Sunday, July 31, 2005

Sunday at Southbank

Matt and I spent a nice day together today at Southbank. We went to the movies there (they have really cheap movies) and saw Fantastic Four. Well, it wasn't exactly fantastic, but I didn't hate it either. A fun movie to go and see if you don't take things too seriously.

We also got a chance to have a look in the Queensland Art Gallery, which we like to do from time to time. This time around they had an exhibition on Video art which was interesting, but not really my thing. There was one bizzare video where there was this skinny guy wearing only underpants but spray painted yellow all over wandering around the city holding a piece of meat. He eventually gets to the Art Gallery itself and puts the meat on the steps. I have to say it was a bit over my head, but it was certainly interesting!

This was posted at 10:02 PM.

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Saturday, July 30, 2005

Scrapbooking Saturday

It has been a pretty quiet Saturday - I didn't even have much housework to do since we had an inspection of our house on Thursday and I had already done a major clean for that. That meant I got some time to scrap!

I have been doing a lot of heritage stuff lately (because I have some GREAT photos and I haven't gotten around to getting the photos of our engagement party printed yet). Today I did a page of a photo of Dad when he was a kid. It will eventually be a double-page spread but for now is just one page.



Yes, I only did one page :P It takes me a long time, OK? I took a while deciding colours and then figuring out where I was going to put stuff. Took ages to figure out the border too although it might not look that way. Let me know what you think!

This was posted at 11:39 PM.

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Thursday, July 28, 2005

New Recipe of the Week

Yes I have finally gotten around to putting a new recipe of the "week" online (yes, I know it has been more than a week).

I have a sweet tooth.
I am supposed to be trying to lose weight.

Therefore I am always on the lookout for a desserts and cakes which are reasonably healthy or low fat. I found a recipe for a cherry & yoghurt cake and have changed a couple of things.




It is really nice, and the best thing is, it uses no butter.

Check it out here.

This was posted at 10:14 AM.

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005

$1 Movie Night

Matt and I both love movies, but now that we are saving for a wedding and a house deposit, we don't get to go as often as we would like. However, recently we discovered that the video store down the road from us has $1 rental on all movies including new releases on a Tuesday night. Since then, Tuesday night has been our movie night.

So far, the movies we have seen are:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
: AWESOME. LOVED IT. WANT TO BUY IT.
Sideways: Wasn't sure what to expect from this movie but I really enjoyed it. I don't think it will make me a wine snob though - I still like Merlot :) (Actually I like most wine!)
Napoleon Dynamite: This was Matt's choice and I didn't really want to see it, but I laughed a lot, and in spite of myself, I actually enjoyed it. While it had some stupid jokes, a lot of them were funny and I loved the characters.
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: Actually I had already seen this one, but Matt hadn't. I like happy endings so was unsure about this one but really really liked it. Especially the costumes and the design of the whole movie. Very cool.

This week we watched Closer. I haven't yet made up my mind on this one yet (we only just finished watching it). I will have to think on it a little more. But I guess that's a good sign - good movies make you think even if they are not enjoyable to watch. Does that make sense? Probably not, but then this is the second time I have typed this post because blogger ate my first one and my brain is turning mushy. What was I talking about? Oh yes. I liked the story, as it wasn't predictable and I was really interested in what happened to the characters. Problem was I didn't really like the characters, which makes it hard for me to like the movie. I guess I will have to keep thinking on this one.

Has anyone seen the movies I just mentioned? What did you think of them? And are there any recommendations for our next movie night?

This was posted at 10:58 PM.

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Monday, July 25, 2005

Stupid Parents :P

No, not mine, but those of the children I teach every day.

WARNING: THIS IS A RANT

There are two children in my class for whom writing a single sentence in less than an hour is like pulling teeth. Every single day I have to keep reminding them to get back on task. It is amazing the things they find to do instead of work. Play with their shoelaces. Suck on the sleeves of their jumpers until they are soaking wet. Chew on their pencils. Throw their erasers on the floor and then crawl around looking for them. Ask to go to the toilet 50 times a day. Draw pictures in the margins of their books. You get the picture. I spend so much time and energy nagging them to get back to work all day, they get more attention than the other kids who are doing the right thing. I praise them when they finish their work. I bribe them to finish their work. At yet, every day, I have to sit in the bloody classroom with them at lunch time because they haven't finished the ONE SENTENCE I said they had to do before they could go out to lunch. I keep them in for the first 25 minutes of lunch, and then I have to go on playground duty and they get to go eat their lunch. So essentially, I get NO lunchtime because THEY didn't do their work. It is unfair.

It is not like they don't understand what to do, this particular activity was copying from the blackboard. Even my kids who can't read a word can copy what is on the board (and yes there are some who can't read a word. One of my kids last week asked me to write the spelling of a word on a bit of paper for him. He walked away from my desk turning it around and around mumbling to himself "which way does it go?". This is the point where I usually start banging my head against desk/wall, etc.)

Well, today, one of these little gems informed me that "I am going to a different school next year cause mum says I'm not doing enough work at this one".

Well, I'm sorry, but WHOSE F**KING FAULT IS THAT!?! Is it MY fault?!? It is not my fault that the child has ADHD and the mother choses not to medicate him. It is not my fault that the child refuses to do any work. You can take a horse to water but you can't make him drink. It INFURIATES me that so many parents are so quick to blame the teacher for all the child's troubles, without looking at themselves, or, god forbid, the child himself. The mother has not bothered to contact me in any way to discuss her concerns, either, which is TYPICAL. I am not a parent but I would have thought that if you were concerned about how your child was going at school you would see the teacher as soon as possible. Or is that just me?

Ok, I am sorry, but I did warn you this would be a rant.
Hope the stupid woman in question reads this (not likely but hey).
Any parents out there - please, take my advice. If you are worried or unhappy with something going on at your child's school, GO AND SEE THE TEACHER. That does not mean go an yell at them (your child might come home with some interesting stories about what has happened at school, but you should hear the ones they tell about home!). TALK to them. If you are unhappy with their response, THEN go to the administration or move your child. Most people it seems are doing this the other way around.

*SIGH*
I think I am done now

Better go to the gym tonight and work off some of this frustration, huh! :)
Thanks for listening

This was posted at 5:03 PM.

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Sunday, July 24, 2005

Mangroves to BBQs

Thought I would write about the two most significant events in my life this week. (Just realised how sad it is that a school excursion is considered significant cause the rest of my life is so boring! But anyway:

The Excursion
On Tuesday my teaching partner Robyn and I took our kids for an excursion to see the mangroves at Nudgee Beach, as our unit for this term is on mangroves. The kids had a fantastic time (and I must admit, I enjoyed it more than a normal school day, too). We walked out on the mud flats (though bloody freezing water, not that the kids really cared!) and the kids got to pump for yabbies, and use a net to try and catch fish (they caught a toadfish, some tiny whiting and a bait snatcher crab). We then (to my delight) got to change in to dry shoes and go for a walk through the mangroves on a boardwalk, which I don't think the kids liked as much as traipsing throught he mud, but I appreciated it! In the afternoon the people running the environmental centre did a show about mudcrabs that the kids were fascinated by (I think it might have been the guy tapping the mudcrabs on the head and then moving his fingers just before they got bitten off than any of the facts they learned). It was a nice day, and most of the kids were well behaved which is always a bonus.

The BBQ

For our engagement party, Matt and I got a voucher for Bunnings Wearhouse, and we hadn't spent it yet because we couldn't think of what to buy. Well, we finally came up with the perfect idea - a brazier! Those of you who have been to our place in winter know it is bloody freezing out here, so it will definately come in handy. We tested it out with a bit of a BBQ get together. Thanks to all who came, we had a great time! We also got a chance to try out a few other gifts as well - an ice-cream maker we got from Paula and Vi for our engagement (it was a hit! caramello and pistachio icecream!), and the present Trina sent Matt for his birthday - a bottle of chilli schnapps called "dragons breath". I didn't try it myself (thank god) but it sure was funny watching those who did! It provided great entertainment (along with watching the boys try to light the brazier. They ended up using a whole box of firelighters!).

Thanks again to those who came! We are looking forward to the next one, whenever that may be. (After all, it did take us months to getting around to organising this one!).


P.S. We are hopefully going to put together a review page for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Stay tuned and keep an eye out for it! (Ha ha ha now I have posted this Matt has to hurry up and make the page)

This was posted at 11:17 AM.

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Sunday, July 17, 2005

Trivia Night and HP6



It has been an interesting weekend!

Friday night was my schools Trivia night. Thanks to those who came along! We all had a fantastic time and ended up (to my surpise) with 2nd place. :)

The next morning we got up early to go get our copy of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. It was a bit of an event as always, with people dressed up, including our friends at A&R Carindale. After having some coffee and getting our copy of the book, Matt and I grabbed some lunch for later, and headed by a nearby park for a picnic and a read. Matt read aloud to me for several chapters, then we ate lunch and I read aloud to him. We were about 1/4 the way through when we headed over to Jules and Dan's place to have dinner. (I read some more to Matt aloud on the way there in the car). We read another chapter before going to bed that night, and then on our way home I read to Matt until the reading in the car started to make me feel nauseous. I had a nap when we got home because I still felt a bit sick, and then when I got up (after doing some house-stuff), I went back to reading again. Matt was busy working on the computer, so I spent the afternoon/evening reading, stopping to make and eat dinner.

So anyway, to cut a long story short, I have finished the book, Matt is about 1/3 the way through. (He is going to do some reading tonight). I won't say anything about the book - I don't think I really can say much without spoiling. It was good though! Well worth reading. I think I will put a review online that you can get to if you wish, so I don't have to worry about people reading it who don't want to know what happens.

How long until book 7?

This was posted at 9:49 PM.

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Friday, July 08, 2005

Howard Stole My Wedding

Got my group certificate today. God that is depressing. I get to look at how much money I earned in a year and wonder where it all went. Even more depressing than that is seeing how much of it goes to tax. I looked at how much I paid in tax this year and realised Matt & I could have had a *very* nice wedding for that amount of money! Alas, it has probably gone to some surfie dole bludger in Byron Bay instead. *sigh* Hopefully next year when I look at my group certificate I can at least say that Matt & I are well on our way to saving for that house and that wedding!

This was posted at 11:36 PM.

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Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Trivia Night Booked

A while ago I posted with information about the trivia night my school is having. Well, it has crept up pretty fast and is happening next Friday night (the 15th). I have booked a table (which is supposed to be for 10 people - I hope we can get that many!) for the night. Here are the details:

Date: Friday 15th July
Venue: My school (email me for more details I don't want to put it on the net)
Time: arrive 7:00 for 7:30 start
Cost: $10
BYO food, but drinks (including alcohol) are on sale there.

I would really love it if everyone can make it, but please let me know either way. You can leave a comment, email, call, SMS, whatever. I will keep a list of who is coming. Remember, 2 heads are better than one, and 10 heads are better than two!

So far the following people have said they can come. I will edit this post as I receive RSVPs. PLEASE let me know as soon as you can if you can make it. Remember, it is for a good cause!

ME
MATT
PAULA
BASAK
PAUL

This was posted at 4:10 PM.

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Saturday, July 02, 2005

Updates

For those who are interested, I have updated a couple of things on the website this weekend:

I got some more photos from our engagement party from Annette (who was also kind enough to make an awesome slideshow of all the photos set to music for us!). The photos are now up, and you can view them from the Events of 2005 page, or you could just click here. Let us know what you think!

I have also updated to the recipe of the week (for which I seem to be going by the same kind of 'week' Matt has been for his weekly geek rants!). This one is for sinagpore noodles, which I made for Mum when she came over for dinner on Wednesday night. Make sure you read the 'variations' part because as you know I rarely make recipes exactly the way I'm supposed to!

This was posted at 8:02 PM.

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