Thursday 29 December 2011

Decompressing

What on earth would make me willing set the alarm for 7 am during the holidays? Getting my car serviced. Now while that is not very exciting itself it's the fact that I have actually left the house ALONE! I am completely and utterly by myself, if you discount all the other people in the shopping centre I have wandered into.

So I am drinking coffee here:


The thing is that I really love my family but I also need my space. the fact that Girl Child and I have been getting on each others nerves and I have been counting down the days until school goes back (still over 5 weeks away for those playing at home) means I need some space before I completely lose the plot.

So I am thankful for car servicing, today being the only day that Girl Child has slept in and for Mr E. who gets that I need my space. Who knows, by lunchtime I may have decompressed enough to want to have lunch with my family.


Today I joining in with Kate from Kate Says Stuff for the last Thankful Thursday of 2011.

Drop by and see what else people are thankful for!

In case this is my last post for the year, see you on the flip side when I will be joining in with Chantal for her Photo a day challenge for January 2012.

Saturday 24 December 2011

Ghosts of Christmas past

Today is Christmas Eve.

It's almost Christmas and that has me thinking about Christmases I have had before.

I remember that at one point as a child I had a big plastic sack which Santa put presents in. One year, when we still in Sydney so I was between 5 and 7 years old, I awoke to to see some of Santa's beard stuck between the door and door frame of our flat. I guess that explained how Santa made it it a first floor unit with others above it. I was thrilled. Suddenly there was a tangible thing that told me Santa was real.

We had moved from that flat before I turned eight but I also remember lying in my bed on Christmas Eve and seeing a red light which I was convinced that Rudolph was guiding Santa to my place. These are my two next memories of Christmas. When Christmas was still magical. That's the feeling I hope my children have when they are adults.

As I got older Christmas lost it's shine and the magic faded. Then one year I meet Mr E. My parents would always invite people who had no where else to go (his family lives interstate) over for Christmas lunch. And so he came and had Christmas lunch with us. I guess from there the rest is history.

If we ignore last year (when we had to leave him home because he was unwell and close to going to hospital while we went to Sydney for about 30 hours so we weren't actually together on Christmas day) then this is our 19th Christmas together. Once we had children then Christmas regained a little of the magic it had in the past. In fact I don't remember us having a tree before Boy Child was born but despite that the mainstays of the Christmas pasts for me - watching the Carols by Candlelight, having hot Christmas lunch continued.

We did Santa photos with Boy Child but Girl Child hated Santa so much that we have maybe 3 Santa photos wit her and one of her and Boy Child sitting on Santa's chair without him In the picture. So I don't have a set of Santa photos of my children that I had wanted but that's okay.

This year is my 12th Christmas with out my Dad and my 4th without my mother. Yesterday I received a Christmas card from my mother's cousin and it made me feel odd. I'm one the adult getting cards from the rest of the family. In one way I'm proud it finally be considered an adult and on th other hand I'm sad that my parents both died quite early. My children have no memories of their Poppy and Girl child has very few of their Gran. That makes me sad.

Anyway, tonight I will be sitting down and watching the Carols with my family and tomorrow Mr E. will be cooking a hot dinner on our new Barbecue and rotisserie. While we don't have a trifle or Christmas cake or some of the things I remember from my childhood, it will still be good. I'll have the lunch I enjoy and my beautiful family around me. Plus we aren't going anywhere so we can spend the day in our PJs if we want to.

I hope whether you celebrate Christmas or not, whether you have family to celebrate or not that tomorrow you have a lovely, happy day.

Monday 19 December 2011

An Early Christmas

On Saturday morning we got up early to leave home about 7 am to attend an early with my extended family. It's lovely that they include us as we have no family here. My kids get to exchange presents with my cousins children and hang out with them all day. It's nice as we don't really spend much time with family.

Boy Child is the oldest of them all but two of my cousins cousins (does that make sense?) also have 13 year old boys so Boy Child wasn't actually the oldest there. Girl Child slots in as one of the older children and she enjoys playing with the younger children, so they both had people to talk and play with. Plus they got Christmas presents so they had things to do or play with as well.

They were both lucky enough to be given some cool and much wanted things. Girl Child has now got a 'Boy Barbie' aka Prince Nicholas from Barbie's Princess Charm School and two real ZhuZhu pets. Boy Child got iTunes and movie gift cards and will be going to his first ever concert in January. They are very happy and the presents we gave seemed to go down well, too. Lunch was great and relaxed. All we had had to bring were drinks and some nibbles which was very good because we almost didn't make it. With only 10 minutes to our destination, our car died at a set of traffic lights. Not a great thing to have happen anywhere but especially not at a busy Sydney intersection.

Mr E. and Boy Child had to push it through the intersection onto a slightly quieter road where we parked it. I called and got a family member to pick us up but poor Mr E. got stuck waiting for around two hours.  Firstly for the roadside assistance and then the tow truck. Thankfully, I had gotten the premium roadside assistance which meant that we were covered for a hire car to get home and they would bring the car the three or so hours drive back here to the car dealer.

So we are home and the car is getting fixed this week. Who knew a new clutch and flywheel would cost over $3,000? It's not a great thing to happen the week before Christmas but at least this year Mr E. managed to make it interstate. Last year we left him home as he was really sick and was close to being admitted to hospital. This year he managed to get sick (again!) but antibiotics have helped him enough that he had been able to work half days and come interstate with us. For that I am very grateful.

Now we just have to get Christmas food for us and we are ready for it. Oh, maybe I should actaully make and send some Christmas cards - if I can find enough motivation. Plus some toys and treats for the animals at the RSPCA.  I'm looking forward to our nice quiet Christmas at home. I'm actually feeling the Christmas spirit.

Which parts of the Silly Season are you looking forward to the most? Are you feeling the Christmas spirit or are you feeling Bah Humbug about it?

Saturday 10 December 2011

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

While Girl Child and i were yesterday at home with her tummy bug, we decided to do Christmas things. We made some shortbread stars and snowmen.  This year we made some chocolate as well as the normal ones. The ones on the left aren't burnt, they are just chocolate!

Shortbread Dec 2011

I also cheated a bit and added some water instead of the entire amount of butter so they are less short than normal but still very yummy.

Once they were made, Girl Child set about decorating our tree whilst listening to Wiggles and Hi-5 Christmas CDs.  I’m thinking we should get a new tree as we had this one for Boy Child’s first Christmas and it’s just a bit over a meter tall from the floor to the top of the star.  I’m also thinking we should get new Christmas music as the CD’s have the original Hi-5 crew and Greg as the Yellow Wiggle. Lots of nostalgia for me, there.

Tree Dec 2011 

Yes, the star is crooked!

I have also put up the garbage bag wreath we attempted from Kate Says Stuff – Easy Pease Rubbish Bag Wreaths. Ours doesn't look terrific but the thought was there.  Of course Boy Child says it can’t be a Christmas wreath because it’s the wrong colours.  We only had Yellow and Purple bags so that’s what we did.  And yesterday we found the little cross stitch that my grandmother had given me  quite a few years ago so that is the Christmassy enough for me.

Wreath Dec 2011

Now with those things all the in the house plus the two and half hours shopping I did today it’s really beginning to feel like Christmas for me.

What things make it seem Christmassy to you?

Friday 9 December 2011

December: the busy month

It seems that everyone I know is busy at this time of year. I am trying to organise a dinner for some Mum’s at school who I used to catch up with for coffee regularly. They are too busy for coffee and all have different commitments on different days so I’m not sure dinner will be possible.  I have found an evening where only one person can’t make it but I probably shouldn't go either because Mr E. is supposed to be at something and his was booked first.  Of course when I asked him he had forgotten about it and said he would be home. Now we have realised that we may be double booked he has been very gracious and said that I can go to my thing, if only everyone else would actually commit!

I feel that I’m not really busy as I have been to one end of year function.  I was invited to a school P&C one which I turned down as I felt that I hadn’t really done enough this year to deserve that invitation. We also have Girl Child’s end of year school concert, an award presentation for Boy Child and an early Christmas with the extended family.  When I write it down like that it does seem like a few things.  Perhaps I’m mistaken in my belief that I don’t have much on.  Maybe not.  I guess I compare it to people who have 2 or 3 different work functions plus the social side of their lives as well.  This is when working at home makes me feel isolated.

Then there is Christmas shopping.  Mr E. and Boy Child are both sorted with their family presents.  In fact, they have both them for a while.  Girl Child is getting a number of small things from us – books, a doll etc.  I’m probably going to wait until after the early family Christmas to see what else I can get her. She also wants to tell Santa what she would like this year. At our place Santa only gives little things because he knows how many other people will buy them gifts.

I need to get both children gifts from my sister and my grandmother as well as gifts for my cousins’ 3 children – I’ve done the other 3 already.  I was planning on doing that today between Reading at school, Girl Child’s award in assembly taking Boy child to an appointment and then catching up with a friend (we have been trying to do this for maybe 5 weeks!) but Girl Child is home apparently sick with a tummy bug so my plans are in disarray.  No reading, no assembly, no shopping and probably no catching up either! I don't want to spread the bug around. 

Well… I’m off to make shortbread so that we can put the Christmas tree up.  That’s the tradition I started –  eating shortbread and / mince pies while decorating the tree.

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Image from Taste.com.au

If I make these fruit mince filled Shortbread Stars I’ll have all my bases covered.

What are you up to?  Have you got things organised?  Are you busy being social this time of year?

Saturday 3 December 2011

I'm grateful 3 December 2011


Today I'm grateful for a few things.I'm really grateful that Nano is finished because it seemed to take up a lot of my thought process etc even if I wasn't writing.

While I was doing Nano, I had my procrastination going in full gear. I am grateful that I managed to clean out and tidy up the plastic cupboard and I also spent some time cleaning out the linen cupboard. As a result of these things I now have 3 bags of things to donate. Pity that my procrastination hasn't helped me actually get these things donated as yet.

I am grateful that Dance is over for the year. Girl Child loved her ballet costume and she had lots of fun. I am extremely grateful that our dance studio graciously accepted that Boy Child would no longer be dancing (on medical advice) with 7 weeks left of the year which included 4 performances at community events and the 3 concerts.

I am grateful that my children caught up with friends today and had lots of fun. I am very grateful that I get on with the parents of both children so I got to enjoy myself as well.

I'm grateful for the medical profession who have diagnosed and treated members of the extended family with various potentially life challenging illnesses or diseases with the last month or so. This has been a bit of a wake up call for me and I am very grateful that the health issues I have are minor in the scheme of things.

What things are you grateful for today? Link up with Maxabella loves.

Wednesday 30 November 2011

I'm a ....WINNER

Yes, I have just completed over 50,000 words on my written piece of work (which maybe considered an unfinished and untitled novel) and can now be considered a WINNER.  Apparently only 19% of people who sign up actaully validate their 50,000 words. So I am very pleased that I am one of them.

I have a badge and everything to prove it!


Doesn't that look great?  I'm not sure how I feel about it.  Relieved that I made it given only about 19% of people who sign up actually achieve the 50,000.  Relieved that it is all my writing, I did not succumb to writing all the contractions (such as I've) out to the full words.  Apparently that can give you a lot of words. Nor did I write everyone's name out in full which was another suggestion I found when I was panicking about not making the 50,000 words.

So what have I learned over the last 30 days and nights?  I can write more (but probably not better) when under pressure. The goal was to write 1,667 words per day but at the end of Day 26 I was averaging 1,365 words per day which meant I was behind by almost 7900 words.

I'm not sure what I have written is fit for anybody except me to read. But I also know that is is not complete garbage. I know that I managed to write every single day. I feel great about that.  I'm also very impressed I finished with about 90 minutes to spare.

How did all the other people attempting NaNoWriMo go?

Thursday 24 November 2011

Expecting a bang but getting a whimper

November was going to be a big month here in our house. We have Girl Child's dance concert - had been Boy Childs too, until things got very messy about 8 weeks ago. Three shows held over two days, with a dress rehearsal and a stage rehearsal leading up to them. Then there was my long awaited MRI and finally the appointment that Boy Child had which got bumped from February to November after Dr Jesse rang and asked the specialist to actually read the referral.Then I signed up for NaNoWriMo. So November was panning out to be huge.Surprisingly, though if you don't count the bedtime head lice discovery and removal earlier this week, it's all be quite calm. A bit of an anticlimax, really. Of course we still have the dance concerts to do but even trial make up this year went much more smoothly than previously.I have written over 32,000 words on a something that could either be loosely termed a novel or 'word vomit'. I got my MRI and have a CD to prove that I have a brain. Unfortunately for me the slight brain bleed I was hoping for did not eventuate. Although, Dr Jesse did say my idea of just going in and whacking a clip on a tiny bleeding vessel or whatever was a bit too simplistic. I still have to see the Neurologist again just before Christmas but really part from having a brain there were no big flashing lights showing. Dammit!Boy Child had his appointment which went so exceeding well that he doesn't need medication or to see the specialist again. For which I am very grateful. And it was very nice to actually be able to be with Boy Child while he talked to someone about this stuff. Things were actually explained clearly. $400 or so for peace of mind was totally worth it.So the big things that I expected to end with a bang? Well, they really just wandered past with a whimper. Let's hope dance and NaNo do too. Write 3,000 words a day for the next six days, I can do that!Just let me have a nap first, okay?

Monday 14 November 2011

NaNo-ing 2011

So it's the fourteenth day of November.  It's almost half way done and my NaNoWriMo is still progressing but oh so slowly.  I have currently written 16157 words is is slightly less that the 23,338 that I should be up to right now. On the plus side I am consistently writing at least 1,000 words every day.  Which has been great.

At the rate I'm writing my 50,000 words will be completed on or around 13 December 2011.  Which is great because at least I'll be finished in this calendar year.  To be a winner in NaNo terms I need to have 50,000 words written and validated on or before 30 November 2011. 

Apparently in Mr E.'s eyes to be a winner I just have to keep going.  Isn't that nice?  Everybody say Awww.  Thanks for the support and confidence, babe. Mwah!


This post is brought to you by NaNoWriMo: the leading cause of me second guessing myself and the cause of infinite amounts of whining about my lack of plot, characterisation and ideas since 1 November 2011!


Sunday 6 November 2011

Grumble Sunday 6 Nov 2011

Today I'm joining up with Madam Bipolar for Grumble Sunday.



Now I actually just feel a bit blurgh today so I thought this might cover it.

Today I'm grumbling about a few things so in no particular order they are:

Signing up for up for NaNoWriMo with no ideas. I had no characters and no plot just had a very general theme. I have become a compulsive word count checker and am behind my target of writing 1667 words per day. Apparently my average is about 1052 words per day which means I need to get a move on.

I forgot the date of a very important and long awaited appointment. It was in my calendar onto correct date but for some reason I thought it was the following week. Luckily they rang to confirm.

Health issues for family members - some major, some minor.

People who never answer their phones and when you do leave the number you have called from they don't bother to return those calls either.

Other people who are too busy being selfish to see what effect it has on the people around them.

Girl Child wanting to wear makeup for the pretend concerts she performs every day.

The grass that won't stop growing and me being too tired or busy or lazy to actually get it mown. Actually it's all three depending on the day.

Now I have unburdened myself I feel a bit better now. Do you have anything you want to grumble about today?

Tuesday 1 November 2011

NaNoWriMo I signed up

Of course I have no plot, no characters, no ideas at all really. Well, there is this idea for a series romance book (think Mills and Boon) I thought about writing years ago but I think it's extremely a bit stupid now.

Sarah suggested I go back and check out my W.O.W stuff and I think that's the best way to go. But if anyone wants to donate an idea, a character or perhaps even a plot line just in box me. Does 'in box me' sound as dumb as I think?

What does this mean for you? Apart from picking your brain, I may be a little quite on the blogging front. After all, I have now have a deadline of 30 November to write 50,000 words. That's only 1,666 or so words a day. I can do that.

Image Credit

At least in Australia, I don't have to worry about Thanksgiving. Plus I don't even start to think about Christmas until December. I know most people don't actually finish and hardly anyone actually gets a published novel out of this, but I'm really only doing this to see that I can. I'm very undisciplined. I'm just wondering what things around the house are going to suddenly need to be done instead of writing every day.

Pass the paracetamol. If I think my head hurts now, then is going to really be pounding once the reality actually sinks in.

Monday 31 October 2011

Help...I need to make a decision

Okay people, I have a Day Zero list and on it is to do NaNoWriMo. (National Novel Writing Month for those who don't recognise the acronym).

I have enough time to complete the NaNoWriMo within my thousand days but I had also wanted to get all my things marked off before my next birthday which means I need to it this time around. Problem is I have missed so many Write on Wednesday exercises and I have no idea what I'd write about. Is it bad to start a novel completely plotless?

I need to decide in the next 24 hours. I have always wanted to be a writer but I'm too scared to take a leap of faith. Plus my head has been very messy lately and I'm wondering if I even have the motivation.

Help! Do I make an attempt? Or do I just NaBloPoMo instead? Opinions, please!

Saturday 29 October 2011

Write On Wednesday #20

I can't believe how many W.O.W. Exercises I have missed. While a one point I thought I could catch up this is the first one I've managed since exercise 6 back at the end of July.

Here's Gill's spiel about this exercise:
Write On Wednesdays Exercise 20 - Write the words " I thought I saw" at the top of your page. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Write the first words that come into your head after the prompt. Don't take you pen off the page (or fingers off the keyboard). Stop only when the buzzer rings! Do this exercise over and over if you wish. Write beyond 5 minutes if you like, you can link it up as an extra post.

I thought I saw...
The shadow of a smile, a glimpse of the person you were. The one who loved me. The one from before. But I was mistaken. That person is gone. There is no hope, you are no longer here.

I thought I saw... the past sneaking up behind me. Waiting to pounce and repeat the times, both good and bad. I was wrong. You are gone, things can't change. History is done.

I thought I saw... a hint of regret in my smile. Or was it guilt. Or relief. History can't change and you are no longer here. For that I am grateful. I am stronger without you. My life is my own.

Wow. I didn't know how much I'd missed doing these exercises. I may go back and do some of the others I have missed.

Check out the other posts for this exercise over at Ink, Paper, Pen.

I'm grateful for pushing my boundaries

This week I did two things that were outside my comfort zone. I'm grateful that I did these things. While not big in the scheme of things, they were things that I normally wouldn't have tried.

Firstly, I went to a Nutrimetics party. Now that isn't so scary in itself. It was a party held by a friend, and I knew all bar one person there. Thankfully it was a Christmas catalogue party so nobody was going to be touching me. However, I was worried as I had attended the makeup lesson with some of these people and thought that they have have wanted to do maintenance in what someone had once called 'those caterpillars on your face' aka my eyebrows.

I can't think of anything that would have been more horrifying disconcerting than arriving to find that my eyebrows were going to be sacrificed to the goddess of beauty. I had actually made a point of asking on the day whether I was going to be used as a guinea pig before actually confirming I would make it.

It was fine, fun even. A chance to catch up at night without our children. It has even started discussion of a night out before Christmas, without husbands and children.

Now the second thing was with most of the same people. But it scared me almost as much as the fear of recreational eyebrow massacre. It was ... Knitting! Yes my friends, a bunch of people got together to learn to knit. Apparently, according to my grandmother, knitting is a dying skill because many of my peers and younger generations do not know how it do it.
 
So in an effort to stop the skill from dying a peaceful death, someone requested a knitting lessons from one of the crafty people we know. From there it snowballed into a morning tea with a side of knitting and a brief foray into paper craft. For once, I was not a newbie having been taught to knit by my grandmother. Of course while I mostly knew what I was doing I still needed to be taught how to increase, decrease and cast off. But as I actually knew way more than some of the others it was nice to not be the gumbiest person in the room.

By the time the paper crafting came around I was more interested in the yummy food. Somehow I have ended up with some embossed cards and letters. Plus some GF chocolate cake. Now I just need Mr E. to stop laughing about the idea of me knitting.

So my boundaries have been pushed and inhale survived. How cool is that? While I'm on the topic of boundaries being pushed I will NOT be putting a photo of my body (even dressed in my good bra and undies) on the Internet even for a great cause. Oh wait, perhaps in part that's because I don't have a good set of underwear.

However, there are many people braver than me. Today they are sharing why they love their bodies just the way they are. Go check out I Heart My Body 2011 over at We Heart Life.

Have you pushed your boundaries, lately? Do you heart your body?

I'm linking up with Maxabella's I'm grateful for....

Thursday 27 October 2011

We went out

Together without the children! How is that worth a blog post? Well, this is the second evening this year that we have managed it. There was another aborted attempt but there was no sitter required as both Boy and Girl were at a disco. Generally our time out sans children consists of us attending a Christmas function together but the last two years there hasn't been a Christmas function.

The plan had been to attend a trivia night with a group but as that didn't work out we went to see the Three Musketeers. I'm not sure why it was in 3D as I don't think it was needed. There were some cool looking bits but I think 2D would have worked just as well and in Mr E.'s opinion probably better.

It was nice to spend time together just the two of us. We even managed a quick, but late, dinner before heading home. While we love the children sometimes it's nice to be just a couple.

How often do you and your partner get to spend time together, just the two of you? Do you have a regular date time? Or do you just grab the occasions as they come along, however infrequently?

Saturday 22 October 2011

Grateful Saturday 22 Oct 2011

This week, like Lucy, I am grateful for friends.

I am grateful for coffee with them, phone calls with them and catching up over morning tea and lunch - check out this post by Leanne. I am grateful for the people who commented on my last post. As you could probably tell I was shattered, completely broken. But with my friends allowing me to brain dump, I'm in a much better place.

As always I am grateful for coffee and for people not thinking I'm a crazy stalker (thanks http://deepfriedfruit.blogspot.com).

I am also grateful to my family. They coped with the crying, desolation and the anger. Especially to a member of member of my extended family who heard a very abridged version of the story and told me that I was the right mother for Boy Child. Wow, it was so unexpected but so what I needed to hear at the time.

So once again, I'm joining in with the Wonderful Maxabella. What are you grateful for?

Wednesday 19 October 2011

There is a quote

by Elizabeth Stone which is: “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
Boy Child is Dealing with stuff, both figuratively and literally - mostly figuratively. My heart is bruised and battered. It is not yet broken but it certainly feels like someone has well and truly stomped on it.
I'm surprised that my eyes aren't swollen, as I cried on and off for about 4 hours. Today is a new day. We have a plan. Onward and upward.
It's the stuff in his head we are worried about. Nobody has done anything to him. There are plans in place to deal with this. Dr Jesse wants to see him every week.



Monday 17 October 2011

Late but still grateful 17 Oct 2011

I was planning on hooking up with the other grateful posts on Saturday but somehow time got away from me and it's Monday afternoon. I discovered that I have a huge amount of things to be grateful for.  Here are just some of the things in the last fortnight.




Family
Both nuclear and extended. I was lucky enough to be interstate when a member of the extended family was having a celebration. We got to spend time with the extended family on a happy occasion.

Family Time and festival shopping
Mr E., Girl Child and I went to a Festival thing on the weekend. It was nice to just be able to wander around and enjoy each others company. At the festive we picked up a fair bit of stuff. Fudge, honey, polish and a dress* for me.

The children
Recently it was a day of remembrance for miscarriage and infant loss. I am grateful that we have our children and that we had it easy compared to many other people.

Friends
Boy Child has people call him to do stuff during the holidays. He caught up with someone he hadn't seen since school finished last year for a movie, he went and did stuff with someone else and was invited for a sleepover.

Girl Child met up with a girl from her class for a play date at the pool. And they sent each other quite a few emails during the holidays. Apparently the 7 and 8 year olds of today don't phone each other they email.

Family friends who allow us to visit, let the kids run riot and feed us too. Someone else's baking always tastes better than mine it seems.

My friends who catch up for coffee during school terms and during holidays.

Mr E. Friends who have invited us out to a Trivia Night.

Ms T. Who is going to kid-sit for us so we can go out to the Trivia Night.

The linky list is closed but I'm still playing along. Did you play along with Maxabella? What are you grateful for this week?

* Now as you may remember I'm a jeans and tshirt girl but it seems that every year in spring or summer I buy a dress. Now when buy it I think that it will be for the work Christmas Function which is generally the only time Mr E. and I get to go out together without the kids during the year. We haven't actually had a work function for 2 years but I have bought a dress I case there is one this time around. It's not a dressy dress so I could probably wear it other times. Maybe even to the Trivia Night.

Friday 14 October 2011

World Mental Health Week 2011

I missed doing anything for RUOK day as I was away and operating on limited bandwidth.  So I thought I would do a post on Mental Health Week.  World Mental Health Day is held every year on 10 October.  This year Mental Health week started 9 October and runs until tomorrow.  Here is the description from the Australian World Mental Health Week site.
Mental Health Week is all about raising awareness of mental health and wellbeing in the wider community. A critical part of reducing stigma and supporting those with a mental illness and their carers is education.

This awareness and understanding can come from many sources. Throughout Mental Health Week local and regional events are organised by many different communities, not-for-profit organisations, individuals and workplaces. These events, coupled with the information available in the web links, serve to generate discussion about mental health and get people sharing and talking about this important issue.
I will say that I am disappointed with the lack of information on Mental Health at this website. The links they have are for lots of different sites but I could not easily find information about mental health itself. If you do want information, I’d suggest going straight to www.sane.org or the Mental Illness Foundation of Australia.

The Flannel Flower – Australia’s Symbol for Mental Health Awareness From the MCHA site
Some of the blogs I read have done posts for it so I thought I would add those links for your perusal.
Adalita mentions it in her Friday Fitness post.
Pysch Babbler talks about it over at Over Cups of Coffee.
Katrina who is The Organised Housewife even has a giveaway running to coincide with it.
Suzi over at Under the Windmills didn’t post about Mental Health Week itself, but this post shows a positive experience in a Mental Health Unit.
The rest of this post is probably going to be Too Much Info.  It’s because I think Mental Health is very important.  So, after a few deep breaths here we go.
I grew up in a house where one parent drank and one parent had mental health issues.  I’m not sure if Parent 2’s alcoholism was to cope with Parent 1’s mental health issues or not.  It could have been. I remember Parent 1 had depression on a number occasions.  But having discussed my childhood with a few professionals it seems highly likely that Parent 1 had Borderline Personality Disorder. Probably with depression and anxiety as well.
So, where did that leave me?  I grew up as an only child.  Most of Parent 1’s anger etc. was taken out on me.  I grew up with a fear of hands around my neck, issues with kitchen knives and a huge aversion to being called Bitch and being touched. Sometimes I still flinch when people yell near or at me.
I have a propensity for depression.  I am very aware of my issues and try to stop them affecting my family in particular and my life in general. I don’t want my issues affecting my children.  I don’t want to perpetuate the cycle.
Sometimes though, I wonder what I would have been like as a person if I didn't feel that I had to be careful about everything I said or did. 

Wednesday 12 October 2011

I blame the Smurfs!

I've been thinking. I'm pretty sure the reason for my need to escape the family last night was not, solely, related to the lack on alcohol in my life. I'm thinking it was related to the Smurf Movie. Yes, I blame those little blue people. Or however that songs goes. And the sugary sweetness that was Smurf movie. La,la, lala, la, la, la da, la, sing a happy song. Or however it goes.

Image from http://www.smurfhappens.com/

After we saw it, I'm not sure how many times Girl Child asked me what was my favourite line of the movie. Apparently hers is when Neil Patrick Harris' character says "I Smurf you." Now I enjoyed the movie and it was a feel good one. There were lots of life lessons - nobody is just one of their characteristics, you need to seize life's opportunities and things like that. Definitely good lessons for us all.

My life has been decidedly unsmurfy lately. It hasn't been bad, no major illnesses or injuries, thankfully no deaths or job losses, just not great. A few (in my head A LOT) of niggly worries. Some of course, of my own making.

Having been away for a few days, we were spending time with my extended family. This always leads me to introspection. Especially when I get comments like "So and So says you are much more open than you were before your mother died." Now that comment was from my grandmother, apparently repeating something else someone had said to her. It's great to get compliments (well that's how I'm taking that anyway) but I always find it tough. I'm glad I'm on better terms with my family now. It's a pity that it took what it took for those relationships to become better. But I'm lucky that I have had the opportunity to change them. To take them to a much more open, friendlier level. But I do still dwell on the past and the things that can't be changed now. I know I wouldn't be me if things had been different, but still the what ifs run through my head.

History however has a way of repeating itself and this is where I come back to the Smurfs. When I was probably a bit older than Girl Child, my grandmother took me to see a movie about little blue people. It was the Smurfs and the Magic Flute. So it seems somewhat fitting that I took Girl Child to a Smurf movie the day after leaving my grandmothers. I'm glad that most of the parallels I see between my life and Girl Childs life are the positive ones.

Having spent time with my grandmother, I'm torn between being grateful that I still have her and worried about how old and frail she is getting. It seems that every time we stay with her she gets sick. Thankfully this time around was what seems to be a virus and she has now recovered. On a previous occasion she ended up in hospital with renal failure. Again I see parallels. This time between visiting my grandmother and visiting my great grandmother. I was 18 when my great grandmother died so I have quite a few memories of her. After this visit I wonder how much longer my grandmother will be around. I hope that my children will get some more time to spend with her, while she is relatively healthy.

Okay, turning off the melancholy now. What things have you done recently that have reminded you of your childhood? in a good way, of course. Now I'm off to bed. I just hope that the Smurf song stops running through my head soon. Ear worm, anyone?

Tuesday 11 October 2011

I'm hiding in my bedroom

Is it wrong to want to get away from your family? For some reason today my tolerance level is low and I had to leave before I said something I'd regret (or even worse NOT regret) to my children. Things along the lines of Just bloody leave me alone.

So with Mr E. going out shortly, I'm hiding. I'm not sure what's going on in my head. Part of it is having been interstate visiting relatives. Now while it is nice to catch up, to me it's a bit like having to be on your best behavior 24/7 and not being able to relax. Especially when you are staying with some of those relatives.

That said, the kids were pretty damn good and I was even told how impressed one elderly relative was that they didn't fight during the 4 days. Maybe that's what's going on. They were on their best behaviour too. Now we are home it's time to relax and let it all hang out. Thus, the little niggling things seem so much worse than normal. Because I've been without them and we are slightly on edge.

Does that happen to anyone else? Good behavior while away but then needing to let it all hang out once home? I must admit I repeated parts of conversations verbatim to Mr E. last night just to get some of the stuff out of my head. Maybe that's what the kids are doing too, in their own way.

Hopefully with a good sleep tonight I'll feel better and I'll be better to put the little things in perspective. Otherwise, I think I'll take up alcohol.

Glug, glug, glug. Ahhh.

Cheers!

Thursday 6 October 2011

Versatile Blogger Award

A long time ago, during my blog-vacation, just prior to my real vacation in New Zealand, the lovely Lene who blogs quiet aptly and adeptly at Musings of Another Mother passed the Versatile Blogger award over to me.



Of course, as always accepting one of these awards there are certain things you have to do. So, these are the 3 (thank goodness there are only 3!) things to do.
Firstly, you must thank the blogger who awarded you and link back to them. So just in case you missed it, many thanks to Lene.
Then you should share 7 interesting facts about yourself.
Finally you need to pass the award on to 15 newly discovered blogs.
Given I don't think I'm interesting, I will do my best with the 7 things. Feel free to consider them interesting, boring or just plain crazy.
  1. I don't mind shaving my head for the Leukemia Foundation, but I hate regrowing my hair. I look too much like my mother from the time my hair is about an inch long until it gets some decent length on it. This means that some of the photos from our holiday make me cringe.
  2. I've recently discovered I don't mind reading an ebook or two. Ebook's have a few advantages over real books. They are much easier to carry than real books and therefore it's easier to start a new one or swap as the mood takes you but they have reduced my ability to relax. You see, I used to relax by reading in the bath. However, I have been known to drop a book or two into the water and with an ebook reader or IPad that is a really bad idea. So, maybe this explains why I'm not very relaxed at the moment.
  3. Today I went on a Ferris Wheel with Girl Child. I generally start to feel ill just watching one go around so I was very surprised that I didn't feel extremely nauseous today. However, I really did wish I had both feet on the ground. I think the people in the gondola with us would have preferred their ride more if Girl Child hadn't kept commenting on my possible need to throw up.
  4. Today, I was extremely envious of all the extended families out and about doing school holiday things. I find it heartbreaking that my children have no grandparents who are alive or able to do things with them.
  5. I am also very envious of my friends who can send their children for a few days (to a more than week) each school holidays to spend time with their extended family. I know 3 families who do this.
  6. Since I no longer want chocolate I have discovered that I want other junk food. For example, Cheezels and shortbread but not together. I still eat chocolate occasionally but I don't crave it anymore.
  7. After watching Hawaii Five-0 last night, I'm thinking that Alex O'Loughlin could be in the running (with Hugh Jackman) as someone I'd love to spend some time with. With Mr E.'s permission, of course.
Phew. I didn't think I'd actually get 7 things there for a while.

Okay, in my newer blog finds to pass this on to are some who were given this award by Lene and others but I thought they deserved to get it again. And just to share the bloggy love around, here are also some bloggers who I think deserve a little extra bloggy love at the moment.

My list is:
Sarah from People Don't Eat Enough Fudge (I love that blog title),
Gill from Ink, Paper, Pen
Gnomeangel,
Naomi from Seven Cherubs,
Suzi over at Under the Windmills,
Anne from Domesblissity (I made her muffins on Tuesday),
Miss Pink - the Mummy Autobiography,
Sam-O who is Living Life Playing the Glad Game
Jen from Jemikaan,
Penny with another cool blog title - Shhh, Mummy's on the phone (who hasn't said this?)
Alliecat who blogs at In a Beautiful Pea Green Boat,
Corrine - From the daze of my life,
Silver threads of happiness,
The Rhythm Method,
Farmers Wifey

I hope you like getting awards and know how much I appreciate you reading all!

Wednesday 28 September 2011

I'm tired

I would have thought that after an almost 3 hour sleep this morning, I'd not be feeling so tired. But in fact, I almost fell asleep again this evening while Mr E. cooked dinner. And this has me a little worried. I'm taking a lot of medications at the moment to help with the head. Are they what's making me so tired, is it the having the headache / migraine or is it something else?

I hate being this tired but most of all I hate my intolerance of the little things. I've felt this way before. Like I want to go to bed, pull the covers over my head and wake up in a month or maybe even next year.

Why am I feeling this way? I've just had a great, albeit, tiring holiday with the family. I have pretty good kids, a decent, flexible job and a husband who cooks dinner when I'm really tired. Oh, he loves me, too. Can't beat that, really.

Why do I feel that the world is going to cave in? Is it the fact that despite taking the 24 hour med, the 12 hour med and panadeine forte that my head is still aching? Is it that school holidays are about to start and I will have to juggle work with the family's needs? Is it that the events previously labelled 'unlikely to be psychosis' have occurred again and seem to stronger than before?

Maybe it one or more of those things. Maybe it's just that I'm a glass half empty kind of girl. Whatever it is, I hope it goes away soon. After all, my life is pretty good most of the time.

Sunday 25 September 2011

Hello, people

We are back from our adventure in the Land of the Long White Cloud. It was a very busy time but we are all alive and well (tired though - I'm still tired a week later) so I think we can count our first ever overseas family holiday a success.
All up we spent 5 nights in Auckland and 4 in Taupo. We probably over scheduled ourselves, especially as Boy Child had 2 school assignments he was supposed to complete while we were away.

Here is a brief a wrap up of the things we did:

Attended 2 of the Rugby World Cup 2011 Matches - Australia vs Italy (Australia won) and Australia vs Ireland (Ireland won),
  • Went up Sky Tower in Auckland,
  • Drove from Auckland to the Coromandel Peninsula - had lunch in a Pub in Thames,
  • Went Zorbing -Girl Child and I went twice in the water one and Boy Child went in the Zorb where you are strapped in and go upside down,
  • Visited Hobbiton (we had to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement so we can't show our photos until after The Hobbit movie is released,
  • Saw some geothermal stuff - Craters of the Moon and Silica Terraces,
  • Attended a Cultural show and Hangi,
  • Went to the Waitomo Gloworm and Ruakuri Caves
  • Went out on Lake Taupo and saw the rock carvings you can only see from the water,
  • Drove to Napier and did an Art Deco tour.
Rock Carving on Lake Taupo
Sky Tower
Girl Child and I Zorbing
I was surprised about the number of things that were different. First of all, how hilly and green everything was. It was stunning. Of course, it rained most days we were there so that explained the greenness. The hilliness meant that it seemed to take quite a while to drive fairly short distances. We did a fair amount of driving so it was quite noticeable. The truck drivers were very polite and some pulled off the road so other traffic could go past.

There were lots of gluten free options in the Countdown (Woolworth's equivalent) supermarket I went in to. There were 3 different brands of GF bread and 3 different GF cakes available. There were banana's for $2 or $3 a kilo. I wondered why they were so cheaper as bananas here have generally been over $9 and up to $13 per kilo since Cyclone Yasi earlier this year. The reason bananas are so much cheaper in New Zealand is because they come from South America. I think the ones we bought were from Ecquador.
If you ask for Lemonade in a shop or fast food place you are offered L&P which is a very popular New Zealand drink Lemon & Paeroa. We tried it and it has an aftertaste which wasn't that appealing, to me anyway.

Burger King sells mini doughnuts. In fact you could also buy mini doughnuts at the rugby games.

Boy Child was very impressed that some of the pedestrian crossing traffic lights had a moving green man who apparently looked like he was shuffling. So every time we crossed the road at those particular traffic signals he would sing "Every day, I'm shuffling." I still believe my version of "Everybody's shuffling" fits much better for the traffic lights but apparently I'm wrong.

Things that I wouldn't do if I travelled overseas again. Book early morning flights. We had to get up at 530am to catch our flight home. Because of the 2 hour time difference by the time we arrived home we had been awake for 12 hours and it was only mid afternoon here.

Get a Travelex Visa Debit Card. We were told there were no fees except when withdrawing money at an ATM or if there was money left on it that we wanted back in Australian dollars. We were fine with those. Not impressed with the exchange rate being about $0.11 less that the rate shown at the time. When we were converting most of our spending money, to me it was a significant amount. Oh well, it was a learning experience.

Expect children to complete school work. Despite us leavign time for his assignments, it was really silly to think that Boy Child would be able to do them while on holidays. So if there is a next time, he does them before we go or when we get back. It was too stressful for him and us to try to get them done while we were away.

It was lovely to be away but it is certainly nice to be home.

Tuesday 6 September 2011

So our holiday is getting close

And I have started to freak out. Today I realized that in a few days we are going overseas as a family. Not far really, just over the ditch. My brain is spinning out with all the things I need to do.

So far today I have:


  • Had coffee with my friend W (she is struggling a little at the moment),

  • Printed out our plane tickets, car bookings and our hotel booking confirmations,

  • Ensured the car insurance covers our house sitter

  • Researched data plans for us while we are away,

  • Did some work and spent an hour reading at school

  • Washed most of the clothes we need to take,

  • I have gotten all the medications we need (believe me it's a lot!),

  • And cleaned some of the house (after all the house sitter doesn't need to put up with our mess),

Things that I still need to do (and most of these need to be done tomorrow):

  • Print the notes for our house sitter,
  • Do some more washing,
  • Pack,
  • Take Serious Dog for a vet check up as he had dental surgery last week,
  • Buy dog food (they need a particular one which was out of stock until late today),
  • Pick Boy Child up from school early for an appointment,
  • Collect Girl Child from school and take her to collect Boy child from his appointment,
  • Take both to Girl Child's activity,
  • Ring Mr E's sister as she had minor surgery,
  • Finish cleaning the house,
  • Get food for the car trip,
  • Work out what time we need to pick up the kids from their schools on Thursday,
  • Arrange to get the car to the house sitter before or as we are leaving on Thursday,
  • Ensure that Boy Child does the some of the two assignments that he will have to do while we are on holidays,
  • Clean the rest of the house,
  • Post a birthday card to my niece,
  • Finalise some work stuff,
  • And...

I'm sure there is more I just can't remember right now. I only have approximately 32 hours left to do it which is probably why I started freaking out.

So I thought I would take this opportunity to say bye to you, my bloggy people. I may get a chance to read some blogs while we are away but I'm hoping that i will be having too much fun and hopefully relaxing too much to do that. I better go and get cracking on my to do list. Or maybe just go to bed. Decisions, decisions.

Maybe if I go to bed now, I'll be calmer tomorrow. Or maybe not. At this point I'm actually wondering if the holiday is actually worth the stress. Admittedly it's probably mostly streess of my own making and mostly in my own head. I hope it is! When we get back I will hopefully be nice a relaxed. After all we have been planning this holiday for at least two years. It has to be worth the hype. Does getting prepared for a holiday do your head in before hand? Are major holidays worth it? I really hope so!

Thursday 1 September 2011

I'm mean...

In our house Mr E. sometimes refers to me as the 'Queen of No'. I seem to have veto power on a lot of things, which is good for the finances but not so good for the 'I Want' people in my house. When the rug rats ask why I have said no, I often reply because I'm mean. Which while not exactly true is an answer that I am kind of okay with. And its not just monetary things. Recently I told Girl Child that she couldn't play with her DS or use her recently acquired birthday IPod until she found her glasses. Today I even discussed an issue with Mr E. with that's because I'm mean.

But I was thinking about it today. I'm no longer sure that I'm okay with being the mean one. I guess it's easier to say that than to explain the multitude of reasons that whoever it is can't get whatever the item that is most coveted at the particular moment. I have to admit that Girl Child is probably the worse (do they have more fad stuff aimed at girls?) but I think part of it is because at just 8 she hasn't consciously made the link between stuff and it's cost.

I do think that people need to learn the value of things. I don't want my children to think that the consumer culture is the be all and end all. I don't believe the line "he who dies with the most toys wins". But perhaps I should also lighten up a little on the times I say No. Also I think I should stop saying the reason for the No is because I'm mean. Because I'm probably not being mean. They may think I am being mean but I think I'm just trying to stunt the growth of consumerists and hopefully teach them the value of things.

What's your stand on this? Are you the No person at your place? Do you explain the reasons behind your No?

I'm not just talking big ticket items, I think my battle against creating a consumerist started back with those rides in the shopping centres.

Sunday 28 August 2011

Today I'm grateful for...

Being back again. Hopefully this time I'll be back for a while.

This week I'm also grateful for vets. There was a lovely warm day last week and i took Smiley and Serious dogs down to the dog wash. They were filthy! Unfortunately, I discovered under the dirt that their skin was irritated. We think that Smiley dog was sad because of this and he lost his smile. Now, as Smiley is deaf and blind any issues with his attitude could mean that his quality of life isn't so great. While we love Smiley Dog very much we know that prolonging his life when he has no life quality is not an option. So the day before he had his appointment, I discussed with Boy the option of Smiley Dog not making it. Thankfully,with antibiotics Smiley Dog has his smile back.

Serious Dog gets to go back and get his teeth cleaned next week but he seems fine. He is not like Smiley, who is generally exuberant, but rather subdued. However, he is Smiley's eyes and ears so it will be interesting how things go while Serious Dog is away.

I'm also grateful that the Eisteddfod is off the agenda again. It was back on for a week (they were trying to move one item as only two groups were in it) but it turns out it is definitely off. Which means we don't have to worry about it before we leave or while we are away. Again. Hurray! It seems that I was the only one worried about it. Everyone else didn't seem to mind that going to the eisteddfod meant we would have to leave after Boy Childs class so we would have arrived in Sydney until 10 pm at the earliest. Or that a slight delay leaving new Zealand could have meant that we still missed the rescheduled item. So it's really, truly off now.

So I'm grateful for these things. I'm also grateful for a new pizza place opening at our local shops and they sell Gluten Free pizzas. I'm also very grateful for my followers (and commenters) still hanging around while I have been slack once again.

Go visit Maxabella and see what everyone else is grateful for this weekend.

Sunday 14 August 2011

I'm a perpetual worrier...

And that may explain why I have been missing from the blogosphere for the last three plus weeks. It's not that I haven't wanted to know what is going on in your lives and live vicariously through those of you who have the courage to stretch the boundaries or actually go to blogging conferences etc, it's just that I have been so wrapped up in the the possibilities (and in some cases the worst case scenarios) going though my head that I haven't had the energy to devote to the blogosphere.

So what have I been worrying about? Lots of of stuff which while seemingly minor (in most cases) together has created a huge stress in my life. But as of Friday things are mostly resolved so I can get back to my my normal worries.

My headache is still on going. It seems that so many people have a story of someone they know who had headaches which caused major physical issues (such as no longer being able to speak) or who had an aneurysm which was luckily found just in time. I'm not happy about having had a headache since mid March BUT I have had a CT scan and seen a neurologist and actually trust Dr Jesse. I am on a preventative medication which has made some difference but given my recent stress levels in may actually be working better than we think.

I've been organizing things for our long awaited holiday to NZ. Passports, checking accommodation, etc. Thankfully one of the things below has actually helped with this planning and given us a more open schedule.

I have finally handed over that job that I was no longer going to be doing from April. I attended my final meeting and handed over 4 boxes of paperwork last week. The area around my desk is actually vaguely tidy now. And I was even given flowers for all my work over the last 3 a bit years. Very lovely of the committee.

We found out that there is no way that we can attend the Eistedfodd the day we arrive back from our holiday. Despite everyone's best guess that Boy Child would need to be there by 6 pm, it was discovered that the program changed and he may have needed to be there in the early afternoon. After a week spent discussing out options including paying $120 per person to change flights and then flying to the Eistedfodd it turns out that Boy is supposed to be on stage at 9am. So all the plotting and planning was for nothing. We will be on a plane then and even if we had paid the $120 each to change our flights there was no way we could make it. This holiday has been planned for 2 years and we are not skipping out a day early and missing a match in order for Boy Child to perform for 8 minutes. I am very glad we have found out a month in advance though, the troupe has time to change the items and hopefully won't be disadvantaged by Boy Child's absence. But this also means we can leave home anytime the day before our flight out instead after the last practice which would have ended at 7pm.

The best thing of all is that the delusions that someone in this house has been having and only mentioned to me a few weeks ago just as the professional involved went on a month's leave are highly unlikely to be psychosis! Thank goodness. I have been very worried about this, especially with over a month of no idea about it. I was told about the delusions very grudgingly despite them being an ongoing thing. I hate it when people try to 'protect' me by keeping me in the dark.

So that's most of my last few weeks. How have yours been? What things are you worrying about? Any tips to stop a perpetual worrier worrying? 


Thursday 21 July 2011

WoW # 6 - Status Anxiety

Write On Wednesdays

It's Write on Wednesday and I'm late again, oops. A big thanks to Gill for keeping the linky open.

Write On Wednesdays Exercise 6 - Status Anxiety: Log onto your Facebook/Twitter page and write down the first status update you see. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Write the first words that come into your head after your prompt. Stop when the buzzer rings. Do this exercise over and over if you wish. If you don't do the social media thing (there's bound to be some who haven't succumbed!) email me and I'll send you a status update from one of my social media accounts. If you feel uncomfortable about using one of your friend's status updates, consider using the most recent update on Lamebook, the home of the funniest and lamest Facebook status updates.

There were a few status updates that I liked (with the following pic attached: http://instagr.am/p/IJ4Hr/) was on Twitter from Glowless.

Baking cake and drying pants. Is that what they mean by multifunction oven.

Maybe the next thing they can make is a multipurpose boss. She thought as her fingers stabbed at the keys. One who isn't a lying, cheating bastard. Maybe a nice friendly one who is also good-looking.

She finished her letter of resignation and printed it off. Aha..there. That will show you Mr Smith. Try to find someone else who will pay your bills, file and type for the same money as a checkout check.

She walked into the larger office and put her a paper front and centre. She admired it, then turned on her heel and marched from the room.

She was free.

So that's the 5 minutes done. I actually like this one and when I'm not tired I'm going to try and take it further.

It definitely took a change from where I thought it would go. I'm now a bit confused about her role in his life and why she is so peeved with him.

What do you all think? I'm kind of torn between she was thinking of sleeping with her boss but discovered he was married or she discovered he was cheating on the wife that she knows and likes.

Go over and read everyone else's work over at Ink Paper Pen.

Friday 15 July 2011

Write on Wednesday - Write the music

Yes I know it's Friday but for some reason I haven't a had the opportunity to do Write on Wednesday yet. But I noticed that Gill's linky is still open for a few hours so I thought I would give it a go.
Write On Wednesdays Exercise 5: Write the Music - A bit of choice this week: Pick your favorite song and write down the first line of lyrics OR turn on the radio and write down the first line of lyrics you hear. Then set your timer for 5 minutes and write the first words that come into your head after your writing prompt. Stop when the buzzer rings! Do this exercise over and over if you wish.
So my favourite song... Well that is a bit of a tough one. Currently the CD that gets the most air time in the car is a Queen one. So I had chosen a song I want played at my funeral (yes, sorry a little morbid) We are the Champions. I even cheated by using the first two lines of the song.
I've paid my dues, time after time...
But I found I couldn't use that song as I just wanted to write the lyrics down.
Okay onto my next choice...Bohemian Rhapsody.
Is this the real life
No, Houston, we have a problem. Of course it's bloody real life. What the hell are you thinking?

God, I don't know. Somedays I think that I'm just a part of a a bloody reality TV show. Nobody's life can be as screwed up as mine.

Gee, d'ya think? You not are the only one with issues you know. It's not all about you. Why the hell do you think it is? What makes you so bloody special?

Gees. Pissed are you? Good. About time you got snapped out of your delusions of adequacy. Oh wait, I mean your delusion that the world revolves around you.
Ouch. That was a bit harsh. I can see you good friends talking like this but it took a really weird turn for me. Especially being all dialogue. For some reason I thought it was going to be the guy from the faked alien encounter back at Exercise 3: Two Fat Ladies but now I'm not so sure.
Join in the fun by reading all the entries for this week over at Ink Paper Pen.

Saturday 9 July 2011

I’m grateful for 9 July 2011

Sorry that I haven't actually blogged in a while.  I did sort of blog on Monday (okay it was really a plug for me being famous over at Deep Fried Fruit), it was fun. Thanks Leanne!

So I am grateful for:

  • Being famous at Deep Fried Fruit!
  • Having all my family safe and well.  Drop by Jemikaan's Grateful post to send her dad get well wishes and also Jodie’s (Mummy Mayhem) as someone she knows has just been widowed.
  • Finally having a handover date for that job a committee decided to removed from me in April!  It’s almost at an end. Woohoo!

What are you grateful for today?

Drop by Maxabella’s and let everyone know!  Check out everyone else’s list while you are there, too.

Grateful button

Monday 4 July 2011

Hey, Look out–I’m famous!

I like being one of the cool kids!

 

I'm not here I've gone over there - Guest Star Monday

 

The lovely Leanne has invited me over for a cuppa and a chat.  Why don’t you drop by and join us? You know you want to!

 

Saturday 2 July 2011

I’m grateful for 2 Jul 2011

Grateful button

This week , in no particular order, I’m grateful for:

Girl child’s first party invitation for the year.

Sleep ins.

Dinner invitations from friends (especially those that include the family and understand food issues).

Dr Jesse starting me on a preventative medication for my head.

Celebrations for Friends (especially with GF cake!)

A lovely and loving husband who understands that I need lots of sleep at the moment and has sent me to bed despite me only getting up at 10.30 am.

Not having to deal with a death in my family as extended family are.  Rest in Peace, K.  I never got to meet you but I have met your parents and other family members.  I know they are shattered by your loss.  I hope that you now have some peace.

What are you grateful for? Join everyone over at Maxabella’s. Go on, you know you want to.

Thursday 30 June 2011

30 June 2011

It’s the end of another Financial year here in Australia which means I have much busier doing work stuff than normal.  I think I worked about 12 hours on the weekend.  Luckily only one job has June 30 as the end of the financial year.  The other one uses a calendar year.  Which is much better for me.  Of course despite 30 June being the end of the financial year you don’t actually finish the financial year off on 30 June.  You have to get the staff their Payment Summaries out by 14 July and then a file to the Australian Taxation Office in August.

A long time ago the best thing about End of Financial Year was working in a finance area which had End of Financial Year drinks.  Our office would close up for the afternoon, go out to lunch and then party on.  Okay, seriously the partying wasn’t very long.  Generally by  6 I‘d be on my way home.  But it was the whole once a year let your hair down thing that I enjoyed. 

I think people who knew me actually found it odd that I really did  let my hair down then.  I didn't actually dance on the tables but I do know that as non smoker, discovering me smoking cigars was quite disconcerting to my colleagues. 

So it everyone who has been working hard doing end of financial year stuff, I know you aren't actually finished today, but enjoy whatever celebration you have.

Also I’ve finished another NaBloPoMo.

We can now:

dreamstimefree_3341882 -party word

Wednesday 29 June 2011

Write On Wednesdays #4 - Two Fat Ladies...

The Write On Wednesdays Rules: First of all, I am not a big fan of rules. Feel free to get creative with the writing exercises - there is no right or wrong. But please try to visit the other members of Write On Wednesdays and leave a comment. You can grab the button for Write On Wednesdays from my sidebar if you fancy doing so.

Write On Wednesdays Exercise 4: Two Fat Ladies (88!):  I am sticking with the timed theme. It is much easier to find a spare 5 minutes than a big chunk of time to write.  Grab the 8th book from your bookshelf. Open it to page 8. Scroll down to the 8th sentence. Write this sentence at the top of your page. Set your timer for 5 minutes and write the first words that come into your head after your writing prompt.  Stop when the buzzer rings! Do this exercise over and over if you wish. It will be interesting to see where all our different prompts take us.

The line in the book I got was:  I promised I’d come down and tell you, so here I am.

I don’t want to talk about it but if it will help then I guess it’s okay. You see there were flashing lights.  And a weird space in the sky.  No, don’t laugh I’m not joking.  And no I’m not on drugs.  There were flashing lights.  Oh for Christ’s sake don’t make any jokes about probes.  Now I know why i never bothering mentioning it before.  I didn't want to be labelled the crazy one.  I don’t know why I bothered coming down here.  You are juvenile.”

He got up and walked toward the door.  He looked over his shoulder and grimaced at them .

“Thanks for nothing bozos.” 

He walked out shoulders set, his posture radiating anger.

“So guys? What do you think?  Did he really believe in the whole alien abduction set up?” 

“Dunno.”

“If not, he’s a damn good actor.  And he’s pretty pissed at us.  I’d hate to be around when he realised it was a set up.  To screw with his head…..”

Um…interesting.  The first book I picked up is called Undead and Unemployed by MaryJanice Davidson.  It’s the second book in the Undead series.  The line I got was written as part of a police interview.  So it wasn’t even straight dialogue.  I almost got another book because I wasn't sure how I’d go with it. I found that I basically just did dialogue and had to add punctuation in later to help it make sense.  I have no idea where a faked alien sighting came from.

Take 2 is from the The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

He was beginning to be really frightened now.

It wasn’t just the thought of the unknown but more the effect that it could have on him and his family.  Why is the unknown so scary anyway?  Is it just because we have no idea how to react to it?  Because we s humans have no concept beyond those in our minute little minds? 

Although frightened he stood tall to face his tormentors.

“You don’t scare me.” he ground out through clenched together.  “You can’t hurt me.  You are just part of a dream.  A nightmare.  And I will wake up.  Then you won’t be able to hurt me any longer.”

In bed he rolled over.  The edges of the nightmare lessened as he touched the soft object.  He grasped it with both hands. The nightmare faded even more and his breathing settled from it’s frantic pace slowly.  Slowing down to normal.  He grabbed the soft…..

I think I liked my first one better. With the second one it’s as though I swapped between the character and the tormentor in the first paragraph. That kind of disconcerted me.  Then somehow I went back to the characters point of view but I feel I’d changed the age of the character in the mean time.

Feel free to comment and critique as desired.  Smile

I look forward to reading everyone’s stuff tomorrow.

Tuesday 28 June 2011

I am Mother, Hear me whisper

Yes I know it’s supposed to be Hear ME Roar but in this case there is no roaring. I am just whispering.  As a mother when one of my children are threatened my my first instinct is to protect them.  Fairly standard I think.  But what happens when your child needs protecting from another child and that child’s parents are standing there doing nothing?

What do you do when you have seen that child lash out at their parent and adult’s response is “Mate don’t do that”? Or when that child lashes out at their  sibling and the parent does nothing at all?

This is the dilemma I currently have.

There is a child at school who is gets away with all sorts of things name calling, kicking, hitting, swearing you name it it’s probably been done.  why is this an issue for me? Well,  a few days a week this child often hangs around in the same area  after school with as we do.

This child (let’s call him P) has problems relating to others.  Not just other children, adults as well.  Recently  P has teased Girl Child and called her names, pushed her off the play equipment so she banged her head and dug his fingernails into her so that there were red marks left on her skin under her shirt.

P’s parents do nothing. When P hits their profoundly disabled sibling there is generally no response from the parents.  When P hurts other children there is no response. Only occasionally is there a response.  Generally that happens  when P is hitting a parent and swearing at them and that’s when the comment “Mate, don’t do that” is trotted out.

There are a few of us who don’t know what to do.  Our children are being hurt by another child in full view of the parents and there is no response from them at all. P doesn’t get asked to clam down or stop hurting or hitting or whatever. How would you deal with this?

It seems most people are afraid to say something because P’s sibling M is disabled. Because P’s parents have M who is unable to do basically anything themself. I have chatted to P and M’s parents so I know that M’s needs take up a lot of time. But I’m concerned that P’s issues are being ignored and therefore other children, my child is getting hurt and teased. I find the longer this goes on the less I want to interact with P’s parents.

Would you approach the parent of an unruly child? Would you change that approach if you know the parents are worn down from caring for their other child?

I want to say something to P’s parents. I want to say I don’t like P’s behaviour. I don't like it when P hurts Girl Child and you ignore it.  Ignoring P’s bad behaviour is not making this situation better.

I want to say: Telling M that people won’t like M because of P’s behaviour is not appropriate either. Nobody has an issue with M.  P’s behaviour doesn’t reflect on M, it reflects on you as the parent!

Please help me.  Someone needs to say something.  There are at least 3 parents who watch this child hurting others and nobody does anything.  I am just as guilty as the rest. Prior to now I have been worried about ruining the relationship I was building with P’s mother.  Right now I don't care about that. My child has just as much right to play safely after school as everyone else does.

Is there any tactful way of saying “Your child is a brat. Please stop P hurting my child”?

Monday 27 June 2011

Am I an old fuddy duddy?

Even writing fuddy duddy makes feel feel old and …older.

Maybe times have changed a lot since Mr E and I hooked up over 17 years ago or maybe it’s just that my thoughts on this are completely different to OMG I can;t believe I’m typing this the younger generation. Wow, typing the younger generation makes me feel like a fuddy duddy as well.  So maybe I am one.

The scenario is:

A couple have been in a relationship for a few years.  They break up as one partner basically wants more freedom (think move interstate, travel, change jobs every 3 months, those kind of things).  They have property together.  They decide to sell the property but until they do  they continue to share the property. That they are remaining friends and there is a spare bedroom.

This is where I feel odd about the whole thing.  The now former couple are still sharing the same room.  In fact, still sleeping together in the same bed.  Now I get the whole friends with benefits (FWB) scenario.  Hell, it sounds like a great deal if you can keep your emotions separated (which I couldn't) and no one gets hurt (which I would – because I’m a sucker like that!) BUT according to the one party I have spoken to in this, it’s not a friends with benefits scenario.

Apparently it’s more like this:

Image from http://mattressvancouver.wordpress.com

Why?  There is a spare room, a spare place to sleep.  I just don’t get it.

See for me – if someone had basically said you are the millstone hanging around my neck stopping me from enjoying my youth (okay major poetic license there), after the tears and the anger and the more tears I think I would barely be able to be civil.  Let alone share a bedroom.

Now if I was the dumper in this case, if you were dumb morose enough to still want to sleep in the same bed with me, I’d be happy to cop a feel all night, every night. I guess I won’t care about the dumpees feeling at all.

FWB I can cope with. Basically giving away your self esteem for human touch makes me wonder how much self esteem you had in the first place.

Um… I’m very Judgy McJudge Judge this morning aren't i?  Can someone explain this in plain English to me?  Because all I can see is two people getting hurt more than they currently are.

Sunday 26 June 2011

Thank goodness June is almost over!

I have been doing work all day in order to get the company file ready to go to the accountant tomorrow and completely forgot that I am doing NaBloPoMo and therefore should be blogging.  Oops.

So, it’s almost midnight,I’m cold and tired, with nothing to say except:

If you are still up – GO TO BED!

Night all.

Saturday 25 June 2011

Day Zero Update

This week I did something that many of my fine readers would have already done. I learnt how to apply make-up.
Scary thought for me really as I'm lucky if I wear makeup more than once a year and the majority of my recent makeup experience has been stage makeup for Girl Child for dance concerts.  I must admit I am getting better with her makeup and now I have some actual technique.  Well, maybe not technique but more idea than I used to have anyway. 
Who knew that I was always applying makeup incorrectly?  I guess I did because otherwise why would I have put it on my Day Zero list.  I now know that apparently my lips are my best feature. I know that the green concealer stuff works at reducing redness but apparently is noticeable under UV lights in nightclubs. 
I need to practice but hopefully now I have some technique I will be able scrub up nicely next time I get dressed up to go out.  Hopefully Mr E and I will get to out go to dinner again one day soon.
While I’m updating the Day Zero list, I managed to miss the Lunar Eclipse on 15 June 2011.  It was at 4 or 5 am and I was asleep.  Oops.  I may have to find something else to add into my list.
On the upside, I have signed up for Postcrossing! I need to decide if I’m willing to put Whining on my profile and get working on getting my postcards out there.  As if there wasn't enough of my in the world as there is!
 

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