Cat Training

How do you train a cat??

We have placed a cat door in the garage because ultimately the cats will be outside during the day and also have somewhere dry when we go away over night etc.

The cat door is in situ but now we have to get the silly things to actually use it.

We have shown them the door several times, we have pushed them through it and also enticed them out of it.

We have shut up all the garage so the only way out is via the cat door but alas they must be too stupid to come through it!

They quite happily sit in the garage and stay there.

Ok we have only done this for an hour or so, so not sure what will happen if we left them there all day and then they decided they needed to wee etc.

Probably find we would come home to a mess in the garage somewhere.

So if any of you have any wonderful ideas on how to teach a cat to use a cat flap, then much appreciate a few pointers!

Fines

The other day I was sat at the side of the road waiting for Steve to collect me after work.
The road I was waiting on, is occassionally a 2 lane road. It actually has a clearway at certain times of the day. Mainly when everyone is rushing to work and then in the afternoon when everyone is rushing home again. When it is not a clearway, then you can park for up to 60 minutes at a time along the road.
The clearway on this road is a relatively new thing, couple of months, and it has always amazed me that there is still a traffic warden (TW) on duty in the afternoons!

The other day, I sat observing the TW as he waited for the tow truck to come and collect an obviously well over due parked car, that was also blocking the clearway.
He was about 150m away from where I was sat.
Suddenly this green car stopped just past me and parked. The guy got out and crossed the road to the Police Station.
Now if the guy had come around his car, then I would have immediately warned him that the TW was so close, but alas he didn't!
So I sat there watching the guy cross the busy road at the same time that I kept turning and watching the TW walk down towards his car.
As the TW passed by I commented "That will cost him!"
He just smiled at me as he passed.
Suddenly the guy came rushing back across the road and talked to the TW.
Would you believe the TW let him off. Yea for him.

When he walked back past me he said "We can sometimes be nice on a Friday afternoon"
This time I just smiled, but then added "Well when my husband picks me up in a minute, I'll get him to pull in to the Movie store here!"
His reply "I would, otherwise it will cost you $105!"

So there suddenly was my answer to why they still have a TW on duty every evening on the clearway. They only have to ticket 1 car and his wages are paid for!

Still $105 is a massive amount to park your car for 2 seconds to run across the road to the police station to pay your other fine!
For all you guys from the USA, that means $210 to you!

Is It a......?

Is it a bird? No

Is it a plane? No

It is a turtle.....

Yep that is right a turtle, and it is a hot air balloon, which is part of the Balloons Over Waikato.

An annual ballooning event held here in Hamilton. This is the 10th year they have held it and it is such fun seeing the balloons floating past every morning on the way to work.

However yesterday moring they were right outside the front door. I almost felt like if I was taller I would have been able to reach up and touch them!

This shot is very deceiving, this was taken from accross the street and they definitely were not that close to the houses! Just looks that way!

In the background you can just make out a birthday cake balloon trying to get over the trees. This was in honour of the 10th birthday of the Balloons Over Waikato.


Here you can just see the Ladybug balloon creeping out from the trees.

Busy Week

I know it seems like I haven't been here all week!

On Tuesday my dad had his operation for his Prostate Cancer, so I had the lucky time of spending over 10 hours up at the hospital with my mum.

Dad's op was very successful and he got to go home on Friday.

So for most of the week I have been looking after the family, working and then visiting dad.

Ben didn't get to see grandad on Thursday, so at 7pm I quickly rushed him up to say hi, because I knew dad was going home the next day and Ben would be really miffed if he didn't get to say goodbye. Glad I did have a late night with him by taking him up, because he definitely enjoyed seeing grandad one more time knowing he was going home the next day. Ben likes to know what is happening and then he is more relaxed.

For the rest of the week I have been working.

I am now well settled into my new job as Vaccinator with the community programme, going around all the schools in the area vaccinating the young girls with the new HPV Vaccine (Cervical Cancer)

Some of the young girls are fun to chat with for 2 minutes, some are dramatic drama queens and some just plain don't want to see us!?

I am enjoying what I am doing and really am glad I decided to have a change of scenery for 6 months.

Not actually sure what I am going to do job wise in October when this contract ends? But for now I am not worried and I am looking forward to having 2 weeks off over Easter.

Bribary!

Ben had to have some antibiotics the other week. Nothing new here, as he has had them many times now.
Although he absolutely hates taking them. We can actually have a stand off with him for 20 minutes, all while holding a spoonful of medicine, before he will open his mouth and take the medicine!

So Grandma had an idea of maybe, god forbid, bribing him to take it all?
So I did!
I got some of the toys from my wardrobe, my own personal toy shop where I keep spare stuff for just this sort of thing, and placed it on top of the fridge.

We added a chart to it, and as he took his medicine, we ticked of the appropriate time and day.

One of the days had a star by it and when he successfully reached this point he got a toy.

Worked a treat. Even though he argued with us about taking it once or twice. We just casually would say to him "which toy was it you wanted?" and then the medicine got taken nicely and promptly.

Who said you can't bride them everynow and then....?

PS - 2 days after writing this post, Ben is back on antibugs and there are now more toys on top of our fridge!

Magazines

When I got engaged last year I of course acquired several Bridal Magazines.

Nothing ever actually jumped off the page for me, but I did get a few inspirational ideas about things I liked.

6 months later and I finally cleared the magazines from under my bed this weekend just gone.

I looked at them long and hard and racked my brain to see if I could think of anyone I could pass them on to??

There had to be someone I knew who was getting married?

Would you believe, no one!

So with despair I walked to the garage and placed them in the paper recycle box.

Today I have had the awesome pleasure of retrieving them from the garage because my Cousin Lucy has just annouced today that she got engaged over the weekend to here boyfriend Gareth.

Yea, so happy, they are so great together.

So even though she has told me it will probably be end of 2010 before they actually get married I am really happy that I finally have someone to pass these magazines on to. I mean they are really expensive and such a waste to chuck out when they are useful for many years after you have brought them.

So congratulations to Gareth and Lucy, so happy for you both.

Birthday

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear Claire,

Happy Birthday to you....

Happy Birthday to my one and only sister in law Claire.

Hope you have a good day.

Homework

Ben has a small amount of homework every night from School.
It always consists of reading a little book and going through the new words of the week.
Simple words like "and, I, have, said, here"
He is doing really well with them all, although of course they are now getting harder and it is taking a little bit extra to learn them.

Steve is amazing, he sits with Ben to do the homework and he is fabulous with him.
Now I would like to one day train as a Primary School Teacher, but I sometimes think Steve should change his career path, I think he would make an awesome teacher, although I do already know he is a great teacher because he was a Nurse Educator when I first started dating him.

He just seem to have the knack with teaching Ben how to do things, although sadly he sometimes lacks the patience with him and I feel this would ruin the teaching side.
But for us at home, well I can't wait for Alex to start school so he can have his super duper dad help him with his homework.

Insomnia

Yes, I have insomnia!
Well in fact I have a drug induced insomnia, so as soon as I stop taking the drugs then hopefully the insomnia will go away....!
And seeing how the doctor has agreed to me stopping the steroids (drug of effect) then hopefully the world will be a much better place tomorrow morning at 4am?

Because, even though I had been warned about the possible black dreams and marriage breakers side effect, nothing quite prepared me for the effect at 4am this morning!
As far as I was concerned this morning the whole world could just disappear.
Steve was the root of all evils and the boys were not much better.
I had no time or life and I really just wanted the whole of my life to go away and let me start again.

Now I am currently aware that I have too much on my plate and I am scrapping parts of it away as we speak to get back to something I can manage, but I am not one to actively voice my expressions of help until it is way too late, by which time I then suffer in silence and wonder why no one has picked up on the fact I am not coping?

My other bug bearer this morning in my torid moments was 'when was it my time to be sick?'
If the boys are sick, then I stop everything to look after them.
If Steve gets sick, he gets over being sick and I keep the life trundling along.
When I get sick, I still have to remember the cat has to go to the vet, the boys have swimming and that the toilet really can't be left in that state for another day!
It made me realise that in fact I should have said something yesterday to Steve and let him know that in fact it would have been much better if he had stayed home from work to look after Alex, because looking back I don't think I was in any real fit state to be doing it!

But then hey, where would all the fun be if we didn't have drugs to wack you around the head everynow and then and make you realise that some things need to change?!

Oh and do you know that C4 (music channel in NZ) has a programme running through the night called "Insomnia" how apt!

Prostate Cancer

At Christmas, my dad was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer (PC).

There was nothing to suspect this at the time, no pain or symptoms. He was diagnosed purely by a routine blood test taken as part of his on going 'Well Man' check at his doctor's.

Pretty similar to women being diagnosed with Breast cancer after having a routine mammogram.

The blood test checked his PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) Levels, which is only produced by the prostate cells. This test, if above normal, gives indication of changes within the gland that therefore need to be followed up further with a Urologist (Surgeon who specialises in problems of the urinary system)

He needs to see a Urologist because the prostate gland (walnut in size) is located beneath the bladder in the male pelvis, the urethra, which drains urine from the bladder, passes through the prostate. The glands main function is to provide nutrition for sperm.

There are several different diseases of the prostate thus the reason to get a follow up to see eaxctly what is going on, whether it is cancer or not.

PC is the 2nd leading cause of cancer deaths amongst men, after lung cancer, although it is rarely diagnosed in men younger than 40.

In Australia, 1 in 11 will develope PC by the age of 75

In the USA, over 230,000 men are diagnosed with PC each year.

About 10% of PC runs in the family. So like Breast Cancer if there is an immediate family history, then routine check ups are adviced.

Over 600 men die of prostate cancer every year in NZ - this is directly comparable to those figures for breast cancer.
Over 2,500 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year.
Prostate cancer is now the prevalent form of cancer for NZ men.

So what is my dad doing?

Well he has been followed up and he has seen a lovely Urologist I know here in Hamilton.

He is now scheduled for surgery in 7 days time to surgically remove the prostate gland.

He is reasonable young (65) fit and healthy, so after the initial surgery and a little time of quiet and taking it easy, then he should be bouncing back fine, although that won't mean he will be playing squash 3 weeks later! He wasn't playing squash 3 weeks before so forget the after!

So what can you all do?

Help raise awareness of this silent disease. For men all it takes is a simple painless blood test to check their PSA each year. Due to infections etc in the prostate then a high reading does not always indicate cancer. However it is easier and safer to follow up with a biopsy and have an infection than to ignore it and have PC. So next time someone you love, who is over 50 is having a check up, then get them to add checking the PSA Levels to the test.

Men are well known for ignoring health issues, they are known for not going out of their way to have things done. They don't keep up with the latest findings and then decide to rush out and have that test or peocedure. We need to casually remind them of things everynow and then!

There is currently a challenge being undertaken by 4 guys downunder.

On 19th April 2009 4 of us will set out in a bid to become the first 4 man crew to row the Indian Ocean. We will be competing in the inaugural Indian Ocean Rowing Race to raise some much needed funds and awareness for man’s number one killer, prostate cancer. All being well the race will take approx 60-70 days and will see us cover approx 3,568 miles (5,742 kms), from Geraldton (Western Australia) to Mauritius...that's a long way and a long time to be sat on our prostates!

Go check out what the guys are doing and how they are getting on.

Cat Update

Prenzel is back from the hospital and a lot more full of beans.
She has been desperate to get outside, but the SPCA told us to allow her at least 10-14 days before letting her out!
Today she managed to sneak past Alex as we were coming in and I did not have the energy to chase her so I just let her go!
She is having a ball. She is leading Barnie all round the garden, investigating, using the veggie patch for her business etc.
They both keep coming back to the backdoor and lounging in the sun.
So I think maybe when we are home, if she wants to go outside then she is free to do so.
I think it will make her happier and maybe settle easier.

Only thing is I now have to go and find her to give her her next dose of medicine from the vet!

Hospital

The cat is in the hospital.

Our latest addition to the family, who is called 'Prenzel' by the way has not been well since she arrived on Tuesday. She was fine for the first day but then slowly she has stopped eating and has not been having pleasant poo's.

She is getting along with Barnie very well now, and they are tolerating each other nicely.

We took her to the vet on Wednesday and they dosed her up with pain relief and extra stuff. She ate a little when she got home, but has really not touched anything since.
Unfortunately she poo'd in our room 4 times during the night, not pleasant, and has become a little too laid back for our liking.

So we called the vet again today, explained all that had been going on in the last 24 - 48 hours and they made us an appointment.
10 minutes later the phone went, and it was the vet herself to say that she would like Prenzel to be brought in to her, not for the appointment, but to the hospital so she can observe her over night.


Ben helped me and we took her off to the cat hospital.
Ben was all very worried, he wanted to see where she was going and even told me in the vets that 'he was going to miss her tonight!'


They will call tomorrow to let us know how she has been over night and then hopefully, if they can get her to start eating and drinking they may let her go home tomorrow afternoon, if not maybe Monday. They want to assess her for IV fluids, extra drugs she may need and also what is happening with her insides to create so much poo.

She is so cute and unfortunately we have all fallen in love with her just in 3/4 days, so hopefully she will come right very quickly.


I'll let you know what happens and when she comes home.

Junkie

I feel like a junkie!
I went back to the doctor's yesterday, I was feeling so crap, I needed to.
He listened to my chest again and decided that he could hear something on both sides at the bottom. So mentioned pnuemonia or a chest infection and proceeded to does me up with pills!

Today at breakfast I felt like a junkie! I had to take the following.....
1 x Augmentin (antibiotic)
1 x Prednisone (steroid to help dry things up)
1 x Vitamin (makes sure I am getting some good stuff)
2 x Panadol (pain relief)

Oh and did I let you know I am horrid at taking tablets, so breakfast was a long process.
To add to this, the steroid is making me wake up at about 3am and it is difficult to get back to sleep. So the nights are getting longer and the days are getting tiring. Oh yea and it is also drying up my cold so breathing through my nose is such fun in the middle of the night!
Man I will be glad when this starts to go away and I am feeling more like my old self.

Sick

I have had enough!
I have had a persistent cough for 4 weeks now and I am knackered!
I have been feeling ok with a nasty cough.
Had lots of people getting concerned when they hear me cough, but other than that apart from being extra tired in the evenings I have survived.
But alas not now....
I am tired, always aware of my breathing, still coughing, which in turn is hurting my ears, my throat and my whole body because my muscles have had enough of the coughing!
I am loosing my get up and go because it is running away from having had enough.
The doctor has checked my bloods and they are fine, waiting for the result on my throat swab and they say it could take about 2 weeks to get the results on whether I have whooping cough!

So today I finally took a day off work to just sit down and relax on my own for 5 minutes.
Unfortunately Ben was sick in bed last night so there are 2 loads of washing to get done.
We are out of cat litter, so need to go to the supermarket later this afternoon
The house is a mess and we have cricket at Ben's school tonight (last game of the season luckily) so dinner will be on the run and we won't get home until after 7pm!

Am I able to say 'STOP' yet and just step off the world??

Book Giveaway #2

Mary over at Owlhaven is giving away another copy of her wonderful book she has written.

Pop over sometime and check it out

Sandwiches

Where on earth does a 3 1/2 yr old get his sandwich choice from?
I have always offered them a variety, cheese, jam (jelly), ham etc.
I can understand cheese and marmite, love it myself so no worries.
I have even introduced them to the good old PBJ, not that it is a popular choice here in NZ but hey, open to all things.

So where does Alex get the idea for cheese and jam (jelly)?

I have sure never offered that combination to him! I know his grandfather likes it, but he hasn't been to stay for quite a while now and Alex would never have been old enough when he last stayed to hear him ask for that!

The wonderful minds of a little guy!

Sickness Update

We took Ben to the specialist the other day to get his ears checked out.
Turns out he does have Glue Ear, but they are not worried at all.
They think it all stems from the major ear infection he had at the end of October last year.
They tested his hearing and have found no problems with it at all.
They said this is what confirmed it for them. Kids with Glue Ear usually need follow up treatment because they loose their hearing in the affected ear, whereas Ben has perfect hearing.
So they are happy to just sit back and watch.
I have to take him back if he has any discharge from the ear or complains of pain and they maybe want to see him in a years time just as a check up. So on we go with life and just step over this little bump in the road.

On the other hand though, I have had a nasty cough for just over 3 weeks now. It is breath taking and very tiring.
So I whisked off to the Dr's and they did every test available. I am now on Ventolin to help me breath, Prednisone (steroid) to help dry things up and give me a quick boost. They took a throat swab to see what is there and also took some blood to see what is circulating. Would you believe they are goign to test me for Whooping Cough!
I am fully immunised and so are the boys, but apparently it is flying round NZ at the moment. It is known as the 100 day cough in adults and you don't get the whooping sound you just have a persistent cough.

Will hopefully get the results today or tomorrow, and then I will know if I am on antibugs, like Ben, to clear up what ever I have.

Oh and as mentioned Ben is on antibugs again. Came out in more spots and so more drugs. Unfortunately we have had to resort to bribary to get him to take it. More on that later.

Logically Thinking of The Young

Over at Owlhaven, she was commenting on what one of her 6 yr olds had said about swimming. It was the perfect conversation of logic that come from the young.

It made me remember a conversation I had with Ben (5) just a few days ago. It went sort of like this....

Ben: Did you have a seat like mine when you were little mum?

Me: You mean the booster seat on your chair?

Ben: Yes

Me: I don't remember darling, but probably. You will have to ask Grandma and Grandad?

Ben: Ok. Was I around when you were little?

Me: No, not when mummy and daddy were little like you.

Ben: Oh, so who were my parents when you were little?

Me: Well you were not born yet.

Ben: Was I still in your tummy then?

Me: (trying not to laugh) Sort of

Ben: Could I talk when I was in your tummy?

Then the other one joined in.....

Alex: Did I talk when I was in your tummy?

Me: I don't know, did you talk? Does a baby talk?

Both of them: No, a baby cries lots!

Latest Addition

Here is the latest edition to our family.
She doesn't have a name yet, although it is now Ben's turn to choose one, think it might turn out to be 'Prenzel' but will confirm that when we know.


Of course Barnie and her are getting along like a house on fire.....not!
But hey give them chance and maybe oneday the will end up loving tolerating each other!

Glue Ear

Ben has Glue Ear. I thought we had managed to pass by all this seeing as he had made it to school, had not had hardly any ear infections and has no real problems, apart from his pronouciation of words!

So when the ear nurse told us he has glue ear, we were a little shocked.

I googled 'Glue Ear' and this is what I got.....

Glue ear is when fluid is present in the middle ear, an air-filled space, behind the eardrum.
It is different to an ear infection when the fluid in the middle ear is infected, and the eardrum is red and bulging, causing fever and earache in your child. When an ear infection has resolved, this infected fluid becomes sterile but, it is still present. This is glue ear. The eardrum in front of this fluid is no longer red and inflamed.

We have an appointment today with a specialist. We decided that even though we only got diagnosed with this problem last week, we were not messing around with his hearing.

We may need grommets or we may just need a long course of antibugs (think I would prefer the grommets, at least then we don't have to fight with Ben morning and night to take his medicine!)

So will keep you posted as to what the specialist says this afternoon.

Book Giveaway

Mary over at Owlhaven has written a book.

Yep that is right, a whole book.

It is called "A Sane Women's Guide to Raising a Large Family"

She says it "shares the story of the growth of our family, as well as the hints and tricks I’ve learned over the years that help me stay sane as a mother of many. I’d never claim to have all the answers, but having a large family has forced me to become more efficient."

Mary is married to John and is the mother to 10 children, 4 arrived via the natural stork and 6 lucky ones arrived via adoption. They are all hers and she loves them to bits, in fact her oldest has just got married, so life is forever changing in that household.

Even though I do not have a large family, this book looks rather interesting from what I have already read via Amazon.

Mary has several copies of her book to giveaway each week, so stop on over there sometime and take a look for yourself.

Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day.

Did you know that? No neither did I.

My calendar mentions it, but I had never heard of it before.

Turns out it has been celebrated since 1909 as a way to celebrate for the economic, political and social achievements of women.

Started as a political event, the holiday blended in the culture of many countries (primarily Russia and the countries of former Soviet bloc). In some celebrations, the day lost its political flavour, and became simply an occasion for men to express their love to the women around them in a way somewhat similar to Mother's Day and St Valentine's Day mixed together.

So did we all get flowers, did the men even realise that it was a special day for us??

Don't think so....!

Earth Hour

Do you guys know about this?
Me neither until I heard about it on the news.

Turns out they want us to turn off the lights for an hour on Saturday 28th March

Found the following on the Earth Hour Website....

This year, Earth Hour has been transformed into the world’s first global election, between Earth and global warming.
For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming.

WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.

This meeting will determine official government policies to take action against global warming, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol. It is the chance for the people of the world to make their voice heard.

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from.

VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community.

A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet.

Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.

We all have a vote, and every single vote counts.

Together we can take control of the future of our planet, for future generations.

VOTE EARTH by simply switching off your lights for one hour, and join the world for Earth Hour.

Saturday, March 28, 8:30-9:30pm.

Now I am not sure on the time. I know that there is an activity at the Universitiy that night and Earth Hour has been incorparated into that, but I am not sure if the time mentioned above is just the New Zealand time or the whole world time?
Looks like it will be a fun night out anyway.

Proud Again

When Ben first started school I was given a little advice by the ladies I worked with at the time....
'Join the PTA' they said and your child will always be looked after at school because the teachers look out for the kids of the parents who are active at the school.

Unfortunately due to other committments I have as a volunteering person, joining the PTA is not something I can do at present, but after yesterday I don't think I need to worry?!

As we arrived at school, Ben said hi to one of the teachers walking in. She commented to me that usually it takes the teachers a while to get to know all the students but that there was no problem of that with Ben! Because Ben knows all the teachers, personally, and always says hi to them. Turns out that is Ben, he loves the company of adults and always feels secure knowing they are there for him to talk to if he needs them. He has lots of friends at school, but it is lovely to know that he is also very comfortable with the teachers as well.

Just after I had dropped Ben at school, he came running past me on his way to the office. He was the leader in his class so therefore he got to take the attendance record to the office.
He was full of life and beans when he went past and one of the teachers turned to me and said "your son is awesome, I think he is great!"
What better compliment could anyone ever ask for about their son?

Christmas Presents

It sounds like all we do in this family is celebrate an occassion and then delay the actually enjoyment of it until later on?

Well for Christmas last year, Grandma and Grandad gave the boys vouchers to buy themselves something when they knew what they wanted.

Of course they had no idea that they had these vouchers and so they have been in my handbag since Christmas Day.

Finally at the weekend I decided we would take them to the shop and let them look at the toys. We didn't actually tell them they had money to spend, again they are too young to understand that yet, but it was just nice to be able to say 'Yes' when they asked if they could have something.

They perused several things and then finally I found some 'Hot Wheels' Car stuff. They had lots of track that you make loop the loops with and send the cars flying. The boys thought this was all good fun and came away with a nice little supply each.

Alex got 2 things with his money. 2 things that build into a track and have a loop the loop, one sets a plane flying as the car goes around the loop and the other the car jumps at the end of the track.

Ben managed to get something quite huge. A series of loop the loops all around itself, like a roller coaster. The car zooms through the maze of track and then shoots up a jump and lands back in the motorised starting area and then races off again, all on its own.

I managed to get a small video of it running. What is so funny is that the cat loves this toy! She happily sits there with the boys watching the cars zoom round and round. Occassionally she will put out a paw to try and catch the car, but she is content to just sit and watch.
Can't get video to load at present so will try again later

In fact when the boys finished playing the other day, she climbed on in and tried to get the cars moving again! It was so cute to watch.

Birthday Presents

For Steve's Birthday last year, I know sounds really bad but you have to remember that his birthday is actually on Dec 26, so not that long ago!

Well I got him tickets to see Billy Connolly. Yes the one and only, comedian extraordinar.

I had never seen this guy live before and after a little prying last year, I discovered that Steve had actually seen him on stage before, but I knew that wouldn't matter.

I bought the tickets last November (they sold out within days) and we finally got to see the show last week.

It was a blast, very funny and so on the ball.

He spent most of the night relating to New Zealand and seeing as he has been here many times in the last couple of years, he knew what he was talking about.

A few places had me laughing so much I was crying, but overall a wonderful night out with a lot of laughs.

Life

So I have started my new job, well I have had lots of education towards my new job. We actaully start the vaccinations in 2 weeks time. But so far so good.

Steve is busy as at work, he also suddenly has lots of education that has come his way, so nights of study and long days at work.

Ben is at school and loving it all, well apart from swimming! Yea I know, the boy that loves swimming is not enjoying it at school, turns out, after some investigating, that he is finding school swimming cold and boring. He is so much more advanced than they are doing.

He has new words to learn each week and we are progressing nicely with them.

Things like "I, we, and, went, mum, dad, got, a, it, at"

He will be reading before we know it!

Alex is still loving Daycare, although he does get a little clingy when we go to leave, but we are not worried as we know he has a ball 5 minutes after we have gone.

Today is not a daycare day, so after 2 weeks of fulltime, I think he is looking forward to a quiet day at home with mum.

The cat is progressing well and you would have thought she had always lived here! She is a very big suk and has made herself right at home. We have no worries with her and have even started to let her explore the garden. She loves watching the boys play with their toys and even tries to join in. Will tell you more about that in another post. Oh and Alex has choosen a name for her, well he gave the cat the name and it seems to have stuck.....the cat is called "Barnie"

Or in Alex's world it is called 'Barnie the Cat' because he also has 'Barney the Dinosaur!'

Ben has accepted this because he knows he is allowed to name the next cat we get hopefully this weekend

Blogging just seems to get a backseat at present, but it doesn't help that we lost internet connection for 36 hours due to all the rain we had at the weekend! But now I am not at work fulltime maybe I will be back online a little more.

So that is our family this week. Look forward to catching up with all of you during the week.

Have a good one.

Dilemma

Yes I have a small dilemma on my hands, well not exactly this moment but as of next Friday I will have.......

Ben came home from school a little while ago and asked if he could play cricket?
Seeing as the only extra thing he does was swimming, then we thought why not.
Do him good to actually do something that is school based and nice that he is showing interest in something other than swimming, although he does still love swimming.
So I completed the form, and even put Steve down as a parent helper and sent it back to school.

All good so far, we know his games are on a Friday evening somewhere around Hamilton at one of the schools to be annouced on a Wednesday.
Today, well last night at 3am, I realised that I am not sure how we are actually going to make this work??

I work on a Friday, so Ben goes to After School Care and Alex to Daycare.
Cricket starts at 5.15pm onwards, so we are going to have to collect Alex and Ben from respective cares and then collect Steve from work and go to the cricket field, where ever that may be.
2 problems immediately spring to mind??

1. How do we do dinner
2. We only have one car

So this is the dilemma.......
Because I am working I therefore have to organise some dinner for Ben and Steve, but it has to be something that can be sorted that morning and taken with us, and I then have to bear in mind that wherever the game is, there will probably be no kitchen facilties, so it has to be something simple! Steve said he would be fine until they got home at about 7.45pm, but when I questioned him further about what he would have eaten since lunch, he said lunch would have been his last meal and that he would be ok until he got home! I don't think so. I am not having him go nearly 8 hours having not eaten anything and also running after 8 5 yr olds! Talk about major hypo alert!
I could organise sandwiches for them, but that seems a very poor meal every Friday night (especially as that is what they would have had for lunch, you can only survive so long on chocoalte spread sandwiches!).
The other small problem is the one car thing, they would either have to drop Alex and I at home before they go or we go with them, which I have no problem doing because it would be fun to watch Ben play have a go but then I have to sort dinner for 4 on a Friday morning at 7am!

So does anyone have any ideas as to the sorts of things I could try for dinner?
Anything I could possibly leave at home in the fridge ready to go and that I just have to throw in the bag on the way out?
If Alex and I stay home, then dinner is not too bad as I can make something and they can get by on a sandwich or two until they come home.
But it is just all that running about at 5.30 /6pm when my family are beginning to loose it because it is the end of the day and dinner time that is going to take a little of getting use too.

Cat Update

I decided today to go and check up on the SPCA.

Thought I would go over and see if 1) the 2 little ones I liked had gone for their surgery and 2) to see if there were any others available?

Good job I did.

Turns out the 2 little ones I liked had been sorted the day before and were now immediately available.

And the lady had even felt sorry for me so she placed the little tabby one as Not Available, hoping that I would return soon, even though I wasn't planning on returning until Friday at 1pm when I thought they would be ready!

The tortoise one had just been adopted as I got there but our little tabby was waiting for me.

I didn't actually know what to say to her, especially after the conversation on Tuesday!

So we have a new member to our family. We really want 2 new members but they had nothing else available at the time. Maybe next week.

She is about 10 weeks old and very snuggly.

She doesn't have a name yet, we are working on that one, although Alex has taken to calling her 'Barnie'!

Cats

Almost four years ago we had to sadly put our cat down. He had got very old and became very sick. His name was Ferris and he was at least 18 yrs old.
I was 36 weeks pregnant at the time with baby #2 and we decided that we didn't want another cat then and there, especially with the baby about to arrive.
We thought about it and decided that maybe we would look at getting one when the boys were big enough to enjoy having a cat. I don't actually think that Ben has ever realised that there was a cat in his house for his first 20 months of life!

During last year we had a cat adopt us!
Walked right in one Saturday afternoon and never left. After a while we got him checked out and sorted out. And then sadly about 8 weeks after he adopted us he dissappeared. The boys know that Tigger (what we called him because he bounced a lot) went away but they were never really sad about it. Tigger just wasn't here when we came back from a night away one time.

We again discussed about getting a cat because Alex was totally taken with it. He cared for it, snuggled it and generally was all soppy about the cat. It was so cute, but again we decided that time was not the right time to get one.

So last weekend we had the subject come up again and we decided that maybe now was a good time to look at getting another cat. After the discussion I had managed to swing it so we looked at getting 2 cats, they can keep each other company!
We checked out the local SPCA and found out they had visiting times during the day.
Today I went and checked them out, see if they have any kittens that might suit us?
They didn't have many, one ginger and white, one tabby and one tortoise colour one.
Unfortunately this is then where the fun began.

We don't actually want to get a cat before Thursday, because I then have 5 days with no work and that will allow someone to be here most of the time whilst they get settled in. So I was checking out if they had anything that I could look at getting on Thursday?

The one I really liked and she seemed to like me is being desexed on Thursday, so is not available for adoption until 1pm on Friday, but they do not do holds! So if you want the cat you have to be there at 1pm to get it. The other cat in the same pen as her was not one that immediately jumped at me as one I wanted, although thinking about it for all of the afternoon I think she might be a good cat to have as well. So we will see on Friday when I go.
There was also the ginger one in the other pen. I enquired about when he/she (not sure) was available and the answer I got was....

'it hasn't been desexed yet!'
So I asked when it was getting done?
'Not sure as the vet is very busy! but could possible be on Friday?'
So that means it would be available on Saturday at 1pm?
'Maybe?'

Now this conversation went round in circles several times whilst I was stood there and at the end of it I really got the impression that they were in no hurry what so ever to get these darling little kittens adopted out!
Yet 10 minutes before when I had been looking at the cats, the lady had told me that they always have lots of new cats coming in and that they even have a waiting list for cats to go in the currently full pens!

So now I am very confused and not sure if there will be any cats there at 1pm on Friday when I go there?
You are not able to pay any money to hold the cat for you. I would have quite happily paid for the tabby one so it was ours on Friday but no, not allowed.
The lady even went so far as to say 'if it is meant to be, it will be!'

I walked away thinking that with her help they would never be with anyone because she doesn't seem to want them to be with anyone! With how unhelpful she was I am surprised they ever have any new cats in because I think everyone walks away more confused than when they first arrived!

Anyway, I will be there at 12.50 on Friday to see if I can get the tabby one. As for the 2nd cat, well we will see when I am there, we may even have to go back at 1pm on Saturday to secure the other one. If not I will check it out next week sometime.

Do You Have a Goal?

One of my all time favorite movies is 'Pretty Woman' with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.
I am not sure what it is about this movie but when it was in the cinemas I saw it 9 times, yes that is right 9 times!

One of my favorite lines in it, for some strange reason, is 'Do you have a goal?'

I have now started my new job, I have 2 weeks of education to complete and that is a little boring, but hey it is what you have to do sometimes.
Unfortunately the most boring day has been today! I had to sit through the District health Boards Orientation Day for new staff. My latest Danielle Steele got well read!

Anyway, one of the speakers was a man talking about disability and ways to help.
What struck me about him was him talking about how he always discusses with his clients and patients about the importance of them having goals.
Now I know everyone has goals and I think I had just plain forgot that disabled people will also have goals, more than just gaining use of their limb, being able to write or even read again etc.
What amazed me about this man, in his wheelchair, was his goal was to do the New York Marathon in under 3 hours!
His first attempt took him just over 6 hours and his 4th attempt took him just over 3 hours!

It definitely put my life into perspective, here I am with one of my only goals at present is to get everyone out of the house on time each morning!
I know they say to start small, but I think I need to reassess my goals and aim for something a little bigger...!

Proud of Him

I have often wondered what Ben would do if I wasn't at school at 2.55pm to meet him?
Now there are days when he has 'after school care' and he knows exactly what to do on those days.
So only twice a week do I actually get to go and collect him when he has finished.

Today was one of those days to collect him.
It has been raining here all day, traffic was horrendous and I got caught up and arrived at school at about 3.02pm. For some strange reason this school empties very quickly and there is hardly anyone around within 5 minutes of the bell going!
As I walked into the school, I was wondering to myself where I might actually find him.....

a) Could he have thought I wasn't there because he had after school care?
b) Had he stayed at his classroom, waiting for me?
c) Was he wandering around in the rain in the playground looking for me?

I decided to go straight to the classroom seeing as this is where I was meant to meet him.

And that is exactly where he was!
I was very proud of him and I sure let him know it.
I gave him a big hug and kiss. Told him exactly how proud I was of him and why.
He was very happy with himself.
I was amazed actually because Friday is usually an 'after school care' day, but he had remembered me saying there was no 'after school care' today because I was going to be finished at work early enough to collect him.

As we came out of his classroom, I explained to him why I was carrying my shoes, I had very wet feet from walking in all the puddles and rain. So he took off his sandels as well and we puddle jumped our way out of the playground, laughing all the way.

New Family Member

Extended family that is....

At the weekend we had the wonderful pleasure of catching up with some of Steve's family for a Christening.

His brother's oldest son's daughter got christened.

In other words, his nephew's daughter!

Or to be more precise, our great niece.

OMG, I have a great niece and I am so young!

But she is so cute, so I can't really complain.

Her name is Kayla and she was born last October. She lives in Nelson, South Island, so we won't see her very much (about 10 hours to drive, with a 4 hr ferry crosing thrown in the middle!) so it was awesome to attend the Christening that was held up this way because her grandparents live up this way.

The boys just loved her, Alex especially, he loves babies. I think he would have made an awesome big brother if he had ever been given the oppotunity.

So here are some pictures of the gorgeous family.

Alex and Kayla getting to know one another

Mummy, can we keep her?

Alex and Kayla, friends forever

Olga, Gareth and Kayla (aka, parents)

Ken (Steve's brother), Olga, Gareth, Gail (Ken's wife)

Olga's Mum, Ken, Olga, Gareth, Gail & Olga's Dad, oh yea and little Kayla in the middle

Growing Your Own

We are still majorly in the throws of redoing the garden, well more the point, actually doing something with the garden. It hasn't been landscaped and we have been in the house for nearly a year. Not that we planned on landscaping in that time, we actually wanted to live here a while and get the feel of the place to see what we wanted to do with it and when.

Anyway, Steve decided we would at least attempt to grow something.

So he planted tomatoes and pumpkin.

Well it is a little late, because this actually happened a while ago, but here is the picture of the first tomato that turned red for us...

We eventually got a lot of them off the plant, we ate loads of them at the BBQ we held on Feb 14 for our family and friends. They went down real nice.

So maybe we are able to grow something, more tomatoes next year I guess!

Big Boys

2 recent pictures of my boys.

Ben's picture is of his first day of school for the new year (a little tradition I am going to try and keep). In New Zealand their school year is from February to December, so an actually calendar year. So Christmas is the summer holidays. We also have 4 terms in the year with 2 weeks break between each term. A little confusing to a Northern Hemisphere person like me!

So this is Ben starting in his new class with a new teacher.

Alex's picture is of him catching up on the latest gossip at the local Barbers shop. He has been attending a barbers to get his hair cut for at least 2 years now, so is very good at sitting in the chair all by himself and having his hair cut.

Just a little off the sides please, with the back shaven!

Anniversary

NO not my wedding anniversary, that is in September.
Today is actually the anniversary of when I arrived in New Zealand.
I arrived here 11 years ago today, all on my little own at 11am on a glorious sunny February morning.

I arrived on a Singapore Air flight #285. I remember that I had woken up at about 5am (NZ time) as we flew over Australia.
I was an organised girl at the time and had taken some clean clothes in my carry on luggage, so was able to freshen up before landing.
At 11am we touched down in Auckland, New Zealand to a beautiful day and the start of a wonderful new adventure for me.
I had come all this way on my own, on a no going back one way ticket, which had cost me 432 British Pounds.
I had never been to New Zealand before and all I knew was that I had an Aunty and Uncle here who had been here for just under 30 years, with 2 of my cousins.

Why NZ I can hear you all asking???

Well I had travelled lots up till then in 1998 and knew I was never going to stay in England for ever. I wanted to live in the Ohio, in the States, but was having big difficulty in getting my NCLEX exam (Nursing Exam). I took it twice and never quite managed to pass! Maybe it wasn't meant to be??

Someone I worked with at the time ask if I had thought of New Zealand, seeing as you didn't need to take an exam to work here? I never had and she must have got me on a magic day because within 24 hours of talking to her I had emailed, faxed and posted correspondences to all the relevant places to set the ball rolling.

That was in the September of 97 and just under 5 months later I arrived.

So 11 years later I can look back and be amazed at all I have achieved in the time.

I am now married with 2 charming little boys and a beautiful husband.

Add to this the fact that my Mum and Dad live here now and so does my brother and his family.

My dad's brother was the uncle who already lived here and then their sister and family moved here as well.

So 11 years later all of one side of my family lives in New Zealand.

WOW how live changes.

The Classics

I enjoy a good book as much as the next gal or guy, although, I never go for anything too heavy.
Anything with a good romantic story line is fine, even a little family drama. No one better than Danielle Steele, Lavyrle Spencer, Barbara Delinsky to name a few. I find I can read books set in America better than I can books set in England, never understood that, maybe something about how they write the story!
But would you believe I have never read the 'Classics'. The likes of Jane Austin.....

• Pride and Prejudice
• Emma
• Sense and Sensibility

Even E M Fosters's 'Room with a View"

Don't get me wrong, I studied the basic literature in High School, the likes of 'Macbeth' by Shakespear and 'Silas Marner' by George Elliott.
But I have never had the urge to read anything deeper and at the moment with the boys being so young I find that my only reading time is at bedtime and by then I am too tired to concentrate on a heavy novel, I just need something light and simple.
Now I love a good movie, so like many others I have seen all adaptations of most of the books I have mentioned. I have even seen at least 3 versions of Pride and Prejudice (1 I will write about another time) but never once in all the years I havebeen watching these adaptation have I ever had the fancy to want to read the good old classics.

Well that time has come. I have decided 2009 is to be the year and if I struggle take my time with them, then my goal is to extend it into next year, but not past Nov 2010, when I will turn 40! My mission will be to have read them before I am 40.

So I will start with Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Room with A View, although not sure which one I will actually read first although Pride and Prejudice may be the one as I remember the movie so well!

So if you can think of any other Classics that would be great to aim for then let me know what they are and I will add them to my list of books to read in the next 21 months!

P.S I started reading Pride and Prejudice about 2 weeks ago and haven't even got past page 3 yet!

Music and Lyrics

Song always amaze me.
People get so much from a song and mostly they always get different things from it.

I heard on the radio the other day that girls will hear the lyrics whilst boys will hear the music.
Girls will try to figure out what the song is about and boys will sort out the beat and rythme.

If you turn your volume on now, you will hear a song on my blog.
It is 'Grace Kelly' by Mika
I love this song, have done since the first day I ever heard it on the radio.
I think it is catchy and fun.
I also had no idea what it was about but always presumed it was about love.
So imagine my surprise when I find out it is actually about him trying to secure a job, worrying about the job interviews and what is wrong with him, that he is unable to get a job and what he would be prepared to do to enable him to get a job.

Now that I know this about the song, I still love it, but it makes me sing along listen differently!

Kids

We all love them and at times we all hate them. But what ever it is they can always make us smile.

Kids Are Quick

TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America.
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America?
CLASS: Maria...

TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.

TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
(I Love this kid)

TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.

TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!

TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.

TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with 'I.'
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'

TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.

TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.

TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE : No, sir. It's the same dog.

TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher

Who Am I??

Whilst checking out the many blogs I follow, I came across the following quiz that Walking Butterfly had recently taken part in.

Decided to check it out myself and find out who I am??

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Marilyn!

You are a Marilyn -- "I am affectionate and skeptical."

Marilyns are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Be direct and clear


• * Listen to me carefully


• * Don't judge me for my anxiety


• * Work things through with me


• * Reassure me that everything is OK between us


• * Laugh and make jokes with me


• * Gently push me toward new experiences


• * Try not to overreact to my overreacting.
  
  What I Like About Being a Marilyn
  


• * being committed and faithful to family and friends


• * being responsible and hardworking


• * being compassionate toward others


• * having intellect and wit


• * being a nonconformist


• * confronting danger bravely


• * being direct and assertive
  

What's Hard About Being a Marilyn

• * the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind


• * procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself


• * fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of


• * exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger


• * wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right


• * being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations
  
  Marilyns as Children Often
  


• * are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn


• * are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger


• * form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent


• * look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel


• * are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent

Marilyns as Parents

• * are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty


• * are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence


• * worry more than most that their children will get hurt


• * sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries


Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Go check out the quiz yourself and find out who you are??

Good Mornings

This morning I went into the boys room and Alex was still in bed. This is nothing unusual as he is very like me, in that he doesn't wake up well and doesn't like getting out of bed!
He was laid there all sleepy with his eyes open, watching me get their clothes out.
I then climbed on the bed with him and snuggled.
After a few seconds he said to me....

"Mummy, I stayed in my bed all night?"

That was it, that was the most important thing to Alex at 7am today.
I thought it was so cute.

Waitangi Day

Today is Waitangi Day, it is a very important day in the history of New Zealand.
To most people it is just another day off work and the chance to occassionally make it into a long weekend.
Waitangi Day always falls on Feb 6, so sometimes we are lucky enough to gain a long weekend from it, other times it turns out to be in the middle of the week and so we gain a day off mid week.

For more indepth information about what Waitangi Day means, then slip on over to my mum's blog where she has put up a post about it.

He is Here

My blogging friends over here have been awaiting the arrival of baby number 2.

Well he is here......

No name yet, just that he was born on Tuesday 3rd February.

Congrats to Kent, Leisy and little Zeb on the arrival of the newest member of their family.

Not Mummy Love

Yesterday went wrong!
Well some of it didn't, but the usual hour from 4pm onwards went wrong, so very wrong.

Let's just say that I actually allowed myself to have a few minutes where I hated my eldest son!

The only thing is then I checked my emails and the follow had just come through from my Sister in Law......

Can I Borrow $15?

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.
SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'
DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.
SON: 'Daddy, how much money do you get paid an hour?'
DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.
SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'
DAD: 'If you must know, I make $30 an hour.'
SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $15?'

The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions.
How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think: Maybe there was something he really! needed to buy with that $15.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often.

The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.
'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.
'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.
'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man.
'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $15 you asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled.
Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up notes.
The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.
The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.
'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.
'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Daddy, I have $30 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life.
We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.
Do remember to share that $30 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours.
But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

-------------------------------------------

So of course, then I was all chocked uip and kicking myself for even thinking about hating him, even if it was just for 5 minutes!

I.C.E

This concept is not anything new to me, infact I have known about it for many years.

I am sure that most of you know about it as well, but just in case, for the few that haven't heard about it, I thought I would share.

I C E – In Case Of Emergency

We all carry our mobile phones with names and numbers stored in its memory. If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn’t know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence this ‘ICE’ (In Case of Emergency) Campaign.

The concept of ‘ICE’ is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. As mobile phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name ‘ICE’ (In Case of Emergency). The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents there were always mobile phones with patients but they didn’t know which number to call.

He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognised name for this purpose.

In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialling the number you have stored as ‘ICE’.
For more than one contact name, simply enter ICE1, ICE2, ICE3 etc

______________________________________

I have about 4 ICE's in my phone, my husband's mobile and home number and my best friend.

That way if anything ever happened to me, they should be able to get in touch with someone!

Groundhog Day

Happy Groundhog Day.

As this is not a day celebrated much outside of the United States, then I googled it to see what was said about it...

"Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated in United States and Canada on February 2.
In weather lore, if a groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, or marmot emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If on the other hand, it is sunny and the groundhog sees its shadow, the groundhog will supposedly retreat into its burrow, and winter will continue for 6 more weeks.
Candlemas is usually the same day, and has similar beliefs about the coming weather.
Since the release in 1993 of the film of the same name, Groundhog Day, the phrase is sometimes used in English to mean "the same thing over and over again" particularly in reference to unpleasant repeating cycles."

So Happy Groundhog Day to you all

She Died

I do not know this little girl, I don't even know her parents but that is blogging for you.

One of the blogs I follow, in fact several of them, all had a post last Thursday about this charming little girl called Tuesday, who sadly had cancer.

She has been fighting it for most of her 2 years of life, I went on over there on Thursday to see what they were all talking about.

Turns out the cancer was now not responding to the chemo and had doubled in size!

So they were now taking her home to be with her family, she had several brothers and sisters.

So I was very shocked to read on one of the blogs that sadly she died on Friday!

So quick, she couldn't have been home more than 24 hours.

My thoughts are with the family.

I may not know them but no one wants to think about loosing one of their children

Food Storage

When I trained to be a nurse back in 1992-5, I was in Wolverhampton.
My best friend at the time on my course was a girl called Rachel. Sadly she never finished the course, got pregnant and married, as some people do. She is still married, has 4 kids and I have just got back in touch with her via Facebook!
Anyway, her religon is LDS (Mormons) and she had loads of friends all our age in the town. Seeing as I do not smoke or drink I fitted in with this group very well.
In fact I am still in touch with some of them to this day. So my time in Wolverhampton was extremely enjoyable with a lot of people my age with roughly the same out look on life.

I never became a Mormon, but I attended church very regularly (I decided that even though I wasn't a member of the church I was sure he didn't worry where you went to church, just the nice fact that you did go to church), in fact I probably became their most active non member they had ever had! In fact it got to the point where I was teaching the Missionaries a thing or too, but I drove each new greenie mad with frustration because each one would get to know me and you could see it in their eyes that they thought they would be the one who would manage to convince me to become baptised!
I attended a lot of functions, I went to about 15 weddings in 4 years, I joined a lot of Firesides on a Sunday evening and I regularly went to Home Group on a Thursday evening.
Here I learnt a lot of home making tips, food storage was one of the many, in fact it was the one thing that has stuck with me.
It now means that my pantry is always a little bit more stocked than it should be, but you can always find something to more or less make something with. I always seem to have that extra can of tomatoes, extra can of beans etc.

So I came across this wonderful sites the other day, whilst checking out WFMW, and I thoroughly enjoyed them.





Read a few posts and decided that I was going to have to a) blog about them b) place it on my favorites list and c) maybe even place a link on my side bar.
So go over and check out what they have to say. Lots of talk about using slow cookers, tinned food that keeps, which you can usually find on cheap specials in the grocery store, and other ways to help keep the grocery budget down.
If I ever come across any really great ideas from there then I will let you know about them.