Monthly Cross Stitch WIP

After two months (Feb 28 2011)

 

 

After three months (March 28 2011)

We are dependent on it.

Electricity. I never noticed how much we rely on it till this morning. I suppose you never really know what you have until its gone. 

We woke early this morning to Jasmine screaming. Rodger raced into her room to see what the issue was. Her night light had gone out. I looked over to see what the time was only to see darkness. Where was that red glow of the alarm? Was I blind? Nope, the power had gone out. Rodger got Jassie a little LED light and she was happy. We fumbled around for our phones to check the time. It was a little after 6. 

Luckily thanks to technology we were able to look up on our phones what was going on. There was a major outage in the area and it could be hours before it came back on.

Not long later Jasmine we heard Jasmine walk down the hallway to the toilet. We are so used to power and lights that when she got there she tried to turn the light on! It was actually rather funny. I did the same thing a half hour later. Tried to turn the light on. It had Rodger in stitches. 

It took Jasmine a little bit to fully understand that without power not only did the lights not work but neither did the TV. Poor kid. It totally changed her normal morning routine. She's used to having her morning up and go while watching her shows. She wasn't quite sure what was happening.

Yay for gas cooking though. It was freezing this morning and since we had no power we also had no heating. At least with gas cooking we were able to have pancakes for breakfast. Yummy and hot. Only thing that was going to be missing was my morning cup of tea. :( 

I was sitting in bed reading waiting for my pancake when I heard Jasmine tell Rodger she was just going to test the lights again to see if the power had come back on. Instead of her playing with the lights every few minutes Rodger told her that he would turn the kitchen light on and when it came on Jasmine would know that the power was back. No sooner had he gotten done saying that than what happened? The power came back on!! Good timing. I got to have my cup of tea after all.

Jasmine was also happy the power was back as it meant all the lights worked again. I really did feel sorry for her when she first woke up as she is afraid of the dark. When she'd gone to sleep last night her night light had been on and so she assumed that when she woke up this morning her night light would still be on and it wasn't. She got such a fright. Thank goodness for those little LED lights!

The cost of living in Australia

It bites the big one! $14.99 for a kilo of banana's the other day! Would they like my first born child to go with that?!?! Although if I had to trade Jasmine for the bananas they would last a lot longer since she eats the most of them. There's some food for thought.

Kids clothing is another one. I often buy on-line from overseas. Even with postage and exchange rates its often cheaper. The clothes are also better quality so that they girls out grow them before they out wear them and there is a bigger variety to pick from. And when you have two little girls you need variety otherwise everything they wear would match. While that's cute some of the time, I can't do it all the time. I just don't have it in me. In fact everything for kids cost more here. Car seats, prams, cots. The lot. And the variety just isn't there. What I wouldn't have given while pregnant to have a better variety and choice in what we got. Instead we just had to pick from a very small selection.

Computer items are another thing that costs much more here. I know that suppliers have to ship things further and that is going to push the price up but it can't possible triple the price of some things can it?? Especially when you can buy on line and save money.

Of course if you buy on line you know you are putting big Aussie business out of business? *insert sarcasm here* I'm sorry Mr Harvey, but I'm going to think of my own back pocket before I think of yours.

I've often looked on line at housing prices over seas too. If you were to take the size of home we are wanting and place it overseas the price would drop by up to 50%! Some of that is supply and demand. We have a growing population and the housing industry isn't growing at the same rate but still!

Don't get me wrong. I don't think I would move for all the clothes, cars or computers in the world but it would just be nice if the cost of living here was less and more on par with the rest of the world.

If you can't beat them...

Join them! That's my theory anyway. Beat who? Join what? 

Lets back peddle a little. My neighbours husband spends a good part of his time off work playing computer and video games. Mostly World of Warcraft I believe. It drives her nuts. Especially when he stays up late playing them and wants to sleep in the next day and she must spend all morning trying to keep their two young children silent so he can sleep in. This would annoy me. Personally I would not stand (or sit) for it. Its ok to use your down time to play games, but when it starts to interfere with your family life then it has to stop.

Moving on. Beat who? Join what?

If you can't stop your partner completely playing games, and who would want to anyway? That's just being mean and controlling. Instead of complaining, join them! See what all the fuss is about. Who knows you might just find yourself with a new interest together.

And yes, I do speak from experience. Many years ago Rodger taught me how to play Civilisation 3. I was hooked. I remember the first night I played, I was up till 4am playing while he slept on the couch. This was years before Jasmine was even a thought in our minds. I stopped playing for a while but last year Civilisation 5 was released. I'm totally hooked again. It keeps a total of hours played and well, lets say I'm nearing the 200 hours since last September mark.

When possible we play together. It's great fun. It's something we can both do. A decent game does take babysitters though. We played one over the holidays. It took us 9 hours to play. I won! We have played a few times since too. Mostly though we do play on our own but it is still a shared interest. We share strategies. 

What I'm saying is, next time you find yourself rolling your eyes at your partners interests. Stop. Join them. Sure you may not like it as much as they do, but then again you may just find out what has them so hooked on it.

To Mac or not to Mac

Am I talking about computers?

Am I talking in a baby voice and talking about smacking?

Nope.

I'm talking about MacDonalds. Not the old fellow with the farm. The clown with the restaurant.The Golden Arches. Whatever you want to call it.

While eating my breakfast yesterday, I was reading a blog by a journalist. She had received an email from a parent of a three year old asking if it was ok to say no to another parent about her child attending a birthday party because the party was to be held at McD's. The blogger never gave her opinion but left the comments open for discussion. The comments ranged from both ends of the spectrum. They ranged range some saying how terrible McD's is and anyone who even thinks about taking their kids no matter how rarely is abusing their kids, to others saying that those who are "Food Nazi's" are abusing their kids.

Lets face it. We all know McD's is bad for you. In large amounts eaten often. Eaten rarely in smaller portions, while still not the best choice its ok to have. I don't see the issue in having kids birthday parties there. Its cheap, everything is provided and there is no clean up for the parents. In fact Jasmine recently went to one and loved it. So much so that chance are this year her party will be there. Its a treat. Besides at 3 and 4, kids just don't sit for long enough to eat any more than a few bites before they want to run off and play again.

Take away of any kind has not come into this house in over three weeks now. (Yay us!) However, in just over 2 weeks, we will be having McD's for lunch. It will be Zac's 3rd birthday and has he's not here to celebrate with us, we celebrate for him. McD's is a memory of Zac. Especially since we were eating it upwards of 2-3 times a week while he was at the children's hospital. Eating that often is bad for you and will make you gain weight. I speak from personal experience here.

While on the topic of Zac... We made a hefty donation yesterday to the Good Friday Appeal. Yarra Trams had available 80 spots for photos of people to go on their trams. I sent in Zac's photo. I'm about 90% sure I was one of the first 80. If they don't use him we'll get a refund n the money but as far as I know that hasn't happened. Of course I haven't heard back from Yarra Trams yet either so I don't know for sure either way. I really do hope they use his photo. It's a great cause to support and we do support it mainly for him.

Water Restrictions

While I understand why we have had water restrictions for many years now I still think they stink.

For her third birthday Jasmine got a plastic playhouse for outside. One of the bars that form the roof of it can be connected to a hose and it sprays water. Cool! Or not so much since she has never been able to use it like that. Its not that its been too hot, its been that she hasn't been allowed too.

Poor little girls is 4 and a half years old and has never been able to experience running under a sprinkler in the summer heat. Now the restrictions are easing just in time for the weather to cool down. We have told her that if its warm enough this weekend we will let her play with the water spout thing on her playhouse. For once I am actually hoping that it will be be hot enough.

Both girls love the water as proved by how much they love swimming in Nana's pool.

 

 

 

Don't be jealous

Following on from my post the other day about my run on the treadmill I told someone last night how far I had done in my 35min. Their response "oh ok".

"Oh ok"?!?! I wasn't expecting cartwheels and fireworks but I was expecting a little bit more than an "oh ok". The only real reason I can think that this particular person gave me that response is jealousy. I don't know why they would be jealous. I don't see a reason to be. Perhaps its their own feelings of inadequacy? Who knows.

I don't get how tearing someone else down or not cheering them on is a good way to make yourself feel better. It just makes you look like an idiot. If your doing it because they are doing something that you are wanting to do, then why don't you just say that. Then take steps so you can also meet those goals. 

Does this jealousy simply come from being threatened by me? I don't know why. This person and I are at totally different stages of life. They have had their chances to do what they wanted at my age. They are now at a stage where the only thing they have to worry about is themselves. So really they have all the time in the world to pursue all the goals and dreams that they want to. And the time to dedicate to making sure they happen without interruption from children or work.

There is a very fine line between jealousy and envy. Perhaps there is some envy thrown in there too. I do think that as humans we do tend to envy others a lot. There is always someone with a bigger house, a faster car, a better life. I do think its natural that we want something bigger and better but we shouldn't tear down those who do have those things in order to get them for ourselves. It just doesn't work like that. You have to work for what you want. Getting what you want takes time and effort and loads of hard work. 

I think the best example of envy on a large scale in the way the media tear down celebrities. While I don't think the media owe them anything or that they should not be reporting downfalls of the rich and famous, it seems we, as a society, get pure enjoyment out of seeing these downfalls. I suppose there really is no better way to make ourselves feel better than seeing someone else in turmoil or by tearing them down. However, we must remember that this is only a short term way of feeling better and that the best way to really feel good is to get out there and make life happen. 

Instead of being envious and jealous of those who have more than us, we should be glad that we have the comfort of a roof over our head, food in our bellies and clothes on our back. After all there are many who don't even have that. We need to be grateful for what we do have instead of being jealous of the things we don't have. For all we know, those we are envious of are equally as envious of us.

Going about it all wrong

I think I've been going about my treadmill running all wrong. When we first got it in October last year I started off doing intervals. My progress was slow. Really slow. So I changed the way I was doing it. I changed to running for as long as I could, then doing intervals when I could for the rest of my time. Finally I had progress. I was able to run longer. Slower but longer. As previously mentioned I'm now up to running for 9 minutes at time. The last few times I haven't been looking forward to it as much as I used to. Again my progress has slowed. I was running for more time but the total distance I was covering was barely moving. This morning I went back to doing the intervals. Not only did I beat my last personal best, I totally smashed it! Instead of my average speed being 6km an hour it was 6.6km an hour. That's a huge difference! I was able to do 3.8km in 35 minutes. I'm rather pleased with myself.

I think for a while at least I will go back to doing the intervals. Today I did 4 of two minutes of running followed by 1 of walking, then for the rest of the time I did 1 minute of running followed by 1 minute of walking. I think I may have done 1 or 2 two minute walks in there when I needed to. In total I did 18 minutes of running, which is over all the time I spent on the treadmill. Not bad at all. The plan is to keep this up. Perhaps next time I'll be able to do 4 lots of 2 minutes of running. Once the whole 35 minutes consists of that (2:1) and its easy and my running speed to higher then I'll move up to a 3:1 interval. It just depends on my running speed I guess. Perhaps I need to make a goal running speed? Then once I'm doing the 2:1 at that speed for the whole 35 then move up. Hmmm, might have to give it some thought. 

Either way, for the first time in a while I am proud of my distance on the treadmill today!

No laughing matter

Again today I'm going to use my not so favourite internet forum as inspiration. Since when is having your unborn child diagnosed with not only Di George Syndrome but also a cyanotic congenital heart defect a laughing matter? Sure it may be a stress release but to then continue on about how it doesn't really matter how sick your child will be when he is born is just stupid.

I'll admit it, I don't like this chick. She's not the brightest cookie in the box. This is not her first child, its her fourth. Its also not her first child to have CHD, its her second. What is the other heart babies condition? She doesn't know! I think this is my issue. She doesn't take the time to educate herself on her children's illnesses. 

This fourth baby is unplanned. She and her husband were told NOT to have any further children. Now if we had been told that we would have done something permanent. Instead she plays with fire. On the tax payer. Neither her nor her husband work. And she is proud of the fact that the only income they have is welfare payments. She even boasts about how much they get!

There are so many people in the world who struggle to have healthy babies. People who spend thousands and thousands of dollars to have a healthy baby. People who change their life entirely for their children. People who wait for years and years until they can afford to have a baby. And for some who have never worked a day in their lives, they get to pop out one after another on the tax payer. Where is the fairness in that?

The ones I feel sorry for the most are the kids. I hope this new baby will be ok and that his surgery's go well. For that I feel for her. I've been there and its not fun as a parent to watch your 5 day old baby be wheeled away for open heart surgery. Its not fun to stand there not knowing if you will see him alive again. Not once did I ever laugh about it or brush it off. Instead I educated myself about every thing I could. I knew what was going on at all times and even then is was still hard. Sure ignorance may be bliss but in this case I think its only going to lead to heartache.

A Big Fat Nothing

And I'm not talking about myself. I'm talking about what I have to say today. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Someone has come along and sucked all the creative juices from my body. I'm speechless. Haha there's a first!

There is an add for an insurance company on TV. Its about a woman who writes a blog post about how she saw these shoes she liked but can't afford them until... her insurance company texts her at just the right time to tell her her claim has gone through. Thus she then buys the shoes. The narrative is the blog post. Its all tiny little sentences that don't make much sense at all. 

There is another add I totally love. I can't even remember what it is for. I guess they won't be getting me as a customer but anyway. A little boy of about 5 goes up to his grandmother proudly showing her that he's lost a tooth. Grandma tell him that if he puts it under his pillow he'll get a dollar from the tooth fairy. (Clearly Grandma is up on inflation!) Cut to the boy getting out of bed and sneaking into Grandma's room. He plucks her false teeth from the glass by her bed and goes and puts them under her pillow. Genius that kid is! Total genius! And when he grows up he is clearly also going to be a very rich man. 

So I guess my big fat nothing turned into a post about two adds on TV. You could probably describe most adds on TV as big fat nothings so I guess I did keep up with my original theme. Sure its not much but at least its a post. That makes three days in a row I have managed a post. That has to be a record.

Before I go an update to Monday post about my running. I DID IT! I RAN FOR 9 MINUTES THIS MORNING!!!

Monthly Cross Stitch WIP

After one month (Jan 28)

After two months (Feb 28)