The world according to ME.

I can't believe I have got my husband to do this...
He is making me spaghetti and meatballs. But that's not the amusing part..


He asked me how much fettuccine he should cook, because last time we had a little left over. So I told him that James the lovely Chef on TV said that one serve of fettuccine is equal to 35 strands.


He is now laboriously counting out 3 lots of 35 strands of Fettuccine. Heheheheee!


Well, he asked...

Tron Inspired Light Suit Dance..

THIS made my day...

At the expense of some unfortunate tourists...
READ THIS

*sorry for the link but it has a few photos with it. It is well worth taking a look though.

What NOT to do with Your Emails...

This is a subject that frequently annoys me, in how some people just don't get it. So here are some pointers. If you know of any more please feel free to leave them in the comments.

Spam.

If you receive an email from an African prince asking you for money, DO NOT answer it. Even if you are NO fool and know it’s a scam email. Emails such as these are sent out by an email generator. If you reply to it then they know your email is owned and used by a real person, and then you will get more spam emails. Your email address will also be sold to other companies. This is how spammers make their money.

Links.

Never click on a link in an email from an unknown source. Never.

Subscriptions.

Before you subscribe to an email subscription, make sure the company is legitimate, AND they have assured you that your email will not be sold. Some companies make a tonne of money selling email addresses to other companies/spammers.

Unsubscribe.

If you are sent an Email from an unknown source, and it has an “Unsubscribe” link on the bottom of the email, Do NOT click on the link. When you do, it takes you to a website that asks you to enter your email address to take yourself off the list. What you’re actually doing is confirming that the email address they have on file is a good one. Basically, your address can then be sold to any number of spammers. It will only cause more spam (and scams) to appear in your inbox.

There will be legitimate emails you receive from companies that you have signed up for. These are OK (if you know who you are dealing with). If you want to unsubscribe to your legitimate email subscription, click on the link to unsubscribe. Enter your Email. You will generally see a “sorry to see you go...” message. Then go back and unsubscribe for a second time. If you see a message like “ Error: email not found...” then your subscription has been successfully unsubscribed.

Any unsubscribe link that always says "Email address removed..." regardless of how many times you unsubscribe, is lying!

BCC and CC.

BCC (Blind carbon copy) and CC (Carbon copy) is one of my pet hates. Have you received one of those joke emails from a friend, who got theirs from a friend, who got theirs from another friend..and so on? See all those email addresses up the top of the email? They are all visible to every single person this email is sent to. People you don’t know from a bar of soap. Any one of those people could be a spammer. And they now have your email address. You email is toast.  This is a mistake people make all the time and it can have some serious consequences. Not just spam. Just think of your child’s nice secure school email account now being accessed by some pervert. Because you or someone else did not BCC their email to you and everyone else they sent it to. It is also considered very unprofessional in the work place.

If you are sending a mass email message to your contacts, use BCC. It will hide every ones email address. If you receive an email from someone who does not use BCC, then tell them to use it dammit!

Beware.

Of places like message boards, guest books etc.. Spammers have automated software that scan these sites looking for any email address they can find. Check the sites privacy policy.

Bottom line, if you don’t know it, ignore it and delete it. Don’t send mass emails, unless you BCC, and only subscribe to legitimate companies with whom you have been assured will not sell your email address.

Also a good idea is to set up a bogus email address you use only for subscriptions sites, message boards..etc. That way you won’t be annoyed by the inevitable spam going to your every day email account.

When creating an email account, try not to use common words. You will be less likely to receive spam email from a generator that way.

And lastly, change your email password regularly. That way you are less likely to get hacked and lose your email account for good.

Spider Alert!

Now, I am pretty arachnophobic, but lately I have become morbidly fascinated with tarantula videos. Especially this one..


How pretty is that! I never knew they came in such fabulous iridescent colours!
The wonderful world of YouTube.

Blue Heaven Macarons.

My first attempt at macarons. Not quite right, but they still taste very nice. I don't think I beat the mixture enough until it was a bit runnier, and probably should have let them set for a little longer before I baked them. Vanilla macaron with white chocolate ganache filling. I call them "Blue Heaven".

If you want the recipe, let me know and I will post it on here.

Birthday.

My birthday this year was a melancholy affair. We had suffered a personal tragedy the day before. But still, Hubby and son did their best to make the day as special for me as they could. I had to take our son to his swim school, so after a quick breakfast I opened my presents. My son got me..

A Tub of Mini Oreos.

A pretty pink silicon sleeve to put on my coffee cups..(from TYPO)

matryoshka doll measuring spoons

That go with my measuring cups I got last year!

And a beautiful leather mini diary for my handbag, from my favourite shop, TYPO.

And hubby got me the Sunbeam hand beater I’ve been wanting for a while now. It matches my sunbeam Mixmaster..

see? How cute is that?

After swimming we went to visit our friend and Moby. She had made me two hand knitted scarves. Both of them you can see in the final pic below.

I dropped into our P.O box on the way home and there was a parcel for me from my parents. They got me a super cute wine class cooler, and a beautiful purple sarong you can see in the final pic.

When we got home I discovered Hubby had baked me a chocolate cake. This is the first cake he has baked. Awww.. isn’t that sweet?.. Literally.. It was YUMMY!

No, I am not showing you a pic with the candles on it.. a girl has to have some mystery about her...

I must give a special mention to my dear friend antares cryptos who made me an awesome birthday post to. Thank you Ant.

All in all it was an OK day. Not spectacular, but then given the circumstances, it was not too bad. Hopefully we will be able to put all the sorrow behind us and next year will be filled with smiles and laughter.

My Bday Loot.

The world according to ME...again..

Hubby and I are sitting in the lounge. Son is in the kitchen, washing the dishes. Hubby is lecturing son..."...and so we want you to try to do just a little better. Give a bit more effort and you Will be rewarded...you Will get your pocket money...blah...blah..." (something to that effect anyway..) He looks over at me..as I study him in return.
He stops, knowing I have something to say. 
Something to add to this encouraging conversation..
something inspirational...


"If Ants had eyebrows.." I ask, "Do you think they would raise them when they met each other?"


Left Hubby speechless.






p.s.  I think they would. yep.