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New baby!

Our beautiful son Edward was born on March 1st! Edward is a delightful baby, very gentle and calm, and much loved by his parents and family. I've started a new blog for him, but for his privacy you need to be invited to view it - if you would like to read about his progress please email me, and let me know which email address you use for google services (you will need to be logged in to google to see the blog). If you're not sure where to email me, use julie AT thegreendragonfly DOT com

2009: The year that was...

2009 is already almost over, can you believe it? It's been a dreadful year for me in terms of posting here, but in reality life has been overwhelmingly good. After almost six years living overseas it's been a relief to be home in Australia, not dealing with visas or the general dramas of being a foreigner. The flip side is that even though we're living in a different part of Sydney to where I grew up, everyday life seems more mundane and less interesting to write about than it has been over the past few years.

I thought I'd end the year summarising a few of the standout moments, and of course the best and worst of the last 12 months. Here's to a great 2010!

Best of the year
- Being home in Sydney.
- Living by the beach.
- Seeing family and friends at a normal pace, not jammed into a two week visit.
- Weekday lunches, often spent catching up with people.
- Matt's chocolate classes (especially the massive amounts of hand-made chocolates he brings home).
- No shoveling snow, no slipping on ice, no parka, no hat, no gloves.

Worst of the year
- No rockies, no camping, no vacation.
- No French classes (mostly due to my own inertia).
- Swapping countries with my sister - it seems we are never on the same continent for more than a few weeks.
- The worst year ever for updating greendragonfly.

The standouts
- Finally having a home of our own, not shared with anyone!
- Being calm and settled for a while. I haven't even been on a plane this year....
- Two lines on a stick - actually this was one of the most memorable moments of my life, and an even more memorable one should follow in March 2010.

Not lost... not missing...

I'm sure that all my readers have long since decided that I've dropped off the face of the planet, but in reality, life has just been busy and blogging has been a victim of the lack of time. Hopefully I'll be back to the normal posting schedule very soon!

2009: Weeks 10-12

How quickly the weeks fly by; suddenly I'm 3 weeks behind on posting. Again! Oh well, there shall be no blog guilt, just a catch up post.

Life has been rather busy - work all week and busy weekends. Which is fine, except that I'm really looking forward to sleeping in ... sometime. Setting an alarm on a Friday night just doesn't seem right. Arriving early at the markets was worth the early start, so was brunch with friends. Getting up to go to the lab on a Saturday morning though ... not so much fun, but at least the 2 hour incubation has given me some email and blog catch up time.

Best of 3 weeks
- A trip to SMH growers markets with Peta - stand out purchases were fresh apples and pomegranate balsamic.
- Finally going to one of Angie's jewellery parties - what beautiful things she makes!
- Sound Relief at the SCG; especially the seat in the stands which meant we did not get wet when the (two!) storms passed through.
- Brunch with friends at Bellagio in Waverly.

Worst of 3 weeks
- Too much work, not enough play.
- Family illness.

2009: Week 9

After 5 weeks in the apartment and 4 weeks at work (just 1 for lucky Matt) life is starting to settle down to some sort of routine. The meals are planned, the groceries are bought, and after a few teething problems with the machine (not to mention wet days) even laundry is getting done with minimal fuss. We have found good local Thai and pizza, and our suburb is filled with places to eat, so we're set for those nights when no one wants to cook.

This week we tried out a local restaurant called Churrasco, a brazilian barbeque place serving all you can eat meat. The menu states that they don't cater for vegetarians, and they're not kidding. Dinner consists of various kids of roasted and spit-grilled meat, brought to the table as long as you can keep shovelling it in. We had grilled zucchini, fried banana, and delicious grilled pineapple, but other than that it was beef, pork, lamb, ham, and sausage. The food was delicious, my only complaint was that I couldn't eat more of it. Highly recommended!

Best of the week
- My actual Birthday! Coffee, cake, lunch with Matt, home cooked dinner (not cooked by me), lots of cards, and a surprise present in the mail! All in all, a good day.
- Weekday lunch with my parents - it's lovely being able to just call and make plans for the next day.
- The actual last physio visit :)

Worst of the week
- A nagging cold :(
- Long hours at work for both Matt and I.