Whimpering, whining, weeing and wagging

Tonight is our third night with our new family member.

Somewhat surprisingly given the amount of "affection" she has been receiving, she seems to be quite the happy little camper. 

As a novice in the dog-owning department I am basing this on the number of times I spot her jauntily prancing around the house with her tail wagging vigorously.  Our family did have a dog when I was little but I fail to remember taking any responsibility for it...so short of obvious signs of an anxiety attack, I'm figuring a wagging little tail is a good sign!

The whimpering and whining would be after she's shut up in her little 'crate' for night-night and decides that it's really not that much fun and in true puppy fashion decides to whimper and whine ad nauseum.................how long this goes on is anyones guess as I've been putting ear plugs in and SM puts a pillow over his head and after 3 children who were also once babies has not forgotten how to sleep through this sort of caper.

So to the glee of my younger sister we can now add 'puppy sleep-nazi's' to our resume....we were unashamedly sleep nazi's when it came to controlled crying of the KATs and have three good sleepers for the pleasure!!!

Our little furball doesn't realize who she's up against :)

Finally, the weeing.  Yes, there's copious amounts of the stuff....we're off to puppy school in a couple of weeks at which time I expect to take this in hand and take advice on the matter!!  In the meantime, bedrooms with carpet are generally off limits to Sally (yes that's what she's being called thankfully...Salvadore or Salvadora is only uttered occasionally).

Am I happy with the arrival of the furball?  You betcha...she's delightful, delicious and totally adorable :)

Open letter to our imminent furball

 

Dear Furball,

 

In only three more sleeps you will be meeting us for the first time.
That would be three more nights that you will cuddle up to your mummy...or at least within sniffing distance of her.
Three more nights that you will nod off to doggie dreamland having done nothing but "frolic and frootle" (in the inimitable words of Lynley Dodd and Hairy Maclary).

 

In light of this, I felt it appropriate to apologise in advance for some shortcomings that your new life at Casa KATcapers may present.

 

You see, we are canine-novices of the first order.  Saint Mike and I have spent a good part of the last five years trying to avoid this very reality.  Like many other parents, we adopted the approach of 'delay' for as long as possible (truth be known SM could have persisted in this strategy but I'm a big wimp and gave in).

 

So, as not to make this an inordinately long letter...here's a short list of things I'm predicting you may find contribute to your general state of doggy anxiety and neurosis:

 

• Feeling as though someones turned the volume up and it doesn't have an off button!!!! 

Yes, you are entering a home dominated by screaming girls.  Initially the screaming will be in delight at your awesome cuteness but after the initial excitement wears off it will just be generally LOUD! 

 

• Why are these children confusing me with a build-a-bear?

Though I am discouraging it, there seems to be a 'theme' running through the discussions between the KATs which suggests that you may find yourself in a rather fetching 'bridal' outfit complete with veil, slippers and white frock!!!  I will attempt to dissuade this and if necessary confiscate such items but I can't promise there won't be at least a few incidents...remember these are resourceful girls known to wrap up barbie sarong-like with a face-washer secured around her mid-section with a hair elastic!!

 

• Why is there a big picture of a lady with WARNING in large red letters outside the front door??

This is a woman whose instructive advice on learning that we were soon to be blessed with your presence was one word - Drugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, she helpfully suggested giving you something to 'help you sleep'.  In the interests of your safety, the KATs felt it necessary to keep her at a safe distance.............beware the drug-peddling Nana!!!!

 

• Finally, what lunatic decided to call me Salvador and can I get my micro-chip altered?

Okay, I think I should wear this one....................
In a moment of mindlessness (scarily coinciding with being behind the wheel of the car) I suggested that it would be fun to name you after Salvador Dali as one of the KATs best friends has a cavoodle named Pablo...................
To be fair, I did say that we could call you 'Sally' for short which I think is quite sweet.  At least now you know who's foot to crap on :)

 

I do promise that SM and I will do our utmost to protect you from the extremes of affection that our KATs can be capable of.  We are reminding them daily that squeezing the life out of you is not a form of affection and that oldest KAT has a dismal track record having almost smothered a guinea pig at the zoo as a toddler!!!!

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Your loving owner

Strange & Delusional Holiday Ideas

Odd what sleeping in a different bed, showering in different water and consuming way too much food that has been 'off' the list for a few months can do to one's thought processes.

For approximately 48hours last week I was seriously attempting to talk Saint Mike (via telephone of course) into acquiring a 9 bedroom motel in a central Victorian town.

Can I say this reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyy loudly before you all smack me metaphorically over the head:

IT.SEEMED.LIKE.A.GOOD.IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyhoo, reality set in at about the 24hour mark but it took at least another 24 hours before I completely came to my senses and realized that:

a. we couldn't afford it
b. we really couldn't afford it
c. my sanity and the sanity of SM (which hangs by even more of a thread than mine does) couldn't afford it!!

I think it was the drive through the verdant lushness that is the South Coast of New South Wales that lulled me into a 'treechangy' sort of mood.

Although, to be honest I really don't know....perhaps SM's mid life crisis (he freely admits he's having one in a very 'contained' and inwardly focused way) that is rubbing off on me.

Back to reality - two weeks before school starts again..in that time we will be:

1. Spending the rest of the week catching up with family and friends and generally mooching around my mum's house
2. Drive 10 hours straight back to Sydney with SM helpfully sharing the load (he's flying down to Melbourne so he can drive back with us).  The down-side as far as the KATs are concerned is that daddy is a meanie and doesn't do stop-overs so there will be no motel shenanigans for us on the trip home (boo hoo!!)
3. Unpack....no more words required :)
4. Acquire a puppy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yes there will be more words on this one next week.......at the moment all I can say is Oh.My.God!!!!!
5. Do the back to school shopping (repeat O.M.G.!!!!!)
6. Wean myself off chocalate teddy bear biscuits :))

Whooooooo (that was a big sigh)....I am sooooooooooooo looking forward to the next couple of weeks!!

Hanging with the girls

The KATs and I are away on a Girl Power roadtrip.

We'll be away from home for two weeks.

We spent three days driving down to nana's house outside Melbourne.

We stayed in motels and swam in motel pools.  The height of excitement to the KATs is a motel room....Saint Mike and I are doing well maintaining their low expectations of holidays!!!!

We drove via the coastal route (Princes Highway).  Windy roads and scenic vistas amidst the gorgeous Southcoast of New South Wales.

We sang along to our iPod jam-packed with our favourite tracks.  An eclectic mix ranging from Seeker.Lover.Keeper to Glee!!!!

The big girls read "Gangsta Granny" by David Walliams aloud....a hilarious book!!!  We loved it so much we decided to save the second half for the drive home.

Driving, laughing, teasing, occasionally bickering....everything you would expect from a roadtrip!

Saint Mike is 'batch'ing it at home, doing the daddy thing and keeping the money rolling in!

We're off tomorrow for four days up in 'Spa Country' - Daylesford and Hepburn Springs.  We're staying here.  It will be lovely :)

I will be in radio silence until we get back.....

Hope you miss me :))

Daring doings and audacious acts



This quote from pinterest immediately resonated with me. 

The urgency with which I attempt to quash the panic that rises up like a volcano when I'm in a situation that's out of my comfort zone.  Call this imposter syndrome.  Call it whatever you want.  It is overwhelming and has stood in my way on many occasions.

My objective in 2012 is to challenge myself to be more than I think I can be.  To do this, I'm going to need to be daring.

It will take daring to keep my weight-loss moving in the right direction.  I will need to keep challenging the voice in my head that says I haven't got what it takes.  I will need to accept that the voice will never go away, but I can adjust the volume control!

I will be daring myself to try new things in 2012.  I would like to jump out of a plane.  I would like to learn how to paddle-board.  One of these seems inordinately less confronting that the other....will be interesting to see which one is achieved first!!!!!

It will take daring to make my new status as a freelance copywriter bear fruit.  This will come as a surprise to you guys as I haven't blogged about it (naughty of me...keeping secrets!!!).  

I resigned from my permanent part-time gig as of the end of the school year and intent to pick up contract work from my old employer and hopefully new clients in 2012!!!! 

Why did I do this?  Because my status as permanent part-time just wasn't working for me - I hated not having a choice with respect to when I had to work and where I had to work....and it took daring on my part to be willing to look the permanent part-time 'gift horse' in the mouth and resign. 

So there you go, 2012 will be an interesting year to say the least!!

Sorry if this post is a bit choppy...Santa bought me an iPad for Christmas and I'm still getting the hang of blogger on the darned thing....but I suppose this is another chance to be daring...in the face of technology :)

 

 

'the word'

Grateful for my First Mate

The truly divine Ms M has launched her bid to conquer the world of Kidspot as of next week....so I am soooooo pleased to do my last Grateful in the hallowed ground that is Maxabella loves :)

For my contribution this week I am once again going to wax lyrical in praise of my very own Captain Von Trapp (AKA Saint Mike). 

Today's post is putting the cart before the horse though because I know that tomorrow I'm going to be blogging about my "word of 2012" along with all the other devoted subjects of Maxabella loves.....so you shall have to click back in 24hours to put today's post into context!!!

I am terribly, utterly and entirely grateful for the support of Saint Mike. 

If I have any hope to make 2012 the year to be daring and audacious I need to know that I have a safe pair of hands on standby for those times when I am sure to stumble.

He was willing to take a risk on me when we met and he continues to take a risk on me and my choices every time he's asked to.  He is a fantastic First Mate on my voyage through life....although I think he secretly considers himself the Captain of our vessel!!

He endures my financial ineptitude, my inability to stick to a budget and the perennial black hole that is my bank account.

He supports me in my numerous dalliances with depression in the last ten years and whilst understanding my desire to withdraw from the world to a certain extent, never allows me to withdraw from "us"....because maintaining that connection and reminding me how important I am to him and to our girls is what has kept me tethered to life at those bleak times.
His unwavering loyalty and confidence in me gives me the freedom to make choices in my life that I may otherwise be unable to even consider.

It is fitting therefore that my first grateful post for 2012 is dedicated to him. 

Thank you my darling husband :) 

Daring myself to be 'more than I can be'

Being a couple of years on the dark side of 40 brings its own mental challenges when it comes to welcoming in a new year. 

I'm old enough (note I didn't say wise enough) not to be rushing headlong down the path of overcommitment in the new year's resolution department!

But I'm optimistic enough to think that there's still room for improvement in the old personal growth department :)

I must say I am feeling a bit pleased with myself that I've made such good inroads in the weight loss arena and that I'm not coming out of the starting blocks in this area.

I'm metaphorically rounding the top of the 200 metre curve and heading into the back straight - need to tweak my 'line' and maintain good form so I'll be in a position to hug the final curve in preparation for giving it my all to make it to the finish line.

With this in mind, I'm in the process of refining my eating to get back on track in a way that will get me to my next 'goal' which I plan to hit by mid Feb.  I'd like to lose another 6 kilos which will get me into the low 20kg total weight loss department.

I'm challenging myself physically to dare myself to be 'more than I can be' by entering a 6.5km fun run the day before the Cole Classic where I will swim in the 1km Ocean Swim (the previous 2 years I've done the 2km but haven't spent as much time in the pool recently so am going to do the 1km and enjoy myself!!!)

Jogging or running of any description is outside my comfort zone.  I am a 'shuffler' from way back...since giving jogging a go in my early 20's my self talk has always been that I'm never going to have the effortless loping style of a real runner....a shuffle is as good as it gets.

In recent weeks I've forced myself to overcome the negative thinking and just give it a go....and amazingly, because my fitness is so good at the moment and my strength is in such a good place too, I have surprised myself.

I've been using a mantra that feels really right - "be more than you think you can be" and it's working.  In the last week I've completed multiple runs of over 5km each.  I've interspersed this with swimming 1.5km in the pool easily and doing a bodypump class today using weights I've never used before in a pump class. 

I may be on the dark side of 40 but I really feel like I'm in the best place I've been fitness-wise since I was in university.

I'll keep you posted on my progress in this next 'stage'!  Next up will be a new 'shot' to add to the gallery in the pantry to mark the beginning of this next phase....I will share it with you so you can see how I'm holding up post the festive season of excess!!!!!

Good luck to any of you that are embarking on your own 'project me' in 2012 :)