BigBlog

The past week has been pretty busy, I'm happy to sit down and chill out a bit today, kids allowing. I've been offered a job at one of the local pubs, i really want to take it cause I've always wanted to work there, its just finding a babysitter to watch the boys at night isn't so easy. I've managed to get them into day care already which is good, I thought that would be the hardest part
The chef however is going to talk to the owners and see what they can come up with, find out if anyone who works there knows of someone. I hope it works out, but i'm really hesitant about going back to full time work. Its been about three years since I've worked full time, that was before kids. I have heard of a cafe that was looking for staff however, they are only open during the day and closed on Saturdays, so Im going to ring them today and see if there are still any positions available, because those hours would suit me a lot better.
Well better be off and get these kiddies doing something, the sun is out at the moment so we might go for a walk. Catchya's

Thanks for the comments on my last post. Just a few questions though. Ponder-osa if the government are trying to get trucks off the road, how the hell are goods going to be transported around the country?? Supermarkets will eventually shut down and city folk will have to drive out to farmers markets to do their WEEKLY shopping. Just like us outer towners there will be no more stopping in at the corner store to stock up on milk. Also in majority of accidents involving a truck and regular car the car is at fault. Truckies know how to drive, they go through a lot more training then car drivers.
David, love the comment, but aren't all politicians in government thanks to the endless amount of people backing them up. I wouldn't say Ruddy's the only prime minister who has no idea what he's doing.
Thanks for the support Sheik, you seem one of the few who understand the big picture problem.
Doug, now where do I start?? The only way livestock carriers get out of a fine is when they threaten to call the RSPCA. A few carters I know have taken a fine and sat up for the night, lucky enough no greenies have noticed, so obviously the law doesn't care. I have to say I am all for the railways, trucks are a major contributer to pollution, they conjest the roads and it is a dangerous industry to be in. I'm sure those that are driving would be able to find work somewhere else, they are workers, not bums. Obviously trucks will still be needed, however a lot will be taken off the major highways. Finally, trucks run on diesel which is bieng manufactured (is that the right word? Excuse me if it isn't) here in our own country and sold to oversea's buyers, while we're sitting here paying the big bucks for imported stuff. Just like our prawn industry. Now have you ever heard of a more stupider thing??
Last but not least slow down and let them pass you, thats what they're indicating and if not at least you've tried.
Jo-Anne, Nick couldn't strike either, he's paid on an hourly rate no holidays or anything like that, also the work he does isn't going to affect anyone but his own boss who has 10,000 sheep to cart from his northern properties to his southern properties before christmas, and only 3 trucks to do it. Also this boss has more money than you or me could ever dream of so the diesel bill doesn't overly bother him.
Mandy, yes we would be very lost!!

Well thats it for me!!

The topic of the house here at the moment is the truck driver strike, coming up soon. Its a 2 week strike and the aim is to reduce diesel prices and get rid of the ridiculous log book fines, due to come into action in September. Now one big factor of Nick changing jobs was these new laws. His new employer only asks Nik to cart his own stock in between his own proprties, so there are no deadlines, no sale yards to make in a certain time before closing. He now has the freedom to stop and sleep, rest, eat, pull his dick if he wants. He just isnt pushed anymore. However he knows what its like (as do I having been in the truck with him) out on the road with deadlines to meet. Its no different to a high rise office building job, where a client needs a quote, fax or whatever else goes on in an office, at a certain time.Except if Nick was heading to a sale yard with a trailer full of live sheep or cattle and missed his 15min break because the yard would've been closed by the time he got there if he'd stopped, the stock would have to spend an extra 12-24hrs in the trailer of the truck.
Now what I am getting at is the new laws coming in September mean a $1000 fine for missing that 15min break. Just one of the ridiculous fines coming in to effect.A friend of ours was pulled over 2 days ago, the coppa looked at his log book, $10,000 worth of fines on 1 page when the new laws come into effect!!!!!! Why in the world do the fines have to be so high??? The government has already almost killed the transport industry with high fuel prices, these fines are just (excuse my language) fucking stupid!!! Unless the government are willing to spend a shit load of money on the railways there is no other way for goods to be transported from one spot to another. Imagine if the general delivery truck services went out of business cause they couldn't get drivers willing to be imprisoned because they couldn't pay their monthly log book fines, simply because they got their times confused or they spelt Melbourne wrong (YES INCORRECT SPELLING RESULTS IN A FINE. I CAN SPEND UP TO 2 HOURS A DAY ON THE PHONE TELLING NICK THE CORRECT SPELLING FOR DIFFERENT TOWNS HE GOES THROUGH) how petty do you really need to be??? Now! for those who believe truckies are dirty drug fucked losers. I used to be one of you. and yes just like all professions there are some who are on drugs. I'm a chef and you would never ever eat out again if you knew what the cooks were taking before they cooked your feed! Alot of them do dress the part of a bum while driving, but what do you wear when your travelling? I know I wear trackies or loose fitting jeans or shorts. Most drivers have temp control in their truck so they can wear just a singlet and be comfortable!
When this strike comes into effect all the city slickers who cant go to their neighbour and ask to buy a killer from to get them through the week are the ones who are going to notice this shock the most. These city slickers include the polly's who have brought this on!! Imagine your local supermarket not getting fresh fruit n veg in for 2 weeks!!!!! And even by the time the truckies start work again its gonna be another week before the produce gets to you!!
What I'm trying to do here is get everyone to back our truckies and support their cause, because if we dont then we are the ones worse off!!!!! This is no petty school teacher strike I mean as a parent I am ultimately responsible for my childs education, we can easily get over the kids not at school for a few weeks!!! Once the transport industry comes to a halt however ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE will feel the pressure.
Help us fight the MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

The topic of the house here at the moment is the truck driver strike, coming up soon. Its a 2 week strike and the aim is to reduce diesel prices and get rid of the ridiculous log book fines, due to come into action in September. Now one big factor of Nick changing jobs was these new laws. His new employer only asks Nik to cart his own stock in between his own proprties, so there are no deadlines, no sale yards to make in a certain time before closing. He now has the freedom to stop and sleep, rest, eat, pull his dick if he wants. He just isnt pushed anymore. However he knows what its like (as do I having been in the truck with him) out on the road with deadlines to meet. Its no different to a high rise office building job, where a client needs a quote, fax or whatever else goes on in an office, at a certain time.Except if Nick was heading to a sale yard with a trailer full of live sheep or cattle and missed his 15min break because the yard would've been closed by the time he got there if he'd stopped, the stock would have to spend an extra 12-24hrs in the trailer of the truck.
Now what I am getting at is the new laws coming in September mean a $1000 fine for missing that 15min break. Just one of the ridiculous fines coming in to effect.A friend of ours was pulled over 2 days ago, the coppa looked at his log book, $10,000 worth of fines on 1 page when the new laws come into effect!!!!!! Why in the world do the fines have to be so high??? The government has already almost killed the transport industry with high fuel prices, these fines are just (excuse my language) fucking stupid!!! Unless the government are willing to spend a shit load of money on the railways there is no other way for goods to be transported from one spot to another. Imagine if the general delivery truck services went out of business cause they couldn't get drivers willing to be imprisoned because they couldn't pay their monthly log book fines, simply because they got their times confused or they spelt Melbourne wrong (YES INCORRECT SPELLING RESULTS IN A FINE. I CAN SPEND UP TO 2 HOURS A DAY ON THE PHONE TELLING NICK THE CORRECT SPELLING FOR DIFFERENT TOWNS HE GOES THROUGH) how petty do you really need to be??? Now! for those who believe truckies are dirty drug fucked losers. I used to be one of you. and yes just like all professions there are some who are on drugs. I'm a chef and you would never ever eat out again if you knew what the cooks were taking before they cooked your feed! Alot of them do dress the part of a bum while driving, but what do you wear when your travelling? I know I wear trackies or loose fitting jeans or shorts. Most drivers have temp control in their truck so they can wear just a singlet and be comfortable!
When this strike comes into effect all the city slickers who cant go to their neighbour and ask to buy a killer from to get them through the week are the ones who are going to notice this shock the most. These city slickers include the polly's who have brought this on!! Imagine your local supermarket not getting fresh fruit n veg in for 2 weeks!!!!! And even by the time the truckies start work again its gonna be another week before the produce gets to you!!
What I'm trying to do here is get everyone to back our truckies and support their cause, because if we dont then we are the ones worse off!!!!! This is no petty school teacher strike I mean as a parent I am ultimately responsible for my childs education, we can easily get over the kids not at school for a few weeks!!! Once the transport industry comes to a halt however ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE will feel the pressure.
Help us fight the MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I have put some new pics of my boys in my gallery, they are getting soooo cute together now Dustins growing up! Here are some others which I like.

I was up early one morning and took some photo's of the front of the house at sunrise.

Tess and Bear. They look so cute here. Just before I got the camera they were looking at each other and Bear was licking Tess's nose!

This is our favorite pic. It was taken north of Broken Hill, out past Wilcannia.

Another taken at the same time.

Nick was stuck here for 14 hours waiting for someone to come out from Broken Hill to change all these tyres, he just didn't have enough spares on hand!

I give up!!!!!!!!!! Everytime I try to comment something goes wrong, I'm on my fourth go now trying to comment on Gorilla Mans most recent poem (I also tried earlier in the week) and its just not happening. A lot of the time i get logged out and have to go back and log in again! Its driving me crazy! So I may be reduced to leaving my thoughts on other blogs in posts.
!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well! the last thing I expected to be doing today was running around the scrub searching for Cody. Next to our new house is a paddock of bushland, it would be very easy to get lost in if you didnt pick out land marks, or lost your sense of direction. Wel there I was running through the scrub yelling at Cody and calling and whistling for the dogs. Little did I know they were too busy chasing a deer to respond to me. Eventually I caught up with Cody and we trekked back to the house, me wheezing, coughing and spluttering due to asthma and Cody following very obediently behind. He kept his head down most of the time and only said something when he got stuck in a fallen tree a couple times. So now I'm letting my asthma settle down while I write this before I go out to find the dogs. Only two have come back so far, not including the pup, he follows me where ever I go and never leaves the house without me. So I've still got two dogs out roaming the countryside at the moment.
I was extremely lucky Dustin was happy playing on his own in the lounge room, I was expecting to walk in to him screaming! Luckily not, just him talking away to himself.
Well the asthma has settled down now and I can breathe again! The wonders of Ventolin! So best be off to find those mongrel dogs.
Catchya's

The job hunt is over, so I've put off the boys day care and booked them in for spring. No work in this footy orientated town until it warms up, the tourists start coming and locals stop revolving their lives around footy. I'm looking forward to next weekend, I'm going down to Robe with a couple friends for an organised fundraising party. The youth group there has organised a heap of bands and DJ's that sound pretty good. A good friend of mine down there is organising it too, so I have to go supprt him, good excuse or what. A weekends break from the boys will be nice too.
The rain has been pretty full on lately, my clothes horse has been over worked, but its nice to be stuck inside watching everything grow and listening to the rain water tank fill up. Cody on the other hand is getting itchy feet and races off outside as soon as the rain stops. Then I have to spend 5mins telling him to come back inside and get out of the rain. I convinced him to play with Dustin in his room last night, they were so cute. The two of them were on the floor in the middle of the room, surrounded by toys. I got a couple pics which I'll upload onto my blog when I get a chance.
Well thats it from me for now. Catchya's

My first day off has been pretty good. Dustin and I done a bit of shopping today then sat in a cafe for almost an hour, just reading the paper and drinking coffee, Dustin chewed on his rusk. It was so nice to be able to sit without looking around worrying about Cody running off or listening to a constant whinge for something. When we got home however Dustin realised Cody wasn't here and just wanted Mum the whole afternoon. So much for cleaning the car out! Usually he's kept entertained by Cody so I reckon he was just lonely and a little bored.
He has gone to bed nice and early though, giving me some free time to blog.
I went into the traffic and regastration office today and ran into a girl I used to work with, she was the Duty Manager in one of the pubs I worked in. I also worked with her partner in the kitchen during the same time and it turns out now he's the head chef at one of the pubs in town here. So on tomorrows list of jobs is to go there and catch up, see if there's any room for an extra employee there! Something I've always believed, it's not what you know , but who you know! The other pub I hoped to get work at is keeping my resume on hand until spring when it gets busier, not going to help me now!
I also filled out an application form for Woolies! I never imagined myself working there, but we'll see what happens! Hope that if it comes to that I end up in the Deli or fruit n veg section. Well Catchya's

Finally, Nick has taken Cody for a trip in the truck! Time for me to enjoy the peace and quiet and get a few jobs done I find hard to get to when Cody is following me around trying to help. I have until Saturday, how spoilt am I!! I know however I'm going to miss him and probably find myself a little lost and not sure what to do next at times, because usually I would be bowing down and fulfilling Cody with one of his many needs or demands. Yesterday we spent the afternoon playing catch as Cody calls it, he runs around with the footy and you have to chase him.
Pretty fun, I like bieng able to play proper games with him now, but I'm spoilt in the fact that I have Dustin at the same time to play the baby games with. I think I'm missing Cody already! Get over it Stef.
On another story, I've lost weight! not a lot, I haven't actually weighed myself, but another paif of pre-pregnancy jeans fit me, so slowly but surely the weight is coming off. This time round has been so much harder, I'm putting it down to not working and not having as much time to myself to excercise. Thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
On my last post I think I deleted your comment Tim! Not on purpose at all, but I reckon you must have commented from your phone (your profile didn't come up) It was mixed in with a bunch of chatters I was trying to beat down and just clicked away on your comment. The only thing that made me think it was yours was the 4am starts, I've read your blogs on your son. Madness! I make Cody get into bed with me when he thinks he's getting up that early.
Well best be off, need to read up on the blogging scene.
Catchya's

I know most people are up around 7am and I used to get up even earlier when I was going to TAFE, but these days anything before 8am and I find it hard to function aswell as bieng in a grumpy mood. This morning I woke up to Cody yelling and banging on his door "Mummy me want nutri grain" over and over again. A nice little something to wake up to! So now I'm tired and grumpy and need to down 2-3 cups of coffe before I'll be able to do anything. Now to top the morning off my modem wont pick up a valid IP address again and I cant connecr to the internet so I can post this. I'll try to remember what the guy on the phone told me to do last time and give that a go. I think it might be working! WOW! I must be getting better with these things they call computers! Its worked!
Last night hasn't put me in any better mood, Dustin spent a third of the night in bed with us kicking and talking, not fun. Then at some stage Cody was up whinging, I think he fell out of bed, so up and down all night, not fun. Well now I'm off to do some visiting, didn't get a lot done on here yesterday, then I have to think about writing a resume! Havent needed one of them for years, I've found its not what you know but who you know when it comes to getting a job in my field and I've used someone I know to get a job (not used in a bad way either). I also found in Robe I was offered work all the time, there is such a shortage of people there over summer everywhere is under staffed and find it hard to accomodate the huge amount of tourists.
Well Catchya's

Well the new house is going great! Cody has been having a ball exploring the yard and close by paddocks. I've been flat out trying to get the house sorted aswell as the day to day stuff. Have been trying to get all the washing dry for just over 2 weeks now the rain has been beautiful but a pest aswell. With no dryer and only a small clothes horse I've been having a hard time.
Got the boys into day care yesterday. They start in 3 weeks. I was really surprised at how easy it was. I thought there would be a huge waiting list. Anyway that gives me 3 weeks to get a job. Not sure what I'll do, I'll probably have to get a day job to fit in the care hours. I dont know anyone to babysit at night here yet so no pub work for a while I think. Went out Saturday night, it was a home game in Tinty which means a party at the club rooms at night. I danced for about 5hrs straight. I couldn't believe it afterwards, I drank too many sugar filled drinks I think.
Well just a quick one today, better get back to it!
Catchya's

Since putting up my last post I've been blog visiting and trying to comment on some of the blogs I've read, but it just aint happening tonight. The numbers wont let me through after trying and trying to get them right I just keep failing so I've given up, but just to those I regularly visit and comment on I have been trying tonight, but you gotta give up eventually!

Well, where do I start! We've moved! Nick has taken the new job. Our new home is absolutely beautiful and we have almost completely finished moving house. Only got some cleaning left to do on the weekend, I need a little break before driving back to the old house and a little time here to organise things. Moving is not fun!
I worked Saturday night, my 2nd last shift, will do next weekend since I was already rostered on and the boss has already made plans for the night. It was a ridiculously busy night at one stage, I pratically stood around for the first hour, then from 7pm till 9.30pm everyone decided they were hungry. Why do people all want to eat at the same time?? We didn't finish till 11pm which meant not getting home till 11.45 after picking Dustin up from his babysitters.
After my mad rush at making stuff for the farmers market I sold nothing! I couldn't believe it! I have a fair bit of produce in there now so at least I dont have to worry about making anything for a while.
Have found the Book a little helpful the last few days, misplaced my phone book and needed to get onto someone from plygroup, well they were in my 'friends' list and was able to get onto them through the book. Came in pretty handy!
Catchya's