NYE

I show up for work at 8:20am. No one else is here. Come on accountants. Masters of the obsessive-workaholic persona. I am starting to doubt that anyone is going to show up. It is going to be 42 degrees today. Maybe I am the only stupid person coming in.

Turns out that everyone was in by 9am. So we are ALL stupid.

We are having a house party for NYE tonight. I hate the hot weather and I especially hate having people around when it is hot. I would prefer to ramble about my house in my underwear, which is something I choose not to do when there are visitors - for both mine and their comfort. The good thing about heat like 42 degrees is that once you make peace with the fact that you will be sweating and hot and sticky no matter what - then you can just get on with it.

GB and I have decided that the feature event of tonight will be a water balloon fight. We bought 300 balloons yesterday so I am hoping that will be enough to cool everyone down. Mrs K has instructed that we also stock up on the tequila. ughhh I can already feel the hangover

The day before the day before New Years

While I am sitting here knocking back a Corona with lime (hey, what is a girl to do to combat this nasty weather!) I thought that I would jot down how Christmas went.

Christmas Eve was spent at the Kahler house. A family affair with the Kahlers, Grandmother and Great Aunt (The Ladies). Mrs K put on the usual delectable feed with copious amounts of sparkling white, which made for a very enjoyable evening.

This is a picture of the table laid out for dinner and adorned with the beautiful 'table' Advent Krantz Mr K fashioned at the last minute.


Everyone was in a festive mood befitting the season. Pleasant conversation followed by gift giving was the order of the night. Everyone was quite spoilt in the way of gifts. Although GB had already bought himself an ipod Touch, so it didn't really matter what anyone else got him....

I bought GB a Nintendo DS. I have played it more than him! Imagine that. We both got a new dinner service from Mrs K and "The Ladies" gave Chris some ties and shirts and I got a Myer gift voucher. I spent the gift Voucher on Rocks by Ralph Lauren.

And the present for me that had been living in the garage for several days for safe keeping (GB's reasoning is I won't snoop where there lurks the spiders - he is right of course). SURPRISE.


So that is my lovely new toy. I can't play yet. I am pretty good at making noise but it is yet to sound like a song or even pleasant noise. My finger pads of my left hand are quite tender. I found some scale exercises on the interweb to help strengthen and loosen my hands. It hurts! :)

Christmas day didn't turn out as planned. But I probably had a more relaxing time than I imagined I would. The Raffaele-Djouabi clan and the Kahler's came together for a late lunch of seafood and Amanda's crumbed chicken. If there was ever a dish that invoked memories of Christmas' as a child at Mum and Dad's house it is crumbed chicken. Thankfully Amanda learned the recipe from Dad at some point, so the tradition lives on. We skipped the rest of tradition with no pudding or Christmas cake. Instead Amanda made a Kuchen. And we watched Die Hard 4.0 in the evening. Usually watching movies on Christmas is for when I am on my own and I take the masochistic route of watching a It's A Wonderful Life .

GB's friends then came around after about 8pm and lots more drinking happened. This Christmas broke tradition for GB's family as well as mine. It was weird but wonderful.

Watermelon

GB cut up some watermelon for me yesterday.

The day before the day before Christmas

I am finally back in the santuary of my home and Nick Cave is doing his best to bring peace to my mind once again.  Foi Na Cruz.....I don't really know what it means but it comes from the album The Good Son.  It is soothing.

I braved the crowds at the local Westfields (Southland).  I didn't really need to go for anything in particular, that was the stupid part.  I tried on all the shoes in all the cheap shops before giving up and going to do what I was really out for.  Groceries.  ughh.  The idea of trying to get all the food that I might need to entertain with for several days stresses me out.  I never remember my list and I always forget something.  The cruelest part is that I always remember as I am stacking my items from the trolley onto the little conveyor belt, the checkout person will nod in my direction and sometimes ask me how I am and that is when it hits.  The realisation that I forget something from the deli.  I have been in line to pay for 
20 odd minutes, there is no way I am going back in.  Grocery shopping is even almost as boring as talking about it.

The list of things to do before Christmas is almost finished.  Tonight Chris and I have our "Christmas lights" adventure (hehe some might say adventure might be the wrong way to describe it - but it really does depend on who you do it with).

The last couple of weeks has seen some drinkies with work people and friends that I haven't really posted about.  Mainly because I haven't wanted to
post anything about the people that I work with just yet.....and I have been spending time recovering from them all.

I have survived both my Work Christmas party and my department Christmas party with my reputation intact.  I perhaps even feel more involved and a part of the team after sharing numerous cocktails with the CFO and cohorts without embarassing myself.  They are actually a nice bunch of people.  GB met them on Friday night as he picked me up from La Citta where we had been doing rounds of every different cocktail they had on the menu.  This was after a 4 hour champagne infused lunch.  I was so proud that I could still walk and talk.  

I am excited about Christmas, even though it is just going to be Panda, M and myself.  I have enough seafood to make us plenty full and I even bought myself a Panettone this year.
Christmas Eve with GB's wild and woolly family is always amusing and I suspect this year will be fun to boot.  I have found it really depends on not taking anything personally or serious as to how much fun I find the famiglia e GB.

Time to change the music - "Stagger Lee" of the Murder Ballads.  God I love Nick Cave!

and I believe it is also time for a drink.

BOOKED!

GB and I are going overseas for a 2 day Rock Concert!!!

ROCK 2 WGTN here we come.

The tickets were purchased today. Passport applications were started.

I even joined the YHA.

It is all happening! It makes me laugh to think of GB and I as backpackers but that looks like they way we will be doing it. Saving the majority of the dollars for the important stuff like drinking with the locals  :)

It was the weekend before the weekend before Christmas

Friday night was one of the laziest and slowest I have had in a while. I don’t actually remember what I did. I know that I ate pizza and watched a bit of TV. Sounds awful and it kind of was. It was one of those nights that one can feel time and youth slipping away.

Saturday morning I experienced one of the most girly episodes that I have had in a long time. Another hair disaster. I went to Cesars to get it cut and coloured. I love the colour but hate the cut. And it took me about 3 hours to get over it. Ahaha 3 hours of a tight knot in my stomach and the inability to be happy. All this because I didn’t get the haircut I wanted and I forked over $125 for it (one of the cheaper haircuts of late I must admit). GB handled this episode of mine with the patience of a saint - he deserves a medal for his performance of care.

I took my overly cutesy hairdo and GB to N & S’s new house for their house warming in the afternoon. Slow starting event but got better after the Bocce was brought out. And just as it was really getting going GB and I went home.

Sunday rocked around with not much fanfare. GB worked on Dave’s new car and installed a stereo. It is an old brown Sigma which will from now on be known as the Pigma . And I get to babysit it! Yep you read that right. Dave is entrusting his new shitheap to me while he is doing his army thing. I am so looking forward to driving a manual again – I had a little drive around the block to get reacquainted with a stick and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although after my little test drive I think Dave is less thrilled about the whole arrangement.

YUM

This here recipe is the just delicious!

GB even loves me more after I make it for him.

And have I mentioned how easy it is to make....

The Tree!

GB's family has a tradition.  They are huge Christmas fans.  

The first Christmas tradition that I was invited to partake in, being the new girfriend 4 years ago, was to venture down to the The Christmas Tree Farm at Moorooduc and pick out the biggest Christmas tree ever.  GB's mum likes 'em huuuuge.  All the while GB's dad collects branches that have been abandoned to make his Advent Krantz (which is a German tradition, I believe, with very little references on Google otherwise I would have shared them).  The Krantz is always elaborate and beautiful.  

This year GB and I  took time off work to join the GB olds in the annual getting of pine.  The day was hot and the flies were sticky but we both managed to pick out gorgeous trees worthy of the pride of place they have our homes.  GB and I even bought a star for the top of our tree this year :)

Congratulations!

My best friend is having a baby!  I am so excited.  This new bubba will make a brother or sister for Lola, who is 4.

The news was given via a quick exchange on msn this morning before work, 
so I don't know when I am going to become a quasi aunt again 
or how Lola feels about a brother or sister coming along

Another human made by MB and her hubby - they are pretty good at it.  Lola is a gorgeous, inquisitive and intelligent little being.  Oh how the cluckiness sets in.  

Christmas in November

So what is different from a BBQ with the family and Christmas in November?

3 things.

1.  I went to more trouble with the menu than I normally would.  Christmas is all about having more food than you can actually eat.  The food from Christmas day should last until about the day before NYE.  Most definitely boxing day should be covered!


2. I decorated in the style appropriate to the season.  We usually do a tree, but because it was too early to buy one and we would be spending most of our time on the back porch I decided to get a little creative with the tree decorations.  


3. Presents!!!!
I don't have a picture of Guitar Hero III, or the pretty sunhat that I got.  I also got some really cute underwear with polka dots and ribbons.  Chris brought me 2 x U2 DVD's, which are really cool.  One can never have too much Bono!

Once again the heat made things less comfortable for everyone.  Especially my Aunt, who being 75 and from the UK isn't really made to stand 35 degrees of HEAT - actually she starts melting at about 26.  But she stiffened her stiff upper lip and put up with it, with more grace than I would muster for the company of someone who could not provide me with an airconditioner given the same circumstances etc.  

GB had attended Monsters of Rock on the night previous to our BBQ and had another concert that night.  Ah! backing up the very next night is only the joy of the young.  Needless to say he was of no real help.  And I vowed never to host Christmas ever again  :)

The next day we were picking up Helen from the City and having the pleasure of her company for a couple of nights.  I was a little excited and nervous.  GB has been "chat" buddies with Helen for several years - actually they have known each other pretty much the same amount of time that GB and I have been together which kinda made it a little odd.  To me Helen was pretty much a stranger...but GB had a relationship with this person that was just as long as my relationship with him - but I didn't know much, if anything about it - l
ike it was happening in a parallel world or something.  
I don't think I am articulating this very well.
arrghh  I give up.  whatever!

Anyway, Helen was just delightful.  I didn't have any expectations, except that she must be a little bit tenacious - to maintain a relationship with GB is hard work.  I could definitely see how they both connected and it was just so nice to hang out with them.  

We were quite slack hosts actually.  GB and Helen walked around the City on the hottest day Melbourne has had in November for a squillon years  (can't be bothered looking up the stats) while I did the same with my family (almost killing my Aunt and Mum...oops)  But other than that there was no going anywhere or showing sights etc.  It was a sitting at home chatting, eating and drinking type visit.

After an intensive week/end of visitors both my family and Helen left on the Tuesday.  It felt odd for a day or so but to be honest I was too busy practising Guitar Hero to be bothered by it.

PS:  I finished the first level of Guitar Hero before GB.  I think he was secretly proud  :)

Rewind

I started the blog again so I could rant and rave about all the stuff that was on my mind. Have some sort of outlet because GB gets weary of emotional intensity, and when I finally get around to it, I find that I don’t have the time. A lot has happened in the last month. So I have decided to give a little run down.

My intention of late has been to keep a scrapbook of all the fun things that GB and I do. I keep ticket stubs from concerts, movies, events – airfare tickets, brochures from the places we have visited etc. But my first attempt at posting them into a big scrap book was a dismal failure due to my impatience and messy glue application. The solution……..Be more attentive to my blog.

Rewind to Mid November.

A big week is planned. Alex, Mum and Aunty Syl are coming down to visit and I decided to host Christmas in November with them to fit in some seasonal celebration with the family this year. Chris has the Monsters of Rock concerts on Friday and Saturday nights and Helen is visiting from Sydney Sunday and Monday. Eeeeek Seems like a lot for one little weekend. It almost was :)

The family stayed at the Katz Apartments. Ew ! They were tiny and cramped. The room they got was situated behind the one and only ice bar in Melbourne. This gave them the fun of seeing the “ice guy” shovel snow out into the alley at 2am in the morning and the Asian gangs battle it out after the snow had melted. The monotonous HUM of the generator penetrated the little apartment’s walls with such determination it was impressive in the oh-wow-how-the hell-can-you-sleep-through-that kind of way. Katz Apartments have been taken off the list of places to stay. And I promise to mention how god awful they were to anyone who cares to listen.

Not much sight seeing was done. My family are not that interested in spending hours in a car to get somewhere to have something to eat and drive all the way back again like me :)
Plus there was shopping to be done and Christmas to be had.

The one place that did get a look in was the The Boathouse in Farifield. It is a beautiful old building that has been turned into a tea house with canoes and boats for hire. The weather was stifling, which sort of bought the fun down a couple of notches but we all still managed to expand our girths with a Devonshire tea worthy of the exorbitant price we paid for it.

The best picture of the day was taken of all of us by some Good Samaritan:

I will have to finish up in the next post.