Musical Monday

On Friday night we climbed aboard the Sufjan Stevens Spaceship. He was dressed in psychedelic lycra, he was backed up by go-go dancers and had old-school space cartoons happening. Nothing like a conceptual album based around aliens and outer space.

He encored with this classic.... AND BALLOONS FELL FROM THE HEAVENS. Bliss.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

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Lessons in Sunscreen & Relationships

Due to the maniacal, unpredictable Sydney summer weather of late, I have spent most of the month carrying an umbrella in my handbag. Who carries an umbrella during the height of (a supposed) summer? It has been a wet summer thus far.

Summer arrived with a vengeance on the weekend. The Man and I spent a weekend that can only be described as G-LORIOUS at the beach. During our lazing about on the beach, I was reprimanded (repeatedly) for my sunscreen technique. According to The Man, I squeeze the suncream out from the top of the tube. This annoys him, as he then has to work TWICE AS HARD to squeeze the cream from the bottom of the tube to make up for the vacuum I have created within the tube. After being reprimanded for the 33rd time, the following convo took place....

Him: ARGH! You are such a girl.
Me: I'm pretty sure that's what you were after in the first place.
Him: Yeah- I like the girl parts but you need to think like a boy.

And with that comment, I'm pretty sure we just solved the Male/Female Relationship Conundrum.

Musical Monday

The Spiegeltent is in town as a part of Sydney Festival.

We went along to see Smoke and Mirrors.

The show ended with this song. And it made my heart hurt.

30x30

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The brief? Develop a list of 30 things to be completed before my 30th birthday.
The deadline? December 11th, 2011.
The objective? Hit the big 3-0 in grand style. Or die tryin'... yep 50 Cent- I'm lookin' atchu. But seriously Fitty, I like your "Give it everything you got" attitude. For my 29th year, I'm going to channel my inner 50 Cent and try things I've always wanted to do or simply do things I've been meaning to do for my entire 20s. Incidentally, getting rich isn't on the list but hey, I won't be complaining if it magically eventuates during the lead-up to my 30th.

#1 Write a screenplay so that The Man can turn it into an award-winning film.
#2 Start Hapkido so I can learn to do this.
#3 Complete a 2km ocean swim. This may require training as opposed to my current ocean swim regime which consists of turning up.
#4 Make pasta like a nonna would. From scratch.
#5 Have an alcohol-free month. Dry July, anyone?
#6 Complete the Blackmores 9km run. Without stopping. Or walking.
#7 Learn to roll sushi.
#8 Eat a piece of fruit every day at recess with my class. Apparently parents don't believe in fruit in lunchboxes at my school. I'm hoping to make fruit cool.
#9 Start a school choir with my partners in crime. We imagine it will be like this but it could end up like this.....
#10 Have a creative classroom. Yep- English and Maths are important. But so is music. And art.
#11 Start a herb garden. And don't kill it.
#12 Banish plastic in my life. Say no to plastic bags and plastic water bottles.
#13 Bake some bread. From scratch.
#14 Figure out my new camera and keep a photo journal.
#15 Learn Spanish. (no- "Hasta la vista, baby" and "una cerveza, por favor" does not constitute knowledge of the Spanish language.)
#16 Watch every film that has won the Oscar for Best Movie since my birth year. N.B I will not watch Titanic again.
#17 Start a daily journal, jotting down awesome moments.
#18 Do some ballet lessons.
#19 Read 10 books from the BBC Top 100 list. (Because I love lists.)
#20 Listen to 10 musicians from 10 random countries.
#21 Visit 3 museums/galleries in Sydney I have never been to.
#22 Sing in the shower. But maybe not when at the gym.
#23 Go on dates. With my mum. Dad can come aswell if he wants.
#24 Support microfinancing and fund an entrepeneur through Kiva.
#25 Write my husband love letters. And it doesn't matter if he doesn't write back.
#26 Plan a kick ass 1st wedding anniversary.
#27 Every Sunday, blog something for my little sis who is moving to London.
#28 Try and not complain for a week.
#29 Write a letter to be opened by my 40 year old self. Put it somewhere safe. (Note to self- Don't forget where this safe spot is.)
#30 Plan a trip to South America.

So there it is- 30x30. And now it is in the blogosphere, I have publicly declared that I am going to complete this list. When this happens, I'm pretty sure I'll be as happy as a rainbow-spewing panda. Boo-ya.

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All I want is you, will you be my bride?

So getting married was awesomely fun. Can we do it all over again? Pretty please?

Or maybe we can just be like Heidi Klum and Seal and renew our vows in grand style every year?

Anyhoo.... our e-shoot, which we won from photographers of Awesomeness, Feather and Stone, has been blogged! Check it out at Polka Dot Bride.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

I shall be a bird with most excellent plumage. Not a pigeon or a seagull, for they are fugly.

More awesome prints here. I'd like one of each, please.

Ode to the List.

Oh, how I love a list. A shopping list. A To-Do list. A What-To-Pack-Before-A-Big-Trip list. (Undies? Check.) A Books-That-I-Really-Should-Read-If-I-Want-To-Look-Intellectual-At-A-Dinner-Party list. Heck- my 1st post on this blog was.... a freaking list.

I love writing aforementioned lists. Ticking things off these lists as the task is completed. Sometimes I even highlight things off the list. With a highlighter. N.E.R.D.

So, when I stumbled across Angie's 28x28 list over at her blog of awesomeness, I got minor heart palpitations. I may have even swooned slightly. She has a list of 28 things to do before she turns 28.

At the end of this year, I hit the big 3-0. Um, pardon me? How did that happen? At risk of sounding like my mother... Where did the years go?

So I'm going to make the final years of my 20s a killer. Huge. Epic. Ok, maybe not epic. But you get the idea. As the Post-It* suggests, I'm gonna make bold plans.

I'm going to write a list.

30x30.
Watch this space.

*Post-Its: An awesome tool for list-writing. Check these ones out- why I don't I ever find cool things like this in public places?

"This weather may have broken our hearts...."*

A certain conversation has repeated itself in our house this week.
The Man arrives home from work.

Him: What have you been up to today?
Me: Not much.

And it's true. I have done nothing much this week except sit on the couch and watch the rolling coverage of the floods that have swept across Queensland. Unable to move as images of unfathomable destruction fill the screen. Incomprehensible images of heroism. Heartbreak.

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I've always been intrigued by the question "What would you grab in an emergency??"
Y'know- it's the kinda question you'd find in the glossy magazine inserted into the weekend newspaper. You'd probably find it in an article that runs along the lines of "5 minutes with person of Dubious Celebrity Status."
However, this week that question stopped being a hypothetical for many.

I think I've always been intrigued by this question because it asks me to confront and question how I would react in such an extreme circumstance.

In one newspaper this week, they presented portraits of flood-affected people and asked them what they had grabbed as the waters approached. One man had just grabbed his wallet. One woman had grabbed everything she could possibly fit in the car. One young man simply answered, "Each other."

Concurrently this week, I have also been wading through hundreds of photos from our wedding. Debating with myself, "Should I put these in albums?" "Should I get some printed and put in frames?" And as I debate, I look at the pictures and brilliant memories of awesome happiness, fun and frivolity come sweeping over me.

For me, the events of this week have driven one thing home.
Life is about doing things, not having things.
It's all about creating memories and storing them safely in your mind.

And so I found my answer to that question.
In the face of an emergency, as long as I was safe in the knowledge that my loved ones were safe, I wouldn't have to 'grab' anything. Material things don't matter. Memories do.

* The title for this post was borrowed from a speech made by QLD's Premier, Anna Bligh. Sometimes you want your politicians to stand up and be Leaders. Respect, Anna. You're a true leader.

Dig deep and donate to the relief efforts.

2011 Resolution.

To blog more.
Cross my heart hopetodiestickaneedleinmyeye.