Smokey Sunday

I got invited to this and I just had to share! As quoted in the accompanying email:

To all you fellow smokers, I'm sure you're aware by now of an important change in the air.
"A complete ban on smoking in enclosed public areas of licensed venues will come into force from 2 July 2007."
On that note, let's go for a final ciggie inside the wonderful array of Newtown pubs on the last day we can, this Sunday the 1st of July. Bring your cameras. Our grandkids will never believe we were allowed to do this :)

Alright then, maybe one last cigarette!

Sanne visits the Pasha Bulka!

If you live in Australia, then you know about the Pasha Bulka. It is a huge coal ship that beached itself on Nobbys Beach, Newcastle after some recent violent storms.

Good thing is, my mate Jess and Amanda live ONE STREET away from this giant and her resting place. Nobody really knows what to do, but someone in the government reckons she will be moved... good luck!!

This is my friend Charley and his daughter Sanne in front of the Pasha Bulka.

Illness makes you warm and fuzzy!

OK, I write today for a number of reasons. First, I was really sick earlier this week. I actually went to the HOSPITAL! On Monday (after 5 days of stomach cramps and loss of sleep) I headed up to Balmain Hospital, drank some sludge, had some x-rays, and waited in the freezing cold... and I have been diagnosed with a:
a) torn stomach lining
b) stomach ulcer
So now I'm eating lots of yoghurt, am taking some fancy tablets and am waiting to get better!

And the second reason I write is I have just finished reading a fantastic book! It is called 'Eat Pray Love' by Elizabeth Gilbert. Here is some info from bookslut.com:

Elizabeth Gilbert trisects a year of her life and spends four months each in Italy, India, and Indonesia in search of some peace of mind and heart, and because she does this in response to life anguish but with an open spirit and a thirst for God. Her pain was largely rooted in the slow demise of her marriage.

But the pain was rooted in more than a nasty divorce. Gilbert, “the planet’s most affectionate life form (something like a cross between a golden retriever and a barnacle),” suffered in a wildly happy-unhappy-happy cycle of a turbulent love affair. She became “a pathetic mess” and reached the point of “the complete and merciless devaluation of self.” Gilbert’s playfulness, her refusal to take her own misery or her own accomplishments too seriously, makes this book fun to read. But make no mistake, her quest is a serious one; it is a search for grace.

All I can say is, borrow it, or buy it, now!


And finally, whilst we are on the warm fuzzy trip, my mate Bec sent me this excellent website:
learningtoloveyoumore.com

This is a fantastic resource for anybody going through some self-reflection, emotional upheaval, or going through a getting-to-know-yourself phase. It is actually an online artwork that everybody is invited to contribute to. Go ahead, find yourself and life's answers through contributing!

Hello Snow!

It snowed in The Blue Mountains overnight! Six inches of pure white frosting. Makes me want to ditch school and jump on the train for a look see... unseasonal and exciting!

Monthly Drop In

Howdy friends,

Thought I'd try and recall the events of the month and pop them here in my blog for all to see. It's largely been an uneventful month, which is great after the events of the last few years!

Hmm, well, I started off the month attending The Sydney Writer's Festival; and now I am seeing a few films at The Sydney Film Festival, and overall I am feeling like I am a living part of this city, even with all the recent rains and strong strong winds.

My detox continues and I am barely drinking and smoking, it is getting easier and it's nice to settle down into a rather unscattered pattern of being. I actually get hungover again, and I'm not used to those morning headaches anymore, that last all day!

Work has kept me very engaged and absorbed, I continue to enjoy my job and count my blessings daily. I am becoming more interested in reading and literacy and am beginning to conjure a few dreams of my career for the first time in years! My confidence is growing and my pay keeps food on the table, happy happy...

Mark is beautiful and we spend lots of time together, just the way you are meant to at the beginning of a relationship! We have been watching The Sopranos series by series through all the bad weather and have about 100 episodes to go. We eat raisin toast and drink hot chocolate every Saturday and Sunday for breakfast, read a lot, and generally hang out. I'm not bored yet and neither is he!

I have recently read 'The Secret River' by Kate Grenville and although it's an interesting plot, don't really recommend it. However go see the film 'Zodiac' if you want to scare the pants off yourself!

Listening to: 'Illinoise' - Sufjan Stevens, ' Transfiguration of Vincent' - M Ward, 'Release the Stars' - Rufus Wainwright
I recommend all of these albums....

All the other silly stuff I stumble over, scroll down - I update my blog every few days.

Love to youse, Laura xx
*

It's time...

Calling all Australians! If you are not ENROLLED to vote on the day the federal election is announced, you will not be allowed to vote!! So enrol now!

I have moved house on average once a year since 2001 and I was surprised to recently discover I was no longer enrolled... there is no penalty for re-enrolling, so get to it!

http://www.aec.gov.au/Enrolling_to_vote/index.htm




Kevin Rudd, it's your turn!

Backyard Waterpark!

Meanwhile, over in the US of A... why not buy a water slide for the kids?! Actually I think I'm more comfortable calling it a water park! I just can't stop laughing, I've never seen anything like it... so excessive (but I'm sort of jealous.) Have fun kids...

Available from the Walmart website, from US$250. I'm wondering how long it would actually take to inflate one of these, and what happens if the wind comes up and it blows it through the neighbour's fence? The great American Lawsuit?

All in the family

My best mate Katie recently sent me these photos and I couldn't resist posting them up. They must be one of the best looking extended families I know!

Jess and Amanda muck around down the beach with a kite.

It is so good to have them back from Japan!

Uncle Jess and Sanne. In safe hands!

Better Living? Yes please!

Today I'm sitting here at work freezing in a Primary School Chair, bad lighting overhead, green carpet underfoot from the Whitlam era!

I found this site this morning and it's comprehensive to say the least! Design objects that will empty your wallet aind ignite your imagination...

http://www.betterlivingthroughdesign.com/

Love or let go?

I was just watching SBS - a show about divorce. Here are two interesting facts:

Australians spend 3 billion dollars a year on marriage.
They spend 6 billion dollars a year on divorce.

Whoa!

Bad Dreams

Had a weird dream? Check out this dictionary... I find it helpful and have been using it for ages to give me insights or make me laugh!
http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/

Hope you are warm and snug on this blustery long weekend x

I want stuff!

The colder weather means I start shopping around on the internet for stuff I want. (Actually a lie, I'm constantly shopping on the internet!)

Anyways, lately my thoughts have turned to little things, mainly because postage is cheap and I don't have to put them through a washing machine once a week. Also the little kids at school notice small details and it's a great way to distract them... so ahem, I wanted to share some things I like with you.

You can click on the images to visit the websites they are from.

This ring is called a 'ForgetMeKnot' ring... clever huh?


And this is called a 'Branch Ring,' actually cast from a tree twig!


And this is another ring, cast from a real willow branch! Yes it's a diamond, but strangely, this ring is quite cheep!

And finally, I love looking at pictures of people all over the world: what they are up to and what they are wearing. Guess it's in the genes with a fashion-designer sis and a nan that was a handmade lingerie specialist back in the 40's.

Go here if you'd like clothes inspiration for being a normal person on the street - there are photos of slick dressers with awkward bodies, poor students, obsessives and unnormal people. Europeans sure know how to take advantage of colour!
http://www.styleclicker.net/

OK, it feels like I've scratched that itch enough for now...

Michelle WINS!

Just wanted to pass on the fantastic news that one of my bestest friends won the greencard lottery! It's for REAL people!

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1322.html

Click the link to see if you can join the land of the ________.

Party at Michelle's House!

Reconciliation Week

If you are an Australian you may know that it is Reconciliation Week. We had some great celebrations at School today, I met some very interesting indigenous people including Aunty Ruth from Nowra and Aunty Faye from La Perouse, Sydney.

Within five minutes of meeting Aunty Ruth she had told me all about how to find Blue Swimmer Crabs, the best wood to make a boomerang, and different types of bush tucker... it was grounding, inspirational and something I hope all Australians have the opportunity to experience... these wise, respected women with something to share, be it a story, advice, or simply some photos and a cup of tea.

I urge you to join the 'Sea of Hands' where you can design online your own hand offering to share in the spirit of reconciliation, and send online letters urging Australian politicians to make indigenous issues a policy priority.

http://www.antar.org.au/