Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Clean car blissing.


Today I drove into the local car wash to get my car cleaned.
About a month ago, I finally gave in and decided that this was going to be my personal luxury. I hate my car looking dirty and sad, so for just $11 I can get it washed and dried and so every few weeks, I now treat myself.
I was sitting in the car as it drove through the washing feeling very frustrated, as my camera was in the back and I could not get access to it, so as soon as I drove out, I stopped, hopped out, picked up my camera and took this great photo of my shiny car.
What a Blissing!

Information chat!

My post on Sunday has provoked some interesting comments and thoughts, thanks Ian and Darlene for commenting.

Ian, you are so right in that we have all the information we want at our finger tips, but it is only the information that is on the Internet. What about all the information/thoughts that are out there that are not 'yet' available on Google.

Who decides what information should be accessed? What filters are in play when we try to access information.

In World Religions I have been looking at the Holocaust Denial theories and am fascinated with the thought that could something like the Holocaust happen again. With the world able to access photos and information as it occurs, will we ever be in the situation to be able to claim "We did not know!" Or even with all the freedom that modern technology has given us, are we still only able to access information that people think is relevant and that we chose to read.

World news is in the control of a few major players, so maybe history is not being written by the winners this time, but rather by those who control the technology. Their spin dictates what and how we read about things.

A provoking series of thoughts for early in the morning, yes it is only 6.38am. I guess I should go and make breakfast and school lunches.

Beverly

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Sunday study!


Today has been a day for computer work. I was working on my computer in the study on my very first major assignment. A blog post for my World Religions course on the Papal apology issued at World Youth Day in Australia. It is a really interesting subject and I am finding that I am loving the research aspect of University.


Elizabeth was sitting in her room at her desk working on an essay on 'Women in Politics in Ancient Rome' - Heavy Stuff!
Ivan had set up his work computer at the dining room table (with the best view of the garden) and was working on his Board presentation papers.



It struck me how industrious we all were and also how privileged we are to have access to three computers in just one household. We actually have four of them, as Matthew has his own laptop as well. The computer has become as essential to work, as paper and pencil were years ago. We can talk to the world via email and blogs, research journals and books written in far off places and long ago and write amazing articles on anything we wish and publish them for the world to read via a Blog. I just love living in the 21st Century.



St Patrick's Day photos


Happy St Patrick's Day - March 17th, 2009


My wonderful Irish husband celebrating with a Guinness!


Everyone wearing green bowler hats to celebrate. We had a BBQ together and lots of laughs


Grandad looking very seriously like a Leprechaun and even Abby joined in the fun with Matthew.


Saturday, March 21, 2009

Vesta poetry

Hi!

A quick link to Vesta-poetry. http://beverly-vesta-poetry.blogspot.com/

This week for Creative writing we have had to write a 100 word(exactly) character piece. I thought I would publish it for you all to read, I am really happy with it, so enjoy. See Vesta-poetry.

Friday, March 20, 2009

My poor neglected Blog

Hello everyone,

No I have not forgotten you, but time has been so short this week.
I lost Monday with the day at the hospital - yes all is clear and then Tuesday I made the fatal mistake of following my dear friend Michelle's advice to clear out my life to help fix my 'blockages!' I got caught with clearing out a cupboard full of things I don't want, don't need and just needed to throw out.

Wednesday was my very long, but very enjoyable day at University and Thursday I had another full day after catching a lift in with Ivan in the morning and home late in the evening.

I arrived home last night with a very stiff, sore neck and by this morning it was totally frozen, so I sit her like a statue with fingers that move gingerly across the keyboard, trying to type to you all. I am now on anti-inflammatory tablets, hot and cold compresses and metcil muscle rub. It hurts.

So please forgive me one and all, will post some photos and more messages soon.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

20th Wedding Anniversary


I finally managed to put this photo of our anniversary gifts onto Vesta. Sunday was Ivan and my 20th wedding anniversary and it is such an amazing feeling to remember and celebrate our 20 years together.
We have lived on 3 continents, given birth to 3 amazing children, seen the world, built houses, moved over and over again and yet, through it all we have loved each other more and more everyday.
We had a lovely cooked breakfast with Mom, Dad and the children in the morning, as in the afternoon I had the joyous task of preparing for my Monday morning colonoscopy. Oh boy - what a way to celebrate my anniversary. The preparation medication is just plain disgusting, I had to drink 3 litres of the stuff and I hated every mouthful.
The good news is that I have been given a clean bill of health, so now am going to focus on clearing out my life.
Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone as well. Wishing each and everyone the luck of the Irish today.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Sarah is Home!


Welcome home young lady!
It is so wonderful to have our youngest back home with us. The words that I would usually use, like "My baby is home" or our "little one" just don't seem appropriate this time.
Sarah has had an amazing week, she got off the bus looking tired, but so confident and happy. She said she had slept well, ate really well and had "A Great Camp!" I am so pleased, relieved, excited and proud of her.
This year has seen Sarah grow from really being the baby in our family to a confident, mature and self-assured young woman.
Her first request was for a hot bath and junk food, the photo is of her standing at the fridge, after her warm bath.
This week, she did archery, a flying-fox, mini-Olympics, a balance competition and lots more. She even commented that one of her friends was terrible with crying and homesickness! She dealt with a smelly pond, a frog on her leg, bug bites and everything and came home smiling and happy.
The only sign that she had really missed us, were her first words: "Mama, mama, I missed you!" Sarah only ever uses this special word, when she is really emotional, usually I am just Mom, or maybe Mommy.
Welcome home sweetheart, we love you and missed you so much.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

A sad farewell!



My trusty old hp deskjet 940C --------------- My new purchase!

Tuesday afternoon, my 8 year old printer, finally gave up the ghost and died. It has been playing up for weeks now, scrunching up pieces of paper and finally on Tuesday a struggle ensued between us both and after eating both my piece of paper and my fingernail, it won! It then shut down and died and won't even turn on!
Yesterday I popped into our local Harvey Norman to have a quick look around and the 'salesman' tried to sell me a $169 'special!' All I want is something that will print my uni notes and the occasional colour picture for the kids. Today I went into Office Works and the lovely lady suggested I buy this great HP for just $47. Quite a difference. She listened to my needs and sold me just what I wanted. I guess even if it dies sooner than the previous one, I will get my $47 worth of work out of it.
Now I need to figure out how to disentangle the previous baby from the computer and install the new one. I think a job for tomorrow!
My brain is a little tired after another great day at Uni, although I did discover after reading 47 pages of a 59 page reading that it was only the 'recommended reading' and not the 'required!' It was fascinating, but exhausting trying to finish a huge document like this before lectures. Oh well, now I am a little more enlightened about the origins of Christianity! In fact it was so interesting I might even print the 59 pages....
I also had the courage and conviction today to invite two more people to join our study group, they are really nice and seemed quite happy to join us. I think I am beginning to belong. Oh yes, and I also had someone from my other religion lecture ask me for help. Me! How exciting, I must have looked as though I knew what I was doing, so I got to meet Ben from my Meditation lecture. I now know: Matt, Hannah, Scott, Scott, Damia, Megan, Mandy and Ben - A huge new group of people that I have met in two weeks.

Blissing for Wednesday

Yesterday was my very long day at University and I arrived home at 9pm, tired yet exhilarated. Matthew was down with Granny and Grandad, Ivan away and Sarah at camp. The house was all tidy and when I walked into my room, I discovered my bed all turned down and ready - courtesy of my beautiful 15 year old son. What a wonderful Blissing!

I had an amazing day at University, my first lecture was really interesting and I used the tutorial hour to do some reading and preparation. I then met up with Elizabeth and Lucas for an hours chat over lunch, before heading to a quiet study room I had booked for 2 hours. Elizabeth worked on her Ancient History essay and I completed my 'Meditation & Soul Journey' tutorial task (which was due on Friday).

We then went to our Creative Writing lecture. It was fantastic. The lecture is interesting, funny and easy to listen to. This was followed by our first tutorial. Our tutor has just completed her PhD and is heading to New York for a post-doc. She was fun and enthusiastic and we had such a great group of people, all willing to share and laugh. When she said it was time to head home, I felt almost sad that it was over, although it was not 8pm and my brain was shutting down.

The day flowed really well with lots of success. Small improvements for next week. We need to take more food and a small cooler box to keep our drinks cold. We need to eat supper before our lecture. (I found trying to eat supper at 9pm really hard). Other than that a successful day.

Today I am off to source a new printer, mine has died! Then back to Uni for a lecture on World Religions.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

1000 years to live

This morning standing in the shower, (Yes, this is where I often receive inspirational thoughts!)
I began to think about living forever. This is such a big concept that I narrowed it down to 1000 years, don't ask me why I thought that 1000 years was more manageable than forever, but it has an end - so I guess it is?

I was thinking what kind of life would I live, what activities would I fill a single day with. Do you know I could plant a seed for a giant tree and water, nurture and watch it grow and even watch it die. I could take the time to grow a thousand gardens, each one unique. I could learn to play a musical instrument - to perfection. To take the time to practice each and everyday, because I would have the time to learn.

Lifetimes are short and busy and rushed and filled with possessions and responsibilities, but if we lived for 1000 years, all of that would shift. A car that is designed to last for just 20 years if we are lucky, would need replacing 50 times. How important would it be?

Would I be the only person in my world that lived for 1000 years and how much would I miss my family, as they grow old and leave me? Would it be any different to love, the love of a child whose life would be less than one-tenth of my own? Could I love more than once?

I wonder at what age I would stay, would I be a child for 1000 years, a child that loves and experiences magic in everyday things, or an adult who sees the good and the bad and feels responsible for fixing everything.

Would the world be threatened by me or maybe I would be seen as a 'goddess!' Someone sought after for the knowledge of the ages, maybe my age would need to be kept secret, so that I had to move regularly.

Would you want to live for 1000 years? Something to think about for today!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

School Camp


School camps are always a tough time in our house! Not only is it really hard for the person going on camp, but for all of us left behind, we feel as though part of the family is missing, as though we are not complete.

This year is Sarah's Grade 6 camp for 3 nights and 4 days, the longest she will have been away from home. They are going up the Sunshine Coast to 'Luther Heights' and although the camp is supposed to be one of the best, it is going to be a tough week, with rain and winds all week, due to Cyclone Hamish bearing down the coast.



SARAH AND AMY.

Sarah and Amy both hate the idea of camp, so will look after each other, sharing a bunk-bed and partnering up on the bus. I hope you have a wonderful time, little one, you will be in my thoughts and my prayers while you are away. I have asked your Guardian Angels to watch over you.
Be safe and I will see you on Friday!

Monday, March 9, 2009

A two day headache!

Not sure what has triggered this headache - maybe it is the approaching cyclone, but for the last two days I have suffered with a severe (almost migraine) headache and it is back this morning. I thought that I had shifted it, but it is still sitting lurking in the back of my head.

It is one of those disgusting ones, that sit low in the back of my head near the top of my spine, in my teeth and when I move my head or eyes, I could just cry and do! Two long sleeps on Saturday and Sunday have helped, but not got rid of it. Have tried lots of water, medication, rest, relaxation - any other suggestions?

So away from the computer I am going, although that does not seem to be making it worse. I don't feel stressed or worried, my usual triggers, so just don't know.

Will write again when I feel better.

Friday, March 6, 2009

End of my first week at Uni

I survived!

Yes, I must admit that it feels like survival. The excitement of my first day was quickly replaced by the reality of Day two. I was quite enthused at the beginning, but after a 3 hour lecture/tutorial combination, I was less excited about the whole process.

I enjoyed the content and learnt quite a bit, but also began to remember why I hated school! We had to get into discussion groups and the lecturer kept throwing questions out there for people to answer.

Now being a 40+ year old back at Uni, I have lots of thoughts and opinions on most things, they are probably not always right, but I love to think about things and share my thoughts with other like-minded people. In a group of around 80 students I soon discovered that the contributions came from less than 10% and always the same students. Hmmm! Not sure either that my sense of humour went over that well.

My internal dialogue immediately shifted to the 'shut-up Beverly' syndrome and when we had to turn around and discuss things with the group behind us, I found myself, joining into a group of 3 who all knew each other. Again I heard messages from my past of "Oh no, how am I going to fit in?"

I have found it fascinating and interesting to analyse these thoughts today and realise that my own history will very easily influence my current reality, if I allow it to do so.

At the end of the day, I also discovered that my frustrations and tiredness, spilled over into my other subjects, when I could not figure out how to find the 'required readings.' I sent off an email to my lecturer asking for help and this morning - Yes a new Day! I received a reply, found the readings and discovered that I had even done them already. So life improved dramatically!

Once more I stand ready to take another step forward, I know that I will need to keep taking these steps. I am learning to create the dialogue that is positive and uplifting and try to ignore the negative messages.

A successful and exciting reading for 'Creative Writing', a completed Tutorial worksheet for Week two and a plan in place to deal with the rest, now sees me in a happier frame of mind. I even felt like I could sit down and do some more writing, but 3D life and my beautiful Sarah's birthday needs called, so on the back burner for now my writing must go. But lookout world I am thinking again!

Happy 11th Birthday Sarah

You are 11 Princess Girl and a huge 'Twilight' Fan, so we bought you your very own set of the books, Elizabeth gave you the poster and CD and we also bought you the Movie companion which you have clutched in your arms.


From Matthew you got the beautiful cuddly puppy toy, which you called Ronald.
Daddy and I wish you an amazing year.
Happy Birthday!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Our annual height photo

Matthew is now at the end of the row as he is as tall, if not slightly taller than Elizabeth, although this photo does not really show it.

Every year at the start of school we have done this and it has been fun watching the children grow. The big change is now that both Elizabeth and Matthew are taller than me and Sarah is catching me up rapidly. This year we have done it a few months later, as it was my first day at 'school' yesterday!

I wonder what we will all look like next year. A great way for me to also watch my weight!!!!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

It is a Student's life!


Standing in front of the Forgan Smith Building, just outside the Great Court, so magnificent a hall of learning.
I love the saying above the doorway:
"Great is Truth and Mighty above all things."

Lying in the Great Court in the shade between lectures, I thought it would be fun to take a photo of my feet on the cool grass! Elizabeth was lying back enjoying a rest.
I thought a photo of the trees above us would make a great photo for my 'Blissings' album.





My lectures were amazing, interesting and inspiring. It was a very long, long day and I am now tired, but inspired. Tomorrow is day two and this time with no Elizabeth, still I am looking so forward to the day.

The Big Day!

6.15am and I am up and dressed!
Ivan woke at 5am and that was me, my mind shifted into top gear and I started planning the day. Elizabeth has had 2 days of lectures so far this week and now it is my turn. We will go in together this morning, then have lunch together and do our first Creative Writing lecture this evening. It is going to be fun (or maybe just a challenge - or both).

I am a little nervous. I have realised that it is far easier to stay in one place, both physically and mentally. A change is always challenging and yet it has been through all our moving over the years and new experiences that I have grown, changed and thrived. So now that we are settled physically, it is time to change and grow mentally. I am excited! I will be exposed to new ideas, new thoughts and new people.

I will write later tonight or tomorrow and let you all know how it went, it should be interesting!

Monday, March 2, 2009

No fracture - just sore bones!

Sarah had a desk-lid dropped on her wrist on Friday at school and despite the pain, she played Softball on Saturday. However, by the time she came home and all day Sunday she kept complaining so today I took her to the doctor.

An x-ray later, showed no fracture, but did show a 'non-ossifying fibroma'
According to the doctor this is not serious nor requires any treatment, but to a mother it is upsetting.

It is a bengin tumor found in children and adolescents. It consists mainly of fibrous tissue that is almost always found in a region of any of the long bones called the metaphysis (the transitional zone where the shaft of the bone joins the end of the bone). These tumors usually produce no symptoms, unless a fracture is involved and usually resolve on their own at skeletal maturity.

Typically a non-ossifying fibroma produces no symptoms, although those that are particularly large can cause chronic bone pain and/or a pathological fracture. They are often discovered by chance on x-rays.

This may explain Sarah's constant complaints about sore bones and suggest that there are further tumors in her legs, where she often experiences pain, as well as in her arm. We may need further investigations, or perhaps even just a little love and sympathy.

Get well my Angel-girl, I love you.

Granny & Grandad are home!

Granny and Grandad are home from their 3 week holiday in New Zealand. They brought Matthew this lovely cap, his grin said it all - "I will wear it to our next cricket game!" He said this with glee, knowing it would annoy all his Australian cricket friends!
Sarah got a Kiwi bird and also a cuddly Ram that makes a 'baa' noise when you push its tummy.

Matthew insisted that they try out his cookies that he made in his Home Economics class.
I think they were missed?
We had hamburgers for supper and caught up on all their adventures, can't wait to see the photos now Mom - get editing!!!! LOL!