Sydney airport was loud, busy, congested and chaotic this morning. I've never seen so many people!! The queues for Virgin Blue check-in were out the door and down the footpath. There were hundreds of people packed like sardines inside the terminal and at least another hundred queued outside. Unbelievable!
Luckily for me, there was no queue in the Rex check-in section!
I didn't have to wait long in the screening line either, so I was able to find my way to coffee and breakfast quickly, with time to spare for some window shopping before I had to board my flight. Ok, ya got me .. I didn't window shop. I DID buy something.
Three people were late for my flight and we had to wait in the bus for an extra 20 minutes until they arrived before we were driven across the tarmac to our little Rex plane. One passenger jumped off the bus and ran behind it to throw up! They wouldn't let the rest of us off the bus until she had finished and they could hose the ground.
Our pilot looked like a young Val Kilmer .. he even wore the same style sunglasses as Val Kilmer when he played Iceman in Top Gun!
Our attendant was a bit cranky. She was obviously trying very hard to be happy and friendly, but I could see in her eyes that she wasn't having a good day. She spoke sternly to one lady passenger who sat in the wrong seat and then raised her voice at a passenger who was talking on his mobile phone when she had to ask him twice to hang up and turn it off.
The flight was very bumpy as we hit quite a bit of turbulence. There was a lot heavy cloud all the way and sometimes it felt like we were driving over a corrugated road. Not very pleasant.
Obviously, we landed safely and BGWLBH was waiting to greet me. It was hot. Oppressively hot.
We went straight to my hairdresser and made an appointment for Tuesday morning. We will be starting our road trip as soon as I walk out the door from that appointment. My hairdresser, Richie Rich, was not a happy chappy and I found out later that he had been offended by a lady and insulted three times. He said it got right under his skin and we could tell by his very low energy and unhappy vibe. He is usually so happy and vibrant and flamboyant.
We visited Mum W and I cooked her some fish and veg for dinner before we headed to the Chinese Restaurant for some bad food for dinner .. we both suffered for the experience and I certainly won't be eating there again! It wasn't 'bad' as in 'off', but 'bad' as in 'full of stuff that I don't usually eat' and my whole body felt 'ugh'.
We had enough time to eat our dinner and then walk to the cinema where we watched the new Star Wars movie. I enjoyed it very much and am looking forward to watching it with Adoring Husband when I return home .. if he forgives me for seeing it first without him!
Unfortunately, when the movie finished, we walked outside to steady pouring rain! BGWLBH lives about 500 metres from the cinema. It was pitch black and we didn't take umbrellas. The rain was cold! It had obviously been raining for some time because there were some deep puddles to trudge through and no footpath, so we alternated between walking on wet grass or dirt and the road.
If I'm honest, it was quite refreshing and not unpleasant at all. As BGWLBH said "When is the last time you got to walk in the rain like this?"
I got straight into a hot shower and washed and blow dried my hair.
Next on the agenda was opening my Christmas gifts from BGWLBH. Knowing that my favourite colour is yellow, her gifts followed that theme and apart from some very beautiful shiny sparkly jewellery, I also received some lovely yellow home wares and a fabulous hand made knitted yellow cushion. I feel very lucky and very spoiled!
I am now snuggled into a gorgeous brass double bed for the night.
I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring, but right now, I'm feeling pretty relaxed and comfy.
Nite all.
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Friday, January 1, 2016
What a Day!
First of all ...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
My original plan for New Year's Eve was to have a couple of drinks with some friends early in the evening, then attend a street party behind me for a couple of drinks and then catch the pub courtesy bus with Lady Lynn and Happy Harry to see in the new year at the pub.
I didn't want to have a big night, or drink too much, because I was flying to Sydney the next day and there is nothing worse than flying with a hangover!
Well, I checked off the first part of the plan, but that's where the plan ended. I was having such a good time, I decided to stay where I was. I drank too much on an empty stomach, was home (and asleep) before midnight and woke with a ripper of a hangover this morning!
I really struggled trying to get all the last minute things done that I'd planned. My stomach was churning, my head was spinning and my thought processes were scrambled.
We were going to leave home at 10am to get to the airport before 11am and then fly out at 11.35am.
At 9.44am I received a text from Virgin advising that there was a delay and the flight would not depart The Bay until 2.25pm and would arrive in Sydney at 5.30pm.
This was a problem because my flight to Griffith was departing at 5pm!!!
I phoned Rex and immediately changed my Gff flight to the next available, which was 10am on Saturday 2nd Jan - at no extra cost.
This meant that I had to spend the night in Sydney, so I contacted Virgin to request assistance to pay for a motel, considering that it was their fault that I was inconvenienced. Apparently, the delay has to be more than 3 hours for them to offer assistance. I gave them a small piece of my mind.
I thought I might be able to spend the night with Bubbles, but, as my luck would have it, her father just happens to be spending the night there tonight (but of course!). Knight in Shining Armour offered a bed at his place, and as much as I appreciated the offer, it didn't feel right, so I booked myself a room in a motel quite close to the airport.
I arrived at The Bay airport at 1.30pm and checked in. Adoring Husband and I ordered coffee and sat in the cafe area waiting for the plane to arrive. Finally, it landed albeit ten minutes late.
I think it was about 2.50pm when were asked to board the plane. We were all seated and we waited ... and we waited ... and we waited. Twice the pilot announced that there was a technical difficulty that they were trying to address and it shouldn't be long now.
At about 3.15pm he apologised to us all, telling us that there was nothing wrong with the plane and there was nothing wrong with us, but we had to all disembark and go back into the terminal to be screened again, taking with us all of our belongings from the cabin. Our checked luggage was allowed to stay in the belly of the plane (thank goodness!).
So, all of the passengers and all of the crew with their carry on luggage had to go through the screening process again and the plane had to have a complete security check done.
Apparently, somebody had boarded the plane without going through the screening process (I have no idea how that could happen) - a big security breach!
The plane finally took off very close to 4pm!!
It was a smooth flight. All the food and drink was free for the entire journey. The staff were amazing - apologetic, grateful for our tolerance and patience, friendly, efficient and happy. It was an enjoyable flight.
As we flew over Sydney, the sun was low enough (6.10pm) to make the river look like liquid silver snaking it's way through the city and the heavy shadows of the bridges and buildings created perfect symmetry. The sunshine was glistening on every shiny surface so that it looked like diamonds twinkling everywhere.
We flew over the ocean and it was shining golden in the sunlight. Just amazing.
It was a good landing, I was quickly able to collect my luggage, climbed immediately into a taxi and was at my motel within 5 minutes.
The motel is quite old and looks like a big red brick block of housing commission units .. although much better maintained and with lovely gardens. There are about 750 rooms and all of them have recently been refurbished.
My room is very very small and contains a king size bed, a very stylish lounge chair and an open wall unit that is part wardrobe, part kitchen cupboard (with bar fridge and coffee making facility) and a shelf with towels. There is a charging dock for my ipad which is cool too.
Sorry about the quality of the pics but I took them with my phone and didn't even edit them before sharing here (I'm tired).
It's very clean and tidy, has a big screen TV on the wall and a giant mirror, but a tiny bathroom with a tiny shower cubicle, a tiny basin and a regular sized toilet. I think a big man would have trouble moving in the shower cubicle!
There is a restaurant and I could have had room service, but there is no menu in the room, so I figured that if I had to go down to look at the menu, I may as well stay there and eat.
The restaurant looked like a cross between a university cafeteria and a cool yuppy bar. The menu was small. Chicken Caesar Salad. Steak, chips and salad. Battered fish, chips and salad. Curried chicken. Hokkien Noodles with veg and your choice of meat.
I chose the curried chicken. It arrived on a long rectangular plate with a round bowl of the curried chicken in the middle, a mound of rice to the right, a ramekin of yoghurt to the left and a large fried papadam. It was the most delicious curried chicken I have ever tasted and I struggled to finish it all! Even though I struggled to finish it, I just HAD to order dessert of home made vanilla bean ice cream - I drool as I'm reminded of it! I asked to bring it to my room, so that I could savour it slowly at my leisure :)
Apparently the menu changes regularly and the two girls who served me were lovely. Charming, polite, respectful and wanting to please. They made me feel important - well ... I am! Haha.
So far, my only concern is the noise from the corridor outside my door .. and the noise from the planes flying low overhead. The air conditioner has a steady hum, which I like .. it's my favourite kind of white noise that lulls me to sleep, so I'm hoping that it will muffle the other sounds enough to allow me to sleep soundly.
The restaurant opens for breakfast at 6am (mine is free with my room) and the airport shuttle is picking me up at 8am.
So aside from the crappy start to my day - it has all worked out very nicely and I am thoroughly enjoying my alone time. I can't wait to spread myself across this massive bed and head off into the land of ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZs.
Nite all.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Pension Age
There has been a lot of time spent in the kitchen.
The last few days have been productive .. 2 coconut lemon chicken meals, 3 lamb casserole meals, 3 butter chicken meals, 40 meatballs (chicken, pork and sausage mince GF), 1 beef stroganoff meal, 15 chicken broths, a dozen beef broths and chocolate coconut ice cream.
The ice cream is tasty .. though a sugar addict probably wouldn't like it because it's not very sweet. The other weird anomaly is that even after it has set and is frozen, it just doesn't feel cold in your mouth, the way that regular ice cream does.
Anyway, I have the container in the fridge right now, so it will slowly thaw overnight and I will eat a large chunk of it tomorrow!
One of our neighbours (and friend) celebrated his 65 birthday today and had a gathering of neighbours and friends at his back garden.
I arrived very late and everybody was there already, but I had a fabulous time. I got to talk to people who I have never shared stories with and got to catch up with others who I haven't seen in a while.
I drank a whole bottle of wine to myself between 6pm - 9.45pm. One particular guest cooked 4 gluten free meals for the two of us who cannot eat gluten.
Chicken and vegetable meatballs with a GF soy sauce, mini quiches, mini pavlovas and mini chocolate cakes. It was all delicious and I felt very grateful that she went to so much trouble for us.
I was not the last to leave, but there were only a couple of poeple left when I did decide it was time to go home.
It was a lovely night and I hope to catch up with people tomorrow night for New Year's Eve as well.
Nite all.
The last few days have been productive .. 2 coconut lemon chicken meals, 3 lamb casserole meals, 3 butter chicken meals, 40 meatballs (chicken, pork and sausage mince GF), 1 beef stroganoff meal, 15 chicken broths, a dozen beef broths and chocolate coconut ice cream.
The ice cream is tasty .. though a sugar addict probably wouldn't like it because it's not very sweet. The other weird anomaly is that even after it has set and is frozen, it just doesn't feel cold in your mouth, the way that regular ice cream does.
Anyway, I have the container in the fridge right now, so it will slowly thaw overnight and I will eat a large chunk of it tomorrow!
One of our neighbours (and friend) celebrated his 65 birthday today and had a gathering of neighbours and friends at his back garden.
I arrived very late and everybody was there already, but I had a fabulous time. I got to talk to people who I have never shared stories with and got to catch up with others who I haven't seen in a while.
I drank a whole bottle of wine to myself between 6pm - 9.45pm. One particular guest cooked 4 gluten free meals for the two of us who cannot eat gluten.
Chicken and vegetable meatballs with a GF soy sauce, mini quiches, mini pavlovas and mini chocolate cakes. It was all delicious and I felt very grateful that she went to so much trouble for us.
I was not the last to leave, but there were only a couple of poeple left when I did decide it was time to go home.
It was a lovely night and I hope to catch up with people tomorrow night for New Year's Eve as well.
Nite all.
First Thought
Looking back on 2015, what is your first thought? What stands out the most?
There are a few things that come to mind immediately, for me.
There are a few things that come to mind immediately, for me.
- Changing our lifestyle to paleo and feeling the positive health benefits.
- Having the best road trip EVER with BGWLBH, during which we got to visit Bubbles.
- Losing three family members, including BGWLBH's Dad.
- Doing well with my studies but withdrawing due to extenuating circumstances.
- Having two weeks with Chicklet while Vegan Chickie travelled overseas.
- Vegan Chickie being in Paris when the terrorist tragedy occurred.
- Having my teeth fixed.
- Dipping my toes into Jeunesse.
- Creating great memories with the Burrum ladies over long lunches and delightful morning teas.
- Supporting Adoring Husband in his dream to make a difference in the SES.
- Getting back into my photography.
- Being more 'arty' and 'crafty'.
- Another road trip with BGWLBH.
- Attempting to set some life goals and making plans to reach them.
- Walking along our beach more often - bare foot.
- Work harder at promoting Jeunesse.
I made this ice cream tonight, but it's currently freezing, so I can't tell you if it is a success or not.
1 cup of pre-soaked cashews.
1 cup of coconut milk.
1 cup of shredded coconut.
1/2 cup maple syrup.
3T raw cacao powder
2t vanilla extract
Put it all in the blender and blend until it's all smooth and beautiful. Pour into a bowl (I shredded some premium organic dark chocolate to mix in at this point) and put in the freezer. Take it out every hour or so to stir the mixture. It should be ready in about 4 hours.
I hope it's as delicious as it looks!
Time is rapidly heading towards 1am, so I'm off to bed!
Nite all.
Monday, December 28, 2015
Forever Empowered
Who doesn't love Rod Stewart? Who knew that his daughter sounds just like him?
I've had a bit of a cooking day today. Chicken broth brewing in the slow cooker as we speak. I made a double batch of beef stroganoff and we ate some for lunch and froze the second batch. I did a big batch of lemon coconut chicken and froze it.
Tomorrow I plan on preparing and freezing meatballs, curried beef, beef casserole and butter chicken. Spaghetti bolognese might be on the cards too.
The morning will be spent having morning tea with the girls. I'm not sure how many of them will be here but I know that I won't be alone, so that's a good start.
My second word to consider for next year is 'Empower'
Empower - make (someone) stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights.
Some quotes from empowered women ...
“I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.” — Oprah Winfrey
“I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.” — Marissa Mayer (CEO of Yahoo)
"I always thought that people told you that you're beautiful--that this was a title that was bestowed upon you...I think that it's time to take this power into our own hands and to say, "You know what? I'm beautiful. I just am. And that's my light. I'm just a beautiful woman." — Margaret Cho
"You are more powerful than you know; you are beautiful just as you are." — Melissa Etheridge
"The question isn't who's going to let me; it's who's going to stop me." —Ayn Rand
"I believe that the rights of women and girls is the unfinished business of the 21st century." —Hillary Clinton
“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” ― Nora Ephron
I've had a bit of a cooking day today. Chicken broth brewing in the slow cooker as we speak. I made a double batch of beef stroganoff and we ate some for lunch and froze the second batch. I did a big batch of lemon coconut chicken and froze it.
Tomorrow I plan on preparing and freezing meatballs, curried beef, beef casserole and butter chicken. Spaghetti bolognese might be on the cards too.
The morning will be spent having morning tea with the girls. I'm not sure how many of them will be here but I know that I won't be alone, so that's a good start.
My second word to consider for next year is 'Empower'
Empower - make (someone) stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights.
Some quotes from empowered women ...
“I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.” — Oprah Winfrey
I have three things that I need to do before Friday. Pack away the Christmas tree, clean out the fridge and groom the dogs (which was on my 'to do' list prior to Christmas but I ran out of time).
I've decided to make my 'to do' lists shorter, so they don't seem so intimidating!
It's just ticked over to 11pm so I'm off to bed.
Nite all.
Voices in my Head
This guy is pretty amazing. Jordan Smith won America's version of 'The Voice' this year (2015) and deservedly so. If this video of 'Somebody to Love' doesn't convince you, go to Youtube and watch his renditions of 'Halo' and 'Hallelujah'. You will soon be convinced.
I have to choose my new word for 2016.
Remember last year I chose the word 'peace'. I'm not sure that I generated as much peace as I'd planned, however, I now possess many peace symbols in the form of wall art, jewellery, decorations and even the new chook pen has a peace sign painted on the outside wall.
I have until 1st January to choose my new word. Right now I'm liking 'mindfulness'. Here are three links to sites explaining various techniques to becoming more mindful in your life.
Mindfulness - means maintaining a moment by moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and surrounding environment.
Mindfulness - “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.”
Mindfulness
What I most want to be mindful of, are my thoughts and feelings of self-sabotage.
I have a very loud mind. I think a LOT. I make jokes all the time about the voices in my head but the number of thoughts that shoot through my mind every minute of the day is exhausting and I need to find a way to quiet my mind. Meditation and mindfulness might be able to do that.
I will further investigate and make my decision in the coming days.
Meanwhile, I have booked my flights to Griffith for the 1st January. I'm not sure how long I will be away, but a 'cheap as chips' road trip is on the cards and hopefully will end with BGWLBH here for some R&R and TLC.
I'm looking forward to dusting off the camera and practising my photography again, as I'm sure BGWLBH is too. It's been too long!
Right now, it's after midnight, so I'm off to bed.
Nite all.
I have to choose my new word for 2016.
Remember last year I chose the word 'peace'. I'm not sure that I generated as much peace as I'd planned, however, I now possess many peace symbols in the form of wall art, jewellery, decorations and even the new chook pen has a peace sign painted on the outside wall.
I have until 1st January to choose my new word. Right now I'm liking 'mindfulness'. Here are three links to sites explaining various techniques to becoming more mindful in your life.
Mindfulness - means maintaining a moment by moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and surrounding environment.
Mindfulness - “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.”
Mindfulness
What I most want to be mindful of, are my thoughts and feelings of self-sabotage.
I have a very loud mind. I think a LOT. I make jokes all the time about the voices in my head but the number of thoughts that shoot through my mind every minute of the day is exhausting and I need to find a way to quiet my mind. Meditation and mindfulness might be able to do that.
I will further investigate and make my decision in the coming days.
Meanwhile, I have booked my flights to Griffith for the 1st January. I'm not sure how long I will be away, but a 'cheap as chips' road trip is on the cards and hopefully will end with BGWLBH here for some R&R and TLC.
I'm looking forward to dusting off the camera and practising my photography again, as I'm sure BGWLBH is too. It's been too long!
Right now, it's after midnight, so I'm off to bed.
Nite all.
Saturday, December 26, 2015
The Day After Christmas
So, it's the day after Christmas .. yes I know it's Boxing Day .. all is quiet on the home front, now that Chicklet and Vegan Chickie have departed .. and what a departure!
We arrived at the train station 25 minutes early. The last few times that I've caught the train, it has arrived at my station up to ten minutes early .. especially when it's the diesel engine. Unfortunately, this was not the case today!
We checked the 1800 information number, to discover that because there had been earth tremors off Fraser Island at approximately 4.30am today, the trains were running late by at least 45 minutes and it was expected delays could reach two hours.
*sigh*
You can imagine how difficult that was for a 4 year old, confined to one small square area of a waiting room! Forty five minutes passed and we continued to wait. Ninety minutes passed and we continued to wait.
We played I spy. We played tag. We played hide n seek (very difficult with nowhere to hide!). We played dinosaurs. We played 'what animal is this?'. We played rhyming words. We snacked. We coloured in and made Christmas cards.
.. and still we waited.
Just short of two hours late, we finally heard the train whistle. Chicklet was right on the verge of losing control, so it was a relief to finally have something positive happen and to know that the journey home was about to begin.
Because of the earth tremors and the risk to track damage, the passengers would be transferred to buses at Gympie. As luck would have it, Vegan Chickie was given the wrong bus number twice!! They almost ended up on a nonstop bus to Roma Street Station! THAT would have been a disaster for sure!
I'm expecting a text very shortly to advise me that they are home safe n sound.
Christmas was great!
Chicklet burst into my bedroom at 7.30am yelling "Happy Christmas!!"
We all had to sit down in the lounge room, while Chicklet selected gifts from under the tree, showing them to Vegan Chickie to find out whose name was on the tag. She handed everybody their gifts before sitting down to open her own.
She didn't seem terribly impressed with her gifts at first, but soon was keen to set up a craft area on the dining table, so that we could spend almost the entire day being creative and artistic and crafty.
After ham and eggs for breakfast, we got cracking on the craft.
She made Christmas decorations to hang on SEB's bird cage ...
She decorated Ruby (middle psychotic dog) ...
Obviously very serious about her craft ...
An Aussie Christmas tradition ... water fight in the back yard ...
I was heavily involved in this particular activity, while Vegan Chickie napped, and I have to say that it was one of the more exhausting activities of the day! I haven't done any running for a good many years ... which is why she caught me and drenched me many times over!!
A bit more craft after the water fight. Extra decorations for the tree ...
... a quick snack for dinner and an early night .. for ALL of us .. which is why there was no blog post last night. Exhaustion overtook the desire to blog :)
The best way to spend Boxing Day is with alcohol, seafood and junk food while plonked on the couch watching the Boxing Day Test.
I know that there are many families down south who have lost all of their possessions in the fires on the coast near the Great Ocean Road, Wye River and Separation Creek and my heart goes out to them all. What a dreadful end to 2015 and a horrible, struggling way to start 2016.
I hope they appreciate that their safety and their lives are more important than the possessions that they lost. I also hope that they recover from the emotional trauma that the power of mother nature has burdened them with. I know from experience, that helpless feeling of losing all power and control.
Life will never be the same for them, but I hope that out of tragedy, something new and positive develops in their lives. Friendships and bonds will form between strangers, with this shared experience, and life will go on. For some, it will be more difficult than for others.
Good luck to you all and out of this disaster, may 2016 bring fresh new beginnings and happiness to you.
Nite all.
PS Vegan Chickie and Chicklet have arrived home safe n sound!
We arrived at the train station 25 minutes early. The last few times that I've caught the train, it has arrived at my station up to ten minutes early .. especially when it's the diesel engine. Unfortunately, this was not the case today!
We checked the 1800 information number, to discover that because there had been earth tremors off Fraser Island at approximately 4.30am today, the trains were running late by at least 45 minutes and it was expected delays could reach two hours.
*sigh*
You can imagine how difficult that was for a 4 year old, confined to one small square area of a waiting room! Forty five minutes passed and we continued to wait. Ninety minutes passed and we continued to wait.
We played I spy. We played tag. We played hide n seek (very difficult with nowhere to hide!). We played dinosaurs. We played 'what animal is this?'. We played rhyming words. We snacked. We coloured in and made Christmas cards.
.. and still we waited.
Just short of two hours late, we finally heard the train whistle. Chicklet was right on the verge of losing control, so it was a relief to finally have something positive happen and to know that the journey home was about to begin.
Because of the earth tremors and the risk to track damage, the passengers would be transferred to buses at Gympie. As luck would have it, Vegan Chickie was given the wrong bus number twice!! They almost ended up on a nonstop bus to Roma Street Station! THAT would have been a disaster for sure!
I'm expecting a text very shortly to advise me that they are home safe n sound.
Christmas was great!
Chicklet burst into my bedroom at 7.30am yelling "Happy Christmas!!"
We all had to sit down in the lounge room, while Chicklet selected gifts from under the tree, showing them to Vegan Chickie to find out whose name was on the tag. She handed everybody their gifts before sitting down to open her own.
She didn't seem terribly impressed with her gifts at first, but soon was keen to set up a craft area on the dining table, so that we could spend almost the entire day being creative and artistic and crafty.
After ham and eggs for breakfast, we got cracking on the craft.
She made Christmas decorations to hang on SEB's bird cage ...
She decorated Ruby (middle psychotic dog) ...
Christmas lunch was a noisy affair, with twelve bonbons between four of us ...
Prawns, sand crab, Moreton Bay bugs, turkey and ham along with pasta salad and other salad items, mango, sun dried tomato, roasted capsicum and more. 'Christmas food' as requested by Chicklet. Chocolates shaped like christmas trees, elves, santa etc.
... and very imaginative and creative with her crocodile pretending to be santa ...
I was heavily involved in this particular activity, while Vegan Chickie napped, and I have to say that it was one of the more exhausting activities of the day! I haven't done any running for a good many years ... which is why she caught me and drenched me many times over!!
A bit more craft after the water fight. Extra decorations for the tree ...
... a quick snack for dinner and an early night .. for ALL of us .. which is why there was no blog post last night. Exhaustion overtook the desire to blog :)
The best way to spend Boxing Day is with alcohol, seafood and junk food while plonked on the couch watching the Boxing Day Test.
I know that there are many families down south who have lost all of their possessions in the fires on the coast near the Great Ocean Road, Wye River and Separation Creek and my heart goes out to them all. What a dreadful end to 2015 and a horrible, struggling way to start 2016.
I hope they appreciate that their safety and their lives are more important than the possessions that they lost. I also hope that they recover from the emotional trauma that the power of mother nature has burdened them with. I know from experience, that helpless feeling of losing all power and control.
Life will never be the same for them, but I hope that out of tragedy, something new and positive develops in their lives. Friendships and bonds will form between strangers, with this shared experience, and life will go on. For some, it will be more difficult than for others.
Good luck to you all and out of this disaster, may 2016 bring fresh new beginnings and happiness to you.
Nite all.
PS Vegan Chickie and Chicklet have arrived home safe n sound!
Friday, December 25, 2015
The Eve of Christmas
What sort of fool attempts grocery shopping on Christmas eve????
Adoring Husband and I kind of fools!!
We left bright and early this morning and drove for almost an hour to be at Urangan Fisheries by 8.30am - their apparent opening hours. They were already open and looked to have been open for some time. There was a long queue outside, which we joined, and it was moving quite fast, so we were in and served within ten minutes.
We had to cross town to Stocklands for the first part of our grocery shop. It was about 9am and the crowds hadn't built up yet, so we got that part of the shop done quite quickly and we were in the car by 9.45am and headed to the next supermarket in search of chocolate coated nuts and what Chicklet calls 'Christmas food'.. ie food in the shape of Christmas eg chocolate santas, chocolate christmas trees etc.
I could not find chocolate coated nuts anywhere!! I tried newsagents, supermarkets, chemists and even the cheapie shops to no avail.
This part of the shopping took the longest and we didn't leave The Bay until 10.45am. By the time we stopped for coffee at Foodworks, where we finally found some chocolate coated nuts, it was 11.15 when we arrived home.
Little Chicklet had been so patient waiting for me to return so that we could play, but it was lunch time, so she had to wait a little longer.
We made some christmas baubles for the tree, created some art with blank paper and stickers and then we watched the Madagascar movie. The last bit of fun for the afternoon was painting the chook pen. It's not quite a masterpiece, but we love it :)
Tonight, after I returned home from the club, I made butter chicken for dinner and finally Vegan Chickie and I got to sit down and watch 'Love Actually' together, in the same room, on the same TV.
It's our Christmas tradition and I felt so happy that I could almost burst, through the entire movie.
Now it's well after midnight and tomorrow is Christmas so I'm off to bed.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL. Have a wonderful day with your loved ones and enjoy the festivities.
Nite all.
Adoring Husband and I kind of fools!!
We left bright and early this morning and drove for almost an hour to be at Urangan Fisheries by 8.30am - their apparent opening hours. They were already open and looked to have been open for some time. There was a long queue outside, which we joined, and it was moving quite fast, so we were in and served within ten minutes.
We had to cross town to Stocklands for the first part of our grocery shop. It was about 9am and the crowds hadn't built up yet, so we got that part of the shop done quite quickly and we were in the car by 9.45am and headed to the next supermarket in search of chocolate coated nuts and what Chicklet calls 'Christmas food'.. ie food in the shape of Christmas eg chocolate santas, chocolate christmas trees etc.
I could not find chocolate coated nuts anywhere!! I tried newsagents, supermarkets, chemists and even the cheapie shops to no avail.
This part of the shopping took the longest and we didn't leave The Bay until 10.45am. By the time we stopped for coffee at Foodworks, where we finally found some chocolate coated nuts, it was 11.15 when we arrived home.
Little Chicklet had been so patient waiting for me to return so that we could play, but it was lunch time, so she had to wait a little longer.
We made some christmas baubles for the tree, created some art with blank paper and stickers and then we watched the Madagascar movie. The last bit of fun for the afternoon was painting the chook pen. It's not quite a masterpiece, but we love it :)
Tonight, after I returned home from the club, I made butter chicken for dinner and finally Vegan Chickie and I got to sit down and watch 'Love Actually' together, in the same room, on the same TV.
It's our Christmas tradition and I felt so happy that I could almost burst, through the entire movie.
Now it's well after midnight and tomorrow is Christmas so I'm off to bed.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL. Have a wonderful day with your loved ones and enjoy the festivities.
Nite all.
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Disturbing
Looking at this man makes me feel disturbed!! Therefore the band is appropriately named lol, but I do like this version of 'The Sound of Silence'. I'm also sure that some of you won't :)
It's been a big day.
We started with brunch at Noosa, then for Chicklet's pleasure, a short play on the beach. I had to go buy a hat before we traipsed across the sand because it was a very bright and warm sunshiny morning and even the sand was incredibly hot to walk on.
At 1pm, we (Chicklet, Vegan Chickie and I) climbed on board the tilt train at Cooroy Station for the 2 hour ride home. I've never seen carriage E so full!! I'm usually one of eight people on the carriage with two seats to myself, but the carriage was full and I had to sit beside someone! I believe that is only the second time in about 40 trips that I've been seated beside someone.
Adoring Husband was at Howard Station to pick us up and take us home.
Chicklet spent the afternoon removing all of the knick knacks from the middle two shelves of my cabinet .. mostly dragon ornaments and lizards .. and lining them up on the lounge room floor. Then she requested all of my stuffed toys, so I went on the search to drag them out of the bedrooms. The back yard was next in line so that we could remove all of the frog garden ornaments from their homes and have them congregate in the middle of the back yard.
I cooked dinner before we all climbed in the car to go in search of Christmas lights. I was pleasantly surprised to find so many people getting into the Christmas spirit this year. We spent about 30 minutes driving around town looking at the lights and even got out of the car to walk along the waterfront where there were quite a few houses lit up.
Dessert and a quick bath for Chicklet before bed time tonight. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. I think exhaustion had set in!
It will be an early start for Adoring Husband and I tomorrow. We have some last minute food shopping to do in The Bay and we don't want to get caught in the Christmas Eve crowds, so we'll be in and out as quickly as is humanly possible!
Best get to bed then!
Nite all.
It's been a big day.
We started with brunch at Noosa, then for Chicklet's pleasure, a short play on the beach. I had to go buy a hat before we traipsed across the sand because it was a very bright and warm sunshiny morning and even the sand was incredibly hot to walk on.
At 1pm, we (Chicklet, Vegan Chickie and I) climbed on board the tilt train at Cooroy Station for the 2 hour ride home. I've never seen carriage E so full!! I'm usually one of eight people on the carriage with two seats to myself, but the carriage was full and I had to sit beside someone! I believe that is only the second time in about 40 trips that I've been seated beside someone.
Adoring Husband was at Howard Station to pick us up and take us home.
Chicklet spent the afternoon removing all of the knick knacks from the middle two shelves of my cabinet .. mostly dragon ornaments and lizards .. and lining them up on the lounge room floor. Then she requested all of my stuffed toys, so I went on the search to drag them out of the bedrooms. The back yard was next in line so that we could remove all of the frog garden ornaments from their homes and have them congregate in the middle of the back yard.
I cooked dinner before we all climbed in the car to go in search of Christmas lights. I was pleasantly surprised to find so many people getting into the Christmas spirit this year. We spent about 30 minutes driving around town looking at the lights and even got out of the car to walk along the waterfront where there were quite a few houses lit up.
Dessert and a quick bath for Chicklet before bed time tonight. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. I think exhaustion had set in!
It will be an early start for Adoring Husband and I tomorrow. We have some last minute food shopping to do in The Bay and we don't want to get caught in the Christmas Eve crowds, so we'll be in and out as quickly as is humanly possible!
Best get to bed then!
Nite all.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Surprisingly Princessly
A truly amazing artist ...
Feeling really good today. I only got about 5 hours sleep last night, but breakfast was really good this morning .. bacon, eggs and avocado with an extra large coffee.
An hour or two in the children's playground, some grocery shopping and a stop in the children's shop for a princess dress and some shiny sparkly shoes for someone special!!
She's never been keen on dresses or girly stuff before, so I had to take lots of pics .. of course, I didn't bring my camera, so the phone camera had to do. Vegan Chickie has much better phone camera skills and Instagram skills than I, so her pics seems to be the best of the bunch. I definitely need some practise!
The dress and shoes were soon tossed on the floor and she was running around naked wearing a dinosaur mask not long after we got the pics. Gotta be quick!!
Chicklet and I played some games, but by 2pm, yesterday caught up with me and I had to have a nap. Much to Chicklet's disappointment, I slept for a bit over an hour, but I made up for it by sharing some sticker activities with her before I cooked dinner.
Mama had bath duty tonight, while I had kitchen duty. Luckily, I got story time with Chicklet before she fell asleep.
Tomorrow, we all head home on the train! Chicklet's first big train trip I think?!
I'm aiming for an earlier night tonight. It's just about 11pm and it's lights out for me.
Nite all.
Feeling really good today. I only got about 5 hours sleep last night, but breakfast was really good this morning .. bacon, eggs and avocado with an extra large coffee.
An hour or two in the children's playground, some grocery shopping and a stop in the children's shop for a princess dress and some shiny sparkly shoes for someone special!!
She's never been keen on dresses or girly stuff before, so I had to take lots of pics .. of course, I didn't bring my camera, so the phone camera had to do. Vegan Chickie has much better phone camera skills and Instagram skills than I, so her pics seems to be the best of the bunch. I definitely need some practise!
The dress and shoes were soon tossed on the floor and she was running around naked wearing a dinosaur mask not long after we got the pics. Gotta be quick!!
Chicklet and I played some games, but by 2pm, yesterday caught up with me and I had to have a nap. Much to Chicklet's disappointment, I slept for a bit over an hour, but I made up for it by sharing some sticker activities with her before I cooked dinner.
Mama had bath duty tonight, while I had kitchen duty. Luckily, I got story time with Chicklet before she fell asleep.
Tomorrow, we all head home on the train! Chicklet's first big train trip I think?!
I'm aiming for an earlier night tonight. It's just about 11pm and it's lights out for me.
Nite all.
Free From Amalgam
I guarantee that this will bring a tear to your eye .. in a good way!
Today I caught the 6am train to Cooroy, where the Bare-chested Chef picked me up and drove me to my dental appointment at Maroochydore.
I had four amalgam fillings removed. What started out as a 4 hour appointment, ended up being a 2.5 hour appointment because everything went so smoothly without a hitch.
It was an interesting experience where the anaesthetic numbed my face from the nose down. I couldn't feel my face, my lips or my tongue. The safety precautions used to protect the dentist, her assistant and me from the mercury and the vapours that were emitted were pretty amazing.
A rubber dam was used to protect me from ingesting any mercury/amalgam that was drilled from my teeth. It also covered my nose so that I didn't breathe in any of the vapours.
A large vacuum hose was beside my chair sucking any vapours or fragments away from me as they rose from my mouth.
Suction was used in my mouth to make sure that everything was immediately removed as it was drilled out.
The dentist and her assistant had special masks, gloves and protective clothing.
Once the amalgams were removed, all the protective gear was disposed of, including my bib, their masks and gloves, all the tools and the rubber dam. It was all replaced with fresh sterilised gear, to continue with the tooth restoration.
It was pretty intense!
I must say that the very back of my jaw is aching a little tonight from having my mouth open so wide for so long.
It was a painless exercise. Even the drilling, which I was most afraid of today, was a breeze and I barely noticed it.
The four teeth that had the amalgams are now restored and I'm feeling great.
My next visit, in February, is to have the gum disease in the bottom gum treated.
Vegan Chickie and I have spent the evening lying on my bed catching up and now it is rapidly approaching 1am!! I've been awake since 4am and I'm just beginning to feel a little weary.
My diet today has consisted of two cups of chicken bone broth, one cup of coffee and a pear. Tomorrow morning Vegan Chickie, Chicklet and I will be having breakfast at Civic and I'm looking forward to a big bacon and egg brekky!
Time now, for me to sleep.
Nite all.
Today I caught the 6am train to Cooroy, where the Bare-chested Chef picked me up and drove me to my dental appointment at Maroochydore.
I had four amalgam fillings removed. What started out as a 4 hour appointment, ended up being a 2.5 hour appointment because everything went so smoothly without a hitch.
It was an interesting experience where the anaesthetic numbed my face from the nose down. I couldn't feel my face, my lips or my tongue. The safety precautions used to protect the dentist, her assistant and me from the mercury and the vapours that were emitted were pretty amazing.
A rubber dam was used to protect me from ingesting any mercury/amalgam that was drilled from my teeth. It also covered my nose so that I didn't breathe in any of the vapours.
A large vacuum hose was beside my chair sucking any vapours or fragments away from me as they rose from my mouth.
Suction was used in my mouth to make sure that everything was immediately removed as it was drilled out.
The dentist and her assistant had special masks, gloves and protective clothing.
Once the amalgams were removed, all the protective gear was disposed of, including my bib, their masks and gloves, all the tools and the rubber dam. It was all replaced with fresh sterilised gear, to continue with the tooth restoration.
It was pretty intense!
I must say that the very back of my jaw is aching a little tonight from having my mouth open so wide for so long.
It was a painless exercise. Even the drilling, which I was most afraid of today, was a breeze and I barely noticed it.
The four teeth that had the amalgams are now restored and I'm feeling great.
My next visit, in February, is to have the gum disease in the bottom gum treated.
Vegan Chickie and I have spent the evening lying on my bed catching up and now it is rapidly approaching 1am!! I've been awake since 4am and I'm just beginning to feel a little weary.
My diet today has consisted of two cups of chicken bone broth, one cup of coffee and a pear. Tomorrow morning Vegan Chickie, Chicklet and I will be having breakfast at Civic and I'm looking forward to a big bacon and egg brekky!
Time now, for me to sleep.
Nite all.
Sunday, December 20, 2015
He's a bit sickly
Well, alas, Adoring Husband has become ill with some kind of respiratory virus.
When I first met him, he was a sickly character and spent a lot of time in hospital with chest infections that required strong antibiotics administered intravenously, often double doses. For the first six or seven years that we were together, it was a 'given' that he would be sick enough to need time off work, time in bed and time in hospital a few times a year.
Before we left Sydney, he had to have x-rays and tests on his lungs, because there were shadows, which turned out to be scarring from previous infections. The doctor had been concerned that the shadows were something more sinister. That was a lucky escape!
Then we moved to Queensland.
He became fit and lean and strong, working the lawn mower business. He spent time in the sunshine and built up his Vitamin D levels. From memory, he got the flu twice in the first two years and one of those times was because he shovelled mushroom compost in the garden without a mask and got spores in his lungs.
Since we changed our diet/lifestyle and stopped eating gluten, dairy and sugar (it's now 4 yrs gluten free and two years dairy and sugar free), it has now been more than four years since his last flu or virus. I believe that's a record for his entire life!
I'm surprised that his immune system was weak enough to let this one in, although it's that time of the year when people are festively hugging and kissing and passing on Christmas wishes, along with all their germs.
So we're using colloidal silver on the back of his throat, dosing up on super strength vitamin C capsules, antioxidants and multivitamins combined with probiotics, juicing up with oranges and pineapples, medicating with chicken broth and lots of water. He's been sleeping on and off in his chair - sleep is good.
Unfortunately, I have to go away tomorrow, for two nights, so I have to trust that he is going to be vigilant with my prescription for good health.
Hopefully, it won't deteriorate to a full blown infection and he will recover quickly while I'm away.
Thought you might enjoy this little video ...
An interesting read and includes stories from people who had amazing health success using oils.
Essential Oils
A story from the ABC about the health problems occurring in Australian hospitals and with doctors. The statistics for accidental deaths and permanent injuries, are quite shocking.
Medical errors in Australia
It's now 10pm .. I'd best go finish my chores before bed. I have a very early start tomorrow!
Nite all.
When I first met him, he was a sickly character and spent a lot of time in hospital with chest infections that required strong antibiotics administered intravenously, often double doses. For the first six or seven years that we were together, it was a 'given' that he would be sick enough to need time off work, time in bed and time in hospital a few times a year.
Before we left Sydney, he had to have x-rays and tests on his lungs, because there were shadows, which turned out to be scarring from previous infections. The doctor had been concerned that the shadows were something more sinister. That was a lucky escape!
Then we moved to Queensland.
He became fit and lean and strong, working the lawn mower business. He spent time in the sunshine and built up his Vitamin D levels. From memory, he got the flu twice in the first two years and one of those times was because he shovelled mushroom compost in the garden without a mask and got spores in his lungs.
Since we changed our diet/lifestyle and stopped eating gluten, dairy and sugar (it's now 4 yrs gluten free and two years dairy and sugar free), it has now been more than four years since his last flu or virus. I believe that's a record for his entire life!
I'm surprised that his immune system was weak enough to let this one in, although it's that time of the year when people are festively hugging and kissing and passing on Christmas wishes, along with all their germs.
So we're using colloidal silver on the back of his throat, dosing up on super strength vitamin C capsules, antioxidants and multivitamins combined with probiotics, juicing up with oranges and pineapples, medicating with chicken broth and lots of water. He's been sleeping on and off in his chair - sleep is good.
Unfortunately, I have to go away tomorrow, for two nights, so I have to trust that he is going to be vigilant with my prescription for good health.
Hopefully, it won't deteriorate to a full blown infection and he will recover quickly while I'm away.
Thought you might enjoy this little video ...
An interesting read and includes stories from people who had amazing health success using oils.
Essential Oils
A story from the ABC about the health problems occurring in Australian hospitals and with doctors. The statistics for accidental deaths and permanent injuries, are quite shocking.
Medical errors in Australia
It's now 10pm .. I'd best go finish my chores before bed. I have a very early start tomorrow!
Nite all.
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Party Time
So I finally provided the photos for the 70th birthday that I attended a few weeks ago.
I also sent through some of the photos of the town Christmas party to be published in the local newsletter, the rest will be published in the January newsletter.
Other than that, it's been a quietly productive day for Adoring Husband and myself.
Tonight AH attended his SES Christmas party, while I attended a different party at a friend's house. I had a nice time. Good food. Good friends.
AH came to my party after his finished, but we were both home just after 10pm.
It's a sign of our age, when two parties are over by 10pm!!
You will love this ... Every Child Should Have a Pet
That's it. I'm done. It's rapidly approaching midnight (as usual) and I feel the need to sleep.
Nite all.
I also sent through some of the photos of the town Christmas party to be published in the local newsletter, the rest will be published in the January newsletter.
Other than that, it's been a quietly productive day for Adoring Husband and myself.
Tonight AH attended his SES Christmas party, while I attended a different party at a friend's house. I had a nice time. Good food. Good friends.
AH came to my party after his finished, but we were both home just after 10pm.
It's a sign of our age, when two parties are over by 10pm!!
You will love this ... Every Child Should Have a Pet
That's it. I'm done. It's rapidly approaching midnight (as usual) and I feel the need to sleep.
Nite all.
Dreams Come True
It was a lot of fun catching up with The Sex Therapist tonight.
Surprisingly, dinner was very nice at the club restaurant .. again. That's twice in a row now.
It's very late and I'm very tired and I wish I'd taken a selfie with The Sex Therapist tonight.
Here is a very cute video.
Nite all.
Surprisingly, dinner was very nice at the club restaurant .. again. That's twice in a row now.
It's very late and I'm very tired and I wish I'd taken a selfie with The Sex Therapist tonight.
Here is a very cute video.
Nite all.
Friday, December 18, 2015
Last Minute Hey
Hey!
It's almost 1am and I've been watching many many episodes of 'New Girl' on my laptop. Time has passed so quickly and now I'm trying to decide between doing an 'all nighter' watching the entire two series, or going to bed now.
I think I'm ready for bed.
I can't say that I've ever been a One Direction fan. I've never really taken much notice of them, until this week.
I've watched three interviews with them and this video of carpool karaoke with James Corden and from what I've seen, they seem like nice boys. That probably makes me sound like an old lady, but I think I'd like to listen to some of their music.
I have my favourite .. I wonder if you can guess which one it is!!
Ok, one more episode of New Girl and I'm off to bed!
Nite all.
It's almost 1am and I've been watching many many episodes of 'New Girl' on my laptop. Time has passed so quickly and now I'm trying to decide between doing an 'all nighter' watching the entire two series, or going to bed now.
I think I'm ready for bed.
I can't say that I've ever been a One Direction fan. I've never really taken much notice of them, until this week.
I've watched three interviews with them and this video of carpool karaoke with James Corden and from what I've seen, they seem like nice boys. That probably makes me sound like an old lady, but I think I'd like to listen to some of their music.
I have my favourite .. I wonder if you can guess which one it is!!
Ok, one more episode of New Girl and I'm off to bed!
Nite all.
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
The New Tuesday
Wednesday is the new Tuesday.
Morning tea with the girls on Tuesdays, has been changed to morning tea with the girls on Wednesdays. I know I'm not alone when I say .. I'm already feeling a bit discombobulated! How silly that such a small change in routine can have such a big impact!
Aside from the fact that Wednesday is delivery day for the butcher and a mega-sized semi-trailer pulled up near us, blocking the car parking spots and idling it's very loud engine for about fifteen minutes, it was a very pleasant morning .. as it always is with the girls!
From there, I rode to The Motivator's house with my second coffee for the day and we spent a couple of hours catching up with each other's news. She had been on holidays for a couple of weeks while I was on the Sunny Coast, and then she had business in Sydney, so there was much to talk about.
When it was time to head home, I remembered my meat order from the butcher, so I pedalled to the shops and returned Adoring Husband's call that I'd missed earlier. We decided to get a coffee (Yes! My third for the day!), so he met me at the shops and took the groceries home in the car.
Poor AH had to eat a late lunch (last night's leftovers) because it was almost 2pm. I had a text match with BGWLBH (I thought that I ALMOST convinced her to come up for Christmas, but alas no) while the pumpkin cooked for the dog food. By the time I got the dog food sorted it was after 3.30pm and then we had to clean up the kitchen. I sat down for an hour and it was time to start dinner!
During my hour break, I found this, which I thought was cute enough to make me giggle ... Dogs who have no understanding of personal space.
I've decided to make a 'to do' list of all the things I need/want to do before Christmas. It starts a little something like this ...
Now, if I could just rustle up some time management skills and some motivation from somewhere ... well, you know the rest. *rolls eyes*
I must admit that my solid eight hours of sleep last night has breathed some motivational fire in my belly .. hence the 'to do' list!
Now, to get another early night, to fan those motivational flames!
Nite all.
Morning tea with the girls on Tuesdays, has been changed to morning tea with the girls on Wednesdays. I know I'm not alone when I say .. I'm already feeling a bit discombobulated! How silly that such a small change in routine can have such a big impact!
Aside from the fact that Wednesday is delivery day for the butcher and a mega-sized semi-trailer pulled up near us, blocking the car parking spots and idling it's very loud engine for about fifteen minutes, it was a very pleasant morning .. as it always is with the girls!
From there, I rode to The Motivator's house with my second coffee for the day and we spent a couple of hours catching up with each other's news. She had been on holidays for a couple of weeks while I was on the Sunny Coast, and then she had business in Sydney, so there was much to talk about.
When it was time to head home, I remembered my meat order from the butcher, so I pedalled to the shops and returned Adoring Husband's call that I'd missed earlier. We decided to get a coffee (Yes! My third for the day!), so he met me at the shops and took the groceries home in the car.
Poor AH had to eat a late lunch (last night's leftovers) because it was almost 2pm. I had a text match with BGWLBH (I thought that I ALMOST convinced her to come up for Christmas, but alas no) while the pumpkin cooked for the dog food. By the time I got the dog food sorted it was after 3.30pm and then we had to clean up the kitchen. I sat down for an hour and it was time to start dinner!
During my hour break, I found this, which I thought was cute enough to make me giggle ... Dogs who have no understanding of personal space.
I've decided to make a 'to do' list of all the things I need/want to do before Christmas. It starts a little something like this ...
- Bath and groom the dogs
- Clean my office
- Wash the windows
- Get my ironing up-to-date
- Clear the back office ready for Vegan Chickie and Chicklet's visit for Christmas
- Wrap the Christmas gifts
- Mail some Christmas gifts
- Plan Christmas table decorations
Now, if I could just rustle up some time management skills and some motivation from somewhere ... well, you know the rest. *rolls eyes*
I must admit that my solid eight hours of sleep last night has breathed some motivational fire in my belly .. hence the 'to do' list!
Now, to get another early night, to fan those motivational flames!
Nite all.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Going Solo
I had a great day on my own in The Bay, despite only having four hours of sleep last night!
It seems that raw cacao powder is something that I should avoid in the evenings. It is a natural stimulant and we had a nice dose of it in the chocolate brownies that I made yesterday and which we ate with dessert.
I went to bed at midnight, but was still wide awake at 1am, so I got out of bed and sat in the lounge room. I heard a knocking coming from the hallway and when I looked up, I saw a dirty stinking toad trying to jump up the wall!!! Ergh!!!!
So I threw a towel over him, picked him up and was intending on tossing him out the laundry door, but when I opened the door into the laundry, THERE WAS ANOTHER TOAD!!!!! ERGHHHH!!!
I had to go searching through the entire house then .. luckily, no more toads to be found .. whew!
Under normal circumstances I would have woken Adoring Husband and made him get out of bed to remove the disgusting creatures, but that raw cacao powder must have had a weird affect on me!
I finally climbed back into bed some time after 2.30am and still I lay there for about twenty minutes before drifting off to sleep. I woke just before 7am and knowing that they both had to work today, I sent texts to Woman of Many Talents and to Mardi asking them what time they were leaving.
I got my first response from Woman of Many Talents and she picked me up at 8.10am. We drove into The Bay and she dropped me at the ABC shop where I bought a 'make your own Christmas bauble' pack and a take away coffee.
Eventually, I found my way to the cinema and I bought a ticket to see The Dressmaker. Surprisingly, and considering that this is it's second last week of viewing, there were twenty other people seated in cinema 3 with me!
I enjoyed the movie very much.
Liam Hemsworth was oh so deliciously gentle and dreamy. Judy Davis was beyond superb (I adore her). Hugo Weaving was amazingly flamboyant. Kate Winslet was wonderfully strong and brave. Sarah Snook was delightfully plain AND splendidly glamorous. Shane Bourne was brilliantly evil. Rebecca Gibney was marvellously flaky. I was surprised by the number of well known Australian actors that filled all of the other roles perfectly.
I think I need to buy it on dvd when it's released.
Afterwards I did some more Christmas shopping and got myself another top (because I so desperately need more clothes!).
When I got to the bus stop to catch the bus home, I was lucky enough to run into Mum H. I say 'lucky enough' because the bus now stops at a completely different place than when I last caught it (which admittedly is about a year ago). Otherwise it may have driven off without me and I wouldn't have even known!
That was my day and now I'm feeling extremely tired .. my four hours of sleep has caught up with me and I'm ready to zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Nite all.
It seems that raw cacao powder is something that I should avoid in the evenings. It is a natural stimulant and we had a nice dose of it in the chocolate brownies that I made yesterday and which we ate with dessert.
I went to bed at midnight, but was still wide awake at 1am, so I got out of bed and sat in the lounge room. I heard a knocking coming from the hallway and when I looked up, I saw a dirty stinking toad trying to jump up the wall!!! Ergh!!!!
So I threw a towel over him, picked him up and was intending on tossing him out the laundry door, but when I opened the door into the laundry, THERE WAS ANOTHER TOAD!!!!! ERGHHHH!!!
I had to go searching through the entire house then .. luckily, no more toads to be found .. whew!
Under normal circumstances I would have woken Adoring Husband and made him get out of bed to remove the disgusting creatures, but that raw cacao powder must have had a weird affect on me!
I finally climbed back into bed some time after 2.30am and still I lay there for about twenty minutes before drifting off to sleep. I woke just before 7am and knowing that they both had to work today, I sent texts to Woman of Many Talents and to Mardi asking them what time they were leaving.
I got my first response from Woman of Many Talents and she picked me up at 8.10am. We drove into The Bay and she dropped me at the ABC shop where I bought a 'make your own Christmas bauble' pack and a take away coffee.
Eventually, I found my way to the cinema and I bought a ticket to see The Dressmaker. Surprisingly, and considering that this is it's second last week of viewing, there were twenty other people seated in cinema 3 with me!
I enjoyed the movie very much.
Liam Hemsworth was oh so deliciously gentle and dreamy. Judy Davis was beyond superb (I adore her). Hugo Weaving was amazingly flamboyant. Kate Winslet was wonderfully strong and brave. Sarah Snook was delightfully plain AND splendidly glamorous. Shane Bourne was brilliantly evil. Rebecca Gibney was marvellously flaky. I was surprised by the number of well known Australian actors that filled all of the other roles perfectly.
I think I need to buy it on dvd when it's released.
Afterwards I did some more Christmas shopping and got myself another top (because I so desperately need more clothes!).
When I got to the bus stop to catch the bus home, I was lucky enough to run into Mum H. I say 'lucky enough' because the bus now stops at a completely different place than when I last caught it (which admittedly is about a year ago). Otherwise it may have driven off without me and I wouldn't have even known!
That was my day and now I'm feeling extremely tired .. my four hours of sleep has caught up with me and I'm ready to zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Nite all.
Monday, December 14, 2015
Fast Work
I am a regular 'faster', but not on purpose! I didn't know that it was contributing to my health in a positive way. Sometimes I fast because I'm too lazy to go to the kitchen, or too lazy to prepare something. Sometimes I fast (especially since going Paleo) because I'm just not hungry, and Adoring Husband worries that I'm not eating enough.
Apparently, even a mini fast has a positive effect on your health. We eat dinner at 6pm most nights, sometimes earlier. Friday nights are the exception. Most days, I don't eat until midday or as late as 2pm, which means a minimum 18 hours without food.
Excluding refined carbs and sugar means that the good fats, proteins and nutrients that we eat, provide a long slow release of energy instead of the short quick bursts that carbs and sugars provide. For that reason, we can go for long periods without food and not experience any ill effects.
This TED talk, by the current Chief of the Laboratory of Neuroscience at the National Institute of Ageing, explains why fasting is good for you. He is also a professor of Neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University, and one of the foremost researchers in the area of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying multiple neurodegenerative disorders, like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, so sometimes it gets a little scientific, but don't give up on it .. it only goes for 15 minutes.
We had a quick trip into The Bay today because it's already time to make up another batch of dog food! The chooks needed some food too.
I made some gooey chocolate cupcakes that, unfortunately, didn't turn out gooey at all, but they taste good chopped up with blueberries, boysenberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries and then topped with chocolate cream :)
This tickled my fancy today ...
Apparently, even a mini fast has a positive effect on your health. We eat dinner at 6pm most nights, sometimes earlier. Friday nights are the exception. Most days, I don't eat until midday or as late as 2pm, which means a minimum 18 hours without food.
Excluding refined carbs and sugar means that the good fats, proteins and nutrients that we eat, provide a long slow release of energy instead of the short quick bursts that carbs and sugars provide. For that reason, we can go for long periods without food and not experience any ill effects.
This TED talk, by the current Chief of the Laboratory of Neuroscience at the National Institute of Ageing, explains why fasting is good for you. He is also a professor of Neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University, and one of the foremost researchers in the area of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying multiple neurodegenerative disorders, like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, so sometimes it gets a little scientific, but don't give up on it .. it only goes for 15 minutes.
We had a quick trip into The Bay today because it's already time to make up another batch of dog food! The chooks needed some food too.
I made some gooey chocolate cupcakes that, unfortunately, didn't turn out gooey at all, but they taste good chopped up with blueberries, boysenberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries and then topped with chocolate cream :)
This tickled my fancy today ...
I'm thinking about going to the movies tomorrow, by myself, to see the Dressmaker. I'm pretty sure that 23rd December is the last day that it's showing and tomorrow is probably the only chance I'll have to see it before it finishes at the cinema.
So I'd best get some sleep because it will mean an early start tomorrow!
Nite all.
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Forever Editing
Ugh!
I spent the entire day editing photos.
My joy and love for photography has definitely waned over the last year or so. I continue to offer my services for free. The Progress Association, Burrum Heads Newsletter, Village Voices, Volunteer Fire Brigade, Amateur Fishing Club, SES, ANZAC parades, the town Christmas party, local fund raising activities, birthday parties etc etc.
These things take a minimum one hour of my time, sometimes four or five hours, just to take the photos. These could mean very early mornings or very late nights.
Then comes the editing. Six hours today and I probably still have another two or three hours of editing left to do.
So before the recipient even sees these particular photos, from one of the shoots, you get a sneak peak.
I took so many photos of the grandkids all doing crazy things. They were a lot of fun. It was requested that I walk around the party and take candid shots as well.
There were a LOT of people gathered in the barbecue area, around the pool, in the large shed and inside the house, but the lighting (bright fluorescent yellow tube lights) was absolutely dreadful everywhere except in the shed, so I've had to do some really heavy editing to make them look even halfway respectable.
Anyway, that was my wasted Sunday, while Adoring Husband wandered around town with the SES selling Christmas cakes.
My brain is very tired, so I'm off to bed now, to be ready for more editing tomorrow.
Nite all
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Tis the Season
We are less than two weeks away from Christmas, so I thought I would post something 'Christmassy' every day until Christmas day.
I love this family. They look like they are having such a great time and getting right into the Christmas spirit!
I also was interested in this list of inspirational movies about extraordinary women. You've probably seen a few of them, but maybe you'd be interested in the others.
I decorated our tree today (finally) and will take a photo tomorrow (because I'm too lazy to do it right now).
This morning, our local markets were held for the final time this year, and I picked up some nice gifts for Christmas. One of the stall owners was very excited when she noticed my new teeth and rushed to my side of her stall to hug me and congratulate me!
The Motivator arrived home from Sydney yesterday and I stopped briefly at her place to say hello. She has been gone for almost a month, so we've got some catching up to do.
We've had some fabulous rain today. Nice heavy, steady rain for about three hours.
The rain made a good excuse for Adoring Husband and I to plant ourselves on the couch and watch movies all afternoon. We watched 'Definitely Maybe' (Ryan Reynolds and Abigail Bresolin), 'Ant-Man' (Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas) and 'Boyhood' (Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke).
Now, I'm watching, for about the 50th time (and that is no exaggeration), 'Crazy Stupid Love' (Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore and Emma Stone). I'm only waiting for my favourite Ryan Gosling scene before I head off to bed.
I might do some housework tomorrow .. if only I could wake up with the right level of motivation!
Nite all.
I love this family. They look like they are having such a great time and getting right into the Christmas spirit!
I also was interested in this list of inspirational movies about extraordinary women. You've probably seen a few of them, but maybe you'd be interested in the others.
I decorated our tree today (finally) and will take a photo tomorrow (because I'm too lazy to do it right now).
This morning, our local markets were held for the final time this year, and I picked up some nice gifts for Christmas. One of the stall owners was very excited when she noticed my new teeth and rushed to my side of her stall to hug me and congratulate me!
The Motivator arrived home from Sydney yesterday and I stopped briefly at her place to say hello. She has been gone for almost a month, so we've got some catching up to do.
We've had some fabulous rain today. Nice heavy, steady rain for about three hours.
The rain made a good excuse for Adoring Husband and I to plant ourselves on the couch and watch movies all afternoon. We watched 'Definitely Maybe' (Ryan Reynolds and Abigail Bresolin), 'Ant-Man' (Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas) and 'Boyhood' (Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke).
Now, I'm watching, for about the 50th time (and that is no exaggeration), 'Crazy Stupid Love' (Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore and Emma Stone). I'm only waiting for my favourite Ryan Gosling scene before I head off to bed.
I might do some housework tomorrow .. if only I could wake up with the right level of motivation!
Nite all.
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