While I'm eating lunch...

Via Pink of Perfection:

Do this quickly, without too much thought.

1. Write ten things you love.
2. Write five things you would do if you knew you wouldn’t fail.
3. Write five alternative lives you would like to live other than your own.
4. Write four tiny things you can do in the life you have to bring you closer to those imagined lives.

Now, imagine an older, wiser version of yourself who has some advice to share.

1. What do you need to know?
2. What do you need to embrace?
3. What do you need to do?
4. What do you need to grieve?
5. What do you need to celebrate?

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Write ten things you love.

• The smell of food cooking in my kitchen
• Tutus on little people
• The colours of the rainbow
• Making a friend smile
• Baby cuddles
• Neatly manicured toes
• Warm hands
• Hats with ears
• A good coffee and/or glass of wine
• Wind chimes

2. Write five things you would do if you knew you wouldn’t fail.

• Skydive
• Run for prime minister
• Perm my hair
• Open a craft/yarn store
• Ride and camp my way across the state

3. Write five alternative lives you would like to live other than your own.

• French cheesemaker
• Anyone French actually
• Canadian midwife
• New Zealand knitwear designer
• Online writer

4. Write four tiny things you can do in the life you have to bring you closer to those imagined lives.

• Learn French
• Learn to make cheese
• Visit France, Canada and New Zealand
• Write more

Now, imagine an older, wiser version of yourself who has some advice to share.

1. What do you need to know? The things in life that happen, happen just as equally to you. Yes the bad stuff happens but so does the ordinary, and the normal. You are not a special little snowflake for the most part and you're not that different.
2. What do you need to embrace? Your normalacy and mainstreamness.
3. What do you need to do? Be open to love from all quarters.
4. What do you need to grieve? Your childhood
5. What do you need to celebrate? The life that you have made for yourself! You havebeen in control almost half of it now and you are doing a great job of it!

More about me

I asked for some questions from the audience just the other day!

so you already blog about studying midwifery... but i'd like to know how it came about... how did you choose midwifery?

and what's your favourite vegetable? :)

Katrine from My Feet Move Forwards asked the above. Um. I barely remember really :). That sound - is the gears in my brain grinding!

I wanted to be a midwife back in 1996 when I finished school, but back then it was a huge trek to finish - nursing, then 3 years experience, then another degree I seem to remember. So not something a 16 year old could commit to! So instead I did forensic and analytical chemistry, became a public servant, moved to Canberra, then Sydney, became a tax consultant, met to-be-TheHusband, got to a point in my career where I had to go back to do law to go any further, so moved back to Adelaide and changed careers into worker's compensation, hated that and quit/go fired, and suddenly had no plan B, so got a job in retail (which I love) and went back to school.

What drew me then was an interest in the most amazing process evah encapsulated in childbirth, a fascination with bodies and health, an assessment by a career counsellor that I'd be great in health care but not with sick people, and an interest in working with women and for women, who are not in a position of priviledge.

Favourite vegetable - that's a hard one. I would have to say pumpkin. I love pumpkin. In fact my afternoon involves a butternut pumpkin from last week's FoodConnect box. I love it roasted, and boiled, and sauteed, and in soups, curries and pasta dishes, with salt and pepper and butter or with cheese or with feta in filo or with vegetables in a soup, or so many other ways!

My favourite way at the moment is to cook pumpkin in a curry and it mushes down and thickens it a lot and gives it a great orange glow to it. Try it next time you make one! Pumpkin is so well suited to the flavours of curry - the nutmeg and cinnamon and chilli and garam masala and so on - and suits meat well as well.

Ask me about me!

Everyone has things they blog about. Everyone has things they don't blog about. Challenge me out of my comfort zone by telling me something I don't blog about, but you'd like to hear about, and I'll write a post about it. Ask for anything: latest movie watched, last book read, political leanings, thoughts on alfalfa, favorite type of underwear, graphic techniques, etc.

Repost in your own journal so that we can all learn more about each other.

Ask me things! I love to talk about myself! Please indulge my vanity!

Meme about me

I've been tagged by noone but what the heck - I'll tag myself.

The rules:
1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own.
2. Tag eight other people (if you feel so inclined).

So here goes:

What is your current obsession?
Hair clips, and stalking various yarns that I want to knit with my copious spare time this year. And a few other things that I try not to obsess about but I guess I am obsessing still.

What is your weirdest obsession?
What, apart from being obsessed with all things women's health / birth / babies and yet not being obsessed with my own procreation? And saying loudly that I love women and think they're gorgeous in an amazingly functional way?

What are you wearing today?
Orange bra, wonderwoman underwear, yellow and orange striped socks, mary jane shoes, white 3/4 shirt and a grey overdress. It looks good, really.

What’s for dinner?
Penang diner tonight - I'm in the mood for massamum beef. Which is nothing like the yum that I could get at my local Thai place in Sydney (am I the only person

What did you eat for your last meal?
Two crumpets - one with Vegemite and the other with golden syrup, and a cup of Lady Grey tea.

What’s the last thing you bought?
Um - two handles from Bunnings to redo my childhood chest of drawers.

What are you listening to right now?
A report on a train crash in Washington. Go NewsRadio.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Somewhere warm - Bundaberg, just to visit with my grandparents.

Which language do you want to learn?
French! Immersion style please.

What do you love most about where you currently live?
That's hard - so many things. I live with the love of my life and my kitty and a very close friend who's almost like a sister to me. The house is amazing. It's in a great location. I'm 15 minutes from Kate's place ;).

What is your favorite colour?
At the moment that's a hard one. I've got a purple thing going on, but also loving on teal/sapphire coloured things.

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
At the moment, my Rogue sweater. In general, probably my purple coat given that it's winter here at the moment.

What were you doing ten years ago?
Hmmm 1999 - I was halfway through my third year at uni, living in the southern 'burbs of Adelaide, driving a 1983 Mistubishi Colt and working at Hungry Jacks.

Describe your personal style?
Preppy, or unique - lots of colour, lots of unique accessories, lots of handknits. But often a pair of jeans and a tshirt.

If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
Knitpicks Interchangeable needles.

What are you going to do after this?
Go to the gym for a session of aqua-aerobics, then to Target to buy a new pair of shoes as mine are dead.

What are your favourite films?
Love Actually
Changeling

What inspires you?
Colour and movement

Your favourite books?
Isobelle Carmody's series

Do you collect anything?
Hair clips, tea cups...

What makes you follow a blog?
The writing, how regularly it is updated, whether the topics are mostly things that I am interested in.

What was the most enjoyable thing you did today?
Slept in

What new skill would you like to learn?
There aren't any that come to mind - there are a few things that I'd like to improve though. Preserving, painting, decorating, sewing for example.

Friday fill in #2

1. She had a great idea to make pikelets for brunch.

2. My arm is by my side, always.

3. I know this: my time will come and I probably won't even notice it.

4. I have some of the best years of my life to come still.

5. These words apply to me: suck it up, princess

6. Today I am happy because the sun was shining.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to cocktails and a surprise, tomorrow my plans include breakfast with a Kate and Sunday, I want to be at the airport early for our trip to Hobart!

Friday fill in #1

Oh look another bandwagon for me to jump on.

1. All children alarm their parents, if only because you are forever expecting .

2. Show me a good loser and I will show you a simple mind.

3. Torture is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs at one time. Only I dislike chocolate, so I'm happy to share with you if you'd like them.

4. Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy knitting and blogging.

5. I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine stripes and spots.

6. It is impossible to think of any good meal, no matter how plain or elegant, without onion or garlic in it.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to having Sunday off and having a houseguest for 3 weeks, tomorrow my plans include work and Sunday, I want to knit!

Respect is not demanded but it is commanded

The title actually has nothing to do with anything. Have some pictures to cheer yourself up.

The Rules:
1) Answer each of the questions below and search for the answer using the Flickr Search engine.
2) Choose a photo from the first three pages for each question.
3) Copy the URL of your favorite photo into this site (you'll want to set it up to have four columns and three rows to get a result like mine).
4) Printscreen, crop, save mosaic to some form of photo hosting thing and share with the world!

1. First Name (Emma)
2. Favorite Food (mint)
3. Hometown (Adelaide)
4. Favorite Color (orange)
5. Celebrity Crush (David Tenant)
6. Favorite Drink (creamy cocktail)
7. Dream Vacation (Paris)
8. Favorite Dessert (berry pie)
9. What I Want To Be When I Grow Up (midwife and mother)
10. What I Love Most In The World (love)
11. One Word That Describes Me (creative)
12. My LiveJournal Name

1. Emma Watson, 2. chocolate mint cupcake, 3. A Day Out, 4. orange for orange day!, 5. Thoroughly Good People, 6. Creamy chocolate cocktail, 7. Last day in Paris, 8. 3 Berry Pie, 9. It's a GIRL!!!, 10. he loves me/he loves me not., 11. "Creative Hands" - Mindy, 12. for badylugz (which hasn't shown up but click the link to see!)

99 things meme

I spent a lovely day yesterday with Kate and Anna and Leah and Zoe and Nicko and Maeve and Susan and at least two other people and two bunnies and enough cookies and shortbread to sink a battleship. It was nice to get out and about but *shakes fist* not when I was simply not. up. to catching public transport, and needed a 2 hour nap when I got home.

Today I had breakfast at 7am (I love early mornings but I'm TIRED people!) and had to send my eggs back as I like poached eggs, and I like them runny - but uncooked just doesn't do it for me. I went to Spotlight and got more brooch back (mountain) s because I can't find the ones I did buy just the OTHERDAY even though I've tidied up repeatedly trying to find them. I got toning shampoo as my hair is white blonde at the moment and tends to go brassy quickly. I bought a pair of Birkenstocks:

as per orders from TheMan and I am SOINLOVEWITHTHEM. I hate thongs with a passion because I can't stand anything between my toes, and these were the perfect gift from my man.

Typing is hard going. Memes are easy. Shoulder is on the mend but clothes folding outdid me today. *shakes fist*

Meme:
Things you've already done: bold (36.5/99)
Things you want to do: italicize (29/99)
Things you haven't done and don't want to - leave in plain font (33.5/99)

That's actually quite balanced. I've done some stuff and have plans to do some more (which a trip to Paris and Italy would cover off!)

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band
4. visited Hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. been to disneyland/world
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped
12. visited Paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea
14. taught yourself an art from scratch (yarn dyeing and proudly)
15. adopted a child (maybe)
16. had food poisoning (ugh)
17. walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. grown your own vegetables (silverbeet by accident counts, right?)
19. seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked
23. taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon
28. ridden a gondola in Venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise
33. seen Niagara Falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an Amish community
36. taught yourself a new language
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing (not in the past 10 years but meh - details, details)
40. seen Michelangelo's David in person
41. sung karaoke (sadly not recently)
42. seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. visited Africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance (is 2007 - twice)
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (so now I need to go to France and Italy...)
51. gone scuba diving or snorkelling
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theatre
55. been in a movie (I was an extra in a film filmed on Rundle Street *years* ago - I wouldn't be able to tell you the name of it even!)
56. visited the Great Wall of China
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class (tai chi is in my plans for 2009)
59. visited Russia
60. served at a soup kitchen (I'd like to volunteer there for Christmas Day next year)
61. sold girl scout cookies
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason (I buy myself them though)
64. donated blood (regularly before I got my last tattoo)
65. gone sky diving
66. visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a cheque (overdrawn an account I guess would be the equivalent here in Aus?)
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favourite childhood toy
70. visited the Lincoln memorial
71. eaten caviar (they're teeny balls of saltiness and not something I'm in a hurry to repeat)
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in Times Square
74. toured the Everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guard in London
77. broken a bone
78. been on a speeding motorcycle (my 17th birthday - a crazy housemate took me!)
79. seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the Vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in Jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper (I was 5 or 6 at the time)
85. read the entire bible (I was bored. REALLY bored.)
86. visited the White House
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating (fish count here)
88. had chickenpox (I still have scars - it ruined my summer holidays pre year 9)
89. saved someone's life (post partum haemmorhage - just the one so far)
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby
95. seen The Alamo in person
96. swum in the Great Salt Lake
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a mobile phone (I've had the same phone number for nearly 13 years)
99. been stung by a bee (oddly enough no! Wasps yes, bees no)

2008 in review

The year is at its end - THANKYOUGODDESS!!!! I cannot tell you how much crap has been thrown at me and mine this year. Family dramas, engagements, cancelled engagements, injuries, surgery, suicides, death, births, house dramas... it just goes on and on. So here's a more balanced review of 2008:

What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Proposed to my sweetheart

Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions?
- do today what I can, rather than putting it off for tomorrow (getting better at this!)
- get back into yoga (sadly no but I have had a shoulder op so that's not surprising)
- enjoy the day and forget about tomorrow; live in the moment! (getting better at this too!)
- save 10% of my wages by the end of the year (bwahahahahahahaha - not even close but working on it)
- live within my means most of the time (improving)
- not buy any clothes (most of the year but not by choice)
- similarly, knit and craft from stash only (improving on this too)

Overall - not a bad year

Did anyone close to you give birth?
Heh - that's amusing as a student midwife. Close personally? Yes, a couple of friends did. No relatives as yet.

Did anyone close to you die?
Yes - one just the other day which still has me reeling

What countries/states did you visit?
New South Wales only - that's kind of sad!

What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
My arm back in one piece with full range of movement; a husband

What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory?
17th May - the day I proposed!

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Surviving the year and not giving up

What was your biggest failure?
Being less fit than when I started the year

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Shoulder issues, bronchitis of doom and that's about it

What was the best thing you bought?
My new car - her name is Saffron and she is yellow and an automatic. Best thing I bought by far!

Whose behavior merited celebration?
My own in completing this year with a strong GPA

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Anyone involved in Darfur

Where did most of your money go?
Rent, bills and new glasses

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Homebirth conference

What song/album will always remind you of 2008?
Faker: This Heart Attack

Compared to this time last year, are you:
1. happier or sadder? happier
2. thinner or fatter? fatter
3. richer or poorer? richer in lots of ways and not just in money (though just barely)

What do you wish you’d done more of?
Smiled and laughed

What do you wish you’d done less of?
Cried

How did/will you spend Christmas?
Caroling at the rowing club, then bbq lunch at home, and later a turkey roll and some veges in the crockpot

How did/will you spend New Year's?
Mexican party at A&A's house

Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
Osk

Did you fall in love in 2008?
Ever more!

How many one night stands in this last year?
Hmmmm - I could say "2" or "200" and you'd never know, would you ;)

What was your favorite TV show?
Life on Mars

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Yep

What did you want and get?
A fiance; a solution to my shoulder issues; a pathway to healing

What did you want and not get?
To go to Ithica

What were your favorite films of this year?
Dark Knight, Quantum of Solace, St Trinians

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 28 and I had a joint party with a friend who is a day younger and 10 years older

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Red and orange make the world go around; tshirts and jeans are a staple

What kept you sane?
Osk, talking a lot, blogging, LJ, OS, Kate, Alice, alcohol and a sense of humour

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Daniel Vettori

What political issue stirred you the most?
Abortion legalisation in Victoria

Who did you miss?
Monica

Who was the best new person you met?
Kate!

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
I will survive whatever the world throws at me, and I don't have to be gracious about it and the sun will still come up tomorrow

Christmas is on its way!

A meme - nothing much exciting going on here this week. We had our engagement party on the weekend, and it was a FUN time! Photos to come.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper - I love using recycled or repurposed paper though. I can't remember the last time I bought paper.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
Artificial, bordering on "none". Ours is about 30cm high and is silver. We have a 1.5m tall green artificial one but have nowhere to put it and no urge to. We're not big on Christmas. I like the holiday and the thought but it gets so swamped by the retail reality of it that it loses a lot of its gloss. I'm much more of the Pagan leaning than a Christian one as well, so midsummer is my preferred celebration.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Friday. We got it off the shelf and put it on the table.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Um - usually pretty quickly after Christmas. I prefer to have it down before New Years. By "down" I mean back on its shelf.

5. Do you like eggnog?
I've never had it to be honest.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
A baking set with a rolling pin and a plastic rolling sheet. Loved it to pieces.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
My nephews - we give money into an account instead.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
My Dad - two polo shirts and a bag of jersey caramels, year after year. He loves it too as they're his favourite sweet, and he then gets two new shirts for the year. Or so he says.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
No - see #2

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail if I send any at all.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Scented soaps which gave me such a bad migraine I had to be hospitalised.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Love Actually.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
All year round.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Not directly - I have given some to charity though.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Cranberry sauce and turkey; cherry pie and custard

16. What decorations are on your tree?
Little bud lights as it's a tiny tree

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Deck the hall - a good pagan song ;)

18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home?
Not this year but usually

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
No

20. Angel on top of tree or star?
Star

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
Morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
People angsting about everything - money, presents, food, entertaining... it's exhausting to watch.

23 What theme or color are you using when you decorate?
Red and silver usually

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Seafood

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Jewellry if anything - silver, white gold, platinum with a clear colourless stone.

Contro-versial!

1. Do you have the guts to answer these questions and re-post as The Controversial Survey?
Yup - it's a new blog, no one is around to unfriend me, and meh I feel like a distraction.

2. Would you do meth if it was legal?
No - as a holder of 2 degrees in chemistry, I know far too much about how it's made, who it's made by, and where it's made.

3. Abortion: for or against it?
For it being available to anyone who wants or needs it. None of my business why that may be, but if it's not my body it's not my business. I believe that life begins at viability, and that that is when a babe is able to take a breath outside of its mother's body relatively unassisted... which puts it somewhere in the third trimester of pregnancy. I don't agree with the huge expenditure of resources applied to keeping extremely premature babes alive and think this kind of act will have to be rationalised in the future which is sad for people who don't agree but not something I'd change if I was in the situation.

4. Do you think the world would fail with a female president?
How much does this question say about the place that the USA thinks it has in the world right now????

Ahem.

If the first president of Australia was female, I would sell my body to get everyone I know to move to Australia. We would be a better place if we had more women in positions of power. It would also show that we as a country were a lot more progressive than having people like John Howard as our prime minister...

5. Do you believe in the death penalty?
No. As a holder of a forensics degree, I would be horrified if someone's life was taken because of evidence I processed. I also believe that life imprisonment without parole is much better punishment than instant death.

6. Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already?
I'd rather see this legalised and taxed more than tobacco.

7. Are you for or against premarital sex?
For. I think anyone who waits until they're married is missing out on developing a part of themselves that allows them to be good partners, and also true to themselves. There are so many things to be learned from negotiating that, and it shouldn't wait until you're already married before being negotiated. I'm not for "early teenagehood sex" and I may change my tune when I have children of my own, but I hope that they can always ask me about it and can work it out for themselves.

8. Do you believe in God?
No. I do believe in something spiritual and that we have more energy going out of us into the universe than just our physical existence.

9. Do you think same sex marriage should be legalised?
Yes. I think that, if two people want to make vows to each other, then they should be recognised legally as partners in law.

10. Do you think it's wrong that so many Hispanics are illegally moving to the USA?
No idea - not from the USA. Illegal immigrants here though affect my life in a way that is hard to explain. We're a large island in the middle of a big ocean a long way from anywhere. Anyone who has come here as an "illegal immigrant" has worked damn hard and taken lots of risks to get here. I would rather

11. A twelve year old girl has a baby, should she keep it?
Why are you asking my opinion - cf comments about abortion? In my (newish, not yet complete) role as a midwife I've already worked with 14 year olds who are having baby #3 and while I am disheartened that girls that age either don't have the sexual education to understand how to avoid pregnancy, or are in a position where having a baby seems like a good idea (baby bonus, welfare state, crap education, no employment opportunities, I'm looking at you), it's not for me or someone else to say that they should keep it or not. Adoption should be a lot easier in Australia, and fostering should be healthily rewarded.

12. Should the alcohol age be lowered to eighteen?
Mwahahaha trick question! It is here and really, I think education about alcohol should be increased in high school so children can make better decisions about these things.

13. Should the war in Iraq be called off?
Yes. Not sure what it is trying to achieve right now.

14. Assisted suicide is illegal: do you agree?
No I don't. I think it should be assisted under very strict circumstances.

15. Do you believe in spanking your children?
I don't agree with hitting children at all. Swatting children away from danger when they're too young to understand danger or "no" is one thing; inflicting harm or pain as punishment is not ok.

16. Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars?
No. Nor any other flag.

17. Who do you think would make a better president? McCain or Obama?
Obama. If I had a vote. I do wonder what is going on in the USA though that McCain is getting so many votes - he is portrayed quite differently here to what I suppose is being portrayed in the USA.

18. Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
Judge? No, not really. You're entitled to your opinion, and to copy and paste this one if you're brave enough. Well actually that's not true. I do expect to be judged because anyone who claims not to be judgemental is delusional instead. We are all judgey-judgey but it's whether people's opinion of me will change because of this meme. Probably, given that I have pretty liberal views on some/most things.