When Luke told me one of his colleagues had written a science fiction book I actually listened to him, rather than throwing in a “oh” or “really” every now and then as my contribution to the conversation. That’s because science fiction is something I am interested in and I was keen to read the book.  Although I have to admit I was a little turned off by the fact that the book was self-published because the last two self-published books I have read were so riddled with mistakes and inconsistencies it was embarrassing.  Thank God it wasn’t the case with this book, sure there were typographical errors and a missed word here and there but overall it was easy to read and quite interesting.  The book follows a multi cultral crew as they explore a newly discovered planet… behind the sun.  In the hope of  a possible recolonisation the crew conduct tests and record data but things take a right turn when first contact is made with what appear to be the natives.  Not all is what it seems when mythology and religion collide and the origin of humanity is thrown into question. History, beliefs and reality itself is shattered in this gripping novel where death and deception abound. If this sounds like a story you’d like to read you can buy it HERE on Amazon… happy reading! Oh and Luke told me to keep an eye out for any of his traits in the characters but unfortunately I didn’t spot any pink gloved dish bitches in the story.

In these colder months I wear my slippers throughout the day in the house and even outside… to get the mail, hang clothes up etc.  I have come close to leaving the house with my slippers on but thank God I noticed as I stepped out the front door, some people aren’t as lucky. The other day as I was walking into Coles I saw a woman leaving with a trolley full of groceries and there on her feet… a pair of pink fluffy slippers!

I was fiddling around with some recipes the other day and to my palates great delight this super easy lemon cheesecake mousse was born! It’s so quick and easy and I’m sure you’ll get all thumbs up from your family once they taste it.

Ingredients

• 250g cream cheese
• 395g condensed milk
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1 10g sachet of gelatine

Procedure

1. Allow cream cheese to soften slightly by leaving it in a mixing bowl for 10 minutes.
2. Beat the cream cheese until smooth then add the condensed milk and beat until well combined.
3. In a small bowl whisk the gelatine in 2 tablespoons of boiling water until completely dissolved.
4. Add the lemon juice and dissolved gelatine into the mixing bowl and beat for a further 2 minutes.
5. Pour into individual servings and allow to set overnight… well at least 4 hours!

You can also make this recipe lower in fat by using low fat cream cheese and lite condensed milk… it still tastes good!

Recently I enterd a few competitions and I was so excited when I got a phone call from “Bmag” saying I had won… yippee. But then she told me it was a double pass to a special screening of Hannah Montana: The Movie… oooohhhh… I wanted the laptop!!! However, free is free so I took Claire for a bus ride into the city to watch the movie.  I didn’t really expect much and that’s pretty much what I got but Claire really enjoyed it and the audience errupted into shouts of praise and applause when the movie finished.  I had no idea how popular Miley Cyrus was until now and I have to say she is a talented girl that’s for sure!  She can REALLY act, sing, play the guitar and I do hope she can make the transfer from child actor to adult star… that seems to be a bridge not many people can cross.

My kids were watching a Disney movie the other day when the very distinctive voice of Patrick Warburton cut in. Claire jumped up and said, “Hey it’s that dude, you know… that dude!”  Yep, I know ‘that dude’ alright, he seems to pop up in every half decent animated movie as well as video games and television sitcoms.  ‘ That Dude’ has been one busy guy, not all actors are as lucky!

My nephew noticed writing on the bottom of my girls dinosaurs and asked me what it was.  I told him that some of the dinosaur figurines had the name of the dinosaur printed underneath.  He then proceeded to hand me the toys so that I could read  the names out to him… Braceosaurus, Diplodocus, Stegosaurus, Megalosaurus etc. Then he handed me one that didn’t have the name printed on it so I told him it wasn’t there.  “Yes it is” he said as he pointed to some writing on the dinosaur.  I explained to him that it wasn’t the dinosaurs name but rather where it was made, in this case and MOST cases it read ‘made in China’. So now every time he plays dinosaurs this one particular dinosaur is always referred to as “Made-in-China” … I sure hope he doesn’t insist to the kids at Kindy that ‘made-in-china’ IS a real dinosaur name!

Even though I am a big animal lover I understand that in certain situations dogs have needed to be shot by police.  What I don’t understand is why police would taser and then shoot dead a Chihuahua! Well actually a Chihuahua cross but it’s just as shocking.  I was horrified when I read a news article about a family returning home from a funeral only to discover their dogs blood and three bullets on their front porch. When they rang the police they were told the officers had no choice but to shoot their pet… no choice… how about walking away? The dog only attacked after he was cornered by two police officers, any rational person would have left the dog alone.  Obviously the Blue Ash Police Department (Cincinatti) are big on “excessive force.”

An afternoon cup of tea with two brownies… delicious! This recipe is so easy I let my six year old make it, with my supervision of course.  It’s inexpensive and most people will have all the ingredients sitting in their cupboard right now.

* 150g butter

* 3 eggs (lightly beaten)

* 1 tsp of vanilla essence

* 1 cup of sugar

* 1 cup of self raising flour

* 1/2 cup cocoa

* 1/2  cup of chopped nuts (we use peanuts because they are the cheapest)

Method

1. In a pot large enough to hold all the ingredients, melt the butter and take off the heat.

2. Add all other ingredients to pot (sifting flour & cocoa) and stir until well combined.

3. Line a 28cm X 18cm baking tray with baking paper and pour mixture in.

4. Bake for 35 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

5. Allow to cool on a wire rack then cut into individual squares.

Last weekend we treated the kids to a ‘Hungry Jacks Stunner Meal’ and with my thrifty nature I discovered how to make a good deal great.  At $4.95 each the kids got a cheeseburger, chips, drink and sundae… that’s a good deal.  However since the store had free drink refills I filled the cups up with raspberry fanta and took them home to make ice blocks… now that’s a great deal!

The other morning as Luke was heading off to work he went to get the car key…oh no… the keys were not on the key rack.  We looked around the house on the tables, bookshelves, computer desk, kitchen benches but no keys could be found.  Perhaps they were in the car, we sure hoped the car was still in the driveway.  As Luke opened the front door to check on the car… jingle jingle… the keys were in the front door.  They were dangling there all night!