AFL Grand Final (better late than never!!)

February 10, 2009 / Renae / Leave a comment

I blogged last September about the fact that the AFL Grand Final was coming up, but I never followed up on that piece of information! The final was between Hawthorn and Geelong. Hawthorn had had a solid season, but Geelong were the hot favourites to win back-to-back premierships.

Hubs and I ended up going over to our friend’s place for lunch, beers and footy – what a great combo! It was a beautiful Melbourne Spring day – about 28 degrees (I was wearing a summer dress!!) and we were excited!! We had decided to back the underdogs because that’s a lot of fun, and plus we were also watching the game in Hawthorn. It was a really close game and heaps of fun to watch! Here’s a snap from the day (of course!):

Me, Hubs, Cal & Nathan.

Although we really enjoyed backing a winning team (St Kilda are unlikely to deliver the goods for us) the real winner on the day was the company! Thanks guys for a great afternoon!! (Aw shucks!)

Fires in Victoria

February 8, 2009 / Renae / Leave a comment

I know I kind of joked about how hot it was a couple of weeks ago, and how everyone was complaining. Well, we don’t have much to complain about compared to these people. A lot of you may have seen the coverage on the news. It’s just horrific. Saturday’s temps got up to about 46 degrees and we pretty much had to grin and bear it, but as bad as it was in town, nothing could compare to the destruction that was going on less than 100km away.

Spare a thought and a prayer for these people. I pray that all the fires are controlled soon and nobody else loses their life. Good luck Victoria. xxx

Karaoke of the dodgy variety

February 5, 2009 / Renae / Leave a comment

This is a karaoke fail:
(Background: We were promised karaoke by a friend who was in town, and karaoke to me means an awesome night at a pub singing your lungs out. Instead, we rocked up to karaoke booths, waited half an hour for our own booth, paid by the hour, paid $7 per beer, couldn’t find any good songs, and found this sign outside our room…)

Nasty, nasty, nasty…

Calm in a crisis

February 4, 2009 / Renae / 2 Comments

I like to think of myself as a fairly cool, calm and collected person. But in reality, I’m not. Well, not really. I especially think this is true in a crisis. After watching this footage, I wondered how I would have reacted if I were on the plane. Answer? Probably not great. I imagine I would have been one of those hysterical people they would have had to knock out and drag out, just to keep everything moving.

To be honest, I’ve never really been involved in a major crisis, and judging by the way I’ve reacted to small crises, that’s probably a good thing. I’m just so sensitive! I mean, I cried at a Nutri Grain commercial the other night for goodness sake!! Sheesh.

Hubs on the other hand, well, he would have been one of those people trying to keep us hysterics calm and in control. I don’t know how he does it! How he keeps a clear head and cool exterior when chaos is all around him. (Chaos, usually being Wifey).

I like to think I’ll be better at this once I “grow up”, but I’m still waiting for that to happen. I’ll keep you posted!

Yowsers!

January 28, 2009 / Renae / 4 Comments

A Whine

So I’ve spent most of the last few days, and particularly today, listening to Victorians whinge about the heat. Now, granted, it did reach 40 degrees yesterday, 43 degrees today, and a prediction of 40 for the next 2 days, so maybe they have something to complain about… a little… But it just didn’t stop! People were exclaiming that there should be air conditioners for all of the rooms etc etc etc. Come on people!!! Fair enough if you had more than 15 hot days per year, this might be a consideration, but a little heat for a few days? I don’t think so.

Unfortunately I had to play a touch footy game tonight, and the thing about Melbourne is that it doesn’t hit it’s top temp for the day til about 3 or 4 in the afternoon, and it stays that temp til after 9. This game was brutal. It was such a dry heat that I felt as though my insides were drying out. Not pleasant at all. But did I complain? Well, maybe a little in the end.

It’s just part of the charm of Melbourne that Hubs and I are embracing – you never know what the weather will do one hour to the next, let alone one day to the next. Perhaps that novelty has worn off with the locals though! I wonder what tomorrow will bring!?

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!!!

January 27, 2009 / Renae / Leave a comment

A Beer

We celebrated in true Aussie style – in 28 degree sunshine, with some beers and a bbq.

Here’s Hubs cooking up a storm on our balcony:

I tried my hand at home-made potato chips.
POTATO CHIP FAIL!!

What a great day!

Burn Baby Burn

January 20, 2009 / Renae / 1 Comment

Hubs and I popped down to Sorrento a couple of weeks ago to visit some rellies and spent the night on Saturday. We didn’t have anything planned for Saturday arvo, so Hubs’ Dad took us for a walk along the beach. Now, I thought we might be going for a nice leisurely stroll along the beach for an hour or so, so I was just wearing my jeans and joggers and a singlet. I didn’t bother putting sun cream on as we were leaving around 3pm and wouldn’t be out long.

Or so I thought.

3.5 hours and 12km later, we were back home. When we left it was pretty overcast, but by about 4pm the sky had completely cleared and I could feel my poor nose roasting!

I also got a lovely singlet mark, complete with a white patch where my pendant was sitting! Nice!

But the best sunburn of the day goes to Hubs and his chesty bonds tan! Classic!

So the moral of the story, kids? If you’re going to go out in the sun and not wear sun cream, don’t wear things that leave embarrassing tan lines!!

SURPRISE!!!

January 19, 2009 / Renae / 1 Comment

I arrived home from work on Friday to find my Mum and Dad in our house!!! They had decided a couple of months ago that they wanted to surprise me for my birthday, so they started conspiring with Hubs, who, in turn, conspired with the business manager here at college and arranged for them to stay in a couple of spare rooms here! Classic! I was SO surprised it nearly gave me a heart attack!

So we went out to dinner on Friday night on Lygon st (the thing to do) and then Saturday morning/midday was spent in the Emergency Department of Melbourne Hospital because Mum took a great spill on Swanston st (she’s okay – a sprained ankle that she’s resting today) and then Saturday arvo/evening we were at Little Creatures for birthday eats and drinks. It is a FANTASTIC place! The service was terrific, the atmosphere was pumping and the drinks were so tasty. And the FOOD! Yum yum yum. The mains were great, but the dessert took the cake, so to speak. Hubs and I shared a piece of chocolate mousse cake – oh wow! I think it’s the best dessert I’ve EVER had! Big call, I know!

As usual, here’s some snaps from the day.

The patient:

Silly Hubs:

Little Creatures beers come in 3 sizes: Pony, Little, Not so little. Oh, and a glass of wine thrown in for good measure!

I was so touched by how many people turned up to the party. It was so lovely to have friends from college, from Hubs’ uni course, and old friends I’ve known for years (who live in Melbs.) And of course it was great having the folks there too!

Sunday was my actual birthday, and I knew we were going out for lunch but had no idea where or with whom. So it was a lovely surprise to end up at Brandy Creek for tasty tapas, delicious wines and delightful views. And the weather! WOW!! It was without a doubt the nicest day we’ve had since arriving in June last year. 28 degrees, not a cloud in the sky and a nice breeze to keep it cool. Gorgeous!!

After 3 big days I was a tired little bunny last night, but we finished off my birthday weekend with a couple of beers, some wine, a birthday cake, a chat to my friend on the phone and some relaxing time with Hubs. Phew! What a fantastic weekend.

2 more sleeps!

January 15, 2009 / Renae / Leave a comment

TIL MY BIRTHDAY!!! I’m so excited. I LOVE celebrating my birthday. I have a party every year! This year’s party is going to be a bit different though, with the only “familiar” face being that of Hubs. I mean, I’ll know everyone who attends, but the usual suspects won’t be there. But it will still be GREAT!

It will also be cold, which is not something I’m used to in January. We’re having drinks tomorrow and the top temp will be 21 degrees! Chilly! We’ll just have to drink to keep warm.

Here’s a few happy snaps from my Mexican Fiesta Party last year:

The cake Lsl made for me:

TEQUILA!! Lick, Sip, Suck baby!

And it wouldn’t be a Mexican party without a Pinata. (It started off as a Llama!)

It got a little interesting towards the end, after drinking concoctions of Sangria, Tequila and vodka. Oh! And add a cigar for good measure! Ha!

‘

One of my best birthdays ever! Let’s see what shenanigans we can get up to this year! Happy birthday to meeeeeeeeeeeee!

Mt Tibrogargan

January 13, 2009 / Renae / 1 Comment

I do believe this is my 100th post! Hooray!

I thought I would celebrate this milestone with a post about another achievement I made whilst holidaying in Brisbane. My 2007/2008 New Year’s resolution was to try a few new things. So I dreaded Hubs’ hair, started sewing again, did some study, and climbed Mt Tibrogargan! (The Gorilla-looking mountain on the way to the Sunny Coast.) I wasn’t sure what to expect to be honest. I thought we were going for a bushwalk/hike, but it felt like more of a climb/scamper!

My sister-in-law used to climb it “for fun” every couple of weeks, and Hubs had climbed it a few times before too. It was insane! They were very supportive though, and managed to get me all the way to the top!

Here are some “happy” (aka exhausted, nerve-racking, insane) photos we took along the way.

At the start, when I was thinking “this isn’t so bad!”

The next part where Lsl PROMISED she wouldn’t take any photos of my butt! Yeah, right. I was starting to wonder what the hell I was doing up there at this stage.

Hub’s thoughts: “I love you”
Wifey’s thoughts” “How the hell am I going to get down from here?????” (click on image for up-close facial expressions!)

We made it!! The view was amazing! Half way up, I really didn’t think I was going to make it. But I was SO proud of myself, sitting up there on top of the world!

After much slipping and sliding (and torn pants) we were back down the bottom, looking up at the beast we had just conquered.

If I had known what I was getting myself in to, I probably would have chickened out, but ignorance is bliss! Thanks for the great experience Hubs and Lsl! Oh, and I NEVER want to do it again! Ha!