Thursday, December 30, 2010

One Little Word



2011 is knocking on the door, can't believe how fast 2010 has gone. Last year I participated in an idea from Ali Edwards about choosing 'One Little Word' to live by in the year to come. I choose 'Believe', I wanted to focus on believing not only in myself & my abilities but improving my relationship & belief in God.
I feel that 2010 was a year where I learnt alot about myself, that I am extremely resilient & strong. I have also been able to really focus on deepening my relationship with God. There have been alot of changes in my life, some good some that weren't so good, and I know that believing in myself got me through and to where I am today.
For 2011 I have decided to take 'Believe' just that one step further with my One Little Word for 2011 being 'Courage'. Now that I believe in myself more it is time to take more risks and step out of my comfort zone, which is where I have somewhat stayed in 2010. So the next year is going to be about taking that step forward & not looking back. This might be alot easier to say that actual do, but all I can do is try.
Tomorrow is New Years Eve, we are going to spend News Years with my little brother in his new place in the city which will be fun. We're having a BBQ, playing Wii & board games. So I hope that you all have a happy & safe New Year and I'll blog again in 2011.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Christmas Day



4 days later and Christmas Day is still a blur. Christmas Day is always busy for us, we do both families in one day. Which sometimes seems alittle nuts, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Things might change when we start a family, but who knows. This year Christmas lunch was at our place, my WH (wonderful husband) wanted to make a lasagane so we went with an Italian theme, with a simple green salad & Panatone for dessert. Though it didn't look like a lot of food, everyone was pretty stuffed by the end of the meal.
Thought that I would also share a few pictures from our day, we bought a new point & shoot camera for ourselves for Christmas so all the pictures we taken using our new toy. Still learning the features but I really like how the pictures came out.
1. first thing when we got up was opening our presents to each other, we got some really lovely presents from friends & family that couldn't be with us for Christmas Day.
2. Christmas lunch with my family always usually ends with us all playing Wii or playing board games, it's traditions like these that make Christmas so special.
3. Christmas dinner was at my WH's (wonderful husband) brothers house, we had a candle centre piece which our nephew just loved blowing out again & again (he loves birthday cakes because of the candles too!!!)
4. Love this picture of my WH, I was playing with our new camera. I am going to love learning how to get the best out of this camera.
5. Our nephew might just have some natural drumming ability. This was the first Christmas that our nephew realised that he would be given presents, and this was one of his favourites.

Thursday, December 23, 2010


































Thought I would share some pictures of our Christmas tree, my favourite decoration are the small photoframes that have photos of our family. Though some of the photos are going to have to be changed as they are alittle dated and old.
We have had this tree since before me and my WH (wonderful husband) were married, so it's alittle over 5 years old. I still love it, traditions are what makes this time of year special.




























Wednesday, December 22, 2010

December Daily Day 16



This time of year my WH (wonderful husband) is away at night alot, between work commitments and also preparing for Christmas Eve service. When I am at home by myself I craft. This year I am making fabric flowers to decorate the Christmas gifts and this too cute Christmas card holder.
I love getting Christmas cards, some years we get loads some years we don't get that many at all. This year we haven't received all that many so I have filled this card holder with previous years cards that I just loved & didn't want to throw away.

December Daily Day 15



Christmas time is the time that we celebrate and remember the birth of our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ, every year a church on the coast does this huge light display, a show & a display about the true meaning of Christmas.
We try & go every year (missed last year), we don't see the show but love to see the lights, the petting zoo (I am such a sucker for a baby animal), and see the true Christmas story display. Every year the display is different but still telling the same story.

December Daily Day 14



Santa.
This festive happy bearded man is our Santa, he was given to us from my parents the first Christmas we spent together after we got married. Being an adult Santa doesn't bring gifts I love having him sitting in our house at Christmas time.
I love traditions, whether activities, decorations or food. Makes the Christmas season feel special & fun.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

December Daily Day 13



Twinkle, twinkle Christmas lights. This year my WH (wonderful husband) didn't want to put as many lights as we normally would, but I just figured he was thinking that cause he was sick at the beginning of December and didn't have the energy to think about lights. So I put them up! Not everything, because I couldn't find a second powerboard (once I find one then the rest of the lights are so going up.
This is a picture of the lights that we have in our bedroom window, we have had the Christmas tree since before we were married & we bought the starts the first Christmas we had in this house.

December Daily Day 12



An end of year tradition is watching the School Spectacular, schools from all over NSW preform this huge song & dance performance. I have been watching it for years, it is always amazing to see the talents that is in the coming generation. Our bird Curios has also taken to sitting on our legs as we stretch out watching TV at night, normally he prefers sitting on our shoulders or as close to our faces as possible. We think he is sitting in the breeze that flows from our front door to our back door.

December Daily Day 11



Weather. Pretty much all of the Christmas Season up to now has been wet. We have experience 10 years of drought in this country, we are now moving into a new weather cycle which has brought nothing but rain with it. But this day the sun broke through and the blue sky could be seen from between the clouds. I took this picture of the garlic chives flowering on our back veranda, think that it represents the feeling of seeing the sun after so many weeks of wet cool weather.

December Daily Day 10



Wrapping!!! Almost a month long process for me, maybe I put too much effort in. But I do just love wrapping gifts. This is a photo of what I guess you would call 'stage one'. I am going to finish the gifts with some red ribbon and a cute 'Noel' tag that I found on the internet. Not sure if that will be the finished look for our Christmas gifts. I love wrapping presents, love it, love it, love it.

December Daily Day 9



Another Christmas party! This is the only shot that I remembered to actually take, this is our bible study party. We have wrapped up bible study for the year, we came to the end of our current study so thought that we might as well come together in the new year with a whole new study.
Love the decorations hung from the chandelier, would soooo do the same thing if we had a chandelier. Maybe when we get our own place.

December Daily Day 8



What else to talk about today but the U2 concert! Not necessary a Christmas activity, but here is Aus alot of big bands come out in Summer which is Christmas time.
Had so much fun, it is such a great part of Christmas time with the longer days meaning that your not wondering around in the dark going to concerts.

Monday, December 13, 2010

We rocked!!!!



Oh what a busy few days! Finally had 5 seconds to sit and chat with some of my favourite people, you :-)
Last Wednesday me, my WH (wonderful husband), sister, two sister-in-laws & mother-in-law went to the U2 concert. Wow wow wow! What a concert. JayZ was the warm-up act, he was great as well. Don't know many of his songs but still enjoyed dancing. But U2 was just fantastic, we were sitting right near where the band entered the stadium which was very cool. I unfortunatly was coming back from a cold so got alittle tired & had to sit down at points. But soooo enjoyed myself. We used public transport to get into the venue (glad we did!!!), so much easier than trying to find a park (especially since they close off all the surrounding streets to parking). And it was free, oh how I love that word 'free'.
This last weekend we made the mad dash to Toowoomba for one night to see my WH's (wonderful husband) Grandparents, normally this time of year they make a trip to visit but my WH's Grandfather hasn't been well enough to travel so we descided to go and visit them instead. We have been having some wild rain recently (almost all of spring and for the last two weeks of summer) so the trip to Toowoomba was a bit hairy to say the least. Glad that we took my WH's work ute, there was flooding and huge holes in the road, even went past someone who had decided to cross a flooded creek. The water was up to the top of their windows (and they had a 4x4), the rescue helicopter had to rescue them. Lesson to all, don't cross flooded creeks, rivers, streams or anything way too dangerous!
I have some more December Daily pages to come, just have to upload some more pictures. Been soooooo busy. Only going to get busier the closer to Christmas!!!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

December Daily Day 7



When we got our tree out this year our pet bird Curios wasn't too impressed, that was until the tinsel came out. Curio loves tinsel! Last year we even think he ate some tinsel that we crazily put near his tree. This year we have been alittle smarter and hung all the tinsel out of the reach of our little feathered child.
But I could not resist putting some tinsel on Curios' cage and grabbed the camera, at first he just looked at me then he realised that the tinsel was there! Then he had a great time, such a funny little thing.

December Daily Day 6



Christmas Card Photo Day! This year I was inspired by the decoration I bought to represent last Christmas. So my WH (wonderful husband) set up the camera and we snapped some pictures. My WH wanted to get the light twinkling, which took a few shots to get it right.
This is not the Christmas photo that we had planned, but because of sickness & other circumstances we had to cancel our original plans. But I am still very happy with the photo, show my WH's personality so well. Can't wait to have our Christmas cards finished & all ready to go.

Monday, December 6, 2010

December Daily Day 5



Yummy yummy yummy! My favourite thing about Christmas is the food, most of my favourite foods are only available during summer and especially around Christmas. Specific Christmas foods like, fruit mince pies & spice cookies can be eaten all year round but for me that would take the fun & magic out of eating them at Christmas time. All of my favourite fruits are available only during the spring/summer months (seasonal availability), cherries, apricots & lychee's.
This year for some people of our Christmas list we are giving food, treats to be exact. So I have begun my Christmas baking. We are also having Christmas at our place this year so I am practising a few new recipes. With new recipes comes taste testing......yummy!

December Daily Day 4



Decorating the Christmas tree!!! Usually done day 1, because of work and sickness (resulting in exhaustion) we waited till the first Saturday in December. My WH (wonderful husband) finishes work at 3pm so despite his flu still had energy too decorate the Christmas Tree & our house.
This is a picture of last years Christmas decoration, every year I buy one special decoration to represent that year. Usually don't buy them till the post Christmas sales (cheaper!!!), so they don't go on the tree till the following year. I found this glittery 'Noel' and feel in love, not sure what I will buy for this years representative another word maybe I don't know. When I see it I will know.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

December Daily Day 3



Writing Christmas letters was my Day 3. I'm not talking those annual letters that people send out, recanting the activities of the family for the last 12 months to people that you never see or hear from except for at Christmas. My Christmas letter is going to someone who I have never met & probably will not hear back from, the radio station that I listen to is organising for Christmas letters to be sent to every serving member of the Australian Defence force that will be overseas this Christmas, that's about 3,500 men & women who will not be spending Christmas with their own families.
I come from a serving family, my Grandfather(s) & Great Grandfather (s) were in the army, my Dad was in the Navy for 20 years & currently my brother is a AV tech (aviation technician) in the Airforce. The thought of spending Christmas without my Dad or my brother is something that I find hard to think of so I can imagine how hard it must be for those serving men & women who are facing Christmas away from home.
Letters all had to be hand written & I have to send mine to the radio station on Monday. On the 10th December all the letters they have been collecting will be sent off and delivered on Christmas.

December Daily Day 2



Let the parties begin! First for this year is my WH's (wonderful husband) work party, they got in real early this year as a couple of staff are going away very soon & one member of staff got a promotion and will be running their own store on Monday.
It was also wife of store manager (that would be me!) make good impression and be a good representative of my husband in front of two of his bosses. Think I did a great job if I do say so myself, made small talk, laughed at jokes & tried to look as interested as possible when they were talking about sports (that was hard!!!!).
We ate at an Italian restaurant down on the coast, loved the desserts!!! Yummy. Chocolate tiramatsu, panatone and rum & raisin gellato. I do enjoy a good christmas party.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

December Daily Day1


Today was almost a forgotten day, I worked today and after work my WH (wonderful husband) had his piano lesson that I had to drive him to. Needless to say that I totally forgot that December 1st was even December 1st.
BUT.......I finished work early and went to the shopping centre near work to get a hot chocolate (it has been raining since pretty much the beginning of spring) and I came across one of my fav new stores! And I bought Christmas wrapping paper.....my December daily activity for today. Woohoo!
The paper I bought is brown paper (fav colour of wrapping paper) with gnomes and little signs that say 'naughty & nice'. Sooo cute.