are they really gay?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4264913.stm

Six gay penguins in a German Zoo are going to have female penguins thrust upon them to test their 'gayness'....actually it's for their own good because they need to breed - stupid male penguins have been humping each other and then thinking that stones are eggs! And trying to hatch them!

:)

I like penguins :) March of the Penguins made me cry - a LOT!! I wanted to build a home for them all here on my acreage...they could use our pond and waddle about safely and they wouldn't have to deal with those awful cold winds......we'd build them a house!

Have I told you lately........

That I love my kitchen aid mixer???????

I hope it feels appreciated :)

Brownie blast

I left the workmen here today - they were finishing off the air conditioning and everything........with Susie, I picked Abigail up from preschool and then headed into town.......we did some shopping for Lloyds friend and got a few groceries - and some sandals for Susie in Florida......

Then as a treat we went to Laura Secord for ice creams :) I love watching children eat ice creams....the sheer pleasure and guilt free enjoyment on their faces...they can have rainbox coloured streaks all across their lips and down their chins and on their clothes and they don't care because the ice cream is soooooo good!

I had one scoop of fudge brownie blast flavoured ice cream in a cup (I don't like cones) and have to say it was DELICIOUS.....

It was really nice having just the girls and sitting there relaxing with our ice creams.....then we chose a chocolate bar for the boys because they babysat and we headed home :)

It was warm today +3c.......we didn't need coats which was lovely!

care packages

I went shopping today to buy things to go in a parcel we are sending to Lloyds friend in Iraq.....I had so much fun choosing things...I don't know him very well and he hasn't given me any ideas of what to send (men!!) so I just bought 'stuff'.......some of the forces wives on LP gave me some great ideas so I got those and other 'stuff'......he'll probably think I am insane....

Maybe I am...I have an obsessional personality (ha who'd have thunk huh? With me posting in my blog ten times a day lol!) so this is my latest obsession I guess.... Lloyd thinks its hilarious and keeps grinning and saying 'you like doing things like this don't you baby?' lol!

But the Caramilk will NOT be going in the box because Laurence just found Sam in my bedroom eating his way through it!!! He keeps saying 'yum' 'yum'...

I agree......Caramilk.........YUM!!!

preschool - again!

At the dinner table tonight Abigail put her hand up to speak.......it was kind of hilarious really - she's been to preschool twice and she already automatically raises her hand to speak....

I'm gobsmacked.

Pre school

Abigail started pre-school last week.....when she was ready to leave this morning, her big brother Laurence ran out to the hallway and gave her a big hug saying 'Abby don't go without hugging me!'

:)

I'm still not sure this preschool is a good idea - because she has been homeschooled with her older siblings, she has done so much more than the other children her age.....and is way beyond preschool activities....but she had fun with the toys so I guess she will keep going. She could start school with the others in Feb but I think we should keep her out until September...although she is ready academically and socially NOW, I don't want her with kids 2 years older than herself when she's in Junior/ high school........

I worry though that she will be bored in kindergarten next year.....and when she gets bored she can be............spirited (for want of a better word lol).

So for now she goes to the local community hall for preschool twice a week....finger painting and threading fruit loops onto string.....................woohoo.

She misses teacher Sam!

Which reminds me - yesterday we got an invite to Samanthas 40th birthday party - I'm looking forward to it :)

lemon coconut muffins

I meant to make these yesterday but the children ended up making their shortbread and as we had no water there was the issue of the dirty dishes...so I made them this morning. I found the recipe on Sarahs blog.....thanks Sarah......they are in the oven now and are starting to smell really good :)

12 servings 12 Muffins
45 min 25 min prep
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup quick oatmeal
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup margarine (you could use softened butter)
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons lemon zest, finely grated
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons sweetened flaked coconut (or more)
GLAZE
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon zest, finely grated

Measure first 4 ingredients into small bowl. Stir. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar in large bowl. Add egg and lemon zest. Beat well.
Add flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with milk in 2 parts, stirring after each addition until just combined. Fill 12 greased muffin cups 3/4 full.
Sprinkle with second amount of coconut. Bake in 375°F (190°C) oven for 18 to 20 minutes until wooden pick inserted in centre of muffin comes out clean.
Glaze: Combine all 4 ingredients in small saucepan. Heat on medium until boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low. Heat and stir for 2-4 minutes until starting to thicken. Carefully spoon over hot muffins. (This makes a mess of your pan. It is SO worth it though.) Let stand in pan for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool.

It's over.......

We watched the finale of season 3 of Greys Anatomy last night. That means we now have to wait until season 3 comes out on dvd before we can find out what happens...and that may be a while.....

For the last 3 weeks all we have done is watch Greys Anatomy - and now its done. What do we do now? I guess this means Lloyd and I will actually have to start talking to each other again.......

It was very sad - thanks to The Fray's video, as soon as I saw Izzy in her prom dress I KNEW Denny was going to die :( And as for Meredith...is she stupid????? I have really lost respect for McDreamy now and I really liked Finn......not least because he is the ultra sexy Chris O'Donell.............so what on earth is she doing screwing up a really good relationship with Finn for a fling with McDreamy who couldn't choose between her and his wife???????????

Yep.....Greys Anatomy is DONE and now I have no life. Thankfully Lloyd feels the same......I think we need to grieve...............

Uh oh....

Sam helped himself to Lloyds light sabre again this morning......he loves it....

?????????????????????

They sell covers for kitchen aid mixers............covers!!! COVERS!!!!!!

Why on earth would you want to cover it up?????

It's beautiful!!!

It's a goddamn piece of art!!!!!!

It should NOT be covered up!

If you are crazy enough to want to cover yours then you can find them on ebay (of course lol) but don't expect me to have ANY respect for you afterwards!

Midway through

So the workmen have gone home for the night.....we have hot water now and the heating is back on :) Tomorrow they will be here half a day and then thats it.....they are doing the AC tomorrow as everything else is done - oh except the thermostat.....

I don't like having workmen here but they were nice enough.....I kept sending coffee and cookies down to ...the cups and plates came back empty so I assume they liked them! The furnace room isn't quite so green any more :)

About blogging.......

I saw these questions on Cori's Musings blog and thought they were worth answering :)


1.Do you like the looks and the content of your blog?

The look doesn't bother me and if I didn't like the content I'd delete it ;) I like that I am keeping a record of our days - I love looking back at the archives - there are so many things I had forgotten about from last summer. I'm glad I blogged them.


2.Does your family know about your blog?

Yes, and some of them read it :)


3. Can you tell your friends about your blog?

Yes but not many of them read it - most of my IRL friends don't use the net much.


4.Do you just read the blogs of those who comment on your blog?

No I read a few others.....I have my 'regulars' that I visit :)


5.Does your blog positively affect your mind?

Yes.....its very therapeutic to blog about my day - and sometimes I write really nasty things which makes me feel so much better - then I hit delete :) I don't want things like that on my blog but it helps to offload even if I delete :)


6.What does the number of visitors to your blog mean?

I don't get many visitors these days since my blog is private......I miss a few of my old readers..the number of visitors doesn't interest me - what interested me more back when my blog was private, was to see where in the world my readers were - I had regulars in every continent and I found that amazing!


7.Do you imagine what other bloggers look like?

No not really...many of the ones I read are written by people I have actually met.


8.Do you think blogging has any real benefit?

Yes - as I wrote above, it's therapeutic and it means my family and friends back home can see immediately what is happening in our day to day lives......I hope it gives them a glimpse into what our lives in Canada are really like.


9.Do you think that the blogosphere is a stand alone community separated from the real world?

Uh......NO :)


10.Do some political blogs scare you? Do you avoid them?

They don't interest me :)


11.Do you think that criticizing your blog is useful?

To me, my blog is a journal of my life...I don't see any reason or benefit of criticising it...my life is what it is......


12.Have you ever thought about what would happen to your blog in case you died?

I guess it would just 'be there'....maybe Lloyd would type something about me dying....I was reading a blog the other day about a lady with Cancer - she died and the blog was just left - unfinished.....I think it would have been nice for her DH to have written a few lines - like a closing post......people need closure....I think it helps them grieve.


13.Which blogger had the greatest impression on you?

When I was at T-Blog, I used to read a blog written by an older lady...she lived in Toronto with her cat. Each day she would blog what she had eaten for supper. That was it....she didn't really blog anything else - maybe what the weather was like but that was about it...for some reason I HAD to go back each day and check how she was and read what she had eaten....I tried to leave a comment each day.....her blog would always read something like 'Today for supper I had green beans, mashed potato and a chicken pie'.

I'm not sure why that left an impression on me but it did.


14.Which blogger do you think is the most similar to you?

I haven't come across a blogger that I felt I was similar to. Thats probably a good thing :)


15.Name a song you want to listen to?

The song I have stuck in my head 24/7............The Fray, How to Save a Life.

Thomas, Sammy and friends.............

Last night Lloyd spent the whole evening obsessing over the train set.........it HAD to be perfect.........he hmmmmed and haaaaaed about whether he needed more engine sheds or curvy bits.......and he faced the HUGE dilemma of deciding where to place the bridges.......

Finally we agreed as to the layout and he glued the track down.......it has been a HUGE hit today as Sam has been playing with it since he woke up - almost 5 hours! Of course, just like at the library, the children are fighting over who has the longest train and whose train can go where...its driving me a little nuts to be honest.....

shortbread..........

This morning Susannah and Laurence made these thumb print shortbread cookies with a chocolate in the top of each one.........

Yum!

middle aged............

A friend of mine (actually, Randy Ferbeys wife) told me a while ago that middle age is 35..............so next week I will be middle aged............

That makes me feel great..........just GREAT!

My birthday will be while I am in Florida, and my request for the day was to spend the day on the beach :) Its not really Lloyds idea of fun - he is totally NOT the 'relax on the beach' kind of guy.......although he HAS agree to take his shoes and socks off and paddle :)

Me - I love the beach - and the sea - I envy Lloyd his childhood of growing up by the sea.....I love collecting shells, and pebbles........and pebbles with holes going right through them......digging my toes into the sand and feeling it warm them.....the sound of the waves crashing.....the slightly salty sea air............

Disney is exciting, the villa with its own pool and hot tub is exciting....but I am MOST excited about the beach :)