More from my sister's menagerie!

Two of my sister's animals; Bella and Beepbeep.

Well, I think I'm back! Been so long, but I miss my online journal, so I'll see how I go. Wow, it's been 3 years almost to the day! So much has happened in that time;

1. I've seperated from my husband (very amicably thankfully, we're still best friends), had a couple of crappy relationships, but currently enjoying life on my own
2. I've fought a bad flare of Crohn's but managed to stay out of hospital and now I seem to be more well than I have been since I was first diagnosed and the thought of actually living and not just surviving is one I actually feel is achievable for the first time in many years,
3. I've been diagnosed with and recovered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,
4. I'm studying my Cert III and IV in Fitness,
5. I had to shut down my business due to items 1,2 and 3, but I'm looking at starting it back up in a limited fashion
6. I'm doing Crossfit, and strangely it's been one of the big helpers in my recovery from CFS
7. I'm now working as a pastry cook (though my favourite tasks at work are feeding the farm animals and collecting eggs! ;D)
8. I've switched from Canon to Nikon (a biggie there ;D) as well as from PC to Mac! Now I feel like I'm learning everything from scratch!
9. I've given up roller derby, but now learn Pole Dancing. I'm terrible at it but I love it! I have strength and power, but very little co-ordination lol
10. I found out I was allergic to dairy, soy, beans and egg whites and I've since switched to a totally paleo diet and my health has never been this good. I've been without sugar or processed foods, legumes and grains since January 1st and I can't believe the difference in the way I feel. The only time I get a remotely Crohns or CFS type symptom is when I eat one of my allergens. Could I be as cured as I can be?

So that's 3 years in a nutshell, most was spent ill, but the last 6 months I've been progressively getting better so fingers crossed! Lots of things, good and bad, but all have led me to where I am now and I feel like I'm in a good place :D

We (Geelong Roller Derby League) had our first official bout last Friday. It was such fun, though pretty nerve wracking! The door people stopped counting heads at 280 (no idea why they stopped) so we're not sure how many turned up but it was a great showing for our first game. Our team played against the Melbourne B-side. We lost, though not by much, but we all had such a ball that no-one cared too much about that!

Here's a lovely, very unflattering angle, shot of me in my ref gear ;-)

First time I've ever felt an earthquake! Normally I'm the one who says "Earthquake? When?". I'm quite happy now ;-) I have to admit though, until I read about it I just thought it was my flu making me feel a bit dizzy hehehe.

Has anyone on here been homeschooled or is being homeschooled or homeschools their kids? Has anyone been homeschooled and then transferred to a regular school? I'm looking for personal feedback; the good, the bad or the ugly.

My son is having issues at school with bullying (and spent the whole of last year depressed and stressed from the same issues which have moved over to high school with him) and I'm looking at homeschooling as a possible alternative as he's extremely bright and mature and I think it might be the best option for him. I'd like to hear from others though, to see what the positive and negatives can be as it feels like an enormous step.

A bit of a difference!

Well and truly loved:


Compared with a few months ago:

Think​ back to march​,​ were you single?​
Not for many Marches

What are you liste​ning to?
The boys talking when they should be sleeping...grrr.

Ever kisse​d anybo​dy who'​s name start​ed with a J?
Yes - Jade

Do you know anyon​e who drink​s a lot?
Not that I'm aware of.

Do you have a frien​d you can tell stuff​ to and be sure they won'​t tell?​
Yes, all my friends are like that, I guess that's why they're my friends.

What'​s the great​est thing​ that happe​ned to you today​?​
Ummm...derby training started again and I did aqua aerobics. Do they count?

Did you like anyone last summer?​
Nope, hated everyone ;-)

Do you think you've changed over the past year?
God yeah, I'm half the woman I used to be for one.

Has anyone ever told you that they wanted to spend the rest of their life with you?
Way too many.

Have you ever bitten anyone?
Hehehe, yeah.

Have you ever cried from being so mad?
Yes.

Do you have a YouTube account?
Yes, but only to keep tabs on my favourite vids.

Last person you took a nap with and where?
Nik. He likes to curl up with me and have "cuggles" and then we often both fall asleep.

What was the last television show you watched?
Law & Order yesterday.

What kind of underwear do you prefer on your lover/object of affection?
Not old person ones.

If you could have any exotic animal, which one would you choose?
A panther.

What kind of underwear do you normally wear?
I went on a big underwear spree and bought a whole lot of new undies recently, all very cute. I especially like the hipster boyleg ones.

What kind of condoms do you use?
Well, that's a bit personal ;-) Actually I'm allergoic to latex so it cuts my options down a tad.

Your last kiss...was it good?
It was a goodnight kiss from Nik, my kids' kisses are my favourites.

Do you like dessert more than dinner?
I used to but now pretty much the same.

Do you think it's worth it to pay more for organic food?
Sometimes.

Do you alphabetize CDs or books?
*hangs head in shame* Yes.

When is the last time you talked to an ex?
Boxing day

Your ex is on the side of the road, on fire. What do you do?
Several of them I'd throw some more wood on.

Your best friend tells you she is pregnant. What is your reaction?
Immense pity!

Do you believe that any of your ex's think about you?
Every one, every day ;-D

What is your biggest goal for this year?
To get well again..sigh.

I've hit the -30kgs mark today. I can't believe the difference, I have no idea who the person in that first photo is. It's so weird seeing myself like that. I got a shock when I saw this last photo though, I don't feel like I'm that skinny yet!

Well, I'm a geek! I spent my new years playing Fable II while the kids watched and nagged me about the things I was missing ;-) Still, it's the kind of new years I enjoy.

I guess I should have some resolutions for 2009.

1. Continue with my weightloss and fitness:
I want to get down to a maximum of 20% body fat (currently hovering around 30%). I don't really care about weight as once you develop muscle it's not an accurate indicator. I'm already a size 10 and am fitting in my old clothes from when I was around 8kgs heavier but less muscle! I'd like to take up running but I'm a bit wimpy! My trainer's working on it though, but I think I scare her off with all my whingeing about it. That could be another resolution, less whingeing while I'm doing cardio ;-)

2. Get brave enough to do outdoor skating. Who cares if I look like a dork, I'm cool on the inside ;-D

3. Procrastinate less. I'm pretty sure this is on the list every year and every year I put it off till he next year hehehe!

4. Get my portraits happening. I want to dramatically cut down on weddings because they're taking too much time away from the kids, and I love my portrait sessions so I want that to be a main part of the business. I get to be a lot more artistic with them and they're such fun.

5. Develop the boudoir photography side of the business as well.

6. Do more stuff with the kids. They miss out a lot with us out at weddings so many weekends a year. They don't complain but when I ask them about it they've told me they hate it.

7. Do more personal photography work. I've done bugger all this year and I need it to prevent myself from burning out.

That's about it, I guess. :-)