QUEENSLANDER!

This is how excited I am too. (Source: Courier Mail)

Obviously you can tell I'm pretty excited about the outcome of the first State of Origin. However, I don't think the game had the same kind of magic as other State of Origins.

Yes, QLD fielded a very similar team to last year. There were talks that Queensland would not be the same without Cam Smith, but I think Matt Ballin and Cooper Cronk did amazingly well. I also thought that the team would miss the experience of Karmichael Hunt (why, oh why, did you go to AFL?) but the combination of Boyd and Folau on the wings, with Tonga and Inglis as the centres worked really well.

I was looking forward to seeing some big hits - where were they??? I thought with Dave Taylor on our team we'd see some NSW players go flying but he was extremely quite when on the field. Sam Thaiday, on the other hand, was playing all over - directing plays that resulted in tries, tackling, and having a high number of hit-ups - and was playing extremely well.

I will reserve my comments about the refereeing.....no, can't be done. It was atrocious! Tony Archer and Shayne Hayne - what were you thinking??? I'm also incredibly annoyed at Bill Harrigan, the video ref, for giving Ben Creagh's try all the confidence in the world, but only giving Billy Slater's the benefit of the doubt - what the hell?? I don't think OPSM did a very good job of checking their eyes....or maybe they didn't check their colour blindness, and they can't see blue when blatantly doing something wrong.

I am definitely looking forward to the next game in Brisbane.....come on, Queensland! I suspect NSW may move some players around - I don't think Gidley will keep his spot as fullback. For Queensland's sake, I hope he does; otherwise, we'll have to deal with Jarryd Hayne in his pet position.

0

Poor Kurt, his position doesn't seem to be guaranteed for the next game. Boo Hoo! (Source: Courier Mail)

What did you all think about the game?

State of Origin 1

When people look at me, most of them don't realise I'm a mad sports nut. I am completely obsessed with rugby league. I know that the sport is in disarray and has come under scrutiny after many a transgression/crime. I definitely don't condone that. What I do condone is the hard work that the rest of the players have put into the teams, and the work they've done for communities and charities. Also, I really love a good game of footy!

My team is the Brisbane Broncos (of course!). This year, we haven't been going so well...but I'm optimistic that we will still make the 8 at the end of the normal season. Due to this, there aren't as many Broncos players in the QLD State of Origin team this year.

I'm extremely glad that Israel Folau was named as part of the squad. I feel sorry for the guy - he's young and having to make an extremely difficult decision about his future. According to media reports, he hasn't made up his mind about which way to turn - rugby with the Melbourne Rebels, AFL with the new western Sydney franchise, or stay in NRL with the Broncos. If anything will help make up his mind, it's the Origin series! Plus, we need all the help we can get now that Cameron Smith has been ruled out. Jarryd Hayne is going to be trouble (does anyone else dislike him as much as I do?)

I've only got one thing left to say.........

GO QUEENSLAND! MAKE IT 5!

Books!

I may be completely behind the times with this, but I'm currently loving "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson. This is the main reason I haven't posted in a few days - I've been locked in the book!

My friend, T, has been urging me to read this series ever since she finished it. I bought the three of them from Book Depository (American site here, and English site here) for $24....for all three! (If you haven't been to this site, RUN, don't walk, as the prices are so much cheaper than Australia).

It was hard to get into at the start, which I knew about since T warned me. Once you get into the mystery, it is extremely hard to put down. Parts of it are a bit gruesome, and had me triple checking that I'd locked all the doors, but well worth reading.

You'd like this series if you like:

• Minette Walters (another of my favourites)
• James Patterson
• Alexander Mcall Smith
• Elizabeth George
• Agatha Christie
• Peter Hoeg (another Swedish writer who wrote "Smilla's Sense of Snow")

It got me thinking about what books are on my wish list to read.

• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
• The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld (since I read Prep - I wanted to see if he/she was as bad a writer as I thought!)
• Dear John by Nicholas Sparks (I don't particularly like his writing style, but I like a good soppy book every once in a while).
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding (I can't believe I got through high school without reading this one).
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (since so many Voguettes have recommended it)
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

What books are on your wish list?

Stacks on!

So you can tell I'm being very unproductive on this Friday. I like to think of it as unproductive in terms of work, productive in terms of finding things I HAVE. TO. HAVE.

Dear Stackable Oven-to-Table Trays,

I was introduced to you by your friend, All Things Cool (you know, the one whose blog you appear on often).

I was happy to make your acquaintance and would like to offer you a role in my kitchen. You could be working as my roasting tray, my baking tray, and my serving tray ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

I offer good benefits (you will be washed by the dishwasher, G) and a nice home for you to live in (the pot/pan/tray cupboard that is spotless since getting my FF decluttering on).

I think we will be very happy together.

Your friend (and hopeful employer),

Miss J.

ps: I have enclosed a photo of how you can bring your family. They will be very happy.

Dark and stormy

View from my house this morning. Please excuse the old market umbrella - we can't find any new covers for it!

Arghalsdjf. That is what I'm like this morning. Very unmotivated to do anything.....including work. Pretty sure I have to do that.

Inspired by Kiki Chaos (blog here) and Faux Fuchsia (super fabulous VISIONARY blog here) who manage to see positives in a day/month full of negatives, I have decided to write a note of gratitude to help me see the sunnier side of the day despite the grey and rainy clouds above Brisbane.

Dear Coffee,

Thank you so much for making me pleasant in the mornings. You know how much I hate getting out of bed, so you help me to it. It's very nice of you to let G make you for me every morning when he gets up - this shows proper breeding. I'm sure my friends, family, and co-workers sing your praises every morning because you make me a much nicer person.

We should do coffee soon.

Miss J

xxx

ps: you're actually making me eat less food which is helping me to fit into the DRESS TO END ALL DRESSES. Very lovely of you.

What is everyone else grateful for today?

A post from the kitchen

BREAKING NEWS (do you get it? HA!): I now have a replacement Microstoven and G has returned the memory card reader so I now have photos!

Photo from Maxwell Williams.

Isn't she beautiful?

Sooo I was going to do a post about how much I love my new Microstoven pot by Maxwell Williams. I was going to write about how good it is to be able to brown meat on the stove, then put it straight into the oven. I was going to show you how I made soup for G and I the other day while still suffering from the WORST. COLD. EVER.

But I won't. Because it broke.

Yes, that's right. The pot I have had for precisely a week has broken. All over the floor. Chicken stock everywhere.

I'm hoping to get a refund and change it over. Because I loved the pot so much before it broke. Surely it can only be a dodgy one....right? Microstoven can be bought here

I did, however, manage to get some photos before the mess occurred so you can see how I like to make my soup.

Miss J's Asian Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

• Chicken (always good to have in chicken soup)
• Assorted vegies (I always put corn, onion, broccoli and cauliflower in mine...unless I forget to go to the markets, then I have whatever's in the kitchen and not locked down)
• Chicken stock (or stock powder and water)
• garlic
• ginger
• soy sauce
• sweet chilli sauce
• Japanese mirin
• Chinese Master Stock - BEST. THING. EVER. If you can't find this, don't substitute - NOTHING can substitute for this.
• A glass of wine. For you

Step 1: Add chicken and garlic to pan. Brown the chicken on both sides.

Step 2: Add chicken stock, corn (if using a cob), and ginger to the pan and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked. Cut chicken up and return to the pot.

mmmm chicken! Cooking this way makes it taste like BBQ or roast chook...without all the fat! Win win!

Step 3: Add vegies, a little bit of soy sauce, a little bit of sweet chilli sauce, a lot of master stock. Notice how we take a relaxed approach when it comes to measuring. Mainly because I don't have measuring cups/spoons.

Step 4: Let simmer for 5 minutes while you have your first glass of wine. Mainly so you can drink and think about how awesome this will taste/how pretty your shoes look/that you need to repaint your nails etc etc. Have another glass.

Step 5: Serve preferably before you become intoxicated.....Or not, whatever floats your boat.

EDIT: I would attach photos to this post now, but G has run off with the memory card reader, making it impossible for me to get my photos from point a to point b. He says it's because he was sending the photos from the wedding to M & E (brother- and sister-in-law), but you know, he looks dodgy. You can't trust him.

Hi G! Bring the card reader home. I love you xxx

I've changed my mind...

I've changed my mind. I now want THIS wedding.....

Say what you will about Americans (hi J!), they sure do know how to throw an awesome wedding.

Photos from Southern Weddings website here

THEY HAVE A JUMPING CASTLE!!!! You know how I much I love them (although they're probably not the right idea after all the food and alcohol we're serving).

ps: Instead of a traditional cake cutting, they had a....wait for it.....CUPCAKE. EATING. CONTEST.

Enough said, really. Yes, it's an unfair fight between us as I would definitely win. I do eat a lot more cake than you.

Honey, can we change EVERYTHING ABOUT OUR WEDDING...

Dear G,

I regret to tell you that we will be changing EVERYTHING about our wedding as I've seen photos of another wedding that I want.

Yes, I know I've done this several times before. Yes, I know there is no venue like it ANYWHERE in Brisbane/Gold Coast/Sunshine Coast. Yes, I know that we change our venue I will have to forgo many pairs of shoes to pay for the deposit (and extra payments) we will lose. No, I don't think I'll change my mind....ooooh something shiny!

Here are the photos so you can see exactly what I mean (photos found on Jonas Peterson's blog here).

Look at the detail! Your mum could get us the hay bales.....right?

Loooooove (and I know you will) the open fridge behind them. You could drink whilst waiting for me to get up the aisle!

This is how I want our night to end. Notice that your Nan could be joining in on the festivities. I know you will try and get out of this but be warned.....I will get you onto the dance floor.

Oooo cake. For no other reason than it's cake.

If you could please just succumb to my will, I will start making the arrangements to change our wedding again.....Yes, in 4 months, so you'd better hurry up!

xxx

Exciting fashion news....

Would have waited until tomorrow to blog this but it's too exciting.....

I.

RECEIVED.

MY.

ASOS.

ORDER.

Rejoice, for I have clothes!

I was worried after the lovely ladies on the Vogue forums were informed that orders from ASOS would take 1000 years to get to Australia (only a slight exaggeration).

I must admit, I was a little boring this time. Originally I ordered the clothes so I would have something to wear to G's brother's wedding on the weekend. However, they didn't arrive in time so now I have lovely things to wear to work.....with kids. Didn't think this one through.

Here is what I bought when ASOS were having their free shipping to Australia (all photos taken from the ASOS website):

I'm planning on wearing this with tights/stockings and perhaps a white long sleeved shirt underneath when it's cold in Brissy.

This dress in cream and green......because I'm boring. How nice will this cream dress look with black tights???

This pencil skirt which actually fits my waist....well as much as a skirt can. Not necessarily something I can wear to work when I'm getting on the floor with the kids or on playground duty...

I LOVE ASOS!!

What have you guys bought off the net recently?

With or without you...

So I had one of those moments yesterday where you realise how old you actually are, not how old you feel. I was posing a question to my young students (they're 9 - 10), asking them what they couldn't live without. We were working on a unit about what you need to survive, and I was testing to see what they already knew. I was expecting answers like food, water, shelter, and perhaps friends and family. What I got......MOBILE PHONES AND COMPUTERS!!!

I actually remember NOT having a mobile phone and computer. My family first got a computer when I was in primary school, probably around 1993. It was an old school Apple, with awesome games such as Apple Bowling and Space Invaders. We actually still had to write all our school assignments by hand (shock, horror!) I only started typing assignments up when I got to grade ten. My family was pretty cool then though, because we were the first ones to get the net. My dad is a lover of all technological things and wants to understand how EVERYTHING works. Most often than not this resulted in broken things when he took them apart and couldn't work out how they went back together. This time, however, we were lucky and he didn't take anything apart, resulting in copious amounts of time on the net for both my sister and I (anyone remember IRC? ICQ?)

I didn't get my own mobile phone until after I finished school in 1999. Before that, I had to use the "family" one which we were requested to use in emergencies when we went out at night. I'm pretty sure the privilege was abused...especially on my sister's part. I, on the other hand, was perfect and never used it (you guys believe that, right?)

I don't know about you but I could quite happily give up my mobile phone just to be incommunicado... Computers, on the other hand, could be a bit trickier as you wouldn't be able to read all my important thoughts!

It got me thinking though, about what technological advance I couldn't live without. It was a pretty easy question to answer though.........I couldn't live without my Nespresso Latissima coffee machine. Perfectly brewed coffee with perfectly frothed milk, and I don't have to do anything other than press a button. Easy for the technologically challenged like me.

Hello, beautiful!

Anyone for coffee?

What can't you live without?

The Weekend That Was...

Ahhh Monday....how I hate thee! I always suffer from Mondayitis when it's a grey, cool day like it is today in Brisbane. It also makes it worse when I'm still suffering from an awful cold and ear infection. I also had a lovely weekend, making it much harder to go back to work on a Monday.

Saturday was G's brother's wedding (soon to be my brother-in-law). They decided a while back that they wanted a simple, fuss-free wedding with just their closest friends and family (something G and I aren't so good at). They actually got engaged before we did, but noone really knew when the wedding would be. Imagine our surprise when we received the invitation in the mail just over a month ago (in fact, I think I may have jumped up and down at the excitement of it).

The ceremony was simple and quick (which made me rethink our ideas) and very them. I think I was the only one who got teary though when M, G's brother, smiled so beautifully at his new wife. They had simple photos taken with all 30 guests, and then sipped champagne and Little Creatures beer with all of us. The best idea of the night (apart from the chocolate mousse and Grand Marnier cake from the Welsh Lady......Brisbane girls will understand how amazing this bakery is) was that the new Mr and Mrs left at precisely 7:00pm to have their own personal dinner together at their hotel.

Their wedding made it feel so real for G and me. We felt a little stressed as we still have so much to organise for ours. At first the simplicity of their wedding made us rethink the hugeness of ours in comparison......but then we got over it. A big party is very us!

So with this in mind, we decided to have a lazy Sunday and try to organise some things for the wedding. We started to write a list of some of the things we haven't organised......and then got distracted by our honeymoon. We're going to Asia for 3 weeks, seeing Kota Kinabalu in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo), Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Kuala Lumpur. While I was aware of the Red Shirt protests in Bangkok, I was not aware of how violent and horrible they have become for all involved. Currently we're unsure of what to do with the Bangkok part of our trip. Any suggestions??

Here's a sneaky peek at where we're going in Kota Kinabalu - Le Meridien.

I'll be doing a lot of both of these I think.....

Honeymoon may change so I'll keep you updated with what we've decided!

What did you all do this weekend?

The story of G and J

So...I thought I would tell you all about how G and I got engaged. It's very rude of me to be talking about all things wedding when I haven't told you about us.

I work as a teacher, and G picked me up from work one Friday afternoon in June. He'd packed up a beautiful picnic and took us to Redcliffe beach. It was cold and dark, but we spent the evening cuddled up under a blanket, looking at the stars and eating. Suddenly, he went quiet (which NEVER happens). I'm thinking that something is wrong and keep hounding him (as I'm known to do sometimes). Finally he had enough and tells me to be quiet. He tells me how much he loves me and how much he wants us to be together forever. He then asked me to marry him. I started squealing and hugging him, then insisted on calling our friends and families. He's still waiting for me to say yes!

As an offside, he'd actually planned a big night the next weekend: a limo picking me up from work, taking me into the city where he'd be in a hotel room with a gourmet dinner. He decided that the picnic was more "us" and scrapped the glitzy proposal. Problem was.....the ring was going to be ready for that weekend! He actually proposed without the ring and I had to wait until Monday to receive it. I also couldn't tell any of my friends until Monday, as it was my friend R's 21st birthday and we didn't want to steal her thunder. LONGEST WEEKEND EVER!!!

How did you all get engaged?

The first thing to do when getting engaged

So, I've already done this but I know that engagement season is right around the corner (yes! There is such a thing!) In fact, there are three - around Valentine's Day in February, around the middle of the year (June/July, which is when G and I got engaged), and around Christmas time (talk about an amazing present!)

The first thing to do after getting engaged (apart from saying yes, screaming and jumping up and down, and calling your friends and families) is to think about your venue. What kind of wedding do you want to have? Do you want a relaxed, beach style wedding? Do you want a formal, city-based wedding? Would you prefer a garden party in the country? Do you want all three? <----this was me!

Once you've established what type of wedding you would like (and believe me, this can change), think about the dreaded B word.....yes, budget. You need to think about how much you'd like to spend on the wedding as a whole, as well as how much you would like to spend on the ceremony and reception. There's no point looking at lots of venues, finding your ideal one, then realising that you cannot afford it!

Budgets do not need to be boring. Nor do they have to be such a touchy subject. Many people get offended when budgets are brought up. A "budget" wedding does not have to mean cheap - it just means that you are designing your wedding to your budget, not anyone else's. So some people get their weddings paid for by parents.....big deal! So some people get loans to afford the wedding of their dreams.....good for them! So some people have longer engagements to pay for their own weddings.......congrats! There is no right and wrong. Think about how you will pay for your wedding, whether that is through parents, loans, or savings. G and I are paying for the entire wedding ourselves, so we've had an extended engagement. This has allowed us to pay for things over an 16 month period, meaning we can still have some kind of social life!

Finally, think about how important certain elements of the wedding are to you as a couple - these will be the things you may want to spend more money on. You might think that good food and wine are the most important things, therefore these will take a bigger chunk of the money. You do not necessarily have to give everything a monetary value! G and I have a "rolling" budget - we have established about how much we want to spend on the wedding as a whole, identified the most important elements to us (alcohol and flowers!), and make allowances to cover any additional costs. It's also been handy having a 16 month engagement as we can spread out payments (and buy vases/candles/shoes etc when sales have been on, not last minute).

In coming posts, I will outline how G and I decided on our location (as well as giving you all a sneak peek) and questions to ask the location manager when deciding.

Keep safe lovelies.

xxx

Welcome! Make yourselves at home!

Hi everyone,

It's always polite for a lady to make good introductions as my mother always used to say (mind you, she also told me not to wear patent leather shoes as boys could look up my skirt).

I'm Miss J, soon to be Mrs J. I'm in the middle of all things wedding - my job as a teacher is interfering with my planning (J, if you're reading, it's not - I still love my job!)

Mr J (also known as G) and I are currently looking for a new house. We'd love to build a new one but I don't know if that will happen straight away.....after all, I wouldn't be able to do much renovation or decoration if we do!

A girl can't let all her secrets out of the bag - keep reading and maybe you'll find out more of the mystery.