Adventure!

Today I dragged Boy Roomie and Tessa out on an adventure with me.  I have wanted to go geocaching  for YEARS.  I even asked for a GPS device for my last birthday but didn’t get one.  And then a week ago it dawned on me that maybe there was an app for that and lo and behold there was!

For those not in the know, geocaching is basically like a treasure hunt except with really specific coordinates.  There will be a container with a log book that you fill in and sometimes there are little items that you can swap.

It was a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon and I asked Boy Roomie if he wanted to go on an adventure.  He was lounging on the sofa browsing the internet on his phone and honestly, I don’t think he could be bothered.  However, I stood there and he eventually agreed.  Besides, I needed someone to hold the dog for me whilst I went searching through the undergrowth for the prize.

The team

I vaguely knew where the geocache container would be and so we walked over to the area.  The clue said it was situated alongside a river path and we honestly walked up and down it for about ten minutes holding out the iphone in front of us like explorers of old would hold out a compass.  The geocahce would be ten metres in front of us and then all of a sudden, it would be twenty metres away.  So annoying!  I started to get frustrated and so I googled the clue that I was given.

I read that someone said that they enjoyed the nifty way of getting the cache and I realised we weren’t looking for buried treasure.  I looked up, right in front of my face and there it was.



You pulled that branch down that was attached to a bit of wire that was attached to a container inside the hollow of the tree!  I felt like I was in an adventure story a la Enid Blyton.  When I told Boy Roomie my feelings, he didn’t get the reference but I hope you do.

Inside there was a whole heap of stuff outlining geocaching and a log book and some goodies.


I swapped one of Jenna’s kitty key caps for this… thing.  I don’t know what it is.  It reminds me of those ribbons people wear for breast cancer.



This is the tree from a bit further away.

The hollow is sticking out of the left side of the trunk about halfway up.

It was so much fun and has definitely whetted my appetite for more adventures.  Has anyone else done something like this?

The best night ever…

…happened on Wednesday night.  When Girl Roomie, Kristy and I all went to the KNOTBSB concert.  Basically two boybands for the price of one.  I’ve never even really heard a New Kids On The Block song but Backstreet Boys ruled my life as a young teen so I brought tickets the very second they went on sale.  Even though we got tickets straight away, we were still right up the back.  Guess there are a lot of boyband fans in my town. 

It was actually pretty funny seeing the audience at the concert.  As Girl Roomie commented, “it’s like there’s a magnet here pulling all the women aged from 20-40” and it was so true!  But just because we’re not teenage girls anymore, doesn’t mean we can’t scream like them!!!

I had THE best time!!!  I’m surprised I didn’t lose my voice.  I kept giggling and yelling “THIS IS SO AMAZING!!!!”.  We kept clutching at one another, I guess as an alternate way of pinching ourselves to make sure we weren’t dreaming.  Despite the older ages of the gentlemen on the stage, there was still a lot of choreographed dance moves… often lifted straight from the videos.   This especially delighted me.

It was so much fun because it was like thirteen year old me is so happy at getting to see Backstreet Boys in the flesh.  And at the same time, 26 year old me was checking out all those hotties on stage!  And I was ironically enjoying the music to start off with… and then I couldn’t deny it anymore, it’s all just plain fun pop.  And the spectacle of it all was amazing.  There were so many fireworks and explosions.

I started out the concert not really caring about NKOTB but watching them perform and just giving in to the pop music, I became like the biggest NKOTB fan in all the land!  And a BIG fan of Joey McIntyre- yum!!  Actually time had been kind to all the guys. 

And now I leave you with the pictures Girl Roomie took from all the way back.  Good thing she has a zoom!



And just for funsies, here’s the picture I took with my phone


Haha, they are in the bright beam of light… can’t see anything!!!

Double post!

Well not really, but it sort of feels like it.  I have a day off and it’s very grey outside (not that I’d be doing anything outside if it was sunny) and here I am on the internet.  I just wanted to share two rambly things with you guys.

Number One… something absolutely hilarious that happened a few nights ago.  We were all sitting watching television and I had Nilly the dog cuddled up on my lap, fast asleep.  The cat and the dog are sort of starting to get on now, it’s quite sweet.  Millie has kind of taken on the big sister role and likes to make Nilly suffer by hiding around corners and popping out when least expected.  Or darting out and doing a cheeky swipe on Nilly’s bum.  We call these actions “Circle of Life moments”.  But there’s nothing malicious in it and I think it’s only a matter of time before they are BFFs.  As has now been confirmed. 

Anyway, back to the beginning of the story- Nilly was asleep on my lap.  Millie hops up onto the chair to sit on my lap, unaware that the dog had already taken her spot.  Millie starts sniffing at Nilly, like she’s trying to work out how they can both sleep on my lap.  I was so excited and started patting Girl Roomie’s arm to get her to look over at the miracle that was happening.  She got excited and started patting Boy Roomie to alert him to the situation.  Unfortunately she was so engrossed in what was happening between the two animals that she didn’t realise that she was repeatedly patting Boy Roomie on the crotch instead of the leg.  This had us in fits of giggles and unfortunately disturbed Millie and she jumped off to go and sulk under the coffee table. 


Number Two… Zombies, Run.  This is by far the best app on my phone, even better than Instagram, dare I say it.  It’s a sort of radio play that you listen to whilst on the run.  It’s all about the zombie apocalypse (of course!) and you go on little missions to build up your community.  The voice acting is awesome (and English!) and it makes me feel like I’m in an episode of Torchwood.  It makes me run because when the nice English lady says “Keep running, the zombies are right behind you.  Keep running.  AND. DON’T. LOOK BACK.”… you darn well run! 

This picture sums up EVERYTHING about the app.  I am absolutely in love with one of the characters and the story is so addictive, it keeps me coming back for more.  Which is great because it means that when I can’t be bothered to go running, I actually drag myself out of bed and go for a run.  But I haven’t even gotten to the best part, the best part is that there is a GPS component and every so often, my “zombie scanner” will go off saying “Zombies detected, 100 metres” and there is the sound effects of zombies going “urrrgghhh” and for 1 minute you absolutely have to sprint to evade zombie mobs.  It’s a little pricey but is totally worth it.

A Busy Weekend

Lots of things happened this weekend.

Girl Roomie and I went to a local vintage place. I made her come with me because I was like “It’ll be fun, let’s look at all the cool things we can get”. And then we went and looked at all the cool things we could get… if we had a massive house and were millionaires. Because we live in a tiny house and have no money, it made us slightly depressed and we had to get McDonald’s to cheer ourselves up.

Just some nice stuff I can never afford

I’m slipping this bit in in the middle so I can gloss over it and pretend it never happened. One of our dogs, Katie, was put to sleep. She was old and with winter approaching, it was making her arthritis unbearable (even with meds) and so Boy Roomie’s family made the decision to put her to sleep. Even though I think it was the right thing to do, it doesn’t make it any easier.

Snuggling whilst watching TV

It’s only been a day and it’s strange when I go out to the back and she’s not there. It’s nice to not have to see her struggling to walk anymore… but it’s sad because when she was hobbling, it was always because she was hobbling over to see you for a cuddle. She was a great old lady and she always made me laugh because she would body slam Tessa who was bigger than her out of the way if she thought Tess was getting a better pat than she was. I know she’ll be bounding around in Doggy Heaven.

Our girls… Nilly trying to stuff her face as usual!

And in other news, my workplace is moving. We’re moving only a few stores down and opening up in the new place on Monday. The new practice is about twice the size and we have SO much room! This weekend we all went in to help move things and clean up. I’m sneakily glad I’m not working on Monday, but I can’t wait to go in on Tuesday.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Great Big Books Q&A & Something Else

Sidenote: I am over at Suzy’s blog today.  Come and say hello so that I am not a sad person with zero comments on her blog.  And then come back and read this that I stole from her blog…

These are the rules:
1. Post these rules
2. Post a photo of your favourite book cover
3. Answer the questions below
4. Tag a few people to pass the Q&A on to: I have a few ‘booky’ people who follow my blog and I’d love to hear their thoughts :)

Favourite book cover:I don’t think I have one.  There’s nothing jumping out at me off the top of my head.  Instead I offer you this- I have a very small collection of books with me and this is the one I like the best. 



What are you reading right now?
I’m reading ‘Heart’s Blood’ by Juliet Marillier .  It’s just what I need right now.  A nicely written, easy to read YA fantasy novel.  Pure escapism. 

Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that?
I put ‘Black Out’ by Connie Willis down to read the book I’m currently reading.  ‘Black Out’ has amazing reviews and has won a ton of awards… but I just can’t get into it.  But I will persevere! 

What 5 books have you always wanted to read but haven’t got round to?
The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are
“The Book Thief” by Marcus Zusack (thanks for the reminder Suzy!)
“Love in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel García Márquez

What magazines do you have in your bathroom/lounge right now?
I never buy magazines as I think they’re such a huge waste of money.  But I think there’s a copy of Frankie in the living room courtesy of Girl Roomie.

What’s the worst book you’ve ever read?
Um… the worst book I’ve ever read..?  I can’t think of one but I can tell you a story about one.  I was reading this book (‘Affinity’ by Sarah Waters) and it was SO boring and weird and there seemed to be so much subtext going on that I didn’t understand (and I hate feeling stupid!).  I nearly put it down… but then it became the BEST story ever!  Beautifully written and an amazing ending.  And then I read it when I wasn’t a naive 17 year old and it made a whole lot more sense, haha!

What book seemed really popular but you actually hated?
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” series.  Not that I ‘hated’ it exactly.  I read all the books and they were ok.  Just ok.  I don’t see why they were SO popular.  I read a lot of crime/thriller books and I didn’t think the plot or characters or writing set this series apart from any other book in the genre.  Don't understand why the entire world went gaga for this particular series.

What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone?
'The Princess Bride’ by William Goldman.  It’s a hundred times better than the movie.  And the movie is the best.

What are your 3 favourite poems?
I really like ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling.  And I tried to learn ‘Seal Lullaby’ by Kipling off by heart.  I’ve never been a big fan of poetry though. 

Where do you usually get your books?
I’m quite cheap when it comes to books.  They are SO expensive over here in Australia compared with elsewhere.  $19 compared with something like $7 in the US.  I nearly died when I went to the US recently and saw how cheap the books were!!  I very rarely buy books and if I do, I’ll get them cheaply online or from a second hand store.  I am a HUGE library girl!

Where do you usually read your books?
In bed.

When you were little, did you have any particular reading habits?
Not really.  My dad used to read to me when I was about nine or ten before I used to go to sleep.  I could read for myself but it was a nice bonding experience.

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down?
The Hunger Games trilogy.  I just *had* to know what was going to happen!  I really fell hard for Katniss’ character.

Have you ever “faked” reading a book?
I originally said no but then I remembered.  I have faked reading ‘Little Women’.  I’ve tried but it’s just so boring!  I love the movie and so I can talk knowledgably about the storyline.  And so people believe I have read the book and I just haven’t corrected them…

Have you ever bought a book just because you liked the cover?
I’ve also *not* brought a book because of the cover too.  I like fantasy books but some of them have really silly covers!  A book I know that I bought for the cover (and by ‘bought’ I mean, saw it for sale, fell in love with it and then got it out from the library') was.

Wow, it’s even lovelier than I remembered!  It makes me want to read the book/series all over again!!  It’s so gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!  Don’t you just want to be an archer and wear a red dress and swan about whilst the wind blows through your hair?!

What was your favourite book when you were a child?
Anything that had a horse in it.  I really loved the Narnia series and there was a book where the main characters were horses, ‘The Horse and His Boy’.  I’d say that one was a favourite for quite some time.  And also anything by Jacqueline Wilson.  She was the best!

What book changed your life?
I remember having a ‘wow, you can do that?!’ moment when reading ‘Catcher in the Rye’.  It was the first book I’d ever read that was written in that informal style and I loved the freedom it offered, both as a reader and a writer. 

What is your favourite passage from a book?
I can’t think of one exactly but my favourite parts of books are always those parts where you realise you’ve been totally blindsided.  Here I go referencing a movie whilst talking about books, but I love those moments in books which are like the final moments in ‘The Usual Suspects’.  Everything comes together and your world shifts.  You realise that the writer is a master and you have been played a fool and you are reading so fast that you’re skimming words and you *HAVE* to know what’s happening right this very second.  As a reader, I just love those moments! 

Who are your top five favourite authors?
These are five authors that I like, in no particular order, off the top of my head:
1. Dean Koontz
2. Kate Morton
3. Kate Robinson
4. Val McDermid
5. Peter Goldsworthy

What book has no one heard about but should read?
Oh, I don’t know… um… “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie.  Such a good book.  I know a lot of people dismiss her but she is the bee’s knees and this book is such a good thriller.  I have been dying for a good movie or BBC adaption or similar of this book for YEARS!

What are your favourite books by a first-time author?
I was so stuck on this one so when I saw Sarah’s answer, I knew I had to steal it because I wholeheartedly agree with it: ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society’ by Mary Ann Shaffer.  Beautiful book.  And so sad that the author died just as the book was being published and never got to see how many people loved her story. 

What 3 books are you an “evangelist” for?
Ah, I can’t think of any.  I’m definitely an “evangelist” for “The Princess Bride”.  Also probably anything written by Kate Morton because she’s a local girl and I love her books.   

What is your favourite classic book?
Since I got this from Suzy and she said ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ which would be my usual answer, I’d like to pick something different, ‘Jane Eyre’.  I think it’s fairly easy to read for a classic and I love Jane as a heroine and her story.  And I think Mr Rochester has a lot to answer for when I consider the type of men I like!

5 other notable mentions?
I have absolutely run out of steam and MUST go to bed.  My eyes are falling out of their sockets, I’m so exhausted.  Therefore I am bypassing this question.  BUT knowing myself as I do, I will think about this question and probably come out with ten or fifteen other books that I am kicking myself that I didn’t mention.  So I’ll probably edit this later :)

I hope you made it all the way to the end and I doubly hope you fill this out yourself!!

Weekend Recap

I went home for the weekend to celebrate Mothers Day and it was lovely.

But I forgot my phone when we went to lunch on the day so no pictures.  We had a picnic near the ocean and the weather was absolutely gorgeous.  We were joined by mum’s friend, my aunt and cousin.  Great company.

My cousin took this picture of me… drinking wine and stuffing my face.  You know, the usual.



Then I went home on Monday and Millie was all about the snuggling.  For once I am thankful for chilly weather!  Cuddled up with a blanket, watching a zombie movie.  I was in the mood for zombies!



Mum and I went on a Kmart expedition and I saw this cute outfit that I absolutely had to buy.  It was perfect… just not for me.


Look how cute she is!!  And there's a hood as well.  She's not a fan of the hood... yet :)

Hello dear world!

It has been a not really busy week so I have no excuse as to why I didn’t post but here I am.

At work this week, two of my (haha, “my”) bulldog puppies came in for a check up.  Hopefully this means that they have chosen our practice to be their regular vet clinic.  They were both just darling.  The girl was a whopping 7.5 kilos at 10 wks!  Her brother by comparison was 5 and a bit kilos!!  The girl was one of my favourites from the litter and she continues to be a delight.  Wish I could have taken photos.

Saw “The Avengers” again with Boy Roomie.  I actually enjoyed it more the second time round.  Purely because I didn’t have that anxious feeling in my stomach when New York City was being destroyed.  And I LOVE that some of you guys get that feeling too, that’s awesome!  I don’t feel so alone in my weird ways.  We’re all weird together :)

We went on a “Roomies date” (plus one) last night.  We went to a fancy restaurant and I spent more money on food than I have ever spent in my life but it was good.  The restaurant was quaint and sweet, the food was delicious and the company delightful.  We all put our glad rags on.



And then this is me trying to pull a ninja move in order to get all my outfit into the picture!

Didn’t work. Missed my boots.

This morning I woke up and it was a little chilly therefore my kitty wanted to snuggle- yes!!  I got a giant mug of tea and snuggled with Millie whilst watching the finale of Vampire Diaries.  I have no idea why I am so unbelievably obsessed with a teen drama about vampires but I am.  Let’s blame Jenna :)



Happy weekend and Happy Mamas’ Day to you all!!!!!!