Jo to win Australian Open

Jo's been mastering tennis on the Wii (the proper EA Sports tennis game, which is bloody hard by the way), and he's now past playing a game here or there just for kicks. He's into tournament phase, which means, get your game on. So passionate is he about Wii tennis that he's created his own Wii tennis character, which is not only named after him, but also looks exactly like him (you can do that on Wii cause it's super technological). The first tournament he's played, fittingly enough, is the Australian Open. And tonight, my friends, he smashed Nadal and made it through to the finals - which will be played right here tomorrow night. If he wins, he'll be projected into video game superstardom. Also, it will hopefully raise his current rating of half a star. (Out of 5).




I asked the rookie earlier tonight how it felt to be in an Australian Open final, and this is what he had to say:




"It's an honour. I mean, it's a tournament steeped in rich tradition, and I've worked really hard to get here. I'm proud of my efforts on the court tonight - I've had good form throughout the tournament, so hopefully i can carry that through to tomorrow's match and secure the win."




Only time will tell.




On Monday night, we went to see Sherlock Holmes, which I've been wanting to see for ages. It was worth the wait - Robert Downey Jnr and Jude Law have great chemistry, and their exchanges had me in stitches. Plus, everyone knows i love the whole 'London in the Victorian era' thang, so the costumes and scenery were right up my alley. A fun romp, well worth watching. We're normally not "Monday night at the movies" types, but Tuesday was Australia Day, a public holiday, so no work! Not that we did much. In fact i felt very un-Australian. No BBQ, no beer, no beach. What can i say, we're very boring sometimes. I did watch the whole series Lost in Austen (Erin - have you seen this?? Watch it!), which is about a modern London gal who goes through a door in her house and finds herself in Pride and Prejudice. No really, actually in Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth Bennet swaps lives with her and the whole story as she knows it gets thrown into disarray. OK, so it's an outrageous stretch of the imagination even for me, but it was lots of fun and it's totally made me want to re-read the book.




In unrelated matters, we went to Manly last Thursday to see a photographer...i think i mentioned that already last post...but we took the opportunity to have fish and chips by the sea, which seemed the summery thing to do.












And....TA DA! We have a new bedspread. Maria got it for us for Christmas and i finally put it on yesterday. It was the most exciting thing that happened all day. I love it. Jo...well, it's colourful for his tastes. Come on folks. Tell me you love it too.

Kinky or disturbing? You decide.

Birthday parties

As i mentioned a post or two back, i babysat Jack on his birthday for a while, before partying hard into the night at his birthday party, cause kiddie parties go off hard core. I don't know if you knew that. But Lordy they do. I should mention, it was also my other cousin William's FIRST birthday that same day, which meant double the fun and double the partying.



Jo and I got Jack a ride-on digger for his birthday, which he loved - only that it had to actually be put together. Er. Which is fine, except for that I'm not the handiest person to have around in times of stress or danger or construction. Thankfully we had Leah to help us. Or should i say Lilo, which is what Jack calls her. "Isn't it lucky we have Lilo to help us?" i said to him. He nodded thoughtfully, before going to pat her hand - "Thank you Lilo." Well. You can't say the kid's not polite when he needs to be.

Lilo and Jack constructing the monster truck

Ride on? Nah man. I'd rather push.

Jack proudly displays his digger skills. He has to work on the whole pedalling thing though, cause i sure as hell got sick of pushing.

Babysitting a two year old is an exhausting business by the way. I was hoping to put my feet up and watch some telly while he played with his toys by my feet, as all good children do. HA. That cosy little scene is a MYTH. I was on my feet all day, pulling out all my powers of distraction and coercion. But he pushes himself to the brink, as all children do, until he collapses in your arms, exhausted, rests for 5 minutes, gets a second wind and you're off again.

That night it was off to his birthday party, which was very cute....

The new two year old, working the room



Raffael, Christian and William, with their grandfather, Maria's dad

Raffael and I sharing some lovin'

Maria, Peter and Jack

Totally awesome Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cake, sadly demolished in under 3 seconds by hyperactive children in need of more sugar.

William and HIS birthday cake! Already one, and handsom-er than ever, with his mum, my cousin Sylvana. Jack very kindly took it upon himself to blow out William's candle, because gosh darn it, his own wasn't enough.

Birthday boy

Jo, me and Jack

On Thursday night we went to see a photographer we liked for the wedding - he's a kiwi guy, so Jo felt an affinity! - and he was very nice, so we have a good feeling about him. His photos are very casual and fun and beautiful, so we'll see. There are one or two others i wouldn't mind checking out - i guess the thing with photos is that they are pretty much the only thing you'll have left over from your day! So you want them to be good...and i hate those posed shots, cause it feels so fake and i have no doubt you feel like a dumbass taking them - so any like that are a big no no for me. Anyway, i guess it helps to have a good rapport with the photographer you are having on the day, cause they will make you feel relaxed and at ease, which is definitely the vibe we got from this guy at least.

The rest of the weekend has been slow - I've had a bit of a stomach bug, so i am finally taking it easy. Though i did catch up with Faatasi today for some creative input into wedding ideas, and let me tell y'all - the juices were totally flowing. Not that I'm willing to divulge my vision, but we had some fun ideas, cause hello, there's no way I'm putting on a boring show.

Off to watch more SVU. I heart season 11. Holla for Australia Day on Tuesday - NO WORK!!

Life on Mars

It's official. I am living a crazy life. It cannot be maintained. Is everyone this busy, or just me? So busy have i been that we are reaching yet another weekend and i haven't even bothered to tell you about the last one. So I'm going to recap it quickly because i was reminded how lucky i am to have such wonderful friends and family, and hello, that deserves a shout out.




On Friday, my bestie Leah came on over for a girls night which mainly involved looking through wedding magazines and tearing out stuff we liked. You might know that Leah is going to be my Maid of Honour, and its a damn good thing because the girl is highly organised and, more importantly, always happy to partake in wedding talk, no matter what else is going on. I was BEYOND touched, however, when she presented me with this:

A wedding planner folder that she'd made me herself, complete with sections for every aspect of wedding planning you could imagine - cake, themes, colours, ideas, dress, bridal party, music...everything. Either she loves me to bits or she really does have too much spare time on her hands - and hell, I'm gonna go with door number one. Do i have the bestest of best friends or what? For realsies. I'm a lucky gal.




On Saturday, i met Maria and Jack at Chatswood to go shopping for Jack's birthday present. As you know, he turned 2 on Tuesday, but because his Thomas the Tank Engine cake deserves a post unto itself, I'll save that story for another time. On Saturday, it was merely a case of birthday present shopping. I initially wanted to get him a slippery dip for the backyard, but that plan went down the toilet when we discovered that every store had sold out of them (why Target? Why?) Maria to the rescue though, cause she went out early on Tuesday morning to pick up choice number 2, an enormous ride-on digger that he loves, and was therefore perfect. You're welcome, Jack.




So he's currently obsessed with babycinos, which is basically a tiny cup of warm milk topped with froth and chocolate sprinkles, and marshmallows of course - the kid loves his marshmallows. Alas, the marshmellows were not meant to be on Saturday. "The man ran out of marshmallows," Maria told him as she handed him his babycino. Which would have been fine, if she hadn't made the mistake of following that statement up with "...Naughty man."




Jack frowned. Then he turned to glare at the barrista. His message was clear - nobody, and i mean nobody, ruins my babycino by running out marshmallows. No siree bob. He stood on his chair and pointed a stubby finger in the barrista's direction, before bellowing across the food hall "NAUGHTY MAN!" at the top of his lungs. "YOU NAUGHTY MAN!" I was completely embarrassed. I mean the kid has a set of lungs that rival Mariah Carey's. And he wasn't going to let up with just the one holler. No no, the finger pointing and screaming was repeated several times before he would sit down and drink up.

Jack's disgust at the missing marshmallows is clear

And his babycino experience doesn't get any better when he proceeds to spill half of it on himself

And to round up fun family time, Susie, Adrian, Max and the new baby Joshua came over to see us on Sunday afternoon especially to drop off a lovely card and engagement present for us. I mean, do you see? I'm just surrounded by the loveliest of lovely people. This apartment is not particularly kid-friendly though, so we spend a fair bit of time coaxing pens out of Max's hand, lest he draw on the walls, or persuading him to come out where we could see him, because Lord knows there are a lot of expensive breakables in the kitchen.




On Tuesday, Leah and I had the day off to go see some churches, so we could book something in for the wedding...i was afraid i wouldn't find something i liked that would be available, but i was so wrong - the first place we saw ended up being IT. We walked in, and Leah started crying almost immediately. Even I teared up, and hello, I'm not even emotional. It's BEAUTIFUL. Just so beautiful, inside and out - AND it's available. So we're booked in, et voilà! Just like that, we have a church!




Here's a sneak peak....







So, reception venue sorted, church sorted, bridal party sorted...and i know what i want my dress to look like, sort of, so I'm off to see some dressmakers in a couple of weeks to see if they can help me out with what i want...hopefully one of them can!

Snips, snails and puppy dogs tails

It's hard to believe that just over two years ago, we had no idea who Jack was or would be. He was not even a name, just a thing that we knew was coming and couldn't wait to meet. On the night he was born, Maria sent me a text - "Hello chicken, it's a boy, Jack." It must have been about 5 in the morning - and i knew without even seeing this kid that I was going to love the crap out of him. Which, by the way, i do.

So it's funny how things change, and how quickly they do. Today Jack turns the grand old age of two, and he is a force to be reckoned with. Even though i still ask 'how's the baby?', he isn't a baby at all, but a little boy with a huge personality, who talks your ear off and has learnt the unfortunate habit of mimicking your every word. He loves Thomas the Tank Engine and In the Night Garden. He loves animals and music. He loves babycino's and marshmallows. He still loves his milk in a bottle before he goes to sleep, but by this time next year he might not, and that's kind of sad - he's growing up . Not that there's anything wrong with that. All is as it should be. But it teaches you to enjoy this time, because in a flash, it will be gone. And who knew that I'd love the kid this much?

I regret to inform you that we are entering the terrible two's - and i have seen some terrible tantrums in the last few weeks. I predict his 'naughty chair' will be whittled down to nothing by the time we get to three. Then again, his cheeky grin gets him off the hook ALL the time, so who knows. All that's left to say is Happy Birthday my dearest boy - i love you.

The girl with 16 rolls

Of toilet paper that is. That was me today. Hauling my toilet paper back home on the train. Toilet paper, i don't mind saying, that i was bullied and harassed into buying by Leah because it was the best value buy in the whole store.




I protested that i would have to carry all 16 rolls back home - and no one wants to sit next to the girl on the train who buys toilet paper in bulk. "But you'll never run out!" she said, and in hindsight she was almost too gleeful about the whole thing. "You can do without other stuff," she continued wisely, "but if it's one thing you don't want to run out of in a hurricane, it's toilet paper."




Cause it is the season for hurricanes after all.




I knew I'd regret it, but all the other shoppers were staring at us arguing, so i just grabbed the thing and headed for the checkout. My only joy was watching Leah carry it all the way back to work - "And I'm not embarrassed," she said loudly, "because I've scored a bargain, and we all use it after all." Right.




"I suppose i do like to use toilet paper liberally," i said half-heartedly. "And i know this about you," she said, pointing her finger into my face assuredly, "which is why i encouraged this purchase."




Yep. What a mate.




Anyway, me and my 16 rolls made it back home in one piece, though not before having to explain myself to several of my colleagues. "Do you know how much toilet paper is normally? No? Well let me tell you, this was a bargain. A real steal. You should go get yourself some. These sorts of prices won't last."




Last night, Kat and I went to see the movie Bright Star, which is Jane Campion's (she made The Piano) latest venture. It's about the poet John Keats, and his love affair with Fanny Brawne, the love of his short life. 'Bright Star' was just one of the many poems he wrote for and about her. It was an exquisite film, and i use that word because every frame was so carefully constructed - every colour, every movement, every fabric seemed to be a feast for the eyes. His poetry was woven throughout the story, which was tragic, of course, as all the best love affairs are, and the acting was amazing too. There were times you literally felt your heart leap at their joy or break at their sorrow. Highly recommended, but take tissues - I don't think Kat and I breathed almost the entire last scene, except maybe to sob a moment here or there.




On Sunday, we went to see Maria, Peter and Jack. Jack was completely tuckered out by his day at the beach...

But we still went down for a gelato after dinner, and it was the perfect evening for it - balmy, but a nice breeze. Jo took some great snaps!

New Years Resolutions

Not that i believe in resolutions, but...

Anyone else wanna boycott work tomorrow?

...no? Just me? It seems like it was Friday only a moment ago. Monday morning is the worst of course, what with it marking the longest possible stretch of time until Friday afternoon and all. This week has felt LONG too, i think cause the weather has been all over the place, and I've been feeling cooped up as a result.




On the plus side, I've been reading a lot - I've just embarked on the 650 pages that make up Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel, which won the Booker Prize last year (as in, the year that ended 10 days ago). It's some pretty heavy reading - all about Thomas Cromwell and his rise to power in the court of Henry VIII.




On Friday we went to dinner with Daniel and Romina to Braza, a wonderful Brazilian BBQ restaurant where there are 32 varieties of foods on the menu and you get to try every single one! It was delicious. I mean we were stuffed by the end of it, but i just didn't want to stop eating. Romina is now in her third trimester, which means we are talking all things baby. She did make me laugh - as Daniel helped her down the stairs with perhaps a touch too much care, she quipped "I'm not disabled Daniel, I'm pregnant." True, and besides, her hormones are on steroids right now - none of us are game to argue. (Kidding, Rom. Or am I...? *waggles eyebrows*)




Despite a whole week of overcast weather, Saturday dawned bright, sunny and HOT. I'm talking some serious heat here, nearly 40 degrees. Plenty of sweaty people around, let me tell you. Yep. Sweat. I had the pleasure of watching it drip down Turnsie's bald head all afternoon, at a BBQ we went to for our good friend Bernard's 50th birthday. We've worked with Bernie for a long time, years actually, and he and his family are great. He is a HUGE music fan, anything and everything, so the playlist at the par-tay was fabulous, naturally. It was a typical Aussie summer day - a BBQ out the back, sitting around with the music and the mozzies, drinking beer and sipping wine and watching the kids splash around in the pool. After the sun went down and the stars came out, we just went on a-sippin' and a-singin' until who knows when, and all felt right in the world. Simple pleasures :)




I'm watching Doubt, that movie with Meryl Streep (who can do no wrong in my eyes) and Amy Adams, and since it's getting to be quite interesting, I'm off to pay closer attention, which will help me avoid facing the fact that it's going to be MONDAY MORNING soon!

I love paying $10 for a drink at the movies. No really. I do.

Apart from all the obvious festivities, we've also had a few other things going on - like, seeing movies. This time of year always sees a slew of movies opening (though the rest of the year has been rather dismal on that front), and even though the cost of seeing a film these days is positively criminal, we do love a trip to the cinema. Here's what we've seen:




Paranormal Activity. Well, it scared the bejesus out of me. Of course Jo says it wasn't at all scary, but take heed - the tension alone is enough to get you wired, and my brother didn't sleep for a week afterwards.




Avatar. No doubt the biggest blockbuster of the year, and only a decade in the making after all. Seems everyone wants to see what the hell James Cameron's been up to since, you know, Titanic, and actually, we loved this movie. My only complaint is that its very long, at just under three hours. Still, the visual effects are amazing, the storyline was good and hell, looking at Sam Worthington for 180 minutes is alright by me (even the bits when he's a weird alien creature). Make sure you see it in 3D - partly cause it looks better and partly cause it's freaken hilarious looking around the cinema and seeing everyone looking like bad Elton John impersonators in their enormous, plastic, 3D glasses.




New Moon. Hey, don't judge me. Let me say that although i too was one of the many lasses sucked into the Twilight books, i really thought the first movie was laughable in its awfulness. Bad. Just...bad. The funny this is, i loved it BECAUSE it was so bad. Honestly, there's just so many to laugh at! Thinking of all this reminds me of my friend Erin, because she is one of the only people i know who i think would totally agree with me on this one. (By the way, she's currently tramping all over the Middle East on a religious study tour - her blog about the whole experience is rather great, and you can check it out here.) Anyway, i did think New Moon was better than the first movie... just not by much. There are plenty of roll-your-eyes, laugh-out-loud moments, and i particularly reference the wolf transformation scenes. Come on guys. CGI is pretty good these days. Maybe you'll have a bigger budget next movie.




The Lovely Bones. Alright, now i saw this one with Leah, Chris and Jo, and the three of them turned against me in disgust afterwards. Admittedly, i was the only one who had read the book, and therefore the only one who knew how sad the whole story was going to be. But, i firmly believe that dappling in the sadder side of life helps you appreciate the good things a whole lot more, and anyway, this was a serious and thoughtful movie - what's wrong with that!? The book is great, and i thought the movie did it justice.



Still to see? Sherlock Holmes and Bright Star! Whenever i actually have a spare moment, that is. We wanted to go see Sherlock this weekend, but time got away as usual. We stayed at Leah's place on Friday night - who was a wonderful hostess by the way. It was like being at a B&B - including the cooked breakfast the next day. Bad movies, board games and junk food. What more could you want?

Leah's cat Marvin, questioning my motives for climbing into his bed.

We also finally got to meet my newest cousin! And he is beeeeautiful. Thus, i introduce - Joshua Liam.

Cute yes, but it was his brother Max that stole the show as usual. He is just beginning to speak, and says Hello like a real Aussie - as in, 'allo. Hilarious. He is the happiest kid I've ever met, which means you're happy being around him.

After discussing the finer points of childbirth with my cousin Susie (thanks a lot. i told you NOT to be honest.), we headed home and i got stuck into my Nigella marathon on the food channel. So inspired was I that i made a nutella and hazelnut chocolate cake and homemade hokey pokey today. And it was good.

So, the holidays are officially over i guess. It's back to work tomorrow, joy of joys, but we take solace in the fact that we'll be on holidays again in about 6 weeks when y'all are slogging it at work, suckers. We're off to New Zealand again, in summer for one (though i use the word summer lightly). Will i need to wear a scarf? A jumper? Stockings? Only time will tell.

Hello, 2010

It's a rather annoying, because I've found that New Years Eve has become somewhat more emotional for me the older I've gotten. Maybe because you realise how quickly the year has flown by, and how quickly they'll continue to fly by. Or because you think about the people you've lost, and how much you miss them. Or because you look around at the people you have, and how much you love them. Every year brings new blessings, and new disappointments.




This year has been SO full - I've been looking back on this blog, and i can't believe how much we've seen and done, and more importantly, how many wonderful people we have in our lives. I know this is all a bit cheesy, but like I said - it's new years. You think about crap like that.




We rang in 2010 with a bunch of friends at home, and it was GREAT. In Sydney, unless you have a ticket to some event in the city, or you've been lining up all day for a good view of the fireworks, then i find it very hard to see anything or get anywhere. So it was nice to just be at home, where we could drink and reminisce to our hearts content and fall straight into bed afterwards (even if it was 4am by the time i finally got there. what can i say. I'm a total party animal.) A delicious BBQ (times two - we got hungry again at about 1am and fired her up for more bread and haloumi cheese....YUM!) filled our bellies and we danced the night away. Champagne and French Martini's were my drink of choice, cause hello, I'm a classy lady after all.




Jo stuck to beer, but do believe it impeded his Wii skills, cause he got smashed in bowling by the other boys. I'm ashamed to admit it, but Turnsie, who has never played a Wii in his life, beat me twice in the tennis. It's a humiliation i know I'll have to bear for at least the whole of January. I doubt he'll let me forget it any sooner than that.

Jo and I in all our festive glory

I try to deafen Turnsie

Nick and Kirsty


Adrian, Jo, Ash and Con man the BBQ (fear it, dear readers. fear it.)

The expensive champagne comes out, and I'm obviously thrilled by that.

Jo playing the Wii....alas, victory could not be his.

Turnsie about to pop some (more) champers open

Kirsty and I

You know you're in trouble when you start to think it's hilarious to blow your horn tooters (what ARE those things called?) through your nose.

Jo is not amused by the horn blowing. (I, on the other hand, thrived on it.)

So, that's the new year ushered in, and now we're off to Leah's for pool, pizza and movies. As for resolutions - HA. I laugh in the face of resolutions! I defy resolutions! I spit on resolutions! (But only because i know i can't keep them.) We have a busy year - wedding planning, travels, new babies to meet and greet, and a whole lot more fun. So I hope 2010 brings you joy. Happy New Year.