Winding Down

Well that 7 weeks just flew by....school starts back for me next Wednesday. I am off on a team building retreat on the coast later next week. Its a nice way to ease back on into the school year.

Barney (my brother) has left us for a few weeks...he's traveling north to visit with friends and explore a little more of the sunshine state. We are missing him at the moment. It's been so nice catching up with him and we are looking forward to him coming back.

Crockett has managed to pick up a 16 week contract with a branch of the ICC, hopefully it will turn into something....if not...well the agency he has been with have told him that they will take him back on any time.

Boo is set to start school again...she is so excited to be getting back into it. She'll be in year 6 this year (holy moley!) and in the senior stage of our little school. She is well and truly in the cruel grasp of her hormones at the moment...and her life is all sunny and happy one moment and tears and hurt feelings the next. UGh!

Lolly is all wrapped up in her own little world right now. She has a boyfriend! It's so sweet watching her navigate her way through this new stage of her life. She has some very firm ideas of what is and isn't proper behavior...you go girl!

Well thats all for now, we are just floating along here at the zoo and hoping for the best.

Road Tripping with Barney, Crockett and Boo

These past few weeks my brother has been staying with us. He is on the start of a round Australia bike trip. We have been having a blast reconnecting and finding the closeness that we shared as kids.

Now...as you know I find it hard to get out of the house. I'd much rather be left alone in my safe little cage here in the zoo. But since Barney (my brother..not his real name) has been here we have taken a few road trips! Somehow every time we've taken a day trip Lolly has been at Sweetie's house. (Sweetie is her boyfriend...also not his real name)

We took a very wet drive to Mt Tambourine a few days after Christmas. I hadn't been up there in years....it's gorgeous!! Even with the leeches!!

Then yesterday we went to Queen Mary Falls....the views are stunning.

It always amazes me that so many people flock to the coasts when there is so much to see in our little corner of Queensland.

Taking a Trip

Last night in a fit of insomnia I went on a bit of a trip back through the archives of this blog.....wow I can't believe how big my kids have gotten. Some of the video footage brought tears to my eyes. These two girlies of ours are in the throes of puberty (yes even the little one) and some days I look at them and wonder just when the aliens came and abucted the real ones.

Other times though, we get to see the gorgeous young women that they are fast becoming....and oh I am loving it!

Well It Has Happened..

I've lost my voice!

Feeling Blah...

Ugh...I feel like I am coming down with the flu! My throat is scratchy, my chest hurts and my ears feel stuffed full of cotton wool.

We've spent most of the day bumming around home and taking it easy. Hopefully a long soak in a warm bath will make me feel a little better.

New Year..New Attitude

Yes it has been over a year since I last posted...and what a year that was. It saw a lot of changes for the Zoo family here. There are a lot of things I am just wanting to put behind us...and still some changes we want to make. Hopefully 2010 will see us turning a corner here.

The Zoo family spent the first few days of this year at one of our favourite places to camp. I got to spend a lot of time taking photos, reading, messing with a little art and doing a lot of thinking about what my "word" for this year would be.

For the last few years I have take Ali Edwards lead and chosen a word to be my mantra for the year. After much contemplating I have chosen the word ACCEPTANCE.

I suffer depression....and sometimes it spirals and is ugly. For 2010, I am going to face this head on and move right through everything. Given the pain and turmoil I experience at time, I need to accept that I am not the person I used to be. I need to accept that somethings are beyond my control. I need to accept that people don't know how I am feeling unless I tell them. I need to accept that I am doing the best I can with my children and my marriage. I need to accept compliments graciously. I need to accept me for who I am at this point in my life.

I know that acceptance does not necessarily mean instant happiness. But I will do my best to move forward positively and with hope.

Dragonfly Beauty