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 |  My Blog. Generally Intended for Reading-Not Eating!. |
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Rose-Tinted Ramblings ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** A Little of What You Might Expect & A Lot of Everything Else that You Don't!. My writing style for my blog is invariably 'snarkastic'. This is because I am a nice, unassuming and quietly-spoken person IRL-and this blog is where my innermost moments and torments happen. Trust me, I am no exception to that delightful rule. Greetings! Welcome to my THIRD blog here on WDC. A re-incarnation of my earlier version of my Blog, here "Insanties and Sensibilities" this v.03 should prove to be equally...challenging and hopefully, entertaining. That said, life often weaves through our writing in mysterious ways, and this Blog will probably prove to be no exception to that. We are very likely all quite different, yet the same, us writers and our collective little whims, fascinations and insecurities. |
| May 11, 2008. Days Till Blast-Off-19?. Whether the Weather: 52 (F) Sunny and Windy Events of Note: Mother's Day-The Non-Event. In the Nudes: Gas prices-wait, that's not current events. That's the "New Normal"  I get to watch "Bean" while my husband works today. Outta bed at 9am. No brekky in bed, no "Happy Mother's Day". No flowers, candy or a haircut. Don't cry for me. I'm not. For plenty of mothers, it's another day of being a mother, celebrations, or not. I should amend that previous statement, by noting that I purchased my own perfume, tyvm (after three years of searching for fragranced nirvana) and have a haircut on the immediate calendar. My first haircut since last August!. My husband, beloved and all pays little to zero attention to such designated days.  In other breaking news, I've reluctantly (though not yet 'officially') terminated my own beauty consultant agreement with my "Beauty Business". The official part is happening tomorrow. After discovering certain 'background' corporate business tactics that this "Company" employs, I've decided that I cannot, in good faith, be affiliated with anything like that. Besides, the "brand" is undergoing some fundamental changes that I don't agree with, either. Put together, who wants to push something on someone else that they feel no loyalty towards anymore?. Not me. So, it's not a failure on my part-more like a strategic, pre-emptive opting-out. Enjoy your Sunday-wherever you are, and whatever you're doing!. |
| May 10, 2008. 20 days till blast off, or thereabouts! Whether the Weather be: 48 (F) Cloudy. Events of Note: Do you own a suit for "Best"?. In the Nudes: Bush's daughter marries. Having just read Nada and Scarlett's entries-in-tandem-there's no way that I can possibly aspire to that particular stellar level of journaling instantaneously. I must say, however, that it's way past time they were awarded for their combined efforts. ***Hint, Hint BlogVille. I've been scrubbing down walls for painting prep, today. Not too bad, except that all of the middle joints of the fingers on my non-gammy hand are now swollen and inflamed. "Beanie" is doing her sort of swimming/singing/bubbling swallowing combination in the hot tub at this moment. It's been an oddly frustrating day-small things have easily stolen my goat, moved my cheese and generally sapped my motivation.  Today, I took my 'Best Suit' off the rack for a pre-flight inspection. I was raised, like my mother's generation (and probably my grandmother's for that matter) to always have a good quality suit on hand at a moment's notice, for those...unexpected (and usually unwelcome) Events in Life. Put It With Pearls Darling and It Can and Will Do Anything for You. Well, I'm no "Yummy Mummy" but I had to upgrade slightly for the U.S environment, which seems to insist that ladies wear a suit skirt and NOT pants. Considering that when I shook the New Zealand Prime Minister's hand at a formal event once, and both she and I were wearing dress pants, precisely why this out-of-date and mildly offensive 'custom' of a skirt for ladies still exists here, is beyond me. Far be it from me to be caught wearing The Wrong Trousers. So, skirt I have, and nice, polished leather flats, together with the matching shirt and jacket. I'll probably break it out to give my Med School seminar in July, since both myself and the suit need a good airing   Not sure, but I think "Bean" is working on her Deep Sea Diving Certificate in the bath. There's an absurd number of lilac scented bubbles cascading in a disturbing way in the direction of my laundry room. Do I care?. Not overly. Hey, the "Bean" is clean and contented, and she's just far enough away to let me frantically type a few lines...Uh, oh, I just heard the words, "Ooh, that was FUN!!!. I'd better investigate further...Have an interesting night!. |
| May 09, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 50 (F) Sunny-at last!. Events of Note: Our household is gradually getting it done. Not like Larry the Cable guy, either!. In the Nudes: Volcanic eruption in Chile.  Our thanks to everyone who stopped by and left a comment about the recent picture of "Beanie" that I posted here in the previous entry. She might just about have enough admiring folks to start a Fan Club. Oh, and that international flight?. More like 16 hours. *Gulp.  Another van sold yesterday, and "Bean's" first baby bassinet. Sad to let some things go, but it's way past time for us to move on and make space in our lives in other ways. |
| May 06, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 50 (F) Cloudy and cool-nasty, nasty coastal breeze. Events of Note: "Beanie" is in Frequent Defiance-Meltdown-Phase. In the Nudes: Myanmar cyclone death toll revised upwards: 22, 500. Obama wins NC. "Someone" warned me recently and rather prophetically: The New Terrible Twos Really Seriously Happen When Tot Almost Hits Three. Yup, that's our "Beanie"-red, white and pink all over. {e;angry} Accompanied by the most ear-splitting shrieks and squeals. Frequently removed from all non-contact and public social situations, including climbing, chasing Ms My Duck and other multiple infringements of our Happy Home Agreement and placed in regular "Time Outs". This is the otherwise same sweet, docile little moppet that we want to accompany on a 13 hour international, non-stop flight?. On every air-flight it seems, there is one child who is outstanding in their general public nuisance value, far exceeding any pre-existing personal good looks, charm and cuteness. At the moment, our precious poppet has secured the top nomination. Ask us again, in-flight!. Life is rarely dull that way. For all of that, "Beanie" is still our sweetheart daughter, and we thank ourselves every moment of each day that she is happy and healthy. "Beanie"'s little friend Lucy, meanwhile, has recently been hospitalized with yet another major, life-threatening infection, but has managed to battle on, nonetheless. Children, indeed, humans in general, can prove to be quite remarkably resilient that way. Which reminds me, you probably might like an updated picture of "Bean" It's 'been' a while. I'll see what I can do about that small matter. In a second or two-here is the 'imp' herself: ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| May 05, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 48 (F) Cold. Events of Note: I blew off a book-more on that, below. In the Nudes: Death toll in Myanmar cyclone tops 10,000. It's been quite sometime since I picked up a book for the sake of sheer pleasure. Certainly, anyone who's seen my references list for my thesis knows that reading anything much beyond textbooks and scientific journals is pretty much off the table for the duration of thesis writing. Yesterday, I picked up a book that is basically a U.S Health Systems for Dummies (co-written by an author, who, interestingly, has an MPH, like me). I duly blew through said book in less than an hour. Oh, sure, it had some interesting chapters, like, "Don't Let Your Hospital Kill You". If your hospital didn't actually kill you, the following chapters were passable, I suppose. A little like a condensed version of those nightly medical snippets on the networks. Oh, yay. I gave myself the day off, today. Yes, it's Monday and yes, I still have half a hundred Things Still Left to Do. Well, I'm not giving myself a premature death over anything in particular.Ah, gotta love Mondays and mediocre books... |
| May 04, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 40 (F) Cold and cloudy. Events of Note: See-sawing emotions. "Beanie" says she's taking care of me today. In the Nudes: Myanmar cyclone. Thanks to those who took my husband's side in yesterday's comments. He was quite correct and fair in his assessment - not that he is the gloating type at all. It's never been about blame, nor winners or losers-or one of us being perfect, or not. So, I thought I'd try a bit of a sea-change and not start my days with endless lists (either in my brain, or on paper) of tasks to be accomplished. I'll try not to 'clock watch' as much as I used to, either. That's a long-ingrained habit, er hangover from my university years. "Blocking" your hours is a kind of time management 'tool', but it can also work against you. Mostly girly conversation for today's entry. I'll be so much happier once my monthly calamities cease. As with many women, for a week or more out of every month, I'm barely functional. My greatest desire during that week of such a weakened state is to sit myself in front of my computer and consume dubious quantities of chocolate. Don't ask anything 'additional' nor complicated of me. Don't tell me that I'm moody and emotional. Slept better last night, thankfully, although my elbow joints are still a little creaky, and my shoulder and hip joints grind away loudly. I hope to have some X-ray work done while in New Zealand, just to see what the long-term prognosis is shaping up to be. My right hip has been slowly degenerating for almost 20 years now. I've opted for the conservative route up till now-if it ain't broke-don't mess with, er, fix it. Ergh-have to work on my seminar presentation to my Med School that's happening at the beginning of July. Power-point anyone?. Gone are the days of wrestling with the old OHP's. Well, the coastal fog is clearing, so that's my outdoor cue to crank up the washing machine...Have a relaxing Spring Sunday!. |
| May 03, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 50 (F) Sunny. Events of Note: In pain-physically and emotionally. In the Nudes: A year since "Madeline" disappeared. My arthritis is acting up a lot, today-has been since last night. Quality sleep proved to be pretty much elusive. I skipped my usual hot-tub/hydrotherapy/dead sea salts ritual, so it was probably partly my fault. Added to that, monthly hormones. My precious husband and I had an uncharacteristic fight yesterday, which had me in tears. I don't think that I'm one of those people who cries on a whim, but yesterday proved otherwise. My husband says that my expectations of myself are sometimes unrealistically too high, and I need to not be so bloody-minded, er, independent, and just concede that I cannot be everything to everyone, "Beanie" and him included. On that note:- I've agreed to do some private catering on the 18th of this month. Hopefully, it won't be too much. Then, on the 22nd my sister-in-law will be visiting here from AL, with her husband for several days. Then, June 01, we leave for En Zed. "Beanie" is back up at the in-laws next week, so maybe I/we can get our bathroom re-painted this time around!. Have a sweet Saturday. |
| May 02, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 46 (F) Cold and cloudy Events of Note: "Beanie" is home!. In the Nudes: Oh, I don't know. Pick a topic of your choosing. Any topic. Red, green...yellow...blue...which one are will you choose?. Well, I'm pooped-don't know about anyone else. "Beanie" is home after three unusually unhappy days up at the mountain, suffering from bouts of homesickness. Sold a van, today. Baby high-chair, too. Money, money, money...So far, our stats look like this: Truck-loads to the dump-8-700lbs each (no, that's not a typo) Freecycled: 12 cartons Vehicles Sold 1 Home renovation completed: 1 retaining wall built, another 10 trees planted. tired...you betcha. replies to comments tomorrow-ova-n-out. |
| April 30, 2008. Whether the Weather be: Clear and cold-not "Normal" Events of Note: Earthquake last night (5.2). In the Nudes: More details emerge of Austrian child abuse/imprisonment case. After today, I've concluded that I'm in need of a Fairy Godmother to make everything magically go away and transform into something brighter, by itself. Our 'To Sell' list remains unsold. I dunno-people seem to be picky-picky and would far rather waste half a day asking irrelevant and dumb questions. Quick answer to that: I can't be buggered!. On a happier note, I had an excellent quote for my inventory, even taking into consideration shipping costs. Sweater that I got my baby brother for his burpday arrived today, and it's just lubly. No, the bathroom hasn't been painted-yet. I'm still working on "Bean's" room. She 'foned home' yesterday/last night. A little, trembly voice said, "Hi Mama-this is Anya Florence-whatcha doin'?." When I asked her how she was doing, her reply was bordering on tears, and she sobbed, "I miss my Mama/Dada and my Duck-Girl and my Cat-Boys." Heartbreaking. Well, at least our darling daughter misses us, and has her priorities straightened out!. Seems to me that there are many writers here in varying stages and degrees of life transition and priority changes. Or, not. Does not always make change easy to accept. |
| April 29, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 50 (F) Cloudy Events of Note: You should see my mess. I made it all by myself, too. In the Nudes: "Spybase" attacked in my old home province. Yay!. I'm a scruff, today. I'm wearing three day old sweats, a hoodie that looks more pinkish-grey than its original light pink, my hair is in serious need of a wash, and I probably have a goop of something iffy on my face. Oh, and my downstairs living room floor is cluttered, er, covered in two years of business inventory. In addition, there's about half a shipping container of Freecycling to be picked up, still lurking in another corner (I jest not). Yes, we are confessional clutterbugs...pack-rats, and compulsive hoarders. Well, today, we're doing a self-motivated intervention. Or, was that re-invention?. We're having a Working Bee, which is working out quite well, according to my delicious husband. I have lists for everything-Freecycle, For Sale, For Liquidation, For Consolidation, For Dumping (there's an awful lot of that happening, too). We've been working since 9am, and I took my first break at 3pm. Yeah, life is tough  My husband's former employer (well, they still are-sorta) sent over a $50 Target gift card, and a deli roast chicken, so we don't have to cook, or panic over the price of Pull-Ups for "Beanie". Have you SEEN the price of those, lately?. Gracious and goodness!. |
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