Winning Grinning and Tearing Up

I can't believe how emotional I felt when the Cronulla Sharks won their final last night, to secure a place in the Grand Final next week. I wished that I could've been at home jumping up and down and hugging and whistling and singing and celebrating with Adoring Husband!

What a great game it was. Stressful, but exciting!

Chicklet and I have had a super superhero kind of day. I was Batman. She was Batgirl. We set up a camp fire situation for all of her superhero lego figurines to sit in a big circle around the fire. We used a big craft book to act as a giant tent for them all to sleep in. We sang many Nursery Rhymes, changing the words to incorporate the superheroes.

I introduced Chicklet to The Flintstones, which she loved, because of all the dinosaurs ... however, it was difficult to convince her that Bedrock is a fictional place and that she can't actually go there. After the Flintstones movie, we watched the Lego Justice League movie, which, at the end, she declared was FANTASTIC!! She decided to change her superhero character from Batgirl to Martian Manhunter.

I swear that there are more superheroes than you could ever imagine and I have never heard of one third of them!

There was no Minecrafting today. We spent about twenty minutes each playing Plants v Zombies and Minions. The neighbourhood kids came knocking on the door at around 4pm, so Chicklet spent about half an hour outside with them, before they all skated down the hill and left her behind. It was ok though, because we had paused the Flintstones movie, so she was happy to continue watching that instead.

Lunch was an alien greeting the rocket ship that just landed on the moon ...

Only two more sleeps til Mama arrives home. Chicklet is excited that Mama will be home, but also sad because I will be leaving.

We have had a great time together. Mama will have 23 manilla envelopes to open, which are full of our colouring in, sticker art, drawings and letters. I don't know if Chicklet will remember these times in the years to come, but I will treasure these memories forever. She has been an absolute delight and her vibrant smile and twinkling happy eyes have melted my heart every single day.

Tonight, just before she drifted off, she pulled my hand to her mouth and kissed the back of it. *sigh*

My little sweetie possum.

Nite all.  

Too Much Pressure

It's footy finals time and Adoring Husband's team, Cronulla Sharks are playing against the Cowboys tonight. I'm watching via the Foxtel app on my iPad and the pressure is intense! Sharks are winning 14 nil at half time, but the Cowboys will not lie down. They will come out fighting in the second half and I fear that the Sharks can be run down from here.

If the Sharks play as well in the second half, and don't spend the entire time trying to defend their score, they should win. Fingers crossed. I'm not sure if my head can stand to watch the second half .. I feel like it's going to explode off my shoulders!!

It's been a quiet day today. I enjoyed a coffee from Zabe Espresso Bar and soaked up some sunshine in the park.

Chicklet and I played Superheroes. She chose to be 'Huntress' ...

... and she selected 'Blue Beetle' for me!

We also did lots of artwork today, with sticker pictures and drawings.

No Minecraft, but we did spend a little time playing Plants V Zombies.

It's been a happy day with lots of giggling and our new giggle trigger is a funny voice saying "ET phone home" with our index fingers touching.

Now, I must go and watch the remaining 27 minutes of the Sharks game and will them over the line. The score is now 20-6 to Sharks.

Nite all.

Blue Skies & Sunshine

I believe that today is the first day since I arrived two weeks ago, that the sky is absolutely clear and blue, and the sun is shining brightly! It truly is a glorious day!

Since the Bare-chested Chef is off work again today, I was able to stay in bed for an extended morning of delicious laziness. I got up at about 10am and made a filling and healthful breakfast of fresh raspberries, plain coconut yoghurt and sprinkled with a generous handful of nuts and seeds and shaved coconut.

The decision to go for a walk to get my morning coffee, was a good one. I thoroughly enjoyed soaking up all of that vitamin D and the exercise, walking fast-paced over the undulating roads and paths. I sat in the shade at one of the tables outside the bakery to drink my jumbo coffee (triple shot!) and watch the world go by for about an hour.

By the time I returned home, with a second coffee for later, it was BCC's turn to leave the house. He packed his camera and headed out for some nature photography, while Chicklet and I played .. you guessed it .. Minecraft.

It's only mid afternoon now, but I plan on watching a Netflix movie tonight, so I'm blogging early.

This is what's sitting beside me on my bedside table (my bed is where Chicklet and I do our best Minecrafting)...

Later ...

Chicklet has seesawed back and forth between BCC and I all day, playing various computer games or just talking.  I'm going to enforce a 'computer game free' day over the weekend and attempt to unfrazzle our brains! Perhaps it's just MY brain that's frazzled!

I found this today. I LOVE lots of colour and I can't even comprehend what it must be like to be colour blind, so this made me feel a little bit emotional and I could relate to the joy and surprise that these people felt when seeing colour for the first time. I can't imagine living without the vibrant colours of the world. 

I'm off to watch my movie.

Nite all.

Out For The Day

I had a lovely day. Just me, myself and I.

I started at Zabe Espresso Bar where I bought myself a take away coffee - Zabe coffee is 'to die for' - but while I was waiting, I noticed that Val was at the piano. The same Val for whom I bought a gerbera to thank her for her beautiful music, about a year ago.

Of course, I had to hang around and enjoy her music, and she had a mate with her, playing the banjo, which added to the fun. It was VERY VERY loud in that small coffee shop, and there were a lot of middle-aged and elderly people in there, all attempting to converse over the loud music, but I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent there.

If I lived in the area, I would sit in this coffee bar every day. I love the atmosphere. The staff are warm and friendly. It attracts a very eclectic crowd. The coffee is divine. The entertainment is delightful. It's my kinda place.

I left there to follow up on some retail therapy. There are two clothes shops that I like in Tewantin and I must have spent about 40 minutes in each of them trying on clothes. Unfortunately (for me) or fortunately (for my wallet), I did not find a single thing that I liked.

There is also a shoe shop nearby. I didn't even get to see all of the shoes, because I found two pairs that I loved within 2 minutes of walking in the door. The shoes are a little pricy, but luckily, one of the pairs was on sale!

After spending my money, I popped into the RSL and while I was signing in, I overheard a woman introducing herself to somebody .. it was a name I recognised. When she stated where she was on holidays from .. Perth .. I realised that I knew her from more than forty years ago. We actually walked to high school together on our first day as high schoolers.

I got her attention and she remembered me too, although, I would never have recognised her to look at. She seemed a lot older, both physically and mentally, than me. I discovered that my mother had still been in contact with her mother right up until the late 90s. We spent more than an hour together catching up and reliving memories of our youth.

We didn't exchange phone numbers or any contact details. While it was nice to catch up, we are very different people, and I can't imagine a future friendship with her. 1972 was a long time ago.

I arrived home in time to see Chicklet before she had a shower and bedtime story with her Dadu.

I had a glass of wine today, on an empty stomach, and I can still, seven hours later, feel the effects of it! That may be because I still haven't eaten! I've had three coffees and a glass of wine all day. Full of healthful goodness and very high in nutritional value - NOT.

Note to self: Eat a hearty and healthful breakfast in the morning. Make up for today's slackness.

A good night's sleep will also help.

Nite all.  

Less Art More Fart

We did nothing in the way of art or craft today.

We did, however, have lots of giggles over the words 'fart', 'pee', 'poop' and 'knickers' ... all day. Not just once or twice. Frequently. Fits of hysterical giggles. She incorporated 'pee' into our story at bed time and 'pee', 'poop' and 'knickers' were her last words before she fell asleep.

Crazy kid.

We rebuilt our castle and spent too much time playing all three games on the iPads. We did dress up as the Flash this afternoon. Chicklet wore the mask and I wore the cape. We flashed around the house and clearly proved that she was the fastest Flash in the whole world!

Lunch was an interesting take on Angry Birds ...

... but she wouldn't eat the bird stating that 'the white bit looks yukky'. It was egg white and she was happy to eat all the other egg white on the plate, along with everything else, so I gave her a pass on the angry bird.

The Bare-chested Chef has the next two days off work, so tomorrow, I will have a day to myself. I think I'll have a pedicure and maybe find a hairdresser to do something amazing with my hair. Some retail therapy wouldn't go astray either.

While Chicklet was in the bath tonight, she said "I miss my Mama". Twice. I think she'll be excited to see Vegan Chickie when she returns next week.

I'm off for some beauty sleep.

Nite all.

Done for the Day

Today, for the first time in a long time, I was worn out by late afternoon! I looked at my watch at 4pm and thought to myself 'can I make it through to Chicklet bed time?'

I realised, as I was emailing BGWLBH tonight, that I filled my water bottle up at 8.30am and it is still half full! That is very unlike me and not good for my body, or my brain, to be running on empty like that all day. I've given myself a forehead slap and will try to be more aware of my fluid intake in future.

We created a LOT of artwork this morning. Mostly dragons and superheroes. We used stickers, felt tip pens and highlighters to create some fabulous masterpieces (no photos), which are now sealed in Mama's envelopes awaiting her return.

That took up most of the morning. We became superheroes ourselves, me as Batman, and Chicklet as Ironman and ran through the house for about thirty minutes until it was time to make lunch. A Catwoman lunch!

We decided to go to the park this afternoon. The weather forecast is not good for the next few days, so while the sky was clear-ish, we walked to the park - Chicklet decided that she was going to the park as a pink puppy, cleverly walking on two legs, until we reached the park, and then she was down on all fours.

This was all good in theory ... except some jerks had broken an amber bottle and a clear glass in the play area and even though I cleaned as much as I could see, I was concerned that Chicklet would accidentally find the one piece that I couldn't see. When I asked her to put her shoes on and to not be a pink puppy any more, she opted to go home and build a castle instead.

Doesn't she look tiny in this pic? Once the castle was built to our satisfaction, we sat inside it and played Minecraft for about an hour, followed by some Plants v Zombies and then very briefly before bath time, some Minions.

She was sound asleep by 7.30pm and I was wishing that I was too! Nah, not really. I got my second wind at about 6pm.

Our new couch was delivered today and Adoring Husband sent me this pic that he took with his iPad. I will take some when I return home to show the wall art and the lovely 'coral' shaped lamp in more detail.

A rug would look excellent, but our old dogs like to use mats and rugs as doggy toilets, so bare floor it will stay, for now.

I'm off for some well earned rest.

Nite all.

Happy Rainy Sunday

Petrichor (n.) a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.

There hasn't been any long spell of warm dry weather here on the Sunny Coast .. but that lovely smell still exists. It has been lightly raining on and off all day here.

We left early this morning to attend the Noosa Farmer's Markets and, because of the weather, we expected it to be a small crowd, but it was busier today, than it was when Adoring Husband and I were there a couple of weeks ago on a sunshiny day!

It was drizzling rain for the entire time that we were there, so I rushed around the stalls and bought what I knew I wanted.

Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, mulberries, 2 bags mixed lettuce, carrots, cucumber, snap peas, beans, red onions, avocados, a tub of mixed sprouted beans, tub of basil pesto feta, a tub of basil pesto, a jar of kimchi (fermented veg), ginger, fresh coriander, 2 whole chickens (pasture raised), organic pork sausages and lamb chops.

That should well and truly feed us for the 8 days that I am here ... and hopefully there is enough colour there to create some artistic lunches for Chicklet!

We built another castle today, much larger than yesterdays. We cut out paper turrets to tape to the chairs, made a flag with the family crest on it and drew and cut out a dragon to protect the castle.

We made a throne, a secret tunnel, a moat with a drawbridge and a stable for the horse (unicorn). We even had a lake where the pink flamingo and a water dragon lived. It was a pretty cool structure and Chicklet decorated it with a book shelf and drawings of dragons.

We ate lunch AND dinner in our castle.

We galloped, cantered and trotted our horses through the house and around the castle.

We swung the cutout flowery dragon from the ceiling fan and watched her fly round and round in circles.

There were lots of pictures drawn today - all of them contained dragons. One climbing up a castle, one jumping over a rainbow, two big dragons chasing tiny dragons from their food source, a super hero dragon with a red cape, a dragon sitting on a mountain and many more.

We played Minecraft (of course) for about an hour before dinner. Earlier in the day we played Minions and Plants v Zombies.

Then it was time for a bath and Dadu read some of Narnia at bed time.

It's been another full day ... which I managed with flying colours! I even baked a chicken in the middle of all that! Chicken and salad for lunch and chicken soup with ginger and coriander for dinner.

Sometimes I marvel at myself!!

Nite all.