I want again...

A few months back or possibly last summer I said I wanted to get a bike trailer and I want to get one again. Little Man is not that little and riding him on the back in a baby chair is almost impossible, our feet hit each other and if he leans to a side the whole bikes equilibrium is lost. also reading about Nod's riding adventures with his daughter in his burley makes me see all the positive reasons I can still have with one. So I just need to find a few hundred dollars to get one, even ebay second hand ones are on the expensive side so resale value is also very positive.

Thankfully everyone is no over the horrid cough virus that had invaded our home, The Man had to get chest X-rays and is too lazy to go find out the results but overall I'm so glad we all are human again.


My brother came down to visit us, sadly as we were all sick we couldn't really do to much, but the boys love catching up with their cousins and it was nice to have some girly chit chat with my sister-in-law.

We headed to the park and vandals have ruined the kids play equipment, why do these dick heads do this, really pisses me off and feel that for this sort of stupid crimes should be dealt with via extreme means, like breaking fingers, see really pisses me off.

Be gone you germs!

I'm over it, all weekend everyone in this house has been attacked by this horrible flu. This morning meant The Man and Big Little Man are off school and work and Little Man just can not seem to beat it at all and looks to be getting worse. Made a bulk doctors appointment for all the men so we can this germ infestation out of our lives and so I can finally get some sleep. I have cured myself with Cognac, I could feel it's power as it burned it's path though all those virus germs in me, shame I can't give some to the kids. Well I could but I don't think that is good parenting.

Baa Baa Black Sheep

Above is the picture/pattern of the sheep I have had since August 2002 that I was going to make for my first born but as I'm SO organised I have now made the little lamb for my second born, as they say "better late then never". As we are both sick and sat about all day I managed to make it 1.5 days and it is so cute to see him cuddling it, he says it's going to make him feel better. The loopy wool I chose was a total pain to work with and I think I made a few short cuts as mine doesn't look as good as the pattern. But he likes it, so no complaints.

Karma

humpf... I finished the scarf, I like it and like some sort of sick karma I wake up this morning sick with the flu. Maybe I was never meant to finish the damn thing. Oh well, we mothers are not really allowed to be sick, so I'm doped myself up on a concoction of "kick your flu in the arse" drugs and battled the grocery stores this morning but now I think they are wearing off and my head feels like a brick and throat a grater, my chest hurts to breath and it just plain yuck.

So not sure if I'll be on the PC much, will knit, read and seek peace.

My son's want me to knit them something now, I'll make a scarf for Big Little Man with his name knitted in it (how daring!) and will try and make a little lamb that I think I was meant to make 5 years ago, pre the scarf anyway for Little Man...

cough, cough....

Little Nutters Playgroup turns 5!

Today our playgroup turned 5, it's amazing for myself as I am 1 of 3 original members, where the first lot of children who started there at 6-8months old, just crawling around are all off to big school. I have seen our membership grow and dwindle but we are still here, we have had a total of 31 parents and 53 kids from my count and next year will be my last year as Little Man will be off to big school too, I know I will miss it.

I love my playgroup and have made so many close friendships through the mothers I have met there, so Nutters, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you!

The Man wants to get a new car

We are looking at getting the VW Golf Treadline through his work, this way they will cover fuel and fuel these days is going up every second I'm going to have to bike ride the kids to school! So I am all go for this new car!

The drawing in my new header

I actually got the idea to change my header after reading a comment in Rainbows blog. I searched the net for awhile but couldn't anything that would describe me and then I decided to use a drawing that I drew myself during my late teens, when I was at university.

I thought I would share the meaning of this drawing. At that time in my life I felt really alone and enclosed in a world I didn't want to be apart of, it was a place where I felt cold and naked. The crow in the picture was the "Night Raven", a fictional bird that I linked myself to in poetry, it's place in the drawing was that although dark and harsh as ravens/crows may seem, it had the ability to be free of this enclosed room through the only window available. I pinned up the picture in my room and not long after, and maybe a combination of meeting The Man, I released I was never trapped by the world but by myself, once I let go off those feelings I was a new person and it is who I am today.

I never kept any of the other pieces of art work I did except this one, I like to look back on it and now see the shell I left behind and that I am as free as my heart wills. I'm still boring but I can be exciting like one of those playground things that makes you go round and round till your hysterically dizzy and just want to do it again.

But I am the Boring SAHM so to end...I knitted a whole ball of yarn on my 4 year old scarf, it's half done now!

And so a year has past

As of yesterday I have successfully maintained my weight loss for 12 months. I'm actually 800g heavier then I was 12 moths ago but I think that still classifies as maintaining. I would like to see me lose the extra 2 kilo's I put on thanks to my holidays, but I know if I just put in some effort it will go. I read that 98% of people who lose a significant amount of weight will put all but 5% of it back on, so I'm chuffed that I'm in the 2% of non-gainers

It has been so damn cold lately I have decided that it was time to finish the scarf I started knitting in 2003, it's always been a work in progress but I will finish it! If I don't finish it, the wool that I'm using will go out of fashion, it's a wonder it already hasn't!

I'm boring today, I shall bead and knit and drink tea and sit about enjoying the peace that I have been given today as all the men are at work or school.... yeah to me!

Update: 3.45pm -
Well it seems although quite a boring day turned out to a little productive. My lovely friend Rainbow sent me a copy of her Creative Beading magazine a few weeks back, when I pulled it out of the envelope I went "aweeee" (yes I actually did!) at the beautiful bracelet that was on the cover (picture on your right), I knew at once I wanted to make one just like it. So off I went to my local crappy beading outlets and as usual I could not find anything I really liked but settled on some very beachy shell pieces in one colour and decided to make just a simple version of it.

Today I was going to just eye pin all the beads and do the rest another time, but I was too curious to see how it would turn out and whipped it up in an hour. I really assumed it would be super easy, which it sort of was, but it was rather fiddley and my long finger nails didn't help. I think I like it. It's more of a summer piece with my little thong, shell and starfish charms and I wanted to ask one of Little Man's preschool teachers their opinion as I was still undecided, but I chicken out. It looks much nicer on then in this picture (even though it is ON in that picture). How do they make them so glamourous in magazines...

Update: 6.53pm- New picture of bracelet:


As for the knitting of the 4 year old scarf...umm did 2 lines.

Bookclub Review: Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult

Synopsis:
In this emotionally charged novel, Jodi Picoult delves beneath the surface of a small town to explore what it means to be different in our society.
In Sterling, New Hampshire, 17-year-old high school student Peter Houghton has endured years of verbal and physical abuse at the hands of classmates. His best friend, Josie Cormier, succumbed to peer pressure and now hangs out with the popular crowd that often instigates the harassment. One final incident of bullying sends Peter over the edge and leads him to commit an act of violence that forever changes the lives of Sterling’s residents.
Even those who were not inside the school that morning find their lives in an upheaval, including Alex Cormier. The superior court judge assigned to the Houghton case, Alex—whose daughter, Josie, witnessed the events that unfolded—must decide whether or not to step down. She’s torn between presiding over the biggest case of her career and knowing that doing so will cause an even wider chasm in her relationship with her emotionally fragile daughter. Josie, meanwhile, claims she can’t remember what happened in the last fatal minutes of Peter’s rampage. Or can she? And Peter’s parents, Lacy and Lewis Houghton, ceaselessly examine the past to see what they might have said or done to compel their son to such extremes. Nineteen Minutes also features the return of two of Jodi Picoult’s characters—defense attorney Jordan McAfee from The Pact and Salem Falls, and Patrick DuCharme, the intrepid detective introduced in Perfect Match.
Rich with psychological and social insight, Nineteen Minutes is a riveting, poignant, and thought-provoking novel that has at its center a haunting question. Do we ever really know someone?

My Review
I really enjoy reading Picoults books, the last one was slightly stagnate but this was another great read. After reading it I was inclined to dig out my copy of Bowling for Columbine to remind me the story behind this book was real once and wonder if things have changed, would a person still feel inclined that the only way to make a point was to go on a shooting rampage?

Australia has one serious shooting rampage, Port Arthur totally unprovoked and sadly classified a massacre. The reaction saw our federal government implement firearm control and we have no way of knowing if in the long term it will hope these sort of things, as if you wanted to get your hands on a gun I'm sure you could. But in my own life I can say I have only seen a "real" gun because my brother is a police officer, if he wasn't I'm sure I would live my life never having seen or handled one and that wouldn't be a bad thing.

Another thing that the book brought out is bullying and in one part of the book it stated that every child will remember vividly a school bully or when they were victimised. I do, it was nothing horrible but left me embarrassed and permanently cautious. We try and teach our kids it's wrong to pick on others, those different from ourselves but then in the real world we see big corporation squash the little ones, people with money and power getting away with what other would not, like Paris Hilton worming her way out of prison (thankfully they threw her back in). We see big cars pushing and jumping in front of little cars, I suffer this daily as I choose not to drive a four wheel drive. Kids see the advertised brands as better, so it's hard but deep down I think we know good from bad, oh we can only hope.

So "Nineteen Minutes" gets a thumbs up and a happy face from me :D

The Man-in-laws

Yesterday was the great BIL2 40th birthday, all went really well and I think that everyone enjoyed themselves. I progressively drank an entire bottle of red wine on my own, yes 750mls of Merlot down the hatch would make any situation look good! But there always has to be one thing that has to spoil the day.

I'm not sure if I shared the time I had a disagreement with my BIL4, we shall call him "Nean" after Neanderthal because his not far removed from this species of man. I even think he looks like one. Well, Nean came over 12 months ago for a hair cut and to collect some discs from The Man did for him, The Man was sleeping as he was in between night shifts so Nean had no one else to talk to but myself, poor me! Without getting into to much detail, he started a conversation where only his opinion was correct, he progressively upset me and as I was expecting Fella (my best girl) coming from Melbourne at any moment, so I asked him to leave, yes I was a little rude but at that point I was holding onto my rage with everything I had in me. He then said something about respect and went and to dob (yes like a 5yr old) to The Man. Big girl as I am, I stood in front of the bedroom door and said that it was an issue between he and I and to leave The Man out of it, in which he SHOVED me out of the way, scream and woke The Man and then left.

Now I admit I was rude but he started the argument and kept pushing it when I asked him to stop and as I live a simple life when the walls are crashing in, you get out. He was in my home, he had to go. So after a month of being told off by The Man to "learn to shut your mouth" and then being ostracised by the in-laws as they took Nean's side ("Oh poor me mummy, the 58 kilo bitch threw me (110 kilo), a grown man out of her house! I am the victim, whoo is me!!" Note: we never explained or shared our side of the story, if the in-laws found out it was all Nean. I let it go, no point fighting a dead battle, but oh no, he just can't let it go can he, such a big grown man he is. He couldn't, after 1 whole year, 12 months, 365 days, he couldn't let go of his anal attitude to come over and celebrate his older brothers birthday because it was at my house and although he had been invited (thus meaning, I never said he was never allowed back and had let sleeping dogs lie - I'm so full of analogies today!) he didn't come, his reason to the birthday boy...I feel uncomfortable at that house.

Oh I just hate putting in effort to feel like crap, I'm simple, I'm an optimist and this sort of crud is beyond me as life is too short. My family would have got over something like this in less then a week, my friends would have got over it with a phone call, but not Nean - what a dick!

I just want to rid it all, for a while there The Man was so disgusted with his own family we were ready to pack up and move 800km north and far far away from them all, but I said no, things will settle...who was I kidding. Now Nean's son#1 is having his Holy Communion (these people are not "Catholic"/Christian in any way) in 2 weeks. The Man wants to boycott, I want to be bigger and better and prove that I have a spine that stands straight and do not feel uncomfortable in his presence, which is the truth, but then again I just couldn't be bothered, if he doesn't want us in his life, so be it...you win Nean, I never wanted you in my life you just came part of the marriage deal and if The Man is ready to forget you, so can I.

Nean....who????

You, Yes YOU! You have been tagged!

If you are reading this now and you have a blog you have been tagged.

Sad as it is this is the only way I can tag as I share similar blog friends, so if you would like me to read your tagged 7 random things, please leave a comment and I will follow you to your blog and then maybe we can be friends!

I have been tagged

Okay this is my first ever blog tag I have participated in so I'm sure that I'm doing it all wrong right from the beginning. But here is goes anyway:

The rules: Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those who are tagged need to write on their own blog those 7 facts as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag 7 other people and list their names on your blog. Then you leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

So 7 random things about boringsahm:

1. Some weirdo Mauritian tradition ensures that all girls have their first names begin with Marie, I am Marie-Sonia, my sister is Marie-Christine, my mother is Marie-Solange, but in Mauritius you do not use your first name but your middle name, thus meaning I am not really Marie-Sonia.

2. Big Little man's personality is so much like mine it scares me and this is also the reason we clash 90% of the time, you think we would get along but we just dont.

3. My first car was a canary yellow Toyota that I crashed into a mini-van which rolled twice and ended on it's sides and the passengers crawled out the broken windscreen, thankfully no one was killed. The Toyota hardly had any damage to it.

4. I love Blogging but it scares me to death that The Man will find out and freak out because I kept it a secret, it's the secrecy though that makes it so exciting.

5. When I was 14, I read Stephen Kings novel " Misery" from it's first page to it's last page in 6 hours, I never put it down (not even on the loo) and it was the book that started my love of reading.

6. Bright Orange is my favourite colour but since the 80's it's rather embarrassing to wear.

7. I once believed I was a poet, I called myself the 'Night Raven', one day I may share one of my sad poems with you all.

Okay I need to tag others, what happens if I have no one to tag?

This is for Rainbow

Hugs just for Rainbow

And by the way, I will do your tag soon, but I seem to be having trouble finding others to tag..I need more blog friends!

I made this bracelet and pendant for my mothers friend. I'm not very fond of the colour green and had to go out of my way to find some green beads, but I'm sort of pleased with the final product.

Hello Winter

Today is the first day of winter and it was a beautiful crisp day, blue skies with no clouds, slight breeze and blazing sun, of course working at it's maximum winter power of about 18 degrees.

Whilst helping our with Kinder today a little boy who always seems to crave attention told me that he wished I was his mum, it was so cute and a wonderful compliment as most of the time I feel like I am doing a shocking job of being a mother. Later whilst the kids were being read a story by the librarian the teacher explained that said little boy needs a break as his parents were in a bitter divorce, where they split him up between themselves and he has no stability. She said that she has to send 2 notes as they never talk to each other so if one parent got a note from the school they wouldn't tell the other about it if it was there time to care for him.

Poor little boy, he seems so happy and so much potential but I can see now that no one sits with him to show him how to write and sound out words, why and how can a parent be so selfish to their own child? I know in my heart that if anything came between me and The Man that I would place myself last, I just couldn't hurt my kids because my life didn't succeed as I planned. Of course this would not occur as I don't believe in divorce personally (for myself) as I knew when I married it was for the long haul and we both agree to work through all things, we are true mates and I think this helps. We have expectations of each other but discuss them, talking is always the key and trust is the lock. If you break the lock, I believe you will always have a hard time getting that key to work again, and if you manage to fix the lock or even replace it, it's never the same as the first one.

Off to bed, off to finish reading my latest book by Jodi Picoult, 'Nineteen Minutes'. Will give a review soon!

Oh and I think I have bitten off more then I can chew as I have promised to host The man's brothers 40th birthday - OMG what was I thinking?

In response to Coco's comment:

What is a typical day exercising for you? I am so inspired by that. It's just awesome. You look SO toned and fit in that pic.

Firstly I have not been exercising at all lately, and I thought that if I put up my before and after shot that it will remind me how good I can look when I do work out. The first before shot was taken in Jan 06 and the after shot was taken in Oct 06 as part of the body blitz challenge. I reached goal in late June 06 but if I were to put up my photo it will show a slimmer but very untoned me and skin seemed to drupe more.

To never exercised that much at all, I believe I lost most of my weight using my elliptical for 30min 6 days a week. I then began with light weights 1.5kg (which I still use) and followed a simple program by Joyce Vedral. Someone mentioned her on CK and I found her book at the local library; THE 12 MINUTE TOTAL-BODY WORKOUT, which sounded perfect for me as I hate exercising for long periods of time. I worked upper body one day, lower body every other day and because I felt I needed it, ab's 6 days a week.

Jillian Micheals workouts are great as she uses weights in them.

These days (when I am exercising) I try and run on the treadmill - 30min @ 8km/h or the tried and true 30min on the elliptical. I like to do a lot of incidental exercise, walk the dog, ride my bike, use a manual mower and edger. I try and do sit-ups, pushups and squats/lunges. I try and do 10 of each between ad's on TV, I think this is what has helped me maintain. The man thinks this is very distracting so the days he is home I just do them all in one set.

How does you hubby deal with your new bod? I so often read that men don't like it once their partners get buff. How'd did yours react? Is it for better? or worse?

As for The Man, well at first he thought it was just another diet, but then I actually lost more then I had ever in the past. He wasn't impressed with my loss of bust but he had no choice unless he wants to get me fake ones and has gotton used to what they are.

He is a very paranoid man in general and so the lost of my weight did not help at all. I don't notice anything, but when we go to the shops he claims that every man's eyes are on me. I asked him last night and he say's that makes him feel good that he is the one with the "hot chick" and they are not.

As I got to goal in winter, I don't think that he really noticed it all that much as the clothes I wear were jeans and baggy old jumpers. But come summer, I went out and bought all new clothes, tight fitting and clingy...his low self esteem went off then, he thought I was trying to attract other men, I heard on a daily basis that "your going to leave me for something better." He then went on his own diet and fitness routine, hitting the work gym and buying a treadmill.

It has settled now, it's almost 12 months (wow) but he still say's things hat annoy me, I can not compliment another man looks as he thinks I want "do them" but it gets to me that obviously I could attract someone now then in the past, surely I wasn't that horrid?

I have told him countless time I did this for me, not him, not the kids and certainly not for anyone else. I like the feeling of fitness and will hopefully try and stay as buff as I can manage for the rest of my days, he has to just learn to live with it, tough titties!

So I guess his reaction's to my loss of weight was worse then I imagined, but with every bad is a good...and he has worked out this: I'm fitter, have more energy, am more flexible and there has not be one complaint in the bedroom!

Whilst Blogger is working for me...

here are a few rings that I have made:

Still about

Well let's see how things go today. Just a simple post, no pictures as that is such a no goer at the moment.

Have been emailing blogger and it does seem to be some thing to do with my computer and even possibly my browser, so I'm using a new one called 'Camio' and see what it behaves like.

Not much goes on in my life, but I have beaded 2 more bracelets (When and if I can post pictures, I will) and purchased the latest publication of 'creative beader' and it has re-inforced my love that I can happily live in my bi-cone crystal world for a little longer. There is the most divine bracelet in it that I will make, just need to get a few more beads and I'm all set.

Edit Here is the bracelet I have been inspired to do from the magazine:


Decided that I have to start exercising again as everything is unwinding on me, I'm getting tired in the afternoons and wide awake late at night, can not fall alseep and when I finally do it's a fitful sleep and I awaken tired. So as soon as mum and dad head back home, I will start exercising again in the hopes to reverse all these negatives. Weight wise I have gained 2 kilo's, I accept this so am not angry about it, but the flat tummy is bulging out and needs work.

Thanks for all the comments guys, I shouldn't complain to much about Blogger as it allows me free speech and I have played with it a bit so that I can see the comments without having to go to a new page. All my links are messed up but will fix that soon.

Edit: Yeah ha! posted first go!

Another bracelet

I like this one, it's pretty. I have called it the "Gweniviere Bracelet"

My 2nd Bracelet

This is a eye pin to eye pin bracelet. It's very simple but can be jazzed up in the future which I intent to do but need my eye pins as I have run out.

Stop it!

Give me a break blogger, I have been battling with you for over 1 hour and nothing but crappy results.

Have you forgotten this is a secret blog, so that means I have limitation's on when I can post, yes they are my limitations, the ones I choose to make when I started this, knowing I could only post when the Man was not around, but seriously I do have better ways to spend my time.

Start working or I will blog else where, you have been warned.

Now some me time......

It's war blogger!

I'm so angry as I have tried to post several times here and nothing, either numerous lost blogs or stupid error messages! Hmm I notice that a little pop up tells me that it is going to save my drafts - about bleeding time!

So what have you missed?

I beaded my first bracelet!



Check out who is spying at me whilst I was taking a snapshot of my bracelet! Only noticed it when cropping the photo.

My parents are down visiting!

I have the appetite of an elephant and am happily feeding that appetite and slowly gaining weight, it's a quick path to self sabotage I must STOP or maybe I am just laying down my winter fat like animals do.

It's freezing and I can't feel my toes.

And happy birthday to my buddy Rainbow!

I feel Like an Arse

I truly do!

Here I am going on and on about me having to wait for my camera, when The Man bought his still as soon as he wanted, how it wasn't fair etc... I spent the day on the net researching all the camera's I was interested in, checking prices and quality and then The Man said, "I've had enough you, damn well can't give you a surprise at all," and handed me the camera that I've been wanting.

Oh I feel so bad, he must have got it during the week when he was working, he used his own cash, not his Old Man's money and that is the reason he said I wasn't to use the money as he already got it. I guess I really should have stopped nagging so that I could of had a surprise on Mother's Day, but I was surprised and now I can use it tomorrow!

Here is a photo of Little Man and one of Deaf Dog taken with my brand spanking new camera!

errr

I wrote a huge post and lost it completely.

Pissed off and couldn't bothered writing it all again, so here it was in point form:

* Spent Old Man cash on Vet costs as they were heaps more then I expected

* The Man said I could keep the rest of the money but it is not enough to cover the camera I want so I'm happy to wait.


* Bought new mobile phones that have a camera, Mp3 player and fully compatible with my mac (Whoo Hoo), these phones are on contract so no upfront cost and replace our old phones.

* Deaf Dog's surgery went well.

Money Sux

Money is truly the root of all evil. I wonder if rich people say that?

Today I was clearing the finances and although we have plenty for all the day to day things, we are broke when it comes to frivolous things such as the need for a new camera. But this afternoon The Man called from work and said that his Old Man had the cash he owed us from way back when, Whoo Hoo I thought and just assumed that The Man would spend it on me for Mother's Day and get me my new camera, but oh no I was smack down with the bat of harsh reality's and reminded that the electricity bill was more important.

Hmmm don't get me wrong, I agree that the bills are important, but this cash was lent months ago, we sort of gave up that we would ever see it's return and we living financially on that basis, so to me, this cash was a bonus and the electricity bill would have been paid in the same old ways as normal. When I shed this obviously very dim light on The Man, he said "don't start, you really shit me when you go on like this..."errrr

But why was it okay that he just up and went and bought a Still? Because he works and earns the cash? He says it's because it will be something with a by-product that we will use - arrr derrr - what is the by-product of the camera? Memories!

humf, just venting, I know I won't succeed but damn it, I would be letting every woman of the world down if I don't try and twist myself around his little finger, it is how we rule the world you know. Let men think they make all the decision when it's really us women who manipulate them in doing what we want.

So because there are no "major" event's happening in the near future, I have wait till before Big Man turn's 6 before I will have a new camera...so be it, I will have to bore you all with my old photo's.


This is me as a toddler, see, captured memories.

And thanks to you all for your comments, I love them, you make me feel like those nice quiet moments when life seems just right.

I need a star chart

I have had to resort to methods that I use on the kids to motivate me to exercise more. Since the school holidays began I just found that having 2 boys in the house meant that it was to much effort to find time for myself to exercise, and since the holidays have been over and we have returned from QLD this pattern of procrastination has continued.

So in a lame effort to move me, I have created a star/reward chart, just like the one I use for the kids when they were toilet trained and what I aim is to get a star for each time I do exercise. It has to be real exercise of a minimum 30min or 150 calorie burn. Yes 150 calorie burn doesn't seem a lot but these days it takes me 35 minutes of running at 8km/h on the treadmill to achieve that sort of burn. Oh I remember the good old days when I would burn 300cals in 20 minutes on the exercise bike, bring back those days with out the excess fat of course!

My eating is also heading out of control, but I know if I can start to exercise again it will come back into line as I'm never as hungry or do the bored eating thing as I'm busy and full of lovely exercise endorphins.

Hey Rainbow, thanks for the comment but I'm sure you have been where I have been one time in your life. With only one of working and it seems he is also the one doing the spending, we really shouldn't complain and just bite the bullet and sort it out, which we will, hopefully by tax time.

Deaf Dog is of to the vet's tomorrow to get desexed...lucky girl!

Boo Hoo

On Friday Big Little Man had to take in a family photo for "show and tell" and searching through over 1000 photo's for this year alone and I couldn't find one! The last family photo with all 4 of us was on Big Little Man's 3rd Birthday in 2004, Little Man was 6 months old with dummy in mouth and I was 30 kilo's overweight, The Man was unchanged...figures. But I was quite shocked that we didn't have a photo of all of us, we have lovely ones with just the boys and 1 parent, the boys alone, with friends but just us, NUP.

So last night we were heading to my nephews birthday and I had The Man, Big Little Man and Little Man dress up so we could take some nice family photo's and as my fate always plays my digital camera decides to break. I'm jinxed or what does this say about my family? Maybe we aren't meant to have family photo's....oooowwww

Slightly pissed off as we are broker then broke after coming back from our holiday and The Man went and bought a still - yet another hobby to his numerous list. Mothers Day is in a week but I doubt we will even be able to find the cash to buy a new camera, have to dig around the house for the 35mm.

Will report on my holiday soon, thankfully I downloaded all my photo's before the camera died.

Damn it I loved that stupid thing!

TTFN

Well we are all packed and ready for an absurd leaving time, kids seem excited and will soon lose that feeling when they realise they will be stuck in the car for over 10 hours.

Have made a mothers day gift with my beads (I knew this hobby would have many benefits)




I'd like to add a bracelet and was considering a necklace but think the pendant may be enough. Rainbow has inspired me though to make a simple but elegant one but I do need more supplies.

Well blogger buddies, please don't fret if you don't here from me in the next few weeks as I'll be just enjoying myself in sunny Queensland, have you heard me Lord, it better be sunny, I've only packed a light jacket!

Boring SAHM going to be GOHM!

1 more sleep to being a GOHM (gosh sounds like something from Lord of the rings) ie Going on holidays mum!

Packing is crap though when you have 2 electronic freaks (sorry make that 3) and a 10hour drive head of us, so these are the essentials:

Portable DVD is set up in the car,
Nintendo DS and Advance charged + games,
3 x iPods charged and full of quality tunes (one plays "Sonic theme song" but each to their own),
PSP charged with new games and movies in tow,
Mobile phone charges,
X-box with games (huge decision for the Big Little Man as leaving the PS2 behind meant leaving Ratchet & Clank behind),
colouring pencils and books,
Reading books,
TMNT figurines (they have to go on holidays too!)
5 x Hot Wheels cars (little man is still having issues on which 5 are allowed to come) and 1 x car play mat

I told the Man that I was bringing my beading bag and he rolled his eyes, come on, shall we read their list again.

Okay, off to pack those normal things like clothes.

Beading - I'm addicted

I'm driving everyone crazy in the house but I'm completely hooked on beading at the moment. I haven't made to much more but I have done nothing but search the web for patterns and designs, prices and beads to inspire me. My head is filling with idea's and dreams of beads and I insisted to the point of being forceful that we NEEDED to go the bead store today and so we did.

Oh, some of the most gorgeous beads are also some of the most expensive, but if you make quality it is all worth it.

I found a great forum with lot's of idea's and tips, I'm not going to join it but just scan it for all the idea's other share:
Bead and Button

I found this on ebay, I hope to have enough talent to make one and if I can I know my mother would adore one of these:

And I have one word for this piece - beautiful

To Ratchet or not to Ratchet?

Are you kidding that there is a slim possibility that you can do one or the other? Well Big Little man felt better this morning, after a quick 2 game of Ratchet of course!

Here he is playing that oh so wondrous game. And for those of you out there who are assuming this is our first go at it, no I'm sorry to say this is about our 5th round of Ratchet & Clank 2, we have conquered Ratchet 1, 2, 3 and even Gladiator, but by some miracle of our Lord Little Man managed to scratch Gladiator and Ratchet 1 is so easy!

We had plans, same plans as yesterday but nether the less they were plans to exit the home!

So we visited a local train exhibition = 1 hour


Went to the shops to purchase toy trains = 1 hour

To the playground = 15 minutes (I'm sounding like one of those mastercard ad's...


Where Big Little Man said he had had enough and wanted to go home to play RATCHET = Priceless!


So we came home and I beaded:

Visual proof of insainity

Plan a big day out, sunny blue sky, bags packed, roller blades in car with kids bikes, then Big Little man throws up all his breakfast up...

Geocaching

I heard of this interesting hobby (I guess you could call it that) from a fellow blogger (thanks Scooter!) and I generally assumed that it would not be available here in Australia, not because we are behind the rest of the world (because we are not) but because GPS is not that hugely popular here yet. But it is!

What is Geocaching? Wikipedia defines it as: an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure," usually toys or trinkets of little monetary value. Today, well over 350,000 geocaches are currently placed in 222 countries around the world, which are registered on various websites devoted to the sport.

And here is the Australia site: http://geocaching.com.au/

So all I have to do is equip myself with a handheld GPS and convince the man that it is totally worth it. Most of the caches that are on the site are not in metro area, but who really wants to trek in the city anyway, I love my city but at the same time can't stand it. So this could also mean more family outings into the country and mountains.

Oh yes, you have heard it all before, I WANT to do this.

I feel boring

You would assume that because my kids are on holiday that we would be out and about the town making the most of it, but not us! I did make a list before the holidays started with all the intentions to do the things on them and so far we have done 2.

I can't be left to take all the blame as Big Little Man wants to stay home and do nothing but play Ratchet and Clank 2, and I have been a good mum and playing a bit here and there but it is starting to get to me, I'm sure no human is meant to play for over 6 hours. I waiting for he nightmares to begin where Ratchet is after me with his Nuke blaster... Oh I recall the Thomas the tank engine nightmares!

My degrees of exercise are also very limited at the moment that I decided best to opt out of a challenge I had included myself in at the diet site, the small walks I am having with the kids and dog is not classified exercise although my left arm is getting a great workout as Deaf Dog is pulling with all force on the lead. I'm going to have one huge arm soon a bit like the character from "Lady in the Water".

Yeah anyway, my conversations with myself are also super boring, I'm literally boring myself typing here and feel like just shutting down the net but I won't as by being here is to alter my train of thought and hope to find something better to do with my days and not be so boring. Yeah whatever!

Thanks everyone for your nice comments, I was always happy enough to blog with no comments and never tell anyone about this place as I live in fear that the Man will find out and instantly assume that it is for other reasons which a way beyond my line of thought, but I feel I have found some trusting people out there is the WWW. So mmuwahhh to you all (that was a kiss) and thank YOU as it's your blogs that keep the boring SAHM not so bored, but alias I still remain boring.

Happy Easter!

There is no bigger smile then on a child's face when their mother says "YES" they can eat chocolate for breakfast!

Day 1 of School Holidays

It has been less then 3 hours since the kids woke up and they are already at each others necks. I've had too many requests for food and rejections on what is offered and I'm on to my 4th cup of coffee. I can see the next 2 weeks are going to drag on like a lead weight.

As today is Good Friday I still believe it should be a quiet reflective day, quiet I am not going to get, but we are not going to go out today so I have decided to have a "next blog" day. This is when I click the "next blog" button at the top of blogs and find new and interesting bloggers. The world is so large and filled with such interesting people and it is a great way to finding them.

Blog on!

To Lindt Easter Bunny or not

Last year I had set a goal that if I reached 70kg I would treat myself to a very decadent Lindt Bunny...but do I deserve one this year?

Money is so tight at the moment, to the point the car ashtray change is being used to buy essentials like milk. Things just keep sucking our hard earn dollars, wisdom teeth extraction's, kids sick, dead car battery, treadmill and now broken treadmill, next terms school fees are in, the holiday is looming, car needs servicing and so the list goes on. I have bought the kids some Easter treats, not many as some mothers trolleys but they truly don't need that much chocolate so enough for an egg hunt on Easter morning is plenty. But me, do I really need that bunny?

hmmm

I do want the bunny though.

I have no luck

23-26 March: My best girl girl comes to visit - I gain 2 kilo's. I shouldn't complain it was all self inflicted.


18-26 March: The man gets sick and sick people are hard to deal with but the man is just to much work sick. He was home for an entire week with 2 viral infections and a tooth ache. One infection and the associated pain running down his right side is thanks to a wisdom tooth that had to be extracted - but wait, the man is so manly he refuses to swallow pills so back to the Dr to have liquid antibiotics prescribed (at double the cost). I just wished that week would go quickly and you know it didn't!

28 March: The Lemon car's battery died on my day off, you know the day I was to get to enjoy on my own doing what I want, but oh no, I had to spend it with my FIL - oh it was a great day

31 March: The treadmill broke, just when I have set out a plan to run 25km a week and am progressing well at 8km/h

I told you, I have no luck!

The new treadmill

Oh yes, I some how managed to acquire another piece of exercise equipment (still want the bike trailer, but doubt that is ever going to happen) and it is a very flashy treadmill with a built in TV!

I never thought I would love exercising again, but before we purchased it I fell into a slump and only managed a jog a week with the dog, and may I also add that Deaf Dog is a hopeless border collie and gets tired after 20 minutes(I had to carry her up a hill one day). I was maintaining my weight and eating well enough but my fitness levels were dropping. But now that the treadmill is in the house, I'm up jogging nearly every day with gusto, I don't have to force myself to exercise I actually WANT too!

I am challenging myself to run 25km a week and hope to manage 5km in 30 minutes. I still hate long workouts, but with the access to increase speed and incline I should be able to continue on a great workout in 30 minutes. Once I can happily run 30 minutes non stop, I'll then aim at 10kms and maybe even try a fun run. Yes me, run on the road with heaps of other people for no other reason then to see if I can do it.

I think the TV makes it seem quicker and not so boring. I'm also hoping to get down to 55 kilo's by the time we head up to see mum and dad in QLD at the end of April, but that will also mean eating more cautiously and understand that several hot cross buns is not really a suitable breakfast.

Bookclub: What came before he shot her :(

Right off I was so pleased when I heard that my favourite author had released another book that followed on from her previous Inspector Lynley stories. As each of the Lynley books were released I purchased them, hard back and very expensive and for those of you who know me I don't generally buy books, that is what the library is for. But I always enjoyed Elizabeth George and I put down the book I had already started to start reading this once I got my hands on it.

Sadly I was greatly disappointed, I read it but I paused towards the middle, I just was not motivated to keep reading it, it was draining and negative, with no light at the end of the tunnel. Whilst looking for a pic on amazon to place here, a critique there completely sums what I too thought of the book:

"From Bookmarks Magazine
Scotland Yard detective Thomas Lynley is all but missing from this novel, and critics aren't sure what to make of his absence as well as that of most of the other popular series characters (only two of Lynley's police sidekicks appear—as minor walk-ons). The majority of critics cite this psychological crime novel as a deeply disturbing and unrelenting, yet illuminating, portrayal of a dysfunctional family and of the ways its members can go tragically astray. Two reviewers, however, cited a disconnected narrative, an overly complicated plot, too much detail, and a bleak, hopeless tone as major faults of the novel. There are, of course, no surprises about how the novel ends: Elizabeth George has already told that story in With No One As Witness.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

Very disappointed, first time ever one of her books gets a :( and I'm so glad that I never purchased it as it would have been a complete waste of money.

Bookclub: The Tales of the Orori

I have been currently reading Tales of the Otori by Lian Hearn. There are 4 books in the series and I really enjoyed the books, they were recommended to me by my sister and I pass on the recommendation too!

Book 1: Across the nightingale floor
Book 2: Grass for his pillow
Book 3: Brillance of the moon
Book 4: Harsh cry of the Heron

http://www.theotori.com/

The stories are set in an imaginary ancient Japanese society dominated by warring clans, and the life journey of a boy to manhood, we see how he was saved and adopted, then he finds love and his true family origins which only seem to betray him and cause his life to turn in an unexpected way. Each book continues on with a chapter of his life, but we also met many other character's that also make the books what they are.

AWOL

I am bad, I have been thinking about my blog but just never got around to posting, and then one day flows into the next and into the next and before you know it months have past and still nothing.

I also think I never post as I don't think that anyone actually reads my boring blog, my life of kids and whines, but it seems someone out there does, Thank you!

I actually came back today to find out what books I had listed to read as I have finished reading my current collection. I really need to give a review of them as this helps me to finalise the book in my mind. So the man is out this evening watching our elite nephew play soccer and it means that I can come onto my little secret place and blog away.

Everyone in this house is down with one ailment or another, flu, coughs, strain wrist's, headaches and the weather with all it's humidity just makes days drag on. I shall now go and read my blog to recap where I left off so I can update later... also need to get big little man from school.

Thanks for listening.