my life in quarters...

i knew it'd been some time since i'd written in my blog but i would never have guessed that it's been more than a quarter (of a year)...  where does the time disappear to?!  happily, i have been doing a bit of tourist travel over the last three months to share :) 

for our wedding present, a close friend gave us gift certificates for a day spa on the mornington peninsula while another friend bought us a night in a b&b.  weekend away sorted, we piled ourselves into the car and drove down to a very picturesque area a little an hour outside of melbourne :)  we indulged in a body scrub and intense moisture soak for me while hubby had a full body relaxation massage.  it was a lovely and relaxing experience and we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!!   we also spent the weekend traveling around sampling all of the fabulous food in the area; we had wine and cheese tastings, fresh strawberries and some other foodie delights ;)  it was a lovely weekend away and truly, just what i needed as work was really crazy!!

a couple of weekends after my relaxing, pamper weekend, i foolishly decided to embark on a 3 day, 58km hiking trip with a friend at wilson's promontory which is a gorgeous part of the world!  on the drive down, we passed so many wombats, kangaroos and other wild animal, including a couple of deer before arriving at our campsite that i was in awe!  the hike itself was generally gorgeous as it ran along the coastline for miles and miles with some beautiful scenery.  we passed a historic lighthouse and ended up a pristine white beach that squeak when you walked on it before we stumbled into our campsite after walking over 20kms that day.  we started our trip early on the sunday as the sun was hot and we were exposed for the whole trip back which made it much more challenging than anticipated.  that said, it made our arrival at the start all the more sweet, particular after we had showers and popsicles before heading back to melbourne!

i've also had the pleasure of a weekend visit from a great friend from canada which effectively comprised of a lot of talking and a bit of shopping!!  it was a great visit :) other highlights include attending a french play put on by shannon's youngest (i was one of the few in the audience who could understand it!), watching isaac's basketball game and just plainly getting out and about a bit more now that the weather's improved to parties and dinners and bbqs!!  we've got a couple more events planned before we slow down over the xmas holidays!!

wishing you all a fabulous break and a great start to 2013!!

hugs,
s 

Christmas in July and other delightful treats!!

we've been reasonably quiet comparatively over the last few months, recovering financially from our holiday and wedding expenses.  that said, we've still had a couple of great experiences! 

i miss having turkey dinners IMMENSELY as it's too hot in australia to have it at christmas and they don't celebrate thanksgiving.  as such, i suggested to shannon that we cook up a turkey with all of the fixings and apple crisp for dessert one weekend in july (winter here).  we got the kids excited by doing a secret santa and shannon and the kids made a cardboard tree so we had somewhere to put the presents :)  the kids weren't overwhelmed with the turkey but they definitely enjoyed the apple crisp and their presents!  who knew that $20 presents could be so exciting?! ;D  i particularly enjoyed the leftover turkey, in its many different forms (traditional, pie and soup)!!  

 

i've also had lovely days in getting out of melbourne to some nearby country towns to spend days checking out the local fare and wine, hiking 21.4km and checking out the beautiful scenery.  it's amazing how a day out of the city can rejuvenate you so fabulously!!

locally, i've been super busy with friends birthdays as everyone seems to be born in may/june/july!!  we both celebrated our own birthdays quietly in june and we had a lovely dinner out compliments of dad and gail. we've been out for a couple of dinners and hosted a couple too!!  i've gotten back into my photography group after a bit of a break and had a lovely catch up with a canadian friend when they were here! 

i'm looking forward to spring and some sunny weather so i can do more bike riding and get camping a bit more this year!

i hope everyone's enjoying their august wherever they are!

hugs,
s

the honeymoon... :D

not to worry, you'll not get to hear about EVERYTHING we did for our honeymoon ;)  

our honeymoon started with brunch with friends and then we headed off to for a helicopter ride around the island which was absolutely stunning!!  another thing to tick of my bucket list :)  from there, we had a final dinner with some friends and caught our flights the next day to the big island.  

we landed and drove straight to the area where we'd read we'd be able to see flowing lava!  much to our disappointment, the lava was miles away and could have been anything to the naked eye that was red and glowing!!  we headed back to the commune where we were staying for the night (a rare find where clothing was optional after 5pm ;), settled into our robinson crusoe-like room and snuggled into a narrow but super long (over 7 feet long!!) bed for the night!!  the next morning, we were up early as i was super excited that we might see some lava during the day at volcano national park however i was foiled again!! the park was beautiful and cold and wet but the most volcanic-like activity that we saw was steam seeping out of holes in the earth.  i was not overly impressed!!  

we headed over to kona which is on the other side of the island for a change of scenery!!  we secured a room near the ocean and had a stroll along the sea before a fabulous ocean view dinner!!  the next morning, we spent a couple of hours snorkeling in cove where the water was so crystal clear and the fish, coral and turtles were in such an abundance that i was in awe!!  it was heaps better than the great barrier reef or anywhere else that i've been snorkeling!!  we piled back in the car and headed back to hilo so we could hike out to the lava flows with a group and actually see red, hot lava!!  it was a 4hr hike (return) over hard, shale-like lava and i burned the bottoms of my feet through my shoes however it was absolutely worth it to see the lava!!  another thing over my bucket list ;)

we missed our flights the next morning to oahu (honolulu) as i thought they were an hour after their actual departure time!!  oops!!  the nice lady at hawaiian air got us on the next flight for very little additional costs which we both appreciated immensely!!  in honolulu, we went para-sailing (another thing off the bucket list), shopping, visited pearl harbour, hiked, swam in waikiki beach and went for a drive along the coast with more snorkeling/relaxing!  we also had dinner with dad & gail a couple of times which was nice since i don't get to see them very often!!  

overall, it was a great honeymoon and truly, we both commented on the way back that we felt like we'd be gone for longer than 2 weeks so i guess that means we had a good break!!  

i'm not sure when we'll have our next overseas holiday as our next project is a 3 bedroom house with a garden but we'll try and enjoy a regular weekend away here and there!!

hugs to all!!

s

the week before and the wedding!!

the week prior to the wedding was a bit of a hectic balance between finalising plans for the wedding and enjoying a week's holiday with the kids/family!!  we settled in and spent the first day checking out a blowhole, collecting my in-laws-to-be from the airport, doing pre-wedding tasks and randomly finding my dad running around the resort complex like a crazy man :)  it was lovely to see him and gail!!  we arrange to meet up for dinner and dad & gail were able to meet shannon's kids and parents.  

the next day, we took the kids beach hopping, trying to find the best possible beach for the wedding!  in between showers, a picnic, cave splunking, sand drawings, talking to chickens and a swim, we saw a ton of beaches!!  later that evening, the kids managed to create a survey/questionnaire which helped us to select the best beach for the wedding!  we spent wednesday seeing the waimea canyon which was breathtaking and based on feedback from a number of parties, better than the grand canyon!!  we rushed back to the hotel so i could find mother (randomly at the pool relaxing with a book) with 30 mins to spare before we had to head out for our pre-wedding family dinner:  a traditional luau!!  it was a lovely dinner and provided a relaxed atmosphere for everyone to get to know everyone!!

thursday was the big day and i think we were generally ready for it :D  the ladies arrived around noon and we had a snack while i re-did my hair (the hairdresser did a HORRIBLE job!!) and my make up!!  the photographer arrived and suddenly it was serious and i needed to work to a timeline!!  everyone piled into cars and it started to get a bit gray and then it started to rain however when we arrived at anini beach, it was sunny and warm!!  the whole ceremony was lovely and we were very blessed to have those friends and family who could make it along to celebrate!!  we headed back in the limo, collected as many guests as the limo would fit (including the kids) from the resort and headed to the reception dinner.  the food was fantastic, the service impeccable (i only had to glance about and our server was next to me) and the cake was delicious!!  we had a fantastic evening and truly, i can't imagine a more special day in my life!!  

i'll share the honeymoon activities in another post as i don't want this one to be too long (and it'll make you come back for more!!)

hugs,

s

transitions & chaos!!

the first part of the year has been madness with very little time for us to sit back and relax!!  for the last week of january, we took a week off and headed away camping with the kids up to the grampians!  it's a lovely place in the world with some gorgeous scenery however it was about 45 degrees for most of the time we were away so we spent our holiday in the local pool, swimming about to cool off!!  the kids had a lovely time however i think we all discovered that a bigger car is in order when we go away camping together next time!!  

with the fun part out of the way, we then shifted to packing and moving shannon into my place.  we borrowed boxes from a friend and shannon indicated "he didn't have much stuff/need for boxes"!  two full days of packing by each of us and he admitted that maybe he had a bit more than he thought!!  moving is a tireless and thankless job however by mid-february, we were ready for a housewarming party!  we had everyone over for drinks and food and for those stragglers who were still here around dinner, we had a bbq!  it was a lovely day which made me realise how small the place actually is!!  

three weeks after that, i had a 'pick the dress' party which was exactly as it sounds!!  i ordered 4 wedding dresses off the internet as the shops in melbourne were stressed out by my short proposal to wedding timeline and didn't seem confident they could deliver in time, particularly not with a reasonable price!!  so, i organised for some girlfriends to come over and we had champagne and munchies and i tried on all of the dresses.  it was a unanimous decision (and truly, i'd already decided which one i was wearing) and then we went met up with the boys and had a lovely night out on the town!!  it was low-key and fun; just what we were looking for!!  

after my 'pick the dress' party, i started to realise all of the things that we hadn't done!!  there was no cake ordered or reception booked, we hadn't planned our honeymoon or picked which beach we were getting married on, etc...and i suddenly started to get nervous!!  we spent the last weeks prior to heading off doing all of the above and heaps more!!  i literally bought my headpiece the day before we got on a plane and headed away!!  

in addition to all the chaos above, we managed to spend an afternoon sailing, order and receive our new, super sexy red leather couches and poof, have some secret dates and other random events with and without the kids!!  that said, i must confess to being very happy when we headed off to hawaii for our wedding/honeymoon!!  but you'll have to wait for the next post to read about that :)

hugs to all those still reading!

s  

welcome to 2012!!

what can i say to justify my tardiness in updating my blog?!  not a lot except that quite obviously life has been pretty busy and i'm having a great time!!  there are some definitely highlights to share over the last three months!!

as a start, shannon and i got engaged on 2 december which was expected and yet a surprise all the same!!  he took me out for a lovely dinner at rockpool in southbank followed by a stretched limousine ride to st kilda beach/pier.  we walked along the pier (as we did heaps when i lived there) hand in hand and watched the little penguins (once known as fairy penguins until we became PC and decided that was derogatory!) come ashore for the night.  he proposed with the penguins and then we had some champagne in the limo as it drove us around the city!!  the proposal, of course, caused a flurry of activity to commence as we finalised wedding invites, booked hotels and flights and i went shopping for "the" dress!!  i think we're in pretty good shape now with a few bits and pieces needing to be finalised before we get married on 12 april 2012.  yes, it's a shotgun wedding and no, it's not because we're pregnant!! :)

since i arrived in australia, i tend to ignore the holidays a bit since it's not snowy and cold and i don't have family around, it just doesn't feel like christmas...  this year was completely different as i had my first traditional aussie christmas with family!!  no, my parents didn't do the epic 26hrs flights to australia however since we're getting married, shannon's family officially qualifies as my family!!  we had a lovely lunch at his sister's followed by a flurry of activity which can be best described as mayhem while the children opened all of their presents!!  from there, we settled his brother and their family into shannon's for 10 days while he and the kids shifted over to my place...  it worked out fantastically well for all involved and gave me an opportunity to spend a bit more time getting to know the kids...

we headed down to the beach for new year's which was a nice and relaxing few days away with some friends!!  on new year's eve, we watched both the local fireworks along the beach and the fireworks in melbourne across the bay!!  it was an enjoyable way to bring in the new year!!  we were up the next morning and started the trek back to melbourne, stopping off at some cheese making establishments on the way home!!  shannon's discovered that he loves blue cheese so we tend to explore the area from a cheese (and wine for me) perspective when we go away!

other than the more significant events above, i've been busy socially with friends and outings.  generally just the usual things, movies, bbqs, drinks, xmas parties, etc... though i must confess, i haven't really been taking photos which is something we need to rectify!!   that said, i suppose the only additional exciting things are that i painted the bathroom a cappuccino colour (and it looks fabulous!!), had a dishwasher installed and bought a bbq which we've used a couple of times!!  i do love bbq'd meat!!

it's time for me to wake the sleeping giant (shannon) so we can start the day!!

happy new year to everyone still reading and all the best for 2012!!  it is the year of the dragon so hopefully i'll have a fantastic year!!

hugs,
s