2006 - a year in review

A quick reflection on the year gone by in the life of the SRF...

John and Shari started it with our Paris branch,

My Mum started it with a helicopter ride,
Margaret gave us all a time out from summer warmth.
Bron came back to us,
There was an engagement,

2006 - a year in review (cont)

Mattess spread himself around the place,

I nicked off too.
We wintered at the doggies
and caught a little mid year sun at Bowls.
We gave Margaret a good Henning
And kicked off a season of Futsal.

2006 - a year in review (cont)

John went to the northern hemisphere,
I hovered closer to the equator
and then there was a wedding.
I checked in on Paris branch,
Shari got to work and the Tangara girls celebrated 10 years out.
Trivia wins were think and close between.
Margaret knew what it was to have food love you back,
and another wedding.

Happy New Year SRF!

HAPPY NOODLEY BIRTHDAY!!!

Hope you're having a fabulous day!

Thrusday Dad Joke.

Late last Saturday night; a young chap was walking home from a club. It was a cold, wet, windy evening, and he was tired and freezing. Most of the streetlights in the area were broken, and the silence was only broken by the occasional sound of a stray cat sifting through a dustbin.
Then suddenly he heard a strange noise.......
BUMP........ BUMP........ BUMP........

Startled by this, he turned, and to his amazement, through the driving rain, he saw the faint outline of a large box turning into his road.
BUMP........ BUMP........ BUMP........

He froze to the spot, he couldn't believe his eyes, as the box approached from the shadows, he was able to make out its shape more clearly.... It was a coffin.

Not wanting anything to do with this, he put his head down and started walking briskly home.
BUMP........ BUMP........ BUMP........

He could feel the coffin gaining on him, he started walking faster...........
BUMP,BUMP....... BUMP,BUMP....... BUMP,BUMP........

The coffin was closing with his every step, he started to jog, but he heard the coffin speed up after him......
BUMP........BUMP...BUMP... BUMP........BUMP...BUMP... BUMP........BUMP...BUMP...

He started to sprint, but so did the coffin .......
BUMP...BUMP...BUMP...BUMP..... BUMP...BUMP...BUMP...BUMP..... BUMP...BUMP...BUMP...BUMP.....

Eventually he made it to his front door, but he knew the coffin was only seconds behind. Fumbling around in his pocket, he pulled out his keys, his hand trembling, he managed to open the lock, he dived inside slamming the front door behind him.

He shot into his front room, and slumped into his comfy chair. Suddenly there was a loud crash, as the coffin smashed its way through the front door. The force of the impact broke the lock off the coffin allowing the lid to swing freely on its rusty hinges as it continued its chase.....
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...

In horror the young lad fled again, as fast as his shaking legs could take him he bolted upstairs to the bathroom and locked the door........
BUMP...SCREECH...HOP...BUMP...SCREECH...HOP...
BUMP...SCREECH...HOP...BUMP...SCREECH...HOP...
BUMP...SCREECH...HOP...BUMP...SCREECH...HOP...

The coffin again gave chase up the stairs, across the landing and launched itself at the bathroom door. With an almighty smash, the bathroom door flew off its hinges.....
The coffin stood in the doorway, then started to approach the young terrified lad.
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...

In a last ditch attempt to save his skin, he reached for his bathroom cabinet......
He grabbed a bar of Imperial Leather soap and threw it at the coffin.........still it came ........
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...

He grabbed his can of Lynx deodorant and threw it .....still it came
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...

He grabbed his first aid kit and threw it ......still it came......
BUMP...SCREECH...BUMP...SCREECH...

He grabbed some Benalin cough mixture and threw it........
Then the coffin stopped.

Just being neighbourly

A Singapore man faces a possible jail term for freeloading off his neighbours wireless Internet says the SMH, now that's not something any of us would consider doing is it?

GOOOOOOOOOOONE!

After nearly 4 years, today I said goodbye to MSDA!

Thank the Lord I'm outta there!

Tipping the taxi driver (as a last FU to the corporate beast) on cabcharge: $10
Emptying my car of promo material to keep me stocked up for years in pens: free

Systematically phoning every representative, manager, marketer and so on and poach as many as I can? Priceless!

So as a little housekeeping note. Please do not call me on my mobile anymore. I will get a temporary number set up and will let you know what it is when that happens. Also I will no longer be the designated driver...unless someone lets me drive their car....or until I get my new one.

So long to the free ride....hello to sanity!

Happy Birthday day Shazza

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. happy birthday dear shazzzzzaaaaa. happy birthday to you.

It's on like donkey kong.

5th, 6th and 7th of Jan - Wollombi

As I am on holidays I'm just going to assume everyone is ;) How about:

Head up Thurday night and meet there for Dinner at the pub in Wollombi and drive to the house together, as it is a little hard to find.



Friday - Laze at the house (and any Friday arrivals can rock up). Eat/play some board games/watch matt sleep.



Satuday - The Hunter Valley for a bit of a drink and then dinner down there too.
Sunday - Bit of a relax and head home.

How does that all sound?

The details ( From last time)
There are two bedrooms with beds (bags one), bathroom, large living room and a kitchen. There is also a large area of grass and a big undercover balcony. So you can
1) if your quick and share the bed with someone, bags the bed
2) Sleep in the lounge room with whatever you bring up with you
3) Camp under the balcony
4) Camp outside.
So there should be plenty of room for all.

BTW1 the last 6km is dirt track so if you are worried about driving on it, car pool with someone with a work car that they have to return soon anyway ;) Shari's car has made it OK, so everyone should be fine though.
BTW2 The place is on tank water and solar power. The powers not a big deal, we should be fine but you can't have 8 showers a day.
BTW3 Matts smells.

In So Far:
John
Shari
Margs
Flit
Sarah (Friday)
Noodle (Friday)
Matt

Oh Christmas tree!

Well my duties for today are accomplished! I have finished my Christmas shopping and now our tree doesn't look like it was decorated by a sheltered workshop! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas......
...complete with real yummy sweet pepperminty candy canes!

You little Rippa!

Monday Wash up

The weeks leading up to Christmas are always hectic, and this week was no exception! I draw your attention to the weekend we have just passed! Friday night started out with dinner and drinks at the Oakes to celebrate Noodle's 1/4 of a century! Aww he think's he's people!
Saturday day brought Christmas tree shopping and a manual driving lesson! Getting the tree was easy enough (I just let Flit do it!) and boy is it a fine specimen....we both agreed though that our decorations leave alot to be desired, so in the spirit of our new life together I am going to revamp our tree's look too! hmmm...when will I get a chance to do this?....umm....I know! I'll just do it today! It's not like I'm doing anything else! (For Jenny's info: I resigned last week and am now stuffing around doing everything else but work for the remainder of my notice).
...now on to the manual driving lesson.....hated every minute of it! Will not be learning to drive Flit's car! Will happily exist on public transport for the next few weeks till I buy a new car! Will not be talked in to trying it again! EVER!....so there!

Saturday night brought a fabulous party, (complete with pre-party calendar shoot...I hope you're all inspired to get your personal shots in soon!) some silly costumes......some romance......and a mixture of silly costumes and romance...
we warmed that house good! and of course helped Shari celebrate her 26th in style too!

Sunday saw us drive out to Coogie to say a fond farewell to Nikki and Trent who are heading off on the 5th January to start a new adventure in Hong Kong! Good luck to them.....totally scary, but also very exciting and brave!

So now it's back to Monday...only 7 more sleeps till Santa comes!!!!! Woohoo!!

A blind man enters a Ladies Bar by mistake. He finds his way to a barstool and orders a drink. After sitting there for awhile, he yells to the bartender,"Hey, you wanna hear a blonde joke?" The bar immediately falls absolutely quiet. In a very deep, husky voice, the woman next to him says, "Before you tell that joke, sir, I think it is just fair - giving that you are blind - that you should know five things:

1 - The bartender is a blonde girl.

2 - The bouncer is a blonde girl.

3 - I'm a 6 feet tall, 160 LB. blonde woman with a black belt in karate.

4 - The woman sitting next to me is blonde and is a professional weightlifter.

5 - The lady to your right is a blonde and is a professional wrestler.

Now think about it seriously, Mister. Do you still wanna tell that joke? The blind man thinks for a second, shakes his head, and declares,

"Nah, ......................................................

Not if I'm gonna have to explain it five times."

And a random photo:

What a Great Photo!

This is what santa gives to naughty boys for christmas!

I was sent this photo as part of an email, i thought it was great and so i will share it with you.

Next SRF event

What: Noodley Birthday Drinks!

Why: Matten is trying to catch up to us!
When: Friday 15 December, 8pm
Where: The Oaks, Neutral Bay (Main pub 8pm for dinner and bevies, Mannix Room 9:30pm till 11pm for pool.)
Who: All and sundry

Tuesday washup (just for a change!)

After a rather exhausting trip to Auckland for the Corporate end year review (read: Chistmas Junket) I spent rather a quiet saturday tucked away eating Chocolate and watching crap tv...mmmmm heaven! Sunday was my lovely nephew Xavier's 1st Birthday....can't believe he is already 1!

and just in case you wanted to see his big brother too (Michael will be 3 in March)

Great to sit around and eat like a pig and laugh at silly family hijinks.

After that I headed to the House of Chicken for a FEAST! Noodle cooked it up and YUM! after a beer from a deodorant bottle, G'Nick gave us a fashion parade.

This is what he is wearing to his Christmas party (theme: the oscars...so he goes as Bijork! only Good.....)
And here are the baldy's in pink shot from the same evening. Ha!


Monday rolled around and Hip Hip Hooray! My lovely boy came home to me! I headed out to work briefly (to resign) and headed back home to have some lunch and do some shopping with Hubby.

Monday worked out wonderfully and now I have 4 weeks of complete bludgery while I wait out my notice! Damn January is gonna hit me hard!! Can't wait!

meh...

mmmmmm convenient

And usefull booze science

Don't let that air disaster get you down. Take control of the situation.

Moonlight Cinema back on!

session guide here

Anyone fancy a night out? Zoolander? Napoleon Dynamite? The Rocky Horror Picture Show?

Oh and since I'll be away tomorrow...

Booooowwwwwllllled Shane

Australia has gone 2-0 up in the most anticipated Ashes series of the modern era. Brilliant efforts from Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting and a horrendous collapse by England on the final day allowed Australia to move to an unexpected win by 6 wickets. The Poms will struggle to win or draw the series from here. Sweet.

Birdy

Ha! I found this bird outside my house yesterday afternoon. I have no idea what kind of bird it is, but it was quite small and very fluffy and soft. I think it fell out of its nest, coz when I picked it up and tried to move it, it attempted to fly, but smacked into the car instead! It wasn't hurt so I decided it would be ok to laugh.



It was gone this morning when I went out to look for it.

Monday wash up

The most obvious thing to write about in this wash up is the wedding on Friday night (well, the reception, the wedding was on Tuesday) But the Friday was when the SRF turned out in full force to celebrate with Richard and Suzy!

It was very hot on Friday night, but that didn't hamper the fun OR the dancing! We burned that floor good!

Since Bron already posted some photos, I thought I'd just post a few choice shots. At some point during the night other people were taking photos with my camera and damn they took some golden moments! Not naming any names!

Anyway, enjoy...
First, the happy couple







The group (minus the bride)

Now for some not so glamorous ones....
A very obvious dial-a-wreck-a-photo

We told you to put your hands in your own belts and look manly!

That's better!

A three way bridal toast and a cat's bum...

and finally...burnin' that floor....

...or at least using sarah to polish it!