Why We Hesitate to Buy a TV

When I was flatting, I've only seen four digital channels in my flat mate's 40 inch LCD TV. They didn't have Sky unlike my friend from the city.

Months have passed and somehow, we're fine with watching the six o'clock news on the laptop while having dinner. The kids got their mobile devices that keep them entertained. They watch cartoons and movies in my laptop. There's also TVNZ On Demand which features episodes of various TV shows that they've recently broadcasted.

Nowadays, TV is not your only source of information and entertainment. I think this is the time where people have no excuse of not knowing what's going on in the world since almost everyone's got access to the internet. And mobile devices have become mainstream that it strongly competes with traditional media for people's time. That's a huge change compared with maybe 10years ago?

A couple of weeks back, I raised the idea to hubby about finally getting a TV. So we browsed through PriceMe and has Googled our way through product reviews. At least now we know which store offers the best price for TV. When asked why I now think that we need a TV? I just told hubby that it's just so we can watch our movies on a bigger screen. I guess that wasn't convincing enough so we both ended up still hesitant. Maybe we'll just wait for Boxing Day as we need to focus our finances on more important things.

The Cinema

Here's a late post. It's been sitting in my draft for a month and now that I have the time, I'm pretty excited to share how he managed our movie date while making sure that the kids are being looked after.

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Finally, a worry-free weekend. Hubby and I decided to do tag on watching World War Z. I watched the late afternoon slot, paid $17 and was directed to cinema 2. Hubby paid $20 for the same movie scheduled at 7pm at cinema 9. He wasn't sure what the difference was, something about the theater. It was a treat and a break from watching over the kids. It was another cold and wet weekend so we didn't bother visiting the playground that day. We made the kids watch Pinocchio at home for the first time then my son started going on and on about blue whale, tunnel, and "nokio".

We watched at The Event Cinema at St. Luke's Mall. There were only a few screening schedules for the day (3 to 4 i think since it was a weekend). The queue for paying for tickets is the same for getting drinks and snacks. There's a dedicated lane for online purchasers and it was a very short line. As soon as you mention the movie that you're watching and the screening schedule of your choice, they automatically offer food and drinks. I think they were surprised that I didn't get any whereas almost everyone who were in front of me did order food.

Seat number is already provided upon ticket purchase. People munched on their snacks before the movie started. It was the second movie that I've watched and so far, I haven't encountered any annoying movie-goer. There was no reminder about turning off mobile devices and fortunately, I haven't heard any ringtone throughout the movie. It's been a decent crowd and I really enjoyed it.

Rich Carrot Cake

I lose sleep by going through the ingredients, texture and flavor of these yummy cakes and pastries that I like trying out at cafes. This time I make sure that I at least try to imitate these goodness with the help of the internet.

I tried this recipe for my daughter's birthday cake and I was surprised how well it turned out: http://www.foodinaminute.co.nz/Recipes/Carrot-Cake

I'm no baker so while pouring a cup and a half of canola oil into the mix, I couldn't help but think how fatty this recipe is. I skimmed through other recipes and the volume of oil is pretty much the same across. The icing was too much and i found it a bit too sweet. Next time I'll reduce the quantity in half as we don't really need that much icing. I also noticed how it gets to set after a few hours. I think the room temperature is great. It was 11 to 15 degrees Celsius this morning. That was the time when I made the cake. I had to microwave the butter and cream cheese for a few seconds as I left those overnight on the table. Temperature dropped to 7 last night. I had to beat by hand and it wasn't easy.

At least I got the right smoothness of the icing, and the cake was rich and moist. I actually loved the result but it might be psychological because every bite reminded me of the cup and a half of oil that i had to put in. I need to watch my serving portions.

Next time, I'll figure out how they make those open pumpkin pies. I know it has spinach, cashew and I'm not sure what those red (beetroot?) textured things are. It's my recent favorite at Domain Deli. Sushi to Go's $5 lunch packs is great with this. Looking forward to my next kitchen adventure.

Winter Weekends

I just bought some ingredients for a carrot cake recipe that I found online. I also got a wooden tea cup set, some balloons, candles, and a set of clothes for my daughter. She'll be two tomorrow. Forecast for tomorrow: Cloudy periods, odd light shower. Southerly breezes. I was really hoping that it would be sunny so we can go out for a picnic just like what we did last Sunday. But will see.

At Auckland Domain

A light shower doesn't seem to bother folks here. It took a while for us to get used to it. And whenever the sun's up, everyone seems to be outside, at the playground or at the park. We do the same anyway since it's good to finally let the kids go run around and burn their endless energy under the sun after being kept indoors for a while. We just dress them warm as it's still cold anyway.

Whenever we go to the park, we bring fruits, crackers, sandwiches and nibbles. It's not practical to bring rice and other saucy dishes as it will get cold easily, and they can be a bit messy. I guess the menu could be be different if there were just adults and no toddlers are involved. The kids forget about being hungry but if you ask them to sit for a picnic, they'd welcome the idea and probably realize that they're hungry too. I love weekends!

My Troubles with Playgrounds

Whenever we'd go out, I'm always in charge of looking after our older kid, who's a very active, easily distracted and a very playful toddler. He's almost quite the opposite from our daughter who pretty much just keeps to herself and stays put.

So we try to bring them to the playground as much as we can, and if the weather permits it.The thing with playgrounds is that it's a public place and kids are of varying ages. It's good exposure for them as they learn how to take turns, how not to push and stretch the possibilities of play with the handles, slides and bars and everything else that's in the playground. But it comes with a lot of risks as well so I do my best to keep a watchful eye and be at a safe distance.

Max saw a girl about a year older than him who went sliding head/ arms first. He followed suit soon after. Then he saw some bigger kids who were climbing the walls of the main play pen. I wasn't pleased and has advised strongly against it. Recently i did catch my son making attempts to do the same. During our first few visits in the playground, he ran straight through the swings where two kids were swinging very high. They saw him but couldn't do anything about it as they were flying up in the air. They apologized and i said it's alright as no harm was done. When he gets bored, he'd start chasing the birds that are flocking in the area. Then he'd run outside the half-full gate towards the exercise machines. He especially likes the cycling machine even if he was just half the size for it.

At the Rocket Park, the rocket itself is a big steel structure surrounded by a steel platform. He enjoys running around the platform even if it's wet and slippery. There can be a lot of kids near his age but sometimes, bigger kids would flock the place making it difficult for him to get a chance on the bars or on those swivels. Fortunately most of the parents who're there are quite tolerant with my son. But it can still be quite stressful to see him running aimlessly around or through small kids. Hay!