Socceroos Fever.... Aussie Aussie Aussie

This is a post I dedicated to the game tonight on my foodie blog, Simply About Life.

The moment is here: Australia vs Germany at the FIFA World Cup!!!!!

Go Aussie Aussie Aussie!!!!!!

The game starts at our time 2.30am and back in Australia it will start at 4.30am. I'm pretty sure all football fans in Australia are draped in tour national colours of green and gold, flying the Australian flag, fans singing Waltzing Matilda and Advance Australia Fair, all decked out with scarves, replica shirts or just anything to show our pride for our Aussie team. 

Getting into the spirit of it all is what we'll be doing over here too. Although I'm miles away in Malaysia I'm still rallying up behind my country and cheering on my team. I know my brothers will be watching them as will many more as luck has been given to our home with the Queen celebrating her birthday so granting Aussie a well deserve day off. 

I know it may be a long shot with all expectations for a win by Germany but just wouldn't it be nice for the underdogs, Australia to come in a take it all away with a win! I'm just hoping and praying for that win! 

I know for tonight's snack I should have made something more in tune with an Aussie flavour like a good old Aussie Meat Pie, a sausage roll but I've settled for spring rolls. We'll be needing that extra spring in their kick to our win for tonight!

.... whatever the outcome I know Australia will play at their best and that will be all I could ever ask for.

Here's the link to my recipe for my Spring Rolls.

I must confess........

.............. I must confess............ I think I've become a news junkie.


I can't let a day go by without reading the news, watching the news, watching all the 24 hr news channels like CNN, BBC, etc or going through all the news apps on my Ipod. 


I'll read all the Aussie news first of course... reading through the Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph, The Age, and any other source of news from home..... ninemsn the list goes on....


Next I'll tackle the international news, click onto my News  bookmark and out pops the long list of news sites. Although I might not get to read all of them I do have a few must read sites that I MUST go through............


... The New York Times. I might be miles away from the US but I love the articles in this newspaper, Opinion (Maureen Dowd on Wednesdays and Sundays), Dining and Wine (where I get my cooking inspiration) and of course Home & Garden where I wish I could live in the Village and renovate one of those 4 storey beautiful brown stones and decorate, decorate, decorate....


... UK next and off to The Daily Mail  and I'll run thru the juicy goss and read what's happening in UK. Something about being banned from Disney???.... "Mother and daughter banned from Disneyland... because they were dressed as fairy princesses"  so sad as much as I like fairy tales I don't think I'd wear a princess gown when I go to Disney......


And then there's all the gossip spread.... yep all those trashy stories on celebrities.... the Perez Hilton, Just Jared, Us Weekly, A Socialite's Life, etc... Yes, ashamed as I am I must confess I read them too!


Is there no stopping??? Nope. I just discovered last week this great site called Mental Floss (Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix) ....where you can find all the amazing facts and trivia  on absolutely everything. Mmm like 8 Things Disney Parks Have Banned maybe the poor lady from the UK should have read that but I thought Disney was suppose to bring out the inner kid in you. 


Anyway, as I type this and read at the same time The New York Post and Mental Floss and post today's foodie challenge for my food blog ..... I must confess I'm a News Junkie just getting a fix on life .......Good news/ Bad news and as the saying goes "Old news is good news" but for me any good story is good news....

Play School and a Vegemite Sandwich

This morning as I sat with J, watching another episode of Play School, it occurred to me that I've been watching this show on and off for the most part of my life......30+ years. 

Big Ted, Little Ted, Jemina and HUMPTY

Singing along with Noni, John, Bonita, Don and George........... There's a bear in there, Dingle Dangle Scarecrow, Shake My Sillies,You Can Stamp Your Feet, etc..........

I remember them all, the silly dances, the Tic Toc Rocket Clock, the Windows, and the all the games and craft.........a thousand and one things to make with toilet rolls, straws, cardboard boxes and mountains of sticky tape. I loved it when I was 3 and now 34 years later still going strong! Every little Aussie child watched it during their childhood and so are mine...........thousands of miles away.

I grew up with all those faces, and I had a favourites too; John Hamlin,  Benita and Noni. I could sit for hours watching those two, dancing, singing and they just so much fun to watch. My older two grew up with Monica and Philip and now J is watching it with Justine, Alex, Simon and Karen.  I watched it with my mum as a kid and now it's happening again with my little one! 


Somehow I've managed to get the kids to watch it and we've been so lucky to get to see it on satellite tv. The kids have watched Bananas in Pajamas, Humpfrey (I had a toy Humpfrey as a kid!!!) , Hi-5 (just not the same without the originals), and of course The Wiggles!!!!!! 


.......... I must confess I've been to 2 Wiggles concerts in a span of 5 years. Got most of their CDs and Dorothy and Wags plushies!! ... My last trip back home I decided to give it a miss for their annual concert  because I just feel it's not the same without the original Yellow Wiggle, Greg.... still in Wiggle denial. 


All the shows are just not the same whenever a replacement comes along.Oooohh  Ashley grew up singing along to Hi-5 and when she watched it recently with Jacob she couldn't believe there was no Charli, Kathleen, Nathan, Tim or Kellie. Well people get older is what i told her and I just couldn't image the original Play School cast jumping and rolling around at their ages now. 


..... Funny thing is when I was in Year 10 for work experience I got to go to the ABC studios,Gore Hill and actually spent a day on the Play School set. It was amazing to see the set, cuddle up to Big Ted, Jemina, Humpty and Little Ted and I even got to meet John Hamlin!!! My childhood super star!!! ........ I even told him he was my fav when I was a kid and  he was really funny on set. I found out that when he was doing the earlier shows he was actually commuting from the UK to Sydney (wat a commute!! can u image the frequent flyer points if he was doing that now!!) I just miss out on meeting Noni who was on the day before.  Anyway, while I was there I also got to go on the G.P. set...........Does anyone remember that show?? They weren't filming at the time so the set was empty so I didn't get to meet anyone. The other place that was interesting was the wardrobe dept, so many costumes and amazing detailing. (Got a pic of myself in a period costume.) Memories............


Anyway, side tracked there..... well I guess I've been trying to put a little Aussie into the kids lives and although we are so far I want them to remember their other home. The place I grew up, my childhood memories and where family & friends are. I want them to know where they're from and possibly where they will be in the future. To create an Aussie culture at home, a sense of identity for them and to keep mine alive. It's not about living there anymore but an Aussie way of life; how we live, our love and respect for one another, our great sense of humour, having a fair go, the great Aussie BBQ (and the flies!!!), and of course the beautiful land we call home.


I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains, 
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains, 
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea, 
Her beauty and her terror - 
The wide brown land for me!


taken from My Country
by Dorothea McKellar (1885-1968

)

I just cannot describe the feeling I get when you hear or see good news from home.....like the time I watched the opening of the Sydney 2000 Olympics. I was just so awe struck and seeing my "hometown", how proud I was and weld up with tears to see it all happen...... 


I would go back to Sydney in a flash but I've made my new home here on this side of the island and for now while the kids are still young I'll keep on watching Play School and turn that Australian Network channel on ....  make those lamingtons, pavlovas, anzacs biscuits and the great aussie pie ...... eat that vegemite sandwich ........... but I know I'm home because home is where the heart is..............

........... my kids love to read Alison Lester's Are we there yet? and someday I would love to bring them back to Australia and make that same trip with them.

Are we there yet? Official website http://www.alisonlester.net/are%20we%20there%20yet.html