Full diary, full brain.

This is my new diary. Motivational quotes aside, it's really good. The space suits me. It currently reflects the state of my head. About 9025 things to think and do. The obsession with decluttering, the admin of life that needs to be done and is never completely done (my heart sank when I got a letter about changes to electricity billing yesterday), work to-do lists, big picture life stuff, people I want to encourage somehow. Maybe it's all been building up while I was on holidays and is bursting out for the last two weeks I've been back in real life.

Kangaroo Valley.

Walking group weekend away! I drove myself which is a luxury. Had a great drive, even with the M5 traffic (turns out the M5 is nothing to Kiama, as others found to their doom) and heavy rain as I drive down the valley wall past a fatal car accident. Stopped in Bowral each way.

Really hearty chicken ceaser salad from pizza shop in Bowral

Did the token bushwalk (Fitzroy Falls, very easy), but other popular activities included napping, reading, watching Iron Man, playing Rapidough, and kayaking. I drove to Nowra for church with friends on Sunday morning.

There were some unexpected joys. A newborn calf on Saturday morning.

Wombats.

Wombat POO!!!!!

Our farm in early morning fog.

Mad jobs Monday.

Still doing it. On Monday I turned the TV off, made a cup of tea in my nice teacup and saucers, got the song list and and my bible, and picked all the songs for church up til Easter. It took over an hour. 3 cups of tea and 2 pfeffernüsse. It will be another Monday job to enter them into the roster system we use.

New for old Shoes.

Shoes!

New orthotics means time to buy new shoes that fit them in. Also that have a strong sole. Lesson: a shoe should only bend where the foot bends, like an L, not like a C. The world is full of shoes that are useless to me.

I tried one shop in the city and they had nothing that fit me. On Sunday I went to Ziera, also in the city, and they were having a sale! The lady was super helpful and got out lots of shoes for me. Also measured my foot like in the olden days, and I'm a 39.5. That's pretty specific. I bought a pair of camel-coloured mary janes, to be my everyday shoes. I loved the red ones but red shoes and a yellow handbag is a bit too Jess Day for me.

I joined the Ziera club where you get $20 every $400 spent. Which is about the 2nd or 3rd pair of shoes. I'm a big fan now. Ziera is my new Colorado. More expensive but removable inner soles. And you can return them within a month.

The only downside is, getting rid of my old shoes. My beloved white and orange Colorados. They are so comfortable. The soles are almost see-through though. I need to throw them away and not even keep them "for the beach", otherwise I'll keep wearing them instead of the Ziera ones. But I have this photo of happy shoe times.

Farewell, trusty shoes. Your loyal service will never be forgotten.

January holiday oddments.

Summer School last week was variously exhausting and encouraging. I felt like I struggled to take in the talks but there were lots of little bits from the talks, songs, missionary sessions, friends, and even the beauty of the mountains that penetrated quite deeply. I read Keep the Faith, and started reading Romans, sang 'How Great Thou Art', and then actually went and "looked down from lofty mountain grandeur". And it all fit together and a penny dropped about creation displaying God's glory.

I watched Hart of Dixie season 1, which was a Christmas present. Actually got given Miranda S3 twice so returned one of them and got HOD instead. It's very enjoyable. A quaint town, quirky traditions, some beautiful people, and some slow-moving love triangles. It's been done before but it's still fun. Unfortunately season 2 is expensive.

Also listening to Raising Steam. Terry Pratchett is just the best with words. I laughed out loud at "agenderitis", which is where you have too many agendas at a meeting. Listening on the Audible app. The downside of the app is that it doesn't sync with iTunes so you can't leave off on the app and then pick it up on your iPod at the same place. But it's great all the same, with the ability to bookmark and stuff, if you just listen on the one device it's a fair bit better than iTunes.  Here are pics of the Audible app for audiobook lovers.

My favourite word at the moment is "hinterland". It just sounds nice. It's German for back country.

Some good articles in The Briefing. One on discipling in music ministry.

Mum, Julia and I cleaned our grandparents windows inside and out at Christmas. Now I am desperate to clean my windows but I'm stuck because flyscreens on the second story. Maybe a pressure hose thing would work though.

I started a cross-stitch, a small one, did quite a lot of it at Christmas and Summer School until the needle broke.

And I'm back in regular life now.

NY!

Me and 3 friends camped on Cockatoo Island. It's tiring, but the island is quite interesting, you can just walk anywhere, through industrial bits and tunnels and stuff. We put up a tent (using a rock as a hammer like Bear Grylls would do) and then mainly just lay around eating, cross stitching, dozing, waiting for the fireworks.

photo by bec

Did take excursions to variously explore or swim or have a picnic, but mainly resting. Tents are exhausting. There was a big firework barge in front of the island and then the bridge fireworks were small off in the background, but it actually was a nice effect having close and far fireworks, very 3D.

photo by bec

The seagulls though. They don't sleep. As Bec said on twitter, "All day and night, the hellions screech."

We packed up pretty efficiently, caught a ferry back to CQ, then JK and I had only a 2 min wait for our bus! And I say OUR bus because we only shared it with the driver and 1 passenger. I bought a steak at Coles on my way home because I'm giving blood, and it was a fancy one for 40% off. I didn't actually catch up on sleep during the day, I washed my doona, watched Sherlock and Hart of Dixie, then went swimming with flatmate and her friend. We watched Pitch Perfect then I went to bed early and forgot that Jonathan Creek was on.

Holiday scars.

I slipped on wet pebblecrete on Christmas day, crashed to the ground with great force, and have the most stupendous purple bruise the size of an apple on my bum, but high enough up that I can actually show people if you want to see it. Yesterday I went swimming in the middle of the day, putting my expired sunscreen to the test. I think it half worked. My arms went pink but it certainly could have been worse. I forgot to do my back at all because I forgot my swimmers don't cover my back as much as they do my front, so it's slightly sore. I also got a cut on my toe from the rocks in the pool. Trophys of time away from my desk!

Flatmate got a coffee pod machine for Christmas, the most exciting thing about that is she also got a milk frother machine. Home made frothy hot chocolates and chai lattes! I had a very delicious hot chocolate for dinner last night. Yes, for dinner. Holiday!

Today I am at work, wrapped in a blanket and hugging a hot water bottle. This isn't living. So I'm taking Tuesday off.

Ender's Game.

I saw this on Sunday, by myself, because a) it was a facebook special and b) it was airconditioned. The cinema was pretty empty though: there was one young couple, there was me, and there were maybe 6 solo men of various ages scattered around the room.

Some things about the movie were good. The actor who played Ender Wiggin was perfect (apart from being a teenager instead of a primary-aged kid). It looked great. It was succinct. But, compared to the book, it was so abbreviated. None of the kids (teenagers though) had an interesting story or a personality, there was no sense of the loneliness and cruelty Ender went through to become a military genius before puberty, the vocabulary was watered down, the time-frame was shorter, and most of all there were hardly any games in the battleroom and that was my favourite part of the book. And there is a whole side-story with Ender's brother and sister that's gone, although I wasn't satisfied with where that went in the book anyway. It's basically very very compressed.

The film is a good way to get a handle on the Themes of the book though. It's a sci fi classic because it has Themes. It's the kind of book kids would study in year 12.

Ending.

It's getting hard to be at work. The days seem eternally long. I can't break it up with snacks because I'm not snacking, and now even cups of tea are fewer because it's hard to get my retainer out. One day of work next week and that's it!

This is my roundup of 2013.

• At work: legwarmers, stopping using skype, stopping using the dishwasher, and starting and finishing early made my life better.
• I exercised consistently! Jillian and walking.
• I went to church and bible study regularly. Took a few stabs at a bible reading habit.
• I started using a tiny smear of styling mousse to thicken my hair and make it hold better.
• I stopped snacking. This was a major obsession because it took some difficult adjustment, but I think it's a better way to eat.
• My mealtime cut-offs are nothing before 11.30, nothing before 4.30, and nothing after 8pm, except when I break them.
• I finished my big cross stitch. It's now framed and on the wall. I still think it's the nicest cross stitch I've ever seen.
• Tried internet dating for a month (well the internet part but no actual dating).
• I finished a quilt, which I'm actually using to sleep under this summer.
• Jelssievision. Episode 2 is my favourite.
• Went to the land of Westerra, to the cities of Perth and Busselton.
• I cried the most when I signed up for another year of braces.
• My mint and lemongrass are still growing!
• I started breathing through my nose more.
• I bought a lot of nail polish. I don't know how many I have. I love my current newbie a lot, it's blue like TARDIS or willow pattern.
• Started using BB cream.
• Started recording the Cost Per Wear on my clothes.
• Experimented with Herman sourdough starter.
• Went to Bowral, Katoomba, Cabramatta and Eastwood just for day trips.
• Started a walking group.

Swimming season.

I'm finding myself too hot and lethargic to "enjoy" Jillian as much as usual so today I'm going to swim after work instead. The last few times I've done Jillian I've been wishing I was frolicking in cool water and fresh air, but when it comes to it I find it harder to motivate myself to actually get down to the beach, especially on my own. Using the medibank ad to reinspire myself. And the thought of doing Jillian in a stuffy room.



I think this is the year I need to bite the bullet and get a new set of togs. I've been attracted to a lot of fancy retro one-piece suits, but then remembered the inconvenience of the one-piece. I'll stick with the tankini, even though it costs more to have the same amount of fabric in two pieces. I'll wait until the end of summer I guess, I want the price to come down. And, I think I can just get a new top, and get away with the same pants a bit longer. Maybe I should go for sun protection and get a rashie.

My retainer is driving me bananas. It doesn't hurt but it's tight.

I really want to watch TV tonight. I taped Miss Marple on Sunday. But Big Bang Theory would do.

The Secret.

I would be hopeless at poker. But I managed to keep a secret apart from my parents, flatmate, Elsie, Anna, and one sister. That counts as a total secret in my books. I was burning to tell other people but I was able to just tell the same people over and over again to relieve myself.

Today at 9.30:

Today at 11.30:

For real!

My teeth still have their original character, they aren't perfect teeth, they still carry the shape of my clumsy childhood and a discoloured veneer (I fell over a lot and did weird things to my baby teeth and developing adult teeth). But they are straighter. They seem somehow BIG without braces. They feel normal though. I'm keeping the news off facebook because I want the surprise reveal to carry over to different situations. A lot of people have known me for fewer than 4 years so only know me with braces.

I'm eating my first uncut apple right now.

I get a free photo shoot!

Bird-sitting.

I have been looking after a parrot for a few days. He was grumpy at first, but after I took the nail polish off my nails he was a lot calmer and more trusting. I took these selfies watching TV with him. He likes to snuggle up into your neck, kiss you on the mouth, and cosy into your hand and have his face scratched. And then he got obsessed with chewing my glasses.

Feet.

What exciting things have been going on! Podiatry! Here are all the details of my feet, because I'm interested (if not obsessed).

I've got high arches. Lovely dancer feet, or, the feet of a true lady because water can run under them, or, an evolutionary throwback from when we used our feet to hang upside down from tree branches. Possibly all true. Anyway, that means less stability while walking, and I walk a lot. Many years ago I had sore knees and hips, got custom-made orthotics and have been wearing enclosed shoes and walking without pain ever since. Earlier this year I switched from my standard Jillian DVD to one with more cardio, ie, jumping and jogging on the spot, and after a couple of months I had plantar facilitis, which is an inflamed tendon thing. So I tried to rest and ice my foot and it gradually hurt less but still lingered and it was probably time for new orthotics anyway, so I got my feet checked out this week, casts of my feet were made, and have new orthotics. Off-the-shelf arch supports wont work for me, I asked, but my feet are too unusual. I just have to get expensive professional ones every 3 years or so. But the cost per wear is good! And the cost of being pain-free is totally worth it.

First time I wore them they felt lumpy, unbalancing and made my left foot hurt after half an hour. The second time, they felt a bit weird still, because it's walking at a different angle than normal, but no pain. Full transition takes a week or two.

It's surprising how much maintenance a HEALTHY body needs to stay in tune. I'm so grateful I can get orthotics and braces so that I can walk and yawn and eat normally.

And the other end of things, my fingers, are getting treated to 4 new colours of OPI that were on sale. 4 of these are mine: the two at the front, the blue and the almost black.

Twelve Clues of Christmas, a Royal Spyness Mystery.

http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/The-Twelve-Clues-of-Christmas-Audiobook/B00A9VCE4U/ref=a_hp_c1_1_t

This was $5 on Audible recently. I think it's currently $10. If you like Midsomer Murders and Phryne Fisher you will like this book. It's fun, predictable, and stupid, and just well-written enough to be slightly addictive. Like Midsomer, there are a lot of deaths in a village and nobody is really sad about them. I did like all the ancient English Christmas traditions and playing sardines and doing a panto and charming things (it's set in the 1920s). I hated the Irish accent the reader used for the love interest (only a problem if you get the audiobook obviously). One thing that surprised me in myself was that whenever Lady Georgie fights off the advances of sleazy posh men, I don't think it's that comedic. There's some line somewhere where outrageous behaviour goes from amusingly inappropriate to technically criminal, and I don't tolerate it any more. You don't go into a girl's bedroom at night while she is a bit drunk and try to "have your way" with her against her ladylike protestations. Another way to describe that is attempted rape. You see? somewhere between amusingly inappropriate and criminal. But it's all OK in the end because the hapless maid Queenie saves the day with a big water jug. Anyway, a book in this series MAY be made into a movie, which I would like to see, but I doubt it will happen. And the love interest is called Darcy. That's all you need to know. $5 well spent.

Cushion repair #2.

Flatmate brought home cushions with pink linen covers, fraying apart. I whizzed around them with the overlocker but within a day they had frayed apart again. So I used the leftover green binding from the quilt I recently finished to sew over the edges, and this way there is enough seam allowance that they wont fray. It's kind of redundant using the green stuff to bind the edges instead of just sewing with a big fat seam allowance, but I had it and wanted to use it.

I also repaired a shirt. I think that's the last sewing for this year.

Audiobook happy!

I'm listening to Ender's Game at the moment, it's a page-turner. I heard it was like Harry Potter in space, but it's a lot more dry and intense. Poor Ender is more exhausted and traumatised than Harry. More like Katniss in the 3rd Hunger Games book. The games in the fleet school are really fun to listen to though. Mostly all they do is play army-style laser tag in anti-gravity rooms. So much better than quidditch.

I wonder if I am becoming too lazy to read a book with my eyes. But audiobooks are so good for multitasking, I can "read" them while I sew, or fall asleep, or on public transport (I get sick reading on the bus and also the ipod is so convenient). And a good reader doing all the accents is fun. I worry that I'm missing out on creating my own version of the world though. My dilemma is, should I download the new Discworld book from Audible (and if so, the unabridged version or the abridged one read by the wonderful Tony Robinson?), or get the actual book and enjoy the pure read. But it might take a while to get the book, whereas the audiobook is available instantly. Although I need my Audible credits for Christmas presents and if I spend them on a book for myself I'll have to come up with another idea for someone else, which is to be avoided.

Random update.

 Feel like I want to blog, but haven't got anything remarkable to say! My new cardigan came this week from woolovers.com. It's long, black, merino. Not as soft as my other merino cardigans. Useful to have a long black cardigan though. Wearing it over a black and white stripy dress today. With a bright pink nail from the library of Elsie. And that's a braces face.

I have to say that I don't think wearing a lot of black, or black and white things, is really me. I normally use grey as a base for bright colours. But everyone wears black in the city. It's just work clothes. I think of black as a uniform.

Did some market research survey online for money, about study. Over 3 days. I thought it would be an interactive forum with other people but it was just with one moderator, so it was private. First time doing paid market research.

Made a dentist appointment and a podiatrist appointment. Sore foot, so maybe I need new orthotics. Getting stuff done before the end of the year! bam bam bam. Have also been looking at private heath insurance options, registered as an organ donor, and need to renew my driver's licence. Getting stuff done! Nobody thinks about doing things this late in the year, everyone's distracted. It's actually not very hard to get appointments and things. It's kinda quiet. I remember doing this last year, having a final burst of productivity and sneakily getting a lot of stuff done.

Because of sore foot, have switched back to No More Trouble Zones, because it is low impact, but it's longer, so I feel congratulations are in order for getting myself back up to an hour session of Jillian after only one week.

Working on converting all the women in the world to use BB cream.

Doing some Christmas shopping, bit by bit.

Spending time with old people! This is lovely. I go to the movies with old people now. We have the same taste in movies. Tomorrow I'm seeing One Chance.

Quiet hymns.

My music share this week is Daniel Martin Moore. He has an album called "In the Cool of the Day", which is some the calmest and most peaceful music I've ever heard. Piano, fiddle, mandolin, so basically bluegrass genre I think but very low key. There are some familiar hymns and some songs I don't know and some instrumental bits. It has a really nice atmosphere.

Circle of 5ths.

I had a very full week. So on Sunday I stayed in bed awhile, then did Jillian, then watched Doctor Who, then made shortbread for the first time, then went to piano-teaching and music practice and church.

It was my second week as a piano teacher again. I'm the girl's second teacher, there is some good foundation work done by the first teacher. She checks the time signature and counts herself in to every song. She doesn't practice much though. I drew a table for her to tick the days she practices this week. I think I'll have a sticker system to reward practice.

Best thing was, I taught her her first scale, C major, right hand, one octave up and back, which she liked, and then I explained the circle of 5ths, which made her eyes just light up! I didn't learn that until high school, but young kids will really grasp onto concepts like that, it's a simple pattern so it makes sense. And making sense of things is important. I'm going to teach her scales in order of the circle of 5ths and she'll always be able to remember that and have a big head start on key signatures.

Back to the shortbread. I used less butter than the recipe and also used glutinous rice flour instead of normal rice flour. It worked. Mainly I need to work on rolling it out not too thin. It's very delicious though.