Crap Days

There's two reasons I'm here right now typing this blog.  One:  My university website is down so I can't keep hitting refresh on my grades waiting for my Visual Comm. grade to come up.  Two:  I had a crap day, and that usually gets me pretty chatty.  Luckily for you I'm not here to talk about how crap my day was.  I've actually found that bad days make me evaluate my life.. not in terms of how awful I think it is (although I used to be very guilty of that) but more about what I'm doing, where I'm hoping to head etc.

But first let me show you my massive bowl of salad that is now my dinner:

It's seriously as big as my head!   But salad makes me feel human and alive, when I start to feel rundown a salad is always there to pick me up.  Of course if I had never decided to try being a vegetarian I probably would have never picked up on it - the way that certain foods have an almost healing/positive effect.  I'm much more in touch with my body and really that's what this blog post is going to be about - how changes I've made have made me more in touch with different parts of myself.

I start off every year saying 'This is going to be the year of change'.. I can tell you it rarely is.  I mean sure I've always done little things, changing things I don't like, but this is the first year that I've looked at things that I've wanted to do for a long time and just started doing them.  I cut my hair all off because I wanted to (although I am growing it back now it was quite the experience in liberation), I am studying something I like, I took up being a vegetarian and a few other secret projects that I can't reveal to protect the innocent (and save my own butt).

What I've learnt the most so far though, is how much I'm becoming this person that I always wanted to be but never really saw myself being.  People that are close to me and have known me for long enough could tell you that I've changed a lot in the past two years.  It's like I've always needed to chase different focuses because I couldn't focus on myself, finally I think I've learnt how to keep most of the focus on myself.  I have gained a lot of confidence about myself and what I can do.  

Two years ago my best friend was counting down for her wedding; she was also trying to conceive their first child.  We (including her husband) were all 20 at the time,  and while they were committing to each other I was getting over a messy breakup and fumbling through a new relationship.  I didn't get where her head was at 2 years ago, because I obviously didn't believe in relationships lasting or that making plans ever got someone anywhere.  2 years later I think I have some idea of where her head was at, it's like this change of heart/mind that just hits you - and little (HA!) things like commitment, children and womanhood hits you like a ton of bricks.  Being a mum, being a wife once seemed like foreign (but eventual) concepts and now they're what everything is going towards.  I'm not saying that I expect them to happen right now, but I accept them as things that will happen for me and that I welcome wholeheartedly. 

In the meantime I'll research homeschooling (which I'd love to do!), read about what other women do with their children, cuddle Cameron (Rachel's 8-month old son), read about growing vegetables/fruits/herbs, find out how to raise chickens and ducks, learn to sew toys/clothes/blankets, collect wooden toys and books in fear that they'll for some reason stop producing them over time.  And yes I'll do my degree, even though I can never see myself in an office.. because I figure any skill is a good skill and all this stuff I am doing at university will surely come in handy in ways that I can't expect or predict.  I may even be able to do something entirely unique that will require all the great multimedia stuff I'm learning, may require creativity or writing or German hahaha.  

I guess the point I'm trying to get to is that even crap days are to be expected on this path I'm strolling along in life. And that over time they make me stronger, no matter how much I whinge or vent - there's a bigger side of me that is happy than a side of me that is sad - so I finally know that I'm winning against the negative little rain cloud.  I know everything will be great - that it already is pretty great and that I'm lucky to have so much opportunity and love in my life. :)

PS:  See how much I love that salad? :P

Dad's Birthday

Today it was my dad's birthday.  In typical fashion my mum gave him the same ol' gift of Baileys, except this year she gave him two.  For some reason she thought it was a hilarious idea to wrap them both differently and then died of laughter when he asked which one he should open first.  Sigh, my mum..

We went up to Mt. Tamborine which is about half hour from my parents house and had a look around the gallery walk (which is a street full of little shops at the top of the mountain).  My favourite store is the German Cuckoo Clock store.  I went to Germany when I was 16 and pretty much love anything to do with the country - I am totally dirty that I never got to see the cuckoo clock place in the Black Forest.. one day.  I also love clocks, because my granddad was a watchmaker and I have very fond memories of all the amazing clocks that he used to make and fix.. he had so many around his house that every time I see a clock I think of him.  Here's a pic of one wall of the cuckoo clock place, so you have some idea of how jam packed this place is with clocks:

We were meant to have lunch, but we actually ended up getting up there too late for lunch and too early for dinner.. so instead we went for a walk at Curtis Falls.

What I really like about the walks at Mt Tamborine is that there's a real rainforest feel to them, with occasional bits and pieces of normal Australian bush.  The waterfall was beautiful, not flowing very much because of the lack of rainfall.  There's lots of birds in there too, you can always hear them chirping away and some random turkeys that go skittering in front of you as you walk along haha.  Definitely one of my favourite places in Qld.

My Rattikins: Creamy

We bought Miss Creamy with Coco, they are sisters from the same litter.  Justin named her, it's quite cute I asked him to say the first thing he thought of when he looked at her and he said 'Creamy'.  She's my little butterball, the biggest and roundest of the three!  She will always be on the scene at feeding time.

This is my first picture of Creamy and Coco.  She instantly became the alpha of the pair and maintained this position when we introduced Muffin.  Despite her dominance on the inside of a cage, she is painfully shy and will often squeeze herself into tiny corners, while Coco will explore freely and uninhibited.  

Creamy is a tough cookie.  She is the hardest to get out of her cage and the hardest to wash or nail trim.  However, her weakness for food guarantees that she can be persuaded by some kind of currency!

Here she is sitting on Auntie Sian's shoulder :)  She might prefer small spaces, but she is also happy to sit on your shoulder and press into your neck for security.

Here she is playing with her sister Coco, in my make-shift felt bowl.  It's a really easy little playground for anyone who has rats, they like being able to hide in it and move around in the soft materials.  Despite being sisters it's cute how different the two of them are, and how well they compliment each other's interests and objectives.  Coco likes to be challenged and Creamy likes to eat, so any food we leave in the gaps gets pulled out by Coco for all the rats.  Coco likes to rip up things and Creamy enjoys making nests, so sometimes you will see Coco creating the materials for Creamy to work with - they are quite the pair of workers!

Sea World

My last hurrah at Sea World today for the year I guess.  I love Sea World for the same reasons I love Underwater World - it's brilliant to see animals up close, I find fish and the mammals of the sea very interesting.

The polar bears are sooo cool!  I never knew that they weren't white, they are actually clear which is why it's really weird when you go there and see a brown bear!  They get reasonably white once they jump in the water though, and it's nice watching them play with a barrel or traffic cone.

There's an amazing aquarium section, where you can see fish, sharks and stingrays underwater.  My family all agreed that they could spend a long time just watching all the fish go about their day.  Also on the note of stingrays, there's an area where you can touch them and the baby stingray's are very cute.

These guys are the fairy penguins, unfortunately few of them were swimming.  I have gone there before and watched them all do formation laps up and down the pool.  I love these guys!  I seem to have an obsession with birds I think haha.

Finally the dolphin show is definitely worth watching, they've choreographed some amazing routines for the dolphins and it's a real thrill to watch.  Didn't see it this time, but we went a few months back and it was amazing.  Back when we went one the mothers was pregnant and didn't do tricks.  It's great, because I was watching the news a couple months ago and the baby had been born, so I felt really connected to the news story because I had seen the mother pregnant.  Story here.

Mum

Ever since I moved out of home, I find that going home and spending time with my family is one of the nicest things I get to do.  I've also found that my mum and I have a better relationship - she's definitely my bestest friend in the whole wide world.

We're sometimes complete opposites.  She's crazy and lively, she has so much energy and laughs at everything.  I'm serious and quiet, I tend to be very inwards and reflective.  But in some ways I also notice mannerisms and actions that I've started doing that remind me of my mum - it's funny how we become our parents without even trying (or wanting!).

She's clever and very crafty - she has the capacity to master any craft or skill she sets her mind to.. she's a fantastic knitter, she creates wonderful masterpieces from quilling, she can paint glass and makes cards.  My mum cries in kids movies, she sings kids songs (and often gets the words wrong), she's taken care of and raised a few generations of Indian ring-necks and Alexanderines.

No matter how crappy my day has been or what is bothering me she always makes me laugh and often that's exactly what I need.  She likes the same stupid movies as me and she makes badly translated Spanish jokes that make me laugh at their ability to be SO very lost in translation.  I love my mum :)

Movie World

So my ultra-cool parents bought me one of those VIP cards that let you into Movie World, Seaworld and Wet 'n' Wild any time until the end of June.  Dad took my sister Bianca and I to Movie World today so we could take advantage of our cards before they run out!  Didn't get to go on as many rides as I would have liked to because it was kind of busy this weekend and the Scooby-coaster broke down while we were waiting for it :(  But a highlight of my day was definitely seeing my dad and sister get totally drenched on the Wild Wild West (especially since it was freezing haha suckers!).  If you haven't see this ride in action it goes a little something like this:

Phase One:  Encourage family to go on ride.  Watch with anticipation as doors to large slope creak open.

Phase Two:  ??????

Phase Three:  Profit!  (Or in this case - very cold, wet and unimpressed younger sibling)

 

The Kitty Kats: Ninja

Before I left home I had two cats that used to be the little centers of my universe - Ninja and Samurai.  I couldn't take them with me when I moved in with Justin because we're not allowed cats or dogs and because my two little furballs had become such a member of my family that I couldn't take that away from them.  I'm happy when I go stay with my family because then I can see my two cats :3  This blog post is about Ninja:

He was bought at six weeks as a Siamese X.. I can guarantee you he is hardly a Siamese at all.  We think he might be cross Russian Blue because he has all the features with the imperfect yellow eyes and white chest tuft.  (But I don't care: In my eyes he is puuurrrrr-fect!).  He has the softest fur and my favourite thing about him are his 'white socks' which we're even cuter on his little kitten feet. >o.o<

I call him "The Prince" because he is a truly regal and sophisticated chap - he is also the master of his domain.  He has definitely loosened up a lot as he gets older (He is almost three years old).  My father is his favourite person in the whole world, followed by my mum now (but only because she feeds him and brushes him every day).  He goes by the name Mister Nin, Ninners and Ninjie.  Ninja has gone through about 12 collars - he absolutely hates them - but he has managed to keep his latest collar for quite a while now.  Funny, since it's a very girly Pink Panther collar with diamantes ;)

My Rattikins: Coco

We have three female rats in our family, todays blog will be about Miss Coco (aka Coco Pop, Coco Monster and Coco Puff). I chose her first because it turns out she's the most photogenic - well she must be because I have 5 photos to 1 of the other two girls! (Although the food in the above picture probably has a lot to do with it).

I lubs Coco. She has these little eyes that pop out slightly more than the other two and she is the smallest of the three. I think this is because Coco prefers to have adventures and test her limits rather than chow down on food all day. Unfortunately my little munchkin is the most unwell of the three - she has Respiratory Mycoplasmosis (So does her sister Creamy but Coco's is much worse). It's a common disease in rats and they all apparently have the genetics for it, but it is up to the individual immune system whether they will present with symptoms or not. So every couple of months she will start sneezing and wheezing, which means we have to start her on antibiotics. But she's very brave and takes them well :)

Above she is giving smoochies to her Aunt Sian ;) Coco has probably given me the most strife out of all of them for her escape antics. She's made it behind the dishwasher in the kitchen, even managed to climb into the walls through a powerpoint her daddy left open. She's escaped upstairs to the apartment above us and I've spent hours sitting in front of small holes trying to coax her out with food. She is a little troublemaker but I wouldn't have her any other way :)