Thai

For a week now, I've been dying to blog.
Now that I've got the internet up and running ... I'm at a loss as to what to blog about !

ha ha

It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago. Oh that's right, I told you about it already. Remember the flowers that they gave me at work ? Well, included in the card was a voucher for $100 to a great Thai restaurant not far from us. We decided we would use it at some point during the move. That point was Friday night. After moving loads of fragile stuff over in the car Tuesday and Wednesday, then moving the big stuff in the big truck on Thursday, and then cleaning the rental house ALL day Friday ... we were stuffed. We used the voucher and ordered in. We had to use the whole voucher in one hit so here's what we had ....

Uh yeah, that's our coffee table covered with a bath towel that we are eating on !! We had just moved, remember !!!

Spring Rolls, Money Bags, Prawn Parcels, Green Curry, Satay Chicken, Sweet Chili Chicken, Pad Thai, Massaman Curry, Tom Yum Goong and Tom Yum Noodle Soups.

It was a feast. Our celebratory dinner, if you will. And boy did we celebrate. We put on a pot of rice at home. That, with the meals I mentioned above, lasted us for days. Literally. We ate and ate and ate Thai food. It was wonderful. The kids weren't too sure at first, I think this was their first experience with Thai. But we never give them a choice to not try something. Alia ate hers without complaining. Jono LOVED his ! He kept saying ... with surprise in his voice ... 'this is good!' Funny kid !

I plan to do a tour of the house. Eventually. Maybe bit by bit. Maybe in one hit. Maybe in photos. Maybe in video. We'll see. Right now I'm just concentrating on getting everything unpacked and put away !!

We are really enjoying our new house. It's so perfect. Like it was made for us. I love the feel of it. So peaceful. So relaxing. I love the bathtub. I love the layout. I love that I have a laundry room ... not just a washing machine in the garage. I love my gas stove. I love that the oven is raised and that the microwave has a designated 'hole' ! I love that the whole house is fitted with down lights and most of them dim. I love the veggie patch. And the established herb garden. And the patio umbrella. I love the color of the walls. The location of the bedrooms. I love that the ensuite in the master bedroom has cool double doors and the biggest shower ever. And that the shower head detaches from the wall and that it's got one of those massage settings on it. I could go on and on and probably will in the days and weeks and months and years to come !

I'm thankful. Thankful for such a perfect house. For great neighbors that we are getting to know. For a great location. For such a fast, easy and smooth purchase of our first home ! Really, I couldn't have asked for it to go any better than it did !

Well, I think, for not having anything to blog about, I've done enough talking for this one post !

Plus, I really do need to get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight ...

Edited 24 April 2009 ... Little House In The Desert author Roberta Ann commented that I should have included this post in Table Scape Thursday. Of course, I had to go investigate this meme that I've never ever heard of ! Looks fantastic so I'm going to go add my link now ... and then I'll pop round and see what other fantastic table scapes were posted ...

Just Quickly

Move went smoothly.

Loving the new house.

No internet.

Had to change ISP's.

New modem yet to arrive.

Old modem doesn't work with new ISP.

Grrrr.

Will post again when have internet at home !

Hoping that's soon !!

Guess What We Got Today ?!?!

Yep !
The keys to our new house !!
Woo Hoo !!

We're so excited.
We've already been over this afternoon.
Packed both of our cars full of pot plants and breakable kitchen stuff.
Oh, and the cleaning supplies.

The place is filthy.
Guess that's what happens when you move into a place that someone didn't have to clean !
SO ... we get to clean our rental that we're moving out of
AND
our new place that we're moving into !!
We feel like we're going to be cleaning for weeks !!
ha

I am almost done packing though !
Today I picked up some butcher paper from a local moving company.
It is so good for doing the plates and glasses !

Tomorrow Rory's Mum and sister are coming up for a few days.
I'm sure they will be a great help !
And of course, great company.
Big jobs like this are always better with great company !

Ok ... I've got to run.
Busy busy time.
But before I go, I have to tell you about yesterday.
I met Karen !!
I think I told you I was going to meet her !
Some of you will recognize her ...

She is such a neat lady.
I knew she would be !
I'm so glad we got to meet her and her family !
Her husband is a lovely man and their kids are adorable.
A boy and a girl the same ages as Jono and Alia.
They played well ...
Cooped up because it was raining, but they got enjoyed hanging out,
especially when the boys were playing computer games on the lap top and the girls were
in the other room chatting !

Ok ... really really need to go ...

Hope you all are well !
Will be by to visit you all next week when things slow down around here !

One more sleep ...

... and I will be 37 !
My birthday is not til tomorrow but we've been celebrating since yesterday !
I'll bring you some photos of the 'party' with Rory and the kids last night and the delicious
lunch we had at one of our favorite Japanese restaurants today ... but not til later in the
week. I'm too tired to do any photo editing tonight. I've been packing all day.
Well, except for when we went to lunch ! Rory did a whole lot of work in the backyard too.
Phew. I can't believe it's only just over a week til we move !!
We will be ready. No worries !
I'm off. I'm going to go read my book for a bit.
Maybe do a bit of knitting.

PS ... the photo is me and Beaky. She's my kitty cat. Obviously.

Of Banana Bread, Dishcloths, and Angels ...

I have been one busy lady today and it's only noon !
This morning I woke to the sound of pouring rain and my husband still home !
It's his Saturday to work but he didn't have to because of the rain !!
Jono's soccer game was cancelled too.
Disappointing for Jono but it's timely for us to have a Saturday at home !
After enjoying a delicious breakfast of banana bread, baked by my amazing husband,
and various hot drinks*, Rory took the kids out shopping.
Don't know what they're shopping for but I'll give you a little hint ...
Monday is my birthday !!
While they've been out, I've been packing like a crazy lady !
Seriously.
Busy and Crazy.
All in one half a day !

~~

* Rory makes the kids little 'coffees' that are just frothed milk with chocolate on top ...
that is the drink you see in the photo !
Cute, eh ?
Have I mentioned lately that this man is amazing ?

~~

I've got to show you my quickie little project that I've whipped up in the past two days !
I think the next one I do will be quicker and can probably be done in one sitting.
I think this took me about 2 - 3 hours total.



It's a dishcloth.
Not that I'm going to use something so pretty on dishes !
It will probably hang somewhere near my sink in our new kitchen ...
but for decoration purposes only.
At least for now.
I'll probably start using them once I've made a few !



It is a really basic knitting pattern.
Great for a beginning knitter like myself.
Great because it's easy and great because I feel like a professional
being able to make holes around the edges like that !!
ha ha.

You can find the pattern on my Ravelry page.



Do you like my angel ?
Isn't she the prettiest thing ?
I just love her.
Not because she is pretty, although that is good too.
I love the memories she brings.
She was a gift to me from my friend Kristine.
She, so very thoughtfully, gave her to me years ago when my Mom was diagnosed with cancer.
The diagnosis was hard enough but to be in Australia while Mom was in Colorado ...
Even harder.
When I look at this angel now, I think of so many things.
I think of Kris.
I think of Mom and the miracle of her being cancer free.
I think of angels, which makes me think of heaven, which makes me think of God.
An of how thankful I am that He holds it all together ...
I think of these things, all of them, and I smile.

What makes you smile ??

Jackpot !!

Look what I found !!!
A friend suggested that I look for boxes behind a local electronics store.
I took her advice and here's what I found ...

Not only that ... there's plenty more there if I run out !!

Alia was home from school sick today.
She probably could have gone but she did have a runny nose and scratchy throat.
I decided to let her have a day home ... but, in bed.
She did fine for the morning.
Never slept but I didn't hear a peep out of her.
After we had lunch and she went back to bed, she kept telling me she wasn't "that sick."
And she was "bored in there."
I made her stay in bed til we went to get Jono.

I think she'll be going to school tomorrow !!

I did get quite a few boxes packed today.
Hooray !

I'll leave you with a little tip.
Stuffed animals work well as "box fillers" ... this is office supplies ... and stuffed animals.

Perfect.

Gotta go.
We're letting Jono stay up to watch Wipe Out tonight and I can hear it starting ....

Soule Book

Look what came in the mail the other day !!

When we were visiting my parents at Christmas time, my Dad gave me an Amazon voucher.
This is what I bought !

THANKS DAD !!

I had a bit of a read through it last night and I LOVE IT !!
I'm not surprised.
I've been reading Amanda's blog for quite some time now and I love every little bit of it !
Like today ... THIS POST.
How cute is that ?
I'm seriously going to have to look at something like that for our new house ....

Speaking of our house, things are moving along nicely.
I went for a walk through yesterday with the building and pest inspector.
Met the lady who lives there now.
Neat lady.
Wish she could be my neighbor !
They are already packing ...
I think they are as anxious to move into their new place as we are to move into ours !

Speaking of packing, I haven't done any posts on "30 days of moving house ..."
I've done a bit of packing.
Alia's room is 95 % done.
Nothing else.
We've just been too busy living life !
Sure, I could be packing now but I only had a few minutes before I need to cook dinner.

Speaking of dinner, I need to go get it started !!

Let The List Making Begin !!!

If you know me well in real life, or are a long time reader of my blog, you will know that I am a list maker. I have lists for everything ! Beyond just lists ... I have books of lists !! Seriously, sometimes I feel like I need a list to keep track of my lists ! You can only imagine that the thought of moving in 30 days has kicked my list making into overdrive ! Actually, it's not as bad as it could (and probably will) be !! Ha.

My friend Toni keeps insisting that I do a "30 days of packing" series. I've been thinking about her suggestion and think I will do something along those lines. I do not intend to be packing for 30 days though so I think I'll call it "30 days of moving house" ....

I'll take you along on the journey of moving from this house to the next. I can't guarantee that it will be 30 days, or that it will be exciting (ha ha !!) but I'll try to include hints and tips. Photos and systems. And keep you informed. I'll probably for sure be asking questions too ! One thing I love about blogging is the wealth of knowledge out there !! You all are such a great resource and you better believe I'll be tapping into it !! :)

First question is this ... where do you get boxes for moving ? Does anyone have any suggestions ? Any great resources ? Any boxes they don't need any more ....

I'm going to be hitting up my favorite fruit shop because they always have a great big stack of boxes out the front that you are able to take. I'm going to go to a big electrical store that has boxes out back that you can take as well. I'll see what I can get from the grocery store and I already got one from work ... we bought a new microwave and I scored the box !!

So ... wanna see my scarf ? I finally finished the one I started in Colorado !! I like it. What do you think ? Of the scarf ... not of the photo of me wearing it !! Do you know how hard it is to take a good photo of yourself ????

I almost just posted this one ... my three finished scarves sitting on the dresser in our bedroom ! My scarves don't have a home yet. But ... I'm not real interested in giving them one here since we will be moving soon !!!!!!

Well, friends, I must bring this post to a close ! I'm off to knit some more !! I had to pull my shawl out. I dropped a stitch and couldn't figure out how to fix it !! Eeeek ! I hate that about being a beginner knitter !! Oh well ... I won't be a beginner forever !

Don't forget ... boxes ... suggestions ....

And I'll see you back here tomorrow for Perspective: The World As My Kids See It ...