Love, bubs and life on our little farm

I haven't had much time to stop and reflect - I can't believe that tomorrow is New Years Eve! So I trying to take 10 minutes now. We are hosting a quiet BBQ for some friends - I have no plans to make it anywhere near midnight at this point lol.

I am not listing any New Years Resolutions in my blog - I gave that away a few years ago. I like to reflect on my lifestyle and character quite often anyway and often apply redirection throughout the year, so there is nothing standout that needs particular attention or an "official" resolution. (I would try to stop eating chocolate but that is just one of my pregnancy symptoms so who am I to try and resist it lol).

This year Elka has gone from a 6 month old baby who had just starting crawling to an 18 month old toddler that speaks in sentences and understands just about everything. Its a big change when you reflect on it! We had a great time celebrating her first birthday with a polka dot themed party.

I finished my 7 month stint as a stay at home mum and went back to work 2 days a week, which I then upped to 3 days a week as I just couldn't achieve enough. I love balancing care for Elka with work - work is such a pleasure with the mental challenge and "me time". Elka has come to adore daycare also - she is currently on holidays with me and is constantly asking me about her daycare friends lol. I think people think I am mad but I have discovered that I just can't not work - its just too much a part of me (and I get lonely and stir crazy on a farm by myself!)

I got a fantastic promotion at work - Jase got awarded another level too. We are very appreciative of our wonderful careers and where we are. Especially in a year when things were tight for a lot of people.

We started organising our house extensions - including numerous visits to display homes and pouring over our draftmans sketches. We got a very pleasing valuation from our bank so we are ready to start. Plans go to council in January and I am getting very excited for our new entertainment deck and extra rooms. Decorating will be a new challenge for next year.

I also found out I was pregnant and expecting our second baby in September. Its been a rough couple of months of 24 hour sickness but I am through the other side of the worst of that now (hopefully). Which gives me plenty of time to stress about having two little ones and the labour of course ;)

I had a good season of horse competitions - Spech and I concentrated on a lot of showjumping and cross country and he conquered alot of his nerves and even placed in a tricky open showjumping competition. I was sorry to have to put him back in the paddock once I found I was pregnant. I am hoping to make one or two competitions next year whilst recovering from giving birth and juggling the newborn and Elka - needless to say I don't have any big goals for Spech and I!

We spent a lot of time on improving and maintaining our property. We paved our laundry courtyard which looks fantastic and has proven to be worth its cost and pain many times over. We finished retaining walls, completed drainage, put in new gardens and irrigation and have started new paths with both pavers and concrete set cobblestones. We have had a lot of rain this year and the paddocks are full of grass currently, we even made it through this year with spare hay - its been a good year in that regards.

We did lose our dear little chook Bertie at the grand age of 5. She went to sleep one night and didn't wake up - a lovely gentle way to slip away for such an amazing boof of a character.

Jase and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary (with a baby in tow who refused to stay asleep in the restaurant and provided great laughs for the neighbouring tables) and actually managed a few romantic weekends away to both Brisbane and Sydney by ourselves. We have laughed, loved and bickered our way through our 9th year of being together. He is certainly showing the patience that I love so much in him with me being a whinging mess of a pregnant woman.

We have shared happy and sad news with a lot of friends and family. I feel blessed that my near family have all been in good health and reasonable spirits.

It's been a good year - I am a lucky person as I can generally always say this at the end of my yearly reflections. I am a little shocked that it will be 2010 next - the last decade has truly flown but in the most wonderful, exciting ways.

This next year will bring a new baby and the completion of our little family, the changes to our house to make it our "dream" layout, a romantic holiday away for Jase and I for our 5th wedding anniversary (already booked) and more hard work for both of us. I also hope that it brings a lot of joy, achievement and laughs.. if your path behind is any indication of your path ahead then I am sure that it will.

Happy New Year!!

I throughly enjoyed staying with my parents and I know Elka loved it - what 18 month old toddler doesn't like endless adoration and attention!

We cooked Christmas cookies, chocolate crackles, decorated Christmas fruit cakes and did all manner of festive things. Elka developed a strong obsession with Santa - he was mentioned all day everyday, we had to visit him numerous times and all Christmas decorations and songs were accompanied with her bright little voice yelling "SANTA!!".

Well Santa lived up to his golden status by delivering her a see-saw and new textas etc. She then went onto to be very spoiled with our under the tree presents including a barbie lap-top (HUGE success - she loves it and has learnt letters since using it!), toy moving horse and a newborn doll.



I also got very spoilt with my lovely hubby saving my best pressie till the very end - handing me a little box in which I unwrapped a gorgeous diamond necklace! When he explained the significance of what he had chosen I was even more touched. It is two concentric diamond circles and he said it represented me being pregnant and carrying our children. Awww. Not only that but its beautiful and sparkly ;) Big brownie points to Jase.

The day finished with way too much eating of our traditional hot lunch (turkey, lamb roast and ham followed by a devine Strawberry Hazelnut Gateau - very excessive!)

We decided to head home to check on the farm and to make sure the heavy cyclonic low rains hadn't done too much damage. Then enjoying the freedom of holidays with no plans, we hit the boxing day sales (oh yes I got some bargains including a new Seafolly bikini, Napoleon make-up, a silk caftan from Bardot and some boring but useful maternity tank tops from Kmart) and stayed at our beach house enjoying the cosy rain and a delicious dinner out at our favorite resort.

Yep its been a good festive season so far.

Being pregnant and with a toddler, needless to say we have minimal plans for New Years Eve but I am looking froward to the week of holidays we still have left with very little besides catch-ups with friends planned.

Feeling like crap - got one hell of a summer head cold. Being pregnant means nothing stronger than panadol and even that I dont like taking much of.

So I used retail therapy -went shopping for xmas groceries and instead hit the Crossroads 50% off entire store sale. They are a random store - a little nanna, a little Fashion Fair-esque but recently have had some cute dresses that are pregancy friendly.

So I bought a skirt that I am actually using as a strapless dress - its pretty cute in real life. This photo doesnt do the colours justice.

And yes it did make me feel better for half an hour or so... or at least distracted me from wanting to die ;)

Seems I am going to wear out all my spending on the pre-xmas sales rather than the Boxing Day/End of Year sales. I am so very weak in the face of clothing discounts!

Just in case you wanted a little something for yourself for Christmas (hey we all need something pretty to wear on the day!), check out Portmans special for 40% off everything in store with their voucher off the web. Deal is on until Tuesday.

I couldnt resist and made a special trip in to use the voucher on a gorgeous silk singlet with tie-dying and dip dying detail. Too pretty to not buy at 40% off!

I had gone off Portmans clothes but recently I have to say that their fabrics and patterns have been really pretty.

Having a baby is a beautiful amazing thing that just blows my mind.

But.... its sometimes just designed to be an exercise in tolerance and in testing your pain threshold. Honestly at times, it can be like 8 months of a very subtle water torture.

So "most" of my nausea has passed now at 16 weeks, so instead I have jumped into some of the later pregnancy joys. The "sleep training" - the hormones that give you pregnancy insominia, you drag your tired butt around all day just dreaming of bed and then when you fall into bed, bing can't get comfy and fall asleep. Not to mention the 5am wide awakes.. For me this is all amplified by my lower back pain - another pregnancy symptom I score.

Add to that the numerous night toilet trips to pee and the vivid pregnancy induced dreams that make me toss and turn most of the night and you have broken sleep long before the little newborn is on the outside demanding midnight and 4am feeds.

Last night I dreamt about Elka swimming and drowning in a farm dam, I was so desperately trying to save her in my dream, that I threw myself sideways out of bed and woke with such a hammering heart, that my chest was actually hurting. Needless to say it took an hour of tv watching at 1am to calm myself enough to sleep again (oh and of course a creep into her bedroom to see her sleeping little shape).

To finish it off - I have started getting my leg cramps too - excruciating cramps that snap into my calves whilst I am asleep. I suffered them all last second and third trimester despite whatever supplements I took and advice I listened too. And it seems I will be again.

Oh yes - starting to feel very pregnant now!

But the part that makes it ALL worth it? I can really feel bub strongly in the last few days - thumps, pokes and kicks and I have even felt them from the outside with my hand. And that is just the most amazing thing feeling a little being in there!

Random choice of date for an update but I have a 15 week belly pic so I thought I better do an update.

Tummy seems to have popped - not fitting a lot of clothes now and I am wearing most shorts etc below my bump. A bit of back ache and some sciatic nerve pain but other than that feeling pretty strong and fit. Although my feet just ache and ache by the end of the day, would help if I had a job where I sat down for some of the day!

Had an obs appt this morning, heard the heartbeat which is always nice.

Most notable is that I am finally feeling much better! Only mild nausea mainly if I don't eat. Its good to feel almost human again. Hurrah for the second trimester! Although poor old Jase has been on the receiving end of a few hormonal outbursts...

This is really the best stage of pregnancy - you feel less sick and tired and you are still mobile and relatively agile. I am feeling bubby when I sit down and relax (which only happens at about 8.30pm) - little thumps and knocks. So cute.

On the countdown now until our 19-20 week scan where we find out the sex! Exciting! I feel like we are having another girl...

We have been keen to pimp our entry path. We inherited a pretty pathetic set of stepping stones which have always been awkward to use and not so impressive to look at.

With our extensions to start in the New Year (sometime!) we wanted to ensure that our front door is still obvious, as the extension will protrude from one side of the house, making our front garden almost a courtyard and it would be good to direct the eye towards our entry.

We bought the same pavers that we recently paved our laundry courtyard with - they are beautiful and a really soft colour that matches the house trim. And we bought the same trimming blocks in dark charcoal. I am not usually a matchy matchy person but the two areas are on different sides of the house and I think it offers some continuity in theme...

And so in the stinking heat and heavy humidity (paving in Summer is always the best time lol), poor old Jase slaved away, whilst I supervised (site foreman) and Elka enjoyed her toddler pool in the shade of the verandah (tough life of the toddler). But my impressive hubby knocked over the whole job in the one morning!

And so here are the before and afters.






Hello lovely new path!




I am a happy home owner - although poor Jase has to move onto the next area of paving - our new garden/steps area. More photos to come!

But my pants now longer do up... so hit DFO I did. So much for other peoples xmas presents - bah! I was a Christmas grinch and got myself some lovely flowy tops and dresses to cover my protruding bump (must take a new belly pic!). Forever New has some great long line work blouses - soft 100% cotton and very pretty. I also got a very summery Witchery baby doll singlet in soft pinks patterns with a brown top half. I am slightly less convinced on a very pretty 60's swirly mini dress in pinks and purples but the fabric was too pretty to say no and I think it could be tucked into a nice work skirt to "serious" it up for work...

I am a hater of maternity clothes - seriously how do they make them so mumsy. You can't force me into a pair of cropped cargo pants at the best of times (d-a-g-g-y and soooo not slimming!) so I am not going to pay a fortune to wear some when I am feeling less than glam anyway. Don't get me started on the long peasant style maternity skirts (so early 90's) or the poofy, sorry "floaty" tops (because my top half needs to look bigger!).

So yep I was the size of a small whale last pregnancy and still wearing my own clothes - thanks to the black and white elastic belly bands purchased from Ebay for $5 each. They hid my open flies and held everything up. I also found some great stretchy waisted pants and skirts from Valleygirl etc and bought some tailored pants in size 12 to give me some extra room. I probably spent less than one item of maternity wear from that great offender of mumsiness Pumpkin Patch Maternity Wear.

Of course the maxi dresses get a big shout out too - best.things.ever when you are not keen on tightness around your tummy.

And for work tomorrow - well I have just remembered that I bought that gorgeous plum coloured Calvin Klein dress that falls so well over the bump and will help me make the most of my new cleavage (hey need to enjoy it while I can!).

I might be a Mum but am not planning on looking like it until I can help it :)

I am a happy girl and not just because I survived my hens weekend in Sydney - I even managed to dance the night away and not look a teeny bit pregnant. Great fun to let my hair down but a few glasses of bubbles wouldn't have gone astray!

No I am blessed this time because I have been granted a wonderful promotion at work - I have advanced a whole level which now makes me a senior scientist rather than just "scientist". Well its important to me ;) especially as it has taken most people there about 10 years to get to that level and I have done it in three. So I am definitely glowing at the moment - its nice to be good at what you do and love it too. Not only that - but the promotion is being back paid - so we will eventually get a lovely couple of lump sum payments, not to mention the increased pay rate will be very welcome during my maternity leave at half pay. Life was good anyway and we are so blessed in our life so this is just a very tasty cherry on top.

To add to my good mood, my nausea is finally lifting - I have not had to eat every 2 hours today just to stop from gagging - whoohoo! And my parents arrive today and Dad is babysitting Elka tomorrow so that Mum and I can have our Day Spa day - can't wait! Bring on the massages and pampering :)

I wish and hope everyone has moments like this xoxo

Before we get hooked into the Christmas spending, we have to purchase our next years worth of hay first. We normally buy 100 bales and get it delivered by a truck - this is a costly exercise - over $1000 but much cheaper than trying to buy hay in small amounts through winter when it is out of season.

So I am currently waiting for the truck to arrive -the shed is tidied and waiting. Packing 100 bales of hay safely so it doesn't fall or combust is tricky and will have to wait for Jase to get home from work as I am not allowed to hoik them around now that I am pregnant. In the meanwhile - they can be thrown out onto the driveway at the entrance of the shed and for once I will be hoping for no rain - at least for today!

I had my NT scan yesterday and bubs is looking pretty perfect as are my risk stats. A nice relief. The 12 week scan is lovely as bubs is so little that they fit on the screen but you can still see all the little body parts - amazing stuff.

Now.. I head to Sydney for hens weekend tomorrow - I have clothes organised that are relatively slimming for the bump but I am still battling the nausea and the dizziness is getting worse so its going to be a demanding trip to be in a party mood the whole time. I will do my best!

Feeling a little better - still sick and quite dizzy but not nearly as bad as before. Have only put on 1kg or so despite eating lots of chocolate and ice cream - again it seems pregnancy has brought on a sweet tooth for me). Am feeling my appetite starting to grow too.

I am a little short tempered though - I do get a little frustrated when Elka pushes the limits or when I have cleaned up spilt milk for the 5th time in 5 minutes etc. I am hoping that the second trimester will bring a little patience for me along with the extra energy and well being I am crossing my fingers is coming my way!

My sciatic nerve plays up every now and then. But overall I am getting through long busy days at work with little more than some achy feet. I am blessed with being strong and healthy and I do appreciate it.

I have had my bloods for the NT scan done and I am having the scan on Thursday - looking forward to it! Although I had sneak peek at bub the other day at the obs as he scanned me to check for the heartbeat again. So very cute - they become little mini-bubs from blobs so quickly!

Looking forward to finally telling all my workmates so I can wear fitted clothes again.

Fingers crossed all will go well on Thursday. Bring on the second trimester - I already have a pregnancy massage booked for next week - can't wait!

My little one is growing up big time now. She is chatting and repeats just about every word we say now. I think she must be learning about 10-15 words a day. She is good at stringing words together now too. She often chatters that "Mummy said..." and then off into her own language. I would love to know what I am saying!

She is doing great at toilet training. She is getting good at telling us she needs to go and we have caught quite a few wee's on the potty and the last two mornings she has done her morning poo on the potty. She has also been successful using the potty at daycare too. She gets rewarded with a stamp on her hand which she wears very proudly. I am so impressed at how clever she is but its something you can't really "brag" to other people about cause really who wants to hear about poo's and wee's lol! Aahh the glamour of being a parent!

She is very good at pointing out her body parts - she can do nose, ear, eye, mouth, head, hair, shoulder, neck, chin, tummy, arm, hand, finger, knee, foot and toe and say all of them. She loves to pull my shirt up and pat my tummy and say "baby".

She sings little snatches of Baa Baa Black Sheep which is her favorite song.

She gives big smooches accompanied by a very loud drawn out "Mwwaaaaaaaahhhh" which is so cute. If she gives anyone else a kiss then she always finishes by demanding a kiss from me - so sweet!

She understands complex instructions and loves to push things and be a little naughty to get attention. Her naughtiness is often puncuated with a huge smirky grin on her face.

She is a great eater - very coordinated wiht her fork and spoon now. She loves to have frozen fruit ice blocks and loves cold water. She loves to sit on the bench and help me cook - we cook mini cupcakes and she loves to have them for morning and afternoon tea.

She feeds the horses tiny handfuls of hay through the fence and tells Sooty to shoo when he is trying to sneak out the front door. She gives her dolly's bottles of milk, wraps them in blankets, pats them to sleep and pushes them in her little toy stroller. The other day the cat was lying on the floor in the way of her toy stroller so she stood there yelling "beep beep"! Which is something I say to her when she in the way of me. I hadn't realised that she had picked it up - made me laugh!

She is so smart and aware of everthing going on - I can't believe she still has so much growing to do!

I love living in a semi-rural location - the people are just not as rushed or as rude as the city. Since I work in the city, I get to see both ends of the spectrum most days. Driving in the city areas is pretty nasty stuff these days - but out on our country road I find myself relaxing and letting people in or giving them lots of room for an easy merge and I nearly always get an appreciative wave.

I often stop on the way home from work to pick up milk etc at a lovely little country supermarket/greengrocers. I am normally juggling milk, fruit and a toddler and often the person in front of me will smile and wave me through the check out first. I think that is so thoughtful and the gift of that persons time is very much appreciated by me.

I also find that grocery shopping up at our village - I will quite often have someone offer to return my trolley since I am trying pull Elka, her water bottle and everything else out and into the car. When I mentioned this to my Mum she commented that its sort of a country thing that everyone takes the time to return their trolleys anyway, let alone a strangers as well!

And the other day whilst getting petrol, the lady sales assistant came rushing over to say hello to Elka and to offer her a lollipop (OK points here for being so lovely - but I wasn't too keen on Elka eating the lollipop -which got stuck in her hair and thrown out hehe).

I just want to make sure that in my hectic days, I also take the time to make those small gestures to other people. Letting someone ahead of you at the checkout that has a small child or has less groceries than you... or helping someone in need load their car etc, even letting someone in front of you at an intersection when driving with a wave. I am definitely going to try to fill my days with some good karma!

We have worked all year without Jase taking any rec leave so we decided he deserved a few days off. So we had Thurs-Fri off and headed to my parents beautiful farm in the Byron Bay Hinterland. Its green, lush and so relaxing. The house is timber with huge verandahs and beautiful views to the National Parks ranges and to the coast (you can see the Byron lighthouse at night). The chickens and horses are there for pats and feeds, there are koalas and wallabies to admire. I feel my tensions falling away when I stay there. Not to mention my lovely parents who make every visit feel special and full of nice things to do and yummy food!

I especially enjoy watching Elka play with her beloved Nanny and Poppy. She literally ran to both of them for big hugs when we got there. Its a wonderful rest for me and I love seeing them soaking up their time together. They had lots of toys saved up from my childhood for Elka to play with - they certainaly don't build them like that anymore!

We spent a lovely day at Byron Bay where Elka got herself completely drenched in her only change of clothes so we had to buy her a tourist T-shirt to wear LOL. Well Poppy had to buy her one since he was responsible for her falling headfirst into the water (and he dragged her out by her ankle as he didnt want to put his shoes down from his other hand - great work Poppy!). I am constantly amazed at how Byron Bay and Bangalow have changed since I was a child, they are different places now. But I don't dwell on the changes - I just try to appreciate the lovely shops and nice cafes for what they are and hope that at least the hinterland area will stay relatively quiet and not become crazy-touristey.....

Its nice to be home now - I have had a rough week of sickness unfortunately and today my boobs have decided to behave like they did when my milk came in - ouch! And not so comfortable in 33 degree heat!

Now Mum and I are planning our next Day Spa day - cant wait!! Jase is treating me to an hour pregnancy massage - ooh bliss and I am going to get a few other treatments too since I can't use all the plunge pools and spa's in the Bath House...

Maybe the thought of that will get me through the hectic week of work that is fast approaching. How to hide my huge belly too! I am 12 weeks on Friday - wow! But still a week and a half until my NT scan so I am not keen to tell work just yet.... Hmm where did I put my loose tent clothes ;)

Had another one of those moments where I went "whoa I am so blessed.." and I thought I should acknowledge my special little everday moments from the last 24 hours that add up to me being a happy person.

I am 10 weeks today - that has gone so quickly. I am welcoming double figures with my nausea slowly but steadily improving. I feel pretty yuk most of the time and I get strong waves of urges to vomit but its not constant like it was. I even woke up this morning and gritted my teeth waiting for the ickiness to hit but instead I felt OK for awhile - oh happy days!

Most notable symptom at the moment is my strong food cravings and aversions - I just have to have a certain food and won't rest until I get it. In the last few days it was cucumber sandwiches - unfortunately the homemade variety aren't as good as my craving which was based on the ones I have had at Hyatt High Teas in Canberra - sigh. Jase has informed me that we are not flying to Canberra to have said sandwiches damn it. He tends to draw the line at driving all around SE QLD like we did searching for my perfect caramel slice last pregnancy.

Otherwise my sciatic nerve has decided to come to the party all ready. If I lift Elka too much or lie still too long then I can barely move my hip. Looks like I will be finding time to book some chiro sessions to get through this time. Fortunately this time round I have learnt to slow down - a necessary skill learnt from the tedious sitting around stage of having a newborn. So I can handle the fact that I am less efficient and achieve very little in a day. Although nesting has hit all ready - I have spent all morning cleaning out our walk in pantry (we will never starve in a lockdown emergency!) and its now sparkling and I am a happy girl. Hormones are a funny thing.

3 weeks until my NT scan -cant wait.

Here are my first belly pics

I hit the Bright Bots Warehouse sale this morning as I do every couple of months. Its just perfect for getting lovely soft cotton clothes for Elka and I needed to get her a new swim suit too. My little diva also spotted the sunglasses and insisted on getting a hot pink pair - that she wore from the cash register onwards, so cute!

So I got in early, missed all the crowds, enjoyed Elka being able to walk since you aren't allowed to take in prams and left feeling smug with a batch of great clothes for cheap...

In fact I finished so quickly I thought I would stop by my other favourite outlet shop in the same suburb. And that is how I came home with a plum stretch Calvin Klein dress! Hmm not what I set out to buy today but I couldn't go past the fit and cut and it is perfect for flattering a baby bump. And it was a bargain - the usual argument, I was SAVING money by buying it ;)

So I have been dragging my sorry sick butt around recently - enjoying the delights of early pregnancy such as gagging at all smells and thoughts of smells and experiencing tiredness so intense even your bones are tired. But one of my best friends is getting married soon.. in Hawaii.. and we are waiting to hear whether we are coming into some money. If this money eventuates, well then Jase and I are on the plane, sarongs packed, as fast as you can say "Nanny and Poppy, could you please mind Elka?" I really really want to be at this wedding but current finances are very tied up with our house extension and me needing another batch of maternity leave. So at the moment I am just hoping and wishing and tearing my guts out with guilt that I possibly won't be there on one of my friends most important days.

In the meanwhile, I have just found out that her Australian hens night is scheduled for 4 weeks time. Arrgh! I want to make it as special as possible for her as she organised my amazing hens night that was touching, beautiful and wild and fun all at the same time. So hence me needing to snap out of the pregnancy funk of eating reluctantly, working, grumping about being fat and falling into bed.

Did I mention that the hens night is in another state and that the hen is a party girl from way back and was even an events planner in glamorous old Sydney.. so she has some high expectations. Urrghh please please if you are reading this - leave some hens night games/experiences that you have loved in the comments :)

I have started trying to tidy myself up... got to book a hair appointment to fix my 2.5 inch long roots and to shape my eyebrows again. I have pulled together a hopefully passable going out in Sydney glamourous outfit, that suitably shows enough skin to blend in but also hides my chubby belly bump that unfortunately currently just makes me look thick through the middle. But how to survive the looooong night of teetering around in heels to noisy clubs when I can't have a drop of sparkling and I am normally tucked up in bed by 9pm? Hmm haven't quite worked that one out but am hoping adrenaline, guilt and a sense of duty will get me through!

Oh how I am hoping the worst of the illness will have passed by then!

I started this blog to be a record of my pregnancy with Elka. And it will now serve to be a pregnancy blog again...... I am happy to announce that I am 9 weeks pregnant and due on the 4th of June. Another winter bub :)

If you know me in real life, I apologise for not telling you - I have been pretty slack with announcements, mainly because its not yet that magic 12 weeks and also because the morning sickness has nearly killed me and talking about babies and pregnancy only makes it worse! But I don't like not being able to blog my experiences with this pregnancy so I am ready to come out on here :)

I am using the same obs as last time - very strange to find myself sitting back in his office again! A scan revealed a healthy looking little blob with a heartbeat so all is going well so far.

I have the same 24 hour nausea that I experienced with Elka's pregnancy but this time it is even more severe - alot more gagging and vomiting and stronger dizziness and queasiness. Its not been fun. Just in the last week I have also had extreme tiredness - not useful with a toddler!
I am already showing this time round - making dressing for work a little tricky (have told my bosses but not all my workmates). I was shocked this mroning to weigh myself and find that I have lost a kilogram (57kg) as I was sure with all the poor eating that I have been getting by on, that I was piling on the weight. So far, the best solution is peppermint choc chip ice cream with ice magic - mm healthy! But is soothes the stomach and calms the heartburn too. I have had heaps of cravings - mango chillers, ice, thai samosas, pickled onions and the list goes on!

I have been despairing at not being able to buy the summer clothes that I would like as they more than likely won't fit. But I have comforted myself with some cute maxi dresses instead ;)

Now just to (im)patiently wait for the 12 week scan and for the sickness to pass!

I heard Summer today. The sound of the sun beating down on the crunchy grass, the crickets sawing and the baby magpie demanding a feed. I love Australian Summers expecially on the land. The heat, the endless blue skies, the birds - it all reminds me that its nearly Christmas - time for family, relaxing, holidays, beach trips and lots of cold fruit and BBQ's.

I am looking forward to Christmas time. I am planning some holidays to relax at my parents gorgeous farm. Mum goes all out at Christmas - the house and gardens always look amazing and she cooks for weeks in advance. I adore Christmas shopping - wandering around finding lovely gifts to spoil my loved ones. I love picking our real Christmas tree out and the fresh pine smell it brings into the house. Elka is going to love Christmas and all the trappings.

We went to the first pool party/BBQ of the season last night and it was great fun. I have started buying lots of fun Summer dresses. I am ready for it now :)

I have neglected my blog :( I have been so busy I am afraid - work has just been crazy and life is too with interstate trips and lots of farm work to do...

I feel bad as some lovely people have even given me blog awards! Thank you! That means a lot to me as I write my blog to please myself not any one else so its nice to know that even still some people enjoy it!

I now have a killer head cold and a toddler teething her molars so I wish I had something lovely or fun to post but alas unless you want to hear a whinge about how much work I need to get done on my scientific grants or how we are slowly and very dully moving forward with our house extension plans... not much to say!

The horse front has also been quiet as Spech is having some corrective shoeing done at the moment in order to get his bad foot to grow some new sole (which is working well!) but means he is on rest from competitions.. I have been giving Sam a little bit of work in the meanwhile but am not feeling too motivated at the moment.

In bright news, despite more dust storms, bushfires and high winds, we have had over 30mm of rain in the last week and our paddocks are green and shooting lovely fresh spring grass :)

I did buy a lovely dip dye/tie dye skirt the other day... that is about as exciting as my summer shopping has been recently...

And that is me for now :) xoxo

Little Miss Elka has started talking a lot lately - she has a great range of words now for a 15 month old and tries out new ones daily. My current favourites are "Tate-toh" - potato :) and "Nnnnnnnneigh" - for the answer to the question what noise does has a horse make?

But she is also stringing together words into sentences now. "Dadda.. where?" when she is looking for Dad (the answer is always work of course!), she can also say "here you go" and "where'd it go?"

But last night was her first really independent sentence to communicate exactly what she wanted and it melted my heart. Jase gives her the evening bath but she likes me to come in too.. however I was in the kitchen cooking and she came hooting out from the bathroom crying for me. So I picked her up - she looked me intensely in the face and said and pointed to the bathroom "Bubbles.. want Mum!". She calls her baths bubbles as she gets bubble bath in them. I was so impressed that she had made herself understood so clearly! So yep - she got Mum ;)

So as I have blogged, it was time for a new hand bag after my last trusty bag met a sticky end with some super glue repairs gone awry.

Oroton came through for me - their styles just really appeal to my current taste. This little red number jumped out at me - its a great shape and size and the cherry red is bright and fun for Summer. And it fits on my shoulder like it was made for me. How could I not!

As you would know from my blog, I love living on a property. And yes I can even say that after a long tiring week of expensive horse specialists, 4WD breakdowns and my husband being stranded in Sydney by the dust storm!

And why I love it - because its dirty, hard work and rewarding. It keeps you fit, busy and obsessed with rain ;)

And our life is always a little different to most other peoples we know - today we cleaned paddocks and worked outside all morning, then "spoiled" ourselves by spending nearly $800 on a new dam pump for our irrigation. Oh yes nothing is cheap when it comes to farm equipment... but we are so excited - our gardens are going to love being watered by a reliable pump that doesn't need to be rebuilt after every use (and so will Hubby!).

But in the wonderful contrast that is our life - we are heading off this afternoon to go shopping, most importantly to head to Oroton to search for a new handbag for me.

Funnily enough - I need to change clothes before we go - pump buying clothes at our local industrial state don't stretch to handbag shopping... but I love how many different things I can end up doing in a day :)

So every year we head to the Swell Sculpture Festival at Currumbin. Its just gorgeous wandering along the sculptures scattered along, through and in the beach and the dunes.

This was my favourite sculpture this year.



There were some excellent social commentary designs too but they don't tend to photograph as well!

Special shout out must go to my cute new kaftan dress - so comfy and very pretty and floaty



And finally you can't go to the beach without letting the little one do what toddlers do best :)

I have made a record I think - I have had my most recent handbag for 10 months. Its a lovely mix of pretty and useful - an Oroton deep chocolate hobo bag with lovely metal ends (I am a sucker for metal details!)

In fact it just tried to die on me by half the strap falling off (totally my fault for stuffing it full of way too much stuff always). However, I superglued it back together (yep too lazy to get the leather restitched) and was very smug about my repair job. Until the next morning where in the light of day, I discovered I had dropped a huge smear of super glue on the beautiful soft leather. So yeah - ruined now!

So.. its time for a new bag. I fret when shopping for a bag - I am fussy. I like brands - I see my handbag as a splurge. i don't like brands that are too popular (For example Guess! I was using Guess bags long before the bogans discovered them but rapidly dropped the brand once everyone and their dog started hoiking them around). But I don't like spending an absolute fortune as my bag carries half wrapped Butter Menthols, half eaten cheese sticks from Elka, a camera, a diary (my external brain and memory) and 15 lip glosses, so it can't be too precious....

urrgh so I have wandered through many a Myer and David Jones selection already and seen nothing even worthy of trying on my shoulder. Witchery had a slouchy bag that made me pause but seriously their prices are really inflated for what you get as far as workmanship... Oroton has a gorgeous studded black bag in magazines at the moment but I am seriously contemplating whether the studs would be too sharp for having around Elka (!)

So the search continues...

If you have a fave bag or designer, please feel free to leave a comment and inspire me!

Elka is really into crawling through and under things at the moment.

She crawls through the dining table and chairs chasing the cats. But she only just realised that the coffee table has a magazine shelf underneath it, that she can use as a tunnel. I managed to capture her first attempt - it makes a cute photo sequence!

This weeks Blog This Challenge is Can you do without...? What is something that you have had to give up that was difficult?



My answer is coffee. I grew up in a family of coffee lovers. My mum brewed real coffee long before Australia had anything but Nescafe as a mainstream drink. In my parents house, the kettle is always warm, we have instant coffee, plunger coffee, perculator coffee, turkish coffee on the cooktop and a cappuccino machine. I cared for my horses before school, trained for athletics, went to school 40 mins away, exercised my horse after school, did my home work and fell asleep exhausted and then repeated except for weekends when I got up at 4am and camped at showgrounds all weekend competing my horse. Exhausted doesn't even cover it. Coffee was my life blood. Of course coffee is also a uni student staple and I was wedded to it as much as the next student as an undergrad. However when I became a postgrad, in particular an uber stressed over worked PhD microbiology research student, coffee was the biggest crutch, reward and consolation ever. So what happened?

Well in my second year of my PhD, stressed and sick and at the doctors trying to figure out my pain and issues, the doctor decides it was IBS and that the first thing that had to go was caffeine. I laughed. Then realised she was serious. Then with tears in my eyes I explained that I had been in the lab since 4am trying to fit a 20 hour straight experiment into the day. She was unrelenting. And so no more coffee it was - cold turkey from that minute. If I am one thing, it is determined - coffee has never passed my lips since.

I still love the smell. I miss the creamy froth of a flat white. I miss the warm welcoming buzz. But hey life goes on - I adore milo and herbal tea now. And for what its worth, I don't have problems with IBS anymore ;)

Its a late post but I still wanted to record it :)

We had a lovely time. Elka painted a gorgeous canvas for Jase's office.



Although it seems the paints were more fun to eat


We then spent a lovely day at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary with my family. It was relaxed and lots of fun. Elka loved the crocodiles. She cracked everyone up by pointing at the emu and saying "ooh chicken!" She eventually warmed up to the kangaroos and gave them pats. They thought she was edible due to the high percentage of food smeared and dropped on her clothes lol.



We finished the weekend with lunch and shopping on the Sunday. Life can be so sweet.
xoxo

I haven't done an update on Miss Elka for a long time. She is almost 15 months now and well and truly a toddler!

She amazes me every day now - so much talking and learning. She chatters in her own language but has picked up a lot of words now - dog, woof, miaow, duck, quack, ta, more, me, bubble, bath, bye, hello daddy, shoe, sock, swing, Nana, cheese, toast, ball, gone, there, this, where.... to name a few. We can really communicate now and she loves to mimic sentences such as "press the button" and "where's the ball?" She can point out her nose, tummy, feet and eye when asked.

She is very helpful around the house. She gets out the broom and sweeps. She likes to wipe down her high chair after meals and today when i gave her the cloth to wipe, she went to the cupboard and got out the cleaning spray to use! When I say its time to feed the cats, Elka climbs into the low cupboard to fetch a can of cat food - very handy! She can also pull out their cat biscuits and pour them roughly into (and around!) their bowls, much to the cats delight! She loves to hand feed the chickens and the magpies and helps make up the horses hard feed scooping up the different feeds and "helping" to carry the bucket.

We are still waiting patiently for some more teeth! She has thankfully not been as sick in the last month or so. She is on a long term low dose of antibiotic to prevent any more burst eardrums. She still sleeps wonderfully - still 7pm-7am every single night. She has dropped down to one day sleep - generally at about 11am for 2 hours.

Her hair has grown very long but she has developed a great interest in pulling out any hair ties or clips so she is currently getting around with wild curls at the back and a messy full fringe.

Daycare has started sending her to the 2 year old room for a few hours to get used to it. She seems to love it - much more stimulation and interesting activities then the nursery. She has even slept in the little portable camp beds that they use in that room - her first non-cot sleep!

She is a good eater - loves to snack all day. Current favorites are bananas, sultanas and Tiny Teddy's. She had her first ice cream cone the other day (see pic) - wasn't too fussed but ate some before the chickens scored the rest.

She adores music - loves to bop and dance. She loves pop music and will clap away to JT or Madonna (hmmm terrible music taste of mother coming out I think!). She sings Row Row Row Your Boat and loves to be rocked back and forth.

She has shot up in height and is wearing size 2 in some clothes - mainly for her round little tummy! She is just moving out of size 5 shoes and into size 6.

She has started to be very independent and I struggle to keep her out of the gardens unsupervised - I am concerned about snakes as the weather warms up. If she doesn't get her way, then she will precede to do a bit of a cry/scream and throws her arms around. If you are in range she might try a bit of a swinging hit at your legs etc. We tend to ignore her when she is doing these tantrums - that is punishment enough as she hates being ignored.

She is great company, very tiring and a lot of fun. I am as always excited about what will come next - every stage has been so wonderful and I always think it can't get better!

So as I have blogged here - we had a weekend away for a friends wedding. By away, I mean to Brisbane city - so all of a 35 minute drive but regardless it was still a hotel, a getaway without Elka and a chance to dress up and have a few drinks. It was not my first night away from Elka - despite just about everybody asking me if it was! I have been quite happily leaving Elka with family since she was three months old.

It was a sweet relaxed wedding and we let our hair down.. and paid for it the next morning lol. I definitely made the most of the cooked breakfast buffet the next morning - I am a eating machine when hungover. I would be a much larger size if I drank regularly from all the bad eating! As fun as it was, I honestly felt that I hadn't been missing much by being out at the farm and not partying it up in the city on weekends. I can't decide if that is nice or sad to say at 28? I do know that I did more than my fair share of drinking and dancing and shenanigans when I was at uni (for 7 years so there was plenty of partying!) so maybe I am just ready to be old before my time...

Here we are all dressed up. Don't scrub up to bad considering only a few hours before I was showjumping and Jase was covered in grease repairing our dam irrigation pump! and yes I know I look pregnant in that photo but trust me I am not (or it would be a pickled bub by now!). That will teach me for slouching.

I adore this dress - it was just so lovely to wear.
Ironically I was worried about Elka staining it before I left home as she was keen for lots of hugs once I was dressed (I swear they have a sixth sense!). But I TRASHED it at the reception - starting with dropping a knife of butter on to it and ending with about seven champagne drip stains. It is still at the dry cleaners as their first attempt didn't remove all the stains... I am hopeful that it can be rescued as I am planning an encore wearing at an engagement party in Sydney in a few weeks!

So confession time, I have been slopping along wearing old sad bra's from pre-pregnancy circa 2006 and even my maternity bra's still. Nothing fits because after breastfeeding and my random weight loss, the girls are a shadow of their former selves (and there wasn't much to begin with LOL).

So today I headed off to grab a nice crisp white T-shirt bra to improve matters :)

I however got distracted by pretty shiny things as I tend to. So I found myself picking up a lovely Pleasure State Couture set to try on. And I had to have it - the soft latte colour (creme brulee if you please according to the label), the stripy metallic satin, ribbon straps and the delicate inset crystals were just too nice to say no to. So splurge I did :)

Oh in case you were wondering the sensible part of me also required me to buy the white T-shirt bra. ;)

It's been a busy week as usual around here with visitors, crazy work and errands to run etc but I am counting down now until this weekend - its my friends wedding and as I have posted previously Jase and I have a lovely hotel room in the city sans toddler and I have a pretty cocktail dress to wear. Can't wait! I am all tidied up - have had my hair done, eyebrows shaped and have even bought some of the individual fake eyelashes that I used for my wedding and loved. Looking forward to getting dressed up and not having to worry about ending up wearing streaks of mushed banana or tomato sauce from the little monster :)

In the meanwhile I am enjoying my non-work days, meeting up with a friend, some shopping for summer clothes for Elka tomorrow and my parents are arriving to be the live-in babysitters :)

SE QLD has forgotten that its winter here and has bypassed Spring and jumped into Summer it seems - we have had a couple of above 33 degree days already and more to come. So its Summer fashion all the way. To think I desperately shopped for the perfect stockings, cardigan and pashmina for my cocktail dress as I thought I would get cold! Now all I need is some sunblock for my bare shoulders!

In the meanwhile, I am in love with the new bandage skirt styles that are cropping up in the magazines. Thank you As Seen In as usual for providing me with pics to drool over :)


Funky yet elegant at the same time - love it!

Yep the high temperatures have had me sweating in my jeans and vowing to bare my legs again. So we headed to DFO for some spending :)

Cue many frustrating trips to my favourite shops - even Forever New failed me!! I couldn't find anything that appealed or much new season (OK OK I know I am shopping at outlets and shouldn't expect new season). Also EVERYTHING was size 14 - whats with that? I thought people were getting fatter? Shouldn't size 14 be more sold out than size 8 therefore? (again I know I am outlet shopping and shouldnt expect my size to necessarily be there!)

Until... the last half an hour, where I hit paydirt including some new season tops that had just been marked down and I snapped up the only smalls :). Even the shop assistant was impressed at the cuteness and the price (the two for $15). Sorry too lazy to take pics - but one is a mushroom coloured sequined long singlet and the other is a summery loose white top with ribbon detailing on the bottom to cinch it in.

Most importantly I found the summery pretty kaftan style dress that I had been coveting AND it was in my size and hidden at that back of a sale rack. And it looks great with my brown belt and my new shoes (see below)


Witchery came through for me too with some great (80% discounted!) summer sandals that are just perfect for all the tie-dye and floral dresses and tops I am planing :)


So still on my wish list: (which got dramatically shortened half an hour ago when I dug out my summer clothes and realised how many items on it I already owned - whoops!)
- denim shorts that don't make me look hoochy
- a tye-died singlet top that isn't too hippy throwback
- a pretty floaty blouse
- a summery floral maxi-dress

What else do I need? I would love some suggestions! Or tell me what you are coveting!
xox

I blogged recently here, about the work I have been putting into Spech and his showjumping. Well... we went to an open EFA Showjumping Comp on the weekend and I was so proud of him - him jumped really well and jumped all the things he is afraid off including walls.

I was happy with that - but even better he came fourth out of a big field! So we won a lovely rosette which he is sporting in the pic (I didn't take the camera hence why he is wearing it at home in his paddock rug hehe). Unfortunately only first to third won money prizes so we just missed out, not that I mind but its always nice to win some money back for all the money you spend on the ponies!

I have had a bit of a rotten week - its been a tough one at work and I have been moody and short tempered. If anything, I have been sulking and reveling in that sulking.

Today I got a reminder that its not all about me. I met up with my mother who was driving an older friend 3 hours each way to some medical appointments in Brisbane. Now, that is the sort of lovely thing my mum does for her friends - gives up a whole day and sits in waiting rooms kindly having inane small talk with people she doesn't know.

That was already making me feel a little selfish for being a grump this week. Then I spent some time with the lady Mum was taking to appointments - she is being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). A hideous horrible degenerative disease with no cure. Not only that but she cares full time for her brother who has had stroke and lost movement down one side of his body. And she never once looked sulky, upset or even wanted to talk about herself - instead she cheerily shopped trying to find a toy to buy Elka!! Well... I know I would not have been acting with so much grace and dignity, being so selfless.

So today I take my hat off to her and her grace under fire. Its nice to realise sometimes that life doesn't always need to be about yourself.... and that it should be lived with a beautiful spirit.

I love the term mini-break, it reminds me of Bridget Jones. But more to the point, we have been in desperate need of one.

So thanks to the Brisbane show holiday, Jase took a few more days off and we headed to my families beach house on the Tweed Coast, which is just a short drive away. Its a gorgeous area - quieter than the Gold Coast and with one of the best beaches on the whole coast. There is also some lovely tidal rivers perfect for bubbies to play in.

Our house is modest - its barely had any work done on it in 20 or so years but it's on a huge block, two storey with lovely bright bedrooms and a deck overlooking the lush overgrown rainforest gardens which are home to a family of bush turkeys. It is two blocks from the village centre and the beach. The village is filling up with trendy cafes and bars now, the creep of the Gold Coast is encroaching. We have decided to embrace the change rather than whinge about what it was 20 years ago when we bought.

So we swum, played with Elka, walked for miles, soaked up the crazy hot weather, ate a lovely breakfast at a beachside cafe, drank wine on a resort terrace watching the sunset colours paint the sky over the waves and lazed around reading magazines. Bliss and the recharge that we needed.

I am back from a lovely beach holiday (all of an hour from our farm hehe) and the weather is just devine here in SE QLD at the moment. The sun is hot and even I was in a bikini in the water in winter :) (it normally has to be over 30 degrees for my cold bod to think swimming is a good idea)and of course I had to dust off my shorts... (and my legs!)

So now I am all inspired by skirts and shorts again. I tried on some cute cropped denim shorts today but the colour did nothing for my light skin. I have my eye on some cute shorts at Witchery instead..

But I am loving the soft skirts that are coming in - all in pretty batik, dye dipped and tye died colours. Very casual and summery. A lot of the shop girls had them dressed up with tucked in tank tops and heavy belts and necklaces to give it an edgy look. I liked.



Forever New is in love with colour at the moment - it was so pretty just walking through the store admiring the dresses. If only I needed one! I can't justify it with the amount of baby food, vegemite and snot I currently get to wear lol. However, I think I will cave and buy a pretty floaty kaftan soon ;)

So I need to start working on my Spring fashion wish list I think :) Feel free to inspire me with what it catching your eye!

Blog This Challenge



I am currently reading "The Black Death: a personal history" by John Hatcher. Yep nerd that I am, I don't get enough of infectious diseases at work so I read about them in my down time too! Actually my boss lent it to me as he is also a disease freak :)

John Hatcher is a historian trying to capture the nitty gritty of life during the Black Death or plague outbreak in an England village. So far, it is a little slow as he is clearly fascinated by every historical detail. But it is still interesting. I am of course eagerly awaiting the gory details that he should delve into when the plague starts to hit..

Gee I am not as boring as I might sound - hehe if you read my blog at least you know I do have other hobbies other than work lol!

Three names I go by:
1. Mummy/Mama
2. Ames
3. Dr J....

Three Jobs I have had in my life:
1. Riding Instructor
2. Science Tutor
3. Waitress

Three Places I have lived:
1. Far North NSW Coast
2. Canberra
3. Brisbane

Three Favorite drinks:
1. Milo
2. Soda Water
3. Champagne

Three TV Shows that I watch:
1. So You Think You Can Dance
2. Project Runway
3. True Beauty (its so bad but so good!)

Three places I have been:
1. Japan
2. Italy
3. Amsterdam

Three of my favorite foods:
1. Fresh white bread with butter
2. Decent Italian
3. Massaman Thai Curry

Three Things I am looking forward to:
1. Adam and Lee's wedding - we have a hotel booked and a babysitter for Elka
2. Our beach holiday in a few days time
3. Our trip to Sydney in September for Dana's engagement party - we have booked a gorgeous 5 star hotel :)

Three Things that are always by my side:
1. Elka
2. My phone
3. a cardigan as I get cold really easily

Three people who have e-mailed/messaged me today:
1. Dana
2. Kerrie
3. My mum

Three favourite colours:
1. Plum Purple
2. Mint Green
3. Chocolate

Three favourite items of clothing:
1. Grey Skinny jeans
2. My new cocktail dress
3. Witchery black long cardigan - Italian wool, so soft!

Last three words uttered:
1. Yeah
2. I
3. agree

My Thoroughbred Spech (Racing name is Special Knowledge) is a gentle sweet horse that thinks he is a dog. He is also a bit of a wuss - new things scare him. Actually, so do Kangaroos, strollers, brick walls, mailboxes.. the list goes on. Needless to say - showjumping which involves jumping brightly coloured obstacles is a big ask for him. A hoof injury and equine influenza also resulted in him not being able to jump for a long time.

However, this year I have had the chance to spend more time on training him in showjumping. And in our last competition, I actually entered him in the highest jumping grade at our little riding club (its not overly high in the world of showjumping but hey its high for that club!) and he soared over the jumps and got two clear rounds to place fourth. I was so proud.

We are now entering a showjumping competition in a weeks time. He has come a long way and its lots of fun seeing him improve!

Its so gorgeous and warm here, it seems winter or our wussy Qld version of it is nearly over.. I have started thinking about dresses and bright colours.

I am feeling inspired by all the lovely strapless dresses around at the moment. As Seen In has picked a few cuties - notice the early 90's inspiration... I don't normally like bright florals but I think I might be in the mood this year :)


Your thoughts?

1 What time did you get up this morning? 7am - Elka gets up at 7am every morning so I do to. All though on work mornings I am up at generally 5.45am, long before munchkin is!

2. How do you like your steak? Medium rare and with a yummy pepper sauce

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Transformers

4. What is your favorite TV show? Next Top Model, Project Runway or So You Think You Can Dance

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Here in SE QLD or just over the border in Far North NSW where I grew up :) I love it - its beautiful and the weather is just perfect

6. What did you have for breakfast today? Vegie Toast and Porridge with honey

7. What is your favorite cuisine? I love Italian but also love Thai, Turkish and Japanese..

8. What foods do you dislike? Fast Food - particularly McDonalds or Hungry Jacks. I refuse to eat at those places, its not real food.

9. Favorite Place to Eat? I love picnicking at the beach - particularly at Rainbow Bay - killer views and its all free

10. Favorite salad dressing? My mum's gorgeous dressing or balsamic

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? a 4WD - its a luxury edition with leather seats etc that I have trashed by using it for horse competitions, carting horse feed and the baby hasn't helped!

12. What are your favorite clothes? Currently its jeans with knee high boots but it varies depending on the season. I love my Witchery work clothes too - its nice to be all dressed up..

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? I want to go back to England and Italy oh and Japan... but there are a million other new places I want to see too! That is too hard a question!

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? half full most of the time

15. Where would you want to retire? on the coast here in SE QLD

16. Favorite time of day? I am a big morning person - I love watching the sun come up over our back dam with sunbeams pouring through the gum trees

17. Where were you born? Canberra

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Rugby League - bogan that I am. I am in a tipping comp and have been leading it most of the season!

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? dont feel like tagging anyone

20. Person you expect to tag you back first? see 19

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? I like reading everyones responses.

22. Bird watcher? I like watching our birds here on the farm - we feed most of them and they are quite tame. I love watching eagles fly over. And I feed our chickens and ducks so I guess I do a fair bit of bird watching without knowing it!

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? morning

24. Do you have any pets? 2 cats, 4 chickens, 2 ducks, 2 horses

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? not at the moment.

26. What did you want to be when you were little? a vet

27. What is your best childhood memory? just running around the farm with my brother with no cares in the world. Playing in flood waters with the boogie board too (Of course totally not a safe thing to do - but was so fun!)

28. Are you a cat or dog person? I love all animals so I love both.

29. Are you married? Yep - almost 5 years now!

30. Always wear your seat belt? sure do

31. Been in a car accident? Nope - besides small dingles with trees (thanks to living in flood prone areas with slippery driveways!)

32. Any pet peeves? So many when I think about it! I hate lazy people, people who never return phone calls and messages and people that spend their whole lives judging others.

33. Favorite Pizza Topping? homemade pizzas with lots of pineapple and cheese or tandoori chicken and mango chutney - yum!

34. Favorite Flower? Tulip

35. Favorite ice cream? I am dairy intolerant so dont really love it. I love gelato - especially the amazing gelato we were buying in Italy and the yummy Salt Special gelato at Salt Village near our beach house

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? humph see number 8. I will eat Nandos and a rare KFC and red rooster chips.

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Once - I left the handbrake on hehe and the tester couldnt believe how well I could ride the clutch to keep the car going for the rest of the test!!

38. From whom did you get your last email? Dana showing me here devine wedding dress

39. Which store would you choose to max out your card? Horseland or Witchery

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? most things we end up doiing are fairly spontaneous.

41. Like your job? I love it - so challenging, changes every day, combines everything I love about science, research grants, clinical testing, lecturing at uni and supervising research students but I have the wonderful bonus of being a well looked after public servant.

42. Broccoli? Elka loves it

43. What was your favorite vacation? Hard to choose - our honeymoon to Samoa or our European/Japanese backpacking adventure :)

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? Jase's parents

45. What are you listening to right now? the radio on outseide while Jase does some landscaping work and Elka stuffing her face full of sultanas, oh and the ducks are waiting at the door quacking!

46. What is your favorite color? Mint green or plum purple

47. How many tattoos do you have? none - my skin is way too pale to look good with a tattoo!