Guess who's back? Back again.

Okay, pretend to be surprised, it's me.  I've had a bit of a hiatus but that doesn't mean I wasn't putting together some blog posts because I was!  Technology and I weren't friends - darn you El Capitan update!  After a few weeks of uninstalling then reinstalling, then updating and uploading to download, I finally have photos to add!

In February, I had 2 working weekends in a row and for some reason; I didn’t cope as well as I usually do, thanks to a couple of weeks of poor quality sleep.  (I’m working on that)  We packed in as much as we could on our 2 “free” weekends to make up for it… and MrE added in some excitement of his own too.

First thing is first, I’m now very late but… GUNG HEI FAT CHOY!  Sydney is amazing for Chinese New Year, you should all come visit!  There were so many activities to take part in and each year they seem to top it.  We had to spend 2 weekends on the Lunar Lantern walking trail just to see our 4 zodiac animals.

CNY Part 1: Public transport

Our first stop was the QVB .  They had a gorgeous 4-storey lantern display.

Then we ticked off MrH (horse) and MissE (rat) on the Lunar Lantern walking trail on our way to the Pop-up Food Market.

Rat

Horse

Pop-up Food Market

CNY Part 2: Book a bay

My thrifty book a parking spot led us to start our day at World Square Sydney which meant we had lunch at Din Tai Fung.  Yay!  

These were pretty amazing... delicious!

After gorging on dumplings and CNY bao’s we walked to Chinatown to find my zodiac animal: Goat!

Goat (just me)

MrE watched the fish and giant lobsters in the fish tanks at the restaurants on Dixon Street while we waited for the lion dancing to begin.  (Side note: they now ask constantly to watch our wedding DVD, but just for that)

We then hopped on the train to Circular Quay (beat walking on such a hot day) in search of the (white) rabbit (MrE’s animal) and the monkey. 

Rabbit - these were our favourite lanterns

The rabbits were located outside of Customs House.  Inside, for a small donation, you could print your own 3D monkey.  Pretty cool!

Well, despite working for 2 weekends in a row, one of them I had the pleasure of staying at Coogee Beach.  I couldn’t remember the last time I was there; it’s just that bit further to travel to when heading for the beach.   I was pleasantly surprised!

Pre-conference drinks or what we in the business refer to as
 "the calm before the storm"

I started my mornings on this running path

On the last day of the conference, I asked MrH to pick me up (one car family) so we could have lunch and frolic in the salt water.  It was pouring down rain when they arrived but it cleared up to a beautiful day!  Check out MrE's boogie board ride.

Inside The Coogee Pavilion, wall scrabble!

MissE now has the taste for boogie boarding so when the temperatures hit 43 on a Thursday afternoon, we hightailed it to the beach for a sunset session. 

During weekend #2, it was close to home so I came home to rest my eyes (and feet) at night.  I get a phone call just past 9:00pm that MrE has a bump but was fine… but it would be better that you come over.  One car, remember? So I put on my running shoes (teasing Sabi that she was getting a run) and booked it, using my phone as a flashlight.  My neighbourhood is kinda creepy at night (too many zombie shows for me!)

MrE had a mishap with an exercise band and split his forehead open.  There was a lot of blood; it was little but deep.  We needed to go to the local Emergency Department!

Waiting there, we found that people go to the Emergency Department for stupid reasons.  I mean what a waste of resources!  Two girls come in chatting and giggling, “I got bit by a spider”.   Look, I know we are in Australia but if you are walking and giggling, you are fine.  A mom with her son, “He has chicken pox spots”.  They were sent home after a quick glance, mosquito bites.  Public service announcement: in NSW, we have Home Doctor Service, it’s free.  Call it.  Okay, rant over.  Lucky for us, MrE could be put back together with glue.  We made it home at about 12:30am.

A few short hours later, I was getting ready to head into work and our car wouldn’t start. This is after both of our keys broke in the ignition within 3 weeks of each other.  Thank goodness for our car service, they soon had me on my way.

After all of that, on Sunday, we surprised the kids with a concert on the Sydney Opera House forecourt: Disney Under the Stars. 

During the week, MrH and I had a daydate.  I desperately needed a day off (as I said before I didn’t cope well) so MrH took one too.  We went to Bondi for brunch by the beach and I finally got to try Curlberry (apparently this is Thai fried ice cream but I haven’t seen in it on all my trips to Bangkok?)

As summer draws to an end so does the Wet’N’Wild season.  We spent a warm Sunday here and even better the crowds have diminished so we were able to go on as many slides as we liked. 

During Term 1 school holidays, we visited The Australian Museum, had a girls day out, and discovered the drive-in!

The Australian Museum

Dinosaurs!

Inside Australia's 50 Great Explorers exhibit

Girls Day Out
We had originally planned to hit the waves but the weather turned.  Instead we had a leisurely lunch at Hello Kitty Diner (Chatswood) and grabbed some bargains at the shops.

Love Milkshake

Skyline Drive-in
We re-discovered the fun that is the drive-in movies!  I hadn't been since high school!  During school holidays they had a 6PM movie at $25 per car!  That's cheap!  We saw 2 movies - Zootopia and The Jungle Book.  We recommend both!

We put the seats down and watched from the back

There is a Happy Days style diner on property.  It's nothing to write
home about but the decor is great!

MissE Says the Darnedest Things

MrE has had some good ones!

SWAg for days

Mr Smarty Pants Part 1

MrE had a doctors appointment so he was going to be late for pre-school.  I wasn't sure if he would make it for lunch so I packed him a sandwich and asked -

Me: What time do you have lunch?

MrE: When we have lunch.

Mr Smarty Pants Part 2

After displaying some naughty behaviour,  MrH started to discipline him.

MrH: How many times do I have to tell you?

MrE: 2… oh wait, 3.  3 times.

More beeps than a Samuel L Jackson movie

MrE accidentally drops F💣 in the car
MissE: Excuse me, what did you say? 
MrE: What did I say?
MissE: The F word. You can't say that! It's bad, really bad.
MrE: What's the F word?
MissE: F💣. Don't say F💣 okay? It's the worst one.
MrE: F💣 is the F word?
MissE: Yes don't say F💣. It's bad and if you say F💣 you'll get in trouble.
MrE: Okay I won't say F💣 because F💣 is the F word and bad.

Me

I knew you were going to ask how my un-resolutions are going.  I am still trucking on.  My already tidy space is even tidier and I am making a conscious effort to uphold the “Does it Spark joy?” principal and questioning how it will fit with my “joyful” items already at home when shopping.  I have 2-3 more items to sell but am taking a break.  It was hard juggling exchange times with our schedules. 

My organised chaos of all the notes and dates to remember hit a small snafu but I’m back on track.  I really need to (a) stop putting water bottles in my handbag or (b) keep my diary in a Ziploc.

Now, I am busy tidying my mind.  I came across this book and it’s fast become dog-eared. 

It’s not as harsh as it seems.  It’s been enlightening to say the least.  I can’t recommend the book enough. 

Until next time…

First post of 2016

My first official post of 2016 is a bit different.  It feels a bit random from what I usually write about… but stay with me and it will all tie in.

For some New Years is about a new start and optimism on the year ahead... a lot of optimism.  I don't make New Year’s Resolutions - I mean who keeps them anyway?  But this year, maybe it's all the salt water from the cruise, that's made me optimistic but I decided to jump in feet-first.

The facts say that only 8% actually follow through with their resolutions.  The best way to accomplish them is to (a) be realistic (b) take accountability and (c) have resilience.  So here I am taking accountability by writing down my resolutions for me and you to see:

1.     Simplify

2.     Be organised (at home)

A note, some of you maybe scratching your head with #2 as I am known to many as the Queen of Organisation.  Well, truth bomb: I’m not, far from it, particularly at home.  And that’s where my resolution lies.  I have to be organised for work so when I’m home, I drop the ball.  I lose paperwork and forget dates.  My resolution is also for all my boxes of photos I never did anything with (I’m talking wedding photos, 10 years ago, and Eloise’s baby photos, 7 years ago) and all my unfinished projects (cross-stitching and my unpainted dollhouse).

To tackle #1, I got a head-start.  I love the Erin Condren Life Planners but I couldn’t justify $50USD plus shipping to here for one so I found a similar planner at kikki.k and am using it ECLP-style.  I saved the money from purchasing one of hers to buy some fun stamps to keep me on track.  So far so good but the school year has only just started…

One of my 'cleaner' pages

Both my resolutions go hand-in-hand: to be organised, you have to simplify.  I had picked-up a copy of Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (a few months ago) and her new book “Spark Joy” (just recently) to get me motivated. And while some of her ideas are strange (thanking an inanimate object), the main point is: asking if an item bring you joy, if the answer is “no” then toss it.  Simple enough, right?   

In Practice

It’s amazing how much ‘stuff’ you accumulate.  Between birthdays and Christmas, the kids received new toys but they still had ones they aged out of and hadn’t touched in a long time.  I had clothes I was hanging on to even though they had that annoying hole, right at the belly button, you know that one.  Every couple of months I pack bags to donate yet still I have ‘stuff’ lying around that I wanted to sell.  I am still in the midst of this and the joy I feel letting go of these outweighs the emotional attachment I have to them.  I recently sold my Overlocker which is slightly against the unfinished projects project but I never really knew how to use it and I have my other sewing machine that will do the job too.  I finally listed it on eBay, for a bargain, and it sold within 24 hours.  I was elated.  But you lost a whole heap of money on it?  Yes I did but any money is better than having the item sit there collecting dust.

It's so hard to say goodbye...

But then there was MissE’s Little People Disney Songs Palace; she was willing to let it go but why wasn’t I? Here’s where I really had to emotionally detach myself from it; it wasn’t me who spent hours playing with it (and her brother too), it was her.  Yes, I had memories of her excitement on receiving it and her playing with it but now, it was time for someone else to make the memories with it.  I found myself being a weirdo and thanking the toy for giving us joy during for the last few years while I happily packed it up to it new owners.  Okay, when writing this, I just realised this was Toy Story 3.  Man, Pixar is always spot-on!

It’s simplifying my life so I have a cleaner space to stay organised and finish those projects.  Here is where my unwritten 3^rd resolution comes in and it’s about this blog.  I love writing here but last year I really struggled to stay to date and it became another thing on my ‘to do list’.  This year, I am going to write when inspiration hits so you might not hear from me every month anymore or sometimes you might hear from me a few times a month.  Let’s wait and see what happens! 

Back to School

That being said, January also means a new year for MissE! Wow, year 2.

We did manage squeezed a whole lot of fun in before school started!

Water fight!

We found a new park: Domain Creek!

The weather was very unsettled,
so we set up camp at home complete
with s'mores!

Velcro wall at Inflatable World

It's okay to hit each other!

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

Well, MrE has proved he also does the 'darnedest things'.  MrE was home sick.  After a visit to his doctor (diagnosis: winning combination of gastro and conjunctivitis), we went to a nearby store for some supplies to get us through the next few days.  Feeling sorry for MrE, I took him into the dollar store and told him he had $2 to spend.  He opted for a pack of glow-in-the-dark spiders.  In the car, he was giggling non-stop.

Me: Eden, why are you giggling?

MrE: I’m going to hide all the spiders in jie-jie’s room to scare her.

Me: You are?

MrE: Yes, it’s going to be so funny.  But we have to keep a secret!

When we got home, he ran off and hid them.  He spent the rest of the day asking me when it was bedtime (I had to explain that they won’t glow until it was dark).  Was MissE scared, yes… because little did we know, MrE put a few in her bed!

I Rest My Case

We had a NERF Supersoaker Christmas (we all got one); we've had several water fights at home on hot days.  To keep the pre-schoolers cool, they are also having water fights however, I didn’t know this.  One morning, the temperatures were predicted to soar:

Me: It’s going to be very hot today

MrE: Mama, can I please take my water gun to school?

Me: No, you can’t bring that school.

MrE: But it’s not a toy.

Me: It’s not?

MrE: No, because it’s very hot and helps keep my friends cool. And…

Me: And what?

MrE: And one of my teachers was being naughty so I am going to spray her.

Me: What did she do?

MrE: I can’t remember.

Me: Sorry, buddy, some good points but you can’t bring it to school.

Bottle It

I was checking “On This Day” and a photo of MrE at 6 months came up.  I showed both and teasing MrE “You used to be so cute… what happened?”

MissE: Yeah, what happened?  At least you still smell like that.

MrE: Shrugging.  Its okay, I have handsome hair now.

There is a backstory to this.  On the weekends, MissE sleeps in MrE’s bed (he has a double).  We thought it was because MissE likes the bigger bed but it turns out that she (a) likes to watch MrE sleep because he’s so cute and (b) thinks he smells good, like a baby still.  Ha,ha.  But she doesn’t like that we talk about this, so SHH!

Me

Wasn’t majority of this post already about me?  Yes but here’s some more.  It was early January so I still had the holiday thinking: “try something new/ why not?” On MissE’s birthday, we went to a nearby restaurant that I had wanted to try for a while but it was far enough to not go there just to try it.  We happen to be 5 minutes away at Cable Wake Park.

On the menu was an Insanity Wing, 1 wing for $5!  Curiosity got the better of me so I ordered it without researching.  Little did I know that this Insanity sauce once held the title of “world’s hottest sauce” at 180,000 Scoville units.

It came to me innocent looking enough.  I took a bit and went “whoa!”  My mouth started to sweat and my nose started dripping immediately.  My brain now said “that’s hot” but it didn’t connect with my mouth that went in for another bite.  What was I doing???  One the second bite, my mouth went numb.  Every drink or spoonful of sour cream or even extra air I sucked in made my mouth even hotter.  The tears rolled down my eyes and the girls asked me why I was going red.  Holy Mother of God, what did I do???  It took me 30 minutes to be able to eat anything else and I could feel the burn down in my stomach for 24 hours. 

Until next time...

The Silly Season is Upon Us!

Oh dear, so the days have gotten away from me again.  We have been busy getting into the spirit of the holidays.  We also had a surprise visitor!

School Photos

We finally got school photos back!  Here is MissE:

Unfortunately, I don’t have this keepsake for MrE this year.  His day-care did not take photos on the day he was supposed to so my $45 worth of photos is of him with bed-hair and he of course dressed himself that day.  Never mind that it took me 20 minutes then eventually a bribe to get him into wearing clothes he didn’t want to wear and to allow me to put product in his hair for these really great photos.  I am not impressed (I gave up waiting for my apology).  Instead here is the swim lesson photo:

Kids Go Free

After the excitement of Halloween, we had our last ‘free’ weekend until … umm, yes.  That’s right.  It was also Kids Go Free at Darling Harbour.  Being the budget-savvy person that I am, we had a Kids Eat Free lunch, played at the free water play area, capped it off with a Kids Free Lindt Sundae (adult sized!) before the rain came and yes, discounted parking too! 

Minions were here!

 

They didn't share with us.

Eden wasn't too sure about ferris wheel
Oh hey, he's wearing what he was supposed to wear for school photos!

Hey, Cuz!

I was checking Facebook one morning and I see that my cousin is in Sydney for work!  The last time we saw each other was 12 years ago at his wedding!  We were able to meet for dinner at Mr Wong’s.  Hopefully he comes back Down Under with his family next time!

The Silly Season Begins!

Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving at TGI Fridays.  Don’t laugh!  They do a very large plate of roast turkey, green beans, mash potatoes and roasted carrots.  The only thing missing is corn bread!  For dessert we have a Tasting Platter of apple, pecan and pumpkin pie.  My pumpkin pie is better.

End of Year Parties

I had my work Christmas party at The Australian Maritime Museum.  It was a fun night despite it being 43c (that’s 110F)!

The girls of the Team Spine

I also had my team Christmas festivities.  This year, we decided to contribute to the community before having a team lunch.  (One of my favourite tenants of my company, the year-round focus on philanthropy)  Fittingly, it was on Thanksgiving Day too!  We spent the morning with OzHarvest.

OzHarvest is the first perishable food rescue organisation in Australia collecting quality excess food from commercial outlets and delivering it, direct and free of charge, to close to 500 charities providing much needed assistance to vulnerable men, women and children across Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Melbourne and Newcastle.

OzHarvest is the only food rescue organisation in Australia collecting surplus food from all types of food providers including fruit and vegetable markets, supermarkets, hotels, wholesalers, farmers, stadiums, corporate events, catering companies, shopping centres, delis, cafes, restaurants, film and TV shoots and boardrooms.

 

Here's what we made!

We also attended MrH’s Christmas party; the hottest ticket in Sydney and I look forward to going every year.  This year it was at the Argyle Precinct which is a number of restaurants.  It was also co-sponsored by Virgin Australia so the theme was Sky High and we had passports to get stamped at each “country” to gain access to the VIP Lounge.  They had entertainers in each section (Jazz singer for NYC, J-Pop DJ and Hello Kitty candy bar in Tokyo, pretzel towers in Munich, a steel drum band in Rio), a surprise appearance by Ricki Lee (Australian Idol runner-up), DJ Hot Dub Time Machine, and were giving away Virgin flights – we didn’t win.  Boo!  We enjoyed the night out despite it taking us over an hour to get home!

Pop star Ricki Lee

The real Optus wives
(It's rare we get a photo together)

At the Hello Kitty candy bar in "Tokyo"

Taekwondo

This one gets a special mention because it was also an Awards Day and MissE was recognised!  She received the Outstanding Student 2015 Junior Technique trophy.  What an exciting achievement for her!

Christmas in the City

I had a day off with MrE and gave MissE the day off from school too.  We took the train (this was very exciting for MrE) into the City and spent the day checking out the Christmas decorations and of course, saw the big man in red too.  I will hold onto those photos for a little bit longer but they are coming soon!  

This photo won me burgers x 2 for our next visit!

We had lunch at my favourite burger place in Sydney (my favourite in Australia is in Melbourne) then checked out David Jones’ Christmas Cave.  Unfortunately their display windows and the cave weren’t much to write home about.  The kids exchanged the Magic Tree.

Next it was onto Santaland at Myer.  Their toy department was pretty awesome with life-sized Stormtroopers!  The kids rode the Santa train 3 times.  This may be MissE’s last year!

I'd buy it...

And this one too.

Finally it was time to meet Santa!  We went over to QVB.  This year, as a Mastercard holder you could pre-book your Santa time.  Awesome-sauce as the queue for Santa here is nearly 6 hours! 

The always amazing QVB Swarovski Crystal Tree

After it was time to get the train back home.  We were all exhausted but it was a fun day for us!  I loved the lack of crowds!

MissE

Well, my little superstar at the moment!  We were invited to attend the End of Year Medal Assembly.  MissE received the Term 4 class medal for her enthusiasm at school.  Well done!  (It’s not chocolate – ha,ha!)

Her class also spent a few weeks’ talking about water and how important it is to a community.  They learnt about communities that don’t have clean running water and wanted to change that so they have partnered with OxFam to hold a cake stall.  Their goal was to raise $98 AUD to put a tap in a school in South Africa.  Anything extra will go to putting a tap in homes ($9) or buy a family a goat ($39).  They raised $445.15!  They are going to put clean water taps into 4 schools and buy a goat!  What a wonderful initiative at this time of year.

MrE Says the Darnedest Things

These days it’s MrE that keeps up laughing.  From scaring us silly by donning his Hulk mask and staying surprisingly quiet in his hiding spot, he also delivers these:

18 and Over

MrH and I were in the office one morning when MrE was watching TV.

MrE: Mama?

Me: Yes?

MrE: Are you over 18? 

Me: Bless his little heart

MrH: What did you see on TV?

MrE: I need a parent or guardian.  Are you a guardian?

MrH: Yes.

MrE: Oh good.

It’s Hot!

Me: You both can have an ice block (Zooper Dooper) since it’s so hot today.

MrE: I want the pink one.  Can I have a whole one and can you give it a blanket?

Geography

MissE: Are we going to Fiji?

Me: Vanuatu

MrE: I used to say that when I was a baby!

Me: What?

MrE: Wa-tu

Me: Laughing, which he did not like. Yes, you used to say “Don’t want to” and that sounds very similar.

Just Going for a Walk

MrE is all class.  At taekwondo lessons, he casually walked away from us.  We thought he was going for a better look at the kicking.  Nope.

MrE: Walking back to us.  I just had to fart.

And a special mention goes to MrH who completed Tough Mudder!!!

Until next time!