Category: Photos

That’s Doctor Hubs, PhD to you…

/ Renae / 4 Comments

I can’t believe I haven’t blogged about this yet. It’s one of those things that happened and it is so exciting that I just assume everyone has heard about it (even thought I don’t have facebook, twitter, instagram etc.)

Get on with it Wifey!!

Hubs’ PhD thesis has been accepted. So apart from printing and binding the final copy, it’s done. No corrections needed. I cannot tell you how excited I was for Hubs (and us!) when he told me. I was still in Brisbane and he was back in Townsville when he called with the news. It’s one of those moments that I desperately wanted (needed) to be with him so I could hug him and look him in the eye and tell him how proud I am of him. But alas, that had to wait.

We still haven’t properly celebrated, as he has been working long hours since I returned home, but there is a bottle of bubbly in the fridge earmarked for such an auspicious occasion, and I for one can’t wait to crack it.

As Hubs’ Mum pointed out to me, a PhD is an achievement in itself (she should know!) but the fact that he quite literally wrote the majority of his thesis whilst he was studying medicine, as well as getting married, moving twice, having a baby, moving 3 more times, having another baby, and starting his intern year, is simply outstanding and a credit to this man I am lucky enough to have by my side.

I don’t think it has sunk in as yet. Perhaps when he attends his graduation next year (I insisted) it might hit home. But more likely, when we go on holidays, or spend a day together as a family, he won’t be thinking “I really should be working on my PhD.” That’s when he will realise he is free to enjoy his down time wholeheartedly.

I love you, Hubs, and we are all so damn proud of you.

Dorothy got it right

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There’s no place like home. We have had such an amazing time in Brisbane; staying with Gran and Grumpy, catching up with family and friends, and spending amazing quality time with people. But it’s time to go home. I miss Hubs (he went home 11 days ago to get back to work) and I miss our little routine we had going on up in Townsville. I need to feel settled again.

But things won’t stay settled for long. Hubs’ final rotation is in Ingham (chicken, love’m) so we will be packing up in the next 2 months, putting our belongings in storage, and moving in to a 2 bedroom unit for the 10 week rotation. And after that? Well, the jury is still out, but we will hopefully find out in the next month or so. 

This has probably been one of the best Brisbane visits I’ve had in years. I really wanted to have one-on-one time with people, as I find when we have lots of people over at once, it’s just too hard to have an in-depth conversation, and I leave feeling exhausted, but not really knowing what anyone is up to. Not this time. I can leave tomorrow, feeling closer to my family and friends than I’ve felt in years.

A few more highlights:

We turned Quinn’s seat around! 

Chanbe visited a fire station!
Chanbe drove Gran’s boat: (in the driveway…)
Even though packing awaits, I can’t wait to get home. The last move was pretty horrendous, and I believe no other move could be any worse than that, so I’m rather unfazed by it all. Plus, we have more of a plan this time around! I have quite a few of my 101 in 1001 to give you updates on, so I’ll be back soon!

Another 5k

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In the lead up to my first 5km run, I also signed up for the Bridge to Brisbane and recruited another one of my wonderfully supportive friends to run it with me. Unfortunately, my pulled hip muscle prevented me from running this event, so we walked it instead. And since we weren’t running, we decided to have a nice relaxing brekky at Restaurant Manx at Portside beforehand. The eggs Benedict I had was so delicious, and the coffee (2 coffees, actually) were Melbourne-standard delicious! A great yummy start to a fantastic walk filled with some always-needed girl time with my friend. It also meant we could chat the whole time instead of me huffing and puffing my way through. I’ve lost a bit of fitness in my recovery, but I know how quickly I can get that back once I start jogging again, so I’m confident I can get back into it once my hip feels better.

Being so far from my close girlfriends is sometimes really hard, and this year I really have had some great quality time with quite a few of them, which always recharges my soul.

Our holiday in photos (and a few words…)

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We began our holidays at Rainbow Beach, in this apartment, with this view:

 There was “incy wincy” cake:

 and books to read:

and more beautiful views:

 Then there was Melbourne. And what does Melbourne mean? Melbourne means coffee:

Then there was Wang. And Wang meant catch ups;

meeting new friends:

more coffee;

and more coffee:

and good times at old places:

and more catch ups with old friends:

and more meeting new friends:

Remember these guys?

Then back to Melbourne for some underwater fun:

and more catch ups:

and of course, more (awesome Melbourne) coffee:

Lots of lovely times at the park:

And a few snoozles in the car:

 And so many cuddles with Big Brother;

 Nanna;

And Poppy.

And one of the best things of all; ice creams in the car after a long drive.

A truly amazing mix of complete relaxation, delightful catch-ups, crazy toddler getting cabin fever in the car, yummy coffees and not-as-bad-as-you-might-think Victorian weather. Hubs is on his way back to Townsville in our “new” car (we bought Mum and Dad’s land cruiser off them) and the kids and I are in Brisbane (Woody Pt) until the 11th of September. Might see you round 🙂

Chanbe’s car trip

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There’s a fair bit of road works going on a few kms from our house, and although it would be quicker to avoid it, I’d also miss out on this each morning:

(Re: the “smiley face” he’s referring to: There’s a temporary speed sign that says 40 and has a speed camera on it. If you’re going 40km/h or under, it gives you a big smiley face.)

(The size and quality are better if you click on the “YouTube” icon on the bottom right, and view it via YouTube.)

And of course, if I’d kept filming for another 5 seconds, you would have also been treated to a big “BOBCAT!! Bobcat Mama!!!”

I love the delight the Chanbe finds in a boring old trip in the car. It’s definitely a highlight of my day 🙂

Smile!

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It is my mission at the moment to try and get them to smile at the same time. Quinn is a bit of a blur in the first one, as Chance wasn’t supporting her too well! If I could merge the 2 together, we’d have it!



My happy little vegemite

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This is my little girl. “She’s very happy” as Chanbe would say. He says it all the time, because my little Quinn is happy a lot. She hardly ever cries – usually only when she’s really hungry, is about to vomit, or if Chanbe donks her on the head with one of his Matchbox cars. Even then, it’s gotta be a pretty big donk.

She goes to bed happy and puts herself to sleep sucking her thumb.

She wakes up happy, talking to herself and playing with the blanket.

She loves her big brother, and he was the first person to make her laugh, just yesterday. It was the most lovely sound in the world. Her face lights up when Chanbe is playing with her, and she smiles when he gives her a big cuddle and a big kiss, which is often.

She smiles when she sees her Dadda’s face when he comes home from work, and grabs onto those dreads as tight as she can. That makes Dadda smile. A lot.

And all day long, she smiles at her Mama. My heart just bursts a thousand times a day and I feel like the luckiest gal in the world.