Snoskred Loves

Fitness February Wrap Up

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This is the last section of path to be completed in Vincentia, it is one of my favourite parts – this used to be asphalt and poorly laid asphalt at that. They have added a carpark here, too.

Fitness February is done and dusted. I have two walks to add – both of these were with family so not my usual speedy pace.

On Monday afternoon we went down to Vincentia and Huskisson for an afternoon walk and we were planning coffee, but we ended up with pizza and gelato instead at The Cheesy Grin. That added 4.5km to the monthly total.

Tuesday I did 30 minutes of Beat Saber after work and managed a perfect score on my favourite song Escape. I also got a bit better at Gangnam Style and totally failed Rasputin. It is a very hard level, so I switched No Fail on, but I still struggled to make it through the song.

Wednesday I took the day off mostly, until my aunt and my cousin’s wife went for a walk around the block with me. That added 1.3 to the total.

Thursday while you may not see any specific sustained exercise, we did four runs to the dump, which was a bit of a workout in itself.

Mon: 4.5km
Wed: 1.3km

Final February Total – 156.78km

My goal for the month was 140km. so I beat that by 16km.

I’m not sure what goal I want to set for March. At the moment I am setting a weekly goal of 20km per week, and we’ll see how that goes. :) I’d like to do two 5kms and one 10km per week if possible, and add in some shorter nightly walks but we’ll see what happens.

exercise, Fitness February 2019

Fitness February Check In – Almost Done

2 Comments Posted on by Snoskred

I don’t have a lot of activity to share with you this week. I managed to injure myself on Monday which put me on the sidelines for the next few days.

We did the bush track and while walking there was the usual ship and helicopter landing activity out in the bay which I find quite fascinating and somehow I managed to step wrongly on a rock and fall over. I bruised my foot and pulled some muscles. Because I’d set a low goal for this week, I decided not to tempt fate and risk making this worse by walking on it until it felt better.

I did not get back out on the track until Friday, but I did do some Berry walking on the Thursday, I didn’t bother to count that. At some point during the Friday walk I believe I met my February goal of 140kms, while dodging the event set up for the Husky Triathlon Festival. I ran the first km of this, but took it easy after that.

Saturday I decided to walk near to home so you don’t get a map today. This walk met my 20km goal for the week.

Mon: 05.07
Fri: 11.68
Sat: 03.51

Total – 20.26

February total thus far 150.98

On Friday there was a low flying helicopter, I managed to grab a photo. :)

With only three days left of February to go, I’m not setting any goals for these three days but I will be setting some goals for March. I believe if I did not set goals it would be far too easy to not go walking or running – there are so many things that I could do which are not that, and a lot of things this month have been set aside in order to hit my February goal.

exercise, Fitness February 2019

Fitness February Check in – Halfway There.

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A little more than halfway.. there are only 10 days left in February. Unfortunately for me, I am working 5 of those days and three of those days are a long day, not my usual short and sweet 5 hour shift. So those days are probably going to be 2kms max, and knowing this was coming I tried to stretch my walks over the past week.

Monday – I headed out after work for a quick 5km. As I’d had a little argument before leaving work, I was a touch angry which meant I was in the mood to run and push myself hard.

So this was a speedy 5km in lovely but quite windy weather, about 25C (F). I was expecting to experience muscle soreness the next day but I did not, which is a sign to me I can start to push even harder if I want to.

Tuesday – Another quick after work 5km, this one took slightly longer because it was super hot – 39C (f) – and windy. I did a few sprints but mostly walking.

Wednesday – Last week I said it wasn’t realistic for me to expect to do a 10km on a work day and to be fair it probably is not most of the time, unless all the stars align in the correct pattern. Today they did – I got out on time, the weather was perfect with no thunderstorms on the horizon, and by the time I got to the starting point I realised I had enough time to walk a 10km if I wanted to and still get home at a reasonable hour to make dinner.

Strangely this was the quickest 10km I have done yet, coming in at just over an hour and a half and that was even with 5 minutes spent stood still watching helicopters land on a navy boat out in the bay. Hard to get a good photo of it though.

Thursday – I decided to really stretch out my walk today and planned a 15km walk. I did kick off with a quick 1st kilometer. After that I did throw in a few 100m sprints here and there. But somehow my maths was wrong, and when I hit 15kms I was still quite some distance from the car. Just under one and a half kilometers away to be precise.

That last 1.5km I had a very sore left calf and I was worried that this might become a longer term problem but that afternoon I had a pedicure with a massage and that helped to fix it. Just recovery walking tomorrow, though.

It was so beautiful out there, 24C slightly on the cooler side for me but a few sprints warmed me up nicely.

Friday – I did two walks today – one in the morning which was a run/walk, and a second walk in the afternoon which was more a shopping walk but I got in 1.65km in the process by parking further away and walking quite a long way between shops.

The morning walk was a sweaty event as there was not much breeze today and thus I became quite warm. I ran a fair bit of the first two KMs then just kept up a high pace with a few 100m sprints. This was a very good time for a 10km for me, I was very happy with that. Especially as I felt like it was a struggle while doing it, and I thought I was going to take half an hour longer than I had hoped.

The afternoon walk was in Berry heading to a shop that is in the process of closing. It happens to be one of my Aunt’s favourite shops and I got some super specially priced yarns for her as a surprise. She arrives here next week on the Wednesday.

Saturday – we did the bush track and a bit of the path today. I knew anything more than 6km I would hit my goal, but we kept going a bit further as it was so lovely out.

I mean, does it really get any better than this? Spending so much time out walking the bay is my favourite thing. :)

Sunday I took a day off from walking but not a day off from exercise – see this video. This is a far different form of it than I am used to, but essentially this is what is happening in the man cave right now.. :) my arms are like jelly, I can hardly type. It is a virtual reality game called Beat Saber and it is super fun. In fact I believe this is exactly what virtual reality was designed for.

Mon: 05.31
Tue: 05.51
Wed: 10.56
Thu: 16.49
Fri: 11.81
Sat: 07.51
Sun:

This weeks total 57.19 (to Fri)
February total thus far 130.72

To complete my goal I only need one more 10km walk and I will definitely manage that in the next 10 days. I’m going to take my foot off the pedal slightly and focus on shorter faster run/walks, setting a quite low goal for this week of 20km. The Other Half has two weeks holidays now and we want to get some decluttering done around the house so that will be my main focus once I’ve hit that goal. Other than trying to master Gangnam Style in Beat Saber.

exercise, Fitness February 2019

Fitness February Check In

2 Comments Posted on by Snoskred

Monday – I had an appointment in Nowra on Monday 4th February so I did a 5km wander around town while I was there. I figure take the chance to get my walk in wherever I can! Though I did get held up by traffic lights more often than I would like, the terrain was different as was the wildlife – I never see ducks on my walks down at the bay.

We did have a plan to go walking after The Other Half got home from work but I wasn’t sure how the weather would be. At least this way I got my 5km in for the day, anything extra is bonus distance. It was pretty warm out there, 31C (87.8F) and super humid, so this first walk was a sweaty adventure.

We did end up getting out for a second walk, and that one was down at Vincentia with a sea breeze, much nicer, zero traffic lights and not so humid. We did some running too. This brings the distance for Monday to 10.78km.

Tuesday – was pretty crazy. There was a large yacht in the bay which distracted me once I spotted it. Maybe I have watched a little too much Below Deck. ;)

I thought I was way off the pace for the first 5km so I pushed really hard and it turned out I was actually spot on with the pace. Not sure why the maths in my head wasn’t working, but I am feeling this workout in my thighs right now.

As I finished the 5km it began to lightly rain. I’m not going to let some rain get in my way, so I kept going. However I decided to just slow down and enjoy the walk, and somehow lost track of my distance. So I ended up doing an extra KM as a surprise.

Wednesday – was a work day and I have to be realistic about this – there is no way I can fit in a 10km on a work day. I actually took this as a rest day as I had done 3 solid days of exercise in a row. But it was the worst I have felt on any day yet! I was so tired. I found myself falling asleep in my recliner while dinner was in the oven and I went to bed early. I am going to make more of an effort and try to work in a 5km on work days but even 1km is better than nothing. At the moment with daylight savings it is do-able, I just have to plan it well.

Thursday – I had a dentist appointment, but right after that I headed out. I did not set any pace goals, I just walked for distance today.

It was very windy and wavy out there so there were a bunch of kite surfers enjoying the conditions. It felt great to be out there walking but I am feeling it in the backs of my lower legs today.

Friday – we got out for a quick 5km after work. I did not even take a photo, we were so focused on getting this 5km done fast as thunder clouds were threatening from a distance.. And fast it was. Mostly 100m sprinting, then 100m walking. I wanted to push myself hard today, do a recovery 10km on Saturday, and then I have 4 days of work in a row so I will need to walk at the usual pace on those days.

When we got home the thunderstorm hit, and wow did it ever hit. The Other Half went out to his car to get his phone just as it kicked off, and he wasn’t able to make it back to the house for some time, he was stuck out by the shed where he watched all the water not go into the rainwater tank – because it is full. Meanwhile I was watching a leak develop in the Delicate Nirvana, which will need sorting before the next storm.

Saturday – The Other Half and I took the bush track to Hyams and back, then a bit of the normal track to make up a 10km.

It was a gorgeous day about 28C (82.4F) with plenty of sea breezes to cool us off.

Sunday – I had to work, so once I was done we did the bush track again to make a 5km. It was 26C (78.8F) and gorgeous out, so while we kicked off with some sprinting runs, after we got to 2.5km we slowed right down and just enjoyed the bush track.

The totals for this week –

Mon: 10.78
Tue: 11.00
Wed: 00.00
Thu: 10.31
Fri: 05:03
Sat: 10:31
Sun: 05.02

Previous week total : 21.08
This week total : 52.45
February Total: 73.53

Overall it has been an excellent week even with my weird one day on one day off work schedule I’m not sure if I really liked it. I’m more of a work all my days in a row and then have time off. Next week I work the first 3 days, so those will be 5km days, the remaining days will be 10km weather permitting on all of those walks, of course. I will walk in rain no problems but not a thunderstorm and we’ve been having a lot of them just lately. The distance goal for next week is 55km.

exercise, Fitness February 2019

February Goals

4 Comments Posted on by Snoskred

This year I am getting back on the focused exercise train. Too much work, allowing some undesirable foods to creep back into the diet and not enough walking or running have seen a small weight gain on the scales. Not much, because I am doing something about it before it continues, but enough to make me feel slightly uncomfortable.

I wasn’t really sure what kind of goal to set. I did a few walks in January and generally felt they went ok, but I would like to get back to running again. I also wanted to get some serious distance in across the month BUT I have to be realistic about it.

In general I work 3 days a week at the moment but that could increase without much notice as a surprise to myself, in fact I could be called in to cover at the last minute. Making plans and appointments is a bit difficult for that reason. I just have to be prepared.

What I’d like to do at the end of the month is take my mileage and divide it by 28 and it works out to 5km per day. That means I would have to walk 140km in the month of February. I could do it as 14 10kms, which leaves me free days if I don’t get a chance to walk. Is it doable? Who knows. But I know when I set a goal I like to smash it, so.. we will see. I’ll check in once a week to let you know how I am going. We are now 3 days into Fitness February so here is the first check in.

I kicked off the day before February began – this walk will not count to the February total, but I’m just going to put it here for the record.

On Friday February 1st, I did my first 10km for the year. I divided it up into two 5kms when I tracked it on my Fitbit because I set two different pace goals – 8 minutes per KM for the first half, and 10 minutes per KM for the second half.

Friday was a really good day for it, overcast with cool temperatures of just 22C (71.6F) and not much breeze – it would have been too cold for me if there were one.

For the first 5km I ran 100m out of every 500m, which might have been a bit ambitious but felt ok at the time. The next day I was a bit sore and I had to work plus we had family over for a BBQ so I couldn’t go for a recovery walk on Saturday. But I made up for that on Sunday.

I did not set pace goals for Sunday, I really just wanted to stretch out and try to sort out the muscle soreness. My plan was to walk 45 minutes in one direction, then return back to the car.

It was a gorgeous hot sunny day, about 27C (80.6F) with a strong sea breeze. It turned out I needed a bathroom visit mid-walk and I decided to keep going to my preferred bathroom rather than stop at the most used one at Moona Moona creek, which was absolutely packed. This added an extra 1.5km onto my walk, and some extra time as well. It was ok, I wasn’t in a hurry.

In fact every carpark was packed and I couldn’t get my usual favourite spots, so I will have to keep that in mind for Saturday and Sunday walking this month.

February Total so far – 21.08

exercise, Fitness February 2019, Snoskred Lives

Christmas Nails 2018

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This year I needed to have Christmas themed nails for several weeks. Being an assistant to the Jolly Man In The Red Velvet Suit comes with a special set of expectations, even if they are only in my mind and not enforced by anyone specific. I got matching toes but my toes are never seen at work, so that was just for me. ;)

Christmas Earrings, Christmas T-shirts, a good Christmas “stocking cap”, and Christmas Nails have been my work uniform recently. This sequinned version from Spotlight was not the one I chose but it was up there in the top three options.

My first set of Christmas Nails were done on November the 21st. This is exactly what I saw in my mind though the gold line might have been more solid gold. I asked her to exaggerate the tips, make them larger/taller than usual because I knew it would be 3 weeks before I could go back. My second set I’m thinking will have 5 different shades of glitter – green, gold, red, silver, and sparkly white like snow.

If these nails could talk, the stories they would tell you of the past few weeks! The checklists of “things that must be done before Santa sits in the chair”. The time I missed one of the vital steps and thus set off the fire alarm as a surprise to everyone. You can bet I’ll not make that mistake a second time.

The screaming children. The happy children. The screaming parents. The happy parents. The levels of skill of our photographer who is able with just a few words to get children to sit up straight and smile. You can visibly see them follow his instructions, and every single time it amazes me.

The outfits worn by families to see Santa are generally of a sparkly, sequin covered and often tulle-skirted nature. I wanted a tulle skirt for me. I did nearly buy this tutu, also from Spotlight, but decided it would be a step too far. Three weeks in, I actually think I was wrong on this particular call. It would have fit right in. Anything you can do to get smiles out of the folks or divert the attention of a crying child is worth ten times the $$$ you pay for it. Next year, especially if I can snag it on clearance prices after Christmas.

That is why this toy was an incredible godsend. I am not hip to the latest in toys, it has been a few years since I needed to buy any, but the how to survive Santa info pack was clear – get a toy that makes noise so the photographer can get the attention of the younger ones and they will look towards the camera. When you squeeze the head of this toy, it makes a loud funny noise that never fails to get *me* to laugh, and it always works with the kids.

One young gentleman appeared wearing this t-shirt. I LOVE THIS. I love everything about it, especially the silver foil text and the font they used. I loved it so much I had to ask where they got it. You too can purchase Gangster Wrapper at Target. Sadly it is not available in my size but you can bet if it were, I would have ordered it on the spot for next weeks Christmas T-shirts.

This one I found quite hilarious and it appeared in my queue of people at the exact moment I needed that laugh to get me back to the happy jolly frame of mind required. This one is just $8 at Kmart.

Just over three weeks later, my ready to be replaced Christmas nails were super long but still almost perfect. I’ve been having the Dip Nails AKA SNS done since March now and I am a believer. These babies never let me down, and I am constantly surprised at how strong they are. Some of the tasks I have to do are not particularly nail friendly but it has been months since I had so much as a crack appear, let alone any kind of breakage.

I think a mix of things = why these nails work better for me now. The nail artists have just got better and better at the SNS procedure, I started having them done right when they started learning how to do it and I believe that is what led to the occasional problem. I have also learned what tasks are likely to spell trouble – eg opening a box – and I am a lot more careful when doing those tasks.

Manicures, Nail Art

Tick F***ing Tock

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Paul McDermott, Tim Ferguson, Richard Fidler = DAAS.

For those in Australia, there is a DAAS documentary Tick F***ing Tock you may have missed on ABC iview.

I grew up watching The Doug Anthony Allstars AKA DAAS. They were the perfect thing in my teenage angst years. They swore. They shocked. They caused outrage. They said things which probably should not be said. Loads of swear words.

At some point they broke up and many of us who were fans were upset by this news. We did not know why – it turns out only Tim knew why – he had been diagnosed with MS and he did not tell Paul and Richard.

The first part of the documentary revisits the DAAS early years and gives you a tiny hint of some of the comedy they performed. Right at the end of that first episode, Paul says something which had me in tears and I knew that second episode was going to be a tough watch. I was right.

Having said that, there are so many excellent things said in that second episode, it is worth watching. Tim bravely shares some of his current daily life with us. If you were ever a fan, or you need something to kick you in the rear with inspiration, this is a documentary you should see.

DAAS

The Signature Fragrance

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When I took on this new work role, one of the first things I had to do was clean out the work area and get things organised. The previous occupant of that space left behind an almost empty perfume container for Beyonce Heat. It made me realise that I did not currently have a specific scent for work.

Sure, I had plenty of scents available here at home but none of them were especially work appropriate. Some of them I like to keep for going out, they are too expensive to wear daily to work. Unlike my previous warehouse role where everything I wore would go in the washing basket when I got home, parts of my new work uniform do not get washed after each wear and they will retain any scent that I wear.

I also now have two lanyards I need to have around my neck at all times, and they hold on to scents too. So my old “wear whatever I was feeling like from my fragrance shelf because it will be going straight in the wash at the end of today” was no longer very practical.

My Dad is someone who LOVES fragrance. As a former smoker he never wanted to smell like cigarettes and so he would overapply whatever fragrance he was wearing. This habit of his continues. To the point that when I went over to start up his car two weeks into their Canada & Alaska adventure, it smelled like he was sitting right next to me in it. He smells fantastic 24/7 and people always ask him what he is wearing.

Dad alternates between 4 different Paco Rabanne fragrances – my favourite being 1 million. But it is quite Up Money and not something I would be happy to wear every day. That is more of a special event fragrance.

I wore quite a few Avon fragrances in the past – Night Magic being my favourite. However Avon is no longer available in Australia and I have just a few last sprays of Night Magic left. I will save those for a special event, too. If this were available I would have gone with it. It wears well, it smells good, it is reasonably priced and you can get other things like body lotion or a purse roller in the same scent.

For me, the process of finding a new signature fragrance is not as easy as one might think. I can’t just walk in, spray some stuff on myself, and say that’ll do and wander up to the checkout with a perfume bottle. I want to spray on the fragrance and see how it wears on me. In order to do that, I was keeping my wrists fragrance free and visiting a nearby chemist on my break to try a different perfume each day. This was a scenty time. Some of the perfumes I tried were just ok, one or two were possibles.

What I really wanted was a cheaper version of Spicebomb. But I wasn’t finding it. And Spicebomb is Up Money at $95 for 50ml, even more up money than something like 1 Million. It is a mens fragrance but I love the cinnamon-y spicy scent. I have often worn fragrance meant for men – Cool Water was a favourite of mine growing up.

One day I tried an old perfume I once wore – Maroussia. It is a lovely scent, I was just not sure I wanted it to be my daily scent. The Other Half was not the biggest fan of it but after a bit of discussion we agreed it was the best option I had tried thus far.

I don’t know how many of you watched Gruen this year but they had a completely hilarious episode on Chemist Warehouse which my Mother and I have been laughing about since it aired. If you missed it and you are in Australia, you can still catch it on iview here, it is episode 3.

One August day while out and about with my parents and my Aunt, I jokingly suggested we go and see “what’s on in the warehouse” and they actually wanted to go.

Perhaps Dad was down to 4 bottles backup of his usual scents rather than his usual 20. I am not kidding, he stockpiles. His storage cupboard is like a mini Paco Rabanne warehouse.

Chemist Warehouse had Spicebomb out $69.99 for 50ml so I grabbed one. Maroussia was the crazy price of $12.99 for 100mls, so I got one of those too.

I am still hoping to find the ultimate in signature fragrances for work, but these will do for now. I can wear Maroussia much of the time and occasionally treat myself to a day of Spicebomb. The two scents do work together if there is a lingering trace of the other one, but Spicebomb does not linger quite as much as I would like.

fragrances, Things I Did Buy 2018

Things I DID Buy June

4 Comments Posted on by Snoskred

I received $500 in birthday money and here is some of the items which I purchased with it –

We needed new sheets for the bed. We’d bought some sateen sheets at Aldi in mid 2017 and they were fantastic, until one of the seams on the fitted sheet broke in February or so this year. Now it was still useable, and we loved those sheets so much we kept using them for a while but I was always on the lookout for a bargain set.

I found them at Harris Scarfe for $19.95. Can you guess what colour we bought?

The first clothes I bought were these – 1 longline chenille cardigan (24.99) & 1 chenille scarf (20) from Rivers. I love chenille, but I once owned one chenille item and I killed it with washing, mainly I think because I did not wash it in a garment bag, and I had a top load washer way back then. Hopefully with our Miele front load washer. I will not murder these clothes with washing.

I was only going to get the cardigan – which finishes about the knee on me, it is a good long length – because I felt $20 for the scarf was up money, but then The Other Half said to me – you deserve the scarf, you have been so good all these months not buying any clothes. Little did he know of the spending spree about to occur this month. I have worn them both once and I have to say they are toasty warm, soft, fluffy and perfect for this very cold weather we are having.

2 pairs of new leggings – one with “sueded” lining @29.95 and one houndstooth pair $34.95. Seriously the sueded lining has spoiled me. Now I want all my clothes lined this way.

2 pairs of fleece lined leggings @ 24.95 each. All 4 of these are from TK Maxx. If you are looking for workout leggings with any kind of lining this would be #1 on my list to search. These are super stretchy and incredibly warm without being too hot if you are running.

3 ponchos $29 each from a local store that was having a sale. I had been looking for a poncho for some time but every one I saw was so boring, these at least had some personality and almost give the impression of being gold and silver.

I also got some wool scarves $29 each these are chunky and can be used as a wrap as well.

1 set of SOLIDASTER curtains @ $89. You may recall these appearing in the what I did not buy at IKEA post. They were one of the first things I thought of when I knew I had birthday money, because I had made the mistake of washing the blockout curtains in the lounge room and the block out part stuck together, meaning I have sections where light comes streaming through as an unpleasant surprise.

Unfortunately one of the Aspergers sensory problems I suffer with is “sensory sensitivities” – everyone has slightly different sensitivities. Light around the periphery of my vision is a big one for me, and these holes in the blockout curtains are right in the wrong place for me. If the sun is shining, I find it difficult to focus on my laptop or the tv screen.

We had to hem these, and we also hemmed the ruined blockout curtains so they could replace the blockout curtain in the bedroom. Most of the stuck together parts are right on the sides of the curtains and with a little creative cutting and thought, the lounge room curtains may be able to be repurposed as we do not need length or the same kind of width in the bedroom.

The Solidaster have now been hung and I am delighted with them. They are incredibly gorgeous, photos do not do them proper justice at all.

The final item I purchased in June was a replacement rug for my recliner. The current rug was just not bringing enough warm this winter and while I will keep it and use it again in spring, I’m switching to a warmer rug for the rest of winter. It cost me $42.50 as I am a rewards member and I got a discount on top of the sale price.

There are two creatures in the house who are extremely pleased with this purchase. Grumpy sits on my legs as I type this, and I have put together a montage of her happiness. If we covered every surface in the house with these rugs, we would have to change her name to Happy.

But we already have a Happy, and despite not being a lap cat at all, she too enjoys this rug. My lap is now The Place To Be. With a cat on ones lap, this rug is almost too warm. I’ve had to take my indoor beanie off most nights since we got this rug.

The total money spent in June = 485.24.

The kitties might say, you could have bought us 10 fluffy rugs with that birthday money.

My question to you – does birthday money count as spending? I’m going with no myself, though I have counted June as a spend month because technically I did spend money on clothes and stuff for the house.

2018yobn, Things I Did Buy 2018

Will You Like To Know More Part 2

2 Comments Posted on by Snoskred

More Decathlon!

The goggles start from $3.50 and they have an enormous range of them. If you can’t find a pair here I would be very surprised. They also have corrective lenses for same goggles at very reasonable prices.

There is a huge choice of swimming outfits.

When it is time to pay, you place your items in this box and it reads the RFID chip. Also Decathlon is a membership warehouse though membership is free. You can sign up on arrival and scan the membership card on your phone into the Stocard app, so that you can use it when you check out.

That was the first time I ever saw the Stocard app but you can be sure I am now making great use of it – I have scanned in 15 membership/loyalty/rewards cards which I used to carry with me everywhere – which is MADNESS if you think about it. Madness! And I am going to check my special hiding place because I took out a lot of cards I don’t use a while ago.

The app has an option to turn on the “card assistant” so when you approach a store your phone will pop up a notification to easily access the card for that nearby store. This does not seem to work for Coles, though, at least for me.

After we bought the rollerblades, we wandered back over to IKEA for afternoon coffee and a wander, and to get my curtains. They had this little setup which looked like perhaps Harry Potter or Indiana Jones might have just walked away from.

Our favourite KALAS is now available in a new colour. I’m not such a fan of it – I prefer the rainbow set – and apparently The Other Half is banning me from buying any more of these anyway. I feel like you can never have enough KALAS bowls and plates. Microwave and dishwasher safe, unbreakable, so useful.

We did not buy this even though both of us really wanted to. We flipped it over and stood there and watched the gorgeous gold “sand” melt through the hourglass, and then we did it again, and yet another time, while we debated whether we could/would/should buy it.

What would we use it for? Did we need it, or did we just really want it? In the end we chose not to buy it, but will it be like Indiana Jones choosing the holy grail? Did we choose poorly, or wisely?

We left IKEA around 3pm and headed back down the coast. We had a destination in mind – Eat Street is on every Thursday night in Wollongong and the weather was perfect for it – cold but not windy. We have been once before and apparently I did not blog about it here, which surprises me but then again there is a lot of stuff I don’t post about.

I got Poutine from La Poutine food truck. Mine had bacon and ground beef on top with the cheese curds and gravy. It was awesome. Perfect for a cold night.

The other half got some loaded fries – they had cheese and a spicy chipotle aioli – from Norma’s Burger Bar plus a burger.

He chose the same stall last time and when he enjoys something he tends to stick with it.

Soon after we finished our food, we were on our way home, after a very long day out. We planned to head out for a run & rollerblade (I run, he rollerblades) the next day, and a bushwalk sometime over the weekend, too. But that is a story for another day.

Decathlon, food, IKEA