Quick Update!

Here is a quick update on what I've been up to!

We went to the Kransky Sisters last night and they were very good! Funny and quirky! At the end they came out and signed T-towels with their images on them and I have hung mine on the wall using a couple of bits of Blu-tak.

Earlier in the day we went and visited with our son and enjoyed lunch at Catalano's in Vic Park. We've been there a few times now with him. They serve awesome meals there and they're also very big! B. had chicken schnitzel which was as big as a dinner plate in itself, Casey had crumbed calamari, both their meals came with beer-battered chips and salad... I had fettucine al fungi, which did have a bit of bocaccini cheese in it but was mainly mushrooms, roasted capsicums amd tomatoes in an oil garlic sauce... very good. They gave me a jar of Parmesan but I didn't add any..

For tea that night we went after the show to a little Asian cafe which used to be Han's I'm sure and is now called the Korner Cafe... I had vegetable pad thai and B. had Singapore noodles.. cheap and tasty, we each had a little bottle of Wynn's Bin 555....before the show we used our free drink voucher from the hotel to get a midi each of Hahn SuperDry and then we had a pint each.... B. had a second pint but I can't drink endless beer anymore.. it's too cold or something... I had a red wine... at the Playhouse we had a champagne each and B. got a second one but I felt really a bit too drunk to have another!!!!

When we got back to the room, we had another red wine and I slept very well, poor B. rummaged around and coughed a lot... we're both not the best but I am a little better than him in terms of coughing and spluttering... I just FEEL rubbish...earlier in the day I had a hayfever attack looking at the bird's nest near Casey's balcony... aw, that was so awesome, I could see the baby bird inside.... but the tree was covered with blossoms and I got very red eyes.. had to go and get some eye drops as soon as I found a chemist...

This morning we just ate downstairs in the hotel... I had baked beans, 2 hash browns and two bits of toast and B. had the My Place breakfast... bacon, 2 eggs, sausage, hash brown, tomato and mushroom... he didn't eat the mushroom so I did!! he also left a piece of toast but I was too full for that, we had orange juice and I had three cups of tea.. sooo thirsty this morning!!!

Today we went into town as my iron suddenly went pop! pop! as I was ironing a favorite skirt and it burnt it!! Smoke was streaming from it, so I quickly turned it off and threw it away afterwards.... just bought a cheapy to replace it, the more expensive ones don't seem to last any longer!!! B. said he felt like a pint of beer and a steak sandwich for lunch!!!! We went to the Parade.. what the heck, it's "holidays".... there was nothing vegetarian except for creamy mushroom soup which I wish I'd got and had a wine with but I wanted a pint also and didn't feel that went with soup... so I got the salt and pepper squid which was a bit disappointing as it was the frozen curly kind, not pieces of squid on a salad and it came with chips... a bit too greasy, I picked the batter off the last few pieces...

Tonight, we had some yummy soup, vegan split pea and pumpkin soup.. that I had in the freezer... oh how much better did that taste than the lunch I had and how much happier was I to eat nice vegan food..... I had a nice crusty loaf to heat in the oven to accompany the soup... MMM.. MM!

Whirlwind of Life!!

Whew! WHERE does all the time go?? And where have all the days gone.... long time looking forward to things and before you know it, they're all over and done with.. but what a happy week it has been!!
The wedding was truly beautiful! I'll write more about it in a separate post another time... I am just trying to get a little bit of everything done today before heading off to work!!! I had 4 days off but they're all up!! Wedding was Saturday, Sunday Rachel, Jon and Berri, Jon's mum came up with the two girls so they could stay for a couple of days and those two days have gone past like papers in the wind!! We took them home yesterday.. I was actually planning to keep them till today and take them home before I went to work but I think it was enough for the little one.. at least this time.. we HAVE had them for longer of course, but I think it had been a pretty big weekend for them and it seemed better to take them home a bit earlier than planned.. anyway, I might be able to get them again on Friday... but just till Saturday as I have to go to work Sunday early...
So, I've done a little bit here and there so things feel a bit more normal and tidy around here... taken my poor dogs for a walk as they only had a very short one since Saturday...did a bit of cleaning, a bit of cooking, a bit of emailing etc, paid bills and now just going to finish off this post so I can get ready to go off and earn a bit of dush!!!

Passports Arrived!!

Gee it's really quick these days once you apply for your passport for it to arrive.. it's only been such a short time since we were at the post office putting them in and both of our passports arrived today. It's not SO exciting because we don't have any trip planned!!! ehehehehhe! But at least we have them now and if we wanted to just book a quick trip to Bali or Phuket, well.. we could!! Not that EITHER of them would be my choice for a holiday... I like holidaying within Australia very very much and if I wanted to go on an overseas trip at the moment, I wouldn't mind Japan... but it is not really on the cards right now... as long as my family looks like they'll be continuing with their move to Canada our plan is to save to go there...this doesn't mean I WON'T be going on any holiday soon as I think B. is keen to go somewhere... he keeps talking about needing one... ehehehehhehe!
This week we'll be having a couple of days break as we're going to have the girls for a day two after the wedding tomorrow... TOMORROW!! The BIG day for my daughter and her partner!!! I'm quite looking forward to it.. it should be a lovely lovely day and it will be so nice to see Jon's parents again.. they are both coming from Sydney....though they aren't married to each other anymore, it will be especially nice to see them together on this special occasion!!!!

Friday

I love Fridays and Mondays especially!! And they're not even my days off!!! I love Fridays cos they have that special weekend feeling, a party atmosphere!!! And I love Mondays cos they're the start of a brand new unsullied week and everything can start over again if needs be!!!
Even if it's my turn to work on the weekend I still like Fridays.. I have the morning shift which means I'm home by 1pm!! And B. also finishes early on Fridays.. he's home by 3pm usually, unless he goes to the shops or something which he does sometimes to buy beer or hardware of some kind...
I'm not having my grandgirls this weekend. I would like to but B. needs to have a weekend here and there where he just relaxes and does his own thing. Maybe we'll visit them and take them to the caves or something but they won't be coming here to sleep over this weekend.. NEXT weekend though, is my daughter's wedding day!!! The wedding is on Saturday and after that I'll have the little girls over for a couple of days.. it's the start of the school holidays so I can have them on my days off, not just the weekend, which I wouldn't be anyway as the wedding is then...

I mentioned my car going in for a service, well, a pleasant surprise.. it was only $270 B.said... so it didn't break the bank!! This week I 'll have to go to town and see if I can find a dress for Olivia.. I'll do that Tuesday...when I find hers then I can buy Jasmine's.. there's a few choices for Jasmine and I'll get the one that most closely complements what I find for Olivia..

The weather is just gorgeous here at the moment... fine and cold... looking forward to a nice relaxing and recharging time this weekend!!!

Time Flies!!!

Whoosh! Where does all the time go??????? Only last week I was gloating to my workmate Sam about the five day weekend I was looking forward to this week and already it's nearly at an end!!! Only have tomorrow left!!! Today just went in a blur especially!! I don't mean a blur in that I was foggy-minded... I mean the blur caused by things moving very fast!!! ehehehhehehehe!
I spent a good part of the morning doing a "Responsible Service of Alcohol" on-line course.. that's what made the day seem like it went very fast...we all had to do it for work. Well, it was very tedious I have to say.. forced you to have to sit through audio sessions instead of being able to just read the material and fly through... well, at least it is done and to tell the truth it made me think a little about the dangers of drinking too much alcohol again.. ( I do think about it from time to time.. but I still drink too much too often...in regards to health..).
It is such awesome weather today! Very sunny and the wind is cold but it's just my ideal kind of day! My son and I went for lunch at the Dome in Bunbury. We shared a calamari, chips and salad and also a taste plate that had chicken strips, salt and pepper squid and meatballs with three kinds of dipping sauce and a Coke each. The Dome is very reasonably priced.. and the food is really quite nice....they have a good pizza there but I had that last time when I went to the Hall's Head one with my mum and Roy.
I've got a kind of pie in the oven at the moment. Going out to a friend's place for tea ( the same friend we went to recently where I took a potato bake and a crusty loaf....and I told her I'd bring something. It is like a shepherd's pie with puff pastry on the bottom, filled with curried sausages and topped with mashed potato... I made a double batch of the best curried sausages I think I've ever made yesterday with most of that big packet of sausages I bought last Thursday. I think she said she's cooking steak but whatever she makes we can all have some of my pie as well.. B. I know will love it.. he didn't eat any of the curried sausages yesterday, only my son and I did. B. had already had some lunch before the sausages were ready...he was hungry "prematurely" for tea though, as a consequence and so I had to put the roast beef I spoke about on earlyish.. lucky though, by the time it was cooked it was about 6.30pm and I asked them if they wanted some pudding for dessert and they said yes! So it wasn't too late to whip up a chocolate self-saucing pudding and put that it and we still all got to bed nice and early for a Sunday night(after I cleaned up and all!).

Happy Little Vegemite

What a lovely peaceful day I had today! I started it off feeling pretty tired, to tell the truth!! Poor B. coughed and carried on all night and I felt as though I didn't sleep much at all....then I felt hungry! I ate a smallish dinner at our friends' house earlier in the evening...but when I was awake during the night, all I could think about was getting up and cooking fried or scrambled eggs before work this morning!!! As the dawn approached I had to make my mind up between trying to get 15 mins more snooze or a cooked breakfast... and sleep won!! SOOOO tired... I dragged myself up at 6.45 am, got dressed for work, made a cup of tea(and one for B. with a piece of toast and honey) scoffed one down myself and off I went....at work again, was naughty and shared a sausage roll with the girls around 10am and then for lunch I saw a Chiko roll in the fridge defrosted so I had that!!! It says it has mutton and/or beef in it but I have never seen any.... it seems to be made mainly of cabbage with a few other veg thrown in(sometimes there is a sno-pea!!!!) and barley...anyway, it obviously was left from last night so I ate it..
Work was good today, I made it so by doing every single little job I could see needed doing.... before long it was time to go home...
It was still lovely and sunny when I arrived home. B. was out the back pruning trees..he stopped when I arrived to crank up the BBQ and cook a few sausages.... I told you how he loves his sausages...... I had one... with a Bundaberg Ginger Beer... later we went across to our neighbours' and had a few wines... very nice..

Home and I made spaghetti bolognaise( B's choice) and I'm about ready for bed right now!!! Awesome awesome MONDAY tomorrow again!!!! GEE, the year is flying past, last day of May coming up!!!!

AW!!!

I was hoping to see Olivia and Jasmine today!! But no, Paul is too sick to go and visit.. there's no point in spreading his bugs everywhere and making everyone else ill as he has been the last couple of days....aw...never mind.... there's next weekend.. plus I'll be "off" next weekend and it'll be better all round.. Paul surely will be better and I won't have any restrictions on my time....
My son Casey has come down to visit .. this is not "second prize" AT ALL! My son is awesome company.. sooo fun, so wise and so great to have around in every way. I knocked off today at 1pm and he had arrived from Perth so quickly we headed into town and went to Chinese lunch. He had his old favourite "Lemon Chicken with Steamed Rice" and I had "Mixed Vegetables with Soft Noodles" . Yummy!!
It's been quite a chilly day today... most people complaining of the cold.. I like it!! I only had shorts on all day..might go and put some trackies on now though and get ready for a nice cosy evening with the two favourite men in my life!!!

My Lucky Day

Well, one thing have in my favour is that I'm always appreciative of small blessings! Today was my lucky day for a few reasons:

1 : I scored an extra two hours work this morning so I can help Casey with his parking fine now!

2 : there was hardly anyone in the Medicare office this morning when I went to collect my refund, so I didn't have to wait very long! An elderly man who sat next to me also commented on how unusual it was to find the place so empty!!

3 : When I went to Big W to buy Paul a couple of workshirts, they were on special!

4 : When I went to the chemist to buy him some cold and flu tablets, they were on special as well! It was funny as I was standing in line at another chemist and then I thought, "Oh, I better leave the tablets till last as I might run out of money....." They were the least urgent thing on my list. I thought I'd better get the shirts first and then if I had enough money left I would call into the Australind chemist on the way home...they're usually about $13 or $14.. anyway Chemart had them for $10 today!

So I've even got some money over.. and guess what I'm going to do with that? I'm starting my "visiting" fund! I know that even if Rachel and Jon don't end up going to Seattle for some reason, they will go somewhere.. it's inevitable....they will keep looking for a place to live that they like and even if they don't find a place that is "perfect" in their eyes, there will a few more "moves" before they settle down anywhere... so whatever happens I will have to go and visit my grandgirls... I'm going to save every penny I can to make these trips possible... gives me a goal and a purpose to saving that really means something to me!!! I think I've got about $17 to start my fund off with today!! :) I'll show Olivia when she comes here next...

I had a lovely chat to my son today and also on-line to one of my newer friends on Facebook. My son is very good to talk to.. he's very understanding of me and my feelings and also very wise. I felt a lot better after speaking with him.
My FB friend Jim has a great sense of humour and makes me laugh. Apart from that today, he was telling me that Seattle is very expensive! I don't know if should mention what he said to Rachel and Jon... they might think I'm being negative.. but he strongly advised that they go to Vancouver instead...

I have to go back to work very shortly for my usual shift which is a short one on Thursdays. Casey said he might come down tonight, or tomorrow.. but whatever happens I'm using the last of some meatballs I had in the freezer to make meatballs stroganoff. I have some sour cream and I bought a few mushrooms today. They were also on special! I'll serve it with buttery pasta...yummy!

I did a bit of shopping today but only a very small one due to not having any money to speak of till Paul gets paid today. I got only that which I absolutely needed for the next couple of days. I reckon I can make it through till Tuesday or at least Monday.... today I was very tempted to get a spinach and feta pasty from somewhere.. I hadn't eaten any breakfast and I was really hungry! I even went to a bakery thinking they'd have one, but they didn't so I thought I'd try and make it home.

When I got home I had what I think I read on someone's blog is called "Idaho Sunrise"....a big potato with an egg inside.... I also added a pat of butter whe it was done.. salt and loads of fresh ground pepper made it a real treat... I feel bad about the egg but I am doing my best for the moment .....I buy the best eggs available,( the ones I feel confident are truly free range).. Margaret River Free Range Eggs......I don't know that it makes it any better though because although the lives of the chickens are one thing.... their deaths are another, and all egg laying chooks I guess have the same short life span and go to the same end....

Olivia and Jasmine

These are my two beautiful grandaughters. Olivia is 5 and Jasmine, 2. I want to write about them as I 've been thinking about them all day today... they will be going away soon to live in Seattle if their parents get their visa. I can't see them not getting it so I guess it won't be long till I'll be waving them all goodbye .. aw... I'm sure going to miss them ALL but my daughter and son-in-law are still young, with plenty of ideas and talents, and of course, they have dreams and things they want to do in their lives... plus much as I love those two kids, they aren't my kids.. I've had my turn!!
Olivia keeps saying to me "Nanna, I have to stay with you more often cos I'm going away soon." I tell her " Oh, nanna will miss you very much" and she says she'll come and visit me every Christmas and every Easter! So cute! She said on Saturday, " I think this is the last time I'm coming to your house nanna, or maybe one more time.. I don't know.." aw, I think there will be a few more visits yet...... my daughter said even if they get the visa they can't go right away as they can't enter the country until 30 days before Jon starts his course..... so it'll be Novemberish by the sounds of it..Jon's course will be 3 years so they're hoping to stay for that length of time...but then I wonder, will they try and get permanent residency? Must be an exciting thought, life in the USA....we can visit of course, but it won't be very often.... have to get Skype for sure when they go...
I'm going to try and see them as much as possible though in the meantime...we picked them up on Saturday this time and took them to the pool where we all had lots of fun. That is a cool pool they have in Bunbury! Olivia wanted to get some hot chips from the cafe there so Paul and I took turns getting dressed while the girls sat and ate chips at a table and then I took them out to the car, put some dry clothes on them and we went to Chinese as well! Jasmine was making everyone smile exclaiming about her fried rice, she loves fried rice very much. Olivia ate fried rice too, even thought she had said she didn't want any and she ate a prawn dumpling as well. We got a few yumcha selections but not as many as usual, I probably will not ever be a 100%vegan or even a vegetarian.. but I don't want to be eating things made out of creatures very often...
We came home here and they had a lovely time pottering about in the garden. At the moment the two of them really enjoy filling up the birdbaths... after that Jasmine did coloring in while Olivia played with Polly Pocket and then we went to the park where they played on the equipment but also with the rocket launcher toy we got them from the Australian Geographic shop. That has been a really great toy, best $15 ever spent!! We had to tear Jasmine away from the park.. she never wants to stop playing these days but we were there quite a while..whatever time we were there would not be enough for her lately!! The next day she threw another big tantrum when it was time to leave our friends' house. Paul took them there for a little visit to give me some time to clean up and our friends have a little boy who has lots of cool toys as well as lots of outdoor stuff to play on... Jasmine was having a ball and didn't want it to end!! Aw, she came home "complaining" and crying to me about Grandad.. ehehehhehehe, the big meanie!!
They both were very tired on Saturday after a big day....they went to bed quite early.. our neighbours who are also our cousins came over for a few beers and Olivia fell asleep on the sofa watching "Bananas in Pyjamas". I promised she and I could sleep on the couch that night. Jasmine went to sleep in her room very easily. Later though, (I don't know if she had a bad dream or not), she woke up a couple of times and came out. I tried to put her back to bed but she would not go back to sleep..... even when I lay next to her the only one who fell asleep was me!! Ehehehhehehe! When our visitors left, and Paul went to to bed he came to check on me and she was still awake so I just put her next to him in our bed, while I went and slept with Olivia.. they both still love to sleep next to someone..... even when they're at home with Mum and Dad, it's the same.. oh well, who cares? It won't last forever..
They are so much fun, Olivia woke up really early Sunday morning and told me she'd seen "The Eagles" on telly the night before after "Bananas" had finished.... also asked me where the hot water bottle was.. I'd told her we could make a hot water bottle up but I didn't get around to it with Jasmine waking and all.. anyway it was pretty hot sleeping on the sofa, the weather has not really got THAT cold yet... we will make one next time I told her.. after a while of "snuggling" which she loves very much.. cuddling and laying her head and half her body right on top of you, (it's very cute but gee she is rough! Bangs your head and kicks you with her big legs!!!) we could hear the birds and I let her get up to play with the Polly Pockets quietly... it wasn't long before we could hear Jasmine and Grandad talking and so we all jumped into the big bed together and had a lovely time talking and playing and looking at the birds outside etc.
Will miss these times very much when they go away, but at least we will have these lovely memories....

I've Been Everywhere Man!

Phew! I've had a busy weekend! Friday I worked then went shopping for a few things to take camping.. we go camping ten minutes from home in a beautiful national park called Belvidere. There used to be a commune there years ago. I have some friends who lived on that commune when it was an active community. They were first introduced to us as " the hippies" but their names are Tony and Cheryl.
I was not in the best of humours Friday night. I am always pretty tired on Fridays after work and not drinking as much as usual is bringing out my serious side! I got told I am boring and to " have a drink for God's sake!"
We like to camp pretty basic. I don't feel like I'm camping if you're going to take all and sundry! Cos we were only camping for a couple of nights and the weather is fine, we just took the swag and a small BBQ and two chairs. Our camping companions have a LOT of gear, but they like to camp with all the conveniences. Their latest acquistion is a toilet tent with a chemical toilet... it's all fine with me..each to their own, I just prefer to camp with the minimum of fuss and stuff. We had BBQ both nights. Steak, coleslaw and baked potatoes I prebaked and then wrapped in foil.. they only needed ten minutes on the hot plate to get nice and ready to eat with the rest of the meal.
I did end up drinking quite a lot of red wine that night, a whole bottle and a glass! but I had no stomach ache and I didn't feel sick in the morning. It's definitely BEER that doesn't sgree with me!! The next night( and day!) I drank no alcohol at all.
I went to Perth on Sat. Got up early, came home and walked the dogs, drove to Perth, met my son and we had a lovely day out together. I wanted to see a friend of mine's first solo photo exhibit. I missed going the previous week as I had planned to cos we ended up having the grandgirls and Paul didn't want to go to Perth with them. I had to work today, nearly all day and it was the last day of the exhibit.. so it was yesterday or never!
It was a great day! We had lunch in Northbridge, went to the exhibit and while we were there we saw that a play was on at 2pm. It was of special interest to my son as a couple of people involved with the play he knows from the Hayman Theatre at Curtin where he is currently a performing arts student, The play was " Mummy Loves You Betty Ann Jewel". The Blue Room Theatre where it was performed is a lovely small and intimate theatre..... what an awesome thing to be watching a play on a Saturday afternoon while everyone else is going about their shopping or whatever they get up to on Saturdays! I got back to my home at about 5pm , grabbed some more bits and pieces and headed back to our campsite.
The night was cold and clear with not a breath of wind blowing. I woke very early this morning, Anzac Day...looking up into the trees and thought about the Anzacs and all the men and women everywhere who are currently serving....felt very grateful to be living in this wonderful free country.. left the camp very early to return home to walk the dogs and then went to work and didn't leave there till the shop closed its doors at 6.30 this evening......

End of the "Holidays"

Wow! From stormy and rainy during the week to pretty damn warm today!! I am roasting!!! I feel the heat a LOT. I much prefer cooler weather. I don't feel the cold but I feel very warm after it goes above 20 deg C. I reckon you can easily get warmer if it's cold but it's very hard to get cool if it's hot.
Usually I complain a lot in summer but this summer I decided not to complain and just try to make the most of the season. I made sure I got enough shorts and singlets to see me through and I went to the beach a lot. I tried not to mention the heat or say anything negative about it. It really worked. I made it through the summer without suffering, really, at all! Some people even noticed how good my temperament was on the days when everyone else was feeling too hot. More evidence that making your mind up to do something and really trying does have results.
The girls are getting picked up this evening. School starts again tomorrow. We went on a day's outing with the girls today to Bunbury. Went and visited our friend who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. She's having an operation to remove the cancer on Wednesday. I hope it goes well and they find that it hasn't spread.Went to Chinese lunch and both girls ate very well. Went to the Bunbury Lookout and climbed to the top. And finally went to King's Cottage to look at all the artefacts and things of interest on show there.
Now having a quiet time while the littlest one has a nap. She woke up three times last night but I didn't lie down with her. I just put her dummy back in each time and she went back to sleep. I'm looking forward to an unbroken sleep tonight. Very tired after three nights of getting up and down when I hadn't properly recovered from that severe cold I had earlier in the week.

Reading the Old Fashioned Way!

Gee I feel good since I haven't been drinking any beer.. it's quite unbelievable! The best thing I have to report about the exercise, is that I have got over the actual desire to drink beer.. for a few days it was actually quite hard being so used to it... the few red wines that have taken its place did not seem to be the same... but now after only one week... it feels quite " normal" not to be reaching for a beer come the afternoon...
The girls are really being good and lots of fun! We just came back from the beach and they were playing with playdoh. Now I am afforded another five minutes of peace as they enjoy an icy pole each.
I've been reading them an old book that Casey used to enjoy as a child... "Oscar's Book", featuring Oscar from Sesame Street. I do his voice as best as I can and it's so worthwhile seeing the fascinated looks on their faces from a thing as simple as being read a story with expression! I've even had to repeat the story, they like it so much!! The funniest part was Olivia telling her mum about the story and virtually telling it to her word for word from her memory!!! She really must have been listening carefully!!! I saw Jasmine at some point in the day also "reading" the book to herself and making her voice somewhat like what I must have sounded like to her... so cute.. and there you have the beginnings of what I hope will be a life-long love of books in a world overly fond of electronic entertainment .....

My Dear Darlings!

I love to spoil my granddaughters when I have them over. Today I told them we'd go into town and have a whole lot of fun. We started off at the toy shop where I told them they had a twenty dollar limit but they could choose a toy each. Of course Jasmine can't really understand what I mean but she chose a Diego toy($9.99) and Olivia chose a Polly Pocket set for $19.99 and she's playing with that happily now while Jasmine is having a nap( I hope) I can't hear anything, so I'm guessing she went to sleep... she didn't want to but I could see she was tired and she woke up at 5.30 am this morning so a nap is probably what she needs....
We went to an old favourite of Rachel's and mine, the Poco Loco Cafe and we had a large chips and gravy to share and a chocolate milkshake for Jasmine and strawberry for Olivia.. they are both so well-behaved in cafes and restaurants ... it's a pleasure to take them out to eat...
We tried to visit the art gallery but they were in between exhibitions so nothing much to see there. King's Cottage was also not open till 2pm.. maybe we'll try again tomorrow for that... I've never even been there myself I don't think!!
Luckily the park is always open and it's a beautiful bright sunny day today. The last day of the school holidays too. What an awesome place to visit.... we played there a long time and then got some goodies from a new bakery which has opened in Bunbury.
On coming home they opened their new toys and very shortly after that I put Jasmine to bed.. we're going to bake jam drop cookies in the afternoon and maybe go to the beach for a little while.
I have to go to work for exactly 1 1/2 hours this evening, just to do the cooking and lock up. Boozie will be home early today so he will mind the littlies while I'm there... going to watch the footy tonight. And make a BBQ to share with friends.
I feel stuffed from the chips and gravy and polishing off Jasmine's milkshake.. haven't needed to eat anything else today!

A Day in the Life Of.....

My husband informed me that some people are coming tomorrow for a BBQ. My daughter and son-in-law and the two grandies also coming this evening.. I didn't really want to go and do a big shopping today but I had to really to make sure there's enough dinner for both nights.
Last night we had the super economical dinner of homemade scotch broth using the lamb bone from the roast we had the other day and I made a big cheese scone bun thing...very adequate meal if very simple. But I think everyone should have at least one or two very simple meals a week at least... it's good for the pocket, saves creating waste( as in the bone, which I could have given to the dogs but I don't generally give them cooked bones, raw ones are better.. plus there are TWO dogs and I only had one bone!!!) and also trains your palate a bit... not always looking for luxury foods to eat everyday...
This morning I went for a run! I used to run a lot... I often wonder why I don't run more often these days but usually after I take the dogs out I don't really feel like going out again... having dogs is quite time-consuming....often I feel their walk is enough time for me to be out ( I do go to fitness classes as well) but I really enjoy running and realise that I miss it when I manage to squeeze one in. I went BEFORE taking the dogs today.. that could be a strategy.... take ME running first and then walk the dogs afterwards...will try and implement and see if it works...
Having said that there won't be any more running till Monday though as the grandies will be here.. no time!!
I really fancied a Hungry Jack's Whopper when I was out today.... but I thought, "No, that's $3-4.. not sure how much they are these days... that I can save today" especially that I did so much shopping ( over $200 worth and the same last week..). I had a small serve of spag bol left in the fridge and so I ate that.. I hadn't had any breakfast so I was pretty hungry... the spag wasn't enough.. so I heated a small bowl of leftover soup and had a leftover cheese scone with it.
What a good girl!
Off to work very very shortly... ho hum.. I'm thankful to have a job but I sure would not get bored if I could stay home and be a full time housewife... how could anyone get bored??? There's so many awesome things to do everyday!!!

Memories of Easter!

Good Friday. When I was a youngster I went to church on Good Fridays, in the morning for Stations of the Cross and then in the afternoon for another service during which as far as I remember marked the time Jesus was supposed to have died on the cross. Both were incredibly tedious for a small child but generally speaking the whole day was pretty tedious. My family practised Catholicism in quite an old fashioned way and there was no watching TV unless it was King of Kings or some other religious movie, (Ben Hur), nearly all of them starred Victor Mature( is that how his name is spelt???). Still remember his exaggerated and tormented facial expressions.....no playing with toys which for a kid is pretty tough.. I was allowed to learn knitting or sewing but not too many frivolous activities.. cooking was OK but nothing too sweet or too much like a treat as lollies and desserts were not allowed after our meals which of course were meatless. Eating any chocolate or any Easter egg before Easter Sunday was of course totally out of the question. We didn't even eat Hot Cross Buns till Good Friday... I don't hear of too many people still doing these things today although there must be a few....the religious aspects of Easter seem to get even less mention than those of Christmas....my in-laws still go to Mass as does my mum. My in-laws don't observe much fasting or abstinence though.. they quite often have some sort of social occasion on Good Friday and although they don't eat meat, they have such luxurious foods as crabs or seafood mornay and they drink alcohol. The first time I went there on Good Friday with my husband, I was really surprised even though I hadn't been a Catholic for years. The mood at our house was always sombre on Good Friday and here they were having a party!!! eheheheheheeh!
When my children were little I used to put all their Easter eggs on the foot of their beds during the night. Now none of us really bother with them although we might buy some Red Tulip rabbits to share.. they're the best....of of course I'll get the grandchildren some...Casey used to break all of his up into little pieces and carry them around in an icecream container, only putting it in the fridge when they got a bit soft as they can if Easter is warm which it is some years... all sorts of crumbs and even hairs used to find their way into the container which repulsed Rachel no end but he didn't care.. when he was REALLY little he even used to sit on his potty chair eating his pieces of Easter egg!!!! ehehehhehehehe!
This year the weather is mild and last night a big peal of thunder woke us suddenly from our sleep... there was only one other and that was it. Some rain fell after it. It must have come really suddenly and finished as abruptly as Honey didn't even flinch! She got up shortly after the first one and went into the bathroom but then went and lay back down again and didn't stir till this morning so there couldn't have been much in it or she would have let us know all about it!!!
The shop is closed again this year as it was last year for the first time in 14 years. Otherwise I would be working today. I'm only working Sunday morning and Monday morning which are my usual shifts.
I stayed up late last night, till about 1 am which is unusual for me. Casey and I watched the White Stripes dvd he gave me for Christmas and the Rammstein dvd he gave me for my birthday. I slept in till 8.20 am which is just as uncommon! Paul must have had a good long sleep as he went to bed way before us and he slept in as long as I did. He's gone for a paddle now.
Well, that's about it for this post. I'm going to go and do some cooking I think!!! Enjoy yr weekend everyone!!

Coming down with something!

Bah! Woke up with a really sore throat this morning.... and also feeling somewhat giddy and unwell. I had the throaty thing last week a few days but thought I'd beaten it.. oh well, never mind! I rarely feel 100% anyway.. suffer from general malaise often which might not sound very nice, but the up side is, when I DO feel well, I really appreciate it!!!
The day went well yesterday except I did forget and ate a bit of the sate beef and Peking style ribs at lunch, probably( I'm thinking) not enough to affect the bowel scan results, but to be on the safe side I am delaying my sample collection a day. Paul only has one more sample to collect( told you he'd be quick! Hee Hee!) My mum seemed to be pleased with the presents I chose for her and Casey's friend Kylie who came along said she looked happy!
I had planned to go to both Step and Fitball today but I'm feeling too sick. What I really would like is to go back to bed but I'm resisting this impulse and trying to make do with just doing quiet things. My workday is very short today 3pm-6.30 pm, so I'm thinking I can make it Ok just by doing things that don't take much energy, nevertheless SOME things.... otherwise I get behind very easily and then feel overwhelmed by papers and unanswered mail etc. Although I'm a pretty untidy person by nature and generally disorderly, I still get stressed if things build up and start getting on top of me. It's especially not good if I let bills and stuff run away from me as I also tend towards procrastination and then things won't get paid on time. I made a promise to myself a couple of years ago.. NO MORE LATE FEES!! And I've kept it! One of my small personal victories! ehehehhehe!
Good Friday tomorrow. Have a happy and safe Easter everyone! Eat LOTS of chocolate! ehehhehehe! And if you celebrate in a religious sense, rejoice in that too. Even though I've been a Buddhist for 20 odd years I'm still conscious of the significance of Easter for many people so best wishes whatever the holiday means to you!!!