Did You Know...

I came across this list of interesting facts so I thought I'd share them. I'm hoping they are all true as they seem to make sense. Otherwise I'm going to look like a gullible idiot.

Q. Why do men's clothes have buttons on the right while women's clothes have buttons on the left?

A. When buttons were invented, they were very expensive and worn primarily by the rich. Since most people are right-handed, it is easier to push buttons on the right through holes on the left. Because wealthy women were dressed by maids, dressmakers put the buttons on the maid's right! And that's where women's buttons have remained since.

Q. Why do ships and aircraft use 'mayday' as their call for help?

A. This comes from the French word m'aidez - meaning 'help me' - and is pronounced approximately, 'mayday.'

Q. Why are zero scores in tennis called 'love'?

A. In France , where tennis became popular, round zero on the scoreboard looked like an egg and was called 'l'oeuf,' which is French for 'egg.' When tennis was introduced in the US, Americans (mis)pronounced it 'love.'

Q. Why do X's at the end of a letter signify kisses?

A. In the Middle Ages, when many people were unable to read or write, documents were signed using an X. Kissing the X represented an oath to fulfill obligations specified in the document and the kiss eventually became synonymous.

Q. Why do people clink their glasses before drinking a toast?

A. It used to be common for someone to try to kill an enemy by offering him a poisoned drink. To prove to a guest that a drink was safe, it became customary for a guest to pour a small amount of his drink into the glass of the host. Both men would drink it simultaneously. When a guest trusted his host, he would touch or clink he host's glass with his own.

Q. Why are people in the public eye said to be 'in the limelight'?

A. Invented in 1825, limelight was used in lighthouses and theatres by burning a cylinder of lime which produced a brilliant light. In the theatre, a preformer 'in the limelight' was the centre of attention.

Q. Why is someone who is feeling great 'on cloud nine'?

A. Types of clouds are numbered according to the altitudes they attain, with nine being the highest. If someone is said to be on cloud nine, that person is floating well above worldly cares.

Q. Why are many coin banks shaped like pigs?

A. Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of a dense orange clay called 'pygg'. When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as 'pygg banks.' When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a container that resembled a pig and it caught on.

Cake Pops

This week I will be mostly making Cake Pops for the Southern leaving party. I've made them before and they turned out amazingly. I received lots of compliments about them.

I thought it would be nice if I shared the recipe:

1 large plain sponge cake - I did the easy version and bought a packet mix

1 tub ready-made buttercream frosting. They sell really good Betty Crocker tubs in the Supermarket

Lolly sticks - available from craft store or cake craft store

1 x large bar of chocolate or 1 x bag of dipping chocolate from a cake craft store - I used Cadburys which was probably a little thick in the end. Nice though.

• Using a fork or a food processor, break the cooled cake up into crumbs.
• Spoon in some of the buttercream frosting and mix. Continue adding the frosting until your cake mixture becomes sticky and holds together.
• Roll the mixture into balls, put onto a greased baking tray and put into the fridge for at least 15 minutes to set the mixture. If you don't do this they will likely fall off the sticks.
• Melt your chocolate in the microwave (it's ok to do this as long as you are careful not to burn it). Transfer your melted chocolate into a tall thin-ish cup/beaker/tub. It is easier to submerge the entire cake ball into the chocolate this way rather than trying to roll it around a bowl. I used pint-sized plastic cups.
• Dip the end of your lolly stick into the melted chocolate and push halfway into the cake ball. Once you have done them all your first one should have set so you can go back to your first one and dip the whole ball into the melted chocolate. Did it straight down and then take it back out. The longer it is in the chocolate the more likely it is to come off the stick or break apart.
• Tap the stick very very lightly to get rid of the excess chocolate.
• If you have a polystyrene block you can push the sticks into that to dry or you can put them pop-side down onto a piece of greaseproof paper. If you want to decorate with sprinkles, buttons or smarties then do this before you put them down.

Extra tips:

If you let your pops dry upside down on greaseproof paper, you might find that there is a patch of uncovered cake when you peel them off later. Melt a little more chocolate in a cup and just dip the very end into the chocolate. You should be able to stand it in a up in a cup now without the chocolate running down the stick.

Don't overheat your chocolate - it will become too thick and will also crack once it dries due to the difference in temperature with your chilled cake balls. 

If you want to see just how far you can go with these, have a look at www.bakerella.com. She is the Queen of all things sweet.

Here's her YouTube video on how she does the basic kind:

Happy baking!

Visas Approved!!

I try not to use too many exclamation marks when I write which is difficult for me as I am usually excited or trying to make a point. In this instance, the title has the exclamation points because I am excited.

The visas have landed!!

We got the confirmation last week that both mine and Phil's visas have been approved. There are no restrictions against either of us working or studying. This was the final hurdle and we've been asked for preferred flight dates and times so that the relocation team for Deloitte can book our tickets. We are going for 2nd January 2012. I hope there won't be any issues with this date as my parents are coming down from Manchester especially so that they can be at the airport with us. My stomach is turning just thinking about it. So it is actually going to happen. As the late Michael Jackson once said, "This is it".

Having moved from Manchester to the South of England around 7 years ago I am already one step removed from my family. I've had to say goodbye many times and whilst I don't cry on the journey home anymore, it's still upsetting when you know you aren't going to see your family for a while. My Mum and I have started to Skype, although the signal is never very good and we end up with frozen screens a lot of the time. Despite that, it's a really good way to keep in touch and it's free. I'm hoping that we can use it to try to keep the home-sickness at bay. We'll see.

So here is my mantra: "This is an amazing opportunity. It's only for four years. Make the most of it. This is an amazing opportunity. It's only for four years. Make the most of it. This is an amazing opportunity. It's only for four years. Make the most of it". Repeat and fade

Skype name: nicolawclement. Please add me to keep in touch.

Manners

Phil and I have been living with Mo and Dave for nearly two weeks now. I have to confess that initially I was worried, which was completely unnecessary as I'm having a really good time here. Usually, I'm the type of person that needs space and I enjoy spending time on my own so I was anxious. Thankfully, Mo and Dave are the type of people that you want to be around, so it balances itself out. 

I'm also a bit of an over-thinker and before we moved in I was having nightmares about what would be expected of us and I wanted to set some house rules such as who would buy the food and toiletries, who would cook etc. It helped that I talked it through with them before we moved in and I have been told in no uncertain terms that this is my home. I should feel comfortable and shouldn't need to ask if I want to use the bread, milk or Molton Brown - I'm still working my way up to the Molton Brown; I don't want to get used to it and then have to go back to Bayliss and Harding!

Despite being told that I don't need to ask if I can have something (drink, sandwich etc), I just can't help myself. I was brought up to have very good manners (thanks Mum) and whilst sometimes we can go too far with it - yes, I have been known to say thank you to a cash machine and an automatic door in the past - it's something that I'm not likely to change. I like my good manners and it saddens me that something so basic eludes some people (and even whole nations but I'll not go into that *tongue firmly in cheek).

Here is a list of basic behaviours that I believe everybody should adhere to:

1. Say 'Please', 'Thank you' and 'You're welcome' as necessary. As my entire family will tell you, even my Nieces and Nephews under the age of ten, manners costs nothing. 
2. Form an orderly queue - if you queue jump and push in front of me I will give you a dirty look behind your back.
3. Thank me if I hold the door open for you. I'm going out of my way to help you. The least you can do is acknowledge that.
4. If you bump into me, say 'Sorry'. I will probably say it too, even if it was your fault.
5. Do not speak to me with your mouth full of food or make smacking noises as you eat; close your mouth and I will do the same.

Good manners display respect, care and consideration. So, Mo and Dave, no matter how many times you tell me that I don't need to ask for something, please don't be surprised if I insist on doing so. Love you x

Joke of the Day

My Husband left me because of my unhealthy obsession with touching pasta.


I'm feeling cannelloni right now...

He liked it

My Perfect Day

Today is the one-year anniversary of my perfect day - 25th November 2010. The kind of day where you expect it to be good but are astounded at how amazing it turns out to be. We don't get a lot of these and I wanted to put it down in writing so that I can remind myself of it every now and then.

This time last year I was on my Honeymoon in Maui with my new Husband Phil (I might have mentioned him before). We got married in Leek in Staffordshire on 20th November and had a fantastic day with only a couple of hitches that got sorted out relatively painlessly. We had two wedding songs - These Foolish Things by Frank Sinatra and Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. The second is played at the very end of my favourite film 50 First Dates and I fell in love with it the moment I heard it.

For our Honeymoon we were going to Maui for one week and then Hawaii The Big Island for the second week. We'd made our mission to see a turtle whilst we were there and we had even agreed that get turtle tattoos if we saw one. On this particular day we woke up in our gorgeous private villa and after breakfast, we packed our things into our red convertible Mustang and headed out. I'd read about a small cove at the top of the island that sounded amazing so we gave it a go. We swam quite far out - Phil in particular - and found some amazing fish. There was lots of frantic pointing and OK signs to each other when we saw a new and vibrant species. After we had spent some time there we went back to the villa and packed our things for the beach. We were staying at a place called Kaplua Golf Resort and there was a beach within the resort called Kapalua Bay Beach.

It was idyllic - gorgeous white sand, fairly quiet and the sea was calm. We sat in one corner of the beach but then moved to the other end to get more of the late afternoon sun. We went into the sea to do some more snorkelling (Phil is a bit of an addict) and were amazed at the how clear the sea was. We'd thought that the water at the Cove was great earlier that day but we were in for a huge treat with what awaited us at the Bay. You could see individual grains of sand, every arm of the amazing coral and an abundance of colourful fish. We saw many of Hawaii's national species - the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a.

We really wanted to take some pictures so Phil went to ask if he could rent an underwater camera from the hut at the end of the beach as unfortunately, his waterproof camera had proved itself to be a not-so-waterproof camera. He was unable to rent one as it was too late in the day but he asked the man if he knew where we could find a turtle. He came back and told me that there was a turtle really close to the beach so I let him go and investigate. The wild hand-waving about 5 minutes later told me that he'd found it so I headed in.

When you are snorkelling you can only really hear your own breathing and the echos of other sounds. It's quite relaxing and a little bit eerie. I was swimming to where Phil was snorkelling hoping that I'd get to see the turtle before it was too late. It was only when I was about 6 feet from it that I saw it. I'd been expecting a little turtle nibbling away at the coral but this one was about 5 feet long and I was instantly frozen to the spot. We couldn't take our eyes off it - it looked so sleepy eyed and just mesmerising. It would go to the bottom to nibble at the coral with it's bum in the air, come to the surface to breathe and then bob along to another bit to eat some more. At one point I drifted into it's path and we nearly touched. I panicked, stuck my head out of the water and decided that if I couldn't see it it wasn't there. We'd wanted to see a turtle but we had no idea that it would be that impressive.

I have to point out that this is not the turtle that we saw - as I mentioned earlier, Phil's camera had been put out of action at the Cove.

After watching him for about 20 minutes we decided to give him some space so went back on the beach to dry out and talk about what we'd just experienced. Once on the beach we saw a collection of people in the corner where we were originally sitting. A Groom was awaiting his bride and within a few minutes she walked down to meet him. The Hawaiian Ceremonial Pu Horn sounded and we watched them get married. If this had happened a week earlier it wouldn't have affected me but since we had just got married I knew exactly how they must have been feeling and it is the best feeling in the world.

Not long after, a man settled his chair about 20 feet from us, set his music out and started playing the Ukulele. He played a few chords and I instantly knew that it was Somewhere Over the Rainbow. He played and sang the song and we listened. He wasn't busking and he wasn't putting on a show - he was a guy that had come to the beach to practice playing. Phil and I were sitting next to each other holding hands just listening and it was at that moment that I cried. It felt like everything was just right - we were right where we were supposed to be doing exactly what we were supposed to be doing. I hope that everybody gets to experience that feeling because you will never forget it. It is nothing that I can describe and I would be doing it an injustice to try. As we left I went up to him to tell him that he had played our wedding song and to thank him for playing so beautifully. He told me that he was still learning and that he wasn't very good but I insisted that we'd really enjoyed it.

After our memorable day we went back to our villa and opened the bottle of champagne that we'd bought and watched the sun behind the sea. When we had finished the champagne we got ourselves ready to go out for dinner. It was Thanksgiving so most of the restaurants were full but we were able to get a table in a place in walking distance from the villa. I had a pasta that had more garlic in it than anything I had ever tasted. I LOVE garlic. I think I spent the whole meal dancing, which I do when I am enjoying food. We ate our food, had a couple of drinks and then left to walk back to the villa, both of us glowing - a little from the day in the sun and a lot from our perfect day.

So did we get the turtle tattoos? Well, that would be telling...

Song of the Day

I Giorni by Ludovico Einaudi.

The inspiration for Ludovico Einaudi's album 'I Giorni' was a 12th-century folk song from Mali about a hippopotamus who was cherished by the residents of a nearby village but killed by a hunter. 'The song,' writes Einaudi in his succinct liner note, 'is sung as a lament for the death of a king or a great person or for the loss of a loved one.' 

Difficult Times and Facebook

Charles Shanks: 3rd July 1982 to 16th November 2011.

The last week has been a strange and difficult one. A close friend of Phil's - Charles (Bub) Shanks - passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday 16th November under terrible circumstances. Certainly for Phil and I it came as a shock. I loved the close relationship that he and Phil had and every time I saw him he had a grin on his face. He had an infectious laugh that filled any room. He was the instigator of the infamous "Rum Challenge" at the Notting Hill Carnival and was definitely the life and soul of any party. He will truly be missed and this is most evident if you look at his Facebook page. There are numerous messages and tributes and I hope he knew how much love his friends and family had for him.

Being as private as I am I have made the decision not to leave personal messages on Facebook. My status updates are usually light-hearted or humerous (I hope) and I have to admit that I get a little uncomfortable when some things are broadcast using a social network. I understand that as more and more of the younger generation start to use Facebook I will be in the minority; my Nieces and Nephews are proof of this as some of their status updates have made me cringe and there have been occasions when something they have written has made me furious. 

When my Nanna passed away recently, I didn't put any message to her on Facebook like much of my family did. I'm not saying that people shouldn't put messages to the bereaved on Facebook - I guess it is a way for them to let their friends know that they are hurting and to invite supportive and sympathetic messages - I'm just saying it is not for me. I know that on the anniversary of her death many of my family members will leave notices of remembrance - RIP Nanna, Mum etc - and I know that I will not. That's ok, I just feel differently. Just because my Facebook status does not say that I am feeling sad does not mean that I am not actually feeling sad.

Anybody that knows me well will know that I am a very private person and I'll only divulge personal information or talk about difficult things when I am ready. I'm not overly touchy-feely (thanks Dad) and usually only dispense hugs and kisses when I am made to and I have no other choice. There are a few exceptions to the rule: Phil, my Mum, my sisters and Mo and Dave. In fact, Phil is lucky if he can leave the room without giving me a kiss goodbye. I have a closeness with Phil that I haven't experienced before and if we are together we are usually holding hands. When I'm with Phil all of the rules get thrown out of the window. Love you Nimlet x

The Tragedy of First Position

Favourite video at the moment: the tragedy of first position.

If this ballet class represented a social situation then I would be this little girl. I'm socially awkward and often end up saying the wrong thing. I'm not good with new people and usually try too hard and it never ends well. I would guess that confidence in social situations requires confidence in yourself. Maybe I need to work on that and the rest will follow. 

Decision made: I need to work on my "first position" before we get to Australia. There are many new friends to meet.

Feeling Crafty

A few weeks ago I started making Christmas decorations to sell on eBay. They haven't sold as well as I would have liked but I got some real enjoyment from designing and then creating them. I remembered that I'm artistic and that I enjoy crafts. In an ideal world I'd be doing something like this for a living but as it stands, it's not going to happen. At the moment I have a craft box but one day I'd like to have a craft room. Just somewhere to put all of my unfinished products until I decide to finish them.

I'd like to carve and sell pumpkins at Halloween. Ok, the work is seasonal but surely there is a market out there for it? Maybe I could decorate cakes. I make some excellent figures out of clay so why not out of icing? My problem is that in order to do a good and professional job you'd need to spend money on tools and supplies. That's not something that I can do for what would be a part-time hobby. I have many years of work left yet so I guess I've got time to look for something that I could making a living from. Any ideas would be appreciated here.

Christmas Decorations

   

Pumpkin

Cakepops

Favourite Audiobook

The Help - written by Kathryn Stockett and narrated by Jenna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer and Cassandra Campbell.

http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B002UZKYDQ

I have been travelling quite some distance to work over the last 12 months - 50 miles to Southampton and back and now 41 miles plus lots of traffic to Watford and back so I've really gotten into listening to audiobooks on the way home. I don't know whether it is just me but the way a book is narrated can either make or break the book and I've had both good and bad experiences. Being an avid reader I always have to listen to the whole thing - good or bad - which can sometimes mean up to 20 hours of terrible story/narration so I try to be very careful when choosing an audiobook.

A book that I listened to recently was The Help by Kathryn Stockett and it has really stuck with me. From the moment the CD started I was hooked. The narrators have done an amazing job and I cannot recommend it enough. Of course, a book is a very personal thing and I myself do not often act on recommendations; it took me 5 years to start the first Harry Potter book despite many conversations with my Mum about how fantastic they are. Anyway, if you are willing to take a chance and you like a good fiction novel with a little comedy, a lot of heart and an important message behind it then you will enjoy this book.

On a separate but related note, once I'd finished listening to the audiobook, my sister and I went to watch the film at the cinema where I wore my dinner badge for all to see (KFC chicken gravy). I'll admit that I didn't think it would live up to the book as I'd never seen a film that has but on this occasion they really did it justice and we both had a laugh and a little cry. Thanks Kel x

My Bucket-Type List

I've decided to create a bucket-type list. I don't want to call it a Bucket List as that is a list of things to do before you die which sounds a bit morbid and final and like we are all running out of time. Mine is a bucket-type list which I've decided is a list of all the things that I'd like to do in my lifetime. Same thing? Not really.

So here is what I have so far:

Own a sofa from the Sofabed Company

It might not seem like a great thing but it was the inspiration for my bucket-type list. Walking in Bath at the weekend I saw a Sofabed Company shop and decided that one day I would own a sofabed from there. I've always gone for the cheaper option on everything and inevitably it never lasts as long as if I'd splashed out. The Sofabed Company to me represents quality and maybe subconsciously I'm thinking that if I can afford nice furniture then I'll be living comfortably with a good lifestyle. Quality furniture = quality life? I'm sure it fits together somehow.

Live in America

This might sound funny for a person that is about to spend 4 years in Oz but since I've spent my teen years and 20's watching lots of America sitcoms, it's just something I want to do. I might be past the days of taking my lunch to school in a brown paper bag and swapping my PB&J sandwich in the lunch hall but maybe, one day, someone will indulge me. Plus, I just know that I'd find a group of 5 great friends - one would be a good-looking Italian guy that loves food, one would be a blonde hippy, one would be very sarcastic, one would be a neat-freak and one would be a Paleontologist. I'd be the one with the great hair :)

See the Polar Ice Caps

I've always wanted to see them but even more so since watching 50 First Dates (my favourite film). They look incredible and they won't be there forever. Whenever Phil and I have gone on holiday, we've always headed for somewhere hotter than the UK. When we live in Australia maybe we'll want to head for somewhere cold. Or maybe we could take the easy route and do it as part of a cruise. Can you go on a cruise before you hit 50? Only joking!!

Play with an Orchestra/Band and perform in a concert

Something I've done before but I've not played the flute for a while now and I am in no way to a standard where I could actually perform with a band. I need to stop using money as an excuse - lessons are expensive don't you know - and throw myself back into it. Maybe if I bought myself a new book at a lower grade and started from the beginning again. We'll see.

Watch a show at the Sydney Opera House

This one is almost within my reach. Ideally it will be a musical or if it is going to be an opera then it will be Madame Butterfly or Tosca. Even better, it could be a collection of all of the best Arias from the best operas performed by the best performers like Alfie Boe or somebody equally acclaimed in Australia. Yes, that is what I would like to see.

Phil has given me a few for his list like seeing Dilated Peoples live and learning to surf but one that I think he'll need to do without me is to go to the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge. I have difficulty standing on the third step of a set of ladders - no joke - so this is a no-go for me.

I'm sure I'll add more ideas as they occur to me but I think that's it for now.

New Favourite Word

New favourite word: Nimlet (Noun) Nim-let. Pronunciation:'nɪmlɪt'

How to use it in a sentence: Philip says some stupid things some times; he's such a Nimlet!

My First Blog

So I've decided to start a blog. I tried to do one whilst I was organising the wedding and I enjoyed it for a while but then things started to get busy and I stopped. It's lost in the ether somewhere now. Here goes I guess...

I'm 29 (too close to 30 for my liking) and it's mine and my Husband's one year anniversary today. We've spent the weekend in Bath which is lovely. We travelled over yesterday so that we could spend the night in a B&B. We got to the B&B, drank a bottle of champagne and then went into the centre of Bath for dinner. We ate at Las Iguanas and had a brilliant time. We went to the bar whilst we waited for our table to be ready and had a cherry cocktail and a gold Patron tequila shot. The food was delicious and we spent a lot of the time arguing about who's food was nicer (mine). Phil had bought us tickets to the ballet for that evening and we saw The Nutcracker. It was better for me than it was for Phil though as the men had their "packages" on show in their shiny tights and the women had flat chests! We had no clue what was happening but we enjoyed the experience. In hindsight, we should probably have read up on it before we went but I'd seen a film about it a few years ago so didn't really think that we needed to. Lesson learnt.

Today we walked around the town despite me suffering with a hangover. Since the traditional gift for the first year of marriage is paper, I bought Phil a graphic novel from the comic shop and he bought me a notebook from a stationery shop - it's a little known secret that I have a fetish for stationery. I decided that I'd use my new notebook to write a bucket-type list. More about that in my next post...

That's it for now I think. Don't want to peak too early :o)