FSF- Human

                               

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What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie McFerrin posts a one word inspiration, and then anyone wishing to participate writes a five sentence story based on the prompt word.

This weeks word is Human.

I crept through the shadows, moving as slowly as possible, not sure I had really smelled the scent.

But there again, a wisp came to my nose, a spicy earthy sent that I hadn’t smelt for years.

Cautiously I peered around a corner and finally caught sight of my prey.

Slipping along the path in front of me was a creature that was almost a legend here.

A human!

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Now I have to admit that sometimes I find it hard to keep a story to five sentences, so sometimes I will let my imagination run wild.

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A human here! Heart thundering I ducked back before it could see me. But how had it come to be here? Ever since the Sundering my world had been free of the creatures. Free of the taint that they had brought to our worlds magick, free of their destructive ways.

Destroying the great forests as they cut the trees for buildings, digging huge holes in the landscape, mining for precious ores and metals. Those that had the gift could feel the earth as it screamed and finally they did something. All of those that had magick had used this to separate the world of humans from the world of the people.

Since then we had thrived, mostly peacefully, but thrive we had. And our world had regained that that it had lost. But now there was a human wandering the city, my city.

This could only be bad.

Afraid to let it out of my sight but knowing that I needed to give a warning I gathered my courage together. Peering once more around the corner I realised that in my moment of shock I had lost it. Cursing I ran.

Books I'm Reading- Salute The Dark

The vampiric sorcerer Uctebri has at last got his hands on the Shadow Box and can finally begin his dark ritual - a ritual that the Wasp-kinden Emperor believes will grant him immortality - but Uctebri has his own plans both for the Emperor and the Empire. The massed Wasp armies are on the march, and the spymaster Stenwold must see which of his allies will stand now that the war has finally arrived. This time the Empire will not stop until a black and gold flag waves over Stenwold's own home city of Collegium. Tisamon the Weaponsmaster is faced with a terrible choice: a path that could lead him to abandon his friends and his daughter, to face degradation and loss, but that might possibly bring him before the Wasp Emperor with a blade in his hand - but is he being driven by Mantis-kinden honour, or manipulated by something more sinister?

This is the fourth in the series and I am still finding them incredible, something that is often unusual in a series once you get to this point.


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Walkathon

Do you remember the first thing that you ever one? I can, it was a milkshake mixer that I won through a competition the milkman had. That was back when milk was delivered to your house in glass bottles. Am I the only person who can remember that? I can't remember ever winning anything else.

My son is in prep school at the moment at an anglican college. It's only two days a week but he loves it and can not wait until he goes five days a week.

At the beginning of this term he had a walkathon. We all sponsered him and my brother asked me if I wanted him to win, as there was a prize for the highest amount raised. I laughed, and said don't worry about it.

And never thought any more about it.

On tuesday his teacher took me aside to tell me he had won the walkathon. In one of those really astute moments, that I often have, I said, "Really? What did he win?".

The answer: an Ipad Mini!

So today I had to have him at the school early enough that he could go to the assembly and be presented with it. He was so confused by what was happening it was funny, he actually went shy as he was meeting all these people for some reason (the P & F group).

But you could tell the moment he realised it what was going on and that he had won!. He got an ear to ear grin and clutched the ipad to his chest.

He's so excited! He can not wait to show the rest of the family. Guarenteed he will always remember that.

FSF- Determination

                       
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What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie McFerrin will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word. The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just use it for direction.

This weeks word is Determination.

The plant was only tiny, hanging onto its crack for dear life. Clinging to the start it had and determined to continue its very existence.

Elle did not know whether to laugh or cry at the futility of it all.

The plants very existence was against all the odds, surrounded by stone, baked by the sun, who knows how much rain it got. But still it clung to life.

Elle realised this was th esign that she had ben looking for, it was time to get on with her life.

Books I'm reading- Blood of the Mantis

Driven by the ghosts of the Darakyon, Achaeos has tracked the stolen Shadow Box to the marsh-town of Jerez, but he has only days before the magical box is lost to him forever.

Meanwhile, the forces of the Empire are mustering over winter for their great offensive, gathering their soldiers and perfecting their new weapons.

Stenwold and his followers have only a short time to gather what allies they can before the Wasp armies march again, conquering everything in their path. If they cannot throw back the Wasps this spring then the imperial black-and-gold flag will fly over every city in the Lowlands before the year's end.

In Jerez begins a fierce struggle over the Shadow Box, as lake creatures, secret police and renegade magicians compete to take possession. If it falls into the hands of the Wasp Emperor, however, then no amount of fighting will suffice to save the world from his relentless ambition.

I have to say that I am loving this series. It's action from beginning to end and many different stories running together. Easy to read but leaves you wanting more.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Books I'm Reading- Greywalker

Harder Blaine was your average small-time PI until a two- bit perps savage attack left her dead- for two minutes to be precise. When Harper comes to in the hospital, she begins to feel a bit..... strange. She sees things that can only be described as weird- shapes emerging from a foggy grey mist, snarling teeth, creatures roaring.
But Harpers not crazy. Her "death" has made her a Greywalker- able to move between our world and the mysterious crossover zone where things that go bump in the night exist.
Excerpt from back cover.
This was kind of an odd book. The idea had lots of potential but then it was like the author had tried to bring too many ideas together at once. At times I felt like I had missed whole chapters that were relative to the story.
I also found that it kind of ended slightly abruptly.
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Books I'm Reading- Adrian Tchaikovsky

                                           
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Book 2 of Shadows of The Apt is action packed, with so many things happening. Stenwold Maker has returned to his beloved city, Collegium, to try and again warn them of the danger of The Empire. He is now deemed to dangerous to live by the Empire and they have sent a team to destroy him.

Meanwhile Totho and Salma have arrived at Tark just in for the Empire to attack it. Tisamon and Tynisa have travelled to Felyal, to Tisamons home, so that Tynisa can become a weapons master. At the same time Che Maker and Archaeos have gone to Sarn to try to get help.

Will they be able to unit the Lowlands against the Empire or are they going to be conquered?

I had trouble putting this book down!

My Writing

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With a sigh, Ella pulled her car over to the side of the road. The map the lawyers had given her was next to useless. The road she was on ran on into the distance, lined by trees, it was basically featureless. She was definitely on the right main road but where on earth was what she was looking for.
Somewhere along this road was a side road that was her destination. Most likely a dirt road since they were so far out of town. In fact the closest main town was a good two hours away.
With a grimace Ella got out of her car to stretch her legs, she had been on the road since early morning and had been hoping to reach her destination by now. Stretching she turned, and stopped in disbelief. A tree lined dirt road ran at an angle to the main road.
Frowning she walked up to it, looking at it from both directions. It was like an optical illusion, due to the angle it only appeared when faced in a easterly direction. No wonder she had driven past it several times.
The lawyers had said that her great aunt had liked her privacy. She had liked it so much that Ella hadn't even known that she existed until she had passed away. Leaving all of her belongings, including this property, to Ella.
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UFO's

As part of my new time management/ get organised plans I went through my craft cupboard on the weekend. It was a very interesting procedure. I have projects in there that are about 15 years old.



I started this cross stitch in my second year of nursing as an attempt to relax. I got as far as needing to use a metallic thread, this snapped every stitch, and so I promptly gave up.




During this time I started this cute little needlepoint purse for my mother. It just needs to have its clasp attached. Even though I followed the pattern exactly, when put together, the two sides do not align properly. I need to add some extra stitches but have never found the time. I'm going to finish this one in time for mums birthday, in October. A deadline always gets me more organised.




I am also still working on a hexagonal crochet blanket. It's a mix of green, blue, purple and red, plain and mixed squares. However I got stuck with this as I can not decide how I want the pattern to go.




A ripple blanket in blues for my son. I started this earlier this year and have finally almost finished it. I just need to do three more rows and the border.

And also a knitted jumper for my husband. I finished the back and a sleeve and then discovered there is a problem with the pattern. The sleeve is way to long and now I have to work out how to alter it.

On top of all this I have a huge amount of beading that I have started and never finished.

These should keep me entertained for a while.


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Books I'm Reading- Laurell K Hamilton

                                       
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Affliction by Laurell K Hamilton is number 22 in the Anita Blake Series. I first discovered these books several years ago and read the first 9 in two weeks. Then eagerly awaiting each following book. After a while they had less plot and more sex scenes, and I stopped reading them.

Book 21 I haven't read at all. It was just by chance that my local library had Affliction on display and I had nothing to read.

I am so glad that I picked it up. Hamilton has gone back to a plot line. Yay! This is what I loved about her books to begin with.

Micah's father has been attacked and is in hospital-dying. Anita and Nathaniel go with Micah to visit his father. While there Anita is drawn into a flesh eating zombie case, zombies unlike anyone has seen before. The race is on to destroy their creator before they destroy the whole town.

If you love a good zombie book then this is for you.

FSF- Flowers

                                   
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What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie McFerrin will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word. The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just use it for direction.

This weeks prompt is Flowers.

She smelt them first, a sweet scent that permeated through the house, before she even reached the front door.Dropping her keys onto the nearest table she followed the trail.

Flowers filled every room and overflowed on every available surface. At last she came to her bedroom, here the only surface not filled with flowers was her bed.

Too late did she listen to her instincts which were screaming flee, over and over at her. 

FSF- Beauty

                           
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What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie McFerrin will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word. The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just use it for direction.

This weeks prompt is Beauty. (I know I am a little late).

"Oh my God!!!!". Leslie screamed, the sound punctuated by the crash of falling timbers. Eric winced.

"You are completely out of your mind," Leslie yelled at him. "This place is falling down around our ears".

And she was right. The cottage was over a hundred years old, and had been neglected for most of them by the look of it. The timbers were rotting or just gone, with only the framework in places. With a huge grin Eric turned to her,

"Well they do say Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

Books I'm Reading- Lara Solomon

                                     
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I know I said that I normally read science fiction and fantasy, and then the last book I talked about was a craft book. Well today I'm talking about a partial biography I guess you would say.

Brand New Day- the highs and lows of starting a small business, covers 4 years of Lara Solomons life and focuses on her business. Lara Solomon is the creator of Mocks which are, for those who don't know, decorative sock covers for mobile phones.

It's in a diary format and at the end of every month Lara gives you a run down of where the business is at. At first I found it a bit hard to follow as the days do skip. Once you get past that its a really interesting look at how hard it can be to start up your own business. But at the end of the day, very rewarding.

I am not really sure what made me pick this book up to read but I am glad that I did.

Time Management

                     
                 
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I use to have the best time management skills.

Then I had my son! Now everyone tells you when you are pregnant, that you get ‘pregnancy brain’, and that it eventually gets better. But it’s been almost 5 years now and it is simply not improving.

My biggest issue is the tendency that I now have to be easily side tracked. Some days I suddenly discover that I am in the middle of the washing up, and making the beds and hanging out washing. With numerous other tasks partially completed as well, bathrooms are commonly like this. Then it all gets a little overwhelming as I try to reorganise myself and get things finished.

So I am trying out some simple techniques in order to try and get more done. Nicole Avery from Planning With Kids has some really helpful tips on her site. One of the easiest I have found is the 15min rule.

Basically what this means is that you allocate 15 mins to each job. Sure some jobs need more than that but it’s a useful starting point. And you would be seriously surprised at what you can get done in 15 mins. I think it’s the motivation of knowing that soon, very soon, this will be over. I have also noticed that there is an added benefit from this, I am getting more done each day.

It also works really well with to do lists, have I mentioned that I am obsessed with to do lists? Actually obsessed might be a bit mild. I have a monthly planner, and I have a weekly overview list (I work shiftwork) and then I have the daily to do list. And yes, because I can that list is often broken down into type of tasks, you know, gardening or cleaning etc.

One of the lists I have is a list of the seasonal/ monthly tasks, things like repacking the linen cupboard and going through my sons out grown clothes. Tasks that need to be done regularly but, really, not that often. I have started adding these in to my weekly list and the result has been surprising. I am flying through them. At this point of time I am ahead, so to speak, leaving me with a whole lot of free time.

What things do you do to organise your time?

Books I'm Reading- I Love Crochet

                                         
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One of my (many) hobbies is crochet. When I was in primary school my grandmother taught me how to crochet and knit (I took to the crochet). My great grandmother use to crochet around hankies, tiny little intricate stitches that she never actually looked at while she did. One day I would love to be that good.
I love Crochet is a lovely collection of projects, I want to make the hat and gloves set thats in the book

Happy Fathers Day

                                          
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Well today was Fathers Day in Australia. My son was so excited because he had bought a gift at school for his daddy. So saturday we wrapped them up and J put stickers all over them, dinosaurs of course.

My husband went on my brothers bucks party on saturday and didn't come home until 1am, very very drunk. So while he had a lovely day today with us he wasn't as energetic as usual. Only 4 hours of sleep and a hangover will do that to you.

Wishing all the dads out there a very Happy Fathers Day!

My Writing- End of Days

                              
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One of the things that I am hoping to do more of here is put short stories, or story ideas etc here. Sometimes I find that an idea nags at me for weeks until I write it down, sometimes I forget them a lot quicker. I really wish I had taken to jotting down notes of ideas before this.

I hope you enjoy and all comments are welcome.


                                                            End Of Days

In all the religious texts of the world the End of Days was always going to be a loud explosive time. A time that let everyone know that the end was coming, yet if you think about it, gave us all time to repent our sins and gain forgiveness.

But that wasn't what happened at all.

The End came with no warning at all, and when it did.

It was quiet!

Deadly quiet, the quiet of sleep. And that's exactly what happened. All around the world people stopped what they were doing, put their heads down and went to sleep.

For all that it was quiet, people still died. Though no where in the numbers that had been foretold. Most of those that died were the elderly and the sick, though people unlucky enough to be having surgery died during that.

Time passed while we all slept, but no one has ever been able to work out how long the sleep last for. All we do know for certain is that when we woke the world was different.

Very very different.


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FSF- Thunder

                              
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What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie McFerrin will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word. The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just use it for direction.

This weeks prompt is Thunder.


The wind swirled and raced, arching through the trees with a life of it's own. Leaves and debris swirling and  forming their own little eddies in the air.

Lightning crackled across the sky, hissing and spitting as it went, lighting up the night as though it was day.

Immediately the sound of thunder roared through. A deep throated counterpart to the lightning.

It was going to be a very bad storm, they kind that would go down in local legends.

Books I'm Reading- Adrian Tchaikovsky

                                               


                                                 

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I read an awful lot of books but I do not always keep a record of what I am reading. So I thought it might be a good idea to keep a list on my blog, and maybe I will introduce you to some new books. One word of warning though I mainly only read science fiction or fantasy, with a smattering of other genres.


I found the above series quite by chance in one of my local libraries, however it was book 7 of the series. Now I can not stand reading a series from a midpoint, you just can never pick up what is happening. While imagine my surprise when I tried to get the first in the series and was told by the librarian that they do not have the first 6 books.

What is the point in buying just a few in a series? But I persevered and I very luckily found it at a different area library. (Yes I have multiple library cards).

The book is set in a hypothetical universe where in order to survive the humans have taken on characteristics of the local giant insects, becoming kinden. So you have ant- kinden and beetle- kinden to name a few. Some of the kinden have magic, others do not.

In this world the Empire (Wasps in this case) are slowly taking over and enslaving all the land. It is up to a beetle- kinden called Stenwold Maker to try and convince every one that the threat is real.

I have to say that I really loved this book! I've just gotten the second in the series "Dragonfly Falling" and have to make some time to read it. (And finish of the other 3 books that I am reading).

FSF- Travel

                                                                                   
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What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie McFerrin will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word. The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just use it for direction.

This weeks prompt is Travel. And I have to admit that I just could not help thinking about my Bucket List.



"Oh come on now Rick, this isn't a bucket list, its a list of countries!" Glaring May waved the piece of paper in her hands around. "Where is all the exciting things, like skydive or rock climbing?"

"Its a list of all the countries that I want to go to before I die. Ain't that enough?".

Reconsidering, May looked at the list in her hands again, it had every country in the world on it.

The Bucket List

                                        

Have you seen this movie? The bucket List with Danny Glover and Jack Nicholson? If you haven't then you really need too. I watched and loved it, you laugh, you cry, and then you think why don't I have a bucket list?

So, since I watched the movie last year, I have been trying to decide what would be on my bucket list. Two of the things, go to Disneyland and Hawaii I did in may this year. Five years before we had planned but I'm not complaining. We actually plan on going back.

But I'm kind of stumped on what the rest of my list should be. I'd love to write a novel (I wrote all the time in school). I knit and crochet and bead. I have this blog, and another currently in limbo.

But I don't really have any particular thing I want to do. Not planning on sky diving (afraid of heights). Not really a traveller, I love my home. Though I do want to visit Japan one day (to see the bonsai) and my husband and I have plans on travelling around Australia in a caravan.

So I am going to make a Bucket List page and put on it the things I want to do.

Suggestions are welcome!

FSF- Fabric

                                    
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Lillie McFerrin hosts Five Sentence Fiction (FSF) on her blog here. This weeks prompt is Fabric. Loving craft it made me think of the Greek Goddess of Fates.

Fabric:
Click click clack, click click clack, click click clack, underlying that the shuttle created a humming noise as it slid across the warp threads. With a soft smile Ella lost herself to the rhythm of the loom as slowly but surely the fabric grew.

It was so peaceful sitting and weaving,creating something that would eventually go on to become something else. Almost as she herself was growing and changing to something else.

Lost in her revere Ella jumped as a hand landed on her shoulder. Clotho, one of the Greek goddess of fate smiled down at her.

"Come, you are ready for the next step".


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Smiggens

So today was the first day of our 3 day ski weekend. My husband has been hanging out for this weekend since we booked it. The last time he skied was about ,maybe, 6 years ago. I don't ski after a really nasty accident in 2000 nearly killed me.




When we came up last one of the Harry Potter books had just been released so I spent the entire time reading and drinking coffee. I didn't bring my book up to the snow today because the plan had originally been to put our 5 year old son into a 2 hr lesson then let him play.
As what ended up happening was that since he's only 5 he is now in an all day lesson ending at 1530. He even gets given lunch. So I am sitting on a balcony writing this, every one has gone off to ski or toboggan.
We arrived yesterday to accommodation in East Jindabyne. A great 4 bedroom house that can sleep 11. We have 2 families with us, my sister in law and her family, as well as one of my girlfriends and her family.
We were all up at 0630 this morning to get here at 0800. Of course something always has to go wrong and our windscreen cracked on the way up. At least it's still intact, so I'm hoping it survives until we are back in Sydney.
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I'm in shock!

The most amazing thing happened to me today at work. Yes that's right another work related post. (And yes today was yet another awful shift, after all it is Monday).
For the first time in many many years I was actually thanked for the effort that I have put in at work.
I was stunned! I have been a nurse sine 1997 and in emergency since 1999. And I can honestly say that in all that time this is the first time that I have ever been thanked by administration.
It really makes a difference when you know that they acknowledge what you are doing.
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Location:Kaputar Place,Prairiewood,Australia

Angry Birds Party

It was my sons 5th birthday today. He decided that he wanted an angry birds theme. So we did. I made the cake myself. It turned out well (apart from my Kenwood Chief dying on me).

I got a whole lot of plates and stuff off eBay. It was a set and funnily enough I didn't end up using as much of it as I thought I would.

Mainly as he's now having two parties. I decided that the thought if twenty kids plus parents was just too much for my house. So instead we had family on the weekend and this weekend we are having a party at Monkey Mania.

Monkey Mania are supplying food and drinks, a cake and lolly bags. Plus the kids can then play until it closes. Perfect!
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It's an Emergency!

I rarely talk about work here, in fact I think I have only ever written one post about it. But after last night I need to write this.
To start with let's explain what an emergency department is. It's for emergency's that are life threatening. Life threatening! That's when you could die. And yes we will see you for any medical problems that you have. But life threatening takes priority.
But what constitutes 'life threatening'? Well for starters heart attacks and people who can't breathe top the list, it's seems that people don't understand that these can kill you. Sutures that need removal will not kill you. (No, I kid you not!)
I understand that people don't like to wait to see the doctor but we do not work like a GP does. You don't have 15 minute appointment times, and yes people who come after you will be seen before you if they are considered to be more unwell. And following on from the 'not a GP' comment, if someone has had a cardiac or respiratory arrest and we are trying to keep them alive then it will take more than '15 minutes'.
Do you know, if I had a dollar for every time I had to say this I would be a millionaire several times over. All emergency staff would be. It's frustrating!
And don't get me started on the amount of people who use their local emergency as a GP service. If they went to a proper GP it would help with waiting times, seriously.
Don't get me wrong. I can understand the patients perspective as well. When you are suck you don't want to be sitting in a cold waiting room, waiting. We would love to treat you as soon as you come in. But we just don't have the resources any more. Despite what all the politicians may tell you.
One of the most simple truths is that the population is increasing rapidly but services for that population have stayed the same.
Emergency staff, as well as the rest of the hospital, are doing the best we can with the limited resources that we have. Yelling and screaming, and threatening us is not going to make things go faster. Honestly all it does is make us that little bit less sympathetic to you.
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Toy And Railway Museum

Today we went for a drive up to the Blue Mountains. It's been raining for the last few weeks and we were all going somewhat stir crazy. Then we had the great idea of a trip up to the mountains. From where we live its only a 90 minute drive. And our main objective was to go to the Zig Zag Railway.

We normally travel to the railway a few times a year, it's something both my husband and I did as kids. Though this is the first time this year that we have had the time to do it.

Along the way we saw a sign for a toy and railway museum at Leuralla, a historic house in Leura. It's amazing! We wandered around the displays going 'I remember that' a lot. It's got a really amazing collection of old toys as well as new. Did you know that they made Harry Potter money?

The picture above is on the grounds of Leuralla. It's got lovely gardens to walk through, with lots of old railway station seats. I wish I had taken a picture of one. There are also 2 miniature train set ups, one inside and one outside.




I didn't take a photo of the inside one just the outside mountain one.





There are 2 trains that run around this one. Plus water that flows when it starts. So cool. It definitely appealed to all of our inner child.

When we finally arrived at the Zig Zag Railway it was to discover that it is closed. Flood damage has damaged the track and its taking time to get everything fixed. Disappointing but it's a relief to know that they are going to reopen, and hopefully by the end of this year.

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Food! Glorious food!

I have just realized that this is the first time, this winter, that I have had my slow cooker on. It's bolognase sauce, if you are wondering.

This led to another realization that quite frankly shocked me.

Most of our meals this year have been takeaway!

Not impressed at all. I really hadn't realized how much we were eating of it. By this time last year I think we had only had takeaway twice.

Since Easter we have been eating 2-3 times a week. Mainly as we have just not been home at weekends. We were leaving on Friday nights and going up to the hospital to see my father in law every weekend. Then taking the easy option during the week at home. Plus we spent 2 weeks in America.

And I have noticed that all of our health is suffering for it this winter. All 3 of us have colds that we just can shift. Last year none of us got sick.

So it's time to change things around. Starting with tonight's dinner, homemade spaghetti bolognese. And the advantage to this is not only is it healthy, easy to do as my slow cooker is doing all the work, but I will have dinner and lunches for work for the next week. I love batch cooking (another thing that I just haven't done this year yet).


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Late For School

                                  
                                                    
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My son absolutely adores school (I find it weird but I am not complaining).  When we were in Hawaii we went to a luau, during it they asked if anyone had graduated from school. Excitedly my son jumps up and tells me that was him (he only heard school). So I asked him if he knew what 'graduated' meant, of course no.

When I told him what it meant, there was silence, then his lower lip started to tremble and he chokes out "But I like school mummy".  He was very very relieved when I told him he could still go to his. But I do  wonder how long he will like school for? Neither his father or I liked it.

Yesterday we had one of those starts that you often see in movies, where you sleep in then rush around like an idiot.

I forgot to set my alarm (he only goes 2 days a week). And J had gone to bed late, then woken up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep. He is normally awake at 0630 every morning, so of course he slept to 8 on a day we had to get up. Murphy's Law.

We threw ourselves out of bed and managed to get ready in about 15 mins, J ate breakfast in the car. And surprisingly we were only 10 mins late. But I really do not want a repeat of that.

I found that I was rushing from one thing to another for the rest of the day as a result.

Goodbye Leo

Today was my father in laws funeral. After 2 months in hospital, he died unexpectedly.

We will all miss you.

Five Sentence Fiction

                                                
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What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie McFerrin will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word. The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just use it for direction.

This weeks word is Desolate.


The grass was warm beneath her knees and the sun shone upon her shoulders, inside though Elle felt like ice. She gently ran her fingers over the plaque before her, it was only small, about the size of her hand. Elle gently traced out the letters upon it, her fathers name and the date of his death. Such a small thing to represent such heartbreak.

Elle wondered if she would ever feel warm again.

Photos- What Photos?

                                     

Today is turning into one of those 'ho hum' days, you know the ones I mean? Where you just have very little motivation to do anything.

My son is sick, he has a persistent cough and is a little clingy, I haven't slept well for the last two nights listening to him cough. At the moment I have tucked him into bed with a DVD, I think it says a lot that he's happy to do this.

So, since I have no motivation to do any housework I thought I might use this opportunity to change my blog profile picture. So I have just spent the last thirty minutes sorting through the photos on my laptop.

Only to discover that there is only like two out of hundreds of photos of me. And neither of these are very flattering (horrifying more like). Its a bit of a shock! I new that I was always behind the camera but I hadn't realised how few photos of me there really. And I think its a bit of a worry really, mostly in terms of my son. If anything happens to me he won't have many memories to look back on.

So that's my new goal. Every month I want to get a nice photo with my husband and son as well as individual ones of the three of us. It might even motivate me to loose that extra bit of weight I have.

Five Sentence Fiction- Charmed

                                         
                                                                    Source: Alberto Mateo



What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie McFerrin will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word. The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just use it for direction.

This weeks word is Charmed.

Lights danced and flickered in the night sky. With a goofy grin on her face Elle sat at her cold campfire and watched, amazed by the light display. Suddenly she was glad that she had walked away from her job and old town, leaving behind friends and family. The lights seemed like a promise of new times, a new start on her journey. A call to live the life she had always dreamed off.

Tech Savvy- Not!

        
                                                     

Now I haven't been posting much lately as we have had so many things happening it's not funny.

One of the biggest things I was sworn to secrecy about and that was an overseas trip to America as my brother got married in Vegas. Well we are back now, so I can finally talk about it. But there is a minor problem, with my photos.

As the 'official photographer' at the wedding I had mine and my brothers cameras, Canon 600D EOS (which I love), but my brother changed the settings on mine without telling me and forgot to put it back. So all my Vegas and Hawaii photos are RAW images that my laptop is just incapable of doing anything with. (A lack of memory space is not helping.)

My brother is currently reformatting the photos to jpeg for me, but its taking a while. When I get them back I will do some posts about my trip. But this episode (which is one of many) has made me realised just how not tech savvy I am.

Honestly I have no idea about anything technical most of the time. And really its time I learn how to do these things. (My brother had to show me how how to download movies via the internet and transfer them to my ipad.)

So I am setting myself a goal. Its time I learn how to do something new on my laptop/ ipad every week.

How do other people learn these things? Do you do it through blogs, classes or my new current favourite YouTube?

Due to being a bit old fashion (think books) I have borrowed 2 books from my local library, one on laptops and one on Vista to start with. From these I am hoping to get a list of topics to explore. I really want to do more with my photos and expand my blogging abilities.

But the first thing that I managed to do, and I realise how basic this is truly, was to connect my telstra portable wifi device to my laptop. It didn't work before I went away but this time I have managed it.

There is hope for me yet!

Knit Nights

I have discovered that I have started to take on some of my grandmothers habits. Whether this was going to happen any way or if its a result of my Nana's death in February I don't know.

Growing up we lived with my grandparents for a few years. Some of my earliest memories are of my Nana sitting on the lounge knitting after dinner. The click click of the metals needles a back drop to whatever we were watching. ( A Country Practice and Burkes Backyard, are the two shows I remember the most.)

Now I have started doing the same thing. Once dinner is over and my son is in bed I sit and knit for an hour or so. It's really relaxing. And let's be honest there really isn't much worth watching on television these days.

I don't get to do it every night, just the nights I don't work. At the moment I am shaping the armholes on the back of the jumper I am knitting. Considering this is my first attempt at a knitted jumper, and I am a really really slow knitter, I am very impressed with myself.




My assistant!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Recipe: 2 Minute Noodle Meal

I have had a very busy few weeks. And today has been the first day that we stayed at home, tomorrow we will be going to see my FIL at hospital. With all of the running around and stress a lot of things have been slipping through the cracks, so to speak. One of them has been meal preparation and cooking.

Today has been another prime example of this. My husband has gone to an all day concert, mainly to see Aerosmith and Van Halen.

My son is running fevers and is being very clingy due to be sick. After I tucked him into bed tonight I realised that I had forgotten to make myself dinner. And feeling very uninspired I decided to whip up this old favourite.

I can't remember where the original idea came from for this, I think it might be my mothers invention, but my brother and I have been making this since we were teens.

All you need are 2 minute noodles, an egg and bacon. And the rest is dead easy.

First, cook and drain the 2 minute noodle and place in a bowl.




In the same pot, place chopped bacon and cook. How long you cook it is up to you, however I have noticed that the bacon will never go that really burnt fried look. The pot will however.




Once bacon is cooked, add noodle back to pot and add 1 egg. Mix all together over low heat until egg is cooked through. Then put back in a bowl and serve.




One of the great aspects of this dish is that you can literally add whatever you want to it. Over the years I have used egg and mushrooms, mushrooms and onions, cook diced veges etc. You are really only limited by what you like to eat.

I hope you enjoy!

Ripple Along Update

Well to be honest with you all there has been no progress on my blanket for the last week or so at all. I have not even picked it up.

Instead we have been spending all of our free time travelling to Gosford as my father in law has been in Intensive Care there. He developed a Vibrio vulnificus infection in his leg while out catching crabs.

Its really not a good infection to get.

With the end result being that he had to have a above knee amputation of the infected leg yesterday.

Hopefully this will be the turning point and he gets better from here. We can only wait and see.

Crunch Update

                                             
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So it's been a month since I decided to get serious about my fitness and weightloss. I haven't done too badly so far. I have been to the gym every week, doing a mix of cardio and weights. I am especially loving my Zumba classes. The only one that hasn't killed me so far has been the only one the instructor took 'easy'. God help me if she decides to go really hard.

I am still struggling a little with my asthma and my knee hurting. But we are improving every day. Tough I have to admit that some days the above picture sums up my whole exercise .

I lost a kilo, then added on about 700grams, but that is muscle mass. How do I know that? Because when I rechecked my measurements I have lost 5 cm around my waist and hips. And even though that doesn't sound like much all my colleagues have started to comment that I am loosing weight.

So at the moment I am going to continue as I am and try not to worry about what the scales are saying.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Easter Hat Parade

Last Thursday as I dropped my son off at school I saw a note attached to his classroom door stating Easter Hat Parade 26th. So, just to make sure, as I am still getting use to this school bit, I asked his teacher.

And, yes, I had to make him a hat before today. So I was straight off to Spotlight for materials and inspiration. I bought a whole lot of stuff with no clear idea of what I would be doing with it, plus I bought a base hat that I had to spray paint as it was an Australia Day hat.

I had wanted J to colour in some picture eggs that I could cut out and stick around the brim but he lost interest very quickly. He wanted to add little pom pom bits but we just can't get them to stick with the glue we have.And the paper he was sticking them on went all funny, so we scrapped that idea.

 

So instead we added a whole lot of white and yellow feathers and little chickens to it. J loves it and that's all that matters. He has his parade at 10, and when I dropped him off at school, all the kids are excitedly talking about their hats. Apparently J's is a big chicken.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Ripple Along Week 4

So it's week 4. At the moment I have done 33 rows and 16 colour stripes. I have done 3 sets of 4 double stripes and then decided to add an extra row to it. It's a little hard to see in the picture but the last stripe is made up of rows of 3.

I have also sewn in all the ends as their is no way that I want to be doing that at the end.

Ripple-along Week 3 Update

I have not done nearly as much as I wanted to this week. However I am up to my 15th colour row. This is one of 4 rows that I am doing as a 3 band instead of 2, depending on how big it is when I finish these 4 rows I might do another 4 like it.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Clothes Clothes and More Clothes

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The last few weeks have been really busy at our house. Well probably mostly for me. I have been working every second day (when I normally only work five days a fortnight) as well as trying to organise passports and a trip overseas. Next time I won't leave the trip planning so late, though I still have seven weeks before we leave.

As a result quite a few things have been ignored lately. I have not been able to craft as much as I would normally and the housework is slowly slowly getting away from me. I have just managed to fold up and put away a big basket of laundry that has been looking at me for a few days.

While most people spring clean I have always autumn cleaned. I think it has a lot to do with a complete intolerance to heat on my behalf. (I keep telling my husband we should move to Tasmania but even they have had a fairly hot summer.) But when the weather gets cooler I get going, especially on all the big household things. One of the big things that I do is sort through all of my clothes.

Now to be honest I do go through them on a regular basis but this year I have decided that I need to get rid of over half of my clothes. There are a few motivators at the moment for me to do this. The other week on the local radio they were talking about the fact that women only wear 20% of their wardrobe. I know I do!

When I was on maternity leave a program I was watching was interviewing a lady and they showed her wardrobe, it was basically empty apart from maybe 15 items. At the time I thought I would love to be like that, I have no idea why that appeals to me it just does. Though I doubt mine will ever look like that, she lived in a much more temperate climate than I do. Unfortunately I have a lot of clothes that I have had since my teens, definitely time to get rid of it.

So today while I had half an hour of free-ish time I pulled everything out of one of my drawers and got rid of 3/4 of it. Everything I haven't worn in the last 3 months. I was mean this time, no more well I might wear it one day because lets be honest about this, there will never be a one day. For a couple of pieces I have been saying that for about 10 years. So out they have gone.

It was surprising how much I got through in just 30 minutes and now I have 4 bags of clothes to take to charity on the way to pick my son up. Yes you read it right, 4 big bags of clothes. I have a whole lot of space in my wardrobe, and lots and lots of empty coat hangers. I even have a lot more space in my drawers.

What does your wardrobe look like?