We had a pretty busy weekend just gone, mixed with some good and some bad. Always seems to be the case with us!
On Saturday morning I did the usual weekly washing and then got stuck into my homework now that Uni has started. Unfortunately there's no easing into it seeing as I have to keep working so the weekends are the only time I get to focus for a few hours at a time. Before we knew it, 2:30pm had rolled around and we were off to Ivan and Miyuki's house to meet them before the Pizza Night was due to start. After a chat and waiting for other people, we headed off to Willunga to the Best Pizza Place EVER! This couple has transformed part of their home to host a kitchen, pizza oven and restaurant area and do home made all-you-can-eat gourmet pizzas for $10. Everything was delicious! They grow their own vegetables and make a lot of their own ingredients, with the guy making pizzas of every flavour imaginable and the lady bringing out pizzas constantly so in the end we were all full of lots of delicious pizzas and there were still whole ones untouched. My favourite was the tuna mornay :) But the best thing about the place was the atmosphere. A little family business, really friendly people, and located on a gorgeous property surrounded by rolling hills and views all the way out to the ocean. I can see why Ivan and Miyuki love coming here!
Sunday was the crash back down to Earth. The day started off ok - more homework done, grocery shopping, and a visit to Grandma's. In the evening my Aunt and Uncle from Victoria arrived (they're visiting for a few days) so we had dinner at Mum and Dad's which in itself is a good thing, but unfortunately Dad's returned to the alcohol and wasn't exactly sober. Mind you, he was nowhere near as bad as he has been in the past so that was a blessing I guess. Still, it's hard not to worry (for me, anyway). I already have it in my nature to worry about things I can't control, and so with him I worry constantly. Anyway we'll see how things go in that respect. Despite all that, it's been excellent seeing my Aunt and Uncle, as I always love catching up with them. They were also kind enough to buy us a slow cooker which is awesome as I've wanted one for ages! Can't wait to try it out soon! I already bought a recipe book in my excitement :)
So now it's back to the weekdays and we're plodding along. Tonight we're catching up with the rellies over a cuppa and some cake which will be nice. In other crappy news, I'm not 100% ready to share exactly what's been happening, but we're seeing the Dr about my not getting pregnant yet and news has been mixed thus far, but tests are continuing, so that's been weighing on my mind too. I just want things to work out...
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Bye bye, free time
We haven't been up to much since my last update aside from going to work and having quiet weekends at home, but it has given me the opportunity to get back into doing some cross stitching. I love cross stitching for something that takes my mind off other things, although I hadn't done any for over 2 years. But when one of the ladies at work was showing me this craft magazine she gets and I saw all these beautiful cross stitching patterns, I was inspired to do some more. I wasn't able to afford a massive pattern so just bought my niece and nephew some little wall hangings and have been working on those during the evenings while I watch TV.
Aside from that, the rest of my free time has been spent quietly reading or watching stuff. Glen and I went to see The Dark Knight Rises last weekend on the spur of the moment. Those who know me know I love comic books and their associated cartoons, TV shows and films, and I love these newer Batman movies. Needless to say I wasn't disappointed. I thought the film was brilliant.
The books I've finished recently are Prohibited Zone by Alastair Sarre and just today on my lunch break I finally finished 11.22.63 by Stephen King. I had started reading this a while ago and then took a break partway through, read 6 other books, and just got back into it on the weekend. I didn't stop reading it because I wasn't enjoying it, just that I'd borrowed some books off other people and thought I should get through those first. I was able to pick it up and keep going from where I'd left off without any hassles. I love Stephen King and this book is definitely up there as his best. What always frustrates me with his horror is an amazingly evil character which is so unstoppable that the endings to those books sometimes feel rushed and disappointing, like he himself didn't know what to do about the monster because he'd made it too powerful. But his recent books seem a lot better, and this one was just fantastic. The pacing and suspense towards the end was done really well, so I just wanted to keep reading even if it meant not sleeping much.
Anyway this week Uni went back so I daresay by time to read will diminish a bit. Just another 18 months of Uni to go! So apart from seeing some friends for a pizza night on Saturday, the rest of my weekend will be spent doing homework. Joy!
Aside from that, the rest of my free time has been spent quietly reading or watching stuff. Glen and I went to see The Dark Knight Rises last weekend on the spur of the moment. Those who know me know I love comic books and their associated cartoons, TV shows and films, and I love these newer Batman movies. Needless to say I wasn't disappointed. I thought the film was brilliant.
The books I've finished recently are Prohibited Zone by Alastair Sarre and just today on my lunch break I finally finished 11.22.63 by Stephen King. I had started reading this a while ago and then took a break partway through, read 6 other books, and just got back into it on the weekend. I didn't stop reading it because I wasn't enjoying it, just that I'd borrowed some books off other people and thought I should get through those first. I was able to pick it up and keep going from where I'd left off without any hassles. I love Stephen King and this book is definitely up there as his best. What always frustrates me with his horror is an amazingly evil character which is so unstoppable that the endings to those books sometimes feel rushed and disappointing, like he himself didn't know what to do about the monster because he'd made it too powerful. But his recent books seem a lot better, and this one was just fantastic. The pacing and suspense towards the end was done really well, so I just wanted to keep reading even if it meant not sleeping much.
Anyway this week Uni went back so I daresay by time to read will diminish a bit. Just another 18 months of Uni to go! So apart from seeing some friends for a pizza night on Saturday, the rest of my weekend will be spent doing homework. Joy!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Our trip to Tasmania
Well this update is well and truly long overdue but I still wanted to post up something about our holiday in Tasmania at the end of June/early July. The trip started off quietly as we had a stupidly early flight to Melbourne and then Hobart on the Thursday morning. After a short delay in Melbourne, we finally arrived to a cold day in Hobart (4 degrees C!) although thankfully at least the sun was out. We were greeted by my sister and my nephew and she then took us on a bit of a scenic drive on the way to their home in New Norfolk. South Australia is definitely a very flat place to live in comparison as we had beautiful mountain views during the whole drive, and the Derwent River was absolutely gorgeous (puts the Murray to shame). We had a quiet day and night apart from playing with my niece and nephew, since we were so tired after getting up at bullshit o'clock, so apart from checking out the town of New Norfolk we didn't get up to very much.
On Friday my sister kindly let Glen and I use her car so in the afternoon we took a drive into Hobart to the Cascade Brewery for a late lunch and some yummy beer. As we walked around the gardens taking photos, dark clouds started to roll in but we decided to still attempt to reach the pinnacle of Mount Wellington given we were only a short drive from there and didn't know if we would get another chance. We had been warned about the narrow and winding road but honestly, after driving around New Zealand, it was nothing to worry about. As the car made its way up the mountain, we saw more and more patches of snow and the rain really came in. We made it to the top without any problems but then proceeded to freeze our arses off as we got out of the car and dealt with the blustery winds and freezing rain. But I just had to touch some snow! For some reason that escapes me, I thought I'd be able to walk on a patch of snow without trouble and forgot that it's soft, so I managed to escape an ankle injury as my foot dropped deep into the snow and Glen and I had a laugh at my expense. Can't take me anywhere... Anyway, after a couple of very quick snaps and a quick admiration of the scenic views, we headed back down the mountain and home to warm up.
On Saturday my niece had her 5th birthday party so there were about 8 kids in total over. We had so much fun though! The kids were all great and played nicely, and we (the adults) had set up some games for them like balloon popping, pass the parcel, and the very popular pinata. The best thing about kids parties seems to be that you get the kids all hyped up and full of sugar, and then after a couple of hours their parents take them home. Win! Saturday night was a quiet one as we cleaned up after the party and watched some movies.
On Sunday morning we all piled in the car and went to the markets held at the Hobart Showgrounds. The markets themselves are fantastic and a great place for people to go who collect things, with heaps of comics and toys on sale. I somehow managed to escape there without buying any second hand books though. After that we grabbed a quick lunch and then headed off to Mount Field National Park, predominantly for the Russell Falls walk. It was the first time I had seen a pademelon before and we saw a total of 3 running around in the wild. It was also great to see such massive and old Australian trees in the rainforest and it was a gorgeous walk. There were a couple of other walks nearby that sounded like they'd be great, but by the time we finished seeing Russell Falls the kids were pretty tired so we headed back to the car and got home in the early evening.
Monday was our last day in Tasmania so my sister let us use her car again. This time we went to Pulpit Rock lookout which gives amazing views of the Derwent River and valley. We then headed off to Bonorong Wildlife Park, definitely my kind of trip as I love animals. We randomly picked a good time to go, too, as the keepers were feeding the Tasmanian Devils, so we got to see them eat and fight over food and other behaviour I hadn't seen before. Was very cool. By the time we got back the sun had set and it wasn't long before we went out to Glenorchy for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Before we knew it, Tuesday had arrived and we were flying back home again.
While I loved Tasmania I have to admit I've been spoiled by visiting New Zealand which was much more beautiful, but it is still a gorgeous place to live and travel. There are definitely some places I'd like to go that we didn't get a chance to during this short visit, but next time we won't be travelling in winter. It was too damn cold! Being home now I really miss my niece and nephew. I loved playing with them, getting lots of hugs, reading to them before bed and being greeted with their excited smiles and hugs in the mornings. Ah well, we will see them again soon I suppose :)
On Friday my sister kindly let Glen and I use her car so in the afternoon we took a drive into Hobart to the Cascade Brewery for a late lunch and some yummy beer. As we walked around the gardens taking photos, dark clouds started to roll in but we decided to still attempt to reach the pinnacle of Mount Wellington given we were only a short drive from there and didn't know if we would get another chance. We had been warned about the narrow and winding road but honestly, after driving around New Zealand, it was nothing to worry about. As the car made its way up the mountain, we saw more and more patches of snow and the rain really came in. We made it to the top without any problems but then proceeded to freeze our arses off as we got out of the car and dealt with the blustery winds and freezing rain. But I just had to touch some snow! For some reason that escapes me, I thought I'd be able to walk on a patch of snow without trouble and forgot that it's soft, so I managed to escape an ankle injury as my foot dropped deep into the snow and Glen and I had a laugh at my expense. Can't take me anywhere... Anyway, after a couple of very quick snaps and a quick admiration of the scenic views, we headed back down the mountain and home to warm up.
On Saturday my niece had her 5th birthday party so there were about 8 kids in total over. We had so much fun though! The kids were all great and played nicely, and we (the adults) had set up some games for them like balloon popping, pass the parcel, and the very popular pinata. The best thing about kids parties seems to be that you get the kids all hyped up and full of sugar, and then after a couple of hours their parents take them home. Win! Saturday night was a quiet one as we cleaned up after the party and watched some movies.
On Sunday morning we all piled in the car and went to the markets held at the Hobart Showgrounds. The markets themselves are fantastic and a great place for people to go who collect things, with heaps of comics and toys on sale. I somehow managed to escape there without buying any second hand books though. After that we grabbed a quick lunch and then headed off to Mount Field National Park, predominantly for the Russell Falls walk. It was the first time I had seen a pademelon before and we saw a total of 3 running around in the wild. It was also great to see such massive and old Australian trees in the rainforest and it was a gorgeous walk. There were a couple of other walks nearby that sounded like they'd be great, but by the time we finished seeing Russell Falls the kids were pretty tired so we headed back to the car and got home in the early evening.
Monday was our last day in Tasmania so my sister let us use her car again. This time we went to Pulpit Rock lookout which gives amazing views of the Derwent River and valley. We then headed off to Bonorong Wildlife Park, definitely my kind of trip as I love animals. We randomly picked a good time to go, too, as the keepers were feeding the Tasmanian Devils, so we got to see them eat and fight over food and other behaviour I hadn't seen before. Was very cool. By the time we got back the sun had set and it wasn't long before we went out to Glenorchy for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Before we knew it, Tuesday had arrived and we were flying back home again.
While I loved Tasmania I have to admit I've been spoiled by visiting New Zealand which was much more beautiful, but it is still a gorgeous place to live and travel. There are definitely some places I'd like to go that we didn't get a chance to during this short visit, but next time we won't be travelling in winter. It was too damn cold! Being home now I really miss my niece and nephew. I loved playing with them, getting lots of hugs, reading to them before bed and being greeted with their excited smiles and hugs in the mornings. Ah well, we will see them again soon I suppose :)
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