Canberra’s Handmade Christmas Market

Ventured out to the Handmade Markets this morning, to have a wander and get some Xmas shopping done!

Hot day – wouldn’t want to be in the shed later this afternoon. Ugh. Got a yummy cold chai from the Real Chai stand free when I bought some tea from them, that cooled me off and kept me going a while longer!

Ran into Jen from Red Instead (recently relaunched to focus on her passions for print, web design and photography)…running around helping here and there. Also saw (or was seen by) Julia helping at another friends stall. Also was able to scab a lift home from a workmate and her family (I walked there this morning!)

My haul!

I won’t tell you what’s gifts and what’s for me, but they came from:
Chin Chilla Creations
Created for You (I think I’m going to end up with a very large collection of button earrings if I keep visiting her stall!)
moyou
Real Chai
Wombat Heights Orchard
Lakeview Estate Winery

:)

Finishing Touches

Finally got around to doing my tax yesterday – after hitting the shops and buying three pairs of summer sandals and thinking I needed to pay for them somehow!

I also got a cute little parcel from Jen @ Red Instead…

Looking forward to the Christmas Handmade Markets on Nov 21 (yes, Jen’s stall will be there, I believe!)… will get all my Xmas shopping done there – though I might not have the car that day, we’ll see if I’m up for the 6km walk (take a backpack!)

Rewards of Stalking

So many good things come from stalking. You make friends, you win bags, and you get the thrill of tracking someone down :p

Jen and her little (and rapidly growing) boy were some of my first “Real” clients as a “real” speech pathologist. Aren’t they lucky getting me as a new grad? ;) Pop-up pirate is still my favourite therapy game, but my skills and range of activities have grown – I hope!

Jen’s shop Red Instead Handmade is having a 20% off sale at the moment (I’m not sure if it’s til the end of the month?) so it’s a great time to check out Jen’s cool little shop :)

How geek-cute is this Text Graphic Handbag? :) I could see a couple of you with it, bag in one hand, twittering on your iphones with the other…

A wiki… for shopping?

Just having a browse at the Health and Beauty buying guide over at ShopWiki.com… mostly because I was trying to find out how much it would have been to replace my bathroom scales if Rish hadn’t found them for me the other morning! From quite cheap to thousands if I want all the features… I’ll just stick with having the weight and body fat monitor, thanks!

(And Rish with his tape measure. I’m sure that, along with fitness changes, means more, right?)

Cherries!

It’s definately cherry season… you just have to know where to buy them!

A local guy was selling them – 2 kilos for $8 at the Kingston Old Bus Depot Markets yesterday… so Mum (who was down for the weekend) split a box with me. I just might have to go back next Sunday for another box full. Other than that, I don’t think I was exactly inspired at the markets… a few cute bags but I’m scared I’d destroy them in an instant!

On shopping, I’m also after a pair of bown summer sandals to replace my current pair that did last summer and did Greece. Before they fall apart. But again, not inspired. And the ones I did like were in “old lady sizes” as my mother put it – a C fitting that slips off my skinny foot. Yes, I have somethign skinny. :p When I was a kid, I remember wearing A fittings in the Clarke’s school shoes. Given I used to also walk on my toes all the time, it’s no wonder I was falling down a lot. Just don’t know my excuse now…

So I’m sticking to safer pursuits. Like Scrabble. :)

Stand Back: Domestic Genius at Work

Okay, I’m sure I’ve mentioned my periods of being banned from doing household tasks such as the dishes (relegated to wiping up), and doing Rish’s washing due to one too many tissue incidents (bans have been lifted due to the necessity of me being available to do these tasks).

I was just putting out washing, a couple of loads (second load took ages – you kind of have to lean on the washing machine to stablise it sometimes when there’s larger items like towels, sheets, or jujitsu stuff)…

Putting a denimn skirt on the line. It’s a nice sunny day, over 20 degrees, so I think to myself “Oh I should change out of these jeans and into that skirt, would be much better for spring”. I moved on fromt hat and completed the hanging of the washing.

Walked back into the house and realised that, actually, that wouldn’t really work, as the skirt is WET and that’s why I was hanging it out. *shakes head* It seemed like such a good idea too. Maybe tomorrow?

*ahem*

I should stick to tasks I seem to be very good at. Like shopping for shoes and underwear :p

(But no handbags. Why are all the handbags so ugly at the moment? I want a new one sometime soon, but awesome Kathy Van Zeeland one is starting to get all tatty… want a new one before summer. Any suggestions?)

Evactuation? But it’s my day off!

All I wanted to do was to get a cheap hair cut from Just Cuts, so went on down to Westfield at Woden this morning to do that… but nooooooo… we had to be evacuated (4th time for me in 2 weeks) due to a fire in a candle store (Dusk). At least there were fire men?

I did move on after that… haven’t had a hair cut, but am sitting here with red purple dye on my head, hair, shoulders… and had it on my nose. And I managed to buy shoes… and lingerie… in my size :) I was aiming for w new white bra, but I came home with a blue and a green… Sometimes it just goes like that *grins*

Banana it is

Just back from a lake loop jog with Rish. 31:06 for the 5kish loop. Not bad not bag, considering external factors such as a late night drinking at the cocktail bars of Canberra (Muddle then Hippo), a feeling that I’ve got some sort of bug still in my system (wussy coughs that make my brain feel bruised), having a few days break from any exercise, and the strong headwind that of course only picked up over the very last and hardest part of the run!

I have a banana and a glass of cold milk in front of me. The banana is very very ripe, so sweet! :p

We went out to the new DFO Canberra earlier today… very busy, and it would have been excellent if I was in a shopping mood, but I wasn’t so at least I have a feel for the place now… head back again (not in the school holidays though! that would be suicidal) when I can and do some shopping for summer. I can’t just wear my Emo bear shirt or my other Threadless stuff the whole time.

(does anyone else know children who call Elmo (from Sesame Street) “Emo”? Who come up to you and tell you “I love Emo”. “No dear, you mean Elmo”… or is it just a hazard of my profession?)

Unconscious Mutterings after the cut Read the rest of this entry »

Not the City 2 Surf

Got back to trying to improve my 5km time today. I’ve had a couple of treadmill sessions since coming back, but both were more interval training pace and fitness rather than trying to get my distance going.

I was meant to do the run outside, around Lake Burley Griffin, but with reports of snow this morning (before I got up, alas!) and the sleety drizzle while I was leaving, there was no way I was going out there.

So treadmill it was. I managed it in 33:50, which is 2 minutes slower than the best outdoor time I’m done, but I was pacing myself, started off at 8km/h picking it up gradually, with the “sprint” at 11 at the end to make sure I came in under 34 minutes! :)

All in aid of getting back on track, and of course looking hotter in my bikini this summer than I did in Greece last month.

Speaking of summer – it’s scary walking around in the Canberra Centre with it sleeting outside to browse the lacey girly spring fashions (seems either girly or a little bit country – think flanno print cotton blouses. help me.) and the swimwear on display at David Jones. I just couldn’t motivate myself to take clothes off to try that stuff on!

Though I did try some clothes at Target. And came to the conclusion that I need to get back into a Target size 10 (Target seems to be middle of the range as far as sizing. They don’t seem to undersize or oversize that much) in order to be in proportion. I used to fit nicely into a ten there. My top half swims in the 12s, and I can wear the 12s there in pants, but the cute dresses I wanted, no such luck. At 26, I know that my beasts won’t grow of their own accord unless I do something rediculous like having a baby (but then I wouldn’t be a 10 or 12 in normal clothes, anyway, right?), so it’s to focus on trimming the fat ;)

And buying cute Hello Kitty underwear to tide me over:

*grins*

And some Unconscious Mutterings behind the cut Read the rest of this entry »

Sleep? What Sleep?

Had a lovely weekend *grins*

I finally watched Fight Club on Friday night. Excellent movie (not partial to the beating in of heads, but you know, have to deal with it to get the rest of it). Can say that I’ve seen it :) And could return the DVD to a friend we’d borrowed it off way too long ago :p (Crush on Helena Bonham Carter has just grown)

Coming home to snuggle up and watch a DVD after gym, instead of hitting the Canberra Centre in search of the end of the sale bargains and to look for a new mobile phone for Rish.

Instead, we did that on Saturday… 4 hours worth of wandering later – I have a new pair of running shoes, Rish has the new Nokia 6220 to play with, and I had REALLY sore feet, and threw a little tanty *heh* Still managed to gym it up, though.

Was going to craash out for an early night but talked into heading out for coktails… I’m so easily persuaded! :) Nice to get out, though I was struggling to stay awake – not so good as I was the designated driver as Rish’s arm probably isn’t right yet for driving… 2:30 bed time.. :)

Had friends over for a BBQ lunch today, to catch up again before we head away. I lost both games of 500, with different partners :p WEll, we technically didn’t lose the last one, it never ended, so maybe we’ll rematch them when we get back from Europe :p (Do they still give out playing cards on airlines? I’d love another deck to add to my collection! I think I’ve heard of them being handed out on Emirates flights – I’ll have to ask :p)

And just now I’ve come back from the oval – sprints across the field with Rish *dies*

So, things hurt, haven’t had much sleep, but I’ve had a wonderful weekend (yes, I even got the washing done) and am ready to hit the four days I have remaining at wor before my holiday! *dances*