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Friday, July 31, 2009

Picture of the week.


Something new!
I saw this picture on 'The Sartorialist' and immediately copied it to My Pictures. Then I wondered what to do with it.
I think she is lovely. ( her name is Eva and she is a model on a photoshoot - in case you saw this and were incredulous that someone could look so amazing in a relatively impromptu photo!)
I am more than happy to be me ( unfortunately I don't look like that but nevertheless..)but if I wasn't me I would like to look like her please. She reminds me of the character Amelie from the movie of the same name. Amelie is one of my heroines.

That's all.
Amelie/Eva - my picture of the week.

xx

Renold & Franko.



These are my cats. I have an unhealthy fascination with them to say the least.
The brown one is Renold. He was originally called Ren and over the last couple of years, his name has morphed into Renold. Can't explain that one really except to say that he is one odd animal and Ren seemed a bit too relaxed and cute for him.The name Renold seemed appropriately strange.


The little cream one is Franko. Again, this was not her original name. Sd called her Frankie because she has gorgeous blue eyes - just like Frank Sinatra. I think he called her Franko once or twice and it stuck. She is more of a normal cat than Renold. She is tiny ( she is fully grown in this photo ) and very timid. I think cause she is so small she thinks she needs to be extra careful to protect herself from anything noisy and big. She has the cutest cat face I've ever seen!

Our friend Dave is a photo journalist and he came to stay with us in May. He took these photos while he was visiting.
Just wanted to clarify that we DID NOT have professional photos taken of our cats!
We love them, but you need to draw the line somewhere and no offence to anyone that does it, but to me that's a bit weird!

xx

And now, lets talk about something else...


So, now I have had 24 hours of calm and it's been lovely. I've been able to think about some other things...

Much to the dismay of Sd, I love to watch 'So You Think You Can Dance' every Friday night. I know it is American and cheesy BUT the dancers are amazing and another good thing about the show is that some of the choreographers have very interesting taste in music. Especially the contemporary choreographers. One of those people is Mia Michaels. She is not a particularly likeable lady but her music choices are great. As is her choreography. Last week, she chose a piece of music 'Koop Island Blues' from a Swedish duo called Koop who are primarily an electronic music act but they usually use samples and vocalists with a jazz background. I loved it, and yesterday downloaded two albums from I-Tunes. It's kind of loungy, cocktaily music. A little bit 'Cafe Del Mar' I guess. Maybe a bit quirkier than that...very relaxing...but not boring.
I will add a few of their songs to my playlist so you can listen.

Hope you like!

xx

ps. I know music on blogs can be a bit annoying, that's why I have tried to put the pause button in a spot where you don't have to scroll down too far to find it! The music is really there for my own enjoyment but it would be lovely if you liked it too!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

I'm a believer.


I got the test results. The baby is ok.
I'm telling you, this pregnancy is like a marathon. On my knees!
I'm so grateful though.
Here's something very strange...
I've been talking to my grandparents ( who have passed ) and asking them to help me get through the last few weeks and I think they have. Or I've lost my mind.
I don't normally do things like that at all, but for some reason this time I did. It came quite naturally. How strange.

Anyway, I need to go and clean up the massive mess that is my house now. Wonder if Agnes, Bob , James and Dorothy can help me with that too!

xx

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

I'm kind of back.


Hello!
I am back after the big move and various other even more stressful occurrences.
So, the move went quite well. Sd deserved a big fat medal after single-handedly managing the whole thing while I lurched between going to work and lying on the couch/bed. Three days before we moved I started to bleed.Not really what we were looking for in the 10th week of pregnancy! So the days proceeding the move involved ultrasounds, me crying, and lots of lying down as I said. Thankfully, it stopped after a week and as I sit here I am still surrounded by boxes and other random bits and pieces. That's because now I am contending with the fallout after the NT scan.
We had that yesterday and the results weren't great. I have had one before, last December, and the results were as bad as they could be.
Just so you know, this is my fourth pregnancy. The first two I miscarried at about 7 weeks. The one in December was a Downs baby which I also miscarried a day or so after the CVS. We would have terminated the pregnancy if that had not happened.
This pregnancy is an IVF/PGD pregnancy and the embryo has been screened for Downs and 6 other common chromosomal abnormalities before it was transfered.
The doctor who did the CVS yesterday kept telling us how we shouldn't worry and that it will all be ok but I have heard that SO many times before and it wasn't. I think the best way to describe the way I am feeling this morning is numb.
I will get the results either today or tomorrow. Depending on what they are, I might not post for a while but eventually I'll be back.

Hope you are having a much nicer week than me!

xx

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Something new.



We are moving on Friday and I am quite excited!! I do like something new!!!
I am certainly not excited about the packing process though. Who knew we had SO much crap under our roof? I am suprised again and again by the strange objects I have dutifully kept for years , only to now look at them and know instantly that the only thing to do with them is set them on fire. Or alternatively put them in an enormous green garbage bag when burning is not an option.

I also wanted to tell you that due to the afor mentioned circumstances, there are no 'flowers of the week'. However, I will make up for it next week. Promise.

So now I am off to comb through more tonnes of refuse upstairs. I swear, I don't know where it all came from. Sd and I aren't really what I would call hoarders!
Maybe it's the cats.

At least, by the time we leave this place, we will have shed many many cupboards full of godknowswhat.

Now that's a GREAT feeling!



xx

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Flowers of the week.


These beauties were chosen by the one and only Sd.
An excellent choice I'd say!
They are orchids ( my favourites ).
We bought the vase when we first moved in together years ago. We bought a few things from a little shop on Crown St and the man working there congratulated us on anything and everything we showed interest in by telling us which country it came from:
' Gorgeous! It's Israeli!' ,' Fabulous! Turkish!, ' New York!!'

Hilarious!
The vase is Israeli. Apparently.

xx

Fifteen facts.




This is the latest Blog This challenge;

Tell us fifteen facinating, far fetched, frightening, funny or frivilous facts about yourself. Those bits of trivia that are floating around in your life.

Can you eat 10 burgers in one sitting? Do you sleep with your eyes open? Can you tie a cherry stalk into a knot? Speak 5 different languages?

All those things that you've bored your friends and family with for years - We want to know.



1) I can recite , word for word , each episode of 'Fawlty Towers'.
My sister and I loved this TV show SO much that our parents bought us the audio tapes and when we were 6 (her) and 8 (me), we had them on high rotation in our shared bedroom.

2) I will not eat bruised fruit. I have no valid reason. I just wont.

3) In the last couple of years ( I am 36 now ) , I have come to realise that I am shy. I can't believe that this revelation has come so late!!

4) I harbour an intense desire to sing and dance on Broadway , in a chorus line.

5) I love to watch any kind of cooking show. I watch the Food channel on Foxtel like there is no tomorrow. I do NOT like to cook.

6) I love leopard print , however only in small doses.

7) I cannot read a map. To make matters worse, I have no sense of direction either.

8) I can remember the birthdays of girls who I have not seen since high school. 20 years ago.

9) I work in retail and regularly envisage getting out a baseball bat from under the counter to combat vile customers.

10)I cannot speak another language. If I attempt to speak any foreign language, for example ordering something in a restaurant , I immediately start channelling Kath and or Kim.

11) I am obsessed with my two cats. Obsessed.

12) I love to eat Asian food - any kind, anywhere, anytime. Not chickens feet though.

13) Sometimes I feel like I am 17 and sometimes I feel like I am 60. The 60 bit is usually when I am listening to AM radio.

14) I have been doing my Certificate IV in Training and Assessment for 3 years. That will indicate to you how soul - destroyingly boring it is. It should take a few weeks.

15) I met my husband at Barons ( a seedy old bar in Sydney ) at 4am.
I think it is quite an achievement that from those humble beginnings we have come this far.

xx

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Fiona O'Loughlin.


I read on page 3 of The Sunday Telegraph this morning that comedienne and 'Dancing with the Stars' contestant - Fiona O'Loughlin, has revealed that she is an alcoholic. Since I saw this earlier today, I noticed on a news website a few awful comments regarding her and her situation. It's made me a little bit angry.

Apparently, on Thursday evening, Fiona was drunk on stage and then ended up in hospital. She decided the following morning,I believe after some discussion with her Channel 7 publicist, that she wanted to be honest about her situation.

I don't know if she felt that she had no choice but to make the admission or went against her publicist's advice because she felt she needed to be honest with herself and others about her alcoholism.

Either way, I think she is one brave lady.

It is very difficult to admit your flaws, problems or weaknesses at the best of times.

Telling the whole of Australia that you are an alcoholic must be terrifying. Being the mother of five children and telling the whole of Australia you are an alcoholic must feel like jumping off a cliff. I'm afraid that she might be judged with a very large capital J .

I hope that, as she says in the article, revealing this about herself is a step in the direction of being and staying sober.

There are MANY women and men, just like her, who are also wrestling with a similar truth they cannot bear. I hope that her honesty and bravery are inspiration to others who need to change things in their lives.

And I hope that she is supported, not judged.

xx

Friday, July 3, 2009

Something I've noticed.


I've had a bit of a rollercoaster week. Sounds dramatic doesn't it! It wasn't like that at all - I just worried about a few different things on and off all week and then at the week's end - everything was ok.

I can't believe it! I really thought it was a long shot that the things I've been worrying about would all work out as I had hoped. But they did.

What I've noticed is that I seem to have some kind of wierd thought process that says that 'everything can't all go to plan because that would be too lucky, and if it did then something else would then go wrong'.

As I type that, I can see how truly strange that way of thinking is - but it seems to pop up every now and then. Am I alone here?

I don't really know what it's about. I'm not a pessimist or superstitious, or a cup half empty person. I don't think I learnt it from my family or anything like that. My lovely husband is a total optimist and would never ever think that way.

It's a bit disappointing really. I'll need to do a bit of work in that area I think!!!

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

xx

Thursday, July 2, 2009

If you love a shoe sale, keep reading...


Hello!

One of my favourite shoe brands 'Andrea & Joen' is having a sale! I just bought 2 pairs of summer flats online for $50 ( plus $12 freight ).
I'm very pleased with myself.
So, if you like a bargain and would like to plan a little bit in advance for your summer wardrobe, I would recommend a quick look on their website - www.andreaandjoen.com - there is quite alot to choose from and the prices are very tempting.
I have bought shoes from this company before and all was well with buying online and the quality of the shoes.

Enjoy shopping! Let me know if you buy anything nice!

xx