Ms Fifikins

It is 36 hours since the Australian Labor Party elected a woman to be its parliamentary leader and therefore prime minister of this country.

I am thrilled beyond belief because I have heard Julia speak and read her policies and she makes sense. Well on most things. I have been voting for over half my life now and it has only been recently I have realised that I am never going to find a politician or party whose ideals and policies I agree with 100%. I have to decide which are the things I can live with or live without. And then the things I can’t live with, what are the options. I am not at all keen on the Internet Filter or on the ALP stance on Asylum Seekers, however if it means this and I need to lobby my local ALP members then this is preferable than a return to the WorkChoices regime we had under the Liberal Party.

But I am not here to talk politics. I want to talk about gender. Yes, as a woman I was proud that at long last Australia has its first female Prime Minister. I loved that she was sworn in by our first female Governor General, representing our female monarch. But there is so much more than gender that I was proud about. I was of a generation where it was common for us galz to stand up at school and declare we were going to be Australia’s first female PM. It was like we were recognising that this was the last bastion of male domination over us. Yes, we had a female monarch, but perhaps we realised that we needed more.

Yesterday was a rite of passage for our country. Something that was bound to happen and once it has is celebrated and then just is. A turning point, yes, but more something we needed to get to before we could move on. Perhaps a bit like hitting puberty- your first menstruation or wet dream. You remember it, but they still keep happening and become normative. Yesterday was a great day for teh wimminz. I have no doubt Julia will be a great leader. Not because she is a woman, but because she is passionate about this country. Because she has vision and is a team player.

My jubilation at having a female PM is more than an ‘at last.’ I am proud my daughter was in Canberra and at Parliament House yesterday. She no longer has the pressure to strive to be our first female PM. She can do whatever she wants. Except perhaps be a Catholic Priest. But that’s another story. This chapter in Australia’s history goes to show our kids that they can do anything. Hard work and dedication is rewarded.

Again to the women of generations past, thank-you for fighting. For showing us what was needed. There may still be glass ceilings and we need to never lose sight of this, but we live in a time now where we are less discriminated against because of gender. So we acknowledge the past and celebrate the future. Because the future looks good.

This week’s My Place and Yours theme from Hello Owl is ‘3 Things you do everyday.’

Doing things everyday would kinda mean you had some kind of routine. Yes, I pack the kids lunches most days, and some days I do some laundry. I feed the fish and the rat and teh kittehs! And I play with the said kittehs if they are in the mood! I like to veg on my hammock if I have time…

I think the closest I came to each day was showering and toileting… And I’m not going to snap pictures of either! Then there’s food, and you can see what I am consuming each day over here!

Most days I check in on my Zombie Farm… as you do!

it’s actually doing rather well, even if it looks a little cluttered! I could actually link to a lot of the apps I use on a day to day basis, but perhaps that is not really what I want to dwell on when I think of My Place and Yours!

So I got to thinking of the things I do on a semi-regular basis. Some people might laugh, but I do sometimes make my bed…

if only so the cats can use it as their bathroom…

I also try and take care of my pots and my plants. It is quite relaxing standing with the hose (on the right days of the week for our side of the street, or else attached to the bore!) and watching these plants bloom and grow.

MIML™ convinced me to start watering my staghorns and I am so glad he did! They are positively blooming!

This is my sort of kitchen garden!

And this…

is my blooming chillis!

Upstairs I have my hanging baskets…

Perhaps not everyday watering, but enough watering! And that is what is needed.

I remember doing a teaching prac with year 3 kids when Immy was in Prep. I thought they were so old and wondered if some of the ‘childish’ things I did with them were too young. Now Japs is in year 4 and he loves some of the songs I sang with them and games we played.

When Immy was in Prep I remember seeing the year 7 kids go off to Canberra for their annual trip. I thought they seemed so old. So mature. So ready for high school. Tomorrow Immy leaves for her week in the cold. I am trying to work out if she seems older than the kids from 7 years ago. I suspect she does. Heck, she is as tall as me and has bigger feet- she can act her age and her shoe size!

I wonder if part of this trip is to give parents a rest from the adolescent behaviour. If so, the teachers deserve medals!

Anxious to see her go, yes, but also proud. Proud at her excitement. Her zest for learning. She is dying to see Parliament House and the War Memorial and can hardly wait for their day at the snow. These are kids who have grown up in the tropics and unless they have gone south at Winter have never worn more than 2 thin layers of clothing! Immy has never been to the snowfields. She may have seen a bit of snow on an England trip on January.

I am jealous. I have some awesome friends in Canberra and I wish I was going down to catch up with them. I wish I could spend 2 and a half hours at the National Gallery. I wish I could go to Questacon after hours!

From year 3 they have been on camp. Usually 2 nights away. This is longer. Plus she will stay on and catch up with her paternal grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins. I am thrilled for this as she hasn’t seen them for a while. But I am still a little anxious. For 5 nights teachers will be with her 24/7 and see her moods and her behaviour. So many times I have been told they are so different at school to home. Not sure how they will be away from both. With their friends. With those they don’t get along with. With kids from the other campus who have reputations they haven’t deserved. I have reminded Immy that even though she has been told that the year 7 girls from the other campus are bitches, they have probably been told that the year 7 girls from her campus are bitches too!

She will be fine. She will have a ball. I know that. Japs, MIML™ and I are trying to work out what foods Immy won’t eat to gorge on them whilst she is away. It will definitely be quiet. It will be good. For all of us.

Enjoy yourself, Im! Take lots of photos and be open minded! This is all part of the growth process. Part of growing up. In another 7 years you will have left school. You may be at uni, you may be travelling, but I hope you will still be learning, just as I am.

Thanks to this kind soul for sharing this which will be the awesomeness for today…

For added effect, I suggest you click here

I’m getting in early, seeing this week’s My Place and Yours isn’t up on Hello Owl yet, but the lovely Linda at This Monkey’s Life has started the ball running!

Treasure. Interesting. There are lots of things around my home that I treasure. I treasure the solitude of lying in my hammock and being. I treasure time spent with the kids. I treasure time spent with MIML™ doing stuff or faffing. I treasure those mornings where I do get up early and sit on the deck with a cuppa preparing for the day ahead. I don’t do that last one often enough. Maybe tomorrow I will start it again.

Perhaps one of the reasons I don’t seem to get up and have a cuppa is choosing the right brew can be a challenge. You see I have so many treasures when it comes to my tea shelf! See:

Here’s a close-up of some down the other end…

And behind this front row…

Yep, my big tins! I actually have a system now- I work my way down the teas unless I have an absolute craving for a particular variety, usually a green or really flavoured tea. Don’t get me wrong, I am a user of coffee too, but I usually limit my coffee to going out, or sometimes a plunger in the mornings if I am at home. I drink tea all day round. I have bags at work and MIML™ has a collection almost as big as mine.

I don’t think I’d go as far as saying the tea is my treasure, as it something that can easily be replaced, however the art of making the tea and sharing it with others or taking time to enjoy it myself, that is the treasure.

I have seen many bloggers of late promoting the value of fat acceptance (of which two have been linked here.) I am concerned, however that people are getting confused with body acceptance and healthy living.

I have read people of my shape and size (let’s just say I can’t buy clothes off the rack in most stores unless they cater for the size 16+ market) promoting the need to accept yourself for who you are. And I believe strongly in this too. I bemoan, however, those that then get angry with people wanting to change their body shape or size.

There is no doubt that obesity carries serious health risks. Having a waist measurement of over 85cm for women or 100cm for men is a good measurement to calculate certain health risks. BMI has been used for years, however this does not allow for different masses of muscle and fat.

I often say I am a work in progress. My thinking has been developing over the last few years and utilising skills learnt through CBT I can see things differently. I have been encouraged to change my thinking and mould my mind. I have now chosen to change my body. Yes, I accept that I should not be discriminated against because of my shape, I also accept why it is like it is and I am choosing to make changes. I do not want to have a heart attack before I am 50. I do not want to have to fight cancer.

Buying clothes in mainstream stores will be a small benefit of changing my shape. I am not doing this because of the way I look or the way I feel, although at times I hate getting puffed doing strenuous gardening, or jumping on the trampoline with my kids. I want to be able to climb mountains and run for 5km. I want to reduce health risks that would see me in an early grave.

And why am I like this? I do not have healthy eating habits. I over indulge and eat way too much. My portion sizes are too big. Matt Preston has realised this too. He has recognised that eating 11 servings of bone marrow risotto in one sitting is not healthy! Part of me wants to think that Network 10 executives have not banned him from using Jenny Craig as dieting such as this is not the way to prolonged weight loss on the whole, rather healthy eating and exercise.

As for me, I am going to track every mouthful. As much as I hate it, it is the only way I have found to keep myself accountable. I will keep up my exercise, perhaps adding in another cardio session each week for the time being. When things settle a bit more I will restart the Couch to 5K programme.

I am all for people being accepted no matter what their shape, size, skin colour or beliefs, however I am acknowledging that if I continue in the path I have been taking then my life will be shorter than it might be otherwise. My life is good and I want to be around for as long as possible. I may find that eating until I am full and exercising regularly will probably mean I am never going to fit into Levi jeans! When I was 16 and the smallest I have ever been, my thunder thighs even then prevented me from wearing lots of clothes!

I am a work in progress- body, mind and psyche. Watch this space!

I think getting in 6 days late for My Place and Yours is better than not getting in at all!

You see, this is one of the themes I had in the back of my mind if ever I get around to posting in the right week, or posting at all, and have the chance of being chosen, so I thought I just had to contribute! Of course the theme being ‘Looking out your window’ from Karin has meant that I have had to wait until daylight hours when I am not half asleep or yelling at kids to get a jiggle on in the morning or helping with homework or cooking in the evening has been challenging!

Then I had to clean some of the windows, well the kitchen window at least…

Yes, it is rather easy to do the dishes with this view, even though I often don’t! The ‘Peace’ sign is from Soweto in South Africa. The deck has just been gurneyed!

Then I have my favourite window- the bay window in the loungeroom…

The cats love it too, especially as I have opened it this week for the first time- no more air conditioning! It’s a nice place to sit and read and contemplate and the breeze is lovely!

I had to snap a pic of my bathroom window…

I like the butterflies etc on this window. They were here when we arrived and were done with window paint- someone took time to do it and I admire their skills!

I lived in a house once where I hated most things about it, except the bedroom as it had a gorgeous East facing window that let the sun stream in in the mornings. My current bedroom has north and west facing windows. At least they have nice views…

This is the north facer which is usually closed as it has no screen and I am scared the cats are going to try and escape!

This is the west facing window again looking out onto the deck. I have considered putting in a French Door, but it would muck with the wiring!

Japs has a nice view…

It looks out into the front yard across the front verandah.

Immy also has a front hard view…

Her view is mainly obscured by a plant though which looks just glorious when it flowers! Not sure what it is of course.

The dining room window looks straight into the neighbours place and didn’t think it was appropriate to snap that!

So thanks Karin for this theme! It has been lovely to participate.

I love Saturdays. I think they are my new favourite day of the week, closely followed by Sundays and public holidays! Don’t get me wrong, I do love my job, but being able to unwind is important!

Today MIML™ and I went on a bike ride. Yes, we do that semi-regularly, but today’s was a little different… it was 220km long.

This is where we went:

View Larger Map

And it was superb riding weather! Bit of a breeze and lots of sun! After petrol we went to Port Douglas for a leg stretch, then onto Mount Molloy. Don’t get me wrong, the ride from Cairns to Port is lovely and I never cease to smile coming around the bend at Buchan’s Point seeing the ocean, but the ride up the range was almost perfect- sweeping bends, rainforrest and a lovely road surface. I even managed to get my boot on the road going around one bend! It felt great!

Charley Boorman said the burgers in Mount Molloy were the best in the world and he wasn’t really kidding! They were awesome! Look:

Yes, that is a 50c coin! I daren’t think how many eggs were used or calories consumed!

Back on the bikes to Mareeba where the temptation was to see how fast the bike could go (I got up to 125km/h when overtaking a truck being driven in a lunatic manner!) and then back down to Cairns. Yes the Kuranda Range is a pleasant ride, but nothing compared to Mossman-Mt Molloy. The good thing though was riding late in the afternoon with shadows of the bike on the road and bugs splattering over my helmet visor

Oh and the best bit… Between the two fuel stations I used 8.48l and averaged 26.01 km/l. Yeah, not bad!

The bum is fine, but the back is a little stiff, but that could be due to yesterday’s gym workout too! Next ride is going to be heading south and going Innisfail to Atherton. Might even attempt the Gillies Range…

This is another one of my 101 in 1001 tasks I can cross off.

I actually did this 11 days ago and it ha taken me all this time to work out how to report it. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience of my life.

In an ideal world I would have been organised enough to sell my car 12 months ago. But I didn’t. In an ideal world I would have used the proceeds from the sale of the car on something nice, like a new bike or a family holiday! But I couldn’t.

I was forced to sell my car to pay an important bill. And I don’t begrudge that I had to pay this bill as I am receiving a wonderful service, but I would have preferred to not have to pay it. And on this matter cryptic will I stay…

I went around selling my car the wrong way. I will admit that. Actually it wasn’t necessarily the wrong way, but not the way that was going to get me the most dollars in my pocket. I could have advertised in the local paper, or on eBay or CarSales.com.au. But I chose not to. I didn’t want people coming to my house to look at the car, waste time test driving and then deciding they didn’t want it.

That’s not the wrong way though. I made the mistake of only visiting one dealer. I suspect this used car salesman knew that if you were lubed up enough you don’t even notice when you are being so badly screwed up the backside with a rusty bollard.

I had done some research and seen how much most cars of my model and year were going for. This was a 3 year old car that had only done 24,000km. It had sat in my garage for the last 15 months as I have a work car. Yes, it did have some paint damage from going over the high gutters in Cairns and from the odd stone chip and some bat poo had left a small mark on the roof. I chose not to spend money fixing this myself. I paid to have it washed and vacuumed and it came up well.

I even had a value in my head that I was happy to accept. In the end I accepted $2,500 less than what I wanted. I was talked into selling and was really discouraged from looking around. I didn’t know how to say ‘Please, I want my keys back and I want to think about it.’ I was so desperate to pay this bill that I accepted the first offer.

Yes, it leaves a bitter taste and does nothing to enhance the reputation of used car salesmen. I suspect what I was offered was probably what I would have got elsewhere within a few hundred dollars. What pisses me is that even after the paintwork has been fixed (probably around $800 for a cut and polish?) it is now sitting in the yard $5,000 more than what I got for it. No doubt someone will buy it and get them down a couple of grand and think they got a great deal. I know even used car salesmen need to make money, but I know I have been had.

I’ll just keep telling myself that I did it the easy way!