I'm still here !

I know it's been a while. You get that ! What's been going on you say. Well the chook has hatched a batch (6 babies) another chook has one singleton baby and another is on the brood but I think it's to no avail as "Rocky" the Rooster has been, shall we say, "out of action" lately. He's taken to going round in circles (almost like he has had a stroke and is not quite balanced, ie. one side of him isn't working too good) and i noticed last night that one of the hens is pecking at his feet so I think it's time for him to go. Sad but I would rather him go peacefully than being "hen-pecked" HA HA, that was funny (to me anyway).

School Holidays have just commenced and Bullet is home for good (for how long we can't be sure) but I'm sure that someone will lure him with a promising salary and he will be off again. I think he secretly likes doing work this way. As long as I am home, I'm learning more and more about farming (although the fly blown lambs are not something I would ever get used to and I'm afraid I don't think I could cope with chasing up a sheep, throwing it on the back of the ute, mixing up some potent chemicals to treat the fly strike and managing to shear their bums to rid them of their rancid wool to assist in the healing process - BIG YUCK and I am glad Bullet is home for that task).

Here is a picture of the woman responsible for helping me lose weight and a great friend to boot. Thanks Bianca. This was taken at her expo for World Personal Trainers Day and we all helped her in some way to fill the day (I gave a talk on my little journey - weird doing public speaking, but I got through it alright).

Tori is still having fun riding her horse and very soon, we shall be bringing him home. Bullet has been erecting a horse yard and providing the weather holds out (ie the wind), we will be able to move the old caravan lean-to down to the horse yard (clever recycling there!).

An "A-Ha" moment

This is going to be long and drawn out so for those that are bored by ramblings, stop here and save yourself!

I haven't written for a while and there is a reason for that - SO MUCH IS GOING ON (in my mind).

This is getting personal but here goes... You all know I have lost an incredible amount of weight (tick) and after I returned from Kangaroo Island I THOUGHT that I had reached my goal and life was going to go back to "NORMAL". Little did I realise (and I can hear Bianca's voice saying "I've been telling you this for ages") that this is only part of the stepping stones to achieve my "goal". I have been heavily into listening to fat loss "experts", motiational speakers and the message is common although in their own special words and their own personal tweaks. Life is about having many driving forces (and the direction can sometimes change) to achieving our ultimate goals. Now before I lose another group of people (ie the first lot warned of the long blog that this will be and now the second lot who think I have gone stark raving mad) I got lost a little bit once I lost my weight and had no direction to go next. I meandered around with no meaning for a while then put 10kgs back on !!!!! ARGH ! You see, I thought I could go for coffee and cake once again (but that was turning into a couple of times a week) and not exercise as often. Note to self; "got to get this sorted out". Well I did what some people would look at as ridiculous and bought a couple of e-books (internet downloads) and along with them came those very motivational mp3's that i had mentioned a little earlier. Okay, now I'm getting bored with this writing and it's going all over the place so I'll just do what I came here to do... and that is to announce to the world my dreams, aspirations, goals, driving forces, and to pick a couple of mentors to guide me along. (this is written in the form of I have and am living my dreams in the now)

1. I am singing regularly with a piano player at the new motel in Port Lincoln and am making money with my talent. I am confident and successful


2. My body is lean and looks great in clothes

Sportsday

The dreaded day of the year for the young girl who has no interest whatsoever in athletics. She is in a team called Mortlock (red) and has no friends in this group (some of the girls are in her home class but they don't socialise) so I guess having Mum there for the whole day makes it less traumatic for her (I guess that not having me there would force her to socialise or sit alone - whatever, we had a great day). It was windy and cold though and having lost my layer of blubber, the wind just went right through me, despite the fact that I had a thermal t-shirt (from Target) a jumper and a thick overcoat and was still COLD!!! I did manage to bring my woollen gloves but could have done with one of my knitted beanies (which I have taken to making at night whilst watching the box). She did herself proud. She was suffering from a sore throat since Saturday and I kept her home on Tuesday but she did the 100m sprint (came last), 400m run ("Mum, I didn't come last, I came 3rd last", how proud I was to see her trying) long jump (not much success there), and the piece de resistance (i know that is not how you spell it but you get what I mean), she was in the final for the 100m relay (you get picked for this not on ability, but a quiz or a guessing game) and was coming 3rd when CRASH, they have to go around a witches hat at the end of the course and another girl collected her (that and the fact she was probably off balance with a blocked ear all day) and crashed down on her right side and couldn't even stop herself from falling. Man, I nearly cried. She was doing so well and hurt her hip and I bet her pride was broken too. She tried so hard not to cry but I guess the pain and the burst bubble just overwhelmed her. I didn't even see how the rest of the team went but found out they came last. They were however, rewarded with a Fourth place badge and I gathered up the girls and we went and saw the teachers as they didn't give the badges to them at the end of the race. They were pleased and Tori was stoked (through her pain and tears) as she said to me earlier on in the day that she didn't think she would get a ribbon. Her whole team actually came last on the day (years 3-7) but it was around 20 points between the final 3, the team that came first romped it in. Good luck to them.



Note: if this at all sounds like a parent who is disappointed on her child's lack of achievements, I've written it wrong. I am proud of my girl and how she has come ahead from last year, she ran the whole distance in the 400m, she was never disappointed that she never shot a goal, she was happy that Mum was with her and had someone to cheer her on. She is a legend in my eyes, (and has a fourth place ribbon to proudly show her Dad when he comes home next week).

Click go the shears (sorry, that's not very original)

Well, today we (I mean Bullet) crutched 82 sheep (for those of you that don't know what crutching is, it's shearing the wool off their bums. They are getting the full monty in September. Well Bullet was just going to do the ones that had daggy bums but I suggested that he might as well do them all, and the silly bugger did ! He was knackered by the end. I wont embarrass him by giving you the time/amount of sheep crutched because a) he isn't 18 anymore, b) he's not a shearer, c) he's not even 28 anymore, d) he did a great job. I was on the broom and swept up the crutchings and bagged them. I also got the job of moving them round in the pens, chasing them up the race and pushing them out of the shed (when they needed it).

Later on that day, we chased up the lambs (25) and put rings on their tails and the boys had their nuts ringed - I will embarrass myself here as I think they're callled lacerator rings, but I've heard them called lasterator rings - anyway, their tails and whoopsies will fall off sooner or later. I caught about 5 (refer previous story about me catching things) and held them while Bullet did the deed (Oh, and we also drenched them (worm medicine I think) and ear tagged them) but I am obviously not cut out for that role so I got brave and put the rings on the tails and drenched them but was a but dubious about nutting the poor little fellas so Bullet did that and gave them earrings. Tori was the drench holder and did a great job too. Who would have thought hey ?

Footnote: When Bullet sheared Ruby's Mum today (refer "we are with lamb" and "goodbye, ruby tuesday") we realised that her lambs would never have survived with her. A previous shearing session (who knows how long ago) had resulted in one of her nipples being shorn off - OW!, and the other was blocked, maybe suffering from mastitis. Poor bugger.

He finally finished and was buggered. I think a few times he mentioned that he wasn't 18 anymore.

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday

Ruby, the lamb, lost her life this morning and I am so mad (and also very sad). I dunno what I did or didn't do, but she was fine up until yesterday afternoon. She just started shaking like she was very cold, and no amount of warmth was going to help her. I sat with her all night on my lap wrapped in a towel (incase of poops) and a doona (an old one) and even set her up in my room with her basket and fed her some "formula" at 5am this morning. Bullet said the other lamb did the same thing. He is mad about the formula because he thinks that is one reason why they deteriorated. It could also be that the colostrum wasn't there for them in the first 48 hours but I am sure that Ruby did get some from her Mum (she was one of a set of triplets, the other 2 had already died - poor Mum).

We are with lamb

Upon arriving home from an overnight trip we checked for chicken eggs and Tori yelled, there's a lamb crying. So over to the fence to discover a wee lambie crying it's little lungs out and in the distance, a mother searching for it. I had to think quick, should I take this little one inside or leave it to find mum? Big decision but made pretty easy when I did notice that it was having trouble feeding from Mum on Friday and looked all forlorn and in need of some nourishment not to mention it was starting to rain and did so for quite some time last night. . The decision was final. I chased her for a few metres (just to catch her properly, if you've ever had the pleasure of watching me try to catch anything, I need to make sure I get a good grip so as not to traumatise the animal and let it get away so it will never come near me again - pretty useless at that kinda thing), and scooped it into my arms, gave it to Tori to nurse while I juggled driving and 11 eggs in my pockets. We took the wee one inside and proceeded to make up some lamb milk (there was already a failed attempt at reviving a lamb whilst I was onKangaroo Island so a little knowledge was going to help us with the strength of the mixture and the resulting output - might have been too rich for the last lamb) and trying out various teats for suitability. We finally decided on a baby's bottle and a regular teat with a little more of a hole in it and it took down 150 odd ml. Success. The little one later on decided to wee and then we discovered that we had a little girl on our hands. Sweet little thing. We all slept in the loungeroom last night and did a midnight feed and I was woken at 5am but that was just for a wee break and then she went back to sleep. She had almost a full bottle this morning (250ml) and we are still on half solution so as not to wreak havoc with her stomach and if she doesn't develop scour (that is what Bullet calls (and I can never spell this word but you will get what I mean) diahorrea) I may up the dosage to 75% and see how we go from there. So as I wash towels this morning and go back to not sterilising bottles in solution but certainly cleaning them with soapy water and rinsing in boiling water, my hands have become dry and very sore from being in so much water lately (the dishwasher has malfunctioned as well so have been handwashing them, must get some gloves to save my hands from cracking and bleeding - damn water and cold winter weather does it every single year.

More updates soon......

Ricotta

That's what the yoghurt turned out like. It tasted a bit cheesy, but I think I should shorten the time whereas I left it overnight. Never mind, had to try and will try again soon. Lots of time up my sleeve now !

Hm, Hm, Hm, Hm, Hmmmmm

That's me humming.
Just put the lid on my first batch of home made yoghurt. Made from Biodynamic Milk. We'll see how that turns out. You see, after my week at the Health Retreat, I am so going to try and get as much organic, fresh, wholesome food as I can get my hands on but generally it's at a price. So instead of paying $8 for a 500ml container of Biodynamic Sheeps Milk natural yoghurt to put on my very delicious and nutricious (that looks wrong?) breakfast, I am going to try buying a 2 Litre container of Biodynamic Cows milk and making tons of yoghurt. Pity they don't have smaller containers of milk and I am unsure as yet if it can be frozen. I guess I am going to have to portion some off and try.

Why do you ask am I going all hippy? Well it's always been in me. Just realised over the last year that what you put into your body, has a hell of a lot ot do with how it feels, how it operates and what quality of life you have. Simple. Eat well, exercise, live long and healthy.

Enough of that. Been gardening too. Just hoe'd up a patch to start a veggie garden, raked in some chook poo and the entire contents of the compost bin (that's been brewing away for a while) and have let it to break down for a couple of days. Have to put up a barrier (have chosen iron sheets and droppers - how elaborate but functional) and will get that done when Bullet's Dad comes home from Adelaide as he has some really long sheets which will be perfect ! That will keep the ground dwelling animals out (ie, the chooks, rabbits, etc) as for those winged things, well, touch wood, they haven't attacked my 3 wine barrels of lettuces and spinaches/silverbeets as yet but I'm not expecting that to last. They look so delicious to me (and have been utilising them daily of late) so I'm sure it wont be long before the dreaded Lincoln Parrots decide to feast on them. They massacred our tomato plants last year, right down to the core, but a mere small stick out of the ground to remind us what was there ! Mongrels.

Still exercising (it's a part of my everyday life now) and discovering more and more about food, I really should do a little cheffy course to round it all off. Gonna say bye now.

Bye now !

24 hours from Tulsa

For those that are going "huh" at that title, it's a Gene Pitney song (and if I am wrong, someone will correct me). But that is about the amount of time I have left, working for Keith Daniels Homes. Tomorrow afternoon at around 3.30pm I will be unemployed! (by choice incase you haven't caught up with my last blog). School holidays begin so I will spend a week at home with Tori and then I go on a trip to Kangaroo Island for a detox "camp". Something I've wanted to do for a while and it's a little time out for me as well. Strange way of taking time out but it's all about choice I say.
My list of things to do whilst at home is every growing, adding painting the interior of my house (bit by bit) to make it more like a home rather than a neutral coloured motel. I've been collecting pictures as well so with newly spruced up walls, the prints and photos can adorn the walls and become our abode. Add to that list the 3 (maybe more) pieces of furniture that I have collected from clearing sales (and there are a couple of tables too I think) that need restoring, paperwork to file (the pile in the computer room is scary), tax to complete, and my vegetable garden will finally become real, not just a dream in my crazy head.

I am so looking forward to having too much time on my hands.

It's sooooooo cold !!!

Great news ! I have lost more weight than I have ever imagined (but still maintaining those womanly curves) but it comes at a price. My blubber was what kept me warm and now I am finding I am the only one at work that gets around in an overcoat all day. Which brings me to the next part of the story - I QUIT ! I figured that while Bullet is working away (Mt Isa, QLD at the moment), then why shouldnt I take life differently and slow down a little. You see, we are basically busy and don't arrive home from work/school and other committments until 7pm for 3 nights of the week and the other 2 (as well as the weekend) are now used up with our new (24 yo) horse (which lives away at the moment). So Bullet and I discussed the situation and we agreed that I could do more at home, catch up on some paperwork, sort out my veggie garden, restore some furniture, do some basic farm stuff, study biodynamics (it's organic principles with a twist), etc., etc.
So that's the score !
Another few quick notes:

• My chickens are laying 8-10 eggs a day


• Tori has a pony by the name of Sammy


• We will now be able to get another dog because I will be home to train it


• The crops are looking good this year

Tori and her friend are with Sammy now (Bullet took them there) for a riding lesson. I am home with a rotten stomach, probably nerves about losing my financial independence. Still, I'm happy, will have much more time to relax (which I haven't really done since the fire in 2005) and concentrate on having a happier, healthier Michele, a balanced Tori and a breadwinner to take advantage of me being the "housewife" for the time being. I say for the time being as it wont be permanent, just wasn't in the right job and no sense being somewhere you are not happy. I will have more time to do all the domestic stuff while Tori is at school and enjoy the weekend rather than cramming it all into what little time we have. We also have to up the ante on music practice as well and getting home late tends to slide that one by.

I had a huge compliment from my singing teacher (well she compliments me all the time but too shy to accept) but now I am acknowledging them and sharing with you... I have noticed that my voice has improved 10 fold since I started taking proper vocal lessons (with the homework as well) and she sits there, playing her guitar to a Diana Krall song (originally by Mose Allison) called "Stop this World" and goes "yeah" in parts. I couldn't hear what she was saying (because I was concentrating on what I was singing - it's a jazz kinda feel and different to what I'm used to, and at the end she just smiles at me and says "i love listening to you sing, you have a such a listenable voice" Of course I was embarassed and proud in the same feeling. Cool huh ! And to those that have complimented me on my voice before and got the coy reply, thank you for the compliment - your gratitude from me is long overdue.

"Stop this world, let me off, there's just too many pigs in the same trough. There's too many buzzards sitting on the fence, stop this world it's started making sense"

Ciao
Shel X

WHASSUP ?!?

Not much writing going on lately. I've been busy, but not had the urge to write so that's why there has been nothing forthcoming.

Still losing weigh (albeit slowly) but I don't mind, as long as it's coming off, it good. (insert Jim Carrey voice over here from Bruce Almighty).

Chooks are alive, not producing eggs yet but I suspect it wont be too long and then I'll have too many and will have to cook more or sell them at work (which I don't think would be a problem, EVERYBODY loves fresh farm eggs and you cant get any more free-range than my girls. They are all over the place!

The paving guy has finally arrived and is doing a magnificent job. We are having approximately 111 sq metres done beginning at the front entrance, path down the side, under the pergola and then stopping just outside our loungeroom window, I will post a picture once they are complete.

We took a trip to Adelaide over Easter to visit my Nan and took the ferry from Lucky Bay (Cowell) to Wallaroo. It was late getting there but it was a pleasant trip and broke up the driving. I probably wouldn't use it again because it is not cost effective and you surely wouldn't rely on it if you had an appointment time to keep, but nonetheless it was an adventure.

Bullet (I'm stopping "The Man" etc charade because the only people that read this are people we know and it's not for general publication on the net because I ticked that box) is now working on another away from home job for 2 weeks on, 1 week off in Mount Isa, Queensland. It was supposed to be a work from home tenure but somehow, he has to do a few more stints up there - good on them !!! Anyway, it will be nice to get some more things done around the place with the extra money, and I think he has taken on the "He who has the most toys, wins" attitude so he has to finance that !

I got myself a new car, traded the old grey girl in on a 2005 Adventra (AWD Commodore Station wagon). It's a nice girl and she handles the dirt wonderfullly. Nothing wrong with the grey girl, but doing in excess of 250 - 300 kms a week going to work and back was a bit rude on petrol.

It's gearing up for seeding time "on the farm" and we had 12mm of rain last night and more is expected so the lupins are first on the list to go in and then when Bullet returns from his Mt Isa stint, the Barley and Wheat are next. We are leaving one paddock this year as we have about 80 sheep (23 are only here for a feed as they are Bullet's Dad's sheep and there was no feed for them up at Lock, so they are having a sleep over for the time being).

Ciao

A bit of fun

This is a "Ticker" and tracks my weight loss - I did hit 30kgs lost but 2 crept back on - buggers, never mind, i got one back and am working on the other !!!

Alah Peanut Butter Sandwiches

Forgive the title, that was the first thing that came into my head. The chookhouse is not yet complete but we did purchase a rooster at a clearing sale today and it has a few quick mods to keep him in and the predators (namely the foxes and one domestic cat) out !!!

I bought yet another cupboard to restore (might be nice to have some time to spend doing that but oh well, now that I have lost 30kgs I reckon I would have a few more years up my sleeve). The girl went for a ride on a larger horse yesterday, don't ask me how many hands high it was - not something that remains in my brain (ie lack of interest, that's the Man's area). Anyway, she didn't have her happy horse riding face on that day but I think she enjoyed it just the same.

Smile !

Here I am ! Nine kgs to go to my goal. So far I have knocked 27.1kgs off this sad and sorry body.

Ciao

It's been a while, but there's a reason for that

I have a new job ! I start with Keith Daniels Building Company as their Quality Assurance Manager on March the 5th.

I have lost 25kgs and am feeling great.

That's the short of it all. Longer blog later.
Ciao

Goals

Hiya
I have been encouraged by my personal trainer (let's call her gym bitch) Bianca, to set some goals and so I have.
1. Research and build a mud brick chookhouse (not the whole thing, just where they sleep and lay eggs and hang out when they're not outside the pen).
2. Research and estabish an organic garden (and MAYBE incorporate it with the yabbies (aquaponics) we have been breeding up and now they are PREGNANT AGAIN AND WHERE ARE WE GONNA PUT THEM ALL?!?!?!)
3. Tree planting, I have a spot down the front that I would like to "forest" and a reminder in the mail today about revegetating an area near the dam.

Well there you have it. I dunno how I'll go with 3 large projects but once I start I reckon the rest will just fall into place. I say research before the first two as I don't want to get half way through and say blow it because I forgot something or didn't realise something else.

Any comments, suggestions, knowledge on any of the above would be greatly appreciated.

Back at work -YEURK !

Yes I am still alive, unfortunately. That means I am back at work and "loving" it - NOT. Oh well, the fairytale was great while it lasted. To quote Eminem "Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity".

Stay tuned...