Away again

Since Monday, I have been house sitting.  I'll be away for about a month.  And won't have internet.  So yet again, I must bid you adieu.  But I will be home every once in a while and I plan on writing blog posts to queue up in the mean time.  That's the grand plan anyway :)

I am looking after little Ted.  This is him a few months ago, last time I looked after him.

Now a few months on, he is six months old.  In that last picture, he was up to my knees.  Now he is up to my hip.  This is a particularly cute picture of him that I took today.  And he is still growing!!

He is still very much a puppy and trips over his feet when he chases the ball.  And slobbers ALL over me.  Every time I go outside to see him, I have to wash- not just my hands- but all the way up my arms too!  Being a puppy, he gets over excited and jumps up on me.  Which is a nightmare!!  He's nearly bowled me over a couple of times.  Taking him for walks is quite a mission.  But luckily there is a small park nearby and I can let him off the lead.  Even though he's still learning, he is a real people pleaser and always comes back when I call him.  I think he's such a goodnatured doofus.  And only I get to call him a 'doofus', if anyone else called him that I'd be offended!  From what I've seen of these big dogs at work, all of them seem to have that 'friendly giant' in their personality.  I can see why people are taken with those breeds.  I just wish they didn't slobber so much!

I have been getting TONS of house sitting offers.  On the one hand, it's great because it's money and people have super nice houses that I get to live in and I get to look after some of the sweetest sweeties.  But on the other hand... I miss my house and my Roomies!!

Blu Ray Thursday #4

The movie: Like Crazy


Girl Roomie and I have been dying to see this movie.  It’s a story about an American guy and an English girl who fall in love when she is studying in America and their trials during a long distance relationship.
It was SUCH a hipster movie.  Sorry if it is your favourite movie but it wasn’t for me.  The leads were really good and genuinely likable   And Alex Kingston and Jennifer Lawrence were in it (two of my fave ladies!) but it just didn’t GO anywhere.  And I guess that was the whole point of it.  Love isn’t like what we see in the movies, you have to work to make it work.  The dialogue was as banal as conversations in every day life, which again I think was a conscious effort on the movie’s behalf but I have to live with stuff like that everyday.  I want my characters to be witty and insightful, coz I use movies as escapism.  I feel bad ragging on an indie movie, especially because I’m sure a movie like that must have some hardcore fans.

Recommended?: “Like Crazy”?  Like crazy boring.

Boom.

Blu Ray Thursday #3

Well this is most definitely late.  It is Sunday night here and I should be getting ready for bed but this has plagued me since Thursday that I haven’t posted this.  So in interest of my sanity and getting a good night's sleep, I will scribble down a few words.

The movie:


I love this poster, I’d not seen it before.  I think it’s much better than the one that they seem to have mainly used. 

Well, this is a horror/thriller/kinda comedy, according to Boy Roomie.  This is a movie I’d seen before but I have been dying to see it again and knew Boy Roomie would love it because he is a giant horror fan.  Me, not so much.  I don’t get too grossed out by gore but I’m really not a fan of horror.  So why do I like this movie so much?  Probably because it’s a meta horror movie (that’s a thing, right?), so it doesn’t take itself seriously, but in a different way to the Scream movies.  And it’s written by my good pal, Joss Whedon.  In my head, he is part of common pop culture fodder.  Apparently not.

Actual conversation during the movie:

Boy Roomie: This movie is weird.
Me: I guess.  It *is* Joss Whedon.
Boy Roomie: ???
Me: It’s Joss Whedon.
Boy Roomie: It’s… just… what?
Me: It’s written by Joss Whedon.
Boy Roomie: Who?

And then my brain exploded and everyone in the room died with me too.

So I write this review from the afterlife.  I think the less you know about this movie going on, the better.  Sit and watch it.  Listen to the dialogue.  Enjoy the journey.

Recommended?  I know it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.  If you are a Joss fan and you don’t mind gore, go for it.

So… the real reason I haven’t been blogging…

I’ve wanted to tell you all this for some time but I just wasn’t sure how you’d react to this news.  I didn’t want this to change anything between us or the way you think of me.

Pause for dramatic effect…



The reason I’ve been away is because I’ve been busy starring in the movie ‘Looper’ and being married to John Krasinski.



But never fear- movie promoting is over and it’s lovely being back with John (*sigh* I wish!) and normal blogging should resume.

Sidenote- it was SO distracting that in the movie, Emily Blunt had the same bed linen as me.  Maybe forty years in the future, Ikea reproduces some of their old range?  And she had the matching lamp in her living room.  Even dirt poor movie-verse Emily Blunt has the matching lamp that I couldn’t justify buying.  Just another reason to be jealous of her :)

Last weekend…

my friend Anna and her husband came and stayed.  Anna and her hubby are from the UK but I originally met them when Anna did a year abroad studying at my uni in Australia.  We met through church and have been friends ever since (although I’m not very good at keeping in touch!!).

So I decided that it was my job to play tour guide.  Anna is a super organised person and already had the itinerary mapped out so I was more like the tour bus driver and she was the tour guide!  I LOVED being a tourist in my home town.  We went to the local water park that I have scandalously never been to and had an absolute blast!!  I am a little wary of water slides but I think I got over my fear.  The big ride there was the Aqua Loop.

(Pic found here with this article)

You get into a compartment and then there’s a countdown and the floor drops away and you do a massive vertical drop into a loop.  I was terrified waiting for the countdown but the ride itself was so quick that I didn’t even have time to be too scared!  If you don’t get enough momentum, then you don’t make it all the way through the loop.  I was worried that I’d get stuck!!

Then we went to Seaworld (we have one here too!) and Boy Roomie joined us.  I was very excited that we were going because… we were going to go swimming with sealions!!  We started off the day with the sealion show.  This is such a cheesy show but I absolutely adore it.


Then we fed stingrays (which was scary because they were so excited for the food that they seemingly kept trying to flop out of the tank) and we looked at sharks.



Then it was time to swim with the sealions!  We swam with two sealions and one seal.  The water was SO cold.  I couldn’t stop shivering but once I met Wendall, I instantly forgot about being cold.  I gotta admit, I was a little afraid when he got into the water and “stood” up in front of us.  He was just so huge.  330kg or 730lbs for those Americans amongst us, which Wendall technically is being a Californian sealion and all.


Not the greatest picture of me but Wendall looks a babe so I love this picture!!  I’m standing up in the water, so you definitely get an idea of how huge he is!  You’d put your arm around him and he put his flipper around you.  Then once the picture had been taken, he’d use his flipper to push you out of the shot so that the next person could take your place.  Cheeky boy!  We got to play ‘catch’ with him and pet him. 

Then there was an Australian sealion called BJ.  He was super cheeky and adorable.  He seemed about half the size of Wendall but was still a big fella.  We were able to fit a harness to him and I got to tag along beside him while he swam.  It was amazing.  Except for like I said, he was cheeky and decided to do some “dolphin style” diving.  I was so busy enjoying the experience and smiling that I got a mouthful of water.

Then there was a New Zealand seal whose name escapes me.  He was not in the mood to follow instructions and kept darting about in the water, which was breathtaking to watch.  We got out of the water and were able to pet him.  Because he normally lives in a cooler climate, he had fur on him.  I thought he felt like a wet daschund!  He did a few tricks to mimic his natural behaviour in the wild, like washing his face which was completely adorable.

Anna took a ton of photos and hopefully she’ll post them soon so I’ll probably talk about me and sealions again :)  It was such a magical experience.  I am desperate to do it again!!!

Blu Ray Thursday #2

What I watched:

… or if you’re American, “Pirate Radio”.

What I thought:  I really enjoyed this movie.  I’m a huge Richard Curtis fan, I love his style of writing so I was relatively sure I’d like the movie, despite it being not a very big commercial success.  Sure, it’s long and a little bit muddled but darn it, I watched it with a big smile on my face the whole way through.  And I even cried at the end.  And then laughed again.

It’s jam packed with fantastic music and some even better actors.  All those funny guys that you recognise from English movies, the ones whose face you know but might not know their name?  They’re all in it.  Oh and my beloved Kenneth Branagh.

Recommended? Yes.  Fun movie about silly people on a boat.  With bonus good music.

Hello again…

I just can’t seem to get a hang on this blogging business again.  I feel like every blog post starts with me saying “sorry I’ve been away again”.

I have been a bit busy these past few weeks with pet sitting.  It means odd hours and a slim to none chance of using the internet but it does boost my bank balance a little.

Because I have been so busy with work, I haven’t actually had Thursdays off.  So no new BRT for you.  Although the last Thursday I had off, I watched ‘Public Enemies’.  Don’t bother. 

I have been falling in love with my little pets that I’ve been looking after.  This is Jeffrey.  I just finished house sitting with him and two other dogs.  He is the cutest.  And the snuggliest!  This is how we go to sleep :)


This is Fudge.  I was house sitting for him and his bro Cino.  Just popping in twice a day to feed them.

Fudge disappeared for five days.  He needed insulin injections twice a day.  I called the council to register him as missing.  I put up an online poster for him with the RSPCA.  I phoned around local vets, animal shelters and pet emergency centres- all to no avail.  The owners weren’t worried that he was gone, stating that sometimes he would go into hiding.  Then they came home… and he still didn’t appear.  They came to me at work, saying that now… now they were more than a little concerned.  And then the next day, the little toerag just saunters up to his owners as if he hadn’t been missing.

So that was really stressful.  I spent a lot of time alternating between crying and walking around the neighbourhood, calling for the cat.

And so because I have been so busy, my mum suggested that maybe Millie might be happier at her place.  Somewhere where Millie wouldn’t have to worry about dogs or what time I came home at- if I even came home at all.  And so my antisocial little angel has gone to live with my mother… and has never been so happy!!  She LOVES my mum!  They keep each other company and she gets to lounge around my mum’s house and basically be the boss.

Blu Ray Thursday #1

Lookie here, a new segment.  More like a rehash of an old one.  Yay, movie reviews are back on my blog and that makes me happy!!!!!!!!!  Thursdays are my day off and more often than not, I end up watching a movie so I thought I’d revamp BRT :)

What I watched:


A movie with an awkward and long title, that’s what I watched.

I thought it would be a biopic about Jesse James and the man who killed him.  Instead it was a movie about celebrity and what happens when you get to meet your heroes.  Do they live up to your expectation and are they worth your emulation?  And what happens if they’re not what you hoped they would be.  Not sure if that's what I was supposed to get from the movie but that’s what I got. So for me, Brad Pitt was a good choice for Jesse James, a man so famous that the ‘man’ doesn’t exist, only the ‘name’. And he did a real good job of it too. He played Jesse as I imagine he would be, part charismatic leader, just one of the boys and part psychopath with a mean and violent streak. Brad Pitt was surprisingly chilling.  I’ve never really had any positive or negative feelings about Pitt but I thought he did some really good  work.  I forgot I was watching “Brad Pitt”.

There were some good supporting parts too (Jeremy Renner, Sam Rockwell, Garret Dillahunt,Paul Schneider, Mary Louise Parker and Zooey Deschanel), all actors delivered.  Apart from the ladies who seriously had nothing to do and I only recognised Zooey Deschanel from her singing voice.  Take away her fringe and I have no idea who she is!!  But I guess the star of the show was Casey Affleck, playing the Robert Ford of the title.  I’m really creeped out by him ever since I saw him in this movie “The Killer Inside Me” where he plays an awful, awful human being so I really dislike watching him.  Which means he’s a good actor and the unsettled feeling I get worked well for him in this film too. My only gripe with him was that he was supposed to be young, barely 20, and Affleck (although baby-faced) looks way older than that.  I feel like the movie kept having to remind us how young he was because he certainly didn’t look it!

This movie was L-O-N-G.  Two and a half hours.  And slow.  Very slow.  I ended up watching it in three parts.  I am a sucker for punishment though and I watched the first hour over two days, then had a four day gap… and then started the whole thing from the beginning again!  But for some reason, I didn’t hate that it was a long, slow movie.  Nor did I mind watching it from the beginning again.  I think that’s coz I was watching a good movie in the hands of some talented filmmakers. 

Last shout outs go to the soundtrack (beautiful!!) and the cinematography.  The scenery was gorgeous and a lot of the shots tried to emulate old photographs and hit just the right note.  Oh so pretty :)

Recommended?  Hmm, not sure.  It’s a good solid movie and I enjoyed it.  Just bear in mind that it’s two and a half hours of your life you’re never going to get back.  But I don’t think you’ll regret it.

It’s Cupcake Time

On Monday, it was the RSPCA’s Cupcake Day.  At work we decided to make cupcakes to sell to help the cause.  Fighting animal cruelty by getting to eat cupcakes?  I’m down with that.

Honestly it wasn’t the greatest success for our little workplace but secretly I’m happy because it means we had a ton of cupcakes left over.  And guess who gets to eat them all?  This girl!  I ate four cupcakes today.  And honestly, I’ll probably eat the same amount tomorrow.  I can’t help it.

Sorry if you’re my friend on Instagram because you’ve already seen all these pics.


I started baking at 9pm the night before.  Of course!  And I was trying a new recipe.  Apparently I like to live by the seat of my pants.


They came out a lot smaller than I was expecting but they tasted amazing, so that was ok.  Then I went to bed and the next day, completed the project.


LOOK HOW CUTE IT IS?!?!?!?!?!?

For my first attempt at making cupcakes, I’m very impressed with myself!  And my decorating came out pretty good too.

I’m definitely feeling ‘Brave’

I’ve been in a bit of a rut for probably the last few months, just another reason why I haven’t been posting as much. The feeling tends to come and go.  So I decided to take myself on a movie date. I went to go and see ‘Brave’.

{via here}

I was a little hesitant about seeing a kids’ movie by myself in the middle of the day but it wasn’t too bad. Everyone was actually around my age, one couple and another girl. I’m actually really glad I saw this one by myself. Because I cried like a baby through most of it. I can’t even put into words why either but I’ll try.

The movie was GOOD. I didn’t know much of what to expect in the way of storyline and was pleasantly surprised.  And the soundtrack is gorgeous.

The scenery (and all the animation itself actually) was absolutely beautiful.  I miss Scotland and in my mind, it looks *exactly* like that :)

And Merida… her hair!  It was a character in itself.  I loved her fearlessness and her determination.  And anyone that can shoot an arrow already has my heart.  I wish I had had a Disney Princess like that when I was little. 

The backbone to the story was a mother-daughter relationship which was handled really nicely.  And made me want to give my own mother a big cuddle too!

I’m so glad I went and saw it.  I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but I wanted to see it to support the movie.  I knew it wouldn’t be popular- the trailer promised a simple tale with no quick banter and a feisty girl as the main character.  And that’s what I got.  It wasn’t perfect but it was perfectly lovely and just what I needed.

{via here}

I'm so sorry.

If I was a guy, I would probably have one of those old timey prospector beards because I’d be too lazy to shave.


If I were an animal, I’d probably be a cat.  But I guess I should really be a sloth.

This is why I am a terrible blogger!

Adventure time!

I went geocaching when I was babysitting Ajax and had the most hilarious time. The cache led me into this little woodland area. It was really beautiful actually, this little spot of forest in the middle of suburbia… two main roads on either side. I had the dog with me but I had to let him off the lead because he kept pulling me along and there’s only so many times you can get pulled into spiders’ webs and squeal.

I let my overactive imagination get away with me. I was in the middle of nowhere and had just watched ‘I Am Legend’, which of course made me think of zombies- when really I should have been on the look out for serial killers- you know, scary things that ACTUALLY exist!



This is me and Ajax.  I am holding onto a big stick I found… just in case I needed to fight someone :)
My brain was on the lookout for zombies and I probably would have genuinely died of fright if I’d crossed paths with a human being. So I’ve got my head down looking at my phone, trying to follow the little compass thing when I hear this rustle in the bushes. I’m like “ZOMBIE!!” and I look to the dog because I think, well he’ll know if there’s something worth being scared of or if it’s just something silly like the wind through the leaves. Ajax was standing stock still, hackles up, staring intently at the bushes. Uh-oh.

AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN A FRICKING KANGAROO BOUNDS OUT OF THE BUSHES AND AWAY FROM US.

I live in Australia so it’s obviously within the realms of possibility but I live in a state capital city and was in the middle of suburbia. No place for kangaroos. Anyway, it made me laugh and was probably just as expected as a zombie.

The geocache was described as a “micro-cache”. I was expecting something small, instead I got this.



A microwave spray-painted green and hidden underneath a dense bush.  Brilliant!!  The logbook and goodies were all hidden inside the microwave.  It made me laugh.

Accent video

I decided to do a tumblr accent challenge... and then realised it was actually not as embarrassing as I believed it to be so I thought you guys might like it.  To make up for not posting for a really long time.  Enjoy my  accent and my crazy eyes.  And I think it would be super cool if some of you guys did it too!

Your name and username

What is the story behind your URL?

How old are you?

Where are you from? 

What is your favorite colour?

Pronounce the following words: Aunt, Roof, Route, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Pajamas, Caught, Naturally, Aluminium, GIF, Tumblr, Crackerjack, Doorknob, Envelope, GPOY,crey, polka dots, Tumblr, Swag, LOL, Papaya, Penthouse, Bestiality, Subtext, Smile.

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house? 

What is a bubbly carbonated drink called? 

What do you call gym shoes? 

What do you call your grandparents? 

What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket? 

What is the thing you change the TV channel with? 

Choose a book and read a passage from it.

Do you think you have an accent? 

Would you rather: Have a million dollars or a million friends? Eat a taco or a quesadilla? Eat a banana slug or lick a cow’s butt? Be a shark or an elephant? Be a wizard or a vampire? 

Do you know anyone on Tumblr in real life? 

End audio post by saying any three words you want

I’ve been tagged

I was tagged by Danielle to post about five things that I'm excited about or looking forward to.  Everyone seems to have also done a photo.  I don’t think there is a prerequisite for this, but I don’t want to be the first one not to post a picture.  Here is a delightful webcam picture of me and my CSI mug that I love because it is like having two cups of tea in one. 


This segues nicely into my first point.

1) I can’t wait for summer!!  All of a sudden it has turned nastily cold and life is miserable in the morning.  However, I really can’t complain because we have been having gorgeous, crisp, sunny winter days.  Nothing like that rainy month we had a while back.

2) I’m looking forward to new episodes of “Zombies, Run!”.  Yep, I’m talking about these dudes again.  By the end of summer (Northern hemisphere summer), there should hopefully be a Couch to 5k version… and further episodes of the story.  I can’t wait to hear what happens to my babies.  And nothing motivates me more than Couch to 5k.  LOVE getting excited about exercise, it’s so new to me!

3) My Wallander DVD is going to soon be arriving from the library.  You guys, Kenneth Branagh.  Tom Hiddleston.  Solving crime.  In Sweden.  Being broody.  Can’t.  Wait.

4) Actually being able to go to Bible Study.  I have been trying to get to some form of Bible study group for probably the last year.  And at last, the one that I would love to go to is moving to Sunday afternoon instead of Tuesday night, when I work.  Yay!

5) Getting back into blogger.  I missed you guys.  I missed my little corner of the Internet.  I think writing stuff down helps and I forgot that for a while.  So here’s to being back with a vengeance.  Two posts in two days!

Also, bonus hilarity.  I had my first ever run in with autocorrect on my phone.  I was texting my friend Kristy about it being so cold and I wrote (or thought I wrote) “Even though I have a ton of stuff to do today, I can’t get my arse out of bed”.  The text that I actually sent to Kristy was “Even though I have a ton of stuff to do today, I can’t get my Arab out of bed”.  I realised my mistake as soon as I sent it!  Curse me for not proof-reading.  After laughing for about ten minutes, I sent her a text to let her know that I was not having a torrid love affair with a man of middle eastern origins.

I’m not going to tag anyone specifically but I’d love it if you’d do this!

So… hi?

Remember me?  Maybe you do, maybe you don't.

Anyway, I'm back.  I think.  Hopefully.

In my mind, I thought that I'd not blogged in about three or four months.  Whilst talking with my blog-friend-turned-real-life friend Danielle, I was genuinely shocked to find out that it was only about a month. So maybe I'm not that bad.

What have I been up to?  Honestly, not that much.  But I do have a good excuse.  I was house sitting for three weeks with zero internet… which left me with a phone bill that was FIVE TIMES what I normally pay because I would check internet on my phone.  I may have to sell a kidney to pay my phone bill. 
That aside, I spent the first week looking after this darling, Ted, and watching Laguna Beach.



Eight weeks old and already past my knees!!  I saw him again today as he came in for his last set of vaccinations and he is just a monster.  He is gonna be HUUUUUUGE!!!!!!!!!!

Then the last two weeks, I have been looking after my favourite boy, Ajax.  He is just the opposite of most Labradors, he’s calm and well trained.  I just absolutely adore him.



He’s allowed to sleep on the bed if his blankets are on there.  And he had to bring his toy to bed also.  He’s just the best. 

In things that you missed out on, I went to a Medieval Faire, hosted a party for Boy Roomie complete with fog machine and MILLIE WENT MISSING (but was found!).

What’s been happening with you?

Two amazing and exciting things!

Ok, first off… I made a vlog! It is just under thirty seconds long but features me and everyone’s favourite supporting character in my life, Millie! It also shows off my amazing editing skills. But seriously, this is the first time I’ve ever done anything remotely video-y on my computer so I am patting myself on the back! Now you have a strange voice to go with my face.

Also, the second thing. You guys. You guys. This actually made my day and nobody in real life would care and not many internet people care but I just had to tell SOMEONE. So as you may know I have been somewhat obsessed with the app ‘Zombies, Run!’. So obsessed that I made a tumblr for a character from the app. I cringe a little at how bad that sounds but it’s super fun and there's another girl playing along too. ANYWAY, the creators of the game totally found our tumblrs and said we were “super-imaginative and fantastic”. And they said this in public. Go here, you can read it!! Just above the hand drawn picture that is also made of awesome.  I like that the creators of the game are just as nerdy and sweet as the people who love the game.

I’m kind of getting famous on the internet- getting a question answered by one of my fave podcasts and now this all in like one week?! Don’t worry, I’ll still remember you all!!

I’m now one of those bloggers, aren’t I?

I’m now posting once a week, if that.  I just can’t be motivated.  I don’t know why.  I’ve still been reading people’s blogs though, but committing that blogger sin of not commenting.

What have I been up to in the real world then?

I’ve finally cracked my new church (and by ‘new’, I have actually been going there on and off for about a year!) and made some friends!  This has been a real answer to prayer.  It’s hard to make friends.  I’m very grateful for some girls taking me under their wings.  Coffee dates are the best.  Even if I have to go shopping as well.  I am not a shopper.

We had a wine and cheese night at work to celebrate our new clinic that has opened.  We invited a bunch of people and I ate lots of mini quiches and didn’t have to cook dinner that night- score!

I went pet-sitting at a new house with a new doggy.  He was quite naughty, not anything horrible, just didn’t have basic manners.  I think he’s good for his family… but just didn’t listen to me!  His owners say that they go away a lot so I might be looking after him again.

My highlight of the week though was getting a question answered on the website of one of my favourite podcasts!  Answer Me This is an English podcast in which people write in their questions and the hosts answer them.  It’s really funny and makes me miss living in the UK.  I was having trouble sleeping one night and I checked the website (which I rarely do) and there was my question!  I got so excited but it was like 2 in the morning and nobody cares because nobody has heard of the podcast so I just had to lie there in the darkness and giggle to myself.

Game of Thrones party

Hello internet.  It has been a while.  I thought I would show you what me and the Roomies got up to recently.  We had a Game of Thrones party to celebrate the finale… not that I wanted the show to be over or anything.

I had the day off and spent pretty much all of it stressing out about cooking turkey legs.

Also, apparently this is what you wear to a party you are hosting.  Pyjama bottoms.

I did mean to change but because they are so sneakily comfy, I forgot until about halfway through the night that I was wearing them.  Oops.  Oh well, my party- my rules.

Girl Roomie made crowns for everyone.  Everyone.



And yes, that is a mixture of fear and hatred in her eyes.  She really does love me, I promise. 

We ate in the dark, lit only by candles.  We drank cider.  We wore wigs.  Just because.

My friend Kristy is posing for the picture.  Boy Roomie is not.  He is tearing into those turkey legs.  I realise that my American friends are all familiar with turkeys but we really don’t eat it at all over here.  I could NOT believe how giant turkeys are.  Do y’all have giant ovens to cook those monstrous beasts come Thanksgiving?!?!

I baked a lemon poppyseed cake and the recipe can be found here. It came out amazingly! I don’t really trust my baking skills so I was very surprised that I made something so delicious by my own hand. The original recipe didn’t call for frosting, but in my mind it’s not a cake unless there’s frosting.

Hopefully I won’t leave it a week between posting stuff!  Missed you guys!!!

Short service announcement

I swear I do not work for this company, nor do I get any kickbacks.  I am just absolutely obsessed with this app.

And this very weekend, it is on sale at $1.99!!!  Normally it is $7.99.  I brought it at that price and would say that it is worth every penny.  It really helped me to get back into exercising regularly.  I don't run when I use this app, I just walk so don't let the "run" part of the title put you off :)

I'm just putting this out there so that maybe one person that I know can buy it and we can have intense "I LOVE SAM" or "I HATE RUNNER 8" conversations.

That is all.  And let me know if you decide to get it.

Adventure!

Today I dragged Boy Roomie and Tessa out on an adventure with me.  I have wanted to go geocaching  for YEARS.  I even asked for a GPS device for my last birthday but didn’t get one.  And then a week ago it dawned on me that maybe there was an app for that and lo and behold there was!

For those not in the know, geocaching is basically like a treasure hunt except with really specific coordinates.  There will be a container with a log book that you fill in and sometimes there are little items that you can swap.

It was a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon and I asked Boy Roomie if he wanted to go on an adventure.  He was lounging on the sofa browsing the internet on his phone and honestly, I don’t think he could be bothered.  However, I stood there and he eventually agreed.  Besides, I needed someone to hold the dog for me whilst I went searching through the undergrowth for the prize.

The team

I vaguely knew where the geocache container would be and so we walked over to the area.  The clue said it was situated alongside a river path and we honestly walked up and down it for about ten minutes holding out the iphone in front of us like explorers of old would hold out a compass.  The geocahce would be ten metres in front of us and then all of a sudden, it would be twenty metres away.  So annoying!  I started to get frustrated and so I googled the clue that I was given.

I read that someone said that they enjoyed the nifty way of getting the cache and I realised we weren’t looking for buried treasure.  I looked up, right in front of my face and there it was.



You pulled that branch down that was attached to a bit of wire that was attached to a container inside the hollow of the tree!  I felt like I was in an adventure story a la Enid Blyton.  When I told Boy Roomie my feelings, he didn’t get the reference but I hope you do.

Inside there was a whole heap of stuff outlining geocaching and a log book and some goodies.


I swapped one of Jenna’s kitty key caps for this… thing.  I don’t know what it is.  It reminds me of those ribbons people wear for breast cancer.



This is the tree from a bit further away.

The hollow is sticking out of the left side of the trunk about halfway up.

It was so much fun and has definitely whetted my appetite for more adventures.  Has anyone else done something like this?

The best night ever…

…happened on Wednesday night.  When Girl Roomie, Kristy and I all went to the KNOTBSB concert.  Basically two boybands for the price of one.  I’ve never even really heard a New Kids On The Block song but Backstreet Boys ruled my life as a young teen so I brought tickets the very second they went on sale.  Even though we got tickets straight away, we were still right up the back.  Guess there are a lot of boyband fans in my town. 

It was actually pretty funny seeing the audience at the concert.  As Girl Roomie commented, “it’s like there’s a magnet here pulling all the women aged from 20-40” and it was so true!  But just because we’re not teenage girls anymore, doesn’t mean we can’t scream like them!!!

I had THE best time!!!  I’m surprised I didn’t lose my voice.  I kept giggling and yelling “THIS IS SO AMAZING!!!!”.  We kept clutching at one another, I guess as an alternate way of pinching ourselves to make sure we weren’t dreaming.  Despite the older ages of the gentlemen on the stage, there was still a lot of choreographed dance moves… often lifted straight from the videos.   This especially delighted me.

It was so much fun because it was like thirteen year old me is so happy at getting to see Backstreet Boys in the flesh.  And at the same time, 26 year old me was checking out all those hotties on stage!  And I was ironically enjoying the music to start off with… and then I couldn’t deny it anymore, it’s all just plain fun pop.  And the spectacle of it all was amazing.  There were so many fireworks and explosions.

I started out the concert not really caring about NKOTB but watching them perform and just giving in to the pop music, I became like the biggest NKOTB fan in all the land!  And a BIG fan of Joey McIntyre- yum!!  Actually time had been kind to all the guys. 

And now I leave you with the pictures Girl Roomie took from all the way back.  Good thing she has a zoom!



And just for funsies, here’s the picture I took with my phone


Haha, they are in the bright beam of light… can’t see anything!!!

Double post!

Well not really, but it sort of feels like it.  I have a day off and it’s very grey outside (not that I’d be doing anything outside if it was sunny) and here I am on the internet.  I just wanted to share two rambly things with you guys.

Number One… something absolutely hilarious that happened a few nights ago.  We were all sitting watching television and I had Nilly the dog cuddled up on my lap, fast asleep.  The cat and the dog are sort of starting to get on now, it’s quite sweet.  Millie has kind of taken on the big sister role and likes to make Nilly suffer by hiding around corners and popping out when least expected.  Or darting out and doing a cheeky swipe on Nilly’s bum.  We call these actions “Circle of Life moments”.  But there’s nothing malicious in it and I think it’s only a matter of time before they are BFFs.  As has now been confirmed. 

Anyway, back to the beginning of the story- Nilly was asleep on my lap.  Millie hops up onto the chair to sit on my lap, unaware that the dog had already taken her spot.  Millie starts sniffing at Nilly, like she’s trying to work out how they can both sleep on my lap.  I was so excited and started patting Girl Roomie’s arm to get her to look over at the miracle that was happening.  She got excited and started patting Boy Roomie to alert him to the situation.  Unfortunately she was so engrossed in what was happening between the two animals that she didn’t realise that she was repeatedly patting Boy Roomie on the crotch instead of the leg.  This had us in fits of giggles and unfortunately disturbed Millie and she jumped off to go and sulk under the coffee table. 


Number Two… Zombies, Run.  This is by far the best app on my phone, even better than Instagram, dare I say it.  It’s a sort of radio play that you listen to whilst on the run.  It’s all about the zombie apocalypse (of course!) and you go on little missions to build up your community.  The voice acting is awesome (and English!) and it makes me feel like I’m in an episode of Torchwood.  It makes me run because when the nice English lady says “Keep running, the zombies are right behind you.  Keep running.  AND. DON’T. LOOK BACK.”… you darn well run! 

This picture sums up EVERYTHING about the app.  I am absolutely in love with one of the characters and the story is so addictive, it keeps me coming back for more.  Which is great because it means that when I can’t be bothered to go running, I actually drag myself out of bed and go for a run.  But I haven’t even gotten to the best part, the best part is that there is a GPS component and every so often, my “zombie scanner” will go off saying “Zombies detected, 100 metres” and there is the sound effects of zombies going “urrrgghhh” and for 1 minute you absolutely have to sprint to evade zombie mobs.  It’s a little pricey but is totally worth it.

A Busy Weekend

Lots of things happened this weekend.

Girl Roomie and I went to a local vintage place. I made her come with me because I was like “It’ll be fun, let’s look at all the cool things we can get”. And then we went and looked at all the cool things we could get… if we had a massive house and were millionaires. Because we live in a tiny house and have no money, it made us slightly depressed and we had to get McDonald’s to cheer ourselves up.

Just some nice stuff I can never afford

I’m slipping this bit in in the middle so I can gloss over it and pretend it never happened. One of our dogs, Katie, was put to sleep. She was old and with winter approaching, it was making her arthritis unbearable (even with meds) and so Boy Roomie’s family made the decision to put her to sleep. Even though I think it was the right thing to do, it doesn’t make it any easier.

Snuggling whilst watching TV

It’s only been a day and it’s strange when I go out to the back and she’s not there. It’s nice to not have to see her struggling to walk anymore… but it’s sad because when she was hobbling, it was always because she was hobbling over to see you for a cuddle. She was a great old lady and she always made me laugh because she would body slam Tessa who was bigger than her out of the way if she thought Tess was getting a better pat than she was. I know she’ll be bounding around in Doggy Heaven.

Our girls… Nilly trying to stuff her face as usual!

And in other news, my workplace is moving. We’re moving only a few stores down and opening up in the new place on Monday. The new practice is about twice the size and we have SO much room! This weekend we all went in to help move things and clean up. I’m sneakily glad I’m not working on Monday, but I can’t wait to go in on Tuesday.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Great Big Books Q&A & Something Else

Sidenote: I am over at Suzy’s blog today.  Come and say hello so that I am not a sad person with zero comments on her blog.  And then come back and read this that I stole from her blog…

These are the rules:
1. Post these rules
2. Post a photo of your favourite book cover
3. Answer the questions below
4. Tag a few people to pass the Q&A on to: I have a few ‘booky’ people who follow my blog and I’d love to hear their thoughts :)

Favourite book cover:I don’t think I have one.  There’s nothing jumping out at me off the top of my head.  Instead I offer you this- I have a very small collection of books with me and this is the one I like the best. 



What are you reading right now?
I’m reading ‘Heart’s Blood’ by Juliet Marillier .  It’s just what I need right now.  A nicely written, easy to read YA fantasy novel.  Pure escapism. 

Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that?
I put ‘Black Out’ by Connie Willis down to read the book I’m currently reading.  ‘Black Out’ has amazing reviews and has won a ton of awards… but I just can’t get into it.  But I will persevere! 

What 5 books have you always wanted to read but haven’t got round to?
The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are
“The Book Thief” by Marcus Zusack (thanks for the reminder Suzy!)
“Love in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel García Márquez

What magazines do you have in your bathroom/lounge right now?
I never buy magazines as I think they’re such a huge waste of money.  But I think there’s a copy of Frankie in the living room courtesy of Girl Roomie.

What’s the worst book you’ve ever read?
Um… the worst book I’ve ever read..?  I can’t think of one but I can tell you a story about one.  I was reading this book (‘Affinity’ by Sarah Waters) and it was SO boring and weird and there seemed to be so much subtext going on that I didn’t understand (and I hate feeling stupid!).  I nearly put it down… but then it became the BEST story ever!  Beautifully written and an amazing ending.  And then I read it when I wasn’t a naive 17 year old and it made a whole lot more sense, haha!

What book seemed really popular but you actually hated?
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” series.  Not that I ‘hated’ it exactly.  I read all the books and they were ok.  Just ok.  I don’t see why they were SO popular.  I read a lot of crime/thriller books and I didn’t think the plot or characters or writing set this series apart from any other book in the genre.  Don't understand why the entire world went gaga for this particular series.

What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone?
'The Princess Bride’ by William Goldman.  It’s a hundred times better than the movie.  And the movie is the best.

What are your 3 favourite poems?
I really like ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling.  And I tried to learn ‘Seal Lullaby’ by Kipling off by heart.  I’ve never been a big fan of poetry though. 

Where do you usually get your books?
I’m quite cheap when it comes to books.  They are SO expensive over here in Australia compared with elsewhere.  $19 compared with something like $7 in the US.  I nearly died when I went to the US recently and saw how cheap the books were!!  I very rarely buy books and if I do, I’ll get them cheaply online or from a second hand store.  I am a HUGE library girl!

Where do you usually read your books?
In bed.

When you were little, did you have any particular reading habits?
Not really.  My dad used to read to me when I was about nine or ten before I used to go to sleep.  I could read for myself but it was a nice bonding experience.

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down?
The Hunger Games trilogy.  I just *had* to know what was going to happen!  I really fell hard for Katniss’ character.

Have you ever “faked” reading a book?
I originally said no but then I remembered.  I have faked reading ‘Little Women’.  I’ve tried but it’s just so boring!  I love the movie and so I can talk knowledgably about the storyline.  And so people believe I have read the book and I just haven’t corrected them…

Have you ever bought a book just because you liked the cover?
I’ve also *not* brought a book because of the cover too.  I like fantasy books but some of them have really silly covers!  A book I know that I bought for the cover (and by ‘bought’ I mean, saw it for sale, fell in love with it and then got it out from the library') was.

Wow, it’s even lovelier than I remembered!  It makes me want to read the book/series all over again!!  It’s so gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!  Don’t you just want to be an archer and wear a red dress and swan about whilst the wind blows through your hair?!

What was your favourite book when you were a child?
Anything that had a horse in it.  I really loved the Narnia series and there was a book where the main characters were horses, ‘The Horse and His Boy’.  I’d say that one was a favourite for quite some time.  And also anything by Jacqueline Wilson.  She was the best!

What book changed your life?
I remember having a ‘wow, you can do that?!’ moment when reading ‘Catcher in the Rye’.  It was the first book I’d ever read that was written in that informal style and I loved the freedom it offered, both as a reader and a writer. 

What is your favourite passage from a book?
I can’t think of one exactly but my favourite parts of books are always those parts where you realise you’ve been totally blindsided.  Here I go referencing a movie whilst talking about books, but I love those moments in books which are like the final moments in ‘The Usual Suspects’.  Everything comes together and your world shifts.  You realise that the writer is a master and you have been played a fool and you are reading so fast that you’re skimming words and you *HAVE* to know what’s happening right this very second.  As a reader, I just love those moments! 

Who are your top five favourite authors?
These are five authors that I like, in no particular order, off the top of my head:
1. Dean Koontz
2. Kate Morton
3. Kate Robinson
4. Val McDermid
5. Peter Goldsworthy

What book has no one heard about but should read?
Oh, I don’t know… um… “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie.  Such a good book.  I know a lot of people dismiss her but she is the bee’s knees and this book is such a good thriller.  I have been dying for a good movie or BBC adaption or similar of this book for YEARS!

What are your favourite books by a first-time author?
I was so stuck on this one so when I saw Sarah’s answer, I knew I had to steal it because I wholeheartedly agree with it: ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society’ by Mary Ann Shaffer.  Beautiful book.  And so sad that the author died just as the book was being published and never got to see how many people loved her story. 

What 3 books are you an “evangelist” for?
Ah, I can’t think of any.  I’m definitely an “evangelist” for “The Princess Bride”.  Also probably anything written by Kate Morton because she’s a local girl and I love her books.   

What is your favourite classic book?
Since I got this from Suzy and she said ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ which would be my usual answer, I’d like to pick something different, ‘Jane Eyre’.  I think it’s fairly easy to read for a classic and I love Jane as a heroine and her story.  And I think Mr Rochester has a lot to answer for when I consider the type of men I like!

5 other notable mentions?
I have absolutely run out of steam and MUST go to bed.  My eyes are falling out of their sockets, I’m so exhausted.  Therefore I am bypassing this question.  BUT knowing myself as I do, I will think about this question and probably come out with ten or fifteen other books that I am kicking myself that I didn’t mention.  So I’ll probably edit this later :)

I hope you made it all the way to the end and I doubly hope you fill this out yourself!!

Weekend Recap

I went home for the weekend to celebrate Mothers Day and it was lovely.

But I forgot my phone when we went to lunch on the day so no pictures.  We had a picnic near the ocean and the weather was absolutely gorgeous.  We were joined by mum’s friend, my aunt and cousin.  Great company.

My cousin took this picture of me… drinking wine and stuffing my face.  You know, the usual.



Then I went home on Monday and Millie was all about the snuggling.  For once I am thankful for chilly weather!  Cuddled up with a blanket, watching a zombie movie.  I was in the mood for zombies!



Mum and I went on a Kmart expedition and I saw this cute outfit that I absolutely had to buy.  It was perfect… just not for me.


Look how cute she is!!  And there's a hood as well.  She's not a fan of the hood... yet :)