Potted History

Hello! How are you? The Happy Writing Book said to write drivel so here I am! It's been a while. Here's a potted history of what I've been up to. 

December 2022

We set off on one of our infamous road trips to the most fascinating of places. So fascinating in fact, that I have forgotten exactly which country town it was. Something beginning with B? That narrows it down I'm sure. The motel we stayed at was not exactly five star. Unlike all the other luxury motels we stay in. Snort. At least there was a lovely park nearby.

 

 

Side note: turns out it was Armidale. Oops. Sorry Armidale. You are very nice with lots of pretty churches. See below. 

On Christmas Day we drove and drove past tiny towns. Emmaville. Deepwater. Through shop lined desolate streets. Past an old post office, court house, Chinese restaurants and a bakery all brandishing CLOSED signs. Then we stopped at the Mother Of Ducks Lagoon. 

The ducks must have been over the hill and faraway. We only saw butterflies. Plus some raucous youths reveling in their backyard. They were definitely in the  Christmas spirit. Did I mention it was Christmas day? 

We drove to a park, pulled up under some trees and ate slapped together roast chook sandwiches. Christmas lunch sorted! A four wheel drive pulled up nearby. A man alighted with a dog. He unhooked his bike from the back and whizzed around the park, the dog bounding behind him. The breeze caressed us. We drank sour lukewarm wine from plastic cups and didn't care.
Mickey Blue Eyes meandered down to the river, returning with a grim expression.  

"I can only say one thing about the dude with the dog - he's an asshole," he said. 

Apparently the dude had been swearing at the dog and yanked him by the neck back into the vehicle. It was at this point that I wondered if you could arrested for kidnapping a dog. But they were gone before I could save him,  and I really hope Timmy is OK. I mean, I don't know if that's his real name, he just reminded me of Timmy from The Famous Five so I shall think of him as such. This also allows me to believe he escaped from Mr Asshole and is safely back with George and the gang.

We checked in to our (pleasant this time) motel in Tenterfield. The WiFi wasn't great however, so we watched movies old school style on the TV attached to the wall. Mrs Doubtfire, Shrek and Beethoven. It was kinda nice and wholesome for a change. Like reverting back to ye olde days of childhood. You know? 

The next day Mr 14 had a mission.  A slushee*. Or is it slurpee?

We set off on another expedition. Winding roads, old houses, shops still screaming SHUT. I had a snooze** and when I woke up we had crossed the border into Queensland. Once again there were no op shops but I did stroll around a few 'junk' shops. Kitsch and surplus Christmas decorations 50% off! No thanks. I didn't even bother putting my tree up because we were going away. 

Driving again. We pass a town called Ballandean and find a servo that has a bakery attached. Coffee and cakies sound inviting. A slushee remains elusive. Surely Queensland in summer is the prime market for such an item? 

There was an elderly couple at the next table, the husband buried behind an expansive Sydney Morning Herald. Not for the first time I puzzled over how people managed to read those things back in the day on trains and tiny Cafe tables. But they did! 

The lady had a tote bag with the slogan:

It's not hoarding if it's books. 

I suspected we had a lot in common because I have a tote bag that says: 

My workout is reading in bed until my arms hurt.

But I am not someone who can insert themselves into a conversation so I smiled and said nothing. 

(Honestly, how do people do it? I legit want tips!)

Our next stop was Girraween National Park. It was warm but not unbearable. We had a bit of a bush walk and took some photos. See below. 

On the way back we had milkshakes at a lovely chocolate place I've forgotten the name of.

Side note: It was Heavenly Chocolates. 

From Tenterfield we made our way to Inverell. There were no op shops open which was extremely sad and tragic. Serendipity smiled upon me in the form of a second hand book and record store. Blissful browsing ensued and I emerged with three books. A dismal effort indeed for this bibliophile. The fact that as of this writing I have only read one out of three is utterly inconsequential. Three is an unacceptable uneven number and in future book shopping endeavours I will be rounding it up to a solid dozen. So yeah, 20 books are now on their way...

Back to Inverell.

The next day Mickey Blue Eyes dropped me off in town and I had a marvellous time browsing in the Legacy Op Shop and a few other dollar shops. Then a quick dash to the bakery because country town bakeries are the best! There were a few pub and club meals along the way and before you know it we were homeward bound. The dogs were delighted to greet us. They were well looked after by Mr 21 and 19 but missed their regular car trips to the park! 

January was also my birthday month. In the tradition of class and elegance you would expect from us we celebrated with a meal at the RSL.

  

January also included a fun girls day out in Umina. Cocktails and fish tacos FTW! 

February 

Ella Trixie Bella had her birthday in February. She has been a part of the family for over a year now. We caught up with some mates at the Ettamogah Pub. It was frightfully expensive and the food was terrible but it was lovely to catch up with everyone. We discovered that our friends were planning a trip to Japan. The closest Mickey Blue Eyes and I will get to Japan is visiting the Japanese gardens at Nurragingy Reserve. Practically the same thing if you think about it. Sniff. 

Well, at least I have learnt a new skill even if that skill is gaslighting myself. Winning!

March 

March meant birthday wishes for Mr now 19 and more of Mickey Blue Eyes' Sunday drives to the Blue Mountains and the beach. Gotta mix it up a bit. 

April 

In April I went to Wagga Wagga and Tumut with my mum. Highlights were op shops (duh) and pub lunches practically every day!

May

May was a mundane uneventful month. I did receive a parcel from my beautiful friend Posski and, oh my stars! She sent me some Bewitched leggings! I love them but the nose twitching doesn't seem to be working. Probably a good thing. I reckon if I were a witch I'd be more of an aunt Clara or Esmarelda type than Samantha or Endora. Though I do plan on being called Grandmama should the situation ever occur. 

June 

Whoah. Mid year already! Mind. Blown.
I am busy with work, working a few extra days here and there. Mr 21 and 19 are now gainfully employed. Mr 14 is in year 9. Chandler and Ella are adorable. Mickey Blue Eyes made me lunch AND dinner the other day so I reckon I'll keep him.

Sunday before last weekend I met up with Denyse from Denyse Whelan blogs for cakies and coffee for the first time! It was lovely to meet a bloggy friend in person. 

July and August will mean more birthdays. And of course, cake! 

Hopefully another offbeat adventure will be on the horizon at the end of the year. That's about it for now. So as Mickey Blue Eyes likes to say: Take it easy and I'll catch up with you later! 

Until next time,

Ness 

PS 

*He got a slushee! Slurpee? Still don't know, but he got one eventually!

**Mickey Blue was driving obviously!  

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Ye Olde Blog

Hello again! Things are pretty boring and blah so I figured I may as well post write a blog post to keep you entertained. So let's do it.

Aaaaaaaand...

Clearly I didn't think this through because I have nothing scintillating to report. Oops. 

Sydney is in lockdown so no library shifts for me. Sigh. However, I've been able to continue my permanent part time job doing end processing of DVDS for libraries. It's great cause I get to indirectly do work for various libraries all over Australia without going to the actual libraries. It's like magic! This past week I had to stay home but I'm back again this coming week. 

Our fabulous and favourite furry friend Chandler continues to become more lovable each day. Needless to say he loves lockdown. Plenty of walks, pats and company. Pets have really come out the winners here, that's for sure. Except those unfortunate pets who were obtained by eejits who were bored and impulsively got a pet without thinking it through and then dumped them when it got difficult. GRRRR. Not cool. 

The boys are keen to get Chandler (see above) a playmate and I like the idea but I have to convince Mickey Blue Eyes. We shall see. 

Mr 12 and I have binge watched a few series such as Superstore, Kim's Convenience, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the later being our favourite. This is one of our favourite songs from the show:

Oh yeah, it's a musical and totally rad and underrated. Can you tell it's my current obsession? 

When I think about it they always start with C: 

Cakies, Carpenters, Crazy Ex-girlfriend...

Oh wait, books and dogs don't. Except our two most recent dogs are the late beloved Cookie, and our current cutie pie Chandler.  Both of their names begin with a C. I didn't actually choose the names but there they are. Interesting coincidence. 

There's definitely one thing starting with C that I passionately LOATHE. You guessed it: Cancer. Fuck that shit.  Related: A friend of ours passed away recently. May he rest in peace. 

Also; Covid. Kindly go away and leave all of humanity alone, you  nasty virus, you! Yeah, just fuck off. I think this situation warrants an F word. 

Continuing the things beginning with C theme, I've done a bit of cooking because we like eating. That's truly the only reason I cook. Not a fan of the process. Here's some chocolate chip cookies I prepared earlier. They are literally the only thing I cook that my boys like and ask me to make. 

That reminds me. When I sign off I have to go and peel potatoes for dinner. I loathe peeling potatoes. I  adore eating potatoes. The eternal dilemma. Doh.  

Last week I got my drive thru flu jab but they didn't give me any fries with that. Rude. I prefer chips anyway, but still. At least I took a rare selfie because I was bored and anxious (see below):

What can you say about lovely old lockdowns and the pandemic that hasn't already been said?  I will say this: 

You know how back in the 60s hippies sang about a new world coming? Well I don't think this is what they had in mind. You know how Patsy Cline sang Stop The World and Let Me Off? Yeah, THAT.

Next week I get my first Covid vaccine jab. I would have had it sooner had it been possible but this is the first opportunity I've had to get it. Not my fault! Meanwhile Mickey Blue Eyes is fully vaccinated. 

In the midst of all this madness, it became obvious that I need to start to practice some actual real self care of the not inhaling cake variety. Turns out that's self-indulgence NOT self-care. Who knew? 

So anyway, I'm exercising a lot (well, most days)  because I got lazy about it and then this pesky little thing I call Agnes (aka anxiety) started to tap me on the shoulder. Oops. Plus, I figure it might be helpful to actually ingest some vegetables, get adequate sleep and practice some mindfulness. With this in mind I've even busted out the old adult colouring in again. Nice.

Whilst doing this I also burned a lavendar candle. I know lots of people loathe lavendar but I think we've confirmed that I've always been a bit of a Nanna at heart so I love it! 

Speaking of nanna's (or grandma's as my mum prefers), my beautiful mum turned 80 on the 26th of July and I couldn't see her. Wahhhhhhh. But we had a virtual cakie and a toast which was nice. Let's be thankful for technology I guess. 

Is it truly August? I can barely remember what day it is let alone what month. Mickey Blue Eyes will also have a lockdown birthday on the 11th. At least there will still be CAKE. It's a birthday so I'm allowed to be self-indulgent! Shut up. 

As if Covid wasn't bad enough, I've also got another crisis on my hands.  I'm not reading enough! GASP

I knowwww. Tragedy! The problem is that I don't wanna read depressing or gruesome stuff but generic romance or whatever doesn't hold my attention anymore. I started reading The Family Doctor but abandoned it because it was pretty intense and graphic from the first chapter. Following this I switched to a historical romance but the male characters were so awful I just couldn't deal with it.

Anyway, I picked up a paperback I'd got at an op shop called Everything Is Beautiful and I'm reading it verrry sloowwwly. It's kind of sad because it's about hoarding brought on by trauma or loss, but I think there may very well be a hopeful ending. Fingers crossed. 

You could say the same thing about podcasts. I need to dial back the murdery ones and listen to something else. But what?  Audio books are good idea. Duh.  And I'm supposed to be a library professional?! Ahem.

Podcasts for me are basically just a way to force myself to do dull stuff like dishes, cooking or folding washing. I need something in my ears to get it done. Otherwise I will poke my own eyeballs out with boredom. I mean, you can tell I'm just dithering here to avoid the afore mentioned potato peeling. 

As expected I don't have anything of note to report, but nevertheless it feels good to just type some random words. Just as randomly I began using instagram again. My account was sitting there forlornly, sad and dejected, just like this blog. The thing is, I have no idea how to use hashtags so if someone could explain it I'd be grateful? Never mind I'll just google it myself like a normal person. Me? A normal person? Bahahahahaha! Normal is overrated, right? 

Do you ever find yourself wondering why someone reacts with an angry emoticon to a fairly innocuous comment you made in a Facebook group? Definitely a sign that lockdown has gone on tooo long and you need to get out more and off Facebook. Once again I've gone off on one of my tedious tangents. But you get that. The pointless dithering, that is. Done!

Ok people, stay groovy (and safe!). 

Until next time,

Ness 

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Odd Numbers

Welcome to another wondrous blog post from yours truly.  Admit it, it's the highlight of your day every time you delight in my meandering musings. You're welcome!

Now, today I have chosen the topic of odd numbers. This may seem odd. It's meant to! As you know, I always like to be cutting edge. Forever tackling the big issues.  Apparently, there are some folk who simply CANNOT BEAR odd numbers.  You know who you are.  Sorry if this post upsets you. Look away, NOW!

For the rest of you. You're in for a treat. Or something...

This topic got me thinking. As in, over-thinking about pointless important stuff... because that's how I roll. It suddenly dawned on me. I was born on the 15th of January 1971. All odd numbers. Fifteen. One. Seventy-one. Maybe that explains why I'm odd? Cue weird creepy music in the background...

My mother is certain that I wasn't exactly ready to be born on that day. She believes they got her due date wrong. Anyway, she was induced and I reluctantly made my way into this crazy old world on that momentous day. So perhaps I CHOSE the fifteenth... Okay, I'm getting carried away now. I'm not one of these 'everything happens for reason' annoying hippy drippy types. 

There are several people in my family who have birthdays on the 15th of various months. Mine is on the 15th of January. My middle son is the 15th of March. One of my nephews is on the 15th of May and my Dad on the 15th of November. So I've come to the conclusion that only fabulous people are born on the 15th.

I found this interesting quote, allegedly by William Shakespeare.  Quotes on the internet are always legit, right? 

Interesting, because 13 is meant to be unlucky. I also found this article which explains all the complicated biblical reasons for this superstition. I am too much of a heathen to be bothered reading into all that. However, I noticed that there is a theory that if your name has 13 letters you're cursed. Stupidly, I found myself doing the mental calculation. Yep, Vanessa Connor has 13 letters.  Therefore I am thankful for the following facts: a) My full name is Vanessa FAYE Connor, and b) I am NOT superstitious AT ALL. Nope. No way. Gulps. 

Meanwhile, the house we live in is also an odd number. Mickey Blue Eyes was born on the 11th of August 1963. So, kinda sorta odd. We were married on the 11th of November 1995. Again; totally odd. Consequently, I would say that 11 has turned out to be another odd and meaningful number for me.

For the record, when I say odd, I mean quirky, offbeat and TOTALLY AWESOME not straaaaaaange ODD. Us? No way!

In other numerical news, Mickey Blue Eyes is spectacular when it comes to numbers. This is like having some sort of magical powers to me. That, and understanding maps. I'm hopeless. Forgeddaboudit. In fact, I will forget about it. I've forgotten every single useful thing I have ever learned in life. But I'm cute, am I not?

Some people use their 'special' numbers as their lotto numbers. This is what my parents do. And every now again they do win! Teensy amounts like 27 bucks 50.

I don't normally go in for this sort of thing, but I did some lazy googling comprehensive research into Numerology. This is what I discovered about the birth number 15:

With a 15 birth date number (the life path number of a numerology chart), it means the events and circumstances of the person's life tends to relate to home, health, harmony, nurturing, and beliefs.

As an overview, the numerology number 15 represents a composition containing the ideas of:

• Family
• Harmony
• Exploration
• Curiosity
• Idealism

I must admit, this does sound somewhat like me, even though my basic conclusion is that numerology is a load of bollocks. Oh well, it's a fun and interesting load of bollocks, not unlike horoscopes. 

Anyways, I think I am done being odd. Snorts. As if...! 

After all, normal is overrated! 

Do any numbers have special meaning to you?

Do odd numbers bother you? 

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The Month That Was November

Hi there lovelies! Hasn't the year just flown by? Here we are in December and Santa is well and truly on his way! 

But before we bring on Christmas and ALL THE FOOD let me tell you a bit about November. 

After four years of ad hoc blogging I finally started an online blogging course! I was powering through it, reading all about editorial calendars and scheduling posts and what not, when I I suddenly had this STUNNING thought: 

Yeah, nah. 

I'll just continue in my usual ad hoc fashion. Yay! 


The thing is, the course seems to have come up at a time when I have my regular round of the 'blogging blahs'. Meaning, I just couldn't be bothered blathering on here about myself. Which is weird because we all know that I'm completely FASCINATING. Shut up.  

During November I didn't get to all the blogging link ups that I normally would. But I did manage some. I pondered the importance of exams and the things I'll be remembered for. Additionally, I paused to take stock and recall the news I'll never forget.


What else happened in November?  Oh, that's right! Mr 7 became Mr 8! It was his birthday, just for the ubiquitous Captain Obvious... He had a laser tag party and, of course, CAKE! 

On November 11th Mickey Blue Eyes and I celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary! It was also my parents 50th anniversary! We went out for some brunch and enjoyed the day. 

And then, there was MORE CAKE when we celebrated my dad's 78th birthday! 

Last weekend we took off for the weekend to visit the Hunter Valley Gardens Christmas Lights Spectacular. It was awesome! On the way in I randomly bumped into the amazing Mim from
LovefromMim. It was wonderful to meet her after following her breast cancer diagnosis at around the same time as mine.  

Here are some of my craptacular SPECTACULAR photos of this merry event: 

Skillz, people! Be very jealous! I can't imagine why Mr 15 doesn't want to be seen in any of my photos...  Ahem...

It was a very fun way to spend a weekend and the boys ultimately enjoyed it, despite originally being HORRIFIED that they had to go. Imagine your parents torturing you with a weekend away!? What are we like? 

Last Wednesday Mickey Blue Eyes and I headed to the central coast to visit our friends Kim and Mark who moved there earlier this year. A lovely, relaxing day was had by all....until....

December rolled around. 

Apparently we can't do Decembers without some sort of drama... 

But lets leave that for the December round up! Sorry, just a nice little cliff hanger there... 

Cheeky, I know.  Stay tuned! 

And that was another November! 

Linking up for The Month That Was  and Archive Love.


What did you get up to during November? 

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Best Birthday Ever

It's time to tell you about my best birthday EVER.

The thing is, they're all pretty good because they all involve CAKE.

You knew I was going to say that, didn't you?

Image credit: https://au.pinterest.com/pin/161637074101411447/

My birthdays as a child were usually fairly low key affairs, as far as I can remember. First of all, my birthday is January 15th, so it was always right in the middle of school holidays. This meant a lot kids would have been away on holidays. Fortunately, I wasn't fussed about parties, anyway. I always disliked being the centre of attention. I just wanted to be the person in the corner silently stuffing my face with cakies and chocolate crackles.

I remember my 21st, my 30th and my 40th.

Me and my Mum at my 21st. 

For my 21st I had one of those classy backyard parties.  However, I froze in front of all my family and friends. Okay, friend. I think I had at least one. All eyes were upon me. Nobody had told me about this part of the proceedings. Apparently I was supposed to make a speech. I felt really embarrassed and stupid for the rest of the evening. But then there was cake, so it was all good. Cake fixes everything. Sort of. Until it doesn't... Details. 

Fast forward nine years. At my 30th birthday, I was totally oblivious to the fact that I was up the duff. In the pudding club. Bun in the oven. Knocked up. 

30 and fabulous! And knocked up. 

There I am. Up the duff and unaware. Tragically I appear to be in much better shape even in my expectant state, than I am now. Weird.  Now I'm pregnant with a cake baby. Shut up.

At my 40th birthday the star of the proceedings was indeed the CAKE. LOOK at it. This decadent and delicious creation was made by my Mum who is a freaking culinary GENIUS. 


My mum always says that the only birthday you should worry about is the one you don't have. Well, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be worrying about it because you'd be slightly dead.

I must confess this year my birthday was just a teensy bit shitty. I began chemotherapy just two days before. Somehow I niavely thought I would just go about my life as usual. I made plans to head out for lunch with my family. Yeah, right. I ended up in bed feeling rather horrid. So next January I have to make up for that. I mean, I still had cake. I wasn't DEAD. That's the only thing that will stop me. Ahem. 

I tell you what though, I will be so freaking happy to make it to 50 and beyond that I will definitely want to have a celebration.

That's why I'd like to believe that my best birthday EVER is still ahead of me. ALL of them. Bring them on. 

In the meantime, it's somebody's birthday somewhere, so bring on the cake! 


Linking up for #imustconfess

What wasyour best birthday EVER?

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The One Where I Wonder About Winter

I Must Confess I am definitely NOT a winter person. I'm not a summer person either. I'm an in between kind of person. I don't tolerate the cold or the heat. 

I guess I'm Goldilocks when it comes to weather: I want it to be juuust right. The autumn weather was perfect. Gorgeous and sunny through the day, crisp and cool at night without being freezing. 

People always claim that it's 'easy' to warm up in winter, but impossible to cool down in summer. I have never personally found this to be true. My feet and/or hands are permanent blocks of ice during winter. So I'm one of those helpful people who constantly whinges about the weather for at least half the year. You're welcome.

While we're speaking about all things winter, here's another confession: I've never seen snow. 

That's right, I'm 45 and I've never seen snow. It just doesn't snow in Sydney. And I've never been anywhere where it does. I suspect I would not tolerate that sort of weather at all. The idea of being beside a fire with snow falling outside does seem romantic and fanciful, but the reality might be a tad different. There is probably a lot of shoveling involved. I am not good with shovels. Plus you have to put chains on your car tyres or something. It would be TERRIFYING for me to drive in snow.

You'd probably have to invest in thermal underwear. As it is I already wear several layers. I don't need more. When I was young I used to wear a singlet, a spencer (remember those?) and a skivvy with a jumper over the top. I have no idea why I'm telling you that. It was just a random memory. 

I guess there are good things and bad things about all the seasons. Besides, there's not much point complaining about something you can't control anyway. Doesn't seem to stop me, however.

Here's a handy little list I compiled for no other reason but to amuse myself and bore entertain you: 

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT WINTER

• I seem to have become a hat and scarf person. Well, I have dyke short hair at the moment (not that there's anything wrong with that, as the saying goes), so my noggin gets a bit cold. Beanies are my friend.  I look fabulous in them! Or something. Meh, they're warm, anyway. Shut up. 

• It's much easier to exercise when it's not stinking hot and humid and you're already dripping with sweat before you begin. In fact, a bit of movement is necessary to warm up. That can't be a bad thing. Especially considering my next point...

• Comfort eating/food. I always want hot food in Winter. Which can be a good thing if you're an excellent cook. If you're a bit dodgy like me, you end up making a pot of soup that tastes like arse. Consequently you end up eating everything else except the nourishing soup you intended to have. Side note: I know what you're thinking. How do I know what arse tastes like? It's what I imagine arse could taste like. It tasted very, very bad is what I'm getting at. 

• But never mind the terrible arse-tasting soup, because winter is a peak time for birthdays in my family. First Mr 14 becomes Mr 15 next month. CAKE! Then my mum turns 75! MORE CAKE! Then Mickey Blue Eyes turns 53! EVEN MORE CAKE!!! ALL. THE. CAKE!!!! To prevent the afore-mentioned cake from being arse-tasting, it will all be store bought. I think this is a wise move. 

• You HAVE TO drink some wine or scotch in order to warm up. Medicinal purposes only, people. I am forced to do this. I suffer through it like the trouper I am. Shut up. 

THINGS I HATE ABOUT WINTER

• Getting out of bed.
• Cold feet and hands.
• Getting colds, especially the dreaded 'Man Flu'.
• The after effects of all the comfort eating.
• I drink so much tea that I need to pee all the time.
• The only places I can get warm are in bed (and sometimes not even there), in the shower and sometimes in the car in the middle of the day. This makes it frightfully difficult to get anything done.
• It's harder to get all the washing dry. 
• When you run out of  your medicinal wine or scotch and it's too cold and wet to be bothered going out to get some more. 

End of lists. 

We have had some frightfully wet and dismal weather here over the weekend, but in the end I didn't mind because rainy days mean I can curl up with a book. I might be becoming a winter person after all... 

Who knew? 

Linking up for I Must Confess

Are you a winter person? 

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Making Mondays Marvellous

Hello Monday, you marvellous creature! It's the start of another week and there is so much to look forward to!

But Mondays suck, I hear you exclaim. That is one way of looking at it. However, I am here to argue that the much maligned Monday has much to offer.

• Every body knows that Monday is usually the day that you start diets. Which means that by around lunch time (or morning tea time) you can look forward to eating your body weight in ALL THE FOOD and abruptly ending the Monday diet madness. Or is that just me? 

• It's often a public holiday. 

• It makes you appreciate Fridays even more. 

• It's the only day of the week that starts with an M, making it unique. 

• There are lots of famous songs inspired by Mondays: I Don't Like Mondays, Manic Monday, Rainy Days And Mondays (always get me down...) The fact that they are all negative songs is COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT. 

• Lots of restaurants offer kids eat free deals on Mondays. Since you've already screwed your diet at lunch time, you might as well  forget about cooking and go for it. 

• You can plan all the things you have to do this week and start ticking them off. Alternatively, you can just tick of the days until the weekend.

• You may have a favourite television show which airs on a Monday. I'm not even sure which shows are on on Mondays. What am I like? 

• If Home And Away or Neighbours ended on a cliffhanger on Friday you have all the pent up anticipation of the next episode to look forward to. Surprisingly I don't watch either show. Come to think of it, I don't really watch any shows. Weird.

• The BEST reason of all that Monday ROCKS: It's usually the day I share a new post here on Nessville!!!!!

Admit it, it's the only reason you wake up, right? 

Anyway, lets get down to my exciting list of things that are happening in the land of Nessville this week:

Monday

Most likely I will get out of bed.  If you are reading this then I have managed it. I will certainly look at Facebook. I will post this blog. It's my gift to the world. Just to make your Monday so much better. You're welcome. 

Tuesday

Mickey Blue Eye's birthday is on Tuesday! This of course means one thing: CAKE!!

I also have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday. I had a routine blood test done last Wednesday. This is just for a check-up for my cholesterol and sugar levels as well as my thyroid. So I'm going back to see how it went. I'm quietly optimistic that it's all good. I haven't received any phone calls. Last time I had a blood test, my GP rang me immediately the next day to tell my that my sugar levels were a concern and I had to have a Glucose Tolerance Test. So far, no phone calls this time around. That has to be a good thing, doesn't it? This Weight Witches thing may be paying off after all. Oh my stars! 

Wednesday

I will probably stare into space vacantly after exercising vigorously. At which point I will come to the conclusion that since I just exercised and it still must be some one's birthday somewhere, I can justify having yet more leftover birthday cake. Winning! 

Thursday

I will probably have a cup of tea. Actually several cups of tea. I always do. 

Friday 

I have my monthly weigh-in at Weight Witches. SUCH a glamorous life I lead. At this point I've scheduled in some sulking when all my cake-eating catches up with me. Following this brief period of sulking, I've then scheduled a firm kick up the bum to myself to make myself get back on track. As soon as I figure out how to become a contortionist....

I suppose I could get Mickey Blue Eyes to kick me up the bum. Otherwise, I'll kick HIM up the bum. I mean, it was HIS birthday cake! It's totally his fault that I ate cake! Come to think of it, my Mum and Mr 14 also had birthdays in this past month. More cake! Therefore, it's totally my family's fault for FORCING me to eat ALL THE CAKE. SO rude. 


Saturday

Two out of three boys have soccer. I'm sure it will be as thrilling as last Saturday when Mr 6 informed me "We lost 7 - nil, but I scored TWO GOALS!!" 

Not exactly sure how that works. I think he inherited his logic from me. So proud. 

Sunday

On Sunday I will be sleeping in. There are no other exciting plans. What could be more exciting than sleeping in? 

This will conclude an action-packed week. Just in time for another marvellous Monday! Can't wait... Can you? 

Linking up for I Must Confess,  Open Slather and Mummy Mondays. 

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In My Own Distracted Little World

As the tag line underneath the title of this blog suggests, I am very easily distracted. Constantly off in my own little World. I simply can't help it if this alternative universe is preferable to the real World. It's not my fault. I've always been an off with the pixies space cadet. In addition to this I am constantly forgetting things. In fact, I recently came to the stunning conclusion that the only reason I've managed to exist on this planet for 43 years is because eating is the one thing I don't forget.

Seriously.

As my Mother is fond of saying "If my brains were dynamite, they wouldn't blow a part in my hair. She doesn't say it about me, she says it about herself; in spite of the fact that she has a sharper mind than me at almost 73.

Lately though, something very strange has been happening in the land of Nessville. Yes, I'm certainly as distracted as ever, but this time the distractions are not cake shaped with frosting. It seems that the real Ness has been abducted by aliens and in her place is this creature who is eating healthy food. Additionally, I've also been cleaning and attempting to be ever so slightly more organised. Who is this person? The emphasis is on the word 'attempting'. All of my past efforts to do this were monumental failures so we shall see how long this little foray into la la land pans out.

Case in point: I certainly haven't managed to become an organised blogger. Oops. Maybe I'll get there. One day. Eventually. Definitely. Maybe. Did I mention that I'm also indecisive as well as distracted?

The one thing that distracts me the most is my fascination with Karen Carpenter. I could spend hours watching every piece of retro footage that she appears in on Youtube. I belong to approximately ten million Facebook fan groups where we discuss every little detail of her short life and her music. This is quite bizarre when you consider that as a general rule I couldn't care less about most celebrities, particularly current ones. In fact, in most cases I couldn't even tell you who they are! However, when it comes to worshipping in the cult of Karen, I am shameless. The only consolation I have is that I am not alone. There are lots of other weird people like me around the interwebs. One of the good (and bad, depending on your point of view) things about the online world is that whatever your unique brand of crazy is, you can be sure you will find like-minded individuals in a Facebook group/Blog link up near you. Isn't that right, my fellow Karen devotees and bloggers?

Quite often when I am miles away in Carpenterland, the boys might be attempting to kill each other right in front of me while I'm utterly oblivious.

Micky Blue Eyes will bark at them to stop and then continue barking at me: "They were right in front of you! Didn't you see that?"

This will cause to me to abruptly have to land back on Earth with a thud and a sheepish admission that no, I did not see or hear because I was totally and blissfully tuned out. I do feel - perhaps selfishly- that if I am in my own house I should be able to indulge this inclination to tune out; to a degree, anyway. But Mick doesn't always agree with me and it can be a source of frustration for him at times, which I do understand. I can see that I could be a pain in the butt to live with, but aren't we all at times?

It's amazing that anyone manages to stay married when you think about it. We will be clocking up an impressive 19 years this year. Only one more year until the big two zero. It remains to be seen if we will do anything to mark the occasion. When it comes to birthdays and anniversaries we are a very low key and low maintenance family. If I've been able to remember them in the first place then I consider that a win. I don't want to push my luck any further by attempting to plan a party. I'm disorganised as well as distracted and forgetful. Plus, I'm notoriously socially awkward. Therefore, I'd rather be the quiet person in the corner at a party and not the hostess. Frankly, I suck at that. Especially those painfully awkward type of get togethers where you try to mix your family and friends and everyone just sticks to their own cliques while you're in anguish imagining that they are all miserable and not enjoying themselves.

It certainly seems easier to just book a party at the bowling alley, like we did for Mr 10 in March. That way I can just hover around drinking bad coffee as my eardrums burst and the paid for hostess does all the shouting. Works for me. Besides, the boys love it anyway. As long as there is cake, that's all that matters, right?

Speaking of cake, I appear to have gone cold turkey. ONE WHOLE WEEK cake free! I haven't exploded and died, surprisingly.  I was watching Australian Story the other day, which was about Olympic swimmer Kieran Perkins and I was struck by something his Mum used to say to him; which was: "Never give up on what you want the most for what you want at the moment." This seemed fitting since what I want at the moment is ALL THE CAKE but what I want most is to be healthy. Damn. So where's my Olympic medal? I most certainly DO deserve one for resisting cake! HMPH. After all it does take the equivalent of Olympic style dedication and herculean effort for me. It's like an addict trying to give up heroin. Sugar is my heroin.  Ahem.

My Get Healthy coach called yesterday to check in. I proudly reported all of the above.

"Have you noticed that you've been agitated and/or cranky lately?" she asked.

"I have, now that you mention it," was my rueful reply.

She told me this was likely to be due to sugar withdrawal. Apparently sugar does make you sweeter. Who knew?

If you are still unconvinced that I deserve an Olympic medal, then let me tell you the following; Micky Blue Eyes, my parents and I went for a drive out to Windsor for the day last Friday. While there, we had lunch in a pub where I watched them feast on steak with chips and gravy. Meanwhile, I stuck to grilled fish and salad.  Mr 12 is fond of drawling: "So? Do want a medal?" in response to just about any statement. Why yes, I believe I do want one. Hand it over!

Other than all of that, the most exciting occurrence in my life at the moment is watching Offspring on Wednesday nights and Call The Midwife on Thursdays. Yay! Okay, excuse me while I go and get a life...

Okay, later dudes. Over and out.

Linking up ridiculously and pathetically late with Kirsty from My Home Truths for I Must Confess.

Also linking up with Kylie Purtell: A Study In Contradictions for The Lounge.

                                                     What's been distracting you lately?

                                                     How do you celebrate birthdays or anniversaries?

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