Sunday, April 26, 2009

13 things to do before I am 40 update

1. Go through everything I own and purge myself of the things I either don't need or want anymore. Donate what is in good shape and could be useful to someone else – in progress: filing and books to go
2. Run a 5k fun run event.
3. Hire a convertible for a summer weekend road trip
4. Go to the opera
5. Pay off my personal loan
6. Read 10 more books from the BBC’s top 100 – in progress: 7 books arrived Friday
i. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
ii. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
iii. Dune - Frank Herbert
iv. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
v. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
vi. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
vii. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
viii. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
ix. Middlemarch - George Eliot
x. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
7. Have a ‘boudoir’ photo shoot
8. Swim with dolphins
9. Grow my own herbs – in progress: pots and herbs purchased today
10. Do a cooking class – in progress: booked into gluten free cooking class Jun 20th
11. Graciously accept compliments – ongoing but doing well so far
12. Have golf lessons
13. Have a make up lesson – in progress: having lesson tomorrow

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Tibballs Tales #3 - The Cherry Lane Joke

When we were kids, I was maybe 12 and my sister 10, my sister took a fancy to a joke. Night after night we would be sitting on Mum and Dads bed and she would tell it.

The joke went something like:

"A boy came in late to class and the teacher asked 'Johnny, where have you been?'. Johnny responds 'Sorry Miss, I have been up Cherry Lane'. He is told to sit down.

"A short time later a second boy comes into class even later. The teacher asked 'Tom, where have you been?'. Tom responds 'Sorry Miss, I have been up Cherry Lane'. He is told to sit down.

"Not long after that a third boy comes in late. The teacher asked 'Bobby, where have you been?'. Bobby responds 'Sorry Miss, I have been up Cherry Lane'. He is told to sit down.

"Then a girl comes into the classroom. The teacher asks, frustratedly 'I suppose you have been up Cherry Lane too?'. To which the girl responds 'I AM Cherry Lane'."

At this point my sister would roll around the bed laughing. And we would laugh too. I can still remember the joy she got from the joke... even though more than 25 years have passed!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Tibballs Tales #2 - the story of the BIG christmas present

This one is short but cute.

The first time we had a 'brady bunch' Christmas was at our house in Seaford. Our tree sat in a corner in front of two windows. This meant by going outside you could get 360 degree views of the tree and more importantly the presents underneath!

Shortly after the tree was put up that year a LARGE box was placed under it with my littlest step brothers name on it. "Dear Damien". Damien spent hours looking at this box. He studied it from inside the room and through the windows. He counted the days until the contents were his.

Finally Christmas morning arrived and early in the gift giving Damien was passed his gift. He tore off the paper and opened the box!

Inside was a huge surprise!

Yes... it was a smaller box wrapped and addressed to his brother Derek!

My wonderful Step Dad had done a cute pass the parcel for his kids. In the very centre was a new computer game for the three of them to share.

Sadly Damien was sobbing in his bedroom by the time it got to the game.

And he still hates that story to be retold. Sorry Damien!