Signs of Strength

It was difficult to get motivated this morning but I got to the shop early enough to open for meditation  and I have to say that meditation was exactly what I needed. There were ten in attendance and the gratitude at the end of the session really brought a lot of light and joy and energy to the shop which in turn transferred to me.

Thanks to an amazing hour in the afternoon, it was a very good sales day which added to my joy and energy!!

We took delivery of some Sassy Duck handbags ...

... and not long after that The Motivator made an appearance. It was so good to see her face and feel the 'team' emerge again. It's going to be fun with both of us here as all of the deliveries arrive during the next week!

*happy dance*

Because last Friday was International Women's Day, there has been story after story after story about all women and every aspect of every woman's life.

Steering away from the stories about great women in history and looking at ways that we women can become stronger figures in our own lives, these are the bits and pieces and snippets that I've related to the most and the ones I thought I would share:  

Respect yourself and others - stand tall and don't let the behaviour of others drag you down.

Be independent - don't rely on anyone else to get you through life but recognise when you need assistance and know that it's ok to give others the gift of helping you in times of need.

Don't allow your emotions to control you - don't dwell on situations or feelings. Feel the emotion and then move on. Instead of allowing others to control your energy, flip it and put your own more positive and loving energy out into the world.

Take risks - as adults, we put up walls and believe that we "can't" do certain things. We create an image of ourselves and it becomes "fixed". Believe that you can bend and mold yourself into something new whenever you want. Don't let fear control you.

Remain positive - live a positive life because positivity can take you from the depths of despair to the highest altitudes of joy. It helps you make the best of all situations. Become a source of light. Instead of fixating on problems, focus on solutions.

Be in control but also know when to let someone else shine.

Be creative and use your imagination.

Stay away from shallow people who thrive on drama and gossip.

Tell it like it is and respect others who do the same.

Take care of your own health and happiness. Don't expect others to do it for you.

Surround yourself with positive empowered people. Negativity has no place in your life.

Learn new things.

Test your limits.

Believe that you can do anything you want in life.

Know your worth and value and know that it's ok to rock the boat occasionally.

Give yourself time to recharge after using and emitting all of this positive energy!

A tough challenge that requires a conscious and concerted effort, but eventually the effects are amazing and it can annoy the crap out of people when they can see that you don't want to look at the negative and can see something positive in every situation.

That's it from me.

I'm positive that I'm off to bed and that I will begin my day by writing in my gratitude journal in the morning before I put my two feet on the floor.

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Nite all.

Winning Habits

What an interesting day!

Morning coffee with the girls was a cack as usual. The girls alone made the day in sales more successful than any day last week, but sales in the afternoon brought it to a level that gives me hope that the 'quiet' period is over.

As they day wore on, the sky grew dark with smoke from the big bushfires on the other side of the river at Woodgate ...

but just when the fieries got the fires under control, the sky grew dark with storm clouds and we caught the edge of a severe storm that headed north and hopefully helped completely extinguish the fires.

I left the trike at the shop and came home in the car with Adoring Husband.

We folded the umbrella over the pool and tied it near the fence and put the outdoor bar setting into the  outdoor kitchen - just in case the storm got out of control.

Luckily it missed us, but we could have done with some more rain.

I also put dinner into the oven early - just in case we lost power during the storm - so we ate dinner at about 5pm.

I'm off to bed super early so that I can be up early for meditation tomorrow.

Thought I'd share this with you - so interesting and something that The Motivator and I are both working on at the moment.



I hope you enjoy Hump Day!

Nite all.

Self Discovery

Self discovery is not easy.

It can be painful and shocking and requires continued commitment and practice.

The results can be freeing and inspiring.

One day I’ll write about the processes that I’ve been through, but I found this and it struck a chord, so I’m sharing it here.

I had a good day at the shop, met some new people who are on holidays and I made a phone sale from a previous holiday maker.

I did some study.

I repaired the blind on the back door.

The Gypsy did not attend today and I really missed her and our chats.

Adoring Husband arrived before 3pm, ordered our coffee and then helped close the shop.

I arrived home, immediately changed into my bathers and slid into the pool for an hour long floating/swimming/wading session. AH even joined me for a while. Then I sat under the Bali hut for half an hour until it was time to make dinner.

Now I'm ready for a good night's sleep.

Nite all.

Time Out

This was pretty much how my entire day went ...

I started in bed til about 9.30am.

Adoring Husband was waiting for me in the pool, so we swam for a while and then I decided to lie in the Bali bed for a few hours.

Gradually the sun moved and made it too hot to stay there, so I slid into the pool again to cool down and decided to shift all my gear to the Bali hut beside Adoring Husband.

My only achievement for the day was cooking a corned silverside for dinner with cabbage, mash and white sauce, of which Adoring Husband ate two whole plates full! It must have been good!

I needed to chill out, relax, wind down, regenerate, shut down my brain and rest.

Monday is going to be a GREAT day and it will be the beginning of a FABULOUS week.

Just watch!

Now for an early night to top off my day perfectly.

Nite all.

On a High

It has been a big day.

I was motivated to get out of bed early and make myself presentable for this full day ... with no time for showering, changing or beautifying between engagements, I had to pick my look and make it stretch for the entire day.

We opened the shop early, hoping to take advantage of the market crowd and even though a few came in, they were mostly tyre kickers. Support from the locals is what made the morning a success.

I found out some interesting town/community information and I took the opportunity to tell the Progress Association that I wasn't happy about their lack of support for local businesses.

I paid some bills and responded to some emails, tidied up the desk and sideboard and did some accounting.

Adoring Husband arrived at 12.30pm and we began closing at 12.50pm. We pulled out of the driveway at 12.59pm.

This gave me enough time to freshen my make up and put some things into a handbag and be waiting for my lift to take me to High Tea at Arkarra Tea Gardens ...

The food for the non-GF people - that would be The Brains Trust, Lady Lynn and Beauty, looked delicious and included mini quiches, croquettes, sandwiches, mini wraps, lemon custard tarts, macaroons, cherry ripe tarts, mini muffins, pumpkin & olive scones, normal scones with jam and cream and fudge.

My GF plate consisted of a crepe with ham and slaw, a raspberry custard tart and a pear and walnut muffin. I have to say that the crepe was delicious and I could have eaten two or three of them! Our tea was too strong and not hot ... but at the end of the afternoon we ordered cappuccinos and lattes, which was not part of the deal and they were offered 'on the house'.

The best part of the afternoon was spending time with my girls. I love you girls 🤗

Beauty dropped me at home around 4.30pm and I had time to, once again, freshen my make up, brush my hair and change bags before climbing into the car and heading to the big 70th birthday bash at the local pub.

We were a little late, but there was already a big crowd and it took a good 20 minutes to get through the room saying hello to everyone as we went.

AH got me a drink and I found a seat between Chef Pat and Whingeing Pom sitting across from Blonde Bombshell and Mrs Mack. I signed the joint birthday card, tasted some (apparently) GF food - but most of it had already been eaten by the non GF eaters, so sadly, all I got was some tater tots. Luckily my tummy was still full from High Tea.

Everyone was so excited to see AH out and about, he was kept busy chatting with every man and his dog.

I had a football conversation with Mr Bronco, a Sydney conversation with Angry Angry Lady, a pest control conversation with Chef Pat, a cleansing conversation with Woman of Many Talents, a jewellery conversation with Mrs Mack, a Chardonnay conversation with Reality TV Queen and so many others.

At 6.30pm AH decided it was time to leave. I have to say that I was ever so grateful that he did!

We said our goodbyes, drove home, made some tomato on toast and planted our butts on our recliners feeling every bit our age tonight!

I'm now looking forward to climbing into bed and sleeping soundly for a good number of hours.

Nite all.    





 

Low Down

The battery on my laptop is at 9% and I have left the charger at work, so I need to make this really fast ... no dilly dallying.

I won a big meat tray in the club raffles tonight, but swapped with Blonde Bombshell for her prize of a Corned Beef because my meat tray was full of crumbed meat - gluten. Ugh.

It was a winning night for me on the pokies too, so I'm a happy Chappy.

We had a crazy quiet day in The Happy Abode, but I noticed this afternoon, that a lot of vans filled the caravan park and the Bowls Club was FULL of tourists tonight, so things may be picking up!

Our local markets are on in the morning and that usually brings a few people to the shop afterwards.

I'm excited that NRL football starts again next week! Yay for footy season!

Adoring Husband and I have joined the club footy tipping comp and I've opened the family comp again. There are six of us who compete every year for the prize of 'dinner at my place'. My sister has still not claimed her prize from a couple of years ago.

It's going to be a big day for me tomorrow.

Work in the morning.

High tea at Arkarra Tea Gardens in the afternoon.

A 70th birthday party tomorrow afternoon/evening.

I can't believe how social my life has been this year! It's exhausting!

Sunday is going to be a complete day of rest and I'm going to need it.

Right now, I'm off to bed. I need plenty of sleep to get through tomorrow.

Nite all.

Second Act

It has been a big couple of weeks for me and the last two nights just about did me in.

A week in Sydney, working the shop every day, travelling into The Bay after work for the last two days, socialising with all the lovely people and sleeping poorly in the strange bed.

I feel 'peopled' out and very tired.

Not that I have any regrets because Sydney was fabulous, I always love being at The Happy Abode and being with my girls is one of my favourite pastimes!

The first afternoon and evening were pretty big, but the food was terrible for we GF girls - thank god for the chocolate cake dessert that redeemed the restaurant - but the company was good and the drinks afterwards were more than acceptable.

The entertainment value of watching the drunk girls tripping over the bi-folding door tracks over and over again back at the apartment, was worthy of an entrance fee, but best of all was the dancing. Dancing on both nights was spectacular - especially the impromptu dancing. The planned dancing was full of errors and the girls were lucky I wasn't holding a paddle with a score on it!

There was some great story telling about concerts we attended in our youth, famous people we met, our favourite shows and the pommies told some funny stories from their country of origin ... as they do.

There was swimming in the pool.

There was marathon walking ... because it was SO FAR between one apartment and the other! Of course, there were advantages and disadvantages to that!

There was a lot of tag team situations as people arrived for lunches (not me) and all stayed for varying lengths of time and one lady only stayed for one night instead of two - but she had a lot of fun for the brief time she was there.

On the last night the five of us in our room watched this movie ...



It was funny and there was much raucous laughter from our lounge room. We had attempted to watch the movie 'Colette' first, but it was slow and had a couple of us dozing in the chair, so we changed it up.

So, congratulations to Blonde Bombshell for cheating death and getting to spend so much more quality time with US 🤩 We are very happy to have you still with us and equally happy that you invited us to your celebration of being alive.

It's 9pm and I'm ready to catch up on some sleep.

Let's hope that tomorrow is a busy day to end a very quiet week in The Happy Abode.

Nite all.

OH! Thank you to my Adoring Husband for going above and beyond, driving me into The Bay every afternoon and then driving in to pick me up and bring me back to work every morning. He is my champion. I think I hit the jackpot when he found me all those years ago in the MSN chatroom. Feeling very blessed.

Early Lodgement

I'm here early today.

I'll be closing the shop very soon and heading into The Bay to spend an evening with the girls. All ten of them!

There was no coffee morning in the shop. I was all alone ...

This is a celebration of the survival of The Blonde Bombshell from her horrific car accident last year and she plans on making this a yearly event .... but in different places.

Everyone has already arrived at the celebratory location and the partying has begun.

I'm pretty sure that there might be a few empty shelves at Dan Murphy's ...

I believe that there will also be a surprise visitor who I'm VERY EXCITED about!

Some of my girls getting the party started ... too early for alcohol.

Now it's time for me to shut the doors and join the party before the fun really begins!

I hope to have some interesting stories to tell you in tomorrow's post!

Nite all.

New Week

I arrived at work nice and early this morning.

Adoring Husband drove me there because the weather was looking ominous. During the day, there were quite a few heavy showers with strong winds, so I'm glad my trike wasn't parked in it's usual position to be whipped by the weather.

AH stayed and helped me clear the remaining furniture and stock out of the training room so that I could set it up for Wednesday's meditation.

The Gypsy was in-house today and we had heaps to catch up on - as always, I enjoyed our day together and the time flew until suddenly it was time for her to leave! She left at 2pm and I tied up a few loose ends before AH arrived to pick me up.

Just as AH had finished bringing everything inside and he locked the door, there was somebody attempting to push the door open! We invited her in and she had a look around, picking a couple of things that she will return tomorrow to buy. She wandered around for about 10 or 15 minutes and then left declaring that she would be back in the morning.

We did some grocery shopping and came home where I'd planned on spending some quiet time in the Bali hut, but AH decided to mow the lawn so I hung out some washing and put more in the machine, then I went to the kitchen and made some fruit whip ice cream, some toffee nuts, a roasted pumpkin & spinach salad, a garden salad and some garlic mushrooms.

I asked AH to fire up the barby to cook the chops and we realised that the chops were still in the fridge at The Happy Abode! A quick trip to the shop and a little while later, we were sitting down to dinner.

It's 9.30pm and comparatively speaking, it's quite early, but I really need sleep, so I'm signing off right here, right now.

Nite all.

Joy No Joy

I made the most of my Sunday morning by lazing in bed and doing very little of anything. I didn't even wake up until after 8am and I just needed to 'stop' and not think about doing anything - shut down the brain and completely relax.

So I caught up on my 'Married at First Sight' and 'MKR' episodes that aired while I was in Sydney.

Adoring Husband prepared a delicious steak with salad, sweet potato and potato chips for lunch. It was amazingly delicious and really hit the spot.

It must have re-energised me because I began to feel inspired.

I was inspired to strip the bed and remake it - I must say that it was hard physical work and I actually had to lie down for ten minutes when I was done! You'd think with all the swimming before I went to Sydney and all the walking while I was in Sydney, that my fitness level might be conducive to making a bed!! What's going on there?

Still, I gathered my energy pretty quickly and decided to do a Marie Kondo on my wardrobe.

If you don't know Marie Kondo, she is a world wide phenomenon with her own TV series about decluttering your house.

The process involves completely emptying your wardrobe onto your bed and then going through every item individually, holding it in your hands and asking yourself whether it brings you joy or not. It started off pretty slowly for me, but by the end I didn't even have to think about it - almost like Tinder - swipe right, swipe left.

I completely emptied my wardrobe, washed the walls and Adoring Husband was kind enough to vacuum the floor.

This was the pile that I had to work through ...

There are clothes hanging in the laundry drying and there is a load of washing still waiting to be done from the Sydney trip - neither of those were added to this pile.

Eventually it was split into two. The 'No Joy' pile ...

and the 'Joy' pile now hanging in my wardrobe.

I have two bags of items to send to 'Rethread the Earth' - an old friend of Vegan Chickie's who creates beautiful bags from recycled clothing and bags and then sells them at the markets.

I have a clothes basket full and two large bags of items to go to a charity organisation.

There are now 40 empty coat hangers in my wardrobe.

It took me four hours to declutter, hang the joyful items, sort through the 'no joy' pile and separate the Rethread the Earth items, then fold all the other items so that they could fit into the basket, fill the other two bags with what was left over and then throw away the garbage.

I had to say goodbye to a couple of my 'Joy' items because they have seen better days and I just can't see them lasting through another winter. A beautiful pair of suede and knit boots lined with sheeps wool. They brought me thirteen years of joy and it was very sad to say goodbye.

My wedding boots that I only got to wear about eight times, but the colour is flaking off the outer material so they need to go too.

A pair of 3/4 jeans that I bought during our first lady's trip away at the Gold Coast. Black with a fancy trim at the knee and diamontes along the shin. They served me well but they don't fit me anymore - happily they are too big, but time to go.

I feel good that the job is done and now I have the top of my dressing table to do - I suspect that will take at least two hours. The back bedroom is the final room to be decluttered - that will definitely take a day. It's totally out of control!

In Feng Shui terms, it's the money corner of our house, so it desperately needs to be done!

I'm looking forward to sliding between clean sheets tonight, so I'm signing off here and heading to bed.

There is still much to be done at The Happy Abode tomorrow, so I need to get a good night's sleep.

Nite all.

Time Flies

My first baby, Jamie, died on this day 40 years ago. How time flies.

Thank you Grannymus for remembering, as you always do. Much love to you.

It was a reasonably good day, for a Saturday, at The Happy Abode with a stead flow of customers for the first two hours, but incredibly quiet for the second two hours.

This gave me time to do some more dusting and rearranging, clearing one of the bigger display stands in preparation for receiving the new stock.

The Gypsy's room is now completely clear of the stock that we stored there while the carpets were being done.

I priced all of the new stock that I'd brought back with me from Sydney and displayed it today too. Sold two of the necklaces already!

Adoring Husband hung two of the art display shelves in the training room.

We were home by 2pm and I went straight outside to the Bali hut and lay down on the lounge with my iPad. Adoring Husband set up the music and within about twenty minutes, I was curled up asleep. I dozed on and off for about an hour listening to the grass on the roof blowing in the strong breeze.

I returned inside late in the afternoon and began watching a Netflix series with AH called "The Umbrella Academy". AH slept through most of the three episodes that we watched and I began catching up on 'Married at First Site' during the third episode.

I'm feeling incredibly tired now so it's off to bed for me.

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Nite all.

Um ... Hullo?

Excuse me world ... The Happy Abode is open for business ... have you all forgotten where we are?

Actually, all the businesses in town have made comment about how quiet it is. It's this time of year where we all question our existence and wonder if things will ever improve.

This too shall pass.

Even though our display areas were covered with sheets while the holes in the ceiling were being repaired, I discovered today that there is LOTS of white dust covering everything, so I spent the day dusting the flat surfaces AND the stock. I'm only about 1/3 of the way done, but ... small steps.

I've already sold some of the new stock! I've got a feeling that the sphere cages and the spheres are not going to last very long. Must take photos tomorrow so that you know what I'm talking about.

Some older stock has now found a new location in the store and I've made way for some of the new stock when it arrives.

There is still much to do!

The Brains Trust came for a visit this morning and provided a fresh coffee. She had to spend some time waiting in the lounge area while I served a customer and then I waited while two others decided to not buy anything.

We had a nice half hour or so chatting and laughing - I think there may have been a snort in there too.

Beauty came a little later in the day, so I was definitely feeling the love.

Adoring Husband helped me close the shop and I had made the decision to stay home from the club tonight but then remembered that there was some planning to do for next week with the girls.

Because it was getting late, I decided to wear my new dress. It was just hanging there in my wardrobe  out in the open, all by itself saying to me "If you don't wear me soon, I will end up on the floor of the wardrobe for a year and in the Salvos bin before you know it!"

So I wore it and got lots of nice comments - even from strangers!

There were no winnings tonight. Not for any one of the ten of us. We were all a bunch of losers!

But we had each other and that makes us winners 🤩🤩🤩

I was lucky enough to snag the last seat on the bus and was home by about 7.40pm. Adoring Husband had prepared dinner so while I changed into my pyjamas, he brought my dinner out to the lounge room and I sat down to put my feet up and enjoy some good food.

Now it's time for bed. I had a glorious 7 solid hours of sleep last night ... didn't even need to get up and pee during the night! (Too much information?)

Nite all.

I'm Back!

As I write this, I’m sitting in the plane waiting to leave Sydney.

I am alone in a row of three seats and once again I’m thinking about how lucky I am and how perfectly my day has progressed thus far.

As you know, from yesterday’s post, I didn’t sleep until well after midnight. In fact, it was 12.49am when I last looked at my watch and I had set my alarm for 5.15am 😳

I woke, without the alarm, at 5.07am.

I knew it was going to be a good day because I really dislike being woken from my sleep - especially by an alarm. It doesn’t matter what kind of sound I use for my alarm because even a gentle awakening is still disturbing my lovely sleep.

So I turned off the alarm before it sounded and began to ready myself. Last night, I had packed everything but today’s clothes, my toiletries and my device chargers so it was an easy and relaxing start to the day.

After big goodbye hugs with The Motivator, I left the room 15 minutes early to wait for my 6.30 shuttle bus 🚎 and to my surprise, it was already waiting for me at the door!

The very friendly and obliging driver, Henry, took my bag and lifted it into the bus and since I was the sole occupant, I had my choice of seats. He didn’t pick up anyone else on the journey and we made quick time because we literally got EVERY green light along the way!

Unheard of in Sydney!

I did a short meditation 🧘‍♀️ in the bus and thanked the universe for providing such a wonderful start to my day 😍

I paid Henry and thanked him as he lifted my luggage onto the footpath.

Inside the check-in area, I discovered that I needed to tag my own bag before checking in, which I had never done before, but after following the instructions at the computer terminal, it told me that my reservation could not be found.

Somewhat concerning 🤔

But not for long, as a staff member offered to help and took me to her monitor where she found my information, printed out my tag and my boarding pass and sent me on my way to the shortest queue in the history of Sydney Domestic airport.

Next, was the daunting task of passing through security.

By the time my turn came to place my items in the tray, there were no trays left in my queue. Fortunately, a kind man in the queue beside me noticed my situation and passed across three trays from his pile - exactly the number I required!

Despite being heavily jewelled up with bling, I passed through the scanner without incident, while the men before and after me had to strip off considerably to finally get the ‘all clear’. I told them both that this was the only time I ever felt sorry for men.

They laughed politely.

I was feeling pretty chirpy by now, with everything going so smoothly and I decided to continue my morning in a positive way and I ordered a ‘young blood’ juice from Joe’s Juice. Celery, apple and lemon. Perfect.

I gave Adoring Husband a quick call to let him know where I was, ordered a delicious coffee that came quickly.

Airport shopping was very much on my agenda, but the only thing I found was a lovely bamboo outfit, which, at airport prices was a little too steep for my liking. Especially after my extravagance at the gift fair. Comfortable with my decision, I decided to find a quiet corner in my waiting area and enjoy some peace and quiet.

It was quiet for a while. There was a young man with a baby in a pouch attached to him and a young girl around the age of 7 or 8 sitting beside him. All was going nicely until the baby began to cry.

The crying got louder as he attempted to placate her. The baby became frantic and I considered offering some assistance, but figured ... you know ... he’s a man. Deal with it.

After about ten minutes, his young wife appeared. I didn’t hear what he said to her but I heard her say “Don’t get the shits with me! I’m allowed to go to the toilet. Get over yourself and deal with it!”

Phwoar! Good on her!

Just before we were called to board our plane, I decided to use the bathroom and as I walked across the hallway, she was walking, alone, towards me, so I paused as we neared each other and said “Well done for putting him in his place earlier!” She smiled widely and thanked me.

We all boarded the plane and I was supposed to go via the rear steps but decided to enter through the front door instead. My legs have had enough exercise this week! Nobody questioned me and I quickly found my seat.

I sat and waited for the seats beside me to fill, but nobody came and now I am comfortably sprawled with my devices and my bag and my water and my tea. No need to be mindful of anyone else’s comfort. How lovely!

I can’t imagine how my day could get any better. The universe has taken good care of me.

I have had a crazy, busy, educational, inspirational and tiring week which I have enjoyed very much, but there is no place like home and very soon, that’s exactly where I’ll be!

*Later*

Adoring Husband was waiting for me at the airport and I arrived five minutes late after an uneventful flight. We drove directly to The Happy Abode. 

The carpet cleaners have worked their magic while we've been in Sydney and there is much to reorganise and rearrange. Furniture has been moved, stock has been lifted off the floor and piled onto tables and the training room was and still is a bit of a nightmare.

We spent about 90 minutes removing sheets off the display cabinets and tables (they were for protection while the ceiling holes were repaired) partly clearing the training room, removing stands and stock from The Gypsy's treatment room, removing signs and chairs from the bathroom, replacing the floor mat in the lounge corner, tidying displays etc.

There is still much to do, but I was totally OVER it and feeling bloody tired after only 4 hours of sleep, so we came home to put our feet up. I didn't even have the energy to make dinner, so AH made us some toast.

This was tonight's sunset and all I could summon the energy to do was take a photo, with my phone, through the bedroom window.

I'm so done now ... sleep for me.

Home sweet home

Nite all.

Where Am I? Who Am I?

Day Four and we are done and dusted.

This was us at the start of the day ...

Our heads and hearts and bodies have come to a standstill and all motivation has left the building - except for the motivator who seems to have, during a 20 minute nap, replaced her dying batteries and has found a new lease on life.

I'll have what she's having!!

Little Tassie Devil she is!

Quick calculation ... yes we have overspent ... ugh ... but nowhere near as much as last year. If only they didn't all charge so much for shipping, we would have come very close to budget.

So now we need to have some good sales next week to make sure there is enough money to pay for all of our orders!

We stopped briefly for a little fun ...

They kicked us out the doors at 3pm and we dragged our tired butts to the nearest outdoor cafe where we ordered two sharing platters - prawn lollipops and octopus salad ...

... along with two fresh juices.

It was so nice to take a load off our feet and sit in their comfy lounge chairs while we munched away on the delicious fare that they prepared.

This is what an exhausted Reed Gift Fair customer looks like after four days of chasing new suppliers!

We trudged our way home and The Motivator had a 20 minute nap while I packed my suitcase ready for departure tomorrow.

I had earlier decided that I wouldn't eat dinner tonight, but at 8.30pm we decided that a late dinner was definitely an option, so firstly we checked out Uber Eats, but there were too many restaurants to choose from, so we made ourselves partially presentable and headed out the door. On the way, I stopped at the desk to book the shuttle bus for 6.30am (the only time available) and then we walked the long verandah, then over the foot bridge to the plaza nearby.

We checked the first restaurant which was a burger place and not surprisingly had nothing GF, then across the way, we found a restaurant called Rashays with lots of amazing looking GF options. We took our seat and ordered what looked like a banquet of Avocado chicken with chips and salad and lamb ribs with sweet potato chips and salad.

We shared our plates of food and then shared a pavlova ...

It was divine!

On the return trip to our room, we stopped at the Instagram setup in the foyer of the hotel and while I was attempting to take a photo of The Motivator, a gentleman asked us if we'd like a photo taken together, which we gleefully accepted.

You can certainly tell how tired we are in this one!

Anyway, it's after midnight and I have to be awake in 5 hours!

Nite all.

Day Three - Mentally Exhausted

We left our room quite a bit later than planned this morning so we missed breakfast, grabbed a Boost juice and hurried to the convention centre to attend the Instagram Masterclass which was AMAZING.

Maggie Kreo, the presenter, was warm and engaging and threw a few swear words in to keep us real and laughing. She gave us some fabulous insights into Instagram and social media, including tips on posting for business purposes and building a customer base and 'followers'.

We left there feeling motivated and ready to take on the world!

Except we were hungry, so first, we needed sustenance!

We found a different cafe on our level which sold delicious GF salmon, rice and salad, a chocolate Jaffa cake and fresh juices. Bonus!

Needless to say, it was 1pm before we even began our continued trek through the remaining stalls.

We were waylaid by a psychic who literally pounced on The Motivator to tell her how amazing she was and then proceeded to predict her future. We must have been standing there chatting with her for more than half an hour.

We made some orders and took lots more information from other stall holders. Our budget has certainly reined us in this year and it's been difficult to choose who to order from now and who to hold off til later. Tough decisions, but we're still working well as a team and we have officially run out of money.

🤪

By the end of the day, my brain had completely turned to mush and I was totally 'peopled' out and needed to withdraw and shut down for a while. The Motivator, on the other hand, was wound up ready to pull another six hour shift, so she sorted through all our paperwork and we calculated how much money we had spent, decided who we would order from on the last day, who we would discard completely and who would go on the wait list.

We did this in the outdoor area of our motel as we tried to hear each other over the loud voices of some people with disabilities who were enjoying the views with their carer as the sun set.

Some time after 8pm we made our way to our room and what followed was a concentrated effort of going through catalogues and selecting items to order, then culling from the very long lists as we calculated our further spending.

At 11.30pm I suggested that we stop and go to bed - here I am writing this post very late and requiring toothpicks to keep my eyelids open.

My personal purchases for the day ...

Citrine bracelet

Magnesite meditation beads

Yellow Calcite wand

   
We stopped at a very busy outdoor cafe/bar on our way home and ordered some fresh juice concoctions and a beef salad that had pumpkin, beetroot, rocket and quinoa. A very nice meal. I had some leftover Jaffa cake with a cup of tea when I got back to the room.

Only five more minutes and it will be midnight.

Good Lord.

Nite all.

Day Two = Equally Exhausted

This was us at the start of the day ...

... and this is us at the end of the day

we couldn't take a photo of our heads at the end of the day because we were too exhausted and sore!

These were my personal purchases for yesterday ...

The blue is blue kyanite - the stone of 'intuition' and the yellow is citrine - the stone of wealth and abundance.

... and this is an example of what may be in The Happy Abode's future (a little bit down the track) ...

Dinner tonight was roasted Peking duck with garlic butter broccoli accompanied by a Margarita for me and a Golden Dream for The Motivator.

It was nice to be back in our room by about 8pm but I see that it's already approaching 11pm as I sit here yawning and feeling every bit my age.

Believe it or not, we are still only at the halfway mark of the first level!! We do have two days remaining though, so hopefully we'll make it to the end. The second level is not so important because it's mostly home wares - although it is nice to browse that section.

We've made some good contacts and we have an 'Instagram Masterclass' to attend tomorrow which will take up two hours of our time in the morning. Should be interesting though.

Anyway, time to sleep.

Nite all.

Day One = Exhausted

Crazy day on Saturday preparing the shop for the ceiling repairs and carpet cleaning while we're away.

Our flight to Sydney arrived in The Bay early, left The Bay early and arrived in Sydney 25 minutes earlier than scheduled!

Win.

The weather was horrible ... black skies, heavy rain and strong winds, making for an uncomfortable landing.

Bearable.

Caught a taxi from the airport to our motel which cost $62!!!

Lose!

We are in the same room as last year with lovely views over the harbour.

Win.

We found the perfect restaurant right next door with delicious food, imperfect wait staff who offer us free desserts to counteract any unhappiness.

Win.

Went to sleep at 1am.

Lose.

The room was too warm, not enough pillows, slept poorly - probably overtired.

Lose.

Nice cooked breakfast for an extra dollar. Bacon, sausages, boiled egg, hash browns, GF toast, fruits, coffee etc

Win.

Nice easy walk to the convention centre, no rain, comfortable shoes, small crowds, good start to the morning with a workshop on social media.

Win.

We've paced ourselves and not spent all our money in the first hour like last year!

Win.

Found some nice stuff to put on our wish list and make orders tomorrow.

Win.

Feet got really sore in the last hour.

Lose.

Met up with one of The Motivator's friends from 'The Journey' work and had dinner with her at the same restaurant that we ate at last night. Got a discount on her Accor card.

Win.

Body seized up like an old farm tractor and we literally shuffled home at 10pm.

Lose.

Booked on line to have my computer repaired while I'm here. Couldn't get into the Apple Genius Store, so am trying another Apple approved store - not feeling as confident.

Disappointed.

I actually found the motivation and the brain power to create this blog post for all of my loyal fans - haha - ok one or two loyal fans - you know who you are!

Win.

It's after midnight and I am absolutely exhausted, my body is aching, my brain is not functioning as it should and I'm already looking forward to an early night tomorrow night.

Nite all.