Disco Knitter

The cuteness is extreme. Link via Jezebel.

I have a reason to go on living…

Last night Inigo slept all through the night, with no night waking, no needing a feed, and no screaming. At all.

That was the third night in one week. Not consecutive nights, but what the hell. Three nights of unbroken sleep, three miraculous nights I didn’t have to drag my sorry carcass across the hallway, and then back to my bed to hope that I could get back to sleep.

It’s been almost five months (since he started crawling) of horrible nights, and I am hoping against hope that these three nights represent an increasing trend.

In fire news, both Paige and Andrew are still safe, but apparently today is going to be another bad day.

From Gizmodo.

Giant Scrabble.

Want.

Today I went to an ABA meeting to learn about how to become a breastfeeding counsellor or community educator (the people that give talks at Child Health Centres, ante natal classes, etc.).

During the early days of my breastfeeding journey, the support of the ABA was invaluable. Firstly, having done the course that they run for expectant parents gave me the confidence to know that I was doing my best, and that I would be able to succeed if I persevered. Secondly, when things were still not going well after 6 weeks of struggling, I knew there was backup available when I needed it. And when I did contact them, the support and information I got was exactly what I needed to hear at the time, and I will appreciate the time the counsellor took to help me out ’till the end of my days.

I’ve been thinking about furthering my education for a long while now, but wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I have an interest in far too many things to be able to narrow it down to a particular field of interest, and I’d need to be passionate about whatever I study to make sure that I actually do the homework! The course is structured so that all study is self directed, there are no exams, only assignments, and there are training sessions run once or twice a month where modules are examined in detail. Kids are welcome at the training sessions, and you can do the training at your own pace. And when you finish, you have a government recognised Certificate IV, the same as if you had studied at TAFE, and useful as “Prior learning” if you decide to do further studies in a related field.

So this opportunity is a bit of a no-brainer. I get to give back to an organisation that has given so much to me and my little family, and I get to ease myself gently back in to the rigours of formal education.

Since My Adorable Husband bought me the lens of my dreams, I have decided to start saving up for the “Last Kitchen Gadget I’ll Ever Need”. Of course, I will find other gadgets to covet, but this one should keep me enthralled for quite some time.

Kris linked to an aussie online shop that sells kitchen gadgets, and I found it.

The Kitchen Aid, in Caviar. Click on the picture in the link to embiggen, and see sparkly detail.

Not black, that is just black. The Caviar is SPARKLY black.

So much more useful, to have an appliance that sparkles, don’t you think?

This time, it’s personal.

My friend Paige (one of the sweetest, most caring women ever to walk this earth), and her family, furry and otherwise, have been evacuated. Of course, they are all terrified.

And my darling Andrew C. (as opposed to my darling Andrew M.) is also in the area. Last I heard, he was heading home from the city to see if he still had a home to go to. He promised to text as soon as he knew anything, and I am still waiting to hear. Mind you, he still hasn’t RSVP’d for a wedding that was four years ago, he has a bit of a reputation for being unreliable.

Anyway, he promised me that he understood that he was more important than stuff, but I am still very afraid.

Paige lives in Belgrave, Andrew in Belgrave Heights. From the look of the map, Andrew and Paige back onto the same gully, on opposite sides. I don’t think I’ll sleep much tonight.

Although I find this heartbreakingly cute, I am mainly impressed at how far he has come in such a short period of time. From a cooing baby, to a rabble-rousing kid of the world in a few short (but also very long?) months.

When I see someone throw rubbish out of a car window, I get very cross.

If it’s a cigarette butt, I get extremely cross.

If it’s anywhere near the bush, on a hot day, I go thermonuclear. It’s really not very pretty, and I have had to be talked down from following these people home and putting prawn heads in their curtain rails.

But now I have a better solution.

Call the Environmental Protection Authority!

131 555 (pollution reporting, environment information and publication requests) for the cost of a local call within New South Wales (mobiles excluded) or (02) 9995 5555.

They sent the offender a warning, and if a second incident is reported, they will be fined. Of course, I’d prefer there was some form of physical torture involved, but a fine is a perfectly acceptable starting point.

Zoo Borns brings you pictures of the latest arrivals at zoos around the world.

Check out the baby Tawny Frogmouths!

For the longest time, I’ve ben seeing the resemblance to my side of the family, but not so much Mark’s.

The first picture is of Mark at about 12 months, the second, Inigo at about 9 months.

I don’t watch it religiously, but I do know who Jay McCarroll is.

And now he’s come out with a line of fabric.

AND THERE’S ONE WITH BUNNIES ON ACID!!!!!

Breville Ikon Microwave Oven.

When Mark and I first moved in together, he came with a perfectly good microwave. I hated it. With the fiery white hot heat of a thousand suns.

Sure, it microwaved things. It heated things, and then it went beep! I’m ready!

And about a minute later, it beeped again. I’m still ready!

And it went on forever, until you either pressed a button, or opened the door.

I confess, there were rather a few occasions that I fantasised about the death of that irritating (but otherwise perfectly innocent) appliance.

And then it died. Rather abruptly.

Mark insisted on doing the autopsy himself, because it’s fun, because he wants to be the sort of dad that fixes things, and because it’s cheaper. Fast forward a few weeks, a few days of microwave courpse littering the living room floor, toddler accessorising said corpse with various toys, toddler finding screws and small parts to taste, and a few trips to electronics shops for spare fuses, and it was declared officially dead.

Bing Lee has a clearance centre near us, so we decided to go there to look for a replacement. We perused available models, were assured that the incessant beeping was a “feature” that all modern microwaves have, and chose a likely replacement.

At the moment, it comes with a free set of digital scales, “Valued at $99″, and because of Chinese New Year, a free Chinese dinner set.

And when it finishes an allotted task, it beeps. Once.

Earlier today, Kris posted about Yoko Ono’s twitter feed. Like Kris, Yoko had been someone that I had admired in the past, I remember her face when John Lennon died, and to me, that face is the very picture of grief. Her love for John (and his for her) has stood as a symbol of a true meeting of minds, a loving and accepting relationship that stood the test of time.

So I logged on, and subscribed to her feed.

A few minutes ago, I got this email.

Reason #327 that I adore my husband -

He supports me in my crazy endeavours.

On Friday night, I came home from my ABA meeting (which was a whole ‘nother story), so find this -

Which, when peeled open, revealed this -

Which allowed me to take this -

And this -

Now, the kid is pretty gorgeous normally, but in the above pic he was actually throwing a whammy. Pretty clever lens!

And in the last picture, you’ll see a very ordinary entree starting to look like glamourous food photography. Taken in available light at the restaurant that mum and dad shouted us Valentines Day dinner at. Free babysitting, a bottle of wine, and a free meal, the perfect ending to a fab day.

If you are ever in the vicinity of Pennant Hills, and fancy a bit of Indian, check out Spices on Pennant Hills Road. The entree was a bit ordinary, and I wasn’t thrilled with the Masala Dosa, but the tomato chutney was killer (I almost asked for some to take home), and the mains we had were really lovely. I think they thought I was a restaurant reviewer when they saw the camera, they made a big fuss of the fact that we didn’t finish our meals (ordered too much food!), and then the chef came out to chat. So I feel a bit of a responsibility to talk them up a bit

Love is a matter of choice.

The goal of any successful relationship should never be based solely on happiness. The goal of a successful relationship should be based on growth. If you can grow together and find common ground, you will have happiness. But you’ll also have a whole lot of other things that ultimately, will contribute to making the relationship stronger and more beautiful.

Stolen from Amazing Trips. Scroll down a few posts, and check out “Favourite Thing Friday”.

Mark registered to give blood recently (my brave, darling husband), and was unable to get an appointment over the phone, so I suggested her register online. He received a response, thanking him for registering, and asking him to be patient, and to please donate in a few weeks time.

The blood banks are full right now, but the patients who have burns from the fires will still be needing blood and blood products in the weeks and months to come. So don’t be put off by stories of the blood bank having all the donations they need – in the weeks to come when the fires are no longer front page news, you’ll still be needed.

P.S. Since I married him, I haven’t doubted for one second that he was the one for me. I may rant about finding his dirty socks on my pillow, or cereal bowls under the couch, but I am still convinced that he is the love of my life. Tonight, he proved it once again, and I will reveal why tomorrow…

Another thing to take our minds off the devastation in Victoria.

Last week, Kerry’s partner Adam met her in Darwin, and they travelled together back to Timor for a weekend break. Adam was able to take our old baby scales (now that we no longer have to worry about Inigo’s weight, I thought these could be used by the child health nurses in Timor), exercise books, textas, pens and crayons for the kids at the pre-school, and some much needed money.

We ended up with $70 US, and another $50 AU that Adam was able to change at the airport. Kerry tells me that this money will be spent on food for the kids, Mana Kassian feeds the kids every day. I imagine that for some of these kids, that meal is vital.

Care package for Timor Preschool

Of course everyone is thinking about what we can do to help Aussies in need, but it’s also nice to see direct action. Kerry is going to let me know how much it costs to feed these kids each week, and we are going to try to work out some form of ongoing support.

Pride and Predjudice as a Facebook News Feed.

Thanks to my cousin Bodhi for the link!