Three Mrs Shahs under one roof!

Sorry it has taken me a while to write about mum and Sudha aunty's visit - it feels like its been a fairly busy few weeks since they left - mainly because we have been making the most of the end of the summer, rearranging the kitchen and catching up with everyone we didn't see much of while we had visitors!

It was really nice to have them here - there was plenty to eat (and some still in the freezer), they kept themselves busy while we were at work and we got to spend some proper time with my aunty... something we wouldn't get to do otherwise.

They managed to fit a lot in in four weeks - the zoo, the Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley, lots of beaches, a few markets, Canberra, lots of visits to friends and family, LOTS of cooking (and teaching me a few new recipes) and playing cards and chatting after dinner most nights! We made the most of the weekends too- filling them with picnics and shopping! We hope Sudha aunty had as much fun with us as we did with her and she comes back to visit again soon!

Dinner in the sunshine!

Roadside picnic in the Hunter Valley

Sudha aunty walking at Palm Beach

Sham and mum chilling at Manly

A most special dinner!

On Australia Day this year, we were lucky enough to be invited to join my friend and ex boss Sue as she celebrated her 50th - in a LOT of style!

Sue has recently moved into a beautiful house that we are sure she will be very happy in for years to come (we would be!) and she hosted a lovely four course private dining dinner for 14 people. The added treat was that the chef that looked after us is actually a contestant on the current season of Australia's Masterchef Professionals.

The attention to detail on the day was phenomenal and we had an absolute hoot!

I didn't manage to take too many pics as I was to busy having fun, but here are a few... they were taken on my phone so you will have to excuse the rubbish quality.

The Birthday Girl and the Chef!

Delicious!

It really was a great evening... Sham and I are already trying to think of a excuse to host one of these... although I think Sue's lovely house was absolutely perfect for this type of thing. Thank you again to Sue for inviting us and the lovely folk at Evoke Private Dining for looking after us on the evening.

The end of 2012

December 2012 was a blur of catching up with people before the end of the year! The silly season actually started in November with a reunion of ghosts of CMC Markets past and present. My friend Emma and I decided we were long over due a catch up with everyone and set up a Facebook event to try and get some old faces together. It turned out to be a great night with around 30 people turning up and catching up late into the night. Thanks everyone that made it, and for those that didn't, we will definitely do it again soon!

Sham's work Christmas party was at a lovely little Jazz Club on the river in Brisbane this year. As we had spent all of November living out of suitcases while Sham was working in Melbourne, we decided not to make a full weekend of being in Brisbane this year. We arrived at lunchtime on the day of the party and left the morning after. It was, as usual, a lovely evening and it was nice to see some old faces and meet some new ones!

The following Friday was my work Christmas Party. It was very different from most Christmas parties I have been to! We left the office at 10.30 in the morning to make our way to the lovely Clark Island. It is a little Island that's a 15 minute water taxi ride from the City.  Once we were there, we enjoyed a lovely relaxed day in the sunshine: eating, drinking cider, playing games and having a sing along (!)

Kev and  the laydeeez! 

The MOST relaxing Christmas party ever! 

The whole company (just missing two I think)

Our transport

By 5.30 we were back to the city. Some of us did kick on to a couple of the pubs at The Rocks, but after a whole day in the sun, I only lasted until 7.30. I got the bus home and was in bed by 9pm!

The weekend before Christmas was a busy one socially! We headed to Balmoral Beach - one of our favourite places in Sydney for Christmas carols. It was a lovely evening and we got to meet our friend Terry's parents who were visiting.

On Sunday we headed back to Balmoral (told you we love it!) for our annual Pre Christmas Gang Get together. In the past, we have done this in the pub and tried to have a roast dinner - its always been really hot! This year we decided to keep it casual and have a picnic / bbq. This is also starting to be the best thing to do with the gang as there are two toddlers and a baby in the group so we need room for them to to run/ crawl around!

We woke up on Christmas day to hear the rain! It has rained for each of the five (!) Christmas's we have had here, but this one was the worst! It rained the entire day and it was cold (well, it was cold for us!). You would think that the thought of not spending Christmas morning on the beach would make us sad, but it actually felt like we were having a Christmas day as it should be - cold and wet and miserable - PERFECT!
Christmas lunch was hosted by Mr and Mrs Watters again (despite Mrs Watters being nearly 8 months pregnant!) and it was a fun day of eating, drinking, Pictionary and Only Fools and Horses!

We woke up early on boxing day morning so that we could Skype the families... it was lovely to see everyone and to share the exciting news that we will see you all in 2013!

The last major social occasion for 2012 was a New Years Eve get together at our place. The weather was lovely so we had around 10 people over for a casual BBQ and then walked to a park near by to watch both sets of fireworks. We were too busy cooking and keeping the Pimms glasses filled so don't seem to have any pictures of the evening! The highlight (apart from the fireworks) was the quiz that Neal had spent a long time putting together for our entertainment! The girls won (obviously!) and the agility round was definitely the most controversial!

I was wise enough to book the time between Christmas and New Years off. In the past, I have always worked it because a) I never seem to have enough leave and b) I begrudge using up annual leave when no one at work is doing a full day's work! That was until last year! I finished up at CMC just before Christmas and didn't start my new job until the first week in January, so I had two weeks off and it was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! I did have my aunty and uncle here to hang out with and that made it even more fun, but I had had a taste of having a summer holiday and I think I will probably never go back (until I realise I can't don't have enough annual leave again that is!). 

Hope you all had a fun Christmas and new year!