Do Not Disturb

What a weekend!

Saturday was an early start to get some housework and washing done and prepare dinner in advance, for Best Cousin in the World's overnight visit.

Adoring Husband and I were invited to The Blonde Bombshell's house for birthday drinks on Saturday afternoon, so I decided to bake her a birthday cake .. except my oven has decided to play silly buggers with me, so I had to improvise and found a delicious paleo, raw chocolate cake to make.

I've never used this recipe before and I made it non-paleo by adding chocolate whipped cream as one of the layers. I made extra so that there would be enough to create three small tarts for us to have for dessert with Best Cousin in the World.

There was lots of chocolate and lots of strawberries and blueberries and lots of nuts. I loved it and will make it again for AH and I to indulge ourselves.

AH, with his sore back, didn't accompany me to the Blonde Bombshell's house, but dropped me off for an hour. He picked me up with about 20 minutes to spare before BCIW arrived.

We began drinking wine almost as soon as she walked in the door. AH barbecued our steak for dinner while I made the dressing for the salad that I'd prepared earlier in the day and reheated the boiled jacket potatoes. It was an easy dinner and BCIW and I sat up until midnight catching up.

It took me about 20 minutes to stack the dishwasher and clean the kitchen before heading to bed where I fell into a coma for seven hours! I considered adding a short blog post before bed, but my bed won that argument .. well it wasn't much of an argument that close to 1am.

There wasn't much time with BCIW this morning. She left to pick up Marco Polo from the hospital and ten minutes later, The Motivator arrived to pick me up for the next leg of our survey work for the Frack Free Burrum Heads group.

The Blonde Bombshell issued an invitation for coffee and cake this morning, but unfortunately, I was committed to completing the survey.

The Motivator and I were both dreading it, after our poor results during the week and I came very close to phoning her to cancel, but I'm glad that I didn't! We were very well received today and all but two of the residents gave us their details and stated that they did not want gas fields in our community.

Of the two who turned us away, one man stated that if the good lord gave us coal and gas, then we should mine it and he was 'all for progress'. Another man who works in the mining industry didn't want to get involved.

It only took us 90 minutes to finish our work and we decided to reward ourselves with a coffee at the cafe and sat in the air conditioned eating area to debrief and share a gluten free pear and walnut muffin .. which was delicious!

I arrived home some time after 1pm. AH and I had been invited to a lunch time barbecue, so I phoned the joyful duo to let them know that we would not be attending. AH's back is still sore and I was well and truly done for the weekend.

This allowed me to spend almost four hours at my desk where I completed three more chapters of my ebook, researched some more wholesale sites and caught up on some emails.

Dinner was super easy tonight. Leftover Hainan chicken and I added the leftover chopped vegetables from the other night, so it took twenty minutes to prepare, then leftover raw chocolate cake for dessert.

I looked at the clock at 9.30pm and expected that I could be in bed by 10.30pm, however, it is now half past midnight and here I am still tapping away at my keyboard!

The four nations rugby league final between New Zealand and Australia is about to start and I'm considering sitting up to watch it. Perhaps I will watch it in bed .. see how long I last.

I am looking forward to having a week without commitments and finally making some progress on the website. Wish me luck!

Nite all.

 

It's in the way!

Life gets in the way sometimes.

It's definitely getting in the way of my website that's for sure!

I had big plans for this week AND for this weekend. Thursday and Friday were going to be MY days to lock myself away in my workspace and completely focus on the website. Life got in the way, when family, errands, cooking, psychotic dogs, housework, birthdays and friends required my attention.

My only commitment for Saturday was an hour for Frack Free Burrum Heads in the morning and the remainder of the day was for the website. Now, I have birthday drinks in the afternoon and a family visitor for the night.

Sunday was going to be totally free for me to work in my office. Now, we are committed to a barbecue lunch with friends!

I don't want to complain, because it's so nice to have friends and family to fill our lives with social events and visits, but at the same time, it's frustrating to have such big plans that continue to be thwarted before they go into full swing.

On Monday, I expect my new Macbook Pro to arrive, so most of the day will be spent setting it up. I expect that all of my Academy books for 2017 will arrive on Monday or Tuesday too, and they will take time to organise and fill out.

Aside from that, I have Wednesday morning coffee with the girls, and the rest of my week is free. I am NOT going to accept any invitations - unless it's something really special! Ugh! All invitations are special. There is no hope for me.

At least I was clever enough to send my sister's birthday present today. She should actually receive it before her birthday! This is becoming a habit ... once upon a time, I would send her gifts 6 months after her birthday.

It's time for me to sleep now. I'm done for the day.

Nite all.

Messy Stuff

After my morning coffee, I got about 90 minutes of work done on the website before we headed into town to visit Marco Polo in the hospital.

All things considered, he was in fine spirits and we spent an hour making fun of his situation, comparing injury stories and wondering why his attached machinery was sending off alarms that were not immediately answered!

We brought him some fresh fruit and a newspaper and Marco Polo was grateful that the golf was on TV to keep him occupied during his much longer than expected stay.

He's itching to get back to work, so I think hospital is the best place for him right now! Hopefully, he will have a speedy recovery so that he can be back in full swing sooner, rather than later. When you love the work that you do, it's difficult to find self control!

We said our goodbyes and did some necessary shopping before picking up our FROG box and heading home.

I had time to unpack the groceries, cook Adoring Husband's dinner before he headed off to SES training and I had another hour or so at my desk.

When I sign off here, I have to make up a batch of dog food, so my day is not quite over yet ... even though I wish it was!

It's already 10pm so I'd best get moving.

Nite all.

Team Dynamic

The Motivator and I formed what I considered a dynamic team today, and headed off with all of our 'frack free' paraphernalia to ask people how they felt about gas mining in our area.

Having no experience whatsoever in door knocking and cold canvassing, we had a little practise in the car about what we would say when people answered the door and how we would present our spiel.

After a while, we gathered our courage, climbed out of the car and headed towards our first house, me with the bright yellow 'Lock the Gate' sign in my hands (hoping that it would indicate to the residents that we were not selling religion) and The Motivator with our lime folder full of information packs.

First house - nobody home (except the dog)
Second house - nobody home (except the dog)
Third house - nobody home (except the dog)

Next street.

First house - a man rushed through his open garage door to stop us in our tracks. "No thank you!" he said with a combination of assertion and aggression.

We told him that we weren't selling anything and asked if he knew about the possibility of gas fields in our area and he replied "Yes. I have relatives working in the industry so I'm not interested in anything you have to say".

So we thanked him for his time and moved on.

The next gentleman we came across had previously worked in the industry himself and with the same combination of assertion and aggression, declared that he didn't want 'that mess' coming into our community and wanted to help in any way that he could.

The last house that we visited was the home of Tweedle Dee. She and her husband, Tiny Tim, gave us a warm welcome and offered us tea/coffee/water and then sat down to listen to our story. They both asked lots of questions and enthusiastically supported our cause. It was nice to end our day on a more positive note.

We had been advised that weekends were better for this sort of thing, so we will try again on Saturday.

I got to spend some time on my ebook this afternoon and I sourced some jewellery wholesalers for semi precious gemstone jewellery to sell on the site. So I feel that I accomplished a little today .. though not as much as I'd have liked.

While I'd hoped to spend all day working on the website tomorrow, we have to head into The Bay to visit Best Cousin in the World's husband, Marco Polo. MP had an argument with a grinder and caused enough damage to his leg that he required surgery and a stay in hospital, so we will go in and offer some TLC and perhaps we will make fun of him a bit too!

I didn't have an afternoon coffee today, so I am feeling quite drowsy. It's almost 11pm, so it might be time to sleep.

Nite all.  

Me and the Amazon

Not actually Amazon .. Amazonite!

I asked Adoring Husband to stop at Tinkerbells on The Esplanade this morning as we were driving past.

For some time now, I have been thinking about buying myself a ring with a turquoise stone or similar because I seem to be attracted to that colour (along with yellow) and have often selected that colour to wear.

Before I entered the shop, I glanced in the window and was immediately drawn to a ring on the rotating mirrored stand. I read the word Amazonite, so I entered the shop and asked the woman if I could try it on.

I also asked to see her range of turquoise rings.

As soon as I tried on the Amazonite ring, I loved it and knew that I wanted it. None of the other Amazonite rings appealed to me, so I turned my attention to the rings with Turquoise stones. There was only one on the tray that drew my eye and when I tried it on, I couldn't decided between the two rings that I loved, so I bought both!!

The one with the larger stone is the Amazonite.

It's quite amazing that I was drawn to this stone because for all the time that I spend in front of my computer screen lately, I discovered that:

Amazonite: At a physical level, it blocks geopathic stress, absorbs microwaves and cell phone emanations and protects against electromagnetic pollution. It calms the brain and the nervous system, alleviates worry and fear and dispels negative energy.

For healing, it benefits conditions like osteoporosis, calcium deficiency and tooth decay and rectifies metabolic deficiencies.

Turquoise: Enhances communication, releases inhibitions, dispels negative energy. It promotes self-realisation and assists creative problem solving. It dissolves self sabotage. It's an excellent stone to protect against panic attacks.

For healing, it is anti-inflammatory and detoxifying, enhances the psychic and physical immune system and supports the assimilation of nutrients. It heals the whole body, but especially the eyes and the stomach.

So I am very very happy with my purchases and I bought a couple of Christmas gifts today, as well as a beautiful 2017 calendar for myself. I also found a new board to create my next vision board. I have so much planned over the next few months, I think I have to make a priority list!

Anyway, it's only 6pm so I now have an evening free and may even have an early night to bed!

Nite all.
 

Super Flop

With all the hype over the supposed super moon tonight, I simply HAD to pedal down to the beach and attempt to capture the spectacle with my camera!

There were a LOT of people with the same idea and surprisingly, there were others with tripods and cameras with long lenses, lined up along the shore line waiting for the spectacle with me.

For all of the full moons and super moons that I've waited for on that same spot, there has never been anyone else with a good quality camera, let alone a tripod and long lens attached.

Others were sitting in their fold up chairs or on the structures that were there, snacking on their nibbly food and drinking wine and beer. Some were pacing along the beach watching the horizon expectantly.

Someone asked me where I thought the moon would rise and I pointed to my chosen spot. The men disagreed and pointed more than 90 degrees to the right, to a spot that would be obscured by trees and claimed that we would miss it rising and wouldn't see it until it rose above the trees.

I'd forgotten to take my phone so I couldn't check the app to see exactly where it would rise, but crossed my fingers, hoping that my guestimation would be closer to the spot than theirs.

I guess that there were approximately 30 or 40 people in the vicinity and everybody was chatting and drinking and eating and socialising while I stared at the horizon.

There was a lot of cloud. It appeared to be thin cloud, but enough to obscure the rising moon. I noticed the arc appear above the horizon well before anybody else and I grabbed a few shots as it rose into the only clear space available.

Unfortunately, the hazy cloud was enough to stop the sunlight from reflecting off the surface of the moon and it was barely noticeable.

After I selfishly got my shots, I decided to point it out to the gathering crowd and suddenly there were phones and cameras aiming in that direction and shutters were clicking all around me as I packed my gear away into the back of my trike.

I knew that was the end of the show for quite some time.

As I pedalled home, I kept looking behind me, wondering if the moon would rise above the cloud, but instead I noticed that the cloud in the East was changing colour as the sun set in the West, so I did a quick U-turn and headed back towards the river.

This is what greeted me as I reached the water ...

It was quite beautiful.

Earlier this morning, it was my mission, along with three other members of the 'Frack Free Burrum Heads' group, to meet with the Federal Member for Hinkler at the Lions Park to discuss our issue about gas fields in the area.

He knew nothing about anything, claiming that mining in Queensland was under the jurisdiction of the State Government and that the Federal Government was not permitted to intervene.

He listened to our concerns anyway and I gave him an envelope containing the dvd about how gas fields have affected other communities and also some paperwork with lots of information to add to his education, which he promised he would watch and would read.

I wish I'd thought to throw my camera in the trike basket and then had someone take some photos. We need to start a portfolio of our group's activities and actions supporting our cause.

From there, I bought some coffee and visited The Motivator who wasn't well enough to attend the Lions Park meeting.

I cooked a big lunch for Adoring Husband who had a full morning and then a full evening of SES commitments, so he needed some sustenance.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to do any website work today. Tomorrow will be busy in The Bay and then Wednesday I'm busy gaining support for our campaign to make our community a 'mining free' area.

Perhaps I can aim for Thursday and Friday to get some more done on the website.

Nite all.

Home Again

I didn't get much time with Chicklet this morning before I left, but we squeezed as much as we could into the little time that we had.

My taxi arrived right on time and I had a very chatty taxi driver, who wanted to know my thoughts on improving health by changing lifestyles.

Even though he looked like he needed to heed some of my advice himself, he was concerned for his partner who was struggling with some emotional issues after the deaths of both of her parents recently (both in their 90s) and her physical and mental health seemed to be suffering.

It made for a very short taxi ride and I really enjoyed our talk.

I had called the taxi a little early, so that I could visit my favourite shops in Cooroy before the train arrived .. forgetting that it was Sunday!! Everything was closed except the coffee shops.

So I ordered a coffee and I sat on a stool at a tall bench table near the shop window. Three older people, two women and a man, sat at the low table behind me. One of the women was in her late 60s, was obviously Jewish American (she did mention during the conversation that she and her husband were Jewish) and she dominated the conversation, quite loudly, for the thirty minutes that I was eavesdropping.

Her husband (who is back in Sydney) is suffering from a form of dementia which she described as Adult Attention Deficit. He had been a very successful business man in his time, which she was surprised about because his father was a gambler and did not achieve any financial success, and she had made her own fortune dabbling in the stock market!

Their home in Sydney was recently valued at $4million and it has 5 bathrooms! Her husband's parents were one of the first Jewish families to arrive in Sydney and they built their first home in Surrey Hills.

Her husband was somewhat of a hoarder and she recently brought people in to clear out the garages and some rooms that stored his parents furniture and belongings. When he found out, he was not happy about it.

She was offering stock market advice - something about franked shares (she lost me) - and shared her concerns about the fate of the stock market in 2017.

It was stinking hot in Cooroy today.

At the train station, I met a lady by the name of Joan, whose daughter and son-in-law had recently bought the Miriam Vale Pub and she was heading up there to visit them. She told me that she didn't like the train trip between Gympie and Maryborough. She said that it always seemed to drag on.

It turns out that she was sitting in the seat directly behind me, but we didn't chat any further once we boarded the train.

My senses seemed to be heightened today, especially my hearing and I really tried, unsuccessfully, firstly to read and then to watch a movie.

I could hear -

• young kids talking about animals
• older men discussing life on the farm
• the lady behind me was reading quietly to herself in an audible whisper
• phones with their different sounds announcing the arrival of texts
• the hiss of drink cans opening
• the rustle of plastic food bags opening
• announcements over the PA system
• the hum of the train engine
• the whoosh of the sliding doors as people left the carriage to use the loo
• the jingle of coins as people counted their coffee money
• zippers opening on back packs
• the rattle of the steward's keys
• the tapping on the keyboards of laptops
• the deep voice of the man speaking in a different language
• the clearing of the throat of the man four seats behind me
• the child learning to whistle and continuously practising throughout the trip.

Worst of all, was the stench of nicotine after the 15 minute break at Gympie where the passengers were given permission to disembark and have a quick cigarette. Ugh. I wrapped my new book around my face and inhaled the delicious scent of crisp new paper.

I was very relieved when we finally pulled up at Howard Station and there was Adoring Husband, waiting for me, in full SES uniform, which is orange .. and I was wearing orange pants and orange top .. oh dear. Haha.

The Nikonian shared a photo that she took while she was here, which I quite like .. she made the old bag look presentable and I was happy for it to be shared on facebook too. She is a good photographer .. I knew that I could count on her to get a good one.

I think I'm going to need an early night, because I didn't fall asleep until late last night, had broken sleep and then woke very early this morning. I'm feeling decidedly weary.

Nite all.    

Chicklet Heaven

She's funny, smart, imaginative, creative, artistic, thoughtful, loving, confident, assertive, encouraging, tech savvy, crazy and an amazing problem solver. She has a pretty positive outlook about most things and her attention to detail when she's focussed, is surprising.

Two days isn't very long, but it's about quality, not quantity.

Today, we started with her whispering a secret request for dinosaur lego, followed by instructional tutoring in Minecraft.

We played dinosaur cards - which came with one of four dinosaur books that I brought with me. We built our castle and played dragon vs knight ...

We watched 'Chicken Little' and while I read a few pages of my book, she watched some of 'Hotel Transylvania'. When I wasn't feeling well this afternoon, we played Plants vs Zombies while I lay on the bed. We coloured in and made some pictures in a playground app. When her iPad went flat, she built a Minecraft world for me on my iPad...

We had dinner time, then bath time and then story time .. which was a book about Poo at the Zoo.

Tomorrow, it's time to go home, but I'll be back in a few weeks. It's been short, but very very sweet. I love her so much xo

It's almost midnight, so I'm off to sleep.

Nite all.

Grey and Gloomy

Well, I must say that the Gods were not kind to us for this photo shoot.

With yesterday's 40kph winds and stifling heat making it impossible to get any type of decent shot, except for a couple deep in the bush where the wind couldn't reach us, and then this morning when we woke at the crack of dawn to catch the perfect morning light .. only to discover that it was a grey and gloomy day, completely overcast and not at all conducive for beautiful beach shots.

So we gave up.

We will hopefully squeeze in a shoot during my next visit to the Sunny Coast in December and then we will aim for some more time in my town early next year.

A huge thank you to The Nikonian for her time and her patience, the wine, the gifts, the food and the fun. We both have dreadful memories. So many conversations weren't finished because we couldn't remember names or words or what the hell we were talking about.

I forgot to give her the other half of her birthday present and I forgot to feed her breakfast this morning.

She forgot some of her camera gear and all the spare food from her garden that she could have shared with me.

It doesn't matter, as long as we remembered the wine and the camera - probably the two most important items for a good time!

As I type this, I am on the Sunny Coast, sleeping in Chicklet's bed while she camps out in Mama's room.

We didn't get much play time this afternoon, because I arrived well after 3pm, but we had some sticker fun and I had to search for some dinosaur cards that she had placed or hidden strategically around the house. We had bath time and read one of the new dinosaur books before bed.

Tomorrow will be a BIG play day.

Before I sign off for a good night of sleep (the dogs got me out of bed three times during last night, so I am feeling weary) ..

I have to wish Grannymus a very happy birthday for the 10th November. I hope you had a marvellous day and the family spoilt you just a little and that you got to feel some love. xox

On that note, sleep for me.

Nite all.

Hilarity

The Nikonian is here.

I can't believe that it's been so long since we caught up!

I have asked her to do a photo shoot, with me as the subject, so that I have some pics of myself to put on my website. I feel so awkward on the wrong side of the camera and she is working so hard to make me relax .. but I'm terrible!!

She offers fantastic instructions and I'm trying really hard, but I'm very self conscious and I struggle to smile unless I have something in particular to smile about! She sings, she jokes, she makes rude suggestions .. I must be the worst subject she has ever had to shoot!

We were traipsing through heavy bush and long grasses, leaning against blackened trees and fallen tree trunks, climbing gates and sitting on grassy knolls while trying to capture the lovely afternoon light.

Tomorrow morning, we'll be up at the crack of dawn to catch the sunrise and then get some more pics in the lovely morning light on the beach.

I feel very sorry for The Nikonian, but if she can't get many usable shots this time, we will try again in a few months .. one day, I might get so used to it, that I'll actually relax and enjoy the process.

Perhaps I need to practise in front of the mirror!!

Anyway, it's been a lot of fun. We've giggled a lot, enjoyed some wine, ate a delicious dinner, caught up with family news, discussed politics, made fun of each other .. and others .. reminisced about photography friends and suggested a possible future holiday together.

She retired early and here I am, still up at 11pm .. knowing full well that I need to make myself presentable for a shoot at 4.30 tomorrow morning AND I still have to pack to go to the Sunny Coast!

It would be a smart move for me to go to bed now.

So ..

Nite all.

 

Thumbs Up!

I am healthy!

My heart, thyroid, red and white blood cells, liver, kidneys, sugar, cholesterol, magnesium and potassium .. all perfect.

I am, however, chronically deficient in Vitamin D .. so I need to get out in the sunshine more often, with as much bare skin as possible .. this does NOT mean that I'll be in the market for a bikini!

Aside from the obligatory offer of a prescription drug from Doctor Dubious, his advice was to continue trike riding and walking with Adoring Husband on the beach, reduce my coffee intake (I promised to reduce from two coffees a day to one a day) and avoid stress.

I am very happy with this outcome. It is far and above anything I had imagined and now I can concentrate on continuing to be healthy.

I love good news!

Of course, some retail therapy was in order - you know - to celebrate my good fortune. So I bought a bucket load of journals (six if I recall correctly), two tops and two bottoms and three bracelets and Series 13 of Grey's Anatomy.

It was quite late by the time we returned home and we had to stop at the local supermarket and butcher, then on to book my return train ticket to the Sunny Coast.

We came home and ate lunch before I gave one of the psychotic dogs a haircut. Colli is looking very presentable now and I snipped the top of my left little finger in the process, which is now feeling quite tender. I'll bathe it in colloidal silver before bed.

I need to head off to bed because The Nikonian will be here in the morning and I need to look fresh and vibrant for the photo shoot!! It's a terrifying prospect for me because I like to be the one behind the camera, not in front of it. However, I trust The Nikonian and have complete faith in her photographic abilities .. and also her ability to make me look good :)

No pressure.

Nite all.

Results

Tomorrow is D-Day. 'D' being for Doctor. I'm not sure that I want to know the results of the tests, because I'm a true believer that "ignorance is bliss", but I can't fix it if I don't know what it is can I?

If it turns out that the problem is my thyroid, I've discovered a great clinic on the Sunny Coast that specialises in the holistic treatment of thyroid conditions, so I'll be making an appointment ASAP if necessary.

I didn't get to my desk until this afternoon, but I completed another chapter of my ebook today and I'm pretty happy with my progress with that so far. The website won't get touched until next week now because my diary is completely booked until Monday.

I'm beginning to feel a bit frustrated that it's not going as smoothly or as quickly as I want, but you get that on big jobs :)

The Nikonian will be here on Thursday *happy dance* and there will be plenty of photography, plenty of wine, plenty of good food, plenty of laughter and perhaps a little teensy bit of gossip!

Then on Friday, I'm off to see my little Chicklet family on the Sunny Coast for a couple of nights, so it's ALL happening!

Today, I've been thinking of Rebel Mardi and The Lifesaver, who spent their first day in the new house down south, unpacking and swimming in their pool. I bet they sleep well tonight! Will miss you at coffee on Wednesday morning (tomorrow).

I'm watching a really really bad movie at the moment .. 'Spice World' starring the Spice Girls. It was made 19 years ago. It's given me the motivation to turn it off and go to bed!

Have a great hump day everybody.

Nite all.

 

Upbeat and Positive

On Sunday, I had such a great day at my desk!

It had been long enough since I properly looked at my website, that I was able to see it with fresh eyes and so I changed a number of things to make it more user friendly.

I partly finished the shop/store and had an easy 'to do' list to get through for Monday. I dared to suggest in Sunday's blog post (which I forgot to publish - my apologies!) that I could have this completed by Monday evening? I was so close, I could taste it!

But I should know better than to get so excited! The next stage was a little more complex than I expected and halfway through it, I decided it was too difficult and chose to amend it and simplify it, which of course took quite a bit longer than I expected.

This is going to take a few more days .. and who knows what other obstacles I will come across in the meantime!

So for now .. just to keep my attitude positive and upbeat, I watched this fabulous TED talk that I know you will enjoy as much as I did!



To my local friends, make sure you keep your eyes peeled for the next Progress Association Newsletter, where you'll find this article (which you won't need to find now, because you're reading it here haha).

Time for me to sleep now.

Nite all.

Gracious Goodbye

Well, the goodbye was difficult, my voice failed me and my sunglasses hid my tears. A tough farewell.

However, lunch was fantastic and we shared some quality time with some quality people. Most of us were there early enough to spring the surprise on Rebel Mardi and The Lifesaver, and there were some good laughs and some hilarious snorting, a bit of storytelling, some inappropriate language (by me of course) and some frantic photography ...

One of the ladies who served us at Arkarra Tea Gardens, came out to take a couple of full group photos so that we could all be included. That was nice of her.

I've got a busy few days ahead of me, so I'm off.

Nite all.

Friday Farewell

I had a good day at the desk where I channelled Vegan Chickie and became a little bit more organised with my business plan, gave my work journals labels and tags, sourced some products and emailed for quotes, listed some future blog post ideas, made a couple of orders and studied some more.

There is still so much to do!

We had a good crowd at the club for Friday night raffles. It's the last Friday night before their renovations begin and the last Friday night for Rebel Mardi and The Lifesaver before they head off to the Sunny Coast.

These two lovely people are such important members of our group and have been a huge support to every one of us at different times. They've been involved in all of our shenanigans in the last eight years and we could always rely on them to party hard with the best of us.

Rebel Mardi's beaming smile will be deeply missed by everybody who knows her here, and our group will definitely be poorer with her absence.

So many memories! And these are just a few!

The Lifesaver's cheeky and dry sense of humour will now have to entertain a new set of unsuspecting faces. I feel that they should be warned ... but nah ... let them figure him out, as we did!

The warmth and love that this wonderful pair wrap around us all has made the last eight years a sheer delight and we are all so grateful to have felt their friendship on a very deep level. There will certainly be a grieving process for some of us as we deal with the huge gap that they will leave behind.

I wish that I was courageous enough to stand up in front of our friends to make a speech that conveys how we all feel about Rebel Mardi and The Lifesaver, but alas, I would be overwhelmed by my emotions and probably wouldn't even finish the first sentence!

So I hope that as you read this post, you understand how terribly sad we all feel that you are leaving, but also how very pleased we are to see you embracing this next chapter of your lives, and knowing that you will be closer to your first love, that being family. Your happiness will always be motivation enough for us to accept you moving on.

Take with you, our love and warmest wishes for a beautiful, happy and fulfilling life, surrounded by a whole new set of lucky friends and your fabulous family. All good things for such good people.

Now ... get out of here!  And STAY OUT!!

Nite all.

Nowhere Rapidly

So many hours at my desk and nothing to show for it!

Well, perhaps that's not completely true. I have a long list of new ideas to add to my website, which means an even longer building process than I'd originally planned.

The business program that I'm completing says to get the site up and running quickly - even if it's not what you consider as 'finished' - but I want it as close to perfect as possible before I present it to the world! I don't want to be constantly shutting it down for upgrades and updates in it's first month.

If I'm lucky I'll get another half a day tomorrow to play some more.

This was just posted on Facebook by Higgins Storm Chasers ...

***EXTENDED FORECAST THUNDERSTORM ALERT QUEENSLAND***
A week long active thunderstorm period is predicted for large parts of the state starting on Monday 7th of November. Current data suggests there will likely be a number of SEVERE thunderstorms each day across various districts with the inclusion of some potentially Very Dangerous Thunderstorms and possible Supercells.
Large Hail, Damaging Winds, Heavy Rain, Flash Flooding and Frequent Lightning will be moderate to high risks with the possibility of extreme risks in certain areas on given days.
Now would be a good time to prepare by securing loose items around your home and also having your roof gutters cleaned.

Be aware, be prepared and be safe everyone!

~ Jeff Higgins ~

My Queensland friends .. consider yourselves warned. Adoring Husband is acting in a higher role with the SES, so he might have a busy time ahead too!

Here are some giggles for you ...

That's it for me tonight. I hear a pillow calling my name. Have a fabulous Friday!

Nite all.

Goodbye Monitor

While trying to avoid losing any wires or rolling on the digital monitor box, I had a dreadful night's sleep. I think I slept for about four hours, but it was very broken and I woke at least six times during the night, each time checking that everything was still in place.

Fortunately, my reward for having had to endure the stoopid monitor, was having coffee with the girls. There were a few ladies absent, due to other commitments, but the important ones (cough cough) were there!

From there, Adoring Husband and I drove into town so that I could have the monitor removed, and what a relief it was to be rid of it!

I had a package being delivered at lunch time, so we did a quick turn around and returned home straight away.

The first item on my agenda, was to make up a batch of dog food. Next was to boil up the kilo of green king prawns that we bought yesterday. Then I did a load of washing. I made some lunch for Adoring Husband. I open my parcels which were delivered while I was busy in the kitchen (how exciting!). Finally I retreated to my desk for a couple of hours of study/work.

At 3.30pm we gathered up one of the psychotic dogs - Ruby - donned her harness, collar and leash and drove to the beach for our afternoon walk. It was incredibly windy, which I'm certain frightened Ruby a little, and she power walked along the beach with her head down AND her tail down, so we don't think she enjoyed herself much.

She was happy to walk through the water puddles and I kept leading her to the deep ones where she would stumble because she wasn't expecting the depth. It made me laugh hysterically, but AH was horrified that I could trick her like that.

Karma got me, because I either stood on a bee or it was some kind of stinging sea creature, because for half of the walk, I was in quite a deal of pain. Luckily the pain had faded before we arrived home, so it obviously wasn't too serious.

Needless to say, both Ruby AND the car, required a good scrubbing by the time we reached our driveway!

I believe that I have a free day tomorrow, so I may get to actually do some serious work on my website!!

An early night and a plan for tomorrow. *happy dance*

Nite all.

Gale Force!

We left bright and early for our trip into The Bay so that I could be fitted with the heart monitor.

The woman who fitted it was a 'little miss have a chat' and we talked about medical stuff ups (Who me?? How unusual! After 20 years in the medical industry, she shared some doozies herself!! More fuel for my fire lol). We also discussed X-husbands, the deaths of our mothers, online shopping, a serious virus that has recently been discovered in a major Brisbane Hospital and some other very interesting stuff that I can't repeat!

So I'm wearing the monitor and it hasn't really bothered me until tonight. I got to the ten hour mark when I began to feel a little uncomfortable and I needed to undo the belt for 5 minutes, just to stretch and breathe. Sleeping will be the test!

The interesting part is maintaining a diary of my activities and actions. Every time I do something different, I have to press the silver button, then write the time on the sheet, what the activity is and how I'm feeling. Fortunately, if I don't feel anything different, I simply draw a line. They should consider themselves lucky that I haven't opened one of my journals and begun diarising my every thought, action and feeling!! There have been MANY thoughts!!

I've had a pretty busy day to monitor too!

We had to do some shopping in town before returning home. When we arrived home I unpacked the groceries, prepared a chicken for baking in the oven, cooked up the pumpkin for the dog food, hung out some washing, spent an hour at my desk, hung out some more washing, rode to Woman of Many Talent's house for drinks with her and Mrs Bucket, rode home, carved the chicken, made a salad for our barbecue and then drove down to the park for said barbecue.

Tonight was a farewell for our lovely friends Rebel Mardi and the Life Saver. This is their final week before moving to the Sunny Coast, so we had a good crowd of mates gather, in dreadful conditions, to spend quality time with them before they go.

The wind was so strong tonight, that the food was blowing off plates, plates were flying off tables, glasses of alcohol were being blown over and our clothes were being swept up, around, over and across our heads and bodies causing quite a bit of discomfort.

The gale force conditions combined with the noise of so many people under the pergola caused me a great deal of stress and we were the first to leave. I apologise to my lovely friends for abandoning them and for departing in such a dramatic manner, but I just couldn't stay any longer!

My weak tolerance levels probably have a lot to do with my thyroid condition at the moment. I'm very edgy and volatile lately, much to Adoring Husband's distress.

Anyway, there were some lovely speeches where a couple of friends courageously spoke from their hearts and managed to trigger some emotional tears all round. Speeches need to be very short in these circumstances, because emotions run high and voices quickly crack and that brings us all to our knees.

I know that I will not be able to share my feelings out loud. I'd end up a blubbering wreck and nobody wants or needs to see that!

Now, I'm off to bed before midnight (best put that in the diary!). I'm looking forward to coffee with the girls tomorrow before heading into town to have this darned monitor removed!

Nite all.

    

Happy Halloweeeeeen!!!

First of all, happy birthday to my Jamie, who would have been 38 years old today, had he lived.

Next of all, happy halloween everybody!

I had a fairly productive day, although it was difficult to find focus at the beginning.

I pedalled against some pretty strong gusty winds, to get my coffee this morning. The winds were crazy today and gusted above 40km/h. Paperweights were required to stop paperwork from flying across my desk!

Being Halloween, I wanted to put together three bags of goodies for Lady Lynn's and Happy Harry's grandchildren, who were given prior permission to come knocking for trick or treating tonight. Most of what I gathered, was stuff that I already had in the house and I bought some chocolate treats, some inexpensive toys and some bits and pieces that I thought the kids might have some fun with.

Last year, we spent a fortune on lollies that went to thirty odd kids, most of whom we had never even seen in the area before, so this year we decided not to feed the unfamiliar children and spend half as much on just three special kids.

This fabulous family have a lot of fun with halloween and put in such a good effort with their costumes ...

After I finished putting together the bags of goodies, I prepared some lunch and then hibernated in my workspace until 3.30pm, at which time Adoring Husband and I drove to the beach for our afternoon walk. We bought our coffee on the way and spent 45 minutes walking barefoot over the sand flats at low tide. It was very windy, but not unpleasantly so.

I love our afternoon walks.

I was supposed to play golf with the Old Speckled Hen after lunch, but decided almost at the last minute, to pull out. As Adoring Husband suggested, perhaps it's not a good idea to lug a golf bag around for nine holes of golf, the day prior to being fitted with a heart monitor!

Speaking of which, I'd best get some sleep since we have to be in town early tomorrow morning for the fitting.

Nite all.

 

Active Again

A great group of people attended the first meeting for the 'Fracking Free Burrum Heads' group this morning.

We're in a good place and can hopefully have Burrum Heads on the 'mining free' list very soon.

That was my morning filled in a very constructive and interesting way.

When I returned home, I cooked up a big batch of curried chicken and then retired to my desk to increase my website and business education.

Time flies so fast when I'm in the zone and before I realised, it was after 6pm! I served Adoring Husband a big bowl of curried chicken and rice and we sat down to watch X-Factor. He headed off to bed early, having spent the day exerting himself with some heavy manual labour fulfilling his role as maintenance worker at the local shopping centre.

I can't believe it's already after midnight!

I need to get some sleep so that I can spend the day at my desk tomorrow. If I have to avoid all electronic devices while I wear the heart monitor on Tuesday, I'll be making up for that lost time tomorrow.

Nite all.  

A Day of Wonder

Another glorious Winter's day!

The water in the river was a deep and beautiful shade of blue at high tide this morning. I spent ten minutes with the boys at the Seat of Knowledge, admiring the water, before buying my coffee and heading over to The Motivator's house.

She was preparing breakfast for herself and a morning visitor, so we all sat outside in the alfresco area, them eating a big breakfast, and me with my coffee. The conversation flowed easily as we all shared our thoughts about business ideas, previous experiences & successes and plans for our futures.

It was interesting to note how very different we all were in our beliefs and in our approaches to bringing our dreams to fruition.

By the time I arrived home, it was almost lunch time, so I prepared a salad for Adoring Husband to have with his protein, which he cooked when he was ready and I spent the afternoon at my desk, watching some academy videos, taking notes and printing out the business diary.

At 4pm we drove to the shop for our coffee and then on to the beach for our afternoon walk.

I remembered to take my camera and was hoping to get a decent shot for the flickr challenge this month. The theme is 'Looking Down'.

But the one I selected for the challenge was this one ...

It's the skeleton of a stingray!

We walked for an hour because the tide was out and there was plenty of beach and sandy flats to explore. It was still a beautiful day with the perfect breeze, a few friendly dogs walking their owners, some kids using the wide expanse of sand as a golf driving range, a solo curlew and a couple of oyster catchers (birds) and a fisher person standing in the water as the tide rose around them.

As usual, it was most enjoyable and by the time we arrived home, I had to prepare dinner, so no more website or academy work for me. It's been a very slow week for the website and I feel like I'm falling behind. Tomorrow I have a fracking meeting to attend, so I will lose even more time.

It's way past midnight so I'd best get some sleep!

Nite all.