Fuelled by baileys....

Home Made At That!!!

What does one do when one runs out of baileys? well..get online, search for a recipe, wander down the road to nearest IGA and BWS - and make it. And hell it works well...thank you Kitty!! It has been, one could say, a fairly laid back sort of day here - needed to be after the goings on of yesterday...

Planning to be anywhere on time with my bunch is always a challenge - am just glad that the 1pm start for Meet and Greet was 1pm (had it been a morning event chances are I would have been appearing in pyjamas..not a good look.) We planned to get out the door at 12 - we were actually in the car at 12.05pm *faint*. It was a lovely morning - not too hot (the day before had been awfully muggy and uncomfortable) so all boded well for a wonderful picnic. Boot was loaded with food and drinks - couldn't forget the champers of course - and the pieste de resistance`....the cake. A white chocolate mud cake adorned with a stunning bright green four-leaf clover. (Now I should probably add that by the time we got around to cutting the cake the clover and icing had sort of, ummm, melted so it didn't suite look like it was supposed to...but it tasted good.)

We found a lovely little secluded section of the park - not far from the lake, within a semi-circle of trees to park ourselves. The trees were adorned with strings of emerald green beads (we left those there  - maybe they will arouse some intrigue??)

and we settled down to wait for the hordes to appear..hmmmm. (Now, seriously folks, had you known what was in store for you you would have been there. Chicken and champagne and absolutely fabulous company...what more could one want??)

A lunch of good food, drink and, at times, extremely hilarious conversation (Angela and Kitty are the same in real life as they are online)...we covered all topics....kids, men, ibises (and their unfortunate appearance), politics, men, travelling, speedos (for your benefit RT), men...you get the picture?

And then it rained...it started spitting. Kitty, very confidently said, "Oh it won't come to much." And it poured. We ran - laughing. Trying to collect all the bits and bobs spread about and try to find somewhere dry - nigh impossible - but hell it was hilarious. It wouldn't have been so bad under the big umbrella we found if the wind hadn't been blowing the rain sideways - it would have been quite ok if we could have sat under that and stayed dry.

But no..decamped again to the shelter of the verandahs surrounding the convention centre.

Now I was never one for fussy or girly things....and, quite frankly, the fluorescent pink hibiscuses and white linen adoring the tables and chairs in the coniventiopn centre were rather revolting. Here we were, looking like drowned rats - probably a good thing the wedding reception wasn't actually happening as we lurked near the windows to keep dry. (And Kitty, judging by the scheme used to decorate that room..guaranteed the bride would have turned up in a very flouncy, voluminous number and the bridesmaids in shocking pink.)

A game of chess - for the kids anyway - while we managed to dry off a wee bit. Poor Miss 3 looked like a drowned rat. (And she has no idea how to play chess - she was just annoying the hell out of the boys who were trying to have a half serious game.)

It got to the point where the guests were arriving for the reception and we were looking rather out of place - thankfully car parked as close as was possible to where we were so there was no need to walk miles to find it and get even wetter than we were. And the rain got heavier and heavier. Alas, time to call it quits - one final dunking and a quick trip to the train station to drop Kitty and Angela off and back along the M4 with every other man and his dog leaving the city to home.

Despite the weather it was fabulous being able to meet Angela for the first time and chat and laugh with both her and Kitty. Yes, we will be doing it again...and yes, next time more of you should join us - trust me when I say none of us are axe murderers or any other nasty undesirable who might lurk behind a computer screen...we are all pretty normal human beings...albeit slightly damp ones yesterday.

Ok fellas...

Why?????

In this picture, men keep their eye on the ball

Eyes down ... men focused at Brett's face and crotch, while women trained their eyes upwards. Picture: Nielsen/Norman Group

 

By staff writers

March 15, 2007 02:23pm

Article from:

• Research finds men look at crotches. Women don't

• Men also fixate on animals' private parts

US website researchers have stumbled upon a secret that only modern scientific methods could reveal about men.

When shown a picture of a baseball player, men's eyes zeroed in on two areas: the face, and the crotch.

Women, on the other hand, only looked at the face.

Men also tend to fixate more on animal's private parts. This was proven when researchers showed male participants photos of dogs on the American Kennel Club's internet site.

The results were found in a study using sophisticated eye tracking methods to establish the parts of websites where people concentrate their attention.

Nielsen/Norman Group's research director Tara Pernice Coyne said the study proved gender made a big difference on what parts of photos were stared at the longest.

"When photos contain people related to the task at hand, they do get fixations," she said.

"Although both men and women looked at the image of baseball player George Brett when asked to find out about his sport and position, men were much more interested in his private anatomy than the female participants," she said.

The eyetracking test was conducted with 255 people in New York City.

You can read the full Nielsen / Norman Group eyetracking study report here.

Thanks son...

Yuck!!!

Master 10 came home from school camp yesterday afternoon; three days at Lake Macquarie spent canoeing, fishing, playing all sorts of games and generally, having a lot of fun. I had left his washing to do until this morning - was far too tired to tackle it yesterday - and that is done, no problem. BUT his small backpack - which he usually takes to school with him - not good at all.

Had bought him new joggers a couple of weeks ago - he took those with him...but didn't wear them home. Now I know why. He'd worn the new joggers while canoeing - and the canoeing turned into swimming (yes, he and the boys he was with fell out.) So the joggers were put into the backpack wet. They were shoved in there with a jumper and a few other bits and pieces - including a bag which had some fishing things like sinkers, hooks and, from what I could see, left over bits of prawns (bait).

Now, Lake Macquarie is a salt water lake and, from what he has said, it wasn't really ideal for swimming in - especially not swimming in with clothes and shoes on (this is not a nice chlorinated pool or a lovely beach) not that he cared much. And, well, if it smells anything like that backpack smells - definitely not my idea of a pleasant place to swim.

The stench!!! OMG!! That not so lovely off fish smell - all nicely sealed inside that backpack - I almost gagged when I opened the zipper. His new shoes - well, they look ok but they do not smell good at all. The jumper - ditto. The backpack itself - ewwwwwwwwwwwww.

Now the laundry stinks - have got the door to the backyard opened hoping it will air out (considering I am expecting a visitor *grins* tomorrow I do not want this lingering about - could be needing to get the incense out tonight methinks.)

The shoes need to be wearable by tomorrow - he has a PSSA cricket match to play...heaven help his classmates at school if they don't smell 100 times better than they do at this point in time by then.

Unbelievable lad, unbelievable...I just hope none of the other kids presented their mums with similar.

It's raining...

And It's Cold

The sort of day it would be nice to curl up in bed and sleep.

Went to visit Fi. Had left it far too long.

Tomorrow...

Is Going To Be A Hard Day

Tomorrow I am going to visit a friend. The last time I "saw" her was nearly 16 years ago. I've not had the chance to go back since; nor have I had the strength. I'm not sure if I have the strength now but something inside me says I have to go; says I need to go; says I have left it far too long. Something is telling me that if I don't go I will regret it. At this time each year I have always taken some time out to think about her - I'm not sure why this year is any different but there is something extra this time around.

Chances are I won't be able to stay long. Chances are I will only be able to sit for a few minutes. Chances are I will feel like talking but won't be able to - besides, it always feels strange talking when there is no one else around to respond. I know I need to apologise for staying away far too long - maybe that is one reason why I haven't been able to go before now - and I'm sure she will understand. But still I feel guilty. Here I have been, carrying on as if all is normal, for the last 16 years - doing things that she never had the opportunity to do. Is that selfish? After all, we shared so much once and we were so close. Life goes on though - well it has for me.

Several times I have driven past, have seen the sign, but have never gone in. I've always had the kids with me and, for some reason, feel as if it wouldn't be right to take them. Now, though, I wonder? I know the kids would find it all a bit strange  - maybe they are far too young yet to even try to understand - maybe in time they will. Maybe in time I can share them with her and vice versa.

Tomorrow, Fi, I will visit you. I've left it too long I know and I am sorry, but I will be there.

An earlier entry here - written way back in June 2006 - gives the first part of the "story".

http://www.blognow.com.au/cc1804/21139/Fi.html