Re-living my youth...

.. but not in a good way.

I have just finished compiling letters to send to all the local hospitals asking for a job. It has been a very, very long time since I've undertaken such an exercise and I now remember how sucky it is. We all know that most of these letters end up in the bin and are a waste of time but I feel like I have to be doing something productive in the work department. I can't just sit and wait for the job to land in my lap, can I? I wish.

So yeah.. after several years in management, four years running my own business and three tertiary qualifications, I'm back to "Dear someone, here's my CV, have you got any jobs?".

Blah.

I got me a worm farm...

YAY me!! On the box of worms I just bought from Bunnings, it says "You are an environmental enthusiast". Me!! An environmental enthusiast! Who woulda thunk it? :) I thought worms might be a bit icky but they are very cute. I like them and have started feeding them my kitchen scraps and I will have my own liquid fertiliser for the garden very soon. Hooray for wormies!

I will post pictures later or you can look here to get your own worm farm happening.

The weekend that was...

For the first time in almost a year, Mel came home on Friday without having to take a taxi to the airport, wait around, get a 2-hour flight, stand in a taxi queue for an hour and finally get home at 11pm. He strolled in the front door at 6pm. How bloody fantastic.

Maybe that, and the fact that he didn't have to do the same thing in reverse on Sunday put us both in a good mood. Maybe it was the glorious 26 degree days. Maybe it was Annabelle getting through the weekend with barely a snivel, let alone anything resembling a tantrum. Maybe a combination of the whole lot, but we had a great weekend.

Saturday started with a trip to Central Market again, but this time I took a picture. We love the Market, that's for sure. To fit in with the locals though, we really need to get us one of those push trolley thingys. They appear to be standard issue, and you can buy them at the market. Of course.

Then we decided since it was such a pleasant day, we should have lunch at the beach. I bought burgers from the Gourmet Goose (divine) and we sat on the grass feeding our left-over gourmet hand-cut potato chips (infused with rosemary) to the seagulls. I'm not sure the seagulls appreciated that these were no ordinary chips. Ungrateful bastards.

There was a man giving away free Calippo Gelatos (ie ice blocks) so we took one to see if Annabelle would like it. After one taste, the child who insists on "walk, walk, walk!"ing promptly sat down in the middle of the footpath so that she could concentrate fully on her Calippo Gelato. Yep, she liked it.


On Sunday, we took a drive to the Hills to find the big Mountain Bike Park. Mel was very impressed to find it's only 20 minutes from home. We also called in to the gym around the corner and I'm pleased to report they offer several pump classes every week.

So things are good. I also worked on a few personal projects that I'll probably report on later in the other blog. But now it's Monday and I personally feel refreshed and ready to take on another week.

Kill me now

She wakes up crying for no reason (or just dreaming and calling our random words) several times a night.

During the day, if she is in the pram, she wants to walk. If she is walking she wants to go in the opposite direction to the one I'm heading in. If she wants to be carried, it is by me - not Mel - and only on my right hip, not my left. She cries when I try to get her into the car because she wants the pram (yes, the same pram she didn't want to be in 5 minutes earlier). Once we are home, she refuses to let me take her OUT of the car (the same car she didn't want to go in).

She asks for food. "Apple". I give her apple.. "no... ga-ga" (sultana). I give her sultanas. She throws them all over the floor then asks for "mi-mi" (vegemite) which she also doesn't eat. She stands and looks in the fridge for hours deciding what she wants and eventually decides on the tub of margarine. She sits on the couch with it, holding it lovingly. It's 40 degrees so I decide the margarine is better off in the fridge. But try getting that tub off her without a fight.

She's not even two yet. *sigh*

Meet Sergei

Sergei is named after the cute little coffee maker who used to serve up my flat white in Summer Hill each morning. Sergei II doesn't tickle Annabelle or ask how my day is, but he makes a mean flat white all the same.

Market Day

There hasn't been much to report this week.. it's been a lot of pandering to Annabelle's every whim while Mel and I get increasingly frustrated at not having any time to ourselves. I'm sure he's looking forward to going back to work next week to have some time out. The fact that she's taken to going to bed at 9.30pm each night doesn't help, though it's hard to argue with her when it's broad daylight until 9.00pm and the evening hours are the coolest part of the day, so the best time to run and play outside.

ANYWAY... today we did something different and visited Central Market. This is famous in Adelaide. In fact, I daresay it's probably famous far beyond Adelaide. It's the most amazing array of fresh food, coffee, even skincare products at even more amazing prices. We will definitely be regular visitors, as I'm sure many Adelaidians are - considering the market has 150,000+ visitors each week (and it only opens 4 days/wk!).

We bought beautiful cheese, gourmet dips and olives, meat, fruit and veges and organic coffee for our fabulous new coffee maker (ooh I haven't told you about our coffee maker yet, have I?). We got mangoes for 50c each. Luscious large avocadoes for 99c each. Freshly made gourmet dips for $2.50. It appealed to me on so many levels:

1. It's good for our wallet!
2. We're supporting local growers instead of the big nasty chains.
3. It's a truly "Adelaide" thing to do.
4. It's a thriving little hub of activity and makes you feel part of a community.
5. Well... I like food. :)

I drank coffee and strolled around while we compared prices and enjoyed the quite humorous spruiker ("I've got lovely big melons. Come and see my melons. What about my bananas? Size does count" etc.. :-). Annabelle stayed in her pram (for once) like a good little vegemite. And Mel dutifully loaded up the green bag every time I spotted some tasty temptation that took my fancy. I wish I'd taken pictures to post. Perhaps I will next week. We will definitely be back!