So You Say You Can't Cook

Today I came home in a shitty mood, a bit annoyed about having to work full time and coming home to cook dinner and put away washing and so forth (For all of you who know I love to cook, I do, but when I come home tired from a full day at work, the last thing I want to do is cook). Well poor Dave copped it.........after all he is the one I love and don't they say that you are the worst to the ones you love............anyway poor Dave copped it (ie me yelling and carrying on and complaining) and he ended up cooking the carnivores' dinner, which was chicken, cauliflower, carrot and gravy (all mixed in together, something like a casserole but not) and served it with Deb mash, didn't look very appetizing but apparently good enough to eat as the carnivores ate it all. I however had to make my own meal, once again. At least I didn't have to cook two tonight. Dave must love me as any person who had copped it like he copped it tonight would have gone running in the opposite direction. So Dave......... I love you, even if you can't cook (or so you say)!

Steph

Really Nice Surprise

Yesterday I got a really nice surprise! My son Nick and his girlfriend Becca came to visit. When they arrived the first thing I saw was their very large dog at the back door, and I thought to myself oh my that looks like Nick's dog, what is that doing doing in our yard? And then I clicked.....of course it was Nick's dog and following behind was Nick and Becca. What a lovely and thoughtful surprise. Apparently Alex knew all about it but had to keep a secret. We spent last night together having some food and drink and today on the boat out on the lakes. Unfortunately they had to leave for home today as they are working tomorrow. Although a short visit, it was truly thoughtful of them to surprise me and I'm absolutely and positively grateful! Steph

Medical Technology

It's easy at the moment to be grateful for the progress of our house build as almost each day something else has been done, like yesterday all internal walls were covered in plaster. I suppose it doesn't really matter what I'm grateful,for as long as I'm grateful right? Today because I was sitting up in bed at 5.30am and couldn't get back to sleep, I thought I should blog and that it should be about something other than our house. Yesterday my mum went to the doctors to get some results from a scan she had and found out that the lumps she had felt in her stomach are nothing dangerous, however they found that she had fluid in her lungs and around her heart. The doctor told her that this may have something to do with her Hodgkins (which she has had four times) and the treatment she has had for it. He wasn't sure so he has referred her for an urgent review at Peter Mac Hospital. We are all now hoping that it's nothing to worry too much about and that it's something she can take medication for, and that it's not anything more serious. We will have to wait and see. So in saying all of this I have decided to be grateful for medical technology, because without it we wouldn't be able to diagnose any problems early enough to be able to fix them. And fixing my mum is what we are aiming for. Steph

Only One Without A Passport

By the way, Dave got his British passport in the mail today...it took just 15 days even though the application stated 4-6 weeks. Hopefully the Australian Government will be as fast with my certificate of citizenship. Otherwise I will be the only one without a passport. Boo Hoo! Steph

Day 58 And Getting Closer To Moving In

Day 58 of our Metung transformation....and the plaster is going on. Some rooms are now defined and we can see what size they are. We went upstairs today, the attic ladder is a little scary going down....will have to adjust this later. Soooooooooooo much more spacious then the house we are in at the moment.

Exciting stuff and can't wait to move in!

Our attic

Dave going down the attic ladder

Zoe in Alex's room

Zoe in the kitchen

Zoe in her room

Hallway

Dining room

Diligent Employees

Should I be grateful for the diligent employees who make sure that every little minute detail is correct on any application? I suppose I should, after all they are protecting all of us? Or are they?

A couple of weeks ago I applied for my Australian Passport online, I already have a passport but it expired just over two years ago, therefore I need to get a new one. I thought that because I had previously had a passport the process would be really simple and within 10 days I would have my new one. But things in our household don't always go exactly to plan. Because of my name change from maiden to first marriage to second marriage, I needed a registered copy of my marriage certificate because the certificate they give you on the day of your wedding isn't good enough, so I applied online and paid the fee of $26 or $28 and I received it a few days later, all good so far. Then I made an appointment at the Post Office to put in my application, when I got there I was told that I couldn't use my certificate of citizenship because I have de-faced it (years ago I crossed out my middle name on it, which isn't really my middle name legally and not on my birth certificate or any other document), therefore I have to get a new certificate. Okay then, I shall just get a new one. I headed over to the council (where I was directed to) and I now find out that they don't do it there and that I have to fill in form 119 or whatever it was and pay another $60 to get a new one, and send certified copies of a million and one documents and an endorsed photo of myself as proof that I am who I am. Mind you I used my identification to get Alex's and Zoe's passports and they have received theirs already, go figure! Apparently I am who I am if it is for someone else's passport. The world is truly f*****. Also to make things even worse, the application to get the certificate takes 4-8 weeks, YES you read it correctly 4-8 weeks. So if I don't get my certificate within the next 4 - 6 weeks I will have to pay another $103 for a Priority Processing Fee to enable them to process it within 2 business days of receiving it. My passport will surely be the most expensive one in history.

Anyway today I went back to the post office thinking that I could just put my application in as is (as I was told by the last person I dealt with at the previous interview) and hope for the best and in the mean time apply for my citizenship certificate and by the time if and when my passport got rejected I would have my certificate and then post it off, but noooooooooo, I got yet another diligent worker who said "NO I CAN NOT PROCESS THIS PASSPORT APPLICATION UNTIL YOU GET THE NEW CERTIFICATE". So I handed him the documents and the URGENT letter to Department of Immigration and Citizenship which I had prepared earlier just in case and asked him to post them Express Post which cost me another $6.65. I went over to fill in the address and then went to another Postal worker to hand it in, whom I asked how long it takes for Express Post, she then said very slowly "You have missed the 3.30pm deadline but it will go tonight but we can't guarantee it will get on the truck at Sale". So I then asked her "will it get there the next day?" she then repeated what she said earlier, even slower. I then asked "Do they have to sign for this to ensure they will receive it?" and she says "No, but it's the fastest way of mail". OMG........I have just paid an extra $6.05 for something to maybe go the next day even though it states on the front of the Express Post envelope that it is 'Guaranteed Next Day Delivery'.

If my certificate doesn't come within the next 4 - 6 weeks in order to allow another 2 weeks for the passport application, I will most probably be cancelling or deferring our New Zealand holiday. Let's just hope the highlighted 'URGENT' on the letter I sent with the application gets some attention from someone even more diligent, and they pass it and hopefully not want any other proof or documentation (because I don't have any) that I do not have middle name, print me out a new certificate and send it priority post/express post whatever it takes, so that we don't all miss out on a holiday to New Zealand.
Steph

Ice Cream Does It Every Time

What gets an eight year old out of the house? This is not a trick question. My eight year old Zoe loves being at home, we call her our Hermit Crab as she never wants to go anywhere unless of course it means loads of fun for her, she prefers to stay in pajamas all day and just stay home. Well, this weekend Dave was off fishing and Alex was with his mate, so I planned to spend some quality time with Zoe. We were to paint a picture of a sunset or silhouettes which she actually started, she got as far as the outline, maybe today she'll go on with it. I was getting a little frustrated with her as in the morning I wanted to go and have a look at the house to see how much they had done to it, and do you think she would get dressed and just walk out the door? No, of course not, what a performance! You would think I had asked her to come with me to get her legs cut off or something! We did finally go but she sat in the car and didn't come out of it until we were back at home. Later on, I just gave up, I decided she could just do her own thing and I was going to pack some boxes (as we are moving into our camper in six weeks time). In the afternoon after she'd had enough of drawing her outline and I'd had enough of packing I asked her if she wanted to go and get an icecream and then walk over to the beach at Lakes Entrance with the dogs. Her response, (very loudly and excitedly) YES! And that ladies and gentlemen is how you get an eight year old out of the house!
Steph