The Year of the Rat

This year is the year of the rat according to Chinese culture. Rats were seen as a sign of wealth and surplus so hopefully we all have a year of wealth and surplus!

JANUARY

The new year started out well with Sakura and Cristiano having lots of outdoor water play while the rest of Australia suffered from bush fires. We have been unaffected and no one I know of has been affected. Truthfully, I didn't even know how severe it was because I don't watch the news and hadn't heard anywhere how bad it was. Our church asked us to do an area wide fast and about a week later we had lots of rain.

I finally got out all the paints so Sakura could paint on her new easel. She LOVED it! I sat and read statistics while she made beautiful creations.

Thanks to Christmas gifts from family - Sakura also got some other fun gifts like pool toys and books, but her absolute favourite is the hammock/swing we installed in the ceiling. She plays on it nearly every day. I'm so grateful for Little Legends Learning Centre for having these swings so I could do the same at home.

School Holidays

Sakura and I had lots of fun activities this month!

Australia Zoo

Abbey Museum - Egyptian Dig

Camping

Testing the tent - yes I know it isn't set up properly

We planned in advance to go camping near the Mon Repos Turtle Center to see turtles for my birthday. We booked for January 17-19 with the camp site on the beach right next to the centre. The beach is actually closed after 6pm to allow the turtles to come and nest. I was feeling anxious because it was supposed to rain all three days. Instead it was sunny and we were able to put up our tent in nice weather and even Sakura helped.

We explored the beach some before we headed to the turtle center for our tour. You have to be at the centre by 7pm and they have you in groups based on how early you booked. Rangers on the beach notify the centre when there is turtle activity and that's when the first group will go out. High tide wasn't until about 12am so it was a SLOW night - apparently the slowest of the season. After waiting till after 9pm they started taking groups to see a nest dig where the rangers dig up a recently hatched nest to see how many hatched and if there are any live ones. We went out and Sakura had no patience and just wanted to grab the shells he was digging out. We did not see anything - just one not fully formed turtle that moved and the ranger then held in his hand and place back in the nest for hopes it would continue forming and survive.

It was a dud as far as seeing turtles but the night was nice, there were heaps of stars, and Sakura was so dead asleep by the time we go back to our tent around 11:30 she slept through our commotion as we got ready for bed.

It was a rough night for Matt and I. We slept little, but got to start the morning with some cereal and beach play. It was so nice to wake up and play on the beach and have the water be so warm and nice. It made me wish I lived near the beach - it is so good for the soul. We headed into the city for lunch, the free zoo, and some play at the playground next door till we got back to the campsite.

We made some pork and eggs for dinner on our portable stove top. The rest of the evening we had more time at the beach and the nearby creek. It was so relaxing. We planned to go to bed early. Sakura was struggling though so I spent about 20 minutes or so walking her around the camp site and looking at the stars to get her to sleep. We tried a new sleep arrangement but Sakura didn't like not having heaps of space. Matt and I sat outside for a time talking and looking at the stars around 10pm. It started to storm heavily and then around midnight one of the poles of our tent snapped and half the tent collapsed. Matt was able to grab some straps and tie them together. He also reinforced the supporting tethers because the wind of the storm was intense. I decided to sleep on the floor of the tent and miraculously we all seemed to sleep well from about 2am on. Despite the lack of sleep I woke up with the sun and the kookaburras and let the other two sleeping in the tent. I went for a swim in the ocean and a run on the beach. It was so invigorating! I found two places where you could see turtles had recently nested. They might have actually come early that morning because otherwise the rain would have washed the tracks.

After some breakfast and some more time on the beach it started to storm again. I had packed up most things like the beds and whatnot. Matt was way down the beach so I caught up with him and Sakura as it started to pour. Sakura was so calm as we made our way back to the tent and changed her into warm clothes. I got out my laptop and we setup a movie to wait the rain out before leaving. Although we couldn't hear much, Sakura loved Meet the Robinsons. The rain stopped and we packed up all before the movie had ended. It was fun.

Before leaving we went to the Bundaberg Barrel to see the tour replica of the factory as well as do the tasting of the different bundaberg brewed drinks (non-acoholic). It was $12 for the tour, the tasting, and you get a 6 pack of drinks. So worth it!

After an awesome Japanese lunch, we went straight home and Sakura slept the entire four hours! We spent the night cleaning up all the supplies and putting things away. Despite the lack of sleep and not having all the supplies we would have liked...we loved it! Matt and I kept saying how rejuvenated we felt. We definitely plan and hope to go multiple times. We also decided we are going to make the Mon Repos trip an annual thing and maybe we can convince some others to go with us. Oh and in case anyone was wondering... we did not have any issues with wildlife. We saw wild kangaroos up close, kookaburras and other birds, and lots of crabs.

Birthday Fun

So for my actual birthday I took myself out to a nice brunch at Cafe 63 (technically on the 21st since I didn't have Sakura that day). On the actual day I made cinnamon french toast casserole with coconut cream frosting. Then Sakura and I spent the morning at Settlement Cove Lagoon. She loved it and she is getting so good at floating on her own. She fell asleep on the way home and I had some time to myself watching movies. For dinner I made pulled pork, potatoes, roast veggies, and pecan caramel cheesecake bars that we ate with the sister missionaries. I finished off the night teaching a couple classes. It was a nice day and the best part is that I got to enjoy my sugary treats for multiple days!

Got my hair cut!

Australia Day

Australia day is basically equivalent to Independence Day in the US. It is the day we commemorate the first fleet's arrival to Australia. Typical celebrations include a BBQ or something (I can't actually remember what we have done in the past). We had church that morning - anyone notice we didn't sing Advance Australia Fair? Straight afterwords we went to visit friends at the Royal Brisbane hospital who had recently gone through a difficult surgery. We brought them lunch including egg salad sandwiches, our awesome chocolate chip cookie/cake (GF/DF) and pulling from my childhood memories of Columbus Day - deviled eggs made into ships! It was fun. 

I feel this is also a good time to mention how I had my Australian citizenship interview and test and passed! I did 95% on the test and missed the first question hehe... I psyched myself out on the number of states and territories and decided to list them in my head - I thought I had forgotten ACT, but when reciting them again to my sister afterward we laughed that I missed Victoria! How could I forget that one! Anyway I find it funny I missed the easiest of all the questions I think. Now I just need to pledge whenever they tell me. Woohoo! I'm now completing Matt's citizenship application as well. 

Here's to what's sure to be an interesting 2020!!

More cute Sakura moments!

She wanted to sleep in her swim nappy (over her normal one) and swimsuit one night

P.S. Shade's new owner randomly called me and told me how he felt Shade and him were meant to be together. He loves him so much! He is and old retired guy and only started thinking about a cat when his neighbours bengal used to come visit a lot. They go on walks together and play often. I can tell Shade is in good hands and it seems like his temperament is back to normal. Here are some photos he sent me...

Holidays of 2019

I'm getting progressively more limited in time as it gets closer to my course starting. I need to brush up on my statistics and learn how to use SPSS (a statistical program) prior to the end of February. I'm also hoping to review my psychology terms and theory. It's actually been 8 years since I studied psychology! Luckily it's a topic I have stayed somewhat involved with. So I will likely be providing less detail in the blogs.

Because there were too many good photos to share... Christmas details are in this blog, and January is in a separate blog.

DECEMBER

We attended the annual Christmas Carnival in Griffin and Sakura had a blast and got to play with her friend Cristiano the whole time as well.

I donated blood for the first time in Australia. All went well and I was impressed they even had gluten free snacks available afterward.

We had a pool party after Sakuras swimming lesson and they had a petting zoo with piglets! She loved the animals, but also loved the blow up obstacle course with the slide at the end (see video).

I sewed new Christmas stockings so we had a complete set of three. I also got together with my ministering companion and we made cookies together for our sisters we visit. I also made muffins and muddy buddies and delivered them to my Sunday School class and neighbours. What is Christmas without lots of baking (GF/DF style by the way).

Sakura got to celebrate Cristiano's birthday by having fun at a pool party! This was the first time Matt got to see Sakura go down the water slides on her own - I'm just sad I never got a video.

Christmas

We had a pre-Christmas party with the Innis family. I was bummed my apple crisp didn't turn out right, but it was a fun day. 

Christmas Eve I made a honey glazed ham with potatoes and vegetables for dinner. Matt had to work late unfortunately, but I had a good night regardless and stayed up to watch Arthur Christmas.

Christmas morning we opened presents. Sakura got way too much stuff  - enough said. I got a Kitchenaid (with ice cream maker) thanks to an amazing Kogan sale, and Matt got a bidet (every man needs a proper throne hehe). Gifts are nice but maybe next year we will try to give more than get.

Bidets are AWESOME!

Later in the morning we had a big breakfast with the missionaries. I made a breakfast casserole and blueberry scones and we had lots of fruit! After they left we watched the Muppet Christmas Carol, too naps, and I made a pesto salad for our Christmas lunch/dinner with our friends the Arderns. It was a nice chill evening with plenty of food and some games. Sakura really enjoyed playing hide and seek as well as playing with Jackson's fishing game. We also played the new Disney Villains game.

The rest of the week was fun - I installed the bidet, Matt and I went and saw Star Wars, and lots of water play time.

New Years

Not much to report - we missed the fireworks, but stayed up late making homemade dairy free salted caramel ice cream and watching movies.

2019 Report

This year Matt and I have learned so much. We have learned how important it is to trust in the Lord and that all trials will be for our benefit. We both did extended water fasts and experienced the health benefits (it seriously wasn't near as hard as I thought it would be). I learned that we can find joy in the journey of life. We learned a lot about communication, having a growth mindset, and positive discipline. I have tried harder to learn about and practice mindfulness and grow stronger in mind and spirit. I've learned that I have a lot of room for growth and I'm grateful for friends and family that have accepted me with my flaws, but are not afraid to also help me know what I can do to improve.

2020 Goals

Matt and I hope to get a lot better at communicating as well as sticking to and setting up routines to help us reach our goals. We found a casual employee and are hoping that we can help the business grow so that Matt won't have to work 70 hours a week anymore. There are other options, but we feel we are on the path that will lead us to the greatest growth by Matt growing his business, and me going back to school. I imagine 2020 will be difficult, but I bet it will also be a very rewarding year. This year we have decided not to return to the US for any reason so we will be missing some weddings (sorry Lindsey, Laura, and perhaps one other?). We have offered people to come visit us instead of spending any money on us getting to the wedding - that way we can actually spend quality time with them. My schooling is taking up all of our extra funds so any travel will be done on the cheap - at least we have found a serious love of camping!

Oh and here are some cute Sakura moments...

Tis the Season of Reflection

It hasn't been a full month since my last post so my hopes are that this one won't be super long.

This seems to be a time for self reflection and discovery. I have been reading and thinking about a lot of things lately. Lately I have had a lot of feelings of despair and sadness. I feel as if I work so hard to minimise my flaws, but the reality is they are always there. Additionally, I constantly feel lonely even when I am with loving people. These feelings will pass, but it has lead me to realise that I always seek joy and happiness externally instead of internally. Now I just need to find that joy within myself....

Below are 10 quotes from things I've heard or read recently that have been enlightening or useful to me that I wanted to share.

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Unknown

"Our thinking another person is 'the problem' makes us 'the problem'." Justin Coulson, 21 Days to a Happier Family

“The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives." Russell M. Nelson, October General Conference

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle

"We make our family happier by making ourselves better." Justin Coulson

“Perfection' is man's ultimate illusion. It simply doesn't exist in the universe.... If you are a perfectionist, you are guaranteed to be a loser in whatever you do.” David Burns, The Feeling Good Handbook

“There is only one person who could ever make you happy, and that person is you.” David Burns

“The more people we can find to agree with our side of the story, the more justified we will feel in believing that side of the story.” Arbinger Institute, Leadership and Self-Deception

"Children do better when they feel better" Jane Nelson, Positive Discipline

“One of the best ways of becoming an effective parent—or, for that matter, an effective human being—is to understand the perceptions of other people, to be able to “get into their world.” Jane Nelsen, Positive Discipline: The First Three Years: From Infant to Toddler

SAKURA

Sakura LOVES singing and will often randomly sing the ABC's, the baby shark song, or some other nursery rhyme. This often happens at the top of her lungs as well.

She also had some really fun play dates and got to meet some baby rats. She asks about her friends "Nano" and "Sahra" on a regular basis.

Sakura is also becoming quite the kitchen helper and will scramble her own eggs, and help me make dinner or smoothies.

We also went to a public pool in Newmarket where they have some water slides and lots of areas for the kids. I went there once when Sakura was much younger. She loved it! After going down with her on the slide, then holding her hand, then going down just before her, she finally gained the confidence to go down herself. I just sat at the bottom and caught her and then let her get out and go do it again. I eventually got her to actually swim a little to me at the end. I was so impressed! Unfortunately I have no pictures or videos as I was by myself.

SEWING STUFF

I finished a blanket for a lady that had her baby ages ago. And I finally finished my dress I was working on with Brianna. As you can see in the picture. It doesn't fit. I went to a seamstress that helped me with my sister's bridesmaid dress and she basically said to cut the top off and redo it. :( Can't say I'm motivated for that! I also am finally finishing a red skirt I started for Halloween last year. I made many errors, but was determined to finish. One error was so bad though that I had to unpick a lot and redo it. Oy!

OTHER STUFF

In case you are wondering, we did nothing for Thanksgiving, but I did make Turkey sausage patties and cauliflower mash in honor of the event. It tasted much better than it looks.

Matt works 70+ hour weeks still so not much to report there. Matt randomly was able to get some cabinets from a job sight. He painted it them and one has moved in to where Shade's cat tree was. Feng shui is real! It felt so good having some of that stuff tucked away.

We have had some interesting events though with our shade sail falling down because the small metal pole holding it up snapped in the wind. Also, there are lots of fires going on as we are experiencing a drought. We are lucky nothing has happened around our area but they have banned open fires multiple times in the last month or so.

CHRISTMAS PLANS

This year has proven to be a memorable Christmas season already. My ward Christmas dinner and talent show proved to be more eventful than I had thought. The week of my friend Kate asked me to participate in a skit for the event. I was struggling with a lot of anxiety and depression but agreed anyway and it was just what I needed. It was totally out of my comfort zone but we had lots of fun practicing and it turned out well I think. We did a synchronized swimming skit. At the beginning when we jumped into the "pool" I did not have padding since all the mattresses were too far down. I still did the jump and roll but landed with a big thump on the hardwood stage and received a bruise on my lower back and tailbone that took a few days to heal. Could have been much worse, and it was still totally worth being a part of. Thank you Kate!

We expact to have a fun Christmas this year. I overspent on gifts (Facebook Marketplace, Aldi, and Costco are not safe for me to browse). I have no regrets just feel sorry for the other people I had originally intended to give something that won't. We were also invited (or kind of self invited) to a friends Christmas where the requirement is I must be willing to sing and play lots of board games. Sounds like my kind of party! As I won't post again till after the holidays, Merry Christmas everyone!

Slightly updated version in case you saw the original. 

Life with a 2 Year Old

Sakura is now two years old!

To start this blog off right I need to talk all about my munchkin and her endeavours.

She now know her letters and numbers and can recite the ABC's - she just randomly started doing this. She also can sing nursery rhymes with about 1/3 of the words on a regular basis. She loves helping mommy with everything such as watering the plants. She will even try to pour her own cereal and milk in the morning.

 

She has had her first kiss (See video).

And has had lots of fun playdates!

One day while drawing she decided to paint her fingernails (Video).

I decided for her birthday we would do a Saturday party (Halloween themed) in the morning for toddlers and young kids, and in the evening for us adults and older kids to party. I even made my own invitations using Canva.com - which was surprisingly easy and I was able to get them printed cheap too!.

For Sakura's actual birthday we got to go to swim class, have some fun at the library baby rhyme time and play time, visit the pet store, and play on the playground. She passed out on the floor after all the fun. Also this was her last swim class with the Infant 2 class because she has passed all the criteria so she graduated and is moving on to the Infant 3 class on Saturday mornings. They even gave her a medal!

Halloween
Sakura and I had a fun day with her friend Cristiano although playing with pumpkins was a flop. My favourite moment was when Cristiano hurt himself and sought comfort from Sakura. She initially didn't know what to do and then decided to give him a hug and pat on the back.

Sakura helped me carve my pumpkin in time for trick or treaters. Unfortunately she REFUSED to get dressed. I was afraid we would miss trick or treating entirely so I forced a dress on her and headed out. She enjoyed knocking on the doors and getting treats in her tiny bucket. Anytime I put her down though the was like "Oh wait, I hate this dress!" She fell asleep as I walked back home and went straight to bed so still a successful night.

The Birthday Parties
Before going into detail about the parties I have to give a HUGE shout out to Dan and Brianna Biddle who were a big help with preparing for the parties. Matt was working so much that I could not have done it without them. Also, thank you to Lawnton Country Markets who had free pumpkins on November 1st so I could happily have more than enough pumpkins for people.

The toddler morning party started out with us unsure we would have a space at the park. A lovely family said they were just leaving so we had two tables and plenty of space. Sakura refused to let me put her down so it was a blessing the missionaries randomly showed up and helped Brianna and I set up. One family showed up and I couldn't even socialise because Sakura was so cranky - she wanted to be in the swing with no shoes and while I was holding her, which of course wasn't possible. Another family showed up and so we got started on some pumpkin painting. After that Sakura was pretty good. I did get thoroughly painted though. Sakura made some new friends and had a blast so although we only had one more family show later it was still successful. I was just glad I had another party that night to be able to reuse the food.

The night party was mostly what I had hoped it would be. My goal was that people would be able to come and enjoy themselves, dress up, eat good food, and that Sakura would be able to have fun. I think I met that goal. We had something like 15-20 people total and the majority of the food was eaten. In case you were wondering - everything was gluten and dairy free except a pumpkin pie. It IS possible and still tasty. The kids were not impressed with my dark chocolate mix or coconut cream caramel to dip apples in though.

 The cake turned out great with special note to Lorelle who made the decorations. I made the cake with simple gluten and dairy free box mixes from Woolworths as it was easier. It came with frosting powder so I just had to add my coconut cream and nuttelex to make it dairy free. I also added charcoal to the cake and chocolate frosting to make it black. We did a strawberries and coconut cream mix between the layers and it turned out pretty tasty. I was glad we were able to get rid of most of the cake, but sad the next day when I realised we only had a sliver left.

Sakura had an absolute blast the whole night! No costume again, but she was happy. She enjoyed her gifts and jumping on the trampoline with the big kids. Jennis even got out her face paints! Lots of fun! It took us a couple days to clean it all up thoroughly, but I look forward to doing another Halloween party next year (not a birthday party) and improve upon things I learned this year.

Shade is Gone

On a sadder note. We said goodbye to Shade Friday November 15th. Every since Sakura came into our lives we have struggled to give Shade the attention he used to get. I would still play with him often and Sakura used to try and help as well. When we moved to the new home he wanted to go outside a lot so we let him. This was our big mistake. I only learned recently that to let your cat roam is illegal, but the real issue was in the last month he was frequently coming home with new scratches or injuries. Some are definitely from a fight, but when he was limping I think that was actually from scaling fences. Worrying for his safety I tried to train him to be more indoors again. This resulted in him meowing CONSTANTLY and in the middle of the night. We have airbnb guests often and cannot have Shade disrupting them. So we often caved and let him out. If we didn't, he would then pee on something to show his frustration. One place he's chosen twice migrates to get onto my giant panda bear. That is the WORST thing to try and clean sufficiently. I've tried different things, but if you smell the area it still smells like cat pee. BAHHH! This began to be frustrating for the whole family. Matt was ready to get rid of him. I was trying to think of what I could do to help the situation like cat proof the yard or play with him more, etc. I prayed about it and felt that the best thing for Shade and the rest of us would be to find him another home. Although this was not what I wanted, I recognised it was the right thing to do. I contacted a vet who suggested a pet rescue organisation CKs Paws. In less than a week they found a foster home for him and I packed up his things and dropped him off. The organiser feels confident they will have a forever home for him by Christmas. He'll love the foster home too as the lady has a large patio that has mesh all around so it is a cat proof outdoors space. We got Shade direct from a Bengal breeder and have loved and cared for him for the last 6 years. This has left a hole in my heart and I hope one day we will be ready to have another cat and perhaps a dog. For now, I think it is safe to say our focus is on Sakura and work endeavours and we shouldn't be dedicating any efforts at the moment to a new animal that requires us to entertain it.

All About Me
BIG NEWS! I got accepted to two schools for the 4th Year Honours Psychology Program. The University of Sunshine Coast was my second choice as the campus is 15-20 min away, but the University of Queensland I had spoken with people that were willing to work with me for a doctorate so they would be ideal for building connections and starting something that I could build upon. I won't hear from UQ till about December or January. Surprisingly though, I was praying about it and felt the strong impression that I needed to attend USC. I thought this was crazy because UQ was the logical place anyway. After a few days of pondering this I received enough confirmation to feel that USC would be the best for me even if I didn't understand why right now. So I am working on coordinating more details with them and I am excited to see what next year brings. I haven't mentioned yet that I have NO idea how I'm going to pay for it though.

My VIPKIDS contract was up for renewal. I am so tired of teaching 4-5 classes Monday through Friday at this stage so I was considering just not renewing. I don't make that much money. In the end I realised I don't have to open up any slots if I don't want to so when I start school I may just not teach any classes for a while or I will just open 1 or two slots a week. I'd rather have the ability to keep doing it if I want to. After this month though I seriously need a break.

I've also been trying to make sure I go and do something fun just for me. So in October I got a massage, toured the city, and went to dinner at East Street by myself. Another night I went to a Painting class I got from Groupon. It was a lot of fun! My only regret with the class is that instead of trying to mimick the artist who was demonstrating, I should have just gone with what I felt would be better (then my pink zebra would have been more proportionate). Still well worth it, and it was good to get out of the house.

For November my friend invited me out to do some rollerskating. I got rollerblades as I think rollerskates are just weird, but had a blast. I forgot what it was like rollerblading and it was harder than I thought to keep my balance. I'm definitely more into ice skating, but it was so nice to be able to chat with good people while also do something active.

Other Updates and Events

We made a couple of beach trips when Matt didn't have to work. The first time it was very windy so Matt made a giant hole that blocked the wind. The second time was great until you got in the water and the wind made it freezing.

Our oven kicked the bucket and while waiting for the owners to consider replacing it, Matt happened to find a good one for free on one of his job sites. The owner approved the replacement and install by a professional. We are so happy! The new one is very nice and I now don't have to worry about burning my baked goods as easily.

General Conference was a bit tricky to keep Sakura entertained. Matt played a game while Sakura watched and we had conference on at the same time. I got very sleepy and closed my eyes a few times. It was a great conference and I am still re-reading at least one talk a day. I felt the overarching message was that God wants us to have JOY! Not just after this life but right now. Another interesting part of this was our Airbnb guest at the time turned out to be a member. He didn't tell us until his last night when we had dinner with the missionaries. He watched part of conference in his room - I'm not sure why he didn't just come out and watch it with us then.

As another side note:

Current favourite recipes are...
Almond butter chicken with zucchini noodles
Cajun-style steak with spicy mango glaze
Both are from Paleoleap.com so if you haven't seen or used their website you should check them out. They have Keto recipes too!

Until next month! P.S. Apologies for what are likely many grammatical errors as I ran out of time and didn't want to wait to review it later.