Hiller Aviation Museum

I cannot believe the first week of January has gone. WHERE IS TIME GOING?!?! We've been living here for almost a year! WHAAAAT?!?! It's been an amazing year, though, and as it draws to a close, I'm literally counting down the hours I have left of NOT being a student! My degree begins on Monday and will take me a few years as I'm doing it part-time (it's meant to take two years full-time). The two subjects that I'm starting with are Drawing I and Photoshop I. I like to think I know quite a bit about the basics of drawing and Photoshop, so I'm hoping I do alright in them! That said, I can't believe I'm doing this to myself again. I swore to myself in 2008 when I finished my teaching Masters that I'd never study again, yet here I am. My 20s were a decade of experimentation for me where I tried basically ever career path under the sun (OK, well maybe not that many!). But now as I move closer to my mid-30s (oh God, WHAT?!), I figure it's time I finally make a career for myself and my family. So here goes... wish me luck! LOL.

Meanwhile, the three of us finally got to the Hiller Aviation Museum today. We've driven past the place lots of times on the way south anywhere. I've also seen their events pop up on Facebook and always think we should go because Mr 2 just loves vehicles and has "discovered" planes in the past months. Anyway, we finally made it to one of their somewhat-regular "open cockpit" days where kids can hop into the driver's seat (pilot's?) of various planes and helicopters. Some friends met us there which was awesome as well. The place was basically a big warehouse-ish place filled with planes, plane memorabilia, models and play areas for kids. There was also a simulator area upstairs, but we didn't get that far as Mr 2 was tired and getting to be quite tantrum-y. But he managed to sit in a helicopter and a few planes (please excuse my lack of plane knowledge. I'm sure that each plane had a type, but I really have no idea of these things!) and also played in the play area for a bit. 

If my family had stayed here a bit longer than a week, we would have taken my dad there as he just would have LOVED it. Dad, if you're reading this, we'll go here next time you're here! It's great for plane enthusiasts. But like I said, I am not one, so I have limited things I can say about its details and features...! But despite my sad lack of knowledge in this area, I've been really impressed by museums here. I feel like museums are sort of boring places in Sydney; they're places you go to for school excursions to look at random things and complete worksheets given to you by your teacher before you catch the bus back to school. Museums here are so much more interactive, and many of them run lots of events for kids and families that actually seem fun. They have areas where kids can play and touch things; they're not just places where you look-but-can't-touch. They're still places of learning, but the learning experience is much more enjoyable. They're also smaller which makes them feel a little more accessible for random outings. 

Anyway, here are some pics. Pictures of planes can say a lot more than my words can! LOL.

Cars. Because cars and planes just go together, right?

It has been cold and windy here. Rain has been coming and going and I've had a cold for about the past week. As much as I love Winter, I'm definitely still adjusting to Winter being in January! But I'm certainly not missing Australia's Summer heat!

And if you're on Facebook, you'll be very much aware that I've been acting as Kathy Mata's unofficial graphic designer and photographer. It's been awesome combining things I love in one ongoing project. Anyway, if you're not on Facebook, she posted some photos that I took last month just now here. (Excuse me while I just give my own work a shoutout. LOL.) I am very grateful, though, for the opportunities she's given me to pursue things I enjoy before I've even begun studying! 

Anyway, thank you, again, for reading! I should go and get an early night in the hopes of getting rid of this cold and maybe getting some sleep in my own bed before the toddler wakes and needs me to sleep next to him. Sigh...!

xoxo

Happy New Year! What a Year It's Been!

I've been meaning to update this blog for so long, now!!! But as the sun's setting on 2016, I thought that now would be a good time to FINALLY do so! (I also spilled ginger beer on my laptop a while ago, which made it difficult to type! But Robert got me a shiny new laptop for Christmas (one of the new MacBook Pros with the touch bar thingy!), so things are much easier!)

In the time that I haven't posted here, we've had our first Halloween, our first Thanksgiving, the election happened and Christmas has come and gone! What a year it's been. I said on Facebook earlier today that all in all, it's been a good year for our little family. Our move here has been a mostly positive experience. I start my graphic design studies in a few weeks, and the toddler is officially enrolled into pre-school that starts in August! Life just seems to be racing by!

My family was here for a week over Christmas. It certainly didn't last long; felt like I blinked and they were gone. :-( But it was so awesome having them here, and it was SO nice to have a WINTER Christmas! The only downside to that being that it didn't really feel like Christmas in the weeks leading up to it. Despite the Christmas trees, the carols playing in all the stores and the huge amount of decorations around the city, ironically for me, the Summer heat is what makes the Christmas season feel like Christmas. Despite that, both my Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys were pretty good successes!

Looking back, the year really has gone in a flash, but I don't think we really have any regrets. Missing my family is really the only thing that has made things difficult.

The best things have been (in no particular order):

~BALLET is still the no.1 for me. Aside from injuring my foot a couple of times, it's just been a dream come true. I've been doing pointe for almost six months, now (I think?), and I just feel so grateful for the whole opportunity every time I go to a class! I've also become Kathy's graphic designer. LOL. I make online flyers for her, which in turn, is giving me some great design practise (you know what they say: 10000+ hours of something makes you a master in it!).
~The 2 year old boss and I have also made some really lovely friends, which I'm just so happy for. We don't know whether we'll have anymore children, so it's really important to me for the little guy to have friends early on. I'm also incredibly anti-social and was always a really awkward, shy kid, so I just do what I can to encourage the little dude to not be like me! So far, he's much more easygoing than I was as a child, and I'm very glad for that! Haha! Having good friends that we see regularly has also taught him so much! His language skills have improved so much, and he's learned to share!
~AMAZON. LOL!!! Amazon makes life even more convenient. I'm mentioning Amazon here because as of yesterday, I'm so thankful for it! The toddler and I bought Robert a pair of Coach gloves for Christmas (toddler even picked them, himself). But they were the wrong size. We went back to the store yesterday, only to be told that not only did they have none left in stock, but they weren't able to order more as they've stopped making them! We wandered around the city in the hopes of finding another pair from a different store, but I didn't like our chances as they'd gone on sale, so they'd pretty much sold out everywhere! I was so gutted (probably even moreso than Robert!). But we had a chance look on Amazon and found they had ONE pair left! So I was very happy and am now more appreciative than ever of Amazon. LOL!!!
~All the kids' facilities and activities available here. The Bay Area has (so far) been an awesome place in which to raise a family!
~The adventure of it all. From just being in a brand new place to learning to drive on the opposite side of the road to exploring, it's really been a fantastic experience for someone as unadventurous as I am!
~People are generally quite friendly. Unless you're on the road in which people simply become impatient douchebags.
~The appreciation for the arts. Enough said.
~The opportunities available to Robert and his career. Also enough said.
~The city's multiculturalism. Also something that's very important to me.
~The convenience of everything. Whether you're wanting ice cream delivered in the next couple of hours or you're looking to study, it seems that everything's available here. Of course, the flipside of that being that it really makes you feel spoilt. I feel like a spoilt brat of the world, especially compared to what so many others are going through these days. I'm not an overly religious person, but I find myself saying little prayers to myself (or God or whoever's up there) everyday for the fortunate life we lead. It's scary to see how easily it can all be taken away, so I'm grateful everyday for the blessings I've got.
~Living in a country where everything seems relevant. Whether it's a TV show you're watching or politics, I feel like we live in a place where I'm immersed in what we see on TV, online, or wherever else. Maybe that's thanks to the media, but it's sort of exciting to see things and think 'yeah, I get that now', or even 'crap, how's that going to affect us now?' (in RE: to the recent election). I've found myself caring a lot more about world happenings since I feel like they're a little more relevant to our lives now.
~Feeling like an anonymous nobody. This sounds a bit strange, but I like cities. And I like feeling like I don't know anyone or that there's a big chance of me running into people I know. I like anonymity, and that was something I looked forward to in having a new start. For some reason, anxiety really kicks in living in a small town or the country, especially if it means I constantly have to see people that I need to make small talk with. Yes, I'm anti-social, yes, socialising makes me incredibly anxious if it's random, but hey, that's just the way I am. Sigh...

And I'm sure there's more. However, I've had my annual new year's drink and I'm already feeling the effects. I have no idea how I've managed to type this much!

So in saying that, I wish anyone reading this a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! I really hope that 2017 is fantastic for you. Thank you so much for reading/following this blog. Hopefully I'll make more regular posts in the new year!

xoxo

Our Recent "Adventures". Lots of Pics!

Gosh, it's been a while since I updated this thing! That being said, time is going so quickly and I can hardly believe we're already halfway through October! I have a few things lined up here to update with, but I haven't finished going through photos as I've been a bit lazy when it comes to editing them and organising them. 

Mr 2 began soccer lessons a few weeks ago. I felt like he/we needed more things to do, especially during the week. The term began last month, so we were a bit late to the party, but oh well. The classes are held in the Marina District in a really beautiful spot. They're set right on the water in front of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. It's a gorgeous area, and I guess how I feel about it is probably how people feel about the Harbour Bridge and the Kirribilli area when they go there for the first time. 

That being said, I don't think soccer star is on the cards for a future occupation for Mr 2. He's not completely into the classes and prefers to partake in only a few of the activities they do in the 40 minute classes. Although, being a combination of myself and Robert, I guess I shouldn't be so surprised by that. Haha...

Robert's Mum came to stay with us last week after she'd been on a trip to Europe. We didn't end up doing as much with her as I thought we might have. She'd been here before and I think she mainly wanted to just see Mr 2 (and us). So she accompanied us to a soccer class and basically just experienced everyday life with us. Robert did take the week off, though, which was awesome. I have to admit that it was really nice to have a little break from full time motherhood for a bit! Heh... The most tourist-y thing we did was go to Muir Woods (again. It was the third time we've been. LOL) and Sausalito with her.

In other Bartlett life news, Mr 2 got accepted into a pre-school the other week, which is awesome. I was getting anxious not knowing whether he'd be going to a school of our choosing, so I was very relieved at this! He won't start until September next year (because that's when the school year here starts), but it's so competitive here and you really need to get in early. So I'm glad we did. 

And having said that, I'm sure I had a lot more to say, but I'm so tired after a terrible night last night that I'm just going to leave you with lots of pictures. I apologise for the incoherence. I need another coffee.

xoxo

Ghirardelli have filled their fountain with pumpkins. Pumpkins are everywhere at the moment!

Muir Woods: beautiful no matter how many times you go!

I spent a lot of time on this visit looking for 4-leaf clovers. I'd never found one; I still haven't! :-(

Sausalito

View from Sausalito

October Begins and so do the Halloween Festivities!

So I must admit: I've never been a fan of Halloween. I get scared easily, so don't watch horror movies and such (although I do like scary books. Go figure), and I simply just never saw the point of it: dressing up in silly costumes and having kids asking strangers for candy; it all just seems strange and pointless to me. That being said, it's only the start of October, and I can already see how much Australia misses the point of Halloween. As with many other things, Halloween in Australia is just a big gimmick of something American and completely misses the point.

I am usually finding weekend activities for the three of us to partake in via Facebook. And browsing around just these upcoming events has really opened my eyes to what Halloween's about here in the US. And from what I can gather, it's more a festival of harvest time, hence the pumpkins. There are lots of events this month on little farms where kids can pick pumpkins, play in hay bales, go for tractor rides and other activities relating to the country life and harvesting produce. And the spooky theme seems to accompany that as secondary whimsical decoration. I have no idea where the spooky thing came from, but that's not all that Halloween's about here.

On Sunday we went to Clancy's Pumpkin Patch! I've never seen so many pumpkins in my life! I wasn't really too sure what to expect, but we met up with some friends who have a son who's a bit younger than Mr 2, so that was also nice. When we arrived, we could just see lots of hay and pumpkins! It was about a 20 minute drive from our apartment in the city, so it's not like we were in the middle of nowhere, but it sort of felt like we were! Hay was piled high, adorned in pumpkins of various sizes and even colours (mostly orange and white). There were also scarecrow-type decorations hung up with friendly faces. Kids were running all over the place. We were basically walking through rows and rows of pumpkins and hay! 

Once we'd met up with our friends, we grabbed a ride on the tractor where you could pay $4 a person and sit in some hay in the back trailer and ride around a bit! Mr 2 was very unsure of it all. He's not really the type of kid who jumps right into things; he takes his time to take things in and just adjust to new places. But he relaxed after a little while and enjoyed exploring a bit: checking out the pumpkins, the Autumn leaves all over the ground and the dirt. LOL.

I like little events like these: they give you a small appreciation for country life and life outside of the big cities.

There were also a couple of small references to the upcoming Thanksgiving, just little signs that said things like "give thanks" etc. I don't know a lot about Thanksgiving; only what Robert's told me (he learned quite a bit when he spent some years of his childhood growing up in this country). I feel like October is really the beginning of holiday season in this country.

We probably would have hung around a bit longer, but we got rained out! It was the first rain that SF's had since about May, apparently! Plus, Mr 2 was getting a bit tired and grumpy. So we picked a couple of pumpkins to take home and made a run for it! Needless to say, I felt like something pumpkin flavoured, so I had to find us the closest Starbucks as I'm currently addicted to their pumpkin spice latte (I know, it's terrible: I've become addicted to an American coffee. Struth!). Plus, we now also have a couple of little pumpkins sitting next to our TV as our Halloween/October decorations. LOL. I've seen some cute decorations in Target recently, so I may buy a couple to keep the pumpkins company. Haha!

Anyway, as usual, I leave you with some photos of our recent "adventure". :-)

xoxo

Just a few of the 1000s of pumpkins...

I feel like this one is really channelling my Dad/the Count from Sesame Street. LOL!

These dudes were just hanging out on trees and in bushes.