a Beer, a Whine and The Spirit

A Whine

So I've spent most of the last few days, and particularly today, listening to Victorians whinge about the heat. Now, granted, it did reach 40 degrees yesterday, 43 degrees today, and a prediction of 40 for the next 2 days, so maybe they have something to complain about... a little... But it just didn't stop! People were exclaiming that there should be air conditioners for all of the rooms etc etc etc. Come on people!!! Fair enough if you had more than 15 hot days per year, this might be a consideration, but a little heat for a few days? I don't think so.

Unfortunately I had to play a touch footy game tonight, and the thing about Melbourne is that it doesn't hit it's top temp for the day til about 3 or 4 in the afternoon, and it stays that temp til after 9. This game was brutal. It was such a dry heat that I felt as though my insides were drying out. Not pleasant at all. But did I complain? Well, maybe a little in the end.

It's just part of the charm of Melbourne that Hubs and I are embracing - you never know what the weather will do one hour to the next, let alone one day to the next. Perhaps that novelty has worn off with the locals though! I wonder what tomorrow will bring!?

Posted by Renae at 9:27 PM Comments

A Beer

We celebrated in true Aussie style - in 28 degree sunshine, with some beers and a bbq.

Here's Hubs cooking up a storm on our balcony:



I tried my hand at home-made potato chips.
POTATO CHIP FAIL!!



What a great day!

Posted by Renae at 8:14 PM Comments

Hubs and I popped down to Sorrento a couple of weeks ago to visit some rellies and spent the night on Saturday. We didn't have anything planned for Saturday arvo, so Hubs' Dad took us for a walk along the beach. Now, I thought we might be going for a nice leisurely stroll along the beach for an hour or so, so I was just wearing my jeans and joggers and a singlet. I didn't bother putting sun cream on as we were leaving around 3pm and wouldn't be out long.

Or so I thought.

3.5 hours and 12km later, we were back home. When we left it was pretty overcast, but by about 4pm the sky had completely cleared and I could feel my poor nose roasting!



I also got a lovely singlet mark, complete with a white patch where my pendant was sitting! Nice!



But the best sunburn of the day goes to Hubs and his chesty bonds tan! Classic!



So the moral of the story, kids? If you're going to go out in the sun and not wear sun cream, don't wear things that leave embarrassing tan lines!!

Posted by Renae at 11:49 AM Comments

I arrived home from work on Friday to find my Mum and Dad in our house!!! They had decided a couple of months ago that they wanted to surprise me for my birthday, so they started conspiring with Hubs, who, in turn, conspired with the business manager here at college and arranged for them to stay in a couple of spare rooms here! Classic! I was SO surprised it nearly gave me a heart attack!

So we went out to dinner on Friday night on Lygon st (the thing to do) and then Saturday morning/midday was spent in the Emergency Department of Melbourne Hospital because Mum took a great spill on Swanston st (she's okay - a sprained ankle that she's resting today) and then Saturday arvo/evening we were at Little Creatures for birthday eats and drinks. It is a FANTASTIC place! The service was terrific, the atmosphere was pumping and the drinks were so tasty. And the FOOD! Yum yum yum. The mains were great, but the dessert took the cake, so to speak. Hubs and I shared a piece of chocolate mousse cake - oh wow! I think it's the best dessert I've EVER had! Big call, I know!

As usual, here's some snaps from the day.



The patient:



Silly Hubs:



Little Creatures beers come in 3 sizes: Pony, Little, Not so little. Oh, and a glass of wine thrown in for good measure!



I was so touched by how many people turned up to the party. It was so lovely to have friends from college, from Hubs' uni course, and old friends I've known for years (who live in Melbs.) And of course it was great having the folks there too!

Sunday was my actual birthday, and I knew we were going out for lunch but had no idea where or with whom. So it was a lovely surprise to end up at Brandy Creek for tasty tapas, delicious wines and delightful views. And the weather! WOW!! It was without a doubt the nicest day we've had since arriving in June last year. 28 degrees, not a cloud in the sky and a nice breeze to keep it cool. Gorgeous!!



After 3 big days I was a tired little bunny last night, but we finished off my birthday weekend with a couple of beers, some wine, a birthday cake, a chat to my friend on the phone and some relaxing time with Hubs. Phew! What a fantastic weekend.

Posted by Renae at 11:12 AM Comments

TIL MY BIRTHDAY!!! I'm so excited. I LOVE celebrating my birthday. I have a party every year! This year's party is going to be a bit different though, with the only "familiar" face being that of Hubs. I mean, I'll know everyone who attends, but the usual suspects won't be there. But it will still be GREAT!

It will also be cold, which is not something I'm used to in January. We're having drinks tomorrow and the top temp will be 21 degrees! Chilly! We'll just have to drink to keep warm.

Here's a few happy snaps from my Mexican Fiesta Party last year:



The cake Lsl made for me:



TEQUILA!! Lick, Sip, Suck baby!



And it wouldn't be a Mexican party without a Pinata. (It started off as a Llama!)



It got a little interesting towards the end, after drinking concoctions of Sangria, Tequila and vodka. Oh! And add a cigar for good measure! Ha!

'

One of my best birthdays ever! Let's see what shenanigans we can get up to this year! Happy birthday to meeeeeeeeeeeee!

Posted by Renae at 10:11 AM Comments

I do believe this is my 100th post! Hooray!

I thought I would celebrate this milestone with a post about another achievement I made whilst holidaying in Brisbane. My 2007/2008 New Year's resolution was to try a few new things. So I dreaded Hubs' hair, started sewing again, did some study, and climbed Mt Tibrogargan! (The Gorilla-looking mountain on the way to the Sunny Coast.) I wasn't sure what to expect to be honest. I thought we were going for a bushwalk/hike, but it felt like more of a climb/scamper!

My sister-in-law used to climb it "for fun" every couple of weeks, and Hubs had climbed it a few times before too. It was insane! They were very supportive though, and managed to get me all the way to the top!

Here are some "happy" (aka exhausted, nerve-racking, insane) photos we took along the way.

At the start, when I was thinking "this isn't so bad!"


The next part where Lsl PROMISED she wouldn't take any photos of my butt! Yeah, right. I was starting to wonder what the hell I was doing up there at this stage.


Hub's thoughts: "I love you"
Wifey's thoughts" "How the hell am I going to get down from here?????" (click on image for up-close facial expressions!)


We made it!! The view was amazing! Half way up, I really didn't think I was going to make it. But I was SO proud of myself, sitting up there on top of the world!




After much slipping and sliding (and torn pants) we were back down the bottom, looking up at the beast we had just conquered.


If I had known what I was getting myself in to, I probably would have chickened out, but ignorance is bliss! Thanks for the great experience Hubs and Lsl! Oh, and I NEVER want to do it again! Ha!

Posted by Renae at 11:40 AM Comments

I can't BELIEVE how much stuff we have. Seriously. Hubs and I have just moved into our new place on college and it astounds me how much crap we own. Plus we had a trip down to Sorrento over the weekend to pick up our kitchen stuff that we hadn't needed so far, and there is SO much more STUFF than I remember!! I really didn't pack lightly for Melbourne at all. And unfortunately, while I was packing things in Brisbane, Hubs kept asking me "are you SURE we need all of this?" and I kept replying "yes dear, of COURSE I need these 8 tea towels and 24 pieces of Tupperware."

And even MORE unfortunate, was that after I saw how much stuff I had brought down, and how I realised I should have left half of it in Brisbane, I had to utter those 3 little words to Hubs that made him the happiest man alive.

"You were right."

He even did the Lleyton Hewitt "c'mon" and a few fist punches in the air. Very annoying. Oh well. As my good friend would say: I digress.

I managed to cut it down and bring back only half of the stuff to Melbourne which I thought was a pretty good achievement, so I'm looking forward to unpacking our kitchen tonight! All the other rooms are pretty much done, so I'll have some photos up in no time.

Aaaaah. Home sweeeeeeet home.

Posted by Renae at 9:30 AM Comments

I KNOW it's been 3 whole weeks since my last post, but I have been busy with the following:

Vising a bajillion relatives and friends in Brisvegas
Eating WAY too many Christmas treats
Drinking copious amounts of wine/champagne/beer/more champagne
Neglecting my emails
Listening to Jazz at the Story Bridge hotel (and drinking more wine)
Playing guitar hero
Dancing with my girlfriends (NO BOYS ALLOWED!!)
Combining and coordinating mine and hubs families together on Christmas Day (with fabulous results!!)
Opening Christmas presents
Watching the cricket
Climbing the biggest mountain I've ever climbed (photos to come!)
Wishing everyone a happy new year!
Drinking more beer
Receiving my first 2 birthday presents (12 more sleeps!!)
Attending a wedding (dancing, champagne, yummy food - it's all good!)
Flying back to Melbs and moving into our new place!!
Starting back at work.

So forgive me for not sending any love your way, but hopefully once Hubs and I get set up in our new place (still on college) I'll be a bit more regular... ahem... with my posting that is.

Cheerio!

Posted by Renae at 2:41 PM Comments