racy is good

My new bras and knickers arrived today. They were expensive but OH SO COMFY and the knickers are nice lacy boylegs so I don't think I'll be hearing any complaints from Fabio, if you know what I'm saying.

For ages, I've avoided lingerie like the plague. I felt fat and unattractive, mostly because I was. But I have lost a little weight and it's starting to warm up, and I'd like to wear some pretty underwear under my pretty dresses.
Plus these bras seem to be having a small minimising effect which is awesome when you're a DD or E cup.
So ... happy me!

Also I bought some shoes today. And they're RED <3

So, lacy underwear and red shoes. I wouldn't be a boy for quids!

seriously. I hate government departments.

You know what? Australian government departments are far more effective at deterring evil-doers than you might at first assume.
They deter through obfuscation.

Observe.

I decide to apply for a passport, on the off-chance that I might get that snazzy overseas holiday for Christmas (hahahahaha)
I find the website, then find the form to fill out. This looks easy.
I am issued a PIN so that if there should be a problem, I can leave the site with my information saved, and come back to it later. This should be a warning to me. They are assuming that I will have problems filling out the form.
I write down the PIN.

I begin filling out the form. Yes, Australian citizen; yes, adult (most of the time);yes, accept the terms or whatever you just said; name, sex, DOB, all pretty easy so far....
I get to page 3 and discover I spelled my name incorrectly a while back. Those pesky Ns and Ms that look so alike when you don't have your glasses on -- really whose stupid idea was it to put them next to each other?
Hmm. There seems to be no way to edit that.
Maybe when I get to the end... which I can't do because what if it can't be corrected and I have to re-apply?
I start again. New PIN. Written down. Carefully proof-reading now.

Ah. I require proof of my married name. Easy. I have several photocopies of my wedding certificate.... WHAT? this certificate (that I have used to change my drivers' licence and a whole host of other government departments) is not proof enough?? I need an official certificate issued by the RBDM?? Well, FINE.

I go to the RBDM. After some messing about, I find the place to get a marriage certificate issued.
Ah. $44. Of course.
I cart the lappie into the printer room, connect it up, print the form. It prints crooked. I'm tempted to use it but realise this could be grounds for some Official to refuse my application. I re-print.

Unhook the lappie and cart it back to it's power source.
Begin filling out the form. It asks for BIRTH details. I fill out half this section before realising this is if you want to REGISTER a birth.

Re-print. Fill out the correct section.

Now it wants me to provide ID. A drivers' licence. My birth certificate is not good enough.
Ummmm.... well, I haven't actually applied for an address change on my drivers' licence yet. I briefly think about just photocopying it anyway, but once again, am thinking I might merely be providing some Official with an excuse to refuse.

SIGH.

Now I'm at the licencing website. LUCKILY I am able to change my address on-line. Still, the site is confusing and I waste 15 mins waiting on a phone call before finding the information I need and hanging up.
I fill out the form. I need my drivers' licence and vehicle registration numbers. More faffing about while I get those.
Finally, done.
Now --- I need to wait while I am issued a sticker to put over the old address on my licence.
Then I can photocopy the licence and post to the RBDM with my $44 in order to get an 'official' marriage certificate.

THEN I can get back to applying for the passport.

I wonder what the next hurdle will be? And I truly can't WAIT to get the photo taken.

WHY is it so?

See this?



Science has given us a telescope that can take pictures of stars and other shiny stuff millions of light years away -- but it cannot give us a reasonably-priced underwire bra where the wires stay put and do not stab holes into your armpits or pop their little heads up between your boobs like a mini-erection.
Why is it so?

PS -- see what I did there? I used to love that old Professor.

breastfeeding.... the Great Debate

THE definitive argument on breastfeeding comes from The Bloggess.
Read this, tell everyone, and then we can all go back to arguing over things that really matter, like football.

(Seriously, even if you don't ever plan to breastfeed, go read this because it's frickin' hilarious!)

we interrupt normal programming...

... to bring you this very important message from my sponsor. (Fabio)

Hi Chick Chat Readers,

I thought I might expand on Toni's Kiva comments.
As you might have guessed, I am in the Philippines trying to turn a small unprofitable gold mine into a large profitable one and I have seen first hand, what third world poverty really means to people.

First let me say that I am deeply impressed with the Philippino people (Pinoy).
When I go shopping in one of the local stores I am often one of the worst dressed people to be seen; they are clean, happy, family oriented, industrious and friendly people. What they lack is opportunity.

Take Tumac for example; he is my driver/body guard.
He is a 28 year old married man with one 4 week old daughter.
He lives in a 3 room bamboo hut that I pass every day on my way to work.
He works my schedule which means up to 18 hours a day.
He completed high school with honours and 4 years of college, at the top of his class, to become a forensic police officer.
Unfortunately the police examination takes the top 120 persons out of 5000 applicants and he came 126th, so this extremely well educated, multi lingual (4 languages), skilled, funny, integrity driven, well conected man works for the princely sum of 8000 pesos a month (just short of $200 in Aussie dollars)

In many ways he is lucky, he has Philhealth, the local version of H.B.F.; another of my workers did not, when he collapsed and injured himself, the local hospital would not treat him until his family had come up with some cold hard cash, that's poverty.

2 days ago I saw 2 young wives fighting over a piece of firewood, that's poverty.

Yesterday I saw a boy (maybe 10 years old) nearly washed away in a raging torrent of thick muddy water, coming off the mountain that I am mining under, after 3 hours of torrential rain. He was trying to pan gold with his family, he literally risked life and limb to put food on the table, that's poverty.

Here in this magnificent, beutiful, proud and dangerous country, money is indeed life, so little can do so much.

Years ago Toni and I decided to support Kiva without really understanding the impact that it can have, now I truly get it and I will support Kiva till the end of my days.

Yukiful na salamat Di. (good evening and thank you esteemed ladies).....Fabio

how to kick poverty in the ass

Hands up if you've heard of micro-financing?
I hadn't. Then I saw some program on Their ABC which had me in tears, and changed the way I think about genuine poverty and how we can fight it.

This is taken from the Kiva website
" Microfinance is a general term to describe financial services to low-income individuals or to those who do not have access to typical banking services.

Microfinance is also the idea that low-income individuals are capable of lifting themselves out of poverty if given access to financial services. While some studies indicate that microfinance can play a role in the battle against poverty, it is also recognized that is not always the appropriate method, and that it should never be seen as the only tool for ending poverty. "

Blah blah blah

What it means to me is this:

As a family in a wealthy nation, we have no real idea what it means to live in abject poverty. (altho Fabio is certainly seeing it first-hand now!)

Micro-financing gives us a way to help people help themselves.
We loan small amounts out to people who have already decided that they are going to work their way out of their situation. So half the battle is won, by their attitude and determination.
They use the money to start or build their business, and they pay the money back in tiny amounts. Once the money has all been repaid, you can re-lend it to someone else.

It sounds awful, to LEND money to people who live on less that we would spend in Maccas on a single family meal. But in actual fact, if you think about it, this is really a very empowering way to fight poverty.

Also, borrowers are often women. And those women develop a real sense of purpose and self. And typically, rates of violence against women drop in areas that have a history of micro-financing, because all of a sudden, they don't have to put up with crap anymore. Can you imagine a better way to help a sister out?

If you want to know more, Kiva is an organisation that we've been using for years. The link will take you to their ABOUT page.

PLEASE take a few minutes to have a look.
(I know you're all busy but this is so worthwhile, and just think what you'd be teaching your kids about being caring global citizens!)

running out of vases....

Our house is currently filled with flowers.
Sadly, since most of them arrived for my birthday a week ago, most are looking a little the worse for wear.


* these were from my forum girls (and Brian!)*




* yellow roses from my husband, they have gold glitter smeared on the edges *


*these gorgeous lilliums (?) from my sisters fill the house with their fragrance*

But the best flower pics are these:




The first flowers The Princess has ever received, from the forum girls (and Brian!)
Aren't those pictures priceless???

the popcorn is gone....

We arrived at the hospital, early this morning.

The Princess was given a room and some baggy pyjamas (they were not pink, much to her disgust) and she got a wrist band and leg band with her name on them, which she could read, so that was kind of cool.
For a while she was pretty distracted, but as the time for her procedure got closer she became more and more teary.
The tears dried up momentarily when John, the orderly, wheeled her bed down to the theatre; great novelty, being wheeled about on a bed! But once at the actual theatre, she began begging me to take her home.
"PLEEEASE MUM, I promise I'll be good!", which just about broke my heart, the poor little love.

The staff allowed me to go into the theatre and I held her (I'm telling her I cuddled her, but really I had to hold her to stop her from pulling the mask away) until she conked out. And then I had to leave her there, a tiny little girl in the middle of all that equipment.
I was fighting a huge lump in my throat and had big hot frightened tears in my eyes, but John the orderly spoke to reassure me and I told him that I have already lost a child, and that I was very scared.
And he told me about his little girl, who died in his arms from leukaemia at just 2 years old.

All the way back to the ward, we talked about our lost children, and how hard it is to fight the fear that somehow, we might lose another. He told me how his friends' daughter, who is the same age as his little girl, has recently become engaged, and he choked up telling me how he will never see his little girl married, or hold his grandchildren.

His kindness and reassurance amazed and touched me deeply, and somehow he must have reached The Princess too, because she drew a picture of him when she got home, which we're posting to the hospital.

My friend, who sat with me when my son died, and held me up many times when I needed it afterwards, kept me from panicking, and her understanding and friendship are worth more to me than I can say.
And another friend looked after my son, and I trust her so completely that I could relax and concentrate all my attention on The Princess, knowing my boy was safe and happy.

I am so blessed to have so many amazing people come into my life when I need them. Some are like lightening flashes, there and gone before you really have time to register the light they've given, while others are with you no matter what.

I am so grateful for all the support, the prayers and good wishes, flowers, phone calls, and the comments left on my blog and on Facebook.
I know for some people, it's a bit hard to understand the fuss I've made. The risk was minimal and the procedure a very ordinary one -- but you see, I've had that one-in-a-million thing happen before, and the fear is always with me now.

But today, we escaped. The Princess is alive and well and sleeping in her own bed. I got to tuck her in and kiss her goodnight.

Thankyou friends and family, thankyou nurses, thankyou doctors.

And John, wherever you are, bless you.

fraud and the lack of sleep

Fabio worked a night shift last night. (sort of)
So when my mobile beeped at 1 am, my sleeping brain alerted me to the fact that my husband might be texting me to tell me he loves me. He does that a lot.
But no.
The message was from my bank, telling me that a dodgy transaction had just been declined.
Do I need to say that I woke up FAST? I wasn't sure which account or card it might be, since for a while there, Fabio was collecting bank accounts like other people collect stamps.

I rang the bank on their 24 hour help line, and had a nice chat with a chappie who put a temporary hold on our credit card, with advice to call my husband asap, and ask him if he had tried to purchase anything at 1 in the morning.

Since he was underground, in a mine, in a little village in the middle of the mountainous jungle, I didn't think it was likely. However, I dutifully messaged him, and lay awake till 2:30 or so, trying to fall back to sleep.

Fabio called me this morning, went through both our credit cards, and found odd activity on both. All transactions were made within the last 2 working days -- one for 3 x phones, one for some other thing that cost $500 plus.
He actually keeps a very close eye on our credit cards, which is bad news for me in some ways, but it pays off.

Anyway, after discussions with the fraud team at our bank, our cards are stopped and the transactions are under investigation. Happy me, since (so far) I love our bank, and I'm pretty sure that all will be well.

We are actually very careful with our cards, and with our on-line transactions, and we still got scammed. I guess it goes to show that nothing, absolutely nothing, beats the good old tried-and-true method of going through your statements!