Almost there!

Last night was the launch service at our church's new building, in Burpengary.  It's about ten minutes further away from where I live at the minute - from 15 to 25, which is a bit of a bummer - but still only 16 minutes, according to Google Maps, from the new house.  It was a full house, and I have to say a very good service.  I felt completely at home, despite the sea of unknown faces, and am glad to have finally found somewhere that I belong. 

Mind you, afterwards there was the inevitable Australian sausage sizzle - and after standing around for a few minutes feeling lost, I decided to go home.  Usually after the evening service we (the young adults, yes, I still count as young) go to North Lakes to the food court, but this being an inaugural service was apparently different.  I'm quite happy with a few familiar people, indeed even a slightly larger group assuming that I recognise some faces, but it got to the stage where there were literally hundreds of people that I didn't know, all talking at once, and it got rather overwhelming.  Yay for being introverted.

This morning I met with the building supervisor over at the house, and he was a little bit vague surrounding finish dates.  He said that painting was supposed to commence on Wednesday, and take around a week, and that appliances would start being delivered from the following Friday.  He didn't like bringing appliances mid week because they had a tendency to go missing.  I'm not quite sure why they would go missing on a Wednesday but not on a Friday, but there you go.

He also seemed to suggest that we were three weeks from completion, and two weeks from then would be hand over, making a total of six weeks, and having done the addition in my head a few times, I'm still not sure how that works, but there you go.  That would put it second week of December rather than the first.  He did say six weeks one week ago, and is still saying six weeks today, so...

Also the tiler seemed to forget the Alfresco, because when I asked when it was going to be completed, he had to get his ipad out and then make some hurried phone calls for the tiler to call him back!  Hmm.

Housemate #1 arrives on 12 November, which is less than two weeks away.  He is going to stay in the spare room here until the new house is ready, and will start paying rent straight away which is great!  It does mean that I have to start reorganising and packing straight away, which is not altogether a bad thing.  It will be good to have stuff boxed up in advance, ready for the move.

Also yesterday, I went to a puppy playdate in North Lakes and there were about fifteen fluffy cavoodles, which was pretty much cuteness overload.  Lily seemed to enjoy herself although after about an hour she started looking at me and grunting as though to say "I'm done now, can we go?" 

 

That's about it in news.  Oh yes, the bank has approved the loan addition for the driveway and landscaping, so I have to sort that paperwork out, and I have just one payment left to make to the builder.  Or rather, the bank does.  SO CLOSE.

Lily's giant bear

 

Lily has a giant bear, which which she loves to play tug o war.  

I tease her with it by making her sit and wait, or putting the bear on top of her.

 

Or putting the Lily on top of the bear, either way.

 

And then when she does get to play the growling is ever so ferocious.

 

It almost scares me except

 

She's just so itty bitty!!

Lots of Rocky time

So I'm currently spending most of my life in Rocky, which is fine because it pays well, and let's face it, there are a lot of things to buy for the new house.  Let's see... curtains, blinds, security screens, fans, light fittings, TV, fridge... so basically I'm selling my soul to the company and working whenever they like.

Lily doesn't approve.

 

That's her, sitting outside B&B's house looking at me accusingly.  She cried when I left her, too.  I'm back on Tuesday though and am sure to make up for abandoning her by spoiling her horribly.

 

She also woke me up at 0300 wanting to go outside, and then when I finally got up she was very insistent on cuddles.  Ok, I wasn't hard to convince.

I'm hoping to call the building supervisor this week - maybe even tomorrow - to find out whether they have an approximate time line for the house completion.  It is looking pretty awesome, with most of the tiling done and the render complete on the exterior.  They are supposed to give me a 3 weeks notice of handover, so clearly I'm not there yet, but I'd like more of a general idea!  Especially as I've actively started looking for housemates. 

 

How exciting !  Just rather big and empty at the minute, which hopefully having two housemates will help to fill.

Lily didn't get featured in any of this week's house photos as they were busy working on the garage door, and I didn't want her to get in the way.

Whole 30

It's the last day of whole 30 and it's been very hard.  The last 3 days have been especially stressful with work, and that hasn't helped with the healthy eating.  I have stayed strong, however, and I have but hours to go.  Even though all I want is chocolate.  You have no idea how much I want chocolate.  This whole 'breaking food habits' thing is a complete myth.  Stress = chocolate and that ain't gonna change for me! 

I am going to have a (sensible) cheat day tomorrow and introduce dairy back into the mix.  Really just to see how food types affect how I feel.  This will involve chocolate.  I'm not going to be strict and exclusive the rest of my life, so I figure mainly paleo with a cheat day now and then. 

In other news... There's nothing really.  Nothing but work and work and waiting around to hear from work... Oh yes, tonight I am going to L's for dinner, if she makes it back fromRockhampton.  She has been waiting all day for them to fix the airplane so this could change!

 

Sunday

 We had our last club shoot of 2016 today.  Next month there is the club championship and of course in December there is the break up, but this was the last graded shoot to go towards the end of year results.  Initially I thought I couldn't go, as I lost my membership cards from my quiver - but I turned up anyway and they were happy to accommodate me.  Maybe it was the club shirt.

See?  And I scored 648, I missed three shots on the one arrow range, one due to getting the distance wrong (40m) and the other two because the bow wiggled just as I shot.  If I practised, my arm would be stronger and therefore less prone to wiggle.

After the shoot, I headed to Mango Hill to check out the house.  It's looking better and better every day: only the render, garage door and paint to go on the outside.  They are asking for trouble though as piles of tiles in the garage could easily go missing!  Good thing it's their insurance not mine. 

 

 

Inside, tiling in the main areas has begun.  Once again they forgot to lock the back door so I was able to sneak inside: being careful not to step on any tiles in case they were fresh.  The kitchen and bathroom cabinets are all installed too.

 

Also, I got to meet one set of neighbours.  This is the guy who has been emailing me about fencing: he and his partner moved in a couple of weeks ago.  They said they had seen me around on weekends but hadn't realised that I was Kate - apparently they were expecting an old woman and 'not a teenager'. Haha!  They seemed to be a very nice couple, from the Phillipines, and apparently came to Aus around the same time as I did.  So hopefully we get on very well in the future - I would like some nice and friendly neighbours.

And finally this is just a massive moth that has been in my house for two days.  I'm just letting him live with me and Lily as I'm not really sure what to do with him.  Sometimes he surprises me in the kitchen, and other times he just hangs out on the stairs.

 

Things

What has been happening lately? Well, I went riding in Rockhampton and now I ache everywhere!  At least it was fun :)

 

I ate bantam eggs for breakfast, that I collected from my friend's shed, so that was cool.  6 eggs, 6 mouthfuls, a lot of peeling effort. 

I came home and went to pick up two little doggies.  Lily was good and Gatsby was trying - I'm now lying in bed really not wanting to get up because as soon as I move he'll think it's playtime again.

 

Trying to lock him out of the bedroom didn't work: cue scratching manically at the door. Even when locked out with Lily.

He also decided he wanted to sleep ON me, which wasn't going to happen. And then a couple of hours in, at midnight, decided it was playtime again. And again at about four.  Little evil ratbag.  He may or may not have been unceremoniously backhanded at 4 am by a semi-unconscious human. I cannot be held responsible any of my actions when I am asleep. + I didn't hurt him.

We went for a walk (this was before bed obviously) and having been bowled over several times by hyper Gatsby, she decided it was safer between my legs.

 

So funny.

Soon I will have to get up as I need to straighten the house, get ready for work, feed the dogs, and head off. Yeehah.

Oh yes, and for those who frequent Bribie Island, I flew right past it so I took a photo.  The sun was in the wrong direction so it's not great, but you get the idea.

 

Due to multiple roster changes, I am now sitting in Rocky airport waiting to pax back to Brisbane where I get to sit in Brisbane airport for awhile before operating to Bundy.  Yay for disruptions.  It does mean that I'm home tonight instead of in a hotel: but home alone as Lily is with B&B until Friday, and I, not home for long enough to warrant picking her up.  I leave again early tomorrow morning.  At least I get to go to the last Connect of the year tonight.  They are having pizza, which I will have to politely decline.  Thank you, but no thank you very much.

It is just six days until the end of my Whole 30.  I have religiously stuck to approved food, although I haven't been the greatest with my snacks - eating lots of fruit to feed the sugar dragon - so I am now trying to cut this out, and may extend my 30 awhile longer.  Or just go paleo, we shall see.  At least being finished the 30 days means I don't need to be as strict with eating out, etc! 

I currently have the weekend off - we shall see - and I get to have Gatsby after work on Friday and possibly for the night, so that will be fun.  They may both end up having baths.  They may not.  It all depends on my state of mind.  Let's face it, it may just be easier to give the sheets a bath on Saturday.

On Sunday there is a club shoot, which will be my first in months, work permitting.  I went for a quick practise shoot yesterday before work, and yes I am very weak and would like to get a bow hook so that I don't have to carry the bow for both rounds.  Once again, we shall see if I can find one.  So much to wait and see about!

And of course I must make the inevitable trip up to see the house: I am limiting myself to once weekly so that I don't go completely insane.

Sunday antics

I woke up this morning at 0530 with nothing more than stiffness to herald in the new day, which was pleasant.  At least it was a lot nicer than waking in pain, and it allowed me to cuddle Lily for an hour before getting up, instead of having to get up for relief.  This new medication from the doctor must be working, although I'm not 100% sure how I feel about that.  Either that or it's the magnesium...

Yesterday I started the day with a short run: it's nice to have my Garmin watch again, having thought that it was lost irretrievably.  In case you missed that memo, I found it in a bag of cleaning products under the sink!  Wow, from thinking I left it at the apartment to thinking I had accidentally given it to charity in a donation bag, I cannot think of any better outcome.

After the run, I did my budget, something that I've wanted to do for awhile, and now I kind of wish I hadn't but at least I know where I stand.  Then I cleaned out the garage as I'm getting M&M's furniture today: a bedroom suite, mattress and dining table.  I'm hoping that most of it leans up against the wall in the garage so that my car still fits but we'll see.  The previous contents (minus the car) are now either upstairs (ie the bike) or in the living room.  There are only a couple of months to go, and my car likes being protected from the elements.

Lunch happened somewhere around this time: I've taken to roasting sweet potato with garlic and smoked paprika, and it adds a lot of taste to otherwise relatively bland dishes.  Apparently the point of Whole 30 is to minimise snacking, which I've been failing at, so I've been trying to increase my portion size to attempt 3 decent meals 5 hours apart.  It's a work in progress.

 

We should have seen the Glasshouse Mountains in the distance

It was quite overcast yesterday which actually worked out well for my motorcycle ride in the afternoon. For those of you who follow Facebook, it was not a moped, that was Javi being an idiot.  We went on a scenic ride up Mount Mee, and although the view over the glasshouse mountains was obscured by the mist, it was still a beautiful ride.  So green that it would have reminded me of Ireland except for the Australian flora and plunging landscape. 

 

 

Posing (not a moped)

I didn't actually ride the bike my myself, I was a passenger.  But after we rode for 3 hours and filled up the tank with just 9 litres, I can see one of the benefits!  It was a lot of fun too, but then I'd need all the gear (I wouldn't be comfortable riding regularly without decent protection, as I think too much about the consequences of coming off.) and it would get hot and inconvenient.  Also, I don't think Lily would appreciate a motorbike.

Anyway, as soon as we got back it was time for church and then I rushed home sans dinner at North Lakes because a) Whole 30 and b) L had been home alone since 2 and I didn't want a scene of devastation on my return...

And now, as it's almost time for breakfast, and the washing machine is singing to me, I must go.

(No title)

Spring has officially sprung.

 

And it matches my converse, and Lily is loving running like a mad thing through the playing fields.  When I got home last night after midnight she was disappointed that I didn't want to play, but she is making up for it now.

 

 

I have so many ideas of things to cook, and so few days to cook them.  Yesterday, as afore mentioned, I made red Thai curry.  I ate it in the break room in Emerald and it was delicious (and everyone envied me).  A great meal for trips as once cool the sauce thickens considerably so it's not quite as spillable as some meals.  

Then I'm reading the Whole 30 forum this morning - as you do - and notice Shepherds' Pie.  Why didn't I think of that before?  Seriously !  A mince stew - ok, potato - ok, add it together, yummy!  So maybe that is my next project.  Although, speaking of projects, I have a few coming up.

Today is what they have decided to call a 'blank day', in other words, it's a day off to make me legal, but they don't want to call it a legal day off just in case they want me to work, in which case they would substitute a different day - but nobody chooses to work anyway because you don't get paid extra... It doesn't make much sense.  

I have booked a haircut at lunch time.  Traditionally these take 2-4 hours.  I know, you say, how can a haircut possibly take that long?  They do.  I'm getting my hair re-styled and I've no idea how, but probably shorter, and maybe very much shorter, it all depends what my hair stylist wants to do.  He's just back from the New York fashion show so he should have some cool ideas!  Scary, exciting, I can't wait, and I'm almost giving him free reign this time, except that it must be 'low maintenance' for my laziness and 'natural' for work.  Watch this space.

I also want to clear out my cupboards of any non-healthy foods.  I've decided to keep such staples as pasta and flour as they're always useful, especially when having people over.  For instance I have friends staying over on Friday night, and one is a vegetarian so I am making them pumpkin and pine nut fettuccine, minus the fettuccine as I don't have any, so their choice between spaghetti and spirals!  So there is cream in the fridge which is strictly not-for-me, but everything else there is edible.  I'm not sure whether I should buy them milk.  There's no cereal anyway.

I have found an awesome little fruit and veggie shop in Taigum, that I may have mentioned before, that does way better deals than Coles or Woollies.  Even the staples like onions and carrots come out cheaper, and I can get two kilos of sweet potato for three dollars, etc.  With the amount of fresh stuff I'm absorbing, it's pretty great.

Here's a downside to Whole 30: my bar fridge isn't big enough.  This means that foods such as onions, sweet potato, apples, etc are relagated to sitting on top of the fridge as there really isn't room inside.  It's not particularly hot yet and they don't seem to mind.  I may transfer them to the bottom of the pantry as it gets warmer.

 

My apologies to all of you who don't read this blog to hear about food: it has given me new enthusiasm, I'm afraid!  Here's a photo of the sunset, the moon and Venus, flying to Emerald last night, to make up for all the cooking.

 

More cooking

Whole 30 red Thai curry?  I don't mind if I do.

 

The cake

We went from this:

To this:

 

In just four hours.

Actually 3h45 but who's counting?  It is a little cracked and one bit broke due to being too violent with a skewer but hey, other than that it looks (and smells) pretty darn good.  

Now to wait until it cools and then I can free it from its cage and douse it liberally with alcohol.  

 

6 hours later

Ta da!!!

 

It better taste good.  

It's October

The Christmas puddings are officially underway.  It may not be September any more, but hey, second of October isn't too bad!  At least I remembered.  I have a lot of left over dried fruit and have determined that, by buying a little butter, extra currants and some glace cherries, I should be able to make a fruit cake for Christmas also.  Maybe it will be a housewarming cake!  We shall see.  This will be my second attempt at fruit cake baking - the first, for the wedding, turned out really well.  I believe there may still be some in the freezer at the apartment. 

 
Christmas pudding, ready to steam

As usual, I got up super early this morning and, after a hastily-made cup of coffee, Lily and I headed off to check out the house.  Having been away for five days, I was excited to see the changes, but once there, a little disappointed at how little had been done.  They had a whole week, and all they did was cornices and the beginning of the ducted air-conditioning.  *sniffs*.  If I were a builder... I would be pretty much finished the house by now...

 
Ducted air con vents

 
Cornices

It was ever so nice picking up Lily yesterday.  Five days turned out to be an incredibly long trip, and although with good crew the entire time, both myself and L were really looking forward to being home.  After getting Lily, I did a grocery shop - ok, a Christmas pudding shop - and then L and I headed over to Javi's, who was having a paella event.  We both arrived post-paella, but I made some excellent sweet potato chips and chicken tenders with coconut flour, which were amazing. 

I was debating whether to bother with Christmas at all this year, feeling a bit despondent about it, to be honest.  it seemed somewhat pointless to make Christmas puddings (which I wanted to be a tradition) when Christmas wasn't going to exist like I had expected it to.  However, some of the girls from church suggested doing a Christmas party / house warming, although potentially not on Christmas day itself, so I'm beginning to feel more cheerful about it now.  It is good to have something to look forward to.

There has obviously been a lot of change lately, and I am realising why there are such things as therapy dogs.  When I'm home, feeling lonely or down, and just need a hug, Lily is always ready to cuddle - and always listens without talking back!  Obviously, it can still be lonely, and sometimes my thoughts completely take over and then I'm like "Ack", but she definitely helps.  And with this Whole 30 detox, I am determined not to let eating my emotions be a way out!  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

It is definitely Spring here now: yesterday it was 27C, which was really nice.  I spent two days in Canberra though, and when I woke up it was just 2C, with torrential rain and gusting 30 knots.  And they dare presume to call that Spring!  I have even found a tomato plant in the garden here, and am looking forward to see what it produces for me.  No, I did not plant any seeds.

I am basically on house arrest today, listening to my Christmas puddings bubble gently in the back ground - they take between 5 - 7 hours to steam/boil, and I don't particularly mind.  Lily has collapsed in a heap of fluff on the tiles, and I think I shall watch some Netflix.  Perhaps, later, we shall go for a walk, and Lily can chase some birds.