The past few days...Jess, and issues.

I have so many thoughts on what's been happening over the past few days in the media, regarding Jess. Anyone reading this probably knows that I've been a fan for over 9 years, and witnessed a great deal of harsh criticisms- whether people are jealous, just nasty, judgmental, I don't know. But what's going on now feels like the worst- and for some reason, maybe because these particular issues upset me so much, I haven't been able to process my thoughts into a blog. So I'm re-posting what Ashlee wrote on hers, because it pretty much says it all:

"Since when did a woman's weight become newsworthy...
I am completely disgusted by the headlines concerning my sister's weight. A week after the inauguration and with such a feeling of hope in the air for our country, I find it completely embarrassing and belittling to all women to read about a woman's weight or figure as a headline on Fox News. All women come in different shapes, sizes, and forms and just because you're a celebrity, there shouldn't be a different standard. Is this something you would say to your wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, or even a friend?
I seriously doubt it. How can we expect teenage girls to love and respect themselves in an environment where we criticize a size 2 figure?
Now can we focus on the things that really matter.
-Ash"

My thoughts- There is nothing wrong with the way Jessica looks- she's normal and healthy. How are we, girls and women in society, supposed to feel when we read articles like the ones that have been going around? And if they're written by women, that's even more awful. Where's the support? I don't care if you don't like what she was wearing. I don't even care if she gained a million pounds- that doesn't give anybody the right to put someone else down, or ridicule them, or treat them any differently. I really hope that somehow she's ok and not affected by all this. It's really hard to feel ok, living in a screwed up society like this, and maybe that's why I've been going slightly crazy these past few days. So, sorry, to everyone I've driven crazy. I'm trying to be calm now LOL. I just hope you all know that you're beautiful just how you are- the people you love, finding happiness and peace, strength of character, the things you're passionate about- that's what makes you who you are. Not a stupid number on the scale or a clothing size. God didn't mean for us to all look like some model who should probably be in hospital, anyway. This was really hard to write, and I know it's even harder to believe sometimes, so I'll gladly shut up now. *Sending love to you all.*

Happy Australia Day!

What is everyone out there doing? I'm staying home babysitting Opa while Mum and Dad go to a barbecue and Matt is at work despite it being a public holiday.
Anyway I woke up to this weird loud noise. Went outside, to see a hot air balloon floating just a few meters above...they ain't meant to be that low!! It had to make an emergency landing in the park down the street. There were actually 4 of them hovering around our neighborhood and we were kinda worried they were gonna hit our houses! We think it's because there was no wind, every time they took off, they just went back down! One landed in the local schools playground and the other 2 landed in the reserve as well, I think. It was kind of amusing since nothing much ever happens in our quiet little suburb.
So...I'm not the most crazy patriotic person, I don't like sports, or barbecues (although I can cook vegetarian barbecues!), I hate the word "mate" and I can't stand beer...but I do love our beaches, our native birds (LOL) and Delta...so there's my Australian-ness for the day.
Also, it's Rene-Charles, Celine's son's Birthday!!! I can't believe he's 8 already, he grew up so fast! He was actually born on the 25th which was yesterday here but it's today in the US. :)

Girly movies.

This weekend I managed to watch 4 movies within 24 hours. Not that it was a particular goal of mine. Anyway, I watched Baby Mama, 27 Dresses, Uptown Girls and Raise Your Voice. I like movies that have happy endings- real life is depressing enough! And I love all things marriage and babies haha. And pink. And popcorn.

Productive day...

I got up at 5am this morning...it's amazing how much gets done when you're not sleeping time away. I did washing, cleaning, dishes, took care of Opa and the pets, got sprayed by the hose trying to fix the pool and the fish pond. Watched some DVDs, did some internet stuff. Anyway, here's a pic of the truck that took some of our stuff to the storage unit this morning. We have a lot of cleaning up to do before we move. Boring entry I know. It's more for later reference when I wonder what I did in January 2009 LOL.

Political Stuff.

Do you ever feel like you KNOW you shouldn't be talking about something? But you do it anyway? It's kind of hard not to today, everything everyone says is about the "inauguration" of the new President in America. It's really being shoved in our faces, whether we like it or not. I don't mean to offend anyone, but it got me thinking.
Australia also got a new leader last year. Nobody really cared. Nobody cried or felt too emotional, or proud to be Australian. Well, some people probably did, but the hype wasn't inescapable. Look, I'm happy for the Americans, if they're happy today. But that's it. I have no specific views on Obama or any other political leader or candidate, American or Australian. They all have points I agree with and points I disagree with. I have strong moral standards and causes I'm passionate about, but I think it gets scary when people get too wrapped up in hating, or practically worshiping a particular leader. It leads to wars, fights, people getting hurt and families getting torn apart. So I guess it just made me a little uncomfortable how people are reacting to everything that's going on today. I hope nothing bad happens. Maybe people are going crazy because he's the first African American president? But if we had an Aboriginal Prime Minister here, I still can't imagine Australia acting this way. Maybe because America is a world leading country? But it's not the world that's excited so much, it's America itself. I guess they have a lot more patriotism than we do here. I first noticed that watching American Idol a few years ago, actually- the way everyone reacted when someone sang the national anthem. Sorry, but it almost made me laugh. At the end of the day, a song is a song, and a flag is a piece of fabric. No matter how proud you are to be American or Australian, those things are symbols- they're not human lives. I'm not saying disrespect them, not at all. But everything has it's place. I know practically everyone disagrees but I've never been one to really jump on any bandwagon. See, I'm glad to live in Australia, I love it here. But I don't run around telling everyone that our country is better than theirs. I think God made all people equal.

Ahh...kids movies.

Mum and Dad are out tonight seeing a movie, so I'm sitting in Matt's room watching Wall-e with him. So far it's cute but I'm finding it a little hard to follow as I type. I love kiddie movies though. My favourites are the Shrek movies, and Disney ones.

My window opens!!!

You probably don't understand my joy. But when we had our house painted, the painters accidentally painted our windows shut, and we couldn't get them open, no matter how hard we tried. Well, they came back today to fix them. And since we don't have fly screens at the moment, I can stick my head out the window like people in small villages do to greet the town in the morning...ok, so maybe I don't live in an old French movie, and my window faces the backyard, so I won't do that. But I did almost drop my phone onto the first story roof, below. I'm almost tempted to climb out the window and sit on the roof, how they do in movies when they want to write a song or think about life. Unfortunately, the roof is not the cleanest place and I'm scared of heights, so I won't be doing that either.

Part 2...

Well, my previous blog said "not much happening"- that sure changed! Tuesday was busy but the Doctors appointments went ok, thank God. But if it's not one thing, it's another, right? I had to take Val and Belle to the vet yesterday, he has a respiratory bug or something, needs antibiotics in his water but should be ok. Missy's misbehaving badly today but seems otherwise alright. And probably the biggest shock, one of my close friends having to have some serious surgery yesterday. :( I just don't understand how that suddenly happens to someone at 22 years old. Just pray. I had to work yesterday which was pretty crazy. I've been arguing with Mum all week. I spent most the day today taking down the rest of the Christmas decorations. Matt got home from his camping trip tonight, yay! We had pizza for dinner. That's probably more than enough update.

Well...I took down some of the Christmas decorations...

Because this January has been so...uneventful...I guess I haven't been "blogging" much. I've also been trying to defy society's requests that I take down my Christmas decorations, for as long as possible. I love Christmas, and this was the last one I'll spend in this house :( But because we're gonna be moving in a few months, I have to start packing up stuff so we can put it in storage, according to Mum and Dad. So I did my room yesterday. It feels much bigger now. I haven't done the rest of the house yet, but I had work today and I have Doctors appointments tomorrow, and I'm kind of in a little pain from having to move furniture around and lift boxes all day yesterday in my "un-decorating" adventures. Hmm...Matt's away on a camping trip now. I just had dinner. And this is a pointless entry.

Bunny Love.

Pics taken today. There's something so relaxing about hugging a bunny. I love my babies. Note, the white one is Ruby, the black one is Peter.

January thoughts.

This picture is the sunrise on the beach, where we go on holidays every January, that is, where I'd be today if we weren't stuck in Sydney instead. It comes with a very specific memory of getting up at about 4am on the second last day of our trip, and dragging Mum and Dad out of bed. The beach was so beautiful and peaceful- well, except that a whole bunch of seaweed had washed up and attracted a whole bunch of flies, especially to annoy us. Oh, and of course some people just had to complain the whole time. Still, even if you only get your butt out of bed that early once in your life, it's worth the experience. Now I'm being all deep and thoughtful tonight...

Have you ever loved someone, or been passionate about something, in a way that it made you end up hating your life? Ever known how difficult it is to let go and overcome something even though you know it's wrong? Ever felt like so much has happened inside you and there will never be words to make the world understand it? And even after it's over and you're ok, and you can't believe you ever were the person who let all that happen- you still have to live with the scars for the rest of your life? This song reminds me of those feelings, and it often makes me cry.

Kelly Clarkson- "Sober."

And I don't know
This could break my heart or save me
Nothing's real
Until you let go completely
So here I go with all my thoughts
I've been saving
So here I go with all my fears
Weighing on me

Three months
And I'm still Sober
Picked all my weeds
But kept the flowers
But I know
It's never really over

And I don't know
I could crash and burn
But maybe
At the end of this road
I might catch a glimpse of me
So I won't worry about my timing
I wanna get it right
No comparing, second guessing
No, not this time

Three months and I'm still breathing
Been a long road
Since those hands I left my tears in
But I know
It's never really over
Wake up

Three months and I'm still standing here
Three months and I'm getting better yeah
Three months and I still am
Three months and it's still harder now
Three months I've been living here without you now
Three months yeah, three months I'm over

Three months and I'm still breathing
Three moinths and I still remember it
Three months and wake up

Three months and I'm still Sober
Picked all my weeds
But kept the flowers.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!!! Best wishes for a great one! :)
Last night I went to a party at my friend, Thea's house. We watched some comedy shows and the Sydney fireworks on Tv, had pizza and sat around talking. But around 10pm, we realised how tired we all were! A few years ago, when we'd just turned 18, I guess New Years (aka, drinking, doing stupid things) seemed like the most exciting thing in the world. (Not that I ever drink, or do anything stupid like that, but some people did.) Now we have responsibilities, jobs to go to, and some of us have babies and fiances. Even the fireworks aren't that exciting anymore. It makes me feel old to realise most of us are turning 23 this year! We were asleep by about 2am. I still woke up at 7am though- my body seems to automatically do that, these past few months! The sun comes up, and my eyes open. It didn't help that Alice and Charlie (Thea's poodles) kept trying to jump on me- I like them when I'm sitting or standing, but when I'm lying on the floor they're kind of intimidating! I'm used to smaller pets. The result is that I'm cranky, tired, and emotional today from lack of sleep. I think that's another reason I don't really like New Years. I'm not a party girl, I don't cope well when I'm tired, Christmas is definitely over, and right now the year ahead just seems kind of daunting. My head hurts. I sound kind of emo LOL. Maybe it's from wearing black last night? But Cassie said I'm about the furthest thing from an emo LOL, which is good to know. I actually ended up coming home today wearing pajamas and high heels. Well enough rambling, I guess we just have to have faith, and trust that things will be ok. We are blessed for the love we have in our lives.