Psychic fair and tarot cards

Today we went to the psychic fair. I got two readings, both of which were fairly crap. The first one had good potential but Annabelle had to go to the toilet before she'd finished so I had to cut and run. Bugger!

ANYWAY, back to my point..

The second woman was a tarot card reader. While she did my cards she said there's a possibility of another baby. I know the tarot pretty well and the Empress card is the fertility card (and I get it ALL the time when I do my own cards) and of course it came out. She said the Empress card can mean a lot of things (growth, prosperity, fertility, abundance, motherhood, family) but what made her think in my case it was most likely a baby is that it came out with the Ace of Cups and the Ace of Pentacles. She said those three cards together is a pretty sure sign of a baby. (I personally think it could also be a new creative business venture but maybe that's me being in denial...)

Later on, she told me that if I want to ask a question, a good way is to spread the cards face down and draw out three cards with my left hand. We did that for a few questions and it worked really well. Like, the cards were SUPER clear with their answers.

SO.... I came home and decided to test out this three-card game and I asked the cards if I really am going to have another baby. I lay them all out face down and drew three cards from the deck with my left hand. I got:

1. Ace of Cups
2. Empress
3. Ace of Pentacles.

*insert twilight zone music here*

I got another HD

This time it was for that one hour presentation I had to do a couple of weeks ago. Sadly, it was only just a HD (as in, 85%) so when I get the results of the other assignment for this subject and average them both, I'm sure it won't be a HD overall. But they say this doesn't matter because no-one is ever going to ask to see our results ever again so all we need to do is scrape a pass and we're laughing. Yes, our LECTURERS actually told us that.

Which makes you wonder why we're all still hanging out for our HDs. Crazy bloody high-achieving idiots that we are. Idiot psychologists. That's what the world needs more of, eh? Highly anxious, competitive individuals who base their entire self-worth on the quality of their academic record. Yep, that's who you'd look to for help in your time of crisis.

Sunday night update

My course finished early today. Yay! Came home and could resist the champagne urge no longer. It has been a long, LONG week.

So I'm feeling awfully light-headed after two.... no make that three glasses. Mav has just got off the phone from Domino's so in about an hour or so I fully expect someone to knock at the door with a couple of cold pizzas that are not what we ordered. But if I don't have to cook, what the hell.

And I just found (another) workshop I want to do but this one is on the Gold Coast in December so we've just been talking about making a week of it and taking Annabelle to all the theme parks. That's enough to get me really excited. Where's that champagne? Oh woops, I finished it. *hic*

Breaktime needs to be over... NOW

I haven't done any uni work since handing in my last assignment on Wednesday. That's three days of no uni work. I'm getting panicky again and think I have developed a tic. This weekend I'm in a workshop learning how to be an ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis) therapist. It's a type of intensive therapy that has good results with autistic kids and if you want to be a therapist, you have to do the intro workshop. I don't even know if I want to be an ABA therapist but you know me - I like to have options. And having the option means doing the damn training. I'm a bit bummed that it's the second weekend in a row I can't spend my time with Mel and Belle, especially since he goes o/s again on Monday for two weeks.

Speaking of Miss Annabelle, she woke up really sick yesterday (Friday). Mel was able to be with her in the morning while I went to that observation session, but I had to race home to look after her. She was complaining of sore ears, poor poppet, and sleeping A LOT. Took her to the doc and he said her ears were fine, so go figure? Still, it's awful to have a child screaming and saying her ears hurt and not having a clue what's wrong or what to do about it. :(

She's much better today thankfully.

To add to my things to whinge about, I have to learn the freakin' DSM-IV for a quiz in a week's time (EEEK!)and I have a big assignment due this Friday (ok, technically due THIS MONDAY but we have this thing called a "grace period" which means we have until Friday) that I haven't actually started. *hyperventilates*

The only reason I've not been institutionalised yet is because I got an extension for the assignment. So that is GOOD. But that is also BAD because it means I could quite possibly drag it out and take way longer than necessary to do it, which means it will run into the time I need for the next BIG assignment due in a couple of weeks, not to mention the 60% Epidemiology exam I have to study for. *vomit*

It feels like the 5th month of pregnancy. You know when you feel like you've been pregnant FOREVER but you've still got soooooo long to go? That's how I feel about this semester.

Now I'm off to bed with my DSM-IV study notes.

*cough cough splutter*

I'm falling apart at the seams, but sadly there is no time to be sick or tired so I'm trying very hard not to be either of those things. And failing miserably.

Have I posted to say I finished at work? And I even bailed a day earlier than I was supposed to! I couldn't bear going back in for that last day when my two favourite chicks weren't going to be there so I thought "gee I wish I had an excuse not to come in" and the next minute I chipped my tooth on a breadroll. Yes, a breadroll. See? I manifested it. Of course I needed to make a dentist appointment for the very next day and had to ring the CEO to tell her I couldn't make it in for my last shift. Hallelujah! (Probably next time I should manifest a cheaper excuse since the dentist cost me $600...)

Then last weekend I attended an EFT workshop (Emotional Freedom Techniques), which I will be back to tell you all about (tap, tap, tap...).

And all the while I've been slogging away at my noony work (as Annabelle calls it.. "uni work" to the rest of us), churning through one deadline after another and dragging my germy, coughy self to all the classes when I'd totally rather be in bed but if you miss a class you have to do a "redemption exercise" and I say FUCK THAT. As if I've got time to do more work than I already have to. Sheesh.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to be having my quality day with my daughter since I've cancelled her Fridays at childcare, but instead I have to go and do an observation session for that behaviour therapy I mentioned before - with autistic kids. If I like that and think I'd like to do it for a job, I have to attend the training which is THIS weekend. ALL weekend. Nice timing (NOT), considering my next major assignment is due next week. So I'm trying very hard not to be sick. Or tired.

The GOOD NEWS is that Mel has started trying very hard (bless him) to find some dates that we can have some weekends away because I told him that if we don't, I might actually divorce him and I think he believed me.

And tonight I am having drinks with the girls from work to celebrate a few of us resigning and that will be the first time I have had drinks with the girls (ie. no husband and no child) since Annabelle was born 3 years ago. How sad and tragic is that?! When I realised it, I actually was quite shocked. No wonder I'm such a miserable whingey cow. I never have any goddamned FUN!

I'm supposed to be coaching a client as we speak (type) but she seems to have forgotten our appointment so I better get on with my next assignment.

Later.

Birthday fun!

For those who haven't already seen the pics via email or facebook.

We had a little party for Annabelle's birthday (which is tomorrow) at a kids' cafe place. They do fairy bread and cake and there's a big play area where the kids can run wild while parents drink coffee and chat. It's cheap, it's fun and best of all, there's no cleaning up!

We took the birthday girl shopping yesterday and bought her a scooter. She absolutely did not want to get on a bike at all, but she's been wanting a scooter for ages so we went with that. I had actually already bought her a different scooter, and had it hidden away for her birthday but this other scooter we saw was WAY better so we got it instead. The plan was to take the first one back but we decided to hang onto it for when her friends come over. Not much fun trying to share one scooter between two kids! So far, we haven't revealed the second scooter. I don't think we need her trying to ride both at once.

She also got spoiled rotten by all her friends with puzzles and books and jewellery and dolls and just LOADS of stuff. She is very excited to be three now and tells every single person she sees.

Dora is a Laura

That's what Annabelle thinks it is. Not "Dora the Explorer". Dora is a Laura. One of her teachers at daycare is called Laura so that must be very confusing for her little brain. And I wondered why the other day she kept saying to Mel "Draw Dora".. "Now draw Laura"... "Now Dora"... "Now Laura again". Poor little poppet was probably trying to see if they really looked the same.

oh and PS: Those poor people with swine flu are now coming out in rashers. BOOM BOOM! (Blame Jodie. I don't know where she gets them)

I rang the Swine Flu Hotline....

... but all I got was crackling. HAHA

Are you ready for me to stop with the swine flu jokes now? But how can I when they just keep coming? :)

ok, so quick update from me. I've done and dusted two more assignments this week. They weren't really hard so it wasn't a HUGE effort but it's good to have them ready to hand in. Next is a one-hour presentation I have to do next Wednesday. A lot of work to do there... and right now I'm not thinking beyond that because if I do, that's when I start getting all the symptoms of an anxiety disorder.

Mav got home from Singapore at 7am this morning and for once in his life did the sensible thing and took the day off work! I wasn't expecting him to come home since he was planning to go straight to the office (at 6.30am, straight off the plane after an intensive week of training... as you do!) so when he walked in the front door, Annabelle was TOTALLY not expecting to see him. She heard the door opening and kind of stood waiting to see who was going to walk in and when she saw it was Mel she stood there staring at him in disbelief for a little while. It was very cute. And then the realisation that it was really him kicked in and the chattering started...

"You did go on an airplane Dad, didn't you?... and you did come home now and I was just doing my puzzles Dad. Do you want to see? Come on Dad. Oh wait, you want to get changed first? And ummm.... Dad? Would you like to read me a story? You wanna read dis one dad? You coming to daycare today, Dad? I'm having a party for my birthday. I will be fwee, won't I? And I will go to the kindy room and I don't wear nappies anymore because I'm a big twaining toilet. And we did go to the shop. Yes we did. And I went with my mum and we did buy some sings....."

She seriously is the cutest thing ever.

Another swine funny

I just saw this on a facebook comment:

"Here we have Tofu Flu. It's just like Pig Flu except it doesn't clog your arteries."

HAHAHA. I don't know why I find that so amusing but I do. :)

New beginnings

I can't even tell you what a relief it is to have resigned from my job. Partly I wish I'd done it sooner so that I could be FINISHED already but of course I've had to give notice which means I'll be back there for the next two weeks. Considering I only do three shifts a week it's not so much of an imposition but you know....

So now, apart from the hours I am attending uni (which is the equivalent of two and a bit days per week but spread over four days, thanks because that's convenient) and the couple of hours I spend coaching, my time is my own. Obviously I have out-of-class work to do, and there's plenty of that... but apart from that, I can think of SO MANY THINGS to do with my new spare time that if I'm not careful I'll end up just as time-poor as I was before.

So here are some ideas/options I'm pursuing:

- Firstly I only attend classes Monday to Thursday. Previously I worked whatever hours I wasn't in class which was CRAZY so I've been taking Fridays off to do my uni work. Now that I'll (hopefully) be able to do the uni work on those four days instead of WORKING, I'm planning to keep Annabelle home on Fridays rather than send her to child care. That will save $65/wk in fees as well as give me a bit more time with her, which I'm very happy about.

- I've registered my interest in doing some behavioural therapy work with autistic and learning delayed children in their homes. It isn't very well paid but I think it would be great experience and obviously I have an interest in working with kids. You do two x 2hr sessions per week with each child and they require you to work with 2 children minimum to keep up your registration once you're trained, so that would fill 2 x half days. I'm still a bit unsure about it because it also requires travel to their homes and I don't want to end up feeling stretched, but I'm going in for a meeting to find out more about it next week (I hope). It can't hurt to check it out.

- Yesterday I went and looked at a healing centre which has a room available for rent a couple of days per week. The idea would be to rent the room for a day or half-day to do coaching because a few coaching clients would easily replace the lost income from my job. The centre is perfect. There are other practitioners in there doing naturopathy, acupuncture & chinese medicine, kinesiology, counselling, reiki etc and the building itself has a great vibe about it. It's also in a fantastic location with lots of foot traffic and easy parking. The problem is I DON'T HAVE ANY CLIENTS HERE so I can't justify paying for the room. But if I don't pay for the room, how do I get the clients? *sigh* What to do?

... So I think I just accounted for all my spare hours plus a few more didn't I? Still, it's great to have a feeling of choice and options instead of the feeling of being completely stifled and restricted and overwhelmed which is how I have been feeling these past months.

As Big Kev would say "I'M EXCITED!" :)

And now I'm off to do a step class for the first time in about ten years so wish me luck with that.

Swine flu funnies

I love that my friend's kid wanted to stay home and play with Transformers today because he reckons he's got "the pig cold". How bloody cute is that?

And thanks to Kezza for forwarding me this gem.



oh and of course.. How did the pig get on the roof?

It flu.

boom boom