Date night!

Once upon a time there was a girl. She was sixteen and had her whole life ahead of her. So many choices, so many possibilities.

Then the girl woke up and was forty. Wait. What???

For my fortieth birthday I thought it would be really nice if Chris and I went out to a fancy restaurant. Not just the local Italian place down the road. A really, really fancy restaurant.

And so....the date night to rival all date nights.

Here I am getting ready. I'm sure you're sick of dodgy in-front-of-the-mirror outfit shots by now. Sorry. But I thought you'd like to see the beautiful new dress that my mum and dad bought me for my birthday. 

Unfortunately, the weather was not accommodating. So I had to pair my dress with some tights and a jacket to avoid hypothermia.

Here we are all ready to go. I think it's cute that we look positively giddy with excitement!

First we headed off to the movies to see Crazy Stupid Love. Which turned out to be the perfect date movie, especially for a forty-year-old couple who've been together since they were sixteen and were celebrating the fact that they're still in love!

Here we are in the cinema...

I know the photo is ridiculous, but I thought I'd share anyway. By the way, does anyone know how to take photos in the dark on your iPhone? Is there any way to get a flash? Maybe an app?

Then we headed off on the Manly Ferry to Circular Quay.

For those of you who are not Australian, I'll share a little bit about the Manly Ferry.

The thirty minute voyage between Manly Wharf and Circular Quay is an iconic Sydney experience.

Though Bondi is the best known Sydney beach overseas, Manly is just as well known here and is on the north side of Sydney Harbour.

The trip to and from Manly takes you right past the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, so you get plenty of great photo opportunities.

The swell was larger than usual on our trip so it was a bit rough!

Here's the Opera House...our next destination...

We had a little pre-dinner drinkypoo at Opera Bar. Here's a link to the cocktail menu, in case you're interested. I had "Buds and Bubbles". Of course I did.

Finally it was time for the main event - dinner at Aria.

Aria is celebrity chef Matt Moran's restaurant. It's pretty fancy. We felt just a teeny-tiny bit intimidated as we went in.

Luckily we had a delightfully friendly and helpful waitress and we also engaged the services of the sommelier (wine guy!). I told you it was fancy! Between us we managed to put together a menu that was just delightful.

It's hard to look classy taking photos in a fancy restaurant, but here I am with my entree - Scallops spiced and roasted with glazed witlof, pistachios and dried apricots.

Here's my main - Snapper seared fillet with chorizo, zucchini, lemon and a romesco sauce.

I wish I could show you a photo of my dessert as well, but I just couldn't fit one in! Believe me, I wasn't thinking about the points. I would have eaten one if I possibly could. In the end, I couldn't even drink all my "Fall in Love" tea (tea infused with rose, vanilla and chocolate - absolutely divine!).

Chris and I had such a wonderful time that I wanted to share it with you all.

What's the best date you've had?

Happy Birthday Josh

It was Josh's 11th birthday yesterday!

Here he is, just chillin', playing his new Pokemon game on his DS while watching something on YouTube. Who said males can't multitask?!

We had what was, in my humble opinion, a great day! Relaxing and fun.

Josh wanted to go ice skating for his birthday outing. In my house, the kids take turns having birthday parties. This year it was Alana's turn, which means that Josh got to choose a fun family outing instead. He and Alana had a lot of fun on the ice while I tried to stave off frostbite with a cappuccino from the "cafe". I'm not even kidding. I wore a scarf and gloves and still my fingers and toes went numb. One of my fingers in particular went an alarming shade of grey! Luckily I appear to have no lasting injuries...

After skating we came home and just hung out playing with toys and games.

When Chris got home from work we went out to dinner at Gourmet Pizza Kitchen - Josh's favourite.

We had a fantastic time at dinner - laughing the whole time. I love these guys!

Happy Birthday Josh!

Lurking in the corner? Leave me a comment :)

Hey there.

Who are you, my lovely reader?

What makes you tick?

What do you love? Hate?

What posts of mine make you think? Laugh? Cry?

Part of the reason that I blog is the sense of having an audience. A readership. And unlike other writing forums, in which the readership is largely silent and unknown, when I blog I know that my readers can continue the conversation. They can talk back. Easily. Immediately.

That's what the comments are for.

Now I won't lie to you. Of course it's great when I receive a positive response in which the reader lets me know that they enjoyed what I wrote. I enjoy words of affirmation probably more than the next person. It's my "love language"; how I express my love to others and how I like to receive love. So praise me - please!

But really I'd just like to know that you're out there. And get to know you a little.

So please, if you read anything on this blog that touches you or angers you or makes you question something or interests you; if you have comments, criticism or questions; then leave me a comment.

I receive an email every time someone leaves a comment on my blog. I then reply directly to the comment via email. I love to have these little conversations! 

If you use Blogger to write your own blog then you need to ensure that you have checked the box on your profile that says "show my email address". Otherwise I won't be able to email you back because Blogger will just use a generic "no reply" address to email me your comment. Confused yet? If a comment is emailed to me from a "no reply" address, then I can't reply. The only way I can continue the conversation is by leaving a comment under your comment on the original blog post that you commented on. Which assumes that you're going to come back later and read that post's comments again just in case I replied to you. Which is a bit messy, isn't it?

If you don't use Blogger then to be honest I'm not sure how it works! So if you want to leave me a comment then we'll find out together!

I hope you don't think I'm too lame, begging for comments. I just really love to exchange ideas and share with others. And I hope that you do too.

By the end of this post I feel better

Hey there.

I got nothing people. Nothing.

I'm literally forcing myself to write in the hope that some inspiration will strike. 

I haven't written anything lately because I've had nothing to say. Simple really.

Why haven't I got anything to say? I don't know.

Life has been frolicking along as usual. It's school holidays here and we've had a ballet eisteddfod and it's Josh's birthday tomorrow and I've got a list as long as my arm of "things to do"...

...And no motivation for anything.

Deep breath.

I've been here before. When I get tired I'm susceptible to depression. That's just something I've learned about myself. And a "red flag" that indicates that I might be heading down that road is when I can't find the motivation to do things that I usually find fun. 

Aha! I think we've gotten to the bottom of things now.

What now?

Thankfully, over the past few years I've developed a "box of tricks" to put into action when I feel myself starting on the downward slide. I'd like to share them with you.

1. I am my own best friend. I love myself and care for myself.

The important thing for me to remember is to not wait for someone else to take care of me. By all means, I should speak up and tell those close to me what I need. I should ask for help. And because I have awesome people around me, I will receive love and care. But I must not wait passively, hoping that others will notice that I need a bit of extra care. And I must not rely on others to provide me with all the love and care that I need.

I must put on my "big girl pants" and think about what I really need and make it happen. I'm an adult and it's my job to say "yes" or "no" to things as is appropriate to my needs. It's my job to make my needs my first priority. I'm no good to anyone else unless I'm healthy and happy.

2. What feels good in the moment isn't always good for me.

It's tempting when I'm feeling a bit down to try to pick myself up by spending money or eating lots of chocolate or hibernating. And although I can kid myself that I'm giving myself a much deserved treat, these things don't really make me feel any better. Again, it's time for the "big girl pants" and a sensible approach to what will really make me feel good. As boring as it might sound, eating healthy foods and exercising and getting amongst it with friends and activities are actually the things that feel good in the long term. I very much enjoy a glass of wine, but when I'm pouring myself a glass every night I know that the alarm bells are sounding.

3. Writing helps me to work through what I'm thinking and feeling.

Everyone's different. Maybe writing isn't your thing, but it works for me. I don't always do it this way, in a public forum. I keep a journal beside my bed, and I find it helpful to write last thing at night or first thing in the morning. Just like in this blog post, I find that even if I start off not knowing what I'm going to write about, I always find that as the page gets filled, my thoughts and feelings unravel before me and start to make sense. 

Guess what? I feel better now. Ready to face my "to do" list.

I think I might take the dog for a walk and get some fresh air.

*** This post has been a bit like doing therapy in public. I hope I haven't overshared. I also hope that this post may have helped you in some way. ***

Lost: one woman's mojo

It's been a strange week.

This time last week I had just finished my last day of work at the uni library. I had worked four days a week for  seven weeks. 

It was a great experience. A foot in the door. A fabulous opportunity. 

And I actually enjoyed the work. It provided me with just the right amount of challenge. The hours were great. The people were nice. No down side.

And yet, when it finished I was looking forward to having more free time. To blogging more. To getting back into my much neglected Twitter account. To reading. Pottering about the house. 

You get the drift.

Somehow, it just hasn't lived up to what I was expecting.

I've been grumpy. I haven't felt like I've achieved anything even though I've been racing around like a blue-tailed fly. What's with that?

I obviously  haven't transitioned very smoothly back into my "normal" routine.

As I write I am enjoying a glass of "chardy" and planning to hop into a lovely deep hot bath. With a book.

Wish me luck in finding my mojo.