tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-344274132011-12-05T10:36:53.147+11:00Lost in ProcrastinationTraceynoreply@blogger.comBlogger4881100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-72712495787653505082009-11-05T11:13:00.001+11:002009-11-05T11:13:26.731+11:00

Traceynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-13305811161576805792009-05-10T16:46:00.004+10:002009-05-10T16:51:26.240+10:00

Just in case any of my few readers are still checking in here occasionally.. I've decided, after a few months off blogging, that I needed to reinvent myself. (It's my theme for 2009). So I've moved! New blog, new look.http://traceelements.wordpress.com/Drop on over and say hi. I'm feeling as if I've been off travelling or some such, then settled in a totally new place. It's going to take me a

Traceynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-75416230362618583412009-01-28T09:24:00.006+11:002009-02-06T12:11:44.947+11:00

Um... I've been sick - that's why I haven't been posting. Yep. That's what it is. No, I didn't get the sore throat, but I've definitely had Januaryitis. Never mind Ms 15 with her glandular fever. When they develop a blood test for my condition, maybe I'll get as much sympathy and concern as she's been getting.I seem to get it each summer when we spend the school holidays at home. My circadian

Traceynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-31411171613099017872009-01-15T15:01:00.003+11:002009-01-15T23:30:11.881+11:00

Ms 15 is sick. Came down with sore throat on SAturday. Took her to after hours dr on Sunday. Tonsillitis. So she got antibiotics. (Syrup version as she still can't swallow pills.) By Tuesday, no improvement, worse I'd say. So took her to local drs surgery. The only dr you get to see when you make a same day appointment is the newest blow-in, new-out doctor who never gives you much confidence. Dr

Traceynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-83739048544790441972009-01-12T10:49:00.005+11:002009-01-12T11:27:07.541+11:00

Last night Marc and I decided to whizz out after dinner to the summer holiday open air cinema. (I am still getting used to this concept of just waltzing out spontaneously, no need for babysitting...)BYO chairs, food, drink etc. Obviously no need to dress up, but I seem to have reached a problem point with my footwear these days. I wanted to wear closed in shoes, but my joggers are really daggy -

Traceynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-53836794929160040112009-01-06T14:32:00.005+11:002009-01-06T17:21:44.875+11:00

Hell, isn't it? But if I don't start with the good intentions, then there is no hope, is there? Resolutions, schmesolutions. I've made them before, not always to great acclaim, and the new year variety is all a bit ho hum, yadda, yadda, sure Tracey...My head is spinning with the various things I should be doing. They range from the Cleaning variety (of which there is much too much) to the Catch

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-29577584028653595832009-01-05T16:35:00.006+11:002009-01-05T19:39:58.769+11:00

Marc went back to work today, so the Family Holidays are kind of officially over. There are still almost 4 weeks standing in between me and the relative freedom that Back to School represents. (Although the term time after school insanity kind of cancels that out.) But then, the grand plan is for me to enrol in a full year (almost full time) TAFE course this year, so *whooshka* - there goes any

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-67273521122719200282009-01-02T17:23:00.006+11:002009-01-06T17:26:23.912+11:00

This isn't a good start to the new year. Most of this afternoon I was prowling around the house restlessly, looking for chocolate, when I knew full well I didn't have any. Even though I knew FULL WELL that I seriously don't need to ingest any more kilojoules. How the hell can I have put on weight so quickly and easily over the past few months? (Feels like a new year's resolution coming on,

Traceynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-55221449306256593892008-12-30T12:18:00.005+11:002008-12-30T14:18:46.858+11:00

When I write here I am keenly aware that there are things we say and do here that aren't the same as other parts of the world. Particularly in the US!! Often I translate on the fly but I still get caught out.For the sake of those who have asked (jerseechik, comments, last post!) and any others, here are some immediate answers, plus I shall try and paint a further picture of our little slice of

Traceynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-74847625766736543342008-12-29T17:47:00.010+11:002008-12-29T23:35:30.462+11:00

Well here we are nearly at the end of 2008. Christmas has been and gone, and, because I set out specifically to have a stress-free Christmas, there are quite a few things that haven't been done. Yet. Meh. Oh well. At some point I'll have to make those Christmas cakes. And finish sending out my christmas emails, get some of those 'Happy Holiday' photos printed for the luddites, and finish up our

Traceynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-31165508030020197092008-12-25T23:15:00.003+11:002008-12-25T23:23:55.384+11:00

Merry Christmas from our little slice of heaven downunder.

Traceynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-43634259554104101372008-12-22T09:59:00.005+11:002008-12-22T11:28:07.607+11:00

In a reckless spurt of Yuletide enthusiasm, some days ago, I began the procedure for my mini christmas cakes - one of the few really Christmassy things that I do.The ingredients have been sitting on the bench - like so - for more than a week now. (Covered of course) As usual I have it all a*** about. You are supposed to soak the fruit and nuts in brandy overnight, and then let the cakes (brushed

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-39649317518448838642008-12-17T14:41:00.010+11:002008-12-17T19:58:35.891+11:00

I have a new theory on teenagers (and tweenagers for that matter.) They have invisible gremlin-type "friends" (along the lines of Drop Dead Fred) who gradually assert their mischievousness with ever increasing audacity as the teenage years progress. Who else makes the mess, misplaces stuff, forgets to put dirty clothes out, accumulates bath towels in the bedroom, and is responsible for the

Traceynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-57543247711311667572008-12-12T19:45:00.003+11:002008-12-12T20:11:59.633+11:00

Christmas shopping yesterday. Shops a lot more crowded than Tuesday. Wonder why... Did people suddenly realise it was only 15 sleeps till Christmas? Or were they out spending the $1000 per child Rescue the Economy bonus from the government that landed in everyone's accounts this week?Sometimes people watching is the only thing that keeps me sane in the throngs.Overheard- "Oh! There's my

Traceynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-28711539180763942282008-12-08T10:16:00.004+11:002008-12-08T12:06:12.178+11:00

My right eye is twitching. I wonder what that means. Probably proof that I am losing control completely.It's barely two weeks till Christmas, and I still haven't bought a thing. Actually, that's not true - I've ordered a ham and left a $10 deposit on it. That's all. I don't feel like buying anything - wasting money on stuff that I *think* they will like, but will not end up being used. ("Oh, but

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-67564337630784423712008-12-01T12:39:00.002+11:002008-12-01T15:41:25.648+11:00

Well, no, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I just can't get out from underneath the avalanche of retail store catalogues that engulf my letterbox each day. (And I thought it was the digital age... hah.... Bloody Christmas....)Seriously? Blogging has just taken a back seat - as I threatened - throughout the latter part of the year. Counter productive, really, as I will have lost what

Traceynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-41598558886511224982008-11-10T09:24:00.004+11:002008-11-10T10:39:15.085+11:00

I haven't yet started on my traditional Christmas season rant.. (it is only NOVEMBER after all, and I flatly refuse to think about Christmas until December.) Though with the shops starting to fill again with glittery red, green, gold and silver manufactured crap "Stuff", the hackles have been rising.. and frankly, the despair beginning to ooze into the very fibre of my being.Soooo much waste.

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-59137102861015702202008-11-08T15:36:00.003+11:002008-11-08T17:47:30.525+11:00

Thankfully this week I haven't actually felt like strangling anyone, so there's a plus. (Except for the usual amount of times I get stroppy with the kids, but that's nothing out of the ordinary.) Possibly I've just hit the next stage on the hormonal rollercoaster, with this last week being defined more by introspection than anything else.My lower back decided last weekend it was time to give me a

Traceynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-81126503166459892222008-11-01T21:12:00.005+11:002008-11-01T23:06:37.739+11:00

I've had one of those weeks. Not that anything particularly BAD has happened. It just seems to have been a week which has taken me to the edge of empathy and tolerance. A week when a sigh and a "takes all types" just doesn't cut it. It's probably called "people rage".I'm not the type of person who would usually ever dream of telling someone they were a f*#%wit... but this week I felt *that* close

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-22230066870390458202008-10-26T21:30:00.007+11:002008-10-26T22:41:21.186+11:00

I often have days like this. (And I'm not sure it is either a good thing, or particularly 'normal'.) Usually a weekend day following a busy time. A long awaited 'catch up' day at home that I look forward to so much when we are racing around. There is so much I want to do (and should do) , but when I get here, I am just not in the mood to do any of it.I huff and sigh and loll around the place,

Traceynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-43872278682989748352008-10-22T14:57:00.010+11:002008-10-23T13:56:20.087+11:00

Around The Bay in a Day. A 210km bike ride around Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne to Melbourne.There and back from home in five days.On Friday we drove to Sydney with the kids (around 600km).. left them with the grand-parentals, dismantled the tandem and packed it up into an extended cardboard bike box (ok, so my beloved Bike Mechanic did most of that tricky stuff)... got up early Saturday morning,

Traceynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-58553026639850544162008-10-15T09:51:00.004+11:002008-10-15T13:54:11.343+11:00

We had a stack.All 5 of us, both bikes (and a handful of jellybeans) splattered all over the road.All had been going well with the Brissy to Gold Coast ride. We were about half way - I had been just about to announce the 50km mark to the girls. We'd had a great ride along the dedicated bus lanes out of the city - which had been closed off to buses for the bikes. Lovely smooooth road surface, and

Traceynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-56892177224627446552008-10-10T22:16:00.003+11:002008-10-10T23:24:56.170+11:00

We are heading off tomorrow for Sunday's 100km ride - Brisbane to the Gold Coast, "Southbank to Southport". Cross your fingers for us that the weather holds - mind you, it'd be typical for it to rain. It seems to do so every time I venture into Queensland. Some goblin somewhere obviously just likes to hear me do a rant along the lines of 'So much for "Beautiful One Day, Perfect the Next" (Ok, so

Traceynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-67079566330917831512008-10-09T09:39:00.007+11:002008-10-09T10:11:13.865+11:00

My husband wants to get us one of these:Hah... only kidding. (Well, over my dead body, anyway... I may be crazy, but I am not that crazy.)What he really wants is one of these: (Image nicked from here) It is a Rans Screamer Recumbent Tandem. Apparently it goes fast. (Figure that out from the name, much?) And is comfortable.It gets reviews like this: (A sign a convert has considered putting up on

Traceynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-49867408821308518992008-10-08T13:23:00.003+11:002008-10-08T14:23:18.531+11:00

Sheesh, I am so easily distracted. I find it hard to focus on the list of things I need to do - and totally crap at prioritising what to do when. So the usual result is not to achieve much at all.These school holidays I have resented time out of the house, because I can't get done what I need to get done. Yet when I'm home, I'm struggling to achieve what I need to do.I've been complaining (

Traceynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-60876255567453329132008-10-07T11:11:00.007+11:002008-10-07T14:41:06.733+11:00

Or: How to get what you want with a tantrum.On Saturday morning we were back to the family tandem riding. (Nothing like last minute training for the kids for the 100km ride next weekend!) With the Triple, and the Cannondale tandem, we have this eternal dilemma as far as the older two kids are concerned. Riding on the triple with Dad rates much more highly than riding on the other tandem with Mum.

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-3307341156348027562008-10-05T17:37:00.005+11:002008-10-05T23:26:19.606+11:00

"You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,Know when to walk away and know when to run."I don't gamble with money. I gamble with wine.I gamble with how many glasses I can afford to .. um.. "imbibe"... during dinner preparations, and the meal as well. I'm making myself sound like a bit of an alco here. Hah. The stakes are laughably low. I'm talking here about.. oh... three glasses!

Traceynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-37070448501560393362008-10-03T15:10:00.004+10:002008-10-03T17:20:31.955+10:00

Do you ever have days when you start chipping away at the various chores that await you, and feel that you'll never make an impact? That's how I'm feeling right now (as I glance at the clock and wonder if pouring a wine at 3.40pm would make me an alcoholic...) Although at least the mowed yard will look mown a tad longer than anything I manage to clean up inside the house.Even though I've had some

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-24981921861240400142008-10-02T22:38:00.002+10:002008-10-02T22:47:37.716+10:00

[Cartoon from local paper, Coffs Coast Advocate, Monday 29th Sep, 2008]Resuming transmission sometime soon. School holidays proving to have distractions as well - who'd have thought... For some reason I find the cartoon funny.

Traceynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-14867760927647474252008-09-30T10:06:00.002+10:002008-09-30T10:14:19.443+10:00

Dunnit.Twenty frigging hours on a bike - less perhaps a total of an hour in breaks. Started 10am Saturday. Finished close enough to 6am Sunday. What I feared would happen happened, so the fairly strict 10 minute breaks were consumed by doing something I'd rather not have been doing - all the 'solo' riders, ie. the ones doing the whole distance, rather than as a relay team, were doing it 'together

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-86074882018576101412008-09-26T12:56:00.004+10:002008-10-03T17:16:09.902+10:00

In keeping with the title of my last post: Convergence. Or - Why does everything happen at once?My ISP, in their wisdom, decided to change over all their webhosting to new servers, right about NOW... and while they have all this waffle about temporary servers bla bla bla, I just don't have the time to wade through the geek speak to figure it all out. The personal website I have hosted there is

Traceynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-24421335800968471892008-09-26T09:38:00.004+10:002008-09-26T13:28:41.069+10:00

It's all a-happening. In 48 hours I can crash and burn and words can't describe how much I'm looking forward to doing that. I will have earned it, I believe, after having ridden around and around a velodrome for 24 hours or thereabouts.As I've hurtled towards this... this... err.. challenge, I have seriously contemplated my sanity, suggested many times that I must have been drugged when I agreed

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-78307432855594421752008-09-09T10:42:00.002+10:002008-09-09T11:22:58.501+10:00

... and concentrate .. because I've pretty much lost my voice.I probably sound worse than I feel, but I don't mind the sympathy. It's hard to get as a mum, so I'll take what I can get anytime I can get it. This morning even the kids scurried into action once they heard my rasping attempts to get a sentence out. A bit of finger snapping to get their attention and it worked a treat. Makes you

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-30973350596503930432008-09-08T12:56:00.004+10:002008-09-08T14:21:30.586+10:00

.. whilst fighting off a throat or chest infection.I'm going round in circles. Round and round in bloody circles. It would be an amusing metaphor for the ROMAC ride if I didn't find it all just a bit unfunny. So much to do, I don't know where to start -and yet when I do prioritise, things keep distracting me, or knocking me off the rails.The current priority is, of course, to train the derrière

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-76036805478182073712008-09-05T10:13:00.002+10:002008-09-05T10:50:38.789+10:00

It's raining. A lot.This means I am not on my bike, as was my plan for today.Given that in two weeks time I am intending to sit on a bike seat for nigh on 24 hours, giving my bum time to get used to the idea of sitting on a bike seat for nigh on 24 hours does seem to be a good plan to have, albeit one not that easy to schedule around my new 'school' commitments, as well as the usual family Stuff

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-41432735047136939842008-08-27T22:27:00.004+10:002008-08-27T23:27:10.407+10:00

Oh my. Has it really been that long?Three days a week of attending classes has been a bit of a shock to my (cossetted) system, and I've really not had the brainspace to think about blogging. I think I possibly said that last post, didn't I? (So it's possibly as well I've not been saying the same thing on a more regular basis!)As I explained, albeit briefly, I am doing A Course. Just briefly, it's

Traceynoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-65047081736596965852008-08-07T22:26:00.005+10:002008-08-07T23:23:43.110+10:00

I had a bit of a dilemma today - and it wasn't over the decision to skive off a day of TAFE classes in only my second week! That part was easy! Marc's birthday, and a coincidental day off for him. Chance of a bit of a sleep in... and getting to spend the day with him... No contest, whether we got to go riding or not, even if the idea of a serious training ride was the catalyst for the decision in

Traceynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-66912077709380104462008-08-06T22:15:00.002+10:002008-08-06T22:40:15.212+10:00

Between getting my backside out of the house three days a week to this new course, to a weekend full of cycling and netball, I've not been in the zone for waxing lyrical in blogland. Sitting here aimlessly catching up on my favourite blogs, yes. Composing anything remotely interesting - errr... no.Ironic, really. The course I am doing to help me figure out what to do (in a follow your dream/

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-46962866753836998352008-07-28T08:54:00.005+10:002008-07-28T09:09:28.309+10:00

Ms 9 is heading out the door to school this morning, thinking about what to expect today."Oooh!" she gasps. "Today is going to be the BEST day!""How so?" I enquire."Because most of the boys are going to be away at a footy day somewhere!"She skipped out with a broad smile.There's not a lot to look forward to at school this year in other ways - ie. in the teacher department - so I guess, as a Year

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-28024231875284666472008-07-24T21:37:00.005+10:002008-07-25T13:12:11.420+10:00

Today I signed up to do a freebie TAFE course designed to help women get back into the workforce. After all, I'm so on top of everything else I should be doing/should have done, it should be no problem fitting in three days of classes.Hah.Mind you, this is a flexible course, and given my "qualifications", I don't need to attend every subject... I am hoping this might be the catalyst I need to

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-467281495854995462008-07-20T21:56:00.005+10:002008-07-21T11:33:20.532+10:00

Elizabeth's comment on my last post, though intended as a comparison for Canadian snow scenery, is right on the money. The vegetation was indeed a little off. As we rolled into Perisher, Marc and I were taken aback. Stark, stark skeletons of trees. Where were all the leaves? What was going on with the usually beautiful snow gums?We figured that it must have been the bushfires, but were confused.

Traceynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-12144055620686812622008-07-19T15:45:00.011+10:002008-07-19T16:53:23.969+10:00

[more to come]

Traceynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-63657457126401868562008-07-18T22:43:00.006+10:002008-07-19T00:20:19.326+10:00

"Cheers". We're home again! And it's a lot warmer here, I have to say! (Which is very good for drying mountains of washing!)OK, so we did go seeking snow. Which requires cold. Some might say we actually brought the snow to The Snow, because it dumped in the few days before we got there. (And the first day we were there too, but 'snowing' is not something you can complain about when you want the

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-12436241203999420082008-07-10T11:22:00.002+10:002008-07-10T11:56:46.674+10:00

We're packed and ready to go after an early lunch. The kids have a last couple of hours to play (and argue) with their cousins, and Marc has time to do set up some stuff on my dad's computers. Last chance to use the internet for a few days so I may as well make the most of it.We've used the opportunity of being back in the big smoke to do some shopping. Like kids in a candy shop, we were, Marc

Traceynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-56670019559224024902008-07-08T18:43:00.003+10:002008-07-08T19:13:00.567+10:00

... from my old home in Sydney. We have three nights here at my parents' place - a chance to regroup and reorganise for our snowy mountains escapade. Three nights in a squishy double (ie. not queen size) bed (and how DID I live here for that many years of my childhood?!!It's so bloody cold even on a reasonably fine winter day - and the gravity feed hot water system means not much water pressure

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-75785093237942401072008-07-03T12:31:00.003+10:002008-07-03T12:43:58.458+10:00

As I mentioned in my last post, we are going visiting - and one of our ports of call is at a friend's farm out the back of Parkes. Needless to say, despite living in 'regional NSW', we are still suburbia slickers (inbetweens, we are, we don't rate as city slickers ...) so directions sent by the friend, who will be at work till 5pm, quite tickled me...(I've edited out specific roads and towns for

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-55379835978521269482008-07-02T22:27:00.004+10:002008-07-03T12:50:12.759+10:00

Commencing countdown, engines on.Commencing panic attacks over the packing, anyway. Leaving Friday, day after tomorrow, expecting to be away 2 weeks, and covering the route which you see above. Needless to say, I won't be around to blog in that time. (Like I was blogging with intensity in recent times anyway... pfffft!)I plotted a really rough 'bikely' route for those with any remote interest. (

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-9353734482258954542008-06-30T21:35:00.002+10:002008-06-30T21:55:24.517+10:00

Or whatever you call it when you're measuring height. Daughter #1 is now taller than me. Scary stuff, eh!Guess it was inevitable, with her Dad being around 6 ft 1.She thinks it's great. Why is that?!!!

Traceynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-45370599094415597432008-06-28T20:56:00.003+10:002008-06-28T21:32:15.152+10:00

I'm not meant to be blogging. I didn't actually promise not to, but it was "suggested" to me that I shouldn't do another blog post until I'd written a letter to the editor to the bicycle magazine we just received. We are cheesed off about an article's ill-informed mention/description about what it is like to ride a tandem. I'm going to write the damn letter because I'm as flabbergasted as he is

Traceynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-75245083972211258472008-06-24T22:13:00.007+10:002008-06-25T14:21:27.925+10:00

I don't know that things have been that busy, but there's been enough to do round here of late to quite distract me from the business of blogging. Life. It goes on. Would you believe?!Unfortunately I have still managed to spend more time than I feel I should at the computer, and none whatsoever at housework. (La plus ça change...!) Other than the usual provision of meals, and washing of clothes,

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-87136173129035050372008-06-13T11:59:00.007+10:002008-06-13T13:43:00.521+10:00

I have been AWOL, I know. (And of course you missed me... all .. errr... three or so of you!) It feels like a sin in the blogging world - to not post for a week and a half, that is - but I am proof that one can actually not blog for a few days and still survive! Today, however, I am back to procrastinating about housework. Ergo I seem to have... um.. found time to ... blog.It has been a slightly

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-89565793261100164522008-06-03T09:44:00.006+10:002008-06-03T13:20:38.566+10:00

Why is it I can't find any clipart of sewing machine rage?Do a google image search for computer rage, and you have pages and pages of pictures of people ready to thump their monitors with anything from their fists to nine-irons. But could I find anything similar for sewing machine frustrations? No! Does noone else in the world ever feel like drop kicking their sewing machine through the window?I

Traceynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-11843542792558550162008-06-01T21:34:00.004+10:002008-06-01T22:24:18.484+10:00

...

Traceynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-34757631719859920092008-05-28T10:53:00.006+10:002008-05-28T11:18:46.867+10:00

.. don't break it"From the mouths of babes. An address to the UN by one of the most eloquent 12 year olds I have ever heard. I challenge you to get through this without tearing up... "At school even in kindergarten you teach us how to behave in the world. You teach us to not fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share,

Traceynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-55014672361211397612008-05-27T10:44:00.009+10:002008-05-27T12:04:40.685+10:00

We have a pretty busy schedule around here at the best of times - and particularly this time of year (I blame the netball, mostly) but it just peaked with a fairly crazy weekend that I'm basically just thankful to have negotiated and survived.Cait was in the high school musical, and, in the lead up to the performances at the end of last week, CrazyMum's Transportation Service (& Centre for

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-38319136311452222672008-05-23T08:46:00.007+10:002008-05-23T09:06:32.167+10:00

A friend sent on one of these email fwds that she thought might be applicable to both of us...Gee, thanks, R !!!"My Living Will"Last night, my friend and I were sitting in the living room and I said to her, 'I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug.'She got up, unplugged the Computer, and threw out my

Traceynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-5271076945998404522008-05-22T14:56:00.003+10:002008-05-23T14:15:56.780+10:00

This is my youngest. And, yes, she's always got her nose stuck in a book.(This is one of a series of photos Cait has taken for a school photography competition... I'll share the rest with you later once she has decided on them all...I loved this one so much, it is now my desktop wallpaper.. much to the subject's discombobulation!)

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-61143646052316690782008-05-21T12:05:00.005+10:002008-05-21T15:17:28.684+10:00

Or Carpe Diem as they say in some circles.These days we are actually more likely to do a "Seize the day, Harvie", in a booming Statue voice from the film.... how can you not take off Kamahl's voice?! (I wonder if that line has become commonplace outside of Australia, or have we claimed it simply because an Aussie won an Oscar for this quirky little short film..)Whatever, it would be true to

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-44558532587928547832008-05-19T09:47:00.007+10:002008-05-19T12:45:10.680+10:00

Or: "I told you I can't do stupid role play scenarios."Wondering why I haven't posted for a week?** I've just been doing the Stress Thing. As in Irrational Anxiety Attack - come on DOWN!What about? About a stupid course. A course that meant nothing in the scheme of things. There was no pass or fail. Just turn up and supposedly learn stuff. That's all. Easy peasy.To most normal people.One week

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-61979186735541727272008-05-11T21:11:00.011+10:002008-05-11T23:42:14.385+10:00

This might be a Mothers Day post, but for the record, I'm a Mother's Day rebel. I just can't get into the whole 'gimme gimme presents' thing for a commercially driven day. So there'll be no "I got this" or "I got that" around here.Why? I don't know, really. I struggle to conform to quite a few of the usual social celebratory conventions. Marc and I tend to buy ourselves 'stuff' when we want (or

Traceynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-37275933509618303662008-05-04T11:06:00.009+10:002008-05-04T15:28:13.407+10:00

Translation: You are what you eat, dummy. Watch the calories. And stop stuffing your face with cake and chocolate and icecreams and easy meals like meat pies!Call me crazy, but I really, really thought I could get away with losing a few kilos without depriving myself of my comfort food IF I did a lot of exercise.Well, duh, woman. That's not how it works. Not for most of us "blessed" with a

Traceynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-54442178543513277622008-04-30T10:54:00.012+10:002008-04-30T15:11:20.059+10:00

I'm not always brimming with self-confidence, even if most days I try to talk up the positives. I am all too quick to compare myself unfavourably to others, and I'm pretty good at letting other people get under my skin. Hyper-sensitive is my middle name.I have put my name down to do a one-day (Cycling) Ride Leader training course in a few weeks time. So what, huh? Well, normally I'd have just

Traceynoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-73672133699422784492008-04-28T18:02:00.012+10:002009-01-10T16:12:42.747+11:00

Some shots of our cycling weekend! [And a couple of videos of us riding the tandem and triplet as well!]Thanks to another BUG member who has been having some fun with the movie option on his digital camera, we've now also got a record of us in motion! It is actually quite interesting being able to see ourselves in motion. Already we are doing quite a critique of riding styles.. For

Traceynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-43321889286421780912008-04-25T09:30:00.001+10:002008-04-24T22:11:05.891+10:00

I've never really done the ANZAC day marches... and we won't be doing so this year either. Not much into public ceremonies... I just choose to pay my respects and to remember in different ways. By myself, and in little ways that are more appropriate for me...The other day I bought the book "Tobruk" by Peter FitzSimons.... it seemed, somehow, an appropriate time to buy it. Somehow through my

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-8087343619868486362008-04-24T21:39:00.007+10:002008-04-24T23:06:56.502+10:00

Leaving tomorrow for a few days cycling in Armidale with BUG people (and more particularly other people with tandems.)It's almost 10pm and I haven't packed yet. My brain went walkabout today. I don't know if it's because Fragile Week has extended into Fragile Fortnight, or I am experiencing the first stages of early onset dementia, but I haven't got my act together at all, and I have a very

Traceynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-38517082068779719442008-04-23T15:10:00.012+10:002008-04-23T20:24:07.909+10:00

Remember my great spectacle debacle?And the update being that the optometrist would (begrudgingly) order in non-multifocal lenses with a similar prescription to my old ones, only slightly stronger... although seeing I am getting SO OLD, it is inevitable that I will need either multi-focals, or separate glasses for different purposes... before very long?Well, today I went in to get these new

Traceynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-260925544706871102008-04-22T12:36:00.011+10:002008-04-22T13:54:38.335+10:00

Either that or emptying the contents of my angsty brain into a blog post has the power to influence my darling children after all!Last night Ms Nearly 15 was reading my last post, and was most affronted."You haven't blogged about Zoe and me!!""I know, I know... I will tomorrow. I have Twittered it though!"So! Just so you know, Internets! ...SLOTH #1 AND SLOTH#3 ARE NOT SLOTHS.(And to be fair, #2

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-40690393837886073492008-04-20T15:37:00.022+10:002008-04-20T22:33:50.895+10:00

Geez this role model stuff is hard work. I mean.. we do all this insanely active stuff, but The Children appear to be placing too much credence on the times when we sleep in, and not so much on the get-out-in-the-fresh-air-and-do-a-bit part. Why is that? Can't they see what fun we're having?!The Eldest Daughter every now and then rolls her eyes and says "I have weird parents." Perhaps we haven't

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-46284532117340928062008-04-18T09:52:00.005+10:002008-04-18T10:28:35.460+10:00

We kind of went out last night, Marc and I, if you consider a BUG (Bicycle User Group) meeting followed by a casual meal at a local Thai restaurant/cafe "going out". I left the kids at home babysitting themselves. The biggest sister is almost 15 now, so we're at the point where we can do this sort of thing. I even left them to cook their own dinner. We have a bit of a running family joke here;

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-25313938811067347882008-04-17T13:14:00.007+10:002008-04-17T14:08:45.466+10:00

Pick your analogy. It's one extreme to the other round here. I have a real Jekyll and Hyde thing going on with my level of activity. Dr Sporty over the weekend, Mrs Sloth the rest of this week. Get the picture?I have done nothing, nada, nought, ZERO exercise Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and today. School holidays where we have nothing planned seem to do that to me. No swimming class. Kids flopping

Traceynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-13904724928826535542008-04-15T10:48:00.009+10:002008-04-15T11:37:57.553+10:00

"Hey kids, what do you reckon about trying cross country skiing?"I delve through the photo albums from 'the old days'.. (aka "B.C.")Reckon this one will convince them it's fun?!Hey, it's ok.. Dad was just trying to be clever.. trying to do telemark turns.Plus when you get away from the groomed downhill slopes, the snow can be soft and powdery, and it doesn't hurt when you fall!See, look - Mum is

Traceynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-70197376956651107702008-04-13T21:10:00.006+10:002008-04-13T22:02:12.916+10:00

"So I'd probably slow you down if I came on this walk with you.""Nah, you'll be right."Anyone familiar with me by now will guess that this wasn't going to be a romantic stroll.He's decided on a course that will take us down the beach and over a headland to the next beachside village... which is actually going to be the headquarters of the adventure race he is training for. (He figures he should

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-58323642839804000792008-04-12T20:20:00.010+10:002008-05-12T10:39:39.826+10:00

I'll keep telling myself that anyway. I've been an active girl today... and despite feeling pretty weary, it's all good, good, good.With the end of daylight saving (thank goodness!- from the point of view of an early morning exercise convert, it's just bloody silly when it's still dark at 6.30) we were able to ride our tandem from home into town this morning. First light at 5.41, so we left about

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-54648936316357450142008-04-11T12:13:00.002+10:002008-04-11T12:17:23.875+10:00

Artist: My girl, Cait.She's got to be able to earn money from this sort of talent, don't you think?

Traceynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-77648418048691833912008-04-10T13:55:00.008+10:002008-04-11T12:19:41.608+10:00

Or maybe not. This morning I had one of these photos taken of my eyes - or rather, the inside of my eyes. It required drops to dilate my pupils, and they take about 2 hours to wear off. It was pretty disconcerting for that duration - things were blurry in a blotchy kind of fashion - and I even struggled to read a text message that came in from Marc, after I managed to predictive-text to him the

Traceynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-73862698585760428722008-04-09T12:54:00.003+10:002008-04-09T13:08:33.998+10:00

Why on earth would a Mum and Dad want to take a picture of their two oldest girls, together? I mean, what on earth would be the significance of them both playing rep netball? (Even if it is for different associations at this point)? What sort of weirdo parents would think it'd be nice to get a picture of them, together, in their respective rep dresses at a rep carnival? I mean, ewwww.Who knows.

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-2259390181021355322008-04-08T22:37:00.003+10:002008-04-08T22:42:13.520+10:00

I have many blog posts swishing around my head, but none have made their way into a comprehensible form.So in the meantime....I am fascinated by clouds. And I don't manage to take nearly as many photos of them as I'd like. Took this one through the front windscreen of the car as we drove home from the netball carnival on Sunday.

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-65725981699771509172008-04-03T12:36:00.003+11:002008-04-03T12:45:27.654+11:00

A starting point. I have just sent off this email:Dear Mr Regional General Manager of the biggest and formerly government owned telecommunications company in AustraliaI am writing to seek Telstra's assistance in regard to communications for someone with a very special need. At this point I am not sure exactly what is needed, but Telstra/Bigpond is my starting point. I am hoping that, as the Area

Traceynoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-70018821065648296552008-03-29T19:02:00.003+11:002008-03-29T23:13:58.694+11:00

[If you're Australian - and old enough - feel free to sing that as per the 1990 Medibank Private ad lyrics - seeing that's what's going through my head.]But yes. I feel so much better now. Sweet relief. I came good by dinner last night, so I went with my crazy genes and got up early and went into the early morning bike ride. I knew that if I didn't, I'd resent the 5 hours of "being" at netball.

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-74774035023092906712008-03-28T15:43:00.008+11:002008-05-12T10:44:24.295+10:00

Scratch Thursday 27th March from the records. I wish it didn't happen, really. I don't know if it was a bona fide migraine I had (always wary of calling a headache a migraine..), or some bug going around, but I woke up with the headache I went to bed with, feeling nauseous with it as well. And then I threw up. All day. (I'm sure I don't need to describe that any further - I mean, once you've got

Traceynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-2688486734376677002008-03-25T22:26:00.007+11:002008-03-25T22:55:31.331+11:00

This proverbial wagon I'm attempting to ride is not getting anywhere fast. You know... the 'cut down on alcohol, cut down on junk food, keep up the exercise' wagon. You know the vehicle to which I allude?Well I keep falling off the bloody thing.I blame Easter?! Pfffft. Who needs it? Even if we had a weekend of 'family' time. (Sort of. If you count trying to clean the house as family time.)It's

Traceynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-45322260332382322842008-03-24T20:46:00.005+11:002008-03-25T09:19:23.689+11:00

I swear we must have filled the equivalent of one of these clothing bins -with a combination of useable clothing, plus a few bags we labelled "rags". (I've used a few different bins over the weekend. Call it sharing the love between different charities... )I did ask one of the charity shops once if they took clothing for rags and they said yes. Funny how you still feel a bit guilty about dumping

Traceynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-17511687264820345732008-03-21T23:00:00.005+11:002008-03-21T23:46:09.622+11:00

It has begun. The Big Clean of Easter 2008. After the Big Sleep-In, mind you. (What? You didn't really think we'd be treating it like one of our start-at-dawn, marathon bike rides did you?!)He suggested we tackle one floor per day. (Three storey house, remember.) That sounded fair enough. So we decided to start at the top. Our bedroom.Several bags of clothing, clothing for rags, and "rubbish"

Traceynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-88016782281531614022008-03-20T14:04:00.006+11:002008-03-20T15:19:41.297+11:00

What is with this latest trend of teenage supermarket checkout guys and 'chics' asking "What have you been up to today?".. or "What are your plans for the weekend?"As if they are going to be interested in what a 45 yr old SAHM of three is going to be doing anyway!It seems to happen particularly with one of our local supermarkets, and I don't know if they have been specifically directed in their

Traceynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-27465835050346150212008-03-19T14:19:00.004+11:002008-03-19T14:37:14.252+11:00

So much for my Grand Easter plans. He Who Must Be Obeyed reckons we should stay home and do a big clean up.I know it makes sense.But I feel a bit deflated. Particularly seeing that observation came after a not so enthusiastic response to my suggested camping and bushwalking destination anyway. And because I spent time on researching that destination. Wasted time it appears.Sometimes I have

Traceynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-17137265421260252952008-03-17T15:25:00.003+11:002008-03-17T17:30:52.615+11:00

I suppose if this youtube video (that I happened to hear about on the radio this arvo) was from the States, I would have said "Only in America..".But we have our own crazy people here too!Maybe I should just say "Only in Queensland ... where even the mice can surf."Check them out:It's worth clicking through to the you tube site and reading the accompanying explanation. (Even if he can't spell

Traceynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-14902626756336502212008-03-16T19:18:00.003+11:002008-03-16T21:41:55.510+11:00

Wouldn't you think... that I wouldn't necessarily be tired today because all I did was stand around watching netball. (And sit down the alternate half hours between games.)... (Except for the first hour and a half of the carnival serving in the canteen.)Wouldn't you think... that daughter knowing she had to play a rep carnival all day, then follow it up with a dance rehearsal for the school

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-53360414117501595992008-03-15T21:13:00.014+11:002009-01-11T15:03:09.308+11:00

"Can't wait for the Retrospect". It was a line uttered (by someone else as it happens) on the first multi-day wilderness bushwalk I ever did. The Retrospect did arrive, and it always does, and the expression has become a bit of a family idiom.I thought this to myself a few times today as we went on our reconnaissance MTB (mountain bike) ride in the State Forest just a few kms from home. A few *

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-86833103373193574162008-03-14T22:22:00.013+11:002008-03-14T23:22:10.473+11:00

Commonsense is prevailing. At last. I went even more stupid after having a whinge about being tired. You'd think I'd go to bed early after that wouldn't you? Of course I didn't! I turned the computer off, and then got myself watching some drama-based-on-true-story show about an IVF stuff up. It was very thought provoking. But - Hello 1am.Idiot.I was more sensible last night, but I was already

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-73313785286269144062008-03-13T11:49:00.008+11:002008-03-13T12:17:58.288+11:00

And you think we're crazy:

Traceynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-48071600151877059632008-03-12T22:29:00.006+11:002008-03-12T23:40:49.145+11:00

.. make Trace a tired girl.Totally self-inflicted of course, but F. I'm tired. Tired and lethargic. Normally it takes more than an 85km bike ride to knock me off my blogging, but I've been unaccountably too stuffed to come up with anything remotely blog-worthy this week - even to do some sort of recount of our ride. No amount of coffee consumed seems to have helped. And as for more 'worthy'

Traceynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-25162287356664258732008-03-06T22:00:00.000+11:002008-03-06T21:58:32.763+11:00

If you have more than one child, chances are that you've suffered the endless bickering about whose turn it is to sit where - particularly in the car. Chances are, anyway, that you remember the fights with your siblings! (Now you know what your parents went through, don't you!) And if your kids aren't yet out of baby seats or booster seats, then all I can say is enjoy the relative peace while it

Traceynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-20847302112702314492008-03-05T09:16:00.003+11:002008-03-05T10:46:55.054+11:00

I don't know how I got through last year without this! A few weeks back I started up a Google calendar which is an online calendar - related to Google Docs. If you have a Google account, you can set one up. It's set up to be shared, at the moment, with Marc and Cait. They can edit certain calendars, so that changes automatically show on everyone's calendar, and also have their own calendars,

Traceynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-47089958761251360292008-03-04T09:28:00.006+11:002008-03-05T10:40:21.016+11:00

This year - at least until July - feels like it is shaping up to be the craziest one yet. Although without a Big Ride this year, I have no idea why I am feeling this way. I mean, hell, we're only going away this weekend for a one-day ride, not a nine-day affair!But right now it doesn't exactly feel "calm". The wind is picking up, and the storm clouds are building, and I have that eerie sense you

Traceynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-36163146420548749342008-03-03T11:21:00.005+11:002008-03-03T11:42:48.943+11:00

Jeanie's comment on my last post put me in mind of The Four Yorkshiremen, and I've often thought of finding it so that the girls could have a laugh. Here you go... vintage Monty Python. Well NO! Apparently it predates Monty Python!This is the original. Enjoy!And keep it in mind everytime you're tempted to tell your kids they have it good these days!I'll amuse myself, courtesy of Jeanie, by

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-57823847187558350432008-03-03T09:30:00.000+11:002008-03-03T11:44:53.345+11:00

The next family adventure is nigh - next weekend in fact. We are heading off to loop a lake.???Specifically, we are going in the Loop the Lake event. It is an 85km bike ride around Lake Macquarie, which is basically a bloody big lake down near Newcastle. Which is not too far north of Sydney - depending I suppose on your definition of 'not too far.' (It is under two hours from Sydney these days,

Traceynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-9326177451764947242008-03-01T23:19:00.002+11:002008-03-01T23:37:51.778+11:00

I'm throwing a bit of paint around here at the moment. I realise that some things still don't match, but I'll try and fix them tomorrow.It's actually all a very temporary thing until I come up with an even better look and layout with the help of my 14 yr old graphic artist accomplice, and only because I didn't want to waste the banner she did for me! She's not really happy with it, and so we've

Traceynoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-61809272857038344792008-02-29T09:23:00.008+11:002008-02-29T15:56:51.871+11:00

Nothing drastic - it's just been a bit of a manic mum week, with events on Wednesday reflecting the essence of the 'crazy' in crazytrace.So I'm going to regale you with said events- particularly seeing that you won't interrupt while I do so in order to tell me what I SHOULD have done. And should not have done - Does your other half do that to you? Interrupt when you're telling him about something

Traceynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-38550460289671378852008-02-24T20:15:00.003+11:002008-02-24T21:39:26.861+11:00

I did it! That 2000m swim. That's 2 whole kilometres you know!(So I did buy myself a t-shirt!)I came in something like 257 out of 293. Please note that it was a mixed field! Mixed in gender, and mixed in approach. Some treat it as a race, many just go in it for the challenge.The times will be put up on their website sometime, so I'll check it for interest's sake. Just to see how much slower I am

Traceynoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34427413.post-15241329381472325982008-02-23T13:40:00.005+11:002008-02-23T15:37:20.506+11:00

You'd have thought with all my manic bouts of exercise that I'd be slim, taut and terrific. Unfortunately only the terrific part is true.Hah! Not even that!But, no. I am still carrying 8-10 kilos more than I'd like (and given that I did successfully get to an ideal weight just before I fell pregnant with #3, I know that a better weight is achievable post-babies. I also remember how much better I

Traceynoreply@blogger.com9