Category: Happiness

Some time for me and a funny dessert

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We’ve been back home (in Wang, just in case you get confused about where we live. I know I do…) for a week now, and we’re slowly getting back into our little groove. Life is just looking up and up at the moment, and is continuing that trend which is unbelievably good for my soul. This is what I have spent the last solid half hour enjoying:

Leftover lasagne, a huge salad, a tall glass of water, and the internet. Oh, and a sleeping toddler. This is me time. This is time to catch up on my google reader, respond to emails, read about “Your Pregnancy: Week 18” and lust after my dream pram. I’ve had such a great week so far, and it’s just going to get better. I hit the gym yesterday for some cardio while Chance had a great day in care, even sleeping for over an hour which meant he was a happy little camper when I picked him up!

Last night we got right back into having friends over for dinner which was really lovely. They were meant to come over for dinner tonight but their tutorials got switched (they’re both studying with Hubs) so they were free last night instead, which I only found out at 4:30 in the afternoon, but I had everything I needed for lasagne and salad and garlic bread so we went ahead with that. Hubs came home and tidied our bomb-site of a house (I just didn’t have it in me!) while I made dinner. I hadn’t planned anything for dessert other than “something with strawberries” as they were on special at Coles for $1.60/punnet (I may have bought 6 punnets… and I may be planning on buying more today…) so instead of my usual choc-dipped strawberries, we had do-your-own strawberries dipped in chocolate.

Seriously, if you want an entertaining dessert, this is it. I melted a bowl of 70% dark chocolate and placed it in the middle of the table next to a huge bowl of the biggest strawberries in the punnets. And handed out napkins and little forks. It was the messiest, funniest dessert I’ve ever had. There was melted chocolate on chins, on fingers, and all over the strawberries, that got dropped in the bowl more than once. It was just hilarious, so much so that I was worried I was going to laugh chocolate and strawberries out of my nose.

The verdict? Maybe next time I’ll use smaller strawberries. But an absolute winner FOR SURE! Super easy, delicious, and a great source of entertainment for all.

Adults only

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(I’ve been meaning to type this post for a couple of weeks!)

When Hubs was visiting us from Melbourne, we took the opportunity to go out to dinner. Just the 2 of us. Being around the Redcliffe area, we weren’t exactly spoiled for choice with places to dine on a Thursday night, so I jumped on to Google to see what I could see. Ahem. Not much. Then I mentioned the “R” word.

Ribs.

Hubs was suddenly a man possessed. It had to be ribs. And what restaurant was the most likely source of ribs? Hogs Breath Cafe. We weren’t overly enthused to be honest – it wasn’t really my idea of a romantic night out! But without any great alternatives, Hogs is had to be.

We arrived and were seated outside in a little, ah hell, let’s call it “romantic” corner, and a few minutes later our drinks order was taken. We weren’t ready to order yet so our waitress said she’d be back soon. Our drinks were brought out by a different waitress who promptly left us, so we just sat and drank and chatted for a while. After a little while, I said to Hubs “I think they’ve forgotten about us.”

This triggered a series of “events” that really showed me that a) I need to relax and not be so concerned about time and what “should” be happening, and b) how different Hubs and I are when it comes to time and what “should” be happening. Hubs just kept saying “what’s the rush? Do you have to be somewhere? Am I not interesting enough for you? They haven’t forgotten about us. They’ll be here.” to which I replied “I’m not in a rush, I’m just saying, they’ve forgotten about us!” This went on for a while, and I said to Hubs that all I wanted was acknowledgement that they’d forgotten about us, and I’d relax. We made a deal that if the next table, who had arrived after us, got their food, I got to wave down a different waitress (ours was nowhere to be seen!)

Sure enough, 40 minutes later, we had not ordered so I was allowed to flag someone down. Turns out they had forgotten about us, and because of that, we got dessert on the house! So even though I was right, Hubs was also right about me not needing to be in a hurry all the time, and sometimes things don’t go the way I plan, but they work out okay in the end – free profiteroles!

Oh, and the ribs were really disappointing!!

So here we are

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We found out this week where Hubs, and therefore we, will be spending next year. And the winner… is…

TOWNSVILLE!!!

We are really very happy with that placement. Even though we would have liked Cairns as our first choice, there were no positions left after the first round offers all went to Queensland med students, but once we considered Townsville as a possibility, we decided we would be very happy there as well. We have family and friends up there and when I told them the news, they were very excited which was a lovely feeling.

Hubs finishes up medicine (woo!!) in early November, and we’re planning on moving up not long after that. The hospital is providing some moving assistance and accommodation while we look for somewhere to live which will be very helpful indeed. I’ve already started looking at houses up there and am really enjoying making plans,which is something we haven’t been able to do for quite a long time.

I’m feeling really great about the move, and am glad we can get up there and settle in before Christmas, and set ourselves up before the baby is due at the end of January.

So here we are. We have an answer to our big question, we have plans to make, and time to dream about what adventures next year will bring for our family.

London 2012

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Something awoke me at 4:17am this morning. Was it Chanbe? I don’t think so. Was it the possum that lives in the roof? Perhaps? Or was it my subconscious telling me that the Olympics were on TV and that I should take my doona out to the couch and watch some coverage? Yeah, I think that was it.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but I LOVE the Olympics. When I heard that Sydney was getting the 2000 Olympics, I knew I had to be there. I volunteered at the hockey and had the most amazing time, both at the hockey (we got to see a lot of games) as well as other events. In 2008, we had just moved to Melbourne, and I scored a temp job in the Channel 7 call centre, and got to see a lot of the coverage. I actually have a friend competing over in London in the swimming (go Brenton Rickard!!!) who did really well in Beijing (2 silver medals) and made it into the final of his first event in London, (100m breaststroke) which I watched at 5:10am this morning. (He came 6th, with team mate Christian Sprenger doing a great job getting the silver medal. Brenton’s world record that he’d held for 3 years also fell this morning.)

I just get so nervous and excited for all the athletes competing and wish we had foxtel so I could watch whatever I wanted. I’d love to see more hockey in particular, but that is up to the powers that be at Channel 9. So I watched over 4 hours of coverage this morning, (mostly swimming) and had my morning sleep after that. Hee hee! This whole staying-with-my-parents-so-I-can-watch-the-olympics-while-they-babysit thing is sweeeeeeeet!

Oh, and Hubs is coming up for a visit in a few days which will be really lovely. It’s going to be a great couple of weeks!

Woah Mama!

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Hubs and Chanbe and I are on our way to becoming a family of 4 🙂 I’m not quite 14 weeks pregnant, and check out this belly!!

Here I am wearing the same top in my first pregnancy. Except that in this photo, I was 20 weeks pregnant…

I heard that in subsequent pregnancies, you show a lot earlier, but this is ridiculous! Ha ha. Anyway, everything is going very well. The first trimester coincided with some of the hardest weeks/months of my life, but I’m feeling much better now. Chanbe and I have all but recovered from our nasty colds, and we are enjoying the gorgeous sunshine that Brisbane has to offer. My diary is filling up nicely with catch-ups, and the grandparents are loving having us (Chanbe) around.

So there you have it! The next lot of big news I’ll be sharing will be the location of Hubs’ internship next year, which we will find out in the next 2 weeks. Let the fun begin!

Feeling the warmth

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Chanbe and I arrived in Brisbane yesterday afternoon, and the weather hasn’t let me down. It’s cool, but not cold. It’s a bit cloudy, but not raining. We’ve had a lazy day of sleep and washing so far today, and the rest of the week isn’t going to be too full-on either.

When I last posted, I mentioned that “we were on the mend.” I was a bit wrong with that statement. Hubs took his Wifey and Chanbe to the doctor the following day, and we were both put on antibiotics. Chanbe bounced back by Friday but it wasn’t until Sunday that I was feeling like myself again. Sunday? Yeah, the last day of our “holiday”. So we didn’t end up at McLaren Vale, nor did we get to Penfolds like we planned on the Thursday. But that’s okay. In spite of the terrible weather and feeling like crap, we had such a lovely time with our friends. Our last dinner together on Thursday night consisted of some fresh fish we’d picked up from the Central Markets, and some truly decadent desserts our friend picked up from her favourite dessert place in Adelaide.

The boys even felt festive enough to wear their Friday shirts the next day!

I haven’t made too many plans for the next 4 weeks, but I have a long list of people to see and things to do, so I’m sure we’ll be kept busy. If you’re around, I’d love to catch up!

See you soon 🙂

One of those days

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You know the ones. Where you’re sitting in your back yard in the sun, the smell of bbq in the air, surrounded by friends and good vibes? Yeah. Yesterday was one of those days. We had some good friends (fellow medical student and family) stay with us for a few days this week, and yesterday, another med student and family (happens to be Chanbe’s Godmum) came up to visit for the day. So there we were. 3 med students, 3 foxy wives, and 4 adorable children; sun, bbq, beers… what more could a gal ask for?

Hubs and I are still winding down after our whirlwind few weeks, but we are getting there and loving it. I said to Hubs on our walk today, how funny life can be sometimes. I mean, what are the odds of him choosing to start med in the exact same year as 3 other guys, who are all mature age students, and who, along with their families, have become such a huge part of our lives in such a short time. It sounds super cheesy, but it was meant to be. I truly believe that.

We are so fortunate to have such genuine, loving, caring, outrageously fun people in our lives, and I hope, in 10 years time, we find ourselves sitting in someone’s backyard, reminiscing of good times gone by. I have a good feeling it’s going to happen…

We have arrived

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It’s Friday night, Hubs and Chanbe are having a shower, I’m drinking a glass of milk, and all is right with the world. As I mentioned 6 days ago, things were going to be better in 6 days. Today they are better. In fact, things are the best they have been in months. Hubs and I are smiling. And not in the strained “we just need to get through the next few months/weeks/days” way we have been smiling this year. We are happy. We are relaxed. We are (almost) ourselves again. And I really can’t express how good that feels.

You see, this week has been pretty sh*t. (Sorry, but it has). Hubs has been away in Shepparton for exams since Sunday afternoon, so I have been solo-parenting this whole week, and after this experience, all I can say is that I have even more admiration for full-time single parents. Oh wow. Seriously. It was hard work. Especially since I hate staying at home on my own. But I’ve known this week was coming for a long time, so I did a lot of mental preparation. I didn’t want to spend the whole week anxious and scared, so I started focussing on the positives, and rationalising to myself that there really was nothing to fear.

And you know what? It worked. Chanbe and I actually had a really great week. I made sure I had things to do each day to keep us occupied (including taking a train down to Kilmore to pick up the car and drive it home – turned out the alternator crapped itself and it didn’t cost as much as we were thinking. Woo!) and I just really focussed on keeping positive and realistic about my expectations.

Sunday to Wednesday were quite challenging with Chance waking up every night for an hour or so for no particular reason (he probably missed his Dadda) and not having particularly long naps during the day. Wednesday was my mental “hump day” – if I could get to Wednesday without cracking, I could get to Friday. Wednesday was a really great day, with playgroup in the morning and haircuts in the afternoon – one of the mums in my mothers group is my hairdresser so I go to her house and our boys play together while we cut, colour and chat. I was there for over 2 hours and it was so lovely. By the time we got home, it was just about dinner/bath/bed time which was great.

And each night I had something to look forward to – I watched 5 or 6 episodes of Sex and the City every night. It was very decadent. I decided I was going to do 1 load of washing a day, but as far as other housework went, I was giving myself the week off. No pressure, no guilt, no worries. And it really worked for me. By the time Thursday came around, I was on the home stretch and I really enjoyed myself. I topped the week off with a night out with my mothers group where we went out to dinner, had dessert and laughed so hard we got a stitch. It was so therapeutic.

So after my week off from housework and good sleep, I made up for it today. Chanbe went to childcare at 8:30am, I came home and slept from 9:30-12:30, then did housework til Hubs came home at 3. And the hug I got from him when he walked in the door was one of our best hugs ever. We had made it. We had gotten through the toughest time of our marriage to date, and we were on the other side. Damn it’s good to be here 🙂

Happy Birthday Hubs

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Even though yesterday didn’t go exactly to plan, (I’ll explain later), Hubs’ birthday weekend was still lovely. Much more low-key than previous years (for a number of reasons – I’ll explain later), but still a great celebration of a wonderful man’s life.

There was cake (friand)

A belated breakfast of creamy garlic mushrooms on toast (that I forgot to take a photo of) and a massive fail brioche. This is how it was supposed to look:

This is how it actually looked:

And a visit from one of the local doctors:
Hee hee! (Costume courtesy of Aldi!)
And of course presents!!
We got Hubs a workbench for his man shed. I’m sure he can’t wait to put it together once exams are over!

Even though it was a bit of a crazy weekend, everything worked out nicely in the end. Happy Birthday Hubs. You continue to amaze me every year with your constant love, support, sense of adventure, and beautiful heart. I love you so much for the Husband and Father I am getting to know more and more each day.

It’s the little things, like

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Doing a load of washing and having all of the socks come out in pairs

Having a long enough extension lead to vacuum the whole house without having to change powerpoints

Chanbe going down for a sleep without a fight

A nice sunny day where Chanbe and I can spend lots of time outside

My favourite bread on special at the supermarket

Hubs taking Chanbe to the park so I can have a sleep

All of these things have happened in the last week and have made my crazy stressful life just a little bit easier.