Karma?

About a month ago I was driving home from work and sat behind a woman smoking in her car and flicking the ash out of the window. A common sight. She then proceeded to toss the still lit butt out of her window onto the road. A (thankfully) much less common site but illegal and reportable. So I reported it. Via the EPA website. Because as I am becoming a grumpy old woman. And the laziness and lack of consideration of people who toss litter from their vehicles drives me up the wall. I have had burning cigarette butts land in my lap when I've been driving and that really pisses me off. And we are in the middle of a drought and HELLO PEOPLE our road side reserves are parched and tinder dry.

Fast forward to this morning.

A letter arrives from the EPA addressed to Himself. I opened it (shutup). SOMEONE was driving a certain blue benz in a named suburb last Friday afternoon and was observed to toss a lit cigarette butt from the window.

*ring ring*

Three: 'sup mum?

Me: Where were you last Friday afternoon?

Three: um

Me: Were you in Main Street in Named Suburb?

Three: Yep

Me: Smoking?

Three: yes

Me: And you tossed your cigarette butt from the car window?

Three: yes

He didn't deny it. He didn't ask me how I knew. I think he realises that whatever he does wrong in his life I will eventually find out. He knows he's not allowed to smoke in the car. And he can no longer pretend he doesn't smoke either (hee!)

I did tell him how I found out and asked how he plans to pay the $215 fine!

I just hope that the woman I reported got a similar letter.

There is no excuse for throwing cigarette butts from your car. If you don't want to stink the car up then don't smoke in it. Simple.

I should be studying

Anyone who owns (or should that be "is owned by") a cat will know their incredible curiosity and need to sit in boxes and things. We bought these containers for Two's DVD collection. Sheba had a good look around them and made herself at home. By the way, they are still sitting waiting to have the DVDs put in them!

The bike is called Zog. Thanks Jan. This may change but it sits well with me at the moment.

And I have been hopping on Zog for a few minutes at a time. Interestingly so has everyone else in the family! Tonight I plan to spend about half an hour on it whilst watching some telly. This will be the test.

Yesterday we didn't do much. Himself had to pick some stuff up from his Melbourne office so we went out there and I showed him the unit in the retirement village that parents are planning to buy. They sold their house at the weekend and got a good price for it.

Today I did a quick clean - kitchen and floors only and then had lunch with The Mermaid. I haven't seen her for ages. It was a bit of a rushed time as she had to be back at work by 3 but we will have a decent catch up next week when she has afternoons off (school holidays). Then back home to hit my books. BORING! Lordy, it's boring. I know it's important but the study materials came on CD and I've printed them off and the quality is very poor. They have been photocopied and some of the writing is blurry and it frustrates me trying to make it out. And there is so much of it.

Three was driving the old Benz and rang to tell me that he thinks the power steering is going so he took it to the garage to be looked at. Himself tells me that it only needs the fluid topping up but I am proud the Three had the nouse to sort the thing out himself. Hopefully it won't cost an arm and a leg. So he has now taken my car to drop his ex-girlfriend (who is still very much on the scene but only as a friend, mum) home. When he gets back we'll go to the supermarket to get the ingredients for dinner.

I have started doing more 'real' cooking with proper ingredients and not just out of a jar. It certainly tastes better and the kids are eating it. I think that's when I got fed up with cooking, when the kids were either not home or wouldn't eat what I'd prepared. Two has just rung and he will also be home for dinner so creamy chicken penne it is. I buy the Australian Good Taste magazine every month and they have some yummy easy recipes in it. That's another thing - I am more likely to cook from scratch if it's as quick and easy as using a jar and the AGT recipes are certainly that.

Last evening we made meatballs. Well I decided on meat balls and chose the recipe and Himself made them. They were delicious. We had them in tomato sauce on fettucine. The evening before we had steak with roasted pumpkin and red onion, thyme potates and smashed peas.

It's 4.45 (daylight saving ended yesterday - happy happy happy days) so I'll go and try and get another 45 minutes of study done before Three gets home and we go shopping.

My new best friend (I hope)

Firstly, let me apologise for my tardiness in updating. I have attempted to write on many occasions but the words wouldn't flow. So I abandoned the attempts.

As you may remember I am overweight, suffer with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides and am insanely unfit. Walking up a gentle slope can render me seriously breathless.

This, folks, is Not Good.

I have started back on the necessary medication and my blood pressure has come down to a more or less acceptable level. I don't know what my cholesterol is doing and I still can't walk up a flight of stairs or a gentle slope.

Exercise is the key. I know this because I read a lot.

I hate gyms.

Walking around the block again and again and again frustrates me.

So over the past few days I have been thinking about alternate ways of exercising. Especially as we are heading towards winter and ... drum roll please ... IT'S STARTED RAINING!! (more on that later).

Himself and I went to Sportsmart and looked at treadmills - any that were half decent were too expensive and took up too much room; eliptical trainers - didn't feel right; and exercise bikes. The one we chose has 12 programs, fancy features and is whisssssssssssper quiet. It is sitting next to me as I type. As you can see from the photos I can watch telly as I ride. And it tucks neatly into the corner between my desk and the sofa in the family room.

My initial challenge is to work out the instructions.

I figure that if I jump on the thing (it needs a name - all suggestions considered) for a few minutes at a time initially, then I can trick my body into exercise until I start to enjoy the sensation.

**************************************************************************************

So. The rain. We have had the odd shower here and there but last evening we had a heavy downpour (Thomas did the belly run under One's bed; Sheba sat on the back step looking very pissed off at this wet stuff coming from the skies). It has rained on and off since with some good downpours overnight and today. Please let this be the begining of the end of the drought. It was just gorgeous to walk in the rain again and to see green sprouting from the dry, grey dirt. And no, it doesn't take much to get the grass growing again.

Himself moved into his serviced apartment in Sydney. He's not sure about all this as he says it feels too permanent. I can understand where he's coming from but it is so nice to know that he's not going to be spending time tomorrow doing his washing and getting ready to go back.

He is in the kitchen cooking dinner which is just about ready and I should be laying the table and opening wine so I will finish here and come back in the next day or so.

A lesson in communication

Yesterday I was giving a Chinese woman her last lot of chemo. Her English is very limited - not non-existant but very basic. We communicate via an interpreter or by miming. I guess the miming for vomiting is pretty universal.

I became concerned because she had obviously been very sick after her last couple of treatments (she is a very good mime) and yet she said she had enough anti-nausea tablets which I doubted. I also doubted whether she was using them correctly. She pulled out a plastic bag and showed me her stash.

Sure enough, she hadn't been taking the correct tablets. And hadn't been taking the ones she did have frequently enough. One of our receptionists speaks her language so I asked her to give me a hand. (We prefer to use the proper interpreter but she isn't always available and this was a fairly straight forward conversation)

I explained about the tablets I was going to order for her and how to take them. I explained that ones she already had could be taken every 4 hours - not just twice a day (no wonder the poor woman had been so sick).

And I explained that the suppositories could be used if she couldn't keep tablets down.

*blank look*

I explained how to use a suppository. With appropriate hand movements.

*pause*

*eyes like saucers, mouth an O*

*rapid Cantonese exchanged*

*our receptionist almost wetting herself laughing as patient looks at me, clutches her chest and proclaims "I so lucky, I so lucky"*

She thought the suppositories were for a sore mouth.

Thank god she never had a sore mouth. And that she has a great sense of humour!

Procrastination

My learning package arrived today. It looks pretty full on but there is quite a bit of support. I just have to start my readings rather than fiddling about on the internet. And it's not a case of turning the computer off cos I need it to do my study!! Oh well.

I had my hair cut and coloured today and I'm pleased with the result. I walked up to the hairdresser which isn't that far but the thought of walking that distance as exercise sent me into a cold sweat. I just looked on it as a pleasant stroll in the Autumn sun and a way of saving petrol.

I have eaten pretty well today and only had two glasses of wine and the kettle is on to make a cuppa so that's all good.

Himself is looking at a serviced apartment tomorrow and will hopefully be moving in next week. The new hotel they got him to trial this week hasn't worked out. Apart from anything, he couldn't get a taxi to take him to work and after waiting for nearly 40 minutes started to walk before he could flag one down about 15 minutes later. Not an option if it's pissing rain or a heat wave. And shouldn't even be an option. The hotel is putting on a shuttle service starting next week to take guests into the CBD and in the mean time the hotel manager will drive him to work!

Oh, look, The Bill's about to start. I'll go and watch that and THEN do some reading!!

Monday, bloody Monday

It is a public holiday in Melbourne.

Which explains why Himself is in Sydney. I want his promise that when there is a public holiday in Sydney he will be AT HOME in Melbourne.

I met my brother and our parents at the retirement unit. It's not too bad. I'm not sure how they will go living in such a small space after what they have been used to but time will tell.

The bathroom left a bit to be desired from a safety point of view but mother was happy to leave it as is. I had a conversation with the manager of the village stating my concerns with a potential nasty injury. She agreed with me and we both agreed that it was up to Mum and Dad. Mum has now decided that having the bathroom done is a fabulous idea.

We went back to Dr T's place for lunch (2 minutes away!). Over lunch Mum asked if Dr T could come and put their cat to sleep (he used to be a vet, remember?). Dr T said he couldn't. She later told me that she was going to have to have the cat put down. I asked why and got a load of rubbish "he's 8 and nervy". He's 8 but not nervy and I don't believe ANYONE has the right to kill another living thing unless it is a genuine act of mercy. This has the potential of really causing a rift. Do not tell me that you love animals (and cats in particular) if you aren't even going to TRY to find another home.

I then played 9 holes of golf with Jenny. We had both had difficult days with our mothers and I found the conversation very therapeutic. My long game wasn't too bad but my short game sucked. I only lost one golfball to the creek.

Then home to nothing having been done but Three offering to drive to the supermarket for me cos he knew I'd had a rough day with his grandparents and had been on my feet for most of it.

Two is in a strange mood. I think he's hiding something from me which, as I have said before, is his prerogative, but it does concern me.

Three and I had beef and black bean sauce with rice for dinner. Just a jar mix but with added bits and pieces and was quite nice. It would be much better if I used eye fillet but, HELL NO, am I paying $30++ a kilo for something I'm going to stir fry.

So. Another day down. I'm feeling a bit unsettled of late. I think that's understandable with all the stuff going on in my life but I need to learn to deal with it.

Tomorrow. Waiting for Three's desk to arrive and then a haircut and colour. Hopefully my learning package from uni will arrive and I can start studying for this damned course.

I know I have repeated myself a bit of late but I cannot be fagged going back and seeing what I have written in previous posts. Alternatively, I could claim that I am considering those of you with short term memory loss!!!

Lazing on a sunday afternoon

I think I prefer this photo to the previous one.

He had a good time.

I saw the GP yesterday. I am now on a diuretic to help bring the blood pressure down and have started on a cholesterol lowering drug. I started taking them today and felt most queer earlier on so sat on the couch and watched telly. I never watch telly during the day but it was very pleasant. Himself was out buying himself an iron (he always complains that OTHER PEOPLE leave sticky stuff on the base plate so I told him to buy his own and keep it hidden!), Three is at work and Two and NGF went out somewhere. So it was me and the cat on the couch ... again!

I see the GP on the 17th April so I have just over 5 weeks to lose some weight and start exercising so my BP will be lower next time I see him.

I have always blamed weight loss programmes for not losing weight. And in some cases I think that it's justified. But I can't really complain about the WW Core program with it's emphasis on fresh, whole, natural food. So back onto it I go ... I was reading the WW message boards yesterday and came across an idea which I have read before but it struck home. If you break a plate you don't smash the whole dinner set. So if I don't stick with the program 100% I shouldn't give the whole thing away as a lost cause.

I was also watching something on obesity (major obesity!) the other night and someone was talking about his inability to resist the FOOD he was putting in his mouth. Something went "ping" and I realised that what he was talking about as food was just rubbishy empty calories. Food is something we need for nourishment and health. It is wholesome, satisfying and essential. Anything else we eat is non-essential and we choose whether or not to eat it. We can't say that we HAVE to eat the pizza, the fish and chips and the chocolate. We HAVE to eat the veges, fruit, wholegrains and lean meat. So I am beginning to look at what I put in my mouth as food and non-food. I'm still working this out in my head so apologise if it sounds a bit odd and disjointed.

Himself is taking Three to the motor show this evening. I will head off to the supermarket soon and get the ingredients for a WW chilli con carne.

Tomorrow Himself heads back to Sydney. I am going to meet my parents and Dr Teacher and his family at the retirement village to view the unit they want to buy. Then a quick lunch back at Dr. T's and then 9 holes of golf with Jenny.

On Tuesday, Officeworks are delivering Three's desk in the morning and I'm going to get my hair cut and coloured in the afternoon.

I need to overcome this incredible resistence I currently have to exercise. Maybe I should start by a gentle walk around the short block and build up from there. We are now into Autumn and although we do get warm days they aren't like the horrendous ones we have in Summer and the nights are cool. I should be walking along the beach front or down by the creek.

Have a good week, all.

What do you think?

I think he's gorgeous. But I am biased. All dressed up ready to escort a young beauty (not his girlfriend, unfortunately, cos she IS lovely and he needs a new girlfriend) to the school formal. The school that he left two and a bit years ago! I'm glad he's kept in touch with all those people. He has some really good mates from those years.

Thanks for your concerned comments. MizS remarked that I am calm. Well, I know what the potential ramifications are but haven't quite equated them to ME!

I STILL haven't received the learning package from university. I sent a very terse email to the course convenor but I'm not holding my breath. I really wanted to get started on the study over this coming long weekend (Labour Day in Melbourne) especially as Himself will be back in Sydney on Monday as it's not a holiday in Sydney. He'd better take the Sydney public holidays when they occur!!

I'm home alone again, tonight. Two is at NGF's again, Three is at the formal and Himself is actually in Melbourne but out to dinner with a group of old work mates. I really encourage him to keep in touch with this group as he doesn't have many mates and this is a group that get on really well. And are all in his industry so can help each other (and do) with jobs when times are tough.

The other evening when I was home alone I had a yicky icky dinner. I think I might keep it simple tonight and have eggs on toast.

It's Friday tomorrow. Yay.

Uh oh.

A jelly fish on the beach at Lakes' Entrance.

I work for a hospital. We require results of blood tests before we can treat our patients. Many patients have their blood tests done at outside pathology companies. We ring said companies and ask them to fax us the results.

I may or may not have used this method to get hold of my blood test results from Monday. I did ring the GP surgery and was told he needed to see me. But I sort of guessed that would be the case.

My cholesterol is waaaaaaaaay too high. Especially the LDL which is the bad cholesterol. The good cholesterol isn't very high at all. And for the first time ever my triglycerides are elevated as well. My liver isn't too bad, my kidneys are fine, my glucose is great and my bone marrow is producing blood cells just fine, thankyou.

So I am going to see my GP on Saturday and will act all surprised when he gives me my blood results! And then I will have to look at some serious lifestyle changes and medication to bring the cholesterol back to a safe level.

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Himself just rang there and I was telling him about the results. He always acts as if I'm talking a foreign languge and claims to not understand what I'm talking about when it's anything medical. Now, if I told you that normal was 0.0 - 5.5 and my reading was 8.3 would that not suggest that my reading was rather high? You don't need to know why or how, just that it's high. And I'm a stroke waiting to happen. I wish I hadn't told him any of this cos now he will be on my case which will make me even more stressed.

Three's at work. Two is home and we need to decided what to have for dinner. So I'll call this an entry and catch you all later.

Just me and my cat ...

If he could get any closer, he would! (He trod on the button that puts the thing into sleep mode and then tried to curl up on the keyboard so I turfed him off but he still came back ... if you could see his face he is a tad pissed off!)

Himself is in Sydney, One is at LGF's, Two is at NGF's and Three is at work. He will be home about 10.00pm. So it's just me and the cats.

I have been waiting for over a week for my study materials to arrive from the uni. The educator emailed us all today to say that they should have been sent out last Wednesday after arriving from the printer but to be on the safe side they will express post them today so we will all have them by tomorrow at the latest. EXACTLY the same story I got last year when studying with the same uni. Hmmmmmm.

I went to my GP today. He took my blood pressure (high), weighed me (high), checked my pulse (high) and sent me for some blood tests (which will assuredly be high!). I told him I was struggling with the weight so telling me to eat sensibly and exercise more was NOT an option. I also told him how much I drank and how short of breath I've become lately. I can probably qualify for a 'careplan' because my weight issues are considered chronic which entitles me to 5 government funded visits to a dietitian (or whatever specialist is deemed necessary to address the chronic condition). I'm not sure what good a dietitian will do but I haven't tried one of them yet! I'm certain my blood tests will show my liver is under a bit of stress so that will be a good incentive to cut waaaaayyyy back on the wine and that will also help with the weight. I shall see if I can get my blood results faxed to work on Wednesday so I can see for myself. My doctor was great and I don't mind going back to see him to get all my health issues resolved. The nurse that took my blood was another story! I have veins like garden hoses but she seemed to need to have a dig around to find one. That is why I prefer to get my blood taken by my colleagues.

I didn't do anything much today. NGF stayed over last night and Two had to leave at sparrow's fart to get to work so she surfaced quite a bit later. I am finding her difficult at the moment. Everything is negative. I'm sure she blames us for all of Two's problems and I find her quite impolite at times. But we did some of my jigsaw puzzle and I dropped her off at the station.

I love jigsaw puzzles and the one I'm doing at the moment is quite challenging. It's called a Wasgij. Which, like the name suggests, is like a jigsaw backwards in that the picture on the box is not what you are assembling. Rather, there is someone or something in the background of the picture on the box and you assemble what they are seeing. Think about it! It's as if you are looking out of the jigsaw. Anyway, good fun and I've done a few from this series. The other ones I like are the whodunnit ones. You get a story to read about a crime and then have to assemble the puzzle (with no picture to follow) and guess the culprit from the clues in the picture.

Seeing as I'm home alone for dinner it will be see what's in the pantry. I prefer not to go to the supermarket when it's just me (unless I need cat food!) as it gives me the chance to use up stuff that's in the pantry or freezer. Tonight will be soup or steamed mini dimsims. I had a hankering for party pies but they were way past their use by date!! I think they were left over from One's 21st back in '05!

Tomorrow I will, hopefully, be able to start studying which will give me a bit of structure which is sadly missing in my life at the moment. It's funny, because we don't do anything really different when people are home but it's just the being alone that seems to make a difference. If anyone else was home I'd still be on my 'puter or watching telly as would the others but it's something about having another person in the house. I also have to buy Three a desk which I was going to do today but he chose to go to a friend's place really early and not come home til it was nearly time for him to go to work. And if I'm going to bloody Officeworks to buy him a desk and arrange delivery thereof, he can bloody well come with me!!

We went to a wedding at the weekend. The bride is an old friend and I was matron of honour at her first wedding many, many years ago. The bloke who was best man at that wedding was invited to MC this one.

Which might explain why he introduced the groom as the ORIGINAL one, not the one that was about to exchange vows with the beaming bride! Two filmed the wedding and we are hoping for a memorable blooper tape!!

It looks as if my parents have found a unit in a retirement village. It's actually one in the village she wanted from the beginning, sight unseen (Little Britain anyone? "I want that one!" ... and if you are a Little Britain convert then you would also understand my brother and I making jokes about being "the only insert whatever here in the village!!" .... well it helped keep US sane!)

The one that I was going to see with them this afternoon wasn't strata title according to my father. I'm pretty sure it was as I asked that question of another village run by the same company but I am not prepared to disagree with them at the moment and if either of them told me night was day I wouldn't argue. They saw this one at the weekend and put a small deposit down. After all the angst of trying to help them get their house sold ASAP so they could afford one of these places, we found out yesterday that they have enough money stashed away overseas (legally, folks! Dad worked for the British government in many places) that they can afford to buy a unit outright and sell the house at relative leisure. They will need the proceeds from the house to ensure a lifestyle and future needs (Dad doesn't qualify for an Australian pension and its associated benefits ... a bone of contention for me as he worked here and paid taxes but that's another story for another day).

Mum is looking at getting Dad one of those motorised scooter thingies so he can zip around the village. And they are only 5 minutes away from Dr. Teacher and his family. I asked Dr. T how he felt about this (as you are aware, my mother can be a tad difficult) and he offered to pick them up and bring them over here!

It will actually work out well. Firstly, Dr. T. is a bloke and mother relates better to her sons than she does with her daughter. It will also mean that we can go over there, pick the parents up and then go to Dr T's for lunch or whatever. On the other hand, they can pick the parents up and bring them here for lunch. Which will be great. Really. It will. I know I sound as if I can't stand my parents but that isn't always the case! At the moment they live nearly an hour away which means for them to come to us (or Dr.T for that matter) someone has to drive there to pick them up and drop them home (nearly 4 hours both ways) or they take a taxi which is horrendously expensive. By having them in this village we will all see a lot more of each other and things will probably become less strained.

And it's much closer for Other Brother when he comes to Melbourne.

So. Things are crusing along quite nicely. As I said to my GP today, at least my depression isn't an issue at the moment! Which, when you think about the past 3 months, is a bloody miracle. Mind you, I could just be self medicating!!!

Actually, I do feel really positive about life at the moment.

a wake up call?

Yesterday I was feeling a tad ordinary at work. A mate took my blood pressure.





170/110





Normal is 120/80 or less




And the lower reading is the scary one. ie 110 rather than 80



This is stroke material.



I told Himself. And got the "you need to do something about this .... we both do" which I interpreted as "You're a fat cow, lose weight".



I took an anti-hypertensive this morning (and will continue so to do) and felt light headed and icky all day. Same colleague took my BP today .... 140/80. Much better but explains the feeling that I was going to fall over every time I bent down.



On Monday I have a doctor's appointment. I am not looking forward to this. I know I will get the lecture about taking myself off medication, lose weight and sundry other things. The medication thing I will take the rap for but if he tells me to lose weight then he will get the "Gee, thanks for pointing out the obvious, how do you suggest I DO this?" talk.



Work is pretty good.



I am home alone ..... telly time .... my choice!!!!!