Australia Day at the Melbourne Victory Game...

This Australia Day Mark became an Australian... We were incredibly lucky and he was able to do his commitment ceremony at AAMI Park where Melbourne Victory SMASHED Sydney FC!

The ceremony was beautiful... Well catered, great speeches, a moving address from Adam Bandt, I cried the whole way through! Mark was given the honour of getting up in front of 26,800 people and doing his pledge to Australia on the microphone with Adam Bandt... It was special, the whole day was! And now my beautiful husband is Australian, he can have a say in the future of our beautiful democratic country...

Missy Higgins at the Royal Melbourne Zoo Twilight

When I was a little girl, the zoo pioneered jazz at the zoo, which has become a massive Twilight at the Zoo... My first time I was on primary school, there was plenty of room, it was a good time... Arriving at the Missy Higgins show, it was clear things had changed... I got there 20 minutes after the doors opened, and it was 3/4 full, it managed to completely pack out, beyond a comfortable amount of people, I wasn't really impressed by this... The feeling of being stuck overwhelmed me!

There was a support act which I didn't really listen to, and then there was Missy... She was looking adorable with cat ears on... Oozing charisma, talking to the crowd, telling stories about the songs, basically making me love her even more... And then there was the music, woman is crazy talented, plays instruments beautifully and has a lovely voice... At one point the lions were roaring and she was singing, it was surreal and beautiful, it was an absolute pleasure to be there... I'm not sure I would do it again, but seeing her in that environment was truly special...

Lego Friends Packs

Big Lego fans in this house, today at Target we saw Lego Friends packs, little structures for $6!!! It looks like there are 3 choices, we got two because I got all confused about which one while checking out - impulse buy!!! Really though at the bargain price of $6, when a minifig is $5, how can you say no? Had to share!

The Killers at The Palace, Melbourne

The Killers are in my top 3 bands... I love them, their music, Brandon's voice and of course his beautiful face... I have seen them 4 times and each time they absolutely bring it...

Hearing that they were playing Big Day Out did not work for me, but Geri told me that there was a side show, at Palace, this seemed impossible! The Palace is a tiny club venue, there weren't going to be many tickets, chances were I wouldn't be going... So I started to research, joined the Killers fan club, The Victims, and got access to the presale! Securing 3 tickets to this show, I was over the moon!

The club was packed, I was regretting showing up 30 mins before they started, but we headed to the balcony and ended up with a fantastic view! They were so close, the sound was so good, I really couldn't ask for more! The track selection always fails to completely satisfy me, a few less awesome tracks in there and they didn't play Bones at all!!! I love Brandon's charisma, when he looks into your general area it feels like he is looking into your soul, his voice is flawless and I do love the little stories he tells... After an hour and a half of ecstatic joy it was over, I sang his songs loudly the whole drive home and was far too excited to sleep... An amazing night! Felt incredibly lucky to experience these boys in such an intimate venue..

Bring it on...

My classic (if you could call it that) film rewatch is still going... Bring it on was released in my early 20's, I went to the cinema to see it with a group of girlfriends and immediately fell in love with it! The moment it was released on DVD I bought it and watched it daily/weekly for a long time... At one point we had 5 in the bed (queen sized) and watched it together, it has great rewatch value... Easy to learn cheers that could be busted out at any time! Fun characters, a cheesy love story and of course, the competition... Love it!

Clueless...

This film was imperative to my teenage development... Every day after school, my girlfriend, lets call her D, and I smoked weed and watched this film... Every single day after school... I knew at the time it was cheesy, and on the rewatch it is indeed... It's also pretty bad, haha... Sends some bad messages, and the writing and acting are just a bit off... But I still love it... Not sure I will be rewatching it again any time soon!

It is pretty sad watching Brittany Murphy, such a waste of life... But truly awesome seeing a very young Paul Rudd! I think it is definitely a film of it's time, like if you haven't seen it already, maybe you shouldn't... Haha...

Point Break...

Another film that meant the world to me as a teenager... Completely quotable, great soundtrack... I might add that I had the soundtracks to all of the old films I have talked about so far! On rewatching (it has been many years), it does seem a bit over acted in parts, gasp! But it still enthrals me... I love the characters, and love to hate the characters you are supposed to hate... I love the morals and jaded morals, I love Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze as leads, I love Gary Busey holding it together, I love Lori Petty's beautiful blue eyes... Start to end, it's still great!

Friday baking... Marshmallow caramel chocolate blondie...

I don't remember what blog I got this from, but it doesn't matter because they really aren't very good... The house was still warm from the 30 degree overnight low, and I ummmed and aaahed about whether to bake, but it is our Friday routine, and I didn't want to disappoint Marley!

I changed the recipe to go with what we had, and the marshmallows candied everywhere and burnt around the edges... I wouldn't make them again, what did survive the burnt marshmallow, was only okay... This may also be related to me not eating sugar lately, who knows?

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Dirty Dancing...

So another day, another film... Dirty Dancing was, for many many years, my favourite film... As a girl I watched it every day after school, I was 10 when I watched it for the first time, at the cinema... What compelled my mum to take a 10 year old to see a film called 'Dirty' Dancing, a film about love and sex and abortions, topped off with some Daddy issues, is beyond me! But Mum let me watch relationship inappropriate films, and dad let me watch horror inappropriate films... In any case I loved it, I love the story, the characters, the actors, the dancing... And after so many years I still do... It's a great film, I still absolutely adore it!

I find it funny how hot I thought Patrick Swayze was back then, as a girl... As a grown woman he still has an amazing body, and his character is awesome, but there is no way I would tap that! It was really nice of the kids to let me watch the last scene uninterrupted! I watch one film in countless sittings, so it was a joy to get that 12 minutes of quiet!!!

Pretty Woman...

I have been watching some new films lately and decided that since I never get a chance, I should dedicate myself to watching some classics... Started with Pretty Woman for no particular reason, I LOVED this film growing up... Rewatching it now I have my own kids I am completely disgusted that I was watching it at 12 years old! Soooo inappropriate... Aspire to be a hooker, it will get you a rich classy guy... Ummm, no... Far too sexually explicit for a young girl, and I can actually see why I had the sexual attitude I did when you combine that film with a very relaxed attitude to sex as I was growing up, really wasn't viewed as 'special' and so I didn't, and still don't, view it as special... Oh the damage of youth! Haha...

Anyways it is a good film for the corrective group! Although I never got the Richard Gere thing, thought maybe as I am older now I would, but no... It still escapes me...

Hello Kitty Busy Book (also Dora the explorer and Thomas the Tank Engine)

We love these busy books, for a crazy $7 at Target (right now, run!) you get a board book story, 12 figures and a play mat! They come in Hello Kitty, Dora the Explorer and Thomas the Tank Engine... Perfect for a gift, holiday/plane toy or just because I love you toy... There are so many ways that they can play with them, with you, siblings or alone! If you are local to Target, get one!!!

James Boag and Son Brewery...

We went to Launceston on the weekend for the Melbourne Victory V Central Coast Mariners game... I wanted to do something touristy but not too far away from the city, and this was perfect!

Kate, our guide was very likeable, she gave loads of info but was never boring... The hour or so flew by, learnt a bit about the beer making process, and the history of beer in Launceston, checked out the process as we went... Finally there was a beer and cheese tasting, the beers were good, the XXX ale, which is actually a lager, only available on the island, was awesome! We even went to the trouble to get a pint of it after the game! The cheeses were mindblowingly good... Making me sad that Mark is vegan...

The tour was $50 for both of us, and you get the 3 beers and cheeses included, which was great value! It was a lovely way to spend and afternoon... Highly recommend it!

Hello Kitty Hello Art! Compiled by Roger Gastman

I can't remember a time in my life that I haven't love Hello Kitty, as well as other Sanrio characters... I saw a beautiful tattoo of Hello Kitty cherries posted by Pam Power in Instagram and she told me about this book... I contacted Spotlight Tattoo Studio, got permission and had the cherries on my leg that night... I also ordered the book, which is awesome... Some beautiful art, as well as tattoo ideas, all with the wonderful Hello Kitty as a focal point... It's just awesome, Marley, Mace and I sat and chatted and looked at it for 40 minutes - a long time to a 1 and 3 year old! And when I am done gushing over it, Mark can keep it with his tattoo books, it's a win win!

Also Marley is over the moon about the temporary tattoos in the book, we can have matching cherries!

Walking Dead Omnibus Vol 4

No blogging for a bit as Mark and I spent the weekend in Tasmania watching the Melbourne Victory play Central Coast Mariners... There is quite a bit to say, but right now I am tired so I will just stick to the ever amazing Walking Dead graphic novel omnibus I just finished...

First, if you don't watch the show, you should! And if you like graphic novels (comics) you need to start this series! I did blog about it a while back, but I read the Compendium in a little over a day, over a thousand pages of scary joy! This was done over two days, but I didn't have Mark home to help with the tiny humans so it took longer, having sneaky reads!!! It was absolutely gripping, I am so attached to these characters, much more then in the TV show, it's exciting and at times terrifying to read... I'm not doing spoilers, but there is definitely a feeling of hope by the end, I just love the places it takes you, it is about so much more then zombies!

Green Street Hooligans

You may be surprised to know that despite loving football, a West Ham fan and Charlie Hunnam, I had never seen this film... Through the first 20 minutes I wondered why anyone had, Charlie's ridiculous east end accent, just couldn't get in to it, and then I did... Deeply, I actually had a teary toward the end... The film itself explores football hooligans at their worst, it can be hard to watch and confronting at times... But it's good, if you can get past a hobbit playing the lead and Charlie's terrible accent!

As much as I love football, the Australian football culture gets such a bad rep, when it honestly feels so safe... I have never felt unsafe at a game, but I certainly have at other sporting events and that's why I didn't go back... I feel blessed that a football rivalry over here doesn't equal bloodshed... I remember at the West Ham v Leeds match we went to in 2011, it felt extreme that we would be let out at different times and have a proper amount of police as an escort... In the Premier League there are decades and decades of history, and it had gone terribly for some people, I only hope that the A League doesn't go down that route... I love that it is, for the most part, a family safe environment and I look forward to taking the kids, once they can watch the full 90 minutes!

TWG Tea Vanilla and Bourbon Whoa!!!

I have become a big fan of tea over the past year, not English Breakfast tea, mostly chai and peppermint tea... I was given the TWG tea bag gift box for Christmas, today I ran out of chai tea bags and thought I would crack then open once I was over peppermint for the day... I was a bit suss in vanilla and bourbon, but this tea has blown me away!!! Just delightful going over your tongue, and a sweet delicate aftertaste... I don't think I have ever tasted such a luxurious tea before, so I did a search to look at replacing them when they are gone, they are $19.50 for 15 tea bags! You can taste it, and see it, it comes in cotton tea bags, they are beautiful, seems such a shame to throw them out! So if you have a spare twenty, or are lucky enough to be gifted these, drink them slowly, treasure the deliciousness!

Beastie Boys tshirt for boys...

You may have noticed that hip hop is important in this household... When I saw this Beastie Boys tshirt on nextdirect.com I had to grab it for Mace! He has an awesome collection of hip hop shirts, I just hope he wants to wear them... He is going through a serious obsession with dinosaurs right now, so they are the preference for clothes, shoes, toys, everything!!!

2013 is going to be off the hook...

I have been looking at our year ahead, I am a big planner, work with a 5 year plan and fine tune each year the year before... So coming into January I have 4 interstate weekends away from the kids, a week in Vegas with Mark and a family trip to the Gold Coast with some friends and their kids in August, which excites me! I was telling my BFF about our year ahead and how at any point I will always have something coming up to look forward to this year, she commented that we go on a lot of holidays... She's probably right, but before you have kids, your whole life is a holiday, your relationship is THE priority, you have all of your needs met first all of the time... Parenting is not like that... We made the commitment that for the first 5 years I would mostly be with the children, we would do whatever was required to give them what they need to develop into awesome humans, and yes I totally get that this is different for everyone, but for us this is it... So to keep 'us' in a great place we have weekends away so that we can hold each others hands, have a couple of drinks if we like, eat whenever we want and just be free to be a couple, doing grown up things which are normally reserved for the kids bed times...

I have also always been of the belief that we work to live, not live to work, travel has always been important to us, and if we have to work, the reward needs to be more then just basic living... So we do this, we plan and take trips, it's probably the main thing that gets me through the 2 sick kids through winter thing! It's also what keeps our relationship awesome, because we do 'family' brilliantly, but when our kids leave home, we need to remember how to do 'couple' brilliantly too! And the way things are going, we will...

This is 40

I don't know what to say... I love Judd Apatow, I love the cast, but I was under the impression it was going to be a comedy... It felt more like a depressing drama... A few jokes, but overall I was totally underwhelmed... Funnily enough we had booked childcare to see this opening weekend, then Action Bronson was going to be that night so I transferred the childcare for that, thank goodness, I would be pretty angry if I wasted childcare on going to see that in a cinema... Oh well...

Seems to be average/crap film after average/crap film lately... The good news is that I am slowly getting through all of the films on my 'to watch' list and the. I can rewatch Battlestar Galactica! Back to work and normality tomorrow, looking forward to getting back into my routine, getting things done! It is the busiest time of year at my work, but after a very low key Christmas break, it's exciting to go back!!!

Cabin in the woods...

I have delayed talking about this... I love Joss Whedon... For at least six years not a day went by that I didn't watch several episodes of Buffy/Angel, and in my insomniac years, many more... Even in those first years with Mark, I went to sleep watching every night... And my daily dose continued right up until I had Marley, as with all things unsuitable for kids (most notably hip hop) I gave it up... When Cabin in the woods was announced, I was over the moon! Not only was it Joss, but basically an all star cast, couldn't wait to see it... Finally I got the opportunity, I even made Mark watch it with me, such was my belief in the greatness of this film...

It just wasn't as good as expected... It read like a montage of Buffy and Angel episodes put together to create a movie... If you have seen the episodes at length, it might be different, or maybe you felt the magic because of Joss and the cast? But I didn't... It is the first time since the Dr Horrible blog that he did, that I haven't been well and truly sucked in... You will have to decide for yourself, but I definitely won't be watching it again...

Sheeeeeiittt, and a happy new year!

Holy crap, I just realised that my first post for 2013 was about Katy Perry... Sigh... I'm so sorry! I had in mind that I would continue blogging through the holidays, but with the in laws, extreme lethargy, sorting out our house (making way for Mace's inevitable big boys bed!), it has just escaped me... The Christmas break doesn't feel anything like a break this year! Hopefully by next year Mark will be tattooing full time and he won't have a forced two weeks off and we can use the holiday as an actual holiday to go somewhere warm in winter!

Anyways 2012 was a brilliant year for us, looking forward to 2013 being more of the sane, but with a childless trip to Vegas!!! Wishing you all good health and happiness!

Katy Perry - Part of me and a bit of hip hop chat...

I need to make a few points before I begin... I went to Raise the Roof at the Espy last night with my girl Kelly... Briggs and The Funkoars absolutely smashed it... They really need a Golden Era show, like the scale of Supafest, but just their crew, would be crazy... That lot are seriously the cream of the crop right now! It was surprisingly quiet, and the crowd was random at best! Because of this night out, I am suffering an extreme hangover, and desperately needed something mindless to sit with... Cue Katy Perry DVD...

I am not a fan of her music, there is one song of hers that I don't mind, but that's it... It's her voice that has just an irksome tone, it makes me crazy... However as a human, she is hilarious... Loved her in the sesame st song and on SNL she was funny to the point of being an actual comedian! I also adore Russell Brand and thought they were a cute couple, even though they clearly got married far too quickly! So her Part of me DVD is a take on that tour, all of it, including the break up... It had me in tears (this is hangover emotion), I can't imagine losing my husband, certainly not so publicly, I was really impressed with how she put it across... I was also impressed with how often she didn't wear make up in the DVD, she has a really pretty face! If you are a fan of her, or her music, or of Russell Brand, watch it...