New Photos!

Some more photos of our nephew Dante - he is now 4 weeks old.

Dante with Daddy!

Dante - sleepy time.

Dante with Grandma and Alexander (cousin) looking on.

Dante with Grandad

Dante with Grandma

Dante sleeping

On the playmat

New Blog This Challenge!

Tell us fifteen facinating, far fetched, frightening, funny or frivilous facts about yourself. Those bits of trivia that are floating around in your life.

Can you eat 10 burgers in one sitting? Do you sleep with your eyes open? Can you tie a cherry stalk into a knot? Speak 5 different languages?

All those things that you've bored your friends and family with for years - We want to know.

1. I snore..... my poor husband.....

2. Inside I am a computer nerd - it just gets hidden away well.

3. I LOVE knitting. I love watching things coming together as I knit.

4. I suffer from anxiety - which makes some days better than others.

5. I can change the oil and spark plugs in my own car - but generally choose not to as hubby is a mechanic - and he ALWAYS needs something else to do!

6. I'd love more kids, but due to medical reasons having any more requires lots of $$$.

7. We own a car that my husband drag races... I have every opportunity to join in and am allowed to race the car. I'd love too - but am scared of something going wrong, so don't... I've seen accidents and I don't want that to be me....

8. I own far too many cookbooks..... Some I've never even cooked a recipe out of - bought the book because it looked nice.

9. I love the song 'Copperhead Road' - I will play it on repeat endlessly in the car...

10. I'm a trained primary school teacher - but have never taught in the classroom - but I LOVE going in for parent help....

11. I love the John Marsden "Tommorow" book series and will read them over and over and over again...

12. I'm a great procrastinator.

13. I love cheeses - all different sorts of cheeses - except blue cheese BLUGH!

14. I don't drink much red wine - not after the last time I drank far too much - it was 4 years ago now, but I still can't face drinking it.

15. I love cats - we have two, but I want more.... I'd be like the crazy cat lady from the Simpsons if I could (without the crazy bit)....

There we go - 15 things about me.... And it's amazing how hard I found that!

I've FINISHED!!

From this a week ago...

To this today!!!!
Two rounds of double crochet around the edge - first round in cream, second in purple - as per the daughters request!

But it is FINISHED!!!

This is the biggest single project I have ever attempted!

Next project? Must finish the hot water bottle cover for my mother that she asked for 12 months ago.....

Mmmm... massage!

It's been faaaaar too long since my last massage.....

But finding a good masseuse is not that easy. I have a funny hip - and over time one side moves up and starting making walking hurt and giving me back aches.

The first guy I ever saw tried to tell me my hip problem was caused by my kidneys and I had to buy his herbal remedies to fix it - I don't think so!

The next lady was lovely, but she started to move into other remedial therapies too - hot stones, cupping.... and I wasn't getting a full massage - which is what I needed.

I then starting seeing another lady - on recommendation of my mother in law - and she was wonderful too.... But as I discovered the other week she has moved to the main land.... so that's no good either.

So last week I booked in with a reputable business in town. They cost a few $$ more than I usually pay. Today was my day for going in.

First off though - yesterday I got a reminder text message about my appointment. But I swear they got my time wrong - I rang and they said the same time that the text message had said - only half an hour out, but I wrote the time in my diary and was SURE I had the right time - but enough quibbling.

The girl who did my massage was lovely - figured out what was wrong with my hip within the first 10 seconds of me being on the table! Amazing!

The massage itself was wonderful! But the surroundings could have been more peaceful..... I was in the room right behind the front desk - and I could hear the phone ringing and people talking and laughing over the music being played in the room - kind of off putting...

But then came the pushy bit - she recommended that I come back next week for follow-up treatment of my leg - which she also seems to think we caught 'just in time' before it got 'really bad' - my leg's been like this for most of my life, and really noticeable for the last 4-5 years....

And then the sale of the product that she used on me - some spray that relaxes your muscles....

If she hadn't spoken very loudly to the lady at the front desk about booking in another appointment and the spray stuff that I might want - very unprofessional as far as I'm concerned.

So no next appointment booked, no spray stuff.... But I feel better :)

Give me inspiration!

I have photo's scattered all around the house in frames - but we will be re-decorating soon - new furniture and small renovations - but this means we will be losing quite a bit of space that holds our photos.... New TV unit, meaning no space, and taking out our mantle piece as it serves no purpose and will be in the way with the new couch (*happy dance* - NEW couch!!)

So I was thinking perhaps a photo wall.... I have empty walls....

Do you have a photo wall? Care to comment and post a link so I can have a looksie? Or know of a website or blog with inspiration?

If you have a photo wall to you just add new photos? Or do you change the photo's from time to time?

Blog This Challenge: The Dinner Party

The Dinner Party

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to plan a fabulous dinner party. You've been given a healthy budget, so don't scrimp!

Guest list - 8 people, dead or alive, real or ficticious.

The menu - will this be your very own masterchef moment, or is outsourcing more your style?

Is there a theme? What will be the entertainment for the evening? What will you wear? What will you talk about? Don't forget the wine!

Have fun planning, be as creative as you like. If you're creative, maybe even design the invitation. Make this an event not to be missed!


Although I haven't participated in all the Blog This challenges so far this one caught my attention.

I would love to throw a lavish Dinner Party and invite knowledgeable and exotic guests.... But that's not my scene.... So here is me.

Guest List:
1. Stephen King - the author. I adore his books and would love to know where he gets his inspiration form.
2. Mark Skaife - I'm an avid V8 Supercar fan, and Skaifey has always been one I've watched.
3. Tom Hanks - I think he is an amazing actor - simple as that.
4. Patrick Dempsey - he's just a cutie...

Notice a theme?? All guys so far.... maybe I should balance it out a bit.....???

5. Katherine Heigl - I love her work.
6. Jodi Picoult - I have quite a number of her books and I love reading and re-reading them.
7. My mother in law - because she is just such a lovely person!
8. My sister in law - who lives in the UK, because I haven't seen her in 5 years..... :-(


What would I serve?
A starter?
Something light? Some nibbles. I have BOOKS full of little cocktail nibbles, so I'm sure I'd find some inspiration there. I was thinking mini-spring rolls, but I think that would be too much of a difference from the main dish to come....

For mains?
I'm thinking either a chicken dish..... Stuff chicken breasts wrapped in bacon maybe? With some vegetables on the side.
OR
Do I go a pasta dish? Some homemade ravioli? I have a delicious recipe that has salami in the middle (amongst other things).

Dessert?
Something chocolately.... I have no idea what.... But chocolate is always good.

What will be the entertainment for the evening?
What will you talk about?
I put these two questions to answer them as one as I think the entertainment would be the guests themselves and the stories they could tell.

What will you wear?
I would have to buy a little black dress especially for the night. Team it with my matching silver earrings and necklace that I just adore.

Don't forget the wine!
Oh can't forget the wine! I'm in LOVE with Muscato by Brown Brothers. So plenty of bottles of that please!

And as for the idea of designing an invitation.... I'm better with real cards and embelishments than I am on the computer..... So we might leave that one...... I'm sure other artistic people will have a field-day! :-)

Find Blog This here

Why Is It....

When it's sooooooo cold that any plans and motivation that you had, seems to vanish???

I wrote a list of things I would do today - no matter what the weather happened to be doing.

I have been known to sit on the couch all day and watch whatever dribble is on tv instead of doing anything resembling housework.

So the list that I wrote yesterday was:

* Change bed sheets and bathroom towels - and wash them.
* Clean out the kitty litter
* Fold and put away mountain of washing
* Put away magazine pile in loungeroom
* Vaccum house
* Mop tiled areas
* Wash car (depending on weather)
* Tidy lounge - put away the d@mn PS2 games that are on the floor and tidy up my knitting stuff.
* Finish off the current square I am knitting (when I finish this one only 2 to go!!)

So what HAVE I achieved so far?

* Change bed sheets and bathroom towels - and wash them.
YEP - well at least I've washed the towels. The sheets will have to wait as it's now raining and all the clothes horses are full.
* Clean out the kitty litter
YEP
* Fold and put away mountain of washing
Nope... That's still sitting here next to me - it will get done though...
* Put away magazine pile in loungeroom
YEP - all gone!!!
* Vaccum house
YEP
* Mop tiled areas
Nope - figured it's raining, DH's going to come home with dirty boots so it's a pointless exercise.
* Wash car (depending on weather)
Nope - it's raining.... pointless....
* Tidy lounge - put away the d@mn PS2 games that are on the floor and tidy up my knitting stuff.
YEP - Yay! We have our lounge back now! We can sit on the chairs!
* Finish off the current square I am knitting (when I finish this one only 2 to go!!)
Not yet - I'll finish that tonight while I'm watching Grey's Anatomy.


But I also have:
* Downloaded all the beautiful photo's my sister in law e-mailed me.... not a big thing you think? They're all about 5mb photos.... and we're slowed to dial-up speeds.... so a long slow process.
* Spoke to the nice man at the local council about the dog next door that never shuts up - even at 3am....
* Dishes are done - they just have to get out of the dishwasher now.

For once I'm happy with what I have achieved in a day (or half a day anyway).