Delectable Indulgences

At Elizabeth's 20th birthday today, which was at Pizza Hut, we had a "Best Looking Dessert" competition. And here are the entries:

Lukas Pukas: A good effort I must say.

House: By Steff. Very creative.

Oops.. this one got eaten before being photographed. Let's call it Partialus Eatus.

This was my entry: The clash of incongruent worlds.

Simple, yet stylish.

Mousus Porcupinus.

The Claus. Definately some Picazzoan influence here.

Mouthus Recepticus.

This was the winning entry. Well done Sammy on creating Felinius Catus out of Pizza Hut dessert supplies!

Why I am a frog

Brace yourself - you're about to learn something new about me, something I've not blogged about before...

I am what is termed a 'cold frog', meaning someone who hates, and avoids, the feeling of being cold. I am more sensitive than others to a drop in temperature, and an avid fan of heaters and tropical climates. Here are the tell-tale signs that signify my frog-like-ness:

I only wear shorts about five times a year. Even then, the most I'll wear are 3/4s.

I hate going out in winter - instead I spend the three coldest months of the year huddled in front of the warmest heater in the house, competing for space with my cat.

I put that many blankets on my bed in winter that I can hardly lift them up to get under them.

When I do get under the blankets, I pull everything right over my head. It doesn't matter that I can't breathe very well, the main thing is being warm, and breathing warm air.

The worst feeling for me is the sore throat you get when you've been sleeping in a cold room: I therefore sleep in the warmest room in the house.

For me, heat packs aren't just good for sore tummies - they're a source of precious warmth when I'm sure I'm going to freeze to death on a -1 degree night.

I just lurrve toe socks. I have about a dozen of them - they are great for keeping that space between your toes warm.

My Mum always goes around opening doors; shortly after, I can be seen shutting them all again.

My favourite saying in winter is, "Mum: you were born in a tent. I, on the other hand, have grown up in houses. Therefore, I am turning the heater on/ shutting this window/ making soup".

Oh yes - soup. In winter I drink copious amounts of soup - probably about four cups a day. If I could get my hands on more, I'd drink it non stop all day.

So you can just imagine my panic tonight when we couldn't get the only good heater in the house to work. Fortunately, I bought a backup electric heater for this purpose. It's blowing on my poor cold feet right now. Yay!

In Summer, I annoy people, because while they're sweating and hating the hot days, I walk around saying "I love this weather". I don't go swimming all that often, partly because there's no water where I live and also because I simply love being hot.

Why I live in one of the colder parts of Australia beats me (although, it wasn't my choice). If I had a choice, I'd live in a tropical climate like Queensland.

As usual, from this time of year onwards, I shall count down the days until summer begins again. It will help make the winter seem less... cold.

Up in the air, I fly

Last Saturday I checked out the Avalon Air Show. It was terribly cold the whole day - but well worth the effort. Flying still takes my breath away.



It was amazing to see what you can do with a plane - I really thought that they were going to crash during many of their death-defying stunts. One of the planes looked like a flying brick - doing barrel rolls and loops over and over - before landing virtually on a 5 cent piece.

I think I learned something about planes - for example, that there are some planes through which you can 'cut' to make an emergency exit, that some have a special toilet just in case the plane crashes, and (assuming it is intact) you need to 'go' while you're waiting to be rescued. There are planes that are still in service, having been used since the stone ages (almost); and then there are planes that are specially designed killing machines - costing $2000 per second for a round of bullets.



There was one thing struck me, amid the constant whirring and screaming of various aircraft flying overhead. It was the thought that for us Australians these sounds mean security in an unpredictable world (at least we think we're secure). But what if those sounds were not welcome, if hearing those meant you had to run for cover because the Americans were coming? What if that sound was the same sound you heard before you once lost a loved one? The helicopters looked a lot more menacing as I stood and thought these thoughts...

Overall, it was a good day, especially since I got to hang out with my friends and relax.

Don't get behind now...

Aaargh! Last week was my first-week-of-study-panic-week. Added to that were a whole heap of other issues I had to deal with that I shouldn't have had to. Enough said.

So this week, in what should be my knuckle-down-and-get-assignments-moving-week, I shall analyse my position thus far.

I am behind in:
- My assignments. Four due in less than four weeks. By my calculations, that's not enough time.
- My ebay fees. Addressing that now...
- My laundry. I halved the bag yesterday, but now that our washing machine is broken (I didn't do it!), the other half might be delayed for a while.
- My reading. A shelf-worth of books to read, I've read 1 and a half so far.

I am in front in:
- My cleaning-related chores. Cleaning is so much more attractive when you're busy.
- My social interaction: I have satisfied the social quota of interactions with most of my friends.
- My plant-watering related chores: because it rained yesterday.
- Blogging: I've done it twice today. Yay for me.

So that's the verdict. To shift the scales, I really need to cut down on doing stuff I'm not really meant or called to do.

A birthday + a returned notebook = blog

I'm back - thank goodness my computer has been fixed and returned.

Lots has happened while my compy was in hospital - and I've got all this blogging energy to let out - so here's what happened on my birthday last weekend!

On Saturday I went around Melbourne with my Mum, brother and sister. We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant, and then went shopping at some factory outlets.

This is the cake my Mum made me on Sunday. Reminds me of a nice place! Mum also gave me some money, which was very generous of her.

I listened to some lectures during the afternoon, and then on Sunday night I went out for tea with some friends.

They were really generous in shouting me my meal, and then on top of that, giving me unexpected gifts as well! I felt really grateful and happy at the end of that day. Here's some of the pressies I got:

My mates gave me a pair of very ooja boo boo boots. They're similar to those owned by Mel. Mel calls stuff ooja boo boo. Ooja boo boo means something that's really cool or funky. Mel has even invented sign language for Ooja boo boo!

They also gave me some spatulas...

...this kettle to satisfy my coffee cravings...

... a cute lion...

... and this cool drawing Jackie did for me.

My sister gave me a happy duck wrist-rest (for when I use a mouse, like right now). He glows in the dark!

She also gave me some cool mugs,
this funky photo frame that looks like a fish bowl...

...and this very ooja boo boo felt card! I was playing with the felt animals for ages!

Thanks everyone for blessing me on my birthday - I think my birthdays get better every year :)

To my neglected web-log

Dear blog,

I am so sorry I haven't updated for so long - I've been sick, working (not at the same time), and generally busy and I neglected you. Please accept my humble apology.

Even though I've not been blogging, my mind is still working - it has been greatly stimulated by some textbooks I've been pre-reading for this year. I'll blog about these some time.

I've also been getting in touch with my game-freak side again; spending several hours playing Worms World Party with my brother. Beyond Infinity and French P's rock!!

Anyway, must go shopping on Ebay, will catch up with you and all the readers soon.

Sincerely,

Rachel