Happy New Year! Welcome to 2013

The beginning of a New Year.
Its so beautiful in it's optimistic newness and exciting new adventures.

I've been cleaning and organizing in preparation for 2013 and in the process found this old notepad of my grandmothers. I loved the women's silhouette, especially as I have just finished watching Downton Abbey season 3. The price tag was also a trip down memory lane - I had completely forgotten about tuckerbag supermarkets which disappeared as we moved into a supermarket monopoly in Victoria (which is being challenged thankfully).

Now I am off to consider some New Years Resolutions for 2013 and see if I reached any in 2012.

Summer Storm

The Friday before last we has a huge thunderstorm which we luckily escaped with no major damage. Except for one poor tree.

It was probably the first time that Darwin's I'm totally innocent face was true.

On the 4th day of summer....

..... I drank hot chocolate and slept with two doonas.

Saturday morning interrupted

I should be at home full of coffee and macaroons from a local bakery. I even managed to get out of bed on time and made it to the station to catch the train home. But the trains are all stopped and the scene at the replacement bus stop is chaos and stress.

So instead I'm in a coffee shop drinking a peppermint mocha frappachino and contemplating the "good service" announcement on the train website which is in such a dramatic contrast to the chaos below.

I might poke my head out in a few minutes and see if there has been some sort of miracle and I can avoid the indignity of the bus (my least favorite form of transport).

Until then there is classical music, calm and coffee. I'm even chilled out enough not to be angry about the Christmas decorations out in November thing. And I reckon this little squirrel guy is pretty cool.

The secret life of Melbourne....

....during business hours.

Looks like I will be working more than I anticipated this break (alright more than my wishful thinking had anticipated). So my day of leisure today will probably be one of few.

Today I dragged my sorry body out of bed and forced it around Princess park at 6 am. Definitely nuts! Then after I had toned my complexion back from beetroot I headed to the hairdressers to tame my crazy mane (see picture) I also got my eyebrows tinted which always gives me a big fright.

I spent the rest of the day with a friend from uni. I often forget how much fun Melbourne can be as I am rushing from one place to another and it then seems to compare unfavorably to cities in Europe and the US where I spend my holidays in a much more relaxed mode. So having the chance to hangout was very relaxing and a reminder of what Melbourne can offer! We had lunch at my favorite Japanese restaurant Chocolate Buddha at Fed square. I actually branched out and tried something new - Pork Ramen . It was perfect for sitting outside in the shade and people watching for a few hours. The original plan had been to see a movie but we instead ended up at the Gallery. They have a print exhibition on at the moment. I don't know much about prints but I enjoy looking at them and there was some great pieces in this collection. Some of the renditions of female bodies were - interesting - they looked like male figures with someones ideas of female curves when they have never seen a women in the flesh. The dancing skeletons were also great but creepy. There was also a ballet costume exhibit in the fashion gallery. We finished our afternoon at the gallery tea rooms with tea and cake - yum!

I'm now on my train home and have been busily replying to overdue text messages and soaking in the remaining daylight.

Hide hide hidehi

So just slipping back to blog world.... It's been.. Eh... Several months since my last blog. Uni is over for the summer for me and for a lot of my classmates it's the end of their first undergraduate degree - so cute to see them cut loose into the big wide world.

I took this photo in New York this year and it seems fitting for my thoughts at the moment. I didn't do nanowrimo again this year. I totally planned to but it's just too much off the back of final hand in and I went straight back to work and social stuff once I had handed in. So instead I want to catch up on blogging, sort my photos from my trip and get a head start on my creative writing workshop in the New Year. Oh and make Christmas presents for everyone. Preferably before the merry go round that is Christmas parties starts. Fun!

Sunday afternoon housesitting and studying

...a study in blue.

The view from my train window

Is very pretty this morning. (And well done to the iPhone camera for trying to capture it. )

Sunday Morning.... Just

Today is windy and cold so I am snuggled up with a cup of tea and some readings. And trying really hard to stick to my no refined sugar before 3 in an attempt to both undo Easter and essay writing eating and to prepare for my trip in which I intend to try as much food as I possibly can - high tea at fortnum and masons here I come.

Darwin is outside telling everyone how utterly miserable his life is through various yawns, sighs and dejected head angles. Unfortunately no good photos through the window.

I'm contemplating some exercise but I'll probably just rest on the fact that I did circuit training yesterday morning. And when I say circuit I mean I actually got organized enough to write out a 5 min set of exercises and then do them five times with only 2 min rests in between. Go me!!

Now back to my cup of buddhas tears and reading about Pergamon and it's urban representations of the Hellenistic period and it's flair for the dramatic.

Cold morning

It's cold. Too cold to get out of bed. I'm supposed to be doing my readings but a4 paper leaves too big a gap for cold air under the covers. So iPhone time wasting it is.

I've had a fairly quiet but productive break so far. Drinking large cups of tea. Procrastinating by starting to pack my suitcase (my trip is only 6 weeks away now) and of course hugging Darwin. And not procrastinating by actually working on my essays. Which I probably should get back to as I set myself a fairly steep goal to get through today.

Happy Easter

I love public holidays (even when they are spent writing essays). Especially when they involve chocolate.

Procrastination .... A day in the life

It is Sunday morning. It is cold according to my nose. And I am procrastinating. I have an assignment due Wednesday which I laid the beginning steps for at the beginning of Semester. Very organized I know. However, now when I really need to get the thing written I'm stalling. It's a common theme of my academic career I want to write it, I'm fairly sure I even know what to write but I just can't seem to get it on a piece of paper.

So to prolong writing I am presenting you with some pictures of Darwin.

And then I am going to go and get thus assignment finished.

After I make a cup of tea......

Beauty in a hum drum day

Solution making is not my favorite task but making whirlpools are one upside.

Another week over.....

.....And already planning the next one. I can tell Uni is back as the level of planning has gone up. (oh and yeah there is homework getting done as well).

Chocolate chip and hazelnut cookie tray

Yum and a great distraction from reading for uni.

Hello 2012!

Happy New Year.
The New Year in Ballarat has brought summer and hot weather. :-(. I've been flaked out reading and trying not to move too much. Luckily the nights have been cooling down enough for sleep and a few hours of normality in the morning.

Last year one of my new years resolutions was to keep a journal everyday. Which I managed 125 days or so. I really enjoyed the process even if some of the entries are a tad boring to re-read. For 2012 I wanted a lighter journal than the day a page a5 I had for 2011. I thought a about a small not- diary journal or a week to an opening and write less but was undecided. Eventually I decided to check out moleskin and found the perfect solution . An individual journal for each month with a storage jacket to hold everything together and each journal has a year planner to keep track of important upcoming stuff. January already has all my New Years Resolutions and a list of things to get done in January. And so we are off and running for 2012.