It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Christmas is by far my favourite time of the year, and I am by self admission what many would call a "Christmas nerd", but that's ok, I take that tag in my stride!

Christmas is all about giving and I think it's the main reason why I love it so much. Even though I write my gift buying list around November, promising myself that I'm going to try and be "more sensible and not feel the need to give a present to every single person I know", I am yet to succeed at this mission. My list constantly grows, evolves and develops each time I see something that I know would be perfect for a certain person and ultimately, it ends up in my shopping basket.

I'm almost convinced that this gene was passed down from my mother to me and regardless of whether it's a $1,000 gift, a $10 gift or something I've baked at home, the feeling of giving is like a shot of adrenaline. To be honest, sometimes it's disheartening when the other person hasn't considered you at all when you catch up for pre-Christmas dinner or drinks, but I'm glad I enjoy giving more than receiving.

Last weekend, my mother and I gave our time to a very worthwhile cause. Each year, the Salvation Army teams up with a large Australian department store called Myer, and offers a gift wrapping service in store for the month of December. I have tried in the past to work at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen on Christmas eve, but was pleasantly surprised and impressed to hear the operator tell me "there are no more places available for volunteers this year". Nice work Australia!

So instead I decided to give the gift wrapping thing a go. To be honest, I think I've missed my calling. To say that I love wrapping presents would be an understatement. I remember being a young teen and wishing that one day I would be able to work in a fancy store that carefully wrapped each item in tissue paper, placed it in a box and sealed it with a big, beautiful ribbon. I mean, who wants to be a doctor or a actress when you can be a 'professional gift wrapper', right? :)

With that being said, it goes without saying that I absolutely adored the task of wrapping other peoples gifts and it was an experience that I'd definitely volunteer for again next year. I suppose the moral of this post is to encourage anyone who wants to volunteer to find the right kind of way for you. There are so many charities and organisations out there in desperate need of your support, so try not just at Christmas, but throughout the year to help others less fortunate.

In the end, it all comes back to us ten fold.
PS. Sometimes all you need is brown paper and a little creativity...

Jenny From The Block...

Move over The Kardashian's.

I've got a new celebrity crush and she's not only beautiful, but incredibly talented.

She is the ultimate definition of a triple threat.

She is none other than Jennifer Lopez.

At the weekend, I was lucky enough to work on the JLo Dance Again tour. I spent the day setting up her divine all-white dressing room and then later that night, took my seat in the auditorium and watched the show. 

Having seen the biggest and best artists tour Australia over the past 5 years, I went into the JLo show expecting a high energy dance marathon with a couple of great backup singers and the help of a pre-recorded vocal. I couldn't have been more wrong. If JLo was lip-syncing through any stage of her show, she completely fooled me. Her vocal may not have been perfect and she skipped a few lines here and there to catch her breath, but all that could be excused for the simple fact that she put on a live show- in every sense of the word.

JLo is the first to admit that her passion for dancing trumps her singing and acting careers, and that has never been more evident than watching her tear up the stage in a performance that lasted from start to finish. With the exception of a 2 song ballad break, Lopez was running, jumping and shaking her world famous booty for over 2 hours, leaving the audience exhausted just watching her.

There are four things I know for sure, having now seen JLo perform live.

1. She can actually sing, which was abundantly clear when she slowed things down for an acoustic version of her smash hit- If you had my love.

2. She can definitely dance. If I ever had an ounce of doubt, it no longer exists.

3. She has the most impressive abs out of any female celebrity I've seen and just to add salt to the wound, she's a 43 year old mother of twins.

4. She has the most enviable hair in the world. Whoever her hair stylist is, they are a genius. And on a side note, let it be known that I would now like a portable fan to blow my hair off my face wherever I go.

So I guess this post is basically a Lopez love fest. To my readers- if you're ever considering seeing JLo perform, I promise you she won't disappoint.



Monday-itis...

It's Monday morning.
That in itself is a little upsetting.
But what's worse, is coming into work while running on a 50% battery- a body battery, not the phone variety.
All of last week I was at home, sick and missing out on the fabulous weather that Mother Nature has been treating us Adelaide locals lately.
And now it's Monday.

But, the thing that brightened up my day and completely changed my mood, was this video that my colleague kindly placed in my inbox before I got to work.

Watch it, and you'll instantly feel better too.

It really is the small things :)