pick one : jenny/jenga/jentle/jengi/itchy/jk

online

as those who know me well would know, i'm part of an online forum that i am totally addicted to, and have been for almost four years now. a number of sentences a day from my mouth start with "this girl i know on BD said..." or a variant of such.

i have met a few of the girls in person, and would like to meet a few more, and am facebook friends with a number (not that that necessarily means much).

but it is a strange little world. this place where all kinds of details are shared, with a thin veil of anonymity. a prime example would be that, besides howie, these girls were the first to know i was pregnant with oscar.

and i guess it gets me thinking about all the blah blah about community and friendships, and how social networking is actually killing it all on some levels.

but on the other hand, i don't have opportunity to see real people, those that i love, as much as i used to. and so having an online equivalent of sorts does help me from going crazy.

i for one am thankful for the internet. in spite of my addictions.

deprived

wildlife is for chumps. too many birds and bats and puppies interrupting my already interrupted sleep.

where did that come from?

rather randomly, i got a sinus headache (or potentially a mini-migraine, as wiki tells me 90% of sinus headaches are actually migraines) at 4am this morning. it was after being woken at 2am by howie not able to sleep (thanks for that), and then not really sleeping til 3am when oscar woke up. after giving in and feeding him i came back to bed with a niggle behind my left eye. and that grew to encompass the whole of my left frontal lobe and sinus. and that meant i didn't really sleep because it freaking hurt! Oscar woke up at 6am anyway (thankyou lorikeets) so i had panadol as nurofen + empty tummy = no deal. thankfully o-man was happy to stay in his cot and amuse himself til almost 7am.

panadol took two hours to take effect. so in the meantime my head hurt and nausea set in. i tried to eat breakfast, but one spoon was too much for me. thankfully i am feeling better now.

but i'm trying to figure out where that came from. my normal triggers are glare (none of that at 4am) and dehydration (it was rather warm in our room all night). perhaps stress and tiredness can be added to the list now. damn it.

Forward

If you can't find the book you're looking for, you're probably at the

better than

"All I know is sometimes things can be hard
But you should know by now
They come and they go
So why, oh why
Do I look to the other side
'Cos I know the grass is greener but
Just as hard to mow"

-john butler trio

11 months old

Oscar is 11 months old today. This is his face.

He has such crazy eye colour for a child born of two blue/green eyed people.

And to celebrate his 11 months he pulled himself up for the first time. Quite an achievement for a boy who doesn't crawl and rarely rolls.

(click here for the video)

hot

the last few days have been quite hot. had you noticed?

i am thankful for the cooler weather today, although the house takes a while to rid itself of the heat. i still have the fan on in oscar's room. that southerly took it's sweet time getting here. we had to have the air con in our room on while we attempted to sleep.

makes me think of those who live in hot climates all the time. i know i could not do it. i just feel disgusting in hot weather. and then imagine not having air conditioning as well.

i wonder if you are born into it, and live it every day if it's just normal and you don't sweat bucketloads. how do people in remote, hot communities not dehydrate?

justice

following on from a post james wrote recently, i saw this article in smh just now.

granted, i don't know the reasoning behind denying parole for Mr Lim - perhaps there are further extenuating circumstances to refuse it - but if it's primarily because of the hoopla in the media i think that is a fair bit scum. this man has done his time. sure, he did a terrible thing. and the victim was a prominent man. but justice decided that he would serve this sentence, and he has. does keeping him in gaol for longer really make a difference?

bats!

Well, it was established last night that the noisey creatures in the tree next to our room are, in fact, bats. I had a good look out our window with a torch and saw and heard a number of them. They didn't seemed all too impressed with my presence.

I saw a possum too, but it was quiet as a mouse. so my apologies to all possums which have been getting a bad rap from me!

Anyway, as B was over, he, Howie and I did some googling to see if there were any solutions. If you're in Victoria, you can call someone to come solve your bat problem. If you're in NSW, it seems you just have to get over it.

This website frustrated me even more. They tell me it's only a temporary situation (because the tree is flowering so it is super yummy), so you'll be right. As correct as this is, it doesn't solve my problem of no sleep right now.

Their 'Bat Enquiry Manual' then amused me for a while - it's a manual for people answering enquiries/complaints about bats. Some quotes...

~ "The majority of calls can probably be dealt with quickly and easily but a few will be from irate, upset or demanding individuals."

~ "The result of such active listening will be a lowering of negative feelings"

~ "If the caller thinks that the noise is very loud from flying-foxes feeding in a garden tree or the smell from them is overpowering then IT IS."

~ "Remind the caller that ultimately they will have to work around it"

~ "The first point to make clear is that flying-foxes will only be present while the tree is fruiting or flowering so the problem is only a temporary one."

~ "If people find the noise disturbing then a simple inexpensive solution is to visit the local pharmacy and invest in a pair of earplugs that can be used just for the short time the flying-foxes are feeding in their tree."

And my favourite:

"Many people become accustomed to the noise and find it a familiar, natural sound that they welcome each evening with the arrival of the flying-foxes just as many enjoy the dawn chorusing of the birds."

YEAH RIGHT!! Who on earth welcomes the noise of birds at dawn!

So in short, we either need to cut all the flowers off the 10 metre tall tree, or just wait it out.

I guess some saving grace is that Oscar isn't woken by them. Praise God.

back in my day

yesterday i was helping Bel out with some stuff at her house, which required me to use a PC, a keyboard and a mouse. it was so very strange. i haven't used a keyboard or a mouse for close to a year. i occasionally use a PC at my parents place.

it was almost like stepping back in time.

the future is clear

why can't it be the future NOW. i've posted before about the clarity, and smh has an article on it at the moment.

it's so cool and such an unbelievably great idea. me want one! and the infrastructure!

snow leopard

last night we installed snow leopard on fuji. and we knew that my internet wouldn't work. much as howie's hadn't. until the new software from virgin was downloaded and installed. worked a charm for howie's computer. but ba baow for mine. it's not the modem, it's something with the computer somehow. very frustrating. because i am totally addicted to the internet, and so it drives me a bit crazy to think i may not have access tomorrow.

howie has been plugging away trying to solve the problem. b has also been consulted. time will tell what the problem is. but hopefully it is resolved soon.

but it does go to show that the gower gene of technology abiding by murphy's law is being carried on. unfortunately.

what to do??????

ok, so there is some kind of creature (possum or bat) that spends it's nocturnal awakenings in the tree behind our house. which also happens to be right next to our room and a window.

the last week or so it has started making all kinds of screeching and grunting noises, for at least a few hours, or in last nights case, all night. if i'm not asleep before it starts i can't get to sleep unless i stuff the doona in my ear and cover my head - not comfortable. howie can't get to sleep. so we are both running on empty. not what you need when you have a baby.

so what can we do???

- the tree isn't on our property, but can we lop branches that overhang the fence? they do touch of roof, so perhaps that could be a reason to allow it?? maybe that could discourage the thing or accidentally remove it or add some more distance between it and us?

- do possum men (if it is indeed a possum) trap possums that aren't in your roof but just close to it?

- obviously we can't kill the tree or kill the creature. can we.

- find a lot of money and move house?

- swap rooms with tom while he is away?

because i really need sleep.

fuzz

I do not understand our TV antenna. Since moving here we have never had full reception. And for most of the time, for our digital TV, there has been no channel 7, 9 or 10. Suddenly this evening, there was channel 7 and SBS with dodgy 9 and GO. There is now nothing but SBS. So back to analog we go where we get ABC, 7, 9 and SBS. Channel 10 remains a permanent no go.

Good thing we don't watch much TV.

And speaking of TV, 30 Rock Season 3 arrived today. Oh it is so good to be back. We watched four episodes tonight. 18 to go!

unexpected flowers

months and months ago we bought a cactus from IKEA of all places. it sat on the table on the front porch for a while until jane bought us a cyclamen (which, i'm sad to report jane, i think it might have had it - sorry!). so the cactus moved to the back porch on the railing.

a couple of weeks ago i noticed it had pink pyramid shapes in a ring around it. i thought that's a bit odd. the next day i noticed, these were in fact flowers.

later that evening i noticed the flowers had closed again. and so it seems to go each day.

i don't think i'd ever thought of a cactus flowering before. i hadn't thought of them not flowering either.

sbts09

today we headed into bondi after oscar's morning sleep hoping for a good day of sculpture seeing.

we parked just up the hill from the beach, it was a tight fit but we were in! then a quick feed for oscar, and a lathering in sunscreen for us all, and we were off!

in the spirit of art, this was an accidental piece of artwork

on the way i remembered how much i forgot to bring - a spoon for oscar's yogurt, a bib, a cleaning cloth. mother fail. luckily the chemist helped us out.

so after some food for oscar, we did two new things. we started sculpture by the sea from the bondi end. and i didn't buy a guide.

but it was still good.

the boys with bondi beach behind

some art

(didn't notice the cloud effect in the next one until i was looking back at the photo later. nice work me!)

i decided that this one would be my favourite. i love giant dominos!

it was a nice work on a lovely day. a little hot, but not too much.

we walked back to bondi and had some oporto for lunch - you've just gotta go oporto when in bondi. it was nice to sit on the grass in the shade.

then the walk back up the hill to find that duckie was very well parked in.

thankfully, the van parked in front of us was just enough away that a forward, backward and forward on full lock got me out.

oscar had a short nap in the car, and we went through the lane cove tunnel to avoid traffic lights and encourage his sleeping.

i'm happy to keep going along each year. oscar seemed to have a good time too.

out numbered

In my bag of Skittles today, there was a yellow M&M mini. At first I thought it was just a small Skittle. But no, there was chocolate beneath the chipped shell. I wonder how it got in there.

Pencil it in

Does anyone still use a hard copy diary these days?

tomaree head

We found a little beauty of a lookout on our last full day in Nelson Bay. We had gone looking for it earlier in the week, but we didn't look hard enough, plus it was too hot.

So although the skies weren't blue or particularly clear, it was cooler but still an effort carrying a baby! It was pretty damn steep in parts!

The journey - 161m summit, 1km walk.

Roughing it for the first bit of the bushwalk

Then we started on some steep metal stairs, interspersed with track and rock steps.

Sea level was getting further and further away. And pretty quickly.

Our appropriate footwear

Further still - looking over Shoal Bay

The boys

We made it! Doesn't Oscar look impressed - freaking should be. He's heavy.

Full 3G reception overlooking Zenith, Wreck and Box beaches and beyond

It was a much easier trip back down.

But it was a great little walk. I imagine on a nice, and not too hot, day the views would be pretty spectacular.

sights seen

Today was much cooler and we ended up doing a fair bit of sightseeing - which was a pleasant surprise.

We went to Corlette, walked the breakwater at Nelson Bay, visited the Nelson Head Lighthouse, and hiked up Tomaree Head. And the weather was quite nice for all of that.

Tomorrow we head back home.

It's been a nice time away, but nothing feels like a 'holiday' when you have a baby. You can't really just sit back and relax, or go and do whatever. It's very much like being at home, but being somewhere else.

I guess things will change one day.

37

it was very hot yesterday. so we didn't really do too much sightseeing.

in the morning we went for a dip in the pool at the complex we are staying in. it has a shallow pool for littlies, which is a great idea.

oscar's never been in a pool before, and was a bit tentative the day before when just dipping his toes in.

so we took it in baby steps

firstly, sitting on a chair next to the pool

(how cute is his rashy! got it from the cancer council. cost a bomb, but it will last a little while hopefully)

we then moved to sitting next to the pool and splashing it with our hands. oscar couldn't really reach, so we dripped the water on his feet and got his hands wet.

next was standing in the water (ankle deep for him)

followed by sitting in the water - that one took some convincing - probably because it was a little bit cold. hooray for splashing

then he moved to hanging with Daddy in the deeper part of the baby pool, with Daddy slowly dropping his legs, so Oscar ended up about chest deep

and then lastly we moved into the big peoples pool - that ended up being fun, especially with a lot of bouncing

so good job Oscar!

the rest of the day was spent in air conditioning, or out wishing we were in air conditioning.

we had lunch at the marina, and a short foreshore walk. later on we went to the shopping centre (empty as because it was melbourne cup time). and then hung out at home.

hopefully it isn't too rainy today.

excitable

Oscar has this thing he sometimes does when he's having a good time. It's becoming more pronounced as he gets stronger in his arms and legs. It's funny.

bay day

this morning (after a pretty dodgy sleep thanks to bad pillows, hard mattress and random upset baby at 5am) we thought about what to do with our day.

in the end we visited two beaches, one shopping centre, one lookout, one playground and one toboggan run. a pretty full day!

this morning i used the dish... drawer... dish... drawer

hmmm, where shall we go today?

Zenith Beach - Oscar got scared as we neared the water - i guess crashing waves are loud and scary when you've never seen them before

After a feed, we went to Toboggan Hill to check out the toboggans and the maze. In the end it was just toboggans for us. Crazily we were allowed to take our 10 month old baby on one, and I was able to go on in thongs and a dress. OH&S wasn't a huge deal. There was a big lizard on the run when Howie and Oscar went up. And it was stuck. The girl had to go up with a broom and push it off.

Then I had a go - I'm a bit of a wuss and used the break a fair bit, but it was still fun.

Howie then had his second go

after some lunch and a nap (for baby) we went to Gan Gan lookout

Right with the telstra towers - tall aren't they

From there we went in search of some swings. Nelson Bay - no. Shoal Bay - no. Fingal Bay - yes. We went down to the beach, as the water was much calmer, but Oscar still wasn't impressed. So we just sat on the sand for a while

After swings, we came back for some dinner (Oscar's loving Baked Beans - reduced salt and sugar), some playtime and baby bed time.

Tomorrow is meant to be warmer still, so we're going to attempt some water and/or sand action. Hopefully it's fun for all.

the stig

oaks mach 2

we're on a little break up at nelson bay for a few days. howie has taken some annual leave and we thought it would be nice to take up a good deal on an apartment.

we left home middle of today, a bunch of happy chappys.

and it didn't take long to get up here. oscar even had a 50 minute sleep. the longest in a long time.

our apartment is fabulous! it's bigger than our house we reckon! oscar has the downstairs room, which also has the kitchen and living area, and we're upstairs. we had a bathroom each. although no bath, which is a bit of a shame since oscar doesn't much like showers.

anyway, we're very impressed with the oaks group (same people as where we stayed in glenelg).

after unpacking our stuff, and doing some grocery shopping, we went for a stroll down towards the bay.

no idea what the next few days will hold. hopefully oscar will like some sand and water time at least.