You can tell I don't get out much; Jason and I were both wilting at the party by about 10pm. I took along some Midori girly-drinks (read: lolly water) instead of wine, because I had a feeling I'd be snoring in my chair if I drank that.

Suffice it to say, we left the party, got home, and went to bed. The end. We're very boring.

I have seen some really bizarre things in the last 24 hours, though.

There was the group of 7 year old boys singing the words to "Smack That" by Eminem on my floor, complete with heads bobbing and fingers clicking.

Then there was the kindergarten kid in the playground who had turned his cap sideways and was doing fabulous rapping moves with his hands.

Not to mention the staff member last night who was walking around the restaurant with whipped cream spray-cans pushed up against her boobs. I love her!

Oh, and the three teenagers in the car stopped in front of me at traffic lights on my way home this morning, who were either having an arm wrestling match, a nice group hug OR a mock punch-up. It was pretty heated actually, the whole car was shaking. Intrigued, I was.

Lucky me now gets to spend the rest of the weekend doing my Teacher's Accreditation analysis, so I'll leave you with the shoes I wore last night. Pretty shoes.

Heading to Christmas party number 2.

Very, very, tired.

Insanely tired.

Perhaps drinking tonight.
Perhaps photos tonight with work friends.
Perhaps no pictures posted on the blog this time?

Have a lovely friday, folks.

No cleavage shots to be seen. Now scram. I'm napping.

I was rather brave tonight.

For those who have read for a while, you'll know I'm a Sydney gal - but I don't live in the city. I live about fourty minutes from inner Sydney, which is perfect for me because frankly? The city kind of scares me, unless I have people looking after me. I'm actually twelve, didn't you know?

Anywho. Jason had his work Christmas party tonight. In Drummoyne. Which is a fair hike from me, heading towards the city. I'm a nervous driver when it comes to driving to places for the first time, I panic about all sorts of things - whether I'll miss turn offs, what will happen if I end up in Canberra, that car that is driving too close to my lane, OMG I wonder if there will be parking, what do I do if there is no parking! omg! - so you get the point.

Me + Driving new places = (Usually) Unnecessary stress.

After realising that I needed to drive myself to this occasion, I promptly went to my favourite directions site and printed them off. Hmm. Didn't look too bad; Only a 37 minute journey. Ha. My computer then exploded, adding to the stress levels, and then it was time to go.

Holy crap.

As to be expected when you have me driving on my own on unfamiliar roads (with no freaking street signs, bloody hell people, how hard is it to erect a damn sign? I got completely lost. I ended up heading towards inner Sydney, so promptly panicked and turned left into the first street I could find.

I ended up in Balmain. Which is not Drummoyne. So I turned back and drove around some more. Then I ended up in Leichardt. Which is not Drummoyne. Then I parked on the side of a road somewhere in the middle of Balmain & Leichardt & Drummoyne, called Jason and put on some Sarah McLachlan to de-stress.

Did I forget to mention that I had left my street directory at home, and was depending entirely on one damn print out sheet with a squiggly arrow from my home to Drummoyne as a guide? Fuck! (That was actually the extent of the text message I sent to one of my friends while I was waiting.)

Turns out I was about two seconds from the damn restaurant, AND I managed to find the last parking spot too, so thank goodness for small favours. And now I know where Norton Street is, because I've been meaning to go there for a while now. Ha! I can drive there now! I am woman! Roar!

Gorgeous restaurant, on the water overlooking the city skyline. It was a beautiful night, a nice breeze and just really, really nice. Huge plates with tiny, completely weird meals on them. Poor Jason got stuck with no options again, since I don't eat seafood, but he didn't complain. The dessert was this passionfruit mousse served with coconut icecream - YUM.

So basically? It's nearly time for me to wake up, I'm tired, I'm slightly grumpy and still have stress levels on alert. And did I mention I have MY work Christmas party tomorrow night? I have a feeling I'll be BYO-ing tomorrow and letting Jason be the chaueffer, since I had the job tonight. I'll need it!

Why is it that when I think I look nice, I can't take a decent picture of myself to save my life? Anywho; Me and my dirty bathroom mirror would like to give you a big cheesy grin.

Speaking of shoes, here are the ones I teamed up with my (gasp) dress tonight. I even brought out a toe ring, got all dolled up and then changed the shoes in a mad panic, not wearing them after all. Damn. Nearly 1am! Yipes!

I think I've figured out the whole possessed reindeer thing.

(Oh, and I've had several google hits on my blog for people searching for possessed reindeer, how's THAT? They must be breeding. Lock your doors!)

It seems that the reindeer are placed out in prime "viewing" time and then are locked away in a stable garage for the remainder of the day. Maybe they need some time away from the paparazzi. I do not know. All I do know is that they are back.. with a vengeance.

It has also been quite suspicious around here lately. The neighbours who are responsible for the possessed reindeer breeding ground have been outside on their front lawn every bloody time I wanted to take a photograph. Perhaps they are making sure that the reindeer are not stealing and eating people's babies as they walk past, admiring the decorations.

This photo I managed to snap whilst peering out my window, hence the blur. My $99 digital camera has no zoom so you should know that whilst it is perfect for snapping footsie photos, it is not so good for stalking demonic reindeer.

Be thankful that I had to minimise this photograph; you've been spared the other two members of the herd who reside over near the candy cane.

Just like most scary things, they don't look so scary in the morning; but when night comes? That's when the heads begin rotating and split pea soup comes flying out of their mouths. Okay, that hasn't happened YET, but I am holding my breath.

The kidlets concert was fabulous last night! My feet hurt, I was hot and grouchy and tired, but it was a good time. I'll blur some faces and share some pictures tomorrow, since I'm too lazy to do it now.

And in shoe news, I recieved my Colorado purchases in the mail today. Two new pairs, one black, one brown, and a silver watch. I am in heaven. If my feet still weren't so sore from standing up in my damn heeled sandals all day, I would be wearing them right now.

Instead, these are the shoes which caused the afore mentioned sore feet.

Once again, I managed to take a photo of my feet looking like squished sausages, and sadly you can't really see the funky cork wedge. Suffice it to say they cost me $10 at Big W, I have lived in them at school this year and after standing in them for twelve hours yesterday? I've decided that my ugly but comfy shoes are MUCH better choices for long school days.

It is an important day in teacher land. A one off, live event is happening. It involves costumes, stage fright and good old fashioned country music. And it is happening TONIGHT.

My class (and the rest of the school too but WE are more important so nyer!) are performing in the School Spectacular concert!

The kidlets are excited. And their teacher is excited. Actually, it's kind of hard to pick who is more excited. It's my very first time creating a concert item all by myself, teaching them a dance, the words, the movements, how to keep their mouths shut coming on and off the stage; it's all so EXCITING. I think I shall deem that as the word of the day. (Effing stressful would be my second choice, in less polite terms.)

So because I am a bundle of nervous energy at the thought of the kiddies performing tonight, and having them all dressed properly and not falling off the stage and keeping their cowboy hats glued to their little heads, I'm taking up Janet's taggage. (Absolutely a word.)

Keep in mind I've already done the "And You Thought You Knew Me" meme in the spirit of running out of things to say in NaBloPoMo - so cripes, if these sound repetitive that's why. Deal with it, suckers.

Without further ado, I present to you the "Six Weird Things" meme.

1. I share this particular weird trait with my momma; we are able to begin weeping at rather strange times, particularly when a television set is involved. Movies, TV series, commercials, advertisements: You name it, we cry. My worst moment of shame? This dairy ad, showing this gorgeous little girl with red hair growing up nice and healthy (because of the DAIRY, you see?) and then she gets older and has her own little beautiful red haired daughter and she's healthy too (because of the DAIRY, you see?) and OMG. Tears. And I can't even blame PMS for it, since the tears can appear at any time.

2. I am in contention as being the world's most terrible procrastinator, yet I really can't be late for things. I would rather leave for an event an hour early and sit in my car waiting, than turn up on time or (gasp) late. In fact, I don't think I've ever been late to anything that I can remember? I'm always the dork that arrives before everyone else; I used to carry a book around with me for that very reason. It's the same with paperwork and study; I procrastinate like you wouldn't believe, yet I have never handed a single thing in late. Not once.

3. I'm semi-stealing Janet's one here; I think doctors are a waste of time. I generally don't go to them unless I need a prescription filled OR need a medical certificate OR feel as though I am dying, yet every single time I get told the same thing; "Get some rest and take a Panadol." No shit. You don't say? Rest? What is that? And Panadol? Who'da Thunkit? Besides, the internet is my very own doctor; it's a shame it doesn't write medical certificates. The wonderful internet told me I probably have second degree burns from my sunburn and guess what I had? Second degree burns. I heart you, internet. Oh, and I also got told to take a Panadol until the sunburn eases up. Go figure.

4. I sleep in summer pyjamas practically every night, no matter what the season is. Except when I happen to be sleeping not-at-home, since I don't think many people are interested in me frolicking around in summer nighties. It's not that weird in summer but in winter, I sleep with the window open and the fan on, as long as I am snuggled under my doona. I hate getting hot in my sleep; I have kicked off pants, socks and jumpers in my sleep before.

5. I've never been a clucky person, but in the last six months something happened that changed my mind. I'm definitely wanting my own kids sometime in the future. I have absolutely no idea how this happened; I've never been set on having them anytime soon. And the funny thing is? I'm still not exactly sure what to DO with babies. Give 'em to me when they're 4 and onwards and I'm fine, but babies? Not sure about that one. Perhaps I need my own kids to um, appear, before I get more confident with them. Where did this weird urge to have kids come from? Help!

6. I have one second toe that is longer than my big toe, and one that is shorter than my big toe. And you might even be able to see that if you peer closely at my December shoe pictures; not that I recommend staring at my pudgy feet for long amounts of time, it may cause damage to your retinas.

Hrm. If you've done this before or are not interested, you can do ten star-jumps instead. But I think I'll tag Aimee, Lala, Ngaire, Tasmiya and Lara. And of course, any other lovely who is interested. Jump right in, folks.

Aside from making my feet looked extremely tanned, the sandals you see below also make my
feet look like squished sausages. But they are my newest shoe
purchases (apart from the Colorados that are flying through the post
right now; home shopping is fabulous!) and are actually really cute.

These ones I am dedicating to Jen. Because despite appearances (and a huge still-red sunburn area complete with a key chain mark around my neck) I am still actually, the world's palest individual. My legs and stomach can probably reflect laser beams.

I take it all back.

When I went to sleep last night, there were no possessed reindeer to be seen by the naked eye. When I woke up this morning? As if by magic, there they are! I told you they're possessed.

(And yes I shall absolutely take pictures of them now that they are up.) (But not now.) (Because I haven't worked up the courage to look at them out the window for more than three second intervals yet.) (I'll get there.)

Freaky.

Oh, Oh, and news! I won a contest! A real prize! And it wasn't from NaBloPoMo! Hee. Hey, my chances of being 35/2000 or something were pretty slim, so I didn't really have expectations to win anything from there, you know?

BUT one of the blogs I discovered from the Randomiser was having a contest of her own; anyone who commented on her blog in November was placed in the draw for a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate. And my name got picked out! Mine! I won something! Excuse me while I frolic around my room a little.

Shameless Plug: Thankyou to Jenny from Jennyology.net for a lovely surprise when I got home from work. Now, what to spend it on? I'm absolutely playing with my wishlist now.

Now, onto the shoesies.

Someone asked what size shoe I wear, I think it was Desiree. Sadly, while I wish I had smaller feet, my stompers are a hefty size 9. They are also kind of pudgy, and I have one "second" toe that is longer than my big toe, and one "second" toe that is shorter than my big toe. Basically, I am a freak.

Oh, and because Aimee was tired of seeing comfy yet ugly shoe specimens, I dug out a NICER pair today. Are you happy now, pretty lady?

Do these babies look familiar? If anyone remembers back before Halloween, these are THE shoes from Amazon, that the wonderful Beth shipped over here for me. Sadly, I am yet to wear them out because they make me look like a bloody giant however I WILL remedy this over Christmas. I will, I will, I will. Broken ankles are NOT included.

Janet has tagged me for a little question thingy-majingy, but I shall do that tomorrow because the magical appearing and disappearing possessed golden reindeer story I just HAD to share with you all.

I bring you sad news.

The neighborhood competition for tacky Christmas lights has begun.

Yes, I know. A minute's silence would be a great idea right about now.

(Once again, I am not a scrooge, I am just not a fan of people driving past our house, walking on our lawn and blocking our driveway all hours of the night leading up to Christmas, just to make comments like "Oooh! Aaaah!")

There are still many moons before Christmas arrives, too.

(Oh, and I'm all for viewing Christmas lights because in spite of all my whinging, I actually ENJOY looking at Christmas lights. That is, only when I am the person driving past houses, walking on lawns and blocking driveways. Comprehend?)

I'm devastated though, that an integral part of the Christmas tradition is missing from the house across the street. It's really, really upsetting. It's like having a nativity scene that is missing the baby Jesus. You just don't DO that!

The evil, possessed, head-turning mechanical reindeer are missing.

I know! It's just tragic. I feel a bit lost for words right now. I just don't know how I'll cope going to sleep without those evil eyes that never stop watching you peaceful eyes wishing me goodnight. And what exactly is the mooning Santa cutout we bought for this year going to flash it's butt at?

I'm disappointed, neighbours. You have exactly 21 days, three weeks, to remedy this blatant disrespect of Christmas, or else.

These are what I'll be wearing to school today. They are Colorado, my most favourite shoe brand in the whole wide world, and I've had them for about five years. (I spent a rather hefty sum on these shoes, but they have lasted, restoring my faith in shoes.) And so, I bought another pair, but that's a story for another day. I wish I had bought more, because when these shoes die? I will consider just walking around barefoot, because there is NO match for them.

This weather is messing with my head. And sinus. First it is over fourty degrees and humid, and the very next day it is under twenty. Completely insane. But the weather is also irritating me because it brings with it a plague. A plague of complete morons who should not be behind the wheel of an automobile because they simply. cannot. drive.

I'll try not to go too far with this, as most of you already know how I stand with idiot drivers.

It just always amazes me how people forget how to drive their car when it's raining, especially when it hasn't rained in a while. Isn't it logical to slow the heck down? Isn't it logical to turn your headlights on so other drivers can actually see you? Isn't it logical to follow the freaking road rules?

I find it terrifying when people can't drive safely .. on freeways. It's not dangerous enough that we're already doing pretty high speeds; Would it hurt the driver of the ginormous truck to slow down to less than 120km/h when the roads are slick and oily? And for the P-Plate driver who likes to tailgate other cars when there are two completely empty overtaking lanes at his disposal? I flip fingers in your general direction.

Is it really that hard to put your indicator on when you're changing lanes AND IT'S RAINING? Or are we all supposed to be mind readers and predict where you will veer your pretty little car to next?

Sadly, it's no wonder road fatalities are so high. People just have absolutely no idea.

If you're not thinking about saving your own pathetic arse, think about all the innocent people you are endangering just by being behind a wheel. Bah humbug.

Even though it's raining, I think it's still time for summer shoes. Just imagine throwing these at the heads of idiot drivers everywhere. It made me feel better.

These are $10 cork scuffs that I bought from K-Mart about a thousand years ago. I think I lived in these going to uni, as you'll be able to tell by the wear marks on the inside. Not so pretty, but damn comfy.

They may just be made from cork, but those buckles are killer if you aim for the eyeballs. Trust me on that one.

You may recall that yesterday's post was left off with the mention of a monster headache, yes?

Jason came over after work and got to put up with me whinging about it, as usual. I wanted Thai for dinner, he'd already had stir fry for lunch. He wanted Subway for dinner, and I wasn't in the mood. We settled on going into the supermarket and finding something which he said he'd cook for me. I agreed, so long as it didn't involve tomato, broccoli, seafood, and the bajillion other things I don't eat. (Fussy.)

We settled on making yummy apricot chicken and rice. It was, well, yummy. And my dear boy didn't cut himself while cooking the food this time, therefore no passing out on the kitchen floor. Bonus!

He definitely scored points for that.

He lost points, however, after referring to me as Rumpelstiltskin this morning. Apparently that was the first thing that came into his head after waking up this morning and seeing me with a red, pillow-marked face.

RUMPELSTILTSKIN.

I still don't quite get it.

Do I look like someone who can spin straw into gold? (Sweet!)
Or perhaps I just look like a rather ugly goblin first thing in the morning?
Must clarify this.

Whatever.

I bet Rumpelstiltskin doesn't have sexy shoes like this.

These shoes I always imagined owning when I was growing up, because to me they look like "office" shoes. You know, the ones that successful business women wear to work and strut around in?

Sadly I never did get an office job, and there is no way in hell I could stand up in these shoes all day teaching. (They look really hot under jeans though, which is nice!) I actually ended up using a friend's 80's costume party an excuse to actually buy myself a pair.

They look fabulous teamed up with red and white spotty socks.

Happy Summer!

(Or Winter, depending on where about you are residing in this big, ol' world.)

Today's weather sure did mark the occassion here. It was very, very, ickily hot. Hot as in over 40o yet again. I hate Summer. Please, can someone in the USA send me some cold weather? And snow? Please? Great. Thanks.

[My sunburn: YEAH. DOWN WITH SUMMER. Blister, Blister, Peel, Peel.]

I spent my day hiding inside my classroom with all of the lights turned off. I was banned from doing sport or standing in the sun because of the burns-from-hell, so took the opportunity to finish my kids report cards for the end of the year.

And I am done! Finito! I had my supervisor look over them three times, and each time she found a magical spelling mistake that I SWEAR I had fixed the first time. My work computer is possessed, and likes to mess with my head. Anyway. It's now on the principal's desk, so they're his problem now and not mine. I must say I like it much better that way.

Sadly the heat also blessed me with the mother of all migraines. It started at recess time while I was eating my two gigantic watermelon slices from the canteen and was having fun flicking the seeds across my table (Yes. I'm weird.) and got bigger and bigger all day. Of course, today was deemed "Let's all practice for next week's musical as loud as we can!" day, with my class included.

Did I mention my class are dancing for the performance night?
We're line dancing.
To country music.
To LOUD, hyper country music.
To LOUD, hyper country music with neighing and YEE-HAWS involved.
My head.
It hurts.

Kari posted the other day about missing the SHOE Blogging month, and I was the same - too busy with NaBloPoMo to worry about shoes. Well, I'm not in the mood for the Holidailies posting right now, so I'm going to dedicate December to shoes. Lots of shoes. Shoes of young and old. Shoes of brown and black. Shoes of all shapes, sizes and smells.

It's going to be great fun.

Let's start with some stilettos. Stilettos that absolutely make your ankles look like fat lumps of crap when you're taking a picture of your own foot while sitting down, bending over and randomly aiming the camera towards the floor. Say it with me now - CANKLES.

(Seriously though, these  shoes I eyed for months in Payless. I would walk past them in the window on the way to work and dream of where I would wear them too. The top is beautiful flowers and they are just simply, PRETTY. I finally caved and bought them, and have worn them a grand total of two times. But aren't they PRETTY?)

See? Observe the prettiness up close and on a pillow. I swear, they look much better when I actually stand up straight.

So. Rate the shoe. And be kind to the cankles.