Will they have to worship us, Mum?

So, during our recent trip to the UK, we got to take the train numerous times.  When we stayed in London, we found that on the train line from the hubby’s sister’s house in to the city is a town with the same surname as us.   The boys got a real kick out of seeing a real, live place (or rather a sign at a train station to be more exact) named after them. 

Especially my middle son. 

He is a bit of a thinker after all.

He likes to come out with profound comments. 

As we were passing through the town, he looked all introspective and turned to me to say, “I’d like to move here, Mum.”

“Yes, dear.  It would be kind of cool wouldn’t it?” I replied.

“Yes,” I could see his mind ticking. 

“Mum?” he looked earnestly at me.

“Yes.”  I said.

“If we moved to this town, Mum?”

“Yes.”

“Mum?”

“What is it?”

“If we move here, will they have to worship us, Mum?”

 

And, there you have it . . . that’s my son . . . profound, or what?

The One Where He Compares Playing Bejeweled Blitz to a Scene from the Matrix

So, lately I’ve become a little addicted to game called Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook.  Have you heard of it?  Apparently, it’s a classic gem-swapping puzzler created just for Facebook. 

Well, I’m not much of a gamer at all, but I kept seeing sparkly, enticing notifications from my Facebook friends that they were playing this game:

{Insert Facebook friend’s name} just earned a 75k Star Medal in Bejeweled Blitz!  {Insert Facebook friend’s name} earned this medal with a score of 81,500. {Insert Facebook friend’s name} will earn her next medal at 100k.

And, then I’d read this:

Play Bejeweled Bliz.

Hmmmmm.

It was like there was a party going on without me, but I managed to ignore ALL these notices on my newsfeed for a while.  Until a couple of weeks ago.  My curiosity got the better of me and I decided to see what all the fuss was about.  A big fan of shiny, bright objects, I was immediately intrigued to play it. 

I was pretty good at Tetris, back in the day, so I thought to myself, “I’ve got this.  It won’t take me too long to figure out this Bejeweled Blitz.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a clue as to what to do.

Truth be told, I still don’t really know what I am doing other than to line up the gems . . . the more you do that and the faster you do it . . . the more points you get . . . I think.   With only one minute to play, it is a decidedly frustrating game where a good many swear words could ensue! 

But, I’m hooked.

So, one evening Iwas playing Bejewled you can go suck it Blitz and was getting more and more frustrated by the minute when hubby peeked over my shoulder and then chuckled to himself. 

I was all, “and . . . it’s a maddening game to play, honey.  I’m trying to get a high score, but it’s too fast and I can’t do it . . . and . . .”  I think I was about to cry tears of frustration or break my laptop, when the hubby, my ardent gamer hubby I might add, said something that stopped me in my tracks.

“It looks like one of those games where you just have to be like Neo,” says hubby.

Huh?  I glanced up at him looking for further instruction.

“You know . . . like that scene from the Matrix,” he explained. 

Huh?  I need to wear plastic trousers, sunglasses and a big coat to get a high score?

“No, you know?  When Keaneu Reeves was finally able to see all the numbers, etc.  and become one with the Matrix.  That’s what you have to do?  Become one with Bejeweled Blitz”

Oh right! 

The lightbulb went off and I can’t explain it, but on my next play I become all Neo-like and actually mastered a really good score.  I don’t know how the heck I did it and have not been able to recreate the moment since,  but I suppose I’ll keep trying.

Bring it, Bejeweled Blitz, bring it!  I am Neo and I’m coming for you!

Wordless Wednesday . . . Flying Saucers

Have I blogged about how amazing playgrounds are back in the UK?  Most newer playgrounds over there have this amazing flying saucer type swing that  my boys and their uncles enjoyed on a fab day out near Edinburgh. 

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Random Tuesday Thoughts . . . Yay for being random, shuttlecocks and some “hot” gray roots

Why can I never remember my reusable bags when I go to the grocery store?  I think I must look right through them as I get out of the mommy van, unbuckle the little one and proceed to the store.  And, it’s not until I am in the check-out that I think to myself, crap . . . I forgot my bags and then I feel like a heel when I’m asked whether plastic is okay.  I want to yell, no it’s not okay.  Don’t you know hard plastic bags are on our environment?  What to do?  I even have the little sticker that my grocery store gives you to put on the windshield to remind me about my bags!

Big plans for my blog are kinda underway . . . well kinda.  I have been wanting to self-host in a while and my sister is pushing me forward with it.  Only hitch is that I just have to get on the amazing Nap Warden’s waiting list!!  She did my blog header — can you see it, can you, can you?  Isn’t she an awesome artist?

Loving all the bloggie posts about BlogHer.  Would love to hear more though . . . ye know, who’s on farting terms, who snores, who’s an ugly drunk, etc.  Hehe!  Sounds like it was well worth it in spite of all the drama.  Apparently, they have started selling tickets to next year’s conference which is going to be held in New York.  Anybody planning on going?

Why in badminton, is it called a birdie here and a shuttlecock in the UK?  You say tom-ay-to and I say tom-aaah-to . . . you say birdie and I say shuttlecock . . . just saying!

Why are my children such leftover snobs?  I present them with leftovers at meal times and they turn their noses up!  Honestly!

Just how much can you cram in to a front loading washing machine?

Why does it take a happy toddler exactly 0.23 seconds to turn in to a screaming monster?  And, at the least little thing.  Take yesterda, he had spent a lovely couple of hours in the pool with his brothers and when he was ready to get out, he asked for a snack.  I was providing him with his requested snack when he decided he wanted it in the orange bowl  . . . and not the pink bowl I was putting said snack in.  Then, when I tipped the snack in to the orange bowl he had a fit as he expected me to pour a new batch of the snack in the blooming orange bowl.  After asking him if he needed a nap, he promptly sucked it up and ate it.  I mean, how very dare I?

Speaking of naps . . he has not had one since we got back.  He napped every day in the UK.

It amazes me how my littlest one is swimming . . . without his floaties.  He’s only two for crying out loud — my oldest boys swam when they were three which isn’t far off really!  It also takes a big load off my mind . . . I mean, we have the pool gates up at all times, but still.

My middle son is going through an “everything is sooo boring” stage so yesterday, I may have threatened him with camp and vacation bible school for the rest of the summer.

Surprised at how inexpensive everything was  back in the UK . . . except for sunscreen — that cost me $20 after calculating the exchange rate.  Wowzer.  Still, you can’t put a price on your children’s health can you?

So happy to go to my haidresseing appointment today — I am so in need of a cut and colour seeing as I have not had one in a long while.  Gray roots are hot, right?  Anyway, I did have an appointment the day before I was flying out, but had to cancel it on account of the whole ear ache problem.  I thought it best to go to the doctor’s rather than my hair appointment — I know, silly right?  

I am going to reveal a guilty secret to you all that I don’t just tell anybody . . .  it’s that I have become a bit of a fanatical reader of  the Daily Mail’s goss column!  Yes, me!  And, it’s fabulous!  Try it for yourself and see if you don’t get hooked.

 Thanks for all the bloggie love and peace out.  Now, head on over to Random Tuesday Thoughts where it’s okay to be random.  Hey, gray roots are hot, right?

Musical Monday . . . I know, another Paolo Nutini one

For this week’s Musical Monday, I still find myself incredibly homesick for the UK and have picked the song Caledonia . . . this version is sung by none other than Paolo Nutini. 

The lyrics speak for themselves.

Enjoy!

I dont know if you can see
The changes that have come over me
And these past few days I’ve been afraid
That i might drift away
I’ve been telling old stories, singing songs
That make me think about where i come from
And that’s the reason why i seem
So far away today

Let me tell you that i love you
That i think about you all the time
Caledonia you;re calling me
Now I’m going home
And if i shall become a stranger
No it would make me more than sad
Caledonia’s been everything I’ve ever had

Well I have moved
And I’ve kept on moving
Proved the points
That iIneeded proving
I’ve lost the friends
That I needed losing
Found others on the way
I have kissed the fellas
And left them sighing
Stolen dreams yes there’s no denying
I have travelled hard
Sometimes with conscience flying
Somewhere with the wind

Let me tell you that I love you
That I think about you all the time
Caledonia you’re calling me
Now I’m going home
And if I shall become a stranger
No it would make me more than sad
Caledonia’s been everything I’ve ever had

Now I’m sitting here
Before the fire
The empty room
A forest choir
The flames have cooled
Dont get any higher
They’ve withered now
They’re gone
And I’m steady thinking
My way is clear
And I know what
I will do tomorrow
The hands have shaken
The kisses flowed
And I will dissappear

Let me tell you that I love you
That i think about you all the time
Caledonia you;re calling me
Now I’m going home
And if I shall become a stranger
No it would make me more than sad
Caledonia’s been everything I’ve ever had

 

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The one where she says so long to bacon butties . . . 12 additives to remove from my shopping cart

I can usually be spotted pretty quickly in the grocery store . . . I’m the one you’ll see standing there, attempting to surreptitiously read food labels . . . except I’m actually blocking the aisle with my shopping cart and three kids. 

Sorry to all those shoppers whom I’ve blocked in, but I thought I had it down to a fine art.

It’s usually only foods that my children beg me for . . . ye know, the crap they see during Nickelodean commercial time that has me reading the product ingredient list as I do tend to only buy organic or natural foods anyway.  I mostly scan for the sheer volume of ingredients in a product, MSG, trans fats, sweeteners, sodium and shellfish (I’m allergic) and have been known on more than a few occasions to deposit a food item back on its shelf in absolute disgust.

There is a recent news article on MSNBC entitled 12 Food Additives to Avoid, however,  that has peaked my interest and has me refining my label reading.  According to the author, one should avoid the following if you ever want to live to see another day . . . 

1. Sodium Nitrate– avoid processed meats coz it’s all over those and that includes bacon.  Apparently it prevents the spread of bacteria . . . ewwww and so long to bacon butties!
2. Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydrozyttoluene (BHT) — these are apparently unstable ingredients mostly found found in cereals, chewing gum, potato chips, and vegetable oils.  Yikes, unstable?  Spontaneous combustion, anyone?
3. Propyl Gallate — huh?  What’s this you ask?  Me too!  Merely linked to cancer, this additive is sometimes found in meat products, chicken soup base, and chewing gum.
4. Monosodium Glutamate — yeah, yeah.  I know this one!
5. Trans Fats — got this one too.
6. Aspartame — enough said.
7. Acesulfame-K– this is evidently a new artificial sweetener that is found in soft drinks, baked goods, chewing gum, and gelatin desserts.  Scary.
8. Food Colorings: Blue 1, 2; Red 3; Green 3; and Yellow 6– unbelievable, but evidently these food dyes have been linked to cancer yet are still being used in beverages, candy, baked goods, etc.
9. Olestra – yuck, I think we all remember the press that this fat absorbing preservative got a few years back.  Right?
10. Potassium Bromate– the fine state of California has it right on this additive as they require a cancer warning on the product label if it’s an ingredient . . . it’s an additive found in white flour, breads, and rolls.
11. White Sugar — this ingredient intrigued me.  Sugar?  A cancer causing ingredient?  It made the list because although it is non-toxic, large amounts are unsafe for our health and promote bad nutrition.
12. Sodium Chloride — known to the general population as salt, this made the list as excessive amounts of it can lead to bad health.

So, it seems that shopping may take a little longer these days as I will be taking a little longer to read the ingredients on the foods that my children thrust in to the shopping cart.  Or, maybe I’ll just stick to organic!

Photo Hunt . . . Utensils

This week’s theme of utensils was a bit of a tricky one . . . I ended up choosing this photograph of my two oldest boys, noshing on a Sunday tea that their Nana prepared.  As you can see, they are gripping their eating utensils, ready for the next bite! 

Happy photo hunting!

PhotoHunt

Dancing with myself . . .

So, it’s no secret that I love to dance and last night was no exception as I was dancing and shimmying around the house with my littlest one . . . while trying to do the dinner dishes and clear the table . . . I know, always a multi-tasker, right?  Anyway, occasionally, I would kinda pop up in the front window . . . boogieing away to my heart’s content with my three-foot partner of choice.

To Paolo Nutini, if you must know.

I was giving it my best moves.  There may have been some air guitar and light head banging going on!

Then, I spotted them.

Our neighbors from across the street were sitting out on their pool lanai . . . looking in the general direction of our house.

Obviously, they would not have really been able to see the little one.

Just me. 

Your average, crazy neighbor . . . dancing away like some nutter!  Yes, I was shaking my thing!  Spinning and laughing and doing some silly wiggling moves to impress the munchkin.

Except they would not have seen him!

Only me.  Dancing with myself . . .

Now, these neighbors moved in not so long ago and I really only know them to wave at, but it seems they know us a hole lot more.  Hubby told me a story that happened to him whilst I was back in the UK.  It was about 3 a.m. and our dog, the incontinent shih-tzu, needed to go wee-wee so hubby let him out, but the stupid mutt decided to take off down the street.  Thinking he wouldn’t encounter anyone at 3 a.m. in the morning, the equally stupid hubby dressed only in his undies decided it would be a good idea to fetch him.  Guess who he bumped in to?  Yes, these neighbors happened to be out with their mutts too.  At 3 a.m. in the morning!!  He sheepishly said “good evening “and then crept back to our house!

What must they think of us now?  Honestly.

Thursday 13 . . . Yummy British Foods I Noshed On

 

For this week’s T13, I’ve picked a smattering of foods I noshed on during my recent trip back home.

1.  Scones . . . and how!  I couldn’t get enough of them.

2.  Ploughman’s . . . a favorite pub meal of mine that goes nice with a half.

3.  Steak pie . . . yes. . . I . . . moi . . . actually ordered steak pie!

4.  99 . . . enough said, right!  Yummo!

5.  Strawberry pavlova . . . my auntie mkes the best!

6.  Cheese and ploughman’s pickle sandwich . . . I like me some Ploughman’s. 

7.  Yorkshire pud . . . I’m getting all hungry.

8.  Cheese pasty . . . simple and delicious.

9.  Caramel slice . . . Botham’s bakery in Whitby makes the best.

10.  Quiche and salad . . . what summer isn’t complete without a scrummy quiche especially when it’s been made specially for you!  Thanks W!

11.  Key lime pie . . . given that I live in Florida, I wasn’t expecting too much when I ordered this but was pleasantly surprised to discover it was perhaps the best I’d ever had!

12.  Bacon butties . . . mmmmmmmmmmmm.

13.  Jacket potatoes . . . with delicious fillings.

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Wordless Wednesday . . . Mini Monsterz

For this week’s Wordless Wednesday, I’ve picked a few photographs of a day we spent in the beautiful village of Ruswarp just outside Whitby in the UK.  For a village as small as it is, there is plenty to do there — we had planned on going on the pleasure boats and feeding the ducks, but spent most of the day having a fab time at a massive indoor play area called Mini Monsterz!  There was much running, climbing, sliding, laughing and noshing done . . . ending with a wee drinkie in the local village pub.

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