Meet Me On Monday

Hosted by Java @ Never Growing Old
36th Edition

Questions:

1. What are you wearing right now?
2. Do you have any freckles?
3. What is your favorite Lifesaver flavor?
4. What is the last movie you saw in the theater?
5. Would you rather live without tv or without music?

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My Answers!

1. What are you wearing right now?
A white t-shirt with a blue underwater scene with starfish, seahorses, shells & coral and a pair of black 3/4 length pants. I guess you might call them capris.

2. Do you have any freckles?
Oh boy do I ever! I don't think that there is a place I don't have freckles!


3. What is your favorite Lifesaver flavor?
Musk


4. What is the last movie you saw in the theater?
Tomorrow When The War Began. I saw it with Angus about 7 months ago. I guess its time to go to the movies again :)


5. Would you rather live without tv or without music?
Oh gosh what a choice. I could say music because at least you can have music video shows on TV to watch. I kind of got around that one I think.

W.I.P.

Here is my latest project. It's not quite finished though. It still needs antennas & eyes but its getting there.

Just Got Home

We have only just gotten home from the hospital. We know one thing for sure that it was NOT a heart attack. Thank goodness. I'm not sure what happens now other than Mark being put on aspirin (along with his other meds - he's a bit peeved with that & I don't blame him he takes quite a bit of stuff now!) I guess we just make an appointment to see the GP to see what he recommends.
There was a mention of cholesterol lowering medication.

A Room With A View

This is the view from Marks hospital room. Its quite pretty. Hiding behind the clouds on the far right is Mt. Baw Baw. During winter you can see the ski run if the weather is just right.

We are currently waiting to see the Doctor to find out what's going on & to finally find out if Mark can go home or not. I think the Doctor is running on Mormon time because we have been waiting for hours. Hopefully we wont have to wait too much longer.

What An Evening!

Oh boy I should be in bed sleeping right now but here it is a little after midnight and I am wide away (although I have taken my night time meds which should make me sleepy within an hour or less if I am lucky).

I've been up at the hospital with Mark for the past few hours. He's had some chest pains and shortness of breath. Mark called an ambulance and the amazing MICA (Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance) paramedics came to check him out. To be on the safe side they treated him as if he was having a heart attack. Of course there is no way to know if he is or not until they run some blood tests at the hospital. They look for some enzyme (I have forgotten the name) that the heart produces, but only when you have had a heart attack and part of the heart muscle dies. They take bloods when you get to hospital and again 6 & 12 hours later.

For now, with the help of morphine, Mark is now pain free (other than his usual aches and pains from his back) but they have admitted him & taken him to the High Dependency Unit where they will review him in the morning and decide whether he goes home or not. I'm not exactly sure what will happen from there but I guess I will find out in a few hours.

I'll be heading off to bed shortly to try & get some sleep (oh yay my meds are kicking in earlier than I thought they would!). I'm not terribly worried at the moment. Mark is in good hands at the hospital. They are terrific there. I know if there are any changes they will phone & let me know. Keep your fingers crossed for us though.

Thankful Thursday

Things I am thankful for this week

• that there have been some happy endings for some of the victims of the earthquake in Christchurch NZ. My heart goes out to all those affected.
• that my family is safe & nearby
  
• that the boys had fun at their schools swimming sports carnivals this week
• that Angus is able to go have a sleepover at a friends place tomorrow night. He is so excited.
  

What are you thankful for this week?

Mini Birds

I made a couple of mini Angry Birds today. I'm not too sure that I am that fond of the yellow one but Angus loved it & the little red one too.

He wasn't feeling too happy when he got home after school today [friend troubles] so I let him have them in the hope that it would cheer him up a little. Which it has a bit.

Mark now wants me to make him an Android robot toy. So I am giving that a go. I'm not sure how it will turn out but it will be based on the picture below.

So Sad

There are just some days where it hurts to turn the TV on and watch the news. Today has been one of those days.

My thoughts & good wishes go to the people of New Zealand and especially to those in Christchurch.

An Angry Bird

Well I went & did it I have made an angry bird. I think the eyebrows set it off. At least you can get an idea of its size with the soft drink can behind it.

The photo I took doesn't show how yellow the bird really is. It's much brighter like the duck I made a few weeks back.

So what do you think?

Look At What I Made

I have to brag but I made this without a pattern =)
I took the photo with my phone but it doesn't show the colours very well. Its bottle green with orange.

You Know You're Getting Old When

You know you're getting old when ... (some observations I have made)

• you just swept the floor & vacuumed the carpet & you need to rest because your back starts aching [okay I just did this one *sniff*]
  
• you now tell your kids to turn the music down because it is too loud [OMGosh when did I turn into my parents?]
• you no longer sit on the floor because it is too much of a hassle trying to stand up again
• you wish you never got rid of some of your clothes from the 80's & 90's because they are now back in fashion [well only a couple of things perhaps]
• you sometimes start sentences with, "when I was your age..."

I am sure that I have noticed some more but with the way my memory has been lately .. hmm maybe that is another one to add to the list *sigh*

The Fisherman & His Wife

A fisherman comes home from a recent fishing trip and upon seeing his wife he excitedly says
"Wait until you see the BIG snapper I caught. It's a beauty! But, darling, though the fishing trip was fun, I really missed you. I'm so glad to be back. I am just not happy when I am away from you sweetheart."

The wife looks up at him, smiles then clears her throat and says "I am NOT cleaning the fish!"

Chilling

Cats in our house have such an easy life.

Tux

How cute is these little avatars of Tux (wikipedia)? Isn't he is just adorable!!

For those of you who may not of heard of Tux before. He is the Linux mascot. Okay now some of you are probably thinking what on earth is Linux (wikipedia)? It's an alternative operating system for your computer. I am sure that you have heard of Mac and Windows. Well Linux is an alternative to them & best of all its open source, which means the course code can be freely modified and redistributed. Sometimes you can pay for a copy but most of the time it is completely FREE!

If you would like some Tux Avatars you can go HERE or HERE to download some. After all who can resist this gorgeous little penguin who dresses so cutely!

BTW Mark has given up trying to get me to install Linux on my computer. At least for now. Linux doesn't play nice with Incredimail (yet) and I have no plans to change until it does =)

Thankful Thursday

My doesn't time fly when you are having fun! Its Thursday again .. this is what I am thankful for this week

• That the local businesses we deal with are very understanding when it comes to paying of our lay-bys. It shows that they care.
• That I was able to go Visiting Teaching today (its something our Church encourages us to do). It was nice to get out of the house and talk with other women. [This house has way too much testosterone in it. The only other females are the guinea pigs but since they don't speak English so we don't really have many good conversations]
• For a great chat I had on the phone with one of my Visiting Teachers. It was nice to talk to her. It had been a while since we have seen one another.
• That I wake up each morning .. always a blessing & a brilliant start to the day!
• Angus said that he is thankful that there is only one more school day left until the WEEKEND!

What are you thankful for this week?

It's HUGE!

I have a brand new monitor =)

Mark had organised this back in December and we had it on lay-by but with everything that has happened to us over the past few months with things needing to be replaces like the vacuum cleaner, Emi's new engine it got put on the back burner, Angus's glasses [which are still on lay-by]. I finally got around to collecting it today.

OMGosh it is HUGE! We have had to move stuff around a bit on the desk to fit it. Yes I use two monitors. [Its called dual head and you would be surprised at how many people think I have two computers running]. Yes I am a computer geek! Mark was trying to convince to have three monitors but I said no. Although we don't have a home for my old monitor ... not yet but I am sure Mark will find a good home for it in his shed.

If you wish to know how big the monitor is .. its a 23 inch wide-screen. I LOVE it! Although I have noticed one thing. Websites are NOT designed for wide-screens. There is far too much real estate going to waste. That being said however I am sure that if it was filled with stuff it would most likely be those annoying ads that we tend to ignore.

I am sure it wont take me too long to get used to it =)

Work In Progress

After reading one of our Poetess' blog posts (HERE) I was inspired to have a go at making my own fingerless gloves. I found a pattern in one of my crochet books and started making them yesterday. I have only completed one so far. I got distracted with other things but I do plan on finishing them today.

Mine certainly don't look as delicate as the ones Poetess made. I think it might be the colour or the fact that they are smaller. But that's okay. I'm guessing mine would be perfect for smaller hands. I might make some longer & slightly larger ones later. I just have to work out how to adapt the pattern I have.

Meet Me On Monday

Hosted by Java at Never Growing Old
This is the 35th edition

Questions:

1. Did you get any Valentine's Gifts?
2. What is your favorite topping on something toasted?
3. Do you pick out your outfit the night before?
4. What food item do you absolutely despise?
5. Righty or lefty?
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My Answers!

1. Did you get any Valentine's Gifts?
No, we don't do Valentine's day in our house. Mainly because its my birthday two days before hand. Plus I think Valentine's Day should be every day not just one day of the year.

2. What is your favorite topping on something toasted?
This is a no brainer for an Aussie [well for me at least]. Its good old Vegemite! I'm one of those strange people that even eat it straight from the jar! Yum!


3. Do you pick out your outfit the night before?
No. I usually choose what I am going to wear right before I put it on. Sometimes I might choose something earlier but not very often.
4. What food item do you absolutely despise?
Tripe! Mum used to cook it and serve it up with this white sauce. It turned my stomach (pardon the pun) but it looked horrible and smelt horrible too! I also really dislike black pudding too! Yuck!


5. Righty or lefty?
I'm right handed although there are a couple of things that I can do left handed but not much. I wish I was ambidextrous!

My Blackberry Isn't Working

Gosh this is funny!

The Chooky Dancers

These guys are fantastic!
The Chooky Dancers are performing an Aboriginal interpretation of Zorba The Greek.
I love it!

Our Night Out

We just got back from La Porchetta. I just LOVE not having to cook dinner =) it means that not only I don't have to prepare ANY food it means that I do NOT have to wash any dishes. Who likes doing dishes when it's their birthday? I certainly don't. That is one rule that my Mum made and I have stuck to it. No one has to do the dishes on their birthday [there is only one little problem with that is they usually leave the dishes for me to wash the next day]

I didn't remember to take any photos of the foods we ordered but there are some restaurants that don't like you doing that. We weren't able to eat all of our food any way so we brought home doggie bags. Which means you now get to see pics of our delicious food! [Now you can drool all over your keyboards because the pasta dishes look so yummy] I am so glad that we only ordered the entrée sizes because there was absolutely NO way we could have eaten the main size. The mains were enough to feed at least 2 - 3 people!
I guess it didn't help that we ordered a medium sized pizza [it has six slices] as our entree. Their pizzas are to die for. They are so tasty and not even greasy. I wish all pizza places made them look and taste so good!

Here are our mains ....

Mark had Tortellini Carbonara. I had a taste and it was really delicious.

Angus had Ravioli Napoletana, which was nice.

I had Gnocchi with Mushrooms. The sauce was so creamy & tasty.

Mark didn't want desert but Angus & I did. I know we probably shouldn't have had any because we didn't finish our mains (well entrée sized dishes) but being a special night we just had to try some. Oh boy was I glad that we did. Sadly there are no photos of what we had. Angus had black-forest cake & I had tiramisu. Gosh had I known how large the portion would be for the tiramisu I might not have chosen it. I made Angus help me finish it but to be honest I didn't have to twist his arm too much.

I don't feel quite so full now but I do feel like having a nap. Maybe an early night is in order .. but I don't think that will happen. Maybe if I aim to be in bed before midnight =) that might work.

Quick Update

I picked Brodie up after school tonight and we had a bit of a chat on the drive home. He seems to be in a better mood which is good & he is looking forward to me dropping him off for the bus trip to camp in about an hour.

We spoke about how he will be away tomorrow & he is a bit upset about not being home for my birthday. I kind of had a feeling that might have been the case. I told him that we would do the cake thing when he got home on Sunday. So he didn't miss out. He was still worried though, I could see it in his face. After last year when everyone, even my Dad, forgot my birthday celebrating with cake a day late will be, well, a piece of cake!

Anyway this was just a quick update. I'm off to check that Brodie hasn't forgotten anything that he may need for camp.

More Flowers

Here are three different flowers that I made yesterday from the book Crochet Bouquet.

I have no idea what type of flower the blue & white one is based on but I LOVE how it turned out. Angus seems to think I should make a set of these to use as coasters.

I truly am getting the hang of this flower making :)

Feeling Lost

*SIGH* I am so tired of the yelling & swearing. When will the child learn that we are not his enemy, his underlings or something he can wipe his feet on?

He thinks we are picking on him and starting the arguments. It truly doesn't take much to set him off these days. I don't know what to do any more. Every strategy we have ever tried is no longer seems to be working. I don't know whether it is his Aspergers or the fact that he is being a teenage dirtbag!!

Do you know what set him off this morning? Angus mentioned Brodie's guitar. It was in the boot and Angus wanted it moved over so that he could fit his school bag & laptop in there. Brodie started swearing at him.

I mentioned to Brodie that he doesn't study music at school any more. He went off at me. He had dropped the subject last year because there was a possibility that there would be NO music teacher at the school this year. There is one but he no longer has music as a subject at school. Brodie had been asked to play in the school band so he wants to practise at school but he still has no formal lessons. He didn't care. He just saw my statement as 'starting' on him.

I should have just shut my mouth. He starts swearing and raising his voice. All while I am driving to the bus stop. He sits right behind me when I drive so I have no idea if he is going to grab me or not. He has done it before.

He starts saying all these mean and hurtful things. How he wishes Mark was no longer around. How he wants to leave home only he has no where to go, that's what he has said for the past few days. We've had this conversation before about his leaving. I told him he could go but he needs to learn life skills in order to survive. To cook, to clean, do shopping, fill out forms, pay bills/rent etc
Brodie thinks moving out will fix his problems. Its only changing the geography, the problems are still there.

Right now he sees us as the enemy and wishes us gone from his life. He has respite this weekend and is probably pissed off with me for letting him go. Its my birthday tomorrow, not that I wanted to advertise it or anything, but I feel that I need him to have a break from home at this moment in time. We need a break from each other. He probably sees this as me alienating him, not wanting him, not loving him.

I take the respite whenever I can get it. We had none over the Summer holidays and now that school is back we only have respite once a month. I don't decide on the dates. Interchange does. They are the providers. There is only one drawback with this. He is only eligible to participate until he turns 18. It's his birthday in July. Then what will we do? If he has his way he will be long gone by then.

I just feel so lost right now. Now where is that darned box of tissues....

Thankful Thursday

Why does it seem that this week has gone awfully fast? Oh well .. Here's what I am thankful for this week

• Nanna Naps or any nap for that matter. There's nothing like a snooze when the brain is on strike ...
• school .. and the peace & quiet it brings
  
• my yarn stash, patterns, knitting needles & crochet hooks, they help me keep my sanity
• my smart phone & the many moments of enjoyment I have had whilst tweeting and updating my status on FB. Also that I can take photos and blog from my phone is a bonus!
  
• my PVR, I can record shows and watch them at my leisure
• for respite weekends ... Brodie is off on an Interchange camp this weekend. [I had to add this extra point because I am truly grateful for this one] I think we all need a break from one another.
  

What are you thankful for this week?

I Want To Restart The Day

Do you know those days where you wish you could stay in bed? The ones where they didn't start right and you would like to do it over? Well I think today was the beginning of one of THOSE days.

I got woken up before 7am to this BIG BOOMING voice swearing... "SHUT THE F*** UP!" I immediately woke up. It was Brodie. He was at it again. I hadn't heard all of the conversation because I was woken up so suddenly& had obviously missed it. He was going off at Mark again. All because Mark made a very simple statement/request: Whoever went to the toilet last make sure you flush it next time.
It might not have been those exact words but that was the gist of it. I was half asleep.

Of course with Brodie swearing things started to escalate (like they often do once Brodie starts yelling & swearing). Mark goes to his shed - its HIS space to go cool off. Its like Brodie's space in the bedroom when he closes the curtains around his bed. Except Mark wasn't able to go there in peace. He had slammed the sliding door shut & Brodie comes rushing out of his room hurling MORE abuse. Things get said that probably shouldn't get said. More swear words are thrown about. All the while I am trying to get Brodie to settle down & Mark too. If only Brodie didn't follow Mark things might have settled down a lot faster. You don't follow someone hurling abuse at them!! It's what Mark's ex the "DRAGON" did when she was hurling abuse at him [please don't think me mean for calling his ex Dragon, that was her nickname given to her by her family & if you knew her the reasons would be obvious].

Poor Angus was woken up by this as well. He's devastated that there is yet another fight at home. He goes into the lounge room where its dark and quiet. He's crying. I mean full on crying. It breaks my heart to see him this way. He doesn't want Mark to leave. He loves him to pieces, so do I. He's the only Dad Angus has really known especially since he doesn't remember his father that much.
Angus is worried that if Mark leaves and Brodie goes off again that he might get me in a headlock like he did once before. He doesn't want to see anyone hurt. He said Mum I wont know what to do if Brodie does that. I hug Angus. I mean what else is there to do other than hug him and tell him things will be okay.

Brodie finally settled. Angus stopped crying. Mark is in his shed asleep. The boys are now both at school. Me, well I'm okay but wishing that I could start the day again without any of this.

I am not blaming anyone for this episode. We all have days like this to varying degrees. Well I would like to think so or maybe it is just us families who have a child on the Autism spectrum. I know my family isn't "normal" that is only a cycle for a washing machine. My family is special & that means we wont be perfect. I don't expect us to be either. I do expect more from Brodie though, he has been taught to be better than this. I know he can do better, he has before.
All of this because Brodie was asked to flush a toilet.

Another Flower

I had some time to do some more crocheting today. Here's the flower I made while I was watching an episode (or two) of Angel. I think I did a pretty good job :) Not bad for someone who a short time ago had no idea how to read a crochet pattern. I'm guessing the instructions were really good in order for me to get the hang of it.

Lamington Recipes

photo from Better Homes & Gardens
recipe by Karen Martini

You can find the Karen's recipe HERE

I was trying to find a lamington recipe by Fast Ed who is on the TV Show Better Homes & Gardens. I remember that he made a fantastic looking batch on the show one time but I was unable to find it. I did however manage to find Karen Martini's Muffin recipe. Not quite the same thing though but just as good.

photo from foodwise.com.au

I just did a search for Fast Ed's Lamington recipe & I found it. These are the more traditional type. There's is only one small problem with Fast Ed's recipe. He wants you to make the cake, let it cool & keep it in the fridge overnight before you cut it and ice it. Day old sponge cake works the best. If you can wait that long its worthwhile.
If you don't wish to wait you could try Karen's recipe.

Crochet Flowers

I've been practising my crochet today. I've tried making some flowers but I am not sure if I like them all that much. I got the patterns out of Crochet Bouquet & I have totally surprised myself by actually reading the patterns in US terminology too. I had to 'translate' the directions into UK terms so I know which stitches to use but I did a good job :)


The first one is meant to be a rose but I didn't sew it together right. It looks more like the top of a cupcake! But it was the first one I did so I didn't expect perfection.

The purple one on the right I made using the same directions for the pink one but I sewed it together differently. It still doesn't look much like a rose to me but it looks better.
The blue one on the left was from the pattern called Popcorn in the middle. It kind of looked like the picture in the book but I forgot to do the 5th round. It still looks good though.

Now that I have made them I have absolutely no idea what to do with them. I'll make some more and put them aside. I am sure that I could add them to a scarf or a beanie later on.

Meet Me On Monday

Hosted by Java @ Never Growing Old
This is the 34th Edition

Questions:

1. Did you watch the Superbowl?
2. What is the last book that you read?
3. What is your favorite kind of cake?
4. Do you snore?
5. Do you play an instrument?
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My Answers!

1. Did you watch the Superbowl?
Yes but only a little bit. I have no idea how the game is played but I liked the fact that one of the teams had Green & Gold just like the Aussie sporting colours!


2. What is the last book that you read?
I finished reading Ice Station by Matthew Reilly. He's an Australian author. Brodie raves about his books! Right now I am reading Matthew Flinders Cat by Bryce Courtney


3. What is your favorite kind of cake?
Gosh do I only have to choose one? I LOVE Cheesecake and Chocolate Cake. I also LOVE lamingtons (see the picture on the left, its a sponge cake covered with chocolate & coconut) nom nom!




4. Do you snore?
Not that I can hear but I have been told I do.





5. Do you play an instrument?
I used to be able to play the piano (I have pretty much forgotten everything) but I can play the recorder.