Oh na na whats my name?

Get ready to be extremely jealous of me!

Its ok I'll wait. Take your time honestly I'll just play with this pen.

Ok ready? Good. Now, who is heading to the Gold Coast Convention Centre tonight for one night only?
I'll give you a couple of hints..
1.  She's super sexy
2. She's now 'Rated R'
3. She's from Barbados
And last clue,
4. She looks like this:

Yes! I am going to see the super talented and super sexy Rihanna tonight! My girlfriends and I have been looking forward to this for weeks now and it is finally here!

But wait, it gets better. Guess who's the supporting act?

Far East Movement. You may have heard of a couple of their songs. Just a little tune called Like a G6 or Rocketeer.
Very popular in the clubs at the moment and on [V] Hits.

It isn't very often that the supporting act is as awesome as the main act.

Just quickly before I go, I went to the movies the other day and saw 127 Hours starring James Franco, and I think everyone should at least make the effort to see this movie.

Just beware if you get queasy easily that it is a bit graphic at the end. And it's based on a true story.

Enjoy!

Loz
xxx

Photos thanks to Google Images

Jungle Fever

Hello and welcome back!

It feels like ages since I've posted anything.

Well this week has been pretty exciting for me. As you know, (and if you don't, firstly -shame on you for not reading my blog! And secondly -just pop back and read my last entry if your like WTF is she on about??) this last week I went down to Coffs Harbour for some Army training.

The bus trip was brutal. 6 whole hours. It is usually only about 4 or 5, but we had to make a stop in Lismore and change buses because there was more of us down there and the bus we were taking was down there too or something I don't really know.

Luckily I did manage to get some sleep on the way down which killed a little time, then most of the rest of the trip was me really needing to pee but being too scared to ask if we could stop, and feeling really sick and trying (successfully might I add) to stop myself from throwing up all over the nice girl in front of me.

Oh, did I mention that I was disgustingly hungover and sleep deprived from the night before?
I know, not a great start right? Let me just start by blaming my mother. I was planning to have a nice early night, make sure I had packed everything I needed and get a good night's sleep.

Instead, I went to the movies with mum (saw No Strings Attached with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher - very very funny! And Natalie Portman is fantastic as always) and then my little sister Courtney calls me and begs me to go out clubbing with her and her boyfriend Jake. I said no at first, but then mum gave me the old 'Your only 21 and you can sleep when your dead and stop being so responsible and boring etc etc blah blah blah' speech. Needless to say, it kinda worked, so I decided to go.

I had a few drinks and ended up only having about 3 hours sleep, then had to get up (still feeling drunk btw) and pack and go to meet the bus.

My week, although it started off pretty crappy with me being hungover and sick (I know, self inflicted. I don't expect your sympathy haha) was pretty awesome and I had a great time. I am now officially competent in Senior First Aid and can Navigate my way through a thick forest (day or night- yea that's right!) with just a compass, a map, a pencil and a protractor! Don't act like your not impressed.

The field experience for the Navigation - if I'm being completely honest - was crap at the time.
It was hot and I kept falling over and getting hit in the face with Lantana and poked in the eye with sticks and stepping in smelly creeks (oh little side note, I got a leech and it is disgusting!)
All up, I think we spent about 16 hours smashing our way through 'dense vegetation' and by the end of it we all smelt like a dirty sweaty swamp. Lovely.

Looking back, however, I can see all the good bits and conveniently block out all the crap bits (like nearly crying when I fell over and nearly twisted my ankle in the middle of the night in the middle of a National Forest) and laugh about the things that seemed so shitty at the time.

I made some great friends (Sando, Billy and Yogi) and am looking forward to catching up with them soon!

And, alas, I have some bad news for you. I will be going to Kapooka (Basic Training) on the 2nd of March for 4 whole weeks and will have no phone or internet access for the majority of the time so I will be unable to update you on my progress.

Good news is I'm going with Pye and Yogi. If nothing else, it will be good to see some familiar faces around.

Loz
xxx

Spot the difference

Has anyone else noticed how similar Greg Inglis and Carlos Solis from Desperate Housewives look?

No? Well never fear dear readers as I have come prepared with pictures to support my crazy claim.

Behold!

Greg Inglis

And...

Carlos Solis.

Do you see it? I mean, imagine Carlos all sweaty and slightly less facial hair. It's like they're the same person!

Also, this will probably be my last entry for about a week.
Hey now it's ok don't cry! I'll be back posting in no time you won't even miss me!

The reason for this absence is that on Sunday I am heading down to Coffs Harbour for the first stage of my training, and have been advised that I will have VERY limited access to my phone or internet.

Stay tuned early next week for my training diaries!

Loz
xxx

Hey now you're an All-Star!

This week has been super exciting at work!

We have the one and only Indigenous All Stars staying at our hotel all this week as they get ready for their big game this Saturday night at Skilled Park.

One thing that is definitely cool about working here is that we get all the NRL and AFL teams that are playing our Gold Coast teams staying here, which means in footy season, there is pretty much a constant stream of big burly footy players walking around the lobby.

It's a welcome change in an otherwise monotonous day, seeing semi-famous people wandering around or coming over for a chat.

It is a bit embarrassing when you can't remember their names though. I mean, in recent years, I have started following NRL more and more, but I can only recognise my favourite players, or the most famous ones. And not all of them are nice.

Okay, to be fair, most of them are lovely and very friendly considering they have a constant stream of people asking for their autograph and photos etc, but there is a small number of players who have let it all go to their heads a little too much. You know who you are..

All in all, it does make the hotel more interesting! Oh lool, here they come now!

Loz
xxx

Suit Up!

Can anyone guess what I'll be doing on Tuesday night?

I bet you $5 that you can't!

How about you? Care to take a guess? Oh, so close, but sorry no cigar!
Yes, you up the back? Ghost Hunting? Really? Uh, no.

Okay seriously, stop guessing, your just embarrassing yourselves. Especially you. You know who you are...

I know, the suspense is killing you right? Well, because I am such a nice person, I am not going to make you suffer anymore! (Super nice of me huh?)

I am, in fact, heading all the way down to Lismore to get fitted for my very own Army uniform. That's right. They will have my name on them and everything! Aaahhh so excited!!

In other news, the last few days have been pretty exhausting to be honest. I have been hitting the gym pretty hard lately to try to get back up to scratch with my fitness, and this 30 degree heat is not helping!

It actually really surprised me how bad my fitness had gotten in the last month or so, but I am back on track now and feeling sore, but good!

My air conditioner has been out of order for the last couple of days, which has been torture. Especially at night. It is just way too hot to sleep! We are getting it fixed tomorrow hopefully, so only one more night of feeling like we are having a sleep over with the Devil. My little sister Courtney has graciously surrendered our one pedestal fan to me (which I love her for) but it does not compare to air conditioning!

I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank my trainer Marcello, who is honestly the only reason I passed my fitness test in the first place and is so good with keeping me motivated!

We have been friends for a while now and I was actually his first ever client when he qualified as a personal trainer. He makes training fun (well, as fun as working your ass off at the gym can be) and is a really great friend.

Thank you Marcello!

Loz
xxx

Update

I have finally got some news regarding my First Aid/Navigaton training in 11 days!

After impatiently waiting for the mailman daily and being repeatedly disappointed by the lack of mail, I decided at about 7am this morning to just call my base in Tweed Heads and see what the hell was going on, but to wait until at least 9am so I didn't seem too eager (haha yea right).

It was a very long 2 hours waiting for 9am, but, as always, 9am finally made an appearance, and I called my base. The man was very helpful and said that they had only recieved the final information yesterday and that I must be psychic (uh, really? Psychic? Try impatient!).

So in 11 days, I am to present myself in Tweed Heads, where I will be kitted out in my very own uniform and sent on my way on a bus with 20 other recruits to Coffs Harbour for 5 days of intense training.

Needless to say, I am pretty excited! I've never been to Coffs Harbour, not that I'll be doing any sightseeing!

Loz
xxx

Ah, sweet failure.

Yes you read right. I have had a minor setback with my dress.

Who thought hemming could be so deceptive? I am feeling a little silly because, like an idiot, I didn't double check that the length was right before I cut off the excess and again failed to check before sewing the new hem.

Damn you hem, damn you! Ah I feel like such a rookie! Oh well. It was bound to happen sooner or later, and I have now learnt a very valuable lesson. For the love of God, check your hems before getting scissors involved. And, if not for our holy Lord, then please, think of the children!

Anyway, the dress is now on its way to (hopefully) becoming quite a nice top. I am trying really hard to not stuff it up even more than I already have. Courtney actually gave me the idea, so as soon as I finish it, I'll post a picture of how it turns out. If it survives. Cross your fingers and send up a prayer to the sewing Gods for me!

But, my skirt remains intact and blissfully unaware of how lucky it is that the hem was the right length to begin with.

Behold! My skirt! I love this material! It used to be a curtain. Can you believe that? I am starting to realise the downside of getting all my material at the Red Cross and Salvo's stores. Once you use all the material, it is very unlikely that you will be able to get any more exactly the same. Which, I guess, is what makes everything you make such a one-off piece. It also makes it more devastating when something special you wanted to make or were saving material for doesn't work out.

This is what recycled fashion is all about and sometimes you have to make sacrifices and take risks to gain something great.

In other news, My friend Abby has asked me to make a cake for her son James for his 5th birthday this month.

I am super excited because this will be the first paid job I've ever had for making a cake! I have made heaps for my department's work parties and going away parties etc, but I haven't ever been paid for making them.

It will not only be my first paid cake, but also my first attempt at making a carved cake (this is a cake that is literally carved into the shape of something else). We have chosen to go with a car. All boys like cars, right? And it seems doable for a first go. I even found a car/cake making tutorial on the net. What would we do without the internet? It is so darn useful!

This is the car we have chosen.

If you don't know cars, this little beauty is a 2007 Dodge Challenger. I am not a big fan of cars. I have to get my dad to check my oil and coolant for me, but I know when I see a car whether or not I like it and man, I really like this one. The impression that I get from musclecarspecs.com, is that this car is not really designed for the everyday dropping kids to school and doing the shopping.

This car is made for racing, providing such useful information as quarter mile times, overall top speed and top speed for each gear! Now that is something that every muscle car should be equipped with.

Hopefully James appreciates the beauty of this car in its glorious cake form as much as I do with just a photo.

Stay tuned as I will be posting photos of the finished product when I make it.

Loz
xxx

Just call me Productive!

Good Afternoon!

I have been quite the busy bee this last couple of days!

After almost 2 weeks of no sewing, I have thrown myself back into it by churning out a few fabulous little projects all in one day! Granted it was a very LONG day, but still, I am really happy with what I achieved!

On Friday I had a day off from work and decided to get creative and finally make my first ever piece of clothing. Up until then, I have only ever attempted a few little things like bags (which, by the way, I rock at!)

The first thing I made, just to get me back in 'The Zone', was a red and yellow bag for my little sister Courtney. It has little owls which were hand-sewn by yours truly - it took me like 2 hours! She loves it and has now requested a beach bag. I then decided to suck it up and finally make something wearable.

I have been putting it off for a while now, mostly because I was pretty certain that I would fail horribly and scar myself for life. Possibly even throw my beloved Godfrey (my sewing machine. Given to me by a friend, it is an ancient machine that probably weighs 50kg and was made by Godfrey's - before they started with the vaccuum cleaners) off the balcony.

Anyway, I didn't fail and Godfrey is still with us. When I was in Sydney, I picked up this great book with patterns and step by step instructions with some really cute designs and, thankfully, difficulty ratings ranging from 1 (easy as pie) to 5 (uh, are you sure you want to pick this one?)

I decided to start off with a skirt with a difficulty rating of 1. Safe bet right? never sewn clothing before in my life. Don't really know the 'lingo' and all the sewing terms. Like what the hell is a bias and how do you baste clothes? Isn't that what you do to turkeys?? Well I figured it all out and, let me tell you, it is really not that hard and if you just take it one step at a time (and call your mother whenever your stuck) then it is not as scary as it looks.

All in all, the skirt was really easy. Like, really easy. It was one piece and all I had to do was sew up the side and hem it and add elastic at the waist. It gave me a bit more confidence that maybe I had underestimated my sewing cababilities after all. So I went with a dress next with a difficulty rating of 3.

I must admit, the dress was a little harder, but in a good way. I didn't finish it until 2.30am, but it was worth it! I love it - its super comfortable, although a little big in the arm area and I have to take the bottom up like 20cm (way too long!)

Check back here in the next day or two to see photos. I will post some once I have fixed the hem and the sides of the dress so it fits better.

Loz
xxx

Awesome News!

Yes that's right I have some totally awesome news!

But first, Happy Australia Day everyone! Hopefully the majority of you aren't stuck at work like I am and instead enjoying yourselves on this beautiful sunny day at the beach or by the pool.

Anyway, now that the formalities are out of the way, moving on to way more important things!

My News!!

Ok, so if you have at least glanced at my 'About Me' box, you will know that I have recently joined the Army Reserves! Well.. I finally got my first training dates YAY! And for anyone who knows me, they will know that this is not only extremely exciting, but also quite a relief.
Not that I was worried or anything.
It's just that everything takes so long and you don't really get told anything until the last minute and, for me, that is really annoying because I love being organised and having all the information I need about things like this.

Moving on..

My training dates for First Aid/Navigation have been set for 13th-18th February (That's next month) and, keeping with the 'lack of communication' trend that seems to be so popular (at least where I'm concerned) I have no idea what this involves. I don't know if they are sending me somewhere, or if I just have to show up every day. I don't even know if I have to supply my own stationery.

The one thing I thought was a little odd, though, was that they asked me to confirm my training dates via text message (also the first communication I have had from them since before Christmas). But hey, whatever. At least something is finally happening. I was getting worried that they had forgotten about me.

I am apparently getting sent some information via snail mail, so I am impatiently waiting for its arrival. Should be by the end of this week or beginning of next week.

In the meantime, I am keeping myself VERY entertained with Damn You Auto Correct!

Loz
xxx

Here's to you, Steve!

Hands up if you have an iPhone!
Okay. Wow that many huh?
Lets try another question.
Hands up anyone who has been a victim of the stupid predictive text on iPhones?
Ahaha! I thought so!

My friend Catherine sent me this really funny email today . It is a site that is dedicated to documenting all the hilarious stuff ups that people have come across using predictive text.

I was quite literally crying I was laughing so hard!

Although I don't believe in favouritism, here are a couple of my favourites (there are others, but for some reason predictive text has a dirty mind, so I won't list the worst ones on here to protect the children!)

If you like these, then you will LOVE the website! Check it out HERE.

Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to Mr Steve Jobs for all the stupid little things about iPhones that annoy everyone, though not enough that we want a different phone.

Loz
xxx

The diaries of a spinster

I am starting to get the impression that my family is worried about my love life.

First of all, let me just fill you in on the basics. I live with 2 of my sisters. Vanessa, who is 2 years older than me and Courtney, who is 3 years younger. They are both happily in relationships and I am denifitely not.

I get home today from my holiday and within half an hour, Courtney is trying to set me up with some younger guy and Vanessa calls me from work and says she wants me to meet some of her boyfriends sisters friends.

To top it off, my mum thinks I should 'get out more' and not be such a 'recluse'. I am hardly a recluse. To clarify, I am just not the 'clubbing' type. I am more like the homebody type. I like hanging around at home and watching tv and movies and doing old lady type stuff, which I get paid out for all the time by my family.

I'm not really into blind dates and set ups. They feel, well, set up! I just don't like the pressure of having to try to impress someone you've only just met. Or pretend to be interested in someone when you know that there is no way you'll ever see them again and your probably wasting your time. Or, worse still, they are the ones pretending and you actually like them.

I know I'm being weird. I should stop overthinking things so much. I just needed to kind of vent I guess.

I am glad that my family loves me so much that they are trying to help me in their own little way to make me happy.

And this is why I love you, family.

Loz
xxx

Puppets, ice cream and sunshine

Hello again!
It has actually been a busy couple of days as I finish up my holiday in Sydney and get ready to head on home.

On Thursday, we went On an adventure over to Circular Quay and to The Rocks. I am in love with The Rocks. It has so much history and character in that one little suburb. All the beautiful old buildings and uneven stone pathways leading down little mysterious alleys... It's so mysterious and magical!

And how fitting that it was in this lovely place that we came across the most interesting and charming little shop that I think I've ever been to and think I will ever get the privilege of going to.

I am of course talking about 'Puppet Maker', a tiny little puppet/marionette store run out of a pokey little basement in one of the oldest buildings I've ever seen. To get to this shop, we had to walk down a very dark alley and down some skinny uneven stone steps. As soon as you walk in, you are transported immediately back to a child-like state.

It's like what I imagine walking into Willy Wonka's factory was like for Charlie. It was run by a tiny French woman and her husband. They had been there for 21 years, and they were sadly closing their store for good due to rising rent costs in the area =( luckily, (or unluckily depending on how you look at it) we discovered her caves of wonder (her words not mine. But the whole place was literally little caves joined together) and we were just in time for her closing down sale! I am ashamed to say pretty much all of my holiday spending money was exhausted in this one shop, but I am very happy with my new friends and can't wait to get them home (hopefully in one peice please Qantas baggage handlers!) and hang them up!

I got 2 little old ladies, who I have already named Hazel and Maria, a witch named Zelda, and a sweet little redhead ragdoll dressed in colorful overalls named Abbie. I could have spent way more, but I would have had to leave behind my clothes as a sacrifice in the suitcase!

We have been very lucky with the weather it has been beautiful and warm with a nice breeze every day and we have been rightfully indulgent, with ice creams almost every day.

To anyone who is a lover of the icy dairy treat, I would highly recommend Ben & Jerry's for sure.

Anyway, must be off! I have a shepards pie to cook and some serious packing to do before we leave tomorrow!

Loz
xxx

Everyone has to start somewhere.

Hello friends, family and complete strangers!

This is my first ever attempt at blogging, so please let me apologize in advance if I'm a bit rambly to begin with.

I have been delaying this moment. The moment where I finally write my very own blog. You see, for months now I have been hungrily reading blog after blog on various subjects and thinking that maybe I'd like to give it a go myself.

As Julie Powell once said, 'I can write a blog! I have thoughts!' (of course, from the move 'Julie and Julia')

To be honest, it's kind of exciting to think that maybe someday someone will accidentally happen upon my blog and find what I'm writing interesting. The thought of people I know reading this is a little less exciting and maybe a little more scary. Which is why I have put off this first blog for so long.

But here we are. My very first blog. And so it begins...

At this very moment I am on holiday with my Dad, Step-mum, youngest sister and her friend. We are staying in Manly, Sydney. I love it here it's so beautiful all the time and let me just say the public transport is really fantastic! I am now a huge fan of ferries!

My favourite part of this holiday so far has been Monday, where I spent the whole day by myself exploring a very small part of Sydney. I took the ferry to Circular Quay and from there went to Fort Denison, which is a tiny old military base in the middle of the Harbour. I could have spent all day there soaking up the sunshine and the atmosphere. I don't really know how to describe this place but I can tell you what it meant to me.

I felt safe and so deliriously happy. I know how lame that sounds, believe me. And maybe a little odd to some people. I have been dreaming about being able to join the Army for over a year now and after being accepted at the end of last year finally and then being in this place that was so full of history. I felt like I could have cried I was so happy.

Anyway, back on the ferry I went and decided to go to the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art, where they were showing an exhibition by Annie Leibovitz. Now, if there's anyone in Sydney at the moment or heading to Sydney soon, I would definitely reccomend checking this exhibit out it is worth a look even if your not really into art. I spent 3 hours in there. Seriously. 3 whole hours. I didn't mean to, but there was just so much to look at and take in!
I am not one of those people who can glance at something extraordinary and go, 'Yup okay I've seen that let's move on.'
So I stopped at every single piece and made sure I really LOOKED at it. I gave it my full attention and tool in every detail and only when I was satisfied that I hadn't missed anything, then I would move on to the next one. It was great!

That's one thing I love about going off on your own once in a while. You don't have to worry about anyone else maybe getting bored or wanting to see something else. You can spend exactly how much time you want doing whatever you want and then when your done, you can leave.

I would have loved to share Annie with someone though.

Until next time, thanks so much for stopping by and please, if you have any feedback (good or bad) I would love to hear from you!

Loz
xxx