hi everyone

im just about to have a half hours rest (im forcing myself to do it ) before i go to work.

i always say i will but im always doing something like hanging out another load of washing , putting away the dishes from dishwasher or putting clothes away and before you know it half hour is up

so to all on minti have an enjoyable evening

cheers annie

why is it when you have lots of fruit in the basket your children dont eat them but the moment you peel them and cut them up and place them in a plate on the bench to be eaten , they are eaten straight away!

that includes hubby eating them!!!

cheers annie

help can anyone help me i need an answer asap.

how many litres roughly do you get in a mazda 3 brand new car per dollar or better still if you do 40ks mileage roughly how much petrol would that be ? sorry but only fellow australians can help me with this. im in a dilemma and i need to roughly know

cheers annie

oh my goodness i couldnt believe my eyes! a big hole was found on qantas plane after an emergency landing in manilla the plane was on a flight from london on its way to melbourne.

they had an emergency on their hands when the plane was in difficulty.

it wasnt until they landed safely that they discovered a big hole  where the luggage is.

now why the concern? my son landed wednesday morning (two days prior to this incident) from united states to melbourne.

now if and i know this is a big if but if my son was still in america or it happened on his flight i would have been beside myself. i would have been totally hysterical and all logic would have gone through the window.

now you can understand why my blog safe and sound  had such an impact on me and how i could relax once he was safe and sound.

so good to see that all in the plane at manilla were safe and sound and for a moment there all the passengers and crew lived terrifying moments believing it was their last.

now i know this is a cliche but its moments like these that we need to "love our families" and right or wrong even if we cant forget we need to forgive and learn to let go

have a lovely weekend

cheers annie

hi everyone after getting up early in the morning 6.30am, and combatting the morning traffic manged to arrive to tullamarine airport. got there just after 8am.

thanks to technology my son and i were able to converse and he had landed but was waiting to go through to customs.

everytime someone from their squad came out there was cheering. after taking a few photos we eventually got out of airport 10.am to start the drive home.

my son bought me a mickey mouse and minnnie mouse ceramic type figurine which i have just added into my glass cabinet.

he received three medals the cup will remain with the directors of the academy.

i have a glass cabinet that is full of trophies and medals over the yearsof both of my boys with all of soccer and swimming

now its great to have my son safe and sound in our home sweet home

cheers annie

hi everyone

my son and the whole touring soccer group are coming back to melbourne tomorrow . at this stage not sure of the time we  are awaiting confirmation through email.

they played in the final and came second  scores being 2/1 .

well done on all their dedication and hard work this is the under 14 australian team in the disneyworld international youth tour under 14s .

we also had an under 13 s and under 17s team im not sure how they progressed. i know the under 13s had made the semis

well done to all and especially the under 14s team for which my son is coach

cheers annie

watch sbs now this very minute disney world tour straight after ad

cheers annie

hi everyone

just had to share my news im one proud mum at the moment. my son is ih disneyworld for a soccer tournament organised by the states(america).

they have made it into the semi finals. (all info including results are published on web) if anyone is curious you can google. australian football skool

australian football skool is an academy that is run here in melbourne. there are updated photos of disneyworld and they had a stop over in LA where they saw the great david beckham play!

orlando florida where disneyworld is located are about 15 hours behind us. so when i called 12.30 am melb time my son was just about to enter the star wars ride. can you call in an hour ? he says .i will be asleep by then i tell him (1.30am melb)  but could i sleep? so i hung on and called . im so glad i did. they were just about to head off and watch the under 17s play.

our under 17s needed to win this match to get into the finals

anyway our under 13s and under 14s (my son coaches the under 14s ) have both made the semis they play saturday afternnon (sunday in melbourne) so i will be awaitng the results with great anticipation.

what i saw of the photos all the children are enjoying themselves. there are a few girls that made the soccer team so i say well done to the girls!

i need my early cup of coffee . i am soooo tired but im working

hope you all enjoy your weekend

cheers annie

what a morning after planning to vacuum and mop and cook by 12 . i found myself still staring at the vacuum cleaner .

no i dont have a phobia for cleaning im just stumped when things dont work its a brand new vacuum cleaner and i am having trouble with it  the turbo doesnt work at all and all indications are that its blocked.

son unblocked it last time but its happened again  stupid instruction books are useless its not a cheap one either

i got so frustrated with it hubby came quickly home gbefore heading out to country to work he couldnt fix it either. by this stage i had already used the old fashioned broom to sweep all the tiled area and believe me that alone was about 20 sqaures .

anyway just as im outside saying goodbye to hubby the house phone rings. it was off its charger and i didnt have time to run upstairs and grab the other two

but luckily my mobile rang  a voice says its me. oh the joy my son j . it was echoing a lot and time delay so its hard talking cause its like your talking over each other. he then rang house phone but same problem . he went through speaker and that was a  little better you see they have arranged to do it via interent so that was ok

anyway it was 1.40pm, monday here in melbourne and in orlando florida (that is where dineyworld is ) it was 11.40pm sunday  so looks like they are 14 hours behind us. not bad actually i always thought it was about 20 hours but son says depends which state. that makes sense

anyway he has lost his voice almost and the soccer tournament hasnt even started it starts tuesday (wednesday for us)  they have already been to magic kingdom and now they are going to epcot all part of disneyworld. you can google it in the internet

i just finished steam mopping and now im having a quick rest then i have to get ready for work ive opted to work the afternoon shifts this week sick of doing days

ive missed out on the gym today i was going to go but getween the stupid vacuum cleaner and waiting for hubby i will have to miss it today but im definately going tomorrow, i cant afford to be erratic just when i see results i stop and then i get into bad habits with food . i need to lose a bit generally im ok but the trouble spots for me are the hardest to shift that is the stomach and abdomen areas. my hips are ok i could do with a little off my bottom but i dont want to be thin i like curves. guys seem to prefer curves as well

two and half months too late but i just filled out my survey for the new car i got i know how important this is to the salesman and he was very helpful and brilliant so i had put it aside to do and so many times i walked passed it that today i finally did it! mind you the envelope is already prepaid so its not like its costing me anything !!!

but i know how hard our work comes down on us when respondents are rude to us and we just have to be so polite regardless

anyway i must go because yet again i wont manage a rest before work . im quickly getting ready and i have to be out of here !

but yeah guys so i just had to share my excitement with you all about talking to my son. i still have the oldest home to keep me company as well so  i guess i cant complain especially because he did come home from work for lunch and he did give me a kiss

cheers annie

hi everyone

i received the anticipated sms at 2.30am melbourne time. i woke    read sms from son that he had arrived in LA (AMERICA) i went straight to sleep. in the morning initially i couldnt find the text message so i  for an instant was confused. did i dream it?

but then i found text in my phone. such relief. technology is great he has overseas roaming so no fumbling for coins or money exchange.  he is tired but what do you expect. we all only got 3 hours of sleep all worried we would sleep in and he would miss his flight.

when i got to work yesterday afternoon (i hadnt listened to any news) someone told me there was a blackout at tullamarine  (melbourne airport).

but i assumed they got to sydney ok for their international transit flight  otherwise he would have called me earlier.

so it was just as well that they had left an a very early morning flight otherwise the delays would have been chaotic.

not sure of the exact number of them all flying but their are about 4 soccer teams two are under 13s and under 14s and some parents the 4 coaches 4 team managers and the organizers. so you see what i mean about chaos!!!

but luck was on their side or maybe their airline knew or something because they were origionally going to fly out  today (friday) but the airline changed it to thursday and gave them a free night accomodation at LA so what a bonus.

keep you updated 

cheers annie

i am trying to keep my mind occupied . our son left early this morn tullamarine airport melb via sydney . from sydney flight to LA through qantas   they get a complimentary day stay in LA due to  strike problems

cut the apron strings cut the umblical cord. i have tried  how hard is it 

doesnt help that i havent had much sleep and soon i need to shower and get ready for work . i was going to go for a walk but im in acatch 22 if i walk my immune system is at its weakest im a bit sniffly have a migraine (lack of sleep) and im sneezing .

the rain easedoff this morning but its still cold and im not going to venture out until the last minute for work. even then i will be in the comfort of my car heater going. oh the bliss just two months ago my old car wasnt up to all this.

but thats the beauty of a new car.

neck strain isnt helping either so i will just have to try to rest for next half hour or so

cheers annie

ok its 5.30am i only managed an hours sleep. why you say? today is the day in fact my older son is driving the youngest to the airport. if you read my previous blog last week about disneyworld 5 days to go ... you will know about this trip

very briefly my son got selected from one hundred coaches narrowed down to one of four to go to america for a soccer tournament organised by the americans.

there are teams from all over the world including australia and canada . i think porto rico is also included .

my son just kept showing me everything he and the team was doing it was very brief and fast as he has been so busy this year. he goes to uni full time works at the gym once a week and he plays soccer also coaches two soccer teams and  plays indoor soccer futsal and basketball.

he has so much stamina and he is so organised i really dont know how he does it. last week he spent 3 days with his squad of under 14s boys with his team manager (she travelled all the way from mildura) to melbourne .

they were spending time bondind as a team and training including boxing (not each other) these boys come from all over victoria and play for different clubs so its imperative that they bond as a team.

this is such an opportunity for these children and this experience will hopefully stay with them for a very long time. it will teach and enhance their motivational skills. they are actually all staying at disneyworld at one of the resorts(sorry the name escapes me)

they will actually have the first 3 days free so in that time there will be so much to do the slides the rides and hey its summer in the states! (some parents are also going . )

what a climate shock leaving windy cold melbourne. yesterdays temperature here dipped to 2 degrees and this morning is no better its also raining here.

my son who is 25 prefered to get his older brother drop him off at the airport as he didnt want me "bawling my eyes out"

he reminded me its not his first trip he has travelled3 other times this will be his fourth . they are only going for 13 days but im still anxious and well just being mum.

he travelled to china in 2004 with rmit for uni games and they were given the red carpet treatment there. the games were even shown on tv stations in china. he actaully played and won a trophy for the best player he was also their personal trainer.

i am so proud of him as i am of my oldest son the oldest is more academic with a degree in commerce(accountant) and  a degree in bachelor of education. he has just enrolled to get his masters and after that he is considering a doctrine.

but first he is concentrating on his masters which he is studying part time as he is currently teaching vce full time

ps for those that are wondering rmit stands for royal melbourne institute of technology

cheers annie

well pamela anderson is quite something.

i didnt like her nor did i hate her but i just saw her on big brother and she has definately got it . wow and double wow

she is incredible makes them all look "so ordinary" shame bridget had to get kicked out . bridgett wouldnt have known what hit her

cheers annie

nadal is the mens champion of wimbledon 2008

well done he beat federer in a tight match. i started to watch the match but here in melbourne australia it was about midnight. i ended up falling asleep so i didnt watch it all. saw highlights this morning when i woke up.

both brilliant players fedderer is only 26 and has won 51 singles title and nadal is only 22 he has now won about 32 singles titles. that is amazing between the 2 of them that adds up to 83 . well done to both players for their dedication and hard work.

luck doesnt even come into it and its great watching to brilliant players . no wonder both made it to the finals

cheers annie

5 days to go until my son leaves for disneyworld. there is a soccer tournament being organised to be played at disneyworld

they are actaully staying at the resort and my son is coaching one of the australian teams. children were picked from all over victoria.

last night they held a fund raising night(fourth of july) sbs was present and filmed it. apparently it will be telives on sbs in two weeks . at this stage i dont know how much they will edit but my son was filmed making a speech and the sports reporter filmed them this morning at one of their training sessions

i believe a few countries are involved in this tournament . i know apart from a few american states that canada is also involved there were other countries but there was so much to see that my son showed me the other day that i cant recall everythimg.

its avery early flight i will probably go the airport but i will cry i always do. i know its only about 12 or 13 days and not 3 months.but i get so emotional

i will just have to keep myself occupied for the next 2 weeks

cheers annie

to all our fellow americans on minti have a happy 4th of july (independence day)

may your celebrations be filled with happiness

cheers annie

finally just got my son to upload photos from my hot air ballooning experience both photos were taken by me on saturday may 24th 2008 celebrating my fiftieth birthday present. it took me just over 12 months to use my gift voucher

partly through  a time and weather factor but mostly from my fear of heights. i kept  delaying it til i knew i couldnt delay any further without forfeiting the gift.

i conquered my fears i actaully wrote an advice blog about it.

the hot air balloon you see is of another one that was in the sky and ive taken the photo while we were in mid air in another hot air balloon .

the view of melbourne was taken just as we are approaching my beloved princes park (carltons old football ground) oh so many memories of watching the carlton greats the likes of nichols  jezza (jessaulenko) sergio silvani southby doull maclure kernaghan just to name a few .............

it was just before we landed at  royal park . these memories will stay with me forever. in fact i loved the experience so much

cheers annie

i let it lapse yet again. this time i said i would use them but im only texting every so often

last week i topped up my pre paid and i won about 15 free sms s  i had 7 days to use them but i only sent 2 and they had expired monday so i forfeited the rest.

last time i unintentionally let them expire i had only sent one because last time i thought i had 30 days to use them.

why is that we do this? im not just talking about sms but free offers for coffee and other things that are available.

i was once given double movie pass at work and gift shopping voucher for  a bonus for doing such a great job on a difficult task.

i put them aside to use "one day" and unfortunately when i finally came around to use them they had expired.

as a rule i now try to use them as soon as i receive them .otherwise thats just money going down the drain. i know that its a time factor and organizing . but to organize you need time.

when i have little time that is my rest time so hence a vicious circle.

but im going to start by having my own little area like a desk with draws for this very purpose.

cheers annie

mamma mia the movie is out in cinemas july 10th starring meryl streep pierce brosnan .

half the film is filmed on a greek island(i forget which one i think its corfu i saw them shooting part of it on greek tv) but cant remember which island .

the other half was filmed in england  colin firth stellan skarsgard julie walters dominic cooper amanda seyfried and christine baranski are other actors in the cast.

its been described as "the feel good cinema event of the year"

im definately going to see it . the scenery is just unbelievable and i just get transferred back to our wonderful holiday in 2005 it just brings back memories.

cheers annie