Morning Swim

The cool thing about having holidays is that you can do things out of the ordinary... I would never go for a swim during the weekday in the mornings (I am at work before the pool openings)...

and I certainly would not have had the desire to make French Toast on the BBQ for breakfast and THEN swim..

But, today we did! It was fantastic! I even had Kool-Aid with my breakfast! Nothing goes better with food than Kool-Aid on a hot day! And its hot here... big thanks to Dad who brought me Kool-Aid from his last visit to the states! I shared with everyone, and it went down well!

French Toast, Swim, Kool-Aid

Life is good!

A night of farewells

Last night there was a farewell party that I attended. It was an "S" themed party... not everyone wanted to be nice and play along in the theme, but here are a few of those who did:

Sailor (and a passing neighbor)

My farewell cake I made for the party.. hard to see in the photo but in the ocean is a big fish.. the sand has a thong (or flip flop) and of course the car as she is driving back to Blue Mountains

The Sailor (again) and the Soccer Player

The Smurf, The Surfer, and The Sexy Santa

And then this showed up.. thank goodness we had a few drinks by this point.. The Skateboarding Spartan! Oh my!


Good times and good laughs! Although I am sure theres going to be at least 1 more farewell party before Smurf actually leaves us!

Ah.. almost into 2009... are you ready?

Each year brings (hopefully) new lessons, adventures, and memories.




The video is about 6 minutes long, but I think you will enjoy... its a bit of 2008 and what you may have shared with me, or missed but thought of... either way, however you may play a part in my life, I THANK YOU and look forward to seeing you in 2009!

A big thanks to blogger for a crappy view of the movie clip.. looks better on my computer. sorry for a bit of blurred!

New Beginnings

Its a new year approching..

• things will be changing



• people will be making/breaking resolutions



• people get new ideas on structuring thier lives



• you contemplate where the "past year" has gone



• you gain excitement for the possibilities ahead



• its all new and yet old in the same sense

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones. May your hearts be filled with warmth, love, joy, and happiness today.

busy busy busy

busy baking.. back soon! hope your all well!

The Christmas baskets are on the way...

Food for the Xmas dinner.. everything had to be non-perishable

Some goodies for their day...
Wrapped and ready to go...

I am hoping you remember that we had done Xmas baskets again this year for those in need. We had selected a 60 yr old single female and an 80 yr old couple to give some food and a few presents to this year. Well, its been wrapped, presents have been wrapped, and the baskets are now on the way to the people so that they may have some extra Xmas Cheer this year. F&G donated some Gift Vouchers to their store for our task, which is great... there is always stuff to find at GONE BONKERS... if you happen to be in the area, stop by at GONE BONKERS and say hello to the staff and the wonderful caring owners who do so much for the community!

We wrapped all the goodies in a Xmas table cloth (we really should have picked up more of the santa bags we used last year) but the table cloth was still very festive looking! Either way, its nice to know that someone can have a bit of extra cheer on Xmas day.

Thanks to all the little elves that helped out!

Christmas Cheer

Such a classic movie and so true about so many things. I love this time of year, but I hate how some people become so obsessed with finding the gift for someone. I dislike how its turned into a monetary holiday. I have fond memories of spending christmas with no money sipping hot chocolate, singing christmas songs, playing in the snow, watching the storm from inside, playing cards, watching a movie (A Christmas Story was always a favorite for everyone), and just being with family and friends.

Please remember the holidays season isnt about making sure you get the perfect gift, or any gift. Its about more than just a bottle of perfume or that really nice top from Macy's.

And the holidays are much more enjoyable knowing that you didnt have to spend time with that gumpy sales lady who really didnt want to wrap your present for you which you bought at the 20% off table! Just enjoy the holidays and enjoy the magic that you make from it.

It can be a great time of year, filled with holiday cheer.

Tonights Moon

Its hot here...

Just wanted to remind you that I am sweating over here! Its hot! I am trying to imagine little snowflakes dropping on my nose and cooling me down, but I cant: the sweat from my ELBOWS is distracting me.

As if I needed another reason to not really care for her...

Okay, so maybe the car is not actually running or in gear.. but are you kidding me? Where is the bloody car seat for your kid?

Seriously, in some states, if you have keys in the ignition of a car, but the car is not moving, you can still be charged with DWI... so how is this not a crime to have the kid on your lap as you sit in your car? You can not tell me that once and only ONCE the car stopped and was in parked did this mother take her child out of the car seat (fastened up) and then put the kid on her lap????

Find it hard to believe.

Maybe a license for people to reproduce? I said it years ago as a joke, but now I think its really the truth... you should have a license in order to sprout others... just a thought.

(Photo from Hollywood Heartbreaker)

Randomness

Heres a few tidbits for you today... just until I get this video posted of my weekend.. its hilarious, so make sure you come back and watch it! However, until then, heres some tastiness for your taste buds.....

I have a secret: My co-workers wife called me up today for a work related issue. She is the most adorable thing and her and I could chat for hours! Today, we will give her a name: we will call her Wanda~ So, Wanda is telling me about her weekend, and we havent spoken in ages, so as we catch up on the goss, the xmas happenings, etc she also tells me that she got in trouble today from her hubby whom we will call Kirby... Kirby wakes up this morning to get showered and ready for work only to discover that Wanda hasn't done the full washing over the weekend. Kirby has no undies to wear to work. And yes, hes actually one of the civilized people I work with (few and far between really!) and he wakes up Wanda to see if maybe he just cant find his clean jocks... Wanda tells him, regretfully, that No, there musnt be any clean undies as she didnt get to that basket of clothes... he gonna have to deal with. Do you know what he has on today instead?

Yep, you guessed it... HER PINK UNDIES. Bonus is this: at least they are clean and I know hes wearing undies. The upside is that its funny to walk by him and giggle knowing his got his wifes undies on... but Im kinda dying to know if they have a little frilly bit on them or not... Heres another one for you: last week I went for dinner with Tilda. We went to a restaurant that was putting a Christmas Dinner Appreciation thing on. I was Tilda's guest! It was really nice to not have to cook during the week... but I had to laugh at the carpet at the venue (granted the carpet "change" is where the false wall is during some events.. but you would still think they would have made it all the same for when the false wall isnt there?).

I certainly dont want that Interior Decorator! And, I dont think I can wear my pink undies anymore...

Hope your well!

Blah

I am absol exhausted. From all these numbers running thru my head, trying to figure out just how I am going to pay employees for work AND holiday pay, plus the regular bills, plus the taxes, plus have enough money left for all the shit that comes out during the month..... all because no one will listen to me when I advise and scream my head off TO STOP SPENDING MONEY WE HAVE NONE TO SPARE. I think they think I can do magic. I honestly do not know how I am going to juggle this money situation for work. Add to that that I THINK we are done with work next week, sometime, no one knows a day for sure, due to the Xmas break, so ALL my shit needs to be done by then. Ya know, plan ahead for the next month because you wont be doing anything work related, but bills and all still needs to be done... work never stops, and I need to make sure this place can still operate when I get back... I finished inventory today, and hopefully monday I can sort more out. I still need to be organized for the purchase of pizzas and grog for the breakup Xmas party that I couldn't tell you when it is, its just soon... no one can make a decision, so I have no clue. F**k!

Thats just work.

Not too mention that I havent stopped in a week, always running here there and everywhere. Too much socializing, responsibilities, tasks, fun, etc. Last night I had NO obligations after 5:30 and I passed out on the couch at 7... woke up at 9 and straight up to bed. Ugh.

I am exhausted. Orville is excited to see me tonight. I just want to cry. I dont want to see him, well, its not that I dont want to see him, I am just so bloody exhausted that I am not sure why I should even venture to his place. I just want to sleep and DO NOTHING. NOTHING. Then, its his moms bday on Saturday, which means dinner out tomorrow night, and I still have to find things for the Adopt-A-Family baskets, and spend time with Orville, clean the house, laundry, and do normal tasks... oh and try to find time to recoup so that im not so damn E-X-H-A-U-S-T-E-D.

Ack!

Some of the "best" presents for her?

I was looking in the paper today... a reputable newspaper which gave a photo gallery of some of the "best gifts to give her" and thought it would be a great addition to a wish list! I picked some of my favorites on teh "DO NOT PURCHASE FOR ME" I personally think these few "select" items are butt-ugly, but thought it necessary to share.... beware the eyes! Prada may make these shoes but for $1290.00 I think I would rather buy about 400 pairs of other shoes that will: A) not make me want to vomit; B) not look like I have shit hanging from the back of my shoe; and C) not allow me to hold my pencil in the heel pocket... really, what is that thing protruding from the shoe?

These candle holders are just laughable... I mean really, how could you stop from saying..."its been a real fruit of a time at dinner tonight."

This dress makes me want to vomit..or wait, is that already vomit on the dress... I cant be sure.. but for $850.00 fo a "designer" dress, I am thinking YELLOW is not the color to choose for this print. Yuck!

I knew the post office was moving location, but I didnt know what date exactly. There was a sign posted on the door for the last month, but after a few date changes, I just ignored the damn sign. It was wrong anyway.

I needed to go to the Post Office last week and drove up to the office only to notice that it was black and empty. Oh, guess they moved!

Today, I venture to the Post Office to conduct serious postal business... no I didnt go postal on anyones ass... in fact, I think that the Post Office staff at this particular branch are the nicest people: friendly, always willing to help, no task too big, excellent service, and minimal mistakes. Generally speaking, the postal service in this country is crap, I always end up with my neighbors mail, and although Im sure they sometimes end up with mine, they never give it to me...

Anyway, I wander down the street (towards the old post office) and I must have looked like some sort of helpful assistant because 2 people asked me where the post office was. Im just glad to have been there to help! Had to laugh... it would have been much to easy to actually put a sign on the window telling people the new location!

Ah the beauty of small towns. Imagine the look in their eyes when the American accent kicks out directions to the post office.... much too funny.

and they smiled upon us last night

This was the sky last night in Australia. Did you see it as well?

Magical!

It wont be this way for another 5 years!

Venus, Jupiter, and the crescent Moon gave us a big smile last night!

I guess its true, I do really live in a lucky country...how many other smiles were there shining down last night?

PGA this weekend

All sorts of things are happening in my area this weekend... actually, the PGA is happening! So, tents are going up, staging vans are blocking views, cranes erected.... its all happening!

Adam Scott, a local, ranked 17 in the world was supp to play the event but has had to withdraw from the event. He injured himself while surfing this weekend at the beach near our house. Ouch!

I have players in the competition living in the holiday unit across from me... its all very cool!

I will be out and about and will get some snaps for you!

The course is described (according to the the PGA website) as this:

Australian PGA Championship is played at the Hyatt Regency Coolum, which boasts a superbly challenging and very beautiful 18 hole course. Designed by the renowned Robert Trent Jones Jr , the golf course covers over one third of the resort.The scenery of this course is stunning. Each hole has its own uniqueness - rolling linksland type holes run beside the Pacific Ocean, and the woodland holes are set in groves of native melaleuca and eucalyptus trees, parkland and rainforest.

The 72par, 6263 metre championship course has been officially rated by the Australian Golf Union 73 from the championship tees, and is rated as one of Australia's top resort course by Golf Digest Magazine (February 2002).

Fore more info (get it... fore... for) go look at this website~ and keep looking back here, theres more to come! But, if you can watch the PGA on tv, do it, because you will see my backyard!


http://championship.pga.org.au/