5 questions meme from manoosha

1. Leave me a comment saying something random, like the lyrics from your current favorite song, or your favorite kind of sandwich. Something random. Whatever you like.
2. I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can get to know you better.
3. Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
4. Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions.

1) How much traveling outside of Australia have you done, and what are your dream vacation destinations?

A fair bit I guess. Dad took us to Germany, and then the UK and California when we were kids. Then I lived in Germany for a year between school and uni, so backpacked around a bit in my time off work. The Mr and I got engaged in San Francisco and went to Egypt for our honeymoon, and then there were work "educationals" to numerous places in Asia and the Pacific and Australia. I always seemed to score the trips that were sponsored by a single hotel, so they didn't make us spend our days running through a bazillion properties, but rather wanted us to soak up the atmosphere of their own resort and then get out and see the country. Nice.
Dream destination was Egypt. Next dream is NYC and some other parts of the US and to take Tony to Europe. Maybe for our 40ths.

2) How do you think being a mom has changed your personality and habits over the years?
Hmmm - tough one. I'm probably less laid back than I used to be (Which means I must have been a slug before.). You kind of have to have it a bit more together when you've got two people depending on you. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a bit of a nuffy compared with the MegaOrganisedSuperMums I see about the place, but for me I'm doing OK. I also don't get nearly as much sleep as I would like. And I swear less often (although possibly still more than is appropriate for a woman of my maturity, but fuck that, hey?)

3) How are the belly dancing classes going?
Hee. Good. It's so much fun. I can do the rolly belly thing now, and tummy pops. It's starting to look vaguely like when the teacher does it. Well it would if I could move both my arms and legs at the same time. It's one or the other with me. Next term we get to dance with sticks like this. I'm looking forward to some good injuries from that.

4) How are things going with the new house? Any new major re-decoration or remodeling projects in the works?

Oh man, We are such 'gunnas'. "I'm gunna do this and I'm gunna do that." We finally got the upstairs bathroom sorted so we can actually use it. We got the downstairs carpets replaced yesterday, but that was due to the storm and flooding in June. It just took this long for the claim to go through. So that's nice. I have grand plans for the kitchen, but that will be a few years away. In the meantime I'm going to (gunna...sigh) paint the bright green laminate, I just haven't come up with a colour scheme yet. I need to paint our bedroom as well.

5) And finally, a desert island question, since I love these. You have been banished to a desert island. For life! There's a DVD player and TV already there, but you can only bring along 5 movies. What are your picks?

Ooh - I can never do these. Do I need eye candy? Or comedy to cheer me up? What to do! What to do!
1. The Big Lebowski
2. Can I cheat and take the Star Wars trilogy (original flava)? (Plus "Obi-Wan is a Sexy Bastard" which is what is scrawled across my dodgy version of Revenge of the Sith)
3. Spaced Season 1
4. Young Frankenstein
5. The Godfather

Oh dear. There's not nearly enough totty in that list. Can I take some random hot porn star with me to - I dunno - play charades with?

I'm trying to fix the song info in my itunes. One particular album of Gilly's is causing me grief, as it's a compilation (Party Girl 4 if you must know) and we have lost the CD cover. I can't find it on-line, so I'm just googling lines of songs and getting the info that way. Laborious? Yes. Do I have better things I could be doing with my time? Definitely. But I have started now, and can't leave it half-done.

It has become quite the challenge - the faster I find the song, the less I have to listen to. Ashanti was particularly helpful, as she breathily whispered her name at the beginning of the track, which meant I needed to hear a grand total of 2.3 seconds of her singing.

It has opened my eyes to the fact that I don't know much about pop music anymore. I am rolling my eyes at the fact that songs named La La, Hell No, and Oh No are all in a row. Two songs are by Australian Idol contestants, one is by a member of  now-defunct Popstars winner Scandal'Us, and two are by previous "actresses" on Home and Away  and E Street. (Tammin Sursok and Melissa Tkautz). I mean, really! OK I am obviously  incredibly old and should be rolled into a nursing home.

But still - I recognised Kylie and Mel C and that girl who sang on the celebrity duets show with cricketer Michael Bevan. There is hope for me yet.

I spilled egg down my front at the Mother's Day breakfast this morning, so threw my jumper in the wash and then to stay warm threw my dressing gown on over my jeans. Then forgot I was wearing it and answered the door to the postie in it at 2.30pm. Now that's what I call a look.

It has come to my attention (thanks missbingley), that my iPod is desperately in need of a name. OK it's not technically my iPod, since I bought it for Tone for his birthday, but what's his is mine etc etc, and as with the children, I get naming rights. Plus I probably wont tell him I named it, as I can only imagine the eye rolling and smirking that would ensue.

Here are some ideas, but I am open to suggestions:

Female:
Imogen
Desdemona (so when the battery inevitably runs out I can say "Dead Desdemona dead oh oh")
Florence (after my favourite TV-Mom Mrs Brady)

Male:
Gregor
Ioan (OK not really as I never pronounce it right, but this guy is hot.)
Anthony (so I can say "Tony is the love of my life" without rousing suspicion.)

Nothing's grabbing me yet. Sigh - this is harder than I thought.

Stolen from shibaiko:

1.Choose a band / artist and answer ONLY in titles of their songs: Split Enz
2. Are you male or female: Poor Boy
3. Describe yourself: Double Happy
4. How do some people feel about you: Nobody Takes Me Seriously
5. How do you feel about yourself: Bold as Brass
6. Describe your ex boyfriend / girlfriend: My Mistake
7. Describe current boyfriend / girlfriend: Never Ceases To Amaze Me
8. Describe where you want to be: One Step Ahead
9. Describe how you live: Strait Old Line
10. Describe how you love: Dirty Creature (Ooh baby!)
11. What would you ask for if you had just one wish? History Never Repeats
12. Share a few words of Wisdom: Give it a Whirl.
13. Now say goodbye: I Walk Away

Movie meme stolen from cassandra423 et al

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Stolen from dkellergrl:

Name ten singer/bands you have seen live:

(In no particular order)
1. John Mellencamp
2. Pearl Jam
3. Faith No More
4. Crowded House
5. INXS
6. Midnight Oil
7. Regurgitator
8. Urge Overkill
9. Presidents of the United States
10.Elton John

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Laws alone can not secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population.

The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. The trite subjects of human efforts, possessions, outward success, luxury have always seemed to me contemptible.

Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value.

The important thing is not to stop questioning.

-- Albert Einstein

create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

I love how even though I've only been to California, I get the whole U.S.A including Alaska and Hawaii highlighted.

Scarily true:


Scarily false:

In the year 2005 I resolve to: Take over the world. Get your resolution here

Whoops - perhaps I should have kept that quiet.

This was an email joke, but it made me laugh:


Here's a little Christmas cheer for all from the Australian Bureau of Statistics

*31 Australians have died since 1996 by watering their Christmas tree while the fairy lights were plugged in.

*19 Australians have died in the last 3 years by eating Christmas decorations they believed were chocolate.

*Hospitals reported 4 broken arms last year after cracker pulling incidents.

*101 Australians since 1997 have had to have broken parts of plastic toys pulled out of the soles of their feet.

*18 Australians had serious burns in 1998 trying on a new jumper with a lit cigarette in their mouth.

*A massive 543 Australians were admitted to casualty in the last two years after opening bottles of beer with their teeth or eye socket.

*5 Australians were injured last year in accidents involving out of control scalextric cars.

*3 Australians die each year testing if a 9V battery works on their tongue.

*142 Australians were injured in 1998 by not removing all the pins from new shirts.

*58 Australians are injured each year by using sharp knives instead of screwdrivers.

and finally:

*8 Australians cracked their skull in 1997 after falling asleep (passing out) while throwing up into the toilet.

YEP! its great to be Australian!

So no OTZ means I finally finished construction on my Christmas Mix CD. As we will be driving from the Outlaws' to the Mr's Nanna's house and back on Boxing Day, I felt it was necessary to throw something together to rival my Father-in-law's Very Australian Country Christmas CD. This isn't actually the title, but it sums it up nicely. Lots of novelty songs inspired by beer drinking, driving utes and living in the bush. Oh and Christmas.

So to save all our sanity I have put together the following mix, thanks to heavy theft from the mixes of some wonderful OTZers:
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1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't search around and look for the "coolest" book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.


They are on the gravy train and there is no way they're going to get off.

From: The Australian Rugby Companion.

I think this works best if you imagine an old-timey prospector shouting it at a runaway train.

You Are the Peacemaker

9 You are emotionally stable and willing to find common ground with others. Your friends and family often look to you to be the mediator when there is conflict. You are easy going and accepting. You take things as they come. Avoding conflict at all costs, you're content when things are calm.

Blessed are the cheesemakers!

Your Kiss Your Kiss Is On My List

So who makes Mif’s list of delectable people 2004?

Peter Krause – I like ‘em tall and moderately hairy.
Joshua Malina – and also apparently short and moderately geeky
Wil Anderson – funny is sexy.

“You’re Fired!”
No longer on My List...

George Clooney – no it wasn’t the beard and the plumpness. I’m just bored with him.
Robbie Williams – Oh I’d still consider him in a crisis. Who am I kidding?
Conan O’Brien – the funny just couldn’t outweigh the funny lookin’

It wasn’t good. It wasn’t what you wanted. It wasn’t what any of us wanted. Take a day. Take a week. Swear. Mourn. Swear some more. Then stand up and keep going. Four years ago I didn’t realise what the US Election outcome really meant. I couldn’t have predicted the direction that the world would take. But I am not disheartened, because four years ago I didn’t know any of you either. Keep going. I know you can do it.