The Ramblings of a Stress Head

Lemonade

2010-10-13T15:24:00.002+10:00

Lately I love lemonade. I'm not fussy about brands either. I wish it was on tap. This is a recent obsession. If I could drink 2 litres of it everyday, I would. Well I could do it actually, but I would become a hippo in no time for sure.

I only started loving it about 2 months ago (I'm not pregnant). It's a cycle I go through. Every few months I discover my favourite thing to eat or drink. Last obsession was Crunchy Nut Cornflakes (well the Aldi version of it anyway).

I had a bottle of Sprite with my lunch today. And it was lovely. I am sipping away on it this afternoon in hopes it will last forever.

I think they should make Lemonade Slurpees. You know, just sayin'.

Various thoughts

2010-10-06T17:47:00.000+10:00

This blog is severely lacking excitement and love these days. But I am not giving up on it because I want to keep my personal life and craft life seperate to some degree. And one day I'll have babies and want to post a million pictures online and it'll be on this blog that I do it. SO until babies enter my life, I will continue to post boring short entries every few months.

Here are some of my random thoughts of late.

1. At work today, one of my co-workers was really grumpy. She wasn't snappy or anything, just gave short answers, didn't smile, wasn't her usual chirpy self, that sort of thing. I asked one of my other co-workers if they knew what was up. She had been up all night, listening to her daughter and her 'partner' (sorry but I just hate how people misuse that word) yelling. Let's keep in mind, her daughter is over 8 months pregnant and really could do without the stress right now. I could go on and on about the situation, but at the end of the day, it made me grateful.

I fasted in gratitude last Sunday. In gratitude that I was sent to a family that had the Gospel in it. I'll be the first to admit that I got it easy - and I really do think that being born into the Gospel is MUCH easier then being born into a world of confusion and sin.

So I am grateful to have a family that loves each other. We have our moments at times, but as a whole we all get along like a house on fire. We can mock each other and still be laughing our heads off. We don't yell at each other. We're never "I'm not talking to her at the moment". We do our best to work as a team.

2. I am really struggling in my calling. It is hard work and I find it difficult to know what to do and what not to do, what to say and what not to say, help someone, or not help someone. You get the picture. I am also incredibly blunt and I only know the colours black and white. There is NO grey in my colour palette. This is a result of point number one - my family.

I love the way I am, but let's be honest folks, I'm probably overbearing and people don't like me half the time.

But one thing that I struggle with the absolute most when it comes to my calling is the lack of respect youth have for their leaders. Last night I had to put together a combined activity in 20 mins. I ran games. No one listened to my voice. (Prepare yourself for the vent). I was standing in the middle of the room ON A CHAIR, yelling out instructions. Do you think ANYONE moved? No, they just looked at me and continued to talk. I actually had to SCREAM over the top of their voices. It was disgusting.

Anyway, I'm at a loss of what to do. I do my best to look out for them, I speak nicely to them, I ask about how they're doing, I drive them around, I joke around with them, I teach them, I feed them, I respect them, I pray for them, I DREAM about them.

Maybe I shouldn't be a parent.

3. I'm severely overweight. I love lemonade. I love late night snacks. I dislike to cook, so most meals consist of buying out or easy meals which are generally unhealthy. I hate exercise.

I'm about to go overseas to purchase an entire new wardrobe. In the size that I don't want to be.

Maybe I shouldn't buy any new clothes.

It has to change.

And that's all I have time for. What an enlightening post. Sigh.

Overcomplicated

2010-09-22T12:50:00.001+10:00

I bought a super cheap DS game yesterday. I can't work out how to play it. Not even the instruction manual, Q&A's on the game forum or walkthroughs are helping. It's apparently too advanced for me. I bet if I gave it to a 6 year old they'd play it no problems.

Enter my Craft Giveaway!

2010-09-17T10:48:00.001+10:00

I am hosting a giveaway over on my Craft Blog. Make sure you pop over and enter! By the looks of it so far, you'll be in with a good flippin chance!!! :)

Christy

EFY Jewellry Fundraising.

2010-09-17T10:31:00.000+10:00

Hi folks.. in case you didn't notice, I have 3 blogs. One being this blog, then a craft blog (which I post on quite a fair bit, and then a EFY Fundraising Blog. On this blog we have upcoming events and fundraising efforts for your information to help get the Capalaba Ward Youth to EFY next year. I have for quite some time, been selling jewellry the YW made a few months ago. It is dirt cheap! Please take a moment and check out the jewellry we have remaining. Jewellry sales end this Saturday, 18th September (that being tomorrow!)

There are some really nice pieces still up for grabs. Take a moment and have a look. Let me know ASAP if you'd like to purchase something. I am happy to post items to you (at your expense), and you can Direct Deposit the money into my account to make it a quick and easy transaction. Please let me know!

Thanks,
Christy

I smell burning.

2010-09-15T16:33:00.000+10:00

So I've had Heartburn & Acid Refulx for 3 days. It comes and goes, and I'm tired of it. Whilst I was stupidly eating curry for lunch today the heartburn got particularly bad. Felt like my heart was quite literally yelling at me to stop eating curry - which I ignored cause I was hungry.

Milk doesn't work. And no I'm not pregnant.

I think I'll just start guzzling Mylanta or something, cause this is getting super annoying.

Here is a series of pictures I found on Google Images that portray how I feel.

Well I wouldn't let it run my life if it went away.

This is what I should have done with the curry.

Toxic acid breathe.

It kinda feels like my throat is swollen.

Haha...

Leave me be heartburn, I'm trying to work here.

A fantastic visualisation of what it feels like. Probably my most favourite picture.

Neglected

2010-09-13T13:16:00.000+10:00

It seems as though my personal blog has been long forgotten. With all the updates needed for the EFY blog.. and constantly trying to keep my Craft Blog interesting.. this one has fallen behind. I have been thinking lately if I should bother keeping it. It seems that my mind mostly consists of crafting thoughts, which go onto my craft blog. But I think I will keep this afterall. Sometimes one needs to vent in a not so public forum right?

Woe unto them...

2010-08-02T12:34:00.003+10:00

Isaiah 5:20
"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"

I don't profess to being perfect. I am terrible at reading my scriptures daily, I often fall asleep at night before talking with my Father in Heaven, sometimes we skip FHE and just watch a movie (because I didn't get home from work until 9pm), sometimes my top is a little too low, sometimes I find myself gossiping and have to curve my tongue, sometimes I judge harshly instead of hating the sin and loving the sinner.

I am not perfect.

I believe some things are easier to overcome then others.

Earlier today I had an experience where a fellow Latter Day Saint thought it necessary to use a swear word - one that I would put in the 'harsh' category - so that they could express their feelings about a frustrating situation.

The phrase went something like this "excuse my French, but they were little....". I was taken aback. I thought, "did you really just say that, and you thought it was OK because of the disclaimer that preceded the word?"

It rubbed me up the wrong way.

I think AS Latter Day Saints we have to be so careful what we do, and what we SAY. Yes actions speak louder then words, but they go hand in hand, both are important and we need to be careful. I need to be careful!!

I think (and I hate that I use "I think" to start so many sentences, but this is MY blog afterall :P) it's important to own up to our faults and try and make changes. Not use disclaimers and "call evil good".

Man life is hard, isn't it?

Achoo, oww.. hey I can't open my eye.

2010-07-21T09:40:00.002+10:00

Last night I could feel pain in my eye. It was beginning to swell and was sensitive to the touch, and itchier then normal. I knew it was the beginning of something fantastic.

My alarm went off this morning, I rolled over, hit the snooze button, sneezed 9 times, said ouch, and then tried to open my eyes. Only one eye made it open. My left eye was sealed shut! Conjunctivitis has officially attacked my eye. I then proceeded to sneeze 6 more times.

I'm currently at work with an eye ache. Did you know that it hurts to look at a computer screen when you have conjunctivitis? I didn't. And now I have to suffer with it for 11.5 hours. I won't finish work until 8pm.

My life just seems to be filled with joy lately! Woohoo!!

The Deadly Beverage

2010-07-18T00:19:00.002+10:00

So Daniel brought an article to my attention tonight. I think everyone would benefit from reading it.

We have decided that we will finish off the few Sars & LLB that we have in the pantry, and will no longer buy "Soda". Special occasions only... even then, why should we be consuming such a "deadly" substance whilst enjoying something special eh?

Hello water!

For Katrina

2010-07-14T18:19:00.002+10:00

This is for my friend Katrina. She wants interesting blog posts to read from her friends. Here is what I did today.

So today my alarm went off at 6.30am. I promptly pressed the snooze.. and again at 6.40, and again at 6.50... and finally got out at 7am. Had a shower. Blowdried my hair. Brushed my teeth. Cleaned my ears with Cotton Tips. Got dressed. Hung up my towel. Blowdryed my hair and then straightened it, and then did a quiff and put in hairspray, cause if I don't it'll fall out in like 10 mins.

Then I got a necklace and earrings, put on my shoes and went downstairs. Got my lunch together. Put on my makeup in the car while Daniel drove me to Mum & Dad's. Got in dad's car. We drove to work. Then I put my crumpets in the toaster and sipped on my Apple & Blackcurrant popper. The crumpets were rather delicious.

Then I worked until 12 - which is when I had my lunch. Chicken Parmigana with peas, corn and broccoli. It was from last night. I made it before I went to Mutual, but ran out of time to eat it. By the time I got home at 9.30pm, I was so far past eating that I got it all in containers ready for today. I looked at some craft blogs while I ate.. then walked around the reception area and made the girls jealous cause it smelled so good.

Then I was back to work. Worked like a mad lady till 4pm - and then went on my tea break for 20 mins. I had a Fantastic Noodles Oriental Cup. It was kind of delicious. I feel so full.

Then back to work. I had a lolly. And that brings me to now... 6.30pm. Only an half and hour until I finish work and can go home to a dark cold house that has no dinner waiting for me... Daniel has ward council tonight. Just my luck.

Luck is on my side tomorrow though!! Day off and hair day at Alicia's. So not only do I get a fancy new do, I get to see my two little munchkins.

I hope you feel captivated by my so fun day Treen!!!

If you're easily offended, I'd skip out on reading this one.

2010-07-13T16:31:00.003+10:00

Modesty is something that I try to achieve daily. I try to be modest even when I'm at home and "no one is watching". It's hard. I have a large chest, with high cleavage. Covering that up is flippin hard people. But I really do try.

It really bothers me when people compromise their standards in modesty for "art". In particular... for maternity photo's. It's a personal opinion. Thus my disclaimer title.

I just don't know why it is necessary for your entire belly to be exposed for the photo to look good. It seems to be quite a trend to have maternity photo's done these days, so I've seen a fair amount of different shoots. Personally, I prefer the shots where there is no unnecessary flesh showing.

*sits back and prepares to be hammered for having an opinion on modesty......*

My favourite

2010-07-04T21:21:00.002+10:00

I love this photo.

It warms my heart :)

Last Saturday

2010-06-24T16:18:00.002+10:00

I had a fun day last Saturday. I promised I would blog about it because it was far too long for a status update on Facebook :) So today is Thursday, and I'm afraid the details of the day are already starting to slip away into the land of never again remembered. But I will do my best.

First of all we were up fairly early for a Saturday. 8am :P Showered and had something to eat, and off we went to Mathilda's Market in Ascot. They were brilliant. Full of ridiculously good ideas of things to make in the future. Most importantly, I was able to steal two ideas of how to display stock. Mischevious photos were taken whilst I was the distraction of trying to find something in my purse of these display stands :P I jotted down the prices of all the kinds of things I will be selling, and since my sister will be joining me with her own goods, I jotted down prices for her too. I was given a information card about Natural Childbirth. Apparently I look pregnant? I chose to not be offended.

A friend had a stall at the market and I hung around and chatted with her about her stall and her success thus far. Her set up looked amazing! I stole some inspirations from her.

Then we started heading home. On the way home I suggested going to Bunnings to look at prices & variety in the things that we would need to buy to make the stands. We asked the lady in Bunnings a few questions, and we didn't really hear what we financially wanted to hear. We then asked if by chance she knew where we could find some pallets - as one of the stands I am making is made from one. She directed us to the wood bin out back. There we found a big old piece of chipboard - along with other random pieces of wood, and several different shapes/sizes/wood pallets. SCORE!! What was looking to be an expensive thing to make was now FREEEEEE!!!!! All we needed to buy was some long nails, spray paint, and then I needed to buy fabric for the other board.

I have in the meantime made up one of my boards and will probably make the other one in the next week or so. But that is another blog entry.

We chilled for a little bit after that - I think I did some laundry.

Then we decided to check out the ourbrisbane website, and found a free event that was on. Winter Solstice Festival. We thought it sounded like great fun. Roaming entertainers, fire juggling, musicians, dancing, great food, etc etc. So we called up mum and dad and convinced them to tail along with us. So we arrive just after the sun has set. We walk in and there is a food stand that says "Chick Pea Curry". I instantly knew Mum would be up for that. Two seconds later, "Mel, where's your wallet, I want Chick Pea Curry". She is predictable like that. Unfortunately for Mum, the Chick Pea Curry serving was minimal. The rice, coleslaw & tabouli were plentiful.

We continued on to look at what the Festival had to offer. We had a band playing random guitar along to weird Hippy techno music. Walked a little further.... lady playing guitar, grunting and singing out of tune. Walked a little further, rock band, sausages & soup. THE END.

That was the entire festival. Suffice to say, we were hungry (except for Mum) and weren't particularly entertained by the entertainment which didn't seem to exist. It was still fun though - randomly fun. There were hippy's EVERYWHERE.

So we went to Freestyle. Many people know of this place. It is known for it's desserts. We hadn't yet had dinner (except for Mum of course, after her Chick Pea Curry), but luckily for us they also did mains along with dessert. We all ordered. And there we sat. And sat. And sat. We sat for so long that we decided to order our desserts before we had even received our mains. We were a little bored - and cramped. After I think it was an hour - we got our mains. By this stage I was feeling ravenous. That beef burger only lived for a few short minutes.

And then we sat with our plates in front of us. And sat, and sat and sat. After 45 minutes we asked a waiter to take the plates off our table. Then we sat, and sat and sat. Then our dessert finally arrived after a month of waiting. Daniel ordered a Mega Chocolate Sundae, mum had a Lime Baked Cheesecake, Dad had... ok wait I don't remember what dad had, but most importantly I had Creme Brulee, with Berry Compote & Vanilla Bean Icecream, Almond Biscotti, & Raspberry Sorbet with Fairy Floss on top. Divinity my friends. Divinity.

We then waddled back towards the car (I'm leaving the part out where some of us got sick from the dessert and had to detour to a hotel to use their amenities) and headed home.

It really was quite an interesting - but fun day. Different things experienced, done with fun people.

I quite enjoyed myself!

Reasons why i LOVE Aldi in a deep and everlasting way.

2010-06-18T12:27:00.003+10:00

1. They decided they weren't already cheap enough, so they made some of the staple items cheaper.
2. They have Pineapple Jelly Cups, with Pineapple Pieces in them. Who else could think of a more delicious combination?
3. They don't like their customers getting bored, so they change their merchandise weekly.
4. They are open late most nights.
5. They are always upgrading packaging so the merchandise is getting prettier and prettier.
6. They satisfy my husbands tool desires.
7. Batteries can be found right next to the register. Think about it people... you can NEVER find batteries in Woolies & Coles. They are hidden in a far away place.
8. Their frozen Butter Chicken Indian meal tastes better then most freshly made Butter Chicken meals from restaurants.
9. If you are patient, the item you want will eventually be put up the front in the clearance section and you only have to pay $10 instead of $15. (When really, $15 wasn't cheap enough?)
10. They are always there when I need them.
11. Nowhere else can I purchase a three pack of Red/Green/Yellow Capsicums for such a small price.
12. Packet of pasta = $1. Needless to say we eat pasta often.
13. Their mince is cheap and very lean.
14. They sell European candy. Freakin awesome!
15. The Cashier always offers me next weeks catalogue.

There are many more reasons, but I am chocolate drunk and am getting sleepy.....

My brain consists of random, boring thoughts.

2010-05-31T16:04:00.003+10:00

I am often bored. More then a normal person I would say. My job is quite boring, 70% of the time. The other 30% consists of the Tax Season, which makes us all a tad crazy.

Do you think it would be unprofessional to sit like this at my desk? Sometimes I wonder if I should bring some craft to work... but I don't think that would go down well, considering there is always something I can be doing. The question is, do I want to do it? Generally, no. Because it's boring.

So when I'm bored, I think about songs. I think about activities I can do with my girls. I think about craft. I think about craft alot. My brain comes up with marvellous things to make and do. What a shame I don't have the skills, materials or equipment to fulfill those marvellous imaginary ideas.

I'm particularly bored these days, because we are saving like crazy to go to America at the end of this year. So spending has decreased substantially.. to pretty much buying food, petrol and paying bills. So I can't even waste time shopping! It's so sad. So I've been trying to get creative with what I do with my time. So far it's not working. Cleaning and doing laundry isn't fun so I'm not exactly jumping at doing that (although I really really need to do it tomorrow because I only have one pair of underwear left).

But at the end of the day I suppose this is a good thing. In two years time when baby Franklin arrives, I will look back with fondness at the boredom of nothingness. I will look back and think, "what the hell was wrong with me? why didn't i stare at the wall in boredom and feel uplifted and glorified at the precious boredom?" So maybe now would be a good time to shut up?

PS. If you're bored too, call me and we can craft together. I hate crafting alone - it's.... your guessed it! BORING!

:P

I rarely eat breakfast.

2010-05-27T22:22:00.002+10:00

So tonight I went to an Enrichment activity about taking care of your body and mind and spirit etc. We were taught a little about reflexology. Most pressure points hurt. I found that a tad alarming. I also learnt that if a certain part of your foot has a swollen appearance, it is due to not drinking enough water. We then were given delicious Breakfast ideas to try. I then realised I very rarely eat a proper breakfast. On days I go to work, I eat a Muffin bar and sip a popper in the car enroute. On days I don't work, it's usually midday before I realise I have forgotten to eat - which then throws my eating off for the whole day.

My point is I need to be taking care of my body. More water, proper meals, smaller portions, etc etc etc. Just the basic stuff.

I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.....

Cards for Sale!

2010-05-24T01:47:00.003+10:00

I am selling my first batch of cards. Be sure to take a look!

http://achristyproduction.blogspot.com/2010/05/cards-for-sale-1.html

It's official people, I'm gonna be RICH.

2010-05-21T09:52:00.001+10:00

Email I received today. I'M LOADED!!!

Hello Dear,
I am Mr Raymond george, a staff of bills and exchange at the foreign
remittance Department of a commercial BANK in London. In
my department, we discovered an abandoned sum of (US$2.5M) Two Million,
Five hundred, thousand United States Dollars only, in an account that
belongs to Mr Donald who died along with his entire family in
26th December 2003 in a plane crash during their christmas holiday.
Click bellow to view the plane crash chaotic scene
http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/97/384/11653_Aircrash.html
Since we got information about his death,the bank has been expecting
his next of kin to come over for the claims because we cannot release
it unless somebody applies as a next of kin or relation to the deceased
as indicated in our banking guidelines.
Unfortunately we learnt that he did not mention any beneficiary to his
account before his sudden death. It is therefore upon this discovery
that I and a colleague of mine in the office now decided to contact
you,having the same last name with him and also with our suport as
insiders in the bank, it makes it easier for the money to be released
to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased since nobody is
fronting for the money and we do not want this funds to go into disbursement
account as unclaimed bills.
The banking law and guidelines here stipulates that if such money
remained unclaimed after four(7) years the money will be transferred
into the government account as unclaimed fund.
We shall negotiate on the percentage split of the funds as we proceed.
Therefore to enable immediate release of the inheritance to you as
arranged, you should contact me immediately via email for further
directives on how to go about actualizing the claim
in your name.Email the below information.
Your full name:
Tel/mobile number:
Occupation:
Age:
I look forward to your immediate response.
Best regards
Mr Raymond George.

I suppose I should do another Gratitute post...

2010-05-20T17:18:00.008+10:00

Umm, I'm pretty sure I told you I would be bad at the Gratitude thing. I hope this doesn't make me look ungrateful...

So to get to the point, I am grateful for my neice and nephew.

They are flippin cute. As they get older I enjoy spending more time with them for different reasons.

Spencer is 3. Some days he is not Spencer though, because he is Bob the Builder, or Thomas the Tank Engine, and some days he is even President Monson, Joseph Smith and Jesus... to name a few. He loves to use his imagination and dress up. He can make a costume out of anything. Sometimes he doesn't even need a costume to be a character....

*** A fabulous pair of Bob the Ruilder overalls I found at the Op Shop. And no that was not a typo, the overalls say Bob the Ruilder.

One day I caught him stuffing tools down his undies. It's cause he was Bob the Builder and he was putting the tools in his tool belt, of course.

Being a 3 year old, he is rather inquisitive. He loves to help. Whether it be cleaning up, cooking, whatever spikes his interest.

(I have an awesome photo of him cooking in ONLY his apron, but I thought I'd leave that one out for now...)

A few weeks ago I had some X-Rays and an Ultrasound done on my shoulder. I went over to see the kids after I picked up the results, and was showing Spencer my "bone and muscle pictures". He LOVED them, so yesterday after showing them to the Doctor, I took them over and stuck them up on the window in Spencer's room. He loves it. I asked him if he was a doctor, to which he responded "No Auny Chrisy, I'm Spencer James Kilworth!". The way he said it indicated that I should know that by now.. what a silly question.

It really is hard not to adore him.

I mean look at that smile. Those dimples. The red icing stuck in his nostrils. Sigh... but then there is Brooklyn.

Chookie, Chooklyn, Chookolini, Brookie, Brookie Bear, Brookolini. She is the height of gorgeousness. You laugh, she laughs. You smile, she smiles. Placid placid placid!

Yesterday I was doing some ironing at Alicia's place, and Brookie was crawling around having a great old time, trying to stand up and somehow get to me on the couch with the ironing board in front of me. She kept trying to tell me she needed my help to get up by moaning at me, and trying to tap my leg. So I decided to make a game out of it. I'd pretend I didn't know she was there, do the peek-a-boo thing.. and of course she thought I was the funniest person alive. (Note to self: If ever feeling down and lonely, Brooklyn will laugh at my jokes).

We then went into Liss & Linc's room, and she was crawling all over the place laughing her head off. I was dragging her all over the bed. I have NEVER heard her laugh so hysterically in all her life. It was rather heart warming to hear. Then she'd escape me and hide in the pillows giggling quietly. Then I'd grab her legs and pull her out and she would instantly erupt into hysterical laughter.

She really is quite a giggle pot. Oh and she LOVES food.

Yesterday I also took some pictures of her in the outfit I got her for her birthday. I had a friend make a tutu, and I bought a little top and headband to go with it. ADORABLE!

They are just ridiculously awesome kiddies and I'm grateful to be their "Auny Chrisy".

Speling erors.

2010-05-19T21:25:00.002+10:00

So I have a pet peeve. Spelling errors. I HATE it when I find out I've misspelt something (I had to google 'misspelt' to make sure it was right), and I find it equally irritating when others do it. It's silly that it annoys me, because it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Definately something I must overcome. I suppose it stems from being a bit of a perfectionist. *Must stop must stop must stop*.

What's your pet peeve?

I Cut Myself To Feel Alive

2010-05-17T13:47:00.002+10:00

It seems I am an Emo. Not in the way I dress, how I wear my hair, nor how I wear my make up. I am an Emo because I cut myself ALL THE TIME. Not on purpose though... incase you are wondering.

Just last night I cut finger quite deeply whilst opening up a can. About two weeks ago I cut my finger whilst cutting up some vegies. I cut myself whilst cooking constantly and it's starting to annoy me. Firstly because it hurts, and secondly because I am not a clumsy person, so why do I keep cutting myself?

Does anyone else have this problem?

Craft Blog

2010-05-16T15:11:00.001+10:00

Happy Sunday everyone!

I have posted my first entry for my new Craft Blog. Be sure to check it out!

http://achristyproduction.blogspot.com/2010/05/previous-crafting-successes.html

The whole Gratitude thing...

2010-05-14T15:28:00.003+10:00

So a few of my friends, including some of my readers, have started up "Gratitude Diaries". I think it's a great idea to remind us to show more gratitude for the small things. I am TERRIBLE at writing blog posts because I am highly boring. So I am going to at least attempt one or two posts a week to show gratitude.

Since today is Friday, this will have to do the the past week. But today I am grateful for a kind, loving, supportive, friendly, positive, uplifting FAMILY.

Events over the past week have hit home with me at the importance of showing love within your family. I'm glad that despite my inperfections and failings, my family have never ever ceased to show love towards me. Not everyone has this people! We ALLLLL should be grateful for this!

My family rocks my socks!

No really. It hurts.

2010-05-04T10:33:00.003+10:00

This post is another ramble. Strong emphasis on ramble. Some may feel that it is immature to write a post on such a topic as this, but I feel it is justified for two reasons. 1. My blog is called "The Ramblings of a Stress Head", so all you can expect from me is ramblings. 2. I was genuinely upset by what took place.

About 3 weeks ago I went on the Stake YW Camp up at Mt Tamborine. The majority of the girls slept in my tent that I took along. It is a very large 3 room tent. After the camp finished and we were packing up, I hurt my shoulder whilst carrying the tent bag in my left hand. At first I just thought that the bag was too heavy and it just hurt to carry it, but I soon discovered I had done myself some damage, because the pain didn't go away.

But, as a woman, I decided I would be fine, and continue on... as most women do when they are sick, hurt etc. Life goes on and I wasn't going to let an ache in my shoulder to stop me. That is, until I couldn't even use my arm, get out of bed, or let Daniel even touch my shoulder whilst trying to give me a shoulder rub. At this stage I figured I had done some damage. The shoulder area was pretty swollen, so I started to put on some ice packs in hope it would help with the swelling. It also numbed the area which felt good, as it was aching non-stop, and I couldn't move my arm.

At this stage I thought it would probably be a good idea to go and see my Doctor. So I booked in with this and he suggested I go get an X-Ray & Ultrasound done, so we could figure out what damage I'd done. He was also kind enough to prescribe me with Anti-Inflammatories & Pain Killers. The Anti-Inflammatories have been my friend. The Pain Killers remain unopened, because lets face it, I'm tough. :P

Because I have been busy, I wasn't able to have the Ultrasound & X-Ray done on my shoulder until today, about 3 weeks after the incident initially occured. So up until today, I haven't had a clue exactly what the damage was. I was just guessing that I had pulled a muscle or tendon, or something of that category. I also realised I was terrible at remembering to take it easy with my left arm/shoulder. Ever since I first hurt it, I have continued to use it, probably causing myself MORE damage...

So over the past long weekend, Daniel and I attended our Ward Camp at Boyd's Bay on the Tweed River. We arrived Friday afternoon and set up our camp. And as per usual I did alot of helping, resulting in a very achey shoulder. I decided it was about time I went and bought a sling to wear, to remind me not to use my arm so much.

So on Saturday Dan and I went to the shops to get a few things, aswell as a sling. So I came back to camp wearing a sling. Of course EVERYONE wanted to know what had happened - not knowing I had injured it weeks ago. So I just told people as they asked that I hurt it a few weeks ago, I had probably strained the muscle or tendon, and I was having an X-Ray and Ultra Sound on Tuesday (today).

And this is the part of the story that really upset me, and when I told Daniel, he was pretty much fuming.

On Saturday night, more then half of the families on camp went out to dinner. We weren't expecting any bad weather, so when it started to rain HEAVY... Daniel and I and a few of the YM who were there starting running around to others tents and helping to lower tarps and tighten ropes, and move possessions under tarps, to cope with the rainfall. When it started to rain, I took my sling off and got out there to help others. I had a comment directed towards me along the lines of "I thought you had a sore shoulder Christy?" My response was that yes it was sore, but I'm trying to help others. Instead of then helping they walked away. I was pretty upset, but I tryed to ignore the snide comment and continued to help out. My shoulder ached all during the night.

Next day, Sunday.

I decided I didn't want to wear the sling on Sunday. The weight of my arm was really hurting my neck. The pain it was causing in my neck far outweighed the benefit of resting my arm.. if that makes sense. So I just held my arm across my stomach, or put my hand in my pocket. Many asked why I was no longer wearing the sling. I was happy to fill them in and they understood.

This is the next part that infuriated Daniel and I. "So you're not wearing your fake sling anymore Christy?" Umm.. are you serious? You think I'm faking an injury for sympathy?

It seems I need to put my X-Ray and Ultrasound results in the Ward Newsletter.

FYI - I have strained tendons in my Left Rotary Cuff in my shoulder. It will take up to 4 months to heal.

THE END.

Warning: TICKS!!

2010-04-29T22:41:00.002+10:00

A friend of mine posted the following statement as her Facebook status. It ABSOLUTELY cracked me up. The reason I loved it so much is because there are all those gay statuses that everyone copy and pastes.. for example: "If you have a hardworking, sexy, awesome husband repost this bla bla bla", "If you have the most adorable children in the history of mankind repost this bla bla bla". I think you get my drift. So I ALMOST glanced over her status thinking it was another gay status.. but luckily I read it...

"TICK WARNING! I hate it when people post bogus warnings, but this one is real. Please repost this as your status! If someone comes to your front door saying they are checking for ticks due to the warm weather and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around with your arms up, DO NOT DO IT! THIS IS A SCAM! They ONLY want to see you naked. I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid."

I wanted to post this as my status SO BADLY, because of it's pure amazingness. But, of course I won't. I'm sure it would cause a stir... so instead I'll post it on my blog and put the blog notification on Facebook hahaha...

RACQ - you complete me.

2010-04-21T13:25:00.002+10:00

So today was a fun and interesting day. I did the vacuuming, some laundry, cleaned the bathroom up, put away some laundry, made the bed etc etc. Then at about 11am Liss called me and begged me to go and buy some Nurofen Plus and bring it over (as Lincoln took the car to work today) as she had chronic tooth pain. I was going over there anyway to do her hair, but decided to leave a little earlier then first intended to get some pain relief coming her way. So instead of hanging on my wet laundry inside my house I thought I'd just take it over to Alicia's house and borrow her dryer for the afternoon.

So I went to the chemist around the corner, literally not even 1km away. Bought some Nurofen Plus. Pulled out of the carpark, and did a U-Turn - and this is where the story starts to get awesome. I had finished turning around (in 1st gear) and accelerated. I proceeded to put it into 2nd gear... and thats when it didn't feel right. It went INTO the gear, but there was NO acceleration whatsoever. Luckily for me, there was no cars coming up behind me, so I was able to roll over to the side of the road at my slow pace before any traffic came by. This all went down at about 11.40am. So hazards were switched on, and my cranky face appeared.

Rewind a few weeks back for you. We put our car in for a service. A fairly large service might I add. So I was instantly upset that my car should be in spick and span condition, and here I am at the side of the road with my hazards on. And I will also add that we have had trouble with our front brakes since the service. They have been squeaking like nothing else.. intensely loud high pitched, every time you use the brake - and it was especially bad when it was cold or wet. So we took it back to them with the noise complaint, and instead of fixing the problem they replaced our back brakes. We were less then impressed when we had paid for more new brakes the the problem remained. Daniel is quite handy and knows some basic stuff about cars - and brakes. So he ended up taking a look at it and guess what? The squeaking is gone, and all for under $20.

Back to the story. I call Daniel.
Dan: Yeeeeeeeeees
Me: Sooooooo the clutch just went (in disgusting enthusiastic voice)
Dan: Awesome.

I instruct Daniel to get in touch with RACQ, let them know the basic problem and let them know of my location. Whilst he did that I called Mum.

Mum: Hello
Me: Where are you?
Mum: At the airport....

Needless to say she was not closeby to assist me nor Alicia. BUT I organised for her to come to me from the airport (as she was leaving anyway), and to pick up the Nurofen Plus and take it to Liss to relieve her pain.

The RACQ guy, whose name shall be Rico for this story (because he was Mexican I think) was pretty quick, and got to me at about 12.15pm. On a VERY wet, rainy day.. 30 mins is not really too much to complain about. He pretty much figured out the problem instantly. The cluth was gone. Worn out and slipping he said. I'd need the car towed.

Next question was.. to which Mechanic? The people who serviced our car a few weeks ago are certainly never going to lay their beady eyes on my car again!! Haha! So I suggested a local mechanic who was just two streets away, that we went to prior to the current mechanic who stuffed up the brakes. So Rico sent for a tow truck. And off he went.

Mum arrived from the airport to me around when Rico left. She took the Nurofen Plus, and all the stuff in my car - wet laundry, magazines & supplies that were still in the car from my mutual activity the night before, and my hairdressing bag. Then she went off to Alicia's.

So I sat and waited again. Daniel rang the Mechanic and let him know the car would be there in an hour or so. We also had to cancel our towbar installation guy, who was going to install a towbar on our car tomorrow. I had to cancel some haircuts that I was doing this afternoon, and Daniel was going to go Home Teaching and I cancelled that too.

The towie got there at about 1:15pm. So he was fairly fast too. Nice fella, he just whipped my little Rav up onto the tray and asked me to jump in the cab to get some details off me. Now, getting up into that cab was an issue. Tiny little step positioned over in one corner. Handle really low. Let's just say I'm sure it looked funny watching me try and get into that truck. I gave him all the details he needed. I asked if it was going to cost me. He said no because it's under 10km's. So off he went with my car. I just walked home from there, because it's super close, and I was wet anyway... and I could walk out some of my frustration!

One last thing I wish to add, is that it was raining for the entire experience. It never stopped.

BUT, I am grateful for a few things.

1. I'm glad we have RACQ in this country and they are reliable. I don't have to pay anything extra for the call out mechanic or the tow truck driver. I'm also glad that I'm smart enough to be a member :)

2. It could have been so much worse. I could have been going up a hill and couldn't get to the side of the road, or whatever. But I wasn't, I was near the side of the road with no traffic coming to cause danger. When I was walking home I realised that this was a tender mercy and I was very thankful that I was ok.

The car is at the mechanics as they speak, and they're going to take a quick look at it straight away and give Daniel a call and let him know exactly what the problem is. So maybe we won't be booking our flights for America next month eh? All depends on how huge this repair bill is....

Stubborn.

2010-04-19T10:23:00.002+10:00

This is going to be a ramble so prepare yourself.

I hate it when people are stubborn. Now we can all be stubborn at times about particular things, but I'm referring to when people are so incredibly stubborn that they won't even listen to you. The kind where you are wasting your breathe attempting to help them out. The kind where they have talked themselves into such a depressing rut that no one else can exist in their stubbornness.

It's rude and frustrating.

End of ramble.

Ginger Beer.

2010-03-25T12:28:00.004+10:00

What can I say.. I am Australian, and what goes along with that is that I love Ginger Beer. I used to think that Bundaberg made the best Ginger Beer. But then I started shopping in Aldi, and they started stocking a brand of Ginger Beer I'd never seen before - Regal.

This has become my most favourite Ginger Beer. It has a really strong Ginger flavour, and tastes like it's homemade. Tastes just like Nanna's GB that she made when we were growing up.

Now I drink one or two bottles of this glorious liquid every week. I was just sipping on a bottle that I brought along with me to work for lunch today. And I began to wonder if it was good for me, or bad for me. So here are the ingredients:

Carbonated Water - when drunk on its own it is fine, but it is said to cause acid erosion of your teeth.

Sugar - HAHA, extremely good for me. Not.

Ginger Root Extract - is said to help motion sickness, minimise nausea and vomiting (caused by pregnancy, surgery or chemotherapy), and is a powerful antioxidant

Acidity Regulator (330) - it is basically Citric Acid, and damages your tooth enamel

Natural Ginger Flavour - ahhh.. it's natural?

Preservative (211) - is Sodium benzoate. It kills bacteria and fungi in acidic conditions eg in fizzy drinks. Is being researched as to whether this preservative causes cancer by damaging the DNA of cells. This may also lead to many neurological diseases such as parkinsons.

Colour (150d) - Caramel colouring. Colour additives do not contribute to the nutritional value of foods.

So in a nutshell, from this one heavenly bottle of Ginger Beer, it seems my teeth are being destroyed, I am potentially causing cancer by damaging the DNA of cells, BUT if I do get cancer it will help me when I'm nauseous because of the Chemotherapy?

This probably should scare me enough to not drink it again, but I will probably continue to drink it. Maybe only once a week instead?

Friday Suprise

2010-03-19T14:46:00.010+10:00

For the majority of my childhood, on a Friday night, dad would bring home Friday Suprise. Some may wonder what this means. It was generally junk food, sometimes a game or activity, but always something fun/delicious/much anticipated etc. Unfortunately, as junk food deprived children, eventually we enjoyed the food more then dad coming home so Friday Suprise started to phase out. BUT the memory of having something delicious every Friday night has stayed with me.

Now today is Friday (incase you didn't already realise) and I have just observed that today has been a day of eating delicious food. Most of it not good for me but I am not completely to blame for that. Here is my food diary for the day:

Breakfast:
Popper/Juice box

Morning Tea provided by work:
Pizza loaf

Custard & apple twist

Lunch (provided by me):
Chicken salad sandwich (chicken, celery, red onion, toasted almond slithers, apple, grapes, miracle whip & whole egg mayonaise) on delicious white bread

Pineapple jelly with pineapple chunks

Afternoon Tea (provided by a client):
Lamington cake

Now I am feeling RATHER FULL at the moment. The problem with this is I need to be feeling UNFULL in a few hours because we're going out to celebrate mine and mum's birthdays tonight. We are having a Thai Banquet...

Maybe I should start doing some star jumps....

Easter Gifts

2010-03-17T10:14:00.009+10:00

this

So I found one of the cutest ideas from this blog (Amy Water's Stampin Up/Craft Blog? to use inplace of an "Easter Basket" or something of that category. I of course used the template and added my own little touches to make it different. I think it's super cute. Pity I still have 6 to make, thus I decided to post this now while I still love it! Ha!

Told you it was cute :)

Sleepiness can strike at any time.

2010-03-05T13:11:00.002+10:00

Last night I was happily sleeping. Then at around 3am (after only falling asleep a little after 1am), I was awoken by pain. Pain that I do not usually feel during the night as I sleep. Now you may be wondering what is causing this pain. Where is it hurting? Well you need not wonder because it was my BOWELS. I'm pretty sure you are all excited to hear this.

But this is just part of my life. I am Lactose Intolerant, self diagnosed IBS sufferer, and I'm currently waiting for test restults to see if I have Celiac's disease. Oh the joys of the body I have been given. Oh and did I mention I have sleep apnoea? A little off topic but a good opportunity to whine.

So back to the story. I was awoken at 3am by pain in the bowels. I promptly, got out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. I almost fell over because I was so off balance from being dead asleep about 3 seconds prior to standing up. I also almost ran into the bathroom door which was unusually shut? But it's ok, I made it to the blessed John and proceeded with my business.

And now for the reason of this entire post (which has surely grossed you out by now), I almost fell asleep and fell off the toilet. I was sitting there and suddenly by body started to fall forward. LUCKILY for me.. I realised and sat up quickly and proceeded to talk myself into being awake during the toilet experience.

Now this is not the first time I have fallen asleep somewhere whilst doing something. I have fallen asleep sitting up in my chair at work a few times. One particular experience I vividly remember is I was quite a bit younger, and working in dads office, out in the file dungeon. It is called the dungeon, because it is a dark, long, narrow room with a million old files in it. I was out there sorting files and such, and I sat on a seat which was up the back of the dungeon, probably there for storage reasons. Next thing I knew was I was asleep sitting in the chair. I believe I was out for a good 30 mins.

I have even fallen asleep on the washing machine. I was waiting for a load to finish, so I got up on the laundry bench at mum and dads and laid down along it. I put my head on the washing machine and off to sleep I went. What woke me up was the silence.

So my point of this post (if it really is a point?) is to find out if I am the only person who falls asleep in weird places, or awkward times.

The Curse of being a Hairdresser.

2010-03-05T00:08:00.004+10:00

So as part of my job (as a Receptionist) I go to the Post Office everyday at 4pm. Because I frequent that place several times a week, I've come to know the girls and we have amusing chats when I visit each day.

Today, Marcelle commented on my hair, and said that she is often jealous that my hair always looks good. I explained to her the curse of being a Hairdresser.

For years, as an apprentice, working in salons and even studying in TAFE, appearance was drummed down your throat. You had to look the part all the time. You had to make it look glamorous. (let me assure you that being a hairdresser is the LEAST glamorous job out there).

One thing you were NEVER allowed to do (well I was never allowed to do) was this...

Ponytails are a sin against Hairdressing. I rarely wear my hair in a ponytail still to this day because of what was drilled into me as a young apprentice. I can still hear Kirsty (one of the best hairdressers known to mankind) telling me I was to never show up to work with my hair in a ponytail. I had to style my hair everyday.

I'm not entirely sure where I am going with this and I am beginning to think I am waffling.... BUT, I feel guilty if I don't style my hair for work, or church or other special occasions. A ponytail just isn't an option.

That was random.. and put together badly. Sorry, it's after midnight and I'm waiting for my load to finish in the washing machine so I can hang it out haha...

Money Money Money, in a rich man's world.

2010-03-01T14:37:00.002+10:00

So we got our bond back. All $1140 of it. Well technically we haven't GOT it yet, it's on it's way. But it will be in our hot hands very soon.

BUT.

I have two teeth aching and am booked into the dentist on Wednesday afternoon.

and

The car needs a service.. badly.

Goodbye sweet bond.

10 Reasons Why I Hate Moving.

2010-02-26T10:02:00.002+10:00

1. It's expensive.
2. It hurts your back.
3. It takes forever to pack stuff in boxes in such a way that it will not be SMASHED when you go to unpack it in the new house.
4. It takes forever to UNpack boxes.
5. I hate unpacking the kitchen - this is ridiculous. Trying to find a new place for everything hurts my brain.
6. You break your nails.
7. It's scary putting things into cupboards and sitting on the "new house" toilet seat. You are not sure if they have been cleaned properly but have no time to clean them prior to use because you are already in a time crunch to get things done.
8. There are weird smells that you are not used to and don't know where they came from which causes concern. (the toilets have a strange stale smell, my craft room smells like teenager sweat and lynx deodorant, and the cupboard under the kitchen sink smells like beef stew, just to name a few)
9. You can't be exactly sure what neighbourhood circumstances you are placing yourself into. Two examples are: a) Your neighbour has kids who like to bounce basketballs repetitevly, b) Your neighbour has a wattle tree and you have major sinus issues.
10. This is the worst one of all. Cleaning the OLD house and trying to get your bond back. Stresses my brain.

Grumble grumble

2010-02-17T22:48:00.003+10:00

This is probably an over-reaction. But I often find myself in situations where people aren't willing to help me when I need help. The reason this frustrates me, is that I am always doing what I can to help others wherever I can. This won't stop me from doing favours for others etc, but it just sucks in a big way that the favour is rarely returned.

Ok I'm done sulking now.

The post that has been in progress for a year.

2010-01-24T23:42:00.002+10:00

Well, it's taken me a year to post something. I suppose the turmoil of life changed some priorities (not even sure if that makes sense). I'm pretty confident no one even follows my blog so this is probably going to sit and not be read.. but anyhow.. I think I want to start blogging again. It is refreshing and enlightening. But as for now, it is 11.45pm on a Sunday night, and yes I have to go to work tomorrow. So this is as far as it will go for now, but I have the intention of adding to my blog on a more regular basis. I bid the internet farewell for the night.

Forever waiting.

2009-02-04T22:37:00.001+10:00

I'm tired of waiting. My patience is wearing thin.

Wedding preps

2008-12-17T20:16:00.003+10:00

I have been rather productive over the past week and a half... I really need to get all the plans for the engagement party in full action, along with the wedding/reception plans. We have a ridiculously busy February and March. I've got all my guest lists done and today went and looked at paper for the invitations. We have chosen and bought part of the paper needed for my wedding invitations. I have found one of the two types of cardstock I need for my engagement party invitations. I am still on the hunt for the other one. I have 3 fabric swatches from different stores for bridesmaids dresses. Even though I don't think they are the right fabrics yet I now know what I'm looking for. I have been to hire stores and have chosen seat covers, tableclothes, pedestals, floral arrangements, I have chosen my cake and the place I'm having it made and will be going back in January to do a taste test of different cake flavours, tomorrow night I am going to set up my gift registry too... I have been looking into flowers for my bouquet, i have jewellry, my dress is on its way.

I'm happy with the progress of everything. The engagement party is pretty much all planned out. We jsut need to start getting together decorations and the things we need for it. The wedding is alot more detailed but the plans are progressing very rapidly.

It's very demanding to get it all done and I'm lucky in a way I haven't been working full time so I can commit more time to getting it all done, but it's also hard to not have a good amount of money coming in. I have done a little bit of hairdressing but not enough to make some good money out of it. I have been busy trying to find a full time job too. I'm looking for a government job primarily, because they have good conditions and incentives, but at the same token wouldn't turn down a good job somewhere just cause it's not government.

It's hard planning a wedding when parents are paying. This might seem a strange comment to some, but unless you have done it before I don't know if you can fully understand what it's like. When you are planning a wedding using your parents funding, it means it's not 'your' wedding. Every decision is not 'your' decision. 'Everyone' has to decide on one thing. You can't just go to the store and choose table decorations and chair covers and chair sashes, and how the invitations will be.. you go to the store and spend 2 hours looking at paper for invitations, and you finally find one pattern of paper that all parties agree on. It is extremely frustrating. Keeping calm is the goal of every day.

I just can't wait till it's all over and Daniel and I are finally married and living our own life. He's worth all the stress.

Holzy, Franky and Kily Kids Christmas Dance...

2008-12-09T19:40:00.001+10:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

You know youre getting older when..

2008-12-06T00:15:00.003+10:00

1. You are at a church dance and a whole bunch of your what you thought were 'little' cousins rock up and you find out they are 2 years older then you thought.
2. You sit in a chair and when you go to stand up you go all stiff.
3. You can't read without glasses.
4. The Bold and the Beautiful just isn't that great anymore.
5. You stop shaving your legs.
6. The thought of going upstairs to get something is too great of a challenge.

These are some of the things I am suffering from... I think it's only going to get worse haha!

Australia

2008-12-04T12:18:00.004+10:00

Last night I went and watch Baz Luhrman's "Australia". I had heard mixed reviews over the past week prior to going last night. I generally like to wait a week or so before going to see a big flick so I can know what to expect. Alot of people said it was just ok, or they were a little disappointed, and others really enjoyed it. So I went into the movie with low expectations.

It truly was an incredible movie. I think the people that thought it was just ok and were disappointed completely missed the reasoning behind this film. It is not a fun little dramatic comedy set in the outback of Australia. It is a film about the history of our people. It is a film to open the eyes of others who didn't know of the extent of the persecution and mistreatment of Aboriginals. It was not for entertainment.

I went with a friend and we both felt the strong emotion of the movie. It touched both of us. I'm so glad Baz made this movie. Hopefully he will open alot of eyes.

And for those who were disappointed, perhaps rethink what you went in expecting to see.. it wasn't for your entertainment, is was for your enlightenment! I couldn't recommend this movie highly enough.

Kitchen adventures!

2008-11-29T19:28:00.003+10:00

I am home alone tonight (again) and I needed to have dinner. I was tempted to just make a sandwich and be lame but I decided to go find some meat in the freezer, and while it was defrosting find a new recipe online. I went to www.taste.com.au This website has some of the most delicious recipes. I found a Steak and Pasta recipe and thought I'd give it a go. We had all the ingredients but one so I found an alternative to that ingredient. It took about 45 mins to prepare everything and cook it. It was SO delicious that I had two helpings of it!! Here is the recipe below.

(Instead of cooking wine I used Vegeta which is a Gourmet stock. I also added bacon. Regular parsley did the trick for me and I didn't have peppercorns so used regular cracked pepper.)

Ingredients (serves 4)

400g fettucine or spaghetti
1/3 cup (80ml) olive oil
50g unsalted butter
450g rump steak, trimmed
1/2 onion, halved, thinly sliced
1 tbs green peppercorns in brine
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
200g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
200ml dry white wine
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup (125ml) beef stock
1/2 cup (125ml) thickened cream
2 tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions, then drain.
Toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Heat butter and remaining oil in a large frypan over very high heat, add steak and cook for 1-2 minutes each side, remove and set aside. Reduce heat to medium, add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes until soft. Add the drained peppercorns, garlic, mushrooms and wine, and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
Add mustard, Worcestershire sauce, stock and cream, season well, then allow to simmer for 2 minutes.
Slice the steak thinly and add to the pan with the pasta and parsley, then toss gently to combine.

Give it a try.. you won't be disappointed! :o)

Let it begin!

2008-11-24T08:19:00.002+10:00

Well firstly I am rid of my awful flu that I had during my flight home and had for about 1 1/2 weeks after I got home. I was feeling good for about 2 days until WHAM sinus infection invaded. So basically I feel like crap BUT I don't care cause sinus infections for me here in australia are pretty common.

So last night I talked over with my parents the wedding budget. We worked out some ideas of how we want things to happen, what kind of place we want to have it at, approx no. of guests, engagement party.. all of those lovely things. So this week I need to come up with my reception guest list - for numbers sake, because that will influence what kind of reception venue we will go to. I am going to start doing inquiries and all of those lovely things. I need to find a park for my engagement party too.

So the fun starts now! Only 123 left till I get married!! I better get crackin!

settling in.

2008-11-11T12:15:00.002+10:00

It feels weird to be home. I've been here 5 days. It kind of feels like I never left, but I know I did. I'm feeling out of place I suppose. Everyone carried on with their lives without me which I expected of course, but it's weird to find where I slot back into those lives. Alot has changed. Trees have grown, theres new stores and houses. People are married and having or had babies. Kids have grown up. I know I have changed alot in the last year, but I come back here and I suddenly feel like the same old person leading the same old boring life.

I'm still sick. I guess I'm a little better each day, but I still feel horrible. I have a nasty cough. It hurts in my chest to cough. My nose is running almost constantly. Nostrils are all sore and red from blowing which is just lovely. My left ear is half unblocked. It crackles a fair bit. My right ear crackles once or twice a day, but is still completely blocked for the most part. I'm on antibiotics and an antihistamine. Hopefully the health saga will be over soon. It's just more annoying then anything.

I have been working on my room. I went to start unpacking my things in there the day after I got home and realised that my room is full of crap. The things I used to be attached to, I no longer am attached to. I ended up emptying every drawer, pulled out everything from my wardrobe, under my bed, boxes in corners, everything out. I went through every thing. I have ended up with 6 garbage bags full of crap, and 2 bags I dropped off at the Salvos of some clothes I don't care for much anymore, my old seat covers in my car and a few other things. I worked on my room Saturday night, Sunday, Monday night. I bought a big plastic storage container for under my bed to store the little bits and pieces of memorabilia I want to keep. It is all I am allowing myself to keep. My drawers are practically empty now. It's nice. My room looks and feels more functional and pleasant. Before it was pretty cluttered and mismatched.

As much as I'd like to go scout out some new furniture options to make it exactly how I'd like it, I will hold off because there is no need! I will only be living in this room for another 5 months then I'll be in my own place with my Daniel. So I will make do with what I have until then. I am looking forward to being able to set up a house my way and with my things. I'm sure at first there will be alot of mismatched furniture, that's got old ugly prints, or different colour woods.. but I don't care, cause it will be OUR house.

Well, I am going to head back up to my room and try to finish it all off. I will put photos up of it once I am finished.

Home at last.

2008-11-07T17:27:00.001+10:00

I'm home. It feels odd. I pretty much emptied my bags onto the lounge room floor. I'll think about putting it away tomorrow. Took a shower and brushed my teeth... felt amazing. All my flights have a story of their own. I don't feel like typing them right now. I have a head cold, a bad one. Pressure in my head is massive. I flew the whole time with an ear infection. My ears hurt, alot. I cried through alot of the descents. I thought they were gonna blow but they didn't. I am not sleepy, but my body is exhausted. After I took my shower I put on leggings, and oversized tshirt that I stole from Daniel, slippers, and put my hair up in a bun with my favourite scrunchie. Quite the sight for sore eyes! Perhaps a chirpier more informative post will be available soon.

Homeward bound.

2008-11-06T02:18:00.000+10:00

Well here I am, all packed, dressed in comfortable clothes, no makeup on, hair messy curly cause i won't be able to shower for the next two days, have a really bad sore throat, about to go to the airport. I'm sad to leave but excited too. I think at this point I'm feeling more of the sad part. I'll start getting excited when I land in Sydney I think.. cause then it's only a half hour flight home from there (after I get through customs and immigration). I have alot of flights and airport time ahead of me. I have to check in 3 hours before my flight here in Houston. So I'll check in at around 11.30am, then I take off at 2.30pm. Then that is a 2 1/2 hour flight to Chicago, where I will have a 2 hour layover. Then I fly to San Francisco which takes 5 hours. I'll be in San Fran airport for 3 hours before taking off again headed for Sydney. Now this flight is pretty much the killer. It is a 15 hour flight. Then I land in Sydney, and do customs and immigration. I have 3 hours in Sydney. Then I have to change airports in Sydney, and then catch my plane home to Brisbane.. which is a 35 minute flight which will just be divine! Then I will be picked up my my aunty and she'll take me home. I am not looking forward to this.

I have a really bad sore throat as I said earlier. I am starting to feel the pain going up into my ears so you could say I am slightly freaking out about what might happen in the air. I have drugged and herbed myself up as much as I can without being a crack head. *mmmm* I am sure I'll be fine....

Well I shall get off this computer now and shut it off for the next few days. I'm sure it will appreciate a break from the abuse of being on all the time. See you and talk to you all when I get home!!

Heading home.

2008-11-03T12:25:00.000+10:00

Well I leave in 3 days. I have been packing for the last couple of days and I am pretty much as organised as one could be at this point. Tomorrow is a day full of errands.. it won't be particularly fun. Tuesday will be an anxious day with last minute things to wash and pack and buy and do I'm sure. Wednesday morning will be emotional. Wednesday evening, Thursday, (Friday disappears somehow) and Saturday morning will be spent in the air and at airports... I am thrilled about that.

I am taking 6 bags home. I came with 4. Oops! I'm glad to be going home but sad at the same time. Houston has been good to me to say the least. I'll miss alot of people.

Looking forward to busy confusing and tiring week...

crazy town

2008-10-20T21:41:00.000+10:00

the next 2 1/2 weeks are going to be crazy. my parents arrive in 2 days, engagement party is end of this week, my parents are being tourists for next week, then its halloween friday, then i go home the following wednesday and i haven't started packing yet. i have quite the to do list for the next few days, and i know daniel's to do list is just as delicious. im tired, feeling as if grumpy could enter into the equation and poor. i suppose i just have to keep swimming and i can sleep all the way home on my 2 day journey home....yeah right. i don't sleep on planes. it's a curse. i have been offered some help with that in the form of pills which i might take up.. and this time, i have decided to wear my pjs on the plane for comfort. i don't care.. i hate flying in pants.. then i get to see my spencer! yay! and once i get home, my dearest australian friends, please don't be offended if you don't hear or see from me for the first few days, it's quite likely i'll be sleeping haha. Anyway.. about that to do list.......

blonde

2008-10-10T03:51:00.001+10:00

so i put in some bleachorama foils just now, and im sitting here all foiled up. this shall be the last time i am blonde. when i go home im starting the transformation of being a brunette again. i will enjoy these last few blonde weeks. sniff sniff.

the last 2 weeks.

2008-10-06T06:15:00.000+10:00

So I've been in Texas for almost 2 weeks now. I am still slightly shocked and feeling like it's all very surreal. I guess I was just away for so long that I forgot what it was like to be here. I dunno. It just feels weird, but in a good way.

So I'm busy with this engagement party and also with some of the wedding things that need to be thought of and done well ahead of time, such as finding a wedding dress. I went to a modest wedding dress store yesterday with Daniel and his Mum. I tried on ALOT of dresses. I also lost hope after about dress #8 and was starting to think I wasn't going to find a dress. A few dresses later I found a dress that was nice. I liked it, well we all liked it. It was very elegant and fit me well and made me look nice and slim and all those things. So I had hope once again. I wasn't 100% sold on that dress, but I definately did like it and felt like I could wear it for my wedding if I wasn't to find anything 'better'. So I tried on the LAST dress I could possibly try on in that whole store in my size. This was dress #15 or so. I put it on and I was talking to Daniel and his mum who were outside the dressing room about something, and I slipped it over my head and it fell down and i adjusted the petticoat underneath, and I was still talking and I looked at myself and midsentence went "ooooh this one is REAL nice", or something of that nature. I walked out of the dressing room and saw myself in the big mirror and I was happy with what I saw.

Daniel's mum got goosebumps, Daniel got this little smirk on his face, first time I'd seen it that day. We all just kind of looked at me in the dress for a while haha. Then we started adding stuff.. hairpieces, veils, a bouquet. So I have found my dress people. I have found my hairpiece. I'm not too sure about a veil yet.. I just don't know if it is me. It does look really nice with the dress and hairpiece though.

I also today was at the mall on a hunt for several things, one which was a pair of GREEN Converse All Stars... to wear on my wedding day. It is all about comfort my friends. And I will give full credit to my favourite cousin Tahlia for the inspiration of wearing All Stars under your wedding dress. You see, this is what she did. SHe is a smart chicken. I have been planning to wear green shoes all along. At first I wanted green high heels, then it turned into green ballet flats, then it turned into green sandals, then green flip flops, and now I have settled on All Stars. No foot pain for me my friends. Just pure green comfort.

So one thing that is worrying me about these items mentioned above is the cost. I hate money and I hate how it rules our lives. So I used to be one of those people that thought it was ridiculous to spend lots of money on a wedding dress, after all you only wear it one day right? Well I am not on the other side of the fence. It is your dress, on your wedding day and it has to be special and it has to be right. So here are the prices of the wedding items required:
- dress $620
- hairpiece $64
- shoes $36

The best part is that is all in USD, not in AUD - Australian Dollar for those who are not aware. SO basically in AUD my dress is $900, hairpiece is $100 and shoes are $50. so yay for that. anyway not sure where I"m going with this.

I have been spending the last few days working on the engagement party plans, decorations etc. Everything is in full swing. I have been making decorations like crazy. My hands are currently swollen from this. I actually shouldn't be typing cause it hurts to type but I am going to keep pretending it doesn't hurt so I can hurry and post this blog. I could say more about the engagement party plans but I can't be bothered.

I enjoyed conference this weekend, was nice to hear the prophet speak.

I will be seeing my parents in 2 1/2 weeks and I'm really excited, and I'll be seeing my sister and nephew in 4 weeks. YAY!

That is my update. My fingers hurt and they have won so goodbye my dearest lovelies.

:o) Ahh weddings..

2008-09-28T11:04:00.000+10:00

I had a long but awesome day. Was up relatively early, for a Saturday anyway. Alarm went off at 7.45am, hit snooze till 8.20am. So got up and got myself all pretty. Daniel came over with my dress that was at his house, at around 9.30am. While I was putting that on and finishing up he went off and got gas and some breakfast for us. Wow, great start to the day. Shipleys Donut Store... has the BEST kolaches EVER. Anyway. We proceeded to drive for 2 hours east to a place called Beaumont. If some of you followed where IKE hit a few weeks back you would recognise that town. Part of it was under water you see. We were driving on highways that were under water not too long ago. The debree and trees and the damage to houses, signs, buildings in general were incredible. It was kind of a quiet drive there cause we were just looking in disbelief at some of the things we saw. We got to Beaumont just after midday... for TAHLIA AND MARSHALL'S WEDDING RECEPTION!!! YAY! So Tahlia Hoozer, previously Holzworth, is my favourite cousin. She was a nanny in Austin.. and married a Texan.. like I am! They got married in Australia and got back into the country beginning of the week. Daniel got to work helping set things up and I sat Talz down and did her hair for her, and then helped her into her dress. She was so pretty. It was a nice reception, didn't know anyone from a bar of soap but oh well, I suppose that's how the engagement party is going to be here in a few weeks!

After the reception finished we helped clean up and got some photos and helped them pack their car with all their gifts, then started on the drive home. Daniel found another way home, that was about 15 mins shorter, but a much more pleasant drive. So we went that way and I had fun seeing all sorts of country hick towns as we drove through them. Took a few photos. My favourite town we passed through was "Cut 'n' Shoot". No joke. Best town name I've ever heard.

Anyway, we are home now and Daniel is napping on the lovesac. It was nice to be with my cousin in the USA.

The last week.

2008-09-27T07:30:00.000+10:00

So my dearest people, I am in Texas. FINALLY. I missed it so much and of course I think it goes without saying I missed Daniel terribly. That was the longest 4 1/2 months of my life. I am here for another 5 weeks or so. I am really excited about going home and seeing my sister and nephew. It's hard to believe I've been gone a year.

Anyhow, my flight over was a long 3 hours.. haha. Nothing compared to what my flight home will be eeeeek its gonna take me 2 days to get home, literally 2 days. So don't come to the airport cause I'll be shmelly shmelly.

Anyway, I am here, I am happy, I am safe, and I'll start uploading photos of my adventures as I take them!!

Hamish & Andy

2008-09-18T13:59:00.000+10:00

For my American readers, my favourite Radio show back home is Hamish & Andy's drive home show. These two guys are freakin hilarious, I miss hearing their show. They also do TV appearances on a talk show and do segments for that show. Here are a few classic videos you HAVE TO WATCH, I can't wait to go home and listen to them again.

These guys are so amazing.

Mariah Carey's Ken Lee

2008-09-15T23:52:00.000+10:00

Italiano

2008-09-15T22:53:00.000+10:00

This is the amazing conversation I had with a friend this morning who knows Italian.

*************************************

Christy says:
well my brunch date just cancelled

Christy says:
so im gonna go back to bed

Christy says:
im dying

Sidewinder says:
*tucks you in*

Christy says:
shleepy shleepy

Sidewinder says:
hehe, i'll sing you a lullaby in Italian

Christy says:
*tries to imagine it*

Christy says:
*hablo peublo mariso barino*

Christy says:
did you like my italian

Christy says:
i can sing more for you

Sidewinder says:
You know the lullaby? Your mum used to sing it too?

Sidewinder says:
It's uncanny how exact to the real one it is

Christy says:
*seuntro guido muncho babino*

Christy says:
haha

Sidewinder says:
just add the words mamma and bambina a few more times

Christy says:
i have impeccable italian

Sidewinder says:
you sooo do

Christy says:
HAHA

Sidewinder says:
I'm impressed

Sidewinder says:
I'm getting goosebumps

Not much longer now..

2008-09-15T22:01:00.000+10:00

I'll be in (the non electrical) Houston in seven days. I don't care what condition it's in. I am just happy I'll be there with Daniel. Plus, camping in a house is fun.. right?

Also, I will be back home in my beautiful Australia in 7 1/2 weeks and I can't wait. I miss everything about it.

Happier times ahead!

The Hurricane that made me Insane!

2008-09-15T11:48:00.000+10:00

So Ike started to take effect long before it hit land. The winds started in North Houston/Conroe Friday morning. Daniel and his family had done what they could to prepare - moved outside furniture and pots inside, cut down branches, bought plenty of supplies etc. Ike started to take hit land around 11p-12pm Friday night? Don't take my word for it, it was something like that. Daniel lost power shortly after that.

I managed to get through to his home phone yesterday around midday and spoke to him for about 3-4 mins just making sure everyone was ok and checking to see what damage there was in his area etc. The only information I got from him was he was ok, the house was ok, and that they were playing out in the water whilst the storm continued to pass over. Besides that quick call, I have no idea what's going on over there.

I'm supposed to be flying there in a week! I know the airport faired well, I spoke to someone at church today who said the airports been functioning since yesterday afternoon. So I'm happy I could at least GET there. But from news reports etc that I have been following, I don't know if I can get from the airport, to Daniel's house.

So basically I'm stressin. 1. I haven't spoken to Daniel forever. 2. I have no idea of the REAL damage and issues in the area I'm supposed to be in, in a weeks time. 3. I may be stranded in an airport? 4. It's possible electricity won't be restored in Daniel's area for another 4 weeks. 5. My parents arrive in Houston shortly after I do... yeah, welcome to the USA!!

I don't work...

2008-09-12T04:25:00.001+10:00

Ok this was funny too....

I love it so much, I watch it several times a day...

You got kidnapped by something that goes on a salad!!

2008-09-12T04:17:00.000+10:00

I stumbled upon this and was thorougly amused!!

Retail therapy - failed!

2008-09-11T10:01:00.000+10:00

So I had another stressful day with the evil children. I finished work and could not unwind and relax... So i popped down to see if this shoe store had any new stock in, as I'm on the hunt for shoes for my wedding. They didn't have anything that I wanted, but I saw they had some cowgirl boots in. I proceeded to try them on and discovered I have foot obesity. I will have to do some cardio on my foot so I can fit into some boots!! haha!!

Anyhow, I walked through another two stores that are there, and found myself to be feeling nice and relaxed. So I decided that meant I could go home now and continue chilling out. I drive home, enjoying watching the sun disappear, and then turn onto my street. I then am on the driveway, and all my anxiety and stress returned.

I have come to the conclusion that the next 12 days are going to be crappy no matter how hard I try and relax. Let's hope they fly by.

Sleeping patterns.. I need to draft a new pattern.

2008-09-11T03:41:00.000+10:00

So last night I got a total of 45 mins sleep. One would wonder how that is possible. My sleeping patterns have been quite out of sorts the past few weeks. I wake up around 5.30 in the morning these days. My alarm starts going off at 5.10, so I wake up then, but snooze until about 5.30-5.40am. Everyone who knows me well, knows I am a night owl. So for one to get enough sleep at night, when awaking at such an early hour... I would have to be in bed between 10 and 10.30pm. This doesn't happen. My normal bedtime is between 11.30pm and 1.30am. Normally..

But of late, I have been so tired after working in the mornings. I put the girls on the bus at 7.45am, and head home, do some jobs around the house, do some laundry, whatever it is for the day, then I am usually free by 9am. 9am is usually when my eyes start getting fuzzy and I get sleepy. So I'll crawl into bed for a nap. These naps have increased over the weeks, from about 2-3 hours, to about 4-6 hours. So I've turned into an owl. Because I am now sleeping so much during the day (and wasting the days away hehe so that I arrive at a certain day faster!), I am not sleeping at night. So my sleeping pattern at the moment is:

6pm - Finish work
7pm - Dinner time, help clean up kitchen, have a chat with the Mum and Dad about the day just past and the day to come
8pm to 9pm - On the computer usually catching up on the days emails, facebook etc.
9pm to 1am - Talk to Daniel and other family and friends, also do laundry, clean my room, do some packing, etc.
2am to 5am - Lay in bed hoping I'll fall asleep soon....
5.10am - Alarm goes off, hit snooze button every 10 mins (snooze button is on other side of the room) until about 5.30, 5.40am.
5.40am - Get dressed, use bathroom, make bed, and then head upstairs
5.55am - Have some breakfast and take a few mins to try and wake up.
6am - Start work, get breakfast ready for girls, pack lunches, put out all the concoctions of medicines, empty the dishwasher, get the dogs out of bed and take them outside and I usually have a little play or snuggle with them.
6.30am - Girls come downstairs for breakfast
6.40 to 6.50am - Send girls upstairs to finish getting ready. About twice a week I do laundry, so I'll get them to throw all their laundry downstairs so I can get that started.
7.10am - Make sure girls are done upstairs and get them downstairs to pack their bags and finish anything that needs to be done that morning.
7.20 to 7.30 am - Free time, either a little bit of TV if they have behaved that morning, or if not, send them outside to play with the dog and run off some energy.
7.30 to 7.35am - Say goodbyes to Mum and head up to the bus stop.
7.40 to 7.50am - Bus comes and takes away the children!!! YAY!!!
8 to 9am - Cleaning jobs around the house, whatever needs to be done. Somedays I don't have anything to do if I keep on top of things as I go along.
9 to 10am - Sit at computer talking to Daniel until I get sleepy.
10am to ?? - Sleep.

The latest I have slept is until 3pm... I start work right on 3pm.. so I had to hustle that day! So after only sleeping 45 minutes last night, I knew I had to take a nap today or else I wouldn't be able to function. So I got to sleep at around 11am, and set an alarm for 12.30pm. I hit the snooze until 1pm. So I had about a 2 hour nap. I'm feeling alot better, but here's hoping I crash tonight at a reasonable hour...

And you wonder why they're badly behaved?

2008-09-10T11:51:00.001+10:00

So, I currently look after 3 girls. A - 9yrs, B - 7yrs, C - 7yrs. Never in my life have I come across children so incredibly disrespectful, ungrateful, obnoxious, and irritating. I am constantly in battle with them about what they SHOULD and NEED to be doing. This has been the hardest group of kids for me to 'break in' to how I rule the roost. I am a strict Au Pair, I don't take no crap from kids. Putting on water works will only double the amount of fruit on your plate, and whining puts you on the stairs with no dessert. I don't care if they think I'm mean. Just when I feel like I am getting somewhere with them, just as they start to learn some responsibility, just as they start to realise I am the adult and I get the make the decisions, the parents undo all my hard work.

It seems that their parenting style is to reward bad behaviour. Let me give you a classic example of this along with the other events of the afternoon which are quite common.

Today A had piano lessons, so mum picked her up from the bus stop and off they went. I had B & C with me. As we walk in the door, they must take off their shoes and put them away in their shoe box, hang up their back packs, empty the contents and bring it to the kitchen (it took them a month just to work that one out). So I had already layed out their snack, and written a To Do List (the only way to get them to do what needs to be done). First of all, snack today was fresh pineapple, that was SO yummy and juicy, a few pieces of banana, and some strawberries, followed by some corn chips and salsa. Quite a tasty afternoon snack if you ask me. They sit down, I don't want pineapple, I don't like corn chips, I don't feel like strawberries. This is the story every day. Even if i served ice cream for a snack every day they would complain - this is their motto. So I quickly put an end to their whining and told them that they need to stop complaining and eat what is front of them or they will end up with more fruit on their plates. The fruit mysteriously disappeared. Funny that.

Then it came time for homework. I don't want to do my homework, I did some yesterday. Ahh, you do homework everyday kids... Now I will give credit to C.. she actually behaved this afternoon and got her homework done, and chores done without complaint. I even painted her nails and toenails for her, and she played downstairs on the computer for a good hour. But in the meantime, B decided she wanted things to go her way. Part of homework today was to choose a book and read it out aloud to a family member - i'm close enough. So I told her to choose a book that wasn't going to take an hour to read, find a nice short story. She comes down with a thick book. I warned her, so I wasn't going to tell her again. That was her choice.

She begins to read the book to herself. I ask her to please read it out aloud, I was listening and I wanted to hear the story cause I hadn't read that book before. She decided she didn't feel like reading out aloud today. I asked her again nicely, and she again told me she didn't feel like it. I then asked her again with a slightly firmer voice to read the book out aloud to me. She proceeded to kick the table and fling the chair back. This is the part where I sent her to her room. 10 mins later I called her back downstairs, put her in the dining room with the book on her own, told her she would be sitting there until the book was read aloud. She sat there for a good 10 mins before she started to mumble something. It took her another 10 mins of mumbling and me telling her to start the page again and read it properly before she read it. But of course in that 20 or so mins, she decided to scream at me and call me something horrible. I generally ignore this behaviour, because she is only acting that way so I'll give in (which is what her parents do.. suckers for tears). So she realises she's lost and reads the stinking book. Then C and I pop downstairs, and leave B upstairs to get her chores done. Once B is done, she comes down to play, but I tell her she's not welcome to play yet and needs to sit in the hall until she is ready to apologise and act like a young lady. She sits in the hall another 20 mins, then I hear a voice whisper sorry. She joins us in the play room.

Mum and A arrive home from piano practise and grocery shopping. We put the groceries away and Mum decides we're heading out to dinner. I wasn't impressed because B certainly didn't deserve to be rewarded. FYI - I disagree with eating out mid week. I also believe eating out is a privilege/reward, and not a common practise. But I went along for dinner. We get in the car and A, B & C proceed to argue about seating arrangements. Violence is involved in this process. Mum says to stop so we can have a nice night out. This is the part where I put the car back in Drive and park in the garage and make sandwiches for dinner. But anyhow, the arguing continues to the restaurant. The arguing continues IN the restaurant. By this point I have decided I am not going to sit back and say nothing, because by them being allowed to behave badly, they think that it's ok. I correct them, and tell them to cut it out. They chill out. Then the menu's come and it's an argument over who gets what. I want this, no I don't want that, BLA BLA BLA. Are you getting bored yet?

So orders are in. A asks, did you order me a side of fries, cause I don't want the appetiser you ordered. No side of fries was ordered. Then the water works start. I turn to her and tell her to stop the nonsense right away because she is privileged to be sitting in a nice restaurant and she will be getting a nice meal and half the kids in the world would never be able to experience that. She shuts her mouth and the tears stop. The remainder of the meal consists of whining and arguing of some sort. It seriously.. never .. ends......

After dinner it's an argument over who pays the waitress the cheque. Sigh..

We're walking towards the car, and Mum tells me quietly that we might go to Rita's (Frozen Custard store) for dessert. My immediate thought is you have got to be kidding me!! YOU ARE GOING TO REWARD THEM AGAIN FOR BAD BEHAVIOUR!! I quietly say ok. We detour to the grocery store to buy birthday cards for dad, which of course creates an argument over which card to get... Then there are MANY tears shed and feet stamped on the ground because we won't buy them toys and books. At this stage I step in again and tell them to stop their nonsense.

We go to Rita's. Mum and I go in the store while A, B & C sit outside. We take the Frozen Custard out and give them to the girls. A declares that she didn't get what she wanted because she had changed her mind. The tears begin and the whining begins. Before she can even finish her sentence I firmly tell her, infront of Mum, to stop immediately, she has been treated to a nice dessert and she needs to be grateful.

I'm going to skip about 30 mins ahead because I don't have the energy to type out the shenanigans of that half hour. But believe me when I say it was no different from the previous 4 hours.

On the way home we stopped via the pet store to pick up some food for B's Gecko. I was in the car with A & C. I had had enough of the bad behaviour and had ZERO patience. As soon as Mum and B left the car they started up some nonsense and were hitting and kicking each other. I turned around, raised my voice enough that they knew I meant business, told them to sit in their seats, put their seat belts back on, and they were not to mutter a SOUND. They complied with my directions for the next 20 mins, while Mum and B got sidetracked in the petstore looking at fish. FYI - it is now 8pm. Girls bedtime is 8.15pm.

When Mum and B returned to the car they start talking, I turn around and remind them I did not give them permission to talk yet. They remain silent while Mum and I chat. We didn't get home until 8.20pm, and they weren't showered.

I'm going to leave it at there.. but I don't know if it's just me. I know I'm tough, but am I too tough? I mean, kids are kids. They whine, misbehave.. they just do that stuff. Sometimes I wonder if I'm going too far.

And on the subject of the parents rewarding bad behaviour... They really do wonder, why their children are they way they are. But then again, I wonder if I'm just reading the situation the way I want to read it.

Sigh, I don't know. What do you think?

Besides that, I only have to endure this mess for another 1 1/2 weeks. I think I can do it.. I think I can....

Missing the comforts

2008-08-13T04:41:00.001+10:00

I left Brisbane 10 months ago.

I left Houston 6 months ago.

I miss being around the people I love and having my own 'comfort items'. I miss my family. My baby nephew is no longer a baby. When I left he couldn't sit up on his own. He now runs around counting to two, pointing and naming things he likes, putting his hands on his head. I've missed all that. I miss chilling out with my sister (and getting my hair done properly). Mum and Dad are always good fun to be around, well almost always anyway. I miss their wisdom and kindness and concern (and how annoying they can be).

I miss my friends. People that have been close friends for a long time. It's hard to be away when so much in their lives change. I've missed marriages and babies. You wait your whole life for these changes to take place in the lives of those you love, and I've missed out on that.

I have a little regret coming to the USA to do this. I haven't had a 'fun' year as an Au Pair. I have had alot of bad experiences, but I suppose in a way they have helped me grow and realise how capable I am of caring for children. I know I am good at my job, but I wish my previous bosses would have realised that. Instead their heads were too big.. but they, that's their problem.

Leaving Houston was so hard. I haven't felt the same since I left. Sometimes it feels like I am forcing myself to be happy here. Being in Maryland has been all about surviving. Only 5 more months, only 4 more months, only 3 more months, only 2 more months... a constant countdown to when I can be with Daniel again. The days go by so slow. Right now the countdown is at 5 weeks 5 days. Flights are booked and I've started shipping my gear to him. I think this is going to be the longest month ever.