Strawberry plants, in fact, my whole indoor garden. Let’s see a picture of it!

That’s chilli plants in the front, sweetpea in the middle (flourishing) and strawberry plants furthest from the camera. I’m not sure if you can see but the strawberries are just starting to get a blush on.

this Hallowe’en costume, call centre Spiderman masks, Bernard’s old Irish songs from Black Books, sugar daddy Ken, photobombing.

Surrogates, my friends, candy, anticipation of a professionally cleaned house….mee goreng, hugs, warm, fuzzy socks, Weezer, sunshine, fireworks, laughing and tiger hat.

So, how about you? What are you thankful for this fireworks Thursday?

Random scattered TiLT this week, because that’s what my brain’s like.

Today I am happy that I finished my character’s part of The Event. You should go and read it and comment with what you thought, because I love feedback of any description.

Tiger Hat. Blankets Owl. Craft 2.0. Ordering stuff online, especially with gift certificates. Getting stuff delivered at work. Watching my strawberry plants grow.

I really need to add photos to this, but my camera battery is charging. I think there will be a follow up photo post later on, maybe tomorrow.

Playtesting my Kapcon game and it being awesome. Finding out my Kapcon game in the second round of Kapcon is *already full*…turns out there’s a market for OTT emo supernatural teen romance ;p

New songs on Rock Band. Working out harmonies on Beatles Rock Band. Hiring a cleaner (so bourgeois, but it will make me and Lee happier…). Rewatching season one Buffy (so cute). New TV that rocks such as Californication. Thinking of new stuff that I could do, like selling stuff on felt. Browsing felt.co.nz. The smell of dinner cooking.

My lovely, awesome, impressive friends.

My wonderful family.

My tiger hat.

I <3 my hubby!

• My birthday!

Does this need explaining? I don’t think so.

• Spoonflower has their print on demand shop up and running. This means that you can buy custom designed fabric. It also means that if you are feeling arty you could design fabric and upload it to the site. I made on order from there on Sunday using the gift voucher Svend and Star gave me for my birthday and I discovered that the person who’s design you buy is informed of it and can message you through the site! It’s really sweet, getting these messages from other fabric/craft geeks asking what I’m going to use it for and thanking me for choosing their designs.
• New books! Between my friends and my workplace I had a fair amount to spend at Borders. I went there Wednesday after work and picked up: a fancy hard cover copy of Ballet Shoes by Noel Stretfield, Leviathan, the new Scott Westerfeld, 3 bright orange Penguin classics (The Chrysalids, War of the Worlds and Frankenstein). Nom nom, new books. Add this to the copy of Voyagers I bought on Monday night, the order I made on Goodbooksnz.co.nz for the older Scott Westerfeld books I don’t have (plus a couple of others) and the books people have given me….well, I’m in new book heaven. Now, to find some time to sit and read!
• Delicious, wonderful, personal birthday presents. I am so pleased when people choose to give me something, and when it is so clearly carefully chosen and thoughtful, well I can’t help but squee! I have strawberry plants on my balcony, baking related things to play with, crafty things and so many beautiful notebooks. So many notebooks to fill with fiction! Not to mention all the other lovely toys and games and weird and wonderful things I received. I am so blessed
• Well, this is all implied above as well, but my friends. I had an incredible time at my party on Saturday, singing karaoke, dancing, eating cupcakes and pizza, drinking, seeing friends from different circles make friends with each other. It was amazing. Special shout outs to Paul for getting the karaoke started and my cupcake girls Giffy, Regan and Sophie for the baking of the deliciousness. I’ve had a lot of complements and I’m sure not everyone ate one of mine! My heart was just bursting with happiness and love after Saturday night and I couldn’t stop grinning all day Sunday. Thanks to all who came!

Honourable Mentions: Wholly pizzas, roleplaying, the library, Katamari Forever, Wednesdays wth WIT, old Critic clips on youtube and getting photos printed.

I *heart* science!

Listen to me, listen to me!

duckling flotilla

• My birthday! I didn’t manage to sleep in but I did have a nap. I went for a walk to the postal centre and collected Tia’s present (which I love), had a smoothie, watched Enchanted, played Katamari Forever, napped and hung out with my folks. Then dinner out with some close friends at Flying Burito Bros and home for more Katamari. Which I won. Like, I completed the game. And now we get to go through all the levels again with ‘drive’ mode, which is super fast Katamari. So much win.
• My darling husband Lee who surprised me with a tech item that I am very happy about: an HD video camera So, soon there will be incredibly important and awesome videos that I have made up on youtube. I will link to them here of course.


cake of soap

• Soap cake from Giffy! It looks like food, but it smells too much like rose absolute to be tempted to eat it.
• Sokky’s singing blog, it’s awesome. Much of the time I don’t understand what she’s saying, because my music knowledge is limited to Rock Band, but aside from the technical stuff, it’s a great record of working to improve at something you love.
• I’ve been loving me some storyfix, mostly because I find it really motivating. If I have a read of an article I feel like going and writing. Awesome.

Honourable Mentions: Eternal mode in Katamari, oh yes. The Onion getting it right again, people telling me about their costumes for Saturday, hugs from my friends, blackberry margaritas, churros, smiling at strangers in the street, politeness and ducklings.

These are Wellington ducks. They read poetry.

And you? What are you thankful for today?

Gah, bad sleeping in our house at the moment. Not sure why.

• Pretty things. Hmm, wonder if I can vague that up a bit? In addition to all the pretty patchwork stuff around my house, I bought myself some copies of World Sweet World and I’m hooked. Lovely matte pages, projects to do, eco living tips and articles. Lovely inspiring stuff. It has made me want a worm farm, but I think I am too grossed out by the idea to actually do it.
• Awesome steampunk things, I especially crave the laptop. I must get round to making something steampunky for the Kapcon LARP next year…
• Katamari Forever, on the PS3. Na naaaa na-na-na-na-na-na the Katamari Damacy…there were some tense moments trying to play co operative levels with Lee but playing on my own is awesome fun. I have decided that my mission is to get all the cousins. There are a lot of cousins.
• I’m only about a quarter of the way through, but I am loving How to be Rich and Happy. I have discovered what my values are, and the anti-values that I need to avoid the most. Neato. I have big hopes that this book will enable me to lead the rich and happy author existence I know is possible. Somehow. I think with self help books, you get out good stuff if you are prepared to put in the work. I am prepared to take the plunge, including letting Tim to all my worrying for me for one whole day. Watch this Rich and Happy space.
• The flow.I wrote 2000 more words yesterday. Writing is fun, plus I had some good news about reducing my hours at work a bit again. Moar time for writings!

Honourable Mentions: Daydreaming, fresh salads, being warm in bed, slippers, new TV, friends returning from overseas, laughing, convenient glasses cleaner and browsing felt, so much lovely stuff. Also! this peanut looks like a duck and baby pygmy hippo. Phew.

Please share your own TiLT list below…

Small list this week as I haven’t been sleeping well and I spent the day lying low and getting over a headache.

• Enchanted on Blu-Ray, it’s borrowed, but it’s so good. Lovely clear pictures and surround sound on one of my favourite movies. Great mood booster!
• Writing and being in the flow, since yesterday’s post I have been obsessed with this new character Rain, the boy she likes and the goings-on at the fairground on Friday night. I think it’s going to be a teen novel. I am past 4000 words.
• KPW, this week I went to two events to help out with the filming of the upcoming KPW TV show, due to screen on Prime in December. And by help out I mean I was an active, vocal and enthusiastic audience member. Go Jade Diamond! Go H-Flame! We saw 8 bouts the first night and 7 the next, that’s a lot of awesome wrestling.

Honourable Mentions: Twitter, cake, love, good books, KFC snack burgers, good new TV and pizza. Yes, I’m hungry, how could you tell?

ETA: My darling husband buying the first three seasons of Supernatural!

• My friend Steve, because we watched his old movie on Friday and I still love it, plus got to hear behind the scenes stuff about it. Because we had an awesome time riffing off each other as dead and senile kings at roleplaying on Tuesday (he was the one obsessed with oatmeal, I was the one known as Betram the Soft). Because he was flipping through Filament and said “What the HELL? This magazine is tasteful and beautifully put together!” and then he said nice things about my story. And because he is a total sweetheart.
• Patchwork. I have made something neat, or rather, two things that are neat. I will put up stuff about them when they are done.
• Well, it probably goes without saying, but I am still happy about having my copy of Filament 2, featuring my story. Giffy read it yesterday and said it was hot even, which made me happy. It was slightly awkward to be there while she read it but I got over it.
• Planning my 30th birthday party, so it’s in about a month and today I secured a venue that offers karaoke and has tasty beer on tap. They are happy for me to bring my own food. It’s gonna be wicked awesome. Now to get something awesome to wear and pick a theme. These two things are intrinsically linked. I am not that fussed about getting older, by the way, but a lot of people seem to think I should be. I guess 30 is one of those milestones.
• This article at the Discomfort Zone about being good to yourself
• The Event has really been buzzing this week with part 3 completed and part 4s starting to go up. I’m pretty happy with my part 4, so go read and comment. We love comments. Even if you just say ‘I have read this.’
• Imma let you finish….

Honourable Mentions: Re: Your Brains and Tribute on Rock band, Beatles Rock Band and the game Flower on the PS3. My new desk at work, I’m in next to some very cool and funny people and its a joy. My cupcake print PJ shorts, they are so insanely comfortable! And cute! I may have to take a photo and show them off! Plus, a new robe for home and slippers at work. It’s such a small thing and it makes me so much more content. Speed Racer on the high definition projector, salami, sunshine, losing time because you are in the zone and submitting short stories to publishers.

Also the escalator high five with Improv Everywhere….

• Our new HD projector OK, so it makes some things look worse, but I saw so much detail in the background of Lorelei Gilmore’s kitchen it was wicked awesome. Rock Band looks good though! Now, need more blu-rays to fully exploit it.
• The Domestic Arts. I got a lot of contentment this week out of doing the laundry, baking and patchwork. I’m just kind of like that. Of course, the chocolate caramel cake accidentally doesn’t have sugar in it…but it’s perfectly edible with ‘just’ the golden syrup.
• Cat’s new inspiration blog. Gorgeous photos, lovely words.
• Steph’s new, intriguing update on The Event. Gah, it’s got me all freaked out both as a reader and as the writer of Adam. Nice work Steph!

Honourable Mentions:
this do interesting things article off Zen Habits. My new favourite twitter account? shitmydadsays, it’s hilarious (“The worst thing you can be is a liar….Okay fine, yes, the worst thing you can be is a Nazi, but THEN, number two is liar. Nazi 1, Liar 2″), new ep of Fall tonight, home made pizzas for dinner, longer days, warmer weather, weird dreams and love.

sunset from Tamarind House, Rarotonga

• Good news about the C word. Mother in Law’s lumpectomy went well on Monday and she is recovering fine. So much relief. The radiotherapy is still to come, but I have fears about surgery so I’m glad it’s done.

• Going to the library and coming away with an armload of reading material. I flash back to happy library trips with my Dad, I think about all the things I am going to read and I get to curl up in a blanky nest and read!
• Eating out, we got into a pretty bad habit on holiday and now both me and Lee are too lazy too cook. This is delicious but a bad habit. Must start cooking again….tomorrow.
• Ballet Shoes, the book by Noel Streatfeld and the TimeLife TV movie starring Emma Watson. Lovely story, lovely lessons learned, lovely names for the girls.
• Creative talented people who do all sorts of impressive things and considering that I might be one of those creative talented people.
• Also talks about stuff that matters where you connect with someone and you both come away feeling more normal and content because you’re not the only one who thinks that way. Most reassuring.

Honourable Mentions: “Great blog BTW”, sparrows having dust baths, not freaking out about putting on weight, planning my 30th, laughing with friends, new DVDs, Leonard Cohen music, sleeping, PJs, slippers, duvets and leccy blankies. Mmmm. I think I’m tired.

Andy you? What are you thankful today?