June 30, 2006
to be continued
tonight there has been (in no particular order):
a flat battery
laserzone
a missing person
maccas
yelling
shoes
ball in the head
phonecalls
worry
undies
permission notes
broken takeaway containers
vomit stories
orange lights
eventful indeed.
June 29, 2006
movie time
howie and i just saw cars. it was fun. a little slower than the other pixars, but still clever, with giggle outloud bits.
it was just us, a parents with their two little kids, and then a bunch of teenagers who were visiting lots of different cinemas.
just breathe
i don't know what to do with myself - for some reason, there seems to be no divulge this week!! my world is falling apart!
June 28, 2006
an old friend
i just saw sabotage for the first time on the road as a non-gower car. pulls at the old heart strings.
hacked
looks like someone had hacked into our internet connection since we got the 'wireless', that's not really wireless. how rude. hopefully no more, with higher security features.
chilly
i seem to get much colder than i ever remember (for sydney). i'm wearing the same number of layers as previous winters. it is particularly cold this year? or is it just me? hmm... what is the solution?
June 27, 2006
making light
"An Australian man has been arrested in Italy for an assault on a local man following the football match between Australia and Italy.
Witnesses say the Australian man was 20m away when the incident happened. The victim suffered a fractured skull, a cardiac arrest and has developed diabetes as a result of the incident. He is expected to recover in a few minutes."
yawn
stupid cat woke me up at 3:40am. and the super fleece blanket was too warm.
i could say 'i'm so tired' but i know there are thousands of people tireder from watching the game. i was expecting headlines "ROBBED". but haven't seen one of them yet. perhaps they'll come this afternoon.
June 26, 2006
fleecy
at this moment in time, polar fleece ranks as my number one invention. some nights the doona alone does just not cut it - but together with it's buddy, polar fleece blanket, it was the warmest sleep.
i almost wore socks into the shower today. lucky i looked at my feet as i was about to step in.
June 25, 2006
not long now
i can't barely wait til the day of purchase of the couch of my dreams. perhaps less than a month to go!! but i get nervous that they won't have it or be able to get it and i'll have to live the rest of my life in regret and grief, because of the absence of the perfect couch.
June 24, 2006
back in my day
we have two electricians over at the moment installing new lights. they and my parents are talking about corporal punishment in schools.
it's a real "remember bonfires, billy carts, cricket with a fence pailing" moment.
meanwhile, i dpon't deal well with change. me no like new light!
the old
and the new
June 23, 2006
shhhhhh
i'm being very quiet as i sit here tapping away on the lap top in the lounge room with my mother asleep in her chair, with xander asleep on his bean bag, and with howie asleep on the mattress. hmm... i want to be asleep dammit!
toddling off
in other news my cousin natalie, and her husband steve, are heading off to africa right now (they are on the plane) with a few others, on short term mission. they'll be doing some building, some work in an orphanage, some community garden projects, and more building/repairs. i think they're away for four weeks.
God bless them and keep them and use them.
thats good enough for me
i couldn't tell who won til i turned on the computer this morning. well, i shouldn't say "won" but "got through". i was woken up at 6:40am by my dad yelling at the tv and my mum saying shhhhh. i couldn't tell what he was yelling, so i assumed the worst. this not really bothering me i tried going back to sleep. somewhat unsuccessfully. so i'm tired and still sick. but i'm heading into work later/now-ish.
in any case - well done socceroos. you are champions. sorta.
June 22, 2006
aaahtissue!
sleep is always so elusive when i have a cold. my body wants so bad to have sleep, but it's hard when you need to keep a tissue stuffed up one nostril all night. delightful. so today i am staying home coz i am dog tired and still all blocked up in the nose and head.
i find it really hard to ever take a day off. i didn't when i was at school, especially in year 11. but there's always something i can be doing at work. not that there wasn't at school, but meh.
June 21, 2006
under the weather
i reckon its one of those days where you just want to sit in your pjs or trackies with your doona watching dvds, and falling asleep every now and then. it's all cold and grey and wet outside, i have a cold, futurama is calling. but noooo, hi ho hi ho it's off to work we go.
June 20, 2006
itsa comin!
i'm teetering on the edge of a cold. it's just there waiting for the most inopportune time it can find.
taking minutes
today is another st marys morning. maybe our meeting will be in gloria jeans again! i am also hoping that it doesn't take me more than an hour since i'm leaving at 8am - it's all up to the traffic really. did you know that st marys has a long and rich industrial and agricultural history including tanneries and munitions. wikipedia says so. i don't know what a munition is.
June 19, 2006
wrath of newcastle
my leggies are so sore! queens wharf tower has killed me. it means that stairs hurt, downhill slopes hurt, standing hurts. sitting is all good.
June 18, 2006
get set everybody
yep, get comfy as there are many photos to follow because today was steam train day!!! yayyy! and it was tops day for myself, howie, joshy and sam, and most likely for the 589 other people on board the 11 carriages. oh boy did we have fun.
it was a nice early start as we met at 6:30am at hornsby station! this is what the view from the top of my steps was as i left my house
and this is the three boys at the station - see the time! see their faces! it was early.
we arrived at central station at 7:12am, and headed over to platform 1. that is one long platform. once the train arrived we took some pics, as you can see below. it was newly restored to it's original grey as it was made during the war. it is an impressive engine.
the four of us scored a compartment (thankyou very much as we did pay $90 each!), and this is us in it. we were later joined by four others at hornsby.
me and sam went all out and bought $2 soot proof goggles. classy aren't they.
it was a nice journey up the line - the furthest i'd been before was berowra! there were lots of fun tooting noises and waving at people. here we are chugging along the way somewhere or other
it was fun to arrive at newcastle. and boy is it a happening place on a sunday! we walked a million miles, and, as you can see, had to be careful where we trod
first stop was gloria jeans. then to bi-lo via the information place to actually know where we were going. we bought cheese and ham and alfalfa.
some quality businesses in newcastle (i think howie will post about another)
we caught the free bus back to newcastle station, and then walked up queens wharf tower for a extensive view across the city. how good are our $11 train driver hats and badges.
we then had lunch on the picnic rug and it got chilly. so sam became an eskimo - or inuit if you prefer
we also played some frisbee coz that's the thing to do at picnics
i like this photo of howie. he looks like he's having a good time.
at 3pm we were back at the station, and left newcastle by 3:20pm. there was more excited noisyness as we "toot toot"-ed and sang songs and took photos.
old trains are fun things
here is me and howie in our fun hats
so yes, we did enjoy the day. it was well worth the moneys, and it was good fun to spend it together. souvenirs are good fun. steam trains are good fun. steam train volunteers are good fun.
so that is the story of our 3801 adventure
June 17, 2006
phew
good thing i just checked my camera battery otherwise i would've been a grumpy camera-less girl for steam train day! oooh it's tomorrow. i better go to sleep! love 5:20am wakeups!!
waaaambulance
sometimes i feel like such an anti-fun, boring loser. i'm not sure i had to write both anti-fun and boring there.
it sucks that other people's opinions matter.
our little guest
last night was a barrel of laughs. at my first ever attempt, will pipped me at the post in singstar, beating me by 20 points - although we were both declared singstars - oooh yehh.
the fun part was that mid-way through our first performance together, singing billy joel's 'uptown girl' (which will, and half the people in room were flabbergasted at, wondering who the hell billy joel was, and where westlife was!!), the crowd jumped up screaming, kind of like a mexican wave effect. now part of me thought they were just getting into our awesome singing and cheering us on. but alas, a rat was running across the room, and across lots of peoples legs (as most people were sitting on the floor).
and oh boy was there chaos. i jumped onto a chair, as did half the girls and a number of the boys! lots of people were shaking their hands - for some reason that's what you do after a close encounter with a rat/mouse/cockraoch or other creepy crawly. the little blighter ran through to one of the other rooms, and then back across to the kitchen. oh the screams and laughter. it was a very good moment to be a part of.
eventually will and i were allowed a restart (as this was GAP Idol and all had to be fair). and people calmed down. i wasn't too keen to be sitting on the floor ever again. eww.
and congrats to ash and jess - who in the grand final were only separated by 10 points!! ash was crowned GAP idol! yay!!!
June 16, 2006
June 15, 2006
weapons
tonight howie and i watched lord of war (tom, if you'd said the one with nicholas cage and guns i would've known exactly which film you meant!). films like this leave me feeling a bit empty. i don't know what i mean by "like this".
in any case, although it's not necessarily accurate, it does highlight the bloodshed that happens everyday. we hear about all the people dying of malnutrition. but not much about the ones dying at (or is it by) the hands of others/rebels/militants/dictators. not just been killed though - the rape, torture, grief, fear, displacement, ongoing trauma. the cycle of violence and oppression. and i feel helpless. i can't think of anything to do to help. i can't imagine what kind of place a human has to be in mentally, physically, spiritually, to actually be able to commit such acts. i can't even really talk myself into believing it is real. i live in a bubble. and to be honest, most of me is happy to be living in my bubble.
and where does that leave me? i have no idea. the world is so screwed.
decision pending
ok so i think david was the winner, but then there was much confusion over the issue (as you will see in the comments). so the judges have decided that david gets the tattoos (posted to india even!) and howie gets the pen. well played boys.
oh, and CD is still up for grabs!
June 14, 2006
will it be you?!
just two to go!!
in other news, i don't really like nutrigrain bars, i ate too many crispy m&ms tonight and irn-bru is good stuff.
countdown
only 31 visitors to go til the 20000. so it should be today. unless it's poor stats day. regardless of the time and place, the winner has their choice of three wonderful prizes straight from my desk at home!
first up, we have a pen exclusively from vision valley. that's right. vision valley. in it's original felt container thing.
our second just as impressive item is 'The Scoop' - with various artists singing various songs. the case may be a bit dusty, but that doesn't mean it's not quality.
and thirdly, lastly but not leastly is a $1.50 packet of Australia flag tattoos. as we all know it's world cup season - why not show your true colours. there is some sticky stuff on the wrapper which i don't know what that is, but i'm sure it's fine.
so all that is required of you to win one of these amazing prizes is to be the 20000th visitor, and to leave a comment stating you are said visitor and letting me know which prize you would like.
good luck and god bless.
June 13, 2006
enmore
tonight was my first enmore house visit. and what a visit! there was tom, and ryan, and jo, and martin (albeit briefly). plus rice crackers, 'hercs' takeaway, mountain dew, worship karoke, jamie, a parking spot and tea. all in all a fine night out.
oi oi oi
i better write something about australia winning their world cup game against japan 3-1 or i might be accused of being unaustralian.
woohoo! go the socceroos!
what would be in the list of things i shouldn't say? how about 'sure was asleep in my bed', or 'i was looking at buying an england world cup shirt yesterday', or 'the soccerwhos?'. that last one was a joke.
i'm sure i still know more of the players by face and name than sam - he still probably thinks they're all viduka!
June 12, 2006
making a grand entrance
today howie and i went on an adventure. initially we planned to go to sydney aquarium, but then no trains and expensive ferries made us reconsider. so we headed up the coast to the entrance!!
good choice.
we headed up the freeway and made it to our destination by about 11am. i parked duckie in some obscure parking lot, and we headed down to the foreshore. it was nice to wander around and take photos, and enjoy sunshine!!
there was a little fair type thing happening - jumping castles, fairy floss, show bags, giant slide, corn, airbrush tattoos, face painting, plaster painting, and kites. go the entrance! plus a "pete the pelican" show at least twice.
i got a bertie beetle show bag. i had to!
later on howie bought me fairy floss too. so yum. we've eaten the pink layer by now.
we got some lunchies from coles, and wandered the shops. some quality stores around.
they also hold their memorials in high regard
we also walked closer to the ocean and down on the rocks.
and then!! it was pelican feeding time at 3:30pm. that was good fun. they really like to come and eat. there's about 500 pelicans in the region, and 50-80 come each afternoon for the free food. it was pretty cool to watch them. they are very strange looking creatures!
so yay for a fun day.
tonight is a family dinner for debbie's birthday. yummy food. except i have a headache. boo.
June 11, 2006
June 10, 2006
bye bye sabotage
well, the car of my teenage years is gone.
we bought sabotage in 1992, and he left to join will's family today. so many memories. so so so many.
my burnt thumb, the puddle incident, the crack next to the stereo, the flat battery outside sam's house, sleeping in it at bart's 21st, the cracked windscreen, the fifty cent coin in the air vent, the plastic knife shoved in the gap next to the glovebox, sam's burnt finger, 'too many puppies', 'dorothy', a few (!) crashes, the flat tire and NRMA man, bonnet and roof surfing, beach trips...
and i can't remember the exact context of this memory, but it involved luke and tim (i'm sure) and the throwing of gherkin's from maccas cheeseburgers, probably in the summer of '99/00. the mark remains today.
nice.
so it is with sadness that i say goodbye.
almost 20000
well, the old webstat is only 150 ticking overs away from reaching 20000. what should be the celebratory event? what should be the prize for being that 20000th visitor? will you be vying for the title?
debbie it's your birthday
today, being the 10th, it is my sister's 23rd birthday
yep 23. what old fogey's we are becoming.
happy birthday my debsy. have a good one!
incidentally, this is the first photo taken on my new camera. oooh aaah.
June 09, 2006
me thinks
for some reason i think it's jane's birthday today. in that, i am either right or wrong. but regardless, i wish you a happy birthday jane!
June 08, 2006
will it get there?
if only registered post cost the same as normal postage, rather than six times as much.
Matt 22:15-22
Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"
"Caesar's," they replied.
Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.
June 07, 2006
ta nat
just a few pics from the weekend
the lovely bride jo and the gorgeous flowergirl kaysey
jo and pat signing their lives away
the three sisters looking beautiful - nat, mel and jo :) my cousins!!
and our family and kaysey the morning after
rank
tell you what's not a good smell - sucking up one of those little lizards in the vacuum cleaner. it was already dead, but oh did it reek! i assume it was mushed up and cooked a bit by the heat inside the machine. so now my aunt's house smells a bit. whoops. lesson learnt.
June 06, 2006
its a deal, its a steal
well i just got meself a digital camera. been thinking about it for a while, getting a skinny little thing to compliment howie's powerhouse slr one.
so this is it - and it was $200 off - that's the way i like it!
Modern Version of the Birds & Bees
A little boy goes to his father and asks "Daddy, how was I born?"
The father answers: "Well son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo. Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a little Pop-Up appeared that said:
You got Male
June 05, 2006
you've got mail
it should be the rule. every household should have a nice obvious letterbox, clearly marked with the number, and big enough to put stuff in! surely it can't be that difficult!
chipped
dentist today. that doesn't fill me with excitement - the prospect of tooth pain is daunting - it's a weird sensation/pain. but these things happen. stupid sugar coated almonds - didn't bring me any good luck! but they are yummy.
June 04, 2006
important dot points
ok, so maccas/telstra dogged us and we didn't end up blogging.
but now that we are back, and didn't die from me having a microsleep i thought that before i go to sleep i would give you a summary of our last four days, in somewhat chronological order:
* we listened to lots of CDs in the car - I started writing them down, but forgot to continue, and have now forgotten all
* we stopped in places like greta and scone - we hadn't before
* armidale was cold
* we spent lots of money at kmart
* i used my new card for howie's st george account for the first time
* no one brought their camera to take photos of the wedding or adventures
* we scored an awesome dot painting from howie's parents shop
* we drove across to coffs harbour and i saw a kangaroo
* the wedding was great - yay for jo and pat
* we had the best table at the reception and all ate lots of food
* had the dodgiest sleep care of my mother's sinuses
* had a yummy breakfast with wedding people
* i can't figure out if my filling has chipped off, and i've chipped the same tooth but the other end (time for another visit to the dentist)
* howie and i went to "clog barn" and walked through a miniature holland
* we got an easy park at settlement city at port macquarie
* drove back and had my first ever 'v' coz i was damn tired
it was a fun few days. yay for family.
June 01, 2006
on the road again
we are off to armidale today to visit parentals and nan for a couple of days before heading across to coffs harbour on saturday for the wedding. so for the next few days i am reliant on howie's laptop and maccas hot spots to bring you any news - whether newsworthy or not. ta ta.