A nice saturday

I had an extremely relaxing morning today, I got up, showered and then sat down with my laptop but I didn't want the radio or the tv on. After a bit I made some breakfast and then I decided that I wanted to go back to bed. I went to my room and just lay on my bed reading a book for an hour or so and then decided that I would have a nap - it was just so nice and peaceful and relaxing - I need to do things like that more often!

This afternoon and tonight I was at DISC, the indoor velodrome for the Brunswick Track Open and seeing as it is my clubs event, I kinda felt I had to be there to help out as either judge, time keeper or first aid and I ended up doing a bit of everything. Being a giant building with a massive tin roof it was a bit of a sauna in there but it was worth it because I won first prize in the raffle, a digital photo frame! :D Noice!

The heat is still hanging around good old Melbourne town... although the low tonight is going to be a chilly (read: lovely) 18 degrees, for the next week we have only 2 days under 30 but thankfully nothing over 34 on the current forecast, thank gawd no more 40+ temps! Yesterday hit 45 degrees, that's just crazy!

I think my tomato plants have mostly been unscathed this week by the hot weather. I have been watering them twice daily and yesterday I even hung a sheet over the clothes line to the fence to try to protect them a bit more from the direct intense heat of the sun. The roma's have started flowering now and there is quite a few flowers on the plants and my cherry tomatoes, well they have sort of become a bit more like sun dried tomatoes on the vine :( but some are still ok.

I heart my air con

My weather station at home (taken with my phone):
Time: 5:57pm Wednesday 28th Jan
Outside 42.6 Degrees
Inside 24.3 Degrees and humidity of 35%

My bedroom has had the door shut all day and only has an east facing window and normally on hot days it gets to about 26 - it's 32 in there! Time to get the lilo out for the lounge room floor!

Today's top has gone over 43 degrees in the city and the overnight low, yes low is 29 - THAT IS NOT A LOW!!!

Weather change

The weather forecast has been updated, it is now: 38, 41, 40, 40, 40, 31 and 30 and over night lows of about 23-25. FFS, that's stupid.

Hot hot hot!

Happy Australia Day!! :D

In other news, house hunting is going well and I think I have found -the- house plan that I like and it's in affordable price range. I am still not managing to sleep properly as I keep waking up thinking about everything and stressing about things and there is also a big issue at work that's keeping my mind ticking over too. Hopefully the work thing gets sorted in the next day or two. What I would give right now for a good nights sleep!

This weeks Melbourne weather forecast is for 38 39, 40, 35, 34 and 29 YUCK! -hugs air conditioner-

A Day to Remember

I've never really thought about it this way, but I am actually proud to be alive to have witnessed the swearing in of a black American President. I am so glad that the people of the USA actually managed to do this and that this particular person, Barack Obama, was the chosen man. Sure I think Bush Jnr had a fair bit to do with it due to the way he handled the role as President, but Obama just has a breathe of fresh air about him, a relaxed confidence who seems at ease with himself and he comes across as a true leader.

This might sound a bit weird or strange, but I am proud of what the people of the USA have achieved.

Those were the days...

I need to point everyone to this article in The Age today - Those lazy, sunny days that seemed to last forever, I was talking about something similar the other day with a friend - those were the days!

MEMORIES seem to like the heat. If there were a competition to see which season conjures the most memories then summer, an Australian summer, would win by miles. By long, hot country miles in the family station wagon with the vinyl seats sticking to your sunburnt skin and the dog slobbering and straining to get its share of the open window and your sister being quietly carsick all over your favourite pet rock.

It's no coincidence that summer and school holidays have traditionally melted into one, like crayons in the sun. The days would get longer and start curling at the edges. The air would fill with insect repellent and bushfire updates. Winter would be just a strange dream. And life itself would be a never-ending afternoon. An afternoon in which things got so bad, entertainment-wise, that watching a blowfly headbutting a roller blind over and over again was actually better than not watching a blowfly headbutting a roller blind over and over again. An afternoon in which everybody but you and your family took off to somewhere else; somewhere impossibly exciting. An afternoon in which pretty much all you could do to pass the time was roam the abandoned streets, bare feet burning on the concrete, peeling the skin off your nose, racking up childhood memories that would come flooding back every summer for the rest of your life. Of course "flood" is the wrong word. It's not so much a flood of memories as an ant trail leading to that Bubble O' Bill ice-cream you bought using every cent of your pocket money, only to watch helplessly as the ice-cream collapsed in the heat, sliding off its stick, down the handlebars of your Malvern Star and on to the sun-softened asphalt, in a lazy swirl of pink and brown. And just as you were about to salvage the hallowed gumball, next-door's dog with the sharp teeth and bad eczema would rush up and scoff it down, ants and all.

Ah, but remember how, if you were lucky, the freezer back at home might still have a few of those frozen-cordial icy poles? The ones in see-through plastic? For emergencies. Which reminds you. The square edges of those things could really cut up the sides of your mouth. Especially if you were eating three of them at once while bouncing on a trampoline. Now, the mere sight of a trampoline reminds you of the mingled taste of blood and green cordial. And, of course, being trampoline-related, there are all those thoughts of twisted ankles and metal springs that bit your bare legs even harder than next-door's dog every time you had to climb the side fence to retrieve your taped-up tennis ball. And how could you forget the time that same dog left a giant poop on your front step? You trod in it, barefoot, while eating a particularly ripe banana and now you can't eat even remotely ripe bananas without bringing back memories of … shudder … anyway, without bringing back memories.

Aloft in a hot northerly of nostalgia, I'm borne back to those distant days when the must-have item for any backyard wasn't a water tank or a shade cloth. It was quite the opposite. It was a long strip of plastic called a Slip 'N Slide. You'd bung the garden hose on one end and from hundreds of pinprick holes, the thing would spout fine arcs of water. Gallons and gallons of fine arcs of water. You'd take a run-up, go skidding the length of this glorified plastic shopping bag and continue out across the waterlogged lawn, through the prickly pear (from memory, always at its prickliest in summer) and straight into the crumbling side of the old Besa block incinerator.

In the harsh light of nowadays, it's a wonder nobody has thought to blame global warming on the Slip 'N Slide. There was a time when it seemed that every backyard on earth had a Slip 'N Slide at one end and a puddle at the other. These days, a puddle that size would be called a lake. In much the same way that fleeting showers are called rain. Yes, summers are different now. Maybe that's why they'll always be so good for memories.

I can do it!!

Last night I sat down with a mortgage broker to discuss my ability to borrow money to buy some land and build a house and the great news is that I can! In my current financial situation, all I need to do is save a little bit more cash and I should be right! I will rejig my budget and work out how much I can save and in what time frame, but at least now I know I can do it and it is achievable!
This means that I can continue to look at display homes and find a house I want to build through what builder and what extra's they include and all that overwhelming huge amount of stuff, but it means I can get started on it all! All up that in itself could take a couple of months anyway.

OMG I am going to build a house!

Damn

I just had a 1hr nap in my arm chair, damnit! I feel heaps better for it, I just hope I can still sleep well tonight

Sleep

Last night was the first night in over a week that I actually had a good nights sleep. I didn't toss and turn and I didn't find myself awake at any point thinking about stuff and this morning when I woke up I actually felt really good which was a very nice change. Coming home pooped from a full day of walking around really helps you sleep.

Today I've spent a few hours cleaning, tidying, throwing out and re-organising my kitchen and some of my lounge room and it looks so much better now and I can access my full (tiny) bench and my kitchen table! I also vacuumed and mopped all the floors so now im kinda stuffed, but a good stuffed so hopefully I sleep well again tonight and I try to avoid having a nana nap.

Rude

I just logged into my email to discover 50+ returned email notifications - looks like someone's been sending spam using my email address :( I hate that happens, it's just rude.

This morning at 7:30am it was already 30 degrees!

Summer is here...

Today in the city, the temperature tipped the scales at 38 degrees! The overnight low is only going to be 27 degrees and tomorrow is forecast to be 39! -hugs air conditioner- I went outside just before to bring my rubbish bin in and check my mail and by the time I got back to my front door, my eyes were watering due to how hot and dry it is (about 15% humidity).

I hate the hot weather and I hate it even more since I became so unfit! Another motivator to be a lot fitter and thinner next year!

I am considering putting my bike on the indoor trainer again for a few weeks in the loungeroom. It's sitting here doing nothing and so are my bikes as I feel embarrassed to be out riding at the moment, so I figure why not ride indoors. Even if I do 30 minutes of gentle pootling pace pedalling while the news is on before I have dinner, then it's all something.

One down, one to go

First day back at work today and it started with the hunt for my chair - not very impressed to come back from leave to find someone had decided that they liked my chair more than theirs. I've had this happen before and because of that I have my name on my chair so after about 5 minutes of walking around lots of desks I finally found my chair.
Today was pretty uneventful and I've left off where I finished last year... with not a great deal to do this week, but it should pick up later in the week or next week - such is the life of my job.

Today I also made the final payment on one of my credit cards! YaY!! Once the payment has gone through (Thursday) I will ring up to cancel the card on Friday. This means I can now concentrate on the one left and try to get it paid off within the next 6 months or sooner if possible. I'm also going make an appointment with a mortgage broker to get some advice and find out what's possible and what I should be focusing on doing etc etc.

End of holidays

Generally, I don't make new years resolutions and I haven't this year, but I am hoping that this year I get my shit together again. That I stop being lazy and I lose the weight gained from my back injury, that once tidied up, I will keep my house clean and tidy all the time, that by the end of the year I will either be in house that I own or have at least signed the paperwork for one and that with the increased fitness and weightloss the time I spend riding my bikes increases - the two of these may actually go hand in hand.

I have to go back to work tomorrow and I'm really not feeling much love for that thought. I should have gone to the shops today to buy some food, but I didn't. I have some stuff for lunches, but I will need to stop in the morning for some breakfast foods. This morning I was feeling great, but as the day has progressed the feeling that I just can't be bothered doing anything has been increasing which is probably why I haven't been food shopping, at least I am doing my washing though.

I hope I manage to sleep well tonight and I don't toss and turn too much as that would be a really crappy way to start back at work.

I finished it

My last post mentions that I bought new sneakers, well two+ days later and I am yet to actually wear them anywhere. Yesterday I spent the day helping my Dad and Maureen move house and considering the amount of walking and standing, it would have been great to wear my new sneakers but a) I didn't want to ruin them on their first wear and b) I didn't want to make my blister worse, especially seeing as over night it had bled a bit. Well at the end of yesterday I was totally knackered! Sore feet, knees, lower back etc that would be associated with moving house and the blister on my heel was in an even worse condition even though I had two band aids in a cross over the blister had worn my volley's which don't run at all. Ahh well shit happens.

Today though, I achieved a milestone for my holiday's. Apart from out fishing 3 males one day I haven't really achieved or done all that much, but I am happy, suprised and very pleased to say that I just finished the book I started a few days after boxing day... an 800 page book! That's right, in less than 2 weeks I have managed to read an 800 page Bryce Courtney book - amazing that I have achieved this! I don't think I have ever read a book so quickly, but it certainly had it's hooks in me and I had the time to spare... even if some of that time should have been spent cleaning

New sneakers

As I mentioned yesterday, I needed new sneakers if I was going to start doing my daily walks again, so today I headed to The Athletes Foot to find a new pair. My sister said I was nuts going there, I should go to an outlet store instead, but I really like the service you get and I don't mind paying the money for the right shoe considering my injury issues. So off I went and after explaining what I needed them for and about my injuries I tried on 3 or 4 different shoes from different manufacturers and I ended up liking the Asics Gel 1130D which also happened to be in an ok pink/lavender colour too



Due to my orthotics I normally need to make an adjustment to the inner soles of some shoes
From this:



To this:



This means that I have the orthotics where needed and still have comfort and padding for the ball of my foot and toes :D

I also discovered today that there are caterpillar's eating my tomato leaves, so I also went and got some stuff to spray the plants with

Run out

My sneakers are now officially dead :( Due to my orthotics, my feet sit higher in shoes and therefore causes rubbing in spots that it isn't designed for. The rubbing itself doesn't hurt my feet or cause blisters, but the rubbing creates holes in the inside of the shoes and with my sneakers it has made the material ball up which then causes blisters and a lot of discomfort. To get around this I have been using the thick brown physio tape on the inside of my shoes, but there are now that many layers of the tape that regardless of what I do, I can't get the surface flat and even with fresh tape on them this morning, I still got a blister on my right foot. This pair of sneakers was quite expensive, and are only a year old, but I have done lots and lots of walking in them - time to go shopping! About 4 months ago I had my orthotics shaved down a bit so my foot sat lower in the shoes so hopefully with my next set of sneakers it wont be such a problem.

They survived

I forgot to mention that all the work I did in trying to ensure that my tomatoes didn't die while I was away worked! When I got home, one of the first things I did was to check them and they have grown a heap and look very healthy, the cherry tomato plant even had a tomato ready for eating and it was delicious. I gave them a water with some seasol in it and it looked like a fair bit of the water just came out the bottom, so it looks like Melbourne didn't have that much warm weather either whilst I was away which is probably the main factor in my tomato plants doing so well.

I think I also forgot to mention how big the mosquito's were whilst camping, I swear they were the size of a horse! I am normally pretty good at not scratching mozzie bites, but when they are on the back of your knee or on your ankle, right where the top of you shoe sits, it becomes really frustrating and difficult not to scratch them.

For the past few days I have had a craving for chilli con carne, so today I am cooking up a batch in my slow cooker. It probably is'nt the ideal food for a 30 degree day, but I'm really not fusssed by that mmm chilli :D

Time to get moving

This year, I have really been left unsatisfied by my camping holiday. The weather was far from fishing weather and it was wither windy, raining or cold or all the above. I did however have a great time away from home, away from tv's internet and my mobile phone.

We went surf fishing once, only to catch weed and we went out in the tinny's once and I managed to out fish the 3 other guys by not only catching the biggest flatty, but catching the most as well! New Years eve was really good. No one went over board, no one was stupidly drunk too early and it was just a great vibe around the campsite.

The cold and wind I got over very quickly though. One night in my tent I thought my tent was going to blow away if I wasn't in it the wind was so strong. Also, another thing I learnt was that in my tent this year is that rain sounds really really loud and wakes you up, especially annoying when it rains most nights! Compared to last years weather of about 30-40 degrees most days, this years was refreshing, however sitting there in the middle of the day with 3-4 layers on its a bit extreme.

I had to leave my tent there on site setup as the last night of camping it rained so much that not only was the fly of the tent still wet, but the ground was also really wet. My friends will pack it up for me in the next few days and bring it back.

I did enjoy my time away, I did lots of reading, hardly drank any alcohol -shock- and had a great time, but the disjointed sleep each night and the cold and windy weather really sucked, although if it wasn't for this weather, we wouldn't have set up in side the caravan and played cards!

So now I am home, it's time to try to get back on track. By the time I head back to work next week, I want to try to be eating right, doing some kind of exercise and just being healthier.

This week, my Dad and his wife are moving house to a house they are renting for about 9 months while they wait for their land to settle and then build their new house. It is a a very busy time giving them a hand with moving and on Thursday I will give them a hand to unpack everything whilst the removalists do their thing.

New Year

I got home from camping yesterday. I am bloody tired, covered in mosquito bites and frustrated by the lack of fishing that was done and I am very very glad to be warm and dry. More later... too tired now.