Sleep Clive, Sleep

Clive is not sleeping. He dozed for 35 minutes and has been stubbornly refusing to go back to sleep ever since. This sucks for a number of reasons:

1) Clive, while much improved from infancy, is not the happiest of campers even when he's had sleep. I call him my grumpy old man in a baby body. Without sleep, well he's a monster.

2) The above would not be such a huge issue if we both weren't sick. I threw the water restrictions out the window today and used up all the hot water in a vain attempt to unclog my nose and head.

3) Nor would number one be so awful if I could stay home all day. Alas, I have 2 hours of parent teacher interviews this afternoon and work tonight. And peak hour traffic to get through from the interviews to home in order to make dinner and bathe children before I head off to my paid employment.

Sleep my boy, sleep.

Coulda Woulda Shoulda

Yesterday the shit hit the fan with Miss Thing's schooling.

A couple of weeks before the school break, I received the usual letters to request interviews with both her and Sparky's teachers. I must admit it can be difficult, and it was in Sparky's case, to know which teachers I should put in a request for and which I shouldn't bother with as the mid-semester report cards aren't released until the last day of the term. With Miss Thing, however, it wasn't difficult; I ticked them all. Given her grades last year and her attitude at the start of this year, I knew I'd have to see all of them. I even wrote a little note at the bottom of the form to ensure I'd get to see them:

Miss Thing came perilously close to failing most of her classes last year, and I would appreciate the opportunity to speak to all of her teachers this semester. Thank you.

School holiday's roll around and I was handed their report cards. While I was prepared for the worst, part of me was hoping Miss Thing had gotten the message we all tried to get her to accept - that she was on thin ice and it was time to buckle down - and her pledges of going "nerd style" and doing it "her way" would pay off in a pleasant surprise. Anyone want to guess what happened?

Einstein once defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over yet expecting a different result. Despite her cries to the contrary, Miss Thing hadn't changed her habits and so I was presented with a report card that contained 3 D's, 2 C's and a lone B. Her grades for effort, which is really important to me because I'd be a lot more understanding of poor grades if she (or any of my kids) were seriously trying, were much the same with one D, 3 C's, one B and one A. Comments frequently contained reworkings of the phrase "more effort needed" and "attention to detail".

Therefore I wasn't surprised when I received a second letter requesting a separate interview with the Associate Principal to discuss Miss Thing's options. I had a similar interview last year with a guidance counsellor whose advice Miss Thing declared "too hard" after a week and a half. See the Einstein quote above. We had that interview yesterday afternoon.

My attitude coming into the interview was thus: what do we have to do to see that Miss Thing receives her Queensland Certificate of Education (also known as Queensland Senior Certificate), which is the equivalent in the US of a high school diploma. Forget OP, never mind about university - what does she need to do to graduate high school? Miss Thing's attitude was different - show them she has a plan and all will be well.

Needless to say, Miss Thing never got to show the AP her plan; there would be no more chances. The AP's attitude was in line with mine - let's get Miss Thing enough credits to graduate. Miss Thing seemed to go along with this until she was told, very directly, that she needs to go down another level in math to pre-maths or basic math. Doing this makes her OP ineligible, which if you didn't read the above link severely limits her options for university. Well, Miss Thing's face fell and the seriousness of the situation, the thing we've been trying to get into her head since Grade 9, hit her square in the face. She tried to protest, asking a lot of "what if's" as concerns her math class but the bottom line is her history is against her and she should not take the chance, especially as she has to focus on bringing those other D's up to a C in order to receive the necessary credits to graduate.

I wouldn't say she stormed out when we were done, but it was very obvious that she was hurting. And a huge part of me felt for her - she's my daughter after all. I wanted to tell her it'd be okay, but the reality is she dug herself this hole and refused all of our help to get her out of it. I knew I said she'd have to learn the hard way, and it seems she finally is, but it still hurts to watch it happen.

She later tried to convince me to agree to keep her in her current level, to take a "wait and see" approach but I held firm. We've been doing that and look where it's gotten her. It's not a chance she can afford to take. With that certificate, she can take classes at TAFE (and if you're not Australian and reading this, really it's much easier for you to follow the link than for me to explain) and continue to to university later. Without it, well she's pretty much stuck in entry level jobs for the rest of her life, or she can take up an apprenticeship - which she says she doesn't want to do. She claimed changing her maths would "completely mess with " her current timetable - I told her to let the AP worry about that.

"This totally sucks!" she whined. Yes well, you should've thought about that sooner. Not like we haven't been telling you this would happen.

She is supposed to be seeing the AP at lunch today in order to see if that math class can be changed mid-semester or must wait until July. We also have a meeting in a few weeks with the Australian Defence Forces to discuss their Gap Year program. For the record that was Miss Thing's idea, however I'm 1000% for it as I hope, if accepted, she'll gain some self-discipline and life skills to help her decide what she wants. Of course she has to graduate first...

Match Report Monday

Sorry I didn't get to this last night. My back was seizing up when I came home from work - actually it started at work - and so I just wanted to down some pain killers and get some sleep. It's better this morning, if a little tight. But never mind, here we are. On with the show!

Round 1 U13s, Div 2
Date: 27 April 2008, 12:00 pm kickoff
Where: Purtell Park, Bardon
Who: Wests Panthers v Brighton Roosters
Score: 29-26, Wests. That's right - victory is ours!!!!!!!


After a rousing pep talk to the parents by Coach Tom, 15 boys - yes, we had reserves - turned up on time at Purtell Park on a very warm and sunny Sunday afternoon. Parents waited for the previous game to end so we could steal what little shade we could find from those departing. Brighton has always been a tough team, so we knew the boys would be challenged. Would they be up for it?

If you heard their team chant you would know they were. Most teams huddle around and merely call their team team, or if they're fancy throw a "one, two, three {insert name here}" or a "go {insert name here}". Not our boys. As I set up under a hoop pine and tried to avoid the green ants, their war cry hit my ears and I whipped my head around. Did they really say what I thought they said? "One, two, three GIVE A SHIT!!!" I probably should be upset - after all they're only 12 and 13 - but I couldn't help but laugh. Sparky tells me it comes from them being asked if they "gave a shit", so they thought they'd demonstrate that they, indeed, care by using the phrase as their rallying cry. Whatever works.

What a first half! Brighton had some big boppers, especially the number 13 who was not only very tall but very very fast. It looked as if Brighton would take the early lead when the 13 streaked down the sideline to score, but he was called back for a forward pass. Phew. There was a lot of fierce play back and forth with some great ball work by both teams and good runs, especially by Chris - please have him play rugby union every Saturday - and Jack. Josh and Chris (again) were fantastic in defence, making some great tackles. Unfortunately our luck, and line, didn't hold out and Brighton put first points on the board to make it 6-0. Wests struck back quickly however, with a cross field run by DJ who made a mad dash down the sideline to bring the score to 6-4. We scored the next try too courtesy of our own big bopper Eli, but missed the conversion to take a narrow 8-6 lead.

These 30 minute halves are wearing on the nerves, but with a few fresh legs the boys were able to keep the pressure on Brighton and made them work for their next try out in the corner to snatch the lead back, 12-8. Last year the boys would've just done enough to hold on til halftime, but not this year. Cos they give a shit. Some great passes and good runs by the forwards saw DJ score his second try of the match under the posts to allow Scott the easy conversion and take the lead 14-12 as the whistle blew.

Would the second half be more of the same? You betcha - in fact it was worse. Eli was off the entire second half, sprawled on the first aid table with a back injury, and Brighton upped their physical game to the point of being spoken to by the ref several times, especially that number 13. I mean, Jarrod was literally half his size - is it necessary to shove him into the ground like that? Wests drew first blood, and I'm sorry that I can't remember who it was (if anyone knows help me out) to stretch the lead to 20-12. About 10 minutes into the half the heat started to wear and with no reserves left for Wests, Brighton snatched two quick unconverted tries to level the score 20 all. Knowing they could win, the boys dug deep and played some of the best footy yet. It remained locked for ages - or at least it seemed like ages - before DJ shot down the right side to make it a hat trick. Yes I seem to know when it's DJ scoring but fair dinkum he is my son - what kind of mother would I be if I didn't know when my son scored? That and it happened right in front of me. Jack missed the conversion but he also scored on the next possession to take a 28-20 lead.

At this point I started running up to our official timekeeper to find out exactly how much time was left. Ten minutes. Oish! Fantastic tackles by all involved keep Brighton pinned down in their end and allow some great field position for the mighty Panthers. The Roosters were desperate to keep us out and sensing another try just wasn't going to happen, Josh gets the ball and kicks a fantastic field goal to bring to score to 29-20. Sure it's only one point, but it was fairly demoralizing and took some of the wind of Brighton's sails. Another trip to see Michael and six minutes to go. Wests gave it their all and for five minutes they kept the Roosters out, but in the end their big boys were too big and they sneack over the line smack bang under the posts to come to within 3 points.

This time Michael caught me halfway up the hill to tell me there was 42 seconds left. They were the longest 42 seconds of my life. Parents hearts were pounding and stomachs were lurching - could we keep them out and take the two competition points? No rush to kick off and the kick was nice and deep. Brighton didn't want to be denied and kept getting the ball to their monster forwards, but our boys put their bodies on the line to deny them an easy run. Oh please sound the air horn, pleaseohpleaseohplease.... HOOOOOOT!!!!! Parents start to cheer but notice play continues. Tackle made, cheers start to go up but ref allows play to continue. Another blast of the air horn - c'mon ref!! Another tackle, another play on - OY!!!!! Stop it!!!! Finally he clues in and calls fulltime and we can cheer for real.

Now don't get me wrong, it's great to see them so competitive and - bonus - win. But if it's this close week after week I'll need more colorant for my hair and lots of antacid by the end of the season. According to the draw, next week is Samford again... at Samford AGAIN. Revenge will be ours, mwahahahahahaha!!!!! Danni has promised that, baring disaster, she'll be there for photos and to cheer us on. I could get used to this winning stuff, even if I have to get sunburned every week.

Match Report Monday - Almost

I don't know if I'm going to have time to write up the match report today. Sparky is going into the city to have his braces taken off - huzzah! - but it means hanging around for a few hours as they make the top retainer. After we get home sometime late this afternoon I have to make dinner, get Miss Thing to her netball training, feed the little ones, pick Miss Thing up from said netball training, get Her Majesty and Clive bathed and into bed and go to work.

I'm tired already.

I won't give away the results - and if you're in the know, don't tell! - but I will say that if the boys keep up these edge-of-your-seat games I'll have an ulcer by the end of the season.

Saturday Skinfest

Holy crap, I'm actually doing the Skinfest on Saturday. Hey, are you okay? That fall looked like it kinda hurt. I had a slow start to the day since Clive didn't wake up til 9:45 this morning, but once he had his breakfast (3 kiwi fruits, 2 bananas and half a Nutella sandwich) it was go, go, go! Shopping, netball, work... so here I am totally wiped out but ready to do the Skinfest, on time, for you. Because I love you, that's why:

I love it when Cooper Cronk goes swimming; my heart goes all a-flutter...

How good was it to see Darren Lockyer play the full 80 minutes on Friday night? How cute does he look here with that smile, those bulging arms and well defined legs? Super cute!!!

I never thought in a million years I'd have reason to think Michael Crocker was sexy. And from the neck up he's not. But the neck down and my-oh-my... clean up in aisle 9!

I'm kinda hoping that if I post a pic of La Liz then Dave over at Blogography will pick my name for one of the prizes in his anniversary raffles. Good karma and all that. Plus Liz looks totally hot.

More skin next week!!

Photo Friday

Today is ANZAC Day. Rather than do another post about it and annoy long time readers, if you're new here or an Aussie or Kiwi who is shamefully ignorant of your history, or you don't remember reading about it previously, you can go read my post on it last year.

Lest we forget.

Here is this week's photo. I apologise for the crappy resolution, but it was taken with my mobile phone and was indoors with no lighting other than the windows. Still, it's a rare one as it features yours truly (I hate having my picture taken), along with Her Majesty:

My cool Blogography shirt is visible here, and I don't look as tired as I felt that day. Still, Her Majesty and I look nothing alike; she's a clone of the Hermit.

Unique

When I was single, there were quite a few of me:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 164 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Later, when I married the Hermit, I knocked that number back a fair bit:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 20 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Once I began blogging and moved to Australia, I became unique:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Thanks to Jeff for putting me onto this!

19-0... NOT

Dear New England Patriots,

You had a hell of a season last year. To go undefeated in the regular season is no small thing. To get through the playoffs undefeated is, well, required to get to the Superbowl but still it added to your record. 18-0 is a NFL record. Well done.

However, let's face it. The one game you needed to win, the one game that would immortalise you forever... you blew it. Choked. Your final record will remain 18-1. Your defeat will go down in New England sporting history as worse than the '86 Bill Buckner ball-between-the-legs loss of the Red Sox in the World Series. You will be the new choke standard. And that sucks for you.


To continue to pursue your attempts to trademark the phrases "19-0" and "19-0 The Perfect Season", however, risks making you something to be mocked rather than pitied. According to this article on The Smoking Gun, lawyers for the Pats did not withdraw their application - which was filed when just about everyone other than the New York Giants thought the Superbowl was a foregone conclusion - after your capitulation but rather amended it on April 11 to correct a typo.

Who do you think is going to buy the range of merchandise you plan on stamping with "19-0" after you didn't go 19-0? Even if you manage to repeat last year's season, except without the whole losing the Superbowl bit, the magic is gone. Are you going to stamp all those do-dads "19-0, FINALLY! See, we told you we could do it. Nya-nya!" Not even your most die-hard fan living outside of a mental institution would spend their money on it.

For the love of God, and your fans, please stop it now. Tear up that ridiculous application, get on with next season and try to win the one game that matters.

Fondly,
Mooselet

Well Deserved

I have a couple of congrats to offer. First up is Mumfies' L'il Miss, who made the Under 12s Northwests Districts soccer team (in case you can't read the picture below) and got her name on the school billboard:

Gee those Mumfies children are certainly athletic, aren't they? Is it from you, Mumfies? Well done Miss Mumfies and I hope you win all your games!

Next up is Hermit's L'il Sis's DH. We received an email from him on Friday that read, in part:

"In what can only be described as a gross error of judgement, the Navy has selected me early for CAPTAIN, O-6, Full Bird, etc."

Woot woot!!! And he's self-depreciating to boot. A slightly more in depth and semi-technical explanation came from HLS on Monday:

"It’s an absolutely amazing feat that DH was picked up early for Captain/O-6. No one has been picked up early for the previous two years. This year, five people were picked up early. DH was the only SWO – Surface Warfare Officer, to be picked up early. The Navy looked at 215 SWO’s for early pick. Of the other four picked up early, two were Navy Seals, one was EOD (explosives) and the last one was either Intel, Submariner or Nuke. No pilots were picked up early."

So who says those hot shot pilots get all the breaks? I think bragging rights are well and truly justified. Well done and congrats to you, Cap'n:


Now get yourself assigned another boat (do they call them boats? Ships? I'm so not a Navy person) and make sure it comes to Brisbane so we can congratulate you in person!

Match Report Monday

Grading Match U13s, Div 2
Date: 18 April 2008, 8:30 pm kickoff
Where: Allan Cash Park, Samford
Who: Samford Stags v Wests Panthers
Score: 20-18, Samford

We wuz robbed. I don't say that out of bitterness, as I am quite used to the boys losing matches. We were robbed by a referee seemingly intent on handing Samford their first victory no matter what. I've thought about taking that sentence out, or changing it to something less accusatory, but I'm not. This isn't an official report - it's my take on the match and so it's staying.

But let's start at the beginning. Our match was changed from a Sunday match at home to a Friday night versus Samford, who had been moved down to Division 2 after some serious losses in Division 1. I was a bit cranky about having to miss my Broncos game, but it did give me an honest excuse when my boss called and asked if I could work Friday night. So reduced once again to a skeleton team of 13, no reserves and DJ only just returned from school camp a few hours before the boys took the field.

It was a hell of a match. I have to admit to some vagueness owing to the dark and a continued unfamiliarity with some of the newer boys, but I do know that we scored the first try deep in the left corner - there was a collective holding of breaths as the referee conferred with the touch judge before blowing his whistle - about 7 minutes into the game. I think it was Jack, though if anyone who was there knows for certain please feel free to correct me. There was some furious defensive efforts by the mighty Panthers, but it wasn't enough to keep the bigger boys of the Stags out and they levelled the score 4 all. It didn't last as Wests struck back with Charlie scooting over the line to snatch the lead back mere minutes later, and we lead 8-4. It certainly made me feel heaps better as Danni kept texting me with delightful updates as to how badly it was going for the Broncos in their game and Russell was taunting me mere metres away for the same reason.

Wests kept up the pressure with some fantastic tackles by Josh and DJ - it's sometimes really hard to tell those two apart without looking at their number - and spreading the ball along the line when they had possession. With only a few minutes left til halftime Wests again dove over the tryline - think it was Jarrod - and converted to bring the score to 14-4. They were tired, though, and allowed Samford to snatch a last second converted try to bring the score to 14-10 at the break.

After a brief halftime where I watched as the Broncos battled their way back into their game, the boys again took the field. They were bunching up a bit due to fatigue, but still managed to keep Samford out for a good 15 minutes with their tackles and never surrender attitude. The score remained level 14 all for a fair bit, with Wests losing an opportunity for a try when Jackson was tackled in goal and had the ball held up as he attempted to get a little closer to the goal posts to make the conversion easier. Never mind, just do it again! And a few minutes later they did, with John (I think) getting over. Scott just missed the conversion - and didn't he look upset with himself when it missed by inches - to take the score 18-14. Had we won another one?

And here's where it all went wrong. Many Wests parents witnessed a deep discussion between the ref and the Samford touch judge after we were awarded that try, and the ref walked so close to Scott as he was setting up for his attempted conversion that several of us swore he was going to tell Scott never mind, that he had changed his mind over the try. We knew there was not much time left, despite there not being an on field clock, and so we knew there was at least a couple of minutes chewed up by the above conversation, attempted conversion kick and then kickoff by Samford. All we had to do was hold on to the ball for a set of 6 and kick it dead. As luck would have it, DJ dropped the ball cold on the short kickoff and Samford got the ball. The boys reached deep and tackled as if their life depended on it, denying Samford a try. Change over, pack the scrum. Now it takes at least a minute to set the scrum and our boys weren't rushing. Mutterings started down the Wests parents' end - surely time was up? Any second now... The boys knew it too, as they didn't try to pass it and just ran from dummy half. Where the hell was the whistle? Samford forced the error for a changeover. By now even parents who don't know all that much about the game and were timing on their mobiles where declaring time up. Still no whistle.

Our boys were exhausted, and Samford had given their big fellas a rest in the second half, bringing them on towards the end of the game. The Panthers just couldn't hold them out forever, try as they might. And boy did they try. Despite their best and furious efforts, Samford got over the line to level the score at 18 all. Maybe they'd miss the conversion? Nope, through the sticks and score is 20-18. And hey, there's the whistle!!! How convenient. I'm not claiming conspiracy or contrivance, just calling a spade a damn shovel.

Now the Wests Panthers of old would have come off the field swearing up a storm, many would have refused to shake hands and there would have been much pouting and sulking. Instead they shook hands and walked off with their heads held high with several loudly declaring bragging rights - they'd won and they knew it. I don't know when I've ever been so proud of them and I think a lot of the parents felt the same as we give them a standing ovation from when the whistle finally blew and as they crossed the field, not stopping til they reached us. There was even a rendition of the Wests victory song, albeit the clean version, from Jane. I did feel for Coach Tom, as he looked utterly devastated for the boys. He knew it, too - we were robbed. We all did, and I think they did too. And it's a shame, because Samford played a great game and to have it tarnished like that does them no favours.

Just wait til we get them at our home ground, where our time keepers sit off field with a working time piece and airhorn. We'll get 'em then, boys, never you mind. Victory will be ours! On the plus side, this is sure to keep us in Division 2 where the boys are competitive and gaining confidence every week. Now if we could only get a few more players to sign on so the illness or scheduling conflicts of one or two players doesn't leave us without reserves, we'd have those wins that keep eluding our grasp. We can taste it, and I hope to tell you about it next week!

I Need This

Most people get my sarcasm, that I often use it as humour. Some people don't and are wounded. Fuck them. For those, I need this:

If you haven't figured it out already, you need to double click the picture to read the fine print.

Saturday Skinfest

Yeah yeah, late again. You're used to it, aren't you? Someone once said I operate in my own time zone - this is proving to be very true as of late. So let's just get to it, okay:

Craig Wing shows of his man nips. He's even pointing to them. I don't really know why, nor do I care. Do you?

Dearest Nathan, will you please grow your hair back to when you wore it like this, like a dead animal had perched on your head? Maybe then the Eels would start winning again and I'd do better in my tips. As for the Assclown holding on to you, brownie points to the person who figures out who it is.

Thank God Billy Slater is a better fullback than he is a surfer. Thank God Billy Slater surfs in just his shorts and gives us all an eyeful.

I can't remember where this picture came from. Some underwear modelling/pie throwing event for a department store where they all washed up in a fountain. I thought she had nice cleavage, so I saved it for you. Who loves ya, baby?

More skin, very likely late, next week!

Photo Friday

I started this post on Friday, really I did. But then it all went pear shaped and I haven't gotten back to the computer til now. I hate it when my life interferes with my blogging.

Anyway, I was driving home Thursday afternoon when I noticed this site out my window:

It's the things like this that remind me to slow down and enjoy what life has to offer. You'll never know when it hits you, even at a traffic light.

Throb

That's what my head is doing now - a low, dull throb in the vicinity of my frontal lobes. It's making me cranky and driving all those wonderful ideas into hiding.

Clive has been up before Her Majesty these past two days, and when I tried to creep off and grab a nap while he had his he woke up. Miss WTF called him a klingon the other night and boy has he ever been this week. Her Majesty has been bouncing off the walls when she's home and I find myself wishing she had a volume knob so I could turn her down. Miss Thing has a stomach virus and gets very whiny when she's ill - she's better this evening. We got the repair bill for the Hermit's latest motorcycle mishap. He's fine and the dumping of his bike wouldn't even have rated a mention if it weren't for the obscene amount it's costing to repair it. Thank goodness Sparky's off at camp til tomorrow, although I have to miss a cracker of a Broncos game tomorrow night because he's got a rare Friday night game.

:::throb, throb, throb:::

I need a vacation from my life.

The Computer is Back

I've picked up my trusty Acer computer from it's ICU bed today and am back online. Thanks to Miss WTF who let everyone know via the comments on my last post.

The processor fan crapped out Sunday, so it would shut down secondary to overheating - essentially running a fever. When they went in to repair it, the techs noticed the cooling fan on my video card - and let me say I had no idea a video card has a fan, and why it needs one is waaaay beyond my comprehension but I did see it so I know they weren't trying to BS ignorant little me - had torn itself to pieces as well. So I have a new fan-free video card as well.

Of course I had a lot of ideas while I was computerless for a few days, but alas still have not invented that time machine so I can convert those ideas to posts. Especially when Her Majesty is begging me to go and play her burping frog game. So I'll let her go online and get some housework done - much to the Hermit's delight, no doubt - and since Sparky is at school camp until Friday (can I get an "Amen"? Thank you!) I should be able to get some time tomorrow.

Missed you all!!!

Saturday Skinfest

After putting in an 18 hour day yesterday between my two jobs - mother extraordinaire and shelf stocker - I think I can be forgiven if, once again, I didn't get the Skinfest put up until today. But I knew I had to get on the computer before Sparky wakes up and attaches himself to Runescape, or Miss Thing gets onto MySpace. So while Clive eats his brekkie and Her Majesty tries to shout the house down, here's your weekly dose of NRL skin:

James Aubusson is possibly wondering why Getty Images is again ruining his swim.

You know Beau Walker is a manly man as he can pull off (hee - no pun intended) pink shorts.

Darren Lockyer's hair continues its disturbing migration from his head to his chest. I love you Darren, but that's just freaky. Seriously, I could knit a scarf with that fur.

Miss England may look all pasty from the lack of sunshine in England, but that St. George's cross on her backside proclaims her patriotism loudly and proudly.

Holy Hell! Thanks to Blogger not wanting to upload my images, my computer randomly shutting down twice (for which I've had to chase the Hermit away until I get this finished) and the children clamouring/shrieking for my attention, it's taken me over an hour to do this post. I'm off to do more laundry now - more skin next week.

Photo Friday

Are the school holiday's over yet? I'm slowly being driven insane by having them all home and I think I may have several drinks tonight as I watch footy. Is it bad that I'm using alcohol to cope? I could have chocolate instead. Chocolate alcohol, perhaps? Hmmmmm.....

Anyway, enjoy a nostalgic photo of Brisbane's Queen Street back in the day:

Thanks to either Mumfies or Miss WTF who sent me this - can't remember which of you it was.

In an Instant

I get the point of instant coffee. Not everyone has a grinder, or the time to grind the beans, or even a coffee maker in which to put said ground coffee beans. So when you want some coffee and all you have is a kettle and a cup, then it's instant coffee to the rescue.

But how freakin' desperate do you have to be make a cup of instant tea??


Or maybe that should be freakin' stupid. Let's face it, tea isn't that hard to make. Even if you're into the loose tea leaf method, it's not difficult nor requires complicated equipment. Get a cup/pot of boiling water, put in the tea and let it steep for as long, or as little, as you'd like. Add milk, lemon, sugar, honey or whatever you fancy (or not) and viola - a cup of tea. Delicious and good for you.

So if someone can explain to me why someone, anyone, would buy a jar of instant tea instead of a box of tea bags, I'd be most grateful.

Sunset

Since I'm facing a time crunch as well as writers block (bloggers block?) here are the other sunset pictures that Miss WTF sent me from Double Island Point. She'll correct me if I'm wrong, but given how the picture was labelled when she sent it to me I think the man fishing is Poppa WTF:

As always, double click the pictures for the super impressive view.

Match Report Monday

Grading Match U13s, Div 2
Date: 6 April 2008, 12:30 pm kickoff
Where: Matheson Oval, Petrie
Who: Pine Rivers Bears v Wests Panthers
Score: 32-10, Pine Rivers. Drat.

Well the saying is true, you can't win them all. Let me say that the score (which may actually be different than I have here at the moment, and not in our favour) does not reflect the way in which our boys played for 95% of the game. It was that 5% that did us in the end.

The problem with playing a game at the start of school holidays is that you may not have all of your players. We have a skeleton team to begin with, and the loss of a couple is a major deal. We were lucky in that, in the end, we had the minimum of 13. It meant that no one would get a break, but at least there could be no cries of little game time!

We turned up at Petrie to partly cloudy skies and a warm autumn sun. Just before kickoff the rain started and we retreated to shelter. Within 10 minutes the rain was pouring down, with the howling wind driving the rain sideways, soaking our backs (not to mention our belongings, including Clive's stroller). I tried to keep Her Majesty in front of me to keep her dry and soothe Clive, who did not like the storm one bit and let all and sundry know about it. The boys, however, didn't seem to mind. Indeed, they thrived completing their sets when they had possession and worked as a team in tackling. The next thing we knew, Jackson had scored down the right side. Renee and myself looked at each other in shock - we scored? Already? And first? We weren't the only ones to be besides themselves - coach Tom leapt up in excitement, forgetting the ceiling above the bench was quite low and quickly found himself on the ground, the bearer of a sore head. I'm sure he thought it was worth it. The try was converted - how in that driving rain I'll never know - and the boys were up 6 nil. Woot woot!!

They continued to deny Pine Rivers for the next 10 minutes, but the lack of interchanges took its toll. Oddly enough, that's when the rain began to ease up as well and the Bears found their way through our line to score. Conversion failed so we were still up 6-4. But the Panthers were struggling and some silly play allowed the Bears to get two more tries in, one on the halftime whistle, and take the lead 16-6.

The 15 minute rest did a world of good, and Wests came out firing in the second half. The rain was intermittent, but nothing like the first half. The teams were evenly matched with some great play on both sides, but 10 minutes in (give or take) the ball made its way out to the wing (Danni, can you believe it?) and DJ dove over the line - looking for all the world like he was on a Slip-n-Slide - to score. Unfortunately the wind was against us and we missed the conversion, leaving us down 16-10. The boys were fired up and made some great tackles, never giving up the chase when Pine Rivers managed to break our line. Again, I can't single any individual out - the faster ones would give chase and hold on for dear life until the cavalry could arrive to complete the tackle. If you've followed us for the last few seasons, you know this didn't happen very often. But again, the lack of substitutions took its toll and Pine Rivers was able to sneak through the line out wide. No conversion, West was down 20-10.

Exhausted and soaked through, the boys battled valiantly on. Eli and Simon continued to pump those massive legs and all the boys continued to pass the ball along the line, trying to poke through and score. Nearly did a few times, but were chased down by fresher legs. Fatigue made for errors, however, and the last 5 minutes saw the Bears get 2, possibly 3, tries. There was a minor injury scare with one of our boys (and I'm so sorry that I can't remember who it was) who had to be helped off the field but walked off under his own power - ice pack tucked into his sock - when it was over. Still Wests never give in, and we all left the park proud, if a little damp, parents and the boys had their heads held high.

Our next game isn't until the 20th, but it's a home game so perhaps I'll have some pictures to go along with the next match report (hint, hint). Til then, keep your fingers crossed. They'll only get better from here, I have no doubt.

Saturday Skinfest

It's very late Sunday night, and I'm about ready to collapse. Thank goodness it's school vacation this week so I don't have to leave the house at 7 am to take Miss Thing and Sparky to the bus. Not that I can sleep in with Her Majesty rising at dawn, but being able to remain only semi-conscious has its appeal.

And if there are any psychics out there who can tell me where Her Majesty has left her favourite stuffed dog, Hushie, could you please help me out? Last definite sighting was Friday. I've about torn the house apart (not that you can tell) looking for it and with no success. (Update - never mind. I found it Monday morning, in a sleeping bag on the couch. Thank goodness)

So no more what passes for witty banter, let's just get to the skin:

Brett White needs to grow some chest hair as I find his man nips oddly distracting. They follow you - try it yourself!

How studly does Cooper Cronk look emerging from the surf? Rwwrrrowwwrrr baby! (note to self - you suck at imaginary growling)

Again Miss WTF brings home the bacon, or in this case Dean Halatau, with her pictures. If only she could bring home the real specimen!

She's no Kate Hudson, but I wouldn't complain if I had Jennifer Aniston's ass. I'd complain about the wedgie, perhaps, but not the ass.

More skin next week!

Photo Friday

I've got two this week, because I just couldn't decide which one I liked more. These are from Miss WTF, who went camping last weekend up, well I don't really know. I thought she was going somewhere inland, but as you can see these aren't from the woods. I'm sure she'll remind me in the comments - my guess is either one of the beaches on the Sunshine Coast or Fraser Island. And she's just emailed me to tell me they were at Double Island Point, north of Noosa. I know a lot of you don't know where it is, but you can impress your equally unknowledgable friends with the statement "Ah, Double Island Point. A lovely spot in Queensland, haven't you heard of it?"

I like the ship one as it looks as if someone painted it in, not to mention the uniqueness of the ship. And the sunrise, well I'm just impressed Miss WTF was up to see it:

(double click the photos, they're more impressive that way)

I'm A Lab

I'm fairly busy this morning what with Clive's swim lesson and a bit of shopping to do, not to mention laundry and having to work tonight. So in the absence of a thought provoking or even entertaining original post, here's a quiz for you. I got this one from yellojkt:



:::sniff::: Makes me miss my girls, even if they were German Shepherds.