First Snow

Yesterday was this year's first snow fall. The cold weather has finally yelded a snow! As i always say, if its going to be cold, it better bloody SNOW!

Sadly, while we did see snow for more than an hour, it turned to falling slush and finally rain. No proof of the snow fall remains. and i am yet again, depressed.

Soccer Dog

Yesterday was a family day. We took the dogs out to the park for a bit of a run and some fun! while the weather was quite cold we enjoyed kicking a soccerball around...or we enjoyed it until misha, our German Shepherd stole the ball!






See what i mean?

11:00 am Wednesday morning. The cars are packed. We are ready to go. We wait in stalled silence for mother to arrive home at 12:45 so that we can leave for grandmother's house.

11:30 am Wednesday morning. Mike (my bro) and I decide that this isn't worth sitting around and waiting all day for. We find errands we can run.

12:00 pm Wednesday afternoon. Mike and I realise his car oil is dangerously low. He adds more and finds that "something" is dripping and making a puddle under his car. We ignore it and head off down the road.

12:50 pm Wednesday afternoon. We make our way on the freeway only to find traffic moving at 5 Kilometers an hour. Car accident. We drive this way for the better part of an hour. By this time, my mother and father have gotten on the freeway and are somewhere *way* behind us.

2:00 pm Wednesday afternoon. mike and I detour off the freeway to a deserted highway (at the parent's bidding) to "take a short cut".

[please raise your hands if you've seen horror films that start out this way]

4:30 pm Wednesday afternoon. My parents call to inform us that their car is making strange "musical" sound. They stop at a mechanic. We also stop just as we realise that Mike's car is overheating. After 5 minutes with the mechanic for parent's car, family decides NOT to go visit grandmother.

5:30 pm you-know-which-bloody-day. New plans are made to visit the friends who are quite conveniently close for the holidays. Parent's car is found to need new brake pads. Mike's car cools and we begin our trip to the Jackson house.

So much for a fun filled holiday full of family bitchiness. I feel quite disappointed.

Thanksgiving

After 4 years without it, I'm now celebrating Thanksgiving again. It is so very odd how easily I fall back into it. Mashed potatoes, gravy, roast, carrots, bread rolls...I remember the menu perfectly. This year is going to be different though. For the first time in my entire life, we're going to my grandmother's for Thanksgiving.

I love my grandmother to death. Unfortunately, as those who have met her will tell you, she isn't the friendliest person in the world. She has an incredibly sharp tongue that often lashes out at the nearest victim unexpectedly. This causes comments like, "well, haven't you gained a lot of weight!" This strikes fear into the very heart of my father.

So why are we going? Well, the basic reason is that she asked, I was excited about it, mother didn't say "NO!" so dad accepted. Everyone (including my grandmother) was shocked!

Today we will get in the car and drive 8 hours to her house. We'll pray that it works out. We'll pray no one dies...but in the end, it will be a miracle that gets us all thru in one piece.

a 2 hour blessing

Last sunday my mum and brother took a one hour drive north to portland. We squished ourselves into the small cab of our pick-up truck and took off. About 1 hour later we arrived at Mills End. Mills End is a fabric store that has a HUGE selection. Having failed to find fabric suitable for my wedding cape thus far, i had decided that a large (overpriced) fabric store was just what the seemstress ordered.

Taking out the wedding dress, we hung it on a coat rack (what was convinently placed in the bridal section). We started the search for the perfect wedding cape fabric. we ended up with 10 bolts of material. The first few were okay, but nothing fabulous. it was by a fluke that my mother walked past a discounted table and found the beautiful velvet-like white fabric.

Amazingly enough it was EXACTLY the right amount we needed for the cape!

With our great find in hand, we headed home. Three of us, squished in a truck for another 1 hour 25 mintues home...

life

This week is the beginning of a class i will be teaching until Mid-December. I'm teaching a song in ASL (American Sign Language) to grades 3-4. We are learning "One Small Child". So far, after only one day, the kids have learned half the song. None of the parents, children, or relatives of the kids are deaf, so i've decided to make the song more performance centred rather than language based. While they will be using real signs for the song, i've divided into groups that will move around as the song progresses. It is going to look AWESOME! but it will be the blacklights andwhite gloves that will make the look complete!

I can hardly wait for the Christmas Program!

(who knew i could get this excited over a children's program!)

The official report!

Good news! i'm fine. Turns out that it was a syst, but that isn't a big deal. I'll be in a bit of pain, but it isn't any thing serious. I also have a bit of muscle strain...possibly caused by helping my mother shappoo the carpets.

But i'm fine!! HURRAY!

So far so good

2nd round of tests today. So far everything is looking "normal". I have one more appointment this afternoon. But so far, all looks like it was a fluke thing...

sick

Why is it, about the time you start feeling on top of the world, the world changes positions?

Last Friday i began to notice that my stomach wasn't feeling great. I pushed it off as being overly sensative to dairy products. On monday, the pain increased. I began to notice that it was painful to stand in certain positions. It was more painful to sit.

I decided to go into the doctor at 11:00 am. The doctor sent me to the Urgent Care department. They took blood. They did a full check up. Ran several tests. All my tests came back okay, but they aren't sure what it causing the pain.

My mum thinks its probably an ovarian syst. She's had them before. She says they become very painful and there is nothing to do about them.

THe doctor is fearful it could be the beginnings of an apendix problem.

Generally, i'm scared. Keep me in your prayers.

Amazing Mule Story

A friend of mine sent me this. i found it so interesting i had to post it to you!

A couple from Montana was out riding on the range, he with his rifle and she (fortunately) with her camera. Their dogs always followed them, but on this occation a Mountain Lion decided that he wanted to stalk the dogs you'll see the dogs in the background watching.

The man got off the mule with his rifle and decided to shoot in the air to scare away the lion, but before he could get off a shot the lion charged in and decided hew anted a piece of those dogs. with that, the mule decided he wanted a piece of the lion and took off. That's when all hell broke loose....for the lion.

As the lion approached the dogs, the mule snatched him up by the tail and started whirling him around. With every pass, banging its head on the ground. Then he dropped it, stomped on it and held it to the ground by the throat. The mule then got down on his knees and but the cat all over a couple of dozen times to make sure it was dead, than whipped it into the air again, walked back over to the couple and stood ready to continue his ride as if nothing had happened.

Even though the hunter didn't get off

An Aussie Gentleman

differences between rugby and american football

lesson from the boondocks

For the past several weeks this comic has been discussing the Bird Flu panic that is beginning to hit America. As the boy points out, if the bird flu does become a serious event, we will have to decide the people who are worth the resources it takes to sustain them...

question: if the country descends into anarchy, what use does a politician have?

The American Constitution

I was listening to a semi-local talk radio program today. The host was discussing the American constitution. He was suggesting that no laws should be passed that go against the Constitution, even if the majority of the public vote it in. He used as an example that slavery was against the Constitution and thus, was unconstitutional. Meaning that the American government supported a policy that was unconstitutional for many years.

This stance puzzles me. Didn't the "founding fathers" own slaves when they wrote the Constitution? Where they themselves suggesting that they give up their way of life many decades before our famous president Lincoln "set the slaves free"??!! Or could it be that the Constitution has been set in a light that previously only the bible has shared, that being infallible?

By no means do I suggest that we do away with the Constitution, but neither to I purpose that it is a device that will be relevant for America for all eternity. I can not suppose to give the perfect answer to this dilemma but perhaps more forethought from the radio host would have been appropriate.

Nightmare

I had a horrible nightmare last night. I dreamt that Chris and i held out wedding here in the States. It was the day of my wedding and a thousand things were going wrong. First my dress wasn't quite finished. Then out of my four bridesmaids only one showed up and i had one person fill in. Chris' family never even showed up! After the wedding, neighther one of us knew where our reception was going to be held, let alone if there was even going to BE a reception.

I woke up with one of those horrible feelings in the pitt of my stomach. You know the one that tells you that something is about to go horribly wrong....[insert creepy music here]

I got 'em!

The date has been set! 16 July 2006! For everyone who has been *dying* to know the wedding date, it is now set. Excluding any unpleasantness (like no visas) the day will go down in history as the most beautiful wedding ever to grace the cooranbong area...or at least a day when Kristin didn't wear black.