Hiya, just a quick five minute post and read before I get on with the housework and cooking for tonights soiree (candlelit supper for those who watch Hyacinth Bucket). Thursday is coming - hang on to the thought, for both DS2 and me. DS2 had words last night. It seems that everytime he (the ex) is left alone for more than 5 minutes, he gets on the phone to me. Yesterday I was not a happy camper and was refusing to answer calls from the DS's home phone. DS told him to get a life I think. Haven't heard from him this morning - YET - I have to ring him shortly and will invite him to go shopping while I get my hair cut. No doubt he will insist on coming into the hairdressers and chatting up the girls. I have warned them to be exceedingly busy! The worst thing is that he is thinking of coming back every year and is full of things he thinks that need doing around my house. Personally I think he should check into the nearest sanitorium and have some treatment. If he annoys me much more I shall tell him so.

Enough. You don't want to hear of my problems. It's nice to see the forums and journals back again. The Sisters have been busy.

My weekend has been fairly busy as well. I've weeded the vege patch and the place where the fountain will eventually go, planted some more lettuces, chives and penta flowering shrubs (for the butterflies), mulched and fertilised the lot. The tomatoes are ripening rapid, particularly the cherry tomatoes and I have lots of nice fresh tomatoes to eat. Lawns have been mowed, probably for the last time for a month or so. As the autumn progresses the grass growth slows down and we will probably not mow for the entire winter unless it stays fairly warm day and night. I've done a few more bits in the bathroom but gave it away when I got told I had laid it all out wrong and wasn't doing the right thing plumbing wise (this from someone who has difficulty changing a tap washer and has never laid a tile in his entrie life) and I should put the cabinet there but over there (which meant taking the tiles off the wall and redoing the whole layout of the basin, taps, and vanity)

Anyway, Mel, I wish you luck with the new regime. I know you will do fine. Six weeks will pass in no time. You will need to get out and buy a new wardrobe after that.

Holly the mousse sounds grand, however I'll pass on the recipe as we can't get good maple syrup here. The stuff I've had has been awful, but then again, I don't think I have had any of the genuine stuff anyway so maybe it is not awful, I just don't like it.

Right my 5 is up. I had a few problems last night getting the journals to update, I couldn't see my entriy but Mel obviously could as she replied to it. However all is fine today. We are on a new path. Might as well make it a new beginning and see if I can shift this weight once and for all. Catch you when I get back to where sanity rules and my life gets back to normal. Meantime - e noho ra.

Shad~ From your mouth to God's ear!!! I wish I would need a new wardrobe at the end of the 6 weeks
Hope the candlelit dinner went well and everyone behaved themselves! Next time "he" offers advice tell him to go F himself!!! sometimes I wish I had done that at the end!
When does the job start? I think I missed that part. Sunday will be wondering where you have gone again!

Well girls yesterday was a perfect OP day and lots of exercise. Not feeling any pain today but won't push it today. Need those rest days in between when it comes to the upper body. Wish the rain would find another state to go to. Maybe some food shopping on Thursday. Needing stuff so I can STAY OP !!!
Wonder where the others have all gone and worried that they might not be feeling good. Hope someone checks in soon!!
Have a great day all and sweet dreams Shad. You probably need the rest after playing the Hostess with the Mostess!!!

hi chickies how are we all good i hope ? i havent been able to get in for 2 days ?teel had been able to get in but not post i just couldnt get in
now where to start well easter was a wash out both kids were ill and dh had a hangover so we ended up having big macs for dinner it was all the kids would eat honest my appetite is still all to whack along with my sleeping patterns up till now ive lost 10llb not that id recommend getting pregnant sa weight control we found condoms in craigs drawer seems if mum can get pregnant then so can everyone else but at least hes being safe im thinking about taking him to the vet to get fixed 3 girls on the go at the moment ,hes decieded to stay on at school and so far 2 of his teachers are retiring conners slowly coming back to his normal self glad it was the holidays anyway poor wee man just sleeps ,im now 14 weeks pregnant just seems to have flew in but all is well can feel slight movements ,so the kicking in the bladder wont be far off
MEL no the box hasnt got here yet the postie is way fed up with me now he asked if it had been registered or recorded but i dont know ?glad your sounding better i have the same problem keeping hydrated cause of muscle wastage i just drink lots of juice still cant get the handle on water
SHAD your always so busy and organised ,dont suppose you fancy a trp to edinburgh do you ??? poor males in this family wouldnt know what hit them lol
good for you trying to save sons sanity but think womble might save you the bother soon lol the garden sounds lovely weve had 4 days of non stop rain everything is nice and green but swimming
HAPPY we dont have family for dinners at holidays cause there used to be arguments over whos family we went to or came here so now we just do our own and have strange things like for easter and chineses takeaway for xmas dinner lol
HOLLY your house sounds like fun just now can i come ??? i like being organised just dont seem to manage it maybe one day
ROSE hello my boonies freind ill swap you any day i crave peace and quiet way to many electric gadgets in this house we have geese flying over but they never stop ,dont blame them either
right ladies the housework is calling just this is the first time the site has been open for me so i just jumped straight in miss you all loads so ill be back{touch of arnie}
kirsty

Linus~ I am so very relieved to hear you and bumb and teel are alright. Wasn't thinking about any website foul ups!
Hope connor feels better and Craig get's his **** together before anunt Fannie has to smack his wee head in!!!!
the favorite saying over here for years now has been...PUT IN ON BEFORE YOU PUT IT IN! Better to be safe than sorry. Not only for pregnancies but AIDs and Herpes!!! There are so many diseases out there now it's not funny!
Hope the bladder kicking doesn't get too bad. I had forgotten about that part! Hang in there. Give love to Teel from us as well!!! I was told by the woman in the PO who mailed it for me that overseas pkgs cannot be tracked. When I see her hubby, I will ask about the date!! Starting to get a wee bit worried but she did say it would be about a month. Now where did I put that receipt

The day is just going very well and I am even impressing myself!

A quick HI and then off to bed. 8 kids for 8 hours today and then an additional 2 for the last hour for a grand total of 10!! Made $165 smackers though!!
All is very well. Just had a good read through. Happy to see everyone here.

BTW, I tell my DH to go F himself regularily. Maybe that is why we are still married! ROFL!!!!! He thinks it is hilarious. Odd duck.

Evening everyone.
I think I am about back to normal again. Dinner last night went off well. We had braised lamb shanks in red wine sauce. Everyone oooohhhed and aaaahed. My niece said - YUMmmmmm and proceeded to eat as much as she could fit on her plate. My nephew had forgotten that he was coming to dinner and stuffed himself all day so was not hungry for dinner, but that didn't stop him from eating the home baked bread rolls and the SIL's special trifle. Both brothers were over enthusiastic and ate until they could hardly move and DS ate himself silly again. Ex said it was the best meal he had had in Aus - but then DS and the womble don't cook that much anyway so anything would be better than what he had round there. A successful soiree even if I do say so myself. DS was tired from work, and a bit grumpy and it didn't help when ex went around flashing the digital in everyones face. It wouldn't have been so bad if he had said, lets have a family photo and done it, but not him. No way can he be normal.
We had some words yesterday when his poking about got him some knowledge he would rather not have - eavesdroppers don't hear much good of themselves neither do those who click indiscriminately on other peoples computers. Still DS should have removed the evidence and I told him so. Don'cha just lurrve families. World war three has been averted, unless of course it breaks out at an ungodly hour of the morning when two night people take to the freeway in the early hours. Watch this space.

The boys are taking me out for dinner on Friday - farewell lunch. Should be fun. It will be sad to leave but it is going to happen and I have a whole free week next week before I begin at the OSR. I feel a bit like John Cleese's man from the ministry. (Maybe the ministry of funny walks???) I might add that the contract has not yet arrived, so I haven't any idea about who, what, when and where for the following week, but let's not panic about this. It will come one or two days after I start I expect.

I have one more thing to do to complete my list of things to do today. That is taking the legs of my new trousers up. So I should get off and do that. I need an early night.

Good to see Linus back and posting. Teel will follow in due course no doubt. Well done on the perfect OP Miss Mellie. Okay, I'm going to copy this into my journal because I can't be bothered to think of anything else that is new. See you soon.
Oh and by the way, not one bit of chocolate this Easter. Plenty of other things tho'. I'll have to see who I hate the most to give bunny and egg to.

Miss Mooz I would visit too but don't know where to go!! I will make it a priority to find the thread in question! Very nice to see you here and hope you and the family are well and had happy Holidays! I will go and look at your new paintings and photos and homepage later. Take good care of yourself!!

Holly~ The money is great! ;encore: but I am afraid that one of the 10 would have been a goner if I was the one watching them! God bless you!!!!

Shad~ You get the crown this week for patience, compassion and personality above and beyond the call of any parent and/or Ex!!! A big round of applause goes to you for all you did to keep harmony in your family!! I am truly impressed!
But then that's why I love you so much!!!!

Well today is gorgeous but a tad cold. Tried to go for a ride but the wind is a bit chilly. Never even made it around the effing block!!! so I came back and started the laundry. Maybe it will warm up later! Having another great day today and avoided the office goodies!! Made the mistake of getting on the scale and seeing no change. Guess I was hoping for a miracle after only 2 days!
Hope you all have a great day and special thoughts to (((TEEL)))) and our ((((((LINUS & BUMP))))))) Hope you both feel better.
to Meadow and Nae and Happy and Suzi (who still thinks she is on vacation!!) Take care Chicks!

I just have 2 kids today, going home at noon. Mine are in school.I cleared out 3 closet this morning for the thrift shop, 3 entire large tub of misc stuff, 3 large bags of clothes.I have 2 big boxes or burnables and 2 large bags for the dump!!!!!!
Next this weight is gonna fall off too!!!!!!!! Weeheeee!!!

hi ckickies just a wee pop in at what hopefully is the end of a very long day.i.b.s is playing up and the world and his aunt has either called or visited so im knacked{serves me right for getting up at 5 after 3 hours sleep}so im off and ill speak to you all later
kirsty

Aaah we are very quiet at the moment Mooz. There are a couple of us not very well and some having computer problems. Other than that we get along. Will have to think about a new home shortly. This one is getting a bit long.

Mooz, homemade chocolate is probably worse than the commercial variety, since it is made with loving care. No more now - ok??? I see we are getting told off for getting into the Danish cookies on your thread even if it is cyber food on my behalf. I went and had a look at Pauls photos. Only saw Copenhagen and will keep Sweden for my next visit. Very nice - even the toy soldiers looked good. Don't let MEL see them, she'll be over in a flash - likes a good uniform does our Mel. It was relatively easy to avoid the Easter chocolate. I really don't like the stuff much. It tends to go out of date and get thrown out in this house. I do have a choc binge once in a while, but I need to have the craving and I guess I haven't had that in nearly two years - since I find that some of the chocolate bars I bought at the Colman's Mustard shop while staying with Teel in 2003 is now out of date and horribly sugary looking. Out it goes in the rubbish tonight.

Holly glad to hear that you are having a bit of a rest from the wee darlin's. You get my patience award for the week. Sorry, but I couldn't do the nursery stuff that you obviously love - I'll stick to my obstinate, dumb, clumsy, non-typing recalcitrant blokes for reluctant training I think. There you go a new name for my business - Recalcitrants trained reluctantly?

Mel - you do my self esteem so much good. However you should have seen me stamping my feet the other day. I've had plenty of practice in patience believe me. Biggest problem I have is keeping a straight face when something totally stupid happens, which is frequently I might add.

Linus you take care of that precious bump now. I hope the insides settle down soon and you start to enjoy this pregnancy - well as much as a pregnancy can be enjoyed.

We have a 'council cleanup rubbish week' coming up. This is where one can get rid of all the junk one has hoarded and finally decided that nothing is going to happen with it. Ours is next week. I put out a few bits and pieces onto the road edge over the weekend and it is quite strange to see that much of it has disappeared. Things like the cookie jars and a few old plastic containers have gone, the old cd rack has also disappeared. I put out my old frypan and someone has taken the lid and left the cord and base. Obviously they had a pan without the lid. I still have some more to put out and will be doing that over the weekend. There is a couple of old printers ready to go. They don't work but I bet they don't last long on the roadside. Last cleanup I put out a really old tv. The tube had gone and the thing was about 15 years old but by the time I got around the back and picked up something else, the darned thing was gone. There is a couple of chairs that can go as well. No end to the junk I can find hey.

Not much else to report. Last day at Caltex tomorrow. Probably will end up as only half a day because they are talking about lunch at 12.00 and not coming back to work. I'm going to try to persuade them to make it a bit later. That way I can get a few more documents done for the boys.

Then there is a whole week just for me!!!! Am I going to enjoy that!

Heeeeeeeeeeelllllo everyone!!!!! I hadn’t forgotten you all. So that was March huh? It’s been like that around here of late. I can’t really believe how fast the year is zooming along. It is so nice just now to have a moment to breathe....here goes ...in....out! ...ahhh. That feels good.

Well yes March was a full one. I haven’t really even had much time to concentrate on eating/exercise and really must get with the program once again. I think the weight has remained stable because of the high stress levels because I have been eating like a piggie. Still sitting at 141..totteringly!

So what’s been happening????LOTS! Kiddies seem to have picked up every activity in Sydney which has filled our household with flutes, guitars, piano, dancing, karate, Basketballs, rugby, soccer and not to mention a hollw sound coming out of the wallet. Or is that moths I hear?

We have started Tiling the floors of our house and so there is dust everywhere and a very good excuse not to vaccuum!

DH’s job has been a real worry. We thought we might be jobless due to a hostile take over but it looks as though things are negotiating smoothly. It’s till very early days and things could change in a heart beat. He is off to Europe in a few days, Italy and Germany and I am squeezing into his suitcase...hmmm I wish!

I have had some lonely days and then a wonderful relief from it with a long standing friend Coming to visit from NZ. She is the most positive person. Mary,....lovely Mary. She is so encouraging and affirming and made me feel that I am can and do a good job with all we have. It reminded me how I love to have people here in my house. It is so nice to have people around who know our history and love us boots and all.

I went to the Colour Conference for women At Hillsong church in Sydney and absolutely loved it. I was just so encouraged by women and what we are capable of. It was so good to be encourged to be all you can be and make a difference in the world. 11,000 women altogether was truly amazing.

So there it is in a nutshell. I thought there would be heaps to write and it feels like there still is, perhaps it will unravel as the week does. I will be looking for company in the evenings and so I know I will journal more often in the coming week. It’s my plan anyway.

I hope everything is fantastic in your worlds. HERE’s to a fantastic April!!!

Mel ...hello sweety! how rght you are....I feel like my years just started!! What's the new regime???? I 'm so curious.
I caught up with most of you I think to holly, shad, happy nae, kirsty (LOL I just typed lirsty!) X for the little bump! Mooz nice to see you here and meadow. I'm off to read about you all some more .
Shad your dinner sounds yummy I just read about it ....mouth is watering here and that's not a good thing THIS late at night. I will have to wait until the morning until I see more of you all because if I turn the page I will loose you
Toodles for now. TGIF Tomorrow

Hi Everyone, Sorry I have not been here much....I have to take an unexpected trip today and just wanted to ask for some good thoughts and energy and prayers from my favorite ladies around the world. My oldest is having an emotional meltdown and so I am going down to see what I can do...
Next week I leave for vacation and don't feel like I can be gone without seeing and talking to him face to face....he just had his 23rd birthday. The pressure some of these kids are in and the pressure they put on themselves is tooo much!
My mom and her new husband have been here for two days and that was fun...Teeka just adores them and is going on home with them today while I am away.... I will miss her terribly and she will be spoilt rotten as if she isn't already.....
My best to all of you and will pop in when I return...... hope everyone is in good health and stays that way....
Love ya,
Nae