Tropical Mum

Friday Funny: Pam Ayres

2012-01-26T22:14:00.000+10:00

It's (almost) Friday, a day for winding down, for looking forward to the weekend. It's a great time to share a laugh and a giggle, so on Fridays I like to share something funny with you, and I hope you'll join in the fun.

So, the idea is to share anything that is humorous. It can be a funny post you've written in the past or present, a video you've found, a joke you've heard, a funny picture...anything that tickles your funny bone.

My mother-in-law sent this video to me one day, and it cracked me up. As Pam says, "it's about the person we all know...who knows it all". Of course, I personally don't know anyone who would fit this description, but I thought you might enjoy Pam Ayres with her poem, They Should Have Asked My Husband.

So, if you want to link up, here are the rules:

If you're new here, follow Tropical Mum via RSS Feed, email subscription or Google Friend Connect.
Share your funny on your blog and link up below.
Don't forget to put the Friday Funny badge on your side bar or in your blog post.

Visit some of the other bloggers who've linked up and spread the comment love.

It's that simple.

Bakers Delight Giveaway Winners

2012-01-26T21:22:00.001+10:00

And the winners of the $5 Bakers Delight Vouchers are:

Nat - Muddy Farmwife
Emily
Linda McDowell
Eleise bott

My boys really liked the idea of taco mince wraps and (pneumonia) schnitzel sandwiches, and peanut butter anything is always a hit with MisterEight.

Thanks for entering, I'll be in touch with the winners via email to get postal addresses.

PAWT4EU3W74U

Decisions, Decisions...

2012-01-24T11:42:00.003+10:00

For most of my life, decisions have been made for me. I don't mean that I've been under the power of some oppressive force that has dictated how I live my life. What I mean is that the right path was often so obvious that the actual decision seemed to be not even worthy of deliberation. The decisions were no-brainers. Here are some examples:

My choice of husband - I met him in Canada and after almost a year into our relationship, we were separated involuntarily by immigration issues; we loved each other, so that took away any choice in the matter. I travelled halfway around the world to be with him, and that was that.
Choosing a country to live in - Easy, we chose the one with the most work opportunities and the one with immigration laws that wouldn't force us to marry before we were ready.
Deciding it's time to get married - Will proposed and after a couple of years of engagement, I made him choose a date. We married in Fiji in 2000, and despite the coup that raged on around us, it was the best wedding ever.
Choosing to start a family - One day we just thought it's time to stop taking preventative measures. It was high time after 10 years together and 2 years married and we didn't have to think about it too much. I was 14 weeks along before I even realised I was pregnant.
Choosing to be a stay-at-home-mum - A few weeks before I realised I was pregnant, I was made redundant from a demanding career. My decision to be at home with my little one was not mine to make. With a burgeoning tummy and my first trimester already gone, I didn't have much of a chance of resuming my career any time soon.
Choosing to move to Cairns from Sydney - This did involve multiple lists of pros and cons weighing up between Wellington, Vancouver, Fiji, Cairns and Sydney, but the pros definitely pointed to Far North Queensland.
Choosing to re-enter the work force - When it came time to go back to work, opportunities presented themselves at the right times. I became a Virtual Assistant by answering an ad on Seek.com.au
Choosing to start my own business - When things weren't going my way on the job, it was time to go out on my own. I was forced into the decision by circumstance, not because I had any particular desire to be a small business owner.

Once you've got the big decisions sorted in your life, it seems that the smaller ones cause you more worry than is really necessary.

I've been offered an opportunity through work that doesn't sit well with me for a number of reasons. I've been losing sleep over it. It's all I've been thinking about for days, but in the grand scheme of things, it is not important. If I don't take this opportunity, other opportunities will come up. It's not the end of the world.

So why do I feel the need to turn it over and over in my mind? Why do I have to make a mountain out of a molehill? Maybe it's because with all the big choices that have been presented to me so far, the path was lit in bright lights and flashing arrow signs, so I've been a bit lazy in the decision making process. When there's no obvious right path, I'm at a loss. I think I'm going to have to go with my gut on this one.

How do you make decisions? Do you approach them differently depending on their impact?

PAWT4EU3W74U

Sunday Session: Making Plans for Nigel

2012-01-22T09:55:00.000+10:00

On Sundays, I join Thea at Do I Really Wanna Blog? in popping some music on the blog. The rules are: there are no rules!
Old or new or in between. Related or not.
But always songs you love!
Here are my picks for this week.
You can play along by linking up with Thea.
Happy Sunday!

My mom used to buy music compilation tapes from K-tel (for the Australian readers, this could be equated to buying the So Fresh or 100% Hits music compilations). There was one I used to play repeatedly. I think I actually wore it out. To this day, whenever I hear the songs that were on that tape, it reminds me of all the other favourites that were part of the compilation, and I wish I could get my hands on a copy of it in CD/MP3 format.

Here's one of my favourites from that tape, it's XTC with Making Plans for Nigel.

What's caused me to think of this golden oldie? Well, today when I went to my Sunday Session Ideas File, I found this newer one from Nouvelle Vague. I think I love it as much as the original version, and that's saying a lot!

It's your turn, why don't you find a favourite song or two, post them on your blog and link up with Thea. It's easy and fun. Through Sunday Session, I've been exposed to so many fabulous songs I never would have found otherwise. If you don't have a blog, then I still recommend you head over to Thea's to check out what others have shared this week.

Friday Funny: I'm the Real Joker

2012-01-19T22:18:00.002+10:00

It's almost Friday, a day for winding down, for looking forward to the weekend. It's a great time to share a laugh and a giggle, so on Fridays I like to share something funny with you, and I hope you'll join in the fun.

So, the idea is to share anything that is humorous. It can be a funny post you've written in the past or present, a video you've found, a joke you've heard, a funny picture...anything that tickles your funny bone.

We used to be joke tellers. Whenever at a gathering, Will would tell some joke and 'embellish' it beyond all belief, stringing listeners on for ages and then...promptly forget the punch line. He was notorious for it. When he started to tell a joke, we would all groan, but then listen intently hoping that this time it would be different and he'd remember the funny bit.

In my opinion, I was better at the joketelling, I caught people by surprise (because Will was the outgoing one in unfamiliar company), and unlike my dear hubby, I remembered the punch line.

So this week I thought I'd share a few knee-slappers:

One morning, Kevin wakes up to find his dog dead, lying next to his bed. He can't quite believe it, so decides to take him to the vet. The Vet takes one look at the dog and says, "Kevin, I'm truly sorry, but your dog is dead."

"No. He can't be dead. I demand a second opinion!" replies Kevin.

The doctor nods and agrees. He goes into the back room and brings out a cat. The cat jumps all over the dog, bites it, looks at the vet and says, "Meow."

The vet again says, "I'm sorry but your dog is truly dead."

Kevin says, "No!, I don't believe it, I want another opinion."

The vet nods and brings out a Labrador Retriever, which then begins to jump all over the dead dog, tugging at it before barking, "Woof roof woof!"

The vet says, "Sir, your dog is dead. That will be 400 dollars."

"To tell me my dog is dead?" asks Kevin.

"Well," the vet replies, "I charge 50 dollars, the cat scan is 200 and the lab test is 150 dollars..."

Here's one that my dad used to enjoy telling:

Three guys die and end up at the gates of heaven, talking to St. Peter.

"So," Peter asks the first guy, "how many times did you cheat on your wife?"

"None. I had a perfect marriage."

"Great," says Peter. "You get to cruise around heaven in a Mercedes. And you, how many times did you cheat on your wife?"

"Only twice, I think," says the second guy.

"Okay. You get to cruise around heaven in a Cadillac. And you, how many times did you cheat on your wife?"

"12 times. Maybe 13," says the third guy.

"Okay," says Peter. "You get a rusty Ford."

Later that day, the guy in the Cadillac sees the guy in the Mercedes crying.

"What's wrong?"

"I just saw my wife."

"So?"

"She was riding a skateboard."

And a small riddle for you:

Q: What do you call cheese that's doesn't belong to you?
A: Nacho Cheese.

Not a joke we used to tell obviously, but I find although I'm a dog person I just love internet cats, so I couldn't resist.

So, if you want to link up, here are the rules:

If you're new here, follow Tropical Mum via RSS Feed, email subscription or Google Friend Connect.
Share your funny on your blog and link up below.
Don't forget to put the Friday Funny badge on your side bar or in your blog post.

Visit some of the other bloggers who've linked up and spread the comment love.

It's that simple.

What did you do over the summer holidays? + Bakers Delight Giveaway

2012-01-19T11:10:00.004+10:00

We're nearing the end of school holidays. On Monday, the teachers will ask our boys what they did over the break. Of course, they will have a heap of activities that they can tell their teachers about:

Swimming at our local pool with their friends
Swimming at the Rocks with their friends and also as a family
Playing at the Adventure Playground and Swimming at Paradise Palms with their friends
Seeing Arthur Christmas at the cinemas
Swimming at Crystal Cascades as a family
Walks along Trinity Beach with their dad
Secret trips for ice cream at McDonalds with their dad
Swimming at Stoney Creek with their friends and also as a family
Seeing Chipwrecked at the cinemas with their friends
Having a day at the park with their friends

Here is some video evidence of one of these holiday activities:

And do you know what they're going to say in response to their teachers' questions?

"We played on the Wii."

...sigh.

You might have noticed in the video, our active kids were nibbling on the Mini Cheesymite Scrolls from Baker's Delight. Bakers Delight has asked me to let you know that on Australia Day 2012 for the first time, Bakers Delight are giving away a FREE Mini Cheesymite Scroll to all customers that come into their bakeries across the country (no purchase necessary.)

In addition to this exciting news, they've handed over some $5 vouchers to give away to four lucky readers!

I'm always stuck for ideas for sandwich fillings when the school year starts, so this giveaway requirement is a little self-serving; all you have to do is:

Tell me in a comment your favourite sandwich idea to feed the hungry munchkins during the school year.

Rules:

The giveaway is open to Australian residents only.
Giveaway ends on 25 January 2012 @ 9pm Brisbane Time.
Winners will be chosen by a panel of judges consisting of MisterEight and MasterSix (based on delectableness of the sandwich filling idea) and notified by email.
If one or more of the winners do not claim their prize within 48 hours of being notified, a new winner(s) will be drawn.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.

Disclaimer: I was given a complimentary loaf of bread and a six-pack of Mini Cheesymite Scrolls to sample.

Wordless Wednesday: Weeds and Mud

2012-01-18T08:03:00.000+10:00

Taking part in Wordless Wednesday at My Little Drummer Boys.

While I tackled this:

they did some 'gardening'.

Listography: Top 5 Tips for Bloggers

2012-01-17T05:30:00.022+10:00

The lovely Kate is asking us to share our Top 5 Tips for Bloggers in this week's Listography. This blog is a bit over two years old, and it's come a long way since the day it gained its very first reader. I'm still learning new things everyday, but here goes:

Include Photos - I include this one purely for selfish reasons. I love photos. I am a bit of a Nosey Parker, and I like to have a glimpse into your life. Also, they're pleasing to the eye; even stock photos of lovely flowers and kittens (OK, maybe not kittens) help to break up the text.
Find Your Best Way to Read Blogs - I struggled with this one for the longest time. It's not all about your blog, it's about connecting with other bloggers too. Following, reading and commenting on other blogs is all part of it.

1000+ unread posts, not blogs followed, folks!

I used to follow blogs on Google Friend Connect (and I still do, but usually that's for the blog owner's sake, so [s]he can get a kick out of having a new follower if that sort of thing floats his/her boat). Then I tried Google Reader, but I found that I just found it too overwhelming to keep on top of it all, so I never went there. Then I tried just keeping tabs on the blogs on my blog roll, but I also found that wasn't compelling enough to make me read consistently.

Now, if the blogger has enabled it, I follow via email subscription. Every morning I wake to an abundance of email messages with the treasured words of all my favourite bloggers contained therein. I don't read them all everyday, but I quickly glance to see if the title and first few paragraphs interest me. The result is that I consistently read and comment on those blogs. It is more engaging than popping in to 365 blogs once every year. So if you don't have email subscription enabled, please go do it now, so that I can follow your blog!
Your Blog is Beyond Compare - Don't compare yourself to other bloggers. The wonderful thing about blogs, and especially personal ones, is that you are sharing a little piece of you. You are unique and so is your blog. People read because they enjoy what you share. If XYZ blog is raking in the advertising money and has over 1000 followers, well that's fine, but beating yourself up about the fact that you have a more modest following and are yet to be offered a new car to review is not good for your blogging mojo.
Write Because You Enjoy It - Blogging is supposed to be fun. If you're not having fun, you're not going to find anything to write about day in and day out. If you find you're writing to appease the masses, then blogging might lose some of its appeal for you or you may lose your authenticity. I try to imagine myself in a conversation with one or two of my favourite readers; it helps me to avoid trying to please everyone.
Keep the Positivity - There is negativity everywhere. It is unavoidable, but you can do your best not to bring it into your world. Don't get involved in flame wars, talk about people as if they will read your blog, because you never know, they might. Personally I won't actively follow a blog that writes negative content all the time. If what I read makes me feel rotten, why should I continue to read it? Sure, I like snarky, sarcastic, and cranky blogs, but there has to be a bit of funny, not just nasty and poisonous words. Of course I don't mean that we all need to write about rainbows and lollipops, but I like the cathartic posts to be peppered with a bit of 'light at the end of the tunnel'. I'm human; I like a happy ending.

There's my five; I hope they were of some use to you. Kate's not letting us off the hook, even if you've been blogging for a short time, she wants to hear your Top 5 Tips for Bloggers. We all have something to share. Go on. Link up!

52 Week Project: Making Exercise a Habit

2012-01-16T08:06:00.000+10:00

Along with a lot of other people I'm sure, I've made exercise my focus since the beginning of the new year. So far, it is two weeks in and I have walked or exercised every day except one day that was raining (and I was being too unimaginative to come up with an alternate form of exercise).

The numbers on the scale haven't decreased, but I feel better. I know I'm doing something positive for my health, and given my history with the Big C, that is way more important than whether I can fit into my skinny jeans.

I've seen some glorious sunrises, I've come to recognise some of my neighbours out walking their pooches, and my mood has improved greatly. A couple more weeks, and I should have this exercise thing down as my new habit for January. Then it's on to February and the formation of an additional habit, the healthy eating habit.

Taking part in My Mummy Daze' 52 Week Project. Sonia at Life Love and Hiccups is our gracious host while Fiona is having a bloggy break.

Sunday Session: Sondre Lerche

2012-01-15T08:17:00.000+10:00

A few years back, I managed to escape my motherly duties for a bit of quality time at the cinema. I saw Dan in Real Life, which was an enjoyable movie, but there were a few songs on the soundtrack that made me prick up my ears to listen closely. I made special effort to watch the credits to see who the artist was so that I could find more music from this talented person/band. I noted in my notebook that it was Sondre Lerche.

Some time later I got hold of the movie's soundtrack, and here are a few of my favourite songs from that album. The first one is the one that really got my attention during the film: Modern Nature. It is just so upbeat and cheerful, you can't help but feel good when you hear this song.

This next song is just vocals and guitar, and I've come to realise that I really love acoustic music. It's simple and really shows that an artist has talent that doesn't require all the enhancing with the technical wonders of modern music. Here's My Hands Are Shaking.

And here is an excellent cover of Peter Townshend's Let My Love Open the Door.

Now the silly thing is that even after hearing a number of tracks with this bloke singing main vocals, my brain just refused to click. For years now, I have thought that Sondre Lerche was female. I think it's mainly due to the fact that Modern Nature included a female voice, and frankly his first name sounds like a girl's name to me! But no, he is Norwegian, and Sondre is probably a popular boys' name in Norway, and I have just demonstrated my complete ignorance of all things Norwegian. Never mind.

It's your turn, why don't you find a favourite song or two, post them on your blog and link up with Thea. It's easy and fun. Through Sunday Session, I've been exposed to so many fabulous songs I never would have found otherwise. If you don't have a blog, then I still recommend you head over to Thea's to check out what others have shared this week.

Friday Funny: A Bit of Fry and Laurie

2012-01-13T08:12:00.001+10:00

It's Friday, a day for winding down, for looking forward to the weekend. It's a great time to share a laugh and a giggle, so on Fridays I like to share something funny with you, and I hope you'll join in the fun.

So, the idea is to share anything that is humorous. It can be a funny post you've written in the past or present, a video you've found, a joke you've heard, a funny picture...anything that tickles your funny bone.

I've shared this video ages ago on Twitter, but it amuses me so much that I couldn't pass up sharing it with you here. Here's A Bit of Fry and Laurie with 'Your name, sir?'

As usual, I got sidetracked watching all the related videos. Here's another funny sketch from Fry and Laurie, 'This woman is very upset'.

Finishing up with a bit of musical humour with Hugh Laurie's 'Sophisticated Song'.

So, if you want to link up, here are the rules:

If you're new here, follow Tropical Mum via RSS Feed, email subscription or Google Friend Connect.
Share your funny on your blog and link up below.
Don't forget to put the Friday Funny badge on your side bar or in your blog post.

Visit some of the other bloggers who've linked up and spread the comment love.

It's that simple.

Achacha...Bless You! Trying a New Tropical Fruit

2012-01-09T09:19:00.000+10:00

With school holidays comes the company of the little people on my weekly grocery shop. It's the luck of the draw whether I will have little angels or little devils with me, depending on their mood and attention span. My grocery shop is made more complicated by the fact that, in my endeavour to save money on my produce, I go to the farmer's market as well as the supermarket. This prolongs the shopping experience for the kids, which is rarely a good thing.

We start off at the market, but we don't start the fruit and veg shopping until we've had a snack at the Filipino food stall. Once spring rolls and chicken wings have been consumed with gusto, it's on to the shopping.

In order to keep their attention, this past week, I gave them a 'quest'. They had to find the most exotic fruit or vegetable so that we could learn something about it and hopefully try something new.

We found mango melon, rambutan, mangosteen and achacha. No I didn't just sneeze, we actually found a fruit called achacha. According to the little information leaflet that the fruiterer gave me: "The Achacha is a traditional New Year fruit in the tropical Amazon Basin of Bolivia. Now eco-friendly grown in North Queensland, Australia, it has a unique combination of flavours."

Achacha

We tried some yesterday, and although the leaflet advised that they were easy to open by simply piercing the skin and popping them open, we needed a little practice.

Our second go at opening the Achacha.

They taste a bit like a grape with a unique aftertaste. I found mine was made up of quite a lot of seed and not a lot of flesh, but it was refreshing and a little tart. The leaflet suggests the white pulp would "add a refreshing zing to your green salad and an extra flavour to your fruit salad."

The boys enjoyed them, but as they weren't really satisfied after the few that I gave them, we got stuck into the mangosteens, a favourite of mine from the short time I lived in Sri Lanka as a child. If you've never tried them, these too taste a bit like grapes, but juicier. The mangosteens were gobbled up within seconds.

Mangosteens

A bit smooshed, but tasty!

So there you have it, what started out as a way to keep little minds occupied during a tedious shopping trip ended up in a new taste experience for this mum and her kids.

For those of you in the Cairns area, you can get the achachas and mangosteens at a stall located near the centre of Rusty's Market, closer to the Sheridan Street side. Choose achachas that are darker orange in colour and with smooth skin. DO NOT refrigerate these little guys, don't ask me why, it just says so on the leaflet.

Have you tried anything new lately? If you have kids, what strategies do you use to keep them from running riot in the market or supermarket?

Sunday Session: Time to Get Moving!

2012-01-08T09:15:00.000+10:00

You might recall from earlier this week that I've committed to making exercise a habit. I enjoy walking while listening to music, so I have a playlist on my iPod that includes songs that get me moving. Here are two songs on that playlist that whenever I hear them while walking or jogging, I automatically start to pick up the pace. This first song has a family-friendly version (but weirdly, the video is quite unfamily-friendly), but whenever I hear it, it just sounds wrong, so here's the version I have on my iPod. [Warning: Coarse Language]

This next song is purely instrumental (percussion) dance music, but you simply cannot listen to this song and not move your body, it's impossible.

In order to keep motivated during her quest to eat well and get moving, Thea has started a Facebook group called Eat Well & Move! There's also a Twitter hashtag: #2012TheYearofFitandHealthy. If you're trying to change your eating habits and get off the couch, come join the group! We're sharing useful links, discussing what we're doing to get fit, and we're cheering each other on. We're your own personal cheerleading squad!

Now back to Sunday Session, it's your turn, why don't you find a favourite song or two, post them on your blog and link up with Thea. It's easy and fun. Through Sunday Session, I've been exposed to so many fabulous songs I never would have found otherwise. If you don't have a blog, then I still recommend you head over to Thea's to check out what others have shared this week.

Friday Funny: Punctuation and Language

2012-01-06T07:19:00.000+10:00

It's Friday, a day for winding down, for looking forward to the weekend. It's a great time to share a laugh and a giggle, so on Fridays I like to share something funny with you, and I hope you'll join in the fun.

So, the idea is to share anything that is humorous. It can be a funny post you've written in the past or present, a video you've found, a joke you've heard, a funny picture...anything that tickles your funny bone.

This video was shared with me by a virtual assistant acquaintance, so I thought I would share it with you here; my blogger friends might also appreciate the literary humour. Here's Victor Borge with Phonetic Pronunciation.

While we are talking about the English language and its punctuation, it segues nicely into this funny commercial about language.

So, if you want to link up, here are the rules:

If you're new here, follow Tropical Mum via RSS Feed, email subscription or Google Friend Connect.
Share your funny on your blog and link up below.
Don't forget to put the Friday Funny badge on your side bar or in your blog post.

Visit some of the other bloggers who've linked up and spread the comment love.

It's that simple.

Wordless Wednesday: Cairns Botanic Gardens

2012-01-04T10:52:00.002+10:00

Taking part in Wordless Wednesday at My Little Drummer Boys and Live and Love...Out Loud.

52 Week Project: Christmas Revisited

2012-01-02T12:23:00.000+10:00

We were out at the Botanical Gardens yesterday, and there's a new Visitors Centre that is made up almost purely of reflective surfaces. This building is not good for my ego, because as I tried to get a shot of my reflection in the glass, a headshot, I accidentally took a shot of my tummy.

I have had two babies, and my poor tummy didn't fare well through those pregnancies, but there's only so much I can chalk up to baby belly, the rest of my girth can be attributed to the overindulgences of Christmas and the fact that I have fallen out of the habit of exercising.

So rather than make a bunch of resolutions that I will have forgotten by the end of January, I am simply going to try what Leo Babauta of Zen Habits suggests: I am going to re-adopt the habit of exercise. Exercise always makes me feel wonderful afterwards, so I really don't know how it is that I was able to fall out of such a great habit. I plan to rectify that over the next month. Hopefully after the month is up, my exercise habit will be in place, and I can start on forming a healthy eating habit. Wish me luck!

Taking part in My Mummy Daze' 52 Week Project. The linky is not up yet, but Sonia at Life Love and Hiccups will be our gracious host while Fiona is having a bloggy break.

Sunday Session: Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T09:25:00.000+10:00

This week's session is really about New Year's Eve, and we in Australia are already in 2012, but as a lot of my readers are still to have their New Year's Eve, I reckon it's still timely. This next artist was a favourite of my mom's. Here's Diana Krall's version of New Years Eve.

I came across this version on Facebook from a shared link from Oh Deary Me. I actually prefer this version I think, as Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt sing it in a more upbeat manner.

And to ring in the New Year, you can't go past Auld Lang Syne, which was a poem from Dad's favourite poet, Robbie Burns, and the song here is sung by one of my favourite bands, the Bare Naked Ladies.

On New Year's Day
and the whole year through,

I hope the kindness
you've given to others
returns many times to you.

May hope, love, and warmth
be in your heart's possessing,
and may the New Year
bring you and yours
many blessings.

Happy New Year!!!

~Author Unknown

Now it's your turn, why don't you find a favourite song or two, post them on your blog and link up with Thea. It's easy and fun. Through Sunday Session, I've been exposed to so many fabulous songs I never would have found otherwise. If you don't have a blog, then I still recommend you head over to Thea's to check out what others have shared this week.

Friday Funny: Danny Bhoy

2011-12-30T08:23:00.000+10:00

It's Friday, a day for winding down, for looking forward to the weekend. It's a great time to share a laugh and a giggle, so on Fridays I like to share something funny with you, and I hope you'll join in the fun.

So, the idea is to share anything that is humorous. It can be a funny post you've written in the past or present, a video you've found, a joke you've heard, a funny picture...anything that tickles your funny bone.

I was trying to find something with a New Year's theme, but got sidetracked with this Scottish comedian. I've never seen him before, but apparently he spends a fair amount of his time in Australia. Here he is doing his Irish accent.

In the next clip, he talks about what it would have been like if Noah had come to Scotland to gather up the animals.

And this last clip is about the fauna in Australia and a run-in with the Fruit Police. [Warning: Coarse Language]

So, if you want to link up, here are the rules:

If you're new here, follow Tropical Mum via RSS Feed, email subscription or Google Friend Connect.
Share your funny on your blog and link up below.
Don't forget to put the Friday Funny badge on your side bar or in your blog post.

Visit some of the other bloggers who've linked up and spread the comment love.

It's that simple.

When You're a Mum, Making Friends Can Be Difficult

2011-12-29T08:33:00.000+10:00

It's hard to make friends once you're a mother.

In the Pre-kid Work World

All you do to make friends is go out for drinks on a Friday night with a few girls from work. Before long, inhibitions are cast aside, you've got a common love of hating your boss and by the end of the night you're at the night club, dancing around your handbags, besties forever.

Then you trade in your dancing shoes for house slippers and a burp cloth over the shoulder, and suddenly the friend-making dynamic changes.

Mothers' Group

I think she put my nappy on backwards.

This is your first attempt at making friends as a parent. You're completely sleep deprived, you still fumble with putting nappies on this foreign being that cries all the time, and requires attaching to your breast at regular intervals. You desperately want to look like you know what you're doing, so you put on your best face. Everyone else is putting on their best face too. If you're lucky, someone will put her baby's nappy on backwards, and you'll realise that she's just like you. If you're on the ball, you can chat to her and compare parenting mess-ups, and she'll be your bestie forever, but you do have to be quick, because every one of the mums in the room will want to be her friend too.

Play Group

Once your child grows older, you start to determine your friendship with another mum by how many children she has (too many or too few in comparison to you and you're on different wavelengths completely), what age her children are, whether she has the same values as you as a parent and whether your children get along (it just won't work out if her little Sally is always beating your little Jimmy about the head with a toy hammer). And of course, once all those factors are favourable, you still have to get over the fact that you're both putting on your best mum face. So you have to spend a fair amount of time with the mum before figuring out if she's your sort of friend.

School Mums

In the first year of your oldest child's schooling, everyone is scrambling to find friends. It's like musical chairs. If you don't act quickly, you'll be left standing. After the first year, everyone has their little groups and they're not looking for new friends. Oh, you'll have new mums that come to the school, but the parents from that first year will be comfortable in their circles. Then, whether your children get along becomes really important, because your child becomes more choosy about his friends, and will outright refuse to play with Sally anymore because she's a girl or because she's always hitting him about the head with a toy hammer. So your circle of potential friends has been reduced to the mums of your child's friends.

If you do start to get to know the mum of your child's friend, and she's your sort of mum (you can tell this from the first time she says, "My children are driving me up the wall with all their bickering" or "I had to borrow from my son's piggy bank when the tooth fairy visited last night"), keep this friend...

...because when you're a parent, making friends is nigh on impossible.

Wordless Wednesday: Exploring at the Beach

2011-12-28T07:37:00.000+10:00

Taking part in Wordless Wednesday at My Little Drummer Boys.

Mum, come look!

Looking not enough, must handle crab.

Not sure about this.

I can do it.

Cooking Up a Storm This Christmas

2011-12-27T17:49:00.002+10:00

For those who celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful day!

Our day started with MasterSix coming in for cuddles, but not before checking out the presents under the tree. Then we waited patiently for MisterEight to wake up. As 7:30 a.m. came and went, we were wondering what was wrong with him that he wasn't champing at the bit to see if Santa came, but he told us later that he'd already snuck out at 1 a.m. to find that Santa had left a truckload of presents under the tree, all under the not-so-watchful eye of his father who was snoring on the couch. Secure in the knowledge that Santa had indeed made a visit, he went back to bed and had a nice sleep-in, much to the frustration of his little brother.

Santa was generous this Christmas, and he was very wise in his choice of presents for our boys. Despite the ignored request of a Nintendo DS, a puppy and a mobile phone, they were over the moon with a couple of Club Penguin figurines and a Nerf gun each, and some Mighty Beanz. The biggest hit of all was the 10-in-1 games table from Mum and Dad (which is a good thing considering six months of fortnightly visits to the lay-by counter to pay it off in very small increments in order to avoid bringing it home, where curious boys could discover it).

After opening the presents from Santa, we had a quiet day in, with most of us only getting dressed late in the day, and as Will got new PJs from Santa, I don't think he ever did change into daytime clothes.

I've spent most of the last few days cooking. On Christmas Eve, I made Festive Reindeer Neenish Tarts, but have since decided that I don't care for neenish tarts as they were too sweet. Still, the boys loved the reindeer faces.

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Pumpkin pie is one of my favourite foods so I decided that this Christmas, rather than pining for this delicious treat (it isn't as popular here in Australia as it is in Canada, so it's harder to come by), I would get some pumpkin and make the pie myself. I cheated and used store-bought pie and tart crusts, but the doubled recipe for the filling made two pies and six tarts. We had one pie on Christmas and brought the other to our brother-in-law's family for a Boxing Day get-together. They were a hit, and I've decided that this is our new Christmas tradition. The menu for Christmas dinner will chop and change as the mood takes me, but I'll try always to make pumpkin pie at Christmas time.

For Christmas lunch/dinner I roasted a duck, and you might recall that I was a bit nervous about cooking a duck for the very first time. I spent hours poking and turning our duck so that it wouldn't turn out too greasy, only to realise that the duck used in this recipe must have been way bigger than the one I bought, so it only made it halfway through before I realised it was getting overcooked. No matter, the gravy (I didn't use the glaze in the recipe, because I make awesome gravy), the rosemary and thyme roasted potatoes, the wild rice, the baby asparagus, the sweet potato* and the broccoli were all so delicious that no one noticed the taste and texture of the overdone duck.

For our Boxing Day lunch, I made Prawn, Avocado and Mango Salad and a made-up Wild Rice Salad from leftover this and that.

Today, we had fresh tropical fruit salad with yoghurt for breakfast and for lunch we had ham, garlic mushrooms and hash browns, made up with leftovers from Boxing Day lunch.

So after all that cooking, if I don't see the inside of that kitchen again for a few days, it would suit me just fine.

How was your Christmas? What did you do, who did you spend it with what did you eat?

*One thing to note about sweet potato done with marshmallow topping is that coloured marshmallows (the only ones I seem to be able to find here in Australia) do not look appetising when melted. They resemble swamp coloured sludge, which I had to scrape off the top so that I could salvage the sweet potato underneath. Never mind, the mashed sweet potato was delicious with its hint of maple syrup.

Friday Funny: The Christmas Edition

2011-12-22T22:00:00.000+10:00

It's almost Friday, a day for winding down, for looking forward to the weekend. It's a great time to share a laugh and a giggle, so on Fridays I like to share something funny with you, and I hope you'll join in the fun.

So, the idea is to share anything that is humorous. It can be a funny post you've written in the past or present, a video you've found, a joke you've heard, a funny picture...anything that tickles your funny bone.

Matt Damon dressed up as Santa Claus to support water.org's efforts to solve the clean water crisis. This video will make you ho ho ho.

And this one is for my mother in law, who I think would appreciate this clever reminder of why many people are celebrating at this time of year.

So, if you want to link up, here are the rules (yours doesn't have to be about Christmas, that's just what mine was about this week):

If you're new here, follow Tropical Mum via RSS Feed, email subscription or Google Friend Connect.
Share your funny on your blog and link up below.
Don't forget to put the Friday Funny badge on your side bar or in your blog post.

Visit some of the other bloggers who've linked up and spread the comment love.

It's that simple.

An Excuse to Eat Popcorn: Arthur Christmas

2011-12-22T05:30:00.000+10:00

As a special treat before Christmas, I took the boys to see Arthur Christmas.

For us, going to the cinemas is mostly about the popcorn, so I forked out the price of our cinema tickets for some and we had it all eaten before the opening credits. I probably should have rented a video, given them homemade popcorn and kept the fifty dollars in my wallet, but I'm just being a Scrooge.

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Who's In It?

There are some pretty famous actors doing the voices, James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Laura Linney, Eva Longoria, Michael Palin, Robbie Coltrane and Joan Cusack.

What's It About?

It's about Santa's son, Arthur, who is a bit of a klutz, so he's relegated to answering letters on Santa's behalf, while his older brother, Steve, runs the very high-tech operations that allow Santa to deliver presents all over the world in one night.

All is going well until one present is forgotten and it is up to Arthur to make sure that a little girl, who is on the verge of giving up her belief in Santa, receives her present.

What's Good About It?

Animation has come a long way since the flipbook animations of yesteryear. Arthur Christmas has some pretty spectacular animation and was definitely done on a grand scale. It managed to hold MasterSix's attention for the entire 97 minutes, but only just. I particularly like the Bryony elf character and her super ability to wrap anything with wrapping paper and only three, count 'em three, pieces of sticky tape. "There is ALWAYS time for a bow", she says. I need her skills in this lead-up to the the big night, as I procrastinate about this dreaded task.

What Could Be Improved?

I found it hard to follow, not the plot, but the 'camera' work, but it's probably not a camera is it? We'll call it the focus. The focus panned so quickly from one thing to the next that frankly I was starting to feel motion sickness. I am particularly susceptible. There were lots of funny bits; I know there were, usually in the form of text written on the screen or on a computer or phone screen, but the focus moved so quickly off them that I didn't get a chance to read them. A child certainly wouldn't have been able to keep up, and I had no hope of being able to read the text to the boys, even though they both can read, just not that fast.

What's The Verdict?

I asked MisterEight whether he enjoyed the movie and he was certain that he did (and it wasn't just because he got to have popcorn), and when asked what it was he enjoyed, he said that it was funny when Steve went to Mexico; he couldn't give me any more than that. MasterSix also enjoyed the movie, when asked what he liked about it, he said when Arthur and GranSanta ended up in Africa. I sense a pattern here.

The boys give it a Thumbs Up, but I wouldn't say it was an enthusiastic one. As for me, I'm looking forward to seeing this one on DVD so that I can catch all the funny bits I missed the first time around. I know there must have been some.

What about you, have you seen any good movies lately? Have you seen this movie? Did you enjoy it?

Wordless Wednesday: Water Play

2011-12-21T05:30:00.003+10:00

Taking part in Wordless Wednesday at Faith Hope & a whole lotta Love and My Little Drummer Boys.

You can't beat a detergent bottle for a squirt gun.

Who's going to make the first move?

Ganging up on Dad

Bringing out the big guns

Daffy for Dinner: What Was I Thinking?

2011-12-20T07:43:00.000+10:00

The other day, the boys and I did the grocery shop. Much of my attention was divided between trying to prevent trolley-casualties to innocent bystanders, breaking up fights and convincing my children that chocolate isn't a food group.

I might be forgiven for being distracted and briefly losing my senses. I passed the frozen food section where the supermarket had brought in, especially for Christmas, turkeys and ducks. I had enough sense to rule out the turkey, because it's only going to be the four of us for Christmas, and I didn't want to be eating turkey for the next two months, but I wasn't thinking clearly when I dropped a frozen duck into the trolley.

"How hard can it be to cook a duck?" I thought to myself. I seemed to have forgotten that roasting things is just not my forte. Sure, I'm not completely hopeless as I once was, but it doesn't come naturally to me.

So here I am only days away from Christmas, and I haven't a clue what I'm going to do with that bird.

I'm off to Google a recipe that I can't mess up. If you know of any good duck recipes, I'm open to suggestions.