Sunshine Coast Wine Expo + August Gratitude Catch-Up

Here I was, all proud of my blogging streak, and then I fell off the wagon quite a bit. It’s not that I didn’t want to write, but more that we had things on, and then I prioritised rest and sleep.

I’m still dealing with this sinus infection. The thing is, I feel ok, just exhausted. And my throat is absolutely trashed. We went to a wine expo on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday, mainly because we had spent $80 per ticket for the two of us, and given that I wasn’t contagious, we didn’t want that going to waste.

So, I frocked up, straightened my hair, and off we went.

Sunshine Coast Wine Expo

It was hosted at the Sunshine Coast City Hall, in the restaurant on the top floor.

The building was pretty controversial when it was built (a lot of money, and questionable on whether it was necessary), but I really do like the finished design. It’s inspired by the region’s natural features and history, including the Glasshouse Mountains.

But you can’t deny it makes a pretty striking picture when you stand down below and just look up. Plus I’m a sucker for timber and greenery together.

Anyways, the wine show was decent. There were only a couple of wines that, in our opinion, were worth buying, and we had some amazing chats with a few of the winemakers. One of them gave us his card, and we promised to come visit one day in New Zealand.

The layout wasn’t the greatest. They had it in a U-shape around the building, which meant that it became extremely cramped in the corners, and at one point we felt a bit trapped in the corner. They had loads of nibbles (probably to try and avoid anyone getting too hammered), and everyone seemed pretty friendly. Each session was only 3 hours, so it did mean that it was pretty impossible to try all of them (compared to the Good Food and Wine Festival in Brisbane, where you’re there all day, but they also have quadruple the amount of wine on offer).

It was super loud in there, and I think that’s what might have caused my throat issues today. I had a call for work that was only 5 minutes long, and I ended up in a coughing fit. I’ve now lost my voice and have been coughing up gunk non-stop.

On Saturday night after the wine expo, I only managed about 2-3 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I kept waking and coughing up more, and at 3 am even got up to do a sinus rinse.

Yesterday was very much a rest and recovery day. I was so tired. I had probably only drunk the equivalent of maybe 2 glasses of wine total, so it wasn’t a hangover. It was the lack of sleep! We went to the markets in the morning, I did some fresh nails, and then I napped at lunch. After that, I cleaned the house in preparation for having some friends over for a pizza dinner, which was really lovely.

Side note: why do I always feel I have to overshare with everyone? The stuff we talked about with our friends went from morbid to tear-jerkers. I apparently really suck at the small polite talk. I guess the silver lining is that it sparks conversation, but sometimes it probably makes people uncomfortable. Sorry to anyone out there if I ever have; it’s completely unintentional!

Anyway, to completely segue to another topic, in a not-very-obvious way, I’m behind on my daily gratitude prompts from The Optimistic Muse. I need to catch up, so here we go!

Day 15: One thing in nature that always amazes me is…

How bad-ass nature can be! A friend and I have been sharing “fun facts” over the last few days, and for some reason they just instantly turned to gross and hardcore things that nature does.

Some of the highlights:

• The largest piece of fossilised dinosaur poo discovered is over 30cm long and over two litres in volume.
• Sea cucumbers breathe through their butts. They pull water in through the rear end and use it to extract oxygen.
• Octopuses have been observed punching fish in the face. They team up with the fish to hunt, but then they use an arm (tentacle?) to smack their fishy hunting partners in the head, particularly when the fish isn’t being cooperative. Rude!
• Wombats are the only animals in the world that produce cube-shaped poop. This unique shape prevents the faeces from rolling away, allowing wombats to stack the cubes and effectively mark their territory along rocks and logs.
• There is a bird called the yellow-rumped warbler, and birdwatchers affectionately call it the “butter-butt”.
• Some bats have tiny PENIS SPINES. They’re microscopic, about 20 micrometres long, and scientists actually study them to help tell different bat species apart.

Also, wombats use their butts as a defensive shield by blocking the entrance to their burrows. I have been known to also use my butt to block my husband or son from walking past, so maybe wombats are my spirit animals?

Day 16: Best memory from August so far

This is where I become really grateful for having my planner, so I can look back and see what happened this year. Also, side note: how are we over halfway through August already, wtf?!

My favourite memory happened coincidentally on August 1st, when the gratitude prompt asked for the highlight of my day.

Seeing my husband get visibly moved by my son writing on a birthday card, “thanks for being my dad”. Seeing him feel appreciated and loved. Seeing someone else feel such strong, happy, joyful feelings, you can’t help but be grateful to be there to witness that.

It’s bringing me all the warm fuzzies just remembering it now.

Day 17: A moment from today that felt like a gift… 

My husband making lunch for me. We’re lucky that both of us work from home, and I’m utterly spoiled that he cooks for me most days.

Today was something simple, and by that, I mean simple for him. It’s beyond my capabilities, mainly because I’m flat-out boiling an egg.

I had rice, steak, and sweet potato. It was delicious, and it was the protein and iron that I need in my diet right now. With a bit of carbs for good measure (almost wrote that as “crabs”, and no, I don’t have crabs, nor do I want crabs, neither the food nor the crotchy ones, ew).

I hope I never take it for granted how great his cooking is, and how lucky I am that he cooks for me. I hope he’s always happy to keep cooking for me. It’s extra special on the days when we can line up time to sit and eat together. As it was, today I sat there doing my jigsaw puzzle while I ate.

So, with that, I’m back up to date with my gratitude prompts! Think I’ll pack it all up and go to bed now, see if I can manage to stay asleep for most of tonight, instead of rolling around coughing.

Has anyone got more disgusting fun facts about animals for me? Do you ever think of cooking as a gift?