We've had another Christmas go by already, so here's a couple of pics from Christmas 2007. The first is a natural Aussie Christmas Door Wreath.  The kids collected the native fauna from the park, including gum leaves and nuts, which I then assembled into a welcoming decoration more suited to the aussie festive season.  The second pic is our traditional Xmas Eve photo of the completed tree.  You can see our new aquarium in this photo - a hobby of my husband's - but more about that later.  And taken at about 5:30am on Christmas Morning, is the third photo of myself, sporting new sunnies and a Virgo coffee mug.   

Aussie Christmas Door Wreath December 2007	Christmas Eve 2007
PoizonMyst - Christmas Day 2007

The tag attached reads:

Barbara Sansoni designs

"Our products are about creation & design. They are about the inspiration and influence at work behind our intense passion for colour and textiles", Barbara Sansoni, founder of Barefoot Sri lanka.

In 1958, Barbara Sansoni, a colourist & artist, created the Barefoot concept out of a need for a rehabilition program for young Sri lankan woman who had limited schooling and skills.  Today Barefoot is a premier textile design company exporting exquisite hand woven fabrics, toys, linen, and clothing worldwide.

Barefoot Artisans are dedicaed weavers and needlewomen who, without time constraints of mass production, are able to produce premium quality workmanship.  Barefoot Sri lanka apposes exploitive practices.  Each artisan earns a real wage enabling them to support their families with self-respect and dignity.

100% hand woven fabric - 100% hand made - 100% natural fibres
Swiss dyes used are non-toxic & colourfast.

It's always good to highlight a worthy cause and the everyday people who are implementing inspirational working solutions.  These toys are top quality products and I have no doubt they will last until the girls want to pass them on to their own children. So if you are looking for a unique gift for that special occasion, give Barefoot a look. You can also visit Barefoot Australia.

In August last year Reanimated Residue Multimedia Studios invested in some environmentally friendly personal transportation vehicles in the form of three Dyno electric bicycles. They have saved us so much money in taxi fares and have completed some 2000km each already.  These bikes have changed our life. Here's a couple of pics. Read a complete review and Q&A on our website.

DYNO CX 24V 200 Electric Bicycle	PoizonMyst - Proud owner October 2007

I mentioned earlier my husband's hobby so heres a couple of pics from our aquarium.  These pics are a bit old - again around Oct/Nov 2007 - so the fish have grown somewhat since and need a new tank already.   I tell you it's a scarey thing to feed these critters, let alone putting your whole arm in the tank to rearrange the neighbourhood ornaments.  I've always enjoyed watching the community interaction of fish.  I can sit for hours captivated by their little domestic disputes and mating rituals. Hmmm ... I think I mite have been watching too many David Attenborough documentaries lately.

Anyway, when I get a new camera I'll be able to share some newer photos, but for now let me introduce you to our tank of territorial predators.

Electric Blue Cichlid	Green Terror & Convicts

Well that's a pretty good start for an update ... but I've got plenty of new stuff to write about so I'll be back a few more times over the coming weeks. I hope all the mum's out there had a fabulous day yesterday for Mother's Day 2008!  Anyway, until next time, Cheers!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Miss 7 at the community Christmas Party - December 14th 06

Local Santa at the Community Christmas Party - Dec 14th 06

This Year's Christmas Tree - Dec 22nd 06

Wasnt that exciting?  I think so, I love Christmas ... I mean who doesnt?  Even though I dont get all the pressies I want anymore ... i love watching the kids open theirs and get everything their hearts desire.  Ahhhh the spirit of giving.  Can't put any pressies unda the tree yet cause they wouldnt survive til Christmas day.  Hopefully I can take some more pics on Christmas Eve when its all laden with gifts.

So as I said, Ive been undertaking many projects this year.  I completed my first semester in a Certificate IV Information Technology (Website Design), so my next project is to spiffy up the Reanimated Residue website before classes start again.  My kids have been bugging me for a homepage on the web too, so that is also to come.  I've also got to add some links to other communities we run or are involved in, as well as some stuff for our new internet radio station, Radio Residue (thats a "listen" link btw).

We've been involved in a community of radio stations for a few months now over at radio-forums.net - a pretty cool concept of numerous radio stations and listeners interacting via forums while on air.  We've also been trying to get some video happening through the same station, and recently unleashed "The Videodrome" ... a b-grade movie TV show.  First night was riddled with issues but things will certainly improve as we smooth things out.  Currently we support 1500/256 and up connections for the video nights.  So head on over to radio-forums.net and get involved.  Radio Residue's dedicated forums at the site can be found here - that's where you can find out all about our station, chat with the DJs and other listeners, and find out when our shows are scheduled to be on.  Hope to see you there!

So it's almost to time finish up here ... I'll leave you with one last photo.  The triplets will be 11 months old at the end of this year, so I thought I'd show an update picture.  They're crawling around now, and babbling baby words, laughing, and exploring.  They are such good lil girls - hardly ever crying and always sleeping through the night.  So here it is, taken Dec 14th, three lil faces all the same ... Havent they grown?!?

The Triplets - Dec 14th 06

It's been quite some time since I last made a blog entry - and have I got some news to tell!

My naturally conceived identical triplet girls were delivered by emergency C-Section on January 25th 2006 ... at 28 weeks gestation.  I had developed advanced pre-eclampsia, and due to a mix-up in communication between doctors and nurses, the C-Section had to be conducted under general anesthetic.

At first I was really scared ... thought I wouldn't wake up again ... but in the end I am rather grateful I was completely out to it. I was shaking so much, by the time I entered surgery, that I just wanted to be put under ASAP.   The operating theatre was packed out - twenty people were required to make this delivery. I could not have a support person with me, so those 20 people were ALL hospital staff.  Just an idea of what was required ... there were three anesthetists just for me, and three people attending each baby. My obstrician, and her medical team, were absolutely brilliant. I was very impressed and reassured by their competence, experience, and confidence.

Everyday SoulElectronique and myself value our good fortune ... The babies were very healthy from day one and were only on ventilation and C-Pap (helps to keep the lungs slightly inflated) for 3 days. They remained in humidicribs until they reached 1800 grams. The girls were discharged from hospital at 38 weeks gestation, returning home on April 5th with the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Birth Details
(Sorry, I can't provide their names)

Triplet 1:
Birth Weight: 1020 gms / 2lb 4oz
Time of Birth: 10.45pm

Triplet 2:
Birth Weight: 915 gms / 2lb 1/2 oz
Time of Birth: 10.45pm

Triplet 3:
Birth Weight: 870 gms/1lb 15oz
Time of Birth: 10.46pm

Still In Hospital - March 2006 Left to right: Triplet 3, Triplet 2, Triplet 1.

So how have we been handling having three little bubbas at home? It's nowhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be.   I count my lucky stars that they were not my first tho ... as my previous parenting experience has helped a great deal. So my household has been all about routine, routine, routine ... and everything runs quite smoothly. They started sleeping thru almost every night, about three weeks ago, and we just make sure we go to bed straight after their last night time feed.    Sure, they have their restless moments, but they are generally really good lil girls. I'm so happy to be home with my family again (after 3 1/2 months away) and absolutely estatic about our three new additions.

The Divas - May 19th 2006 Left to right: Triplet 1, Triplet 2, Triplet 3.

Three Little Angels - May 19th 2006. Left to right: Triplet 1, Triplet 2, Triplet 3.

Uber Bubbas. Left to right: Triplet 1, Triplet 2, Triplet 3.

I had intended to go to bed at about midnight last night cause Im so buggered at the mo. However, as I started on a couple of small modifications to my blog space, I got a little carried away ... and as is typical for an internet addict, before i knew it the sun was cumin up, and it was time to get my daughter ready for school. 
Anyway, I hope the new additions to my blog space make it a little more interesting for visitors.  Tho, my polls have a slight error in the display script, I quite like that addition.  It's a quick and  easy way for ppl to interact if they dont wanna drop a comment - and I get to see how ppl feel about some of the topics I like to discuss in my blog.  It's completely anonymous so give it a go.  The link to my polls is in the "Interact" list in the sidebar on the right. Im planning to add some other features in the future so be sure to come by again to check them out.
I tried linking to java pages (stored in documents) and images in my MSN group, but that wasnt too successful, as it required sign in to a MSN passport to see the features, which really isnt ideal.  Its bad enuff that apparently the MSN Spaces cannot be viewed in any other browser but IE, and that ppl need to have a passport to leave messages ... so I dont need to add to the incompatibilities.
Our lil country town finally has broadband available, so we've signed up for a connection and are just waiting til our router modem to arrive in the mail.  Should be onto broadband by this time next week, which is pretty exciting.  That should make watching live streaming from the Big Brother house more bearable, along with other things like WebTV.  Im thinking Ill have winamp streaming one of the StarTrek channels in a lil window at the top of my monitor all day as I surf the net.  Should be lotsa fun.  
Well Im pretty tired now and ready to settle in for a good nites rest.  Time to get the kids into bed and daze out on some flicks.  Gnite All.

Not only did we upgrade the  comps, but we also went on a bit of a spending spree.  Look in the 'Our Stuff' photo album to view some of the things we bought.
I told you we bought a Super Bouncer Trampoline for the kids, and some new furniture for their rooms, along with some clothes and new shoes.  I got a new pair of UG boots which Im pretty pleased to have available in the cold of morning.
To make life alittle easier we also bought a bicycle, a Sunbeam Convection Heater, a Kelvinator Fridge (we're giving our old beast to Salvos) and a Samsung Washing Machine.  I tidied up my now spiffy laundry with a new 4 tier shelf.  We also bought a bookshelf for the lounge and a heap of VHS tapes from the local video shop who is selling off all their Vids for $2 a pop - we've got 80 vids now, which is a good collection to have considering the technology is dying out fast and tapes will be unavailable before too long.  Many are new release tapes too ... so Im quite stoked at such a bargain.  Even tho its not new, Ive also included a photo of our hifi video player, DVD set-top box, and the tele ... cause its big.  We are finally getting nicely settled into our new home.   I've got a picture of our veggie garden for this blog ... we've already had some nice lettuce and herbs, and we're starting to get some tomatoes too.  Unfortunately, little man and Miss 5 both decided to crush half the plants in an effort to pick off some of the fruit ...

The Country Music  Festival came to town last weekend, and a friend of ours could get us some gate passes and free treats, so we went along for a look.  Now Country music isnt exactly our flavour ... but we had a great time regardless.  We decided to have a couple of drinks & listen to some music before we left, just to get ourselves into a bit of a party  mood.  Well, Disturbed and Evenesence probably got us a bit more hyped up than wot we needed to be for country music ... but anyhow it was all in fun.  With three kids we dont often get to go out and enjoy ourselves often. They had a Rodeo  (which is something Ive never seen in real life before) ... those dudes are crazy ... the kids loved it.  They were fascinated.  The excitement managed to keep them warm too, but when it was all over and the band began to play, well they werent so pep any longer.  We gathered around the fire to keep warm - but I felt sorry for the band cause the townsfolk were being party poopers - so I grabbed my little 5 year old daughter and we got up to dance.  After a bit of protesting from Miss 5, other people finally came up to join us.  The next day, we went back, but it was completely different.  The atmosphere was dull.  Everyone was sitting on their chairs and some chick was doing a bad impersonation of Olivia Newton John songs - she was even wearing a blonde wig.  We had some hot chips and fairy floss, but left shortly after.  Overall, I had a nice time ... it was just something alittle different to do.

Well, its getting rather late here and Im getting pretty tired  ... the kids are still up tho ... I can hear the toot of a recorder in the loungeroom ... thank god its Friday.  Time for a coffee  a nice hot shower and a soft warm bed.  Gnite.

The kids super bouncer trampoline arrived on Friday, which was good timing for the weekend.  They've bin well & truly occupied by it, which has bin a welcome break from trying to keep them entertained.  An example of how active they can b is evident in last night.  Little Man (3 & 3/4 years) woke up about midnight, watched a movie, then spent the rest of the night playing Nintendo.  Then when his sisters woke up around 7am, they all went out & jumped on the tramp for the rest of the day.  He's only just fallen asleep about 30mins ago.
Other bits of our comp arrived last week also - motherboard, graphics card, cpu, monitor - & has bin fully assembled. Still waiting on black keyboard & mouse which should arrive on Monday.  I played Command & Conquer Generals on it & won my first eva game.
We're about to get into a couple of movies for the night, so I'll post a photo & details about the comp specs in a couple of days when the keyboard & mouse arrive & its lookin all spiffy.
Tomorrow I gotta finish one of the drawings I am going to be submitting to MotherVerse magazine on Monday for the cover.
okay, its movie time, so gnite   all.

Finally feeling much betta today for the first time in over a week, so I did a heap of housework and then had pizza for dinner while I watched Big Brother.  Ive always bin a bit of a big bro fan ... lotta fun.  As it only started on Sunday, I havnt really got a fav yet ... or a prediction on the winner .... but I know I already dun like that "try-sexual" one.  I think her name is Geneva ... but theres so many G's in there Im not sure, so I'll post that when Im certain.  Anyway, I dun like her cause shes so 'trendy' that she cant stop goin on about liking both girls and guys ... is she tryna convince us or herself?
Oh yeh, and I dun like one of the fellas too, but I dunno his name yet either ... he was big noting himself bout havin to drive to work at 3am, and then havin to do uni til 10pm, and how angry he was about "bludgers" who would sleep in til 9am.  Shows u how outta touch he is wif "bludgers" ... I always thought they slept til at least 1pm .... hehehe.  Anyway my question straight away was "Well why do it then?"  and he answered me! "I do it cause I wanna better myself and hav better opportunities in life" .... Well there ya go then!!! He's doin it for himself ... so the bloody "bludgers" dun got anything to do wif his life choices, so wots he complaining about?  I just think its real sad when sumone needs to worry about wot sumone else is doin wif their life, or isnt doing, just cause they arent happy perhaps, with the choices theyve made in their life.
Anyway, got sum rechargable batteries for the digi cam today.  Thats a good thing, cause Im not confident with the pic I decided to draw for MotherVerse magazine.  I mean the drawing turned out fab, but I dont think its quite wot theyre after.  After looking over a few unfinished sketches I had dun of my kids, I came across one with appealing composition and I think it has sum promise.  Tomorrow I will reshoot the photo to the exact specs Im after, and then I'll hav a go at that.  When I finish I will post it, and the other pieces I did for this project, at DA.
Today our flashy new comp case arrived, Its an Omni wif transparent side and top, 500watt power supply (!), and complete wif groovy red, blue, green, and purple leds on the fans - A cheap $100.  When the rest of the comp arrives and gets assembled, itll b a meaty machine.  Ill post a pic and the specs of the finished beast when its dun.
We are expecting the kids trampoline to arrive tomorrow ... theyre pretty excited.  Should be a lot of fun - I'll post a pic.  I just had visions of Mr Puddy Cat being bounced up and down on it by the kids .... hmmmm ... I'll post a pic of that too
Anyway, Big Brother Uplate has started, and Im eager to see the "Logan" twins swap roles again ... wot a groovy idea. Big Bro is such a sneaky bastard, and these boys seem to b doin a good job of melding their differences so as to appear as one bloke.  Its early days yet, but should be sum interesting tele to watch.
 Gnite All 

To all those young mothers, like myself - I hope today is a happy one for you all.

 HAPPY MOTHERS DAY LADIES 

Oh I am so damn sick of being sick.  It would be nice to just have a couple of months go by where Im not totally drained by sum new affliction.  And my poor family ... having to sit around listening to me hollar in pain for about two hours the other night, must send em slightly batty.  Feeling a bit betta now tho, so I jumped straight bak onto the net, lol, to catch up wif all my buddies.   Hopefully I'll be well for Mother's Day tomorrow, my daughters have made me a Powerpoint presentation for the special occasion, which should be fun.
This week the kids trampoline should arrive, and my hubby's new computer ... so we all pretty excited about that.  Means the kids can stop hassling to use the comp, cause theyll finally hav their own.
Well, Im happy to hav finally started on the cover for MotherVerse magazine.  Im not really sure its wot they are after tho, but at least Ill hav sumthing to hand them when May 15th rolls around.  I was hoping to get a couple of different ones finished so there would be a choice, but the way Im feelin rite now, I dont see that happening too quikly.
Ive also gotta hav my course finished by June 30th ... which is kinda good theres a deadline now, cause least then I will actually get up and complete it!!  I really cant wait to finish both these projects actually, I really wanna get into sum of my more creative personal projects - I think its time I had sum ME time.  Talkin of ME time ... Im off for a shower and sum sleep. Gnite all.

God I lead such a boring life ... oh well ... I enjoy it anyway  
Last week my new Wacom Graphire 3 Digital Photography Toolkit arrived ... twill b the saviour of my new artistic creations.  For those of u who hav no idea wot Im on about - the Wacom Graphire 3 is a graphic tablet which allows me to draw directly to the computer.  It is soooo cool ... dunno how I did wifout it in the past ... well yes I do - I used to draw everything on paper and then scan it into the computer later - but this thing is incredible.  Im lovin it ... Its replaced all my pens, textas, pencils, paintbrushes & paints, even my eraser!  Its changed the functionality of all my graphics programs in a snap - opening up the features so that they are actually useful.  I think it would allow just about anyone to produce feasible artworx - so hopefully my ability to draw previously will be truly complimented by this brill piece of technology.
Ive dun not much else this week ... just surfin the net, lookin after my kids, housework, normal boring daily shit.  So yeh, not much exciting to report.

If you read my last blog post you may b interested in an update on Schapelle Corby ... Well it looks like shes not gonna get the death penalty, which is good news, but it seems likely she will spend the rest of her life in an Indo prison - pretty shit.  So theres still work to be dun ... see my blog post Fair Justice for Schapelle Corby if u are interested in ways to support her, such as writing to the Australian Government to demand her return to Australia under the prisoner exchange program, or letting the Indo consulate know that a boycott of Indonesia is due to their extreme penalty imposed on Schapelle and the almost non-existant two year penalty for the Bali bomber - most inconsistant.
Who wants to go to Indonesia these days anyway, wot wif the Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Erupting Volcanos, Crazy Militant Bombers, and Inequitable system of 'Justice' - Hardly sounds like a lush tropical paradise tourist destination to me.

Wow how exciting ... A real blog space for msn.
I started doin a blog at the Reanimated Residue Group ... but this space is much better - tailored for the purpose, I can bore you even better now wif all the exciting things I do wif my life, and hav a groovy nebula background to boot!  It'll b interesting to see how this thing worx ... I understand anyone can view the space, and ppl can add comments also - so feel free if u feel so inclined.
I also occasionally fill out a journal entry at my Deviant Art gallery page, so if ur eva interested in knowing THAT much about me you can always visit there and catch up on my art doings.  Deviant Art is the best place to see new artworks I have submitted to the web.  Im goin to update my Reanimated Residue portfolio to just show selected best-of-the-best pieces, while I'll hav ALL my artwork on display at Deviant Art.
Talkin of art, I've got a magazine cover that I gotta hav finished by this time next month, so I really should get onto that.  I've dun a few layout ideas, but I really gotta get crackin and finish sumthin for it.  Its a challenge, but I'm up for it.
I havent bin too well lately, so I've bin havin a bit of trouble gettin anything dun really - the house is a mess and noones got any clean clothes to wear ... Ive got the last module of my certificate 4 workplace trainer and assessor course to complete ... and now I also gotta try and undertake sum sorta legal action against the storage shed where I was keeping all my stuff.  Things truly hav piled up ova the last two months, and my procrastination is not helping any.
I should stop blabbling and get to it ... well get to doin sumthin else anyway ....