Health Update

I had a series of blood tests done on Tuesday morning. I phoned up the doctors clinic & spoke to the practice nurse to get the results this afternoon.
To be honest I cannot remember every test that the doctor ordered not that it matters. If there is a big problem the nurse would have told me to come in for an appointment.

The main test results that I wanted were for my HbA1c. Basically that one shows what my average blood glucose levels were for the past 10-12 weeks. Last time the level was 6.9. My Diabetes Educator, Karen, said that I should aim for 6.5. The nurse said that my A1c was 6.2 which is around what I thought it might be. I guess that means I'm getting the hang of what I can eat without my BGL going wild. I am really happy with this result :)

The other level I was concerned about was my cholesterol. Not that it has ever been high or anything. In fact I know my previous GP was surprised when it was as low as it was. I have no idea why. I guess he just thought big people had high cholesterol levels. Anyway my over all cholesterol is 4. From what I remember is pretty good :) the closer to zero it is the better.

I also had my eyes checked yesterday. I explained that I had been diagnosed with diabetes a few months ago & that I had noticed a few changes with my sight. The optometrist was actually glad I waited a few months after diagnosis to get my eyes tested because fluctuating BGL's can alter your vision (I kind of knew that but that wasn't the reason I waited to go).

After much light shining, icky drops placed in my eyes and the flash of a camera for photos I was told that my eyes were pretty healthy. In fact I got the strangest comment from the optometrist. He said that my irises were amazing and that he had never seen any like them before. I guess that was a good thing. I took it as a compliment. I do however need stronger glasses for driving/watching TV but other than that he said that I don't need to come back for another 2 years unless of course I notice anything different before then. To be honest if felt like I had only been there 12 months ago.

Hopefully I will get my new glasses next week. Of course I will need to take photos of them to show you how pretty they look. They're a dusty rose/purple colour. Similar to what I have but with a teeny bit more colour.

Thankful Thursday

Is it me or are the weeks going by a lot faster? Angus seems to think they are but I believe its because it's the school holidays.
Here's what I am thankful for this week:

• sleeping in and waking up refreshed. Waking up tired all the time was horrible.
• being busy and it helps pass the time
• that the boys haven't been bored (at least so far they haven't)
• the weather we have had. Victoria has 4 seasons in 1 day and it is a VERY accurate description. The thunderstorms we had yesterday had a very pretty light show
• my old cat Trip. I think he is going senile (he's nearly 10 yo) but he keeps me smiling

What are you thankful for this week? 

My New Do

Shock, horror I've posted another picture of me (o_0) & a self-portrait too. I had to show off my new haircut. I'm really impressed with how Sarah, my hairdresser, worked her magic. She always does a good job.

I had to brush my hair again. My fringe wasn't sitting right after being out in the wind.

I've not had my hair this short since I was a teenager. Although back then it was permed and all wavy. Maybe I can find a photo from back then & share it. Don't hold your breath though it may take some time to remember where I put all the old photos :P

I love how the back looks!     Please ignore the mess on my desk :-/  

One of the girls who works at the hairdressers commented on my hair colour. She said it looks lovely. I am biased though I love it too & its all natural! Even with a couple of stray greys in there.

Ut Oh .. I've been checking out etsy ...

I was reading a blog post by Eimearee's over at Playing with fi(b)re about these cute little stitch markers she bought from Weeones etsy shop. OMGosh they are so cute! I had to go and check out what other ones she had in her shop.

I fell in love with a set of super cute seal point Siamese kitties! I mean look how cute that photo is below. How could you not fall in love with something so tiny and adorable like that?

from Weeones etsy shop

How about these cute little galahs stitch markers? They are my favourite native bird. I even had a pet one once called Cody. Cody used to talk and talk. It adored Brodie. Sadly though Cody was far too clever to stay in his cage and he got out & flew away. I was devastated. It was the only bird I ever had that could talk.

How cute are these galahs!! 

Weeones is very talented! I'm off to check out some more of these cute little stitch markers.

Staycation

The school holidays started on Friday & we are having another staycation ( that's a vacation where you stay at home). The boys are home for two weeks. I am so looking forward to not having to get up early every day. I don't get to sleep in very often and its been nice waking up and not feeling tired. I was getting so tired of waking up tired (some of you may recognise that as a line from a Hoodoogurus song. You can check out the video here if you like)

Angus is off at a friends place tonight. There's a whole heap of kids from his school having a sleep over. I use the term 'sleep over' quite loosely here as I really don't think the boys will sleep at all. No doubt it will take a couple of days for Angus to recover from this lack of sleep. At least he is getting a break from his brother. These breaks don't happen very often but when there is a chance for Angus to have one I encourage him to go.

Brodie wants to sit for his learners test this set of holidays. As long as he organises all of this I am quite happy for him to go and do it. I am trying to teach him to be more responsible for himself. It's very slow going but he is getting there. After all isn't it the aim of parents to help their child become more independent? If he forgets to do something he really wishes to do I am sure that he will learn really quickly to not make that mistake again. I have already told him that its not up to me to organise things. If he wants his license its up to him to get it on his own. I will take him to the appointment if he asks but that's it.

We don't really have anything planned for these school holidays. I have a few things planned for me but no family outings. I guess that's something we can discuss as a family once Angus comes home from his friends place.

WIP - Crochet Dress

What do you think of my latest project? I am really pleased with how its turned out so far :)

Adult Truths

*** Adult Truths ***  (I borrowed these from a friend on Facebook. Thank you Jessica)

1. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong. ...

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How in the world are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

16. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

17. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

18. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

19. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

20. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

21. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

22. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important

Thankful Thursday

Here's what I am thankful for this week:

• the beautiful spring weather we are having. It's so nice to be able to go without wearing lots of layers to stay warm
• all the lovely flowers I have seen lately
• for pain killers, btw my tooth isn't so bad today (no pain meds so far, knock on wood!)
• Visiting Teachers. It was nice to have some female company to talk to. 
• my postie. Thanks Luke for delivering my new crochet patterns :D 

What are you thankful for this week? 

A Bear With A Sore Tooth

We all have good days and bad days right? Today is an I'm not so sure day. I have a toothache. I haven't bothered ringing up the dentist. You see I am a 'public' patient which means no private health insurance. The 'free' dentist (I use the term 'free' very loosely) has a 6 month waiting list (it might be longer but it was a 6 month wait last time I phoned). 

I am on the waiting list for the dentist and by my calculations I have at least another month or so before I get to the top of the list. Before you ask yes they do allow for emergencies. Sometimes you can be lucky enough to get an appointment for the same day if you phone them early enough or you might be lucky enough to get a voucher and you can see a private dentist. All I know is that this tooth will be pulled they don't usually try to save the tooth it's much cheaper and easier for them to do an extraction.

Considering how much I dislike dentists I will see how I go. I blame my sister Vicki with all of those scary stories she told me when I was little. I should've just listened to Julie & been more like her when it comes to the dentist. Hopefully the pain will go away soon. If not paracetamol with codeine will be my good friend :P at least for the time being. I dare not take anything else due to the other medications I am on. I don't want them to interact badly with one another. I am so glad I am not like a bear with a sore tooth. I haven't been grumpy or anything.

I am feeling kind of nosy. What do you do when you have a toothache? Do you go to the dentist or suffer with the pain? Do you have any home remedies that you use?

A Finished Object & Some New Patterns

cute little pants

I know a lot of my posts lately have been about my knitting or my crocheting but that seems to be about the only thing I have been doing recently. Apart from ferrying the kids back and forth to school or the bus stop. It doesn't always get very exciting around here. In fact you could say that it is really boring at times.  Any way the photo above is my latest finished item. I completed sewing the pants up this afternoon. It's the last of that Bernat Baby Jacquards yarn that I have in the purple. I really love how it knits up and looks just like flowers :)

My new patterns

I bought some more crochet patterns from Heather at Just Crochet last week. They arrived this morning. I really like her patterns and they have been very easy to follow. I now have five from Heather's collection. If you want to you can see some of the things I made using the other patterns here or here or here.

Now that I have finished making the pants I just need to work out what pattern I will use to make for my next project ... I don't know if I can decide. I know how about eeny, meeny, miney, mo ...
I'll let you know later which one I decided on.

My Lunch

Chicken Parma

Look at what Brodie cooked me for lunch at his work! It tastes as good as it looks.

Surprise - A Self Portrait

Self Portrait

I was messing around with my phone the other day while I was waiting for Brodie. Just for fun I decided to take some photos of me. It's not that easy taking a decent photo of yourself. I can't tell you how many I took and deleted because they looked shocking!
Gosh I look tired in that photo. At least I have rosy cheeks. It must be from all that delicious vegemite I consumed as a kid :P

It's Farmers Market Day

The boys & I went to the local Farmers Market this morning. I needed to get a fresh supply of yummy fruit and vegetables. Well just the veggies really. No one seems to be eating all that much fruit at the moment.

Farmers Market - it doesn't look very big but there was some nice things there :)

We visited our favourite stalls. Des & Wendy for the fruit & veg. Helen & Albert for or vegetable oil based soaps and the two nice guys (that remain nameless for now) who sell those yummy curry peanuts & soy crisps that we like :D

I have a thing for medical/suspense novels at the moment

There were also some new stalls. Well it was more like ones that don't frequent our little market very often. There was one that had nothing but books. OMGosh I was almost in heaven. There were a few I liked but I limited myself to just one. If you saw my bookshelf you would understand why I only bought one. I really must go through the ones I've read and either give them to the op shops or put them on freecycle.

My new bag

I'm not of buying new handbags or shoes. I really am not that sort of girl but when I saw this one I really had to check it out. It has lots of pockets. I also saw a pink one that I liked. The pattern was lovely but it didn't have as much room as this one.

It's bigger on the inside like the Tardis :D

The stall I bought the bag from was raising money for an organisation called Bryn's Schools. 100% of the proceed of each purchase from the stall goes directly to educate some under privileged children around the world. They have built schools in Vietnam, Sierra Leone, Cambodia & Kenya. If you want to find out more about Bryn's Schools you can visit their website HERE.

That was this mornings adventure. Now to something less exciting. I'm off to catch up on some of the shows I recorded & do some more knitting :D

Finished Object - 5 Hour Baby Sweater

I just finished this cute little baby cardigan this afternoon & I had to share it with you. Its from a pattern called "Five Hour Baby Sweater" and it really was very quick to knit up. I like this pattern very much and I will definitely make it up again.

I got the pattern from http://yarntootin.typepad.com/ you can download the pattern HERE

I'm off to go knit something else before I need to collect Brodie from the bus stop. I'm thinking perhaps a skirt or a pair of pants to match the cardigan.

R U OK? Day

Today is R U OK? Day.

It's a day aimed at getting Australians to ask someone, a friend, a colleague or family member if they are okay. It's all about suicide prevention & helping people. To listen to them and finding out if they really are okay. Click on the image below to find out more.
 






 You don't have to wait for a national day to remind you to ask you friends, family or work mates if they are okay. I lost one of my brothers to suicide. It really is a horrible dark thing and so very, very  hard for the ones who are left behind. So please, no matter where you are in the world, ask someone you love today if they are okay.

Finished Object - Baby Cardigan

I finished this baby cardigan yesterday. I used a Bernat Baby Jacquard yarn in petunia. It looks so pretty when its knitted. I bought the yarn online from a store in Queensland. It was the only place in Australia that I could buy it from. I can't remember the name of the store though. Oh well. That's what google is for I suppose :D

I took this photo shortly after I started knitting.

one of the sleeves

This yarn knits up so well and it looks so pretty. I can't wait to use the rest of the yarn that I have :) Although I have no idea what I will make with it yet.

another sleeve

I used a different yarn to complete the top. It's a very pale pink.

I wanted pink buttons but I didn't have any but that just means I get to go shopping right?? :D :D

Ta Da! Looks good doesn't it :D

I may send this off to my niece Allie. Her baby (a little girl) is due at the end of October. I am sure she will look adorable in it.

A Knitted Tie

Knitting it was the easy part ...

Why? Why did I start knitting a tie? It's not something I would normally knit. Although it was really easy to do. I whipped it up the other weekend. I made it because one of the missionaries from our Church said he always wanted a knitted tie. I knew I had a pattern for one somewhere on my computer.

I blocked it .. I had never done that before ...

Now I that I have blocked it and let it dry I need to put some kind of backing on it. I read the pattern on how to do it. I have no idea what I am doing. What made me think I could read a sewing pattern? This tie is sitting there staring at me .. wishing that I would completed it. Why did I start making it? I don't even like sewing all that much. I used to .. I should bite the bullet and finish it before the missionaries get their transfers and I wont know where to send it on. Someone please give me the motivation and knowledge I need to complete this thing! Maybe I should ask Mark. He's good at that sort of thing ..

By the way I got the pattern HERE at Knit Picks if you're interested :) They have lots of free patterns there.

Scrapbooking

While Angus & I were at the Warragul Quilt & Craft Exhibition on Saturday I saw some fantastic scrapbooking stuff. I saw some really good 'blokey' things. Stuff that would totally suit the boys photos not to mention  my Dad or Marks photos. I mean look at the vintage papers & tags. In the past I found all of the pretty girly things so I gave up organising photos and making up new pages. I hardly had anything for the boys. Who knows maybe I shall be inspired to make up some more pages.

As soon as I saw this one I knew it would be perfect for some photos of Mum. She LOVED bingo!

Ready Mr. Music? Brodz is the musician in our family.

Right now I am thinking I need to reorganise my photos. I had them all sorted in a box. Sorted into various things like family groups, pets, parties etc. All ready for when I felt the urge to do something with them. Then the boys knocked the box over and scattered the photos everywhere. I didn't feel like going through them again so I dumped them all back into the box and left it. That seems like a lifetime ago.
I supposed I really should go and get my scrapbooking box out, dust it off and get stuck into things. Maybe in the holidays...

Do you scrapbook? Do you do digital scrapbooking? If you do I have some kits that I made years ago that you can download if you're interested. You can read about my kits & see the previews here here here here and here or you could just go here (4Shared) to download them.

The Young Ones

I was doing a bit of reminiscing and listening to an old song that I used to love listening to as a teenager. I am sure that a lot of people prefer the original version of this song (Cliff Richard is wonderful) but I just love The Young Ones. Vivian, Rick, Mike & Neil used to make me laugh so much.

I guess I really liked wacky British comedy.

Warragul Quilt & Craft Exhibition Sept 10 - 11

Angus and I went to the 3rd Annual Warragul Quilt & Craft exhibition that is on today & tomorrow. I asked if I was allowed to take some photos. I am so glad that they said yes but I used my mobile so the colours aren't as crash hot as they could be but boy did I see some wonderful quilts. There are so many talented local people around.

this was my one of my favourites

I love the country look :D

Look I found a crocheted item. They're hats with ribbons made into a quilt.

This one looks much better than the photo shows. The colours were beautiful.

I love the washing line. It had 'real' washing on it. This was one of my favourites too :)

What can I say I loved the flowers.

The photo doesn't do this quilt any justice. The purples were so bright!

oops a tad blurry but oh so pretty.

This was done in all blues :)

Angus loved the dinosaurs

I bought a few bits and pieces for myself. Some scrapbooking things and a couple of pieces of material. I took some photos of those once I got home. I'll share them another time.

The money raised from this weekend goes to our local hospital. So of course we had to buy a drink and a cake to have after we had seen everything. They even had diabetic friendly cake. It was a very moist fruit and really nice. Sadly though I forgot to take a photo of it. There's always next time ;o)

Forgetful Friday

I have dubbed today Forgetful Friday because I forgot to do a Thankful Thursday post. Oops. I got sidetracked because Brodie & I went to that Expo yesterday. So here's a belated Thankful Thursday post plus it is still Thursday in other parts of the globe :D

Things I am thankful for:

• my scales made me very happy this week. According to them I have now lost 10kilos (22 pounds)! Happy dance time! Woohoo!
• Brodie accompanying me to the Expo yesterday
• Angus's mid term school report. It showed me which subjects he needs to focus on & which teachers I need to go and see (it wasn't all bad news either - which is great!)
• that I got to catch up with my friend Maity the other night. He came over for dinner. It was good to see him.

I am sure I could think of more but that's it for now :)

What are you thankful for this week?

Future Options Expo

Brodie & I went to a Future Options Expo (the info on the site is from last year) this morning in Morwell. Basically it's where a variety of community organisations get together so that parent, schools, carers, youth/students can see what is available to help young adults with disabilities. Whether its to help them get a job, learn life skills or even further their education.

some of the pamphlets we collected

Brodz was very reluctant to go but I made him come. He handled it quite well. In fact he was busy socialising with quite a few people he knew. Kids he knew from Interchange or TAFE through to teachers and an aide he had in High School. I think he was glad I dragged him out of the house.

It was pretty helpful but I was slightly disappointed. There was one service I wanted to talk to but there weren't there today which was a shame. I can't even think of their name right now but I will talk to Miss G. at Brodie's school. I am sure that she will have the contact details I need.

I like the idea of Brodie being associated with Mawarra especially their vocational training program and the catering company that they have. Brodie loves working with food so that is at least one option we can explore.

I have a lot of pamphlets to go and read. I take Brodz up to his school tomorrow so I might see if I can talk with Miss G (the Special Ed. teacher) and let her know how things went today. We probably need a meeting again at any rate.

An Old School Photo

I was sorting through some of my photos that I have on the computer when I cam across some old school photos & I thought I would share one. Just so you know I was -14 years old in this photo. I am only 29 after all :-P (please don't burst my bubble, let me believe I am 29 at least for a few more years)

Can you guess which one is me?I'll give you a clue I am wearing socks.

Oh my gosh will you look at that socks with sandals. What were our parents thinking when they let us dress like that?? What fashionistas we were!! Thank goodness I never made my boys wear socks with sandals. Isn't it a good thing that kids wear uniforms these days. Although I have to admit we did look neat & tidy in our class photo. Having kids dress the same saves them from being teased for wearing the wrong clothes. I suffered a bit in high school for that but that's another story.

I remember this particular class. My teacher was Miss Guppy (yep like the fish). She was one of the BEST teachers EVER! I remember all the kids loved her and we all cried when we were told she was leaving. My best friend, Mish, was in another class. Although at the time I'm not sure we were best friends, not yet anyway. I did have a really good friend in this class though. Her name was Julie. I used to visit her all the time. My Mum & Julie's Mum were friends. I think they knew each other from work.

Wouldn't it be nice to be carefree and not have a worry in the world like when we were kids? That being said I did have worries back then. I was diagnosed with psoriasis when I was 7.  I don't remember this myself but my sister Julie told me that I came home from school crying. Apparently the school didn't want me there because of my psoriasis. I was a kid who adored going to school. I absolutely loved being there. I can just imagine how heartbroken I was. Julie told me that Dad marched right up to the school and told them off. He explained that it was not contagious. I wish I remembered that he did that. I would've been so proud of my Dad for being my hero!


So have you worked out which gorgeous kid in the photo is me? Shall I keep you guessing? I thought about leaving it until tomorrow but I decided that I would tell you ... I am in the first row, second from the left. Wasn't I adorable back then?

Chocolate Printer

Could you imagine having one of these at home? Our poor waist-lines ...

Mum

I need my Mum no matter what age I am. My Mum has made me laugh ... wiped my tears ... hugged me tight ... watched me succeed ... saw me fall ... cheered me on ... kept me going strong ... ! But my Mum is a promise from God that I will have a friend forever! ♥ Mum I know you're in heaven right now shaking your head at me. I miss you! (Shared by my friend Pammy on FB today. It was perfect timing.)

♥♥ Happy Birthday Mum ♥♥