Still haven't come up with a genius plan of how I'm going to work out the transparent images issue in the new layout I'm working on.

GIFs and Internet Explorer suck. Why can't everyone just use Firefox and then my problem will be solved, damn it!

In other news, I changed the colours of the layout for Mer de Noms, because the pink was just too....pink. It's gray now.

I should probably go and eat some breakfast/lunch or something.

I'm working on a new layout at the moment. I've pretty much got it all done but have some cross-browser compatibility issues regarding images.
There are some images that have transparent backgrounds and some of the image is opaque, so I have them in PNG format since you can save opaque images on a transparent background and still retain the smoothness of the edges, unlike with GIFs (or so I have found). The images look perfectly fine but unfortunately they have white backgrounds in Internet Explorer (and possibly other browsers, I haven't checked yet).
So, back to the drawing board (erm, quite literally) to figure out a way to make the PNGs transparent in I.E, or turn them into GIFs and still look nice.

Other than that everything is pretty good at the moment. I'm really tired so I think I'm going to go and watch TV or something.

I'm in the mood for a slight rant. This one is about woman who swoon over the slightest mention of marriage and weddings.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-marriage/weddings, but I just don't see why it's such a hugely important thing that many woman feel like they need, and desperately want, to do. As if their whole entire lives will be utterly rubbish if they are not married by age whatever.

I'll admit that yeah, I've thought about marriage and I did sometimes when I was little -- I assumed, like probably most little girls did, that I would grow up, get married and have babies. The End. Because that's what society says you should do and it's what you see the most of. I realised this doesn't have to be the case when I was twelve and was most pleased about it.

I've never thought about every detail of the possible wedding I may have in the very, very far off future. I don't understand why so many women feel as though they're validated by getting married, that their relationship will be stronger (hello, divorce rate!) and that they'll live happily ever after.

Firstly, if you have to rely on your partner and the status of your relationship to feel valid then you need therapy. Secondly, marriage does not equal happy partnership -- you can be just as happy and committed while not being married. I don't see marriage as "the next step" -- "the next step" is realising you've got a winner and doing your fair share of making it work for the long haul, whether or not you have a piece of fucking paper that tells you it and you've said as much in front a bunch of people!

Usually I'm not very bothered by people who seem obsessed with the whole fairy-tale wedding stuff, but today it's fucking pissing me off because they seem to be everywhere I turn.
Do something better with your time than plan your possible future wedding which may or may not actually happen.

Oh and spending thousands and thousands of dollars on a wedding is idiocy to me. I'd rather have a small, inexpensive one and a brilliant honeymoon somewhere. Or just elope and not tell anyone and piss off around the world for three weeks. Much more romantic than being enclosed in a thing that resembles a pavlova and twittering in front of people about how you're going to cherish and love each other for ever and ever, Amen.

And only to go and loose your fucking last name in the bloody process, alot of the time!

Open homes are a terribly annoying thing.

1. You have to clean everything on a Saturday morning.
   
2. You have to wake up early on said Saturday to do aforementioned cleaning.
   
3. You have find something to do for an hour and half with two dogs and a cat in the car.
   
4. You have to have strangers walking through your house and seeing how you live.
   
5. They will look in your pantry and wardrobe.
   
6. It feels like a violation.
   
7. It just sucks on an extremely grand scale.

So, there you go.

Got back yesterday. I wish you could have frequent driving-to-Auckland-and-back miles because I'd have a shitload of free stuff by now.

Finished the Teddy Bear I was making and gave it to one of my sisters. Was gladly received, which is good. Obviously.

What else? Ummmm, not alot really. I did almost zero shopping, which was a positive thing. I did buy a pen and a small plastic make-up bag thing for my handbag from Japanese, the best store in existence. I also went to Bramtons, which is an English goods store at Pakuranga mall. They sell stuff from England, mostly food but also a few cleaning products and such. While browsing the store I found a Lion Bar which I didn't think you could get here. It's a chocolate bar thing, quite nice, actually. Oh and I got a Ben Shaw's Cream Soda. Yum.

I've been nominated for two of the Golden Honeybear Awards at The Quilting Bee. One for 'Best Patch' and one for 'Best Quilt'. I would like to win one, but I wont be terribly disappointed if I don't as all the other nominees are just as deserving. I'm just stoked I even got nominated at all!

While browsing the nominees for the 'Best Website' award I was amazed at how brilliant some people are with their designs and writing. I was a bit envious, to be honest. I really wish my site was as nice looking and dynamic. I know it very well could be if I put more time and effort into practicing and learning more things. The thing I can't do much about is being an engaging writer. I'm just not...

I'm going to go and make a page which lists all the websites I currently have open and all the ones pending.

No, I'm not moping (read: entry title). I'm listening to 'Unforgiven', a demo of the song that turned into 'Last Goodbye' by Jeff Buckley.
If you haven't heard any Jeff Buckley songs, then I highly recommend you go and buy yourself a copy of his album Grace.
Mind you, most kids these days wouldn't "get" his music, so perhaps that's not such a good idea as they'd just think he's "weird".

Well, pooh to them, I say. POOH TO THEM.

But if you are not a kid or mopey Emo then by all means, go and buy it.

--

Lemme see, what have I been doing? (I feel an exciting urge to make a list!)

• Wasting time on the Internet.
• Sewing a new Teddy Bear.
• Finishing a small cross-stitch I started a century ago.
• Packing my suitcase yet again, for tomorrow I am off to Auckland for a week.
• Going to the cinema to perve at Autobots. That is to say I went to see Transformers and developed a fetish for them.
• Freezing my behind off because it's so cold here in Gisborne.

Erm, yeah, that's mostly it.

Oooh, before I forget, I made a new site. It's a Namelisting collective: Mer de Noms.
Hooray!
I also updated the layout at my Gawain fanlist. It's Teh Sex0r.

Right, well, I should go and do productive things. Like finishing packing and helping my Mum tidy the house before we go.

xox

Hello! Anybody there?

Maybe not - it's been awhile since I updated. This place is dusty and I can see a few tumble weeds, too...

I got back from my holiday in Auckland on Monday. It was crappy having to leave but at the same time I was ready to get back to my own bed and house.
It's alot colder here in Gisborne, unfortunetely!

While I was away I mostly just hung out with my eldest sister, her husband and my little 18-month-old nephew, Romeo. He's got mouth ulcers at the moment, poor bubba :(
He calls me "Sssth" because he doesn't seem to want to add the "a" and "m" to the end, hehe. It's the kind of cute that kills!
They aren't moving overseas until next year now, so that's pleasing.

We (we being my mum, Tanya, Romeo and myself) went to Auckland Zoo, which was nice. I am conflicted about zoos, as I don't like the idea of animals being forced to be in enclosures that are often alot smaller than their roaming areas in the wild, and then they have all these humans come and look at them, taking pictures and being noisey, among other things. It's basically entertainment, and I don't believe animals should be used as such.
Auckland Zoo is quite good with their enclosures, and I feel as though they are adequate, but of course the ideal would be to have them as big as they would be in the wild.
Their conservation and educational resources are quite good though. Every opportunity they get they try to educate people about the animals, their environment, the environment in general and what people can do to help any endangered species or habitats.

I was enamoured with the orangutans, as usual. One of the females had a baby, so I nearly died when I got to watch them together. Actually, I nearly cried... They're the most stunning animals on Earth, in my opinion.

Anyway, as for the site, I have a 5 Things submission to add. I still have things left to do, but whether or not I'll get around to that any time soon is debatable.

At the moment I'm making a teddy bear, and everything in my mind seems to be about teddy bears! Haha. I shall take a picture of her when I'm finished.

xx

P.S, the title of this entry is a song name. It's by a band called The Electric Confectionaires, and they're from Auckland. Really awesome upcoming band, so check out their MySpace, http://myspace.com/theelectricconfectionaires