When the Cheshire emerges...

Uh, how cool is Google's latest feature? Just sayin'.

The parents have been here with me for almost 48 hours now, making the 13 hour drive through a harsh sun and then electrical storms. All in one piece - and then some. The amount of stuff we unloaded from the car was absolutely ridiculous. I asked for some clothes, two pairs of boots, my Europe 2011 mementos and holiday gear, taking up two overnight bags, and also a mirror to hang up. Not too much. But then I look at the floor and see bags taking up half the space. Where's the carpet? Where's the caaaarrrrpettt?



It will be interesting to open these bags tomorrow - Christmas 2011 has somehow turned into The Katina Show.

My parents have also been quite indulgent as they insist on trying to spruce up my place and provide me with more utensils, which is huuuugely unnecessary. Dad bought me a crusher blender thing to make smoothies. They saw a little bit of frustration from me to say the least - now I have to use this thing!

But I'm glad they're here.

*****

In other Christmasy news, we published a Letters To Santa liftout last week where kids gave the paper their wishes for presents for us to pass on to the big man. And they were awesome. I'm going to write just a few I thought were great.

Lily, 6yo: I would like for Christmas an iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad and water bottle, necklace, earrings and ring.

WAY too many kids this age were asking for iPhones etc, cute but scary at the same time.

Xavier, 8yo, knew his spy lie detector was from BigW which I thought was observant. He's done his research.

Jorja, 6yo, wanted a baby kitten that had not opened its eyes...

Some of the older kids knew Santa had a big trip ahead of him...

Patrick, 8yo: I would like for Christmas a BMX bike please. Have a great flight around Australia, be safe.

Among other things, Maddison, 5yo, wanted "fake nails that you can nip off". She wasn't the only one.

Lara, THREEyo: I would like for Christmas some new high heels. SHE WAS THREE. HUH?


I want to know your opinion - are kids asking for too much too soon?

Merry Christmas everyone!
xoxox

So the first round ended with the games overnight, with my pick of the three games on offer Spain vs Switzerland. The Swiss captain Alexander Frei is out, who I actually remember from four years ago (shame, he's fair good). That's what I'm loving about watching all these games; picking out those I remember from '06 and those I don't recognise. A lot are still around which is good. It bothers me that I don't watch a lot of soccer regularly so it's interesting to refresh yourself on players' strengths after so long.

Ok so to the games: saw last part of Chile vs Honduras - but saw the end of the first half while DRIVING in my car, on an iPhone. How am I excited about an iPhone? Oh how the times have changed; from me being totally against it the whole app/everything else thing I now find myself getting an iTouch as a replacement for my 3rd (or 4th)-gen iPod! Such is life. Anyway, I informed my friend Nav (see 'Navioli' blog) that because she's with Optus she has free live access to all the games. So she tried it, and it worked. And it's a really good picture too. Very clear. Considering the roads were wet it probably wasn't the best idea for me to be looking at the phone half the time - but I was impressed dammit! Meanwhile I've paid $8 for the month to access SBS unlimited on my own phone - but for some reason it won't connect! And it's not just SBS either, other channels are the same. So maybe there's something wrong with my connection :(

Watched most of Spain v Switzerland and was pretty impressed that the Swiss team held the favourites scoreless. Seems they needed Torres for longer than they had him on. Sure, he's been injured, but not on for the whole first half? Oh well, it was surprisingly worth seeing him anxious on the sidelines. And he's cut his hair - therefore looking a whole lot better.

Because of my radio work I'm up early on Thursdays anyway so figured I'd get up for South Africa vs Uruguay at 4. But instead I found myself setting my alarm for normal time and resting on the floor for half an hour. Saw Diego Forlan's amazing goal though, the yells from the commentators made me jolt up... So I watched the majority of all three games, a PB so far. Sleep count: 2.5hrs (uninterrupted, again another PB. Actually proud of this.). I have the entire day off, which is a miracle, but it's not one of rest so I'm going to be knackered. But hey, it's worth it.

I JUST TRIED BLOWING A VUVUZELA!!! That's the opportunity that live radio gives you... and I failed miserably. Jase had one in his shed from years ago and we dubbed today's show 'The Vuvuzela Special'... I actually managed to finally get a sound out of it, so so proud of myself! My South Africa experience is almost complete. Oh, and a small sidenote: a regular customer at Valleygirl comes up to me yesterday and says: 'Saw you on TV the other night!' She said I looked nice... that's reassuring. Greece tonight - I'm going to watch it regardless of how tired I am!!!