Thursday

Just landed a major client that we were competing for. We were up against the best from BOTH of our competitors and after several lengthy reviews we have got verbal approval and the contract will be signed next Thursday.

This is a major breakthrough since it is a very large site and very referencable - we will be able to use them as proof that we are no longer limited to "the little guys" and are able to compete at the top level against the incumbents. The best news of all is that the competition are significantly more expensive than us so we now offer a great deal on price, scalability and integration. WOO HOO!

On to more important matters...

Good thing I took the skateboard to work today. Traffic delays had me late for the train but since the skate is faster than jogging I made the train - bombing past 4 or 5 other people trotting along clenched very tight. "Proudly annoying pedestrians since 1976."

Just had a skate at Chatswood bowl. Not really something to brag about, but it was empty (all the bogans must be having exams - MUHAAAAAAA) and I landed all my airs - only to lose it while doing a simple kickturn. Grrrr. Lucky nobody was looking.

Next step is to land some kind of grab air - madonna, stalefish, method or something. Must practise on a jump ramp first.

Thank heavens for showers at work - makes skating at lunchtime SOOOO much more pleasant.

Wednesday

This morning I had an appointment with a firm that I thought was 10-15 users. Turns out they are 55 users, very interested in our document management solution and email management. WOO HOO! Had a very good meeting and definite plans to meet with the rest of the management team.

After this meeting I took my lunch break at Mona Vale skateboard ramp...A venue I have wanted to ride since I was about 13. The ramp itself is a steel vert monster - a bit like the old Fairfield ramp and crappy in a similar way. The steel surface is spot welded better than Fairfield (so it doesn't flex underneath you) but the top third of the transition has a join all the way across which provides a nasty "bump" just as you are approaching the coping. Grrrr.

There is also a bowl but it is designed for BMX'rs, not skaters and has too much flat and very lumpy transitions - a bit like chatswood bowl.

Also present at the bowl were several charming and talented locals (derro's) who must have been in year 11 or 12 and between exams. Needless to say, they seemed suitably unimpressed at a 30 year old guy on a 15 year old board doing a 360-Rock-n-Roll. Woo hoo!

I would have liked to try dropping into the vert ramp but just couldn't screw up the courage. I've dropped in on Newcastle ramp but it's only a 9-foot ramp with a 9-foot transition - not quite vert. The Mona Vale monster has a foot of vert and a crappy surface, so I piked out.

I shall return.

Once I learn how to backside air.

Dinner Time

Jazmin loves dinner time. She smiles when she sees the little bowl arriving and watches the spoon as it moves from the bowl to her mouth. You can see her doing this in one of the pics.

Last night she had two lumps of frozen goodies - potato and pumpkin. Some of it went all over her but quite a lot went down the hatch. She is getting quite good at chewing & swallowing.

Fingers for dessert are yummy, too!

Thursday & Friday

Justin had appointments on the Central Coast and in Newcastle.

On Thursday we spent the day at Tuggerah Westfields and on Friday we were at Kotara Westfields. We bought a "My Little Pony" rocking horse for Jazmin and a few other extra things like...more pegs!

On Wednesday I did 4 loads of washing, and ran out of pegs and then when I finally got it all out, it started raining and has only stopped this morning (Saturday).

Justin had fun on skate ramps at Stockton and Newcastle.

We got Jazmin a bath seat and she has now graduated to the big bath.

Morning Playtime

Took a picture of Jazmin playing just after her breakfast today.

Massage Time

We took some pictures of Jazmin last night during her massage.

A fairly quiet week so far...

I spoke to the local guy who does LPG conversions about moving the Milennium Falcon over to gas. He said it would be at least $3,000 and he can't do it anytime soon because he is completely out of stock. The Melbourne importer won't be receiving a shipment for a week or two because of demand, so there's a visible effect of high fuel prices.

I put our name on his list of "people to call in the next 6 months" and we will go ahead once commissions come through.

Here's a couple of nice photos of Jaz learning her roll-over. Not making it all the way yet but having a lot of fun practising.

Magpie

I saw this magpie in the backyard while filming Jazmin doing her floor routine.
He is a big one, hey?




A little blurry maybe, but that's just the camera showing her age...

Sore knee

This is the knee after the mini-ramp at Lake Haven ripped my pads off and gnawed away at it.
Imagine the result if I hadn't been wearing any? Still bruised and sore 2 weeks later.

The Amazing Erupting Jazmin

Poor Jaz had a bit of a tummy + milk + pressure incident the other night. Here are a couple of photos of the fallout on our doona cover.




Every girls likes a new change of clothes!

I've got a photo or two of my sore knee and I will post them up as well.

Our Weekend

On Saturday we decided to check out "Paper and Stuff" - A scrapbooking shop in Cooranbong, only to find they aren't open Saturday - only Sunday and weekdays. We will probably go to Watagans one Sunday and check it out on the way home. We found a great scrapbooking shop tucked away in the industrial estate at Tuggerah though, and I think we'll be going back there. It has more variety than the shop at Charmhaven.

We had a nice lunch up at Morriset on Saturday and a walk around. I got some stickers for my album.

Jazmin has taken to waking up twice a night again, but generally if I leave her to it, within 5 minutes she's gone back to sleep again. It takes all my willpower to not go in and see her. I figure if she was really hungry, she'd let me know and not just whimper about it - after all she seems to have no problem in the day. This week she's started eating apple and seems to quite like it.

I made a Mocha pudding last night, I can't believe how much Justin ate! He said he likes it - here's the recipe:

Mocha Self Saucing Pudding

60g butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 ½ cups self raising flour
¾ cup milk
½ cup cocoa
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
2 cups boiling water

Melt butter in deep microwave safe dish uncovered on high for 1 min
Stir in caster sugar, flour, milk and half the cocoa
Whisk until smooth
Sift remaining cocoa, brown sugar and coffee powder evenly over top
Carefully pour boiling water over brown sugar mixture
Cook uncovered on high about 12 mins or until just cooked in centre
Stand 5 mins before serving

I added a bit more milk, and next time I'll put more coffee in, but that's just personal preference. I served it with walnuts and cream.

Justin has appointments on the Central Coast and in Newcastle later this week, which will be great for all of us.

I locked myself out!!!

This morning I took Justin to the station and used his car key. I didn't even realise that I had forgotten my house keys until I pulled into the driveway. I left my phone on the bench, so I couldn't even call a locksmith. I tried for ages to get the laundry window open enough to get my hand through to turn the handle and open the door, but to no avail. I took the screen off Jazmin's window and jumped through it in the end! An adventure, but not one I'd care to repeat! That will teach me to check I have my keys next time!

Tuesday - Wedding Anniversary

We have made it through two years - WOO HOO!
Had the day off so we went to the beach for a bit. Had a flat battery on the way and managed to drop the new one on my foot. Nice one, Justy.

Jazmin is still talking happily, trying to roll over and fill as many nappies as possible. We have some video of her gurgling and will try to get it posted here. If we can't and you want to see the video, let me know and I will email it over.

Our Wedding Anniversary!

Yesterday was our 2 year wedding anniversary. Justin took the day off and we took time out just to hang out together.

We were on our way down to Forresters Beach when we decided to get some chicken McNuggets and West Coast coolers to enjoy on the beach - a tradition that we started the first day we met, up on the Gold Coast.

Anyway, Justin parked the car at Bay village and went to the ATM, only to find that it was out of order. When he got back, we couldn't start the car. We had the battery tested by the NRMA a few weeks ago, when we had the same trouble in Sydney, and were advised to get another one if it happened again, so at least we were in a shopping centre!
We walked over to K-mart Auto and Tyres, and they didn't have the right sort of battery, but referred us to the regular K-mart in the shopping complex. They had the right battery, but they were stacked very haphazardly, and one of the batteries fell on Justin's foot....not nice, specially since he was wearing sandals! We saw a woman wearing the same T-shirt as me in shops too. Anyway, after installing the new battery using skateboard tools, we were back on the road again.

After that we got to a beach at the end of Wamberal Lagoon. It was a lovely warm day, but Jazmin didn't seem to like the heat. The beach was shortly taken over by a group of high school students doing "beach sports" and we felt that it was best to get Jaz back into the air conditioning.
We went to Black Stump Erina for dinner, and then came home - What a great day - never a dull moment!

Saturday!

Today Jazmin started "finding her voice" and has been making lots of noise. Squeals, laughs and anything else she can find to do.

Justin had a skate on the ramp at Lake Haven and loved it until he fell off and sliced open his knee.

We went to the scrapbooking shop and got some great paper, and we've both done some new pages. I have finally caught up on our album, and will be able to spend more time on Justin's album, although he's doing a great job by himself. The most recent page I have done was of a trip to the reptile park at Somersby.

We'd love you to comment on any of our posts if you want to (by clicking the "comments" or the pencil icon below) as it makes it more interesting for everyone.

Sleeping Beauty

I just had to share this picture of Jazmin....

Cronulla Trip

We had a day at Cronulla with Ev and Jesse in August with perfect weather. Swam in the spa pool, had fun making cocktails & caught up on all the news.

Our First Post!

This is a sporadic narrative of what's going on with our branch of the Sawell clan.
It's a Friday, we are just back from a Long Weekend so it's been a short week, but a busy week.
Watched "The Search For Animal Chin" - a 1987 skateboarding movie and had a great laugh at the fashions and hairstyles - ughh.

Jazmin @ 3 months

This is Jazmin feeling very special in her new outfit

- which no longer fits her!