First of all I’d like to say that with all the human rights issues surrounding China I can’t believe they were actually allowed to host the Olympic games.   I have heard the opinion that these games give China an opportunity to improve conditions since the world is watching them however this has not been the case.  In fact I think the Olympics have caused more harm than good to the poor people of China.  Slums have been knocked down and thousands of people left homeless because the government have been building stadiums etc.  These people were not relocated or even fairly compensated they were simply thrown onto the streets.  While the worlds athletes will stay in brand new accommodation for a short while, thousands of China’s people are now suffering for their comfort. That’s why I’m boycotting this years Olympic games.  I don’t want to watch it, I don’t want to read about it and I certainly wont be purchasing any merchandise associated with this event.  If the rest of the world can ignore the many human rights China breaks every day simply for the love of sport then I can ignore the games for the love of China’s suffering people!

In our house Dr. Pepper is king when it comes to soft drinks.  We don’t drink soft drink very often but when the doctor is in the house it’s a special occasion.  Since Schweppes stopped producing Dr. Pepper in Australia several years back we have had to pay premium prices for our beloved cola beverage.  None the less we occasionally treat ourselves to one, note I said one!  At dinner time the four of us will measure out this precious nectar from the gods… the kids always complain that Luke and I get more but that’s a parents right damn it!  I know it’s got some ridiculous amount of sugar in it but that’s why we only have it every now and then. We are like wine connoisseurs savouring every individual flavour that makes up the whole… love the stuff! Can’t say it enough…love it, love it, love it.

As a child back in the 80’s The Twilight Zone scared me, even the theme gave me chills.  Now as an adult I have purchased the dvd’s to relive the thrill, however they are nowhere near as scary as I remember them.  So when Claire (aged 7) asked if she could watch one Luke and I agreed so long as it was during the day.  So over lunch we sat down to enjoy a little visit to The Twilight Zone.  The theme came on and rather than being freaked out by it Claire started picking out the individual instruments involved in producing the music. One hurdle over, I thought for sure that errie music would scare her. Then the opening credits started and up popped the name “Wes Craven”, Luke and I looked at each other with a shared sinking feeling between us.  We both enjoy Wes Craven’s work but by far he is most famous for “A Nightmare on Elm Street” which is something I wouldn’t let my seven year old watch.  Oh oh… too late now, time to sit back and hope the story didn’t scare the crap out of Claire.  Thankfully it didn’t and I even think she found it a little boring.  Kids just don’t scare as easily these days!

For my birthday I received a $50 gift voucher from “The Body Shop” so it was off to the shops for me.  I swear I almost had a heart attack when I saw the prices, all I got was a 250ml bottle of shampoo, a 250ml bottle of conditioner and two bars of coconut soap.  We were in and out of that shop in under 5 minutes. My shopping trip was more like a blur in time,  blink and miss the whole event.  It took more time finding a car park than spending the $50… this stuff better be worth it!

Have you ever sent your husband out to get milk but he comes back with milk plus this and that and some other thing you don’t need? Well today I sent my husband out to buy a new cd/tape player that was on sale at The Warehouse but instead he came home with a new computer from Hervey Norman.  I think from now on I’ll go to the shops when we need something.

My three year old nephew was singing to me the other day.  His choice of song was “Old MacDonald had a farm” which seemed more like a jungle than a farm to me as he started singing about tigers and lions.  The song quickly turned dark as those tigers and lions started hunting me.  This sweet faced little boy than described, in song of course, how the tigers ate my feet and the lions ate my head.  He didn’t stop at just me, apparently the same tigers and lions hunted down my husband and children and devoured them as well.  Then suddenly I was alive again and flying away in a hot air balloon.  Well I was glad to have the song turn in favour of me but then he sang ever so sweetly “the tigers followed in another hot air balloon.”  I had enough of his imagination for one day, time to sit him in front of the television!

What do you do when you find yourself with no toilet? This was the problem I faced yesterday.  You see the plumber came around to change the toilet base and clear a blockage that has been causing us trouble ever since we moved in.  He arrived at 11am and started busting up our toilet immediately, thank God I used the loo just moments before he arrived.  Then at 1:30pm he pronounced the job done then told me not to use it until 5pm…. 5pm!!!  My bladder was full and  I was busting and as you well know -  “when you got to go, you got to go.”   If I had the car I would have driven to the shops but I didn’t so I couldn’t.  I  did the only thing I could think of… I relived the good old days when the chamber pot was King!  The piss pot made a come back in the form of my laundry bucket… ahhh… sweet relief!

I just skimmed the news website and saw …Estelle Getty dies at 84.  Well I can’t write my post on what I was going to now, not after reading that.  Estelle played the character of my favourite Golden Girl – Sophia.  I loved that character, feisty, witty and just plain funny.  Estelle was a great comedic character and I know my husband along with thousands of others didn’t like the movie “Stop or my mom will Shoot” but I thought that Estelle MADE that move… Stallone… well that’s another matter entirely.

My girls were playing snap the other night and I had the job of being the dealer.  With eyes on the cards and hands posed to snap the game began.  Claire (age 7)  had the faster reflexes therefore seemed to win almost every match.  Natalie (age 5) was getting frustrated with losing so with every snap attempt she said the word “snap” through gritted teeth. Her losing streak continued and the gritted teeth speech was backed up with fist waving.  If things didn’t start going her way I think Natalie was prepared to turn Snap into a contact sport.  Not prepared to let this happen (although it may have been entertaining) I announced Claire the winner and Natalie accepted defeat.  However with fists balled she vowed to win next time…  and I believe her!

I had my first chance in a long time to sleep in the other morning.  I stayed up late watching poker on TV but without the kids and Luke at home I was planning to sleep well into the morning. I slept without dreaming so as soon as I heard the BUZZZ BUZZZ BUZZZ of the alarm clock it only felt as if I had just closed my eyes.  How could I forget to turn the alarm off?  I was so looking forward to sleeping in.  I lay in bed for a little while longer but there was no denying that I was up for the day.  Perhaps I’ll get another chance to sleep in before Christmas… that would be nice.