A Halloween Birthday

Hello everyone today is the start of a new week and it is also the 33^rd birthday of my baby brother Dave and you know I can remember changing his nappies when he was a baby and now he is a married man with 3 children and you know what he is still the annoying little brother he has always been............lol

Today is also Halloween but it is not something I celebrate because until around 12 years ago it was never even mentioned in Australia and yes the last few years we have seen more and more Halloween stuff in the stores but I am an old fashion woman and I do feel that it is not an Australian thing and feel that it is just a money crap by big companies. Thankfully we do not have little kids coming to our door trick or treating so I do not have to be rude and tell them I have nothing for them. I am sure that they children of today will be different when they grow up as it is something they have grown up with.

Now I know Halloween is celebrated in many countries and that is fine I have nothing against Halloween but I do not understand why it has to be introduced to this country now we have got by for a couple hundred years without so that's why I just see it as a way for some companies to make money.

I do hope all my friends in countries where Halloween is the norm a great Halloween...........

The photos are of my beautiful witch she made the costume herself for a Halloween themed birthday party she went to over the weekend.

I hate myself and can't bellieve I did it..........

Well today is a new day I hope it is a better day then yesterday which was terrible it started out ok with family breakfast it was my sister Sue's birthday and she seemed to like her presents which made everyone happy.

Now you may be wondering what so terrible about the day well...........take a deep breath Jo-Anne and just type the words it isn't that hard you know how to type just do it get it out there and allow everyone to judge you and not just your family and we all know they are talking about you behind your back....................

Ok here it goes when I do my food shopping I do some at Woolworths and some at Coles and yesterday instead of taking the Woolworths stuff back to the car I took it with me into Coles anyway I have a habit of placing all the cold stuff in a bag to keep cool and yes you guessed it when I went through the checkout I somehow forgot about the bag this week I do not know how or why I forgot I just did....................and yes I get stopped by store security when I leave the store............

So I got caught shop lifting NO it was not intentional but that is irrelevant..........................

So then I get taken to the security office and the security officer tells me that they are calling the cops since there is over $50 worth of stuff which is because I had picked up steak anyway in the office someone adds up the stuff and tells me that it is worth $168 and I say I find that hard to believe but they tell me that is the total...................When the police arrive they ask for a checkout docket so they can have an itemise list and when they do that it turns out to less the half what they had said like only $55 worth of stuff.................I knew it wasn't $168............ok not the point but I was right about that. Also it turned out that the checkout operator hadn't added the carton of soft drink even though I am sure I told her about it but she said I didn't, however, I have had many times when I have told them and they just don't listen and I have realised afterwards that it wasn't added.

The bag of cold stuff is a different matter I offered no excuse other then I forgot about it what else could I say or do it is what it is.................which is what I told the police officer and he was nice told me it wasn't the end of the world and that these things happen and I shouldn't allow myself to get to upset about it.

So what happens now well I will get a fine in the mail of about $220 and I am banned for the shopping centre aka as a mall for 6 months and from the supermarket chain and all other stores owned by the same company for 12 months and that's it.

As I write this I am still churning inside and really just want to hide away and see no one..............

Although I have to say while I was in the security office I sent a text to all my girls, Tim and my mum about what happened both Kathy & Jess came up and offered support and comfort and my mum rang me straight away and told me it would be fine and she still loves me and knows it was not intentional..............I am worried what my dad and my brother will say.........................mum reckons they will be fine and not say much but I am still not sure........at least they do not read my blogs...........

Also I am sure my sister Sue is pleased her ears have a chance to cool down as they must burn a lot with how often she is convince we are all talking about her, so now it is my ears time to burn...........

Alternative Medicine

   Do you believe in alternative medicine?

I have never been treated by anyone who does alternative medicine but that doesn’t mean that I do not believe in it, just that there has never been either a need or opportunity to partake in any form of alternative medicine. 

Now my nanna often would see an acupuncturist or a Naturopath and she swore by them and often told me that she thought I would benefit from seeing either but I really couldn’t to do so.

Nan also swore by taking vitamins and in the last year I have also found myself taking more and more vitamins myself.  Since I do not eat seafood I take fish oil and I also like to take calcium as I do not want to get brittle or soft bones, then there is the iron tablets which I have had to take for many years since I am deficient in iron. I also take a number of other vitamins Tim often will comment about the amount of tablets I take of an evening but as far as I am concerned I would rather take them then not………………..

A nice little catfight

Wow how easy is it for things to get blown out of proportion the other day my darling sister Sue posted this on Facebook

“When I had a car I was full of life, happy with the freedom knowing that I could go anywhere, do anything when I need or wanted... as well as being able to help my kids with a lift or a visit gave me so much joy....And now that I don’t have my own car to drive I feel like my independence has been taken from me and I am once again feeling depressed and isolated....
How can having a car of my own to drive have that much power?”

My precious daughter Kathy-Lee responded with this comment

“You cant honestly think a car has power over your life, can you? you have 2 strong legs, unlike millions of others who have to use wheel chairs to get to the toilet and some of those need a carer just to help them wipe their butt, your 2 strong legs can get you to a bus stop. that bus can take you to numerous places where your kids may be. did you know that the sound of a mothers voice is equally as coming as getting a hug from her??

Maybe instead of being the mum who drives her kids places you could be the mum who helps her kids find the right bus route or just be an ear over the phone my mum didn’t have a car for a long time, but she still went for walks, or caught the bus, always has her phone on her so her daughters could call her with their problems. There were countless times I wanted my mum just to come to my place and watch Sydney while I closed my eyes for an hour, but just hearing her voice made me know I was ganna be ok. by not having a car you are doing the environment a favour and helping your wallet. do you really wanna pay for rego, greenslips, pink slips...etc......there is also the always increasing petrol prices and don’t’ forget about the oil that the car is ganna need.

Is there a park nearby your place? shops? do you have a backyard you could use if you wanted to to get some sun while being alone? You are very lucky to be in the situation you are in. Don’t sell yourself short cos you don’t have a car. Get a bike.....its better for your health and will make you feel better cause of all the fresh air you will be getting.”

From there a nice little cat fight started between my daughters and Sue's daughters and of course I said the wrong thing myself. I think it is all a big misunderstanding, Sue and her girls felt like Kathy was criticising her and that I was siding with Kathy by saying this “I have to agree with my precious daughter she has said a lot of good things here, I had no car for years and my daughters would help me out when I need it and yes I did catch a lot of buses sometimes I would catch the bus somewhere and have a daughter pick me up and bring me home.” which was not my intention.

I also think everyone should remember Kathy is the type of person to get on her high horse about the environment from time to time Sue not the only person who copes this I get it a lot...........

What did upset me a bit was the following comments: From Sue to

Kathy: “GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE I was NOT selling myself short I was simply expressing that when I had a car to drive it gave me "freedom knowing that I could go anywhere, do anything when I need or want" and a sense of independence.... At no stage did I say I had it as bad or worse then others and WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I DONT CATCH BUSES? WALK TO PLACES I NEED TO GO? or 'BE AN EAR OVER THE PHONE' FOR MY CHILDREN?...AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHAT SORT OF MUM I SHOULD BE!!”

The Natasha had to add this trying to defend her sister “Kathy wasn't saying anything bad about u or how u r as a mother...... I can say this when I get a call from u it's not 2 c how I am it's 4 me 2 pick u up or 4 me 2 drop u off. I can count the times u have called me asking me 2 pick u up n take u places. U have asked me n I’ve always said yes. Ohhhhhhh N Kathy is NEVER on her HIGH HORSE She is there 4 who Eva needs some1 SO LAY OFF HER...”

Which caused Kelli to come back with this “Jesus fucking Christ mum never said Kathy isn't there for people, we all know she is the most generous person besides nan in our family. She was saying she was on a high horse, Which she was about the whole Car being eco friendly And more fit, if that's what all you meadows think By agreeing with Her, sell your fucking car and see how it feels When Blain or Sydney needs to go somewhere Asap And you need to rely on other People to do something for YOUR Child because you can't.”

See what I mean about a cat fight and there was more comments going back and forth but I have only add a couple here. Also I had to go through and fix the gramma in bits as it was annoying me........lol

I ended my comments to this by adding “Well I think this has gotten out of hand.......................Sis of course your feelings are not wrong and yes we have noticed that you are happier in yourself when you have a car and no you are not me you are a stronger person then me I am weak and soft and get walked all over unlike you..................”

Upcoming Birthday

In 26 days time on the 16th November I will turn 49 and unlike some people I still look forward to my birthday and do not mind getting older and think all in all I still look good, I know some women who look older then their years but thankfully I am not one of them.

Now what would I like to do for my birthday well I would love to be taken out for a meal and I would love a birthday cake although I say every year that I would love a cake I don't get one why because honestly I think my girls do not give a lot of thought to what I want............

I know they love me and they appreciate everything I do for them but the last time anything was really done for my birthday was 9 years ago when they through me a surprise party for my 40th.   Now for a gift/wish list:

•  A Rice Cooker

• Night Magic Perfume(Avon)

• Shoes size 7-8 Thong Type

• Pretty writting paper

• Long Skirts size 18

• Would like to have soft wavy hair..........yeah not going to happen............lol

• Patty cake Maker one that is deep aka a Cupcake Maker

• Have a nice lunch with a cake to celebrate

• Pink Flowers

Just to name a few things..................................

Teeth, Eyes & Feet

Today is a beautiful day nice and sunny not to hot and not to cool, the type of day I like. This moring I had my first appointment at the denture clinic I am getting partial upper and bottom plates so I will no longer have to chew with my front teeth. The cost for the teeth is $2800 but we only have to pay $360 which is the cap between what Medicare (government) pays and the whole cost. I am lucky that I qualify for the scheme as only certain people qualify. I do not know how I am going to feel with false teeth but I guess I will get use to them, I should have them by Christmas time there is a total of 5 appointments before I get them.

I also have to get off my bum and go and have my eyes checked I was due to have them done in June and still haven't got around to doing it.................yes I know I am slack there is no real reason why I just am.

I should also have my feet checked but even though the cost of that is only $65 it is something that gets put off and off I have already had to cancel the appoint twice becuase on the day I didn't have the money and when I asked Tim for it he says he doesn't have it.

Questions From Inside the Actors Studio

I have come across these questions on another blog and since I watch the show Inside the actors studio and have always liked the questions I thought I would post them here along with my answers.

1. What is your favorite word? Family
2. What is your least favorite word? Hate
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Kindness
4. What turns you off? Hatred
5. What is your favorite curse word? Bloody
6. What sound or noise do you love? Children laughing
7. What sound or noise do you hate? Nails or a chalk board or Snoring
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Dancer
9. What profession would you not like to do? Medical Examiner
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
        Welcome but it's not your time would you like to go back.............

I am linking this back to were I got the questions from
http://pearsonreport.blogspot.com

A new day, a better day............I hope

I am so glad that yesterday is over..............it was not a nice day well parts of it were ok but other parts made me either mad or sad.

First thing I did when I got up was put on a cassarole in the slow cooker to cook for last nights tea. I also went made a pasta bake for yesterday's lunch now I did the pasta bake and was putting it in the oven but for some unknow reason I didn't place it on a tray to place in the oven and what happened I dropped it.............bugga, so I had to pick it up and place it back in the baking dish. Anyway everyone who tried it said it was nice.

I went over to my parents place for lunch as it was dad's birthday he turned 69yrs so there was a family lunch and there was a good turn out 16 of us for lunch that includes the 3 babies. Dad seemed to like his presents he didn't get much as I didn't have much money so me and Tim gave him a very nice bottle of port, Sandra gave him a $5 scratchie, Jeannie  gave him lens cleaners and stuff to clean the tv screen and computer screen, Sue got him a lottery gift pack and I have no idea what  Dave gave him.

Now to the bad part of the day, Kathy-Lee took a couple of trailer loads of green waste to the tip and it cost a total of $100 for both trailers, now her dad towed one trailer and a couple of mates of Natasha's towed the other trailer. Kathy and her dad went through first and it cost them $65 and since Kathy had only given the boys $50 she went back to give them extra money she handed over an extra $40 and the man they were paying said that will be $35 and since Kathy had started to walk away he handed the change to one of the boys............when Kathy asked for her change the boys just laughed at her and walked away saying it's for petrol........

Kathy was dumbfounded she didn't know what to say or do she just got into the car and told her dad who got really angry but since the boys had driven off he was unable to say anything to them. When she told me I got extremely angry and rang Tasha and asked her what the hell was going on and said how dare the boys do that and  that I wanted her to get Kathy's money back. I was so mad I wanted to cry anyway Natasha did end up getting the money back but it still made me feel sad for the rest of the day.

I spent some time sending a lot of text messages to my daughters as I was not in the mood to talk to them and texting was easier, I was also upset because Natasha's mobile phone bill is now $2200 and the phone is in my name and I do not know how she is going to pay it. I will ring the company today and speak to them about making arrangements to pay the bill.

To make matters worse Natasha rang me in tears because she is upset about not having any money and doesn't know how she is going to pay her bills and get presents for Christmas, then she comes over to get a couple of pizza's out of my freezer and talks to her dad who does something I think was the wrong thing to do...........He told her that he thinks this new guy she is seeing is a user, this is not something you tell your children it doesn't make them stop seeing the person it only makes a wedge between parent and child and as my mum has often said we do not have to like the guy but if he makes her happy then we should be happy for her and as a parent we need to be there to help her pick up the pieces if the relationship fails............

So when I tell Tim that I think he was wrong to say something to her he just shrugs and says it's how I fell and she will get over it, and yes she will get over it but that's not the point I still think it was the wrong thing to say.

Now this morning is a new day and I hope today is a better day then yesterday................

Sand in his pants

After giving it a lot of thought I have at last decided what to use this for, I am going to use it to record things that my grandchilred do that I do not want to forget and the first entry in the book is this:

On Wednesday afternoon not long after me and Little Leo got home I was giving him a hug and thought is pull up(nappy) felt a bit full so I say to him "have you done a pooy" he giggles and says "no" so I have a look and I reply well there is something in there are you sure you have not pooed, he giggles again and says no. So I ask him what is it then and he giggles some more and says "it's sand". So I say why do you have sand in your nappy, how did it get there and he giggles again and says  "I put it there".

I am worried about my mum............

For the last few weeks my mum has had a problem with pain in her left arm lasting from a few hours till all day some days the pain would be pretty bad other days not so bad, she has also had some chest pains on different days so she ended up going to the doctors last week and when she did she was in for a shock as she really didn't expect our GP to react the way he did. He sent her for an ECG and blood tests and gave her a script for a pimpspray call Nitrolingual and told her to spray it under her tongue whenever she got the pain.

They did the ECG at the doctors surgery and when it was done the nurse called him to look at the results and he wasn't happy and went and had a chat with an other doctor at  practice and told her that he wanted to see her in a weeks time by which time he should have the results to the blood tests back.

So yesterday she went back to see him and get the results and to report how the Nitrolingual was working..........well the Nitrolingual has been working well and after seeing all the results the GP has refered her to a Cardiologist as he believes there is some kind of blockage and although at the moment the pain in more like Angina he wants everything to be fully checked out.

Both of mums brothers have had heart problems both of them having heart bypass operations .

Even though I know mum will be fine I am still worried about her she is my mummy and I do not like to see her unwell and I really need her around for many more years to come..........

The Girl Effect

I was reading PencilGirl's blog about the
The Girl Effect and decided to share it here:

I'm a girl yes I am still a girl even if I am a 48yr old woman
I went to school and got an education
I then decided to get married at the age of 22
I had 3 beautiful healthy daughters
I chose to be a full time mother
My health is good and when it's not I go to the doctors
I have a loving husband and a supportive family
I am a lucky woman......................

But life isn't the same for all girls. Consider this scenario.
    * A girl- 12 years of age.
    * Never been to school. Illiterate.
    * No particular skills she's been trained in- except maybe to cook and clean.
    * She's from a poor family, and viewed as an extra mouth to feed.
    * She is married by the age of 14. She doesn't get to choose her husband, or even if she wants to
        get married.
    * Her husband may be tall or short, young or much much older than her, kind or violent.
    * She get's pregnant. She's barely 15.
    * She might die during childbirth.
    * If she doesn't die, she ends up with a family to feed, and probably no source of income.
    * She isn't qualified for a lot of jobs, and struggles to make ends meet.
    * She might get forced into prostitution.
    * She might get AIDS.
    * Life isn't so good, is it?

A rant about words

Is there are word or words that you find yourself avoiding when it comes to writing or saying something because you either can not say the word or you can never remember how to spell it so instead you just phase differently for me the main word is probability I think that is how you spell it. Really I just find it easier to say more then likely instead.

I can never seem to say the word pumpkin right well my eldest is always correcting me along with the word sandwich which she will always say I have pronounced wrong.

Now I know I am a bit old fashion in that I like to spell words right I have a serious problem with people who shorten words or use letters instead of the word when writing, yeah I know that many people do these things when they are sending text messages but even when I send a text I will still use the correct spelling and I also use the proper punctuation it is just the way I am.

Another thing that really pisses me off is when I see companies and such spelling things wrong, locally there is a surburb that spells the word city.......citi and I hate it. Now I do not have a problem with America or Americans but this is Australia and we spell colour with a u get it right people.

To end this rant I will say that we have biscuits here not cookies............doughnuts not donuts...........

Yes this ended up being a bit more of a rant then I thought it would be sorry..............

Should Men Have Their Ears Pieced Or Not

                                                        Ear piercings on men: yes or no

What does everyone think about men having their ears pieced is it something that looks good or not is there an age that it looks ok or not...............

This came up when I was talking to my mum recently as she said my dad has been thinking about getting a second piecing in his ear or getting his other ear pieced he already has on ear pieced. This he had done in 2010 after he came through his chemo and everything, he didn't tell mum he was going to get it done he just did it one day when they were out shopping. Mum was in the supermarket shopping and he went and had it done, mum was shocked, it was not something she thought dad would ever do............

I have no problem with a man having ear piecings if that is what he wants but I know my mum is not keen on the idea.

Rambling

As some of you may have noticed I was not around yesterday reading or commenting on blogs, no big reason for this other then I woke up yesterday with a terrible headache which I had all day and still have it today it is not a very bad headache just annoying and I have been very tired also. I was so tired yesterday afternoon that I had to have a nap something I have not done in months.

Jessica was here for most of yesterday and ended up asking if she could spend the night here and of course I said yeah it was fine with me, since she was here for the night Jes suggested that we also have Blain here for the night so we did.

Hubby was at work from midday not getting home till around 10.30pm last night so by the time he was home I was in bed asleep with both boys and when Tim came to bed I ended up sleeping on the edge for part of the night and between the boys at other times, all in all I did not have the best nights sleep..........

Tonight we have just Leo here and I hope he settles down without much trouble as I think I will be really exhausted pretty early on tonight. Yeah I could have told his mother I wasn't up to having him but she would only expect me to have him tomorrow night and to be honest I would rather just have him tonight Tim will be home by 7.30pm so he should be able to help me with him.

This morning when I went to the nursing home with mum to see nan we had Blain, Temkia and Dawson with us this is the second week in a row that we have all of them with us and a lot of  the old people liked seeing the kids running around. My nan has been pretty good when we have seen her recently this morning when I told her that Blain was Natasha's son she replyed by saying Natasha with that russian accent the way she has always said it. Which really made me happy as it showed me that she remembered Natasha............

I just looked at the clock and realised it is nearly 3pm were has the day gone it seems like only a short while ago I was getting up, I was up and seeing to the boys at 7am and now it is going on 3pm before I know it I will have to go and get Leo from day care...........sometimes I really feel like there is not enough hours in a day to do all I want to do..........

Names

What’s a nickname only your family calls you?

Yesterday I was talking with my darling second daughter Natasha about names we are called that only our family are allowed to call us. So I thought I would ask everyone is there something that you allow only those closest to you to call you. 

I often refer to my daughters as Precious…aka Kathy, Darling…..aka Natasha, Special Girl….aka Jessica. 

Kathy-Lee was also always called “Kate” by her great grandmother and she was the only one who called her “Kate”, Natasha was called with a Russian tone by the same great grandmother and no one else has ever said Natasha the same way, Natasha has also been called “Nicky Nat” by her pop, she told me that her current boyfriend called her “Nicky Nat” the other day and she told him to never call her that only her pop is allowed to call her “Nicky Nat”. Jessica has always been called “Jessie Mae” by me and her nan and we are the only ones who can call her that.

My dad is also the only one who is allowed to call me “Josephine” and that is not my name but he has often called me “Josephine” and it is just something that is ok for him to do.

How Long Does It Take To Cook Chicken Legs............

What a day I have had first I didn't want to get out of bed because it was dark and overcast and raining but get up I did then I come out turn on the TV and realise it is an hour later then I thought because Daylight Saving started last night.

The next thing I know daughers 1 & 3 turn up for lunch we then ring and ring and ring daughter number 2 to see if she is coming in the end she answers her phone and said she would come over. So I go and check the lunch it smelt really nice but you know what the chicken legs had the meat falling off the bones but was still very pink so I had to put the legs into the micowave to finish cooking them.........I had them cooking in my slow cooker overnight on low they cooked for 13hours. 

As it turned out everyone liked the chicken and potatos and of course we had other vegies with the chicken and spuds, I cooked the chicken legs and potatoes in the slow cooker with bacon and carbonara sauce.

Now I just have to do our weekly medications I do them each Sunday afternoon ready for the week.

So how has everyone elses Sunday been?

Washing and washing and more washing

Today was suppose to be a nice quiet day spent blogging and for the most part that is what I have been doing but I also have ended up doing laundry for most of the day with still more to do and no it's not my washing I am doing...............this morning I get this text from Jono (grandson's father) "Hello Mrs Meados it's Jono, upon looking at my room I have realised how filthy it is from dirty clothes, can I bring them aroundand get them washed today? This should be the last time I ask I am getting my own washing machine soon."

So what do I say of course I say yeah bring it over and I will do it and you can pick it up tomorrow, I think invite him, Blain and Kelli over for lunch tomorrow which ment I had to go and buy more chicken legs as I am doing chicken legs with potato and bacon in the slow cooker over night ready for tomorrows lunch.

Now when he said there was a lot of dirty clothes he was not kidding we are talking about 5 loads of washing. I would get it done faster if I had a laundry room that looked like this.