30 Facts About Me

I've only just discovered helloowl's blog, but I highly recommend it.

I love this idea of a post, so have borrowed it, but slimmed the list down to 30 since I'm turning the dirty 30 in August this year.

Here we go.

1. My name is Samantha but everyone calls me Sam/Sammy. Only Samantha if I'm in trouble or at an appoinment of some sort.

2. I'm 29 and a typical Virgo. Germ-a-phob, neat freak, perfectionist, stress head.

3. I have 2 sisters and brother. I am the 2nd eldest.

4. I have been with my husband since high school. We met when I was 10 years old. Starting dating at 13. Got engaged at 20. Married at 25.

5. I had Abigail when I was 26. She was born in Singapore. It was very hard having a child overseas but I coped really well. I'll be 29 when I have my 2nd bub, due in 8 weeks.

6. I'd love to have more kids. 3 would be great. If finances permitted, I'd love 4.

7. I am determined to live overseas again. I'd love to live in the UK, Asia or the USA.

8. I have travelled alot but seem to be drawn back to the same places. I'd love to visit Sweden, Denmark, Korea, Alaska, Mexico and Russia. I like to visit big cities as well as small towns.

9. I played some sort of sport my whole life till I finished school. My favourites were swimming, softball, hockey and tennis.

10. I've been skiing since I was a wee one. I've skiied nearly every year of my life which has taken me to resorts in Japan, Canada and the USA. I'd love to ski Argentina and the French and Swiss Alps.

11. I used to wear alot of colour, but now I wear black mostly. Sometimes grey and white.

12. I like to collect things, like handbags, shoes and vinyl toys like these. I would have over 40 pairs of trainers and hundreds of vinyl toys.

13. Music is a passion of mine. I love every genre. I've been to some huge festivals overseas like Fuji Rock Festival and Summersonic Festival in Japan, the Love Parade in Germany and many festivals in Australia too. I'd love to attend Coachella Festival, Burning Man, Glastonbury, Roskilde, Austin City Limits, SXSW, Falls Festival, and Sonar Festival.

14. Films are another hobby. Embarrassingly, I can quote lines from my favourite movies. I have memorised such stupid lines and my siblings and I quote them all the time. We find it hilarious.

15. I have a large family and we are very close. We push eachother's buttons at times, but we never go to bed after an argument. Best to get it all out, and be honest. Then apologise and move on. I don't like holding grudges, but often do.

16. In another life, I would have liked to have been a pilot, a vet, or a lawyer.

17. I like the finer things in life sometimes and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Although, I do know the best things in life are free. Like smiles and cuddles and kisses and holding hands. Nawwww

18. I've had many best friends, most have come and gone in my life. As a result, I now find myself with a handful of close friends, but not a huge amount. Quality over quantity I say.

19. My favourite thing in the world, besides my family, is a fresh breeze. I think this stems from living in Singapore where it was disgustingly muggy every day with no breeze. The first thing I do when I get off a plane is inhale the fresh air like a mad woman. I love storms and wild winds too.

20. I like getting out and trying new things. I often seek out new markets, playgrounds, beaches and restaurants to try.

21. When my kids start primary school, I'd love to do some community work with the elderly or needy. My mother has been doing this for 20 years and it's very honerable and lovely.

22. Because I come from a large family, I sometimes struggle to be alone. In fact, I don't like isolation at all. I have learned to cope with this, because my husband will always have to travel for work, but it's still very hard. My mind races. Night time is the worst. I find myself thinking about bats and spiders and ghosts and Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter. This makes me laugh, even typing it. Harry Potter, really?

23. I love fashion but don't have the figure to wear anything remotely trendy. I dress quite conservatively and boringly. I don't follow trends although I have a huge wardrobe of clothes. Lots of double ups of my favourite pieces.

24. I love theme parks and rollercoasters and waterslides. I hope my kids do too.

25. I struggle to have just 1 of anything. See points 12 and 22. I have bottles and bottles of perfume, 4 pairs of sunglasses, 3 pairs of specs, 3 ipods, 2 diaries, 4 cameras. I think I find it hard to stick to one thing.

26. If I ever won lotto, I would take my whole family and friends to Sir Richard Branson's private island, Necker.

27. I would also pay off all my loans, as well as my siblings loans. I would buy them all a house and new cars too.

28. My favourite animals in the world are sharks, dolphins, whales, penguins... I love being near the ocean. It calms me.

29. I don't drink alcohol much anymore, I think I got it all out my system in my 20's. When I do drink, I like champagne, vodka, rum and beer. I'd rather drink a beer than a wine.

30. I wonder if this list is boring. I probably come across like a nutcase.

Bullet Post Update

• James left yesterday for a quick trip to Singapore and Malaysia. He is away for 9 days, which isn't too bad. But I'm almost 8 months pregnant and having my little freakouts without him is hard. And don't worry, they are just stupid freakouts. About the baby. And the labour.

Where husband is staying in KL. The same hotel we stayed at 2 years ago when Abi was 9 months old.

• My younger sister is staying with me for a few days which is so great. I gave her a key so she can come and go as she pleases, it's nice having that extra bit of help with Abi. Considering that bending over is becoming a chore.

• My Mum is up at our holiday house in Noosa this week, on her own. The floods are close, but she isn't too worried. Neither am I. But knowing she is up there, so close to such devastation has really irked me.

• Every day I have to make decisions about the new house. My brain is on overload. I still haven't bought much for the new baby, not that I need to buy much. But I can't nest at all, when I don't know where we will be living in 8 weeks! If we aren't in the new house, it's ok. The hospital is a 5 minute drive from the apartment where we live right now, as opposed to a 30 minute drive from the new house.

• Watching the floods on the news is so sad and disturbing. Those poor people. Especially those towns that have been flooded twice. Imagine losing everything. Being emotional and hormonal right now doesn't help. I cried watching Sky News yesterday. I'm praying for mother nature to give QLD a break, very soon!

Image from Dave Hunt of AAP.

• I have this anxious feeling resting over me right now. 2011 has started and it's just been full on from the get-go. I know things WON'T settle down too much once we move into the new house, because, UM, I will have a newborn to take care of. Which is so exciting. But I have this strange feeling that things are going to be hectic for the next 8 weeks.

• And then I remind myself, I am healthy and alive and well. And in the scheme of things, that's all that matters. Life does not put things in front of you that you cannot handle.

Xmas Gift Ideas - Random & Cool

Lego Digital Camera - $169

Translucent Porcelain Egg Candles - $30

Hairglasses Headband - $20

Lil' Vampire Pacifier - $4.99

Holga 120 TLR - $175

Yoda 4G Mimobot 2.5-Inch - $39.95

King Ken Series II 3.5-Inch - $7.95

Crazy

No air con for 2.5 weeks makes me crazy.

Tenants not moving out of our new house today makes me crazy.

Having to go back tomorrow and inspect the house again makes me crazy.

Sweating all day and night makes me crazy.

Only getting 3 hours sleep last night makes me crazy.

Crazy.

Willow Smith vs. Sesame Street

This is hilarious.

Someone definately has alot of time on their hands. Someone has edited the original Sesame Street video of characters singing to Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" to make the clip above. It's hilarious.

On the subject of Willow Smith, I don't know how I feel about the whole thing. Is she too young? Are 10 year olds ready for showbiz at this age? I don't think so.

Here is Willow's performance from The Ellen Degeneres show which aired yesterday. It aires today in Australia. Hmmmmm

Me... in 20 years.

After seeing this over at Raising Colorado's blog, and after calming down after some hysterical laughing, I thought I'd give it a go.

Until I uploaded my photo and saw the result... Dear lord, I have no words.

What's even worse, is that Abi saw the finished result, sitting next to me at the computer and then SHE started laughing too. She recognised me and all she could do was laugh. So we both errupted into more laughter and I've barely calmed down enough to post the photo below.

From what I can see, the photo ager, makes you also look like an ex junkie of some sort. Haha.
Try yourself here, only, if you dare!

Open Home Photos

It's been awhile since I posted any kind of house update.

While I have no news on actually purchasing a home, here are some of my latest favourite open home photos from domain

A blank canvas with room to get your sweat on.

Top points need awarding here for decor. Just brilliant really.

Imagine sleeping in here. Imagine making babies in here.

I loathe cats. Couldn't someone take the cat outside?

Brilliant photo. The simple things in life... TV and a plant.

Look at this bathroom. It's amazing. The purple toilet is amazing. GAH!

Loves it.

Nothing wrong with this house at first glance, then I noticed the pink and white well in the front yard. BWAHAHAHA!

Amazing colour scheme here.

I struggle to picture myself preparing meals here. I don't know why.

Holiday. Celebrate. It Would Be So Nice.

Fast-forward to Friday afternoon. This very well might be my rendition of 'Holiday' as we board the plane. After a few champers at the lounge, trying to shake my predictable flying jitters + my current medication...

No, I promise I will hold it together!

Seriously though, I can really relate to the lyrics too.
"I live at my in-laws aparrrrrrrment"
Genuis!

Have A Good Weekend

Happy Friday to everyone.

Had a lovely Friday today. Crumpets for breakfast. Abi counted backwards from 10 which was delightful. Was naughty and had pizza for dinner. Watched 500 Days of Summer.

This time next week, we will just be arriving at the villa in Bali, unpacking and putting Abigail to bed in her fancy room. Preparing for the sun and sand and pool and cocktails and reading and... Bliss...

Have a great weekend, here is something to get things going.

xx

Please, let this week be over...

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Everything from Monday afternoon till today, Thursday, is a blur.Yes, 3 whole days and nights of blur.

Hello, my name is Sam and I suffer from migraines. If you have ever had one, you will know what I'm talking about.

I felt a migraine creeping up on me over the weekend and foolishly didn't obey the signs to slow down and relax. And boy did I pay for it.

I feel like I've been beaten in the head with a baseball bat. My eyes and neck are still sore. Only now, is the pain easing. I'm exhausted after having several sleepless nights.

My husband has been sick in Manila with a travel virus so we have both been on the phone to eachother, swapping horror stories. I hated not being able to comfort him, and he the same.

Taking care of a toddler on your own for week with a migraine was torture. Abigail is one of the sweetest human beings I have ever met, but trying to care for her was almost impossible. I could barely stand and function on Tuesday, thank goodness for Crayola Crayons, Yo Gabba Gabba, tiny teddies and books galore.

Then my gorgeous sick husband calls me from Manila this morning with really crappy news. Our brand new Volvo being transported up from Melbourne was damaged on the transport truck during a freak hail storm this week and is longer for sale. It has been damaged so badly that they can no longer sell it as "brand new". So now, again, we have NO CAR! We can either walk away and buy another car or order the car we wanted which will take 3 months. I have no words. How can we have so much bad luck trying to buy a car? I know that's what it is, just bad luck. But the timing couldn't be worse.

Did I break a chain email a few years ago? Walk under a ladder? What the HELL is going on?!

Abigail has been missing her Dadda, and calls out for him in the night, half asleep. From what I can remember, we have enjoyed lots of kisses and cuddles, but I can tell she does miss him when he is away. Only 2 more sleeps until he is home. I feel sorry for him, having to fly home tomorrow when he is unwell.

It's just a really crappy week. I know it's almost over and I can't wait. We missed Gymbaroo this morning which Abigail was upset about. She looks forward to the class every week. How can it be Thursday?! 4 whole days just gone, like that.

So there's my rant. Hurry up Saturday morning. Can't wait to wake up and see James home from stinky Manila.

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Diamonds, I like diamonds, say diamonds, DIAMONDS!

A famous line that was said to myself and my 3 siblings in Disneyland in California, many holidays ago. We were having our photo taken with 'Marilyn Monroe' and she said to us as we posed;

Diamonds, I like diamonds, say diamonds, DIAMONDS!

Marilyn was seductive and sexy as she posed with us. She lingered on the last "diamonds" and really drew it out, diamondddddds. My sisters and I laughed at the time, even as young pre teenage girls. To this day, we still bring it up at inconvenient and inappropriate times, just for a laugh. My younger sister even puts a sultry voice too, much to our approval. I'm going to hunt for the actual photo of this memory, I'm sure it's at my mother's house.

This post holds little information, just a brief  insight to a happy memory of mine. I'm having a less than ordinary day today, missing James in Manila and my brain is definately frazzled at the moment. House hunting has really taken a toll on me.

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Great opening lines on real estate websites...

James and I are house hunting again. We have decided to sell our block of land and buy an older house instead. We have had 2nd thoughts about building in the area where our land is, and we also don't want to wait the 12 month turn around time for a new house to be built and completed. Patience is not my virtue.

Our land is going back on the market this weekend and our agent hopes to sell it for $30K more than we paid for it which would be fantastic.

In the mean time, we have started the gruelling task of house hunting. Some weeks I love it, jumping on Domain and seeing all the new houses for sale. Other weeks, it's so disappointing that I could cry.

Last Saturday, we viewed 10 homes, only 3 were really appropriate for our family's needs. Tomorrow we have 12 to view, but realistically won't get to all of the open homes.

My favourite part of the web browsing, is the catch phrases on each home listing to entice you to open and read more info. These are some of my favourite opening linesof the recent home listings I've been reading:

Opportunity isn't knocking, it's screaming!
This is just brilliant. Now the agents are SCREAMING for my attention.

Top This!
Simple, to the point. Top this open home. Well, I went... And it sucked.

STOP, you're home.
Warning, this is your new home. Scare tactics won't help you Mr Agent.

A pleasure to call home.
Any house that isn't a pleasure, is no house of mine. But most of the ones we viewed last weekend, were FAR from a pleasure.

I'd say, close to perfection.
Mmm, close, but not quite there. The 1970's kitchen and bathroom are a dead giveaway.

Happy memories begin here.
Yes, leave your scary nightmares behind at your old house, and move in here.

Thanks Mum, this is home.
Playing the Mum card here, which is hilarious. Can we have this house Dad? Ask your mother.

And my all time favourite:

Is this your new home?
Maybe, but probably not. In fact no, this house is next to a cemetary!

I will be adding more of these amazing opening liners as the weeks progress. I hope for my sake that we find a house sooner rather than later. I can't stand these poetic real estate agents anymore.

xx

Bye Bye New Car...

I have endured the most frustrating 4 days. I cannot believe it.

After waiting 2 months for my new car, we are recinding on the contract of purchase. I won't name the dealership we bought the car from, but after some digging around, they have a known reputation for terrible customer service and shady servicing.

On Friday, we were excited to collect our Land Rover Freelander 2 4WD, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. Today my husband came to an agreement with the sales manager to recind the contract because the car was not in mint condition, despite being brand new. Covered in scratches, the whole body of the car. They refused to do a repaint on the car and refused to do anything really. They were happy for us to walk away from the contract and be on our way. In many ways, I am relieved about the whole situation. I had a weird feeling about it from Day 1. I didn't like the sales guy, nor the customer service. I actually didn't even test drive the car, only my husband did. After test driving EVERY OTHER CAR on the market in our budget, we based our decision to purchase the Freelander on logic and a little desperation.

So now, here we are. 2 months later and NO CAR. We know that if we want something new, we will have to wait for a spec model from overseas. So we are considering buying an ex-demonstrator from a dealership too.

These are the cars we are looking at this weekend.

I am in love with the new Volvo XC60 4WD. We looked at this car 2 months ago at another dealer and I fell in love with it immediately. The sales guy gave Abigail the most AMAZING red ballon while we inspected the car. I almost loved the car that little bit more, because of the perfect red balloon that came with it.

This is the BMW 3 Series Touring wagon. This is the 1st car we looked at and it was slightly out of our budget. It still is, but I am being hopeful that $20K will fall in my lap this week so I could afford this beast.

This the Audi A4 Avant wagon. This is the 2nd car we went to look at and is also out of our budget but we may have found an ex-demo available in Sydney which would be fantastic. Saw another Mum driving this over the Anzac Bridge a few weeks ago and she looked pretty cool in it. Maybe I could be that cool Mum, hahaha.

Subaru Outback AWD. We *almost* bought this car. We were having the papers drawn up, and would have taken delivery 2 weeks after that, as the car was already in stock and in the country. It's very safe and affordable, but something is holding me back. I can't put my finger on it. I was really surprised though, at how far Subaru's have come, it was really nice inside and had all the latest specs and techs inside. This would suit us too as it is suitable for alpine conditions and we could take this to Thredbo in winter and not worry about chains for blizzards etc.

So, here are. Starting from scratch all over again. I'm not going to dwell on the whole thing, because I vented all weekend about it and it's over now. We aren't buying that car and that's the end of it.

Here's to more car shopping this weekend. More sales pitches. More free coffee. And hopefully, more red balloons.

xx