Snoskred Travels

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Blingy

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So, one of the things I’ve done while MIA was to take another trip to Hawaii. I picked up some new bling while there..

b2

This by no means does any of the rings justice but most especially the triangle Mystic Topaz there – that ring is stunning. The amount of different colours it throws under various light conditions.. it really is a rainbow version of the Mystic Topaz. Some you will only get purple and green – the triangle gives you red, pink, purple, several different shades of green, orange, and also yellow.

jewellery, travel

Sydney Trip Report

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Very interesting outcome of the Sydney Trip.

Darling Harbour right before heading to Sydney Aquarium at 6pm.

I was not as bad as I expected I would be. I had one gelato a day and I gravitated towards the more savory flavours in any case – salted caramel, salted coconut and mango. Even so I consumed more sugar than I had in a while.

It took 2 days before I felt hungry as a surprise. The amount of calories expended in those 2 days I could not even tell you. It was constant walking from the time we arrived in Sydney.

The gorgeous fish scale style ceramic wall at Sydney Aquarium

The first day we visited Chinatown and n2 extreme gelato, Paddys Markets, Sydney Aquarium, Pancakes On The Rocks for dinner, then off to Star City Casino for a look around there.

And what a look it was – they had mirrored crystal seating booths. I can’t even. The beauty of these cannot be shown in a photograph, I am sorry, you will just have to go and see it for yourself. :)

The second day was probably the most draining exercise wise as we prowled the shopping district during the day, walked from Westfield Sydney to Grilld at World Square for lunch (we shared a burger and fries as neither of us felt very hungry, it was such a hot day) then back to Paddys Markets, we walked around Darling Harbour multiple times, we liked Grilld so much for lunch we went to Grilld Harbourside for dinner, then to Star Casino for dessert at Gelato Messina.

Sydney City as seen from Darling Harbour.

The Sydney shopping district makes zero sense to me. I grew up in Adelaide where everything is laid out all neat like. Sydney is a mess of secret malls, overhead walkways that link shopping centres which come to you as a surprise, and underground corridors full of shops. It has a very short mall compared to Rundle Mall in Adelaide and the rest of the main shopping strip cars and pedestrians fight for space especially on a busy day.

Even the newest shopping centre – Westfield Sydney – has a dizzying layout which makes it impossible to see every shop without backtracking and walking in circles..

The third day we chilled out, had a lovely Paleo friendly breakfast at Darling Harbour, then I went wandering on my own via the monorail back to Westfield Sydney and the CBD while The Other Half met his friend for lunch. Then to Costco, then home via a Sushi Train..

I’m going to write up some reviews this week – including the longest photo review known to man thus far – and I also want to do some linking to Sydney food sites I read which inspired me to visit the places we visited.

So what did I learn?

For me, sugar, carbs like potatoes and rice, and grains, make me hungry. They also make me crash big time – on the third day I had a major blood sugar spike when I had a Starbucks coffee in the morning without any sugar added but it was a flavoured one and plenty sweet by itself. I then experienced a crash, a low blood sugar thing.

It was interesting to recognise that for what it was and see the symptoms it caused, and to look back and see where that has happened to me in the past and I have put it down to other things.

food, paleo, Sydney, travel

Sydney Trip

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Tomorrow we head up to Sydney for a couple of nights away..

Imma gonna be trying some stuff I have been reading about for.. well.. a long time. Many of these things happen to be Gelato. Also there will be Zumbarons.

So I guess this means I will be consuming some sugar for the first time in a while. It will be interesting to see how this makes my body feel.

I will of course, update you urgently. So be prepared, there may be a few quick photo type posts.

Sydney, travel

Check In

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Where has Snoskred been?

I was stuck in Hawaii for 3 weeks after my Dad had emergency surgery over there. The last couple weeks since getting back have been a little busy to say the least with work going into busy mode for the Christmas season etc.

I’ll get around to telling you more about that, and about life changes I’m going to be making as a result of what has happened, when I have more time. Which will likely be in the new year..

Have a very Merry Christmas, and all that. ;)

About Snoskred, travel

Counting Down!

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My good friend Sephy who I have never met in person arrives in Australia this weekend. We have multiple plans of awesomeness, and at the end of that we fly off to Hawaii with my parents – Sephy on his way home to the US, and me for a happy holiday and shopping trip..

I’ll try to put some pics up of our antics touring various places in Australia and certainly you will hear all about the shopping in Hawaii. :)

Happy moments for all! ;)

The garden is looking very awesome and I’ll update with some pics later this week when I have a moment..

General Chit-chat, Sephyroth, travel

The Things We Don’t Do

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I just got back from the gym – my first visit in a few months. I think the last time I was there regularly was end of May, then I got an evil flu which came with some very nasty bronchitis. After I got better I tried going back but ended up with another flu and frankly got scared to risk going again during the winter months – what with the wet hair from sweating and then having a shower when I got home, I generally was spending too much time with wet hair and I felt I was risking pneumonia again..

I had pneumonia in 2003 – it was awful, absolutely dreadful. And it made me quit smoking, which was *fan-freaking-tastic* thank you very much!

I’ve wanted to go back but.. time passed, we started the chicken coop project, we got the chickens, we got gardening, and really I was doing a fair bit of exercise on my own. On the other hand, I was winter eating, which is not optimal.

Color me shocked when I arrived there today to weigh in and get measured to find out that I had actually lost 4kg since my last gym visit and 2cm off each thigh and upper arms! Plus, 4cm off my chest. Must be all that painting, digging, and chooky chores.

But this is not enough, for two reasons.

1. Hawaii in November

2. I am one of those sick and twisted people who actually *enjoys* a workout.

Ok three. I really would like to get a Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress while I am in Hawaii. And I would like to get it in a much smaller size than I am right now.

Oh and maybe a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes. Or Manolos. Or just an awful lot of $20 shoes from Clarks Bostonian and the other shoe discount store.

These things are so incredibly cheap in Hawaii that even I could afford them.

Exercise is not enough, either. I need to eat better. Realistically I am pretty good with eating. I have cut back to one sugar in each coffee. I never, ever drink soft drinks anymore since becoming addicted to the mineral watery goodness (I love to throw in a few chopped up fresh strawberries, it is soo good!) and I eat pretty well. But portion size is an issue for me. When I eat, I eat too much in one sitting. I should break up my main meals into smaller meals.

So I wrote this post to remind myself why I should go to the gym because once I get there I enjoy it, and I come home buzzed for the rest of the day. I want to go 3x a week between now and Hawaii.

exercise, shopping, travel

Welcome back to me!

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pa311801

So it has been a while.. ;)

In the past 12 months, I have –

– Got a brand new awesome car
– Went back to school part time
– Worked at 2 elections
– Worked for a month cleaning motels
– Got a new part time job
– Had friends move in with us from overseas
– Moved house to a new place much bigger due to the above
– Had friends from overseas move out
– Bought a new coffee machine after 10 years of loyal service from the old one
– Became the owner of a fish named Sushi the emo fish
– Held a funeral for Sushi the emo fish after he committed fish suicide
– Travelled to Hawaii for a holiday
– Visited Sydney a few times for overnight stays

So there has been a lot going on. ;)

I might have some things to say, so I might be back for a bit. :)

About Snoskred, General Chit-chat, travel

Kayaking Around Australia

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No, I’m not brave enough to try it myself – but Freya Hoffmeister is currently kayaking around Australia. I have been following her blog – you should too! You can find it here – Freya’s Blog. Right now, she has not seen land in almost a week – she is crossing the Gulf of Carpenteria. She will hopefully see land again this Friday.

Only one other person has successfully kayaked around Australia. It will take approximately a year. I have to say I admire Freya greatly – I cannot imagine the courage and strength it takes to do something like this.. I find it hard to get organised for one four hour trip out on the local creek, I cannot imagine planning ahead for spending over a week on the water – sleeping on it too! ;)

I think our kayak might be ready to take the winter rest, sadly. It has been so cold here the last few days – it is snowing in the Australian alps again.. at night time it is getting down to less than 5 degrees! If the sun comes out again, we will go out for a final trip.

Australia, kayak

Wildlife Hotel Trip

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I’ve been meaning to write some reviews of the places we stayed – as yet I have not had the time. So while I am finding the time, I’ll post a few pics.

Cairns Novotel Oasis Hotel – Fruit Bats Galore!

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This hotel had amazing trees around it and as we approached the hotel we discovered the trees are full of fruit bats. At dusk they all take to the skies. So these are not the best photos due to lack of light, sorry!

bat

Australia, travel

The Gold Coast – Some Pics

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We’re almost a week into our trip now. Our first stop was the Central Coast for my Sister’s Wedding which went quite well. I got to spend some time with the nephews and that was wonderful. Then we drove off to the Gold Coast for two nights at the Marriott Surfers Paradise. The hotel has a lagoon pool with approximately 400 tropical fish. You may snorkel without the worry of evil jellyfish like they have in North Queensland..

I will like to write a proper review of the Marriott, but for now you can just enjoy some lovely pictures. ;)

Coffee in the Elandra Retreat Club

elandra

Fish in the Lagoon Pool

fishfish3More when I have more time to compose! ;)

Australia, travel