Random stuff and birthday parties.

Brennan's birthday party was 'awesome', according to what he said to Mum. Pretty easy really; just lots of food (homemade popcorn, biscuits, chips, lollies and party pies), the chocolate game, a couple of 'Happy Tree Friends' dvds over lunch (what is it about boys that they find these gruesome cartoons so funny??), drama games in the backyard and Guitar Hero. This is the third birthday party in a row I've given where we went the traditional path. Homemade food, 'homemade' games, time where they're just chilling with their mates instead of being whizzed here there and everywhere by the professional party people. The kids love it. The sad thing is that this sort of party is now a novelty. They're so used to being catered for and run around after that the traditional home style party is new to them.

Plus, of course, it's far cheaper for me. I entertained and fed 11 kids for three hours for around $30. Far cheaper than paying $20/head for go carts or a bowling party. (Which I've done in the past when my frugality kick was sleeping.)

The last day of the year was going to be spent doing lots of little jobs around the place, but a combination of blistering heat and a really good book meant that all I did was read. I've been reading a lot of Sara Douglass over the last few weeks. She's a member of a forum that I frequent (Simple Savings) and so I started reading her novels. I started at the first one and I've slowly worked my way through 8 of them so far. I wasn't very impressed with the first novel, but I kept telling myself that it was a debut one, and that she'll probably hit her straps as she goes along. Thankfully, that's what's happened. The first trilogy got better with each book, and I really enjoyed the follow up trilogy (except for the ending. It was a tad airy-fairy, and the character of Faraday got to be so annoying I just wanted to slap her.) I've now embarked on another set... The Crucible trilogy.

The idea behind these novels is interesting. They're set in medieval Europe, but it's an alternate universe, which of course basically means that Ms Douglass can use whichever parts of history she wants, and it's ok to change the parts of history that she feels she wants to. Very clever. She's using historical characters and events (Joan of Arc, Henry Bolingbroke, the Hundred Years war) but the scenario includes the premise that angels and demons walk amongst the people, just as the real medieval people used to believe happened. There's a battle going on between the forces of good and evil, but not everything is as it seems. Also the exploration of the attitudes towards women in those days is something that makes me vastly glad that I live nowadays and not back in the good old days. It's fascinating. I knocked over the entire second book yesterday, and I'm champing at the bit to finish the third.

Nicola has tagged me for a meme. 8 Random things about me. I have to link back to the person who tagged me, list 8 things and then tag 8 more people. Ok... just off the top of my head....

1. I really want to buy a female black and tan daschund. I've owned and bred Cavaliers for twenty years, and I adore them, but I want a change. But apparently if I get a daschund it'll probably boss young Molly around. That wouldn't be fair...

2. I loathe detest and despise bananas. Hideous evil smelling and revolting tasting fruit of the devil. Yuck.

3. I hate walking across dewy grass in the morning with bare feet.

4. Since my last relationship ended I've had coffee, drinks or dinner with 86 different men. I'm still single. I think it's a combination of me being a bit picky and the men in their 40s and early 50s being really screwed up. (Of course, I'm not at all screwed up. I'm delightful...) I've had a break from dating for the past 18 months, and I've loved it.

5. I have a collection of wooden masks that I've bought on my travels overseas. They live on the shelf under my glass topped coffee table.

6. When I was 40 I had my eyes lasered. I was so short-sighted that I needed to put on my glasses to get out of bed in the mornings, and the best thing ever after fixing your eyes is to be able to roll over in the middle of the night and instantly see the clock.

7. I wish that my name was Sarah instead of... um... Frogdancer. I called my first Cavalier Sarah, and if Connor/Tadpole was a girl he was going to be Sarah as well.

8. When I'm alone in my house and the next door neighbours' cars are gone, I turn up the stereo full blast and sing and dance around my lounge room. I sing and in my head I'm famous and adored. I've been doing this since I was 11, and it just keeps on being fun. I call it a 'party for one'.

I know. That last one is just plain tragic.
I tag Scott, Capello, Maybaby, Stuntmother, Suse, Kelley,Lightening and Kim.
Now I'm off to sit under the airconditioner vent and read. Or quilt. Or knit. Or something. I love holidays! So many options.

Blog Bling.

I have a spare few seconds before I race home to begin the horrendous scheduling nightmare that is music lessons/race home and throw food at kids pets and myself/end of year hideous concert at primary school (only two more to go yay!)/race away to get to my 2nd quilting class in time. Sigh. So before this all happens I thought I'd finally pick up this fetching piece of pink blog bling that has been waiting for me at lightening's place.


Kelley began it, and it's basically a 'Love' code between her and her daughters. Stand on your ear and look. You can work it out. (Hint: It's not a picture of a double scoop icecream cone. It's a red beating thing commonly found in people's chests.)

I think I have to tag others. I'm starting to panic about the time, so I'll be brief.

Maybaby
Amanda Jean
Kim

All from overseas. I thought this time I'd send the love far across the waves....

Tiny meme.

I've been tagged for another meme. A short one this time, so fear not, gentle readers! This is from ...oops... I don't know her name. I hope this doesn't make me seem rude. She's a lovely girl who comments as precious_1 , but I'm guessing that wasn't what she was named at birth, unless her parents were very sugary sweet and doting. Then again, it may surprise some of you to know that Frogdancer isn't my actual realio-trulio name either.

Anyway, here is the meme:

4 Short Questions.

1. What did you accomplish this past week?
I learned how to use a sewing machine.
3 days later I sewed and finished the top of a double-sized patchwork quilt.
I finished student manager remarks on reports DAYS earlier than they were due.
I finally finished the first trilogy in the list of books by Sara Douglass that I want to read.
Helped Connor set up his new photo blog. (All will be revealed soon...)

2. Did anything not go as expected?
The tasteless apricot cheesecake I told you all about yesterday is the first thing that springs to mind. Let's leave it there, shall we? I might get crushed and sad again...

3. What was the highlight of your week?
Making the top of my first ever quilt top and having it all work out and look fantastic. Seeing Brennan in his end of year music concert up on stage playing his guitar in a band was a close second.

4. Did anything exciting happen that you didn't expect?
Lots of little things happen every day like that. That's why I love my life so much. The trouble is... they're small and fun, but I can't think of any at the moment. I enjoyed them all at the time, though. (Does this make me sound like a nuff-nuff?)
Hang on! I've just remembered one! I was sitting having a chat with some fellow staff members at Scott's place last night, when all of a sudden I saw all these beautiful Christmas lights that he's got strung out along his back fence. It looked great. I jumped up in my seat with glee, but everyone else had apparently ooed and aahhed about an hour before when they were first switched on. I must've been in the garage playing with the cats at that stage of the night. Or else I'm simply not very observant...
But at the time I found them exciting. And unexpected. You've got to take your joy where you find it...
precious_1

The most random meme I've ever answered.

Scott tagged me for a meme nearly a week ago, so I got up early this morning to do it, because he hasn't posted since. I don't know if it was the memeless state of this blog or not, but I enjoy his blog so much that I don't want to risk any nonaction of mine being the reason why he doesn't post. So here goes...

1. What kind of soap is in your bathtub right now?
We don't have a bath, tub or otherwise. I ripped it out during the great bathroom renovation of 2006 and put in a toilet instead. We're strictly a shower family. That being said, the soap in the shower is 'Cedarwood and Sage' that I took from the bathroom of the Marriott in Phuket. They may have ripped us off shamelessly while we were there, but by gum! I came back with 8 cakes of free soap. That'll teach 'em!

2. Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator?
No. (Why would anyone want to know this??) Jack eats watermelons like a hippo, so when I buy them they rarely last long. That's something they graze on when they're at their Dad's fruit shop.

3. What would you change about your living room?
Everything except the people and animals who live here, the pictures on the walls and the ornaments I've slowly assembled over the years. I guess that makes them heirlooms... (This means that my children will have to work for a living. Any value my 'heirlooms' have is strictly sentimental.)

4. Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty?
Clean. However, the dishes still piled up in the sink are definitely not.

5. What is in your fridge?
Food, wine, beer, perfume and milk.

6. White or wheat bread?
This is where those whacky Americans give themselves away...
White bread is made of wheat, so this is an extremely difficult question to answer, unless of course you are an absolute genius like me, and you realise that what the author of this meme really meant to ask was white or brown bread. Or possibly wholemeal.
My answer: usually the good for you stuff. However, jaffles taste far better with white bread, and there's nothing nicer than white bread slathered with butter and Vegemite. Mmmmmmm.

7. What is on top of your refrigerator?
This person is obsessed with my fridge...
there's a gift box with some white china platters that I can't fit anywhere else in the kitchen.

8. What colour or design is on your shower curtain.
It's glass.

9. How many plants are in your home?
Just one in the bathroom, I'm afraid. I want to get more, but I've been too busy with other things. There's heaps of plants in the garden, though.

10. Is your bed made right now?
No. Connor is sleeping in it, and he would've objected had I tried to tidy up.

11. Comet or Soft Scrub?
Is this an astronomy question? I pick comets... they zip quickly through the place and leave a trail of light and joy behind them. Something for us all to emulate, really.

12. Is your closet organised?
Yes. Absolutely.

13. Can you describe your flashlight?
What the ...?
Yes, I can. It's very much like a torch. Thank you for asking.

14. Do you drink out of glass or plastic when you're at home?
Glass all the way. The days of toddlerdom when plastic reigned are gone forever, thank goodness.

15. Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now?
Is this person crazy? Why would you have this hanging around in your fridge? And if you did, wouldn't this have been covered in question 5?

16. If you have a garage, is it cluttered?
Our garage goes through a cycle of being neat, then gradually over the course of a term, it slides into total disarray. Then in the holidays I walk in, see it, chuck a wobbly and the kids go out and tidy it up again. There's two weeks of term to go, so you be the judge.

17. Curtains or blinds?
Both. I prefer to be unfettered by the window furnishing police, and run wild and free, utilising all of my choices as a consumer.

18. How many pillows do you sleep with?
Usually four, currently two. I like to billow among my pillows...

19. Do you sleep with any lights on at night?
No. I'm not afraid of the bogeyman. Or the boogieman, as he used to be called in my youth.

20. How often do you vacuum?
This is a job I hate. Jordan now does it for double his pocket money every week. (Relax... he only gets $5, so it's not too bad.)

21. Standard toothbrush or electric?
Standard. A yellow one, in case you were wondering.

22. What colour is your toothbrush?
Oops.

23. Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch?
No. Just a regular mat. You're NOT welcome, I suppose. Oh dear, do you think that's why I'm still single??? My lack of a welcome mat has scared off Mr Right.

24. What is in your oven right now?
It's 6.21am, so nothing except oven trays.

25. Is there anything under your bed?
Just a few dust bunnies.

26. Chore you hate doing the most?
Clipping Molly's toenails. (Molly is a dog.)

27. What retro items are in your home?
Me. I've taken up quilting, so that's pretty 'Little House on the Prairie', right?

28. Do you have a separate room that you use as an office?
Too many kids. When they move out in about fifteen years, you watch me take over this house!

29. How many mirrors are in your home?
Four, counting the bathroom mirror. We're very ugly so we prefer not to see ourselves unexpectedly.

30. What colour are your walls?
A muted grey/green in the lounge and kitchen, deep blue in my room and white everywhere else. Oh, and the toilet is pale yellow. I painted it when I was at home with the toddlers and I had to mix together bright yellow and white paint because I couldn't afford to get new paint. That was a long time ago, and it's due for a face lift.

31. Do you keep any kind of protection weapons in your home?
A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Jack used to have a cricket bat handy when he was home alone, but that was a few years ago.

32. What does your home smell like right now?
Morning.

33. Favourite candle scent?
I don't know. Jordan bought me a couple of scented candles for my birthday, and we're gradually using them. I'm not really a huge candle person.

34. What kind of pickles (if any) are in your refrigerator right now?
This meme author is obsessed with people's fridges. It's beginning to creep me out....

35. What colour is your favourite Bible?
How many bibles does one person need in order to have a favourite? Surely the story ends up the same no matter which edition you're reading? I used to have a red one that I was given at primary school when we did R.E. I'm sure it's still kicking around here somewhere. I make my kids do religious education at primary school, even though I'm on the fence with all of this. My reasoning is that the christian faith is central to the way our society has developed over the centuries, and there are so many references to biblical events in literature, art and (occasionally) conversation that kids have to know something about the bible or else they'll be out of the loop. If they ever choose to take it further then that's up to them. Faith, or the lack of it, is a purely personal thing.

36. Ever been on your roof?
Frequently. Footballs and tennis balls seem to be magnetically attracted to that thing. Plus it's a good place to hide from the kids.

37. Do you own a stereo?
A cd player? Yes.

38. How many tvs do you have?
Three.

39. How many house phones?
One. And a mobile.

40. Do you have a housekeeper?
No. But before I went back to teaching I used to be one.

41. What style do you decorate in?
Mine and mine alone....

42. Do you like solid colours in furniture, or prints?
Solid all the way, baby!

43. Is there a smoke detector in your home?
Three. I'm fairly attached to the kids, and I'd like them to have a sporting chance of getting out of the house should it ever decide to erupt in a fireball.

44. In case of fire, what are the items in the house that you'd grab if you could make one quick trip?
My laptop, which has all my photos and files on it. Any kid too slow or stupid to react in time to the smoke detectors. The dog sleeps outside, so she'd be fine. Unless she was playing with matches in her kennel and caused the whole conflagration. The cats sleep in the laundry which is a little out of the way, so they'd probably be in trouble. My jewelry box.

Phew! What a random lot of questions. I tag no one for this, because I'm too hungry. Breakfast awaits.

7 Weird Things.

I've been tagged for a meme by Phoebe at http://boegle.blogspot.com/
It's a tell 7 weird things about yourself meme, and then I have to link back to the person who tagged me, and then tag 7 others. I hope this link works, because I've never linked by myself before....

Ok. Seven things about me.

1. My pantry has to be organised. Everything is lined up, labels out, and I rotate them so I put the newest things at the back, and the oldest things at the front, so nothing gets stale. I get agitated if the kids mess things up in there.

2. Once I start a book or watch a movie, I HAVE to see it through till the end. I could probably count on one hand the books I've put down and not finished. Maybe it's the gossip in me... I have to know how a story pans out. (Now that I'm getting 'War and Peace' emailed to me each day, I think I'll regret this. The translation is a bit old and clunky and so far I've read a fortnight's worth and the only interesting thing that's happpened is the tale of a policeman who was tied to a bear's back, and then the bear was thrown in the river. I've got over 600 installments to go. The peace part is pretty dull. I'm hoping the war bit is more interesting. Bring on the tragedy!!)

3. When I was a child I was scared of dogs. Mum said I was bitten by one when I was two, and I was petrified of them since then. Mum and Dad weren't too happy about this, so when I was seven they brought home a puppy. I was beside myself with fear for a day, until it dawned on my mighty intellect that this wiggly little pup was no threat.
When I left home I bought a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and fell into breeding and showing. Before I had children and gave up the dog showing, I had up to 20 dogs at some stages, including puppies. Does this mean I have an all or nothing personality??

4. I'm nervous around chickens. They have very sharp pointy beaks that look as if they'd put a nasty hole in your calf if one decided to attack. And anything that can still run around after you after its head is chopped off is obviously a force to be reckoned with. I like their eggs, though.

5. I love certain types of lollies so much that I can't have them in the house. I have absolutely no self control when it comes to lollies. It's like a shark feeding frenzy when there's a packet of Skittles, Wine Gums or Cadbury Caramello. It's not pretty. There's bits of wrapping strewn all over the room, snarling, slurpy gobbling noises and terrified kids backing away, in danger of losing limbs if they creep too close. That's why the only treats I buy for the kids are yucky lollies that I don't like. (But when they go to their Dad's place, I indulge. Sssshhhh. Don't tell them.)

6. I love stationery. A trip to Officeworks is delirious joy for me. All those wonderfully blank noebooks full of possibility. I love a fresh new notebook. Pure delight.

7. I love to breathe in the smell of my youngest child. Connor has a spot on his temples where I can breathe him in. I guess it's the smell of 'baby', and even though he's 11 he's still the youngest. (And always will be.... thank God for the speying I had done when he was born!) It's not kinky or strange, but maybe it is a little bit weird, so it's on the list.

Besides, it's nearly lunchtime, so I want to post this, go and have lunch, and then duck up the road to Brennan's school to pick him up to bring him back to our uniform shop to get him all kitted up for next year. I need to get his shopping done early before all of the second hand things are gone. (With 4 sons to outfit, I'm not proud. It's hand-me-down town at our place.)

I'll come back and tag people later. The bell has just gone.

I'm back!

Scott at http://scottsabode.blogspot.com
Stuntmother at http://stuntmother.blogspot.com
Kelley at http://magnetoboldtoo.wordpress.com
Widget at http://widgetgirl.blogspot.com
Darce at http://darcegoestoschool.blogspot.com
Maybaby at http://pedaling.blogspot.com
Suze at http://peasoupoftheday.blogspot.com

I can't link!!!! I'm so embarrassed....
When I learn how to put a proper link in, I'll come back and make this look professional.
If anyone else wants to do this, feel free. It's a little time consuming, because unlike most posts, you have to put some thought into what you put down. But it's interesting, all the same.

Meme.

Lightening tagged me for a meme a while ago, so naturally I thought "I'll get right onto that....."

Better late than never.

The Actor's Studio 10 Questions meme.

1. What is your favourite word?

Twitface, closely followed by Horrorhead and Idiot. (I can't help it if my students are hideous looking and a little slow.... )

2. What is your least favourite word?

"Should".... especially if it is immediately preceded by the word "You".

(Don't tell me what to do!!!!)

3. What turns you on? (creatively, spiritually or emotionally)

Oooo, babybaby!!!

A full bag of lollies. (Have I been single too long?)

4. What turns you off?

An empty bag of lollies that some selfish bastard didn't share with me.

5. What sound or noise do you love?

The end of day/end of year school bell.

The pop of a champagne cork.

My kids laughing.

"Ms Frogdancing... You've Won Tattslotto!!!!" (well, ok. This one hasn't happened, but I bet I'd REALLY REALLY like to hear it.)

6. What sound or noise do you hate?

The sound of one of my kids vomiting, and the splat! sound which means that said vomit has unfortunately hit the floor instead of the toilet. Add a 'hate the sound score' of x100 if heard in the middle of the night.

7. What is your favourite swear word?

Fuck. All out top favourite word, especially when I've lost my car keys. No other word will do.

Bugger. For more sedate, garden party situations when an expletive is called for.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to do?

Writer.

Trophy wife.

Travelling minstrel.

9. What profession would you like not to do?

Food tester for a despot.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Well, first off, I'm not terribly religious. I've been known to describe myself as a godless heathen to people who are strange enough to ask about my spiritual standing with the Lord, but I guess that's not strictly true. I think that God and I are on pretty good terms. I don't bother him with tuneless hymn singing on Sundays, and he doesn't bother me. Besides, I always thought St Peter was at the Pearly gates. By gum! I MUST be important if God is there to greet me!

I'd like him to say....

"Welcome. We have a special come-straight-in-regardless-of-your-lack-of-churchgoing rule if you die in your 127th year while dancing the tango at your great granddaughters wedding with your much younger, madly in love with you, wealthy husband who makes you laugh. You qualify. Go right on through."

This was more fun to do than I thought it would be. Thanks Lightening!

I'd tag people, but I don't know how to link yet. It's Scott's fault. He hasn't shown me yet.

So I tag everyone in internetland who feels like doing this.