broom brooooom!

isn't it funny that when you have something fun to do, getting up before the sun rises isn't really all that hard? On Saturday morning, panu and i voluntarily hauled ass outta bed at 6am ready for our mini road trip! Ok, so i'm sure i whinged a little along the lines of "but baaaaby, it's still night time!" but even still, we managed to leave the house before the sun rose, and saw the most magnificent fog and beautiful sunrise on our way to Port Stephens.

this is panu's birthday present part 1. being a biker, i thought i would spoil him a little and take him up to Anna Bay where we hired quadbikes for a couple of hours and hooned around Stockton Beach ~ the most gorgeous 30km stretch of sand I have ever seen.

After 4WD'ing about 15kms down the beach, for $140 per person, they basically give you free reign of the little beasts for 2 hours, and man it is fun!!





















after hooning around for 2 hours and getting sand in the most bizarre places... like finding a sandpit inside my sneakers, and even more inside my sock *huh??* we checked into the Shoal Bay Resort & Spa for some r&r. located right on Shoal Beach, we headed out just before sunset & saw this view...

ok soppy stuff aside, the weekend was also spent devouring some yummy food!





















now for birthday present part 2, i had to scour the whole damn world to find this, but thank God for amazon. he's getting the complete set of Frank Miller's Sin City.

cultured catty

Last night panu, who is far more cultured than simpleton me, took me to my very first opera ever. we saw The Marriage of Figaro, an opera composed by Mozart, and one of the most popular performances to this day. It was excellent, if not a little long ~ 3.5 hours ~ but the whole experience was truly amazing.

I got to wear a dress ~ and you all know how uncommon that is ~ i wore heels, had my hair done and got all pretty for my man *grin* I think he appreciates it after hanging out with tomboy cat every other day! We had to eat at 6pm, which meant I wasn't all that hungry, but wow, we shared the most delicious tasting plate! See those round risotto balls? Yum. Yuuummmm!!

While loitering outside the Opera House, I looked over at the Harbour Bridge... and realised that Mel was doing the bridge climb!

So here's a pic... if you see a tiny little person, it's likely to be her!

meet the parents

so. panu's parents have been inviting me over basically since the day we got together and me being fairly commitment phobic these days, i've been declining. but, after his dad said "cat couldn't make it again?" after my last decline, i thought, ok really, i have to nurture this relationship with the in-laws. because next to your relationship with your gynaecologist, isn't this really the most important relationship in the world?

sunday morning, dressed rather well for a weekend, i went with panu to meet the parents. i was so nervous i didnt speak the whole 30 minute drive, and for those of you who are familiar with my chatterbox, you know how nervous i must have been!

anyway, all i can say is all good. his mum was equally chatty so we talked. and talked and talked. his dad, well, he was just big and scary! he's easily a half head taller than panu, and big. and grizzly! until he spoke... and he was big and soft and he even gave me a hug! *aaawwwww*

so the first meeting went well. more to come!

oh by the way, i caught this girl blatantly flirt with panu last friday.... what the! can i beat her up???

green mohawk... hmm...

In support of the Leukemia Foundation, a group of guys at work signed up for the World's Greatest Shave last Friday and well, had a shave! Thinking that a regular number 2 would be rather dull, Lilla instead created some funky do's with some even funkier colors.

Lucky me, Panu was one of the brave shavers... and ended up with a green mohawk. Yikes.










All in all i think we raised over $5000 for the cause, which was awesome, but rest assured the green and the mohawk was gone first thing Saturday morning!

steak & bj day

So, tomorrow is officially Steak & BJ Day. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this not-quite-Hallmark holiday, it was created by some blokes who felt that well, Valentines Day is a little skewed in favour of the womenfolk of this planet. Rubbish? Not so.

At first I thought it was ridiculous too, but you know what? It really isn't so stupendously dumb. Because men do try harder than women on Valentines Day - ok except for Mel, who did good on V Day this year! - and they dont really get anything they value in return.

Plus having something to work for also makes them try that little bit harder to impress our "socks" off on Valentines Day. No complaints there!

Ladies, if you're worried your man did too good on V Day, never fear ~ they do have a whole 28 days to screw up their good work *grin*

secret squirrels business

so... much to the delight of some, and the dismay of others, i am seriously* thinking about quitting my job and moving to the UK early next year... for a minimum of 6 months, and a max of... who knows!

the idea was planted first with Loreen's impending wedding in France next year, and though i've never been one who needed to work in the UK, panu suggested it... and so the seed was planted.

secret squirrel at the moment. until further plans are laid... *excitement*

* seriously means i've looked into working visas and i'm excited. uber excited. but no real plans have been made just yet.

suck it up, Princess!

i have officially completed one of my resolutions! On Friday night, i bravely took a trip down to Kaleidoscope, a tattoo & piercing parlour in Bondi, and got me my very first tattoo!! All week long, I had been so excited in the anticipation of being a marked, but isn't it funny how excitement turns into anxiety, which quickly turns into a need to violently vomit all over anyone who comes near you?

Anyway, I had been such a cool cat until Thursday night, when my colleague told me her boyfriend found the pain so incredibly unbearable that he had to bite down on a piece of wood as he was tattoo'd. I hadn't worried much about the pain, I mean for gods sake I get waxed every month and that, my friends, hurts. In any case, arriving at Kaleidoscope, seeing 2 big tough men grimacing as they were being tattoo'd ... that set the retching *almost* in motion.

Now, in hindsight? The only thing I can say to men is "suck it up you Princesses!" Not only did the process not hurt that much, seriously, biting on a piece of wood??? Gimme a break!

I keep forgetting to ask someone to take photos of my tattoo for me, and yes i've tried reaching behind my right shoulder, with my right shoulder, to take some myself but somehow that just doesnt work. I'll have some pics up as soon as i can coerce someone into playing photographer. Stay tuned....!

8 March 2007 ~

Taken last night, not a great shot due to the reflection from the antiseptic cream. That is the back of my right shoulder blade, for those playing at home!

Will attempt to take some photos in daylight this weekend.

linh...

On her way from London to Argentina, my dearest Linh dropped by Sydney for a few days and we managed to spend an afternoon catching up, eating, gossiping and analyzing everything as only girls would do.

Yes, don't believe her blog, she is very much not landlocked.

So far Linh has done the best in convincing me to move to London, to be paid in pounds and travel every other weekend... doesn't really sound so bad, does it?