Camping it up....

Second son leaves for camp tomorrow...it's his first school trip involving nights away from home.  He's looking forward to it, but is also slightly nervous.  I have today to organise clothes, bedding, medication and anything else that's on the "things-to-bring-to-camp-list".   Nothing like a little last minute panic to start the day!!

Interesting things I found down the back of my couch this morning

A straw with a skeleton attached to it
Half a museli bar
C3PO's head (eww)
Three drumsticks
A random remote control.   I've pointed it at everything in the house.  No dice.
A piece of yellow cord
Two USB's
Eight of those little stick things you draw on a DSi with, all thoroughly chewed
A little bottle of lavender oil
38 lolly wrappers
A plastic stop sign
3 bakugans
One pair of extremely ripe Cavendish Road High School socks (thanks, Kit)
Enough nerf bullets to start a small spongy war
and people think housework is boring.....

R'n'R

Today is FF's social club outing....it usually involves a hotel stay somewhere and much drinking.   In fact, I'm not sure if I've ever seen some of his workmates sober.   This year, we've decided to flout convention by skipping the dinner and the drinking, and having our own getaway.....FF has booked me into the day spa, while he has a nap, then we've got a bottle of wine, some take out and some DVD's.   ( Just to fill in any gaps in  our one child free night, heehee. )   I feel relaxed just typing it.

The beginning of the end of Twentyten.

Jeez, we're here again.  November and the end of another year in sight.   This year has been a mixture....lots of good, tempered with a not so healthy dose of crap just to keep me balanced.   It's over six months since I stopped the second job in order to concentrate on second son, and the results have been mixed.  This has been by far the hardest year for him, and he's struggled healthwise and otherwise.  He's currently off school for a couple of days,(again),  dealing with some stomach problems that have been an ongoing deal throughout the year, so we're having a total revamp of diet and routine (again) to see if we can hit the right formula.  On the brighter side, Firstborn has sailed through the year with only a few bumps along the way, and he's dealt with those in a remarkably adult manner.  He's grown about 5 inches (not including his hair, which has a life of it's own) and has grown in maturity as well.  I try not to dwell on it too much, 'cos the whole transformation to adult thing is unsettling to say the least.  (The very least).  Nanna is mostly back on her feet after almost five very, very long months.  It's taking some time for her to get her groove back, and for me to stop hovering, but we're getting there slowly.   Plans for our medieval handfasting are starting to take shape, we've booked the venue, the caterers and got the guestlist organised, and are starting to deal with the all important costuming issues, lol.  The boys (including the biggest one) have chosen weapons of suitably lethal vintage, and Nanna and I are interwebbing our fingers to the bone in search of suitable patterns for them, as they all insist on Lord of the Rings style garments, as opposed to anything remotely Rennaisance.  As Sebi put it "Real Gondorians don't wear tights"  Be still my heart.

Close to home.

On a street corner two minutes walk from where I sit in my house stands a mannequin dressed in dark trousers and a white crop top.   She's supposed to look like a teenage girl who was found dead in a nearby house four years ago.  Police have reopened the case after new information was found.   There are signs on the street corner that read  "Can you help?".   I can't.  To be one hundred percent honest, I don't even remember hearing  anything about it four years ago.   You'd think something that close to home would leave an impression.  According to reports she was seen "in a distressed state"  close to where her body was later found.  If she was so distressed, why didn't anyone stop and help?  Maybe they tried, and she told them she was OK.  But she wasn't.  Otherwise her plastic look-alike wouldn't be standing by the corner asking for help.....and waiting for answers.

Piles

I'm seriously going to clean out HBC tonite.....'cos I have piles.  The kind that start as two pieces of paper and a pen and end up the size of one of those buildings Superman is always leaping over in a single bound.   I tried to do some editing work on my invitations and couldn't get close enought to my Pazzle to switch it on.  Piles, see??  Serves me right for going to Sydney mid-project.  Everything got left on the desk.  Or the floor.  And time is becoming a bit of a factor, so a couple of hours of hard graft this afternoon will pay off big time when I start work again tomorrow.  Which I will.  Soon as the piles are under control.  Miniskip anyone??

Scrapped Out/Ghost Train.

Back from Sydney and busy decaffienating after a flat out 4 days.  As usual had a blast, drank far too much coffee and bought things that I probably could have lived without.   Including the embossing tool for my Pazzles (yay!!).  As a result of spending far too much time handling large quantities of paper, I have developed what can only be described as Scrapbookers Leprosy, which I hope will clear up before I lose a digit.   Caught the train from Penrith to Mascot after pack down, and spent a very freaky hour trying not to listen to some guy with WAY too much time on his hands (and a serious interest in all thing nasty and criminal) decribe all the horrifying things that happened at various locations close to all the train stations.  Seriously...."This is where those guys kidnapped that nurse and killed her"   "This is where the train crashed into the bridge and all those people got crushed and died"  "This is where that guy shot a whole bunch of people at that shopping centre."    Not the slightest bit entertaining, OK???   Pair that with the fact that I spent the flight home waiting for the engine to fall off the plane, and it's not surprising that the bags under my eyes were down to my knees by this morning.  Yeesh. 

The Heinemann Conspiracy.

How many totally new words  have you added to the English language this week??  I'm talking completely new words,  not words that you haven't heard of before.   New Words.  Speaking for myself, I can truthfully say "none".  Not just this week, but EVER.  In forty coughsomething years of life, I have never managed to add  a single new word to my native language.  Nor has anyone I know.  Nor has anyone on Facebook.  (I asked them....all of them).  So, bearing that in mind, can somebody please explain why I need to spend upwards of $30 on the 7th edition of the Heinemann Dictionary for Second Son to use next year??   On the book list it specifically states that the older edition is not suitable.  Perhaps we've retired some words??  Have you noticed any unexplained gaps in your conversations recently, where a specific word used to fit??  Me neither.  All I know is, when I grow up I wanna be a Heinemann.  Words, people.....that's where the money is.

All good things....

are happening at the Sydney Papercrafts Festival this weekend.   Three days of too much coffee, not enough sleep and all the eye candy you can handle.   See you on Sunday!!

I told you....

I was sick. So there.  Directed at my beloved FF for trying to cure an ulcerated throat with vodka over the weekend.  Not that I didn't enjoy the experience.  I just knew it was doomed to fail.  So after ignoring my throat for three days and drowning it in Absolut on Saturday night,  I threw in the towel this morning and went to the doctor.   Who told me I had pharyngitis (??) and an ulcerated throat and why didn't I come in earlier.  (Cos I was feeling no pain, hic!!)  I was kind of expecting to catch something feral...it always happens any time  I agree to fly anywhere for work.  As soon as the Eticket arrives in my inbox, I start germing.   So, I got some heavy duty penicillin, some absolutely vile gargley stuff (shudder) and some tablets for my ears on the plane which I had to show my drivers license to purchase.  Seriously people, who wants to feel this bad for fun??   Bleagh.