Warning: Proud parent moment ahead

The Middle Child took part in the Kool Skools project a few months back, and we were chuffed to hear his band do their thing on a professionally recorded CD. These kids have talent.... and that's not just parental pride talking. Seems it was worth putting up with the frequent doompa-doompa emanating from his room, because he plays a pretty mean bass.

Last night Kool Skools held their 2009 awards presentation, and his band was one selected to perform. Because we're bad parents we didn't get much notice and had other things to do, we didn't go. The function is supposed to be broadcast on some obscure TV station anyway, so we figured we could record it and watch edited highlights.

Turns out we should have gone - his band won an award for best metal track. They even got a cool framed award thingy. Only one though. They're going to have to work out a shared custody arrangement between the four of them.....



He wouldn't let me take a photo of him with the award, because: "Mum! I'm in my stupid work clothes!", but I snuck one of him in his room anyway. There is a face hiding behind that hair somewhere.



This is totally crap quality video (I filmed it from up the back of the school gym, over the heads of a hundred or so Year Nine kids) and the sound is pretty ordinary, but I'm going to inflict it on you anyway, at least if you're game to click on the play button.

This, folks, is what an award-winning track sounds like:

Where have I been, did you ask?

Raechelle commented that she was wondering where I'd been....

Well, I've been busy doing this and buying this and renovating this....and this.... and obsessing over this.

:o)

I've also been doing a lot of work on retraining my wayward subconscious, with the help of a psychologist. And while that's been very successful, I haven't really felt much like blogging about it. It's all still a work in progress.

There are things I want to talk about, but I can't seem to get the words out in any way that makes sense just yet. So I'd rather write nothing than bang out a rubbish post, just for the sake of it. I'll get it all sorted eventually and I'll share, don't worry. Probably more than you wanted to know. LOL.

I am feeling reassured, having been informed that I'm (officially) not crazy. Yeah, that's always good to know.

More, please!

If one more person says to me "Ugh! This hot weather is AWFUL. I wish it would cool down" I might just smack them in the head.

We have just suffered through a LONG, cold, wet, windy and completely miserable winter, and I am thriving on the sunshine and high temperatures. 30 degrees is just about perfect in my world.

Yes, some rain would be nice, but I'm enjoying being able to go for a walk, take clients outdoors and not be spending squillions of dollars on gas for heating our giant-sized house.

Winter makes me cold, depressed and crabby. Sunshine and warmth lifts my spirits, and I don't have to wear twelve layers of clothing (and that's just to bed!).

So if you're thinking of complaining to me about the heat, just shut it, OK? You've been warned....

Still standing

I headed off to Flemington today for my annual Oaks pilgrimage with my bestest friend. We used all our fingers and calculated that we've been doing this for 16 years now. Apparently some old biddy was interviewed on the news the other day who'd been going to the Melbourne Cup for 50 years. We plan to try to top that record, even if we're tootling around in motorised wheelchairs.

I employed my newly developed laid-back attitude and pulled an outfit out of the wardrobe last night. Which happened to be a $700 Anthea Crawford silk dress and coordinated satin jacket from 2005... I figured that at that price, I need to wear it approximately 97 more times to get maximum value from it. A quick rummage amongst the stuff on the top of my wardrobe shelf and I had a hat and shoes to match. No handbag though, dammit. I remember now, I chucked my pink handbag shortly after we moved here.

This morning I made sandwiches and packed them with some bottled water, got dressed and made up and only had a minor hissy fit about my hair, which would not do what I wanted it to, and another about the black handbag that I was forced to carry, which matched nothing in my outfit. Then Jeeves (a.k.a. Bike Boy) drove us to the station and we were all set.

This photo isn't from today, but could have been; the wind was completely feral:



I lost the grand sum of $2.46 on the tote, which I consider a resounding success. We sat in the sun by the entrance and watched a parade of fashion disasters go by, which was highly entertaining. We drank champagne - Yellowglen at $32 a bottle is bloody highway robbery, but what are you gonna do? And we ate our sandwiches, drank a couple of hot drinks and kept ourselves nice.

For those who aren't quite sure where the lines are drawn in the fashion and behaviour stakes, there's some good advice here. My best tip: if your skirt is likely to be mistaken for a belt, it's too short. No seriously. I swear I saw a couple of headbands being worn as skirts too.

We left before the last race, and last year's debacle with the trains (see below) was thankfully not repeated, so Jeeves collected us from the station and had us home in time for dinner. Which he also cooked.



All up, it was a relaxing and fun day. I left my phone home (oops) but it turns out, I can live without it for a day. Who knew? And I don't have sunburnt boobs, blisters on my feet or vomit in my hair, so I'm calling it a success.