Sunday night, warm fire, knitting in my future

That's how the rest of the evening is going to pan out, I'm already certain.  Dinner, warm fire, Sixty Minutes on telly, and knitting.  It was so cold and foggy this morning, I still went out and ran in it.  So flipping cold it made my eyes water though.  The ladies going to church said good morning when they saw me running by, did a double take when they saw the tears flowing down my face (involuntary tears due to the cold), I'm sure they wanted to bundle me up and take me into church to see what was wrong with me!

Over the last few weeks I've gone Instagram crazy.  Comes from getting myself my beautiful new iPhone 5.  It takes the greatest photos, just every day life photos, it's so easy to just pick it up and snap.  So much fun, and I can see myself scrapbooking the month's entries as the month comes to a close.  I'll have to decide on a format though.  Decisions decisions!  Here's a glimpse of how the past month, well about 3 weeks at least since I got the phone, have passed by.  Some of my favourites...

Fun perspective, someone asleep on the couch.

Cute new "do"

Someone in heaven looking at chainsaws in the hardware store.

Not so in heaven outside the hardware store, with all the "he"men handyman types walking past

just when I wanted to snap a selfie  ;-)

I get the "really dear, right now???"

Saying good morning to the cows on the way to work.

That sunbeam was fair dinkum, it's not something Instagram put on the photo,

cool huh?

Getting ready and doing stretches for my run last week before I headed home from work.

What a sight along the breakwater.

Mike has gotten back into his painting now that the Studio has been built.

Can't tell you how happy that makes me, something he really enjoys.

Yesterday the clouds were so low you could almost touch them.

I stopped on my way home from the supermarket to snap a shot.

Oh dear, I was getting the "stare" today for sure.

I just just stepped on her (by accident of course) when she got underfoot.  There was a squeal,

then she flew out of the house.  I found her sitting on this bit of wood.

She wasn't too pleased with me.

There's my beautiful old girl.  If she disappears I can usually find her in the soft dirt

by the wood pile.

This afternoon.  It's been a hard day!

A batch of my very special choc chip cookies, which got plated up

and sent across the road to our neighbours who are not feeling too flash right now.

So yep, I'm pretty much enjoying Instagram, fun little snips of our life, everything a scrapbooker would love, and more!

I really did finish shopping !

You can be forgiven for thinking I hit the shops in the last post and I'm still there.  It was a day like no other and my wallet certainly went on a diet with the way the money was being spent! ha.

Funny how times change, my favourite shop was Rebel Sports where I made great use of their change rooms and tried on a number of things.  Walked away with a hot pink long sleeved running jacket.  I *ADORE* it.  Perhaps not AS PINK as this photo has produced, but pink enough.  It is an Adidas one so the famous three stripes are at the sides of my waist and are reflective of a night.  It has a pocket up near the shoulder for my phone, and a little outlet for a cord from my phone if I want to put my ear piece in.  I've worn it a number of times now and it's lovely and warm for those cold winter mornings out running, but you just don't get hot in it.  It's made of some pretty crazy material, I have no idea, but warm and cool at the same time.  

Next into Myer ~~swoon~~ you know I didn't know how much I'd miss Myer until I lived 2 hours away from my nearest one.   Had to try on the Brad Pitt advertised Chanel "man cologne", so that I could have Brad with me for the rest of the day :-)  Mmmmmmm smelt divine.

Then armed with lots of clothes I hit the change rooms.  Imagine my surprise and delight when I fitted into this top, marked ... wait for it ... PETITE!!!!  I haven't got a petite bone in my body.  But APPARENTLY Myer thinks I have, because it fit me!!

My totally most impressive bargain was in Big W, and I spy a rack with the Michelle Bridges tops on them, marked down from $25 to ... wait for it ... are you ready ... $7 !!!!  So I grabbed this one.  White is a bit unforgiving, and I'm not a person who likes a shelf bra, but what the heck, it was SEVEN DOLLARS !! (yes, I think I yelled and did a little whoop in the middle of Big W at that moment too).

All this shopping made us thirsty so mum suggested a sit down in a cafe for a cuppa.  Sounded like a good idea, my bags were getting heavy!  Skinny latte please.

What's that in the background ... oh mum, the biggest vanilla slice I've ever seen.  Oh dear.  I didn't even ask for a sample.  Such restraint.

Wanting to still treat myself, I scanned the array of cakes and settled on a Florentine cookie.  Hmmm no idea of the calorie count, and I will stand to be corrected, but I think it would have been okay as my afternoon snack with my latte, seeings I hadn't had a snack in the morning.  Hopefully.  It was delicious anyway.  

Gosh it looks ginormous there, it wasn't that huge, I promise.

One funny moment of the day, I was in Jacqui E and trying on a pair of red (OMG RED!!!) kind of trouser/jean things.  And the size 14 was too big around the waist and ever the helpful saleslady who didn't have a smaller size in them looked around the store and came in with another pair of trousers that she thought I might like to try.  They were the brightest, hottest, pink that you've ever seen.  I mean to say, I'm almost 50 years old, I'm not sure I could carry off pink trousers.  They fit, but although I'm up for new experiences, errr thanks but no thanks.  I don't think my town here is ready for me in hot pink trousers.  My running jacket flashing past them is enough.  ha!

And finally my favourite purchase of the day, this darling top.  Something that looked horrendous on the hanger, a kind of cowl neckline, and lots of ruching down the sides, so it kind of hung on the hanger really whacko, but the colour dragged me in so I had to try it.  And I loved it so much.  I think this is going to become my newest favouritist top in my closet.

All in all a fantastic day.  

Shopping tomorrow, yeee ha !

I am planning on going on a trip to Geelong tomorrow to take on the sales, yeah baby!!!!  Clothes shopping is much more fun now that I can pretty much fit into anything in a store.

Oooooh the selection.
Oooooh my poor wallet !!
Oooooh what fun.

I've been really slack in recent times in showing some layouts that didn't have anything to do with Christmas. Still have to do the cover, but with Blurb currently having a 25% off sale, that will be my next port of call.

There was a lovely autumn day last month that I just took time outside to see what the menagerie were doing.  Molly was just surveying the street from the end of the driveway, Bo Bo was having a sunbake on the warm driveway stones and Lucky just wanted to be with me wherever I went.  

Credits Designer Digitals.

Sometimes you've just got to stop and smell the proverbial roses.   :-)

Mt. Leura or Bust !

I had set a mini milestone challenge on Saturday just gone to pop over to Camperdown and spend a couple of hours at Mount. Leura.  Now for those that don't know, south-west Victoria is spotted with dormant volcanos.   Mount. Leura is not overly large by mountainous standards, but it would provide a great morning's work out.  Right next to Mount Leura is Mount Sugarloaf, which is quite cone shaped.  The whole area is so well looked after, great walking tracks all round it.

I put the call out to our wonderful Warrnie crew and I had a couple of takers who were free and would join me on my quest.   I think the plan originally was to see how many times we could run up and down it, but with all the tracks available we ran, walked and laughed our way up, around, over, down, across and every which way for two hours.  Hooray to my friends Floss, Debbie and Janelle.  Oh and the two K9's there who met for the first time and fell in love.  Ahhhhh.

The view from somewhere up Mount Leura looking across to Mount Sugarloaf.

Made it to the top!  Pretty pleased with myself.

No sooner at the top of Leura, then we headed over to Sugarloaf.

Hmmm cool how I look thin in my shadow!

A bit of discussion, which way should we go.  Debbie says "straight up" !! 

I'm not kidding you.  The sugarloaf walk loops round and round the cone a number of times, much like how sheep go up a mountain, you can see it in the map above.  Eh!  That's for amateurs.  Debbie ran in a direct line straight up, so that she could do a great "THE HILLS ARE ALIVE!!" Julie Andrews impersonation.  Janelle and I were not going anywhere near that long grass, no way, it may have been crisp but it was sunny and we were betting snakes.

So after looping around and over Sugarloaf we headed down, just to come back up again.

It doesn't look steep but it was, and slippery.  Here Floss and Debbie are pelting down the 

side of Leura.  

More finger pointing.  "I reckon we should go down and then come back up again"

Floss (la la la) I can't hear you!!

I'm in hysterics, or was it exhaustion taking over.

Lordy Lord I must work on my core!!

Coming back down for the last time, Janelle and I took the road down.

Our feet were frozen by this stage, my runners were wet through from all the damp grass.

But it was a great feeling knowing we'd just about gone two hours of activity.

Great view on the way down.

Met up again with Floss coming back up the other way, so a quick selfie.

We still had big smiles happening.

It was a really great morning, and it made me wonder why I hadn't driven over there before, I mean it's not that far away from where I live.  I know I've been up there twice, many many years ago, by car.  I had no idea of all the walking tracks up there, and so well kept also, they obviously have a great management team looking after the reserve.  

So mini milestone challenge - completed !!  :-)

Finished !!!!

Christmas is finally OVER !!! hahahahaha  We're only into June, winter, half way through the year.  I have finally finished my December Daily.  What a trial.  I know I will love it printed up, full of great memories, but if I ever do it again I'll be doing it completely different.

Here are the final pages for your viewing pleasure  ;-)

And because New Years Eve was a very special night for us, not just the end of the year, but celebrating at my step-daughter's engagement masquerade party, the last day of the year turned into a four page spread.  

Product credits Designer Digitals.

And the only thing left is a cover and then I can order it.  I'll look forward to seeing the book finished.  I know I'll love it, but boy, what a trial.  I don't make things easy for myself, that's for sure.