Sculptures by the sea... a blog with pictures AND words! haha...

So here in Perth at a beach called Cottesloe Beach there is an ongoing sculptures by the sea.... artwork of various types on display.  Sunday evening we decided to head down and check them out.  I will admit, some of these pieces of "art"...didn't fall under what I'd consider art, but was still interesting to see.  Some of them I had no CLUE what they were.  Of course most of them had "do not touch artwork" sign next to them.  And of COURSE we broke that rule and photographic evidence.. hehehe.  (seriously, I am like a kid and putting those signs up is either gonna make me touch it, or give enough peer pressure to someone else to touch it.  Hey, I know I am an adult, but I never claimed to be a *mature* adult.  HUGE difference....).

So, we started to notice a few of the sculptures/art had a penis.... of course, again since we are mature immature adults, we giggled and took pictures.  Luckily there were too many people around so we couldn't take any pictures with poses of said penises, peni, or whatever the pleural for penis is......

We decided since it was late afternoon (or the aussie term, arvo) to stick around and watch the sunset.  As we are sitting there, we notice this quite young couple beside us (not super close, but still the closest people to our left) that are hardcore making out...  of course, we couldn't resist pictures of this either.  Yeah, we are super mature.

I have a 30 day challenge to do, but I'll fiddle with that one later.  Figured that an update was good enough.  If not, oh well. 

I've now been in Australia for a little over 5 weeks.  Wow, where does the time go?  I am awaiting a package from my mom with all of my paperwork that I've been (impatiently) waiting on to file for my nursing license.  At least knowing it's all together and in progress makes me feel less like I'm "waiting" at this point.  Of course I've been spending a lot of time spoiling all my new men.... (11 mo old twins, 20 mo old, and nearly 4 year old).  Things at home are good.  Learning to live with each other (without killing each other) and all the normal things that go along with cohabitation.  And considering we spent so much of our relationship 11K miles apart, even being together on a regular basis is an adjustment for us both.  And we are both 30'something (however, I must include he's older than me... hahaha!  :P )  stubborn (see previous blog) both had been living alone prior to the move, so lots of adjusting.. and moving 2 people into a space that previously occupied by one.  And I don't even have more than clothes (and my millions of hair/cosmetic products...) here at this point.  So, all in all, I think all is good.  And steps by both parties in the right direction are in place, so we'll see. 

Tonight's agenda: dinner, my FAVORITE reality TV show, some ice cream, and now a game of scrabble on the iphone.... And I just discovered "miggle" is a word.  WTF?  I have to admit, I use a lot of words on here that I have no clue the meaning of.  But hey, knowing the definition is not part of the game.  Although a certain somebody (*coughs and points to her left*) sometimes insists that we involve that into the rules.  And of course, when I'm asked "WTF does THAT mean?"  I respond that I refuse to insult his intelligence by telling him what big words mean if he doesn't already know.  Yes, I am full of feces.  (wonder how many THAT would get me on a triple word??? haha...)  (and as a side note, as I do the spellcheck for this entry, Miggle is coming up as a spelling error.  HAHAHA.  Make that an evil MUAHAHAHA on second thought...)

Ok... here's the photos I promised.....  (and wtf is up with blogger photo upload and layout editor these days??? Major trouble on this one!)

This one I actually liked.....

Penis sighting #1 for the day... a tad creepy....

"and this is suppose to be.....???????"

Not sure what this is suppose to be or represent, but it looked like a sea or wave of hats...sailors I assume.  Kinda looked like the old time nurse hats, but doubt that's what it's for being seaside and all.....

 



Recycle/trash bins on pool noodle shelves... And this WAS part of the exhibit, not just colorful trash cans for those who were there...



Proof this is "artwork".

Another one that I thought was kinda cool.  Not sure what you'd do with it though??

The sea with wind surfers.  Not an art exhibit, but my kinda scenery!

Penis sighting #2... this dude apparently has no stage fright???

I call it a pile of rusty triangles, they call it art.  Wayne, can't resist touching.....

despite the signs..... lol

pretty cool, but wish I had gotten a picture with the ocean in the background (it was behind me when I took this.. )

Painted fans blowing in the breeze... art, or yard sale?  You decide.....

This was hard not to rock out a game of pick up sticks.. I mean, seriously..that's just ASKING for trouble.. or fun...whatever you wanna call it?

Penis sighting #3, however unable to get a picture.. there were far too many people on the "Front" side to go around without looking like a total freak or perve.  (No comment)

Houston...do we have ANOTHER penis sighting????

Negative, Apollo.  He is "board".  haha, get it??

Man, tough room.....

"Summer Lovin'"...literally.  Please note, those are undies and a dress.. NOT swim suit bottoms....

This went on what seemed like FOREVER.  I would kill my children if I busted them like this in public in front of hundreds of people and children.  And if you are my child and have found this years from now and are reading....I will still beat your ass if I catch you....

Beautiful Indian Ocean.

Camels... obviously.  Did I need to really caption this one?

High Five anyone?

Kinda cool tribal looking dudes.

I think this was made out of plastic bags??? 

The sun setting over the beautiful Indian Ocean and Rottnest Island (not sure if it shows up in the picture..but is beautiful to see)

And the sun has set on another day and weekend here in sunny (and HOT) Australia.

30 day challenge take 2 / day 14

Day 14: Something you love about yourself.

Sigh.  It's so much easier to say things you don't like about yourself.  I hate my thighs, waste size, horrible vision, frequent nightmares and far too frequent insomnia (which by the way, tonight is night TWO of... GRRR.  How long does it take your body to adjust to a schedule that is not 12 hr night shift schedules???)   My ability to over worry and over analyze never fail to amaze even me.  And not in a good "aww" kinda way.  No, not like that.  At.  All.  OCD drives me nuts, but at the same time I can't say that I "hate" it... it's a love hate relationship, for sure.  And apparently, I'm not a fan of sticking to my 30 day challenge?  Both in frequency and sticking to the actual challenge when I actually DO blog?  ADHD much?  In the words of Peter Griffin "ohh!! shiny red ball!". 

See.  I can't stay on track when I blog.  Ah.  What do I care.. lol.

Ok......

Day 14: Something you love about yourself.

This sounds stupid, but after much thought (and for lack of being all girlie sappy today).... something I love about myself is my stubbornness.  Yes, you read that right.  I am stubborn as a mule.  Pretty sure my mom would agree that I always HAVE been.  And if she denies that, I'm pretty sure she is off of her medication again.  *just kidding, mom!*

Why is this something that I love about myself?  Because my stubbornness is what has helped me get where I am in a lot of ways.  For just a FEW examples (and since it's late, and I KNOW there are more, I apologize if I don't prove my point enough.  For those of you who know me, you don't need proof....haha!)

*when I wanted to go back to nursing school, my job didn't work with school schedules (even though I only asked to leave 30 minutes early 2 days a week).  Denied.  I went through the entire chain of command... as far as I could.  Was still told no, and was recommended that I give up on going to nursing school by my boss AND by the school's entrance counselor.  Well that wasn't an option, so I fought my way to a job that would allow me to go. 

*I was exhausted and tired and always behind on something when I was working full time and going to nursing school full time.  But the stubbornness in me REFUSED to give in to either.  So I carried on.  Just probably a little more tired and bitchy than normal.  (wait..me..bitchy??? nevah'!!!)  The stubborn side of me refused to admit when I was tired, when I needed help, and when I needed a *break*

*the day I was to fly to Australia, there were wind warnings, trucks that had the interstate SHUT down because of a wreck.. ice storms, cancelled flights..... a million gazillion things that should have stopped me from getting to Australia (much less out of Kentucky).  But nope.  Even drove the wrong way on the interstate in the emergency lane with traffic coming straight on to go around said interstate truck wreck.  My dad's words to me "you ain't letting NOTHING stop you are ya?"

My response???

"No dad.  No I'm not.  I'm stubborn."

"True..."

Closed book case, eh?

30 day challenge take 2 / day 12

Day 12: Your favorite female group.

Yup.  Dixie Chicks.  Hands down favorite female group for me.  A lot of people became anti chicks in 2003 right before the beginning of the war for making a comment while in London, England saying:

"Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war,

this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas". 

This caused all their music to be taken off the radio.  The girls received death threats.  So, apparently we have the freedom of speech, but can't always speak for fear of death threats.  Awesome.  I make a point to not get too into politics or religion on my blog.  The reason for that?  Because my opinion is my opinion.  I respect others opinions.  But in my experiences, I find other people aren't always open to respecting opinions of others that aren't the same as theirs.  Say 2 people are talking.  Bob likes steaks medium rare, and Jane likes them well done.  Bob can say, oh I like it like this because it has more flavor.  Jane can say she doesn't like them medium rare because she doesn't like the look or taste of it.  End of story.  It's not something that needs to be debated.  Respect the opinions and move on!  Doesnt' seem to be the case with politics and religion. Ok..off my mini soap box.

Where are they now?  Well, the sisters of the group have formed a new band, and it's my second favorite female group at the moment.  Courtyard Hounds.  My dear friend Brandy introduced me to this band last year.  I listened to a few clips of songs on itunes, and after just a few clips, I purchased the album and I love it.  I give it two thumbs WAY up and recommend you give it a listen.  It's a little bluegrassy, but really a great album, in my opinion.

Where is Natalie?  I have no clue.  Tried to google, but really didn't find much on what she's doing these days.

************

So, I haven't been very good at doing my 30 day challenge.  It's been quite a few days since I have blogged at all.  I'd love to say that I have a good excuse.  In fact, I have NO excuse whatsoever.  lol.  Lazy, not in the mood... yeah, those are a couple reasons.  I go through stages where I don't blog for a while, then blog 3 times in one day. 

Ok... off for now....



30 day challenge take 2 / day 11

Day 11: A letter to one of your exes.

Ummm.  Yikes.  I guess when I found the second 30 day challenge that I'm working on, I didn't fully read all of the challenges.  Had I, there is a chance based on *this* entry alone I would have NOT done this challenge.  Ok, so it's not a chance, but a guarantee  ......Sigh.  Guess it's called a challenge for a reason? 

The challenge doesn't say that it has to be an ex as in relationship.  I could blog on ex friendship, hypocrisy, immaturity, etc.  (well, guess I kinda just did, huh?).  But, I don't wanna go there... yet.  But feel that at this rate, it's coming.  It'll take one bad day, a touch of estrogen, a side of homesick, and a certain creeper to set me over the edge.  I'm just sayin'....

Anyways.  Back to the challenge. 

Here we go....

"Dearest MF'er.

Thank you for wasting 6 yrs of my life.  They were just the prime years in my 20's, and I totally will get those back.  Please note sarcasm....

Thank you for allowing me to lose the ability to give trust as it properly should.  I am sure that anyone that I have taken out my lack of trust out on truly appreciates this as well.  Nicely done.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to lose confidence in myself and allowing me to always doubt everything that I do or say or feel.  It's an awesome feeling to feel that you aren't worthy of things that you *actually* are.

Thank you for allowing me the chance to experience the feeling of another woman (or two) emailing me...that you contacted on a dating website.  It's always a great way to build trust in a relationship, to join and even PAY for dating websites while you are in a relationship, engaged, and even married. 

Thank you for teaching me that violence isn't always a "last resort" and actually does happen, and not just on lifetime movies. And for the added bonus of being jumpy to noises, people...a million times worse than I ever have been.  The bump/scar on the back of my head is an added bonus too.  Too bad my head into the wall didn't do permanent damage that you have to look at and be reminded of everyday.  That would make me happy.

Oh... please insert the above "thank you's" with "F you's".  Cause, that's what I really mean.  Felt that the sarcasm of "thank you's" was a little bit more appropriate than dropping the F bomb multiple times in one blog??

I'd like to close with one last thank you.  Thank you for introducing me to a band that would lead me to finding the love of my life and best friend.  And no need to change the thank you on this one.  I really mean that one.

Sincerely,

Me.

30 day challenge take 2 / day 10

Day 10: Your best friend.

I consider myself a lucky girl in that I am blessed to have a few people that I would consider my best friends.  To pick just one is nearly impossible.

Since she's heavy in my mind and heart right now, today's post I will talk about my girl, Heather.  Heather and I met through work and became friends quickly.  She and I went through our breakups (well, break up for her, divorce for me) at nearly the exact same time.  We debated moving in together, however me never living completely alone, I decided against it.  However, we decided to move into the same apartment complex, and were even able to get our apartments in the same building.  She's the person I've always been able to tell anything to, and know that she'd give me the truth, straight forward, and her unbiased opinion.  All without judging me.  And visa versa.  We joked a few times that we would be friends forever, because we knew too much blackmail on each other than we simply had no other choice. We went through good times, bad times, drunk times, silly times, hectic times...together.  We even joked at one point that we were gonna put each other down on our facebook page as "in a relationship and it's complicated with ________".  Of course, we never did.  lol. 

We both became in relationships at basically the same time as well.  So once again, we turned to each other for an ear to talk to, bitch to, etc.  (Wait.. me.. bitch?  Nevah!!! hahaha).  The morning that Wayne and I decided for me to come to Australia, we sat in my nearly empty apartment while I started loading the last bit of small stuff and laughed, and cried remembering and talking about all that we went through together in the last year.  Lots of laughs.  Lots of tears.  Some tears were laugh induced.  Ok, a lot of them.  But not all, that's for sure. There truly is a reason why god brings certain people into your life, and I'm blessed that she is in mine, and has been there for me over the past year and a half.

Why is Heather so heavy on my mind and heart?  I got an email from her yesterday telling me that she has cervical cancer.  She is only 24, has no children, literally just bought and moved into a new house LAST WEEK, and is now facing a hysterectomy in the next 2 weeks.  The doctors told her that it's early, stage 1 according to the biopsy.  However they feel that it is worse than what the original biopsy shows.  They've performed another biopsy, but it doesn't appear the outcome of the biopsy will change the hysterectomy verdict, and I predict that will just determine what other measures they need to take.  I ask anyone reading this to please keep my friend and her physicians and surgeons in your prayers.  I hope to be able to talk to her soon, but I can't imagine what she must be going through. 

30 day take 2 / day 9

So, based on the dates on the posts, this is my second post today.  Well, technically.  However, day 8 of the challenge was posted just a tad after midnight.  And in my world, it's not a new day until I go to sleep and wake up.  lol. 

So, 30 day challenge.

Day 9: Your definition of love.

Wow.  That's a big one to try to answer.  Well, without rambling and making sense to nobody else.  I think I'll respond to this challenge with a few quotes about Love?  If you like quotes, my favorite site is www.thinkexist.com.  It's free to join, which I recommend because if you don't, after a few pages it won't let you browse without signing in.  And don't worry, no spam or email.  I've been a registered user for a few years now.  Love it.  You can also easily save quotes for future reference by the click of a mouse.

(disclaimer: I take credit for none of these quotes)

“What is love? Love is when one person knows all of your secrets... your deepest, darkest, most dreadful secrets of which no one else in the world knows... and yet in the end, that one person does not think any less of you; even if the rest of the world does.”

“Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.”

 

“There are four questions of value in life... What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love.”

“Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.”

“You can't stop loving or wanting to love because when its right, it's the best thing in the world. When you're in a relationship and it's good, even if nothing else in your life is right, you feel like your whole world is complete.”

“Falling in love with someone isn't always going to be easy... Anger... tears... laughter.. It's when you want to be together despite it all. That's when you truly love another. I'm sure of it.”

“In the arithmetic of love, one plus one equals everything, and two minus one equals nothing”

 

“Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more.”

30 day take 2 / day 8

Day 8: Something you hate about yourself.

Once I had my own place after my divorce, I found the "obsessions" I had (other than my beloved, Keith of course) I could go forward with.  If I wanted everything to have it's place, then by god, I could.  If I wanted the house to always be neat and tidy and walk in from work ~ and typically a stressful night to a neat and tidy home that had everything put away, and everything in its place, then by god I COULD.  And I did.  I think most nurses, by pure nature, are tidy creatures.  By all means, we almost have to be.  Do you want your nurse to come to you with a crash cart (god forbid) that she has no clue where anything is?  I'm hoping the answer is no.  If not...be careful what you wish for.   

When I was alone, and my self diagnosed "OCD" became worse..who cared?  Now that I'm living with someone, I hate it... and I'm sure he does as well.  I hate feeling that everything needs to have a place and that the things that DO have a place, should be there.  I almost can't even sit through an hour reality TV show without thinking about the dishes that need to be put away, the clothes that need to be hung..and the lettuce in the fridge that needs to be cleaned.  I could go on and on (trust me, my mind is racing as I type this).  And perhaps it's because I'm currently NOT working and actually have the energy to think about these things and actually DO these things.  Perhaps I am, once again, my own worst enemy?  Siggghhhhh.  Who knows.

Ok.  There's the challenge.  Let's move on, shall we?

Today was a great day.  Spent the afternoon with Wayne.  We had lunch at my favorite Asian spot, went to the beach, went and did grocery shopping, came home...then hit the pool before coming in to watch our (ok... my) favorite reality show.  It doesn't take much to become my "favorite" reality show.  Why?  Because, I am NOT a fan of reality TV.  Apparently though...when you are in Australia (and only have about 10 channels to chose from) you quite quickly become a reality TV junkie.  However "My Kitchen Rules" is really a good show.  I think I will try some recipes at some point.   God knows I need some help in the kitchen department considering I've relied on pizzahut.com for the past 12'ish months.  Cooking for 2 people is nothing.   Cooking for one person is...well... honestly too much work, and I couldn't be bothered.  

Tonight was Nurse Jackie Night.  Woohoo.  And now, it's a little after midnight, and I've just discovered "Mercy" is on.  As much as I bitch about it, I think that I really love being a nurse.  And I've never been more excited to start working.  Once the license and Visa and paperwork are all through, of course.  I should be able to complete the applications SOON.  And, the sooner the better.  Even if Wayne were to tell me tomorrow that I wouldn't have to work..  I still would.  Until "roo's" (as Heather calls our future children..lol) are in the picture, I just can't see myself being the girl who doesn't work.  I've worked for the past 14 and a half years.  So while most people tell me how jealous they are they at the moment I'm not working, I actually have never felt more unproductive in my life.  I'm also looking forward to the chances that work will allow me to meet new people.  God knows that nurses and other nurses are great friends.. We love griping to each other about our days.  And to be honest, nobody understands another nurse...quite like another nurse.

Well, I guess I'm off to finish the night and this episode of Mercy.  Love to all..