"To Do"

How I love a good list - and now that I'm ON HOLIDAY it is the perfect time to get the pen out and some dot points down!

Here's what I hope to (and will not) achieve over the next two weeks:

... because hey, while the list is good for the listee it's not exactly a stimulating form of entertainment. But I'm stuck for what to write on short notice - so with glazed eyes or otherwise, attempt to read on:

1) Clean (properly) the house - this includes the dreaded dusting
2) Put tools into garage into organised unit, that currently reside in box in second bedroom
3) Fix plastic storage unit to door under sink to organise plastic lids from takeaway containers (don't know where they came from since I cook 7 nights a week ;-) )
4) Speak to next door neighbours re: tree removal - yes our disgusting palms are going to be removed one day in the near future to make way for a 'proper' garden of natives and such like
5) Craft projects including: painting, putting saved fabric pieces into picture frames, blackboard
6) Draw up sketch of new improved laundry for Dad - whose wonderfully agreed to build for us
7) Draw up plans for my new improved garden (minus palms and chinese elm weed tree)
8) Phone Claire o'seas!!!!
9) Visit Mum
10) Arrange pampering get together with girls
11) Buy much needed household items - ahem, read excuse for shopping
12) Enjoy the delights of coffee out!!! How I love an excuse for a free mag with some caffeine!
13) Go to Byron Bay for three days with Andrew and avert eyes from nudist beach we are 50m from!
14) GET FIT! - which is not in any way hindered by a "31 days of chocolate" buffet I have planned. I must, I must, decrease my distrust, of exercise.
15) Research and cement ideas for my company!!!!!!!!

In a nutshell...

You know I must be tired if I'm saying I have nothing to write!

Well. I have nothing to write.

Or to be more precise, I have plenty of conceivable blog ideas in my head but not enough energy to manoeuver my fingers over the keyboard long enough to convert to written form.

So instead I'll just summarise succintly -



I AM ON HOLIDAY AS OF TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!




So to prove Adele right - first thing ticked off the 'to do' list for my two week break done -
1) written on blog!
2) facebook action....
I'll be baack..

Winter hues and Scenic views

I was hanging clothes the other afternoon and looked up at our Jacaranda tree to see it bathed in this lovely soft light.

Was one of those wonderous moments where I was just awestruck by the beauty of Mother Nature!

Meme...(continued)

After initially posting those 6 Un-remarkable things in the previous post, I have mulled over my responses all this afternoon and decided I could have done better. Yes, it's that perfectionist tendency (6) coming through! That, or I have too much time on my hand in between my strenuous Olympic viewing activities.

So Mark II - 6 (more) Un-remarkable things about me:

7) I LOVE the EKKA with a passion! Each year I go to the Ekka with my Mum, not once but at least twice! I have the advantage of getting in for free thanks to Mum's RNA membership, which is certainly a benefit! As the unrecognised ambassador of this event, I try and 'convert' lots of lapsed EKKA goers each year to the merits of this fabulous institution. My favourite things - the cows (get in early they go by Mon), the FOOD (strawberry icecream, dagwood dog, coffee, honey puffs, cupcakes (that's another story in itself) and the list goes on!) and the photography and art. There are so many free things to see and do and always lots of inspiring creative work to aspire to! Only 365 more sleeps!


8) I could potentially be a very annoying traveller. That is because of my love of photography and the tendency to always exclaim on day trips, "just a sec" and "that would make a great shot" with annoying regularity. I also tend to take my camera wherever I go and 'record' the moment, also with annoying regularity.

9) Dessert is my favourite meal - yes, it's can be a meal, not just a course! I love nothing better than making a 'pud' during winter.

10) I have dreams of a fan-forced oven and sleek all-in-one cooktop - ah yes, it's sad but true! Then one day maybe my cakes will bake properly again!!

11) I detest = Summer = humidity = sweat. No more needs to be said.

12) When it comes to a well rounded diet, I fail miserably on the main pyramid level. Fruit is my foe and not my friend. Basically I'm lazy. If it would come cut up and peeled I'd eat it. As it is, even an apple is a stretch! Shocking!

Meme...(I have no clue what it means either)

Okay, Min has tagged me for this meme. It seems it's meant to be 6 not-so-great things about yourself. This could be revealing......

First, the rules......
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 5 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

Okay, here goes.... 6 Un-Spectacular things about me.

1) My outer extremities have been refered to as "Icebergs"!! [followed by intake of breath and loud exclamations of ah..love ;-) ]
Now I thought my friend Min had poor circulation, when during school days her fingernails turned blue at the mere mention of winter, but it looks like she may have a rival. Apparently "I have no circulation" according to a 'close' source whose exposed skin I like to torment. I say I'm just sharing my affection - Andrew may say I'm using him for his warmth. And he may just be right, especially with the winter we've been experiencing.

2) I can't stand dry cracked skin or scabs or anything rough on the surface of my skin - hence I pick everything to death and have the scars to prove it. Logical? Disorder? I know not of what you mean?!

3) I am a compulsive day dreamer. Nothing is better than long car rides to cultivate the imagination! This may also be related to why I'm hard to surprise! (I've usually already imagined the situation and all possible scenarios around it!).

4) I love surprises!!!! Getting them or giving them! However it does make it hard for others, ie. Related to (3), with Andrew finding it incredibly frustrating that I tend to guess most/all surprises he does try...but hey, practice makes perfect I say!!!

5) I overanalyze/overthink nearly everything! Innocent remark? Throw-away comment? Disorder? I know not of what you speak?!

6) My plans are grand and numerous but when it comes to completion, my momentum fades towards the finish line! Hence I'm terrible at taking shortcuts with nearly everything I do. It's one of my most frustrating traits, especially when in other aspects I'm a perfecti...

* 5 people to tag (play along if you want to):1. Tracey 2. Bronwyn 3. Renae and the last two who don't have blogs but whose responses are sure to be interesting: 4. Andrew 5. Murray

It's GOLD..

for the MORRISONS - the golden girl of the computer screen, Jennifer Morrison, has at the tender (ahem) age of 28 taken out the Sofa Scramble, to secure her place in Hargorrison History.

How good are these Beijing Olympics?!!

Much to my own chagrin, and Andrew's excitement, I've embraced these games of the 29th Olympiad as feverishly as Laurie Lawrence clasps a proffered microphone!

Since Saturday, I've stolen many a moment in front of the 'other' screen - that being the TV - and sat enthralled watching of all things -

cycling road race (I told the aussies they should have broken earlier!),

slalem (gripping! Good on Togo!),

synchronized diving (if it isn't hard enough!),

equestrian (allergic to horses normally but not thankfully to televised ones)

and

judo (Please Explain!).

I've even considered taking holidays around the Olympics so I can steal more time increasing my blood pressure! I just hope this form of exercise is more profitable than my ailing attempts at the active variety!

..."and the aussies are going crackers!" (idiotic slalem commentator tonight)

One word only ...

My friend Min guessed that I was the most likely person to re-post this exercise she put on her blog - and she was right! So as to not dissapoint, here we have it, an exercise in one-word association:

1. Cell phone? dying
2. Significant other? yes
3. Hair? chameleon
4. Mother? garden
5. Father? Hargreaves!
6. Favourite thing? Husbando
7. Dream last night? weird
8. Favorite drink? coffee
9. Dream/goal? many
10. Room I'm in? study
11. Church? hunting
12. Fear? freedom-less
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Earth
14. Where were you last night? Adele's
15. What I'm not? Manager
16. Muffins? Baking?!
17. Wish list item? Creativity
18. Where did you grow up? Redlands
19. Last thing I did? TRAFFIC
20. What are you wearing? uniform
21. TV? One
22.Pets? possibility
23. Computer? Addict!
24. Life? Yes!
25. Mood? Tired
26. Missing someone? Yes
27. Car? Old!
28. Not wearing? Tiara
29. Favourite store? Loot
30. Summer? Sweaty
31. Love someone? Yep
32. Favorite color? Blue
33. Last time you laughed? Today
34. Last time you cried? Recently
35. Who will repost? Murray

Et toi?

And so endeth another week...

Top 5'ves for the week ending the 3rd August:

1) Skipping - is not something you see every day. But it should be, I say! Why relinquish this joy of self propulsion at youth, when you could be lightening your load with this joyous frolicing of the feet, at any age!

The other day I witnessed a Sudanese teenager skipping merrily down a street of Moorooka (the place for the young at heart) and it got me thinking - when did I last skip? He seemed blissfully unaware that this may be unusual for most western kids of his age, and I thought how intersting that was. Then I saw it again today - another african teenager skipping lazily along! Is this related to the Kalahari warriors who jump on the spot, or the loping strides of the african marathon runners?

Regardless, it is such a fascinating example of the differences in culture. And more importantly, it is such good fun when you give it a go (yes I may have skipped around the house and had a good laugh)!

2) Fire up - and we have, at last, managed to light and sustain a fire for more than 10mins! Thank you kindling and a forward thinking Mobile servo! Mind you, this also coincided nicely with a warm spell this week! I didn't let a few extra degrees impeed me though, in my efforts to create an impressive marshmallow-toasting environment. Instead, turning our place into a sauna on Friday night, regardless of hot flushes and stampeedes to open windows.

3) Hargorrison Happy Hour - debuted on Friday night, where it was great to have a relaxed drink with friends from overseas and closer-by. Indeed, it was a double billing that night with happy hour at our place, followed by drinks for my friend Sal's birthday afterwards.

4) Funbags - Only 8 more sleeps till the EKKA!!!! Yes, devotee as I am, I am going twice to this great institution with my mum and maybe even Andrew! Nearly two years into marriage and at last I'm exerting a positive influence over my husband.

5) Moorooka - it's the place to be! I'll get the debate between those north of the river and those south started now, shall I?! Well as you're clearly aware, the southern suburbs are the place to be. You need look no further for examples than the African Festival on Saturday held at Yeronga park. As part of the Brisbane festival, which apparently ends today (glad I got onto it yesterday then!) they held celebrations for African culture at the park - which included fantastic live music and some good traditional African food and souvenir stalls. Quite amusing to see a number of aussies getting up and shaking their booty -african style - to the encouragement of the band members. The kids stole the show though when they got up on stage and wiggled it very impressively with no practice nor encouragement needed!

Low note:

- The responsibilities of management -

My boss is away for three weeks this month, so I've taken the helm in the pathology department (ie. consisting of me, myself and I). This means the unfortunate batton of responsibility is passsed over and I now have the frightening power of release and destruction in my unsteady hands.

With that, is the ever disturbing problem of justification - you mean my word isn't law? - when decisions are questioned by irrate importers! And alas, that has already started! One week in - and I'm ruing the time I daydreamed away in those middle management courses!

On a lighter note - one of the guys in the nursery stock unit, with whom we work closely, actually called me Boss yesterday which made me question, not only his sanity, but the degree of knowledge he mistakenly thought I held!

Vanessa come back soon!!!