Afraid

Day 7, Tuesday: The thing(s) you're most afraid of

Fear. 

Fox Glacier - 2011

We all fear something. The dark, heights, death, being hurt, insects, animals etc.

I fear a lot of things. I am a natural worrier. I fear my loved ones being hurt, I fear bad things happening to them. I am afraid of the dark, I am afraid of spiders (of all sizes).

One of the biggest things I fear in life is not taking the right path. I want to excel in my career, I want to travel and seek adventure. I want to have a family and be a Mother. I want to be a good Partner (someday, wife) to S. I want to be happy and I want to always better myself. I want to learn new things and experience new cultures. I want to have a good education.

When I think about all of the paths I have been faced with in life, I know they have been the right ones. But at the back of my mind I wonder what if they were the wrong ones? I fear what could have happened. What could happen.

Then I remember that our life is a journey with turns, dead ends, straight roads....and I push that fear to the back of my mind.

What do you fear?

What do you do?

Day 6, Monday: If you couldn't answer with your job, how would you answer the question, 'what do you do'?

Lake Tekapo, NZ - 2011

I think about this often and wonder what it is exactly that I am good at. What do I do apart from work. For some time I gave myself a hard time as I thought I was lazy. I questioned myself with ‘what do you fill your evenings and weekends with?’. There is no big task that I fill my time with. It is a mixture of small things that make it up.

So, apart from my 40-hour-a-week-job, I:

-      Walk my dog

-      Exercise. Go to the gym

-      Study via correspondence

-      Sew & knit

-      Read. Discover new authors and read new genres

-      I read blogs

-      I volunteer with people who have Down Syndrome

-      General house duties that everyone does

-      Visit family and friends

-      Discover new neighbourhoods around Sydney. Try new cafes and immerse myself in the area I live in

-      Spend time with S and Teddy

It doesn’t sound like a lot. But it is. I can’t do everything on the list all of the time because I just don’t have the time. I am busy and that is the way I like it.

Birthday

It was my Birthday Saturday and as always, it was a great day. I love Birthdays!

I woke up and was given strict instructions to stay in bed until S and Ted were back. They got home, S made coffee and I was asked to come downstairs, where I was greeted with this cake...for breakfast.

Following cake, I was given my gifts. A pair of leather ponte pants and a beautiful wool winter coat. We lazed around afterwards, before getting ready for lunch. I didn't know where we were going for lunch until we were walking in to the building. I love surprises and since I had chosen my Birthday gifts and knew what they were, I asked S to keep the lunch location a surprise.

He chose Gowings Bar and Grill which is the restaurant in the new QT hotel on Market Street (near the State Theatre). 

We decided to go with mains and desserts as I can never fit in a full three courses and dessert is an obvious choice for my sweet tooth. For my main, I chose the Fennel & Black Pepper Crusted Yellow Fin Tuna Steak. 

 Fennel & Black Pepper Crusted Yellow Fin Tuna Steak

Served rare, Jerusalem Artichoke Purée with a Warm Salad of Peas, Chervil and Red Onion - $44 

For his main, S chose the Tajima Full Blood Wagyu 9+ Flank Steak Northern NSW, 300g.

Tajima Full Blood Wagyu 9+ Flank Steak Northern NSW, 300g With Condiments - $54

Excuse the blurry photos of these two dishes, I didn't pull the SLR out until dessert had arrived. These mains were delicious and full of flavour. The components of the Tuna went so well together and the size of the meal was large enough to make me full but not uncomfortable. The wagyu had a perfect amount of crisp and a really amazing flavour.There was also a great selection of condiments available to go with the steak.

For dessert, there was no competition for me. As soon as I see profiteroles on the menu, the decision is made. In fact, I chose my dessert before I even looked at the mains menu. 

 Gowings Classic Profiteroles

Filled with Crème Pâtissière and Vanilla Ice-Cream, Drowned in Valrhona Dark Chocolate Sauce - $17

S chose a dish called  Apple Crumble Flavours which consisted of: Sweet & Sour Apple Empanada, Peanut Brittle, Salted Caramel Ice-Cream, Apple Pickle & Caramel Cider

 Apple crumble flavours - $19

Both desserts were so delicious. I honestly could not fault any part of our meals at all. The staff were attentive, but not in the way and they were helpful with the menu choices. 

After lunch, we had a wander around the city before heading home to have a nap and sleep off our sugar comas. 

The celebrations weren't over then though, as after we woke from our sugar coma's, my lovely friend K came over so we could head out for some drinks. We went to Jester Seeds in Newtown which is a great little cocktail bar. I'm not sure why, but Jester's is rarely full and we can always find a seat when I go there. Strange considering the other two cocktail bars in Newtown are always packed and you can hardly find standing room. It may be because it is at the other end of King St, but who knows.

We found a great seat upstairs in the 'Art Room' where we shared a bottle of wine. When I was ready to look at food again, we chose two 'share plates'. 

 Polenta chips - $8

 Bocconcini Balls - $8

Although small servings, they were a great size as neither of us were particularly hungry. 

It was a great day and I am so happy to have such wonderful people who spoil me so much!!

Day 5 - Miss Directions

Day 5, Sunday: Publicly profess your love and devotion for one of your blogger friends. What makes them great? Why do you love them? If you don't have blogger friends, talk about a real-life friend or even a family member

This was an easy prompt for me. I knew instantly who I would talk about. 

Ashleigh blogs at Miss Directions. Her blog was one of the first 'Aussie' blogs I found and I have followed it ever since. I also talk to Ash outside of blogging (though, we haven't met in person yet) and she is a really lovely, down to earth person. Her blog is very real and the way she writes is so similar to the way she talks. 

She writes about normal day to day things and life with her Partner, SJ, her love for the colour red, travels she has been on and so on. She is currently writing about her upcoming trip to Europe (I am so jealous!) so if travel is your thing, definitely head over and follow her trip.

You can read her blog here. And read more about her here.

Thanks for being so nice, Ash!