Nice Try

Last night my niece and nephew came over for dinner while mum and dad went out on a surprise mid-week date (woooh!).

It was homemade pizzas all round.  Nice.  Easy.  Kid popular.  Very yum.

My nephew (4yrs), who talked non-stop during the eating-of-dinner process and as a result barely finished half his dinner (the rest was inhaled by his sister), was very disappointed when he asked for dessert after the table was cleared and was told there was no dessert for kids who don't finish their dinner.

Sad face for a minute or two while deep in thought.....before he very earnestly said to me, "but my mum always gives me dessert when I haven't eaten all my dinner."

Good try little buddy but your mum won't give me dessert when I haven't finished my dinner!  You, my little friend, have no chance!

Rememberings

June 2010

Cruising the mighty Mekong in the Golden Triangle (where Thailand, Burma and Laos meet)...

...in a canoe fitted with a gas-powered V8 motor.

What an experience!

What a memory!

It's alive!!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I give you exhibit A.....

My sourdough starter....a frothing (at this early stage) success!!!

I am so very happy.  I have tended this little starter day and night - loving it and nurturing it, feeding it and keeping it warm, and finally, after many many hours/days/(nearly) weeks it has repaid in kind.


I love it so very much.  I can't wait until it's grown up enough for me to use.  And then eat.


I just hope it doesn't up and die on me now.

A change is as good as a holiday

Last night, I had an attack of the rearrangings.  Every now and then my urge to reshuffle, tidy and rearrange various elements of my world raises its head and demands action be taken.  

The LOML, despite being able to travel overseas for a fortnight with only 2 changes of clothes, a toothbrush and a phone charger, doesn't cope very well when I move the furniture in the lounge room, so last night I rearranged my blog instead.  

I'm rather taken with the new colours and layout.  A bit plain at the moment but I plan on putting a  few photos around the place - sort of like hanging new paintings on the wall.  I love the way the photos look in the posts too - makes my sometimes inadequate shots look quite professional!  Just a little more moving and shuffling and I'll feel all finished and refreshed!  

Unfortunately, changing my blog around hasn't satisfied the urge to move things (I think it's an attack of the 'spring clean') so this morning I'm set to rearrange the kitchen - move some gadgets, tidy some shelves, that sort of thing.  The cupboards certainly need a good clean so at least that will get done if nothing else!  

I could be a while.....and I may not achieve all that is listed on my to dos today.....

Canine mutiny

This is my mum's dog Jack.  

He's a mini foxy who fails to acknowledge that he is not human.

I think he sometimes feels incredibly hard done by that he is not allowed to eat at the table, ride shot-gun in the car, join us on shopping outings, eat ice cream or chocolate cake, or sleep on the lounge.

And I'm sure he doesn't appreciate me pulling him into line and banishing him outside when the occasion warrants.  Aunty Shelley truly is a bitch.

Last night he took matters into his own hands (paws?) in an attempt to prove his human-ness.

He did this all by himself: jumped up onto mum's bed, snuggled himself under the covers and arranged himself so that his head was on her pillow.

Little shocker.  

It didn't work.  He still had to sleep outside for the night.

:)

Grateful grates of an (apparently) ungrateful ingrate

Sometimes I feel like all I do is bitch and moan about the world.

Complain, complain, complain.  

I feel like it's my mantra.  And I don't like it.

Truly, I have nothing to complain about.  I have a roof over my head and food on my table.  I have a loving family and the best husband I could ever have dreamed of in my teenage dreams of the future.  I live in a great country, I have freedoms that are non-existent to many people in the world, and yet still I complain.  More often than I would like.  I tell you, I'm sick of myself.

So in an effort to turn my frown upside down, when I feel like the blues are taking over my colour scheme, I'm going to post about the little things in my life that make me happy and that I am grateful for.  That way, when the worries of my world are threatening to take over, I can look back and be reminded that life is good, real good.

I choose to post about the little things because it goes without saying that I am ever so grateful for the 'big' things that I have (water, food, shelter, clothes etc) - it's the little mundane day-to-day things that I want to look back on and treasure.  Those little things that seem insignificant but that can turn my day around when I remember to be grateful for them.

So here goes.....I'm choosing to post in lists of three because three is my most favourite number of all and because two is just not enough.  Four is too many and five is getting carried away with it all.  So three it is.

........

Today, in my light-blue-tending-towards-navy state of mind, I am grateful for.....

• getting into a warm car when the wind outside is on the freezing side of chilly (c'mon already!  it's  SPRING now!!!)
• money already in the parking meter from the previous parker
• the washing up being already done ready for me to make a mess again.

Life is good.

Simple and Easy

Thursdays are big days in our house.  For me, it's Super C Day.  For the LOML it's late night shopping so an 8pm finish at the shop (better than 9pm at the other shopping centres.  And don't even get me started on the waste of time that is late night shopping especially when we now have 7 day trading - that's a whole other rant!).

So on big days like this the last thing I feel like doing when I get home after 8 is cook dinner.  And the last thing both the LOML and I feel like eating is a big meal.  It's midnight before we've wound down enough to sleep as it is.

That's why on Thursdays, we have this.....

....eggs and spaghetti on toast.  Ripper.  Ready in about 8 minutes (I have it down pat), consumed in 2!  

Tonight, being Thursday night, was no exception.  Eggs and spaghetti on toast.  And look at what I scored - a double yolker!  The LOML got one as well! These eggs are from a friend of a friend since our girls are holding out on us.

I always feel like a winner when I crack a double yolker.  One time I got some eggs from the Sunday markets - 10 (big) eggs in the carton, 9 of them double yolkers, 1 triple.  I've never seen a triple yolker and doubt I ever will again!  They tasted delish too!

I love eggs.