Category Archives: Stories

Thoughts from the road.

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This weekend I checked two things off my ‘The Last Single Girl’ list.

 

13. Go on a vacation by myself.

21. Go on a road trip.

 

This weekend I went on a road trip by myself.

Honestly it was one of best ideas/decisions/things I’ve had/made/done. I’d been feeling a little bit ‘bleh’ and decided just to do something a little bit spontaneous. I decided last Friday to go. Booked that night and the following Saturday morning I was off! I wasn’t too worried about having only myself for company, however I thought a one night trip would be a good starting place.

I stopped off for coffee at Blaine & Tegan’s before I left. Caffeine is critical for long drives but it also makes me happy. It also felt a bit like I had a cute little send off.

I drove to Byron Bay, which I’d actually never been to before. I drove up to the lighthouse.. walked around. Drove down to the beach. Sat on the beach and contempated life.

I had lunch and coffee at Bayleaf. Felt a bit judged with my slick hair and Prada handbag but got over it enough to enjoy the experience. And then I drove the last and longer leg of my journey on to Coffs Harbour. I stopped only once more to take a few photos and arrived in Coffs Harbour at 5pm.

When I road trip, I road trip in style. No backpackers or seedy motels. Resort luxury baby! Private access to the beach, a room that didn’t need to be that big. Pools, grassy lawns, sneaking a peak at a wedding they had that night. Yes, I think I’d make the right choice.

I wandered down to the jetty.. basked in the delightfully pink sunset. Picked up some dinner and settled in for some election updates which was all that was really on tv that night. I snuck a midnight (actually 8.30pm) swim and froze to death. Used every towel they provided me (6 in total). Took 2 showers and a bath and just generally enjoyed doing nothing.

Upon a recommendation from a local (B Ward represent) I went to Urban for breakfast, LOVED it. Stopped in at the beach again and then headed home.

Important lessons to be learnt from road trips.

  1. You are not invincible. My calves are aching today. I feel ridiculously tired, not relaxed. Whoops.
  2. Take a car with cruise control. Ouch. Seriously, my calves are SO sore.
  3. Go luxury. It’s worth it.
  4. Take photos. Lots of them.
  5. If you feel the need to talk to yourself, do it. I didn’t talk to myself, but I certainly did laugh out loud. Quite a lot. I laughed when I got to my room and realised how big it was. I laughed when I thought I’d take a shortcut back to my car from the beach and walked directly into a caravan park.
  6. Still talk to people. I think complete isolation is a bad idea when you travel alone.
  7. The whole point of being alone is that you can do things on your own timeframe. Eat dinner at 5pm, or 9pm if you wish. Stay up late, go to bed early, sleep in. Do whatEVER you want. WhenEVER you want.
  8. Get an amazing playlist. A mix between new songs and classics you love.
  9. Use a GPS. Not maps. I downloaded TomTom for my iPhone. Works a treat.. yells out directions to you and even if you have your headphones in, it will dim your music and let you know amazing things like ‘Keep going on Pacific Hwy for 76 km’. Ok great. Like I had other options.
  10. Snacks. That’s what I sort of forgot about. I should have gotten really into it and planned a little esky situation. Nope. Whoops.
  11. Look up places you want to go before hand. Research your coffee joints.
  12. Remember that there’s a time difference between the states. I got home way earlier than I needed to be due to a little thing we call Day Light Savings. Darn.

So many times I would sit/stand somewhere beautiful and think ‘Boy, I’m having such a good time’. And I would want to tell someone, but there was no one, and realising that was the main reason I was having such a good time was such a liberating experience. There’s something very important and necessary about open roads, relying on a map, street names you aren’t familiar with and a tiny bit of risk.

I’m sorry if you never see me on the weekends anymore, I will be adding more oil to my car (whoops again) and be road tripping all around our great country. Happy travels.

Paradise

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It’s no secret to the world that I like blogging. I follow one or two travel blogs and a couple of travel tumblr accounts. I only follow a couple because I was so so sure that following them would make me depressed. I desperately want to see more of the world but a lack of money and dedication to save said money has prevented this. So far I’ve been basically no where. I’ve been to New Zealand, but only briefly for work and I’ve been to New Caledonia and Vanuatu. The worst part is I’ve only really been to Sydney and Melbourne when it comes to my own country. I’ve briefly visited Adelaide so I don’t think it counts and the only thing I’m proud of is how much of Tasmania I’ve seen.

I’ve realised that until I finish university and start earning the big dollars, my overseas adventures will probably be a little limited. BUT, Australia still awaits! I’ve realised that Australia is actually pretty amazing. I’ve become so accustomed to beautiful scenery that I’m almost not aware of it anymore. Hanging out with foreigners brings new light and perspective. They are so aware of how different and beautiful everything is here and I’ve come to appreciate the country I live in so much more because of that.

Images Courtesy of Tourism Queensland.

Katie-Lou.

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Kate Fraser is one of my favourite people. You might recognise that name from various other posts which mention her older sister Laura Swanson (nee Fraser). I met Kate through Laura, was then her youth leader and now we are good and proper friends.

On Tuesday night, I went on a special Valentines Day date with Kate. To be honest, I’m surprised she was free as she’s single handedly the hottest person I know. We both wore red (MATCHING) and ate our dessert before our dinner cos we’re rebellious like that. We talked about family, boys, friends, Hart of Dixie and other important issues. I had a really great time.

Kate is smart, grounded, funny, quirky, sporty, genuine, easy-going and loyal. Oh and did I mention she’s seriously good looking?

This post was basically just to brag about how lucky I am but it’s also to brag about Kate new blog endeavour, Katie-Lou I do Love You. Kate inherits serious blogging skills from her older sister but has her own little unique twist that I super love. I’d be stoked if she posted something new everyday.

Check her and her blog out NOW.

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A day in the life of Steffany.

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 A little while ago my delightful friend Hannah posted something on her new blog Miss Pinches about a day in the life of Hannah. It entailed a typical day for her at university. The other day I took a couple of shots throughout the day and have decided to the do the same thing for my work day.

The day begins with a few too many hits on that snooze button and results in a later than planned start to the day. Despite knowing with my head that I need almost exactly an hour to get ready everday, my heart or physical body doesn’t want to comply and I leave myself only enough time to shower and blow dry my fringe. Thus resulting in me doing my makeup in the car.

I arrive at work to a barrage of emails. All work related. Tegan is away on her honeymoon and as such, I will have no Stegan entertainment throughout the day. I proceed to make my way through anything left over from the day before, and any new work coming in. Training means my phone still rings hot, even though I’m not longer sitting at Reception.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today my day means a date with the abovementioned Hannah Pinches which makes everything a little bit better. We had Italian outdoors which was a welcome change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Often I need to do errands and I get to use one of the Company’s Mazda’s 6′s. Which is a car size I am used to driving. Today I needed to go and pick out some new office chairs and to collect them, needed a bigger car. So they made me drive the big ute. It was an adventure all on it’s own.

 

 

White chocolate was necessary to get me through 3.30itus. Friday afternoon could not come soon enough.

As the obnoxious *insert anonymous name* department knock off work at 4.30pm with their exclusive snacks and drinking, admin continues tirelessly with the Fee Proposal that HAS to go out before the weekend that Management forgot about until just now (approx. 4.46pm). “Whoops, sorry Steff”.

I’m finally done. Knocking out a proposal in record time and finally feeling victorious as I kiss those Morgan signs goodbye and head off to my lonely car, the only one left in the car park and try not to skip or start singing Rebecca Black and realise that my job really isn’t that bad.

Clean White Love

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Hello my lovely friends and blog readers,

Welcome to Spring! In my opinion, spring is by far the best season. The weather is perfect, I’m born in spring, the flowers are delicious, its wedding season and all of sudden you feel like things that were difficult to achieve in winter, are now possible in spring.

This spring proves to be the best so far. One the 17th of September, my best friend, Tegan Churcher, will become Mrs Tegan Swanborough and this profound and precious occurrence will make this September amazing.

Most of the time I remember that I am a grown up now. I go to say things like ‘When I grow up I want to be a race-car driver’ and then realize that I actually am basically all grown up. I’m not old by any stretch of the imagination, but I am technically grown up. I have a job, bills, responsibilities. Most of the time I remember I am grown up.

Except for when I don’t remember. And I still feel about 12/17 years old and I wonder how I am even old enough to get a speeding ticket, am I really old enough to chaperone my sister on her schoolies cruise? I don’t think so.

I’m also not old enough for my best friend of the last 15 and ¾ years to be getting married. Now I have other friends who are married. My first close friend from school got married at 19, and I had a bit of a flip out then too. But then it became more normal, not so with Tegan. I think it’s because I’ve know her since I was 7.

To me we’re still sitting on the stairs at her parents place drinking green cordial and laughing about nothing. To me we’re still making our own Christmas decorations and decorating our bedrooms. We’re still making dance routines to the Backstreet Boys. We still have fairy parties and McDonalds parties. To me it still feels like the days when I used to try and force Tegan into going for a swim in her pool because I thought it was warm enough. Tegan was very over the novelty of a pool because she actually had one at her house. I still feel like we’re old enough to turn the trampoline up on its side and throw our bodies at it to try and knock it over and land on the trampoline. It doesn’t seem like that long ago when we were swinging on the playground and I got my hair caught in the swing as Tegan twisted me up so that when I untwisted I would spin around in circles. To me we’re still doing fashion parades and playing offices. I remember when we did ‘Twinkle’ the musical together, and I remember having Christmas Eve parties together, I remember talking about our first boyfriends back in primary school and it really wasn’t THAT long ago.

There’s something about knowing someone as well as I know Tegan, that I know marriage doesn’t really change anything much with us. We’ve done best friendship long distance, we survived seasons of boyfriends, break ups and seasons of both being single, we’ve survived financial troubles, and parental troubles and I know, that nothing really shakes our friendship. We’ve sustained one or two knocks, but in the end, they’ve just made it better.

I actually can’t adequately express how grateful I am for Tegan. I honestly don’t know how people survive without friendships like this. There are only really a few people that shape you as a person, and for me, those people are Jesus Christ, my father and Tegan Maree.

I can’t wait to see you get married. I can’t wait to see my childhood best friend and my adult best friend get married to one of the most amazing guys I know. I’m so proud of you. I’m so honoured to know you and to be a part of your life and your big day.

L.G.F

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Hey all

This is my best beautiful buddy Laura.

Let me tell you all about her.

I met Laura when we both 13 turning 14. The year was 2002 and I had the most ridiculously short hair and Laura was the Middle School Captain.

A friendship developed over common interests, common subjects and common friends. But what developed was not common at all. Rather unusual and special and a little bit unbreakable.

Sharing important moments together like maths, break ups, school captains retreats, formals, youth camps, blogging, Hillsong, Europe 08 planning, connect groups, NERF, long distance friendship for 3 months, reverb, interpretive white board erasing, lunch dates, the Book, new houses, countless birthday parties, letters, letters written backwards – this is only part of the history that is Laura and Steffany.

Laura has got about a million and one different skills – photography, painting, sock making, dancing, preaching, drawing, writing. She’s gorgeous as get all out – yet they are almost none of the reasons I love her. I love her because she is kind. I love her because she is honest. I love her because she is faithful. I love her because she is supportive. I love her because she is funny. I love her because she thinks I am funny. I love her because she loves Jesus. I love her because she isn’t afraid of being amazing. I love her, like a lot.

Next year we celebrate our 10 year frieneversary. We’ll have to celebrate before she leaves. I’m going to miss her a crazy amount – but I know our friendship has got guts and can hack it. :)

Will Swanson.. I’m not letting her go that easy!

Love Steffa xo

Over the hills and far away

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Yesterday I went for a walk outside. I don’t normally do this at work, but I’m thinking I probably should. Not only is it probably good for my body to get a tiny bit of exercise, but it takes my eyes away from the computer screen – which is always good.

I often will walk up and down the main street, but today I took a slightly different road. It wasn’t too remote or anything like that, but just a different street I’d never walked down before. I’m walking along, quite pleasantly when I all of a sudden realise I’m walking up a hill. I look ahead and realise I didn’t notice the heal from earlier on. I arrived at the top, a little puffed but glad to achieve something during a lunch break.

I took a moment to stop and see where I had come from. I looked at the hill I had conquered – then look forward to the easy downhill walk back home. Twas then I realised that while I had a downward slope for some of the journey, there was a hill that I’d missed on the first trip. A downhill slope I didn’t even realise until I had to climb back up it.

I didn’t enjoy the hill or take advantage of it when it was easy – but I definitely noticed the pain of the hill when it was hard. Life is hard, but it often has it’s easier moments. Breathing periods. They don’t always happen often, but you have to enjoy them when you can. Take note of when the hill feels easy rather than only remembering when the hill was difficult. Realise when life is sweet and good and pure – and then remember how much weight you loose or how much muscle you gain from when life is difficult.

The Setting Sun

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It’s a vast sea of colours. Pink, blue, green, purple, orange, yellow. If you squint it looks like someone squirted many tubes of paint onto a canvas and smeared them all together. The intensity of the colours is only overtaken by the sound that grows louder and louder the closer I get to the street.

Passion. Anger. It’s a protest.

What are they protesting? It’s a passing thought as my focus is on getting back to that spot in the pavement. That slightly uneven spot in the pavement where I stumbled earlier. I must have dropped it there. I must have. Why is the pavement uneven? Is there perhaps a root underneath that is uplifting the cement? It too a passing thought as I push past women, children.

Fear. Regret. A really big mistake.

He warned me not to even bring it with me. Where are all the men? The ragged thumping near my chest grows as I edge closer and closer to the fountain. Thump. Thump. Silence. A small boy squatting with something in his fingers.

Passion. Anger. It’s a protest.

Perhaps on instinct, he turns. Maybe 6, dark curly hair, eyes that dance. Why is he running? I tell my brain to tell my feet to run after him but nothing happens. It’s like a dream and my legs are filled with cement. How can the boy know it’s value. I yell out stop as I try and remember the local language.

Fear. Regret. A really big mistake

This mistake was the misjudgment of distance. Add red to the list of colours on show as warm blood spills onto yet another bump in the pavement. It must be a uplifted root. The child is gone. Around a corner?  Hiding behind a sign marked ‘NO MORE..’. What is this protest? Salty tears. Broken sobs.

Friendship

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Friendship is possibly the great thing in the world. Lately I’ve been reminded just how lucky I am.

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.. it has no survival value; rather it gives value to survival. C.S Lewis

On Sunday night I got to see 3 of my best friends. They are not the most perfect people in life but they are perfect for my life.

.Tegan.Laura.Emily.

.Tegan.Laura.Emily.

Tegan Churcher

I met Tegan Churcher when I was 9 years old. I moved to a state called Tasmania because my Dad was becoming the minister of Devonport Church of Christ. Tegan’s mother, Sharon, was in charge of all things creative there. So that’s how we met. Unfortunately we’re still friends to this day and she can still remember that I wore a nightie the first time I met her. Tegan Churcher is my bestest friend. We have been friends for 12 years now and it’s a bond we’re proud to say is a little bit freakish. Tegan loves interior design, Jesus, trying new things and thankfully, she loves me. She has great taste in music & in fashion. People say we look alike. I think that’s a lie. We are the same person, she is just 10 times better looking than I am.

.Tegan.Churcher.

.Tegan.Churcher.

Laura Fraser

I don’t recall the specific time and place that I met Laura Fraser, although it was much later on in life than when I met Tegan. Laura and I started to become friends in Science class. We actually really bonded over this little personal joke we got going which was N.E.R.F’s. It’s basically a nerdier way to be a nerd. But let’s face it.. I gave up being a nerd or a nerf a long time ago, LF is still going strong. Which is actually one of the the things I love about Laura. She’s really intelligent. Sometimes she misses jokes but don’t let that fool you. Laura Fraser will do great things. Laura Fraser is crazy, I love crazy Laura. Laura is a brilliant writer, artist, dancer, speaker, thinker, photographer and friend.

.Laura.Fraser.

.Laura.Fraser.

Emily Averill

I never really met Emily Averill. She’s one of those people that everyone that you know, knows, so then you end up knowing her. What I will say is though, that from the moment we started talking and hanging out.. give us like.. 3 months.. and we were at best friend status. Laura, Emily & I did so many things together and I think the 3 of us sort of became a thing. Emily Averill is different. I think she processes the world differently than the rest of us and I really like that. She’s an insane artist. She should really be making a lot of money out of what she does. She’s a brilliant singer, although she really doesn’t think so. She’s a little more than insanely good looking. Track pants & baggy t-shirt or a lbd – she’s stunning. She’s a great friend, girlfriend, sister & daughter. Her relationships are fresh and exciting, and despite being two years younger than me, I have learnt so much from being in her life.

.Emily.Averill.

.Emily.Averill.

Rebecca Mumberson

I really clearly remember the first time I met Bec Mumberson. Clearer than the three girls I’ve already mentioned. It was at Grade 9 camp on a bus. I’m very pale and had put sunscreen on my face and rubbed it in, and then put another layer on my face sort of like zink, just to be a little bit weird, but also for extra protection. Bec looked at me with utter disgust as she rolled her eyes ‘Look, do you realise you have sunscreen ALL over you face?’. I told her yes I did, and went on my merry way. Our friendship has frown over the years despite the rough start. Rebecca is kind, thoughtful, persistent, clever, gorgeous, engaged, creative and a really great friend. So many of my happiest memories are filled with this wonderful lady. I can’t wait to be a part of her wedding day.

.Bec.Mumberson.&.Nathan.Whitecross.

.Bec.Mumberson.&.Nathan.Whitecross.

Some of the other gorgeous people who I’m lucky to do life with..

.Emma.Kelly.Jess.

.Emma.Kelly.Jess.

I love birthdays and I love birthday parties. I think the greatest thing about birthday parties is how self centered they can be. For one night, it can pretty much all about you. There’s sometimes nice about showing a person how much you care about them, but choosing to stop being selfish for one night. Plus there are presents and cake. Two things I’m rather fond of.

Kristen.Amy.Aj.Steff

Kristen.Amy.Aj.Steff

.AndyWilliams.BlaineSwanborough.

.AndyWilliams.BlaineSwanborough.

.Chloe...Casey.

.Chloe...Casey.

.Rachel.Atwood.Matt.Jensen.

.Rachel.Atwood.Matt.Jensen.

These two are engaged. These two are pretty cute. Alone they are lovely people, but together they are maybe even lovlier. I love lovely friends.

SteveLimkin.WillSwanson.RuthLimkin.

SteveLimkin.WillSwanson.RuthLimkin.

This photo is at the airport. I love that friends support you. That’s what friendship is I think. If you set out on a new adventure, in God, in your career, in life – friends are there to support you.

..Sarah..Holmes..Sarah..Starrenburg..

..Sarah..Holmes..Sarah..Starrenburg..

Friends celebrate life together. They get dressed up and they dance together.

Jess.Emma.Shannon.Chloe.Chris.Steff.Liz

Jess.Emma.Shannon.Chloe.Chris.Steff.Liz

.Friends.

.Friends.

.My20thBirthdayParty.

.My20thBirthdayParty.

A friend hears the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.– Anonymous

I think I’m pretty lucky. The greatest thing about this post is, there’s a lot of amazing friends of mine who aren’t on this page right here. I’m lucky to have them in my life as well.