This morning I dragged myself out of bed at 5.45am to get ready to go and meet a friend and a new trainer at Kawana beach. The plan is to get super fit again and prepare myself for the event I’ll be competing in next year called “Tough Mudder“, an obstacle course lasting approximately 19km. Put simply, I have about 12 – 16 months of torture ahead; it’s going to be great!

As much as I enjoy doing exercise, actually getting myself to go and do it is by far the hardest bit; sometimes the call of the couch is far too strong. So this morning when I woke up at stupid o’clock, getting out of bed was the last thing I wanted to do. Particularly when I had a snoozing C beside me looking so warm and comfortable. Alas, I’m one of those people that hates to let others down, so I grudgingly climbed out, got dressed and left. What greeted me at the beach was the stunning view you see above.

There was no time to feel cold and tired when I got to see that. Instantly I remembered how much I loved getting up early and going for a run, when the world is quiet and so beautiful. Instantly I looked forward to the training session.

Instantly I was glad I was getting back into this again.

What’s your reason for getting out of bed in the morning?

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After work yesterday, C and I grabbed the dogs and went for a walk to a big field nearby. The plan was to let the dogs off the lead and throw the ball for them until they were buggered. I guess it’s practice for when I eventually become a parent and need to wear my kids out.

Kids. Hmph. MANY years away yet.

After a while we decided we would keep walking down the bank of the canal, where we came across a small beach. The dogs absolutely love water, and didn’t need any instruction from us before bounding into the water. We proceeded to throw the ball around so they could swim and play in the water (and get tired).

What we didn’t expect to be treated to was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen in a while. Just gorgeous.

On days like this, I love my life.

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I must learn not to get distracted when making some toast for breakfast. I burned 4 pieces of toast before I finally got one that was edible.

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Sitting on our back deck today, we had an amazing view of a golden moon.

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My niece lost another tooth today, and couldn’t wait for the tooth fairy to visit that night.

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Tonight I attended a 70′s party with Huggy Bear (starsky & hutch reference). It was great fun, and I actually really liked the dress I was wearing. It was SO comfortable! I’ve changed, I used to be cool.

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Where I now live with C and some friends, we have an amazingly large back deck that hangs over a canal. It is by far my most favourite thing of this house, and every day there is something new and exciting to witness there. On this particular night, the lights from the nearby stadium combined with the cloud cover made for a mysterious and gloomy looking night.

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Since receiving a kindle for Christmas I’ve rediscovered my passion for reading. I’m currently enjoying a Stephen King novel, which I’ll be sure to blog all about when I’m finished.

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These dogs are seriously all tongue.

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Poor Max – the girls took his ball and ran away! I love the expression on his face in this picture, it excuses the fact it’s slightly out of focus.

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A little bit less exciting for a photo here, it’s simply a picture of the pillows on the bed I share with C. I hate to think it’s only the 2nd day of the year and already I’m taking mundane photos. I’ll have to do better than that.

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For New Years, some friends and my housemates celebrated by having some drinks on our back deck. I was thrilled to welcome in the new year with friends and some good tunes. I’m hoping that 2012 will be a year of stability and personal development as I take the important steps to securing my future. 2011 had enough life changes for me, this year I would like it to be a little less exciting thanks.

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I was on life saving patrol over the weekend, and the beach looked pretty darn gloomy! I blame the overcast weather and the storm in the early hours of the morning.

During the recently Rugby Union World Cup, C hosted a group of friends to watch the Australian wallabies unfortunately fall prey to the New Zealand All Blacks. During the night, we had a few shots of these to keep things ticking along.

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This weekend was my first attempt at photographing a carnival, and I’m a little mixed on the results. It wasn’t the best weekend to familiarise myself with sports photography, as the conditions were pretty challenging. The first day was cold and wet, and referring back to the comment about being an amateur, I don’t exactly have wet weather gear for my camera. I don’t even own a lens hood! Thus the first day of the competition was spent standing on the beach in a dryzabone coat, getting the camera out only when the rain eased off enough that I was sure I wasn’t going to ruin anything. The second day was a lot better with the sun poking out, however it still provided some challenges in getting my exposure levels right.

At the end of the weekend I came out with some shots that I’m relatively happy with, though I know I still have a long way to go. For a first attempt I don’t think I did too badly though, and realistically I’m not going to get any better without practising!

Here’s a couple of my favourite shots:

Mitch and Scott send the nose skywards over a wave

Ben and Kane get some air time

I thought this was a nice clear action shot of Kane

Some of the team from the surf club

To see all of the photos in the collection, head over to my Flickr set.

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Another night spent in front of the computer doing chemistry.

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I went for a run this morning and saw all the cows from Wises Farm standing at the gate. I stopped to take a photo of them, so they promptly backed right up away from me, then stared. Note how cold it is, the hill is misty!

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Happy Mother’s Day Mum (aka Lynne O’Brien). Thank you for being such a wonderful Mum to me, even in my rebellious days, and constantly inspiring me with your dedication to helping others. The most unselfish person I know, and who deserves a million good things.

This photo was taken while we were out to lunch for Mother’s Day. My sister Amy O’Brien couldn’t make it, so we decided to take a photo of us waving to her. Instead, my man hands and skeletal fingers are highlighted. Hmph.

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This photo made it into today’s photos, just. 12.17am in fact, and after a substantial amount of drinks. How to tell I was drunk? I was willingly on the dance floor, and in fact, I recall dragging Timmy onto the floor with Kim and I. At least it was because the band was playing some awesome songs. From memory, I think they played one song where it looked like I was the only one who actually knew what it was!

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I overcame a fear today, and I babysat a young boy…Hayden Thanks to the gracious Chere,, we passed the time playing with Blake and Rylie.

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After a long drive home from Rockhampton I took the car for a well deserved wash at carlovers. The rainbow wax always looks so awesome, one of my favourite parts of the process. I know my friend Jo is a fan of anything rainbow too

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