The Photos I Promised to Post....

Here are the pics of me after I had my wisdom teeth out. I look like such a dero in the first few ;)






1 day after surgery.















































Me and Rianna.











4 days after surgery. Rachel reckoned I looked like I'd been in a fight!

Want a New Blog to Read?

Have you got a list of blogs you regularly peruse but you're looking for fresh blood?

Then look no further.....

My lovely charming boyfriend has a blog. He caught the blogging bug courtesy of yours truly. Check it out! http://rockmelons.blogspot.com

Give the new kid in the blogosphere a go! You won't be sorry you did :)

Wisdom Teeth Update

It's now been nearly four days since I had my wisdom teeth removed. Before that, people were warning me that things usually get worse before they get better......they were right!

Up until yesterday, I was relieved that I hadn't had as much swelling as I'd expected but yesterday afternoon that started to change. The right side of my face was much more swollen than the left and I think it's because there are more stitches in that side and they're sticking into the inside of my cheek. My skin feels very tight and stretched and last night my whole face started burning up. It was better with the icepacks on but now it seems the swelling on the left side has started to go down but the right cheek still looks huge. Last night I also started to feel quite sick but not enough to vomit which was good because I doubt throwing up with a mouth full of stitches would be much fun.

Today I feel a bit better but quite weak because all I've been eating is sloppy stuff. I can't wait to gnaw on a piece of steak! My friend Rachel is coming to visit tonight and I'm expecting her to laugh when she sees me. Why wouldn't she...I look like I have a gobstopper stuffed inside my right cheek.

Mystery Revealed

Well, I know you've all just been hanging out for me to announce the (not so pleasant) reason I'm in Albany at the moment.

Well.....on Friday......in Albany Hospital.....I had all four of wisdom teeth removed...AAAAGH!

For one that doesn't like pain....that's a big deal. I checked in at 7am and was placed in the Day Procedures Unit with the other poor souls who were there for the same reason as I was. I was last on the list and was due to go in at 12.15 but then they changed the list around and I was still last but several more people were placed in front of me in the queue. Grrrr. Since I had to fast from the night before, I WAS STARVING!! So I waited...and read...and waited...and dozed....and waited....and watched the others come back with icepacks around their faces, looking pretty out of it. I just wanted to get it over with and finally....at about 3.30pm....it was my turn.

I was a bit nervous and while I can handle needles ok, I wasn't looking forward to being on a drip. Fortunately they put it in my arm and not my hand which would have hurt more I reckon.
After it was over, I began the recovery process which was difficult as the lower half of my face was pretty much numb and I couldn't feel myself drinking. Eventually, at 8.15, I was allowed to go home.

The recovery process isn't going too badly and I'm grateful to God that everything went ok and I haven't got any infections or anything so far. At times, I've found myself getting very irritable and I'm not sure why but I haven't exactly been the most good tempered person to be around at home. I feel bad about that. I look a bit like a Cabbage Patch doll so I'm keeping inside out of sight. My diet mainly consists of soup, yogurt, porridge, jelly and Yogo and I've watched plenty of videos. I also have to remember to take all of my pills, rinse my mouth and keep the icepacks on my face. Yesterday, my good friend, Rianna who lives down here, came to visit and brought me a lovely bunch of flowers. Nice!

So far, I've got all the feeling back in my face, except for parts of my tongue. Apparently that can indicate a nerve was bruised and it should heal soon.

Photos will follow shortly.

Off to Albany

Tomorrow, I'm off to Albany again for eight days (I come back on Friday 23rd).

If you don't already know why I'm going down there, have a guess....

I'm going to try and post photos on the weekend.

Hint: it's not exactly pleasant.

I'm a Weirdo

I pinched this off Rodney Olsen from The Journey blog. Basically it involves listing six weird things about myself.

1. I can't ride a bike and because of this, I don't own one. I tried to learn when I was a kid but sucked so much at it that I gave up (I have a bad sense of balance and tend to stumble even on flat ground). And no, I DON'T WANT TO LEARN.

2. I'm an incredibly fussy eater.

3. Hot weather (ie. 40 degrees) often makes me feel sick so I tend to stay in air conditioned comfort when it happens.

4. I'm always singing or making up weird little songs.

5. I hate phoning people I don't know well.

6. I watch Home and Away every night (don't laugh - it's a quality Australian soap :P)

If you've got a blog, I tag you or you can leave a comment with your answers.

Summer in the City

How hot has it been lately? Praise God for the cooler weather this weekend.

When I heard it was going to be 29 on both Saturday and Sunday, I jumped for joy. Oh how I despise stinking hot weather. 29 is good cos it's still warm enough to go to the beach.

You see, growing up in Albany, I've always been a fan of cold weather. I love the middle of winter - getting to wear snuggly jumpers, reading by the fire or heater, listening to storms while being thankful that I'm safe inside, watching spectacular lightning through the window, hot food and drinks, scarves, AFL season...yep winter is good!

Since I'm also a beach lover, I love spring and the very beginning of summer as well, when it's just hot enough to go the beach. 30 degrees is fine but no hotter. I hate Perth summers with a passion - scorching my feet on the hot sand or concrete, sweating, being stuck inside with my air conditioner because it's too hot to go outside and enjoy the day, making sure I drink enough so I don't get dehydrated (don't laugh Dunc! ;P). Thank goodness I have air con in my house and car. I really don't understand those people who love 40 degrees weather or who insist it has to be stinking hot before they go swimming. In Albany, there are great beaches but not so much summery weather so we take advantage of every chance we get to swim. It's not unusual to visit Middleton Beach in the winter months and see the Granny Gromits in the water (older ladies' surfing group).

I am never EVER living anywhere stinking hot, like up north :P

How about you? Are you a summer, winter or in-between person? Have you been lapping up this recent heat wave or loathing it?

6 Year Driving Anniversary

I'm one of those weird people that remember particular dates. Because of this, I loved History in Year 11 and 12 and found it easy. What's so special about the 6th February, you ask? Well, six years ago, on the 6th February 2001, I got my driver's license. Yep, I've been on the road for six years.

It may not seem like a big deal to most people but in Albany it is. When I was in Year 12, it didn't matter how well you were doing academically - what mattered was whether you got your license and, more importantly, whether you got your manual license on the first go. I could have got my license when I turned 17 in May 2000 but I was way too busy with Year 12.

After the dreaded exams were over, I took a gazillion driving lessons because (a) I was crap and nervous and (b) my parents refused to take me for lessons because they thought we'd just end up fighting - and we did the one time Dad did take me. I was driving on the track around one of the local footy ovals, doing 30km/hr and thinking I was hooning ;)

My driving instructor was great. He always brought peppermints to eat during the lessons and was so patient with me. I remember stalling on York St (Albany's main street) and the guy I liked at the time happened to be watching. I was mortified, hopped out of the car and insisted I get into the passenger seat.

In January 2001, I went for my manual license for the first time but the licensing dude was scary!! He was huge and barely fitted in the car (a Hyundai Excel) and he looked like a cross between Kim Beazley and John Howard (the actor on All Saints, not the Prime Minister). I was so nervous I ended up going through a stop sign on my own street! That was an automatic fail.

Two weeks later I was back and failed again, mainly for being too cautious. Peter (my driving instructor) told me later the licensing dude shouldn't have failed me. I was too upset and I didn't want to go back for a third attempt. I decided I would settle for an automatic license which I knew I could get easily. Peter talked me into going for the test one more time.

It was on the 6th February 2001 that I finally got my license. I made very few errors and there was one funny incident during my test when I had to reverse up a very steep driveway. The licensing dude had noticed a group of gangster-looking people making their way towards us and was evidently nervous. I was too focused on the driveway to notice but he said to me 'Let's go somewhere else. I don't like the look of those people.' So he ended up picking another driveway on another street which was so easy. When we got back to the licensing centre and he told me I passed, it was the best feeling I had ever felt in my life to date. I had finally did it! Unfortunately, I got my license the day after the new rule was brought in which made P platers have their P plates for two years instead of one. My friend Josh thought that was hilarious as he'd gotten his the day before.

A week later I moved to Perth but it wasn't until October 2002 that I could afford to buy my own car. My first car was an Albany beast - a white 1995 Daewoo 1.5 called Bertie. People sure avoided me on the freeways for a while - a P plater from the country! Bertie eventually failed me. Everything that could go wrong with him did so on the 21st April 2005 ,when I'd started working where I am now, I bought another car; a silver 2004 Hyundai Accent whom I called Roberta (naming cars must be a chick thing!). Roberta was a former hire car so she was only eight months old. It was nice as a single female to not have to worry that my car was going to break down all the time.

I was soon to learn that God gives and takes away. On 21st October 2005, exactly six months after I got Roberta, my friend Kate and I were involved in a car accident. It wasn't my fault as some idiot went through a red light and smashed into us then drove off. The car hit just inches behind the driver's seat so I was fortunate to not be seriously injured. I was left with whiplash and shock and Kate wasn't hurt. Roberta wasn't so lucky and when I saw the extent of the damage, I decided I never wanted her back again as she'd just never be the same. But off she went to the smash repairs and I went without a car for a while. We didn't get the whole number plate of the other car so the other driver was never caught. I had to pay $650 in excess which was cut back a bit because some very generous Christian friends helped me out. I was so blessed to have friends like them. I started driving again as soon as got Roberta back but it really took me a long time to get over the accident and I lost a lot of trust in other drivers to do the right thing.

So that's it. 6 years of driving adventures. I have very strong views on things like speeding and drink driving which have been even more strong since the accident and I'll discuss these in later posts. I'm always try to remember to pray for a safe journey when I drive and I'm praying for many more safe driving trips.

Get on your Soapbox #3

I've had a most frustrating week at work and it all culminated two days ago (Thursday) when I really was about to lose it over a certain person's lack of organisational skills. So this is my rant for the week.

Because this person was so disorganised, I had to redo hours of work due to the fact they had sent me the wrong timetable for some classes I was helping to organise. I was stressed out and irritable because I already had heaps of other work to do. Thankfully God was in control and everything has finally been sorted out.

Personally I'm sick of the way so many people are so disorganised. They live in a jumbled mess, never keep (resaonable) deadlines and constantly just waste time while other people pick up after them. Then they think it's funny or make some excuse about how that's just them and they've always been that way.

Disorganised people - get real, get organised and realise how your actions affect others.

Rant over.