Time marches on

The 1st August arrived with Bec & myself looking at a rental house in Norlane for her, Luke and bubs. Its an old commission house but is no longer in the commission area, a very quiet neighbourhood. At only $150 p/w it was too good to pass up so we went and applied. On Friday 3rd Bec had a ante-natal appointment and was booked in for an induction on Monday, as she was contracting and bubs was completely engaged, Bec had been complaining of back aches all week. First thing Saturday morning Bec & I went to the real estate agents to sign up for the house, Dave and myself went to see Collingwood beat Carlton, at least it was a half decent game to watch.

Sunday was a quiet day spent waiting.....

We had to have Bec at the hospital by 7am on Monday morning the 6th, she was placed on a foetal monitor and was examined to see if things had progressed over the weekend, she spent one and a half hours on the monitor, then at 9am cervical gel was used. Bec was then allowed up and around so we went and had coffee and cake in the cafeteria, sitting outside in the sunshine was lovely. The contractions had started to pick up and Bec wanted to go back inside, so back up to Maternity we go, as she wasn't in really active labour, she spent the time in the day assessment unit being monitored. The doctor came around 2pm and after an examination she decided it was time to move things along so she ruptured the membranes, within minutes the contractions started to pick up pace, we were moved into one of the birthing suites. Bec sat on the large rubber ball and just focused on her breathing. She managed like this for another hour before asking for some pain relief so she started using the gas, at 4 pm she was 4cm dilated, but he contractions were now coming closer and a lot stronger, we moved into the shower. With Bec sitting on the ball and either Luke or myself behind her for support we ran the warm water over her stomach and back and alternated in giving back massages. At 7pm Bec kept on saying she wanted to push, and I kept on saying "no not yet it hasn't been long enough", after another half hour the nurse came in and suggested a quick examination, the baby's head was crowning, so Bec was told to push whenever she was ready. I held onto one of her legs and held around her neck for support, Luke was standing at the end of the bed with his mouth open in amazement. The student Doctor was on the other side of Bec, the midwife was trying carefully to get the head out when in a quick gush the head and one shoulder with the arm resting against the face pushed through, one more push and Paige Maree was born at 8.09 pm, weighing 7lb 13oz, 51cm long. Making the grand entrance that she did caused Bec to have over 60 external/internal stitches (they had to re-attach part of the labia) ouch...

Luke & I left the hospital around 11pm after making numerous mobile phone calls and sending texts with pictures attached.

Luke & I spent the next couple of days going to and from the hospital, Bec was finally released on Thursday 9th.

The next two weeks were a blur, the household getting used to having a baby around again which I thoroughly enjoy, lots of Nana cuddles. As Dave & I were going over to Tasmania for a week we asked if Bec & Luke would mind staying here and care for the dogs. So on Tuesday 21st at 5.30pm we boarded the Spirit of Tasmania for 8 days of doing nothing but what we wanted to do, no worries of the business, no worry about the kids, grand kid, dogs and cats.

Will do separate entry of Tasmanian trip.

We arrived back in Melbourne on the 30th at 7am and arrived back in Lara at 8.30am, Bec handed me my mail and in there was a letter I had been waiting months for, It was my letter regarding my surgery. I had an appointment that morning at 11 am on Bendigo, so after a real quick shower and a coffee ( I didn't sleep on the boat), Bec, Luke, Paige and myself headed off to Bendigo arriving at the hospital at 11am, I was checked over and given the all clear for surgery the following Wednesday 5th September. We then spent the afternoon visiting Luke's relatives as they had not yet seen Paige, we arrived home around 7pm. I collapsed into bed and spent the next day in there as well. That's how I saw out August. Whew!!

Time goes by

I was looking back at my last entry dated 20/6 and wondered where the time had gone, so I will do this in stages.
The following week was busy filled up with Doctors appointments, dog wash, Bec went back to Bendigo on the Wednesday, got the finance for the second truck, and on Saturday 30th we took Billy to see Pirates of the Caribbean.
July arrived with the most significant thing being was we saw a solicitor regarding the Leightons contract, they gave the go ahead so we signed on the dotted line and committed the truck to that site only. Which meant employing a person, and along with wages, there's superannuation, work cover so we got the name of a good Accountant that also does payroll, as we were going to form a company. So Dajentar Pty Ltd was born.
On the 19th we drove to Frankston Nissan and traded the Hyundai on a Nissan Patrol Turbo Diesel even though its not top of the range it has a cargo barrier, sub fuel tank, cruise control, retractable roof skylight and is white in colour.
On Wednesday 25th we went and saw Phantom of the Opera at the Princess Theatre, it was good but had altered quite a bit from the first interpretation which I think will always be in my memory.
On Saturday we went to the Telstra Dome to watch Carlton play St Kilda needless to say who won...not us.
Sunday night was spent in A& E with suspect gallstones, have to have an ultra sound.

Filling in the blanks

The last time that I wrote in my blog was back in March, so I think an update is well overdue. We saw out the end of March with a family wedding, Stacey (Dave's niece) married her long time boyfriend (Tim)at the Big Hill Vineyard in Bendigo, the ceremony was held in a 'shed' then the reception was held indoors, the meal was shocking all the food was cold and it was chops and sausages done on a bbq, each to their own. So we left around 9.30 and went to the All Seasons and played on the pokies until 1 am, we then went back to our motel. The next morning was Dave's birthday so we headed off early to see his Mum for a cuppa. Peg has decided to sell her house and move into a unit as the garden has become too much for her. We then headed down to Melbourne for the first game of footy Carlton v Richmond, not a good game to watch but at least footy's back. yay


Easter was a quiet affair we went to Queenscliff for the seafood festival along with some friends of ours John & Denise, there was live music and queues at all these different tents where you got your selection of different seafood, not being a mad fish eater I settled on the good old basic flake. Note to self next year bring a chair...


Friday 13th April Dave & I flew to Perth for a wedding, we picked up our hire car after having to pay an extra $216.00 and drove to Scarborough, where we met up with Melissa & Al, we had dinner in the restaurant at Observation city, the meal was a buffet style and was lovely. Melissa said she was unable to get any time off work to attend the wedding so Dave rang Daniel and invited him instead, that way we could all catch up, (Daniel & Jacob were playmates in Newman). Sue's (girlfriend from Newman) eldest son Jacob was marrying a young girl from Carmel in Perth on Saturday. We went to the shopping complex where they had their gift registry unfortunately the computers were down so we were unable to find out what they had listed so it was the good old money voucher in a card. We then picked up Daniel and took him to buy some new shirts then off to a friends Peter's to get ready, the men sat around and watched the football, with me reminding them we only have half an hour to get to the venue. So we set off at break neck speed and arrived with 5 minutes to spare. The ceremony was lovely as was the reception, we were under a huge marquee with a dance floor. The meal was sumptuous the whole event went off smoothly, it was great to catch up with Kirby (Sue's daughter) and Jacob.

We left after midnight and drove Daniel back home to Samson (near Freemantle) then drove to Armadale where Kirby lives, stayed for a couple of coffees then drove back to Scarborough collapsing into bed around 4am. I was up at 8am and left Dave in bed whilst I went down for breakfast. We left the motel at 9.30 and drove up to Elisa's in Quinns Rocks, it was hard driving past Jacquie's and not calling in to see the kids :(

We stayed and had lunch with Darian and his daughter Meagan as well as Elisa's tribe, I was amazed as to how much Matthew & Eloise had grown. We left around 2.30 and drove to Caron & Anthony's in Edgewater, it was so good to catch up with all the kids, Emily had grown taller, Chantelle, Laura & Josh were the same. Melissa & Al arrived followed by Eddie (Anthony's long term friend), we had a fondue for dinner which Dave had never had before, he thoroughly enjoyed it. Its a great way of catching up as you chat whilst your meat cooks. I decided to have a few bourbons well that turned into quite a few then the Galliano & Zambucca came out and of course I had to have some,

Dave & I had Nathans bed as he was away at a mates place, being used to a King size and going into a double Dave stretched out and I was pushed off the bed so I slept on the couch in the lounge, I woke up to hearing the kids giggling in the kitchen, Caron telling them to be quiet, I said it was okay as I was awake, the kids laughed even more. So I got up and in the kitchen was a sign saying "Do not disturb, snoring", I laughed that much my side hurt, it was a one of you had to be there type moments.
We then drove into the city and checked into our motel, walked around the mall, had an afternoon nap, met up with Daniel and went to Willeton to Pete's place for a roast dinner which was cooked in a webber. Took Daniel back home and returned to the motel checking back in around 1am. Thank goodness for late checkout, so at 10am we went off into the city having breakfast had an express croissant shop, we then walked the mall calling into Myer where Dave bought me my favourite perfume Ysatis by Givenchy. We met up with Al & Melissa for a smorgasbord lunch at Miss Maudes, enjoyed a meal there and walked into the city and had a couple of drinks at the Moon & Sixpence until it was time to leave for the airport. Miss & Al walked us back to our car and we said our goodbyes we arrived at the airport to find that the plane was delayed up to 3 hours so checked in and went upstairs to wait, Dave bought a car magazine & I bought Kathy Lettes's latest book 'How to kill your husband, and other handy household hints'. I think at times my laughing kept everyone amused, we rang Daryl to let him know our arrival time was around 2.30 am that went down very well. lol
I slept most of Wednesday away as I didn't get much on my 'holiday', the following 2 days were spent getting blood tests done here and in Bendigo, so whilst in Bendigo I drove up and visited Bec & Luke in Echuca coming home via the farm where I grabbed the last of my scrapping gear. So Sunday was spent setting the scrapping room, not that I have used it.
The following week was busy with Accountants appointment for our BAS, Kindy Day where I was invited to play with Brodie at his daycare centre, a GP appointment on the Friday so my week was filled up. All through this my depression was creeping back in.
Tuesday saw the start of May, Billy's birthday was on the Saturday he turned 12, he invited a few mates to go to TimeZone, I got an invite as well, and I love playing the old pinball machines. We had been thee for a couple of hours when I was walking down the stairs my left ankle let go and down I went rolling the pinned ankle, all I could do at the time was sit there and just let the pain settle down, so that ended the day. I came home and strapped the ankle, kept on applying cold packs to it and elevated it. On the Sunday I was admitted to the Swanston Centre (Psychiatric Hospital) for my own safety. They let me out for an hour on Tuesday so I could see my own private Psychiatrist and then released me home on the Wednesday, I spent the next couple of days in a haze as my medication got altered again. Saturday we went to the footy to watch the Carlton v Collingwood game (I took a panic attack pill, which really helped me with the huge crowd). Sunday was Mothers Day so off to Bendigo we go to have lunch at the Allies Hotel with Peg it was nice to go out but it was even better to get home. Wednesday arrived with the dogs having their bath & clip, Bec arrived by train for a week of rest. Friday I saw Dr Singh (Psychiatrist),he increased my anti-psychotic drug to 1200mg a day, so I was a real zombie of an evening. On Tuesday Bec & I called into Werribee Plaza so she could pay some money on the pram when my back spasmed, all I could do was drive home and have a Valium and lie down, so Dave had to drive Bec back to Echuca.
Dave took Billy to the football on the Saturday as my back was still spasmed. it hurt to sit, lie down, stand, actually there is nothing you can do to get comfortable when your back goes like this. I came good on the Tuesday and on the Wednesday Bec & Luke arrived for a visit and to check out the rental market down here. On Saturday we went to the Berkley Park Markets then on the Sunday the showground markets, whilst there Dave rang and told us we were going for a BBQ at Serendip Sancturary with his friend John & wife Denise. So we came home got everything ready and had a lovely BBQ, Bec went for a walk around the park with Denise, Luke set off afterwards to find them, Dave & John went off walking and talking about cars so I stayed behind and enjoyed the peace & quiet.
On Wednesday 6/6, I took Bec & Luke back to Echuca getting home around 9pm, Saturday we went to the footy to watch Carlton beat Port Adelaide :)
On the Sunday Dave & I went for a drive to Winchelsea and checked out this collectible store which was run by a friend of Dave's (Tim who also had a hot rod), whilst the men admired the hot rod, I had fun in the shop buying old swap cards and comics, we then headed off to the local hotel for a counter meal then drove to Colac just for a look at the town then drove back home, in all a lovely day out.
I was so looking forward to my birthday as Dave & I had planned to see Shrek 3 in the afternoon have an early dinner (Thai) then go and watch Pirates of the Caribbean, but on Monday night that got ruined by 3 jobs turning up, I spent it alone so I bombed myself out with some really strong sleepers.
Friday I saw my Psych again and he has reduced my anti-depressant by 20mg, went to the Dome and watched Hawthorn beat the crap out of Carlton, in fact it was that bad Dave insisted we leave at 3/4 time. So we came home where he watched the last quarter screaming at the tv....lol
On Saturday Bec arrived for another break, on Sunday John, Denise, Lionel, Bec, Dave & myself had a roast lunch which all went to shit as Denise stuck her nose in...
My first ever house inspection was held on Wednesday 20/6, we passed with flying colours, even managing to hide Elisa's cats. So Bec & I have spent the past week looking at & buying baby stuff, we bought a cot off ebay and picked it up from Altona, it came with mattress, protector, sheets & blankets. Not bad for $76. :)
The last week of the month has been spent looking at second hand stores, going to markets, mentoring with NEIS, joining a health fund, took Bec to the GP(general check-up, the baby is engaged), got dogs washed & clipped then drove Bec back to Bendigo via Werribee (pram payment) arriving back home last night at 7.25 pm, where I found Dave asleep on the couch so I left him there and got into my pj's and watched TV in bed. My mood this week has been all over the place, lots of lows with a few high days. You can tell when its happening by when I buy things on ebay, the voices are under control which is a good thing but now its my voice telling me to harm myself and I sit or lay in bed at night planning my own death, down to the last detail. So when I see the Psych next I will talk to him about it.
So Ive finally caught up after 3 drafts...time to do the books for the business
If you've managed to read this epic you have done well.

Have you ever done?

Have You Ever Done…
highlight the ones you have done.

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said “I love you” and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17 Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s nappy
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 8 states/Territories
41. Taken care of someone who was **** faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River (any river will do)
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89 Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents
94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds (45.5 kilograms)
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Ridden a bike
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Footy's back.....

Yes it's that time of year, footy's back...yee har
For Dave's birthday I have bought him gold membership to Carlton which gives him all the games in Melbourne with allocated seats, on the lower tier near the goal posts. The first game is on Sunday which is Dave's actual birthday so we will be going to the 'G' to watch Carlton v Richmond. Go the Blues.....
He's already received a present from Melissa, which is fridge magnets and business cards, they look really neat and Dave was stoked. (See above pictures)
Were off to Bendigo on Saturday for Dave's nieces wedding (Stacey Tarr) which is being held at Big Hill Vineyard...well excuse me...lardy dar, I'm really not looking forward to it, so Fiona (Daryl's fiance) and myself will be doing shooters. Fiona has already got the shot glasses, when you bang them down they light up.
So were staying in Bendigo for the night at the Haymarket Motel(with a spa) and then heading down to Melbourne the following day.
I've spent the last three days doing bookwork, trying to get financials together as we are looking at buying another sweeper, so then the fun begins. We will probably become a company with myself as Director and I will then employ Dave as a contractor so he can then get work cover, superannuation and the rest of the benefits and it means we only pay tax at a company rate. Anyway I will be talking to my accountant about it. We are in the process of renting a shed in Lara for the trucks so that the men can have all their tools and spare parts stored and it will give them room to fix things. So were going halves with Daryl so the rent is only $160 per week which is totally tax deductible.
So I have made a decision I won't be doing the aged care course as I will be running the business full time, not only do I do my books but I help Fiona with hers.
Saw my Psychiatrist on Wednesday for an hour and we discussed treatment options, he believes he can help me, and their is a possibility I won't be on medication for the rest of my life.
Its going to take around six months of intense therapy (weekly appointments) its called psycho therapy. He has already warned me that its a huge possibility I will relapse and end up in hospital, he believes that I have schizoid tendencies with bipolar disorder totally bought on by childhood mental, physical and sexual abuse, and that the voices that I hear are of my parents and myself as a child.
So he has increased my Seroquel ( anti-psychotic) to 800 mg a day to eliminate the voices and then we are to start treatment. He has also given me really strong meds for anxiety, you only need a half. Otherwise you'll be zonked out. I've also got the best sleepers they are non-addictive and work within half an hour, (Stilnox) I have the slow release and the normal ones.
Went and saw the Doctor yesterday for tablets to stop smoking, as Ive tried the patches and gum to no avail, so I have a script for xyban, hopefully that will work, cause I really want to quit.
Just not this weekend, having to deal with Ron & Chris and the rest of the family is extremely stressful.

The female line continues

Becs having a girl. Yes its pink. lol Bec had her nineteen week ultrasound on Monday and everything is looking really good. I was absolutly amazed at the clearness of the pictures, we got to see fingers, toes, ribs, ateries to the kidneys and heart chambers. Bec not only received pictures but had a video made of the ultrasound. She is twenty weeks and her due date is still the 2nd August.

She is looking really well, and she's lost weight. She's booked into Bendigo Base to have the baby and to start ante natal classes.

My week started off fairly quiet, just going to the gym. Then dave 'accidently' stoved the side of the truck into a power pole and damaged the tank and running gear. He finished the job he was on and came home to repair it, so all Friday was spent running arond for parts and tools. It was finally repaired by 10.30 pm, On Saturday morningI sprayed primer on it whilst dave went into town for the remaining parts, Dave then spent the afternoon spraying the tank white.

We headed up to Bendigo that afternoon to surprise Trevor for his 40th, the party was being held in the White Hills Football club rooms, there was a great turn out, instead of presents a wishing well was set up where you could deposit money as Trev's dream is to go to America.

there was a TV set up inthe corner with the NAB cup being displayed, Carlton beat Brisbane. Go the Blues....

We left the party just after 11pm and went back to the Haymarket motel where we had a room for the evening.

At 4.30 in the morning Dave's mobile rang, I answered it, the caller asked if it was All Hours street sweeping, I said 'yes one moment' and handed the phone over to Dave. They then asked dave if he swept streets at night, Dave said Yes why, the caller then said" Can you come and sweep my street as I want to wake my neighbours up", Dave replied with some unmentionables and went back to sleep, I however was wide awake.

Breakfast arrived at 8.15 which we thoroughly enjoyed, I then paid the account and checked on the room booking for the niece's wedding thats in a fortnight.

Called in and had a cup of tea with Daves mum Peg, she has decided to sell her house and move into a unit. She's found a nice one and has made an offer all dependant on her selling her house, not that I think she'll have much problems as its a nice house with a lovely garden.

Dave drove back to Lara to finish a few repairs on the truck, I had a quick Nana nap and we set off back up to Bendigo, i followed the truck until we reached the Calder highway just out of Gisborne, then I drove straight through to Dingee arriving around 10.30 pm. I dragged the single mattress into the kitchen, left the door open and the fanon and crashed on top. Monday morning arrived too quickly as did the flies. So I packed some more boxes in the ute and went next door for a cuppa and a chat. Left there at 11 am and got down the road and heard a bang, i stopped the car had alook couldnt find anything, got back in, got up to 70 km and bang, bang, bang.... stopped thinking i had a flat, checked allthe tyres they were fine, nothing leaking under the car. Got back in slowly drove and nothing as soon I got up to 70 bang, bang, bang. I got out again and checked undr the front end, there was a piec of balck plastic hanging down, it seewmed to be attatched to the front bumper. Not wanting to destroy it I called into Rick's place and he repaired it for me while I waited so I counted the cats and there was quite a few new additions...lol

I set off for Echuca and arrived at 12, had a couple of cups of coffee whilst we waited for Bec's ultrasound appointment which was at 2pm. Dropped Bec and Luke at home and headed back to Bendigo to catch up with Dave, as he was working in town for the week and staying with his mum. When I called him all that changed the job was finished early and so he was heading back home for a couple of days. I left Bendigo at 6 pm and arrived home in time to play with two very excited dogs before watching Desperate Housewives.

Dave's plan of having a couple of days off got cancelled with 4 jobs comming up within hours, night shift in Melbourne and work out of Geelong. At least were getting the work.

So this week Im doing the books, going to Melbourne to get new brooms for the truck, going to Avalon to watch the Airshow...(Ive had to listen to the planes go overhead for the past week, and feel the house vibrate) I might as well go and see them in action. Hopefully get some interesting pictures.

The holidays over

Today Mum flew back to Perth after staying with Dave and myself since the thirteenth of February, she came over for a Burns Family Reunion that was held in Bendigo on the eighteenth of February at the RSL club in Long Gully. Rebecca, Luke (her partner) Dave, Mum and myself represented Frank & Elsie Burns along with Sharyn Ficarra and her son Charles and wife.
We visited a neice of Mums in Langwarren, we travelled across the bay on the Queenscliff ferry to Sorrento. We had a GPS with us that we nicknamed Smarty Marty as he managed to get me through Melbourne without going on any tollways back to Geelong. We drove around the foreshore and saw a ferris wheel all lit up so upon investigation we found it was working so we went up and the view was absolutly awesome. The beams were constantly changing colour, after our ride we walked down onto the beach and took some photos of the giant wheel turning.
We then had Thai for dinner, dining on some really yummy char-grilled octopus, then a chicken green curry.
The following day was spent driving to Steiglitz to find the cemetary to photograph the headstones of our great grandparents. We then used a map that Nana Burns had drawn to find the old farm, the map was so accurate it was spooky. We then went back to the local cafe and had tea and a ham roll, there was a sign on the wall describing Devonshire Tea and that the jam is home made by Fay a ocal in the area. Mum questions the lady saying that she had a cousin that once lived around the area, anyway a phone call was made a Lyn McFairlane was found a cousin of Mums and they have both been looking for each other for years. So a chance statement and a relation was found who is also into geneology.
Friday was spent on the train going from Lara to Bendigo to pick up the ute and go out to dinner with my mother and Daves mother. By the time we got everything finished up at the farm it was 8pm and Dave had headed back to Lara so I took Mum and Peg out to La Porchettas for Italian. We dropped Peg off and were home by twelve thirty in the morning.
So today was spent scanning photos and documents while Mum got ready for her flight that departed from Avalon at two thirty so she needed to be there by one thirty. Its great being so close.
I'm looking forward to sitting down and watching the football tonight.

OMG so much has happened since my last entry back in November. Melissa left to Perth so I was all alone. So I continued with packing up the house, what a humungous effort, the biggest room is the scrapbooking room. lol
I flew to Perth on Thursday 26th November and bedded down at Jaquie's she already had Elisa, her 3 kids & Melissa staying so it was a full house.
Then Elisa found a place in Quinns Rock and moved up there, Steve was still grumbling about her, Jacquie refused to go there without a personal invite so it was very stressful. My voices came back and on the 21st December it all got the better of me I took some pills then some more and collapsed at Jacquies friends place. I woke up in Joondalup hospital on a drip. The psychiatrist came and saw me the following morning when I was more aware and asked me what I wanted to do I said spend Xmas with the kids so she released me.
That evening at Jacquies was very uncomfortable with Steve, he wouldn't even sit in the same room as me, anyway the next morning I woke to find Jacquie and the kids out and I asked Steve if he would like a cuppa, his answer was curt and abrupt so I decided to have it out with him. He told me he wanted me to leave and stay away from the kids. So I went inside and packed my stuff up and moved up to Elisa's.
Right up till xmas morning no-one had bothered to get Elisa's address, the crosoints were burnt, the kids were starving. When everyone finally arrrived they thoroughly enjoyed opening their presents, which I missed most of as I was on the phone.
We had a BBQ at Steve & Jacquies and a swim in the pool, it was very uncomfortable being there :(
Boxing Day was spent at my girlfriend Carons place, they have a poo,l trampoline and cricket gear so the kids had plenty to play with, it started at 2 pm but the Precious clan didn't arrive till after 5pm, we then had the pinata which the kids really enjoyed.
The meal was lovely as it was just leftovers and pizzas, so not many dishes. I stayed at Carons and left the following day to Albany to stay with my Dad, Melissa & Al were going to be there at the same time.
It was great to see Dad & Alison again, I went fishing the following day with Alisons son Duncan, he caught a couple then we went 4 x4 driving and had heaps of fun. We stopped at Dingo cove and watched a huge pod of dolphins surfing the waves, we went down to the beach and were about 3 metres away, it was amazing.
The next day was spent with my Dad fishing up a river, I caught 4 brim and released them as I don't really eat fish I just enjoy doing it.
The next day was spent driving to Quinninup where my Mum lives, it was a very picturesque drive, upon arriving it was decided to go to the local pub for tea, the meal was lovely and there were some real characters there.
New Years Eve was spent atMum's friends house, I shared a bottle of Riccadonna with Mum then the homemade Bailey was brought out, I think I drank at least a litre of the stuff I was up dancing & singing the usual idiot stuff but I felt great.
The next day was spent touring asround the karri forrests and surrounding towns, then back home to a lovely lamb shank stew...yum
I returned to Perth the following day with a very large carved wooden crocodile table in the back of Elisa's car along wth a sign saying caution crocodile on board, it got quite a few stares and a lot of laughs...
I spent the afternoon/evening with Caron and left to go back to Elisa's around 8 pm, I got to the last round- about before the turn off when the light drizzle had caused the oil on the road to foam and my tyres hit it and skidded out, the back wheel popped the tyre off the rim, I was really scared as that was the first real accident Ive had and thankfully there was no traffic on the road.
I had to ring Elisa to get Darian to come out and change the wheel as the crocodile was on top of the spare wheel and I couldnt do it on my own. So an hour down the track I arrived home very wet and thankful to be alive.
I went out to tea with Al & Melissa to the Hogs Breath Cafe which serves the best steaks, then coffee and cake with Elisa at Miss Mauds.
I returned home on the 4th January to a very happy husband and even happier dogs. I got to see the inside of the house for the very first time and I liked it, its very roomy and easy to keep clean.
The next couple of weeks were spent doing boowork, driving up to Dingee and packing up stuff. Going to Echuca to see an ultrasound of my Grand child. Chasing up GPs and Psychatric services.
Then last Friday my husbands friend Mick Paulke died from his brain tumours the funeral was held on Wednesday at 11 am, the service was lovely.
So to take my mind of things I went and had some piercings and some tattoos done :)

So much has happened

Gosh where to start...Well I had my knee surgery (22nd Aug) and they removed bits of bone, fluid and scraped the joint, its still a bit sore, I cannot kneel on it but at least I can walk without pain, even if it is a very slow walk. So all the weight I had lost I gained being very inactive.
Elisa then decided to move her flight forward so she could find a house before we all came over at the same time dh Dave was finding it harder and harder to go to work and be happy, so we discussed starting our own business and buying a street sweeper. I started the NEIS course which ran full time for 6 weeks and at the end of it I received a Certificate 4 in Business.
At the same time we had alreaady found a machine and had organised finace and had bought it, we called ourselves All-Hours Street Sweeping Services and Dave moved down to Lara and moved in with his brother until we found a house. So starting in the middle of September I started travelling backwards and forwards to Lara/Geelong looking for a house to rent. We were having so many problems due to the fact we have owned our own properties for the last 17 years and we have dogs...which I will not give up!
November 1st came around too quickly...up at 4am to set off to the airport. 1 small car, 3 kids one in a car seat, 1 cat in crate, 2 large suitcaes, 2 kids school backpacks and 2 stressed adults. We made it with 15 minutes to spare, time enough for a couple of photos and some tears, they were mine.
Decided to go and cheer myseld up by going to the movies in Bendigo I went and watched Kenny, if you want a laugh do yourself a favour...its very Australian. Came home to a very quiet house till dd Melissa came home.
Dh Dave came home for the weekend and started cleaning up the yard, porch, shed. Then his brother Daryl and stepson BIlly came and helped for 2 days, washing windows, lifting heavy items, man things...
The week flew by and I had left my medication in Lara, by Thursday I was a gibbering mess, crying, feeling sick in the stomach. So when Mel;issa finished work we went to Lara so she could say goodbye to Dave and I could get all my pills. We left there at 9.20pm and took the wrong exit and ended up in Footscray, we managed to navigate our way to the calder freeway and arrived home at 12.40 am. Melissa slept most of the way. waking as we pulled into the driveway.
The following week went just as quickly with another 4am start on the 11th Nov, this time it was 2 huge cases, 1 dog in crate & 2 humans, we got there with over 50 minutes to spare then the hiccup came. The plane Melissa was due to fly out on the heater in the baggage compartment wasnt working and the dog would freeze to death, so she would have to take a flight 2 hours later, costing $22. Melissa had already given the dog his sedation pill and was worried that in 2 hours it would have worn off and he would start howling, and thet they wouldnt let her on the plane. Everything must have gone smoothly as Melissa nd her dog Conner arrived in Perth safely.
I left the airport and drove to Lara just to have enough time for a coffee before getting ready for Daves friend Mick's wedding in Geelong. Mick has tumours growing in his head which has left him almost speechless and with no motor control. Anyway it was a beautiful wedding and reception all held in his Mothers backyard.
Dave, John, Denise and myself drove into Geelong abd had a roast meal then went to the movies to see Kenny, I laughed just as much.
We got back to Johns house where I left Dave and drove back to Dingee getting home aound 2.30 a,. So Sunday was spent in bed sleeping.
Monday I decided I had better get started on the packing so I pack a couple of boxes a day so as to not strain my back. Its been very theraputic cleaning out some of the junk. I have kept a couple of special items from the kids childhood.
I have been sorting items to sell and putting them in one room with items to keep in another, the end room has all of Elisa's stuff in it.
So here we are up to today...Ive caught up on all my emails, made my bed, updated my blog and have put off packing long enough.

Back to normal

Back to normal yeah right...Well it did quieten down after the funerals for awhile. I saw the Orthopaedic specialist and am booked in for a Arthrescope on the 22nd August, Im looking forward to being able to walk again without pain.
Ive also seen the Gynacologist as they are keeping up a review on a cyst in my left ovary, I asked the quuestion "When going through menopause does your bladder become weaker?" then an internal exam occured and I have a prolapsed bladder, so am being referred to a specialist for tests and treatment.
At the same time Im visiting my GP as he is taking blood to keep an eye on my cholesterol level as Im on medication for it as well as diet & exercise. Ive been doing weight watchers for 6 weeks and have lost a total of 4.8 kg and thats without exercise due to my knee.
I also have a part time job working for the Australian Buerau of Statistics as a Census Collector, I have been doing the delivery/collection in the township of Mitiamo. I used it as great exercise as I would park the car and walk the entire town.
As of the 7/7/2006 I became a non-smoker...did it cold turkey which was hard especially with the funerals but I feel so much better for it.
I have also stopped picking at my nails, they are healthy and long, they certainly look much better than the horrible stubs that used to be there.
dh Dave, dd Melissa and myself went to the football on Sunday 13th August to see Hawthorn play Carlton, it was part of Melissa's birthday present but unfortnatly she got car sick on the way down to Melbourne so was unable to enjoy herself. She couldnt even bring hrself to sing the Hawthorn song when they won. We stopped in at Highpoint for dinner, Dave & I had Nando's, whilst Melissa had nothing. So comming home I drove, Melissa was in the front and Dave slept in the back. Today has been spent tidying up/ washing/ floors, that sort of mundane thing.

Two funerals and a f disc...

I am so glad this week is over...We had Norm's funeral on Wednesday 19th July, it was held at Mulqueens in Bendigo. A catholic chaplain ran the service with a poem read by grand daughters Brooke, Stacey, Kate & Ashley. Flowers were put on Norm's coffin by Lauren. Dave gave a speech thanking everyone and highlighting some of Norm's life, which included a love of lawn bowls, darts, horse racing and travel with the occasional bet in between. The casket was carried out by sons Dave, Ron, Daryl and grandsons Matt & Jamie. Norm was buried at the Eaglehawk cemetery and a wake was held at the Botanical Hotel and was attended my a great many people.

I went home in the early evening leaving Dave to catch up with his relatives and friends.
Arriving home Elisa informs me the computer has crashed again...So Thursday was spent trying to fix it, an Acer technician who was in the area came and had a look and the bad news was it was more than likely we would not be able to salvage any files or photos. He said he could take it and there was no guarantee he could repair it the other option was to f disc the computer and reload windows, so due to the financial situation I made the decision to f disc it, so I've lost all my email contacts and all my emails that I wanted to keep.

Then on Friday we traveled to Melbourne (Altona) for Doss's funeral. (Norm's elder sister who died 25 hours after Norm), a catholic service was held by an incompetent priest who rattled on more about a banquet rather than about Doss. Tea and refreshments were served in the room next to the chapel and afterwards we went to the Westside hotel for drinks. We stayed until 6pm and drove to Peg's(Dave's mum) for a cup of tea and arriving home around 10pm.

So today I'm having a quiet day babysitting the kids whilst Melissa & Elisa go food shopping...yay for DVD's...
Oh yeah this is day 15 as a NON smoker.

Back to reality...

I have finally returned to the land of the living and its been another bumpy road, in fact potholes as large as craters appeared.
Looking back now I can see when it all started going pear shaped...

• It started with the marriage breakup of some friends who live close by, both parties would tell all their problems to me, and I was trying to stay neutral. I was even getting phone calls from the Mother of one of them.
• Babysitting a child from the marriage break up (after school until 7.30pm)
• attended a funeral of Lenny Doherty, he died from cancer and was only 40 years. ( Really gave me a mortality check)
• Got a speeding fine on the way home from the funeral.
• My dog Dufus first had a spider bite then ingested toxic material both requiring trips to the vet and quite a big bill.

So on the morning of my Psych appointment I snapped...I tried cutting my wrist using a kitchen knife so spent time on the phone to the mental health triage. I managed to keep it together until dh came home and drove me to my Psych appointment, Dave went and visited his father who was still in hospital. The Psych put my name in for the next available bed at the ABC unit, we waited for Dave to return as the psych wanted to discuss a few things with him but Dave didn't get back until 5.45pm by this time I was having a coffee at MacDonalds. When I got home I gave all my pills to my sister so I couldn't hurt myself.

Thursday went by in a blur I don't remember it at all...by Friday I was on the edge. I began packing a bag for admittance to the Psych hospital, Matthew was in bed asleep and Elisa went down to the post office. Whilst she was gone I came across an old toiletry bag with some pills inside so I took them. By the time Elisa got back I was sitting on the edge of the bed crying...She immediately rang the mental health triage number who advised her to take me to hospital. So she got Matthew and drove to Bendigo a trip of around 40-45 minutes, I have no recollection of the trip. Staggering up the path to emergency was hard enough (would have been funny to witness). I was seen almost immediately, when asked what I had taken I rattled off a cocktail of drugs, Panadine Forte, Valium, Temazapam & Solium. Out came the charcoal drink and I was placed on a heart monitor, to which I was to stay attatched to for 24 hours, an IV line was put in with fluid going through. The tablets had affected my heart rate and my potassium levels were all over the place, so they had to keep an eye on it. The ED psychiatrist visited and asked if I would admit myself to the ABC unit to which I agreed (otherwise it was involuntary which is a stay of 6 weeks). I spent the next 4 days in the ED as there were no beds at the Psych hospital and no beds in the wards. They moved me on Monday to the ABC and finally put me back on my meds, at the same time increasing my anti-psychotic drug and introducing another one, so I was a zombie again. I stayed in hospital till the 1st June. Arriving home was a blur as I was on 2 anti-psychotic drugs, I had to wean myself off my old ones. I was unable to drive a car and all I did all day was sleep. I was under instructions to reduce my stress, as that is one of my triggers, so my friend Sami was told we could no longer look after her daughter.

Then life took over and threw another curve ball, within days the following happened

• Power kept on surging and going out, causing the DVD & VCR to blow up
• Lost the phone line for 6 days
• Ran out of water, so had to buy in a tanker worth at $ 180
• Ran out of gas, so a bottle ordered from the store $ 88
• Car rego came due $250
• My local GP called me wanting to see me after routine blood tests. He informed me that my cholesterol level is the highest he has seen, and I need to go medication immediately, stop smoking, loose weight & exercise.
• The computer broke down and was in the repair shop for 12 days, so no internet. $ 77

So on the Friday 7/7/06 I QUIT smoking...went cold turkey! Day 3 was the worst I had the full body shakes, vomiting..all that lovely stuff.

Thinking that nothing else could possibly go wrong I set out on Friday to do my Avon orders, upon arriving home my sister informs me that my dh rushed to Bendigo as his dad(Norm) had taken a turn for the worse, I thought nothing of it as this happens all the time. Then the phone rang at 3pm and dh informs me his father passed away at 2pm. So I got changed and headed down to Bendigo to be with the family, I called both my girls and let them know, Melissa was going to meet me at Nans house. When we arrived we found out that Norm's sister Doss was also in hospital not expected to see the night out. When dh arrived home last night he told me that Doss passed away at 3 pm today exactly 25 hours after her brother, apparently the standing joke was that Doss had always said she'd outlive Norm. So Norms funeral will be on Wednesday in Bendigo and Doss's on Friday in Melbourne.

So that's where we are up to....Welcome back to reality Jen, what stress I hear you say...There's no stress in my life...LOL

The rollercoaster ride of life....

The black dog has arrived!!
Another night of hardly any sleep has passed, in the past week I've been averaging 1-2 hours a night. So Im feeling absolutely exhausted. Due to the mood stabilizers that I take I didn't recognize that I was manic last week until it was too late (Friday I was feeling SO good, I spent heaps of money that I didn't have), after the high inevitably comes the crash., and boy have I crashed.
I had been feeling relatively good for the past couple of months, just the normal highs and lows that 'normal' people get.
However, Saturday arrived and I was really low...Almost as bad as last year when they admitted me to the Psych ward of the hospital where I stayed for 3 weeks.
All my triggers are present, the stomach upset, not sleeping, not hungry, the voices getting louder and more persistent in my head, the urge to cut myself and the suicidal thoughts. The feeling of absolute worthlessness, self loathing and frustration. I have been taking all of my medications so Im not sure what has caused this episode, the only thing that's keeping me going at the moment is that I have my sister and her little kids living here and I don't want them to see me when Im like this, so I put on my happy face even though inside Im being torn apart. I know its not a really healthy thing to do but they don't need to see or hear their Aunty rambling on about doing herself in or to see me sitting in a dark room crying constantly.
On Monday I called my councellor and he made an appointment with the Psychiatrist for Wednesday afternoon, dh Dave is taking the afternoon off work to drive me down there as they don't want me driving a car in my frame of mind. When I told dh he has the time off all he said was "What are you doing to me?" That upset me even further as its not something I wish to have happen, if I could change things I would.
He seems to think that as long as I take my meds things should be okay, normal like but their not!
So I've just got to keep it together until I see the Psych.

Football, piercings and other stuff....

Yet again another week has flown by with life being hectic as usual, things are never dull and boring around here. Dd Melissa decided to get her top ear pierced and got it done via a needle and ended up costing her $65, so I decided to get my left top ear re-pierced with the gun to show her that it doesn't hurt ($25). So then Melissa decided to got her other side done using the gun, so now she has 2 very red and swollen top ears as she has to wear ear muffs at work and is showering in bore water, we've managed to take out 2 studs and replace with sleepers to make it easier to get the antibiotic ointment to go through her ears. Mine only took 3 days to heal so I have sleepers in mine already.
The week went smoothly with nothing major happening, on Friday as soon as we dropped the girls at school Elisa, Matthew & I went to Bendigo and spent the day shopping. I bought myself a pair of black stretch jeans, cow pajamas, bedsocks, 3 bras and a red jacket...talk about a splurge I was feeling fantastic (MANIC) that day which should have been a warning to me, as after a good day comes a bad one and I crashed...
It was a real effort to get out of bed and get dressed on Saturday, (having the kids here helps me as I don't want them seeing me when Im really down, so I put on my happy mask) so I visited a girlfriend who has recently separated from her husband, I spent the afternoon chatting and having coffee. Still feeling really miserable I came home and decided a walk might make me feel better, so I grabbed Dufus and we walked for 40 minutes, we were both hobbling by the time we got home our arthritis was playing up, but Dufus really enjoyed the walk.
After dinner we decided to give the kids a treat by lighting the bonfire so they could cook some marshmallows, we gave them sparklers to play with while the bonfire died down enough so we could get close enough to toast them (the marshmallows not the kids...lol).
Sunday morning rolled around ( I was so tired as I've not been sleeping the past week even with taking valium & temazapan) dh Dave made me a cuppa and then dd Melissa got up and started making pancakes with the help of Talia & Eloise, so we had a huge feed of pancakes. Melissa gave me a beautiful Egyptian bath towel in a gorgeous blue colour.
Dave & I left home around 9.30 as we wanted to visit his mum who is now on crutches as her osteo-arthritis is playing up, she really liked her little gift that I got her from Avon. We stayed for a cup of tea which Dave made...
We arrived in Melbourne at the MCG around 1.15pm (Carlton/Essendon) and got a great carpark almost out the front of the gate, we had really good seats on the ground floor under cover as it rained most of the game so we were nice and dry. It was a great game to watch with it being fairly even and we finally got to sing the Blues song...yay
We drove to Wallan to visit my friend Sue, this time she was home and we ended up staying until 9pm having a real good catch-up. We would have stayed later but dh had to start work at 6am, so we drove home, it rained all the way up till Heathcote then not a cloud in the sky and it was very cold. We arrived home after 11pm. Dh went straight to sleep but I was till awake at 2.30am so I got up and took 2 valium hoping that they would help me, well they didn't so I gave up and have been sitting up in front of the fire.
I will be calling my councilor Kevin today as Im really worried that Im heading into another depressive cycle, as I have 3 out of my 4 triggers happening (and I don't really want to end back in the psych ward). It is just the worst feeling in the world when that black cloud descends on top of you.
So hopefully this week things will improve, will keep you all posted.
Happy Mothers Day to all the Mothers out there.......

An update on Dufus, our dog.

Dufus started vomiting mid Sunday morning while Dave & I were at the football, on Monday I let her out to go to the toilet and she disappeared, at first I wasn't too concerned but after a few hours had passed I become increasingly worried. The thought going through my mind was she had gone away to die. Elisa & I went looking for her but couldn't find her, Dave came home after work around 4.30pm and we searched for her, he finally found her hiding under the caravan behind the hay shed. Whilst looking for her I came across a pile of stuff she had brought up along with grass and dog biscuits was a tampon, (obviously Dufus had gotten into my dd's rubbish). She looked terrible, her eyes were all bloodshot, her nose dry and she was constantly licking her lips as she was very dehydrated. I called the vet and made an appointment for first thing Tuesday morning. Dufus tried to drink water but as soon as she did she would vomit.
So after dropping the girls off at school Elisa, Matthew , Dufus & I went to Rochester, normally Dufus is really excited about going in the car but she just laid down the whole trip. When arriving at the vet Dufus got weighed in and she had lost almost 1kg since her last visit which was only 3 weeks prior due to an infected spider bite on her nose. The hardest part of the visit was explaining to Keith the vet what I had found in her vomit and that I thought she maybe had another stuck in her stomach. He checked her stomach and it was very tender to the touch, he took her temperature which was normal, and did a rectal exam and she was badly constipated. So Keith decided that Dufus should stay and be put on IV fluids as she was dehydrated, give her an injection to stop the vomiting and they would take an x-ray then do a barium meal to check for any obstructions. If there was an obstruction then surgery would be required. I rang the vet around 4pm to check on her condition and she had just had her last x-ray after the barium meal, the good news was there was no obstruction but she was to stay overnight to get her fluid level back up and to ensure the vomiting had stopped. I was to call around 10am the next day to find out when I could take her home. I was so relieved.
So 10am came and I called the vet they were just giving Dufus a small feed to see how her stomach was and they said to call then back at 1pm as she was to have another small feed around lunch time and if all was fine I could get her. So I sat and knitted waiting for 1pm...finally I called the vet and she was ready so I went and picked her up arriving home around 3.15pm. The kids were really excited to see her when they arrived home from school as were the other dogs. So she is on antibiotics and some other medication for 10 days just to help her body fight whatever infection she caught, the vet has put it down to Gastroenteritis, I was worried about toxic shock from what she had swallowed.
So good news all around, now I just get to wait for the bill.......

The past week.

Another week has flown by with life being chaotic...Monday is food shopping day so the whole day was taken up with doing that wonderfully banal chore. Tuesday was a quiet day spent at home catching up with the housework. Wednedsay we drove to Elmore as Elisa was to have her stitches removed but as they hadn't healed they're to stay in for another week, we arrived home to a message on the answering machine from the bush nurse, she had seen Talia at school and the sore on her face that we thought was a bite turned out to be a school sore so a trip to the doctor was in order, the only appointment available for the next week was that day at 2.30pm, so Elisa raced to the school and collected Talia and was back here in time to collect the other 2 girls from school. I drove down to Bendigo to put Dave's wage in the bank and get some jeans for Dave, I managed to get myself a pair as well. Friday Elisa and I went to town looking for shoes for Dave and picking up some prescriptions. Friday night was spent watching the football. Saturday came around and when Melissa came home from work we went to Bendigo to buy some Egyptian Flannellette king size sheets as I was starting to freeze at night, we also bought some potted daisies white and yellow, a frilly cyclamen, slippers for me, so a good retail therapy session.
Saturday afternoon ws spent knitting as Dave had gone to town to visit his dad and have tea with his mum, he visited Cliff and then dropped into the Allies for a catch-up, leaving there and getting home around 1.30am, he had a sleep in on the Sunday as it was his first day off since we went to Portland. He got up and cut some wood before we left for Melbourne to see the Carlton/Collingwood game at the MCG. We arrived at the ground around 1.30pm and the sky was clear, although the forecast was for hail/rain. The game started off really well and was enjoyable to watch, then half time came as did the rain and wind. Third quarter started as the rain cleared, and dh Dave said we are going to lose by around 85 points. Well he wasn't far wrong, Carlton went down by 72 points and appeared to not even bother playing in the last half. Very disappointed we left just before the siren as to beat all the crowds, we drove to Wallan calling in on a girlfriend who was expecting me but she wasn't home. So I drove onto Bendigo got some Red Rooster for tea and drove home arriving around 8pm.
On arriving home my sister informs me my dog Dufus has been vomiting all day, so I spent the evening keeping an eye on her, she disappeared on Monday which really worried me, she spent the day hiding in the hay shed behind the caravan only comming out when Dave came home late that evening, so an appointment for the vet has been made for today as she is not eating and as soon as she drinks she vomits. So hopefully it will be nothing too serious. Will keep you all posted.

Another month gone....

The weeks are just flying by, April has come and gone. We celebrated dh's 51st birthday on April Fools Day with a quiet dinner at home. Melissa & Elisa had gone to Melbourne as Talia & Eloise were to fly out that day to Perth for a month long holiday, they were heading up to Kunnunurra for their Aunties wedding. So all was quiet around the house...
On the Saturday before Easter dh and I went to the Telstra Dome to watch Carlton play the Sydney Swans, it was such a dismal game to watch with the Swans constantly kicking backwards or really short kicks, the crowd became very vocal by booing and hissing, even though our team lost it was good to get out and see a footy game.
Easter came as did the Easter Bunny, leaving Matthew some lovely eggs. I also scored really well with 2 Lindt bunny's and a box of Forrero Roche chockies...mmm my favourite.
On Easter Monday Elisa & I decided to do food shopping, we set off in her car only getting a couple of kilometres down the road before her car made an awful bang and stopped. The car had blown a radiator hose and the water pump belt had come off, so Elisa walked back to the house and picked up my car so we could go shopping. However, we totally forgot that the roads all around Bendigo were closed due to the parade. So not much shopping was purchased. It was one of those days that we should have stayed home.
Elisa was getting more and more excited as the end of the month drew near as her girls were flying home on the 28th. But Murphy had other plans by sending a cyclone towards Darwin flooding all the roads up there, so the girls had to be driven from Timber Creek in the NT to Kunnunurra then a short plane trip to Broome with a night stop over then from Broome to Melbourne on the Saturday. We got up at 3am and left by 3.30am. Their plane was supposed to arrive at 6.20 am, but it was early so we ran through the terminal so Elisa could be there when the girls got off the plane. They were so excited to see her. We stayed and had coffee with Sue (the girls Nana), then headed to Highpoint for some retail therapy. Whilst at Highpoint I had a lovely head and neck massage and Elisa got her ears pierced (the top part of the ear). We were absolutely exhausted so decided to go home, stopping off in Bendigo to have dinner at La Porchetta. We arrived home around 6.30pm with the kids going straight to bed.
Life got back to normal with the girls starting at their new school on Monday, so Elisa & I made the most of the time and went food shopping.
So life has been busy as usual...I wonder what's in store for this month.

Our holiday in Portland

My dh Dave and myself spent 3 nights and 4 days holidaying in Portland. We were given the holiday for free as part of the Take a Break Holiday program provided by the Uniting Church and the Wimmera Drought Relief Fund, its aim was to give farming families a holiday which they normally could not afford.
We left home on Monday 20th March and visited Dave's friend Cliff (his brother Lenny is in a hospice, as his cancer is advanced) we then visited his parents before setting off for Ballarat. We stopped for coffee and cake at La Porcetta in Ballarat then head off for Portland via Hamilton.
We reached Portland by 4.30 that afternoon, we headed straight for the tourist information centre for maps and info on what do to in the area. We got to the Portland Bay Lodge around 5.30pm. Dave sat in the car whilst I got shown to our room. (Dave was so looking forward to a romantic holiday as it was our first without children) Graeme our host showed me to our room...a single bed and a set of single bunks, with just enough room to get around, there were communal showers and dining area. The meal was delicious, there was soup, then roast beef and dessert. We went back to our room as there was no TV or radio so we spent the evening playing cribbage. The next morning after a feed of bacon and eggs we went sight-seeing. We went to Cape Bridgewater and viewed the petrified forrest, the blowholes and the lighthouse. We then drove to Nelson which is 5km from the SA border and had lunch overlooking a tidal creek. We then drove back to Portland and toured the Motor Museum and drove around the city centre. We called into a fishing shop and bought some bait and spent the next 2 hours sitting on the breakwater fishing. We headed back to the Lodge for dinner, then after a short nap we went fishing off the boat ramp which was about 50 metres from the Lodge.
The next morning we went straight down to the breakwater and fished there until we got sick of tired of losing all of our sinkers and hooks. We set off for Narrawong as it sits on a tidal creek, we stayed there for about 1 hour, we got a few bites but nothing on the end of the line. We headed back to Portland to the boat ramp as there was a bit of beach to fish from. We stayed there for 4 hours, I caught a little bait fish and saw 4 sting rays swim about 1 metre from where I was standing. Dave spent most of the time sitting on a deck chair reading a magazine and drinking a beer. We went back to the lodge for dinner then spent the remainder of the night sitting outside with a few other couples having a drink.
Thursday morning arrived and we set off for Apollo Bay as we were planing on spending the night. We stopped off at Warnabool so I could see the whale nursery (wrong time for whales though) we then had lunch at Port Campbell. The next couple of hours were spent driving along the Great Ocean Road admiring the fantastic scenery. We arrived in Apollo Bay and booked into a Budget Motel overlooking the beach. We walked up to the shops and bought a waffle ice-cream to eat whilst walking along the beach front. There was kilometers of beach and only 1 man fishing, so back to the car we got our rods and tackle box/bait and back to the beach we went. I caught 4 sand crabs and 2 baby whiting (I threw them back as they were undersize), Dave caught 2 large whiting but we were unable to keep them so back to the water they went. We spent around 3 hours fishing, it was lovely standing in the water with a rod.
We went back to the Motel, got cleaned up and went down the street to a local cafe for dinner.
We were up early the next morning and set off for Geelong as Dave has friends there he wanted to catch up with. Just out of Lorne dave was feeling car sick so I had to slow down, I was having fun driving around all the sharp bends it was just like rally driving...lol
We spent the morning in Geelong then off to Wallan where my girlfriend Sue lives, we had a cuppa and a chat before heading for home, arriving home to some very excited dogs around 5.30pm. It was an exhausting but very enjoyable holiday.

Tagged

Ivé been tagged by Elisa.

What scrapbook lines/products etc do you dislike? I would have to say patterned paper that has ducks and such things like it.

What is the hardest thing you ever had to scrap? It was my wedding photos from my first wedding, I thought I had better do them for my kids sake.

What techniques do you use more than anything else? Paper tearing and layering.

What is the smallest scrap of paper you save? Anything bigger than 4x4.

Have you ever had any scrappring related injuries? Just the occasional paper cut.

Finish this sentance...If I wasn't a scrapbooker/stamper I would spend my money on... DVD's, CD's, books

Give your best ever storage or organizational idea. I was piffed 2 fantastic paper keepers from Scrap Stash.

You just won a week long scrapbooking cruise for 5. Who is going with you?
I would take my dh Dave, and 3 friends from FoRW.

When you received your first publication notification, who did you tell? I have never entered any of my LO's for publication. The only thing I have entered is the monthly challenges from FoRW.

Some happy news

Iv'e had a very productive week, Iv'e sorted through my scrapping stash again and have found a heap more stuff to list on ebay. Completed a community album double LO for a member of FoRW, it's the only scrapping Iv'e done in a long time, I seem to have lost my mojo, it does'nt help that there's so many good tv shows on. Read the latest Stephen King novel Cell, thoroughly enjoyed it...
Elisa and te kids came over on Friday afternoon and stayed the night, Melissa cooked a great big pot of spaghetti which was yummy...I spent the evening working on my CA LO and Elisa worked out everyone's biorythyms.
The next morning we were up early and headed off to Murrabit to the large market there. We spent a good 3 hours walking around looking at all the stalls, we had a bacon & egg sandwhich for breakfast and the kids had hot dogs, we also ate a hot jam donut whilst the girls played on the jumping castle. The only major item I bought was a fly veil for my hat as the flies were incredible, you were constantly swatting at your face. We drove to Kerang and spent some time in the local park so the kids could have a play. On the trip home Elisa & I talked about her decision about leaving in April or June. I convinced her to stay until the begining of December and to move in here, that way she can save more money for the move and trip across the Nullabor(we have decided to go via the Great Ocean Road), that way there is 2 cars (as Melissa will be travelling at the same time) and 3 drivers. Eloise also gets to complete a full year of Prep, I get company so we are all winners. The hardest part was asking dh what he thought of the idea. He agreed so Elisa is giving notice to her landlord and will be moving in over the holidays.
So Saturday afternoon was spent planning the trip and working out a household budget. The girls were playing out the front on the big tree, they had saddles and reins and were pretending to go riding.
I spent the evening watching the football and reading my book, today has been a very quiet day (apart from the daily chores), all Iv'e done is read my book.
But I am a happy camper as I will get to spend more time with my sister before she heads west.