Category: Stuff

It’s not you, it’s me.

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“Often the things that annoy you in others, are things you see in yourself.”

I have NO idea where I first read that, but I totally related to it then, and I have ever since.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. For some reason, my patience has been a bit light-on for a while now, and I’ve been finding myself getting annoyed at things that wouldn’t normally annoy me, and then getting annoyed at myself, for being annoyed. And that is really annoying!!

To try and combat this, I’ve been trying to work out exactly what is annoying me in a situation, and reasoning with myself: Is this worth getting frustrated over? Is the issue, in fact, my own? Am I getting annoyed at this person, or the behaviour? Would I act the same way if I were in their shoes?

This line of reasoning sometimes helps (if, in fact, I remember to do it and not just get carried away with my feelings and thoughts and get upset and annoyed and frustrated and…. where was I?…) and I feel I am reconnecting with my patient self. Then today I stumbled across this quote:

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” (Carl Jung)

And I like this idea a LOT more. It takes away the feeling of frustration, at both the person for being annoying, and at myself for feeling like I have the same character trait that is annoying me in the first place. Instead, it gives me the suggestion to get to know myself better, and to understand who Wifey really is. And she’s not such a bad gal.

I told you! This journey of self-discovery is going to be a lonnnnnnnnnnnng one.

You’ve GOT to be kidding me…

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So, remember how I told you about the chilblains? The doctor told me to make sure I kept my feet nice and warm all the time, and that would help the healing process. So that’s what I did! I wore shoes and socks EVERY DAY and slippers or thick, woolly socks at night. Then a couple of months ago I start getting these spots on my feet. They weren’t painful as such, but they were all between my toes and annoying me. So I FINALLY went back to the doctor about them this week (I’m sure he’s sick of the sight of me) and you won’t BELIEVE what he told me.

“They are heat blisters. Your feet have been kept too warm.”

Excuse me? Can you please repeat that?? First you tell me to keep my feet warm ALL THE TIME, and now you say I’ve kept them too warm?

And the treatment?
“Don’t sweat. Ha ha.”

Do I LOOK like I’m laughing buddy?

Sport sport sport sport….

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I was watching our friend learn how to rollerblade the other day, and I was enjoying watching the learning process. I’ve tried so many sports in my life, and find it exciting to continue to try new things. Here are a few I’ve given a go:

Swimming – started young cos I had asthma and was pretty handy at the school swimming carnivals
Gymnastics – started when I was fairly young and learned at the PCYC
Judo – did this at the PCYC as well, with my bro
Ballet – started when I was 4 years old, finished when I was 13. I got to the stage where I actually had to be good to continue!
Tap dancing – Did this for about 4 years as a teenager and LOVED IT!
Jazz dancing – I think I did this for 2 years (as well as tap and ballet) and liked it but wasn’t that good
Athletics – at primary school. I was good at sprinting, long jump and high jump. Until puberty hit…
Hockey – played hockey (goal keeper) from 10-years-old til 16, then again when I was 21/22 years old.
Soccer – played in high school and then again when I was 26/27 y/o (in goals again)
Basketball – was on the inter-school team (mandatory sport on a Wednesday)
Netball (indoor) – first played when I was 17/18 or so, then on and off in my 20s
Skiing – first learnt when I was 10 years old, then again for year 11 ski trip. Can’t wait to go again some time and try my hand at snow boarding
Indoor hockey – played for a few years in my late teens and again in my 20s I think
Wind surfing and catamaraning – both just for fun with family
Touch footy – Played when I was 23/24 but didn’t like it that much, then played down here in Melbourne last year and LOVED IT!
Ultimate disc – played 1 season last year with Hubs and enjoyed it, but the game times weren’t that convenient and it’s TOO COLD in Melbourne to play sports at night!
Going to the gym – well……..
Rollerblading – just for fun
Personal training – did that in my mid 20s with a friend, then just before our wedding with Hubs(we were totally buff!), being trained by one of my bridesmaids who’s a personal trainer and who LOVED kicking our butts.

Stuff I’ve tried once or twice: Tennis, Rebound volleyball, squash, badminton, backyard cricket (more than once or twice, clearly), karate, ju-jitsu, indoor rock climbing, sky diving (once is enough), lawn bowls.

So it kind of looks like I play sport the same way I work, but I did actually participate in a lot of these sports for a long time, so it’s totally different. 🙂 That’s all that I can think of at the moment, though, there could very well be more! (And there’s probably a really obvious one that I’ve missed!)

The moral of the story? I’ll try anything once!

Pumping Iron

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I decided I needed a kick-start to my exercise regime (that is, I had no exercise regime and needed one) so I’ve signed up for a 1 month membership to all the classes at the uni gym. I’m no stranger to joining a gym, but I’m not so familiar with actually going regularly. I’ve probably joined half a dozen gyms in my life, but the novelty wears off in about the 2nd month and the rest of the year is wasted. I’ve sometimes gotten some of my money back, but more often than not, it’s been money down the drain.

I know that part of the reason that I didn’t go regularly was because I was always so busy and I didn’t put it as a priority. After the initial surge of motivation, I would put it at around 8th on my list of priorities so it never really got “done”. I have quite a bit of time on my hands at the moment, and I wanted to do something for myself and for my health. So this time, instead of committing myself to a whole year, I decided to just go for the month. Kind of a build-up before Christmas. And I went for the classes-only pass as that’s what I’m most interested in. Plus it includes use of the pool and I don’t mind doing laps from time to time.

So my month started last Thursday and I think I’ve already gotten my money’s worth, going 10 times in 8 days. Most of my muscles are screaming at me on a daily basis, but I’m already noticing an increase in my energy, plus I’m going to sleep easier at night. My dreams are a lot more crazy (as is per usual when I sleep heavier) but it’s worth it.

So I’m not saying I’m going to keep up this “10 trips in a week” thing, but I’m certainly going to give it a crack!

What belongs to who?

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When I look at my feet, I see my Dad. I have his feet. Our feet seriously look SO alike. I’ll take a photo some time and show you. It got me thinking about what features I inherited from which parent, or side of the family, and here’s what I’ve come up with, going from the bottom (my feet!) to the top!

Feet – Dad
Calf muscles – my Nanny (Dad’s side)
Body shape (short legs, long body) – Dad
Child-bearing hips – Mum 🙂
Chin – Mum
Mouth – Mum
Nose – Dad
Eyes – Mum
Hair – Mum
Voice – Mum
Hands and fingers – Dad

And a few other things:
Stubbornness – Dad
Practicality – Mum
Sentimentality – Dad
Organisational skills – Mum
Sexy legs – Mum 🙂
Use of hand gestures when telling a story – Dad
Karaoke skills – Mum and her side of the family (R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!)
Squeemishness – Dad (you know it’s true!)
My social nature – Mum and Dad

And of course here are some comparison pictures. In case you can’t tell, these were taken at our wedding and I LOVE our wedding photos so I like to take every opportunity I can to show them off!

Can you see the resemblance?? Looking at these photos I reckon Mum and I have a similar posture and Dad and I have a similar cheeky grin! I’m sure I could come up with many more things my parents gave me, in appearance, personality, and the values and morals they instilled in me. I think I’ve turned out all right 🙂

(And you know, a photo of Hubs too, at our wedding, which has nothing to do with the post, really. Did I mention I love our wedding photos???)

Wazzzzzzzzzzup…..

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What we’ve been up to lately:

I’ve been sewing, making Christmas cards, baking, socialising, trying to find motivation to exercise, working, being a wonderful Wifey (in my opinion!)

Hubs has been studying, putting together a rockin’ media pc (guest blog post to come, right Hubs?), tinkering with various projects, being a wonderful Hubsband.

We attended my cousin’s wedding a couple weekends ago and had an absolute ball! I’m planning on a separate post about that soon. Life is just kind of cruising along at the moment, but this could be the calm before the storm as Hubs starts exams in 11 days and has a LOT of them. Plus, I have committed myself to a few projects and bits and pieces that aren’t pressing yet, but I know how time has a tendency to fly so I need to keep an eye on the calendar. (What do you MEAN Monday is the first day of November???)

We are looking forward to coming up to Brisbane over Christmas, as well as travelling to South Africa early January, celebrating my 20tenth birthday mid-January and attending Hubs’ brother’s wedding at the end of Jan. Then it’s back to business in Melbourne on the 1st of Feb 2010. 2010???? Wha????

So this is just a heads-up to let you know we’ll be up in sunny Queensland soon and would love to see as many people as possible. Well, I would love to see as many people as possible – Hubs would be happy with a few small gatherings over a few beers, in between working on his boats (a couple of Hobie cats he’s been fibreglassing for a little while.) We’ll see how it all pans out.

The weather down here has been just beautiful since Saturday. It’s currently 28 degrees and I can’t WAIT to finish work and get out amongst it. The weekend is looking gorgeous too, and I’m really hoping this is going to continue, seeing as how it IS currently Spring time. Chances are though, (and I don’t mean to tempt fate) it will plummet back down to 10 degrees some time next week. WHAT? It’s TRUE!

Watch this space for posts about a duplo “pyramid”, a giant cookie, a fairytale wedding, a game of “how much you think I pay?” and, as promised, a guest post from Hubs. It’s going to be WILD!

A matter of life and death

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I’ve contemplated writing this post for the last year or so, but have never quite gotten around to it. The views expressed in this post are of myself and many people I know. By “we” I refer to many many people in general, but I realise that not everyone feels this way.

Firstly I want to talk about life. New life in fact. Babies, if you will. What is it that “we” find so fascinating about babies? What makes “us” go ga-ga over them? They’re everywhere! I see babies almost every day being pushed or carried around by their Mum or Dad (or their nanny in New York!) and every time I see one, I go all gooey inside. Now before you blame my biological clock (tick tock tick tock), I have to point out 2 things:

1. I’ve ALWAYS been like this
2. I’m not the only one who starts pulling funny faces whenever there’s a baby around


4.3 new babies are born every second!! Babies are common. And I don’t mean in the chav sense of the word, I just mean they are a dime a dozen, yet every baby is a miracle and something to be in awe of. “We” will never get over the wonder that is the warm bundle of goodness wrapped up in a blanket. *sigh*

And then there’s the other end of a life. Death. Again, death is so common. Around 2 people die every second of every day. As my Dad says, “Death is a part of life.” People go through stages of grief that are often unbearable. I can’t imagine this level of grief, but I know that sooner or later, I’ll have to deal with it. I have known people who have died and I have bawled my eyes out at their funeral. I know a lot of these tears have been for their families – a lot of my grief in these instances has been out of empathy for their loved ones left behind. But I also believe in a life after this one, which brings comfort in the midst of the heartache.

I feel I am categorically ill-equipped and unqualified to speak with any level of authority, on such life-changing experiences, even though I have witnessed a birth (the second most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced. The first being the commitment I made to Hubs on our wedding day) and have grieved over death. It’s just one of those things I find fascinating. We are mesmerised by birth and can be broken by death. We are captivated by the face of a newborn, and can be scarred for life by the death of a loved one.

We rejoice in the start of a new life, and I like to think we can rejoice in a celebration of a life that has ended.

1 whole year today!!

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Happy-1-year-at-my-job-anniversary-birthday to meeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Yes, it’s official. I have held a permanent, full-time job for 1 whole year. Hallelujah! Today marks 1 year at my job here at Newman College, full-time, and I’m pretty excited about this milestone. Well, actually, I only just remembered about it now!

Interesting things about my job:

  • I haven’t taken a sick day since I started (I’ve been late in twice with a bad neck though)
  • I have had about 7 weeks of holidays (some taken leave without pay)
  • I have another 6 weeks off over Christmas
  • We have coffee every morning together at 10:30am
  • We have morning tea all together (including other non-office staff) every Wednesday and the kitchen provides tasty treats such as toasted bacon and egg sandwiches or scones or biscuits (I’m trying to cut back though!!)
  • We celebrate everyone’s birthday with an extra morning tea
  • We go out to lunch a few times a year all together and enjoy a lovely 3 course meal
  • I really like working here. The people, the location, the flexibility and generosity I experience every day reminds me of how blessed I am to have this job.

And I plan to be here until we leave college next June/July, so let the morning teas continue!

The comfort rain brings

/ Renae / 1 Comment

The weather has been so appalling here lately, with cold winds and rain and temperatures barely hitting the mid-teens, that us Queenslanders are finding it difficult to cope. Hubs in particular has NOT been impressed that we are living through winter again.

Having said this, I DO love it when it rains at night when we’re all snuggled up in bed and drifting off to sleep. I always find I go to sleep much quicker when it rains. I think this stems from when I was growing up and I was always so paranoid about burglars. There was no good reason for this, other than me being a big scaredy-cat about… well… pretty much everything! But I knew that a burglar wouldn’t be so stupid as to rob a house when it’s raining, (how did I know this???) so I always slept soundly on those nights. The heavier the rain, the better.

These days it just brings a nice feeling of comfort. A feeling of home, wherever I am.