GRRRRRR

Last night I spent an hour and a half typing up my Washington post. It was brilliant: it had photos and commentary; it was both witty and insightful. It is no more. Stupid Blogger went down on me when I pressed "Publish".

If I get a chance to do so I'll redo this arvo or tonight.

In completely different news, my friend Jenny is coming this weekend. You all remember Jen? She was at the training school with me and I visited her in Vermont. I'm so excited to see her!!



But things are a little different to my original plan of showing Chicago to her....

WE'RE OFF TO PHILADELPHIA!!!

Yuhuh. How random's that? My hostdad is taking Jack to a football game (Army vs Navy) and all his college friends will be there so he'll want to go out with them after, so, how's this for desperation to get drunk: Jenny and I are going so Jack is looked after. Lol! We leave mega early Saturday morning and get back Sunday arvo. Meh, it's all good. I have no money though, cos I spent it at Washington, and this weeks' pay has been spent on my bloody medication. (Had my ENT appointment. Turns out I really AM allergic to the country!)

So yah. That's my week. My second last lit class today. I love my class and I'm going to miss it, so I baked (yeah, that's right) ANZAC cookies to take in tonight. =)

Oh, and can anyonehelp my dilema? I've applied for all B Education (Primary) degrees (I'll probably only get into Bathurst though) but I've been thinking that maybe I shouldn't teach Primary school, and maybe I should become an English and History teacher for highschool?? I'm so torn at the moment and I'm not sure if I can even change my preferences. Gotta check the UAC site...

In the meantime, if you guys are really wanting to see pics and read about what we did, click on the link on the left for Lara's blog. She's good and has put her posts up already. =) Her English is a little different but is understandable.

Ciao!

Will update later

Hey guys. Just a quick note to say that Washington was great. I'll update later this evening.

Ciao!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

So, It's now 8pm on our Thanksgiving night.

The entire day was spent getting ready for lunch/dinner at 3pm. Frances' parents came down from Wisconsin, and Frances' friends, a couple from South Africa and their gorgeous baby, also came.

Then we ate lots of yummy food, sat around talking for a bit, then started cleaning up.

The End.

I dunno. Bit of an anti-climax, especially since Frances was saying it's her favourite holiday. They didn't even do that thing they always do in the movies where before the meal they sit and all say what they are thankful for. :( I didn't even take any photos. Well, one of the table cos it was set really nicely. That's it though.

So... yeah.

I guess it allows me to use up all that un-used excitement on WASHINGTON DC TOMORROW!!!!!

Lara's coming over soon to stay the night cos we have to get up mega early. Woot!!!

Drama Drama Drama!

So last night and tonight we're staying in a hotel because the house is all fumey from the laquer (sp?) the floor people have had to put down. You know, it's great cos I have so much stuff due tonight for my class (essay, need to read another 100 pages of book) and am now living out of the library.

It would have helped if the library had been open yesterday.

I got here (I'm at the library now) at 9 yesterday morning, and there's a sign saying that they're closed for the day. *shakes fist* So I had to go to Lara's, hung out there a little and then went to her local library for a couple of hours. Got a bit of the essay done.

Then last night was just hectic. Jack and I had to go to Starbucks after school to do his homework there because of the library being shut. Then it was just activity after activity and eventually culminated in Jack and I driving to the airport to pick up Frances (she'd gone to North Carolina the night before on business). Then I stayed up late reading the Illinois State road rules so I could do the test this morning. SO wasn't looking forward to it.

Anyway, this morning was a little slow, and I'd had very little sleep (YOU try sleeping in a room with 3 others!), so poor Jack had a very impatient au pair to deal with. Plus I was nervous about doing the test. I just didn't want to do it. I've put it off for so long. My international driver's licence has been invalid for like, 3 months now! So I dragged myself off there this morning at 9. The ID you need is nuts! I needed my passport, my social seurity card, a bill or something with my address, and the car's insurance card. I swear all I needed for my NSW licence was a birth certificate or passport!

Anyway, I paid the fee (ONLY $10!!!!!), I did the written test - it's literally a written test in that it's on paper... TECHNOLOGY PEOPLE!!! and is only 20 questions long- and then comes the driving test.

OH MY GOD!

Guys, no wonder there are so many bad drivers here. Seriously, we drove around for 5 minutes. The guy told me what to do, as in, WHAT TO DO! Like, there's this weird thing when you park on the curb where you have to, depending on whether you're parking up hill or down hill, angle your wheels in a certain direction. I had completely forgotten what I'd read about this last night, but the guy's like, "Turn your wheel this way, a little more, now, ease it forward a bit" etc. Why can't they be that helpful in the NSW tests? Oh, that's right: THEY WANT PEOPLE WHO CAN ACTUALLY DRIVE TO BE OUT ON THE ROADS.

Really, I left there feeling very worried about my road safety. It makes me wonder just how bad the people who fail must be...

So that took me 4 hours, and now I'm off to finish my essay, read my book, and DIE. :P

Love you all!

Technical Difficulties

So, between yesterday and today my blog was down for some reason. And now it's just working. Very odd.

Whatevs. I'll take what I can get.

So it's early (9:20am) and we have people here that are making a big cabinet/wall think downstairs and stripping the carpet in the loungeroom and putting wood it. They're going to be here all week and we might need to stay in a hotel overnight on Tuesday or Wednesday because of the fumes.

Of course this is the week my essay's due.

I also have an appointment with an ENT specialist today. Yay.

One last thing: It's so sad about Belinda Emmett's death. I heard about it on Friday night and called nan because I know she really loved her. She's been sick for so long so I guess it's for the best...

A Lesson On German

Hey guys.

So last week I was feeling completely overwhelmed. I decided it was not a good feeling. So I cleaned my room (not that it was really messy or anything, but I had a few pairs of shoes on the ground and tidied up my dresser) and that made a big difference to how I was feeling.

I've also decided that I have to start thinking positively. This has been the hardest part because I'm just not a glass-half-full person. I also don't know what I should start thinking positively about. :P I'm nuts.

So, Friday morning I went to the airport one hour away to pick up their rellos who had come to visit, then I had to drop them off downtown at the Field Museum. I was not feeling the best (and looking the best, thanks Lara and Judith for letting me know :P) because I'd had 4 hours' sleep the night before after talking to Mary online all night. That evening was also hectic because I was the parent volunteer for Jack's Chess club and we had to go straight from there to the train station and pick the rellos up (it was POURING down so they couldn't walk home), then go home, get dressed and go to karate. It was just GO GO GO!

Anyway, last Sunday Jack had his exams for karate. Before last night he was a whitebelt with two stripes. He needed four more stripes to become an orange belt, something he told me was very had to do. Well, he got it!!! It was very exciting. I started clapping before everyone and Jack just stood there with this huge grin on his face. SO CUTE!

Anyway, we went home and had one of the lasagnes I cooked. It was OK, except that this lasagne is made with uncooked lasagne sheets, and when I was making it it didn't look finished so I put some sheets on the top, which I shouldn't have done because they didn't soften. Oh well. Eat around it.

So everything was so busy on Friday night that I couldn't go to the movies with Lara and Judith. Apparently I didn't miss much because they went to that Russel Crowe movie "A Good Day" or something like that and they fell asleep in it.

Saturday was my first sample sale. We had to put our names on the list to go there about a month and a half ago. Yeah, severely unimpressed. There were no real bargains. Sergio Rossi shoes were 75% off, but they were all ugly. Plus, I had no money. So we were there for a couple of hours. I heard two Aussie songs in a row, and I was saying to Sarah that it's so weird because they weren't internationally famous songs ("Pash" by Kate Cebrano and "Weir" by Killing Heidi) and then the vendor told us that the owners were Australian. Good on 'em for their music selections. Also heard "Island Home" by Christine Anu and a few INXS songs.

Then we went to this vintage store that Frances and Sarah had bought dresses at for their cousin's deb ball that they were going to and they had some really pretty clothes. Mostly 80s dresses though. Next door was a second-had clothing store and it was much closer to my price-range. I bought a gorgeous beanie (you'll all DIE when you see me wearing it! tooooooooo cute!) and a little cap. Lots of fun.

After this we went to Michigan Ave. By this time it was 5:30. I had planned on being home at around 2pm to hang out with Lara. Yeah, no. Went into Saks 5th Ave (saw the most STUNNING Oscar de la Renta dress... perfect for my next red carpet event, and only $8500, but I'm sure I can have Oscar send one round as a gift), then Neiman Marcus (or as Frances likes to call it, Needless Mark-ups) and Tiffany & Co. Found my engagement ring, now I just need to find a man. It was only around $7000. Pittance! If he loves me he'll work 5 jobs to make it happen!

Ended up getting home around 7:30 and went straight to Lara's. She was babysitting til 12:30 so Judith and I were keeping her company. Lara's mum had sent these Maggi mixes from Germany and it was soooooo yum! We had this creamy chicken with zucchini and carrots. Mmmm.

Bummed at her place then came home and crashed. So far that's my weekend. The family's left now on their way to the airport. Lara will be over in a couple of hours to watch some Kath and Kim then we're off to Starbucks and Old Navy.

Oh, and Frances asked Sarah yesterday if she'd be disappointed if we didn't go to Paris.... so I guess we're not going? It's nice to be kept in the loop, considering that we would be going this Saturday...

OK. And now it's time for our GERMAN LESSON!!!

OK girls and boys. It seems we've been doing everything wrong. Lara explained to me about scheisse (pronounced "shy-seh"). We have always said scheissen to mean "shit", however boys and girls, this is incorrect! Scheissen actually means "shitting". So when we say "Scheissen!" when something has annoyed us or we hurt ourselves, we are really saying, "Shitting!", which doesn't really make too much sense.

Also, we have also been saying, "scheissen hausen" which also isn't correct. It would be "schiesse haus". But it would be silley to say it in Germany because they don't use this expression and would think you've been in Amsterdam and the effects of the coffee shops haven't worn off...

So today was pretty much the only day I have this week which is like normal, as in, look after Jack for an hour in the morning to get him ready for school, then have the kids for about 4 hours in the evening. (Every other day this week is just ridiculously busy with me running bloody errands or taking people places and shit.)

Garr. I'm just so tired. Of everything.

And I'm so stressed about money. I called nan on the phone today and just started crying. I have $140 saved up for DC and I still have to pay for the hostel $60 when I get there. Plus, My meds are so expensive and I have to see an Ear, Nose, Throat guy on Monday and I don't know if I have to pay for it myself or whether my trav insurance covers it. And to top it all off, last week mum called and I mentioned her leaning me money and suddenly she's really busy and will call me tomorrow and I haven't heard from her since.

Another thing, everyone's telling me how lucky I am to be going to Paris and stuff and why aren't I excited and blah, but this money situation has me so stressed and all I can think about is that I'll need money so I can buy some bloody souveniers. Plus, my non-enthusiasm about the trip makes me ungrateful.

I'm just tired. And I think Frances is cranky because I've left a basket of laundry upstairs (the washing machine and dryer are up there) for the last couple of days. I just forgot them. Everything's clean. I just forgot they were up there.

And I have an essay due next Thursday, and Frances suggested that I spend Friday at the Museum of Science and Industry with her rellos that I have to pick up at the airport that takes 45 mins to get to Friday morning, and I said that I wanted to work on my essay a bit, and she asked if I planned on being busy between now and next Thursday, when the essay's due, meaning do it next week. I'm just tired of leaving things to the last minute. But I said, no you're right. I can do it next week. Another wasted day. Plus, I have to make two lasagnes. One for us to eat on Friday night to welcome the rellos and one to freeze and eat in two weeks' time when Frances' friends come.

Oh, and I also have to go to the parenting class tomorrow because John's out of town. So now instead of going to Lara's house for coffee and whinging, I'm here doing the required reading. So my tomorrow's gone too.

And this computer is dying and won't connect to the net, so instead of me being able to post this tonight I have to post it tomorrow. But I’m still going to date it as posted yesterday, just to be confusing.

But hey, at least the Dems have taken back the House of Reps, and Bush'll be out of office in two years' time. But I just don't care anymore.

Since when has murder been a crime?

I'm ready to kill.

I have the headache from hell. No, scratch that. Satan isn't powerful enough to give me a headache of this magnitude. Damn you, GOD!!! (Have I told you all he hates me?)

The kids are off school today and are driving me nuts. Seriously. I've been really nice to them and go out of my way to do something for them, then they decide they want even more and get cranky when I won't do it.

Does that make sense?

Example: I told Sarah last night that she should organise to do something with her friends today because she has the day off. Then she says, "Yeah, that's a good idea." Crickets chirp. WELL THEN CALL YOUR BLOODY FRIENDS AND ORGANISE SOMETHING NOW. Oh, she's waiting for Gianna to call her back. Anyway, 5 minutes ago she says, "Hey Sarah. Can you pick up my friend and take us to the Mall?" Um. NO. Firstly, it's 1pm. Jack's playdate arrives at 1:30. The mall takes 20mins to get to. Then she's annoyed because I can't manipulate time.

OK. Now she's going to invite a friend over. A friend that I have to pick up. And drop home. I'm sick of driving all her friends around. I'm over it.

Then Jack's in a shit mood to. They can all go screw themselves.

This week sucks.

Did you notice that I wrote down their full names? It's because I don't even give a shit.

And I'm swearing heaps too. Whatever.

Argh! Frustrating!

J was annoying me so much this morning. He spent ages putting his shoes on. First he was mucking about with them on his hands and sliding around the floor, then he spent 10 minutes putting them on. ARGH! So bloody frustrating! And he kept saying "You do it" and any other day I would have but yesterday I read chapter 3 of the parenting handbook (more on this later) and it talked about encouraging children by allowing them to do things themselves rather than doing it for them, which gives them the idea of being an underachiever, or something like that. Whatevs.

Then, because it's -3degC outside (but apparently feels like -7, according to weather.com), F told me to put him in a particular puffy coat with gloves and beanie. So I put him in it, and by this time he was in a bad mood having had to spend all that time putting his shoes on, and all this other stuff that he was complaining about how the coat was too thick, blah blah blah, and he threw his gloves off. Anyway, long story short, I got the shits, told him only babies act that way (I wonder what the parenting handbook would say about that?) and he ended up being totally late. I also told him that I will no longer be getting up early to make him a hot breakfast tomorrow morning because his attitude wasn't worth the effort for me, and he wouldn't be watching any TV today. Then he's like, "I want to call my mom" and I said that if he wasn't late I'd let him, and I showed him the note his mum left me instructing me to put him in that coat.

Little shit.

So yeah. That was my morning.

And now I'm on here typing instead of getting ready to go to this parenting class. Not in the mood. It's actually J-dad's class that he's been taking the past 2 weeks but he can't make this one so he's asked me to go. I don't want to. I have so much reading to do for college tonight, but I can't exactly say no. Plus, it's all going to be real parents there so I won't have any fun. And I have to watch what I say because I won't be able to say certain things because it'll probably get back to J-dad.

Please make Friday come sooner.