Impromptu letters to Santa...

Email Cc from Mills: Here is my letter to Santa just thought you might like to see it..

Dear Santa Claus,

My name is Mills. I am a boy and I am already 14 years old!! I live in the great City of Bendigo. Of course, that's in VIC, Australia, but I'll bet you knew that!! This year I've been so good that I should really be on the 'Nice' List!!

Santa Claus, some things I might like for Christmas this year are:
- New game called Modern Warfare 2;
- Hug; and,
- Kiss from my parents.

Santa Claus, I almost forgot to say...Thanks Santa,

I can't wait until Christmas.

Love, Mills

Kelsey's letter...

 

Darcey has yet to say. :)

A dad busy working still at night...an 8YO kid missing his attention...life is not always easy...

Pictures sometimes say a thousand words! :(

 

Day Zero Project...101 tasks in 1001 days...

A couple of blogging buddies, Lindsay and Nicole introduced me recently to the Day Zero Project. It's a unique challenge that inspires you to set and achieve personal goals in life over 1001 days, which equates to approximately 2.75 years.

The Challenge: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.  

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

My Time Frame: Monday, November 23, 2009 + 1001 days = Monday, August 20, 2012

My List (in no particular order):

1. Visit the Hardings in Tasmania

2. Visit Boston, MA, USA

3. Have a 5 night (at the min.) holiday with hubby, without kids!

4. Share a bottle (or 2) of red wine with Pip

5. Be at least ten kilograms lighter than what I am now

6. Go to Perth, WA, Australia

7. Have a part-time teaching position

8. Take over our apartment in Melbourne

9. Spend Christmas Day at a beach house

10. Repaint bedrooms

11. Re-carpet bedrooms

12. Have a new kitchen

13. Take my daughters to the ballet

14. See Jimmy Barnes live…again (Hopefully in Cold Chisel)

15. Finish scrap-booking USA 2004-2006

16. Go on a Mustang car club event with hubby

17. Sing karaoke at a pub, bar or restaurant

18. Visit friends in Tacoma, WA, USA again

19. Write a poem for each of my kids

20. Have a weekend away with the Hudeks

21. Read a novel

22. Cook 20 new recipes for dinner (0/20)

23. Watch the sunrise on a beach

24. Take my mum away on a mother/daughter weekend

25. Organise a mystery wedding anniversary weekend

26. Go to a jazz night at the Melbourne Zoo

27. 'Unplug' for one whole weekend - no cell phone, no Internet, no TV, no computer

28. Learn how to say “I love you” in 5 different languages (0/5)

29. Send a postcard to PostSecret. http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

30. Fly in a hot air balloon over Bendigo

31. Have lunch with my sister

32. Swim two laps (at least) at the Bendigo Aquatic Centre without stopping

33. Rickroll someone

34. Have Jimmy Barnes reply to one of my tweets on twitter

35. Have a week without driving the car

36. Eat at 10 restaurants in Bendigo that I’ve never eaten at before (0/10)

37. Kiss in the rain

38. Go to an Australian Tennis Open match

39. Take my son to a cricket match at the MCG

40. Put change in someone's expired parking meter

41. Do the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb

42. Make an iTunes playlist of 101 of my favourite songs

43. Get a dog

44. Say ‘FU’ (instead of ‘TY’) in response to receiving bad service

45. Go camping, sleeping in tents

46. Cook a Christmas pudding

47. Write a love letter to my hubby for his birthday

48. Have a girls’ weekend away with Helen

49. Play a social tennis match with a friend

50. See Uluru (Ayers Rock)

51. Still be updating my blog in 1001 days

52. Take youngest daughter to see Mamma Mia on stage

53. Take my daughters & put flowers on my grandmother’s grave

54. Have 20 ‘date nights’ out with my hubby (0/20)

55. Go see a film on opening day

56. Have my annual Christmas letter out on Dec. 1st

57. Go without alcohol for a month

58. Visit a country I haven’t been to yet

59. Go without the Internet for seven consecutive days

60. Have a ‘PJ and Movie’ day with my daughters

61. Have a pedicure

62. Visit the Eureka Sky Deck, Melbourne

63. Have ‘High-Tea’ at the Tea Rooms at the QVB in Sydney, Australia

64. Have photo booth photos taken with hubby

65. Go inside St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne

66. Put happy sticky notes in my kids’ lunch boxes

67. Send 10 postcard to friends who lives overseas (0/10)

68. Not log into MUO for a month

69. Force myself listen to every song we have of Diana Krall on iTunes

70. Maintain a classroom blog site during the school year

71. Have 20 ‘girly days out’ with my daughters (0/20)

72. Not log into facebook for a whole week!

73. Contact five college friends I haven’t heard from for years. (0/5)

74. Go on a bike ride with my son

75. Comment on 50 random blogs (0/50)

76. Visit childhood friend, Kerrie D.

77. Write 5 of my worst memories on paper, burn this paper afterwards

78. Throw my parents a party for their 50th Wedding Anniversary

79. Have a family holiday at a resort

80. Pick 5 people who have changed my life and write each of them a letter (0/5)

81. Make a short video to be put away for my (future) grandchildren

82. Be able to play a song on Guitar Hero

83. Go to a wedding…it’s been ages!

84. Ride a boat from Southbank to Williamstown

85. Get my eyesight checked

86. See a specialist about my sinuses

87. Have a board game night with the kids

88. Drink wine on a boat

89. Attend the taping of a live TV show

90. Have my make-up done at a make-up counter

91. Not update my facebook status for a week

92. Send my hubby flowers for no reason, other than I love him

93. Have a beer in 10 pubs that I have never been into before (0/10)

94. Be a volunteer at a community event

95. Have dinner at the Docklands, Melbourne

96. See 10 AFL games (0/10)

97. See a show at the Melbourne Theatre Company

98. Go to a show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival

99. See Ian Moss, or Paul Kelly play live

100. Send 10 ‘Thank You’ cards (0/10)

101. Throw my daughter a 13th birthday party she’ll remember!

Some of the tasks I chose, I have done before, but I chose to do them again now I am living back in my hometown...or because I haven't done them for years. Some of them I chose because my children are now older and they may not remember doing them when we lived here before. Some I chose to push me out of my comfort zone...some because I'm online too much and some...just to create more 'us' time for my hubby and I. ;)

The aunty and uncle you have...when your aunties and uncles are in Australia...

This weekend we had some dear friends visit for a night...Jean and Gaz...and their dog Monty. They became our kids' Aussie aunty and uncle when we all lived in Tacoma, Washington, USA.

We had a great night...they're like family! Whoever said, "You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family" was wrong! :)

"Drinking good wine with good food in good company is one of life's most civilized pleasures."

~ Michael Broadbent

Mills' first game with the new cricket bat knocked in...

After a week of hearing 'tap, tap, tap' throughout the house while Mills knocked in his new cricket bat...a night in the nets at cricket practice...Mills FINALLY used his new cricket bat in a game yesterday.

On his first shot he hit a four, and made twenty-two runs by the score keeper, (twenty-six if you ask Mills & Dale)...he hit five fours with the new bat...very happy lad...he loves it!

  Way to go Millsy!

 

 

Aldi...Pizza Kits...Master Chef Mates...

Recently Aldi opened a second grocery in Bendigo, so I've been shopping there more often, as the new store is closer to us. We've discovered a pizza kit which they stock and love them. It's fresh dough, which folds out to a rectangle and comes with a tasty tomato paste in the box. They're yummy!They have pastry kits too, but we haven't tried them yet.

The kids have been having fun making their own pizzas lately. Mills had a mate over tonight and they made their own pizza for dinner. It was funny watching the boys agreeing on where to cut the pizza to make it exact halves. Honestly...they just about got a ruler out to ensure one wasn't getting more than the other.

 

Teenage girls...New Moon...

Darcey and her friend went to see New Moon tonight. It's unbelievable the amount of hype this film has created and the hysteria amongst Darcey and her friends.

Darcey first began to read the Twilight series before it became popular, but she knew even then it was going to be big, like the Harry Potter phenomenon. She's read the Twilight series a couple of times, but dragged the books out once again this week to read...again!

Harvesting our cherry tree..

We finally had a cool change kick in this afternoon, so when Kelsey came home from school we picked some cherries from our cherry tree. It's a fine line between picking them ripe and also beating the birds to them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mexican Kitchen...a favourite Bendigo restaurant ...our old stomping ground!

Last night our family ate out at what has always been one of our favourite old restaurants in Bendigo. On their menu it states, "The Mexican Kitchen opened its doors in 1974, bringing a mix of traditional and western influenced Mexican cuisine to Bendigo. Over the years the Mexican Kitchen has been the setting for many special occasions such as 21st’s, engagements, hen’s nights, birthdays, farewells, reunions and even weddings!"

Dale and I were both born and bred in Bendigo. When Dale and I started dating in the mid-80s, our social group of friends used to either go out and eat of a Saturday night, head to a disco, or hire a VHS video together (all chipping in to pay for it) and head to my cousin's to watch it, as his family were the first ones we knew in the mid-80s that had one. How old does that make me? 42! :)

One of the restaurants we used to frequent was the Mexican Kitchen. Just like the menu says, we have celebrated many friends and family birthdays and social nights at this restaurant. So for the past 25 years - 5 years (spent in the USA)...this has been our Mexican culinary dining experience. It's a Bendigo restaurant institution, just like Clogs, which I mentioned recently in a blog post. Everyone in Bendigo knows Bill the owner and he always has a smile and chats to his patrons.

To bring some of you up to date, who might have missed it, we have spent close to two years recently living in Texas, USA. Texas, bordering Mexico has wonderful Tex-Mex, a regional American cuisine.

We thoroughly enjoyed Tex-Mex food...and might I add...frozen margaritas! So last night was interesting for us heading back to Bendigo's answer for Mexican dining. We're pleased to see the restaurant still thriving. We tried to do a walk-in the other Friday night, but couldn't get a table, so learnt from that and made a reservation before leaving home.

We sat down and I looked into the kitchen and had to comment to Dale and the kids that the same chef...the guy with the long beard (of course covered in a food handling safety net) was STILL working in the kitchen! Like Bill, the owner, this guy must have worked here for twenty-five years, or close to it. It was a bit of déjà vu! I also ordered what I ALWAYS ordered here... the El Combination: Beef enchilada, beef taquito and a beef taco served with rice and frijoles.

We also ordered as an appetiser a full serve of Nacho Supreme: Corn chips smothered in tasty cheese served on a bed of frijoles, topped with jalapeno peppers, fresh guacamole, sour cream and our own chunky salsa.

The nachos were sooooooo different to what we had been having in Texas, still nice enough, but the fresh salsa and guacamole were such a different texture. We began to think...okay...we're missing Tex-Mex here already. Our mains came and they were as fresh and as good of quality as they had always been, but they lacked that Tex-Mex fire that our palate was now used to. Same with the re-fried beans...they hadn't changed, but our experience with eating Mexican beans had.

Overall though, I'd still go back again because to me, it's not just the food that makes this place great, it's the atmosphere. It's so relaxed, friendly and you always see people you know. It probably is though, an example of reverse culture shock for me as an repatriate, and/or that my taste buds have just 'moved on' in their culinary experience after living in Texas.

Washington-Hoyt Elementary, Tacoma, WA, USA...living legend...Miss Peggy...

This is a TV news magazine segment about a friend of ours which aired the other night on King5 Seattle. 'Miss Peggy', is the crossing lady at the elementary school our kids went to when we lived in Tacoma, Washington, USA. She's a living legend in the Tacoma North End and loved by all. We miss you Miss Peggy!