New Years Eve 2011

So i guess everyone's reflecting or pondering or making resolution lists around this time of year. I'm pretty bad at sticking to resolutions and don't usually make lists. But I have been reflecting though.

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A friend said I seemed happy even though my heart was recently broken and I had to agree...it seems strange. Normally I am in an awful mess after a break-up, I cannot eat, cry a lot and love to mope.

But this time around I am smiling, feeling happy, keeping busy with friends and actually feel content. Yeah, there are times when I miss my ex and think of him and the future we could have had but I try not to dwell on those moments and focus on God instead.

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I remind myself that I am in a good place (no more limbo life) and that God has brought me to this point in my life. So what is there to fear, when I have him by my side? And as a Christian, I know he has a plan for me...so I'm taking a leap of faith. Why worry when I have food, a job, a roof over my head, money in the bank, a car and friends...I am so fortunate and blessed.

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And while I may not have the husband or family that I dream of, I am happy and I am right where I am meant to be.

Here's to a future filled with love, happiness and peace...that's all I want for 2012. 

Grey is the new black

Third time lucky right? This will officially be my third sofa purchase in my life and this one will be all mine...no ex-boyfriend to claim it after a break-up or swap it for the washing machine etc. So you can imagine my excitement at being able to choose the colour, the style and the fabric all on my own. Yep, there are some positives to being single, you get to make all the choices!

Right now I am loving the colour grey. I want to buy a grey sofa and decorate with either yellow or pink. Now before you puke at the pink..just check out these "grey" living room pics. Obviously, it will also depend on the shade of the walls so here's praying for white walls. The Dr and I will be viewing 4 apartments tomorrow, so I will be praying tonight for some guidance and success. I am really keen to secure an apartment as I am kinda living in limbo and out of bags at the moment. 

Source: www.thedesigntabloid.com

Source: www.thedesigntabloid.com

Source: www.thedesigntabloid.com

Source:www.smallchichome.com

These are my current sofa choices, ranging from $900 – $1000. I initially wanted a two seater sofa but for a few hundred more, I could buy a three-seater and have more butt space. Domayne and Freedom are my stores of choice at the moment and here are my top three sofas.

The Chester 3 seater

The Cozmo 3 seater

The Penfold 3 Seater

Any favorites out there? 

Christmas day celebrations

The first thing I did on Christmas morning was to read my daily devotion. I had really wanted to go to church but was still quite shy and afraid to attend a new church on my own. The reading was from Romans 7:19 What I do is not the good I want to do; no the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. 

I realised that it's so easy to keep doing the wrong things over and over because I am too comfortable, too afraid or think that it's what I need right now. Even though part of me is saying STOP, I continue. So I prayed that God would clear my mind of evil and fill it with only good intentions and choices. I know this won't be easy but it's a start right? If God could sacrifice his only son, then surely I could overcome my evil ways and thoughts too?

Surely, I could try and celebrate Christmas and be thankful for everything I have, rather than dwelling on my ex and the future that I lost. Before I can truly move on, I need to let go of the anger and disappointment that sometimes consumes me and all the angry crazy even evil thoughts. But it's hard! So I stepped out and started to enjoy Christmas for what it was!

Here we are opening and exchanging presents. I was sooo lucky to receive a beautiful dress, cookbook, writing set and calendar from my friends. I really wasn't expecting anything but felt truly blessed and special to receive these gifts from them. N with her Kobo e-reader...and yes, she is very beautiful and a wonderful mum.

N rummaging through the bag of goodies and treats I gave them...choc & coconut covered cherries, harissa paste, South African curry sauce, pastries, almond thins, chai tea and choc nougat puddings. I also bought her a special pressie, a lovely cotton flowy top at a little boutique in Nobby's Beach.

 

After lunch, N finished off her awesome crème catalan desserts, almost like crème brulee but the Spanish version and in my book, these are probably better. She had made the creamy filling the morning, poured them into ramekins and set them in the fridge for a few hours.

We were all quite intrigued to watch the blow-torching of the castor sugared top. As this was her first time using the blow-torch too, it must have been quite daunting with five sets of eyes watching!

But she did it like a pro and voila, they were perfect toffee crusts. A great dessert to finish off a gorgeous lunch.

Christmas day lunch

Being single can be really hard, especially during the holidays...everyone is happy and spending time with their loved ones (family or partners) and you're feeling lonely and depressed. Smiling feels forced and you just want to wallow...but then God sends you an angel or two to look after you and make it all better. 

My angel came in the form of my friend, N. I spent Christmas day at hers with her family. I was pretty nervous and felt like I was gate-crashing a family Christmas, if that's even possible. My job was babysitting for the morning while this cooking duo prepped and scrubbed the food for the day. 

In Queensland, it usually rains on Christmas day or it's really humid but we were so blessed this year to have gorgeous hot dry weather. Frizz-free hair...yay. 

Check out this beautiful piece of pork...yes, you guessed it, this was the star of the day. N's hubby coated it with salt and crushed fennel seeds, whacked it into the bbq and...

Here is the end result! Perfect crackling! And if you think it looks good, imagine what it tasted like. OMG (that's Oh my Gosh) well, on my blog at least...it was divine!! As they would say on Masterchef, "He nailed it". 

And here is the rest of our lunch, marmalade baked ham, roasted carrots, parsnip, swede, broccoli, potatoes, pumpkin and gravy. 

Santa photo shoot

So I spent the day with my dear friend and her little bub. We decided to take him to see Santa at Myer, so he could have his first Santa/Christmas pic. There was quite a queue for Santa but luckily they had two Santa's on staff (ha ha) to speed things up. Here we are waiting our turn at the North Pole. I think the little train had Evan freaked out too so he wasn't entirely thrilled to be there.

Once we got in, I seated him on Santa's lap and he soon realised that he didn't like Santa and started to cry. My friend did her best smiling and toy shaking act until the photographer snapped an Evan grimace photo and we called it a day. I bet Evan was glad, he wouldn't even let us take any more pics of him next to the Christmas tree and cried until we left the store.

We then had lunch at Guzman Gomez Mexican in the Oracle, Broadbeach. I love their pork chipotle burrito!

After lunch we headed to No Name Lane cafe for some coffee and biscotti. This was super delicious. I love this little cafe's face brick interior, it reminds me of a few London cafes and as the weather has been quite rainy and cool, I can almost imagine I am there again.

Let the flat hunt begin

I have been praying for a new apartment and for a kind flatmate…I recently asked God for a Christian flatmate but I kinda felt like it was a long shot and asking way too much of him. I mean the Gold Coast is definitely not a spiritual place! So I resigned myself to try and find a shift worker or a nurse who didn't hog the remote control and who I wouldn't have to see 24/7. 

www.apartmenttherapy.com

After browsing through the ads on gumtree last night, lo and behold…an ad from an African Christian girl looking to flat hunt together for an apartment in Broadbeach. Yep, it sounded too good to be true to me too. Uh...I was born in South Africa, am Christian and want to live in Broadbeach. I quickly drafted an email and then I started to get the feeling that this may be some scam.  Then I realised that this might just be God working in my life and answering my prayers. But surely he could not be working that quickly?? Or could he?? 

Source:motherhood.ksl.com

Anyway fast forward a few days and I have met my new future flatmate and turns out she is a doctor. We spent about two hours together just chatting, drinking coffee and walking around Broadbeach. We got on really well and I think we will be really good friends. Now all we have to do is find our perfect little new flat together.

Work Christmas party

A few weeks ago, my company held their annual Christmas party. It was a buffet style bbq at one of the Seaworld Resort restaurants. I must admit I had never been and as Seaworld is known as a tourist spot, I had my reservations. We all met for drinks in the hotel foyer beforehand. Here I am with one of my favourite colleagues and his beautiful family. Check out my yellow clutch, I thought I would colour block for the night! 

This is our IT guru and another great colleague, with his new little redheaded baby boy. You would be forgiven for thinking we were brother and sister!

And moving onto the most important part of the night...drumroll please...the FOOD. This was probably my favourite section of the buffet, grilled marinated squid and fish, bbq marinated prawns and bbq pesto chicken at the back. 

The meats: steak, lamb chops, sausages, sautéed onions and mushrooms and below, the salad and veggie bar.




And in case you were wondering, here is my plate – roast potatoes, steak, grilled fish, chicken, prawns, bread roll and onions.  Can't say I didn't have a healthy appetite back then.



And they even had a fantastic dessert buffet and cheese section...I must admit I filled up on the main course and due to my overstuffed belly, quite late to this section. As you can see this area has clearly been raided.

All in all, it was a lovely night. The food was delicious and I enjoyed catching up with my colleagues outside of the office, away from the phones and mayhem!

BBQ Sunday

My friend N invited myself and my friend, M to a bbq lunch at her place. I bought some marinated pork ribs and accidentally forgot them at my ex's place, so ended up with only a salad (talk about embarassing but I knew she would understand). Luckily, we were able to stop off at the markets beforehand so I managed to buy up some lovely artisan garlic bread and corn. I did manage to rustle up a Jamie Oliver salad with alfalfa sprouts, radish, lettuce, avocado and mint, which was nice enough. 

But my friend pictured above (can you believe she has a newborn and looks so gorgeous?) made this gorgeous Movida spanish potato salad...just look at those colours! And as usual, we ended up having more than enough food.

Her hubby did all the bbq'ing while we snacked on some nibbles, played pass the parcel with Evan and shared a glass of wine together.

And soon it was time to eat...yum! I am slowly building up my appetite again even though I am still eating very small portions. And check out Evan, sitting up at the table at 3 and a half months old!

And even though we didn't have brilliant sunshine, we all decided to go for a swim in their brand new swimming pool, even little Evan. (You can probbly tell that he was less than impressed with the cool temperature of the water and the idea of swimming)

I feel so blessed when I spend days like these, with wonderful friends and good food.

Sunday reflections

Phew this has been a hard week indeed. Firstly, I am going to list some positives as I am feeling really sad and down as I write this post.  

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• God revealed to me today that my ex and his family had been excluding me from their family get-togethers, which confirms that he is not the partner for me, amazing how God works!
• I don't have to cook every night or most nights for myself and someone else (at the moment I am lucky to have a delicious meal placed in front of me each night)
• I have found some inspiring blogs over the weekend

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• I can watch tear jerkers and chick flicks back to back like I did on Saturday
• It was a beautiful day on Saturday 
• I got to spend an entire day and night by myself just relaxing and vegging out
• I met up with a few friends at a cafe across the street (so first public outing since the split)
• I got to play around with my new camera 
• I received a lovely Christmas card from my sister telling me that her world is better with me as her sister
• I went to the local farmers market with my friend
• I swam in my friend's new swimming pool

However, that said I do feel a lot of loss such as:

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• losing my best friend
• having to move out of my home of 14 months
• not having anyone to hug or kiss or touch (except little Evan of course)
• spending the holidays alone
• no longer having a definite travel partner, dinner partner or movie partner
• not having anyone to tell me they love me

I also found this quote:

"It hurts to say goodbye to a person you love knowing that life won’t be the same without him.

But it’s better to give up rather than to fight knowing that you’re the only one fighting".

So sorry that the reflections have been a bit sombre thus far. I did listen to a really good sermon this morning from the Living Temple church about John the Baptist and how as true Christians, we should not really be bothered with the small petty things in life as the bigger picture is so much more important.
Here is a link should you wish to listen to it.I am hoping to start attending some of their church services in the new year.