Tuesday 25 June 2013

to turn 34.....

Another year older... on Saturday I clocked over 34 years on this earth... So I thought I would share 34 random facts/experiences/things about me that have made me who I am today.......Where do I start...?

  1. I grew up on a sheep farm 
  2. I am aunty to 3 gorgeous nephews and 1 beautiful niece!
  3. I was there when 2 of my nephews was born and when my good friend had her baby girl!
  4. I am Godmum to my oldest nephew and I dressed him on his naming day and didn't put his nappy on properly and he peed all over his mum during the ceremony! Lol...
  5. I am also Godmum to my best friends little boy Charlie - I was so excited the day she asked me!
  6. I lived in Canada for a very short period of time and worked in a diner in Banff! Would go back tomorrow if I could! Loved it!
  7. I spent my 32 birthday at Wimbledon - fulfilling a lifelong dream!
  8. While I was at uni I worked at Freedom Furniture
  9. I have had my heartbroken and lived to tell the tale!
  10. I am totally addicted to my ipad and games in particularly Hay Day!
  11. I don't care what you say or what you think I have the best friends in the world! I feel so blessed to have taught and therefore lived in lots of different places and still have friends in all of those places. Some might say I have too many friends and I know quality is better than quantity but I really believe I have both! (love yas all...!)
  12. I was in the army cadets during high school and won an award in year 12 for getting 19/20 for shooting!
  13. I have been to NZ (twice), Canada, England (twice), Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Abu Dhabi, France, Switzerland, Italy, Vanuatu and would love to travel more!
  14. I para-glided off the Swiss Alps! Amazing and something I thought I would never do!
  15. I love scrapbooking! I haven't done it in far too long due to being crazy busy but I love creating layouts and turned what sometimes are boring photos into something worth putting in an album. I also love making albums and pages for friends.
  16. I have my Masters in Education and was so proud of myself that I managed to do it while working full time..
  17. I am a big country music fan! 
  18. I bought a house almost 7 years ago that I lived in for 3 years and is now an investment property
  19. I was devastated when I was in primary school for getting 19.5/20 for a project when the teacher told me I didn't get 20 because nobody's perfect!
  20. I was the youngest ever member of the Bracker Creek Pony Club starting rinding horses when I was still in nappies!
  21. I have a gross scar on my new from when I was in year 7 and was walking a Rottweiler and some kids road past on their pushbikes and threw rocks at the dog and it took off after them, pulling me over on the bitumen
  22. I, and all my family, were there the day my younger sister Kathy passed away and I have her initials tattooed on my wrist and not a day goes by that I don't think about her.
  23. I got to have a meet and greet with Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood! (thanks to my friend and my sister who won competitions!)
  24. I went to boarding school from year 8 and was one of those people that couldn't wait to get there. I think it taught me independence from a young age.
  25. Another hobby is cross-stitching and I love making baby samplers for friends.
  26. I am double jointed in my little finger
  27. When I was in high school I thought I wanted to be a nurse, but doing work experience in a hospital sure cured me of that....not sure why I thought teaching was the answer! lol.
  28. I have a long list of pet peeves but only 2 bad habits! I am SO close to perfect it's not funny (hahaha)
  29. I have probably spent thousands (I'd actually hate to think) of dollars on concerts, footy matches (NRL mostly but the occasional AFL and Union match), theatre shows, comedian acts etc and haven't regretted one bit of it!
  30. I give a movie 20 minutes and a book 2 chapters - if they haven't got me by then, it ain't going to happen
  31. I used to me a big coffee drinker, not hot coffee so much but iced coffee....loved loved loved the stuff but about 8 years ago decided an average of 4 of those a day could not be good for me and gave up coffee altogether
  32. When I travelled to the Northern Territory my friend and I decided to climb Uluru, except I got about 200m up and decided not to go any further and my friend wanted to continue but her shoes were too slippery so we swapped and she continued on in my shoes while I sat on the rock on a rock and waited for her......for about two and a half hours! 
  33. I do dream of a day when I can list my occupation as full time mum.
  34. This list has been a hell of a lot harder to write than I thought it would be when I had the idea!
 Linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT!

Monday 24 June 2013

to confess my bad habits.....

Kirsty from My Home Truths has prompted us this week to confess our bad habits so here goes....



1. I'm a picker.... yep a big fat gross disgusting picker....if there is a scab, scar, pimple, ingrown hair, dry skin, whatever it is I will pick it.... People telling me to leave it alone or that it will scar is no deterrent, I actually think that just eggs me on. I don't know what it is but I just can't leave it alone. I know it's gross, I know all the reasons I shouldn't do it....but there are just some things that need to be picked! Lol...

2. I'm a cracker.... I love to crack my knuckles.....Again something I know that I shouldn't do and no matter how many people tell me "you'll end up with arthritis in your fingers" it doesn't deter me...I am sure if they are right when I am 70 I am sure I will wish I had of listened to them but right now there is something therapeutic about cracking my knuckles (meanwhile I HATE when my chiropractor cracks my neck! yuck!)

Given that I am single and live by myself I have no idea what my other bad habits are as I don't consider anything else that I do as bad or a habit....I did consider asking my friends and family what they thought my bad habits were but thought that could be opening a big can of worms! Lol...

So dare I ask them now.....? What are my bad habits...?

Wednesday 19 June 2013

to laugh & laugh & laugh

Saw this on Pinterest on the weekend and while I will admit it took me a little bit to get it at first, once I did I literally laughed out loud and then couldn't stop!!! It still cracks me up days later!


Picture Source

Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys and Twinkle in the Eye for Wordless Wednesday

                              My Little Drummer Boys                     Twinkle In The Eye

Tuesday 18 June 2013

to SMASH some records...!

OK smash might be a bit of an over exaggeration!! Am keeping it short a sweet today. A few weeks ago I talked about refocusing and starting so running training on my treadmill. I downloaded a 10km training program designed for treadmill running.... I set the incline to 1 as that's what's recommended for the treadmill....

2 weeks ago - 4km in 30mins 11secs
Today- 4km in 29mins 17secs!!!!

I am so stoked to have cracked under 30mins! Another goal achieved! I would really love to be able to do 5km in under 30mins but for now, this'll do!

BOOM!!

Linking up with Essentially Jess  for another IBOT!


Wednesday 12 June 2013

for a birthday trip to Melbourne!

Wednesday is not only Wordless Wednesday but also 12wbt Weigh in Wednesday and my weigh in this morning is nothing to brag about but I totally absolutely unashamedly blame my trip to Melbourne over the weekend! I had an absolutely fabulous time helping my friend celebrate her 30th Birthday with lots of shopping, eating, shopping, eating and eating and a little bit of sight seeing!

Did I mention in my pet peeve list bad spellers especially on public signs!! I tried looking for Batman but couldn't find him!

Room with a view! Good thing I wasn't planning on spending much time there!

Shopping!



Yarra by night



Queen Victoria Markets






mmmmm Pizza!


Does anyone else get a laugh out of this.....Drivers beware of rhinoceros's on skateboards!

Happy Birthday Julz!!!


Fed Square


Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys and Twinkle in the Eye for Wordless Wednesday

My Little Drummer Boys                                     Twinkle In The Eye

Tuesday 11 June 2013

to share my full list!

OK, so I had a request from some of my fans (...OK so 2 people) that I share my complete list of pet peeves so, with nothing else to share this IBOT, I thought...why not!

Please note that some of these were written in between fits of laughter with a friend of mine (Simone, who I said I would give credit to!) and should be taken with the lightheartedness that they were written....some however are downright serious and annoying...I'll let you decide which ones are which.....

So here goes, the full list of my 43 pet peeves....

  1. People calling me honey, sweetheart, love, dear etc - especially when they are younger than me
  2. Finding split ends straight after getting a hair cut
  3. Stupid pictures on Facebook
  4. People cutting me off then driving slow,
  5. All talk and no action people - Gunnados (Gonna do this gonna do that but then do nothing!)
  6. Bad Sports
  7. People who compare their kids to others
  8. Fake people 
  9. Delta Goodrem....
  10. Wedgies at inappropriate times
  11. People being late and not telling you they are going to be late or not apologising for being late
  12. Having a car that's only 2 months old and already needing a new windscreen
  13. Criminals
  14. People who don't flush the toilet in public and who walk straight out without washing their hands
  15. Paying over $100 and leaving with a bad haircut
  16. People who assume they know shit when they don't know shit!
  17. Bad spellers and bad grammar! Especially on public signs!
  18. People who assume there is something wrong with me because I am single! (OK so maybe there is but I don't need them to point it out to me!)
  19. Spoilers! - People who spoil surprises or plots to books, movies, tv shows etc...
  20. Negative Nancies! - people who whinge and whine and have nothing positive to say
  21. Waiting an hour for the doctor and your appointment only taking 5 minutes
  22. When the waitress forgets your order
  23. Driving through the drive through and then having to park anyway
  24. People who talk in acronyms and shortened words... I mean OMG peeps!
  25. People who say like like every like second word like.....arghhhh
  26. Claimers - people who claim things as their own
  27. Irresponsible pet owners, people who don't pick up their dog poo!
  28. Not enough or too much customer service! - there is a difference, the sales assistants either won't leave you alone or don't even acknowledge you are there!
  29. Appliances that break down 2 days after the warranty expires
  30. Odd socks!
  31. Buying something at full price and then seeing it on sale the next week
  32. B!tches getting married before me
  33. Leaders/Bosses not setting a good example for their team
  34. Hypocrites
  35. People in jobs that require people skills when they clearly don't have any!
  36. Narrow mindedness! - perhaps that's why I am such a fence sitter on so many subjects because I like to try and see things from other perspectives
  37. Shopping centre car parks
  38. People who talk during movies
  39. Shushes! 
  40. When bad things happen to good people
  41. When someone texts you and you reply straight away and ask them something and then they don't reply!
  42. Candy Crush and my addiction to it
  43. Waiting for tradesmen!

So there you have it...... my pet peeves in full! 

Linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT!


Monday 10 June 2013

to confess my pet peeves!

When I read at the end of last weeks confession that this weeks was pet peeves, I instantly started a list in my head.... and then I started to make a list on my ipad, then a friend and I chuckled over some over a cup of tea and before I knew it my list had blown out to 43!! At the risk of sounding like a complete loon I have decided to group some together and come up with a top 5!

So in no particular order here goes.....

5. Facebook
I have such a love/hate relationship with Facebook. I have been fortunate to have lived and travelled all over world and have so many friends  near and far and I love that with the click of a button I can feel so connected to them. I feel like I can know what is going on in their lives and them the same. I love being able to share photos and experiences with people that you would otherwise not be able to.
But....
then there is the evil side...lol.. I hate that Facebook has become a place where people air their dirty laundry and also tell the world every minute detail of their lives! But I also hate all the sponsorship ads and game promotions and rubbish that fills up my news feed but I think most of all I hate these stupid pictures....

                                           

I mean really!!!  They drive me nuts! And the Grandma one is one of the 'calmer' ones, there are those other cancer ones that I just don't understand why anyone would even put on facebook in the first place never mind 'like and share'.... 


4. Bad Sportsmanship
I have my sporting teams and sports stars that I support and cheer on with pride and I have be known to have the occasional dig at someone who supports the opposition but there is a line. I can't stand bad sports and think that there is a BIG difference between cheering for your team and being a bad sport. Wednesday night saw Game 1 of the State of Origin Series and I am a loud and proud Queenslander so I cheer on the maroon and boast about the 7 in a row series and have the occasional dig at my friends who support the Blues but some people just take it to the extreme. Some of the comments and status updates on facebook were downright ridiculous and not in the spirit of 'supporting your team'. I like to think that's the way I follow sport - Support my team, don't bag the other. 


3. Drivers
OH MY GOD! a big pet hate is bad drivers! Given that SO much of my week is spent in the car I have had my fair share of experiences with bad drivers. People who cut you off, people who don't indicate, People who over take you and then drive slow, tailgaters! (I am going as fast as I am allowed or can go so BACK OFF!), shopping centre carparks! (road rules still apply people!!). People who expect you to give way to them when they have done the wrong thing! Case in point - today I was driving back from Brisbane and 2 lanes was cut down to 1 due to an accident, there were flashing police lights and clearly the right lane had to merge into the left.....most sensible courteous drivers merged early but then there were those handful of A holes who flew up the right hand side as far as they could and then pushed their way in at the top of the queue! Drives me nuts!!!


2. People with a blatant disregard for others!
I couldn't decide on a better way to title this one, but you know the people. The ones who don't follow instructions! The other day I was at a seminar and the presenters specifically asked us to turn our mobile phones to silent - 3 phones went off during the 2 hour presentation! When the air hostess says "Please remain seated until the Captain turns off the seatbelt light" and then there will always be those people who stand up! Seriously! Another plane example.....today on my flight home from Melbourne there was a girl watching something on her iPad with no headphones! So everyone around her had to subjected to what she was watching whether they liked it or not! When people wander aimlessly through the shopping centre/supermarket etc without considering those around them, you know the ones who are walking along nicely and then they just STOP.....with no warning or no consideration to the person walking behind them! The worst are the ones who step off the escalators at the top and then just stop.... nevermind the 20 people that are trying to get off as well! I hate when I am in a hurry and no one else is! Lol... the other day I had like 20 minutes before I had to meet a friend and I hate being late (another pet peeve is late people!), I needed to duck into the supermarket to get a few things and got stuck behind every slow walking, Sunday strolling family of 5 possible! You know the ones that spread themselves right across the aisle and no matter which way you go you just can't get around them and then they weave back and forth in front of you and when you say 'excuse me' they look at you like you are the rude one! Saw this on facebook one day and it cracked me up as I think it describes me! Lol..




1. Having to rely on other people
 This sounds really random I know but sometimes I hate having to rely on other people, I guess it comes from my years of singledom! I know that this probably sounds stupid and sometimes I hate that I am so impatient and don't like having to rely on others. I prefer to just do things on my own in my time, my way (lol... perhaps that's why I'm single!). It can also kind of link to the one above as this morning I was relying on the receptionist at my motel in Melbourne to book my shuttle to the airport and imagine my frustration when I was turned away from the shuttle bus and find out that she never booked it in the first place!



OK, I have pet peeved whinged enough I feel! So what's your pet peeve??? Head on over to My Home Truths and link up!




Wednesday 5 June 2013

for some funny running quotes

Backing up from my post yesterday about my desire to become a runner I came across these funny running quotes while looking for inspirational ones!!









hehehe....

Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys and Twinkle in the Eye for Wordless Wednesday

My Little Drummer Boys 

Tuesday 4 June 2013

to refocus...

Thanks to everyone for the support you gave me during my big whinge post a few weeks ago! Sitting down and writing it all down like that really made me reassess things and while there are still some things that are completely out of my control at the moment there are still quite a few things that are within my control.

So I sat down and had a long hard think about things are thought about what it was that I really wanted, what my goals were... I had written that in 12 months time I wanted to run a half marathon . I have always wanted to get more into running...on my 101 goals in 1001 days list I wrote a few years ago I said that one of my goals was to Fall in love with running, and while I won't tick that one off as achieved just yet I realised that I need to refocus my exercise goals.

So I got realistic and have decided to change my exercise plan and move slightly away from the 12wbt plan for me, I consulted my good friend Google and looked for half marathon running programs for the treadmill.. I am not a massive fan of running outside (I know I know!) and given that it's now officially Winter in Toowoomba I know it's not going to happen! It's cold and miserable and foggy and just downright yuck! I came across a few blogs and websites that discuss the topic and like everything it has it's pros and cons. I find for me, running on  the treadmill has many more pros than cons
  1. I can do it rain, hail or shine
  2. I find I am more likely to run for longer and not stop on a treadmill
  3. I keep a steady pace
  4. I have a treadmill sitting in my lounge room with a perfect view of the telly
  5. I don't have to leave the house
I won't label myself as a 'runner' just yet but I have completed a few races in the past. I have run the Bridge to Brisbane twice, the first time when it was still 12km and then once at 10km and whilst I ran the whole way and think that I can run for ages I am not very fast and plod along! My goal is also to get faster and doing interval training on the treadmill will hopefully help with that.

So my google search has given me some great training plans and tips on running training on the treadmill, the main one being to up the incline to at least 1. So on Saturday I kicked it off with a 4km run, I set my incline to 1, my speed to 7.6 and then upped it during the last kilometre and completed the 4kms in 30 minutes and 35 seconds! I was SO stoked with that! Without having any data to prove it I am confident this was a PB! Would love to get that down to 5km in half an hour but baby steps!



Would love to hear from anyone who has completed a half marathon about your training programs and times!

Linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT!


Monday 3 June 2013

to discuss my name...

This weeks prompt from Kirsty over at My Home Truths is -


let’s talk baby names. What are your favourites? Do you prefer traditional, contemporary or ‘out there’ names?

Before I discuss baby names in general let me first mine..

Zita
pronounced Zee..ta or Zeeda, depending on how redneck your accent is! Lol...

I wish I had some amazing story about the origin of my name, that it was a tradition or that it was because we migrated from some wonderful country, but really it just came out of a book..

From what I have been told the story goes...... I was a few days old and still didn't have a name and my mum urged my dad to pick a name for the baby and I swear he turned straight to the back. His first attempt was apparently Wilhelmina...which (I think thankfully) my mum was not a fan of, and then he found Zita....and the rest, as they say, is history. I also have what I deemed a weird middle name...Frances.. although named after my great grandmother so I could appreciate the family link there.

Growing up with a different name was really quite hard, especially when I considered my other sisters to have 'normal' names. Jody Maree (my mum's given name), Linda Anne, Kathy Lee, Renee Louise.... There was a point during those difficult teenage years where I was convinced that my parents must have disliked me at some point and that's why they gave me a stupid name! I even declared to them at one point that when I was old enough I was going to change my name to something 'normal' like Mary or Sue! (no offence to any Mary or Sue readers that I may have!). I hated that my sisters could get things with their names printed on them and me having to get something like "Special Girl" on mine!

One thing that made those teenage years with a name like mine more difficult is that kids can be so damn mean! My name, especially the way it is spelt, coupled with the fact I wasn't blessed with glowing clear skin, made me an easy target for name calling.....Zithead, Zitface, Zitwod...you get the picture..

I had heard of other people with the same name but spelt Zeta but had never found anyone with it spelt the same as miine until I was on a tour around Canada in 2005. It was a girl about the same age from Switzerland and she to had grown up with her fair share of dramas with having the name. The story went that many a pet cow in Switzerland was called Zita so she was often the butt of many a cow joke.

I was so happy a few years ago when a friend of mine sent me this book that now takes pride of place on my bookshelf beside my novels. I felt like finally I had 'made' it! Lol...
image credit

Now as an adult I can appreciated that my name is different and I think that it makes me unique, if nothing else, it's a great conversation starter when I meet new people. It often amazes me though at some of the spelling attempts people have made to spell my name....
Zeetah
Zeda
Xeda
and the other day I arrived at one of my schools to find the name
Zeti 
on my pigeonhole....? (What the....)

I was even asked one day what my name was short for....? (Seriously, what could Zita be short for..??)

As a teacher we come across so many weird and wonderful name - it seems gone are the traditional names and society is moving towards the unique and different, and don't even get me started on the spelling of some of these names. I have come across so many phonetically incorrect names it is hard to work out how they were possibly formed! I often wonder what the discussions and the birth registry offices must be about when they get the registration papers from the hospitals!

As a teacher there are so many names that are off limits if I ever do have the opportunity to have children. So as to not offend any readers I will not mention said names but there are certain ones I will avoid as memories flood back.

I would urge anyone naming a child to consider the name deeply, call it out your back door, hear it out loud, the full name, first middle and last, what do the initials look like when written, (a friend of mine had her baby girls name picked out until she realised the initials would spell GPS) consider what nicknames, mean names and all the ways the name could be made fun of before you settle. After all, your child is stuck with it for life!