I was a bit out of sorts last evening and this morning.
However, as I got into my car to get to work, I saw the first little rosebud of spring. I looked a little closer, focussed and took a picture.
Seeing the first little rose bloom of spring changes nothing, but these things help ground me in the here and now. It defuses imagined crises.
The past weekend brought some glorious weather for a dog-friendly music festival, Dogapalooza.
It was fairly soporific music without bass or many high notes, so as not to distress the woofies. It was just nice to have some chill-time with the fur baby.
There were hipsters, so many hipsters, and their beasts, from a toy chihuahua to a large great Dane the size of a shetland pony. The Dane, lazily lying on his side, rolled on it's back to allow passers by to pat his belly. His paws were massive. I wonder what he costs to feed?
I have been in a bit of pain recently, with my back. It is a longstanding niggle of mine. It used to be on the right side of my lower back, now it has settled in on the left side. I am seeing a myotherapist who is a fellow crossfitter, except she is really good at crossfit. Like, competition grade. I have tight, overdeveloped, overactive quads and hip flexors, and weaker, lazy glutes. It pulls me out of shape. I have to do lots of clams and glute strengthening exercises, which I used to do a lot of when I did pilates but don't worry so much about now. To my detriment, clearly.
It's a short week here in Melb, with a public holiday on Friday, bought back in by our new Premier after show day was "Jeffed"* some years ago. I am using the extra time to attack a few papers and presentations I need to write, and do some weeding. The weeds are taunting me. I asked a person from the grey army to come and give me a quote for the gardening but he got muddled up so I told him not to bother. Some weeding will do me good, anyway.
I am soooooo hanging out for Penang.
* Jeffed =laid to waste or abolished by Jeff Kennett, the 1990s Victorian Premier with a slash and burn mentality. And you? How are your glutes? Lazy like mine? Or taut and functional? Any nice flowers in your part of town?
Just like Mr. Christ needing a few days and being right as rain after, I am definitely feeling better for a few days off.
I made the decision early not to do any work on my thesis over the long weekend.
Instead, I had a mostly "shouldless" weekend.
I ate some restorative bacon - Lolo and Wren is a great cafe in West Brunny. Bacon really does make things better.
I binge-watched this.
Love these Girls.
I did some crossfit.
Not me. From gymbowie.com
My ankle was a bit better.
Less cankle, more ankle.
Hence I went for a run. Only 15 minutes or so, but it was good
Not me either.
I ate chocolate till the desire to eat chocolate was exhausted.
(I am doing a mindful eating thing - it is suggested that we give ourselves the licence to occasionally eat as much as we like of something yummy - we often eat less than we think we are going to.)
And dusted off a bottle of this, and drank. It was delicious.
I spent some time with my fella. I encouraged him to take a couple of days away from working. He did as he was told. Time to reconnect.
I did some hard-core decluttering, and have a big pile of stuff to sell to a clothing store.
Though coming to work and casting my eyes over the piles on my desk made me want to jab a pen in my eye sigh, I am building up a head of steam again. I have a week "off" in a couple of weeks, actually to write my thesis and attend some appointments. There are conferences interstate and overseas coming up in the next couple of months.
Thank you all so very much for your very lovely comments on my last post. It helped me get up and dust myself off.
How were your Easter Weekends? Do anything interesting?
I am quite pooped, and am taking it easy tonight. Home delivered food on the couch in trakky daks drinking wine out of a tumbler kind of easy.
Dr. Blake's Mysteries is on soon. I love Craig McLachlan. He is a bit of a spunk and like a fine wine, he has improved with age.
I have a big weekend coming up. Tomorrow morning is the monthly WODfest at Crossfit. WOD stands for Workout of the Day. What I love is that they mix things up. Anyway, the WODfest is a 2 hour workout, followed by a BBQ.
Then I need to attend to scheduled bodily maintenance (pedi/eyebrow lopping etc). Then it is the belated 40th bday party of a friend.
Sunday is my birthday. I am having a quiet early dinner at a local gastropub with a few friends. Perhaps brunch with my family.
It is going to be a big foodie weekend. I shall report back on the eats.
I have something from the "annoying" file that I wish to share. I may be alone in this.
I it bugs me when people (shop assistants, often) describe garments as "flattering" or "slimming" on me.
I find it a bit patronising.
I am sure it is coming from a nice place, but still.
Oh yeah. And my fella has announced a sell-off of some of his boy toys, to make room for an ultimate boy-toy (a vintage car of some description).
What are you up to this weekend? What strange things annoy you? What boy toy does a man in your life have?
I have no cohesive topic for a blog post, so it's a miscellany this morning...
From the department of WTF: Melbourne weather. Seriously. 20 Degrees and rainy? NO WAY. This sucks. Though Syd I see has had its share of rain.
I have some serious skirt wearing plans, Melbs, so buck up, princess.
From the department of Painful First World Issues: Since coming off the pill, I have a number of less pleasant side effects.
My hair is falling out a bit more than usual. This, according to Google University, is common and usually temporary. I have not seen the hairdresser in a while, thinking "what is the point?" but now I am a bit more "treat yo self". I might even change up the 'do a bit. Maybe some blonde streaks? Who knows.
I have had my perioral dermatitis and oily skin/acne return with a vengeance. I went and saw the dermatologist. Unfortunately, the singularly effective treatment, tretinoin, is absolutely out of the question at the moment. Hence I am on some special cream to my chin, and a particular skin care regimen. I have to avoid oily products at all costs. There are days when I need to cover my skin a bit, and I am now on the hunt for some good cosmetics that won't inflame anything. I have been doing some research - perhaps some Clinique or Jane Iredale? Hmmm.
The dermatologist also sent me for some extractions of clogged pores, which was very painful and I felt traumatised. I am on the hunt for some good products.
From the PhD and Work House of Pain: I now have 3 chapters of the PhD in the can. I am now impatiently awaiting consultation with a statistician to show me the way forward with the number crunching. I have my completion seminar, where I present all my results to the boffins in the department, on the 19th of March. I hope to get the beast written by June/July. While I am at it, I am putting more participants through my study, and working lots of sessions. This next 4 or so months will be frenetic and I am stressing about it a bit. But un giorno per tempo... (or one day at a time).
From the department of Vacations and Leisure: The frenetic pace which I must keep has exacerbated some post holiday blues. We all know that the best way to tackle post-holiday blues is to plan another big holiday, amirite? Well, for the first half of the year, there will be none. Hence I will need to maximise active de-compression on the weekends. Binge-watching Orange is the New Black. I am reading a book called "The Girl on the Train", which I recommend. I have binge-read two Liane Moriarty books.
I went and saw "Wild" yesterday. That Reese Witherspoon deserves an Oscar for it.
The Jean Paul Gaultier Exhibition is finishing next weekend, hence we are off there.
I have a week of leave in April, which will be used to whup the PhD writing into shape.
I have changed my Boston conference to a Barcelona conference. Barcelona in June will be lovely. My fella will be on another Euro conference then so we can meet up. Mixing business with pleasure.
I am planning a proper holiday in August. It will be needed then.
From the department of Health, Wellbeing and Fertility: The very last thing I feel like doing when I get home is doing exercise. I just want to curl up in bed. I know the routine. I also drag my carcass out to exercise activities because I always feel better for it, and it is a social thing too. So I am keeping it up.
My fella and I are going to see a dietitian who does couples visits. Our bodies being temples and all...
My back feels marvellous after some pilates sessions. Yin and Yang, I say.
And I am waiting patiently for the body to do it's thing. It is getting there. I am trying not to get too stressed out about things, as I am doing all I can to optimise things, and that is all I can do. From the department of Canine: The dog is delightful and regardless of whatever stress we are under, she always makes us smile. God bless the woofy.
Over to you What beauty products do you use for problematic skin? Any exfoliation tips? What are your weekend delights?
Like my bloggy mates H and FF, I have been lacking in the blogging mojo department recently. My facebook statuses are a bit few and far between as well, unless it is something shared, a talking point.
Perhaps it is that being outdoors is so lovely at this time of year?
Walking through my 'hood is a real treat at this time of year. There are lots of lovely established rose bushes in people's front gardens. I have been performing an olfactory survey of all of the roses. Some of them look pretty but have no smell. Some of them, like the peachy ones with the pink bits at the end of the petal (not the botanic name) smell divine. We have some in our front garden; our cleaners prune a few buds and put them in a vase for me to sniff regularly. Perhaps encouraged by green thumbed bloggy friends, I am starting to appreciate having a garden.
Also I have been thinking about things that might be a bit boring and or repetitive for the blog.
But there has been a bit happening elsewhere in the world to talk about.
Like Gough Whitlam.
He was only PM for three years, and before I was even born. Though I never had any experience of his leadership and no feel for the type of man he was, I know I am a beneficiary of what he achieved in his time. Somebody from my background would not have been able to do what I have done without his legacies, and I am acutely aware that it is getting harder for people coming from more modest backgrounds to achieve what they want.
I was talking with an older colleague about him the other day. My colleague, who is quite conservative politically, was quite generous in his praise of Gough Whitlam. My colleague was of the era that he could just as easily have been packed off to fight in Vietnam, rather than having a wildly successful career in business and finance before becoming a doctor and being very contented. He was glad when Gough ended conscription. He said that Australia become a bolder and more confident nation after Gough's time; perhaps inspired by making sweeping changes that would have been considered quite shocking and foolhardy at the time.
Yet all we hear about is the assorted gaffes of the politicians, and failed reforms. I have a friend whose husband is a politician. We don't hear about his good, steady work behind the scenes. Our view of politicians is shaped entirely by the media.
But that will do about that....
Bella the dog's personality is coming out more by the week. She sleeps on the couch at night. When I get up, I find her coiled up in a snail position on the couch. I greet her, and I get only a side-eye in acknowlegement (perhaps she is not a morning dog). I can only lure her outside with soup bones; no dog treats or dry dog food will work. And she is starting to get me figured out.
When I get home, she greets me with a waggy tail, then sits on the couch with me for a quiet cuddle. When my fella gets home, she bounces about like a loony, and they play their wrestling game. They have it choreographed quite well.They are best mates. The dog has improved my fella's stress levels quite considerably.
She likes to do crazy happy-laps in the backyard. She will get an old bone from her stash and throw it up in the air with her teeth. Funnily, she does not do ball games.
She loves to shake hands too. She is scared of most visitors, but we are getting visitors to hand-feed her dog treats. Maybe she will learn that humans are good.
But most importantly, it's Friday! It's going to be a good weekend! A cooking class, a hens' night and a family barbecue is lined up. All the weekends in November have big events in them too. I have to find time to re-curate my wardrobe, having performed a de-clutter of the garage with my fella.
I went to rAdelaide for my conference. The conference was great; there were good practical things I learned which will change my practice (or at least stop me from looking at my junior blankly when they speak of a new medication).
I stayed in the Hilton Hotel and I recommend it. Those who follow @cillajean79 (think most of the readers of this blog do) on Instagram will have seen the view from my room.
I would love to travel a bit more around Adelaide, namely to the Barossa and other great food and wine regions, and to Kangaroo Island. To have a Bacchanalian road trip!
I got to meet the gorgeous Heidi of Adelaide Villa. Lovely to see you H!
I ran a 10km fun run on Sunday. Lovely day to run on the banks of the Yarra.
Now the Rant.
I am at a ranty time of the month.
Is it just me? Have found that my PMS is getting worse as I get older. Or perhaps I just have better insight into my peaks and troughs as I age.
Being the scientist that I am, I had a thought about it. My amateur reproductive physician view is this:
We spend most of our (reproductive) lives bathed in lady-hormones. These add to the milieu that allows us to nurture children etc. It's for the sake and safety of the species.
By and large, I am a fairly patient person. Forebearant. I have learned to let small annoyances go, and bite my tongue. I will go out of my way for people.
1-2 days per month I have far less tolerance for fuckwittage. I still bite my tongue but it gets harder to do so. I may well up in tears. The impulse to take to inanimate objects with a blunt objects is strong. That's the time when those lady-hormones are at their nadir. If I am not being annoyed, I am fine.
So basically that time is not one where we are more bitchy, but one where we are far less inclined to deal with the shit that we usually encounter with a smile and good humour.
Amirite, Ladies?
Now the Dilemma.
I have a work friend who is getting married. She is going the whole hog. Designer dress, great location, even employed a wedding stylist. It's a big deal. That's her prerogative.
She has spoken about having to limit her numbers, given that the price per head for the reception is high. There are people in our workplace who may not be receiving an invite (haven't scoped it out yet). I had not expected an invite. When she was explaining the cost and need to limit numbers I told her it was ok not to invite me (then gave her advice regarding cheaper catering and spit roasts).
The invite came, but only my name was on it. Do I presume the invite is just for me, not my partner? That is what I thought...
She has only met him a handful of times, too.
I respect her right to invite who she wants, and am happy for the invite. I have not yet raised it with my fella.
You already know my view on what wedding I would want; an inclusive one. Kids too. It's a celebration of love, after all.
What is your view on the etiquette of wedding invitatitions? PMS...yay or nay? What did you get up to this past weekend?
Melbourne is in that phase of glorious then foul spring weather. We are currently in the foul stage. Should come good this weekend.
I will be off to Adelaide tomorrow, for a conference. Looking forward to it. Good to have my brain fed.
I suppose that this is a late "what I did on the weekend" post. After all the gallavanting and glam of Singapore, I think the fella and I really just craved a bit of time in our new home, tending to it, basking in it. Just doing some normal, simple things.
Saturday I went to my old mate, Princes Park, and did a couple of laps (2.6 to be more precise, about 8.3km). It was the longest run I had done in a while, it was as slow as all get out but I enjoyed being out in the fresh air and sunshine. My other old friends.
I saw the movie "Predestination", with Ethan Hawke and an Aussie newbie, Sarah Snook, who was brilliant. It was an absorbing movie, very original. I recommend it.
Sunday was spent on domestic duties.
I don't consider myself a domestic goddess in the slightest however I am slowly getting more domesticated.
I even did GARDENING.
I know. I don't know myself either.
I spent an hour and a half pulling weeds and giving the shrubs and roses crew cuts. That's 85 minutes longer than I've ever spent on gardening in the past. Who knew decapitating shrubs could be so therapeutic! I have sore forearms from using the clippers vigorously.
Then after all that exertion, I went and did some cooking. We massaged some spices into a pork shoulder the night before, then put it into a slow cooker on the Sunday. The result was some very tasty pulled pork. This was served up for dinner when some friends came over.
Also cooked was a guacamole and some fresh tomato salsa.
For dessert, we had a chocolate, chilli and tequila cake. The recipe is here. You can't really taste much or any tequila in the recipe.
It is a really easy cake to make and I recommend it. It has a truckload of butter in it.
Yesterday was quite a draining day at work. Usually such a thing would send me ranting to whoever would listen, or into the chocolate/wine. Instead, I got home, and without even sitting down, I started on dinner. After about 10 minutes I forgot about my day. I find cooking tasks quite absorbing and often quite calming.
I am still quite happy to palm off the dishes to my fella though. What is your favourite and least favourite domestic task? What is the weather like where you live? Do you have a super easy and impressive recipe that you use? If so, share.
I was lucky enough to get a spot at the Unlock Your Style book launch, and meet the beautiful author, Nikki Parkinson. Also I got to meet the gorgeous Carly, of Smaggle.
If you looked up the word Charming in the dictionary, you would see a pic of these two ladies.
The message was very much that every woman deserves to feel good about themselves.
There are so many messages out there, both implicit and explicit, that try to make women feel less than gorgeous, that they must improve on something. Multi-million dollar businesses are predicated on making us feel needful of something, or feel inferior. If you don't believe me, just look at a few ads and think about what they imply. But I digress.
Nikki breaks down the method to looking and feeling fabulous into something that all of us can confidently and simply achieve. It's about wearing things because they give you mojo, or boom chicka wah wah, and if they don't, they don't deserve to be taking up valuable real estate in your closet (or money out of your account).
It's also about looking after your skin, and how a bit of simple makeup can lift you into looking super.
"Fine Feathers Make the Bird", as my crazy Auntie used to say.
I can't tell you how much people like her have improved my sense of style and, subsequently, body confidence.
Also Nikki and Carly are genuinely friendly, warm ladies.
Here are some pics.
Carly, after she introduced the guest of honour.
Nikki, 'splaining things.
Me with the Doyenne.
watching a thoughtful inscription on the book
cuddling with Carly. She is tall and I felt safe....
And I have been putting a bit more thought into my outfits lately. Here are some. My little bro told me that my full length mirror has been seeing lots'o'selfie action recently. It has. Believe in your selfie, they say.
Now some weekend baking awaits. Some food shopping. Some internet shopping. Patting/teasing the dog. Our neighbours have thrown a welcome drinks thing this arvo. A nice Sundee arvo.
What are you up to? What have you been wearing recently?
I am having a quiet one tonight, have a very early start tomorrow, examining. Have to have the game face on.
Last night we went to Becco, an Italian restaurant in the city. I think I have been a bit spoiled by Masterchef and previous culinary experiences. A menu on the item said "Becco Fish and Chips". At $39 per main serve, I thought it would be some ingenious re-imagining or deconstruction of fish and chips. I was wrong. It was just battered fish and shoestring fries with a bit of home-made tartare and a wedge of lemon. Not even a bit of salad. The cheeky devils! $39!!
I saw the fella off to a conference overseas early this morning. He will be missed, but the calendar is packed until he comes back.
My little furry friend has happily taken his spot on the couch.
I went out to the city and bought some work clothing today. I had been hanging out to try a Jimmy Grant Souvlaki, so I went to the outlet at the Emporium.
I tried the signature souva, the Bonegilla (chicken and lamb). The were all made freshly, in proper greek Pitas.
And this was it:
It was a bit small, as you can see. But it was delicious - full of tender lamb and chicken (not the chewy stuff off a spit). And chips! And mustard aioli! It could've done with some fresh vegies (tomato or onion or a bit of lettuce) but it was yummy.
I was going to go out and see an arthouse flick, but I was worried my little mate here was getting lonely. Hence I am here with my butt glued to the couch, after attending to the chores.
On a bit more of a serious note, I saw the Women in Black this morning
They are a group of Jewish Feminists who speak out against the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and abhor the violence committed. I had a chat with them; many of the Jews in Melbourne are descendants of Holocaust Survivors, and are Zionists. They strongly support a Jewish state. These women aren't part of the mainstream Jewry here in Melbourne.
They spoke passionately against the violence and "land grabs", the abuses of human rights occuring in Palestine. People in Palestine are stateless, and have to cross Israeli Check points to get anywhere - to a wedding, to a family member, to a hospital. They form long queues in the heat. That is when they are not being shelled.
I told them I wanted to go to Israel. They told me I should, when the fighting stops.
Very little warms my heart more than friendships and support which transcend religion and creed. Why can't we all love each other? I stated this, bade my goodbye. I told them that I was agnostic, but God bless them anyway. They said something similar to me, in Hebrew.
This exchange was far more nourishing to my soul than any souvlaki or purchase (though the souvlaki and purchases were very nice).
Patting my dog is very nourishing to my soul also. Hopefully the time my fella is away goes quickly.
What is nourishing your soul at the moment? Nourishing your belly?
I spent a lot of the weekend talking myself down from Friday. In retrospect, the tasks (work and non-work) of the last month or so have built up a bit of stress; it's been creeping up on me. I've made a very active effort to de-stress, be mindful, ie stop building up situations in my head that are in all likelihood not going to happen.
A large proportion of what we worry about never actually eventuates, am I right? And if it does eventuate, we deal with it often a lot better than we imagine we will. Or at least, we get through it.
To this end, I did my usual Saturday morning boot camp with my group and trainer. A good bit of sweat builds up a good bit of happy.
The fella then decided we would go for a traipse around the new hood in the drizzle. I put some glad rags on, and we lunched.
Dinner was at a Greek restaurant. If you don't walk out of there without rubbing your inflated belly and murmuring "foooood baby", you aren't doing it right. We did it right.
Today we took the dog for a walk out to a cafe. She is quite difficult to walk on the lead as she pulls and gets overwrought at the sight and smell of other dogs, and has slipped out of her lead and chased cats before. The fella was very stressed out, and I had to be firm and calm with them both.
I had a hipster breakfast. GF bread, avocado, fetta, seeds and asparagus. Was healthy and yum. There was a lemon slice there and did I eat that too? You had better believe it!
We have been doing, to quote Faux Fuchsia, some hard core decluttering.
I went for a jog. Now I can have wine.
Cheers to what will hopefully be a successful week.
Ooooh, speaking of glad rags, I won a dress, which I took possession of this week. It is made by Ann at AudreyLane, and the competition was at the blog of the delightful iCurvy (who I believe is very soon to give birth.
Sunday. Wide, wide open. Open to waking up slowly. Taking your time. Having a think.
'Cept I can't do too much of that, as we are moving house in 9 days. 9 days!
I have been up and about and out for a walk in the 'hood, saying goodbye, in a way. Had me a cute little coffee in a cute little cup. Strolled through Piedimonte's supermarket. Checked out some new lines (Maggie Beer Soup? I think I shall). Wandered back and took in all the stately architecture, the people, the bikes, the plants and the dogs. In amongst all the packing, I feel like I have to visit my favourite places of the neighbourhood. Pay my respects.
Today, a run. Then packing. It's a daunting task. Also, a time when one doesn't want to make too much mess in the kitchen, or fill the fridge up with too many perishables. Hence the posh prepacked soups are convenient (but also healthy and nourishing) way to go. I look forward to eating them, in a way that I don't look forward to humbler canned soups. I look forward to getting creative with the Thermomix in the new house. But now, economy of time is important.
The fella was off to work early today. I am alone. There was a time in my life, not so long ago, that I could not stand to be alone. Now I enjoy some solitude. Of course, I have the dog silently watching, and I can talk to her if I feel the need to speak. These alone times will become scarce, with any luck! I am mindful of them, and cherish them.
I especially enjoy these oases of quiet when things get busy. In addition to the packing, the last gasps of grunt work with the PhD, and starting some private work, I have been offered some more public work. As the PhD winds down, I had given some thought to how to gainfully fill the working week, without compromising the PhD completion. A senior colleague (and friend) somebody asked me to cover some maternity leave. My initial thought was no (for a number of reasons), but this colleague persisted and offered me something I could not refuse. And I thought "you fool, don't knock it back, the jobs market is tight, carpe diem etc etc". So here I am. It's great when things fall at your feet; sometimes they are not exactly right in terms of timing or form, but important to see the opportunity in them regardless.
Anywho that is enough navel-gazing from me. I look forward to moving into my new neighbourhood. Some of the ladies from my exercise group will be living right near me. There are nice new cafes and nooks and crannies to discover.
What are you up to? Today? This week?
Any new things you want to tell me about?
One thing that is certainly not nice at the moment is the weather here in Melb.
It is foul and chilly and windy and rainy. In fact, the only thing that one feels like doing is sitting on the couch with some mulled wine and some pudding with cream. It's true. I will have to settle for a hot shower and a lick from the dog.
I had a bit of a busy weekend. I spent some time as an examiner for the mock exam for our physician trainees. I will be examining for the real thing soon, so it was good to get some practice in. It keeps me on my toes. Best of all the organisers took our coffee order in advance and had them available at break time!
Then it was a birthday party at a Pub. Sat outside. I hate outside at this time of year; even with the very feeble heating, I was freezing my botty off.
Sunday, after braving the cold for some exercise, I went to see Rocky Horror Show with my mum and some friends.
The highlight of it for me was seeing Craig McLachlan prance and joke and double-entendre on stage, in suspenders, heels and a corset, having an absolute ball. And when a performer is having a ball, so, usually, do the audience.
My, sir, you've been working out! Phwoar. And the view from the rear was spectacular too.
Another nice thing that happened is that I won a dress! The very gorgeous (and very pregnant) Jo from iCurvy was having a giveaway on her blog, and I won! I chose this dress (Image from Jo's blog)
I plan to wear it to a friend's wedding in Singapore. We go in September. Yays!
In the meantime, lots of packing. We are moving soon! eeek!
Also, I have started a few extra sessions of work. Eeeek (but looking forward to $$)
So it's on for young and old, really.
How are you? How is the whether where you are? What are you up to? Any exciting news/ plans to share?
Hi All, and happy Easter/ Pagan Festival of Fertility or something...
{and a warning that some of this might be ranty and controversial}
It's been a quiet old weekend in Cilla-ville.
Thursday was a busy old day, but intentions were good to make hot cross buns in the Thermomix. By Thursday afternoon, HCBs were purchased for the event that I could not be arsed.
Friday morning - lo and behold, I could not be arsed, particularly not after Boot Camp!
Anywho, back to Thursday evening, I went out with a good girlfriend for a cheeky wine or two, a nice din-dins, then to the Princess Theatre for the comedy show, Puppet up.
It was basically a mix of Jim Henson/ Muppets-esque Puppetry, improvisation and lots of rudeness and swearing. It was cute and naughty and hilarious and very enjoyable.
Saturday involved house-hunting, traipsing through the same bunch of properties as a bunch of other aspirant home buyers.
The whole idea of house auctions depresses me a little. The ultimate sale price of a house often bears little resemblance to the estimated sale range given on the ad.
Give me a private sale any day.
Anyone with a good story of an auction can feel free to share it, though.
Then some shopping in Doncaster Shoppingtown, followed by a chillaxed dinner at Bar Fred. If you are down in Melbs you should come with me.
Kate and Wills and Bubba G are in the country. Kate's frocks have been crashing websites.
I think this number was from LK Bennett. It distresses me somewhat that I know this. Plus she wore her hair up. She looked pretty.
Essentially she is an objectively pretty, non-threatening, lithe lady with great fashion sense who had very good luck with meeting a royal and squeezed out a photogenic male heir.
Why all the idolatry? Is this the metric by which women should be measured? (I think it is, but it should not be).
Does she add anything tangible other than a bit of sparkle? Are we that in need of a bit of sparkle?
The saddest thing is, she is far more interesting than Wills (Prince? What prince?), who is as boring as batshit. But he flies a chopper and (in theory) rescues people. That has to count for something
On a slightly different ranty vein, a relative of mine who recently had a baby said that having a baby is the highest blessing there is, and that it is "wrong" when children get sick, and on that basis we should all dig deep and donate to the Good Friday Appeal for the Royal Children's hospital.
This raised my hackles on a number of levels.
The whole "having a baby is the highest blessing" and "the hardest job there is" thing gets to me a bit. Those types put their child's photo up as their own profile pic on social media, but whinge about the trials of parenting. They hint at how their life has far more meaning now they have children. I probably sound a bit churlish here, but a few out there will see where I am coming from. I won't go into it too much.
Suffice it to say that the mothers I admire most are people like Sydney Shop girl, Faux Fuchsia and Mrs Woog. Their blogs inject the whole craft of mummyhood thing with a big dose of sanity, humour, joy and humility. Most of all, they retain a strong sense of themselves, and manage great careers, social lives and friendships. It is what I aspire to, if and when I am lucky enough to become a mummy.
It is indeed heartbreaking when kids get sick, unimaginably so. The RCH gets millions of dollars in donations. That is fair enough.
I work at the other end of the age spectrum and there are most certainly not those kinds of resources coming in. Without saying too much, it would be nice if this group, who are at the end of worthwhile lives and have paid taxes and borne children and seen hardship, got some of the same monetary resources, and a place in our consciousness.
Anyway, that is me for tonight.
In Bella-dog news, she has gotten very cheeky. She helps herself to the kitchen benchtop. She got her paws on some chocolate eggs (not too many, chocolate is no good for dogs) and hot cross buns. She also brings her bones inside to chew on, but, in the absence of bony chews, the remote control will do. The fella gets cross with her, and the dog gets very sheepish, but he can't stay mad with her for long.
Also, I have had this Johnny Farnbottom song in my head. It is kind of nice but kind of annoying
Melbourne Town is having a heatwave of the variety it has only once every 2 or 3 years. You will note it is 37 degrees at 9pm, and it maxed out at 43 today. It is going to be 41 tomorrow (that 38 is wrong).
Everything takes about twice as much effort in this diabolical weather.
But I still went to Pilates. Or should I say Bikram Pilates....
It's been an interesting week.
On Saturday, I went to a wedding, where I was groomslady. The wonderful couple rented a house with a big covered deck and a big backyard looking onto a creek with ducks. They had a marquee and catering and bought their own booze. They had a Mr. Whippy van, just for the wedding guests, for dessert. That was awesome.
During the day, I got there at 0800 to start hair and makeup. I fawned over the bride, spent some quality time with the Groom's ma (out from Singapore, a very sweet lady who cooked us fried rice for lunch) and comandeered one of the bridesmaid's hair (she didn't spring for hair so I gussied her up a nice french roll).
Here are some pics...
the grooming started the day before....
0800 and coming at me with a makeup brush...not.impressed.
getting in with the hair
et voila...
the clouds broke later in the afternoon...
fully gussied, bejewelled, with a flower on top.
During the course of the morning, the groom was rehearsing the song to which he was going to sing and strum the bride down the aisle.
He was getting nervous.
I took the opportunity to prescribe some calming medication. That was as strong as I could easily get my hands on at 11am....
I had a fun day, and I enjoyed all of it. I was really thrilled for the couple.
I spent most of Sunday convalescing. It was a big day. The fella went to Singers to do some teaching. Hence I have time to think about the hard issues. That guy who hit the young 18 year old in Sydney in an unprovoked attack, and the young fella died and the guy has been charged with murder...this case...
Here are my thoughts... which I put as my facebook status as I had to get it off my chest before I went to bed.
Apropos this murder charge for the man who king hit the boy who later died. Will it make an example of the man- probably yes.
Will it give a tiny bit of solace to the victim's family, the fact that
he is being charged with murder rather than manslaughter- potentially,
though it will be cold comfort to a tragically bereaved family. Will the murder charge stand up in court- I can't really comment. Importantly, will the harsher charge being laid decrease the incidence of this egregious crime? I struggle to see how it would.
The assailants in these cases are young men with impulsive tendencies,
more than a few may have a touch of antisocial/ narcissistic PD. They are more often than not jacked up on alcohol or stimulants. I very much doubt that this harsh charge factor will go through their heads before they raise a fist.
Harsh sentences- yes, I agree. But we also need as a society to strongly and visibly reject violence. More police on the street. More ads
on the Telly- get it into peoples consciousness every day. Aggressively educate young people at risk of committing these crimes. We need to do all of these things, not a knee jerk response.
Anyway that is something to leave you with.
I am going to go to bed, put the aircon on in the room, and read a book or something.
There is no other way to hit the ground but running, is there?
And run, my fella and I did, on New Year's day. In some sultry sultry conditions, and with a bit of a sore head.
But first, we did some hardcore entertaining.
On the 30th, I hosted my junior colleagues at my house for some wine, cheese and reminiscing about a tough month well managed. They bought me some flowers, bless them. Here they are a week or so later!
Then the fella and I hosted an NYE partee. Low Key. About 12 peeps. That it was low key did not stop me from embracing a rock-chick ensemble with a smokey eye and a nude lip colour. This took a bit of planning and some pre-purchasing (FYI I recommend the Innoxa lip gloss - tastes and smells like coconut).
I worked on both the 31st and 2nd, but gallavanted off to Brisvegas with the fella on the 3rd.
The weather was diabolical. Hot, and humid. I nearly melted.
I had never been to the brizz before, and, notwithstanding the heat, it was nice to walk around.
I am nothing if not tough.
It was interesting seeing all the Queenslander houses in New Farm (there were some bloody big spiders in the trees though), and trundling along the river. No other people were foolish enough to be out.
This sign was also interesting.
Later, we had a wander about GOMA, to see the falling down to earth exhibition. It involved large scale installations and many references to wolves and the number 9. I enjoyed it.
We then went to Art Gallery, to see the California design exhibition. What struck me was that many of the designs that are iconic now (ie Eames etc) were borne out of necessity, using the materials plentiful after WW 2. Necessity is the mother of art as well as invention!
I took no photos here.....I am a bit funny about taking pics in galleries, even though the are allowed. Who is with me on this one?
We took a very hot walk over the bridge, stood in Myer for the cool, and then went to our hotel pool. Later we went to Tartufo for dinner. I am not very easily impressed by food but by golly I was impressed here - I had some chicken liver pate followed by the sand crab linguine.
Again no photos, begging me to ponder the question - if the food is not instagrammed, do the calories count?
On the Sunday, I was lucky enough to meet (separately) 2 enigmatic and even-more-fab-in-real-life lady bloggers.
Her
check the reflection...
And Her.
a shy little blossom....
(Guess who...)
It is wonderful meeting fellow bloggers - I have previously had the pleasure of meeting Kathryn, Philippa and Shauna in real life. P and S even cheered me on at the London Marathon! Kathryn and I did some karaoke in Tokyo together..
You chat like old mates - you already have some of the back story, and have already connected on some level previously....
But now, it is back to work. Back to earth. Hitting the ground running. After the dietary indiscretions of the extended festive period, craving and necessity has made me purchase a pretty penny's worth of fruit and veg. I whipped up some corn and zucchini fritters in the thermie.
I am loving the thermie - lots of tasty and healthy food is whipped up in a flash in that thing....
In exciting news, the fella and I are off to Sri Lanka in Feb, for a longer holiday! To borrow the phrase from FF, 'citing. I am discouraged from taking prolonged (ie over one week) holidays at the same time as the staff with children so Feb it is!
Also here is another gratuitous photo of some french bulldogs. Yes, it might become my thing.
And how about you?
How are you finding getting back to work? Have you met other bloggers IRL? Do you dig a rock chick outfit sometimes? A smokey eye? Are you trying to be fit-n-elfy in the new year? How is that going?
This week has been a long and hard one. Multiple frustrations. Multiple things to deal with. All managed, but wearing me down a bit. Here is not the forum to discuss them in detail, but suffice to say I am glad this week is finished.
My fella came back. With presents. But I like his presence better. Bless him.
Did I tell you I bought a thermomix? It should be coming sometime next week. I shall be blogging my creations. Let the Christmas baking begin.
Lovenest 1.0 is taking shape nicely. We are looking forward to having Christmas here. In our new 'hood, there is a communal herb garden. Here is a pic:
And never fear, I found a ham. I invested in a KR Castlemaine Ham. The beasty is languishing in my fridge.
I have also made some Veronika Maine purchases, which were both a. an investment and b. therapeutic. That is how I rationalise it.
[I rationalise and get buyers guilt in equal parts.... I just need to let it go.]
That manicure I was yapping about? I went and got it. A shellac mani-pedi. My nails are the colour of strawberry ice-cream.
[I love love love fake strawberry flavour]
After busy weeks, and very little time at home, a lovingly home-cooked meal was in order tonight. I utilised some broccolini and zucchini that were on their way out to make this pasta.
Here was how I cooked it
1 zucchini, finely sliced lengthways (I used a veggie peeler)
1.5 bunches brocollini, ends trimmed, stems cut in half to make shorter
Spaghetti, for 2 people
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 chilli, chopped finely
Anchovies
2tsp butter
3tsp olive oil
handful pine nuts, toasted.
zest of one lemon
Put water on to boil in large pot. Add spaghetti
Fry up garlic and chilli in butter and oil. Add anchovies, cook till they dissolve. Add zest. Then add zucchini. Zucchini will go all soft and melty and soak up all the lovely flavours. Add pine nuts,
When spaghetti nearly cooked, add broccolini to pot.
Drain spaghetti/broccolini and add to frying pan. Stir up all together. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Nom.
This will be good fuel for the Sussan fun run tomorrow. 10km along the beach on a lovely day.
The only issue is getting up at 5:30am....ergh.
Never let it be said that a busy week at work gets in the way of my extracurricular activities.
What about you? Any good home cookin'? Any investment/therapeutic buys? How was your week?
Hello and happy Monday! Greetings from the wifi I have finally managed to set up!
I had a big bout of multifactorial mondayitis, but managed to shake it off by going to my running group.
Every Monday and Wednesday, at about 4:30, I develop a great case of the cbfs.
There are about 20 things I would rather do than run. Especially on a nice day like this. Most of them involve wine and eating things that are yummy.
And yet, barring injury or foul weather, I go.
I always feel better. It helped my mondayitis.
Oh, and on the topic of running, on the 17th, I ran the 14km city to sea event. I promised a photo. Here 'tis.
My smile and red face says it all, really.
I have had a few back issues recently, these are longstanding. I have been recommended a physiotherapist who also practices acupuncture. I went to see him today, for the second time. He did some pushypushy, some needling and some cupping.
He is quite gentle, very zen like. I am a liker of a good firm massage, if it doesn't have me whimpering it is not working.
But we shall see how it goes. The back gave me no curry in training today.
Over the weekend, the fella and I decamped to Queenscliff for the music festival.
Geelong (like Melbourne) was doing its spring thing - a bit of rain, a bit of bitey sun. Not great for a music fest. Weather was better last year.
I have to confess I find it hard to "attach" to bands or singers.... I may only like one song of theirs. Hence when I am feeling tired and chilly and my feet are sore, I would prefer to decamp to the comfort of the bed rather than stay out till 11pm to catch the act. I missed some of the bigger acts. I am ok with this.
The bands I loved were Saskwatch
And the Melbourne Ska Orchestra. Hard to find a good video. If they are playing in your area, you should see them. They will have you dancing and laughing in equal measure.
I also got a few surprises in the way of Jeff Lang (guitar virtuoso), the Transvaal Diamond Syndicate (dirty heavy grungy blues), and the Brow Horn Orchestra (big band meets rap meets reggae and everything in between).
They also had great food trucks there - I had yummy tacos, poboys, the best chai masala outside of india, dosa masala...I ate all the things.
The people watching was interesting.... overexcited schoolies, old rockers, young families and hipsters... all together.
Note to the ladies - putting black opaque stockings underneath summer dresses/ short denim shorts does not a good outfit maketh.... IMHO.....Just sayin'.
Note to schoolies - don't smoke joints in the concert tents. I will smack you on the bum, or shake my finger (don't even get me started)
Anywho.... I had a lovely weekend with the fella. He is gallavanting all over the place to conferences for the next 10 or so days.
I shall miss him.
To change a topic.
There have been a few instances recently where I have been paid a compliment.
Today, a former colleague who I had a brief catch up with sent me an email, saying "you look beautiful".
What did I do?
I brushed it off.
I thought "surely you blow smoke up my bottom".
I do that often.
Yet I will take to heart a criticism. Either an internal or external (or imagined) criticism. Take it on board.
Perhaps it might be a relatively easy thing to learn to accept compliments?
I have just been reading this post from Nikki at Styling you.
Some food for thought there.
Good night. Or good day. Depending on what time you read this.
How do you graciously (or not) take a compliment? What music do you like? Any aches or pains at present? Carte blanche to whinge here.
WARNING: This post contains lamb on a spit, which I find pretty damn impressive (not to mention mouthwatering) but some people mightn't like it.
APOLOGIES: some of the comments from the last post ended up in my spam queue, hopefully I've now rectified the situation.
Hello!
I call this procrastiblogging - I have a shitload of stuff to do, but I would rather be doing this. Plenty of time to be working hard.
I have just gotten back from Christchurch, New Zealand. It was a flying visit for my Fella's parents 50th Wedding anniversary.
I had done the whole "meeting the family" thing before so that was no biggie.
The bigger deal was trying to fit it all in among moving preparations etc. But not to worry, we can only do what we can do.
So we got into ChCh at about 0200 on Friday morning. The flights etc were uneventful, made that way by some nice wine taken in the lounge (my fella has Qantas club membership). Flights are best taken a little bit drunk. But not too drunk.
The next day was a sleep in, touching base with the family, helping them with last minute shopping, and some wandering around. As everyone knows ChCh was affected badly by an earthquake in 2011 ( and a less destructive one in 2010). Things are slowly but surely being rebuilt. It is still worth a visit if you are going to NZ.
Here are some photos.
The Cathedral
The Fella, Surveying the Damage
I remember this from my visit 10 years ago - it survived unscathed.
Condemned buildings and Chain Link everywhere, but some pretty on the chain link
That night we went to our favourite ChCh haunt, DuxDine - if you are in ChCh you should go there.
Here is a rose from their garden
Saturday was the big 'do - the family, plus the golden couple's 40 closest friends, mostly over the age of 70.
We assumed that these people wouldn't eat much - they did.
We assumed that they wouldn't get into the wine too much - they hit it hard.
I busied myself collecting plates and keeping on top of the mess. Tidying (most unlike me) kept me out of the wine trough and kept me from having to talk to a whole bunch of people I didn't know. The family was very grateful. Win, win and win.
The main food item was lamb on a spit. Here is the beastie (you have been warned)
deeeeelicious
My fella carving the delicious beast
And here is my fella's mums wedding dress. Teeny tiny waist.
On Sunday there was a family get together in Hurunui, up in the Waipara region about 90 minutes outside ChCh. More food (mostly Pavlova) was eaten. Pictures are not shown to protect the privacy of the other folks.
We then went down to the river- the Fella's nieces and nephew had a frolic in there, and an all-out mud flinging brawl ensued, with my Fella's brother in law starting it. It was hilarious. The 5 year old neice showed impressive guerrilla tactics.
Monday was a catch up with the fam and then home, via the plane. And the frequent flyer lounge, where much soothing and restorative wine/gin and tonics were drunk.
I am spent.
But this week will be busy.
Speaking of family gatherings, I am thinking of making a baked leg of ham for Xmas - have never done it before. My sister's boyfriend doesn't eat pork. Oh well, we don't like him very much and he will have to make do with other less festive meats.
And how are youse?
Have Xmas preps started in your neck of the woods?
