Our garbage bin roster, the marrickville council bins calendar, a photo of him, a photo of me, a takeaway menu or three, some recipes and a bottle opener.

Exciting stuff. There’s nothing on the freezer bit (at the bottom) as we try keep hanging stuff out of Train’s bitey reach.

Play along at helloowl.

Lung cancer is in vogue.

Dogs can be taller than me.

There should be more parties marked with balloons.

Sometimes Jarod needs to move a bit quicker (but he’s still pretty awesome for coming on kitty walks though).

So it’s a good thing that the RSPCA are holding another Cupcake Day on August 16 this year to raise money so they can continue to look after animals in need.

Seeing as I had a bit of time today, I thought I’d do some decorating of my own. You may remember that I went to a cupcake decorating class earlier in the year, so prepare to be blown away by my talent.

Are you ready? Here it is…

It’s a cat cupcake! I know, I know, it looks exactly like a cat, right?

Now, if in your head you’re thinking ‘I can do that/better than that’ then you’re probably well suited to sign up and raise some money. They also have a Most Creative Cupcake Cook competition – I suggest looking through the entries and being inspired.

Can’t bake or decorate? Why not donate to one of the participants?

While I haven’t started a team yet, rest assured I won’t let my cupcake decorating talent go to waste. Even if Jarod might be the only person kind enough to give me money for them.

I just wanted to mention something. I took the time and effort to read your speech on border security the other day. And I found the following quote interesting.

Mr Burnside said, and I quote:

“I challenge Julia Gillard to point out to the public that at the current rate of arrivals it would take about 20 years to fill the MCG with boat people.”

Obviously, Julian Burnside, like me, is a Melbournian. He went on to refer to certain Australians as, and I quote:

“Rednecks in marginal seats”

On the first point Mr Burnside is very, very right and I’m happy to oblige. He is right because in the context of our migration program, the number of asylum seekers arriving by boat to Australia is very, very minor. It is less than 1.5 per cent of new migrants, and indeed it would take about 20 years to fill the great MCG with asylum seekers at present rates of arrival. This is a point well made.

On the second point, though, Mr Burnside is very, very wrong. It is wrong to label people who have concerns about unauthorised arrivals as ‘rednecks’.

Of course, there are racists in every country, but expressing a desire for a clear and firm policy when you are faced with a difficult problem does not make you a racist.

And then I read something that your senator – the one appointed as Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy – said. And I’m quoting from this article by Myles Peterson.

Let me start off by saying that Senator Stephen Conroy and current ACT Senator, Kate Lundy, both members of the Australian Labor Party – your party.

For a long time, Lundy has been quietly arguing for the Labor Party to modify its internet filter policy to allow Australians to choose to opt-out or opt-in. When pressed on Lundy’s position by a journalist last Tuesday, who asked: “Do you have any indication from Julia Gillard about how she would consider any opt-out or opt-in amendments to the filter that Senator Lundy has been -”

Conroy cut him off, “We have election commitment that we will deliver on.”

The journalist persisted: “What’s your personal view of the opt out and opt in provisions?”

Conroy snapped: “I’m not into opting in to child porn.”

So, it’s not okay for Mr. Burnside to suggest that Australians concerned about unauthorised arrivals are ‘rednecks’, but it’s perfectly okay for Senator Conroy to suggest that another member of his party wants to ‘opt-in to child porn’ because she believes there is a better way this policy could work?

As much as I’d like to comment that Senator Lundy is so, so more qualified for Senator Conroy’s position than he is (spams or scams, anyone?), and how your policy is going to lose you so many votes, I’ll leave that for another time.

But one request: can you please tell Senator Conroy that expressing a desire for a clear and firm policy that respects our rights and does not hold back the ‘digital economy’ does not make you someone who likes child pornography.

Cheers,

Liz.

P.S Perhaps you could also send Senator Conroy on a couple of training sessions on how the Internet works?

TED Talks
1. Hans Rosling shows the best stats you’ve ever seen
2. Bobby McFerrin hacks your brain with music
3. Jill Bolte Taylor’s stroke of insight
4. Benjamin Zander on music and passion
5. Dan Gilbert asks, Why are we happy?

Comics
6. xkcd
7. a softer world (sometimes NSFW)
8. Whubble
9. Hey Pais
10. Cat versus Human

Blogs: Arty/Crafty
11. Myrtle & Eunice
12. Ric Rac
13. All Toile and No Reward
14. Nut and Bee
15. Two Cheese Please

Blogs: Foodies
16. onebitemore
17. I am obsessed with food
18. Saucy Onion
19. off the spork
20. Citrus and Candy

Youtube videos
21. OK Go: This too shall pass
22. Ninja kitty
23. Ruben’s tube
24. David Tennant tells a bedtime story
25. Quarantine Guy

Recipes
26. Homemade oreos
27. Hot cross buns
28. Banana cake
29. Carrot cake
30. Ginger loafcake

Usefulness
31. Perfect portions – Love Food Hate Waste
32. The Cook’s Thesaurus
33. XE – Currency conversions
34. ABC News
35. The Bureau of Meteorology (forecasts and radars!)

Places to spend money
36. Made it
37. Etsy
38. The Book Depository
39. Pampered Cats Playground
40. Jumi footwear

Places to be social
41. Blog Chicks forums
42. Twitter
43. Facebook (sometimes)
44. The Daring Kitchen
45. Through memes like this one.

Extra bits
46. ABC’s iView
47. iinet are our favourite internet provider.
48. How to improve your luck scientifically
49. Antony Green’s Election Blog
50. …I guess I should mention friendly miaows.

Well, that took me three nights to compile. Most of it was lost in the TED talks. Like any of them? Hate any of them? Did it at least fill your time? Let me know in the comments.

I’ve just gotta do that actual quilting bit. I have a hoop for it and everything.

Today I spent the entire day in a Quilting class with Sarah Fielke, hosted by Notebook: Magazine’s The Craft Room. Yup, the same guys that were behind the cupcake decorating class that I did with Leigh and Laura.

Today was certainly a learning experience. There were only two of us in the class – and I must admit I was especially pleased by this, because I am not particularly confident with my sewing skills. Luckily I only had to unstitch maybe four or five or six bits. And lets not talk about how my blocks weren’t really square, because Sarah made that all go away anyway ;)

Patchwork quilting requires serious amounts thought and concentration and skill. But it’s pretty cool to start with a whole bunch of fabric and come out with something almost looking like the example. Not that I would have got anywhere near the example without Sarah’s help and patience.

Now I’m own my own and I’ve just gotta finish the hand quilting, then do the binding. After all this progress in one day, I might allocate a few months to get the rest done ;)

Now, who wants to lend me some money so I can go to some of the other Craft Room classes?

Clearly I’m no food writer, but believe me this little Dome of Doom (as I like to call it) is delicious. And so rich and dense – I couldn’t actually eat it in one sitting, I spread it over three. Despite it being a cool dish, the ginger in it makes it feel really warm. And I love me a bit of ginger.

Thanks to Mei and Brasserie Bread for their awesomeness :)

The Rings

My Temporary Engagement Ring was made by Kathryn Riechert.

The ‘real’ engagement ring and wedding bands were designed by us and made by Victoria Buckley. Overall we were really pleased with how they turned out, and Victoria was a great help with getting them made.

Also, when I say ‘designed by us’ we all know I mean ‘designed by Jarod’, right?

The Dress

I bought my dress online from birdnest – this dress, in fact. It was in white, on special and the last one available… in my size. I’d never seen it in person or tried it on, but it seemed good enough. The service from birdsnest was fantastic, and I am sooooo pleased I didn’t have to go dress shopping.

As I somehow managed to lose weight before the wedding, I did have the dress taken in slightly by A Stitch in Time in Surry Hills. Again, the service (and price) was fantastic. I wouldn’t hesitate to take other stuff I need altering to them in the future.

The Flowers

The flowers were a small bridesmaid’s bouquet from EmersonMade. One of the more expensive items, but I think worth it in the end. Now they sit in one of our bookshelves. You can also take individual flowers off and use them elsewhere if you feel the need (all of the flowers are pinned on).

The Stamps

Not many people would have seen these, but we had some custom stamps made up by Two Cheese Please – one in the ‘Jarod and Liz’ design (similar to our current header) and another in a flower. We used them all over wedding related bits and pieces (invites and the like) and the best part is, we can continue to use them on other random things. Holly was fantastic and happens to be very talented.

Travel

We flew to Hobart (and back) with Virgin Blue, and while we were down there we used a Thrifty hire car. Well, Jarod used a Thrifty hire car, because I’m still under 25 and that means a huge excess if I crash it. They were both good, but nothing exceptional.

The Location

We stayed at the Islington Hotel in Hobart. We got married in their little courtyard in front of the reflection pool. We cannot speak highly enough of this hotel and the staff – we had a fantastic time and they looked after us wonderfully. They were also generous enough to let us have our photos taken in the grounds, which led to some spectacular shots. Of course, the little cherry on top was Chaos, the resident cat – which we didn’t know about before we booked, so it was a lovely surprise.

The Photographer

I’ve known of Alan Moyle (a.k.a Photobat) for years… well, it was definitely before I moved to Sydney, at least. When Jarod and I first discussed the idea of getting married on our own and not in Sydney, I suggested Tasmania, mainly because Alan is based there. Of course, it turned out to be a wonderful place to get married in for various other reasons, but Alan’s photos from the day were just amazing and we are so, so, so happy with them. You should go and hire him and stuff.

The Celebrant

Jill Harper was recommended to us by Alan as a pretty good local celebrant. Turns out, he was right. Jill made the ceremony everything we could have wanted – short, touching and funny. She also let us be a little bit ‘less than traditional’ in our vows and the exchange of our rings, and even included a bit in the ceremony about Train. That and she reminded us of Jarod’s Mum. What more could you ask for?

The Scarves

Well, they were knitted for us by my sister, Looshkin. Jarod’s was made out of soy fibres, but they were still pretty awesome and are keeping us warm in Sydney, too. (Also, that big white wrap I have in some of the photos? She made that too. Such a good sister – always looking for ways for us to be warm).

The Kitty Sitter

Christine from Kitty Connection was brave enough to kitty sit Train while we were gone. Despite a few grumbles from Train, I think Christine may have won her over in the end… in that Train had stopped growling by the last couple of visits. Train was well fed and happy to see us when we got back, which was a nice change from what would have been a 45 minute car ride with a crying Train in a cage if we had left her with my brother. We still haven’t figured out which way is less stressful for Train, but having a kitty sitter was certainly less stressful for us.

The After Party

We had a small gathering when we got back at Cicciolina Italian Restaurant in Newtown. Nommy food and lovely staff. The invites for the party were two part-ers: one part we designed and had printed by Inform Print, the other we purchased from Ekidna Kids.

Hmm. I think that might just be everything. Any questions?

Let me present the rainbowyay!cake:

As for the inside… well, we weren’t smart enough to get photos of the actual cake before the icing or after the cutting, but this photo of the test cake I made the weekend earlier shows pretty much exactly what it looked like…

Yes, that is all the one, solid lump of cake. And it’s all rainbow layer’y! I had the order of a rainbow pinned up next to my computer for about a week an a half… and I still can’t remember how it goes.

As for how I made it? Well.

- Take one cake recipe that’ll turn out a white/creamish batter (I used a vanilla cupcake recipe).

- Divvy up the batter into 6 different bowls and go crazy with colour.

- Find a cake tin that will fit inside a contraption that steams. Grease it, and steam it for about 5 minutes to get it warm.

-Grab your handy order-of-a-rainbow piece of paper and work out which colour will be first.

- Open up the steamer and pour the batter inside the cake tin – spreading with a spatula to ensure it is level(ish). This part gets hot, so be careful.

- Put the lid back on for another 7 or so minutes. Repeat with your next layer (in order!). And keep repeating until you run out of layers.

- You can then either: steam the cake for a bit longer so it’s cooked through OR take the cake out of the steamer and put it into a preheated oven so it cooks through. I put it in the oven for 10 minutes… because I felt like it, really. You just have to be careful that it doesn’t dry out if you do use the oven.

And then you cover it in some kind of icing and then put some letters on the top. Just a hint though: it’s always better if you write at least one of the letters backwards by accident. It gives the final cake a really amatuerish look which is hard to beat.

Happy Birthday Miss Rah! We hope you have an excellent day.

(I should mention that on the day Jarod was a MAJOR help with the cake making and decorating. Who would have thought there would be so much to get done before a wedding?)