A frolick in the park

The other day Christian and I went for a picnic in Hyde Park, a gorgeous park near the city that played host to out wedding. I took my trusty camera along for the ride and here's what we captured...

As we walked into the park, we saw this construction high on a power pole, obviously a sleeping hut for the local bats - or Batcave if you will :) We didn't see any others around so they must have to flip a coin for the right to snooze amidst it's battish comforts...

Living in the metro area I find that we sometimes forget about the drought that we're currently experiencing. Hyde Park has two lakes in it's centre, this one has completely dried up. I was very sad to see it in such a state.

The Black Swan is the emblem animal of Western Australia and is beautiful creature. We don't have native white swans here, I have grown up knowing only the black ones. Whenever I see a white swan I get very excited as it's so different to what the rest of the world knows. Despite their beauty, they're nasty little shits and can be the bane of any picnic. They have a tendency to bite and if you're not careful they can sneak up on you from behind!

Before we had our dinner we went for a walk around the park. Completely randomly we ran across our friend Jason who we hadn't seen in ages. He was stuck traipsing home with a bike one of his work mates had lent him and the unicycle he had gone to work with. Knowing he was going to practise on the unicycle after work, he'd caught the bus instead of driving, not knowing his friend was bringing him the bike that day too! When I told him I was taking pictures of weird and wonderful things (and that I considered his three wheel trek home to be weird in the least) he happily obliged me a photo!

We went to find ourselves somewhere to sit for dinner and we came across this palm tree and were rather surprised. The tree hadn't been there before! How do we know? It was in the exact spot that we exchanged vows! For some reason, the council had lugged by truck and then crane a twenty foot palm tree that does not fit in at all with the surrounding gardens. Go figure.

We finally sat down for dinner and we watching the large amount of avian life slowly gravitating towards us. There were an awful amount of ducks and I asked Christian what it would be like to die by duck. He said it would most likely be slow and painful as they have bills, not beaks so we wouldn't even get pecked to death. Suddenly a couple of coots scared off the ducks and advanced towards us. Obviously there was a bounty on our heads and the coots wanted to claim it. I took a photo of them so the authorities would have photographic evidence of our murderers. Look at them - pure evil!

I really like this lamp. It reminds me very much as the one in Narnia.
And finally, as we were leaving I snapped this graffiti on the lid of a bin. It was so happy!

Moonbeams and unicorns

Today's post was going to be spectacular! It was going to involve lots of wonderful photos, witty captions, deep and meaningful philosophies, scintillating remarks on the depth of the intelligence of my fellow bloggers, plus a set of amazingly sharp steak knives from Demtel, able to cut through a tomato with ease moments after sawing through a leather boot!

But then that's too much effort.

I will throw in an amazing peice of trivia which is bound to bring converstaion at your next dinner party to a compete and utter stop.

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12345678987654321

How cool is that???

*nods*
Yup, just as I thought. You're speechless. I know, that's how I was when I first found out. I'll give you a moment to compose yourselves, please, take your time, it's important you don't stand up too quickly, or you might fall over.

Rightio then. Have I just completely wasted almost a full post on ridiculously useless stuff?
I believe I have!
WooHoo!

On a final note, I once again have managed to get sunburnt. Just on my arms though. I was wearing a hat, sunnies and a collared shirt. I must have forgotten the sunscreen...
On a happier note, I now have some lovely garden beds out the front of my house.
And yes, when everyone comes to visit next year, Matt and I will have a 'who can get sunburnt the quickest' competition...

Pyjama Party

I'm on holidays at the moment which is wonderful as it gives me the chance to get stuff done that I normally don't have time for. For instance, my older sister Jo moved down south a while ago and now she lives about an hour away. So we decided that I would come down and have a sleepover with her and my niece Darcie.

We played with Shiver, the puppy, went for a huge long walk on the beach and got up to some exploring off the beaten track, had fish and chips on the Esplanade in Rockingham and then played a game of Junior Monopoly (in which I told Darcie she had won as there was a temper tantrum in the works - she hates to lose).

I took my trusty camera with me, and so here will follow a heap of photos that you may find interesting, or they may put you to sleep. Just in case, I have my air horn close at hand.

The view of the bay from the Esplanade

These trees are cool

I tried to take a photo of a wave coming up the shore but was a bit slow on the uptake

I love that there are no human footprints. Fido must have been out for a wander...

The cliffs along the beach are made up of sandstone and make the coolest caves over time.

This is the photo I helped Darcie take. It didn't quite show the bridge in the background very clearly, but I love the tree in the foreground of the shot.

This is one of my favourite shots of the isolated rock with the sun shining just so...

I love the way this rock was just sticking up out of nowhere

Riddle me this - how does birdpoo get on the inside of a gazebo roof???

Darce and I in our jarmies.

My niece must think I'm an amusement park ride...I get climbed all over!

Hey look, it's a deer caught in some headlights!

Shiver, the puppy. She's going to be huge!

Rightio, that concludes the photo show for today girls and boys. Hope you enjoyed it.

And on a final note, seeing as I'm not a mod on here and don't have to act responsibly, I would just like to say that Stephen, aka X is a complete tosspot.

Thankyou.

Back in the 21st century

Hurrah!
We are officially back into the modern era as we now have our internet connected! It didn't take nearly as long as we expected it would and therefore we rejoice. If you consider I'm on two weeks holidays as of this weekend, you can see I'm a very happy Nettie.

Monday was our 'big' move. We hired a truck and coerced a mate into helping out (God bless beer!). It felt like we moved twice though. We had to come here and pack up all of Dad's stuff, take it up the hill to dump in my Mum's shed, then we went to our old house, packed up all of our stuff and then come and dump it here.
And dumped it has been.
There is crap everywhere. You can hardly move as we've just placed furniture wherever it will fit and we'll bother about where to put it later.

By the end of Monday we were all exhausted and figure that the rest can wait until the weekend. Once it's all sorted I'll post some before and after pics of the house so you can all see my own little 'castle'.

Cold Turkey

I am going mad without my Internet.
It's only been about three days but I am finding already that I am feeling lost in the evenings, have nothing to do after dinner and eat breakfast at the table instead of in front of my computer.
I cannot wait until our adsl gets connected at the new house! Seeing as I'm currently at our old house doing a load of washing and it's not disconnected here as yet (hence the post), I feel it may be a while before I am blessed with its presence.

Anyway, life in my new area is...interesting. Let me tell you a story.

I like stories.

Yesterday Christian was doing some training after work and was going to be home at about 7pm. I had been watering the garden when I heard a band start playing in the park opposite us. I was listening as I was pottering and they sounded really good. I finished up my watering and found it was quarter to eight and I had a message on my phone from Christian saying he'd still be another half hour or so. So I thought 'Well, I might just have a mosey on over and check out the band'.
I wondered over to the park and found three young guys playing and figured they must be a young band being sponsored as part of a youth festival of some sort (there's been a few festival type things in my area lately). I sat down at the top of the amphitheatre and soon a woman came over to me, asking if she could sit next to me as she had been sitting on an ants nest. I didn't particularly mind and so said of course she could. She looks at me and says in a high pitched, over-enthusiastic voice 'Hi, I'm Sheena! How are you??? Do you live near here?' I explained we'd just moved in across the street and had heard the band and thought I'd come check it out as they sounded good. 'They're wonderful, aren't they!? I can't believe they're so good, for ones so young!'

Oh God, I thought. I bet this is a 'pageant' mother - one of those crazy obsessive mothers of children with some kind of talent. I thought I'd be stuck listening to her all night rattle on and on and on and on about how good her son was and about which instrument he played and how he'd be the next Mozart or Lennon.
I nodded politely and listened a bit more until the song came top an end. Then one of the guys starts talking. 'Yeah, thanks so much, glad you could make it tonight. That song was called Depression and if any of you suffer from depression or know anyone who does, then we're here tonight to help you find a cure.'

Oh, they must be sponsored by the Health Department, thought I.

'Depression is a scary thing, but there's one thing that can cure it. Jesus Christ'

Jesus Christ, they're religious loons! I had stumbled upon a gathering! Sheena then proceeded to inform me that they were part of a Christian community that went from park to park, spreading the word. I stayed for the next song as I didn't want to be rude and then they called upon people from the audience to give their testimonies. After hearing from an ex-narcotics dealer, who one fateful night stumbled upon the bodies of five car crash victims I figured it was my time to go. I made my apologies and hurried home, eager to be away from Sheena before she tried to convert me.

When I got home I discovered that Christian had arrived and my mother was frantic as she had rung and was told that no, Annette isn't home, yes her car is here, the house is locked but no, she hasn't left a note. According to mother, anything could have happened, I could have had an asthma attack and been rushed to hospital, I could have fallen and broken a leg, I could have been raped and pillaged, the fiery depths of hell could have swallowed me up, yadda yadda yadda. I have now discovered that even at 27, I must always inform mother of my whereabouts.

Later that night I was saying to Christian that I sometimes envy people with faith. I have no desire to join Sheena and her cohorts, but I find that people with faith seem to have a purpose in life and are always happy. Christian gave a snort of his cynical, derisive laughter and asked if I was going to try to make my way to heaven one day. I said that after what I've done in my life (and what I planned to do in Edinburgh but failed to accomplish entirely) I doubt the church would have me. I'm sure I shall burn merrily away in hell with Boo, Ro and the gang and just as sure that we'll have much more fun than all the goodie two shoes who end up in heaven giving angels blowjobs. Christian asked if he would also join me in hell and I informed him that as he doesn't believe in an afterlife, he will just dissolve into nothingness and cease to exist entirely. After all, you have to believe in hell to end up there. I ranted on a bit more about heaven and hell and sin and the afterlife and now Christian thinks I should write my own bible as it might actually entice him into attending church, and if not, it would at least be an enjoyable read.

And so I shall one day throw open the doors of The Church of Nettie and welcome thee, my fellow disciples.

30 reasons NOT to celebrate...

My older sister Jo turned 30 yesterday.
Happy Birthday Jo.
On Saturday night we went out to celebrate the occasion, going to The Olive Tree Restaurant, a lovely little place in West Perth which just happens to be where we went for our wedding reception. Christian and I love it so much that we usually go there for dinner on our anniversary too.
Jo and her partner Bo went, along with Barb and Mike, Christian and myself and a few of Jo's friends - Nat and Kelly and their partners.
The evening started out well enough, we were given a private table in the back room which was great as the restaurant was packed and we were a large party. We weren't completely separated from everyone else but it meant we didn't have people pushing past us every five seconds to go to the loo.
And then it started. 'It' being Jo's friends and they're complete lack of civilised behaviour. They heckled the waiters, complained about every little thing, swore at the top of their lungs, make racist comments so everyone dining there could hear, and were so loud I thought my eardrums would burst.
I have never been so embarrassed in my life.
As soon as it was politely possible Christian and myself fled, along with Barb and Mike. Jo went on to some clubs with her friends and her evening didn't turn out well at all with problems arising between a couple of her friends. I just hope that her actual birthday turned out a little better yesterday.

Anyway, here are a couple of pics from the beginning of the night.

Me and Christian. Ro, I'm wearing the jewelery you sent me!

Barb and Mike

The birthday girl and her partner Bo

How can anyone be THAT stupid???

We received a fraud alert at work the other day stating that an organisation known as 'The Independent Sovereign State of Australia' had been issuing currency and cheques that were being mistaken as legal tender. Attached to this memo was a scan of the notes and cheques that had been accepted.

They looked nothing like our currency!

I have phenomenal trouble understanding how someone who works in a bank would fail to recognise fake currency when they see it. It's like someone who works at Maccas making a whopper by mistake. It just aint gonna happen people!

Sometimes I truly worry about the future of mankind.

Farewell Daddy

*sob*

My Daddy left yesterday. I'm very, very sad.

Actually, inconsolable would be more fitting. I'm terrible with goodbyes and get rather emotional (which was news to my Dad - he was shocked I was bawling).
I didn't even attempt to go to the airport. He was leaving at 3am, which was too late considering I couldn't get today off work, but even if I did get the time off, I would have caused a scene...I thought it best to just say our goodbyes last night.
We spent all of yesterday together though, doing stuff around our new house like finishing the gate and putting a cupboard up in the laundry. My sister's came over with their kids as well to say goodbye to their Poppy and so it was a real family affair.
Christian and I left about 8:30pm and it was to great dismay that I realised we had both driven down and I would have to drive home. I have had some experience with driving whilst crying in the past so I managed to get home in one piece.

I thought I would be ok today, but I was proved wrong. I get rather depressed after the whole goodbye thing (just ask my mother, she was driven mad by me moping about after I left Edinburgh) and so work was an unhappy affair. I was in tears in the morning, gloomy all day and had such a lack of concentration I had a $100 error. So all in all, not one of my better days.

All clouds have a silver lining though, even this one. We will be moving into our house shortly, hopefully in the next couple of weeks. We still have a bit of painting to do, mostly fiddly stuff like door frames and the toilet but it should be all finished up soon and then we can begin the arduous task of packing and moving. That should be fun, considering we have such a long way to lug all of our crap. I dread to think how many trips it will take us. So, not so much of a silver lining after all...

Product Endorsement

'Today's blog entry comes to you thanks to our good friends at Nutterchow, the dogfood that keeps your pet on their toes. Nutterchow will keep your dogs' coat shiny and tangle free, their teeth will last them years more and best of all, Nutterchow will help keep your pet sane. No more crazy antics from Spot, he'll sit in the corner with a slightly dazed expression until called, he won't keep the neighbours awake at night barking and best of all he won't chew your possessions, all thanks to the brain-altering chemicals found in Nutterchow.
Nutterchow - valium for dogs. Try it today.'*

* My dogs get fed with Nutterchow and we couldn't be happier. We get a constant supply from my mother who works in the local hospitals' mental health unit. Any food left over from the patients dinners get placed into a bucket before being packaged in Nutterchows distinct white platic bag packaging. Nutterchow is delivered to our door free of charge and can be conveniently frozen for storage. We love that our dogs get a variety of foods, it's always a surprise. I'd fully recommend Nutterchow to anyone.

Burning Question

I lay awake last night, pondering this.*

When someone hot wires a car, how do they then turn it off again?

I thought they would have to deliberately stall the car, but this wouldn't turn off the ancillary ignition mode. The radio and headlights would still be switched on, which would drain the battery. And we all know (thanks to the wonder of Hollywood) that bandits like to stop off at diners for a refreshing meal, a coffee and a driver change. It's in their best interests not to allow the battery to go dead.

So, answer me this, how do they turn off the car without the keys?

* I am not considering a more lucrative career as a professional car theif, it's just one of those odd things that pop into my head from time to time.

All that gaff

Happy New Year everyone.

Ok, now that I've gotten that out of the way...

How is everyone? Good I hope. If you're not good, you can join my little club. I think I'll call it Nettie's Feel Like Shit And Sit Around Feeling Sorry For Yourself Support Group.
As you may have guessed, I am still not well. I went to the doctor today for my monthly injections and they wouldn't do it because my asthma is too bad. Apparently not being able to breathe beforehand can lead to a greater risk of not being able to breathe after the injections. Go figure.
I did come away with some antibiotics since the Pred didn't work and a stronger dose preventative although for some strange reason I turned down a doctors certificate. No idea why. My doctor told me I looked like crap and asked if I'd like to take some time of work and I said no. Apparently my brain can't handle being off work. I mumbled something about already having had one day off work and all I'd do is sit around feeling guilty and that was about it.
I believe I should be nominated for Idiot of the Year or something along those lines.

So, did you get up to anything good at all on New Years Eve? I probably shouldn't bother asking Boo and Mouse as I heard the festivities got cancelled in Edinburgh due to bad weather. But what about everyone else?
I had a relatively quite night at Christian's Aunty's house. His cousins had been visiting from over east and from New Zealand and it was the last night we'd see them before they flew home so it was a nice chance to say goodbye. We had fish and chips for dinner and then sat around chatting until midnight when we proceeded to act like children with sparklers and poppers. Fun all round I must say.

Oh, and then the next morning I went to visit my sister Jo and she has a new puppy! Her name is Shiver and she's very cute. I shall have to remember to post a pic when I upload them.
And that's about it for now.
Cheerio.

All I want for Christmas

...is to be able to fucking breathe!

I went from bad to worse over the Christmas period with my asthma. On Christmas night I went to the after hours GP at Swan Districts hospital only to find it was closed. I guess we went after after hours. I didn't feel I was quite bad enough to go to ER so we called it an early one and headed home.

This morning I went to the doctors first thing and was seen by the most lovely doctor. She says that the attacks I've been having are allergy induced (curse those allergies of mine) and I'm lucky that they haven't been caused by a virus or bacteria as some people, like my sister have developed a bacteria type of pneumonia. She then gave me a script for some Prednisolone and told me to take tomorrow off work. I told her that if I had the day off then in all likelihood I would be fired. She then informs me 'If you can't give me your word that you'll have the day off to rest, I'll throw you in hospital for a week. Which one would your employer prefer?'

I took the doctors note and am making Christian ring my boss.

So all in all, it's probably been the worst Christmas ever for me. I got some lovely pressies though. From Christian I got a book, a perfume set and a dvd game of Charades by The Umbilical Brothers ,who those from the Edinburgh Trip may remember from our last night. Boo sent me some cool pirate socks and the funniest present ever.

Isn't it wonderful? I laughed and laughed when I saw it. *big hugs* for Boo!

I also got some more perfume from Jo and a Red Dwarf dvd, a frypan from Mum (don't give me that look, I asked for one!) some scales from Barb and Mike (I asked for stuff we need for the new house), Acci sent me a variety of cool things as my Secret Santa including a mug and a little gem tree and Smerk sent me a cute little dragonfly keyring. The postman still hasn't delivered Mouse's pressie yet so I still have a surprise waiting for me! I guess that will give me something to do while I sit at home feeling guilty from not being at work.

Well I hope your Christmas's went much better than mine and I look forward to reading all about them.

It's heeeeeeeeeeeere!

Tis the night before Christmas and there wasn't a sound...

Actually it's the morning before Christmas (why can I never sleep in?) and there is a sound - my neb. Poor Christian has been kept awake all night with me hacking and coughing and when I finally get up he then has to put up with this.
I'm not too sure what's wrong with me, be it my asthma or some crazy contagious bacterial pneumonia that's making the rounds, but I have been having the hardest time breathing lately. Usually I'll need a neb (nebuliser to those who don't know asthmatic slang) maybe twice a year but I've been having two a day for the past four days. They leave me feeling like shit, all shaky and high on ventolin but they help a little.
I really should go to the doctors about it but I'm terrified he'll put me in hospital and there's no way in hell I'm missing out on Christmas. Maybe I'll go on Boxing day...

Anyway, I most likely won't see a lot of you over the next couple of days so I'll wish you a merry Christmas now and hope you all have the bestest one ever. Take care of yourselves and make sure you all have lots of fun.

*big hugs*

Drunk virginity lost

I think I'm drunk.

I've just downed three Smirnoff Ices' in about 15 minutes, which is about 4 standard drinks. I can't really stand up properly and I've just knocked my mobile and lip gloss to the ground for no apparent reason.

The reason this teetotaller is drinking is because I've had a shockingly bad night. Let's just say the Triplet's 60th didn't go so well behind the scenes as we'd anticipated. When I can talk about it without bawling my eyes out, I'll do another post, but right now I am bawling so it will have to wait for another night.

Science Schmience

I understand that predicting the weather isn't an exact science, but I would have thought there would be enough science in it to get it pretty accurate. Not so yesterday.

Forecast - 36C

Actual - 42C

It was bloody hot!

We had our ten year high school reunion held at the Mundaring Weir Hotel and I almost melted. They have a pool there but there was no way in the world I was going swimming around old high school people. I have enough of a complex already thankyou very much. The kids went for a dip though and holding wet children can take the heat out of you.

I must apologise to Boo at this point as I promised her some photos of the day, but when I got there and realised what little interest I had in those people, I just didn't take any pics.

It was a bit of a turning point actually. Before I went I was on the verge of total panic, thinking the skanky hos I used to socialise with would still not find me good enough (even though Christian assured me I'm better than them all). I just couldn't help it, I've always measured myself by how others judge me, and so my self esteem has always been incredibly low. Even though it's clawed it's way up in the past few years, I knew it wouldn't take much to knock it on it's arse again.
Anyway, we got there, none of the skanky hos were there and I realised all the people I wanted to associate myself with were already in my circle of friends. I didn't need to drag up demons from the past.

We stayed for a few hours and then left, heading to Barb and Mikes' place for a proper fun time, my self esteem in tow.

A sad day

I got a phone call from Barb today while at work. She was bawling her eyes out, wanting to know if I could drop round after work to take her cat, Katz to the vet to be put to sleep. Mike was stuck in a meeting and she had no one else to help her. Katz has been sick for a while, and has had several cancerous tumours removed from both her ear canals, before finally having her ears removed. For several months she has resembled more ferret than cat. But the wounds weren't healing properly and she has been hiding under the kids' bed for the last two days, not eating or drinking and emitting quite an unpleasant smell.

So of course I said yes and prepared for the worst.
I don't really like cats in general, but I got along quite well with Katz and she seemed to like me too. I knew I would be really upset, which was confirmed when I stared crying before we even left Barbs house.
We got to the vet and the waiting room was packed, and I mean packed. You could hardly fit in the door, every seat was taken, there were animals and owners everywhere. So we're standing there and the thought runs through my head 'Great, we're going to have an audience for this' and then I just start bawling, right there. Barb just looks at me, her eyes welling and says 'It's my cat! I thought you were the moral support???' and I reply, tears streaming 'You betcha, I'm your rock'
I guess in any other circumstance, it would have been rather funny.

Katz must have been near the end as she went very quickly. There were lots of tears as we said our final goodbye and then we wrapped her up and drove up to Mums' place where we have our own pet cemetery.

It was really hard watching Barb cope and I know it's going to be just as hard when Tessa finally goes. She's 14 now which is getting on for a dog, so it's really just a matter of time. I can tell you honestly that that will be a day I'm not looking forward to at all.

It's time to let your hair down

Well, this year sure has flown by. It only seems like a month ago that I was having a bbq at the Lake to celebrate Australia day, wasn't it just last week and I flew to Edinburgh? and I'm sure it was only yesterday that I turned 27...

And now the time has come for our work Christmas party.

This year we had several options for the do, from a wine tasting river cruise, an historic train ride, to a day at the races. The favourite seemed to be the races (my vote for the train came a close second) and so we set off today to Ascot Park for the Fruit and Veg Cup (where on Earth do they come up with these names???).

It was a lovely day I must say. I haven't been to the races as a growup yet, the last time being when I was 11 so I didn't really know what to expect. We had a couple of tables booked in The Terrace restaurant with our own little tvs, the weather was perfect and I found a head peice to wear that actually looked ok. I did manage to get rather sunburnt though, which shouldn't come as a surprise to any of you who regularly read this blog (I can't actually remember an outing I've told you about that I didn't get burnt). I won about nine bucks but lost about twenty five so I didn't have much beginners luck with the punting, but it was all in good fun. Here are a couple of pics for your enjoyment!

Me with Karen and Sandra who work the telling line

Not the most flattering pic in the world, but this is me with Olivia, a girl who trained up in our branch and now works at the next one over.

Jane, our BSR and Donna, my boss who hates photos being taken of her.

Some of the gang celebrating after having a trifecta win of $1200 (I should be lucky...)

I went to Donna's house beforehand to see her new foal, isn't she cute!!

And you are???

The Nintendo Wii had it's Australian release today.
I won't see my husband again for the next several months.

*sigh*

Ooh, pretty shiny things!

I was out shopping the other day with the intention of buying nothing when I came upon a set of pretty Christmas lights.

They were on sale and so inevitably found their way into my possession.
I have no will power when it comes to Christmas decorations on sale.

At the moment I find that I'm really really enjoying Frisky Dingo. Not to be mistaken with Malta

Frisky Dingo is an animated show that Christian has been downloading for us. It would have to be one the most hilarious shows I have ever seen. Seriously. If you want a good laugh, watch this show. I think Killface is my new hero.

All stations go

So much has been happening in the past few days. I guess it's as the old saying goes - when it doesn't rain, it pours.

Firstly, let me begin by saying you lot are an expensive bunch. I went to post four Christmas presents today and postage alone cost me $75. Maybe I shouldn't have spent so much on the gifts themselves...and I still have more to post!
Hmm, maybe next year I'll take a leaf out of the Dursley's book and send you each a tissue...

We had our doctor's appointment today to find out the news of our test results. They were actually as good as we could have expected - maybe even better as they found nothing wrong with either of us. I can't say from experience, but if I were a man I'd be pretty pleased with myself if the doctor informed me (before we'd even stepped through the door!) that I had enough sperm to father an entire football team in one go.
'This is what the average man's count will come back as, and this is your result. It must be nice to really excel in something eh?'
My doctor is so laidback!
Anyway, the next step is a referral to an infertility gynaecologist and because we don't have private health cover we'll be on a waiting list for about five months before that visit. So, I guess in the mean time we just need to practise, practise, practise!

My Dad received his letter from the Canadian authorities today requesting his passport to be sent to them so he's almost ready to go. It should all be finalised in about two or three weeks and he'll most likely be gone before Christmas :(
That's not going to be a happy chapter in my life so I won't dwell on it too much here.

Lastly I finally got around to buying season 2 of Atlantis so I've been pretty much laying around doing SFA all weekend watching all the special features, listening to the commentaries and drooling over Joe Flannigan. I can think of worse ways to spent the weekend :)

And that's about it for now. Catch you all later.

Pottering about

Monday just gone I was really rather ill. I felt like crap, was in a lot of pain and really didn't want to go to work.
But I did anyway and regretted that decision all day. I came home, went straight to bed and slept until the next morning when I promptly rang my boss and informed her that I wasn't coming in.

And so began a typical sick day for me.

First I felt sick from the phone call. My boss isn't one of the ones that make these calls easy. She immediately gets a 'tone', speaks in short, sharp sentences and never says 'hope you're feeling better soon'.
Then I felt guilty and started worrying if we'd get relief to cover me. I imagined the thousand ways my colleagues would suffer because a) no relief was sent or b) the relief that was sent was a newbie (as they inevitably are) and they would suffer just as much as if they got no one.
Then I tried to have some breakfast. No good - I felt too sick to eat.
After that I moped about as Christian got ready for work, following him about the house and giving him 'cows eyes'. Whatever I was trying to accomplish failed however and he eventually left for work.
Then I jumped on the net and said a quick mid-week hello to Boo, a rarity. I only ever really get to chat to her now on Saturdays.
Following that I did a load of washing for Christian and pottered around the house doing a bit of tidying. I felt that if I wasn't at work, I may as well do some work, even if it is just picking up dirty laundry. I just can't physically relax when I'm at home sick, I just feel too guilty.
A nap followed and then I managed to hold down a bit of lunch before napping again. I was absolutely exhausted even after sleeping for 15 hours straight the night before.
That afternoon I was feeling rather sorry for myself so I put up my Christmas tree*. Putting up Christmas decorations always makes me feel better for some reason...
Then I had another nap and woke up when Christian got home that evening.

I'm feeling much better now though, I must say. And at least my weekend will be a little easier on me as I'll have less washing to do :)

*Let me just point out that putting up Christmas decorations isn't part of a 'typical' sick day. I know that most of you wouldn't put it past me to rip out the old tree and tinsel in the middle of April just to amuse myself, but trust me, I don't go THAT far...

Look, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's superma... oops, no, sorry, it's just a plane

It's the end of another weekend. Already. *sigh* Please excuse me while I open a vein...

I guess it's not that bad. The weekends are flying by unbelievably quickly, but then again, so are the weeks. So tomorrow may be Monday but before I turn around twice, it'll be Friday.

This weekend was fairly eventful. Friday night we had my sisters and their kids come round and we walked up to the park so the kids could look at the stars. My niece Chiara got all excited a month or two back when we were sitting outside one night at her place and she saw some stars. I promised she could come up to my place one night where there aren't as many lights so the stars are much brighter and there are so many more of them. It would have been a great night is it hadn't been just slightly overcast...

Saturday came knocking and I decided to dye my hair. I got tired of my natural brown, am sick of red at the moment, black looks shocking on me and I can't go pink or blue because of work, so blonde it is. Here's a crappy photo of it.

I told you it was crappy...

Anyway, we stayed the night at Barb's so Christian could catch up with some mates and Barb and I sat around eating columbines and twisties and watching Love Actually. It was a great girlie night.

This morning we got up lovely and early and headed into the city for the Red Bull Air Show which was pretty good, public transport and crowds aside. I managed to get my cleavage a nice shade of lobster but apart from that escaped the sun's wrath quite well. Jo and Darcie, who came with us left early as Darce was pooped, and we didn't do very well meeting up with out mates. The only people who we actually found were Mike and Julie, and this was after the race had actually finished. Mike and Kat didn't end up coming as Kat hurt her knee and our mate Anil didn't realise the whole thing only went for two hours and was about to leave home just as it was finishing. So we caught a bus and the train with Mike and Julie and that was about it sadly. But it was a good day nonetheless and I'm sure if we ever do it again, we'll make sure we all meet up beforehand.

Rightio, so I seem to be rambling now so I guess I'll bring this to an end. Goodbye.

The streets are lined with purlple carpet

I love this time of the year.
Sure it's starting to get muggy and the thunderstorms we're promised fail to eventuate, but summer is on it's way and Christmas is just around the corner.
Also, the Jacaranda trees are nearing the end of their bloom which means almost everywhere you look are bright purple trees with a carpet of fallen flowers laying below.
It's just so pretty.
I must admit, I've only recently discovered that they aren't a native tree (which would explain why they don't grow in the bush next to the gums...can you tell I hadn't given the issue much thought?) but we have such a love affair with these trees that they may as well be.
My step-mum Di hadn't seen them before and was captivated when she flew across from Canada for my wedding. She's always getting my Dad to send her pics when they're flowering.
We have a small tree growing in the front of our new yard that will need lots of TLC for it to start growing properly. I'll need to dig around the base and replace the soil with mushroom mulch I think, and also make sure it gets the water it needs.
Hopefully when you lot finally get to come and visit me, it'll be around this time of the year so you can see this wonderful display :)

Anniversaries, Parties, Anything...

Yesterday was a special day. First, it's Remembrance Day when Australia remembers those who have served to protect our country.
Secondly, it's our wedding anniversary. Three years ago it was stinking hot (42C), I was wearing a heavy lace dress and Christian and I exchanged vows...

This was taken shortly after said vows

We didn't do a hell of a lot to celebrate. We went for dinner and a movie on Friday night and bummed around at home for most of Saturday.

Thirdly, yesterday was my friend Tash's birthday. I always remember sending her an sms early on my wedding day wishing her a happy birthday and her sending back 'Are you insane? It's your wedding day, forget about me and concentrate on getting ready!'

Tash had a party at her place last night which was great, until kareoke started and then we made a hasty getaway. Here are some pics of the night.

Three little teletubbies...

Tash and I

Christian pushing two little teletubbies

Jon, convincing us it's time to leave...

6.1% Term Deposits on Daylight!

I know that the majority of the world assumes daylight savings when summer comes knocking, but WA has shunned it for years.

We had it trialled for a year back in the late 80's (I think - I was about 10 or 11, or even maybe 12 so around about the change of the decade anyway) and it didn't do much for the people of the
west because in three consecutive referendums it was shot down.

Now, why do we need to save daylight? Electricity I can understand. That comes from valuable resources that are for the most part non-renewable and so we need to conserve them. Water, pretty much the same thing - there's only so much of it to go around. But sunlight? Heck, the sun's pretty big and with the hole in the ozone layer sitting pretty above this little island of ours, well let's just say I think we're getting our fair share. Do we really need to put a little bit of daylight away each day, in our little sunshine piggy banks, for a rainy day???

Now however there's been a call by politicians to bring it back (most likely because the businesses want it). They 'say' that enough time has passed that we have a new generation now that deserves the chance to experience daylight savings for themselves. This generation were just babies last time we had it, so why not give them a choice?

And herein lies my biggest issue. I'm not even really that dead set against daylight savings itself (it doesn't particularly faze me). What does bother me is that the pollies want to give this new generation the chance to mess with nature and conform it to humans expectations, but we don't actually get a say in whether we want it or not.

You see, the way it's going down is that the clocks get turned back come December 3, and every summer after for the next three years, and then, and only then will we go to a referendum to see if the people agree. Even though there has been a consistency in the past to let nature do what it intended to do, the politicians are going to walk over our right to a vote and force us into a three year trial.

Gah, it annoys me!

If they're so sure that this is what the people want, why not just let us have our say? Hell, trial it for a year and then let us vote, but don't force it on us for three years!

But, what's this? Do you see that? Oh my God! It's the big businesses that fund the election campaigns! *gasp* Who would have seen that coming?

Obviously not me.

Santa Claus is coming to town...

I got in trouble with Christian yesterday because I was getting all excited about Christmas.

'Annette, it's October' he told me and gave me 'a look'.
'It's almost November, and only eight weeks till Christmas' I replied and refrained from stating that I usually have the house fully decorated by now and he really shouldn't complain about my excitement levels.

The reason I was getting excited is because I've finished shopping for Christian's presents, they're fully wrapped, along with my nieces and one of my nephew's, my Mum's pressie and half of Christian's family.
Christian's mum is a triplet and that side of the family is very close. We go to his aunt's house for lunch every Christmas and so there's about 15 of us in the end once all the cousins and their kids are there. This year I've decided to make them all a personalised Christmas cracker (or bon bon as some people call them). For his female rellies I've bought a little charm each that can go on their mobile or key chain, I've written out a little odd spot on some Christmas paper and I'm including some chockies. For the blokes I'm at a bit of a loss to find things that are small enough to fit in a cracker but I'll most likely go for a magnet or keyring.
So yesterday I started making up some of the crackers and I got all excited.

I love Christmas!

Those of you who have been with me since 'the beginning' of this blog may remember my post about Christmas last October so I won't go over my reasons again, as it might bore you a little, but I can't stop from showing my excitement!

I missed the last Christmas shipping day for overseas so I'll have to wait until December to post my pressies for my international sleepover buddies and my secret Santa, but I'm sure I can hold out till then.

Ok, that's' all for now. I'm sure you're all nodding, smiling and backing away so I'll leave it at that.

An Experiment

Well, Mike is really enjoying his blogger experience which is fantastic, especially when people comment on his blog. He was especially chuffed when Richard Giles made a comment on his first blog entry. Mike hadn't told Richard Giles that he had started a blog which has lead Mike and I to believe that Richard Giles is omnipotent (I'm also willing to admit that other more technological reasons may be behind this, but want to see proof first).

So Mike and I have devised an experiment, call it an online seance if you will.

I have never met Richard Giles. Richard Giles has never met me. I have only ever heard about Richard Giles through Mike. But, if I concentrate really hard, light some net-candles, play some creepy music and chant 'Richard Giles', Richard Giles', Richard Giles' over and over, will Richard Giles appear on my comments page?

Only the internet Gods know, so us mere mortals will have to wait and see...

Introducing...

You may very well have heard me talking about my brother-in-law Mike on here (and if you haven't then you obviously weren't listening properly and can go and sit in the corner).
Well, Mike has decided to start up his own blog called One Track Mind, More Than One Train
I've also added him to my links over there *points to the right*
So, go and check him out, he's a bit of a funny bugger and is so much like us that it's got to be bad for him.

A bit of this, a bit of that

I spent the whole day with Barb, Mike and the kids today. We went out to Carousel, a big shopping centre in Cannington.
Carousel is miles and miles away from me (about 40 mins), it's all on one level and is so huge that it takes a good half hour of walking briskly to get from one end to the other (and when you do get there, your feet really hurt), and finally it has all the same stores that several closer centres have.

But still I go there.

And I enjoy going there. So does Barb. We're like the Carousel cheering squad. Odd.
The kids got a bit buggered though.

Aren't they just the cutest? Especially when they're asleep.

Can't half tell they're brothers, eh?

Anyway, onto more pressing concerns. I visited my Dad this morning and got some pics of the house to share with you all. Dad said he had some other pics floating around somewhere of the house with the garden looking pretty and the house actually clean but I didn't really want to wait for him to find them. Besides, hopefully, like me, you guys will be able to see the potential in the place.

Anyway, without further ado...

This is the house from the street.

This is the park across the road where I shall be walking the doggies.

This is the backyard, it's sooooo tiny compared to what I'm used to, but hopefully we'll be able to make a nice little entertaining area. Our bbq, table and chairs, a bit of garden, a small patio or some sails...I have so many plans!

This is the side yard. The swing set will be gone, but I'd like to maybe put in a fountain...

And finally, the only shot of inside (the rest of the house was far too messy, even for me!). This will be our lounge room, all it needs is our blue couches and a mountain of tangled game console cords and we'll be right at home!

And that concludes our tour for today, ladies and gentlemen. Please ensure seats and tables are placed back into their upright positions and that all hand luggage is removed from the overhead lockers.

It's settled then.

Hurrah! Christian and I are officially homeowners! Settlement went through at 3pm today, with no hitches or glitches. I'm very excited.

Christian on the other hand, not so much.

I think it's a boy thing...

Anyway, so it's all good and I can start making plans. We probably won't be moving in until December/January though as we don't know for sure when Dad's residency will go through. I'll try and get there sometime soon and get some pics for you guys :)

So the house is now settled, now all we have to do is get me pregnant...
I went to the docs yesterday to get myself checked out and over the next month I have so much to do! At certain times during my cycle I have to go in for blood tests, plus I have to go for an ultrasound (so, as the doc put it, we can see if I got all the right bits from my mummy and daddy!), then once those results are back I have to go back and most likely have a physical...and then there's stuff Christian has to do. I won't go there as he'll divorce me if he finds out I told, but you're all smart, intelligent people, I'm sure you can figure it out!
The doctor was very reassuring and told me that in two years I'll most likely have a baby so I shouldn't stress. Obviously she doesn't know me at all! But I'll do my best not to.

And that's about it for now. Until next time!

Ho Hum, Diddly Doo

Not doing much right now. Christian is helping Mark out with another track day (has it been a month alreday???) so I went down the hill this morning. I went to the gym as I've only gone once this week and I'm feeling like a big fat heffa, then I went for some retail therapy. I found a lovely dress that is rather flattering so I bought two, one white and the other purple (I pause here for Boo to cringe over the colours ;-P ) plus some more gym gear as I've only really got trackie daks and jumpers, no summer gear. Then I went to Barb's place where we dumped the kids with Mikey and went to Officeworks. Have I ever mentioned that I have a stationary fettish? We had much fun and many stationary orgasms later we headed off to some furniture shops. I don't know why, but I rather like browsing around furniture shops.

Anyway, here's the pics from the show I promised.



Well, I'm sure you all know about 'the line' by now. Smerk and I thought we'd have some fun with it. The joke was on us however when we realised we'd written it on upside down...











Smerk, looking pretty as usual.

















Chira and Caleb (who you can't really see) in the helicopters.














Perrrrrrdy fireworks!












Look at the pretty colours!

It's Showtime!

Well, it's Tuesday morning and I'm not looking forward to going to work. We had a public holiday yesterday for the Queen's Birthday (don't ask me which Queen but it's obviously not the same as everyone else in Australia because we all celebrate it on different dates...) and I was grateful for the extra day off. Still, I don't want to go to work.
*sigh*

Anyway, the weekend was pretty good. Saturday we had my sister and her family over as well as Mike to watch the AFL Grand Final. I didn't watch it but instead was put in charge of burning some cow on the bbq (which I did exceptionally well - it was black once I'd finished. Oops). The West Aussie team, the Eagles who had made the Final won by a point and so all weekend I had to put up with the celebrations.
Mike stayed around till 7:30 that night and then we decided we'd go and see a movie. We saw Beerfest which was very funny, very silly and required no thinking on my part so it was perfect as I was bloody tired by that point.

Sunday I went to the Perth Royal Show with my sisters and Smerk. The Show is supposed to be an agricultural day where the country comes to the city to show off cows, horses and farm produce. However, it has been much corrupted over the years in the same way as Christmas has and so now it's mainly about the rides, sideshow alley and showbags. It is a day for the kids though, and so we spent most of the day standing and waiting - waiting for the baby to be fed, waiting while the kids went on rides, waiting in line for their showbags, waiting while the blokes took the kids and two prams through the crowds to see the baby animal nursery, waiting for the fireworks...you get the point I'm sure.
It was a long day but it was fun and it was great to catch up with Smerk. I've taken some pics but I don't have time just yet to load them but I'll try and get that done in the next day or two.

My last day of the long weekend was a very restless one by me. I was bored but didn't want to go out, I wasn't in the mood to jump on the net, there were no movies I wanted to watch but instead started watching F1, only to fall asleep on the couch. I had slept in late that morning so I don't know why I was tired, but sleep again I did. I was woken up by a bird in the house that had gotten in from the open French doors. I then mosied around until I found myself reading my book. But I kept on asking Christian if he wanted to do anything but he didn't really want to go out either. It was one of those really annoying days where doing nothing is too much but not doing something is boring.
Does that make any sense?
So really, I should be glad I'm going back to work toady, but I'm not. I just want to curl up on the couch and go to sleep...