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...

Off track...

Ok, in my last post I promised pics of Christian's 'off' as it's called and I intend to deliver. But first I'll shed some light on how it came to be.

Christian was going down the long straight and at the end he realised he hadn't braked early enough or hard enough to make the hard left turn. He knew that if he tried to turn all he would do is send the car into a very painful series of rolls, so he had no choice but to continue braking whilst plowing into a field. Here's the results.

His poor Levin tyre-deep in mud.

His tracks after being towed out.

The skid marks of his entry into said paddock.

Christian showing us where he came to a stop, a mere three metres away from this...

Trackday

On Saturday we went to a Trackday held by one of our mates Mark to have a bit of a race around. I did the morning session which was just a practice and was untimed, and Christian, Mike and Mike (Brooksey) did the arvo timed session. I didn't actually get any pics of me hooning around the track in my car but here's more than enough pics to keep you all happy!

Kat and Mike, ever the smiley couple!

Me in Mark's car, waiting for a ride.

Kat and I. We had already taken a pic but Mike deleted it by accident so we had to do it over again.

Us losing it after taking said photo.

Brooksey and I being caught out by Kat doing male model poses.

Christian holding aloft his trophy for most consistant of the day (I made him pose for the camera...)

Christian actually had an off but I'm waiting to get some more pics of that before I post so expect another photo filled entry soon!

On another note, Talk Like a Pirate day was in full swing in Perth today. My web server, iinet changed their name to Aye Aye Net for the day and also gave their site a Pirate makeover. Most of the radio stations also had a Pirate theme, with jokes, stories and special guests. My favourite joke was 'What is a Pirate's favourite pick up line?'

'Aaagh, prepare to be boarded'

Angel

I've stopped twice in the last three weeks to help out ladies who's cars have broken down, and I've been surprised both times by the amount of people who just drive past, ignoring their plight.
The first time was actually in the car park of my local shopping centre. A heavly pregnant woman got out of her car that was reversed half way out of a bay and said it wasn't starting but she thought I'd be able to reverse out around her. I said 'Um, do you need some help?' and she goes 'Oh, I don't want to be a pain'. I told her it was no trouble and we managed to roll her car back into another bay. But while we were doing this at least five people tried to drive past and honked at us for being in the middle of the road.
Can you believe it???
I mean, not only did I think people would stop to help anyone who had broken down, but the fact that this woman looked like she was about to have her waters break right then and there, I really thought that would have made more people want to help. Obviously I was wrong. Eventually though a couple came over to help and the guy turned out to be a mechanic so we managed to get the car started. As I was leaving the lady told me I was a complete angel and she was lucky I was passing by at that moment.
Tonight I was driving home from my Mum's place when I came across a car with their hazard lights on just around a corner. I pulled over and asked the lady behind the wheel if she needed any help and she informed me that she didn't have her phone with her, had a broken ankle and thought her car wasn't working because the guy at the petrol station had put in unleaded instead of diesel. I gave her my phone and she called her partner, who wouldn't come and get her because he was in the middle of a workout!!! It was at this point that she started swearing at him like a fishmongers wife, and really I don't blame her. I'd be the same if Christian refused to come pick me up when I'd broken down. She ended up hanging up in a huff and then bursting into tears. All the while car after car drove past and none stopped to help until a couple of guys who really could only be called 'derros' pulled up (Smerk will understand and maybe the Edinburgh crew, although I don't think we explained it all that well. http://www.aussieslang.com/slang/australian-slang-d.asp?page=2 hopefully this will help) . We rolled the car off the road and I gave the lady and her little boy a ride home, although I didn't stay to witness the murder that I'm sure took place shortly afterwards. But before I left, this lady also told me I was an angel and I left feeling really warm and fuzzy because I'd done a good thing.
It got me thinking though why more and more people today just prefer to look the other way and completely ignore those who are in need. It makes you feel really good when you help others and I think the world would be a better place if we all did more of it.
But somehow I don't think that's going to happen.

Father's Day

It was Father's day last Sunday so my Dad and his 'brood', as he lovingly calls us, went up to Heathcote for a barbie. Heathcote is an old mental asylum that they've done up to be an art centre and restaurant for the buildings and a huge nautical-themed playground for the kiddies on the grounds. It's a lovely spot but very crowded on a lovely sunny day when it also just happens to be Father's day!


Anyhoo, here's some pics of the day.

Barb and me, with my not-very-pixie cut hair

Christian, laughing at the kids and their antics...little gits!

Dad, always pulling a face for the camera

Will, liking his spoon immensely with my brother-in-law Mike in the background

Some good news for those who don't know, we've finally gotten the go ahead to buy my Dad's house so we're in the proceedings now. Hopefully it'll all be finalised within the month. Hurrah!

And on a not-so-great note, I've hurt my back again so I've been in agony all over the weekend and am still hurting now after my chiro. It hurts heaps when I sit in font of the puter, so I haven't really been able to come on much. But I'll be on more as soon as I can! But I miss you all heaps and hope you're all doing well.

*MWA MWA*