Black rose garden

The Christmas Q&A:

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:02:29 GMT

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, if only because it is cheaper and easier to recycle!
2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial, mostly because I feel sorry for the tree that has to be cut down just for one week of the year... It's not even used for firewood or paper pulp, just thrown in the trash.
3. When do you put up the tree? I always put the tree up on the 1st of December! That's when the Advent calendar starts.
4. When do you take the tree down? Usually I try to get it down in time for New Years, otherwise it will languish in the eaves until I finally get so annoyed with it and throw it back in its box, baubles and all!
5. Do you like eggnog? I've never actually tried it, but it sounds a bit yucky!
6. Favourite gift received as a child? The presents I was given were usually really horrible, thrift store gifts, but one year I was lucky enough to be given The Littlest Pet Shop toys (the original ones that actually looked like real animals, not the current version which look like they escaped from an anime show.
7. Hardest person to buy for? The In-Laws.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Ralph.
9. Do you have a Nativity Scene? No, I don't really care about the whole Jesus part of Christmas, but I do like the spirit of the festivities. I wish people would treat every day like Christmas, being generous and kind and such.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I like to send out hand-made Christmas cards, but I email a copy to people who are hard to send to!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? One Christmas, for Kris Kringle, a girl stole a reader book from school, wrapped it and gave it to me. If she hadn't done that I would have been given her present which was much nicer. I cried about it (I was only eight I think).
12. Favourite Christmas Movie? I don't watch many Christmas movies, but I do look forward to the Doctor Who Christmas specials. Unfortunately they are late getting here... When I was little I liked watching the classic tales, like Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I have a soft-spot for Home Alone 2 (which was an oxymoron since he was lost away from home) because Kevin befriended the bird lady. Oh, dear! How could I forget The Nightmare Before Christmas? That's my favourite movie at the moment (of any occasion or genre)... I also forgot to mention Hogfather, though technically it isn't exactly a Christmas movie as it is about Hogswatch, a similar, if entirely made-up, holiday! Ah, Terry Pratchett, a literary genius you are, even if you do borrow most of your finest ideas.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? This year I started in June, only because they had some good toy sales that I could pay off by Christmas. Usually I am slack and only start in November. I think that for next year I will start looking out for stuff when they have the post-Christmas sales!
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No. I think that is rude.
15. Favourite thing to eat at Christmas? Cranberry jellied sauce. =D
16. Lights on the tree? Our whole tree is fibre-optic and lights up! It goes through a range of colours and looks quite pretty! It's not so pretty when it is not lit up because the "pine needles" are a very light green... I like dark green trees the best.
17. Favourite Christmas song? Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bell Rock. I like a lot of them!
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We have to go to other people's houses because Kim has to cook for his folks (they are completely hopeless) and then it's not fair if we don't go to my relatives as well. It is tedious.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Rudolph, Donder, Comet, Vixen, Blitzen, Dancer, Prancer, Dasher. Is that all of them? Oops, I forgot Cupid!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? A star! It has to be silver!
21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? On Christmas Morning. Christmas Eve is cheating and how can you open presents before Santa has delivered them while you are sleeping?
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? People thinking that it's okay to get us to do all the travelling/ work.
23. Favourite ornament theme or colour? Red, green and silver.
24. Favourite for Christmas dinner? I don't mind. I come for the desserts!
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Anything, as long as it shows that people have actually been paying attention and know me as a person.
26. Who is most likely to respond to this? No-one.
27. Do you go to A Christmas worship on the Eve, at Midnight, on the Day or not at all? Not at all, I'm just not into that side of this holiday.
28. What's your favourite Christmas Memory? Ralph last year. After getting home from visiting at 11pm, seeing the presents for him under our tree and being so excited about it!
29. What kind of outside lights to you put up?! I don't put up lights because I don't like the idea of wasting electricity.
30. Do you believe in Santa Claus? No, but I'd like Ralph to believe in him for as long as possible!

Two surveys:

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 06:29:12 GMT

1. Elaborate on your default icon. It's a picture I drew, it suits my username.
2. What's your current relationship status? You know, in one.
3. Ever have a near-death experience? Does my sister trying to drown me at the beach when I was four count? I still remember her evil laugh.
4. Name an obvious quality you have. Mostly happy, enough that people are constantly commenting about it, or nicknaming me "Happy" or "Smiley".
5. What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now? I'm listening to my music player right now, so nothing really. Ask me later.
6. Name a celebrity you would marry: I don't believe in marriage.
7. Who will cut and paste this first? No-one. No-one ever does.
8. Has anyone ever said you look like a celebrity? Nope. I'm unique. Not to mention boring.
9. Do you wear a watch? What kind? I wear an antique wind-up watch. Mostly because I'm too lazy to change batteries in my other watches.
10. Do you have anything pierced? Navel, ears. Four in total.
11. Do you have any tattoos? Never felt the need.
12. Do you like pain? In most cases, no. But I have a high tolerance and find a cathartic pleasure in rubbing bruises.
13. Do you like to shop? I guess I do, but sometimes I overdo it. I am a bargain hunter and a perfectionist. If I can't find exactly what I want, I get the best price that I can for the closest thing there is to it.
14. What was the last thing you paid for with cash? It was a taxi home.
15. What was the last thing you paid for with your credit card? I don't own a credit card, but on my debit card I bought groceries.
16. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? You don't want me to rant right now.
17. What is on your desktop background? Totoro fishing off a log.
18. What is the background on your cell phone? Batman doing the Batdance.
19. Do you like redheads? Not sure. I take people as they act, not as they look. I do like Grace Van Pelt from The Mentalist. She is gorgeous and would be the perfect Jean Grey.
20. Do you know any twins? Well, Kim's friend's wife has twin brothers, but I'm not exactly friends with them or anything.
21. Do you have any weird relatives? I guess they are as normal as relatives come. They've all got their moments.
22. What was the last movie you watched? On TV, I watched The Santa Claus 3. At the cinema it was Up.
23. What was the last book you read? I am currently reading Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett. The last completed book was The Lampo Circus.

10 things I wish I could say to people
1) If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
2) Familiarise yourself with the differences between "argument" and "intelligent discussion".
3) I have a brain and I'm not ashamed to use it.
4) Age doesn't command respect, how you behave does.
5) Fix your own problems before interfering with my life.
6) I am bored, sick and tired of you. You are boring and have bad taste.
7) Saying sorry isn't helpful when you have already let the truth escape about how you really feel. You can't take back heard words.
8) Afford me the same respect I show you.
9) Giving me the silent treatment only proves how childish you are and is not helpful to anyone's well-being.
10) Bike-riders have the same right to use the road as cars do. Not only this, but bikes are better for the environment and don't damage roads like cars do, so don't even bother calling for registration and fee-paying.

9 things about myself
1) I believe in justice and equality.
2) I prefer animals to people, but solitude to either.
3) I am mostly lazy and lack motivation.
4) I am very good at procrastination.
5) I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.
6) I find it hard to say no, especially when put on the spot.
7) Life experiences have made me cynical.
8) I watch too much TV. I am finding it hard to cut down, in light of my schedule possibly becoming very busy next year.
9) I am quick to get excited, but also quick to get bored.

8 ways to win my heart
1) Kindness.
2) Thoughtfulness.
3) Learning about my likes/ dislikes (i.e. paying attention).
4) Good conversation.
5) Good sense of humour (or at least laughing at my jokes once in a while, even if they're not that funny).
6) Nice chocolates. =D
7) A love of animals is a must!
8) Sharing (including responsibilities!).

7 things that cross my mind a lot
1) Dreams about zombies.
2) Thoughts about Doctor Who. Will I like Doctor Eleven?
3) Bad drivers who don't know the road rules even though they're on the test. You give way to pedestrians crossing at street corners, you really shouldn't back out of your driveway, you should beep when exiting your driveway if you don't have a clear view of the footpath and other such common sense/ courteous rules.
4) I find that quote "There are two types of people in this world, those who have read The Lord of the Rings and those who will" very irritating. It's not even accurate! What about the poor, the illiterate, people who don't have access to a copy, the people with no interest in fiction/ fantasy, those who die before they get around to it (well, it is a BIG commitment, by the time you reach the end of the book you might be too old to remember the start of it!)?
5) Why and how do people find themselves at a place where they can murder someone? How can people be so unfeeling?
6) Chocolate tastes so good. Should I have some chocolate? I should. Okay have some chocolate... Mmm, chocolate... Have some more! No, I must put it away before I eat too much. Chocolate...
7) I hope I have enough time to relax next year. It will be a very busy year.

6 things I do before I go to sleep
1) Brush my teeth.
2) Go to the toilet.
3) Wash my hands.
4) Get into comfortable sleepwear.
5) Get into bed.
6) Read or play DS a little.

5 places that I want to visit
1) Great Barrier Reef.
2) Shark Bay (Western Australia).
3) Healesville Sanctuary.
4) Galapagos Island.
5) Kakadu National Park.

4 things I'm wearing right now
1) Owl t-shirt.
2) Shorts.
3) Bra.
4) Undies.

3 bands I listen to often
1) Franz Ferdinand.
2) Silverchair.
3) The Killers.

2 things I want to do before I die
1) Travel outside this state.
2) Write a book.

1 confession
I no longer trust someone who in the last week made hurtful comments about me. They think it is alright because I am quite good at keeping up appearances, but in fact I truly dislike said person now.

Doctor Who/ Supernatural Crossover Dream

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 05:58:39 GMT

So this morning I woke up after having an awesome, if not for it being so annoying, dream.

I was on a double-decker, red British bus and I got off at the bus-stop after checking my phone (I think a message told me to get off at this stop).

I was at a shopping strip and the objective of the trip was to find The Doctor. I was very excited, but I knew time was running short because I could see other potential contestants (yes, it was a sort of Doctor Who game show, people in the running to be his companion). I found a clue which was going to lead to another clue, but I saw another contestant, a man, rushing off to where he knew The Doctor was. I was certain he was on the right track, so on that hunch I followed him and he led me to a room with a circular vault in its floor. The vault's hatch was open, holding it open was Doctor 10 himself!
"Ah, you made it!" he said to the both of us, with a wide smile on his face (he was wearing his brown pin-stripe suit in this dream).
I mumbled something about following the other guy to him, but he brushed it aside, as though it was just semantics.

He sent us on our final mission, the one that would determine which of us two would be his companion. We were to go to a Japanese temple and sort out the "haunting" that was happening there. When we got there we had little time to figure out how to defeat the alien, but somehow, the guy wasn't going to let that stop him, the eerie, banshee-like creature attacked! The guy jumped in front of it and it disintegrated. He turned around and I could then see that he was wearing a Kabuki style cat mask and cat-claw gauntlets. I don't know how, but he defeated the alien just by wearing them...

When we returned to The Doctor, I told him what had happened and wistfully said I would have really liked to be his companion. I kissed him quickly on the lips (he looked sort of taken aback, but also regretful =D ) and walked out. That was when I woke up (luckily =D)

Okay, so I bet that you are wondering how this dream was a Supernatural crossover? Well, the guy who won the companion spot was Dean. Yes, Dean, not Jensen Ackels, but DEAN, hunter-extraordinaire, defier of all things supernatural wanted to be The Doctor's companion. It makes me laugh. But also, you know, think of what a fanfic that would make!

And yes, my dreams are getting a little out of control. If it's not zombies it's Doctor Who. And if it's not either of them it's those stupid school anxiety dreams. I'm super annoyed at Dean. How dare he kick me out of the companion spot? ;P

It makes me wistful having dreams like that. It's like having a crumb of the best chocolate cake ever baked and not ever being able to have an actual slice.

Rudolph Toy

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:03:36 GMT

We were invited to a Christmas party by the mum of one of Ralph's friends from library storytime, so I decided to put together a little present for the girl.

I came up with this fleecy Rudolph toy, and coupled him with a bag of Christmas chocolates and other sweets.

Enjoy:

I love the button. I need to get more like this.
Or snowflake ones! Ooooh, good idea!

He looks a bit surprised...

Back view...

His itty-bitty butt and fluffy tail...

Rudolph's red nose, actually a craft pompom.

Complete with Santa-sack-of-candy! Yum, yum!

Not bad for something whipped out in a couple of hours (I sewed him by hand). I designed him in about five minutes. Ralph was impressed and wanted me to make one for him. I think I could improve on his design a little, but I'm sure Ralph would love him even if I made him exactly the same.

The little girl hugged him for almost the whole party. I think he was a success. =D

Christmas Tree Day

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:58:00 GMT

We have a tradition at our house to put the Christmas Tree up on the first of December.

Since Ralph is big enough, he now helps with decorating it. I have learnt to relinquish control of the decorating and not care if it is perfectly symmetrical, like I have in the past.

Also, this year I decided to make Ralph a special Advent calendar, rather than the cheap ones I usually buy from the supermarket whose chocolate tastes like cardboard:

Made with two layers of cardboard, it is really strong.
There are 3cm (X 13), 4cm (X 6), 5cm (X 4) and 6cm (X 2) boxes.
I made all of the boxes myself, it was a lot of work!

The 6cm boxes have Hotwheels cars in them.

Some boxes have Christmas chocolates in them.

Also fancy bonbons, stickers and smaller Christmas chocolates.

Blackie Cat decided we needed help with the decorating.
I think he thought he was missing out on something cool.
Ralph is still trying to call him "Tibbles".

After he finished decorating the tree, Ralph opened box 1.

Some Recent Craftiness: Felt Pokemon Badges

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:41:21 GMT

I made the first two badges to give to the daughters of the lady who is our HIPPY mentor (HIPPY is a program of extra academic activities for 4-5 year olds). I finished them on the 27th and the girls really loved them (I gave them a bag of Christmas chocolates and assorted lollies, which always helps).

The third one is for Ralph because he was very envious of the first two. I finished his today, it is to be hidden in box 4 of the advent calendar I made. It was also the first time I used blanket stitch, I found out that I quite like its decorative appearance.

Turtwig.

The back, with a safe pin.

Chimchar.

Piplup. This was my favourite colour scheme!

The back got a bit wrinkly...

Soon I'll be booked for parties.

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:45:37 GMT

So I learned something new recently (which compliments my face-painting skills quite well).

It started when we went to Melbourne and some clowns were handing out balloon creations. Ralph got a blue poodle but it popped sometime soon after. We went to get him another one, but the clowns had already gone, so I promised that we'd get a set and make some.

So, always true to my word, I did get some and I learned how to make:

Yellow: Poodle
Orange: Swan
Pink (front): Mouse
Pink (back): Butterfly

Ralph was very amused.

Geelong Gala Day/ Christmas Parade 2009

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:36:58 GMT

Ralph and I went to the parade alone again this year as Kim was at work.

Once again the weather was drizzly, but there was still a very big turnout. I think that the Geelong Parade is much better than the Myer one, even the handouts are better! Ralph was given loads of lollies and a showbag filled with interesting items and toys.

Ralph got to see lots of Rescue vehicles, mascots and TV characters. There were lots of vintage cars, too, most likely the same ones we saw last year (that's why I didn't include pics). Santa and Mrs. Claus were the first to be driven in, in a vintage MG.

There was a hilarious presentation by a group of crash test dummies, promoting cars which have a 5/5 safety rating and the howsafeisyourcar.com.au website. They were hugging a car with 5 star rating and even did acrobatic tricks:

The boy being pointed to just landed after being thrown into a flip.
The brown-haired lady was a really good actor, very amusing.
She acted like something between a girl's doll come alive and a robot.

Aw! How could the Grinch be Grinchy at this cuteness?

I have no idea what this machine is for, gun-like appendages?
I swear that it looks like the top cannon is labelled "loserloader".
I thought colanders would appreciate imagining driving this to work.

Spongebob. Isn't his vacantly happy gaze so scary?!!

Patrick. He is my second favourite character after Gary.
I can't watch SS any more. During a period of binge-watching it,
my soul died little by little as my brain cells died.
Now I cringe in fear from Spongebob's unfaltering happiness...

We found a petting farm again. =D This was my favourite little lamb.
Because I am a vegetarian, I can say "he reminds me of marble cake"
without him being fearful that that will lead to me eating him.

A huddle of ducklings. They were in a pen of their own,
but the chickens and rabbits kept invading.

My second favourite lamb. Who could say no to that face?!

Another straight-tailed piglet.
I wonder if pigs' tails only curl as they get older?

My favourite bunny. I think this colour is called Himalayan.

Another bunny, second favourite by a ~~hare~~ hair.
I love grey bunnies, their fur is so cuddly and inviting!

Mmm... Ralph finger. =D

Ralph offers an alternative food-source, hay.
It's not as popular...

Hogwarts! Not Quite...

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:53:13 GMT

Today Ralph got an interesting package in the mail.

I thought it was a strange looking package, as did our regular delivery lady.

As it was addressed to Ralph, I was sort of hopeful that it was a Nimbus 2000. I was waiting for the Owl to fly in with the Letter of Acceptance...

Alas, it wasn't a flying broomstick, but Ralph was very pleased with what it did contain, an air-pump rocket from colanders.

He tried it inside and it hit the roof, then we tried it outside and it went up about six to seven metres.
Then Kim and I used it to shoot at Ralph from a distance (I was the most accurate shooter =D ). Ralph giggled so hard when it got him that he almost peed on himself.

Melbourne Trip

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:47:50 GMT

My sister wanted to take Aisha to see Santa, so she invited Ralph and me to come to Melbourne.

We went to the David Jones Santaland, which was okay, but not as good as Myer's.

Then we went to Myer and we were lucky enough to be able to take our own photos (instead of paying the exorbitant prices that they charge for theirs).

I loved the Santa rooms at Myer, they even had a "sleeping" Rudolph whose chest moved up and down as though it was sleeping:

Ralph also had a ride on the mini-train, again (he went last year). It's a free ride which I think is very nice of Myer to provide for the kids (considering I spend a small fortune on toys from Myer each year, it's nice to receive something for free in return!).

Also, the Myer windows this year were from the book Olivia Helps With Christmas. They were quite fun (nowhere near as complicated/ busy as the one from last year), but Olivia kept getting stuck when she was supposed to ski from one side of the last window's set-up to the other. Ralph likes Olivia and had read that book last Christmas time.

Too Cool For School!

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 08:32:13 GMT

So yesterday while we were in Melbourne, I got something quite amusing.

It is a backpack, just in case I am accepted into the course I want to do.

Here:

I just love the slogan! The colour of the bag is nice too.
Have I ever mentioned that I have a crush on Optimus Prime? =D

So this is a dress that I made:

I found the material last year and thought it would make a nice dress, I finally got around to making it. Basically, I made a simple elasticised waist skirt and then I improvised a crossover top. I didn't want a skimpy top, and this style suits me better.

Kim surprised me by saying "Is that Grecian-style?". I didn't know he knew anything about fashion... =D

I wore it yesterday in Melbourne and even though the weather was hot I felt quite cool in it. I was thinking of finding a brown, wide belt to go with it. Something nice but light enough so I can still wear the dress on a hot day.

Myer Christmas Parade

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:27:22 GMT

We managed to get down to Melbourne to see the Christmas parade.

As Ralph has become the biggest Santa stalker, he was very excited to be going this year (usually we see Nina on Saturdays).

The parade wasn't as good as I thought it would be (mostly because it was a propaganda-fest, all about the big brand names that Myer sells, they all had floats), the one we have locally is better with more to see and better handouts!

Anyway, at least Ralph had a good time and we saw some interesting things. Here are the best ones:

Every kid loves Sesame street! We were on the Zoe/ Elmo side.
The other side had Cookie Monster (my fave Sesame Street monster!!)
and the new character, fairy child Abby Cadabby.
I feel that Sesame Street is trying to force us to like her.

The Star Wars gang returns. Here is Darth Vader and some Troopers.
The Imperial Officer looks really tired carrying that flag.
There were more of them, I think they were the same
people who were at the Star Wars exhibition.
One weirdo dressed as Anakin is the same as
any other weirdo dressed as Anakin to me.

My favourite sight of the day! A Twi'lek!!!
A cross between Aayla Secura and Xiaan Amersu.

A vintage fire engine from the Melbourne Fire Museum.

The lame, but cute, reindeer. There were nine including Rudolph.

And finally the big man himself, Santa.
Jennifer Hawkins was also on the float.
(You can't see her because Santa's too "jolly".)
She looked mortified, because nobody cared about her.

Queenscliff Discovery Centre

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:48:45 GMT

Ralph's pre-school class went on their first proper excursion (on a bus, I mean).

They had a trip to the Queenscliff Discovery Centre and also to the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse.
The weather was (almost) unbearably hot, but they were still made to run up and down the beach for their teacher's amusement. Also, as we went to the Point Lonsdale Pier, we were sad to see a seal on the shore, quite obviously (by the surrounding flies and lingering odour) dead.

The highlight of the kids' day was the sea-life that they saw at the Discovery Centre. There were many species of fish and other sea-life, plus a touch pool where they could put their hands into water to touch starfish, crabs and plants. There were also shark eggshells sea sponges and seaweed too.

I enjoyed the visit immensely and thought it was a great place to go outside of a school trip. I especially liked being given the chance to feed some of the creatures (it was serendipitous that they were feeding the fish that day as they only feed them a couple of times a month. Also, there was a class before us that missed out, we were the lucky group!). Also, another pleasant coincidence was that I got to feed the abalones, who are vegetarian, like me. =D They enjoyed seaweed, which I dangled in front of their mouths until they latched on. The water was freezing, but it was a cool experience (no pun intended) because I could feel them sucking at my fingers... Teehee...

So rather than prattling on any more, here are the photos of the sea-creatures (I apologise for the clarity, most blurriness is due to the subjects being behind glass which is covered in children's fingerprints):

Three-bar Porcupine Fish (technically not found this far south)

Magpie Perch (juvenile). He loses his pointy fin-do when older.

Tasmanian Blenny (juvenile).
He may be hiding so he doesn't have to go to school.
HA HA. Bad joke...

Top: Australian Salmon
Bottom: Southern Silver Drummer

Southern Hulafish. Colours not usually so vibrant.

A Juvenile Pot-Belly Seahorse. Awwww!

Hermit crab, Trizopagurus strigimanus. Quite a large hermit crab!

Yellow-finned Leatherjacket, most likely a juvenile.

A Southern Rock Lobster, who is looking quite worried.
He had every right, considering most of the mothers were
eyeing him off, thinking what a tasty dinner he'd make!

An adult Tasmanian Blenny, much paler than the juvenile.

Left (black stripes on white, with yellow fins): Mado.
Right (on rock under yellow sponge): Another Tasmanian Blenny

Some Great Spider Crabs. They are quite large,
about the size/ shape of a pear, with very long legs.

A luderick, normally silver with black stripes,
this one is darker from living in a colder climate.

Shaw's Cowfish (female, also known as Striped Cowfish).

A baby Sparsely Spotted Stingaree. There were three in the tank.
They all came out for the feeding, they were hiding in the sand!

A false-killer whale skeleton.

Beach, beetles, crabs.

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:02:07 GMT

Another trip to the beach.

We went to the Ocean Grove Surf beach, a little bit away from other people.
The sand was wet right up to the scrub, so even sitting on a towel I got a wet bottom. Ralph had a fantastic day building a network of castles, moats and rivers. He even dug himself a waterhole to sit in.

We dug up lots of soldier crabs, their bright blue carapaces, huge bodies and tiny legs made them an amusing choice of observation subject. That and their spiralling, whirly hole-digging methods.

It was also at this beach that we spied a vast number of ladybirds. I had never seen this variety before and they were very large, too!

This is the bucketful of crabs.
We found more, but these were our biggest and best!

Released, this crab ponders its existence.
(It must have thought it was seagull food for sure...)

And here we have two crabs showing off their tunnelling skills.

And the ladybird Micraspis furcifera.

So... Coincidence, or what?

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:14:10 GMT

As I've mentioned before, for Ralph's birthday, Kim's mum got him a special interactive world globe (he loved playing with it every time we visited the store, so when I told her about it, she was very happy to get it for him because it is "educational").

Well, as he has been learning a lot of country capitals from this, whenever he can he quizzes people on them, which he did today on his last day of primary school transition. The teacher he had for that day was the youngest of the three prep teachers and he was stumping her on a lot questions. She said she was very impressed by Ralph because not only was he amazing at Geography, but he was already writing words from memory and reading. =D I hope that he is put into her class next year because she is such a sweet lady, although I do also like the other two teachers.

In a related and humorous anecdote, Ralph said something quite hilarious on Wednesday.
Ralph: "Mum, what's the capital of Wales?!"
Me: "I don't know, what is the capital of Wales?"
Ralph: "TARDIS!" (He said this in total seriousness, mixing it up with Cardiff)
Me: *Giggling*

So, I thought it was such a funny coincidence, considering that I don't watch Doctor Who in front of Ralph. Plus: TARDIS => Doctor Who => Spin-off show Torchwood => Torchwood is set in Cardiff, the capital of Wales.

Zombie survival quiz:

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:27:54 GMT

So since today is Halloween but the boring people of Australia refuse to celebrate it, I hereby pronounce this "Annual Zombie Survival Survey Day".

Each year I will do an online quiz which will predict whether I would or would not survive in the event of a zombie uprising. Sure I would, if you gave me a gun and an unlimited supply of ammo, food and water... (Which reminds me, I should really have a survival pack stashed away somewhere in case a zombie uprising does eventuate...) I really don't care for humans much in their "ordinary" state, so given the chance to whack some off without fear of retribution and in fact be commended for it, sure, I'm in!

Here is this year's quiz:

BTW, Alice rocks, she is my zombie-killing idol...

Would YOU survive a zombie uprising?

Yes!
Oh, my good friend congratulations! You had an amazing strategy, good tactics (and a lot of ammo). Maybe even some trust worthy companions. You have survived the uprising. For now.

Trampoline Bouncing, Ralph-style...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:30:34 GMT

Here are the photos of Ralph at Lorne, bouncing on the Trampolines.

He is pulling some funny faces.

They make me giggle so much...

"Weehee!"

Bum bounce!

Going up!

Coming down...

Doing the frog bounce!

Day Trip To Lorne.

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:11:27 GMT

Today was the foggiest day I have ever seen.

We caught a bus that travelled along the Great Ocean Road, but the closer we got to Lorne, the foggier it got. Soon we could actually distinguish parts of the fog from other parts of the fog and we could hardly see 5-10 metres away. Also, the winding road and the bus driver's love of fast driving was not doing my stomach any favours.

When we got to Lorne we were hungry. I was lucky to have an enormous baked potato with cheese, sour cream and coleslaw (it was massive, but I was so hungry I finished it!) Ralph had a cheese, mushroom and pineapple pizza and Kim had a fish and chips pack. We ate close to the beach on a picnic table, but when Kim looked around for some seagulls to feed his leftover chips to, there were none to be found. We were astounded, a trip to the beach is not a trip to the beach without them!

We took Ralph to the Lorne Trampolines and paid for fifteen minutes worth of time. Ralph loved watching people doing flips and I even did a front-flip to show him it wasn't scary, but he was happy enough jumping up and down or doing "the frog", bouncing on his bottom.

Then we walked down to the rocky area of the beach and had a great look at the rock pools. I had never seen so many different anemones, black, white, red and green,plus we even saw an elephant snail which I had never seen before! Other interesting sea-creatures we spied were sea-stars, glass shrimp and tiny bottom-dwelling fish (a Tasmanian blenny).

Green anemone. Looks like Vietnamese Bubble Tea Jelly... Mmmm...

Mussels growing on the rocks along the shore.
They were tiny, most were no bigger than two centimetres long!

A crab trying to hide under the rock shelf.
The red, bulbous things are anemones, closed to prevent drying out.
They were squishy and fun to poke, but a slightly gross, too!

A limpet that had come unstuck from its rock.
Check out its tubular mouth and its antlers... Adorable!

A shrimp in front of some white, daisy-like anemones.

A little snail making its way across the sand, leaving a trail.

A cool elephant snail with seaweed growing on its shell.
It was quite large, and squishy!

Some of the red anemones that were still open.

A crab that we found, camouflaged with weed growing all over its shell.

One of the Tasmanian Blennies I mentioned earlier.

A Common Eight-Armed Sea Star, quite pretty with its short arms!

A ring idea, with a pretty mollusc shell that I found.
Of course I wouldn't use a real sea-star, I was thinking clay.

A Link From The Past

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:54:46 GMT

So riding home from the train station one day, Ralph and I spied something quite geeky.

Geeky, but hilarious.

Geeky and hilarious, but cool.

If only if these decals were on a nicer car. You know, something Link green and possibly convertible. =D

Also, who is excited that Spirit Tracks is near release day? MEEEEEEEE! Choo Chooooooo!

Geek Love: Star Wars Exhibition

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:03:57 GMT

Ralph wanted to see this exhibition very badly, but really only because he plays the Lego Star Wars game on DS. =D Well, I do think he's a little too young for the movies yet...

In any case, I am hoping he will become a fan of the movies, even though he is related to Kim who hasn't watched even one of the movies all the way through and has no intentions to, either...

When we got to Scienceworks, the line just to get in the door was about an hour and twenty minutes long. All of the online bookings were sold out, so we were crossing our fingers that we would be able to get in...

Then finally we made it:

To quote Mr. Homer Simpson, esq.: "Woohoo!"

Tusken Raider and Tusken Woman. Those pesky Sand People...

To misquote Fozzie Bear: "Wampa, Wampa, Wampa!"

George Lucas didn't give the Imperial Snowtrooper costumes enough thought.
Imagine that the helmet has a point and you might see what I'm talking about...

Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Everyone's favourite Wookie, Chewbacca. "Rrrwrwrwrwrwrowr!"

The boring outfit that Padme wore on Tatooine.

The Jawa and its blaster. Creepy reflective eyes...
I thought this was an Ewok at first.
I was quite disappointed not to find an Ewok costume on display.

Dun dun dun-dun dun dun-dun dun dun-duuuuun...
I am your father... *heavy breathing*

Two more Wookiees. On the left is Tarfful, right is Salporin.

Stormtrooper, with a teeny-tiny model of a Clone Trooper.

Princess Leia's famous white dress.

X-wing. Or as the geeks like to say: Rebel Alliance X-wing Starfighter.
What a mouthful...

Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder. All those scrapes... =(
This was life-size. I so wanted to take it for a drive! =D

We all know the Millennium Falcon. It was a big model.

Trade Federation Armoured Attack Tank.

Sebulba's Podracer.
It's a beautiful machine, even if its driver was a jerk.

Imperial Star Destroyer (or Cruiser as Greedo and Han Solo called them).

Imperial TIE Fighter.
Ralph was excited to see this because he built a Lego version!

Top: Imperial All Terrain Scout Transport
Bottom: Imperial All Terrain Armoured Transport

Republic All Terrain Tactical Enforcer.

Yoda, who looks creepier in person than I imagined.
There was a Yoda model to be won in a raffle.
We entered, but I doubt we will win. We don't win raffles.

Anakin's prosthetic hand. I was waiting for it to crawl on its own.

The life-size remote controlled R2-D2 one of the cosplayers had.
He's so cool, cooler than the life-size battery-operated Lego
R2-D2 that I've seen on display. I want one. =D

Top: Interrogation droid. (Which reminds me of the Doctor Who "Toclafane".)
Bottom: General Grievous models.

Left: Pit Droid
Right: Trade Federation Battle Droid

Left: "Naked" C-3PO
Right: Imperial Probe Droid.
Ralph giggled his head off when he read the "Naked" part.
I was imagining the Droids participating in stereotypical
alien-abduction probing, but they're actually exploration Droids. =D

Droideka/ Destroyer Drone.

Classic R2-D2 and C-3PO! Aw!

There were a few cosplayers around, a very dorky Anakin (with a Padawan braid) and a few other Jedis. The one costume I would have liked to get a picture of, but didn't, was the cool Darth Maul we saw on his way to the bathroom. He was a bit short, in my opinion, though... =D

We also visited the Planetarium which was quite cool. We were in the session that had a presentation about how life on Mars is possible. The screen made it feel like we were actually moving, we travelled from the bottom of the ocean on Earth, through the clouds and stars and onto Mars. It was narrated by Harrison Ford which was of amusing providence. I had to explain to Ralph that he was the actor who played both Han Solo and Indiana Jones (he also plays Lego Indiana Jones on DS).

Ralph had a great time visiting the regular exhibits at Scienceworks, especially the Nitty Gritty Super City exhibit. It's such a great place to go, a very cheap day out for the amount of enjoyment kids get out of it...

Look! The Koalas have mutated!!

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:34:17 GMT

Okay, so it's actually Ralph wearing a Koala pillow thing.

It has micro-styrofoam balls as filling and is made out of t-shirt material. It's getting really stretchy...

Tenth Doctor Dream...

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:21:18 GMT

I had another tenth Doctor dream in which I was travelling with The Doctor and solving a mystery on Earth. The setting of this dream was similar to the episode in which The Doctor and Donna met Agatha Christie.
It was a quite strange dream, I remember having to do a lot of running, but other than the setting and the running, I don't remember too much else about what happened, which is a shame.

I like having Doctor dreams, but then I wake up disappointed that I wasn't actually travelling with him... =D

Geelong Show 2009: Part One

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:57:54 GMT

Ralph and I went to the Geelong Show by ourselves this year because our only free day was Sunday and Kim had to work.
Ralph and I got Kim some Red Fox organic red wine (cabernet sauvignon, his favourite) and a couple of chocolate show bags as consolation.
Ralph had a great time, we saw heaps of animals and machines (he loved the old steam tractors). We were even lucky enough to see the dog jumping (where dogs see how high they can jump up a wall, running to it and using it to climb-jump to the top) and the terrier racing (our favourite, a Scottish Terrier named Matilda won her sweep. I had recently been asking Ralph about what he would want in a pet dog and he said "Small, black and will play fetch. I'll name it Coco/ Cocoa", so that was why we chose to cheer Matilda!).
Other things of interest for Ralph were the show bags, he chose Ben 10 and Wall.E ones. I love the Wall.E backpack because it is shaped liked Wall.E. It came with a grabber and a dart blower (plus stickers). =D Ben 10 came with a satchel a digital watch and a magnetic dart board (plus stickers and a money tin). Ralph and I practised getting bull's-eyes...

Here are some animal pictures of the day:

Awwwwww... I like piglets. I like piglets even more when their
tails are straight rather than curly. Just because it is quirky!

An Australian Highland Cattle calf. So cute and dopey looking!

His/ her mama. Their hair is not rough at all, quite soft!

Another calf! As you might realise by now, they were my favourite of the day!
I want one for a pet. The required daily brushing would be too time-consuming!

A little pony. I don't know if it were a foal, or a miniature...

Such a sweet donkey with a lovely, soft coat and a shy demeanour...

School's In

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:14:33 GMT

Today Ralph had his first transition day at the primary school he will be attending next year.

I wasn't too sure how he would feel even though he was really excited to be going, but he actually handled it as though he goes to school every day.

He had a grade prep buddy (the kids are huge compared to him), but other than that I didn't really get to see what they got to do because the parents were ushered away for a parents' information session. Kim looked bored during the whole thing, I don't blame him, it was a bit awkward being the only dad there.

After the session, Ralph was so chirpy and animated.

When I reminded him that he would be going to pre-school on Monday, he exclaimed "No I'm not, I'm a primary school boy now!".

I hope that this is a good thing, proof that he will have a great time at primary school next year. I am looking forward to helping him with homework and going on school excursions with him. He is getting pretty smart already, reading very well, possibly a few years ahead of other kids his age and he has a love of geography at the moment, thanks to the world globe he received for his birthday, with which he has learned more country capitals than I know. I think I need to brush up on my general knowledge, otherwise my plans of helping him with future homework will come rudely crashing down... =D Ah, well, there's always Wikipedia...

Another Saturday at the Rivermouth.

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:14:50 GMT

I probably forgot to mention that we have being dog-sitting my sister's dog Coffee while she is moving into her new house. We were only supposed to have him for a week at most, but we have already had him for over a week, and they keep making excuses as to why the house it not ready for him to go there yet.

Kim's mum likes dogs however, so today we were able to take him visiting with us to Ocean Grove.

Here he is, enjoying the car trip:

Kim tried fishing again, but all he caught was this huge crab!

We set him free and he started to bury himself...

Now you see me, now you don't!

Ralph's sand jellyfish... Or octopus...

And here is the sand sun! Tada!

And the three resident Pelicans...
They look innocent, until they steal your fish... =D