Another Tagging!

Europa Fox has tagged me to fill out this meme, so here it goes.

A. Attached or Single? Attached.

B. Best Friend? My husband.

C. Cake or pie? Lemon Meringue Pie...if it is on the menu it is what I have. Oh, and I like apple pie too.

D. Day of choice? Saturday Morning. The whole promise of the weekend ahead....

E. Essential item? My glasses cleaning cloth. It drives me nuts to have any smudges on my glasses.

F. Favorite color? Pink.

G. Gummy bears or worms? Gummi Bears for sure.

H. Home town? I'm a sandgroper. From Perth, Western Australia.

I. Favorite indulgence? Lindt mint truffles. You can only get these at the Lindt shop. My office building happens to be precariously close.

J. January or July? January, its my birthday.

K. Kids? Not yet, but hopefully in the future.

M. Marriage date? December 2006.

N. Number of brothers and sisters? I am an only child.

O. Oranges or Apples? Oranges, I am an orange fiend. Just ask my husband. In winter we buy boxes of oranges...and uh, he doesn't actually eat them.

P. Phobias? I am scared of heights, cockroaches and dirt on my clothing.

Q. Quotes? "We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time" TS Eliot.

R. Reasons to smile? I just got a phone call from my husband, and had a chat to my Mum. Oh and my dogs are being sweet.

S. Season of choice? Spring...I love it.

T. Tag 5 people: Oh dear, I think most people have done this already. So lets just say anyone who wants to is welcome.

U. Unknown fact about me? I like to eat Milk Arrowroot biscuits with butter spread between. My Mum used to make these for me when I was a little girl.

V. Vegetable? Peas, freshly podded from their shell.

W. Worst habit? I say "I can't explain it" a lot. Then go on to attempt it.

X. X-ray or Ultrasound? I have had x-rays. When I was four I sprained my ankle and my Mum took me to hospital to have it x-rayed. When she told me they were "going to take a photo of it", I expressed some concern that they would have to open up my leg to do so.

Z. Zodiac sign? Capricorn.

Z. Which zoo animal is your favorite? I love the meer cats. The way the poke their heads up and look around all the time. So cute! My puppy Abby sometimes reminds me of them.

A little (cough) online shopping

So, I did my first order of clothing from the US. As many non-Americans reading this will know - J Crew doesn't ship overseas. Sob! But, some Ebay sellers do!

I was a little concerned after I placed my order that I might have ordered the wrong size, cos even though you are meant to drop 4 sizes from Australia to the US......well, you never know. And, it wasn't like I could return them.

As it turns out, everything fitted perfectly. I am so pleased with them.....And yes, Mum, Dad and Auntie H, now that I know your reading this I am feeling trepidation at revealing the extent of my shopping spree...but not enough to not post the pictures!

So, I got a jacket

A cardigan (it was a little brighter red than I was expecting from this photo)

Some shorts

And, a really nice top.

I am one happy ebay shopper....

Some Flip-flop Cuteness

I love Etsy. Everytime I look on there I find something cute.

This is my latest find.....flip-flop decorations. They arrived in the post today. I was so excited to go to the post office and pick up my package.

Just perfect for my upcoming trip to Malaysia and Singapore....

Such a yummy idea.....they come from Mae and Me. Of course, mine have an S on them. But I couldn't be bothered taking another photo.

What's Cooking: Anzacs for my Anzac

So I have packed up another care package for my husband.....this is third batch of Anzac biscuits I have sent him since he went away.

Anzac Biscuits are synonymous with military service here. In the first world war Australians and New Zealanders would bake these biscuits to send to their loved ones on the frontline. Given the long distance the biscuits had to travel they needed to be sturdy, and retain their freshness! Actually, though, they are best consumed fresh from the oven with a cold glass of milk.

These biscuits will be exposed to extreme heat before they get to my husband - it is 50C where he is. Also, given the vagaries of the Australian Forces Postal Service it could take anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks for this package to reach him.

I hope he knows I am thinking of him here when he opens it.

And for anyone who might be inclined to try to make Australia's favourite biscuit, here is the recipe I use. It is not exactly traditional - the cinnamon wasn't in it in the old days. This is a really easy recipe for kids to be involved with too.

Cinnamon Anzac Biscuits

Makes about 40

Ingredients
150g (1 cup) plain flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

125g (1 1/3 cups) rolled oats
85g (1 cup) desiccated coconut

115g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
55g (1/4 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar

125g butter, cubed
60ml (1/4 cup) golden syrup

2 tbs water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method

Preheat oven to 150C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
Sift together the flour and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the rolled oats,coconut, caster sugar and brown sugar, and mix well.

Combine the butter, golden syrup and water in a small saucepan, and stirover medium heat until the butter melts and the mixture is well combined. Remove from heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Add immediately tothe dry ingredients and use a wooden spoon to stir until well combined.

Roll walnut-sized portions of mixture into balls and place on the lined trayabout 5cm apart. Use your fingers to flatten each slightly (until they areabout 1cm thick) and bake in preheated oven for 18 minutes for crisp on theoutside and chewy in the centre. Remove from oven and set aside for 5 minutesto cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Desparately seeking heat

Uh, so I think I have broken my department of defence gas heater....

On Thursday night I was leaning over it to see if the pilot light was going and I caught my cross in it. The cross was yanked separate from the chain....and into the heater. This is happened once before, also when my husband was away.

Last time I got my cousin in to help me dismantle it, but seeing how I know how he went about it I figure I can do it too. So next stop was to get my husband's toolkit out and take it apart. Eventually my cross fell out and some 1 and 2 cent coins (out of circulation for almost 20 years)...so that gives an indication of how old it is.

I managed to put it back together...sort of...... it is now a little wobly on one side. So on Friday night I get home from work freezing and turn it on, and proceed to give my Mum a ring. While chatting on the phone I smell smoke and see it coming out of my heater. Needless to say I turned it straight off. A phone call to the Defence repairs line and they are sending someone out to fix it this weekend.

So, it looks like I will spend the rest of the week camped out on the fan heater!

All Spruced Up With No Place to Go

My puppies had a haircut today. The lady who does their hair is lovely. When she called to say they could be picked up she said "your babies are ready". Too cute!

Anyway, here is Monty looking very masculine with his black collar bow.

And, here is Abby with a pretty purple bow in her hair. She was being a little Madam when I went to pick them up and basically tap dancing in the cage. Can't you see the cheeky spark in her eyes? But, at least she is sitting!

They are a little chilly now with their shorter coats, so they both have their housecoats on. I also think the excitement of the day has exhausted them. They have both taken to MY bed.

Pay it Forward...

The lovely Kappa Prep of Monograms and Manicures nominated me for a couple of awards, so I am passing them on.

This was really hard for me as there are so many blogs I enjoy. So, I have decided to nominate a couple of blogs I have been reading for a while and always get a kick out of:

Simon over on Stuck in a Book....for his musings on all things literary and Oxfordish.

Tara at Books and Cooks....who always tempts me with her cooking ideas.

Lauren at Adventures of a Southern Newlywed for her sweet take on life in general.