Hands Full of Glitter and Tofu : 2011 Day 365: It's the end of the year as we know it and I feel fine...

I know it's a refrain so common it's cliche before the first person has thought to utter it but I cannot believe this year is over. It's like someone slipped January a heady 12 month cocktail of party drugs and it's been partying ever since right through the other 11 months like December 31 is a million years away.

Only it wasn't. It's now and it's arrived with such speed and ferocity I think I have whiplash and an astonishingly bad ability to remember what happened when. I do know that I changed jobs and that was very good, and that I had my guy permanently in Sydney for six months of the year which was beyond wonderful, especially as the relationship goes from strength to strength. I can recall week night dinners with good friends, countless great movies, albums and books, and the sheer joy of blogging about them all, and watching my other blog, SparklyPrettyBriiiight go from strength to creative strength.

And of course I know I inched closer to getting my book ready for publication after attending a course on Kindle publishing at my now employer, the Sydney Writers' Centre, a course which inspired me to pursue the things I love in life like writing. I plan to publish the book next year and make all my creative dreams come true. Well, mostly.

So on balance, workplace sociopaths aside (in my old job I hasten to add), it's been a Very Good Year, and it's given me an awesome foundation to build on for what I fully expect will be an amazing 2012.

Naturally, like any blogger worth my salt (or caramel cheesecake which let's face it is infinitely more precious) I have a list of things I want to do and so here's with as much fanfare, glitter, and overblown expectation as this gay boy can muster is my Top Ten 10 Things I Want to Do in 2012:

1. Yes the novel must be published, and it must be so successful Harry Potter will weep. No, seriously, getting published will do and everything after that is gravy (or cheesecake topping).

2. Get back to exercising properly. I know this is a hoary old chestnut, trotted out on New Year's Eve by everyone from the Queen of England to a villager in Nepal but I mean it and if you have seen my ferocious determination in action, you will know I will stick to it. Plus I feel so much better when I am active and I like how that feels.

3. Read more books. I love books I really do. But finding time to read between rushing to and from work, blogging, watching a million different TV shows and listening to music has been a challenge, one I can't shirk from any longer. After all, I now have a Kobo e-reader so I have physical and e-books mocking me inability to read them!

4. Get rid of the pointless stuff in my life that consumes air but produces nothing. Hopefully that will make way for important stuff like more time with guy, reading and yes, chilling.

5. Stress less. I know my natural state of being is worry first, relax second but I need to remember that few things are as fearsome in reality as they appear in my easily panicked mind.

6. Tidy my room and get everything organised. I know it's not necessarily a life or death issue but the more organised I am, the happier I am. I feel like I am (delusionally) in control of my existence.

7. Go back to Canada. I miss my friend Sandra most of all, but I also miss the warmth and friendliness of Canadians, Robson Street in Vancouver and salmon. I don't care if I have to live on gruel for muchof the year if it means time in that wonderful country.

8. Make my blogs as professional as they can be. Now I am working on professional blogs at work, I can see what's possible and I am hungry to make the blogs look as good as the writing, hopefully, is.

9. Think about eating cheesecakes, and not actually eat them anywhere near as much.

10. Go and see Coldplay in concert. Yes, the latest album is a tad disappointing but I still want to see them in concert. I mean they are fabulous and who wouldn't want to see them?!

So that's it people! It will be an amazing year and I can't wait to see what it holds. I don't think you have to be insanely optimistic to expect good things - just be excited that your world can get better. I know it will and it's a belief that is in evidence long before midnight.

Happy New Year everyone!

Hands Full of Glitter and Tofu : 2011 Day 364 - Delayed gratification and the art of biding my time

Another chilled day - brunch with Waz at South End cafe (the pea and haloumi pancakes of course) then I bought my new TV at JB Hi-Fi (thanks to the very friendly, helpful Robbie)! Well picked it out at least... they were out of stock so the actual purchase didn't take place till the Saturday...

Hands Full of Glitter and Tofu : 2011 Day 363 (Thursday 29 December) - Lazy days of summer

After a frantic, but delightful five days with our families, today was very much a chill day with the only major activity being brunch at Cafe Valente in Dulwich Hill.

So nice to just kick back...

Hands Full of Glitter and Tofu : 2011 Day 362 (Wednesday 28 December) - Putt putting our way back to Sydney

One last lovely day with my gorgeous family before we jumped on a plane - not literally of course; I have eaten too much over the last week to even contemplate doing that - so we headed out to Summerland House With No Steps for putt-putt golf (which Zara adores), lunch in the cafe and playing in the water park (well Zara and Chelsea anyway).


A perfect day and a lovely way to say goodbye to everyone before the flight later that afternoon...

My gorgeous guy is very good at putt-putt gold because he is  patient and takes his time; unlike slapdash me!

Still I did manage to do a hole in 1 almost immediately and then my game went into free fall.

Zara loves putt-putt golf and loves to do everything herself.

She takes great care to get the ball into the hole but if it doesn't go in, or is too difficult, she simply picks it up, and puts it in the hole!

When you hit the ball into this one, the chicken clucked until the ball came out the other side.

Zara observing my guy's technique.

Maddy putting to par.

Martin riding the tractor that starts up but goes nowhere.

Another victorious hole for my guy.

Zara loved the tractor.

My darling mum with Bodhi.

Chelsea and Bodhi on the tractor.

My game magically improved at the final hole. Yay!

Lois, Helen and Zara at lunch.

Zara and Chelsea.

Nanna looks away while Bodhi plays with his Nanna's camera again.

A cute moment for my guy and Bodhi.

Everyone at the table.

Helen and Zara and wedges.

Bodhi eating the burger with gusto!

My brother Steve and Bodhi.

Martin and Lois with their kids, Maddy and Chelsea and Nanna,

The Gillmans with Nanna. (I love that Steve is so much a part of the family now!)

Zara never does anything slowly and runs with gusto into the water. No wonder she gets tired!

She loves standing in or on the water fountains. 

Chelsea joined her for a play in the water park.

Running again!

In her towel cape - clever piece of clothing!

One last smile from Bodhi and we left for the airport.

Then we were back in Sydney, dinner with our friend Fahmi at Stir Crazy Thai and a walk back through Pleasant Street and their fabulous Christmas light displays.

Hands Full of Glitter and Tofu : 2011 Day 361 (Tuesday 27 December) - Burgers with the cuz

We started the day off with a brisk washing of my mum's car so it would be all spick and span for her drive to a wedding of a former colleague and close friend on the Gold Coast later that day. Thank goodness it wasn't too sunny or humid.

While we were finishing off the cleaning, my friend Sue arrived so we did the last shammy wipes, changed and headed out to a cafe in the Main Street of Alstonville for brunch. Alas, it was the ONLY cafe open in Alstonville so we had to drive out of town a whole two minutes to Amaze'n Place for food. It turned out to be an unplanned great choice as the breeze was beautiful, the food delicious (enough) and we had a lovely 1 1/2 hours before we had to get the car back so mum could leave for the wedding. It's always lovely to catch up with Sue, and I must hold to my promise to see her and nice new home in Melbourne the next time we're down.

Back to the Ancestral Estate for another cute shot of my adorable nephew Bodhi before we headed out to the supermarket to buy supplies for dinner that night. Bodhi loved the shopping at Coles in Alstonville Plaza, so much so he ate at least four of the mini-cupcakes and schmeered them across his face both in the trolley and on the coin-operated tractor ride. I haven't had so much fun grocery shopping in ages!

I got back in time to see Zara in the swing - she loves to "go big!" and encourages you to push as hard as you can so she can go as hard as she can - and captured some fantastic shots of her close up. It was so much fun watching her have so much fun!

Back inside, Bodhi finally opened his gifts from me and my gorgeous guy, and the train with air-assisted pop-up balls was a massive hit. Both Bodhi and Zara loved it. He also looked great in the clothes we bought him.

After a long, exhausting drive from Sydney, my cousin Lois, and her lovely husband, Martin, and kids (Madison and Chelsea) arrived and we prepared very yummy beef and chicken hamburgers (two types, not combined!) which mum arrived home in time to enjoy nice and hot. We had the loveliest night catching up with Lois and Martin and my second cousins, who despite being exhausted, were very sweet. So glad we got to see them!