My brother and his girlfriend have been together for a long while, and they’re going to buy a house sometime this year. They’re not getting married any time soon (in spite of the many and varied hints our father threw at them over Christmas), and their major reason for the house purchase is so that they can have puppies.

Real puppies. As in dogs..not children.

The only spanner in the works is that he wants a beagle, and she wants a chocolate lab. I think, apart from "discussions" about my brother's addiction to World of Warcraft, it’s probably as close to fighting about things that they get.

I want to move on from Sydney. I don't care where as long as it's not Sydney or Tamworth. Or anywhere with more bogans than normal people... because I want real puppies too. Puppies, and a garden and walls that I am able to paint. Airconditioning too.  And maybe a rooster and a hen. The bunnies, though they are cute, are not really the cuddly lovers I had envisaged. In fact, both of them hate me at the moment, so there's neither cuddling nor loving coming from anyone.

The labrador is not my dog of choice, because like me, they get chubby and boisterous when they’re not given enough attention. Also, my dog will be one that cuddles on my lap and perhaps sleeps in my bed when I’m home alone… and though I'm sure a lab would be keen to do both those things, 40kg of dogs is not really conducive to doing them in comfort.

I’m am very torn at the moment between a beagle for myself (see boisterous, problems, above), and a golden cocker spaniel. I think we are drawn to the dogs we had growing up, hence the spaniel for me and the labrador for Mike's girlfriend. Not sure where our beagle obsession comes from.

I always want to play with the drug dogs at the airport, but apparently that’s illegal.

At this stage, I'm thinking the only solution will be to get a beagle and a spaniel. They can keep each other company during the day.



Their names shall be Herb and Stella, and they are going to be awesome.

This is a repeat from an earlier broadcast. I just think the following needs saying...(my updated notes below in courier type)

Public service announcement: if you are an undergraduate biology study, attempting to plagiarise something from the internet to help finish a botany assignment, I'm going to help you out big time. This post is not an actual representation of the daisy life cycle. I can see what you googled to get here. Learn to use a text book. And while we're at it, you'll get better grades if you can use an apostrophe/comma/semicolon correctly, fool.  End service announcement.

The life cycle of the daisy. A quasi-metaphorical exposition.

Well, it starts out something like this.

From a pile of these...



...comes one of these... (PS. that's not what a daisy seedling looks like. That is a random thing that I tried to grow in a cup in Sweden once. Do not attempt to draw from that picture.)



And after a little while, there's some moving and some shaking and what was above, becomes the following... (I suppose it depends on your definition, but technically the below flower, though a  member of the Asteraceae, is probably a cultivar of Gerbera hybrida.. and is therefore, not actually...a daisy [Bellis perennis..]. You can thank me later.)




Those are brief bright days, punctuated by the trimming of stems and the refilling of vases, until... the daisy reaches the end...



...and the end becomes the beginning, and it all starts again.

The end. 

I just stumbled across the blog, 1000 Awesome Things. Some of the awesome things listed seem to totally validate my life!
I'm so totally in agreement with Awesome Thing #306: Wearing pajamas outside of the house.

It's like finally admitting to yourself that being comfy is worth it. Here are some classic ways to pull it off [...]

3. Walking the dog. Whether it’s the midnight stroll in the dead of winter or the early morning walk before the sun comes up, it’s always a classy move to roam the hood in pajamas, a tattered robe, and maybe some furry pink earmuffs.

 I'm not a huge fan of Mondays. It that a cliche? For all the usual reasons I find them tiring, an abrupt end to a weekend of nothing, but they're especially bad for me because I start work 2 hours earlier than usual and I have to deal with people at close quarters all day. Not a fan.

It seems then a good idea to start the week with some awesome things. In that regard, at least, Monday can be awesome.

Loungewear. It cannot be wrong. It's like pajamas, just a step up on the respectability scale. In loungewear you can fetch the laundry, go to the shops, and read the newspaper on the balcony, and people simply think you are being chic, weekendy, and carefree. Rather than giving you strange looks because it's 3pm and you've neither dressed nor brushed your hair...

Shrug - PJ pants - cami

 Also, loungewear never seems to get that floppy..worn in.. feeling that pajamas begin to have around lunchtime when you realise that perhaps you should actually get dressed and brush your hair.

Shrug - yoga pants - tee

Of course, in the current heat, it's lucky if I make it past underwear on the weekends. Also, remember, I am sworn off clothing at the moment...even though loungewear hides a multitude of sins..ahem. But, I can dream of thinner, more temperate times.

So, I'm not thin yet. Not toned either.

I think this is the hardest part of trying to get fit, and it has been my downfall before. How exactly are you supposed to stay motivated when it seems as though nothing is going to change? Especially when you know there is a huge box of oreos in the cupboard.

I've been going to the gym now for a couple of weeks. I gave up on the whole running outside idea when I realised that I hate running, it hurts my knees, and I like to exercise in airconditioning.

Now I have a personal trainer as well.

It's a good thing I've sworn off buying clothes because this thing is turning into an extremely expensive endeavour. I'm sort of hoping that's a good thing, because I am extremely cheap, and it's going to be a lot of money down the drain if I don't succeed.

I've decided to stop buying clothes. The accounts department has been trying to put the kibosh on the practice for a while, and now HR has joined the fight, insisting that there's no point because new clothes will soon be made redundant. Last in, first out, and all that.

My beloved, bless his cotton socks and hairy legs, wants me to be thin. Not because he wants a thin girlfriend and is sick of being seen with a chubber (well, that better not be it, or else he's in for an ass kicking), but because he wants a happy girlfriend. Much of the unhappiness in my life at present is related to my chubbiness, and I think he's hoping that if I am happier with myself, there will be fewer nights where he has to spend an hour or two cradling me as I sob all over his shirt.

He has offered me an incentive. If I lose 10kg, he will sort things out with the accounts department, and assist in the purchase of a new wardrobe. I like the sound of this, but 10kg isn't my goal and I think he knows it won't happen. Obviously, I would quite like a new wardrobe, so I will do my best, but at this point I would really just like to fit back into some of my pants.

I shall be content with my own incentives. And if I'm not buying clothes, I'll have so much money to spend on other things!!

MOR Little Luxuries Marshmallow Perfume Oil - Bon Bons pointy toe leather flats - High Tea! - Trilogy Rose hand cream - Pandora Moonstone ring - Super Mario Kart for Wii!!

Incentivise! First on my agenda is a huge snarfing pile of scones, cream, macarons, and cumber sandwiches at high tea. It may seem counter-intuitive considering my goal, but one must have rewards in life...

Must stay on the gym band wagon! Absolutely must.

The plants, that is.

My tenure as a hip urban container-balcony gardener is over. I'd like to think it was the heatwave...

The lettuce: totally destroyed by the heat.

The tomato: leaves all fallen off. Blossoms gone.

The geranium cuttings: shriveled.

The mint: well.. it at least, is thriving, even after being razed by rabbits.

The mushrooms? I didn't plant those..