Lisa's Life

I'm pregnant!!

2007-11-05T11:45:00.000+11:00

This will be old news to many - but I haven't blogged about our exciting news....So we are going to have a baby boy who is due on Australia Day (Jan 26th)!!! Stephen, Harry and I are so ecstatic. Here is our 3D scan we had a few months ago - it still has a bit of an alien look about him but you get the idea.
The pregnancy is going well with the familiar nausea/tiredness in the first trimester, feeling great in second and now in my third feeling huge, not sleeping well and peeing every half hour. This baby is finding me eating all kinds of diary products (with Harry it was porridge - a bowl full every day!) except the ones I'm not allowed too - you know all the good stuff like - brie, fetta, blue vein, soft serve ice-cream :(
Anyhoo, we are all doing well and Harrison is really into chatting away to the baby and wants us to call him, Nigel (after his hero on Prehistoric Park!!) which we flatly refuse - sorry to all the Nigel's out there!!!

It has been too long!!!

2007-09-09T21:45:00.000+10:00

Well it has been ages since I have blogged!!! So many photos to paste up here and so much news....

Where to start, ummm... Here are some photos from our recent (well not really, it was back in July) holiday to the Gold Coast, Queensland. You see every year, I go a bit SAD (seasonal affected disorder) as Melbourne's winter is too drab and dreary for sunny me. So we head over to Queensland for a bit of sunshine to warm my bones.

This first picture is when we went whale watching - this was an amazing experience. The first 10 minutes was peaceful enough going through the canals but once we hit open waters - WOW - does it get choppy!! I was hanging on and bear hugging Harry so that we didn't go flying around the boat. But then when we were out there - WOW - the whales and dolphins were amazing sight. The sheer size of these amazing creatures. Harry throughly enjoyed it and is smitten with humpback whales and will often be singing the haunting notes of a whale under water.

This next photo was taken up from Q1 which was very cool but I did get a little nervous when Harry ran up to the window and started banging on them (yes, I know that they are thick glass that stands up to whatever people can dish out) but we are up awfully high!!)

This photo is at a yummy Greek restaurant just across from the beach and Harry was in a kissing mood - moment captured by Stephen! It was one of the best Greek meals that I have had in ages - I realised tat Greek is probably my favourite dining cuisine - not to mention that it totally caters for vegos that eat seafood and I just LOVE baklava (not sure about the spelling)

The last photo is proof that the weather was gorgeous and that we did get down to the beach most days - around the early 20C most days. This photo has Ralph and Morgan in it too (friends that we stayed with for a few days - thanks guys! You're awesome and we so appreciated it, especially the early 5am run to the airport, Ralph - you champ!!)

As you can see we had a great time and we will be back again next year.

It's getting late now, so I will sign off but I will get around to blogging again as I do enjoy capturing my sooo blessed life and sharing my joy with the cyber world. Cheers for now, Lisa

Movie Review - Music & Lyrics

2007-03-28T18:40:00.000+10:00

Had a night to myself and wanted a 'chick flick' so Music & Lyrics fitted the bill.....however, it is a very shallow, nothing much new, and just a few laughs. I know everyone says "well it is Hugh Grant and he only plays one role - Hugh Grant". Yes, but he can be adorable in that role (think "Love actually" and "About a Boy", "Four weddings and a funeral", "Bridget
Jones"), but at other times borders on annoying (insert this movie).
The best bit of the movie is in the opening credits where you see Hugh dancing really badly and hamming it up in a 80's boy band (think "Wham!", "Bros"). It is hilarious and I STILL have the lyrics in my head. "And pop! goes my heart...." Ahh, the trip down memory lane to the time of my red, sparkly leg warmers and big hair. Aynway, this movie rates a 1.5 stars out of 5. Maybe a DVD choice, if there really wasn't anythink else!

Movie Review - The Queen

2007-02-17T20:38:00.000+11:00

At Nillumbik we have started a bit of an informal Movie Club - ohh how exciting! I have always wanted to do this - to see a movie with a group of friends and then talk about it afterwards - pull it apart, rate it, compare with other movies, etc. Well, for our first movie we choose "The Queen". You see our "club" consists of all girls, hence we went for a "chick flick" but we steered clear of a teeny bopper, check your brain at the door, fluffy genre. I think we navigated that quite well.
The Queen has taken a few awards already and sees Helen Mirren acclaimed as she richly deserves. I had heard that this movie was orginally intented for the small screen as a telemovie - and thus I went in with small expectations. I saw small evidences of small screeness, but that isn't to say that I didn't throughly enjoy this movie. For although it doesn't have a grand cinematic feel but what it lacks in visual punch it makes up in a captivating script and cast.
I found the two central characters intriguing (other characters I found one dimensional and very annoying - Charles, Prince Philip and Cherie Blair) and found myself wondering about how much of this could be true and how it must be to walk in their shoes. I was moved to tears in the movie when the news was broken that Diana had died - and thought again about her two boys, and brought back where I was when I heard the news all those years ago (in my car, George, an ugly browny yellow car that frequently broke down), driving down my street in Watsonia, to our house in Elder Street (a house that I loathed - poor design, unbearably hot in summer and claustrophobic). I remember not really believing the radio report and thinking it was some sick joke. Do you remember where you were when you heard the news?
Anyway, this movie is worth seeing but by all means you could wait till the DVD. In conclusion I will give it a 2.5 out of 5. It losts points because days later after seeing it I have thought little about it - it only gave me a few more shades of the story. My favourite scene is when the Queen is stranded out on the moor (not sure if you would call it that...what exactly defines a "moor"?) and she breaks down crying. My interesting observation is that even then in this movie we do not get to look upon this powerful figure in a most vulnerable human moment, instead we only see her back silhouette sobbing. My questions is; are the English filmmakers really that unprepared to let us see their queen crying - that it would be too out of character? or was it deemed to be too confronting for us the audience to accept a bleary eyed, snot running queen who we have known only to be a stalwart of dignity and stoic endurance? Why is it that women who are powerful are not allowed to show emotion without somehow losing their position of strength?
One of my favourite lines in a movie is in "Courage Under Fire" when Meg Ryan's character, Captain Karen Emma Walden, is leading her troupe who has been caught behind enemy lines. As they become aware of their situation and she is faced with impossible decisions she begins crying, not sobbing, but calmly, quietly crying, in what is surely a life ending situation. One of her men, who is freaking out, out of control and has been trying to undermine her, starts mouthing off saying, "Great, now the Captain is crying." She turns and spits back at him, "It's just tension, you arsehole. It means shit." And then precedes to give her men a plan of action to save them. I like to think that a woman in power, in positions of leadership can be better leaders not because they do it like a man, but because they are a woman and can recognise and name what is going on - including our powerful, driving emotions!!!
But I am rambling now....
We chatted about the movie at the Pancake Palour afterwards and we all loved it. We swapped all our royal gossip and conspiracy theories - which was deliciously fun. The others gave it an average of 3 to 3.5 stars. So I guess I am being a bit harsher with my
2.5 stars out of 5.

Dinos, Bugs & sea turtles

2007-01-23T22:10:00.000+11:00

We got a "Museum Membership" for Christmas (thanks Johnson's) and we have been twice already! The Museum is Harry's top choice now on Family morning (each Sunday). It has been fantastic, we average a couple of hours each visit and still have only seen half.
Harry is sooo into dinosaurs at the moment. Particularly as he has seen Harry and his bucket of Dinosaurs - he now carries around hs own bucket and watches an episode each night with a huge grin - I really think he believes it is a cartoon about him! He can name all the usual dinosaurs and will do a great impersonation of a Rex.
The dinosaur display is not that spectacular but Harry loves it. The children's museum is great though - he loved climbing over the displays of a giant sea turtle. Stephen HATED the "Bugs Alive" as we were looking at the spiders as big as your hand - we realised that they were alive - Stephen then asked rapid questions about "what if they get out?", "are they really real?", "is that glass cabinet safe/strong/escape proof?" We quickly moved on. I managed a quick look at that Aussie hero - Phar Lap.
This weekend we probably will check out Scienceworks!!!

Monthly Movie Review - Happy Feet

2006-12-29T22:20:00.000+11:00

What a cute movie! We went the day after Boxing Day with Harry - and what fun it was. It is a great movie - visually stunning and entertaining enough for both children and adults.
The real star of the movie is Robin Williams whose is the voice of several characters.
The story has themes of being yourself, friendship, the power of one voice (or feet), and inner strength. It is a lovely story - well worth seeing.
I also checked out the movie's website www.happyfeetmovie.com is chock ful of extras - games, pictures, ringtones, colouring pages, etc. I plan to check it out further with Harry tommorrow.
I give this movie 4 stars out of 5. Harry loved it too - he was tapping his way out of the cinema!

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-29T14:10:00.000+11:00

Hope you had a great Chrissy - we certainly had a full day stuffed with family and food! Breakfast with the Veal's (including the bouncy Buster!), the traditional strawberries, raspberries, blueberries in icing sugar mix (yum!) and my homemade museli (which we are now making fresh each day and loving it - it is so easy to make up). See footnote of what I throw together.

Then we moved onto the Annett's for a gorgeous lunch and huge amounts of presents (Harry has finally cottoned onto what they are all about).

Then in the late afternoon back to our place for a seafood dinner with the Said's. Picture LOTS of noise and small people running around high on presents and sugar - and that was just me and Nan!

Here are a few photos of the day (sorry they aren't great as I forgot to take many snaps - Ian did you get some better ones?) We had a lovely time and it was so nice to have all the Said's together around the one table (last Chrissy to do this was 8 years ago!)

Thanks to everyone we really did have a wonderful day and at the end of the day I personally was grateful for being part of such an amazing family (even if I did need a little lie down at the end)

Love to you all and wishing you a Happy New Year (oh yeah - got to start thinking about another party/bbq/gathering - or maybe just a quiet night in!!!)

Lisa's easy peasy homemade museli:
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup of natural bran
1/2 cup of wheat germ
handful of thickly chopped raw nuts (bazil, almond, cashew, peacan)
handful of pumpkin kernls
handful of sunflower seeds
handful of fresh dried fruit medley
handful of linseed

Just mix it together in a bowl and serve it with vanilla youghurt, milk and fresh fruit (mine today was necterine)

It's the season for Festivals!

2006-11-13T09:55:00.000+11:00

Here are some photos, I have had on my camera from various festivals and events we have been to lately. These photos are from the Hurstbridge Wattle Festival. It was a great day (in between the rain). Here is Harry making a rain stick (in Koori style) which is proudly displayed in our front garden. The next photo is of Harry on the merry-go-around (note: he is alot braver than his mum, who waited till she was about 8 to go on a roundabout!) He loved it, although he did try and jump to another horse in mid flight, much to the delight of his parents ;) The other highlight of the day for Harry was having 3 rides on the ponies! And there were huge tears each time he had to get off. See mum on the right, with a proud smile on her face. I don't know where he gets his love of animals and horse riding - heee heee heee. All the rides were for free which was fantastic and the event (although we didn't get to see all of it) was beautiful run and organised. Well done, to all the Hursty co-ordinators!

The next lot of photos are from the Panton Hill festival. It was just Harry & I, and we went quite early, so we got to see a fair bit without the crowds. The day started off with a Sunday Service on the stage in the Memorial Park which had some beautiful singers from the Hurstbridge and Panton Hill Singers - they did gospel, old traditional, southern american, type of songs, which were gorgeous. Then they had Dave Fuller, from God's Squad speaking, all up it was a great presentation from God's people in Panton Hill.

The market stalls were a bit light on compared to last year - but local businesses were there, saw a few familiar faces, and I got to find out a bit more about the Diamond Creek Toy Library (which we have sinced joined up too - new toys each fortnight!!)

The first photo is of Harry in the swing chair ride. This is funny. Harry saw the rides and was pretty keen to have a go. He had loved them at the Wattle Festival, so I thought "why not?" even though this ride looked a bit more scary, there were older children on it (6-10yrs) and it went pretty fast. I asked him several times, and got him to look at it. I think he thought it was just like a swing at the playground. Anyway I put him on (cue photo) and stood behind the barrier. The guy starts up the ride and.....scared Harry is freaking out, screams as he wizzs by, I and other mums are asking (yelling) at the guy to turn it off, before Harry jumps out. Poor little man! So Harry was consoled by his first taste of fairy floss!

The last photo is the Cobb&Co horse carriage that we went on twice as well. It was a gorgeous experience and the horses seemed to be well looked after. We also went panning for gold in the historical soicety's setup in the Panton Hill Hall. It was a fantastic day which the organisers did even a better job than last year!

Gee, I love a festival - bring on Make Poverty History festival (18 Nov) and the Eltham Town Festival (19 Nov) this weekend.

Monthly Movie Review - Children of Men

2006-11-08T21:35:00.000+11:00

Went and saw "Children of Men" on the weekend (I finally got a "Recreate Time" for myself - yaaa). Not the usual chick flick I would indulge in for myself but I there were limited pickings and I saw really good reviews on "At The Movies" for this film, sooo off I went to Epping Cinemas.

This is one of those movies that are fantastic and thought provoking but leave you feeling gutted and wishing that you hadn't seen it!?

I really loved the way that it was shot. Lots of long scenes and time spent in one location gave you a real sense of being there and of real time. Also small scenes which added to the human feel of the movie (the scene with the main character, Theo, tries to put on a friend's pair of slippers and opts for the thongs instead - not relevant to the story but loved it) when so much of the film has this unworldly yet stuff of reality feel to it. Hard to explain, even hardier to communicate without images or feelings.

I cried at several points and at lots of other times had my face in my hands, hoping and praying for those trapped in this terrible future world which horrifically looks not unfamiliar.

Thoughts which still linger with me are:

what is the world going to be like for Harry?
where is our human compassion and is it a rare flower in a consumer/individualised society?
what is my response to the refugees here in Australia?
how is it that children do change us as people?

Well worth a look - but be prepared to be left empty...
4 stars out of 5.

Make Poverty History Concert here in Melbourne!

2006-10-27T14:30:00.000+10:00

Hi guys, came across this and i am very excited!! Check out the video for more info.

In case, you haven't heard the G20 is coming to town....and so here is our opportunity to make some noise on behalf of millions who can't.

There is the concert (sounds fab!!) and there is also a free forum on thursday 16 november or the one I and my gorgeous family will definately be at...

"Make Poverty History Festival

Come along and sample Fairtrade products, take part in workshops and enjoy the entertainment.

When: Saturday 18 November 2006, 10am–8pm

Where: Alexandra Gardens, Melbourne

Come along to sample and buy Fairtrade products, learn and participate in workshops or just lay back and enjoy the entertainment."

See Oxfam website for more details. And I am sure I will posting photos from the day.

If you are thinking of going let me know - would love to catch up over a picnic rug!!

Happy Birthday to Dione!

2006-10-17T15:10:00.000+10:00

Here are some photos from my sister's birthday party earlier this month. As you can see, she is a great mentor for Harry! People say that Harry looks heaps like my dad - what do you think?
The other photo is of Harry's Great Aunty Lauren...ohh does that sound special, hey Lauren :)

Some more cute cousin photos...

2006-10-17T14:57:00.000+10:00

Here are some piccies of the Dante, Harry boy and the lovely Lucia. Do you think they are having fun or what!!

Go Melbourne Victory!

2006-10-17T10:52:00.000+10:00

This is hugely late in coming - but here are photos from our evening at the Telstra Dome watching Melbourne Victory last month. It was a great night - in fact it was our "date" night! Each saturday night we try to keep free to hang out together and once a month we even get out, to paint the town red, or whatever... Anyway this time round, Stephen suggested that we go see the soccer together, so me being the amazing wife that I am, agreed. On the condition that I get to pick the next one - watch for the next post about Eltham Little Theatre's production ;)
Well, it ended up being a huge event with family and friends joining us. Steve J and I missed all the first 10 minutes with goals and players being sent off - we were out getting supplies (huge trays of chips, beer, and other assorted consumables). My logic in volunteering to get the supplies after we had picked out our seats was, "nothing ever happens for ages in soccer - we won't miss much". Hmm, little did I know about the round ball game.
I really did enjoy myself. Although I look shocking in the photo - I was feeling a queasy (maybe the beer and chips?) But I think the funniest photo on the night is this one of my hubby. Can you tell he is a die hard fan, "a founding member" in fact! Eyes intensly studying the field, shouting (all the shouting - and he complains the next day when he has a speaking engagement and no sound above a girlie whisper!) But it is his chance to vent, rage, feel highs and lows (although with Victory's winning streak there hardly has been any chances) so although I did see another side to Stephen, it was an enjoyable to experience and we might even go together again....but maybe not on a date night! I promise to do some more posting soon. Watch this space - for a Theatre review, Panton Hill festival, and more cute cousin photos too!

Harry & Dante

2006-09-19T22:23:00.000+10:00

This is Harry and Dante hanging out at Auntie Claudie's & Uncle Ian's. We rocked over as the boys (Ian & Stephen) went to the footy (soccer). Harry really loves his cousin - he walks around watching and copying him. It is funny seeing Harry in awe. Dante loves picking Harry up and carrying him around, so it's a mutually fun time all round!

Bike riding at Hursty

2006-09-19T21:41:00.000+10:00

We are getting into biking around Hursty. We have had a couple of bikes for a while but during winter haven't had much opportunity to use them. With the beautiful weather on the weekend we discovered some new bike paths around the back of Hurstbridge. Harry loves going out on the back - but Daddy did bump over a huge ditch which he didn't appreciate. Don't they look cute!

Welcome Jack!

2006-09-18T22:52:00.000+10:00

Jack has arrived! Welcome to Jack - you are so cute and so small. Looking forward to getting to know you more. Congrats to Bec and Ben.

Monthly Movie Review

2006-09-18T21:35:00.000+10:00

On Sunday night (Lisa's receate time!!!) I had the night out. So my sister, Dione and I saw "Miami Vice" - I was a bit excited to see it with her, as we are 80's children. We grew up watching the orginal series each week and even have a home video that we took during school holidays so us dressed up as Tubbs and Crockett, with jackets on with the sleeves pushed up and collars up, hair slicked back, brooms used as ozzies, me with shoe polish as I was Tubbs. The video shows us running across the roof, yes the roof of our house and jumping off, yes jumping off - well it is Miami Vice! and the huge bush that we landed on was a bit worse for wear.
Anyway, so you can udnerstand our exictement about taking a trip down memory lane to see a teenage girls pinup boys on the big screen (mind you, it was Dione who was the real keen one, back when we were 15 and 13ish - as she also really enjoyed seeing their fast cars too!)
So what did we think - well it was a blast. The whole movie was fast, full on and sensory assualt. The soundtrack was loud and dominanting - which I loved!!! (Side note: I reckon that has often been a huge appeal for me, any movie or tv show - I'm thinking Dawson's Creek here... where the music plays just a big a role as the lead and if the music is great, then I am hooked!) I thought the acting was gritty but I did feel that the script let them down, there wasn't enough dialogue to really get more into their characters and it was difficult to hear them at times. Great visuals, just like the original series, Michael Mann is more about style than substance - but hey, when it looks this good, it can't be all bad.
My favourite scene is when Crockett takes the gorgeous and dangerous financial criminal, Isabella out on the high speed cigar boat and he asks her to hold the wheel as he leans across and smoothly takes off his jacket and then leans over and does her seatbeat over, as she is melting in her seat but giving him a "just you try it and I'll kill you" look, all this whilst pelting along and then he shoves it into top gear. Sounds corny and obivious (and it is) but gee, it's looks great!!
I give it a 3.5 stars out of 5.

Some facts about your mobile that I found interesting and true!

2006-09-06T21:33:00.001+10:00

Emergency number - The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly ...this number 112 can be dialed even while the keypad is locked. Try it out.

How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?
To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone:
* # 0 6 #
A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. (Pls do it right now.) Should your phone get stolen , you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that Whoever stole it can't use/sell it either and can use it as PAPER WEIGHT. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing Mobile phones.

Happy Birthday to Harry

2006-09-01T23:17:00.000+10:00

It was Harrison's second birthday on Saturday. He's two! It has gone sooo fast. We had a great day. It was alot more low key than his first party. I think we figured out that at the moment it is more for us than the little guy. I think though the next one he might start getting into it.

We had a BBQ lunch with just a few friends and family. The cake as you can see was a gorgeous chocky cake which didn't last long.

Harry got a trampoline which he and his nephew, Dante had fun trying out.

It was a lovely day!

Here is another photo of Harry and Dante in the cubby house in the backyard. (They have tiger faces painted on - it's not just the cake!)

I finally finished it!

2006-08-31T20:55:00.000+10:00

Been reading Elizabeth George's "In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner" and I finally finished it. I haven't been well lately so had a chance to read through to the end. Well, it wasn't bad. Can't say I am a huge fan of murder mystery who-dun-it's. And although an easy read it wasn't that thrilling....I would give it a 2 stars out of 5.
I had read "Missing Joseph" before this and had really enjoyed it - it had parental themes in it and more of a insight into the main characters. Give that a read instead.

Monthly Movie Review

2006-08-31T20:22:00.000+10:00

The "Life Of Mammals" with David Attenborough has been on high rotation at our home. I have always been animal documentary fan, now I know where I have obtained all my animal trivia. This particular series, is fantastic. It starts off with "The Winning Design" in which David wanders through the Australian landscape showing us kangaroos and platypus. It is wierd to hear and see a familiar bush scene in a doco. Harry's favourite epsiode of the series is "The Plant Predators" in which North Amercian bison bump heads fiercely as they fight for mating rights with the herd. The series go through "Chisellers", "Meat Eaters", "Return to Water" and others. My favourite is a rather telling episode, "Social Climbers", in which he looks at the life of monkeys. There is a particular look at Sri Lanka monkeys in which they have a class system in which some monkeys are "high born" and others lower in the society. This gives some the right to pick food even out of the mouths of others!!! They have a complex society in which David even shows us the female monkey flirting with another up and coming toyboy monkey, those above their social order without getting caught up the alpha males bodyguards! Then he shows us the baboons who again have a social pyramid but in which if you are holding an infant you won't be attacked because infants are respected and cared for. Hmm, lots of think about....

MySpace

2006-08-31T12:49:00.000+10:00

www.myspace.com/103749007
This is my bit of the myspace landscape. I just started to check it out as sooo many young people have been talking about myspace. Even photos we take for LinkU are commented that "that is such a myspace pose"...so here i am checking it out.
I have to say guys, I think it's a bit rubbish...just quietly. I mean it is really about how many friends do i have. oh yeah and ads. .. I do see the that it is big for musos as tracks can be added to your "site" (is that what you call it?) realitively easy. Oh course mine has U2 playing - how cool are they!!! Anyway, my initial reaction is - what does this say (and do) to young people's self identity when you are deduced (and valued) by how many "friends" you have and your soft porn photo on myspace is like???? Just a thought...

My sort of maths - logical?

2006-08-18T15:24:00.000+10:00

I thought this is a bit funny! I found Maths boring/frustrating/illogical - I know in essence Maths is supposed to be logical but is it really....

Old McDonald had a farm....

2006-08-15T22:09:00.000+10:00

We went to the Bundoora Park on the weekend. It was a a bit of a gem, a farm in the middle of surburbia.
"Why would you want to go to a farm when you live in Hurstbridge?", I hear you say. Well, on Saturday morning we asked the little guy what he would like to do, and his quick response was, "See some animals". Being the nature lover and resident biologist, that I am, I was just as quick to encourage his growing love and interest of animals, so I replied with a hearty, "Sure, bubbie". (Side note: We now regularly watch animal documentaries together but it's getting more trickier to explain why the lion is playing so roughly with the moneky and "yes, now the monkey is sleeping....")
I rememberrd the Hurstbridge Natural Parenting Playgroup has had several visits to the Bundoora Farm. So after some googling - we set off.

Harry had his first pony ride - technically he has been on a horse before birth, and a dozen or so times as a baby and toddler sitting on the back of Billie, my Quarter Horse cross Thoroughbred, whom I sold just six months ago :(

But here was Harry RIDING!!! Isn't he so cute - I was so proud of him, I thought that two steps forward would result in tears but he loved it. He wasn't worried at all and took to telling the lady who led him around, about the turkeys and other animals he had seen so far. He has a natural seat and was enjoying every second. I think at his age, I would have been dying to have a go, but too shy/nervous/ too scared to have a go (yes, it's true, as a child, I was very shy...until boarding school - but that is another story). I would have agonised about wanting to have a ride but would have pulled out just before it was my go and spent the rest of the day regretting that I didn't have the courage....That would be about right - hey Mum?

Anyway, I am very chuffed that he is a little animal lover - he wasn't even scared of the geese (...this time - he had already encoutered the hissing birds at Mernda Market) even when one pecked at his boot!

Although he has recently started channelling Pauline Hanson with comments like "I don't like it, I don't like it" when he gets;
a. bored
b. a bit worried about something or
c. I not sure how to react to something,

this was uttered a bit throughout the day and more so, as we progressed and he got sensory overload.

But that aside we had a great day and I can throughly recommend a day with kids and animals, as a lovely way to spend an Saturday.

Widgets vs Gadgets

2006-07-31T16:18:00.000+10:00

Wow, how to spend over three hours doing nothing....Stephen and I had an enjoyable evening on the weekend. Laptops together we explored the world of Widgets. Here you can download little gizmos for your computer - things like weather updates, news headlines, calendars, photo gallery, webcams around the world (Claudie - check out the Manchester one I was telling you about) etc. They appear on your desktop and can even float over all your applications - easy access to....whatever. After checking it all out and choosing a few for my laptop, Stephen then went back to Google which has Gadgets. Personally, I think Widgets are way cooler! Are we geeky or what?

A Said Sibling's Brunch on a Sunny Day...

2006-07-30T21:02:00.000+10:00

What a gorgeous day today. We had a lovely sunny day spent with the Said siblings and families. Here are some photos to prove that the sun does actually shine here in Melbourne occasionally on these winter days. We had some decadant pastries from this amazing bakery in Lygon St (Claudie, what was it's name?) you know, chocolate filled crossiants, sour cherry danishes, crunchy bread - YUM!

So this is what we did -

we hung out at the Johnson's, mainly in the backyard, the boys learning how to kick a footy (not the round sort, Harry) and myself ducking and weaving.

Bouncing/lying/mouching on the trampoline (I still think we should get one, Stephen - we'll find somewhere to put it).

And Lucia learnt how to stomp today. She would call me "Lela, Lela" and proceed to stamp her right foot up and down, like a prancing horse. She's a crackup - such a tomboy and a determined little soul.

We hope to make this a regular monthly event for us all. Thanks for today, guys!

Lisa's Monthly Movie Review

2006-07-30T14:44:00.000+10:00

Last night Stephen was out speaking in Tyabb for his work with TEAR. So I had one of those rare opportunities to pick my own DVD. Something just for me, no compromising for someone else. Gee, for someone who hates to spend more than 5 minutes picking a DVD, it was agony as the pressure to pick one just for me was quite more demanding than I would have thought. Anyway, I picked a ripper. "In My Father's Den" - mainly I chose it because it had won a stack of awards, is a New Zealand movie, loved the cover (ALWAYS choose a book, CD, DVD, whatever by it's cover, I say) and what really grabbed me was Matthew MacFadyen (from "Spooks" and "Pride and Prejudice (2005)" fame). It is a haunting movie with space for the actors to really show multi-deminational characters (Miranda Otto also stars and a gorgeous character, "Celia" (in picture above) played by Emily Barclay that I really enjoyed - she portrayed the type of young person that I really appreciate and often bump into in my work). It has a fantastic story to tell which keeps you guessing and feeling for these characters. A melachonly (wish this had spell checker) movie which doesn't drag you down to the dumps just for some self indulgence but takes you along on it's tragic tale with a gentle message of hope still just intact. Well worth a viewing. 4 and a half stars out of five.

We're all going on a Summer Holiday...

2006-07-29T15:35:00.000+10:00

We have just come back from a sunny (well at least for a couple of days it was above 20 degrees) holiday in Caloundra, Queensland. We had a great time.

We all went with different objectives for our holiday (but they all began with the letter "S")....
Stephen wanted a "Seafood Platter" - which we splurged out on our last night and got at a gorgeous little cafe/resturant right on the beach.
I (Lisa) wanted to get some "Sun" - anyone living in Melbourne would agree, although it is the most livable city in the world - our winters do tend to drag on just a little too long. I can put up with the cold and don't mind an excuse to get another jacket/coat or to pull on a cozy jumper....it's really the fact it starts getting dark by 5pm! I mean what is an outdoors girl to do? To have to head indoors and turn on lights at that hour is just not...natural?! Anyway, on my list you can see, I desperately needed a couple of days to just sit in the sun and soak up some vitamin D.

On Harry's list of wants for the holiday was "Scooping" or even "Sand to scoop". Our little guy is a digging machine. He doesn't get far these days without the need to sit in some type of earth and move it around in his chubby hands, whilst muttering to himself "scoop, scoop, scoop". Between his daddy showing him how to move your arm in a robot fashion (spot the geek) and his Pa helping him to identify a "front ender loader" from a "grader" he has quite a command of the earth moving operations for a almost two year old! So on the first day of our holiday when we had walked a five minute walk from the holiday house to the beach, Harry on the edge of the sand crouched down and was in sandpit heaven!

Our holiday consisted of days at the beach, ranging from windy, cold enough to put on jumpers, to pleasantly sunny with a nudie boy running around without a nappy - and no it wasn't Stephen ;)

We also took a look at Mary Caincross Park - which was a amazing tropical forest park about a 15 minute drive near the Mystic Mountains. The view of the forementioned mountains where incredible alone, but the walk we did through the forest was breaktaking. It was like being in a page of the Hobbit - the trees were so storybookish - you know, gnarled, so tall you have to crane your head back so you almost fall over, the noises, the moist, eerie magical quality that nature just does so well. We took some photos (like this one on the right) put it really doesn't give you the sense of the majesty of the place. We stopped and had a snack in the middle of the place and whilst eating we hear a russell in the bushes and out jumped, bold as brass, a bush turkey. Harry was fasinated, Stephen anxiously unsure and I was encouraging it with tidbits of my sandwich. We all had laughs and Harry will tell you today about the "bush turkey" if you ask.

We also went to Underwater World (on a recommendation from a local mum, I had met in the park). This was a hilarous adventure with a mad little man shouting "wow" and "big one" and "look at that". It was a great spot for little people and we had a great time - I would even venture to say it is better than the Aquarium here in Melbourne. The displays were fabulous and there were a touching pool where you could feel a starfish, sea aneme (however you spell it!!) and other wierd ocean creatures. The boys were too scared to try it, so of course I had to give it a go (I must admit grabbing a bright blue squishy floating sea aneoumi was alot more scarier than it sounds!) Here is a photo of Stephen and Harry in the tunnel with sharks and rays swimming all around and over the top!

Probably though the biggest highlight for Harry was the evening we had finished a meal out (a scrummie Italian place - which did pasta that would give Lygon St a run for it's money. Anyway, we were leaving the place and I went to get the car when we saw a great, big cherrypicker in the carpark. The Queensland Fire Dept where doing some training sessions for high rise building rescues. Well, Harry was all a shudder at the sight of the amazing "Lofty" (see Bob the Builder for this pariciular character). We went over for a closer look and Harry and Daddy got a go!!! (Us being CFA supporters and all)

My favourite memory of our trip was the fountain incident...On the last night after our seafood platter we went back to the town square at Caloundra. In the middle of the sqaure is one of those interactive fountains things (for Melbournians, think of Southbank, outside of Crown Casino) So, here is Harry and I running around trying to dodge (unsucessfully) the sprays of water coming from all directions. I'm sure any onlooking locals were thinking they must by crazy victorians - in the middle of winter!! So here is the last of the photos - Harry with cream still on his chin from our chocolate elcair, all wet from our water race through the fountain and a look of surprise as another spout of water gets him!

Harrison

2005-12-28T15:50:00.000+11:00

This is my beautiful boy, Harrison.
He is 17 months old and cute as.
This photo was taken on our recent holiday to Phillip Island - it was a 1.5 hour drive but as you can see he was enjoying the roadtrip!

I am soooo enjoying being a mum. We had waited a while before deciding to have kids (we were married for 10 years!!!) and I have been delightfully surprised how much fun it is. Not that I thought it would be terrible but I had been aware (or at least I thought I was) of the sacrifices you make and I was tentative about the impact on my life particularly as I enjoy my work and being involved in community life and I have always enjoyed my personal sense of independance and secretly was terrified of having a person so totally and wholely depend on me!

But I have found myself sooo in love with the little guy - it is me who is being ruthless with my time at work - choosing what I will do and saying "no" to work that will eat into my time with Harrison. I am finding myself craving our days together and feel now abnormal without him hanging off my leg, bubbling away with his little chatter. The sacrifices.... huwf, they hardly seem that big any more, so much so, we are feeling it might be time to soon extend our little family even more....watch this space....

Me too now!

2005-10-14T10:16:00.000+10:00

Now I too can add posts to your blog, but I can't change settings...

Lisa Said what?

2005-10-14T09:21:00.000+10:00

testing..testing..one, two, three