Incorrect fact in "Light at the end of the tunnel"

sorry, but I don't know how to edit my post...Murray's not prefect, he's vice captain with Elly..he was prefect last year! Told your my brian is hazy......A small detail to you, but important to me~!

The light at the end of the tunnel

Good Morning Bloggers,
It's a lovely Saturday Morning here in the Upper Hunter. There's lots of washing to do, cleaning and tidying to be done before Vegeboy and two of his friends arrive here for the next two days for a belated birthday soiree (ie sleepover and trip to the movies tomorrow). I can't wait. He's disappointed as 2 others that he really wanted to be with him have to go to their dad's for the holidays...ah the joys of the blended family.
My brother and his family will be calling in about lunchtime on their way through to Mudgee, so I'd best get some food in, and 3yr old-proof the place. I want to go the the church bargain bazaar this morning too. They have some of the best bargains around. And yet here I sit to blog.......
Yesterday was an emotional day for us. Gorgeous Girl had her last day at school... ever....before sitting her HSC exams in 3 weeks, and we attended her Yr 12 assembly. The atmosphere was quite "full". I managed to secure a front row seat next to a lovely lady, Anna. Beloved didn't think he'd be able to get there, but came in and stood up the back not too long after it all started.
This was not a formal, stuffy, ceremony. The kids set the tone early in the piece. A child had been chosen from each of the years to give a short speech to see the Yr 12's on their way. Scorpa-boy gave the obligatory 1 minute Yr 10 farewell speech and was entertaining and well received. A number of the seniors presented a speech reflecting their feelings re the last few years; all were marvelous. The principal paled in comparison with these kids; he was monotone and boring, but has improved over the last 3 years. By the time Vege-boy leaves in 6 years, Principal Boring might be half as good as his students. GG was supposed to give a quick welcome speech to the incoming school exectutive, but time ran out, so she didn't have to. She's not worried; she will be speaking at the Formal Dinner. GG's favourite teacher, the lovely Helen, has been their Year Co-advisor, has been with this group from year 7, was on the stage with them and was teary all the way through the ceremony. All awards were handed out; GG received a Platinum award for school service (and whatever else, she's not sure; she insists she hasn't done much; oh yeah, that's why she was elected vice-captain) and 2 firsts placings in Community and Family Studies and Hospitality.
Theirs in not a large group of Yr 12s, and even though there are groups within the whole, there is no competition or animosity between them. They are extremely supportive of each other both in and out of school life. And what a talented group they are: artists, singers, musicians and musos, sportspersons, actors, engineers in the making, writers, academics and more. These kids are Great! I can't wait to see where they are in 10 years.
There are a couple of take home messages from yesterday's assembly. These from the Year Advisor (my pick from his 9);

• Girls; forgive boys from any forgetting of birthdays and anniversaries: they can't help it, they're wired that way.
• Boys; when you forget birthdays and anniversaries, remember to apologise. Actually, apologise for everything, anyway. Remember, flowers and chocolates help.
• When you want to return or exchange a product, dress well and speak politely. There was another one which escapes me at the moment. This is typical of the way my mind works these days, which frustrates me no end. I used to have a very sharp mind, with fabulous recall, and these days I find I have a haze where my recall used to be. Scary.
  

Murray, yr 12 prefect quoted this one from Sara Henderson, author of "My Year at Bullo"

• "Don't bother looking for the light at the end of the tunnel; Stride on down there and light it yourself"

Hmmmmmmmmmm.......food for thought.......Strong word,"stride"......so positive......so full 0f action...
Anna and I had to be the first parents to leave after the Yr 12s and the pair of us had the leaking eye syndrome..it made quite a few others smile....and probably cry as well....arm-in-arm we went! I still get teary when I think about it. My mother always says that I have my bladder too close to my eyes!

Enough blogging...... life must go on........Have a great weekend!

Love, Bloggie ;) <3

Watch Out! Don't go in there..........

Well........I was hunting around looking for the video remote and was groping behind & and underneath the cushions. Our furniture has been in storage for about 18months. This is what I found hidden in one recliner (besides 2 min noodle shards)........

1. 1 small metal washer
2. 1 hair elastic (GG will be pleased)
   
3. 1 'fizzer' lolly
4. the battery cover for the tv remote (this has been lost for a while) ...yay, now the batteries will stop falling out
5. 1 beer bottle top (I think these breed)
6. 1 five cent piece
7. 1 ten cent piece
8. 1 'Lowes' clothing tag
9. various fluff and hair
10. a very sharp sticking-out staple that cut my finger
    
11. and the biggest eeewwww-factor item(s)....6 'gold' chocolate coins of varying denominations. These would have been from Christmas stocking, hopefully 2004, but could be from 2002 or 2003.

Are you getting an idea of our household yet?

I told you I would never be Mother Of The Year!

Muggling........

Well, it's not too late, and I have banished all to bed...It had nothing to do with the noodles (really)... Time to share.........

• I am a Belmont girl, and was seriously affronted when some low-life tried to burn down the high school (again)
• It was a great place top grow up; a newish community, with lots of biggish families, most without much money. Due to the coal mine, there was quite a few different nationalities as well. We would always play out on the gravel street in the front of our houses, and we looked after each other. We just went home by dark.
• Mum and dad still live there, as do a lot of the original inhabitants. The usual way out is by marriage, or in the case of the parentals, morbidity. I can only think of 4 families that actually left voluntarily.
  
• Brush with fame; I saw one very close school friend and her daughter in the "Society Pages" of the Newcastle Herald on Monday. There was a guy I went to school with in there, too.
• I used to go to to music gigs as often as possible when I was young(er) ......everyone from Neil Young to Queen to Elton John to Adam and the Ants and many, many, many more...... Ahh, my miss-spent youth...wonderful......
  
• The first band I ever saw in concert was "Cold Chisel" at the Mawson Hotel at Caves Beach. I was 15 yrs old, and didn't even know who they were (nobody else did either). When I arrived home and told my mum where I'd been...I thought we were going to a party, and so did she; all she said was..."For God's sake, don't mention it to your Father"...........
• I used to think that my mum was the over-protective disciplinarian in our family. I found out later that Dad was the one making all the rules, but making mum enforce them. She used to say "Ask your Father", and he used to say "But your Mother said No". Poor Mum; it just makes me love her more.
• Weekends were mostly spent at Scottish Highland Dancing Competitions on Saturdays with Mum, and Motocross Events on Sundays with Dad. Interesting fact; Mum never missed an event with dad, and we were all expected to help him run events, but dad rarely, if ever took me to a dancing comp, and only if it was able to be combined with something or someone he wanted to see.
• I taught dancing from the age of 14 until 24. I started dancing when I was 6 & I was still competing and was preparing for my examiner & adjudication qualifications when I fell pregnant with Eloise at almost 27. I knew I would never use them again, so I stopped dancing, and I haven't missed it.
  
• I had some great fun and made wonderful and enduring friendships during this time. I still can't resist the skirl of the pipes........and the drums.....men in kilts mmmmmm......
  
• I come from a large, if rather motley family (Lisa can vouch for this). We were very close as kids, but my generation has seen this closeness dissipate. You could never be sure who was a blood relative and who was a "hanger-on" as we had so many "aunts & uncles".
• My first real job was at The Store Hospital & Medical Office; I used to make cups of tea for the General Manager on the top floor...I loved this as it afforded me a fabulous view of Newcastle Harbour, and the "Mooloobinba" floating dock. I think this where my love of Newcastle and it's harbour started.
• I would love to retire to the inner city area, and live in a penthouse apartment, preferably in the next 5 years. Any later, and I might not be able to run down the stairs in the event of a fire 'cause of my dicky knee........... I can't jump out of a window 'cause I hate heights......Guess Denman's nice.....
• I loved being pregnant, and am truly sorry that I will never have the pleasure again of growing a baby inside of me, and to give birth. Birthing a baby is the most generous , yet selfish experience that a woman can have.
  

That's enough for one night; As Iky Solomon say's in "The Potato Factory"; "You've got to leave a little salt on the bread".

Love to you all & goodnight,
from the Blogmuggler ;)

Using your noodle........

Well, that's it! I've had enough! There will be NO MORE!! They are Banned!! I am waging war on .........

2 minute noodles!

I don't care whether they're Maggi, Homebrand, No Frills, Fantastic or Mamee. There will be no more of these shocking packets gracing my pantry cupboard. My boys love to eat these, not in their cooked, hydrated state, but in the dry, crispy fresh-out-of-the-packet state, and I cannot cope with their gradual infiltration into my life! I come home from work, and the sickly sweet smell greets me as I open the door. On the kitchen bench will be 2 or 3 or more empty packets, with opened seasoning sachets and cut off tops strewn on the benchtop, dependent upon how many dried noodle purveyors arrived home with my boys. Today there were 3; packets, sachets and bowls with noodle dregs left in them. And little shards of noodles EVERYWHERE!!!! On the bench, on the floor in front of the bench, on the floor on the dining table side of the bench, on the dining table, on two of the dining chairs, on the floor under the table, and in a pair of shoes that were under the table. Then there was a trail that I followed over to the computer.......I tell you I am over them!....And then there's the litre or so of milk which must be consumed to counteract the salty effects of the seasoning! And the glasses with the dried on milk dregs and empty, but unrinsed plastic milk bottle left laying around.............don't even get me started on that one.......

Ah, that's better.........Lisa told me that it was good to blog....and that it helps to share.......mind you, it's not the first time I've said these things......


Thank you for letting me vent......

Love, Bloggie ;)xoxoxo

Lazing on a Sunday

Good Morning Bloggers!

8.00am Sunday morning and all's quiet. The washing machine is rattling & humming (could be a song title there). It's hot already. Beloved has gone to work; it's his 5th day in a row, and he will work for another 6 at least, maybe more. He works as a contractor in a mine site, the mine is having a shut down for the next 12 days, and all leave has been cancelled, with shifts operating around the clock. I guess we won't see much of him over the next week or so. Goodness knows how he's supposed to sleep when we live in a shed. The kids have bedrooms in the house, and I think one of them will have to give up their bedrooms during the non-working hours for the cause. I'm also guessing that it will be scorpa-boy, as the cause is motobike adventures, anyway. I might whinge about him, but Beloved does work hard to provide for us (and the motorbike cause).
Ho, Ho! I almost spat my cup of tea out a minute ago. The newsreader reported that Osama Bin Laden had died from a serious case of typhoid....Serious case of typhoid!... it doesn't get much more serious than DEATH.... sorry, that's my weird sense of the absurdly funny....A Rex Mossop moment...
Gorgeous Girl has 4 days of school left (who's counting?) ..forever...and is well into her HSC preparations. Friday night was spent researching her favourite band, 'Thursday', and updating Messenger and MySpace. Saturday she went to work, then to Greta to a rock gig that her friends were playing at (full-on HSC preparation for them too), and then they were going onto her bestie, Pat, 18th party last night. I expect she will be home sometime today.
Much to my surprise, Scorpa-Boy has arisen. After listening to me type (and re-type) he asked me "what are you doing...blogging?". After my affirmation and statement that It had been a few days, he left the shed with a defeated and resigned air of someone who knows that they're not going to be able to use the computer for ages . "Too bad, my turn", I think.
I think it might be time for a new keyboard. Aside from my very poor typing skills...I knew that I should have gone to secretarial school like my dad said...the keys are quite tired these days, and often the keys may have to be struck a number of times or a bit hard to get them to work (and to thing I've been berating GG for being so hard on the keyboard... oops, sorry baby).
Vege-Boy had a sleepover at his friend, Kane's place last night. In between my numerous taxi duties yesterday, Rhys had his football presentation BBQ, and suffered the indignity of being blamed for something that was not his fault. In the middle-of-the-day heat, about 50 kids were playing non-tackle footy, but with the added rule that tackling is ok, as is rolling around in the dirt, weeds and bindiies. My wrestling-manaic-Vege-Boy is probably the biggest boy in the club, and spends a lot of his time dragging around 4 or 5 kids on his back. One particularly nuggety 9 yr old appears to have made his mission in life to "knock the big guy down" at any opportunity. He's the biggest kid in his year, but has small man syndrome (as does his father), already. So, anyway, this kid manages to change the mood of the occasion, by launching himself at Rhys, head down, shoulders forward, flat strap. Rhys, in self-preservation mode, put out his arm to fend the nugget off and pushed him backwards onto the kid behind (Kane), resulting in the nugget landing on the ground, and I think, with Kane's foot greeting his ribs. The now agro-nugget, came up swinging at Rhys, who was desperately trying to keep his at arm's length, pushing him back onto the ground in the process. I walked out to rescue whomever, Rhys was looking shocked and apologetic and agro-nugget was mildly winded, dusty & bindii-encrusted but ok. Enter agro-nugget's dad, who, after making sure his son wasn't mortally wounded and instructed him to get up (Why do men always do that; indignity is better when you're below eye level; and what if he had been hurt?), and asked his boy what had happened. His baby tried to stand, holding onto his ribs, wobbled a bit on his knees, and said in accusatory, teary voice; "Rhys hurt me!". Dad then walked over Rhys then commenced upon a diatribe about not picking on littler kids, he should have known better, making allowances for them and never, ever fighting when playing footy. Poor Rhys was gobsmacked, still trying to apologise, and becoming teary, at which point I instructed him to go and sit inside for a while. Talk about the walk of shame. Agro-nugget's coach came rushing out then, worriedly asking whether the nugget was "right". I walked back in with the nugget's dad, apologised for the "injury" to the nugget, and commented that it was going to be interesting in 10yrs when the boys were at the pub together. His reply "Boys are boys, but you just don't fight when you're playing footy". I don't think he's realised that I didn't actually aplogise for Rhys' actions, just that the nugget was hurt. Thickhead. I was only a step behind Rhys, and I wanted to slap some people for the looks and comments that were made (Me, Lioness!!). I told my bravely-trying-not-to-cry-baby that I had seen everthing, and that I knew what had really happened, and that I thought he had done the right thing, but it wasn't worth getting into an argument over. I was proud of him; he had handled the situation with all the maturity that a newly-12 yr old could muster. We all know that the nugget has a bit of a problem at times. I have to work with his mother in close quarters, so I'm not looking forward to this week. Gorgeous girl said I should have stuck up for Rhys more, but honestly, I just wanted the presentation finished and over, and at this point it hadn't even started! If it comes up in a negative way at work, then the truth will out!! Ah, the joys of living in a small town... As one wise parent said to me, and I quote "Don't worry about him (Nugget's dad). He's a cock. My dad told me don't get too excited about kids' fights...kids forget about it, but parents seem to hold a grudge". Too true...Anyway, Rhys got on with the business of being A Member Of the Under 12 Denman Devils, and then had a good afternoon with Kane, a fellow-wrestlemaniac.
Video hits is on behind me, and OMG, there is a clip on for "Boytown", which is a parody of the whole boyband thing; tight leather, more-than-metrosexual hair gel, black and white ambience, doves, rain, backstreets in a seedy neighbourhood, all sung by the over 30 and 40 Oz comedians Glenn Robbins, Mick Molloy (in TIGHT leather), pommy Bob who usually works with Jimoin and 2 guys from "Comedy Inc"....very funny...evidently it's from a movie of the same name. I will probably watch it when it comes out on DVD. Aussie humour, unique as it is, for some reason never quite seems to get right when it comes to sitcoms or movies. Not since the 80's, anyway.
Anyway, my plan for the day is this;

• Washing; about 5 loads should pull me up
• Attack the 15m x 4m cactus garden down the western boundary. Why, why, why did anyone ever think that's cactuses belong anywhere other than the desert? And then to let them escape from the pots...I'm telling this new, "Sculptural Garden" generation, BEWARE THE CACTUS!
• Clean up enough to appease the Gods
• Finish Blogging to appease Scorpa-Boy who has re-arrived and keeps asking "are you still blogging Mum?" and commenting "Jeez, Mum". He also wishes he had a much musical talent as Paris Hilton...He has the same tongue-in-cheek affliction as his mother. He has an "assignment" to do.
• Look forward to a re-cap of GG's afternoon/night out. I really am a cow.... I want to know how Bestie-Pat's girlfriend coped with GG's presence all night...green, green, green.......
  

It's 10.15am, so off to the laundry I go...at least it will dry quickly. I need to publish this so I can bore you with it. I apologise for the spelling and typos..my mind and fingers aren't on the same page...I hope it made sense. It's turned into quite a dissertation, hasn't it?

Enjoy your Sunday...it's very hot, so drink lots of water....or whatever floats your boat.....

All is as it should be...

Love, Cyndy ;)xoxox

Gorgeous girl and pinkness

Gorgeous girl (gg) has just come swanning through the door so I can drive her to the bus stop. She looked at the previously completed blog, then at the empty table, and exclaimed;
"WHAT, I'VE GOT TO GET MY OWN LUNCH!"
me: "Well, you wanted me to blog"
gg: " Urrghh, grumble, grumble. Well what am I going to eat?"
me: "You cook in hospitality anyway, don't you?"
gg: "mmmffff. What can I microwave these noodles in? I'll take these dried apples, too" This was a whole packet. As we walked out the door, my comment: "I blog, therefore I am".
gg's comment: "I am pink, therefore I am Spam. You warm the car up".
I do. Two trips into the house and shed later: "Did you pick up my hospitality folder?". Back into the shed, and she returns with her folder. Off we go, into the wide, blue yonder.............
Vegie-boy made his own lunch.............
I re-iterate; I will never be mother of the year.................
Pink is my favourite colour....never guess by the blog background would you......................

Love, the pink Bloggie ;) xoxo

Did you know that the sun is up at 5.15am? That's the time that I waved goodbye to Beloved and scorpa-boy this morning. Scorpa is actually the manufacturer of the motobike that Jack rides, and today they have taken a day off from their respective usuals to go to a motorcycle park on the banks of the Hawkesbury River to ride their bikes. There is another purpose to their day of leisure; scorpa-boy is actually quite proficient at his chosen sport, and became the NSW junior mototrials champion last month. He has a sponsor; the scorpa importer (he was the aforementioned gorgeous man who belly-flopped in the previous posting) decided to help us out with the some of the costs associated with this sport. I still have reservations as to whether it really helps us out; we purchased the latest model bike at cost (did we really need to have a new bike?), and he has supplied Jack with 2 sets of riding gear, ie, pants and a jersey. I'm not sure, but maybe the endless list of accessories and parts needed for the bikes are supplied a bit cheaper too. Anyway, the purpose of todays excursion was to photograph scorpa-boy in his new set of riding gear so that the supplier can use Jack in his ads for the product. There is a young woman on his team as well, but I'm not sure if she will be there today. The rush is to get his product out there before the Aussie titles, which are being held near Perth next month. The boys are attending without me, so expect some suitably black postings while they are away. So, for them, another tank full of petrol used, a day off work and school; school certificate exams are soon, but so what. Who knows what doors may open as a result of this? That's what I'll keep telling myself, anyway.

Oh, and some more good news. The bike that Beloved wants to replace is having a near-death experience, really, and is going to cost a sum of money with multiple zeros to repair. He is very depressed, as he knows that the replacement bike isn't really an option, and that cash is a bit thin on the ground with the trip to Perth almost here. We also had to buy a battery and replace a tyre on the car yesterday; a major service is due before the Big Trip as well...............Bet you're glad I'm bloggin now............

At least I've caught up on a bit of telly this morning. Can you believe that there is a religious organisation called "The World Changers Church International"? The co-ordinator of this church is the very charismatic Dr Creflo A. Dollar, who is aided by his very lovely and persuasive wife, Taffi L. Dollar. Surprisingly, they have books and DVDs for you to buy, and life changing conventoins for you to attend. Oh, and you can donate money to help the needy as well. Remember, as Dr Creflo A. Dollars says; "Fear is the instrument of the Devil", and "Fear is the Enemy of Change" .

I prefer Denny Crane, from "Boston Legal", who says; "The secret of life is pulling a rabbit out of your hat", and "What's the point? You don't ask questions like 'what's the point?', that'll kill ya. What's the point?.....That is the point.".

So that's my morning so far.........It's your own fault....You asked..........

Love and sunshine, Bloggie;) xoxoxo

Are 24 hrs in a day enough?

Well, a quick word before I head off to work. In the last fews days I have;
Payed $70 for a haircut (which one), colour and foils, and I'm not sure that it was worth it. It was the first time in the shop since April, so I expected a bit more value for my money, I suppose.
Visited the doctor (lady, pregnant and pleasant) about my dicky knee and deltoid muscle for my shoulder. She referred me to a physio for assessment, and an x-ray, neither of which I have the time or money.
Washed madly on Friday and Monday to accommodate the weekend out of town, and wondered yet again if the time away is worth the fuss before and after.
Wished my divine Mother-in-law happy birthday in person on Saturday. My fabulous sister-in-law was visiting fom Canberrra as well....Double bonus!
Spent a short amount of time with my brother and his family, most of it trying to sleep on his lounge.
Walked around the tranquil bush of Arcadia, listening to the tranquil sounds of motorbikes and enjoying the very natural and inspiring odour of 2-stroke fuel as my beloved and scorpa boy rode in a mototrial competition.
Highlight of the day; watching, in seemingly slow-motion, a gorgeous 100kg male sail over the handlebars and slide on his stomach whilst riding DOWN a pile of rocks at the end of the section. Two more feet up-right, and he would have had the much-desired "Clean" ride, which means that the rider rides over the obstacles without putting his feet, or any other body part on the ground.
Wondered why husbands can't separate "Wants" and "Needs"; we live in a half renovated house and garage (this is where I'm writing), and my beloved informs me he wants to buy Keith's motorbike. He reckons that it's ok to borrow the money.............I think I ..........I don't want to think.........
And finally......
A while ago, friend who was going through a curley patch in her relationship asked me "Is love enough?"........Well, all I could answer was; "Is it enough for you?" What do you think?
She has since separated from her partner. They had no children together.

Joy to all,

Cyndy ;) xoxox

Oh My ...And Thank You

Thank you to all for your welcome and encouragement; blogspy no more! The trouble is, it's taken me so long to read through everyone else's blogs (you really are an interesting and entertaining lot) that I am too tired to write my own..... it's 12.20am! As I expalined once before, it's usually late when I get a turn on the 'puter; the ratio of 5:1 computer means I don't stand much of a chance any earlier, you know, homework (that would be msn and chatting, to those who have teenagers) and all that has to be done, so my fun has to wait...my day has to start at 6am.........so it's hi ho, hi ho, it's off to bed I go.....I'll try again tomorrow............

Have a good one!!

Love, Cyndy ;) xoxo

Hello from the virgin Blogmuggle!

Well, you've go your wish, girls. I'll have to get Lisa to have a word with the Goddess about that. It's not your fault, Anchell; My beloved told my daughter that she would be creating a monster when she introduced me to blogs (she says I am already a monster, so it's ok). She sat me down, and in the space of 15 minutes created the whole template with comments and details and saying "you got that?", "do you like this?", and "what do you like?". I just nodded vacantly. Maybe I did; it will just take a while for my brain to process the information. I can't see me flying solo for a while yet, but at least I know she'll help me so SHE can get onto the 'puter to do her own blogging. I love the confidence that kids have with computers. I've often thought that I should have been born in the 1940's, except that I couldn't have coped with the war, hunger and deprivation. Love the clothes and furniture, though.
So there you go....you know a bit more about me. It's a work in progress, and I'm a living document, and as Tim Shore say's...."But wait, there's more......."

Love from the Blogmuggling Cyndy ;) xoxox

Elly

She is my wonderful daughter who is teaching me how to blog...