Dexter's New Home

Well its been a little while since I posted a blog about my little dog and there have been a couple of reasons for this:

1. Nothing really that interesting has happened to him...he did go for his first swim at the beach but other than that, not much.

2. I figured that after the influx of posts when I first got him, it was only fair that I gave everyone a break and...

3. He hasn't been living with me. 

This last reason is something that I am a little sad about, because I love him to bits (despite our initial struggles) and I miss him stacks, none the less he is a very active dog and I have a very small house in which he has to get locked in all day because my landlord keeps letting him out and the poor little thing is just a puppy with no road sense. 

Anyway, over summer, and a little bit before that, Dex has been living with Mum, Dad, the boys and his new best friend, Harley and the two have been getting very attached to each other.  And while this has been good for them, because they have become good company for each other, eventually, when I get a bigger house, I would really like Dex to come back and live with me, but the more attached he gets to Harley the harder this will be to do.  So this week I have made a decision (well not just me, in-conjunction with the others involved, except Dex and Harley, because they are dogs and they can't talk), one that I think is best for both Dex and me.  Until I workout how to have Dexter up in Castlemaine, in order to prevent two very depressed little dogs, Dex is moving in with Dave. 

So last night, Dex spent his first night in his new place, and he looks pretty happy there... The other good thing about this arrangement is that Dave (or so he says) will bring dex up to visit sometimes, which is exciting because I really miss him.  I just hope that he is a good boy and doesn't destroy to much...

I guess that's all part of the adventure!

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Australia Day - # 41

Just like my last blog, today’s is filled with a number of super Australian things I have done today, which I guess is appropriate given that it is in fact Australia Day. So Happy Australia Day to you all!

Here is my super Australian Australia Day…

10:30am – woke up in Inverloch after a beautiful sleep in to find a fantastic summer day!

11:00am – 1:00pm – Dave, Kat and I were joined by Brad and Mim and together we watched some tennis and cricket on the telly

1:00pm – Had a sausage sizzle for lunch

2:30-5:00pm Soaked up the sun and surf at the beach

8:00-9:30pm Enjoyed a Australia Day spectacular at the Blackburn Sound Shell, were I caught up with Mum, dad and Jake and then completed my day quite nicely with fireworks, allowing me to cross #41 – see some fireworks, off the list.

So there you go, what better way is there to spend Australia day than with friends, family, sausages, beach, Australian tunes and fireworks…it just doesn’t get better than that.

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Tennis

There are some super Australian things to do over summer, for example, going to the beach, eating out side, having a BBQ, and if you are a Victorian going to, or at least watching some of the Australian Open tennis. It doesn’t seem to matter whether or not you actually like tennis, you just do it. Take me for instance, the only tennis I ever watch is the Australian Open, and most years I even go to the tennis for the day, much like I did today. I don’t really have any idea what’s going on or who anyone actually is, although I can pull out some names and rankings if I have to, and this year I even have the Australian Open app on my iPhone to help me pull it off just that little bit more convincingly. Normally, I get sucked in by the end, declaring someone my favourite player and another my enemy, I cheer and get excited, make all the right crowd noises and generally have a great time. But the truth is even though I like to go to the tennis and I do get a bit caught up in it all while I am there, the reason I agree to go in the first place is not the tennis at all. The tennis has a great atmosphere, some great shopping at times (not this year though due to the fact that Garnier is no longer a major sponsor…so no freebies from the infamous Garnier tent) but it’s also a great way to get a tan and not get in trouble for sitting in the sun. Although, also being a bit of a paranoid hypochondriac I always slip, slop, slap, unlike like Dave…who now has a nice red and white chestie outline.

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Classic Disney

This morning I gave 3D a second chance, this time I allowed it to mess with a classic, giving it an all or nothing ultimatium...and this time the 3D movies proved themselves as worthy in my books.  This morning, Kitty, Ben and I went and saw 2 Disney classics in 3D - Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 2, and they were fantastic.  

This time I wore my regular glasses and to my surprise they fit under the 3D glasses with no dramas at all.  However 3Ds haven't been given the all clear just yet, because there were a number of 'variables' that had changed.  For example:

1. The movie was at 9:50am, not 9:40pm, so I was much more awake

2. I had swaped my contacts for my glasses and....

3. Lets face it, Toy Story isn't really fast pace and there are not really any full on action scenes so its hard to compare the movies. 

All I know is it was very enjoyable this time, and perhaps I was quick to ride off 3D...perhaps it needs some more, as Dave would say, independent research. 

Oh and on a completely different note, I was very fascinated by the fact that in the cinema there were more young adults of similar age to myself, than kids...including a group of boys...who did not on first impression appear to be Toy Story kind of guys...I guess from this I can take two things 1. Kids these days don't appreciate classic Disney and 2. Everyone loves Disney...even if they don't look like they will.   

I guess that's all part of the adventure!

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Skype

I know I only said this like a week ago but skype is seriously very impressive, today while out in Hoppers Crossing (yes...it is a long way from any of my homes!) having lunch with my high school buddies, we chatted to Kempy who is currently living in the states and it was almost like she was there with us.  We could see her, talk to her, play games with her and have fun and it was very very cool, it really is magic that you can do that... how exactly it works still boggles my mind, but so does the telephone and wireless anything, so I guess that's not hard.  I think I need to get more into skype though cos we talke with Kempy for like 2hours and it was still free...and that is just nuts.

Skype...you amaze me. 

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Triple Date

Tonight I went on a triple date, a step up, or sideways, or something from the double date I got so excited about back in October, tonight's triple date was with Dusty and Jake and their girlfriends Jess and Cassie.  Its not something that I have done before, but it was nice.  In true dork style, we went out for dinner and then bowling, and I didn't even lose.

Anyway, it was nice to hang out with my brothers and their women, perhaps its something we should do more often...I guess it is a sign that we are all growing up, and soon, although not too soon I hope, I will be hanging out with my brothers and my sister-in-laws...crazy...who would have thought that these three kids...(please see photo to your left) would be out...in public... without their gameboys and with their significant others, bowling...crazy, imagine that...growing up.   

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Kitchen Table

I have heard numerous people talk about the joys of the simple things in life and tonight I got experience that joy.  It's just something simple, but something that I had taken for granted for so long, something that I didn't realise I liked so much until I didn't have one for a while and then got it back...  confused yet?  Well tonight I was able to enjoy the simple pleasure of eating at a kitchen table!  I know it sounds ridiculous, but tonight when Flic came over for tea, we sat at a little card table in the middle of what I guess is technically the kitchen and it was lovely.  Simple but what a joy.  I miss having a table to eat at that is there all the time and doesn't have to be folded away so that you can get to everything.  One day, I will have a house big enough for a kitchen table... one day

I guess that's all part of the adventure!

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Just not quick enough

Maybe no one else experiences this, but my eyes can't keep up with 3D movies...I am just not that quick...tonight I went to see Avatar in 3D with Jana and Sam and after careful consideration I decided that I needed to wear my glasses to the movies because otherwise I would have that that whole two pairs at once thing going on and I decided that probably wouldn't work.  It turns out though perhaps I made the wrong choice...because I was a little tired, my eyes were dry and as a result my contacts took just a little bit too long to focus so I found it difficult to watch the faster 3D bits in the movie.

This is a bit of a shame, because I was super excited about 3D and now....not so much, in fact I think for now I will just stick to my glasses and normal 2D.

But just out of curiosity...does anyone else experience issues with 3D or is it just me?

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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The Cool Change - # 96

I have resisted blogging about the temperature for two reasons:

1. everyone knows its friggin hot and they don't want to be reminded

2. no one cares - they are too hot! 

...that was until now!  Now that the cool change has hit its a whole new story, the cool change has brought with it relief but also some inspiration.  Over the last couple of days my house has become really really messy, I would like to put the full blame on the heat, but that would be a lie, however some of the blame does fall there.  The inspiration that came with the cool change was a fresh desire to clean my house, and clean it I did, I swept and vacuumed, in fact I did such amazing cleaning I even vacuumed upstairs which means I can now cross #96 - Vacuum the upstairs of my house, off the list.  I couldn't take a photo because it just didn't work, so you will just have to trust me on this...but it is clean and oh my is it nice to have the refreshing cool change and the refreshing feeling of a cool house.

Oh and in case you just didn't understand why this was so difficult...this is a picture of the 'upstairs' of my house...yes that little bit up the top of the ladder...and that's without the mattress I sleep on...  

I guess that's all part of the adventure!

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Flying through the list - # 58, # 62

Well I am flying through the list so far... Today, only 10 days in, I can cross to more things off my list...The first one was under sad circumstances though... let me explain...

This morning I was able to cross off #58 Attend Bendigo Corps, however it was to say farewell to Quentin and Susanne, who have been the officers there for the last 3years and are now heading to South Australia to an appointment there.  Over the past year I have been really grateful for Quentin and Susanne and the love and support they have given me.  When I moved away from home, mum reminded me that I was a salvo so I was going to have a family close enough and it is really true.  After a little bit of initial phone hockey, Susanne invited me to join a cell group at the corps and it has been one of the best things I have done up here.  It has given me some free meals, something to do every second week, but most of all some new friends that I will never forget, and even though I haven't been there on Sunday's it has given me a salvo family to belong to up here.  It has also allowed me to get to know both Quentin and Susanne and their lovely kids...which you may have noticed I have blogged about before.  And while I know the army world is small, and the magic of facebook is awesome, I will miss having them around and having a good laugh, but I know that they will be doing incredible things in SA and I have to let them go.  So thanks guys so much for everything that you have done and for helping settle in up here in the country, you will definitely be missed.  

The other thing I was able to cross off my list is a little less emotional...this afternoon I purchased a new set top box for my TV (#62).  Luckily for me Davo was up in Castlemaine for a visit so he set it all up for me and it is ready to go, with a lovely clear picture and lots more channels...although it does appear at this stage I am missing channel 9 in all shapes and forms but I am sure it will show up when its ready. 

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Dance like Dave's not watching

Confidence is not something that I have a lot of.  You may be a little surprised by this, but it is true,  I find it really difficult to really be myself, I am always worrying about what people with think or say and while I have become more confident in who I am over the last couple of years, it is something that I still need to work on.

One thing I really love to do though is dance. I am not a very good dancer and this is mostly due to a 'co-ordination deficiency' which is a very seriously genetic disorder, that unfortunately has been passed down the Lewis family line, so as you can imagine, I don't do it very often, but when I do...oh when I do... I really let my hair down, so to speak.  I really like that quote that says 'Dance like no one is watching' however I think that in my case it's more like 'Dance like Dave's not watching' because even though we have been going out for so long, I don't like to make a fool of myself in front of him...at least not with my dancing anyway, not because he will love me less, but because I think that I could possibly be a little embarrassing, I know he will say he doesn't care and he just wanted me to be me...but I know its true deep down inside.

Anyway, tonight I attended Stobie's farewell shin dig and once the crowd had died down and I was there with a few close buddies of mine I decided that it was time for them to see me dancing...not just a little bit of dancing, but 'dancing like Dave's not watching' dancing.  They hadn't seen my full on dancing before because I normally leave that to parties where everyone else is drunk so that they won't remember the quality of my dancing (ironic, given my last blog), but I was feeling particularly comfortable, so I decided that tonight was the night (it probably helped that Dave wasn't there either).  Anyway, I guess I just wanted to say that I love it.  It really is very freeing and thankfully it all went down ok, no one thought I was super weird or anything...not even when I pulled out my favourite, and original, interpretive dance move...plastic bag in the wind.  

Perhaps I will need to start finding more situations to get my dance on, and to dance like Dave's not watching...even if he is...who knows, maybe one day he will even dance with me.  That would be nice (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

Oh and that's a picture of me getting my groove on...while singing...pretty...I know. 

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Alcohol

Tonight I saw something that made me a little sad.  Tonight while waiting for the train to Melbourne I saw two guys that were just drunk off their nut.  And while people get drunk all the time, I think what took me by surprise with these guys was that I wasn't out late, or in the city, or even anywhere near a pub, but instead I was just sitting at the station at 7pm, in the daylight. 

The thing is, even though I don't drink, I don't really have a problem with alcohol, I am fine with a casual drink, a drink while your out, in fact I really don't care what people do with grog, but I get upset when I see it interfere with people's lives.  Now I guess I was probably in the wrong because when I watched these two mates at the station, I was a bit judgmental, they were loud, disruptive and being a bit offensive and I have to admit it didn't make me think to highly of them.  It did, however, make me wonder what they could have been doing... whether this was normal or perhaps whether it was just a once off.  It just made me wonder why as well i guess, what is the point of being that drunk, why were that they that drunk? What was happening in their lives that had lead to this...

This year, amongst lots of other patients I have seen a number of people that are detoxing from an alcohol addiction and every time I speak to these patients I am surprised at the fact that they are just regular people who have just had a rough trot, or something happen, or are in a lot of pain, but they don't fit the picture of what I expect an 'alcoholic' to look like and I guess I just wonder why its alcohol that people turn too and why its so crippling and while I don't really have any answers, i guess I just wanted to vent a little, you know put it out there and just wonder out loud a little.

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Back to work

Here is something that is probably exceedingly obvious...it really really suck to be going back to work while everyone else is still on holidays!  Its not that I don't like my job, I actually really like it, but the thing is, Mum, Dad, Jake, Dustin, Dave and most of my friends are still on holidays....everyone except me and I am not happy about it.

Oh and just to top it off, today I started on a new ward and it was nuts...busy busy busy and I didn't really know my way around, but I am sure I will get my head around it soon enough.

Anyway, the point of this blog is just to whinge...I wish I was still on holidays :(, I already told you I am not made for full time and I miss my 3 month uni break...

I guess that's all part of the adventure!

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Technology is Magic

Just in case you hadn't already read the title of this blog, technology is magic.  Today I was lucky enough to share in the dedication of my new friend Samuel Jude Kean.  But what made his dedication even more special than others I have witnessed in the past was the magic of skype.  With the help of skype and some computer extraordinaires, Matt's parents in Newfoundland in Canadia were able to be part of the service taking place on the other side of the world.  I am not really sure what else I can say about it, other than it was something really special and it just made me realise how lucky I am to live in a world where things like skype exist.

 

I guess that's all part of the adventure!

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The Princess and the Frog - # 80

Well, One day in and I can already knock something on off the list!  Today Disney's Princess and the Frog was released at cinemas, and being the Disney fan I am I was there straight away and I dragged Davo and Kitty with me!

I have been waiting for this movie to be released for a long time, so I am glad that its finally here.  The thing is this Disney film is no ordinary Disney film, in fact it is very special, why? I hear you ask, well let me tell you...

There are two things that make this Disney movie different, the first is this is the first Disney movie to have a black American as the princess, sure they have had white girls, an American Indian even an Asian, but until now, no black Americans, so it was just nice to see.  The second thing that makes this movie a little different is the fact that it goes back to the old style of Disney, just like the days Aladdin and the Little Mermaid.  Its not digital, or by Pixar, but traditionally animated...and its good.  Oh and it has a great sound track just like it should too!

So there you go number 80 is crossed off the list.

I guess that's all part of the adventure!

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The List...Take 2

Happy New Year!

A couple of years ago, all the way back in 2007 I had a list. It was a list that brought challenges, adventures, excitement, laughter and some silliness to my year and after not having one for two years I think its time the list made a come back.  Like 2007's list, 2010's list has all kids of things on it, some things to keep me entertained, somethings to keep me accountable, somethings to make me a better person and somethings just because I can.   I think the thing I like about the list is the fact that is gives me some hard evidence of the things I achieve no matter how petty or small they might be.  It means that this time next year I will be able to look back and have, hopefully, 100 things I have done this year, as well as the things that aren't on the list.

So, just like last time, if there is anything you would like to do with me, or could help me with, just let me know, that would be great. Hopefully as the year goes by I will be able to tick them off this not so little list and put up photo or at least a blog about it... Anyway, here is the new list...

1. Lose weight (goal of 15kgs)

2. Learn guitar, again - be able to play     at least 1 radio song

3. Go interstate

4. Be on time - or at the very least not late to everything

5. Do my devotions 5nights each week

6. Sing with Pa

7. Bake meringues

8. Exercise 3times each week

9. Take a dance lesson

10. Go without TV for a week

11. Play a game of netball

12. Visit an Australian county town I haven't been to before

13. Go to Inverloch with Pheebs & Kirsten

14. Try beef jerky

15. Try durian fruit

16. Do something different with my hair

17. Drink a bottle of water everyday

18. Have a piece of fruit everyday

19. Go to the zoo

20. Go to a theme park

21. Write 10 cards just because

22. Have 2 'diet coke free' days each week

23. Write a kids nutrition book

24. See a musical

25. Set up my salary packaging

26. Cook at least 1 home cooked meal each week

27. Go to the beach at least 4 times

28. Go to a river

29. Have 5 singing lessons

30. Go overseas

31. Run a 1/2 marathon

32. Try 2 new recipes a month

33. Keep my car free of rubbish

34. Once again try to not push the snooze button and just get up

35. Meet the rest of Dave's rellies

36. Scan my photos onto my computer

37. Use my IMAX voucher

38. Use my drive in voucher

39. Watch a sunset over the country hills

40. Stand out in the rain

41. See some fireworks

42. Read 6 books

43. Take Dexter to puppy school

44. Buy a new handbag

45. Have a massage

46. Play a board-game

47. Eat fairy bread

48. Paint a picture

49. Go camping

50. See a movie in gold class

51. Visit Pez in Kilmore

52. Catch up with my uni mates for dinner

53. Go to a school concert of Dave's

54. Keep my herb garden alive and use some of them in my cooking

55. Go to the DAA conference

56. Have a dinner party with a 3 course meal

57. Attend a service at Castlemaine corps

58. Attend a service at Bendigo corps

59. Attend a service at Leongatha corps

60. Test drive a car

61. Visit my great grandma

62. Get a set top box for my telly - or a new telly?

63. Make a fire ready pack for my car

64. Get my blog up to date and keep it that way

65. Go to a wedding

66. Have the TV off by 11pm on weeknights

67. Only buy lunch from work twice a week

68. Go to at least 4 exercise classes

69. Go on a road trip

70. Get a hands free kit for my car

71. Paint my toenails

72. Catch up with my high school friends for dinner

73. Don't crash my car or anyone elses

74. Fix up scrap books of bits and pieces

75. Wash my car or get my car washed at least 3 times

76. Win something

77. Finish watching McLeod's Daughters

78. Actively practice turning the telly off and just listening to music

79. Obey the speed limit

80. See Disney's Princess and the frog

81. Keep my desk at work and at home tidy

82. Fix up my super stuff

83. Go on a roller-coaster

84. Make a time capsule

85. Grow a plant from a seed

86. Get tadpoles

87. Investigate MobileMe

88. Learn a magic trick

89. Send a message in a bottle

90. Make a new friend

91. Make something in origami

92. Make up my own word

93. Invent a new game

94. Glue some coins to my floor

95. Bake some cookies

96. Vacuum the upstairs of my house

97. Spend a day with my brothers

98. Make my own jewelery for a special date

99. Learn to play the bongos

100. Go on a date day

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Goodbye 2009

Here we are at the last day of 2009.  What a year it has been, who would have thought that this year would have seen me not only get my first full time job, but also move out of home, get a dog and learn to be independent?  Certainly not me!  I can't believe how much I have grown this year, its been pretty massive really, and even as I sit here and write this I am still a little overwhelmed about everything that has happened in 2009.  But instead of doing a recap of the year, I am just going to tell you about my new years...because tonight I have reached a whole new level of cool, oh and the fact that you already have most of my year documented on this blog. 

The day started out very nicely with breakfast in Inverloch with Dad, Dave and Jake and then a morning swim at the beach, which was more like an ice bath that was super refreshing in the heat of the sun!  After that we packed up our stuff and headed back to Melbourne.  Tonight we (Dave and I) have been having a bbq pool party, well actually it was really just a pool party for me because I didn't swim as there was lightening and you aren't supposed to swim in a storm, but anyway, we saw the new year come in, no thanks to the tv count down, which seemed to have very little idea when 2010 was actually coming, and then once everyone left...well that' when the party started.  Once Kitty and I had the house, well the living room to ourselves, we played mario on the wii and boy did we go hard...we played mario until 5:30am because that's what all the cool kids do!  The only downside to this is really the fact that if I wanted to de-nerdify a little in 2010, this probably wasn't the best start, but it was fun so what can you do. 

Oh and Kitty made another one of her amazing cakes...this time appropriately new years themed.

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Inverloch

So I got a new camera for Christmas and while I have been down at the beach I have been taking some happy snaps!  So even though I don't have anything super exciting to say today, I do have some pictures to share: 

I guess that's all part of the adventure!

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Christmas Run Down - No.5

Well we made it to the final Christmas run down, so without further ado:

On the Eleventh day of Christmas something I did do:

Carols by candlelight

A true Australian Christmas tradition, Christmas wouldn't be the same without it.  Sure sometimes its corny, but its just such a nice thing to do on Christmas eve, sitting around with your mates and watching the carols.  I was a little disappointed that this years carols didn't feature Dennis Walter singing the Holy City...it just doesn't quite feel like Christmas without it, but I guess I will just have to get over it, because it didn't happen.  What did redeem the carols in a big way though was Silvie Paladino singing Your Grace Still Amazes Me... incredible.  So while I just watched it from the comfort of Kitty's lounge, I did get to go to the rehearsal the night before...which was super fun... and also with kitty, oh and Annie too.  

On the Twelfth day of Christmas something I did do:

Celebrate Jesus' Birthday

Well i guess this is the whole point of Christmas, celebrating Jesus' birth, the celebrations started at 8am when Jake and I went to see what Santa brought and then we headed off to church were I meet Buzz Lightyear...its true.  After church we headed out to do the family thing, Lunch at Gran and Pa's and then Dinner with Meg and Wayne.  I really love Christmas Day, when else do you get to just spend the day hanging out with your family and eat?  Anyway, I am off to enjoy the rest of my night...

Merry Christmas everyone...I will leave you with the song...from the top.

On the Twelfth day of Christmas something I did do:

Celebrate Jesus' Birthday

Carols by Candlelight

Almost missed my solo
Nativity the Musical
Shopping Centre Carols
Eat lots of Food
Conversation Cards
More Christmas Lights
Come Celebrate
Sing with my Pa
Bendigo's Christmas Lights
and A Pageant with the Kids from Kids Church

I guess that's just all part of the adventure!

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Gingerbread

I have decided that I actually like to cook... I still don't do it very often but I enjoy it and this week while I was cooking some Christmas presents I learnt something very important...which leads me to cooking tip number 5...

Tip 5: Silicon baking trays are risky!

This is something that Dave and I learnt the hard way as we watched the cookies we had just break slide into the middle of the tray and crush each other.  So I guess the lesson is to stick with the normal trays...they are much sturdier.  Luckily we learnt from our mistakes and the gingerbread men turned out pretty good.

I guess that's all part of the adventure!

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