so I can have it on display for this Christmas. I will make sure it doesn't take me this long for next year's.

Tomorrow I will finish my 2008 album at Suzy's class, and then I'll come home and do my Christmas cards. I have an idea for making some more, so I may make some , even though I don't think I need them for this year. Ah well, they can always make a nice gift. I also want to make my gift cards for this year too, so must decide how I am going to do those.

Well, you'll have to believe me, it looks much better than before, I should have taken a 'Before' shot too.....

Christmas lights

I am enjoying playing with the brushes from 2peas. I was too lazy to get my tripod out for a shot of the tree, so just played with the camera on the table instead. I am going to try and shoot in RAW, I think, and then play with the white balance settings later.

This one's better, I've added a bevel and drop shadows.....

Busy but relaxed

School's out! Thank goodness. The entire house has breathed a collective sigh of relief as of yesterday lunch time. I've still been really busy, but I'm doing things I want to get done, not because I have to do it. I have cleared the top of the linen cupboard, my wardrobe and have finally gotten rid of clothes I've been kidding myself that I would fit back into. Actually it's gotten to the point that even if I did fit back into them, I wouldn't want to wear them anymore. I feel good that it's gone. It's not nice when the wardrobe is jam packed full of crap. I also got rid of the last of my unwanted scrapbooking stuff too. I really need to go through my teaching resources too. Tomorrow, I intend to go through the kids' toys - to make way for the new things. I gave away some of their trucks earlier in the year, the one's they don't tend to play with anymore, and the cheaper crappier ones went into the bin. DB and Billy-Joe went to watch the PGA and got home before the crowds headed home. It must have inspired them, because they are now off to play themselves.

It's holiday time........and I am very pleased about that. Now I can concentrate on getting my house in order, baking, playing with the kids, and enjoying my home and family. Next week we are going one evening to see the Christmas lights and on Wednesday night, we are going to the cinema to see a preview of Madagascar 2. The kids are so excited because the younger two never been to the cinema at night before.

Sammy, Mickey and Mickey's mate Kye on the last day after the mass.

Sammy holding the Christmas Star

Billy-Joe's turn to place the star atop the tree this year. I played with some brushes from 2peas after seeing some gorgeous images from my gf Suzy.

Looking forward to slowing down

I have always prided myself on being able to keep my obligations to a low and manageable level. I find I start to feel unwell, when there's just stuff going on all the time. I relish my quiet down times and it does my brain and body a world of good. I also thought that having the last few weeks of term off, would be great and stress free, but it's been incredibly hectic.

I have done everything in a piecemeal fashion and I hate that. I don't always do everything at once, but it's not normally scattered throughout my entire week as much as it is at the moment. I've had a few nights out too, which although very enjoyable take me a while to get the energy back from. Even though I prefer the night hours, I still need more sleep during the week than what I get when I go out.

Last week, Billy-Joe had his orientation day at his new High School which he enjoyed, that evening I was out for the parent info evening. Not terribly enlightening, but it's important to get a feel for the place and connect with the new staff. On Wednesday morning I worked, which was hot and I was grateful that it was only for the morning. I was taking the young kids out of the classroom from two classes, while the teachers had their 2009 kids. It meant I was out in the yard, or library, neither of which were air conditioned and it was very warm. I had a doctor's appointment, picked up a few things from the supermarket, ran around doing piecemeal chores and then picked up my kids.

Thursday I did my groceries and then was busy with I can't remember what. No doubt I would have dealt with washing. I had a physio appointment in the afternoon and then I came home and did some more chores, and then picked up my kids. Mum and Dad looked after the kids for the evening, and we went out to an Indian dinner. It was a fun evening, the food was delicious, although probably a little over priced. It was a fairly early evening, but I ended up staying up too late, and so felt like crap on Friday. That day I was going to stay home alllllll day, and a close gf asked me for a visit - and because I always say no 'cause I'm busy doing stuff, I said yes, and I had a great day with her- just chatting and drinking coffee and girl stuff. I had to shop in the morning for a kids' birthday present, so I did that, hung out washing and then spent the day with Lisa. I came home, and it was swelteringly humid But I hit the treadmill.Lisa had made a carrot cake which was divine, but not terribly low fat - so I hope I burnt that off. That night Barbi had a 'Girls night in' at the shop. It was a great night. We had Mama Mia on the big screen and we scrapped the night away. Actually I didn't do that much, I was very tired and left much earlier than normal. Saturday I took Billy-Joe to a Christmas cardmaking class, which was a lovely together time, actually I was rapt that he is still wanting to do things like that with me. We stayed and had lunch with the girls.

Once home, I headed back to the treadmill and then caught up on more washing....... That evening, we didn't cook a dinner, we just had a platter of cheeses, salami, pate and sour dough bread - very yummy and no effort to get together. I started watching a movie, and am so glad I didn't watch it to the end. I slept in in the morning and then got up to a cooked breakfastby my darling. I caught up on more washing, and Peter mowed the yards from the ladies across the road. We then went up to the herb farm in our endeavour to have another attempt at growing basil. My husband has a green thumb, but when it comes to anything that is supposed to be edible we aren't very good. We had put the Greek basil into pots, and this should work better. Peter mowed our yard when we came home and weeded two garden beds. I went to bed for two hours!! And slept!

Yesterday, I knew I would have a busy day. I stripped the beds and had more washing to do - I wonder how many loads I do, I estimate 15 per week! It never ends! I went on the treadmill early yesterday and then was going to do my ironing afterwards. When I was upstairs the phone rang and the school was concerned that Sammy had trouble breathing. Straight away alarm bells went off! He'd complained of breathlessness early in the term, but I felt it was anxiety and I said to him I really need to see it and that a doctor would need to see it too. I made an appointment and got in immediately.


My middle boy has exercise induced asthma!

I know we will manage it, and I know it's good that we have it diagnosed and stuff, but I just feel so sad for him. I feel so sad that another one of my children has this. How horrible it must be, when you can't breathe! After a half hour on the nebulizer, he was much better. So we came home armed with ventolin and the realization that we need to be careful........ Considering this whole situation would have been very distressing for him, he handled it so well. He's just a darling patient, no drama at all - he was just happy I was there......

I sat down for lunch, and then did my week's ironing and then headed out for a transition meeting for Sammy with his year 4 teacher for next year.They will keep many of the current strategies in place, and I am happy with his placement. As much as I know that he can be frustrating - I am fiercely protective of him, and very aware of his strengths. He's just the most delightful kid, and I'm lucky that the school sees through his foibles and can see the qualities that I see.

Another thing that I can't wait to be over, is the amount of things I need a plate for! I have to remember plates for this and that, and there's something nearly every day this week. I also had to get Secret Santa gifts! The break can't come quickly enough, so I can concentrate on my own family and our Christmas. I was working tomorrow morning, but that was cancelled, so I will grocery shop then instead of Thursday. Mickey wants me to pop in for his Christmas party at school, I'll see how I go, he always likes me to drop in on special days.

We have Billy-Joe's graduation tomorrow night, and a mass too I think......(and another plate!!) At least if I shop tomorrow, I can go Christmas shopping with my parents and not be harried from having done my groceries beforehand. I just can feel myself getting all yucky in the stomach when I rush around too much. My days are rushed anyway at times, but this has just been ridiculous - it's been six weeks, of obligations and commitments and I am very ready for a rest. My kids are very tired too. No-one stirs in the morning when I get up -everyone's quiet and moves around slowly when they do get up. I never have to yell at them to get up, they are very good like that, but I can see they're flagging. Next Monday morning will be blissful when we can all sleep in. The kids are all very excited to just stop!

Next week's schedule is very light on - which is just perfect. I can start my baking and just enjoying my home and kids. On Tuesday I have the second part of Suzy's Christmas album class. I seriously questioned my wisdom about doing this class, but she does such a beautiful job of it, and puts in the most awesome effort into creating a stunningly unique album. I love my albums from previous years.

Hopefully this week, I can get my photos resized for last year's album. It's Barbi's birthday today, so we all brought in cake for that (another plate) and celebrated with her. Karen came to the class, so that was great to see her twice in one week - we were both very slow with our class and left early. It gives us a job on Friday night to catch up to the rest of the class. Plus I need to make more Christmas cards, so that's on my to do list for next week too.

The washing machine beckons - I must be off.

Idol, shopping, family and all things good

I'll update my blog by writing about the most current thing first and then filling in the bits from my last post, or at least attempt too, because so much happens that I couldn't possibly write about it all.

First of all Congratulations Wes Carr, for realizing your dream! You deserved to win the title of Australian Idol 2008. I had you pegged from the very first episode - I knew you were a winner. Your awesome talent shone through every song you sang. Absolutely amazing. There are many who can hold a tune, but you are a true entertainer. I would watch you week after week and think that surely, this genre would prove to be a stumbling block, but they never were. I look forward to buying your single 'You' which will be released in early December. Luke Dickens, runner up - I love your story, and think you did a lot of growth during the series. For someone who has never performed before, you did amazingly well. Mark Spano - you came third, but to me, are an outstanding performer. I have both the Kings of Leon 'Sex on Fire' on my itunes collection and yours and both Peter and I admit your version is better! Not often another version is better than its original. I have never watched this series in its entirety before, but think this was a great showcase of Australian talent. I am really pleased, also, that my taste in music grows as I age, and that I can still appreciate young, new talent. I will look forward to Australian Idol 2009, but wonder in all seriousness whether or not it will even come close to this series. Wes Carr and Mark Spano, if either of you come to the coast - I'm there!!!

I did some Christmas shopping this morning. I bought the kids a Wii! It's going to be loads of fun, I will enjoy playing it. While I was at Joyce Mayne the guy I talked to about camcorders, offered me a job!! He said he would line me up an interview and I could have a job and work whenever I wanted. Pretty cool. I guess girls who know and love technology are pretty light on. So I know that if I ever got sick of teaching, I could work at Camerhouse and Joyce Mayne!! Just think of the staff discounts!

Work last week, was hard. Probably moreso, because it was my fourth week of almost full time work. I was tired this week. Thursday I took a class to bowling. It was interesting. I had a child who I had to sit out from bowling as she was all over the place. Between yelling and not following instructions, she wasn't deserving of a game of bowling. I thought I'd probably have to tie her to her chair, to restrain her, but she sat beside me the entire time. It was hot there, I think the a/c was floundering with the humdity of the day. I had to do my groceries that evening, and then came home and got ready to go out shopping with Suzy. I wasn't happy because Peter didn't come home early for me. So I was ready to go and there was a storm threatening and he didn't come home until 5.30pm. I was very happy to meet up with Suzy and go and sit down and have dinner. We looked in shops and just strolled around. We bought a few things, but the focus was more on enjoying being there rather than making a great dent in the Christmas shopping.

Friday was the day of the week I was dreading. I knew it wasn't going to be an easy one. The teacher I was relieving remained in the classroom and we worked together at some point. She was making a class Christmas DVD, (the whole school is making a segment, so I have been involved in more than one during my travels). She had organized that we would prepare a luncheon and she would decorate the room while I worked with the children in the kitchen. All sounds very simple, and had we not had the violent, unpredictable, ADHD or whatever kid, it would have been a cruisy day. Kids like that don't like it when things aren't kept tight and structured. Mind you, on a good, easy day, he's hard work, so I dont know why I'm making excuses. At one point he wanted his morning tea, and I said it wasn't quite time. He grabbed a small sharp knife to cut his mangoe and I told him to put it down and take a safer knife. Then later, he wouldn't wait his turn, or actually I can't quite remember what set him off. He grabbed a knife off the table, I yelled at my assistant to grab the child, and then the child grabbed another knife. They weren't pointy, but they were both sharp and serrated and he was waving them around wildly. Thankfully my assistant was a male, and he was strong enough to restrain him. I grabbed the child along the shoulder muscles and pinched, he dropped both knives to the ground. Policy dictates that we should remove all kids from the room and have left him in there. But that was impossible. There were six other kids in the room, one in a wheelchair, and instinct just overtook. My assistant wasn't the fasted moving person in the world, but responds well to whatever I say which is awesme. We got the child out of the room and both of us were shaking.

We had our lunch, and I had to film that part for the Christmas DVD. The kids weren't happy! The whole day had been spoilt. I really felt for them.

I went scrapping that night, but was home by 10.30pm. I was exhausted.

The office wanted to see me before I left that afternoon, and I wondered whether they were going to tell me not to come back - seeing as I couldn't control this kid and all.

They offered me more work.

I must have done something right!

I have more to talk about the weekend and some photos - it's late and I need bed.

Sizzle, Sizzle, Sizzle......

I know there's probably nothing quite so woeful as a forty something drooling over a young man - but that Mark Spano on Australian Idol is hot!! And he can sing too! His rendition of Sex on Fire, a Kings of Leon song, was just awesome. Actually I don't think I'm the only one who bought the Kings of Leon album after they heard Mark's rendition. So - you can imagine my delight when they announced the idol top 10 album was released - and yes, you guessed it, the Sex on Fire song is on there.....

I have bought it, and it's excellent!

Now I know Wes Carr will win the competition and he totally deserves to. He is flawless week in week out, he is a performer and has an unbelievable voice across all genres......

...........but I would like Mark to be with him at the Opera House.

So I have voted.

Update

Another week is quickly coming to a close. I have been enjoying my work. Not sure if it's because I know that there is an end in sight and the holidays are looming, or that I just love what I do - I tend to think it's a combination of the two. Something comforting, when in the midst of being extremely to know that soon there will be a nice, long break. I have been doing really well as far as organization is concerned. My house stays tidy, the meals cooked, kids and husband are happy - and that means I'm happy. I manage my days almost to the minute, and there's not much time for anything other than work and sleep, but that's okay. The only things I miss when working so much, is my exercise time. That always goes FIRST. This annoys me, so this week, I have made an extra effort to include some exercise again. I jogged on Wednesday and was shocked, at how poorly I went. My fitness and stamina wasn't the problem, but my leg was. I struggled through two lots of ten minutes. Thankfully I had a physio appointment on Thursday that my work let me keep, so yesterday I managed 25 minutes jogging - non stop! Instead of looking forward to sitting down for half an hour when my dinners cooked of an evening, I will just have to make that exercise time - much more beneficial for me. I also like to do weights when I'm downstairs, and now with the summer weather here, I don't want flappy arm bits!!

My kidlets have had a great week. Their swimming carnival was held. The older kids swam on Thursday and Mickey and Sammy swam on Friday. They all came home with ribbons, which was pretty special. Billy-Joe came third in a freestyle event, and Sammy cleaned up in all his kickboarding events. Mickey got a second place and two fourth places in his kickboarding events. I was so excited for Sammy! It doesn't seem like all that long ago that this little boy was dragged out of the water, because he was floundering. I was crying as I helped him away from the pool's edge. I felt for him, it hurt! That was two years ago!!

It's been nice to spend a weekend at home. Yesterday I did my chores, spent some time on the treadmill, scrapped a little. Billy-Joe had friends over, and the little ones played with Caleb. My house was busy with 7 kids over at one stage. They all had fun! We had a nice dinner last night, of salmon with an avocado and mango salsa. The salsa was delish, the fish was okay. I don't know what has happened to my fish taste buds. They've upped and left. I actually would much have preferred a piece of eye fillet! It was nice though. I'm glad Peter cooked it on the bbq so I didn't have the fish smell in the house, even whilst it was cooking.....

I'm looking forward to a day off tomorrow. I have to get my hair trimmed and do my ironing. I'll have time to fill out some paperwork for Billy-Joe's school for next year, and I'll get to go on the treadmill too. It's our wedding anniversary tomorrow, so I may get something and cook a nice roast or something a bit special for dinner. The week promises to be a good one, with a couple of challenging days too. Friday won't be easy, but hey it's Friday, so manageable. On Saturday my dear brother is coming down. It's my niece's birthday and we are all going out with Mum and Dad, to Sizzlers. Should be a fun night, and my kids are very excited already - especially Billy-Joe. We don't often all get together very often, so it will be a special night.

The school term is winding down and I'm looking forward to the time off with my kidlets. I always go Christmas shopping with my Mum and Dad, and that's always a day I thoroughly enjoy - will need to do that very soon. I will need to talk to Mum, probably week after next would be good. Kids have lots of good stuff on their wish list, some ridiculous, others fair. I am so out of touch with prices, I may need to spend some time on ebay, just to get a feel for what things are worth.

My view for some of today

Love this pic, Billy-Joe is on the right, with one of his friends from school. He is still so much tinier than all his mates. I will wake up one morning and he will have grown a foot overnight.

Billy-Joe with Skat

My darling, sporting a moustache.

The path onto the beach.

Good food and wine show 2008

This years show didn't fail to please. We had another awesome weekend. We've talked of nothing else but! We are already talking about next year, and the ways we can maximize our visit.

I went out on Friday night, but without my scrapping stuff. I had dinner with Barbi, sat and chatted until after 10pm and then headed home. I pottered around home, packed a few things and then went to bed. I got up at about 6.45am and finished packing, showered, got ready, got kids organized, hung out two loads of washing, raced around tidying, sent kids off with Peter to chemist for Sammy's drops as his eyes were playing up again, and then waited for Peter to come back from dropping our kids off at my parents' house. Unfortunately the pharmacist was as slow as a wet week, and we left a half hour later than we'd planned.

We arrived in Brisbane, and checked into our hotel - which was an old boarding house. It was old, wooden, but spotlessly clean and cheap. We took a cab to the convention centre and luckily it was pretty easy picking up our tickets. I'd booked them late, so opted to pick them up at the venue, as it was too late for posting them. There were lots of people already there. I think there were many more than last year. We headed into the show, we'd missed Matt Moran's show, so we rebooked for a later one. We also lapped the centre, to find our free wine tasting glasses. We tasted a few wines, and ate some chocolates. We sussed out the Lindemans Early Harvest Restaurant and later one we went back and bought vouchers for our food. We visited the Grinders stand which is where we nearly bought the coffee machine last year. Andrew wasn't there, but he still works for the company. We bought a coffee from them and found little bits of food to nibble as Max was quite hungry. Vicki and I checked out the wine stalls, which was an interesting exercise as her taste in wine is far different from mine. She wanted the sweet wines, while I prefer a drier wine. By lunch time we were all quite hungry so we headed over the restaurant. That was a real hit. The food was amazing. Vicki and I had entrees, of potatoe, spinach and cheese terrine with prosciuotto and the boys shared an antipasto platter. The guys both had main meals, Max's was a Lamb with Chilli Jam, and fennel and Peter had a grilled chicken with capers and dill, and a yummy dressing. Vicki had dessert, coconut cake thingies which she let me taste, and they were divine. The food was cooked by the chefs which were the focus at the show. So each famous chef had an entree, main or dessert. All the food was accompanied by a matched glass of Lindemans lower calorie wine, which was surprisingly really nice. It was really nice to sit down and eat delicious, and good quality food. Last year we ate egg sandwiches, which tasted like army rations, and I'm so glad we did it different this year.

After lunch we headed around some more. Like last year, we were quite aimless and just stopped and backtracked, and circled and came back again, no doubt missing heaps again. We tried rums, cocktails, mouses, puddings, lots of yummy stuff. The boys were loving the red wine, and drank far too much!! We went to the Wyndham estate Truck again, and enjoyed the presentation - it was matching wine with chocolate, so that was a huge hit, the chocolate being Nestle Noir - yummo!

After that, it wasn't long before the show ended. Again I couldn't believe how quickly it had gone. There is just far too much to see in one day.

We left the convention centre to find that it was raining - and quite heavily. Nothing was under cover, so we zigged and zagged our way to find the eateries. We ended up at a chinese restaurant with Australian, overpriced chinese food, but it was fresh and tasted good. After dinner we caught a cab and headed back to the hotel. We sat in Max and Vicki's room for a while and then we headed back to our room, showered and went to bed. The room was small, but clean and comfortable. I didn't sleep particularly well, but I wasn't uncomfortable either. In the morning we headed into the valley and sat in a cafe to a delicious cooked breakfast. We looked at a few of the market stalls and then headed home. We picked up our kids who had a lovely time, but were nonetheless happy to see us. Sammy was probably his normal restless self, but I am hoping that one day he will learn to cope with this restlessness. Needless to say we've had a quiet afternoon. Peter snoozed on the couch for a bit. I did two loads of washing, and headed out to the supermarket to buy a few things. The kids played well all afternoon.

I have been on the net looking at frypans. I am very disapointed to acknowledge that I have killed my Scanpan. I have no idea how! I have never cooked it on high, and felt I did all the right things. It's not non stick anymore, and I don't like using it anymore. It was a $150 pan, and hasn't lasted any longer than a $50 one! I have been reading reviews and trying to figure out what to buy next. There was a Eurolux stall at the food and wine show, but the guy was so rude and arrogant, that it didn't matter how good he made his pans look - we wouldn't have bought one. Max is also in the market for a pan - so he potentially had two customers. The show was sponsored by Swiss Diamond, but we couldn't find a stall for them, which was quite odd.

Happy not anniversary

Some years go by, and I don't consider this date until it's well past. This year, however, it hit me like a tonne of bricks as I have dated the kids' communication books at school. Twenty six years ago today I was married for the first time. Sadly, on that day, I had reservations, but was naive enough to believe that love would conquer all. Even though things didn't turn out, I still have fond memories of my married time. I loved the times we spent with friends, going out, camping and all that kind of stuff. It was also during this time that my relationship with my parents matured and we became best of friends. I enjoyed the time I spent with my first mother in law and still speak fondly of how much she loved me. I worked close to home and came to her house everyday while I worked there, and she made me lunch. I lived next door, so it was a given that I went to her house to eat and not my own. To this day, there are things I make because of the way she did them. She was always kind and considerate toward me. She didn't understand lots of the things we did, like 'why do you want to do that?' if we wanted to go to the MCG to watch the cricket........I should have been home making babies lol....... Thank God that never came to pass.....

Happy not anniversary dh#1 where ever you may be, I wish you nothing but happiness.

I'm sorry I hurt him by leaving, but I don't regret anything. I don't regret marrying him, and I don't regret leaving. Life's too short!

A great week

My second week of my contract is drawing to a close - and, again I'm a little sad. On the flipside, though, I am looking forward to a few days off next week just to catch my breath. This week has been in sharp contrast to last week and hasn't been as emotionally or physically draining as last week was. I am finding that I am really enjoying working with the severely autistic children. They touch something in my heart and respond well to my style of teaching and behaviour management.

I finally got paid - first time in 6 weeks!! I am very pleased to now have most of my bills paid for the Christmas holiday period, in advance. I still will pay some other stuff too, and make sure I have enough money. It was too tight last year - well it was okay over Christmas, just not good into late January and early February. This year I want to have nearly all my bills prepaid!

I have been getting rather excited this week as the Food and Wine show is creeping up. Can't wait! We are going with some friends of ours. I can't remember going away somewhere with friends for ages - probably about 11 years ago, when Billy-Joe was still a baby. These days our social engagements are few and far between. The kids are staying with Oma and Opa and are very excited. Billy-Joe in particular is ecstatic to be staying with them. He has a little something for Opa, something he had to do something in order to get, so he is looking forward to giving that to him. It's lovely seeing the bond they have with their grandparents.

We have booked into the Matt Moran's first show, which should be good fun. It would be nice to actually win something. I am looking forward to the Wyndham Estate truck, as this years discussion is about wine and chocolate! We are staying overnight and we will go out somewhere for dinner too which will be fun. I would love to do yum cha for breakfast, but not knowing my way around, I'm hoping Max and Vicki know where we can go - I haven't run this past them yet.

The wind down toward the end of term begins in earnest now. My own kids only have four weeks left. In four weeks, I will no longer have three children in primary school. In four weeks, I won't have my big boy keeping a close eye on the other two. Sammy will become the big brother at school and I know he will do it well as I see how he is whenever Billy-Joe has been ill.

No time to blog

You can always tell when I’m not blogging, that I am extremely busy. Blogging, as much as I enjoy doing it, it’s very low on my list of priorities. The fact I haven’t jogged yet this week, means that blogging rates a bit more higher on my list than exercise lol......

I wonder if women who work full time and exercise, manage to keep everything up to date. I wonder if the washing is done, the kids’ homework is supervised, their reading listened to, that the dishwashers are emptied, and not used as a secondary cupboard. I wonder if their clothes are ironed and put away. I wonder if they cook delicious and healthy meals without resorting to take away. I wonder if their house is clutter free, or if it looks like a whirlwind has struck. I wonder if they sit down at the end of a long day with a cold glass of wine, happy with all they’ve achieved.........and they’ve added in a half hour or more of exercise.

I wonder.

If they do, then I take my hat off to them. I can’t do it. I come home very tired. My days are quite physical and extremely taxing on patience as well as my strength. I have my wits about me all day long - especially depending on who I am working with. Today I rounded up a child who wasn’t where he was supposed to be - he was sitting down at the front of the school watching the world go by - a 19 year old with the mental ability of a 2 year old. I had another young adult, severely autistic and non verbal, try to get into an unlocked car. My elbows ached after two sessions with him. In the morning we were cooking, and because I was wearing gloves, the boy’s entire t’shirt was covered with my finger prints from the glove powder. It wasn’t until I saw that, that I realized just how physical my job is - and that was only an hour’s worth of prodding, gentle pushing, cajoling and steering. I enjoy my work, but find that department not an easy one to work in.

The next couple of weeks aren’t going to be any different. I am in a different classroom each day, and they will vary on levels of intensity, academic ability and stress levels. I have a few more challenging classes to contend with - but I know I’ll manage fine.

The Food and Wine Show is coming up after this weekend, and we are very excited to be able to go. It was such a highlight last year. We are going with friends of ours this year. I have booked our accommodation, and unfortunately couldn’t get the cheaper room, but we are staying in the same place as our friends, so that’s great. I am going to buy the tickets today, but need to check what session times our friends have, so I can get the same one. The ‘famous chefs’ sessions are already fully booked, so I unfortunately missed out on those. We will go and visit the Wyndham Estate truck again, they are doing a wine and chocolate tasting this year, so we will go and book a soon as we get there. This weekend is the scrapbooking retreat! Another weekend away. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know why my social engagements can’t be neatly spread throughout the year. I don’t know why my busy work schedule doesn’t work in more favourably with said social schedule. The house will be vacuumed over the weekend and my darling will think that constitutes ‘housework done’ and I will just have to not worry about it. I will promise to myself that it’s okay, to let slide a little. I will have to do my ironing on Sunday night when I come home. On the Monday I have a visitor, a girlfriend from Geelong. We met when I started my first job. She was 16 and I was 17 - and we have stayed in touch. Her kids are grown (she managed to stay married to her first husband, unlike moi). So that will be a nice day. I will endeavour to cook a meal for lunch and Peter can come home for lunch too, so that will cut down on cooking on that day. Hopefully I can fit in my ironing and some cleaning that day too - as I’m not going to get another chance....... I know I shouldn’t worry, but I get upset when I look at things, and they don’t look just the way i like them.....

The benefit of all this work, is that I’ll actually get paid. How about that???? EQ isn’t speedy in paying its workers, that’s for sure. I haven’t been paid since the school holidays!! They owe me heaps. I hope to pay ahead many weeks of utilities and bills for the Christmas break. I want to not worry about that, but still have some ‘fun money’ to spend over that time. I have a bit saved up for Christmas so that’s good. I haven’t finalized any Christmas lists, so am unsure what I will spend.

I have been keeping up to date on my CZ class. I haven’t been doing the RWC challenges, but I will do them on the weekend. I have also registered for Jessica Sprague’s free class of Stories in Hand, which will be good fun. It starts week after next, so I can hopefully put some time into it.

Feel better

I woke up really sore from my treatment yesterday with the physio, like really sore everywhere, my stomach muscles, my legs, my back and my legs. Every way I moved I hurt, deep inside....... I scrapped a little and then put it to one side. I had a late lunch and then laid down for an hour before I went to get the kidlets.  I got home, had a cuppa, supervised homework, listened to reading, made a meatloaf, baked a packet cake, jogged on the treadmill - get this for 30 mins straight!! I was so excited. I've not long come upstairs, showered and am having a well earned glass of wine.........  Now I feel so much better. My soreness has eased and my muscles all feel nice and warm.  I did some weights too....... I really need to listen to my body, instead of chastising myself because I didn't exercise this morning.........

I have been watching the Oprah specials which are all about ageing....... Scary stuff, what eating shit food and not exercising can do to you. When you have it all laid out, you realize how you really need to treat your body well. You have to look after your telomeres too.....

http://www.realage.com/StayingYoung/YOUToolsTips.aspx?tip=8

Dinner was delicious tonight and a favourite by everyone. I made a meatloaf, not normally my favourite dish, but I added a tin of brown lentils (couldn’t find red ones), grated carrot, oats, parsley, garlic and onion. I served it with a Caramelized red onion chutney, it was yummo and I will definitely make it again.

Back to Firefox

Sometimes it's too hard to think of a catchy title........

Lots to say - but not in any real order, so dot point format might be in order.
* I have been a Firefox user for about four years now. It's more stable than IE, more streamlined, loads faster, and with all the themes and extensions you can download for it, it's just all round a better internet browser. I was very happy when I bought my imac, that Firefox would still work on it. I had tried Safari, (Macs browser) and wasn't sold on it. I found pages looked smaller and I just didn't like the fact I couldn't customize it to my liking. However when Firefox 3 was launched a few months back, I went back to using Safari almost exclusively. One of my favourite add ons, 'My Portal' wasn't compatible with the new version. My Portal allowed my home page to be all my bookmarks, which I realize now is redundant because you can have your bookmarks as your home page. Another thing I liked about My Portal, is that it made the frequently visited sites in a larger font, so for example blogs were easily found as they stood out from the crowd. Now with bloglines, however, this is no longer needed either. Soooooo............I went back to Firefox this weekend, and it's even better than it used to be. I have even set Firefox as my default browser again, so Safari can go into semi retirement for the time being. I was using Opera for some things too, like the radio, which I'll probably still continue.

* I went to the physio yesterday and am feeling very sore today. Carlie, seems to find more and more places on my body that hurt - actually there's no where on my body that doesn't hurt. She massaged deep into my upper stomach and it hurts like I've been beaten lol.... My legs are extremely sore too. I want to jog today, but will see how I feel later in the day.

* Am currently enjoying listening to gospel music. It's lovely peaceful and uplifting.

* Was supposed to have a lunch date with my bestie today, but one of her Daisy Girls went home with a migraine - hope you're feeling better quickly Suzy. Hope resting today, will help it go away.

* I have been scrapbooking at home - can you believe it. I am enjoying Cathy Zielske's Design your Life class. It's helping me create layouts which don't need too much thought and I'm using photos I wasn't inspired to use, and products which I've had for ages. I am hoping that by the retreat, my stash will be run down enough that I can justify buying new stuff. Actually in the last twelve months I've bought less than in any other year, since I've started scrapbooking - except maybe in the Pre Daisy Chain Scrapbooks days, when I was using Creative Memories.
* Had a quiet weekend, battling a stupid head cold. Still using the nasal spray today, so I can breathe and the sore throat is gone. Eyes still feel scratchy, and I'm still headachey but that could be from the treatment yesterday too.
* Cooked a delicious Moroccan Chicken last night, was delightful, with sultanas, pine nuts, cumin, cinammon, garlic and lemon and lime juice. It was very fragrant and delicous - everyone enjoyed it.

Here are some layouts I've finished in the last two weeks. The colours and straightness are off because I took lousy photos........and didn't want to rephotograph them.

Using up old Sassafras lass paper and embellies, Sammy's and my birthday last year, thought I'd better do it before our birthdays this year.

This one is from Cathy Zielske Design your Life Week 2

This one is also from Cathy's class, PP Basic Grey, embellies - sweetwater, heidi swapp letters, and something else I have no idea......I'm sure there's a knack to keeping credits, but I don't know what it is.......