SK’s sister is arriving in under 8 hours from now & we are all getting excited to see each other again!

We have lots planned for during her 3 week stay.

Starting Thursday we are heading to Bathurst for the Super Cheap Auto 1000 http://www.supercheapauto1000.com.au at Mount Panorama. The annual camping trip this year is for the full 4 days. We have taken time off work to allow this. I am looking forward to the road trip with us 3 “kids” getting away for a bit of bonding over a wonderfully Holden long weekend!

We shall be returning Monday & back to work as of Tuesday.

The following Monday we are again heading out on a road trip this time with SK & Duff’s mum on board. Port Macquarie is our destination for a relaxing week away together. None of us have been there before so it is going to be wonderful.

It’s going to be a great few weeks ahead for us as a family & as always we will love being in each others company & sharing lots of good times creating future memories.

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You may wonder why there has been no mention of Peter Brock on my site up until now. To be truthful, I have not been looking forward to doing it & quite frankly, I cannot simply find the right words to leave a fitting tribute for the man.

Upon hearing the news of the fatal car accident & the death of Peter Brock, I went numb. I was shocked, horrified, disappointed, angry, heartbroken. For the 2nd time that week I sat with a feeling that all of this is so surreal. Disbelief that such a person whom seemed an immortal in life was now to become an eternal memory.

I sat & watched the funeral service on TV yesterday with a box of tissues for comfort. During the 2 hour service I learnt a few new things about Brocky that I never knew. I heard stories of love & heartfelt memories shared. I felt the pain as a fan, mourning the loss of such an impressive man. But I did not envy any of those that were at the service & felt the full impact. I believe that we mourn along side of celebrating somebody’s life, being such an emotional person I cannot cease to repeatedly think about what we are now to miss out on. Brocky is gone. Forever. But NEVER forgotten.

Long Live the memory of The King Of The Mountain!

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Australia and the world have suffered a sad loss this week with the sudden & unfortunate passing of Steve Irwin.

The tragedy happened suddenly and unexpectedly during filming for a series for his daughter’s international TV show.

As reported on several news programs, Steve was diving in shallow waters at Batt Reef when he swam overtop of a large bull Ray. Startled, the ray swiped his tail upwards towards Steve and the large barb on the ray’s tail was driven straight into Steve’s chest, fatally lodging into his heart. Apparently, Steve pulled the barb out himself before loosing consciousness. His crew got him back to the boat where CPR was commenced and continued until reaching other paramedics, who continued the CPR process before pronouncing Steve as deceased.

Indeed, it seemed it was “his time”. The Ray could have got him in any other part of the body causing the freak accident to stay at that. But the fatal blow straight into Steve’s heart is what makes this freak accident a tragedy.

Whether you loved him or not, Steve has definitely made an impact to all of our lives.

This man who seemed so invincible. Living on the edge and so full of enthusiasm for what he believed in will stay in our memories and our hearts for a lifetime. We are fortunate enough to have many of his dreams available to us. The Australia Zoo is one of the biggest examples of this along with televised programs for our educational & entertaining needs. His conservational efforts are aw-inspiring and Wildlife Warriors Worldwide has been a proud venture of his that shall continue in his memory as strong as it ever could be.

On a personal note, I myself have mourned over the past few days of the loss of a legendary icon this country was and forever more be only too proud of. I have shed many a tear whilst trying to come to grips with the surreal sensation I have dealt with since hearing the news. For someone to have touched me in such a way without actually knowing them or being related to them has really made me take a step back and have a good look at reality. We really don’t know when our time is up and we all need to make the most of what we have. Treasure every day and every person in your life as even a whole lifetime merely isn’t enough.

Steve is survived by his wife Terri, 8 year old Daughter Bindi and 3 year old Son Bob.

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I am feeling somewhat excited this evening as I have landed myself a Job Interview for 10am tomorrow. This position I applied for earlier in the week after seeing it advertised firstly on MyCareer.com.au (from where I sent application in), then in the local St George Sutherland Shire Leader.

I don’t want to jinx myself, so I will write a little more after the interview. My fingers are definitely crossed, though I won’t get my hopes up as yet. This is merely Job Interview #1 in what could be many more to come. Dare I say I am feeling a shade confident & am not nervous at all at this stage. As for tomorrow, all I can say is.. BRING IT ON!!!!

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What can I say….. I’m still an unemployed bum. Before you start worrying bout receiving benefits etc etc, I am NOT on unemployment benefits nor am I registered with Centrelink. So therefore all our hard earned tax dollars are not finding their way to my purse. No doubt there is someone out there “mooching” on the system, but most of those who are collecting benefits are struggling to do so. I disagree with how the system is held these days & if our circumstances get more undesirable than they are now, I may have to rely upon that very system. As for now, I will keep plodding along in my own time looking for employment and hoping that those I have recently applied for may show a little luck my way & allow me the opportunity to get back on my feet.

Sadly I must say, with unemployment comes a lot of negative feelings. I am feeling unworthy with each email of rejection in response to letters & applications in looking for a job. Knowing that SK is footing each & every expense in the home makes me feel irresponsible. As each day goes by, another debt comes along. I am now at the stage where I cannot make my standard monthly expenses & before long it will all come back at me. I can merely keep my fingers crossed & hope that something comes my way very very soon.

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Currently I am again on the hunt to find a new job.

I have contacted the majority of Baby Retail stores in the local area & have found that there really isn’t a great deal of stores out there. Most of them are chain stores like Babies Galore & Babyco. I have however found 1 local independent store at Kogarah. The lady seemed very nice to speak to on the phone, but unfortunately had no work to offer. She said she runs the store on her own & I noticed it is open Tuesday through Sunday. I feel for her. Knowing what the industry can be like, I think she has no choice but to run it herself. She did however say that if popularity grows & times get busier, then she would look at hiring then. I am thinking of posting a copy of my resume to her to keep on hand anyway.

I am in the midst of lining up a job interview for the end of this week with another store. So fingers crossed it may pay off!

I have a few ideas running in the back of my mind at the moment that I have already discussed with SK. Hopefully things will get off the ground soon & we will have a website for parents & families running within the next several weeks.

So please keep an eye on this space!

I am excited about the mission we have set ourselves as the care for babies, children & their families has always been & will always stay a very strong & important part of my life.

By the way, don’t be afraid to leave a blog message for me! It enlightens my day & I miss the contact with all my friends that I use to have.

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I am currently looking for another job, due to the store at Menai closing. During the past month we had closed doors for BBB & opened BM for a short period. We were offering discounted products to customers of which were from 1 supplier only. Sadly even though customers are demanding discounts on an everyday basis, the products were simply not as popular as expected & therefore saw very small amounts of sales going through the store. On top of customers not coming to the location, the store could just not stay open anymore. BBB has relocated into the Moorebank location & we look after all our customers there as much as possible with the ever popular free home deliveries etc. I have been offered a position at the store there with a maximum of 20 hours. Unfortunately it is not enough for us to financially survive & I have had to cut the loyalty ties & begin looking elsewhere for work. I am considering going back to child care as there seems to be very little available in baby stores around Sydney.

I have learnt a wealth of knowledge in the past several months that I have been in the industry & wish dearly to put it to good use elsewhere. I have found working closely with families & as special to me as the care for their children.

All I can do is keep an ear to the ground & do as much as I can to locate another job.

I have been asked to stay with BBB for the next few weeks & promised to do so. It will be sad to leave my last day there, but I will look at it as positively as I can.

It’s not the end of the world for me or anyone else that has had to be let go. But I’m sure we all will miss working with each other & will try to keep in touch as much as possible. I have made new friends since working in BBB. Friends I hope will stay just that for the rest of time.

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I have made it through another 12 months to the day where even though Best Wishes are sent your way, its just a reminder of how much less time you have to spend the rest of your life & with the ones you love most.

Don’t get me wrong! I enjoy Birthdays & any celebration that comes along. It has always been tradition or more of a ritual in our family, like most to spend time with the Birthday person whether in person or by voice. Celebrate the event with a feast fit for a king, whether it be a lovingly cooked favourite meal or a special night out at a restaurant. End the night with a roudy rendition of “Happy Birthday” sung over flaming candles on a cake. Your never too old for this kind of magic!

My day started with waking in the arms of my beloved. Then a phone call from my eldest brother at 8am. Followed by a call from my two very much loved nieces at 8.30.

Off to work I went. Quiet dead cold day. 1 sale. $29.95. Work ended with a call from a work colleague with her warm wishes.

Came home & as placing my feet inside the hallway, my mobile rings. Coyote, loved friend from QLD wishing me a wonderful day.

After realising that indeed we are not doing anything special, I get into my warm pjs & settle in for the evening. Finding 1 lonely present on the table which was dropped in by an Uncle who lives nearby. Quite surprised at the lovely thought as we havn’t shared gifts with them for some time. Not since i was a child. It was indeed a sweet gesture.

Phone call from Batemans Bay. Mum, Bro & Sister in Law all wish me their best. It’s great to have a family who sticks together.

Then it hits me. I AM doing nothing for my birthday. No special dinner, not even TAKE AWAY! No family get together of a special cooked meal. No Birthday cake & No celebration. Damn the financial burdens. As Dean prepares pies with wedges for dinner, I get a deep feeling of the total opposite of being hungry. I don’t want pie.

I do know what I want, but it isn’t food. And for anyone thinking of anything else… no I am not speaking of an act between 2 consenting adults. I know what I want but I have no choice but to wait.

I have been asked what I want for my birthday. I honestly cannot answer with anything that my family can give me. It isn’t possible that the only thing I yearn for can be given by anyone else but 1.

Thus, I am quite saddened. Because yet again I won’t realy be getting what I want for my wish.

From the time I turned 19 & for several years after, all I ever wished for was for my Father. I know that is out of reach & totally impossible. Over the past 2 years I have wished for the same as I wish today. But this I am told I simply just have to wait for. Simply.

I am 29.

I am getting much further past the point than I ever wanted to be for my wish. I do not want to inflict in the future what I have had to suffer in the past. Yet somehow between Mother Nature & other factors, this has been forced upon me. I don’t expect others to understand or to care. Nor do I want them to. I just wish I could understand & accept it a little bit better. Perhaps before I sleep on my 29th Birthday, some miracle may occur. I may actually come to terms with what is deemed “My Life” & instead of whinge about what I want & what I don’t have, I can realise exactly what I do have.

Love.

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What an interesting start to a new Season of V8 motorsport!

The introduction this year of Reverse Grid will be a curios one to follow. I’d like to hear all the views of the drivers on this one!

A sticky start for the season for many drivers during this past weekend at the Adelaide Clipsal 500. It saw severe heat exhaustion, many bumps grinds & crashes, & a hell of a lot of money going into preparing for the next round of racing for almost every team involved. Those who were lucky enough to escape the carnage over the whole weekend, in my opinion have a great headstart into the next race/round.

Good luck to all drivers, especially the HOLDEN teams!! Go u mighty HOLDENS!

On the same topic of V8s, we have just booked our campground sites for this years ultimate pilgrimage to the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 of 2006. This year we will have 2 sites ajoining so we have plenty of room to move about. It will be a big family trip in a sense as my bro D & my 2 nieces H & L plus SK’s sister Duff (L) will be coming with us! We are very much looking forward to it. If anyone has any camping items they are looking to sell/swap/give away, pls do not hesitate to contact us. We are happy to consider anything.

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The VS Commodore is back on the road. A little issue has developed where the rear of the vehicle got slightly damaged whilst out of our care, but that is being chased up & hopefully things will be back to normal.

I must say the boys who worked on the car have done quite a proffessional job & the front of the vehicle does indeed look brand spanking new. The only thing spoiling that is the dull paint on the rest of the vehicle & a mighty big scratch with lime green paint in the mix on a rear door. A few $$’s & some elbow grease (won’t be mine) will fix that!

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