life Archives - INSPIRING MAX

Coffee Catch-up # 8

May 8, 2016 inspiringmax

If we were having coffee I would tell you it seems like forever since our last coffee catch-up, although the reality is that it has only been 3 weeks. During this time, most of my time has been taken up completing the Blogging from A – Z challenge. It was fun, although some days the pressure to come up with inspiring posts took over my world. But in the end I was happy with all of them even X, which for me was the difficult one. I certainly enjoyed putting the “I survived blogging A – Z banner” on my blog as I feel like I earned it. Next year, I think I will do a lot of pre-planning in the hope that makes this challenge easier.

If we were having coffee I would ask you where you thought all the smoke haze around Sydney today was coming from. My hope would be that unlike me, you may have listened to the news and have known that it was coming from more than 40 hazard reduction back burns happening all around Sydney especially in the Blue Mountain areas. The smoke was so bad it was playing havoc with the fire alarms in many businesses including the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, where for more than 30 minutes of our aqua aerobics class this morning, the instructor had to yell or mime the instructions. Oh and ironically the alarm stopped at the same time as our aqua class. Who knew!

If we were having coffee I would tell you that this week has been a shocker. If something could go wrong it did. For me, the most frustrating thing was that instead of enjoying myself on Wednesday night, I got to sit and wait for NRMA roadside assist after I quickly discovered that in a moment of mindless thinking from my stressful week, I locked my car keys in the boot. I think it has been over 20 years since I last did this. I also had nothing with me to do, not even a small bit of paper to write a blog post on but fortunately for me it only took them 45 minutes to come instead of the 90 minutes they promised service in. Thank you NRMA.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I enjoyed District 90 First Annual Toastmaster Conference last weekend. It was held at Rooty Hill RSL — the largest RSL club in Australia. I had never been before and the venue, the food as well as the conference’s educational sessions were fantastic. I am sure the other parts of the conference were also excellent, however due to time constraints I was limited in what I went to.

If we were having coffee I would tell you about my work’s cultural lunch this week. This is a regular event where you take a dish from your culture for everyone to share. For me this has always been difficult because being a hospital we are a very multicultural workplace, however I could never really come up with a dish from my life to share that was interesting and easy to share. This time I got it right. My trifle was a great hit and will now be my signature dish. I hadn’t made a trifle in years and I only remembered about them at Easter when I took desert to a family friends house. It was weird not making it with sherry but the sacrifice still tasted yummy.

If we were having coffee I would ask you what you have been up to this last week, let me know in the comments.

Coffee Catch-up #7

Y – Yabbies

April 29, 2016 inspiringmax

The yabby is an Australian freshwater crustacean found in swamps, dams, streams, creeks, rivers and reservoirs. Growing up in Australia many children get to go yabbying, however this yabby, which we found at Protest Falls was the first that my husband and I have ever seen in nature. He was alone and we loved watching his antics in the little creek. Our yabby was a blue-green colour which is common for turbulent waters.

S – Sheepyard Opal Field

April 24, 2016 inspiringmax

The Sheepyard Opal Field is next to the Grawin and Glengarry opal fields and together they make a memorable day out for tourist to the Lightening Ridge region. If you are driving around stick to the main roads or you’ll get lost in the maze of dirt back roads. When we drove from Glengarry Hilton to Sheepyard Pub, we saw many unusual signs and interesting actions including a young boy, far to young to hold a license, driving his father between pubs. His father rode in the tray of the ute not in the back or front seat, and just hopped off the back when he arrived telling the young boy he would find his own way home. No wonder there is a sign that says cars with brakes give way — here obviously anything can happen.

The Sheepyard Inn

Sheepyard War Memorial

G – Grawin and Glengarry Opal Fields

April 24, 2016 inspiringmax

Last year on a road trip around northern New South Wales, my husband and I discovered the unique Grawin and Glengarry opal fields. Located 40 kilometres SW of Lightening Ridge — Black Opal Capital of the World — these fields mine seam black opal and were where opal was first found in the area back in the early 1900’s. It is a very rustic, natural area that makes recycling an art. Every one and everything is different and it is like nothing I have ever seen before.

The Grawin Golf Course

The Club In The Scrub

The Glengarry Hilton

This warning sign at the entrance to the area reminds everyone that you are entering an old working mine field, littered with dangers so keep to the tracks and beware.

M – Mexican Food

April 18, 2016 inspiringmax

I love Mexican food. It started back in the 1980’s when I began going out to restaurants, Mexican quickly became my favourite as it was so different to our usual food — full of colour, slow-cooked with unusual ingredients. We had many family celebration in our local Mexican restaurant Taco Bill’s including my hen’s night and I was very disappointed when it closed. Today, although you can buy many Mexican ingredients in the local supermarkets nothing beats a good Mexican restaurant experience.

Last year my husband and I spent a week in Port Macquarie arriving on my birthday. My husband was excited because they had not one, but two Mexican restaurants for us to try. He booked us into both — one on my birthday and the other when the kids joined us later in the week. The first was very disappointing and their service didn’t exist. The second restaurant, Poco Loco was amazing. We had a great night together for my birthday, sharing a meal and creating many memories. I was so pleased with the presentation of my food that I actually took a photo of it, something I rarely do but lucky for this week’s photo challenge.

Just looking at it is making me hungry for Mexican.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/dinnertime/

K – Hello Koala Sculpture Trail

April 16, 2016April 17, 2016 inspiringmax

Until December 2016, the street and building of Port Macquarie, New South Wales are peppered with large-scale koala sculptures made of fibroglass and hand painted and decorated to a theme. The artists consist of celebrities, professionals as well as local community groups. Each koala has a plaque at its base that has the sculpture’s name and artist’s details. There are 50 of them in total and they were built to help support the work of Port Macquarie’s Koala Hospital — the first of its kind in the world. I fell in love with them and photographed all I saw, about 37 I think. I hope you enjoy some of my favourites. They were so cute.

I – Idioms

April 14, 2016 inspiringmax

Idioms are phrases that have special meaning often very different from their literal meaning. The Australian language is full of them and some can be so common place that we forget that non Australians struggle to understand their meaning. So to help explain my idioms I thought I would dedicate ‘I’ to them and many be help my international readers understand some of our confusing slang.

Phrase: Away with the pixies

Meaning: Dreaming

Example: He’s away with the pixies. ( He’s dreaming.)

Phrase: Bob’s your uncle

Meaning: If you do whatever is said before everything will be alright.

Example: Just three more chops with the axe and Bob’s your uncle.

(My fun response to this idiom has always been — no Bob’s my dad actually.)

Phrase: Don’t get your knickers in a twist.

Meaning: Don’t get upset.

Example: He’s 5 minutes late Mum, don’t get your knickers in a twist.

Phrase: Woop Woop

Meaning: Middle of nowhere, far away from any where of interest

Example: I’m going to Woop Woop tomorrow.

Phrase: Flat chat

Meaning: Go very fast

Example: I had so much to do, I had to work flat chat to get out of work on time tonight.

Phrase: Play silly buggers

Meaning: Messing around, wasting time

Example: They are up stairs playing silly buggers instead of doing their assignment.

Phrase: Pull your head in.

Meaning: Shut up, I don’t want to talk to you.

Example: Jane, pull your head in, you’re becoming a bore.

Phrase: Buckley’s Chance

Meaning. No chance

Example: You’ve got two chance of that happening , your’s and Buckley’s.

Phrase: Mad as a cut snake.

Meaning: Very angry.

Example: Don’t go near dad tonight , he’s as mad as a cut snake.

Phrase: Kangaroo loose in the top paddock.

Meaning: Not too smart

Example: I’ve been watching him for a while and I think he has a kangaroo loose in the top paddock.

Phrase: Bring a plate.

Meaning: Please bring a plate with food on it to share to a party or barbeque.

Example: Mary invited us to her house on Friday night and asked if we could bring a plate.

Phrase: As useful as an ash tray on a motorbike or as useful as tits on a bull.

Meaning: Not a very helpful person or thing.

Example: Janelle was as useful as an ashtray on a motor bike this afternoon when I asked her to help in the kitchen.

F – Future

April 11, 2016April 10, 2016 inspiringmax

In the future my husband and I plan to travel back to Canada especially Newfoundland and spend 6-12 months exploring and soaking up the culture. We visited in 2014/15 enjoying it so much that we made an immediate plan to return after retirement, which can’t come quick enough.

037 - Looking to Atlantic Ocean from Signal Hill

021 - Woman at work shoveling the sidewalk

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/future/

#Blogging from A -Z 2016

B – The Big Banana

April 5, 2016April 6, 2016 inspiringmax

In yesterday’s post I mentioned that Australia has over 150 big things. The original big thing — The Big Banana opened in 1964 and recently celebrated its 50th birthday. John Landi came up with the idea initially to get more people to stop at his banana stall on the Pacific Highway, Coffs Harbour. It worked. Australians and international visitors stopped in droves to visit the Big Banana and taste the iconic chocolate coated bananas. I remember my first trip as a young and impressionable 10-year-old travelling north on my first road trip. There were bananas everywhere and the Big Banana itself looked so much like a real banana. Then I discovered why, the designer had cut up the most perfectly shaped banana into 40 pieces to build the pattern.

Over the years the Big Banana has grown into the biggest tourist attraction on the North Coast of New South Wales. It is now called The Big Banana Fun Park and includes Laser Tag, an Ice Skating Rink, a Wild Toboggan Ride, a 36 hole Mini Golf Course and Water Park. There is also “The World of Bananas” multimedia experience, plantation and a packing shed, nursery, café, gift and souvenir shop, a Candy Kitchen and Cheese Making Workshop. There is definitely something here for everyone including a mandatory selfie in front of the iconic Big Banana.

Last year I returned with my family and enjoyed sharing my fond memories of the Big Banana with my children, and created some new ones. I was also excited to discover the Big Banana’s monkey who helps entertain the million visitors each year is called Max.

It’s no wonder the Park’s slogan is “It’s a bunch of fun.”

A – Australian Fun Facts

April 5, 2016 inspiringmax

What better way to start the April 2016 A – Z challenge than with some fun facts about my amazing country, Australia.

Our population hit the big time this year when we made it to 24 million people.

Australians love to shorten words and add an O to the end, for example ambulance driver becomes ambo.

The first selfie was taken in Australia.

The box jellyfish kills more people annually than sharks, stone fish and crocodiles combined.

Australia has over 10,000 beaches. you could visit one a day for 27 years.

The Emu and the Kangaroo are on our coat of arms because neither animal can walk backwards.

On Christmas Eve, 1974 Darwin one of Australia’s capital cities was destroyed by cyclone Tracy, a category 5 cyclone.

In 1973, the Australian government spent $1.35 million dollars to purchase Jackson Pollack’s Blue Poles. At the time, this was a very controversial decision, however it is now recogised as a great work of art, worth all the money and more.