Fans of Cairns

Some people have the bug to travel the world... at the moment I am just in love with Australia and am dying to see more of it!! It is so big and so beautiful, we are just so darn lucky and my hoot level is set to high when I think of all the places yet to see!!

A few weeks ago I took a little break from work and went up to Cairns with my housemate Julia and a friend Fi. The sunshine and warmth made me so happy inside! Not only was it nice to escape the Melbourne winter but so fun to see more of beautiful North Queensland.

In breif, we saw some lovely beaches, waterfalls, rivers, the amazing reef and did I mention SUNSHINE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter...

Photo: Steven Wright

This photo really seems to sum it up! Dark, dreary, some amount of beauty, but mostly just plain old miserable stuck indoors waiting it out.... how many days until summer?

Merry Christmas (in July) and my first ever Pumkin Pie!

This past weekend my housemate Julia hosted a Christmas in July dinner. What else can I say except that it was A-MAZE-ING! A beautifully decorated room, a delicious meal of roast veggies and roast lamb cooked in the Weber, mulled wine, Christmas carols and my most favorite part, everyone in Christmas dress-up! Yup I love a good themed dress-up party!

It was also my first attempt at making a Pumpkin Pie! After a phone call to Gran, who stated she used a bit from this recipe and a bit from that recipe, I found a recipe online which seemed to fit most of her requirements. I followed the recipe exactly (which is a rare occurrence for me) and 'bam' it seemed to turn out pretty well. The dinner guests were all a little taken back by it's unappealing brown colour at first however all gave it a go and it received good results in the end. I think it was enjoyed my most and I have to say I had forgotten how much I do love pumpkin pie and may have enjoyed it for lunch the following day as well. Mmmm mmmm!

Run to the Rock

One of the great perks about living with awesome fun people is that they are keen to do awesome fun things with you! For the last few weeks I have been getting up early every few days and going for a run before work, but there is NO way this would be happening if my lovely housemate Julia wasn't dragging me out of bed! Knowing you have to meet someone in the kitchen at 6.30am to go for a run helps get you out of bed for sure! Besides, as most people know, once you've dragged yourself out of your warm cozy bed and gone for that jog you do feel super good about it!

So as we had been running for a few weeks why not enter a fun run! Jules and I traipsed up to Hanging Rock for the annual Run to the Rock fun run raising money for the cancer council. It was such a beautiful day, almost too warm in fact, and one of the most lovely scenic places to run. It really is a gorgeous part of Victoria and we finished up the day with a walk to the top of the rock and lunch with Gran and Pa. Being active in the beautiful sunny outdoors with fun company, what more could you want! Book me in for Run to the Rock 2013!

Motivation

Part of my new job is writing ridiculously long reports, like 7000-10,000 words... and sometimes it seems just to daunting... so this is my new favourite quote.. I love it! It's stuck to my pin board at work!

McLeod's Daughters?

Feeling very grown up!

 

Feeling a tad like a grown up at the moment. Also feeling very thankful. In moving back to Melbourne 3 weeks ago, as of this week I now have a job, a permanent job, and a house, a 12 month rental....eek! how grown up is that! I really am looking forward to getting settled into 2012 and be in more of a routine.. however I wonder how long it will take me before I crave some sort of change.. even if it just means rearranging furniture. This weekend I move into a very 'affordable' (aka dirt cheap) property with 3 others. The house is on a big block and is rather spacious inside but has not had any changes to it's decor since 1973 and therefore has 'character' (aka is super ugly). I'm sure the yellow bench tops, wood paneled walls and lime green patterned wall paper will hardly be noticeable once we furnish the place. My new housemates are lovely and I'm sure this house will be bucket loads of fun. 

I'm also looking forward to starting in a new Social Work role working intensively with Child Protection families for an 8 week period for the purpose of parenting skills development and assessment. This will be something new for me and while I feel that it's a bit like starting the first day of school, I'm looking forward to the challenge and growing my skills in a more specific area. Hopefully full-time work will allow for plenty of adventures along the way also.