Short and Sleepy

(Edited to add this photo)


My sister, who lives on the property of my childhood in Central Queensland, managed to take this "snap" of the Red Moon last night - our view was obscured by clouds.

But one BTW - isn't she an awesome photographer? Helps to have a subject like that - but this is what she could do - her comment was "just hand-held and with my little zoom lense, so not award winning" - I still think it is quite stunning!!

I can see the rabbit - although I can't make out the stars she advised me of...

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I forgot to tell the alarm clock I wanted to wake early this morning.

So instead he woke me at my usual time as he was about to leave for work (the joys of a job that finishes about 3 - but starts at 7) - eeek!

There is nothing worse than the sleepiness that comes from waking at your usual time and being on FULL PRESSURE ALERT from that moment.

So of course I turned around and did the same thing to 'Salina. She reacted much better than I!

I am still suffering the aftershocks.

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Despite the horrific start, I actually had quite a good seminar this morning.

When I first went in, the room was like a morgue. I have realised that it is not me - it is just that a lot of the local businesses don't do the schmooze and I will have to learn whatever their networking skills are.

I engaged the "run comments through the filter before opening mouth" sequence and didn't embarrass myself. Well, most of the time, anyway.

I was able to hold a fairly coherent conversation with several of the folk holding the seminar, managed to interweave their business goals with my own and give out my own material to their positive comments and get a few new contacts for myself.

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I was inspired - of course, since arriving home the lethargy has hit me big time so am relying on my list techniques to grind on through. Just drawing upon dashes of that business inspiration in small doses to perk it up here and there.

More there - its not coming through here, hey?

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Leave you with something I thought was hilarious last night.

In my previous poetry life, I gathered several collections of taped performances - Democracy by Leonard Cohen (just realised it is his piece - how about that) is on one that 'Salina put into the player yesterday. (From an Anthology recorded for what looks to be an awesome documentary series put out in USA a few years ago - The United States of Poetry.

It is really well read and has a great backing track. Do click over and read it - an amazing piece.

Found several Youtube clips with the same soundtrack.

Here is one guy's cool animation - this one is only short (30 odd seconds of it):



OMG - and here it is used as a trailer for March of the Penguins (this one is much longer - about 2 minutes):



Hey - and there are 8 used copies of the anthology at Amazon!!

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Anyhow, a line that is repeated at the end of each verse is (an ominous) "Democracy is coming to the U.S.A."

'Salina's reply to that?

"Well, thank goodness its not here"

This is not the Monday I prepared

But it has turned - and is turning - out quite well despite the derailments.

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Upon verticalising myself this morning to wave a vague farewell to V, I quickly jotted down the plan to my day.

It was a beautiful plan. The first section devoted to shipshaping the start of my day and get it aligned; the second section one with business-like intention and the final bit fun and not too draining of my intellect or soul.

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I must say, first section was executed splendidly - not only did 'Salina leave the abode fed, clean and with a balanced healthy lunchbox in her backpack.

Even more astonishing was the fact that beds were made and (drumroll please) I was dressed!!!

I know, quick, get lotto.

On a roll, I myself ate nutritious fare (including the wonder fruit, grapefruit), pegged out washing, cleaned the kitchen ALL BEFORE THE HOUR HAD CHIMED NINE.

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You know there is a but coming up, don't you? Things cannot go that well on a Monday.

Well, for reasons that I will not elaborate on as it is not my story, I received a missed call as I was hanging out the washing.

This is the reason that I got to tackle the rest of the back yard today during the middle session of the day, planting, digging, weeding, mowing and generally "putting in a big effort" with my darling, who then fed me fine foods and gave me coffee and kept me amused.

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Well, as a derailed day it went very well. 'Salina arrived home from school with not only the normal weekly homework load, but also several pages of a classroom book that she needed to finish and a mysterious homework sheet from last week. Hmmm...

Last week she assured us that, due to the Year 3, 5 and 7 testing that was done throughout the nation no homework was given or expected. The teacher does occasionally pull that on us, so it is possible. Or is my little girl learning how to pull a fast one?

She also came home with the "Student of the Week" award - from last week again, although this we can lay blame with the teacher as she had to prepare for the said exams and did not hand out last week's awards.

'Salina was commended for "Very Fluent and Expressive Reading" - the first part being a feather in her cap, as until late last year her natural desire to get everyone to do everything for her had lead to a strong dislike of reading off her own bat - but since we have discovered pony books, fairy books, magic books and (new this week) magical pony books her enthusiasm knows no bounds. I can assure you that the "expressive" part would have come through even if she had no fluency whatsoever.

Strauss, she is nearly 8 now - her messy handwriting, distracted manner in class, inability to concentrate on the work at hand and strong desire to help all her classmates rather than herself have thus far meant that she is an "enigmatic" student rather than a constant puller of teacher's praises. I sort of know where she might have inherited such tendencies.

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So the "fun" stuff for the latter part of the day sort of ended in a lengthy homework session. Which can be fun all depending on the manner in which you approach it.

For many moons, I was the taskmaster whip in hand, she the recalcitrant clown, eager to distract and dissuade - it generally ended in tears of frustration (for me) and overbearing limits on freedom (for her).

This improved greatly when V arrived on the scene - he didn't clash head to head with her (on homework issues) and on the occasion when I needed to go to the shops, I would return with homework completed, valuable lessons learned and a game of baseball in progress.

I must admit that my need to go to the shops thus increased greatly when V being home coincided with her homework load.

But motherhood being what it is (and previously wearing the mantle sole parent, doubly so) guilt got the better of me and I worked out a way that I could be part of a positive homework experience with my child.

How, you ask, have we achieved this? Well, now everything gets timed and I count down to the beginning of tasks and give her times to beat. I know, fairly infantile but we both enjoy!!!

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After completion of the homework slug (as she has activity for one afternoon and after school care one afternoon, she likes to do most of it on a Monday) we then went down to contemplate the fine work undertaken during the morning and clean up the last few tasks.

I had already planted out spinach and eggplant seedlings (joining our crops of pumpkin - okay one pumpkin - sweet potato, carrots, silverbeet, lettuce, peas, zucchini, capsicum, chillies, basil, parsley, coriander and lemongrass) and V made a new bed and seeded some corn in the morning. Only the chillies, herbs and lettuce are bearing at the moment but we are looking forward to abundance once it all gets under way. 'Salina and Boy Next Door planted petunias around an old tree stump (where toads are rumoured to live - at least in the minds of small children - so the bed will either suffocate them or the watering drown, here is hoping) and I put in the broccoli seedlings.

Heck, so if my plans for fruitful self-employment are derailed too often, at least we shall have the fruits of our labours to enjoy!!!

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Tomorrow the plan is all that worky stuff, make surprise Father's Day (or significant adult male or female in your life) gifts with the kids at school (as I was such a sterling minion on the Mother's Day project) and make surprise Father's Day (or significant adult male or female in your life) gifts with the kids at Guides in the afternoon.

And it being Tuesday, it will be Taco night - someone else cooks - woo hoo!!!

Here is to the Tuesday plan going clockwork - I loved today and the sense of pride and achievement as I walked the bastions and feel the tenderness of my muscles - but I think there is a need to tend to the worky stuff before the self-flagellation brings new stress...

Another Wonderful Weekend in Paradise

ahhh, it feels GREAT to be back in the land of the living!

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'Salina's game was great fun for about 1/2 an hour on Friday - luckily her attention span is a smidgeon shorter than mine, so I was able to deviate her a bit.

BTW - the springy things were apparently to do "boings" on. Always an important factor in a game board!

She then went on to create (with only a little bit of input from me - I was on a date with her SO I sort of had to lend a hand and not wander off to do all those jobs that always seem to waylay me) the following:

Spaceship console

There are buttons for stop, go, turbo, food and drink. There is a microphone to put your orders in, a phone that can be hands free or pick up, a female computer to tell you everything (of course) and a keyboard that contains at least half of the alphabet. Oh, and a steering wheel.

We went to Mars to see the King and Queen - I then got waylaid by dinner stuff, so she came in to tell me she had shot them as (a) they had beautiful coats, and (b) they would kill and eat anything so she got in first. Where does her imagination come from?

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We went to town yesterday for haircuts and to spend up big in groceries. As is a young child's wont, she wished for some money to buy herself a gift. As is a mother's wont, I was unwilling to shell for some more crap to clutter up my environment keen to use this as a lesson in economic policy and prioritising dreams and needs.

As she only had $3 to spend, we went in to Big W to find what goodies were available. $3 equates to bugger all in such shops although her eye did fall upon:

MY LITTLE PONY Ponyville Pinkie Pie House

This is the child that I sheltered from such mass marketing appeals in her childhood - and it has scarred her. Nothing more heartbreaking than a 5 1/2 year old tearfully pleading with you to buy her a My Little Pony as she was "the ONLY girl who had none" - and she has done plenty to make up that shortfall in the subsequent 2 years!!

I brokered a deal with her to enter the world of lay-by - and we now have a willing slave to small tasks to gather enough small coins to pay her 3.50 per week to have it freed and in her care by her birthday - sort of win-win all around!!!

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Using this newfound labour supply, my own refound health and energy and harnessing V's OCD tendencies, today we hit the garden with passion and enthusiasm.

This morning, I mowed the front, 'Salina trimmed shrubs and V muttered and attempted to make a whipper snipper work. It is the only time I have ever heard him express a desire to be a "car guy" when the (expletive deleted) whipper snipper did not comply with his demands. Mind you, he did a lot more mechanical dillying than I would have been capable of, so I will shut up now.

Then (laying down the (expletive deleted) whipper snipper), V and I absolutely annihilated the front garden that has been growing unidentified succulents unencumbered for the last 25 years - even found newspapers dating back to the 1990s (when houses were around $100,000 - sigh) and sunglasses in the mire - we have plans for that patch of dirt that do not include such species.

We hit a wall and 'Salina took her revenge by making us do exam papers she had prepared for us.

By 2 I was recharged enough to make patty cakes with her, restart the mower and do 1/2 the back yard and rake out 15 years of pandanus leaves and lawn clippings from the waste at the back of the garden.

While I was doing this, 'Salina and the boy next door just played and played - it was really good to see both just enjoy each other's company. As only children of single parents (which 'Salina was until recently), another child is always a new continent - it can be an exciting and/or scary prospect.

One game I overheard involved 'Salina being a shopkeeper - a favoured role for her - and boy-next-door was busy buying weapons from her. Another win-win, hey?

Although my butt has muscles aching that have not had that sensation for many a moon, I have a sense of achievement tonight that makes me punch the air (tenderly) and say "Yay us!!"

How was your weekend?

Hot Date This Afternoon

and no, its nothing to do with the fact that for the 5th day in a row V has been rained off and, due to some crazy interaction of the stars, there were actually enough helpers in the tuckshop today that my lurgy-infested soul was not required for all hours.

Although that would be a good idea - cough cough - except for this lurgy-infested soul knowing that, while it is good for many things, afternoon dalliances don't get the blog written. (And hey - 5th day in a row - V is presently snoring resting peacefully, saving himself for (the double-header of football action) tonight). **

No, as at 3.05pm this afternoon, I will be having a date with 'Salina, playing with her on her latest invention.

Presenting 'Salina's Super Game Board

Apparently there are hours of fun to be had here. Look at all those noughts and crosses fields she has put in for our first hour - and then there is dot-to-dot joy. I am not sure about the rest, but she spent hours creating this yesterday afternoon (while I was busy reading blogs creating healthy and nutritionally balanced delights), and we did express joy at her completed project (isn't "Oh, that's nice" enough) but she REALLY, REALLY, REALLY would like more than ANYTHING IN THE WORLD (except a pony) to have me play with her with it this afternoon.

And I always go on dates when there is begging involved.

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** Disclaimer - before he passed out, an offer of alternative entertainment was made.

Brand New Day

and you gotta be happy about that.

I thought I was all set to blog last night - I was inspired, my medication was fooling me into thinking I was Jeanie and I had a topic.

Then I started to write. Pure bloody drivel.

Oh, the introspective pain that was coughed up on this screen would have been enough to stop me reading my own blog, let alone the 3 of you.

I was at least wise enough to tiptoe away from my computer when I thought it wasn't looking and watch mindless tv instead.

But today - ahh, a brand new day. Head is not so fuzzy, antibiotics are kicking my lungs into producing less stuff all around and I actually moved forward on my life today.

Well - part of the moving forward I must give Bloglines thanks for - they were down all morning, so I actually filled in some forms that had been snarking on my desk for some time.

Do you know what that little "filled in some forms" means? It means that the 10 year nightmare that has been my goal to "sort out my superannuation" has finally be kicked!!! Woo hoo!!! I have actually managed to track down the 12 super funds that I got during my 20s working all over the shop and put them all in one place.

And I also went to the printer and collected brochures and business cards so I can start my massive (ha ha) direct marketing campaign to entice lots of local businesses to use my services, put money into my account and fuel other dreams!!

Oh, I so much like my life more in the glow of optimism than bathed in the pathos of pessimism, don't you?

Happy you're reading my blurgh

which is no doubt a far more preferable position than to be in catching distance of it.

Nasty - not that I am in the "slow moving bullet through my brain" phase of it any more - thank goodness - and I seem to be out of that "coughing green slime" and that pernickety "nose running eyes running" phase of the business - which means I am so much better.

If only I could move through the "cotton wool interrupting the flow between neurones" because it has hung around for 2 days now and I am OVER IT.

Thanks for your many kind comments - the cakes were a hit. I used Trace's suggestion and iced them with melted chocolate, halved strawberries and dusted with icing sugar and they were declared as such by all who partook - especially by my mother, the birthday girl.

We had my parents and some of their friends over here for dinner on Sunday. As is the nature of the state I live in, of course V works at a site that one of these friends is overseeing.

I was actually quite with it most of Sunday - the house magically transformed itself into one that could welcome my parents as visitors with a little help from V and the newly cash conscious 'Salina.

I was even almost sparkling as a hostess during the evening - the food all ready at the right time (except for the crackling which nobody missed - I am neither an artist nor a connoisseur when it comes to crackling), all received gladly and enough to fill.

'Salina was delightful, retiring to do her new passion, crosswords, after tea and requesting bed time in an appropriate and timely manner. After I had sung songs and tucked her in, her one request was that "we could turn the TV on and up loud, because the talking was too noisy". The male half of the friends was quite a raconteur, with one story I pass on when I find the relevant photo.

But by yesterday morning, my mind had completely immersed itself into a fog and is still not surfacing.

Gaaaaaahh!! I even ate grapefruit for breakfast this morning to cut through so I could get done. It seems to no avail.

Luckily (for everything but the bank balance) V had a wet day yesterday (based on the fact that it was raining at 6.30am - perfectly fine from 7) and a short day today, so I have had a responsible adult around.

And as today is Red Tuesday, its probably a good thing I have clouds in my head - because that way, the world can't upset me, can it?

Gotta look for the silver lining.

Salina Snippets on a Saturday

This morning, as I was taking the laundry down to be sorted and upon being requested to come and assist:

"No thanks, Mum. I am doing something good for my brain. This program is about the olden times."

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This morning, I was as sick as only a mother can be after catching the lurgy from her little darling. And yes, it was just the lurgy - no, it is not any effect from anything my other darling may have passed on, okay?

My little sweetheart offered me a wet (read soaking) washer for my face and brought me in "the bucket". I had not realised that the bucket was required, but my little nurse reads the future better. My bigger darling did what real men do, and cleaned up (thank you darling) and 'Salina came in and immediately offered me food.

A few hours later her repeat requests to make me something finally got through and I got vegemite toast - as can only be concocted by a non-vegemite eater - but I ate with the appreciation of a grateful mother.

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Mid afternoon and the cracking headache had retired to a corner of my head, enough for me to spend a little quality time with my family.

Do you know how grateful I am for my little family?

Patent Application: 'Salina applies physics to dripping tap

My daughter is constantly curious, wonderfully creative and generally a joy to be around. I love her so much.

And V - where do I begin? As well as all those qualities I won't spill to a room full of strangers, he is my "perfect" partner - because we both realise that perfection is something we would not desire in a person and our rough spots are as endearing. And what man walks into a situation like ours and is willing to step up and be my daughter's father figure, play baseball with her, cycle with her, tell her (and show her) to eat her veges and allow her to explore what having a father is all about?

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By this afternoon, I was well enough to cook Crazy Trace's Golden Caramel Cake - it is my mum's birthday today and I was meant to have her and Dad stay the night, cook the birthday dinner and cake - the works - but my health state this morning meant that they are coming tomorrow now.

How many muffins did we make?

As I didn't have a baba cake pan, I made them in muffin cases. That way my taste testers can have a try without wrecking the cake - I made a dozen really big ones from her recipe and cooked them for 30 minutes rather than 45.

'Salina asked whether she and V could test the biggest ones, as that way they would get the best idea on how they tasted! Minx.

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The Throne

I think I am recovered from the worst of this morning's combination of migraine and sinus cold - still fairly vague (noo, can you tell?) but 'Salina came up to me before and said

"Mum, this happens to you every month. I think it is always the 18th too"

I wonder - must check the diary.

Any suggestions?

Welcome to the house of fun

Yesterday, a combination of overwhelming tiredness (see last post) and the factor of V being in pain and home from work (see last post) meant that the million 12 jobs I had to get done in town after lunch got postponed. Today now has an extra 12 check boxes.

Last night cough cough it became apparent that cough cough my "ignore it and it will go away" stance cough cough with my daughter's non-cold cough cough was not going to do the whole cough cough go away part.

It dawned on me that if it kept the same patter then this mother dragon may well have to accede to her wishes of a day at home.

It not cough cough cough only kept cough cough cough the same cough cough cough cough patter, it cough cough coughcoughcoughcough heeee hack cough sort of accelerated and got gross.

When I awoke this morning, not only did I have that serenade but the ashen face of V with the news that he and his back were in agreement on not doing too much in the way of lifting, twisting, bending or stretching today - as his job is all of those factors continuously for up to 8 1/2 hours it meant that I would be blessed with his presence also.

But do you know what? I call this pronoia - never before has the multiplication of illness in my house been such a blessing - because they can keep each other company while I do what I gotta do!!

(Oh, add to that the fact that I got a phone call this morning from someone willing to pay me money (see last post)!!! Thank you universe.)

Not your average early morning networker

Now, some of you in the world do not realise that I aspire to have people pay me for doing work for them. Sometimes it seems like I am in the group of non-realisers and sometimes I would love the world to know this fact and pay accordingly - but I digress...

This morning I woke up at an awfully early hour - I have been up at that hour before, but this morning it was particularly painful. That is what you have to do some mornings - suck in the pain and leave the bed.

As I was saying, the cat was positioned on my torso, paws kneading exactly the spot that would be pressed if you wanted to see just how full your bladder was, meows escalating in volume and insistence and I left the embrace of my sweet dreams and my day had started.

Ungodly hour was actually called for this morning, as this morning is the Wednesday of the every-second-Wednesday Breakfast Seminars being put on by the local Business Enterprise Centre at the moment and I have already paid for them and they have been very useful.

(For example, the last seminar was Printing Essentials where the core lesson was hire a designer - a fact that I went on to learn the hard way over the last 2 weeks - but I digress).

For some reason, they believe a Breakfast Seminars should take place between the hours of 7 and 8 am - as some people have paying jobs to go to, I suppose that it would be reasonable to such people as they would probably hit the floorboards at 6.30 to style up and be presentable by 7.

Other people, however, are required to do lunchboxes, ensure child is up, dressed, bag packed, hair tied, shoes on, put into before school care before they get to such events - oh, and they have to try and look presentable also, a laughable goal for me as I generally get my act together well after what they may consider reasonable, it requires at least an hour of lead time.

It was harder than normal this morning - not sure why...

So - I did that. People are not very mingly at that hour of the morning, which is fine by me - stand too long in front of the electric jug and you might get a "hello" and a "can I get to the hot water" but other than the presenters, I would not be able to pick out many of my fellow seminarians (?) from a line up.

I did try to do the schmooze about week 1 and found that, somewhere between my glory days of advertising in the early nineties and now, I have mislaid my real life schmooze. (Either that or the schmoozees up here are tougher nuts to crack than those found in Sydney) But I digress...

When I got home from the seminar (after talking to my designers answering machine - lovely guy and got the right idea about what is normal business hours) I read a few blogs and hopped across a few links until I found mothergoosemouse with her take on Parental Networking and it got me on a thought train...

Not sure where it will take me, but I have some ideas - about networking as a mother, as a worker, as a performer and as a blogger. I may even flesh them out one day... Ahh, but I digress...

Speaking of blog networks, another link-hopping this morning led me to MamaBlogga's BlogOlympics... Not sure if I will officially take part yet, but I realise (and blush to admit) that I think I get the bronze automatically in every day life - well, except for the update blogroll bit which has not been done of late - put it on the to do list...

The other theme I met this morning while having my blog surf was the appropriate gestures a male partner should make to his female partner to receive favourable attention (if you know what I mean).

Considering V has strained a muscle in his back at the moment his favourable attention grab is to request massages. He assures me it is on medical advice that he receive such attention but I am wary of his medical sources - apparently his podiatrist also recommended that someone give him daily foot massages to help assuage the ache of standing on concrete...

So maybe I will do a series on my thought train of various networks that abound - or maybe not - like poor V, I will keep you in suspense.

List skills strategies

A friend and I were discussing list strategies this morning, as we both know the importance a good list has in life - it can make or break your day, in fact.

I have spoken in the past about my habit of making the first entry "Write List" so something can be ticked off immediately.

The best thing about a list is its ability to streamline and keep the procrastination and side-track meanderings minimised (most of the time).

One of our household big list items was to hang a whiteboard so that we could take our listing seriously. But I am not sure about the whiteboard - it is great at reminding you of what needs to be done, but it just doesn't cut the mustard for that feeling of accomplishment that a paper list does in a day...

A good list must be portable, achievable and (for me, I know there are other techniques) heavy on the check boxes.

Well, our discussion on the minutae of lists this morning brought up some other important list skills...

If you write things on a To Do list that you have already done in a day, can it be considered cheating? We don't think so, as it is technically still something accomplished and that needed doing. Discuss.

If a job is really, really big (e.g. washing for the household for the week) can you break it into smaller tasks (i.e. sort the wash, by load, pegging, folding, putting away) and also have a larger box for the whole caboodle?

If you achieve monumental tasks in the day or days past, should you list it just to get that "ticked off" feeling? We coined the phrase "living in past lists" to cover this one. Discuss.

If you do end up sidetracked to learn life skills needed to expand your horizons and build better future lists, can you write that to your To Do list or is it classified procrastination? An alternative to this possibility is to create a new list of sidetracks contemplated life skills. Sort of "choose-your-own-endings" lists. What do you think? Why?

BTW - the write blog box of my list was at the bottom, but have moved it forward 5 places as inspiration (and IM conversations) struck now. Do you think you should be allowed to disorder your own list?

It did gazump tax, super, shower, list mailouts and pegging - I am not meant to shower for another 2 (darn really long hair and really cool nights - gotta move my shower to accommodate climatic conditions) but may just get really crazy about this disorder stuff - once you break that rule you are up the proverbial...

Ticking this one oof the list

Yay, I have made it to 100 - oh the angst, oh the procrastination, oh the inspirations that have attacked in the shower, the car, the shopping centre, the garden - everywhere it seems but in front of the computer - that have faded as I sit and face the screen.

On the weekend Monday Wednesday Yesterday Today I thought I would take you on a tour, handing out awards that I have been charged to present on my way.

But before I begin, a mention to an article I read in one of the weekend papers. The story of Abebe Fekadu is one of inspiration and I truly hope that he attains his dream of competing for Australia in Beijing.

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Where to start? According to the rules of the award I received from BrissieMum2, I have to pass along awards to 5 chosen recipients.

To start, I wish I had the sheer bitchitude of the first recipient. I would like to present AngryBlackBitch a gong, because this woman tells it the way she sees it and pulls little punches when she looks at politics or injustices in the American system. I just wish I had half her bitchitude most days.

I would also like to acknowledge So Sioux Me as she looks at issues of empowerment for women through her writing, her life and her works.

Jen at Semantically Driven certainly deserves this award, as she give many great tips on blogging, is always responsive to comments and an all around lovely lady. Oh - and if you are an Adelodian I believe she is helping to organise a gathering there soonish...

The Wait and The Wonder is one of the first blogs I ever came across, and Moreena is witty, wise and wonderful - and the mother of two beautiful girls, one a transplant recipient.


Finally, I would like to award Spilt Milk this award, although her creativity is only part of the package - but I first found her through Poetry Thursday and has a lovely poem today about Beauty.

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I would go on - there are many I have found in the last 9 months worthy of mention - but you have waited 6 days

One of those "I have got to blog this" moments

Wow - second post of the day - but had to share...

Upon watching the ending of Neighbours tonight (yes, yes, I know - but have you seen the competition?) 'Salina pondered on the possibilities one character seems to be facing.

"I know," she said, "she is getting married."

As the character seems instead to be showing all signs of possible pregnancy rather than an engagement and altar scenario, I asked her if she knew the difference between marriage and pregnancy - to which she replied "No" (which would explain why she has never believed that story of her father and I not ever being married).

I am sure I have explained this to her before but she may have filed it with all the other things mother said that are not to be remembered.

So I went into the spiel of the birds and the bees. It was just a plain facts without too much description - hey, the girl has a vivid imagination and I don't want her trumpeting about any pregnancies because she suspects that V and I might do some of the description. She was suitably non-plussed.

At the start of the next show, a character there mentioned pregnancy.

"Oh no" she said. "Now they are talking about pregnancy. And you are talking about pregnancy. Who am I going to talk to - Eddie? Unless Eddie wants to talk about pregnancy too."

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So the 100th post I will be presenting awards, it seems - I love it when life thrusts decisions upon me like this!!

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And in response to the question about my previous post, what would 'Salina's dad have named a son?

His favourite author was Douglas Adams, writer of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series. He wished to name his son Zem.

"Zem is an affable, yet quite stupid, swamp dwelling mattress (probably of very high quality) who flollops around Squornshellous Zeta and tries his best to cheer up Marvin the Paranoid Android, who became stranded on the planet after having one arm welded to his side and one leg replaced by a steel pillar which turns out to be of immense importance, with utterly predictable results. After attempting to make conversation about the weather, Marvin's life story, and the economy of Squornshellous itself, Zem offers that Marvin should be more mattresslike. Zem is also the sole witness to Marvin's abduction by the Krikkit war robots.

Also note that "Zem" is the name of all Squornshellous Zeta mattresses, because as Zem puts it "Some of us get killed... but we never know which, and thus globbering" [A mattress noise expressing sympathy] "are kept to a minimum."

I had almost achieved an agreement to extend it to "Zemzaki" which means "of the earth" in some Eastern European language - at least I could have worked with that - but I really didn't want my child named after a mattress!!

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(I have added this post to the All Women Blogging Carnival this week being hosted by 4fabmoms)

Does it feel like we are going backwards

Yes, at the end of last post, I realised that I had some utterly banal and whiny draft posts that gave me pre-100 angst a full two posts early.

The good news is that a weight came off my shoulders and I felt a reprieve - because in blogging, like in life, postponing is great for short-term stress solutions (sucks in the long term though).

Thanks for the great ideas - I will work it out and surprise you post after next.

However, for this post I have some housework to attend to (while avoiding the RL housework - a much more daunting task, especially since my daughter cut up the foam filter of the 20 year-old super-vacuum with the approval of another member of the household who thought it was superfluous due to the fact it had been on the kitchen bench for four days - okay, a week - sheesh, can't hire good families these days). (Oh, and I'm not going into that whole "we have two other vacuum cleaners downstairs" discussions either...)

Where was I - oh yes Mama Zen wants to know (as do all of you, I am sure) 8 Random Things about me...

So - here are 8 things you may not have known about me:

1. Jeanie is not my real name. Well, it is part of my real name, and it has been my "real" name in cyberspace for about 6 years, but it was not the name that my parents bestowed upon me at birth.
   
   
2. I went to boarding school at the age of 12 and then lived on a University Campus and have lived in 17 different share houses since then. In that share house time I have had 47 flatmates! That does not count the three non-share addresses that I have lived at with my daughter, my ex or V.
   
   
3. I can touch my nose with my tongue.
   
   
4. I competed in the National Titles for Rowing when I was a Senior at school.
   
   
5. The older I get and the more I learn about people, their stories and being a parent, the more I appreciate my Mum and Dad. Both had unusual family histories yet managed to be a pretty awesome team in raising us - and they both dote upon their oldest grandchild.
   
   
6. I was extremely pleased that a I had a daughter - mainly because of the name her father wanted to call her if she was a boy.
   
   
7. I went to school in a town whose main claim to fame was it was first in the postcode book. Well, until they shut down the post office it was.
   
   
8. I am a middle child. I have an awesome older sister who I always envied as she was (and is) taller than I, has more olive skin and straight dark brown (nearly black) hair and is excellent at putting words and pictures together. My "baby" brother is genial, sporty, a great mate to men and women alike and has a gift of fitting in to most social settings with ease. Oh, and they both have (with their separate spouses, not together) beautiful children.

I have to pass the baton for this (and if you want me to nominate you just let me know so I can do so with alacrity), so I will do my nominations for this AND also respond to BrissieMum2's honour :

in the REAL post numbered 99... Stay tuned.

Number 99

Wow - what a response from the last post! I now know I have two options to impress you - get engaged OR share my fascinating housework tips!!!

As I don't intend on doing the getting engaged too regularly (heck, only ever done it the once so far and have every intention for this once to be it) AND as I only have one other fascinating housework tip (and I am saving that peeling eggs post for when I really feel I need your love) AND as the post after this will be Number 100, I am going to ask a question of you...

What am I going to write about for it? (ack - What will I say? How will I look? What will I wear?)

Does everyone else do this? Worry inordinantly about things that, frankly dears, matter only slightly in the whole world stage? I mean, I love blogging and the blog-world door that it opens, but why am I angsting about what the heck I am going to write next time? And why shouldn't I be angsting more about spilling my frailties in Number 99?

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As you were.

If you want to offer something more concrete, then I have 3 suggestions this week:

There are only 2 days left to enter Semantically Driven's new banner offer. Every few months, Jaycee puts up a new banner and her new one is so pretty - but as one of her commenters said, so was the last one! (I haven't entered, but that is because I like my flower and can be a stick in the mud!)

Shelley at This Eclectic Life wants to know the 5 things people should know in life.

And someone I have met (blogmet, you know) of late, Sophiagurl has a great review of a movie which, as is her wont, morphs to inspiration!

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Edited to add: I know it only looks like 97 posts - there were 2 posts that I drafted that were too whingy for the world. Can you believe that?