It's almost here...

I swear the pre-Christmas period gets crazier and crazier! I feel like I've been going flat out, but I don't think I've been doing very much.

The last week and a half I've had annual leave and basically I've been spending the time with Chickie and trying to get my Christmas shopping done. I finally got the shopping done, but I have a sinking feeling I didn't post things away in time. I'm not game to inquire with my family just in case they didn't make it in time. I'll just sit here, cross my fingers and hope like crazy they made it!

Christmas, for us this year, will be relatively quiet - J's family for lunch. Boxing day we're going for a picnic in the Botanical Gardens and then the day after we'll visit J's Grandmother. Next year I'll have to be more organised as we're most likely going to spend Christmas with my Mum and Dad (3 states away!). I hope I can manage it hehehe.

Well, at the moment all is sorted and Chickie is in bed awaiting a visit from a certain jolly fat fellow. Oh and by awaiting, I mean he's laying in bed staring out the window into the sky. I can't seem to convince him that the quicker he falls asleep, the quicker Santa (and Christmas day) will be here. I'd guess this is happening all over though!

I hope you and yours have a very happy Christmas and holiday season. May 2009 bring all the joy and happiness you could wish for.

I'm an aunty again!!

I just got a phone call - J's sister (A) has had her little baby girl!

Apparently A was swearing enough to make a trooper blush but mum and baby (P) are just fine.

Stats from J's dad are:

Weight: 7 pounds, 12 ounces
Length: 50 cm
Head circumference: 35 cm

I wonder why we still give out birth weight in imperial but go metric for the other measurements? The doctors and nurses normally give out weight in metric but every time I've heard people ask for details, they give out (and ask for) weight in pounds etc.

Oh and as for details regarding the last post...

Yes, J's mum is still talking to us (we're supposed to go out to dinner tonight - will have to see how that goes now), no we didn't have enough to share (normally we make just enough for us without leftovers) but J's mum refused all offers of anything. She also told me how she did a very similar thing to her own mum years ago so had a good laugh about it!

Ok, I'm terrible!

J's dad is currently away on a business trip so we thought it would be nice if we took J's mum out to dinner. Chickie's been asking to go out to a restaurant for a few weeks too (he loves eating out).

Arrangements were made for last night - J's mum would come round at 6 and we'd all head down to the restaurant.

Well, J's mum came around, but we were just sitting down to dinner - we totally forgot! I felt so bad about it (still do!). Seriously I have a mind like swiss cheese sometimes.

How embarrassing...

Grrrr!

I am so angry right now.

On my way to work today, I heard that Chickie's school has had a fire in a storage shed. The police suspect arson. This is the second fire in less than a month. A few weeks ago their art room and adjoining classrooms were destroyed.

The fire a few weeks ago caused so much heartache for the staff and teachers. There were irreplaceable personal items lost, as well as a heap of school equipment. Then there's the loss of the rooms themselves. Thousands and thousands of dollars worth of damage - and Chickie's teacher says they don't know if they can use the buildings again. Last I heard they'd probably have to be demolished.

Now another building - this time a storage shed. I've no idea what's in it but I can't imagine there'd be too many empty storage sheds around. They'll have lost stuff I'm sure.

Now Chickie's school is not a big one. In fact enrollments are shrinking in this particular school. It's just a local junior primary/primary school, tucked into a well established family area. It's not rich but it's a lovely school. With the exception of stupid vandals who think it's funny to break windows, spray paint on the buildings and smash glass on the oval (what a mean thing that is to do to a school - the kids couldn't use it for ages), it's well cared for and the school itself has a lovely community feel.

Why do people do this?

It's amazing...

what a bit of exercise and achievement will do for you.

Lately I've been up and down a bit but right now I feel like I'm on the top of the world. The reason? Well, today was the grading for karate. J, Chickie and I have been going for a while now and probably should have gone to grading months ago - but tournaments, New Zealand trips and various other things got in the way. So, today was it.

I was so nervous yesterday and today (well ok I've been a little nervous about it for ages). I was positive I wasn't going to make it - but guess what? I DID!! J and I officially have our yellow belts in GKR Karate.

Chickie didn't want to do the grading so we didn't push him, but we'd still like him to go to the classes. I don't really blame him to be honest, it was quite tough. Usually we'd have a lesson for about an hour but grading was for two hours. Talk about exhausting too! At one stage I thought I'd have to excuse myself to go throw up! Luckily I got that under control though.

So, right now I'm tired and my feet are a bit sore but I'm over the moon!

You know those times when all you want to do is crawl back into bed and pull the blanket over your head - and then stay there a few years? Yeah, that's me at the moment.

I don't know why exactly, there's no real reason for it. I've had some interesting experiences I could have written about (meeting up with a couple of friends from World of Warcraft, attending a wedding of a friend where one of the groom's family tried to sabotage things, completely forgetting daylight saving started on the weekend when I start at 7am on a Sunday etc) but I don't know... I just don't feel inspired to write about them.

I feel... deflated (?) I guess. Flat and uninspired. Sorry...

Thanks!

Ok, your 'boring week' vibes have obviously helped. Thanks!

It didn't start out so well, but the majority was relatively quiet and peaceful. I started off by banging my car door on the side of the car parked next to me - there was a huge gust of wind as I opened the door and it ripped the handle out of my fingers. I felt so bad about it but they haven't called (I left my number) so perhaps it wasn't too bad.

The major 'highlights' for the rest of the week included lots of hayfever (bad this year, probably because it's been so windy) and Chickie drawing a picture, of the two of us, with a broken heart between us. He wasn't very happy that day. He rarely eats his sandwich at school and J and I have said he can have a snack after school - as long as his lunch has been eaten first (either at school or at home afterwards). He didn't want it that day so chucked a small tanty when I wouldn't give in.

I can handle that though - and he apologised later and said he shouldn't have drawn it. Then he drew a picture of us with a couple of unbroken hearts in between us. That's got pride of place here at my desk now!

What a week...

Ok, so last week Chickie chips his tooth - massive self-inflicted guilt trips over that.

I forget to ring my nephew on his birthday and then forget to call dad on father's day. I suck at being a daughter and an aunt.

Early this week he gets a virus. Fever and then starts complaining of a sore neck and sore eyes. Massive (internal) freak outs because you're always told to watch out for symptoms like that. 24 hour health line advises us of what to look out for and to take Chickie to the doctor's in the morning. Doctor says it's a virus and that he should be fine but tells us what to watch out for if it gets worse. Massive amounts of relief after that!

Today J's sister called. She's pregnant and had the 1 hour test for gestational diabetes this week. Unfortunately it came back high (8.5 for those in the know) - so massive reassurances over the phone for her. She's terrified of needles and the only person she knows who's had GD was me - who had to have insulin injections twice a day. She'll be fine I'm sure, but she'll need some emotional support to get there, I think. She goes in for the 2 hour test this week. Please send vibes that if she definitely does have GD, that it's mild and she can control it with diet and exercise.

And now, Chickie and I are just back from the Dentist's. The dentist said we could just even it up if the chip was smaller, but we'd lose about 2mm in size and it would be quite noticeable. So, a filling of sorts was added. Chickie was afraid they'd give him robot teeth (amalgam fillings) but the dentist reassured him it would be the same colour as his teeth. Chickie didn't do too badly - didn't really want to open his mouth most of the time and then trying to talk through it the rest of the time (I'm sure this kid could talk underwater sometimes). He looked a bit shaky at the end, but then he's never had more than just a normal checkup before, so I expected it. I'm just glad he didn't need to have a needle to numb anything. I have no idea how he'd react to that.

Next week, will be calm, peaceful and dare I say it - boring. It will, I tell you! (If it knows what's good for it...)

Accidents happen...

but geez, I wish they'd leave poor Chickie's teeth alone!

When he was little and just learning to walk, he lost his balance a little and banged his chin on a chair. We think this was the cause of one of his baby teeth turning grey. The dentist said he might lose it if the tooth had been too traumatised, but we were lucky and it went back to mainly whitish and it stuck around. This was one of the two big top front teeth.

Later just before losing his other big tooth at the front, he managed to chip it. Not badly and we weren't too concerned as it was loose anyway.

Now, he has his two top front adult teeth and yesterday managed to chip one. I feel terrible about it as I couldn't catch him in time to stop it.

I took him to the small playground a block from our house and he started playing on the flying fox there. He loved that thing, so it was always the first thing he'd head for. This time was no different. Unfortunately on one go he fell or let go and went head first into the metal step on one end. There was a little bit of blood as he'd also hit his lip and there it was - the adult tooth chipped.

I've been mentally beating myself up about it because I just wasn't able to catch him in time. Hopefully the dentist will be able to cap it or something so I can assuage myself of this awful guilt!

Home again

Sad for the holiday to be over as it was a lot of fun, but it's good to be home.

The last couple of days were pretty good. J had caught a cold though so we took it pretty easy. He managed skiing on Thursday (lots of fun going up and down the carpet rides - which is so much easier than walking sideways up the hill to ski down) and Friday was a day of rest and luxury. It was raining in the morning so J took the opportunity to get some much needed rest. I read and watched a movie on tv. Then we walked down to the town to get some lunch and then came back to let J go back to bed. Unfortunately the walk to the town was downhill and back was up a quite steep hill and just the walk tired him out a fair bit.

Late in the afternoon he was feeling a lot better so we went off for a 30 minute float in a floatation tank and then had a 60 minute massage. That massage felt so good! Just what I needed to get rid of the last aches from the skiing (my calves and knees were killing me from the stance you need to use wearing the ski boots).

After some home-made pizzas for dinner with the rest of the group, J and I, as well as two others headed to a place that had lovely hot tubs. They messed up our booking but were still able to squeeze us in after a bit of a wait. These hot tubs were just the perfect way to finish off the holiday. They were big wooden ones (can hold 4 people but we had one to ourselves) and the private room you're in has a retractable wall and ceiling. During the day you get a gorgeous view of the Remarkables mountain range. At night it was mainly the stars with a little of the mountains in there as well. It was just beautiful! And even though there was snow on the ground just outside, you were warm because of the water and steam from the tub. So relaxing.

Saturday we had an afternoon bus ride back to Christchurch, so in the morning J and I saw a movie. Some of the other guys spent the morning walking through the area or having fun on the luge up on Bob's Peak, but J was still quite tired from his cold so we thought it best to take it easy (and stay warm - was still very cold outside!).

Sunday morning we got up and had breakfast in the hotel we stayed at (delicious!) and then most of us headed to the Antarctic Centre just next door. Unfortunately Steve, we didn't get to go on the Haaglund ride, though it looked like fun. There was 10 of us (the other 5 went off sightseeing) and the centre said they'd give us a discount if we all did the same thing and most of the others didn't want to go on the ride. It was a good way to spend the morning though. The penguins were cute (though rather smelly) and the Antarctic storm was an experience. This was a room of snow and ice - kept at -8 C (17.6 F) and then after a 'radio warning' of a storm, they turned on the wind machines so we could experience the wind chill temperature you'd get at the Antarctic. 45 km winds (28 mph) which gave us a wind chill temperature of -18 C (0.4 F). Brrr!

The afternoon and evening was spent in airports and the air. The only disappointment I have with that is that New Zealand doesn't stamp your passport (not sure if that's only because we're from Australia), so my passport pages are still empty. Ah well - will just have to make sure we fill them in someday!

It was too late to pick up Chickie last night so we'll pick him up from school today. I cannot wait to see my little boy! We missed him so much, but it sounded like he had a great time at his grandparent's place, so that's a bit of a relief.

The last few days in Queenstown

The Lord of the Rings tour was pretty cool. We saw lots of places where scenes were shot and it's amazing how much was re-used and altered. Many scenes from the movies used pieces of scenery from one area, added to another and then had digitally added bits and pieces. A lot of the scenery was flipped so they could use the same area more than once and also to give the impression of a long journey. Apparently that also meant the actors had to often use their other hand to hold swords, axes, bows etc (so use their left hand if they're right-handed etc). It was all quite interesting.

Part of the tour was a bit of a trek through the snow on top of this mountain. Some of the snow came halfway up to my knee so the new boots I bought were very handy! Got some great scenery shots though.

Yesterday J and I went skiing again. We went to Coronet Peak again, instead of Cardrona. Some of the other guys went to Cardrona and said for the long drive to get there it wasn't really worth it. Mind you a lot of them are snow-boarding rather than skiing and it sounds like Cardrona is more suited for skiiers (though for us it doesn't matter since we'd only use the beginner slopes anyway). So we went to Coronet Peak again and J and I went up and down the beginner areas using the carpet ride. So much easier than trekking up the hill on your own and skiing back down.

I crashed into a few people but got better as the day went on. A couple of collisions weren't really my fault at least. One of them was with a girl who got off the carpet ride and just stopped to pick up snow. At the end of the carpet, there's really a bit of a deep sort of trail (from so many people coming off the end) so I wasn't physically able to just go around her. The guys running the carpet kept telling people to make sure they moved away so I figure it happened a lot.

Main thing is - I didn't get hurt and I didn't hurt anyone either (beginners all go pretty slow so crashes almost seem graceful!).

Last night we had dinner in the Skyline Gondola restaurant. Buffet and the food was amazing! The views over Queenstown were great too.

Today is our last day here and it's raining. Plus J's caught a cold. Time for a relaxing day I think. We're thinking of going to a spa in town and have a half hour in a floatation tank and then a massage. We still have a ski pass we can use and this is one of the places we can hand it in to. Hopefully they'll have an open spot for us.

A nice relaxed day

Today most of the rest of the group went skiing again (Coronet Peak again). One guy went skydiving, J and I went up the gondolas to the top of Bob's Peak (that's the name of the mountain we can see from our window). We had a good look around and took lots of photos - particularly of the people paragliding from the top of the mountain. I'll bet the views are awesome during the paragliding trip, they were fantastic just from the top where we were.

While up there, we had a go at the Luge track. So much fun!! We only did one ride for now but I'd love to go back again. J didn't bring his gloves though and his fingers were freezing after one go.

While up there we had a look at the restaurant we'll be dining at on Thursday night. It's called the Skyline Gondola Restaurant and it sounds so nice. Eating with the views over the mountains and the town should be lovely. Apparently there's also an option to see a Haka before dinner. I think we'll have to see that, if we can.

Tomorrow is the Lord of the Rings tour. It sounds pretty comprehensive - 20 locations and props from the actual movies. It goes for 7 hours too! Hopefully I'll have some nice photos from that. Some of the rest of the group are thinking of doing a horse riding tour tomorrow, while the others would like to try Cardrona for more skiing. Thursday will probably be at Cardrona for the rest of us and Friday, who knows - though it sounds like it might involve hot tubs!

I'm no ski bunny

Ok, first day of skiing down.

It turns out that I'm as good at skiing, as I am at other sports (which is to say... not very good!). J, me and one other of our group (call her C) were all newbies to skiing, having never skied before, so we got a private lesson. I was the first to fall over - sliding backwards, having no idea how to stop (hadn't got to that part yet). It was quite funny really.

We were taught the basics - particularly how to stop and then we had a go by ourselves. J and C were ok'd to go on the rope tow (to take them to the top of the beginner's slope) but the instructor suggested I practice from about halfway for a bit more yet.

J's first stack was one of the times he went up the rope tow. Apparently it jerks your arm quite a bit so I figure it will take me a bit to get used to it too! C seemed to get the hang of it quite quickly and 'graduated' to the carpet ride. I think J would have no problems on that as well, but he very chivalrously stayed with me.

After a bite to eat we had a bit more of a go, but we didn't stay out too long as it was starting to snow a bit harder and it was really quite hard to see well. It snowed pretty much the whole time we were there actually. The other reason I wanted to stop earlier than the others was the fact that I was tired and my boots were killing my legs.

Some observations on my skiing fun today...

Coronet Peaks at Queenstown is just lovely. Everyone should try it!

If you have to park in the 3rd carpark down, don't walk up in your ski boots. It might save you time but they are heavy to wear and very hard to walk in (let alone hike up a hill - while you're also wrangling a set of skis and poles).

Speaking of ski boots - my legs and knees are aching from wearing them today.

Chains (for your tyres) can be tricky to fit - it helps to have someone around who's put them on before (particularly if the rental company gives you two lots of dodgy sets).

Snow is wet and cold but LOTS of fun in a snowball fight (J won hehe).

Pictures as promised

Ok, here's some pictures of it snowing. Two are out our front windows - the apartment has a fantastic view of the mountain and the gondolas going up.

There's some not so pretty electricity cables but just ignore those.

The other is the garden/courtyard area. You can just see a little snowman in the corner. I don't know who made it - it was there when we got here. We're going skiing tomorrow so hopefully, at some stage during the day, I'll be able to make my own!

On the helicopter decision front, I'm now leaning towards doing an all day Lord of the Rings tour. The one I'm looking at says you can even handle items from the sets as well as see 20 locations used in the movies.

Decisions, decisions!

snow!

It was snowing when we woke up this morning! So pretty. J's taken a pic from our apartment window so I'll upload it later when we get it off the camera.

J and 3 others have gone for a jetboat ride. When they come back, one of the other three wants to possibly go bungy jumping. I'm not so sure of that myself. I know I've done the skydiving thing before, but the thought of bungy jumping makes me nervous!

What I'd love to do is take a helicopter ride to see a glacier. I think that would just be brilliant. It's about $500 or so dollars though and that's a lot of money. Perhaps I'll compromise and go for the $300 or so flight that does a landing somewhere. It doesn't say where exactly, it just says 'take your photo seemingly on top of the world' in the brochure, so I figure it's one of the mountains around the area (there's plenty here!). How cool would that be!

We're going to go get our ski gear hire today. So hopefully by this time tomorrow, I'll be taking lessons on how not to fall over in a big heap while wearing great big long planks of wood on your feet. Wish me luck!

First glimpses of New Zealand

We're here - and loving it!

The plane ride over was pretty uneventful, with the only real stand-out moment being the first glimpse of New Zealand peeking through the clouds. Just beautiful! Once we sort out all the photos, I'll put them up on Flickr - I'm sure I'll have many many shots of breath-taking scenery to show you.

We landed in Christchurch mid afternoon on Friday and had a quick look around. We didn't get to see very much of the area unfortunately (it was getting dark) but after a quick couple of pics we went and had something to eat. Christchurch actually seems a lot like home - but with a slight accent. Apparently Christchurch was designed by the same person that did Adelaide, so I guess that's why it felt so familiar.

Next up was another early night and early morning, and we caught a bus to Queenstown - arriving at about 2.30 this afternoon. The group we're travelling with has 3 serviced apartments and J and I lucked out and ended up with the only 1 bedroom apartment in the group. It's nice to have a bit of privacy!

Most of our group (there's 15 of us altogether) went to get fitted for boots and snow boards today, but J and I, along with 3 others have decided to do some sight-seeing first and get our boots and skis fitted tomorrow. We're not completely sure what we want to do tomorrow but J and the others may go have a jet boat ride (boats aren't my thing though) and most likely we'll take a drive around the area to see what's about.

The photo here was taken along the way to Queenstown. We could see the alps for most of the trip and the views were just spectactular. I've barely seen snow before so the scenery is just gorgeous. The view from our apartment is spectacular too. It looks out towards one of the mountains (I'm not sure which one) and it looks like it has a restaurant at the top. We're thinking of eating there on our last night here if possible. I'll have to take a pic of the view from our window, so you can see what I mean - it's amazing.

Apparently there's been quite a bit of snow here lately and there's quite a bit of slush around the town. I can't wait to get out into the snow a bit more and build a snowman (not to mention toss a snowball at someone!).

tag-a-palooza

Ok, freakout is intensifying...

The plane to New Zealand takes off tomorrow morning (6am - have I mentioned how insanely early, that is??), packing is done and Chickie is safely ensconced in bed at his grandparent's place (I miss him already!). All that's really left to do is put a few movies on the laptop we're taking and relax before bed.

So, time for a meme or two that I owe.

On re-reading, KindaBlue has tagged me for 6 quirky things about me, and Aprill tagged me for 6 random things. I'm going to make them the same meme though. Also, Steve asked me to name some of the practical jokes that have occurred at work. So here goes!

6 random/quirky things about me:

1. I have absolutely no sense of direction. I've lived in this city for 10 years now and I still get lost. Regularly. I get lost in World of Warcraft (even when I have a map with co-ordinates!). I couldn't tell you which direction was north, if my life depended on it. When I first mentioned to friends that I needed a new phone and asked for suggestions on what would be good - everyone said to get one with maps/gps on it.

2. I point with my 'rude finger' (as Chickie calls it). I never realised this until a year or so back when J pointed it out. Apparently I've passed this habit/trait on to Chickie too.

3. I used to be a radio announcer but I'm absolutely terrified by public speaking. People seem confused by this but I think it's simple - if I can't see people listening to me speak - they're not really there!

4. I completely lost my taste for chocolate in the early stages of pregnancy with Chickie. That's. Just. Wrong.

5. I have a big scar behind my left ear and lots of smaller scars over my scalp. I was in a car accident when I was a kid. The car flipped and I was thrown through the back windscreen (no seatbelts in the back then). I still don't remember any of it and don't think I ever will - it was over 30 years ago now.

6. I'm a fussy eater. My mum and dad think I'm weird because I don't like the taste of raw onion in salads or like the taste of mushrooms (and fish and pumpkin and a million other things). Oh and they think I'm weird because I can taste the difference between green and red capsicum. They insist there's no difference - I say if the raw onion in their salads didn't overpower the flavour of everything else, they'd be able to taste the difference too!

Practical jokes at work:

We desk share so location based practical jokes aren't really possible. The longest running joke a few years back was an email that went round our centre. It was a sound file that said 'Hey, I'm watching porno over here!' when you opened the email. It went round and round (because it always looked like an innocent email) but eventually management 'suggested' we stop.

There's always the usual ones where your team-mates call in and pretend to be a very bizarre customer. There were a couple of guys that called in and were so good at it that they were believed. That one doesn't happen these days since we have a centre in India and they just wouldn't get it.

Lately in our team, on a person's last day, we'll nominate an unusual word for them to work into their calls. It's not really an unusual word, as such, just unusual for tech support. One guy had the word 'fishing' for example and had to use that word somewhere in each call of the day. Points are always given if the word is made relevant to the troubleshooting. Not really a practical joke, but it gives us a laugh.

Sounds pretty tame really. Got any good practical jokes you can spare??

clothes purchasing freakout ebbing...

Ok, I think I'm nearly there. I believe I have the clothing situation sorted (via large amounts of shopping!). If needed I can dress in about 3 bazillion layers (ok, perhaps I'm exaggerating - make it 2 bazillion hehe).

I've tried stuff on and it should all be ok. I'm a little doubtful about the ski pants I have. They're borrowed from J's dad and they're a teensy bit snug around the tummy/hips area - I've put a kilo or two, back on, over the last few months (not enough exercise unfortunately - lazy will do that for you). J thinks I'll be fine and if I just can't stand it, apparently I'm able to hire that sort of thing there anyway.

Next freakout will be the packing. We're doing that tonight. I think we should be fine there though. So long as the backpack we borrowed from J's dad is ok as carry on (J's dad used it as carry on for his trip to Canada last year so I'm presuming it will be fine).

So that just leaves Thursday for last minute bits and pieces and an insanely early night to compensate for the plane leaving at 6am on Friday (arrrggh shoot me now!). Oh and there will be a post on Thursday since I owe a couple of people memes now too!

Actually I might be able to post while over in NZ too. J's bought himself a itty bitty laptop (a little Acer Aspire Netbook) and there's supposed to be wireless in the apartments where we're staying. So stay tuned peoples!

Minor freakout

Ok, I'm having a minor freakout about what to wear on our trip to New Zealand. I know people have been saying thermals are the go, but I'm not certain what to wear on top of the thermals!

I don't consider it to be cold where I live. It doesn't snow in my area (well ok, perhaps a teensy bit on top of the local mountain) and yesterday we had the coldest morning in over 20 years (0.7 degrees C or 33 F). It was a little chilly but nothing a nice jacket couldn't handle. Our maximum, during the day lately, seems to be be around the 14-15 degree mark (57-59 F). What all this means is I live in jeans and essentially a long sleeve t-shirt (no singlets or undershirts etc) with a jacket. I don't really have any fleecy type clothing and not a great deal of my clothes are really suitable to wear with thermals - I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to wear thermals under my jeans (there's not a lot of excess space in them at the moment).

I have snow/ski pants from J's dad and a couple of proper snow jackets from J's sister (lucky we're approximately the same size), but what about every day wear? If I'm sight seeing around the place, I presume I don't want to wear snow pants. Are jeans enough if I buy a larger pair and team them with thermals? Should there be some other types of pants I should look into? If I look around for some fleecy type tops to wear over the thermals and under the jacket, will that be enough?

Any suggestions? Any websites with clothing that you like? I doubt I'll be able to order online but if I can get an idea of the types of things needed, I can go shopping (/rubs hands in glee!)

17 days to go!!

Umm hi

Sorry... I am here - just being very boring really.

Work's flat out. We have a new note system that has my team duplicating our notes, but handy to everyone else (well, it will be eventually - when we learn how to use it properly - I hope!). I'd love to tell you about some of our funnier customers but work does frown on that sort of thing. I will say that it does give us a bit of a chuckle when our customers tell us they can't figure out whether to use the 'ethanol' or the 'ubs' cable for their 'dls' modem.

Karate's moving on, though I haven't done much the last two weeks as my ankle has been playing up (I twisted it years ago and it gets a bit sore every now and then). I did get some of the group's dvds to try to practice with (I cannot get the hang of the kata and I need to if I want to ever get my yellow belt). I just did an hour's practice now and all I've learned is how truly uncoordinated I am. (Insert big sigh here...)

Our New Zealand trip is only a couple of weeks away (omg! How did that sneak up so quickly?). I think we're all organised. I hope we're all organised. Anyone got any last minute advice for someone who's barely seen it snow before?

I really need to catch up with everyone's blogs. My bloglines has a million unread posts. Plenty of saved ones too, so one of these days I'll come comment on those. Don't be surprised if you see some comments from a post you made weeks ago.... eventually!

Um... really there's not a lot happening here lately. Told you I was boring. At least the holiday soon will mean I'll have something to talk about.

Pretty pretty, shiny shiny

Well ok, perhaps they're not shiny, but I think they're rather pretty. Do you like them? These are my new boots for when we visit New Zealand. I thought a good pair of walking boots might be a good idea for tromping* around in. They're very comfortable, though I'm not used to the high ankle bits. The sales assistant suggested I wear them in gradually so I can get used to how they feel (even though I'd love to wear them to work and show them off!).

I ended up taking pity on J and Chickie over the weekend too. I went makeup shopping and sent them off to spend some of Chickie's birthday money. He ended up getting more Star Wars lego (surprise, surprise). I went to Myer's and chose the very scientific method of checking out the makeup on the sales assistants. Due to this I ended up at the Clinique counter, asked the advice of the lady there and she tried out a few things on me. I quite liked some of them (particularly the lipstick - Clinique Long Last in the colour called Merlot) but just as we'd finished the makeover the power to the centre went out. It came back on, went out again and stayed out. So... no buying stuff for me right then!

It looked like the middle part of the shopping centre had power so I said I'd go do my grocery shopping and come back afterwards to pick up what I'd chosen. Unfortunately, when I came back they had power but their registers still weren't working. I picked up the lipstick later from another store but I'll bet the store manager wasn't too pleased about things. This was a very busy Saturday afternoon.

* I love the word 'tromping'. I wonder if I can work it into a conversation (not connected to my new shoes) somewhere this week.

So... makeup

Where I work has a casual dress policy. Jeans and a t-shirt is normal to see (along with a jacket since the air conditioning is set so low). Combine this with the fact that I start work at 7am, means I normally could not be bothered wearing makeup. I really only wear it when going out somewhere.

So, I don't really need a lot, but that said - I can't remember the last time I actually bought makeup for myself. I've been given stuff here and there (J's mum is an Avon lady). I haven't actually done the buying myself though. Plus most of what I've been given is in those bigger sets. Great for getting different colours to wear with different things but not so handy if you just want to throw a lipstick in your (teensy tiny) evening bag!

Work, has paid us our yearly bonus now, so I figured I'd treat myself to some new stuff. I'd like to go somewhere that can suggest colours etc. Particularly lipstick - as I have a couple of red things (dress, top) and no actual lipstick that complements it. I do have a red lipstick that looks great in the tube, but unfortunately on me it turns orange (and looks hideous!). What I've been doing is blending a few colours from what I have and it looks pretty good. Unfortunately touch ups are impossible though, so I need to do something about it.

Tomorrow J, Chickie and I are going to head into the city and check out a few places and see what's out there. Does anyone have any suggestions on brands they like? Are there certain stores to avoid (Do the makeup ladies in Myers go beserk if you even suggest you're going to buy something, for example)? Should I avoid David Jones if I'm not dressed to the nines?

Throw some suggestions at me please. I feel like a reborn makeup virgin here!

Photo Mosaic

This is a cute thing I saw on Stomper's blog. I figured I'd have a go as well (even though I have a long outstanding meme from when I was tagged by Every Generation!).

The concept:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favourite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favourite colour?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favourite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favourite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name



By the way, none of these pictures are of me and number 12 is actually a contraction of my flickr name as my full one didn't get any hits at all.

Happy Birthday Chickie!

Sorry I haven't posted much lately. My life's actually been quite boring lately. Today though, I do have something to post about. It's hard for me to believe it, but this cute little baby is a big grown up boy of 6 today!

He's still got those amazing eyelashes but the hair is lighter and only curly if you let it grow really really long.

He's still Star Wars mad (we gave him some Anakin Skywalker lego) but he's also into Indiana Jones lego and Iron Man action figures. He's liking school, is just starting to 'get it' when it comes to reading and writing. He's organised a little cubby house under his desk with a box to use as a mini desk and that's his 'office'. Yesterday, he was creating a comic book that he planned to take to the school library (perhaps I should create his own blog instead - just in case the school library isn't interested - hehe). Oh and if you talk to him, he's the birthday boy so he gets to do whatever he likes and his birthday lasts several days...

No party, as such, just a family BBQ this afternoon. With a chocolate chip birthday cake that he chose (thank goodness he's not into themed cakes yet - my decorating skills stop at putting a candle in!)

I don't feed my child...

apparently.


I start work early - 7am (which is way too early for my liking but it means I can pick up Chickie after school). So, this means J takes Chickie to school and then heads off to work himself. One day a week J studies (he's doing a computer programming degree) so he drops Chickie off at his grandmother's place and she takes him to school.

So yesterday, Chickie woke up while I was still here and came and gave me a cuddle. I reminded him that his dad would take him round to his grandmothers and he smiled and said,

"I like going to nanny's place, do you know why?"

I asked why, and the answer was,

"Because she has food!!"*



* Apparently if it's not a chocolate biscuit, a packet of chips or a bowl of Milo breakfast cereal, it doesn't count as food...

Rites of passage number 74

Chickie has cut his own hair with scissors.

Thankfully it's not too bad, but it will need tidying up by the hairdresser. He's been wanting to have his hair like Anakin Skywalker in the third Star Wars movie, so we let it grow a little longer. I guess he got a little annoyed with the hair on his forehead (even though it wasn't actually in his eyes or anything) and chopped off a chunk at the front.

Oh well, it's off to the hairdressers today then!

As a mother, I never expected I'd have to say...

"When you take all your clothes off so you can jump on the trampoline naked*, please bring them inside with you".




* Yes, Chickie likes to jump on the trampoline naked**
** No, I've no idea why***
***Thank goodness for high fences

What I ended up wearing...

Well, the weather was cool - so I wore the black pants and red top to the wedding. Had a couple of people say they were glad I did, so they weren't the only ones in pants! A bit of a shame I didn't get to wear my new dress, but I'm sure there will be lots of occasions I can wear it (and if there isn't, I'll make something up). Thanks for all your advice.

The wedding itself was lovely. The bride was beautiful (aren't they always?), the people waiting got a laugh when the groomsmen comically pushed the groom into the church, the reception was lovely (I should post the pictures J took of the food - heavenly!) and it was great to see everyone.

A few oddities though - the priest started the wedding ceremony with a history of that particular church. It was a nice little story, but something that didn't seem connected to the actual ceremony, as far as I could tell. We also got to hear the church's stance on what constitutes a marriage (yep, no problem with that) and also their views on breakups and divorce (err... at a wedding?? A related subject yes, but statistics on how many marriages fail is a bit of a grim thing to ponder during the actual ceremony!).

On a different subject, Chickie recently expressed an interest in learning karate. I'm very happy to encourage him to get into after school activities, so all three of us now go to a karate class on Monday evenings. We had our first class last week and Chickie seemed to really enjoy it. As we were getting out of the car afterwards, he gave us a bit of a laugh. He ran to the front door ahead of us, got into one of the punching stances and said 'Don't worry mum, I'll protect you'.

And a last giggle for you...

Overheard in the supermarket yesterday:

Husband: (picking up a packet of chocolate biscuits) This is for our Biggest Loser 'push'.
Wife: What??
Husband: Well, how can we lose weight, unless we put it on first?

Sometimes...

... I really hate shopping.

J and I have a friend's wedding to attend next weekend. I don't have a lot to wear to it. I have a quite nice new red dress I could wear (is it ok to wear red to a wedding these days? It is rather bright). That will be ok if it's warm. Even if it's slightly coolish, I can wear a scarf/wrap type of thing around my shoulders/arms.

If it's cold, however, I'll be a bit stuck! J, Chickie and I went to have a look around the shops and I couldn't find anything I really liked. The stuff I found was either too casual, too 'old' (grandma type stuff) or some very nice dresses - but no warmer than my new dress.

I do have an outfit consisting of a pair of black pants and a nice top that I could wear if it's cool (again, the top is red!). It's not really wedding type dressy (even though the wedding isn't officially formal or anything). It would do, however.

Wearing red to a wedding though - ok, or not?

Thump thump thump...

Who is this elephant that's living in our house? And what happened to my little boy?

Chickie appears to be physically incapable of walking, stepping quietly, sitting properly and well, being quiet for more than a moment lately. These days he galumphs* around the house like an elephant. stomping instead of walking, running most of the time and rather than place his posterior into a chair like a normal person, he almost launches himself into it.

All rather strange when his teacher commented on how quiet and well-behaved he is at school. On second thoughts - that's probably why we have an elephant at home!

--

In other news, I'm updating my template shortly. I was going to fiddle around with doing a picture like I had before, but for now I'm just going to use a free template (cos, I'm lazy like that). I'm going to go through my links and tidy them up so if any one links to me, but I haven't included you, please comment and let me know.

* I saw the word used on Frogdancer's blog and it immediately made me think of Chickie!

Bargaining...

I don't think Chickie quite understands it yet...

The scene:

Chickie had finished his dinner - including all his veges, so that meant he could have a little 'something special' (we don't really do desserts in this house).

Chickie: Can I have a Tim Tam and two pieces of chocolate?

Me: How about a Tim Tam and just one piece of chocolate?

Chickie (in his best bargaining voice): How about just a Tim Tam?

Me (in a voice full of feigned reluctance): Oh alright then.

In the end he didn't even eat all the Tim Tam (sacrilege!), so I had the other half. Yum!

Misnomer

Why do they call it a 'near-miss'? 'Near-hit' doesn't have quite the same ring to it but that's really what they are.

My little incident yesterday was definitely a miss... thank goodness!

It was nothing big but it left me a bit shaken up. I was driving home from work and a lady, coming the other way, quickly darted into the drive-way of a car park to my left (right in front of me). Only thing was, she didn't just pull into the car park, she was actually doing a u-turn. And she didn't bother looking when she pulled out onto the road again.

It's a good thing I had new tyres put on my car a few months ago. With my old tyres, my car would have been all crumpled on the front left hand side. It's also a good thing that the speed limit was 50km and I was slowing down already as I was coming up to an intersection.

Seriously, what idiot does a u-turn in front of traffic and then doesn't check to ensure said traffic isn't using the exact piece of road you're wanting to drive on?

Ah, the things kids learn in school...

I picked Chickie up from school the other day and he was telling me about his day. He told me that something funny had happened. He said:

"D likes L, so they had the sex and he kissed her".

He obviously had no idea what sex is, because the kissing was the amazing and very hilarious part.

He's 5 and a half! Perhaps I'd better buy that Where Did I Come From book? I remember that one being around when I was a kid and I seem to remember it being quite informative.

spoke too soon

Recently I made a comment on house & baby's blog about how Chickie had picked up every cold and bug that was going around when he was at childcare - but had been healthy so far at school. Well, obviously I didn't knock on wood hard enough, or didn't cross my fingers tightly enough... because he now has a cold. He seems fine - apparently two mouthfuls of cough medicine will fix him right up (so he says) - you have to love the resilience of little kids. J, however, seems to have caught it too and didn't look very good at all last night.

This morning I felt fine when I got out of bed, but not long after I arrived at work, I started feeling achy and my throat started to feel all scratchy. Then a bit later I started having this strong craving for raw carrot. That's always been my signal for the start of a cold or whatever. I could never figure out why I'd feel like eating carrots when my throat is sore and I'm feeling under the weather. Am I weird or do others get strange cravings when they're sick (please tell me I'm not weird!) . Anyway I've come home from work early to try to rest (in the hopes of getting rid of it sooner) and as soon as I've finished my lemon and ginger tea, I'm off to bed.

In other news, Chickie has now lost both the teeth that were being pushed aside for the big front tooth. The big front tooth is taking up the space that used to contain two, so I'm thinking dental fund is a good idea (and a big holiday, if he doesn't need, it is a great idea hehe).

My twitch is mostly gone. Stretching, heat etc didn't really seem to do anything to it, so I don't know what's caused it - or caused it to go away again.

In other big news - J and I might be visiting New Zealand later this year. I'm so excited! I might get to go skiing, which I've never tried before.

Right, tea's finished, so I'm off to lie down.

twitch... twitch... twitch...

That's what my leg is doing right now.

I have a muscle twitch in the middle of my right thigh, at the front. It's the weirdest feeling. How do I get rid of it though? It's starting to drive me a little nuts!

I'm sure it will go away eventually. J's a little amazed that I've never experienced this before. I guess I've had a twitch in my eye before (I tend to get that when I'm stressed or over-tired) but it's never happened in my leg before.

Has anyone else had this before? And more importantly, how the heck did you get rid of it?!

omg...

The news reports are saying Heath Ledger has died of a drug overdose. I'm stunned - he didn't really seem the type to me.

What is it with...

* little boys and their 'aim' in the bathroom?

I went into the toilet after Chickie used it and nearly slipped over in the large puddle of wee next to the toilet. I was not amused. Moral of the story here - always turn the light on when entering.

* shops stocking up on the next 'holiday item' so early?

Seriously, I saw hot cross buns in the supermarket on December 27th! Easter is what? March, April? Now the shelves are stocked with easter eggs and I'm going to have to live with the gooey deliciousness, that is the Cadbury creme egg, calling my name for months!

* my lack of motivation to look after myself?

I have type 2 diabetes that is controlled by diet and exercise. I haven't exercised properly in two months and while I try to watch the diet, the last two months has also seen a lot of icecream being eaten. I keep saying that I need to exercise but I can't seem to actually drag myself onto my bike. My next HbA1c is going to be awful I think (and the point above won't help...)

* grumpy customers who can't seem to accept that sometimes you do need to take some responsibility too!

Honestly some customers drive me mad sometimes. You get so many customers that just don't believe you when you suggest that the problem may be something on their end - even when you can prove to them that they don't have the problem when they unplug that phone or stop using the 70 gazillion metre phone cable. We had one customer who went ballistic at one of our reps, even after her brother (who is a telephone line technician by trade and had checked the wiring inside her house) told her the wiring was the cause of the problem. Considering this brother works for the opposition, I'm inclined to believe him.

The one that blows my mind is the lady I spoke to a few months back. She had a new service that hadn't worked from the start. She was furious when I spoke to her and was demanding we refund her full monthly fee. The problem? Well, she'd plugged the filter in backwards. Now I can understand that some people get confused about how the DSL service is supposed to be set up. That's why we include a pamphlet with pictures showing how to plug it in (this customer told me she hadn't bothered to look at that). We also include a little animation on the setup CD showing exactly how to set it up (she told me she skipped that part of the setup CD). Finally our service also provides free 24 hour phone support if there are problems or you want help setting things up. This customer waited over a week to call us, and when she did she yelled at the rep she spoke to and basically wouldn't let them troubleshoot. It was passed onto me and fixed in 10 minutes. She didn't get to use it for a week and wanted the whole monthly fee back. I didn't give it to her. If she'd been nice about the whole thing though, I would have been happy to give her a credit for the week she wasn't able to use - even though it was a problem she'd caused.

Thank goodness there are plenty of nice customers out there though.

* Chickie's teeth!

I'm amazed at how quickly straight teeth can shift once the adult tooth decides it's not waiting for the baby teeth to be lost first.

In the last few weeks of school last year, Chickie's teacher took photos of all the kids so they could make a frame as a Christmas present for their parents. Chickie's photo is very cute and his teeth are quite straight. Then by Christmas day, two of Chickie's front teeth have been pushed aside so far he was able to fit a straw in the gap (one of the big front teeth and the smaller one to the left). The big front one was overlapping the other big front one, while the smaller one next to it was almost sticking out at right angles! Neither of these two were loose, by the way, and I was about to make an appointment at the dentist to have him check things. Then on my birthday he came home with the big front tooth in a paper towel. It had finally been pushed out far enough. He's funny sometimes though, he told the vacation care supervisor that she could have his tooth as a present. She kindly declined, suggesting he might want to see if the tooth fairy came (she did).

You can now see the adult tooth and it's huge. It's basically taking up the whole gap where previously there were two baby teeth. I'm worried the poor kid's not going to have room in his jaw for all these huge teeth that he seems to be getting (this is his 4th adult tooth and he has two more wobbly teeth! Not counting the one that is still sticking out at the front).

Can anyone reassure me that he'll grow into his teeth? Or should I be starting a braces/dental fund now?

It's official...

I am now officially the answer to the "Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything".

Just thought you'd like to know...

Back into it

It's now been a week since Mum and Dad left for home. They should arrive home today after a slow drive home with the caravan. They were here for a bit over three weeks, with my sisters and their families here for around a week (over Christmas).

It was really great to see them all. Some of the family had never been down here (and we've been here almost 10 years now), and some I haven't seen in over a year. The amazing thing was how grown up the kids are getting. The oldest nephew didn't come - he was actually in Japan over Christmas (got back the day before yesterday). He's 18 and finished school now so I guess it's to be expected. At least we got to see him when we went on our holidays earlier this year.

There were a few stresses and annoyances during the whole time. I suppose that's also to be expected (there were 10 adults and 7 kids around for a lot of the time and our house isn't that big!). I was debating with myself about posting some of my gripes here, but I've decided to just let it go. I think that might be healthier!

So, I'm back at work now and nothing really changes. I mean that literally. We're still dealing with issues that were a problem, before I started my holidays! Although, there was one change. The no shorts policy has been temporarily changed back to allowing them - due to the extreme heat. Same rules as before - below the knee, dress shorts, no board shorts etc. So I can wear my capris again. A good thing, as I did wear one of my skirts to work and I just felt I wasn't dressy enough (like I do in my capris!).

Thank you all for your good wishes for T's dad. At this stage it will be a bit of a hard road for him as he recovers. He's lost one foot (up to mid calf as prosthethics available for this amputation are better) and the heel from the other. They were able to save his toes on the other foot and grafted a muscle from his stomach to reconstruct the heel (basically from his arch to the little bone that pokes out on the side of your ankle was lost).

T says he was very lucky. He was doing the work on his friend's property and she was home so heard him yelling for help. They also have neighbours, very close to the area he was working in, who also heard him - these neighbours are both nurses, so he was able to get medical help very quickly. If this had happened on his own property it's quite likely he wouldn't have survived apparently.

I'm going to try visiting all your blogs soon and I know I need to do some work on my template. A lot of my links need updating and I need to fix up my header/photo, so I have a bit of work to do. I was thinking of redoing my header pic again anyway, so this will be a good opportunity for it. I have no idea how long it will take me though!

Feel free to comment and update me with how you're doing. I hope you all had a lovely holiday season and 2008 is a wonderful year for you!