Dyb, dyb, dyb, dob, dob, dob.

GETTING INVESTED - APRIL 2008

Patrick wanted to join Cubs this year, so in February, he joined the local pack at Kings Meadows. It turned out to be a great year to join, as it's 100 years of Scouting this year. They've done some great things including The ANZAC Day March, fire lighting, knot tying, bowling, and tomorrow night, they are going on a lantern walk to meet up with other Cubs and Scouts from around the region. He's off to Cubs tonight to finish making the lanterns ready for tomorrow night's Centenary Celebration March.

Last month Paddy got his first merit badge - Swimmer, and we were all very proud.

It's Kimba all over again!

When I was a kid I LOVED Kimba the White Lion, but always cried when I watched it. Today I saw The Lion Cub video, and if you haven't seen it - you should, but have your tissues ready!

Just look on You Tube for Christian the Lion, or Google "lion cub video today show" and you'll see it - just make sure it's one that tells the story, as there are a lot of videos circulating.

You can teach an old dog new tricks!

The lovely Beau.

I have had Beau since she was 6 weeks old. Amazingly enough, she was born in the next street over from where we live now - a stone's throw from here - literally! Beau has had two trips to New Zealand (and has the Frequent Doggy Points to prove it!), has moved with me 7 times, put up with Patrick and Lauren climbing on, chasing and "training" her since they were babies, and is still going strong! She will be 13 in December, and despite being blind in one eye and a bit slow to get up in the mornings, she still has a spring in her step when necessary.

When we go for a walk, she always has to be in the lead - so much so that once while running (yeah - pre kids!) in a park in New Zealand, she pushed past me and knocked me flat! (Not a good look!) When we go to the park, she yanks on the lead puffing and panting to try and get in front of the kids - who are on their bikes I might add!

Although I had a couple of cats when Beau was a pup, she's pretty much been the only pet. Since the arrival of Sassy into our home in Feb., poor Beau has had to adapt. On nice days like today Sassy is allowed outside briefly. As soon as she gets out she goes straight to Beau's bed, and you can almost see her thumbing her nose saying "what are you going to do about it old girl?". Today when she did that, I watched Beau go over to her empty food bowl, and Sassy of course followed thinking there might be something in it for her, and a quick as an old, blind, arthritic dog can go, she's back on her bed giving Sassy the "you may be young but I'm older and smarter look", and she hasn't moved since!

On My Soapbox!

I have been known, from time to time, to have a rant about an issue. Recently I wrote to the paper after reading again about the poor iodine levels in Australian children. Tasmania, in particular, has had a long history of poor iodine levels in our children, with problems due to this deficiency including learning delays, stunted growth, and poor reflexes - to name a few! Iodine levels can easily be increased simply by using iodised salt in our everyday life, and including it in products we consume daily like bread. Some bakeries have taken this on - Cripps in Launceston have been using iodised salt for many years, but it's not enough. I suggested that the big fast food chains McDonald's, Hungry Jacks, KFC and Subway use iodised salt routinely. I figure that if our kids are going to eat takeaway food -and lets face it most of them regularly do- then let them at least be getting the benefit of iodised salt. Unfortunately, after contacting all the above fast food outlets NONE of them use iodised salt. There's a good chance that in the future they will have to, but none are willing to be proactive and start now. Anyway, with the encouragement of Professor Creswell Eastman, Vice Chairman of the International Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD), I am going to keep contacting these fast food giants and push for the use of iodised salt and salt products BEFORE it becomes mandatory. Until then, what can we do at home? Make sure that any table and cooking salt you use is iodised, and give our kids the best possible start! For more info. on this just click on this link: http://www.iccidd.org/pages/who-can-prevent-idd/parents-concerned-citizens.php or Google iodine deficiency, in particular ICCIDD, and Professor Creswell Eastman, and decide for yourselves.

Products of the week

I received a new product to trial in the mail today and it's great. I have horribly dry skin, and my hands are cracked and dried up like an 80 year old's (a product of working with kids and constantly washing my hands)! I've tried heaps of creams and find most too oily and sticky feeling, so was really pleased to get Aveeno's Daily Moisturising Lotion to try today. Most trials send you a tiny sample, but I got a big 225ml bottle plus 10, 29ml trial sizes to give to family and friends. It's distributed by Johnson &Johnson so should be widely available.

I really like this cream, and my hands feel soft and look much better after using it just once. I'll let you know how the trial goes, but so far it feels great. I hate paying for new creams without knowing what they are like as they cost so much, so it's good to get a sample, or hear from someone else what a something is like, so I'm passing it on!

On a not-so-happy note, I bought a pre-packaged quiche for tea tonight on my was home at 5.30, only to find it was a Quiche Le Hairy as opposed to Quiche Lorraine! Yuck! Have already emailed my concerns at finding a hair in the pastry to the Hairy Chef...will keep you posted on that too! Most people don't bother, or return things to the store where they just write it off and get you a new one or refund. If you contact the manufacturer, then they can do something to rectify the problem - no more hairy quiche! You'd be surprised at the freebies and vouchers I've got from contacting people over faulty goods!

Joke Of The Week

Hmmm, what could this week's joke be about???

A New Zealand teacher explains to her class that she is an All Blacks fan. She asks her students to raise their hands if they too, are All Blacks fans. Everyone in the class raises their hand except one little girl. The teacher looks at the girl with surprise and says, "Janie, why didn't you raise your hand?" "Because I'm not an All Blacks fan" she replied.

The teacher, still shocked, asked, "Well if you are not an All Blacks fan, then who are you a fan of?" "I'm a Wallabies fan, and proud of it," replied Janie. The teacher could not believe her ears. "Janie, why pray tell, are you a Wallabies fan?" "Because my Mum is a Wallabies fan, and my Dad is a Wallabies fan, so I'm a Wallabies fan too!"

"Well," said the teacher, very annoyed, "That's no reason for you to be a Wallabies fan! You don't have to be just like your parents all of the time. What if your Mum was an idiot, and your Dad was an idiot, what would you be then?"

"Then," Janie smiled, "I'd be an All Blacks fan!"

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!

Garden Guru

Last Summer, we grew 718 tomatoes - 3/4's of which were made into some pretty good tomato sauce (if I do say so myself). Even Lauren eats it, which is truly saying something as she hates veggies and anything even vaguely related to them, with a passion. We can't wait for Spring so we can plant some more, and try some new recipes. One thing I wont be making is green tomato pickles, because Mum made the BEST ever earlier this year- they are SO good, so who am I to mess with perfection?

In the meantime, we have a Winter garden that Shayne planted with help from his little garden guru, Lauren. We have beetroot, broccoli, cabbage and silver beet that are all nearly ready - yum!

Flags unfurled.

I swear no props were used for this photo!

(but I can't guarantee no Kiwi's were injured!)

Please notice which "flag" is half mast (click photo to enlarge)

Blackout? I don't think so!

When I lived in New Zealand, I learned two things very quickly - you don't mess with the Maori (well- obviously!) or the Kiwi obsession with all things All Black! I have been what seemed like, the lone Aussie in an Kiwi crowd, and it's NOT pleasant. I've been the lone Aussie supporter in an Aussie/Kiwi household and, at times that's not pleasant either! I've been in Auckland after an All Black's loss, and it's like a ghost town - you go into a shop, and the staff are out the back crying into their Steinlagers, and couldn't care less if you are there!

I found it MUCH safer to keep my mouth shut in case my obviously Aussie accent bought on a barrage of insults, or more commonly tears, such is their obsession. I must say though, it's a whole different ball game (and it really is!) when the AB's win over there - the whole country celebrates. Here, we have our AFL, and some of us can get pretty passionate (for passionate read obsessed), but it's not the same. Rugby (not to be confused with that dirty Thugby League) is their life - it's like a religion, hey, it's all they have!

So, I guess what I really wanted to say was, in their biggest win since 1999...

The Mighty Wallabies beat the All Black's last night 34-19

I know too much about the AB's to expect this to mean we'll get the Bledisloe Cup back this year, but it's a great start and why not revel in it while we can?!

One more thing - you can be sure the NZ papers are all saying it's because we now have ex Kiwi coach Robbie Deans, but check out which anthem he sang last night - it sure wasn't God Defend New Zealand!

GO WALLABIES!

GO WALLABIES!!!

I know I promised no more tonight, but how could I resist, especially living in a multicultural household where Wallabies supporters are outnumbered!

Photos

Skytower - Auckland New Zealand

Auckland Zoo Locals

Shayne, Kim(18), Tracey(20), Sarah(23)

Patrick(8), Lauren(7)

On the plane - very excited!

Miss Sassy Cat

8 months

What's the difference between a new blogger and a traffic light? A traffic light knows when to stop!! OK, so that was really bad, and I promise that this is the last post for the day. I neglected to include a photo of the most important family member (NO- not me, and you're not likely to see one either!) SASSY of course, and while I'm at it, I will include a few photos from our trip to NZ last month. We all had a great time, and Patrick and Lauren LOVED spending time with their sisters Sarah(23), Tracey(20) and Kimberley(18), and their nephew Quinn(17mths).

Stripe Radio

I do quite a few surveys online, and in the past have received a cheque for $100, a LG DVD player, and heaps of free samples of things. Recently I received a free trial of the new radio station Stripe. It's a radio station you can listen to on your computer, mobile or MP3 player and has 20 channels at the moment. The channels range from 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's music, to current top 50, hip hop and new stuff from the UK and US. Anyway, I signed up for the free trial and it's great. It's good quality sound, and a good variety, although I seem to be stuck in a time-warp of '80's music, trying desperately to cling to my youth (OK, so maybe recapture rather than cling to something that quite obviously is LONG gone!). I listen to it whenever I'm on the computer. Sadly for me, you can even put in requests! Stripe is going to be released Australia-wide in the next month or so, and is worth a look. Just log on to http://www.stripe.com/ and take a look. I think it would be great for theme parties - like an '80's theme party for all of those who are old enough to remember the '80's (and not so old we've forgotten!), or for a reunion. It will be about $10 a month when it's launched, and also has free ringtones, and sport and news programming coming in the future. That's my sales pitch for the day (until the next survey or trial hits my email!) Gotta go..."Tear's For Fears" are calling! "Shout...shout...let it all out..."

Finally!

OK, so I was another of those "never-going-to-blog" people but here I am! I'm thinking I'm possibly trying to recapture my youth before it's too far gone! Let's hope it's not too boring, or that I don't run out of things to say before I even start! Please bear with me (or not) as I'm new at this. If all else fails, I'll make something up! For those of you who are newer to this than me, you can leave comments even if you are not a member - just click on the comments box at the end of the post, and then choose "anonymous", but make sure you leave your name with your comment so I know who your are!