After watching an Opera show about “penny pinchers” I wanted to see if I could save money on our electricity bill by turning everything off AT THE WALL when not in use.  I turned the jug, toaster, microwave, TV, video player, Wii, set top box, computer, kids night light and electric toothbrush charger points off when not in use.  My husband found this a little irritating at first because it took a while to get used to reaching behind the TV to turn it on and turning the jug on at the wall instead of just flicking the boil button.  I think he must have thought I was crazy when I unplugged the cordless phone and went back to an older style phone that required no power point but hey… we probably only get three phone calls a week… that includes telemarketers! I then packed up the alarm clock and purchased a $15 wind up style alarm clock that rings so loudly I’m sure it could wake the dead.  So now it has been three months and the proof is in the savings:

Electricity bill before switching off: $242.07 including GST & ambulance cover (3 months)

Electricity bill after switching off: $144.41 including GST & ambulance cover (3 months)

So that’s a saving of $97.66 simply by turning things off when not in use! I now have my eyes set on the phone bill because $30 a month just to have the phone sitting there sounds crazy to me… there has to be a cheaper option!

This clip is our attempt of entering the Doritos “make your own commercial” competition.  However for some crazy reason they rejected it… some rubbish about violence blah blah blah.  Personally I think a good pimpslap every now and then is good for the soul so you be the judge.

Recently the kids have started playing Cooking Mama 2.  I always thought this was a sweet little chop-dice-stir simulation game and I suppose in a way it is.  After watching the kids play for fifteen minutes or so I realised that the receipes are so-so and I certainly wouldn’t want to eat at the Cooking Mama restaurant but the chilren seem to really enjoy it.  It’s a typical Japanese style cartoon character game complete with extra large eyes and thick accent which makes the kids giggle.  At the end of the recipe Mama judges you on your culinary skills and if you have done well you character is presented with diamonds in it’s eyes.  However, if your skills are less than desirable Mama calls out, “Don’t worry Mama will help you” and your character is displayed with flames protruding from the eye sockets.  It’s not something I was expecting from this sweet looking game.  Perhaps the next installment in the Cooking Mama range will be called, “Evil Mama: Sharpen your Blades.”

The other night while in my sleep (I’m an “active” sleeper) apparently I sat up and gave Luke a pinch and a punch while saying “A pinch and a punch for the first of the month”.   He then turned to me and said “It’s the 16th!”  Ooopps… better late than never I always say.

Today in addition to my two small tattoos I am sporting heavy leg sleeve tatts courtesy of my children.  Last night their inner tattooist showed up with a pile of pens and textas and before I knew it I could have been mistaken for a biker mole… no offence to biker moles! And no offence to those who are heavily tattooed because I like tattoos, I think there is something sexy about them.  Not the self done back yard type, that only ever end up being blue ink blobs, but real works of art on the human body… there are some real nice walking canvases out there.  Nothing wrong with appreciating art is there? (drool)

With the current water restrictions taking a shower in only four minutes can be quite tricky and every second counts but my seven year old has found a way to cheat time.  She confessed to me the other day that when she turns the timer over in the shower she leaves it on a slant so that it takes longer to pour through.  I always thought her four minutes seemed longer than mine!

The other night while watching ‘Life on Mars’ my seven year old was still awake thanks to the latest round of nits from the school yard.  We had shampooed her hair but it was taking a very long time to pick the eggs out of her hair so she was able to watch the flash back to the  70’s  commercials with us.  The above Gay Time advertisement came on and she was giggling and looking at me then giggling some more saying “gay time…hee hee hee…gay time”.  Then I realised that the only meaning she knows of the word gay is a sexual preference so no wonder the ice-cream advertisement seemed funny.  I had to explain to her that the commercial was made long before she was born back when the word GAY was still associated with it’s original meaning… being happy. Although looking at the people in the commercial again, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if a little modern day “gay time” action was going on!

I was at the kid’s school doing my usual volunteer work when all of a sudden I felt a little tingle in my jeans.  Then I realised that little tingle was an ant crawling around in the back of my jeans.  I squirmed and wriggled all the while listening to a six year old sounding out for me and hoping not to gain the attention of the class.  Then…ooopppps… all my repositioning must have given the ant an easy route to follow… right down the bum crack express lane! I clenched my butt cheeks in the vein hope of squashing the little fellow but I think I just made him mad.  So here I was with another 18 kids or so to still work with and an ant break dancing in my pants.  It took a lot of restraint not to stand up and shove my hand down my pants but I was able to control myself and soon enough the ant made his own way out. I was just thankful it wasn’t a green ant because if that was the case my actions would have been VERY different and those poor children would have needed years of therapy!

Wiiiiiiiii…. this sure is a fun game!  So long as you don’t mind blowing zombies heads off with automatic shotguns and hearing the “F” word 189 times… yes that’s right 189 times! We bought this game after finishing and enjoying The House of the Dead 2 & 3.  It was just like the arcade game of the 90’s with graphics crappy enough to send you back in a time warp but we didn’t care… it was fun.  The kids were able to play it with us because even though it was violent it was done in a comic book style that was more funny than scary.  Not so with “Overkill” … this most definitely is not a game for the kiddies! It follows a storyline in a Grindhouse movie fashion which is VERY cool but VERY VERY motherf@$#ing crude!  With lines like “I’m going to rip your motherf*#king balls off” and “Freeze Bitches” the language was a real shock to us and from the first few frames we knew this was going to be a Mummy and Daddy game only. It’s rated MA 15+ and I would have been disappointed if it didn’t have strong horror themes but you have to remember The House of the Dead 2 &3 has the same rating YET they are worlds apart!  The real scary thing about this game is not the content, it’s the fact there is no language warnings on the game.  It would not have stopped me from buying the game if there WAS a warning I just wouldn’t have told the kids about the latest “Family” purchase.  So gamers if you are after a fun “family” game, this is not the one for you.  However if you are after some seriously fun multi-player zombie slaying fun… go ahead and buy this game.  Just be warned… you’ll be swearing like a motherf*%king sailor after a few hours of this game!