Monthly Archives: February 2011
Just another reason why I love Frankie
Cos she can hand me birthday cards like this, saying “This reminded me so much of you!”…without me feeling even mildly insulted.
7 Things To Report Right Now
1. Little Miss 8′s CT scan came back normal. Big freaking PHEW.
I am yet to be given the all-clear straight from the horse’s mouth (follow-up appointment is tomorrow) but so far, so good. Will write more about this whole rather upsetting experience when it’s a little more distant.
I didn’t say much on here but I was feeling more than a little freaked out when the doctor looked me flat in the eye (yes, ‘flat’) and said “based on what you’re describing my first thought is brain tumour.”
Me: “And based on what you’re describing my first thought is your bedside manner sucks hairy buttocks.”
P.S. Okay, fine I didn’t really say that.
P.P.S. In a splendidly passive aggressive stunt, however, I am changing doctors. Take that, Doctor Tact!
2. Had my second ever surprise party last night! Birthday dinner with great friends, delishy food and frolicking a-plenty. Very impressed by my hubby’s efforts at a) organising it and b) keeping it a secret and c) keeping it a secret and d) keeping it a secret.
I should mention that he told me halfway through the party that he’d only just managed to get his mitts on my phone that very night, and after a quick scroll through my contacts was silently smacking his forehead upon discovering a number of peeps he should have extended the invite to…
Doh.
Oh well. My hubby literally IS Forgetful Jones. Suffice to say that I’m mega impressed – yes, on top of the aforementioned impressed-ness – that he remembered to invite me.
3. Adelaide Fringe this Sunday! AAAGGGHHH!! I haven’t even had time to think about it, other than that I’ll be doing gigs every night I’m down there (6th to 13th). I have quite a few bits to organise between now and then, life has just been flat strapped of late. Hang on, ‘of late’? Who the heck am I kidding?
4. Gumball Theatre is undergoing some changes in the coming weeks. I’m so excited and inspired and have heaps to share. But for now… know that our next show is donating all proceeds to the Queensland Disaster Relief effort.
If you’re into funny stuff and/or supporting the cause, then please, pretty please, spread the word around! Will love you long time.
It’s this Friday. In Brissles. Here’s the poster, yo. (“Breaking Bad” reference intended. Maybe.)
5. Had a birthday break from the sugar detox (as previously agreed upon with my partner-in-healthiness Lizzy) and woke up with a mother of a sore throat. Poo bum wee.
6. Am having a girly Oscars night tomorrow night with me ladies. So excited. I love nothing more than hurling insults at beautiful people while eating questionable amounts of (sugar-free) chocolate. It makes me feel validated.
7. I have embarked on yet another tres exciting project with my tres exciting sister-in-law Lizzy. It more than merits its own blog post or twenty, so shall spill forth deets soon. Here’s a hint though.It’s got something to do with one of my wildest ambitions…
xox
33 Things Before 33…or one big nothing.
So I was gonna finally jump onboard this whole “X things before X” bandwagon, with today’s b’day making it a “33 things before 33″.
It was gonna be filled with things like:
- go skydiving;
- sew a dress (i.e. one that I could actually wear without crying and/or exposing unintended portions of flesh);
- take dance lessons;
- snorkel (i.e. without crying and/or exposing unintended portions of flesh);
- etc etc
Except that this afternoon, on my 32nd birthday, I shall be taking Miss 8 to have a CT scan.
Now I’m just hoping for nothing at all. Literally. I want them to find NOTHING. AT ALL.
***
P.S. This morning my hubby presented me with my pressie.
One skydive. 
*Image courtesy of 1.bp.blogspot.com
Warning: Reading Comic Mummy Can Be Hazardous to Your Uterus
She's mine, alright.
Frankie: “So my cousin told me she was reading your blog the other day, and that it really made her think about things a bit differently.”
Me: “Well, naturally. I’m very thought provoking. Cutting edge, even.”
Frankie: “You so are. That’s why I’m friends with you.”
Me: “Don’t speak.”
Frankie: “Okay.”
Me: “So what exactly was she reading about? Which stunning pearls was she collecting from the depths of my ocean bed of wisdom on this particular dive? “
Frankie: “Oh you know. The bit about how Cassidy’s so cute – it made her think maybe she wants to have another child.”
Me: SPLUTTER. COUGH.
Oh dear heavens.
If I’m gonna start influencing people’s uterus (uterii??) on this here blog, I’m gonna have to start posting disclaimers. Namely cos I’m SOOOO not up for claims of child support.
But you know, that aside, go forth and multiply and all that.
Just, like drinking, you know…do so in moderation, kids.
All these kids' names start with "J". If I was going down that path, I'd call one of them Wally. Just for kicks.
Celebrating 2 years of my little man who almost wasn’t
Baby on a plane! Nearly!
We nearly didn’t have Cassidy.
Until sometime in early 2008, there I was at the beautiful Banff Centre, where I was lapping up the luxury of my own studio to work solidly on my new show during a residency.
As such, I set myself the task I’d long procrastinated, of finally sorting through the mountains of pages, notes and random napkins on which I’d spilled forth thoughts over the years, to see which might actually survive the cull and make it into the show.
It was during this process that I stumbled across a journal entry I’d written a couple of years prior. It said something along the lines of…
“Tim and I have decided not to have another baby, at least not for a while. The career is going quite well and I really don’t want to disrupt that, plus I feel like life is busy enough so I don’t want to disrupt that either…”
And at that moment it hit me. In the two years since I’d written that, NOTHING HAD CHANGED.
Those were exactly the same reasons I had right then and there, for not wanting another one.
And, I wagered quite confidently, they would remain the same reasons in the years to come.
A little short of a year later, my little dude entered the world.
He immediately set about proving his completely and utter Canadian-ness (the beautiful big land cementing its place in my heart for just one more reason by being the point of my little man’s entry into this world)…by being just so damn nice, sweet and agreeable.
My grandma: “Cassidy?”
Me: “Yep!”
My grandma: “His name’s Cassidy?”
Me: “Uh-huh.”
Silence.
My grandma: “Like Hop-along Cassidy?”
Me: “I don’t even know who that is.”
Cut to a year and a bit later and my little dude…
…became Hop-along Cassidy.
WWWWAAAAAHHHHH!!!!
Yes, in the two years since he arrived on planet Comic Family, the Cass-meister has travelled throughout Canada and the States, been in a head-on collision, endured a broken leg, made his on-screen debut and most importantly, has successfully wrapped every single one of us here completely and utterly around his extremely little fingers.
Cass-man, to say I am so glad that we decided to go for number three and have you just doesn’t do justice to the awesomeness you’ve brought into our world.
That said, I will never forgive you for the conundrum you now place me in.
After all, now I know I’ll love number four, five, six…and seventeen.
And I hold you entirely responsible. And so does my uterus.
Happy birthday little man. xxxx
FAQ on the Sugar Detox
Image courtesy of hubpages.com
So since I posted the last announcement regarding my current 28 day leap into the insanity that is sugar-free living (well, at least in my world it’s classified as insanity; I must admit, when it comes to madness, we don’t set the bar real high around here) I’ve received everything from encouragement to disbelief to questions about how on earth this thang actually works.
Ergo…
FAQ 1: How on earth are you dealing with no chocolate?
Oh dear friend, on around day 6 or 7 (of the first round i.e. before we re-started the clock…read here for full details if you haven’t done so already) I jumped up and down with delight when I discovered this sugar free dark chocolate. SQUEEEEEE!!! The peppermint crisp one is my fave.
Surely this is the best invention since actual dark chocolate. The draw back of course, is that it’s ridiculously expensive. I wish I could say that this has meant I resort to it sparingly…thus far it’s only meant that my littlest might need to make do without nappies this week.
FAQ 2. What’s the actual sugar detox thing that your sister-in-law saw on Oprah?
It’s called Doctor Oz’s Sugar Free in 28 Days Challenge. All I know I’ve heard from my sister-in-law herself i.e. it’s all second hand to my ears, but thus far my understanding is it’s a 28 day challenge to be sugar free. Run by Doctor Oz.
Next.
FAQ 3. So how are you dealing with all the hidden sugars in food? There’s sugar in so many different things, aren’t there?
Yup!
Well the detox is actually divided into four different stages i.e. one per week. Week one (which I am still in now) means quitting all OBVIOUS sugars in your diet. i.e. added sugar to cereal, coffees, etc. as well as any sweet foods such as biscuits, cakes etc…which in our case, as we’ve got the added forbidden food of gluten thrown in the mix, are off the menu anyway.
Then in week two you start getting more anal about it all, avoiding hidden sugars in sauces, for instance…and so on.
I will keep you posted as it goes on.
The cravings were especially bad in the first few days. Indeed if anything it’s really just drawn attention to what an INSANE sugar habit I had developed. I couldn’t believe how many times it crossed my mind to go eat sugary crap even in the first few hours of day one.
But in general, I’d say I’ve just been eating so much healthier as a result of having to put more thought into what it is that I CAN eat.
Typical day for me at the mo:
Breakfast: a poached egg or two. Plus either a herbal tea or a coffee, obviously 100% sans sugar (eventually I will cut out coffee completely too, not as part of the official detox but of my own volition – but two vices at a time seems like plenty for now)
Morning tea: Rice cake with avocado.
Lunch: Salad, with tuna or salmon or feta or tuna or chickpeas.
Afternoon tea: Herbal tea. Piece of fruit. (Note: we cut fruit out at some later point in the detox too. Stay tuned. This may kill me).
Dinner: Stir-fry veges with either rice or cous-cous.
Dessert: Usually NONE! Shock horror! My kids hate me!!!
After kids have gone to bed….Adult Dessert!
PS By that I do mean sugar-free chocolate.
Ehem.
How to Guarantee Health Kick Success via Dubious Means
Liz and I on Brooklyn Bridge in 2006. I love this photo. We look like travelling ghosts.
So for the very first time in my life, EVER, I finally believe that I’m gonna get on top of this body of mine (not in a freaky way, people) and actually treat it…well, you know…amicably.
I’d take my bow now, only this development has absolutely nothing, I repeat NOTHING, to do with me. Rather, it’s all thanks to this little lady here. Introducing my adorable sister-in-law and soul mate in crime, Lizzy.
Lizzy is strictly gluten, egg and dairy free. As in strictly. As in, not a choice, but a serious health concern, FREE.
Me? I’m not strictly anything – aside from perhaps on occasion, gloriously certifiable – but that said, I do find that this little body operates a lot better when I’m staying away from the glutenous stuff. Also coffee. And sugar. You know. I’m SOOOO unlike everybody else in that way.
Anyhoo, so recently Liz and I were lamenting to each other about how crap we are at actually sticking to the style of eating that actually serves us best. And so the conversation turned to sugar, or specifically, about detoxing from sugar as Liz had spotted on an episode of Oprah.
“Let’s DO IT!” I said.
“Really? I will if you will!” said Liz.
“I feel the need…the need…”
Both: “FOR SPEED!”
Okay that last bit didn’t really happen.
But with that, we were onboard! The deal:
- neither of us could have any sugar OR gluten (and Liz had the added conditions of no egg or dairy, naturally) for 28 days
- if successful, we would both treat ourselves to a girly day at a health spa
- if ONE of us cheated, then NEITHER of us would get to enjoy the reward.
Days one and two were by far the worst. Headaches. Lethargy. All apparently normal.
By day seven I felt like a different person. Honestly. NO bloating, my skin looked different, I even got weighed (for a post-car accident appointment) and had already lost several kilos. I could not BELIEVE IT!!!!!
Then, on day nine…
Liz confessed that she cheated.
Oh man.
One of the first things out of her mouth was “I’m so sorry! You just keep going, and I have to start over…”
“Nope!” I said. “We both have to start over. Otherwise what’s the point?”
We chatted about it and I confessed that now my biggest worry was that I’d be more tempted to cheat myself, knowing that she couldn’t really get angry at me when she’d already done it herself. (Did I mention she’s also probably the sweetest, most soft-hearted woman on planet Earth? Seriously. She makes Mother Theresa look like Angelina Jolie. i.e. nice, but slightly dark.)
Then cut to last night, i.e. the end of our new day one.
Liz: “I’ve got it! Some new rules! And I know this time neither of us will cheat!”
Me: “Okay…what?”
Liz: “Well, here’s the deal. If I cheat, then you have to stop eating healthily.”
Me: “WHAT?”
Liz: “But I promise you Jen, there is no WAY I’m gonna let that happen! I so want you to succeed. And here’s what happens if you cheat…”
“If you cheat, I have to drink an entire litre of milk. Do you know what that will do to me? My stomach will blow up so much it will ache for days, my skin will break out so badly that I will not be able to leave the house for two weeks and it will probably make my guts bleed.”
Stunned silence.
Then…
“GENIUS.”
February Aussie Mummy Bloggers Carnival
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Howdy hey! (I love saying that – and indeed anything that makes me feel even remotely like a cowgirl.)
Welcome to the February Aussie Mummy Bloggers Carnival, featuring all the best and fairest (mostly bestest) posts from the month that just was! I’m so stoked it’s my turn to host – it’s like a slumber party with less sleeping bags and twirling hair and more…well, cyber-type. And being in cyber-space and all, I have saved a fortune on prank calls and corn chips.
So kick back, relax and read away, peeps!
Yours in carnival-esque-ness,
Jen (aka Comic Mummy).
x
Tina from Tina Gray {dot} Me – One Lump or Two? I can never remember how my friends and family like their tea or coffee so I came up with an idea that not only makes me look clever but satisfies my love for charts and things.
Jodie from Mummy Mayhem – Going Back is Tough I moved from my hometown of Perth to Sydney 15 years ago. Going back and seeing family and friends is great, but it’s also tough. Saying goodbye sucks.
Kristin from Wanderlust – Mile Upon Mile The ever-present threat of violence whispers in the background of everyday life.
Jolene from Jolene’s Mumbo Jumbo -False Advertsing Alert: Designer Andrew Christian is Putting the Oomph into Male Underwear I accidentally stumbled across some ‘uplifting’ designer underwear for men one day whilst surfing the internet. They got me thinking about some of the other weird and wonderful accessories and garments women have worn through the ages…
Shelly from Tropical Mum – Scorn for the Internet I shared this on FlogYoBlog Friday, but if you’ve already read it, go ahead and read it again, I won’t mind. My husband has always made fun of the internet and the time I spend on it. Well, it’s taken me years, but I think I may have finally changed his mind…
Peta-Jo from Peta-Jo – Floods and Flaming Turtles Enthusiasm is tough to muster under this much water!
Nikki from Styling You – What to wear on the first day of school My youngest started school this year and it’s been a while since I’ve had to tackle the drop-off and pick-up line so I put together some tips on what to wear – to remind me and help others.
Glowless from Where’s My Glow? - Kerr Boom! {A rant in B flat} It’s time for women to support women – there’s enough mother guilt as there is without us creating more for each other.
Emma from Cocktails at Naptime - I’m Too Sexy For My Harem Pants How fashion forward am I? Well if a truly fashion person like Anna Wintour is a Ferrari, I am more like a clumsy clown riding one of those miniature tricycles at the circus.
Kelly from Anything, Everything & Inbetween - Friday Fluff – Cake, Candles and Overall Success This is the true tale of the Toddler’s 2nd birthday cake, my baking skills and Madonna’s cone shaped bra.
Gillian of the Misssy M Misssives has two nuggets for us this month.
Firstly, there’s Material When do you have to start asking permission from your kids to blog about them? And what if it’s not forthcoming?
Then, from Cocktails at Naptime, there’s We Still Would You’ve heard of the MILF and the DILF but what about that hot older man? Welcome to the WSW.
Colin from SuperParents - Don’t Create a Scared Little Girl Let’s forget about this Tiger Mom nonsense and get back to nurturing our children. This post is about building confidence in your child with your own positive mental attitude.
Alli from Motivating Mum - The Cold Hard Facts of Starting a Business A peek into the world of a start up mum in business (for the second time).
Bianca from bigwords - Work or Not To Work bigwords struggles with the much debated issue of whether to work or not to work and remain a full time stay at home Mum
Jade from Jedeluxe - No bra, no phone, but tiramisu…How to survive in a public hospital where no-one speaks your language, your phone battery dies, and you’re mistakenly admitted to the Coronary Care ward with two 100-year-olds in geriatric nappies for bed-mates. And yes, hospital food IS revolting all over the world.
Michelle from Farmers Wifey - Storm and Sunset Taking time to appreciate the little things in our busy lives…..
Jo from Mum to J - My Talented Young Photographer J is always taking pictures with his kiddie camera but these were some of the great results when I let him free with my camera
and finally, one from yours truly!
Jen from Comic Mummy - Having Kids Early vs Having Em Later – The Impact on Your Life I boldly proclaimed that “I’m not having kids til I’m at LEAST 33!” only to discover a week later, that at 22, I was in fact, pregnant. Ha. Ha. Ha. But recently I got to thinking…maybe when it comes to babyhood there is no perfect time…
Videos from our Sydney shoot are UP, yo!!
So you guys remember how for a very short period of time back there I lived the jet-setting dream (i.e. flew somewhere) with my littlest, to shoot some vids for a company which I couldn’t yet reveal the deets of, right?
Right? RIGHT??!
Come on, I know you’re just sitting there twiddling your thumbs and chewing off your elbows, counting down the seconds for the very next revelation of the incidental details of my life. Right? RIGHT?
Fine, it is at this point that I yell at you the same thing I yelled at my husband right before he lodged the restraining order became my husband: “WHY WON’T YOU STALK ME??!”
Anyhoo, point is the vids are now online!
You can check out me and/or the Cass-meister…
Here and if you’re still going all Natalie Portman…
Here.
We’d like to thank the Academy…
