Embarrassing moments...
I don't get embarrassed very easily. I don't know whether that's more to do with not acting in ways which could lead to embarrassing situations, or due to a lack of shame on my part, but either way, I rarely blush.
But this week I had two absolute crackers that I have to share. Here's part one:
Yesterday, shopping with my Grandma, we went through the customary hand slap game at the cash register about who was paying. Then the cashier said "I have to choose someone here, you're making it hard" to which my dear old Grannie replies rather loudly (I'm assuming due to the adrenalin from the preceding hand-slap war),
"Don't take money off her, She's unemployed, she's got nothing!!!"
A quick glance around told me that yep, everyone in the line, the other lines and the front half of the shop had heard and had started to have a look at what all the fuss was about. I very quickly attempted a reprimand under my breath, "Grannie, don't say that" and to the cashier "really it's fine, just take my money, it's my stuff" but Grannie only seized the opportunity to get her money in front while my guard was down, and passed the cashier her note with an even louder and strangely triumphant cry of
"SHE LOST HER JOB, SHE NEEDS HELP!!!"
I felt the colour in my cheeks slowly turning the same shade of red as the cashier's shirt.
I. Was. Mortified.
I stood there open mouthed and watched Grandma proudly complete the transaction as though she was my carer and my lack of employment left me unable to complete such purchases unaided. The cashier and surrounding customers were finding this all quite amusing. Grannie topped it off nicely by ceremoniously handing me my bag of goodies as though she was endowing me with necessities I hadn't been able to afford for years. I stammered out an incomprehensible mix of "resigned... my money.... don't need help" as I backed out the door looking around at the surrounding customers.
After we left the shop, and I'd regained my composure, I kindly and calmly explained to her the importance of not making such announcements in the future. That I didn't 'lose my job', nor do I 'need help', and that how, especially in a small town such as ours, the impact of such a statement could jeopardise my chances at gaining work in the future. You never know who is lining up behind you...
Initially she brushed it off, still rather gloatful. I had to make her understand...
"Next time you won't let me pay, I'm going to say "No, she's a pensioner, She eats cat food for dinner, She needs help!" I imitated her pitch and volume for extra impact...
This got through, "Oh dear, I'm sorry!"
Then we laughed our heads off as we walked arm in arm to the next shop, where she promised to keep her money safely in her purse.
I love my Grannie :)
Friday 22 July 2011
Tuesday 19 July 2011
Meady Chicken
Mead.
Wine made from honey. The oldest fermented drink known to mankind. The Ancient Greeks called it 'The Nectar of the Gods'. Vikings beleived it to be an aphrodisiac. I reckon it goes good with Chicken.
Here's my recipe from last nights dinner. It was a bit of an experiment, but it was damn tasty, super easy and I will be definitely making it again.
Grab some chicken. I used two breasts and left them whole, but I think I will cut them smaller next time. Strips the size of the tenderloins would go well.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Sprinkle the chicken with flour, S & P and some mixed dried herbs (thyme, rosemary, tarragon) whack it in a oily pan and brown it off slightly.
Transfer to an oven dish, add some chopped carrot, celery and spring onions. Crush some garlic over the top (I used 4 cloves) and a few knobs of butter. Drizzle a little honey over the vegies (not too much, just a drizzle).
Now poor in enough Mead to cover the bottom of the dish by maybe 1cm or a bit less.
It should look like a little like this:
In hindsight, you could probably add a some ginger at this stage too, either crushed or grated, or even in beer or wine form? Actually, you could make the whole dish with Ginger Beer or Green Ginger Wine instead of the Mead and just use a bit more honey..... yum.
Okay, back to the recipe. Put it in the oven. After 1/2 an hour give the vegies a stir and flip the chicken over. Back in the oven for another 1/2 hour.
Cut up some green beans, and put them in a microwave proof bowl. Add the juice from 1/2 a lemon and a little water, cover, and microwave for 3-4 minutes.
Tip the beans and the juice from the bowl in with the chicken and veg. Check the flavour of the sauce and add more lemon juice to taste.
Now serve in bowls over rice and cover with all that yummy sauce.
The smaller bits of chicken were absolutely 'melt in your mouth', and the vegies were cooked perfectly. The only problem with this recipe is that there were no left overs!
If you want to try it yourself, you can get Mead from your local bottle shop.
I used "Maxwell Honey Mead" from Dan Murphy's. Here is their website: Maxwell Wines.
Now I'm hungry...
Wine made from honey. The oldest fermented drink known to mankind. The Ancient Greeks called it 'The Nectar of the Gods'. Vikings beleived it to be an aphrodisiac. I reckon it goes good with Chicken.
Here's my recipe from last nights dinner. It was a bit of an experiment, but it was damn tasty, super easy and I will be definitely making it again.
Grab some chicken. I used two breasts and left them whole, but I think I will cut them smaller next time. Strips the size of the tenderloins would go well.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Sprinkle the chicken with flour, S & P and some mixed dried herbs (thyme, rosemary, tarragon) whack it in a oily pan and brown it off slightly.
Transfer to an oven dish, add some chopped carrot, celery and spring onions. Crush some garlic over the top (I used 4 cloves) and a few knobs of butter. Drizzle a little honey over the vegies (not too much, just a drizzle).
Now poor in enough Mead to cover the bottom of the dish by maybe 1cm or a bit less.
It should look like a little like this:
In hindsight, you could probably add a some ginger at this stage too, either crushed or grated, or even in beer or wine form? Actually, you could make the whole dish with Ginger Beer or Green Ginger Wine instead of the Mead and just use a bit more honey..... yum.
Okay, back to the recipe. Put it in the oven. After 1/2 an hour give the vegies a stir and flip the chicken over. Back in the oven for another 1/2 hour.
Cut up some green beans, and put them in a microwave proof bowl. Add the juice from 1/2 a lemon and a little water, cover, and microwave for 3-4 minutes.
Tip the beans and the juice from the bowl in with the chicken and veg. Check the flavour of the sauce and add more lemon juice to taste.
Now serve in bowls over rice and cover with all that yummy sauce.
 |
| YUM!!!!! |
The smaller bits of chicken were absolutely 'melt in your mouth', and the vegies were cooked perfectly. The only problem with this recipe is that there were no left overs!
If you want to try it yourself, you can get Mead from your local bottle shop.
I used "Maxwell Honey Mead" from Dan Murphy's. Here is their website: Maxwell Wines.
Now I'm hungry...
Sunday 17 July 2011
... live Aussie bands #1
Did anyone else see Triple J's 'One Night Stand Live @ Tumby Bay' on ABC2 tonight?
I caught the last two bands, Art Vs Science and Birds of Tokyo
AWESOME!!!!
Thanks ABC2, you turned my living room into a festival for an hour!
Just so happens that these are two of my fave Aussie bands. I had the pleasure of seeing Birds Of Tokyo earlier this year at the Big Day Out in Melbourne. I'm yet to see Art Vs Science but they are definitely on my must see list :)
If you haven't heard of these bands, click on the links to their sites and check them out. No excuses like "Oh, they would be too loud" or "too modern for me..."
You'll never know unless you try :)
Peace, Emma xoxo
I caught the last two bands, Art Vs Science and Birds of Tokyo
AWESOME!!!!
Thanks ABC2, you turned my living room into a festival for an hour!
Just so happens that these are two of my fave Aussie bands. I had the pleasure of seeing Birds Of Tokyo earlier this year at the Big Day Out in Melbourne. I'm yet to see Art Vs Science but they are definitely on my must see list :)
 |
| Clearly not taken with my DSLR :) |
If you haven't heard of these bands, click on the links to their sites and check them out. No excuses like "Oh, they would be too loud" or "too modern for me..."
You'll never know unless you try :)
Peace, Emma xoxo
Sunday Selections #28
In my old blog I loved to take part in Sunday Selections hosted by Kim at FrogPondsRock
Kim says: "I take a lot of photos and most of them are just sitting around in folders on my desktop not doing anything. I thought that a dedicated post once a week would be a good way to share some of these photos that otherwise wouldn’t be seen by anyone other than me."
And she's nice enough to let us all join in!
So here are my selections, taken with my brand spanking new DSLR that I bought myself as a consolation prize for unemployment :)
If you want to join in, go and visit Kim and post your link.
Emma xo
Kim says: "I take a lot of photos and most of them are just sitting around in folders on my desktop not doing anything. I thought that a dedicated post once a week would be a good way to share some of these photos that otherwise wouldn’t be seen by anyone other than me."
And she's nice enough to let us all join in!
So here are my selections, taken with my brand spanking new DSLR that I bought myself as a consolation prize for unemployment :)
If you want to join in, go and visit Kim and post your link.
Emma xo
New beginnings...
Have you ever given so much of yourself and become so consumed in one aspect of your life that it becomes 'who you are'?
Sure, some people have good reason and just cause for their consumption, like caring for an ill-family member, or raising a brood, or moving to a third-world country to build water-wells.
My obsession was nothing so worthy. It was my job, and it wasn't even that great of a job. Sure I found it interesting but my family and friends certainly didn't, especially when it ate up so much of my time and it was the only thing I ever had to talk about...
There was just something about it that sucked me in. I ate, slept and breathed my work and I was stuck in a 'half-life' state while the best of my years passed by and 'OMG I'm 30!' went by without a second glance. I tried to find other pastimes to drag my mind away, like my sporadic but semi-successful blog that I was quite proud of, but even that fell on the wayside every time work got a bit 'hectic' again.
And now I'm not there anymore.
Poof! Just like that. No more job. I'm not that person anymore. I'm just plain old Emma. And my old blog lies dormant, with lost friends and followers and an extended absence that makes it too hard to go back to. I'm not that person anymore.
So this is my new blog, documenting my new life, my new loves and hopefully keeping the best parts of the old Emma along for the ride....
and maybe some old friends and followers would like to come too???
Sure, some people have good reason and just cause for their consumption, like caring for an ill-family member, or raising a brood, or moving to a third-world country to build water-wells.
My obsession was nothing so worthy. It was my job, and it wasn't even that great of a job. Sure I found it interesting but my family and friends certainly didn't, especially when it ate up so much of my time and it was the only thing I ever had to talk about...
There was just something about it that sucked me in. I ate, slept and breathed my work and I was stuck in a 'half-life' state while the best of my years passed by and 'OMG I'm 30!' went by without a second glance. I tried to find other pastimes to drag my mind away, like my sporadic but semi-successful blog that I was quite proud of, but even that fell on the wayside every time work got a bit 'hectic' again.
And now I'm not there anymore.
Poof! Just like that. No more job. I'm not that person anymore. I'm just plain old Emma. And my old blog lies dormant, with lost friends and followers and an extended absence that makes it too hard to go back to. I'm not that person anymore.
So this is my new blog, documenting my new life, my new loves and hopefully keeping the best parts of the old Emma along for the ride....
and maybe some old friends and followers would like to come too???
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