Climb 'n' Dine

I opted out of Seven Bridges this year as it clashed with the stair challenge, which had been moved to later in the year. Because of the date change, we missed the beautiful sunrise that graced the morning last year.  Climb'n'Dine basically requires you to run up 37 flights of stairs, 640 steps to be precise, and then have breakfast at the top. A lovely reward for minimal effort.

Michael O'Loughlin speaking on behalf of Go Foundation

I was carrying an injury - I suspect from just being old and some over zealous Bollywood dancing - so hadn't really trained. Nevertheless I was disappointed with my time  - well into 8 minutes (about 2 minutes slower than last year), and my ranking in the bottom third of women.













Next year, I want to be closer to the 6 minute mark.

That said, there are stunning views and a lovely breakfast waiting at the top, and a lot of money was raised for a worthy cause. Thank you GO Foundation and Shangri-La for a splendid Sunday morning.

Linking with #LovingLifeLinky #TravelTuesday #WednesdayAroundtheWorld #SundayBest  #PointShoot #thealmostwordlesswednesday  #LifeThrumylens #TheGoodTheFun #OutdoorWednesday #PictorialTuesday

https://peabea.blogspot.com.au/



This shot is reflected through a mirror on the wall of the restaurant for #WeekendReflections

Church Yard in Black & White

This is an old chuchyard in Newtown - from the late 1800's, I think.

Was on my way to the supermarket and walked past so decided to pop in for some photos.

I liked the juxtaposition of the mundane with the interesting in my day. Sort of a reflection of life. You can always squeeze something fun or interesting into the daily grind.





Linking with #WeekendinBlack&White

What I learnt from Thor: Ragnarok

We hit the cinema for a family movie night - the first since Guardian of the Galaxy when all 5 of us could sit down to a film together. I was a little worried about the youngest - it is rated M and a little scary. However, in the morning she drew a picture and showed me 'what I learnt from Thor'. We then promptly lost it so I have to show you a picture of Chris Hemsworth instead.

Wiki Creative Commons photo by Gage Skidmore

Spoiler ahead - don't read if dying to see the movie. Not a big spoiler tho, so don't worry too much.


There is a scene where Thor is about to give up because the problem is too big and he doesn't have his hammer. Odin replies "You're not the God of Hammers".
My daughter announced that she learnt that her superpower is in her all along.

And that is a very good lesson to learn.


(I also liked his throwaway line that he was 'going to tackle the problem head on...because that's what heroes do' instead of hiding from them.)


Linking with #FortheloveofBLOG and #TwinklyTuesday

PS My daughter also said that the biggest hero in the movie was the old man who cut Thor's hair. And every comic lover would agree.

First of the Month Fiction - November

I'm a little distracted with the Swinburne Microfiction Challenge  so this is brief.
Write a story in 100 words exactly or one less than 30 words in the comments. Then link your blog so we can see your usual, unfettered style.

When the moon is full, and the sea is still,
When you raise your glass in happiness,
The possibilities are endless.


Not really a story, just an idea based on this. The view one night in the bar at Yao Noi.

Linking with #SkyWatch

An InLinkz Link-up

Toruk - Cirque Du Soliel

The show is currently in Sydney - not your usual Cirque. I'm still more a fan of the tent show, myself.
I do like these pics tho. They look like paintings Linking with #SundayBest #MySundayPhoto #WordlessWednesday #PointShoot #PictorialTuesday #AlmostWordlessWednesday

“Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.” Mark Twain

Last Friday a small posse and I hit the Opera House to help break the Guinness Book of Records attempt to host the worlds largest champagne tasting. As you can imagine, it was a huge success. 715 of us tasted the new Champagnes as well as sipped on piccolos and devoured tasty canapes.

Alas we had to race off before the group photo on the Opera House steps, as school pick up was calling. Generously put on by the god people at Moet, I'd just like to say thank you for my #MoetMoment.

But I agree with the old saying. Life's too short to drink anything inferior!





Linking with #LovinLifeLinky #TheFun #ThruMyLens #RealWordlessWednesday

Useless wedding information you might never need to know

I was invited to a kitchen tea but when I turned up, the welcome sign announced it was a bridal shower. When I commented that I thought it was a kitchen tea, my friend said 'it's the same thing, isn't it? What's the difference?' I replied that I thought it was basically the gift you gave.

So when I got home, I did a bit of googling.
A kitchen tea is traditionally just an afternoon tea and you give gifts specifically for the kitchen. A bridal shower is to shower the bride with gifts and you give anything (and there may be alcohol at this even and it can be a lunch). It is usually only female friends and relatives that are invited but in the US apparently they are now unisex.

So there you have it. I know, amazing.

Raise your glass to love and all the celebrations that it entails.

Linking with #IBOT

What I would do with $1000...

To be honest, I'd pay my energy bill. How did I get an $800 electricity bill when we didn't even use a heater all winter and we have gas for water and the stove?  And the more important question, when did $1000 not become a lot of money? It is a lot of money but it just doesn't seem to go far when you talk rates, insurance, rego or electricity and water.

Life is expensive and at times very dull.

That said, at Bingo I had the chance to win $1400 and I looked at my friend in amazement, eyes widened and announced "That's a LOT of money!". So I guess the money is more if it is for fun. For $1000 I could buy a great dress, shoes and dinner to match. For $1000 I could throw a great party or go on a little trip.

I went to Bingo for the dancing and the fun, and I guess ultimately, that's more important than the money. Especially as I didn't win any.

There is truth to the adage by Francis Bacon “Money is a great servant but a bad master.” 

What would you do with $1000?

Linking with #Lifethisweek

After the ball

I like the strange forlornness, that the fun is over but the evidence of the party is still there...just whispers of a good time, and a lot to clean up.

Linking with #RubyTuesdayToo #WWOT #MySundayPhoto #Nanahood #RealWordlessWednesday and #SundayBest

Bongos Bingo DownUnder

If you're at a loose end in Sydney this Friday, or Saturday in Perth, grab yourself some tickets to a crazy fun night! There's laughter, dancing and of course, bingo! Dates and tickets here.

This week I'm loving that I've got a large posse to go to Bingo with! I can not wait!!

The review from a previous time gives you the idea of what is in store:

Our small posse were the oldest in the crowd but it didn't matter (and let's face it, it's now my normal) as we knew the music and amid the shimmering glitter showers, no one cared....

There is dancing and yelling between rounds of Bingo, and during the games as well. The prizes range from substantial money to the curiously desirable (I really wanted the Pikachu suit, and yet have no idea why?!), but it isn't really about the winning...



You too will be loving life, as least until the party is over...

Linking with #LovingLifeLinky

Remedy

I was a little down in the dumps today - no reason, just general malaise and a bit of wear and tear. I have talked many times (here, here and it all started here) about my awe of the work of the Landmine Museum and School in Siem Reap When I got back from our trip to Siem Reap, I set about finding a way to help them. I rang airlines to see if I could pay an attendant to carry books over for me. I tried to see if I could get book depository to post there for me. A friend's daughter was going to go there on a school trip but then it fell through in the last minute. Fast forward almost three years later and a friend is going for work. She has offered to take the bag of donations over for me (please note she will pack the bag herself and I've purchased a new bag that can be left with the charity.) I have rung the embassy who has assured me it is fine to bring in a suitcase of donations/gifts for the charity as long as I have a copy of the correspondence with the charity. Given the items are pencils and toothpaste, we will be well under the value limit for importing gifts anyway.

Which brings me back to my mood. Feeling a little fragile, I decided I would go out and purchase the bag she will take over. I then came home and packed it with the items already donated by friends. It made me feel so good. My mood has shot back up and currently is slightly elated. You see, now that I've managed to fulfill this small dream, three years in the making, I've decided to aim higher. On their wishlist page, where they have a link to donate  via paypal for simple things like hair brushes and laundry detergent, they also have this: IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MAJOR DONATION TO HELP US BUY A NEW TRUCK TO TRANSPORT THE KIDS, CONTACT US DIRECTLY AND WE EXCHANGE DETAILS.

So I've decided I'm going to get them a truck. I have no idea how, as of yet, but it's a worthwhile project. They say helping others makes you feel good. I have to say even just the idea of helping others seems to lift your spirits.

So I'm adding it to the list. And if there is any big business that needs a tax write off or wants to help some fabulous kids and people in need of transportation, please contact the Landmine Museum and Relief Centre.

Torshlusspanik List:

1. Shooting (check)
2. Fencing (check)
3. Play croquet at Croquet Club
4. Laser skeet
5. Off road buggy driving
6. Play Assassins Creed
7. Jetpacking (check)
8. The Color Run (check)
9. Invent something
10. Cooking Masterclass (check)
11. Master a Masterclass (check)
12. Perform a rap song (check)
13. Trampoline adventure (check)
14. BMX Riding (check)
15. Do a cart wheel (check)
16. Ride an Electric Bike (check)
17. Astonish Myself
18. Write a book.
19. Participate in a distance event (check)
20. Climb Sydney Tower (check)
21. Dance in a dance class (check)
22. Trust a stranger

23. Get a truck for the Landmine Museum and Relief Centre in Siem Reap

Linking with #KALCOLS & #MummyMondays #FortheloveofBLOG #StayClassyMama #OpenSlather

Sunday Lunch

On Sunday I took some time out with some girlfriends for a lunch at Sake in Double Bay. 2 hours of free flowing champagne and a Japanese feast, we talked and laughed and escaped our normal lives. Not wanting it to end, we retired to the roof top bar for a final hurrah.

Lovely views and a relaxed setting were not marred by the inclement weather. For a few hours I was truly loving life!

When was the last time you spoiled yourself?

Linking with.#OurWorldTuesday #TravelTuesday #Thrumylens #WordlessWednesday #LovinLifeLinky #WednesdayAroundtheWorld

Look again!

See the exotic flowers of the Malaysian jungle?

Look again.

They're Lego, planted amid the real garden at Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.


Linking with #FloralFridayFoto

“Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden.” ― Phaedrus

A blow to the ego

I entered a story competition, and I quite liked my story until I had a dream where I got a very detailed rejection letter telling me all that was wrong with the story. I actually wished I'd got the letter prior to submission, as I would have 'fixed' it. Clearly my brain knows what a good story is when it's in subconscious mode. Talk about an inner critic!

The winners were announced and the person who came first, also came second. So they wrote two stories way better than mine. Even though I already knew my story was no good, thanks to the dream, for some reason it seemed more of a blow to the ego that the same person could rustle up two award winning stories on demand while I struggled with one...Wonder what my subsconscious will say about that?!

Linking with #Littlethingsthursday #OpenSlather #MummyMondays

Monkey see, monkey do

While in Thailand, on a beach on one of the many islands in Phang Nga Bay, I learnt that monkeys eat crabs and oysters, and are excellent swimmers. Apparently this is common knowledge. They use tools to crack open the oysters. This massive monkey was on the beach we visited, slurping away. Given the size and the ferocious teeth, I zoomed closer, and stayed a safe distance. I know how quick they are on land and didn't want to test the speed in water.








Linking with  #SaturdayCritters and #AwwMondays

Regret, it piles up around us like books we haven't read

While in Singapore, we went to the Children's Biennale at the National Gallery. As we went floor by floor to the installations, my map reading ability and lack of familiarity of the building's layout was challenged. In my defence the gallery spans across two buildings, but I am also a little deficient in this area.  At one point we stop to ask a guide where the work was and she pointed us in the other direction. As we cross the gallery, I realise she has to be wrong, so we return, this time asking 'kid's biennale?' and pointing past her. She then nods in surprise, bemused that we were wanting to see it, and points around the corner from where she is standing. In Singapore, apparently, adult tourists without kids with them would not be interested in the whimsical art works of the Children's Biennale.

The work in question was Lynn Lu's Duplet. You sit under the cloud and answer questions. The first question was 'What do you most want to do in life?'
The second question was 'Why haven't you done it?'

At which point we fled, not to be made to feel bad in our inadequacy by an artwork.


The simplicity of it is confronting. You have a dream, you just need to do it. That is basically all that holds you back. Your lack of action. The question strips you of your excuses, because it's quite hard to listen to your excuses out loud.

Ironically, the experience with the guard highlights that on occasion, other people's expectation of you holds you back. We clearly wanted to behave like children in the eyes of the guard, but we did it anyway. We could have easily skipped that work out of embarrassment. However I learnt long ago not to miss out for fear of looking foolish. 

So to avoid regret, I ask you:

What do you most want to do in life and why haven't you done it?

(Linking with #Lifethisweek because even though I make a lot of mistakes and say dumb things, I tend less to ask myself 'Why did I?' and the more common question is 'Why didn't I?'. For me it's what I didn't do that looms bigger in my thought space.  The link at the start of the post has more pictures of the other delightful installations. It was a really fun exhibition).