Very few people I know actually like the names they were given when they entered this world, even if every other person has a different view of their moniker and I am no exception. Many a time I have wondered what posessed my parents when they chose Chrissa Beth for me to carry through the sum total of my days on this earth.

Okay, I admit that I wouldn't like to have a name that every Tom, Dick and Jane has, but Chrissa? I want to be able to buy those dinky little note pads that come in a vast range of boys or girls names. Or how about a key ring tag emblazoned with my name? Nope they don't come with Chrissa either. Anything I have ever had that is tagged with my name I've had to have it custom made.

So...this is a roundabout way of openingly wondering the why or how parents bless or curse their offspring with the names that they do. I mean what were Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin thinking when they named their daughter Apple? Or Geri Halliwell when she named her child Bluebell Madonna?

And me? Where is it that my parents unearthed the name Chrissa Beth? Meet the original--my great grandmother...
I have no idea of the exact date that the picture was taken only that it was in the last part of the 1800's.

It was another glorious Spring day today! I can almost taste the Summer as the days begin to warm and head towards daylight savings.

My day was a mixed blessing with delightful and re-energising things such as enjoying a walk through the botanical gardens followed by a shared picnic lunch with Julie, Kym and her boys, a new look hairstyle and the torturous and sad things like physio therapy and visiting my mum's grave to place flowers.

Even after this amount of time the pain of losing my mum and the circumstances surrounding her death and funeral are still as fresh and painful as the very first day...I'm not so sure that will ever change.

Times have been difficult the past couple of years, but they are what they are, they cannot be changed and they have in some ways made me stronger than I would have been otherwise...anyway enough of that, better things to think about and look forward to, though I will add one last thing--I have neither seen nor heard from my father in about 7 months.

I need to organise my photos. I have so many that I have taken over the last few weeks (including today at the gardens) that I would like to share...

Can you believe that it is only something like 68 days til Christmas? 68 days! Where has the year 2006 gone? Okay, so I know where most of my year has gone, but despite the bulk of my year in hospital the year has still sped past.

You walk into any supermarket, department store or a larger convenience store and you are sure to come across Christmas odds and ends; be it decorations or delectable goodies.

So, on this 68th day out from Christmas I started my Christmas shopping. Two dozen delicate etched glass baubles are now a part of my tree decorations, several Christmas presents are now awaiting my attention and a nifty wrapping job and a stack of gold fabric gift bags are sitting waiting to be filled to the brim with a variety of little treats and handed to all and sundry at Christmas time.

After Christmas I'm hoping to find a travel companion so as I might be able to spend some weeks traveling overseas. As things stand (in a medical capacity) I cannot travel overseas by myself and in any respects it would be prudent for me not to travel alone anyway. I'm sure someone would love to be paid to travel and sightsee with me...Or maybe not. :p

Today I enjoyed a pleasant excursion to the zoo, but boy am I exhausted! It was the most glorious day weatherwise and Sarah, Josh and Nicholas were good company. It had been a long while since I enjoyed all the delights the zoo had to offer and I found myself as excited as a child as we made our way around. :D

Numbered amongst my favourite were the Meerkats and tigers, and yes, I avoided the elephants. ;p

Viewing the tigers brought back memories of my holiday in Queensland just after I was released from the rehab centre. The holiday(shared with a few friends) gave me a chance ground myself a little. I can't change what happened to me, but I can choose not to dwell on it and put it behind me. What was it that the character Andy Dufresne from The Shawshank Redemption said? "Get Busy Living, or Get Busy Dying". I have chosen the former and part of that process was the holiday in Queensland...where we visited all the different "worlds", such as Dreamworld (home of the aforementioned tigers), Sea World, Movie World, Wet'n'Wild and the Australian Zoo (more about that in another entry) of course.

I'll upload some more photos of my holiday and my trip to the zoo later, but here are a couple taken it Queensland (excuse the lack of quality they were taken by a disposable cam) and a scan of my super pass for the plethora of adventure and theme parks.