baby adventures

Fidgety Philip

2012-02-01T19:10:00.000+01:00

Maybe we should call our little one Philip because he/she is still moving a LOT. Several times during the day the little bum would poke out on the left hand side deforming my nice round belly. Usually at the same time a little foot would try to kick against my right rib cage. I then pet his/her bum and back or gently poke back agains the little feet.
It must be some kind of yoga pose he/she is trying to master ;-) But I really do enjoy it and will probably miss it once the baby is born!

Another Ultrasound

2012-01-25T19:02:00.000+01:00

The little nose is pressed against my belly and the head is bend forward - hence the double chin ;-)

Together with my mum I went to another routine ultrasound today. About four weeks ago the little one weighed about 2kg and todays estimate is at 2.8kg!! This is about 200g per week which is about right. But with more than five weeks to go the 4kg whopper is becoming more and more realistic ;-)
Another impressive measurement is the length of the feet - 8cm! So our "little" one is in fact a very healthy and very BIG baby. My mum and I went shopping for baby cloths afterwards and opted for the size 56 rather than new born size 50 :-)

Bugabooooo

2012-01-15T18:18:00.000+01:00

We thought long and hard about which pram to buy. It is almost like buying a new car! There are so many options and prices start at about 400-500Euro for a decent model. We wanted something relatively light and compact and easy to handle. So we inevitably came across the pram pushed by the Munich Schickeria (the swells). Almost every second pram is a Bugaboo Cameleon and you see them everywhere! It is sort of the RollsRoyce amongst the prams and quite often pushed by gossiping Munich chicks.
Well... in the end I really like the simple design and Ian the functionality, so we decided to get a Bugaboo Cameleon. But then we thought about buying it second hand Bugaboo and placed a couple of bids on ebay auctions. We were surprised to see that a well kept second hand model would only be slightly cheaper than a brand new one! So I did a bit of internet research and found an online shop that would sell a Bugaboo Cameleon for 15% less than list price. And now we finally placed an order and hoping for a quick delivery!

Chicken Pocks

2012-01-12T18:56:00.000+01:00

One of my colleagues was rather concerned about my health and told me that his little daughter had caught the chicken pocks and that he wasn't sure whether he had them when he was a child. So I checked with my mum and she ensured me that I did have chicken pocks when I was little and therefore should not be at risk of catching chicken pocks from my colleague.
But since I had yet another routine blood test I asked for a chicken pocks antibody check as well. Today I received the results of the blood test and there are NO chicken pocks antibodies in my blood - even though I had it as a kid! I am still wondering how this is possible...
So for the general good my colleague stayed and worked from home until the end of the incubation time, which then means that he didn't catch chicken pocks from his daughter.

Active Little Baby

2012-01-05T17:35:00.000+01:00

My weekly email newsletter said that I shouldn't worry if the baby is not moving that much anymore since there is less and less space in my belly. I am not quite sure what they are talking about! Our little one is still rather active and is kicking several times a day.
I do feel that he/she has grown a lot and so the little hands and feet can't gain that much momentum anymore, due to the lack of space. But our little one makes up for it with increasing strength ;-)

Popping Pills

2011-12-29T14:25:00.000+01:00

My entire pregnancy is monitored really really carefully - sometimes I think it is actually too much. There are ultrasounds, several blood tests, the baby's heart beat is recorded every 2 weeks, …
I am also taking three pills everyday now to supplement my vitamin, folic acid and iron intake. Everyday for breakfast I feel like a granny popping one pill after another ;-)

Next Big Ultrasound

2011-12-27T13:59:00.000+01:00

This is like a little hidden picture puzzle :-)
If you stare at it long enough and use your imagination you might see the side-view of the face looking at the bottom right.

I went to my doctor for another routine check including ultrasound today. I was very curious because I hadn't seen our little one for a while and wanted to know which way he/she was facing. The ultrasound was much less clear and it was hard to identify the body parts I was actually looking at. But the doctor seemed to be confident that everything is just fine and the baby's head is down facing back with his/her little bum pressed against my belly - which explains my rather pointy belly :-)
But then she measured the diameter of the head and the torso as well as the length of some other bones. Based on these measurements the computer then estimates the weight of the baby... and the computer said 2kg! 2kg??!! I still have 9 weeks to go and he/she weighs 2kg already?! If this wasn't a sudden growth spurt I might end up with a 4kg whopper! ;-)

SomeONE

2011-12-18T13:54:00.000+01:00

About 6 months ago a little pregnancy test from the pharmacy and then the first ultrasound at the doctor confirmed that I was pregnant. I did notice that my body started to change but the concept of being pregnant was still hard to grasp. I knew that "something" started to grow inside me but I couldn't really feel "it".
The second trimester was pretty easy going, too. My belly was still pretty small and I didn't feel sick anymore. Now that the third trimester has started and I can definitely feel the little kicks it suddenly dawns on me that there is actually someONE inside me. SomeONE with his/her own mind and character! He/She starts kicking whenever he/she feels like it, without me controlling it! Everyday the kicking gets stronger and it finally DOES feels that there is someONE inside me! And I just can't wait to meet him/her!

Little Kick-Boxer

2011-12-15T13:50:00.000+01:00

Our little one is definitely growing in strength! Sometimes I think that he/she is already training to become a kick-boxer one day! The little one keeps me awake all night and I can watch little bumps sticking out of my belly and moving across ;-)

Expanding

2011-12-10T13:49:00.000+01:00

I can literally watch my belly expanding almost every day. First my normal jeans didn't fit anymore and so I bought more comfy jeans. Then it's my t-shirts that seem to become shorter and shorter ;-) But luckily maternity shirts are nice and long. At the moment it is my thick winter jacket that is becoming tighter and tighter around my belly. I wonder when I will have to get my big snowboarding jacket out or I might even have to wear Ian's old jacket :-)
But of course the most obvious thing for my is my belly button! First the belly button became less and less "deep" until it now eventually popped out :-)

Nipple Cream and Disposable Briefs

2011-12-04T13:33:00.000+01:00

My sister in law, having three boys herself, has been really thoughtful and send me a package full of very useful things. There is belly lotion, papaw ointment, disposable briefs and nipple cream. What a great idea!
The belly lotion is with cocoa butter and which makes my big round baby belly smell like a big chocolate truffle every night :-)
As for all the other things I will probably need them once the baby is born. But I must admit that looking at these products it is all a bit daunting! Still 3 more months to get ready...

"You with the big belly, you don't have to queue!"

2011-12-02T13:26:00.000+01:00

As I wrote earlier my baby belly is not that big and obvious yet, especially when I am wearing my thick winter jacket. But it must have been big enough for the cashier girl to spot. She was just closing the check-out when I wanted to pay. So she kindly re-opened the check-out so that I didn't have to queue too long. But I am not sure how to take it, I didn't think I looked THAT pregnant yet ;-)

I am exploding!!

2011-11-29T20:50:00.000+01:00

I am 26 weeks pregnant now and so the last trimester just started. Until now my baby belly was hardly worth talking about it almost didn't exist. But with the start of the last three months I am now feeling like I am going to explode! My belly is very very tight and it almost hurts. Our little one must be going through a growth spurt. I just hope that my skin is going to adjust soon and stretch without marks ;-)

Baby & Maternity Cloths

2011-11-25T19:56:00.000+01:00

We have been really fortunate as one of my colleagues gave us a huge bag full second hand baby cloths. His kids have grown out of their new born bodies, shirts, jackets and rompers and so he passed them on to us which is great! There is a great thick jacket and matching foot muff for the new born in light blue and a fantastic little ski trousers in pink. So now I am hoping for a girl, so we can use the ski trousers in a year or so :-)
Also yet another colleague lend me a couple of maternity cloths from his wife. So I don't have to buy that many tops and shirts which is also fantastic!

Displaced Stomach

2011-11-23T19:36:00.000+01:00

Everyone knows the feeling of a growling stomach. You are feeling really hungry and your stomach starts to rumble. I had this feeling just the other day - however it came from a different place as usual! It was really funny because I know the feeling of a rumbling stomach but just not at that spot. It came from a place a bit higher up and a bit further to the left then usual ;-) Another one of this quirky little things that come with being pregnant :-)

BMW driver training

2011-11-22T20:40:00.000+01:00

I know, I know pregnant women should take it easy and rest a lot. But when I joined BMW I signed up for the BMW driver training and they have a loooong waiting list. Ah well and today I finally had the opportunity to participate and I of course I didn't want to miss out!
But I did consult the doctor and she just said go for it if you enjoy it! So I had great fun today doing slaloms, understeer and oversteer the car, emergency braking, obstacle avoidance manoeuvre... I had never done such a training and it was really good to experience how the car behaves and learn how to control it better and I reckon the little one liked it too ;-)

Having the Munchies

2011-11-20T19:32:00.000+01:00

I had a huge bowl of pasta for dinner about 1h ago and I felt completely stuffed afterwards. Now I am lying in bed just about to go to sleep but I can't because I feel like I could eat the entire content of our fridge. My brain tells me that just 1 hour ago I completely filled my stomach right to the top and I can't possibly be hungry again. My stomach however says I need more food RIGHT NOW! I reckon that's what they call the munchies or this ravenous appetite that comes with being pregnant ;-)

Poking Back

2011-11-17T09:05:00.000+01:00

Our little one is getting more and more active - especially when I lie down to sleep ;-) But it is good fun to watch my belly moving and seeing little things poking out.

Just like this morning when I watched it again, the little one was probably doing summersaults or something. But this time I poked back :-) Just when a little hand or foot poked out of my belly I gently poked back on the same spot on my belly. And this happened twice in a row! It really felt like I was communicating with our little one :-)

Butterfly kicks

2011-11-03T08:59:00.000+01:00

There is almost no day without little butterflies in my belly. These little kicks are quite regular now all through the day. In addition my belly is growing steadily and it suddenly dawned on me - there is a little person in my belly! I think this whole pregnancy thing is becoming more and more real every day. Still 4 months to get used to it, still 4 months... ;-)

The Moving Remote

2011-10-25T20:57:00.000+02:00

The other night I sat back in our recliner watching TV. The TV remote was balanced on my (still quite little) belly and I started to relax and wind down from the day. But suddenly the remote MOVED! I mean it moved without me moving and without any gravity forces. It was definitely caused by someone (still quite little) inside my belly :-)

So I lay my hand on my belly feeling the little kicks :-) And even better Ian can feel them as well now, at least I think that this is a good thing ;-)

Baby Stuff

2011-10-23T20:55:00.000+02:00

Flipping through the pages of several baby stuff catalogues it is rather daunting. We need to buy so much stuff! We need to sort out the spare room, need to buy this and that and more of this and more of that!

I ordered a few catalogues to get an idea of how much stuff we would need to fit out the spare room and turn it into a baby room. These catalogues propose lists with stuff you need at home, stuff you need to take to the hospital, stuff you need for your car, stuff you need when travelling, stuff, stuff, stuff! I actually don't think that we will need THAT much, so for now we will concentrate on finding a pram, a cot and a change table.

Kicking at Night

2011-10-22T20:50:00.000+02:00

I had mentioned in the last post that it was difficult to get a still picture of the baby's feet. And yes, I can feel this now. Our little one started to kick a lot now. So much so that it even keeps me up during the night - but I do enjoy it :-)

Milestone: 21 week scan

2011-10-21T20:46:00.002+02:00

I received a referral from my doctor to see a specialist for the half-term ultrasound. At this appointment the little one was checked out from head to toe - literally. Starting at the head, they checked out the ears, measured the distance between the eyes, the length of the nasal bone, took pictures of his/her lips and then checked out all the internal organs. To me the organs just looked like a greyish lump but the specialist was sure to identify the liver, stomach, kidneys,... And most important the doctor counted all fingers and toes. At least she tried to count the toes. The little one was kicking his/her little legs so much we couldn't get a still shot of the feet! Ian is sure he/she is going to be a cyclist ;-)

The result of all this checking, measuring and counting is that everything is completely normal and I am completely happy :-)

Paediatrician Madness

2011-10-20T20:44:00.000+02:00

I was recommended a paediatrician close to where we live and I thought it was complete madness to register with a paediatrician now at only 20 weeks pregnant! But when I called the doctor and enquired about the registration process I was told that they wouldn't take any new patients. But since I enquired so early we were lucky and our baby is now registered with a paediatrician.

We don't know whether it is a boy or a girl and it is still over 4 months before we actually have a baby BUT we have a paediatrician. Munich is crazy!

Boy or Girl?!

2011-10-19T20:39:00.003+02:00

Another check-up and another ultrasound. WE have also decided that we don't want to know whether we are going to have a boy or a girl - actually Ian decided that. And so I spontaneously decided that I also don't want to know, mainly because I wouldn't be able to keep it a secret from him. So I have to remind any doctor looking at the ultrasound that we don't want to know the sex!

The scan today showed liquid in his/her belly which is apparently a very good sign. They start to swallow the Fruchtwasser, pee it out and swallow it again - nice. The little one is now 21cm long and the heart is beating beautifully - all good :-)

I also feel more kicks now. They are more regular and more distinct and definitely no bloating anymore ;-)

Half Time!

2011-10-17T20:38:00.000+02:00

I am 20 weeks now and my belly is slowly showing. I also feel the first little kicks which could actually be due to bloating, too ;-)

Becoming a Dad

2011-10-12T20:36:00.001+02:00

I finally managed to catch up with a friend on skype. We hadn't talked for ages so we started to talked about my pregnancy and she commented on Ian's blog entry. His blog entry?!?! He hasn't mentioned that he continued writing. But he wrote this lovely entry about becoming a dad :-)

Like 1000 Butterflies

2011-10-02T20:35:00.000+02:00

I am waiting impatiently for the first noticeable moves of our little one. People keep telling me that it feels like 1000 butterflies in your belly. So the other day I had a nice warm bath and just as the water level reached my belly I shivered for a second and I believe I felt these 1000 butterflies flying around in my belly. Still not sure though...

"You are getting fat!"

2011-09-27T20:34:00.000+02:00

That's my husband's latest term of endearment for me! What a surprise my love - we both didn't expect that, did we?! ;-)

But yes, I finally have a little baby belly that I am proudly showing off! The women in my yoga class have already commented on how happy I look and concluded that I must be pregnant ;-)

But with the growing belly I started to notice a few more pregnancy "issues". I continue to wake up in the middle of the night, bright awake and I can only manage to get back to sleep for what feels like 5min. before the alarm rings :-(

Long-legged freak

2011-09-21T20:32:00.003+02:00

That's my husbands latest term of endearment for our little baby. Ok, I have to admit, these legs do look pretty long! But considering the family genes it is not much of a surprise ;-)

Comfy Jeans

2011-09-07T20:30:00.001+02:00

I still don't have much of a baby belly yet but I used to wear very tight jeans. They have now become quite uncomfortable and too tight around my belly, especially when sitting down. So I finally manage to go shopping for some maternity clothes. But people probably wondered what I was doing in this section of the shop since I am not showing at all! But still I bought these really comfortable AND tight maternity jeans. They have a very very low waist and sit quite tight. But they also have this stretchy bit that covers the entire belly. Extremely comfortable when sitting and enough room for a growing belly :-)

Hospital Presentation

2011-09-05T20:26:00.000+02:00

My gynaecologist recommended to start looking for a hospital. And Munich being Munich I found out that there is a very special birth clinic where I could have registered until week 8 of my pregnancy. Week 8!!?? I only had my first doctor's appointment at 8.5 weeks! That's crazy!

I went to the presentation of the birth clinic just around the corner from our apartment today. There were about 300 other woman and the majority of them were much more pregnant and older then I am - apart form the teenager who asked for a selective caesarian ;-)

At the end of the presentation we all had a chance to see the rooms including the four labour rooms - yes, all 300 of us - at once! I felt pity with the young father standing in the aisle holding his newborn while about 300 pregnant women stomped past him ;-)

I went home without seeing the rooms because we have decided already. The hospital is a 10 minute walk from our flat and has a child clinic right next to the birth ward - just in case. So hopefully I will be able to just walk in ;-)

Chromosome Check-Up

2011-09-01T20:19:00.000+02:00

During the first three months - when we had just came to grips with the whole pregnancy thing - we already had to make the first tough decision - a chromosome check-up - yes or no? I looked into this check where they measure the fetal nuchal translucency, take my blood and then calculate some sort of likelihood for a chromosome defect. So all we would get is a number… and depending on this number we would need to decide on further and more risky tests like Amniocentesis where they take a sample of the amniotic fluid. Would we then do anything based on this number?

In the end we decided, no, we don't want to know any probability or likelihood as it wouldn't change anything.

Second Scan

2011-08-25T20:15:00.001+02:00

There you go, even though I don't feel and still don't look very pregnant, this is the proof. There is a little someone in my belly :-) And after 3 months now I am amazed to read that the little one is almost complete and the next 6 months is just "scaling". I mean look at it, the rib cage, the arms & legs, the head,... it is all there already after only 3 months! Still very healthy and very happy!

Still no Baby Belly

2011-08-20T20:13:00.000+02:00

It is three months now and the morning sickness disappeared from one day to the other - timed quite precisely after 12 weeks. But I am still not showing - there is no baby belly and now that the morning sickness is gone I don't actually FEEL pregnant! Especially when I am at work or busy with everyday life I sometimes wonder whether I am really pregnant...

Cycling Holiday

2011-08-14T20:07:00.000+02:00

We went on a cycling holiday along the Mosel valley. And this time I was tired of keeping it a secret - it is just too hard. So we did tell our friends about our tiny little secret. And after that I had great fun pointing out that our friends had just been overtaken by a pregnant woman when overtaking them riding up a hill ;-)

First Ultrasound

2011-07-27T20:03:00.001+02:00

I finally had my doctors appointment today and I went to the gynaecologist full of great anticipation. By now I almost had no doubt anymore but I was really looking forward to seeing the little one. And yes, during the ultrasound there was suddenly a little white spot that looked like a little gummy-bear - big head, stubby arms and legs and a big heart beating twice as fast as mine. Just fantastic to see!! So I am in week 8+4, the gummy-bear is 1,5cm long and everything is just fine :-)

Holiday in France

2011-07-21T19:54:00.000+02:00

We went to the south of France for a weeks holiday with friends. France the country of good wine and fantastic cheeses - it was pretty hard to keep our little secret from our friends!

Baby Newsletter

2011-07-18T20:42:00.000+02:00

I signed up to this online newsletter at babycenter.de today that tells me which week I am in and what developmental stage the foetus is in. I had absolutely no idea that the hearts starts beating in week 5!! This is only about 3 weeks after conception! And soon it will even have hands and feet and eye lids! I am absolutely amazed!

Morning Sickness

2011-07-15T15:18:00.000+02:00

Ok, now I am feeling sick and feeling sick the entire day is not funny. Luckily I didn't have to throw up yet!

But I was under the misconception that I would have nine months to get used to the whole mum & dad & baby thing. No one told me that everything is going to change a few days after conception! There is morning sickness, feeling really tired and the hormones going crazy. Ok, larger breasts and no period is still a plus.

So far so good

2011-07-12T15:15:00.000+02:00

So far this whole pregnancy bit is not too bad - no more annoying periods for now and plus up half a bra size ;-) So far so good!

Sharing our little secret

2011-07-08T15:12:00.001+02:00

We planned to spent the weekend with my parents and I knew that my Mum only had to look at me and she would know! ;-) So we told both Ian's parents and my parents that it looks like we are 5 weeks pregnant. They are all very happy to become grandparents! Especially my parents who will be first-time-grandparents!

And I just loved my dad's reaction to the no-alcohol-during-pregnancy-thing "What? Rubbish! Your mum drank while she was pregnant, didn't you?!" So we had a small glass of champagne to celebrate ;-)

Waiting for an appointment

2011-07-07T15:10:00.000+02:00

Today I googled a gynaecologist close by and rang up for an appointment. We both wanted to be 100% sure about this pregnancy thing. But it looks like we will have to be patient for another 3 weeks!! Everything is booked out and with only public health cover there is no chance of an earlier appointment...

Pregnancy Test

2011-07-06T15:08:00.002+02:00

My period is almost one week overdue now which has never happened before! So I finally decided to buy one of these pregnancy test from the pharmacy. All sort of thoughts run through your mind when buying the test, walking home and then disappearing into the bathroom with this little stick.

The instructions said that it would take several minutes for the result to show and that I should distract myself instead of staring at the stick for 5 minutes. Ah well… I didn't even have time put the test down! It took about 20 seconds!! And yes, it looks like I am very very pregnant! :-)

I won't forget the moment when I came out of the bathroom - Ian standing in front of me - I am waving the little stick with the two stripes in front of him and telling him that it is very likely that we are going to have a child!

I had a big grin on my face but I don't think either of us had ANY idea of what this actually meant!

Even more suspicious...

2011-06-30T15:07:00.002+02:00

We flew to Norway and went hiking around the Lofoten Islands for a week without knowing that we had a little stowaway with us.

And since coming back I must admit that I do feel slightly squeeze now and then. Also all my bras must have shrunken by half a size or so ;-)

But with work keeping me busy I am choosing to ignore these signs and just wait for my period to confirm one way or the other.

The Beginning

2011-06-11T15:06:00.000+02:00

It must have been the weekend around the 11th or 12th of June. Our friends Shane and Paul were visiting. And while walking through the streets of Munich I felt a tiny cramp in my left hand side. It wasn't a normal cramp, like the once I get occasionally every 4 weeks or a cramp from walking too fast. No, this cramp felt quite different and I had a slight suspicion....

Back again

2011-06-01T14:52:00.000+02:00

I've been neglecting my blog since moving to Munich mainly because of the lack of spare time - but I am going to start again right now!

BUT BE WARNED the next post will ONLY be about BEING PREGNANT!

First Day at Work

2011-01-24T19:26:00.004+01:00

Ian got up with me this morning and went to the bakery to get fresh rolls while I got ready for work. We then had a lovely breakfast together and Ian saw me off at the U-Bahn station.
First day at work was pretty good as well. Lots of new names, new buildings, many more abbreviations and lots of running around. But very positive so far.
The best thing however was coming home to this lovely cooked meal!
Taking all this into consideration I don't want Ian to find a job in a hurry!

Key Odyssey

2011-01-13T08:46:00.003+01:00

The task: Moving the old BMW from one storage unit to another
We therefore hired a car trailer and borrowed a 4WD - so far so good.
Went to the first storage unit, moved stuff around to get the car out, some messing around... Then attempted to get the car keys out of the tool box - tool box locked - key still in our car at home.
Ok, so moved the 4WD with the car trailer to a safe spot, some messing around while taking the car trailer off and I went home to get the keys for the tool box.
Ok, got back, put the car trailer back on the 4WD. But now we were running out of time, Ian needed to go the dentist! So we both went home with 4WD and empty car trailer.
Ian finger locked the 4WD and left the key in the ignition!! Need to get the spare 4WD key from our friends!
So while he drove to the dentist with our car I take the scooter to go over to our friends place to get the spare car keys. Friends were not home but luckily I was able to get the spare house keys to get into the house to get the spare 4WD keys.
Ok, getting there...
Now we took the 4WD including the car trailer back to the storage unit trying to finish off what we had started. Finally unlocked the tool box - but BMW keys are NOT in it!!!
So we took the 4WD including the car trailer back home to search the house for the BMW keys!!!
And NO THIS WAS NOT FUNNY!!!!
We found the keys and eventually got the BMW out of the old storage unit, on the trailer, off the trailer and into the new storage unit.
What a day!!!!!

Water Feature Progress

2010-12-11T14:25:00.003+01:00

Ian has been extremely busy trying to get the water feature ready before the end of the year. He tiled the columns and put a water tight membrane on the back. Great work and it looks fantastic already!
By the way, the elegant looking white tile strips in the middle of the columns are an accidental design feature :-) Ian stuck the tiles on from the outside edges working his way to the middle of each columns. Ah well, and the remaining gap in the middle was smaller then two tiles and bigger than one ;-) But luckily he found these white tiles strips which were of the exact size!

one38 Street Number

2010-12-09T14:21:00.000+01:00

Our freshly painted wall is now adorned by a stainless steel street number :-)

Satsuma Plums

2010-12-07T14:17:00.000+01:00

It looks like we are going to have a bumper crop this year. Just hope we get them before the fruit flies or neighbours get them ;-)

Painting Blitz

2010-12-04T13:32:00.001+01:00

We have had a couple of Backyard Blitzs during the course of our renovations and we also helped other friends tidying their gardens and houses. This weekend it was time for our last blitz for now. Ian laid out the agenda in full detail which read like this:

8.00 Start

1 Person spray painting driveway wall our side 1st coat – once into the carport will need to work from a ladder for some sections
1 Person spray painting complete wall school side 1st coat – will need to work from a ladder at some point so will need someone to assist
1 Person spray painting rear wall our side 1st coat
1 Person spray painting rear wall neighbour side 1st coat
1 Person mixing paint to keep supplies up to the painters
2 People moving stuff out the way in the carport and taping up

10.00 Smoko

1 Person spray painting driveway wall our side 2nd coat
1 Person spray painting complete wall school side 2nd coat – will need to work from a ladder at some point so will need someone to assist and foot the ladder
1 Person spray painting rear wall our side 2nd coat
1 Person spray painting rear wall neighbour side 2nd coat
1 Person mixing paint to keep supplies up to the painters
2 People assisting the others

12.30 Lunch

1 Person spray painting driveway wall our side 3rd coat
1 Person spray painting complete wall school side 3rd coat – will need to work from a ladder at some point so will need someone to assist and foot the ladder
1 Person spray painting rear wall our side 3rd coat
1 Person spray painting rear wall neighbour side 3rd coat
1 Person mixing paint to keep supplies up to the painters
2 People assisting the others

Clean up
14.30 Afternoon Tea
Ice cold beverages

Despite Ian's immaculate organisation or rather because of it people thought he completely overestimated the time needed to spray paint the walls. So assuming everything would be done before lunch - we didn't quite have the expected turn out... and didn't even finish it by the end of the day.
I reckon the conclusion was to spray paint the first coat and then use the roller would have been quicker in the end because refilling and mixing paint for the spray guns took quite some time... ah well next time we know!

Garden Wall & Retic

2010-11-28T12:56:00.001+01:00

Our front garden bed before the make over.
The result of several days of hard work - tidying the retic and building a new edge for the garden bed.

Water Lily

2010-11-25T03:32:00.005+01:00

The water lily sculpture is a wedding present from our friends and also the most important part of our water feature. I picked it up yesterday and I can't wait to see it mounted on the wall!

Birthday @ the beach

2010-11-20T13:09:00.003+01:00

Celebrating a friends birthday with a picnic at the beach, surrounded by close friends, watching the sun set with a glass of wine in hand. Great location, great conversations, great evening!

Ian's CD collection

2010-11-19T04:58:00.000+01:00

I am not sure how I got myself into this. But during a rather weak moment I must have agreed to rip Ian's entire CD collection. Ah well… this wasn't too bad in the end because iTunes was set up to rip the CDs automatically and all I had to do was changing CD's. Of course this whole procedure still took time but now our entire music fits onto an iPod rather then into 3 banana boxes ;-)

Old Fashioned Reading

2010-11-17T04:56:00.000+01:00

The other day I was on the train on my way back home when I noticed the persons around me reading. The man sitting right next to me was reading a novel on his new iPad while the girl to my left used a Kindle to read her favourite book. But standing right in front of me a man was reading a good old fashioned book and so were about 6 or 7 other passengers in my carriage.
Watching these passengers I thought I still much prefer turning the pages of a book while laying in bed reading - it's old fashioned and I don't have to worry about batteries, cables and flickering screens. But then the Kindle might not be too bad (screen does not flicker & batteries several hours) especially for travelling or living overseas for a short period of time. But once you get used to the idea of using a electronic device for reading a book why not opt for a fancy new iPad?! While the Kindle with its flicker-free black and white display is designed specifically for reading the iPad can also be very handy for browsing the internet, navigating and so much more!
So if I had to chose I would probably go for the old fashioned book whenever I can but I also wouldn't mind using an iPad especially when travelling overseas.

Augmented Reality

2010-11-14T09:18:00.004+01:00

I recently did some research into augmented reality as part of my current job. And while searching the web I found this fantastic tutorial on youtube and the corresponding forum.

The video is pretty full on and I used the pause button a lot! But in just 10min it gets you started with all the tools and examples in order to create your first augmented reality demo using Flash.

Here are the links form the video so you don't have to type them:
Papervision3D - an open source 3D engine for Flash
Adobe Flash Builder - 60 days trial version
Marker Generator - for generating *.pat files from an arbitrary marker form this blog
I didn't download TortoiseSVN but used this command instead:
svn checkout http://www.libspark.org/svn/as3/FLARToolKit/trunk/ FLARToolKit-read-only
And finally the example project from Tinkernut.com.

And this is my first augmented reality project! I just modified the example using a different marker and a 3D model of our bed. Ian created this model using SketchUp and I just exported it as a *.dae file and then exported it into my Flash project. If you would like to use multiple markers at the same time I recommend this blog post.

Remain Indefinitely

2010-11-12T06:44:00.002+01:00

A letter from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship arrived today informing me that I am allowed to remain in Australia INDEFINITELY! After waiting for more than six months this came rather expectantly and I couldn't believe it. I just jumped for joy and flung my arms around Ian's neck! Yep, I am a permanent resident now and I am sooo happy.
My PR was actually approved on the 9th of November which coincides with the 21st anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall - what a coincidence...

Decided!

2010-11-08T05:27:00.002+01:00

I signed and posted my contract today and decided to go for the big company, industry option, also because we will probably live off my income for a while. So I am starting to get excited only 2.5 months before I start working in München!!

Aussie Christmas

2010-11-03T05:13:00.000+01:00

It is early November, the sun is shining, it is getting warmer with temperatures peaking at a summerly 30C and I can't wait to have a dip in the clear blue waters just in front of our doorstep. Yes, summer is just around the corner and.... the Christmas decorations are up!
After living in down under for almost 5 years I still can't get used to the idea of shorts, thongs, ice cream and "Jingle Bells" - it just doesn't fit. Try to explain the image of Santa Claus in his big, warm coat arriving on a sleigh at Cottesloe Beach in the middle of summer to a child! But of course there is an Aussie version of "Jingle Bells" ;-)

Bobtail Lizard

2010-11-01T06:35:00.000+01:00

This little guy was hiding under a pile of timber stacked at the front of our drive way. We only discovered him after moving the pile and Ian picked him up to find him a new home in our garden.
Apparently Bobtail lizards really like strawberries. So lucky for him a still had a punnet in the fridge. The next day, both the lizard and the strawberry had disappeared ;-)

Out of Quota!

2010-10-26T04:30:00.001+02:00

AHH! DAMN! I have to admit it - I am addicted - I can't live without an internet connection!
A couple of days ago we were almost OUT OF QUOTA and when I checked online we had about 2MB on average left per day. So I started to get up earlier to use our almost untouched off-peak quota form about 6am to 8am. Yes, I did get up early just to check my emails, read the news and continue working on our homepage for the unit, ... - and I hate getting up early!!
Anyway this went on for a few days only, when I realised that it wasn't the end of the month but the 12th of the next month when our quota would reset! AHH!
So today we upgraded to the next higher broadband plan and I can finally sleep in again ;-)

Motorbike Frog

2010-10-23T04:30:00.001+02:00

The other night I went over to a friends place for a BBQ dinner. It was a lovely balmy summers night and we were sitting outside in the garden when suddenly ... I heard a motorbike. At least that's what I thought I heard. Friends told me about the existence of motorbike frogs before but until this night I just thought - ah well just a frog with a croak that vaguely resembles a motorbike. But I didn't expect the croak to sound EXACTLY like a motorbike!
At first I wouldn't believe me friends who tried to persuade me that I was in fact a real frog. But since the direction of the sound didn't chance and a few other frogs joined in as well I just sat there laughing and listening to the motorbike frogs :-)

This is a video I found that should give you a good impression of the frog "riding its motorbike".

Dead Sprouts

2010-10-21T08:15:00.000+02:00

Only a few weeks after writing the last post (New Sprouts) the fresh new sprouts started to wither :-( And I have absolutely no clue to why? Did we water too much or not enough? Too much fertiliser or not enough? Or was the tree already sick when e bought it?!

Funky Caterpillars

2010-10-19T06:58:00.001+02:00

Spotted in our back yard

Welcome to one38

2010-10-17T06:32:00.003+02:00

Welcome to one38 and please let me introduce you to this stylish executive villa in the heart of North Fremantle.
Because moving to Germany means that we will rent out our lovely unit, we decided to go for the fully furnished and equipped option. So my latest project is www.one38.com.au - which is still a work in progress. But so far we registered our business and starting to prepare everything for our departure and the start of the rental.
(Un)Fortunately I didn't take any shots of myself taking these pristine advertising photos of our unit but let me draw you a picture.
Because we are still living here, the unit is full of our stuff. There is stuff lying around, stuff squirreled away in corners, daily usage stuff in the bathroom, kitchen, living area... Our courtyard is still full of renovation stuff, bits of timber, lime stone that might become handy one day - I guess you get the picture. So in order to take these prestige photos I just took a big laundry basket and threw everything in that wasn't meant to be in the picture. I cleared the entire bathroom of shower gel, dirty washing, tooth brushes and tooth paste... until a lovely uncluttered hotel-like bathroom appeared.
And so I continued from room to room, always a pile of stuff behind me but a pristine clean area just in front of the lens. I also shuffled stuff from one corner of the courtyard to another in order to get clear views through the windows. But I think I captured the future look of the place - once we moved out ;-)

Granite Capping

2010-10-14T07:54:00.001+02:00

I picked up the next puzzle piece for finishing off the back yard yesterday. These granite stones will form the capping for the low garden beds as well as framing the water feature pond. Can't wait to see the reformed back yard!

Spoilt for Choice

2010-10-12T06:14:00.001+02:00

After our job interview marathon in September I guess I am very fortunate to be spoilt for choice now. But this also means that now I have to choose - but which one?! Should I pursue my research career or go for the more lucrative industry option? Should I become just another employee in a big name company or be part of an exciting future in a start up company? And besides the salary how important are location and proximity to public transport?
You see, after finishing my PhD I really didn't know where to go, what path to choose... But I guess this is quit common and so I applied for a variety of jobs, hoping someone would make the decision for me. (Un)Fortunately I still have to choose which doesn't make it easier...

The Pipe That Made My Day

2010-10-10T05:30:00.000+02:00

As mentioned in an earlier post (Spa Bath MacGyver) I finally managed to source a flexible, pressure-rated PVC pipe. This wonderful bit of pipe (shown in brown, connected to the spa pump on the bottom left) finally enabled Ian to fit the pump to the spa bath.
And so a couple of days later we finally 'christened' our new spa bath and the two of us actually managed to squeeze into the smallest-spa-bath-available. It was great and very relaxing! I just hope that we can use it a few more times before the summer!

Doctor Duck

2010-10-07T05:47:00.003+02:00

This cute little duck was a present my girl friend in Germany gave me after I finally finished my PhD. I really laughed when I opened the parcel and this little rubber duck, wearing a black doctor hat and holding a paper roll, looked at me :-) What a great gift that will always remind me of my PhD time here in Perth...

No More Sand

2010-10-02T05:10:00.000+02:00

Another big step towards finishing our unit - the back yard is finally paved and our sand pit is gone! We chose recycled old bricks as pavers because we both like the look and the feel they create.

New Sprouts

2010-09-30T05:02:00.001+02:00

Back home in Freo I was very happy to see the large number of new sprouts on our Persian Silk tree. To be honest I was a bit worried about our tree when we left and worried it would start growing. But all our TLC (tender loving care) a couple of weeks earlier (Our New Silk Tree) must have worked :-)

Back to München

2010-09-28T11:50:00.003+02:00

On short notice and as a result of another telephone interview that I had last week I needed to travel back to München for two more job interviews today before flying back to Perth tonight. The last interview should finish at 3.30pm so just enough time for a 3.5h train journey to Frankfurt and a 10pm departure. But this busy travelling schedule will hopefully be worth while - so keep your fingers crossed!

My Granddad's 80th Birthday

2010-09-26T11:48:00.001+02:00

Another reason for us to come to Germany this time was my granddad's 80th birthday. And the celebrations started already at 9 o'clock! The family, old colleagues and friends came to join us for an early Sunday brunch at the local pub. We basically drank and ate until after lunch and only had a short afternoon break before the immediate family joined us for coffee and cake. It was a very nice day and I enjoyed being with my grandparents and family.

So jung kommen wir nicht mehr zusammen

2010-09-24T11:24:00.001+02:00

"We will never get together this young again" According to this German saying we arranged to meet with my uncle and aunt this afternoon to catch up and tell them all about our Germany plans. My dad chose the Miniwelt - half way between my parents and my uncles place - as our meeting spot. It was again a lovely day and it was good to catch up with my uncle and aunt. And the Miniwelt, exhibiting buildings and sights form all around the world was nice, too ;-)

Job interview marathon

2010-09-23T11:20:00.002+02:00

We stayed in München for almost a whole week and just finished our job interview marathon. Together the two of us went to seven job interviews with me taking the Lion share. In the end it was quick fun seeing each other off to the next interview, wishing each other luck and scanning the location of the particular company. Now I can say that I am quite experienced in being interviewed, I am much less nervous and I certainly know my CV by heart now ;-)
So fingers crossed for the next couple of weeks!

München

2010-09-21T11:19:00.003+02:00

After spending only a few days in München we quite like it here already! It is warm, the sun is shining the whole day and sightseeing is fun. So far we wandered around the main city, crossed the Marienplatz, bought deep fried pigs fat at the Viktualienmarkt and accidentally discovered the naked sunbathing section in the English Garden.And of course we couldn't miss the Oktoberfest celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. We caught up with some friends and had a beer on the beer carrousel and enjoyed zero gravity on the Free-Fall-Tower. The night then finished with Haxen and a Maß at the Augustiner restaurant. All bloody good!

Weekend in Stuttgart

2010-09-19T11:10:00.001+02:00

After spending a night in München we travelled further to Stuttgart, where we stayed with friends for the weekend, before heading back to München today. Again it was really great to catch up with our friends and to get a glimpse and an update of their daily live. We drank, ate, laughed and talked about jobs, babies, real estate and holiday plans and just enjoyed each others company. Ian was particularly impressed with my friend's kitchen accessories including a steaming oven and an electric flower mill. During our stay we made pizza from scratch - and I mean from scratch, starting off with fresh tomatoes and flour! Our friend also baked fresh bread starting with several cups of fresh grains! We were both really impressed and I reckon Ian is showing a bit of appliances envy ;-)

Heidelberg Funicular Railway

2010-09-16T10:36:00.008+02:00

On our last day in Heidelberg we took Germany's most modern funicular railway up to the Schloss Heidelberg and then transferred into Germany's oldest funicular railway all the way to the top.
We had a great view from the top and enjoyed lunch overlooking the Neckar valley. So we are taking away heaps of good memories and of course... two Heidelberger student kisses, a local chocolate speciality :-)

University Karzer

2010-09-15T11:16:00.005+02:00

During our stay in Heidelberg I learnt that the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg is in fact the oldest university in Germany, but only the third oldest university after Prague and Vienna that was founded in the Holy Roman Empire. The University of Heidelberg will celebrate its 625th anniversary next year and started preparing for it already.We took the opportunity and visited the old auditorium as well as the legendary old Karzer. It was quite interesting to the these detention rooms where students were punished. They were incarcerated there - hence the German word Karzer.
However, these rooms only started off as lock-ups and later on became a 'must' for every student. Students practically celebrate their incarceration and decorated the walls with poems and drawings for future students.

Technical Museum Sinsheim

2010-09-14T03:35:00.005+02:00

Much to my dad's and Ian's enjoyment we visited Europe's largest privately own technical museum - the Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim. There are over 3.000 exhibits on 50.000 m² - cars, tanks, chain saws, you name it! This also includes two walk-in supersonic passenger aircrafts, the Concorde and the Tupolew TU-144. Another walk-in aircraft even had a slide that led down into the building beneath the air plane.
Our ticket also included a 3D movie on a gigantic screen measuring 22 x 27m! We chose Hubble 3D and watched a couple of brave astronauts doing maintenance work on the Hubble telescope but it actually felt like they were just next to us.

Philosophenweg - Philosopher's Path

2010-09-13T11:05:00.002+02:00

Together with my parents we drove down to Heidelberg for a short family trip and Ian joined us there today. Heidelberg is a beautiful old German town which attracts 3.5 million visitors each year. The city wasn't destroyed during the war and the view from the old castle down into the valley is gorgeous.
We also walked along the Philosophenweg, which is listed in every travel book, and enjoyed views of the old town and the old bridge.

10 Year School Reunion

2010-09-12T10:56:00.003+02:00

It is great to be back in Germany and even better to schedule our visit with my 10th school reunion. My old class mates organised a 'guided tour' through our old school followed by a pub dinner in one of the neighbouring villages and even some of our former teachers came and joined us. To short cut the usual question and answer process the organisers prepare different stickers - one with a pair of wedding rings, one with a blue and red dummy.
One or two girls 'acquired' already all three of these stickers, however, most had only one or two or none of these stickers. Some of us hadn't changed at all and looked and behaved like they were still 18 ;-) whereas others had changed quite a bit or put on weight. A large number of my school mates hadn't moved far from their home town or returned back after studies/apprenticeships. One of the exceptions is a guy who is about to quit his old live in Germany and to start a new live in Australia. We exchanged details and I wished him the best of luck!
It was a very interesting night and great to see so many of my old school mates again after 10 years! We talked and laughed about the good old days and listened curiously to each others paths of life. Looking forward to the next school reunion in about 10 years ;-)

Family Trip to the Dornburger Schlösser

2010-09-11T10:46:00.001+02:00

Being back home also means spending some quality time with my family. So we spontaneously decided to drive to the nearby Dornburger Schlösser where we had lunch on the sunny terrace overlooking the valley and enjoyed a leisurely walk through the park and along the castle walls.

Back Home Soon

2010-09-08T10:39:00.000+02:00

It is about 28h from leaving our home in Perth to the door steps of my parents home back in Germany. But autumn / spring is a good time to travel since there are no drastic climatic changes that we have to deal with - just 6h time difference.
So within less than 48h I will be back in good old Germany! And our travel diary is already pack to the top with visits, appointments, a school reunion and an 80th birthday party.

Our New Silk Tree

2010-09-06T12:57:00.000+02:00

We picked up our tree on Sunday and I did some preparations so we could plant it on Sunday. These preparations included digging a hole, 1m wide and 60cm deep, which was bloody hard work especially with the number of big boondies I dug out.After the hole was dug we put in some agricultural pipe so we can deep water the tree later on.
Next 100 litres of sheep manure mixed with sand.And there you go - our new Persian Silk Tree. But we hope that this stick is going to grow leaves soon, and no, the electricity pole in the back is not part of the trunk ;-)

Building a wall is like baking a cake

2010-09-05T13:46:00.001+02:00

After we poured the foundations last weekend it was time to lay the bricks to build our new garden bed walls. It was a first time for both of us but I reckon we did quite well. Ian was actually quite impressed with my first attempts of laying bricks.Again we prepared the foundation, laid out the bricks and Ian set up the string line to make sure we would lay the bricks level.
Next Ian mixed the mortar and then we were ready to start laying bricks.The mortar was actually quite creamy and fluffy, a bit like mouse au chocolate and laying the bricks was really just like making a gingerbread house for Christmas. Only the bricks were heavier than the gingerbread pieces and mortar was used instead of icing. Once I got the hang of it it wasn't to difficult.
After the bricks were laid it was time to render them the next day. Ian mixed up the render and we were ready to slap it on :-) Again it was a bit like putting on icing on a cake with pretty much the same problems involved. If the icing is to thin it will run off the wall and if you put too much of it on at once it might fall off. I found laying bricks easier than rendering but I think overall we did quite well considering it was our first built and rendered wall.

3D Pompeii

2010-09-02T12:45:00.001+02:00

I accompanied Ian to a work function at the WA Museum currently exhibiting "A Day in Pompeii". One of the feature of the Pompeii exhibition was 'A spectacular immersive 3D theatre [that] will allow visitors to experience the dramatic eruption of Vesuvius that wiped out this amazing city.'
Well... (almost) the only thing 3D was the writing "8am", "10am",... shown between each short scene. Overall the movie was ok, but I wouldn't call it spectacular and it wasn't really necessary to make it a 3D movie since the field of vision didn't change throughout the whole eight minutes showing the same houses in each scene.
The exhibition itself was much better showing a range of recovered pieces from Pompeii with heaps of information and stories about daily life almost 2000 years ago.

Spa Bath MacGyver

2010-08-31T12:38:00.000+02:00

Our spa bath is installed for over a year now but I still CAN'T USE IT! No, this is not a complaint, it would just be nice to have a bath during winter because I won't need a hot bath during summer.
The only thing missing is the connection from the spa pump to the actual bath. But because the room under the sink where the pump is going to sit is limited, this is a rather fiddly and not straight forward job Ian avoided so far.
So I went to a couple of hardware and pool shops trying to find an easy solution to our problem. And I found it today!! I found a 40mm flexible, pressure rated PVC pipe which we (hopefully) just glue into either side, the pump and the bath, and because it is flexible it should work nicely under our sink. Fingers crossed!

Tree Shopping

2010-08-29T12:19:00.005+02:00

Since we had to chop down our lovely Tipuana Tipu a couple of weeks ago we were trying to find a new tree that would replace the old one. This task turned out to be more difficult than expected because we had a rather long list of requirements - a smallish tree, fully deciduous (not semi deciduous like our old tree), no weed, no fruit that could stain the lime stone pavers, no invasive roots, reasonable fast growing, a tree and leaf shape we like,...

So we looked at the following trees:
Golden Rain Tree - apparently a weed
Liquidamber - too big, invasive roots
Jacaranda - too big
Mop Top Robinia - produces suckers with thorns on
Chinese Tallow Tree - turns out to be a weed
Golden Shower Tree, Chinese Elm - only semi-deciduous

The list goes on and go. But we finally compromised on a Persian Silk Tree - a small, fast growing deciduous tree which we both liked. We chose our tree today and will pick it up and plant it next weekend.

The Big Concrete Pour

2010-08-28T09:59:00.007+02:00

Thanks to our great mates, Ian's preparations and the ConcreteTaxi we poured the garden wall footings and the footing for our future water tank within one hour.
These are the engineers marvelling at the concrete taxi and waiting for the first wheelbarrows to be filled with freshly mixed concrete ready to pour.
Once we finished levelling it off we put our initial into the still wet concrete for generations to remember ;-)

John Butler in Freo

2010-08-27T09:38:00.003+02:00

The John Butler Trio was playing at the Freo Arts Centre again after I saw them for the first time there in January 2008. And again a great live concert! We enjoyed a picnic dinner and kept sitting and laying on our rugs for the entire concert - just like half of the audience. It was such a relaxing atmosphere and the song "Ocean" is still one of my favourite. The guitar playing skills required for this one are just incredible! But have a look yourself...

The Graduate

2010-08-26T09:12:00.002+02:00

After I finally and officially graduated Ian told me not to plan anything for tonight because he would have a surprise for me - how exciting! So the only thing I wanted to know is whether I could wear my new dress! And I was even more excited when he said yes!
So this is me showing off my new dress that I wore tonight. Ian took me out for dinner in the city and we went to His Majesty's theatre afterwards to watch the pre-premiere of the stage play "The Graduate", adopted from the movie with the same name.
I haven't been to the theatre to watch a play for far too long! I really enjoy the theatre and especially in this production was fantastic. I loved how a simple stage design transformed into different rooms and settings with only a few pieces of furniture and a couple of accessories. The actors were great, too, especially Jerry Hall, who played Mrs Robinson. At one stage she actually took off all her clothes and I have to admit that she looks pretty good for being in her mid fifties. I wish I can still wear this dress in twenty years time or so.

I got one :-)

2010-08-24T09:10:00.001+02:00

Trailer Lunch

2010-08-23T08:51:00.006+02:00

Another busy weekend... Ian had built a form work in January last year which our builder never used to make the concrete foundations. However, we modified them a bit and can now use them for our garden wall foundations. So we are almost ready now for the big concrete pour net weekend!
On Sunday I made a quick bacon, eggs and mushrooms for lunch and the trailer was the ideal place at the time to have it. Ian put a timber plank down and we sat on a couple of milk crates in front of the trailer enjoying our lunch and watching he people walking past our drive way :-)

Meet Fester

2010-08-21T08:26:00.001+02:00

This is Fester, our new guard dog for the weekend; we are looking after him while Ian's brother is over east. And after taking him for a good long walk this afternoon we got a tiny glimpse of the rather huge dog community here. It seems like every man and his dog (literally) is out there going for a walk.
So this must be quite an easy way of getting to know your neighbours and your neighbour dogs. Fester, being a new dog in town, immediately sniffed every dog out while the dog owners started a small talk.
The other thing that was quite novel to me is picking up a smelly, dark brown, soft and still warm turds after your dog. I don't mind it that much I am just wondering who trained who ;-)

Bikini in the Courtyard

2010-08-19T08:21:00.000+02:00

I just had my annual skin check to confirm that everything is fine. But my GP took the opportunity to also recommended a blood test as a general check up (and to make a bit more money ;-)). Anyway, I just picked up the results and I am as healthy as it gets! My LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio is 2.2 which is half of the average (the lower the number the better). The only value that wasn't that good was vitamin D and I learnt now that sunlight is the main source of vitamin D which is then produced in our skin. The tricky bit here in Australia though is that I was also told to avoid direct sun to lower my risk of skin cancer. So the solution to this is only 10min but FULL sun exposure each day which means jumping around in the courtyard wearing a bikini ;-) So, got to go now changing into my bikini...

More Toys

2010-08-17T05:58:00.001+02:00

About one month ago we picked up our brand new 3D TV! And to complement the TV our free BluRay player and two more sets of glasses just arrived today. And this BluRay player is not just a player, it is also half a web browser with which we can watch youtube videos, view flickr images, update your facebook status or wirelessly connect to our personal computers and hard drives to view the images from our last trip. Pretty cool but not sure how often we are going to use these features... The main thing, though, is that the BluRay player also plays BluRays and DVDs and our first 3D home movie experience was pretty good, too.