2013: The Year of Doing

I never make New Year resolutions.  As far as I’m concerned they can only go one of two ways for me. Either fail miserably or completely obsess over reaching the end goal. Instead, I have simply declared 2013 to be “The Year of Doing”. There’s no set goals other than just doing things rather than thinking or talking about doing them.
To start of our year with our first “do”, last weekend we headed off to The Royal Melbourne Zoo. I love going to the zoo and we hadn’t been since Jacob was in a pram, but we had talked about going quite a few times last year. The day wasn’t planned. I simply woke up and decided that it was a lovely day to visit the zoo, so off we went.

We all had a wonderful time and Jacob enjoyed being the leader during the day, getting to make the decisions about what to visit. For future reference, not the brightest idea I have ever had as this meant we did many laps of the zoo. Next time simply option A or B :)

This blog post would not be compete without some cute animal pics.

Spot the difference :)

One of our favourite things at the Zoo was the Keeper Kids area. here the kids can dress up as zookeepers, researchers, veterinarians and horticulturalists complete with activity area for each job.  Jacob had an absolute blast playing vet.  He bandaged tigers and kangaroos, took temps, gave medicine and checked out x-rays.  Glad we headed here last as he didn’t want to leave.

              

I think one of the reason’s we kept putting off the zoo was money, but it really wasn’t that expensive.  During school holidays, weekends and public holidays kids are FREE! It cost $26.50 each for Jeff and I (the big boys politely declined the invitation) and car parking was only $2.00 for 5 hours.  There are beautiful grassy picnic areas where you can sit to eat either food you have brought with you or bought from one of the many kiosks.
So, what have you been talking or thinking about doing but just haven’t got around to? Let me know in the comments and then try to make it happen for you and your family.

Footloose Flash Mob by Panorama Theatre Company

This year, Zac will be playing the part of Bickle in Panorama Theatre Company’s production of “Footloose”.  As always, we have taken him to rehearsal after rehearsal, so when we were told they would be performing a sneak preview at the Mayor’s Picnic today, I couldn’t wait. But, this is a theatre company, so this was no ordinary sneak peek.

To promote “Footloose”, the cast flash mobbed the Mayor’s Picnic at the George Pentland Botanic Gardens and it was awesome.  I just wish I had been able to get into a better position early so I didn’t end up with shaky video at the start :( 

Since I’m such a good sharer, here is the Panorama Theatre Company’s "Footloose” Flash Mob video

And, just a few more happy snaps of the day including the cast photo.

If you would like to see Panorama Theatre Company’s production of “Footloose”, tickets are available from the Frankston Arts Centre website. Hope to see you there :)

Performances dates: 
Friday 5th October 7:30pm
Saturday 6th October 7:30pm
Sunday 7th October 1:30pm
Friday 12th October 7:30pm
Saturday 13th October 1:30pm & 7:30pm

Hubby & boys spend the day @ Highpoint shopping while I get pampered by Ottoman3 and L’Occitane

It’s coming up to that wonderful time of year where we celebrate our mothers and show them how much they mean to us.  Now, my birthday falls before mother’s day, so I have my boys, my hubby and parents asking what I would like and I never know what to say could explain some of the gifts I have received :). What I really would like is the ability to teleport, an extra hand, to be able to move at the speed of light or more hours in a day – don’t think any of that is going to happen in the near future. 

So, when I was told that Highpoint Shopping Centre had a Mother’s Day Gift Guide and asked if my hubby and boys would like to give shopping a go there, we jumped at the chance.  To make the day even better, some beautiful pampering had been organised for me while the boys were off shopping.  Armed with the gift guide and a camera they set off to hunt for a Mother’s day present. Now, I honestly have no idea what they ended up buying, I was just handed the camera at the end of the day and this is what I found:

Ummm Mr Jacob, I think these will fit you not me……..

I see you found the ride on cars and yes Zachary, 17 is really to old to be attempting to squish yourself into one.

OOOOOHHHH!!! Puppies!! Now, I didn’t see anyone carrying a puppy out to the car, nor have I seen or heard one around the house, so I’m going to take a wild guess and say, I am not getting a puppy for Mother’s Day.

Oh dear Lord, a M-O-U-S-E!!!! Hang on, it’s not real, I can breathe again, but if anyone hides that in my bed next Sunday morning, LOOK OUT!
 
Now that’s pretty! I’ve been eyeballing these for a while. Nice full length mirror and it opens up so you can store your jewellery.

Awwww, hubby are you checking out cards for me :)


Awwwww, love this shot of two of my boys. maybe they will print this out and frame it for me???


Oooohhhh, pretty pink bag for the gym and even prettier pink boxing gloves. I’m thinking my family is pretty darn smart about now :)

Hmmm, a purchase had been made, but they could be faking me out…..

Now, I suppose you are wondering what on earth I was doing while my family shopped.  Well, I was in all sorts of heaven! it’s been a while since I’ve had any sort of pampering treatment and this was just fantastic!! First, I was taken to the beautiful Ottoman 3 Nail and Brow Bar where I was treated to having my eyebrows perfectly shaped and my nails manicured.

I was introduced to the lovely Mini at Ottoman 3 Nail and Brow Bar, who walked me through what I was having done. First was my eyebrows. At Ottoman 3 Nail and Brow Bar, they using an ancient technique called threading. I’ve got to admit, I had never heard of this before and after the explanation, I was well and truly intrigued.  I’ve added a little video from Ottoman 3 below so you can check it out for yourself.

The talented Nina looked after my brows and after the initial surprise, I found that there was really no pain more a discomfort that I found I could relax into. I had never had my brows properly shaped before and the finished look was beautiful.

Next was my sorry looking nails. being a nurse, I have to keep my nails fairly short, so usually before a shift, I just hack them off with a pair of toe nail clippers I’m so sorry I ever did that Mini, and promise to never do that again! Getting a manicure has been on my 40 things list for ages and now I can proudly strike that off! I have always been put of by the smell associated with manicures and since Ottoman 3 don’t use acrylic, there is no offensive smell! I was looked after by the lovely Suzy, who was able to turn my hacked nails into a nails I can be proud of, without making them impractical for work.

Ottoman 3 Nail and Brow bar are located at Highpoint Shopping Centre and Chadstone Shopping Centre. Personally I think they need to have another one closer to me so I can get my Ottoman 3 fix regularly!!

Next up was meeting the lovely Sabrina at L’Occitane where I was given a skin assessment and shown their gorgeous organic products, most of which I tried :)  Their Highpoint store, is so serene to wander through, with gorgeous displays and staff that know how to answer all your questions.

I loved that they had bunches of lavender in the store, yet there was no over powering fragrance, just a delicate waft, and beautiful displays of the immortelle flower which is known as the everlasting flower as it never withers.

I guess I’m just going to have to wait until Sunday to find out exactly what my family discovered at Highpoint.

Have you got any *wishes* for Mother’s Day??? Are you family tuned into you or they just get what they secretly want themselves?? I’m totally sure Jacob wants another puppy :)

*Disclaimer: My family received a $200 Highpoint Gift Card to shop with and all pampering treatments were complementary.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Finally, My Blogopolis Post!

On Saturday the 30th July, I ventured into the city to attend Blogopolis hosted by Nuffnang.  After waking at some God awful time of the morning, I jumped in my car with my trusty caffeine mug and off I went.

 

Thanks to my anal retentive need to research everything before venturing out and my trusty Navman, I was able to park straight away, nice and close to Zinc where Blogopolis was being held. As I walked down near the Yarra River, this is the glorious morning that greeted me.

After going in and picking up my name tag, I ventured over to the table where I was seated and wondered who I would be sitting with. In all honesty, it didn’t really matter because I knew absolutely no one in real life.

I claimed my seat and had a bit of a wander and bumped into Lisa from Life As We Know It. After having a lovely chat, someone mentioned that I needed to go over to Danimezza to have my “official” photo taken. Anyone that knows me, knows that I usually run away when any camera is pointed in my direction. I was relieved when Lina from Mothers Love Letters offer to do the picture with me *hi photo buddy!!*

With Blogopolis about to begin, I grabbed a coffee and went back to my seat and met the lovely ladies that were sharing my table. Seated as awesome table 23 were Vanessa from Food Allergy Mum, Nicole from My Ideal Life, Wendy from Wendy Moore, Sharnee from Suck My Lolly & Blogger Candy and Simone from The Daily Buzz.

And just how am I so awesome I remembered all of them. Of course we swapped our business cards! Here’s mine just in case you missed out on getting one :)

At the morning tea break, I popped outside for a pre arranged on Twitter the night before “fresh air break” with Jo from Chickens and Bees.  With the second session about to start we all headed back in, grabbed more caffeine and took our spots.

For lunch, Brenda from Mummy Time had organised for a group of us from Digital Parents to get together. There I got to meet Jolene from Mums Lounge, Madame Bipolar, Sarah from Mum’s The Word, Laney from Crash Test Mummy, Kelley from Magneto Bold Too, Gemma from My Big Nutshell, Maria from Mum’s Word and Fiona from Lumsdaine Photography,

At the end of the conference, Jo and I headed off in search off food before wandering back to my car and driving over to the post-drinks party at Showtime where I met the lovely Fiona from Oh Gorgeous Baby and Moment By Moment. I must admit, I was absolutely beat, so only stayed for a few hours before jumping my my car and heading home.

I think I had my PJ’s and slippers on within minutes of getting through my door and not long after I was sound asleep :)

It was an absolutely fabulous day - thanks Nuffnang for organising it!!

For a fantabulous review of what went down re the conference check out Bree’s account at The Blog Stylist.

Mary Poppins!

Well I’ve managed to complete numbers 11 and 38 of my 40 Things Before 40 list. For my Mum’s birthday, I got tickets to see Mary Poppins at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne.

We had originally planned to spend the afternoon in the city beforehand, but the weather was not being kind :( So, we started out with a cuppa at Mum and Dad’s before heading to the station to catch the train in.
Our first stop was the Elephant & Wheelbarrow for a coffee and a snack – honestly, we really didn’t think we could eat all those yummy steakhouse fries!! 
But hey, we persevered……………
Next stop, the main attraction.
I have to say the show was AMAZING!!!!!!! The music, the dancing, the atmosphere, all simply incredible!!