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.
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| Rat |
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| Horse |
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| 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!
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| These were pretty amazing... delicious! |
After gorging on dumplings and CNY bao’s we walked to Chinatown to find
my zodiac animal: Goat!
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| 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.
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| 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!
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Pre-conference drinks or what we in the business refer to as
"the calm before the storm" |
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| 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.
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| 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
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| Dinosaurs! |
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| We put the seats down and watched from the back |
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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!
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| 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…
