What Katie did next...

What is it with cats looking weird in photos...

2011-09-28T21:44:00.000+10:00

And these are the best of the bunch! She's such a gorgeous cat, she just seems to pull the weirdest faces in pictures.

School holidays ...

2011-09-28T21:16:00.001+10:00

Have been enjoying the first few days of my holidays.

Spent the weekend relaxing; kicked a footy round in the first time in AGGGGEEEEESSS. The weather was just gorgeous.

On Monday I went to Zumba for the first time in forever. It was great to do some exercise again. I would have liked to go again tonight, but the awful weather really put me off.

Yesterday I went into my favourite shop in the world, Zara. Probably an exaggeration, but I truly do love that place. I bought a gorgeous pair of shoes, which I have since found out, two of my favourite people in the world also own. Good taste obviously. =P

I also bought a brightly coloured clutch. I'm not sure why I had to have it, but I saw it when I bought the flats and couldn't stop thinking about it.

In the afternoon I went out to Montrose to have a "coffee" (I don't drink coffee, but it seems to be the thing to call it).

Today I went shopping with my mum and sister. Headed to Chadstone. Twas fun and games when the power decided to go off. Managed to make a few purchases though; Origins Vitazing Moisturiser (my favourite) and a new pair of sunglasses (quite ironic giving today's weather).

New Perfume....

2011-09-24T15:54:00.000+10:00

Today I bought Katy Perry's, Purr. And no, I didn't buy it because I'm obsessed with my cat. =P

Smells great! It's fruity and floral... my sort of thing.

Reinvention...

2011-09-19T21:55:00.000+10:00

It was time for a change. After a visit to Ikea on Saturday (where we didn't really buy anything), we were inspired to reorganise our living room.

We basically flipped the room around again. The TV went back to where it was before Andy moved in (more than 4 years ago) and we created a staircase type structure out of our bookcases. Perfect cat run for Lily too. =P

These are our results.

You can see Lily's bed at the top of this first picture. Andy said he came home tonight to find her sleeping in it. Awww...

I tried to get all fancy and colour coordinate all the books. I'm happy with the results!

Fame!

2011-09-13T19:24:00.000+10:00

School concert is coming up and the kidlets are dancing to the song Fame!

I bought some spandex to make legwarmers, sweatbands and headbands. Should look great!

A silly idea...

2011-09-05T20:40:00.000+10:00

For some reason Andy and I thought it would be a good idea to take Lily for a drive in the car. The only time she ever goes in her cage and in the car is to go to the vet. We wanted her to know that it wasn't always the case.

Let me tell you, she did not like it one bit. As soon as she was out of her cage she hid under the seat of my car.

A photo...

2011-09-05T20:36:00.000+10:00

Please excuse the horrible look on my face (and how blurry the photo is).

An amazing time...

2011-09-04T23:39:00.000+10:00

I had the most amazing time at the wedding. Beforehand I was saying to my ladies that there was no way in hell that I would cry, but as soon as I saw Bri, I was bawling!!

I shall post some pictures of my dress another day. Once I've worked out how to mask the odd look on my face in the photos.

Shopping!

2011-08-31T17:32:00.000+10:00

What does a girl do when she has 2 days off? SHOP! Really, I probably should have been resting and trying to get over this stupid cold I've had all Winter. Secondly, it would have been more sensible to tidy up the apartment! Nah! I have a wedding to go to (no, not my own) and wanted to find a dress.

Today I ended up at DFO South Wharf and (accidentally) bought 2 dresses. Again, excuse the dodgy picture quality. Doesn't really show how nice these dresses are.

The first one I got a Pilgrim. I'm always put off by the price of their clothes. But I picked this one up for 50% off the already reduced price, so only $39. I don't think I'll wear this one to the wedding, but I really liked it and these days I don't buy anything I really don't like.

The second one I can't find a picture of online so you will have to try to imagine it from this picture! I got it from Seed Femme. It's black (not what I initially wanted), sleeveless,falls just above the knee, crosses over at the front and has a tie at the waist. I'm instantly attracted to sequins these days and I like how these were bronze. It just fit me really well.

As I was browsing I noticed they had a promotion, buy 1 item you get 20% off, 2 items and get 30% off and 3 items and you get 40% off. I was excited about getting 20% off, as I really liked the dress and it was already reduced. At the register this lovely sales assistant tells me that if I get 3 things I will get 40% off. But instead of telling me to look around for more clothes, she tells me to buy a couple of charms ($2 each) and then I can get the 40% off! I was wrapped! She saved me another $16! Here are my two charms! Not sure what I'm going to do with them.

So all in all, a successful afternoon!

Dusty Rose....

2011-08-29T22:24:00.002+10:00

More Wedding Ideas

2011-08-29T21:45:00.002+10:00

Wedding Ideas

2011-08-29T21:31:00.000+10:00

I'm not rolling in cash at the moment so I'm trying to find a dress that I could wear with shoes that I already own. I have a pair of black wedges that are similar to these (and comfy!). I know they don't match perfectly, but I think they're alright.

It's been a long while....

2011-08-29T21:10:00.001+10:00

Just some crappy iPhone photos to act as a make shift blog post. It has been a long time since I've posted anything. I really just haven't had anything exciting to say.

Put a bird on it...

2011-04-14T18:42:00.000+10:00

Has anyone else seen this? I must admit that I am quite partial to things with birds, so I found it amusing. The reason I posted it is because as soon as I decided I wanted to make these stencil printed pillow cases, I couldn't help but want to put birds on them.

What i've decided to do before I attempt my bird designs is to put something that is even closer to my heart on it, a kitten. So i've decided that I will stencil a kitten onto the front of a white cushion. I picked up the cushion from Ikea for next to nothing.

I will update tomorrow with the finished product!

El cheapo Ikea cushion

Getting busy

The design

My inspiration (and little helper)

She's huuuuuuge!

2011-01-25T08:27:00.000+11:00

Our little girl is getting big! If you're on Facebook you've probably seen these.

Lily loves the iPad

Playing with a new toy

She can jump extremely high!

Rah! Scary face.

All tuckered out

Finished!

2011-01-21T11:27:00.000+11:00

Was very quick and easy. Well, relatively. I really should have measured the material though as I think it was a little bit different to what the book said. Whoopsies!

Excuse the not so awesome photography.

And just to finish off, a picture of me and Lil. She just didn't want to look at the camera!

A new project...

2011-01-20T17:20:00.000+11:00

Haven't been feeling very motivated lately. Trying to force myself out of my funk by taking on creative projects!

My first project is a bag. My aunt gave me this great book for Christmas called, 'Carry Me - 20 Boutique Bags to Sew'. I chose a very simple on to start with which involved using some Japanese cloth called tenugui. You don't have to use it, but I thought, why not! Got a piece online from Raku-Cha. I found it really hard to choose. I could have bought several of them. I ended up getting a simple piece in grey with a cloud-like pattern on it.

When I went to take the first picture, Lily decided she wanted to walk through the frame. Funny kitty!

The book and the material.

This is what the bag should look like when it's done. It won't be very big as the material is quite small.

I shall keep you posted on my progress!

Low Res Photos

2011-01-13T18:41:00.002+11:00

Hrmmmm... it appears that when I use the iPad to blog then the photos are really low res in their minimised form. It's really strange, as when you click on them they seem to be ok. I've been using BlogPress, because you can't use the web version to upload photos on the iPad. Silly restrictions.

Weird!

Funny the difference a few days make!

2011-01-13T14:38:00.001+11:00

Lily has gone from a lethargic, sick little kitty, to a curious, excitable one. She's bouncing all over the place now. She loves the iPad. She keeps swiping her little paws over the screen.

Ready to pounce.

Her favourite toy. She's currently playing with it on her own.

Who you looking at?

Who is that gorgeous thing?

Technologically advanced.

Awww.

Lily loves yoga.

New toys are fun!

A wonderful day with amazing friends

2011-01-12T10:04:00.001+11:00

Last Friday I took a trip to Daylesford with El to visit Kat. Kat is house sitting up there for the next month and we thought it would be a terrific opportunity for a road trip. It was a great day. We sat in the garden and chatted, had a delicious tapas lunch and then stopped by a cafe by the lake for a drink. I really enjoyed myself and I would love to do it again soon.

Happy Day

2011-01-11T14:19:00.001+11:00

It's Katie. The ipad app I use to blog seems to default to Andy.

I have turned into an obsessed pet owner, haven't I? Lol

Lily is so much better. I'm not stressed anymore! :)

She's eating and drinking all on her own. Yay!

To celebrate, here are some blurry iphone photos of her.

Tender, loving care ...

2011-01-10T13:52:00.001+11:00

Or is it tender, love and care.... hrmmm

Coming from the shelter we knew Lily could be a bit under the weather, poor little bugger. She doesn't want to eat or drink right now so we're using a syringe to help her get the nutrients she needs. The vet gave us some special food too. Once she feels better she'll eat again. :)

It's a bit hard, as we're both so attached to her already.

Meet Lily...

2011-01-09T17:08:00.001+11:00

This morning we adopted Lily from the RSPCA. We think she's about 12 weeks old. The vet nurse said she could be a little younger (10 weeks) cause she's so small. She has beautiful markings on her coat and gorgeous little socks on her feet.

She'll be living in the laundry for a few days until she gets used to her new home. Soon after she got out of her box she took herself into her bed.

We think she might have a little bit of cat flu at the moment so she's a bit lethargic. She loves cuddles though.

Andy is currently napping on the floor next to her bed. <3

Early morning drive-by photography

2011-01-03T08:59:00.001+11:00

On the home stretch now. Well, when I say home stretch I mean another 800km of driving. But we will be sleeping in our bed tonight. :)

Drive-by photography has been a hobby of ours on this trip. We've taken some good photos and we've taken some terrible ones. These ones from this morning aren't great, but I thought I would post them anyway. Something to distract me from my rumbling tummy.

There are a lot of funny town names out here. And being the immature little kiddies we are, we find them pretty bloody funny. I mean, Tooraweenah. Come on, tell me that isn't hilarious.

And Dunedoo? Comic gold.

Here are a few more snaps I took this morning. :)

Fun with friends

2011-01-02T16:39:00.001+11:00

Today we're driving home. Very sad. I love the Gold Coast. I have lots of good memories of my holidays there over the years.

The last few days we spent with friends, Lauren, Rob and their little boy, Noah. We spent New Years Eve at the beach and then headed to to the 8pm kiddie fireworks. I won't put any pictures of Noah up as I'm not sure if Loz would want pictures of her boy on the interwebs. Instead you shall have pictures of Andy and I!

Andy being a big kid with the sparklers.

Then yesterday we all went for a drive to the Natural Arch. It was beautiful!

The land of big smiles, water and bad tattoos!

2010-12-31T09:32:00.001+11:00

After feeding the birds at Currumbin on Wednesday I decided it would be a good day for us to visit Wet n Wild! It was a bit cloudy, but still warm. And hotter and I knew the place would be chaos! I was told that yesterday, (which was much sunnier) a lot of the parks were full and the police were going to close the off ramps to stop people going!!

We didn't arrive till the afternoon. We got an awesome carpark right out the front! Woot! Again, Andy was quite the excited little boy before we headed out to play.

Lines were still quite long for the slides, but not as bad as they could have been. Standing in a queue gives you line to observe those around you. I can not believe the number of ugly tattoos we saw! They seem to be in plague proportions in Queensland. Or maybe it's just that we are all standing around semi-naked!

This ride was insane. I was too much of a wuss to go on it. You are basically put in a little capsule on the top deck. The floor falls away from you and you are dropped almost vertically done the pipe! Andy was brave enough!

More war wounds.

These are some of the other rides we went on. This one is the Tornado. It's my favourite. You get spurted into the half pipe on the yellow tube. If you're not careful, your butt will scrape as you're flung from side to side.

This was one of Andy's favourites, the Black Hole. Imagine being propelled down a pitch black tunnel, being thrown in every direction!

The other thing you find at Wet n Wild, is that even after lining up for 30 minutes to have a go on a 20 second ride, you can't help but walk away with an enormous smile on your face. It's like there is some kind of magic in the water!

A few more shots from around the park.

Lol at the lady in the background of this shot!

It was heaps of fun and I'm glad I got to take Andy with me!! :D

Please feed the birds.

2010-12-29T11:27:00.001+11:00

This morning we got up early to go to Currumbin Sanctuary to feed the birds which started at 8am. I was very excited, even before I got in the door.

After making a small donation we (I) got an aluminum dish which we then got filled up with some milky liquid by the park rangers. The birds went ape-shit for this stuff! I didn't think to ask what was in it but I'm thinking it was some sort of mixture of water and crack cocaine.

I had a ball while Katie took photos from the sidelines while trying to stop herself from panicking to the point of vomiting involuntarily. Its worth noting that Katie rates feeds birds right up there with bungee jumping and heart attacks. But being the lovely and generous person that she is, she came anyway because she knows how much I love it and she wanted to get some pics of me with a grin on my face that I couldn't wipe off if I tried.

(Rough translation of what the little guy on my shoulder was tweeting)
Oh, hello! Whoa! Do you always smell like this in the morning?

I'm outa here!

One of the Lorikeets was tearing a decent hole in my wrist.

Another just tried to perch itself on my throat.

Well, we both survived. Katie didn't vomit or have a nervous breakdown and I got away with just a few scratches that I can wear proudly as a reminder of what awesome fun it was.

I loved every minute of it! =D

Today was fun!

2010-12-28T21:49:00.001+11:00

Started the morning with a run. We're trying to do the Couch to 5km program. Only on Week 1. Google it if you're not sure what I'm on about. Later on we went for an explore. I showed Andy all the places I used to go when I was growing up.

It was VERY windy today. Not too much rain though. Drove down to Greenmount beach.

Then we visited the border on NSW and Queensland, Point Danger. The wind was crazy!!

Here we are with me standing in Queensland and Andy in New South Wales.

I want to be a surfer. So does Andy.

Had a yummy lunch.

Then played mini golf. We're going to upload the videos of our hole in ones!

And this is our building. We're on the 11th floor. :)

We made it!

2010-12-28T11:52:00.001+11:00

After getting to Warwick and being told that due to flood waters we may not be able to get out till Thursday, we decided to take an epic detour via Tenterfield, Casino and Lismore to make it back to the coast. We were a bit worried that we might not get through that way, but we did! :)

We got to Broadbeach about 250km and 3 hours later than we should have.

Our apartment is beautiful. Sierra Grand at Broadbeach.

Borderlands

2010-12-27T11:42:00.001+11:00

Half way!

2010-12-27T09:48:00.001+11:00

Stayed in Coonabarabran last night. Room 14! That's my birthday!

Not much choice of food, so we had pizza. Mmmmm. We felt classy as we drank our coke out of wine glasses.

Today is pop day! Started off with Andy's current obsession, Katy Perry. Lol Our iPhones have been awesome! <3

We headed off relatively early. It started off looking beautiful, then changed quickly!

Took a picture of a train for Dad. Lol

Next 'big' town in Moree. The road has been very straight! Saw some pretty sunflowers.

Wet much?

2010-12-26T16:15:00.001+11:00

Lunch time

2010-12-26T13:12:00.001+11:00

We made it to Wagga and just had some lunch. None of the shops were open so we had to have servo sandwiches. We then sat under a tree amongst the locusts. Lol!

I hope my car is okay as it seems to be covered!

Hello New South Wales!

2010-12-26T10:51:00.001+11:00

Nice to see you again! :)

Cruise Control is awesome

2010-12-26T10:27:00.001+11:00

Andy and I have already decided that cruise control is the best thing ever! All you have to do is point the car in the right direction and the rest is done for you.

We just had a run in with a few locusts. Nothing too serious. They do make a mess of the windscreen though.

Road Trip!

2010-12-26T08:44:00.000+11:00

We are loaded up with tech gadgets and hitting the road for the land of Queens. ETA, 27th of Dec. Lots of driving ahead of us.

Not too shabby for 7am Boxing day. :)

Andrew.

Pretty Christmas Tree

2010-12-23T13:21:00.001+11:00

I bought this pretty tree pop-up card from uponafold.com.au. It was a bit more fiddly to put together than I thought it would be and I know it isn't quite right. Still looks gorgeous though.

I made gift cards!

2010-12-20T14:04:00.001+11:00

Well I've made one! The rest will look somewhat similar.

Christmas is coming!

2010-12-19T21:25:00.001+11:00

My favourite thing about Christmas? Wrapping presents!!

This is what my presents will look like this year! :)

Nemo

2010-10-07T22:43:00.000+11:00

Picked up my new car on Wednesday. I know most of you will have already seen pictures, but just in case you haven't here it is.

It's a Mazda 3 Neo. His name is Nemo. It was the first name that came to mind. I'm not very creative.

I'm loving it. I mean who wouldn't love a car that does leak and has a working petrol gauge.

The Un-Superhero...

2010-10-03T11:51:00.003+11:00

Went to a party last night for a friend of Andy's. Got to dress up. The theme was Un-Superhero. Andy went along as Captain Cardboard and I was his trusty sidekick, Plastic Fantastic. Together we were the Recyclables!

Andy created his outift from the Ikea box of our new kitchen trolley!

I created mine using all the plastic bags that we had in the kitchen. I wanted it to look pretty too.

Around the house...

2010-09-27T18:24:00.000+10:00

Andy and I spent the weekend beautifying (or should I say - Ikea-fying) our apartment. We both love the area we live in, I've been here for 4 years now. What we don't like is the size of our apartment. For the minuscule amount of rent we're fortunate enough to pay, we put up with the size. I don't have any before shots. Those of you that have been to my apartment will hopefully see the improvements.

I HATE the kitchen in this place. It is soooooo small. And the floor is falling apart. It used to have a fold down table (basically where the wire shelving is). On the weekend we came up with the awesome idea of taking off the table (which we can put back when we move out) and rearranging. We've now got a lot more space in the kitchen; floor, storage and bench space, thanks to our new Ikea trolley.

We also did a bit of a makeover on Andy's computer area. We bought a new desk. It used to be piled high with boxes too. So much nicer.

The rest of the place we spruced up a while back, but I'll show it off anyway. Excuse the vacuum cleaner and the washing, LOL. You slide open the middle doors for the TV.

Next on the agenda will be the bedroom. I would love a new bed!

You're it!

2010-09-25T21:05:00.001+10:00

This is my first ever tag! Exciting!! The beautiful Kat tagged me. I'm supposed to tag 7 other people, but I don't know 7 other people to tag! LOL

1. What is the last book you read, did you like it?
Hrm, last book I read. To be honest I don't read a whole lot. Not as much as I should. The last book that I "read" was an audio book (does that count?) and it was 'Tomorrow, When the War Began' by John Marsden.

2. Do you have any travels planned in the near future, where to?
I would love to go travelling again. Not sure when and where it will happen though. I'm going to buy a car (next week hopefully) so maybe a road trip is in order.

3. Do you prefer tea or coffee?
Peppermint tea from T2. Only tea I drink. The smell of coffee makes me want to spew

4. Where were you born?
At the Box Hill Hospital in Melbourne.

5. What is your favourite work of art?
I'm so naive when it comes to art. I don't really have a favourite.

6. What is your favourite breakfast food?
Scrambled eggs and bacon on toast from Krakatoa in South Yarra. Mmmmmmm!

7. What is the last picture you saved/uploaded to your computer?
The last photo is of some of my class so I won't show you that one. Instead I'll show you the last picture I printed off (to go on my wish list).

That was fun! Anyone that wants to do the same questions that I did can go ahead and tag themselves!

Shhhhhh!

2010-09-20T23:01:00.000+10:00

Don't tell my sister, but I'm making her a travel wallet for her birthday. It's like the one I made for myself earlier in the year. I'll take proper pictures when I'm done, but here is a crappy one for now.

I haven't started sewing it together yet.

New Car

2010-09-20T18:26:00.003+10:00

So my old 1988 Honda decided to pack it in on Friday night. Was turning into my street and noticed that the temperature was climbing. Pulled into the driveway and turned the engine off. Next thing I knew all the coolant was pouring from underneath the car and across the driveway. Called the RACV and after about a minute he said it was most likely my head gasket. I don't know much about cars, but I know head gasket = $$$. That has lead me to make the decision that it is time for a new car. This and the fact that:

the roof leaks (water pools in the ceiling of the car and then pours all over my arm.
the fuel gauge doesn't work (at least it always says it's full)
the boot doesn't stay open (it needs re-gassing and continually falls on my head)

There are heaps of other things wrong with it, but they are the things that annoy me the most.

I've decided that I would like to buy a new car. This is something that I'm very excited about. I'm not 100% decided on what I want yet. On Saturday we went and looked at lots of cars (new and second hand) and took a few for a test drive.

At the moment I'm leaning towards a Corolla.

I haven't looked at a Mazda 3 yet, but I was thinking about checking it out too. We test drove a Ford Fiesta (fun, but very cramped) and a Nissan Micra (no guts). I would love to get a VW, but I can't afford a new one and all the second hand ones are in awful condition.

I fell sick at the prospect of spending that amount of money, but I know it will be money well spent. I have about half saved, so while I would have to take out a loan, it wouldn't be too big.

Mibo - how cute are these little guys!

2010-08-01T14:46:00.002+10:00

Andy saw these a few weeks back and bought them for me! They're from a UK company called Mibo. Basically you print them out onto card and fold them up! I've only done mine on A4 printer paper using my own printer. I think you could get even better results by using card and a better quality printer.

I was spoilt and Andy got them all for me! I LOVE THEM!

My inspiration...

2010-07-17T12:25:00.002+10:00

My Zumba instructor, Leila (hope she doesn't mind me putting her photo here). I'm trying to exercise more. I even just went for a run! =) And it's not so much looking like her (though I wouldn't mind some abs), I wish I could just learn to dance like she can!!

Jasper!

2010-07-08T14:57:00.003+10:00

Yesterday I spent the day with my sis. Lots of fun! We decided we wanted to make a Jasper calendar. Hehe. Here are some of the shots. And yes, we did put little outfits on our dog. *hangs head in shame*

We're off here...

2010-07-02T19:20:00.005+10:00

We're off here on Sunday afternoon, http://www.ti-treevillage.com.au/, for 2 nights. We've stayed here once before and it was lovely.Nothing super fancy. Can't wait for the spa and to snuggle in front of the open fire.

Can't wait to relaxxxxxx!

Preparations...

2010-07-01T16:32:00.003+10:00

I always have trouble entertaining myself on the holidays. I try to make plans to do things, as otherwise I would sit around and do nothing. One thing I do enjoy though is getting myself ready for the next term (I'm somewhat of a work-a-holic). This time around we're studying Asia. I popped down to Victoria Street today and picked up some AWESOME things to turn into a display. I can't wait to put them up. I will take some photos when I'm done. I started by making a heading for the back wall. I'm quite proud of myself. I found a font on the interwebs and then carefully hand drew the text.

North Melbourne Market and recent knitting

2010-06-28T14:25:00.004+10:00

Yesterday I went to the North Melbourne Market with my 2 aunts. They had an awesome deal - 30% off any Thread Den class booked on the day. I'd been wanting to do one for AAAAAAGES, so I took it as a sign. It's on in a few weeks and I'll be making this dress.

I also got these really gorgeous earrings at the market by Oh Dear. So so cute!

I think I posted on twitter a while back that I was knitting a cowl. Well I quickly finished it and have sewn it up. I think it looks awesome.

And finally this is my latest project. It's a scarf for Andy.

More panoramas....

2010-05-23T20:27:00.003+10:00

Took Joey to Brighton Beach today so I could take some photos of her. My photography teacher suggested that it would look cool if I got someone to sit on each step. So fun! Thanks Joey! Click on them to see them properly.

Bye Bye Birdie

2010-05-16T15:58:00.004+10:00

Andy and I went to the Flemington Market this morning to get him some socks. Had a wander around. SO many prams!! Bumped into Shellie. =) And I also picked up this. A little make your own paper bird kit. I bought 2. This is my first one. The paper is a french map. Love it!

The streets of Melbourne....

2010-05-14T22:29:00.004+10:00

Two photos...

2010-05-08T20:23:00.003+10:00

A little friend I purchased at Singapore Zoo.

My awesome new $5 watch from the Bugis Street Market in Singapore. Love it! It does this awesome disco flashing when you press the light.

Time flies....

2010-05-08T13:36:00.006+10:00

I cannot believe it has been 4 weeks since we've gotten back from Malaysia. It has been so busy.

This week I started doing a DSLR photography course at CAE. I've only had one session so far, but it has helped me to understand the basics of my camera a bit more already.

He showed us a program that puts together panoramas really easily. I went back down to Brighton today to take some photos to create one. I know now that I needed to have less overlap and more photographs. Cause they don't actually look that much like panoramas! I took one other one and when I put it together it looked all warped. Weird!!

Exhausted!

2010-04-13T19:18:00.002+10:00

Our holiday was amazing, but I am absolutely exhausted. I worked non-stop in the week before we went away - with several late nights at work. As soon as the term was over we were off. Only got back on Sunday (which we slept for most of). Back at school yesterday. My body seems to be punishing me. I'm off on school camp tomorrow, so a recount of our trip and some photos will have to wait until the weekend.

Finished!

2010-03-15T20:45:00.003+11:00

I convinced Andy to make dinner for us this evening (thanks Andy xx) so I could try and finish off this wallet. I just needed to put the binding on the edges. To be honest I was a bit concerned that the machine would not make it through the think material and interfacing, but it succeeded.

My binding isn't on particularly straight. From the inside it looks pretty good, but the front is a bit all over the place. Having said, for a first effort, I'm extremely happy! =)

Creating a Travel Wallet

2010-03-14T18:16:00.003+11:00

It's only two weeks until we go overseas! I'm so excited. Last time we went we took a travel wallet that my aunt had given me for Christmas. I really loved the idea of it, but unfortunately the design wasn't perfect. I wanted to keep our passports in it, but the pockets weren't big enough. Anyway, I've been on the lookout for a new one and hadn't found one that I loved. I liked one in Kikki-K, but wasn't convinced. Yesterday I decided that I should just try and make one myself.

I googled up a few tutorials this morning and decided upon this wallet by verypurpleperson. I'm really liking her blog. Will definitely be back to try out a few other things.

I tried to alter it a little so that it would wide enough for two passports. Not sure how successful I was with that.

It isn't finished yet. I still have to do the binding on the edges. I'm tossing up whether to create my own out of the spotted material or buy some pre-made black. I just know making binding can be tricky. Hrmmmm.

OPI- Mad As A Hatter

2010-03-13T20:57:00.002+11:00

Spoilt myself today and bought a new nail polish. I decided to embrace my inner child and purchase Mad as a Hatter, by OPI. So pretty.

I know there is some kind of trick to it that I haven't yet mastered, but photographing nail polish is tricky! I couldn't get the lighting right. Oh well, practice makes perfect.

Yay for the long weekend.

2010-03-06T09:34:00.005+11:00

It has been a really exhausting week at school. I felt very rundown and much more irritable than usual. Thursday was the toughest for me. Having said that, it's over. I can only reflect on what happened and can try not to dwell on it too much.

We're studying space this term. Here are two little things we did towards the beginning of our unit. You may recognise my rocket!

I know some people may find me posting pictures of school related things boring, but I enjoy it. Plus I'm really proud of the work that I do and I just want to show it off.

Pen licences...

2010-03-01T20:14:00.005+11:00

Who remembers getting a pen licence when they were at school?

Did it look awesome like this? =P

(Excuse the blue line, was a margin on the page when I did a print screen.)

For those of you that don't know, I'm a Primary School teacher. This year I'm teaching grade 5 and 6. I have made these for my students for the last couple of years. Underneath the photo is where the school logo goes (I excluded it from this one for obvious reasons). They look great when they have been laminated!

I love making things!

Finished skirt!

2010-02-28T18:44:00.002+11:00

Not too sure about the colour of the thread I used on the hem, but overall I'm pretty happy. First item of clothing I've made since Textiles in highschool!

A crafty afternoon...

2010-02-28T16:23:00.006+11:00

After seeing Lilli from http://frocksandfroufrou.blogspot.com/ whip up a simple circle skirt the other day, I decided that I wanted to make one too. I have also been eying off an American Apparel skirt one for a while now, but I thought it looked simple enough that I should be able to make my own.

I did a bit more of a search on the Interwebs and came across this tutorial post by Freshly Picked. I love that this skirt has pockets. Yay for pockets! The one I'm making also has an elastic waist band like in the tutorial. I'll be making it a bit shorter that the tutorial one too.

So this afternoon I have been sewing up a small storm. Haven't finished yet, but it seems to be going well.

Malaysia...

2010-02-27T23:13:00.003+11:00

I'm planning out some kind of itinerary for our trip at the end of March. I'm thinking...

2 days in KL (27th - 28th)
1-2 days in the Cameron Highlands (29th -30th)
2 days in Penang (31st - 1st)
3 days in Langkawi (2nd - 4th)
3 day in Koh Lipe, Thailand (5th - 7th)
Back to KL (8th)
Singapore (9th - 10th)
Home (on the night of the 10th)

I have NO idea if it will work. We haven't got anything booked except for our first night in KL. I'm getting really excited now.

It's finished! Finally...

2010-02-21T15:57:00.003+11:00

So a month and a half after I began my remote control holder for the couch, I have finally finished it. It was only a few weeks back that my machine was actually fixed and ready to be picked up, and since then I've been so busy/exhausted from being back at school I hadn't finished it off.

Well today was the day and here is my finished product.

Back to school!

2010-01-31T21:33:00.004+11:00

Tomorrow I am back to school. I am filled with nervous anticipation. Last year was such a tough and tiring year. I really hope that this year is less stressful.

I'm going to take some photographs of my classroom tomorrow and post them up. It will be a good way for me to remember all the things I've done! Here is something I've been working on over the weekend. We're doing 'Space' this term, so this will be going up on the back wall. Will try to remember to take a photo when it's up tomorrow.

Ballarat

2010-01-25T21:37:00.006+11:00

Had a lovely weekend away with Andy. We took a drive to Ballarat. Ate lots of yummy food, soaked in the spa, walked around town and the gardens. Was great!

Pretty lily pads.

Such a tall tree!

Lake Wendouree - so sad =(

Train station

Pretty present

2010-01-18T11:53:00.002+11:00

I just wanted to show everyone the pretty present my sister made for me for my birthday. She is very clever.

twenty nine

2010-01-15T12:40:00.004+11:00

Yesterday was my birthday. I have been stressing myself silly about it all week and it turned out to be one of my most favourite birthdays ever.

Andy surprised me by taking the day off to spend it with me. He's so lovely. So after spending the morning playing with one of my birthday presents and booking our flights to Malaysia (yay!!), we headed over to the Studley Park Boathouse for some lunch. Was lovely! After lunch, Andy paddled me around in one of those row boats. I felt like a princess.

After lunch we rode our bikes into the city to see Kat and Ash for cupcakes at Little Cupcakes. We were lucky enough to get a table outside. They were so yummy. Mmmmm! Thanks for spending my birthday with me girls. xxx

Then, for dinner, we went out for one of my favourite foods... dumplings! Yum!

All in all a really lovely birthday.

2010

2010-01-05T22:10:00.002+11:00

My machine is broken....

2010-01-05T15:29:00.004+11:00

So I'm having a shit day. Don't want to bitch and moan to much in this journal. Just want to try and keep it for happy things. One thing that has made me sad is that my sewing machine is broken. =( It's very old (1964 to be exact) and knowing my grandma, was never serviced. Hopefully it will be back soon in top condition. I want to finish my remote control holder!!

So while it's gone I need something else to keep me occupied.

I also made a remote control holder...

2010-01-03T18:54:00.004+11:00

Well really it's for the PS3 remotes and Andy's Dinovo Mini as we already have a remote control one from Ikea. In fact I'm using it as my guide.

Yesterday we went over to visit the chaos that is Ikea and I bought some fabric to make it. I'm about half way through. I'm really happy with how it looks so far. I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo, but this is the pocket that will go on the front of a longer piece of fabric like the photo above. I might finish it later tonight. I will see how I go!

I made a shoulder bag

2010-01-03T18:43:00.002+11:00

A couple of weeks ago I bought this book, Sew. It's just full of beautiful pictures and creations.

I think I mentioned that the book came with the material to make the bag on the cover. This weekend I felt confident enough to have a go and I'm really proud of my results. I'm yet to do the button holes to attach the strap as my machine was being naughty and kept eating the material that I was practising on. =(

Brighton Beach...

2009-12-28T16:33:00.004+11:00

Took Andy and my camera down to Brighton Beach. Still learning.... I played with my 55 - 200mm lens today as well. I like the colours. So pretty.

Christmas is fun...

2009-12-26T18:04:00.007+11:00

I enjoyed Christmas this year. Spent lunch with Andy's family, then headed over to my parents for dinner.

I found this enormous gift bag in a discount store in the city and got it for my sister. lol

This is a silly present that I got Andy. A boobie stress ball.

At the park. We went after lunch with Andy's parents and brother. We player aerobie and with a little mini nerf ball I got Andy.

Us being silly outside at my parent's house before dinner.

Jasper and my dad. Dad is a guard at Puffing Billy. He was showing off his hat. =P

Jasper and his lovely Christmas pudding decoration.

At the table.... yum food!

I got lots of wonderful presents. I was very spoilt.

Hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas. x

The night before Christmas...

2009-12-24T17:04:00.003+11:00

Well the day before. Went over to my parents to help out with a bit of organising. Dad's doing most of the cooking this year. I'm really proud of him for it. We made a start on some of it so he won't have so much to do tomorrow. This is the centre piece of our table. Dad loves trains so I think it's very appropriate.

And here is my gorgeous boy, Jasper. I had to trick him into sitting still for these photos with ham and cheese.

All of my presents are now wrapped. All I need to do it sit back and relax. Yay!

Merry Christmas, everyone. xx

Lethargy

2009-12-23T12:27:00.003+11:00

So tired today. Not sure why. Would love to have a nanna nap, but I know that it wouldn't be a productive use of my day.

After my appointment this morning I did manage to pick up Andy's present. I won't write what it is, just in case he sees it. I was naughty and got Officeworks to price match what I could get it for at Scorptec (Andy's work) and then they beat it by 5%. Woot!

Just got a text from Andy saying that people at work love the cookies I made for them. So glad. I think I may have undercooked them slightly, but it is pretty much my first go at making biscuits so I wasn't sure. I can vaguely remember someone telling me they continue to cook once you take them out of the oven.

Anyway, so now I need to take the washing off the line, as I think it might rain. Then I think I shall go into the city. Want to get a few small, fun things for Andy. Would also like to find something pretty to wear for Christmas.

Christmas Shopping

2009-12-21T08:46:00.007+11:00

I have barely started my Christmas shopping. I am so slack. I have most of the gifts in mind so I'm not worried about it. My sister and I are going to head into the city today. Should get most of it done. I actually find that as long as I don't go anywhere near suburbia then Christmas shopping is rather painless. =) Especially if I ride my bike. Only negative with that is that I can't carry too much stuff. I would love to get a basket to go on my bike for either Christmas or my birthday. I know it wouldn't hold much, but it would help a little. Yesterday I rode home with an Oroton bag flapping off the handlebars. lol

Then, when I'm finished it will be more sewing. I'm actually really enjoying it. I need to get some more material though. Very soon I shall be confident enough to begin my bag! Yay! And hopefully the wool for my other project will arrive. If anyone has played Big Little Planet on the PS3 you will recognise this guy. Sack Boy. So cute. =)

My other mission for this week is some baking. I like to send Andy to work with something festive. Saves him having to buy gifts for all 25 or so of his work mates. I'm thinking of these biscuits by Donna Hay. They look pretty simple. And yum! Hope they like them.

I think it works!

2009-12-19T17:10:00.004+11:00

I think it's working again. Silly machine.

I also made a pin cushion. It's a little bit wonky, but I again, I like it. =)

Being Crafty

2009-12-19T15:15:00.006+11:00

Rather than starting a new blog, thought I would just add a few posts to my old one. =)

I'm on school holidays at the moment and so I'm lucky enough to have almost 7 weeks off! So rather that waste all that precious time, I've decided to be productive.

I've had my grandma's sewing machine for a while now and I said to myself that I would start using it over the summer. Well now summer is here, so I thought I better start doing what I said. It's very old. And I'm not even sure it works, but I thought I would give it a try.

I bought myself a book yesterday from Borders, called 'Sew' by Cath Kidston. I've always loved her fabrics and when I saw the book came with fabric to make the cute bag on the cover, I was sold!

After flicking through, I decided that I wanted to try a few other things before making the bag. I didn't want to destroy the fabric, particularly if the machine wasn't working.

I finally settled on some cute little lavender bags. I thought they would make cute Christmas gifts.

I got some suitably cute fabric from Spotlight and began. I'm really pleased with how my first one turned out. I haven't put any lavender in to it yet. And I might choose a different colour for the eye. Not sure. Unfortunately, however, the machine isn't working particularly well. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm going to ask for some assistance with it from either my aunt or dad. Fingers crossed it can be fixed.

Saigon - Photographs Part 2

2008-10-13T11:20:00.005+11:00

I can't remember which day it was, but Andrew and I decided to take a walk down to the Saigon River. It was definitely not the picturesque beauty we had both visualised. Instead, it was like chocolate milk infested with an abundance of debris and rubbish. And as you can see from the photograph below, they were definitely keen on the old billboard.

Your typical street side stall

Just some random photograph that I took as we were walking through the streets

In Vietnam, street sweepers are quite literally that. People that use a broom to sweep the streets.

As I mentioned when I first posted about Saigon we didn't do a whole lot. One thing that we did venture out to do was bowl! Apart from the fact it seemed that our lane was jinxed with ongoing technical issues it was a lot of fun.

Me getting my backside whooped! I did make a bit of a comeback at the end though.

Saigon - Photographs Part 1

2008-10-13T10:59:00.007+11:00

By the time we got to Saigon it is fair to say we were exhausted. We'd been really busy the entire time and we were very much in need of a rest. Our bus from Nha Trang arrived at about 6am. What struck us was that everything was still closed! While in other towns in Vietnam the city would have been thriving at that time, we were lucky to find one cafe for us to sit down and eat at (well one we could afford anyway). Initially we began looking for a place to stay, but it soon became apparent that that wasn't going to happen until a bit later on!

After a feed we set off trying to find somewhere. It was not going well! I can't remember how many places we tried, but so many of them were out of our price range, full or just down right grotty! We finally found a place, paying slightly more than we would have liked, but will a nice view across Saigon.

View from our 7th floor room

Down on the street

The traffic in Saigon (to me) was no where near as bad as in other parts of Vietnam. Perhaps it was the wide streets which gave the impression of far less vehicles.

There isn't a lot of fast food places in Vietnam. In fact there is not a single McDonalds in the whole country! In Saigon, however, there was Lotteria (which is pretty much McDonalds). Can you spot what is strange in this photograph? How about the fact that there are bikes parked inside the restaurant! It was quite common for bikes to be taken into shops/ banks, but food outlets?! LOL

And check out how teeny tiny the food there was.

Us walking through the park

A very beautiful sunflower that lived on the side of the road

At night, looking down from our window.

We sat down on the street one night on little plastic chairs watching the world go by.

Nha Trang - Photographs Part 2

2008-10-08T21:52:00.007+11:00

I don't know if you can see so well in this photograph, but shortly after we had got into a taxi on our return from Vinpearl it began to rain. And then it rained and rained some more. By the time we got back to our hotel it was pouring. We stood underneath a canopy outside a clothing shop waiting for a break so we could make the dash down the alley to our front door. After 10 minutes and no sign of clearing we made a run for it, finding ourselves ankle deep in water. We didn't stay in our room for long as we were starving, so headed next door for Pho. From the balcony above we took this photo. By the time we'd finshed dinner, the rain had stopped too and the water quickly subsided.

On a whim one afternoon we hired a couple of bicycles and set off around the city. First stop was the bank. And then onto Long Thanh Gallery, Long Son Pagoda and the Giant Buddha. Now one may be thinking, push bikes..... easy!!! Well you couldn't be more wrong. My heart was in my throat the entire time as we ducked and weaved our way through the traffic. It seemed like every round about we went through had about six exits, and as you probably know Vietnam isn't know for it's road rules. I felt like a little fish lost amongst a sea of much larger ones.

Our first stop after the bank was Long Thanh Gallery. We didn't take any pictures when we where there... well, cause we couldn't. But you can check out some of his work here.

Next we headed for the Long Son Pagoda and the Giant Buddha. When we arrived we were immediately spoken to by an "official of the pagoda" that told us we had to buy postcards in lieu of an admission fee. I knew it was a ploy to get money from us as I had read about it in the Lonely Planet. I was really firm and just explained that I knew that it was free to go inside and that I would not be giving any money to her for postcards. It was really tricky cause there were so many of them and they'd organised themselves into some official looking uniform so they looked important. We were actually concerned that they were going to vandalise our bikes while we were up there so we told a guy that we would give him some cash if he made sure they were there when we got back.

View from the top overlooking the city of Nha Trang.

The Giant Buddha

Surrounding the base of the Buddha were around half a dozen kids burning playing cards.

A bit shaky, but I like the effect.

The day we left we headed back to the beach. We didn't do as much swimming this day because someone had allowed what looked like a rubbish bin enter the water. Basically you were swimming amongst food scraps, packaging and various other items of rubbish.

My gorgeous Andy looking slightly *cough* sunburned.

I was wearing a t-shirt I got from Cambodia...

2008-10-07T19:46:00.004+11:00

... though again, not technically overseas. Today I went to do some baking with my good friend Shellie!

We had talked about making these Red Velvet Cupcakes for the past, what was it.... 6 months. And today we finally got our backsides into gear and made them. Check out the results.

If you want the recipe you'll have to check out Shellie's blog. Andy gave them a very enthusiastic two thumbs up! Will definitely be making these again.

Nha Trang - Photographs Part 1

2008-10-05T21:07:00.007+11:00

From a distance the beach at Nha Trang looked much like the beach in Hoi An. The beach was littered with palm umbrellas and deck chairs. Unfortunately, unlike Hoi An you had to pay for the priveledge of laying underneath one. Having said that it was only $2 per chair and well worth the money.

You might remember from our Nha Trang post that we mentioned the very noticable Hon Tre Island (more commonly referred to as Vinpearl). You can see here in this photograph the enormous Hollywood-esque sign high up on the hill. The cable car was a 3km ride from mainland to island. I didn't particularly enjoy the 9 minute trip. In fact, I was petrified the entire journey.

Not the best of photographs (the light was fading) but these were a few of the rides we went on a the deserted water park on Vinpearl.

Looking from Vinpearl back towards the mainland.

We weren't really sure what this place was as it was closed when we got there, but one can only imagine. Not the sort of thing you find at Dreamworld!

These dodgem cars were awesome. Everyone really got into it and was ramming into each other as hard as they could.

A lot of the stuff at the theme park seemed to be out of order, but there were a few games we go to have a play with. Horse racing was one of them!

I hadn't been on a Merry-Go-Round in ages! Andy chose the tiger while I chose a giraffe!

I really didn't expect a lot from our trip to Vinpearl, but we both really enjoyed it! Well, except for the cable car ride.

Hoi An - Photographs Part 3 (My Son)

2008-10-05T20:33:00.005+11:00

My Son (pronounced Mee Sun) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site about 30km from Hoi An. On our last morning there we went on a 5am tour to visit these temples. We were told they were Angkor on a much smaller scale - and after visiting Angkor I totally agree. Some of the temples were in good condition, and some were quite literally a pile of rubble. One of the temples was even housed under what looked like an enormous carport to protect it from further weathering. Sadly, much of the destruction was caused by the US bombing of the area in 1969 during the Vietnam War. A major restoration project in underway. The Group that you can see in these photographs was still in very good condition.

So not technically from our holiday....

2008-10-05T16:21:00.004+11:00

... but we're wearing t-shirt we got from Vietnam =P. Today we went to fly the kite I made at Vacation Care over the school holidays. As it was such a beautiful day we headed down to St Kilda and took it for a spin.

Hoi An - Photographs Part 2

2008-10-04T23:42:00.010+10:00

So you're probably wondering why on earth I look so ridiculous in the pictures below. Well first night we were there we were just about to head out for dinner and this torrential rainstorm began. In true Vietnam style the roads began to flood. After sitting around waiting for it to pass we decided that we would be brave and venture out into it. To be honest it had died off quite a bit by the time we departed the guesthouse, but it was still raining a fair amount. Not wanting to become saturated we came up with the brilliant idea of wearing a garbage bag. A very pretty garbage bag at that! It was a bit of a laugh, and I got a few smiles and giggles from the locals too.

More pictures showing the beautiful streets of Hoi An

The guy in the boat in this picture had the most amazing toothy smile. Basically he sat in his boat most of the day waiting for someone to take up his offer for a boat ride. He didn't speak so all communication was done non-verbally.

Not far from the town centre was the beach. The water was so blue and warm and the sand so clean. One afternoon we hired a couple of push bikes from the guesthouse and made our way to the beach. At first I wasn't sure we would make it as my chain fell off within 5 minutes of leaving!

We had quite a few things made in Hoi An at the Silk Road tailors (you can read about it here) and these were the lovely girls resposible.

Hoi An - Photographs Part 1

2008-10-04T23:25:00.009+10:00

Hoi An was just gorgeous. The buildings, the people, the food... all of it. Set on the banks of Thu Bon River, Hoi An was probably my favourite place in all of Vietnam.

Across the other side of the Thu Bon River are two small islands, An Hoi and Cam Nam.

As I mentioned previously in our Hue post, the other Japanese covered bridge we were lucky enough to see was in Hoi An. This bridge was the entrance to the Old Town.

Our guest house in Hoi An was lovely. We were up on the top floor (in the smallest room they had available), but the facilities were gorgeous.

Hue - Photographs Part 3

2008-09-28T19:46:00.019+10:00

On pretty much every tour you do across Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand you are taken to places with the primary purpose of getting you to spend money. On our tour with Mr Trung, our visit to this Incense and Hat Making Village was just that. Having said that it was a bit of fun getting to have a go at making this incense. I seemed to make the whole thing much more difficult than it needed to be.

These hats are amazing. This isn't just any old conical hat. This conical hat is handmade with a story weaved within its lining. If it wasn't for the fact that we were only a week into our trip I would have bought one. You can see the detail in the photograph below, they put a layer of newspaper with images cut into it between the layers of reeds. If you hold the hat up to the light you can see the images, and thus the story.

This is the Royal Arena. Back in the 1800's this was used as a venue to watch duels between elephants and tigers. Since the elephant symbolised the power of the royal dynasty and the tiger represented cruelty, tigers were expected to die in the battle, so their claws were filed before each fight. Andy can be seen standing in front of one of the gates for the elephants.

Our second last stop for the day was the Thien Mu Pagoda. This was built in 1601 and overlooks the magnificent Perfume River. Apparently it was from here that a monk traveled to Saigon and publically burnt himself to protest against the anti-Buddhist government at the time.

By the time we got to the Citadel we were exhausted and this place is enormous! The perimeter of the grounds is 10km.

There were so many fish within this moat. In the one pictured above there were men sitting fishing.

The end of a wonderful day! It was amazing getting to see so much of Hue and I couldn't think of better way to do it than on the back of a motorbike with Mr Trung (and Andy's driver whose name we can't remember!).

Hue - Photographs Part 2

2008-09-28T16:40:00.005+10:00

You can see at the back there are some monks dressed in grey. They're the trainee monks. You can also see the tuft of hair which he will have until he is a fully fledged monk.

Everything is so colourful in Vietnam. This dragon has been created by smashing many coloured plates and used to mosaic.

On our way out of the Pagoda these children accosted us and demanded to take a picture of us with my camera. I was certain that they were going to run off with it, but luckily they didn't!

This is the Tu Duc Tomb. This guy had over 100 wives and concubines. He began planning this tomb long before his death in 1883. Inside the surrounding wall of around 12 hectares wide, nearly 50 constructions were built on terraces of various levels.

It was at the top of this hill (Vong Canh Hill) that Mr Trung told us his story about the Vietnam War. From here you could see a great distance along the Perfume River. Just magnificent! As I mentioned in our Hue post, it was also home to a number of American and French bunkers during war.

Hue - Photographs

2008-09-28T15:28:00.014+10:00

We've been back for a while now (more than 2 weeks!) and we still haven't gotten around to uploading pictures of our journey. So while we're lounging around at home (cause AndyC is under the weather) I shall choose some photographs to show off.

First up, Hue. Now you've already had a sneak peak at a few Hue photos, more specifically the lovely lady at the rice museum. Hue really did surprise me. I honestly didn't expect to enjoy myself there as I'm not really a history buff, in fact anything historical is pretty much guaranteed to put me to sleep. But our tour with Mr Trung showed us just how beautiful it really was.

The lovely Hue riverbank.

I'm not sure how clearly you see it, but there is a guy swimming in the water ripping up the reeds from deep down. The lady would then scoop it all up and pile it into the boat. By the time we left the mound was almost as high as she was!

This is Andy and his driver. While helmets are now compulsory in Vietnam, they're not necessarily very protective. Andy's barely fits on his head!

Cruising to our next destination

This is Mr Trung and I. I think I look a bit like you in this picture, Mum. I think it's the facial expression

This is one of I think 4 Japanese Covered Bridges in Vietnam. We were lucky enough to see two on our trip (the other one we saw was in Hoi An).

This photograph is of the Rice Museum. From the outside it doesn't look like a whole lot, in fact we were going to give it a miss altogether! Don't judge a book by its cover!

This is heading into the Tu Hieu Pagoda

At 10am each day the monks come together to pray

As there are so many photographs I'm going to make it into a couple of posts... stay tuned for part 2.

We found this the other night when looking for a place for dinner...

2008-09-15T12:44:00.002+10:00

Do not say Foe

Do not Say foo

And especially don’t

Say the word which describes “number two”.

Start with a fff
To be followed by an urgh.

Once it becomes un-phố -gettable

you’ll get with the slur.

Don't underestimate the small and the frail...

2008-09-13T00:13:00.003+10:00

If you can think back to our post about Hue where we mentioned the most amazing lady that showed us all the equipment at the rice museum, here are some photos of her...

This is a machine they used to drain the rice paddies - a bailing machine.

This contraption (not that you can see much of it) was used to de-husk the rice before milling.

Here she is showing us how to grind the rice down...

Cooling yourself off after a hard day at work.

Here you can see how tiny she was!

From this moment on...

2008-09-11T12:11:00.002+10:00

taking a wizz will now be known to me as a banana break. =P Just to remind me of my trip OS.

Oooops...

2008-09-09T20:49:00.002+10:00

So it seems that we haven't updated this thing in a while... Part of it is we're lazy and the other part is (well for me) I'm too cheap to have to pay the premium price for doing so... So we will finish it off... on the plane home which is sadly not to far away.

We're both feeling pretty glum about the prospect of returning to the 'real world'. It's so nice and cheery here in backpacker land. *sigh*

BTW, we're in Koh Phangan at the moment and it's awesome and were really peeved that we're missing Full Moon Party this weekend. =( Something to keep in mind for next time.

PS - We're typing this on a 24-inch wide screen - the swishest internet cafe we've seen so far - but also the most expensive!

PPS - We went on a scooter today!! I was shit scared but secretly I enjoyed it.... and of course Andy had a ball. He's desperate for one when we get home.

Saigon

2008-09-04T11:37:00.001+10:00

There is some movie quote from Apocalypse Now that Andrew knows
involving Saigon, but my goldfish brain can't for the life of me
remember what it is! Anyway, I quite liked Saigon. Definitely the most
westernized of all the Vietnam cities, but in parts still had that
same Vietnam feel. Way more cars than we'd seen in our time here, but
still a heap of bikes zipping around too.

Our trip to Saigon wasn't quite the debarcle I may have lead you to
believe, but it still wasn't as smooth as one would have liked. This
time we bought tickets from Sinh Cafe, one of the most well known
travel operators around. When we rocked up for our bus at 8 the man
told us that we'd been moved to another bus and that someone would
take us there later. Not again!!!!! My heart sank into my stomach as I
couldn't believe that we'd been shafted once more. His explanation was
that a group of 5 people (booked after us) were given our seats so
they could sit together in the back row of 5. Understandably upset, we
then had to wait for two more people that had also been shafted. The
whole time the man from Sinh Cafe was ensuring us it was another Sinh
Cafe bus going from elsewhere and we would have exactly the same
seats. If we were at home, maybe we would have been more inclined to
believe him, but after being screwed around last time we were rather
skeptical. With only minutes to spare they finally whisked us and the
two other totally confused passengers to the other bus. We arrived not
at a bus station as we were told, but another bus company, Hahn Cafe
(who we thought we were travelling with last time). We hesitantly
climb on the bus as the person who drove us had already pissed off
back to his own office. While seats weren't allocated we were lucky to
find the ones we wanted still free. And I guess the bus was of the
same standard as their own. Still, these tour companies here are not
to be taken on face value. Check everything and then check it again.

We arrived in Saigon at 6 the next morning feeling slightly rested. We
then had the arduous task of finding somewhere to stay. One thing that
was obvious straight away was that things didn't open as early here.
While in Nha Trang when we arrived at the same time we were never met
with a closed door. Here, it seemed a lot of guesthouses and
restaurants were still fast asleep. We gave up on finding acommodation
instead locating somewhere for breakfast that met our prerequisites
(I.e. Cheap).

Most things were open by then and we went back to the task at hand. It
wasn't proving as easy as previous destinations. Some were full, some
too expensive, some too expensive for what they were. Finally we found
one (well actually it found us - we were shown to it by a full
guesthouse), Phoenix 74. Our room was way up on the top floor (lucky
it had a lift) with a view of some of Saigon.

We didn't do a whole lot here to be honest. We visited the former
Presidential Palace, now called the Reunification Palace whose front
gate was flattened by a communist tank the day Saigon surrendered in
1975. Definitely wasn't your typical palace with its 70's style
interiors, but the architecture was pretty cool. Underneath was this
maze like system of tunnels where the control room was.

We did a bit of shopping. Ate some fast food a la Vietnam style. Went
bowling!!! I lost big time. I swear my ball had some kind of edge
hugging magnet on it. We visited the Saigon river. And we thought the
Yarra was gross LOL. This chocolate milk like river was infested with
an abundance of debris and rubbish. Definitely not the picturesque
beauty I had visualused.

And while we didn't do much, I still enjoyed it and wouldn't mind
going back to visit again.

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So....

2008-09-04T11:17:00.002+10:00

So we haven't updated this in a while. We have a few things in the works, but our enthusiasm seems to have departed us! LOL

A little overview of what we've been up to. From Nha Trang we headed to Saigon and from there we took a two day river cruise down the Mekong Delta across the border into Cambodia. We spent a few days in Phnom Penn and then headed for Siem Reap and the wonderous temples of Ankor. We've since made it to Bangkok and are avoiding anything political. Will update soon!

Nha Trang

2008-08-28T21:29:00.000+10:00

After a hellish 12 hour bus ride from Hoi An we arrived in Nha Trang
tired, cranky and in need of a sleep in a proper bed.

What should have been a relatively comfortable sleeping bus from Hahn
Cafe that we booked at an agent in Hoi An (well we thought we were
booked on to) instead was a cramped sleeping bus from TM Brothers -
definitely not the same standard.

The bus was overbooked with some passengers having to share these
miniscule 'beds'. We kept making unscheduled stops to drop off items
for relatives of bus staff and finally when we got to Nha Trang we
were told we were going to be dropped off in the centre if town, but
instead we were 4km north.

A taxi ride later and we were in the centre of town. We found
ourselves a lovely little mini hotel, quite aptly named Nice Hotel. It
wasn't till after a nap that we ventured out. Nha Trang reminds me a
bit of Surfers Paradise. Much more built up than any of the other
cities that we've seen to date. As we were told, very touristy and set
right on the waters edge. After a short walk around town we put on our
bathers and headed for the beach!

The sand was much coarser than the beach in Hoi An, but the water was
still clear and warm. It's impossible to sit on the beach here and not
be approached with people trying to sell you things. Drinks, local
foods, cigarettes, sunglasses, jewellery, books (photocopies, and not
very good ones at that) - pretty much anything and everything. At one
stage there was a young girl walking around selling a live lobster!
After a while your patience begins to abandon you and you become tired
of saying no thank you every minute or so. Every now and then someone
with a bit if personality will go past - one that sticks in my mind is
the lady selling fruit singing 'mango, pineapple, banana' - and you
actually feel compelled to purchase from them.

From the main beach area in Nha Trang you can see a number of
surrounding islands. The largest and most noticable is Hon Tre or
Vinpearl island. Being most noticable isn't due to the sheer size of
the island, but instead the Hollywood-esque 'Vinpearl' signage
blazened high up on the hill tops. Linking the mainland to the island
is a 3km long cable car suspended high above the water.

Late that afternoon we headed down town to take the scenic cable car
across the water. It wasn't till we got down there that we found out
about the theme park on the other side! The ride across scared the
shit out of me. It was so high above the water and me being the
paranoid freak that I am couldn't relax because I kept thinking about
drowning in our little cable car box.

The park itself was eerily clean and quiet. It wasn't till we were
about to leave that we saw a huge crowd. We're not sure were they came
from, but 1 minute there was 3 people in the queue for the return
cable car and then quite literally 150 or more!

Anyway, we had a go on some water slides before the water part closed.
We went on this one together in a rubber tube and the initial drop was
terrifying! It seemed almost straight down! I'll tell you what though,
but but was bloody sore after it. And boy did I scream. Andrew too!
The other hilarious one which Andy went (I wasn't brave enough) a long
dark tube and at the end you flop out from this UFO like contraption
into a pool of water. I'm not sure if these rides would pass safety
regulations in Australia but they were a bit of fun! The rest of the
time we wandered round, went on dodgem cars and played video games.

We spent most of our remaining time in Nha Trang laying under the
beach umbrellas on the beach (der). It was lovely and relaxing and we
both got a tan (well Andrew was a little red LOL. Okay, as was I).

We did take a rather exciting bike ride through the city to visit the
Long Son Pagoda and Giant (it certainly was) Seated Buddha. It wasnt
the destination that was exciting, it was more the exhiliration (read
terror) of riding through the busy traffic. Making left hand turns
through 6 point round abouts with hundreds of bikes and no rules was
enough to scare the living daylights out of me! Andrew loved every
minute of it though LOL, of course.

It was on this journey that we visited the Long Thanh Gallery, an
amazing photographer who manages to capture the essence of Vietnam in
his pictures. Well worth the look see.

We took a chance and booked another night bus to Saigon. More details
of that debarcle to follow, LOL.

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