Ollie the pug - an old vid

I was loading some You Tube vids for work and had a memory drop by that I'd loaded a video of our dog Ollie a while back, I searched for 'Ollie The Pug' and there he was :)

So for a little Xmas cheer, here's a very amateur video of our mad dog - Ollie The Pug, at our old house at the farm  :)

Till next time,

An Aussie Santa

Mr Mel & I headed down to Blue Bay for a family Xmas do, staying overnight in a multi-million dollar property, owned by a family friend, where the backyard merged into the sand of the beach.

Soooo relaxing, and reminded me of my childhood in Warrnambool, growing up in a seaside town, the beach is such a part of every day life.  I hope to one day get back to a seaside lifestyle, here's hoping!

We had a great day, feasted on delicious Xmas fare, a night of chatting with the extended family. Then awoke to a beautiful sunrise over Blue Bay.

On the Saturday arvo we even had a visit from Santa, in a true Aussie Style!!

Till next time,

Can We Do It Update - final of 2010

Ok so I've gotten a tad sidetracked off my 'Can We Do It' Goals & Updates, but the fact they're still out there in blogland, gives me the push I need to get back to it.

So 2011 will be the year of converting goals into achievements, I'll be back in early 2011 to set it out properly, but until then, my last Can We Do It Update for 2010:

Mortgage - We bought our home in July 2009, We're aiming to have our mortgage paid off in 7 years from starting out, which would make it July 2016.

Update - We're on month 19 of our mortgage, and we're going quite well, we've got 56.33% equity . 

Other debt - Our total non mortgage debt includes a car loan (as part of mortgage package, at same interest rate), and a VISA we've since closed. Our aim is to have all of this debt paid off by mid 2015.

Update - Compared to when we started back in July 2009, we're sitting at approx 48.65% non mortgage debt gone, which is good, we've got the bulk of our money against the mortgage, not sitting in the car, so we're happy with that situ.

Weight - As per other updates, my weight covers a few areas, getting healthy & fit, getting my body in the right place to conceive (and fit in a near 'normal' wedding dress!!). 

Update - Let's just say I totally lost my mojo, will review in 2011!

Business - In Feb 2010 Mr Mel gave up his job in Sydney to have a go at turning his hobby into a business. 

Update - Mr Mel's business is growing steadily, he's working hard at it and the results are coming in, he's probably at about 75% of his Sydney wage so far, yay!  Combined with my bloodstock investments/business, we're chugging along ok.  Looking at another part to the business in early 2011, but will update later on that.

I promise I'll be back in 2011 to redo the goals :)

Till next time,

Our foal - an update

Back on 20 September our lovely mare foaled a big strong colt - http://canwedoityepwecan.blogspot.com/2010/09/our-new-arrival.html

Well he is now 11 weeks old and continues to impress us.  He is a big strong and correct colt, and lucky for all of us who have to work with him, he has a gorgeous temperament.  We have a few foals on the farm who are shall we say less than cooperative, but our boy is just a gem (so far!!).

This is a pic of him at about 4 hours old

This is a photo of him from today, at about 11 weeks old

As you can see he is growing into a lovely lad, not that I'm biased much!!  :)

Till next time,

First time in 15 years!

I first posted this on the Simple Savings forum, but thought I should put it on my blog to so here goes!

Yes as sad as it might seem, Saturday night is the first time I have worn a dress in over 15 years!

It was an engagement party, with a 'casino' dress code, so I thought right dress it is.

2 weeks ago I went dress shopping, tried on 4, all hideous (I am in the plus size range!).

Went home very depressed, and resigned to wearing my 'usual uniform', of black pants, fancy black top.

Then on Sat am, 5 hours before the party, Mr Mel and I arrived in Sydney went to Castle Hill to get him a new shirt for the party. Found his shirt in the first 10 mins at Myer, very happy.

Wandered around, with Mr Mel trying to encourage me to look for another dress. I resisted, then we're outside of David Jones and I say 'stuff it I'm going in, I'll probably be back in 5 mins'.

So off I go, and wandering around the plus size section with a load of women at least 10-15 years older than me (so depressing if I'm being honest). And I spy a dress that isn't horrible and flowery.

I try it on and hello it actually doesn't look woeful, except for being sleeveless which i just don't do. So I wander out, with dress over my arm, and there's a nice bolero jacket type thing on a different dress. I try it on and it fits and actually looks ok.

Only issue is I wasn't in shopping clothes, so I only had flat shoes, ordinary bra, and no spanx type thingos on, so I'm not 100% confident.

I call Mr Mel and get him to come see. He looks at it on the hanger and says 'if you like it chickadee get it', I blah on about but I don't do dresses, I'm too yukk for it. What if I get it home and hate it.

He says if you get it home, with all your gear and hate it, we'll bring it back tomorrow before we head home and get a credit/exchange, no big deal. You've got your backup plan with pants & top.

So I buy the dress (sleeveless, v neck, black, lace from bottom of vneck, then a black ribbon under bust, and lace over flesh coloured under material, to just below knees. And a bolero type thing, black with short sleeves and flounces. $150 for the lot, not too bad.

So I get home, get all sucked in by the spanks, and proper bra, heels on, and it doesn't look too bad. I show Mr Mel & Sister In Law and they love it, but can tell I'm not comfortable/confident, so say try the pants/top on. I do and they say I look alot more confident, but both look nice.

So I thought bugger it, I'm wearing the dress.

We head out, and I'm very self conscious for the first 1/2 hour at the party, thinking everyones looking at my not so slim calves and thinking what's she doing in a dress.

Then 3 girls I've never met complimented me on my dress, all within 20 mins, the last 2 were in the ladies when I visited. And shazaam I feel ok.

I come back from the ladies and Mr Mel says 'what happened you look so much happier', and I told him what the girls had said.

He replied 'see chickadee, I told you that you looked gorgeous but you'll never believe anyone because you think they don't want to upset you, but a stranger saying it you have to believe it, you look gorgeous princess'.

While I think gorgeous is a huge stretch, I have to say I really really enjoyed my first dress in 15+ years. :)

So if any bigger than 'normal' girls are out there, don't lose hope, just keep looking for a dress that suits, it can happen!

The dress I wore

Till next time,


PS - thanks to all the lovely ladies on SS for their wonderful comments, it gave me the confidence to post about it here :)

Happy Birthday To Me!

Well Happy Belated Birthday to be accurate!! Sunday 7th Nov was my Birthday, another year older, hopefully a bit wiser!

I am so thankful for friends, family & Mr Mel, I was sooo spoilt!

We booked a restaurant we had been eyeing off for ages, Amanda's On The Edge at Pokolbin.

On the Thursday before I was discussing the dinner with my boss and his wife, as Amanda's is my boss' wife's favourite restaurant.  About 8pm that night I had a call on my work mobile, usually at that time of night it's not a good call, usually a vet/horse emergency.  But this time I was pleasantly surprised!  My boss & his wife wanted to shout Mr Mel and I out for dinner for my birthday!  I was blown away, and gratefully accepted the generous offer.

Saturday night rolled around for our 7pm booking.  As we walked in Amanda (the owner) greeted us with a 'Happy Birthday Mel', I was very impressed. We were seated at one of the best tables overlooking the vineyard.

Amanda asked if I would like a cocktail for my birthday, I replied 'oh only if it's mango', she said there were no mango cocktails but she thinks there's a mango in the kitchen, and that she'd go check.  She returned a few minutes saying how about a mango daquiri, why of course I replied!!

5 minutes later a delicious mango daquiri arrived, again very impressed.

We ordered, and were very happy with our choices:

Mel
- Goats Cheese & Leek Tart - just delicious, the texture was like mousse, so light and tasty, with a gorgeous rocket salad and pine nuts
- Crispy Skinned Duck Maryland with roasted onions, cripsy kipfler potatoes & asparagus - the duck was very moist and tender, although the skin wasn't crispy, it wasn't a huge negative, the potatoes, onions & asparagus were a great match
- Toffee Creme Brulee with blueberries & cookies - very tasty, the brulee had a good crack, and the blueberries went well with the soft creme, dessert was served with a dark chocolate 'Happy Birthday Mel' on the plate, a great way to top off a lovely dinner

Mr Mel
- Creamy Crab & Bug Meat Bisque served with crusty bread - Mr Mel knows his seafood and soups, and he was raving, I tried it and while not a big fan of seafood soups it was very tasty, Mr Mel wants to make a bisque at home now, uhoh!
- he was tossing up between the lamb & a special of Red Emperor, went with the fish and was a little disappointed, thought it was a bit over and bland, but not terrible
- Greek Custard Pastry with Cinnamon Icecream - Mr Mel thought the pastry was a bit lacklustre but was raving about the cinnamon icecream, rates it the nicest icecream he's ever had!!

We took our own bottle of wine, one of our favourites, the Rosalie Joan Verdelho from Ernest Hill at Pokolbin

All in all a lovely night out, very nice food, great service and a lovely location.

On the pressie front I was very spoilt, a juicer from Mr Mel and lots of vouchers to the best garden centre in the area :)

Till next time,