Happy New Years Eve...

It's 10.30am, my room is a mess, I'm tired, frustrated and it's New Years Eve! I'm going to Thea's tonight. Not making any resolutions really but my goal is to worry less and trust more...trust God, I guess, that I'm exactly where I'm meant to be at any given moment. We all know I am not good at that though, so it'll be more like a continuation of trial and error. I want to analyze less. It's in my nature to over-think, but what's the point? No human can reach all the answers. Let it go. Well, wishing everyone love and happiness in 2010!

Boxing Day.

Dad's family today. So tired. Falling asleep in my chair- at midday. Am meant to be downstairs. Don't want to be. As a child you long for the day you'll be free of rules. As an adult you're greeted with obligations. There are people you will never be close to. People who do things that you get past but it will never be the same. Just thinking. Rain making me tired too.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!! Here are some videos of Peter unwrapping his Christmas gift. At first he didn't seem to understand the concept at all. Eventually he got it, but started eating the paper...and finally...threw his gift at me. Anyway I found it quite cute and amusing!
Hope everyone is having a good day! We're all very tired here. Opi's not 100% well today. We had Christmas Lunch...did random things...a lot of dishes... etc.

Merry Christmas (Eve!)

Hello from in the midst of our German Christmas Celebration! My Aunt and Uncle are over, we had Christmas dinner, Opi's gone to sleep (wasn't feeling well) and we're gonna go swimming in the dark soon (with lights on), before Matt hopefully gets home in time for dessert! The pic is me with my inflatable penguin tonight. No shame, I am a dork and proud of it at Christmas!!! Wishing you all lots of love and happiness and a peaceful Christmas!!! oxoxo <3 <3

Stress...

Opi is sick. :( They had to call the Doctor to come give him morphine at 4am. Somehow I slept through this. I must have been very tired. Still am, actually. I have to clean, do chores, washing, and figure out plans for Christmas Eve, today. And pray that he's gonna get better from here and not end up in hospital over Christmas again. It got me thinking last night...I'm not sure if prayers work? I believe that God knows what we want, and what we need...but does repeatedly asking Him for it make any difference to the details of His plan? I'm not quite sure. I'm sick of analysing that stuff...no amount of doing so gives us any definite answers. But I'm thankful for all the good He gives us. :) And really hoping that all our family can be together at home this Christmas.
Oh and I have 5 days off for Christmas, starting today. Work was sooo busy the past couple of days, as you can imagine, being in a mall.

Church...

I went this morning. It's so pretty all decorated for Christmas, and with the stained glass windows! It's sad how Church is something we have to try to fit in to our holiday season when we have time...but yeah, since the rest of my family doesn't go, I'm not sure I'll be able to on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. So I went today. I was thinking how true it is, what the priest said. Mary had to have a lot of faith. Because God asked a lot of her. I kind of want to live that way, trusting his plan, but I find it very hard to relinquish control of any aspect of my life. I could be a professional worrier. :S But I'm trying! Humans make mistakes and there is no reset button on how we live our lives. I guess we have to stop waiting for the answer that will make it all suddenly feel ok, and just do the best we can. So we lit the last candle on our Advent Wreath this morning. I have once again forgotten how to spell the German name for it. But oh well. It's pretty. And peaceful.

Edit: I think I forgot to mention that settlement on the house we bought closed on Friday? Anyway, that means if you know me offline, I'll have a different address, as of sometime in January.

My internet is back!

Ok. Yay! Went Christmas shopping with Dad this morning, since Mum is still no more organized! Christmas is so busy! That is all for now lol.

Things rarely go to plan..

Ever noticed that? It drives me mad. I had plans for every weekend this December, and so far, all of them got cancelled for one reason or another. We were meant to go to Carols in the Domain tomorrow too, but now we're not. Don't worry, I have plenty to do! With Christmas coming up, I've been cleaning, washing and ironing non-stop, and settlement closes on the house we bought, today. Plus Opa's been sick and Mum and Dad have no time to do anything. I think I'm going out to dinner tonight which I forgot about, but I'm kinda not in the mood, since it's raining. Rain makes me want to curl up in a ball. And yesterday was SO hot. Oh and it was Celine and Rene's 15th Wedding Anniversary! And today is my little cousin's 18th Birthday...I can't believe that...I remember the day he was born!!! One week til Christmas!!! Better get stuff done, bye!

Still no computer...

The randomness from Saturday night until now....

I watched Little Miss Sunshine. Expected to hate it, but it was actually cute. Beauty pageants are so...wrong. Especially when they involve kids. Let them be children!

Went to work. Getting busier. Christmas in 9 days!

Read more of pregnancy book...kinda amazing, things like how one twin can be born naturally and then the other by C-section. So much stuff like that!

Went shopping again this morning. Attempt to overcome my fear/dislike of buying underwear, due to necessity LOL...

And just found out I got accepted into the course I applied for, so as of February I'm starting Animal Studies and planning to then do Veterinary Nursing! I'm kind of suprised I got in, since it's apparently kind of hard to get into...it's gonna be a big change going back to that. But I think maybe it's where I'm meant to be. Ok, so better go do stuff!

Computer....

I finally got Google toolbar to work again yesterday. I admit I was kind of lost without it. Turns out it was my antivirus suddenly randomly deciding to block it. How annoying! So all was good but then last night without warning, the router decided to die. I'm on Mum and Dad's computer for now, since they're out and I'm taking care of Opa today, but other than that, until we get a new one, I have no internet. Grrr.

Christmas Cooking.

I have today, tomorrow and the weekend off after working Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday this week. So I started planning Christmas menus a bit. 15 days to go!!!!! Strangely though, most the salad recipes I found contained....marshmallows? I like marshmallows, but in a salad? No. Not to mention most Christmas recipes include meat, raisins, and ginger which I also do not eat. I picked a couple to try in the end, though. And made Christmas cookies today! And painted a Merry Christmas sign. :) I feel unproductive, but I guess I got a fair bit done considering my plan for today was to rest and try not to be in pain from cramps. Hmm.
In other happiness- Celine is somewhat back! And she's as beautiful, cute, funny, amusing as ever. I love her!

The randomness that is life...

Life happens while you're making plans...quite true. We (well, my parents) signed contracts on a house yesterday! And we went to see what will be our new home (if all goes well with building inspections!) After months of talk and planning it all happened so suddenly, and so randomly. Where we end up literally depends on what the options are, and which of the options work out! Thankfully, this house is much nicer than the one we saw on Saturday. It even has a fish pond and vegetable garden!! It's a little further out, suburb-wise, in quite a new area...we even passed horses on the way!!! There are a lot of vets there. Lots of nature, a nice neighborhood etc. I want to paint some of the walls in my room bright red though, because blue does not go with my stuff! Trying not to plan too far ahead, but you know I'm not good at that!
Today I managed to drive myself to and from work without incident!! I had to try sometime and finally got up the nerve this morning...mainly because my heels still have blisters from the ridiculous stilettos I was wearing on Friday night, and I did not want to have to walk home..

Happy St. Nicholas Day!!

To all you Germans and Catholics and...just people!!
I got chocolate...Ruby and Peter got adorable chew toys. Missy got a decoration. Belle and Vallie got grit thingies to eat/destroy.
Hopefully Christmas cards will be sent out today.

Craziness...

Friday night: Our house is officially sold. We have to move out in January, so we have to find someplace to live. Went to work, and out to dinner with friends. This being last night.

Saturday: Today. Not the best day. Went to look at a house this morning with Mum, Dad, and Opa. As long as we're all together I don't really care where...but certain issues frustrate me. Certain people...when they're just rude. I'm too tired to say much more. Spent the day writing, taking care of Opa, and doing laundry. We were meant to go out somewhere else but ended up not having time.

Sunday: Tomorrow. St Nicholas Day. We were meant to be going to see Delta at the Opera House, but now she got sick and postponed to Christmas Eve, so we can't go :(

Today: Christmas Photos!

Another busy day! Here's just a couple of the pics I took with/of Ruby!

December is busy!

This is my Advent Calendar. Yummy. Mum gave it to me yesterday. Every year I give her marzipan and she gives me an Advent Calendar, because that's what my Grandmother used to do for us when she was alive. So now we carry it on as a tradition!
I did pretty much all my Christmas shopping and wrapping today! I like to do it early...the shops are busy enough now and it only gets worse from here!

Advent Begins!!

Yesterday we lit the first candle on the Adventskranz. We were meant to do it on Sunday but forgot. It's a German thing, like a Christmas wreath with 4 candles- next week we'll light 2, the week after, 3, and the final Sunday before Christmas will be all 4! Opa sang a bit, Mum read a poem, and I was yelling "hurry up and light it, I have to go to work!" So much for tradition LOL.
It was a busy day though, with work, and then Mum, Matt and I went to see The Time Traveler's Wife last night (so sad!) Now it's Tuesday morning and I must get ready for work!!

Today...

Would have been my Grandmother's 73rd Birthday. She passed away 30th November 1999. Today is exactly 10 years from the last time I saw her. :( I find it a little hard to talk about, I don't know what to say really. So I'm just posting a pic of my finished Christmas Tree, and the Nativity Scene that was hers. When I was little, there were 2 doves in the top area...she used to move them from time to time and tell me they'd flown away! I believed her, every time! :) One of them since got lost, but one is still there! I might go to the cemetery later today...I've only been about 3 times. I just feel like...she's not there, you know? It's just ashes...she's in Heaven or someplace. I guess it's a ritual, a sign of respect? My other Grandma doesn't even have a grave, her ashes were just scattered in the place she met my Grandfather. See, I'm rambling now. Anyway, I miss them both. <3

Happy (late) Turkey Day, and Missy's Birthday!

Thanksgiving- we don't really celebrate it in Australia. But I like the concept of it! I made Pumpkin Pie on Wednesday (yummy!) but I was working yesterday so we didn't have a family dinner or anything.
Something I did do? Adopt a turkey! I heard about it from one of my friends on Facebook. No, it's not gonna live with me! I'm set with the birdness I already have. Anyway info is here: http://www.adoptaturkey.org/aat/adopt/sponsor.html It's an awesome vegetarian alternative Thanksgiving tradition!
Missy's Birthday- my baby girl is 2 today! I made a cake (see above) and now my hands are green and red from food colouring but I guess eventually it'll fade lol!

My tree is up!

I remember when I was a little kid, putting up the Christmas Tree was so much fun! A real family tradition. Dad and Mum would put the pieces together (we always had a fake one...I think just about everyone in Australia does!) and then Matt and I would take turns (alternate years) on choosing which decorations to put on the tree. We'd listen to Christmas Carols, usually singing along with the wrong words... then, I guess everyone grew up. I got my own tree when I was 14, just because I love Christmas Trees, but I still insist on putting up the family tree every single year. Even when nobody else has time, I make time and do it myself. It's kind of the centerpiece of the season, it's gotta be there!
I put mine up yesterday. I always like to do it early, even though that means it's all a little dusty by Christmas! I used my boxes of stuff as a base, and fabric and pinecone decorations for under the tree. I couldn't decide between the pink, red, and gold tinsel to I used all 3 twisted together. White lights- 50. I always think I should get more, but honestly putting 50 on is painful enough of an experience! It's probably the most frustrating part, in my opinion. I'm kind of over the flashing lights at the moment too. Then I finished with decorations. I don't really choose themes, I just put on most of what I have- each decoration has a memory attached- who gave it to me or made it, how old I was...stuff like that!
It's still a bit unfinished- the Angel I was going to use for the top, and my Grandma's nativity scene I was going to put underneath are still in our storage unit, so we'll have to get them back out! Anyway, I still love it and Missy and Belle are fascinated!
In other news, contracts were signed on our house yesterday, so unless the 5 days cooling off period changes something, we are definitely moving! I'm trying to focus on one thing at a time and not get too stressed or upset though. It's gonna be hard to leave! I've lived here since I was 9, most my memories are here!

Outside...

I'm an indoor girl. I don't like bugs, dirt, or being too hot or too cold. Our house is on the market now though, so every other day, we have to go outside and wait in the backyard several times. For me this means carrying Missy, Belle and Valentine's cages up and down the stairs several times a day- not easy! They're heavy as heck and Missy likes to peck my fingers while I'm precariously balancing her cage. Once we're out there, I find it extra hard to concentrate on any task (usually reading), and the birds freak out every time they see a bug. We all like looking at the pretty blue sky though. It's been soooo hot lately, definitely almost Summer!
I'm trying to be patient and tolerant with the process, but lets face it, I just don't like uncertainty! When plans change, strangers are in my house, it feels a bit chaotic.
I can't believe it's Bronx's first Birthday...still can't believe his name is Bronx, btw. Also can't believe tomorrow is the Australian Idol grand final! Well now I'm taking care of Opa on a Saturday night, trying to finish reading a book, and hopefully finding time to organize my diary...

It's Mid-November...

provided by: www.unclaimedmoney.net

Time to start thinking about Christmas!! For some reason I counted 39 days and this things says 38 days, so something went wrong, but anyway I thought it was cute!

Everything is so intense...

Always is with me, but more so than usual this week.

"The excrement made physical contact with a hydro-electric powered oscillating air current distribution device" LOL...or "the shit hit the fan."

Ever feel like you know you're being hostile, but you can't help it? And when someone is totally passive aggressive, the high road can be quite hard to take.

Ever know that your feelings aren't the most logical, but it doesn't matter because that's just how you feel?

I'm not even analysing. I just feel like I've been confronted with so many fears, incidents from my past, and then sadness and conflict.

People in pain, and people who don't understand don't mix well. It just gets more and more intense until it's like a blur of words thrown around carelessly.

Ok. I'm done rambling.

Untitled.

No words really. For a blog. I've been up much of the night. Thinking. Feeling horrible for Celine and Rene. I know it happens to 1 in 4 women, but losing a baby has to be one of the most awful things a woman can go through. I don't understand why God would create this little life inside its Mother, and then it never even gets the chance to be born. I'm not gonna over analyze it, but it makes me feel so sad. Especially when there are over a million abortions every year in America alone, among women who just didn't want to take responsibility for their own actions. Yet for someone who wants a baby so much to have to go through so much trying to have one? That's unfair. That sucks. Lets just pray her next attempt at IVF works.
I also had my driving test yesterday. I passed. But any joy at that was kind of overshadowed by sadness, so I haven't even told many people yet. It just doesn't feel right.

Animals...of course!

That's me...I was maybe 3 years old, talking to a kangaroo! It seems I've always bonded with animals more than humans. :)
Anyway...Melbourne Cup today. I was at work. It was rather amusing the way everyone stopped in the mall to watch, but other than that, I'm not too interested in seeing which animal can get from point a to point b the fastest. My animals would get distracted by a shiny object after 5 steps, so it's probably a good thing I'm not competitive!
Tonight I watched RSPCA Animal Rescue. It's one of only a few shows I watch. It kind of makes me mad though (ask my Mum, she doesn't want to watch in the same room as me anymore because I yell at the Tv too much!) I don't understand how or why people can mistreat animals. :( The other thing that bugs me, though, is the way the RSPCA itself acts. Who are they to decide that an animal is better off dead than with a less than perfect owner? Of course it's bad when an owner isn't able to provide proper medical treatment for an animal, or struggles to keep up with cleaning and feeding- but isn't an animal better off alive with someone who cares about it, than not alive at all? I'm pretty much against euthanasia. If an animal is old, in pain, and has no chance of recovering, maybe there's a reason- but just because it can't find a home...when it already had a home, but they took it from that home because it was "cruel" to keep an animal in those conditions? Well I think euthanizing the animal is more cruel. Humans love to play God, huh? But even without that... there are kids dying in Africa due to lack of medical care and food- nobody wants to euthanize them! Why are animals so different? What if God created all creatures equal? Sure, humans are a more intellegent species, but why do humans assume that this means we are "better"? Or that it makes it ok to eat animals, or kill them in the name of "kindness"? Why do people think of them as less than we are? To me it just shows a disrespect for life. I know my views on this are probably unpopular, but any other way doesn't make sense to me.
*Sending love to all* from me (Jacqui) and Missy. oxoxo

I can't believe it's....November!

Happy Halloween for yesterday! We actually didn't have any trick or treaters last night! (Well, except me, Mum let me have some of the candy!) So it was pretty uneventful. I was too tired from cleaning (finally finished, for now), to dress up or decorate. I had some pumpkin soup from a can for dinner- did not like it. But in other news, I do like tomato soup.
Everything else is just driving, waiting on applications, thinking about moving, Christmas approaching...it's busy, but that's ok!

Cleaning.

I've spent the past 3 days cleaning. I'm exhausted, and my hands hurt. I'm trying to sort through my stuff now, so that whenever it is that we have to pack to move, it'll be a more simple matter. That is, just stacking stuff into boxes, rather than having to decide what to pack with what other items, what to keep and what to throw out, etc. So far, I have learned that:

Everything always takes longer than you think it will.
What it takes me an hour to organize, it takes Missy 10 seconds to cover with seed.
When your Mama said to keep receipts, she didn't mean all of them, from 5 years ago. They are the reason it was so hard to open and close your drawer.
When you move the foot rest (aka, cardboard box of junk) you had under your desk for 10 years, your feet will still subconsciously try to look for it every few minutes.
Don't play with a tube of black paint. Ever. It may seem fun to squish it between your fingers, but when the lid pops off, you'll have a heck of a time cleaning the carpet, your pants, your fingers...

Ouch...again.

I'm always tired around 4-5pm. More so if I'm at home than at work. I don't know why, suddenly I have no energy and concentration, and then I get some more for a few hours later. This time yesterday, we were about to go for a driving lesson, but I somehow managed to fall off the curb and land on the road between two parked cars. I twisted my ankle and scraped my knee. I'm fine, and Mum hasn't laughed that hard in a long time- but I really had forgotten how much that hurts!! I have a Pooh Bear bandaid now, which makes it all a little better, though. As a kid, I had scraped knees every second day...I went through so many pairs of stockings!
In other observations, this weekend has gone so fast. I finished re-reading the Shack...it really is a great book. Very touching, and thought provoking, even if you're not sure what you believe in. I hope God really is like that. If He's not, I don't know where I stand with my faith, but perhaps those questions can't be answered in this lifetime. What do you do if you believe in God, and need God, but feel He's too harsh and cruel to love or worship? Do you live in fear? Do you try to stop believing? It seems like a choice between those two a lot of the time. Well, maybe I don't want to define who I am with a religion. It actually seems pretty ignorant, in a way, to assume our beliefs are right. What if we're not? People of all faiths die for their beliefs, and most of them probably didn't need to. Anyway, I am who I am, He is who He is...what is, is, what will be, will be. I'm at a point of being too tired to care. I'm sick of being judged and sick of analyzing and being cynical about everything. Just sick of trying and failing over and over, I guess. I wish I could give up on it, but I can't. I can at least try to think about less, though. I know I ramble about it a lot, sorry.
Well before I go attempt to get something done, here's a blog post everyone should read:
http://nataliegrant.com/2009/10/24/your-10-can-set-thousands-free/
It's about donating to the Home Foundation to end human trafficking.

Summer is coming...

Things I like about Summer in Sydney...
Not being cold
My hair drying within 5 minutes of washing it
The laundry drying quickly
Blue skies, flowers...
Ice cream!
The pool (would prefer the beach, but it's over an hour away!)
Christmas :)

Things I don't like about Summer in Sydney...
Waking up in the night because it's hot
Waking up because after removing my covers, it's cold
Waking up because I'm hot again after putting covers back
Waking up in the night because the owls, frogs, cicadas make noise all night outside my window
Waking up because I drank a lot of water due to the hot day and now have to pee
Getting sore ears after swimming
Bushfires :(
When it's too hot to put things in the oven...

My list could go on. I generally love Summer, everyone seems more cheerful and less serious than in Winter. :)
Today I did the laundry, had a driving lesson with a practice test which I managed to fail twice, in the same test! I swear I'm not stupid, the test is just really stupid! There are things you have to do in order to pass that are totally petty and irrelevant to road safety. It's making me crazy, I'm having nightmares over this! So this morning wasn't great. Then I walked up to the shops to get lunch, came back, watched Friends with Missy, and then spent the afternoon swimming with Matt. I haven't had a chance to see him much lately, since he works long hours and night shifts.
I asked him where Arabica is, as in Arabica coffee...he said "It's imaginary. Like Poland." LOL he's amusing. He also started talking about "British and Waleish people"...err...Welsh people.
Then we had pizza for dinner with the whole family, and Mum and I attempted to explain the internet to Opa. He nodded, stood up, and walked away muttering "www dot shit!" He's such a cute old guy!

This is so cute...

Watch it. :)

http://www.andiesisle.com/GoD_and_DoG.html

A home...

"A house is made of bricks and stones, a home is made of love alone."

We're getting ready to sell our house and move. I know change like this is necessary to life, but I've never liked it! It's making everyone a little moody, Dad is fussing with the garden, Mum is...being Mum...you can imagine. I'm just trying to remember that a house is only a building. As long as I'm with all the people and animals I love, it doesn't really matter where we live! It'll still be hard to leave though. I've lived here for over half my life and there are so many memories here.
I drove past the house we lived in before this one, today. That was my first home, and we left when I was 9. It just looked so different, actually smaller than I remembered it (probably because I grew!) It just made me think.

Landmines...

This is a bonus track from the Japanese version of Jordin Sparks's Battlefield album. I first heard it a few weeks ago, and I love it.

Trying to pretend its perfect
Wish that I could run away and hide
In someone else's life
Feel like I'm 5 and helpless
Like a child left alone
Crying through the night
And when you yell at me
I get scared of you
All I want is to be close to you
I wish I could tell you the way I feel
But I can't break through

I don't wanna talk about it
I don't say another word
I've already said too much
Cause you just never seem to get it
Do you even care how much it hurts?
To hate the one you love
And I'm just waiting for the day
When I, when I don't have to
Tiptoe through the landmines

So afraid if I say the wrong thing
That your gonna blow up at me
Till I crumble to the ground
Finally I'm getting stronger
And if I have to walk away,
I will, And I won't turn around
If you saw my tears,
would you look away?
Hold me close?
Would you beg to stay?
If I fall apart,
And let you see inside?
Would you tell me its alright?

How can I be so conflicted?
You're the light and the darkness in my heart
You'll always have a place inside it
How can loving you be so hard?
Just want it to be ok
Someday, Someday....

I worked the late shift tonight...

Strangely, I had never worked a Thursday night before. I'm not a night person. I'm more productive in the morning. I don't enjoy getting out of bed, but I'd prefer that to being at home all day and then, just when I'm getting tired, having to go out. A lot of my classes were at night when I was studying Event Management, and I truly hated that! Tonight was quite uneventful. The attempted driving lesson beforehand, not so much. The sun shining in my eyes, uncomfortable shoes, and coffee in my system resulted in me pretty much panicking. It's a lose lose situation. Without coffee, I'm tired. Who isn't these days? Half the world seems to be living on coffee, or energy drinks. I've never had energy drinks, and I avoid coffee when I can for previously mentioned reasons. So I'm kind of a regular sleepyhead in daydream land, then.
Driving is like my Mountain I have to climb, or something. So is my fear of it. It's gonna take a lot of prayer, and a lot of trying again and again and again. I'm closer than I ever was before, which is good. But it's still extremely frustrating!
Now it's 11.30pm and I'm fixing my nails, because it drives me insane when they're not perfect LOL. I'm really revealing my craziness in this post, it seems.
Well, goodnight.

Love...is good.

I was asked last night, what makes us stronger? In my experience, it's not necessarily pain, or faith, which are typical answers. It's love. When you're forced to do what you thought you couldn't, for the ones you love. When you love, and it hurts, and you love anyway.
I remember reading in a magazine years ago, a challenge to spend 15 minutes listing EVERYTHING you love. I never got around to doing it. So I'm going to now. This may turn out random!!

My family. Mum, Dad, my brother Matt, my Opa. (And Omi!)
Extended family too. This brings about several types of love. The kind where you can count on people no matter what, and he kind where you're not so close but you're family, so you have a responsibility to love them and you can learn from that.
Pets- for me, animals= love. Their loyalty. They don't judge the way society does. They love for the right reasons. (And because we give them food.) The only time I really feel faith in action in my life is with my pets. That's where I find answered prayers and purpose. So, Valentine, Ruby, Missy, Peter, Belle and Percy = love. Not forgetting all the pets I've had and known throughout my life, that unfortunately didn't live forever. :(
My friends- I have awesome friends. Some whose sentences I could finish, and some who are completely different to me in every way! It's never boring. My closest friends are probably the ones I've had since the beginning of high school. They're just sweet people I can be myself with.
I love random kindness of strangers. www.givesmehope.com is an example. And Doctors and Nurses (and vets) for what they do.
Artists. People who have the gift of creating songs, music, lyrics, books, poems, paintings, drawings. There's something magical about that. People who feel everything. Who can use their talent to express what they, and others feel. Like Celine. I love who she is as a human. I also love Jess, Delta, and many others <3
Babies. Their innocence. The smile of a Father looking at his son or daughter. The bond Mothers have with their children.
God. For creation. For miracles. Jesus for what He did for us, even though there's so much of it I don't understand. It was unfair that He had to suffer.
Good Christians. The ones who truly LOVE everyone and don't judge. Good people of any faith!
Australia. The freedoms we have in this country. Warm weather (sometimes.) But I also love rain and wind sometimes. Water and air because we need that. Nature. Earth. Languages. Seasons.
Having a home. Having had the experience of traveling. Having the ability to do what I want to, like learn new things, like climb things (if I wanted to!) Material possessions...we do love them. Even if they're not worth so much in the end.
I love laughter...happiness. The ability to let go and not over think, sometimes! Even if some call that the bliss of ignorance.
I love colours. Chocolate, pizza and Mexican food. (Vegetarianism!) The beach. Sunrise and sunset. Looking at the sky. My bed. Life..
I have 33 seconds to go. I could be way more specific and take another half hour, but I'll stop here.

It's Thursday night...

My parents and Grandpa are watching a TV show where every second word they say is "f***." Now, I'm not super offended by that word. I occasionally say it when I stub my toe. I don't mind it being used every now and then for emphasis...but when you can't construct a sentence without using it at least once, you sound stupid, ignorant and rude and I don't want to listen to you.
Matt's watching racist cartoons. That's no better.
My bunnies are outside. Last time I saw them, Peter was once again trying to figure out how to mate with poor Ruby. He seems to know that he's meant to get on top of her, but anything beyond that, he's clueless. He climbs on the wrong way so he's over her head, and she just pulls away and looks at him like he's crazy. Perhaps I should let them watch the discovery channel? Lol.
Therefore, it's Thursday night, and I am hanging out with Missy. I kissed her head feathers and got lip gloss on them though. Ooops. Oh well.
I have a few days off work this week...I wanted to be super productive but I had to take care of Opa today, and do the laundry Mum forgot about. (I live with a bunch of scatterbrains...I recently found cutlery on the lounge room floor, and I stepped in cherry pie that someone dropped on the kitchen floor today. Sigh. I think most cages are more organized than our home!!)
I did manage to do some drafts of applications, and a driving lesson this afternoon...I finally passed 50 hours! I'm still struggling with merging and reverse parallel parking though. Also managed to watch some of the DVDs I got for my Birthday. ;)
I'm going to leave this blog entry with some random thoughts from recent reflection...

Religion is sad. Not faith. Religion. The whole structured thing, the judgment, the rituals, the wars. The use of fear to get people to do what you want them to do. When it becomes like a box you can't see of, and you can't even imagine how somebody could disagree with you. Closed mindedness. The use of violence in Jesus's name. If that's what Christianity is, I don't want any part of it! And while, yes, man is responsible for a lot of it, I don't think the Bible helps. It's very violent. Maybe there are ways to interpret and justify that, but they're certainly not clear to the average person who would pick up the book and read about a supposedly loving God who would yet send people to hell and instruct nations to go to war. I don't believe the Bible is inerrant. I never have, to be honest, but I was recently told that I "had" to believe that, and it really threw me off track. Look, maybe it is. Whatever. I can't do anything to change it either way. But I'm not one of those church going, door knocking, worshipping Christians. I'm just not comfortable with that. It became a part of my life because it seemed like the only answer. But if I didn't believe... and if I wasn't afraid of what my life would be without that belief, I'd walk away. That's the point I'm at right now. If God is really like that, I'd rather that life on Earth be just a wonderful coincidence, not created. With nothing before or after it. It's easy to imagine that religion is simply humans insistence on believing in a happy ending. It would explain why there are so many of them! (Religions, that is, not humans.) I'm re-reading the Shack though, and seriously starting to think it should replace the Bible...it makes a lot more sense and is so much more relevant to a lot of people's experiences than a book written thousands of years ago and translated over and over. Don't get me wrong...I love God and some Christians are great. It's just the vast majority that make me want to bang my head against a brick wall. I think part of my point is that Religion doesn't seem to make anyone happy. It seems to make half of them angry, and the other half feel guilty.
Why is it that when I aim to write like 2 sentences about this, it ends up being an essay? I drive myself nuts.

Birthdays...

Happy Birthday to my "little" brother who turned 20 today, and my Grandfather who turned 88! (My 23rd tomorrow, but I'm sort of trying to avoid that haha.) We have 2 of my Aunt's Birthdays coming up too. October is a busy month!
In the pic you will see Matt's cake...it's some kind of gooey fruit flan thing. We had a family breakfast this morning, and I made a whole lot of crepes. Dad went to the Football Grand Final today, and Mum and I went driving...Matt had a day off so he's been watching Tv. They went to see Grandad yesterday but I stayed home to take care of Opa. Alright, that's enough rambling for now! :)

Love...is strange.

If love is an action
Just a choice we make
What does that mean?
That our feelings are faked?
I could love the whole world
In a theoretical way
But that's not so special
It's kind of empty

For twenty years I've tried
And prayed when you would not
I loved who I wanted you to be
And look where that got us
To a place where all we have
Between us is obligation
A series of let downs
Over what we'll never have now

Love was who I thought you were
In this case an illusion
Our hearts never shared a beat
Even when we were in the same room
I thought I was supposed to feel love
So I said it, but I could not
I guess there's no point in pretending
It is what it is
Might as well let it go.

The dentist..

I meant to post this yesterday but I was so tired last night, I forgot.
I had a dentist checkup appointment yesterday- but about 2 hours before, my tooth broke! Talk about weird timing. Convenient...yet it's never convenient for a tooth to break. I seriously have nightmares about teeth breaking, it freaks me out so bad! I don't understand why it happened to me, since I eat calcium and I ALWAYS brush and floss. What more can I possibly do??
Anyway thankfully it was easy fixed, no needles thank God... (yet expensive...I can barely afford to have teeth!) and then I got a chance to go shopping. By the time I got home I was totally exhausted and I had a headache... then I had to clean up after the pets and do a whole bunch of things. Today I went to work, and did a bunch more things. Now it's bedtime again. Goodnight!

Sydney is orange!!!

How weird!!! Apparantly it's a freak dust storm that blew orange crap all the way from the outback! This pic is the first thing I saw this morning, orange light coming through my window. It looked like Halloween or something! The sky is starting to clear now but it's still windy and there's an orange layer of dust on EVERYTHING.

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Mama!!!

Australian Idol- Top 10.

With guest judge Brian McFadden. :) Yep, I'm still watching. Here are some thoughts. I wasn't surprised Casey was eliminated, but no way did Sabrina and Kim deserve to be in the bottom 3. Is Australia deaf??? Here are my comments-

Sabrina: My favorite so far. She is dramatic, over emotional, and extremely intense, but I think that makes her an awesome performer who can really connect with her audience. Plus she can SING!! She's a million times better with ballads than uptempo songs, though, so tonight's performance was not a favorite of mine.
Toby- I like him. Tonight's performance was interesting, but a little too slow. I wondered if he was going to fall asleep at one point!
Kim- I think she can really sing, but when she keeps choosing kind of trashy pop songs, she doesn't show her talent or stand out much. At first I couldn't stand her, now she's growing on me a little.
Stan- Seems like a nice guy, but for some reason none of his performances have got me interested.
James- He's talented, but again, doesn't really stand out. I can't even remember what he sang the past few weeks.
Scott- I think he'll win. Girls love him, and they're the main voters. He sang ok tonight. Some of his performances were great, others I pretty much hated. I find it hard to believe he's as inexperienced as he claims to be though, since he knows how to play guitar? That obviously takes some knowledge of music.
Nathan- I like him. Again, the theatrical thing. If I'm watching an artist, the passion they put into a song is as important as their voice. I did not, however, like him singing a Kelly Clarkson song!
Kate- She's good at what she does, but I'm not sure how far country music will be able to go on Australian Idol. I think people like her for her personality.
Tim- Talented, but again, doesn't really stand out. And I don't like JT songs so I kind of stopped paying attention, I admit.
Hayley- She's good at what she does, but has a very distinct voice and specific genre. I'm not sure it's as versatile as the competition would need her to be?

Help find Daisy!!!

http://twitpic.com/hrudr
As I pet owner, I know how painful it is to lose a pet. I cannot imagine a worse way for it to happen, though. I'm hoping and praying for a miracle for Jess and Daisy. If anyone in LA reads this, please look out for her.

Bad day...

I woke up early so I could get ready to go for a driving lesson before work. So tired. Fell asleep holding my alarm clock. Then we couldn't go anyway because Opa was sick and Mama couldn't leave him. Then had an argument with the bank because they charge me for things they shouldn't charge me for and don't even bother to call and tell me. Went to work. Burned hand on hot dog spikes. Ouch. Now home. Well, it's just been a bad day. I still have everyone I love. I'm still blessed to have all I do in life. :)
A thought from last night- Faith sounds like a nice thing. It sounds peaceful and easy. But that's not faith. As a friend recently told me, faith is a choice. It's about saying 'I'm not in control, but that's ok.' It's about trusting God, even when all logic, circumstances and feelings tell you not to. But when you do, I believe it can be a great thing. :)

Pet Rabbit Expo

I went to one today, with Mum. We didn't take Ruby and Peter- I just didn't think they'd enjoy it. (They don't even like short car trips, they get all scared.) I'm not really into the whole "my pet is cuter than yours" competitive thing anyway, I think they're all just beautiful!!! The jumping competition was cute, but so funny because the rabbits just did not want to participate. Anyway, I came home and put Ruby on a leash for the first time, just to see if she liked walking around on the grass with it. She did not LOL. And cranky pants Pete wouldn't even let me put it on him. So I gave up and went driving with Mum this afternoon, second time, and we went to McDonalds. Life is so busy sometimes, I haven't had a whole day at home since...I forget. And tomorrow's Monday again!!

I had never heard of this band until a week ago, and I only know this one, of their songs. But I find the lyrics very powerful and comforting.

Why are you striving these days?
Why are you trying to earn grace?
Why are you crying?
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love?
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough?
To where will you go child?
Tell me where will you run?
To where will you run?

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life
I want to give you life

Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go

Happy Fathers' Day!

This is my Opa (Grandfather) with the "World's Greatest Opa" hat I gave him this morning.
We visited my other Grandad yesterday, and I went to Church this morning (because God is our Father too!) before a family breakfast and lunch out at a restaurant. We're having afternoon tea soon I think, but right now I have a headache and a few random things to do. Well, Happy Fathers' Day to all the Fathers out there!!

I can't nap.

I'm supposed to be taking a nap, since I'm going out with the girls tonight, and I've been feeling sick (see previous entry) the past few days. But I physically can't. Even as a kid, at school during nap time, I couldn't fall asleep (in Math or History class though, no problem!) If I feel horribly sick, or I got no sleep at all the previous night, maybe. But otherwise, no. It's slightly frustrating. I think it would be a handy thing to be able to do, sleep for an hour and then have some more energy. Hmm.

PMS...this is so true.

http://www.pmscentral.com/pms-jokes

The 10 Definitive Signs of PMS are:

1. Everyone around you has an attitude problem.
2. You're adding chocolate chips to your cheese omelet.
3. The dryer has shrunk every last pair of your jeans.
4. Your husband is suddenly agreeing to everything you say.
5. You're using your cellular phone to dial up every bumper sticker that says, 'How's my driving? Call 1 800 ****"**.'
6. Everyone's head looks like an invitation to batting practice.
7. You're convinced there's a God and he's male.
8. You're counting down the days until menopause.
9. You're sure that everyone is scheming to drive you crazy.
10. The ibuprofen bottle is empty and you bought it yesterday.

How many women with PMS does it take to screw in a light bulb? One.

ONE!! And do you know WHY it only takes ONE? Because no one else in this house knows HOW to change a light bulb. They don't even know the bulb is BURNED OUT. They would sit in this house in the dark for THREE DAYS before they figured it OUT.

And once they figured it out they wouldn't be able to find the light bulbs despite the fact that they've been in the SAME CUPBOARD for the past SEVENTEEN YEARS.

But if they did, by some miracle, find the light bulbs, TWO DAYS LATER the chair that they dragged from two rooms over to stand on to change the STUPID light bulb would STILL BE IN THE SAME SPOT!!!!! AND UNDERNEATH IT WOULD BE THE CRUMPLED WRAPPER THE STUPID LIGHT BULBS CAME IN. WHY??? BECAUSE NO ONE IN THIS HOUSE EVER CARRIES OUT THE GARBAGE!!!! IT'S A WONDER WE HAVEN'T ALL SUFFOCATED FROM THE PILES OF GARBAGE THAT ARE 12 FEET DEEP THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE. THE HOUSE!! THE HOUSE!!! IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY TO CLEAN THIS...

Spring!

Spring has begun
The air is sweet
Flowers are opening
On the trees
Summer skies
Are drifting back
The rain passes
There's life in that.

I love you, cherry blossom,
Don't you know?
It breaks my heart
But I won't let go!

Hope is growing
At long last
Towards the future
Walk steadfast
Even if I cry
It's all ok
I wouldn't want it
Any other way!!

Pondering...

I went to Church this morning. Mainly to see some friends whose band was doing all the music. But really, it had been a long time. In the words of my Dad, I was "overdue for a service." LOL. I'm still not really into denominations or rituals. I'm actually enjoying reading in Romans at the moment about salvation by faith, and not by 'the law.' It's a big concept and all very confusing. A lot of it actually seems to contradict itself, but there are some really good verses in there. To get back to the point, I went to Church. Something about it usually makes me feel very uncomfortable, but not today. It was kind of peaceful. Also good to go in a way to say 'thankyou' to God, because among all the crap my loved ones and I have been through, we also have a lot of blessings! And it's nice to be reminded that God is still there and doesn't just give up on us just because we don't always go the right way. The weirdest thing right now is how many of my blog entries unintentionally end up being about God. How much it affected my life when my faith was shaken. I never realised how much it was a part of who I am, until all this. It scares me a little bit, but I think it was all meant to be this way.
The other thing I was pondering as I walked home was stereotypes. I was thinking about how uncomfortable long skirts are LOL. I like them, but they make it harder to move! I'm a girly girl in that I love everything pink, nailpolish, long hair, romantic movies etc. But I've never had any interest in fashion trends really, I'd rather just wear whatever I like than try to keep up. I'd rather wear jeans or sweatpants and play with my bunnies! But then I'm not the tomboy type either. I can't climb trees. I hate any sport that involves a ball. And I do NOT like bugs. Oh well. I shall not be defined :) This concludes todays rambling.

Shopping...etc...

I went shopping this morning. Like most girls, I'm kind of good at spending money! I needed a few things for Summer though, shorts, a dress, shoes, etc. I had to buy cereal too (I'm always running out of it, for some reason) and a pregnancy book, for the sake of learning more about it...I find it quite fascinating! It's 600 pages though and I haven't even started reading. I'm still struggling through my driving book! I had to come home this afternoon and go driving. 28 hours done, out of 50. Please God help me to finish this in the next few months and get my license so it'll just be over! (Also help me to deal with possibilities of work, work experience, college courses, and possibly moving house among other things!) I also painted my toenails purple. Hmm. I'm not sure what the point of this entry was because I've run out of things to say!

Congratulations Celine!!!

Congratulations to Celine, Rene, and Rene-Charles!!! I've waited to hear this news since I was like, 15, and finally, she's pregnant! Yayyyyy! The baby's due in May, so there will still be a lot of prayers for everything to go well, but it's a very happy day! By the way, the picture is her with RC when he was a baby.

So my Grandpa pruned today...

...and what was once a small tree is now...a stick in a pot! Seeing the expression on my Mum and Dad's faces when they saw what he had done was priceless. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Small things amuse me.
Other than that I spent the rest of the day fixing my pets. While I love the warmer weather, 5 of them have suddenly started molting, and I've had to brush, preen, clip nails...it ended up taking all day and I'm exhausted. I also managed to make pancakes for lunch though :)
I can't believe it's Sunday evening and tomorrow is Monday and I have to get up in the morning and start all over again, doing the exact same things I spent all of last week doing LOL....but I guess that's life!!

Bok choy?

What is it? What do I do with it? (Other than give it to my rabbits?)
My Mum has decided to go all natural and order stuff from our "Aussie farmers" to support them. So our apple juice tastes like syrup, our orange juice tastes like oranges. And we have bok choy. Well, Peter likes it. And after 3 days, I convinced Ruby to eat it. I still haven't tried it.

Let It Rain...

"Every little tear I was scared to cry, everything I fear but I kept inside, I don't wanna hold it back one more day, wash it away, every dark cloud clouding up my head, every single word that I never said, I refuse to feel ashamed, Let It Rain..."

This is one of my favourites from Jordin Sparks's new album, "Battlefield." There's something hopeful about it. Even though it's not raining right now, and it hasn't rained much this Winter LOL. I think Spring is starting to come back, actually...

Musings...

Peace is not what's around us. It's what's inside us.
The past few months have been difficult for me. I've struggled a lot with anxiety, and my family has been through a lot too. I guess that's why I've been blogging less. I feel vulnerable and it's harder to be open. I feel like I'm still trying to crawl out of it, but I know I need to.
It's because what happened today has happened. And what will happen tomorrow, we just don't know. We all WILL go through good and bad in our lives, at some point. We'll smile and laugh, and we'll experience loss and cry. But we have to live in the present. Only recently I've realized how much people don't.
A lot of them are actually Christians. Faith can be a wonderful thing, our foundation and hope. But there's something bad about taking the Bible literally to a point that it turns into a bunch of conspiracy theories. For the first time, I think I actually understand prejudice. Of course, it's completely wrong! But I can see how it happens- out of fear. People are afraid of the implications of things they don't understand. They're afraid of people who are different to them. For example, people believing all Muslims are bad, because of terrorists. Or people being against certain governments just because of something they 'heard.' It's not so good! The point of religion at some point, was to give us understanding of why we're here and where we're going...but people turned it into a license to judge everyone, and try to scare us into agreeing with them! (Note to Jehovah's witness people ringing my doorbell!!!)
I don't think Jesus wanted us to live in fear. Maybe that's what grace is all about. If we were all capable of obeying God's rules and doing the right thing all the time, we wouldn't have needed Jesus. We don't have all the answers, but it's ok, because God does, and he's loving enough that he gave us everything we have.
Maybe this is the first time in my life I've really understood that. It makes it hard to regret the past few months, even though they're been horrible!

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast." - Ephesians 2: 8-9

Australian Idol.

The new season of Australian Idol started last night. I haven't really watched a season of Idol in almost 2 years, but Delta and Brian are guest judging this season, so of course I had to watch!
I used to be a major fan of American Idol...honestly, I just think they have better talent than we do. I've seen both Kelly and Jordin live, and they're amazing, but I'm not really a fan of anyone who has come out of the Australian version. Anyway I kind of wonder how on Earth it's going to work having the performance shows and results on the same night, and who is going to replace Kyle? The radio incident was certainly unfortunate, but not really his fault. Maybe the show shouldn't have had that segment, certainly the mother of the girl involved didn't handle the situation well...but what did Kyle do wrong? I'm not a fan of his at all, but I think 'the punishment should fit the crime.' He had a split second to choose how to react to that, and while his reaction may not have been the best, it wasn't so terrible either. Maybe people are just using it as an excuse to hate him? I don't know. By the way, I think it totally sucks that Paula's leaving American Idol! She was such a big part of what made that show, and it will never be as good without her! I'm not the fan I used to be, but I think she does have a lot of good qualities that will be missed.

Perspective on life...

"Joy is not the absence of suffering, but the presence of God."

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but realizing something else is more important than it."

"Faith doesn't mean never having questions, but accepting when there are no immediate answers."

These are some quotes (not from me, from others) that have inspired me lately. It's important to remember than God is always in control of everything. He is good, and he cares. He is stronger than whatever we go through, and he can help us to be strong. I've lost sight of that a lot lately, and I'm trying to focus on it now. Sometimes everything seems like a mess, and it is...but his ways are higher than ours. Our job is not to worry about the future or try to figure it all out, but to trust that whatever happens will be for a reason and part of his plan.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." -Matthew 10: 29-31

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."- 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."- Isaiah 41: 10

"As the Heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."- Isaiah 55: 9

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. " -Matthew 6: 25-34

Shells...

These shells were in a glass jar on my windowsill for years. I collected them at a beach on the South Coast. Yesterday, Mis was flying around my room, she crashed into the jar, and it shattered into about a million pieces- everywhere. And I do mean EVERYWHERE. It took ages to clean. It didn't make me mad though...I'm just glad Missy wasn't hurt, and I know it was an accident. But then I was thinking, you really can't put glass back together. Such a common metaphor...I guess about fragility in life, thinking before we do things, taking care. But when bad things do inevitably happen, I guess we just have to pick up the pieces, move on, and try to find any little bit of good in it. I know, I think way too much.

A week with my feathery and furry children.

I was inspired to write this one night a few weeks ago, when at 11.30pm my rabbit, Peter, decided to make noise in every way possible. I had to brush my teeth, so I carried him into the bathroom with me and put him down on the floor. As it turns out, he doesn't like tiles. They make his feet slide in every direction. He freaked out, and tried to climb my leg. When, obviously, he failed to pull himself up with his front paws, he decided to pull himself up by attaching his teeth to my knee. Ouch! I then had to try to hold a wiggling rabbit in one hand, and brush my teeth with the other. This was the point in frustration where I decided to write an ongoing diary entry, documenting some of the they did, for one week. Now, I'm turning it into a blog. Partly to express the patience that is required when you have 6 pets, but mainly because I love them. They're part of my family. Oh, and yes. I talk to them. ;)

Sunday.

12am: Peter discovers that he can jump vertically, and spin 360 degrees in the air. I wish he wouldn't do it now, though. I'm trying to sleep.
3am: Ruby is loudly chewing her towel. I have to get out of bed to confiscate it. Not happy.
4am: Peter, WHY are you still jumping around? Please stop being loud!
8am: Now they're asleep. Now that I have to get up. Sleep deprived.
9am: Cleaned cages. Fed and watered 5 pets. Cleaned poop of 5 pets.
12pm: Finished washing all the towels Ruby and Peter peed on.
2pm: Missy sits on me while I watch a DVD. Fine, until she craps all over me. Then tries to steal the remote control, which she regularly hides. Then she tries to climb up my sleeve, to steal my bracelet.
3pm: Missy is now sitting on the keyboard of my laptop. Pecking me as I type.
4pm: I just finished vacuuming. So Belle and Valentine put feathers allllll over the floor, and I have to do it again.

Monday.

3am: Pete is being loud.
8am: Ruby doesn't want her stitches checked. I have to chase and corner her. Pete dangerously tries to figure out the difference between my fingers, and peanuts.
9am: While I'm getting ready for work, Missy poops in her water dish, breaks her toy, and then screams so loud when I leave for work, that I can hear her down the street.
11am: Bought pet food.
8pm: Missy sits on my hand. Her butt is really warm. I hiccup. She also makes hiccup noise.
9pm: Watching Desperate Housewives. Missy poops on me. She also freaks out and flies everywhere, finally landing on my head.
10pm: The house is finally quiet. So Belle starts screaming.
11pm: About to get into bed. Something crunches under my feet. Bird seed, on the floor. Thanks Missy.

Tuesday.

3am: Shut up Peter!!!!
8am: Belle falls off perch. Valentine falls off perch. Missy falls of perch. They're all fine. Just really clumsy today!!!
11am: Belle has inexplicable yellow stuff stuck to her head. I have NO idea what it could be. Valentine has pooed on the wall. Peter has put his towel in his litter box. Ruby has managed to get poop all the way to the other side of the room, somehow. Belle and Valentine put feathers all over the room, again.
5pm: Attempt to clean up yet another mess, before going out.

Wednesday.

3am: Shhhhh, Peter!
9am: Ruby to vet. Stitches out. She actually behaved. Wow.
4pm: Need to buy more pet food. Again.
6pm: Valentine is screaming.
8pm: Feathers everywhere. There is bird seed under my pillow? HOW did that get there??
10pm: No. You are not sleeping in my bed. You're sleeping in your cage.

Thursday.

5am: Shut up, Ruby.
9am: Can I just eat breakfast without you calling me, Missy?
11am: Missy is on a mission to steal my bracelet. Again. Tried to sit on the computer. Again. Tried to pull the skin off my face, and remove several strands of hair from my head. Ouch. Tried to eat my diary.
12pm: The doorbell keeps ringing, and Missy keeps screaming at our guests.
1pm: Missy, you are not a fruit bat.
2pm: Begins about 6 hours of cleaning. Fixing up the outdoor rabbit cage and playpen, so I can put rabbits in it and maybe actually get some sleep tonight. Also cleaning other cages, feeding fish, and cleaning my room, you know, getting pee out of the carpet and stuff. 5 pets peck me, poke me, and prod me with their paws, while I'm working.
9pm: Finally, I can sit down. Missy comes and sits on me. Poos all over my pajamas. Sigh.

Friday.

5am: Missy has a night fright. SO close to sleeping through the night! No, you may not sleep in my bed.
7am: I'm in pain from cleaning yesterday. Can't really move.
10am: Missy, you've been out of your cage twice already today, what more do you want? Rabbit, don't hide from me. I need to see your tummy where the stitches were.
8pm: I'm trying to do the dishes. Missy crawls from my shoulder, down my back, around my butt, and stands on the edge of the sink about to jump in. NO. So she decides to annoy her "Grandma" and "Grandpa" instead. That is, my parents.

Saturday.

9am: The usual. Clean cages, and poop. Feed and water everyone. Prepare vegetables for everyone.
11am: Missy, WHY did you poop in your food?
2pm: Got pooped on again...ok, I think everyone gets the idea. The end. :)