One of my favourite places for occasional procrastination is the Ordinary Courage blog written by Brené Brown. She is currently publicising the release of her new DVD: 'The Hustle for Worthiness' - a filmed lecture on her "new research on love, belonging, and the power of being enough." She is hosting a "week of worthiness" in the blogging community.
I just happened to follow a link to an interview with Brené, and was inspired to answer the questions myself. At first, they seemed easy, but when I thought more about it, I found myself answering "I don't know" to most of them. It actually took quite a lot of soul searching and worthy contemplation to get to this point... and then it seemed a shame to throw my answers away, so I decided to share them with you!
1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being in the creative zone - whether it be sewing, writing, exercise (creating a new me), housecleaning (making dull things shiny) - anything that transforms the mundane into the magical, requires my body to be occupied and allows my mind to soar free. A bit like this song clip, really... (if you don't have time to listen to the whole song, at least fast forward to near the end so you can see what she makes!)
2. What is your greatest fear?
Being unloved and misunderstood, hurting people and not being able to make amends.
3. Which living person do you most admire?
Truthfully? Myself. *Blush* I know... isn't that awful? But no, it is not. I am proud of my resilience, my ability to keep trying, to pick myself up from the depths and start again, to stare my faults in the face (and they are myriad) and to do daily combat with them, knowing that win or lose I will show up again tomorrow to fight the good fight once more. Don't you think it is important to admire the person you know best in all the world? Or perhaps I just have a greater tolerance for my own weakness than I do for that of others :P
4. What trait do you most deplore in yourself?
I too often and too easily make my children suffer for my frustrations. I am a bully.
5. What trait do you most deplore in others?
Sitting on your high horse and judging others (unfortunately, this is also the second trait I most deplore in myself)...
6. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Know what? I don't think any virtue is overrated lol... I even read through the Wikipedia article on virtue - very interesting and informative - searching for one virtue I could single out, and instead emerged inspired to cultivate even more virtues in my life. Honestly, I feel that the whole concept of virtue is so UNDERrated by modern society that the structure needs support, and I would be ashamed to throw another stone at it.
7. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Yeti :D We were married on the anniversary of our first kiss, so on March 20th we shall celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary, and our 18th year of life together. Since I will be 36 in August, that means that as of this year I have spent half my life with Yeti! When we met, I was 18 and he was 37. I was a catholic schoolgirl, he was a Harley riding biker. I thumb my nose at all those who said we would never last, and hope and pray for many many many many more years.
8. Which talent would you most like to have?
Oooohhhhhhh.... I want to be able to freeze time or stre-e-e-e-e-e-etch it... or maybe just move at super speed, that would do it.....
9. What is your current state of mind?
Anticipatory, eager, a little anxious... actually, there's a bright blue sky of bravery, a burning sun of determination, plenty of soaring birds of ambition.... but way down below there's a tiny little darkness under a rock that is s***scared.
10. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Motherhood... it's also my greatest challenge (see 6) and at times my greatest failure (see 4)
11. What is your most treasured possession?
Ok... I have now mentally reviewed my boxes of clutter, my shinies and my sentimental specials... yes, there are lots... but for the here and now the answer is my mp3 player / ebook reader (cheap chinese) and my Bang & Olufsen (chinese copy) headphones... at the moment I am getting in at least 30 minutes on the cross trainer each morning because I have loaded a scriptural rosary onto it so I can double guilt myself into getting out there to pray and exercise at the same time... then if I get the chance at naptime, I rush out for another 30 minutes of exercise so I can listen to Dickens' The Curiosity Shop which I have loaded as an audiobook. Sad but true :P
12. What is your superpower?
Ahahahahahaahaaaaa. I have the power to enter your mind riding a flood of words that lift you up and carry you away on fantastical journeys, all without opening my mouth or leaving my desk. As a recent experiment has shown, my kryptonite is being confined to one word lol.
13. What is your motto?
"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." (Carl Bard)
I have a book full of them, though... Some of my other favourites include:
"Even a dead lion scares the sheep." (Anonymous radio announcer)
"Bad weather always looks worse through a window." (Tom Lehrer)
"You are on first name terms with lucidity. I have to call it 'Mr Lucidity'." (The Tick)
"Rest and be kind. You don't have to prove anything." (Jack Kerouac)
14. What do you most value in your friends?
Honesty, humour, acceptance of my foibles.
15. Which word or phrase do you most overuse?
"No."
16. What is your greatest extravagance?
Ebay
17. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Loyalty
18. What is the quality you most like in a man?
Commitment
19. On what occasion do you feel the most authentic?
When I am writing - and not always about myself lol.
Showing posts with label Moi?. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moi?. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Friday, June 12, 2009
Dollies and a Booby
I think the thing I like most about blogging - other than the chance to get my writing out of my head and into a space where someone else might read it - is the opportunity it gives me to communicate with people I would otherwise be isolated from. My sister is in that category - if it wasn't for blogging, we would not know each other in the way we do now.
Another person I am very grateful to have met through blogging is Farida from Saints and Spinners. Although we have never met in person (and most likely never will, living on opposite sides of the world) I count Farida among my dearest friends. I have been fascinated by my glimpses into her life, from the first time I stumbled across her blog and was captivated by the image of her daughter dancing with the dust fairies, through the gradual expansion of her storytelling business, to her recent successful venture into the world of doll making.
You can see Farida's dolls at her etsy store: Alkelda
So far, Farida has been concentrating on nature dolls and elementals. A collection of saints is also planned and I can't wait to see what she comes up with! They are sweetly detailed little creations, just right to hold in your hand or inspire you from windowsill or tabletop - and I am lucky enough to own two of them.
It all started when Farida mentioned - possibly as a joke - making a doll to represent the heroine from The Seven Ravens fairytale. I immediately started thinking how I could a) coerce her into making this dream come true and b) make it mine! (My favourite long-term writing project - and the one I am most determined to finally finish one day - is turning the Seven Ravens into a novel.)
Thinking back, I remembered Farida once expressing a wish for a Blue-footed Booby puppet, and so a trade was proposed and accepted.
Here she is - my lovely Seven Ravens girl. She sits atop my computer monitor and nags me ceaselessly, as all good muses should. Her cloak is embroidered with the sun, the moon, a sprinkle of stars and a track of raven footprints. She is independent, impatient, anxious about her siblings, and in her minds-eye, already far from home having marvellous adventures. I love her!
Then, when Farida opened her etsy store, I went window shopping, knowing that I could not afford to indulge myself by buying dolls, no matter how beautifully made. I fell in love with one, in particular.
Dressed in cobalt blue, with embroidered dragonflies skimming her skirt, standing tall and elegant with her staff topped with delicate blooms in blue and pink... I immediately wrote to Farida, intending only to express my sincere admiration for her creation (and my intention of 'stealing' her dragonfly embroidery design). In an incredibly act of friendship and generosity, Farida decided I should have her, and now she stands beside Seven Ravens' girl, as my totem of love, hope and courage! Sweet Borage is cosy and stay-by-my-side, ready to light my way through the darkness with her starflowers, and inspire my dreams with her flitting dragonflies.
It has taken me many weeks to finally, publicly acknowledge these lovely creations - partly I wanted to keep them to myself and enjoy their company, partly I was waiting for sunshine so I could photograph them as they deserved, and mostly, I was waiting until I FINALLY finished my part of the bargain. With two small boys constantly demanding my attention, it seemed to take forever. I have been stitching seated on a toddler-sized wooden chair in the playroom, I have been stitching out in the grass watching the acrobatics, I have been stitching under pine trees (and lost my needle).
Starting with nothing but a blank sheet of paper, a bag of felt and fabric scraps and a lot of imagination, I amazed myself by creating a blue-footed booby that I am actually really happy with! (Wombat loved it too, so I am crafting a second one for him - he was really disappointed that I wouldn't let him play with the first one!) I would love to share it with you, but I want it to be a surprise for Farida when she opens the box...
Oh, all right - just a sneak peek then!
Although I would dearly love to follow Farida's example and begin my own etsy store, I have way too many irons in the fire and could not justify the neglect of my children which would necessarily follow me indulging my obsession with making things. I have no self-control when it comes to such matters... and so I live vicariously, enjoying her adventures, and counting myself incredibly lucky to be gifted with such companions on life's journey :D
Another person I am very grateful to have met through blogging is Farida from Saints and Spinners. Although we have never met in person (and most likely never will, living on opposite sides of the world) I count Farida among my dearest friends. I have been fascinated by my glimpses into her life, from the first time I stumbled across her blog and was captivated by the image of her daughter dancing with the dust fairies, through the gradual expansion of her storytelling business, to her recent successful venture into the world of doll making.
You can see Farida's dolls at her etsy store: Alkelda
So far, Farida has been concentrating on nature dolls and elementals. A collection of saints is also planned and I can't wait to see what she comes up with! They are sweetly detailed little creations, just right to hold in your hand or inspire you from windowsill or tabletop - and I am lucky enough to own two of them.
It all started when Farida mentioned - possibly as a joke - making a doll to represent the heroine from The Seven Ravens fairytale. I immediately started thinking how I could a) coerce her into making this dream come true and b) make it mine! (My favourite long-term writing project - and the one I am most determined to finally finish one day - is turning the Seven Ravens into a novel.)
Thinking back, I remembered Farida once expressing a wish for a Blue-footed Booby puppet, and so a trade was proposed and accepted.
Here she is - my lovely Seven Ravens girl. She sits atop my computer monitor and nags me ceaselessly, as all good muses should. Her cloak is embroidered with the sun, the moon, a sprinkle of stars and a track of raven footprints. She is independent, impatient, anxious about her siblings, and in her minds-eye, already far from home having marvellous adventures. I love her!
Seven Ravens Girl
Seeking her brothers,
she has crossed oceans to be
my inspiration.
Seeking her brothers,
she has crossed oceans to be
my inspiration.
Then, when Farida opened her etsy store, I went window shopping, knowing that I could not afford to indulge myself by buying dolls, no matter how beautifully made. I fell in love with one, in particular.
Dressed in cobalt blue, with embroidered dragonflies skimming her skirt, standing tall and elegant with her staff topped with delicate blooms in blue and pink... I immediately wrote to Farida, intending only to express my sincere admiration for her creation (and my intention of 'stealing' her dragonfly embroidery design). In an incredibly act of friendship and generosity, Farida decided I should have her, and now she stands beside Seven Ravens' girl, as my totem of love, hope and courage! Sweet Borage is cosy and stay-by-my-side, ready to light my way through the darkness with her starflowers, and inspire my dreams with her flitting dragonflies.
Borage: Starflower, Herb of Courage
A kindred spirit
one mother to another
lighting the darkness.
A kindred spirit
one mother to another
lighting the darkness.
It has taken me many weeks to finally, publicly acknowledge these lovely creations - partly I wanted to keep them to myself and enjoy their company, partly I was waiting for sunshine so I could photograph them as they deserved, and mostly, I was waiting until I FINALLY finished my part of the bargain. With two small boys constantly demanding my attention, it seemed to take forever. I have been stitching seated on a toddler-sized wooden chair in the playroom, I have been stitching out in the grass watching the acrobatics, I have been stitching under pine trees (and lost my needle).
Starting with nothing but a blank sheet of paper, a bag of felt and fabric scraps and a lot of imagination, I amazed myself by creating a blue-footed booby that I am actually really happy with! (Wombat loved it too, so I am crafting a second one for him - he was really disappointed that I wouldn't let him play with the first one!) I would love to share it with you, but I want it to be a surprise for Farida when she opens the box...
Oh, all right - just a sneak peek then!
Although I would dearly love to follow Farida's example and begin my own etsy store, I have way too many irons in the fire and could not justify the neglect of my children which would necessarily follow me indulging my obsession with making things. I have no self-control when it comes to such matters... and so I live vicariously, enjoying her adventures, and counting myself incredibly lucky to be gifted with such companions on life's journey :D
Saturday, March 28, 2009
A slippery snail drop
The snails I made for Wombat's birthday turned out beautifully. I will post a pic of them when I am finished making their mat to race on (my sewing machine has not been cooperating, so I have only been able to finish things which could be done by hand.)
I couldn't find any felted wool jumpers that I was happy with, so I ended up crocheting the shells. This was a trial and error process, so I had a number which were good but not exactly what I wanted. Yay!!! That meant more snails for toy drops :P
Steff, recognise the body fabric on this little guy? It's the waistband from the maternity jeans she passed down to me after her first pregnancy. I wore them for two pregnancies and most of the time in between, until the denim part was full of holes... and now they live again lol
Dropped: Camden, NSW
Number of toys: 1
Made by: Schelle
Dropped by: Schelle & family
When: 27 March 2009
And: When I left, this friendly fellow was happily admiring the magnificent steam engines on display at Camden Show.
I have another snail to drop this morning - I am hoping to leave her riding the ferris wheel :D
I have won Yeti's approval for this now so I am sure you will see more drops from me in the future - probably not as many as some as I don't get far from home very often - but every chance I get! Yeti likes the street art aspect - that's what got him on side :D
I couldn't find any felted wool jumpers that I was happy with, so I ended up crocheting the shells. This was a trial and error process, so I had a number which were good but not exactly what I wanted. Yay!!! That meant more snails for toy drops :P
Steff, recognise the body fabric on this little guy? It's the waistband from the maternity jeans she passed down to me after her first pregnancy. I wore them for two pregnancies and most of the time in between, until the denim part was full of holes... and now they live again lol
Dropped: Camden, NSW
Number of toys: 1
Made by: Schelle
Dropped by: Schelle & family
When: 27 March 2009
And: When I left, this friendly fellow was happily admiring the magnificent steam engines on display at Camden Show.
I have another snail to drop this morning - I am hoping to leave her riding the ferris wheel :D
I have won Yeti's approval for this now so I am sure you will see more drops from me in the future - probably not as many as some as I don't get far from home very often - but every chance I get! Yeti likes the street art aspect - that's what got him on side :D
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Out for the duration
The boys aren't that sick, just enough to be demanding extra attention (there's a voice in my ear right now - "Mummy, you have to make lots of cars. Lots and lots of lego cars!")...
and my home journal planning is finished & being put into practice, so the housecleaning has started and is going well (yesterday I washed the velvet curtains in the loungeroom - for the first time in two years!!!)...
and Munchkin is getting more mobile (I was filling Wombat's bath last night, sure that Munchkin was still snoozing soundly in my bed... he heard the water running - loves his bath - and tried to crawl out to us landing nose first on the wooden floor OUCH!)...
and I have to re-enroll at the College of Law this month, which means getting all my notes in order...
and Wombat's birthday is coming up, so any computer time is vanishing into the search for perfect presents (for a little boy already so spoilt by eBay that he expects something new every other day)...
and the posts I wanted to write are piling up behind me in an avalanche of "shoulds"...
and the doctor tells me my insulin resistance and blood pressure are too high as a result of the extra weight I am still carrying from the pregnancies...
and I have decided to go back to drinking full cream milk as breastmilk is still an important part of Munchkin's diet and he is very obviously craving fats to build that growing brain. I was cutting all fat out of my diet in the hope that my body would burn some of the extra I was carrying to feed Munchkin, but it's just not working that way, and I refuse to compromise his development. The change is obvious - he is instantly sleeping for longer periods and is more settled. I used to notice the same thing with Wombat whenever I started drinking lite milk while feeding him. I was just being stubborn about it, but oh well... I have cut out all sugar from my diet, and the only other answer is more exercise... which takes time I would otherwise spend at the computer....
so I am declaring a time out :D I won't be writing or opening my Google Reader, so please excuse my absence. I'll probably be back after Easter. In the meantime, I will still try to keep up with my daily photos at Fleeting Reality - I am taking photos every day, and just getting them up onto the internet when I can squeeze in a few moments for myself, so they tend to appear in clumps rather than one at a time - yay for being able to backdate posts!
See you soon... I'll miss you... but a mama's gotta do what a mama's gotta do!!!
and my home journal planning is finished & being put into practice, so the housecleaning has started and is going well (yesterday I washed the velvet curtains in the loungeroom - for the first time in two years!!!)...
and Munchkin is getting more mobile (I was filling Wombat's bath last night, sure that Munchkin was still snoozing soundly in my bed... he heard the water running - loves his bath - and tried to crawl out to us landing nose first on the wooden floor OUCH!)...
and I have to re-enroll at the College of Law this month, which means getting all my notes in order...
and Wombat's birthday is coming up, so any computer time is vanishing into the search for perfect presents (for a little boy already so spoilt by eBay that he expects something new every other day)...
and the posts I wanted to write are piling up behind me in an avalanche of "shoulds"...
and the doctor tells me my insulin resistance and blood pressure are too high as a result of the extra weight I am still carrying from the pregnancies...
and I have decided to go back to drinking full cream milk as breastmilk is still an important part of Munchkin's diet and he is very obviously craving fats to build that growing brain. I was cutting all fat out of my diet in the hope that my body would burn some of the extra I was carrying to feed Munchkin, but it's just not working that way, and I refuse to compromise his development. The change is obvious - he is instantly sleeping for longer periods and is more settled. I used to notice the same thing with Wombat whenever I started drinking lite milk while feeding him. I was just being stubborn about it, but oh well... I have cut out all sugar from my diet, and the only other answer is more exercise... which takes time I would otherwise spend at the computer....
so I am declaring a time out :D I won't be writing or opening my Google Reader, so please excuse my absence. I'll probably be back after Easter. In the meantime, I will still try to keep up with my daily photos at Fleeting Reality - I am taking photos every day, and just getting them up onto the internet when I can squeeze in a few moments for myself, so they tend to appear in clumps rather than one at a time - yay for being able to backdate posts!
See you soon... I'll miss you... but a mama's gotta do what a mama's gotta do!!!
Monday, July 16, 2007
In case anyone hadn't guessed....
You May Be a Bit Histrionic... |
 Dramatic and over the top, you crave attention. And you'll do anything it takes to get noticed. You love to be seductive, even when it's inappropriate. If you're ignored, you're easily hurt ... and act out even more! |
Hiyaaaaa CHOP!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Reality interruptus
It's worse than I thought - my father's visit this weekend seemed to be the breaking point (especially my going to bed with Wombat & leaving Dad to argue with Yeti until after midnight) - and the stress of having to spend over $2000 and 2 weeks in town for the College of Law...
Yeti is furious with how much of my time the 'law study' is taking when I told him it would only be 3 hours a day.
He is furious that I am not working on the book I promised to write from my thesis.
He is furious that his 85 year old mother is worn out from doing all the housework.
He is furious that they both spend all their time supporting me and I give them nothing but bad attitude in return.
He is furious that he never sees me, and that if I keep going in this law career we probably will never have any more kids because I will always be too busy and too stressed to even think of getting pregnant.
We had a huge argument tonight and he basically gave me an ultimatum - prove why I should be doing the law and that I really want to do it & fight for my right to, instead of constantly complaining like I'm being forced to do it.
Immediately investigate things I can do straight away with my degrees - I am going to write to nearby universities after I post this and ask about lecturing/tutoring, just to find out if I DO have the possibility of an academic career.
Quit studying before I spend all Wombat's money on myself (my only income is the government parenting payment) and become a housewife, giving my full attention to mothering & being supportive of others - but if I take that (very attractive) option I have to be the best housewife the world has ever seen - and I have NO practice at that. It would also require me to justify why I have spent 13 years and run up a $36,000 study debt gaining two high-level honours degrees, with no intention of ever using them... giving up my law studies this year would waste $6000 in fees (I didn't pay them upfront - they are added to that immense aforementioned study debt - but if I ever go back and start this course again I would have to pay them upfront.)
If he knew the reality of my procrastination, I think he would demand I leave as I am obviously uninterested in being married to him - he would see it as that much of a betrayal of 'us'.
Whatever way I look at it, big changes are going to have to occur. I need to do some serious work and thinking. I have a lot of investigation to do before we can make informed decisions. I can no longer keep drifting along in my comfortable life, pretending to be so focussed on the grindstone that I can't see how miserable I am making those around me. As tempting as it is to throw in the towel and 'make the stress go away' I can't keep making spur of the moment decisions and then forcing everyone else to live by them - that's how I got into law in the first place - it was not from any idealism or desire to be a lawyer - it was just a quick answer that seemed to satisfy other peoples' idea of what I should do with my life.
Please pray for us - I will try to keep you informed of how things go. There's a brand new ending out there for us... I just have to find the right path to start on - but first I need to find my 'Big Gold Star destination'... and that's going to require some divine assistance.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Smart Habit Saturday
When I noticed the judge for Scribbit's WriteAway Competition this month, I was immediately intrigued by her blog name: The Lazy Organizer. Sounds like my kind of person, I thought... so even though I don't have time to add anything more to my reading list, I went for a look.
Luckily, the first post I bumped into was for Smart Habit Saturday. (Not that the rest of her blog isn't a good read, it's just that this is what I really need - even more than I need a genuine Alaskan Moose Candy dispenser.)
I had a whole post planned in my head about traditions, and what kinds of traditions I want to start for Wombat, and how such things have to become a habit for me before they can be a tradition for him (little things, like remembering to say grace before meals)... but then my mind started overflowing with all the habits I really needed to be working on. I started to feel overwhelmed, so I got out the calendar, and wrote down one for each Saturday. I now have new habits planned to work on every week for the next three months!
The thing is, I know this works. Concentrating on one thing at a time means you can actually put some effort into it without being distracted - or it becoming a distraction from the other things you must do. Before you know it, it becomes second nature and you don't have to think about it any more. Getting up early to study is a good example. At first it took a lot of effort. Now I actually enjoy it. This morning, I even woke up at 2:50 am, ready to go - 10 minutes before my alarm went off!!!
Which brings me to my first Smart HABIT (as Lara at The Lazy Organizer explains, S.M.A.R.T. stands for "Saving Money, Associations, Resources and Time". I need to do all those things, but to begin with, there is a most important resource that needs looking after. My body.
My first smart habit is:
1. EXERCISE
All my life (or at least for as long as I have been aware) I have deplored my mother's habit of pushing herself to get things done - working on without taking time to look after her physical needs. When she was young it wasn't a problem, but now, at just over 60, she is facing hip surgery and is in constant agony from her back. Despite this, she keeps doing what she has always done and nothing changes. (She is a cake decorator, so her work involves long hours bent over a table with nothing moving but her fingers.... hmmm... not unlike someone who works constantly at a computer...)
The thing is, this tendency must be heriditary, because I am turning out to be just as bad. I sink myself into my work, and hours pass by without me moving. (I am including all computer time under the title 'work' there - but I should admit much of it is play - blog reading, website building, other writing, editing photographs - however, that is a topic for another habit some other Saturday - except that if I spend too much time playing & too little time working, I am even less inclined to take time off to exercise, as I have too much catching up to do...) Despite my good start this morning, I have now been sitting at the computer for two hours, have not opened a law book, have certainly not exercised, have not thought about my posture and have not even gotten around to putting my slippers on - I am sitting here in bare feet and it is 5 degrees celsius.
This year is proving to be worse than normal, due to my increased workload, and the fact that I am busy with Wombat the rest of the time, so I can't just go for a long walk or hop on the elliptical whenever I feel like it (which admittedly wasn't all that often anyway.) There are so many things Ineed want to get done... who has time to exercise???
The answer, spoken very firmly to myself, must be "MAKE TIME OR ELSE".
I am overweight and unfit. My posture is terrible. I need to do something about it asap, or my most important resource (me) will not last my lifetime.
I have pulled out my elastic home gym for stretching & isometric exercise and will use that for warm-ups, and then I will hop on the elliptical and cycle as fast as I can for 5 minutes. I aim to start by doing this once every hour as a study break, and hopefully increase to every half hour once it becomes a habit.
Being a glutton for punishment, I am even going to take Ulysses out with me & read while I cycle ;) may as well get a mental and physical workout at the same time (and hopefully finish the darn thing some time this year)! I will report back on my progress and list a new habit to work on next Saturday. (As Lara points out, it takes 21 days for something to become a habit, so I don't expect instant results... but having publically declared my intentions, and having to review my progress & report back each week should help keep me on track towards my goals.)
In case I needed more incentive - when I was 14 I had an operation on my knee... lately, that knee has been going to sleep or getting painful pins and needles after I have been working for a few hours... my attempts to get the blood flowing to it again at least allow me to bring you this pretty photo - so now I have no excuse at all not to make exercise a habit - there's even a blue moon!
Today is a good day to start making a brand new ending.
Luckily, the first post I bumped into was for Smart Habit Saturday. (Not that the rest of her blog isn't a good read, it's just that this is what I really need - even more than I need a genuine Alaskan Moose Candy dispenser.)
I had a whole post planned in my head about traditions, and what kinds of traditions I want to start for Wombat, and how such things have to become a habit for me before they can be a tradition for him (little things, like remembering to say grace before meals)... but then my mind started overflowing with all the habits I really needed to be working on. I started to feel overwhelmed, so I got out the calendar, and wrote down one for each Saturday. I now have new habits planned to work on every week for the next three months!
The thing is, I know this works. Concentrating on one thing at a time means you can actually put some effort into it without being distracted - or it becoming a distraction from the other things you must do. Before you know it, it becomes second nature and you don't have to think about it any more. Getting up early to study is a good example. At first it took a lot of effort. Now I actually enjoy it. This morning, I even woke up at 2:50 am, ready to go - 10 minutes before my alarm went off!!!
Which brings me to my first Smart HABIT (as Lara at The Lazy Organizer explains, S.M.A.R.T. stands for "Saving Money, Associations, Resources and Time". I need to do all those things, but to begin with, there is a most important resource that needs looking after. My body.
My first smart habit is:
1. EXERCISE
All my life (or at least for as long as I have been aware) I have deplored my mother's habit of pushing herself to get things done - working on without taking time to look after her physical needs. When she was young it wasn't a problem, but now, at just over 60, she is facing hip surgery and is in constant agony from her back. Despite this, she keeps doing what she has always done and nothing changes. (She is a cake decorator, so her work involves long hours bent over a table with nothing moving but her fingers.... hmmm... not unlike someone who works constantly at a computer...)
The thing is, this tendency must be heriditary, because I am turning out to be just as bad. I sink myself into my work, and hours pass by without me moving. (I am including all computer time under the title 'work' there - but I should admit much of it is play - blog reading, website building, other writing, editing photographs - however, that is a topic for another habit some other Saturday - except that if I spend too much time playing & too little time working, I am even less inclined to take time off to exercise, as I have too much catching up to do...) Despite my good start this morning, I have now been sitting at the computer for two hours, have not opened a law book, have certainly not exercised, have not thought about my posture and have not even gotten around to putting my slippers on - I am sitting here in bare feet and it is 5 degrees celsius.
This year is proving to be worse than normal, due to my increased workload, and the fact that I am busy with Wombat the rest of the time, so I can't just go for a long walk or hop on the elliptical whenever I feel like it (which admittedly wasn't all that often anyway.) There are so many things I
The answer, spoken very firmly to myself, must be "MAKE TIME OR ELSE".
I am overweight and unfit. My posture is terrible. I need to do something about it asap, or my most important resource (me) will not last my lifetime.
I have pulled out my elastic home gym for stretching & isometric exercise and will use that for warm-ups, and then I will hop on the elliptical and cycle as fast as I can for 5 minutes. I aim to start by doing this once every hour as a study break, and hopefully increase to every half hour once it becomes a habit.
Being a glutton for punishment, I am even going to take Ulysses out with me & read while I cycle ;) may as well get a mental and physical workout at the same time (and hopefully finish the darn thing some time this year)! I will report back on my progress and list a new habit to work on next Saturday. (As Lara points out, it takes 21 days for something to become a habit, so I don't expect instant results... but having publically declared my intentions, and having to review my progress & report back each week should help keep me on track towards my goals.)
In case I needed more incentive - when I was 14 I had an operation on my knee... lately, that knee has been going to sleep or getting painful pins and needles after I have been working for a few hours... my attempts to get the blood flowing to it again at least allow me to bring you this pretty photo - so now I have no excuse at all not to make exercise a habit - there's even a blue moon!
Today is a good day to start making a brand new ending.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Satisfaction
I did not study this morning - despite Wombat having not napped at all yesterday, and my not getting anything done. I did not write the entry on traditions for Scribbit's June Write Away Contest that I had planned. I did not have to go in to Wombat, even once - he slept the whole night straight through (having had no naps...) I did not even waste the morning reading blogs.
Instead, I tidied.
My family would not believe this, but I have an immense desire for a nice house - to have a place for everything, and everything in its place. That is so far from my reality that I can hear my sister laughing so hard she almost goes into early labour (in fact, I can hear her through several hours of time and over 800kms of distance).
It all started when I remembered I have an important form to fill out that MUST be posted on Thursday, and that I will need to get Yeti to add his information to it tomorrow. I was happily filling in my part at 4am when I realised I needed a detail from another document. I started looking for it in the small cardboard box that is my current "important documents & waiting to file" storage place. The box was almost full, and an inordinate amount of brochures and other rubbish had crept in, so I started to sort it out. Once I started, I couldn't stop.
You see, once I'd pulled all the rubbish out of the box (and found the documents I wanted) I was left with a pile of rubbish. I went to put it in my desk bin (a plastic bag), and realised it was full to overflowing, and I hadn't emptied it in weeks because I was waiting to sort out the garbage from the paper. So I did that. And then I looked at my desk and realised half the paper on it could also go in the recycling, so I started on that.
Every so often I would stop, filled with a feeling of accomplishment, and then my shoulders would sag as I looked around and realised how much more clutter there was still to deal with.
Two hours later, I am finally finished. My desk area may not be clean, but at least it is neat - I can see the layers of dust, instead of vaguely believing they exist under the piles of paper (lol, now I can see Scribbit shuddering - all the way from Alaska).
All the random sewing supplies that were scattered around are in a bag on the floor and I have a box of "stuff" to put back into the bedroom. I have found Wombat's missing shoe, and some jewellery I haven't seen for over six months. Paperclips, erasers, post it notes, stickers, pencils, drawing pins, hair ties, pens and all the things I use on a daily basis now have their own separate jars instead of overflowing from miscellaneous bowls. I have taken two bags of paper and one of garbage out and put them in their respective bins.
I still haven't finished filling out that form... the bill of costs I started preparing two days ago for my tutorial is still staring accusingly at me from the bar at the bottom of my screen... Wombat is about to wake up any minute and I need to go and feed the chooks... but despite it all, I feel happy.
Of course, I have done this before... many times. I dread the thought of doing it again, but I know I will - over and over. To do otherwise, I would have to make decluttering a habit. I intend to do so, but it is only one of a thousand new habits I am dreaming of... and that's a topic for another day...
Hey, now that I have cleaned up a bit, I might actually get the chance to give Wombat to his Daddy for an hour and VACUUM... wooohoooooo!
Instead, I tidied.
My family would not believe this, but I have an immense desire for a nice house - to have a place for everything, and everything in its place. That is so far from my reality that I can hear my sister laughing so hard she almost goes into early labour (in fact, I can hear her through several hours of time and over 800kms of distance).
It all started when I remembered I have an important form to fill out that MUST be posted on Thursday, and that I will need to get Yeti to add his information to it tomorrow. I was happily filling in my part at 4am when I realised I needed a detail from another document. I started looking for it in the small cardboard box that is my current "important documents & waiting to file" storage place. The box was almost full, and an inordinate amount of brochures and other rubbish had crept in, so I started to sort it out. Once I started, I couldn't stop.
You see, once I'd pulled all the rubbish out of the box (and found the documents I wanted) I was left with a pile of rubbish. I went to put it in my desk bin (a plastic bag), and realised it was full to overflowing, and I hadn't emptied it in weeks because I was waiting to sort out the garbage from the paper. So I did that. And then I looked at my desk and realised half the paper on it could also go in the recycling, so I started on that.
Every so often I would stop, filled with a feeling of accomplishment, and then my shoulders would sag as I looked around and realised how much more clutter there was still to deal with.
Two hours later, I am finally finished. My desk area may not be clean, but at least it is neat - I can see the layers of dust, instead of vaguely believing they exist under the piles of paper (lol, now I can see Scribbit shuddering - all the way from Alaska).
All the random sewing supplies that were scattered around are in a bag on the floor and I have a box of "stuff" to put back into the bedroom. I have found Wombat's missing shoe, and some jewellery I haven't seen for over six months. Paperclips, erasers, post it notes, stickers, pencils, drawing pins, hair ties, pens and all the things I use on a daily basis now have their own separate jars instead of overflowing from miscellaneous bowls. I have taken two bags of paper and one of garbage out and put them in their respective bins.
I still haven't finished filling out that form... the bill of costs I started preparing two days ago for my tutorial is still staring accusingly at me from the bar at the bottom of my screen... Wombat is about to wake up any minute and I need to go and feed the chooks... but despite it all, I feel happy.
Of course, I have done this before... many times. I dread the thought of doing it again, but I know I will - over and over. To do otherwise, I would have to make decluttering a habit. I intend to do so, but it is only one of a thousand new habits I am dreaming of... and that's a topic for another day...
Hey, now that I have cleaned up a bit, I might actually get the chance to give Wombat to his Daddy for an hour and VACUUM... wooohoooooo!
Monday, June 04, 2007
A day in the life of a weaning Wombat
Weaning is actually going better than expected - I guess since I am not making him go totally "cold turkey" and since even he must have noticed there was a problem. I have never had trouble with milk supply - when he was little I used to produce too much, rather than too little - but lately I just haven't been able to keep up with his demands. It seems to be Mother Nature's way of moving us on to the next step.
Here's a 'snapshot' of our day (funny - I can't seem to work out where to start, so I'll just dive in! The times are of course just general indications - anyone with experience of toddlers knows they can't be predicted like clockwork... but the times are generally accurate give or take an hour or two, and some parent-controlled times, like dinner and bedtime, are always the same.)
At 6:30 pm, Daddy Yeti starts cooking dinner. Mummy and Wombat play in Valco playpen which has now been opened up and used as a barrier across quarter of the loungeroom. Wombat wanders around playing with his toys & pulling book after book from his bookshelf for me to read. I do a little handsewing, or if he is particular engrossed in some activity, I sneak a quick read of my own book (still slogging slowly through Ulysses... more comments about that when I finally finish it!) I keep a bottle of milk with us, and offer it to him at any opportunity.
7:00 pm is dinner. Wombat sits with his highchair pulled up to the table between Mummy & Daddy & eats off his tray. He has the same meal as we do - generally lamb chops and veggies. He particularly loves his corn-on-the-cob. For sweets he has yoghurt or home-made green apple jelly. More bottle milk or some juice to drink.
7:30 pm after dinner, I release him from his highchair and he "attacks" Daddy while I rinse his dishes, wipe the chair & put any scraps in the bucket for the chooks. Then Mummy and Wombat go into the bedroom for a potty-sit and pyjama dressing. Nana washes the other dinner dishes.
7:45 pm back to the playpen, all snuggly warm in his pjs. I help him choose four books and lay them out - he tells me which order to read them in, and we have quiet bedtime reading, with perhaps a little more bottle milk or water. When we finish the four books, it is time to find Daddy for his goodnight hug. I hand him over, visit the "big person's potty" & give my teeth a quick brush while he and Daddy say good night to Nana, and then to Mitch (the mad parrot). Mummy kisses Daddy goodnight and carries Wombat into bedroom. He waves to Daddy and shuts the door. (Yeti is still sleeping in the loungeroom, partly because it is more comfortable to have a heater on his back, and partly because he is a real night owl & so keeps different hours to a Baby Wombat :P we tend to meet like ships passing in the night which is a bit difficult on us both, but I hope things will get back to normal eventually)
8:00 pm Wombat and Mummy say their prayers, I put him into his bed (a king-single mattress with custom built "cot" sides) where he chews on his blanket. I change into my pyjamas, check my alarm clock, start the lullaby cd, rub some bonjella on his gums, give him paracetemol if needed (Nurofen works better, but Yeti suspects it contains opiates which would make him more sensitive to pain, so we have stopped using it), turn off the light and climb in with him. I breastfeed him to sleep, but he is generally so sleepy & full of milk & dinner by now that we both fall asleep before the lullaby cd is half over.
Around midnight he usually wakes up for another feed. This is when the weaning starts. I will give him lots of cuddles and reassurance, but I refuse to feed him. He howls in protest and I tell him, "I know, it's frustrating, but you're growing up and things have to change." He might cry and complain for more than half an hour, but eventually he will fall asleep again. If his crying gets too frantic to the point where he is really upset, rather than just complaining, we get up and visit Daddy for a few minutes distraction. When he is calm, we go back to bed and start the cuddling and reassuring again. It seems to go on forever at times, but just when I am about to give in, he will suddenly fall asleep, so I am learning to stick to my guns, and it seems to get a little bit easier each night.
2:15 am he generally wakes up again for another feed. The same process - lots of cuddles and reassurance, but no mummy milk. This morning he complained for half an hour then eventually fell asleep with his head buried in my tummy.
3:00 am Mummy gets up to study. Wombat often wakes up again, and every hour or so after that, but I listen to him on the monitor & judge his level of awakeness. He tends to give one or two cries and then go back to sleep, so I just keep typing (like right now!) and wait for him to settle. If his cries are very upset rather than just whinging, or if he doesn't go quiet after a few minutes, I go and give him a cuddle. Sometimes just a hand on his shoulder or leg will help him settle, sometimes it will take nearly an hour of cuddling. I guess it depends on how sore his teeth are. Before I start studying, I boil the kettle, wash his dishes properly, sterilise his bottles, wash the highchair again, and make a cup of tea! A quick email read & any blogging - and try to be actually studying by 4:30.
6:00 am When Wombat wakes up this time, I know he won't settle himself. I warm a bottle of milk and go in to him. He will refuse the bottle if offered and start to get very upset, so I give him his morning breastfeed. As soon as he stops sucking, I "detach" myself from him (often with great difficulty!) When he howls and tries to get back on the nipple I offer him the bottle again. He is usually still very sleepy, so he will take it and chew/suck on it for a while until his tummy is full, and then he will go back to sleep.
How long he sleeps after that depends on how awake he has been during the night - yesterday he slept in until 9am!!!
7:00 am I go out and hang any washing & give the chooks their breakfast (Wombat likes to do this with me, but it is generally well under 10 degrees celsius lately, and too cold for a just-woken-up Wombat, so I do it before he wakes up)
7:30 am he usually wakes up crying, but stops quickly and I can hear him talking to his toys and reading the cloth books I keep at the end of his bed. I let him play by himself for a few minutes while I quickly finish off what I am working on, then I go in, singing brightly "Good morning, Good morning, how is my boy today? Good morning, good morning to you!" I open the curtains and talk to him about what we are going to do today. Before the weaning started, he would often pat his blanket very charmingly and refuse to get up until Mummy climbed in to give him a cuddle and some Mummy milk. This was a highlight of our day and we both miss it - but he has suddenly started cuddling and patting his stuffed toys instead, so I join him in that. I get him up and get him dressed.
8:00 am Into the highchair for breakfast - a slice of raisin toast with peanut butter, then a weetbix, or a bowl of porridge (often with raisins, tinned peaches & yoghurt). Milk, water or juice. While he is eating his breakfast, I run a bath and put the immersion heater in to warm it up (we still haven't managed to replace the hot water system. It worked for a little while, but has kicked the bucket again.)
9:00 am potty-sit, nappy change and then into the playpen with Mummy for a morning of reading and playing. Mummy sneaks away for a few minutes to feed the parrot & take him out in the sun once he starts squawking for breakfast.
9:30 am bath time for Mummy and Wombat. I have my bath with him to save on water & heating (we use rainwater tanks, and since we are still in drought & nappies take a lot of washing, water is always low).
10:30 am About 3 hours after he wakes up, Wombat starts to get very floppy and fall over a lot - generally a sign that it's time for a nap. I warm a bottle of milk and we climb into his bed. I start him off with breastfeeding, and try to swap for the bottle as soon as I can. Unfortunately he is generally more awake than first thing in the morning and less likely to accept the exchange. He will be dozing very peacefully and almost asleep, but wake up as soon as I take my breast back. Offering the bottle will get me nowhere, and before I know it, there is one wide awake Wombat bouncing around the bed. This used to happen quite often anyway, but it is much easier to deal with when I haven't spent half an hour pouring breast milk into him! (After that kind of investment, I used to feel quite betrayed if he didn't fall asleep and give me some time to myself! When it is only the bottle that isn't working any magic I can be much more philosophical about it.) I pretend to be asleep and let him tromp all over me and give me cuddles for an hour or so, because at least that way we get a little quiet time even if not napping. If he does fall asleep, I sneak away to study.
11:30 am He wakes up, or we both get up. Potty sit/nappy change. Play on the verandah.
12:00 midday Lunchtime in the highchair. A sandwich, milk/juice/water and fruit. All the scraps are cut up and put into the chook bucket.
1:00 pm Potty sit/nappy change. Take the chooks the scraps from lunch, play in the yard, go for a bushwalk.
2:30 pm bottle of milk and books in the playpen. Start thinking about nap - especially if he missed the morning one. Same routine with feeding as the morning nap - but if he has missed the morning nap then he will often fall asleep before we get to the bottle stage, or I will be less draconian about letting him breastfeed himself to sleep. If he has napped well in the morning he will often skip this nap instead.
3:30 pm Wake up, potty sit, nappy change. Outside to wander around and play. Mummy brings in any washing off the line & we take the veggie scraps to the chooks & make sure they are all ready for nighttime.
4:30 pm starting to get cold, so back inside in the playpen. Mummy brings in the parrot and feeds it (Mitch sleeps inside during winter). Read books and play until dinner.
There you go, in case you were wondering what a day in the life of a 14 month old Wombat was like! Every day follows the same routine except for Thursdays, when Mummy leaves Wombat with Daddy after breakfast and goes out to teach her catechist classes from 9 until 11. When I get home, we head off for naptime, and the routine goes back to normal. I would really like to add Sunday mass to this routine as well, but with Wombat teething, it generally just doesn't work out. When he is a little bit older (or if the church was closer) we will make it a regular habit. Until then I hope God understands!
Well, my blogging has taken half an hour more than allowed, so I had better fast forward into study mode - hope you all enjoyed my day, and have a good one yourselves :D
Here's a 'snapshot' of our day (funny - I can't seem to work out where to start, so I'll just dive in! The times are of course just general indications - anyone with experience of toddlers knows they can't be predicted like clockwork... but the times are generally accurate give or take an hour or two, and some parent-controlled times, like dinner and bedtime, are always the same.)
At 6:30 pm, Daddy Yeti starts cooking dinner. Mummy and Wombat play in Valco playpen which has now been opened up and used as a barrier across quarter of the loungeroom. Wombat wanders around playing with his toys & pulling book after book from his bookshelf for me to read. I do a little handsewing, or if he is particular engrossed in some activity, I sneak a quick read of my own book (still slogging slowly through Ulysses... more comments about that when I finally finish it!) I keep a bottle of milk with us, and offer it to him at any opportunity.
7:00 pm is dinner. Wombat sits with his highchair pulled up to the table between Mummy & Daddy & eats off his tray. He has the same meal as we do - generally lamb chops and veggies. He particularly loves his corn-on-the-cob. For sweets he has yoghurt or home-made green apple jelly. More bottle milk or some juice to drink.
7:30 pm after dinner, I release him from his highchair and he "attacks" Daddy while I rinse his dishes, wipe the chair & put any scraps in the bucket for the chooks. Then Mummy and Wombat go into the bedroom for a potty-sit and pyjama dressing. Nana washes the other dinner dishes.
7:45 pm back to the playpen, all snuggly warm in his pjs. I help him choose four books and lay them out - he tells me which order to read them in, and we have quiet bedtime reading, with perhaps a little more bottle milk or water. When we finish the four books, it is time to find Daddy for his goodnight hug. I hand him over, visit the "big person's potty" & give my teeth a quick brush while he and Daddy say good night to Nana, and then to Mitch (the mad parrot). Mummy kisses Daddy goodnight and carries Wombat into bedroom. He waves to Daddy and shuts the door. (Yeti is still sleeping in the loungeroom, partly because it is more comfortable to have a heater on his back, and partly because he is a real night owl & so keeps different hours to a Baby Wombat :P we tend to meet like ships passing in the night which is a bit difficult on us both, but I hope things will get back to normal eventually)
8:00 pm Wombat and Mummy say their prayers, I put him into his bed (a king-single mattress with custom built "cot" sides) where he chews on his blanket. I change into my pyjamas, check my alarm clock, start the lullaby cd, rub some bonjella on his gums, give him paracetemol if needed (Nurofen works better, but Yeti suspects it contains opiates which would make him more sensitive to pain, so we have stopped using it), turn off the light and climb in with him. I breastfeed him to sleep, but he is generally so sleepy & full of milk & dinner by now that we both fall asleep before the lullaby cd is half over.
Around midnight he usually wakes up for another feed. This is when the weaning starts. I will give him lots of cuddles and reassurance, but I refuse to feed him. He howls in protest and I tell him, "I know, it's frustrating, but you're growing up and things have to change." He might cry and complain for more than half an hour, but eventually he will fall asleep again. If his crying gets too frantic to the point where he is really upset, rather than just complaining, we get up and visit Daddy for a few minutes distraction. When he is calm, we go back to bed and start the cuddling and reassuring again. It seems to go on forever at times, but just when I am about to give in, he will suddenly fall asleep, so I am learning to stick to my guns, and it seems to get a little bit easier each night.
2:15 am he generally wakes up again for another feed. The same process - lots of cuddles and reassurance, but no mummy milk. This morning he complained for half an hour then eventually fell asleep with his head buried in my tummy.
3:00 am Mummy gets up to study. Wombat often wakes up again, and every hour or so after that, but I listen to him on the monitor & judge his level of awakeness. He tends to give one or two cries and then go back to sleep, so I just keep typing (like right now!) and wait for him to settle. If his cries are very upset rather than just whinging, or if he doesn't go quiet after a few minutes, I go and give him a cuddle. Sometimes just a hand on his shoulder or leg will help him settle, sometimes it will take nearly an hour of cuddling. I guess it depends on how sore his teeth are. Before I start studying, I boil the kettle, wash his dishes properly, sterilise his bottles, wash the highchair again, and make a cup of tea! A quick email read & any blogging - and try to be actually studying by 4:30.
6:00 am When Wombat wakes up this time, I know he won't settle himself. I warm a bottle of milk and go in to him. He will refuse the bottle if offered and start to get very upset, so I give him his morning breastfeed. As soon as he stops sucking, I "detach" myself from him (often with great difficulty!) When he howls and tries to get back on the nipple I offer him the bottle again. He is usually still very sleepy, so he will take it and chew/suck on it for a while until his tummy is full, and then he will go back to sleep.
How long he sleeps after that depends on how awake he has been during the night - yesterday he slept in until 9am!!!
7:00 am I go out and hang any washing & give the chooks their breakfast (Wombat likes to do this with me, but it is generally well under 10 degrees celsius lately, and too cold for a just-woken-up Wombat, so I do it before he wakes up)
7:30 am he usually wakes up crying, but stops quickly and I can hear him talking to his toys and reading the cloth books I keep at the end of his bed. I let him play by himself for a few minutes while I quickly finish off what I am working on, then I go in, singing brightly "Good morning, Good morning, how is my boy today? Good morning, good morning to you!" I open the curtains and talk to him about what we are going to do today. Before the weaning started, he would often pat his blanket very charmingly and refuse to get up until Mummy climbed in to give him a cuddle and some Mummy milk. This was a highlight of our day and we both miss it - but he has suddenly started cuddling and patting his stuffed toys instead, so I join him in that. I get him up and get him dressed.
8:00 am Into the highchair for breakfast - a slice of raisin toast with peanut butter, then a weetbix, or a bowl of porridge (often with raisins, tinned peaches & yoghurt). Milk, water or juice. While he is eating his breakfast, I run a bath and put the immersion heater in to warm it up (we still haven't managed to replace the hot water system. It worked for a little while, but has kicked the bucket again.)
9:00 am potty-sit, nappy change and then into the playpen with Mummy for a morning of reading and playing. Mummy sneaks away for a few minutes to feed the parrot & take him out in the sun once he starts squawking for breakfast.
9:30 am bath time for Mummy and Wombat. I have my bath with him to save on water & heating (we use rainwater tanks, and since we are still in drought & nappies take a lot of washing, water is always low).
10:30 am About 3 hours after he wakes up, Wombat starts to get very floppy and fall over a lot - generally a sign that it's time for a nap. I warm a bottle of milk and we climb into his bed. I start him off with breastfeeding, and try to swap for the bottle as soon as I can. Unfortunately he is generally more awake than first thing in the morning and less likely to accept the exchange. He will be dozing very peacefully and almost asleep, but wake up as soon as I take my breast back. Offering the bottle will get me nowhere, and before I know it, there is one wide awake Wombat bouncing around the bed. This used to happen quite often anyway, but it is much easier to deal with when I haven't spent half an hour pouring breast milk into him! (After that kind of investment, I used to feel quite betrayed if he didn't fall asleep and give me some time to myself! When it is only the bottle that isn't working any magic I can be much more philosophical about it.) I pretend to be asleep and let him tromp all over me and give me cuddles for an hour or so, because at least that way we get a little quiet time even if not napping. If he does fall asleep, I sneak away to study.
11:30 am He wakes up, or we both get up. Potty sit/nappy change. Play on the verandah.
12:00 midday Lunchtime in the highchair. A sandwich, milk/juice/water and fruit. All the scraps are cut up and put into the chook bucket.
1:00 pm Potty sit/nappy change. Take the chooks the scraps from lunch, play in the yard, go for a bushwalk.
2:30 pm bottle of milk and books in the playpen. Start thinking about nap - especially if he missed the morning one. Same routine with feeding as the morning nap - but if he has missed the morning nap then he will often fall asleep before we get to the bottle stage, or I will be less draconian about letting him breastfeed himself to sleep. If he has napped well in the morning he will often skip this nap instead.
3:30 pm Wake up, potty sit, nappy change. Outside to wander around and play. Mummy brings in any washing off the line & we take the veggie scraps to the chooks & make sure they are all ready for nighttime.
4:30 pm starting to get cold, so back inside in the playpen. Mummy brings in the parrot and feeds it (Mitch sleeps inside during winter). Read books and play until dinner.
There you go, in case you were wondering what a day in the life of a 14 month old Wombat was like! Every day follows the same routine except for Thursdays, when Mummy leaves Wombat with Daddy after breakfast and goes out to teach her catechist classes from 9 until 11. When I get home, we head off for naptime, and the routine goes back to normal. I would really like to add Sunday mass to this routine as well, but with Wombat teething, it generally just doesn't work out. When he is a little bit older (or if the church was closer) we will make it a regular habit. Until then I hope God understands!
Well, my blogging has taken half an hour more than allowed, so I had better fast forward into study mode - hope you all enjoyed my day, and have a good one yourselves :D
Saturday, June 02, 2007
I'm going cross-eyed focussing on this grindstone!
Well, folks, I have finished Civil Litigation and moved on to Trust and Office Accounting... no end in sight for me yet, though getting up at 3am to study is working reasonably - at least there are fewer distractions.
I don't think our eggs are going to hatch. Ruby is just too sporadic about sitting on them. I haven't decided whether to buy a new rooster yet, either. Yeti doesn't think Stevie is a boy, and I have read that Rhode Island Red Bantam cockerels take a long time to mature... but I don't want to buy a new rooster, have him fight with Stevie and have to separate them - I have enough to do looking after one pen of chooks and one mad parrot, I don't need the extra workload! Ruby is becoming quite a bully - every time another chook goes near her she raps it with her very sharp & pointy beak. I can't be too hard on her, though - she misses Rufous, and she is the only one laying at the moment.
Wombat has skipped a tooth! He has his four front upper teeth, and only three of the lower teeth - and he has started cutting his molars. This makes for a lot of interrupted naptimes, as the molars are quite painful and two or three seem to be erupting at once.
Those front teeth are exceedingly sharp, and I am beginning to think seriously about weaning him - when he is tired I can't get him to open his mouth wide enough and I have some very painful teeth marks at the moment. It is definitely NOT going to be easy because I still suckle him to sleep - naptimes & sleeptimes are so precious to me that I would rather put up with pain than turn them into screaming sessions that are exhausting for us both. My strategy at the moment is to switch back to drinking lite milk myself. This makes my milk more watery, and less appealing than whole cows milk, so he drinks less mummy milk, and hopefully I can gradually cut back to nothing. I would prefer to keep breastfeeding him until he was ready to stop, but I also want more kids and to be able to feed them in the future, so I can't afford too much damage now! An added bonus will hopefully be a bit of weight loss - I weigh more now than I did when I was pregnant, and the full cream milk is my major calorie intake. Of course, the lack of exercise sitting at the computer in every spare moment isn't helping.
Most panicking at the moment is the thought of the onsite school for my course. At the end of July/start of August, I have to spend 2 weeks doing exams and attending seminars at the College of Law, St Leonards. I have done some calculations, and a conservative estimate suggests it will take 3 hours each way to go from here by public transport. That means leaving before Wombat wakes up in the morning and getting home at his bedtime. Driving would be worse, considering peak hour traffic on Sydney's North Shore, my lack of experience driving in heavy traffic while under exam stress, and the fact there is no parking at the College. It would take even longer than the train. I can't possibly traumatize Wombat & myself by disappearing for two weeks, so my only option is to find somewhere in the city for Yeti, Wombat & myself to stay. This puts a lot of pressure on my 85 year old mother-in-law, but at least Yeti and Wombat could drive home every few days to check on her & help out, and we would only be a phonecall away (though it would still take a few hours to get back here in an emergency). There is also the point that accommodation in Sydney is going to cost me at least $100 a day *GULP* so when I am not frantically trying to catch up on my studies (I am running just over a week behind the timetable) I am searching the net trying to find somewhere in a nice location (preferably near a beach so Yeti & Wombat have something to do, even though it will still be winter) with good public transport to St Leonards (less than an hour, without having to change buses or trains) for a reasonable price. It also has to have space for me to study without waking Yeti & Wombat, so most hotel rooms are out. Wish me luck! It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack ;D
My sister, Steff, is now 8 months pregnant and starting to feel neglected by my continuing absence, so I will try to write quick updates more often.
I don't think our eggs are going to hatch. Ruby is just too sporadic about sitting on them. I haven't decided whether to buy a new rooster yet, either. Yeti doesn't think Stevie is a boy, and I have read that Rhode Island Red Bantam cockerels take a long time to mature... but I don't want to buy a new rooster, have him fight with Stevie and have to separate them - I have enough to do looking after one pen of chooks and one mad parrot, I don't need the extra workload! Ruby is becoming quite a bully - every time another chook goes near her she raps it with her very sharp & pointy beak. I can't be too hard on her, though - she misses Rufous, and she is the only one laying at the moment.
Wombat has skipped a tooth! He has his four front upper teeth, and only three of the lower teeth - and he has started cutting his molars. This makes for a lot of interrupted naptimes, as the molars are quite painful and two or three seem to be erupting at once.
Those front teeth are exceedingly sharp, and I am beginning to think seriously about weaning him - when he is tired I can't get him to open his mouth wide enough and I have some very painful teeth marks at the moment. It is definitely NOT going to be easy because I still suckle him to sleep - naptimes & sleeptimes are so precious to me that I would rather put up with pain than turn them into screaming sessions that are exhausting for us both. My strategy at the moment is to switch back to drinking lite milk myself. This makes my milk more watery, and less appealing than whole cows milk, so he drinks less mummy milk, and hopefully I can gradually cut back to nothing. I would prefer to keep breastfeeding him until he was ready to stop, but I also want more kids and to be able to feed them in the future, so I can't afford too much damage now! An added bonus will hopefully be a bit of weight loss - I weigh more now than I did when I was pregnant, and the full cream milk is my major calorie intake. Of course, the lack of exercise sitting at the computer in every spare moment isn't helping.
Most panicking at the moment is the thought of the onsite school for my course. At the end of July/start of August, I have to spend 2 weeks doing exams and attending seminars at the College of Law, St Leonards. I have done some calculations, and a conservative estimate suggests it will take 3 hours each way to go from here by public transport. That means leaving before Wombat wakes up in the morning and getting home at his bedtime. Driving would be worse, considering peak hour traffic on Sydney's North Shore, my lack of experience driving in heavy traffic while under exam stress, and the fact there is no parking at the College. It would take even longer than the train. I can't possibly traumatize Wombat & myself by disappearing for two weeks, so my only option is to find somewhere in the city for Yeti, Wombat & myself to stay. This puts a lot of pressure on my 85 year old mother-in-law, but at least Yeti and Wombat could drive home every few days to check on her & help out, and we would only be a phonecall away (though it would still take a few hours to get back here in an emergency). There is also the point that accommodation in Sydney is going to cost me at least $100 a day *GULP* so when I am not frantically trying to catch up on my studies (I am running just over a week behind the timetable) I am searching the net trying to find somewhere in a nice location (preferably near a beach so Yeti & Wombat have something to do, even though it will still be winter) with good public transport to St Leonards (less than an hour, without having to change buses or trains) for a reasonable price. It also has to have space for me to study without waking Yeti & Wombat, so most hotel rooms are out. Wish me luck! It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack ;D
My sister, Steff, is now 8 months pregnant and starting to feel neglected by my continuing absence, so I will try to write quick updates more often.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
A Happy Mother's Day
You know you're the mother of a toddler when...
you tie your hair up so you can hop in the bath with him
and the next day at bathtime you go to tie your hair up
only to realise
it's still tied in the knot from yesterday.
But I got Mother's Day kisses ;D
and that smile makes everything worthwhile!
Here are some more autumn leaves for Scribbit ;D
How far we have come in just one year!!!
I must remember to at least take time to brush my hair occasionally though ;P It is especially funny when I think that yesterday he kept handing his brush to me so I could brush HIS hair... maybe he was trying to tell me something?
you tie your hair up so you can hop in the bath with him
and the next day at bathtime you go to tie your hair up
only to realise
it's still tied in the knot from yesterday.
But I got Mother's Day kisses ;D
and that smile makes everything worthwhile!
Here are some more autumn leaves for Scribbit ;D
How far we have come in just one year!!!
I must remember to at least take time to brush my hair occasionally though ;P It is especially funny when I think that yesterday he kept handing his brush to me so I could brush HIS hair... maybe he was trying to tell me something?
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Someone to watch over me
[An entry for Scribbit's March Write-Away Contest]
"Never leave child unattended."
"Not to be used without adult supervision."
The same warning (or is it a threat?) is emblazoned on every utilitarian object in Wombat's environment. To a childless person it seems obviously necessary, and easy to comply with. Once you are in the midst of the actual baby-wrangling, however, the grey shades start to leap out at you. I am lucky that Wombat has a very vigilant guardian angel, or he wouldn't have made it through his first week, let alone his first year (touch wood, the year's not up yet).
Does turning away to fold a fresh nappy count as lack of supervision while baby is sitting on his potty?
It does if baby decides to practice standing up and somersaulting into his bed. (Thank goodness he was smart enough not to go sideways, headfirst onto the wooden floor.)
He's taken top-heavy dives off our bed so often that we bought him a king-single mattress and built a fortress of padded rails around it, allowing me to still co-sleep with him to some extent (ie. when I don't manage to sneak away after feeding him).
Now he is getting more mobile, I sit on the toilet with the door open, dreading the day when I shall have to dive out and tackle him before he lunges head first down the steep stairs onto the concrete pavers. I have left him untethered in the pram for a moment while carrying the washing basket up those same stairs, certain that he is too tired and lethargic to attempt escape, only to see him gleefully clinging to the hood and bouncing with all his might. (I think I flew down the stairs that time, as the pram lurched at a sickening angle.)
If there is a way for him to make his mother's heart pound, her throat to close, and her nerves to go into overtime prayer-drive, he will find it... and use it.
I have been thinking quite a lot lately about how we filter our memories - and the stories we tell and are told about our lives - through our present day experiences. Around the time of my wedding,* I realised I was carrying a lot of unexpressed angst from my childhood. My first forays into blogdom involved a lot of "unpacking suitcases" (unloading my emotional baggage into an online journal for the amusement of strangers - and my sister.**) I was quite angry at my mother at the time, and busy discarding my childish perception that she could do no wrong in favour of the opposite extreme. The more time I spend with Wombat, the more appreciation I develop for a middle ground between those two views!
(*Our third anniversary is three days before Wombat's birthday.)
(**But that was on another site... and besides, the wench is dead. (TS Eliot quoting a quote which I quote because in writing those entries I exorcised the self who needed to write them, so they are now erased... if that makes any sense to anyone but me))
===============================
Two and a half,
mother busy with a baby,
I went walking
through Canberra's suburbs,
stray dog for company-
shaggy breath in my hair.
Cops took turns
driving me home.
Outside Latham shops
the pharmacist grabbed me.
As a bribe to sit still
while she phoned my folks
she chose from a spinning rack
the cheapest, I s'pose.
I still remember,
sliding from cellophane,
a naked, stiff-limbed
plasticperfect female form,
brunette like my mother
and sister.
I kept Chemist Dolly for many years,
took her everywhere.
She never wore clothes.
===============================
Mum remembers Chemist Dolly's nakedness being the result of her unyielding figure, but I still cherish a romantic fondness for her, preferring to imagine her sometimes as my scapegoat effigy of sibling rivalry, and sometimes as my Boudicca of unfettered freedom. She was eventually relegated to the bottom of a toybox, and from there, I assume, she and her head probably took separate trips to the tip.
[RIP C.D.]
Mum also admitted that the cops got to know me, and brought me home so often that she was embarrassed. I can get no more details, though, as more recently it is a memory she prefers not to recall.
I have quite a few clear memories of the time before I was six... before the divorce (which is not the subject of this entry, being a whole jumbo-jet of misplaced luggage in its own right)... and the strongest ones all revolve around my solitary misadventures.
About a year after the Chemist Dolly incident, I remember being at the park, by myself, glorying in the flight of my swing, head back, arms outstretched, hair sweeping in the breeze. The park was a good ten minutes walk from our home. What was I doing there alone?
I toppled backwards off the swing and sat up, just in time for it to hit me in the face on its return - solidly enough to break my front tooth. Mum's comment was that she didn't recognise me when she saw me running down the path to our house, my face was so distorted by my tears.
As an adult I know what she meant, but little statements like that fester in the soul of a child. Unrecognised = unwanted? At one stage this line of thought would have been a cloud of black misery, but these days I look at it with intellectual curiosity, wishing I could be a fly on the wall that day, to understand what actually occurred, and how. Not for my own gratuituous ego-feeding so much as to avoid repeating the pattern with my son.
Another year, another memory... whispering in conspirational togetherness, I strap my trusting two-year-old little sister into her stroller. My days of solitary wandering are over. She is my companion. I will take her with me to share my adventures. Again, as an adult, I wondered where Mum was... and now as a mother myself, I answer... she was probably fixing lunch in the kitchen, putting on a load of washing, making beds, having a shower - any number of essential daily tasks - confident that her angelic daughters were playing quietly and in perfect safety.
Having accomplished my task, and with my sister firmly strapped into her stroller, I carefully open the child-proof latch on the verandah, and begin to push her down the concrete steps as I have seen my parents do. One step. Two steps. The stroller is heavier than I ever imagined and my four-year-old arms cannot hold it. With agonizing clarity I feel it slip from my grasp as my sister tumbles, screaming, onto the driveway. She hits her head, but no permanent damage is done. Mum comes running, and the episode joins the family mythology - the day I pushed my sister down the stairs. For years I felt guilty, believing that it had been an attempt to deliberately harm her. I was so relieved when the full memory finally surfaced and I recovered that sense of excitement and anticipation - the desire to share my freedom with her.
The question for me now is, how do I
- nurture my son's independence and imagination
- without exposing him to the feelings of anxiety and aloneness I have carried since those early beginnings
- while still getting something done... occasionally...
I have no answers yet, and I know in many ways I am as bad at mothering as my own mother... and that he will adore me in spite of that, just as I adore my wonderful, frustrating, impossible Mum. The mistakes I make will be different from hers, and with God's help, Wombat will survive to adulthood without too many scars (physical or emotional). Perhaps I should pay more serious attention to the clear labels, like those at the start of this entry, instead of still looking for answers in the wind.
===============================
Six years old,
walking solitary to school,
I swept clean the sand
under trailing limbs of wattle
and bottle-brush.
Returning hours later,
I tried to read
what the trees
had written.
===============================
Since it has taken nearly two hours to write this and it is now 4am, I should also probably remember that my sleep is more important to Wombat than my blogging ;P
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Fleeting Reality
My redesigned photo challenge site is finally finished (I know, the least important of the web redesigns on my list... but it seems a procrastination manifesto requires the least important tasks be completed first, thereby increasing the stress levels on the more difficult and urgent projects...)
Anyway, here it is: Fleeting Reality
Anyway, here it is: Fleeting Reality
Friday, February 09, 2007
Saga of an Ouchie
I had lots I wanted to do tonight - including answering most of your comments in various places, Steff... but there's been a temporary setback in my plans! I had just finished feeding Wombat his lunch, which he didn't eat much of (teething? upset tummy? too much breakfast?) when I noticed him watching intently as Yeti poured milk into his coffee.
In the past two days, Wombat has finally decided he likes milk in a bottle! He drinks from a sippy cup, and a normal mug, but would not really accept cow's milk from either. Then MIL bought organic milk from the local dairy by mistake (we buy the local dairy's milk from Woolies, to support them and because it's nicer than Woolies brand powdered alternatives... but the organic one is a little more expensive). I tried that and Wombat actually drank a few sips. He was having a hard time working out how to rub/chew the mouthpiece of his water sippycup to get some relief from the teething, so I pulled out a bottle (which he had never before agreed to drink from) and offered him some warm organic cow's milk. Slurp slurp slurp...
Back to today, I prepared a bottle of milk for him and poured a glass of normal milk for me. It looked slightly greyish & watery, but smelt and tasted alright, suggesting that our ancient fridge may have frozen and then defrosted it at some stage. I then carried Wombat and our milky drinks out to sit in the rocking chair on the front deck, intending to have a quiet cuddle. I put my glass of milk down, and sat down in the chair without really looking at it. Unfortunately, when we had been playing on the deck earlier, we must have pushed it too close to the edge and I didn't think to check. As soon as we sat down, I felt it start to tip, and encumbered with Wombat in my arms, there was nothing I could do as we fell except hold tightly to him and try to twist so he would land on me. There is a rosebush with large thorns nearby and several rocks. Even in that split second I could imagine what might happen if he went head first into them. It is only about 15 - 20cm from the deck to the ground, but when you add in the height of the chair, it was a reasonable distance, and we fell heavily. The back of my head connected solidly with a tree-trunk (I can still feel the *thunk* and have a nice, painful, egg-shaped lump). Wombat and I lay stunned for a few seconds, then he started to scream. I reassured him that he wasn't hurt (while desperately checking to make sure that was the case).
Yeti came to the rescue, and while he consoled Wombat, I checked for damage to myself. The bump on the head, a scrape on my shin and a few scratches on my feet seemed to be all. Yeti suggested I sit quietly for a while, and went back to what he was doing. Wombat, meanwhile, now convinced that he was fine and the world wasn't going to do anymore sudden hurtling manouvres, started his favourite game of stalking the pussycat. (If he didn't growl with delight whenever he got close, he'd have a much greater chance of catching her!) When she left in a huff, he decided to play with the cast iron windvane, sitting in the corner quietly rusting while it waits to be installed someday. It has a cow on top. (In all the excitement, his desire for a quiet bottle of milk had gone by the wayside, and he refused even a single sip!) I meanwhile was dazedly keeping an eye on him while trying to drink my own milk. No sooner had I brought the glass to lips than the windvane began to topple over on him. I dropped my glass (which didn't break, although it did spill milk all over me) and grabbed it before it fell on him. Yeti came to the rescue again, and amused Wombat while I cleaned up the spilt milk. I guess I really wasn't meant to drink that milk!
We went for a little walk around the house (Wombat has discovered walking holding on to Mummy or Daddy's hands and is an intrepid explorer - the knee pads give him confidence, I think) and played a family game of pussycat patting, by which time I was aching all over - I pulled muscles in my back, neck and hip when I landed. We retired to the playpen, and Yeti rubbed Voltaren into my back. Wombat was very cute and insisted on carefully helping! (pat pat pat thump pat) Then we read books for the half-an-hour left before naptime.
I fell asleep feeding him, and having promised Yeti that I would stay and have a rest, I didn't try to sneak away when I woke up, I just went back to sleep. Wombat woke up before me, and after playing by himself at the end of the bed for a while, came over once or twice for a little feed, a tiny snooze and a 'poke mummy to check she's still sleeping', before going back to playing... his radiant smile when I finally woke up after an hour and a half was just beautiful!
Anyway... it is now night-time, and he has been sleeping well for two and half hours. He slept for seven hours last night which is a bit of a record lately - he hasn't slept through the night since this latest batch of teething started. I am off to join him before I discover any more aches and pains. OUCHIE!
(Ok... so this is probably the longest plea for sympathy that you'll read this week... but hopefully it was mildly entertaining ;P and at least it explains why there hasn't been any progress in moving the posts across to the Baby Wombat blogs!)
In the past two days, Wombat has finally decided he likes milk in a bottle! He drinks from a sippy cup, and a normal mug, but would not really accept cow's milk from either. Then MIL bought organic milk from the local dairy by mistake (we buy the local dairy's milk from Woolies, to support them and because it's nicer than Woolies brand powdered alternatives... but the organic one is a little more expensive). I tried that and Wombat actually drank a few sips. He was having a hard time working out how to rub/chew the mouthpiece of his water sippycup to get some relief from the teething, so I pulled out a bottle (which he had never before agreed to drink from) and offered him some warm organic cow's milk. Slurp slurp slurp...
Back to today, I prepared a bottle of milk for him and poured a glass of normal milk for me. It looked slightly greyish & watery, but smelt and tasted alright, suggesting that our ancient fridge may have frozen and then defrosted it at some stage. I then carried Wombat and our milky drinks out to sit in the rocking chair on the front deck, intending to have a quiet cuddle. I put my glass of milk down, and sat down in the chair without really looking at it. Unfortunately, when we had been playing on the deck earlier, we must have pushed it too close to the edge and I didn't think to check. As soon as we sat down, I felt it start to tip, and encumbered with Wombat in my arms, there was nothing I could do as we fell except hold tightly to him and try to twist so he would land on me. There is a rosebush with large thorns nearby and several rocks. Even in that split second I could imagine what might happen if he went head first into them. It is only about 15 - 20cm from the deck to the ground, but when you add in the height of the chair, it was a reasonable distance, and we fell heavily. The back of my head connected solidly with a tree-trunk (I can still feel the *thunk* and have a nice, painful, egg-shaped lump). Wombat and I lay stunned for a few seconds, then he started to scream. I reassured him that he wasn't hurt (while desperately checking to make sure that was the case).
Yeti came to the rescue, and while he consoled Wombat, I checked for damage to myself. The bump on the head, a scrape on my shin and a few scratches on my feet seemed to be all. Yeti suggested I sit quietly for a while, and went back to what he was doing. Wombat, meanwhile, now convinced that he was fine and the world wasn't going to do anymore sudden hurtling manouvres, started his favourite game of stalking the pussycat. (If he didn't growl with delight whenever he got close, he'd have a much greater chance of catching her!) When she left in a huff, he decided to play with the cast iron windvane, sitting in the corner quietly rusting while it waits to be installed someday. It has a cow on top. (In all the excitement, his desire for a quiet bottle of milk had gone by the wayside, and he refused even a single sip!) I meanwhile was dazedly keeping an eye on him while trying to drink my own milk. No sooner had I brought the glass to lips than the windvane began to topple over on him. I dropped my glass (which didn't break, although it did spill milk all over me) and grabbed it before it fell on him. Yeti came to the rescue again, and amused Wombat while I cleaned up the spilt milk. I guess I really wasn't meant to drink that milk!
We went for a little walk around the house (Wombat has discovered walking holding on to Mummy or Daddy's hands and is an intrepid explorer - the knee pads give him confidence, I think) and played a family game of pussycat patting, by which time I was aching all over - I pulled muscles in my back, neck and hip when I landed. We retired to the playpen, and Yeti rubbed Voltaren into my back. Wombat was very cute and insisted on carefully helping! (pat pat pat thump pat) Then we read books for the half-an-hour left before naptime.
I fell asleep feeding him, and having promised Yeti that I would stay and have a rest, I didn't try to sneak away when I woke up, I just went back to sleep. Wombat woke up before me, and after playing by himself at the end of the bed for a while, came over once or twice for a little feed, a tiny snooze and a 'poke mummy to check she's still sleeping', before going back to playing... his radiant smile when I finally woke up after an hour and a half was just beautiful!
Anyway... it is now night-time, and he has been sleeping well for two and half hours. He slept for seven hours last night which is a bit of a record lately - he hasn't slept through the night since this latest batch of teething started. I am off to join him before I discover any more aches and pains. OUCHIE!
(Ok... so this is probably the longest plea for sympathy that you'll read this week... but hopefully it was mildly entertaining ;P and at least it explains why there hasn't been any progress in moving the posts across to the Baby Wombat blogs!)
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Scary Face Recognition
You know, I thought I looked pretty good on my wedding day... I felt pretty and feminine... somehow this face recognition thingy makes me wonder, though... the first time I tried it, months ago, it came up with Simone de Beauvoir, Chiang Kai-shek and Shimon Perez, among others - and Joe Pesci as my closest facial match :P I thought I'd give it a second chance, following my sister's inspiration, and here's what I got... can I hide now?
I tried a VERY old school photo, which was marginally better (I also remembered to limit this one to female faces, which probably skewed the result)...
My favourite photo from Wombat's baptism was better again... I don't mind being told I resemble Joni Mitchell, or Andi McDowell... but rofl I never thought I'd be compared to Kylie!!!
I think I'd better quit while I'm ahead!
I tried a VERY old school photo, which was marginally better (I also remembered to limit this one to female faces, which probably skewed the result)...
My favourite photo from Wombat's baptism was better again... I don't mind being told I resemble Joni Mitchell, or Andi McDowell... but rofl I never thought I'd be compared to Kylie!!!
I think I'd better quit while I'm ahead!
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Mine... all mine!
So what do you think? I've just finished redecorating the Bordello. Does it suit me?
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