So - there has been a report in my local media this past week that 30% of women think its okay to drink alcohol whilst pregnant, despit knowing the risks. What the?
Where were these women during physical education classes at high school? And for those of them who have children, where were they when their doctors and midwives were explaining the do's and dont's of pregnancy to them ? Its absolutely mental to me to think that some women can't put two and two together - alcohol is not entirely good for adults, let alone tiny, growing baby-type persons. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy may induce fetal alcohol syndrome, which can result in deformities, low birth weights or even brain damage. Why take the risk?
And what i cant believe is the amount of women who DO take the risk. For example, i have an aunt who is due to give birth in the next two weeks. I'm not going to mention her age but suffice to say she falls into the " older " mother category - this, of course, brings its own complications. However this, coupled with blood clots in previous pregnancies, hasnt stopped her having a tipple or two at functions during her pregnancy. I wanted to scream at her that she has so much to lose and so many risks with her pregnancy already, why was she pushing the envelope? But its hardly my place to tell a women who already has children whats best for her and her pregnancy, me being a first time mum and all. And i have a Facebook friend ( who isnt actually a real life friend, just a girl i went to school with and was scared of... ) who is pregnant with her 3rd child and every second Facebook statu update is " Blah Blah is having a smoke " or " Blah Blah is getting her drink on ". Why?????
Admittedly, i run a few risks while i was pregnant - i ate deli meat and soft serve ice cream because i hadnt been told not to. But when i did find out, i stopped. It didnt hurt me to go without, even with cravings. But more importantly, it didnt hurt my baby. And is that the important thing?
Showing posts with label WTF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WTF. Show all posts
Like An Australian Virgin
Do we really need politicians telling us what we should and shouldnt be doing with our sex lives? I only ask because in the past day we have had the leader of the Liberal party here in Australia saying that young women should remain virgins until theyre married. I mean i respect that he, just like everybody else, is allowed to express his opinion - but should politicians really be concerned with that kind of stuff when they could be worrying about roads and hospitals and schools and stuff ? And - should we care what they think ?
I think it is quite clear that i am NOT a virgin ( unless i'm like the second coming of Mary and my child is the second Immaculate Conception ). I am also NOT married ( yet ). So what is Tony Abbott, this aforementioned leader, think of me? Would he now think i'm some kind of whorish, slutty cretin ? Does the status of my virginity really speak to what kind of person i am ? I understand that he is the father of three teenage daughters and his opinion is probably based on what he would hope they are ( or arent, as it were ) doing - but then why has he directed this statement at all Australian women ? And - ahem - why wasnt it inclusive of Australian men?
He also admits to having " given up " his virginity before he was married so i want to ask why would he even bother publicly espousing this opinion when he cant even hold to the standard himself ? It reeks of hypocrisy, it opens him up to all kinds of criticism and i dont think its going to help him appeal to female voters anymore than he already does ( also being against abortion and gay marriage ). He already seems like he's on the very much conservative side, so giving an interview in a womens magazine where he decides he wants to tell women what to do with their bodies and sexuality only makes him less electable - to me anyways.
I suppose the politics of the man dont matter much to anyone who isnt an Australian voter - but what do you think ? Whatever your own opinions on the matter, do you think its right, or OK, for politicians to poke their noses into what is very much personal business or should they just stick to ( trying ) to run their countries?
I think it is quite clear that i am NOT a virgin ( unless i'm like the second coming of Mary and my child is the second Immaculate Conception ). I am also NOT married ( yet ). So what is Tony Abbott, this aforementioned leader, think of me? Would he now think i'm some kind of whorish, slutty cretin ? Does the status of my virginity really speak to what kind of person i am ? I understand that he is the father of three teenage daughters and his opinion is probably based on what he would hope they are ( or arent, as it were ) doing - but then why has he directed this statement at all Australian women ? And - ahem - why wasnt it inclusive of Australian men?
He also admits to having " given up " his virginity before he was married so i want to ask why would he even bother publicly espousing this opinion when he cant even hold to the standard himself ? It reeks of hypocrisy, it opens him up to all kinds of criticism and i dont think its going to help him appeal to female voters anymore than he already does ( also being against abortion and gay marriage ). He already seems like he's on the very much conservative side, so giving an interview in a womens magazine where he decides he wants to tell women what to do with their bodies and sexuality only makes him less electable - to me anyways.
I suppose the politics of the man dont matter much to anyone who isnt an Australian voter - but what do you think ? Whatever your own opinions on the matter, do you think its right, or OK, for politicians to poke their noses into what is very much personal business or should they just stick to ( trying ) to run their countries?
Getting All Political on Yo' Ass
Yes, i’m getting all political on you. And by political, I mean I’m going to have a whinge about a socio-political issue so for anyone who a) doesn’t care or b) isn’t interested, feel free to click on over to Facebook right about now.
I’m sure anyone north of the equator is completely unaware, but for the past four weeks now there have been a bunch of Sri Lankan “ refugees “ sitting on an Australian customs boat, moored off the Indonesian coast. That’s quite a few nations to wrap your head around, but long story short we’re talking about Sri Lankan nationals trying to make their way into Australian territory. Thing is they didn’t quite make it – they got busted just beyond our waters and had their boat hauled off to Indonesia ( apparently Australia and Indonesia have some agreement in place in regards to “ boat people”, the details off which I am not clear on ). So there you have it – four weeks ago a boatful of refugees got caught trying to slip into our country and have been sitting on an Australian government boat ever since. Why you ask ? Because they refuse to get off.
This is where my rant comes in – how have they been allowed to just refuse to get off? Since when do illegal immigrants, refugee or not, get to dictate the terms of their status, effectively telling the government where to shove it ? Those who know me know that I’m quite the humanitarian ( or hippy, depending on your view ) but even I’m drawing a line here. You cant just float your way from one country to another with the intention of illegally sneaking in, and then stomp your foot and refuse to co-operate when your caught out.
Here’s the latest scenario – after 3 and half weeks of sitting on an official Australian vessel, using mobile phones to communicate with media outlets and having well spoken children cry on TV, begging to be let in, the Sri Lankans have been offered a place in Australia…. As long as they are processed in Indonesia, which could take up to a year. This offer was greeted with a big fat “ Uh…. Nuh “ from our Sri Lankan friends, who are still refusing to disembark in Indonesia and are threatening to drown themselves if they are taken straight to Australia. What reaction does this illicit from me ? “ How freaking rude”.
It’s not that I have no compassion. I don’t doubt the existence of refugees and there may even be some of them on this particular boat ( even though they speak wonderful English, have mobile phones on board and allegedly flew themselves to Indonesia before boarding their leaky refugee boat ). However, I find this whole refusal to co-operate thing hard to swallow. I would imagine that if the situation in your homeland was so abhorrent, your women were being raped and your men were disappearing, you had nothing to eat and no future for your children, so terrible that you fear living there any longer – well I would imagine that an offer of safety and freedom in a good country, inside of a year, would be a godsend. I’d imagine that you would take any safe home you could get, whether it be in Australia or Indonesia or – god forbid – even New Zealand.
But no, not these “ refugees “. Nope, for them only the best will do, even though they have no legal right to obtain it. And yet, for some reason, our government is putting up with it. I find it hard to believe other Western countries would do the same.
Lets just put it like this - can you see a whole bunch of Mexicans parking themselves on a barge in the middle of the Rio Grande and refusing to get off on their own side ? Un-bloody-likely….
I’m sure anyone north of the equator is completely unaware, but for the past four weeks now there have been a bunch of Sri Lankan “ refugees “ sitting on an Australian customs boat, moored off the Indonesian coast. That’s quite a few nations to wrap your head around, but long story short we’re talking about Sri Lankan nationals trying to make their way into Australian territory. Thing is they didn’t quite make it – they got busted just beyond our waters and had their boat hauled off to Indonesia ( apparently Australia and Indonesia have some agreement in place in regards to “ boat people”, the details off which I am not clear on ). So there you have it – four weeks ago a boatful of refugees got caught trying to slip into our country and have been sitting on an Australian government boat ever since. Why you ask ? Because they refuse to get off.
This is where my rant comes in – how have they been allowed to just refuse to get off? Since when do illegal immigrants, refugee or not, get to dictate the terms of their status, effectively telling the government where to shove it ? Those who know me know that I’m quite the humanitarian ( or hippy, depending on your view ) but even I’m drawing a line here. You cant just float your way from one country to another with the intention of illegally sneaking in, and then stomp your foot and refuse to co-operate when your caught out.
Here’s the latest scenario – after 3 and half weeks of sitting on an official Australian vessel, using mobile phones to communicate with media outlets and having well spoken children cry on TV, begging to be let in, the Sri Lankans have been offered a place in Australia…. As long as they are processed in Indonesia, which could take up to a year. This offer was greeted with a big fat “ Uh…. Nuh “ from our Sri Lankan friends, who are still refusing to disembark in Indonesia and are threatening to drown themselves if they are taken straight to Australia. What reaction does this illicit from me ? “ How freaking rude”.
It’s not that I have no compassion. I don’t doubt the existence of refugees and there may even be some of them on this particular boat ( even though they speak wonderful English, have mobile phones on board and allegedly flew themselves to Indonesia before boarding their leaky refugee boat ). However, I find this whole refusal to co-operate thing hard to swallow. I would imagine that if the situation in your homeland was so abhorrent, your women were being raped and your men were disappearing, you had nothing to eat and no future for your children, so terrible that you fear living there any longer – well I would imagine that an offer of safety and freedom in a good country, inside of a year, would be a godsend. I’d imagine that you would take any safe home you could get, whether it be in Australia or Indonesia or – god forbid – even New Zealand.
But no, not these “ refugees “. Nope, for them only the best will do, even though they have no legal right to obtain it. And yet, for some reason, our government is putting up with it. I find it hard to believe other Western countries would do the same.
Lets just put it like this - can you see a whole bunch of Mexicans parking themselves on a barge in the middle of the Rio Grande and refusing to get off on their own side ? Un-bloody-likely….
I've Always Liked Suprises
So, now that i have the initial task of revealing my little secret out of the way, i suppose i should expand on the whole story. Shouldnt i ?
Like i said, Mr Gil and i havent been together very long. Only a matter of months in fact. And i am the first to admit that if this were happening to anyone else i would sit back and go " Woah, thats kind of a big step so early, isnt it ? " I wouldnt judge it as being right or wrong, just fast is all. And yep, it is fast. Never in my life, when picturing myself settling down and having babies, did i picture it happening at such an early stage of a relationship. But you know what ? I'm happy. Deliriously happy. Also just a little afraid - everyone is a little afraid when heading into the unknown - but mostly just really excited and happy.
I did a home test to find out. I wont go into specifics about what precautions may or may not have been taken, but after being four or five days "late" i thought it couldnt hurt to take a test, just in case. Right ? When i looked down and saw that there were two little pink lines ( for positive ) and not just one ( for negative ), i'll admit to being momentarily floored. Two lines ? What the ? Really ? I left the test in the bathroom and went to make a sandwich, just in case the result might have changed by the time i came back. But it didnt.... and when i realised what those two lines potentially meant i cracked into probably the biggest grin i've ever grinned.
Also, my heart may have almost beat its way right of my chest. But i composed myself and called my GP to make an appointment to have a blood test to confirm. As luck would have it they could squeeze me in that afternoon. I told the girls at work that i was going to have a flu shot, and nobody was any the wiser. Except Mr Gil of course - i called him after i'd left the doctors surgery to tell him what was going on.
To be honest, i wasnt afraid of a negative reaction from him. I was confident that aside from the initial shock he would be excited... and he was. And still is. Almost everyday he tells me how excited he is, how happy he is, how much he cant wait for " us " to be a family. Its really wonderful to feel so supported by my partner. And by our families also. This will be the third grandchild for my parents, and the fifth for his. Our brothers and sisters are happy for us aswell, especially my brother and his wife - they, as you know, are parents to two beautiful little girls but they will be first time uncle and aunt.
And thats about enough for today. I dont want this to turn into an exclusivley " I'm pregnant!!!!! " blog. I dont want to be making posts on the smallest of details or developements, or writing only about the changes to my body. I hate when blogs that i love get overrun with just one topic all the time - whether it be the new relationship, a baby, a new job, whatever - so i hereby swear that i will do my best to not rave on about babies all the time. Of course, there will be times when something big happens that i want to share, or times when i want to just get thoughts and feelings of my chest.
But promise me that if it comes to a point where everything is babies!babies!babies! ..... you'll point it out ? Even if it means throwing an internet shoe at me ?
Like i said, Mr Gil and i havent been together very long. Only a matter of months in fact. And i am the first to admit that if this were happening to anyone else i would sit back and go " Woah, thats kind of a big step so early, isnt it ? " I wouldnt judge it as being right or wrong, just fast is all. And yep, it is fast. Never in my life, when picturing myself settling down and having babies, did i picture it happening at such an early stage of a relationship. But you know what ? I'm happy. Deliriously happy. Also just a little afraid - everyone is a little afraid when heading into the unknown - but mostly just really excited and happy.
I did a home test to find out. I wont go into specifics about what precautions may or may not have been taken, but after being four or five days "late" i thought it couldnt hurt to take a test, just in case. Right ? When i looked down and saw that there were two little pink lines ( for positive ) and not just one ( for negative ), i'll admit to being momentarily floored. Two lines ? What the ? Really ? I left the test in the bathroom and went to make a sandwich, just in case the result might have changed by the time i came back. But it didnt.... and when i realised what those two lines potentially meant i cracked into probably the biggest grin i've ever grinned.
Also, my heart may have almost beat its way right of my chest. But i composed myself and called my GP to make an appointment to have a blood test to confirm. As luck would have it they could squeeze me in that afternoon. I told the girls at work that i was going to have a flu shot, and nobody was any the wiser. Except Mr Gil of course - i called him after i'd left the doctors surgery to tell him what was going on.
To be honest, i wasnt afraid of a negative reaction from him. I was confident that aside from the initial shock he would be excited... and he was. And still is. Almost everyday he tells me how excited he is, how happy he is, how much he cant wait for " us " to be a family. Its really wonderful to feel so supported by my partner. And by our families also. This will be the third grandchild for my parents, and the fifth for his. Our brothers and sisters are happy for us aswell, especially my brother and his wife - they, as you know, are parents to two beautiful little girls but they will be first time uncle and aunt.
And thats about enough for today. I dont want this to turn into an exclusivley " I'm pregnant!!!!! " blog. I dont want to be making posts on the smallest of details or developements, or writing only about the changes to my body. I hate when blogs that i love get overrun with just one topic all the time - whether it be the new relationship, a baby, a new job, whatever - so i hereby swear that i will do my best to not rave on about babies all the time. Of course, there will be times when something big happens that i want to share, or times when i want to just get thoughts and feelings of my chest.
But promise me that if it comes to a point where everything is babies!babies!babies! ..... you'll point it out ? Even if it means throwing an internet shoe at me ?
Short and Sweet - Its Been On My Mind
Dear Dr S - Anaethetist,
What is up with you charging me so damn much for your services ? If I knew you were going to make me pay through the nose, I would have drunk myself into a stupor and knocked myself out. But i suppose its the old supply vs demand thing isnt it ?I needed the needle and you could supply that; however you dont need the money ( which i dont exactly have to supply ). Therefore, I'm going to pay you in installments - let you sweat on it a little.
How do you like them apples ?
Amy
___________________________________________________________________
Dear She Who Feels So Hard Done By,
You're joking, right? I hate to tell you, but you reap what you sow. How you could expect love after giving no affection, respect after years of thinly velied insults, and admiration without innovation is beyond me. Perhaps if you'd made all these efforts ten or fifteen years ago, the end result might have been different. As it stands, your probably better off cultivating relationships with the new little people in your life.
Better luck the second time around,
Amy
___________________________________________________________________
Dear P,
So glad you had a happy birthday! Thankyou for indulging my need to go out for brunch; sorry we got sunburnt. Also, thanks for taking me to see your neice - she is too gorgeous! I get so carried away in m own two neices, I forget how cute other peoples kids can be. My fingers are crossed that you have your own cute little kidlets by the end of this year.
I'll get back to you about my birthday wish list,
Amy
___________________________________________________________________
Dear Chadwick,
So good to hear from you! The best emails are the ones that come completely out of the blue - or the white, as it were, seeing as you've told me your snowed under up there in Canada. You need to get your arse down here to Australia and get yourself a tan. Although, as the public service ads here warn us " Tanning is skin cells in trauma ". I swear that ad makes me want tot throw up. But forget all that - we have to save some money and get our respective selves on another holiday. Seriously, you were the best travel buddy of the bunch.
Wanna hit up Morrocco ?
Amy
___________________________________________________________________
( Thanks to this post by Andy for the " short letters " idea ).
What is up with you charging me so damn much for your services ? If I knew you were going to make me pay through the nose, I would have drunk myself into a stupor and knocked myself out. But i suppose its the old supply vs demand thing isnt it ?I needed the needle and you could supply that; however you dont need the money ( which i dont exactly have to supply ). Therefore, I'm going to pay you in installments - let you sweat on it a little.
How do you like them apples ?
Amy
___________________________________________________________________
Dear She Who Feels So Hard Done By,
You're joking, right? I hate to tell you, but you reap what you sow. How you could expect love after giving no affection, respect after years of thinly velied insults, and admiration without innovation is beyond me. Perhaps if you'd made all these efforts ten or fifteen years ago, the end result might have been different. As it stands, your probably better off cultivating relationships with the new little people in your life.
Better luck the second time around,
Amy
___________________________________________________________________
Dear P,
So glad you had a happy birthday! Thankyou for indulging my need to go out for brunch; sorry we got sunburnt. Also, thanks for taking me to see your neice - she is too gorgeous! I get so carried away in m own two neices, I forget how cute other peoples kids can be. My fingers are crossed that you have your own cute little kidlets by the end of this year.
I'll get back to you about my birthday wish list,
Amy
___________________________________________________________________
Dear Chadwick,
So good to hear from you! The best emails are the ones that come completely out of the blue - or the white, as it were, seeing as you've told me your snowed under up there in Canada. You need to get your arse down here to Australia and get yourself a tan. Although, as the public service ads here warn us " Tanning is skin cells in trauma ". I swear that ad makes me want tot throw up. But forget all that - we have to save some money and get our respective selves on another holiday. Seriously, you were the best travel buddy of the bunch.
Wanna hit up Morrocco ?
Amy
___________________________________________________________________
( Thanks to this post by Andy for the " short letters " idea ).
Amy's Hall of Attractions
So, i havent posted in the last few days because, somewhere along the way, my computer picked up some kind virus and i couldnt get proper access to my internet. Which sucked. It was like killing my lifeline to the blog world and, frankly, that makes me cranky.
Anyhoo, so i thought, seeing as i'm up and running again now, I'd post about something nice and lighthearted. So what topic did i choose ?Men. Or, more specifically, men that i find attractive for some reason and my friends, well, dont. You know, if you were to say to me " You know who's hot? Robbie Willliams ", i'd be all like " Eww, no! Robbie Williams is a giant sleaze bag! What could you possibly be attracted to there ? " So here is my top 5 list of men i find attractive and my friends, for some reason, go WTF ?
Hugh Laurie/ Gregory House: Seriously, I cannot be the only woman in the universe who finds Hugh Laurie inexplicably sexy since taking on the role of Gregory House. I mean i really shouldnt - House is gruff, rude, inconsiderate, sarcastic and permanently dishevelled. But you know what ? Sometimes dishevelled and cranky is hot. I dont know why - maybe i just have a warped sense of humour, maybe its because I know House is inwardly smirking on the inside everytime he insults someone, maybe its because his eyes are incredibly blue ( have you noticed that ? Like super blue! ), but there is just something about Hugh/House that i find quite yummy.
Anyhoo, so i thought, seeing as i'm up and running again now, I'd post about something nice and lighthearted. So what topic did i choose ?Men. Or, more specifically, men that i find attractive for some reason and my friends, well, dont. You know, if you were to say to me " You know who's hot? Robbie Willliams ", i'd be all like " Eww, no! Robbie Williams is a giant sleaze bag! What could you possibly be attracted to there ? " So here is my top 5 list of men i find attractive and my friends, for some reason, go WTF ?
Hugh Laurie/ Gregory House: Seriously, I cannot be the only woman in the universe who finds Hugh Laurie inexplicably sexy since taking on the role of Gregory House. I mean i really shouldnt - House is gruff, rude, inconsiderate, sarcastic and permanently dishevelled. But you know what ? Sometimes dishevelled and cranky is hot. I dont know why - maybe i just have a warped sense of humour, maybe its because I know House is inwardly smirking on the inside everytime he insults someone, maybe its because his eyes are incredibly blue ( have you noticed that ? Like super blue! ), but there is just something about Hugh/House that i find quite yummy.
Dennis Quaid: Come on, someone else has got to feel me on this one. My friends and my sister question Mr Quaids attractiveness because he is older than my father but so what ? I'll tell you what Dennis Quaid has over a lot of male celebrities closer to my age : he has charisma and he's manly. I like a manly man - I like a bit of rough. Dennis Quaid is rugged, he sports stubble that you know it didnt take him a week to grow - he's a real man. And aint that what i need ?
Dave Grohl: God Amy no! Look at him - he's scraggly! He has a beard! He has crooked teeth! You know what ? I dont care - the dude rocks! Talent is extremely sexy, plus i'm a fan of facial hair. Maybe not ZZTop type facial hair, no Fu Manchu style moustaches, but it goes back to the manly thing. Men have hair - if i wanted something hairless, i'd find me a pretty girl and turn lesbian. But back to Mr Grohl. Mr Grohl is hot. He plays guitar, he plays drums and he writes awesome rock songs which seems to dominate my current Ipod playlist. Which all adds up to him being rather talented, dont you think ? And, like i said, talent is sexy. You know what else is sexy ? Being a committed family man. And as far as i can gather from various interviews i've seen with him, Dave Grohl loves his family. One more reason for me to love him really.
Jack Nicholson: Okay, so Jack Nicholson is old enough to be my grandafther so i can understand when my friends go " Jack Nicholson, seriously?!? ". Well yes, seriously. Look at him - look at that devilish glint in his eyes. If i was going to go for an extreme May-December relationship ( which, in reality, i wouldnt...), I'd go for Jack. He's the kind of go you know would make for great company- sure,he'd smoke which i dont really like, but he'd tell dirty jokes, and buy everyone a round of drinks and tell you how ravishing you look. Jack would be the Good Time Guy. Plus, yoiu know, back in his prime, he must have been good in bed. You can see it in his grin.
Vincent Perez: The only reason Vincent Perez lands on this WTF! list is because, well, none of my friends have ever heard of him. If you havent either, seriously, you're missing out. Vincent Perez, as you can see from the photo above, is divine. He's Swiss born, speaks French, Spanish and English and, well, he's beautiful. He works mainly in foreign films so if you've never seen him, i forgive. But now that you have, go watch " Cyrano De Bergerac " ( on my official Top 10 Films of all time list ... ) or " Queen Margot " and fall in love for yourself.
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