Saturday, April 29, 2006

The hills have eyes (and millipedes, and bushfires and snakes...)

I received some bad news on Thursday night that made me rather upset, upset enough to blubber like a baby anyway.
For those of you who don't know, Christian and I are have been house-sitting my mother-in-law's house while she has been travelling, saving a deposit so when she came back we could buy the house. Well the MIL is back but house prices have gone up so dramatically in the past 11 months that we can no longer afford to get this house. We knew that the price would increase, but we thought it would be along the lines of 22%-ish which is the mean across the market. However, our house jumped up 46% and our dream of buying it crashed to the ground rather forcefully.
And now I face the prospect of going house hunting as soon as I step off the plane from my international sleepover. MIL wanted me to start looking before I left but as I only have a week and a half left before I jet off, I said 'fat chance'.
There is little hope that we will be able to buy a home in my beloved hills, leaving only the flats as an option. I've never wanted to live down the hill. It's crowded, the blocks are tiny and the burbs resemble rabbit warrens. However, faced with the prospect of not having any choice, I've started to dwell on the down points of living in the hills and also this house (which I have quite an emotional attachment to now) to make the move a little easier.
To begin with is the large advantage of not having to worry about doing my firebreaks every summer now. This includes cleaning out the gutters every two weeks in winter as there are no where near as many trees in the burbs as opposed to the hills.
Then there's the fact that there are substantially fewer creepy crawlies down the hill, including millipedes.
Added to this is that both Christian and myself will live much closer to work and so we will save tremendous amounts of money on fuel.
I've tried to be very critical about the house and have decided that the following list of points will most definitely not be missed once we move. The fact that most of our house inside is exposed brick which makes it very cold in winter. We only have an open fire that is crap at warming even two feet in front of it, let alone the house and so we won't have to worry about replacing it with a slow-burning combustion fire like we'd planned.
Our kitchen is massive (which is a good point) but that it's decked out in 1970's decore is something that I'm looking forward to saying goodbye too.
Our toilet roll holder keeps on breaking so almost every time you use it it clatters to the ground.
We're not connected to the gas mains up here so we have to have an electric stove and oven as bottled gas to too expensive.
Oh, and did I mention the millipedes?

There you have it. I must keep these points firmly in front of me so I don't gets so upset about having to move. With any luck we'll find a house up this way, but if not, I'll have a running chance at settling in down the hill.

Monday, April 24, 2006

There's no place like home...

Ok, I'll throw this out there right at the beginning of this post so no one is left confused. I am not in any way a believer in premonition or that dreams have meanings. I roll my eyes when my older sister declares that she dreamt of an impending disaster and that we should all avoid visiting a particular place at a particular time. I snort with laughter when people tell me they are a big Nostradamus fan. I mentally restrain myself from making a derisive comment when my mother tells me she drove home from work via a different route because she had a 'feeling'. I may be extremely gullible when it comes to many other subjects, but not with this one.

Now, in my last post, I mentioned that I had been having nightmares lately. One of my nightmares was about tornadoes. This is a recurring bad dream, I have them rather often and I always wake up terrified. Now, my older sister is fascinated by these monsters. She loves watching documentaries about tornadoes, knows pretty much all there is to know about them and is scarily close to wanting to move to the US just to be closer to them (I've suggested on numerous occasions that she should actually speak to someone who has lost their home or loved one to a tornado before making the big move).

I was speaking to Mum about these dreams and how it's funny that Jo is fascinated while I can't sleep properly due to them (although I must admit I am rather fascinated too...). Mum enlightened me that my younger sister Barb is terrified too. And so I ended up speaking to Barb about our fear and of my nightmares.

This is going somewhere, I promise.

Anyhow, I was telling Barb about the dreams I had had, but the one that keeps recurring is one where I am driving along Roe highway, just out of Midland and there is a tornado coming towards me from west. Barb butts in and exclaims that she has had exactly the same dream many a time and that we couldn't both have been dreaming about the same thing. It wasn't that I recounted my dream and she said it was the same - she was literally finishing my sentences describing the dream. When we stopped and thought about it, this has happened before.

A year or two back, I had phoned Barb one morning and she commented that I sounded rather tired. I said that yes, I was, I'd been up half the night after having some really weird dreams. Not scary dreams or nightmares, but just odd dreams. She said that she had been too and asked what I had been dreaming about. I told her that I had been dreaming about being back in primary school but I left out the bit about me spending most of the dream in one of the toilet blocks as I thought that was just too weird. She goes 'Oh, I had a dream about being back in primary school too. But I was in the toilet block by the music room'. Exactly where I had been in my dream.

Now, I just think that that's just darned weird. Why on earth would my sister and I be having the exact same dreams, not only once, but twice (that we know about anyway)? I know we're close, she's my best friend and she married my husbands best friend, but surely we're not that close. The only thing that could make this any weirder is if Flora tells me she's dreamed about being in the toilets at my old primary school.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Nettie's Dream Diary

It's been an interesting week for me, not all of it good, but most of it has been great, so I'll start with the good stuff and bore you with the bad stuff at the end.

Good: On Thursday is was the ten year anniversary of the day Christian and I started dating.
We were in high school and had friends in common but had never actually had a class together and so didn't know anything about each other apart from names. I was having a party and asked Mike (my now brother-in-law) if he'd bring along some of his mates to even up the boy/girl odds. He brought Christian and two weeks later we started going out. The rest is history!

We went out for dinner after work on Thursday, to a restaurant called The Olive Tree which is in West Perth (just in case anyone is ever in Perth and looking for a place to eat) and had the best time. We had our wedding reception there and they are just the nicest people. They even made up special meals for Christian so he wouldn't be too full when he played soccer later on (he ended up having a very nancy meal if you ask me - salad, vegetarian filo parcel and fruit salad compared to my ravioli, fish and apple crumble!).
Afterwards, if you haven't already guessed, Christian had a soccer game and so I got to be thoroughly entertained there (is perving on other blokes on your anniversary considered bad taste? Even if I'm also perving on my hubby?). The guys lost but it was a really close game and it was only because of a dubious umpiring call that the other team had a shot at goal (they weren't getting anywhere near the thing on their skill alone).

Good: Last weekend I spoke to Chary for the first time. We did it over an msn chat and apart from being a little crackly at times due to a slow connection, it was really good. We didn't speak for as long as Flora and I usually do, but it was rather late for Chary and he did have to work the next morning. The best part about this is that I now feel like I 'know' another person who I'll be seeing in May. I'm a bit odd in that way. I can chat to someone for hours on the net but I feel like I know them better after an hour long phone conversation.

Good: It's not only two and a half weeks till I fly out for Scotland! (well two weeks, five days to be exact but why split hairs?)

Bad: I've been having nightmares all this week. They have all happened in the morning after Christian has left for work and I have an hour and a bit left to sleep in. I think it's because of the interrupted sleep but I'm not too sure. They have all been different but in all of them, I've felt completely powerless to stop whats going on. After I've woken up and had time to make my brain work, they seem very silly but at the time they really do frighten me.
In one, I couldn't stop my nephew Caleb from running onto the road, in another I was trying to hide from Reavers (those of you who know Firefly and Serenity will know what I'm on about), and this morning I had an awful one about tornadoes (which is a recurring one. I'm terrified of the things even though we've never had a really big one in Australia).
Mum thinks I'm working out anxiety about my trip away because I feel so helpless in my dreams. I really couldn't say what's causing them but I hope they stop soon because they're leaving me feeling exhausted.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Happy Easter Everyone!

Even though it doesn't feel like it at all, happy Easter everyone!

Now, who wants to play a game? I don't have any spare eggs laying around (they're all MINE!) so we can't have an egg hunt, but I have a different game we can play. How bout we all play 'Doctors and Nurses'?

It's really easy to play. I'll give you a list of symptoms and you try and guess what caused them. Then afterwards I'll be available for a full examination if anyone is interested ;-)

Symptoms include: tender ear lobes
hoarse voice
sore buttocks
hyperactivity

Now all of you who guessed a night on the town with a drunk, cross dressing stripper from Peru, would be wrong.

Those of you who guessed a five hour, ten minute, world record breaking phone conversation with Flora, you'd be right.

It just really goes to prove that none of you are going to be able to get a word in edge ways with us in just under four weeks time. We will talk you all under the table and still have stuff to talk about. There should be a warning on your airline tickets that reminds you to bring some earplugs.

But enough about you lot! Boo and I had an absolute ball last night and I really just can't wait to meet her! We laughed so hard which caused some problems as Boo tends to get a sharp pain in the back of her skull when she laughs too hard so it sounded much like this: Ahahahahahah ow ow it hurts, it hurts ahahahahahah ow ow ahahahahahaha ow ow ahahahaha.
We were in fits if giggles bad enough that at times we couldn't even speak. Mention the phrase 'engorged vaginal canal' to either of us in Scotland, and you'll see what I mean.

But eventually the conversation had to end. If we could have, I'm sure we would have both stayed on the phone for the next few weeks, only saying goodbye when I had to catch my plane, but it just wasn't really viable. *sigh*

Anyway, you have been warned. We wouldn't want any of you to be ignorant of just exactly what you're in for come May.

Have a lovely Easter everyone
*hugs*

P.S. Flora, Mr Finger sends his warmest greetings!

Friday, April 14, 2006

Interesting shower reading

Whilst soaking under a hot shower this morning, I happened to read the ingredient list on my body wash and my face wash. It read like a very long, hard to pronounce shopping list.

Body Wash: Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Bataine, Glycol Stearate, Propylene Glycol (and) Sambucus Nigra Flower Extract (and) Primula Veris Extract (and) Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Extract (and)Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) extractVanilla PLanifolia Fruit Extract, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Hydroxypropyl Guar Hydroxypropyl Trimonium Chloride, Isostearamidopropyl Morpholine Lactate, Hyroxopropyl Methylcellulose, DMDM Hydantoin, Citric Acid, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Chloride, Fragrance, Yellow 5, Yellow 6.

I bet your eyes glazed over once you reached 'water' eh? Well, here we go again.

Face Wash: Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl, Betaine, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate Cocamide Dea, Glycol Distearate (and) Sodium Laureth Sulfate (haven't they already mentioned this one???) (and) Cocamide Mea (and)Laureth-10, Polyquarternium 7, Fragrance, Methychloroisothiazolinone (Is this one of the longest words in the world?) (and) Methylisothiazolinone, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride.

Makes me have second thoughts about using such concoctions...

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Libra Wisdom - take 2

As promised, I bring you more tidbits of trivia from our friends in feminine hygiene.

Odd Spot #37: The names of all the continents end with the same letter they start with.

Odd Spot #95: The word 'lethologica' describes the state of not being able to rememeber the word you want.

Odd Spot #22: If the population of China walked past you in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.

Odd Spot #141: There are three golf balls sitting on the moon.

Odd Spot #152: In a study of 200,000 ostriches over a period of 80 years, no one reported a single case where an ostrich buried it's head in the sand.

Odd Spot # 102: Bulletproof vests, fire escapes, laser printers and windshield wipers were all invented by women.

Odd Spot #: The average human body contains enough sulphur to kill all the fleas on an average dog.

Odd Spot #80: The youngest pope was eleven years old.

Odd Spot #153: The average human body contains enough iron to make a 7.62cm nail.

Odd Spot #4: The most common non-contagious disease in the world is tooth decay.

Odd Spot #8: Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave

There you have it. More utterly useless information that you can use to bring conversation to a complete halt at your next dinner party.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

The Ultimate Heartbreak

Most of you will know by now that Christian and I are trying for a baby. What most of you didn't know was that for almost two weeks now, there was a bloody good chance I was pregnant.

It started with my period being late. I've not ever had cause for my periods being late before but I waited it out a little. Then I started feeling a bit sick every now and then and rushing to the loo at lot. So I did a test. Negative. No worries, it's early days yet and not everyone does a positive test in the first few weeks.

Fast forward to this week and my monthlies still hadn't arrived and my hopes started rising. Add to this that I had been so tired that I could hardly stay awake past 8pm and everyone I spoke too assured me I would be popping out a mini-me by Christmas.

So I did another test yesterday. I have never been so nervous in my life. I had butterflies in my stomach and I was almost giddy with excitement. I had let everyone talk me into getting excited. Against my better judgement, I was convinced I was pregnant.

When that second damn line failed to show, I felt sick. There had to be some mistake. My period was two weeks late. How could I not be pregnant? All the signs were there, what was I missing?

I was so upset. I bawled like the baby I so desperately want and wallowed in my own misery. To make matters worse, early this morning my period started, snuffing out the last flicker of hope I had left. I guess I should look at the positives - that I won't have to deal with throwing up every five minutes on the plane to Scotland for one, having another 'Libra wisdom' post for another.

And so next month begins and we'll try again. However, this time I will not get excited until I have two bloody lines show up on that stupid little pee test.