On the 11th Day of Christmas

On the 11th Day of Christmas I went back to work like so many people today.  It was a struggle at first.  I found it hard to get into the groove, but I did.  I thought I would miss my naps, but I actually missed the idea of being able to have a nap more than a nap itself.  I didn’t need one.  I thought I would but I didn’t.

But one thing I did do, and will continue to do every day, at home and at work, is do at least one thing I was going to put off until tomorrow, or the next day, or the next day.  There are some things you know you should do, but then your first thought is “that can wait til later”. Not anymore, well not all the time, anyway.  I have tried this before to be more organised, more tidy and more productive, but it does take time to turn around that voice in your head that says ït can wait” but I am determined in 2011 to do it more regularly so it becomes a habit. I want to be more  organised, more tidy and more productive and I WILL.

On the 10th Day of Christmas

On the 10th day of Christmas I went to the movies with my mother, a very dear friend and her mother and it was because of Twitter we went together.  My mother and I had planned to see The King’s Speech, so had my friend and her mother and it wasn’t until she tweeted that fact that we changed plans and went together, our second joint mother daughter activity.  It was a great movie and Colin Firth definitely deserves to win awards for it, as does Geoffrey Rush.

But most importantly, the afternoon reminded me how much I enjoy going to the movies.  Aaron and I don’t go that often (he would rather spend his money on other things) but I love it.  The escapism is one thing, but I have learnt so much from seeing movies, even from silly rom com’s and far-fetched action flicks.  I even went to see 4 movies in one day once, plus I have (in various locations around this house, in various boxes etc) all the stubs of every movie I have seen at the cinema for the last 17 years or so.  To some people this is hoarding, to me they are memories.

More importantly, going to the movies is one activity you can do on your own in public without looking to stupid.  Dinner for ones, no, movies yes. Although I must admit I used to make up stories about how my absent friends were running late in case anyone ever questioned me being solo, not that anyone ever did.  Sad isn’t it.

So after going to the movies yesterday I have vowed to make time to go more often, even if it is on my own.

On the 9th Day of Christmas

On the 9th day of Christmas I did very little so I am going to borrow the 9 Things I Did in 2010 idea from Jo.

1. I went to VALA and met lots of tweeps in real life for the first time.  Sharing things on Twitter before meeting IRL made networking at the conference so much easier as I felt I already knew so much about people before hand.  I am really grateful to all of the friends I have made through Twitter for their support, encouragement, learning and laughter.

Twitter peeps at VALA

2. I became a home owner.  Well actually I bought half a house, the house Aaron and I already lived in that Aaron had bought with a friend 7 years ago.  In February this year, that friend agreed to sell his half of the house to me.

3. Aaron and I got married. 6 years and 1 month after our 1st date we got married in a simple but fun wedding ceremony at Walkabout Creek on Brisbane’s outskirts.  I had always thought that I was the eloping kind of girl, not wanting a big fuss (I never dreamt of my wedding day as a girl growing up) but it was great to share the day with our family and friends.  It was made even more special with the celebrant and photographer being friends of ours.

Our wedding day

4. Went to New Zealand for the first time when Aaron and I spent 3 weeks driving around the South Island for our honeymoon.  We had a great time, even if it was a bit cold at times, and we both had colds.  The scenery is spectacular and the people are so friendly, I could definitely go back.

5. I co-convened the New Grads stream at the ALIA Access 2010 conference.

6. I spent 6 months (and it continues) co-acting Library Manager at work, whilst still maintaining my normal position.  It was stressful and at times difficult but I have learned so much about managing people most of all.

7. I participated in several challenges with my PLN, to assist with my professional development, including 1pic1thoughinAug.

8. I continued my driving lessons.  Driving doesn’t come natural to me, nor is the need to drive very strong. After 17 years of using public transport in Brisbane you get used to it. Plus living so close to a major shopping centre and bus station reduces the need to drive much but I will persevere.  My driving instructor says all I need to do now is practice so practice is what I will do in 2011 and hopefully get my license soon.

9. I volunteered to be a participant in a research study for the Black Dog Institute (I will post more about this later).

After such an eventful 2010, hopefully 2011 will be a little quieter.

On the 8th Day of Christmas

 

On the 8th day of Christmas I cooked.

I finally made the pavlova I was going to make for Christmas Day.  It turned out okay.  It was a bit more sticky and did weep a bit and was not as crunchy as I prefer but I blame the humidity on that.  Also, the cream (I cheated and bought already thickened cream) wasn’t quite as thick as I hoped, so combined with a weepy pav and slightly runny cream it was a big sticky mess, albeit a tasty sticky mess.

Today also was the first day of a new challenge I have set myself.  Not only am I partaking in the Daily Image 2011 Challenge started by @sirexkat on Flickr I have decided to set myself a Weekly Cooking Challenge.  This is something I have thought about doing for a while so why not start the new year on a good note.  It is not as challenging as the Julie and Julia project completed by Julie Powell but a simpler idea to cook one thing every week from one of my many cook books, of which there are many (a selection below).

This challenge as 2 basic aims:

1. To actually use the cook books I have;
2. To try to rekindle my love of cooking,  I used to love cooking (and I even have a degree in Home Economics) but in recent years it has seemed more of a chore than anything else.

Week 1 – January 1 2011 – Pavlova

So today’s effort, the aforementioned pavlova comes from The Australian Women’s Weekly’s The Complete Cook. I have always liked cook books from The Australian Women’s Weekly.  I grew up with them, Mum has a rather large collection herself, and years ago (in my pre-Librarian days) my dream job was to work with in their test kitchen.  A dream I never followed.

 

The pavlova recipe

My Pavlova

Good luck to all who have started new challenges for 2011 or set New Years resolutions.  May we all be strong enough to keep them.

 

 

On the 7th day of Christmas

On the 7th day of Christmas we got a new letterbox and a fence that it just about finished.

Aaron (with the help of friends and even my mother) has been working for weeks months on building a front fence for our house.  It has been the topic of conversation amongst friends for so long now I can’t even remember when it started.  It has been hampered a lot by all of the rain we have had but today it is almost finished. This morning we bought a new letterbox and new house numbers and this afternoon Aaron put it up. I am so proud of my husband for the hard work he has put into this and the result looks really good. He definitely deserves a rest day tomorrow.

Note: Aaron is yet to build a gate, as he says, that is future Aaron’s problem.  A project for the New Year no doubt.