Garage sales

I love a good garage sale, but I hate crappy ones. Hubs and I have been hitting a few over the last few months here in Wang, and after the last lot we went to, I have realised there are 2 types of garage sale:

Type One is where the owners want to make money, and Type Two is where the owners want to get rid of stuff. Things that you would find at Type One’s garage sale would be an x-box for $250, a couch for $100 and clothes for $5 each. Things that you would find at Type Two’s garage sale would be this awesome coat…

… for $2. Oh yes! It’s almost new and very cute. I have never had a garage sale of my own, but that will change very soon. We are going to have one before we leave for Mt Beauty, and I can assure you it’s going to be a “Type Two” garage sale. I may even bake cookies for the punters. I can’t wait!!!

Two from two

So last night I mastered the art of cooking steak, and tonight, I conquered the fish. I cooked up some salmon steaks and some sort of white fish (blue grenadier?) and both were just lovely! Not that I like to brag 🙂

As we were pottering around today, we thought it might be nice to call my great aunt and uncle in Stratford to see if they were free this weekend for us to come and visit. And they are! We’re leaving tomorrow morning to check out a house at Mt Beauty that we might be able to rent from July when we move there, then it’s onto Bright for lunch then we head directly south to visit the rellies.

Really looking forward to it!

Super Moon!

Hubs and I have been trying to increase our activity levels as well as our social network, so when we were invited along to a moonlight walk with the Warby Range Bushwalkers Club over the weekend, we jumped at the offer! As many as you would know, there was a “supermoon” on Saturday, and we walked about 9km enjoying the view! We met lots of lovely people and had a great time chatting with new friends we invited along as well. Hubs carried Chance in our new ergo sling and he slept most of the time. (I’m glad Hubs did the carrying – we had a “weigh-in” yesterday and Chance has hit the 8.5kg mark! And he’s only 4 months old!!)

One of the members of the walking group hosted us before and after the walk. Everyone (all 35 of us!) brought our own dinner and drinks and mingled before and after which was really lovely.

Hubs, Wifey and Chanbe at the start of the walk:

The route we took:

We had a really super time and look forward to the next walk!

Beauty mate!

Today has been one of those ho-hum days. I’m tired and I’m sick of washing and trying to tidy our unit and am just generally nice and grumpy. Hubs cheered me up a bit before so now I’m (just barely) in the mood to write about our little trip to Mt Beauty yesterday.

We headed there to check out the town where we will be living in a few months time. Hard to believe we’ll be moving in the not-too-distant future. I keep trying to get our current abode in a manageable state, but I think I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s too small and we have too much stuff so it’s always going to feel cluttered. (This added to my doldrums today 🙂

So anyway, we had a drive around and chatted to the 2 real estate agents there. They seemed pretty confident that we’d be able to find something at that time of year so that was reassuring. I just can’t wait to move to a house where we can actually have people over for dinner as well as stay with us! Having people over for meals or to stay is such a big part of who we are and it’s really hard living in a place where it’s almost impossible to do that. And I miss having an outdoor area where I can just sit and have a cuppa or a glass of wine and watch the world go by. As much as we love living in Wang, it will be so lovely having a bigger place!

We are trying to be good with our pennies at the moment so we made our own breadrolls for lunch. I felt like such a Mum. It was awesome! Here’s Hubs and Chance enjoying themselves on our little lunch seat:

We have already confirmed house guests for August (yay!) and hopefully there will be plenty more to come. Please. Join us!

Wedding number 3

On Sunday the 19th December, I had the privilege of officiating the wedding of 2 new friends of ours. You may remember this wedding – well, the wedding last Sunday involved Nathan’s brother Pete, and it was a truly wonderful occasion. The wedding was held at Emily’s (the bride) aunt and uncle’s old B&B come holiday home in Trentham, Victoria. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t too crash hot – freezing cold and rainy – but that didn’t dampen the mood in any way. We had a wet weather plan, but ended up being able to have the ceremony outside in the courtyard and it went splendidly, despite being only about 12 degrees!!

Hubs took care of Chance during the ceremony, and it was lovely to see their faces amongst the crowd, even if it was only from time to time! It really was a lovely ceremony, and Pete & Em decided to self-cater which gave the day a lovely family feel. Oh, and the desserts were awesome! (And look at the scenery behind the house!)

We all had a great day and spent the night before and after at this gorgeous holiday home in Blackwood – we could have happily stayed there another week, just enjoying the surrounds, watching DVDs and enjoying good company. And thank goodness for the fireplace! I believe it got down to 6 degrees overnight. I don’t think Mother Nature got the memo that IT’S DECEMBER!!!!!!

Congrats Pete & Em!! And here’s a lovely little family pic from the day (and yes, our son is going cross-eyed. Focusing is hard at this age!!)

My life is a cliche

I’ve started writing this post half a dozen times and it never seems quite right, so I’m just going to dive in and see what eventuates. In case you missed the news, I gave birth to a little baby boy, Chance Harry, 10 days ago, and ever since then, I’ve just been living in cliche world. I don’t know why, but I thought I’d be the exception to many of the “rules” of parenting in the early days. But no. I’m just like everyone else. Let me give you some examples of the thoughts and feelings that have been going on inside my head:

– I’ve used the term “they don’t call it labour for nothing you know” more than once. So cliche.

– I was told on day one to expect the “three day blues” on day three and, still being pumped up on adrenaline and hormones, I was all like “naaaaah, that won’t happen to me! Look at me! I’m fine! I love being a Mum. How could I possibly get the blues??” Almost to the hour, the three day blues struck me down and I’ve been crying on and off every couple of days since. Fun! And so cliche.

– For the first 2 days after we got home, I had to check on Chance every 2 minutes. My friend sent me an email (you know who you are) saying he bets that’s what I’d be doing and he was right. Dammit!!! And how did he know? Cos that’s what every new parent does. So cliche.

– I think I have the cutest, most beautiful baby in the world and I can lose an hour just watching him sleep. So cliche.

– The house looks like a bomb hit it. I don’t know why, but I thought I’d avoid a lot of the chaos of bringing a new baby home. Gosh I was really and truly kidding myself on that one. So cliche.

– I’m convinced that Chance smiles at us and that he’s not simply passing wind. So cliche.

So there you have it. I finally understand what parents mean when they say “it’s different when it’s your own kid.” I used to feel sorry for mums who had to duck out to change their baby’s nappy or breastfeed or console their crying baby, but now I get it. It’s not a chore – it’s an absolute honour. Now I get it – your priorities do change. Now I get it – Hubs and I are just loving being parents and everything that comes with it. I know it’s early days, and we have already had a couple of really rough nights, but all I need to do is look into our baby’s eyes and know how blessed we are, and know that no matter what, everything will be okay cos we are a part of an amazing family.

So cliche. And loving it.

Technology can be a bitch

So as you know, I’ve had my run-ins with various technological gadgets and gizmos, with mixed results. I think I’m pretty open-minded when it comes to trying new programs, e.g. for our music and photos, and if I’m shown how to use something once or twice (sometimes 3 or 4 times) I can usually pick it up pretty easily. And out of all the gadgets in my life that were going to be the next to potentially cause me grief, the last thing I expected it to be was my mobile phone.

I like my phone. It’s a slidey Nokia that I acquired off Hubs when I gave him the iPhone I got with my plan 2 years ago. I didn’t think I had much need for an iPhone and I knew Hubs really wanted one, so we swapped. This phone has been so good to me. I can use it with my eyes closed it’s so simple.

So yesterday I decided, for some reason, (maybe cos I have all this time on my hands) to make my phone more “adult”, particularly my contacts list. Instead of having contact names like “Hubs Mob” or separating “Mum & Dad Mob” and “Mum and Dad Home” I grouped all the numbers together and got rid of duplicates. I also changed names like “Erika Med” (hello!!!) to her full name, and for some people, if I thought I would wonder in a few months who on earth they were, I put a little note with their contact. Like for our Real Estate agent, I put “Real Estate” in her notes section. I also made sure all the mobile numbers were listed as mobile numbers, and home numbers as such. It took about 2 hours all up and I was so happy with my work.

As I was going to bed last night, I thought about how all my contacts are stored on my phone, and how if I lost my phone, the contacts would be lost too. So I decided to move them over to my sim card instead, as Optus backs up your sim card for you on their database so if you lose your phone, you don’t lose your data. Great idea right? RIGHT??? Wrong.

What I should have done is told Hubs what I was about to do and he would have said “sim cards can only hold 1 number for each contact so if you do that, it will split them all up again.” Why oh WHY did I not tell Hubs I was about to be clever and do this! I pressed “OK” thinking I was so clever, only to be horrified 5 minutes later when I browsed through my contacts. Instead of having, for example “Mum & Dad” I had “Mum & Dad1”, “Mum & Dad2” and that was for everyone with more than 1 contact detail, including the notes. All the mobile phone numbers had been changed to general numbers. All my notes were attached to contacts separately. I just couldn’t believe all my hard work had been tossed out the window.

In my despair I told Hubs I wanted a new phone. This may have been a little over-dramatic, but it was late and I was annoyed. I think the worse thing about this situation is that I thought I was being really clever, you know? I thought I was making my life easier. I should have known better.

Technology 1, Wifey 0.

Baby swap meet

No, this was not an opportunity to swap your baby for someone else’s (Hubs). It was actually a Baby Bazaar but Hubs referred to it as a swap meet. Friends of ours, whose baby is due 2 weeks after Littlefoot, told us about this event so we went along with them last Saturday. And it was so great! A whole lot of pre-loved baby stuff in excellent condition at excellent prices! And the best thing is, they hold it every 3 months, so you don’t have to “stock up” on stuff that you won’t need for another 6 months cos it’ll be there next time you go!

They had everything from cots, prams, change tables and high chairs, to baby clothes, wraps and toys, to maternity wear and books. We spent a bit of time wandering around and then made a few purchases – I bought some maternity tops for $4 and $5 each and Baby Love – a book that was highly recommended to me which I’ve been looking for, second-hand, for a while. $5!! BARGAIN! And for Hubs we bought a pirate bean bag and a wooden block puzzle. Actually, the puzzle was free cos there’s a piece missing, which is funny as it’s an alphabet puzzle. So Littlefoot will grow up wondering about this letter “G” that everyone is talking about. 🙂 Luckily the names we have chosen don’t contain that letter. Hee hee! How’s that for a useless hint for you!

So we spent a bit over an hour there and met up with another couple and their 6-month-old boy who were friends of our friends. We then went to lunch all together and had a great time.

Hubs wanted to take a photo of me on this bench, so how could I say no?

It was such a beautiful day that we decided to head home via the Beechworth Celtic Festival. The weather really was amazing and warm so we had some delicious ice cream and a nice wander around. (This was after we’d eaten most of it.)

There was some Irish music and dancing, to be sure
And of course, a Pipe Band – they were awesome!! 
Update: our friends due 2 weeks after Littlefoot had a baby boy at 3am this morning! I believe everything is going well – can’t wait to meet the little guy!

Here comes the bride

This is a very late post about a beautiful wedding that I was lucky enough to officiate way back in April. It was my first wedding and I couldn’t have been happier that I was performing the ceremony for our 2 friends, Nathan and Cal. I have to admit that I was pretty nervous leading up to the day, and the night before I had not one but two nightmares that I couldn’t get to the ceremony!

We arrived at the venue over an hour before the start time, just so that I felt nice and organised. When I started to get ridiculously nervous, I reminded myself that it wasn’t about me. That the day was all about Nathan and Cal, and that I was just there as a helper. This made me relax a whole lot and I really started enjoying myself – getting things ready, and chatting to other friends who were there.

I love weddings. I know I have mentioned this before, but I really do. They are one of the happiest occasions in a couple’s life and I always feel so priveleged when I am a part of someone’s special day as a guest. But to be a Celebrant at a wedding is a whole new honour. Nathan and Cal wrote their own vows which were just beautiful, and I really felt blessed to be a part of it all.

Getting everything in order before the big arrival

With the lovely couple
(I don’t know who was more nervous – them or me!!)
Wifey shmoozing with guests after the ceremony
Nathan and Cal rocking out on the dance floor
When we first started planning the wedding I said something along the lines of “this will be my first wedding – I’ve never done this before” (which they already knew) to which they replied “well we’ve never done this before either so we’re in the same boat.” I’m so glad my first wedding was for a couple I knew well – it certainly helped with the nerves! Thanks Nathan and Cal!

I have done one other wedding since then that I’ll blog about separately, and I have one booked in for the 19th of December as well. Littlefoot will be very little indeed at that one, but I’m sure everything will come together nicely. I’m really looking forward to building up my business in the next few years!

Lady in red

I’m currently writing some posts about our mammoth weekend, but am having photo-accessing-issues (so what’s new!?) so just to keep you entertained, here’s some I prepared earlier. Hubs took these shots of me outside our unit when I was all dolled up for our dinner at Brown Brothers for a conference Hubs attended a few weeks ago.

Where’s the bump?

Oh there it is!

We had a sensational evening with amazing food (truly. AMAZING!) and lovely tastes of a couple of wines and we were at a great table with very interesting people. The conversation was enthralling and not all about medicine! The guest speaker for the night was a gentleman who used to be a doctor down in Antarctica for 9 months of the year, and now recruits said doctors for long (9 months) and short (6 weeks) stints down there. Of course, Hubs couldn’t wait to chat to him afterwards!

Truly a wonderful night to remember. (Did I mention how awesome the food was??)