Sad...so very sad...

It's after midnight and I can't sleep, have tried to but had to get up, just couldn't get into deep sleep mode.

There's a lot on my mind weighing heavily...

Matilda phoned me from school at recess this morning to tell me that a Year 11 student had died last night, an apparent suicide. There was an emergency assembly called this morning and the school community was informed. The library was set up as a safe haven for students who needed support, any student who felt they needed to be there was encouraged to do so. Counsellors were at the school by 8am this morning and available to the students all day. I believe this will continue for the rest of the week. The young woman has a brother at the school, his friends had a counselling session to discuss ways to support him.

Such a tragedy, an utter waste of a young life, so much potential just gone. I believe the young woman had been sent home from school yesterday and was intending to discuss a number of important issues with her Mother. The discussion didn't eventuate, instead an argument ensued resulting in the young woman taking her own life. I'm not even sure that ending her life was what she intended to do, rather that she was distressed and needing attention & support. She had to get it some how, ANYHOW...

...so sad, so terribly sad...

My heart goes out to her Mother, her brother, her family.

Rest peacefully Sweetheart...

Madame...

My apologies for not being about much this week, for some unknown reason I couldn't log in to Blogger, am seriously thinking about switching to Word Press.

Please indulge me in a proud parent moment here...

Last Tuesday evening Matilda & I went to Parent/Teacher night at her school. I had never been before and decided that it would be the done thing to introduce myself and meet teachers I didn't know. Attending is optional, some teachers request an interview, particularly if the student is experiencing some difficulty at school. Matilda's school principal, (who also happens to be her best friend Maddy's Dad), impressed on me that it was just as important for parents of students who do well to attend as
those who aren't doing so well. Matilda brings home terribly "boring" school reports, always straight A's for Achievement, Conduct and Effort. We are very proud of her indeed, she will be able to travel any path her heart desires in life with the kind of results she is getting.

It was good to meet her Science & Maths teachers, especially as she is looking at Medicine as her University/Career choice. Her teachers both said she should easily be able to cope with the Maths, Chemistry and Biology required at Year 11 & 12 levels. She is also going to undertake Music Extension and (compulsory) English and keep French as her "fun" subject...yes, this makes 6 subjects, five are compulsory, any more than five is optional. This bodes well for University entrance as a new scheme has just come into play whereby if a student bundles Maths B or C, Music Extension and a Language they will a) increase their OP Score by 4 places and b) gain a dedicated place in the course of their choice at the University of their choice.

Never, ever let it be said that Matilda doesn't know what she wants...from birth she has been a very determined cookie and known exactly what she wants and makes plans to achieve this. At times it has been difficult to parent her because of this, especially when our ideas clashed. A woman I worked with, who had adult children, told me that there would be a really positive side to this determination and that I would see it in her teen years...so very true, I now see what she meant.

But I digress...

Our last interview of the evening was with her French teacher, one of the most delightful women I know. Madame is a passionate teacher and so very dedicated to her job & her students. She takes the girls to various French films, exhibitions and cafes on weekends and after school. She organises celebrations for various French Days, there is a (belated) Bastille Day dinner coming up shortly and each week in her own time she conducts French speaking classes for students to practice their conversational French. Each year she takes the students on a trip to either New Caledonia or Paris...alternating each year so in Year 9 & 10 the students go to New Caledonia and in Year 11 & 12 they go to Paris. Madame is always bringing in little French treats for the students...pastries she has made, chocolates & other special treats. Matilda and her friends just adore her and she them.

When I saw her last week at Parent/Teacher night I thanked her for the effort she put in recently when taking Matilda & her friends into South Bank, Brisbane after school so they could work on the film they were making to send to their sister school in Paris. They had to present an aspect of Brisbane that they loved. Madame arranged tickets for them on the Brisbane Eye, filmed them and took them to a cafe for hot chocolate and pastries afterwards...again, in her own time, (and with her own funds). She told me last Tuesday how much she adores having students like Matilda & her friends in her class. She says that in her later days, when in her nursing home, that she will look back and remember the girls with great fondness. What a special thing to hear.

Every school needs a Madame (Amy from R.M.F.L., if you are reading this I put you in the same class...okay), every student should have a teacher like Madame at least once in their lives, a teacher who is passionate about their job and her students. Fortunately Matilda will have Madame to teach her for the rest of her days at secondary school...she is very blessed indeed.

Because It's Too Good Not To Share...

I saw this on Kel's blog and thought it too good not to share so did so (with her blessing of course). It will bring a smile to your face and make you want to get up and dance,

Just Stuff...

Last weekend was busier than usual for me. On Saturday Matilda & I headed up the highway at 7am bound for Eumundi & the famed Eumundi Market, some 120km away. We left home sans breakfast, in anticipation of the foodie delights that the market has to offer but stopped briefly for a hot chocolate on the way.

Seems that on such a gorgeous Winter morning that every man/woman and their dog was at the market...After arrival at around 8.30am we headed straight for the very popular Tibetan Momo stall. Two gorgeous young Tibetan men sell around 700-800 serves (my guesstimate) of vegetarian Momos each Saturday. Momos are delightful Tibetan dumplings, either meat based or vegetarian, that can be steamed or deep fried. I discovered this recipe & photograph at Helen Yuet Ling Pang's blog, World Foodie Guide, a wonderful blog for lovers of all things food. It's well worth a look and has inspiring recipes...I lingered there for quite some time. The men at Eumundi have perfected their recipe...the dumplings were delightfully hot, a little spicy and filled with cooked to perfection vegetables, served with soy &/or sweet chilli sauce.

We wandered the market, lots of the stalls don't grab my interest...I particularly enjoy the stalls that display/sell original arts/crafts/artisan made furniture. There are some vastly talented people out there. We broke up our wanderings with little food stops along the way and came home with Olive & Fetta Bread, containers of mixed olives and a delightful salt scrub for ridding me of my Winter dry skin.

The Paella Fella was hugely popular...

Arrived home to discover that John was preparing a delightful Asian style steamed fish dinner using a number of ingredients from our garden for the paste...lemongrass, ginger, garlic, turmeric & coriander on a bed of julienned vegetables and a little soy sauce...he wrapped it in a turmeric leaf and foil and baked it in the oven for 10-15 minutes. It was so good...even better that I didn't have to cook it myself.

Sunday was a gloriously sunny mid-Winter day, the kind of days that Queensland is famed for. It was 24C (75F)...a perfect day for 3/4 pants and a t-shirt, so lovely to wear a t-shirt again. The boys headed off to the football, (Myles games are just about always on Sundays) and Matilda & I headed off to the TSEXPO - Tertiary Studies Expo.

Matilda is heading into year 11 next year - only two more years of secondary school left for her (eek, how on earth did that happen..??!!). She is very keen to study medicine at University so off we went in search of information for her to consider and plan for. Perhaps it's a little early, but I thought it was a good idea for her to speak to various Uni's so she knows what she is in for. Academically, she is very clever, her mid-year school report contained nothing but A's and positive comments about how she is a delight to teach.

While at TSEXPO I spoke to the Midwives at The University of Queensland (UQ) about potentially returning to study and completing a Bachelor of Midwifery. This would be my dream job, you know, the one job that everyone desires that you would do if you could. I'm quietly excited about applying. I am going to apply and see what happens. I spoke to a beautiful woman, (who studied Midwifery in her mid-late 30's) who said that women & men in their 30's & 40's are considered favourably for the course due to their life experiences. I just have to work out how I could study and work for a few days per week. The course has only 3 contact days per week, one day set aside for self directed study and another for lectures, which are not compulsory and available online as both transcripts and streamed. Am thinking I could work some night shifts in a hospital/nursing home.

What an amazing privilege it would be, to be able to be there and assist a new little person coming into the world, to be there for the parents & families. My feeling is that a birth centre environment would be great for me to work in. I had such a positive experience at the Royal Women's Hospital Family Birth Centre when pregnant with Matilda, even though she ended up being an induced birth (two weeks post dates) with an emergency caesarean after 25 hours+ labour, the antenatal and post natal care I received was amazing.

Wish me luck...even if I defer for a year I will be able to get it together next year to begin studying the year after. John is very supportive which helps enormously and feels I should go for it, that if it is what I really WANT to do then I should do it.

Did you know that the average age of Midwives in Australia is 47 years old..?? If I start study next year I will be able to graduate before I will be 48 when I finish.

What else have we been up to...lets see...

School has resumed after a two week break. I really enjoyed the kids company these holidays. They were really in need of wind down time, just time to sleep in, read, watch a few DVD's, have a PJ day and just generally slow doen a bit. We didn't go out a lot...they had friends over to stay and went & stayed with their friends in return. On the last day of holidays I took them to Yum Cha (Dim Sum)...Myles had never been before. We did a little online research and found Landmark, reasonable close to home and apparently very good, a great range of choices and good prices.
We arrived around 11.30am and the place was packed...I estimate it seated around 300 guests and it was chock a block full. We took a ticket & waited our turn...some 20 minutes later we were seated. The best thing about Yum Cha is that the food starts to appear immediately, no ordering & waiting. Myles had a great time, found a lot he enjoyed to eat (as well as some things he didn't but he tried them which was more than he used to do). Both Matilda & Myles were very taken with the dessert trolley...I even let them go back for seconds of dessert...!!!

This weekend my sister, Sally and BIL, Chris will be in town on holiday...they are huge Yum Cha afficionados so we think we will take them to Landmark for lunch on Sunday.

I see a bit of a dumpling theme to this post...

That's about it for me...have spent enough time sitting here catching up on my reading this morning.

Play Me, I'm Yours...

I was sent a link to Play Me, I'm Yours... today in an email and was immediately entranced by the idea.

Luke Jerram is taking music to the streets and communities in the form of pianos, left for anyone who just happens along to play. He locates them at various sites...in shopping malls, skate parks, railway stations and laundrettes and they become the "property" of the community they are located in for the duration of their stay.

Here's a few videos of the pianos in various locations...I love the "I'm A Believer" video, which was shot in Carnaby Street, London...members of the public have been handed lyric sheets and invited to join in...



...and an older gent strutting his stuff...



The pianos friendly & non-intimidating presence seems to encourage people to drop everything and play, to make music for themselves and others, to not be self conscious about performing in public.

It made me smile this morning...

It's A Very Rocky Road Indeed...

Have just busted Myles trying to pull a swift one again...it's been happening quite a bit of late, to varying degrees, sometimes with potentially serious consequences.

This time it's kind of funny though.

He has Home Economics at school tomorrow...during term time they have cooked a number of great recipes so this being end of term they are preparing a treat.

This is the recipe that he brought home for Rocky Road...

200g Raspberry Lollies
200g Peanuts
200g Marshmallows
200g Snakes/Jelly Lollies
460g Milk Cooking Chocolate

This morning I asked him to write out me a list of the things he needed so I could go to the supermarket and pick them up today. He often forgets and remembers once dinner is over etc. on Thursday night and someone (usually John) has to go out into the cold to get what he needs.

Last thing you want to do once you have settled in by the fire for the evening.

He disappeared into his bedroom and this is the list he came up with...somewhat modified...

800g Raspberry Lollies
800g Marshmallows
800g Snakes/Jelly Lollies
500g Milk Cooking Chocolate

*Peanuts omitted as he is highly sensitive to all nuts but he cleverly decided to replace them with Rice Bubbles instead.

It didn't "add up" at all to me...why would you quadruple the lolly part of the ingredients and only add 40g of extra chocolate, the ingredient that is meant to be melted so as to bind it all together. Using Myles rationale the chocolate should have been increased to 1840g, almost 2kg...!!! My estimation of the cost of Myles' list was around $32.00.

After checking with his friend Bryce's Mum on the phone, it seemed that the boys were planning a junk-food-fest..!!! Bryce hadn't been quite so eager and avaricious...he had only doubled the ingredients and his Mum had no idea.

This was a much more clever attempt at pulling a fast one...but still didn't work, I'm still a step or two ahead...!!!

What Every Baby Needs...

This just blows me away...the Korean/English translation is hysterical though...


Bomo, The World First Indoor Robot Baby Carriage.




The smart Bomo which tends the baby at the vicinity of the mother gives pleasure and omfort to the baby, and gives the tired young mother and father a moment of leisurely time to enjoy a cup of coffee.

Function of Cradle

When the curiosity filled baby amusing itself facing the mother eye-to-eyes, it acts as a spacious chair, but when the baby fell in sweet sleep, it becomes a peaceful and comfortable cradle.

Function of automatically Swing

The function of the world first, gently rocking to-and-fro motion (not the ordinary swing motion but a horizontally sliding motion) when the baby woke up, makes the baby pleasantly amusing. The distance of the movement can be adjusted.

Function of automatically maneuvering

When it is switched on to the automatic mode, within the vicinity of the mother, it changes automatically, from the comfortable baby cradle to a robot car, and maneuvers by itself through the room, dodging the furnitures and walls, thus giving the young baby the fun of riding a car, and gives the mother doubled. leisurely time and pleasure.

Function of manual maneuvering

The young baby can ride it on the Automatically maneuvering mode, and for the more active older brothers or sisters, it has the function of manual maneuvering mode, which uses the accelerator pedal, and steering wheel like a real car. And even in case when the car is going to bump into an obstacle due to the clumsy driving, it automatically stops and backs up. Thus, it never bumps into the obstacles, both in automatic mode and manual mode.

Function of charging the power

It has a long battery life of, 3 days (2 hours/day) with 3 hours charging.

Function of Cover sheet

It is easy to cover or take off, and cleans well in plain water. And more than all, it is composed with the Nano Silver technology which protects the baby?s skin with the function of anti-biotic and anti-odor, by 99.9%

From now on, all the mothers in the world will call this Bomo the Indoor Robot Baby Carriage, which will with them for over a decade.