Here are the hits:

1. This little beauty. I’m doing these for All Hallows this year, instead of those thirty-five buck carving pumpkins the supermarkets are trying to sell me. And they come with the added bonus of providing ingredients for all the Pina Coladas I shall be making to survive the trick or treating. (I’m only doing it to get rid of the fruit you know)  Anyway, with pineapple and coconut, a Pina is practically a health drink!

2.  This tasty little morsel.

Sorry. I ripped it open before photographing.
What happened to ‘Tweet it before you eat it’?

I know it’s October, and I know I shouldn’t encourage the Mulit-National Money Sucking Machines by buying seasonal promotional items when the season is nowhere to be seen, but they are only ONE DOLLAR. And they say “Merryteaser” on them (what does that even mean?). Nobody knows, but how can I refuse when they beckon me from the counter with their cheery red packaging and their enticing and cooling snow graphics? And when they are only ONE DOLLAR? So, in a moment of weakness I purchased two, one for me and one for the love of my life. I popped them high up in the fridge, away from prying little eyes ‘for later’. Well, later was much, much later, say around 11pm when Nath had fallen to slumber, and I snuck out to the kitchen and ate mine. And then Nath’s. Sorry Nath.

But never fear, a patient gave the “kids” a giant chocolate Freddo each today. I’ve hidden them in the fridge. For the “kids”. Of course.

3. The Spring Spectacular at school tonight. I managed to sit through it all, even though there were TWO count them TWO renditions of ‘Let It Go’, and not a one Monkey Wrench cover. And my ears aren’t even bleeding. For serious.

So, well played kid’s school, well played.

As you can tell, Coco is a very talented musician.
Liam was also there, clarinetting along, but we didn’t get a pic that didn’t feature other kids.
So just imagine you can see him too. For balance, like.

4.  Did  you see Harry Potter on Jimmy Fallon? I’m not sure if I like Daniel rapping, or Jimmy grooving along and trying to keep up, the best. Something about that man just makes me laugh (Jimmy, not Daniel). Check it out, and watch it through to the end. It’s fun. I shared on FB my version of ‘The Black Widow’ for Edenland’s lip sync competition, but I’m thinking I might have to pop the real thing up here. Or maybe “Ice, Ice Baby”. Nath does a killer version of “Bust a Move”, so the possibilities are very exciting.

5.  Getting some of your feedback on the blog this week. I love your comments, shares and retweets. You might not realise it, but when I’m sitting here, being the little keyboard warrior, it’s hard to imagine that anyone else even reads this drivel.

I can, of course look up Google analytics and see how many of you play along, but it’s much nicer to actually get some feedback. So thanks to all of you who do comment, and then share the love around. It makes a difference to me.

I’ve got a few little writing plans for next year (see, I am following Matthew’s rules from the book I mentioned this week, and telling you about some of my goals) and this blog was created to see if anyone would like to read my stuff. It seems some of you do, and that, quite frankly, is BLOODY AWESOME. Writing stuff has always been a little secret and fragile thing that I’ve held in my heart, too frightened to let it see the light of day, lest it wither and turn to so much dust. Giving it some air, here on my little space on the internet has been both confronting and freeing in equal measure.

So thanks you lot. You make an old bird’s heart zing.

So how was your week? What were your hits?

Did you have any big wins?

…From The Ashers

So here it comes… If life was a mix tape, and I was your DJ (which I would be, because: bossy) this is what we’d be groovin’ along to:

The Hits:

1.  FINALLY we had some rain on the Sunshine Coast.  Amazing lightning on Wednesday night, with heaps of action out to the west.  We went onto our top deck (yes it’s called TopDeck and no it’s not called BarUP, regardless of what my husband might tell you), and watched it all unfold.  I added some ‘interest’ to the sky-show by screaming with every fork.  Freaked the brats out a bit.   #winning

2.  Halloween chocolates from Aldi. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned my Aldi Allergy before, but I have it, and I can.not.go.in.there.  But I anti-histaminedd up, and got these. So YUM for cheapshit choccies.   Allergy may be waning.

3.  The excitement the kids had anticipating Halloween.  I hear all the ‘ween naysayers being all Grinchy and “it’s so American” about this PAGAN ritual, but to you, I say a big WHATEVs.  We decorated this place with shite plastic and creepy things and they LOVED it.  They didn’t even do the trick or treat thing, but went to Bunnings and yet, loved it still.  I rate you Halloween.

4.  The big kid going to camp.  I’ll tell you more about that another day, but yes he went, (he walked off on me with hardly a ‘bye Mum) and YES he is home again.  I need to harden my heart.

5.  Liam’s new electric guitar.  Some sweeeet tunes coming out of that bedroom these days. The current song to be mastered is “Joker and the Thief”… He can drum it, so we await the one man band.

The Shits:

1.  Crumbs on the floor.  How do you get there?  HOW? No wonder I love wearing shoes so much.

2.  BAS. You suck. You know it.  That is all.

3.  My new iPhone being full already.  Seriously? Is there a 64GB?  Bloody music.

4.  No Brody on Homeland.  Where is he?  What is happening?  How much more of that insipid daughter can we stand, and how many panic attacks from Carrie can I handle?  Gimme Brody, and gimme him now.

5.  Commonwealth Bank ads.  NO.  The Toni Collette one was bad, but now the singing dude? Really?

Have a great weekend…

What are your Hits?

What SHITTED you?

…From DJ SHADOWCAT xx

Have you ever been to Bunnings?

I seriously hate that joint.  With serious and hate.

Why do the aisles not line up?  Why is the coffee so awful?  Why does it smell so bad?  And what scorcery is it, that allows adults, dressed in bright red, to be so camouflaged by a bunch of tools, when their service is required?

I am alone in my Bunning hatred over her at The Asher House. On any given weekend, at least one person will say “Let’s go to Bunnings”.  The kids love to play there, Nath loves the rows and rows of tools that I won’t allow him to buy, and me?  Well I don’t love one single thing.

In fact, on a lazy Saturday, the husband thinks Bunnings ticks all of the parenting boxes.

• Exercise for children, by playing in a “park”? Tick
• Creative stimulation for children, by doing craft? Tick
• Purchase of some thing or other for home improvement, in the hope of getting laid? Tick
• “Healthy” lunch from sausage sizzle? Tick
• Donation to charity via said sausage sizzle? Tick

Apparently everybody wins.  As long as I don’t have to go, that is.

So tonight was Halloween, and I was working until about 8.30pm, so ‘weening was up to Nath and Coco, (Liam is at school camp: my heart lives outside my body right now, but more of that another day when I can breathe again).  Those two little blue-eyes colluded together and chose what they would get up to.  They spoke in whispered tones and made their intricate plans, before announcing to me, “We’re going to Bunnings.”

WHAT?

Yep, apparently that cesspit of failed home improvement attempts also does celebrations: Easter, Christmas, Halloween.

So they went off at 5pm, excited and costumed. Things looked at little like this:

They arrived home well after 8pm.  Coco usually goes to bed at 6.30pm.  So I’m guessing they had some fun.  There was face-painting, craft, a jumping castle, billions of kids and a free sausage sizzle.  At the hardware store.

When I was tucking that strange li’l punkin-fairy-thingy up in bed, I asked her if she had a fun Halloween.  “Oh Mummy”, she said, “it was the best Halloween ever.  I love Bunnings Warehouse. The lowest prices really are only just the beginning.”

So there you have it.

Maybe the joint aint all bad.

(And who says my kids watch too much telly?)

Do you do Halloween?  

What did you go as?