CHALLENGES



Christmas at the Baade's



I should have realised it was going to be a challenging week from the beginning. Monday we were heading out the door to get to school and work and we discovered a large carpet snake on top of the bird aviary trying to get in. Usually my husband Greg is the snake catcher in the family and I’m a little out of touch. Anyway we all sprang into action as this is a pretty common occurrence and we took our rolls in the catching of the snake. Mitch armed with a broom and Kelly at the ready with the pillow case. We pinned the big fella down and I took hold of his head. I really wanted a photo for this article but as Mitchell ran for the camera the snake started to squirm free. So with Kelly’s help we got him into the bag without incident. We hung him on the undercover cloths line to be released later in the afternoon. I wasn’t there for the release so I apologise that there is no photo.

I haven’t been bitten but Greg has been bitten twice and he has said that it isn’t pleasant. We often tell the story about one of the bites as we had both been drinking at it was pretty funny to us. We were on our patio and decided that the beer fridge was too far away so we decided to carry it closer. The snake must have been under the fridge as it took hold of Greg’s toe. He flicked it off but didn’t get a good look at it to identify it in the dark. I don’t know what we were thinking but we decided to ring Greg’s mother at about 11pm at night as she is very knowledgeable on snakes. After hearing that Greg had been bitten by a snake she asked if Greg was alright. I had to say he was wobbly on his feet, his speech was slurred and he was a bit blurry eyed. Then I had to add that it was just the alcohol and we were pretty sure the teeth marks on Greg’s toe indicated it was a python and not a poisonous snake. Maybe you had to be there but Greg and I laughed for days.


King Parrots


Living on acreage can be a challenge but I find it heaven after a days work to return to our own little piece of paradise. We have visiting Rosellas, King Parrots, Galas, Lorikeets, Pigeons, Bush Turkeys as well as many other common birds. I love watching them and it really clears the mind. I really needed my haven this week with many challenges at work and at home. I had to constantly refer to my management bible on how to deal with difficult people to survive the week. I also had a computer hiccup deleting the Strategic Plan that I had spent quite a bit of time on. I’m sure you can all relate to that problem.

  

My daughter Kelly also hit a hurdle when the school assignment she had spend her evenings on disappeared the night before the hand in day. Yes she had backed the work up and we still don’t know the reason it vanished but I suspect it was a live video she copied off you tube for the power point. That was another late night for everyone.

 Despite the late nights I managed to keep on track with a reasonable diet and exercise. My weight on Saturday was 9 kilos lighter than when I started my Break the Habit campaign to quit alcohol on the 1st February 2011. I still haven’t had a drink and instead of walking every morning for one hour I’m now RUNNING for an hour..
I really want to encourage everyone out there to set some goals and start your own health campaign. Do I need to say it again? – let’s MAKE EACH DAY COUNT! Whether it is to quit smoking, stop drinking alcohol, loose some weight or to improve your fitness! You have to do it right now, I feel great and you could too. If you are a smoker subscribe to my newsletter and I’ll support you in your program. I also have a website http://www.mequitsmoking.com if you need any products, the prices are very reasonable. You will also save money once you kick the habit. I’m working on other websites to help people reach their goals.

I see on my statistics report that people are reading my blog, but I haven’t received any feedback. What parts do you enjoy? Is there anything you would like to hear more about. Maybe I have set the link up incorrectly so if you have already email me please let me know by emailing me directly on mequitsmoking@ymail.com I’d love to hear from you.

Are there any Call of Duty (C.O.D) players out there? My son Mitchell loves his C.O.D. and I’m trying to encourage him to write a blog. His answer was that there are already too many C.O.D bloggers out there. Let me know if you would like to hear about his progress in the game.

I’ve put some photos of our birds on however I think I need a new camera as they are a bit distant. There is also a photo of Kelly’s pet miniature pig named Crackles. She was a bit hot and plonked herself down under the brassier in the rain water. We do give her a kids wading pool but that was too far away. The third photo was taken Christmas day with my husband, nieces and a nephew. My son Mitchell is the one with a chook (chicken) on one shoulder and our Indian ringneck named Jerry on the other shoulder. I have to quickly mention Jerry. We still don’t know if Jerry is a boy or a girl as you have to wait a year, but Jerry is beautiful. Jerry calls out all the time “What you doing”, and if left alone in the cage calls out “Jerrrrryyyy, Jerrrryyy, Jerrrryyy” until you go and get Jerry out. Jerry definitely thinks he/she is a human and has a lot of character.



Kelly's Miniture Pig - Crackles


Well it is time to sign off and prepare for a new week. I know the title was Challenges but I prefer to talk about the good things and put the bad behind me. I guess that is my tip for resilience. Don’t dwell on what you can’t change. If someone puts you down and it isn’t true just discard it. If it is true, do something to change it.

I hope your week is everything you would like it to be.



Regards

Linda Baade
Make Each Day Count