Today is Good Friday which means the start of a 4-day weekend here in Aus and the start of the mid-semester uni break for me 🙂
To kick off the holidays, I had a sleepover at Ali’s last night where we spent the night singing(playing?) on Singstar and then scrapbooking except I had left my photos at home so I scammed a photo off Ali from when we went to The Whitlams last Novemeber. Lots of fun 🙂 Then this morning we headed off to the Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens for a few hours of photographic fun before heading back to her house to do some more Singstar with Jack taking part this time. Lots of fun and I have to say Ali rocks Singstar pretty well. In all we probably did close to 4hrs of singing and I won 2 or 3 times lol.
Lots of fun, but then since we are both total dorks could we expect not to have fun????
No, I am not thinking of running off with a cowboy (eww!) but the mark I received on the essay I handed in last week. Are you ready?
90 out of 100! High Distinction baby! :):):):) I don’t ever recall ever getting a mark that high before so big thanks to my Mum for helping me proof-read it. I was very unsure of the mark I would receive I was expecting perhaps mid to high 70’s but no way was I expecting a 90. The lecturer for this subject knows Chinese politics etc probably better than the CPC themselves do so I am extremely happy with my mark 🙂
I have now completed the initial applications for two graduate programs only 500 more to go.
On Saturday night Andrea who is one of my bestest friends celebrated her 21st birthday and her graduation all in one night. It was one hell of a night, lots of laughs lots of fantastic food. Dude, a rice buffet with black bean beef, curries and butter chicken (I love the butter chicken) and mmm sesame prawns or spring rolls can never say no to more spring rolls. Fantastic night 🙂
Another day and another birthday in the Pálsson troop 🙂
Today my third eldest brother, Hafþór Ingi turns the big 38! Out of my half-siblings, Hafþór is the only one I actually grew up around, as he moved to Australia with my parents in 1980 and moved back to Iceland in 1993 so for the first eight years of my life he was a big part of it.
This photo is of me when I was a wee little Snuffleupagus of just 4 weeks been held by the aforementioned brother who in this photo is 17! Don’t you just love the flags of the world outfit? Perhaps I was destined to be doing International Studies?
But this isn’t my birthday so bringing the attention back to the birthday boy. I don’t really have any funny moments but I am sure he does of me. There are some things that I do know, this man is a musical genius in all aspects from singing, to playing to writing, he is a wonderful father with two gorgeous kids, an incredible wealth of knowledge and an all round super cool person and big brother 🙂 Here is a more recent photo – taken last July at the family moot in Iceland, in his entire element with his guitar and perhaps it is the ever adoring younger sister in me, but I reckon he looks like Chris Martin of Coldplay and has a better voice too 🙂
Ok, that was a little longer than I planned on it been so back to the topic as the title of this post suggested – round up.
The Commonwealth Games are on at the moment and Australia of course is on fire! I always enjoy the Commonwealth Games more than the Olympics; they just seem a whole lot more friendlier, because they are the “Friendly Games” 🙂 It’s just great to see things like this, and many other countries getting their first Gold, Silver or Bronze medals, just great stuff! and Ben Lee is going to be playing at the closing ceremony, top stuff!
But to put some family spin on the Commonwealth Games, big kudos to my second cousin Nathan Eglington who is on fire in the Kookaburras (Australian Men’s Hockey team) with a hat-trick in a 5-1 win against England. Should be another Gold Medal for Australia there.
Uni is still uni, but I have now done my first piece of assessment so it really feels like the semester is underway now – it is week 4 of 13 after all.
Go check out some of the designs Tracy is pumping out at the moment, that girl is on fire I tell you.
The Parcel man brought me five (5) new crafty books from Amazon.co.jp the other day – will post more about them soon 🙂
I made the most yummy blueberry muffins last night – total heaven. I used this recipe – Blueberry Muffins from Elsie.com all I changed was that I used buttermilk instead of plain yoghurt and didn’t add the lemon zest because I had no lemons and WHOA total heaven, very, very nice muffins!
I think that was all I wanted to round up for the moment but I leave you with this note, something “big” and “special” is coming a few days time 😀
Last night I figuratively let down the hair after work and had one hell of a night out with one of my best friends, lots of talk, lots of vodka fire-engines, lots of dancing, lots of laughs and a cute boy or two. Total blast of a night and I got to wear a gorgeous skirt I picked up yesterday from Myer for $18 reduced from $60! score!
I made the best biscuits I have ever made and/or eaten the other day, a variation of a family staple called Apricot Wheat-germ Biscuits, these I think shall be called Sultana Hazelnut Biscuits.
Ingredients:
1.5 cups soft brown sugar
250g softened cooking margarine
2 eggs
dollop of vanilla
1 cup cornflakes
1 cup coconut
3/4 cup sultanas
1 cup hazelnut meal
1.75 cups whole-meal plain flour
3tsp baking powder
Method:
Preheat oven to 160°C and grease biscuit trays. Cream together margarine and sugar, add in eggs. All in together this fine weather mix in the rest of the ingredients, adding a bit of milk if mixture is too dry or some more flour if mixture is too moist.
Roll into balls and flatten lightly and cook in oven till when a finger pressed lightly into a biscuit does not leave a mark. Makes plenty.
Tracy is well I don’t really know what words to use to describe her other than she is an incredible person. We met on 2peas a couple of years ago, I was a wee girl a couple months shy of my 18th birthday, she was a Garden Girl (one of those women on 2peas who you aww over) and well the rest is history, we’ve emailed each other, cheered each other on and given no barriers held advice when needed, she is a pretty cool lady and I am glad to know her 🙂
So, imagine my delight this afternoon when I came back from celebrating my Grandfather’s 86th Birthday to an email showing me this 🙂 Then to add to all my proudness of what she is achieving, she has a paper line coming out with A2Z Essentials which is about to be released at a trade show that starts today/tomorrow 🙂 Called Harmony 🙂 – Go Tracy 🙂
Well actually all the Asian Studies girls bar me finished this year and we all passed our subjects with flying colours, I got two credits and two distinctions 🙂
So Andrea had a happening shin dig at her place on saturday night. Drinks, Pizza, old friends, new friends, Midori and Kiwi fruit, cameras and of course who could not forget Mr Berg 🙂 Go check out the photos
The party was the best I think I have ever gone too, small space, lots of talk, lots of drink, lots of laughs 🙂 Love ya Andie 🙂
Helen in all her craftiness is slowly making gifts to be given out and Andrea’s was the first to be completed so she got hers last night. The bag is made from denim and Japanese cotton, the pattern is based on Amy Butler’s Nappy Bag but a whole lot smaller and less pockets.
I also learnt how to free motion machine quilt on this bag, I used something like 3 or 4 bobbins doing the quilting on both sides of the bag.
