Holidays

I am racking my brains to find a way of guaranteeing my holiday by trying to ship the kids off to other parts of the country without breaking the bank - the middle one has his heart set on going to the south of Brazil to spend 10 days with my sister and his cousins, he has generously informed me that this can be considered his birthday present! The youngest is hankering after going to a friend's house in the south too (also involves a plane trip), the only problem is that we don't know this friend and her family because she is an "internet" acquaintance. Her older cousin is planning to go there too which may save her or not - this cousin also has never met the girl in person either... So my sister and I are going to try and call this girl's mother and establish some kind of connection! I love the web, but it sure has made things a little difficult - sigh. The eldest has contrived to stay home - I suspect because of the girlfriend - he is going to do extra classes at school but will have a lot of spare time on his hands. I just hope that he doesn't decide to invite her over while we are away...

Of course this all doesn't help my DH's natural reluctance and pessimism... Over the weekend I had the distinct feeling that our trip was going to be trashed - "we can't really afford this...", "Are you sure the kids will be OK?" "TWO plane tickets - oh no, there is no way we can do all this", "be realistic - how long do you really think we can be away for?" "two days??!!" "We have to paint the boat hull - do you think we can really afford the paint?" "There is no way you(!!!) are going to stand sleeping on the boat the way it is..." and on and on...

Where is all the spontaneity, romance and adventurous spirit??

Down in the dumps

Has anyone ever felt like they want to get off - right now!, and the train/bus won't stop? I do. I know it is too late for a lot of things I wanted to do, but there is a persistent feeling that if only I could stop, I could do other things. Things like: learn to put a zipper in properly; start an efficient exercise regime, do some gardening, de-flea my poor dogs (and the rest of the house/garden, I am told), study some more, blog more, be useful to myself and others, and the list is endless... I would like to study more physics (yes you heard that right!) to be able to help my sons with the subject at school, encourage my daugher over her "layabout" stage, help her through her uncertainties as young girl/woman and mainly incentivate her to keep her mind open and to make decisions that won't hamper her later. You see, I like to be free, I like to have a flexible timetable, do different things (sometimes quite different! LOL) and my present lifestyle is just cramping me. I know that I have it easier than many - I work a reduced schedule in a fixed job and then I can use my 'free' time to teach, translate, or whatever I want. I think the main issue is cash because I don't earn that much due to my job choices, so I can't afford to do the many things I want to. Even if I have the time I don't have the spare cash and all the rest of the time is used up working for a pittance to pay back the kind credit card companies and banks that have on occasion been useful to fund some creature comfort for myself or the family. I also have to think about my retirement and for that I have to become officially employed again (4 years without a register). Then I find out that my documents have expired... the joys of being an expat! Of course, that involves money and a lot of it. So I have to find a way of making a little extra to cover my document expenses in order to be properly employed again... My driver´s license is about to expire and my car documents are also slightly irregular - I have to pay this years road tax and have it inspected (this is a whole new problem - the car needs work done to it to pass the inspection). I think that all this affects my outlook on things, from my job to my down time! So, you might say, money is the answer! No, I don't think so - it is a bit like the plane crash - it is a combination of factors. That is why I feel like I want to get off!!!!!

Well, enough about that, I wanted to show a picture from the weekend (last). This is a picture of the beach in front of the club we (in) frequently spend our weekends at. It was a lovely weekend, weatherwise (except for Friday) and if it weren't for my husband's little black dog, it would have been perfect - we even sailed!!

Pondering...

I have been thinking these past few days about this space, if it is serving a purpose or not, why is it that I feel the urge to write, but when I get here, I don't think it is worth the effort... Yet, I spend enough time here, reading other people's posts, making comments that are almost another post! Sometimes, I feel that I have nothing very interesting or relevant to say-most of the time really. Is it a kind of selfish, vain pride that stops me from closing it down completely? Maybe the everyday 'run of the mill' problems are so incpacitating that I feel dry. One of the solutions might be to learn how to add/insert quirky links or other attractions. Quite possibly, the lack of audience is why I hold back on posting. I am not confident that others would be interested in what I have to say, so I deliberately sabotage my own musings.