Congrats to Candice & Rowan

Many cheers to my dear friends Candice & Rowan, whom on Saturday had a lovely celebration as Husband & Wife.

Although they got married in South Africa, they also had a reception here for all of us who wanted so badly to be there for their big day, but couldnt make the trip. Fantastic night for two fantastic people! Doesnt Candice look absol gorgeous?

Hiding Spots

After searching the house high and low, literally.. the top of the bookshelf (behind the books to under the bed) I finally found Little One in her perfect hiding spot. She was given this little abode my dear friends HG & FG when she was just a little kitten 2 years ago. I'm sure its a tight fit in there, but apparently its wonderful to cozy up in for her.

Environmental Concerns?

Ages ago i sent an email to grocery stores asking them to send me a weekly ad. For whatever reason, we didnt seem to get too much junk mail and it shit me that i couldnt browse thru the ad before i went shopping. Kindly, they sent me a weekly ad. I was rather impressed.

They have now sent me a letter enclosed in my weekly mailout asking if i still wanted to be on the mailing list. They are updating their list. In bold underlined, a sentence stated:

Please consider the environment before requesting a printed brochure to be mailed to you personally. Our brochure can now be viewed online at www.woolworths.com.au

Impressive! They care about the environment. Thought it was a neat gesture. And, aside from that, i think i may have requested a bit too many catalogs and it seems that every tuesday my mailbox is FULL of ads from everywhere, so now i have much too much to read from the junk mail category! Ah, when it rains it pours!

Good on Woolworths for being proactive for the environment! Another proof that Bi-Lo is crap! HaHa

Chicks On Acid...as promised

my "chicks on acid" just for you.

Herb Peterson "All Cracked Up" at 89

The inventor of the Egg McMuffin has died! Wow, he came up with the idea in 1972 as a way to introduce breakfast to the McDonald's menu... bet they are happy they gave him a job huh?

Never really thoguht of it before, but of course someone had to invent the Egg McMuffin. Just didnt know Herb Peterson did it. I sure hope he made a ton of money from that one.

Just think how many Egg McMuffins must be sold in a day, in most countries? Damn, thats alot isnt it? I sat and thought about the last few times i was wandering by a McDonalds and all the people who happened to be eating a McMuffin while i was walking thru...

• the kids in the soccer jerseys
• the "ladies" having a morning gossip session
• the crew of oldies waiting for the bowls session to begin
• the teenagers dressed like they hate themselves
• the hungover people wishing those babies would stop screaming

In being honest, I must say that i do remember those Egg McMuffin's tasting much better many years ago. Then again, I couldnt tell you the last time i had McDonalds.. oh wait, i tell a lie.. the last time i had anything it was an ice cream sundae (one for me one for champagne sally) this past summer, and before that, it was on the way to the Kite Festival when Joanie came to visit.

Heres the question tho that really needs to be answered: So, did the Bacon Egg McMuffin or the Sausage Egg McMuffin idea come first?

Welcomed Exhaustion

We are back home in our little abode after a stint of caretaking at the "resort". It always feels so nice to be back home. I scurried home on monday and did a clean of the house so it would be nice and tidy upon our return home. Things went fab well while we were caretaking the "resort", as in: the pumps all stayed working, no flooding, no major dramas, so all in all it was a smooth time (unlike the last few stints..haha!)

As you can see, little one is very happy to be back in the comforts of home!

Blah 2

A wonderful long weekend is over! 4 days off is just not enough sometimes is it? I had some friends over for drinks on thursday night, and friday was coffee with Champagne Sally and LE, which turned into a walk to the beach and then random bits of doing this and that. I was busy making my goodies on friday night, which were to go to Lady Elaine's house with me. Precious Lady Elaine had invited me to her family's easter lunch on Saturday. I was instructed to NOT bring anything, but you know me.. just cant be done like that... so off i went to make little treats for lunch at Lady Elaine's.

I worked my little bum off making these little treats, which i have nicknamed "CHICKS ON ACID" they were actually really cute, sort of a deviled egg thing. I have a photo, but haven't uploaded it yet.. give it time folks! Anyway, its an american recipe, and i forgot, in a momentary lapse of better judgement that the EGGS ARE SMALLER here than the USA... so, once you look at the photo (to come) you can see where "CHICKS ON ACID" has come from. Suprisingly, they all got eaten, and apparently they were really good. I dont eat deviled eggs, so they werent my thing, but i was asked for the recipe!
I also made a "PARTY BALL" which, for whatever reason did NOT turn out to be ball form.. i have my own conclusions on that one, but not important. Well, needless to say, no ball for the outcome, more of a square pattern ... what was i to do? well, quite simply, i was to thank my luck stars that i had purchased one of those little dip platters from GONE BONKERS and all was fine in my world again. My friends, in fact my very dear precious friends, we can call them "HG" & "FG" have heaps of great stuff at that store. And yes, I do have to control myself when shopping there, its like a "great wonderland of BARGAINS" to be had! Anyway, the days events were interesting, i was amazed to watch as an outsider the different familiy dynamics that occured (compared to my own Dysfunction Junction Family Episodes).

I appreciated being invited to Lady Elaine's for Easter, the thought was very nice. Maybe she felt obligated as well? Who knows...

The next day consisted of coffee with The Boys promptly at 9 am, who were doing me a favour anyway by having a particular piece of photo paper and keeping me from making the mad dash into town. As always, a coffee chat with The Boys always proves to be entertaining and full of laughs. Anyway, i have had enough of the Easter dribble... i had a great two final days, having great chats & laughs with friends and enjoying my time, esp since i didnt have to work! Yippee. Anyway, as i write this, i sit at work, and to be brutally honest, im over all this. I just want to go home and venture into my nice haven of environment and not deal with THIS. So, on the upside of things, my life of technology is back soon (yes, i will have full access to internet to upload photos and do quick little blogs instead of these monster stories).

Ciao for now.

The Daily Blah

The question has been asked, and now its been answered! This is a bilby. Personally, I think it looks more like a rat on steroids than it does a bunny, but hey, thats Australia for you... trying to get in the limelight any chance it can. Actually, for more info on the Bilby, check out this website: http://www.easterbilby.com.au/

Pascha / Easter

Eas·ter
Pronunciation: \ˈē-stər\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English estre, from Old English ēastre; akin to Old High German ōstarun (plural) Easter, Old English ēast east
Date: before 12th century
: a feast that commemorates Christ's resurrection and is observed with variations of date due to different calendars on the first Sunday after the paschal full moon

Easter. Its a wonderful time for all reasons. This is when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. It is a time for families and friends to come together. This is also a holiday which is widely celebrated by the non-religious as well. For many, and different families, traditions vary with this holiday within different cultures or societies.

Australia has Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday to celebrate this holiday.

Tidbits:

• Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. The crosses used in service are converted to ash, for use in Ash Wednesday services.
• Ash Wednesday sees the forehead of a person with ash in the shape of a cross. This is to symbolize penitence and mortality. Lent begins.
• 40 days of Lent occur, prayer and penance are praciticed.
• When Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and established the ceremony known as the Eucharist, it was called the Last Supper (aka Maundy Thursday, when Judas betrayed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
• Good Friday, commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus and is a day of mourning in church.
• Easter Sunday see the Churches filled with color and joyful hymns being sung. This day celebrates the resurrection of Jesus.
• Pentecost (7th Sunday after Easter) is derived from a Jewish harvest festival called Shavuot. The apostles were celebrating this festival when the Holy Spirit descended on them. Pentecost marks the birth of the Christian Church as well.
• Ascension Day (40 days AFTER Easter) represents the last appearance of Jesus. The Christian belief is that Jesus ascends into Heaven at this time.

Australia tries to carry on a tradition of The Bilby, not the Bunny for Easter. When the Bunny was introduced into Australia, it didnt do much good. It somehow created a negative image as it is responsible for a lot of damage to the land. Australia has a BILBY, which looks similiar to the Bunny, and they have tried for years to have the Bilby be the mascot of Easter. Sadly, the BILBY is not high in numbers, and needs donations and funding for land and supplies etc for the Bilby to continue in Australia.

Well, enough ramble.. whereever you are this Easter, whatever your religion, whomever you may be, may you spare a moment for mankind: the suffering, the joyous, and the everyday moments of life which we all endure. Have a wonderful time celebrating how you choose. Go kindly.

I will let you know what i get up to as well! Whats everyones plans?

Easter Events

I seem to find myself this Easter with no ham dinner... not really a drama, but my "usual" Easter tradition has been blown to pieces due to forces outside of my control. Whats a girl to do now?

Friends do the polite thing and ask you to their place, or invite you to the restaurant they will be at, etc.. suddenly, before you know it, you seem to be a bit overbooked and extended yourself. And really, i was kind of looking forward to hanging outside, watching a movie, or just "chillin"

Now, it seems, I will be attending a lunch with a very dear friend, whom we will call Lady Elaine. She is having her family over and has invited me as well. I am very touched. I will making something to bring.. not sure yet... any ideas? Cant find an easter cake mould.. which reminds me, my grandma always made a lamb cake for easter... as kids we all loved it. It was so cute, and there were jellybeans on the platter that we all had to taste, green colored coconut for the grass... oh it was gorgeous. AND, since grandma made it, it was Eggstra-special!

I will def. take some photos of my events, the lunch, and the misc happening of where i stoll around too... or shall i say, where i hop on about to? Ya know, easter spirit and all!

Have a joyous easter, and take time to remember the reason for this season.

A year has gone already?

These two very special people were here visiting us this time last year. I can't believe it! Seems like i remember those hugs just like they were yesterday...and those little sayings "Hi Sweetie!" or "Oh my gosh (as the hand slaps the knee)!".

Such a memorable time, that i will cherish forever, and be forever full of gratitude to share my days here with them. I love you both dearly! Thank you for the memories!

This photo below is ESPECIALLY for Danny.. seems we could never really see a roo when he was around in the yard...well, heres for you kid!

Showing some love

I came home one day to find that my backyard had been manicured! It was great, and such a nice suprise. Sometimes i seem to get so busy doing all sorts of varied tasks, important or not, but they distract me from other things. Every now and then when my life seems to get very hectic, a certain someone feels a bit bad at seeing me run around with my head cut off.. so she, oh lets give her a name... TILDA we will call her, yes, Tilda is a fitting name for her. Tilda comes to my rescue and does nice little things for me when i get stressed, busy, tired, or just looking like i might kill someone... so, Tilda resuced my garden and gave it a bit of a tidy job... and left me with this.... isnt it gorgeous? I came home to a heart in the garden...touching.

My only problem is this~ I am currently away from my home for a bit (lets call it a bit of a business trip, shall we?) and i am wondering how my heart will look after two weeks of not being tidy? Funny comment that, isnt it.. an untidy heart.. ha!

Anyway, enjoy my heart, i spread the love onto you! Thanks again Tilda.

Sippy Creek Animal Refuge Centre

For the six weeks or so i have been "recruiting" for donations for my local animal shelter. This animal shelter is a NON EUTHANAISA shelter. Simply, it means they do not put down the animals. Great! However, because of this, they sometimes have to turn animals away as they have no room to shelter them.

Anyway, distracting from my point~ so i was on a mission to get friends, family, and ANYONE to donate money, towels, food, toys, etc for the dogs & cats at the centre. Not really a big task, a few hours out of my really, but as i was tired, and i had already been running around everywhere with my life, visitors, work, etc it felt good to do something postive. So, i sent an email out giving simple instructions, what was required for a donation, the date of final dropoffs, etc. Once it appeared at my place, i would have a week to sort thru the stuff and see what we were short of & then i would purchase extra items and i would drop it off at the shelter.

My reason for doing all this? Well, i care about the animals, and i obv can not take in every cat i see or fall to bits over... i think the work the shelter does is amazing and i feel that the right thing do in life is help those who can not speak for themselves. So, i organize a donation drop off spot and get it to the centre.

As appreciative as i was and am for the donations that were received, we are doing another run in June.. more details to come. I have been instructed that i didnt remind people of the dates, etc.. ( i didnt want to harass or embarass anyone, and really, lets take some responsibilty for ourselves... i have heaps going on in life too..) but alas, thats ok, i have now been given strict instructions to harass them on the next one (beware to those of you!).

The shelter volunteers were so grateful of our donations, congrats to all of you that contributed! Great work and love spread around! Your actions go without words to describe the love you have for those animals. You have each touched many hearts in your contributions and efforts. Thank you again.

In the wonderful world of blogging, i reach out to the rest of you.... next time you see a drop off bin at the supermarket, or drive by your local shelter... donate. How about if you did a letter drop in your street and YOU were the drop off spot and YOU took the goods to the animal shelter? Some people would love to donate, but simply dont have time to take the goods there, you can help! Come on people, lets make this a proactive year... help the animals. If we all did a little bit in our own neighborhood, could we make a change? I DARE YOU!

If anyone needs help organizing or some donation ideas... let me know. If you feel it in your heart to donate somewhere.. let me know.. or if you have donated recently, drop a comment too!

Determination

Determination: firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired end (according to Merriam Dictionary)

All that determination to get a piece of string.. if only life were always that simple

The Beginning to the End of my Privacy?

So as i sit here to do my first blog...

i have wanted to do this blog thing for so long

• i am addicted to these blogs... i can spend forever reading others blogs
• i love to see what intrigues people to write, comment, or just post
• is this blog for me? my friends? my family? the strangers who might become friends?
• is it some sort of process which i need to do, to get back in touch with me again?
• i am nervous, what if no one reads this thing?
• i am petrified that my words could be taken the wrong way and offend
• i am anxious to "detail" my life
• oh goodness, what if my life isnt thrilling?
• what happens if i dont know what to write?

Hopefully it gets better.. at the moment i am still trying to learn all these cool things and tricks... stay tuned, theres more to come!~