End of January?? What??

How is that possible? Too busy, that's the bloody problem, and this week was no exception. It was Jack's birthday on Wednesday, so we went over for dinner and cake and all that. His real birthday party isn't until this weekend, and it's featuring a special surprise from me and Maria. More on that next week! As for Wednesday, for an impromptu party there sure were plenty of kids in attendance. Christ. Girls, boys, babies - every age bracket was accounted for. There really was nowhere to hide. So i made the best of it and stuck with the ones i knew and loved.

Christian, Raffael and me

In fact, it wasn't just Jack's birthday - it was his cousin William's too. Which is why there were about a billion kids - double the festivities. William was turning two, so still slightly overwhelmed by it all. But turning three, Jack had a better idea of what birthdays are all about - presents. And lets be honest - the kid threw aside anything that wasn't a toy or DVD. Little shit.

Birthday cakes!

Happy birthday to me!

William cuts the cake with his mama

Kid heaven

By the time Friday rolled around, i was ready for a drink. Alas for me and everyone around me, because drink i did. A good friend from work was leaving (she's travelling the world for 6 months, lucky bugger), so we decided heading to the pub early was in order. First bottle of wine was consumed by 4.30 in the afternoon, and Lord knows that happened after that. I know i got home past midnight - which means we basically drank for a full working day. Which is a phenomenal effort, and i applaud it, and i was punished for it on Saturday BELIEVE ME. My body can no longer cope with all-night benders. Am i getting old??? How did i manage that sort of drinking TWICE every weekend a mere few years ago?? Vague snippets of the night are coming back to me as the days pass (like demanding someone go and get me a burger - and actually, i think someone did), which is always funny. Its like you're in a half-dream - did that really happen, or am i imagining it? Good times.

Me and Wing-Sze, world traveller extraordinaire, who i will MISS!!

George, me and WS - i can't believe our trio has been so rudely split. Bah. Bah!

On the other hand, waking up early the next day to meet Maria in Newtown and look for wedding favours was NOT a happy moment. Really. Was. Not.

I was parched, for starters, and no amount of water would quench my thirst. Second, it was like a hundred degrees outside, so all i did for three hours was sweat out everything I'd consumed the night before. Thirdly, we were supposed to meet for breakfast, but Maria was late, so i had to eat alone like a loser, AND, i really wanted greasy bacon and eggs for breakfast, but I've vowed off eating pork, so i had to have mushrooms instead. Not the fat factor i was after. And it was one of those situations where I'd asked for two menus because i thought there would be two of us. So the waiter brings two menus and two water glasses and two sets of cutlery. And then Maria doesn't show, which is OK, but to the waiter, it looked like I'd been totally ditched, probably by a guy. "My cousin's running really late..." i told him feebly when i went to pay. And he gives me this sympathetic look like "Yeah, sure. See it all the time. But OK, you're cousin's late, whatevs..."

To top it off, we ended up sitting for what felt like an eternity with this lady talking about wedding favours when all i wanted to do was go to the toilet. When i finally couldn't hold it any more, i asked whether there was one available even though i could see there wasn't. She said she had one out the back, but that it was a bit "rustic". HA! Rustic?? Rustic means CHARMING, lady! Not pitch-black, spider-infested, outback dunny with mouldy toilet paper and a yellow-stained floor. But i was busting so i had to go, i had to. And really, after that, all i wanted to do was go back home and go to bed. Thank goodness I actually found some favours i liked after all that, so it was kind of worth it, just.

By Sunday i was buggered, but it was a beautiful day and we were heading off for a BBQ with my cousins. They have three little kids who are a hoot, and we love seeing them, so it was a nice afternoon.

Raffael and Christian with their vegetable garden

Fish on the barbie for lunch, DELICIOUS.

Jo, Raffy and Christian reading books

Later that afternoon, Jo and my Dad were headed off to the cricket, so Mum and I decided to go to the movies to see Black Swan. Obviously it's been getting a lot of buzz, so we were interested to see whether it would live up to the hype.

Which it kind of did. I'm not sure what i expected from it in hindsight actually. It's hard to put it in a genre category, but i guess you could call it part thriller, part horror. Natalie Portman plays Nina, a ballerina who's waiting for her big moment - and it comes when she wins the lead in Swan Lake. Her nervous and unsure personality is evident from the start, but once the pressure of the role sets in, and we learn more about her home life, the cracks in her mental state begin to show. From there, the audience is left to guess what's real and what isn't. We see it all through Nina's eyes, and that's what i liked best about the movie - i felt like i understood her paranoia and delusions because i was seeing them for myself, i thought they were real too. When it turned out they weren't, i felt her confusion because it was also my own. I was definitely on the edge of my seat for the whole movie. On the other hand. It was so intense and confronting in its realism that I was almost uncomfortable watching it. And i am no prude by any means, but there were some scenes where i was like "Geez. That's...weird..." So I'm not sure its for everyone. From an artistic perspective, it's beautifully staged and shot. But it's very dark, and its MA rating is appropriate. I'm still feeling a little unnerved and disturbed by it, even a couple of days later.

Public holiday tomorrow, so no work for me! I'll keep you posted on how my Australia Day turns out - most likely i will sleep, eat, watch trash TV with the aircon on high, sleep, attend a BBQ, then sleep. Not too shabby if you ask me.

Misshapen halos and mischevious grins

My blog post title today comes from a poem about little boys, and pretty much sums up the pest perfectly. He is equal parts naughty and nice, sugar and spice, and that's just the way we like him.

I'm talking about Jack because today is his third birthday. There's something about that age, three. It's like you cross a magical threshold into big-boyhood. All little kids who turn three say they're now a big boy or girl, and yes, that's what Jack's telling anyone who'll listen at the moment. "I'm fwee. I'm a big boy now. I do poos in the toilet." Because when you're three, your biggest accomplishment probably IS doing a poo in the toilet. (Well done kid. Happy to see that life skill can finally be crossed off the list.)

Poo jokes aside, I'm astonished at how much he's changed this year. His talking was always good, but even I look up in surprise sometimes at the sentences that come out his mouth. I know I'm bias, but there's no denying it - the kid's smart. (What's that? He takes after me? Well. I didn't want to say anything...) His memory is second to none, he says words that I'm sure he's never heard before, and he is endearingly funny without knowing it. If you've had a bad day, go and spend an hour with Jack. I promise you'll be in stitches by the end - and you'll feel about a billion times better. Yep - Jack is my bad-day remedy, my go-to guy when things get a bit tough. He's pretty awesome like that.

Of course, the split personality of a two year old has meant that this has also been the year of the tantrum. So actually, you should call before you visit. Cause if the kid's in a bad mood, you may as well just stay home. I've seen some spectacular fits of hysteria in the last few months. If he hasn't slept and he's in a bad mood, it's a sight to behold. I should start selling tickets. It's the staying-power of the tears that never ceases to amaze me - there's actually no break in crying for like 30 minutes at a time. HOW is this possible?? More importantly, WHY is this possible?? Unlike the tickle me elmo, there seems to be no 'off' button - so when the tantrum cyclone hits, i tend to just run for the door. Somewhere else to be and all that.

The last 12 months have also revealed some of Jack's more specialised talents. Like singing. The kid loves to sing. Put him in front of a microphone (and trust me, we have), and its like he BECOMES a rock star. The creative genius simply cannot be contained. His favourite song right now is the Glee mash up of Confessions/It's My Life. I specifically mention the Glee thing because we HAVE in fact tried to play him the original Bon Jovi version of It's My Life, and he hates it. Can't stand to have it on for more than three seconds. After that, he claims his ears hurt, and we have to turn it off. This leads me to Jack's second specialised talent: lying.

The lies roll off his tongue like rain off a ducks back. Maria tries to tell us that lying is a sign of intelligence, a fact i believe I've mentioned here before. But lets not delude ourselves. Lying just means he's figured out how to get away with stuff. It's going to become a very useful tool at pre-school. I'm almost proud when i think of all the ways he's gonna dupe those other stupid kids *sniggers* Anyway, he's a liar, and Ive spend long minutes listening to stories about non-existent needles that non-existent ant doctors have given him, or about the dinner he supposedly ate. Or being told that he did not in fact make that mess, it was the other kid, whatshisname, he's the one who did it. When challenged, i actually heard him say in an agonised tone, "I told him not to do it." WHAT??? I had to laugh.

As i mentioned before - it's been a year of developing life skills. Pooing in the toilet was just one of several. My particular favourite? Negotiation. The kid should be working for the CIA. He'll negotiate the chocolate right out of your hand if your not careful. Before you know it, you're nodding your head saying "Mmm, yes, you want to watch Tom and Jerry another 50 times before bed...that sounds fair..." Like all the great orators in our family (me, Maria...me...), he can talk his way through and out of anything. It's not all roses though. There are some concepts he can't quite grasp. Like sharing. Or saying sorry. Or eating a full meal. There's plenty of room for improvement. Its lucky he's pretty sweet most of the time, so we can overlook these minor shortcomings...(that means we're turning a total blind eye).

Here's the part where i reflect: i can't believe the kids already three. I wish that time and age were slower, so he could stay little forever. Its sort of sad and not sad at the same time to see the baby disappear and the little boy emerge. Of course, our understanding of the time means we know that he's not going to stay a little boy forever either - one day he'll be a teenager (ugh), and then an adult. Which means, we better enjoy this while we can.

Happy birthday my boy. It's been fun terrorising you the last three years - don't think that'll stop any time soon. I love you xxx

You're invited to...

Well. Nowhere actually. But i thought I'd share our wedding invitations with you now that they've all been posted and received (for the most part).




When we thought about our invitations, we wanted them to firstly set the tone of the whole wedding, but secondly be quite personal - we wanted to tell a bit of our story. So we some research and i found out about a new, up and coming stationary company who specialised in bespoke wedding invitations called Zed and Bee. It's run by two sisters, whom we met with, and they got to know us and our personalities a little before coming back with a few different suggestions for a wedding invitation. Since we both love music, and believe that music definitely influences memories, a CD invite seemed perfect.




We really wanted to create something warm and personal and kinda sweet - in short, we wanted people to WANT to play the CD. So we picked out a bunch of songs that meant something special to us in some way or another, included a few lines about why each song was picked, and let the girls create the beautiful watercolours you can see on the cover based on our brief, which was to evoke some of those beautiful album covers from the 60s and 70s - Joni Mitchell, The Beatles, that sort of thing.




When we finally got the finished product, we were beyond thrilled with the result. They look stunning, are really meaningful, and really set the scene for what we hope will be a beautiful, fun party for our us and our guests. Here they are!

Front cover and envelope

Inside - the CD itself, and the song list on either side with a sentence or two about why we picked the song.



The back, middle and front, opened out

The actual invite (with the where and when and who etc) and the RSVP

So we're back to Monday, by far the most insulting day of the week. This past weekend we went to Canberra to meet our wedding photographer (that's where she's based.) It was a bit of a risk, picking someone so integral to our wedding day without having met her - but it was worth it. She's fantastic - very easy to be around, chirpy and creative, and i think she'll take some amazing photos for us. We had an 'engagement shoot' while we were there - which basically meant she took a bunch of pictures of me and Jo trying to be lovey-dovey, but failing miserably. We were too busy laughing our heads off. Which actually made for far more appropriate pictures i think, because one thing i can always rely on is us being able to have a laugh.

And while we're on the topic of the wedding, i may as well point out that there are exactly 8 weeks to go. Freaky deaky right? There are a few rather important things we haven't actually done - like, er, get wedding rings...but other than that, i think we're on track. I'm predicting my meltdown to take place approximately 7 days out. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted.

Last but not least - we'll be celebrating a VERY special Pesty third birthday this week. Full report to follow...!

Back to work. Again.

We're all officially back at work after the holiday season. And there's really not a whole lot more i wanna say about that (cause it SUCKS!). Up until now though, we've had many pleasant distractions.





We've bowled, for example. I'm not usually one for sports, but bowling - i can handle that *winks* And we've seen a few movies. Little Fockers was OK, overall - same jokes, same laughs. You know what you're going to get, and you get it.




The Kings Speech on the other hand was, as all reviews will tell you, excellent. Highly recommended if you have the inclination for that sort of thing. And you won't often find three finer actors in one film either - Colin, Geoffrey AND Helena? That's a trifecta. It traces King George VI's quest to overcome his stammer with the help of his unconventional speech therapist, Lional Logue (played rather brilliantly by Geoffrey Rush if you ask me). Covering the pesky abdication that landed him in the job in the first place and the early years of the second World War, the film builds up to that one big speech that's got to inspire the nation once war is declared - and he can't very well stammer through it. Anyway. Just go see it.




And just the other night, we saw Morning Glory. I admit, i picked that one. And i admit, Harrison Ford makes the movie. But honestly, sometimes you just want to see a bit of fluff, you know? It's by no means deep and meaningful, but i wanted something silly and lighthearted, and. Well. That's what i got. Ford plays a professional news journalist who's relegated, much to his disgust, to morning television. Chirpy Rachel McAdams plays the up and coming young producer who has to make him see the error of his ways if she has any hope of saving the program from inevitable demise. And that's about the whole storyline right there. But it's cute enough. Maybe save it for a rainy day DVD.




In other news, we were thrilled to attend our very first Greek wedding on Saturday. You may hear the term big fat Greek wedding and think it's an exaggeration, to which i say HA! The alcohol and the dancing and the 'opa!'s' flowed all night, and when the music finally came to an end, the disgruntled shouts of 'Just one more!!" could be heard from the next suburb over, I'm sure of it. We had a ball, and must say thanks to our friends Con and Melissa for letting us share their special day - CONGRATULATIONS to you both, you crazy kids. Here are some picture highlights:

Jo and I outside the church



Turnsie pulling the same moronic face he does in every photo




The bride and groom!

Kama and Tony, who was one of the groomsmen

Dancing!

Kama and I (who enjoyed our champagne all night, let me tell you)

Con and Melissa cut their cake (what's with the dominating hand placement there Con...rack off and let the woman cut her cake.)

Awww, spesh.

Zorba!

A very happy Tony (whisky does that) and I

Of course, the last week has been spent staring in shock at images on our televisions of a flood-ravaged Queensland. 75% of the state has been declared a disaster zone, thousands and thousands of homes have been destroyed or badly damaged, many are dead or missing or homeless - and it's bizarre to see the Brisbane CBD half under water.

What HAS been pretty amazing is the attitudes of the people up there, who've just been so darn AUSSIE in their response to this whole mess. They've banded together and got on with things, and hardly any person has complained. Many have watched their houses slowly disappear under water with a beer in their hand and a shrug of the shoulders because hey, it could be worse. Or they're in their tinnies and kayaks with the dogs or on their surfboards or just plain swimming through the mud to get to their houses and take stock. Or taking care of strangers, or filling bags with sand through the night, or painting kids faces down in the evacuation centres, or giving the camera a big smile and saying "she'll be right", even though everything in they own is gone or ruined. We've seen all those traits that make us great - generosity and friendship, strength and humour - and I've no doubt that despite how bad things are, those Queenslanders are going to bounce back in no time, because in this country, we all actually give a crap about each other. Bless! And yeah. Makes me proud to be Australian.

2011 - what will you bring?

Ohhhh new years. That night of nights, huh? Or not. I personally am never one for a big new years. Going into the city to watch the fireworks, making a big deal of it all...it's a pain. There's so much pressure to make the night amazing that it inevitably often isn't. No, my best new years are the ones we've kept low-key, with family or friends, at home or at someone else's home - fuss free, relaxed, no pressure.




So i was very pleased indeed when our friend Annie invited us to spend new years with her at her mother's penthouse apartment this year. Good friends? Tick. Views of the city? Tick. Plenty of champers? Tick tick tick. Awesome music? Tick. Can't ask for more on new years, riiiiiiight?!





But the day started well before that. As per tradition, we headed over to our friend Lewis's house that afternoon for the annual new years back-alley cricket game. And let me tell you, it was hot that day. Real. Hot. The kind of hot where the ice does nothing for your beers and the shade does nothing for your heat rash. Know what i mean?




My batting was superb as always (rules state that girls can use a real cricket bat, but lads have to use a hockey stick. Suckers.), but my fielding, admittedly, could use some work. Running away from the ball when it comes flying in your direction is apparently not acceptable. Backyard cricket or not. I say, my face comes first.









Lewis had the heat covered though, with that traditional Aussie summer staple - the plastic paddle pool. Which i refused to enter. No siree bob. 4 sweaty male bodies in that tiny thing? One word sums it up, and that word is Ew.

Back to our place for some pre-champagne champagne, and before i knew it we were at Annie's, where the good times rolled on till midnight. It wouldn't be new years without our good friend Turnsie and as usual, he was plastered before the 9 o'clock fireworks. He will of course try to tell you this is a lie, but don't believe him. His drunken dance moves, smugly recorded by Jo, prove otherwise. Oh yeah. He was hustling to Beyonce's Diva like a groupie on steroids.

Turns and I proudly display our bounty.




Why yes! That IS me pouring a packet of Smarties into Turnsie's champagne.

Obviously everyone was feeling the love by the time the midnight fireworks hit. Everyone except Jo, who in fact suffered SEVERE food poisoning over the entire new years holiday period, poor bloke. He was in agony - in fact he didn't drink a single drop of alcohol the whole night. Which not only sucks, but also proves that he really was sick. Cause that just doesn't ever happen. On the plus side, since he wasn't off his face like the rest of us, he managed to get some pretty good shots of the fireworks. (And we had a designated driver.)

Annie, me, Turns and Lauren

The evening was topped off by a visit from the crazy, middle-aged Eastern European neighbour (otherwise known as 'Russian Mafia Dude'), whose disturbingly open sexual prowess was just a little too free and easy for me. Yeah. I didn't bother to hide my sniggers.

The rest of our holidays was spent on my parents couch. Jo needed a few days of recovery time, so we parked ourselves at the parentals and spent 3 days watching movies and playing with the dogs. It was kinda nice to do absolutely nothing actually. And i forgot how great Inglorious Bastards was.

In other news, today i had my hair and make-up trials for the wedding. I'm super duper happy with how it all turned out, especially when i imagine the whole look with an actual wedding dress on. And hello, fake eyelashes are the best. I'm converted. Here's the look:

Not bad right? Alas, from tomorrow, it's back to work full-time. No more rest for the wicked either - January is already looking chockers, and before you know it it'll be genuinely time for the wedding.

And so i can finally say Happy New Year! I hope it brings much joy and happiness to you all, and that it's filled with as many adventures as I think ours will be. Bring on 2011!!!