Christmas 2008 - Dogs in the dam

We have just made it home from spending the day playing with the girls in the dam at Beaufort. Clara had a most fantastic time. Here she is:

Here is a link to the rest of the photos, some are a bit fuzzy, but still cute as!

P.S. don't forget Scotties are normally advertised as being able to 'swim like stones'

The world has gone a funny color

Not sure what the deal is, if I didn't know better I'd say there was a fire.

It's going up

The garage is going up, as we speak. It's very exciting, photos to follow.....

Edit:
Half done - looking over where the $40 marque was


Finished - Neil looking pleased with himself and the view from the street

Took ages

OK I admit it, these booties took far too long to finish. Truly they took months. But you have to admit they are really cute!

RIP

Quite some time ago, our garage fell down. We erected our lovely $40 Bunnings marque. As much as we hated it and had to fix in storms and stuff over the last few months, adding rope and gaffer tape to it's flimsy construction, it is with sadness that I announce, less than a mere week before it's useful life would have been over anyway, the marque has died.

Given that it is currently December, Summer and in Australia, it is of course, pissing rain (hmmmm maybe there is something to this stooiped climate change crap) and very windy. The roof of the marque, which did have a number of holes in it already, completely gave up, tearing through on one side. More poles (the ones with out the gaffer tape) came apart. I announced that the tent was dead and we should give up. The footings for the new garage went in on Thursday and the men should be back early next week to put the actual structure up. Everything is still wrapped in tarps, which we died down (using the rope that had held the tent down) so fingers crossed it'll last 3 or 4 more days.

RIP $40 marque......

Nice person

Monday I had a Scottie club meeting that I almost completely forgot about. I has sitting at my desk, much as I am now, thinking about going home, when I suddenly realised that I had a scottie meeting on and that I was supposed to be there in less than 50 mins, by public transport, to a place I had never been before (The Flemmington Race Course Taberet). So I quickly checked the tram I needed and headed out the door. Whilst riding through all the tiny streets in North Melbourne, I was completely convinced that I was on the wrong tram, but eventually it turned into the street I was expecting and I started to think about where the Flemmington Race Course Taberet might actually be. The tram driver and I were discussing this (he was most helpful and was slowing the tram down at each street so we could look down them and see if we could see it) when a fellow passenger came and asked me what I was looking for. I said and she said
"Oh, I'm going there, you can come with me!"
Any way, it turns out that the Taberet is miles from the tram stop and this lady organises to meet here husband in the car at the tram stop and drives to the Taberet. So I just jumped in the car with them. Most convenient! So while this post is tagged 'rant' it's actually a good rant!

Also, I managed, some how, to get myself elected vice president of the club.

The party!

I'm totally sure this party is going to happen this time, we have even made an invite! So, Make sure you all come. Yay us.......

sooo true

I found these today. They are so true. All you scottie owners with know just what I mean
Scottie Property Laws

1. If I like it, it's mine
   
2. If it's in my mouth, it's mine
   
3. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine
   
4. If I can take it from you, it's mine
   
5. If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours
   
6. If it looks just like mine, it's mine
   
7. If I saw if first, it's mine
   
8. If it's edible, it's mine
   
9. If you have something and put it down, it's mine
   
10. If I chew something up, all the bits are mine
    
11. If I get tired of it, it's yours
    
12. If I want it back, it's mine

do be do be doooo

Ok, so for the last little while, things have been a bit back to the bad old days of not really having enough to do at work. But things are going to pick up, I'm sure. My 3 RFQ/Tenders came into day, so that will be fun, evaluating them and appointing someone to do the work, then looking after the progress etc. I do have some BoM stuff to do, but mostly can't be stuffed just now. Also on a not work front, the exciting book of our UK holiday arrived yesterday, everyone was very impressed, especially me!

Anyway, the point of this post was to show you how I have been wasting my time on face book (let me know if you want one, I'll invite you):
picture has died, you're not missing much

Exciting news

This morning on the way to work, my motor cycle turned 30,000km old.
Its a mile stone! (except the its in kilometres, not miles)

Sent from my spiffy new iPhone
Pictures added later:

it's me

Now I know some of my regular readership is going to groan most heartily at this, but what you can see here is my Birth Chart

There was also pages and pages of stuff that tells me all about myself. Here are some of the amusing ones I felt were TRUE:

• 82 Conjunction Sun - Mars : She is energetic, determined, courageous, she is full of self-confidence. She likes to dominate, command, direct. She overcomes all difficulties by sheer will-power. She is frank.
  
• Moon in IV : She likes family life, peace and quiet: she likes to stay at home, surrounded by loved ones, in agreeable circumstances. Positively influenced by the mother.
  
• Mercury in II : Intelligence geared towards ways of making money, becoming rich. All methods are good, sometimes she is on the borderline of honesty, with a tendency to be fraudulent.
  
• Saturn in Leo : In a position of authority, she likes responsibilities and assumes them. She receives favours from patrons, who recognize her merits or similarly receives honors in return for well-accomplished tasks.
  
• House V in Capricorn : The absolute example of the "serious" type. Everything is calculated, the slightest risk analyzed, patience is one of her main qualities. Doesn't know anything about chance. One or two love affairs, marriage, a family, all unproblematic - done calmly with love and wisdom.
  
• House IX in Taurus : Travels but little, no great attraction for abroad. Doesn't change principles, practically never changes mind.
  
• House XII in Leo : A few problems with authority or someone in charge.

Then here are the ones I felt were not so true (Bullshit):

• 322 Conjunction Sun - Uranus : She is above all independent and original. She likes change, reforms, she is allergic to everything routine. She has a strong personality, and has many friends.
  
• Venus in III : Likes everything that is beautiful, likes decorum. Outstanding intelligence. She works in a trade linked to beauty, fashion. Numerous select friends.
  
• Saturn in XII : She likes quiet and solitude above everything. She looks for work (or can work) alone, without being bothered. She hates chatting, outside noises.
  
• House IV in Sagittarius : She will certainly marry a foreigner, or go to live abroad permanently and set up home there.

Hope this has entertained you as much as it did me... :)

Dog, not Scared-ey

Clara, she's just not scared or worried about anything. Today Neil had his swag (big canvas bag with a zip around the edge (it's for sleeping in when you can't be arsed with a tent)) out and was putting the sleeping mat, sleeping and and pillow back into it. He invited Clara in for a look, she wandered in, right to the bottom, sniffed around and wandered out. I scratched at the material from the out side and she went back in, had a go at my hand, wondered round in there some more and came out again. She just isn't worried about anything! So long as we are there with here, she'll do anything! I just didn't know how she got like this, not that I'd swap, it great, but it's a wonder to me every time she does stuff like that. Molly would never do anything like that.
Obviously it was hard work for the both of them though, as they are now both asleep on chairs.

Guess what

I know I know, I'm a bit slow but guess what I discovered yesterday (well yesterday for you, but today for me)? You can schedule posts to appear on your blog while your not there!!! how clever!!! I know you could back date them, but I never had course to forward date them! I'm really excited, but you won't know that til tomorrow (or rather, you'll find out, tomorrow, that I was excited today!! ) Wow, being a time traveller must be really complicated.

Links

I'm not a bit fan of posting links to other blogs, as I think it is a cop-out blog post, but these two blogs I found today (one courtesy of ScarletWords) I have really enjoyed, so I have to pass them onto you, who ever you are:

• Melbourne Today (no relation to the awful TV show)
  
• Edinburgh Daily Photo

Speaking of "who ever you are", I know people visit this site, but I am getting way more hits per day than the reads I know of, so who ever you are, leave a comment, introduce yourself, lets chat :)

It took a while....

OK, so we have been back from our holiday for over a year, but this evening, we sent out book of pictures away to be printed :) Yay!!! You can have a sneek peak of the first 15 pages and even order your own copy if you are some sort of strange stalker type. Here, go look:

Neil and Louis...

Our trip to Scotla...

By Louise Sullivan Ne...

Book Preview

and did anyone even notice?!?!?!

I just added a new little Radley animation to my blog. While I was doing that, I noticed that a couple of my little Scotties had disappeared! So I have fixed then too, but did anyone even notice that they were gone! No, fine! Audience! Don't even care about my blog then! Humph!

Dinner

We had some lovely guests last night for dinner, thanks guys for coming. We had Mexican, beer and chatting for tea. It was great!

And here is the dinner, which despite what it may or may not look like, was delicious!

Nachos

I just saw someone eating nachos. I want some. Yum!

Sent from my spiffy new iPhone

The most disgusting thing I have ever heard of

Watching TV last night (Spicks and Specks) they was an American guest from the deep south (Kaky or something) who told every one about the most disgusting, possible in the universe. It's a Turducken.
Never heard of it? Neither had I and god I wish I never had. What it is is a Turkey, with a Duck INSIDE it, with a Chicken INSIDE that! Hence: Tur-duc-ken
Yuk, GOD, no wonder I don't eat poultry. And I am NOT going to include a picture

I found this

I am sooo sick of the bloody American election, I mean it's not like there is anything we can do about it, and most of that stupied country dosn't even vote, so I really like this web site: If the world could vote Now go there, read, vote what ever....

Epiphany

The other day I had an epiphany. Ok, so that may be somewhat of an exaggeration. But it was still a really good idea.

Books vs Movies

Many is the time I can recall saying "Yeah but the book was heaps better". Only once can I recall saying "Man that book sucked, give me the movie any day" (That was about Bridget Jones)
Last night we watch the Golden Compass. We both enjoyed it immensely, until the last scene, when we were both saying "Oh No! where is the rest?" I kind of get a bit pissed with films that appear to be simply a vehicle for the next film. But even with the slight sour note at the end, I loved this film, the whole world it created was excellent. It had the common American film issue of explaining all the magic, but not in too offensive a manor. It was very pretty, I didn't feel the effect were too 'in your face' and I like the people. Now I'm off to find the book so well have to see how it compares. I have had it on good authority that the book is good.

P.S. I found this:

It was meant to link to the web site, but it was all broken :(

Back in the saddle again

So, ages ago, I was eating Lite n Easy, partly cos it lite, partly cos it's easy. That all went to the dogs when Neil moved in, cos why would you eat boring food from the microwave when Neil cooks yummy real food? Well, it turns out that you eat it, cos if you don't you end up weighting something like 20 or 30 kg more than you should (according to the oh so wise weight chart.)
So, I'm back onto it again. It's nearly the end of...... the first day, and I'm holding up ok. A bit hungry. I'm currently waiting for neil to come home from the brewery, with pizza (didn't know they had a website til just now!), which I won't be having any of. If I can do 6 weeks, I'll be happy, 12-20 would be better. Wish me luck!

magical Facebook

what a wonderful and magical place facebook is. The are so many amazing and clever things there. I only found this particular thing my copying someone else, but that's ok. So now, you have to do what I did, follow this link, and add more stuff to your own facebook profile!

Hair dresser

Ok, so I'm lazy. I haven't been to a hair dresser for about 10 years (Also, I'm a tight arse, when hair cuts started costing $40+ I decided I didn't need them). Any way, I was watching Legally Blond the other and noticing how nice Reese's hair was and I started thinking: "Maybe I should go blonde" Now, for those of you who know me, you may now be wondering if perhaps my brain had slid quietly out one of my ears. It's hasn't, it ok.
I made it to a hair dresser yesterday and after mentioning the henna in my hair, the blonde idea was dismissed, I was beginning to loose my nerve by this stage anyway, so no real surprises there. We (the hair dresser and I) looked at all the colors and I ended up saying stuff like "what ever you think is best is fine." Yes, that's right, danger!
So, hair dye, it's really stinky and cold. The lady kept bagging henna, but I like the smell, and at least it's warm (at the start anyway)! On the plus side, it only stays on your head for 30 mins, not 4 to 6 hours.
I now have a 'layered' head, which I was a bit nervous about. There is WAY less hair. Everyone keeps telling me it's looks great, and I'm not sure weather to believe them, cos people always say that! Here is the color:

So unlike a poor young lady on a blog I regularly read, I think I'm fairly happy with it.



Note: You will notice the label for this post is 'my head' and it is, literally ;)

Camera update

I completely forgot to give you guys an update on the Camera Saga. So as you know, the camera went to the Camera Vet quite some time ago. Eventually a man rang to say it was ready to pick up. When we got there, it was a whole new camera, still black, but not my camera, not my camera that had travelled with me all over the UK. I was really a bit sad about that :(.
Anyway, when I got the new camera home, it turned out that it really wasn't as good as my old one, cos even though it had more mega pixels, it had less zoom, a crappier lens and just generally wasn't as good. So I rang the Camera Vet and chatted to a lady and she said, "Yeah that's a really pox-y camera, I'll organise a better one for you" Which she duly did (Note: Thank god for buying the extended warranty).
So I went down to pick up the new new camera, and I'm really happy with it. It has the same quality lens, the same amount of zoom, but it's WAY faster than the old camera. So while I'm still quite sad about the old camera, the well travelled one, but the new camera is nice. Yay :)
Here is a photo of my nice new new camera.

P.S. Always buy the extended warranty!

Best in Show

We has a bit of a video splerge on the week end, and we got 'Best in Show' which I haven't seen since before I started to attend dog shows on a semi regular basis. Oh My God! It is not a mock-u-mentory, it's real! Oh dear, I might need a new hobby!

passing

have you even noticed how there are many many ways of saying someone has died. Why is that? Are we all so afraid of it? I guess so. Anyway, recently Neil's dad died. He had been sick for almost as long as I have known him, and the very ill the last 2 or 3 years, he had been in care. The last few months were a bit yuk, he could hardly talk, his movement had dramatically reduced and he lost many man kilos.
It's hard to tell people you are relieved someone has died.

Knitted vegies!

I went to the show today. I saw many things, took photos of the Scotties on show and ate some fairly average food. I bought 3 Bertie Beetle bags (my standard show purchase). I also saw some really cool knited food. This is Fiona's fault, she is a fan of this stuff, now everywhere I go I see it! here are some photos:

Here is a photo of Hildy, after she has been shown and having just burried a pigs ear in her bed. Doesn't she look pleased with her self?

Gardening

I don't think I am a natural gardener, but the herbs at the fruit shop are expensive an seem so wasteful that I just have to try, and also, it was on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. That task pretty much completed, I have decided at I should post any other garden stuff on here instead. Here are the results of today's gardening effort:

At the back we have the re-potted mint, still not looking great, but that is a way bigger pot now, so I'm thinking positive. Next is the Italian Parsley, which looks great and is really tasty. It's doing really well when you think how small it started out! Then comes the two new Thyme plants, one lemon, one plain. Finally there is the new coriander plant. Buying coriander from the fruit shop is one of the banes of my existence (no I am not being overly dramatic) asit NEVER lsts more than a day, you only ever need a tiny amount and the rest ends up going mouldy! Grrr. Any way, as the parsley went sooooo well and coriander looks similar, I though I'd risk it. So we'll see how it goes ;)

Again - absence

Ok, so I have been very slack, in one sense any way. and yes it is an important sense, cos it is the Blog sense, in another way I have also been very busy. This may help to explain said slackness with the said blog, ie: The one you are reading and the others in the Louise stable of blogs.
So onto the life update^tm:

Work
Work is improving, a lot. I am in the process of procuring a new boss, with in the framework of my present position. This also means I have work to do, which is most satisfactory. The new boss I lovely. I am getting the feeling that the old boss has yet to be old of this change in arrangements..... hmmm. Not my issue, kind of.
Updates to follow, as they occur.

Clara/Puppies
On the 23^rd and 24^th of August, we started the process to get Clara 'knocked up'. The boy dog in question is very nice, his name is Harry, he is an American, Canadian and Australian champion:

He's even actually a nice dog when away from shows.
So, it's 9 weeks gestation and we have to wait til around 4 weeks to find out if there are any puppies. If there are some, they will arrive for my birthday and be ready for people to take home for Christmas! But we still have to wait another week or so to find out if there are any puppies. Fingers crossed, but also VERY nervous.

Garage
Grrrr. The garage fell down quite some time ago now (nearly 3 months) and we still aren't very much more advanced then we were then. Advances made:

• bricks picked up
  
• some wood removed to Martin's country property
  
• old tilt-a-door removed to Martin's country property
  
• shed company chosen
  
• building permit applied for
  
• building permit knocked back
  
• planing permit applied for

Tasks still to be completed

• permit (of any sort approved)
  
• Concrete cut up
  
• Footings dug
  
• Shed built
  
• concrete removed
  
• Stuff moved off the back porch
  
• concrete poured
  
• Neil's things moved from Camberwell

Will this ever end? I'm thinking 'no' at this stage.

Facebook/Bimbo and other web lives
I have some new obsessions that are probable taking time away from my all important blogging. One the dot game, on facebook, I love it, I can highly recommend it, go, play now. Two fish wrangler, on facebook, I love it, I can highly recommend it, go, play now. Three My Bimbo, it is good, but recently the change the look of the doll, and now it looks a bit too much like a 'bratz' doll for my liking, anyway, have a go, if you can be fagged.

Family stuff
Everyone is all good, except for Neil's Dad. Nothing new to report, that I have been told anyway.

Other
I did have something to write under this heading, but I have forgotten it now....

absence

Sorry about the absence

I have had nothing really exciting happen, so there has been no reason to make a post. I have been trying to knock tasks off my 101, as I only have 800 or so days to go, but still, not achieving a lot :(
Any, I got mailed the Draw a Pig Personality test. I thought it was funny, so now you can have a go.
My Personality (according to the detailed analysis of my pig drawing). I drew my pig:

• Toward the middle of the frame, you are a realist.
• Facing front, you are direct, enjoy playing devil's advocate and neither fear nor avoid discussions.
• With many details, you are analytical, cautious, and distrustful.
• With less than 4 legs, you are insecure or are living through a period of major change. I am hoping it's the major change thing, I think what with the dog and the garage, it's the major change thing, don't you?!?!?!?
• The size of the ears indicates how good a listener you are. You are a good listener.
• The length of the tail indicates the quality of your sex life. You have a poor sex life.

Louise is...

Feeling like she should really just learn to shut her month some times.

Please don't comment on this post, I really don't need that right now.

motivation

I know that some of you feel the same, but I find it soooo hard to work when I only have one or two things to do that aren't urgent. I just tend to do nothing til it's urgent. I have spent sooo much time over the last little while in front of the PC doing 'stuff'. Almost none of it was work. Today my head is hurting and my eyes are tired and I can't be arsed doing anything.

must not leave food out

Look what we came home from the super market to:

At least she had nice 'ginger-nut' smelling breath. That's how we know she didn't share with Molly. I think she's feeling a bit fat now.

Camera

Oh NO!!!! My camera has had to go to the camera vet. It will be staying for 4 - 6 Weeks!!!!
Lucky I bought that extended warranty.
(for those of you who know my camera, don't worry, it's not serious, it's just the lens cap not closing properly)

Clara and Molly at the snow

We took the dogs to the snow Yesterday. It was great. We had a bit of trouble finding some snow, in fact I had all but resigned myself to having driven for two hours and not getting to see any, when we finally found some! With was a bit scrappy, but it was enough. Clara had a great time, as you can see:


Here are the rest of the photos
Clara, in her usually "I had a big day" fashion, proceeded to sleep on the way home, a fairly impressive feat given the roads (bumpy and windy)

Note to Non-Australians: Snow is a big deal here, we don't get much of it, and you have to travel a long way to get it. It's Exciting ok?!?!?!

the things you find......

You can make your own here

spring - but hang on!!!

These are daffodils from Mums garden, and it still winter!

Read things properly

I am so embarrassed. We had a wedding to go to last night. I had decided to make a skirt to wear. We went to spotlite and brought all the supply's. We cam home, check the start time for the wedding and I got sewing. No dramas, heaps of time. Neil was having a lie down cos of his mad desire to go on the Icicle Ride (a night ride, in winter. Why, I ask you?) I finished the skirt at 10 past 5 (I had started at 4ish), great, just time to get Neil out of bed, get dressed and in the car. Luckily the venue is only 15 mins down the road. We were in the car at around 6, so I was hoping and hoping the ceremony wouldn't start right on the second of one time, like my cousins did. As we were driving I checked the invite again, to see if it gave any sort of indication. This is ever the evening went bad for me.
The wedding was at 5pm, drinks and canapaees were at 6pm, followed by dinner at 7pm. (not as I hurriedly read it weeding at 6 and dinner at 7pm) Fuck.
Fuck......... Fuck.
Really what else can I say?

Note: If you are either of the Happy Couple reading this --> We are soooo sorry. I feel awful and I can't even think of anything to say except sorry. If you can come up with some sort of horrible punishment, please let me know.

Olives

Guess what happens when a Scottie dog eats a dozen olives? Let's just
say we now have to buy more paper towel and leave it at that shall we.

Sent from my spiffy new iPhone

Guestbook

Comutting

when you commute to work, either by PT or private transport, you get to see a lot of stupid things. As I commute by motorcycle, I get to see my stupid things on the road. This afternoons stupid thing was a lady in a huge brand new BMW 4WD who had decided at the last minute she needed to turn right from Punt road into Johnson street (for non-Melburnians these are two fairly major roads, (for Americans, and other who drive on the wrong side of the road, think left and turn)) Unfortunately she had missed the end of the cue of traffic that was already lined up to turn right. For any normal person they would have thought "oh bum" and turn down the next street and doubled back, but not this bright spark. No, she decided there was plenty of room at the front of the cue and she would just slow down, in traffic travelling 70km and hour and push in at the front. This not only pissed off the moving traffic, but just imagine being the car the was the first in the cue.
Anyway, I just thought I would share that with you as today's bit of f%#&ing stupid on the way home.

Ears

My ears are buzzing. Why on earth would my ears be buzzing? Also, my
earing holes (what else do you call them?) hurt. Again, no idea why.

Sent from my spiffy new iPhone

Tiiiimmmmmmbbbbbbberrrrrrrrr

So I had sent myself up for a nice afternoon in bed doing soduku puzzles. and there was a 'shit' explanation from out side, followed by a large thumping noise. I quickly jumped up and went out side to find Neil at the top of a ladder with a bit of tin in hand at the top of a ladder. The garage wall was lying on the ground in next doors back yard. Opps. That was not how it was supposed to work. Oh well.

We then spent the rest of the day picking up bricks. We had Scott and the neighbour helping. Now completely stuffed!!

Shiny Car

Look, it's back and all shiny!

Retail Therapy

I have been very miserable at work recently. I have had enough of coming to work, only to sit at my desk, cursing the web and trying to look busy til such time as I think it is ok for me to be seen leaving. It is depressing and I have also decided it is very bad for my self esteem.
I tried to make a 'point' about it last Thursday, by just not coming in and not ringing or anything, but the computers turned out to be down for most of the day, and people just assumed I wasn't the cos of that. Bugger.
Anyway, today was much the same, except I read a really sad blog post about someone's Scottie that had died and it made me sadder than I was. In the end I just HAD to leave (this was at about 3pm). So I wondered down to Melbourne Central, to go to Borders and buy a Trinny and Susannah book, then look at cloths.
I actually had a successful shopping trip. I tend to find that unless I have a reasonable success in the first shop, I don't tend to have a good time. Equally, if the first shop is a disaster, the whole trip is doomed.
The first stop (after Borders) was Suassan. This is not a shop I would normally go in, cos the cloths are normally a bit 'fashionable'. But they were having a sale, so I thought 'What the Hell'. I found a nice jacket, it was $139, reduced to $109, I tried it on, it was ok. I um-ed and arr-ed and decided to buy it anyway. The lady at the counter made some comment I didn't hear about it being reduced a bit further. It turned out it was going to cost $31 Oh My God!!!! A whole jacket for $31! WoW! YaY!

With this great success under my belt I ventured into dome other shops. Nothing really leapt out, although a lot of shops were having sales, which was nice. I decided to venture into Jacqui-e. This was a shop I used to quite like, then it went yukky for a while and I stopped going there. It seems to have gone nice again cos I accidentally bought a 3 piece suit and a dress. It did help that the lady who was helping me was really nice, wearing the skirt a bought and a huge fan of the pants too. The jacket and skirt of the suit and the dress were also on sale. Gotta love that, so the whole lot only cost <$350!
The upshot of all this retail therapy was that I feel a heap better. However, I really must put in a whole load of effort to solving the underlying problems, cos I can't afford to do this every week!

Shape

I watched this show a few weeks ago, by Trinny and Susannah. It was great. I am hoping to go shopping and put the 'rules' into practice. I recon I am a Vase

Dog in back of car

So, I have to tell you about the dog I saw in the back of a car on my
ride home from work. It was a small black dog, with a tiny dot of
white on it's chest. It was very dark in the back of the car and for
ages I didn't even realise it was there. When I finally did notice
it, I, of course, waved at it. At this stage the poor thing went
spastic barking at me. The poor people on the car!!!! It was so
sincere, barking away, for ages. I mean it wasn't like I was following
them on purpose!

Sent from my spiffy new iPhone

Wobbolie

A small native Australian marsupial. It looks a lot like a Kangaroo. If fact is is completely acceptable (for me anyway) to refer to a Kangaroo using this word. They are usually grey, always cute (except when dead by the side of the road) and look even cuter when it is raining just a tiny bit and the drops get stuck on their fur.

Pain - the update

So, after a conversation with Nurse-on-call (a really great service if you ever have the need to use it), the actual doctor (not so worth while, only go if you need a medical certificate) and cursing the web, it looks like most of the symptoms I have always associated with the pain are all to do with Hyperventilation Syndrome and anxiety or 'panic attack'.

This is:

• a bit of a worry
  
• a huge relief
  
• understandable
  
• interesting

So next time the pain comes, we'll have to see how I cope. Go on pain, I dare you! I've got you all figured out now and I not going to let you mess with me again! HA!

Ring

I didn't mention it at the time, but about 11 months ago Neil gave me, with all the love in his heart, a hair tie. As a ring. He, of course was joking, I wasn't. I decided to wear it, in place of a proper sparkley, until it broke. I was so sure it would all off while we were in the UK: it didn't. Then I was positive it would be gone by Christmas: Still there!
By this stage it was really starting to smell and look awful. (Originally it was white, by this stage it was a mucky looking gray)
Any way, a few minutes ago, we were playing bite-e games with Clara and she did one of her random grabs up at Mum (cos you know you have to bite the hand that feeds you) and her teeth got caught in and it broke (not before it tighten really tight around my finger and hurt like shit of course!)
It's a sad sad day.
P.S. Anyone got a spare sparkley Neil can buy off you?

Gardening

Once, quite a while ago, when Clara was a puppy, she tried her hand (or paw) at gardening. She obviously enjoyed it. When I cam home from work, my beloved pom-pom plant and the last remaining alive bits of my mondo grass were spread every where, along with a very puppy chewed pot plant container and whole whole lot of dirt. I just couldn't bring my self to yell at her, apart from the fact that it had happened hours before and would have been pointless. I could just imagine her grabbing the plant by the green bits, pulling it out and shacking the shit out of it in a satisfying shower of dirt!
Anyway, the point of this post is to say I have finally been brave enough to put the plants down at Clara level again and she seems to think that gardening isn't her thing any more, as she has left them alone for more than a week now.

Pain

So today I am at a training session, which is actually really good and I want to be here. I had to leave at 10am to go to Attwood to do a presentation, that I wasn't too keen on doing. About half way there, in a Taxi, I started feeling AWFUL, with the horrible 'girl' pain stuff. My head felt really fuzzy, my hands stopped working and went to pincers then my head started to get pins and needles. The poor taxi driver.
Anyway, I managed to pay, sort of sign my name on the cab charge and head into the building for the presntation. I was waiting to sign in when I decided I really eed to lye on the ground, I was sooo hot and in so much pain.
This poor lady, who was actually trying to sign out of the building and leave helped a work collegue take me out to the sick room. By this stage I could only just work and needed a lot of help to get off the ground.
I was literally dripping with sweat by this stage, I couldn't talk, think anything. Jo (who sits next to me) came in and helpped me while I was sick, then got all freezing and shivery. The was no blanket in the room and I was now freezing and shaking.
This was the worst lot ever.
Eventually I was able to eat a pain killer and I knew I would be fine. After half and hour or so, Jo and I got in a taxi to go home to my place. Jo couldn't believe that I was ok again. After I had a shower and we all had a sauage roll at home I decided to go back to the training. So here I am again, I feel pretty much normal, if a little tired, and I feel like I hardly missed a thing.
The FirstAider respoce out at Attwood DPI office left a little to be desired, very un responsive, and I tell you what, if I had been the first aider seeing me like that, I wouldn't have cared what I had said, I would have called an ambulance!
Note to self: Go to the doctor!

Testing from the iPhone

Can i get the note into anything useful? I am testing blogging from
the iPhone

Sent from my spiffy new iPhone

Dinner

Yummy!

Useless day

I have just had the most useless day. 5-6 hours sitting around, in what was probable a very expensive room, having a very nice, but completely unnecessary lunch, listen to people crap on about shit that is complete irrelevant to me, whilst getting more and more bored! geees peoples, I mean why were we even invited? Our group has nothing to do with Ministerials, governance and boring shit like that, I can't believe it!
The final straw was the Director announcing that he doesn't want to read web pages, we wants the information in documents, who cares if that means re-doing work, re-inventing the wheel and generally having 30 people go through hoops just to satisfy he ridiculous 30 years behind the times fucking 'typing pool' attitude!

Top 5 Searches

Here is a list of the Top 5 Searches people made on Google to find my blog:

1. bacon flavored bubbles
   
2. bacon flavored bubbles for dogs
   
3. scottish terrier 10 weeks
   
4. australia long stitch
   
5. scottish terrier

Really I just don't know what to say to this. I mean it could be worse, in fact it is for one blog I read, but how? why?
I think it is maybe best not to think on it too hard..........

last nights dinner

It took ages, was a bit plain, but we ate the whole lot (please note there were 3 of us, not two, so that means we are not complete pigs, only nearly)

Battlestar

Yay, lining up for a but of a Battlestar binge! Some tonight, the rest on Sunday!

oops

I have just eaten a whole packet of yummy waterthins, classic cheddar evil bickie snack thingies. The are better for you than BBQ shapes, but not a lot.

Bassgettie

Bassgettie is a meal of Italian origin, which consists of long thin pasta, tomato and meat sause with yummy things like herbs, mushroom etc with it. Yum

Posts

So, you might have noticed a reduction in the number of posts. I have been trying to think up why this is, I mean it certainly isn't because I have suddenly become busier at work! I have come up with two possible reasons.

• Audience: It's not that I haven't always had an audience (Hello audience) it that my audience has increased lately to a point I wasn't really expecting. Every time I write something people, you know the real sort, the ones you actually see, talk to me, with like their mouths. It's freaky, and makes me self conscious.
  
• Internet Stalking: As you know, I am an internet stalker. I look up my friends, and hunt for people I haven't seen in ages on the web. I read a number of blogs regularly, and am generally a complete internet nerd. (I hate not checking my mail 40 time a day). Recently I had occasion to experience this from the other side. Someone I hoped NEVER to heard from again found me. I am totally not surprised, I knew it would happen eventually, Facebook being what Facebook is, but I was still a bit shocked. I mean maybe that was mostly because this person is now so much more of a complete nut job than they were when I knew them, but still a bit shocked.

So the fact remains, something has knocked the edge of my blogging. The next thing is to decide what to do about it. Again, I have a few ideas:

• Move my blog: Not really keen on this one, as my blog has been linked to in a number of places, and it would be a pain to change them all. Also, I like my name.
  
• Give up for a bit, til people get sick of reading it: The I could come back to it in a few months, I would have next to no audience again, and I might be happy. But what if it all happens again?!?!?
  
• Change the focus of my blog: Maybe retire the 'My head' tag, these posts had been going down anyway and it might be that I just need to resign myself to the grown and changing nature of me and simple focus on other things. I did, for quite awhile, find the 'My head' posts very therapeutic and helpful, and although I don't seem to be needing them just now, maybe I would be sorry later?!?!?
  
• Get over it: say no more.
  
• Move the 'My head' entries some where else: This is an idea worth considering, as I had already noted, the number of these as been going down, and I think in direct proportion to the growing audience. Also, I kind of got my self in trouble with these once already. And it would help if I need to payout on someone who also happened to be in my known audience (it all right everyone, this is a hypothetical statement (gees, see what I mean!!!))

Any way, probable a bit of thinking and planning to go, thoughts, as always, are welcome. Love yous all!!
Me :)

Cold

I have a cold and feel awful. Why can't I be better NOW

On the plus side, the Scottie website is looking great.

yummy, look what I made

I mean, Neil might have cooked the meat balls, but I made them and got everything ready :)

They were Yum too!

and thats the thanks I get

So it was really cold and rainy today, I didn't want to go to work at all, but I got dressed in all my wet weathers and went. I decided as it was such a yucky tad, to leave the girls inside. I took them out for a wee before I left, put their coats on them and left them all tucked up on the couch.
So what did I come home to you ask? Of course, a huge pile of really runny pooh on the kitchen floor, and a small sample of same in the bath room. Yay. I guess the only consolation was that at least it wasn't on the new rug. Thanks dogs. I know every now and then you like to remind me you are dogs, not little cute fuzzy humans, I will consider myself reminded.

Is there any thing better?

sprinkles on toast, it's so evil..... and so yummy

Potato

Dinner, yum!

oops, I forgot to mention

That we got a new rug. It was around the same time as the 'garage' incident. So I forgot.

She's so sophisticated

oh dear

So Saturday morning dawned, with only a slight hungover haze, we pottered around, had movers arrive and take stuff away, did not a lot. Neil took a trip to the garage and a few swear words ensured. It took me quite some time to get him to use some more helpful adjectives so I could work out what the actual problem was. So now it's time for some back story so that all of those of you who don't live in my area can understand just what all the swear words were all about.
Our area is post war, so around 50-60 years old. All* the garages were made with one wall on the fence line, made of brick, and the rest made of wood or cement sheet. Ours also has an asbestos roof, lucky us! To make them nice and cheap, the mortar was made with lots of sand and not much cement, which means as they age they can almost blow over in a stiff breeze**. A few months ago our neighbours garage was pulled down because it was slowly breaking in have and leaning into our backyard. As the house is a housing commission house, and all the work was done for them, that was all very fine and dandy for them (oooo and we scored some of the bricks, which someday, we are planning on doing dome paving with).
Back to the story, so it turns out out brick wall is now in a fairly similar condition to the one that was taken down. We had known it would happen eventually and had been keeping an eye on it for just that reason, but it has rapidly deteriorated in the last week, it might even be storm damage, as it has been really windy and rainy. Our wall is kind of bulging out in the middle, making it almost impossible to 'brace'. The beam that holds all the roof beams has completely fallen off the wall and the roof is starting to fall in. Many swear words followed the discovery of just how bad a position the whole thing was in.

So, a trip to Bunnings*** was in order for first thing Sunday morning (yuk). We procured:

• Wood, various lengths
  
• tarps (for which we forgot to pay)
  
• plastic boxes (120L)
  
• two $40**** marques

Now all the content of the garage are either inside (if the things were clean) or under the al-cheapo marque and under tarps (yay free tarps! They were in the bloody trolley, I didn't hide them, the stupid man on the counter just didn't scan them and I didn't realise till we got to the car, so stuff them!). The roof as been successfully 'propped' and Neil will have and exciting day tomorrow ringing place to find out how far off affording a new garage we are. *swear word*


There are more pics you can view if you want

* ok probable only a lot of them rather than all.

** Whilst this might be a bit of an exaggeration, there have been small children who have died when they have grabbed the, for example, basket ball ring attached to said wall, which has then collapsed onto them. Not joking! You have to be a tough kid to survive that!

*** for the most of the world that isn't Australian Bunnings is a HUGE hardware place that you tend to loose the people you go there with, the staff and useless and they cell alot of cheep crap mixed in with hardware.

**** This is not just cheap, it's positively cheap arse!

Wow I've gone all shy

I have been posting and posting, not really giving a shit, and then I did that sodding survey, and now I am thinking, ooo thats a post idea, ooooo no it's not a 'worthy' post.
Oh dear.
So tomorrow, when I find my camera, I'll do a nice post on the new kitchen bits. I'm too drunk now. Neil has fallen asleep in his chair in front of Buffy heaps of times, and is now heading off to bed. There are both good and bad bits about living walking distance from a brewery.

oh dear

I wasn't going to put this up after having done the quiz, I was just going to do it out of interest sack, you know, just to see the answer. But when the last question was something along the lines of "are you going to blog about this answer" and I had to be honest and say "probable!" I thought I should follow through, so here you are:
71%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?
Also, one of the questions was, how do you read your blogs you regularly keep up with, I was forced to answer, visit them. One of the other answers was "with technoratie (what ever) or other blog tracking service. I didn't know they existed, so no more manual shit for me!!!!

Wedding

We had a wedding yesterday, to be honest, neither of us were particularly keen on going. I would have preferred to just sit around and do nothing, but we got all scrubbed up and headed out. Given the weather lately, they had a very nice day for their ceremony, it was all outside, at the Collingwood Children's farm.
The ceremony was very heartfelt and really quite moving, I spoke to the celebrant, and she said that the couple had made up all of it, except the bit that has to be said. Neil got to catch up with all his uni buddies, although I find it all a bit weird that they all have kids. There was this bloke there, who I knew I should know who he was, but you know how it is when you see someone out of context and you therefore have no idea who they are, but your sure you should! Sorted it out in the end with a minimum of embarrassment.
The reception was really good, the food was excellent. One of Neil's friends had organised a band, that people put in money to pay for as the present, which was ace. The band was also great.
So, in the end it was an excellent after noon and evening, and even thoguh i ended up way to drunk and am now hungover, we were both really glad we were invited and went along.

Laughed till i cried

So I am work, and cursing the web, like i really probable shouldn't be, and I found this blog. I read the first article, and chuckled a bit, kept reading and eventually found this one and quite literally laughed till I cried, completely uncontrollable, tears, couldn't breath and now I have a bit of a head ache I laughed so hard. Happy reading!

sad

I'm so sad. All I want is somewhere in Australia that sells Kopparberg cider, and there isn't anywhere..... I email the brewery ages ago, and didn't get a response. I don't think I'm ever going any, unless I go back to the UK. That won't be for a while.

Found

I just found this picture of the cats:

 

Aren't they cute?

Hambag

A hambag is a bag, of varying size, that proper ladies carry around all their stuff in.

Snausages

Snausages are best consumed from with in a 'blanket'. The really need to have sauce on them, preferable fairly cheep plain tomato sauce, non of this flash relish stuff. Onions, that have had the crap fried out of them as completely optional depending on your own tastes.
(man I'm hungry!)

Arrival

Our new table and chairs arrived today. It's even nicer than the one in the shop, as not only does it not have scratches all over it, but it is of even nicer timber.
We were putting it together this morning, naughtily before I came to work, and Clara was sitting on it, just watching us screw the legs on (it was upside down, hence the dog on the table was very similar to the dog on the floor) The only problem was, once put together it was too heavy for me to be able to help Neil turn it over. We had a re think, left two legs on, turned in, propped it up and I went to work, leaving Neil to put the other two legs back on. We also had to make little squishie feet for it, as the ones that came with it weren't ace.


Addition: The finished product

lost

o no you are lost
what ever will I do now
ah but you are found!

Oh this post seems like it is on the wrong blog!!! But no! This haiku is about my phone, which I lost, cos it was going flat, and just as we started to ring it so we could find it, it went completely flat!

At first I didn't care, I wasn't concerned at all. Then I started to think I was going mad, the ringing came from the corner of room where there is no stuff. So I started looking in stupider and stupider (ooo i love that t-shirt!) places. I wasn't appearing. I had to be some where, phones don't vanish when their batteries are flat. So today when I got home from work I just kept looking and Yay!! I found it! (it was in a cardboard box we had gone and picked up/stolen from work on the weekend :) )

cordjigal (or corjdigal)

This is a drink you make from very sweet sugary liquid that you add water too. Some people like to have a bit of cordjigal with their water, other like it the other way around.
If you have the red version of this beverage, you may end up running around in very small circles!

he he he

too cute

5 year old birthday

Yesterday Clara learned, the hard way, that under 10's just don't get tired. They keep throwing the ball, even when little black dogs are really tired! Molly was sensible, she cam inside and sat on me, where she was safe from the children. Clara just ran up and down the yard, chasing the ball, and lying down when she could. She was such a good girl, she didn't bite any of them, not even once! She even usually gave the ball back so they could throw it again, which she doesn't usually do for me! Anyway, here is a photo.

new topic

Today I have introduced a new topic/label/flag/thingie. It is "interesting" and it's for stuff that I have stolen of the web or linked to. I try not to do too much of this, but sometimes stuff creeps in.

Mexico

We decided to go to Mexico last night for tea, with out leaving home! Yay us!

And you can tell it was real Mexican, as it sat like a brick hour hours after you ate it, and meant we had to go for a walk. Delicious!

Their BAAAaaacccckkkkkk!

Last year I had a bit of a rant on Sheppard Avocados. And guess what, it's March again and they are back, just as crap and hard as last year, but this year I was smart, and didn't buy any, even thought I wanted to make guacamole for tonight dinner :(

I thought I would be nerd-ier!

57% Geek

Bacon Flavored Bubble Dog

Ages ago, we bought a container of bacon flavored bubble mix. Clara loves it (Molly can't see the bubbles)
Here she is after a 20min chase bubble session

Weight

I hate to write on this cos it makes me seem so shallow, but I'm going to anyway. I have been trying on and off to loose weight for a while. Last year I was eating Lite'n'easy for a fair while, and that worked. I lost ~10-12 kg over 4 or 5 months. For ages after that I was eating less and it tool ages for me to put all the weight back on. So I thought I would just do the same thing again, but now Neil is living here it's way hard to eat only what I'm given in my little bags of food. Basically it comes down to, it's my/our (ie: the western world's) life style that makes me fat (that and chocolate) and I'm happy with my life style. I like what I eat: it's yummy. I don't really want to change my life style. I like food, I hate exercise, healthy food is generally a bit boring, i forget to buy fruit, i love chocolate, chips and other evil food. But I'm sick of being so fat. Obviously I don't hate it enough.
Here is my graph:

Yes I'm a bit of a control freak

Cool 3D thingie

It's really a bit small here, but if you click on it, it will be bigger and you can use that one