The donut cake

Well I have a rare few minutes of peace and quiet right now, as mum and my big sister have taken Miss K out birthday shopping. I really should be doing something like that soon as Miss K's birthday is in 4 days. (4 days? time to panic!)

So what does a mum do when she has a house to herself for an hour? Should I do some laundry? Well I just dumped some dry clothes on top of the wet clothes I forgot to hang out yesterday and restarted the washing machine, does that count? I could do some dishes, I put them in the sink to soak half an hour ago though, so they may need a few more minutes soaking first. I could do the vacuuming, except that Nat borrowed our vacuum cleaner on the weekend and hasn't returned it yet.

Oh well I tried. Guess I'll just stay on the computer and look up donut cakes. What is a donut cake I hear you ask because I'm right behind you!!........... Just kidding.Well a donut cake is a cake made out of donuts. I read about the idea years ago in one of my favourite books - Bet Me by Jenny Cruisie, and I've wanted to try it out ever since. Given that Miss K is one of the biggest donut lovers I have ever met, it seems fitting (for me anyway) to ignore their massive calorie content for one day and make an entire cake out of donuts just for her. (Because I am just that awesome a mum.)

Now the idea behind the donut cake is to make a ring of cinnamon donuts, drizzle them with icing mixture, then stack another smaller ring on top. You continue this till you have a tower of sticky sweet donuts waiting to be consumed.

Image courtesy of http://emmalinebride.com

Doesn't that just look good enough to eat??

Of course you could make it look neater by putting it on a tiered cake plate, if you have one.

Image courtesy of http://www.theknot.com

Or you could throw sanity to the wind and make a massive 18ft wide and 12ft tall cake decorated with donuts.

Image courtesy of http://junkfoodnews.net

Now I personally would love to have this cake sitting in my lounge room on Sunday, but given that this cake took 2 weeks to make and I only have four days, I think I'd be a bit pressed for time. 

So I'll just stick with my tiny tower of donuts for now. The next big question is what do I put on top of the cake. Looks like I need to spend another hour researching that now. Oh well the housework will still be there tomorrow.

Happy St Patrick's Day!!!!

Ok so I figured I'd better write a blog before I pop the top on my first can of whiskey otherwise I'd just end up writing some hot mess of a post that I'd need to apologise for tomorrow.

It's the wearing of the green today, which for me means borrowing some of Nat's fluro green nail polish, as I own not one single scrap of green clothing, despite the fact that I know at least once a  year it would get worn. I guess green just isn't my colour, and I'm terrified of walking around all day looking like a giant avocado. This year though I let Miss K get in on the action, as she does own green clothing, as well as green hair accessories, and I even let her borrow some of Nat's nail polish too, which is a rare treat for her, as I hate nail polish on babies.

We had a massive day today, it was Miss K's visit weekend with her dad, so we spent 40 minutes at Maccas so they could have a play on the equipment together, then we rushed off to pick up a friend of mine and his daughter and traveled to a massive big shed 30km away to have a play on the biggest indoor playground I have ever seen. Seriously, this thing is huge. The area for the big kids is filled with a massive jungle gym type thing that is about 10 feet tall, and has slides, climbing bars, lots of hidey holes and even a trampoline I think. The area for the toddlers isn't quite as big, but there was a huge ball pit there, as well as giant foam blocks, tricycles, scooters, cars and anything else you could think of that would keep a kid happy for a couple of hours. Even though it was a rainy day down here today, we had the place to ourselves for most of the afternoon, I think that there is some big car race on telly today or something, which could have explained the lack of children running around terrorizing each other.

But luckily for me, despite the lack of other playmates there Miss K had a ball, and we were there so long she missed her afternoon nap, which meant she was in bed an hour early tonight, so I have an extra hour to get my Irish on. Given that my mum's family like many in Australia were originally from Ireland, St Patrick's Day is a good day for us to recognize our heritage, as well as teach the kids a bit about where they came from too. But mostly it's about remembering the proud tradition of getting drunk and punching each other.

So I'm off to eat a pastie to line my stomach and get my drink on. And if the night ends before I get to dance at least one jig, I'm going to be very depressed.

Happy St Patrick's Day everyone, and as the Irish say, Wherever you go and whatever you do,
May the luck of the Irish be there with you.

Image courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

This image is what comes up when you type Irish into the search field of a stock photography website. Doesn't it just scream Ireland to you guys?

Follow up on bullying

So for anyone still paying attention at home, last night's blog was about highlighting National Day against Bullying and Violence. I told part of my story as a victim of bullying, but there are hundreds and thousands of other stories too. There is an awesome video doing the rounds on Facebook at the moment showing just a couple of people who were victims of bullies who have gone on to achieve fame and fortune, and also change the world in their own way. I've decided to add the video here too, because I think it is something everyone needs to see.

If for any reason you can't see the video, please feel free to pop on over to my Facebook page, as I have also put a link up to it there too. 

National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence

So in case you can't tell from the title of this post, today is the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence. I wish that I could say that given we are living in the 21st century with smart phones and cars that can reverse parallel park on their own, that bullying is a thing of the past. But sadly it is still as much a part of life as it was when I was in school. Of course bullying these days is somehow more sinister because the perpetrators can reach you anywhere thanks to the internet. Once upon a time your home was a safe haven far away from all the jerks you had to spend your day with, but these days they can follow you via websites like Facebook and Twitter and attack you in the privacy of your own lounge room.

I don't know if I have ever revealed this here, but throughout my school life I was picked on by bullies. It started in about grade 2 or 3, and continued until I graduated high school. That is ten years of being a victim. It did get easier once I was in year 10, I started standing up to the bullies, I even screamed in the face of one particularly nasty cow in the middle of class then stormed out of the room before the teacher could stop me. I also had the good fortune to finally find myself a good group of friends who whilst unable to stop me from being a target, did make it easier to cope with. But in those ten years I was called names, spat on, beaten up, had things thrown at me and made absolutely miserable by dozens and dozens of children. I can't even say for sure why they picked on me. It could have been because in their eyes I was just too different. I had a large family with not a lot of money, we were religious and kept to ourselves mostly, and I didn't join any after school clubs or sports except to take part in the school musicals, and that just seemed to add fuel to the fire. Of course I never let it stop me, I loved the theatre, and it was the perfect escape for me from all of them.

Well as you can tell, I survived the bullies, and the rest of school and am still here almost eleven years out from graduating stronger than ever. But I was one of the lucky ones. There are some people out there who give in to the bullies and don't make it out alive. So it is to prevent more victims that days like today are created. Of course there are any number of resources out there for anyone who is a victim of a bully, or a parent of a victim, or even the bullies and their families too. Facebook has a page on their website giving advice on what to do if you see anyone being harassed via Facebook here, Beyond Blue has any number of information sheets on their website for you to check out here not just about bullying but also about depression, eating disorders and everything in between. But for anyone who is here and needs advice right now, let me give you the piece of advice my mum always gave to me when things got too tough. One day you will be out of high school, and you will be living your life, and it is going to be an awesome life. And the little brats (I paraphrased there) who picked on you in high school will be out of your life, and completely unable to hurt you any more. So until then you just have to stick it out and know that it will not last forever.

And she was absolutely right.

Playing High/Low

When it comes to being a blogger, days like today are hard. It wasn't a very good day for Miss K and me. There was nothing really horrible, or tragic that happened to us, we were both just a bit touchy, and Miss K was clingy and whiny, and come dinner time she pitched an absolute fit and refused flat out to eat her pumpkin soup and ended up going to bed without any dinner. (Don't worry, I let her get up for a sandwich and a drink later on.)

But everyone has bad days, you say, not just us bloggers. Yes this is true, but non-bloggers don't have to come up with something interesting and compelling for others to read after a day of tantrums and frustration. But because I'm an adult and wearing my big girl panties today, I have decided not to dwell on the crap, and instead focus on the positive things that happened today. My big sister plays high/low with her kids at the end of the day, each person has to say what was the highlight and the lowlight of their day. Since I have already covered the lows of my day, I've decided to spend the rest of this blog focusing on the highlights. So here in no particular order are some of the nice things that happened with me and Miss K today.

• A computer game I ordered on the weekend finally showed up in my mailbox today giving me the high I always get whenever I get mail, and then giving me something to do while Miss K took her nap
• My big sister came over and visited with my nephew so I got to watch the kids play together for a couple of hours
• One of my cousins also came over for a visit, and her daughter who is 7 months younger than Miss K also got a chance to play with the kids
• Bones was on telly tonight, so I got to spend 2 hours watching one of my favourite shows
• When Miss K finally got up for dinner she was in such a great mood we sat together in the lounge room and played together for an hour before I sent her back to bed
• Miss K spent 2 hours doing pirate therapy today for the first time, and she didn't mind the extra hour wearing the eye patch. I love that she can be so flexible to change some times
• Miss K behaved herself so beautifully while we were shopping for dinner tonight. It has taken a few weeks, but she finally knows that if she refuses to get in the trolley she has to stay next to me all the time, and not run around disturbing all the other shoppers. We get quite a few people stop to chat to Miss K when we're shopping and I think it's because she's so well behaved
• Miss K actually got up and danced to one of the songs on Play School this afternoon. Of course it was a song about pirates, but normally she doesn't move if there is music playing on telly and I love that she is finally realizing that she can dance to this music just like the stuff that comes out of the CD player

Well when you look at it that way, the good parts of the day far outweigh the bad parts, and it is a lot more fun remembering the nice times we had today. 

And now, for no reason other than it makes me smile, here is a photo of Miss K on the phone.

Well that's it for me, I have places to see and people to do tomorrow so I need to get some rest. I'll be back again next time, but until then stay awesome.

Why I love blogging

It is so hard to believe that this little blog is just over a year old. To think this all started with a way for me to pass information on to Miss K's dad without having to actually talk to him. In the past 13 months it has grown into so much more for me. It has grown into something that saves my sanity, gives me a creative outlet, and also allows me to make people laugh, and for me that is a big thing. You see in my family I am the clown. It has become my job to cheer people up when they are sad or angry, and over the years it has just become second nature. To the point that I can rarely take anything seriously for more than a few minutes at a time. This is also a trait I have passed on to my lovely daughter, and she is carrying the torch honorably.

But the other beautiful thing about this blog is how it has connected me to the rest of the world. Sadly over the years I have isolated myself from a lot of the people who made up my life before Miss K was born. It's the same old story, they went their way, I went mine and these days we smile if we pass in the street or post the occasional comment on a Facebook status. Very few of them know that Miss K has a speech impediment, that I have dated various versions of my father over and over again, that I came dangerously close to becoming an alcoholic. But thanks to the wonderful world of blogging I have met so many wonderful and supportive people through their own blogs. Some of them read this blog, others always reply to my comments whenever I write on their posts, some answer my questions on the Bloggy Moms website. But even though we all come from different states or countries, with different tastes and opinions, we all have one huge thing in common. We all share our lives over the internet.

It may sound incredibly petty or like a sign of low self esteem, but I love to hear about the day to day problems of the people I follow. It is reassuring to know that I'm not the only one on this planet who has absolutely no idea what the hell I'm doing here. Thanks to writers like the Pintester and the lovely ladies over at Pinstrosity I know I am only one of hundreds of inept crafters in the world. Thanks to the beautiful and ever inspirational Corrie over at Retro Mummy I know that I can survive being a mother of one because this woman does the same thing with four more children than I will ever have. And thanks to women like Jamie over at Being positive with a depressive soul I know I am not the only one who some days looks in the mirror and wonders why the hell I even bother.

You see behind all of the jokes and the pretty pictures we all post day after day we are all still very human. What you see on these blogs is just a small snap shot of the world around us, carefully chosen by us so as to reveal enough about us so you get some idea of who you are spending your time reading, but not too much that you show up on our doorstep with a bouquet of flowers (or God forbid an axe.)  There are days where the jokes I tell on here hide very real pain that I just cannot bear writing down, as if that would suddenly make everything real. And there are also days where I reveal something on this blog and then panic because I'm terrified I have just turned every single one of my readers against me with my honesty.

I guess there is something about writing these blogs that non bloggers possibly won't be able to understand. In between the words on these websites are tiny parts of ourselves, a fingerprint of our minds if you like. This blog is as real and precious to me as the memories I make with my little girl. And if anyone ever came here criticising my writing or my stories or even my life, I think it would hurt as much as if anyone told me my daughter was ugly. Luckily for me everyone who has ever contacted me has been nothing but supportive and helpful, but there is always the distinct possibility that someone somewhere is going to try to put you down. And the bigger your blog gets, the larger your audience and the higher the statistic that some of your readers aren't going to be afraid to call you mean names. Day after day I read blog posts from some of my favourite writers trying to defend their work, their website or their lifestyle, as if it needed justifying simply because they made it public.

So right now I make a pledge to refuse to justify my life to my audience. That doesn't mean it will stop the haters from hatin' but hopefully it will make my life a little bit easier to put up here. After all this blog would be nothing if it wasn't the truth.

Ok so that's enough serous stuff for now. Just to lighten the mood I will now show you a picture of a meal I made for my little sister one day just to make her smile.

Yep, it's a happy ham steak plate. A cock-eyed happy ham steak. Why is everything I make cock-eyed?

And finally, I should say thank you. Thank you to my family for not shouting at me every time I put them in my writing, thank you to all of the lovely bloggers who have reached out to me over the past year, and thank you to my wonderful audience. Even though most of you are waaay too quiet for my liking, I know that you are out there and it is because of you that I come back every single day to humiliate myself just that little bit more. Isn't that what friends are for??

Attack of the chair killing bottom

So today I had the dubious honor of being the person who finally broke our computer chair. The screws holding the seat to the legs have been coming out for months now, and the holes are now so big that the screws don't even have anything to grab onto really, so it was only a matter of time before someone came and sat on the chair wrong (I tend to sit on my feet so the weight is never distributed evenly) and the whole thing would just collapse.

The sad thing for me is it isn't even the first time I've broken a chair just by sitting down either. Years ago when I was living on my own I had some bar stools that sat at my kitchen counter never being sat on because I never went near the kitchen. One day my little sister Nat was over, and something impelled me to sit on this bar stool, but not three seconds after my backside made contact with the leather I found myself becoming suddenly shorter, and my whole house seemed to grow quite tall, until I was on the ground, snapped metal poles surrounding me, and my sister was on my couch in stitches. To this day I have not lived down my chair breaking efforts. The best part she says is the look on my face as the chair and I sank to the ground.

So I now have to go computer chair shopping on pay day which is still a week away. Now for anyone who loves interior design or jumps at the chance to buy new pieces of furniture for their house, an activity like this would mean days scouring websites trying to find a chair with the perfect design, in the perfect material, looking at things like arm rests, back heights, hydraulics, cup holders. But maybe because I have never been very good at looking at things with a decorators eye, or maybe because I just don't have the darn time, this means a trip to one of the scores of discount stores that line the streets where I live and grabbing the cheapest chair I can find.

Luckily for me, buying a new computer chair has been on the to do list for several months now (of course) so I have even managed to spend a little time testing out computer chairs whenever I visit said discount stores, making this trip even faster than I could have hoped. And who knows, maybe my brand new executive style black leather computer chair will have a positive effect on the way I work while I'm in front of the computer. Maybe I can make better decisions with more cushioning around my already ample behind. Maybe the correct back support will mean the difference between a good blog post and a great blog post. Or maybe it will just be one more thing I have to protect from Miss K. (She thinks the whole world is a trampoline at the moment. It could have something to do with the trampoline in my big sister's back yard, but I'm no expert.)

In the mean time I'm stuck using an old dining chair as my computer chair, and my butt is already screaming at me for more padding. So if this blog post is terrible, I blame the chair. In the hopes of inspiring myself to write better, I'm off to stare at pictures of chairs with more stuffing than this one.

Source

I feel better already.