Dear internet provider,
Please hasten reconnecting my service - I feel disconnected from the world (but really, I'm kind of enjoying the internet down-time)!
Yours, I've-used-up-all-my-data Jagoe.

Dear teenage boy at the burger shop,
When you accidentally dropped my debit card and I said it was karma because I snapped my husband's card by accident and you said that it was 'card-ma', it pleased me greatly.
Yours truly, burger and pun fan ("would you like puns with that?").

Dear Theo,
You make me so excited for the future.  I am so impressed by your oh-so-nearly crawling and your exceptional hand-eye-coordination. You love trying new foods and your favourite at the moment is Greek yoghurt.  You are sleeping mostly in your own room now but I do miss being close to you all the time. I'm about to go back to university so I won't get to spend as much time with you, but you and your dad are going to have such good times together. You are such a sweet,  happy boy and you make me feel like the richest person alive. You have the best smile I've ever seen.
I love you very much,
From your mum.

Dear UNHCR telephone man,
It made me laugh so much when you were waiting for me to tell you my details and I thought you were logging something in your computer,  so we both sat in silence for 30 seconds waiting for the other. I liked how funny you found it too.  Also, thanks for chatting with me for 15 minutes about world events before asking me for money.
Yours, happy I could make a small contribution.

Dear Zooey Deschanel,
How do you get your fringe so perfect? Tips?
Yours, bang-jealous.

Dear Isis and Holly,
Thanks so much for accompanying me on an opshopping adventure - I hope you'll join me for round two later in the year. I really enjoyed your company.
Yours, opshop-obsessed.

Dear Bianca a year ago,
Don't cut your lovely, long hair. You will regret it!
Yours, impatiently waiting for it to grow back.

Dear C,
Thank you for all the work you put in for our little family and especially for all of the sleep- ins you let me have even when I know you've had less sleep than me. I know you'll be so much happier now that you've quit your job and you can be the stay-at-home dad you've always wanted to be. It will make me so happier to see you happy again and doing what you enjoy.
Lots of love, your wife.

Dear Launceston drivers,
Please learn how to use indicators and stop speeding. You make me feel unsafe.
Yours, self-proclaimed excellent driver.

Dear family,
Please come and live in Tasmania immediately. You'll really like it here,  I promise.
Love, your daughter/sister/aunty who misses you greatly.

Who do you need to write a letter to?

I spent the first half of the year preparing for and growing Theodore and the second half adjusting to the whirlwind experience of parenthood. We had some lovely trips and spent time with lots of people we love and I'll remember it fondly. Here is a little recount, more for jogging my own memory than anything else.


In January: We rang in the new year by attempting to eat a pomegranate, we found out we were having a boy, I spent a couple of days in Newcastle and attended my friends' wedding, I met my newborn nephew Moby and had a belated Christmas feast with my family, I got home and there was a sweet little black cat in my house named Atticus, our friends Chris and AJ came to stay, I started work on Theo's nursery - painting every piece of furniture I got my hands on.


In February: C and I celebrated our 4th year of being together, I went opshopping and to the markets a lot and started making a ridiculous amount of felt balls while watching Twin Peaks.


In March: I started 3rd trimester, I celebrated my 23rd birthday, C's brother came down to Tassie, C's dad went into hospital for a major operation, we went for a lovely drive to Devonport and swam at the beach, I started my maternity leave from my job, we went for a drive to the Bothwell Spin-In and I bought new art supplies and started making some things for friends.


In April: We started pregnancy classes, I made a whole bunch of paper packs, we went to see Q&A being filmed in Launceston, I learnt how to knit, I went opshopping with Holly, I painted a lot and we got a new kitty named Tin Tin.


In May: We waited patiently for Theo to arrive but he was late to the party, my parents arrived, C started his leave from work, we went to look at a house we wished we could have bought, we went to see They Might Be Giants 10 days before my due date and I basically finished the nursery.


In June: That baby boy of ours was finally born and we had a hard time adjusting to the whole rolldercoaster ride, but by the end of June we had a bit of a better handle on things, my parents went home and my sister came to visit, we started going out for lunch a couple of times a week despite how chilly it was outside, we moved our bed into the lounge room and stayed up late feeding baby and watching Le Tour.


In July: Baby smiles! I bought a really great baby carrier that made taking Theo places so much easier, we had our first outing without Theo to see Anna Karenina, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary, C went back to work, I went to a rally for asylum seekers, had a crafternoon with Isis and went to a couple of markets.


In August: I joined a gym, our friend Mel came to stay, we went to Hobart for a few days, we spent a week in Melbourne and visited my sister and her cute baby, Theo met one of his Great Grandmas and hung out with my friend Sophie.


In September: I got a new camera and started taking lots of photos, the front of our house started to be renovated, C started work on a short film, I went to Sarah & Holly's exhibition & zine workshop, I started doing more art, we had a picnic at Punchbowl Reserve with C's parents and we made a trip to Hobart to see a soccer game and stay with our friend Mel.


In October: My sister and her boyfriend came to visit, I started my Project Life album (still catching up), our friend Mel visited for a swing dancing event and we watched lots of dancing, I did lots of sketchbook doodling, renovating work finally finished on our house, Theo started eating solid food & we flew to Newcastle for two weeks.


In November: We spent the first week or two in Newcastle catching up with family and friends, went to a soccer game, spent some time in Forster, Dungog and Maitland and Theo met his Great Nanna and we went for a sweet day trip to Deloraine.


In December: We watched the Launceston Cycling Classic, Theo turned 6 months old, I started painting my traffic controller box, we were visited by our friends Sophie & Kaska and we took them to Hobart, Mona, Lilydale & Cataract Gorge, we had an early Christmas lunch with C's parents, took a drive on Christmas Day to Low Head and we started moving into our new house.

Music I enjoyed this year: Rodriguez, Rufus Wainwright, Peter, Bjorn & John, Paul Kelly, They Might Be Giants, Ed Sheeran, Alt J, Big Scary, Brightly, Willie Mason, Liane La Havas, Gravenhurst & The National.
Good books I read this year: Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick & Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.
Shows I enjoyed this year: Twin Peaks, Bedlam, Breaking Bad, Fresh Meat & The Killing.
Movies I enjoyed this year: Anna Karenina, Silver Linings Playbook, A Royal Affair, Monsieur Lazhar & Searching For Sugarman.

Some little resolves for the new year:
+ Write 52 Lists
+ See more bits of Tasmania
+ Go back to university and do my best to finish my degree
+ Spend more quality time with C
+ Treat my body better
+ Start making things to sell at markets
+ Purge my hoards of miscellany & organise

Happy new year to you!

...in December.



I started working on painting a traffic controller box that will be installed in my city. I've still got a bit left to do, but I'll do a proper post about it when it's done. I've so enjoyed doing it.


I saw this cool paste-up in Launceston.


I spied these overalls at an opshop in my size and debated buying them.


We had some nice family naps.



Some sweet friends visited us from Melbourne and we showed them some of Launceston's attractions, including the very beautiful Lilydale Falls.


I spotted this cute house while walking home.


We had a little lunch with C's parents a few days before Christmas and wore the obligatory paper hats.



We went for several drives in the countryside. Tasmania is so beautiful.



I dressed this little boy in some dorky outfits (the one above was a gift from Kate).


Somebody learnt to sit up this month! And joined me on a bit of gift shopping.


I made Theo lots and lots of baby food (we do a bit of baby-led solids and spoonfed).


I tried to take time to pat and appreciate my lovely kitties.


We attended a sweet 1st birthday party for little Clover.



This little boy kept us happy and entertained. Crawling is scarily close.

Reading | Rookie Yearbook 2, An Illustrated Life & Kidwrangling.
Watching | The White Queen (not quite sold on it yet), Homeland (anyone else feel like the finale was anticlimactic?) & Fresh Meat.
Listening | Ed Sheeran.
Visiting | Mona, Hobart, Lilydale Falls, Richmond & Low Head.
Consuming | Low FODMAP foods (and I feel so, so much better).
Making | Painting my traffic controller box.
Looking forward to | Settling into our new house, decorating and sitting in the garden, picking flowers to put in vases, going for bike rides, going to my Summer school unit, my mum visiting soon.

I hope 2013 wraps itself up nicely for you.

Our Christmases are always pretty understated. If we lived nearby to family we'd love to get together and exchange gifts and eat delicious food, but being 1000km away means that we usually have a very quiet day. As you've probably gathered, we're also not religious, so it also feels kind of hypocritical to make a big event of it. This year we went for a lovely scenic drive to Low Head and back through Gravelly Beach (the name really describes the place) and Swan Point (I did see swans). A really beautiful part of Tasmania. We had a picnic near the water in Low Head and would have stayed longer if it hadn't been for my raging migraine (from being kept awake the night before by a cheeky boy who wouldn't go back to sleep and wanted to play). I hope that however you spent your December 25th, it was enjoyable.







Out the car window on the drive home.