Pulp non-fiction

Last night, I lived out a dream that began 16 years ago. When I was 19 years old, the Britpop explosion happened and I used to spend my Saturday nights dancing away at Britpop events. Fairly sad nightclubs with awesome music. It was so, so much fun. My mate at the time and I were there almost every weekend. Funnily enough, Skip was there too was mutual friends but we never crossed paths. Then during the week I'd go to my friend's place and smoke cigarettes and listen to Blur, Supergrass, Oasis, Elastica and, of course, Pulp to the early hours. We'd talk about if Blur were in fact smurfs disguised as humans and I advised him on transforming his blonde ponytail into the right Jarvis mop.

Back in the day when Pulp toured, I was out of the country so missed it. I thought I'd catch them next time. I didn't realise that next time would be when I was 35 and pregnant with my third child!

Over the past years, I've still held a torch for Jarvis and co. Whenever Skip wants to get me in a party mood, he throws on the album Different Class and says I instantly begin to strut like I'm Mick Jagger. Over the years, we've had many a Pulp 'concert' at home and they've been brilliant.

Last night, with a gut out to here and a nasty head cold, I wasn't even sure I was going to make Pulp this time round. But make it I did. I even danced despite the punters who kept bumping into my bump. I don't think I got a strut out, but I definitely bopped and I definitely enjoyed every. single. moment. For a brief moment when Jarvis took the stage and Common People was blaring, I was that 19 year old again, dancing carelessly on a Saturday night.

It was well worth the wait.

Gourmet Dinner Service - a review

Growing up I was always told that whinging won't bring you anything good. It seems this isn't quite true. Apparently, my whinging about being pregnant and tired and feeling 100 caught the attention of the good people at Gourmet Dinner Service. After reading about my state, they emailed me and offered to send me some delicious gourmet meals to make dinner time easier. Gourmet meals delivered to my door? Who was I refuse?

After a look at their online menus and a chat over the phone, we came up with some meals that would suit Skip, me and the kids. I have to admit I was a little wary, I do enjoy cooking and didn't want to end up with meals that weren't as good as my own. Skip was even more wary about it all than I was.

The meals arrived wonderfully packaged in a (recyclable) styrofoam box. I threw them in the freezer and waited for a good opportunity to use them. One Sunday night, tired and over it we tried our first meal. They were easy to heat up and didn't taste too bad at all.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about whether this is a service I would use if it wasn't offered to me. As someone who likes to cook and know what's in my kids' food my first thought was no, I probably wouldn't. After eating the meals, I think I would use the service. Not all the time, but if there was a busy or stressful time ahead, I would definitely consider ordering some meals to make life easier. Sure, you could make meals yourself and freeze them, but I never would do that.

It would make an absolutely wonderful gift to a new mum. A freezer full of meals would be so fabulous in those first few weeks. Give me that any day over a million onesies or teddy bears! Give this to a friend and they will remember it for life, I reckon.

Gourmet Dinner Service also make a range of meal to suit families, couples, kids, singles, small eaters, dieters, etc. This impressed me. It's something I would consider suggesting to my mum, who hates cooking. Visit their website to check out their service.

Euky Bearub winner

I'm pleases to announce the winner of the Euky Bearub is Loulou. Can you please send me your details and I'll get your prize posted to you.

Reality TV binge versus binge drinking

Photo of Audrina from here

While Skip was away last week, I took the opportunity to binge on all the really bad reality shows that he hates. I had the IQ programmed with The Hills, Audrina, Geordie Shore and a whole heap of other crap.

When I say reality, I mean pure crap. I'm not really into The Block or Masterchef or that kind of thing. I need it to be completely vacuous and completely removed from my world. That's why The Hills fits in so well. I love the close-ups as they ponder the conversation they just had about someone snubbing them at a party. I love that their problems are so stupid. With Geordie Shore I'm just flabbergasted. The fashion, the accents, the fake eyelashes and tans. There's so much to take in.

So as the week went on I watched more and more and more.

I discovered that a binge on reality TV is quite a lot like binge drinking. At first it's great and you think: "This is so much fun, why don't I do this all the time?" And then it wears on and you start to feel a little woozy. Then you feel like you might chuck. Then you watch an episode of Pregnant in Heels and that pushes you over the edge, you have to turn it off and go to bed, with images of rich, crazy New Yorkers swirling in your head.  The next morning you're exhausted and sick. You notice there's a new episode of Audrina on the IQ, but your stomach starts to churn. Just the thought makes you feel sick. You vow never to watch that crap again and turn on the episode of Australian Story you'd taped.

Don't worry I'm sure a few days will pass and that episode of Audrina will look appealing once again. Thankfully Skip will be home for a few weeks so I can recover before hitting the box again.

What's your guilty pleasure on TV? 

Happy birthday little lady

Today, my littlest girl turned three. I can't believe it was three years ago that she came into our world. Some days it feels like she's been here forever and other days it feels like no time at all.

Everything about this little lady is surprising. She's patient and smart, yet fiery and impulsive. I never expected to have a child with curly hair, yet here she is with her golden spirals. She's a comedian, naturally funny. She knows how to hold an audience. She gives away kisses and cuddles to anyone she likes the look of, even if she's just met them. Just don't annoy her, cause she will attack. She's a complete Daddy's girl, yet can push his buttons like no-one else.

Three years ago, my obstetrician said there's no way she would be born that day, yet she arrived. As I said, she's surprising.

I love being surprised by her. I love the joy she brings to our lives. I love her sweetness and her sassiness. Most of all, I just love her.


To celebrate the day, we had family and a couple of close friends come by for cake. I'm glad we kept it small as the weather has been so atrocious we had to keep it inside our tiny house. Our little one had the time of her life.

Here are some pix:

What's a party without chocolate crackles?

The girls loved making these flower bikkies.

The fairy garden cake. 

The thing I love most about this cake is the toadstools I made. Strawberries and cream lollies
cut in half, a mini-marshmallow stalk and white icing dots. 

Daddy's girl having a dance with Daddy.

Blowing out all three candles.

The knife came out clean, much to the relief of her cousin.
The girls have cut all of their birthday cakes with our wedding cake knife, I love this tradition we've created.

Winter sniffles, snotty noses (and a giveaway)

My girls have had their fair share of sniffles this winter. There's nothing like being a parent and bearing the full-force of a snotty sneeze. Ah the joys.

I have to say I'm pretty lucky, Lil-lil seems to be past that age where kids pick up every damn bug around as they build up their immune system and Goosey seems to get over her sniffles pretty quickly. Touch wood, we haven't had any croup or the like this year.

A few weeks ago they were all snotty and the inevitable cries in the night rang out. A little while before I'd been sent a tube of Euky Bearub, which promised to be all things kind on sensitive skin. It felt and smelt nicer than the other stuff, I have to admit. It certainly helped one young lass sleep better, that in itself is gold. In fact for about a week, she lifted her PJ top insisting the 'koala cream' be rubbed on.

There has been one other person in our home who's been a frequent user. It may just be that old preggo lady who's got the pregnancy congestion in a big way and is snoring like a tractor. It works, it hasn't cured me but it does help. It smells nice and is not too goopy and sticky. Not waking up stuck to the sheets is always a plus.

I have a Giant Euky Bear to giveaway, I've been told he's almost as big a three-year-old! He comes with a tube of Euky Bearub too, so you can try it for yourself. It's valued at $50.

If you'd like to win, tell me your best snot solutions. This competition is available to Aussie residents only (sorry). Giveaway will end Monday 25 July, 2011 at 11.59pm.

Facing up to the Facebook Fad

For the past couple of weeks, for some unknown reason, I haven't been able to access Facebook (or Twitter or You Tube) from my laptop. Occasionally, during the day, I'll take a peek on my phone. Since this has happened I've found my love affair with Facebook is dying, in fact, I think it might already be dead.

I'll admit there was time where I loved Facebook, I loved checking what people were up to, seeing their photos and reading their thoughts. Now, I find, I just get annoyed when I look. There always seems to be someone pushing some kind of political agenda (which is often different to my own). There's someone playing some stupid game and as fast as I can block them they've found a new game to play. There's someone saying something I think is just plain stupid/racist/sexist. Then there's the parent who updates every time their child moves or wees. Then there's the other person who updates every time the eat or drink at the pub. Then there's the person who vaguebooks (writes a vague status update to capture attention) which has to be at the top of the annoying parts of Facebook.

Don't get me wrong, I've been guilty numerous times of all the above sins. For some reason, it's just not that fun anymore. It's all a bit ho hum. In fact, it's more than that, it's annoying. Funny though, I don't find the same things annoying on Twitter, maybe because it moves a bit faster. Or maybe Tweeps are more savvy and write about the mundane in more entertaining way. I don't know.

I love Facebook for catching up with family and friends overseas and sharing photos. It's often a good way to get in touch with a group of people quickly. But that's about it. I've recently done a cull of "friends" to see if that made it less annoying, but now I'm thinking I might just flick the switch entirely.

Are you a Facebook fanatic? Or do you loathe it?