Right now I am on a lunch break for the motorbike riding course I’m doing. We’ve still got three hours to go but I’m exhausted. It sure is hard work and I don’t think the 37 degree heat is helping especially as we have to wear jeans, closed shoes and long sleeves. The fact that I am the worst rider is pretty stressful to me. I was never the worst at anything at school, never the best but somewhere in the middle. I am now experiencing being the worst. It’s not fun but its probably a good experience and the others are nice enough about it. So when I get over all that it’s kind of fun and I am learning lots pretty fast so I guess soon I’ll be riding to work and just my mum will be stressed.

Yesterday CocaCola won court case to stop a recycling refund in NT.  It really is very disappointing as this program was really working well.  As we don’t have kerbside pick up for recycling it was the refund was the incentive people needed to do it.  I guess I shouldn’t really be “disappointed”  this is the sort of behaviour expected by big multinationals of very questionable ethics anyway.

On the local radio here they have a competition where they play a song that relates to a news item of the day and people have to guess what it is.  Yesterday they palyed that song, ” I fought the law and the law won”.  It made me really sad how often this is true.  Fighting big machines is almost imposibale.  In saying that I will be boycotting Coke but as I probably only drink Coke once a year I am not sure my boycotting will make much difference.  So I wish to encourage those of you who are and  care about the environment to join me.  This action really does suck bad.

Alice Springs has a toy library. I have decided that toy libraries are the coolest idea ever. For $88 per year I can borrow four toys every two weeks. Two weeks is perfect as that is about the amount of time that Nina stays interested in a toy. Thus she has access to an endless amount of toys (and cool ones, bikes, kitchens, bowling sets, play equipment etc) without ever contributing to landfill. Yay. So here she is playing on her slippery dip and see saw

I have seen two movies at the cinema already this year and it’s only Feb.  That’s a pretty good achievement given that in the previous 2.5 years since Nina has been alive I had been three times.  They were both fantastic too.  First we saw “Life of Pi” 3D.  Yes Alice has that now.  It was pretty spectacular.  3D really worked for this film.  I wasn’t that excited to go.  I had read the book which I had really liked but wasn’t convinced it would make a good film.  It did.  So many good conversations after it too about stories, theology, truth, topcis I really love.

Then on the weekend was the annual travelling film festival.  Alice goes a bit nuts for fims that weekend and many people including Ryan mob see all nine.  I saw one, “searching for sugarman” a doco about the singer Rogriguez whose first name is sometime Jesus and other time Sixto.  Anyway,  Rodriguez, an American, made some great music in the late sixties and early seventies but it never took off in the states so he went on to demolish houses and live a pretty basic life.  Meanwhile, his music takes off in South Africa, inspiring anti apartheid singers as well, and he’s really famous.  Some time in the ninties some journalists go looking for him and this unbelievably gorgeous, humble, generous man finds out he’s really famous.  It doesn’t go to his head though he keeps working at his job and living in the same house.  It’s the most incredibale story.   Everyone should see it.

Just a shame I din’t make it to Les Miserables when it was on.  I did really try as many know but it wasn’t meant to be I suppose.  I hope it’s still okay on DVD.

Nina has had her first lot of lice.  What a pain.  We have spent the last few days washing her hair with shampoo, spraying it with tea tree oil and trying to comb them out with those lice combs, not easy with a wiggly two year old.  She hates it, we hate it and progress is very slow.  Aaaahhhh.  The woman at her family day care which she goes to on Wednesday says she can’t come unless she is lice free.  I know that is totally understandable and she was very nice about it but despite how common lice is among kids, especially here, and knowing it has nothing to do with cleanliness one can’t help but feel a bit embarassed.  I did laugh on Saturday though when we were out at Ellery Creek and I am chatting to someone and Nina out of nowhere says in a very loud voice, “yo me got lice.”  At least she’s not embarassed.

Nina has learned how to sing “Jesus loves me”. This morning I was putting away some clothes and she was playing with her soft toys and I heard her start singing “Jesus loves me” to them. I confess it brought tears to my eyes. I hope she always knows it.

It is my second day at my new job.  I am on lunch so thought I’d write a blog post.  There really is a lot to learn and my head feels like it my explode from overload.  Thankfully I don’t have to teach for another 2 weeks so it is an extensive induction process with time to slowly begin to process it all and plan.  I am nervous about the teaching, it is going to be hard but I feel so blessed to be here.  This really is the area that I want to be in and everyone is very friendsly and helpful so I am looking forward to Iearning a lot.

We made it.  We are finally here back in our home in Alice Springs.  While we had a most wonderful time in Sydney, staying at the beach and spending lots of and lots of time with family and friends I am happy to be here and finally in my own place again.  We have caught up with all the special people on this block too which has been nice.

I don’t feel fully settled yet though.  It’s strange coming back to a place which is so familiar and yet so unfamiliar as well.   I guess I just need time to adjust again. There are still boxes to unpack even though we have been working pretty solidly for two days.  It has also been unbelievably hot reaching tops of 43 both days and the same predicted for the next week.  That will be intense.

My annual bullet point list of what I did this year:

• I started the year in Piura living in a cousin’s place after having just moved to Peru.  In January we moved to Chulucanas.
• I tried to get a job at the university there.  I was told I had it but then it was given to someone else.
• I didn’t get another job apart from working at a primary school for a term.
• I also did some translating for an organic mango association.
• I tried to start a little doula project.  I only attended two births but spent a lot of time hanging out with these women as well as 4 other women throughout pregnancy and after the birth.  They were very significant relationships for me.
• Martin did some sustainable agriculture workshops which took him as well as Nina and I when we could to many different farms in the Chulucanas area.  Again significant relationships were built.
• I spent most of my time in 2012 looking after Nina, which involved lots of outings to the park, plaza and pool as well as lots of song singing, dancing, hugging, bathing, encouraging her to eat, sitting through tantrums etc etc.  It is a constant job but has been pretty rewarding this year seeing her develop so much and I just love the person she is becoming.
• I also spent lots of time hanging in Chulucanas with family and getting to know them better.  I tried to just be present and learn to “be” more.  It’s a life time journey I think.
• I travelled a fair bit around Peru.  Firstly to Trujillo to watch my first “La U” soccer game and visit some Per-Incan ruins.
• I turned 30 and we travelled to Chiclayo to celebrate and visit some burial sites of other pre Incan cultures.
• Mum and Keith visited and we travelled to Frias and Ayabaca in the Andes not far from Chulucanas and then we travelled to Lima and Pulcallpa in the Amazons to visit Martin’s dad.
• Nina turned 2 and we had a massive party for her.
• We came back from Peru.  The move has been hard in many ways but it is great to back and I am feeling more at peace with it as time goes on.
• I saw one movie at the cinema and it was so bad I don’t even remember the name and I don’t know how many books I read as I haven’t been very good at keeping a record again this year but it was a lot.
• We had a lovely Christmas with family on the beach in Mona Vale.
• I was actually up at midnight on New Years Eve for the first time in two years.  It was a quiet night but spent with many of my oldest and dearest friends and of course some wonderful family members.

I am continuing to try to foster an attitude of gratefulness and I am doing pretty well really but maybe that is because I really do have a lot to be grateful for.

Nina and I had a lovely little trip to Tamworth. We went up on the train.  It was a fair bit of work with all the things I had but I got some help from Jenny who kindly picked us up and helped us carry everything on to the platform and I also got some help from some guys at the other end who helped me get it all off.  I really have started to value those people who offer help to mother’s trying to get kids and stuff on and off trains, upstairs etc.  It was also a fair bit of work keeping Nina entertained but with food, a little sleep and lots of Ipad lent to us by Jane we got there.  In Tamworth we caught up with family and Nina was very open to everyone especially her Poppy who she was very excited to see.  Dad drove us home via Foster where we spent a night with my auntie who is living on an amazing property there with her partner.  Now I am grateful to be home safe and sound with Martin again.  Caring for Nina is also much easier with him around.

I also unbelievably have got a job.  It is just a 6 month contract at this stage as the program is only funded until June but hopefully they will continue funding and if not if I will at least have my foot in the door for naything else that comes up.  I am working with an Indigenous Tertiary Institute that I really wanted a job with.  It will be three days a week, in town, using Ipads to teach literacy to young women from town camps.  It is going to be full on and I am very nervous about it but excited too.  I know I will probably suck for awhile and that is always a pretty overwhelming time but this is what I want to be doing so I have to start at some time so I am very grateful.

Today, I went to the city with my dad, my sister and J, my uncle, my husband and as always gorgeous daughter.   We had lunch in China town then meandered down to Darling Harbour for a play in the park and fountains.  It was a very Sydney day and I felt blessed to be here and with my family with all their rough edges as we would say.