Sorry about that, my blogging finger was broken

Well it has been a while since I last blogged anything. This is not because I don't have anything to blog about but rather that there has been soon many things happening lately that I haven't had any time to do more than read other people's posts.

Juggling work and study with social commitments is very tricky. I need a personal assistant.

Traveling for work is crappy. I need a clone.

Planning a holiday to Europe is wonderful but time consuming. I need a travel agent.

Trying to find time to exercise is difficult. I need a personal trainer.

Sadly I think I will have to "make do" with my cleaning fairy and less sleep.

Lest we forget

Here is a photo I took at the war memorial in Canberra earlier in the year. It is sad to think that so many people have died in the pursuit of peace.

Celebrating seven years of marital bliss

I am not sure what the official gift is for the 7th wedding anniversary....my darling gets the ongoing pleasure of my company.

Here is a photo from the olden days before we were married...

Can't get that hymn out of my head

I my opinion the best Easter hymn is Christ is Risen (In the Tomb so cold). But sadly it was not one chosen to be part of the worship at my church on Sunday. This was disappointing for two reasons. 1. I was expecting it and very disappointed not to sing it 2. All I can remember is the chorus which has been stuck in my head since last Friday and remains there quite oblivious to my distress.

I have tried looking for it on Youtube and Googling it to no avail. I think I am destined to sing the chorus for the next few weeks until I finally remember some of the lyrics or my husband throttles me for singing the same two bars over and over again.

Apples, apples everywhere

I ordered a big load of groceries from Coles this week because the cupboard was completely bare.

I tried to steer away from junk food, so I bought lots of fruit and veges.

Lots and lots and lots of fruit as it turned out.

I thought I had ordered four apples, but no. I ordered four, two kilo bags of apples.

Apple pie anyone?

the Long weekend that was

After a week in which I felt a lot like I was treading water I have arrived at the weekend a day early due to some careful planning. Perhaps that is overstating it, but the crux of the matter is that I have tomorrow off and thus a long weekend.

I am planning to fly down to Canberra to see the Masterpieces from Paris exhibition. My excitement reached fever pitch this afternoon. I was telling everyone who stood still near me long enough about my trip. I am truly a nerd to get so hopelessly excited about artwork.

I painting I am most looking forward to seeing is Van Gogh's Starry Night. I have been to Arles where Vincent painted this piece and sat by the River Rhone at night to watch the reflection of the lights on the water and the stars above. The lights are obviously powered by electricity now but the image is very simialar. The vibe of the area remains the same as that captured in the painting.

Below is a photo Tom took of the scene when we were there last

You can't see the stars in the photo, but they were there.

Back at university

Well I started back at uni today.

I am only doing one subject. Frankly that is all I can handle and if I am honest I am not yet certain I will even be able to handle that. How I ever did two subjects in a semester and worked full time I will never know.

This semester I am doing Torts A. I was hoping it was a pleasant class about how to make rich layered cakes, but I was sadly disappointed. It is actually about law stuff. The unit code should have tipped me off but in fact it was the first time I looked at the text book.

I don't have any lectures or tutes until week three (next week). Apparently there is such a small amount of material to cover that they don't bother utilising weeks one or two. If I get to the end of semester and discover that they have crammed in lots of information into fewer weeks I will be seriously annoyed. I suspect it is likely.

Today I had a peer mentoring class. I went to uni early (10 am) to buy my text books, study guide, lecture pad and other miscellaneous stationery which I may or may not have actually needed. Surely every student needs a mutli coloured highlighter with a sticker dispenser attached? Anyway even if it is not "necessary" equipment for tertiary study I can claim it on my tax, so I feel vindicated.

The peer mentoring session was essentially a tutorial run by two students who did very well in the subject a few years ago. Kim and Matt were attractive 20 year olds who are in their fourth year of law studies. Despite being hideously young they were very good and covered a lot of information in a short time.

Next week I have my first tute and my first lecture for the subject. The plan is to attend the tute in person, along with all the wet behind the ears 17 year olds and download the lecture then listen to it on the weekend. Fingers crossed for a good start to the semester.

New shoes, shoes, shoes

I went shopping on the weekend and bought a few new pairs of shoes. Please let me assure you, after my rant post about expensive shoes yesterday, they were all VERY reasonably priced.

I bought two pairs of these...Neither in the green colour. I bought one pair in black and one in aubergine.

I also bought a pair of high heels with peep toes for work. I am pretty tall so I usually wear flats to work but some days and for some meetings I just MUST HAVE power heels.

I also bought a pair of black and white spotted flats with sling backs. They are awfully cute and I plan to start wearing them straight away.

I am very happy with all my new purchases but I think it will be some time before I need any more new shoes.

Shoes, shoes, shoes

I have been looking at the Peter Sheppard shoe catalogue and am horrified at how expensive the shoes they sell are! I mean honestly, who spends $350 on a pair of shoes? I don't actually care if the shoes were made in Italy by a deaf mute who eats only spinach out of the finest beige suede leather from Panama goats, I refuse to spend that much money on shoes.

If I am completely honest I did once by a very expensive pair of shoes. I think they were about $300, and they were purchased before I had a home (read: mortgage) or any real financial commitments. I should have known I was making a mistake when the salesgirl assured me that they were a classic style and would last me til at least the end of the season. I don't know about you but I keep shoes for years. I do not really care if they are in fashion so long as they and comfortable and cute on me.

Anyway, I bought the hideously expensive shoes. I then had to "keep them for good" which is something I don't do a lot since I strongly believe in using your nice/good things all the time. But in this case I made an exception which meant it was some months until I actually wore the shoes.

When I did finally wear them I was disappointed to find them uncomfortable and impractical. The backs fell off my heel and the soles were so flat and smooth I could slide on just about any surface. Wearing them was like an uncomfortable version of skiing, I constantly felt like I was going to fall down. And occasionally I did. Very embarrassing in expensive Italian heels.

I did learn my lesson though. I will never again buy such expensive shoes!



unless of course they were on sale.....

Eye camera and other randomness

I was driving home the other day and saw a young guy riding his bike on a semi major road while talking on his mobile phone. He looked silly and what he was doing was quite dangerous. I would have really liked to take a picture of him but since I was driving and without a camera I could not do so.

It got me thinking about how convenient it would be to have a camera built into my eye. I imagine it would be a quick day procedure to install. I could take pictures by blinking my eyes firmly - a little like Jeannie in "I dream of Jeannie" when she grants wishes. I expect that downing the pictures once I have taken them would be done wirelessly, I am not keen on having a usb port installed.

I think all bloggers should get an eye camera installed. Imagine the images that we could capture to the post and blog about!