Bud to Blossom

By request...

2009-10-28T21:32:00.002+11:00

I tweeted about this risotto as I was eating it the other night, because it was the most surprisingly yummy thing EVER. Delicious, I tell you.

A couple of people asked for the recipe, so here it is. It's from the Australian Women's Weekly (in the 1000 Best-Ever Recipes book)

Beetroot Risotto with rocket

2 medium beetroot (350g) peeled, grated coarsely
3 cups (750ml) vegetable stock
3 cups (750ml) water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large brown onion (200g), chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups (300g) arborio rice
1/4 cup (20g) coarsely grated parmesan cheese
50g baby rocket leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Bring beetroot, stock and the water in large saucepan to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan; cook onion and garlic, stirring, until onion softens. Add rice; stir rice to coat in onion mixture. Stir in 1 cup simmering beetroot mixture; cook, stirring, over low heat until liquid is absorbed. Continue adding beetroot mixture, in 1-cup batches, stirring, until liquid is absorbed after each addition. Total cooking time should be about 35 minutes or until rice is just tender; gently stir in cheese.
3. Serve risotto topped with combined rocket and parsley.

YUMMY. That is all. :)

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

2009-10-06T18:31:00.004+11:00

I rented this strange film on the weekend, having wanted to see it for a while now. I say strange because, well, it doesn't seem like a story that should work as a film. It's not much of a story at all actually, just "a single premise" as a friend of mine described it.

It does work, though, I think. The characters, led by 8-year-olds Bruno and Shmuel are compelling enough that one really wants to find out more.

We see the events from Bruno's point of view, and so only get small glimpses of what is actually going on, which is that the family moves to the country for his father's new role as Commandant of a camp in World War II. Bruno goes exploring, finds the camp fence and makes friends with Shmuel. They become friends, make plans... and I won't tell you the ending.

I thought all of the acting was wonderful. I can't think of a single performance that wasn't up to scratch. But Asa Butterfiled and Jack Scanlon, as the two boys, were outstanding. They're so young, and it's such a difficult concept. It would have been easy to expect such young boys to play it melodramatically, but they were both natural, compelling actors. I also loved David Hayman as Pavel, the Jewish kitchen-hand/servant.

Definitely one worth watching. Just be prepared for quite an emotional ride.

I feel quite shaken

2009-10-01T22:23:00.004+10:00

... by this whole Roman Polanski episode.

I didn't even know about his rape conviction until the recent arrest. I'm sure many people didn't. In case you still don't - the film director Roman Polanski was charged in 1977 with statutory rape, after drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. A deal was struck and he pleaded guilty to a different charge - something like "unlawful sexual conduct"... but in between then and the sentencing he fled the US and set up camp in France. Since then he has made lots of films, married, had children, won an Oscar and carefully not entered the US or the UK.

He was recently arrested when entering Switzerland for a film festival being held in his honour. Switzerland has an extradition treaty with the US so the idea is that he will be sent back to the US to be sentenced and serve his time. He did, after all, admit to raping a child and then fled the country.

Now comes the shocking part. Hundreds of film industry names (these names) have been signing a petition to free Polanski (to allow him to remain freely in Europe), which states that the arrest takes away the freedom of an artist of international renown.

Maybe I shouldn't be shocked at this. Maybe I should have realised that rich and famous people usually think they're better than everyone else. That very talented people sometimes start to think that their own talent is more important than truth, or justice, or integrity.

But I am shocked. I honestly believed that most of the people in the film industry, even the great big famous ones, still knew that they are people just like everyone else. I thought that the self-centred, up-on-a-pedestal ones were really very rare. According to that list of names, I was pretty wrong. People I admire are on that list - Harrison Ford, Tilda Swinton, Terry Gilliam, Guillermo del Toro....

I have to admit I searched frantically through the names and was very relieved not to see Johnny Depp, or Geoffery Rush, or Kate Winslet (though, disappointingly, her husband, Sam Mendes, is there). I love my favourite actors for their own character as much as for their abilities so at least I still have that measure of sanity to cling to.

Disappointing, "Hollywood", so disappointing.

I'm going to bed, hoping that someone with as much integrity as money & fame stands up and speaks the truth - simply that a convicted criminal should face his past and serve his time.

United States of Tara

2009-09-25T21:24:00.003+10:00

So, if you haven't watched the United States of Tara yet, go watch it! Here, it's on the ABC at 9.30 Wednesday nights. No, Thursday. Oh bugger, one of the two. Look it up! Go watch it.

Toni Collette plays Tara, wonderfully (of course, she won an Emmy for it!). She's a wife and mother of two, with multiple personality disorder. Her "alters" take over sometimes, and the alters have their own names, habits, whole personalities. It would be such a fabulous role to play - because it's four roles in one!

The story and situations are built really well - the two children (teenagers) are very real, interesting people. Going through all the usual teenage stuff as well as dealing with their mom being not at all a normal mom. I particularly love the son. He's gay, and has a head-over-heels crush on his new friend, a good Christian church boy. They kissed the other night (woo!) and it was such a typically weird, awkward, very memorable teenage moment. The daughter goes through weird relationship stuff, too, and seems to be the one who can't quite cope with Tara's issues all that well.

Anyway. It's the first TV show I've been really into for a long time. Excellent characters. Fabulous acting. Believable stories, which is sadly so rare these days! (yes, I'm a moany old woman, shut up)

I'm off to eat chocolate and fold my laundry in front of whatever crap's on the TV tonight. I'm a Friday Night Loser alright!

Wow, look at that...

2009-09-21T20:48:00.003+10:00

It's been so long since I've posted in here that the 2nd-last post is a Panic at the Disco picture post! This is hilarious because that band split into two almost 3 months ago. So, for what it's worth, Brendon and Spencer are now Panic! at the Disco, and Jon and Ryan have run along to do their own thing and called themselves The Young Veins.

This was all very traumatic at the time, and is still actually quite sad - all of their close friendship and interconnectedness was a big reason for my loving them! Plus, Ryan-Spencer-best-friends-from-childhood! Oh shoosh you don't understand! But hey, it's all good. They seem to all be still friends and both bands are doing what they love, what more could you ask for, huh?

Don't answer that question.

~~~~

So did I even post in here about Public Enemies? Woah. I was so ridiculously excited about that film and then didn't even come here and rant about it! But you may have seen my faily mini-reviews on Twitter.

In summary: Johnny Depp is awesome and completely owns my acting heart. But you already knew that. The film was... meh. Nice enough but could've been better.

~~~~

What other films have I seen? Hmmm. Oh yeah, NONE. lol. I've watched a few on DVD I suppose. The Boat That Rocked. Which rocked. Loved it. Ummm...

Oh I dunno.

~~~~

Work-wise, I'm going to be stage managing a concert in December. That will at least be some very handy Christmas money. Ha, my working life is so packed that my only busy moment is 3 months away! Woo. Of course I don't actually mind that. It's not like I'm sitting around here twiddling my thumbs. I'm busy eating ice cream and surfing the net, of course.

Why would anyone twiddle their thumbs anyway? That is one of MANY sayings I just don't get.

~~~~

I just realised I missed the deadline for next year's Showcast directory. I hadn't decided what to do, it's $130 and I probably needed a new photo, so.... well, that's that. I think I can join up on the website anytime if I decide I want to. Which I don't think I do. Maybe. *shrug*

~~~~

How about a new regular segment (yes, let's pretend I'm a TV show!) - lyrics at the end of a post. Quick, someone think up a catchy name for it!

from Northern Downpour by Panic! at the Disco:

If all the world is but a dream...
fantastic posing greed,
then we should feed our jewelery to the sea.
For diamonds do appear to be
just like broken glass to me.
~~~

You know what's ridiculous?

2009-04-30T21:53:00.002+10:00

What's ridiculous is that I haven't seen the following films. Adding them to my to-watch list...

~ Casablanca
~ Gone With the Wind
~ When Harry Met Sally
~ The Ninth Gate
~ Before Night Falls
~ Cry-Baby

Promised Pics of Panic......

2009-04-27T13:26:00.011+10:00

... At The Disco. Not panic in general. No pics of fleeing villagers or burning buildings, I promise.

Here are Spencer Smith and Ryan Ross. They were best friends since forever (aged 4 or 5).

They started the band when they were around, I dunno, 15? Spence is the drummer:

Ryan the guitarist and lyricist (and orginally lead singer):

and their friend Brent was the bass player. Then Brent brought his friend Brendon Urie....

to play guitar as well. They discovered that Brendon has an awesome voice, so he became lead singer.

They were signed by Pete Wentz (of Fall Out Boy) to his record label. After they recorded their first album, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (this was in 2005/06 I think) Brent lost interest in the band and was replaced with Jon Walker on bass...

... who toured with them and even allowed himself to be dressed up in the crazy garb in which they liked to perform and be photgraphed:

For their first few tours they did fabulous things like take a circus dance troupe with them.

Ryan, especially, who is half playful child and half eccentric old man, wore amazing make up and vintage clothes. He and Brendon seem to love all things theatrical (one of the big reasons I love them).

In 2008 the 2nd album, Pretty. Odd., was released. It was less punky and outrageous, more lyrical and hippy-esque. Still the same thoughtful-but-self-indulgent lyrics, original beats and eclectic tunes, but more, well......

Let's just say you can really see their love for the Beatles.

I'm kinda kicking myself that I only discovered them recently, too late for their latest tour to Australia (despite the best intentions of a darling friend of mine who, obviously, did get through to me eventually). However I will definitely be snaffling up some tickets next time they're here. And I will have to keep it a big secret from my 4-yr-old Beryl, who is completely and utterly in love with these guys.

Can't blame her, really.

Word on the grapevine (uh... the twitter-vine?) is that new songs are on their way, so hopefully that means a new album sometime soon...

Okay, enough fangirling from me. I was going to try to link to some more Panic music, but really this was just a good excuse to post pictures of pretty boys, so.... go search YouTube, if you like.

Talk about depressing!

2009-04-26T13:21:00.003+10:00

Noel and I watched Uwe Boll's Tunnel Rats last night.

It was the most depressing Vietnam War film I've ever seen. And that is saying a lot, yes? Because depression is a pretty vital requirement of a Vietnam War movie.

Unfortunately not much of the acting was very good (the only female cast member, Jane Le, being one exception), and some of the effects were very ordinary, which let down a fairly compelling story. There was a complete and utter lack of progress, story-wise, but I guess the point of it was to show a moment in time. Less than 24 hours in the Vietnam Jungle.

If you know anything about the Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam, you'll know what went on in those suffocating underground hell holes. Noel's been there himself, crawled through one tunnel - so he wasn't as shocked as I was at some of the horrible violence.

Scary, sad, shocking, ultimately thought-provoking. All of the terrifying things that happened to those characters actually happened to real soldiers. That makes it so much more wrenching than it would be otherwise.

Despite all evidence to the contrary...

2009-04-24T21:03:00.005+10:00

I actually do want to blog. So here's a bunch of stuff I've been into lately.....

Johnny is currently in San Juan, Puerto Rico, filming The Rum Diary, a film based on the book of the same name by Hunter S Thompson. Here he is on set.

photo by Ramon Zayas. Thanks to Emma from johnnydepp-zone.com

Looking forward to that! Although before we get excited about Rum Diary, there's Public Enemies to be released in (I think) July. Which looks amazing and I can't wait. (Except that, obviously, I can.)

~~~~

A bit of crazy stress here lately with Noel losing his job about a month ago. All is well now, though - he got a job this morning and will be back terrorising the highways in no time (he is a very good truck driver, I promise!)

Also in home news, we're in the first couple of weeks of a preservative-free, low salicylate diet here. It's also dairy-free for Talitha, who seems to be affected in her emotions, behaviour and sleep patterns, by dairy and food chemicals. We're hoping it will help both girls with all those things. I was trying to stick to dairy-free also, in the hope that it would help Charlie (who's still breastfeeding) with his sleep, too... but... I kinda fail at avoiding dairy. It's just so good.

~~~~

I've been meaning to rave at you about Panic at the Disco. Because I love them. Here's their myspace where you can hear some of their songs, or you can watch a couple of performances here and here.

(Sorry, I'm really hopeless at finding good links. The really fabulous things are their video clips, which have recently been taken down from YouTube because of copyright claims. Ugh. GO AWAY evil corporations!)

Basically, they are four pretty young guys (22 ish now, and made their first album at 16/17) and their music is somehow a lot of crazy fun and very mature at the same time. For one tour they took circus dancers as part of the show. Their first album was a kinda caberet-esque punk-rock-pop type thing, their 2nd was very Beatles-ish. A lot of people seem to criticise them for being "self-indulgent", but that doesn't even bother me. It's music. It's art. To me, self-indulgence is almost one of the main reasons for art.

I'll be back with some lovely pics of the Panic boys when I can be bothered resizing some.

~~~~

Have been doing a bit of sewing lately. I made four little drawstring bags for my darling friend Lusi 's children. Sweet baby Z was born last week so they all NEEDED homemade pretties. I also made a little cloth doll for the bubba-girl. It was looking rather scary at first but turned out pretty well. I should have taken some photos but eh, sometimes life can just go on without photos, huh?

After I'd done four bags, I experimented with another, and refined the best way to get it done. I was quite impressed with the last couple and it got me thinking... might be a bit of a plan in there, involving crafty goodness AND handy income, all in one great idea. We'll see.

~~~~

Ah, okay, that's enough of a rambly winding blog post for one day!

A meme

2009-04-22T15:40:00.004+10:00

The fabulous Maggie at http://bootstrap-productions.blogspot.com/ (don't know why I can't make links atm, it just won't let me do html...) tagged ME for this meme... so, in the interests of reviving my slack-arse blogging career...

1. Are you a male or female: If you don't know that already, then I just don't know what to do with you....

2. Describe yourself: Layered. Like an onion.

3. How do you feel about yourself: Increasingly comfortable with my own body and my own personality. Enjoying figuring myself out.

4. Describe your parents: Gosh. That's actually quite hard. My dad's one of those men with a very successful and respected work life but a topsy-turvy personal life. H's always been the one to suuport me 110% no matter what. My mum, scarily, enough, is a lot like me, and I'm aiming to not turn out like her (isn't that what most young women aim for? How many succeed?). She also always supports me, but the support comes with an air of just-doing-my-duty a lot of the time.

5. Describe your ex boyfriend/girlfriends: Gosh. I keep answering this and deleting because it's too much detail, or not enough detail, or just weird.
Um. Adam in year 7 was a ery good looking, genuine guy with cool-group peer pressure issues. Chris in year 12 was an amazingly caring young guy who, as far as I know, just suddenly stopped loving me but we actually stayed great friends. Different Chris was a snobby North Shore boy who I think was really just a rebound guy and I dumped him on New Year's Day. MEAN.

6. Describe your current boy/girl situation: Married. It's good. It's life. It's up and down.

7. Describe your current location: Next to my back window, in western Sydney. Inside my coolish townhouse under a fresh blue cloudy sky. The ugly blocks of flats next door spoil it.

8. Describe where you want to be: Oh, any place will do, if it's near my family and there are lots of opportunities around.

9. Your best friend(s) is/are: wise, loving, searching for something.

10. Your favorite color is: sky blue (gazes out the window...)

11. You know that: mostly, people are good.

12. If your life was a television show what would it be called: How Did We Get Here?

13. What is life to you: My children, and my dreams.

14. What is the best advice you have to give: Be brave. Be honest. Be yourself.

Be Tagged, if you wish!

Oh, China...

2009-03-18T21:23:00.003+11:00

Random fact: Noel and I (and a gaggle of others from our church) spent 10 days in China in 1999. We visited pretty remote mountain villages and small cities in the south-west of the country. Gosh, I love that place. The cities (though I only know a couple of small ones) are crazy, hectic, warm places, and the villages are just amazing. Simply beautiful. I'm tempted to say that all the people are friendly and welcoming and lovely, but i'm sure that's not really true. They are human, after all! We certainly met a whole lot of fabulous locals, though. We hope to take our kids there one day.

Anyway. I've been thinking about all this lately after watching Children of the Silk Road.

As you'll see in that link, the film's official title is Children of Huang Shi, with "...Silk Road" being the Australian title. Strange, considering it was an Australin Film Comission film and released first here. Why did we get an alternate title I wonder?

Apart from reminding me of the gorgeous nation of China and its wonderful people, the film really caught me. The acting performances were spot-on. Chow Yun-Fat, in particular, impressed me, as did Radha Mitchell. Johnathan Rhys Meyers was the hero, though, and he did it so well.

Not to mention all those children! What talented young things!

My thoughts are a little sketchy this evening, sorry. In short, definitely one to see. It's one of those films that really makes you feel blessed to live in a safe, prosperous place... and also makes you wish you were the one on screen... oh is that just me? Hmmm.

When You're Strange...

2009-03-07T21:48:00.005+11:00

Oh yes, I'm all Johnny, all the time, lately. (Except for when I'm all Panic at the Disco, but more on that another time...)

This isn't actually new news, but I forgot to blog about it the other week, and then today I found more info.

In news that pretty much makes my brain explode and the rest of my body go jittery, Johnny's signed up to narrate a new documentary by director Tom DiCillo about The Doors, called When You're Strange. That 2nd link is to a review of the film on DiCillo's website (the doco is all done and has screened already, but with DiCillo narrating), which declares it a fabulous doco, authentic and truthful about those brilliant-but-very-troubled young men.

The Doors have been one of my favourite bands for as long as I can remember. My dad loves them so I grew up with them, knew all the songs and everything about them. The fact that Jim Morrison's death was 10 years before I was born was completely irrelevant. I adored him and spent long hours daydreaming of being alive in the 60s and 70s, getting up to all sorts of shenanigans with Jim and his ilk.

So, to combine Jim's singing and Robbie, John and Ray's amazing music with Johnny Depp's voice? Oh yes. Heaven on a stick.

~~~~

Latest report is that they're having trouble getting time in Johnny's schedule to do the recording before the film is due to screen at the SXSW Film Festival on March 15. Bugger! I'm crossing my fingers that they can get it sorted.

Can you see me squirming with excitement?

2009-03-05T09:06:00.002+11:00

New Johnny film. Finally we have a trailer.

Can't talk. Go watch:

Public Enemies Trailer

Whooo!

Nice to see...

2009-03-04T21:44:00.002+11:00

I was watching NCIS last night, and for a few brief moments there was a face I recognised, and an Australian accent. At first I thought it might've been someone I knew from college or met at a drama class somewhere. So I looked up the episode and discovered it was Sharni Vinson. No, I've never met her, but I did used to be rather obsessed with Home and Away (oh shush, most people are at some stage!) so I guess that's why I thought I had.

Anyway, it was lovely to see her pop up like that. It makes me proud in some kind of weird disconnected way, to see the young Aussies doing well over in the big scary exciting USA. Also makes part of me very envious, but hey, you get that.

There's Isla Fisher, Tammin Sursok, Isabel Lucas, all Home and Away girls. And then there's Simon Baker and Jesse Spencer.

And then there's the however-many others over there, living the dream (or attempting to) in LA. Bit parts in TV shows and commercials, endless cattle-calls and extra work and working as a waitress......

So, well done, talented Australians. I think you're doing great.

Connor!

2009-03-02T13:37:00.002+11:00

Of Blue Skies Falling.

Why can I not see your blog? Why is there some kind of real esate / vacation / online dating / pretty blonde student thing going on when I try to see your site?

Please make it stop!

The best of Chocolat

2009-03-01T08:47:00.004+11:00

I watched Chocolat last night.

Ok, I will be honest and I say I made judicious use of the fast-forward button and only watched the best bits.

~ The bit where Anouk comes home all upset and asks about going to church and says "Why can't you wear black shoes like all the other mothers?".

~ And when the cute old man, whose name I can't remember (they're difficult French names ok?), the one who owns Charlie the dog, is confessing to Pere Henri about his lustful thoughts for Madame Audel.

~ And Roux's first appearance, noodling around on his guitar and looking up with that lovely face.

~ Serge dressing up like he's joining the circus, to apologise, and Josephine firmly telling him it's over.

~ Everything about the party for Armande. Especially the food and the music.

~ "I'll come round sometime and get that squeak outta your door", with that LOOK on his face. I promise I didn't rewind that part 4 times to watch it over and over.

Okay, maybe I did.

I feel bad now.

2009-02-28T10:39:00.003+11:00

Sorry, Patrick Warburton, for picking on you. You are a very talented man with a unique voice. It's not your fault that all my girls' favourite films are the ones you're in.

Talitha and Beryl love skipping, too....

I used to love Patrick Warburton's voice...

2009-02-27T22:39:00.003+11:00

Anyone who has small kids, or a dorky husband, or just loves animated films, will understand my pain when I say I am so very sick of the voice of Patrick Warburton. Jeez, that guy is in EVERYTHING these days.

I just want to be able to get on with the housework, or surf the net, without hearing constant KRONK in the background. Go away, Kronk, stop invading every other animated world.....

He's actually quite good in live action, I think. What's that TV show he's in?

Random pic!

2009-02-26T21:00:00.004+11:00

Johnny once described himself as a failed musician, which makes me rather sad for him. Not too sad really... seeing as he seems to have done quite nicely for himself in other areas... but still, a little sad, because look at him with that guitar. He just adores playing live music.

And I rather fancy watching him.

Enchanting!

2009-02-24T22:47:00.004+11:00

Last night I watched the film Enchanted with my girls. The girls loved it, and you know what? So did I! Oh my goodness, it is just the sweetest thing. Really truly, there should be more movies where pretty girls and handsome boys just start singing to each other in the middle of New York City. And chipmunks and bumbling princes and ugly manservants come leaping out of drains to pursue the princess.

Really! It had me grinning like a Disney-crazed fool. And when I go to New York one day, I am so going to sing and dance in Central Park.

So!

2009-02-24T12:38:00.002+11:00

So, I promised a few people I would start posting again properly. I've been itching to write about movies and acting and music. I've turned into a bit of a band fangirl lately, with several crushes on several lead singers, and lots of lyrics floating through my head. I've lost track a bit of the film-industry-world but I can always talk about the movies I've been watching. I've always got opinions, oh yes I do!

And, you know what I've decided? I don't care whether or not people are impressed with my writing. Sure, I'd love more readers, but I've tried sounding like an impressive wordsmith before. I probably just sounded like a goose, and it didn't get me any more readers!

To be honest, I've been having a bit of a flail at myself. Remember way back when I started this blog? The plan was to document my foray into an acting career. Auditions, classes, small parts, small films, bigger things.... and, ta-da! A career! Almost three years later, what have I achieved? A few small student things. One casting call for paid work. Zero actual paid work.

I'm not forgetting that I have three beautiful children, for whom I would give up the world, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed at the lack of entries on my acting CV. I guess it is a little more impossible than I thought to get into this industry while mothering little ones.

Anyway, life goes on. It really does! :-)

2009-01-16T15:11:00.002+11:00

So, obviously, I'm not posting in here again, am I? Nope, don't appear to be.

To be honest, I just can't decide what I want to write about. Lately this has turned into a kind of very amateur food blog, which I don't want it to be. And I'm not doing any acting. And I just don't feel that my writing on films is knowledgeable enough to make it worth anyone's time.

So, meh. I'm sorry, if you were hoping to hear more from me.I might even start a new blog sometime, and if I do I'll come pimp it on the blogs I read.

Hey, meanwhile, go to youtube or somewhere and check out my current obsession, the band Panic at the Disco. Fun, theatrical, retro, sexy.

Off you go then...

To you and your kin...

2008-12-25T14:04:00.002+11:00

Merry Christmas all! Wishing you baskets of goodies, plates of treats, and hearts full of love.

I will be back to posting properly soon.

2008-12-08T13:08:00.003+11:00

Sorry I haven't been posting. We're all sick, and it just keeps going on and on... I can't quite muster the energy to be eloquent enough to post anything.

I have seen Australia, and mostly liked it. I wish more people would go to see it so they'd stop rabbiting on about it in the news. Hopefully I'll remember enough about it to blog about it soon.

*cough cough*

Mini Cakes

2008-11-27T13:28:00.003+11:00

I probably really don't need to blog these as they're just simple vanilla butter cupcakes with plain icing. However, I was really pleased with them, and I love the photo I took of them, so anyway...

Talitha was really pleased with these cakes, too. 48 mini-cupcakes, to take to school on her birthday. Plus, the teacher was thrilled that I made enough for both kindy classes, plus teachers. 10 points for me!

Chocolate and Orange and Racing Cars

2008-11-24T14:21:00.003+11:00

For the big girl's family birthday celebration, I made this recipe from the good ole Australian's Women's Weekly "Cakes and Slices" book. It's called Orange Yoghurt Cake and it's great because it's a little bit interesting, but the flavour isn't too complicated so as to be too much for young kids. It also turns out firm and moist, and stays that way for a couple of days.

Oh, before you start, note that this takes 2 hours to bake,and needs a fair bit of preparation. I'd forgotten that, when I headed into the kitchen at 9pm the night before the birthday. Oh yes, it was a late night. The things we do.

Orange Yoghurt Cake
125g butter
1 tbs grated orange rind
1 cup castor sugar
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup mixed peel (I left this out and just added a little bit extra orange rind)
2 cups self-raising flour
1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup plain yoghurt

Grease a pan. The book says a loaf pan but, meh, use whatever pan takes your fancy. I made a double batch which was plenty of a loaf pan and a ring pan. Preheat oven to 150 degrees C.

Cream butter, rind and sugar in a small bowl with electric mixer until light & fluffy; beat in egg yolks one at a time. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in peel. Stir in half the sifted flour & half the combined juice & yoghurt, then remaining flour & yoghurt mixture.
Beat egg whites in small bowl until soft peaks form, fold lightly into mixture in 2 lots. Pour into pan. Bake in slow oven for about 2 hours. Stand 5 minutes before cooling on wire rack.

Now, just so you know, the mixture should not look like this. This is what it looked like when I put it in the pans & into the oven the first time.
Then I turned around and saw the egg whites still in the bowl on the bench. Oops! Quick!

Out of the pans, back in the bowl, in with the whites.... and this is how the mixture should look:

The recipe calls for orange icing, amde simply with butter, icing sugar and orange juice. However, I opted to use some luxurious Scarborough Fair (fair trade) orange chocolate and make up a choc-orange ganache type frosting.

I kinda made it up as I went, but basically.... put the chopped chocolate with some cream in a heatproof bowl above simmering water. Stir until all chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and shiny. Still over the heat, add some icing sugar and keep stirring just till it gets a bit thicker. Take off the heat. If you're anythging like me you'll now spend ages adding a bit more cream, a bit more sugar, until it looks just right.

This frosting goes quite crusty as it cools down so get that cake covered, and enjoy the dollops left in the bowl (not too much though, especially if you've used rich dark chocolate like I did)!

The finished cake:

Racetrack and cars entirely optional, of course. :)

My amazing daughter

2008-11-20T20:52:00.004+11:00

My beautiful, firstborn, precious baby girl, Talitha, is 6 years old today.

She doesn't like it all that much when I call her "baby girl", but tough luck. She is and always will be. :) She is my sweet sunflower, craving attention and always, always, reaching for the brightest spot in the sunshine of life.

Here she is with her birthday present, a Tonka truck. She was thrilled to bits about it and was quick to ensure it got a good workout.

Happy Birthday, beautiful girl.

In the garden

2008-11-20T17:39:00.004+11:00

Or, mostly, in pots!

I'm finally getting my act together around here and trying to get a bit of a garden going. We've always had a mandarin tree and two passionfruit vines, but they're no work at all really, apart from a bit of watering and fertilising whenever the fancy strikes us. I bought Noel a Wollemi Pine last Christmas, because he grew up very close to, and loves, the area to which they are native. Plus, we just love the whole "living fossil" aspect of having one of those beautiful trees... even though ours is in a pot, so very small.

Apart from those, though, the garden has been languishing for a while, with overgrown lavender bushes, sparse daisies, and a few native bushes in annoying spots.

I'm keeping the lavender, for now, because I will use the flowers to make smelly things for Christmas presents. But last week, I pulled out the daisies, chopped back a couple of the natives, hacked into the soil with a mattock, and dug some blood-and-bone into the soil. This week I'll add in some manure and in a couple of weeks I'll sow some carrot seeds, as well as plant out these:

On the left there are fresh new tomato plants, just springing their way up. I'm pretty late to start planting from seed, but in this area tomatoes grow pretty much all year so it shouldn't matter. These sprouted only a few days after I sowed them and they're growing happily on my kitchen window sill, alongside some random flower seeds and those two pots of parsley my mum gave me (with stern instructions to "keep them alive!").

Another happy tale of seed germination lies in these strawberry plants:

The seeds from these came from store-bought strawberries which were made into a smoothie, which, when drunk, left hundreds of those tiny seeds in the bottoms of our cups. "Aha!" I thought. "I see fresher strawberries in our future!" So I fished them all up, dried them out and sowed them in some wet cotton wool. They took a few weeks to sprout but they're doing well now. Hopefully at least a few of them will last the distance and we'll get some yummy fresh berries in summer!

One passionfruit vine is going "gangbusters", as Noel would say. A few days ago I counted 33 fruit on there, not including the tiny ones with flowers still attached. I'm hoping they all ripen around the same time so that I can make some passionfruit jam for Christmas pressies.

I'm loving the idea of using our own plants and bit of my own effort to make useful gifts for people I love!

More passionfruit flowers. Aren't they lovely? I'm finding it fascinating to watch the progess of our vines. They are little hubs of activity, with insects all over and flowers in different stages. I've been taking photos every few days of two specific flowers, to track their progress and observe the process they go through.

I've also filled up a whole bunch of pots on my front verandah with seeds of various flowering plants. Useful plants are great, but flowers are wonderful too! I'm looking forward to a big bright show of colour next to my front door. Just look at these little guys reaching out to find the light...

I'm still excited

2008-11-14T16:32:00.004+11:00

This SMH article has me feeling less worried about the state of "Australia". Particularly, this quote from Luhrmann :

"There was always a struggle within me. There's the way Titanic ends and

there's the way Gone With The Wind ends.
It's neither of those. It's an ending specific to this moment and it's what I want the film to give out and what I need in my own life. It's what I want to feel.

On that level, it's completely personal."

Excellent. :)

Pondering Australia

2008-11-12T21:19:00.004+11:00

Sorry to have neglected the blog for a while. Noel and I and the kids have all been sick... and it's no fun having to be the mum when you're sick!

I'm looking forward to Baz Luhrmann's new film Australia in the next few weeks. I've been anticipating this one for a long time, having attended a casting back in March 07 , for extra work (at which I was unsuccessful because, as you may recall, I was too big for the 1940s costumes).

I'm a huge fan of Baz. Strictly Ballroom was always one of my favourite films (in fact it was THE favourite for quite a long time, even when admitting that would have meant social ridicule...). So obviously I'm really hoping this one is another piece of wow-worthy cinematic artistry. Baz has stated that it's a departure from the Red Curtain trilogy, a different step into more epic and "landscapey" tales rather than the theatrical bent of those three. (I'm paraphrasing, obviously, although I'm sure Baz wouldn't mind the word "landscapey" too much.) So I'm not expecting it to be the same, but I really am hoping it'll be just as good.

I'm getting a little worried.

A friend linked me to the trailer and pointed out to me how "Americanised" it looks. This is a story set in the Aussie outback, talked up for over a year as this huge, epic, Aussie-est of Aussie films... and I have to say, my friend's comment that it's "an American film about Australia, for Americans".... rings true, just a little, after seeing the trailer.

See for yourself, if you haven't already. The worrying part is the cowboy-esque way Jackman's character comes across (that saloon-door shot is straight out of an American Western!). Drovers may be pretty much the same things as cowboys, but I don't think any Australian would imagine them behaving like one. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what's worrying me (except those darn saloon doors!), but despite all the landscape, the indiginous boy, the locations... it just feels like an American trailer for another one of those "America saves the day" films.

Howver, I am still holding out hope. I have faith in Luhrmann's vision and the fact that he dedicates so much time and passion to making the film he want to make. Don't let me down, Baz!

Just quickly...

2008-11-04T21:11:00.005+11:00

Noel and I watched the final DVD that Hayley lent to me - Closer. Don't ask me to review it because I still don't know what it was about. I mean, it told the story of two couples meeting, falling in love, faffing around, eventually finding their rightful place in the universe... but that doesn't quite seem to be its point, exactly. I'm sure they were aiming for something, but I don't know what that was. Great acting, though, and I'm beginning to think that you can never get too much Jude Law. Lovely chap, he is.

~~~~

I made another little handbag, for one of Talitha's friends. I made this one differently and it turned out much nicer. Two handles, neater edges and a better job of the lining. Yay me. :)

~~~~

Lastly:

Americans. Please. Do the right thing. We've ALL had enough of the crap. We're all watching you and we all need you guys to make the right choice, okay? Go vote! That is all.

Exciting day at my local

2008-10-28T10:27:00.003+11:00

... playground, that is, not pub. "Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities" is filming for a few days in and around my town. Here's an article in the local paper. I stopped this morning at the playground, to sit and feed the boy, and had a bit of a stickybeak. The crew was setting up, the actors were drinking tea, the extras were standing around, as extras do. Richmond Park is a great old fashioned park, with picket fences, orginal grandstand and bandstand, and pretty garden beds... so I guess it's a good location for a 70's country town feel.

Matthew Newton wandered around looking very spiffy in a 70's suit, and Roy Billing (looking a fair bit older and wider than in that photo!) got all perplexed about something to do with wardrobe for the next scene. Lots of cast were wearing "Vote for Don" badges... which, now that I've looked it up, obviously refers to campaigner Donald Mackay, played by Andrew McFarlane.

Anyway, it was interesting to see a bit of the process going on, and it reminded me how much standing around goes on!

"Blondies"

2008-10-27T11:25:00.005+11:00

I've baked a few batches of these recently, and was waiting until I got them right before posting about them... but I don't think I'm going to, really, so here you go anyway. It's an American recipe for "Blondies" (a non-chocolate alternative to "brownies", both of which we in Australia would normally just call a "slice"). I found it here at Cookie Madness.

They look really good, and they have a great texture and taste, but I just can't get rid of this weird aftertaste in my mouth. Not so much an aftertaste, even, more a weird feeling, like strange invisible dry bits are stuck around my mouth. I don't know what it is - maybe I'm not browning the butter correctly, or not taking it out of the oven at the right moment... I don't know.

If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears... I really like these, apart from the weird mouth feeling!

Bloody Shakespeare

2008-10-25T11:18:00.003+11:00

I just came across this article in the SMH about the new Bell Shakespeare play Anatomy Titus Fall Of Rome. It sounds (and looks!) fabulous, and if I wasn't broke and was more able to get out at night, I would be there.

It's a play written by German playwright Heiner Muller, based on Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, and it seems to take both Shakespeare and war really seriously. I love Shakespeare - and I hate war - and it's been so long since I've seen any, live in a theatre. I especially love when companies successfully take the text of Shakespeare and set it in a relevant modern perspective.

Ah, I really feel the need now to ramble on for ages about the glorious-ness of Shakespeare's poetry and stories. However, I have neither the time nor the energy for that. Another time, perhaps.

She's an Artist

2008-10-24T09:18:00.003+11:00

I have to admit, I only believe the answers to this type of quiz when they tell me what I want to hear... (bugger, I lost the proper code for the answer, it's a quiz on one of those quiz sites)

"Your result for Howard Gardner's Eight Types of Intelligence Test...
Spatial
12% Logical, 41% Spatial, 41% Linguistic, 29% Intrapersonal, 24% Interpersonal, 14% Musical, 25% Bodily-Kinesthetic and 41% Naturalistic!
"This area has to do with vision and spatial judgment. People with strong visual-spatial intelligence are typically very good at visualizing and mentally manipulating objects. They have a strong visual memory and are often artistically inclined. Those with visual-spatial intelligence also generally have a very good sense of direction and may also have very good hand-eye coordination, although this is normally seen as a characteristic of the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.
Careers which suit those with this intelligence include artists, engineers, and architects." (Wikipedia)"

In other artsy-fartsy news, here are a few random photos I've taken recently:

A little more sewing

2008-10-19T21:29:00.004+11:00

Just a quick share.... I finally got this little handbag done. It's a present for a little friend's 3rd birthday... which was over a month ago! Better late than never, I suppose. The girl in question has more clothes than all my family put together, I think, so I didn't want to make her clothes. I had no pattern for this so I just made it up as I went. It certainly wouldn't pass as a real handbag, but for a 3-year-old's pretty little something, it'll do nicely.

And another Lazy Days skirt using the free pattern from Oliver + S. Also for a birthday gift, for a 4-year-old girl. The party was yesterday, lunchtime, and I whipped this up first thing in the morning, with plenty of time to spare. The birthday girl was far more enamoured with the boxed gifts of plastic Doras and Princesses actually, but her mum was appreciative!

Some DVD/movie rambles...

2008-10-18T21:18:00.006+11:00

I used to think Jack Black was just one of those weirdo comic guys who made a living out of being stupid. I knew he was a great musician, too, but... meh.

Recently, I've seen a few of his films and really enjoyed his performance. I mentioned Kung Fu Panda a while ago, and last weekend (I think? I'm so tired lately, I've been getting days mixed up!) I watched The Holiday, which Hayley lent to me - kind girl that she is, helping me with my to-watch list. :) And right now, King Kong is playing on TV. I was watching it for a while and was surprised by Black's great characterisation, but the commercials started to annoy the whatsit outta me. I'll just rent it to watch properly sometime.

I really really enjoyed The Holiday. Not just Jack Black; all of the lead actors were interesting and truthful and just very good. (I really wouldn't make a good film reviewer, would I? Yeah, this film was...good...) I loved Jude Law's performance in particular - well, I must admit I just rather loved his character... sexy young single dad who plays in fairy tents with his daughters, what's not to love? Kate Winslet was her usual beautiful, complicated, "ballsy" woman - and when I say 'her usual', I don't mean that in a bad way at all. If I ever see her playing a boring, predictable Pretty Girl I will be very disappointed. Cameron Diaz surpised me actually; I don't usually like her in films all that much. I'm not sure what it is, perhaps I just have an image of her as the stereotypical skinny Hollywood girl, but anyway, in this I thought she really shone. I believed her more than I have before.

Hmmm... what else have I watched lately... Girl With a Pearl Earring, again thanks to Hayely, with Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth. Both very pleasant people too look at, no? Very nice, too, to watch them get all flirty and close-but-distant and almost naughty. It was a nice film, but I did like the atmosphere and dynamic between those two more than the actual storyline. It would be nice to see a bit more of this slightly more meaningful work from Johansson, rather than the often shallow and teeny-bopper-friendly stuff she does.

I just checked my To-Watch List, thinking I could tick off Pearl Earring (but it's not actually on the list. Oh well.), and realised I haven't watched any of the films on it yet. What a slacker! However, I do have Closer in my possession (Hayley again!), so will be able to tick that off sometime soon.

Gosh I'm tired. And I haven't even started work for the day. Tsk tsk.

What the...

2008-10-14T12:52:00.005+11:00

Anyone who knows me even vaguely knows that I adore Johnny Depp. I see myself as quite a devoted fan, I think I know him fairly well. I love his acting, his personality, his generosity and his eccentricities. So today, after reading reports from Disney's big production announcement day, I feel like I'm in the twilight zone.

Firstly, Johnny's playing the Mad Hatter in Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Yep, heard the goss about it, and that's not surprising.

2nd, there will be a Pirates 4 and Johnny's signed on. It doesn't surprise me that Disney would do it, but it does kinda confuse me that Johnny will. An awful lot of people have had enough of Captain Jack... and I guess we just never expected Johnny to do so much of the same character. So yes, I'm baffled. He is one to surprise us, but now he seems to be surprising us by NOT surprising us... which, hold on, sounds awfully Captain Jack-esque, doesn't it...

3rd, The Lone Ranger. Johnny will play Tonto, the native American sidekick. Whoa! There's one out of left field! I don't know about in the US, but here, the Lone Ranger is an old character that people make fun of. Like, we laugh AT him, not WITH him, and that is exactly all of the information I know about him.

I adore the idea of Johnny playing a native American again (as he did in The Brave), and from all reports this is going to be a pretty grown-up take on the Lone Ranger. I do feel sure that it'll be fabulous, but wow, what a bit of randomness.

4th, and the most surprising to me, Johnny appeared at the announcement with Disney boss Dick Cook, dressed as Jack Sparrow, with a Lone Ranger feather in his bandana. I don't even have words for how weird that is.

I imagine Johnny's heading in more of a "big studio movie" direction because it means he can be home in LA more, seeing the children more, and making films they can appreciate. Plus, Vanessa and their kids mean the world to him, and as someone suggested on a Johnny forum I was reading, privacy costs A LOT of money for "celebrities" these days... so why not whip out some box-office hits to please all the new fans he's aquired since Pirates? He's worked bloody hard for over 20 years to get where he is now, he's got the clout and the money to make whatever choices he desires.

It's just Johnny doing what he does best.

"I don't pretend to be Captain Weird. I just do what I do. "

Lookit, lookit!

2008-10-13T13:31:00.003+11:00

My Beryl (3 years old) was shopping with me a while ago and picked out this pink fabric, requesting that I make her a skirt. I took it home with the best of intentions, but just didn't get around to doing it.

So, while both girls were away at Nan's last week I thought I'd make the time to get it done. In the interests of peaceful sibling co-existence, I thought I'd better make one for Talitha, too, so I called and ask what colour she'd like. "Rainbow, mum." But of course! The spotty fabric was the closest thing to rainbow I could find.

These skirts are super-easy and quick to make (hooray!). I used the free pattern from Oliver + S, which I discovered a few weeks back when Amanda Soule, whose crafty/family blog is the best thing ever, made a whole bunch of them for her little girl. Thanks so much Oliver + S, and Amanda Soule, for the great inspiration and help!

The two skirts took me a couple of hours, with interruptions from the two males of the house. The most fabulous thing is the way the hem is done with a length of ribbon, so it turns out very neat and a little bit special-looking. I think my waistbands are a tad dodgy, but overall they look pretty nice to me. My girlies were very pleased with them, so that's good enough.

It really pleases me to dress my children in clothes I've made them myself. It's one of those things that really makes me feel like a proper mum. Which is a nice way to feel. :)

Chomp, chomp!

2008-10-10T12:56:00.008+11:00

My girls are staying at my mum's place, for a holiday, so Noel and I (and Charlie!) had a bit of a date last night. We checked out the new Malaysian restaurant down the street and ate satay chicken skewers, nasi goreng, and sizzling something-or-other beef, all of which was completely delicious. We shall definitely return.

And so, what better way to finish off a romantic date than to watch a movie about modern-day vagina dentata, complete with cringe-inducing sexual moments and gratuitous bleeding penises? Oh okay, there probably are better ways, but anyway...

Teeth!

I'd read lots of interesting reviews of this film from US film blogs, so was intrigued. Noel, well... once he heard there was a film about a tooth-encrusted vagina chomping its way through blokes' bits, he just had to see it. But of course!

It's a decent bit of entertainment, actually. The characters are well-drawn with quite enough (perhaps almost too much) background. Dawn is a devoted Christian teenager, dedicated to purity, who has never so much as touched herself. She has a similarly devoted group of friends, until the boy she fancies reveals that maybe he's not so much into the chastity thing... at which point we learn, in a charming, ahem, disgusting way, that Dawn has teeth. And (cue scary music) chaotic, painful shenanigans commence. The plot kinda loses itself once the chaos begins, unfortunately, but there's enough gore, suspense and hilarity to keep it plenty interesting.

The acting was mostly pretty impressive. The standout performance, I thought, was John Hensley as Brad, the rebellious stepbrother. His characterisation was right there. Not at all self-conscious or hesitant in his performance. Jess Weixler, as Dawn, was a good solid lead, too. She did a good job of playing the self-righteous goody-two-shoes without overdoing it.

Anyway. This film definitely wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. There are some pretty graphic gory shots, although it does tend to fall into comedy at those moments which lightens it up a little.

~~~~

My gripe for the day - why oh why do "Behind the Scenes" docos on DVDs hardly show anything that could actually be classified as Behind The Scenes? Hmmm? I'm so sick and tired of watching the same old interviews with cast and crew, explaining over and over the exact things we've just watched in the film! I don't need, or want, to hear the plot, characters, or setting of the film - I just watched it. When I click on the intriguing little title in the menu "Behind the Scenes" I really do want to see some behind-the-scenes footage. People setting up shots. Actors being made up. Gruesome makeup being applied. Directors discussing a shot with camera operators. Okay? Okay, thank you.

~~~~

Happy squishy-ness

2008-10-09T22:24:00.003+11:00

Okay, my face may or may not be streaked with tears right now, but if it is, it's all Connor's fault. I followed his link to this beautiful video of people dancing all around the world.

I see things like this and I am boggled to think how any one group of people can ever think they are more clever or important or advanced or *good* than any other group. Humans, hey. We are wonderful, and we are rubbish. But we are all the same.

Hey, photographers

2008-10-06T21:42:00.004+11:00

Yes, Hayley, I'm looking squarely at you.

How do a take a photo where the tree looks like this:

but the sky looks like this:
Is it possible?

I'm rather fond of that 2nd one, actually, but it would be nice if the tree was just a little more detailed.

Caramel Banana Cake

2008-10-05T10:26:00.004+11:00

Clearly, I am insane. After complaining about the heat on Friday (it got to 32C in the house before I cranked up the air con), I turned on the oven, and the girls and I did some baking. Yes, insane - but I had a few bananas that were really going to be beyond useable if I left them any longer, so banana cake just had to be the order of the day.

This recipe's from a 1987 "Cakes and Slices Cookbook".... which I just realised is also an Australian Women's Weekly one - what would my kitchen be without the Australian Women's Weekly?

Here's the recipe - I used yoghurt because I didn't have any sour cream, and it turned out a successful, moist cake, but the cream would make it much better I think.

Caramel Banana Cake
125g butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana (about 3 bananas)
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 tsp bi-carb soda
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tbs milk

Grease a loaf pan. Heat oven to 180C.
Cream butter and sugar in small bowl, then beat in eggs one at a time.
Transfer to large bowl. Stir in banana. Stir in sifted dry ingredients with half the combined cream and milk, then stir in remaining halves. Stir until smooth.
Pour into prepared pan. Bake for about 1 hour, stand 5 minutes, then turn onto wire rack.

Caramel Icing
60g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbs sour cream
1 1/2 cups icing sugar

Melt butter and sugar in saucepan. Stir constantly over heat without boiling for 2 minutes. Add sour cream, bring to the boil. Remove from heat and stir in icing sugar.

NB: You need to work quickly with the icing and get the cake covered before it cools too much because it goes sticky and clumpy when it cools. Also, it is disgustingly sweet, and even I, with my very sweet tooth and ability to guzzle sugary treats with joyous abandon, can't eat as much of this icing as I normally would.

(Sorry about this crappy photo. The light in my kitchen is dodgy and my dining table was covered in piles of laundry. Talitha (5) took the first two photos; evidently she's the photographer today!)

Choc-coated Wholemeal Cookies

2008-10-03T11:26:00.002+10:00

Okay, firstly, this is ridiculous. It's early October, it's not even midday, and it's 29 degrees C in the middle of my house. I am far too tired for this kind of heat right now.

Well, at least 2 people want the recipe for those cookies , so I suppose I should post it! Like I said, it's from the Australian Women's Weekly book "Cookies". Have a look for it if you love cookies, it's packed with great cookies and biscuits, some healthy and lots... well, not. I'll post the original recipe and add the changes I made in parentheses.

Wholemeal Rosemary Butter Rounds
125g butter, softened
2 tsp finely grated orange rind
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/3 cups wholemeal self-raising flour (I used 2/3 cup white self-raising and 2/3 cup wholemeal plain flour)
1 cup walnuts (I didn't have any so I used some crushed peanuts and some hazelnut meal)
2/3 cup raisins, halved (I used sultanas - halving them isn't as tedious as it first sounds!)
2 teaspoons dried rosemary (I left this out)
1/3 cup orange juice
2/3 desiccated coconut (I used shredded)
2/3 cup rolled oats (I just plain forgot to put these in and it still worked fine!)

Preheat oven to 180 C / 160 fanforced. Line baking trays with baking paper.
Beat butter, rind and sugar in a small bowl with electric mixer until combined. Transfer to medium bowl; stir in flour, then remaining ingredients.
Roll rounded tablespoons of mixture into balls, place about 5cm apart on oven trays; flatten slightly. Bake about 15 minutes. Cool on trays.

Makes about 30.

To add chocolate coating: Melt 100g dark chocolate of your choice (I recommened Maya Gold of course!). When biscuits are cool, use a flat knife to spread chocolate on the underside of each cookie. Place in refrigerator until set. Store somewhere cool... move to Tasmania, perhaps, to keep yourself cool, too...

Better Cookies

2008-10-02T08:50:00.004+10:00

I grabbed myself a block of (slavery-free) Maya Gold chocolate, and set about finding a cookie recipe with which it would be a good match. I didn't quite find one, but I adapted the Wholemeal Rosemary Butter Rounds from my Australian Women's Weekly "Cookies" (excellent boook! I also have the one called Chocolate. My kind of cookbooks). It includes orange zest & juice so I figured, without the rosemary, it was a perfect match for the orangey, spicy chocolate.

The cookies are quite busy, actually, with wholemeal flour (though I used half white), nuts, coconut, raisins, oats, plus the zest and juice. Awfully healthy-sounding, yes? So the dark chocolate was an exellent addition. The 100g block, minus two pieces promised to the girls, was just enough to coat 30 cookies.

I was quite pleased with myself when I tasted how well they turned out. If anyone wants the exact recipe, I can post it for you.

Ah dear.

2008-09-29T15:09:00.002+10:00

I know I haven't posted for aaages again, sorry. It's because, you see, I had this post all planned out for the Friday before last, which was International Talk Like a Pirate Day, involving lots of Captain Jack Sparrow... and then I didn't get a chance to watch Pirates of the Caribbean to help me write the post and so I didn't have it ready and so... it didn't happen. And then everytime I thought of catching up on here I remembered that post and remembered how it wasn't done and I felt bad about it and really still wanted to post it anyway but then it just got far too late to bother and....

... and now you have a little glimpse into how my whacko brain operates sometimes!

I still will get around to that Pirates/ Captain Jack post, and one just detailing the reasons I love Johnny himself, sometime soon. Just thought I'd let you know I'm still around, meanwhile.

~~~~

I made some great choc-chip cookies a couple of days ago, and my goodness they were good. But gosh, they totally messed with my head because I used Nestle choc-chips. Nestle (the company) makes me want to throw up because it's such a revolting selfish greedy exploitative company and I NEVER buy their products (Noel had bought these choc-chips). I buy organic fair trade chocolate like Scarborough Fair or Cocolo or Green & Blacks' Maya Gold. But anyway these Nestle ones were in the cupboard so I used them, and man I'm so annoyed about how good they tasted! I was stuffing myself with these scrummy bites of chocolate that people literally SLAVED away to produce. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Speaking of which, I just remembered about a good place to buy fair trade chocolate products for baking or just general eating purposes (no choc-chips but there is cocoa powder and raw cacao): Cacao Power

~~~~

I took the kids to a free showing of Horton Hears a Who today at the library. What a good fun film. Gotta love Dr Suess.

A person's a person, no matter how small!

Treats for dinner again

2008-09-16T11:32:00.006+10:00

Who needs real dinner, when you can have pancakes instead?

I had all the pancake-making fun to myself this time...

because the girlies were busy with their own mess...

Ah yes, the house was in need of a good clean up that night. Just the way a home should be.

sulk

2008-09-15T20:29:00.005+10:00

My husband, with a whole bunch of my friends, is currently sitting in the State Theatre being fabulously and, no doubt, hysterically, entertained by the brilliant Bill Bailey. I am at home trying desperately to get a crazy bubba boy to sleep so that I can get some work done so that I can pay some flippin' bills next month....

*sulk*

~~~~

I've been asked by an old college friend to help out on her short film in a couple of weeks' time but I'm going to have to say no. Because bubba boy is still just a bubba!

All the saying no and being home and not doing anything about a career is kinda getting me down lately. I need another one of those reminders that they're only small for such a short time, and I'm only young, and there's plenty of time for careers later...

And now he's staring up at me from his favourite cuddly spot, and you know what? I wouldn't give this up for all the careers in the world.

Anyone having a birthday party?

2008-09-14T07:45:00.002+10:00

Because, oh my goodness, I need a reason to make this stunning chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frostings. Yes, frostings.

Or, someone could make it for me. Either way, I'm good.

Another delicious meal inspired by Chrissy...

2008-09-11T21:56:00.006+10:00

I've linked you to the crazy culinary creator Chrissy before, I know. But seriously. Go to her blog and try some of that food. Oh my goodness, you will not be disappointed.

I had a night to myself last night (which means Noel was away; I still had three kids to feed but they are so much less fussy than him!) - and it was shopping day, so I took the opportunity to buy myself some nice ingredients and have a bit of a feast!

To begin, Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta. Noel wouldn't go near smoked salmon if you paid him... and as it turns out neither will the girls... but oh well, all the more for me me me! I just followed Chrissy's recipe there and added some boring button mushrooms (sorry love, the budget just doesn't stretch to fancy mushies when it's already stretching to smoked salmon!).

It really doesn't look all that pretty in the photo, does it? Trust me, it's good stuff.

For dessert, pudding! Self-Saucing Sticky Date Pud, to be precise.

Unfortunately mine didn't turn out as big and saucy as Chrissy's, perhaps because my dish was very shallow and wide. (I need to get me some better casserole/pudding/baking... ah, all sorts of dishes!) Nevertheless, this pudding was as delicious as big is big (to quote a children's book I've been reading lately). And the girls, who were "too full" to eat any smoked salmon with their pasta, wolfed it down in about 3 seconds flat.

Oh yes, it was good.

Some weekend films

2008-09-10T21:22:00.005+10:00

My Noel, darling man that he is, is a bit of a nut. Those of you who know him will cheerily agree with me - but you won't get away with saying it, like I can.

Anyway, he likes to hire a few DVDs at a time, because our local place has special deals where it's cheaper to rent 3 new releases plus a couple of weekly ones. The problem is, he always gets 3 overnight ones, and always M or M15 rated films. So, we have to watch three movies in one night, or else try to occupy the (movie-loving) children so that we can watch a couple during the day without them seeing anything too grown-up.

*sigh*

This weekend it was Vantage Point , The Bucket List , and Jumper.

So memorable was Jumper that I racked my brains this afternoon trying to think of the 3rd film we watched, then finally asked my B, who remembered "the boy who fell in the water!" I suppose you could say it's hard to remember a film when you see two on an otherwise busy day... but nah, it's just not that memorable. The characters were a bit blah, and several of them kept making decisions that just didn't make sense in their established persona. The scenario of the conflict (a war between "jumpers" and people called, I think, "paladin") wasn't set up well enough for me to grasp what the bell was going on.
It was a very interesting concept, though, and I quite enjoyed the first part where the young bloke figured out his nifty ability to teleport himself wherever he fancied... but after the fun of that wore off, the blah set in.
Oh, and NOT good to watch while curious little girls hover about asking questions about people dying and guns and such...

The Bucket List was all lovely and feel-good and Nice. Jack Nicholson kinda freaks me out (how does he DO that?) but he is, of course, brilliant. And whatshisname... Morgan Freeman... I always forget his name... is, too. It was actually really refreshing to see the portrayal of a relationship between two older men. I do get pretty peeved at the general stereotype of men as macho, distant, unemotional types. It's nice to see something different - whaddya know, it isn't only young women who have friends to be there for each other and laugh and do stuff together! Well done, Hollywood.

Vantage Point was another awful choice to watch during the day with the kids up. However, the main comments we got was "why is he doing that again?" and "ooh she's getting ANOTHER ice cream!", as the events kept replaying from the various points of view. Noel got a bit annoyed with the repetition but I really enjoyed it. I liked the suspense-but-not of knowing what was about to happen but trying to figure out more of how or why it was going to happen. I was completely hopeless at any of the figuring, but I enjoyed trying nonetheless. :) And I was completely tricked - as I always am by tricky twisty plots.

That's been it of late. I have been watching far fewer DVDs because I work on the computer in the evenings now (I'm working as an online researcher for the UK service Any Questions Answered), which totally eats up all my movie time. Such is life.

Sorry!

2008-09-09T15:43:00.003+10:00

Dontcha hate it when bloggers don't blog as often as you want them to?

A comment from Sarah made me realise how long it's been since I last posted anything - sorry! And thanks, Sarah, for the reminder!

I've been cooking and sewing and doing various bits & pieces that I've been meaning to blog about but, gosh I'm tired lately! So, it never happens.

I have a quiet day tomorrow so I'll try (really!) to get a bit caught up.

Pretty.

2008-08-22T16:24:00.003+10:00

I was all set to write a post about how lovely the weather is lately and how I'm enjoying watching the flowers beginning the bloom and the trees coming back to life... and then it turned freezing cold and poured with rain just when we had to walk to the post office today. Just as well the girls love their boots and umbrellas!

Ah well, the fresh blooms are still pretty when they're wet!

A Spot of Afternoon Tea

2008-08-20T21:42:00.003+10:00

I had a troop of (well, three) kindy kids coming round for an after-school visit, plus their mums and younger siblings*, so needed something good-looking enough for the kids and impressive enough for the mums!

I reckon these banana cupcakes did just fine. I had three bananas becoming blacker and blacker on my kitchen bench and finally got around to using them. Mmmmm, sticky-sweet, gooey, brownish banana-mush...

Any old banana cake recipe does the trick, and I just used plain butter icing (though lemon is always nice too). And my B chose the sprinkles to help make them look boo-ti-ful:

*I do not recommend this. Especially on a Friday afternoon. If you must invite more than one friend around, make sure you know the kids and mums, so that you know they're not likely to throw rocks, break doors, and generally act like crazymen let out of prison...

A Most Australia Ven!

2008-08-17T10:21:00.004+10:00

At our house at the moment, thanks to the Olympics, it's all about the national anthem (aka Australia Flag Song!). Here's B's version (with a little help from Miss T):

Australians all in arly choice,
For we are young and free,
With golden soil we sing to choice,
Our land is good by sea...
Our land is all in arly choice
For we are young and free...
In histy page in arly stage,
A most Australia Ven!
In joy for 'stralia let us sing,
A most Australia Ven!

Just read a beautiful script.

2008-08-13T11:00:00.003+10:00

I received an email from a lovely fella from the Sydney International Film School, asking me to audition for his short film. I had a read of the script and it's beautiful! A thoughtful and mostly visual religious theme ending with a very thought-provoking image.

My little C is still such a bubba, though, and I wouldn't leave him for the three whole days it will take to film. So, I had to tell him I can't audition this time. Hopefully this little bit of attention I've been getting in the last few months will continue when Bubba Boy is old enough for mumma-free time!

More light play

2008-08-11T10:12:00.003+10:00

Noel took the girls to work with him on Saturday, giving me some time alone with the small boy. I got some work done in the morning (I have a job working from home! More about that later.), then took advantage of the mild sunny day to get some exercise and fresh air. Ah, the simple pleasures in life...

Charlie fell asleep in the pram... well no, he didn't fall asleep in the pram, pigs might fly, but I fed him to sleep and he stayed asleep when I put him down which is the good bit... so I grabbed my chance to whip out the camera and play around.

This was a beautiful stark winter tree. Shots of the whole tree turned out boringly ordinary, but I liked a few of my close-ups.

I love how this tap turned out blue-ish. It didn't look blue at all in real life...

I mentioned in the comments of my previous photography post how much I like over-exposed images in photography. This next one definitely falls into that category and I love it. I think it looks like either a painting, or a really old film photograph.

I couldn't quite get the lighting right in this one because, well, there was a tree in the way! So, just imagine that the lower seed pod is a little brighter and the higher one is a little darker...

This one is also boringly ordinary... but i just wanted to show off the beautiful blossom trees I see everywhere 'round here...

Best Roast Lamb Ever.

2008-08-11T09:34:00.004+10:00

Huge thanks to the gorgeous and inspiring Chrissy of You'll Eat It And Like It for posting this amazing recipe for a delicious "legga" (as she calls it).

Our neighbour, friendly and generous girl that she is, gave us a leg of lamb that she didn't have room in the freezer for. What a fabulous gift, hey! So yesterday I invited her 'round to help us eat it.

I've never cooked a proper lamb leg before (only those roll roast things and they never turned out very well anyway), and I prefer my meat *really* well roasted, until it's tender and falling apart, so I thought Chrissy's Greek-style legga sounded perfect and easy.

I didn't have any oregano as called for. I only had parsely, basil and coriander, and I don't know much about herbs so I just decided in my random way that coriander seemed like a better match than those other two. On it went with the lemon, salt, pepper and lots of butter...

Really, there can never be too much butter!

Into the oven for hours and hours.... yum yum yum. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the done deal! The house was a tad chaotic when I was serving up, and then we all tucked into it quick-smart.

By golly it was good. When I started to cut into it I thought I'd just about die with foodie pleasure. It was SO tender and juicy and just fell apart under the knife. We stuffed ourselves and then Noel and I kept going back to pinch the extra bits off the bone (our neighbour was too polite for that!).

I see many more lamb roasts in my future...

Do English people ever ponder the insanity of their historical monarchs?

2008-08-09T22:30:00.003+10:00

I just watched The Other Boleyn Girl. It's a very good film - I was particularly impressed with Scarlett Johansson, whose acting I haven't seen much of before. I'm just having a bit of a boggle, though, over the frequency and nonchalance with which they used to chop one another's heads off.

It's a wonder the monarchy has survived at all, really.

Proper review coming tomorrow perhaps...

Milky goodness

2008-08-06T14:36:00.007+10:00

This blog is about creative stuff, right? Well, what could be more creative than making, storing, and supplying all the food my bubba needs to thrive? Creative, in the purest sense of the word. Quite brilliant, I reckon. Almost as brilliant as creating the bubs in the first place!

Talitha feeding bunny while I feed Beryl.

It's World Breastfeeding Week, as I was just reminded in this post by the very talented Kate at Picklebums. I actually have a badge that says "I make milk - what's your super power?". I really should find it and wear it this week.

Beryl getting the very best party food!

Charlie's another booby-loving bubba.

So there you go. Now you know that I will definitely never be one of those movie stars desired for her cleavage more than her talent - so let's hope I have enough talent! :-)

Meh

2008-08-06T14:30:00.002+10:00

The cake was good, but not spectacular. Moist and moreish, but to be honest I was expecting more from those lovely passionfruit. Ah well, it fed and pleased everyone, and that's what counts. :-)

Apple Passionfruit Cake

2008-08-04T21:11:00.008+10:00

This cake was inspired by my friend Hayley the Crazy Baking Girl. I pretty much followed the recipe she used there, but I used self-raising flour instead of the flour plus baking powder and salt, and I used Granny Smiths rather than Pink Lady apples.

I also added some passionfruit I'd collected the day before that were just begging to be used in something scrumptious. We love our passionfruit vines, and there's not much nicer than using food from your own garden to add a bit of extra meaning to your baking.

I had four HUGE Grannies so I cut myself a heap of circles to arrange on the top rather than try to mix them all into the batter. Just look at the appley goodness:

I have to admit here than I broke the cardinal rule of cake-baking by taking it out of the oven halfway through the cooking time to drizzle the passionfruit pulp on top. It didn't completely kill the poor cake, but it did mean the cake took a lot longer than it should have.

In the picture the passionfruit seeds on top look scorched, but they actually seem to have stayed quite tender and sweet despite that. If I do this again, though, I'll probably abandon the idea of trying to bake the pulp on top and just drizzle it over once the baking's done.

The cake is waiting patiently on the bench for when my mum visits tomorrow... I'll be sure to let you know how it tastes...

Back into photography

2008-08-02T12:42:00.005+10:00

Way back, years ago, when I studied photography (fairly briefly, at commuity college and school), it was still all about film. I still love film but we don't have a film camera at the moment, so I'm learning how to use our digital SLR. Some things are the same, some are very different, and some things I just plain forget how to do. And spending the copious amount of time it takes to reaquaint oneself with the art is nigh impossible with my three small people. So, it's a slow process...
... which all might sound like I'm trying to justify my crappy results but really, I'm just rambling away as usual...

The sun is shining again today (after a beautiful, very impressive storm last night!) so I popped out into the backyard to play in the lovely warm light. I just fiddled about with the camera settings and the light on a few plants.
It was quite dim in this corner of the garden and I loved the way the pinks kept changing as I increased the exposure time. Nothing special but I liked the colours.

Then, I was distracted by far more important subject matter...

Spring is springing... or not!

2008-08-01T13:15:00.003+10:00

I went outside at 6.30 this morning (as you do) and I wasn't cold. I walked the big girl over to school, and got quite warm. I walked the small girl to dance class and we both became too hot for our jumpers.

The sun is shining, the gusty breeze is warm, and oh yes, the air smells like a new season. It feels good.

Edit - um, perhaps not. It is now freezing cold, with icy wind and increasing rain. Oh well. It was good while it lasted. :)

Also.

2008-07-31T21:53:00.003+10:00

Paparazzi photographers are revolting. The poo of a flea living in the scum of the earth. The people who buy the magazines they publish are almost as bad.

That is all.

The List...

2008-07-31T21:21:00.006+10:00

Every now and then I mention putting something on my To-Watch list, or watching something from it. Said list is a scrap of old notepaper that I keep in my wallet for quick reference at the video shop or department store.

Here's what's on it right now...

In Her Shoes
Chinatown
The Ninth Gate
The Brave (I'm DYING to see this, anyone know where I can find it in Australia???)
The Pianist
Dog Day Afternoon
Magnolia
Eve's Bayou
Closer
The General
Casablanca (I know! I can't believe I haven't seen it yet!)
Raising Arizona
Connie and Carla
Donnie Darko

Also still on the list was Arizona Dream, but I have actually seen that a little while ago... weird... will see it again though to try and understand the little sucker...

(Oh and there's a title on there - "That Hideous Strength", which I have no idea about. I cannot find a film by that name on IMDB or anywhere. What was I thinking about, I wonder?
EDIT - I found a novel by CS Lewis with that title. And I have no idea why I would have wanted to read it, especially as it appears to be the third of a series. Chalk that one up to one of those odd random moments I often have...)

So, I'm thinking that's actually a pretty short list. Why are there not more films on my list?

What, dear lovelies, do I need to add to it?

Pink and Green and Chocolate all over...

2008-07-26T10:01:00.009+10:00

So, it was Friday night. Noel was away for work, I was in a lazy don't-want-to-cook kinda mood, and the girls and I just wanted to hang out. The obvious choice: let's make chocolate cake for dinner!
Oh yes, I am the coolest mum ever; you better believe it.
Setting aside all thoughts of late-night sugar-induced madness, I rounded up the overly enthusiastic troops and got started.

I make chocolate cake just using a basic butter cake recipe. When adding the flour to the creamed butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs I just whack in however-much-looks-good of cocoa powder (I like to use lots so it tastes properly chocolatey!), and then add a little more milk to make up for the extra dry ingredient. Even better is to add some real melted chocolate too but I didn't have any around last night.
It's always an anxious moment handing over the ingredients to the small people; you never know what's going to end up all over the floor! But it's fun, and I find if you just expect them to do well, they appreciate the trust so they tend to rise to the occasion and live up to your expectations (um... mostly... more on that soon...).

See - lots of cocoa... mmmm....

So the cake was done, all baked and cooling down. Time for the icing...

Ooops! "Mummy the bowl was moving by itself!" Yes darling, of course it was. I took the photo because otherwise I was going to lose my temper! Grabbing the camera gave me a second to breathe, put on my happy Mary Poppins voice and say "oh well, accidents happen!"

Now, can you tell that we had conflict over which colour the icing should be?
And... dinner! Yum. :)

Oh and yes, the girls did go a little mental at bedtime, but a few giggles and bed-swaps later, they were asleep for the night by 9.30. Success!

And now for something not all that different...

2008-07-24T18:14:00.004+10:00

I have a secret. A very important and surprising revelation.

I am interested in Other Things. That's right, my life does not revolve entirely around dreaming of being an actor and sitting around watching films. In fact, a very small percentage of my current life revolves around those things. I spend my days with my family; feeding and teaching and entertaining them, loving them, finding ways to provide for them.

In honour of that fact, and in an effort to revive this dwindling blog, I'm going to start blogging about a broader range of topics. Essentially, instead of being about "me the actor", it will be a place for "me the creative person". Anything that can concievably be called Creative will be fair game - photography (if Noel ever lets me get my hands back on the camera!) sewing, cooking, craft, kid stuff, and of course film and drama. I want this to be a happy little corner for me to just be me. And I'll try to include lots of photos.

Sound okay?
Anything you wanna hear about?

The Dark Knight

2008-07-19T21:40:00.009+10:00

Just got back from the local (kinda crappy*) cinema after seeing the most hyped film in ages... and loving it as much as I ever love an action film.

You see, I have issues watching action movies. I tend to keep trying to see and understand what each person is up to, whereas I think you really need to watch them with a bit more of a broad mindset so that you don't get lost in the details. I tend to get quite lost and only when I realise I'm getting lost, stop and broaden my focus a little, do I start to figure out what's going on and enjoy it a bit more.

Plus, I must admit there was a bit of an emotional thing going on with me. I really wanted to see more of Heath Ledger (because he was utterly wonderful and I just wanted to drink him up!) and I kept getting annoyed when I thought there wasn't enough of The Joker.

So, setting aside my neurotic weirdness.... it's a great film. Like I said, Ledger was wonderful, totally stealing the show. Really. His every movement and sound and look screamed out his character. There was nothing missing and nothing too over the top. I'm trying not to be emotional about it and praise him just because he's now gone, and I honestly don't think I am. He deserves the praise. It's the ultimate Joker.

I enjoyed watching Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, too. He keeps surprising me that guy (Eckhart I mean); one minute I think he's your typical light-comedy kinda guy, the next minute he's doing something really dramatic, then he's off doing psycho comic-book guy. I like it.

Christian Bale, well, he's Batman. What is there to say? Apparently he's one of the hot sexy guys out there at the moment... I dunno... I've never noticed... anyway, he's a lovely Mr Wayne. Maggie Gyllenhaal was her typical cute self. Nothing particularly special, but then the character didn't call for anything much.

And how cute is Alfred? You've gotta love Alfred, and his relationship with Bruce/Batman.

The most annoying thing, and this is something that has been really starting to get to me lately, was the music. As soon as some music started, I thought "ah, composed by Hans Zimmer." And I don't like that. I want the music to subtley and cleverly fill in some gaps and accentuate some great moments. I don't want it to scream "Hello!!! I was composed by Hans Zimmer!!! That's why you are suddenly, inexplicably thinking about Pirates, Lions, and kung fu Pandas!!!"

No offence, Mr Zimmer. Your music really is beautiful. Just... perhaps... a little more variation? Some new themes? Ta.

(okay, have to laugh... I just read on Zimmer's IMDB page that he apparently "plans to retire" for some years after The Dark Knight, to work on teaching and helping young composers. Perhaps he figured out his issues before I did...)

Anyway, back to the topic... The Dark Knight.... yes, lovely. A little too much "action movie" for me but hey, it is in fact an action movie - so we can't fault them on that!

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*wouldn't be so crappy if more people from around here patronised it and helped the management in their quest to afford the upgrade they've been working on for years!

sob

2008-07-11T22:50:00.003+10:00

I just watched Casanova on telly - the film with Heath Ledger. I have actual tears all down my face.

Oh, Heath.

He was so beautiful.

*sigh*

Freddie Highmore rocks.

2008-07-07T09:57:00.003+10:00

If I were 14, I would be so in love with Freddie Highmore. What a brilliant and lovely young man. Alas, when I was 14, he was 2; so for now I shall stick with great admiration. His acting is truthful and understated and seemingly effortless, and his personality is gorgeous.

I found these quotes on his IMDB page...
[Talking about his dressing room demands] Because I'm a spoiled little brat, I absolutely always insist on a table and chair and lighting. This February I'm even going to demand heating.
[On celebrity] As long as you don't stand on the corner and wave your arms about, people don't notice you too much.

Funny boy. I just think he's so mature and grounded and intelligent.

Okay, so that's enough fangirling.

As I mentioned, we watched August Rush the other night. I loved it. My girls kept looking over at me, all worried, because I kept gasping and grinning and sobbing. And you've gotta love a film that gets those emotions going! (although I have to admit you probably wouldn't find it as emotional if you aren't a parent)
I absolutely love the way that the music of this film is so integral to it. Maybe I'm just a sap but I found the concept of the music leading Evan to his parents just beautiful.
I surprised myself by being impressed by Robin Williams. I generally don't like him much (too much swearing and stupid humour for me) but as the manipulative kind of Fagan character, he was excellent. Quite scarily horrible.

Okay, I shall stop rambling. I'm typing one handed while feeding the bubba and I can't get my thoughts together. Off to entertain the troops...

Well she might do better than some world leaders I know of....

2008-07-05T14:10:00.005+10:00

My 5-yr-old has been pretty demanding today.

Sumara: *is frustrated* Talitha! You don't get to run the world!
Talitha: *is matter-of-fact* Yes I do. It's mine.

~~~~

In other news. The girls and I watched August Rush last night. It is glorious! I will be back later to ramble about it and the gorgeous Freddie Highmore...

Hai-ya! kick punch run up wall

2008-06-24T17:31:00.006+10:00

Noel and I took the kiddos to see Kung Fu Panda on the weekend. I went along because I was desperate to get out and about for some time with him and them, but I was pretty sure I would find the movie boring and/or groan-worthy.

I was wrong! To my own surprise, I really enjoyed it. At one point I realised I was just gazing at the screen with a big smile on my face and I thought "Oh, goodness, I really like this!" It's funny and gorgeous. I'm not usually much of a fan of Jack Black, but in this he is AWESOME (lol, I never use that word but sorry, I just have to. "There is no charge for Awesomeness.").

I just deleted a few sentences in which I tried to pinpoint why I liked the film so much. I can't put my finger on it. The characters are just deep enough for their story, and they and their world are beautifully drawn, and it all just works really well.

I like it. So go see it if you get the chance.

~~~~

I'm a bit excited tonight, and a bit too keen to tuck the girls into bed, because I've borrowed The Shining (hooray for DVDs at the library!) and will watch it tonight accompanied by my block of Maya Gold chocolate (Fair Trade chocolate! Buy it! Don't buy the slave-harvested stuff!).
I don't even have any idea what The Shining is about, but it's one of those classic films that has been on my to-watch list for ages... I shall report back, faithful listeners... readers... friends... you know who you are...

2008-06-17T12:57:00.009+10:00

Mmmm... the worst pies in London....

Well, not really - they were pretty good actually. This was last Wednesday when I got the kids asleep and sat down for a bit of gory delicious Sweeney. However, I accidentally hit some button on the remote which messed up the sound and I couldn't figure it out, so I didn't end up watching very much of it. The dull stereo sound was just too depressing for such an experience.

So on Saturday night my lovely friend Hayley was visiting and we watched it with proper surround sound. Unfortunately the experience was still nowhere near as good as seeing it in the cinema... but that will have to wait until we build our dream house with a beautiful, insulated, specially-made theatre room. Still, it really is delicious, this film. I know I've raved about it before, but Johnny's "Mr Todd" is just beautiful. Really beautiful.

I enjoyed Helena Bonham Carter's performance a lot more this time, I think I paid a bit more attention to her so got the gist of her character a bit better. I love Sacha Baron Cohen too, but my gripe with him is that I struggled to understand him when he reverted to an English accent. He mumbled. I also particularly appreciated the funny bits - especially the song "By the Sea"; goodness that is so well done and so funny. I could watch it all day.

Now, for Depp fans, all that there is to do is wait for his next two appearances, in The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus (Hmmm, I'm a little annoyed that IMDB's listed Johnny first in the credits there; he shouldn't be top billed when it's Heath Ledger's character...) and Public Enemies.

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In other news... I'm feeling the acting itch again, and, well, I'm really feeling the need for some extra cash to be flowing into this household, so once I get this bubba of mine a little more settled I'll be beginning the ring-around again to agents and casting people. Let's see if I can get myself something...

My 5-year-old daughter is starting Drama and Musical Theatre classes next week, and the 3-year-old will be starting Dance. Mwa ha ha... I'm going to be a big annoying Stage Mum....

Strong Bloody Violence

2008-06-10T12:29:00.005+10:00

My Sweeney Todd DVD just arrived in the mail. Mmmmmm.

Meat pies for dinner, methinks!

It was Johnny Depp's birthday yesterday, by the way. Happy 45th, Johnny!

~~~~

Speaking of violence, and Johnny... we watched American Gangster the other day. It reminded us of Blow , except with murder as well as drugs.
It was a good movie, although we watched the extended edition so it kinda went on forever - almost 3 hours of gangster talk and family/political maneuvering, so I got pretty lost (I always get confused with the different connections/families/loyalties in gangster-type films). Russell Crowe was great, as he usually is, and it was nice to see him acting again rather than rabbiting on about football, which is all he's in the news for these days 'round here.

A spoonful of sugar

2008-06-05T14:27:00.007+10:00

Miss B is watching Mary Poppins so all those fun songs are filtering through the doorway...

"A spoonful of sugar, that is all it takes. It changes bread and water into tea and cakes."

Oh I love Mary Poppins. Such lovely messages about life and value. I know there are two schools of thought about this movie though. Some people seem to think she's a very freaky scary manipulator. I can totally see where they're coming from but I just ignore the freakiness and concentrate on the cute and loveliness. :)

~~~~

No spoonfuls of sugar for me, though. I lost 1.9kg this week, woohoo! So, if I stay on track, this "spare tyre" should be gone in no time!

Comedians

2008-06-02T09:59:00.005+10:00

Did anyone see Frank Woodley on Rove last night?

Some parts of Rove really irritate me but he always has great guests so last night I was watching it in between tidying up and baking bread (go me, little miss domestic!). I think Frank Woodley is fabulous - as is Colin Lane but I'm kinda glad they've gone their separate ways and we get to see their indivdual talents shine more.

It was a fun interview of course; quite hilarious, especially his answer to the inevitable gay question. Every answer to every question (well, almost) was funny in some way. Which got me to thinking - why do comedians have to be funny *all the time*?

Whenever we see a comedian interviewed, or on a variety show or quiz show or anywhere really, they're always constantly making jokes. Now obviously this is their job and there are times when they're expected to provide some lighthearted diversions. But really, they don't have to be doing it constantly do they? I wonder if they're like that in their everyday lives, always relating the situation they're in to some hilarious anecdote, or if it's just the "stage persona".

I have a bit of a theory (based mainly on my own experience and feelings) that actors love acting so much because they don't have to be themselves; they can be someone else for a while... yes I know, thank you Captain Obvious, but what I mean is that we are hiding in a way, covering our real self up because it's so much easier to be public if we're not revealing ourselves. If I get laughed at or strange looks or ignored, that's okay because it's not really me.

Essentially, what I'm saying is that actors are pretty insecure, and, as well as being lots of fun and requiring a bit of talent, playing a character allows us to find security without revealing too much of ourselves. That's how I feel about it anyway. Maybe other actors will say differently but hey, this is my blog and my theory. (I'm very secure with how insecure I am, thanks very much!)

So, perhaps comedians have a similar thing going on. Whenever I see Frank Woodley (and other comedians too, but Woodley in particular I think), his eyes, to me, do look pretty insecure. I know the "deer in headlights" kinda thing is part of his comedic persona, but it seems to me that if you look in his eyes there's something a bit frightened in there. And it really feels like he's making all those jokes to take the attention away from that insecurity and distract us from finding out who he really might be.

All of which is fine with me, because he's hilarious. It would be great to chat with him I think, it might be quite revealing (but hopefully not as revealing as that Rolf Harris fantasy...).

Reality TV

2008-05-29T21:26:00.004+10:00

is taking over the world.

And it's driving me mental. Can somebody please make the evil empire of reality TV just. go. away. Please?

I shouldn't be watching television anyway, I know. However, if there were a few less hours of Crap-ality TV going on maybe I *could* watch it without frying my brain so much. Plus, if there were more good dramas or even good soaps being made, there's be more work for up-and-coming twenty-something Sydney actors... :-)

Speaking of TV, I was thinking today that soap operas (I don't follow Neighbours or any of those amazingly scary American ones, but will admit to regular viewing of Home and Away) are almost little self-contained lessons in scriptwriting and acting. You get half a dozen examples of how NOT to do it, interspersed with a few lovely talented people who provide a good contrast and carry the show... Quite fascinating sometimes, don'tcha think?

And you know what - my eldest daughter can spell, write and read the word "television". This week for her homework she wrote a story: "My dog watches television." (Yes, in Term 2 of Kindy, one sentence constitutes a story!)

Multiple viewings...

2008-05-26T11:15:00.004+10:00

I was just pondering yesterday how interesting it is to watch a film over and over again... not in one day but over time.

I was watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for the bigzillionth time with my 3-yr-old B, and noticing that I watch it differently now that I'm so familiar with it. And I don't just mean the fact that I know all the Oompa-Loompa songs off by heart and joyfully sing along with them!

Yesterday in particular, I was watching Johnny's Willy Wonka very closely and really trying to take in every nuance of the character. I noticed moments where the character seemed, curiously, different. I kept thinking to myself how Johnny must have gone into so much detail with his character building (especially with all that backstory they've added to this version!). Usually when I watch Johnny films I can't help but notice mannerisms and brief moments of charcterisation that "belong" to other Johnny characters, but this time I was focussing so intently on Willy Wonka and trying to build a picture of him in my head, that that didn't happen. I was not aware of any "Johnny" or "other Johnny character" moments at all.

(by the way, I should be clear that I don't think this commonality of characterisation or the cross-evidence of mannerisms between characters and from the actor's own personality is a bad thing at all. An actor's only tool is their own self, after all. And people always have things in common with other people, don't they?)

Anyway, that was my focus on this viewing. Other times I have really focussed on the Oompa-Loompas or one or two or a group of the children. (Very rarely do I pay much attention to Charlie - strangely enough he seems quite incidental to the story to me. Except that he has a very cool name!)

Some films are fascinating to watch repeatedly - Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, for example, defintely chhange and grow with each viewing - while some I find are good in themselves with just one viewing. I haven't been able to bring myself to re-watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas yet because the first viewing, probably about a year ago, is still in there being digested slowly.

What films do you love, or hate, to watch repeatedly?

Oh golly gosh!

2008-05-19T15:43:00.004+10:00

... and other choice expletives!

I just hung up from another call from a casting agent (one of Sydney's biggest) wanting me to come in tomorrow for a casting for a cereal commercial. They were even fine with me bringing the new bub with me!

But of course it's a healthy cereal isn't it, with a but of a reputation so they have strict rules about the BMI of the actors in their commercials, so she had to check my height and weight. Damnit! I knew there was a reason I should've been trying harder to lose all that pregnancy weight! Let's just say I obviously wouldn't look too hot in a red minidress right now!

Well, hah de ha ha... it never rains but it pours...

The good thing is, at least I know that my new headshot on Showcast is doing the trick. :-)

Charlie

2008-04-14T09:50:00.003+10:00

Our bubby boy was born on Monday 24th March. It was all a bit melodramatic and I ended up having another caesarean after a non-reassuring heart trace... but Charlie was fine and is doing well. His big sisters love him with a smothering passion and his daddy is very proud to have a boy.

That photo was taken on 11th April, sleeping on Noel's tummy at the computer desk... daddy has some magic trick that gets him to sleep like that. Never works for mummy.

(Noel's tummy isn't really that big by the way, he's leaning back in his chair. Noel is of course a big gorgeous hunk.)

~~~~

When Charlie was 6 days old I got a call from a casting agent wanting me for some work. !!!! I just knew that would happen! Horrible timing, damnit. But I asked her (probably in a desperate pleading voice!) to keep me in mind in the future. *sigh*

~~~~

I would love everyone to comment if you can, or email me, because our computer temporarily died recently and I've lost all my links to blogs and my email contacts.

Yes, well.

2008-02-12T16:17:00.001+11:00

So, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that there's not going to be any acting happening for me in the near future. And I'm okay with that. At the moment I'm, quite rightly, more focussed on being a mum and homemaker. Our little boy will be making his appearance in (hopefully!) about a month from now, and to be perfectly honest the idea of caring for three children still kinda freaks me out. I have no intention of trying to do anything other than parenting for quite a while.

I might still blog a bit, but I might not. Meh.

Meanwhile, we've hired a few movies lately... because we're totally broke and really stressed about money, and both Noel and I are the kind of people who react to money stress by spending money (credit card!) on things to make us feel better, ie movies and accompanying junk food. Sensible, I know.

Black Sheep was quite possibly even worse than I expected it to be, which was pretty bad. I only watched it because I thought Noel would like it, and so that I could say I'd watched it. It was relly horrendous and the only thing I could think was "who the hell gave this thing such a big budget?". Just a completely useless film.

Stardust was lovely. I expected it to be a bit more exciting, whereas it was more rambly adventure than exciting adventure. Still, a great story and some excellent moments.

Notes on a Scandal was very well acted of course (duh - Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett!), but I can't quite decide whether I really like it or not. I guess the story just didn't really grab me, but the performances were wonderful.

The Blade Trilogy was just kinda rambly, vaguely amusing, gory blah-ness. The first one was better than the 2nd and 3rd (isn't that always the way?). Worth watching, if you're into vampires and guns.

And there you go, my loony pregnant self has forgotten all the other things we've watched lately.
Now I'm off to eat chocolate self-saucing pudding for dinner. :-)

"We all deserve to die....."

2008-01-29T20:34:00.004+11:00

... is the line of song I've had stuck in my head since I woke up Sunday morning. Charming, really. :-)

My darling dearest gorgeous husband took me to see Juno and Sweeney Todd in between a wedding ceremony and reception on Saturday (it was a Japanese/Chinese/Danish wedding; they had lots of traditions to complete in that time!).

Juno was cool; much better than I was expecting. Even though I'd read rave reviews, the previews hadn't really appealed to me. But I really liked it. Great performances and a really good script. (Very bad fake pregnant belly though. Oh, when will they learn?)

Sweeney, honestly, deserves *most* of the praise that's being thrown about over it. Johnny DEFINITELY deserves the Golden Globe and the Oscar nom, he's just divine. Just the perfect mixture of reality and craziness and, well, just a stunning performance. Some really scary moments from him, and some truly hilarious ones. And as usual he was entirely, bodily and emotionally, dedicated to every single moment.
I wasn't so keen on Helena's Mrs Lovett at first, but she did kinda grow on me towards the end. Her voice didn't seem quite right to me, but what do I know about singing voices.
All of the supporting cast were fabulous too. Lots of really gorgeous (and scary, and sad, and funny) moments.
And the film just plain *looked* great. Cinematography, costumes, makeup, lighting, all so rich and deep and good to look at.
Oh yes, and lots of blood. Lots and lots. More than I expected, and extracted more violently than I expected. Quite freaky, in fact.

Anyway. Yes, loved it. Will have to see it again and see if I like it as much without all the suspense and anticipation.

Meanwhile, abovementioned fabuloso husband is about to arrive home with a stash of chocolate. Must be off...

Heath Ledger!

2008-01-23T10:00:00.001+11:00

Oh my goodness! Noel just called me to say Heath Ledger has been found dead, apparently of a drug overdose.

I can't find a news article because we're on dial-up speed at the moment and I bet half of Australia is trying to look up the same articles right now. But oh man, how awful. What a shock.

And what a stupid, stupid way to die. In the middle of a wonderful career. Damnit.

Edited.... Sorry, I probably shouldn't say "stupid". All evidence apparently points to this being an awful accident involving sickness and sleeping pills. My thoughts go out to Heath's family, and his little girl Matilda. I hope the media can keep the heck away from them now and let them mourn in peace.

Blah.

2008-01-22T13:23:00.002+11:00

Not that anyone reads this blog anymore, but just in case... yes, I'm still alive. Not even busy or anything, just have nothing to blog about.

~~~~

I'm 33 weeks pregnant now, with this very wriggly baby boy. Everything's going perfectly and I feel really healthy and positive.

My big girl starts primary school next week. I'm so not ready to hand her over to teachers for 6 hours a day. However, she's completely set on going and won't have a bar of homeschooling, so off she goes. Maybe I'll surprise myself and end up loving the whole schooling thing.

Smaller girl (as welll as turning 3 tomorrow!) starts preschool, one day a week, the week after. She seems so much more grown up than T did at this age. It's crazy.

~~~~

Work (the casual promotions job) has totally let me down. They didn't contact me for weeks and when I emailed saying I was keen for lots of work during January the roster girl just said there was nothing available, everything had been allocated. Not a single shift offered to me for a whole month - after I was assured of two shifts per week. And just when I was really counting on it to be able to cover a few big bills coming up. Selfish sods, that's what they are. It's not like I can just go and get a new job, at 7 months pregnant.

~~~~

I went to an audition for a (non-paying) "feature film" in the city last week. They director emailed me especially, even knowing I'm pregnant, so I was feeling really positive about it. Turns out the "feature film" is more like a series of short films, with really very amatuer scripts, and they were considering me for a role as a headmistress. Now honestly, when you think "headmistress", do you think mid-twenties and heavily pregnant? I sure don't. So much for that. I haven't heard back from them anyway - I'm quite relieved that I don't have to decide whether or not to turn down a dodgy role.

~~~~

Thursday! Sweeney Todd !!! Need I say more?

I'm too busy being fabulous....

2007-11-10T12:51:00.003+11:00

Oh my goodness me.

I am listening right this moment to the new Eagles album.

*sigh*

It's called Long Road out of Eden, but goodness I think I'm in Eden right now. New Eagles music... Don Henley... Timothy B. Schmidt (sexiest bass player ever!)... "Busy Being Fabulous"... "I Don't Want to Hear Anymore"...

You see? It must be good, if it inspired me to blog for the first time in so long!

~~~~

In other news...

I'm really fascinated by the WGA strike in the States. I've been following it on John August's blog , Craig Mazin's and Ken Levine's.

It will be so fascinating to see if it really does "shut down" Hollywood, and if they can stick it out for long enough for the producers to even care.

~~~~

Speaking of Ken Levine... Noel recently bought a box set of the entire 11 seasons of M*A*S*H (written by, amongst others, Levine, who apparently never sees a penny from the years and millions of sales of the show!). He is up to Season 6 I think. I have been watching bits and pieces. I love the show, I just can't watch that much of anything the way Noel can! And if I have to listen to Major Hoolahan's screeching voice for much longer I might just go completely insane. But Hawkeye, oh Hawkeye. There can never be too much of the charming Major Pearce.

~~~~

I snuck out for a rare night to myself last night, and completely wasted it by seeing Good Luck Chuck. I thought it was going to be a really funny, sexy kinda comedy. Well, there was lots of sex, and there were lots of jokes! Some of them were funny actually. But... eh. Waste of time.

~~~~

Deliver me from writers who say the way they live doesn't matter. I'm not sure a bad person can write a good book. If art doesn't make us better, then what on earth is it for.

Alice Walker

2007-10-01T15:25:00.001+10:00

There are two types of people -
those who come into a room and say, "Well, here I am!"
and those who come in and say, "Ah, there you are."
~ Frederick L. Collins

Stephen Fry

2007-09-28T22:30:00.001+10:00

Heydie ho....

Just popping in because I just came across Stephen Fry's blog and wanted to link to this... http://www.stephenfry.com/blog/?p=19 . Some really cool, and kinda funny, ramblings about fame and celebrity. I like it.

~~~~

Love the actor, for he gives you his heart!
~ Bela Lugosi

2007-09-23T19:42:00.001+10:00

It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

(Sorry for posting nothing but quotes lately. There's just not much going on. Pregnancy is going well, children are beautiful, husband is working hard, the job is boring but fine. Planning the big post out to agents in the next couple of weeks. Um, that's about it. la de da....)

2007-09-14T21:35:00.000+10:00

Kiss your life. Accept it, just as it is.

Today. Now.

So that those moments of happiness you're waiting for don't pass you by.

~unknown

Hey!

2007-09-12T20:32:00.000+10:00

So, we've changed ISPs and have had no internet for a week. Didja miss me? Huh? huh?

~~~~

I got my new headshots done - yay! I look all sophisticated and actorish...

He took about 150 photos. that was the best one and he edited it to make it all beautiful (ahem, I mean, to enhance the natural smoothness and lustre of my skin...).

And just because he's the coolest, here's a plug for Jom, the photographer - http://www.jom.com.au/ Go see Jom! For all your photographic needs!

~~~~

I also got my Showcast submission in on time (Jom emailed them my headshot directly - told you he's the coolest!), so go on, find me on Showcast... there's a link on the left and you can search for me. I just have to find a way to put in my internet profile that I'm pregnant - so that all those directors looking for a pregnant actress can find me!

~~~~

Noel had a bit of an Impulse Purchase moment this week and bought a very new, very fancy Hi-Definition digital camcorder. So, boo to Noel for spending so much money!

However, Yay for Noel now being able to record me acting and make a showreel to send along with my photos to agents! It's a seriously good quality camera and has seriously tricky editing *stuff* so we should be able to make something fairly decent. I'll do a bit of a hello and a monologue and a bit of a scene and some super-dooper acting and we'll make it look all gorgeous and the agents will love me darling!

*giggle*

No really, they will.

~~~~

I don't pretend to be captain weird. I just do what I do.
~Johnny Depp

2007-09-01T19:53:00.000+10:00

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

~Maryanne Williamson

Spring!

2007-09-01T07:29:00.000+10:00

And oh, it's devine! Warm sunshine, cool breezes, fragrant fresh air - the last few days have been the perfect start to spring.

My girls are wearing their favourite pink dresses and spinning around playing Princesses. My nausea seems to have gone! Hooray! All is well with the world.

Today, among other things, I'm off to an Eco Sustainability Fair at a local park. That should be fun and interesting.

Hooray for Spring!

~~~~

Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.
~ Ashley Smith

Phew

2007-08-31T16:14:00.000+10:00

I found a different photographer, who charges about the same and sounds really helpful and lovely, and booked an appointment for next Wednesday. So yeah, I have to work in the morning and then fight my way through the "George Bush Wednesday" crowds and hordes of protesters into the city. What fun.

It means I'll have my new headshot just in time for next year's Showcast submission, which is due in by next Friday.

Hopefully I can still look nice enough, after 7 hours of driving for work, to take a fabulous photo. :-)

~~~~

Oh, and the ridiculous pay situation continues. I received a cheque today for ONE WEEK's pay (the first week I did, a month ago). I called Manager and let him know how frustrated I was and how ridiculous his system is. He assured me another cheque, for the 2nd week, was sent today, and then I'll get the next week's pay the week after that. He insisted that was a "fortnightly turnaround", just as he had promised. Um, no, buddy, look at your calendar - three weeks does not a fortnight make!

Grrrr.

Anyway, at least I have petrol money. Next week I'll have Showcast money. One day I'll have money that is not allocated within an inch of its life before I get it! I won't know what to do with myself!

~~~~

Problems are opportunities in work clothes.
~Henry Kissinger

Too fat for the 40's.

2007-08-29T15:22:00.000+10:00

You know how, back in March, I went to a casting for extras for that feature film? They just measured me and took a photo etc. Well, yesterday I heard that there were more castings happening this week. So I emailed the casting guy saying I'd love to be considered again, if possible. I told him I'm pregnant, but not showing yet.

He emailed back, very friendly and diplomatic (and congratulating me on the pregnancy), saying the biggest consideration they've had to make for this film is sizing, because all the costumes they have (it's set in the 1940s) are very small. He doubted that there would be any to fit me, especially in my "happily growing condition".

Ha! I'm too fat for their costumes! At a whole size 12! Well, I guess spunky young nurses in the 1940s were pretty thin.

Anyway, I was just happy that he didn't mind me emailing him again. :-)

~~~~

Oh, and this promotions job... jeez louise... I've been getting one or two shifts a week, which is fine. They haven't been paying me, which is NOT fine. I should have received a cheque two weeks ago for the first fortnight, and I should be receiving another this week for the 2nd fortnight.

Yesterday we turned up to work and found the water main had been turned off and locked with a big water company padlock. Not good. One manager said the water company was flushing out the pipes, the other manager said it's something to do with APEC. Yeah right, what ridiculous lies.

So anyway, I finally get an SMS today saying a cheque was sent today, "sorry for the delay". It had better bloody well be a cheque covering both fortnights, because they owe me over a grand!

Why do I always get the terrible managers???

~~~~

AND, I was supposed to be getting my headshots done this week. I asked the girl (by email) if I could have an appointment Tuesday afternoon, but she never got back to me. Not entirely her fault, I could have phoned her to properly make an appointment, but gah, I just want to get it done! Hopefully, will get an appointment leter this week or next week.

~~~~

"The universe is dynamic. When we are creative, we are the most alive and in touch with it."
~ Brad Dourif

2007-08-23T10:21:00.000+10:00

"Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark.... Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours."

~ Ayn Rand

Johnny Addiction

2007-08-23T08:22:00.000+10:00

So, Nic gently reminded me that I'm being a slacko blogger... sorry... will try to be interesting...

Pregnancy goes well, morning sickness continues to thrive. Work is fine, and if their *insert expletive* accounts department actually start paying me I'll be very happy!

The two guys I've been working with are actors and singers, so they're great fun. They do a bit of TV work and a few commercials (they're brothers so they always work together). AND, their favourite actor is Johnny Depp, so guess what we spend all our breaks talking about? Yep, Johnny's movies, Johnny's acting, Johnny's tattoos.

My first shift I only met one of the brothers, and a few of us were talking about celebrities owning islands, and he said "Johnny has an island". Of course I knew exactly who he meant but he obviously thought he needed to correct himself and said "Johnny Depp". I knew right then I'd found a fellow Johnny lover. tee hee.... anyway it's so much fun chatting with those guys... we do talk about other films and actors too, I promise. :-)

We had a bit of a debate this week about paparazzi photos... I have a personal policy of never looking at pap photos, because I despise the paparazzi and most famous actors do too, and I really feel strongly that it's wrong of me to join in the invasion of privacy... J and H agree with me that they're wrong but "if they're there, I"m going to look" - to which I just rolled my eyes and told them they're evil, evil, EVIL! :-) They were also concerned that I was missing out on all the best photos - like drunk Johnny being arrested (over a decade ago!) or, recently, Johnny half naked on his yacht. *sigh* That's the point, people, the world is not supposed to share those moments!

What do you think about paparazzi?

2007-08-09T16:45:00.000+10:00

Just thought I'd pop in and say hello to you, my millions and kajillions of faithful blog readers... tee hee...

The pregnancy thing is really the only interesting thing going on with me lately. Threw up for the first time last night, after weeks of just feeling nauseous. Although, the only thing I'd eaten was neopolitan ice cream, and very recently, so it was definitely the pleasantest vomit I've ever experienced!

Ahem. Sorry.

~~~~

The "Fun Promotions Job" turns out to be not all that much fun at all. It is well paid, though, and uncomplicated and flexible, so I'm happy with that.

~~~~

I got my tax return, yay! Enough for the rest of the year's preschool fees, car service, Christmas and birthday pressies, and HEADSHOTS! Woohoo!

I still plan to get those done and do the big send-out to agents and casting people. I'll just have to write a letter accompanying them that somehow makes the fact that I'm pregnant the most exciting prospect ever! Who knows, hey, just maybe there's something going on in December or Jan that will need a pregnant lady. The chances are pretty small, I know, but the chances of getting anything if I DON'T do it are far, far smaller.

~~~~

I've been surprising myself by how sensible and philosophical I'm being about having another baby right now, while in the middle of a struggle to start a career. I really didn't want to get pregnant this year (though we were thinking about it), because I was so worried of losing what tiny little momentum I've been gathering with the acting and work stuff. But now that I'm here, I just feel like it's all on the right track, and that things will happen just right if I keep working hard.
I read a quote yesterday, can't remember who said it but it was something like "the harder and longer you work, the better the payoff will be when you achieve you goals". Not that I've been working all that hard in the general scheme of life, but by the time I do get some acting success, I'll have worked at it for a long time and I'll be so very proud to have finally done it.
So there. Even if I have a few detours and baby-raising breaks along the way, I will keep this dream of mine alive, and I will get there.
I have all the time in the world, after all, and a big fat baby bump never stopped me before!

~~~~

I'm loving this quote, too... just a nice little reminder...

A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~

Morning sickness

2007-08-02T08:11:00.000+10:00

Whoever invented that term must have been a big fat liar and, obviously, male. I feeeel aaawwful... moan, groan, whimper...

Turns out I was wrong when I joked about the film being Knocked Up, and not me. Perhaps that's why I didn't like the movie as much as everyone else does.

Baby Brown #3 is on its way. :-) Well, it's not really on its way anywhere, it's just floating around all blob-like, with teeny tiny arm and leg buds and a microscopic heart thumping away at 161 beats per minute.Growing, growing... set to arrive in early March 08. Excitement!

So, let's hope there are a few productions requiring a woman with a big baby belly going on in Sydney towards the end of the year... that would be fun. :-)

No news...

2007-07-20T11:28:00.000+10:00

I feel like posting, but I have nothing to say... nothing happening.

~~~~

I haven't heard back about the waitressing job, so I assume I didn't get it. I posted off my info for the Fun promotions job, so as soon as I hear back from them I'll call and say no thanks to the Not Fun promotions job.

~~~~

Noel and I watched Underworld last night. For the first half we were just saying to each other "what? who's that guy? why do they need to do that?"... but once the film actually got around to telling us what was going on, it was good. Bill Nighy is just the coolest, even if there were far too many "Davy Jones" moments to make us giggle. (though this was made way before Pirates 2 and 3 , so I guess it's really the other way around. Davy Jones is one big expanded and more evil "Victor" moment perhaps.) Especially hilarious was when Kate Beckinsale's character sliced his head with her sword, and it looked like his face was just cut all the way across, until half his head slips off sideways! Hilarious yes, but also nearly made me gag.
Anyway, a good film if you love vampires and things like that.. and if you don't mind pretty poor sound mixing.

~~~~

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!

Tomorrow! Eeeek! What's going to happen?
My most gorgeous of the gorgeous friend J is buying me a copy, isn't she just delicious? I will have to send her chocolates and do her housework and marry her and love her forever!

:-)

Bud to Blossom

By request...

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

I feel quite shaken

United States of Tara

Wow, look at that...

You know what's ridiculous?

Promised Pics of Panic......

Talk about depressing!

Despite all evidence to the contrary...

A meme

Oh, China...

When You're Strange...

Can you see me squirming with excitement?

Nice to see...

Connor!

The best of Chocolat

I feel bad now.

I used to love Patrick Warburton's voice...

Random pic!

Enchanting!

So!

To you and your kin...

Mini Cakes

Chocolate and Orange and Racing Cars

My amazing daughter

In the garden

I'm still excited

Pondering Australia

Just quickly...

Exciting day at my local

"Blondies"

Bloody Shakespeare

She's an *Artist*

A little more sewing

Some DVD/movie rambles...

What the...

Lookit, lookit!

Chomp, chomp!

Happy squishy-ness

Hey, photographers

Caramel Banana Cake

Choc-coated Wholemeal Cookies

Better Cookies

Ah dear.

Treats for dinner again

*sulk*

Anyone having a birthday party?

Another delicious meal inspired by Chrissy...

Some weekend films

Sorry!

Pretty.

A Spot of Afternoon Tea

A Most Australia Ven!

Just read a beautiful script.

More light play

Best Roast Lamb Ever.

Do English people ever ponder the insanity of their historical monarchs?

Milky goodness

Meh

Apple Passionfruit Cake

Back into photography

Spring is springing... or not!

Also.

The List...

Pink and Green and Chocolate all over...

And now for something *not all that* different...

The Dark Knight

*sob*

Freddie Highmore rocks.

Well she might do better than some world leaders I know of....

Hai-ya! *kick* *punch* *run up wall*

Strong Bloody Violence

A spoonful of sugar

Comedians

Reality TV

Multiple viewings...

Oh golly gosh!

Charlie

Yes, well.

She's an Artist

sulk

And now for something not all that different...

sob

Hai-ya! kick punch run up wall