Favourite Photo

I've been tagged by ...and the three bears.

It’s really simple. I love how every photo tells a story. Some short stories, some long tales. I want to know what is your favourite photo of yourself. Everyone has one. The photo they look at and smile. It reminds them of something, some time, some place. A moment in time.So share the photo, share the story and then tag three other people. I want to see photos and stories all around the blogosphere.

I have to say that I don't really have a favourite photo of me. I don't like many photos of me. I'm sure there are some deep rooted self esteem issues there or something, but nevermind.

This one would come pretty close. I think I look okay in this photo. I look like I'm having fun anyway. This is before Renee and Marcus' wedding in Adelaide. It's a self portrait with my sister. We're always doing these and I think only about 10% work out looking half decent.

I've just had my hair cut so it looks good. My sister's a bridesmaid and she's had her hair and makeup done by the wonderful Kylie and Tash, so she's looking gorgeous. I love my sister. She's one of my best friends and one of the few people I really trust and love unconditionally.

I also love weddings. The ceremonies themselves usually make me cry and the receptions are so much fun. This one was especially fun.

I don't really have anyone to tag for this. If you read this and want to do it yourself, go ahead. I'd love to see what you have to say too. :)

Myf's Friends

We have a park at the end of our street. Myf goes for walks there. Now that she's grown up and not 100% puppy, she can go off lead and not run off. So every morning before work, Paul heads down to the park to throw a ball for her. I join them on the weekends. During these outings, Myf has made a number of friends. These are regulars who frequent the park at the same time as us.

This weekend, Paul's brother, Stephen, joined us for the walk as he was in Melbourne for a long weekend. Here are some pics of Myf, Stephen and Myf's friend Kevin, who is a pug.

Myf chasing after her ball

Kevin

Myf and Kevin chasing after the ball

Kevin chasing Myf after she got the ball

Myf with ball in mouth

Myf and Stephen

The Soccer Comes the the G

Last night we journeyed to the MCG to freeze our butts off and watch Australia vs Japan. Although this was a dead rubber, Australia needed to win or draw to come top of their pool. Australia won 2:1.

To be perfectly honest my main concern with the game was that the 90 minutes would drag and I would get totally bored and focus on how cold it was. I don't have the longest attention span in the world and lets face it, soccer's not exactly AFL ;)

As it turned out, even though the game started pretty slowly, I hardly even noticed time ticking over. I think the only time the match actually felt like it was dragging was in the last 5 minutes of the game when Australia were just trying to slow the play down and prevent Japan from scoring.

Highlight of the match for me was Australia's first goal. The stadium erupted and two flares were set off, so it actually felt like we were at a proper soccer match. Up until that point it had been a bit staid. There were a few mexican waves, but no real chanting or anything to differentiate it from a cricket match. Australia is definitely lacking some team songs.

A Sunday Night on Avenue Q

This is my first attempt to backdate a post, because I've already fallen behind. This does not bode well for my blog!

On Sunday night, Paul and I headed out for a night of entertainment. We were planning on having a nice dinner out, but as we were running a little late, we had to have a quick bite to eat at Wagamama instead. It's actually not too bad a place to eat at if you're running late. The service is fast, the meals cheap and the food is pretty good.

After dinner, we headed up to the comedy theatre on Exhibition Street to see the musical Avenue Q.

OMG, it was hilarious. So wrong, so true and so funny. With puppet nudity and songs like "everyone's a little bit racist" and "the intenet is for porn" what's not to laugh at. It's loosely based on Sesame street, except it's a little bit racier and I don't think there were ever any Gary Coleman references in Sesame Street.

For all of my interstate readers (because there are SOOOO many people who read this blog!) the show is touring the country and I highly recommend that you get along to it.

New Furniture

Our new couches arrived on the weekend. Yay!!

Bit by bit we're slowly becoming less like students and more like adults. We're getting rid of our hand me downs and getting furniture of our own that matches and suits us.

The dresser is part of the new bedroom suite, but it doesn't fit in the bedroom.

This is some more of the bedroom suite.

Loving the Theatre

At the end of last year I purchased a Melbourne Theatre Company subscription for 8 plays throughout this year. I have not yet been disappointed with the plays I've seen.

Last night I went to see August: Osage County. This is a play about a slightly dysfunctional family that comes together when the father goes missing. It's a grim tale, but darkly funny.

As a whole, the plays I've seen have had wonderfully creative sets. Last night for example, there was a 3 storey house on stage. In every performance thus far, the acting has been superb. A stand out in 2 plays has been Robyn Nevin, who last night was brilliant as the pill popping mum.

When I purchased the subscription, I was worried about going to the plays alone. I thought I'd look like a loser. Now, I'm just so excited to be going to such wonderful performances I don't care if I look like a loner. I don't care that I'm wearing daggy jeans and a hoodie, whilst sipping champagne all by myself during the interval as Lisa McCune holds court next to me looking stunning in her little black number.

For me, this year, the theatre has provided much more entertainment than movies. The plots are less cliched, the acting more convincing and I'm learning about history. It's all win for me :)

A Weekend that Started in Jail and Finished with Food

As it's Tuesday, it's probably about time I wrote about my weekend.

This month, Paul's Friday night drinks were held at the Royal Melbourne Hotel. Part of this building had been the West End Police Station and Prison. The function room that we were in for the drinks was actually the corridor for a block of cells in the prison, complete with original cell doors with all the bolts. It was pretty creepy if you thought about it. The doors were so tiny and the cells would have been pretty dark and dingy. Apart from the interesting history, the venue was a bit so-so. Could do with better organisation and management and a bit of direction. Oh, and decent beers on tap!

Saturday started with a run in the park for Myf. Paul introduced me to Myf's new past time. She's allowed off lead on the local soccer pitch, which is partially fenced. On the soccer pitch, Myf chases her ball and other dogs and occasionally will get lost in the smells, but fortunately not enough that she won't come back to us when called. Either she's grown up, or the smells aren't as interesting as the ones at Mum and Dad's house. Probably a combination of the two.

Sunday started in much the same way, but instead of departing to the markets after the run with Myf, Paul and I went out for breakfast in South Yarra. We met up with friends at Fellini, which is apparently owned by Fev. Good food, despite the Carlton connection ;)

After this we caught a train into town and went to the Good Food and Wine Show at the Convention centre. Wow, this building is HUGE! There were so many people and it was so crowded. It was really hard to get to the free samples because everyone wanted them. Haha, funny that! It didn't take long before my feet hurt and I was tired of queuing for a teeny tiny taste. So then it was onto the wine section where I discovered Pomegranite liqueur. Mmmm... Very tasty! Almost made me forget about my sore feet. :D

Richmond Houses Are Giving Me Nightmares

I love the idea of owning a nice old Victorian cottage in Richmond. The location is great and the houses are so cute. Unfortunately the layouts are all wrong. For starters, they tend not to suit the modern way of entertaining, in that they often don't lend themselves to the open plan living/dining/kitchen that I'm so used to. Secondly if they've been renovated on the cheap, the house has been extended a little to encapsulate the bathroom which would have been separate to the house. This means that the bathroom/toilet comes directly off the dining room or the kitchen. I think I must be one of the only people in the world who thinks that this really isn't very hygienic.

Unfortunately in our current rental, which is a renovated Victorian in Richmond, the bathroom/toilet comes off the dining room. Last night I had a weird dream that we'd moved the dining table so it was right next to the door of the bathroom, so every time someone went to the toilet, we could hear all sorts of sound effects. It wasn't pleasant and I think the first thing I'll do when I get home from work tonight will be to move the dining table even further away than it already is.

I think the stress of house hunting is starting to get to me!

Can a dog get depressed?

Well apparently yes it can.

Paul and I recently moved house. About 3 days later we went on a week long holiday, which had been planned many months before the house move. While we were away, my Aunt and Granny came to look after our dog, Myf, and help get her settled into her new environment.

It would appear that all of these changes were just a bit too much for Myf. Not long after Kate and Granny left, Myf decided that she didn't like Paul and I going to work and that she would attempt to destroy as much of the house as possibly while we're away.

So after a trip to the vet, followed by a week waiting for results from blood tests, Myf is on anti-depressants. Yes, it's true, the dog who is excited by and loves everything, whose tail can't stop wagging, is depressed and suffers from anxiety. For goodness sake, soon she'll have her own therapist. Well, as long as she blames Paul and not me for her disorder... ;)

And so it begins...

Just over a year ago my husband, Paul and I moved to Melbourne with our dog, Myf. I wanted to start a blog to record our first year in Melbourne but I never really got around to it. A year on I figured I may as well give it a bash. Unfortunately, I don't write very well and I have a knack of turning even the most exciting and/or hilarious stories in to long-winded, boring epics. I also don't really do anything terribly exciting with my life, so I'm not really sure whether this will be a very successful blog. Time will tell.