Spoilt!

Happy Anniversary to me! Looky what Scott bought me! I was so surprised that I burst into tears. I have been wanting one of these for so long now, I just figured jewellery isn't Scott's thing. He was so cute about it too.....trying to sneak out to get it while I was at work, only problem was that he had promised to have lunch with me the day before, so after a very cranky phonecall from me stating that I had no lunch, "where the heck are you?!", he had to re think his plan of attack. hehe.

So now he is set for birthdays and christmas for the rest of our married life! Lucky lucky me!

What did I get him?? A sports massage that I didn't get time to pick up the voucher for, and haven't booked him in for yet! lol. Oh well, I think the Gracie DVD and Gi that I got him for his birthday should kinda keep me in the good books! (when they finally arrive anyhow)!

Ummm...Hiya

Ok...well obviously I haven't been here for oooooohhhhhh sooooo looooong! Geesh how time flies!

I really don't know where to begin.

Well......we made it to Perth. Port Kennedy to be exact. It is a gorgeous place with lots of wonderful beaches, Dolphins, Sea Lions, Penguins (YES PENGUINS!!) and the occasional 4 metre Shark! I absolutely love it here! (Despite the fact it is 16 degrees right now and blowing a gale).

The kids have been doing well. Keila has continued on her gymnastics, joining a cool little club down here. She has just badge tested to achieve her National 5 level, so we are quite proud of her. Earlier this year she represented her club in Singapore....Now THAT was cool! We all went over to support her (yeah right....enjoy the holiday more like it! hehe). She ended up with a bronze in vault, which was really good considering she was competing against girls from Singapore and Thailand. Will make a post especially about Singapore with pics....so stay tuned!

Keila is also involved in Tae Kwon Do in which she is currently a red 2 (which Scott tells me is second gup in martial arts terms), and has won a trophy in a competition. She has also joined a mixed soccer team which her Dad coaches. Apparently she is like her Dad, talented in everything she puts her boot to!

Braithe has also started soccer, and seems to be enjoying it...though I think his team mates wish he did a little less hand stands during the game and more running! But he's cute!!

Braithe and Brandon both do Jiu Jitsu now. They absolutely love it, and are great at it. It is so technical, so right up Brandon's alley! They have been in a few competitions since they started, and have won a few medals, but really their dedication to training and the enjoyment they seem to get from it far outweigh any medals won (awww, who am I kidding??!! We are so so proud of them medalling!). They have also been enjoying Capoeira over the last term. We are extremely proud of them there too. It has been run at the school I work at with several of the students from there. MY boys have been commended by the instructor and the other parents for the excellent behaviour and skill level they show!! Now I live with these guys 24/7....to hear from other parents that MY boys are a good influence is just the halleluja chorus to my ears! Braithe has found that all his handstanding during soccer has helped him out immensely in this new sport....who knew?! (note to self...take video of those two practicing their Capoeira and post to Blogger).

As I eluded to earlier, yes I am working, AND in a school. I scored relief work last year at the Rockingham Montessori School. I absolutely loved it there and was so ecstatic that they offered me a permanant position there. Unfortunately it is only 2 days a week at the moment, though the past few weeks I have been working 4 and 5 days covering for other people and doing prep work. I gotta tell you, that extra two days prep work is not only good on the pocket, but it is awesome on the self esteem! I have been able to create materials for the 3-6 class that were fun and sometimes challenging, but best of all, the teacher involved is so happy that she has spread my name in a good way (for a change) through the school! I don't want to wish ill on anybody there, but I REALLY need the 5 days work, so fingers crossed, somebody decides they don't like working in a school anymore and moves on!

Scott has just completed (well almost completed) his Cert III Teacher's Assistant. He has been doing job placement at my school which was really good. The kids really enjoyed having him there, and he brought new light to a couple of situations. Again not wishing ill on anybody, but how cool would it be for me to get the full time position and him to get my 2 day position.....dreeeeeeeeaaaaam, dream dream dream!

Well, too much info in one session is probably too much. Stay tuned...I will try to catch up on the past 18 months in future posts.

Have a wonderful day all!

My birthday/christmas wish list....so far...lol.

We're going...We're staying...We're going....

Too cute! Annnnnnnd I can even link it to my latest rant!! hehe.

Anybody unlucky enough to be within my inner circle in Townsville is feeling a little like this these days!

We were going...we were staying.....we were going...and now I THINK we are going!! Yay...boohoo...yay....oh heck....I dunno how I feel anymore!!

For everybody else out there in blog land who are completely confused let me explain...

Scott is medically discharging from the Army. Easy enough process you would think. Unfortunately for us, it has become the most frustrating experience to date. Despite the whole "where are we going to live?" problem, which in itself was overwhelmingly hard, the powers that be in the Army decided that although we have 3 children in school, October 17 would be a good date to move to that new location. We didn't agree. So Scott has been putting in requests and pleas to try to get our relocation date extended until December, all to no avail. With a very complicated conflict going on in the background, it seemed that we were going to be driving out of Townsville on Thursday 17th October, we had our boxes delivered, our house inspection, and had prepared the kids to say good bye to their friends. Luckily I live with one of the most persistant humans to walk the earth, and after an extremely well written grievance letter that kinda pointed out a few fatal flaws in the heirachy, we were magically offered out extention until December 17?!

Sooooo, now...apparently....we are driving out of here November 30...until further notice. Now that I have finally got around to letting Mum and Dad know our almost set intentions. it will be easier to keep you all updated without feeling like I have to be careful what I say.

So stay tuned to this blog...lol.

From Baghdad With Love.

Ok, so how cool is this? I am reading "From Baghdad With Love" ....I absolutely LUUURVE this book, so of course wanted to share my new love. Being me, I needed an appropriate pic to go with my blog, so I googled, and lookie lookie what I found!! I am sooo overjoyed with this find I can not tell you. I have been imagining these two throughout the book, and to see them and hear them in person.....AWESOME!

So...enjoy yet another one of my Youtube finds...and seriously seek out this book when you get the chance!!

Lava....you Rock!

Sex Bomb

What better combination can you get?? Ice skating and Tom Jones?? Seriously, it is worth watching to the end! This guy rocks!

You Are A Lily

You are a nurturer and all around natural therapist. People see you as their rock. And they are able to depend on you. You are a soothing influence. You can make people feel better with a few words. Your caring has more of an impact than even you realize.

What Flower Are You?

So...now that you have finished wiping away the drink that just snorted out of your nose when you read all of this garb about me, go and give it a try for yourself and find out what kind of pretty flower they reckon you are! LMAO!!!

TCG's tragic story continues...

The faces of those affected....

Hopes up in smoke
CHRIS QUAGLIATA
17Sep07
THE fire that ripped through a Condon commercial complex last week could still tear apart more than just the buildings.
Thuringowa City Gymnastics is on the brink after the club's home was gutted in a fire that also destroyed businesses NQ Tile Styles and Home Timber and Hardware at the Herveys Range Road complex last Thursday.
The club, which has almost 250 members and provides services to the Endeavour Foundation, had been renting the premises at a reduced rate from the owners, the Rebgetz family.
Maarten Zuhorn, whose daughter Kaley, 14, was an active member, said the club would not survive if it had to pay full market value for another premises.
"The club will not be sustainable," he said.
"It's not that it might not be, it will not be.
"We just can't find a lease for $100,000 a year – we can't pay it."
Co-owner Natalie Moore bought the club with her mother Robyn in 2001 when it was known as Heatley Gymnastics.
"The previous owner was going to close it and I didn't want to see it close down so we decided to go all out and purchase it," she said.
"We moved into this facility in 2004 and the Rebgetz family was very helpful in giving us reduced rent. Membership was building, things were going really well."
Some of the club's more successful members will suffer if a new home can't be found, she said.
"Three girls are going to Brisbane in two weeks and then we're supposed to be taking a group of six kids to Hawaii in January," she said.
"But if we have nowhere to train, then I don't know if we're going to be able to continue with that."
A school has offered its gym to the club as a short-term solution but Ms Moore said the club could not survive without a permanent home.
She said the club's equipment was insured and could be replaced – all that was needed was a place to put it.
"If we can find a venue that's going to be financially feasible to set up again, then we're all ready to keep it going," she said.
"But it's a matter of getting that community support from someone that's willing to help us."
Anyone wishing to help the club can contact Natalie Moore on 0418 868 819.
Meanwhile police are offering a $25,000 reward to catch the arsonist suspected of starting the blaze at Home Timber and Hardware.
The reward is being offered to anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest or conviction.
Anyone with information should call Townsville Police on 4759 9777 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333000.

The North Queensland Newspaper Company Pty Ltd Copyright © January 2007

IT SUCKS!!

Keila and the rest of the girls from Thuringowa City Gymnastics are devastated! Many of them spend most of their waking hours outside school at TCG training to compete. This was their home away from home, and they went there to spend time with their gymnastics family, (a family I'm sure many of them preferred to their own at times)!
My heart goes out to Natalie and Robyn who have built gym from the ground and cared for it like a child. Lets hope we are able to get together and help them through this.


Up in smoke
LEONIE JOHNSON
14Sep07
BOB Twohill never felt more helpless as when he watched fire roar through the business he had poured his time into building.
He stood alongside his fellow NQ Tile Styles colleagues, owners Jodie and Gavin Wheeler and co-manager Rick Gillespie in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Their shop was one of three destroyed when the inferno broke out in the Herveys Range Rd complex about 4.10am.
Also destroyed in the blaze were Home Timber and Hardware and Thuringowa City Gymnastics.
Intense flames took hold of the large building within minutes, gutting the three businesses.
Explosions were heard by nearby residents and the sky was lit up with an orange glow for hours.
The complex collapsed in on itself, making it difficult for firefighters to access the flames within.
Mr Twohill said they were all devastated.
"It's kind of like the death of a family member because we put so much time into it," he said.
"It's all fairly surreal at the moment.
"We had to go through the whole arduous task to open the building and get everything right for such a short period before this.
"We've lost everything – all our records, our computer wasn't backed up.
"All we could do was just stand there and watch it go up in flames."
Natalie Moore owns and runs the Thuringowa City Gymnastics with her mother Robyn Moore.
She said more than 200 kids used the gym.
"Most of the parents have rung me and given support," she said.
"All we can do now is hope that we can rebuild and start again."
She said she didn't know where some of her students, who were due to compete in competitions in two weeks time, would train.
Police from Brisbane's Arson Squad flew into Townsville yesterday afternoon to begin investigations to establish the cause of the blaze.
Mr Twohill said he wouldn't be surprised if kids were responsible for the fire.
"We already had an incident where kids set fire to some crates behind the building not long ago," he said.
"I've heard that someone broke into the toilets at the gymnastics place and lit the fire and it went from there."
Kirwan station officer Brian Corrigan said it appeared the blaze began in a back shed attached to the buildings and spread through the large warehouses before their eyes `within minutes'.
"It appears the fire originated from the external shed around the rear of the building and spread through," he said.
"There would have been aerosols and LPG cylinders involved so there were some minor explosions in the internal of the building.
"It took hold within minutes and in less than an hour it was through the whole thing.
"It's still burning (about 10am) because it's a structural collapse so we can't gain full access to the building.
"We've tried to make access through the walls because we can't get in internally due to the dangers.
"It's going to take some time to extinguish the remaining hot spots."
It took six fire engines to battle the large fire.
The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service were notified of the fire by multiple triple-0 calls from nearby residents.
Fire examiners won't be able to begin investigations until this morning due to the instability of the building.
"The investigations will commence properly (today), but we've done our preliminaries already and we'll do the scientific stuff (today)," Mr Corrigan said.
The building owners have all visited their ruined businesses to take stock of the damage.
Nothing can be salvaged.
Mr Corrigan said the blaze was `the biggest fire in quite awhile'.
Several businesses nearby remain closed today without power.
Atlantic Pools owners Greg and Marie Harwood say they are extremely lucky their business, which was only metres away, escaped unscathed.
"We can't open because we don't have power but we escaped any damage," she said.
"We're very, very lucky."
Townsville CIB acting officer-in-charge Detective Senior Sergeant Sean Wade said the cause of the fire won't be known for sometime yet.
"We can't make any comment to whether the fire is suspicious or not yet at this stage," he said.
Anyone with information should contact Townsville police on 4759 9777 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

ABLAZE ... The Home Timber and Hardware store, along with other businesses, went up in smoke
The North Queensland Newspaper Company Pty Ltd Copyright © January 2007

GOGS

If ever there was a stupid reason to blog...this is it...but I am sooooo excited right now after a day of complete bleakness!
I just found GOGS on Youtube!!
Now for all of you out there scratching your heads in complete bewilderment GOGS is a really gross, violent, yet brilliant animation that was aired on the ABC about 10 years ago. I absolutely loved it then...and I sadly have to admit that I loved it just as much tonight as an adult with children of my own!! The snot bubbles, the dinosaur dung, the burbing and farting...man...who couldn't love it!!! And YES it is far far worse than the Youtube that I added below!! lmao!!
I have put a link in my favourites for all of those who think they can stomach what I would consider true art!! Or alternatively here it is below...hehehehehe! http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=22BB031668390485

Tell me you haven't had one of these days!

Another loss

Hasim El Masri kicking our first goal for the night.

Bulldogs VS Cowboys 08 Sept 2007

ARGGGHHH!!!

Well it was close, at least we can say that!

The boys and I ventured out tonight on our own to our last Bulldogs game...(I think I may have said that in another post...sorry...wasn't to know that the NRL would award the Cowboys a quarter final home game, let alone that it would be against the Bulldogs!! How lucky am I??!!)

It is a little bitter sweet for us as today Keila had a competition in Hughenden, and I really was struggling to decide whether to go to her competition or to go to the game. Luckily I have a great husband, some really cool friends who encouraged me to be selfish, and an absolutely awesome daughter who managed to put it all into perspective for me..."Mum, you come to all my competitions, and you will come to all my comps later....If we move to Perth you wont get to see the Bulldogs play again...so I want you to go to the game". Isn't she just the greatest??!! Keils.....I luuuuuurve you!!

Soooo...the game!

Well...it was absolutely awesome! Unfortunate that we lost, but it was still down to the final siren...right down to the final 90 seconds we could have scored a try to make it a win for the Bulldogs! There were a lot of mistakes made, but there were a lot of awesome points to the game too. The Big Willy "Smack downs" were just bone crunching...and there were some little moments of magic from El Masri and Willy Tonga that just bought a tear to the eye. But....

The highlight of my night....my boys!

Here is my Brandy dressed proudly in his Bulldogs garb like me....then there is Braithe in his Cowboys Tshirt...both as proud as can be!! Every time the "COWBOYS" chant started...little Braithe would join in full voice "COWBOYS...COWBOYS...COWBOYS!!!"

Surrounded by a sea of Cowboys supporters...On the alternate beat would holler in "BULLDOGS...BULLDOGS....BULLDOGS!!!!" from yours truly and my awesome Brandon!! Hey we were small but man were we LOUD!!!! It was a lot of fun!

Brandon's quote of the night....(every now and again he pulls one out just to prove that he is actually interested in rugby when we watch it)...."It was a loose carry!" Don't have a clue where he would have heard that from ;)

Final score

20 - 18

Hey..we are still in it! By the skin of our teeth, in the second chance draw thingamibob...we are still in it...so fingers crossed that we will be able to pull off a win next weekend against the Eels to make it into the finals!

My Daughter the Gymnastics Legend!!

Well it's been quite an emotional day....mainly because my little gymnast has become a medalist!!! AND I'M NOT THERE!!!
Keila and her Dad drove for almost four hours this morning to Hughenden for her to compete in a level 4 WAG competition.
With her Dad in the stands as the world's loudest gymnastics groupie, Keila along with the other girls from Thuringowa City Gymnastics did an excellent job!!
Keila got a...
Bronze medal for Vault...her nemesis in previous competitions!
4th for Floor
6th for Bars
and...5th Overall!!

How awesome is that!!

TCG came 1st (Carla), 2nd, 3rd, and 5th overall in the Hughenden Competition.
Well done girls!!!

Proud Mummy here!!

an edit is to come to include a photo here of my proud little gymnast in action!

BULLDOGS V COWBOYS 31 August 2007















What a night!!!!!! It was absolutely inspirational in every way!
OK.....so we didn't win....but MAN DID WE TRY BLOODY HARD!!!!
Super quick digression..for those of you who have not been subjected to my rantings about rugby...I generally barrack for the Bulldogs and the Panthers. But since we have lived in Townsville for almost 3 years, I of course have to show a little allegiance to the local Cowboys. We don't go to many games here in Townsville, but we DO try to get to Bulldogs and Panthers games when they venture up here.
So back to the game. Cowboys were giving us a HUGE hiding! Seriously, 38 - 10, twenty minutes towards the final siren Cowboys supporters were heading for the gates confident their team were victorious.
Then they took Jonno Thurston off and it started!! In twelve minutes the Bulldogs scored 4 tries!! They should have scored the equaliser try to make the match go to "golden point" and they tried really hard...it just wasn't to be, but it was right down to the final siren though! Geeesh was it an exciting game!!
It was funny, earlier in the day they had played clips of my hero up there Big Willy Mason stating that the Cowboys were a 2 horse team, and that if Thurston didn't play, the team wouldn't be very competitive against the Bulldogs. Then during the game, just before they took Thurston off the field, they showed Big Willy's sad, beaten face on the big screen for all the Cowboys fans to jeer at. It gave me great satisfaction to see little Willy Tonga burst over the try line less than a minute after Thurston decided to leave the field for a rest!! Then 4 tries in 12 minutes??!! Kinda made Big Willy's point dontya think?
So we had a great night...Im not one of those "my team lost so the night sucked" kinda people...I respect a good game and great sportsmanship...I thank El Masri, the rest of the Bulldogs team...but especially Big Willy Mason for sticking around waaaaay after a game that they lost, in a town not their own, to sign waaaaaay too many autographs and get photographs taken with die hards like us....THAT my friends is a sign of great sportmanship and I appreciate the time they spent that other teams and players have not.

The last few weeks

Sooo much has happened over the past few weeks, where do I begin? (I suppose if I got on here more often it would be a loooooot easier).
First of all a huge thank you to all my wonderful friends who came to my "Biggest Morning Tea" last month! We had around 9 ladies turn up for tea and cake, and raised over $80!! YOU ROCK! I will definitely be doing it again next year!
The boys competed in a gymnastics competition three weeks ago, and considering Bran didnt even want to go out onto the floor to begin with, we were so proud when Brandon was awarded first place and Braithe second place overall. They got little trophies and all! Now they will be working hard to make it to the next level.
Keila on the other hand went to Gladstone to compete in a Regional Gymnastics competition. We were so proud of the hard work she has put in, and it was a wonderful experience for her. Her coaches have given her a new floor routine in preparation for her next Competition in Cairns. She learnt it in just a couple of hours, surprising her coaches, (not us of course). So now we have Keila dancing and prancing around the house practicing at EVERY free minute. (gotta love that drive)!
Brandon had his Tae Kwon Do grading while Keila was away. HE PASSED!! YAY!! So now he is a blue tip....catching up on his sister....AND he got a credit!! We were very very proud of him! I think he has a new attitude towards training now, and it helps that he has been given a few more responsibilities withing the training.
Braithe just started Tae Kwon Do this month. He looks sooooo cute in his little uniform. The most surprising part was that he made this decision all on his own. Scott has asked him late last year, but he obviously wasnt ready then. A few weeks ago though he just announced to me that he was going to start Tae Kwon Do that week. We can't wait until next grading...he's gonna rock!
Erm..What else...Oh yeah, the kids went to a holiday camp in the first week of the holidays, they had a ball and Braithe won a prize for "best behaved child" for the week....MY BRAITHE!! Awesome!
Now everybody is back at school and it is nearly life as normal...well it is life as normal for us!

Bad Fan

I am starting to get the feeling perhaps I should stop supporting my favourite sporting stars! After his famous "accumulator" series, I have watched Russell Ingall struggle race after race with car problems and spectacular crashes, frustrated with how close he gets to the podium each race only to have it ripped out from under him for reasons out of his control. This weekend, at our home track Hidden Valley has been no different. An ordinary start...taken out in a huge accident....returns in race 2 with gusto from second last place to 13th to have the car break down again! I am currently watching the third and final race holding my breath. He has started in dead last, is currently cruising in first due to not pitting yet. I think this is my cue to fall asleep!!!

No, I am not kidding. It seems that whenever I fall asleep during the rugby, my teams come stomping home, yet we can't win a game while I cheer them on! The ONLY race Russel has finished in a decent position....yep, you guessed it...I was snoring!

Will keep you posted after my nap.

Goodnight.

A quick disclaimer

Hi Big Sis
Just in case you noticed the little piggy down the bottom named Aden...There is noooo reference what-so-ever to your gorgeous son other than Braithe's timely fascination with Aden and his unfortunate choice of animal to adopt! lol! (I think it had more to do with the mud and the water rather than the animal to tell you the truth).

If anything Aden should see it as a huge compliment that his little cousin loves him enough to name his pet after him...Well, that's my story and Im stickin' to it!! hehe!
Big luv
Little Sis

xx

Torn...my most favourite ever YouTube.

Happy 70th Birthday Mum!

An excercise that even the Secret Service should be in awe of...Dad, the legend, pulled off the most awesome suprise party ever for my Mum's 70th Birthday!! He managed to organise family from all over Australia. Thankfully they decided to break up the surprises over a week, my brother and his family arriving a week before the event, my sister and brother-in-law from Woorooloo arrived the night before, I turned up the morning of her birthday, and my sister and brother-in-law from Perth finished off the family reunion at Mum's surprise cruise....yes that's right, her surprise cruise!!
The hilarious lead up to the event....with one surprise after another, poor Dad began to hide everytime somebody new turned up....Mum suddenly developed a habit of punching him in the arm! Then amongst all the excitement, Mum had decided she was going to organise a birthday breakfast for herself at Coolalinga, inviting everybody she knew...so you can imagine her annoyance when told one of my sister-in-laws had organised a classic car ride to an unknown destination. "What about my breakfast? People will be waiting for me!" She finally lost the plot when the car arrived at the Cullen Bay jetty with all the family there to greet her, all the grandkids standing outside the car...."Get out of the car Nanna!"

The cruise was absolutely awesome, a full tour of Darwin Harbour, complete with a personal concert put on by nephew who played Stairway to Heaven on his guitar.
The family photo is fantastic! We had 8 out of the 10 kids from my family there with their spouses and some of the grand children, we really could have done with a wide angle lens! Mum seemed to really love this surprise, Dad did an astounding job organising it, not to mention keeping it quiet considering the number of people involved!!

We had the obligitory "Dinner at the Wharf". A Woods family tradition. As you can see, Mum had a ball ,as she always does, courtesy of my Sister bringing her a "party bag". I looooove my Mum's awesome sense of humour, and her ability to just let loose and have fun where ever she is!

All in all I think the whole day was fantastic, and not in the least what Mum expected...which is pretty cool since she is a pretty switched on old gal!

Well done Dad!! This is why you are my mentor!

You're invited

Well, I have finally lost it! I have decided to register myself with the Biggest Morning Tea! Would be an awesome idea....if I actually knew more than 3 people in Townsville!! lmao!
I have been handing out invitations to anybody who looks vaguely familiar, or looks like they may enjoy a good cuppa. Lets hope I get more than 3 guests as it is for a hugely important cause, and besides, I'm cooking up a storm!!
So consider yourself invited!
"Every cup counts" as they say.

Dear Mr President

GRRRRRR!

I am back online....YAY!
MY computer is dead....GRRRRR!
Yep, that's right...."Nat's pride and joy" is officially dead! It cost me $88 to find this out....along with any self esteem I may have had before the "Nerds" guy came around.....plus to add insult to injury....NOTHING on my hard drive is retrievable!! So all the hard work I have put into my uni for the last couple of weeks, my awesome pics that I have collected over the years, my eBooks, MY EMAILS!!! MY BELOVED EMAILS!! Everything is gone! My one saving grace is that I had saved most of my photos onto disk not that long ago...I think I am missing around 30 new ones in total, so that is not so bad.
Everybody keeps asking me if I had backed up my stuff...well...yes and no....if I am in the middle of an assignment, I am not likely to back it up to disk....but most of the stuff that I had lost was stuff that no sane person would have saved to disk....it is just really annoying to lose it all.
The light at the end of this tunnel is that Scott has a brand new toy...though he hasn't seen much of it since he got it. I will get to do my assignments after all, and I thanks to my eternal fiddling with crappy online programs, I was able to salvage all my old email addresses!!
Thanks to my lovely friends Lindah and Louise...I was able to find my blogger site again!! Now I just have to build up my pics again so as to make it a bit more exciting.
Stay tuned for more exciting news hopefully over the next few days...(hopefuly I will be in a better mood)!

studying at last

After nearly two months of complete stress, I am FINALLY enrolled and online with Uni! Geez it was far easier getting kicked out than re enrolling! LOL!!
Now I am just waiting for defence to finalise payments on my TAFE course and I am on track for this year.
I am determined to do really really well in both uni and TAFE this year. It will be easier without Braithe home. As lovely as it was having his awesome presence around....he is a little boy, and study and little boys just don't go hand in hand.
So now all I have to do is pay for my text books so that I can really be on track, and I am a happy little student!
Wish me luck everyone....I am gonna need it!

While we are on the subject of Cowboys ....This beauty here is a North Queensland Toyota Cowboys Hotsquad Cheerleader...Awesome to watch live I gotta tell you.

Now, this particular Hot Squad Cheerleader is also linked to my little Brandon....

She was his year 2 teacher last year!! How lucky was my little boy?

Keila on the other hand was livid! She has spent most of 2005 stalking Miss T wanting to find out how to become a cheerleader and trying to get her autograph...so come 2006...Brandon gets Miss T for his year 2 teacher....well Keila threw one huge hissy fit! (Must remind Keila that she did have Tahlia Rauhihi, the daughter of the great Cowboys player Paul Rauhihi, as her best friend for a year!)

So, anyway....Not only does she look fab-u-lous...she is an awesome teacher. Brandon is not a run of the mill student...but he loved her as a teacher, and I loved helping out in the classroom as she is one of the nicest people I know!

So there you have it...it IS possible to have beauty, personality, talent, and brains!! Go figure! (If only I could figure out where I've been going wrong for all these years?)

Sheree's stats as posted on the cowboys website:http://www.cowboys.com.au/hotsquad.php

Star Sign:Gemini
5 words that best describe you:Fun-loving, caring, feisty, cheeky, chatty
Favourite player:Luke O’Donnell
Favourite sport besides cheerleading and footy?I play touch football
What do you do when you're not on the field at DFS?Teach Year 2 at local primary school
Love to:Shop, play sport, vege out and eat chicken crispers at Cactus Jacks!
Person you would most like to meet:Ben Harper
Favourite holiday destination:Would love to visit the Greek Islands
Any rules you run your life by?:Family always comes first and Reach for the moon. If you fall short, you may land on a star.

Oh ps...Brandon's teacher this year is pretty cool too...hey, any teacher that can get Brandon to want to show up at school everyday is awesome in my book!

The things we do for love

I tell ya...I have done some hard work in my time when it comes to raising money for my sport....Today had to have taken the cake! Me, Scott, Brandon and Braithe spent six hours delivering phonebooks today! Keep in mind it is in the middle of Townsville summer...about 35 C, about 80% humidity, though that did improve as the day wore on....Dang it was HOT! Braithe and Brandon had the very important job of sitting in the trailer and "organising" the phonebooks, while Scott and I ran back and forth to people's doors to deliver these books. Brandon did step up towards the end when I felt like I couldn't walk any further, so that was a huge help!

Actually in the morning, before we got smart...the boys were both a huge help, as was Keila and her friend Haley. Scott walked up and down the street with a dolly trolley and they ran into the houses, so that was pretty cool....Brandon just loved the importance of it all! We knocked off our two territories by about 3.30, then took off to the Riverway for a well deserved swim!!

They want us to go back tomorrow morning to do some more territories....I think Keila and Scott are going, but on the proviso that Scott doesn't have to get out of the car and deliver any more....hopefully they will have an army of gymnasts to do the legwork! (they were all training yesterday afternoon).

Me on the other hand....I would love to help out again, but seriously, I have rashes in places I would rather not mention, my ankles can no longer be seen, and every step is just one big painful exercise...(I have tried very hard not to move from this seat since I got home!)...so I think the boys and I will probably just stay home so that we don't slow everyone down! Well that's my excuse and I am sticking to it!

Brandon and Jonno

My Brandon got the first student of the week for the year at school.

No this isn't Brandon....this is Johnathan Thurston, famous Cowboys and QLD State Of Origin rugby league player.

So what do they have in common??

A handshake!!!!

Brandon missed out on getting his "student of the week" certificate the first week due to the abominable weather we have been having. I had sat down at the assembly area for over an hour waiting for them so that I could take photo's of him receiving it.

This week I didn't really think much of it until I turn up to pick them up on assembly day and there is Brandon parading around with his certificate, and Braithe just couldn't wait to tell me all about the "Cowboy" who gave Brandon his certificate! When I asked Brandon which Cowboy it was, he just shrugged "I dunno". Braithe was convinced it was "Jonno Thurston", but Brandon claimed that "Jonno Thurston doesn't have a black eye and stitches!"....At least Braithe was listening to "Jonno" at assembly as he went on to relay the story of how Johnathan wasn't wearing his famous head protection and somebody hit him resulting in his injuries.

Thankfully Nicole Luke our resident DSTA took a photo of Brandon and Jonno, so that finally cleared up the mystery for us.

Brandon just cracks me up....he remembers soooo many facts and figures about animals and plants and machines, but when it comes to people.....he rarely remembers anybody's name, or where he knows them from! How could he NOT take any notice of this sporting icon shaking his hand!!!! Just wait til I tell his best mate Jack!!! lmao.

ps. will try to upload that famous photo once I have had a chance to scan it.

Happy Valentines Day!

It was Valentines Day when I started looking for a good photo of Oscar! Never mind....Guess what I got for Valentines Day???? Go on, I bet you can't guess ;) Well, mine is better looking than the one up there, but you get the picture....Yes....Scott got me an Oscar for Valentines Day!!! (And yes...he is in his right mind....This is all I wanted!!!) I luuuuuuuuurve my husband sooooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was heart broken when my evil bristle nosed catfish killed my beloved Oscar earlier this year, he had such an awesome personality, would beg for food, would jump out of the tank to get food...(which freaked Braithe out a little.....hehe)..and would swim up and down his tank as we moved around the room. He even had a good relationship going with my Axls!
This new guy is a completely different colour, Oscar was a bright orangy pink albino, whereas this guy is similar to the one above. His markings are gorgeous! He is a little timid at the moment, but I can't really blame him as he was chased up and down the tank for about 10 mins by a trainee pet store attendant, then dropped off the bench by Keila! All this after being taken away from the safety of his 10+ brothers and sisters at the pet shop. He'll get over it!
I'm not sure what to call him...obviously Oscar is out. I was thinking of Vincent...he looks kinda like a Van Gogh painting....I might ask Braithe in the morning....He is pretty good with naming pets, although I might tell him up front that I veto fishy, bubbles, and jaws!
Did I mention that I luuuuuuuuurve my husband??!!

Crikey!!

(Red Bellied Black Snake)

See this handsome critter here....I came face to face, (or rather foot to tail), with one of his relatives this afternoon!! I kid you not...I was less than 20cm away from the poor bugger as he was most probably lying in wait for his next meal. I obviously didn't mean to intrude upon his day, I was merely trying to steal....ehem.....I mean....borrow some river weed from the banks of the Riverway when I came across him. He got more of a fright than I did let me tell you! He took off like lightning....thank goodness in the opposite direction....jumped off the river bank (if you can imagine a snake jumping, work with me here), and proceeded to skim across the water lilies. I was very impressed! Then I lost sight of him, and so ended my weed hunting expedition as I was not too keen to come face to face with him again, nor meet any of his immediate family!! Keila was hilarious. When I first saw him scoot out from under the bush I yelled back to her "SNAKE!" I am thinking of putting her in little athletics after seeing her 50 metre dash up the river bank and up the nearest pole! All the training of "now if you see a snake just stand still and wait for it to move out of the way" went right out of the window with her. She was very impressed with me though as I had stood still long enough to tell her what kind of snake it was, where it had gone, and how long it was.

So long story short......I will have to buy my dang pond weed!!

Tazzie Devil for the day

This is how I feel at the moment, I just wish that I was actually in his furry little body right now! Just think.... you are expected to be snappy and bad tempered all the time....and anybody that gets in your face.....you just bite their fingers off! Plus look at his serene little back yard!!

I am sorry to say that all weekend I have behaved like a Tazzie Devil, so kids, husband, myself....we have all felt the wrath of Nat! I think I needed to be in that really serene little enclosure, for my family's safety.

Will try to find my happy place today by the time they get home, perhaps some major overhaul of the garage, my room...I should be doing some scrapbooking too....I have heaps to submit to Scrapbook city, and am about a month behind.....but no playtime until the jobs are done!

Perhaps I should take that particular trait from my little mate up there....He never sat still!!

No wonder his little cave was sooooo spotless!!!

This week just HAS to be better!

Ever had one of those weeks where you wonder if you were put on this Earth as some sort of joke for the universe to enjoy??!!

I have them quite often, so I don't know why I was too surprised last week when it really hit the fan for me.

Already fighting suicidal imagery which had reared it's ugly head again without warning or reason....my week slowly went downhill. On Thursday it all came to a head. Frankly....Thursday SUCKED!

I had FINALLY had got of my fat bum to clean and organise the garage. I was about 20 mins into it, charging along....whump! I passed out! So that was the end of my cleaning spree for the day as I am completely useless after I pass out! So already feeling pretty sorry for myself, I go out the back in the afternoon to discover that poor old Stitch...Brandon's beloved cockatiel is shivering on his perch due to the rain being blown in. Trying to do the right thing, I get him out of his cage and put him on my shoulder....something that I have done a thousand times before outside....Tank, the big black wally dog, stands right behind me as I step back making me fall on my ass and scaring the heck out of Stitch......The bird who usually wanders around the backyard WITH the dog and comes to me when he is called, takes off into the pouring rain...An hour and a half of standing in the pouring rain, I could hear him but not see him. By the time I DID find him high up in the palm tree a big gust of wind blew him right out of the tree and off he went into the wide blue yonder.

Needless to say I was heart broken, Stitch and I have spent a lot of time together on this computer. Plus the painful task of telling Brandon that I had lost his favourite pet through sheer stupidity! He was soooo nice to me about it..."It's not your fault Mummy, it is Tank's" How compassionate is this child! We have his cage open out the back with the hope that he will realise where his food's at....But between you and me.....I don't think he's coming back.

Thursday night I try to log into my Uni courses....only to find that they have discontinued me from my course! Friday I recieve a letter to say that my current enrolment has been cancelled because I haven't "shown cause" for why I did so crap last year.....What tha?? I haven't even received any notification asking me to "show cause"!

So now I have that huge stress as well....

You can imagine how scary it is for somebody who already felt suicidal for NO reason to suddenly be reminded about what a complete and utter loser they REALLY are! Let's put it this way.....I ain't getting much sleep these nights.

Well that is my whinge for the day....I am going to put my "silver lining" cap back on knowing that this week HAS to be better!!

Luckily Anita my saviour from Red Cross came around today and has offered her invaluable help to me to try to work out this uni thing.

Hopefully Stitch will decide to come back.

Hopefully Brandon wont pull anymore "I refuse to go to school" acts this week.

Hopefully his appointment at Child Health will go smoothly this week.

Hopefully the scary woman who is supposed to be organising my TAFE will forget how angry she is with Scott and not give me a hard time when I go to see her this week!!

and Hopefully my husband and kids wont decide to side with MY head and wish that I would just hurry up and leave them alone!

THIS WEEK WILL BE BETTER! I AM ALIVE! I HAVE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN! I HAVE A WONDERFUL HUSBAND! I HAVE A ROOF OVER MY HEAD AND FOOD TO EAT! I AM BLESSED! (yeah right!)

Australia Day 2007

I guess I am a week late, but thought I would share how we spent Australia day anyhow.

<<<<------- We got to see Paul Kelly live in concert for FREE!!!!

It was amazing!!

I saw Paul Kelly in concert for the first time when I was a kid, maybe 10-12 years old. Mum had won tickets through the local paper. He played at the "Gun Turret Ruins" at East Point in Darwin with the Coloured Girls...a haunting venue, perfect for such an icon!

So anyhow, Australia day he played for free at our Entertainment Centre, well kind of free, we were supposed to get tickets out of the local paper apparently, but since I got my information from the council website, which of course didn't mention the paper....we turned up WITHOUT any newspapers and were told we couldn't go. That is until a lovely door security guard offered us two tickets that he had in his hand, and a man standing at the ticket booth that had heard our disappointment, gave us 3 more tickets!! How nice was that!!!!

The concert was absolutely awesome, I just lurve Aussie Rock at the best of times, but to hear Paul Kelly live is just magic! Braithe unfortunately missed it all. God only knows how, but he managed to sleep right through the entire concert! But Keila and Brandon loved it. (Brandon is a groover from waaaay back)!

We topped off the day by venturing down to our local Riverway where we watched Ice Age 2.....again for FREE.....while the kids sat in the pool!!! How incredible is that? They set up the screen right at the end of the big pool, where there is a shallow step created there...(and now we understand why)...So everyone just sits in the pool to watch the movie! We will definitely be keeping our eyes peeled on the council site for when the next movie is due!

We always try to get out and about for Australia Day, but I have to say that this one is the best we have experienced for a while!

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!!!!

The Lucky Elephant

So, everybody creates their own luck...I understand that, but after the past few years, you can't really blame me for asking for a little help!

I am putting it out there to the universe, to my new Lucky Elephant there, (complete with my son's hands, so how lucky must that be! he he).....this year I would like to succeed with my family skills, my studies, with my life goals to get better physically, mentally, and spiritually, and with my resolve to become the person that I believe I used to be pre "losing it".

I used to be a competant person, a woman who was able to hold down a full time job, study at night, hold a second job when needed, AND keep my family and household together. I used to be able to look adversity in the face and shrug my shoulders at it. I loved a challenge.

Now, just getting out of bed every morning is a challenge, and I don't love it one bit. Making time to spend with the kids, though something that I want to do, can be almost excruciating sometimes. Showing my husband the love and support that he needs in his time of confusion just feels like it is draining what little energy I do have, and I hate feeling this way, as I don't ever want him to feel like he can't talk to me.

I want all of this to change...and I know that I need willpower, and resolve, and a lot of hard work....and hopefully a little luck will help a long the way.

Day one

Well, Scott went back to work today after a really long Christmas break. It's kind of weird not having him here wafting around the house. I got up and made sure I said goodbye this morning, which was a bit of an ask at 6.15, but it was worth it....I THINK he appreciated it.

I had all these grand plans for our first day without Daddy...one of which included riding our bikes down to the park.....Erm.....it has been raining constantly since some ungodly hour of the morning!! Not that I am complaining, we haven't had any decent rain all wet season, which has been a bit disappointing, so this is a welcome relief....I just wish it had have come a little earlier and NOT on the one day that I am trying to do the "good mum" thing! he he. I'm sure it will clear up later in the week. Until then we have plenty to do around here, puzzles, games, poker...the list goes on. Right now they are entertaining themselves supposedly cleaning up....though just between me and you, there is more playing than cleaning going on out there!

So, I think I might fart around on here for a while, then go and clean out the garage! Now, I have written it, so it must be done!

Have a great one!

Ok, so I guess it's a pretty weird thing to start blogging about, but hey....if you took any notice of my title, you probably have cotton on that I'm not that normal anyhow! Besides, I have been farting around with this site for soooo long now that I had to start writing about something, and this is as exciting as it gets today!
Well....let me introduce you to my babies! Rose, Axl, and Toffee. I am sorry to report that Toffee passed away just before christmas as a result of a lethal Bristle Nose Catfish attack. (The Bristle Nose is now responsible for the death of my beloved Oscar and Toffee, so is now relegated to a guppy bowl!!)
So anyway, I have always wanted Axolotls and finally have moved to a state where I am allowed to keep them. For anybody who is still scratching their heads....Axolotls are also known as Mexican Walking Fish, though they are not really fish. They are the laval stage of the Salamander. Mine will never turn into Salamanders though as they have been bred in Australian aquariums and the ability to morph has been genetically removed from them. They are so cool, each has it's own personality. For example Rose begs for food and is quite active, while Axl is a bit of a loner, and spends a lot of time in his log. My kids love them!!!! They have taken them to school on several occasions with little information sheets, and their show and tell sessions have been really successful. Braithe my youngest enjoys collecting the worms and feeding them, which is really cool since Braithe has never liked touching any type of insect up until we got the Axls.
At present Axl and Rose are sulking at the bottom of their tank, they had their fortnightly water change, and though you would think they would appreciate all the nasties being taken out of their tank, they just hate things being moved around! They'll get over it!