I read an article today that can only be described as a joke. Not even a funny one at that! Apparently the government is making housing affordable by eliminating mortgage duty by 50%, sounds good right? Let’s just see how much we can save….a loan of $320 000 will land you a whopping saving of $500!!!!! But wait there’s more, if you wait until the year 2009 the government will remove the tax altogether and you will save a massive $1000. (My fridge cost more than that!) Now if we take into consideration the rising house costs and add on another 15% to the cost of a home, that leaves us with about $48 000 extra to pay for a house in 2009. Oh silly me…that’s right I actually save $1000 according to the government. That’s going to be a BIG help isn’t it!!!!!!!!! Get real.

I just found out that another person I know has just got an air conditioner unit.   It made me think back to the day my neighbour got their air conditioner installed.  It was a hot HOT day and the sound of a large vehicle pulling up got my attention.  To say I was a little envious was an understatement!  They already had a pool and now they were getting air conditioning!  Wasn’t it bad enough that we had to hear them splashing in their pool, now we had to listen to the hum of their air conditioner?  The kids were running around the house in only their undies and I had sweat pouring off me in our extremely hot low set house.  Our only possible chance of a cooling breeze was blocked by both our neighbours with their double story houses.  Even the house behind us and across the street from us was double story.  We were trapped in a hot spot surrounded by pools and air conditioners!  Thank God we have moved on from that house but every now and then I suffer from air conditioner envy…how about you?

This youtube clip was shown to me after my husband used it in one of his lectures at work.  How he managed to fit this clip into his problem solving class I have no idea but I’m glad he did.  My kids love the song that Charles’ owner wrote for him and be warned, it is an addictive little tune.  ENJOY!

Young children and toilet bowls, things are bound to get messy sometimes.  Recently my nephew was on the toilet doing his business while holding lego.  I thought it was safe enough but I was wrong.  “Plop” in fell the lego, the rear axle and wheels of his little lego car.  Well now I had a dilemma, to flush or not to flush?  The lego was part of my girls collection but the contents of that toilet bowl was not inviting.   I had rubber gloves I could use but was the value of that lego worth the unsavory job?  No!  I flushed the toilet and put another set of wheels on the lego car……problem solved.

I braved the stores on the 26th of December, madness some might say.  I would agree but I needed a vacuum cleaner and I didn’t want to miss out.  I noticed that some of the women waiting outside Target looked as if they has camped out to get front line status.  I was just happy to get inside the store in one piece and my children still by my side. There were some genuine sales items like the vacuum cleaner I bought for 47% off.  (Take that Mr. Kirby man!!!!)  My kids got gift cards for Christmas which they happily spent and we all had KFC for lunch after our shopping was done – a good morning out for us.  However I have to say that there seemed to be a “madness” in the air, impulse shopping was certainly going on around us. Retailers were rubbing there grubby little hands as shoppers bought up big and flashed credit cards here and there.  The whole boxing day sale seems a bit of a con to me – some genuine sale items but lots of excess stock they simply have to move.  People flocked to big red “sale” posters practically climbing over one another to grab a so called bargain……MADNESS

We once had a neighbour who would sneeze so loudly that my husband and I would look at each other and start laughing.  It was SO exaggerated and so un-lady like that the image of Norma next door will always be in my mind when ever I hear someone sneeze.  Often when my seven year old will sneeze loudly my husband will say “you right Norma?”.   (Oh Norma, I wonder if you ever think of us)  Now what if the Olympics introduced the sport of extreme sneezing…..would Norma win?  I would most certainly expect to see her in the Australian sneeze team…. the “Sneezaroos”.   Would there be deducted points for spraying or would they give points for the furtherest spray?  I don’t know but I do know one thing, sneezing will never be the same for me…… not since meeting Norma!

Merry Christmas everyone!  Let’s hope next year brings much joy and …oh blah blah blah…. no one is reading this anyway.  You are all opening your presents or riding new bikes or just too full from eating so much to bother with the computer today.  When you do read this I want to thank you for reading my blog and I hope I can entertain or inform or simply give you something to look at while you’re meant to be working in the new year…here’s to 2008! Cheers!!!!

http://www.shockwave.com/gamelanding/santassnowball.jsp

p.s. This is a cute little game my kids love so in the spirit of Christmas – go bowl over some elves with a snow ball.

I love my chihuahua, I even have the bumper sticker on my car to prove it. She is my original baby and I have to admit that in my purse there is a photo of her, sorry kids. Anyway she has this habit of nibbling on me as if I were a prime rib fillet. Lilly does it so gently and so often that I don’t really notice it anymore, until the other day. I was in front of the computer and I moved my foot slightly, that’s when I felt a tiny paw push down on my toe. Lilly had been licking a dry patch of skin on my ankle and didn’t appreciate me moving. I moved my foot again to see what she would do and sure enough I felt her applying pressure to keep me there. Suddenly I realised that this “exfoliation” technique had moved into the realm of alpha dog superiority. Then again maybe she liked the taste of my sweat and wasn’t about to lose her bone….I mean my foot. Either way she removed all my dry skin without a pumice ever touching my skin!

Going to the beach the other day got me thinking about sunburns and extreme U.V conditions. Most of the people I saw on the beach had hats and sun shirts and there were quite a few shade tents up.  However when I was a kid I don’t think sunscreen was used that often and a full day at the beach meant a sunburn.  Thank God things have changed but what about the nudists of this world?  There are still a few nudist beaches around and on those extreme U.V warning days surely they could get sunburns in areas most of us wouldn’t experience.  Hopefully they use sunscreen on their vulnerable parts but with the reflection of sun off the sand……… burnt muffs and sizzled sausages must be a real risk!

Yesterday my oldest child……Claire….turned 7.  She has asked for me to post her on my blog so here goes.  I’m sure we all like to think we have the best kids in the world and I’m no different.  She is a good kid who cares about others and has a real passion for animals.  She wants to be a vet when she grows up working for an animal shelter like the R.S.P.C.A or Animal Welfare League.  That however is a long way off, for now she is my little angel who just had her ears pierced for her birthday……sparkle on angel!