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To run or not to run?

Tomorrow is the always fun, full of atmosphere City to Surf.

I am registered, but I have been sick for the past week which is very frustrating. I do feel much better today, however everyone keeps telling me I am crazy to run given this latest lurgy going around. If you speak to my mother, she may just convince you I could possibly drop dead at any given time if I decide to participate??? :)

I think it's best I sleep on it. However if it is a day like today with the sun shining and a breeze that is just perfect for a Sunday run, I don't think I will be able to resist giving it a go!

Lazy Sunday's

What better way to spend a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon;

• A wander around the shops
• Purchase of a beautiful, red, hand made bamboo vase
• A nice little foot spa and pedicure
• And to end the afternoon, a rich, scrumptious belgian hot chocolate in the sunshine

Just another reason why Sunday's are my favourite day of the week!!!

Baby sister is having a baby!

Yes, it's true. Come February 2010 I will be an auntie for the first time!

Little sister Lenise is up the duff and going to be popping out her first little sprog :)

It's very exciting for the family...I do believe mum should probably just pack up and move to Melbourne now to avoid the exorbitant cost of sending baby stuff every other week! And she said she didn't care if she had grandchildren or not??? YEAH RIGHT!

The sex of the baby will apparently be discovered around the 20week mark. My fingers are crossed for a baby boy!

I personally can't wait for baby to arrive in to our slowly growing family. No doubt baby will be incredibly spoilt and doted upon, especially by "gran". And that's before he even gets out to our big bad Collimore, Van Ruth, Quinton world...

Dream or Nightmare?

My wedding....

I’m very late of course. Not traditionally late, just avoiding the inevitable kind of late. A feeling of dread is constantly with me.

A girl from work is my hair and makeup artist for the big day. Half way through my hair styling, she remembers she has to go to hospital for surgery and departs before I can stop her. She recommends a hairdresser as she disappears.

The hairdresser is somewhere I have been in reality, but I still can’t remember when or where? I am in the salon that is so familiar to me, but the hairdresser looks old and ungroomed. She reluctantly agrees to help me, but I hate both the look, and the hair extensions she has decided to apply. By the time she has finished, it is almost dark outside and all but a few guests have left. The ceremony was to be outdoors. I seem to be having an out of body experience as I watch the last few lingering guests shiver from the cold, but insist on hanging around to find out what happened to the bride.

The wedding is off. An overwhelming feeling of relief overcomes me...

I am instantly transported to a house next, surrounded by various people I know, mainly from work. A friend has been out all night long at quite the debauched buck’s night. Today is his birthday. These two events actually mirror reality this weekend, however I have no idea how debauched his night may or may not have been, as we have not spoken! Back in the dream, this friend is talking about his night, yet still feels like kicking on to shout everyone a drink to celebrate his birthday. The Oaks hotel is his venue of choice.

I in the mean time am still with wedding hair extensions and wedding makeup! Not sure what happened to the horrid white gown? I am talking to another colleague about the disaster day that was, but again express my relief the wedding didn’t actually happen.

He kisses me. It’s nice and tender and sensual and I don’t want it to end. But it does, and we leave to run the City to Surf?

I suddenly remember I was meant to be at bootcamp completing my fitness assessment. I resolve myself to the fact I am in the same group for another month, but still feel guilty for not turning up. It's then I wake up, still with the feeling of guilt in my gut.

Go figure...

Back on the blogging bandwagon

What a productive day...

Worked from 8am through to 2pm from home. Got more done than I probably do two days in the office? I am like a child with ADD at work. Anything to distract me from getting on with everything I tend to procrastinate about!

Had a young guy come and replace my kitchen window somewhere during this time? He really liked to talk, talk, talk, talk, talk...eventually I just had to tell him to be quiet! In a very Roxanne polite kind of way of course :)

Then the new outdoor setting was delivered. It's still in it's box in the kitchen. The delivery guy was HOT! First highlight of the day :)

Then it was off to do my tax return. The 2nd highlight of the day. There will be a nice big fat refund hitting my bank account next week...yay!

Then it was off to the Osteo again to treat my never ending back issue. It appears the base of my spine is twisted. Joy. Lot's more sessions yet it seems? Such a pain in the arse...literally. The tip of my spine is also damaged causing the issues in my neck and down through my arm. No boxing for a while :( No alot of things for a while :( I am really feeling like an old grandmother right now! Self preservation has kicked in though, and the very kick up my backside that I needed to make me realise I have to take better care of myself and not leave things sooooooo long before getting them checked out.

And now I am sitting here with a baked bean sandwich for which I am calling dinner? Tragic.

Enough said...

All Rebel Rockers

It was a school night, I worked late, I had to endure a night of dancing and jumping about in my heels, but what a rocking night it was!

Last night three of us girls headed out to the Enmore Theatre to catch the Michael Franti and Spearhead gig. I can't say I was a massive fan. I really liked some of their stuff, some not, some hit and miss. Their live shows have always been the talking point though, so to finally check them out live...talk about exceeding all expectations!

Standing room only, sold out show, a totally hyped ready to dance crowd and a buzzing atmosphere that gave you that tingle through your body type feeling... all adrenaline and excitement.

A solid 2 1/2 hour performance. No break, song after song, guitar after guitar, jam after jam, enough banter with the crowd pushing their enthusiasm to it's peak, some very sexy dance moves and an energy that was just crazy.

Cherine Anderson, a very cool Jamaican soul star joined them for much of the show. An absolutely awsome singer, oozing sensuality that had the boy's melting! A lucky two were allowed on stage during the course of the show to show Cherine their very own sultry moves. Was very funny and had the crowd in quite the frenzy.

I reckon whether your a reggae fan, rock fan, or possibly even a hip hop fan, you would totally love this live show. Considering they are a band who's reputation is built on issue addressing, conscience raising type albums, they are still far from your shove it down your throat kind of awareness, look at all the good I am doing in the world types. Michael Franti is a pretty inspiring guy who's views and actions you can't help admire. Throw in the music and he really is quite the package indeed...

Home Sweet Home

Hello from me...

Moving is a bitch at the best of times. But when you move with a bad back, it seems to be a thousand times worse. And that is exactly how my most recent move felt. It literally left me flat on my back for the following two weeks! Much pain and many Osteopath treatments since, I am almost back to "normal".

As for the actual move, apart from my old body not quite coping it went relatively smoothly and quite quickly. Between my funny young removalists and the fantastic help from my parents I couldn't really complain. Mum cleaned both old and new apartment. Dennis lugged things back and forth, even though he too was struggling with a bad back! Go figure? And the young boy's did all the hard stuff!

But best of all, I am now back in the fantastic Eastern burbs where I belong :) Right in time for summer, walking distance to the beaches and a flat double the size of the last!

So as my little sister requested, here are some initial snapshots. It will look a little different by the time you arrive though... :)

The not quite finished living area...

Kitchen...

My lovely 1960's powder blue bathroom...

My bedroom...the photo does not do it justice by any means!

Spare room...

Little VIM and his lock up garage :)

Balcony...I have had to buy a smaller outdoor setting in the interim. This one too large for the new space.

My ocean view...was a cloudy day so the water looks a tad grey in this shot

Very happy me being back in the Eastern burbs :)

Up in the tropics....part 2

Well, only a very quick entry for me tonight as I have things to do, places to be... :)

I am on a bit of a high today though. I have completed Day 2 of my Open Water dive course and thankfully passed my exam with flying colours. Tomorrow I leave for two days of living aboard a dive boat and of course, diving all about the outer reef. I can not wait! I do have a little of that nervous energy floating about, but am very ready to get right in to the open water where the real action is.

Before starting my dive course, I did a day trip to Kuranda. To get to Kuranda I took the scenic railway which is about an hour and a half trip. Absolutely stunning winding and weaving around all that rainforest. I was so glad I decided to take the train trip there. Kuranda itself did not impress me at all though. It's just one of those typical towns purely set up for tourists. Outdated hippy markets, over ridden with tacky tourist stores, everything completely overpriced. It's such ashame as it is located in such a beautiful spot...rivers, waterfalls, rainforest etc. They have just ruined it though by going completely overboard on pandering to international tourists and the like. I am all for touristy destinations, after all I have spent the better part of the past 10years being one! But there are limits. And Kuranda does not appear to have any?

To make up for my disappointment of the town, I caught the Skyrail back to Cairns. It's a cable car ride over the canopy of the rainforest. Again, just stunning. And to witness the rainforest from above really is spectacular. You could jump off at various points to do some walks through the rainforest. I jumped off at two points which had some great look outs and great little walks. You have to experience it to appreciate it...like so many things in life really! All in all the day was worth it for the train and skytrain trips alone.

Other than that, met a few interesting and fun people along the way. Had a token night out which started with a very nice, posh dinner at a fantastic restaurant called Plantation. The food was sensational. And even better, a young American paid the rather pricey bill! I refused he do so many times, however in the end....what do you do :) For a very civilised beginning to the evening, 3 of us (a crazy Glaswegian also joined us) ended up at the Woolshed, a well known backpacker haunt where we drank many wines and danced the night away. Much fun was had and a slightly sore head was felt the following morning. What can I say...some things never change!

Well, time to go pack for my dive trip! Stay tuned for more later...

Up in the tropics

Well it's just about a year to the day since I last wrote on my blog. I guess with everyday life and boring old work, thing's just don't seem so interesting to write about these days? And I doubt anything that anyone else would really want to read either! But now it's holiday time, so that's another story. What better time to start blogging away once again...

So I am up in far North Queensland right now. Cairns to be precise. Just a short 9 day break, but well earned! And I have to say I really like Cairns. Most people I speak to are not fans of this big ol' country town. But I really, really like it. It's so relaxed, everybody is super friendly and hospitable. The weather is fabulous. Balmy 26 degree days in the middle of winter...can't beat that! All the old Queenslander's. The beautiful lush, green surroundings. It has a really nice feel to it and I enjoyed my first two days hanging about and lapping it all up. Yes, my first two days consisted of checking out the town, strolls along the esplanade, a visit to the night market, some pampering, some lounging by the pool, generally winding down...you get the picture :)

Day three I ventured further North with a trip up to Cape Tribulation. Had a few little stops along the way. First Palm Cove which reminded me of a cross between Palm Beach in Sydney and the main drag of Noosa on the Sunshine Coast. Another former sleepy town turned trendy, however very quaint all the same. Port Douglas was another stop. One place Christopher Skase could be proud of. What a great little location. Now this tiny town may too be trendy and full of money, but you can see a lot of thought went in to it's making and it really has a great feel to it. Even being all trendy and popular, there is still something "real" about the place. They have designed it perfectly. I would definitely return for a little getaway to this little piece of paradise.

Mossman Gorge was another stop. Now this place is amazing. My nature nerd self was oozing with delight while doing a bit of hiking around this beautiful place. All mountainous and rainforest, it was absolutely divine. I could have stayed here for days. I surprise myself when I get so excited about flora and fauna...maybe I really am in the wrong business? If only I had booked another week of leave, I would have definitely spent quite a bit more time here and Port Douglas for that matter!

As for Cape Tribulation, it was exactly how the postcards look. Add quite a few tourists swanning about on the beach. Again, it was really lovely but I have to admit it had nothing on Mossman Gorge. That place was truly the highlight for me so far. But the Daintree as a whole is really spectacular. It is certainly nothing like I had imagined this little piece of the world would be like.

I also did a boat trip down one of the rivers...the name escapes me right now? However it was well worth it as I saw 4 croc's in the wild! Lazing on the muddy river banks, basking in the sunshine. One in particular was absolutely massive. Thank god these trips don't do any crazy crocodile feeding to bring them closer to the boat. Watching from a few meters away was quite sufficient. I have never seen a croc in the wild here in Australia. I saw alligators in the Bolivian jungle, but they have nothing on these gigantic beasts!

Well, I definitely have more to report but my Internet time is just about up. I will post this entry to please those few family members who like to continually ask when am I ever going to update the blog again....so this is for you :)

City to Surf

Sunday morning, 7.30am and 65,000 of your closest friends....hmmm, well not quite?

But for a change this was not the end of my night, but the beginning of my day :)

Sunny and hot, claustophobic in the crowds, heartbreak hill (which for the 3rd time doing this run nearly killed me), 14km's (and what a beautiful 14km route it is), 110minutes later and the beautiful Bondi beach to greet me.

Sore feet, thigh's and bum, but worth it all the same. The fact I ran 10km's out of the 14 impressed me somewhat, as I am far from being a runner and didn't exactly train for the big event! Sense of accomplishment, sense of relief it was over. Definitely torn between the two emotions as I crossed that finish line.

Today I was feeling quite smug and all fit and proud of myself as my body seemed to recover rather well all considering. However as the hours pass tonight, I may have to kick myself for being so bloody cocky as I think the day after the day pain is really starting to kick in now???

Still, I might just take up running as my new fitness regime for the time being? It's quite theraputic once you get into your zone. And you never know...if I keep it up, I may just break that 100min mark next year!

Baby Browne has arrived!

Ivy May Browne arrived in the big, bad world on Tuesday, June 5th.

A big congratulations to my lovely friend Kate and her partner Ed. I can't wait to meet little Ivy sometime real soon!

Fun running in the name of MS

Last Sunday at the ungodly hour of 7am, our little fun running team of 6 headed across that famous bridge here in Sydney, to run a "challenging" 8km's around the Nth Shore. Thankfully it was an abolutely stunning day, although still a bit chilly that time of the morning!

The run was all about raising awareness and funds for MS. A friend's brother lives with MS, so it was only fitting that we did our bit to help out. We aimed to raise around $500 and ended up with a whopping $1400! So a HUGE thanks to everyone who sponsored us and made more than generous donations.

We all finished the hilly 8km's, although we did drop the pace to a power walk here and there for some of those hills! The route was beautiful and varied....along the harbour, through bush and reserve, road running and more than a few stairs thrown in for good measure.

To celebrate our successful morning run, it was off to Maroubra to a great little beachside cafe to indulge in bacon, eggs, toast, fresh juices and some strong coffee. Not a bad way to spend a lurvely Sunday morning after all.

More Netherlands

It was not all weddings, parties anything during my brief visit to the Netherlands!

Apart from getting over jetlag and the lead up to the big event, I did manage a few day trips, a good old Dutch style bike ride, museum visit, even a trip the beach.

Sping time in the Northern Hemisphere is truly a delight!

Little Sister's Big Day

The day was Friday May 18th, the time 5.00pm. The event was the long awaited wedding of my little sister and her long time partner Nico. They tied the knot in their current "hometown" Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

The entire day was both beautiful and loads of fun. Lenise looked the true princess in her gorgeous gown, actually bringing a tear to my eye when I first laid eyes on her.

The fact that I had only met Nico a couple of times, and that he and Lenise have lived abroad for the past few years, I still felt the day was a true representation of their personalities and their relationship. Individual, fun, relaxed and laid back!

Lenise did not stop smiling from the minute she danced down the isle with Nico, through to the 3am finish of the great party, where they finally called it a night! Only mum's speech would bring a tear to her eye :)

Overall, it was a brilliant day/night, everyone chatting and dancing the night away. True to my form, I kicked on with a few of the Dutchie boys until 4.30am at a local bar...as you do!

Anyway, not unlike Christmas, there is the long wait for the excitement of the day to arrive and before you know it, it's all over! For Lenise and Nico, it's only just begun...

Crazy February

February...a month of craziness for this intrepid traveller!

February saw the end of my Sth American adventure. 6mths of backpacking around this huge and vast continent was amazing. But 6mths was enough for me. I wanted to leave on a high. It wasn't my time in Sth America that I really wanted to end, it was more the lifestyle. Living out of my backpack and in hostels was starting to take it's toll. Getting old maybe? Heheee..who know's, but it was a good time to move on.

My final weeks were mainly spent in the wonderful city of Buenos Aires, the city that really NEVER sleeps! Stylish, bustling, corrupt, poor, arrogant, wealthy and loads of atmosphere. It's full of history, amazing architecture, fake money, English tourists and Tango! Basically there is never a dull moment in this fascinating city and it's always a whole lot of fun. I can see how people come here and find it incredibly difficult to break away. From the trendy cafe and bar scene of Palermo, to the colourful working class neighbourhood of La Boca (also home to the countries favourite futbol team), San Telmo and it's incredible Sunday market, to the city centre sights. Wherever you go there is always something going on to keep you more than entertained. BA is one of those cities I would love to return to with a bunch of friends to celebrate a New Year or just enjoy a week of shopping and partying. Need I say more...

From Buenos Aires and it's balmy days of 30 degrees and more, I arrived in merry old England to it's not so balmy days. Actually, 2 degrees was the coldest and 8 was the highest during my brief stay. There was also the heaviest snowfall London had seen in 11years! It was really pretty to watch the snow falling again, especially when your view is from the comfort of the couch, slothed out and wrapped up in a cosy duvet :)

London was a social stop. A time to catch up with friends. So needless to say a lot of socialising, eating and drinking occurred! From French cafes to the good old English pub, there always seemed to be much food and bottomless glasses of wine being consumed! I stayed with my wonderful friend David and his gorgeous partner Ashley while in London. They are the most generous and wonderful hosts a girl could hope for. Throw in Toby the Tibetan Terrier who loves to sing along to the closing tunes of Coronation Street and you're gauranteed an entertaining stay. It was so good to catch up with old friends, some I have not seen in years. London always hit's a soft spot in me. There is just something about the place where I would never rule out living there again? Combine that with wonderful friends who are now based there and anything's possible I guess?

From London, I headed to Egypt. I have wanted to go to Egypt for as long as I can remember, but for some reason never made it there - until now. And it didn't get off to such a great start!

Cairo was the starting point of my trip and I hated it. With a passion. There are more people in Cairo then what there is in all of Australia. And I am sure it's about 70% men. Annoying, in your face kind of men. They did my head in from the moment I arrived. There is no such thing in Cairo as a nice leisurely stroll, soaking up the city. Instead it's mastering your Arabic - no thank you, go away or get your hands off me. In less then a day they had worn me down. I wanted out. The ONLY thing about Cairo that I did enjoy was the museum. What a fantastic collection. Treasures that were found in tombs of pharaohs, Tutankhamuns by far the most impressive. And to see that gold mask of his with my own eyes..amazing. The mummies, the sculptures, the art. I have loved all things ancient Egyptian since school, one of the subjects that never bored me, so to finally be amongst all these things and all this history was just awsome.

As for the pyramids....first impressions - they were kind of a let down for me. Well more the location I guess? They are pretty much in the middle of Cairo and are situated in what felt like a massive car park. Like you were just about to enter a theme park...I was waiting for the flashing lights, "Welcome to Egypt World". It just didn't feel or look like what I had anticipated all this time? But, when I ventured down to see the Sphinx it did have a more natural feel being a little further away from the arrival point and the oh so many tourist buses and people. And with the pyramids, particularly the great pyramid as the backdrop, I finally felt that little tingle up my spine, the much awaited excitement of where I was finally kicking in.

I headed to Aswan next. Fabulous little place after the dreadful Cairo. It was here I boarded a boat which would cruise down the Nile for the next few days, various stops to be made along the way. Before setting sail I had a leisurely day wandering around the town and another day to take a 3 hour bus ride to the very impressive Abu Simbel. At one time you could only fly as the road was closed off . Now you can drive, but only as part of a convoy. So again, you literally have dozens of minibuses and coaches all travelling the long tourist road together. Travelling in a convoy made me more nervous than anything. I figured if terrorists were going to strike, they had a pretty good chance of doing a fine job with all these easy targets on the road together, guided by local police just to make a shot all the more worth while. Warped that imagination of mine at times, I know? However, I digress...the temples! These two massive and extremely impressive temples are located deep in the heart of the desert, miles from the nearest habitation. The first temple has four statues - each one the seated figure of Ramses II, one of Egypt's greatest pharaohs. The second temple, although smaller but just as impressive is a dedication to Ramses favourite wife, a Nubian woman who's names now escapes me? Although the temple is a dedication to her, Ramses is still the primary figure throughout! The temples date back to the 13th century, BC and were completely hidden by sand until the early 1800's. Then some 150 years later, they were almost destined to be submerged a second time by the rising waters of Lake Nasser. A massive UNESCO project actually dismantled the entire temple and the cliff out of which it is carved, and reassembled on higher ground. You can still see the watermarks around the base of the statues, seeing just how close they came to being submerged. What a history hey! It took my breath away, both inside and out the magnificent temples. I think I would have to note them as my Egyptian hightlight!

We sailed to Luxor next, stopping at various temples along the way. You can get templed out after a while but they continued to impress me day in, day out. Now Luxor I really liked. A million miles away from the crazy Cairo. Even though it was incredibly touristy, it just had a great feel with a lot less annoying Egyptian men! There were more western faces here than I had seen since my arrival in Egypt, but not even that could put me off the place :) It just felt more...well more Egypt? More local? Not as dodgy? I can't put my finger on it, but it felt good to wander around and spend some time there. The highlight of Luxor was visiting the Valley of the Kings. We actually rode donkeys the 7km's to get there. There were 8 of us and we all seemed rather amazonian to be jumping on the poor little donkeys. Well so I thought. Those feisty mules had more get up and go than some horses I have ridden, most of them actually wanting to gallop most of the way. It was a laugh and definately the best mode of transport I had been on in a while. As for the VOTK...another WOW. Not much above the ground, but get into those tombs way, way down under the ground and you witness some incredibly well preserved sites, their walls covered in amazing paintings depicting the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt. The colours were magnificent prompting me to ask a guide if they were ever "touched up". She looked horrified that I would even speak such words aloud!

My other mention for Egypt has to be the Red Sea. Staying in the town of Hurghada which is on the edge of the Red Sea and supposedly one of the worlds great diving locations. I hated the town. Now this place was definately set up for tourists in that disgusting tacky kind of way. Hideous really but easily avoided as you slothed on the hotel's private beach away from the reality of it all. The water was cool and clean. The change of scenery much welcomed after all those temples. I went on a boat trip for a day to enjoy some sun and snorkelling out at a few of the coral reefs. Quite a bit of the coral was dead and colourless, but in some parts still bright and beautiful. The water clear to the bottom and the brightly coloured marine life spectacular to watch. It was my final stop in Egypt before having to face Cairo again. The perfect wind down after a pretty perfect and incredibly interesting February!