I was on top of my favorite mountain (which is really just a very big hill) trying to 1) get sunset photo’s and 2) train Dookie a little. I had no idea that about 30 kangaroo’s live up there!
I also had no idea that Dookie was terrified of riding in cars. Him vomiting all over the back seat when I took him for his last shots might have given it away, except you know…he’d had his first shots. He ended up moping about in Jaxon’s car seat and screaming while I drove home.
So I am feeling fantastic.
Yesterday I tried on a shirt that my in laws bought me to stop getting burnt back in January. It was a size too small, a tight fit. I didn’t wear it again once they left but finally, the other day thought I’d bite the bullet.
It looks great, and makes me feel great. And it fit’s perfectly!
So once I got that “Wow” feeling I decided that it might be time for a before and after photo. My father in law was most gracious in sending me some terrible terrible before photo’s for me. And Tim was more than willing to take my after shot for me.
I don’t know if it’s the camera adding ten pounds and blah blah blah. But despite the fact that I feel great and FEEL like I look slightly slimmer…those “after photo’s” look terrible. Just as bad, or not much different to the before photo’s.
I’ve come to realise that I wont feel comfortable in my own skin until I am 100% happy being photographed. This was of course one of my main reason’s for wanting to slim down. If you’re working towards being a photographer, and your husband is doing the same then chances are you’re eventually gonna have to suck it up and model yourself for the greater good.
So no photo’s. yet. And eventually you’ll get to see the photo’s that Tim took today. When, I am a LOT slimmer than I am now!
It’s not that I’ve lost count. I am in week seven now. I just don’t know if I count from the first weigh in of 100.6kg’s of if I count from the second weigh in, or the first weigh in where actual weight was lost. At any rate. I got something to say!
It’s no secret at all that Tim and I are trying for another baby. It took a long time to get pregnant with Jaxon and no doubt (certainly feels like it) it’s going to take a while with this one too. Though I am not so stressed about it right now. Each month I am not pregnant (and I should say cycle, meaning 6-7 weeks) is another 6-7 weeks where I can lose more weight. And therefore, making it easier to GET pregnant.
So I asked my team leader last night what happens when I do finally get pregnant. I was some what surprised to hear that Weight Watcher’s does not support pregnant woman and I would have to stop.There is NO way what so ever, that I could continue. Even under a doctors certificate.
Now I understand that woman shouldn’t be trying to lose weight while they’re pregnant and that’s fair enough. But if there was any time when I needed to not blow my weight out, it would be exactly that time.
I’ve lost 7.4 kilo’s. (100.6/98.9/97.7/96.3/95.5/94.4/93.2) in seven weeks. It’s not been hard as I had expected it to be but it is a long road. A road which despite my hard effort and fantastic results, I am still at the very beginning of. I am 93.2 kilo’s and my healthy weight range is between 60 and 65 kilo’s. As I say, a long road.
I’ve known woman who have put on 30 kilo’s during pregnancy. I’ve known woman who have put on 20 kilo’s while pregnant. It just doesn’t make sense to me NOT to have woman monitored week by week to make sure that they don’t over do the “eating for two” philosophy.
I suffered from Gestational Diabetes when I was pregnant with Jaxon. I know now, that if I get pregnant eating the way I am eating now, I might be lucky enough not to get it again. But I don’t know how I will do that when my on line tools for great recipes and healthy eating tips are gone. When I don’t have a weekly weigh in to let me know where I am at.
I’m not saying I don’t want to put on weight. But I am thinking, that I don’t want to lose 20 kilo’s in order to GET pregnant only to have them turn their back on me and then put on that 20 kilo’s again. Only to have to start the long road ahead of me AGAIN when I have had my baby.
It might just be me. But that doesn’t make sense to me. What would be so wrong with giving a pregnant woman 35 points for healthy “eating for two”, rather than the 18 to 22 I am having daily for weight loss??
By popular demand (ie: my MIL)
This isn’t much of a sky watch. but you CAN see the sky in the first photo!!
This was taken yesterday from our back yard. A Kookaburra stalking it’s unfortunate prey…a grasshopper!
Clicky Clicky!!
I was getting a little worried about the fate of my Sunday Sunset’s, seeing that the season’s are changing. But I think we’ll be right going in to winter. I can’t wait to show you Spring sunsets!
Tonight’s sunset deserved much more than just one photo. The sky was just full of colour and texture!! It was a pleasure to watch it going through the motions.
Click on image to see larger view.
Conversation between Tim and I the other night.
Tim: Hey, when did you put that up?
Me: Um, well. Let me see…when was that. Oh right. Two days after we moved in.
Tim: Oh. I knew that.
This is what he was referring to. Our friend Kelly from New York bought this for Jaxon’s first Christmas. And I put it up on the wall when we moved in here. The problem is, that it’s not like I put it up in a spare room, or in the bathroom or toilet that Tim doesn’t use.
That there is a photo of where it is in the house. That’s Jaxon’s open door. And the door to the right of it is where we have his change table set up. To the left of Jaxon’s door is the bathroom and toilet.
We put Jaxon to bed together every single night. We bath him together every single night. And he didn’t notice!
I know sun glare isn’t ideal in the opinion of many photographers. But I happen to really like it.
This is yesterdays sky. It was a lovely day!
Don’t forget to check out the other amazing skies from around the world on the following link! Don’t miss out!
Tim and I thought long and hard for weeks about whether or not we should go ahead and get Dookie.
Even once we got Dookie I was wondering if we’d done the wrong thing. Jaxon doesn’t exactly LIKE dogs. Not one’s that are bigger than Mexxi at any rate. And we all know that a full grown rat would out weigh Mexxi so that’s not exactly hard.
So for the first two weeks Jaxon completely ignored Dookie. Like he didn’t exist. If Dookie was around Jaxon would literally look the other way. If Dookie tried to catch his eye, he would walk the other way. It was quite funny to watch.
Then for the next two weeks, Dookie wanted nothing more than for Jaxon to be his friend. Still, Jaxon snobbed him on most occasions.
But now. Things are getting better. As long as Dookie does not lick Jaxon’s finger’s, lick Jaxon’s ears, lick Jaxon’s toes, lick Jaxon’s nose, take Jaxon’s Duck, take Jaxon’s dummy or sit too close to Jaxon while watching Deal or No Deal, everything is hunky dory.
Here’s proof!
Where Jaxon goes, Dookie follows…or is it where Dookie goes, Jaxon follows???
And this last photo is just for good measure. I don’t know what to make of that look!
A little while ago I ran across a blog that runs scavenger hunts on a regular basis. I decided that this time I would take part and hope that you’ll all go across to NicoleB’s blog and get involved too!
Here’s the list of thing’s I’ll be hunting down. But remember to take part you must go to the site and reply to the thread with “I take part”
1) a souvenir
2) a fish
3) a religious building
4) a fire department
5) a manhole cover
6) a postcard
7) water
8) a communication device
9) a Life event
10) a foreign stamp
11) a tree
12) the living space of a non-human
13) a street mirror
14) a decoration fixed on a house
15) a foreign flag
16) a fire
17) an antenna
18) a phone booth
19) a “verboten†sign
20) a beach
21) a cityscape
22) something goofy
23) something carved
24) an eye
25) something rural
The hunt ends and judging starts on the 31st of May 2009 so you have PLENTY of time to find your items!
Look forward to seeing everyone’s entries!
I will admit that occasionally we use photoshop to enhance our photo’s. But sometime’s they just don’t need it.
MB asked if my last Sky Watch photo had been touched up and the answer is no.
Here is the first line of photo’s I took that night. Unedited. With their camera setting’s to show you how the camera can change the way something is percieved. Those settings may mean nothing to you, and to be honest half the time they mean nothing to me. We’re still in the trial and error stage of using the settings.
You can see there is only about 10 seconds between photo’s. But that the setting’s changed on the camera change the picture dramatically.
The photo above is likely to be the closest to representing what I was actually seeing.
So there you go. Sometimes yes, but this time, NO.
I think I’ve mentioned a few times that Jaxon can now open all of the doors in the house all by himself. Well this is what happens when Mummy is sleeping and Jaxon is not (of course by that I mean that he woke up from his nap and didn’t wake me from mine!)
Last night, he fed Dude a FULL box of cat food!! Dude wont be catchin any mice for us for a while.
I hope you’re all checking out the other skies world wide. Totally worth your Friday afternoon!!
Click the link below!!!
I thought I’d be able to keep writing stuff here about my weight loss. I thought that somehow if some unsuspecting person who might be a little unhappy with their weight and had never thought they COULD change it for themselves might somehow get some hope and motivation from me.
Because I was that person.
But it’s getting hard to come up with something to say. I am of course still very happy about the effort I have made. And even happier that I actually feel like I am getting somewhere and nothing is going to stop me.
I’ve even slowed down, or almost stopped, trying to get pregnant. Because I wonder what it would be like to have a BABY BELLY rather than just have my fat change it’s shape. It’s really not that I’ve stopped. Or that I don’t want to be pregnant (and let’s face it. I don’t WANT to be pregnant, I want a baby…and those are two very different things!) But right now I feel like if it takes a little bit longer to GET pregnant then that’s more time for me to lose more weight before I have to stop counting points.
The food is just mind blowing. I’m a fussy fussy eater. I flat out don’t like veggies. I don’t like different. I have trouble with textures and smell’s and if either of those is just a little bit strange in my mouth or nose, I will not even try the tiniest little bit of that food.
But I’ve found plenty of recipes that suit my needs and still stay low in points. Stuff that is yummier than anything we ever really had before. Even just variations on the meals that we used to eat regularly. Like Shepherds Pie, lower in points but just as nice.
Tonight I had a chicken and potato casserole served with green beans and pea’s. And oh. My. God. It melted in my mouth! It was so good!
The other night I made a Mediterranean Beef and Vegetable Bake. It had three things in it that 5 weeks ago I would never have tried or had. It had a layer of sliced tomato’s followed by a layer of zucchini covered in a ricotta cheese sauce. The flavours were like nothing I have ever had. And I ate it all up!!
So this week I lost 800 grams. A lot less than I have in previous weeks. But I got warned that this would happen. That I would have some really good weeks and some really bad or not so good weeks. So it’s ok. And I think I can attribute this all to two extra FULL can’s of coke and a home made pizza on Saturday night with one of Tim’s oldest friends visiting. Even remaining within my limit of points, I still think that the change made the difference.
So all up I have lost 5.1 kilo’s. That’s 11 pound something. I don’t know the conversions. That’s also 5% of my body weight and I am THRILLED to have got just this far! My next goal is 90 kilo’s. Or 10%. I hope to get there in a month. Five more kilo’s.
Here’s one I am incredibly proud of. I “scouted” this “shoot” on the way to Jaxon’s school…on school holidays. When I got there I was the first one there. My internal dialogue “Yay…I’m the first one here….um, where is everyone??” Duh! So Jaxon got very very upset with me when we didn’t stop the car and didn’t walk in and was crying a bit. We first drove a bit around town looking for a good location for these photo’s and then went to the park.
I’ve been quite a few times to this spot this week. This was my first night. Over the weeks I will show you more. And perhaps show you the progression through 5.20pm to 5.45pm when the sun sets.
I will always remember visiting my best friends house as a young girl. Not only because we had a LOT of fun, but because something there is similar to my own situation now.
Her mother’s brother died. And there was a photo of him on the wall. An outdated photo, with faded edges and dust on the frame. I never thought much about that photo. Though I saw it each and every time I visited, I never asked or knew his name or how he died. I didn’t think about her Mum and what that really meant.
Now, twenty years later, I have a photo on the wall. It is outdated. Taken with a FILM camera in Bali.
It hangs nicely on my kitchen wall and I look at it each and every day.
But now I know that when Jaxon brings his friends over to stay or play, they will see that photo and behind my back Jaxon will tell them it’s his mother’s brother. And Terry will be like a no one to them. A picture on the wall.
People don’t even ask any more. They just look at it and think nothing of a photo of someone they have never met on our wall. And if they do ask, then I say “that’s my brother Terry”. Like maybe he’s on holidays. Maybe he just lives overseas. Or maybe we just don’t talk anymore.
Like that would ever have happened.
Eleven years ago, I would have broken to pieces having to say he’d died.
I remember the day he died like it was just the other day. When nothing seemed to be real. When driving home from my camping place the thought of putting myself in front of a truck was appealing. And gliding through the rest of the day like my entire body was just on auto pilot.
My best friend came right over. And she sat with me while I cried and cried on my bed. While extended family sat in the kitchen consoling my Dad. I remember how much I loved her that day. For without her, I would have otherwise been alone. She let me rest my heavy head on her knee and cry. And she held my hair back off my face and she wiped my tears away and she cried with me. When the tears had dried out and I could no longer keep my eyes open, I drifted. And she sat with me quietly while I stared off in to nothingness.
I remember the days where I would go to work and have to be driven home within an hour because being alone with my animal’s and just my thoughts would rip out my insides. I couldn’t stand up, let alone work. I couldn’t even talk. I couldn’t find the right words that would properly describe having your world yanked out from under you at 120 kilometer’s an hour in a 60 zone.
All gone in a matter of minutes.
I will never get my dreams back. I will never get the future I had in my head. The future that had him firmly planted in every plan I ever made for myself. The children. The BBQ’s. The parties. The birthdays. He was there in every thing. Intertwined throughout my life, growing with each other. Until we were old and grey, and had to stand by the grave as we buried our parents together.
But instead, I stood by his grave. With my parents by my sides. Watching as his young body was planted firmly in the ground. Forever. His laugh nothing but an echo in my head.
Terry will never meet my husband. The love of my life. He will never know his nephew. He will never know what it feels like to grow old, or to watch as the life you create takes it’s first breath. He will never do any of the things I had planned for him in my head.
Tim will never get to meet my brother. One of the most influential people in my life. One of the people that made me exactly who I am. He will never know what Terry was like. What he sounded like. I can’t talk about him enough. What I have to say about him doesn’t even begin to give you an idea of the life that Terry had. The way he changed the mood of the room just by being there. Only Terry could tell you you were a fucking idiot to your face and not hurt your feelings.
Jaxon will never have a cousin with my maiden name. Because my maiden name died when Terry died.
That hurts. All the time.
No words can express it. You don’t know it until it happens to you and you will never understand me. You will never understand the emptiness that is created the day someone so close to you dies. The void that is created. That photo on the wall means everything to me.
It’s not just a photo. It’s my life. It’s my lost dreams. It’s my broken heart. Deep down inside me, no matter how strong I seem and how little I seem to need to talk about him and remember him to you, there will always be a large hole. A large broken piece that can never ever be repaired. Or replaced.
Every day I cry on the inside for the life that I lost when Terry lost his.
This was our morning sky (6.45am). The fog was so thick, the photo does it no justice!
Don’t forget to check out the other wonderful skies from around the world at…
I’m running out of things to call these weight loss journey posts. So I’ll just have to settle for week by week.
I was thinking today about the way I used to eat. Right now I am living on a 18-22 point plan on Weight Watchers.
Of course it varied, but over the weeks it was all pretty much the same. An average week would have at least two of these kind of days in it.
For breakfast four weeks ago I would have had rice bubbles with Jaxon. Maybe two bowls while he munched away at his. That there was 7 points. Not including the heaped sugar I would put on it. Let’s just say ten points even.
For lunch I would eat Macaroni and cheese, again…with Jaxon. He would eat one pack and I would eat two. That’s TWELVE points.
And then for dinner I would have two meat pies. With tomato sauce. Each pie is 8 points.
And then let’s talk about the coke! A can of coke is 2.5 points. And I was drinking four or five cans a DAY! Ten points in coke.
That’s forty-eight points!!! I always thought that I ate reasonably well but my portion size was way off. But now I know, I’ve been wrong all along. I was eating like a teenager!
Now I feel different. Already my bra doesn’t fit me and I’m down to one top that looks reasonably good on me. For the first time in a very long time (though my Mum will dispute that I never liked shopping even as a little girl) I am actually looking forward to the next clothes I buy for myself.
This week I’ve lost 1.4 kilo’s. That’s a total of 4.3 kilo’s in four weeks. I’ve lost 5% body weight. I am so incredibly proud of myself. I find myself looking forward to the future now. Looking forward to what I am becoming. Looking forward to looking my best AND feeling my best.
Dookie and I had a snuggle on the couch this afternoon while Jaxon had a nap. When I got up and moved he made himself right at home.
Such a good puppy!
I know this looks pretty boring. But to our family and friends, it’s GREAT to see Jaxon using his right arm this way. Go Jaxon!!
It’s a pity about the power line’s. This is right outside our front door.
Don’t forget to check out the other beautiful skies from around the world at…
So today marks my two week mark with weight watchers.
I have never tried to lose weight. I never even dreamed that I COULD lose weight. I don’t know if I had an attitude about Weight Watcher’s but I always thought it just wasn’t for me. Before the very day that I decided to join, I had never once considered any kind of weight loss program.
I had a few friends who were doing it. I would hear their stories and hear them talking about points and would just think to myself…why bother? It’s too much hard work and I’m such a fussy eater. It would never work for me.
Now, two weeks in? It’s totally for me. I’m doing really well. I’ve not gone over my points allowance once since I started. What’s more is, I have points left over on most days. But I am totally satisfied with the better choices I have been making.
We haven’t bought coke in two weeks. Everyone who knows me will know what a MASSIVE thing this is. We would normally buy one, some times two slabs of coke per week. And though Tim tried his hardest to keep up with me, it was me drinking the majority. I would sometimes have 4 or 5 cans a DAY!! Now?? I barely have three mouthful’s. I haven’t given it up. But I have certainly cut down. I have see the light, and now make my choice each day if I am going to have any.
I’m totally surprised with it all. At my meeting last week some of the woman and men discussed how hard they found it to stay away from the things that they enjoy. I really don’t know why but for me it hasn’t been a problem at all. Perhaps because I’ve been this way for so long and finally reached that point where I can’t just do nothing. Perhaps it is easier when you’re desperate for that change??
At any rate, I am so proud of myself. Each day I feel better and better about the effort I make. Today, the day I had been waiting for. Waiting for someone I know to say “Wow, have you lost weight?” Why yes! I have! Not just one friend but TWO friends noticed.
Such a change to the “Are you pregnant?” questions.
I really don’t think one hour is enough. There are almost 9000 hours in a year. I’m sure I’m not alone. I hope one day, we progress past just one.
Don’t forget to check out the other amazing sky’s from around the world at Sky Watch Friday!!
NEVER
EAT
SEA
WEED
And though this photo looks like my lens may have been dirty, it was in fact driving through “weed”. It was an amazing sun shower.
…my Mummy’s going to kill me…but my Daddy understands 
Meet, Dookie
Dookie is a 6 week old Staffy. He’s proof that being generous with your old baby stuff to friends who are going to breed their dog one day, pays off.
I was going to start a new blog. Just for this. But then I figured…hey, why not put it here.
I’ve come to a point in my life where I NEED change. And to get that change I am doing something I have never once done in my life.
I have joined Weight Watchers. Specifically, you may have guessed…to lose weight.
I don’t know exactly what made this moment THE moment. I don’t know where that switch is. The one that finally made me go “yup, I’m doing it”
Up until this week it had never ever occurred to me that I could lose weight. I would complain and complain about it but I never stood up and did anything about it.
I think I was scared. It’s far easier to not try and not get anywhere, than it is to try and be seen trying…and gulp, fail.
For a very very long time I pretended to myself that if people didn’t like me for who I was then more fool them. I’m happy, why should I care what they think of me? But then one day, too long ago to remember exactly when that was, I woke up and I wasn’t happy with who I was. And yet I still did nothing.
I think my eye opening moment came when I realized that I was wearing the same clothes I had been wearing while I was pregnant. That was THREE years ago. But that wasn’t even it. The thought of actually going shopping to get new clothes, made me incredibly unhappy and unstable. It was not uncommon for me to come undone while looking through the clothes racks. I would literally cry.
I didn’t want to shop for clothes because I didn’t want to think of myself as a fat chick. I didn’t want to walk in to the store and find the clothes I liked to image myself in were 10 sizes too small and that my clothes, over in that out of the way corner of the store…were the big girl clothes.
So I didn’t shop. I haven’t bought new clothes, or worn new clothes…for a very long time. I include bra’s, undies, socks in that too. Because shopping made me miserable. It made me look at myself and see exactly what I was. I didn’t like it. So I didn’t go shopping.
So you know you’re in trouble when you wake up one day and you disgust yourself. Just the thought of leaving the house and being seen in public wearing the same ratty looking clothes you were wearing when you met everyone you know, is hard. Embarrassing.
You know you’re in trouble when you wouldn’t even go clothes shopping if someone offered to spend thousands of dollars just on you.
You know you’re in trouble when you can’t even lie to yourself anymore. When the words “I am happy with who I am” wont roll past your lips without causing you to feel nauseous.
I guess thats the moment. The moment when I thought I have two choices. I can either continue on the way I have been living and eating and watch my weight slowly but surely rise. Or I can physically force myself to make the change. And go the other way.
I’ve chosen to change. Because I am not happy and I just know there is more out there than the way I am living. I want to do this for me. And I want to do this for Tim. I want to do this for everyone that cares for me. But most importantly and above all other things in this life that matter to me, I want to do this for Jaxon.
I want to run with him and jump with him. I want to roll down hill’s with him, climb tree’s with him and I want to enjoy his childhood with him. I want him to see me enjoying life. I want to be in photo’s with him. Photo’s that I am not ashamed to put here or in the family album.
So this is my first week. And I feel good about the change. But I will say there will be no progress photo’s. Of course, at the very end when I can tell myself I am happy and know that I am no longer lying to myself…I will have a before and after shot for you to see.
I’m going to share this journey with you.
Because a week ago I didn’t think I could do it.
A week ago I didn’t think I was worth it.
Today, and every day after this…is a new day. And I will at least try. I owe myself that.
Mouse number 8!!
As you can see, he didn’t stand a chance!
Tim and I went to Bunnings (hardware store) today to get some mouse traps. Apparently the town is in the “grip of a mouse plague”
Now my Grandma, Jaxon’s great grandma…lived through a mouse plague and I image it was a LOT worse than this. You’ve probably all seen that video footage of million’s of mice just moving in one big lump across the ground? That’s what I image Grandma saw. That’s why, I image, she didn’t like to hear about my mouse breeding tales.
There wasn’t a single trap there, having all been sold in the last week. Only poison. And we can’t use poison with dogs and cats and kids in the house.
Tonight we’ll lay our own trap. A bowl of liquid malt. I’ve told Tim that I’m certain we’ll have caught our first mouse before we go to bed.
Dude, for now…is safe as can be living here.
Something weird happened here on Saturday night. Something that has never ever happened before.
Since moving to Queensland nearly 5 years ago, I don’t think either Tim nor I have ever seen a mouse.
But while visiting friends for a BBQ, we saw our first one. They stomped it and fed it to the dog and we thought nothing more of it.
Until, while I was changing Jaxon for bed, I heard “Um, Boo” from Tim in Jaxon’s room.
And there, sitting on one of his spare ducks…was a mouse. It just sat and stared at him like it was totally normal for it to be sitting there ready to go to bed.
Since Dude is ALWAYS here for bed time I picked him up…pointed out the mouse and within 30 seconds Dude had it in his jaws and was taking it outside to play.
Once again, feeling safe in the knowledge that we had only ever seen two mice in Queensland…we thought nothing of it.
Until the next night. When, while I was reading in the silence of the night…I heard noises. Coming from our walk in wardrobe. Scratchy noises. Noises that once upon I time I was very familiar with (breeding mice does that to you)
So I got up, took Dude’s bell’s off and let him loose in the house for the first time since we moved here. Dude never gets to be out at night. He is always locked away where he can’t annoy us by climbing windows to get out, meowing to get back in or…sleeping on the bed. He is after all, a very large and bulky kind of cat.
Some background to this part of the story is that since moving from our old place to this place, Dude has been walking on very thin ice. I love having a cat. But Dude was pushing button’s and doing things that I was not willing to live with for overly long.
The first thing we noticed was that if he was inside he wanted to be outside. So we would let him out and then he would do this little about face thing and want to be inside. But he wouldn’t just meow, he would climb the doors and windows. Sometimes he would ask to be out at the front door, would walk around the house and then climb the back door to be let back in.
He had once been a very tranquil cat. And Jaxon’s friend. But when we moved here (and perhaps that we lost Oscar) he started attacking. He would strike without warning as you walked past him. And he would get you good. On Christmas Eve he jumped up from behind the couch and scratched Jaxon so close to his eye that he nearly didn’t get to see the night through.
But I persisted. Thinking that there must be a reason for the mood swings. We got him to the vet and cleared up a urinary tract infection and we installed a cat door for him to get away from Jaxon if he needed. This seems to have done the trick, though he still nibbles my toes occasionally.
But, back to the story. I just wanted to tell you how close to being shafted Dude was!
So the next morning we all woke up. Same old same old. Except for the blood bath all over the kitchen floor. Clearly Dude had caught his fair share of mice for the night.
Good Dude!
It continues still. There was two mice that Dude was teasing last night. They had climbed up the brick wall and were trapped so Dude just sat there. Biding his time. And he got them.
Then this morning, Tim found yet another mouse in our spare room, once again sitting there like nothing was out of place. But once I set Dude on him he didn’t stand a chance.
I don’t know what’s going on. This afternoon when Jaxon and I went out for a drive, a mouse jumped out from under our car and dashed as fast as he could back to the garage. And then when we got back Dude once again saved the day by catching and killing a mouse out near the BBQ.
I’ve never really been happy about cat’s without bell’s on. And Dude sure does sneak up on you when you can’t hear him coming. But until this mouse thing passes, Dude will have free range of the house at night, and no more bell’s!
Dude rocks!
As you can see there are some pretty drastic changes around here at the moment.
I don’t like them. I like my old theme but when I tried to re-insert my photo album something else went wrong and it’s all a bit beyond my knowledge.
So just give me a few days to sort this crap out.
Hopefully I will like the new look as much as I like the old look.
A little delayed since we reformatted my computer last night. But we’re back!
This morning as Jaxon and I ate our rice bubbles, something a little unexpected joined us.
As I looked down at the floor, unaware that Dude was behind me…a lizard casually skittled by my foot.
Now I am not squirmish. But not expecting to see a lizard walk past my foot IN the house…I jumped a mile.
And then grabbed the camera.
If you look very closely at the first photo you can see where the lizard (or skink, or whatever he was) was starting to part with his tail. Dude tried to use him as a play thing for two minutes while I took a couple “happy snaps” and the tail stayed on. But wouldn’t you know, the moment I picked him up to save him from Dude, the stupid thing dropped his tail right there in my hands!
AND!! Oh my! Someone knocked on the door. So there I was, holding half of a lizard and the wiggling decoy tail!!
I am pleased to say that my lizard friend was successfully released back in to the wild, safe from (any more) harm!
Unfortunately, this photo is not a sunset photo like I would normally post.
It is in fact, a sunrise photo.
A power line just up from our house got struck by lightning a couple weeks ago and broke this morning at 5.30am. It also happened that Jaxon woke up at 5.30am this morning too. And that NEVER happens. Jaxon has learnt well from his mother and father to appreciate a good sleep in.
But today, he has a very bad cold and I guess when his humidifier stopped working he stopped being able to breath and that was the end of sleep until 2pm!
That field normally has cows in it. I wish they’d been there this morning for this photo.
Don’t forget you can check out hundreds of other sky’s from around the world by clicking on the following link!
It’s tough being here where we are away from family. But I don’t notice it as much as I do when Jaxon is naughty.
He’s a really good kid. But on those odd occasion’s when he does something and I must in turn punish him, I really just wish I had someone to back me up. Someone to be in my ear saying “Great job Boo! That is exactly what I would have done in that situation”
I’m sick of second guessing myself. Sick of wondering if situation’s were dealt with the correct way and if the outcome I want from my punishment’s and verbal commands is going to happen. Tired of constantly wondering if someone else was Jaxon’s mother, would he not have done that. Would he have learnt that quicker. Would it be the same.
I just wish sometimes that I was living much closer to family. So that I could get to see how it get’s done in other house holds. Because I have no one to learn from here. It’s all trial and error for Tim and I. And what if the way we deal with thing’s is “wrong” or isn’t going to teach Jaxon the things we’re trying to teach him.
You’re probably all thinking I’ve joined some other little click where I take photo’s of the morning moon but this post has nothing what so ever to do with THE moon.
More to do with our bedroom window at 6am in the morning.
The story goes a bit like this.
Our bedroom looks out over a fairly main road. The window’s are tinted and during the day I knew that you couldn’t see through them. So if by chance I was laying there naked while a friend drove by I knew that she couldn’t see me.
But a few weeks ago that same friend came in to let me know that while yes, during the day you can’t see through the window’s…the same can’t be said at 6am when the morning sun hits my naked white ass.
So on Friday Tim put in a garden bed for me. He’s never done anything like this before and I was pleased that by the end of it he said he was ENJOYING himself.
Council worker's mate, what can I say?
I don't care whose fault it is mate, I want it fixed and I want it fixed NOW!
Here you go. Have a cold one on me!
Jaxon is a bit funny about getting his hands dirty. He wont even finger paint at school. So this was about as close to the dirt as he got. At one point he even patted Dad on the back to tell him he was doing a good job and then walked off.
There are 6 viburnum (my all time favorite!) and 2 gardenia’s there. They wont do much for “moon cover” this year but we hope they will be great for next year. So I can continue to sleep naked with the window’s wide open (hence why we can’t just close the blinds)
Someone sent me a link to Sky Watch Friday.
I’ve decided I will join in. I don’t know if this means my Sunday Sunset’s will go. I think I’ll keep them too.
Here’s my very first entry.
This photo was clearly taken at the local cemetery. We decided to go hang around there for the sunset and got some pretty good shots, which I’ll be adding to the photo album shortly.
Don’t forget you can check out heaps of other sky’s from around the world by following the link below.
I don’t know what else to call this post. It will be a short and sweet one anyway.
It annoys the hell out of me that some woman do pregnancy tests fearing that they will be pregnant. Sitting there waiting to find out if their life is going to be ruined because a baby with so an so not father material would just totally suck at that point in their lives.
And the woman who have unsafe sex and then abortion’s like it’s nothing to be blessed with being able to fall pregnant and make a new life without a second thought.
And then me. Sitting here wanting nothing more than to see two line’s on a pee stick…having my heart ripped out day after day because it never happens. Not that it wont happen. But why can’t it just be easier?
Daddy’s going to kill me for this post. But I did make him an author here so really he could just defend himself whenever he likes.
Tim’s a clumsy sort of man. If anyone is going to hurt themselves in this household…it’s Tim.
And it seems that part of him has passed on to Jaxon.
Tonight he was walking through the back door, tripped and fell face first on to the metal rail that the sliding door runs along.
It was a BIG ouchy. Jaxon has his first fat lip…and though the photo’s don’t show it at all, he also had a bump on his forehead.
So by now everyone should know that I am trying very hard to build up a photography business. So far I have no formal training, though hopefully next month a local tafe will be holding a course that I hope to get accepted in to.
But this has nothing to do with that. Or sort of.
This past weekend I went to a friends basketball preliminaries, semifinal’s and championships. My FIL gave me a really good book on the steps you should take towards running a photography business and I’m pretty sure that the very first step in that book is “Be organized”
Which is why at 3am on Saturday morning Tim and I were up making make shift business cards. This wouldn’t be so much of a problem if we had decided on the business name. But we haven’t. We put on the card JP Photography. But that’s definitely not what I want the business to be called.
So I need your help. I KNOW I’ve put this call out in various places all over the net but nothing has jumped out at us and slapped us in the face.
We don’t want it to be cute. Because I’m not really one of those cute people. I don’t do cute. I don’t have the light and bubbly personality that screams cute at anyone.
I guess I could go funky. Though maybe I’m too old these days to be funky. And I certainly am not the fashionable funky down with it kind of girl. So maybe not. But you could try.
Someone on one of my forums (ok…THE forum) suggested Above Parr and to be honest I love it. But it brings to mind sports photography and I don’t want to be associated with that and that alone. It also happens to be a sporting term and being above par in a game of golf is not actually a good thing.
To be honest I am not sure I want to use my name at all. Or my initials. JTP photography has a nice ring to it but it just doesn’t click. I don’t like it THAT much.
And then of course I know it would be somewhat unprofessional of me to use my nickname on my business card. But using my real name doesn’t sit well with me. The business cards we handed out on the weekend had my real name on them, but then everyone was getting told to come and see Boo. So the name could contain the word Boo. I’m even considering putting it on the card instead of my name. To save the confusion which is awkward for everyone.
Boo’n'You Photo’s was one idea I had. But I don’t know if I like it enough. You’n'Boo even. Peek A Boo makes me think it’s children’s photography and like I said with the sports, I do not want to be associated with a certain type of photography and miss out on other opportunities.
So. Any idea’s?? I’d really like to have this name out soon. So I can get proper cards made up before I get another job to do.
Everyone would know that I just did some photo’s for our local basket ball team. I was really nervous about it. But it was all good and though I was scared I wouldn’t get any photo’s worthy of someone’s wall I was surprised to see I got quite a few. I took nearly 6000 photo’s over two days. Tim even came to help me for a couple hours.
It was heaps of fun and I hope I get to do it again next year! The testosterone in that gym was amazing. Ooopps. Did I say that out loud? I even got my boobs signed! (no, I didn’t…but that’s another story. That I wont put here until I tell Tim all about it [insert cheeky grin here]..disclaimer…it was Nic’s idea Tim!)
I’ve had to add photo’s in two lots. Not for any technical reason but because I have OCD and if I add the portrait photo’s and the landscape photo’s in the same gallery then it looks odd. This way, pleases me more
Consider this one BIG post. I would love to hear your feed back!!
Well tonight’s sunset sort of missed out. We had an awesome electrical storm go by. I have video of that that I’ll edit and upload soon. Here’s the “sunset”
Tomorrow I’ll share photo’s from the basketball preliminaries and championships. As well as what we did while the “sunset” happened tonight
I just wanted to put here that one of my oldest oldest OLDEST friends just found me on facebook and I am thrilled.
Kelly and I lived in the same block as kids. Her Mum babysat me as a really young kid. I think I was two or three. Maybe even younger. Our Mum’s met in hospital or something like that.
We ate cut fruit under the trampoline. We had sleepover’s. We danced naked under the sprinkler. We fought over who got to be in the pram after a long day of walking.
We were on again off again friends. And I probably wasn’t the friend that I should have been through some of those crucial life moments, like the death of Kelly’s Dad.
In the end we just fizzled out. Kelly moved away and we kept in contact for a year or so and then, nothing.
But she was at my brother’s funeral. And I clearly remember the hug she gave me and the words she said to me as Terry was lowered in to the ground. Even though it was three or so years since we’d seen each other. Her heart is massive.
I regret sometimes the way our friendship travelled. Maybe because I am older and wiser now, but I don’t think I gave all I could have given. I don’t think I accepted the friendship or our differences. Maybe I was even a bully. I don’t know.
But I am happy that she has reached out to me. Perhaps I can mend some of those broken heart moments that surely could have been dealt with differently.
I am sitting here on Saturday morning and I am 100% freaking out!
Tim and I have a friend, who coaches the local basketball team. Today is their championship match and everyone will be there and he asked ME to take photo’s. To document this moment for him.
Why do I feel like a fool? A fake? Why am I sitting here worried that I will fuck up that moment and get no good photo’s for him and his team?
I am so nervous that my entire body feels like it might just collapse right here on the spot. My finger’s are tingling, my legs are shaking. I’m sweating and I can barely breath.
The last two months I’ve been sitting here and waiting for an opportunity like this to present itself. And now that it’s actually here…I think I might send Tim along.
I often lay in bed thinking about all the things I need to write. But not wanting to get up and actually do it, it often doesn’t get said. So this is a rare moment. I’m awake. I have something to write about.
I’m watching So you Think You can Dance (or SYTYCD…like that made it easier to say right!?) I’m big on all of those kinds of shows. I don’t know why. I do know it started with the very first Australian Big brother, way back in 2001. Back then though, I was very very depressed. And living with my Dad. I hadn’t left the house or got out of bed for days and I was very alone. And Big Brother got me out somehow.
That’s besides the point though.
Years ago there was a singing contest show thing for girls…to start a girl band called Bardot. I think I was about 21-22 years old.
I remember watching that thing hoping that I would see someone I knew make an idiot of themselves in the trials. I DID. She sucked. Big time. I can say that without feeling too bad about it. She was the one girl in school that knew how to push all my buttons. You can find out more about her in this post…she was the absolute leader of the pack.
Anyway, getting right to the point. I’ve just had an epiphany. A light bulb moment.
I keep watching these shows hoping that I might see someone I know make a dick of themselves in front of the nation.
But I’m THIRTY ONE YEARS OLD. And “they” are 31 years old…and getting far too old to even cut it in the world of SYTYCD and Australian Idol.
I guess then, I have no more real reason to watch those shows?
I’ve started leaving Jaxon’s bedroom door open over night. I don’t know why I started this, but once he’s asleep and just before Tim and I go to bed I sneak in and leave the door open just enough to see in.
Now in the mornings…this is what happens. Jaxon loves his new found morning freedom and has started getting up earlier and earlier just to do this. If Tim is in bed too he gives one of his “spare ducks” to Tim and one to me. Then he jumps all over us until he can get right in between us and hide under the covers.
We are lucky that we have a friend who owns working horses and he was nice enough to let us go and take a squiz. Notice that Jaxon’s body is almost as big as a Clydesdale’s head!
