Well it is already the third month of the year!! Time seems to be moving so fast!!

How is everyone? Anyone got any countdowns coming up? Or anything that has made you smile, or laugh recently?

I am having a very busy month already with work, and I don't think that it is going to slow down anytime soon, but I rather it be busy, makes the day go quicker.

Fill us in on what has been happening. :)

march is the worst time of year for me personally

So far the start of the month has been good... the usual work stuff... has been muddling along... The rest of the week I'm in a conference, so just dull speeches, and no actual work, huzzah! :P

Applying for a few new jobs at the moment, mostly internally with my current employer. I figure it's time for a pay raise, and my current manager can't give me one for 6 months *sigh*...

I bought myself a shiny new car last week (2006 Mitsubishi Lancer)... it has lots of go! :) *grin*

MIO, congrats on your new car!! :) When are you picking me up for a spin? LOL

I wish that I could sit in conferences all week!! Although it may get a little bit boring after a while!! Actually glad it is you!! LOL

Good luck with the job hunting!! I am lucky that I love the job that I am in and I also like the people that I work with.

Anytime, nou, any time. :)

Well, I love my job (basically) and the people I work with are great... but I feel a little underappreciated at times... and need more money... so it isn't always about that... *sigh* ya know...

MIO, congrats on your new car!! :) When are you picking me up for a spin? LOL

I wish that I could sit in conferences all week!! Although it may get a little bit boring after a while!! Actually glad it is you!! LOL

Good luck with the job hunting!! I am lucky that I love the job that I am in and I also like the people that I work with.

Cool, so when a little lancer pulls up in my driveway I know who it is!! LOL

I can understand the feeling of being unappreciated. In the job I do, I do feel very appreciated and am told also that I am doing a good job. The money is pretty good, so I can't complain about that. However, I have been in jobs where I have felt so unappreciated and must say that I didn't stay for long that is for sure! I hope that it all works itself out and that overall you are happy with what you doing. :)

Congrats on the new car purchase - nothing like driving around in the new car. I am still enjoying looking at mine out the window.

Hope you get a payrise - once you find a good place to work at, it is hard to move on if you have to when the money isnt there.

HI Madeinoz, Congrats on the car. Hey Joe and I have only 44 more sleeps to go. or 6 fish sleeps ( fish on fridays) !!!! We are getting sooo excited and so is his friends and family. I'm flying up to get him..taking him away for 2 nights then, he can see whoever he likes. Then I bring him home to melbourne.

Hope you're all enjoying tv tonight, I've got the fire going under the bath outside & it's nearly the right temp, so I'll think of you all while I'm lying in a warm bath under the stars...

JD has had a few weekend leaves now which has been lovely but always too short of course - 6 hrs of it is driving. All the driving has been taking its toll with my ME/CFS (not to mention the non-existant finances), so we've only been doing the weekend leave every 3 weeks rather than 2. I did a big trip down the coast recently to pick up some of his things from his kids' places, which was a massive journey in many ways, but very necessary. It's a bit of an epic story, but suffice to say he has lost a lot of possessions through being inside.

Back on the farm, the floods washed away part of my track, so I've been having fun playing jigsaw with rocks in the ford so I can get over the creek without breaking the car. The goats are fat and spoilt, the vegie garden is very sad from too much water, but I'm getting heaps of tomatoes. Poor JD nearly killed himself mowing the 'lawn' (ie jungle) last weekend. He hasn't been able to get any exercise inside, as he works in an office & it's hell to try & get into the gym out of working hours. He's on the inmate delegates committee, which has been pushing to get some sort of sport happening, but to no avail so far. It's a bit scary, as he has osteo-arthritis so when he puts on too much weight he ends up in a lot of pain.

Apart from that, he's doing really well - it's pretty laid back up there at Glen Innes, and having a good attitude pays off.

Only 7 months & 8 days to go!

Wow Sandy!! Only 44 sleeps to go!! I think it is almost time for a countdown!! :) Really excited for you and I bet you can't wait!! Please keep us updated!! :)

JD, I enjoyed my tv again tonight!! :) But your bath sounds absolutely wonderful!! Good to hear that you and JD are enjoying the weekend leave. Although I can understand why it is taking its toll on you. Make sure that you look after yourself (although I am sure that you do!) and have lots of baths and relaxing when you can. 7 months to go, hopefully that flies by for you and JD.

Only 39 sleeps or 5 fish sleeps to go, Sandy!

Make sure that you look after yourself (although I am sure that you do!) and have lots of baths and relaxing when you can. 7 months to go, hopefully that flies by for you and JD.

Yep it's been flying by really fast so far, just gotta get thru another Winter then it's all systems go! Looking after myself is something that happens in phases - that was the first outside bath I've had for ages (been slack on the firewood thing) - just been bludging showers off the neighbour & having bucket baths in between.

Hope you're enjoying your new car, MadeInOz, I've just got a new generator! The old one dies from me trying to get it to work too hard I reckon. The new one does the job beautifully - can even plug the fridge in! Runs on the smell of an oily rag which is great considering the fuel crisis, as I only run it at night anyway. Might sound a bit strange to some, but without a generator my computer time is very limited (very small solar system).

Oh yeh and Joe Blake the Redbelly, Mumma Josie & the family seem to have another offspring - there was a very young one next to the goats today, which means since I've been here I've spotted maybe 6 different snakes of various sizes (all Redbellies) within 50m of the house. And the cat caught a little Small-Eyed snake in the house the other night.. They're all totally unaggressive tho (altho the cat gets pretty stroppy when I leave him for a day or 2! :eek:).

Enough chatter from me, hope you're all having good visits and a great weekend. :thumbsup:

JD, I am thinking that you can have your snakes!! I would crap myself if I ever saw a snake up close!! LOL And I don't like spiders either!! And yes I near do crap myself when I see a spider!! LOL

Sandy that's wonderful news. It's always good to hear that someone else is coming to the end of this awful journey.

Dingo Girl, so great to hear you are now enjoying weekend leave visits. It must be wonderful to have him home even for a short while. I bet you can't wait until you don't have to drive him back again. I hope the time between now and then passes quickly for both of you.

Hi all :) just thought I would drop by and see how you are all going.
Things are great here (for once) DH has been offered an apperenticeship through work. Which he is wrapped about. Its an Auto Electrics one. So he will start that Tuesday. I was on the phone to fines inforcement the other day and the man there was wonderful and told me not to stress about anything untill October and get it into court for October early November to get the payments extended and he assured me that he will not be going back to jail. Which is great. Then he told me that in May there is a new Legislation coming in so he wont need to go to court at all. So I am not sure what that will be about, but I guess I will find out in May.

Im so pleased things are going so well for everyone. I wish for those who have so much time left, I could just fast forward it all and let it be over.
I still have panic attacks about it, more so when police drive by. But its starting to end now, so its good to feel normal again. :)

Kellz I'm so glad to hear things are really looking up. You and DH must be feeling so much more settled. Each small step on this journey takes us further away from our own particular nightmare and I'm happy to hear that yours is moving further into the past and your future is looking good.

I'm also really glad you still come here and let us know how you are getting along. It's great to know that life does slowly return to normal.

Kellz, wonderful news about hubby and his apprenticeship!! Tell him I said a huge congrats!! :) Also wonderful news about the fines. Am keeping my fingers crossed for the both of you that this works out exactly how you want it to.

Wys, does your ticker state taht hubby is now finished with home detention?? :) Oh my, how is it?? Is he loving life outside at the moment or does he want to stay inside because it is so hot?? Would love to hear an update on how he is handling it all. Say hi to hubby for me. :)

Hi Ness,

Cal says hi and thanks for the good wishes.

Yes he is now allowed to come and go as he pleases. His HD ended at midnight so we went for a drive at 12.30am, just because we could. Then we went out for the day on Sunday - 40°C so we didn't stay out as long as we'd planned. We shared a bottle of wine on Sunday night as well. We are so used him not being allowed alcohol that we'd forgotten I'd bought it and remembered about 9.00pm.

The strangest thing is we've both become so accustomed to me having to do everything and him being confined to the house that, when I needed to fill the car up the other day and didn't feel like going out, it took us both a while to realise he could go and do it for me. Can't see it taking very long to make the adjustment though. :)

wow Sandyg home sweet home soon. you must be so excited. i would not be able to sleep if i was you.

JD you must be enjoyinh the weekend leaves - not as often as you would like but still he is at home with you.

Hey Wissy
Being able to go out and not worry about time to get home, have to ask have you been out much, i think you finally get the detention removed and you still havent gone out! Loving being at home.

Kellz,
Great to hear they are not taking him back to prison, that would be too much. Congrats on the job offer. Things are looking up.
I too think when Hubby comes home that I will stress when a cop car drives past us!

Norty, you scared of snakes and spiders! Hows things????

hay so is the chat still on for Wed's night? I do believe that now I can Chat

Wissy,

Great to hear that Cal is out and about doing things. Make sure that you get him to do everything!! LOL Hopefully we will be able to catch up in the near future and he can come along!! :)

Em, Ofcourse I am scared of snakes and spiders!! LOL They give me the heeber jeebers!! I don't think that I would ever have made a good country girl that is for sure!! Been rather busy with work and child. oh yeah, will be in touch soon. What else has been happening with you?? How are the kids??

Mala, chat will be on tonight if anyone wants to join and it will be from 9.30pm (the normal time) and that way I still get to watch my Underbelly!!

Hey everyone. I am still around.
My brother is working full time now, which is good.
He has to go to court on Wednesday, as he got in trouble for street racing. He got his car confiscated straight away and they took his drivers license away too.
When he goes to court, his solicitor is going to ask that the court date be changed to 3 months time so my brother can do a driving course thing.
The likely outcome will be loss of license for probably a year and about $2500 fine, not to mention the $15 a day impound fees for 3 months for his car.
You'd think he'd of learnt by now to wake up to himself.

Everything else here is fairly normal.
Hope you are all doing fine.

Sorry I've been out of it for the past little while, I was just feeling so exhausted after work. Half the time i would come home and fall straight to sleep. But I think I've figured out why.. I've been taking some anti histamines to get over this weird hayfever thing, and I think they must've given me the non-non-drowsy ones... i.e. sleep inducing sort...

Lauren, sorry to hear about your brother. Yes you would think that they would learn, but sometimes it is just boys and their cars!! :) I hope that the court goes easy on him, wow that is alot of money for the impound fee!! Was he not allowed to have the car taken from the impound? Because that seems a bit unfair that he has to wait for it, but then pay for it??

MIO, take care of yourself!! Oh and go to the chemist and get some non drowsy tablets!! LOL You know you are supposed to read the packet before you take something!! LOL :)

Nah, he couldn't get it back. He has to wait for 3 months. The law is, first offence, 3 months.. 2nd offence, forfeit it to the court. So in other words, you lose it for good.

MIO, take care of yourself!! Oh and go to the chemist and get some non drowsy tablets!! LOL You know you are supposed to read the packet before you take something!! LOL :)

I was trying to when I fell asleep...

Court adjourned for a week. Sigh. At least we know he more than likely won't lose his parole though.

With his current attitude, Mum and I don't really care if he does lose his parole. :S

Hey Lauren - not good to hear your Brother is not going too well at the moment. I honestly hope he realises his mistakes before it is too late.

We have all been sick. Have to give myself credit for being such a loving mother. My son had tonsillitis and my daughter had the cold. Me being such a loving mother and not wanting to show favorites I took them both at the same time! I have had to have almost 2 wks off work and am now very bored and eager to go back.
On the flip side the illness made me give up smoking - that and my niece asking my why I wanted to die and not be around to see everyone grow up.

My dog of 12yrs - Bullmastif. has had a lot of trouble with her arthritis and we were looking at putting her down. Lucky for us there is a new treatment out which has done wonders for our dog. Not cheap but not as expensive as some of the other treatments.

About to say goodbye to my Brother as he is leaving for Qld to live. Breaks my heart having the family all over Aust again.

I have to reapply for my job at the end of May. I have been on contract for 6mths and then reapply to be made perm. Fingers crossed!

Good luck em with the application for the new job. Also glad to hear that the dog is doing well on this new treatment. It's always heartbreaking when your beloved animal is sick.

Glad to hear that you are feeling better and that the kids are doing well again. :)