Let me see if I can remember how this works - been 5 months and it might be a bit longer if I give into the urge to destroy this laptop (which was supposed to have been fixed) or the useless wireless modem I have. Seems at this moment in time I have found a spot in the house
( read outside under the pergola) that the computer might actually work - like accessing sites, maybe allowing me to send emails and actually just chuffing work! Now that I finally have some free time for once I would like to try and catch up on a few things.

Since I got the flipping piece of rubbish back, the internet works for a few minutes, sometimes just seconds GRRRRRRRRRRR It's very frustrating. This morning has been the longest time it's stayed connected - will it allow me to post!

To Rome We Go!
Is totally gutted about Darren Flecther's red card - not sure it can be appealed.

Now I just have to wangle/ negotiate morning off work to watch final - it's a Thursday morning you see.... and normally I'd take a holiday leave shift off - but other workmate has her holidays booked in for a fortnight - so I am going to plead with boss to let me do Thursday morning's work Wednesday night - or I am going to p,ant myself in work kitchen and be useless anyway.

Update from the road-

Having unceremoniously left home with CRV packed to the hilt and overflowing with camping gear etc and without a by your leave for holidays in South Australia, we made the trip from Wollongong to Hay and Hay to Adelaide in two days. Feeling like intrepid explorers as we braved a dust storm to end all dust storms for 4 hours of our drive. It made life on the road extremely interesting as visibility at some points was down to nil, especially with big road trains wizzing past.








We are now in Adelaide, staying with Shaun's cousin and hubby for a week, then we are off to the Flinders Ranges for a few days hiking. Today it's catch up with HID's cousins etc with a family BBQ. We both spent Easter up a ladder for four days painting the outside of our house, which means the months of building work with the back pergola and the house needing to be painted now coming to an end, so hopefully soon we can sit back and enjoy the fruits of hard labour. (am totally knackered from the painting and I reckon i am still removing paint from my skin and hair LOL)
Contact might be iffy - depends on the Optus coverage for my wireless modem. Hope to post more snaps from the Barossa Valley - Have some lovely wines to squeeze into overflowing car. One must get priorities right *g*

Had about an hours sleep if that. The night cold and flu tablets left me feeling wired and unable to sleep, except wanting to go to sleep about an hour before I have to get up. Urh sometimes I really hate Thursdays and the two shifts I have to work. Going to be a long day.

Wonderful to see Jensen Button win the Aussie Grande Prix yesterday. I was so happy and pleased for him and Rubens Barrichello. They didn't even know if they had a ride a month ago, until the Honda team was finally bought by Rick Brawn. Have been a fan of Jensen's for ages but he's had such a bad car that even a talented driver like Jensen may have well have been driving/ flogging a dead cart horse.

I spill boiling hot soup (home made) down my chest today - don't ask how or why- I just did.

Yeap Jac at her best. Thought I was doing the nice thing, making HID's and friend home made soup for lunch when they were working in our back garden putting another watertank in off the new pergola we recently built - although the fact that today's project has turned into a time team dig has NOTHING to do with me-and that our back deck really needed to be ripped up in the course of the day--------to get pipe work in ------ please let Tony Robinson come here one day to explain why..................what once looked like a war zone now looks likes Mordor.
After setting the hard workers up, thought I'd taste my handy work only to spill it down my considerable chestage - chuffing hell it hurt- and the worst part about mega clevage is - it pooled there in the mega bra.. burning flesh!
And it hurt like bloody hell- I now have a burnt Tit - not two but one- lopsided.
I for one really want this week over and done with with.
I'm like really over it so being totally shallow I'm off to bed with my Take That DVD - it's all about the pretty and whatever- I am beyond caring really...........

I broke my Ipod. Friendly young chap who looked every bit the computer geek at the Apple Shop confirmed that it was fried. He was very helpful and nice, and wouldn't look out of place at a Star Wars convention - but then again neither would I *g* We Star Wars geeks are everywhere, even found one at work :-)

Thoroughly nice chappie runs diagnostic test on his computer - and pronounced it had was totally buggered, that he would send it away and because it was still under warranty I should receive a new one in three to four business days *is happy*
Mind you I would have gladly paid to have it fixed. I just hope they at Apple don't decide I am a danger to ipods and refuse me one.

The penny just dropped about why I was so grumpy yesterday - um that might be PMS Jaccers! I always lose count of the weeks between the last bout of mega grumpiness. This menopause brain is much, much worse than my pregnancy brain ever was. I really must make use of the calender - if I remember that is *g*

I have managed to break/destroy my Ipod - )(*)*&&%$#@!#$%^&*()_

Yep now have to take it to an Apple shop to be repaired because I cannot live or get through a work shift without it or music - Jac strikes again *sigh*

Am very grumpy today - tonight - the grumpiness that one cannot explain. Woke up grumpy and at odds with the world.
Not sure if grumpiness is product of sleeping badly = waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep, despite earphones and radio *sighs* It takes it's toll.

Could be hormones - maybe. Probably - I hate the flipping things.

Have been excessively clumsy today - far more than normal - which is a right pain in the arse - flour spilled over floor and sink, cat food spilled all over floor, rubbish bags breaking, spillages left right and centre, have hurt myself a lot -

Yes very grumpy today/tonight and the thought of it being bleeding Thursday at work tomorrow, shorthanded with a pair of slack-arses is making me even grumpier. Pass the chuffing Merlot!

Congratulations to the Englaish Cricket team on their victory in the 2009 World Cup.
Well played Ladies! Arrived home in time to watch most of the 2nd Innings.
Hip Hip Hoorah *g*

calavarna and mylodon

I am leaving this morning for a weekend away down the coast. I'm not quite sure of the wireless coverage or whether I will be in *another* blackspot - So forgive me for being a little previous - however wanted to send you both birthday wishes while I still had the chance before the day. Since I am always late and behind with stuff like this *g*

****** sings very badly and loudly to you both*********

Hope you both have wonderful birthdays.
Love me OXOXOXOXOX

Terribly sad news about Natasha Richardson passing away this morning.
I'm not normally into celebs and all that stuff but she was so beautiful, and I guess when people die close in age to me, I feel like there might only be a thin line between me and the Grim Reaper, like if it can happen to them ......Silly ain't it?

Just shows you - never know what is around the corner in life. Got to grab every day as if it might be your last. Life is so fragile.

If Jamie Bamber's character in Law and Order Uk gets to say "you're nicked"

*grin* I've always wanted to say that.

Yesterday afternoon I started to feel a bit yukky. My stomach decided to go to war with me. I became on first name terms with the loo. Couldn't have been anything I had eaten because son and heir ate the same as I for lunch. Early evening didn't feel too bad so took a book to bed. However woke up at 2am with a fever, aching all over and feeling like the loo and I were going to get reacquainted. Took pillow and headed for the lounge in the backroom and the TV on which I choose SKYUK news and let it's soporific effects take over. Don't know what made me flip through the channels but I came across Celebrity Poker Showdown - and it said it was Jamie Bambers episode. This cheered me up no end as I prepared the dvd recorder - only just as the day had gone - to be let down. It was other people. Not fair! *smites programmers*


HUGE Congrats to the Woman's English Cricket team on making the World Cup Final - son and heir and I have watched a few matches, it's been live on Fox Sports here. The standard has been very good and I'll be cheering the girls on in the final. If we weren't going away this weekend I'd have dragged HID's to North Sydney Oval to watch.
(now to hope I haven't jinxed them)

I am absolutely FED up to the teeth with some companies which when you ring them for a perfectly valid reason, you then spend nearly two hours on the phone being shuffled about from one person to another before finding someone who can actually deal with your problem, all the while being asked to hold. This being after the press 1, press 2, press 3 routine we all know about and enjoy so much. Is it wrong to expect to speak to a human on the other end of the line?
*********HEADSDESK********
For the last two months I have received warnings that my internet usage with my wireless usb modem had gone over its limit. How I don't bloody know how, because more often than not we've used the dial up. The plan I am on gives me 5GB a month. When I checked said usage, the chart informed me I only had 10MB and had used 170 MB - WHAT! This is after making sure I was extremely careful with useage as an experiment this month. I was hopping mad.
So extremely frustrated I rang the company to enquire exactly what was happening
(fully expecting the run around etc - because in the two days it took me to a) sign up for the usb wireless modem b) then activate it - I spent nearly 4 hours on the phone in a queue. Not really good customer service. It sort of makes you a bit wary of contacting this mob via the phone because you know you are in for a good session of time wasting.
Well they fixed the problem after an hour and a half; there was some sort of error - no kidding. Then they asked me if I had any other problems, which I had. My son has an opposition company's usb modem and his service is cheaper, more GB downloads and it actually works, anywhere, anytime and he doesn't have to flit about the house trying to get good wireless coverage or even sit outside like I have had to do at time. So last week knowing It would take me forever to complain via phone, I emailed them -no response - again go figure.

This time while I had them on the phone, after another can you hold on please while I put you through to the right dept - I wanted to have a whinge and see if I could cancel contract because it turns out I am in a black spot, but they neglected to inform me of this when I was sold the product. So I figure I am forking out money for a lousy service as well as lousy customer support. I was told it would cost me $240 in cancellation fees. I saw red. Now son’s mate who lives here had the same thing with said company and they never charged him the fee as they agreed he was hard done by. So I mentioned that, got told tough - so I mentioned they would be hearing back form me after I had been in touch with the Telecommunication Ombudsmen with my complaint about them, their product and service and the way they deal with their customers.

So I ring the TIO - guess what - I was put in a queue. Looks like I will be emailing that body or will ring when I have another spare two hours to waste - No wonder I have a headache and I want to thump someone.

Pulls out my hair! Flipping cricket! Guess in the end England were all too conservative with their declaration- again we fell short getting wickets at the death. Have spent most of the morning texting and calling HID's on the phone with cricket and football (champs league) updates which he is passing on to interested party's at work. Might be able to get on with my day now :-)

Gees Bayern really clobbered Sporting - I am not feeling too confident about tomorrow, have a funny feeling about it - do hope I am wrong - probably a good thing I will be at work while match is on.

I have almost cleared my inbox - it's only taken me since October last year - might have a G&T to celebrate actually.
I am ignoring emails of fic stored in folder from when we were in England on holiday - just dealing with what I can actually see.

Thoughts and prayers go out to all those people who lost family, friends and all their possessions in the recent bushfires in Victoria. It was just terrible, terrible, terrible to see the aftermath of what has happened. Words just cannot express the scale of the tragedy. We have one end of the country deep under water with flooding in the north while the south baked in ferocious heat and burned and burned - so very, very sad. It is almost incomprehensible the destruction and loss of life.

This country never ceases to amaze me with its generosity and the way it pulls together when disaster strikes. It renews faith in humankind.

"He [Beckham] is doing really well and he has an incredible strength of will.

"Last Wednesday we played in Glasgow, he had a cough and a really bad cold but he didn't want to be substituted.

"Beckham is polite, he packs his own bags, cleans his shoes on his own, opens and closes the bottle of water and returns it, without throwing it away.

"He's one of the old-school players, the kind I like." Carlo Ancelotti.



Congratulations Becks - Equalling Bobby Moore's 108 record caps for England as an outfield player. You have always been a credit and a great ambassador for football and your country. If only others showed the pride and determination in the three lions on your jersey as you do. I remember you as a skinny kid when first playing for United. Broke my heart when you were sold to Real Madrid - it is quite possibly the one thing I cannot forgive Fergie for doing. I really hope AC Milan get to keep you. And this below from the BBC - I don't know that I could have offered up something that would have meant so much to me, especially as playing football for England has meant so much to him - his record equalling jersey.

Beckham donates shirt to charity

Beckham replaced Stewart Downing at the start of the second half in Spain
The widow of Bobby Moore has revealed David Beckham has donated the shirt in which he made his record-equalling 108th England cap to charity.

The 33-year-old played 45 minutes of England's friendly in Spain on Wednesday to equal the late defender's record for an outfield player.

The number 17 shirt worn by Beckham will now be auctioned on behalf of The Bobby Moore Fund.

"It was a very, very generous gesture," Stephanie Moore told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"That shirt is of great emotional value to David.

"It was very kind and generous of him to donate it to the charity so we can auction it to raise funds for dedicated bowel cancer research - the disease that killed Bobby so young."

Thought the cricket in the West Indies started tonight not last night. I was going to record it on the sky box thingy. Oh well can watch half and hour before work. - situation normal England 3 for 73 - KP and Colly in batting. Will record anyway because I am glutton for punishment. This getting up at 4.30 am marlarky on Thursday mornings for work is NOT fun :-)