just plodding along

CiC

last night we needed a DVD to watch from our combined house collection, and we went with Commander in Chief.

and now we are hooked - particularly howie. up to episode 6 now i think.

i hate to think what would happen if we started watch West Wing.

he's at work

it would be nice to live in a time when there is no chance howie will be working on a weekend. unfortunately that's never going to happen.

i think my friends think that howie is never in sydney. whenever i see them, he is away somewhere or other. it's ok people, he does exist. he won't be an absent father.

at least we have the flexibility to have mid-week weekends. well, occasionally anyway.

in the news

sometimes with all that's going on in the world, the routine of life seems a bit... i don't know... superficial?! mundane?! unfairly easy?!

at the moment, as i am finished work, i am doing a fair bit of pottering. which includes writing our Christmas cards, as it's probably best to get them done and dusted before there's any chance of Guido arriving (37 weeks 2 days today). and as i write them, i want people to receive them and know that we care about them and, although writing them feels like a bit of a production line for me, value them being a part of our life and world - in whatever way that might be.

but at the same time, i'm writing these cards and wondering about the superficiality of it all. at the same time, there are people in the world getting a lot of press as they perpetrate or are victims of violent crime, and there are even more people in the world getting no press who are victims of violent crime. there is big stuff going on in the world that is easy enough to hear about in the news, or not hear about at all, and then switch your brain off from. things too far away to be overly impacting besides maybe a feigned sense of compassion, pity or fear. is that a picture of our society, or just a picture of me?

so besides the fact that this is becoming and more and more scary world to bring a child into, my circumstances makes me wonder why i get to be here in kooshland with so many wonderful people as my family, friends and acquaintances, while all those other people in the world are where they are.

"From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us." Acts 17:26, 27

i don't want to just use those verses for comfort. but to be spurred to some kind of action...

breakfast time

i do love breakfast. although this morning's orange juice isn't doing it for me. i guess it can be a bit hit and miss with freshly squeezed stuff.

what's your favourite meal of the day?

three thoughts

firstly, i would like for our baby to engage. being engaged brings us closer to the whole being born thing. and that would be a good thing. so c'mon baby!

secondly, how good is reaching the medicare safety net threshold! my Ob appointments will now only cost $5.25, which is good since now i see him once a week. never mind the hundreds i've already paid.

thirdly, the new car park system is up and running at westfield making it LED land - they have a little light above each car space - green if it's empty and red if it's used, of course. and then around the car park there are signs, arrows and crosses telling you if, and how many, spaces there are in that row. it's pretty nifty. i enjoyed finding my car space with it's help.

UK is #1

welcome back top gear. oh how i missed you.

kodak moments

yesterday was cathy and grant's engagement party. it was good fun. and the two engaged ones seemed to have a good time (as did all other engaged and non-engaged people there).

there were some special moments

lachie, sam and james feeling the love

i think i win

way cool

ben so busted

the happy couple

a good afternoon indeed.

tongue in cheek

i'm not sure why everyone had to wait til i was heavily pregnant to have all their social celebrations. why didn't everyone celebrate everything back in like august when i was comfortable. how rude. this weekend, while howie is away, i get to play at an engagement party, hens night and birthday party. should be good fun.

qos

today howie and i went to see quantum of solace.

it was my first cinema bond experience, and just my third bond experience over all.

i think i like daniel craig's bond more than ye olde bonds like sean's and roger's. better character. less gross. the movie wasn't bad. i hadn't read tom's review, but as we left i commented to howie that my eyes aren't fast enough for some of the action bits - like the fight scenes and the running through narrow corridors/passages. so that was a bit annoying coz you couldn't really tell what was going on. but in any case, it wasn't a bad film. and i really like judy dench.

Tops!

Howie and I cracked open the Top Gear Interactive Challenge last night.

He wasn't very impressed that I won both times we played. And won substantially.

I love Top Gear.

finito

today was my last official day of work.

it's funny coz wednesdays are often my lonely days. just me in the office - with occasional visitors. so there wasn't much fanfare!! but that's ok with me.

yesterday i got flowers and a cake, today a card and some money for the baby. thankyou lovely people.

it's a bit weird to be finishing, and to be finishing indefinitely. i've been working at my work for over six years, so there's probably a fair bit of my 'identity' tied up in my work. it feels a bit strange to not be going there anymore. i'm sure i'll notice it more in the next few weeks while i potter around, but i reckon once Guido arrives i'll be pretty distracted. and i'm also pretty excited to have some time off beforehand.

so here is my desk that i said goodbye to.

i spent a good part of today depersonalising my workspace and computer. although i'll be back there on monday to copy my emails across to toffee. and coz it's fun to hang out with howie.

so yes, may my days as a lady of leisure begin!

mo

i think cops should maybe think more carefully about the style of moustache they grow for movember. sometimes it can look a little 'baow chicka wow wow'.

mealtime

tonight i cooked beef stroganoff for the boys. the human boys, not the turtles ones. i've never cooked it before. but because howie and i both don't like cooked mushroom, it was a little lacking in the technical sense. but apparently it tasted ok. i didn't eat a lot of it, but it wasn't bad.

i decided i need to extend my repertoire. not because i think i really need to, because howie and i aren't into lots of different fancy meals, but i think it's probably good to know a few more recipes. although i think its normally pretty easy to follow a recipe, but i don't tend to experiment too much. but i should check out all our cookbooks for new and exciting and tasty things.

although it's always good to have the ones you know are good and familiar and failsafe.

i'm looking forward to in about 7 months time when i can start making purees and fun baby food. i don't want to buy baby food jars. my mum gave me a quality baby cookbook which i am looking forward to using.

party central

last night sam's birthday was celebrated at the bavarian bier cafe. it was bloody hot in there. not very accommodating for already swollen pregnant feet. but it was good fun. and there was much to eat and drink.

sam and his man beer

james is a girl

james is a man

cathy, grant and lach

then today was debbie's hens day. the bridesmaids made an executive decision at 9am that the beach wasn't all that good an idea. so plan b was to have the picnic at our house. seemed to work alright. there was a LOT of food. which pretty much was the theme of the day.

cathy, zoe and me

shell, al, lyndal, ez and deb

my hottie sister and me

more food - yum!

and after all that food it was time to go have some more at afternoon tea at mirabelle cafe. what a selection of treats! and a lovely selection of ladies as well

afternoon tea was followed by a brief recovery session (naps were encouraged) before heading out to dinner at the limestone cafe. twas quite a nice place. and the food was yummy. i had roasted pumpkin and pear salad. good fusion of flavour.

lyndy, elise, debs and cath

and dessert soon followed at cathy's place, with a chocolate fountain of fun!

all in all it was a good day. quite tiring. but debs seemed to have fun, which is the most important thing!

happy hens day debbie!!

on special

banana paddlepops are good inventions. because they are yummy. and cold.

today has been quite the warm.

traitor

last night we went to the movies to see 'traitor'

i enjoyed the movie. some good twists and turns. but both howie and i guessed the big twist. but i really like don cheadle. and saïd taghmaoui is good value. and it was kind of nice to see hollywood give a slightly different (although some of the same) portrayal of islam.

our cinema experience however was marred by a stupid cinema man who ripped our already ripped tickets in half again!! ahhh do people not understand we keep our tickets! and then our movie didn't start for a million years. but it got their eventually.

flakey

i think it's a cornflakes-for-dinner night.

good thing cereal is an anytime-of-the-day food.

surprise

today we were pleasantly surprised to have lunch with our buddies andy, penny and mikeala who can generally be found on the gold coast. but today they were in our neck of the woods. it was nice to catch up, and to see how cute and happy mikeala is, talk about baby related things, a little bit of work stuff, and enjoy the sunshine together. plus they gave us presents - chocolate, coke, nappies and baby wipes. what a combo!

fortunately they are work buddies that we will probably get to see once we aren't at work anymore. besides the fact they live in a different state, penny's mum lives around here. so that's a bonus for us!

deb and james

the whole two deb and james' is a bit freaky.

granted one is a deby and the other a debbie.

but then both couples getting married in the space of a week. both will be living on the same road in the same suburb. both will be going to the same church. both are pretty cool.

no wonder things sometimes get confusing

Joshua 24:15

"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

"But if you don't want to worship the LORD, then choose right now! Will you worship the same idols your ancestors did? Or since you're living on land that once belonged to the Amorites, maybe you'll worship their gods. I won't. My family and I are going to worship and obey the LORD!"

it's funny how a different translation can put a slightly different spin on things for you. reading this verse, i can safely say that i don't think it is evil to serve the Lord or that it is a bad thing. but sometimes it can feel undesirable, or i don't want to or, if i'm honest, i refuse to - whether with intention or not.

but i want for me and my house to serve the Lord. because it is good and right and desirable. and because He deserves it.

our cheeky buggers

pineapple

ham

bad boys

i have things i mean to blog, but then never do.

thinking we may have to put the divider back in the boys tank. we noticed the boys having a go at each other this arvo, and then this evening again. and it seems piney got one of ham's still not completely healed feet and irritated it. dammit. they had been doing so well. so that is mighty annoying. hopefully it doesn't amount to anything for ham's health.

i have many tireds and elect now to be bedtime.

good night.

fish count

2

well done america

obama baby!

i do hope that the world becomes a better place because of today.

spoilers

i wish the america election was like all good american tv shows. that way i could look it up on the internet to find out what happens before it screens in australia, even if it's fast tracked.

but no, the election will have to play out in real time. damn suspense.

bargain!

many hoorays and hoorahs for debs and james who got a place this morning. woohoo!!

tidying

we're getting there with our little study area at home. which is good, because it being useable means we aren't clogging up the dining room table. and it gives the macbook pro a place to live.

we're also getting there with the baby's room. today we got some drawers to put in the wardrobe so that i could put away baby clothes and linen.

we're also getting there with the house being unpacked. still some things that we just don't know what to do with or where to put. so annoying.

fish count

3