barefoot bowls and sunshine

Another gorgeous weekend full of sunshine and blue skies. After a long week of meetings and deadlines and the usual work hullabaloo... it was nice to have a relaxing, sunny weekend.

We had a fun night out at lawn bowls yesterday with the usual group of Yanks, Expats, and other characters. The Husband's team of manly men won the cup... while my team lost. Oh well, we had a heap of fun. Followed by pizza and pool at the pub.

Today we got up early to call home and wish Dan a very Happy Birthday. Our Dan is all grown up and no longer twenty-something. He says it's all downhill from here. Humph.

The breakfast in Chatswood followed by some shopping and some wandering and the new Dan Brown book for me. Which I paid $26 for. I think I have been in Oz too long when $26 doesn't seem too outrageous for a book. Eek.

Back to work tomorrow for another week. Some travelling for The Husband and lots of meetings for me... but we have a fun roadtrip planned for next weekend, and we should have tons of great photos from that! Can't wait!!

to beach or not to beach

We have sadly not visited the beach half as often as we thought we would before we moved here. Since we are about 13 days into spring here, and the temperature this weekend reached nearly 33c/92f... we decided to head to the beach this morning.

As did each and every one of our 4,284,379 Sydneysider neighbours.

I remember going to the beach with my family as a child. It wasn't something that happened often, and it was a pretty big deal when we did actually get to go. There would be a mad, hot rush to grab our gear and jump in the van before my father changed his mind. And by the time we did reach the beach, we were all so hot and sweaty from being in the van, it was a delirious relief to jump in the water and cool off. Except, by the time you had to leave, and after everything was packed up and the inevitable fights wound down and we were all on our way back home, we were hotter and sweatier than before we left.

So. Not much changes as an adult. You get up early on a gorgeous hot sunny day, and you - ok, your Husband, actually - preps all the picnic food, packs it all up, digs out the blankets, towels, bathing 'cossies' etc, and then digs the umbrella out from under the bed (reminding you what else exactly is under there!) and gets ready to walk out the door. Then you are reminded that you didn't put sunblock on and you know how you burn! so you go back and put that on. THEN you schlep it all to the car. Yes, you are driving to the beach, even though by now it's nearly 10:30 and you know that all of Sydney will already be at the beach, and you'd really be better off taking the bus. But no. You drive.

And you get to the beach and you can't find a parking spot. So you get dumped, with all the stuff, at the curb (or kerb, as they say here. ?!?!) and your Husband goes off to park the car so far away, it's nearly back home. Meanwhile, you scope out the options. Shade? Sun? Far from the water? Close to the washrooms? Finally you see the perfect place and start walking. Except by the time you reach The Perfect Spot, someone else is there. So you disgustedly plop nearby.

And then by the time your Husband gets back from parking the car, and decides he'd rather be closer to the water, so you have to pack it all up and move again, you are So Over It.

But it was a gorgeous day and the sun was nice. It's great to be married to a guy who can develop a perfect tan in just about the same amount of time it takes for me to burn to a crisp.

You know what the best thing about going to the beach is? Going home, taking a shower, and then a nap. Welcome to summer!

Finally Friday

There are rarely days here when I miss having a car... but today I definitely would have appreciated having one! I had a class in Freshwater this morning and it was quite a hike by bus. I was exhausted by the end of it. However, I did get to enjoy THIS view all day. It was enough to distract me from Compliance Law for sure!!

I am so happy it's finally the weekend. I could use some rest. I also have plans to go to dinner and a movie with Tash, to celebrate my birthday. And on Sunday arvo - the Beach! It's supposed to be 30c / 90f!!! Feeling a little like summer already! What kind of weather are YOU experiencing this weekend?

Nine Nine Nine

I remember being in grade school and figuring out that some day in the distant future, the date would be 09/09/09... and that day would be my birthday! And I would be 31... so old!

Well, I don't feel old. Ok, maybe I feel a little old, considering the fact that my boss spread a rumour at work today that I am 38 - and people believed her!! But beyond that, I don't feel old.

But I do feel tired. I spent my birthday balancing budgets, fighting with a major media conglomerate over invoices and credits, training a new staff member, scrubbing the office BBQ, (don't ask) grocery shopping, doing a load of laundry, baking an apple crisp, preparing for a class I am teaching tomorrow, and a whole lot more that I don't even remember.

But there was cake. And some surprise flowers from The Husband. So it was a good day. Bring on another year!

time flies

Not much out of the ordinary to report lately. Life is chugging along, as it does. The Husband and I have been making good on our commitment to go to the gym regularly and while I don't notice any difference in the mirror, it is getting easier to go each time.

The daylight hours are getting longer each day and often it is still light when I leave the office. Work has been busy for me lately and challenging. In some ways that is very good - I am getting a change to spearhead some great projects and implement some great systems. But the challenge of working with some really difficult people has been getting me down a lot lately.

Hard to believe that it was a year ago already that I was lamenting the end of my 20's. I turn 31 this week and can honestly say that so far, the 30's have been great. We have some fun travel plans coming up in the next 12-24 months, and I am super excited.

It's finally spring here in Sydney, and I can't tell you how nice it has been to break out the sandals again. Happy to say goodbye to socks again for many months. (Ok, at least until our trip back to CAN for Christmas.) We have had day after day of gorgeous, sunny weather lately, and it's been fantastic. Almost enough to distract me from the fact that it's my favourite season "back home."

Just wanted to say Happy Birthday to Grams and Misty... miss you both!

Blue

Flipping through the photos we have taken over the past year, I realised that there is a significant blue theme running through them. I think the one thing that stands out to me about Sydney is the blue sky. It seems that the sky here is always blue. Definitely one of the things I will always remember about our time here.

A walk on the Heads

There is a gorgeous nature walk up north of us on The Heads, the area where the harbour meets the ocean. It's the perfect place to go for a hike on a sunny day. We went a few weeks ago in the late afternoon, hoping to get some good colour and texture photos. The days are geting longer now and the afternoon sun is perfect.