Kind of went hell for leather with my final days of leave by ramming in as much as I could, and now here I am on the final Sunday afternoon before I return, pretty much knackered out completely. 
Spent my Australia Day in full on chore mode, cleaning and polishing the house within an inch of it's life whilst I listened to the Triple J Hottest 100. It's kind of a tradition around here to listen to the entire broadcast every Australia Day, this year my vote (Redbone by Childish Gambino) came in at number 5, that's the highest that any song that I have ever voted for has been on the poll. My picks are lucky to clock the top thirty, does this mean my tastes are getting more mainstream or that Redbone was just that bloody good that everyone loved it? I am going with the latter. After bopping around and singing into various mop and duster handles for hours; Seth, Craig and I headed down to Lake Wendouree to watch the sunset over the foreshore and to see the obligatory annual fireworks display, gotta say, pretty good this year, the finale was truly banging. 
​Spent Friday binging out on movies and TV series, my final chance to burn the midnight oil and stay up until 3am watching back to back crap, god I'm gonna miss my long TV embraces when I go back to work. 
Saturday was Chinese New Year, year of the Rooster; so Helen and I got together for a serious a Yum Cha feast out in Enfield that included green tea, potluck soup, pork buns, pork and chive dumplings, prawn crackers, fish balls, spring rolls, prawn toast and prawn har gow. There was so much food that we had another go for dinner as well. And of course, we always leave room for fortune cookies. My fortune said - What we see is mainly what we look for. Unbelievable, talk about a fitting fortune given the way that this year is panning out, it may as well have said When you get everything that you want, then what do you want?
Spent the final day of my holidays with my family out at the Buninyong Winery. I am a serious advocate of this place, and have sent dozens of people out there over the years, but the service today was nothing short of shithouse. A two hour wait for pizza? I was actually really embarrassed, because this is the first time that I have chosen the venue for our family to meet, and when I say family, I mean 17 of us in total. Aunts, uncles, cousins, the lot. So yeah, I was really disappointed that they couldn't even get a pizza on the table in under two hours. And they really didn't seem too phased about it either, the owners were just chilling out having a smoke and a drink on the lawn, it was pretty weird to be honest, and they certainly weren't apologetic about making us wait for two hours! I don't think that I will ever take a large group out there again, and I know that I will never get Craig out there again, he carried on like a pork chop about the service all the way home, which made me feel even worse! A bit of a bummer really, because in spite of the crap service the food was pretty good, and the weather was beautiful, maybe they just need a bigger woodfire oven or something? Oh well, cest la vie, shit happens, not worth getting upset over a late pizza now is it? 
And that's all there is folks, the holidays have drawn to a close and the curtain has fallen. Tomorrow I return to work at 7am to attend mass and get myself right with God before the new school year begins, I cannot believe that it is all starting again already! There is never enough time, never. 

Went for a day trip out to Queenscliff this week with Zoe and Seth. We caught the ferry across to Sorrento while we were there, and while we were going across we were lucky enough to see dolphins in the sea, quite a few of them actually. A pod of them, racing through the water along side of the ferry, it was the highlight of the trip for me I think.
​The ferry is a pretty snazzy and inexpensive way to get across Port Phillip Bay, but if I had to choose a side of preference, Queenscliff would win hands down for me. I think that Queenscliff is more aesthetically pleasing and nicer to roam around in general, but I am sure that Sorrento natives would argue that point with me given the chance.
I have spent a lot of my recreational time over the past week getting shit done, I am in 'back to school' mode, finalising everything in preparation for the big return next week. Yes, we have pretty much reached the end of the holidays and all of the hoohar is just about come to an end. But I cannot say that I am not well rested, I have been away for a full month now, which is a bloody good break by anyone's standards I would imagine. 
Seth celebrated his twelfth birthday quietly, he really doesn't ever require a big fuss. I really dig that about Seth, his wants are few and he never expects anything, which makes him super easy to buy for. This year, all  he asked to do was go to a game arcade. So we went to Geelong, had fish and chips at Eastern beach, a quick spin on the ferris wheel and then over to Timezone - simple! He wanted money this year, because he is saving up to buy VR for the PS4, so he only got a couple of small things to open on the day, and he really couldn't have cared less about the gifts, he's just not worried about that kind of stuff. 
Hard to believe he is twelve and going to secondary college this year though, where the heck did that time go? He had his hair cut (finally!!) this week and I got him all kitted out in his new uniform and it just freaked me out, how did we get here so fast? Is it just me or do things go faster and faster as you get older, I thought that things were supposed to slow down as you got older, or did I just make that up? It is most definitely true, time waits for no man (or woman), you really do have to live every minute because it is just a wink. When you look back over your shoulder, doesn't it seem so fleeting? Perhaps it's just me, but considering I have kind of reached the halfway mark of my life, I would kinda like things to slow down a little now. Just a little, I'm happy for it to pass, just not in a complete blur, let's just back up a bit before we go too much further.  

It would be fair to say that I watch a shit load of movies. I don't always watch new movies though, so I don't get to the cinema as much as one would imagine. However, last year I still managed to watch about 220 movies over the course of the year, which is a pretty good effort I think, especially since I also watched about 30 TV series as well. 
In my pursuit of quality viewing, I naturally encounter some pretty dodgy shit as well, and I had more than my fair share of disappointments both at the cinema and on the couch over the past year.
​I felt that it was only fair to share my highlights and lowlights of 2016 with you, so that I may steer you in the right direction for any future viewings.
Please note that these are in no particular order.
The Best Movies of 2016:
The Hunt for The Wilderpeople
La La Land
Kubo and The Two Strings
Deadpool
The Jungle Book
The Lobster
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Finding Dory
Swiss Army Man
The Witch
The Little Prince
10 Cloverfield Lane
Midnight Special
Zootopia
The worst films I saw in 2016 (not all 2016 releases):
Assassin's Creed
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Zoolander 2
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
Nice Guys
Central Intelligence
Suicide Squad
Chappie
Anomalisa
The Dressmaker
The best movies I watched in 2016 that were not actually released in 2016 (aka. catch-up movies) :
Youth
There Will Be Blood
American Hustle
The Revenant
Sightseers
Adaptation
Raging Bull
Scarface
Apocalypse Now
Tangerine
Hateful 8
The Room
Me and Earl and The Dying Girl
Straight Outta Compton
Wages of Fear
The Skin I Live In
The Best TV Series of 2016: 
Stranger Things
Broad City
Game of Thrones
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Preacher
Twin Peaks
Haters Back Off!
Upper Middle Bogan
Love
Peaky Blinders
The Night Of
Better Call Saul
Raised by Wolves
Black Mirror
TV Series that I Tried to Endure 2016 but just couldn't:
Westworld
iZombie
Wayward Pines
​Scream Queens

So there you have it, the best and the worst of 2016 for me. Hopefully, you will be inspired to watch something on my good list, and even though the bad list stuff was shithouse to me, I know that many people will totally disagree with my choices.
In truth, I believe that all movies deserve to be seen, even the bad ones, because someone put their heart and soul into making them, so who am I say that they aren't worthy? At the end of the day, regardless of whether it's good, bad or ugly, it's all entertainment and that is never a bad thing in my mind. So with that, I will leave you with what I consider to be the most shamefully overlooked movie of 2016, a gem of a film and one that the whole family can enjoy. 

Went out on a short road trip to Great Western this week. Zoe and I were dead keen to take a tour of Seppelt Winery, one of the oldest wineries in Victoria. What a terrifically interesting visit that turned out to be, I had absolutely no idea about wine and champagne making before I went on this tour, and now, well let me tell you....I still really have no idea, but I do have some idea now! 
In all seriousness though, it really was a tremendously interesting tour and definitely one that I would recommend to anyone that is interested in learning a bit about wine and champagne making. For only $15 a head we got a 90 minute guided tour of the property, including a wander underground in the cool dark cellars - which looked eerily like the upside down in Stranger Things. And we also got free tastings after the tour of their sparkling varieties.
​They were very generous with their tasting sizes I might add, because after I had tried them all, I blew over .05 on my little portable breath-o that I cart around with me, so I had to wait around eating cheese and crackers before I could leave - which was so tough, especially since the cheese was bloody delicious. So yeah, really toughing it out I was.
Whilst I was toughing it out, I managed to buy a couple of bottles of bubbles to take home with me, one of which did not see the light of a new day, but hey, good champagne is meant to be enjoyed! Actually, now that I think about it, perhaps that was their plan all along; get me pissed, distract me with delicious cheese and then boom, I'm buying up big! Not that I mind at all, there really was no pressure to buy at all. In truth, I only bought because the samples were so damn tasty! 
So I rounded out my terrific day by having some quality time with my mum and dad, and then going with Zoe to see an absolute gem of a movie, something that is definitely worth going to the cinema for if you get the chance. Seriously, it is not very often that I say that about romance films, but I cannot deny that this was really very entertaining. 

When you get everything that you want, then what do you want?
When is enough really enough? 
At this point in my life, I really do have everything that I could possibly ever want. Perhaps I even have more than I could ever possibly need as well. This is not a bad thing, I just know that I no longer need to be on the look-out for the next best thing or trying to find stuff to make my life feel fuller, I already have all of the best things right now.  My life is full, very full. I have a fantastic life, with many of the best things in abundance.
This information may not seem very important, but it is actually extremely important, especially to me. You see, for all of my life, I have been trying to run away. I know that that sounds crazy, by I have always had this overwhelming urge to just run. Run away, escape, pack a bag and catch the nearest bus to who knows where? This longing to run away has been with me for as long as I can recall, even when I was a really small child. I clearly remember packing a green garbage bag with a jacket and my toothbrush when I was only five years old, and telling my mother that I was leaving home. She laughed and asked where I was going to go and I said to the bus stop, which she didn't laugh at but demanded that I unpack the bag and stop being such an idiot. I have felt like I have wanted to run away from my life ever since. 
​I have never had a real destination that I was trying to run to, but I have always had the undeniable desire to flee. Why? I cannot really be sure why, maybe it is just in my personality, because in spite of everything great that I have in my life now, I still feel like fleeing on occasion. This need to flee has constantly gotten quieter and quieter as the years have gone on, but until now it has never ever been completely quieted. 
Now, finally, it has been quieted within me. It has taken me almost 43 years to quiet the voice inside of me that so often tells me to run away, from everything and everyone. I honestly don't even want to run away anymore, because I have everything I could possibly ever need right here. I don't need to be anything else, or do anything else, or have anything else, I have what I need. I have actually had everything that I have needed for a really long time, but I just haven't been able to stop the feeling that I didn't.
​Isn't that so weird? Isn't it so odd to be running the same script in your life for so long that you just don't know how to turn it off, even when it serves you no purpose anymore? That is what I have been doing, looping back around to that old feeling that I am disatisfied, but in truth, I am not at all disatisfied, I am very satisfied. I'm just so used to going through the same old motions that tell me to flee; even when I don't really want to flee at all. 
As you can imagine, this need to flee has been a constant problem for me in relationships. Poor Craig has pondered so many times about what he could offer me to sate my demons, and has often demanded 'what more can I give you?' Like some offering would still the desire in me to flee, but it was never really about material things, and in truth, I think that Craig has always known this anyway. So what would stop it? In truth I had no idea myself, I didn't even know why it had all began. 
When you get everything that you want, then what do you want?
That is what I have been asking my inner self a lot over the last few months, and I have come to understand that I don't actually 'want' anything anymore. I have an abundance of all things, I don't need more stuff to fill the void, because I don't actually have a void anymore, it is imagined. I am full, I am filled up to the brim, right to the top, my cup runneth over. I no longer hunger, I have found contentment. I don't want anything, and I don't want to run away. 
Finally a bird has nested inside of me, and I have come home to myself. It is nice to finally feel like I have found a place inside of me to lay my hat, and that all I need to do now is enjoy what I have.
​The search is finally over. I don't know why it is finally over now, but I definitely know that it is. Finally I am at peace.

I have just finished watching all of the original episodes of Twin Peaks, which was quite an undertaking at 30 episodes in total. It is easily the best art-house TV series that I have ever watched, and I must admit that I was basically obsessed with it by the time I got to the end. I initially felt compelled to watch the series when I learned about the reboot that is going to happen in May this year. Twin Peaks- 25 years on, the anticipation is killing me! I can hardly wait to see where David Lynch will go with it. It certainly ended on a cliff hanger 25 years ago, so I am deeply relieved that I don't have to wait that long to get another serve. 
I spent a couple of days in Bendigo with Helen this week, and we had a rather odd and yet weirdly delightful 'Lynch-like' experience together when we ventured out to view The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion. Built in the same design as the Great Stupa of Gyantse in Tibet which is 50 metres high and 50 metres square at its base, when it is completed The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion will be the largest stupa outside of Asia. It is fair to say that the stupa is completely awe inspiring and grand in every way, and that something of this nature is going to be a beacon to many colourful and interesting people, both now and for years to come. 
Whilst Helen and I were roaming the massive gardens that surround the stupa, we were approached by a rather odd, shuffling, weather-beaten old man in a sunhat that appeared to be absolutely wasted. He informed us that it was in our best interests to follow a path that wound through the bush to visit the nearby monastery, which was apparently a delight to behold. Okay, weird guy, thanks for that. 
Anyway, being the Nosey Nellys that we are, we did follow the rather dodgy gravel path, and it lead to....wait for it.....The Yellow Brick Road! I shit you not, it was yellow and bricked and also labelled 'The Yellow Brick Road' aka The Pathway to Enlightenment. Well, how can one resist? This was clearly becoming an epic adventure. 
Okay, so this is where things got really fricken weird. Probably should've seen that coming when we agreed to follow 'weird guy's' advise, but anyway.... Along the path were numerous...well I can only call them offerings, left by God only knows who and they were labelled with the craziest gobbledegook that I have ever read in my life, and that's saying something! There were various collections of offerings, some that had stuffed animals (some even hanging in the trees - my favourite being the gorilla with the rotting banana shoved under his arm) plastic dinosaurs and snakes, crappy wooden tiki sculptures, culturally insensitive concrete natives, gnomes and mushrooms, animal bones and skulls and various other things that just shouldn't have been there.
Helen and I were waiting to be offered a nice long glass of Kool Aid, because this lovely meander throught the bush had suddenly turned into wrong turn at Jones Town for us.  It was truly freaky shit, which we both found absolutely hysterical and almost died of laughter from. And then suddenly, there it was, the monastery. And yes, it was amazing, marble sculptures of the various Buddhas, it was bloody incredible actually. You just had to get throught the weird, acid trip, 'yellow brick road' to get there.
​The rest of the time that we were there, we were quite suspicious about what actually goes on at the stupa after hours, given the weirdness of some of it, but it did give us a shitload to laugh about for the rest of the day.
We had a picnic lunch around the lake, and I think that the passersby thought that we were absolutely mental, because we were literally rolling around on our picnic rug with rawkus laughter recalling the things that we had seen on The Yellow Brick Road. I'm pretty certain that our rather unusual visit to The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion was an experience that even David Lynch himself could've gleaned some inspiration from, it had art-house stamped all over it! 

It never really feels like a proper Summer unless you have had a trip to the beach, and in Victoria we are pretty spoilt for choice. With The Surf Coast and The Great Ocean Road just over an hour away from us, it seems stupid to not take at least one trip to the coast for a generous whiff of salty air and a dip in the cool sea waters.
Swimming in the ocean is one of my absolute favourite things to do in the Summer-time. I love to put my back to the pounding waves and to feel the perfect weightlessness as the salt water sweeps you off your feet. I like to just float around on the ocean water, letting it buffet me about in the sunshine. Absolute heaven! The ocean is most definitely one of my favourite forces of nature, and swimming in it on a hot day is second to none. 
The salt water is excellent for your skin, and the hot sand is the best free exfoliator for the feet; there are just so many health benefits to hitting the ocean waves for a few hours, both physically and mentally. Every time that I go to the seaside I wonder why I have not been for so long and curse myself for not going more regularly throughout the year. It is most definitely a place of healing and relaxation. 
Zoe and Lachlainn also joined us on the sand dunes in an attempt to escape yeaterdays 40 degree heat, but it really never seems that hot at the beach, not with the cool coastal breezes blowing in. In fact the heat is often very deceptive at the coast, making it very easy to get tricked and burnt to a crisp is you're not being sunsmart. 
I think that I will have to indulge in at least one more day at the beach before the Summer break ends, it was just so lovely to be re-united with the ocean and that sweet salty air once again. 

Sleep in until 11am?
An hour of yoga and then brunch at 12.30?
How about a glass of whiskey, a good book and a laze about on the deck in the glorious sunshine all afternoon? 
Feel like watching movies until 2 or 3am? 
Yes to all of the above, because that is what my life has been like these holidays. 100% pure self indulgence. There is no need to be anywhere or to do anything, so why wouldn't I take advantage of this valuable 'me' time.
And trust me when I say that I have been fully 'in the moment' as well. I have totally committed to removing all distraction and pushing all pesky thoughts out of my head like "shouldn't I be getting blah-blah done?" or "we really need to get blah-blah sorted out." Nope, not having it, just going at 'me' time 100%. Not looking at the clock, not thinking about tomorrow, not stressing about a damn thing and it feels so good! Talk about restorative, I can literally feel my batteries recharging by the minute.
I have actually spent a little time wondering why the hell I haven't adopted this method years ago. There is a unique peace that derives from being still and completely in a moment that is unrivalled by all other things. I do believe that perhaps I wasn't really ready to fully let go and just be in the moment before, I have transitioned to this space and cultivated the ability to just sit with myself, that in itself is actually a pretty important skill.
​Just 'being' without 'doing' is not as simple as it seems, especially if you are being mindful about it. This really isn't about being lazy or non-productive, on the contrary really, because I have been extremely productive as well. When you take the focused self time, then you are rewarded many times over because you can find joy in even the most mundane of things. It is quite hard to explain, but it is a truly zen way to be. 
Obviously, sustaining a zen mindset is easy when one is on holidays. When things start to hot up again, then obviously it will be a challenge to maintain this state. But for now, while I can fully embrace it, I am going for it. Who cares if it is only a week of zen bliss? It's still a week of zen bliss and I'm taking all that I can get. 

Kicked off the New Year quietly out in Enfield with a couple of friends, Zoe and Lachlainn and the two men in my life, Craig and Seth. No fanfare or hoo-har, just some good company, great music,  tasty eats and yummy beverages, what more can one ask for really?
​As the magical turning over of time from one year to another arrives, everyone goes bonkers creating resolutions that they probably won't live up to and promises to themselves that they more than likely will not keep. However, let me just put all of my skepticism and pessimism aside for now and firstly wish a very happy new year to everyone out there. I really do hope that you will be among the committed that actually does fulfill their resolutions and meet their personal goals. 
I used to be so gung-ho for goal setting every new year, often setting myself exhausting goals that I became completley OCD kooky about completing. And then one day I realised that I had mounted the crazy pony to nutter town with all of my intense goal setting bullshit, and that I was literally making myself miserable trying to get things done. So last new year, for the first time in many years, I just totally droppped it.
I didn't set myself any big goals, no resolutions.....nothing. That in itself was a massive achievement for me, because for many years I took a lot of pride in my ability to take on new things every year (even if it killed me). I have to say that dropping my self expectations may have been the best thing that I have ever done for myself. Without any pre-set goals for the year, I actually managed to get a shit load of 'self' work done, in my own time and as I wanted to. I transitioned into a space where I was actually living in the moment, taking on things as they presented themselves to me and going along at a pace that felt right at the time. Absolutely zen-ful stuff I tell you!
Without any mental prompting or agenda, I quit smoking this year. I haven't had a puff since May 2016, it's the longest non-pregnant non-smoking period of my life since I was 15 years old! I also took up yoga, which has been mentally and physically tranforming for me. I now practise daily and it has really helped to reduce my stress levels and to help me to accept the things that I cannot change.
There is really something to be said for being in the moment and letting go a little. My need to be in control has stifled an awful lot for me in the past, and even though it has taken me over forty years to realise that, I have finally arrived at a good place. 
So, no resolutions or goals for me in 2017. Instead I have made a simple self promise to immerse myself completely in every moment, and to seek my own bliss in those moments.
​Another year = 365 opportunites, and I don't want to miss any of them.