I suppose if this youtube video (that I happened to hear about on the radio this arvo) was from the States, I would have said "Only in America..".

But we have our own crazy people here too!

Maybe I should just say "Only in Queensland ... where even the mice can surf."

Check them out:



It's worth clicking through to the you tube site and reading the accompanying explanation. (Even if he can't spell that well!)

Here's a link to a second one. which sets the scene a bit more.

Labels: classic

I don't know about you, but, courtesy of my children, who insist on *touching* the monitor screen when they are gesturing towards something on the computer, my monitor screen is well overdue for a clean. I just never seem to get around to it, well, a) because that's my usual M.O. (putting cleaning off) and b) I'm never quite sure what product to use.

So I stumbled across this solution the other day via baby~amore's blog...

Click here for monitor screen cleaning product.

Think I'll order one. Online?

Labels: classic

We went out and bought a $20 bottle of bubbly in anticipation of the result we want in our country's federal election today. If we get to open it, it will top off a pretty good day.

We had a successful outrigger practice this morning, with the experienced outrigger canoe club guys giving us all praise. While I felt it in the arms and back at the time, I think my swimming must help just a bit with the upper body strength.

Alison and Zoe amused themselves by paddling their boogie boards out to the jetty, and lo and behold, Zoe even did the famous jetty jump [as pictured left when Alison did it at a surf camp in January - she is up to about jump #34!]. Zoe, being our Ms Cautious, would be the girl least likely to jump off a jetty a few metres down into deep water, and I'm just cheesed that I missed seeing it! Apparently it was scary enough that she's not planning on repeating it in a hurry - though perhaps I could shame her into it

Seeing we all did so well, we decided we'd earned brunch - or rather an 'all day brekkie' at a local cafe. Yum!

Later in the afternoon Marc, Alison and I got on our bikes, rode to the school to vote, and then across the highway to the next village down to buy the champagne from the bottle shop. What you call optimism, though we reserved the right to drown our sorrows.

Follow that up with a swim at the beach, which always leaves me with an inner warm fuzzy glow, totally chuffed with living in a wonderful spot.

*********
We are cautiously optimistic here at 8.30pm, and Marc's just retrieved the bubbly from the fridge. Won't be game to drink it all tonight as I don't want to be paddling with a headache!! But if I wake up to the news that John Howard has also lost his seat - it's in the balance - I might just have some for breakfast as well.

*CHEERS* TO ALL MY SIMILARLY MINDED BLOGGING FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES!!

Finally, the morally bankrupt Howard government is out!!

Labels: classic

An Honorable Mention is a synonym for 'runner up', or 'consolation prize'.. and 'you didn't actually win, but..." But right here and now, you'd think I'd won an Oscar or an Emmy. (Funny, the first word that sprang to mind there was 'Logie', but at least 50% of people likely to read this wouldn't have had a clue what I was on about.)

I entered Scribbit's Write Away contest for February, with this post... and blow me down if I didn't get an Honorable Mention. I'm so gobsmacked, I'm still picking my jaw up off the ground; I'm incapable of being nonchalantly blasé about it. I'm so chuffed, I'm even spelling "Honorable" the North American way as homage.

I need to thank (and link!) Chilihead for paying my post any attention whatsoever.. particularly when I finally submitted it in the wee hours of the cut off day (North American time.) I will have to be careful of this International Dateline loophole.

I can only assume it was the love-cynic bit that struck a chord, because I still think I need a whole lot of work in terms of succinctness with my writing (and, sheesh, I even had to check I'd made the right noun out of succinct there!) . (Husband's comment: not "hey, go you" or 'awwww shucks, darling...' but "geez didn't leave much out did you?")

Call me needy, but getting a pat on the back for something I've done alright at is .. very.. nice....very ... appreciated....

And, you know, go read everyone else's post, because they're all good. And congrats to Rarely Home Mom who was the winner!! And Janet at Dance Through who also got an honorable mention.

Linkety link link link!

And back to the biking blog tomorrow...

Labels: awwww, classic

(Somehow transcribing the 'Ohohohoh' doesn't really work, does it...you'll see what I mean in a minute...)

Back on Australia Day I was rabbiting on about changing the flag and becoming a republic and all that. As her Australia Day "tribute", strauss over at The Brave posted this youtube video. I confess I didn't get round to watching it at the time- partly because I figured I'd seen Adam Hills sing it before (on Spicks and Specks)

I finally did catch up with it this morning, and couldn't help but laugh. So here it is for anyone who hasn't seen it either. I suppose it will only make sense to any other Aussies, particularly those who grew up with Jimmy Barnes.

I like it.



There you go. While we're becoming a republic, changing the flag, and changing the date of Australia Day, I reckon we should go all out, and change the melody to our National Anthem as well.

And then you might be able to resurrect some Aussie pride in me as well. (When we get our butts out of Iraq, and Howard gets his nose out of up you-know-where...and... and....)

Labels: classic

Well, that's an assumption I probably shouldn't make. Decide for yourself:

http://www.planetdan.net/pics/misc/georgie.htm

Warning. This link can cause dizziness, along with sadistic tendencies you probably didn't realise you had. (And there I was about to do a post against capital punishment... no, no, no.. this isn't capital punishment... just go look, ok, you'll see what I mean...)

Labels: classic

To my two net friends who have just recently started going to the gym in a bid to lose some weight and get fitter.(The two Elizabeths! - in different continents too I might add...and I don't think they will be offended if I add that they are more mature aged than me, so I think what they are doing is terrific!)

I've seen this quite a bit - on other blogs, and, courtesy of having children who record video hits, on the telly - so apologies to those who are probably quite bored with it by now.

I'm just posting it as inspiration. To give Libby and E. something to aim for with the gym, and use of all that equipment!!

Labels: classic, misc

Every now and then a gem turns up in your email inbox that resonates with you. I don't know about inner peace, but I'm constantly berating myself for not finishing things. (Btw, this is either Australian in origin, or Australianised, because she mentions 'Tim Tams") :

"I am passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me and we all could use more calm in our lives.

By following the simple advice I heard on a Dr.Phil show, I have finally found inner peace.

Dr. Phil proclaimed the way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started.

So I looked around my house to see things I started and hadn't finished; and, before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Cardonay , a bole of Baileys, a butle of Kehuha, a pockage of Tim Toms , tha mainder of bot Prozic and Valum scriptins, the res of the Chesescke, some saltins an a baxa cholates.

Yu haf no idr who gud I fel.

*Peas sen dis orn to dem yu fee ar in ned ov inr pece "

Yes. This all resonates with me.. just a bit! On top of my *fine print conditions dictating when I will be ready to begin my 2007 Resolution I am using the sheer injustice of having family members give me chocolates I don't like! as a damn good reason to acquire then finish off 2 blocks of chocolate all by myself. I have also not stinted in my sociable consumption of wine with dinner each night.. to the point where we now have about half a bottle left!

I am sure by the time the wine and chocolate are finished I will have "reached a very special place... spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically..."** I will have finished off all these unfinished things, I will be BETTER!, and I will be ready to exercise again, and I promise I won't start on anything scrumptious and delicious and full of feel-good endorphins [*sob*] that I will need to finish off!

Am I better yet? Hard to say, without jinxing myself, and I am not sure now when to test my luck lung capacity. Marc is getting antsy about how we all need to go bike riding. I am crawling my own personal walls of frustration with it all. I loathe not being active, yet all those weeks of trying to push through this bloody coughing didn't work. Last night I announced (thought) to myself "By gosh, I think I am feeling better..".. then within minutes proceeded to have the worst coughing fits of this whole bloody drawn out saga. To say I am cautious would be an understatement. To say that I can all but feel myself stacking on more kilos, and busting out of my clothes, would also be an understatement.

While I ponder this dilemma.. pass me the Caramello will you please... I need to finish it off.
~~~~
** Captain Jack Sparrow in PotC.

Labels: classic, introspection, sick

I've been meaning to hunt this one down on YouTube for a while.

Enjoy if you haven't seen it before:



It's David Armand of the English comedy sketch group The Hollow Men performing, in character as 'Johann Lippowitz - Austrian Interpretive Dance Artist' with his interpretation of Natalie Imbruglia's Torn.

Labels: classic

Zoe, aged 8, on Wednesday. At their last Kids Touch clinic, they had Santa come to give out lollies. A young bloke dressed up as Santa (so, no, not the most realistic jolly old Santa I've ever seen..)

Zoe brought her stash of lollies up to show me, and said, "The pretend Santa gave them out. You can tell it's not the real Santa."

This from a kid who has never sat on Santa's knee!! (I gave up asking a few years ago...!!) She knows her Santas though.

Labels: Christmas, classic

If you haven't already seen this one... it's worth it.

Labels: awwww, classic

What a crazy day yesterday. Yes, I found the swimmers.

Marc and I have this theory about finding things you have lost or misplaced. A good 90% of the time they are always 'in the first place you looked'. You just never look properly the first time. (Or even the sixth time in my case yesterday.) It's amazing how many times this holds true.

So they were in the car. The first place I looked. Behind one of the folded up seats in the very back. I looked behind the one on the right hand side (where I thought I'd draped the swimmers.) I didn't look behind the one on the left hand side. I don't know why.

So I missed my swimming for no reason. I cried.

And I did a number of other very vague things in the afternoon, as we headed into town for an appointment and then the shops, to the extent that Cait and Ali were shaking their heads and saying "You're seriously losing it Mum!!!" Just before they convinced me to get takeaway KFC for dinner.

I went to bed a bit earlier last night. (Though I had to get up to take some cough medicine around 3.30 am.)

And I took myself for a walk this morning before it got too hot.. (Exercise endorphins are supposed to help,right?.) After a stint in the primary school library- at around 35 degrees outside, and no airconditioning - I would have cheerfully jumped into an ice bath.. (or teleported myself to Northern Girl's place) but I have cooled down now. Thank heavens for our house and the sea breeze we get.

And, thank heavens for little gems that you find on the internet:

This guy started out putting up little videos of him "dancing" when he was travelling overseas.. as a way of keeping in touch with family and friends. A chewing gum company saw them, and approached him (!!!) and funded more travel for more dancing! He put together this video - I guarantee it'll put a smile on your face and make everything seem right with the world for a short time at least.




His name is Matt Harding and his website is called Where the hell is Matt?

And I just found his "Where the hell WAS Matt" on YouTube. Same music, different places. Still funny, but the other one is more polished.

Labels: classic, daily, doh