First Week Done

I've completed my first official week of studies and I really enjoyed it!!

I'll start with last week; orientation week.  Was pretty daunting walking into school for the first time in 6 and a bit years but exciting.  It was a week full of presentations from Chisholm Institute Graphic Design graduates, where they've ended up in the industry which was an eye opener for me.  So many different fields you can follow within graphic design be it: designing packages, logos, communications/signage for internal and external for all sorts of industries/companies, putting together conference presentations etc etc, there's heaps which is very exciting and hopeful for one just starting out.  We had an excursion into the city on the last day, the Friday.  This included a presentation at ACMI (Australian Centre of the Moving Image) which I found a bit boring, it's all about 'appropriation', taking someone's piece of art be it a movie, cutting it into pieces and giving it a new meaning.  After that we got to watch a movie: The Impossible.  Such a good movie if you haven't seen it already!  It's based on a true story about how a family survived the Thailand 2004 Tsunami.  Very graphic and yes I cried a lot, but good.  So by the end of that week they wanted us to write 4 reports, two on the presentations we had throughout the week, one on ACMI and one on the movie.  Sigh, guess they just throw you in right away don't they?! :P  Plus we had to come up with a logo and tagline concept for a client: 1villageTV it's called.  It's on YouTube, disability industry and it's TV based on these groups of people that live together and are living a normal life.  So different presentations the company do with them, the concerts they put together etc.  Was a long week, let's put it that way, but a good one.

This is what I got to do on day one of classes, draw! :)  We were just drawing the outline of the shoes, getting proportions right etc.  Next week we will be using charcoal to shade in and give it depth, make it more 3D.  I get to take this drawing class to learn the skills to sketching/drawing.  Very excited to learn all these different techniques, my drawings are pretty hopeless as you can see below, but still fun.  And I can't complain, getting to draw for 3 hours a day is considered a class!! :)

Dan made me pancakes last Sunday....yummmm :D

Junior trying to squeeze throw my legs to give me a big lick :P  lol!

This is the concept I've come up with for 1villageTV logo.  Of course, my sketch is hopeless and doesn't give you the true feeling or look of what it's actually supposed to be (like the image that's in my head).  Unfortunately I don't know how to use the programs yet so I'm unable to draw it up on the computer and give it it's true life, but I suppose this gives you an idea.  The client wanted it to be colourful, fun, fresh, new, different.  I had a few other good ideas too but you can't choose all of them can you.  The client is going to chose one out of all of the submissions and actually use it (which could go global) which is exciting for the person who wins!  It could be one persons logo and another persons tagline, I'm not holding my breathe on winning but it's good experience.  

In another one of my classes we've been given the assignment to come up with a Pet Treat Sample Pack, this week we've been asked to do research and come up with a concept ie: logo, tagline, target market, type of domestic animal etc.  Well you can guess that I chose Dog Treats :P  I've come up with these logos so far, the one sitting is my favourite so far.  Brand name: Natural Love as you can see in the pic, Market: natural/organic (very booming market right now), flavour: tossing up between Chocolate RUFFles or Peanut Butter, we'll see ;)  It's so much fun coming up with these ideas and getting to be creative!  We got to learn some of InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop this week (some of the programs, which are a wee bit complicated to use!), I'm very excited when I get to learn more and be able to draw up my own images!!  Step by step I suppose ;)  Also learning how to make different page layouts; different types of brochures, books, creating packages, etc.

So today is homework day, I'm pretty much done now and had a bit of time so thought it best to give ya'll a bit of an update ;)  Then the weekend off with Dan, yay :)

On another subject, we've booked our flights to Thailand!! :D :D YIPPEEE!!  Very excited!  So we arrive on Friday 6th am and leave Fri 20 pm arrive home Sat 21 am of Sept.  Now to figure out our honeymoon options, we had decided on one which we were VERY excited about but seems to have fallen through as no one else is booked in for the tour on the dates that we can go :( :( :(  So we need to figure out if we wait and see if anyone does or find something else instead.  Very disappointed as it looked like so much fun!!!

Of course Dan's doing well, work work work.  He's the bread winner right now ;)  He's got me doing workouts with him in the garage which is fun and that's what I need, someone to plan my workout and tell me what to do!  

We're off on Sunday for a group ride (Harley) down to Kilcunda which will be fun!  The weather's supposed to be nice enough so will be nice to meat a few new people and go for a cruise together.  Speaking of the weather, it's autumn!! :(  It went from summer weather in the 30C's to low 20C's in a day, brrr!!  When you're used to the hotter weather.  I contemplated putting the heater on yesterday and putting my slippers on today, it's official and I have to say I'm a wee bit on the sad side :(   Oh well, there's always next year! :)

Ok, I think this one's long enough, best get on with my day.  Love to you all xx

LOTS of photos :)

Well what a couple of weeks it's been!  Let's start off with today and perhaps go backwards from there.

Today was my first day as a Design Student and man was I nervous (it was like the first day of high school all over again).  You could say it's been a little while since I last sat in a class, had to concentrate on a lecture, taken notes, doing assignments/reports & studied, so as you can guess I'm a wee bit nervous.  We started off the morning with a lecture from the IDE@S (Interactive Design Editing Animation Sound) Co-ordinator; his story where he started and what he's done since.  In the auditorium was all of the Graphic Design students and Screen Media students (IDEAS department).  We had a security & safety briefing and a briefing from the librarian.  We then broke into our own departments and had an introduction from Gary (Graphic Design co-ordinator and my teacher) about rules of the class, what's coming up etc.  He also mentioned by the end of the week we will have to right 4 different reports...what have I gotten myself into?!  Plus he's given us a run down of our first assignment come monday when classes actually commence (this week is orientation week) and I have to draw!!!  Oh dear, I can sort of draw but it's definitely nothing spectacular.  We also have to create a logo and tag line for a client who is presenting to us tomorrow, and I have to sketch it!!  It should be an interesting first couple of weeks lets just put it that way but it does look fun and I'm excited to let the creative juices flow, I'm just hoping they'll be good enough.  Presentations and a trip into the city over the next few days, then a weekend of work and then start normal classes next week.  Things have definitely changed slightly since I studied (mind you this is college not high school), you're allowed to have music in your ears, your phones, just not facebook, it's a bit weird but nice to know I can listen to music while I'm doing my work :)  Wish me luck over the couple of weeks!  

As usual, a pic of Junior thrown in just because he's so darn cute :)  This was after he'd just had a hose down (which he loves when it's hot out), he dragged that towel around for a bit after and then had a nap on it, pretty amusing little character :)

So I officially finished my last job last Tuesday which was so nice, it's a bit weird though, going to take some time getting used to this new routine.  I had Wednesday last week off to myself which I gave the house a good clean inside and out.  When Dan finished work on Wed we dropped off Junior to the babysitters (with Max who we dog-sat over Christmas) and then headed down to Inverloch.  For those of you who don't know where Inverloch is you'll have to google map it so you get an idea of where it is in comparison to us.  It's about an hour and a half drive.  It's a beautiful coastal community, rural, laid back, beach lifestyle, great surf beaches, away from the hussle and bussle of the city, not sky scrapers around there and definitely not millions of people! :)  We stayed with Dan's Aunt and Uncle (Les & Graham) until the Saturday.

Picture above: Dan heading over the sand dune down to the beach wich Les & Graham live right next too, a two second walk.

On the Thursday (Valentine's Day) Dan and I headed to a place called Phillip Island, it's about a half hour drive from Inverloch and yes it is an actual Island connected by a short bridge.  Phillip Island is b e a u t i f u l!  We had such a wonderful time that day, best Valentine's Day ever!  We went to the Koala Conservation Park, checked out a bunch of surf shops (heaps of great surf beaches around the island), had lunch by the sea, I saw my first wild Echidna cross right in front of our car and then to top off the day we watched the little ferry penguins march across the sand to there homes in the evening.  

Photo above: some older style boards in one of the board shops there, thought you'd like this photo Dad :) x

Dan helped my find a beach hat (finally found one!  It's taken a long time as most all are too big for my head, this one's a kid's one :P).  Keep the sun out of my eyes and off my ears.

Now we're jumping around a bit as this is the order the photos uploaded to my blog which is kind of annoying so keep up if you can ;)

Paul had his 40th Birthday the weekend before we went on our trip down to Inverloch.  As a 40th Birthday present, the family all chipped in and bought a SUP (Stand Up Paddle Board) package as this is something he's been eyeing up for awhile but they're a wee bit on the expensive side.  You could say he was surprised and very pleased.  We all met up at a place called Lysterfield Lake for lunch and had a test run on the paddle board.  It was such a gorgeous day out and we all had a great time.  I managed to scoot in for a swim as well, so nice to swim in fresh water again, first time since my last summer in Canada.

Picture above: Three brother's observing Paul's new toy.  You can probably guess, Dan wants one too :P  And so do I!!

Picture above: Andy and the kids having a play in the blow up boat.

Picture above: Banana cake made by the lovely Rel.

Picture above: Testing out the new toy, several of us had a go, so much fun! :)

Alright, so we're back to our trip that we just had.  This was taken on Phillip Island in front of one of the surf shops.  Had to have a photo, just too cool to pass up :P

Phillip Island chocolate factory, hmmmm :)  Life size ferry penguins all made out of chocolate, including the sand!  They had some very yummy chocolate there :)  Couldn't not try it now could we?!

Some pics from the Koala Conservation Park, you could get right up close to them.  Luckily they were pretty active for us when we went there too, it was so cool!!

Some Wallaby's there as well having a feed.  There is a lot more wildlife on Phillip Island then around where we live now so it's really cool to see.  We loved it so much down there that we're talking about moving there after the wedding/school!!  e x c i t i n g!  We'll rent at first, try it out and then if the commute to work each day doesn't kill us we'll buy down there  Houses are well and truly within our price range plus the lifestyle down there is just PERFECT!  Beach life, laid back, quiet, see the stars at night, rural, houses are well and truly spaced out (not crammed together like where we are now) and they've all got character, wilderness, hiking trails, just enough shops around to get buy but still a small town (it feels like home <3 amp="" and="" bigger="" city="" don="" far="" from="" happens="" it="" live="" ll="" may="" nbsp="" need="" not="" o="" once="" only="" or="" p="" really="" s="" see="" shops="" t="" that="" the="" time.="" time="" to="" we="" what="" you="">

Our view while we had lunch, not too shabby.

Surf beach off Cape Woollamai (on Phillip Island).  This is one of the areas on Phillip Island where we would look to live, away from the 'business' of town centre (which is named Cowes) if you can call it 'busy' compared to the city.  The Island is roughly 40km around.

This sign was hanging around when we went and saw the ferry penguins, thought it was so cute!  Unfortunately they don't allow any photography of the actual penguin march so I can't share those with you, but it was so cool watching the hundreds of penguins waddling up the beach, across the rocks to their homes at dark.  The reason they come out of the water at dark is so there is less of a chance they get picked off from above as they would during day time.  Did you know: these are the smallest species of penguins in the world?!  So cute!

Mr. Echidna scurrying across the road to safety.  He was too quick for me I didn't really get a good photo of him. So cool though, the only Echidna I've seen before is in a zoo.

This is the beach the little penguins come up each night to their burrows.

Beach in Inverloch, the one right next to Dan's relatives places.  Not too hard to take hey?!  And they're all like this, yes please!!

The bungalow at Les & Graham's place which we stayed in.  It was like a B&B, Les is a great cook/baker so we had some yummy food while we were there and it was lovely to catch up with them as well.

On the Friday Dan and I went for a nice ride on our bikes around town and then an afternoon on the beach.  What a hard life hey?!

Saturday, we got up early and went garage sale-ing with Les & Graham, so much fun!  Got a few little bits and pieces, saw some great furniture that would look perfect in our future beach house ;)  hehe, but of course didn't have the room in the car to bring it back or the room in the house for it.  But it was fun, been awhile since I've been to a garage sale.  The afternoon was proceeded by just chilling out, I snuck in a nap as well, it's hard work doing nothing! :P  And then we headed home Sat evening so we had a day on Sunday to settle back into home, get a few things done around the house and ready for the week & my new adventure! :)

Well that's a run down pretty much of what's been going on as of late.  We thoroughly enjoyed our trip together, time to wind down and have some quality time together.  It's going to be an interesting few weeks as I settle into my course, new routines and studying, I'm sure I'll keep you all updated on my progress :)  Hope life is treating you all well and keep an eye out on my blog for some videos, I tried to get them on this post but they were taking WAY too long to upload.  

Love to you all xx

Just a small one :)

Well hello everyone :)  

It's been a little while since my last post hasn't it?!  I suppose not too much crazy or exciting things have been happening over the last few weeks.  

Dan went off to Adelaide a week and a bit back to watch the Tour Down Under, he reckons he rode something like 650km in the week he was there on his pushbike. Most people suggest he's a bit on the crazy side?!  But I say good on him!!  (I'm glad he's addicted to fitness stuff rather than gaming or something!)  Him and a couple other mates (same guys as last year) went down, watched the tour, camped out and rode their pushies all week.  Sounded like he had a pretty good time.  Meanwhile, I stayed home and worked, worked and worked some more ;)  Someone's gotta do it I suppose :P  Oh and in-between that somehow hurt my hip which turned out to be a back alignment issue which the muscles in my hip were over compensating for, hence the pain, that was fun, not :P  So it was a bit of a quiet week for me, nice to have a bit of space and do my own thing but even sweeter when Dan came home :)  I did manage to slip in a spa day for myself on the weekend before he came home :)  Went and spoilt myself with a massage, facial and then a bit of retail therapy ;)  Gotta have some fun of my own don't I?!!

So I'm officially enrolled into my course for school! :D  Originally I was going to do Diploma of Graphic Design which is a year (finish in Oct), but I soon realized (after speaking with a teacher) that it would be best to do Certificate IV of Graphic Design first (still a year long course) and then if I wish to continue into Diploma (only half a year course and would be credited time/money from Cert. IV).  She explained to me that if I was to jump straight into Diploma that I might struggle/be more stressed out b/c I wouldn't know the programs as well as everyone else (who have already done Cert. IV), Cert IV course is based more on learning the programs and Diploma is based more on getting your portfolio together, so thought I'd be smart and do the right thing (and not stress the crap outta myself).  I'm super excited!!  Two weeks until I start, it's going to be like the first day of high school all over again! :P  I have to say that I'm very nervous as well a) b/c it's been so long since I've studied and b) b/c I'm not too sure what to expect (hope I like it?!).  So I guess I'll just have to wait and see what I've gotten myself into.

As you can guess, I've only got one week left of work!! :)  YIPPEE!  Actually it's 5 working days and then I get to have 5 days off! :)  So looking forward to that break!  And then work part time, no responsibility, go to work, do my job and go home, nothing more.  It's going to be weird and might be a bit hard to let go but I'm sure once I've started focusing on my course I won't have an issue just doing the basics at work.

Of course I have to throw a few Junior photos in ;) .....

This was taken when Dan was in Adelaide.  Two days while I was at work I went and dropped Junior off with Max (the dog with dog sat over Christmas) so he would have company while I was gone all day at work (otherwise he'd be on his own for 9/10hrs possibly more).  Love having the doggy daycare and so does Junior ;)  lol, he was SO exhausted from running around and playing with Max all day, I brought him home and both nights he went straight to the couch and passed out, as you can see in the photo above :P  Too cute, but I definitely didn't feel as guilty going to work all day (normally he's only on his own for around half a day but b/c Dan was gone it was way longer than that)

This was a 'pleeeaaassseee can I have some of your yummy food' look ;)  Trying to mooch from me after he'd just had a nap hehe.

A Christmas gift from Mum to Dan: make your own Bonsai, before.

Made some yummy mixed berry muffins the other day.  Didn't last long :)  Gotta love Pinterest for finding yummy and simple recipes!

And after.  It's pretty cool, it looks like broccoli but it's little crystals.

Well, that's it for this post.  Dan will be home shortly and Junior's ready for a walk so best get going.  Hope this post finds you all well xx  And hope winter's not too blah for those of you in the cold, thinking of you all xxoo