What better way to start the April 2016 A – Z challenge than with some fun facts about my amazing country, Australia.
Our population hit the big time this year when we made it to 24 million people.
Australians love to shorten words and add an O to the end, for example ambulance driver becomes ambo.
The first selfie was taken in Australia.
The box jellyfish kills more people annually than sharks, stone fish and crocodiles combined.
Australia has over 10,000 beaches. you could visit one a day for 27 years.
The Emu and the Kangaroo are on our coat of arms because neither animal can walk backwards.
On Christmas Eve, 1974 Darwin one of Australia’s capital cities was destroyed by cyclone Tracy, a category 5 cyclone.
In 1973, the Australian government spent $1.35 million dollars to purchase Jackson Pollack’s Blue Poles. At the time, this was a very controversial decision, however it is now recogised as a great work of art, worth all the money and more.
Melbourne has the world’s largest Greek population outside of Athens.
83% of Australia’s population live within 50 kilometres of the coast.
Since 2012 Australia has been recognised as the world’s most obese nation with 26% of the population obese.
Australia was the second country in the world to allow women to vote.
Australia has the world’s large supply of camel’s with one hump and exports them to Saudia Arabia.
Tell a broad story using a series of short, focused scenes.
This was our day at Fanta Wild Adventure Park, Zhenzhou, China. We came to watch our daughter in the diving show and enjoyed immersing ourselves in another culture, creating many amazing memories as we were stopped by many of the locals wanting to take a photo with us and practice their English as we toured the park.
I can still remember the excitement my husband and I felt when we found the Flamingo Pond in Kowloon Park, Hong Kong. We had walked past the park everyday however we didn’t realise what it actually was until our second last day when we entered and found a secret treasure. Prior to this experience as Australians we had only seen the odd Flamingo in a zoo. These beautiful creatures in a flock were majestic. We stood watching them for more than twenty minutes leaving because the sun was beginning to set.
I am naturally good at the balance sport—trampoling, roller skating and ice skating.
I am naturally good at resolving conflicts and being the go to person when people want a friend to talk to. I would get the ex best friends talking again and suddenly I was being ignored again.
I am a naturally good at knitter. The first time I created something my teacher didn’t believe that I had done it because it was too perfect and looked like my mother had knitted it.
Would you prefer a one floor house or multiple levels?
Having lived in both I definitely prefer an open plan single storey house.
What was your favorite subject in school?
I don’t remember having a favourite subject at school although possibly home science. I did okay at school but I had to work at it.
Complete this sentence: If only the rain.. would stop or turn into snow. This is what my husband and I said to each other last Christmas when we had traveled to Canada for a white Christmas and the rain kept washing away the small amount of snow we got.
“What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?”
Last week I was grateful for the many learn opportunities I had at work through mistakes made. This week I am looking forward to giving my 10th advanced speech and receiving my Advanced Communicator Bronze award at Toastmasters.
Write a letter to the personality trait you like least, convincing it to shape up or ship out. Be as threatening, theatrical, or thoroughly charming as is necessary to get the job done.
Dear Messiness,
You are an inherent trait with me since birth, definitely a direct descendant of both my mother and father. You are my automatic default particularly when I am busy or tired and to put it bluntly, in the end, you usually just create me more work. You are out of control and have to go. I am sick of even the small amounts of time you have taken from me, as I need to search through your mess to find what I want or need. One of the things I have noticed about you is that the busier and crazier my day is, the more out of control you get. You definitely can tell the state of my mind by the state of my desk.
WELL NO MORE.
We are parting ways. You sabotage my goals and steal my precious time. So, I have decided to be the change I want to see in the world or more importantly, my family. Over the next few months, I am going to mindfully work on eliminating you. It will take a while but you will lose. They say old habits die hard but I am looking forward to your death. You serve no positive purpose in my life and I will work hard to rebirth you using my monthly coffee catch-ups to share my success at changing my world.
Today, only 21 months after my first post — Happy Mother’s Day, on Mother’s Day 2014, I celebrate my 400th post. This is a milestone I never dreamed possible, so to celebrate please enjoy my acrostic poem — another skill I’ve learnt on my Inspiring Max journey.
Following my dream
Out of my comfort zone
Under the guidance of those who had gone before
Rewarded by new friends in over a hundred countries
Old Quebec City has many murals however the first created, known as the mural of Quebecers is very special. It depicts life through the history of Quebec and its citizens. I could have looked at it for hours and still find something new. Cleverly disguised as part of the artwork on the building are:
Key historical figures
Architectural building and monuments
Coat of Arms
Physical attributes of the city — the wall and staircase
Cultural communities
Sports
If you ever get the chance to go to Old Quebec City seek out the Mural of Quebecers–its definitely worth a look.
If we were having coffee I would tell youthat I can’t believe it’s already February. As this year is going so fast I have decided to catch up for coffee with you every month.
If we were having coffee I would tell you how much I miss the beach and how I enjoyed my first swim of summer when my husband and I went to the coast on our mini break over the Australia day long weekend. Most of the beaches were closed due to dangerous surf however we persevered and found one open with life guards patrolling it. Lighthouse Beach I love you as I felt safe enough to go for a swim. The water was so fresh and clean on my skin. I was in my element bobbing in the waves until suddenly……. I found myself out of control under the water being turned around sand churning up. The waves dumped me. It happened so quickly, all I could see underwater was sand and foam. I was grateful that the surf life savers didn’t need to save me but I certainly was reminding myself that they would notice me missing if I didn’t come up. Fortunately I was able to save myself and when I popped up for air I decided I was too shaken to stay so I walked out of the surf attempting to focus I the more pleasant aspects of my afternoon swim. That same day there had been several drownings up and down the east coast of Australia so it was no wonder the beaches were closed.
Lighthouse Beach
If we were having coffee I would tell you how excited I am with my new coffee machine. When I decided to get one I wasn’t sure which way to go however in the end I decided to go with the biggest variety of pods and the simplest system. I choose the Caffitaly system and a S22 machine. It is a fully automatic one touch capsule machine that has pods from Twinings, Grinders, Gloria Jeans, Moccona and many more. The first drink I made was an extra strong cappuccino and it was amazing. I am please I paid a bit extra for the machine with the milk attachment included and that I didn’t have to froth my milk separately.
If we were having coffee I would tell you about a little friend my husband and I found overseeing the water at Lennox Head Beach. He was lizard of some description although we didn’t get too close to him so as not to scare him off. We thought he was cute, what do you think?
If we were having coffee I would tell you the storms in Sydney last we were so fierce that within a two-minute window our courtyard went from having no water in it to looking like a toddler’s swimming pool with 5 centimetres of water. There was so much water the drains couldn’t cope so they forced it back out and into our courtyard which has a cover over it. Then as quickly as the water arrived within the half an hour it was gone again leaving behind mud and leaves to tell the tale.
If we were having coffee I would tell you how I enjoyed the annual catch up visit with my long time girlfriend in early January. We have made it a tradition now as life gets busy and we live in different cities. We spending the weekend reflecting, reminiscing and celebrating the year that was, which helps keep us connected and safe in the knowledge that we always just pick up from where we left off the last time we saw each other.
If we were having coffee I would tell you about spending Australia Day 26th January in regional Australia instead of at home in Sydney. It was a little harder to just go out and BBQ lamb so in keeping with tradition I cooked my lamb when I arrived home from the airport. To help me celebrate I also watched this classic video on the day to remind me of all the great things Australia has. The Big Prawn in this film clip is in one of the cities we visited over the Australia Day long weekend. Enjoy!
If we were having coffee I would ask you what you have done in the last month. Let me know in the comments?
Today is Australia day. To celebrate I would like to share my A-Z of Australian things. Although far from a complete list it is fun way to share Australia. Included in the list are:
Animals
Birds
Food
Inventions
Items
Places
Treasures
A:Aboriginal Art – Paintings by indigenous Australian often using a dot design.
Anzac biscuits – Australian biscuits eaten by our troops on the shores of Gallipoli hence the name. They are made from rolled oats, golden syrup, coconut and butter.
B: Beaches – Australia is known for its sandy beaches. The most famous being Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
Bondi Beach Photo Credit: Google Images
Black Box Flight Recorder – The black box voice and data recorder was invented in Australia.
Beetroot – Your typical Aussie hamburger include beetroot, lettuce and tomato.
Baby Safety Capsule – Developed in 1984 to make sure babies and small children could be safely locked into a seatbelt.
C: Cockatoo – There are 21 varieties of Cockatoos in the world and all can be found in Australia. In my area the Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo is common and are often seen on the ground in groups looking for food.
Caramello Koalas – Small Australian chocolate bar
Photo Credit: Cadbury
D:Dual FlushToilet – Toilet with two flush buttons—able to flush either a half or full load of water dependent on amount required.
Dame Edna – Australian iconic entertainer known for her
Didgeridoo – An wind instrument, invented by Aboriginals and originally found only in Northern Australia. It is thought to be the oldest musical instrument in the world.
E: Emu – Australian flightless bird
Esky – Portable coolers keeping food and drink cool in the Australian sun.
Electric Drill – originally invented to drill through rock this technology was later adapted to household use.
F: Fair Dinkum – Aussie slang meaning true or fair. Used when wanting someone to believe you.
Fridge – In 854 the first mechanical ice making machine was invented in Australia that lead to the development of the refrigerator—”fridge.”
G: Great Barrier Reef – World’s largest coral reef covering 2,300 kilometres off Queensland
Photo Credit: Google Images
G’day Mate – Australian welcome
Google Maps – 2003-4 Australian’s Lars and Jens Rasmussen developed the platform that developed into Google Maps.
H: Holden cars – Holden is an Australian automaker based in South Australia. With limited choice for cars in the early days many families had a Holden.
I: Icy Pole – Famous Australian water ice block
Photo Credit: Peters Icecream
J: Jackaroo/Jillaroo – Male and Female workers on a cattle or sheep station in Australia.
Jumbuck – name for sheep in Waltzing Matilda.
K: Kangaroo – One of Australia’s most iconic marsupials
Koala – small bear-like herbivorous marsupial that eats gum leaves.
Photo Credit: Google Images
L: Lamingtons – Spongy butter cake coated in chocolate sauce and rolled in coconut.
Long wearing Contact Lens – Were developed by the CSIRO as the original ones couldn’t stay in day and night for long periods.
M: Melbourne Cup – “The race that stops the nation” is the richest two-mile handicap horse race in the world. Run the first Tuesday in November, it is a public holiday in Melbourne.
Meat Pie – The meat pie is an Australian icon. Traditionally it is pastry filled with beef and gravy just big enough to fit into your hand, making it easy to eat on the go.
Macadamia – A tree nut specific to Australia with a creamy texture.
N: Nullabor Plains – 1200 kilometre stretch of desert runs from South Australia in the east to Western Australia. Its name means no trees, just flat mostly straight road. In fact, the Nullabor holds the record for the worlds stretch of straight bitumen 146.6 kilkometres.
New South Wales – My home state between Queensland and Victoria.
O: Opera House – Multi-purpose entertaining venue on Sydney Harbour. A white building during festivities it is changed dramatically using lights.
Outback – The Outback is the large, remote, arid space that covers a Australia. Usually covered in red soil.
P: Platypus – Unique Australian mammal that looks like a cross between a duck and beaver
Credit: Gambassa
Plastic Banknotes – Invented by the CSIRO, making bank notes tougher and reducing their ability to be counterfeited.
Powerboard -Invented in 1972 allows multiple electrical devices to be powered from one electrical socket.
Q:Quokka – Australian macropod about the size of a cat found on Rottnest Island off Perth
Photo Credit: Google Images
Quoll – Carnivorous Australian marsupial first seen by Captain Cook in 1770.
Photo Credit: Wikipeadia
Queensland– Australian state north of New south Wales.
R: Rotary Clothes Hoist – Clothes line that raises and lowers as well as swings around in the wind.
Rottnest Island – 18 kilometres off Perth, it is home to Quokkas, pristine beaches and world-class surf.
S: Sydney Harbour Bridge – The world’s largest steel arch bridge and connects Sydney to the north shore. I travel across it everyday on my way to work and never tire of the sight.
Surf Life Savers – Australians classics that keep our beaches safe by rescuing swimmers in difficulty
Photo Credit: Google Images
Surf Ski – Australian invention to assist in saving lives see above photo
Speedos – Australian men’s swimmers—sometimes colloquially referred to as “budgie smugglers.”
Splayd – Australian invention that combines the spoon fork and knife
T: Tim Tams – Iconic Arnott’s biscuits that involves two layers of chocolate biscuits joined together with chocolate cream and covered in chocolate.
U: Ugg Boots –Unisex sheep skin boot with fleece on the inside.
Uluru –Also known as Ayers Rock is a large sandstone rock in the Northern Territory.
Photo Credit: Google Images
Ultrasounds – Invented in Australia through work with the Department of Health.
V: Vegemite – Sandwich spread most Australians won’t travel without and most of the rest of the world try but find it very bitter. Below is the original ad that explains alot.
http://youtu.be/0yA98MujNeM
Victoria – Southern State of Australia on the East Coast—Capital is Melbourne.
W: Wiggles – The original Wiggles —children’s entertainers—are Australian.
Photo Credit: Wiggles
Wine casks – Wine casks are an Australian invention to carry large amounts of wine in a plastic bladder with a simple pouring spout
Wi-Fi Hotspots – Wi Fi technology was invented in Australia through research at the CSIRO.
X: XXXX Beer – Famous brand of Queensland beer
Y: Yackandandah – Small tourist town near the New South Wales and Victorian border
Z: Zeehan – Former silver and gold mining town in Tasmania
