Saturday 3 September 2011

I'm Going To Jackson

Well, actually I am going to Bowen Hills to the Twelfth Night Theatre to see "The Man In Black: The Johnny Cash Story" Starring Tex Perkins and the Tennessee Four with Rachael Tidd!! Whoo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You can not imagine how excited I am about this! When I was 18, we had this little thing called Expo 88 virtually in our backyard and my sister and I bought a 3 day pass especially to see Johnny Cash but he pulled out at the last moment. I was devastated, still am....
Then I missed this same stage show with Tex Perkins two years ago.... dumb, dumb, dumb me..... but thankfully I got my tickets this time round and I am so excited! I'm taking my sister, as the husband, naturally, doesn't like Johnny Cash or Tex Perkins... oh well, his loss. I actually blubbed when I bought the tickets and read out the blurb on the flyer! I am a little worried that I might blub all the way through the show, that's how emotional I am about this event! Will definitely have to take tissues!

Onto other news....
For some time now I've wanted to make myself some inspirational gym shirts. I am tired of seeing the same old shirts when I go to the gym. Lorna Jane or Nike shirts that say boring things like "Just Do It" or "Never Give Up".  I want a shirt that says something meaningful to me. When it comes to the gym, the only thing that gets me through a half hour on the treadmill at 9.5 kms/hr or half an hour on the cross trainer is my music. I mainly listen to the Ramones and the Hard Ons.... naturally... and I have another folder of mixed gems that inspire me to move my butt as fast as I can. I finally finished the first shirt.... the front says "There's A Ramones song....." which is my catch phrase.... and on the back it says "Let's Go"  a good song to exercise to. I've started the next t-shirt... It just has "Ramones" on the front and on the back says... "Go Mental" and the third shirt I've bought but not all the letters yet, probably get them on Monday when I go back into the city for work... it will have the title of a Hard Ons song .... "1st Element is Sweat" ... so yeah for me for doing a bit of sewing at last....
  
Speaking of my gym activities... Loving it still... I am sure that some of the people there think I am a bit of a weirdo tho, lol.... I really go to town on the cross trainer, it feels almost as good as dancing and I bang my head in time to my music. I try not to mouth the words to the songs, coz you know it's a slippery slope to actually singing out loud and out of key when you have head phones in. A few weeks ago, when I was still getting used to running on the treadmill .... I only started running when I got my new purple runners at the start of August...

whilst I was pumping my arms, I accidentally pulled the head phones out of my MP3 player and it fell onto the floor. I only had 2 minutes to go and I didn't want to stop to pick up my MP3 player, so I just let it play for everyone to hear, lol... not that many people would have been able to hear it for all the other noise at the gym. The 2 songs that were playing during that time was the end of  "You've Got Good Taste" by the Cramps and the start of "Cherry Bomb" by the Runaways, lol.... anyway...
 
apparently I am the devil incarnate... or so my scales tell me.... well... that was over a week ago... I am now 65 kilos, yippee! So everything is going good in that department. I  think it's the new running kick.... when you run on the treadmill, all your fat wobbles, and I believe if you shake the fat up, it dissolves, lol! So I'll be shaking it a bit more, hee hee! 
Went to an Indian restaurant with my sister last week, we had a good time, she just loves her Indian..... 
A nice little restaurant in West End. Very nice. Next time we will try the Indian restaurant in South Bank.
Oh, and the husband and I went out with our German friends to the German Club in Woolloongabba a couple of weeks ago. Drank too much... HAD to try schnapps and jagermeister  and about 3 different German beers... one mainly because it came with a purple lable... oh dear! That's my new avatar too by the way...
wish I'd remembered to keep the bottle, bugger! but we all had fun, it was a good night. We might be going to Oktoberfest, but I might just stick to 1 or 2 beers, not that I even like beer... but when in "Germany".....
Anyway... better get to bed, I am keeping the husband awake....
I was playing a Johnny Cash CD today and he called me his little cowgirl.... he has no idea!
When I was a teenager I loved lots of  alternative country... Wall of Voodoo, Beasts Of Bourbon, The Johnnys, The Gun Club, Violent Femmes..... I used to wear suede vests and my Fathers bullet belt, lol.....
Sooooo looking forward to this Thursday night when we see The Man In Black!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good night!

Friday 8 July 2011

Good bye 30 Kilos

This time last year, I was 99 kilos, today I am 69 kilos! whoo hoo! :) It's taken me a year to lose 30 kilos but it's worth it... hoping to lose another 10 within the next 4 months, that's my goal, cross fingers! and the irony is that I ate Tim Tams and hot chocolate today... but oh well.... all work outs and no chockie makes Chryssie a dull girl, lol... :)

 


and this is my new Cadbury Hot Chocolate maker that I bought in the city and brought home on my bike on Tuesday
Got it marked down for $20, couldn't go past it, being purple and all, lol

Saturday 18 June 2011

Xmen First Class..... there's a Ramones song...

Husband and I went to see The new Xmen First Class movie in Gold Class on Friday. The majority of it is set in the 60's and there is a scene where they are at a party and there is the Freddy Cannon (I presume the original) version of Palisades Park playing in the background, and I am sitting there going, hmmm, I know this song.... Oh, it's a song the Ramones covered, whoo hoo!!! Best moment in the whole movie, lol.....
that's all I've got at the moment..... off to bed so I can get to the gym on time for my work out at 10.15....
cold and tired and bleah :(

Saturday 4 June 2011

Work and Play.

Well...
this week has been interesting. I went to a Sarina Russo interview and walked out with a job interview. I haven't worked since I was 6 months pregnant with my 16 and a half year old eldest child, so I wasn't expecting anything to come of it, but I got the job then and there! I work 3 days a week, Monday to Wednesday from 11 to 3. It's not much but it's a start and something to write on my resume at the very least. The people I work for are very nice and I am getting used to it, so yeah for me! :) How I am going to fit my full time job of going to the gym and losing weight and my other full time job of being a Mum of 4 children in with this part time job, I'll never know, but I will try. I am going to try and go to the gym after work on Monday.... see how it goes, hopefully I won't be over doing it. I didn't go to the gym after work last week as I thought it was too much to expect of myself, especially as the first day my back was killing me by the end of my day. It was so good to get back to the gym on Thursday, especially as I hadn't been for a week as my Mum had been down and staying with me for 4 days previous to getting the job.
Play.... my sister took me to see her favourite band, Amy Meredith last night. As I have made her come with me to see the Hard Ons, how could I say no. They are good tho, I did enjoy it, even tho the audience were all young enough to be my children, tho as my sis says, music is ageless. Here we are, rocking it with the youngsters, lol...
She says she wants to take me to see Short Stack next, geeeezzzzuzzzzz! lol Give me my Hard On boys any day.... at least the crowd majority are older persons... ah well, who cares... we can be too old when we're dead!

Sunday 15 May 2011

May Already

Well, Easter and Mothers Day are over....
here is our cat Joey, getting into the Easter spirit, lol... Amethyst made the ears for him


And here is Amethyst and hubby with the Mothers Day dessert they made for me, Amethyst really wanted to make me something and so Rob agreed to help her, it was very yummy! She enjoyed cooking with Dad so much that she is insisting on doing some more cooking with Rob today. She gets this cooking thing from her Father's side of the family... I hate cooking, tho I will do some special cooking for special occasions. For Easter I made an onion and cheese flan, egg salad, creamy potato bake etc so that we could have an Easter feast, instead of the kids just ODing on chocolate. We still have Easter eggs in the fridge, all of us are a little bit over chocolate at the moment...still!
What more could this Mum want on Mothers Day? My 4 bubs, home made cards, home made potpourri, home made dessert, fancy chockies and pizza! Yeah! :)
What else have I been up to? Riding into the city weekly, even twice a week sometimes. I love it so much. Friday gone, I rode into the city to have our monthly lunch date with my sister and cousin. This was the first time I had done that. Normally I get the bus coz I love to dress up all girlie like when I go into the city, but of course I can't wear those sort of clothes on the bike, so I wore my Hard Ons tshirt like I usually do on the bike and took my other clothes and make up in my back pack. So I didn't feel too guilty for eating Indian food and then coffee and a slice of cheesecake, lol... Here is a photo of the bike track along the Brisbane River.... it is the most glorious sight after riding down Sylvan Road, it is such a relief to get there. I do so love my ride into the city!!!!
I also got some more Ramones CDs.... 'Acid Eaters' and 'Mondo Bizarro' and ordered 'Brain Drain' and 'Adios Amigos' and the DVD 'It's Alive'  thinking that then I will have them all, but realised that I still need 'Halfway to Sanity' and "Weird Tales of The Ramones"... so I am loving all the 'new to me' Ramones songs... god I love'em! As usual I made the girls laugh in the city on Friday with my constant .... "there is a Ramones song..."  there always seems to be a relevant Ramones song or line from a song for any given situation and it is my catch phrase... need to get  a tshirt that says.... "There is a Ramones song dot dot dot" lol... Also got the May edition of Mojo magazine as it has the Ramones on the front cover. Last month on the 15th was the 10th year anniversary of Joey's death and it would have been his 60th birthday this Thursday, the 19th of May. It goes without saying, I'll be listening to Joey all day Thursday. As everyday is Ramones day for me.
Husband and I will be going to see 'Water For Elephants' in Gold Class on Monday. It's a big girlie movie and I am expecting to bawl my head off. I've been in the mood for a good soppy love story, so hopefully this won't disappoint. Looks good. Anyway, gotta go feed the family...

Friday 15 April 2011

School Holidays

Today was the first day of the Easter holidays, yippee! Took the girls to see "Rio" with our neighbours.
I have promised to finish reading the last book of Harry Potter to them these holidays before the movie comes out. But other than that, we have nothing planned for the holidays, just taking it easy and I at least will be trying not to eat too much chocolate. I have been riding my bike and going to the gym. On my way into the city this week my bloody back tyre decided to blow out! I'd reached Milton, down on the river side bike path, beautiful, exhilarating and I decided to go to the nearest petrol station and pump up my tyres.... and the back wheel gave up the ghost. Had to walk home... two and a quarter hours later..... grrrrrrr. Anyway, the husband and I went into the city the next day (by bus) and picked up a new tube for my bikey wikey... so I am happy again. We went to lunch at the Treasury casino for lunch. Last time that will be happening. They've put the price up $10.... no members discount anymore. Looks like we will have to find a new place to lunch.
Anyway... onto other things... books..... Here are the 4 books I have read recently....
On The Road With the Ramones
and as my copy of Dee Dee's book STILL hasn't come in yet, I read Dawn French's book...
The Ramones books were wonderful, especially the ones by Monte and Mickey, very personal accounts. And after being Ramones-afied it was a tough call to choose another book to read, but Dawn's book was wonderful too. I almost wet myself reading about when her Mother took her to see 'The Exorcist',  pure bliss, Mother's....aren't embarrassing ones the best! I've got one of those too.... I do hope I can live up to this... lol! And as usual, I was inspired by her swearing.... it was cocking this and cocking that after I read Dawn' book.... lol... and loved her use of the term 'Lady garden'.... Funny lady....
God knows what I am going to read after these fine books. Just hope my Dee Dee Ramone book comes in soon. I blinking well ordered it before Christmas... what are they doing... typing the ruddy thing out again????
Hmm, what else have I been up to?? Well, I got my Ramones albums from Rocking Horse records... Leave Home, Pleasant Dreams, Animal Boy plus my Joey Ramone solo album and one of Dee Dee's solo albums... . so lots of new songs to listen to. I really love going to the gym and listening to the Ramones on my MP3 player and going to town on the cross trainer. Yeah, the gym is going great, loving it. Losing some weight. It's slow but it's going. 
Anyway, hope everyone has a great Easter. Looking forward to Good Friday, for the hot cross buns, not so much the chocolate on Sunday....*sigh* ... can't wait for it to be over really... and all that temptation to be gone....

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Wedding and Hard Ons Friday

Last Friday was a very long but wonderful day.  First, my cousin and his beautiful wife got married. I had such a great time at the reception with all the family. Well, Rob was at work and the kids were at school, so it was just me and my extended family. I had a Cointreau and lemonade and then a Gin and lemonade and then when we went into the reception room there was a big bottle of bubbly on the table, for everyone at the table to toast all the speeches but I was basically the only one able to drink, or who wanted to drink. Besides my Mum having about 2 glasses, I drank the rest, hee hee! :)   I was a bit loud and having lots of fun. Lots of people gravitated to our table as we were the loudest and laughing a lot. At the end of the day, my cousin Phil said that the champagne on the table was non alcoholic and he didn't know what my problem was, lol... it was very funny, guess you had to be there. Then I went home and my sister went home and picked up my nephew and they came over to my place and sis and I went off to see the Hard Ons. It's the last Brisbane gig with drummer Pete, he is leaving for family reasons. Hopefully the guys will find a new drummer soon. The night was great, I bought a Hard Ons t-shirt from them and a Nunchukka Superfly CD as well. The guys were in good spirits and they played brilliantly, such a powerful band.


Scrapbooking wise, I have only done 2 layouts in quite awhile, one about my sister's and my last night out to see the Hard Ons back in Halloween (didn't get a photo of us this time around) and a layout of the lyrics from the Ramones song 'I Remember You'...

I am still cycling and rode into the city again this week and ride to the gym everyday.  I think my fitness levels are getting better. My Mum is coming for a visit tomorrow for a few days, so I will be giving the gym and riding a bit of a break until she goes home on Sunday. Goodnight  :)

Wednesday 9 March 2011

Cycle Girl

On Thursday last week I had to go into the city. I popped into Hype shoe store and looked at the purple Vans longingly, then thought, what the heck, they are the shoes I originally wanted. They had none in stock (they had them the week before) so they had to send away for them and I had to pay for them then and there.... Thing is, I knew money would be tight this week and I didn't know if I would be able to get into the city before the Hard Ons played to pick them up... I really want to wear them to the gig. So Hype rang me on Monday to say the shoes had come in... I didn't have a cent to get to the city by bus so I thought, "To hell with it, I'm riding my bike!"  Along the Brisbane river is a bike track. Years ago I had a friends who lived not too far from the bike track/walkway and we used to walk into the city all the time. I watch people ride along there now and I have always wanted to ride along there too but had no idea how to get down to the bikeway from here.  I now know a bike path near here that will take me to Indooroopilly, so on Tuesday, I Googled how to get to the city from Indooroopilly. Big mistake. It was all through the back streets of the suburbs, very hilly and winding roads. I won't ride on the road, so I rode on the footpath. Over sloping footpaths and slippery drive ways and it rained. It was horrible. I had to constantly look at my directions and inevitably, I got lost. I can't read a map to save my life and I can't even listen to directions and stick to them. Totally useless.  In hindsight, I think I wasn't actually lost but up ahead there was a big chain across the road with a big sign "Road Closed". Maybe due to the recent floods...There was another road but I thought it was a road into this golf club and instead of investigating and going closer, I panicked and asked a bus driver who had pulled up if he knew where Indooroopilly Road was. I had assumed I had veered off it. I don't know where the hell I was, I think I was in Long Pocket. I think I may have been close to the Brisbane river but I think I may have been heading away from the city. Anyway, the driver offered to take me to Indooroopilly Road  but I just ended back where I had came from. So I was all sulky and decided to just turn back and go home. I made another wrong turn but eventually got home. I felt like such a failure. I felt that I am too fat and out of condition to attempt something so ambitious, so I lay on my bed and blubbed like a big girlie sook. Then I thought, "F**k it, I NEED those Vans and I am going to ride into the city if it kills me!"  So I Googled up bike tracks from my suburb into the city and thank heavens, there is a bike track all the way around the motorway into the city from here! I was still nervous, as I had ridden for three hours the day before and had gotten no where need the bike track along the river. But it was great! The bike track is barricaded off from the motorway and it is just bushlands along the other side most of the way to Toowong, so it is a really nice ride. Big wide flat bike path. Some inclines but I didn't have to get off and on my bike like I did going through the hilly suburbs. And as I didn't have to worry about people backing out of their drive ways, I could listen to my music, which always makes exercise that more bearable and enjoyable. Once the bike path along the motorway ended, I just had to follow one road down to the river, so it was impossible to get lost, thankfully. I tell you, the sight of the Brisbane river was the most glorious sight I had seen, I was so relieved to finally get there, I thought "Whoo Hoo, I'm living the dream!" lol, can you tell I was excited!! :)  It is a 12.3 km ride into the city along that bike track apparently and it only took me just over an hour to do it. I walked my bike into the mall and picked up my Vans and I was so exhilarated with my achievement. The ride home was a bit harder but I think in time, I will get used to it. I loved it so much, I have decided to do it once a week. Tho' I think I will wear three sanitary pads next time!!... Ouch! My fanny is so sore .... and not in a good way, lol! I don't know how men ride bicycles, they must be giving themselves testicular cancer if they do it all the time, ouchies! My butt is sore too, I've got enough padding there, can't understand why it hurts so much, lol. But I am happy, I have my Vans, I might have to get some purple laces coz I look a bit like I was washed ashore Gilligans' Island. I wore them to pick the girls up from school today, to wear them in a bit before Friday night and the buggers have given me blisters, *sigh* but I will hopefully fix them with a shoe stretcher before then. Anyway, have to go make tea for the family. Can't wait till Friday, first my cousin's wedding and then the Hard Ons, yippee!! Oh, and if you were wondering, yes, my bicycle is purple!  :)

Sunday 27 February 2011

iRetro At Pig and Whistle

On Wednesday my sister came over. We watched "Rock and Roll High School"  and the Ramones documentary "End Of The Century"  Thursday I had to go to Toowong for an interview at Sarina Russo... gotta get a job...  then we went to Sizzler and then I grabbed a bottle of bubblie and some Fanta. After I made the family dinner, Debbranne and I drank the sparkling wine, mixed with a bit of vodka that I had in the house with the Fanta, it was nice! We got ready to go out and went to iRetro at the Pig and Whistle. The pub was pretty empty but we had fun anyway, asked the DJ to play the Ramones for us, he said he couldn't play "marginal" music, but he played "I Wanna Be Sedated" anyway, yeah! Most of the music was top 10 chart music but he threw in a few songs we asked for. They have a big screen TV and they play the music videos, it was fun!
I have already made next month's desktop calendar using the photo of my sister and I from the night and photos of albums/bands that was played that we liked. They didn't play Prince, Eurogliders or Men At Work, lol... tho he did play Whitesnake, Split Endz and Dire Straights... tho they are the times I decided to go to the toilet, lol! Then we walked home. It is a walk that I do ALL the time but my sister hasn't and it was nice to walk together and talk in the fresh cool night air after midnight. Nice side of town, so no troubles there... Went into the city on Friday for lunch with our cousin at Black Jacks. I also tried to buy the tickets for the up coming Hard Ons gig, but can't seem to find where to buy the tickets...it is only 12 days away... I might have to go into the city again this week sometime... oh yeah... Thursday I am going in.... hopefully I can pick up the tickets then. I went into the city with the express idea of buying those purple Vans, but my sister talked me out of them and talked me into buying these sparkly mauve converse shoes instead... did I do the wrong thing? I worry that I am trying to look 12.... It's bad enough I want some Britney Spears perfume, but will I be looking like a Britney Spears fan wearing these shoes???  lol, hope not!
My sister went home on Saturday and I got a purple cat scratch pole for our kitten Joey.
Anyway, so this week will be back to normal and I will be back at the gym everyday. I have lost another 2 kilos, so I am very happy! Goodnight!  :)

Tuesday 22 February 2011

S***ty Things and Things To Look Forward To

OK.... lets get the shitty things out of the way...
Husband and I had an argument.... nothing new there.... same old same old...
but then he posted on Facebook that I want a divorce. Fine... he wants his friends and family to know, good, whatever... but he has nieces and nephews and younger cousins...(of mine also)... children ....on his facebook that really didn't need to know that crap.... what do you do.... I'm tired.....

Things to look forward to.....
This week.... My sister is coming over on Wednesday for 3 days.... Wednesday we are going to go shopping at Indro... Thursday I have to go to a Sarina Russo appointment and then Thursday night we will go to the Pig and Whistle in Indro.... it is supposed to be "Retro Night"   We are getting our hopes up a bit too much I suspect, thinking it is alternative retro night.... it will probably turn out to be just 80's top 40 shit music retro night, knowing our luck... but we are going to go and have a look see anyway. Please pray for us that it isn't all Eurogliders and Prince and Men At Work......
I really did try for all of 2 seconds to like Prince's "Purple Rain" but it is too horrible for words.... (I did get into Deep Purple a little bit tho, lol, yeah for 'Space Truckin'!!!!) Anyway... we will go for a few drinks and hope for the best.... Then on Friday we will finally go into the city to Black Jacks at the Treasury for lunch. We have been trying to go for the last 2 weeks, but something has always turned up to postpone it. Last week, cousin Barb's son was home sick from school. Hoping some of my Ramones CDs that I ordered have come in by then. I picked up "I Slept With Joey Ramone" book by his brother Mickey Leigh and I ordered this little cutie from the UK...
They sent it very quickly, which is always very appreciated, I was very excited about it.... it is sadly tho... a bit on the cerise side :(  But don't worry, I'll still be wearing it... (just don't tell Smiggle I'm condoning cerise all of a sudden, lol) I'll probably wear this to the Retro night on Thursday... The other really exciting thing/s are.... March 11 my cousin is getting married and we are looking forward to the wedding. It will be a morning/afternoon affair and after that, my sister and I are off to see The Hard Ons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  They are doing a tour of Japan at the moment, then will tour Oz in March/April, then they are touring the UK and Europe in June/July!  They are playing a different venue in Brisbane, so I have to figure out where that is, hopefully I can pick up the tickets when I go into the city on Friday, whoo hoo! It is nice to have fun things to look forward to, it makes the day to day shit more bearable... Good night  :)

Saturday 19 February 2011

Life Sux Sometimes

Well.... really, it does doesn't it?

Sunday 13 February 2011

Valentine's Day

Hubby had 2 days off last week, to do stuff with his new bike and he got me an early Valentine's present.... a kitten....  Since my beautiful black and white cat, Asreal died, I have missed having a cat in our lives but wasn't ready to get a new one. Plus the kids keep me plenty busy, of course. I really wanted a Himalayan cat or a Rag Doll cat... I liked the cream fur with the brown nose and ears.... I don't want a pure bred, but just a kitty with that colouring.... anyway... the kitty he got me is a grey and white long haired male kitten and I had a bit of a hissy fit, tho I kept it inside.... I wanted to wait until our last and lonely guinea pig passed on and I really didn't want a cat in this house as we live on a busy road and I did sort of want to choose my own cat, but I had to tell the husband that the cat was lovely and he was wonderful otherwise it would be moody town around here, so I went for a walk to calm down... I got home and sulkily said... "I was expecting an Ipod or a gym membership, not  a cat"  So the next day when I got home from my walk to my local shopping center, on the table was the paper work for a year membership at a gym that is at my local shopping center! Yippee! We don't usually give Valentine's presents, I was just feeling a bit miffed that he had put us in debt for his bit of spoiling and I felt I deserved to be spoilt a bit too and now I do feel really spoilt! He had been going to customise his bike but decided that he liked it just fine the way it is, so he spent that money on the gym membership instead, yeah for me!  :)  And btw... I do love our new kitty... I am a cat person and it didn't take me long to fall in love with him... Many years ago, when my sister and I were living together, a friend of mine, who was a Ramones fan, had a little grey and white kitten that she named 'Joey'... but she couldn't look after him, so she gave him to me. My sister, being my elder sister and being a bit bossy and having no nonsense about her (love you sis!!!) she decided that I wasn't able to look after him either, so she took him to a cat shelter. Apparently he got a good home, but I still missed the opportunity of being a cat's Mum and was pretty glum about it and I have never forgotten little Joey that was given to me by my friend, Candy. Well, as soon as I got home and saw the kitten in Rob's arms and he said, "Now you have to give your cat a name" I immediately thought "Joey" would be the perfect name for this little mite too.... so yes, he is sort of named after Joey Ramone and sort of named after the cat that was mine for a day.
Joey 
Friday was a sad day for our family, as it was my Uncle's funeral. Julie had a nice photo of Uncle Don on the casket and a photo of my Uncle and Aunts and my Mum when they were kids. It is a special photo to all of us Grandkids and when I saw it, I just couldn't help crying.
Uncle Don is the eldest one, then Uncle Kevin, my Mum is the eldest girl and then Aunty Barb and baby Aunty Pam, they are in North Quay in the city on the way by ferry to Lone Pine. This would have to be about 1949. I must get around to scrapping this photo. My eldest Uncle, Uncle Keith, who died 13 years ago is not in the photo, no one remembers why, tho he may have been working by that time as boys started work fairly young back then and he would have been about 15 by the look of Uncle Don's age in this photo.
This week I will be busy going to the gym and getting familiar to all that and on Friday I will be going out to lunch with my sister and cousin at Black Jacks in the city.
Tomorrow, for Valentine's day, I will have mini chocolate love heart cakes, love heart shortbread biscuits, chocolates and for tea we are having love heart shaped pasta. Wishing everyone lots of love for tomorrow, Happy Valentine's Day!!!  :)

Saturday 5 February 2011

Stuff

Today my husband went down the Gold Coast and bought himself a motorbike..... He's happy, he's wanted one for forever. He had one before we met but had to sell it and has pined for one ever since... so I am happy for him, tho it would have been nice to know about it but hey.... he can have his midlife crisis anyway he wants it, lol. It is blue and sort of matches our blue Kia Carnival car. I said.... 'well, Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas and Happy Valentines Day' .... me, I'm getting perfume (for Valentines Day)..... being a purple freak, I will only fork out money on perfume that is in a purple bottle.... and the nicest one that I have found so far is 'Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy'... it smells like lollies. There is a Versace fragrance called 'Versus' that I quickly smelt that I thought was nice but I would have to check it out again to be sure. The Britney one I have wanted to get for awhile.
Anyway... in light of the new bike... apparently the car is mine now..... which would be wonderful if I could even drive... so now I have to get driving lessons...
Last week I went into the city and ordered some Ramones albums....'Leave Home', 'Pleasant Dreams' and 'Animal Boy' and also Joey's solo album 'Don't Worry About Me' and Dee Dee's solo album 'Greatest and Latest'   I couldn't order everything that day, so I just stuck to those 5 for now. The Joey album 'Christmas Spirit in My House' is no longer available... bugger :(  and I think I need to get Dee Dee's 'Zonked' album next, as well as six other Ramones albums I still haven't got .... I did get 'Loco Live' and a book about the Ramones from Rocking Horse .... which I am reading now, I have finally finished 'Little Dorritt'.  'Poison Heart' the book still hasn't come in yet and I also ordered in 'I Slept With Joey Ramone' written by his brother Mickey Leigh. Also... I am getting some purple Vans shoes!!!!  OK, yes... I am plenty spoilt....
I am going into Black Jacks at the Treasury Casino for lunch with my sister and cousin on Friday. It is always a fun day out with the girls... looking forward to it. And the local pool is back in business on Monday, so I can go swimming again! With all my walking in this heat, I have lost another 2 kilos, so that's great... hopefully I will loose some more again with the swimming.
On a very sad note, my Uncle died tonight. He has been unwell for many years but he has just kept on going. He has been in terrible pain for so very long but everyone says he kept going for my cousin Julie, his daughter. Her Mum died about 6 years ago and it has been very hard on both of them. Rest in peace Uncle Don, love you.  Good night.

Saturday 22 January 2011

Back To School

Well, the 4 kids are back to school in 2 days!! Yippee!! :)

Two weeks ago, I decided to change the girls primary school. I have been wanting to change their school for a few years now but I hate change and it takes me forever to make a move. I hated to move the girls away from their friends but I know that really, the change is for the best. No more school bus, I will be able to walk them to school, plus the new school is public and starts at 9am instead of 8.30... so hopefully that will mean that mornings aren't so frantic. Plus, academically, this new school is supposed to be better than the one they are currently at. I bought their new uniforms this morning and then this afternoon I went to get their books. Got all the stationary but sadly, none but 2 of their text books are available anywhere.... The new principle did say not to worry if I was unable to get all their books straight away.... so I am trying to not freak out and hyperventilate about it.....Got all the boys stuff for high school on Thursday, so that is not a problem.
The only other thing of interest to mention, is the fact that my sister is a single woman again and she is living it up to the full. I already blogged about our night out seeing The Hard Ons in October for Halloween.... that was to cheer her up, as she was devastated that her idiot husband had left her and the kids. But now she is loving the freedom and she was excited to tell me that she saw that "Flares" nightclub is "happening" the night before Australia Day.... apparently it is an occurring event.... which is very interesting to me.... My sister would love to go, but sadly, I am too strapped for cash with all the money draining things that has been happening for us lately... Ailani's 7th birthday, Christmas, New Years, Kale's 16th birthday, back to school costs for 4 kids....plus we are having an Australia Day BBQ with Kale's girlfriend's family.... so I can't go to Flares..... maybe the next time it comes around... I might be able to convince the husband that I am only doing it for my sister's benefit..... which I am.... but Flares used to be one of  my favourite nightclub venues.... tho back in those days, it was truly "Flares" ... they played 70s disco, cool disco like "Knock On Wood"  by Amii Stewart,  'Turn The Beat Around' by Vicki Sue Robinson, 'Rusputin' by Boney M, 'Feels Like I'm In Love' by Kelly Marie and the like... I would always dress accordingly... in a purple jump suit or purple flares. The Flares of today plays alternative music from the 80s.... the kind of stuff I danced to when I was a teen. So basically... my music is now considered 'retro' which is funny... coz when we thought of retro music, we thought of The Doors, The Loved Ones, Shocking Blue, The Easy Beats, The Monkees and the like...
getting back to my sister, she used to wear a Doors t shirt all the time, until some ****er stole it and everything else off our clothes line way back in the day when we used to live together after we moved from Hervey Bay to Brisbane...


Tuesday 18 January 2011

Turning 16 in the 2011 Floods

Our eldest child turned 16 last week....
Eventful enough... I think he will always remember it.... Our city of Brisbane and alot of other areas in Queensland had some horrific flooding. The footage on the TV, when we actually had power was devastating.
Thankfully we were not inundated with flood waters, we weren't far from them, but luckily, safe and dry but we had no electricity. Kale's best friend was unable to come because he was cut off by flood waters but Kale's girlfriend was able to get here OK. And because Mum leaves everything to the last minute...we were without a present to give him on his big day!  I had planned to go to the shops the day or 2 before to get his present but all the shops were shut because of the Brisbane river flooding in the extreme! I told him that his girlfriend was going to be his best present and he said that that was always going to be the case anyway.... awww! Young love, so sweet! So it was a bit of a laid back birthday for him. Leading up to his birthday, I couldn't help but think of my own 16th birthday.... I had been telling everyone that I had had a memorable birthday and that I wanted to make sure Kale had a good, memorable birthday and I was fussing about the party plans and he got frustrated with me because everything I suggested seemed lame or for dinosaurs like me and not what he wanted, so in the end I gave in and let him have his laid back birthday.... he just wanted his best friend and his girlfriend here.... well, unfortunately Danny was unable to come but Kale got his girl and he was happy. I went and dug out my dusty diary from 1986 and flicked through it looking for my youthful recollections of my 16th birthday party and ended up disappointed..... I had thought that for my 16th birthday I'd had a Punk Party.... I had remembered my cousin coming up to Hervey Bay from Brisbane and all my school friends and Sister 'pogo' and 'slam dancing' to the Dead Kennedys, The Damned, Sex Pistols and the like. We had ripped stockings and tartan mini skirts with lots of safety pins and I had the most awful haircut imaginable. My cousin Phil had an old army disposal jacket on, such great memories.... but my diary told me a slightly different version..... it wasn't my 16th birthday party after all.... it was in the same year but it was actually my Sister's 21st birthday party! I read the whole silly diary and there wasn't even a record of what I did for my 16th birthday! So that made me feel slightly better that I didn't give my son a huge 16th birthday party.... blah! lol...
We have had rain, rain and more rain for weeks and weeks on end (hence the flood) but the last 2 days of the peak of the flood, it was fine, beautiful weather. The day after Kale's birthday, the flood waters had started to recede and some shops that had been unaffected were able to open again, so I was able to walk to my local shopping centre and get him an iPod touch as a belated birthday present. It was a complete surprise, he had no idea what I'd planned on getting him, so I said before he opened it .... "If you don't like it, fake it"  obviously he was SO happy... I said... "are you faking it?" and he said "No!" biggest grin on his face. It's nice when you can make them happy .... and lets face it.... teenagers are hard to please sometimes...
Turns out that for my 15th birthday party, I'd had a 1960s party and all my friends wore dresses with full skirts, gloves, shoes and pointy bras that we'd bought from op shops (thrift stores).... so maybe that's why I didn't have a 16th birthday... because I'd had a big party the year before.... we'd listened to Roy Orbison, Elvis, the Beatles, Herman's Hermits, The Easy Beats etc and 'twisted' and 'jived' the night away.... what a transformation in less than a year, lol!!
Anyway... here is the layout I made about the mixed Christmas CD I burnt on Christmas Day...

The highlight of the CD were the first 2 songs on the list, especially the Ramones, of course.... they actually have a few songs that mention Christmas one way or other... in 'Danny Says' ......
Hangin' out in L.A. and there's nowhere to go
It ain't Christmas if there ain't no snow
Listening to Sheena on the radio
Oh-ho oh-ho 

and in 'We're a Happy Family' (I love hearing Joey imitating 'the father' or whatever, saying.... "where are my safety pins, what did you do with my safety pins, what is this"  so funny! :) )
We ain't got no friends
Our troubles never end
No Christmas cards to send
Daddy likes men

In 'I Wanted Everything' ...
I heard about the Easter bunny
Presents under a Christimas tree
It was dreaming and fantasy
There was no Mom or Daddy
I wanted everything

and in 'My My Kind of A Girl' they sing...
I think we'd look pretty good together
Walking through a winter wonderland
And this time I think it's forever
I hope your parents understand
Well, a 'winter wonderland' certainly isn't Christmas for us here in Australia, but still, it is a universal image of Christmas time.
and in Planet Earth 1988 they sing...
Guerrilla armies rule the street
No more christmas or trick or treat
Is this what the future will bring
I pray for peace more than anything

If there are any other songs I have missed... please let me know...
oh... and just tonight... looking at youtube, I see Joey had a solo EP album called 'Christmas Spirit...In My House'...... bugger, I need that..... good thing I am going into the city the first Friday the kids go back to school.... I'll be popping into Rocking Horse Records again.... if they have it... thinking I might have to order some of these things... *sigh*
Anyway... I need to get to bed... my eldest daughter has a friend over for a sleep over... they are not ready for bed, but it is almost 1am... but I can't stay up... too old, lol....
Goodnight.   :)

Saturday 1 January 2011

Happy New Year!

It's New Year's Eve and instead of grooving to good music, my husband is forcing me to watch a 'Planet of the Apes' marathon. Bugger.... so I am sitting here, in the dark, on the other side of the room with headphones secretly placed on my head listening to music...
Benefit of the Doubt by Crystal Set  and .... to go with my New Year's Eve drink of choice....
Bad Gin by Blue Ruin .... just some nice 80s tunes..... :)  ...also... Stranded by The Saints
When You're Down by The Headstones  I Don't Mind by The Hitmen and Slave Girl by The Lime Spiders and then I have to veer over to For Always by The Stems..... awwww! and awww again... At First Sight by The Stems and I have to peek at the Ramones... You Don't Come Close and tonight, I can't stop singing this... Locket Love and of course... my favourite that always makes me smile... Where Did She Come From by the Hard Ons. Every now and then I get up to do a bit of work in the kitchen, making curried egg salad, garlic cucumber salad, coleslaw... and I put my new purple MP3 player in my ears and listen to some more music. Not a bad New Year's Eve after all.  I remember many moons ago when there was a Planet of the Apes marathon on TV, my friend Wolfgang had a party and before the other guests arrived and before the movie started he challenged me that I couldn't  drink 3 of these 'shots' of alcohol.... God knows what was in them and never one to back down from a challenge, I downed them all and promptly passed out. When the Planet of the Apes movies came on he desperately tried to wake me up but there was no waking me.... I always thought I'd missed out on a fun night... but now come to think of it, I missed out on nothing, lol. Tonight, our eldest son was off with his girlfriend, so it was just the 3 kids, Rob and I lighting sparklers and letting off poppers, covered with glow in the dark bangles. Ailani was happy to hold the sparklers this year. Got some nice photos, will post them when I get them onto the computer. The eldest son got home about 1.30, we were all up still, so I got some photos with him,

 Hoping 2011 is a fantastic year for all... I am optimistic that it will be a good one for me.
Christmas was good... extremely wet... but good, it was not the huge effort it usually is. I had Mum here helping, plus she insisted buying cooked chooks and she brought down 2 cooked legs of pork, so there was only the baked vegetables to cook, even tho we had more people than normal, it was quite a restful Christmas. I made a special mixed Christmas CD for the day... I am doing a layout about it... the song that I listened to the most on the big day was... 'Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)' by the Ramones! Such a fabulous song! We seemed to have endless rain around that time, tho it is lovely fine weather at the moment, hope it holds out. Anyway, I have to get to bed, it is 3.18am and I need some sleep.
Happy New Year!!!!