highlights

Whoops! It’s been over 3 weeks and I’ve been a little bit slack with my blogging. Naughty me.

Given this much time has lapsed, here’s the ‘highlights’ of what’s happened over the past three weeks:

Visit to hospital for day surgery (you don’t need the details, trust me. It has been confirmed however that I’m one of the ‘chatty’ patients, after waking up from anesthetic!) Further investigations into this medical mystery are being undertaken, by a second specialist.

13.5km hike from Berowra to Cowan on Sunday, in 31 degree heat, via Berowra Waters (many, many, many mountains) and wearing new hiking boots. Read about my life as ‘adventure girl’ for the reasons why I did this. Actually, it was a huge challenge for me, and very satisfying to buy some beer and lemonade at the end and celebrate with a shandy at Cowan train station! Photos to appear on FB shortly.

Baptist denominational conference at Homebush, which my organisation was the major partner in. I was privileged to work three fifteen hour days in a hot marquee, packing and unpacking a mini house exhibit and did some major preparation leading up to the conference before my manager returned from Europe (the day before the conference!) Big week that one! The week also involved the hysterical driving of a 3 tonne truck with my manager, who might be (putting it politely) a little bit incompetent in this area. In his defense, neither of our PDs mentions truck driving to begin with!

Birthday dinner with a certain Zo Zo at a funky café in Manly, with Asian food, tapas, and live music! And birthday dinner at Radio Cairo for my brother … yummo!

Signing up with a personal trainer and being put to the test every Wednesday at 6.15am. Think of me, when you’re doing that lazy 6am turn in your bed, relishing in how much more sleep you have to enjoy! While I need a small nap at 10am those days, I’m invigorated and feeling pretty fit.

Cricket has officially started. I’m now called ‘Ms Cricket’ by the team.

So there you go.

Also of note, a great friend started work with me last week, another friend returned from Europe and more friends got engaged.

One last tidbit (love that word!) of information. Tonight I made a salad (alongside some baked Portuguese chicken tenderloins) of baby spinach, avocado, shallots, asparagus, grilled haloumi cheese and a dressing of lemon juice, oil and fresh chives, and if I don’t say so myself, it was award winning.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go. Promise to not be lazy and write again soon. Off to read my new Donna Hay magazine ... thinking of changing career (you can have more than one!) to amazing chef.

busy bee

I'm getting prepared for a busy weekend, in what seems like the beginning of the end of empty weekends for a while (or at least for September)

On Friday, dinner party! And I'm not hosting it, which is a nice change and something to look forward to! I'll be taking my infamous cheese platter, and as I don't want give to away the surprise ingredients for making a successful cheese platter, that's all you'll be hearing about it!

There will have to be some monitored levels of alcohol intake on Friday evening, because I plan on making up for all of this food with a gym visit first thing on Saturday morning, followed by cricket all afternoon with Sam. Somewhere in here will be grocery shopping and housework, of course!

Yes, the cricket season has started, and all Saturdays here on in are sacrificed for the love of cricket. Yay (partial sarcasm - I love my cricket, perhaps just not as much as some!)

Saturday evening; more food and celebrating a friend's birthday, while Sunday, you guessed it - food! Brunch with friends in the lovely suburb of Balmain.

So, if I don't have time to blog over the weekend, you'll know it's because I'm stuffing my face with food!

Yay.

Adventure Girl strikes again

Today it feels like I'm just writing for the sake of writing, but hey, I wouldn't want to disappoint the cast of thousands that hold their breath until each time I post!

A strange weekend, that started with rain, included the purchase of some rather unfashionable looking hiking boots (for hiking 32 kms up and down Mt Kosciusko in November) and thermals, and ended with the most fantastic Indian I have ever eaten.

Yes, Saturday became another expensive day of shopping so that I can fall more seriously into the role of 'Adventure Girl'.

Since meeting Sam, I have spent some time reconnecting with my sporting/adventure self (left behind in my mid high school years). I am now known as 'Adventure Girl', and I try to keep up with Sam's stamina and endurance as we run together, gym together, hike together, kayak together and do all sorts of adventure-type things together.

NB There is a touch of sarcasm and cartoon-like intimation that should occur when pronouncing the title 'Adventure Girl'.

I need to point out that being 'Adventure Girl' is expensive. When 'adventuring', one needs equipment.

We're talking water resistant shoes, hiking shoes, hiking boots (different from shoes, they support your ankle). We're talking clothing - 3 pairs of thermals, 3 pairs of hiking socks (different from normal socks, they 'wick' the moisture away), non-cotton pants and shirts, gloves, backpacks, head torches, wet weather gear, things made of gortex, and if you're Sam (I'm about to have a go here darling) - a heart rate monitor (because it's important to know your pulse when you're climbing up a big hill, just in case you're not sure HOW HARD IT IS TO CLIMB UP A BIG HILL!).

What annoys me about this, is that what seems a simple enough recreational activity seems to be a huge money-making opportunity for those in the know (the money makers) .

You want to hike, go for a long walk, do a little overnight camp (or in my situation, glamp = glamour camping) and there is list as long as my walking pole, of things you have to have.

And there are shops for this. Kent St, Sydney, is outdoor adventure heaven - there are at least ten stores within 100 metres, all making a lot of money from what appears to be overpriced adventure, perhaps?

And I'm beginning to ask myself - the risk involved in being 'Adventure Girl' (being eaten by a bear, falling off a cliff, getting frost bite, or a tick) - and now they want you to pay a motza for the privilege?

Yes, I've made a choice to be 'Adventure Girl', but all I'm saying is that it seems that spending time in the great outdoors and checking out the wonder that is God's creation, while wearing $800 worth of layered clothing (excluding boots), seems a little bit like a opportunistic marketing on Mr and Mrs Adventure's behalf.

That's my concern of the day. Look out for my upcoming 'Why does every visit to Medicare / the RTA involve wasting 60 minutes of my life' - which also happened this weekend!

This is 'Adventure Girl', signing off.

Down in Fraggle Rock

Late at night on Monday, out of the blue, Sam asked me if I remembered Fraggle Rock.

I have been waiting for at least fifteen years for someone to ask me that question ... and I fell in love with Sam all over again when he asked me the Fraggle Rock question.

You know when you have childhood memories of books, tv programs, movies etc, and every now and then you think about them, and wonder who else remembers?

I've been like that with Fraggle Rock. My memory of the tv program is limited. I remember the Fraggles, hanging out in their underground cave/rock, and occasionally, they would venture out of the cave ... and it would be scary.

One of the exploring Fraggles, Uncle Matt used to wear a khaki coloured jungle outfit, and he would often leave the rock for days at a time to visit our world, "Outer Space" (I think ... as I say, my memories of the Fraggles are a bit like a half finished jigsaw)

Also, I remember a small part of the theme song: "Down in Fraggle Rock ...."

Sam seems to think the Muppets visited the Fraggles one day. I don't remember that.

Interestingly, Fraggle Rock will be shown this in Australia on Boomerang (whatever channel that is). I will make it my Fraggle-mission to check this out.

You can read about Fraggle Rock here if you like ... and hopefully you've been waiting for as long as I have for someone to ask you if you remember the Fraggles ... do you?


** And there is going to be a Fraggle Rock movie in 2009, according to IMDB! **