Happy New Year!

Well 2009 is no more, and 2010 arrived with the usual fanfare. Sydney is always one of the first places to welcome the new year in and we always do it in style on our great harbour. This year we hosted a party with friends. Was great and relaxed, with the usual music, overindulgence on food and alcohol (although fairly tame in comparison to most).
There is something about sparklers that always excites children.


And adults alike... lol

Below is such an Aussie photo... We ate outside and swam so there was the obligatory can of Aerogard spray to ward off the mosquitoes! lol

Thanks for being a part of my 2009. Here's hoping that your 2010 will be one filled with much happiness and many great new experiences. Cheers!

Christmas celebrations continued...

After early Christmas celebrations with my mum, sister and brother and then with inlaws #1, Christmas Day was spend in our usual tradition with inlaws #2, in a great relaxed atmosphere overlooking a spectacular view. Unfortunately this year was raining. As with every year, there was the annual Chicken wing eating competition (proud cook Uncle John) and as with every year, Steve won. He ate 16 this time which is bloody rediculous if you asked me because his closest competition only ate 4! lol. R.I.P. the 8 chickens who sacrificed their lives for his glory...... lolOn Boxing Day we hosted our dads at our house. Was nice and relaxed and I even managed to get in a nanna nap when the testosterone filled ones decided to let their food settle by watching the movie Thin Red Line. War movies........zzzzzzzz

I hope all my friends had a great Christmas season too. We're hosting a party for New Years Eve soon, so I battled the shops again for another round of food.

You're all invited!..... I just have to find where I put your darn invitation..... hmmmm? lol

Crazy family Christmas

I went away last week to Queensland to visit my mum, sister and brother and their families for an early Christmas. Was a great but noisy time with lots of young kids, hot weather, splashing in the pool and opening of presents.
Not sure who started this bizarre ritual (ahem lol) but here are some snapshots of my weird and wonderful family.

Bunch of nutbags if you asked me... lol

Damn... where has the time gone?

Cant believe that I haven't written here in over a month. Also can't believe I only have a few weeks left of leave! Damn Damn Damn! Have done a lot, but upon reflection had set myself unrealistic goals (like becoming a guitar vituoso in a matter of weeks lol). So what HAVE I been doing???.... hmmmm thinking... thinking....? I have been gardening.... and swimming..... and sorting through the house and our years worth of hording. In fact, I've finally boxed and photographed numerous things which we intend to sell at auction or on ebay sometime. I went through a phase of garage sale shopping for items I knew were bargains and likely to fetch more money at auction... and as a result have stored some embarrassing items such as royal family photo albums, mugs, aprons and puzzles, and lots of retro toys from the 1950s - 1970s.

Also selling my old teddy bear which was passed down from an aunty. Its one of those valuable ones over 100 yeras old. I used to call him Jonfas (no idea why? lol)

There are also some things of value, like my grandfathers gold rolex watch and an old bible from the 1800s. The husband has also finally agreed to rid himself of his prized star wars and star trek collectables so tomorrow Im off to visit an auction house to get some things valued.

Aside from all this I have been meeting different friends for lunch, doing a soft stone sculpture workshop where I made the statue below which sits proudly in my garden.

One thing I hadn't counted on was the numerous blood tests and x-rays I would have to endure these holidays. This all came about from a visit to a naturopath/dr who suggested I may have an auto-immune disease whereby my thyroid is being attacked. So the past month hasnt been the most glamourous time as my arm started to feel like a pin cushion - bruised from the needles...

...and my body frazzled from the x-rays. My naturopath also decided I should be taking multiple vitamin tablets (16 to be exact) and drink herbs that make me want to dry reach just thinking about them! lol The good news is that I feel well and my health is not suffering in any obvious way. The bad news is that I have to see a specialist early next year and may have to go on medication for life. Oh well.... such is life.... no use letting it get you down (she says when feeling rational lol).

On a lighter note... I wanted to punch my personal trainer in the face at the gym today.... no reason... other than I hate her! lol

Doing a photography course this Saturday which should be great. Then will enter a photographic competition by end December online. Next year I will hopefully aim to exhibit some of my new work once completed. Next week Im flying up to meet my mum, sister, brother and family for an early Christmas. Should be great.

Well thats one month crammed into a few short paragraphs. Hopefully will do another posting soon. :)

Greenish thumb

So what the hell have I been doing lately? Welllll, I have been turning my very brown thumb a nice shade of green now that I've taken to gardening. Was always intending to try this new hobby; after all I did make a committment when we purchased this house and large garden, that I would need to develop a knack for NOT killing plants! lol. My mum assisted my induction during her one week stay with us. We scoured nursuries and read books about plants and then proceeded to dig up and plant my garden.

One of the most exciting things is that I now have a herb and vegetable garden. Decided to start in pots, and then next year (God willing that everything survives), I will venture into digging a garden bed. Here are some photos of some of my progress so far. Additional photos of the front and back garden to come... Below is the first planting of the herbs and vegetables...

Above: Herb and vegetables a few weeks old...

So glad they thrived through the recent storms...

The week that was...

Spent my first week on holiday spring cleaning the house. Lots of sorting and filling bags and boxes to give to charity. Also went through my pantry and ended up throwing out a couple of bags of out of date food. Shame on me :) Not the most fun thing to do, but necessary, and also very cathartic.

Also had my father in law over to help me build a bed for our spare room in preparation for my mums stay next week. My father in law also helped me re-grout the bathroom and it was a case of the blind leading the blind... or is it dumb and dumber? lol But am pleased to report that all turned out ok in the end.

This week I also made followed through with a step in the direction of one of my holiday goals to become more "green" to help the environment - I made the change from plastic bags to green environmental bags. I actually ended up preferring them, so made me wonder why it took me so friggen long to make the change!? lol

Aside from the boring activities this week, I did manage to fit in a couple of cafe visits for pleasure and a pampering session at the beauticians, so not too bad. Also ended the week at a friends Girls Night In pink themed party raising money for Breast Cancer Research which was a lot of fun.
Now that my homes a little more organised, I will start spending time thinking more about creative pursuits..... thinking... thinking... thinking....

Interesting

I dont enjoy admitting when I'm wrong :) ... but Im happy to on this occasion. I spent a good 10 minutes arguing with my husband about why I would not be interested in watching The House of Flying Daggers on dvd with him. Well, fortunately, on this occasion I lost the debate, because I ended up loving the movie. The cinematography was amazing and apparently nominated for an oscar in this area. The storyline was also engaging, and in the end was more about love and honour than fighting. Loved it! Would be interested to know what others thought.

No more work until 2010!

Cant believe its actually here... Im now on paid leave from work until 2010!!! Free to do the things I love so much, like photography, art, writing... and also to learn new talents, like the guitar (lol) and gardening. Where to start? hmmm.... Tomorrow is my first real day of holidays because is a Monday when I would usually be at work. Have set myself a challenge for tomorrow. NO computer... NO TV or movies, and NO mobile phone. Just going to be thinking and reflection time. Zen time. Going to go sit in the garden, go for walks, maybe sort out some clutter... and generally unwind.

Tuesday is another matter.... dont know where that will take me. Have a lot of ideas... stay tuned :)

Finding your passion

Carla is one of my favourite photographers. I adore her books in which she captures Italian and Parisian cultures so perfectly. She writes with such passion. I also love her life story; how she risked her comfortable life in Australia to seek and pursue her passion abroad... I encourage you to read the below link in which she describes her journey. We should all be so blessed...

http://oiasantorini.com/2009/08/03/carla-coulson-in-her-own-words/#comments

Oh to be able to pursue with passion your dreams... and to discover... with passion, that talent which has laid dormant.

Here's hoping that the next three months holiday will free me to become all that I can be...

The count down begins...

Only four more working days until my holidays (we have Monday off as a public holiday here in Sydney). I still cant quite grasp that Im about to embark on 3 months of leave, with no formal plans, other than to relax, get back to nature (garden and be more green in general) and nurture my creative side in doing more photography, art and creative writing among other things. Its a luxury I never thought I could afford myself, but having said that, I desperately needed. I love the above collage which I stumbled across while surfing the net. It perfectly captures my brain at this point.... abuzz with creative ideas. Its all so exciting... and I plan to share my journey with you all :)

Girls day out

Had a great day out with my friend Brooke. She took me out for a belated birthday celebration to the city to do lunch and shop. Started with coffee at a cool cafe in Sydney's Queen Victoria Building below. The cafe featured paintings by one of my favourite artists Klimt.

We then strolled around the shops...

...the harbour bridge and opera house...

... and ended up eating in a fancy restaurant in the Park Hyatt which is the hotel pictured below.

... below is the amazing view from our table... open air and views of the harbour...

I chose the healthy fish option (although the plate of fries we shared is out of view lol)

...and the cocktail...

...we then strolled around the Rocks Markets...

... and finished off our day in the Guylian Chocolate cafe.... mmmm

Perfect.....