Bundy's First Christmas

Christmas was a split experience this year. Heath's parents weren't well so he stayed in Perth and cooked for them while I went to Busselton to Uncle Ian's house with my family. Mum and I prepared most of the food on Christmas Eve so we could enjoy the day relaxing with the rest of the family. It was a very hot Christmas so it was nice to be near the beach. We rigged up a sprinkler mister around the gazebo which helped cool us all down but I think it was the bucket loads of frozen cocktails that did the trick.

Bundy's favourite soccer ball

Bundy's presents

A few for everyone else

I hadn't realised that I had never cooked a roast ham for my family before so our menu consisted of baked ham and turkey breast.

Cranberry and Port glazed ham

Back on line

Hi everyone, I am still alive here. Two months have passed and so much has happened. I will fill you in shortly. My laptop has finally been fixed and I will now be able to update everything. Yay!!

Love Barbie xx

Bundy

I went and looked at a Puggle (Pug crossed with Beagle) and a Pugalier (Pug crossed with King Charles Cavalier). Well I finally found my baby. We originally decided to wait to get our puppy until after we were to have our baby. Well another 10 years has passed and I have been wanting to get my pugalier for the last couple of years now. The couple of breeders I had contacted have since sterilised their dogs and I haven't been able to find another breeder in WA. I was told to go to ACA pups in Innaloo as they get their pugaliers from a Melbourne breeder. I took Heath for a look on Saturday morning and I just knew he was going to be mine.

Introducing Bundy..... Born on Thursday 22nd July 2010. He is a ruby red pugalier.

We have named him Bundy, after the Bundy Red that was drunk at Talk Like a Pirate Day beach picnic that we went to on Sunday with the Covettes, and because our boy is red (ruby) coloured. We thought it was appropriate plus we will always remember when he came into our lives. He will be nine weeks old on Thursday.He is quite taken with Heath as well which is really good. Maybe it is because he is a boy as my Sara never did, she was definately mummy's girl.

Fraud!!

I am so angry that I need to vent. Some bastard has stolen my credit card details and has been booking things to my card.................I am furious!!!!!!! The bank just called and has put a stop on my cards and set up a fraud account. Great way to top off three lonely days home sick. Why, why, why. I think I will go cry now :(

Scooby's bites the bullet

After a long and busy day writing up the Homocysteine report for tomorrow's QC subcommittee meeting; Heath and I ducked into the city amongst the pouring rain to meet up with our Covette friends at the bar 1907 for a Mad Hatters tea party. We had hot alcoholic sake served in tea cups, which was sweet, hot and very yummy.

The best part of the night was that we were able to celebrate the very new engagement of our friend's Toby and Amira. Whoot whoot....what a beautiful big bling!! Amira you lucky girl :) Hunger struck so we all took off for a celebratory dinner at Fast Eddy's and as always ordered too much chips for the table....yes Daan this is becoming a trend, to think we should have learnt by now.

100 things about me!

1. I am married to a gorgeous man, Heath, and we have been together 19.5 years. 
2. At the time it was his butt in uniform that caught my eye, that is once he got rid of his mullet and mow. 
3. We met when we were both Scout leaders.
4. This is my birthday.
5. I love summer and hot sunny days.
6. This is my birth month, a true Gemini through and through.
7. Nothing beats a picnic, BBQ or drinks with friends. 
8. I love mini getaways.
9. Love to travel and am always planning the next big trip. 
10. Have cruised the throughout the South Pacific.
11. Went to Disneyland in LA then cruised down to Mexico.
12. Years ago I learnt Italian and sat my advanced exam. 
13. I need to study up again as I want to go to Italy next year and do a cooking course, cooking of course being one of my passions. 
14. I love finding new recipes and trying them out. 
15. I love being wined me and dined.
16. I don’t drink tea but have started to drink peppermint tea.I love coffee and used to drink a dozen cups a day before the heart palpitations grabbed me. 
17. Now I opt of a single cup of caffeine and spend the rest of the day inhaling the aroma as much as possible. 
18. Skinny decaf latte with a half shot of coconut and half shot of macadamia is coffee of choice.
19. I could sit in a cafe for hours chatting with friends.
20. I hate talking on the telephone.
21. I love spending time being pampered at the Day Spa and would be there daily if I won lotto. My favourite at the moment is Blush in Freo. 
22. I love all girly things.
23. I couldn’t live without lip-gloss.
24. This is my favourite number.
25. My favourite colour would of course be pink, hot passionate pink!
26. I love bubble baths
27. I love our spa pool and miss Sunday morning coffee in it with my hubby.
28. I love candles, especially from dusk. I find they don’t trigger my allergies.
29. I am allergic to mould and am having weekly injections.
30. I am hypersensitive to chemicals, perfume, cigarette smoke and bleach.
31. My allergies have gotten worse over the last few years.
32. I made it through this winter without bronchitis.
33. Reading is high on my list as escapism, especially out in the sun in my hammock.
34. I love anything to do with water; fishing, boating, swimming, and snorkelling.  
35. I currently want to learn to dive.
36. I am working on getting my motorbike licence. I had a moped at uni years ago and now they are cool again, or it is because they now are financial.
37. I love to shop and since I have a limited budget I happily spend time window shopping until I find exactly what I am looking for.
38. Is shopping exercise? I know I need to get moving more, so says my personal trainer Craig.
39. I also have a husband who is a personal trainer; Popeye’s Health and Fitness.
40. I am passionate about arts, theatre, musicals, music and dancing.
41. Lights, camera, action seems to capture my mind; hence my love of Vegas.
42. I have a piano at my parent’s house and one day will restore it and have lessons.  I did try to teach myself at one stage by writing on the keys.
43. I like to sing in the car.
44. I like to sing with sing-star at home, usually either when no-one is around or when I am too drunk to care.
45. Love, love, love live concerts and live bands.
46. I took up salsa a few years ago but I haven’t danced much this year due to injury.
47. I want to get back into dancing including ballroom dancing.
48. I enjoy Zumba and can’t wait for my friend Wenny to come back and join me again.
49. I admit that I used to boot-scoot.
50. I bought a pair of boots whilst in America to wear boot-scooting.
51. I still love going out dancing at night clubs...till all hours.
52. I have spent many hours working on my genealogy.
53. I have managed to track down unknown relatives from all over the world. Especially since I am a bitser; a mixture of Scottish, Irish, English, Indian, German, Polish, and Ukraine... I am Australian through and through.
54. My favourite flower is roses, probably pink, hence my rose garden.
55. I grow fruit trees; I just wish my avocado tree would fruit.
56. I have perfected pickling my olives from my Kalamata trees.
57. I would love to plant a vegetable garden.
58. I love dogs and am looking for a pugalier. If you know a breeder let me know.
59. My last dog was a Rottweiler, called Sara.
60. Wanted Bailey as my next dog’s name but a friend has that name already.
61. I have 3 Christmas teddy bears that Heath bought me, named Oscar, Christopher and Bailey.
62. My bought myself my first Barbie doll at 29. It was Bridal Barbie and Ken as our wedding car dolls.
63. I have a rat phobia. I had a dead one the size of a cat thrown at me before the lights came back on at the cinema at the end of Beetle Juice in 1989. Blood splattered all over me. The bastards!
64. I nearly chopped my finger off chopping wood with the axe.
65. My earring back grew into the back of my ear and I had to go to hospital to cut it out.
66. I started going grey at 17. I am a hairdresser’s dream customer/cash cow.
67. I was blonde when I was young, darkened to brunette as a teenager, and now am blonde again.
68. My eyes go from blue to green and all shades in between.
69. I like scrapbooking but having done much lately.
70. Every year plan to make my own Christmas cards.
71. I generally write a Christmas letter every year.
72. I love the holidays, especially Christmas.
73. I love decorating the house for Christmas.
74. I love baking Christmas goodies and planning a Christmas menu.
75. I love seafood. Prawns are probably my favourite.
76. Mojito is probably my favourite cocktail atm.
77. Love white wine and port. Red wine seems to trigger my allergies but I manage as long as I have my antihistamines with me.
78. I love going wine tasting at wineries.
79. I enjoy photography.
80. I learnt to develop my own prints at uni.
81. My middle name is Marie.
82. Love to play canasta, although Heath won’t play with me anymore.
83. Only learnt to play poker last year.
84. I am a roller coaster junkie...whoohoo! Bring on the stratosphere :)
85. I am a combination of a night owl and morning person, once I have had a hot shower.
86. Can’t live without a hot morning shower to warm up these old bones and trigger the brain.
87. At 24 had spinal surgery after a ruptured disc caused scar tissue to block off the nerves down my leg and was in a wheelchair for 3 months.
88. I have trouble sleeping and have to manage on 4 or 5 hours most nights.
89. Can be found on my computer or reading a book around 4am in the morning, not by choice!
90. Sleep patterns are probably shot due to previous shift work.
91. I can’t stand people who can’t make decisions.
92. I like being organised.
93. No I am not anal retentive!
94. I like to try new things.
95. I am easily guilt tripped and have a killer conscience.
96. I am content with myself although I still fight off insecurity.
97. I try to live without masks and be who I am.
98. I try to be honest with everyone including myself and that means taking each day as it comes.
99. I always planned our life with children.
100. I am working on a new life plan. Suggestions are always welcome.

Passions

I have been thinking about starting a blog for a few years now but it has taken my good friend Wenny to kick start me. I decided to call my page "Cupcakes and Cocktails" to reflect the passions in my life. Namely cooking for my friends, whether it be dinner, afternoon tea or one of our parties. I am not a fancy cook but will give anything a go. I have had my share of failures and you my friends are my guinea pigs. I am still looking for the ideal cooking course to add the sparkle to what I cook. Hence to say after doing some catering I can whip up a storm for the hundreds but if you want pretties... that I have to work hard at achieving.

My 40th birthday - Cupcake and Cocktails party

My other passion is that I love spending time with my friends and what better way than catching up over a cocktail. I am definately a face to face girl and have never been one to chat on the phone for hours. Probably stems from the years of not having a phone at home and having to save up the pennies and walk up to the shop up the road and use the phone box, grrr.  If you know me you know that I organise all my catchups via sms, facebook or my email. So yes spending time with those I love is definately my passion in life.

This year was my 40th birthday so how else would I celebrate but with all my friends with a Gliz and Glamour Cupcake and Cocktail party.