Bozzy Wozzy Returns

After an uneventful, but less than comfortable journey on the train, I arrived at the Cooroy train station to the beautiful sight and sound of my little Chicklet, with a smile in her voice calling "Bozzy Wozzy!  You're here!  I'm so excited!"

She makes my heart sing!

She knows that there is always a surprise in my suitcase for her, so when we arrived home, we opened the outside zipper to find some "Octonauts", which have taken over from dinosaurs as her favourite toys, at the moment.

We played Octonauts while Mama and Dadoo went shopping and had a peaceful breakfast date together.

After the regulation afternoon nap, we all headed off to 'Underwater World', which has been revamped since I was there last!

It was a great afternoon, until we began to drive home and I realised that I didn't have my camera!!

What a heart stopping moment THAT was! (as I'm sure it is for Adoring Husband as he reads this!)

We did a quick u-turn and headed back to Underwater World, while Vegan Chickie got on the phone to them, so that they could begin the search.

Luckily, it was exactly where I thought it would be.

Earlier in the afternoon, when we had arrived, their official photographer took a photo of the four of us together.  Then, just before the exit, there is a wall showcasing the photos, and a counter area to pay for it.  Well, I had stopped to buy the photo, and had placed my camera on the counter, but forgot to pick it up again, as we left!

Fortunately, the girls had found it and placed it behind the counter.  Whew!

I can't begin to describe that panicked feeling when I realised I'd left it behind.  The adrenalin was pumping, but I felt like my heart had stopped beating.  I couldn't breathe properly, the car couldn't drive fast enough and the my legs couldn't carry me fast enough to that counter.

Oh the relief when the young girl said "Yes" and reached behind the counter to pick it up and hand it to me!  I could have hugged her.  I SHOULD have hugged her!

Here is my little Chicklet after she called "Follow me everyone!"

This was my favourite thing at Underwater World today ...

This is my amazingly talented son-in-law, the Bare-chested Chef, creating a masterpiece...

... and that was my day!

Now I need sleep, so that I can be bright eyed and bushy tailed for Chicklet fun tomorrow!

Nite all.

On the Rebound

There was once a time in my life when sports and fitness were a slight obsession of mine, but these days, I'm not, by any stretch of the imagination, a fitness freak.

I like to ride my trike every day, but I do it with little effort, and only for about 30 minutes most days, 60 minutes sometimes, but it's a very leisurely hour.

I don't care much for walking, unless it's strolling along the the beach or wandering along the river path with my little Chicklet.

The idea of the gym scares the life out of me!

I only run if I am in danger.

I always wanted to try Tai Chi, but it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

I have owned a rebounder for a few years now and it has spent most of it's time stored in the shed out the back - HOWEVER - it will be making an appearance upon my return from the Sunny Coast next week.

Rebounding:

• provides an increased G-force (gravitational load), which benefits the body by strengthening the musculoskeletal systems.
• benefits lymphatic circulation by stimulating the millions of one-way valves in the lymphatic system. This benefits the body's immune capacity for fighting current disease, destroying cancer cells, eliminating antigens and preventing future illness.
• circulates more oxygen to the tissues.
• increases capacity for respiration.
• strengthens the heart and other muscles in the body so that they work more efficiently.
• lowers circulating cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
• lowers low-density lipoprotein (bad) in the blood and increases high-density lipoprotein (good) holding off the incidence of coronary artery disease.
• promotes tissue repair.
• improves the brain’s responsiveness to the vestibular apparatus within the inner ear, thus improving balance.
• offers relief from neck and back pains, headaches, and other pain caused by lack of exercise. Rebound Exercise has been shown to benefit body alignment and posture.
• enhances digestion and elimination processes.
• allows for deeper and easier relaxation and sleep.
• results in better mental performance, with keener learning processes.
• minimises the number of colds, allergies, digestive disturbances, and abdominal problems.
• tends to slow down atrophy in the ageing process.

These are the three rebounding exercises:

The Health Bounce is gently bouncing up and down on a rebounder without your feet leaving the mat. It is very low impact and very effective at moving your lymphatic system. Most folks can easily do this for an hour or more while watching tv.

The Strength Bounce is jumping as high as you can. It strengthens primary and stabilizer muscles throughout your body, improves your balance, and moves your lymphatic system like nothing else. That’s what you want to work up to.

Aerobic Bouncing is jumping jacks, twisting, running in place, bouncing on one leg at a time, dancing, and any other crazy manoeuvres you can think of. Doing these high intensity aerobic exercises will get your blood pumping and your sweat on.

Do it outside in the sunshine before 10am to get your daily dose of Vitamin D at the same time.

Otherwise, there is this ...

That looks relatively easy!

Nite all.

Change of Plans

We woke up to steady rain this morning, so we decided that it was a good day to go to the movies.

We saw 'Last Vegas' today.

LOVED IT!  Hilarious and relatable .. especially for those of us over 50 yrs of age.  Great cast and I'll definitely buy a copy of the dvd when it's released.

So that meant that my cooking plans went out the window - although I did cook a chicken curry of sorts .. which I made up in my head .. which was very tricky because I've probably only cooked 3 curries in my life .. but Adoring Husband went for seconds, so I guess I did ok!

I also roasted a chicken.

I'm about to go cook some bread and make the Chocolate Hazelnut Pie as soon as I sign off here.

That will give me all of tomorrow to do my chores and pack my bags!

Being organised is not a good thing for me .. I always forget something important when I'm organised, so I need to make sure and procrastinate between now and then, just to put a bit of pressure on myself.

I do my best work under pressure.

It's been a while since I shared some quotes ...

Sniffing Rosemary improves memory

Now ... if only I could remember where I planted the rosemary!

We can't all do everything, but we can all do 'something'.

Ok I'm off to the kitchen!

Nite all.

 

My Kitchen Ruled

After a brief visit to the Seat of Knowledge this morning, I rolled up my sleeves, put my hair in a very fashionable green scrunchy and started a full day in the kitchen!

I made

• Braised Steak and Onions
• Beef Stroganoff
• Sweet Chilli Chicken Casserole
• Hot n Spicy Tomato Sauce
• Vermicelli Salad with Lemongrass Chicken

Tomorrow, I plan to make

• Chicken and Vegetable Casserole
• Chocolate Hazelnut Pie
• Coconut Love Cake
• Seedy Bread

After all of that, I have a few chores that need to be done before I go away on Saturday, as well as packing, as well as a movie date with Adoring Husband on Friday morning.

I'm looking forward to seeing the movie "Last Vegas" with Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline and Mary Steenburgen.  It looks hilarious!

This morning I got to meet our new neighbour, The Lecky, who is currently in the process of building a home on the block next door.  For the short time that I spoke with him, he seemed like a nice man, which is a relief!

I also had a surprise visit from Woman of Many Talents this afternoon and we spent an hour catching up.  I got to see the latest pics of her beautiful little grand daughters, and we've made plans to do lunch when I return from the Sunny Coast.

So it was a day full of all things good and now I think I'm ready for a long nap!

Nite all.

Go the Girlies

I caught the bus into The Bay this morning to meet the girls for a movie date.

I think today's bus driver got lessons from the other driver, Rocket Rod, because it was another hair-raising trip into town!

Luckily, one of my neighbours caught the bus too, so we had lots to chat about, which made the trip go a lot faster.

I met the girls at the shopping centre, where we all partook in some retail therapy, before making our way to the cinema.

We watched 'The Book Thief'.

What a great movie.  A drama set in Germany, during WWII, and the story told from a different angle than the usual war movie.

We all wished that we had read the book first.

It was very moving, heart wrenching at times, but so full of warmth and compassion and love.

Emily Watson and Geoffrey Rush were brilliant, as was the main actor, Sophie Nelisse.

I think I'd like to watch it again, at home, alone .. which will give me the freedom to sob uncontrollably during the parts that tugged at my heart strings.

A photo from the archives ...

Nite all.

Plans

I had big plans for the kitchen today.  I even made a list.  Then I got all involved in this movie on TV and time slipped away, so I only got a few things on my cooking list done.

I have to say that it was all pretty delicious and even Adoring Husband commented favourably!

Now I'm all involved in another movie on TV, called 'The Words' with Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Irons, so this is just a short post, so that I can continue to indulge in this movie.

Here is a photo that I took in December last year.  The delicious looking drumsticks of an Osprey!

I hope to go to the Cinema tomorrow with the girls to see 'The Book Thief', so an early night is on the cards.

Nite all.

Afternoon Light

We spent our Sunday in The Bay and then at home setting up a new TV.

Adoring Husband did some calculations and it seems that our Plasma TV has been the cause of our high power bills.

What's more, the older a Plasma TV is, the more power it consumes!  Calculations for a new Plasma, shows an added $50-$100 per quarter on the power bill.  It seems that our 6 yr old Plasma was adding about $300 per quarter to our bill .. mind you, it's on for a LOT of hours in the day.

So, we are hoping that our new 6 star LCD TV will reduce our bill considerably .. it should only cost $75 per YEAR .. if Adoring Husband's calculations are correct.  If that's the case, it should pay for itself in a year. 

This afternoon, I pedalled over to the lagoon hoping to catch a decent sunset.  I got there early enough to see the local bird life in full swing, so I captured this ..

Within 20 minutes, the sky had changed to this..

So I think it was worth the effort.  Not a masterpiece, but nice enough to share.

Tomorrow will be a day in the kitchen, to make up for today 'out' of the kitchen!

Nite all.