Bit late, but...

Most Christmas songs are woefully innappropriate to an Aussie Chrissy. Visions of a white christmas, frosty the snowman and sleighs are hardly helpfull when you're in front of the fan trying your best not to melt. So here's one of the better Australian adaptations. If I'd thought about it, I could have posted them regularly in the lead up to Christmas. But I didn't. So there.

This is my 100th post for the year. Woohoo I made it. Just.

Jingle bells

Dashing through the bush,
in a rusty Holden Ute,
Kelpie by my side,
esky in the boot,
kookaburra flies ahead,
laughing all along,
Oh what fun to drive and sing
an Aussie Christmas song!

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Engine's getting hot;
we dodge the kangaroos,
The swaggie climbs aboard,
he is welcome too.
All the family's there,
sitting by the pool,
Christmas Day the Aussie way,
by the barbecue.

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Come the afternoon,
Grandpa has a doze,
The kids and Uncle Bruce,
are swimming in their clothes.
The time comes 'round to go,
we take the family snap,
Pack the car and all shoot through,
before the washing up.

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Merry Debriefing

Wishing everyone a belated Merry Christmas, Happy holidays, all that stuff.

I worked Christmas Day, and am currently on night shift which started on Boxing day, so not happy holidays for me yet. I've taken a week off starting tomorrow - thank (ahem) Christ! A month of extra night shifts is really taking its toll. The money's been good, but I'm not sure if it's really worth it, although some of the shifts I swapped out of were apparently quite chaotic. One of the clients inparticular has been very unsettled in the lead up to Christmas, and has attempted numerous assaults on both staff and clients. I spent Christmas evening keeping her away from a client she was targeting, and an hour ago she got out of bed and tried to attack that same client in her bed (purely and simply because she is an easy target). Thankfully I was able to stop her in time and got hit about the arms and legs instead. Nothing serious, but I'm really over working with these behaviours. I know staff are not supposed to put ourselves in danger, but I'll be damned if I'm about to let a defenseless lady get attacked in her own bed. This is the first night shift that I've had an incident, usually its the afternoon/evening shift (when I usually work most) that gets most of the problems. The difference is that during the day there are two staff on to deal with this stuff.

If I don't get the job that I'm applying for then I'm going to request a transfer. This house is dragging me down. I have lifelong experience with disability and challenging behaviours, but its the malicious intent behind it from this particular client that gets to me. I can forgive anything from a client who lashes out because of frustration and not knowing how to deal with things, but planned assault is a very different thing.

Sorry to whinge. This is not my favourite time of year as a general rule, and I guess I've been letting things get to me. I actually dealt really well with the rubbish on Christmas day, and before work had fun with my year old nephew at the family dinner, so its not all bad. Just feeling the need to debrief at the moment.

New Years should be good. Having a few mates around at my place, and I've going to get the inflatable pool set up, since it's supposed to be a scorcher. Maybe even get the BBQ going. Won't need to light it, with forecast temps of 38C should be able to just chuck the meat on and let it sizzle.

Have a good one!

Storms, Parties, and an Opportunity

It's 4am. Isn't that exciting? You're right. It isn't. Moving on.

The last couple of days have been absolutely crazy, for reasons that have very little to do with it being 2 days before Christmas (counting now as being Sunday morning rather than Sat night and not counting the day itself). The weather has been off the charts. Thursday saw flash flooding, two trams struck by lightning, and most of the train lines out of action. Friday dawned deceptively bright and sunny before the storm clouds returned bringing rain and gale force winds into the night, which continued Saturday. The temperature, meanwhile, only just dropped below summer scorcher levels on Saturday, so you can imagine how muggy it was Thurs and Friday. The rain is supposed to ease off Monday in time for a fine and sunny Christmas day.

Thursday was Rileys 1st birthday, and he had a party at the Standford Hotel, which had a great play area for all the kiddies, complete with face painting. Thankfully the storms had eased off by then so getting there wasn't a hassle. Riley slept through most of his party, but he loved his pressie from me (a singing Elmo toy) and I got a lovely giggly goodbye cuddle.

Friday Chris and I had planned what was supposed to be a Christmas BBQ for our friends. It's just as well our place is all decked out for Christmas since we were stuck inside. Chris manned the grill (thank you baby!), and we had one of those electric fat free grills going as well to cope with the truck load of meat I'd bought. Mum and Dave were also round for dinner on the way back to Castlemaine after visiting Riley for his birthday, as they hadn't been able to come down for his party. It was a good night all in all, apart from the odd spat, and I think everyone liked their pressies. I scored a board game ('Taboo'), and an inflatable pool, which will come in handy when the weather returns to normal.

[Insert segue here. It's night shift so you'll get what you're given and just be greatful that it's more or less coherent.]

I've just finished updating my resume so I can apply for a new job as a community development worker. The position is still within the same company, but a different department. The job deals with advocacy and community inclusion for people with disabilities, and sounds a great deal more rewarding then where I am now. The role is only 3 days a week, so if I got the job I would have to either still work where I am now with reduced hours, or join the casual pool on the side, but if I found I enjoyed the role I could then work towards increasing my hours. I know 4am is not the best time to be working on job applications. I'm leaving the cover letter alone for now, and will go over the resume again at a later stage, just getting started. Even without having ever worked in that specific role I still meet all the selection criteria without any embellishment, and Yooralla seems to prefer hiring from within its own ranks, so I'm feeling pretty positive about my chances. Wish me luck!

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Whoops

I've just accidentally made potato gems. They were supposed to be scones, but I must not have used enough flour.

Still quite nice, made with chives from the garden, just not what I was going for. They are really crunchy on the outside and very moist inside. I made them at work for savory afternoon snacks but I think they will go well with tomorrows roast dinner.

My insomnia has been kicking in big time the last few days. Last night I didn't get to sleep until about 5am, after going to bed at 11, and once I finally got to sleep it wasn't particularly restful. I did manage to have an afternoon nap today though, which just shows how tired I was because I hardly ever manage to fall asleep if I lie down for a nap. The good thing to come out of this is that my body hasn't realised yet that I'm on night shift, although it is only 2.15, and 3-4am is the real test.

It's going to be a pretty busy week. I finish at 9am in the morning, then go home to sleep for the day (after a night shift is the only time I go right to sleep). Chris finishes work at 4pm, which is about when I should be getting up, and then we are heading to Castlemaine (he's driving) to see mum for her birthday, coming home Tuesday lunchtime to work Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. Thursday is my nephew Riley's first birthday, he's having a party that evening, and Friday Chris and I are having a Christmas BBQ at our place. Somewhere between all that we have to fit in a trip to the shops to get a couple of last minute pressies and stuff for the BBQ. Then I'm working night shift again Saturday and Sunday, recuperating Monday (Christmas Eve) and working Christmas afternoon and Boxing Day night shift.

I've taken a week off work after Boxing Day. I think I may need it.

For the cat people

I think anyone who has ever owned a cat will appreciate this

Out and About

It's been a pretty good day today. Yesterday, technically, since it's now tomorrow. Nothing overly exciting, shopping and stuff, but a nice relaxing day with good company.

Chris and I were heading towards the foothills for a spot of shopping so we did a loop, bought some special mugs at an Asian grocers in Knoxfield to replace some that had broken, checked out a cafe in Boronia that specialises in allergen free foods, and went on to Ferntree gully to look for a shop, which we didn't find but we enjoyed browsing and it was a nice day to be walking around. We then stopped off at Bunnings in Scoresby on the way home, and after a fair bit of browsing bought a trough, seedlings and potting mix for a herb garden, some camping chairs, citronella torches, a pedestal fan, and Chris priced some woodworking gear. Once we got home I cooked roast veges and salmon steaks with tamari for dinner, and got the herb garden set up, and Chris put the fan together. Put my feet up for an hour, and then headed off to work for my night shift.

Tomorrow I plan to fall in a heap.

Rules of Christmas decorating

It's probably important to note when contemplating my Christmas decorating that I grew up in this woman's house. While my Christmas collection has a way to go before it can even contemplate thinking about the possibility of the thought of competing with hers crossing its mind, growing up with her has resulted in several rules of Christmas decorating being thoroughly ingrained from an early age.

Rule #1 - Christmas decorations go up on the first of December and go down on the 6th of January. There is leeway allowed for Christmas parties, stinking hot lazy days and decor that takes more than a day to get sorted.

Rule #2 - Christmas decorating is like a party - once the decoration numbers have increased they will spread out to fill the house, but when the party is just getting started they should mainly congregate in one room for maximum effect.

Rule #3 - Blue is not a Christmas colour, although sometimes exceptions can be made.

Rule #4 - Collections should be grouped together, be they Santa's, teddies, cats, etc. They all like to hang out.

Rule #5 - If it sits still long enough, tie a bow on it. Or loop a tree decoration over it. Either way. Anything can be Christmassed up.

Rule #6 - Although you can get away with more during the silly season then you might the rest of the year, there is a line between festive and tacky that should not be crossed. If you want to know where this line is, visit an Indian restaurant.

Christmas photos pt 1

Since blogger is currently co-operating with photos, Its finally time to get some Christmas photos up. Since I have yet to collect a large stash of decorations, I have pretty much stuck to decorating the lounge room for now.
I've gone with the silver tree again, still standing despite the cats best efforts, swags, and assorted collections.
Here we have the little tree on the coffee table, decorated by the boy.The start of a Santa collection. I generally don't do blue for Christmas, but he was the boys Kris-Kringle last year, and I need three to call it a collection.

Another collection, this time of stuffed toys decked out with bows, hats, and Chris-moose has his own scarf.
more photos soon, for now I have to go to work

Shoesday - Christmas Edition

In celebration of the silly season, I bring you a special Christmas edition of Shoesday. I present to you a Christmas shoe wreath! It might need a bit of glue before you try sticking this on your door.I bought these while I was up in Townsville during winter, and the tropical climate necessitated the purchase of Summer footwear. They had a 2nd pair half price deal on, so since I liked both colours, I took them up on it.
The cords on these shoes are so long that, if one is so inclined, they can be tied almost to the knees. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go see an ancient Greek about a chariot.

Never buy a maths major a rubiks cube

I bought Chris a rubiks cube about a week ago, he has since solved it 3 or 4 times and won't leave it alone until he figures out the exact formula to solve it, not just how but why it works.
Never buy a maths major a rubiks cube. You'll lose him to it.

Chris has his own blog! He has only posted twice in 3 months, and may never post again, but he has a good writing style and I at least found it amusing, and have been encouraging him to post more regularly. Maybe if you ask sweetly he'll even tell you the story behind the toffee apples.

Christmas bells are ringing...

The Christmas decorations are up, have been duly photographed, and blogger is dutifully refusing to upload them, so you'll just have to wait. Ner.

The cats have been outdoing themselves in their assaults on the Christmas tree, regularly pulling bits of the silver chain down and a few decorations a day. We were woken up this morning by a loud game of Christmas bauble soccer which ranged all over the house and ended abruptly when the "ball" was confiscated. They have a lot to live up to; better not tell them that, in his youth, their uncle Oakley used to bring the whole tree down by launching himself at it from the nearest armchair, or that miss Sophie would climb to the top of the tree dislodging ornaments as she went until none remained.

In other news, Fi, Nat and I went to see Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical on Wednesday night. Ross was, unfortunately, not able to make it as his rehearsal went overtime. It was a great night, and great to be doing something different with the girls. We had great seats, close enough to spot the fluttering of a beaded lash. The show kept to the general storyline, but changed enough to keep you paying attention. They kept most of the best lines, and added a few comedic elements, lines and a lot of songs. Some changes seemed fairly pointless, for example The 'ABBA' obsession was replaced by Kylie (possibly a song rights issue), others were pretty good. The entire cast was brilliant, as were the costumes. Micheal Caton had only to walk on stage to get applause, and while you might not, at first, recognise the rest of the cast, they all had impressive resumes.

We all left with souvenirs; we all got a program, a handful of confetti which we were showered with as the three drag queens left Sydney, and ping pong balls, which were launched into the audience at the end of that scene - yes, they included it, and it was very well executed! The ping pong balls are bright pink and emblazoned with the words 'FOR EXTERNAL USE ONLY', and the silhouette of that shot from the movie when they climb Kings canyon [as Queens]; the one that's on the cover of the DVD. I also got a fitted white t-shirt, Nat got a shot glass and Fi got a cap.

Thursday was the boy's birthday. He had to work during the day but we went out for a nice dinner at an Indian resturant. We were going to go for a walk afterwards but fell in a heap instead.