An Active Weekend

Well, now that Sas and B are on the mend we thought .... "Why slow down?"  So we didn't .  On Saturday we had the pleasure of going to the Winter "Carnival" at the Eagle Farm Racecourse here in Brisbane.  This event is the kick off to the winter racing season.  The horse races can be a very fashionable event.  You may remember Stace attending a day at races last year with a group of Pandemic ladies.  To me it feels like you have stepped back in time a little.  I can't help but associate it with a scene from a Jane Austin novel.  One in which the upper class British nobility are gathered for a "civilized" day at the the hunt or races or what have you.  However there is one glaring difference in that there really is no feeling of superiority from anyone.  In true Aussie fashion it is a reason to dress very smartly and be social (and of course have a few drinks).

Some classy ladies!

As part of the festivities there was a competition called "Fashions on the Field".   Which was a millinery event.  Millinery is the business of designing , making, or selling hats, dresses and hat trim to clients.  Stacey's friend Felicity (who is an amateur fashion designer) was entering this event and asked Stace, a few weeks back, if she would model her clothing in the event.  Stace was initially a little nervous but agreed in the end.  There were two parts to "Fashions on the Field".  The first being best outfit and the other was for best hat only.   Felicity was only planning on entering the hat competition but ended up making two complete outfits.  Stace modeled one (in the hat competition) and Felicity's sister modeled the other (in the full outfit competition).  It was a lot of fun.  Stace did fantastic.  Sadly Felicity and Stace didn't place in the hat competition but Felicity did score a first runner up in the other.

The hat competition.  (click on the picture to get a close up...women do love to get dressed up.  Right down to the shoes and bag.)

Looking good!

This was the winning entry for the hat competition. It was quite impressive.

Stace and Felicity's sister.  Felicity only started taking the her hat course about 9 weeks ago so well done.

Stacey wanted me to post some pictures of the other ladies in the contest. So I did.  (Her favorite is the green and orange outfit.  And she didn't make it to the Top 10.)

I took the kids so that they could see their Supermodel mommy at work.  I really hope it doesn't go to her head.   I don't want her becoming bulimic and getting addicted to blow.... running away with a fashion photographer or something.  We may have opened Pandora's box now.  First it was being influenced by Sex and the City ... now she has her own fashion designer to make her exclusive originals.

Daddy's little girl... For now! Breagha loves a good cuddle.

Stacey and I have been doing some running of late to battle the effects of older age and desk job atrophy.  Well today was the first day that we were able to run together.  We registered ourselves to run in the Red Run Classic.  It was a 10km fun run here in New Farm organized by the Australian Haemophilia Foundation.  So we rose at the break of dawn to dawn our running clothes (... did you see how I did that?  I used "dawn" as both a noun and verb in one sentence... not the best use but clever none the less, no?), locked the kids in a closet with a bowl of water and a box of raisins, and headed for the race.  Ok so we didn't lock the kids in a closet... Clo was very gracious and offered to look after the kids while we ran.  Thank You soooo much Clo!!!  We know you had to get up very early on your Sunday and we really appreciate it.  

Getting ready to head out.

So that, in a nutshell, was our weekend.  

Cheers!

Ahhh, the long week is over :)

Yes, it's been a long week!!!  I just need to give you an idea of what our week was like.

I got sick on Sunday.  Super sick with lots of sinus problems.  I went to work on Monday for 8am but left around 1130am for the doctors office!  I found out that I had a sinus infection with a mild ear and throat infection.  And I had a fever.  Good times.

And of course my boss is in India all week so I'm sure he thought I was bailing on work!  And the other supervisor is having MAJOR personal drama and she has been taking sick days left, right, and centre!  

Back to me. :)  I went home after the doctor appt. on Monday and slept.  Felt horrible on Monday night but finally better on Tuesday.  Still home sick.  Went back to work on Wednesday but Breagha was sick (fever, coughing, sneezing, running nose) so Darryl had to take Wednesday off to stay home with her.  (reminder: Darryl just started his new job so not good to take days off already)  

Breagha seemed to be feeling better on Thursday so we send her off to daycare with Shamus.  Of course because Darryl and I know that we realllllllly have to work on Thursday.  But, Darryl picks the kids up after work and Breagha seems to have a fever again.  She had a pretty high fever on Thursday night.  Threw up in our bed....second time in a month!!  Soooooo, damn!  One of us needs to take another sick day for Friday! 

We work out a plan.  I'll go into work by 7am and work to 2pm.  Darryl will pick me up at 2pm, we drive him to work and he works til 7pm.  Luckily we our offices are very close to home so just a quick drive away.

Ah, ok.  I call my boss and he's ok with this.  (Thank God he is understanding!  He does not have kids)   Darryl's new boss seems very understanding too.

Breagha seems to be doing better tonight.  Fever is gone...for now.  Hopefully we can catch up on our sleep because we have a busy weekend too!

Last thought...isn't it typical.  I had an appointment on Monday for a facial and had to cancel because I was sick.  I haven't had a facial in yearrrrrss!  And I was suppose to go out with my team tonight as it was one of the girls last day.  And couldn't go because poor B was sick.  It all seems to happen at once!

Well, we'll keep you posted on our busy weekend.  Hope no one else is suffering from flus/colds/allergies!!!!  Get your flu shot!

Something new

In case no one knows ... I am at a new studio.  No I didn't lose my job (again),  THQ has moved shop.  What is odd about this move is: the new THQ studio is, in fact, the old Pandemic studio.  It has undergone a massive renovation job.   There are some similarities that remain but overall it is like a new building all together.  Basically this is my fourth studio in a little over a year with two different companies.  I hope this renovation goes better for THQ than the last one went for Pandemic (not that the studio location change was the catalyst for what happened in the end).   Anyways ... it looks great and I am excited to be in the new studio on a new project.

On another note ... Sas and I treated ourselves this weekend.   We bought ourselves a new camera. It is an Olympus Tough 8000.

 We needed a new camera after our old one got eaten from the inside by salt water.  This new camera is great.  It's smaller than our old "small" camera we had and it's shock proof, water proof up to 10 meters and good for shooting in cold weather (-10 celcius).  It has tonnes of features and shoots good video.  The funny thing is that Stacey did 90% of the leg work on finding it.  And I must say I am very happy with her choice.  Way to go babe!!!  We will post some new pics soon and hopefully a new video as well.

cheers!

The Weekends...

We usually keep ourselves busy on the weekends.  Always looking for something new to see or somewhere new to go.  I do enjoy a quiet weekend too though!  The last couple of weekends have been busy.  We've had friends over, friends had us over, playdates, mornings at the park....the typical weekend fun.  But we did manage to squeeze in a couple of new things.

Last Sunday we went to the hinterlands.  I didn't know what hinterland actually meant so I looked it up.  "The Hinterland is the land or district behind the borders of a coast or river."  There are a couple of cute towns we were told to check out.  And the drive was really nice as it was through the countryside and had lots of rolling hills.  Reminded us of home. 

Montville.  A really cute little town.  It had lots of cute little shops.  I'm not really into arts and crafts type decoration/home decor but I love browsing.  And eating in new places!

A little afternoon tea.

This strip of shops/cafes had the best view in the town.  Really beautiful.

Doesn't it look like Nova Scotia?!!  Maybe I'm just getting homesick?

Magpies.

And then we went to Mary Cairnscross Park.  It had the best view of the Glass House Mountains.  Darryl did a hike a few months back with the guys...it's the mountain to the far left.  

It was a great way to spend a Sunday.  We stayed for dinner which works out nicely...we don't have to cook dinner when we get home and the kids fall asleep in the car!!  I've been very lucky to enjoy a few Mondays off so it's nice when we don't have to get up for daycare the next day. :)

2 Saturday's ago we went to the Model Train Exhibition.  The kids love Thomas The Train so we thought they would enjoy all the different trains and the displays.  It was really quite impressive.   The scenery and towns were very detailed.

The kids enjoyed it but they were mostly interested in the kiddie displays.  There were endless exhibits so we didn't get to check them all out but really liked it.  

Here is one display of Radiator Springs (the movie "Cars") and of course that was the kids favorite!

And we finished the day with Thomas The Tank Engine.  The kids each got to pick an addition to their train set at home.  Shamus picked a coal station and B picked an airport.  Good times ahead!

Peanut butter and Jam

Hi reader(s),

I just thought I would post about a conversation I had the other day with a couple of co-workers.  In case you are not aware,  Vegemite is a very common snack food here in Australia.  Vegemite is a yeast based spread that most people eat on toast with some butter.  It is definitely an acquired taste.  One that I am happy to say I cannot acquire :) 

The reason I mention this is that Vegemite came up in a conversation at work the other day.  Damian, my Aussi co-worker whom is a stout Vegemite supporter asked myself and two other co-workers what the "big deal" was about peanut butter and jam sandwiches.  He claimed he had never eaten a "PB&J" sandwich.  Damian may as well have speaking Cantonese.  Neither Louis, Jomar or myself could comprehend never having the opportunity to savour such a delicious treat. 

The three of us proceeded to outline the proper peanut butter and jam sandwich experience.  I mentioned that you should have it with ice cold milk,  Louis added that it must be prepared with only the moistest of bread and Jomar ended with the point that the bread needs to be white bread.  None of that wholewheat, cracked wheat, 9 grain crap.  White bread .... bleached to perfection.  

Why am I telling you this you might ask yourself?  Well, after we had convinced Damian that he just might be missing one of the all time best food experiences on the planet I couldn't help but reflect on the conversation.  What I haven't told you is that Louis is an Argentinian, born to an Italian family, who grew up partially in the US.  Jomar is a Philipino who grew up dirt poor and left home at 18 to find a better life in Australia.   Our up bringings are vastly different.  Our cultures couldn't be more diverse yet we all share a common love of PB&J.  What stuck in my brain was that no matter our race, colour, culture or beliefs, most people are just people at the end of the day.  Sometimes we love the same things, sometimes we don't.   Most of all, if someone hasn't experienced PB&J, it is not cause for scorn or fear, but cause for celebration of our differences!

 

It's all about me right now!! :)

That's right.  All about me!  heheee....well, not really but I like to flatter myself!

I figured I better do a post now that Momma Rosie is back from Vegas.  Right Mom?

Same old story...we're still pretty busy these days.  I'm still really busy at work so it's tough to get things done some times!

Anyhoot, it was also my birthday on Friday!  I was pleasantly surprised by my staff on Friday morning.  I came into the office to find my desk decorated with balloons and a birthday card and lots of Crunchie bars!  (my favourite bar right now:)  And then the other supervisor brought in a flower and hot chocolate for me!  Very thoughtful.  I finished work early on Friday...very nice...and then headed home to spend the evening with the Darryl and the kiddies.  

The kiddies made me some beautiful birthday cards.  And Darryl gave me a very funny birthday card...8 Reasons Why Wine Is Better Than A Man.  Do I really need to tell you why?  I didn't think so!

Present time!!

I have been looking for a new handbag for about 2-3 months now.  Not a big deal to some people but it is to me!  :)  I knew in my head what I wanted but it was either going to cost me $2500.00...wonderful Jimmy Choo...or $25.00...if I went to Walmart.  So, I wanted a nice quality bag but I was not spending $2500.00 on it.  It took a while to find it.

Me.  Very happy.  I got a Steve Madden bag.  Thanks Darrylie!!  (Amanda will appreciate the bag) 

Oh, back to the birthday night....

The chocolate cupcakes were a hit.  Darryl did very well.  Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing and chocolate sprinkles.  (he knows me verrrry well!)

Thank you to everyone for all the birthday wishes!!!

And then it was Mother's Day on Sunday.

I told you it was all about me.  :)

I got up bright and early and did the Mother's Day Classic Run.  I was looking to do a race about a month ago when I saw this.  It is for breast cancer research so a great cause.  I signed up and I really enjoyed it.  It was only a 8km race but I'm glad I did it.  Of course I got too emotional about the reason for the run and had to pull myself together a couple of times during the race.  People were running for loved ones...someone that past away because of breast cancer.  And they wore the memory card on their back.  So, everytime I would read someone's back I'd get all choked up!  It was sad but really nice.  I am very happy I did the race.  And I was very happy with my time.

My cheering squad.  I ran the 8km in 39.51.  Out of 1349 females I finished 182nd.  And in my age group (yes the old age group Steve!!) I finished 60 out of 456.  So, I was happy with my results.

After the race, Darryl and the kids took me out for a Mother's Day breakfast.  And then we hung out in South Bank (where the race took place) for most of the day.  We got back to our place and Darryl took off to do a 18km run.  He's crazy.  And then Dan and Amy made an amazing dinner for us.  Really great guys!!  Thanks so much for having us over!  I need that recipe too Amy!

Today is Monday and I was lucky enough to have today off.  I think I mentioned that I'm taking a few Monday's off.  Very nice.  The kids and I spent the day with Felicity, Tycho, and Seraphie.  

Now it's back to work tomorrow!  Ah, time goes by too quickly.

To Blog Or Not to Blog...

That is the Question.

So, I really enjoy having our blog.  I look at it as a journal for the kids when they get older.  I like that we can post pictures and tell the story that goes with them.  It's impossible to get everything on the blog but I do try to update it once a week.  

But, it's really tough to find free time these days!

I don't know how some people do it.  How do families balance work life and family life?  Especially if your kids are in sports/activities.  There's not much free time.  This is why Duane and Cathy only update their blog every 3 months!  

Once I get home from work I don't usually feel like sitting in front of the computer.  I do that most of the day.  So, this is why I like to take a break from the blog sometimes...or why I fall behind in the emails!  Sorry to everyone who is waiting on me to reply.  I do get myself caught up eventually but it's not looking good right now.

I do like to make phone calls on the weekends so keep the ringer on!  Especially those with Skype...it's an easy way to catch up!  

All is well in wonderful Brissie and we will post soon.  Just taking a few days off.  :)