Archive for December, 2007
Posted by Kay
Well hoorah we are finally at the end of 2007! I can’t say it’s been the best year but it’s by far not the worst either. I guess for me, it has just been a middle of the road year. On the bright side, I have finished a post-graduate qualification but on the low side, it hasn’t gotten me a new job as yet. I am neither happier or more miserable in my current job. I haven’t got a dog yet, but I adopted a beautiful little kitty called Rosie. I haven’t lost much weight but then I’ve not put any on. We haven’t finished putting the spa in but we did finish off the deck. So I guess the achievements cancel out the non-achievements leaving me with this resounding sense of…..ummm, I guess “blah” describes it quite adequately….about how this year has progressed. The weather this year for New Year’s Eve is pretty apt given how it has gone for me. It’s blowing a gale, overcast and raining in parts but like the light at the end of the tunnel, there is a patch of blue and the sun persists in peeping through. It gives me hope that maybe next year will be a better one for me.
No doubt NYE celebrations in south-east Queensland will be a bit subdued this year on account of the weather. Nevertheless, people will be making those New Years resolutions…..quitting smoking, losing weight, becoming more healthy and managing finances better being the more common ones I’ve heard thrown about recently. I was listening to an excerpt of Hamish & Andy this afternoon on the way home from work - they have a different idea of a New Years resolution. They reckon people always want to quit something so why not start something instead and it might be more achievable. Personally I think the reasons why many people fail to keep their NY resolutions is because they have set too big a goal for themselves. So this year, I’m setting some bite-sized goals…..let’s see if that works any better shall we? 
Posted by Kay
“Just doing a random cobweb inspection”
“I’m watching you!”
“AHA! Caught you red-handed!”
“Only cats understand how truly comfortable this is”
Posted by Kay
As an early Christmas gift, my mum shouted me a couple of tickets to the final performance of The Nutcracker by Queensland Ballet. This was my first time to a ballet and I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Sure I had been to Swan Lake on Ice earlier this year and I enjoyed that, so I thought why not. It was an enjoyable evening and more than once, I found myself thinking that male ballet artists must be awfully confident creatures - those tights they were wearing in the latter part of the ballet certainly lived up to their name! I’m pretty sure that if any of them had an inkling of cellulite or flabby flesh, it certainly wasn’t on their legs! But my other half and I pondered the following on the way home:
- We all know females who do ballet are called ballerinas but what do they call the men? Ballerinamen?? Ballamen?? Ballarets??
- How do the men stop their private parts from jostling about when they do all their jumps, twists and spins?? We figure there must be a pocket to pop them in at the front of the tights because it was pretty clear that they certainly were not wearing any underwear (no visible panty line, even of a G-string).
- Is there a weight limit on female ballerinas?? And do male ballet stars have to be able to bench press their own weight to be considered for professional touring??
- After doing the equivalent of a decent cardio workout, a significant weight circuit and performing under very hot lights, why weren’t any of them sweating?? They were breathing heavy but I couldn’t see a single sweat patch anywhere on their costumes. Is there some kind of hard core ballet deodorant that we don’t know about? If so, where can I get it?
Tis a puzzlement….at least to me. If anyone has any ideas on any of the above, feel free to share below!
(Image courtesy of Queensland Ballet)
Posted by Kay
Mum decided that there just wasn’t enough tinsel on the big Christmas tree - which we moggies have been very good and left alone (don’t ask about the mini tree though) - and so she put up even more along the top of this blind. But she didn’t realise that the tinsel from last year has fallen down behind the blind so I thought I would help her fix it….but a moggie can only do so much. A little help please mum??
Posted by Kay
Every year around this time, my friend takes a few weeks off and heads back home to visit her family. If her husband can get time off, he goes too which means I get to look after their beautiful lab Indie!
She’s grown accustomed to my house being her home for the holidays, so she makes herself at home quite nicely and settles in. She has a beautiful temperament - very excitable though - and would love to get to know my cats a little better but they are just not coming to the party at the moment. Indie has had previous exposure to Mojo last holidays - he quickly laid down the law and said “I’m boss” and Indie being the smart dog that she is, readily agreed. But being Rosie’s first Christmas here, she isn’t accustomed to the Christmas dog invasion as yet. She likes her well enough so long as she keeps her distance, which is easy enough while Indie is outside. 
In the meantime, there is a strengthened border patrol presence to prevent the invader from encroaching on their turf. Not to worry…I’m pretty sure Indie knows better than to cross the border into moggie territory. *hehe*
Posted by Kay
Oh dear is it Monday already? I did notice that I was on the schedule for the All Women Blogging Carnival but it has snuck up on me, pretty much the same as Christmas has. I only just realised - it is NEXT WEEK!! OMG…how did that happen?? Between my best friend jumping on a plane to head off to Europe last night, the arrival of her darling Indy to dog sit for the duration of her trip (more about that later!) and work, I have gotten completely side-tracked. But I digress….you’ve waited long enough for it so on with the carnival!
Dana presents Thoughts on the Westroads Mall shooting posted at Principled Discovery.
Susan presents Girl Travel And More posted at The Innovative Traveler.
Tali presents Top Pinup Authority Sites posted at The Pinup Shop Blog.
Amanda presents Working Together - Team Work As A Parenting Skill posted at Pajama Mommy » Mommy Blogger Community.
Tina presents Future Stars of the silver screen posted at Country Stitchin’.
Micellaneous Mum presents Being indifferently honest posted at Miscellaneous Adventures of an Aussie Mum, saying, “Doing what I love - writing, and writing about my first love, literature.”
Barbara presents How old is too old? posted at Barmus, saying, “Please submit “How old is too old” article. Thanks”
Alvaro Fernandez presents Travel and Engagement as Good Brain Exercise posted at SharpBrains, saying, “Note: I am a man, but the core of this post is an extraordinary essay by a wonderful woman…I hope you enjoy it”
Health and Beauty
spillay presents Keeping your sanity on a Monday morning posted at My Words…..
Carol Bentley presents An enjoyable experience. . . posted at Carol Bentley.
Amanda Regan presents Is This Man Bush’ Love-child? posted at The GOOD, The BAD & The MISCHIEF.
Pearl presents Coordination, Cooperation and Collaboration - Lead to Success posted at Interesting Observations.
Frugal Duchess presents I Was a Bratz Doll in a Barbie World; Lessons from My Failed Broadcast Career posted at The Frugal Duchess, saying, “in the world of Barbie Doll anchors (1980s-style), I looked more like a Bratz doll or one of those teeny-tiny Kelly dolls that look like Barbie’s baby sister without the makeup, the figure or the heels.”
Parenting and Family
Tiff presents I know how she feels… posted at Three Ring Circus.
Christine presents Marche de Noel | Christmas Market posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France.
Jaimie presents Simple Consideration posted at Hug Twice.
Susan presents New Podcast Documentary Contest posted at The Innovative Traveler.
Renae presents Searching for Snow Globes posted at Life Nurturing Education.
kcawley presents First Trimester Bleeding posted at Life, the Universe, and Everything.
Home sweet Home
Rebecca presents Gingerbread House Patterns and Inspiration posted at The Experimental Kitchen.
Shopping and Money
Jenny presents Unnecessarily Hard to Buy Toys posted at the so called me.
Madeleine Begun Kane presents Why I Don’t Relish Shopping posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.
Gilly Marcelli presents Christmas Gifts For Senior Parents posted at DiscoveryDiva, saying, “My first Carnival submission - thank you.”
poetloverrebelspy presents 20 Travel Gifts Under $20 posted at Less Than a Shoestring, saying, “Not quite sure what to get your favorite traveler this holiday season and don’t have much money to spend? You’ve come to the right place. Most of these practical gifts are actually $10 or less!”
Dianne M. Buxton presents 12 Yr Old head of Household Helped By My Power Mall posted at manifestingsuccess.
Liz Fuller presents Today’s Woman Entrepreneur - Alicia Rosam of Ali J posted at More Than WE Know, saying, “Many entrepreneurs tell me that marketing and sales is their least favorite aspect of running their business. Go behind the scenes with this remarkable young entrepreneur and discover her secrets for gaining visiblity in dozens of online and offline mediums. Even though she has only been in business a few months, her artwork is now hanging in public and private collections in 22 countries. There are bound to be some suggestions that you can mirror and apply to your own business.”
paidtwice presents I Got Paid to Buy Batteries posted at I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…, saying, “Sometimes deals that seem too good to be true… aren’t!”
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of all women blogging carnival using our carnival submission form.
Posted by Kay
Everyone who knows me well knows that I am heavily against buying pets as Christmas gifts for other people. Regardless of whether you know the person would like one or not, it just isn’t a good idea!
Mojo was given to me as a Christmas present and I had absolutely no idea he was coming. I had no litter or tray, no food or bowls to put it in and no bedding for the little kitty to go to sleep in at night. And more to the point, I was still living at home and had no idea what my mum would think about it at all! She was pretty mad at first but we are not the kind of people who would turn an animal away. After all, one of our previous dearly loved cats, Puss, also dropped in on our doorstep one day. So out we ran to the pet store, getting everything we needed. Mojo was one of the lucky ones - we were prepared to accept him into our lives and he did not end up in the shelter that year, unlike countless other pets who are bought without consideration every year as Christmas gifts. He was a poorly socialised kitten and way too young to have been taken away from his mother. But with lots of effort, perserverance and forgiveness for his quirks, he has blended nicely into our household - although he remains extremely moody and unable to play without his claws out.
Paris, one of our peachfaces, was another animal that was purchased as a Christmas gift for a nephew. She was boomeranged back to the gift giver, who then passed her and a new cage mate onto us. When she came to us, she was very high strung and would attack our hands if we put them in the cage to change her water or feed. She has since settled down and realised that we are not going to hurt her. She just wasn’t a good choice for a household full of young children whose curiosity often leads them to be far too rough with animals. Not to mention, she was considered to be too noisy as well. Anyone who has owned a couple can tell you they are pretty noisy birds!
I’m not saying that all children lack the capacity to adequately care for a pet, nor am I saying that everyone you give a pet to at Christmas will not want it. But I do believe that if an individual wants a pet, they will seek one out themselves and find one that suits them and their lifestyle. What you consider to be a perfect pet for them may not be what they want. Or they may wish to have a pet but be unprepared for the financial burden of its upkeep. It doesn’t matter what kind of domestic pet you get, they are going to need some level of maintenance - whether it be veterinary care, feeding or cleaning of enclosures. Also, Christmas time is often a time where you feel sorry for those less fortunate and like to do something to help. Pity purchases from pet stores do nothing to reduce the strain on animal welfare societies at Christmas time - yes the animal may end up at a shelter if it is not purchased. But if you purchase it without consideration of its breed, temperament and needs, it could end up at a shelter anyway.
So if you or someone you know would like a pet for Christmas, please give it a lot of thought before you commit to a purchase. If you are considering buying a pet for a friend or loved one, please talk to them about it first.
Remember - a pet is a friend for life, not just the holidays.