Garden pretties

Summery days. Hot, humid weather.  Thundery storms with big drops of rain have made everything temporarily green.  Found some pretty things in the garden yesterday.

Christmas ornaments

It's almost time to put away the tree and ornaments for another year. We didn't have one last year as we were travelling in the US. We did collect some sweet new ornaments though. Here are some examples from New York, Washington DC and San Francisco. It was lovely putting them on the tree this year and remembering what we did last year. Mum brought some new ones back from Europe for me this year to add to the collection. I'll post them another day.

Christmas cards

I made Christmas cards for my family for the first time this year. I went for some less traditional colours like pink and navy blue and used quite a few buttons (my favourite embellishment currently) to each one. I made the gold wreath using thin gold ribbon after seeing a similar card here. It uses a really simple technique but the results are very effective.

Merry Xmas

Have spent the day at my parents' place at Bribie Island. Duncan and Tejal and Glen and Danielle came along as well as Banjo and Charlie, our dog and cat. Glen and Danielle headed off after lunch to go and spend some time with Danielle's family but the rest of us are staying for a couple of nights.

Ate too much at lunch as per the annual tradition, relaxed in the afternoon playing Wii games (the women of the family enjoyed beating their men at Wii sports boxing) and walked the dog along the beach at sunset. Nice!!

Relaxing now and about to head to bed for another round of festivities tomorrow when Nigel, Fiona, Rachel and Fiona's parents come up to celebrate with us. Oh, and I'm sure there will be more Wii!

For the girls

Studying full-time means I am haven't earnt any money at all this year so I was looking for some creative ideas for Christmas gifts for my fabulous girlfriends. I spent the day after I finished uni frantically putting together a set of blank greeting cards for each of them and had to be finished in time to get to our girls' Christmas Dinner.

They seemed to really love them. I made little slip envelopes to match each card and liked them so much I found it quite hard to give them away in the end. I used some paper that I had been 'keeping for something special' (why do we do that?!) and was so glad to see they were really appreciated. Pictures of the cards and 'The Girls' follow.

Merry Christmas Ag, Dianne, Kylie, Melissa and Michele!!!

In my life...

Saw a similar list on Shannan's blog this morning and thought I'd play along. All of the bolded/blue lines are things that I've done in my life.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted an animal
16. Had food poisoning
17. Stood in front of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Done a triathlon
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen a traditional Aboriginal community
36. Learnt and used a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Worked for a charity
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Parachuted out of a plane
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Seen a baby born
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a mobile phone
99. Been stung by a bee

New York City

I am dreaming of New York City... that place just gets into your soul somehow and I was only there for five days but I loved it so much...

Fabulous for people watching, fashion and staying out all night, it has a buzz that I can still feel and think about. So different to our beautifully tranquil spot in Brisbane. Here I see green trees and hear birds and can smell clean, fresh air and I love it very much but still I miss the gorgeous buildings, the twang of NY accents, the steam rising from the subway, the traffic cops on every intersection, yelling and directing traffic with arms like windmills spinning around in the air. The shopping. The architecture. The cool cafes and bars. Central Park. Brooklyn Bridge. Brownstones. Walking everywhere. Squirrels and art in parks. Lights at Christmastime. Rugged up against the cold. Snow falling against lowset brick buildings in the Meatpackers district. Recognising places from Sex and the City. Loving seeing another part of the world.

Still studying

Well, I'm studying again this year and have almost survived the first semester of my Masters in Psychology... still a few assignments to get in and prac hours to work but classes are done for a while.

It's been very stressful and demanding but incredibly enjoyable.