Me Potato Head?

I think I want this.


Then I can say I swallowed.

posted by: blytheswideshut at July 30, 2006 21:07 | link | comments (6) |

Beer Swilling Pig...

Thinking about the lengths people will go to to make money often stops me in my tracks.  Specifically where animals are concerned.  Business relationships that rely on an inequity of power make me sad and angry.

I came across this today "Beer Swilling Pigs..." and I'm speechless.  Not only that people would have pigs at a pub and allow people to feed them beer - but sell them the beer to feed the pig - and that there are people out there that would actually do this.

It's mystifying and saddening.

This is the pub in question.  I won't name it - the last thing it needs is more publicity.  The link posted is from a government (!!!) tourist website - that is promoting not only this pub - but the fact that you can feed beer to these pigs.

I found this article to be quite distasteful as well.

I'm going now.  To find my happy place, to think kittens and whiskers and packages tied up with string.

posted by: blytheswideshut at July 28, 2006 22:29 | link | comments (1) |

in my life...

Tomorrow I'm documenting my day as part of the flickr group In My Life.  Posting to this group has been occuring all month - but of course I can only get my act together for the almost-last-day-of-the-month.

We're going to the Mt Gravatt Show, I'm hoping to have photos of the full range of yester-year Queensland tradional "show" faire.

I'm putting my camera in my bag now.

I am currently lusting after a LeSportsac bag...but am having trouble choosing a design.

posted by: blytheswideshut at July 28, 2006 22:01 | link | comments |

In which I have to think quick...

I try not to write too much about my job.  Mostly I love what I do, and there are very few downsides to it.  Sometimes at the end of a long week the kids can drive me to distraction, and the parents annoy the living sh#t out of me, but apart from that everything humms along nicely.

However it seems that I get all the hard questions.  I've already had "Why is the sky blue?", "Why can we sometimes see the sun and the moon at the same time?" and other doozies.  With two 3.5 year olds it's often difficult to be one step ahead - because as soon as you let your guard down - BAM! they're right in there with a big one.

*flashback* Last Thursday morning.  I'm sitting on the sofa drinking my morning cup of coffee.  One of the 3.5yr olds has arrived an hour earlier than usual, and is getting to see me eat my breakfast and drink my coffee, whilst sitting on the sofa.  Scott is reading the paper and eating his breakfast at the dining table.

"Karyn-mama...." says Grubby 3.5yr old

"Y-esss, sweethart, what's on your mind?"

"Why do we have Mummy's?" He gazes at me intently.  Out of the corner of my eye I see Scott look up from the paper and over to me.

"Because everyone needs a Mummy."  I say cautiously.

"But why?"  Not this again - the "But why's" are ruining my life at the moment!

"Well because we need our Mummy to get here.  Remember Lachlan's Mum and how she had a baby in her tummy?"  Now I'm leading this damn conversation down a garden path I'm not sure I want to follow...

"Why is the baby in there?"  He says, his gaze unwaivering.  Scott is in the background miming his amusement at me always getting the doozies to answer.

"Well the baby has to stay in the Mummy's tummy until it's ready to come out."  Oh sh*t where are we going now....

"Is it dark in there?"

"I'd say so - I'm not 100% sure, but I think it would be dark in there."  Brain working now...potential to lead the conversation in another direction...

"What does the baby eat?"  He's looking a bit worried now.

"Well you know your belly button?"  he nods, "Well, when you're in your mummy's tummy you have, like a hose attached to your belly button that food from your mummy goes down to feed you, that's why we have a belly button.  And when you're born they close off the pipe, and it heals up to be a belly button."  This is good, conversation is nearing neutral territory...

"So how does the mum know when the baby's ready?"

"Well her tummy starts to hurt, a bit like a tummy ache, then she goes to hospital and the doctor helps her to have the baby."

"How?  There's no hole?  Where's the hole?"

Now Scott is in the background barely holding back his mirth at the situation I've got myself into...

"Well,  you know how you have a penis?"

"Y-ess."  He looks unsure about where this is going.

"Well girls and mummy's don't have a penis, they have a vagina."  (I know this analogy isn't technically correct, but too much information could be disastrous at this point.)

"Huh."  He looks unsure, but nods.

"And the vagina is like a hole for the baby to come out of when it's ready to be born."

"Cool."  He says.  Then looks up at me.  I'm about to breathe a sigh of relief...

"But that's not how I was born."  He says, daring me to disagree...

"Really?"  I say and make 'Big Eyes' at him...

"Yeah, the doctor cut a hole in my mum and grabbed me out."  He looked very happy with himself.

"Well, yes, that is another way that a baby can get out of it's mummy's tummy."  I say, hoping this doesn't spark even more discussion.

"Can we have morning tea now?"

"Yes."

I seem to have been blessed/cursed with two very eloquent little 3.5 year olds.  It looks like the little 14mth old I have in my care is going the same way.  On Friday he said "look - photo!" and pointed at a photo of the kids I have across the room.  Every morning I say to him "Adam - look, a Photo!" and now he's repeating it back to me.  Later in the day he said "Look - shoes".  I can't remember any of the other kids making a simple sentence at this young an age.  He also has a vocabulary of about 50 words - which seems a lot, so soon.

posted by: blytheswideshut at July 23, 2006 23:17 | link | comments (1) |

I've done the ones that appear in BOLD

(I don't know why the formatting is all funky)

      01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment (now that’s a story and a half.)

27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign (Nirvana Ave, Malvern East)
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love

53. Sat at a stranger's table in a restaurant,  and had a meal with them.
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day (I do this frequently! It’s what Saturdays are for isn’t it?)
60. Posed nude in front of strangers

61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites. (Wu Yi mountain, China)
70. Taken a martial arts class (Judo in Grade 6)
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie (Only if home movies count.)
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Bought flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage (Amateur, but still…it was on a stage)
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour (Think U2, Melbourne/Sydney/Brisbane)
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over (Best thing I’ve ever done)
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived.
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon I’ve climbed Ayres Rock
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat (YUM!)
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed

132. Petted a cockroach

133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey (Think University, picture yours truly going through her “Intellectual” phase)
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read.

136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (fish)
137. Skipped all your school reunions (This is a habit I intend to keep!)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language (Try visiting Japan, speaking no Japanese, and escaping without achieving this one.  Just.Not.Possible)
139. Been elected to public office (high school Student Council anyone?)
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life

posted by: blytheswideshut at July 17, 2006 23:24 | link | comments |

crocs are $8.92 at BigW

BigW truly does sell for less.

Yesterday I purchased myself a pair of crocs.  But not just any crocs...FAKE crocs for $8.92.

These babies are straight out of China, 100% real fake crocs.  The story goes that for the past 6 months or so I have had in the back of my mind to purchase a pair of Crocs.  Lately I've been idly looking on ebay for a pair, because to buy them retail in Australia is just too expensive.  So yesterday we went to BigW to get baby wipes and to pay a quick visit to their resident cockatoo "Nelson".  As I approached the baby supplies section of the store I was confronted by a giant stand of CROCS!  Fake, $8.92 Crocs...but still crocs-by-any-other-name.

So I carefully examined the $8.92 crocs, smelling, bending, touching, fully scoping them out.  Then I went to the shoe store, and did the same with the genuine Crocs (retailing at $49.95).

I came to the conclusion that I could save myself $41.03.



Real crocs...


Mine are all dusty because I wore them to the off-leash-dog-park this morning.  We went to the fun o-l-d-p on Cavendish Rd, rather than the one close to our house.  There's always heaps of interesting people and dogs at the Cav Rd one.  Motch had the best run around, a burly little beagle was chasing him all over the place, and poor Muppy really wanted to join in, he was whining and grumbling, but ultimately he was too chicken to join in.

Motch spent the entire afternoon lying down on his mat recovering from his hour of exertion.

posted by: blytheswideshut at July 01, 2006 15:54 | link | comments (1) |