Hello Autumn, Goodbye Summer

Days are turning colder… the sun is setting earlier, and last Sunday – we had our final Dragon Boat regatta of the season. This was it! All our training for the past summer months for 4 minutes of adrenaline-pumping glory!

RAAAAWWWRRRRR!

And we still came in a close #3. Maybe it’s because we only practice 2 days a week. While #1 has practice 6 days a week. And #2 is made up of young Australian athletes who live, breathe and eat sport everyday. Hmmm…

Anyhow, the races felt good. We may not have won the trophy, but we gave it all we had and that’s what counts. *happy*

Now that the Dragon Boat season is officially over, Mr D and I are going to try a spot of ‘Touch Footy’ this Thursday. I heard it’s like futsal, but it’s not football, it’s rugby. (@_@)

We need the exercise for winter, the wedding is this year!

Jog, jog, jog.

Got home after a near-stressful day on Friday (the Telstra techie FFK’d our appointment due a messy system glitch. DONKEY!) and decided to go for a walk by the beach to get some sun and sea breeze. Halfway out the door, felt like I had the energy for a jog, so I put on my running shoes and hit the road.

Jog… jog… jog.

The goal was the children’s playground a couple of blocks up.

Jog… jog… jog.

And I reached the playground with still some energy left to go… so I kept it up.

Jog… jog… jog.

Hit my limit just outside this restaurant with lovely smells wafting about. Yumm! And my stomach growled. Okay, time to head home – made a u-turn and started a quick walk back home. It was quite a distance walking home, had no idea how far I’d come. Did some stretches just before our street, then went for a walk on the beach to play with other people’s dogs. Awwwww… I want one or two!

Sat and relaxed out on the sand till it got too cold, and then headed for home. A beautiful day, and a good end to it. Only forty-five minutes of my day, but the clearest and most peaceful moments of it.

Really happy with myself for the jog too! I went home and checked on Google Maps, and I jogged for 1.3km that day. A first for me. Hehe. I’ve never been able to jog much – 0.5km and I’m ready to pass out!

Next time, I’m definitely going further! ^_^

Congratulations & Happie Birthday!

Two of my closest friends recently got engaged, really recently… like less than 24 hours ago recently. Hehe. He proposed on her birthday, at the stroke of midnight. Awww… that’s just so adorable. I’m really absolutely happy for them. And I can bet she’s floating about on her special day, made even more special by the fact that she’s going to be a happy wife soon!

So after you say, “I do.” (or “OK”.)- what happens next? Start planning the wedding? Yep, and the journey has just begun!

It’s now a whole new chapter of your life, but in a team of two. It’s no longer all about you, but about you and your partner. There’s plenty of new decisions ahead, and plenty of moments – happy ones and tough ones. But the good news is that you no longer face them alone. It’s not easy, but worth every single moment of it.

Congratulations PW & ST! All the best in your journey ahead as Mr and Mrs. (^_^)

Me and my blog.

This blog and I go way back… and together with a couple of cutest hand-drawn pigs (well, most of them looked like pigs), it was one of my most memorable birthday gifts ever. (^_^)

I was twenty-five when this blog and I first began. And when tomorrow comes, five years down the road – it will mark another birthday in my life.

I turn thirty.

Can you believe it? The infamous BIG THREE-OH.

It’s time to step into a new decade of my future. I should be worried, time seems to be zooming by! So much to do, so little time. But each day of life brings new surprises, joys, thanks and challenges. No speeding it up, or slowing it down will make any difference to what has been and what I’m expecting ahead.

It’s been great journey so far, and I can’t wait to see what the next day will bring. ^_^

It’s Devin’s Birth-month!

Ok, so it’s the birthday boy’s turn to finally… turn 29. I’ve been 29 for ages now, and worse – it’s almost time to face my thirties! Dang.

Birthdays = aging = presents. So we went shopping for the birthday boy’s birthday present last weekend. ^_^

Can you guess what this is?

I actually didn’t really know what it was the first time Devin showed it to me. But that’s what he wanted for his birthday pressie, so that’s what he gets. It’s a spray pump – pour in the oil, pump the container to let air in, and then press valve to spray/mist the oil out. Simple. ^_^

After that – we wandered around DFO a while more, and ended up getting more presents. Hmm… here’s the entire haul of presents from our afternoon shopping session: the CuisiPro spray pump, two pairs of Timberland shoes with a all-purpose protector for the leather and a cool hat for summer.

And it’s not even his actual birthday yet. Looks like we’re celebrating it for the whole month of November this year. Hehe.

Nagambie Dragon Boat Festival

It’s been a while since I last blogged. A very good indication of how time flies, and if you don’t make full use of it – it just keeps on going, with, or without you.

I’m a nice toasty brown today, while Mr D is a lovely shade of lobster red. Hehe.

We went for our first Dragon Boat race last Sunday out in Nagambie, a quiet place about 2 hours drive from Melbourne. We left Melbourne at 7′ish, and it was a really hot hot day with temperatures reaching up to 36 C (or more). We spent most of time in the shade, lounging under a nice tree when not out on the boat. It was really hot, but good fun to get back into the boat for a race!

We had cheerleaders! Can you see the letters C Y S M ?

This is my favourite cheerleader. Hehe.

And after a long day out in the sun, here we are! ^_^

Unfortunately, we didn’t bring home any trophies. Came in 2nd place most of the time, but it ain’t 1st is it? ^_^

What a weekend!

Five more sleeps to KL

It’s the weekend already, and it’s five more nights before we get on that flight back to KL.

I’ve got a shopping list here of things to take home.

And another list of things to do in KL.

And… one more list of things to buy and bring back to Melbourne!

Can’t wait! ^_^

Good morning from Cafe Sweetheart!

We finally made to Cafe Sweetheart for breakfast today. Finally, because we had tried last week, but it was packed to the brim and we couldn’t get a table. I had to make a reservation for us here today.

This place is yet another popular cafe here in our suburb and heartily recommended by a fellow dragon-boater for their delicious pancakes.

I had poached eggs with avacado and grilled ham on an English muffin.

Devin had the recommended ‘Lumberjack’ of pancakes with bacon, egg, hazelnut butter and maple syrup.

Dennis picked the classic scrambled eggs on toast with bacon.

And Ah V had poached eggs with grilled mushrooms on an English muffin.

Ryan had a savoury pancake, but my photo of it didn’t come out well. So it’s up to you to imagine a savoury pancake of wilted spinach, corn and I’m not sure what else. Hehe.

Ah, what a good brekkie it was today. On some days, all you can think about is really… thank God for the good food we eat. (^_^)

Arr… we be movin’ to Port M soon.

Went for a walk today at the beach outside our soon-to-be apartment in Port M. It had been a nice afternoon, but the sun didn’t hold up and clouds appeared later in the evening during our walk. BrRrr…

I had worn sandals so I could easily squish some sand between my toes. Nice, but cold.

Devin brought along a pack of chips to keep him company (other than me).

Sunset was cloudy but still peaceful, quiet and beautiful nonetheless.

It was a nice walk on the beach in winter today. (^_^)

Hennley’s Mug

I bought lovely purple mug the other day from Ikea. (It was cheap. Only 75 cents.) Turns out it was far too small… a single slurp and I’ve finished my entire drink. Cheh. As much as I need the exercise, I don’t want to walk to the kitchen to refill every time I need a drink.

Sooo… I got myself a new one. A much BIGGER one at some fancy British store on clearance. Cost me $3.99. Whew!

And since it was all white, plain and British, I decided to personalize it.

the note // the photos were dull pretty dull, so I ran a cool preset on it from Lightroom. Not too shabby eh?

the wish // happie beautiful birthday abigail. hope you had a wonderful day today, and that everyday ahead is as beautiful and exciting as your birthday today. hugs. (^_^)

UPDATE // Unfortunately, the personalizing did not survive it’s first scrubbing. Sigh. We need a proper permanent pen. Hehe.