Paris Hilton is in Australia.
Now, I’m no Paris fan {other than the name, I love it!} but I’m not convinced she’s the bimbo she makes herself out to be. Others will surely disagree.
She most certainly can’t sing is the one thing we can all agree on however.
As per usual, I digress. Need to get back on topic….
***slapping self up side of head***
Where was I??
Ah yes, Paris is in Australia for New Year.
It seems she went shopping the other day and spent 5k on her credit card in 40 minutes.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, is thrilled because it helps our economy {apparently}
For mine, it needs a lot more than 5 grand and think Gillard is living in fantasy land, but **shrug**, everyone is entitled to an opinion.
John Brumby, Premier of Victoria, where the money got spent, was also quite pleased.
Another one living in la la land. {Maybe he and Gillard are bumping uglies do you think??}
shudder Scary thought!!
{Story is here if you fancy a look, btw}
It’s not these twits who got my dander up though.
It was the charitable organisations.
These self righteous morons have decided it’s quite obscene that this woman could spend HER money on what SHE wanted, because she could have fed however many thousands of children in a 3rd world country with the same amount.
Now, I applaud the sentiment, don’t get me wrong. I’d give someone the shirt off my back AND my last 5c if I thought they needed it more than I did, but…….
Why say a 3rd world country?
Do we not have anyone in our own country that needs charity?
Is every single Australian child housed, fed, educated, have access to adequate medical care and loving family?
Come to that, is every single Australian adult lucky enough to have all that as well?
I think we all know the answer is no.
Why are these people so intent upon charitable actions for overseas?
I appreciate they need it, but shit, surely our own should come first?
Is it too much to ask that we look in out own backyard before we look to someone else’s?
I give to charity on a regular basis, and doubtlessly a lot ends up overseas. In fact I know it does, so these days I ask.
If it’s going somewhere that I don’t like, then I don’t give.
In fact I refused point blank not long ago to give to one of the biggest charities in Australia because it was made known the money was to go overseas. This is a charity that has an appeal every year with all the bells and whistles too, I’ll have you know.
I’d rather give it to someone I know will distribute whatever is left after admin costs {and wtf is with THAT by the way??} to something that will help an Australian child have a better life, or the Institute for the Blind, Camp Quality, anything, so long as it’s here in Oz.
Have these people forgotten that charity begins at home?
If they put half the effort into their own country that they do into others, there wouldn’t be a single child hungry or cold at night.
If and when these people do as much in their own country as they do in someone elses, I think they should shut the fuck up and mind their own damned business.
:roll:

And leave poor widdle Pawis awone while they’re at it

Totally off subject, Happy New Year to all who find their way here tonight.
I hope 2009 dawns bright and prosperous for you

Another year is almost behind us.
I’m startled at the speed with which 2008 has passed. It seems like only last week I did a post for the beginning of a New Year, yet here I am again, about to do the same thing.
Time waits for no blogger however, and I’m no different am I?
Christmas turned into one of the best we’ve had for many reasons and regardless of being virtually on our own for most of the day. It ended on a high note and still has me smiling broadly.
New Year’s eve will see us at home, having a couple of quiet drinks and watching fireworks on the LCD screen we shouted ourselves earlier in the year just because we could.
The past year has seen much happen in our lives. Most were good, some heartbreaking, others simply bewildering.
As always, we’ve dealt with them as they’ve arisen and stuck together no matter what. For that is surely the key?
When adversity or problems strike it is with little warning and it’s so easy to allow the strain an opportunity to rip you apart.
I’m sure we’ve all done it at some point in time,yes?
This year has seen us gain a grandaughter when Natasha had Stella, who joined Wil, Max and Isaac to complete their family.
We also gained a new son in law when Mel and Steve got married, and with him came a grandaughter in Tayla.
Both events were welcomed by our family amidst much love and celebration.
They were the highlights and I have no intention of focusing on anything else, for the rest are now seen as minor speedhumps to be traversed. Again, love and sticking together are the key as I’m sure all my girls will agree.
The coming year will see many things for our ever growing family.
February will see Max and Caleb start school, Wil goes into 2nd grade and Zoe into 3rd grade, where I’m sure all will have a ball and excel in ways that delight their parents. They may drive their teachers to distraction, but their parents will be happy.
Kidding girls, kidding!!

June will see the birth of our 7th grandchild when Mel and Steve become parents together for the first time. We hope for nothing more than a healthy daughter and grandchild, in that order. Gender is irrelevant, however another girl would be nice to even the numbers a little Mel???
Just joshing you sweetie. You know we’ll welcome either with a little prayer that all goes well for you both.
In order of birthdays, the ages of our little angels will be 5 {Caleb} 2 {Isaac} 7 {Wil} 1 {Stella} 6 {Max} 9 {Zoe}, who by the way will be 8 on Tuesday. Happy birthday honey, we’ll ring on the night.
If ever I wanted a reality check on time, seeing those words on the screen have provided just that. Where the hell did those 8 years go???
A happy birthday to Natasha for today as well. I hope your day has been wonderful sweetie and that you’ve enjoyed your 29th??? birthday??

July will see an event that has been spoken about for many months, come to reality.
Mark and I will fly to LA then onto Boston, go down to Cape Cod for a week, then have another week in Boston before coming home. Tickets are booked and paid for.
The purpose of the trip is to meet some very special people, who just happen to be bloggers.
That the blogging journey has bought these people to our lives is a wonderous thing we marvel at every single day.
They are people who have been there for me no matter what, be it good or bad. They have laughed, cried, celebrated and mourned with me.
We’re doing a Christmas in July as well, which will be a hoot!
Presents are patiently waiting on top of the wardrobe here in Australia, Santa hats are ready to be worn, and there will be much hilarity, food and alcohol to be had. Given it will be summer, I’m thinking we’ll pass on the Santa suit though. Maybe?
Memory sticks await the hundreds of photos to be taken, and I’m going to try talking everyone into swapping blogs and doing some posts after we’ve had a few drinks.
Mark July in your calendars people! There is one hell of a time coming up!
Given there are several other bloggers in the area, who knows, we may even be able to catch up with a few of them as well. I know of at least one we’ve promised to have dinner with, so as we get closer to the time, I’ll be asking the question about who’s interested in perhaps getting together during our 2nd week. The first week is for the 4 of us and our respective partners/families, but the 2nd week is reasonably open.
2009 sees new beginnings for us, and some wonderful things to look forward to, all whilst looking back to the year that was with smiles and tears both.
I found the quote below and felt it was so appropriate given the year that has been and the one that awaits. The coming one holds much promise and hope for us, and I look forward with a huge smile on my face.
I hope your coming year holds the promise that ours does, and we wish you all the very best in whatever you do.
See you round the blogoshpere guys!

Don’t drag yesterday problems into this brand new day. Give yourself, and those around you, a break and start fresh.

Lucy MacDonald

I’m a big fan of tradition.
As a country we have traditions here in Australia. Besides drinking beer and taking the piss out of whoever and whatever we encounter that is.
Mind you, most traditions include drinking beer and/or taking the piss now that I think about it.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

Now, I will attempt to educate you in just a few of our traditions here in the land of Oz.
Doubtlessly much of this will seem to be in Arabic for quite a few readers, so I’ll try using words that are easy to understand.
{Plus, I’m constantly being told to “slow down” when I speak to our American cousins, so let’s see how I do shall we?}

Of course we do the Christmas Day thing, which needs no explanation, however I must question the habit of putting Santa in that red suit. I would have though budgie smugglers would be more appropriate here in Oz. Lots of kids run from him screaming anyway, so you needn’t be too worried about that side of things. Kill or cure is the norm here!

Today is Boxing Day. There are only 2 worthwhile things to do on this day in Australia.

1. Go to, or watch on the TV, the first day of the Boxing day test at the MCG {and drink lots of beer} Prawns are optional, but do go well with the beer let me say! The Boxing Day test is one of the most important events of the cricket calendar, and much anticipated by all Australian sports fans, which just happens to be around 95% of the population btw.
To say out loud you don’t like cricket is akin to saying you want to assasinate the president, just to give you some sense of the importance in relation to being Australian. As I type, our team captain Ricky Ponting has just scored his half century with a magnificent 4. Go Ricky!!! Followed hot upon the heels of that, there’s another 4!! The skipper is on fire!!! Oh FFS, there’s another 1 to boot!!! WOOHOO!!! 12 in 3 balls??? I’m in cricket heaven for sure!!
Sorry! I’ll cease the running commentary now.
8)
{please note, here is a link to some explanation of cricket should you have NFI}

2. Watch the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race {again while drinking lots of beer} Now, you are allowed to escort the boats out of Sydney harbor to the heads if you have a boat of your own, so the wisest thing is to find a designated captain who doesn’t drink beer {common sense tells me here it should therefore be a Kiwi (New Zealander) or pom (Englishman) cos they’re both big girl’s blouses when it comes to beer..besides, if we’re playing them in the aforementioned cricket they’ll be looking to get away from the embarassment on their screens, cos we’ll be flogging them!}
Again, here is a link for your ease of understanding

Another great Australian tradition is the BBQ. Not one of the 7 gas rings plus wok burner BBQ’s, but a REAL Aussie barbie! Some bricks that make a little pit for the fire and a big mother arsed plate across the top. The fire shoud be started using pine cones and newspaper with kindling on top of it. Now this is most important. If that fucker gives you problems starting it, throw some petrol on it! That’ll get it to just the right point that you require. So hot than when the snags hit it, they curl into the fetal position all whilst spitting boiling hot grease all over your obligatory bare belly! Once cooked to the appropriate shade of black, said snag should then be encased in a piece of buttered bread and slathered with tomato sauce {ketchup} Lamb chops are the other thing suitable for an Aussie barbie. Now, these also should be charcoaled on the outside before they’re ready to be eaten, and the tomato sauce should drip from the sides of your bread as you bite into it. Perchance you still have a bare belly at this point, the sauce can double as a soothing lotion from the grease burns you got when cooking the snags. No point in wasting a good drip I always say! None of this nancy corn on the cob or kebabs for a real Aussie barbie. Snags, chops, bread, butter and dead horse is all you need.
This tradition is, of course, accompanied with many cold tinnies or stubbies. No real BBQ here in Oz is complete without lots of cold beer, shit stirring and general chaos and mayhem.
{Please note, if you drop a snag or chop on the ground and manage to retrieve it before the family dog snaffles it, it’s more than acceptable to put it back on the plate after wiping whatever dirt and leaves may have accumulated}

Our beaches are another great tradition here in Australia. There are many families who spend much of their summer on one of the hundreds of beaches on offer in this great country. One of the best passtimes to be had is a game of beach cricket {see link above} generally one handed because you have a cold beer in a stubby holder in the other. <--- This is a MUST!
The rules to beach cricket are similar to real cricket with just a few little changes. The major differences are:
a) if you spill your beer then it's your shout for the rest of the team
b) if you hit it in the water the drunkest player on the field has got to retrieve it, and the keeper is to keep an eye on the retriever should he need dragging from the water perchance he goes down and is too drunk to get back up.
It's considered quite bad manners to allow the drunks to drown regardless of whether it's the mother in law or not. You can allow her to drown at any other time, but not during the game. Most important to remember these differences.
Beach cricket is also best played barefooted, thus scorching the soles of your feet should you stand in the one place too long. Keeps the feilders on their toes and makes the batsmen keep the run rate ticking over. Nothing worse than a slow game of beach cricket.
Stopping regularly to refresh the stubby holder is acceptable however. This can sometimes be accompanied by peeling, then eating a few prawns, and throwing the odd lewd comment at the opposing team captain's wife.
{There are those of you who should be taking notes here. Beach cricket will be a must next July, and you need to know the rules}

These are the traditions that come immediately to mind. Should any of my Aussie readers choose to add to these, please feel free.
Should anyone else be confused, have another beer and make lewd suggestions to the next door neighbours wife across the back fence. Shoud the neighbour object, tell him you're praticising for your trip to Oz next year, so he should just pull his fucking head in!
If you say it with a smile on your face, that may lessen the reaction.
If none of the above work, leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to explain ok?
Hooroo!

Well, Christmas is done and dusted for another year.
I’ve had a wonderful day and it was topped off in the best possible way I could ever have wished for.
Suffice to say I received the one thing I wanted more than anything this year. It was only a simple little thing to many, but to me it was worth more than any material item money can buy.
A new beginning has been created, one which holds hope and promise for many things, all of which are very important to me.
Yes, this is cryptic to many, and there will be no explaination, but knowing you guys as I do, I’m sure you’re happy to celebrate with me all the same.
For those of you just starting Christmas day, if yours is but half as good as mine, then I’ll be pleased for every last one of you.
As you can see my theme has changed. The pictures in the header rotate, and are, at this point, the generic ones that came with the theme
I’ll try to find the time to replace them with more personal pics over the weekend .
I’ve also added, at the top of the left hand sidebar, a widget that is driven by a plugin, and it’s called a Wordpress Wall. It allows for little comments without the need for email insertion, going to a different screen or anything else, and it refreshes every 90 seconds, so if I’m around you’re more than likely to get an immediate response.
It’s a nifty little gadget that simply took my fancy. NFI whether it will be of any use, but it took my fancy all the same

I’m now off to bed with a satisfied smile on my face and in my heart.
Enjoy your Christmas day wherever you are.
I hope all your dreams come true.
Mine did.

It’s Christmas day here in Australia. By the time you read this, everyone on my blogroll will have a comment to wish them all the best.
For most of my readers it’s not quite there yet, but with the time difference, we start the day a little earlier than you.
We’re off out for lunch this year, something we’ve never done and I’m quite looking forward to some good food, even better company, and a few quiet drinks. Knowing there is no preparation or cleaning up to be done is odd, but in a good way.
No presents as such, in our house this year, which I mentioned in an earlier post.
We’re off overseas in July to meet some very special people, and in fact our “presents” for each other were the return flights, finally booked and paid for last Saturday with dates and times sent in an email I’ve been waiting to send for many months. That there was an amazing rate to be had was a bonus. We were going to book and pay around February, but the 1400.00 saving was just too good to go past.

To each and every one of you, I wish nothing but good things for you and your families. Not only for Christmas but the coming year as well.
I know some of you have had a long year for various reasons {you know who you are} I pray for easier times, relief from worry and all the very best that life can offer. It is surely desrved.
For those a little closer, know that January 1 is the start of a new year, and the time for new beginnings. To you I send hope for inner peace and health, with much love attached.
To all of our children and grandchildren not with is today, we send all our love and hope your dreams come true. Know that whilst we miss you very much all year round, we will feel it more today. Far more than you know.

I would ask that all of you spare a thought for those away from family and all things familiar, particularly our armed forces, regardless of which country you live in, and also those sick and/or in hospital.
If you have nothing else today, you still have more than them.
People you love are around you. At the end of the day that is worth more than any present you can give or receive..

For those of you that have family who don’t understand the day, or maybe even don’t know you’re there, please know our thoughts are especially with you. Keep doing what you’re doing. I’m sure that if nothing else, they can feel the love that radiates from you.

I leave you with a carol that reduces me to tears every time I hear it, because it was my Mums favourite.
Doesn’t matter where I am, I cry like a baby at the thought of Christmas as it was when she was still alive. Seems the passing of time can’t soothe me when it comes to this time of year.
Quite besides that it reminds of what the season is all about.

Merry Christmas everyone!

I started a new job this Monday just gone.
It’s a position that entails longer hours than the last one, more responsibility, however both of these are offset by more money, so what I miss on the swings I pick up on the slide.
Because of this I’ve been somewhat scarce around the blogospher, but know I will be around to you all over the Christmas weekend to wish you all the best and catch up on some reading.
Work will settle into a pattern before too long and then I’ll be back to being all over the place as per usual.
One other little thing you may have noticed. I’ve gone back to being Anonymum. The reasons are many and varied, none of which I choose to explain, suffice to say sometimes it the little things that mean the most.
That’s me for now, I need to be gone and be a boss for another day before having 4 days off. 4 days is nothing like the 3 weeks I should have been enjoying, but it will be worth it in the long run.
Hope your day is wonderful and full of Christmas cheer and spirit.
I have a post scheduled for very early Christams day {in Oz time of course} so if you want to wander back and check it out, feel free.
My theme will change back to a normal one at some point over the weekend too. Whist I love Christmas, I’ll admit to being sick of looking at the current theme. After all, I’ve been looking at it for close to 4 weeks now. That’s gotta be some sort of record for me I’m thinking??
That’s me, I’m out of here.
Catch you all Chrissie day.

Every Christmas there are a plethora of happy happy joy joy posts. I contribute to them as well, yes.
There are posts throughout the year that can, at times, criticise other nations or races for their beliefs and the way they do things. Again, I contribute to these at times.
After this, I’m not too sure there will be any more.
Being a huge John Lennon fan I went looking for a couple of his songs on You Tube to post, the very first being his “So this is Christmas” not only because of the season, but because I could listen to it over and over again, merely for the sentiment it expresses.
I found many versions, some garbage, some brilliant, but none that touched me such as this. I sat here this morning with tears streaming down my face for many reasons.
It makes me realise how lucky we are to live where we do, under a flag that represents freedom from many things, specifically war, safe in the knowledge we can go where we please, when we please, without fear of never coming home again.
I know war is NOT over in many places, and it made me think about many, many things, not the least of which was how others who live in other less fortunate countries will be celebrating this year.
It’s only 3 and a half minutes, so please take the time to watch it all.
My tears started at around the 23 second mark.
I don’t care who you see as right or wrong. At the end of the day these are human beings ravaged by war. Innocents stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of political manouvering and desire for power.
If ever there was a time to give thanks for what you have, big or small, rich or poor, it will be after watching this video.
While you’re there, give thanks for the brave men and women of the armed forces who willingly put their lives on the line, and in the process miss celebrations such as Christmas, the birth of their children and many other things we take for granted.
Wealth isn’t always money. In fact it’s never money if the truth be known. Somtimes it takes 3 1/2 minute videos to ram that point home to me in a manner that makes my bones rattle.
At the bottom of this post is a very small gift for someone. They know who they are and I can but hope they realise it was never meant to hurt or upset as it did.
One small step perhaps.

I hate retailers who are intent on making a squillion dollars from something that should be about family and spending time with those that mean much to us.
This year Christmas will be very quiet for us. Just the 2 of us with one daughter and son in law, and not a child in sight, which is quite sad given last year, but that’s the way it is. If we’re lucky maybe a couple of phone calls will be the highlight of our day.
There will be no presents for each other, because our present will come around mid year with a much anticipated holiday and we’ll do the Christmas in July thing anyway, however we are going out for Christmas dinner, which is a first for us.
I digress, sorry!
Everywhere you look there is advertising. Buy THIS for a mere $567.34, buy THAT for just 24 easy monthly payments of $346.15 and we only need a kidney as deposit, and damn, let’s not forget the brand new $6000.00 theatre sized LCD screen that is a MUST to make your children the happiest in the world!
They almost guilt people into buying these things, because, of course, if you don’t, it means you don’t care doesn’t it??
:roll:
Anyhow, me being the generous soul I am, I decided I would at least find a card to suit the general demeanour of these retailers who work SOOOOOO hard during seasonal periods of trading.
You really have to feel sorry for them don’t you? Hell, they only make 80% margin on most things, and we all know how difficult it is to eke out a living from such a paltry sum right?
So here it is. My perfect Christmas card for every retailer who preys on the poor, hairy unwashed who believe every single pathetic word that flows from their mouth like shit from a person who ate 10lb of prunes.
I’ve even found one with a Christmas fairy. How good is that??

The little verse inside would read as follows:

Money’s tight
Times are hard
Here’s your fucking
Christmas card

Think they’ll appreciate the thought???

I’m not ordinarily into memes, however one that involves what this does is different, so I thought I’d give it a whirl.
I’ve seen it in several places around the traps, but it wasn’t until I got to Anja’s place that I decided to put my hand up.
Anja, in her wisdom, endowed upon me, the letter “R”, for which I’m not sure whether to thank her, or thump her??
The rules are:
You leave a comment on this post and I’ll assign you a letter. You write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and post it at your place. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on and on.

You DO NOT have to do the meme if you only want to comment. Tell me if you want to do it. Otherwise you will not be tagged.

So, now we’re off to the races.

1. Rhinocerous How can you NOT love an animal that so proudly displays their horn like this one??
2. Rain May sound strange coming from a sun lover like myself, but there is nothing better than the sound of rain on a tin roof. Living in a parched country such as I do, I’m well aware of the need for any type of water at all. It may as well be one I enjoy, yes?
3. Rabbits Preferably baked, with gravy
4. Rubies They say diamonds are a girls best friend? Not this one. I LOVE rubies
5. Roses When grown as they should be, there is nothing headier than the scent of a rose garden. I have a fondness for yellow ones should you decide to send me some
6. Rants Being bloggers, we all know the therapeutic benefits of a rant surely? Come to think of it, I haven’t had one for a while, so it must be nearly time
7. Romance Yes, as hard as it may to believe, I am a romantic at heart. Nothing pleases me more than for Mark to do something romantic for me {if it involved roses and rubies, I’m even happier}
8. Runes Yes I’m a rune stone lover. I have a set and use them regularly. Quite uncannily accurate more times than not
9. Reading I love to read books. In fact I read anything. Hell, I even enjoy junk mail. Yes, I do know I’m odd before you ask
10. Recipes I enjoy nothing more than trying out a new recipe, or creating from an old favourite. Anyone who knows anything about me wll tell you I love to cook and own more recipe books than a library almost

Now I know the rules say 10, but no list starting with the letter “R” would be complete without….reflection! Because without it, the ability to do memes such as these would be non existent wouldn’t it?

Santa that is.

If you don’t believe me, well, I’m sorry to say I have proof. Photographic proof even!

I know it’s not easy to have your bubble burst, but sometimes a person needs to be cruel to be kind.

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Once more, just cos I asked nicely
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There’s this

Then this

And when he was younger, he was worse!! Check this out!! This was a really early one. He hadn’t even grown his beard, that’s how young he was!