2006 Countdown

Here goes my list:

12. Dogs: chuck's x 2, Bella, Angel, Dave, Tim, Lucy, Burt, Shorty, Scratch Me Happy (Rocky), Jimmy, Charlene

They are just the foster dogs that lie about the house. I have a firm rule "No more than 2 dogs in the house at any one time" ...... currently there are three. Tamale is the one we own (the black and white one) or are we the ones she owns? Here she is with Bella doing what they do best.

It wasn't easy getting Bella to the stage of being soooooo relaxed that she would miss the bed and sleep where she fell. These dogs come to us straight of the routine of being high energy racing dogs. We take them in and offer green tea, burn incense, apply therapeutic massage and meditation classes before they are ready to be adopted out to a new family as their domestic pat. It's a tricky job of exact science, but someone has to do it right?

11. Things I like about my job ..... hmmmmm .... eleven! They provide stuff to make lunch .... until next week when that comes to an end. I might not be able to finish 11 things after all.

10. Animals, as described in a post after this one.

9. Best tunes of 2005

Sons And Daughters - Dance Me In
Soulwax - NY Excuse
Josh Pyke - Middle Of The Hill
Kaiser Chiefs - Everyday I Love You Less & Less
Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot
Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To
Foo Fighters - DOA
Giants Of Science - Here Is The Punishment
Grandaddy - Pull The Curtains

8 memorable moments with Bear and Andrew:

* Helping Andrew catch a fish at Fraser Island, taking it up to our camp and filleting it straight into the pan with a little butter, now that's as fresh as you get and tastes the best ...... except when your son drops his in the sand ... oh well
* Hearing how well Bear did in the math test and her "tournament of the mind" ideas
* Watching Andrew in his first year of soccer and seeing how well he reads the play, covers the opposition's dangerous attackers and plays the team game
* That "thing" they made from Knex and populated with beany bears
* Seeing Bear in her first grown ups party dress
* Spying on the Bear standing up in her surfing school
* Hanging out, swimming in pools and playing tennis with their cousins on the Gold Coast
* Throwing out all their toys when we moved house ........ just kidding .... or am I?

7. New culinary creations this year including:

* Pad Thai - but how to stop the noodles sticking to the wok
* Cashew Chicken Stir Fry (my favorite but had to back off a little after Katy said she didn't want it for every meal every day of the week .... in hindsight I might have over done this on the meal rotation)
* Stilton Cheese Sauce on Steak
* Chilli Poppers that nearly killed my dear friend Jennie whilst she chugged a full litre of milk to try and sooth the burning sensation to no avail (I must admit I found this a little amusing and eased the pain I endured from the same chilli cheese stuffed monster wrapped in bacon)
* Margaritas ala Sharon which made me wonder, that after having two, I could no longer feel my legs
* Chilli 2 or 3 alarm ... real nice (can't believe I have never made Chilli before)
* And 7 any number of several Thai dishes made at the Cooking School in Chiang Mai

6. Marathons for Katy and I including: Thai Temple, Brisbane, Gold Coast x 2, Columbus x 2

5. Half Marathons: Thai Temple, Queensland x 2, Brisbane, Noosa

4. Katy's knitting creations .... a tank top with the mud flap girl in sliver on a black background that shred back cotton into her armpits to create the eastern european look, and intricate shawl for her mum, a yoga mat bag, one pink bob with bangs and an orange beehive wig

3. Wedding anniversaries ... and still loving every minute of it!

2. Favourite movies of the year. Million Dollar Baby and Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants

1. New house - complete with an infinite number of projects just waitng for us, like deciding what colours to paint the outside, making a vegie garden, and on and on it goes ......