Just a quickie..quirky behaviours!

It occurred to me last night as I reached for my DESSERT spoon to eat my soup, that I have some little quirky habits that I have at home that I probably wouldn’t display in public.

I like to eat soup with a dessert spoon.

I like to eat dessert with a teaspoon. I love eating with a teaspoon!!

I like Filet O fish burgers! (apparently I’m the only one)

I love a whopper with no bread (FYI impossible to eat neatly in public).

I prefer eating from a bowl than a plate (yes I know not possible with a good steak).

I like my music loud when I’m around the house doing….well doing anything, cleaning, cooking etc. I like lots of guitar and great vocals and LOUD!!

I love looking at pictures in any gossip or fashion magazines but I hate reading the articles.

I’m sure there are way more, but these were the ones I thought of while eating my soup last night….with my dessert spoon!

Just another Donnarism xx

Never too short?

Ok, so I have a question. When exactly did it become acceptable for girls to show their butt cheeks in public?! And believe me, I am not talking about down at the beach, I'm talking, every day when walking down the street and at night in bars and pubs. Seriously, when did this become acceptable?

Of course this is a rhetorical question as I already know the answer. Ummmm NEVER!!!!! I don't care if you have a body like Beyoncé, or you are a size 6 or you are a size 16. It is never OK in a normal day to day situation to have half of your butt hanging out. Maybe if you are a model in a photo shoot or on stage as a back up dancer for JLO, other than that it is NOT OK!!!!!!!!!!
You all must remember the commercial that used to be on TV (it could have been for Mentos) when it was saying how if guys are seen wearing bather briefs (aka budgie smugglers) anywhere off the sand at the beach they are wearing underwear? Well that is the same rule with short shorts and skirts!. If I can see your butt cheeks anywhere other than in a performing capacity then you are wearing bathers! C'mon, you have all seen it! You know I'm not exaggerating.

I work in the city and am seeing as much bottom as seen in the above pic on a daily basis. if this is what girls think is fashion then I have lost all faith in the fashion industry that I love so much! Like I said, I'm not just talking during the day, I'm seeing girls wearing outfits resembling swimwear in the evening as well. Yes, yes, Kylie got away with it.

But Kylie was in a film clip and on stage. In normal day to day life, clothing that resembles swimwear is not at all fashionable and can only be described as tacky.

I know I sound like a complete prude but girls, have some self respect, is it really necessary to have your bottoms hanging out for everyone to see?!

And before anyone says 'I'm jealous', not so. I don't get jealous of other girl's appearances, I simply admire females who look elegant, fashionable and sexy. Just three weeks ago I saw a girl wearing an amazing blue playsuit with gorgeous shoes and her hair slicked back, she looked fantastic, so I told her so. I don't get jealous, I just get concerned that girls think it is completely acceptable to wear things that resemble denim, Brazilian bikini bottoms to a music festival!

Let me also add, it is not just shorts that are the issue. Micro, mini skirts are equally as offensive. Ladies (and I use that world loosely) if your bottom hangs below the bottom of your skirt, it is not a skirt, it is a belt! I was out with a girlfriend over the weekend and there were butt cheeks coming at us left, right and centre. And let me just say, when there is dancing added to this fashion disaster equation it pretty much turns into a night at the Playboy Mansion. Yowza!!! I'm assuming that guys find this sexy, I'm hoping I'm wrong! I don't think it is sexy at all!

Just as a side note....when you go on an escalator in one of these micro minis, the people below you can see EVERYTHING!! I'm TALKING EVERYTHING!! I spend a lot of time on escalators at my work and let me just say, I don't remember ever signing anything that said I wanted to be a gynaecologist!!!

Anyway that's my say and I had to have it, and now I will leave you with one thought, an extra inch and a half of fabric goes a long way.

Until next time,

DM xx

And the white flag goes up.

Ok, so i have been extremely non committal with my blog over the last 12 months. This got me thinking that, as with most things in life, when something becomes a chore, it is time to stop. I seem to have lost a bit of my creative mojo over the last year. I have barely written, and I haven't picked up my SLR camera or even my 'happy snap' camera in more than a year. I feel now, it is time to raise the white flag and surrender to the fact that my blog days are numbered (at least for now).
This then got me thinking about how there are some things you really do have to just give up on. Some dreams, some goals, even some friendships just don't last forever. While it is lovely to think that you can achieve whatever you put your mind to, the reality is, that there are some things, that for whatever the reason, you may not achieve.
The question is do you give up and move on to new and better or do you continue to live your life in hope?

I have no answer to this question but I do like to believe that with every ending, comes a new beginning. (clearly I'm using 'stopping my blog' as a metaphor for other things in my world, as of course, the blog is just a teeny tiny factor).
There may feel like there is a black hole in your world at first but eventually you know you will pick yourself up, dust yourself off and move onwards and upwards. In saying that, I believe it is ok to spend 5 minutes mourning whatever it is you've given up on, very often these dreams, hopes, friendships or behaviours have been with us for years.

As for my blog, I believe I have always stayed true to myself, always being honest and real and never trying to be anything I'm not.

I am me, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!

Thanks, for the support, the comments and the smiles.

Until another time and place,
the last single 36yr old woman xx

In hindsight......

So I have been feeling well below par of late. It would be hard to describe why, there has been so much going on. There has been a lot of internal questioning going on about many things. I have been finding it very difficult to find the answer or reason to most of it.
It seems the realist in me has taken over and the girl that used to be able to take me to a better, happier, fantasy place to escape the world, has disappeared. I have no idea of what my future holds, and I sometimes wish to become more naive and not so realistic.

It is no secret that my father passed away last year. I am surprised at the scar that this has left me with. I don't know if maybe it is the circumstances in which it happened or if it is that the strength I had when it all happened has worn off but I have been feeling the aftermath a quite a bit of late. I have also felt it maybe a bit late in the game to discuss that time with people. Tonight it suddenly occurred to me that it is exactly 7 months since it all happened. I think about those dreaded three weeks every single day. I know I probably shouldn't rehash things from that time but I think it may take a little longer than expected to start feeling completely normal again.
Although I have a lot of stuff going on at the moment,and I probably choose to talk about hardly any of it, I think the key, underlying fact that finally I can admit is, and I finally should admit is, I just miss my Dad.

Until next time,
the last single 36yr old woman

Is there an answer?

In summer, as a child I used to take 5 minutes to throw my bathers on and run outside and jump into my neighbour’s swimming pool. As an adult it takes time to put sunscreen on, get into my bathers, make sure my towel is nearby and then I stand on the edge of the pool and psyche myself into diving in.
Life seemed so easy as a child. There was no thinking, you just ‘did’ and suffered the consequences of your actions later. As an adult, there are always questions, reservations and fears. Although I never quite knew what I wanted to be in terms of career, I think I was always so sure of myself. I knew who I was. I knew what to expect and I was prepared for anything.
I was so naïve.
Isn’t it funny how life can throw you so many curve balls, how, no matter how prepared you think you are, life can throw things at you that can completely shake you to the core. Life can change everything you were, or thought you were.
There are big things that happen to us and there are small things that happen to us. Sometimes you find yourself in the eye of a storm quicker than you can ever imagine. Sometimes things happen and you don’t realise how much they have changed you until later when you stand aside and look back.
There are things that can happen in one second that can completely change every part of you. There are unexpected relationships, there are loves that succeed and loves that never stand a chance, there are people that you have one lasting moment with and there are people you spend the rest of your lives with. There are choices that we make for ourselves and there are choices that are made for us. There is laughter and there are tears. There is euphoria and there are disappointments. There are unexpected delays and there is the inevitable that comes faster than we ever wanted. There are moments to look back and reminisce and there are times we must look forward.
Every moment in our lives counts, changes us and forms us. Are there regrets? Are there mistakes? Of course there are, there has to be, no one else has ever lived our lives before us.
People talk about destiny and fate. Do I believe in these? I don’t know! I love the thought of destiny but then I think that destiny can be cruel sometimes and that other people use destiny and fate as an excuse for the mistakes they have made.
There are so many so called professionals who give advice on how your life should be lived. Are there any real answers though? Is there any right way to prepare for all that life throws at us?
The Beatles said ‘All you need is Love’.
Van Morrison told us ‘There’d be days like this’.
The Rolling Stones told us ‘You can’t always get what you want’.
Is there an instruction manual to Life?
I think it just comes down to whether we are going to stand on the edge or just dive in. There are no answers and there are always bumps or, even hills in the road. We can only have limited expectations as there will always be the unexpected or the unknown.
Life is not always easy, no one ever said it would be, at least no one said it to me!

Until next time,
the last single 36yr old xx

Chef, Cook or whatever.....

I've never been very good at following instructions, actually no, correction, I've never been very good at READING instructions. Quite frankly, I can't be bothered. Televisions, mobile phones, computers etc. I never read instructions.
This then causes me my dilemma about recipes. I do like to cook and am pretty good at it (if I do say so myself). My forte is savoury food and I think this is because I can just make stuff up based on tastes. You can't make stuff up in baking! I have made up some yummy meals over the years but am always unnsuccessful with desserts. Whenever people ask me to 'bring something sweet' I can never just settle for bringing something simple like a cake! No no no I have to try and conjure up some elaborate dessert in my head!
This little intro brings me to today's challenge. Macarons!! Everyone has been talking Macarons ever since Adriano Zumbo's Macaron tower on Masterchef.
My team leader (who bakes a lot) at work tried about 6 times before he perfected them (they were delish!). I've been wanting to try making them for ages so today I gave them a go. However, I did cheat a little! I decided to try the Donna Hay macaron packet mix first.

I figured that this would help me learn the texture and process and then I would attempt them from scratch! I'm not really sure if this was the right approach!! I followed the very simple instructions, I read and re read. I wanted these to be perfect. I mean seriously, how hard can it be?! At least that is what I thought!! When it came time to spoon them onto the tray (yes she said to spoon them not pipe them) I realised something had somehow gone a little wrong. It looked like I was making pikelets!

Even then I kept saying to myself 'maybe this is how they are meant to look' (wishful thinking when I knew there was no way they were meant to look like that). So after the stated ten minutes waiting time, I popped them into the oven and hoped for the best!
And the result?

Don't be crazy, as if!! These are the ones that my team leader made for me! Here are mine!

MAJOR FAIL!!!! Hilarious! However, they do still taste delicious!!
I may or may not try making them again(from scratch next time why bother with the bought mix?).
Otherwise I'll stick to cooking savoury stuff and playing it safe with cakes if and when sweet is required! The french stuff may just be a little too complicated for me!

Until next time,
the last single 35yr old woman xx

my Dad told me he loved me......

We have never been an overly affectionate family (I believe it is the Scottish in us). My friends know me as the person that is hardest to show affection to. For me this is tough, because I have always craved the affection (but never known how to show it), but then again, being the youngest, I have always been a little different from my 3 sisters and my brother in that way. I have always conformed as that is what I was always used to.
In some ways I have always been jealous of my siblings,they all got to spend time together going on family trips and spending quality time with each other. In other ways, being so much younger than my siblings, I was thankful for the time I got to spend with my parents alone. As this is about my Dad, I'll talk about the times with him. Any moment he had spare he spent with me. Every Thursday night, we used to go to Morley shopping centre (pre Galleria) and buy scratchie lotto tickets, it was our thing. If he had a saturday morning off (he worked a lot)we would go into the city and just walk around and always come home with hot cinnamon doughnuts (ah the simple things!).
Dad and I clashed a lot when I was in my late teens and early 20s, but we both always knew that these 'clashes;' were because we were so similar. We could both be very 'hot tempered', stubborn and opinionated! It just seemed normal that we would butt heads!
Fast forward to when I was in my late twenties and i remember my mum had been rushed to hospital for D.V.T and that night, as Dad and I had dinner together, he told me he loved me and he told me all the things that he hoped i would achieve in my life. In a family that doesn't actually use the words 'i love you' often, this conversation will always be in my memory.
Over the last few years I learnt so much about my Dad. He opened up about things from his past that he never would have told me about. I will always be thankful for the insight into his life.

On Friday August 26th 2011, my Dad passed away. After nearly 3 weeks of being unconscious after having a stroke on a holiday in Scotland, his body decided that enough was enough. Everyone keeps saying the world lost a true gentleman (I absolutely love this description). All I know is that, last Friday, my mum lost her soulmate and I lost my Dad.

Until next time,
the last single 35yr old woman.

(maybe not the most upbeat of blogs but I can only write from the heart)