voila

The last few days I have been home pottering around, doing bits and pieces you know how it is. I have also been trying to not buy food because well in the next few days there will be a gazillion eating away from home opportunities, and I have decided that I hate wasting food. This has resulted in me having some pretty average, if not a little weird meals that have involved cabbage. Today I had reached my limit on cabbage - and well I was really happy with my lunch. It looked nice and tasted fab - perhaps I had some inspiration from the cooking shows I have been watching all morning. They just drizzle olive oil and everything is voila. SO I tried the olive oil drizzlin and voila...it was good

matchy mc.match

Today I went to the gym - I know amazing. I had prepared myself for this day by buying some new exercising duds. They are very cute black pants with a pink stripe. However I was left wandering as I did up my pink shoelaces and then attached my pink shuffle to my shirt sleeve - if it wasn't all just a little matchy mc match. Methinks it was - and as a result I have no photo. All I can say is thank goodness I didn't have my pink water bottle!

it's a blur

I set off this morning with my Christmas List in hand and a plan to get it all done. Which I did. However there were several hiccups along the way.

• effing roadworks - EVERYWHERE! holding me up making me wait
• I was filled with Christmas spirit and while waiting for lunch let the lady in front of me go - It was a mistake in this dog eat dog world because well as soon as she said " is there anything gluten free" I knew it was going to be a looooooooong wait.
• Pick the slowest possible line in Kmart TWICE - making me wait and then have to reply to the lady in the line with me who wanted to make Christmas time small talk.com

But surely the spirit of Christmas will keep me going ...surely

just following orders

so today I visited some friends up the coast. I had a really nice day. I had preloaded my IPOD with some fav tunes - and headed off at 7 am this morning. With the help of the sexy British Tim Tom Tom - I arrived at about 9.30. D then hassled me all day ( not really) about what I was going to blog and then suggested this picture just before I left. You can just see the house they are building on the left hand side of the picture - not quite my cup of tea but I guess it will be nice to visit :)

Other things I discovered today

• a 'unic' way to spell unique - this appeared on a sign in a shop window
• that number 29 has 4 rubbish bins even though they are only 1 house
• X is learning to swim with his head underwater and dive
• and most importantly not to forget the Christmas presents next time I visit :)

Also this is one of the bands that is constantly on play at the moment. I really want to go and see them when they are in town.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrQRS40OKNE

party dress

As the party season is well and truly upon us - I have finally designated what is to be my party dress of the season and my Christmas day dress - because a girl has just got to plan these things :) . The dress had its first christmas outing on the weekend - to a birthday dinner. I had an absolutley scrumptious meal - pasta with prawns, prosciutto, chilli flakes drizzled with olive oil and topped with parmesan shavings. It was truly simple and truly delish and I would have it again.

which ones are mine?

do you know me as well as you think you do? which foot is mine in this photo - taken at a recent party?

I have once again been reminded by S, about my lack of blogging in the last few days. Something I will try to remedy. The last few weeks have of course been very hectic. School is finally out for summer. Yipee and today I celebrated this by having a 2 hour back massage / facial / manicure. It was delightful and the beauty therapist used Christmas smelling things - it was truly delightful . She did say " You seem a bit tense in the neck" to which I replied " Oh that's just me, don;t worry about it. It's what I do" She didn't seem to think that this was a good thing. I never really liked massages but am learning to like them. I have a hard time switching off my mind, and totally crazy thoughts run through my head like...

• do have my face in the hole properly
• this is meant to be relaxing stop thinking
• oh look at her toenail polish

you get the drift.

I did enjoy it though, and will try and be more relaxed for all future massages...oh and don;t forget to have a guess at which foot/shoe is mine

naughty cat

This is my naughty cat - she has taken to getting up on the newish kitchen bench. Now this should be extremely difficult for her because she is old - and well she should be past it and it's not something she has ever done before. We have removed every possible jumping implement form her reach but still she manages to do it. I have also discovered her in the last few days trying to open the cat flap from the outside. Literally one paw pulling it open while she tries to duck in underneath. Who said you can't teach an old cat new tricks

the secret

Many of you would know of my love for all things red. You would also know of my dilemma early in the year about needing to replace some beloved red ballet flat shoes. I have searched high and low for a pair of shoes that would fit the bill. I even have an aunty who bought me some red shoes on sale hoping they would be right - and they would have been if they weren't just a fraction too small. I was cleaning up my room on the weekend ( yes it was like a teenagers again) and decided that I just had to throw the shoes out - they were too gross to wear again. Then guess what happened, shopping yesterday in the city - I found a new pair of red ballet flats that were cute ,and red, and cute , and well even better they were on sale. Maybe there is something to all that "the secret" stuff.

life synopsis

This was a sign on the floor of a hotel I have stayed at recently. As soon as I saw it , it got me to thinking about my life because it quite succinctly sums up key periods in my life

For example

1973 - 1985 - I was born and completed primary school

1986 - 1999 - I started high school , finished high school, started uni, finished uni, started my career, got married, ended marriage and moved back to Brissy.

and well 1999 onwards has been pure bliss - remember just because you say it doesn't mean it's true

cute skirt

as another day whizzes by - I was left pondering what to blog about. I mean I could rattle off the list of the hundred million things I didn't get done today, or I could tell you just how hot is was this afternoon standing in the sun doing bus duty, or I could mention that I am for the first time in about 3 weeks a little bit hungry between my meals - but instead I've decided to just show a photo of a cute new summer skirt I bought on my trip to Melbourne....

crafty capers

on the weekend we had a bit of a craft party - if that is such a thing. Just a small number of people - and we made some gift tags. I always feel really inspired to do stuff after I have had a such a get together. Now that my holidays are again approaching perhaps just perhaps you might see more of my crafts featured on this blog - maybe ...the inspiration is always short lived.

new sunglasses

Do you like my new sunglasses?

I am a sunglass wear-er. I am never out in the sun without them - ever! The glare is too much for me. However I always have an added dilemma because I also need prescription glasses. A few months ago I was vacuuming and knocked over a side table which came crashing down on my prescription sunglasses and kind of broke them. They are still wearable but if you know anything about me it is that that would be an intolerable situation for me. So I picked up these glasses on a pretty good sale a few weeks ago and checked with the optometrist in the shop if I could have prescription lenses put in them - and he said yep shouldn't be a problem. SO when I take them to my optometrist on the weekend he says - umm no way. SO now these have become my sunglasses to wear when I am wearing my contact lenses. You know I like to mix things up ! And who was it that said that blogs are pointless??? Also not sure if I have featured today's earrings before - but they are my Tiffany studs. They are one of the last things my mum bought me earlier in the year - so they are very special to me and I wear them nearly everyday

birthday celebrations

This is a week of birthday celebrations for my family as it is my dad's birthday today and my sisters tomorrow. I think it could be a little bit sad, but you can't dwell too much on that stuff. So the fact that it's birthday week got me to thinking about how I could really refocus things ON ME!!!! My sister was looking through old photos and came across today's treat. This was in fact a birthday celebration of mine in 1995. It's a hoot. All of the people in the photo I had known for only a relatively short period of time - like 2 months as I had just started work in a new 'town'. I am happy to say that 2 of the people in the photo are still my bestie's after 14 years. The person taking the photo and who cooked such a yummy meal - a beef wellington - is no longer around...Just thought you might like a history lesson. And maybe tomorrow I will have some 2008 birthday celebration photos

another list

things I haven't done in the past few days

1. eaten chocolate
2. passed out on the bathroom floor from drinking too much
3. bought Kings of Leon tickets
4. finished doing my report cards
5. bought a pair of shoes
6. had a coke zero
7. taken any photos
8. had my car fixed from the flood damage
9. checked under the house to see how the damage is going there

so really quite uneventful last few days when you look at what I haven't done. I do know someone who managed number 2 though. Have you done any of the things I haven't???

weekend update

This weekend just seemd to fly by again. In summary

1. Christmas ? slash birthday shopping with dad for my sister. This was enlightening because as mentioned in a previous post Dad has no idea about what the right amount of stuff to buy for 2 daughters is. He bought 2 things with a combined total of 8o..yes 80 dollars and thought this would cover both birthday and Christmas for my sister. Oh how wrong he is :)
2. Did get dad to buy me a pair of shoes that I needed to even the score for the pair he bought my sister in Melbourne. AS i said to him - everyone will just feel better when the shoe thing is settled :)
3. Went to an Engagement party where I planned to drink plenty of mojitos alas they didn't sell them so had another cocktail that had lychee liqueur in it - that was quite yum. I am not a fan of lychees well because they look like eyes - but as an alcoholic beverage yum
4. Did some yard work with dad on Sunday
5. Had some of my fav aunties over for dinner - whereby we cooked 3 of the dishes that we learnt at the cooking class last weekend
6. and then alas the weekend was over...

This week will be busy at work so I may not blog every day - I hear the tears of sadness :)

another one of those days

I've had a few of them this week - you know when you just feel like your head is going to explode if one more person says something silly to you. Needless to say I am looking forward to the weekend.

making a list

It can no longer be avoided - it's that time of the year when I have to make my Christmas list. This has been a tradition in our family for a long time. I think it may have started because when you get to a certain age it's hard for your mum and dad to know what to get you - so I think it started because Mum wanted to know what we actually wanted. ( which is of course the true spirit of Christmas! getting what you want) In the past I have been super organised and divided my list into different categories - just to make it easier for the shopper ( I'm thoughtful like that) One year Mum bought my sister and I every single thing we had on our list - which was great but definitely not expected. (and I'm sure Dad didn't realise) You can always go a bit crazy and put things down that you know you won't get - my sister always used to put in hers a new car - and well she has one of those this year so that is unnecessary. I am having trouble compiling my list this year - because well I have bought myself every single thing I have desired as the year has gone along - and my bank balance is definitely a little sadder for that amount of retail therapy. This year will be different as I'm almost 90 per cent positive that Dad won't go crazy on the list and buy us everything ( although I do still hold out a 10% dream) - in fact we discussed Christmas with dad on the weekend - and I'm almost 100% positive that he had no idea just who mum bought presents for.

Today's photo is one from Christmas 2006 - and I think it

is a really nice photo.

corolling along

I got a new car at the beginning of the year - and when I jumped in it the other day - I noticed the odometer reading - It's hard to believe that I have done 10 000 kms already. I guess that has been since January - and well people probably do a whole lot more than that. How many kms do you do on average in a week? In a day? I don't think I would manage 500 on an average week and surprisingly I don't think I would do anymore than 10 in normal work day? I will try and take notice tomorrow - and will get back to you - with what i'm sure is some riveting information.

Thai-tastic

So the weekend cooking course was EXO! There were 17 people in the class and the chef was really nice. ( unlike some other chefs I have known in the past - LOL) We were all given jobs to do - which freaked both my sister and I out a little bit because :

1. I have a phobia about chicken. I wear gloves in the kitchen whenever I am dealing with raw chicken and I constantly worry that it is not going to be cooked properly and henceforth burn it to billy-o - so I was worried that I was going to be given the job that involved cutting up the chicken meat

2.My sister was worried that she would be given any job because she thinks she is bad in the kitchen although I sometimes think it is a cover to get out of the cooking duties - which then means she is actually quite brilliant.

We were however given jobs that we could deal with, which over the 4 hours included

• peeling garlic


• chopping chillies - finely


• cutting pork and threading them onto kebabs


• making paste


• roasting spices and


• cracking coconut cream

and then at the end we got to sit down to an absolutely yummy 5 dish meal - YUM. Guess what we are having for dinner tonight?

mojitos

so my current love of mojito's continues into the home furnishing department. (Once again sorry for the angle) but this is a candle I recently bought - the super special thing about it is that it has a wooden wick so that when it burns it makes a crackling fire sound - cool hey. I discovered a new candle shop at teneriffe and well it is fab.

In other news I have for some reason had an extremely busy week - with an appointment after work every single day this week , and a couple of back to work events- hence the slackness in blogging. This weekend I am away - again - up to Noosa - and my sister and I are going to be doing a Thai cooking course - so no doubt on Monday I will have some stories. Also finally today dad is getting his car that he is buying from the BMW sale...maybe this weekend I will also get that pair of shoes he owes me! I will remind him

GAME ON

Battle of the bodgey pedicure! So these were the shoes that were worn by the bride and I guess I was the bridesmaid - mine are the black ones. I do love them and I picked them up in Melbourne as did my sister - although dad bought hers and I am a pair of shoes down - I will try and remedy that at some stage in the near future.

Nice Day

for a white wedding...

so my sister got married yesterday! It was short notice, but this is a picture of her and my dad walking up the aisle! Unbelievable hey! We were all shocked! WE had a great day though :)

next installment

in the make my skin look younger program is occurring tonight. SO after the hideous peeling on the weekend I am getting another facial tonight. I think I can see a difference in my skin. It certainly seems nicer looking - perhaps it is just the power of mind thinking surely if I've spent that much money it should look better. I ask my housemate every morning - does it look any better???? does it?? To which her various replies on different mornings have been

1. I can't see properly in this light
2. You know I'm blind
3. ummm yeah Sure

So who knows...perhaps I should have taken before and after photos - now that would have made sense

puffing billy

when in Melbourne we went on ye olde steam train ride through the Dandenongs - which was nice. We also went to a little town called Sassafras - can't remember if I have mentioned it before - but it was a nice little country town that had lots of cute shops ( something I am always interested in :)

Today I went on an excursion, to the local library which involved walking to the library and then back to school - and well let me say it was HOT. I used my umbrella - because well HAT HAIR - but still it was HOT. Also while I was at the library I finally gave in and paid my overdue fines. Which I have been ignoring for the last 4 years - wouldn't you think they would have disappeared. At the time I was extremely, extremely incensed by the stupid system they have in place ( whereby they said to me you can't rely on their reminder letter) = I obviously still have some residual issues. But let me just say I have shown them my displeasure - by absolutely refusing to step foot in the door for the last 4 years! They'll never mess me with me again!

RUSH HOUR

I have literally rushed home from work, to put my feet up for an hour, then I am rushing back to work. WHo said teachers are 9 - 3???????

who invented

the 2 day weekend? Surely IT was someone who didn't have to work for the rest of the week because they were enjoying the profits made by those who did have to work the other 5 days. It just doesn't seem sometimes that 2 days is enough? Wouldn't the split be better if it was 4 days on 3 days off? I think it definitely would be. As you can guess I had a busy weekend that wasn't really filled up with any special, thing but just filled up. I hardly ever ever ever bring work home and I did and well did I touch it ? NO I did not. So I will have to traipse it back into work at some stage this week, hopefully completed- although just between you and me I doubt I will get it done.



I did get to use the thing on the inside of this box plenty though...

humph

DO you ever have one of those days that seems to be going along perfectly well and then WHACK! Well that was me today - obviously I don't want to go into all of the gory details ( of which there aren't really any) but let's just say my afternoon went down hill. Oh well! Now that I am home I am trying to put everything in perspective. And trying to put things into perspective is one of the reasons why I have this blue paper hanging in my room. It is meant to be wrapping paper, but some of the things it has on it are really nice. I bought it in Byron Bay, and well couldn't decide what colour, so also bought a green one and a red one. ( that was I can change the sayings etc) This hangs near my bed, so when I wake up I can see it. One of the 'affirmations' on this poster that I really like is...



Treasure today and treasure yourself, because truly neither will ever happen again.



it's all about perspective

afternoon delights?

Every pay week I treat myself to a little something from the beauty therapist - you know a facial, massage, waxing that sort of thing. I always rebook for exactly the same time the following fortnight - and I get quite miffed if someone has taken my 4pm slot! This week my 'treat' was a herbal sort of 'peel' thing.( meant to be like a chemical peel without the chemicals - apparently they damage the skin to then promote healing which makes you think great things are happening) My peel is not going to do that my peel will just make my skin seem better and better and I will still be noticing the more excellent nature of my skin in a months time. Really sometimes I don't need the hard sell I just decide I want something and then get it. So let me just say that I have just returned and well OUCH!!!!!!!!!! herbs or not my skin is on freakin fire!!! and therefore not so delightful! and well henceforth and notwithstanding that is why there is no photo, and well when next you see my skin you just wait and see, I'm not sure if you'll recognise me because it will be so excellently clear and sparkling!!!!!!!!!!

cocktails...

more Melbourne stories. So on the holidays Dad was very kind and offered to buy us drinks. Our first night Dad said he'd buy us a cocktail, so who can refuse that. At the bar we were at they had super cocktails, and well they were massive, obviously meant to share. Dad thought it was the most embarrassing thing he had ever seen, as my sister and i sat in the bar with straws in this cocktail sipping it like a milkshake. The next night dad once again offered to buy drinks but he said "not one of those big things" We obviously obliged and it was then that I discovered the mojito...and since then I am love love loving the mojito... sorry the photo is on the wrong angle but you get the drift. It was BIG...

back...by popular demand...

I kid you not - the fans have been requesting me to get back up blogging. OK maybe I kid you a little bit - but thanks shirl for the text asking me why I wasn't blogging. The last few weeks have been hectic. I have been on holidays, jet setting as I do, and then upon my return last week to work it was chaos. I didn't get my desk cleared until Friday afternoon. One of my trips away was to Melbourne. Dad, Jo and I went and well lets just say it was a great trip - none of us had ever been to Melbourne before and it was made all the more super when dad won this...



I kid you not! My sister and I had retired for the evening and Dad stayed on to party ( by himself in the casino) and well we got a call to say " you've gotta come down I've just won a car" to which I replied "Seriously??????????????????" SO my sister and I traipsed back to the casino ( luckily we were staying there) to find out that in fact yes dad had won this car!!!!!!!! Very exciting

it's all in the details

Today I decided to get my car detailed inside and out - something I've never paid for before because Dad normally does it. I was going to be at the shops today meeting friends for lunch so I thought hey why not. I pick it up, it looks great, it smelled a little like a dirty vacuum cleaner on the inside ( you know that smell they get when they are rather that than those horrible car smelling things that never seem to work and only ever give me a headache) but it looks fab. And then on the way home it starts raining. Not happy Jan. I expect to at least get a few days worth of shiny newness out of the detailing - that would be only fair wouldn't it...wouldn't it?

Also my earrings today were purchased at the Oxford street markets in Sydney earlier in the year.

Girl with a fossil earring

so on my holiday I had more than one shopping jaunt to my beloved Byron Bay - and well my new latest thing to buy is earrings. My sister has said that if she doesn't start seeing different earrings in my ears each day and photgraphed and put on the blog then that will be it - she'll crack my head! So I have obliged. These earrings are fossils - can you believe that?

well may we say...

there is no denying that this picture is the wrong way...(some system gremlin that sometimes does this to my photos considering i use the same camera and do the same thing every single time....), but i digress, there is no denying that this quote, spoken by Gough Whitlam , is a stand out point in Australian political and social history - whether you support Gough or not. I purchased this coffee mug form Old Parliament House on a junket to Canberra that I took with my BFF :) in 2006. We had a great time travelling around Canberra and lord knows we learnt a lot about our Nation's capital. AS gift shops were the only places we went for the whole trip Leesy J and I 'did them over'.

Four Weddings and a funeral

well kind of - today I went to a funeral and high tea. I have literally been on the road all day, and it has been a day and a half. I think it was a bit soon to go to a funeral, but hey you have to support your friends and well go. I was crying before I even got in the church, but I guess you get that. I have always loved the movie four weddings and a funeral, I particularly like the W.H.Auden poem that is read at the funeral. It's a nice poem in a sad way - you should look it up, it has the line 'stop all the clocks' in it. I also made a discovery about my sea salt spray - for those of you trying it at home - don"t try and reapply the next day, because well it turned into a day the beach, when whenever i touched my hair at the funeral heaps, of what looked like fine sand, and well was probably fine salt would pour out of my hair and all over my black clothes...nice touch don"t you think. So although I love the effect it is purely a one dayer...don't say I never help you :)

Today's photo is of my aunty ivy and cousin Bec at High tea. It was Bec's idea, she wanted to take her nan somewhere nice so she organised it all.

Sea Salty goodness

SO I am known for saying of stuff I see in the shops 'huh I'm not paying that I could make it" So last night I put this into practice. I have wavy, fuzzy hair - that I often like to try and control with 3 swipes of a hair straightener ( which as you could imagine has very little impact) and I have noticed that when I actually do get to swim at the beach my wavy hair curls nicely. SO last night I decided to make my own sea salt spray - and spray it in my hair and sleep on it and then hopefully when I awoke I would have the desired sea salty curly hair. I am also a non brusher of my hair so whatever I awoke with this morning was what it was going to be. I am happy to say that I like the results and will be continuing with the sea salty goodness that I have created!

i'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaackkkkkkkkkk

from a glorious week spent down the coast. Even though I had imagined a trip to the beach every single day we had to settle on a view of the beach and a trip to the heated spa as it was way too windy and cold to be on the beach. A big thanks to dad for organising and paying for the holiday for us! Gotta love some parental payouts! My sister and I have been trying to get dad used to the idea of having to buy us 'stuff'! It has now been 5 months since mum died and well that is a long time for us to go without the little somethings mum would have bought us - so Dad is in the throes of being prepared for our trip to Melbourne next week , and well the little somethings he will be purchasing...sorry no photo today something is wrong with the system...I know you'll be disappointed - lol

the big reveal...

Now I know you have just been waiting to see if I kept the fringe or not...so obviously I am going with the growing it out. The hairdresser said it was fine to keep growing. I did have some 'slices' added to it though. Kind of a reverse top deck, my housemate has the actual topdeck. I just have 3 splices throughout and apparently its all up to me if i want to reveal them or not - how mysterious. I am heading off on holidays for the next week, so alas no blogging. See you when I return. Sorry my eyes look weird and freaky in this shot - don't know what happened there

helena bonham carter hair

so those who have been following my blog will know that I have been not so happy with my hair of late. I know this blog covers the big issues!!! I quite like putting my hair up and having crazy bits falling out - helena bonham carter style - and a friend said that they loved my helena bonham carter hair - and hoped I wasn't as crazy as helena and that I was probably wearing underpants as they think ms carter looks like she doesn't wear knickers!! So tonight the fringe issue is going to be resolved. I am off to the hairdressers - and it will either be cut back in or left to grow out. I can feel the anticipation from you the reader wandering just what will she do with her hair...

healthy breakfasts

you know when it gets to the time when you are just about to go on holidays and everything seems overwhelming - well that is me this week. As a result I haven't been eating properly - well as a matter of fact its not just this week and the upcoming holidays that has caused the bad eating- it has been happening for months - but I digress. This morning for breakfast - and I am about to make a huge confession here - I had 2 spoonfuls of chocolate mousse. That's it - nothing more nothing less - just chocolate mouse. And it really is no surprise then that I had to make an emergency dash to the local shops this afternoon to buy some Summer clothes that mayhaps flatter me, coz well when did we get the memo about Summer arriving must have been out...

truth tella

A thought provoking question for the day - if people ask for your opinion - do they really want to hear the truth according to you - or do they want to hear the truth according to them - in which case why are they asking you? I can only give the truth as I see it according to me - would you not agree? or am I way off base?

Nothing earth shattering happened on my weekend to prompt this discussion - I just got thinking about it today. In fact the weekend was fab - I caught up with friends for both lunch and dinner on Saturday and then Sunday was a blissfully relaxing day whereby I did pretty much nothing - I seem to be really tired and am thankful that the holidays are pending...

Saturday lunch was a high tea at Clayfield and it was lovely to see some friends I haven't seen for ages. You'll notice I still haven't really resolved the fringe issue...

dads day

we had a kind of protracted Fathers day this year , because my sister had to work on Sunday she couldn't participate in the big family fathers day event. As seen in this picture

so we followed this up with a family outing last night - to the Norman hotel - which we all love - and I had this...

yummo - but any dinner that involves steak always gets my family talking about how it should be cooked.

Mum and dad - always well done - they don;t want no blood running out of it - I on the other hand like mine medium rare - I once knew someone who told me that the rarer the better and I was brave enough to try it and well they were right ( it later turned out they were wrong about many things, but I'll give them the steak kudos)...I love it - it tastes different, it's juicy, and I think maybe it's easier to digest. It totally grosses out all of the well doners at the table though ...how do you like your steak cooked?

nothing nicer

than a nice cup to drink tea out of don't you think? I love this cup, apart from the fact that it is pink, it is also massive so that when I have a tea it cools down quickly. I don't have milk or any such thing. I just drink green tea, or chai. In fact I bought a whole box of different green teas from T2, at a great expense - madness really - some of them are yuck, like the one that has what looks like popcorn in it - but some of them are yum like sencha quince. Which I love love love. Are you a tea or a coffee person?

a confession

I don't have a very good attention span. I don't know why - but it has been who I am for as long as I can remember - in fact my Brownie leader said to mum once "She's like a butterfly, she likes to flit from activity to activity and not really finish anyone thing" and well it is still true to this day. In fact just on Friday I was at a friends desk, before I went home and saw that he had a wooden puzzle thing. I was all like" Oh this looks good - can I pull it apart and do it?" Which I did and well did I finish it no - in fact did I even start it - no way. I just pulled it apart and then basically said " Ok I'm going now - bye"...oops. See I haven't really progressed since my Brownie days...

i heart shoes.

I love em - I don't know why I love em - but I just do. Working in a shoe shop was my high school / uni job. I don;t know if it started then but I think it may have been earlier as to look back at childhood photos mum always had us in nice shoes. This is my wall of shoes - and this photo only shows some of them. I decided a few years ago that I was going to keep all of my shoes in their boxes , and so well now I do. When I am being super lazy by the end of the week sometimes my room can look like any absolute Shoe-nami has hit. Dad really does find it hard to believe that I could ever need a new pair of shoes to go with a certain outfit. In fact he said the other day "do you wear all of them" to which I replied of course! There are winter shoes, there are summer shoes, there are shoes that are work shoes, there are shoes that are non work shoes, there are shoes to look fabulous in and then sit down in all evening, there are shoes to look fabulous in and then party in...the list goes on...and on...

concert on a school night...

I went to the Pete Murray concert the other night, and it was a school night! Outrageous. And somehow I feel like I am getting a little old for the nosebleed section - I need a chair - or even better a nice little table with Pete playing in the background. My feet were killing me by the end of the night. The concert was great by the way. I did get to thinking though - that I absolutely hate the encore - It's so contrived and fake and well blah. i don't like it when anyone does it. They say goodnight, leave the stage, the lights stay down , the crown goes wild, they come back and do 2/3/4 songs. PUHLEASE. Enough. Just play the songs as part of the set and be done with it!

new template

I have been trying to updaqte my blog header thing for ages - I have literally spent hours and hours and hours - and now tonight I have done it - rejoice - of course it's not entirely my doing - but still I fell happy about it

lost and found

well not really found, but I did lose an earring today and yes like the belt from the other day I did go and retrace my steps but to no avail - the earring was GORN!!!!!!!! this pair of earrings has really given me nothing but grief - today was the first day I had worn them since January - when I was pulled over by the police for talking on my Mobile phone - which I wasn't - and they found that out when they basically did everything except a cavity search on the side of the road. It turns out it was my earrings that they mistook for a mobile phone. I know they are big but come on - did they really deserve the sirens??? So now I will be wearing them no longer...and I wander just how long today I walked around one earring short and no one said anything to me - maybe they all just thought - hey she's setting a new trend =- so if you see people walking around with one earring -( or mobile phones attached to their ears) you'll know where it all started

on the fringe

continuing in the same vein as yesterdays post - today i'm going to talk about another great idea. The fringe. Bangs in America... you know it always seems like a good idea at the time - and I love having a fringe - it's quirky and cute and lets you do audrey hepburn-esque things - however when you want to get rid of the fringe it is a big pain in the patootie! This is currently my life - as I wait for the fringe to grow out - , it's difficlut. It's not long enough to fit back, it's not short enough to wear out - and well I feel that the next few months could be difficult and could quite easily result in a trip to the hair salon and me saying " i'd like my fringe cut back in". I did have a photo ready to go of the current fringe disaster but for some reason it didn't send properly - so mayhaps that was a sign to keep the fringe hidden from the blog for a little while longer...

let the curtain fall

So as is the habit of my housemate and I we like to do things literally on the spur of the moment- and well yesterday was no different. In the middle of doing the housework we decided hey lets not clean the blinds lets just get new ones! so we ventured over to the curtain shop - and preceded to spend the next I don't know 40 minutes trying to decide what would be right- in the dining room, in the my bedroom, and in the spare room. Its actually really hard to choose curtains - have you ever had to chose curtains.??? So the choice was made. We got home and I thought I really liked option b better, so I went back and changed them for option B. then it turns out we didn't buy enough so i had to go back and buy more, then it turns out that they are too long, so I had to go back and buy hemming tape ( a great invention by the way) All this time Dad was here - I mean he thought he was just coming up to whipper snip, but he also had to drill holes, put up curtain rods and offer interior decorating advice. perhaps this is why you don;t just decide to do these things on the spur of the moment. I think they look good though - and am now thinking that we should do the whole house in new curtains....

I caved...

You know how August was buy absolutley nothing month..well tonight I caved! I bought sugar tongs! I have been wanting a pair for ages - they are very difficult to find, and they only cost 4.95 - so surely that doesn't even count! Does it? I made it to the 28/8/08..

an admission

I'm a planner of sorts. I like being organised about 'some' stuff. I'm not totally OCD as my bedroom last week and my kitchen would currently attest to. But I do love planning and researching stuff. Currently I am in the middle of planning for a holiday overseas next year when it will be super cold ie the dead of winter in Europe. I might also be going to China in January - once again winter cold. So this has meant that I have put my heart and soul into researching what coat will be the best to buy. You know being from the Sunshine State - we don't have much need for big winter jackets etc - so last year when we were in NYC - we noticed that everyone - I mean everyone , even the homeless guy begging for coins had on 'the north face' jackets - so obviously this is a great starting point. Well I look for North Face jackets every single night - I read reviews. I see how much they will cost me, and then last night I discovered you can also get boots - I mean it is important to keep your toes warm, so now I have 2 things I can research to death for the next 18 months...

conversations with my dad

first off - sorry about the lack of photos, but I have a new second job and its taking away from my blogging time, what when you factor in the gym etc...I just haven't had time...

now to today's' topic

I do my dad's tax every year - it's simple and so straight forward. So this week he finally got everything together and I used the tax department online system and did his tax - which was all fine until the lodgement page in which you need a previous tax assessment notice etc etc. So I ring dad and it goes a little something like this...

Hi Dad

Hello

So I've finished doing your tax and you're getting this much back ( insert pathetic number)

Is that all

Yes it is. Anyway I need your sequence number from last years assessment

Oh what's that

Well its on last years assessment. You know the piece of paper that the cheque they send to you is attached to

Yeah yeah. Where would I find that

Well last year I gave you a folder - its green and at the time I saw you put the assessment in and said you'll need it for next year

right right yep...so where would it be

umm I don't know have you looked in the place where you keep the tax stuff

yep it's not there

well have you gotten a chair and looked in the top of the cupboard

yesssssss ( hesitantly)

dad don't lie to me.

wait a minute I have my tax folder here. I have the ABn number

No dad

Is it the tax file number

No dad its a tax assessment notice - I need the sequence number

are you sure it's not the abn number

yes dad I'm sure. Surely you can find an assessment notice from the last 5 years.

yeah yeah I'll have a look

By this stage I'm all like Buddhism for busy people - thanks for giving me the opportunity to....

this has literally gone on for days...finally tonight he finds it - in the x ray drawer - doesn't everyone have one of these????

the tax is lodged and hopefully will be returned before our trip away so we can help papa bear spend it...bless you dad...

Buddhism for busy people

so I have been reading off and on for a few months - Buddhism for busy people ( I'm a busy person so that is why it has taken me so long :) and well I have recently read the chapter about seeing things an opportunity so for example instead of being cranky about having to wait in line at the bank, see it as an opportunity to practice your patience etc etc. So when I encountered someone on the weekend who had a go at my profession - you know the whole well you get 12 weeks holiday..blah blah blah blah...to which I replied well since it's such a choice career why don't you go back to uni study for four years and then you too can have 12 weeks holiday, and my internal monologue was all like "I'm so thankful I've been given the opportunity to listen to this d*ckhead, that's 5 minutes of my life I will never get back" DO you think I need to reread the chapter????

belt up

so i have this lovely CR jacket that I bought at the start of the season and well it would turn out that the belt for it has given me nothing but trouble. Firstly yesterday was the first day I have been able to wear the jacket in months becasue I coudn't get the belt done up - that obviously is a whole other post and one I think I have mentioned. So yesterday I wore my jacket all day, didn't unzip, didn't unbuckle - until the afternoon at my desk. So I take the jacket off, gather my belongings and head for home. I collect a friend who I give the occasional lift home to and precede to the car. When I get home I think - oh I didn't bring my belt up with the jacket - strange. Then I look in the car - its not in the car - then I go to the gym and think i just didn't look in the car properly, look in the car again ...no the belt is not there. Now I absolutely hate misplacing things - it does my head in. So I turn into a crazy "I've lost something really important" kind of person. My housemate says from their couch "don't worry it'll turn up" this is never enough for me. SO we have to go out at 8pm at night - I say to my sister on the way to visit my dad - I'm just going to drive by where I walked this afternoon and see if we can see it. ( take note of the colour of the jacket) she knowing that once I have this idea there is no way I'm not going to make us look for it in the dark. So through a series of U turns and reversing in and out of peoples' driveways I spot what looks like my belt on the footpath. I exclaim : is that my belt or is it a leaf?????" My sister says "it's the belt! its the belt!" And she jumped out of the car in her pyjamas ( another post altogether) and recovered my belt. When we got to dad's he said "doesn't it have belt loops"!! Thanks dad for stating the obvious.

well i never..

have been to this place? DO you know where/what it is? Apparently it is weird that I haven't ever been here, but in all my born days the opportunity has just never arisen. Have you been to this place? and is it weird that I haven't?

some other things I have never done...

1. seen a star wars / terminator/ rambo movie
2. bungee jumped
3. run naked through the streets or even out to the wheelie bin

i have on the other hand

1. had a broken limb
2. skinny dipped
3. abseiling

what's on your list of things never done?

did you know

• Where is the weirdest place you have a mole? I have a mole on the back of my knee - I don;t know if that is weird - but I have also had a mole removed from an awkward spot that my sister kept telling me was really really ugly, and well now its a really really ugly scar. THANKS


• Have you ever made out in a movie theater? Duh - hasn't everyone?


• What body part do you wash first? Wet hair first if washing it ...


• Do you hover over the toilet in public bathrooms? Only if it is really really gross.


• Do you have an innie or an outtie? an innie

and that my friends is all...

something to ponder

so my housemate had a 'date' on Friday afternoon - nothing major just a casual hook up - more like a set up through friends of friends of friends parents etc...and well they went for coffee. Fine. Except he let her pay for both hers and his coffee and cake. Is this ok? I am thinking that it is not but maybe I am just outdated - I mean I know us grrls want Independence and all that, but really paying for coffee on a first date is a given isn't it? Please let me know if I am back in the last millennium with my dating expectations...please do..