Nice to see you!

Three major events occurred for me last year (2010), all in the space of about 2 weeks. I turned 50. The following day I got married. Two weeks later, my oldest daughter became pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.

Most middle-aged people will tell you that in their minds, they still feel 20 something. It's the same for me.

Wasn't it only yesterday that I was planning a night out with guys from the surf club? That gorgeous new perm. Flaired, cuffed denims and the red t-shirt with the off-the-shoulder frill. Corked platform wedgies. **sigh**

Suddenly I'm looking in the mirror and wondering how 30 years can flash by so damned quickly!

So here I am in cyberspace, sharing my genuine shock and horror with anyone who'll listen and maybe I'll even meet some other over 50s who find themselves in the same predicament!

Welcome to my dilemna!!

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Still happy.

Well my little Tassie Devil lasted approximately 20 minutes in my bed!

We did our usual story time and read 6 books. She had her own blanket and pillow in here and lay down to attempt sleep. Tossed and turned. Asked me a few questions. Asked if she could play the muppet game on my iPad and when I told her "No. It's sleep time now." she replied with "Can I sleep in the big bed with Mama?"

And that was that.

Small steps lol.

I took lots of photos today and had intended putting some on here tonight, but because every single one of them has a very messy peanut butter face, they are going to take a bit of work to clean up.

Note to self - clean Chicklet's face before taking 200 photos.

So, instead, I will share a photo taken yesterday, with my iphone, of Chicklet taking a break on the path that we took through the bush.


It's just after 9.30pm and I have a sneaking suspicion that I will be woken up early tomorrow morning by a smiley face planting kisses along my arm, so I'm off to get some much needed sleep.

Nite all.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Happiness is ...

Well, after another late and restless night at home, and after 3 hours of sleep, I was awake at 4am preparing to leave on the train for the Sunny Coast. Taking into consideration the other restless nights I've had this week, and how I'm no longer used to that kind of broken sleep, I am feeling decidedly tired tonight .. even though I had a nana nap this afternoon!

This is my new bed and bedding at the new house - it was very comfortable this afternoon, so I anticipate a good night's sleep tonight.


Little Chicklet wanted to sleep in bed with me tonight .. and that's the reason I chose a double bed, specifically because I hoped she would want to do that .. but knowing how restless she is, and knowing how desperately in need of sleep I am tonight, we made a deal that she could do it tomorrow night.


It's been a good day. Chicklet has been like a mini Tassie Devil and it's been difficult keeping up with her, but it's great to be here. The new house is lovely and set in beautiful bushland surroundings that have walking paths, so they couldn't ask for a nicer environment.

It's 8pm and I am about to settle into an exhausted sleep.

Nite all.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

A Joyful Day

Retail therapy is always fun.

Today, we bought a bed for me to sleep on at the Chicklet family house on the Sunny Coast and it's being delivered there tomorrow. Then I got to choose some bright colourful bedding, so I'm really looking forward to my first night at the new house.

It's only been a month since I saw the Chicklet family, but it feels like forever! I can't wait to see my little Chicklet. I miss her.

I planned on getting a pedicure today and I can usually walk straight in to any nail salon without an appointment and not have to wait, but today, the first two salons that I tried couldn't fit me in for a couple of hours! I didn't want to hang around, so I declined both of them and then found another salon where I least expected and luckily got straight in.

The young girl was brilliant and she massaged my calves and feet beautifully, in between the pedicure and painting my nails. The chair had massaging vibration in it, which gave me an almost deep tissue massage as I sat there.

It was heavenly, it took almost an hour and I was only charged $35! Bonus!

This afternoon, we 'Island getaway girls' had a meeting with a bottle of wine to discuss departure times and plan our drive up north which will be happening next week. I think we are all getting very excited as it draws closer.

So it seems that I have a very busy and full month ahead of me!

It will be football grand final time when I return and my little sis will hopefully be popping down for a visit for grand final weekend.

It will also be time to start the next stage of my studies!

So much happening!

I'm exhausted just writing about it!

There are so many exclamation marks at the end of all of my sentences!

Now it's time to sleep.

Nite all.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Done and Dusted

It's OVER!

The exam is finished and that officially puts an end to my first semester.

Hear my audible sigh of relief!

I would like to apologise to anyone reading this who got sick and tired of my incessant study chatter.

I would like to apologise to my friends and family who I'm sure got sick and tired of my incessant worrying and stressing over my inability to retain information.

I would also like to apologise to Adoring Husband who has been living in a silent world for 6 months, wearing headphones while watching television and spending lots of time out of the house while I crammed.

Now that I know what to expect for future studies, I'm sure that I won't stress so much and it will be much easier for all of you! Thank you for your tolerance and patience and support and encouragement.

Feel the love!

The exam wasn't too difficult. I feel like I may not have given as much detail as they were expecting, so there may be some points lost for my brevity, but I 'think' I will pass .. fingers crossed.

Now I can think about, plan, and look forward to other things like visiting my little Chicklet family and then an island getaway!

Meanwhile in Tawny Frogmouth world .. there is a new nest! This is the same bird that made such a flimsy nest last year that all of the eggs fell to the ground.


This nest looks much more secure, and is in the perfect spot for me to get some good shots of chicks when they hatch. It's quite low in the tree, so let's hope she has better luck this year and we get to see some babies!

Adoring Husband and I went for our barefoot walk along the beach this afternoon. The tide was way out and it was a beautiful afternoon. We only walked half the distance that we planned, because the sand was quite soft as we attempted to walk to the 2nd marker and we were fast sinking deep into the sand, almost up to our knees!

The further we walked, the more broken shells there were, and other partially buried debris to navigate, so we decided not to take the risk

By the time we returned, we were both feeling leg weary!

Anyway, it's been a great day and now I can sleep with peace of mind.

Nite all.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Last Time

This is the last time that I will complain about my studying for the big exam .. tomorrow is the day .. go hard or go home!

By mid afternoon tomorrow, it will all be over and I can relax for a couple of weeks.

If I fail, I only have my old brain to blame .. because I have studied with a vengeance .. it just seems that no matter how much I cover, there seems to be more and more that I haven't covered!!

Today, I looked on YouTube for study hints and ways to remember stuff for tests. Surprisingly, there were quite a lot of videos to watch and I wasted 90 minutes learning to do stuff that I am already doing and which I feel isn't working for me.

HOWEVER ...

One of the teachers on one of the videos described perfectly how my brain is working at the moment and how it feels to me like all the information is flying out of my brain as quickly as it comes in. He said that once I sit down for the exam, I will be surprised by how much my brain has actually retained.

I can only hope that he is right. It gave me the boost that I needed to keep powering on regardless of my doubts.

I think I'll be studying late into the night and then I will squeeze in some more for a couple of hours before I sit the exam tomorrow.

I know that I will be able to say, that no matter what, I tried my best, and have given myself the best chance possible.

On that note ..

Nite all.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Signs of Spring

I always know that Spring has arrived, when the Tawny Frogmouths appear.


This guy was very low on a branch and alone .. which usually means that there is a nest nearby .. so my next trick is to find the nest!

Then there was this pair .. no nest yet for them ..


There is one other, but I don't have a photograph of him yet because he was high in a tree and well obscured by foliage, but I'll keep trying.

By the time I get back from holidays at the end of the month, there should be chicks to photograph!

Still studying. Ugh!

Nite all.