PunkPD - A Life-changing Experience

Check out PunkPD. It is a business owned by my friend Abby Elizabeth who is one of the most wonderful, generous, fabulous, sexy women I know. She is all about positivity, empowerment and confidence.
I met Abby thirteen years ago when we both went to university for the first time. It's been amazing to watch her blossom and grow from a rather confused (in my opinion) teenager into the beautiful woman she is today.
I am always delighted to spend time with her because she is always so much fun - even on her down days. LOVE YOU GIRLFRIEND:)

Smile# 26

A new hair style! (I really must get a new camera so I can record things like this) I have gone back to my natural dark brown in a short, sexy bob. A good haircut always puts a smile on one's face:-) Special thanks to the lovely Debbie at Red Hill Hair Design. She isn't a hair dresser; she's an artist!

Smile #25

Lunch with my colleagues at Ha-ha Bar. This is fast becoming my restaurant of choice! It is one of the funkiest little eateries in Canberra with a fresh, contemporary menu that is revamped regularly. You can sit out on the deck, in the sunshine, and look at the lake, And they don't mind if you order a few more bubbles than you should:)

Smile #24

I LOVE STORMS. At the moment there is thunder, lightning, wild winds and torrential rain. I am sitting here with the windows and curtains open and the lights off. It's an amazing experience. Nature is just so totally awesome!!

Smile #23

A very enlightening 5-minute lecture on our origins, our heritage and why there is no point in trying to become a republic.

The difference between the UK, Great Britain, and England [video]

Smiles #21 & 22 - Australia Day

Receiving a compliment from a complete stranger is always guaranteed to make one's day. I was at the supermarket this morning, prior to joining some friends for lunch, and a lady I have never seen before tapped me on the shoulder and told me how nice I looked. What a wonderful way to get the day off to a good start.


Me looking nice:)

The other highlight of the day was a luncheon cruise with the Australia-Britain society. Canberra from the lake is a glorious sight and spending the afternoon with like-minded people who know how to conduct themselves was wonderful. Such a pleasant change from the raucous, drunken yobbo who seems to symbolise Australia on this day.

Smile #20

This came from a friend today.............

An American tourist in London decides to skip his tour group and explore
the city on his own. He wanders around, seeing the sights, occasionally
stopping at a quaint pub to soak up the local culture, chat with the
locals, and have a pint of bitter.


After a while, he finds himself in a very nice neighbourhood with big,
stately residences...no pubs, no stores, no restaurants, and worst of all
NO PUBLIC REST-ROOMS.


He really, really has to go, after all those Guinnesses. He finds a narrow
side street, with high walls surrounding the adjacent buildings and decides
to use the wall to solve his problem.


As he is unzipping, he is tapped on the shoulder by a London police
officer, who says, "I say, sir, you simply cannot do that here, you know."


"I'm very sorry, officer," replies the American, "but I really, really have
to go, and I just can't find a public rest-room."


"Ah, yes," said the policeman..."Just follow me". He leads the American to
a back delivery alley to a gate, which he opens.


"In there," points the policeman. "Go ahead sir, anywhere you like."


The fellow enters and finds himself in the most beautiful garden he has
ever seen. Manicured grass lawns, statuary, fountains, sculptured hedges,
and huge beds of gorgeous flowers, all in perfect bloom.


Since he has the policeman's blessing, he relieves himself and feels much
more comfortable. As he goes back through the gate, he says to the police
officer, "That was really decent of you... is that what you call English
hospitality?"


"No sir...", replied the police officer, "...that is what we call the
French Embassy."

Smile #19

Yet another of those strange little quirks that make this world such a fun place to live.

This year we will experience 4 unusual dates.... 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11 and 11/11/11

NOW go figure this out:

Take the last 2 digits of the year you were born plus the age you will be this year and it will equal 11 or 111!

THIS IS SO STRANGE......NO MATTER HOW YOU DO IT, IT WORKS!!

Smile #18

Cat ordered to do jury service

A cat has been summoned to do jury service, even after his owners told the court he was "unable to speak and understand English".

Anna Esposito, wrote to Suffolk Superior Crown Court in Boston, US, to explain that a mistake had been made, but a jury commissioner replied saying the cat, named Tabby Sal, "must attend" on March 23.

Mrs Esposito had included a letter from her vet confirming that the cat was "a domestic short-haired neutered feline".

Tabby Sal had been entered by Mrs Esposito under the 'pets' section of the last census. "When they ask him guilty or not guilty? What's he supposed to say - miaow?" She said.

"Sal is a member of the family so I listed him on the last Census form under pets but there has clearly been a mix-up."

A website for the US judicial system states that jurors are "not expected to speak perfect English".

Source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8264782/Cat-ordered-to-do-jury-service.html

Smile #17

Smile #16

They shall beat their swords into ploughshares (Isaiah 2:4)

Smile #15

Breakfast this morning at Flint in the Vines, which is the restaurant at Shaw Vineyards. Followed by a leisurely morning spent exploring some of our excellent local wineries. Thoroughly enjoyable tasting sessions and my cellar is growing nicely:)

Smile #14

Do they specialise in indecent exposure cases?

Smile #13 - My Birthday

Smile #12

The frog on the back of the snake. (Armin Gerlach)
Of all the startling images to have come out from the Queensland floods, this has to be the most unusual — a green frog hitching a ride on the back of a brown snake.

It appears animals often help each other out during disasters. According to an article on the ninemsn website, "it's quite common when you have animals in floods or fires or disasters, they actually get together and don't do anything [to harm each other]" .

I think we humans have a lot to learn!

Smile #11

Smile #10

Prime Minister's XI. Is there a better way to spend the day than with a few good friends, doing nothing other than enjoying yourself? After a lovely breakfast together we went and watched the P.M.'s XI v England. Despite numerous rain periods, which shortened the game to 35 over innings, a thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all and there was even enough sun to get slightly burnt:)

Victorious England Team
(now that the P.M.'s XI has been
soundly defeated, can we please
do the same to the P.M.?)

Smile #9

Prayer. It may be an old fashioned idea but we all have a need for spiritual nourishment; for communion with the Divine. There are many ways to achieve this - from solitary, peaceful activity such as meditation to intense, frenzied activity like drumming or chanting. I try to attend some form of worshipful service about once a month. Today, I felt the need for ritual and pageantry and so attended a High Mass in the Church of England. The beautiful window on the left is called the Sheffield Window as it used to reside at St. Clement's Church in Sheffield, England. Having managed to survive two German bombing raids during the Second World War, it now adorns All Saint's Church in Ainslie, Canberra, Australia.

Smile #8

The joy of gardening. There is something in the smell of freshly turned earth that really lifts the spirits. The is also great satisfaction in pulling weeds out by their horrid little roots. The real thrill today, however, has been tackling the 'Amazon Jungle' and taking it back to bare earth in preparation for creating my own Eden:)

Smile #7

I love technology. I decided this would be the year I overcame my fear of it and dipped my toe in the waters of the 21st century. I have been having great fun on Facebook and Twitter and, of course, this blog.

My smile for today, however, is Stephen Fry. Yes, I know he makes us smile every day, but I recently joined "Club Fry" and spend hours talking, playing and mentally fencing with other Fryophiles. His website is a universe in its own right. Check it out. The New Adventures of Mr. Stephen Fry

Smiles #4, #5 & #6

O.K. I know I've been slack. When I started this project, the idea was to record something nice every day. Unfortunately, life has a nasty habit of getting in the way. Despite that, there have been some really nice things over the last few days. First I had an early (5:30 a.m.) morning walk and watched the sun rise while inhaling the scent of freshly mown grass. Doesn't that just make you think of childhood?

Yesterday I spent most of the day doing housework. "Not that great", I hear you say. Well, true, but imagine how enjoyable it was to sit down at the end of the day with a glass (or two) of wine and look around my nice clean house and know I won't have to do that again for a while:).

Today I had lunch with a couple of girlfriends. There was supposed to be a really nice photo of us to go with this story but every time I try to download it, the system crashes. I am not the most technical person on earth, so once some kind techno-nerd has fixed the problem for me, I'll add the photo.

Smile #3

The Ashes. Being a serious Cricket tragic, this is always the highlight of my sporting year! Even though today (5th test; day 1) was rained out, what was played was enjoyable and the new boy, Khawaja, seems to know his stuff. Maybe Australia will stand a chance next time.





The Hallowed Urn

Smile #2

This is my beautiful grand-daughter, Clea Marie. She is 6 1/2 years old and is really intelligent and affectionate. She always has a big smile and a hug for her grandmother who thinks she is absolutely perfect. (No, I'm not in the least bit biased!)





Little Miss Cheeky Monkey

Smile #1

I had lunch today with this part of my wonderful family who have put up with me through all the bizarre twists and turns of my tumultuous life. Without them, I doubt I would have survived to become the person I am today. They have always been there. Even when I would have abandoned me, they never lost faith.

Daddy, Sarah and Mum
YOU GUYS ROCK!!

I don't make New Year's Resolutions but.....

Like most people, I spend far too much time whingeing and complaining about all the things I don't like in my life. I'm sure millions of people would love to have my "problems". This year I'm going to find something to be grateful for every single day. If someone in a Western country who has a home, a job, food, etc. can't find something to smile about every day, then there is something seriously wrong. So, here goes...