perfect birthday

i guess the only thing that could have made my birthday better today would be if i didn't have to go to work but i had a good day at work anyway so it didn't really matter. zac made me coffee in bed before he left and put on the new ben harper cd that he bought for my b-day (my big gift was our trip to the beach a couple weeks ago). i fell back asleep and woke up a couple hours later, opened the window and sat in bed with my (now cold) coffee, the ben harper cd playing again and the dog curled up next to me. then me and wombat took a walk along the creek to c.e.r.e.s. she had her second ever trip to the cafe there and she did VERY well (the only other dog there was at the entrance where you would normally walk in with dogs so we went around the back to see what the cafe area was like and discovered that it was just moms and toddlers and babies everywhere so wombat was safe. i sat and had an ice coffee and fed her some treats. when i got home i got to talk to my mom over messenger while i typed to 2 other friends over messenger. that made me a bit late for work but i figured i could get away with being a bit late anyway cuz its my birthday. my co-worker got me a great gift: honey nut cheerios (my favourite breakfast cereal and there's only 1 place i know to get them in melbourne-- an american foods shop in bentleigh), maple syrup, organic chocolate bars and a cute wooden desk calendar (and a homemade card with a picture she drew of wombat). she also made me a cake (her first cake from scratch!!) and drew a maple leaf in red icing on it (i took a pic but i left it on the work camera-- hopefully someone will download it for me tomorrow cuz i have my r.d.o. so i won't be at work til monday!!). the kids were great (they've been exceptionally great the past 2 afternoons). we got out a few min early and we rode home without having to turn our bike lights on for the first time this (almost)spring (both me and my co-worker were very excited about that). zac booked a flexicar and took me out to dinner at white lotus (vegetarian mock meat chinese food with an AMAZING fish dish). the best part of today was definitely the weather-- i don't like having a winter birthday but today the weather here was the same as back home (25C here, 26C in victoria/vancouver)! its supposed to drop overnite (its still 20C now and the wind that we've had all day has died down) and tomorrow's high is only 15C with rain (its still a clear starry sky now). i was hoping to bbq to celebrate my canadian birthday and also our 1 year being engaged (we had bbq the nite zac proposed).
technically its just early in the morning on my "real birthday" (canadian time) so

refashioning

i finished this last week (i started it ages ago and then just never bothered to attach the sleeves until then). its taken me a week to post cuz i wanted to get a picture with it on but i haven't bothered so i thought i'd just put the pic i had. i was a long sleeve women's extra large top. i bought the pattern for it and chopped the shirt into pieces and resewed it. its got a few minor flaws and the piece around the neck was very difficult because the pattern was just 1 piece for the front and 1 for the back but i didn't have fabric scraps big enough by that point (i kinda cut the big pieces out funny) so i had to stitch 3 pieces together for both the front and back bits (hard to get them the right size-- and there's actually 2 for the front and 2 for the back plus interfacing inbetween). it'll be good enough for work though (i think i might wear it tomorrow). i've also finally fixed up the sleeves on a jacket that drive me insane (they're a bit too short and most of my long sleeve tops have really long arms that end up comming down about 6 inches past the jacket sleeve). i added a piece on the end of the jacket sleeve and put an elastic in it to help hold shirts inside the jacket.

warm evening

saturday nite (after the great day outside) we had our friend's 30th birthday-- a crazy hat party

it was a perfect evening for it too (especially cuz they're unit isn't huge so its nice to use the back courtyard area for parties too). funny cuz his wife's birthday was in january and i think that nite was the only nite we had rain for 3 or 4 weeks on either side of the nite of her party. for his party he had tarps put up over the courtyard and a gas heat lamp available but it was a nice mild (i just wore a thin long sleeve top all nite and spent most of the nite outside) and the bit of drizzle we had was later in the nite when a lot of people had left so it wouldn't have been crowded if we all had to go in then anyway (but we didn't)

the newly engaged couple-- 1 week after their engagement (august must be the month for engagements-- my coworker just got engaged the nite we were at this party and this friday will be 1 year since me and zac's engagement)

i also managed to get my margarita that i didn't get earlier in the day (when we got sangria instead). i also got a krispy kreme doughnut (mmmmmm.....extra greasy and sweet doughnut)

a cake of krispy kreme's:

the best dancing of the nite:

the perfect way to spend a summer winter day

the weather was great yesterday (and again today)! it got up to 22C yesterday and only down to 11 overnite last nite (and the nite before). i spend almost the entire day outside.

wombat loved it too:

notice the band aid on her foot-- she had a big cut in the side of the paw she keeps licking. we put a band aid on and she stopped and didn't even seem to notice the band aid. we put a new one on today and the paw is looking much better already ("i have this cut [on my paw] and i keep tounging it and that's just making it worse..."-- the family guy).

it was perfect weather for sitting in the yard and having a beer (in a t-shirt and bare feet). we also went for a coffee at c.e.r.e.s. for the first time in ages (i refused to go to an indoor cafe cuz the weather was too nice and there's no way we'd get a seat outside at an street cafe without waiting ages).

we also went for margaritas at this great mexican pub on lygon street (well me, densise and glenda ended up getting a jug of sangria and zac had a mojito--"it's not a gay drink" and a bloody maria) cuz you have to have a summer-y drink on a summer-y day 8)

spring has come!:

the flower is the first open bud on our nectarine tree-- its gonna be overflowing again this year!

my corriander seedlings:

i also planted some more herbs and a few vegies in the garden yesterday.
today we're doing the brunswick street thing (with probably everyone else in the inner--and outer-- suburbs)

the best ebay auction ever!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130144061675

taking over my life

so i spent most of the evening creating in my head a way to screw down a new doorbell so that it couldn't be stolen so easily (definately wouldn't want a simpson's doorbell to be stolen). i also dreamt about it. i'm not obsessed at all...... i wonder if somewhere in the neighbourhood there's a kid with a box full of random doorbells.......

a great country!

i love this blog. he hadn't written much lately until today when he mentioned 2 more odd deaths/near deaths from the country where almost everything can kill you (including camels!). the other great story was a guy who sat up a tree for 7 days waiting to be rescued while crocs circled below him. at least here in the "cold" part of the country we only have a few animals that can kill you. most of the spiders aren't deadly, we don't have too many poisonous sea creatures and not too many sharks attacking, a few deadly snakes (but i have still never seen a snake in the wild, even though there are lots around our area, especially near the creek in summer).......its when you head more north that almost everything can kill you (and most of them you won't see coming until they get you cuz they're so small). but if you're not stupid and you don't pick up animals and don't put your hands into holes or dark areas (like under furniture etc) and watch for signs of animals (like croc or snake tracks) you minimize your chances of getting bit. if you do get bit (by a snake or spider) you just need to act properly (stay calm, limit movement) and seek medical attention asap. probably a lot of deaths/injuries by australian creatures could be prevented if people did the right thing to avoid being bitten (unlike this guy who somehow managed to survive stupidity)

who steals a doorbell???

not even the entire thing- just the box with the button on it (the backing bit is still attached the the wall with its screw and of course the chime part is still hanging above the door to the lounge room).
zac came back from his walk with wombat this morning and asked me if i'd brought the doorbell in (not sure why i would do that cuz even if the batteries were flat i would have just left it out there until i actually was gonna sit and replace the batteries). it was there yesterday afternoon/evening cuz zac forgot his keys at work (something that can happen if you ride a bike and store the bike in the building at work unlocked). luckily i'd come home from work with a HORRIBLE headache about an hour earlier so he rang the bell to be let in (i was pretty annoyed at the time cuz my head was pounding) but it was definately there then. now its gone. why would someone take it (or even think of taking it-- you wouldn't know if it was the wireless kind until you came up the driveway to the door)? i feel bad about telling the landlord cuz he just installed it about 6 months ago after our original (wired) doorbell died. maybe now i can get zac this doorbell (i sold some on ebay a while ago and zac was very jealous that he wasn't getting one). still pretty annoyed that someone would steal part of a doorbell.

update- mentioned it to one of my co-workers. her reaction: someone stole ours a month ago!!!
funny thing is, she lives on the same street as us, about 5 min walk down the road. i'm sure its a couple bored teens who think its pretty funny.

beach trip!!

zac took me and wombat down to the point lonsdale for the weekend for my birthday (which isn't for another 9 days but we have plans for this weekend and then we have to give zac's dad his ute back after the weekend). we stayed at this really great b&b that was dog friendly. we spent saturday afternoon checking out a couple things around barwon heads for the wedding and then we took wombat to a beach in point lonsdale for a run (on lead). sunday we had to try a couple beaches to find one without a hundred dogs off lead but eventually we found a great pull-out along 13th beach with just a couple surfers. wombat got to do lots of running lead and muzzle free!

she's still not too sure of water but she will go in a bit if there's a ball (or a piece of seaweed) for her to get

exhausted at the b&b-- she pretty much crashed after we finished dinner and barely moved the rest of the evening.

we'll definately have to go back to the beach again soon (especially now that its gettting warm)

the real crazy cat lady!!

the crazy cat lady really does exist-- she lives in a flat in moscow with 130 stray cats!!! there's a great video on the link.

saving a life.....again

yesterday afternoon i made my second donation to the blood service. it was a bit easier (and faster) than the first time. i think the worst part of the whole thing is getting my finger pricked to test my hemoglobin levels before i can donate-- that finger is still sore but my arm is fine. i'm glad i worked the morning yesterday instead of the afternoon (the bourke st. donation centre started opening late on tues and wed so i could make an afternoon appointment). when i asked people how yesterday afternoon went they just kept talking about kids running everywhere and getting picked up at 6pm on the dot (technically they're supposed to be gone by 5:55 but we've got a couple parents that come in at 6--or later--or come at 5:50 but wanna stay and talk about their lives for 10 min while their children mess up everything we've just packed up for the nite). i guess that's a small benefit of donating blood-- its an excuse to not have to deal with that for an afternoon. the donating is easy-- hop on a tram for 15 min (i could bike but i'm a little scared to bike home after just cuz i do have a tendency to pass out for no reason and lacking blood/fluids would probably make it more likely), fill out a questionnaire at the donation centre, have a quick interview with a nurse about my answers on the questionnaire (to make sure i'm eligible and it's safe for me to donate) and have my blood pressure and hemoglobin tested, hop in a chair, pull out a book, sit back and relax while they poke a needle in and turn on the machine. when its finished (about 10-15 min i guess) i get down, go to the snack bar and relax with a couple glasses of juice and a muffin before heading off.

extremes

i think we're starting to head into spring. for the last several days we've been getting extremes where its really cold (close to freezing a couple times) overnite and then mildly warm during the day (really nice in the sun-- yesterday i kept shedding layers while i sat with some kids in the sand pit. i was almost down to just a t-shirt when a small cloud blocked the sun for a couple minutes and made me put a couple more layers on). we've been getting lots of really windy days too (what happens in spring). a couple more weeks and i think the overnite lows will be warm enough that we don't have to use the heater in the evening/morning anymore!!

little wallaby

this year when wild action did their presentation at work i didn't get to hold the snake or croc (i think i was gonna get a turn with the croc but it was getting fussy so the guy decided to put him away and let him rest). on the monday presentation i walked in just as the woman was cleaning up. my co-worker told me to to have a look in the pink bag. the woman handed the bag to me and said to take care of it for a few min while she was packing up. i opened the bag and this little head looked up at me. she was soooooo cute! funny cuz at first i didn't know what it was (just a tiny little face with big eyes and ears-- the body was all wrapped up in towels) but then i figured it was a little wallaby in an imitation pouch. she was so cute!

wrong number

i had the weirdest call on my mobile this evening. it was a a number that had the caller id hidden. when i answered it a woman with a strong indian accent was yelling into the phone at me asking who she was speaking to. i knew right away it was a wrong number so i told her. she kept insisting that it was the right number because she'd gotten it from her associate or someone (she was yelling so much i had to hold the phone away from my head and i couldn't understand it because it was distorted. i tried to ask her who she was trying to reach and i think she said some guy's name. i just repeated a couple times that it was the wrong number (and she kept insisting it wasn't) then i hung up. a couple minutes later the phone rang again with caller id withheld so i just forwarded it on to my voicemail. i figured if it was someone i wanted to talk to they would leave a message or txt me and if it was the woman again she would get my voicemail message saying that she's reached shawna (not amann or whatever she said the guys name was). its always a bit weird when someone calls you you by accident and then insists that they have the right number and you're the wrong person (zac used to get calls every month or so with someone looking for frank and they kept insisting that they were calling frank's mobile and they wouldn't believe zac that there was no frank there and it was not frank's number).

quarter of a century

we celebrated our friend amed's 25th birthday last nite. this guy is amazing. he came to australia 5 years ago on a temporary protection visa from iraq. he apparently didn't know a word of english when he arrived-- i find this hard to believe because he speaks english as if he's been speaking it most of his life (a girl last nite knew him when he first arrived and she assured me that he didn't know a word when he came to her!!). he's been through horrible, unimaginable things in his life but despite all of this he is quite a positive person. he's also extremely caring and shares all he has (which isn't much by a lot of people's standards but for someone who came to australia with absolutely nothing, what he has now is a lot and he loves to share it with his friends). it was amazing at his party last nite. we were in the upstairs of a resturant and he had about 30 friends there (all of whom he refered to as his "wonderful brothers" and "beautiful sisters"). not many of us knew eachother beforehand but everyone we talked to there was really interesting and it was kinda cool that we were all connected thru amed (and at least 1 person came down from canberra for his birthday!!). he's a great guy. before he even knew me he gave zac small gifts to give to me and he's bought wombat gifts too (he's still never met her but he always asks about her). he always insists on paying when we go out for coffee. before zac left his old job he got the ball rolling for amed to get into public housing. just a couple weeks ago he moved into a commision flat near here and he's loving it! he's a pretty amazing guy and i'm looking forward to our next coffee or dinner with him.

overheard at work

my co-worker overheard this conversation between a few girls sitting together at work the other day.

child 1: when i grow up i want to be a kinder teacher so i can work with teacher 1 (a.k.a. my co-worker) and teacher 2 (the morning teacher)

child 2: you won't be able to do that because they'll be dead by then

teacher 1 (who overheard her name and started listening to the conversation): i'm only 26! i won't be dead then!

child 1: oh. well teacher 2 will be (she's in her low 5os)

teacher 1: i'll think she'll still be around too

child 1: yeah, maybe

clever girl

i think wombat is one of the smartest dogs in the world but i am a little bias 8) last nite she was curled up on the couch sleeping. i got up to get ready for bed and i asked her several times if she needed to go outside (usually if she needs to go, she'll get up and run to the back door when you ask her about going outside). she just ignored me. i went and opened the back door (sometimes she'll get up when she hears the squeak of the handle). no dog. i went back to the lounge room and she was laying with her head proped on the arm of the couch so she could see me. i asked her again "do you need to go outside or do you just want to go to bed?" she stared at me for a few seconds then got up, stretched and trotted off to the bedroom. i went in to praise her for being a good girl and she was up on our bed where zac was reading. zac took her collar off and i walked out of the room. when i came back in a few minutes later she was all tucked in under her blanket fast alseep. zac said that after he got the collar off and gave her a cuddle he just said "ok, now you go to your bed" and she got up, jumped off the bed and curled up on her own bed (and zac tucked her in). usually if she goes on to our bed when she goes to bed it requires a lot of pulling and struggling and resistance to put her on her own bed (and usually after several minutes and failed attempts we give in and she sleeps with us all nite). she's very smart and she knows what to do when she wants to do it.

improvement

the last 3 days i've had great walks with wombat. she's behaved pretty well with other dogs and only gone stupid briefly once or twice. she's been really good at just sitting when we see (or hear) other dogs (sometimes before i even ask her to) and then i just feed her treats and talk softly until she's realizes the dog won't hurt her. she whines a bit but doesn't try to get to them. a few times she's barely even taken notice of them. today i took her to the dog run to play fetch. we haven't done that in ages! i don't think she touched her ball once but she had a lot of fun running back and forth and sniffing all the new smells around the grass. we saw several dogs (and a cat) on the way down and she just listened to me and sat. once while i was getting her to cross the road because of a small dog coming towards us she started to go stupid in the middle of the road. i just yelled "hey!" and she stopped, heeled and then sat when we got to the other side of the road. she barely took notice of dogs barking behind fences. maybe there's hope for her yet.

$2500

on his blog the journey, rodney mentioned that ashwin is giving away $2500 to one lucky blogger just by mentioning his blog. so here it is:

Over at Ashwin’s blog, you will find one crazy blog owner!! You can win
$2500!! To enter just copy this text and paste it in your blog!! But hurry, this
competition will not last long! So get posting.

lazy girl

chillin' with zac

taking over the bed (this is where she is right now). she's laying across the bed instead of straight down the middle so i was sleeping in a little ball for the last hour or so before i got up. its hard to move her when she's sleeping. she's dead weight. i tried, gave up and went back to sleep curled up.

4 down, 1 to go

its almost friday!! i haven't been this excited for a weekend in ages! i'm exhausted and i still have one more day to go. we've had 2 staff in our room sick this week (and 1 is still sick!) so i've been covering a lot of those shifts along with the teacher who usually works just mornings with the kids (fortunately her and i work really great together-- we worked at another kinder together-- and we had really relaxing quite afternoons). we've also had a casual coming in the days she couldn't do long days (plus she has a lot of planning to catch up on since that's what she normally does in afternoons). the casual was AMAZING. we've had great afternoons with her (and the kids have been really good too). hopefully we'll be able to get her any time we need a qualified reliever. i've put in a lot of extra hours though so everything else has been getting put off (laundry-i'm getting REALLY low on clean clothes; dishes- its been my turn to do the dishes since tuesday- they're still there and the pile keeps growing; buying food-- like i mentioned in the last post, we're down to random bits but zac was good enough to get some bread and soy milk so at least i can have a proper breakfast tomorrow and then i'll get some more stuff before work.......). we've had stuff on almost every nite too which hasn't helped. we saw the simpson's movie (that was pretty funny) and a movie about ian curtis (joy division) that was on as part of the film festival. zac's jamming tonite (i'm glad i quit cuz i'm too exhausted to do that. i think i'm gonna shower and be in bed by 8 tonite). 23 hrs and work will be over for the week (and hopefully my co-worker gets better over the weekend cuz i'd be nice to have her back next week).

flat out like a lizard drinking

australia has some weird slang but i feel just like that lizard this week. i'm going into work 3 hrs early today (for the second time this week) and this is my breaky:

(macaroni and vegetable soup)

we've got to the point of just random bits and pieces of food. i've also kinda run out of coffee (not good). this morning i had canadian maple flavoured coffee but because i need something in it to make it slightly creamy and there's no soy milk i had to add cocoa powder-- chocolate maple coffee (not the greatest). lunch is gonna have to be falafel from the take away place (for the second time this week).

i was gonna post more but wombat is yelling at me (seriously!) so i think i'm gonna have to go play with her and post later

i gotta be at work in 25 min anyway and i haven't gotten dressed