I do sometimes wonder what the cats get up to when I’m not home. Take Rosie for instance - we just went out for nearly 4hrs and she was sitting in the exact same spot as she was when we left. Mojo on the other hand was doing the usual prowl around the perimeter of the house, ensuring that there are no intrusions from the outside world - not so much as a whisp of air gets past him.

Sometimes, when my imagination takes me, I wonder whether they are secretly plotting. There COULD be some secret tunnel into my house whereby hundreds of cats gather in my house to plot the demise of the human race. After all, they already have us under the paw and they know which side their milk bowl gets placed. You might think I’m crazy and if I was actually serious about this, you’d probably be right.

But there are things I can’t explain.

Like at least 4 to 5 neighbourhood moggies who have taken to hanging out around our house. They don’t fight, they don’t cause a fuss. They just sit and well, they wait. A few of them have even waltzed right on into the garage of our house - almost as if they think they live here. I can’t explain why my house has suddenly become a magnet for moggies.

Has the word gotten out about the plush pet beds? Or maybe the cat park and promises of a bigger, better one at our new house? Or maybe Mojo’s boasting about how he gets roo meat at least two times a day and more if he asks for it? Hmmm….

I swear, if I see a white fluffy persian start frequenting my turf and he just happens to answer to Mr Tinkles, it may seriously do my head in.

( Yes, Cats & Dogs is one of my favourite movies of all time - maybe I’ve just watched it too much lately. )

Hey buddy - this is a two cat household ONLY!

July 3rd, 2009 | Category: Cats |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

365 / 171 = 2.13 and a lot of other decimal points.

That can only mean one thing - the middle of the year is rapidly approaching. Halfway through this daily photo grind. I can’t wait until the house starts (yes I know I said that last time) because then I can take photos of all sorts of interesting construction type things - like bulldozers, post-hole diggers and pieces of timber off cuts. Initially I was really happy that construction was due to start in the middle of winter…after all it’s supposed to be the driest time of the year for where I live. But lately we’ve had more rain than I can recall from previous years. Perhaps it is that we need it to be dry for construction that I’m noticing it more. In any case, I’m hoping for reasonably fine weeks ahead so that we can be in our new house by November.

The past few weeks have been insanely busy - winter flu season means work is busy, our house will need to go on the market soon which means I personally am very busy making it presentable. One of our greatest achievements over the last month has been the finalising of the spa area - just in time for one of the cooler early winter weeks on record. I can finally walk outside and enjoy using our alfresco, again just in time for winter. Just as well the winter weather doesn’t deter me from using the BBQ.

June 21st, 2009 | Category: Phoney Photos |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

It’s official. I’m starting to worry about my memory. Not because I can’t remember birthdays, I never could remember more than close families and significant others. That’s what the little widget on iGoogle is for - at least that way it will remind you, providing that you’ve remembered to put the dates into the widget in the first place.

I’m forgetting things like important appointments, dates that I have made so therefore I should remember them right? I’m becoming increasingly dependent on my PDA or reminder phone calls from businesses to tell me that I am expected to turn up for an appointment the following day or in a few hours time. Why can’t I remember this stuff?

I can remember the name of a boy who slighted me in primary school in the playground. I can remember what people have said to me about things which would be usually considered extremely inane. Things like an environmentally conscious individual saying their favourite cleaning product was Domestos and then telling off another person for having the audacity to use Exit Mould in their bathroom. I can remember my tax file number, driver’s licence number and medicare number. So why can’t I remember when my next hairdressing appointment is?

They use a screening tool at work which looks at memory. Not surprisingly, I can remember the three things that they ask you to recall moments later. So it really is ok. When it comes down to it, that’s all that matters. No one is going to whack me in a home, so long as I can remember apple, penny and table. I might be in a little trouble when they ask me to count backwards from 100 in 7s though….maths was never my strong point.

June 14th, 2009 | Category: Ramblings |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Or as it should be called, Quads of Pain - Attack of the Killer Reverse Knee Lunge!

Forget Wii Fit. This is not a game. This is a method of self-inflicted torture targeted at your calves, hips, bum and thighs. Thankfully today is a rest day in the 30 day challenge or I may not have been able to tolerate sitting for as long as it takes to write a blog post about it.

The 30 Day Challenge is a preset program for the couch potato in the crowd. After you’ve programmed in your height, weight and chosen an appearance, you can select to do the 30 Day Challenge on Low, Medium or High intensity. I do love that the chunkiest figure you can choose for your avatar on screen is still a relatively svelte figure. I suppose it would be a little bit demoralising if you could program the avatar with every single lump and bump to watch it jiggle about on the screen as you go through the paces with the Virtual Personal Trainer (VPT).

I’ve only done the first two workouts and I’ve been told by the VPT that I have something like side step squats to look forward to in tomorrow’s workout. Oh joy of all joys! Is it not enough to have 10 odd other types of quad exercises programmed into the Challenge? I suppose not, given that when women bitch about their appearance, it’s usually the legs and bum that give them the most grief.

It is surprisingly fun though….and not only for spectators. Apparently the sight of me almost kicking myself in the butt doing high kick running is a sight to behold. Fortunately we don’t have a video camera or else I’d be just a little worried that I’d be on the next episode of Australia’s Funniest Home Video. What surprises me about EA Sports Active is that I could easily just quit out any time I liked or pause it for a break. But I don’t. I just keep going. Even when my thighs are burning, my calves are aching and I just feel like I want to drop, I keep running because that cow of a VPT tells me to pick up the pace and keep going. So to quote Nike, I “just do it”, I keep running, keep lunging and keep trying not to fall over doing high kicks and high knees.

I almost enjoy doing exercise using this thing. And it feels like real exercise with the amount of sweat that comes pouring off me. I don’t feel quite as sore as I do after a strenuous 14km bushland hike but still, sore enough to know that something is working.

May 25th, 2009 | Category: Health and Fitness |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Comments (3)

Woohoo! May has finally rocked around which means I’m nearly halfway through this photo a day madness! And it IS madness because when I work for 9hrs each week day, my photo opportunities of things outside the absolutely mundane is pretty limited. Once the new house starts getting built, I might have a few more stimulating photos….maybe I could throw in a phoney photo pile which is exclusively of construction photos to bore your socks off.

Today was the Million Paws Walk for 2009, so I figured I would take the 365 photo I took today  of our canine companions and make it a more prominent feature in the mosaic. And what a great day out it was! I think we saw every dog breed from A to Z, from the diminutive to the monstrous and everything in between. We attended the Cleveland walk as we did last year and we couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather. Rock on MPW 2010!

May 17th, 2009 | Tags: Dogs, Million Paws Walk, Phoney Photo Pile | Category: Dogs, Phoney Photos, Photography, Special occasions |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Comments (3)

This is probably the first year that I’ve paid any attention to IND, given that previously it passed almost without acknowledgement by employers, let alone members of the public. Think of it as Mother’s Day but for nurses, to recognise the good job that they do, in whatever capacity they work. It’s also the first time in a long time that I am proud to be a nurse on this particular day. Nurses are the backbone of the health care system and while it is true we work as part of a bigger team, nurses are the ones that are with the patients all the time. Without them, the system would fall apart altogether. Let’s just be thankful that the uniforms have improved over time.

Image sourced from Quite Adept (http://www.flickr.com/photos/quiteadept)

Happy International Nurses Day to all the nurses out there, no matter what shift you work or what role you fill. Enjoy the cake your employer has brought in for you and if they didn’t bring any, make sure they put it on their calendar for next year.

May 12th, 2009 | Category: Special occasions |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Comments (2)