Arcadia!

Because of reasons!!!

D

Cats vs. Dogs

One of the best things about the internet, in my opinion, is that it sometimes helps make the great distances between you and a good friend, or family member, bearable.  My niece S and I chat often – you know, arb things mostly, sometimes deep philosophical debates, sometimes ridiculous debates.  Unfortunately I never saved the one we had on ‘-ists’ (had to do with pessimists, optimists, surrealists, hedonists...  you know, a lot of ‘ist’s!).  

However, today’s discussion on Cats vs. Dogs was simply too good not to share (at least I thought it was fucking brilliant)

me:  I can promise you that I will never get a dog

S:  lol fair enough

me:  maybe a cat.  I'm a cat person

I think

but (the husband) does not want any animals, ever

S:  serious?

alrighty

me:  Serious, I prefer cats

they not so slobbery and affectionate!

S:  ugh ja, its horrible! all that love and adoration!

me:  shudder!

or, they (cats) not so slobbery with their affection

and they have the power to ward off mummies that have come to life and want to suck my soul out of my body, while munching on scarabs!

see, now can dogs claim the same?

S:  nily...

lol, you take your meds today?

dude what about the puppy power etc??

me:  remember what happened to scrappy!

not so cute anymore huh?

S:  haha, ja, he turns out to be evil .. go figure

ja.. trust me, they arent so cute 3 am whining for affection

ugh

me:  see, what I was saying.  And as for scooby-doo - well, he is not exactly the perfect example of canine intelligence, now is he?

S:  duuuude! hes a dog that can talk! thats awesome!

 Sent at 14:22 on Monday

me:  sorry, I had to leave!

D

Playlist

I hate making my own playlist. 


Let me explain..... No, take too long.... let me sum up!


I like music, but my taste changes constantly. The songs I am nuts about today will annoy the crap out of me tomorrow. Which is where iTunes genius comes in handy.

With one click I can take a particular song I like today and it will find song’s like it and creates a playlist in seconds flat... or that’s what it should do. 


Sometimes its a total miss and I get a “WTF is that? and how did it get on my computer?” moment, (at which stage I am convinced small gremlins with very bad taste in music are breaking into my computer at night and uploading stuff!) 

However, getting back to my playlist, and in this case one that I can listen to over and over again. 

I decided to share the best off that list with my sisters. 

Love you both.

Sometimes life gives you something amazing to help you get through, you’re both that for me.

Most of the time pretty much anything from Creed will find some way to talk to me, or of me.

Then there is this one, 

Again, it don't need no explanation, but one thing I know about this family, no matter what ... WE STAND!! And we do it together.


Which brings me to this one, another group that can pretty much read the phone book to music and I'll love it. But in this case the chorus says it all.

And last but never least, this group jumped into my soul one night and wrote down what I believed in.

Savage Garden - Affirmation (Official Music Video). Watch more top selected videos about: Savage Garden

To Us!

Fill the glass.
Cuz the last few nights have kicked my ass!
If they give you hell,
Tell them Go fuck themselves.
Here's to us.

Confidence

The truth hey!

D

LOL

Again, because of reasons :D

And, for Pet, Dirty Hair Porn ;)

D

Things my Nik taught me

I had to take Alex to the ‘School’ Doctor this morning and, as usual, I had a problem finding a parking space so I ended up parking in a car park.  I parked perfectly within my allocated space, in the nearly empty 3 storey parking house.  After the doc, I got back to the car to find, even though the car park was still nearly empty, and there were hundreds of empty parking spots all around, some idiot had parked his car right next to mine.  When I say ‘right next to mine’, I mean RIGHT next to my car.  Seriously, there was not even 5 cm of space between my side mirror and his!  Of course, this made getting my son into his car seat extremely difficult.  In the end he had to climb over the driver’s seat to get into his own.  I then had to stretch across the car from the other side to secure his seat belt!  I should have listened to my niece Nik!  She parks her car in the middle of two parking spaces, thereby ensuring that she has enough space on either side of her car to make loading and unloading her kids sooooo much easier!

This got me to thinking that I should listen to Nik a lot more.  Here are some of the things I have learnt from my niece:

1. The parking thing!  Instead of parking perfectly within your allocated spot, park perfectly over the line dividing two spots!  This will ensure the ease of kid loading and unloading!
2. Chainsaws are good!  One of the most universal pieces of equipment you are ever going to encounter!
3. Louder is better! And more effective apparently!  A lot of people do not appreciate this, however she is not only disciplining her own kids, she is disciplining the neighbourhood!  A sort of service to the community, if you will.  For example, at the zoo, when her son does something he really should not be doing, she will shout (scream, bellow, break sound records – you know, that sort of thing) “Stop that!!!”  The result?  Not only her son stops, but everyone in the fucking zoo comes to a complete halt!  Even the animals stop what they are doing and pay attention!
4. Sleeping with open eyes is possible!  Scary, but possible!
5. It is also possible to mistake labour, even the final stages of labour, for annoying back pain.  (Of course I have told her that she is not allowed to talk to me about the birth of her first son!  Come on, 20 minutes labour and popping the kid out in the ambulance is so unfair to the rest of us who had to endure more than 10 hours of pain, split nether regions and went from begging, to threatening, to bargaining with the doc just to “Get this kid out of me” – Oh, I might have said ‘thing’ instead of ‘kid’ – but don’t we all?.  However, in my case, the midwife responded by getting coffee.  At first I thought she was quite thoughtful cos I could have done with a cup of coffee, until she dipped a sponge in it and smeared it all over my va-j-j!  I pointed out to her that my mouth was actually up here, and that I would not be drinking that coffee now.  She explained that the coffee actually helped the skin stretch and would ensure that I did not tear too much (did not work!).  My son’s father’s only response to that was “I hope it’s decaf!”)  But, back to Nik:
6. It is possible to open your eyes up to 5 times their normal size!  I have seen Nik glare at someone, and just when I thought her eye lids had reached their limit (by this time they were somewhere in the region of her hairline), she goes and opens them wider!  It’s kind of cool actually, and they don’t pop out! 
7. Piss her off, and it is quite possible that you will discover one of the many uses of the chainsaw!

Best. Dance. Ever.:

D

Bread and Butter Pudding

This was too good not to post!  This is the original bread and butter pudding recipe, as written by THE Aunty!


"Here's the recipe for the bread and butter pudding

Make oven hot 165 I think, oh what the fuck make it 170.

Make sandwiches with bread, butter and jam: strawberry, apricot, raspberry.  
Maybe some of ouma's jam, or what ever the fuck you got in the fridge at the time.
Cut them in triangles place in a oven proof dish, sprinkle with raisins (if
Danae's coming for dinner fuck the raisins)  or you can use cream buns,old
cake or whatever  the fuck you want to use.  Then in a in another bowl, jug,
dish, whatever the fuck you want to use, empty one egg into it then lots of
sugar or vanilla sugar or sugar and vanilla essence,  whatever takes your
fancy.  Add  some milk to it then beat the fucking shit out of it. Pour onto
bread and jam and let stand for  45 min.. oh what the fuck make it 1 hour.
cook until done start eating as you taking it out the oven.

Enjoy mmmmmm

If you have a problem reading this recipe then sorry of you."

Seriously, nearly died laughing when I read this the first time (and the second time, and when I had to read it to Pet, and then again when I read it to A!)

D

I'm a tiger :D

Also, I stumbled across this the other day and I just had to share it. I cannot remember the original source, so I am unable to supply a link (I was at work when I saw this, and since I was supposed to be working, I just quickly copied the jpg and logged off!).  

This is one of the many reasons why I adore Tina Fey!:

D

LOL

I like this because of reasons!

D

Coping Mechanism

A couple of things have happened recently, which have really made me think.  And laugh!

Firstly, my Dad posted this dedication to my sister Pet on Facebook this weekend:

Pet has arachnophobia.  I would call it an ‘unnecessary’ fear to have in Germany, since the only really dangerous spiders we actually get here are the ones that hitch a ride the banana ship from South Africa (true story!  This has actually happened!).  However, since I myself also have a fear, my fear is of rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs…  let’s just say rodents in general (oh yes, and ghosts!  Shut up!), I sort of understand Pet’s pain.  So, when I saw Dad’s dedication on facebook, my first thought was that Pet will never sleep again!  I could just imagine my poor sister desperately trying to remember the last time she threw a shoe at a spider, and just how many spiders could possibly be lurking under her bed “remembering” the shoe incident!  I am surprised she did not pick up the phone screaming:  “Dad, there are spiders under my bed!  I am going to die!”  The story continued to play out in my head, with Dad, the hero, arriving in his army gear complete with grenades and black face paint, and ending with his taking the mini vacuum cleaner and sucking the bastard spider colony up.  Then, once all is calm and Pet is able to set foot inside her room again, I would mention to her the fact that spiders are known to survive the vacuum!  That of course would set off the entire frantic “I’m going to die!” phone call to dad again.  Total random train of thought, but there it is.  Since I am not shipping these days, I am using other coping mechanisms! 

Other thing that happened.  I was sitting at work, working (really!), when I heard this squeaking noise coming from the next desk over.  It actually sounded like the squeaking of a door hinge.  But, there is no door near that desk, nor is there anything else that could possibly have made that sound (or so I thought!).  I considered the possibility of some weird sound throwing/travelling on the wind scientific stuff happening, and was glaring at the open door on the other side of the office when I heard the noise again.  Squeakity-squeak-squeak.   The door had not moved, the noise was definitely coming from the next desk over.  So I turned to the guy sitting at the desk and was about to ask him if he heard the noise when he reached up and rubbed his eye and it squeaked!  Seriously, the squeakity-squeak-squeak was my colleague ‘R’ rubbing his eye!  I mentioned to him that this might not be normal and he may want to go to the doctor and have that checked out.  Please.  Before his eyeball popped out and rolled across the office!   Ok, now this is the unbelievable part.  I think I am going to have to google this, cos R has a tendency to spin a yarn.  But anyway, his response to my concern (and I was concerned, remember – eyeball popping, rolling, squishy.....)  was to tell me that he actually just came from the optometrist where they greased his eyes!  Seriously!  They greased his eyes! Um... so they roll around easier in the socket!  Really!  Ok, I agree, let’s google this one.   However, the only thing I could think to tell R was that he needs more oil, he’s still squeaking! 

He then told me that I now have 349 days till my 40^th birthday!

Anyway, since this is supposed to be a shipping blog, I have decided to post about a ship I am not sure we have mentioned before, but seems to be quite popular (statement based on a single google search!)  Barney and Robin from How I Met Your Mother!  Yeah, I like ‘em too!  Actually, I like both characters, whether or not they are in a relationship with each other, or with someone else, or not at all.  

Yeah, not the funniest or wittiest post - but there it is.  

D

Perfection

Don’t be fooled. This new look does not mean that we are changing our focus! Pet and I are still very much shameless shippers! However, it seems that life’s problems have caught up with us and our normal coping mechanism, our ships, have been put on the back burner. Or, we just don’t have a current ship – well, except for Castle (and, of course, our hots for Beckett!)


I found the following blog entry that I wrote just after the shocking Bones final last year May:

I doubt there is any single Bones fan anywhere in the world, who was not shocked by the season finale!  Right?  I was so shocked that I was unable to even decide if I was happy, sad, angry, scared or resigned.  However, after a lot of thinking, and reading the interviews with HH and RN, I have actually managed to get myself rather excited for the next season!

Yes, I also read a lot of people mentioning the parallels between the X-Files and Bones.  In fact, I was also very loudly complaining in poor sister Pet’s ear about how “HH copied CC, and how it’s all been done, and how I was hoping for some originality” blah, moan, whinge, temper-tantrum, etc...  But, at the end of the day I realised that this could actually be one of the main reasons why I love Bones so much?!  Despite the lack of sex (which is my favourite complaint), I loved the way the X-Files was handled.  

I never posted it, but reading it now I feel sad to realise that the optimism that I had then no longer exists. As far as Booth and Bones go, I am of the “whatev’s” opinion. No, it is not because they have gotten together and the “moonlighting curse” has hit! Not at all! It’s more due to, in my opinion, the changes in Booth and his expectations of Bones. Or the fact that he seems to come across as a whinging, whiny child! I know I could elaborate a lot more, but I just don’t care... You know, whatev’s!

I was reading an article the other day on ‘true life professionals and their gripe with how they are portrayed in television shows!” Of course, one of the biggest gripes is how unrealistic shows like CSI or Grey’s Anatomy are. Of course DNA results do not magically come in after a few minutes and, of course a hacker does not magically log into a classified national security server after a few furious key taps and mouse clicks. But who cares really? I mean, if we are going to be ‘realistic’ then we would have to wait like weeks, months or years for Horatio and his team to find the killer right? So much reality around me, I really don’t need it as entertainment on TV too! So many expectations of perfection that it is enough to make you literally want to put a gun to your head!

For example, I read a blog entry the other day, one of the few parenting blogs that actually really made sense! The author compared parenting to climbing Mount Everest. It is hard work and now and then you are rewarded with a spectacular view – but after taking your time to appreciate the beauty around you, you keep climbing. I wonder if I will ever reach the top! However, something else this author said made me realise that the pressure we put on ourselves to be perfect parents, probably stems from us thinking it is expected of us. The author of the article I read described a typical day in the supermarket with her 4 kids. Snotty noses, screaming tantrums, missing kids etc.. etc.. And, in the midst of this chaos a ‘well meaning’ elderly lady approached her with the advice: “enjoy every minute because they grow up so fast!” 

 So, if you are not enjoying every minute with your kids to the fullest (like when your teenager is swearing at you, your toddler is throwing such an extreme fit that you are sure you neighbours are phoning the police and your baby is crying in pain due to teething), you are a bad parent?. Are we expected to enjoy these moments too? You know – enjoy EVERY moment! Well, I can’t! I abso-fucking-lutely cannot sit amongst the chaos and screaming and think to myself “wow, this is lovely, I really need to enjoy this!” And, since I cannot enjoy that moment, does that mean I am a bad parent? And, when those moments seem to outnumber the “scenic” moments and I am spending less time enjoying than I should, am I a bad parent? Is that why so many of us are so quick to label ourselves as bad parents? Because we are not enjoying every moment with our kids? I don’t think so. There are no perfect people, only perfect intentions right? I will just keep climbing that mountain and waiting for those calm moments when I can enjoy the view. Those generally come when my daughter hugs me and tells me “I love you tooooo Mommy” (in her high pitched sing-songy way). Or my son comes and tells me he aced a test, or even when they are all safely tucked into their beds, fast asleep and I can relax in my husband’s arms and just breathe. One thing I can say for sure though is that I love my kids – I adore them, but I am in no way a perfect parent. Maybe a perfect “warning” to other parents though!

However, the above was just a side rant. I’m leaving it there though, with no apologies.
Back to the ship. Currently we have, I think, a total of 1 ship! ONE! EINE! How sad is that! No wonder we are so caught up in reality! As I mentioned before, shipping a show is our coping mechanism! Although, A and I are pretty faithful Will and Emma (from Glee) shippers! It’s just a hard couple to ship because you only really get a Wemma episode every few weeks (if you lucky). Most of the show focuses on the kids, and that is just boring! So, we have Castle and occasional Glee – and that’s it!


It’s sad really. Sad and grim!
D