It just is.......

We have spent a week down south for Xmas... and boy, was it hot! Thank God MOTH (Man of the House) had the bright idea of going down early for a few days and doing a few jobs to make life more comfortable for when we stayed on our property. This included installing an air conditioner in the front room of his mothers house which turned out to be a life saver. The caravan we ordered to stay in while down there (because the old homestead house - a first settler house - is what I call 'rustic.') was a joke on us.


The first hint, and I should have realised this, was ordering one from a place called Macca's Caravan Hire. Aussies have this quirky (read: annoying!) way of shortening names. David become Davo, Sharon becomes Shaz or Shazza and then you have Macca, Dacca, Bazza and well, you get the point. Anyway, the caravan was a mess lol. An 18 footer, I thought it looked okay from the outside. It was parked under one of the huge overhanging trees creating lots of shade which we would need. Get inside, and it was OLD OLD OLD. Mission brown anyone? And the bed? The bed did not lay straight. We tried hoiking it up with mattresses and then either MOTH or I would roll towards the middle of the very small double bed (try sleeping next to a 6 foot plus man who is all arms and legs in a double bed.. sheesh.) Move the mattresses again: and then we were banging into the stupid little sharp cornered side tables installed either side as we almost rolled off the edge and onto the narrow floor. I still have a bruise on my temple. Finally after a few rotten nights sleep, MOTH had an idea. He used two car jacks to get it even on either side and we then had the best nights sleep since we got there, lol. You live and learn.


We are currently experiencing a heat wave - temps sitting around the high 30's and around 40  (which is around the 100+ mark where most of you guys come from.) Today is a doozy! I'm sure we hit 40 around 11am.  Blech.


That said: I am in my 2nd summer since having my band put in and what a difference it makes. Apart from the fact I'm wearing lots of little dresses, short pants and spaghetti strap type tops, it just still feels a bit surreal to me. No more sweating buckets in the heat like years gone past. Yeah, I FEEL the heat - but my body temperature is so much more even now. I'm not as uncomfortable as I used to be. Also, a thought struck me the other day... how natural it feels now to have my band in. We are working together just fine. Some days, its a little prickly - especially when it decides it wants to be contrary and make me struggle just to eat - and other days we get along just fine. But the big thing is - I don't really even have to think much anymore about what and how to eat. It's becoming so much more natural. Hunger is just normal... I think. I don't feel like eating all the time (that could be the heat though, you think?)and  I find I gravitate towards a small plate of food without much forthought. I am still maintaining my weight and I don't find it too hard at all. It just IS! I don't remember what it feels like anymore to eat any other way. And that to me is great. It took a long time to get here, but I can't imagine ever going back to the way I used to be.


How was everyones Christmas and New Year? Xmas was just so-so for us. Nothing terribly exciting (except if you count batting the flies away as you wander around the paddocks.) New Year was nicer. We had friends over, where we tried out our new BBQ. A really huge, fancy one which cooks like a treat. Fun stuff. We had lots to drink (well, the men did!) and then around 11.30pm, us girls and a few of the kids drove down to the foreshore where there were fireworks. They were spectacular. We then went home - finally did some drinking (cos I wasn't going to drive by then) and hit the sack around 3am. Was all good fun. I'm still trying to catch up on sleep.


What else is new? Ahh yes, we are renovating the kitchen. It's a big, big job. I think its 80% preparation and 20 percent installation. We are still in the planning stages, but the measuring tape is out, colours have been chosen and we are underway. I will post befores and afters later (much later lol) when we are done. The kids bathroom and our bathroom are next. Can't wait until it's all finished!


Thats it from me. My new years resolution will be to post more. I'm aware I am constantly AWOL but I miss you guys and reading about what you're up to. I will try and plant my bum, do more reading and also keep you guys up to date on whats happening my end. Just hope my brain doesn't fry before I get the chance. Outside is like a Turkish bath.........


Till next time
Cara xxx