Warts?

So I just popped over to the lovely Ruby Two Shoes blog and I noticed I was on the blogroll - thanks chickie! So i hovered over my blog link and this little preview box came up with the last few posts on it, and some suggested links (advertising). Nothing odd with that in this day and age. Except that I found one of the suggestions a little offensive.

Observe.

So I get the exercise bike and the anxiety disorder links - I've blogged about them before - but warts??? What are they implying? The metal detector is just weird.... Anyhoo. I'm off travelling again tomorrow; stay tuned for news of my divorce :)

P.S Love you honey and thanks for 'letting' me go away...

Gone batty...

Spectacled Flying-foxes at Cairns Library.


I've been up in Cairns for the last couple of days... And returned tonight somewhat thawed after a couple of 20+ degree days. While I was in heaven, Nath's been through hell. Poor kidlets have been sick, and poor husband is much tired by the experience. I'm not going to be allowed to go away for quite a while...

There's lots of me to go around.

I don't like having my photo taken. Occasionally someone will take a photo I don't mind, and it will likely be a head-only shot*. Cos I don't like the rest of the package being photographed. The neck-down bit. Too bulgy. You know? Of course you do. Most of us have body image issues. And I've never been 'down' with exercising, and even less so since we had kids. And I like fatty, carb-loaded and sweet stuff. And for some reason I don't lose weight. Der!!! Not really a surprise. One of my recent favourite quotes (i collect them) is "Nothing will change, if I don’t do anything different".

So I'm giving this whole eat less crap, exercise more thing a go. I found an exercise that appeals to me (exercise bike in front of the tv in the warmth) and a process to avoid avoidance (get into exercise clothes before I put kids to bed so I can get straight on bike afterwards) and logging most of my food at calorieking.com.au which gives me a bit better of an idea of the nutritional value of the food that I'm eating. Like that hot chips are 450 calories. Ouch. I mean, I knew they were not great, but when I'm aiming for 1400 calories a day that's a fair whack of calories. Especially when you add the red licorice... and a finger bun. But I digress. I'm not going to harp on about this, but for the first time possibly in my life I'm exercising with a focus and while not exactly enjoying it, I'm proud of myself for doing it. 10km a night on the bike. Yay.

So maybe sometime in the next year I might like seeing a full-length photo of myself. And that might be nice.

*I even stopped liking head-shots recently due to my hair dresser refusing to remedy a lullet (lady mullet) that was developing at the base of my skull. I've now had it seen to and can be allowed out in public again.

Mama's got a brand new toy...

We popped down to Nowra this weekend to check on my grandparents and to see Nathan's aunt and uncle.

Nan and Pa are in slow decline; moving slower, thinking slower. Nan's going in for surgery again this week and each time it takes her longer to recover. She's so depressed that everything hurts nowdays. Its hard to watch. And hard to listen to, but no one else (ie her husband or children) want to hear that she's tired of feeling bad and thinks her time is near. I don't want to face it either, but she needs to talk. Anyhoo, circle of life I guess.

After that we went to see Nath's aunt and uncle. And boy did they have a surprise for me. I have long coveted Uncle Dave's camera. Every time I see him I take the camera out for a spin, playing with all the features and stuff - stuff my (more than adequate) camera doesn't do. And I've toyed with the idea of buying one, but can't justify the cost. Uncle Dave said that his mate was selling an old camera which was a similar model, and I asked him to check it out for me. Then forgot about it. Then yesterday he gave me his camera to play with. When I finished he asked if I noticed anything different. I didn't. Then he pulled out his camera and said 'mine's a bit different from yours'. Mine???? He and Aunty Jayne had bought it for me. Oh. My. Gosh. I was floored. In awe. Aware that it was too much and knowing I couldn't accept it, but in no way willing to give it back! How much do they rock? Heaps. So the rest of the weekend I spent playing with Barry (the camera). We took long walks, I looked into his eye and told him how beautiful he was. He responded by taking beautiful photos for me.




When we left this afternoon we drove back and finally stopped in at the Fedra Olive Grove and Grandma's Little Bakery near Collector.


We've watch the olive groves grow lo these many years we've been driving up the highway to Nowra. It was nice to stop in and see it. We very rarely break the journey. The homemade bread, dip (singular), dukkah, oil and a couple of olives was a sparse but lovely. And the pastry platter was a lot of pastry (as the name would suggest) but we took home what was left and I've been munching this evening. Yum.

Then we drove for another 15 minutes and stopped to see the zebra. Looks like they're going to stick around - and a good thing too! The rest stop was full which means people are breaking their journeys and resting. Stop Revive Survive people! Um, perhaps I should take my own advice.


And of course the windmill. Hmm. Not sure how I feel about them - but they are pretty to look at. Especially through Barry's zoom lense.


Anyhoo, back home. Ready to start a new school term (Lily) and brave the caretaker period (me and Nath). Have a great week!

Six is sooo big...

But not too big for a fairy castle cake (thanks Aunty Nicole).


Aunty Nicole is ace at choosing presents that cause maximum conflict with the children. Sure its a pink barbie car - but its a CAR. Paddy's down with anything car related. You'll note there's actually a car driving the car...


After everyone had gone the cats came out. They're still not jump-on-your-lap-for-a-nap type kitties, but they're warming up.


And just a cute picture of surprise personified. I can't remember what he was surprised at. Its just a cute shot!

Its a long way from here...

Today I traveled. A long way. Relatively anyway; we're pretty good travelers, us Aussies. But still, here I sit, 947km from home (according to google).


View Larger Map

And now I'm here I find myself at a bit of a loose end (here is lovely by the way).



There are no children to feed or bathe. Nothing to clean or maintain. Just me and free broadband internet. So I've downloaded some photos and I'm ready to bombard you with them. A potted history of our June, if you will.

Lily lost her first tooth! She's been walking around bearing her teeth at anyone who will look... Its pretty disturbing.

We got two new family members - Meggs on the left and Sophie on the right. Meggs is named for the Australian cartoon Ginger Meggs; and Sophie for the main character in Mamma Mia. Lily named Sophie. We tried to dissuade her from that name, but its stuck. Paddy calls them 'Meh' and 'Sousie'. They're still pretty timid - especially Meggs - but they're warming up slowly.

I made this hat for Nath. I love it. Its Marram by Eskimimmi (rav link). Its a really clever pattern that looks far more complex than it is. Only problem is that its too short. Based on comments on rav I added another repeat, but its still too short. Oh well. I'm still really proud of it.


I also knitted this cowl for a colleague at work. He loved it, however my cast off may have been a little tight... like, he got it on then couldn't get it off for quite some time... A little unpicking and looser cast off fixed it though and he's pretty chuffed. The middle pattern is a row of double yarn overs which means that when its on the yarn folds towards the neck, making it extra warm.

Lily and I found the most enormous strawberry in a punnet the other day... it must have been a couple that just grew together... but it was pretty stunning! Guess who had the best lunchbox that day...


And a picture of Paddy as you'll most likely find him nowadays. If you ask him to do something he closes his eyes. If you ask him to stop doing something he closes his eyes. Its his way of pretending to not hear you. He does it alot at dinner time...

So there you go. Amazing what kind of posts you can do with a bit of time... I've still got tomorrow night away - but its the final of Project Runway so I see myself holed up in my 'spa bure' with some chocolate and the remote... See ya!

First Female Australian Prime Minister

OMG – Australia has its first female Prime Minister – so very exciting! Congratulation Julia Gillard!

Trippin'

During my work life I've been pretty lucky with work and work trips; working with a mining industry body saw me in an underground mine; I saw heaps of regional Victoria and east-coast Australia working with a Senator; got to live on the Brisbane/Sunshine Coast for six months with CHOGM and meet the Queen.

But the most diverse and wonderful ones have been with my current employer (10 years this year!). They've sent me to Johannesburg for a month, on a tour of far north Queensland's recycled oil reclamation facilities (mostly rubbish dumps and a sewerage facility!), lots of Zoos and recently lots of parts of Australia I wouldn't have seen otherwise.

Now that I have a family I don't like to travel too much - it puts too much pressure on Nath and its draining. Work travel isn't really very glamorous and usually cuts into personal time more than you expect. So next week I'll be heading to northern NSW and losing most of my Sunday in order to get to a pretty regional location for a meeting. As a result I'm going to stay somewhere nice. Nicer than I'd normally stay at but still within my travel allowance.

I think it will help ease the pain a little... and I'm kinda looking forward to it.

Little Dutch girl

My father was born in the Netherlands. He arrived in Australia at four and my grandparents fully integrated into the Australian lifestyle. A bit too much I think. We never really heard much about Holland from my grandparents, which makes me sad. My Beppe was obviously crafty and I think she could have shared lots with me about her life in Friesland. Of course we often realise these things too late. Since she died I've developed more of an interest in Dutch things and have been finding lots of lovely, lovely Dutch bloggers. Here are some:

Grietjekarwietje
This lovely lady likes a bit of upcycling, a bit of drawing, a bit of crafting, and a bit of waldorf doll making...


guusjes-appeltaart
This lass does lovely screenprint art, and a bit of cooking, and posts photos of the most gorgeous children!


Under Dutch Skies
An American (I think?) in Holland, a knitter, online yarn shop owner and an observer of things...


Little Z handmade
Oh my she has some lovely stuff... A thrifter and a crafter.

These two little fellas are transfers - how cute would they be on kids shirts?


Even though I don't understand much of the text on these sites (despite Google Translator!) I love clicking through and checking out where they link to.

Check

Empty house? Check
Tissues? Check
Humidifier? Check
Vicks - applied liberally to all available flesh? Check
Comfort food - ham, cheese, tomato toastie, pikelets with butter, jam and cream, macaroni cheese awaiting?* Check
Tea? Check
Bed? Check
Laptop with Bleak House ready to go? Check
Heavily congested head and sinus pain? Check

All ready for the day then.

Image from http://s259.photobucket.com/albums/hh297/kbroglio/?action=view&current=sick-girl_032909.jpg&newest=1

*I never lose my appetite when sick...

Another year marches by

Another ANZAC day in Sydney for me. This year was more sad than previously. Four members left in Pa's Association, Z Special Unit (mentioned here ). My Pa is the handsome man holding the wreath.

My husband was again proudly with him in the march.


After the march we headed to The National Maritime Museum for lunch and a trip around the harbour in The Krait - a small fishing boat (not the submarine in the picture). Pa spent two and a half years on a boat very much like this - the The Tiger Snake.


He and his 9 (8?) mates served in Borneo, in their little junk behind Japanese lines. To be in Z you couldn't have any tattoos. They carried no dog tags. They did have suicide pills. He was not able to talk about this experiences for 40 years after the end of the war. I cannot even begin to imagine what he went through. Pa was the stoker on the Tiger Snake and spent most of his time in the engine room. I got a glimpse of the depth of emotion when he got on the Krait and looked in at the engine room (about 10 seconds after this photo).
He was overcome and got off the boat as fast as he could. He couldn't speak. He just turned to me and said - choked - 'all our mates' and then ran his thumb across his throat. I just squeezed his hand - what could I say? He recovered (with the assistance of two very healthy 'fingers' of rum). And then thanked us for being with him. He didn't go out on the boat around the harbour - my Mum and cousins did and were touched by the experience. My sister, my husband and I stayed with Pa, mostly just to be with him (but also because my sister and I suffer horrifically from seasickness - a story for another day).

I'm so honoured to have shared the ANZAC Day experience with my Pa - and my Nana - for the last 10 years. I'm proud of him and his service. I love you Pa. Thank you.

What a difference a day (or two) makes...

So after an awful Monday, I had a wonderful Tuesday at a training course! It was enough to renew my spirits (surprising, no?) and on Wednesday and Thursday had a much better attitude. Lots of breathing and trying not to think to much really helped!!

And yesterday I was home with the kidlets.

Since Lil started school I've not had both of them for a full day - it was nice! Primarily because I looked at it in terms of what I could do to make it fun for them - rather than trying to get my stuff done. We went down to the school carpark and Lil showed me how she learned to ride her bike (on Tuesday with my Dad). She was pretty good! Then we went for coffee and a play in the big mushroom at the Belconnen Markets with my sister. Lil ran into a kid from her school who is known as the 'naughty boy'. I didn't know it was the NB. They played nicely and laughed and had a great time. Until it was time to go and he yelled 'bye bye f**king head' - which is his hallmark farewell. Then I knew it was the NB... Otherwise he seemed lovely. I'm loathe to label him a naughty boy, because, well, people in glass houses and all that.

And now its the weekend again. I was just cruising through my blogs and my head nearly exploded when I saw that one of my embroidery pieces was featured on Craft! So hello if you've come by from there. Ironically, I made the picture when I was cleaning out my embroidery floss, which Nana had gifted to me because she no longer used it. Then Nana asked for it all back and I couldn't say no because it was all hers... so I'm not doing much embroidery at the mo! I did do the embroidery button swap over at feeling stitchy and did these for Quinne


And she sent me this lovely package:




Anyhoo, I'm off to visit a friend that just had a bub (great reason to start a baby cardy) and then to Mum's for dinner. Enjoy yours!

P.S The roses are from my inlaws garden. They not only look stunning but they smell divine!

Grrr

I'm starting in a new area today - for 3-6 months - and I'm scared shitless. I know the people, i pretty much know the work, I know all the parameters, and yet all those stupid fears i have about my ability to do anything competently are banging around in my head and making me crazy.

Its been building up over the weekend and so I've done what I always do - play dead. Not really play dead, but become so paralysed by fear of failure at everything that I don't do anything. Except mope and make a nuisance of myself. Unfortunately my husband is so excellent that he stands in for me and is the only functioning adult in the house. I say unfortunately because if he wasn't so capable I'd have to get my shit together and keep going. But I don't. I sit on the couch while he does everything. And then when he's finished doing everything he brings me cheese and biscuits. And then I drink and don't feel any better (duh) and all of this is just more for me to get down on myself about.

What's worse is that I know how to fix it. I know I have to "fake it till I make it" but with all the energy I possess being diverted to unhelpful thoughts I don't think I can fake it.

Longing

Last weekend saw me and four spectacular women head down to Longbeach for a girls weekend.

It was pretty hard work.

We had dinner in the Bay on Friday night

then headed back to our humble accomodation...

On Saturday brunched in the Bay and gathered supplies so we had no further need to leave our house.

The other four went for a run and a swim. I did not (see post on aversion to sand).

Our mobile masseuse came to the house and massaged us in turn (for 7 hours!!).

Then we sat and read and talked and knitted and slept and listened to the beach and music and had facials and did our nails and ate and drank and generally relaxed.

It was wonderful. We didn't have to do any parenting, or nagging, or warning or disciplining. We didn't use the TV or the internet (although the phones were a must so we could hear how the boys faired without us).

It was a perfect weekend. And I'm already longing for the next one...