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Archive for November, 2008

new pants for work

November 28th, 2008 at 09:28 am

Well today I spent $50.50 on two pairs of pants for work. They are chequered chef pants so I will be able to claim it as a fax deduction seeing as they are industry required clothing. YAY!

Actually our boss doesnt care what we wear to work but I have been wearing the same pants for nearly 3 years so I figured it was time for an upgrade!

Hoping to have a quiet weekend this weekend seeing as the last two have been big and maybe next weekend will be slightly big as well (staff party).

Some of our neighbours are throwing a party. GAH! No, I know I can't complain. We get our turns, it's theirs now.
I just have to repeat over and over 'I will not throw waterbombs when their music is playing at 3am, I will not throw waterbombs., I will not throw waterbombs..'

Not much else to report this end. Gosh can't believe November is almost over! Got to start thinking of my new year goals!

alcohol and me

November 26th, 2008 at 01:37 am

Looking at my monthly spendings... I'm not going to tally it up just yet (seeing as it's only wednesday) but I know it's been a pretty average, spendy month. But I am quite happy to say I've managed to save a lot, and not spend any MORE than I have earnt. Spent quite a lot on alcohol this month! (By a lot, I mean $59.00 - I normally don't drink but I had two cocktail parties to go to).

I was able to add a couple of half-bottles to my 'collection', which is exciting.

I know it's probably a bad thing to be excited about it, but you see I really hardly ever drink, so that would be why. I also love alcohol in the sense of the tradition behind it, the culture, the processes, etc. I love how there are so many types, so many family histories in vineyards, so much controversy.

Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT a fan of UDL cans and trashy nights out at clubs.

I just find it interesting that's all.

Anyway.

So this week I was able to add to my collection:

Limoncello
Midori
Absynthe

I am hoping next time to aquire:

Frangelico
Coconut Rum


So what are your favourite drinks? What alcohol do you keep in your bar/pantry/cupboard/desk drawer? What's the best cocktail you ever had? The worst? Any fond memories?


another baby!

November 25th, 2008 at 04:05 am

It's been a little while since I last posted. We had a friends girlfriend's 30th birthday party on the weekend, it was a flapper and gangster themed dress up party. Everyone looked lovely.

Before the cake was cut the birthday girls father made a speech and announced that his daughter had called him earlier that month to tell him she would not be drinking at her 30th (which I think he must have responded to in shock - she is a bit of a party girl after all). Why? he asked, to which she said 'Dad, I'm 6 weeks pregnant!'.

(to which everyone then made wooping noises and elbowed our friend - her boyfriend).

This will be her 2nd child, but our friend's first. He is excited about being a dad - she has a 13 year old son as well, who he loves too.

This means that next year either 3 or 4 of our friends are having children! I say 3 or 4 because I am assuming that our flatmate (BF's sister) and her BF (who is my BF's close mate) will be trying again soon - or may already be pregnant, she hasn't been drinking lately. (she is the one that had a miscarriage a little while ago).

Everyone seems to be growing up. We have been getting the questions too (when are you guys going to get married? when are you going to have a little one?). I guess it is only natural to ask us, seeing as everyone seems to be popping them out, getting hitched etc.

HOUSE FIRST, I say!

update: my trip to the doctors

November 20th, 2008 at 10:06 am

well i went to the doctors today.
my bp was down to a normal level. so i am thinking i was just either stressed out for my friend (who by the way, is not pregnant *phew*) or felt a bit of pressure having to be 'normal'!
apparently the red veins in my eye are completely normal. i'm not that superficial - i don't care if i have some red veins, i just want to know they are normal. so i can breathe relief on that one!
he said i should see a podiatrist about my leg, because it may be due to my feet that my leg hurts. i'm a little worried how much this will cost, so i'll ring around and try to find a recommended one that isn't going to cost a lot (or is covered on medicare).
i'm getting all the blood tests done on tueday morning, so i guess by this time next week i'll know if i'm all good or not.

my friend failed her k10 stress test which means she has to keep seeing a psychiatrist. i was a bit sad for her but she is surprisingly ok about it. she has done three (they do them every two years). i guess she's used to it. it's odd; i guess because i am a fan of letting people work out their problems and not pushing them too hard, i hate seeing people 'make' other people do things. i don't think my friend responds well to this, so i can see none of this is helping her, but she keeps having to do all this crap, just because she 'has' to.

anyway. sorry everyone! i know none of this makes sense. i'm just venting.

bought a new purse today for $9.95. i looked inside and the original price was $24.95. yay!

eeek! Health entry

November 19th, 2008 at 02:55 am

Just wanted to share an achievement today:

I weighed myself this morning and I am 3 kg lighter than I was... whenever it was that I weighed myself last. (i think about three or four weeks ago). Pretty good! Especially as I have been quite lazy and not exercised much. The only exercise I have had for the past month is swimming in the river - not exactly heart pumping...

I have been eating much healthier. Seeing as it's summer (and excrutiatingly hot at work) I haven't felt like eating at work, so I don't get horrible hunger pangs at 9am anymore. I have also experimented and noticed I can now get by on a cup of strawberries, a banana, half a grapefruit and a coffee, which lasts me from 5am - 2pm. Then I will usually have another piece of fruit, a sandwhich or coffee and then I can get by till dinner. I've also tried to avoid dessert. It's hard - I'm one of those 'dessert people'. But I have managed to have just four squares of chocolate OR a cup of tea OR a frozen yoghurt. Really aiming for the cup of tea, but chocolate is just so tempting... I will try much harder though.

I have 5 kg to go to my goal weight, and 9 kg to go to my 'dream' weight. And then of course there's my 'unattainable dream weight' of 17kg to lose. Pfft. As if. But it's nice to have an unattainable dream, isn't it?

I do have a reason for not exercising lately. My leg has been KILLING me. I have made an appointment with the doctor tomorrow. I still don't know what it is. He said it was the beginnings of a shin splint (didn't show up in the xray) and that it would go away with rest. I've been resting for quite some time now and it's not gone away, so I'm thinking it's something else. It's quite odd because it's sort of a muscular pain, like a dull achey feeling. I can't actually locate the exact point of pain, it's basically my calf muscle/shin area (but not the bone) I've noticed when I apply pressure it goes away for a minute or two. The only thing I can think of is a blood clot, which would make sense seeing as I've done so much flying in my life.

Anyway, we'll see won't we?

Other things I have to get checked out are:
Iron Levels (nearing the 5-6 month mark on being vegetarian now - apparently that's when my iron levels should be nicely depleted if I'm not eating properly)
All regular checkups (cholesterol, white blood cells and all that. A year ago my WBC were low and cholesterol on the highger side of normal)
My right eye (constantly has faint red veins - not that worried but thought I'd get it checked out anyway)
Blood Pressure*

*funny story: I was in the doctors with a friend, as she was worried she was pregnant (she finds out today if she is or isn't). He observed that she was red in the face and she said it was because she hates going to the doctor and gets nervous. He took her blood pressure, which was 180/96. Apparently that's high. He said to her, 'that's not normal' then he looked at me 'how old are you?' '21' i replied. 'look, you'll be normal, i'll show your friend what a normal blood pressure is meant to be' so he measured mine. HAHA. Mine was 168/89.

Anyway!

So that prompted me to make an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. EEEEK. Not particularly fond of doctors myself.

Big Grin

thinking about mobile phone plans

November 13th, 2008 at 10:10 am

I've been thinking about going on a mobile phone plan for quite some time now. I've been using my mobile phone a lot more since our landline is more expensive. BF, his sister, my mum, BF's dad and one of my best friends is with the same phone company that I am currently with, so I will get free/cheap calls to them. The plan I am thinking of going on is $49 a month with $300 free calls. I currently spend about $30 in a bit less than a month, which has around the same or less value (so basically it ends up being pretty even). I also spend money using our landline. While I won't neccesarily be reducing my bills, I'll have more call time available. So I guess I'm tossing up these options. I won't do anything just yet, but I'm researching the plans and the handsets available on the plans.

*sigh* sometimes i wonder why i call her my friend

November 11th, 2008 at 10:58 pm

Some background info:

When I was about 3 or 4, my dad moved into a big house, two houses down from another house where another 3-4 yo girl lived. let's call her J. We became friends. My mum moved two states away and I would visit my dad 3 times a year in the school holidays. J and I would always catch up and play/hangout.

For reasons I don't feel like explaining (short story: my mum was a bitch) I stopped seeing my dad for about 6 years. I also lost contact of J. I found her on myspace a few years ago, and we started chatting like old friends again. We were both exactly the same as years before, even though we had not spoken for 7 years.

One year when I visited my dad I stayed with her for two nights. We got a tattoo together and hung out. It was fun. The next year, I booked my tickets 6 months in advance and told her the same day, of the dates I would be visiting my dad. She also flew to my state and went to a concert with me. I had bought her concert ticket months in advance, and she had organised that her dad would pay for the flights, as a christmas gift. The concert was on a Sunday, so I organised Monday off so I could drive her to the airport. She booked her tickets two weeks before the flight, rang me and told me she would be arriving on Friday morning at 8am. 'you've got two weeks, you'll be able to get that day off yeah?' she said. Inwardly I groaned. Two days off was a lot of money for me, especially seeing as the weekend already was costing me about $200. I organised the day off. Her flight here also had her grandparents on it. They slipped her $300 for 'spending money'. She also flashed around a further $500 that she'd gotten paid that week. Her flight BACK home left at 7am the day after the concert. She conveniently forgot the concert was three hours drive away from my house, which is near the airport. So after the concert, at midnight, BF and I had to drive back so she didnt miss her plane. All is good, that's what friends do, right?

Fastforward a few months. I had reminded her every so often of the dates of my own treck to her state. Then, 2 weeks before my holiday, she asks me what date it was again. I tell her. 'Oh. I can't get any days off work. Sorry.'
I tried breathing deeply, and I even went for a small walk to calm down a little. I was just soooo annoyed, and I felt like I had to say SOMETHING. With most of my friends, I have tried being completely honest. I don't want to hold something back because otherwise it will build up and I'll end up resenting them. Besides, I figured I would word it non-conflictingly.
'I don't understand why you couldn't find any time for me even though I tried to give you so much notice. I just thought you would be looking forward to me visiting. I organised an extra day off with only a couple of weeks notice to pick you up. But even though I'm disappointed, it's ok cause I know you're probably stressed about nationals. Also my parents and little sister were just asking about you cause they want to see you.' (she competes in a fitness-type-thing)
Ok so not totally non-conflicting, but I was being honest. There was a lot more that could have been said.
'Whatever' she said and hung up.
Then she rang back.
'It's not MY FAULT I had to work so much to save up to come and visit you, and had to pay heaps of money for the airfair, and basically couldn't afford it but I came and visited you ANYWAY. You know, I missed out on a friends 21st party to come and see you. So i'm SORRY. And it's not MY FAULT I'm broke right now and have to work'.
Me: 'umm... ok then. that's fine. don't worry about it. for the record, you told me your dad was paying for the flight, and you splashed your cash around while you were down here, so sorry if I didn't get the message that you were broke. i kind of think you have taken it the wrong way - i wasn't blaming you, i just wanted to tell you i was a little disappointed.'

I did organise to see her, in the end. I had to organise it, and I had to take a 2 hour train trip to see her to have lunch, but I did it. There were awkward silences.

Fastforward to now, and any conversation with her, I have to initiate. We used to chat on an instant messenger all the time, but now, she will be online but I will have to eb the one to start the conversation. And when I do, it's stilted (and this is in typing! imagine a voice conversation!). And anything she says will be all about herself. She is not interested in anything I have to say, nor does she ever ask any questions. oh, except for the other day, she asked 'so are you still working at the same places and stuff?'. As though she either can't remember what I do, or it's not important to her. Either way, apparently her role of Trainee Assistant Sub Manager at a fast food place is much more important and exciting than whatever the hell it is that I do.
I also noticed that, a few weeks ago I asked if she'd done anything interesting and she said no. Then on my facebook, on my wall, yesterday, she wrote 'oh since i last saw you (five months ago) i've gotten two new tattoos'. I am guessing it's because she wanted everyone to know she'd gotten them, not just me.

Anyway. Sorry for the vent. I am just so angry and annoyed. Sometimes I feel like cutting all communication off from her - but we have such history, and my dad and stepmum ask about her - i feel like she likes them more than me, and that I would be doing something horrible by ending the friendship.

BF and his sister (who we live with) have commented that when she visited she seemed very self-important (read: up herself) and quite immature. I don't know if maybe that's what people my age act like, only I don't have many friends my own age so maybe I am just not like that because I have older friends?

She uses words like 'retarded' and 'gay', which I don't think I've ever used, or if I did, as soon as I found out how they could offend certain people, I made a concious effort to stop. We don't really like the same music or the same clothes, the same people etc. We are very different. The only things we connect on are things we shared when we were young, like SEGA games and barbies. We even have different approaches to relationships and money. (she cheated on a BF, blows all her money, lived briefly out of home, and lives with her parents still.) She constantly wants me to sympathise for her dad, who 'has to pay off an 800k mortgage, two cars (oh... just mercedes, nothing special) support his new wife and her baby, plus pay child support to his ex wife and younger daughter'. I just nod and agree.

BA's post about his 'friend' just reminded me of my own friend woes. So I guess I just wanted to share!

:`(

What would anyone else do in my situation? I've told my dad and stepmum what happened, pretty much.

So what to do? Cut ties? Pretend nothing ever happened and continue merrily along? Or wait until she starts asking me about my life?

grocery shopping, meal ideas anyone???

November 8th, 2008 at 09:47 pm

Today we got up extra early (5am) and went to the markets. Because it's now summer and getting lighter early, there's always a lot more people at the markets when we normally go at around 7.30am, and it's too crowded. So this morning we got the pick of crop! I spent $42 (to be shared between BF and I - so $21 each). This is what I got: (all organic produce)

10 bananas
5 avocados
12 free range eggs
500g yellow squash
500g green beans
1kg strawberries
3 mangoes
7 nectarines
3 grapefruit
4 pears
1 large zucchini
4 potato
2 sweet potato
4 onions
1kg tomatoes
2 cucumbers
1 broccoli
1 large capsicum
1/2 kent pumpkin
4 large carrots
4 oranges
4 mandarins
1 lettuce

The mangoes, strawberries and avos made the overall cost a tad more, but I didn't need a lot of stuff this week. Overall I think I got a pretty good haul!

I have these items in my pantry: 800ml passata, 400g cannelini beans, rice noodles, pasta, rice, rice paper, herbs and spices, 400ml coconut milk, 800g diced tinned tomatoes, vegetable stock, risotto rice, lentils, lasagne sheets, flour, fresh garlic, fresh ginger, oats, coconut, sultanas, apricots, 400g baked beans, a tin each of beetroot and pineapple, 1 packet frozen spinach, filo pastry, shortcrust pastry, frozen peas, assorted frozen meat for BF, freshly made korma paste, laksa paste and tikka masala paste, sundried tomato pesto.

Any one have any good meal ideas?


October Expenses - YAY!

November 4th, 2008 at 10:15 pm

I just realised it's the 5th of November and I haven't put up my October stats yet!!!So here they are. I am actually really happy with my results for last month.

Income: (TOTAL: $3246.00)
Job #1: $1038
Job #2: $2088
Other: $120
(649.20 p/w)


Savings: $675.00 ($135.00 p/w)

Expenditure: (TOTAL: $2121.62)
Rent: $633.35 ($126.67 p/w)
Groceries: $233.33 ($46.67 p/w)
Petrol: $160.62 ($32.12 p/w)
Phone & Internet: $29.23 ($5.85 p/w)
Loan Payments: $185 ($37 p/w)
Mobile Phone: $30 ($6 p/w)
Misc: $11.60
Gifts: $6.00
Health & Beauty: $2
Skin Care: $13
Bank Fees: $12
Alcohol: $37
Magazines & Books: $34.40
Takeaway Beverages: $125.39 ($25.08 p/w)
Takeaway Food/Dining Out: 180.60 (36.12 p/w)
Clothes & Shoes: $276.73 ($55.35 p/w)
Entertainment: $108.82 ($21.76 p/w)
Lotto: $15 ($3 p/w)
House/Appliances: $27.55 ($5.51 p/w)

Surplus: $449.38

Before anyone comments on the clothes expenditure, you should read my previous entries on it. I have allowed myself $500 to spend on clothes up to february. Mainly because I don't have a lot of summer clothes.

Areas I will attempt to improve this month:
*Takeaway Beverages and Food
*Entertainment
*Bank Fees

I am extremely happy with the groceries expenditure. When I had a budget to compare to, my goal amount per week was $50-$70. So if I am under that, it makes me very happy!

I am not bothering with a budget. I only use them as a guide anyway. I understand it works for lots of people, but I am not one of those people that will go 'oh, I have spent my budget for this week, so I am going to stay home all week now'.
I mean, sometimes I do that, but not often, and in the end, it's my money that I earnt, so I will do whatever I want with it. The only thing I DO NOT condone is spending on credit cards, when you know you don't have the money to pay for it. That isn't spending YOUR money.

Anywho. I am very pleased with my savings as well. :-D

sharing house with a couple and a baby - is it a big deal???

November 3rd, 2008 at 11:08 am

I don't know if any of you recall me previously talking about a married couple that we are good friends with that may possibly want to move in with us once flatmate moves out?
In light of their recent troubles (the wife's mother has terminal cancer and has only weeks to live, and the husbands parents are divorcing due to his father having an affair - add on to that the wife is 6 months pregnant and the husband working in a bookshop!) we had told them that we don't mind what they do - they are welcome to move in but to not feel any pressure either way. Well the husband came over for a barbecued lunch on sunday and he told us that they were very well leaning toward moving in with us, they have been talking about it a lot, he has started selling a lot of his possessions (a fresh start and a lighter move, I think is what is in his mind, as well as saving money for when the baby arrives.)

It's funny, I have told a few people at work, and the only thing they seem to comment on is the fact that we will be living with a newborn baby.

Why should that even factor into the equasion?

A woman at work smirked at me when I said it didn't bother us. 'oh yeah, keep telling yourself that', she said. Of COURSE i understand that the baby will cry, our friends will be tired, and we will be woken up as well and possibly have to help them out a bit.

But they are our friends - they are helping us and in turn we are helping them. And to be honest, I think that this is such a gift to be able to be a part of our friends first childs life at such a young age. How many people honestly get to experience that? We aren't party hard people. We'll stay out of their way when they need it. This house is large enough that we don't have to see each other if we need space.

Anyway. I am very happy at the prospect of sharing with them.