Life Lately: A Seal Encounter at Taronga Zoo

Why hello there! You might have noticed that I didn't put up my usual Monday blog post yesterday.

Why? Because, you see, I was off making a new friend.

December is a crazy month for us - as it probably is for you too. We're busily trying to finish up work for the year - whilst also trying to fit in all of the fun social things too. Every weekend has been full of events (from birthdays and Christmas celebrations to weddings and family events) and weeks have been full of work which has left me with little time to blog.

So yesterday, when I had to race out of the house early to get to the zoo in time to meet my new friend Mali, I didn't get a chance to put together a post!

But don't worry - a recipe is coming!

But first, I thought I'd share some of our trip to the zoo with you - and tell you about my new friend Mali! 

So let me share it with you! >> 

Random Ramblings: Snapshots of Life Lately

Hello there! Remember me? 

I took a little unplanned hiatus from the blog after the Easter long weekend as I was feeling positively woeful with the flu that didn't actually turn into the flu (it's just this weird lingering pre-flu-ness) but nevertheless, I AM BACK!

You probably didn't miss me, but I missed you so I thought I'd catch you up on what's been happening over the weekend. I thought I'd do this week's random ramblings a little bit differently by sharing some snapshots and stories of life lately. 

So let me share these photos and stories with you! >> 

Alphabet Dating - O for Outdoor Adventure at Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk

Hello, my name is Kristy and I'm an idiot. 

Okay I'm not a complete idiot, but on Sunday I must have left my brain somewhere because this date was a littttlleeeeee idiodic.  But let me back track a little bit and start from the beginning... shall we?

Illawarra Fly has been on our to-visit list for quite some time and after a few weeks of Jesse working interstate and us not getting to spend that much time together, we decided to head off on a random adventure on Sunday morning. 

And it was the perfect thing to tick off one of the "O's" in our Alphabet Dating Book!

We hopped in the car (actually, the truck... because Jesse really is a Southern boy at heart and prefers his truck over every other car) and drove the 1 hour and 40ish minutes from our house to Knights Hill - driving through gorgeous farmland and lush green hillsides. 

Soon we were winding our way higher and higher and higher above sea level - and that's when I probably should have realised what we were in for... but we kept on driving and I was pretty glad Jesse decided to take the truck as it meant we wouldn't have to do the whole 

I think I can, I think I can, I think, I can little engine that could routine.

Next thing we knew, we were at Illawarra Fly and buying our tickets for the walk. 

The admission price is a little hefty at $25 per adult for the walk ($75 if you want to zipline as well) but it's a tourist attraction and that's kind of to be expected.

The upside is, however, they're a part of the "Merlin Annual Pass" which is $99 per adult and gives you unlimited entry to Sydney Aquarium, Wild Life Sydney, Sydney Tour Eye, Madame Tussauds and a bunch of other attractions - which would be worthwhile if you're planning on visiting a few within the year.

We stopped by Dozer's house to see if their resident wombat, Dozer, was around - but alas, native Australian animals still manage to hide from me. I've only lived in Australia my entire life and have never seen one in the wild - even though I walk through a park just about every day that has echidnas and kangaroos and whatever else wandering around in there. Womp womp!

 

Then we were at the start of the walk - and I still had not realised just how high it was. 

As I took the first photo, someone came flying by on a zip line right in my shot and Jesse was green with envy because I'd told him when we were on our way there that there was NO WAY I was ziplining because I "am afraid of heights".

We walked around the first corner and I looked down and thought "HA! I'm not scared of heights anymore, this is nothing!"

Famous last words.... because then this happened....

We walked a little bit further, onto a platform that was suspended in mid-air with no poles or supports underneath and Jesse said "oh wow, look down" (actually... he didn't say wow but we'll just pretend that's what he said).

Ummmm... okay... maybe this is getting a little bad. 

The vertigo started and I felt like I should probably hold onto the railing to steady myself (and you know, cling onto for dear life in case the grate collapses and I risk falling to my death....)

I looked out at the view and thought oh that's nice and then walked as quickly as possible I could back to "solid ground" and away from the suspended-in-mid-air-platform where I had no chance of surviving.... well... let's be honest, my "solid ground" was just the metal sheeting over the grate but hey, that's what I told myself. 

Meanwhile, what was my husband doing? LEANING OVER THE EDGE... and taking photos with his phone over the edge... 

Here I am thinking "please God don't let my wedding rings fall off or my camera strap break because there is no way I'm ever finding anything that drops ever again" and Jesse's is just trying to get the best photo to share with his friends 😜

 

And if I wasn't freaking out enough already, we reached the tower which was ON TOP of the already high walkway and Jesse said "come on, let's go!". 

Um..... this is the moment panic set in. 

My heart rate skyrocketed (my fitbit went into cardio mode 😂) and my brain decided that it would completely stop my legs from moving as I climbed the 106 steps to the top. 

By the time I got to the top (which was SWINGING IN THE BREEZE), I was in full blown panic mode and begging Jesse to get down as soon as possible. 

But being the tragic human that I am, I had to take a photo first - and then I walked as carefully and quickly as possible down those 106 stairs because the swinging and heights was surely going to see my heart call it quits. 

Jesse actually took a video and you can hear me say "I'm surely going to have a heart attack..." 

I then walked as FAST AS I POSSIBLY COULD (but slow enough that I didn't risk killing myself by breaking the grates and falling to my death) to the next "safe" bit whilst Jesse took photos and looked around. 

Jesse convinced me to not just skip to the end and instead walk out to the last lookout point... where I found almost exactly the same view and felt like I'd risked my life for nothing... 

But there was a railing and I grabbed it to steady myself when the platform shook in the wind and IT BROKE. 

Snapped clean in half. 

Jesse says it was the funniest thing in the world because I felt it snap and I screamed "NOPE!" and hightailed my butt out of there as fast as humanly possible. 

I was SO done with the whole "facing your fears" bit at this point and clinging onto this random support pole with dear life because it looked sturdy and unsnappable and Jesse thought it was hilarious. 

Luckily I could see the end at this point and knew I only had to make it just a little bit further and then I was on solid ground. 

And do you want to know what Jesse said when I had 20 metres to go? 

"I swear I just felt the metal slip down under my foot". 

DON'T EVEN.

Kristy out. 

But tell me, what are you scared of? 

And have you ever done anything that turned out to be a really ridiculously bad idea?

Even Jesse felt sick from adrenaline by the end (despite his cool as a cucumber demeanour). 

I'm scared of heights and I am terrified of birds. Beyond terrified... I cry hysterically and hyperventilate if a bird flies at me and we actually have no idea why I'm so scared, haha.

    

   

Random Ramblings: Embarrassing Photos and Unusual Theories

I realised the other day that I forgot how random the photo is of me up there ^^^

It wasn't until Jesse, my Mum and I were talking about the fact that, if I was ever to become famous/notable for anything, the media would be able to pull some seriously weird photos of me to use because I'm not afraid to laugh at myself. 

The first photo I thought of?

<< That one. An outtake from my Winter Fashion Must Haves post last year.

The first photo my Mum thought of?

^^ The random ramblings photo.

Apparently I really embarrass my poor Mum with my crazy antics and ridiculous photos. Let's hope I never end up famous or notable because she would probably want to crawl in a hole and hide from her embarrassing offspring.

Meanwhile, I'd probably offer to do another photoshoot because that's only the start of my randomness...

. . . 

Maybe this is personal, but when do you pay your bills? 

I always pay mine as soon as I get them because I guess I'm afraid I'll forget about them and then have an overdue bill - and I thought that was pretty normal. Apparently, that's not the case because a few of my friends looked at me like I had three heads and no common sense when I said that. 

So now I'm wondering... is bill paying the same kind of deal as assignments in school? Because whenever I was in school, I always came home and did my assignments as soon as I got them - because I was worried I'd forget about them/run out of time later and not be able to hand them in - and then too, some of my friends thought I was crazy. 

So, my question is this; what were you like with assignments at school and what are you like with bills now?

See, these are the stupid things I think about when I actually have important things to do. 

. . . 

Yesterday I had a meeting with a potential client at an office space where 4 or so of my other clients also work/meet/have offices and I bumped into one client who saw me and I could tell that as soon as he realised who I was he had this instant "OH S#!+! I forgot I was meeting Kristy today" reaction which then turned into "hold on, I don't think I was meeting Kristy today"  and then said hello and I felt like I had to reassure him that I wasn't actually there to meet him. 

Then I realised I'm really lucky my office is down the road from my house and away from all my clients - because I could never get any work done in an office building like that as I'd constantly be bumping into people that wanted something from me 😛

So big kudos to anyone who works in an office with lots of people. I couldn't do it. 

But tell me, how has your week been? 

And what's something you've been randomly wondering/thinking about/rambling about lately?

    

   

A Morning with the Mummies #LifeWithTheJoneses

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Ancient Egypt. 

I could tell you the mummification process off by heart. 

I could list name after name of pharaohs. 

I watched every documentary I could get my hands on. 

And I even volunteered at the library at lunch time because I knew it was the only way I could convince the librarian to let me borrow the non fiction books that were reserved for the older kids.

So, naturally, when I heard that The Powerhouse Museum had a new Mummy exhibition, I needed to go.  Especially as it meant we could also tick one of the M dates off our Alphabet Dating Book! 

So let me share our Saturday adventure with you! >> 

Random Ramblings: Tangible Friends and Cry Babies

You guyyyyssss. I have been so busy with work lately that any time I'm not working, my brain is just mush. 

I get to the end of the day and there's just radio silence up there in my noggin because my brain has totally called it quits. I mean, it probably has a right too... it's quite overworked at the moment - but I like to think of myself as a generous brain boss and it's not exactly underpaid as I feed it plenty of food and chocolate and good stuff. 

But with my brain being all mushy, I thought we could keep things simple with today's post and do things survey style. That way, you can pick a few things and ramble along with me. 

So let's get rambling >>

Random Ramblings: Why Saving the Best For Last is Actually a Cover Up

I'm currently writing to you with rain pouring down outside my window and I can hear the raindrops falling into puddles. The sky is grey and dark and gloomy and I have a whole day of meetings in the city. Wonderful. 

I'm fine with rain, in bed, when I'm snuggled up in bed getting ready to sleep. But during the day? Rain turns me into a hermit crab. 

I hear it and I feel soggy. Instantly my mind remembers the last time I got soaked and I can feel my soggy socks inside my shoes, my shirt sticking to my stomach and that weird heavy feeling from the raindrops on my jeans. 

Sure, rain does wonderful things - but I think it's a bit gross when I have places to go, people to see and they probably don't want to see my looking like a drowned rat. 

But I digress....

I had a really great epiphany over the weekend. 

Jesse and I were in the car driving home from the shops when Jesse said "save the best for last!"... and then it hit me. 

Save the best for last was totally a phrase invented by a husband who forgot to mention his wife. 

He was all "I love beer, football, tacos, sleep oh and Jennifer...... save the best for last!" 

Internally he was like "YAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSS! BEST SAVE EVER!" and his friends were all "HE IS A GENIUS!" and his wife, Jennifer, was all "ha! Isn't that cute" (actually let's be real, his wife probably knew that it was a desperate effort to dig himself out of the hole he was digging). 

Yep, I think I got it in one. 

But tell me, what's the last epiphany you had? 

And what kind of weather do you hate the most? 

And I want to say "all weather is lovely because it all has a positive side" but let's be real here people, I hope there's no miserable, overcast, rainy days in heaven.... unless there's also netflix and nothing else to do but binge watch supernatural over and over again 😜

And, whilst we're at it, what would your ideal day in heaven look like for you?

I said ideal so that doesn't have to mean realistic, friends 😉