Sunday, May 29, 2005

Recipe of the Week Updated!

Just a quick post to say that my recipe of the week has now been updated (so part of my previous post is now incorrect!).

This week it is "Lemon Chicken Pasta" which is my new name for something which in the cookbook was called "Chicken with Herbed Lemon Sauce" which neglects to mention that it is mostly pasta. Anyway, this is a nice easy recipe and quite tasty too, I think.

Jules and Dan might remember this one from dinner at Matt's old place in Coorparoo. We had been out bowling and I cooked this for dinner. We had to buy plates and cutlery for the occasion as Matt only had 2 of everything, and had to go next door to borrow a corkscrew. It is funny how something can seem like it only happened yesterday, and at the same time, seem like a long time ago.

Yes I know I am weird.

I think I should go to bed. I don't think Matt is going to tonight - he has an assignment due for uni tomorrow. When will he learn to get things done sooner?

What I've been up to this weekend...

1. Organising my Negatives

Yes, I know you have already heard about this (if you didn't skip over it) and it isn't that interesting, so I will say no more here.

2. Getting my Costume Together

Matt doesn't really want me to post about this (he wants the monopoly on posting about his Star Wars party, but I'm not really posting about the party, just my costume). For those of you who don't know, next Saturday night we are having a small party for Matt's birthday. We have only invited a few people because it is such a big ask to get people to come in Star Wars costume. Matt and I spent most of the day yesterday going to St Vinnies and Lifeline shops trying to pull together pieces of our costumes. As of this morning (when I finished dyeing part of my costume), my costume is complete! Stay tuned next week to see pictures of how it turned out :)

3. Making a Circle Journal

What is a circle journal you ask? Well, I was flipping through a scrapbook magazine this afternoon and came across an article about them, and thought it was a fantastic idea. A circle journal is a book that's circulated among friends, each adding his or her own pages. I absolutely LOVE this idea. It reminds me of the friendship books we did in high school, where everyone would take home the book for a while and add a page about themselves. So, tonight, I have been making a circle journal. So far I have only done the cover. This is what it looks like:



I haven't written my page in it yet, but when I have, look out, it might be coming your way! I am going to send it around to friends and family and ask each person to add a page. Fear not, I don't expect a lot, and you don't have to be a scrapbooker to do it. All I ask is a few words about yourself and what is going on in your life these days. I am really excited about this idea!

4. Sitting at the Computer

Blogging (this!), and reading other blogs (Jules has finally updated hers... yayyy!!!). Although a blog I have been reading a lot of lately I couldn't get to because the blogspot page is down. It is called WaiterRant and it is really funny, especially if you have ever worked in any kind of customer service (i think customers are universally annoying). Check it out when it eventually gets up and running again: www.waiterrant.blogspot.com
I have also been looking at the blogs of other scrapbookers. It is interesting to see other people's pages and ideas. I have even posted up some of my scrapping layouts onto a website (where I order most of my papers and stuff from) - www.thescrapheap.com.au.

What I HAVEN'T Been Doing this Weekend...

1. Housework. I think I will be doing enough of this next weekend when we are preparing for the party
2. Exercising. Yeah, I know. I really should go back to the gym.
3. Updating my recipe of the week. I promise I will get around to this eventually!

Is anyone reading these posts? Am I boring everyone to death with my boring life?

Saturday, May 28, 2005

Organising Photos

I have just spent the evening going through old negatives and putting them into some kind of order (where I can find them when I need to). I know, I am sure my "nerd score" should be upped for doing a task like this on a Saturday night, but oh well. My neck is even sore from holding negatives up to the light to try to figure out what the photos are of (and some of them I still wasn't able to figure out!).

I found it interesting (when trying to match up dates to photos) how little I had recorded of earlier photos and when they were taken (and how quickly you can forget what year certain things happened in!). Even my first scrapbook has little information on the exact dates things happened. (And it is huge - it's a workout just to lift that one off the shelf!). It made me realise how important it is to record when and where things happened because it is so easy to forget!

I know a few of you who are reading this will be scrapbookers, like me, so will understand where I'm coming from here, but even those of you who aren't, I have some advice. RECORD THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN AND WHERE OF YOUR PHOTOS! This is even easier to do now with digital photos (I kept thinking this to myself as I was organising negatives - no more of that now that my photos are all on CD!). Just think how great it will be for future generations to go through photos and have all that information (trust me, as someone who is researching family history, that would be a godsend!). We might think that it won't be as hard for our future generations to find out about us, after all, there are many more photos being taken now than there were 100 years ago, but just going through my own negatives and not being able to remember exactly when they were taken (and in some cases who is in them or what the occasion was!) has made me realise how important it is to record everything.

Yes I know I am raving. But I think it is important. So there!
Go through your photo albums, and write in names of people and places, as well as dates, even if it is just the year. I know most people have an actual life and don't have the time to scrapbook, but trust me, your great-grandchildren will thank you!

OK. I will shut up now. I wonder how many people stopped reading after the first paragraph?

Quote of the Day: Well, I am in a writing mood (*really*? I am sure no one has guessed!!), so I am writing more than one quote again:

"She glances at the photo, and the pilot light of memory flickers in her eyes." ~Frank Deford

"It is singular how soon we lose the impression of what ceases to be constantly before us. A year impairs, a luster obliterates. There is little distinct left without an effort of memory, then indeed the lights are rekindled for a moment - but who can be sure that the Imagination is not the torch-bearer?" ~Lord Byron

"I am a miser of my memories of you
And will not spend them."
~Witter Bynner, "Coins"

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Online Quizzes

I was a bit bored this afternoon (even though I should have been washing up and making a cake for the morning tea tomorrow), and I took a couple of online quizzes. They were pretty fun (and the results pretty funny I thought!) Check them out and post a comment of what yours ended up as:


I think Matt will like this one:

Star Wars Horoscope for Taurus

You are a dependable creature, but you do tend to be stubborn. You like material possessions and love to win at games. You hate being bossed around or losing. You may succumb to your physical strength when upset. Star wars character you are most like: Chewbacca

I came out almost right on this one... I think sometimes I act young and sometimes old, so maybe they balanced themselves out to almost my right age:

You Are 29 Years Old

29 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

I always knew I was from another planet...

You Are From Mercury

You are talkative, clever, and knowledgeable - and it shows. You probably never leave home without your cell phone! You're witty, expressive, and aware of everything going on around you. You love learning, playing, and taking in all of what life has to offer. Be careful not to talk your friends' ears off, and temper your need to know everything.

OK that better do or this blog will be huge.

Hopefully I will update the Recipe of the Week tonight. I am also hoping to put some scrapbook pages up (the ones I did on camp) but we will see.

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Scrapbooking Camp

On the weekend I went away to Toowoomba for scrapbooking camp. It is just what it sounds like - a camp where a bunch of women go away and scrapbook almost non-stop for an entire weekend. It was great! I left straight after work on Friday afternoon, and except for stopping for dinner, I scrapbooked until around 1:30 in the morning. Got up at around 7:30 (if you aren't up in time for breakfast you don't get any!) and scrapbooked all day long until about 3am (with meal breaks of course - all provided and no washing up!!). Then it was up at 7:30 again, and scrapbooking until lunch time. After lunch I headed home because I wanted to spend some time with Matt, as I hadn't seen him all weekend, but it ended up being about 4:00pm when I got home cause I dropped in to visit Mum on the way home.

I got about 10 pages of scrapbooking done, which I was pretty proud of (cause I take AGES to do one page). I had a great time and wished it could have lasted a week! But I think it is catching up on me now because I am absolutey exhausted.
The price I pay I guess! We will have to have a quiet weekend this weekend!

This is our scrapping room:


and me at scrapping camp:


Quotes of the day: (yep I felt like writing a few today)

"Scrapbooking isn't about scraps of paper and photos. Scrapbooking is about scraps of life - yours and those special to you" ~Rebecca Sower

"I scrapbook therefore I am - broke." ~Author Unknown

"A true scrapbook addict is one who stages photographs to match paper she likes" ~Author Unknown

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Survivor Sweepstakes!

I have been in a 'Survivor' sweepstakes at work since the Survivor Palau show started. We each drew out a different survivor, paid $10 to participate, and the winner would get the prize pool.
I drew out Katie -

and thought there was no way I would win because she was an annoying backstabbing bitch all through the show. And I was right, she didn't win. I didn't actually get to watch the final show (I was picking Matt up from the airport), but I looked up the winner on the internet before I left (Tom won, for those who are interested). But what I *didn't* find out until I got to work the next day was that Katie had come second! What I also didn't know was that there was a second prize for our survivor sweepstakes. To cut a long story short, I won $50!!
Along with that, I had no playground duty today, so went to the Plaza for lunch, *and* the kids went out to sport this afternoon so I had the afternoon off! (Well, not really off, since I was doing work in my classroom, but the kids weren't there so I considered it an afternoon off!).

Turned out to be a pretty good day :)

Star Wars Episode III tonight (well technically early tomorrow morning as it starts at just after 12 midnight). I'm sure you will hear all about it from Matt (who is very excited!), so I will say no more.

I will get back to packing my stuff for scrapbooking camp this weekend. I am certainly having a busy week!

"Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful" ~Annette Funicello~

Monday, May 16, 2005

Home Alone

It is quite late as I write this post, but I don't really feel like going to bed yet because Matt isn't here. He is on a business trip for a conference in Sydney. I just got off the phone with him and he sounds like he is having a good time (hey, you can't complain about a free restaurant meal and nice hotel room on company money, can you?). It sounds stupid cause I saw him this morning but I miss him a lot, especially now it is night time. Maybe it is because he is a long way away. Anyway.

I haven't been alone all night - I picked Jules and Dan up from the airport tonight on their way home from a holiday in Fiji (lucky buggers!), and had dinner (delicious, btw! thanks guys!) at their place (and watched some Desperate Housewives). Glad to hear they had a great time on their holidays! :) They were even kind enough to think of us and bring us back a souvenier - which the customs people promptly destroyed. It was a really cool wooden drum and the customs people say the skin that is used isn't treated properly and could have anthrax, so they ripped that off (and broke the drum to do so). I don't know, I think I would have risked it... what's a little anthrax? :) But I guess the customs people don't think the way I do. At any rate I can see how nice it must have been, and am so touched that Jules and Dan thought of us that it almost doesn't matter that it was broken - it really is the thought that counts. And anyway, we do have our shell-necklaces we got as well. Thanks again for thinking of us, guys, we really do appreciate it! Glad to hear the parents-to-be had a lovely relaxing holiday (I think with kids the words "relaxing" and "holiday" may not go together so well).

I think I am writing a lot tonight because I am putting off going to bed alone. Yes, I know I am pathetic. Now I know how Matt felt when I went away to Sydney for about 2 weeks after Christmas - I missed him too, but I was away and having fun and it isn't really the same thing.

I guess since I am on the subject of my wonderful fiancee, I thought I would brag for him (since he won't do it himself!) - he got a promotion at work :) He is still only contracted till the end of November (which is what his original one was), but he has gone from "Web Services" at QUT to "Web Management". I guess it is just nice to see that it is not just me who sees how wonderful he is!

Quote of the day: "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"

P.S. Sorry for the rambling. Absence also make Kirsten go crazy.

Sunday, May 15, 2005

I could get used to this....

I got a card from Matt this morning saying that it was my day today and that I am not allowed to do any housework, and anything I wanted, he would get/do for me. So I have had lunch made for me, drinks gotten for me, and haven't had to do any housework. I have even been given a back rub, and am getting dinner made for me as well and Matt is doing the dishes tonight! He even picked me some flowers from the garden! So I have had a lovely relaxing day, and gotten some scrapbooking done :) All this for no reason at all other than my fiancee loves me and appreciates the things I do for him! (I think he is especially thankful that I bought him a Star Wars figure about a week ago). Whatever the reason, I am very thankful and just wanted to tell the world what a wonderful fiancee I have! I sure could get used to this...

Quote of the day: (This one's for you, Matt!) "For you see, each day I love you more, today than yesterday, and less than tomorrow." ~Rosemonde Gerard~

P.S. I finally got around to updating the "Recipe of the Week" (It was a little overdue ). This week is "Baked BBQ chicken", an old favourite of mine.

Friday, May 13, 2005

Happy Birthday, Trina!!

I would like to wish my best friend Katrina a wonderful 25th birthday! (Welcome to the 1/4 of a century club!). I hope you have a fantastic day! Miss you, and wish I could be spending your birthday with you, but it will happen one of these days!


Quote of the day: "Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional." ~Chili Davis
I know a few of us who live by that one :)

Thursday, May 12, 2005

Ipswich Show Holiday

Today I have been lucky enough to have the day off for the Ipswich show holiday (before you start muttering to yourself what a bitch I am because you had to go to work, keep in mind that when everyone else (or so it seeems) is on holiday for the Brisbane show day, I will be at work).

It has been a lovely day - well a lovely day for someone who gets to stay home, anyway! It poured rain for most of the day, so after doing some housework (so I won't have to do it on the weekend), I got to snuggle up and watch a little TV (and I do mean a little tv! - ours is still broken and we have been watching the little one dad lent us), and I also got some scrapbooking done.

Not really much else to write, (I do lead a boring life), except that I will try to get a new "recipe of the week" onto the site soon - I think I am a bit overdue on it.

Quote of the day: "Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather." ~John Ruskin

Monday, May 09, 2005

Good News... and Bad News

I will give you the bad news first - our TV is busted :( We woke up this morning and Matt's alarm clock was flashing 1:00 so we knew there had been a power outage. I sat down to eat my breakfast and turn Sunrise on as I usually do, and the TV wouldn't turn on. We guess there was a power surge during the night. I will ask dad if he can help with it - I hope we don't have to buy a new TV! And desperate housewives is on tonight!!!

The good news is I got a package in the mail today :) I love getting mail! It was my birthday present from Trina (a little late, but that wasn't her fault, she was sent down to Jervis Bay the week before my b'day, and wasn't given any notice about it). It was *SO* worth the wait!!! Trina went on a trip to Fiji a few months ago, and she got me a bottle of one of my favourite perfumes, Paris by YSL (my other two favourites are Tommy Girl and Calvin Klein Condradiction, but I already have them). I have been wanting a bottle of it for AGES. Thank you so much, Trina! (Makes me feel better about having a busted TV. I might be bored but at least I will smell good!).



quotes of the day: (I thought I would do two today - one for my bad news and one for my good news)

"Television is chewing gum for the eyes". ---Frank Lloyd Wright (Ok, this one makes me think about someone chewing gum with their eyelids and doesn't really make me feel much better about the broken TV, but oh well.

"Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say. Best friends listen to what you don't say." Thanks for being such a fantastic friend Trina :)

Sunday, May 08, 2005

Happy Mother's Day!

I would like to say a big Happy Mother's Day to the following people - I hope you have a great day:

1. To my mum, Wendy, who has put up with me for my whole life, and hasn't complained (well, not *much* anyway). I know she probably will never see this (as she has no computer), but I wish her happy moother's day all the same.

2. To my mum-in-law to be, Maxine, who has always made me feel like a part of the family, even though I'm not (officially) yet.

3. To my good friend Julia, who is a mum-to-be, and as I write this is on a plane to Fiji! (She may even be in Fiji now!). Have a fantastic day!

Quote of the day: "Mothers hold thier children's hands for a while, their hearts forever"

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Elvish Name

I was browsing the internet this afternoon, and came across a website which words out your "Elvish name" for you (from Lord of the Rings). Mine came out as 'Inwë Elensar', which I like. I think it's quite pretty, although I'm sure there aren't many female elvish names that aren't! I typed in Matt's name and it came out as 'Angrod Arnatuilë'.
There is also a hobbit name generator. My name was 'Esmerelda Hamwich of Buckleberry Fern' which isn't too bad I guess - Hobbit names are never going to be as elegant as elvish ones! But Matt's isn't quite as nice as mine! His name is 'Gorbulas Bulge of Great Smials'.

Yes, I know I am a geek (maybe not as much as my other half is - sorry, Matt!), but I thought this was fun. Try it out yourselves, and leave a comment with what your elvish and hobbit names came out as! Come on, it is fun!

Find out your elvish/hobbit name here

Quote of the Day: "All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost.
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken:
The crownless again shall be king." ~ J.R.R. Tolkein - Lord of the Rings

Wow it was hard to choose a Lord of the Rings Quote. I really love this one - the poem about Aragorn and the Sword Anduril (Narsil).

Sunday, May 01, 2005

Birthday Bash at Blu Grotto

Thank you all for coming to my birthday party at Blu Grotto last night!!!!
I had a fantastic time and it was because you were all there.






Thank you for the lovely presents (even though you didn't listen to me when I said no presents!), and while you really didn't have to, they were very much appreciated all the same.

For those of you who couldn't make it to the party, stay tuned for a run down of my entire birthday (a up-and-down one what with the locking myself out of the house fiasco) on the Events of 2005 page. There will be more photos up there, too (Geoff will be thrilled! Hehehehe)

Love you all and thanks again for making my birthday so special.

Quote of the Day: "The world is so wide and each of us so small; yet bound by friendship we are giants"