Last night’s belated, antipodean Thanksgiving was heaps of fun. I was too busy enjoying the company and incredible food to take any other photos, so tonight I am forced to relive the memories in the form of leftover pumpkin and apple pie.

It’s a tough job, but I’m just trying to get through it without complaining. I hope nobody minds if I blog with a full mouth.

Tim took complete ownership of the food for yesterday’s event, cooking a red currant glazed turkey in the BBQ (sooooo good) and a bunch of “family recipe” side dishes that his mum sent him during the week. A trip to USA Foods last weekend sorted out some last minute ingredients, including fried onions for the green bean casserole and Reeces peanut butter chips for his amazing chocolate cookies. Our talented guests provided the pumpkin and apple pies, and the wine floooowed!

The SingStar fairy visited a couple of hours after dinner, and didn’t leave again until about 3am. I woke this morning to the smell of bacon & eggs, and the last of our guests headed home at about 1pm today!

Post-Thanksgiving depression set in at approximately 1.04pm, so I began pestering Tim to help me put up the Christmas tree. We agreed to give it a couple more days to get the turkey coma wear off before kicking off Christmas, so instead of my tree I thought I’d show you Naomi and Josh’s tree from last year!

(If you’re not already following the adventures of Naomi and Josh via their blog, you really should. It’s basically the happiest place on the Internet.)

Maybe Tim would have been more excited if I’d suggested a more contemporary tree this year?

Panty Tree by VSPink.com – thank you for the link, Dooce!

• Family , Food , Friends , Life
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So…

Since you guys were no help at all with my Aussie Thanksgiving table, I was forced to take matters into my own hands!

With the help of some orange napkins, raffia, candles and flowers I have put together a table that uses all the colours of Thanksgiving, all without using actual pumpkins. I added some purple to the mix because, let’s face it… there really is a thing as too much orange.

The turkey is in the oven BBQ, the house is full of amazing smells, and the guests will be here soon. Now might be a good time to stop blogging and get myself pretty!

• Australia , Food , Life
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By Gun Show Comic

My Americano and I are celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow night with a bunch of friends. I’ve never done Thanksgiving before (if you can’t figure out why, you might need a history refresher) and I’ve been learning a lot about the traditions of this holiday over the past couple of weeks.

Tim has taken total control of the cooking, which began last night with an incredible batch of peanut butter & chocolate cookies. Tomorrow night we’ll be eating red currant glazed turkey, green bean casserole, honey glazed carrots and garlic mashed potatoes. Our guests are providing pumpkin and apple pies.

So with all of that under control, I guess my job is to make the table look beautiful! I’ve spent some time googling pictures of Thanksgiving tables, but confess that I find most of them sort of ugly. And besides, most of the produce that features in traditional centrepieces is completely out of season in Australia.

Please share your amazing Thanksgiving table with me in the comments, or point me in the direction of your inspiration! I feel like such a rookie.

• Australia , Family , Food
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Tim sent this latest Pictures for Sad Children cartoon to me today, and I can’t imagine what made him think I would like it! Perhaps it was because our own dog was a miserable sack of sadness this morning when we left the house?

I have never known a creature to convey such depths of depression. In the picture below is the (obscured) face of a dog who is so depressed about one of his people leaving for the day, that he cannot even be bothered to shake off the cap that covers his head.

I don’t know how he copes with his terrible life. I hope you’ll spare him a thought.

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In my head, Tim and I sound exactly like Freddie Mercury when we sing Bohemian Rhapsody on SingStar.

In reality, we probably sound much closer to the version above…

Thank you for the tip, Mama Mia!

• Funny Stuff , Music , Videos
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Sometimes, for no reason at all, I scour the web for pretty cupcakes. It’s almost as good as eating them, or so I try to tell myself!

If you have a similar problem with interest in cupcakes, you might enjoy some of these lovely things from Cupcake Social:

Assorted Pretty Pastel Tulip Cupcake Liners (45)

These beautiful Tulip shaped baking cups are sure to bring a smile to anyones face who is about to peel it off a yummy cuppycake. They come in these nice pale shades of yellow, orange and green. You will get 45 liners to create some festive cupcakes, or muffins. 15 of each color.

Gro Designer Cupcake Liners (20)

These baking cups are produced from the highest quality
of Swedish greaseproof paper.

The paper is 100 % cellulose and biodegradable. These baking cups are for the household baker or pastry professionals who recognize the value of having quality paper baking products in their kitchens.

Edible Hearts For your Cupcakes (35)

These are molded sugar hearts that are 1/2 inch in size. You will get 35 in an assortment of 7 different colors.

JUMBO Hillary Paisley Designer Cupcake Liners (20)

JUMBO SIZE!

Finally here- you can get them too- you will get 20 liners that come packaged in a cute box with a bow, great for gift giving.

Aren’t these liners incredible?  Cupcake Social stocks a huge range of pretty cupcake liners (in mini, standard and jumbo sizes), lots of edible and plastic toppers, candles and cookie cutters.

And most importantly, they’ll ship to Australia!

• Food
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It’s safe to say that tonight’s run was not one of my best.

Last week I only ran once, and it really sucked to lose the rhythm that I’ve kept up since I began Couch to 5K at the end of September. I blame the loss of momentum on a few things, but mainly it was my weekend away and having part of my arm butchered. Both of them were pretty good excuses, but the setback was frustrating.

I’ve been feeling blah all day, but really needed to get back in the saddle and go for a run. Perhaps my blahness was a sign of things to come though, as tonight’s run was probably the worst one I’ve ever done!

Here are a few reasons why it sucked:

•  I got a crippling stitch in my diaphragm, which lasted for 22 minutes of my 28-minute session.

•  Blisters. Blisters that made me feel as though my feet were bleeding.

•  Did I mention that Melbourne has commenced fly plague season?

•  ASTHMA. In retrospect, the asthma was probably responsible for my stitch as I was breathing unnaturally the entire time.

•  As a result, I needed my inhaler much more than normal. And this may have had something to do with my overwhelming urge to vomit towards the end of my run.

• I found myself 15 minutes from home, and so irritated by all of the above that I actually ripped my headphones out of my ears because my music was annoying me. It was as though my brain couldn’t take any more information than what it already had to deal with. Weird.

• Getting home aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand… headspins. That’s the part where I sat on the front porch for a few minutes, because walking through the front door no longer featured in my short-term plans.

By the time I had recovered enough to actually come in from the street, I just walked straight out to my back deck and stretched out – face down – in order to relieve the horrible cramp in my abdomen. I was sweaty and gross and wheezing and picturing the weepy guests at my funeral, when I was overcome with the sudden urge to turn my head to the other side.

And then, I saw it. Right beside my head was a little message from the Universe; a metaphor that would equip me with the tools to whine on my blog like I have never whined on my blog before.

I called Tim and asked him to bring me the camera.

A couple of hours has passed, and I feel only marginally better than this fly. In fact, last time I checked the little dude was still wriggling around a bit… so I guess he’s in for a painful death like the one I’m experiencing.

The good news? I finished. One more 28-minute run later this week, and then I can finish up with three 30-minute runs. I’m pretty sure I’m not even going to notice that extra two minutes…

What happened to that euphoria I wrote about in Week 4?

• 101 in 1001 , C25K , Running
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Earlier today I set out to take a photo of myself, since it’s been half a century since I’ve taken a self-portrait. I chose this morning because the light was so good, not because I’d taken the time to put on any makeup.

Pity, that.

This shot was never supposed to make the cut – I only took it to test my focus and shutter speed. I had decided to take a photo into the mirror, and was trying to angle it in a way that didn’t create a shadow.

It’s funny that all the “planned” shots ended up looking so unnatural, and that this one passed the test. I’d have hated this photo a couple of years ago, but today I’m happy to have a photo of me. Worry lines, freckles and all!

• Life , Photo Posts
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What a weekend!

Last Friday night I flew to Brisbane for my little cousin’s Hen’s Party (or Bachelorette, if you’re from the other part of the world!). Trisha’s other bridesmaid Corinne did an incredible job organising a beautiful High Tea at the Sofitel on the 30th floor.

The views were amazing…

The food incredible…

Great company in family and friends…

And… I got to wear my cute new blue dress!

Everybody seemed to have a terrific time, especially Bridey who flitted around the room like a tipsy social butterfly! It was lovely to meet the ladies from all the different parts of Trisha’s life, and to get to know some of them before the big day. It was especially great to hang out with Corinne and engage in a little Secret Bridesmaid Business, since we haven’t caught up in person in years.

Trisha couldn’t wipe the smile off her face all afternoon – unless she happened to notice that the camera was pointed in her direction…

We were gently kicked out about an hour after our function was supposed to end, and everybody went their separate ways. Trisha, Corinne and I decided to send the camera and the presents home with our mums and kick on. For another ten hours…

Between the time when this photo was taken, and 3am when my head hit the pillow, I think we managed to meet every other person out in Brisbane. Those hours were full of daiquiris, midori, crowns, sashes, karaoke and a guy we nicknamed Shirley Temple. Such good fun, and Bridey McBridebreath was in her element.

So Wedding Season has officially kicked off. All that’s left to do is to finish the dress, find me some shoes, and get myself back to Brissy in a few weeks time for the big party! I have a feeling that time will fly…

(I hope everybody has noted my dedication to NaBloPoMo, posting to my blog in the middle of this huge night out!)

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Hey cool – this is the clock I’ve always run by! However, tonight I am trying to keep an eye on a traditional clock tonight so that I don’t miss my flight…

My next post will come from beautiful Melbourne, and will no doubt contain plenty of photos from my very fun weekend in Brisbane!

With thanks to anamappe.com

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I’m in the middle of a kickass Hens Night and there is Midori to drink!

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I’ll be back in no time.

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Photo from Daily Trojan

No, this isn’t a post about the strange uncle who shows up to your family events…

If it feels like Christmas is beginning earlier and earlier each year, you’re right! Christmas creep is a term that was first used in the 1980’s to describe the phenomenon of merchants and retailers exploiting the commercialized status of Christmas by moving up the start of the holiday shopping season. It’s a strategy that drives most of us crazy, and extends the season to utterly unfestive levels.

Tim (who is American) can’t believe how early the Christmas shopping season begins here. Most people who live in the US are used to waiting until after Thanksgiving before entertaining the idea of Christmas, and but here in Australia we don’t have that extra holiday to break up the seasons. Christmas stuff began appearing in department stores here in August, and the Christmas carols have been playing for a solid month. By the time Christmas finally rolls around, we all feel like decking the halls with GIANT BARRELS OF HATE, and we only have 8 months to recover from it!

But even in the US the line between Thanksgiving and Christmas is becoming very blurred.

Consumerist posted this picture today, a sign from one retailer who is refusing to succumb to Christmas creep. As somebody who actually cares a bit about the origins and meaning of Christmas, I really applaud their stance!

(Consumerist wrote about Nordstrom’s stance in 2007 too.)

This picture reminded me of the year that Coles put out its Easter eggs in the week between Christmas and New Years Day. Karma came along and blessed Brisbane with a hideous heatwave, which was so revolting that it actually caused my local supermarket’s airconditioning to break down altogether. I walked in one of those days to pick up a couple of groceries, and was able to witness first-hand the aisles of melted chocolate eggs being tossed into wheelie bins.

That was a good day…

Photo from www.jasons.org

What do you guys think about Christmas creep? Do Christmas carols in October make you want to punch Santa, or is it just me?

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Tim and I get the giggles whenever we see this ad on TV. Of course, commenters on the YouTube video have completely missed the point, and accused Cadbury of peddling poisonous chocolate to dogs.

Le sigh.

If you’re reading this from the other side of the world you won’t be familiar with their other recent ads. They’re so weird, but so good…

• Cool stuff , Videos
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Phillip Toledano is a photographer, born in London to an American father and a French Moroccan mother. He lives and works in New York City.

I’m sure I could devote many posts to his incredible fashion and editorial portfolio, which is full of clever and brave concepts that have been brilliantly executed with technical skill. But today I thought I’d share with you just one of his projects, Days with My Father.

Days with My Father is a powerful photo essay which documents the photographer’s final three years with his father. He begins with the following passage:

My Mum died suddenly on September 4th, 2006.

After she died, I realized how much she’d been shielding me from my father’s mental state.

He doesn’t have alzheimers, but he has no short-term memory, and is often lost.

I took him to the funeral, but when we got home he kept asking me every 15 minutes where my mother was. I had to explain over and over again, that she had died.

This was shocking news to him.

Why had no-one told him?
Why hadn’t I taken him to the funeral?
Why hadn’t he visited her in the hospital?

He had no memory of these events.

After a while, I realized I couldn’t keep telling him that his wife had died. He didn’t remember, and it was killing both of us, to constantly re-live her death.

I decided to tell him she’d gone to Paris, to take care of her brother, who was sick.

And that’s where she is now.

This is a journal.

An ongoing record of my father, and of our relationship.

For whatever days we have left together.

“My dad is an amazing storyteller…”

“I asked my father to look in the mirror, while I took his photograph…”

Sometimes, when we’re talking,

my dad will stop, and sigh,
and close his eyes.

It’s then that I know, that he knows.

About my mum.

About everything.

Days with My Father is compulsory viewing, and deserves far more than a summary on this little blog. I hope you’ll go and see if for yourself.

Phillip Toledano’s book “Days with My Father” will be published in June 2010. While you’re waiting, you can buy his other books Phonesex and Bankrupt at his site.

With thanks to Kit from That Unreliable Girl.

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