Why would he have so much rage on Christmas day?
Family
Photo Assignments
Some ideas to inspire me on days when I’m not doing anything.
- Photograph five different birds on the same day.
- Take a picture of the back of your head.
- Take a photo lit only by flashlight.
- Take a walk until you see your favorite color, then take a picture of it.
- Photograph 5 different flowers on the same day.
- Capture the sunlight in an usual way – indoors, through a tree, behind an object.
- Create photos representing 5 moods – angry, sad, happy, nostalgic, etc
- Capture four seasons in one day.
- Give an inanimate object a personality.
- Bring to focus something usually overlooked.
Borrowed from Photojojo and added to.
52 Blessings – Week 1
I’ve decided to post, once a week, something I am grateful for. I borrowed the idea from a Flickr group and decided to make it a regular blog post instead.
Week one for 2009 – an obvious one – my parents. I just don’t know what I would do without them. I’m so blessed to have two such great people who love and support me.
We argue from time to time – usually because I’m being intolerant and selfish – but they always forgive me for my short comings and are so generous with the way they live their lives.
New Year Ponderings
I usually am the anti-NYE person. I avoid parties and large crowds because drunk, obnoxious people drive me up the wall. After a few days at home however, I was itching to get out and socalise a bit this NYE. Daniel wanted to show his Slovakian girlfriend, Hedviga, the fireworks, so Alec and I tagged along for firework-hunting adventure.
I haven’t attempted to see the fireworks for about eight or nine years, so it was a lot of fun! We caught the train to Milson’s Point and watched the 9pm fireworks over the side of a balcony of a garage that we stumbled upon.
We were planning to go back to Chatswood, pick up my SLR and drive to somewhere near Taronga Zoo to watch the midnight fireworks, but we met up with Aya and Matt Cooper for a while, then decided we couldn’t be bothered to go back to Chatswood. Instead, we stumbled across an alley near Luna Park that had an amazing view of the bridge. We set up here on an electrical box at about 11pm, and waited, waited, waited…
Our patience was rewarded with stunning fireworks over the harbour. I managed to get some semi-decent photos by balancing my little snappy-cam on a stop sign near the electrical box.
The mood in the city was just electric – and chaotic! So many crazy people, mostly just enjoying themselves.
Getting home was quite the challenge. Milson’s Point station was closed to avoid people getting crushed, so we walked to North Sydney station – where we ended up getting a very slow bus back to Chatswood.
I had such a great night – the fireworks were just stunning and the company was a lot of fun too.
Me and Alec, at midnight.
New Year Resolutions
I try not to make any as I invariably fail, but here I go:
- Eat less
- Exercise more
- Find something that I love doing
- Do only one thing at a time
- Stop nagging Alec
- Shop less, save more
- Be a kinder, gentler person
- Take more photos on my DSLR
- Enter more photography competitions
- Write more – for myself, not work
Great Things To Look Forward To In 2009
- Europe / USA trip in July. I can’t wait!
- Beverly’s wedding in August
- My 30th birthday in Singapore
- Shelleys’ wedding in December
- Mel’s wedding in December
- Possible Bora Bora trip in October
- New house and living with the puppies again
2008 in Review
I thought it was a good time to write about a few things that made the year memorable 🙂
- My first full year as a vegetarian – I didn’t think I could make it when I started, but now I can’t even imagine eating meat.
- Japan holiday – it was amazing!
- Perisher snow trip – I’ve never been so sick before! If Alec and I can get through that, we can get through anything.
- Lindeman Island – tropical island vacation and wedding.
- Published work at Google – I started writing for the internal communications team.
- I got promoted!
- Developed a love for Tokidoki bags.
- Spending my 29th birthday at the coldest cabin on earth and seeing where my dad grew up in Glen Davis.
- Isis and Matt’s Indian-fusion wedding – so much fun 🙂
- Fireworks on Sydney harbour for NYE – truly spectacular.
- Christmas with the family – and old Kitty attacking the greyhound – too funny for words.
- Losing my Tag watch – so upsetting.
- FOOD – discovering many new things that I love, like Adriano Zumbo cakes and La Gerbe in Paddington, and my favourite Japanese place, Umaimon.
- Taking up pole dancing.
- Breaking my first iPhone and finally getting my 3G replacement.
- Buying a Mac book – why oh why?! It’s been a slow getting-to-know-you process for the two of us.
- The Twilight book series and movie – I am so obsessed. How did I not know about them before?
- Building close friendships with Beverly and Lisa.
- Waking up to Alec every day and feeling truly blessed.
- Struggling to live a 100% cruelty-free life. I went from cutting meat out of my diet to buying non-leather handbags and wallets and cosmetics / body care / household cleaners that weren’t tested on animals. My biggest challenges – leather shoes and Mimco handbags. I just love them, and it’s harder for me to give up Mimco then it was to give up meat!
Happy New Year!
Ferrets!
We agreed to baby-sit Misty and Star over the holidays for Beverly and Chris. They’re such crazy little critters, but adorable too.
They look so innocent … I lie, they look like sneaky ferrets, and that’s what they are! They got into EVERYTHING and ate a hole in the fly-screen door when I wasn’t watching them closely enough. I also lost one in a cavity in the kitchen cupboards (and lured him back with ferret crack) and one of them bit Alec on one of his nipples.
Add in my two dogs, and it was four crazy critters in the apartment – quite a lot of entertainment!
The ferrets were really no trouble – and it was hugely entertaining to watch them and the dogs interact. Kahlua was, of course, completely terrified, but Buffy wanted to make friends with them and couldn’t let them out of her sight.
Things I have learned about ferrets:
- They poop a lot. All the time it seems. Poop, poop, poop.
- They dig plants out of their pots.
- They sleep for most of the day, usually upside down in the cutest positions.
- They are completely silent! Except for incessant wheezing and sneezing that make me think they were choking on dust bunnies and rush to vacuum the floor.
The ferrets are moving to Shanghai shortly – best of luck with the trip fuzzies!
Star licks her little nose, pausing from sniffing out trouble.
Poised for trouble.
Zonked – too much mayhem makes for sleepy ferrets.
There were actually two ferrets, but the other one didn’t hold still long enough for me to photograph!
Christmas Day
For the second year in a row, Alec’s mum and uncle joined me and my parents for Christmas day.
Jan lives in Stockton, so we picked her up from Hornsby station and drove us all out to my parents’ house on Christmas eve.
Initially I had no idea how this kind of arrangement would work out, but it was the only option that I could think of where everyone would get to spend the day with those most important to them. Luckily, it was a great idea, and for the second year in a row, was a great success.
My parents love a traditional roast turkey and baked veges on Christmas day, so feeding me is a challenge they are not overly impressed about. I was prepared however and came armed with a faux schnitzel at the ready. Is it as tasty as turkey? Hell no, but does it make me feel better about myself for choosing it instead? It sure does, and holding on to that thought was what got me through watching everyone else eating the sweet, fragrant meat.
I made an ice-cream and berry frozen cake for dessert – which was a great idea when we were planning for a 30-plus degree day, but the temperature didn’t pass over 25, which was a huge disappointment. I love a stinking hot Christmas day!
There were far too many pressies, lots of tasty food (I made have eaten an entire block of cheese), and a lot of puppy love as well. A really great Christmas day!
My little family!
With my dear girl, Kahlua.
And with my amazing mum.
Featuring Arthur, The Crazy Cockatoo
I would like to re-introduce Arthur, the sulfur crested cockatoo. He was raised mostly by Alec’s family after an unfortunate start in life, and is now, at around age 34, a vocal member of the family. He currently lives with Alec’s dad in Newcastle and has been left to us in his will – ruh-oh!
Arthur and Alec are old friends. He likes to scream “Aleeeeec” and have the underside of his wings scratched.
Nice birdy, but don’t be fooled. Evil lurks within.
Notice the dexterity with which he eats things out of his foot. This should have been a warning to me.
Oh hai!
Close-up!
Ummm …
Oh crap!
That blur you see is the birdy eating the front of my camera, which he then spat at me. Nice!
Lesson learned – only photograph cockatoos with a long lens. Don’t get close enough for them to EAT it.
Christmas BBQ Lunch
Every year I meet up with my high school friends for an Xmas get-together. It’s the one time of year we can all usually meet up, so I always look forward to it.
This year we decided to have a BBQ at Bicentennial Park.
Alec talks to little Buffers.
Enjoying the greenery.
Shelley on her last weekend before moving to London.
Jules and Ro.
Kaz.
Rosalie made these amazing reindeer cupcakes – chocolate with berries in them.
Group shot. 11 years after high school finished, who’d have thought we would be where we are today and still friends?
Kahlua and Buff were on their best behaviour.
Kahlua has had an ear infection for most of the year. We finally have it sorted out and after many many months of ear pain for her, she is finally on the mend. Yay!
