Sorry this is a bit sombre

I’m sitting on the couch listening to number one hits of Michael Jackson (CD raided from my uncle and his partner’s collection) at a reasonably loud volume and totally dancing while sitting on my arse.

My extended family has had two losses in the last month. My third cousin, Troy, was killed in a car accident a month ago and then his grandmother, my great aunt, died on Monday night from heart failure. Troy was 22, she 84. His a complete shock, her’s not so much because of long-term health issues. Last time I saw him was 9 years ago, her two weeks ago. I couldn’t attend his funeral (my mum represented our family), I am attending hers tomorrow.

I am surrounded by death at the moment, not just in the very real personal form of losing family, people I’ve known all my life, but also because I’m taking a paper on the sociology of death and dying. So, no escaping it, really.

I don’t want to though. It’s so much a part of life and it’s necessary for me to feel connected to it, in some way. To be ‘okay’ with it, if there ever can be such a thing. Death is fucking shit. Losing people you love for good, is shit. No two ways about that fact. But we are all immortal and we all go at some point, and I want to be somewhat at peace with that. It is not something I want to avoid thinking about and dealing with.

I’m afraid of dying, but I’m more afraid of the people I love dying. Because I have to live with that loss, somehow, but if I die and there is an afterlife I might get to see all those people I love who’ve gone before me, and if there isn’t one, well I’ll be dead so I won’t care.

I can see why some people prefer to believe in the afterlife: it’s more comforting. ‘Forever’ with the people you love exists, an eternity with them is then real. You would never have to leave your parents, your children, your lover, your friends, your pets, your whoevers.

Rainbow Kiwi Biscuits

Kiwi Biscuits are a New Zealand favourite (certainly among my family anyway!). Typically they’re made with chocolate chips but last weekend I was making them with my nephew and substituted Pebbles for the choc chips since we didn’t have any. Rainbow biscuits! And very popular with all who tried them.

Today I felt like baking again so I picked up M&Ms to use instead of Pebbles. Still rainbow, but a slightly different taste to Pebbles. (And by the way, M&Ms that have been in the oven are pretty much the most awesome candy ever.)

So, without further ado, here’s the recipe!

Ingredients:

200 grams (7.054 ounces) softened buttered
½ cup white sugar
4 tablespoons condensed milk
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 cups plain flour
1 ½ cups M&Ms (roughly; I didn’t measure, so add as many as you desire)

Method:

Combine butter and sugar until creamy. Add the condensed milk and mix well. Add the baking powder and flour and combine until just mixed. Add the M&Ms and mix all together.

Take tablespoons of the mix and roll into balls (will make 32 biscuits). Place onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Press the biscuits down slightly with a fork.

Bake at 180°C (356°F) for 20 minutes or until golden.

Versatile Blogger Award

The super-adorable Janie of Monster Girl Writes gave the Versatile Blogger Award to me! You definitely need to check out her blog ’cause it’s fantastic and so well-written. Go. Do. Now.

I think this is my first blog award ever and now I feel all special and like I just won an OSCAR or something. Omigosh, I cannot believe it! I would like to thank…

4 Rules go along with this award:

Rule 1: Thank the person who gave you this award.
Thanks Janie! <3

Rule 2: Share 7 things about yourself.

One: I don’t particularly like much of the music that originates from my country. There is plenty of it around, but in all honesty I find most of it to be terribly, well, crap. Except this song which I am rather fond of at the moment: ‘Young Blood’ by The Naked And Famous (for some reason embedding isn’t working for me). I saw them live when they opened for Nine Inch Nails and they were pretty good. This song kinda reminds me of MGMT.

Two: If being a psychologist doesn’t work out for me, I’ll probably do interior design. I have a very big love of making living spaces look delicious.

Three: I love drinking tea, but I prefer Earl Grey over ‘regular’ black tea. Like, really prefer it. I’ll have the regular stuff if it is the only type of tea available but when I’m sipping it I can’t help thinking something is wrong with it.

Four: On the subject of beverages, I am very predictable when it comes to what I will order at certain places. For instance, at Starbucks I almost always get a grande green tea frappechino, half the sugar syrup, with whipped cream. If it’s freezing and I want something warm I will either get a chai latte or hot chocolate. Sometimes I do try different things, like at Christmas when they have festive flavours.

Five: I love my hair being played with. It makes me want to go to sleep because it’s so nice and relaxing.

Six: I love high heels but I rarely wear them. They hurt… but I own like seven pairs.

Seven: I don’t like swimming at the beach if the water isn’t calm. Surf beaches are for sunbathing only! I have a fear of drowning in rough water that I manage to forget by avoiding rough beaches and not going on boats.

Rule 3: Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic.

1. Girl’s Gone Child – Fabulous blog of a fabulous mama. I’ve been reading for a few months now and I really enjoy her posts, especially the brutally honest ones.

2. Today Is My Birthday – Pretty much every post has me in fits of laughter. This wonderful lady has such a great writing style. Loooove.

3. Today’s Letters – Super-sweet blog of daily letters about random stuff and to her husband.

4. Sometimes Sweet – Danielle’s blog may actually be my favourite find of the year. I am so, so pleased to have stumbled on it. She is a truly fantastic person!

5. Vannyyy – Really nice blog I’ve very recently found. Vanessa is studying to be a pastry chef so, yes, very yummy things do feature from time-to-time.

6. Of Mice and Manticores – Stevie’s insightful blog focuses on belief systems, science, and other interesting topics.

7. Our City Lights – Another very recent find. Diana’s blog is awesome, as is she.

Along with Janie, I’m stopping at 7 because I, too, do not have any other recently discovered blogs. In fact, some of the ones I’ve listed may not even be classed as ‘recently discovered’. More like ‘six months ago I found this blog and now I’m addicted to it and am sad when my Google Reader doesn’t have a post from them in it’.

Rule 4: Contact the bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about the award.

Off to do that right now! And then it’s wash face, get dressed and go do stuff time.

Current Addictions

False nails

The first professional manicure I ever had was at age 12 and I got fake nails put on. I thought it was pretty neat but they didn’t last that long, and because I’ve always had fairly decent nails of my own I could never justify spending the dollars on getting fake ones. Or professional manicures for that matter. I still don’t, really. However, a couple of weeks ago my sister-in-law treated me to a professionally done set of false French tips and, quite frankly, I fucking love these things. My own nails, while perfectly fine, are a little on the thin side and once I let them get to a about half a centimetre in length they start to break pretty easily. But these fake babies are as hard as anything and have served me well. I can’t bite and/or pick at my own nails and my nibbling at the skin around the nail bed has decreased as well. I am going to get another set put on later in the week because, well, why the hell not? It’s not like I spend a fortune every month doing my hair and on make-up and professional beauty services, so the occasional set of false nails is something I am highly supportive of! At lest until my bank balance says otherwise…

Mid-century furniture

I have a serious addiction to mid-century anything,  but especially furniture at the moment. I want to my future house to be mainly mid-century pieces. I wish I could afford this cabinet! It’s to die for.

Scrambled eggs

One delightfully filling, protein packed meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner! My favourite way to make them is with a couple of tablespoons of milk, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sometimes I like ‘em with herbs, too, and sometimes I like ‘em with toast. I’m lucky enough to know exactly where my eggs come from (the chickens that have free range over our property, except inside the house) and what those chickens eat. I can assure you that eggs from happy, healthy chickens, freshly laid that day, are a zillion times nicer than those from battery productions.

When I made some for lunch today, one of the yolks broke as I cracked the egg and it looked like Pac Man for a few seconds. It made my day.

Chihuahuas

I’ve had the privilege of knowing three Chihuahuas in my life, one of which currently lives in my house. I can say, without a doubt, they are my favourite breed of dog, and this is coming from someone who is pro-rescue, which usually means mix-breed. I love mix-breeds too, but there is something really special about Chis and I am utterly desperate for a pup of my own right now! Possibly because I’ve been having extra maternal urges lately and since I can’t have children yet, the next best thing is a dog.

Matryoshka Dolls

I adore matryoshka dolls, though I do not own one! Never have. But I am on the hunt for the perfect doll so I will be sure to post about it when I bring it home. In the mean time, I will happily swoon over pretty photographs of other peoples’ matryoshkas.

The Naming of A Child Is Serious Business (Seriously)

I’ve always been quite fascinated with names and the first thing I think of when I know a new baby has been born, a part from “Is he or she healthy?”, is “What’d they call him/her? God, I hope it doesn’t suck.” And if I know the person well or the information has been made public prior to birth, I want to know; I need to know. I can’t help it; I’m a bit of a name snob. I have my own definite taste and I know it’s not for everyone, so I obviously get that people have different ideas about what to call their kids. But some names should never, ever be given to a child. Ever. Or, at the very least, there should be some kind of spelling regulation. I have posted about this topic before, but I have a few new ‘gems’ from the unusually-spelled-names mine.

I’m not a name history buff so I’m not sure if there is a ripe history of coming up with one’s own ‘creative/kre8tiv’ spelling for fairly usual names, but it seems to be an increasing trend in various part of the English-speaking West. Here in New Zealand we might refer to unconventional alternative spellings as being ‘Bogan’/'Westie’, which is basically our version of ‘white trash’, except the colour of one’s skin doesn’t matter. Actually, one can give their kid a Bogan name and even be Bogan, but it’s highly likely that one would be*. I know this sounds incredibly judgemental, and it is, because as I already mentioned, I’m a name snob. I’m definitely not a Bogan, and I’m not posh either, by any means. Oh but let’s not get started on those Faux Posh people who name their kids ridiculous things like Montgomery and Prudence because they think it makes them appear more sophisticated. Another day, another post.

Okay, are you ready for kre8tivi’T? Here we go!

• Aleigha *#8212; Interesting variation on Aaliyah. I don’t actually dislike it, though I’m not a fan of the name in general.
• Aliychiyah — I’m guessing this is meant to be Alicia, but with the ‘i’ pronounced.
• Elexcious — I literally slapped my hand over my mouth and astonished-laughed an ‘Oh my God, what the hell?!” at this one. I’m not sure if this is meant to be Elex-see-ous or Elex-shus. Either way, it isn’t good. When I Googled it I got results about Elexious, which is a real name that is listed at name websites. But then I opted for my original spelling and it appears that it is a real name (as proved by ancestry lists) and seems to be masculine, but just pretty rare (like 2 paes rare).
• Kaytlyn — I really dislike the excessive use of the letter ‘y’ and it seems to be increasingly popular amongst those who like alternative spellings. Too bad it’s not still the time of Generation Y, otherwise it would be quite fitting.
• Kristeena — Could be worse, but still.
• Kortni — This is totally brilliant in a I-wish-you-hadn’t way.
• Kyrah — This is apparently pronounced as Key-are-uh. ‘kay.
• Peyghtin — One of my most disliked names and with one more reason to! Who in their right mind…?

And here are some names that aren’t really a spelling thing, more of a made-up-when-drunk-or-high thing:

• Sir’Ray Kreedell — Bit like ‘Sorry’, which is probably what little Sir’Ray will be when, and pardon the gender assumption, he’s older.
• De’marquay Tylik — Tie-lick or Til-ick? Hmm.
• Ja’Kyle Juelz — What’s the ‘Ja’ for? But if you remove the apostrophe is becomes Jakyle which is wonderfully similar to Jekyll!
• Markalyn Dae’Shaun — It’s the apostrophes; they just piss me off.

So, that was my bitch of the day. I hope you enjoyed this very informative post and feel on your way to being educated about the kinds of names to avoid punishing any future children you may have with. If you want a unique name for you child at least put some real, intellectual effort into it and don’t just use a word scrambler or letter-substitutions!

These names were found in some recent posts at Baby_Names on LJ.

*People that graduate university can still be Bogans though. Please remember that just because someone has a higher-education degree doesn’t mean they are intelligent when it comes to naming their children (Or intelligent at all). It becomes a rarer occurrence, yes, but it can still happen. This is why I urge those of you attending university to encourage any of your fellow students who become parents while at university to avoid Boganism. This may also lessen the likelihood of alcohol consumption during pregnancy so it’s really a double-whammy-win here!