Have you ever bought something on e-bay and then thought… am I buying stolen goods? I just bought a Hello Kitty sock case pouch (to put mp3 players/mobile phones in) for 40 cents with free postage.  Ok, so it’s a knock off from China but how do they cover listing fees and postage and still make a profit? Either there’s a bunch of children working away in a slave labour situation or this seller has stolen goods he is just flogging off.  Still, for 40 cents I can’t go wrong!

My four year old nephew decided he was “the man of steel” as he flew through the air the other day.  We were playing in  the park on the plug style see saw swings when all of a sudden from above my head he launched himself into the air, arms and legs fully extended as if he really was Superman flying to the aid of a woman in distress. I could hardly believe my eyes and it happened too fast for me to react. He had good momentum and with the launch being so high he flew for about 5 meters, thankfully he landed with all his bones intact. I made a joke of it and he laughed but it was a scary/funny situation I found myself in and once again I thanked God I had girls!

Lately Luke and I have really been into audio books, they are fantastic to listen to while driving, cleaning, ironing, doing the dishes etc.  Since we both love reading but are pressed for time (Luke more so than me) this is the perfect solution and the price is right… FREE!  We just download them and pop them onto our mp3 players and away we go… happy happy joy joy! Here’s the website we use if you are interested in downloading them for free… however this can be slow as time restrictions apply to free downloads.(One file per 30 min, even though the download itself may only take a few minutes.)  Time restrictions don’t bother me though, I just get one file at a time whenever we start up the computer and before you know it… presto… a new book to listen to! However if you want unlimited downloads with no restrictions you can pay $9 a month and get as many books you want as fast as your Internet connection will allow you.

Well our little family has grown by two, a couple of male guinea pigs named Mr. T and Cookie.  The girls are so happy to have pets of their own and they really aren’t much trouble to look after.  They don’t stink like mice do and their little chirps and whistles are so cute and entertaining.  With all their “talking” I would swear they were discussing the latest Hollywood gossip or perhaps my favourite topic…  the housing crisis?  Whatever they are discussing I hope to have their constant chatter with us for many years to come.

After getting the latest round of junk mail, I made my list and headed off to the shops. The main items I wanted were schoolbags… 50% off… can’t go wrong!  There were no sale posters up and I soon figured out that I had jumped the gun and the sale didn’t start until Thursday, two days away.  So I took the time to look at the bags anyway and I noticed a stand that said “Everyday low price $19.99″.  Great I thought, nice big bags with lots of pockets and half price in a couple of days.  The days past and I was keen to get the kids school bags but was horrified to see the poster above the bag stand had changed, it now read “$39.99 down to $19.99″… what a load of shit!  Same bags, same stand but different sign.  It’s no sale at all if you double the starting price and then reduce it by 50%… I’m just glad I knew it was a scam but I feel sorry for others who will buy them thinking they are getting a good deal.

The other day my nephew came up to me saying “Aunty Nee Nee, someone put permanent marker on your table and it wasn’t me.” I looked at him and couldn’t help but smile, there in his hand was the permanent marker!  Someone should have told him to hide the evidence before trying to shift the blame.

I’m a big supporter of reusable shopping bags and I think the cold bags are fantastic.  No more melted ice-cream or room temperature meat products after a big grocery shopping trip.  When the check out chick (or dude as the case may be) asks me if I want my meat in a plastic bag I say ‘no’ because I just wash the bags if they get dirty… easy. Not so easy if it’s a cold bag however, in fact I recommend NEVER to put a cold bag in a washing machine…. just wipe it down. The above photo is of my bag (may it rest in pieces) and if I’m not mistaken I see claw marks! Which leads me to the conclusion that there is a monster in my washing machine, that or these bags were never designed to go through a spin cycle.

Saturday night is family night in our home and we usually watch four episodes of the old black and white “Robin Hood” from the 1950’s.  This past Saturday however we only watched two episodes and spent the rest of the night entertaining ourselves in front of Luke’s Mac taking silly family photos. The above two minute movie is the result of another great night in with The Houghton Family.

When I was a teenager I had a keyring that said “I’m not arrogant, I’m just a whole lot better than you” and I loved that keyring… I still have it tucked away somewhere. Back then I really didn’t understand what arrogance was but I was pretty sure the keyring suited me  however now I think it’s time for me to pass it down.   Here’s a conversation I had with my eight year old daughter,  judge for yourself if she is worthy of possessing my cherished keyring.

Me: You know that movie is…

Claire: I know

Me: You know what?

Claire: I just know

Me: How do you know?

Claire: I just do

Me: I was going to say that movie is a remake of an old film also called ‘Fame’.

Claire: Yeah, I know.