Archives for March 2008

My date with Sheila

March 19, 2008 by Jen

I’ve had a guest at my place for the last week – her name is Sheila. She’s travelling around Australia and might even venture overseas so she’s a real social butterfly. Actually she’s a big pink bra. It was the brain child of Leigh from All for Women and it’s labelled Sisterhood of the Travelling Bra.

I got JJ to take some photos of me wearing it, then as Monty was hanging around, she had a go too. So I didn’t exactly go out in public and wear it, but now the photos are on my Flickr site and on this website so that’s quite public.

Sheila still has a few places to visit. Maybe you’ll see her around.

Womadelaide disguised as a blog party

March 13, 2008 by Jen

The Ultimate Blog Party is being hosted by 5 minutes for mom. I’m being fashionably late as this party started on 7 March and it’s now 13 March. Normally I like to be on time but other events sometimes get in the way.

The truth is I’ve been too damn busy partying to host a party of my own. And it’s too hot to organise and host a party anyway.

My party this week, which I didn’t organise or host, was on Sunday at Womadelaide. Womadelaide has been a staple of mine for the last 13 years or so. Back in 1995 and maybe for the next two Womad’s after that I bought a weekend pass, but back then I was a bit younger and I was childfree so it was a lot easier and a lot different. This time, I bought a day/night ticket for about the same amount as I paid those 13 years ago for a weekend pass. Finances aside, I love Womad. The atmosphere is really embracing and friendly and it’s perfect for a family outing.

This year it was really hot and oh so dusty. It’s the dustiest it’s ever been and the dust really affects me. It affected others too because I saw a lot of people using dust masks and others had scarves around their face. I had a hayfever tablet which did nothing and went through a lot of tissues.

The setting for Womadelaide is perfect though, in Botanic Park which is inundated with huge trees creating plenty of shade. We had a good shady spot near one of the smaller stages but close enough to Stage 1 to hear the main acts. This year was a case of hearing a lot more music rather than seeing it. You could argue that I could just buy the best of CD but CDs don’t come with an atmosphere plugin.

JJ loved it. He wasn’t too keen to go initially because of the heat but after we’d seen Black Grace (a fabulous NZ dance act) and were walking back to base camp he announced that he was having the best fun EVER. And I must say that he was amazing. The worst thing he did was nag me to go to the mist tents and could he please have an icecream now? I am used to tuning out a lot of these requests so it didn’t bother me too much.

Another thing I love about Womad that takes place outside of the music on the stages is the roving performances and the art that’s created at the workshops.

You can see my other Womadelaide photos.

You can also read what I’ve written about Womadelaide 2007, Womadelaide 2005 part 1 and Womadelaide 2005 part 2.

So this Womadelaide thing was only one day since 7 March, but I had Monday to recover (thank goodness for long weekends) and I’ve been at work ever since. But I think Womadelaide is enough of a party and feast for the senses for you all.

Dancing

March 12, 2008 by Jen

My second post on the Aussie bloggers blog is now up. It’s about So You Think You Can Dance – the Australian version with a bit about reality tv thrown in. Those who regularly read this blog might know that I’m a bit of a reality tv tragic.

At the moment I’m watching The Amazing Race. This would have to be my favourite reality tv show. I love the dynamics between the teams and I hope ‘Bama’ win. I think this series was shown ages ago in the States because some of the people in this series were in the all stars series which I’ve already seen. I could go online and see who wins but the anticipation would be taken away from me.

Big Brother will start in the next few months or so and, yes, I’ll admit I’ve watched the Australian version since its inception but how will it be this year with the two new hosts? At least they won’t contaminate the daily show and the eviction show normally bores me to tears anyway.

In case of emergency

March 9, 2008 by Jen

The other night JJ and I had a drill so he knows what to do if I ever collapse at home and he can’t wake me up. While we were doing this I said I’d write some phone numbers down and put them on the side of the fridge so the authorities have someone to call. I don’t know what the protocol is when a parent is unconscious and their kid is at home. Does the kid get taken to hospital in the ambulance as well?

Of course I didn’t write down the numbers there and then because I was relaxing after a busy day, but for some reason we got onto the subject again yesterday and he reminded me about the phone numbers. It wasn’t a, ‘mum you forgot to write the phone numbers down’ in a serious tone, it was said with a big grin as if he can’t wait until I collapse and die.

I got a piece of paper, wrote down names and phone numbers of five people and put it on the side of the fridge and we had another run through about what he needs to do. I also had to teach him how to use the phone as you have to press the Talk button before dialling. He knows the number to call, he knows what to say, and he knows our home address.

Hopefully he’ll never have to do it, but if he does I’m confident he will.

Now, if I collapse on the side of the road, I should have the In Case of Emergency (ICE) number or numbers programmed into my phone.

All consuming heat

March 8, 2008 by Jen

We are going through a prolonged heatwave at the moment. It’s unusual to have such a long heatwave in March, but it’s happening. At least the nights are cooler than they otherwise might be making sleeping in a non-airconditioned house a lot more comfortable.

Tomorrow we’re off to Womadelaide and it’s going to be just as hot. While I love going to Womadelaide I don’t like all the dust that gets kicked up from people walking around making me sneeze and making my head all snuffly. Pack the hayfever tablets – check!

These hot days make me get up earlier than I otherwise would to do a bit of watering and washing before going outside in the sun gets unbearable.

I’ve just shut the house up again for a 39 degree day and we won’t be doing too much today, just spending time in front of the computer and television, and reading a book.

All heart

March 5, 2008 by Jen

I took this photo on Valentine’s day after I left work. Of course I meant to do the post that day so it was relevant but I didn’t.

I keep forgetting I’ve got a mobile phone with a camera and even when I remember, and I take photos with it, I haven’t got the process for getting the images off down pat. The process is getting clearer, but the memory is not.

Anyway, I thought the heart in the sky was sweet and who says that a display of love has to happen on Valentine’s Day?

The great interview experiment – my turn

March 4, 2008 by Jen

Below is my interview which forms part of the great interview experiment. After a bit of reshuffling I was interviewed by Dana of Diary of a MILF in Progress. I’ve already interviewed Kristabella. Confused yet? The way it works is that Dana sent me the questions below and I answered them below to the best of my ability. I made up questions that Kristabella answered on her blog.

When I first read the questions, I thought, wow, these will be hard to answer. The best way to do something is to start it and go from there and I start I did it at 2.15pm last Friday. I’ve mentioned the time because I thought I’d spend 15 minutes on this and then go and vacuum before I picked JJ up from school. When I looked at the clock it was nearly 3pm so the vacuuming waited a bit while I went and did the school pickup. I ended up really enjoying these questions. Read on.

How do you feel about the term “mommyblogger/mummyblogger”? Do you feel as though it is simply a category, or does it provoke an assumption about the writer and subject matter of the blog?

I think it does evoke an assumption about the writer and the subject matter of the blog because it’s a label for a type of blogger. Even though I blog about my parenting it’s not all I blog about because my whole life doesn’t revolve around what I do as a parent. Kids are pretty consuming when they’re young but then they get older and one day will leave home (hopefully) so what will the current mummybloggers be labelled then, provided they’re still blogging of course.

If given the chance to choose a particular age be for as many years as you wished to be that age, how old would you be and how long would you maintain that age?

Whew, that’s a pretty philosophical question. I’m pretty happy with my life at the moment so it might be nice to maintain my current age for a while. Physically, things are going downhill (literally) at the moment so a halt to that would be good. I don’t fancy going back to my teens or early 20s because I didn’t enjoy them as much as I’m enjoying myself now. I’ve grown up a lot in the last few years, surprisingly – or not – since I’ve had my son and I also feel that my life is a lot more fulfilling, partly because of him, but partly because I’ve gone out and sought other things.

What is the smartest purchase you have ever made? What is the most ill-advised purchase?

The smartest purchase was buying my house when I did before the property boom happened. There’s no way I could afford to do it in the area I live now, or afford to buy a house for that matter.

The most ill-advised was my first car. I took along a friend who I thought knew something about cars and as it turns out he didn’t. It was a Datsun 180B SSS. I had trouble getting insurance because of mag tyres, the gearbox was in backwards and it was a lemon. Everything went wrong with it and I got rid of it as soon as I could and bought something a lot more reliable, without the advice of my friend, but got the local motoring authority to check it out.

What traits or aspects of your personality do you most want to pass on to your son? Which ones do you hope he does not inherit?

This is a hard one. I’m pretty optimistic so I’d like to pass that on because it’s really easy to see the negative a lot of the time. Otherwise I like to think I’m considerate of others and hope that he is also.

As for the ones I hope he doesn’t inherit, there are none. Yeah right! I swear a bit too much and swear in front of him and sometimes at him. I can be a bit quick to lose my cool, usually because of him but of course that’s no excuse.

Describe your perfect meal (prepared by someone else, if you want, and cleaned up by someone else as well).

Any food prepared by someone else is bloody brilliant and I love it even more if I don’t have to do the clearing and washing up. I love seafood, hint hint for that someone else.

What word(s) do you like to say (because of how they sound, not because of what they mean or their context)? What words do you dislike?

I like vicarious. I can’t think of any others at present.

Words I dislike – c*nt (except if it’s used in the right context which is very rare).

If money and childcare were no barriers, where would you like to travel?

I’d love to see more of Australia. I’ve never been to Western Australia and while I’d like to start down the bottom of Western Australia I’d also dearly love to see the top bit – the Kimberly Ranges. From what I’ve seen on tv etc it’s absolutely magnificent. Perhaps that someone who’s going to cook me a fabulous meal has a four wheel drive and can take me and my son on this holiday!

What moment in your life do you consider the most major one in shaping how your life is today? Where would you be if that moment had happened differently?

My moment is the moment I got pregnant. I sometimes wonder where I would if I hadn’t got pregnant. I hadn’t planned on having kids, in fact I was pretty sure I wouldn’t which is partly why it was a major thing for me. I think I would be quite different if I didn’t have him in that he’s taught me how be less selfish and I’ve become a more rounded person I think.

Complete this sentence: “You wouldn’t know it to look at me, but…”

It’s for me to know and you to find out. Whatever I could think of to finish this sentence is probably not anything I’d ever write on my blog.

What is your favorite type of chocolate? (I refuse to entertain the notion that anyone dislikes chocolate, so everyone must have a favorite!)

Green’s organic white chocolate. Mmm mmmm.

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