Here we are the very first batch of Volunteers to go through the new National Diploma of Ambulance Practice and tomorrow starts the last third of my study. It has been fairly tough and this last one will be the hardest I expect. I am actually pretty nervous as although I have only had two weeks off study the memory of how little time I had previously is pretty fresh. I will really have to manage my time more effectively and doing that and staying sane is fairly hard.

Last Monday started my new healthy outlook on life and I managed to do exercise on three days and ate in a sensible and healthy manner. ????????I KNOW!!!! This week I am intending to do the same and am now even more inspired to do well as I phoned up about a womens social hockey league last week and put my name down! This could be humiliating as I have not picked up a stick since I was 12 and even then I was always shoved in goal! I have no idea why this appeals but the idea feel right so why not try and add yet another thing into my life. Thank you god for that extra hour sleep coming up with daylight saving ending, I think I will need it!

Dont you just love the uniform and the hands on our thigh action.................can you pick which one is me? Not a flash piccie but one I shall send to my mum!

Ella-raine's Birthday cake

Although we were camping for the event there was absolutely no need for mediocrity in the birthday cake department and since Miss Four had been banging on about it for the last 11 months I simply could not bung a candle on a bowl of porridge and sing Happy Birthday. It came out quite well all things considered as my normal cakes take many hours to decorate this was done and dusted in under ten minutes. Of course there was much prep to begin with like legs to be wrenched of Barbie, dressing her in more fitting attire to match the cake a making a necklace..............every gal has to have sparkles!

The party was great, all ballons and party napkins and plates but I forgot the blasted party hats but never fear my friends assured me, she would not even notice.

WRONG......... after having the most perfect camping birthday surrounded by all her mates when asked later in the day about how much fun she had..........................she promptly replied 'no hats or pass the parcel' then she got up and left. Ungrateful shit!

I came, I saw, I camped!

It rained. Grounds got flooded. We all got moved into a hall. Seven Children, six adults sleeping in a room, three of those children with a tummy virus and all adults stupidly tired. Brilliant!

Fricken camping, who in their right mind(except homeless people) would do it. Now I can see the challenge in camping as a couple, the two of you at one with nature, trying to wildly shake the stench of the concrete jungle. It almost sounds romantic.

With children, no power and more importantly NO TV. Son of Mary, you gotta be full blown do lally!

Not only do you spend weeks of planning, every meal, snack, scenario and whim you are completely shafted by the camping grounds. The price per night was amazing and was a hare’s breath away from the price of a cheap hotel. Not only that, as they were “powered” tent sites one would foolishly assume you could plug and extension cord into sockets and be blessed with the comforts of home. WRONG, apparently it is common knowledge around the camping types to get a “special” cord with a different plug to have power. I of course only found this out after I played around with the outdoor plug socket and severly pissed off the neighbours by turning off their power, I went to give my apology and was promptly told that “Well YOU are not the only one who now has to re-programme DVD player!” SLAM! A DVD player! Christ that’s not camping! (as I load all of my now non useable comforts of home) As luck would have it they sold those special cords at the camping ground shop for $150!! Blimey not a chance. Then just to add insult to injury you have to pay for the showers on top.

But with all my moans and gripes(and believe you me, I got many stashed) I would do it all again in a heart beat as the Children had the most amazing time and grinned from ear to ear the whole time, I kid you not I have never seen such a bunch of happy souls, except that time I toured the Cadbury factory! This was the stuff of childhood memories held dear, I wish you had been there!

But NO, we are not camping people, I want a caravan!