a Beer, a Whine and The Spirit

I think I just had one of the nicest coffee's I've EVER HAD. The Deputy Rector pops down to The Potter coffee shop from time to time and picks us up a coffee, and today's brew was just amazing! I mean, I haven't had a bad coffee in Melbourne (bad service, yes, but not bad coffee!), but this one was just exceptional. It was the perfect temperature, the perfect strength and the flavour was fantastic!

And now I want another one...

Posted by Renae at 9:32 AM Comments

She Bop was a very confusing song for me, as previously mentioned. I didn't even know what the song was about - I just assumed that it was about dancing - bopping - you know what I mean? But no, it's not. It's about..... um..... I'll let you read about it yourself :-) (Pay particular attention to the second paragraph under "song information." Classic!)

So the second lot of lyrics I misheard were:
"Do I wanna go out with a lion's roar?"
which I always sang as
"Do I wanna go out with a lying slob?"

Well no, I don't! And I certainly don't want to dance with one!

Posted by Renae at 10:05 AM Comments

One of the enormous ANZAC bikkies I made a few months ago.

Posted by Renae at 3:00 PM Comments

I've been having a little bit of fun with all the new gizmos and gadgets available on blogger (I accidentally typed blooger! Tee hee!) .com. I am particularly LOVING the new search tool (see left sidebar at the bottom) so I can check and make sure I haven't already blogged about stuff before I start a new post. (Bad memory). Turns out the search window in the Navbar is fairly useless. Oh well. I do love my new look blog!

Plus, you can see what I'm up to with my TO DO list! Riveting, I know!

I do realise that many of my readers use Google Reader to read blogs (as I often do) but feel free to come over here and visit from time to time to check it all out. Who knows? You might want to know what I'm up to this Friday night in Brisbane!

Posted by Renae at 8:40 PM Comments

"Often the things that annoy you in others, are things you see in yourself."

I have NO idea where I first read that, but I totally related to it then, and I have ever since.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. For some reason, my patience has been a bit light-on for a while now, and I've been finding myself getting annoyed at things that wouldn't normally annoy me, and then getting annoyed at myself, for being annoyed. And that is really annoying!!

To try and combat this, I've been trying to work out exactly what is annoying me in a situation, and reasoning with myself: Is this worth getting frustrated over? Is the issue, in fact, my own? Am I getting annoyed at this person, or the behaviour? Would I act the same way if I were in their shoes?

This line of reasoning sometimes helps (if, in fact, I remember to do it and not just get carried away with my feelings and thoughts and get upset and annoyed and frustrated and.... where was I?...) and I feel I am reconnecting with my patient self. Then today I stumbled across this quote:

"Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves." (Carl Jung)

And I like this idea a LOT more. It takes away the feeling of frustration, at both the person for being annoying, and at myself for feeling like I have the same character trait that is annoying me in the first place. Instead, it gives me the suggestion to get to know myself better, and to understand who Wifey really is. And she's not such a bad gal.

I told you! This journey of self-discovery is going to be a lonnnnnnnnnnnng one.

Posted by Renae at 3:34 PM Comments

So, remember how I told you about the chilblains? The doctor told me to make sure I kept my feet nice and warm all the time, and that would help the healing process. So that's what I did! I wore shoes and socks EVERY DAY and slippers or thick, woolly socks at night. Then a couple of months ago I start getting these spots on my feet. They weren't painful as such, but they were all between my toes and annoying me. So I FINALLY went back to the doctor about them this week (I'm sure he's sick of the sight of me) and you won't BELIEVE what he told me.

"They are heat blisters. Your feet have been kept too warm."

Excuse me? Can you please repeat that?? First you tell me to keep my feet warm ALL THE TIME, and now you say I've kept them too warm?

And the treatment?
"Don't sweat. Ha ha."

Do I LOOK like I'm laughing buddy?

Posted by Renae at 9:36 AM Comments

I'm such a dork*. No, really. I sometimes look at myself (either in the mirror or in my head) and just think "Gee I'm a dork." I'm one of those people you see at the shopping centre, dragging along her little granny trolley while tying to hold a shopping basket as well, wearing pants that are a little too big, bending down to get the yoghurt, dropping half of the stuff in her basket, and trying to pull her pants up. All while giggling to herself. (Yes. This actually happened to me.)

I'm one of those people who will glam up for an occasion, hoping people will notice how hot I'm looking, but then turn up to dinner the next night in a Muumuu and thongs with my hair sticking out at crazy angles, and not give a crap what anyone thinks. (Yes, I do this regularly.)

I'm one of those people who sings 80s songs out loud, anytime, anywhere and think that everyone is laughing WITH me, not at me. Oh, and I also used to LOVE going shopping with my 2 besties in high school, and start singing along to music that was being played in shops. It used to drive them nuts, which made me want to do it even more! (I was a really annoying teenager.) Of course, I would only do it in the shops I didn't like, and wanted to get out of. (You know who you are! It was all part of my genius plan! Mwah ha ha ha ha.)

There are just too many other examples to speak of. I think one of the things that really enhances and compliments my dorkiness is my clumsiness. Seriously. I'm one of the clumsiest people I know. I was clanging about in the kitchen the other day and I dropped the water bottle twice - once when getting it out of the fridge, and again when putting it back. Hubs didn't even flinch.

So I asked "How come you don't even flinch when I drop or smash stuff?"
His response? "Because it happens all the time. Whenever you're in the kitchen, I hear *crash* "sh*t" at least once or twice." I thought about it and then laughed a lot. It's funny cos it's true! (And I need to stop swearing!!)

So Hubs might be King of the Nerds, but I'm definitely Queen of the Dorks. And a very proud Queen at that.


* the general definition, not the USA definition. I hadn't even HEARD of that being a potential meaning of the word. I had already written this post before looking up the definition, and you know... I don't care!

Posted by Renae at 12:00 PM Comments

I was watching our friend learn how to rollerblade the other day, and I was enjoying watching the learning process. I've tried so many sports in my life, and find it exciting to continue to try new things. Here are a few I've given a go:

Swimming - started young cos I had asthma and was pretty handy at the school swimming carnivals
Gymnastics - started when I was fairly young and learned at the PCYC
Judo - did this at the PCYC as well, with my bro
Ballet - started when I was 4 years old, finished when I was 13. I got to the stage where I actually had to be good to continue!
Tap dancing - Did this for about 4 years as a teenager and LOVED IT!
Jazz dancing - I think I did this for 2 years (as well as tap and ballet) and liked it but wasn't that good
Athletics - at primary school. I was good at sprinting, long jump and high jump. Until puberty hit...
Hockey - played hockey (goal keeper) from 10-years-old til 16, then again when I was 21/22 years old.
Soccer - played in high school and then again when I was 26/27 y/o (in goals again)
Basketball - was on the inter-school team (mandatory sport on a Wednesday)
Netball (indoor) - first played when I was 17/18 or so, then on and off in my 20s
Skiing - first learnt when I was 10 years old, then again for year 11 ski trip. Can't wait to go again some time and try my hand at snow boarding
Indoor hockey - played for a few years in my late teens and again in my 20s I think
Wind surfing and catamaraning - both just for fun with family
Touch footy - Played when I was 23/24 but didn't like it that much, then played down here in Melbourne last year and LOVED IT!
Ultimate disc - played 1 season last year with Hubs and enjoyed it, but the game times weren't that convenient and it's TOO COLD in Melbourne to play sports at night!
Going to the gym - well........
Rollerblading - just for fun
Personal training - did that in my mid 20s with a friend, then just before our wedding with Hubs(we were totally buff!), being trained by one of my bridesmaids who's a personal trainer and who LOVED kicking our butts.

Stuff I've tried once or twice: Tennis, Rebound volleyball, squash, badminton, backyard cricket (more than once or twice, clearly), karate, ju-jitsu, indoor rock climbing, sky diving (once is enough), lawn bowls.

So it kind of looks like I play sport the same way I work, but I did actually participate in a lot of these sports for a long time, so it's totally different. :-) That's all that I can think of at the moment, though, there could very well be more! (And there's probably a really obvious one that I've missed!)

The moral of the story? I'll try anything once!

Posted by Renae at 1:00 PM Comments

Wifey: "whatcha doing?"

Hubs: "Ummmmm.... buying something off ebay?"

Wifey: "Oh? What are you buying?"

Hubs: "Well I could tell you, but then you'd have to kill me."

Nothing further Your Honour.

Posted by Renae at 9:59 AM Comments

I decided I needed a kick-start to my exercise regime (that is, I had no exercise regime and needed one) so I've signed up for a 1 month membership to all the classes at the uni gym. I'm no stranger to joining a gym, but I'm not so familiar with actually going regularly. I've probably joined half a dozen gyms in my life, but the novelty wears off in about the 2nd month and the rest of the year is wasted. I've sometimes gotten some of my money back, but more often than not, it's been money down the drain.

I know that part of the reason that I didn't go regularly was because I was always so busy and I didn't put it as a priority. After the initial surge of motivation, I would put it at around 8th on my list of priorities so it never really got "done". I have quite a bit of time on my hands at the moment, and I wanted to do something for myself and for my health. So this time, instead of committing myself to a whole year, I decided to just go for the month. Kind of a build-up before Christmas. And I went for the classes-only pass as that's what I'm most interested in. Plus it includes use of the pool and I don't mind doing laps from time to time.

So my month started last Thursday and I think I've already gotten my money's worth, going 10 times in 8 days. Most of my muscles are screaming at me on a daily basis, but I'm already noticing an increase in my energy, plus I'm going to sleep easier at night. My dreams are a lot more crazy (as is per usual when I sleep heavier) but it's worth it.

So I'm not saying I'm going to keep up this "10 trips in a week" thing, but I'm certainly going to give it a crack!

Posted by Renae at 1:37 PM Comments

When I look at my feet, I see my Dad. I have his feet. Our feet seriously look SO alike. I'll take a photo some time and show you. It got me thinking about what features I inherited from which parent, or side of the family, and here's what I've come up with, going from the bottom (my feet!) to the top!

Feet - Dad
Calf muscles - my Nanny (Dad's side)
Body shape (short legs, long body) - Dad
Child-bearing hips - Mum :-)
Chin - Mum
Mouth - Mum
Nose - Dad
Eyes - Mum
Hair - Mum
Voice - Mum
Hands and fingers - Dad

And a few other things:
Stubbornness - Dad
Practicality - Mum
Sentimentality - Dad
Organisational skills - Mum
Sexy legs - Mum :-)
Use of hand gestures when telling a story - Dad
Karaoke skills - Mum and her side of the family (R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!)
Squeemishness - Dad (you know it's true!)
My social nature - Mum and Dad

And of course here are some comparison pictures. In case you can't tell, these were taken at our wedding and I LOVE our wedding photos so I like to take every opportunity I can to show them off!

Can you see the resemblance?? Looking at these photos I reckon Mum and I have a similar posture and Dad and I have a similar cheeky grin! I'm sure I could come up with many more things my parents gave me, in appearance, personality, and the values and morals they instilled in me. I think I've turned out all right :-)

(And you know, a photo of Hubs too, at our wedding, which has nothing to do with the post, really. Did I mention I love our wedding photos???)

Posted by Renae at 4:49 PM Comments

We were at our friend's place for dinner a few weeks ago, and Hubs was having a great time playing with their eldest son (who's 3 years old), building fun things out of Duplo. Hubs finished his project and showed me:

I was convinced he had heard us talking but he was adament that he was mearly stating the obvious. Yeah. Real obvious. Who the hell has heard of a ziggurat!!??

Posted by Renae at 2:18 PM Comments