I am a MASSIVE foodie, and now that Tahlia is on the outside (so to speak), I can drink! Wahoo! Not that I’m a big drinker, but it seems like that lately!

Anyways… I’m writing this a couple of weeks on (and I’ve had my fair share of wine in that period), so in a brief summary and in no particular order…

Run rabbit… run rabbit…

Maybe no one remembers that commercial from Tourism Victoria, but I’m referring to the Yarra Valley. It’s the one where a couple are trying to hide from some butler guy who is looking for them because they don’t want to leave, and the butler is skipping through the vines. Sounds macabre, but it ain’t – the butler is just leisurely trying to find this hide & seek couple. And I must admit, when I’m up there I have a tendency to re-enact the ad.  

I was lucky enough to spend a few days up there the other week, and became a temporary resident of the township Healesville. Wow. Food & wine galore. I was (and still am) one very very happy chappy.

Ok, so breaking it down:

Healesville Hotel

Got this tip from The Age Good Food Guide 2010, and the November edition of Qantas’ inflight magazine. Lol. Healesville Hotel had amazing food in old world charm surroundings. And not that I can really remember what I had because I had half a bottle of pinot noir… here’s the best I can recall:

• Pimpernel Vineyards pinot noir. Described in the wine menu as the “new kid on the block”, which was ordered because the award winning Sticks No 29 Pinot Noir was all out which we were dying to try. Oh bother. But no need to fret as Pimpernel was quite delish! I even spent all night thinking about it…
• High quality local produce, as you would expect. Rabbit & salmon dishes for entrees. I did make comment I couldn’t have rabbit because it reminds me of childhood pets (may Snowy and Snowflake rest in peace), and the waitress walked past snickering at my comment, but on all accounts the rabbit was good. I know the salmon definitely was! Entrees were followed by duck and half a cow (i.e. steak) for mains, and later followed by some peachy panna cotta dessert with moscato jelly. Yum yum.

Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander

Located near the Healesville village, Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander has a plethora of options - wine (of course), pizza, cheeses, and bakery. Everyone’s a happy a customer! 

• First off, much cred to the resident wine guy!! Friendly, knowledgeable, went beyond the call of duty, and on top of that, funky sneakers. Tres cool. Gave us a crash course in rieslings, and made an amazing recommendation for a home grown one – Mac Forbes 9 r/s (that’s “residual sugar” for any newbies out there). Now we can go to places and pretend we know what we’re talking about by asking for Mac Forbes… as we did in Trunk some weeks later. (Good thing we’re attending an event in March titled “How Not to Drink Wine Like a Wanker”!). And when queried as to why the riesling “may contain traces of dairy products” as it said on the label, he even googled this for us and advised it had to do with the filtering process. Much props to Cool Sneaker Guy!
• Kingfish miso for entree. And we’re talking steak size portions. None of this “carpaccio” stuff, a la Cutler & Co and Cumulus Inc. We want chunks! Oh, and great oysters too.
• A baby chicken for main. And I can’t remember what I had - I was drinking, lol. Some kinda of white fish I think… snapper? Anyways, I believe I had a lemon tart for dessert. What can I say except that I’m a tart for a good lemon tart!
• Oh, and Aesop products in the bathrooms… so I left the joint smelling all citrusy. (And c’mon peoples, I know you’re all suckers for Aesop testers!!!).

Richard Thomas @ De Bortoli

• 3 words: Meredith. Goats. Cheese. Nuff said.
• However, I should also add the following faves:
  • Le Caviste de Scey
  • Formagella di Capra (goat milk Taleggio)
  • D’affoinois - described as like a brie but NOT a brie for the Loire Valley.  

Hmm… cheese… I believe I’ve had my full dairy intake for the year just by visiting Richard Thomas’ cheese store. Just look how intently I’m staring at the produce:

Yarra Valley winery hopping 

• Sticks Winery. Named after an ex-Carlton footy player who lends his nickname to this great winery. First found out about this place from a wine tour I did at a previous work  gig. It’s a nice and quiet too, not that busy, which is great for those in the know. But with such a great pinot noir on its menu, the secret is bound to get out! I was even more excited to see they had an award winning pinot noir “No 29″ (as mentioned earlier re: Healesville Hotel) available in larger than average sizes, and as much as my travelling companion wanted to convince me into buying the 5 Litre (yes… LITRE) bottle, I opted for 1.5L instead. After all, what am I going to do with 52 standard drinks? Although he is right, it’d make an awesome 30th birthday present to myself!
• Dominique Portet. The best part about going to this winery was that we got to chat with the man himself, Mr Dominique Portet, who comes from a long line of winemakers. A lovely French guy who loves his rosés, and according to Dominique (we’re on a first name basis now, lol), rosés make up for the bulk of their revenue which is completely understandable – we loved everything on offer here, and I walked away with a couple of bottles of their offerings, particularly their brut rosé.  Keep an eye out for their events at Melbourne’s Food & Wine Festival in March! Great friendly staff too.   
• Tarrawarra Estate. Now I must admit I only wanted to go here because it was 35 degrees that day and they have a private art gallery (Tarrawarra Museum of Art) which I rightfully assumed had air conditioning, so there we went. A George Baldessin was on show – European born, Melbourne based artist/sculptor. Loved pears and Mary Magdalene among other things. Interesting. And as for wine, the only one I would recommend is their Reserve pinot noir which I walked away with. Mind you, you had to pay for tasting, but you got your money back if you bought something. Hmm. Can’t we just taste them for free peoples?
• Domaine Chandon. One of the usual suspects for most daytrippers to the Valley. Had lunch here, although I’m not sure about the “go order your food from the counter, and while you’re at it, go get your own cutlery and water” type set up. Seems a bit common for a place that is part of the luxury house of brands, LVMH. Lots of wines on offer, but I’ve been here so many times before – as I’m sure you have too – that I won’t bother writing about it.  
• Yering Station. Another usual suspect, so again, I won’t talk about it too much. However, the scones up at Matt’s Bar are absolutely divine, and I loved Freya’s art exhibition in the wine tasting room.   
• De Bortoli. All I can say is Noble One and Black Noble. No need to say much more!    

Tip of the day: the next time you’re at a winery reading the tasting notes, try reading it out loud in a Sir Richard Attenborough type voice. You instantly sound cultured.  

All the other stuff

Now here’s a few places closer to home!

Gertrude St eateries

Now I’ve been told I am the “whitest” (i.e. most Aussie) Asian in Melbourne because I hang out on Gertrude St, Fitzroy (that and I can parallel park), but I frequent Gertrude St because of the local food meccas Anada and Cutler & Co.

• At Anada – a Basque tapas joint – you can get a 12 course meal for $65. That’s right. $65. That’s approximately$5.41 for each course. Hell yeah! Highlights were; the green chilli gazpacho for amouse bouche; roasted quail with pomegranate salsa; and the pomegranate & orange blossom sorbet with sugared pistachios. I’m still drooling for the sorbet, weeks on! It was such a new taste sensation for me… and I gots to have me some more! I must admit, the food and the service make this a better place for me than Movida - touted as the best tapas joint in Melbourne. It’s Anada all the way for me!  
• Now Cutler & Co is the more swish version of Flinders Lane’s Cumulus Inc. The food is great but given I’m writing this some weeks on, all I can remember is a kingfish entree. And roast suckling pig for main – oishii!! But nothing grabbed me for dessert, sadly. I ended up wandering up to Trampoline on Brunswick St for gelati!  

Rumi

Rumi is known for its Lebanese/Persian delights. I’ve been to this place before at its original address, and now that it has moved to a bigger premises, Rumi has lost some of its intimate charm which made it so good in the first place. Nonetheless, the food is still amazing! Even George Columbaris was a fellow diner that evening!

Highlights: roasted quail which came out on mini swords (makes you feel quite medieval), Persian meatballs, pomegranate juice, some other Sprite-like drink that was lighter in flavour, and this salad/grain type dish which was fantastic although for the life of me, I can’t remember what was in it! I think it was a Persian grain mixed with herbs, walnuts and lemon juice.

I think I practically rolled out of there that night from eating so much! 

Trunk

I had been to Trunk a few times for after work drinks, but never had dinner there so I was rapt Luke made a surprise reservation the other night – yay! Distinctly Italian, and whilst an fabulous menu of pizzas was on offer, we opted for a la carte. Entree - cured kingfish, celery and lemon. Not as good as Giant Steps (I don’t think anywhere else will compare!), but still good. Mains - I had steamed barramundi, white bean & chorizo cassoulet, pangrattato - delish! I can’t really remember what Luke had – something to do with a ragu – which I did sample and wanted more of. But sadly, no time for dessert as we had to run!

However the good news is that we got to ask the question we’d been dying to ask – “Have you got Mac Forbes?” – which gives the impression we know what we’re talking about when it comes to wine, which is so not the case! Luckily for us, the answer was “yes” so yay for us! Had the 37 r/s riesling which is quite similar in taste to a German riesling – Max Ferd Richter’s Braunenberger Jauffer - which has now been hyped up so much after drinking it at Coda bar & restaurant. This German riesling has proved quite elusive across Melbourne, except for the extensively Prince Wine Store in South Melbourne, but if I can get either Mac or Max, I’m one very happy lady.

Mart 130

Where else except in Melbourne can you get an AMAZING brunch at a tramstop? Yes folks, think about it. “Mart” is “tram” spelt backwards. And it’s stop number 130. Woah… I’ll give you a minute to ponder that.

Now this place is listed as one of the best brunch places in town, and on one website, is touted as Melbourne’s equivalent to Bill’s in Sydney. Now that’s a big call, having been to both, but a good call nonetheless!

To keep this place elusive and hence uber cool, I won’t even talk about it much except to tell you the brunches are hella fantastic!! 

Good luck finding it peoples – you need a map! Oh, and it’s cash only folks!

Sensory Lab @ David Jones

I’m not a coffee drinker at all, but had spied this coffee place situated on Lt Collins. When it comes to Sensory Lab, think of mad scientists (i.e. baristas) in white lab coats, bunsen burners, milk stored in beakers and sugar stored in little apothecary jars. Think also of questionnaires to work out what your best coffee flavour would be, with questions such as “which fruit do you prefer? mangoes?” and “what smells do you like – mint? baked cookies?”. So I won’t even try to explain what this place is about, so I suggest checking out the website or the place itself.

My sidekick had some coffee which was hyped up by the staff member (e.g. “you’ve come in on the right day… good write up in the Herald Sun for this one… ginger and lemongrass…” blah blah blah), which to me, looked like tea without milk but tasted like bitter coffee. Pick the non-coffee drinker folks!! The hot chocolates aren’t bad though! (Yes I know, epic fail for getting non-coffee at a coffee joint, but heck!). 

I did spy a celebrity walking past, although it took me a while – and a mini debate – to figure out who it was. Strangely familiar, I ended up working it out – it was Murray the Red Wiggle. But because he was all dressed in black, it completely threw us off!

Ok. Time to go eat. I’ve made myself hungry!

 “The truth is that we can’t go back and change what happened in the past. What we can change is the way that we look back at what happened. Always choose the perception that makes you feel the best and brings you the most peace” – Kurek Ashley

On the off chance the person I am writing this for reads this…

Fate had us meet for a reason, at that exact time, and the experience had both its highs and lows. I am thankful for the time spent together.

By far you have been the most influential person in my life. And the experience made me who I am today. 

“Then something wonderful happened – that moment when you looked back on that dark and painful time of your life and started to see it in a different light. You began to see it as the time of your life when you learned the most about yourself. Maybe it was the time you feel you evolved and grew the most… you made a perceptional shift. Your perception shifted from seeing that period of your life as the most painful to seeing it as the most powerful time of your life. You realised it was a transformational time for you…” – Kurek Ashley

The low periods are not how I choose to remember us. Instead, I will treasure happy memories such as:

• lying on a patch of grass, watching the world go by
• watching the sun set
• secret gardens
• yellow balloons
• waltzing in public golf courses
• sitting under a large tree
• lemon tarts
• getting lost in hedge mazes

And only you know the rest.

In many ways you saved me.

And now it’s time for me to let you go, although I must admit a part of me never will.

And I’ve come to realise you weren’t right for me in this lifetime, and vice versa.  

Perhaps another lifetime…

The close of 2009 marks 365 days filled with many highs and many lows – and I wouldn’t change it for the world because it made me who I am today – a much stronger & happier woman! And 2010 & beyond is when I will make my mark HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Make a name for yourself, dream large and achieve big! x

• relationships beginning and ending.
• the arrival of Little Miss Tahlia – an unexpected present, but one that I wouldn’t take back for the world! Don’t get me wrong – I’ve always loved kids, and always wanted them for as long as I can remember. It’s just we were never expected to have kids, and next thing you know… why hello there! Admittedly, it took a while for me to get used to the idea of becoming a mum. After all, I had mentally made plans to occupy my life with other things. But as soon as I saw the ultrasound, I was taken
• having to let go of my staunch independence in many areas.

In short, my whole world was turned upside down. In astrological terms, apparently 2009 was my “Year of the Saturn”. i.e.

Saturn is said to teach one to be more responsible and disciplined. Saturn makes a full round of the zodiacal sign once in 30 years. During the transit when Saturn moves from one sign to the next after every 2-1/2 years. This movement brings about major effects in the life of individual. Every person has to go through at least some phases in life under the influence of Saturn. If the phase is thoughtfully taken as a learning period, it gives ample of life long advantage. It can be for Good or bad depending on the phase of life a person is in… 

http://hubpages.com/hub/Saturn-in-Horoscope-Remedies-Shani-Mantras

I’m glad 2009 is behind me. Whilst it made me who I am, it’s time for a fresh start in 2010 and I can’t wait! And I came across this piece by Freya at Yering Station the other day… represents my new outlook on life  

 

More horoscope stuff

2009 – THE GOOD NEWS

The most important property cycle in 29 years begins on October 29 and if you are patient, self-disciplined and prepared to take expert advice, you could be in a watertight position by 2012. The path to security will not be easy but if you are prepared to work hard, you could end up building firm foundations that last you for the rest of your life. Be a realist at all times and it will protect you.

• I’ve always wanted to get into property investment (well, since I was in my early 20s), and took my first steps in December with the help of experts.

SINGLE LIFE

If you wish to be one half of a dynamic duo this year, look at all your options in January without committing – for peace of mind, that should only happen after February 1. Potential partners who can share your highest goals and ambitions will be on your mind all year. Just make sure that any new relationship is based on a fair distribution of power – especially if one partner is much wealthier.

• Power. Control. Yup, faced that alright. Was there an imbalance of power? I feel so anyway. Have I learnt my lesson? Yes indeedy. It was a hard lesson, but one that had to be learnt nonetheless. And I am very grateful for this lesson. After all, everything happens for a reason…

YOU AND YOUR PARTNER

You two are destined to reach a crossroads this year, when your normal roles within the relationship change. One partner will have the upper hand after this, thanks to an increased amount of influence or control. If you are both in for the long haul, however, remember that a similar situation will repeat for years, and each time the positions may change. Avoid game-playing and trust in love instead.

• There’s the control word again! And crossroads were indeed reached.

SUCCESS OPPORTUNITIES

Get the best financial advice you can afford this year. If you are too cautious you could miss stunning opportunities – but if you are too reckless and unrealistic, you could complicate your life. To start with, avoid expensive or time-consuming decisions in January. Do your research by all means, but do not commit or accept promises until at least Valentine’s Day. After that, big doors will open for you.

•  Finally sought help from a financial planner in December. Very productive. Future looking good. Why did I put it off for so long?? lol.

LUCK AND MONEY

This year you will benefit financially – or through property – thanks to partners, family members, generous banks, government offers, business associates or fellow investors. If you sidestep the chaos in January, you can make the most of valuable information from that time, to move forward. Do your homework near February 23, May 23 and 27, July 10 and 22 and you could make huge gains.

• Yup! Thanks parents & the government for helping me out whilst on unpaid mat leave! The universe also helped out with a few lucky breaks. Thank you universe!

HEALTH AND FITNESS

Avoid important plans or decisions near the Full Moon on June 7 when life is complicated. If you are committed to better health then a substantial investment of time, energy and money would work best in November and December. Avoid the second Full Moon near December 1st and the rest should be easy. What happens just before Christmas will help you make a fresh start, ready for 2010.

• I’ve held gym membership for a while, but stopped going when I was pregnant and the few months following Tahlia’s arrival. Got back to it in the last quarter of 2009, and the regular sessions whilst on Life Design also kept it up. (Admittedly though, I have since taken a bit of a hiatus. So time to get back into the routine!). Started seeing a chiro regularly too. I love my chiro! Even Tahlia comes with me!

And 2010 looks no less eventful! What has 2010 got in store for you? Check out the website to find out!

Mind you, it doesn’t stop at v2.0. There will be numerous upgrades available in the near future – because personal development is a never ending quest! 

So it’s been exactly 2 weeks since I got back from Success & You’s “Life Design” in Sydney, and… WOW… where do I start? I thought going on the 2.5 day “Personal Success Intensive” course was amazing. The 7 days I spent on the course… LIFE CHANGING. I guess that’s why they call it “Life Design” – no breaches of the Trade Practices Act for false advertising here!

I blogged about this course earlier in “This Friday I leave it all behind“. And I’ve just re-read what I wrote. It’s funny – back then I said “I’m the happiest and strongest I’ve ever been”. Guess what? I’m even more so!!  

Did I get what I wanted out of the course? YES. I learnt so much when it came to business/career, health, emotions, spirituality, finances and relationships. But there was sooo much more I gained than that - I gained the unexpected.

For those of you who know me, I (have been told) am a quiet, determined achiever. That is true. I’ve always known what I wanted – and I want it all. I want the successful career, great friendships, wealth and abundance, and a happy home with an amazing family of my own. What I didn’t realise, is that up until now, I never thought I was worthy of it. I never thought I was worthy.

There. I’ve admitted it, to you, and to everyone who reads this.  

The first time I admitted this to myself when I was writing an email to someone I had a falling out with, but still remains dear to me - a few days before going to Sydney. I started explaining why I behaved the way I did, and then it hit me – it was because I didn’t like myself. The revelation hit me like a tonne of bricks. And I brought this revelation with me to Sydney. I faced it so many times during the course of that week, and only now – after 29 years – do I realise I am worthy. I deserve to be happy. As much as you and the next person.

I didn’t realise how much of an obstacle I was to my own happiness.

I’m not going to go into detail as to why I felt that way in the first place - how I got there doesn’t matter. It’s what I’ve done since that realisation is what counts. 

So enough is enough. NOW is the time I take control of my life, and stop letting other people make my choices for me. No more excuses. My life now – and will be – AMAZING! 

So yes, I got what I wanted – and so much more – from going to Life Design. In 2 weeks this is what I have achieved:

• Finally crossed off “see a financial planner” my to-do-list (an item which has been there for a while!). And it’s been a very productive 2 weeks!! I’ve done more in 2 weeks than I have done in, uh, 29 years!
• Started to make my goal of being a property investor a reality – something I’ve wanted to do for a few years now. Just finalising details at the moment
• Reassessed where I want to head with my career
• Found other personal/professional development courses I will enrol in
• Changed my whole perspective from “lack” & “scarcity” to “abundance”. Tell you what – it makes life so much easier!
• Continued reading personal development books. Just finished reading Kurek Ashley’s “How would love respond?“. A purely amazing book! This will be subject of a separate blog in due time!
• Already noticed a change in my relationships
• Have become more aware of my thoughts and emotions, and started to “master” them. Only empowering thoughts are allowed!
• Released myself from the past and stopped telling disempowering stories
• Stuck my 7 year plan on my wall which I study every day, believing and knowing I will make it a reality. I’m already thinking that I’ve achieved it

All that and I haven’t even met with my life coach yet!

Now what I didn’t mention is that I met the most amazing group of like minded people on the course! To my fellow Life Design-ers, you made the course so much more invaluable just for being there. Thank you for sharing in both the highs and lows, for your friendships and your kind words of support. And keep fighting for the good life! I know each and everyone of you will succeed because 1) you believe you can, 2) you are worth it, and 3) you have unwavering support from people like us!

I should only mention the whole reason I started this blog was to become more open and honest with people – as it’s been an issue in the past. What I’m finding, is that blogging is allowing me to become more honest with myself. And that’s what counts.

So to you, the reader, what is it that’s holding you back from “being all you can be”?

I just returned from a trip to Sunshine Marketplace. Now I don’t normally go there – it’s been years – but I thought I’d go for a change of scenery. Now I know why I don’t go.

After triple-checking I locked my car, my bag zipped, my health insurance up to date, and Tahlia safely strapped in, I go for a stroll around the centre. All the stereotypes you can imagine about the West were there. Yup, bogans (not “boh-jahn”, real BOGAN) everywhere. Normally, it doesn’t bother me. But what I witnessed did.

I was in one of those cheap Asian stores looking for crappy gym pants, and this 10-12 y.o girl was watching her baby sister sitting the pram. For whatever reason, the pram tipped backwards and the baby starts crying (luckily she was strapped in). The sister takes the baby out of the pram. Next thing you know, their mother – who fits every Western suburbanite description you can think of – comes racing out of the store and starts verbally abusing the 12 y.o. And I mean, verbally abusing, i.e. ”F you, F this, F that”. As far as the mother was concerned, it was the 12 y.o’s fault.

A seemingly normal female passerby stops and puts her two cents in, and starts yelling at the mother – explaining what actually happened, how she’s not being a good mother by leaving her kids like that, and how dare she abuse her daughter. Of course the mother didn’t like that and started swearing at the passerby too.

I was taken aback, but more than anything, I was saddened.

Now one of the by-products of doing any personal development course is that you suddenly become the world’s best psychologist on the planet. You start analysing everyone, because you’re (hopefully) more emotionally equipped to recognise the signs.

I wonder what went on for that mother, for her to be like that. For all I know, she was treated like that when she was young – and so she may not know any different. And so the vicious cycle perpetuates – she now treats her kids the same.

We all carry baggage of some kind, and some of it comes from our parents. It may come from things such as whether your parents had a happy & loving relationship, whether there was a bitter divorce, snooped through your stuff etc – it all has an effect on us in one way or another.

Now there are some people I know who continue to carry this baggage, and it affects how they relate to people, communication, relationships etc. To put it short, I know a lot of emotionally stunted people because of what happened with their parents.

There’s one person I know in particular who is an amazing person with a brilliant future, but carries the weight of the world on his shoulders because he hasn’t dealt with what happened to him in a productive manner (in short, very very crap relationship with his dad, messy split between his parents). Instead, he represses and has become a “victim”. It’s only now that I recognise how that upbringing drives his behaviours, and unfortunately, I recognised this too late (we’re no longer on speaking terms).

And unfortunately for him, he hasn’t recognised the effect it’s had either. He may think he has it all together, but he doesn’t. Looking back, the masks now are obvious. And unfortunately, its holding him back from the great man I know he could become.

At some point, you have to break the cycle. You can choose to blame your parents for how you turned out, or go on living your life in ignorance and not living up to your full potential, but at some point the cycle has to be broken. No one deserves to live their life with all that crap.

It all starts with self awareness. I mean, people can give you advice, or you can see all the shrinks you want, but at the end it has to come from you. And you have to be truly honest with yourself in the process – it’s amazing how some people live their whole lives in denial. You are the one that has to connect the dots – recognising those self-defeating behaviours, identifying what causes them – and then do something about them.

I don’t know how he is going – I’ve reached out to him with no success. I can only hope he has effectively dealt or will deal with his issues soon. I know he’s capable of becoming so much more…

Now when I look at my own daughter Tahlia, I realise the best gift I can give to her is to sort out my own issues. I’ve only just fired my emotional baggage handler (thanks Success & You!) – and about time too. Hopefully she’ll grow up to be a strong, confident, well-rounded woman who knows who she is. But with the amazing friends and family she has in her life, I know she will be.

Although I use the word “random” loosely. “Random” is defined as:

Having no specific pattern, arrangement or predictable outcome.

Well if “everything happens for a reason“, it flies in the face of random. So there’s food for thought! But I digress

“Laine Valmoria is happy”

I did say I was going to get away from serious stuff, but heck, we’re all entitled to change our minds! This’ll be quick…

This is my current Facebook status: “LaineValmoria is happy”, with 4 “likes” and 2 comments.

I updated it the other day, very early in the morning, when I was reflecting on the events of that day:

• Had a great conversation with Sharyn over the phone – my best friend from high school. We lost contact for 10 years after school, but with the wonders of Facebook, we found each other again – and it was like nothing changed! I love friendships like that!
• Had lunch with my best friend Bernie and Jono (otherwise known as ”Chris Isaak”)
• Caught up with my work girlfriend Carolyn
• Caught up with Lina over the phone
• Had fascinating Facebook chats with Oscar & Luke…

And it made me realise how lucky I am to have such amazing friends! I don’t think I say this anywhere near often enough, but I just wanted to say thank you and I’m glad I have you in my life! Ok everyone… now group hug! 1… 2… 3… aww….

(It’s amazing how pop culture has influenced us. Damn you Full House!).

Woodford & Co 

Ok you fashionistas! I came across a brand called “Woodford & Co” in Cactus Jam QV the other day. I really liked this top – it was different – had a print of a map for Martha’s Vineyard all over it. (“That’s different”, I hear you say). But at $269? I decided it against it.

If I had to liken it to a brand, I’d say Zimmerman, although they do have more casual stuff like tees, singlets.

As luck would have it, thanks to Missy Confidential (sign up you shopaholics!), they had a sale on. Thank you universe!

So I scoped it out. Not only did they have that top at half the price, but I picked up a whole bunch of cool current season stuff at a fraction of retail price – a cropped red gingham jacket, a singlet, and an awesome black pinafore top with a frilled racer back. Aaah, nothing like a bit of retail therapy!

What impressed me further was the sale was on a “Level 1″, which meant I couldn’t take a pram (I’ve been there before), and the girls working there were nice enough to carry Tahlia around and keep her entertained while I tried on clothes. How’s that for service!

Anyway, that sale finishes tomorrow if anyone is interested.

Nobody jeans sale

If you’re into your jeans, check out the Nobody sale at 210 Brunswick St, Fitzroy – finishes Sunday December 6. Jeans from $20. (Thanks again Missy Confidential!).

I have to warn you, you have to rifle through a lot of stock. I had a quick look but gave up – had to get somewhere, and I had Tahlia with me which makes it hard to go into those makeshift change rooms! Had good stuff there though!

What happens when stay-at-home mums have too much time on their hands…

This is probably going to come back and haunt me – Tahlia will probably put me in a nursing home the first chance she gets!

So An from mother’s club (which has somehow dwindled down into a “mother’s duo”, consisting of her & I) had a playdate arranged for her gorgeous boy Jayden and Tahlia. Jayden is Tahlia’s boyfriend. With Jayden a week younger, she’s already gotten into toyboys early! Check out them out on Youtube – funny stuff!  

With Christmas on its way, I thought it would be funny to be a Mrs Claus outfit for Tahlia. Likewise, An bought a Santa Claus outfit for Jayden. And here… is the result:

Tahlia is not looking impressed at all. *sigh*. Oh well, it amused me!!!

Mind you, this isn’t the first time An & I have ganged up on our kids. See Exhibit B:

I love being a mum! Hehe!

Another reason why America is so stupid

 An has lots and lots of movies to watch at her place, and she introduced me to Food, Inc. It’s along the same vein as Super Size Me, and it provides insight into the American food industry. To summarise:

• how multinationals control the American agriculture industry, to the detriment of the farmers who are screwed over for the sake of dinero
• this control is largely brought about by the dominance of the fast food industry (fast food over there is cheaper than good, wholesome food)
• in search of the dollar, they engineer chickens, cows etc to grow quicker than usual. Some of the footage they showed was really sad – like these chickens who couldn’t even walk because they grew too quickly and their poor little legs couldn’t support their body weight. And I had a pet chicken when I was younger (“Blackdot”) so that part got to me. *sob. (And yeah I know… a pet chicken. I’m freakin’ Asian!)
• multinationals have “patented” soybeans which have infiltrated the farming industry, to the point where it is illegal to save your own “public” seeds and plant them the following year
• they have VEGGIE LIBEL LAWS. Wtf?? Yes that’s right – you can’t criticise a vegetable anymore without risk of being sued
• they cleaned hamburger filler with AMMONIA. Yup, the stuff that’s in your household bleach…

A whole bunch of other stuff happened, but watch it to expand your mind. Mind you, it did put me off food – for a second. An & I have since concluded the Australian industry is completely different, so we can happily go on in ignorance. But… I’m still thinking about the movie…

Ice cream!! Ice cream!!

I luuurve ice cream. Gelati. Sorbet. Heck, I ain’t fussy. I’ll have it all. And at the same time too.

Well An has introduced me to Home Ice Cream. Now I’ve been hearing their school bell-like chime going off in the neighbourhood for a while, but never knew what it was. And man – have I been missing out! I sampled a mango & macadamia ice cream yesterday at An’s… and hmm… oishii! Really creamy stuff! I’m hooked!

And while I was putting Tahlia in the car afterwards, I heard the bell. I swear I almost channelled Eddie Murphy from Delirious - remember that scene? ”IIIIIICE CREAAAM!! IIIIICE CREAAAAM!!”. Now I’m hanging out to hear that bell in my street!!!

Hi…. my name is Lorraine… and I’m an addict. lol

Well. Not really.

In reality, I’m off to Sydney for a while. Holiday? No. As I alluded to in the subject heading, “I leave it all behind”. And by that, I mean I leave the old me behind in search of a new & improved me. Like “iLaine 2.0″ or something.

I’m going up for a 7-day personal development course which purports to be “life changing” – so much so, the course itself is called “Life Design“. It’s through a mob called Success & You.

Ok, some of you may be sceptical, or may think I joined a cult. But you know what? I don’t care. And you know what? A few months ago I would have!

It all started with the intro course “Personal Success Intensive” (or PSI for those in the inner circle) which I did back in late August/early September. 2.5 days of personal success intensive-ness… so why did I go on it? My dear friend Lina (much love to you schmoops!) recommended it to me for a number of reasons. And I’m glad I listened because it’s the best thing I’ve ever done - I’m a COMPLETELY different person, and I’m the happiest and strongest I’ve ever been. And about time I say!

I’m not going to go into much detail as to what the 2.5 days entails – just that you need to go in with an open mind. They say it’s good if you want to start your own business etc, but personally, it’s much better if you just need to break out, emotionally speaking. To start thinking on another level. To quote Jerry Maguire from the opening scenes:

“Break down? Breakthrough…”. 

Looking back at the person I was back then to I am now, and in just a few months, I’ve learnt about who I am, why I was the way I was (e.g. self defeating behaviours), and let go of fear. I’ve stopped caring – but in a positive way. I’ve stopped caring about what other people think, and having to please others. It’s now all about me – and not in an obnoxious way. I’ve never been happier.

On top of that, I’ve come out of the course with an amazing friend, Luke. They say the universe works in mysterious ways, and indeed it does, because we click soooo unbelievably well. So much so I had to look up our birth dates, and yup, karmic connection. (Such a typical Cancerian thing to do – feel free to check out your horoscope compatibility). And it turns out Luke also loves the Time Crisis arcade games as much as me!! Can you ask for anything more in a friend? :p  

So if that’s the value I got out 2.5 days, imagine what I’ll get out of 7 days doing Life Design. Granted, it cost a bit. And it’s in Sydney – so that means flights, accommodation – but heck. I NEED a change. 

Mind you, I signed up on impulse after they gave us the selling pitch at PSI. Bad move some of you may think. Why did I sign up? I go back to my mantra ”Everything happens for a reason“. Well, the signs were there…

About 2 yrs ago, I was reading an article in Herald Sun’s Sunday magazine about this lady who dropped out of the workforce (ex journalist) to raise a family. She attended a personal development course completely sceptical, looking to write an article about how the whole thing was a sham. The article covered the process – how you get allocated a mentor etc, and are held accountable for achieving the goals you set out. At the end, she’s completely converted, having achieved her goals – and then some. I remember reading this thinking, “it sounds good, I should l look into it” and tore the article out for safe keeping, and to add to my to-do-list.

Fast forward 2 years, I’ve completely forgotten about the article, and am sitting in the PSI course listening to the spiel about Life Design. It then occurs to me it was exactly the same course the article was about – the one I tore out of the magazine and kept. A sign. I signed up then and there. 

After all, it covered EVERYTHING I desperately needed to make a change in:

• Business/career
• Health
• Emotions
• Spirituality
• Finances
• Relationships

What I like about this course is that you don’t just rock up, pay attention (well, maybe), and leave. I mean, how often do you attend a course to do absolutely nothing with it once you go back? You work out your goals, get allocated a life coach over a 12 month period- and then they hold you ACCOUNTABLE for achieving those goals. No easy road here. And on top of that, you join their “Success Club” where graduates from the Life Design course meet on a monthly basis – which only cements any positive behaviours learned.

So I figure, I’ve got nothing to lose (despite the cost) and everything to gain.

Now since doing the PSI course 3 months ago, a number of my friends have gone on it based on my experience and have found it invaluable! Freakin’ GREAT! And they have even signed up to Life Design next year.

What we have here is now a supportive group of friends, who have all gone through the same experience, and continue to motivate each other. There’s no turning back now – for either of us!

So the course begins this Saturday (28 Nov). I’ll be sure to blog my thoughts on the experience.  

And I am PUMPED!! BRING IT ON!!

(Btw – did I mention you go firewalking on the first day??)

1. Even Bruce Lee agrees with my “BE & DO” philosophy! Now some of you know I lurrrve my Bruce Lee stuff (as I glance around the study at my 20th anniversary edition movie poster of “Enter the Dragon“, and all my miniature figurines sitting on the shelf). In the aforementioned movie, one of his famous lines is “Don’t think! Feeeeeeel“. Check it out yourself on Youtube! It’s not every day your life philosophy is backed up by a famous person who will kung fu your ass.

2. I omitted a number of points in my “Hello World!” posting. D’oh. I’m going to add the below items to the topic list:

• arty type stuff. I’m into the modern stuff (stencil/street art particularly, graphical illustrations), photography - but I have an appreciation for the kinda stuff you’d see in NGV too
• thoughts on whatever I’m reading at that point in time – books, mags, stuff with words 
• interior decorating/Martha Stewart type stuff. They say when you’re “with child”, you go through a nesting phase – cleaning, clearing out, redecorating. Ok, I had mine 7 months ago – and I’m STILL nesting. It doesn’t help (or does?) that when my monthly issue of Real Living comes in, I suddenly get inspired and go nuts redecorating.

I think that rounds out the list.

Now I should warn you I have a tendency to be afflicted by excess mental energy, so there may be a number of new blogs coming your way very very quickly. Consider subscribing so I don’t spam you on Facebook

Ok. So my mantra has always been “everything happens for a reason“. People say it, but do they always meant it? I think not. They just seem to pay lip service to it mainly. Me on the other hand, am a staunch believer.  I can provide x number of personal examples, and I probably will as part of my new blogging career.

This mantra is now accompanied by “BE & DO“. ”Everything happens for a reason” implies that your future is already mapped out for you - I don’t believe that for one bit. Almost to the point of why do anything if it’s already decided for you. Now I’m going to quote a bit from one of my fave shows NCIS here (the one with the Nth Korean assassin bird for any avid followers):

“Anyone can achieve their fullest potential. Who we are might be predetermined, but the path we follow is always of our own choosing. We should never allow our fears or the expectations of others to set the frontiers of our destiny. Your destiny can’t be changed but it can be challenged. Every man is born as many men and dies as a single one.”  

Hence the “BE & DO”  – you choose your path. Kinda like those books you used to read in primary school from the “Choose your own adventure” series.

I wrote an email explaining this new found philosophy to a friend in the very early hours of this morning when I couldn’t sleep, which stemmed from an earlier discussion about the heart vs head conflict. And so here’s the (edited) excerpt:

“…If she’s really, TRULY honest w/ herself, she already knows the answer. & it’s what her heart says- the head is just being a pain in the ass & is getting in the way :p

So go w/ gut feeling. To cut it short – “be”, then “do” (haha). Note there’s no “think” involved.

Based on my recent experience – & only further reinforced from my reading – listening to your head just obstructs the simple answer which already exists. It only brings in hypotheticals (“what ifs?”) & feelings of obligation or social expectations (“i shoulds”). Past experiences, fears, insecurities etc all come into play also.

Your heart on the other hand, isn’t tempered by all that crap. (sorry, too early to think in eloquent terms!). It just KNOWS & bases its decision on a feeling, instinct, of what feels right vs doesn’t.

& when it comes down to it, it’s the heart which represents the REAL us (“be”)- not the head. The head is just weighed down by EXTERNAL influences- experience, social expectations, upbringing, environment. Such influences HELP to define us, but they don’t DEFINE who we are.

So remove the thinking process, & voila. As hard as it may be, always follow your heart because it knows best.

It’s now my new approach to life. I used to be all thought, too much inaction. Now i just “be & do”. Fearless, instead of fearful…”

It’s amazing what you come up with when you’re begging yourself to nod off to sleep!

Btw – to my friends, I’ll use my best judgement as to whether or not I name you (first names only). But let me know if you’d rather stay mysterious, and I’ll refer to you as “Mr/Miss/Ms x”. Or feel free to choose a random superhero name

So why the sudden decision to write a blog? Well, it’s been an eventful year to say the least – heck, I’m a proud mum to a 7 mth old now!  And for those of you who know me well, you know it’s been a big year for me. & for those who don’t, well let’s just say it’s the year I’ve re-introduced myself to me… 

So anyways, I’ve been toying with the idea for a while.

And what will I be writing about? Well my life usually revolves around:

• my beautiful daughter Tahlia Alice
• my amaaaaazing friends & family (shout outs to y’all!!)
• food food and more food
• music (I’ve been told in the past I’m a walking Bollywood example – spontaneously breaking out into song)
• fashion (I’m a walking clotheshorse… and it seems Tahlia is following in my footsteps, hehe)
• travel - or just getting out & about!
• screen events – small or large. i.e. tv or movies
• my continuing voyage of self-discovery. Yup, the warm & fuzzy stuff. <Insert group hug here>.
• & whatever else tickles my fancy. Maybe my dog Kaiya might get a mention

(Note work doesn’t rate a mention, cos’ I’m on extended leave. Yeah baby yeah! )

So if any of that interests you, stay tuned!!!