Sydney I'm Baaa-aaack!

It was a very cold start to the day in Canberra! 6C with a strong breeze.

I checked out of the Hotel and caught a taxi to the airport. We drove past Duntroon but I didn't even recognise it until I saw the sign "Royal Military College" and I asked the driver "Is that Duntroon???"

He confirmed that it was and I said "I lived there 37 years ago! We were living there when my first daughter was born. I don't even recognise it as the same place!"

We agreed that 'plenty' had changed in 37 years.

The airport was a surprise too! What a beautiful piece of architecture that is!

My flight to Sydney was delayed by an hour, which was a little annoying, but I finally reached the motel on Darling Harbour at about 2.30pm. What a lovely view we have ...

The room is quite small, but it's clean and tidy and has everything that we need.

When The Motivator arrived, she unpacked her suitcase and we decided to go for a walk and find somewhere to have some dinner and a drink or two.

We found a great little place that sold Mediterranean food ...

... and we shared a bottle of wine over a couple of hours before walking it off around the harbour.

We didn't get back to our room until about 10.30pm and I was surprised by how many people were out and about on a Monday night!

So far, it has been a fabulous first few hours in Sydney and we are looking forward to attending the Gift Fair tomorrow. We've both got our outfits all laid out and we will be looking professional and amazing!

It's just ticked past midnight, and The Motivator is in the bed beside mine trying to sleep, so I'd best stop clicking away on this keyboard and give her some peace.

Nite all.

Photography Free

I find it odd that I've had no desire to take photos while on this self made personal retreat in Canberra.

The photo opportunities have been many and varied, with beauty and colour and energy and movement and dance and costumes and so much more!

In a bid to keep this retreat as my own private and personal journey that remains captured in my head and my heart, I've kept my phone/camera securely zipped in my bag.

It's been a fabulous two days and I've thoroughly enjoyed this 'me' time. I can't even remember the last time I did something on my own, so far from home ... eating when I feel like eating, going wherever my little heart desires, whenever my little heart desires and not having to take anybody else into consideration.

No sacrifices, no compromises, no second guessing and being completely and totally selfish.

I'm certain that it wouldn't be so enjoyable if my life was like that all the time, but once a year would make me very happy!

Today, I commissioned a lady to create a turquoise and silver pendant. She is a silversmith by trade and was selling gemstones at the health and wellness festival.

Today, I was asked for my website details by two stall holders and I issued my business card to them! Woot Woot!

Today, I was given my numerology details. He took one look at me and announced "You have something big and new and amazing happening at the moment!" and asked me for my date of birth.

I am a SEVEN. I'm philosophical and imaginative. I don't take things at face value and I need to study, test and analyse everything. I must learn through personal involvement and that makes it easier to share my experiences and apparently that makes me a good teacher. I find strength within myself and I am reluctant to ask for the help that I need.

I repel conformity. I strive for mental growth and development. My later years will be filled with writing and research.

I don't suffer fools. I struggle to finish tasks (ain't that the truth!). I need to be free to be me, so don't put me under the thumb. I have a magnetism that draws people to me (yeah whatever).

That's a brief summary of my 'life purpose' and my 'inner qualities'.

Anyway, after that, I could hear the sounds of the Multicultural Festival calling me, so I walked in the direction of the music and found myself being forcibly moved through the crowds. It reminded me of 'Finding Nemo' when the turtles were swept along the ocean currents! I had to pick my moment to jump free!

There was food from every nation on the planet - none of which was advertised as gluten free and the queues were so long, I wasn't going to join them if it meant finding that I couldn't eat it. So I moved to the entertainment area and found a seat to enjoy the dancing and the costumes and the music.

My favourite, by far, was the Greek music and when everybody joined in the Zorba the Greek dance. Everybody from every age group joined in and were having such fun! My cheeks ached from smiling so hard.

After I'd spent time sitting at four of the many live music stages, I decided to call it a day. It was 4pm and I was starving, so I found a restaurant that had takeaway roast pork and veg and then I went in search of a familiar landmark so that I could figure out how to get back to my accommodation.

I ate dinner, watched the women's cricket, read for a while and here it is after 9pm already!

Best pack my goods and make sure everything fits in the suitcase!

Nite all.

Happy Times

I must send a 'thank you' to Leonie Dawson!

This weekend was supposed to be a retreat, learning about running a website as a business. I was very excited about this retreat and I can't explain to you how disappointed I was when it was cancelled a few weeks ago. *insert sad face here*

I must also send a 'thank you' to Adoring Husband .. who suggested that I still come to Canberra anyway, treat it as my own personal retreat and have some 'me' time. *insert happy face here*

I knew about the 'Health and Wellness Festival' which is held in the Convention Centre, but there are two big bonuses to add to that. There is also a Wine and Food Festival in the downstairs section of the Convention Centre AND The Canberra Multicultural Festival is being held in the centre of Canberra, which is just a block away from where I am staying!

Streets have been closed off and there are hundreds of stalls with food and products and crafts from so many different countries, it's impossible to describe. So much colour and music and dancing and happy positive energy ... even bigger than the Childers Multicultural Festival, but with the same vibe.

I'll have more time to take a better look tomorrow.

The strange thing is that even though I am alone here, I don't feel alone at all. When I walked through the entry of the health and wellness  festival, I immediately felt like I was surrounded by friends. I felt safe and secure and welcome.

I felt no hesitation when I saw the stalls that I was interested in and I walked right up and asked for what I wanted. For the stalls that I didn't understand or wasn't familiar with their product, I satisfied my curiosity with questions - something that I would normally be too shy and afraid to do by myself prior to the Journey work that I did in Sydney the other week!

I had a psychic reading with a lovely lady named Jenny. I selected her from her photo and bio on a big poster with eleven other psychics.

I discovered, after I sat at her table, that her father has Parkinson's disease. I think the universe brought us together for that reason. Our 30 minutes together was more like a couple of friends catching up, than a psychic reading!

I had a whole body/health scan. It seems that I have Epstein Barre Virus, an overload of copper and lithium, hyperacidity, a minor infection in my intestines, arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries in my neck - but not around my heart or head), chronically low magnesium and an allergy to gluten, wheat, barley, rye, oats, egg yolk and buckwheat.

To fix these problems, I need to take digestive enzymes twice a day, a milk culture that I have to make myself, apple cider vinegar twice daily, magnesium bicarbonate, hydrogen peroxide, vitamin C and Astragalus.

Using the magnesium bicarbonate and the milk culture, it will take 2 years to clear my arteries. It will take up to a year to reach the correct levels of magnesium and then I can stop taking the magnesium bicarbonate.

Funnily enough, when I had the palpitations last year, I started taking magnesium, so that and stopping caffeine was enough to stop the palpitations. I also have digestive enzymes in the cupboard at home.

Raw garlic cloves and shallots will also kill the bad bacteria in my stomach.

I can only eat Kimchi and Sauerkraut once a week because it is too acidic for my body.

So there you go. I am very happy with this outcome. Even with my healthy eating and lifestyle, I knew there was still something 'not right' and if this scan is correct, I will be the healthiest person on the planet very soon.

This gentleman (Phillippe - whose clinic is based in Double Bay) said that even though it seems like a lot, compared to most people, I am very strong and healthy. My problems are minor and easily fixed.

I feel like this last month has been so full of positive outcomes for me mentally, emotionally and physically and I still have two more events to attend in the next week, which will only add to my wellbeing.

Life is good.

I am happy.

Nite all.

I Think I'm Done!

OH-EM-GEE!!

What a day!

I had a 4am start because I needed to wash and blow dry my hair as well as get dressed, add my face and finish packing (just my toiletries and make up).

The sun was rising as we drove the fifteen minutes to the train station, which provided a very pretty sky to capture our admiration.

There were so many people waiting to catch the train, that the conductor asked if there was anybody left in Howard! Despite the numbers, my carriage was reasonably empty and I had two seats to myself.

It was the Tilt Train, it was on time and all was quiet and relaxed in the carriage.

Showing on the television screen was Andrew Denton interviewing Steve Irwin. Steve has been gone for ten years now and during the interview, he talked about Bindi being 5 yrs old, so the interview was historic and hilarious. The few people scattered throughout my carriage all giggled in unison as we watched the screens.

It was an easy and uneventful trip. One of the passengers was from NSW and I eavesdropped on his phone conversation declaring that Queensland trains 'had it all over' NSW trains. He loved how clean and comfortable they were. He loved the TV screens. He loved how quiet the other passengers were and how friendly the staff were. By the end of the call, he was strongly considering gaining employment with Queensland Rail!

We arrived at Roma Street Station about ten minutes late. It cost me $18 for the train ticket to the Domestic Air Terminal ($5 dearer than the equivalent train in Sydney).

Checking in at the Brisbane airport took about ten minutes - a whole lot LESS busy than Sydney!

I found a quiet corner where I made a couple of phone calls, drank half a coffee, played Words With Friends on my iPad with Tweedle Dee and then went in search of my departure gate, which, the check in staff told me was Gate 40B (it was even hand written on my luggage ticket).

When it was time to board, the announcement stated Gate 47, so I hightailed it to the other end of the terminal to gate 47. I needed the exercise anyway. pfft

The flight was on time. The plane was full. We had to take a detour around some severe storms in and around Sydney, which made the flight 10 minutes behind schedule. We flew over a massive bushfire .. so big that the pilot made an announcement that if we smelled smoke in the cabin, not to panic, and that it was only from the fire on the ground.

It was a bumpy landing .. though not anywhere near as bad as the landing in The Bay last week!

When we landed, they wouldn't allow us to alight through the rear doors because of the strong smell of smoke outside, so it took a while for everybody to get out through the front doors.

It took even longer for our bags to reach the conveyor belt in the baggage collection area.

My original plan was to catch the shuttle bus, but due to our delays, I would have to wait 45 minutes for the next bus, so I bit the bullet and caught a taxi instead.

My taxi driver could easily have competed in the Bathurst 1000 very competitively. He weaved in and out through the heavy afternoon traffic driving at 10kms over the speed limit and literally driving through two red lights.

The trip cost me $25 and five years from my life expectancy.

I checked into my hotel and was served by a very friendly and happy staff member. I found my room easily, closed the blinds, turned on the air conditioner, unpacked some stuff and even though I planned on searching out a nice restaurant, I decided instead to order room service.

I feasted on Wild Caught Tasmanian Salmon, with creamy potato bake and broccolini, followed by a dessert of Ice Cream Trio served with fresh berries and strawberry coulis. Full of sugar and dairy, but at least it was GF. I am sated!

I am now in my pyjamas, draped across my king sized bed and looking at the clock wondering if it's worth sleeping so early in the evening. It's just after 9.30pm (only 8.30 in QLD). I guess an early night, will mean an early start to the day tomorrow!

I'm done for the day. I've been on the go for 17 hours and my stress levels have been on a few mini rollercoaster rides throughout the day. It's time to rest.

Nite all.

One More Sleep

My four days at home have been very relaxing and rejuvenating and just what I needed before the next leg of fun and frivolity.

I have to be up bright and early to catch the stupid o'clock train tomorrow morning.

It will be a four hour journey to Brisbane by train, then I need to make my way to the airport for a two hour flight to Canberra. The shuttle bus will then transport me to my motel.

By the time I open my motel room door, I will have been travelling for twelve hours. I can only hope that the bed is welcoming and comfortable!

I'm almost packed and I have a checklist ready for tomorrow morning.

The heat got to me a bit today and I lay down for a nap before Adoring Husband turned on the air conditioner and cooled the house down considerably.

Obviously, I'll need an early night so that I can be bright eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow.

One thing I know for sure. The temperature ranges in Canberra will be 27 on the hottest day down to 9 on the coolest night. Sydney will range from 24 down to 18. Byron Bay will be 29 down to 21. So much cooler than here.

This means that I need to pack accordingly, which might be tricky! Layer upon layer upon layer upon layer.

Ah well, I can always go shopping haha!

Nite all.

Date Day

I had two dates today!

Before my dates, I had to book my train ticket to Brisbane for Friday. ✓ check!

My first date was with Tweedle Dee for coffee this morning, and I had a thoroughly lovely time. Tweedle Dee has fabulous listening skills and I really enjoy spending time with her. We have some good laughs, but there was no snorting today!

She delivered, straight from her garden, this delicious Dragon Fruit!!

I also had my first coffee in more than six weeks!! I did not enjoy it, but it caused no adverse effects, so at least I know that once in a while, I can have a coffee in a social situation and not worry.

Adoring Husband picked me up from my coffee date and we headed into The Bay for some grocery shopping, to restock the chook food and to get supplies for the maintenance business.

We were hoping to eat lunch at the new 'Happy Days Diner' on The Esplanade in Scarness, but their kitchen is not finished yet. They only have coffee and slices available at the moment, but the diner looks amazing!

The staff wear authentic 50s/60s gear. There are the old fashioned booths to sit in and chequered tiles/lino on the floor. There is the back end of a car with it's bench seat, old vinyl record albums on show, chrome chairs with laminated tables.

It has a great feel about it and I was disappointed to find their kitchen not working yet. We will definitely return in a few weeks and review it!

We decided instead, to eat at Cafe Tapas and enjoyed lamb cutlets with pesto, pumpkin, spinach and pine nut salad, grilled calamari and prawns on skewers. It was just right.

There was no retail therapy today. No shoes. No clothes. No jewellery. No make-up. No journals! I did buy some cell food face cream and cell food drops for ingesting - does that count as retail therapy?? Nah.

We were home by 3.30pm and the psychotic dogs were happy to see us. The house was lovely and cool, due to the air conditioning .. we love our air conditioning! Although the weather has actually cooled down enough to turn it off tonight!

Tomorrow is packing day and it's now after 11pm, so I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Another Day of Rest

On the way to coffee this morning, I stopped in at The Motivator's house to deliver her Valentine's Card to The Fisher King and also to pick up mine and Woman of Many Talent's Le Reve delivery. The Fisher King just happened to be on the phone with The Motivator when I arrived, so I had a quick chat with her before departing with my goods.

It was a nice morning to have coffee (or in my case, water) with The Blonde Bombshell and The Reality TV Queen.

The weather was warm but bearable and TRTVQ brought along Archie and Kara, two dogs that she is looking after while their Mum is in hospital. They are lovely and affectionate little things.

I returned home and sat on the couch for four hours, catching up on MKR, which Adoring Husband recorded for me while I was away.

That was such hard work, I had to go for a nap at 2.30pm and slept for more than two hours!

Dinner was easy. Grass fed rump with leftover roast vegetables and gravy from yesterday and some steamed broccoli. That took less than 30 minutes to prepare. Easy peasy.

As keen as I am to get back into my workspace and make some headway with my website, I only have four days with Adoring Husband before I head off again, so I'm trying to make the time count. It will probably be the end of March before I really get moving and make a serious go of it.

There is no point in making the site 'live' when I'm not going to be here for 3 of the next 5 weeks. I need to make a commitment to be here solidly for 6 months following it's launch because if it is as successful as I hope it to be, I am going to be busy!! Busy!! Busy!! Busy!!

I certainly can't rely on someone else to do my dirty work ... not just yet anyway haha.

I subscribed to Mayim Bialik's youtube channel this morning and watched half of her short videos, (around 4 minutes each) this being one of them ...

Too Emotional

Even after more than two hours sleep today, I am still going to have an early night.

Nite all.

A Day of Rest

I didn't do much at all today.

I left the house this morning to feel the sauna-like heat hanging in the air.

I rode to the shops at about 8.45am and was surprised to see the boys still at the Seat of Knowledge, so I stopped for a quick chat with them.

I checked the mail to discover that the parcel I sent from Sydney on Friday morning, was here already (today is Monday)!

I bought up big on vegetables so that I could do a tray of roast vegetables with a leg of lamb and gravy. I made that for lunch and we had just a light dinner tonight.

I contacted Virgin Blue and changed my flight so that I could fly directly from Canberra to Sydney.

I confirmed my place on the Conscious Abundance workshop in Byron Bay.

I booked our accommodation in Byron Bay and got a good deal because the Manager had just had a run in with some nasty customers and she needed a shoulder to cry on ... I was happy to oblige and got a reduced rate for my troubles. She actually sounds really lovely.

I mixed together some essential oils to rub onto the pressure points of Adoring Husband's head to ease his headache.

I woke Adoring Husband from a sound sleep and sent him off to bed.

That's about it!

Happy birthday to my little possum, Chicklet. She is six today! How time flies. She is so grown up now and I can't wait to see her in March.

The original birthday plan was to attend Luna Park for the day, but they arrived to find it closed. Chicklet took it really well and instead they found a fabulous park with a flying fox and a trampoline and other fun parky things.

My gift for her, which was ordered on 29th January and supposedly shipped on 2nd February, still hasn't arrived. That was disappointing.

Chicklet had a good day.

Anyway, it's my bed time.

Nite all.

Short but Sweet

That's me!! Short but sweet haha.

No, that was my visit to Gerringong.

Fourteen short hours.

Enough time to meet and chat with each member of a lovely family, sit at a huge table to share a meal, sing happy birthday, sit out a big storm while discussing all things that interest me with like-minded people and then sleep before the big train trip back to Sydney.

The kitchen

The butler's pantry (I want one of those)

Looking inside from the deck

The view from the deck

Table for eleven

Some of our dinner

It was well after midnight by the time I got to sleep, but the bed was comfortable and I slept soundly until 4am and then dozed on and off until 5am. I cancelled the alarm before it went off and I was dressed, packed and ready to climb into the car twenty minutes later.

The Motivator was awake, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to drive the fifteen minutes to Kiama where I was catching the train. What a trouper.

A good portion of the train trip from Kiama to Sydney had beautiful ocean views and even included a pretty sunrise. The journey was supposed to take two hours and five minutes, but there was a brief hold up just before Wolli Creek, so we were on the train for an extra ten minutes, which meant I missed my planned connection to the Domestic Airport.

I had to wait another fifteen minutes for the next train.

I may have to practice some weight training. I struggled with my two pieces of luggage, especially having to lift them over the large gap between the trains and the platforms! I certainly made good use of the lifts at the stations.

After such a relaxing train trip, it was a rude shock to enter the airport and see the massive crowds of people waiting to check in!

The queue was to the door. I walked past the end of the queue and found a gap further along that I discreetly manoeuvred my way into, without being noticed. Very cheeky, I thought!

It still took thirty minutes to reach the bag drop off. At one stage, a stray piece of luggage had been left in the middle of the check in area, and we (the people in the queue and I) were concerned that an evacuation was in order, but a security guard came along and removed it.

As I reached the check in counter, I received a text from Virgin, telling me that my flight had been delayed by one hour. It was quite a relief because I was beginning to feel the pressure of time.

So I found a juice bar and ordered a 'stress less' which was strawberry, apple and ginger juice. It was very effective.

We finally boarded an hour later than expected and had a perfect flight home to The Bay, until the landing.

OMG

The first landing was abandoned when we were about twenty feet from the ground. It was a very turbulent descent and just as we thought we were home, the engines roared and the plane began a steep ascent back to the sky. The pilot blamed a change in wind direction.

The second attempt was abandoned much earlier. The pilot blamed 'traffic'.

The third (and successful) landing was almost a crash landing! It was turbulent all the way down and we landed with such a loud and back breaking thud, that there were audible screams, grunts, gasps and two women at the rear of the plane who laughed hysterically for a full two minutes. It can only be described as nervous laughter!

What a relief to survive that!

It was great to see Adoring Husband's smiling face there to greet me.

Even though I was very lucky with beds on this trip, I am still looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight.

I need to regenerate and rejuvenate for the next four days, ready for the second leg of my February jaunt. I feel like we've been in Sydney for a month instead of just ten days!

Time to rest now.

Nite all.

Gerringong, I am in you!

Just a quick note to say that I am in Geringong, just south of Sydney and I need to be up at 5am to catch a train from Kiama to the airport.

I've had a lovely time meeting The Motivator's family, who are all really nice people, just as I expected!

Thank goodness the temperature has dropped from 42C to a pleasant 24C. Crazy!

Now I need to sleep.

Nite all.

A Bubbly Day

What a great day!

I started by packing a box with some of my purchases and walking to the post office to send it home. While I was there, I asked if they still had my sunglasses that I left behind 18 months ago ... I know ... wishful thinking. They weren't there.

Bubbles and I had agreed to meet at Westfield Miranda for breakfast and we chose Rubyniks restaurant where I thoroughly enjoyed French Toast with bacon, caramelised banana and maple syrup. YUM. Bubbles selected a chicken and avocado wrap.

For drinks, we chose a chocolate thick shake and a fresh juice drink of orange, pineapple, watermelon and coconut water. I'm sure you can guess which drink went with which person haha.

I bought another journal (seriously!) and a plaque with my favourite quote from AA Milne.

We decided to bring them back to the motel room before catching the train to Cronulla to see this movie ...



It was a great movie. Very emotional, stirring, shaming and uplifting. The cinema was quite full so there were some animated responses throughout, and then a round of applause at the end.

We did some browsing and shopping on the way back to the train station and we caught the train to Caringbah, where we alighted and headed to Bubbles's house.

I haven't seen the last two houses that she has lived in, so I thought it was time to go for a visit, even though it was 39C and a decent walk from the station. It contributed to my 11,000 steps (according to my watch) for the day. Her house is a beautiful old place with some of the original fittings dating back to 50s or 60s.

Bubbles had a shower and got changed and we called for a taxi to take us to the motel at about 6pm. After an hour and four texts from the taxi company telling us that there was a delay, Bubbles suggested that I download the Uber app and book a car.

So I did.

It took 'Dan' less than 5 minutes to arrive at our doorstep in a luxury car with lovely air conditioning. He was wonderful and the trip cost me $9. The last time I caught a taxi, it cost me $16 for a shorter distance.

Then tonight, when we left Miranda Diggers RSL after dinner, we walked to the motel and I booked another Uber driver to take Bubbles home. It was this driver's second day on the job and he got a little lost on his way to the motel. What should have taken 3 minutes to reach us, took about 8 minutes, but Bubbles said he was lovely and got her home safe n sound.

So, in my opinion, Uber rocks!

I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow, and it's almost 1am, so I'd best get some sleep!

Nite all.

Maybe Not

So maybe I wasn't all shopped out yesterday!

Bubbles, Knight in Shining Armour and R1 arrived at precisely 11am to pick me up from Mosman and drive me across to the other side of Sydney to The Metro Hotel, where I am staying for two nights.

I like this motel. I've stayed here a couple of times before and it's very comfortable with good beds and it's right across the road from Westfields Miranda.

Westfield Miranda has had huge renovations since I was last here and it's bigger and brighter than ever with so many new shops, it would take more than a day to see everything!

Bubbles and I spent the afternoon having a look around a few shops. Shoes and jewellery were our focus. Two pairs of shoes and two necklaces later, we decided to sit down for some lunch.

Bubbles' boots

My boots

I enjoyed some grilled salmon with a garden salad and Bubbles ordered a Wagyu beef burger and chips. It was a long leisurely lunch and we caught up on all of our news.

From there, we escaped the shopping centre and come back to the motel room so that I could change my shoes.

We lazed around on the bed relaxing for more than an hour before heading off to the local RSL for a flutter on the pokies and keno and then some dinner. GF chicken schnitzel with GF chips and salad. It was a huge meal and we followed it with delicious desserts, also GF.

We walked back to the motel again, watched some Big Bang Theory and then Bubbles walked the two blocks to her home, while I talked to her on the phone.

Now, I and my electronic devices are spread out over this deliciously large and comfortable king sized bed, and I am watching a movie.

Tomorrow, we plan on having breakfast together, then catching the train to Cronulla to attend the cinema to see 'Hidden Figures'.

The temperature is forecast to be 36C tomorrow and 38C on Saturday, so a dip in Knight in Shining Armour's swimming pool might be in order! Thank goodness we are not in Western Sydney, where the forecast is for 44C!!!  Ugh!!

It's after 11pm, so I'm off to get some sleep.

Nite all.

All Shopped Out

The Motivator had a meeting to attend this morning.

I had the opportunity to go shopping for the duration of her meeting, but instead I chose to laze in bed til late, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, pamper myself in the bathroom and then sit in the giant comfy lounge right under a beautiful window with filtered sunlight, reading a book.

It was a perfect morning which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The Motivator arrived home after lunch, so we snacked on some leftovers from the fridge before deciding to head off to Chatswood for a spot of ... you guessed it ... SHOPPING!

We started at Chatswood Chase and then headed over to Westfield. We didn't get to Chatswood until after 3.30pm, so there wasn't a lot of time for the heavy duty kind of shopping with which we are most familiar!

I was in search of a small suitcase combined laptop carrier on wheels and with an extending handle and found this ...

It's the perfect 'carry on' size and carries enough clothes/toiletries/shoes/stationery etc for three or four days + my laptop/iPad and all the cords and chargers for my devices.

It also came in very handy for carrying the remainder of our purchases in the short time that we had to indulge.

I got a business card container, a journal (another one!?), a folder to take to the gift fair next week, two pairs of shoes (one pair for Adoring Husband) and a top.

Now, with two pieces of luggage, I have just enough room to pack everything to take home!

Tomorrow, I leave The Motivator for a couple of days to spend time with Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour. Then on Saturday, I return to The Motivator to spend the evening with her family as they celebrate Mum's and Dad's special birthdays.

I fly home on Sunday to catch up with Adoring Husband for a few days. I'm looking forward to seeing him before I head off for another 12 days.

Even though I'm not a big fan of Sydney, I have enjoyed my time here with The Motivator and feel refreshed and rejuvenated!

By the time I arrive home, the air conditioning will be installed and life will be cooler and happier in our home. *happy dance*

It's well after midnight .. again .. so ..

Nite all.

A Day of Fabulousness

We woke to rain, rain, rain and more rain!

It was lovely because the temperature dropped considerably, which is just what the doctor ordered.

We drove to Balmoral for breakfast at The Boat House and even though it was already raining steadily, as soon as we parked the car, the heavens well and truly opened!

We sat in the car wondering how we were going to manage paying for the parking and then getting to The Boat House without being absolutely drenched.

Suddenly there was a tap on the driver's side window and there appeared an elderly gentleman with a giant umbrella, offering to shelter The Motivator while she paid the metre and then accompanied her across the road to our destination! What a lovely man!

There was only one table free for us to sit and it was partially in the weather. We didn't mind though because it had some shelter and we weren't getting wet. We ordered our breakfast of avocado and tomato on GF toast (the nuttiest and most delicious toast EVER). I had watermelon, raspberry, mint and lime juice, while The Motivator drank peppermint tea.

Even though it was raining, it was a very pleasant spot and we enjoyed ninety minutes of idle chit chat and delicious food. We could hear the gentle rumble of thunder in the distance, but it didn't seem to be building into anything.

All of a sudden there was this bright flash right beside us, followed a second later by a massive exploding crack of thunder that scared the pants off everyone! There were gasps and screams everywhere and I've gotta say, I almost soiled my pants!

About thirty minutes later, we experienced a repeat performance and the rain got even heavier.

We must have waited thirty minutes for the rain to ease, but it didn't even look like stopping any time soon, so the girl who served us suggested that we take a big black garbage bag and rip it up the centre so that we could share it over our heads til we reached the car.

What a great idea!

Needless to say that my Italian leather sandals got drenched because the pathway and road were flooded and the water completely covered our feet as we rushed to the car.

We weren't going to let a bit of rain dampen our spirits! It was time for some RETAIL THERAPY!

Manly was our shopping destination of choice and six hours, many shopping bags filled with goodies later, we decided to head straight to Hotel Mosman (aka The Duck) and climb the stairs to the top bar to eat dinner.

What a great pub that is! Relaxing atmosphere, friendly staff, mood lighting, easy listening music and wonderful food. We were surprised when we noticed that three hours had passed and it was time to head home!

Here it is after midnight already! Another full day and possibly an equally big day tomorrow, so ...

Nite all.

Day of Rest (or not)

What a beautifully lazy start to the day!

I woke up just after 8am and lazed in bed until after 10am. It felt decadent after the last 3 days of jumping out of bed early, showering, eating breakfast, preparing lunches, making ourselves presentable for 12 hour days and then navigating through 30 minutes of peek hour traffic to reach our destination!

We left the house at lunch time, test drove some cars, lunched at a pavilion full of furniture shops, test drove some lounges and outdoor settings (Adoring Husband, you almost got a phone call!) and then drove to Manly beach where we frolicked up to our ankles in the COLD sea water.

There were a hell of a LOT of people at the beach.

They were playing beach volleyball, surfing, body boarding, sunbathing, canoodling, wading, swimming and body surfing.

The tide was on it's way in and the waves were very unpredictable, sometimes tickling my toes and sometimes pounding almost up to my knees!

It was very refreshing after a very hot day. The 'grounding' was therapeutic and the wind blew all the cobwebs out ... even though we were left very windswept.

We had a few items to buy to restock the pantry before we headed home, so we stopped off at that wonderful market place again.

This was our dinner tonight, which was washed down with vodka, tonic and lime.

We have spent the evening surfing the net and listening to relaxing, soothing music.

I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Now I must attempt to climb into bed before midnight! (oops! too late!)

Nite all.

The Party is Over

Well, what a weekend it has been!

Totally amazing, and I'm so happy that I made the decision to attend and then wholly participate. I cleared a lot of stuff from my past - surprising stuff that I wasn't expecting.

Three twelve hour days that completely drained me, yet by the end, left me feeling totally energised.

This is the castle where the workshop was held ...

... it's an old catholic priest seminary and was built in the 1840s.

We came straight home, prepared a dinner of pork fillet and salad, drank a vodka and tonic with lime, shared childhood photos and told funny stories from our past and then realised that it was midnight!

So here I am. Just popped in to say ...

Nite all.

Inspiring

Today has been the most amazing and inspiring day.

I have spent the last two days, with 150 other women,  on 'The Journey' with Brandon Bays. Tomorrow is the last day of this retreat/workshop. It has been everything and more than I ever expected and I feel lighter and freer than at any time of my life.

I have shed so many tears - I didn't know there was so much salty wet stuff in me - and I've cleared issues that I didn't even realise were still issues, but quite obviously have been weighing heavily in my heart for a long time.

I've met and talked with women who have stories that would blow your mind. How does anyone survive some of these life experiences and come out the other side intact? How does someone find the courage to trust and love again after that kind of hell? Where do these women find the strength to move forward and create any kind of life, let alone a happy one?

Everybody has a story. Just when you think you've heard the worst, somebody else comes forward with a story that moves you to your very core.

Today, I felt overwhelmed with love. Women from every background, from all walks of life and all age groups, holding my hands and looking deep into my eyes and making me feel like I was the most important person on the planet. I've had tears literally streaming from my eyes and dripping off my cheeks as if a tap had been turned on.

Overwhelming and honest. Intimidating and challenging. Shocking and unexpected. Inspiring and heartwarming.

People who have had an easy life are never drawn to these kinds of events and gatherings, so naturally the room will be full of people who have experienced difficulties, traumas, dramas, tragedies and circumstances that you couldn't even conjure if you were writing a horror story.

But these are the people with the most love to give and who forgive with their whole heart. These are the people who empathise, who don't judge you, who accept you completely.

I am so glad that I decided to do this.

It has taken me so far out of my comfort zone and forced emotions to the surface that have been held down with a tight lid for decades.

I am exhausted.

Tomorrow is the final day and even though I'm looking forward to what it will bring, I will also be sad to say goodbye to some of these girls and women. Women from all over the world and all over Australia.

They are all amazing and beautiful and strong and heroic.

Now I need to sleep.

Namaste.

Nite all.

Intense

Today has been intense.

It has also been confronting, challenging, emotional, overwhelming and exhausting.

We left home at 8am and arrived home at the end of the day, some time after 9.30pm, at which time we had to prepare dinner.

There was minimal debriefing, a healthful dinner, some lemon myrtle tea and a fond good night at 11.30pm.

I have a feeling that I will sleep soundly tonight.

This is inside the castle where we are workshopping ...

It's amazing. I wish I'd brought my camera to Sydney with me, but I'll take a few pics with my phone tomorrow.

For now, I must bid you good night.

Nite all.

Sydney! We are in you!

Well, after a hectic start to the day, we made it to the airport in The Bay with plenty of time to spare and we relaxed in the cafe enjoying some beverages before the flight.

Adoring Husband stayed with us until it was time to board our aircraft and then we were on our way!

The trip went so quickly!

The plane was only half full, which meant that we had a spare seat and we could spread out. We had iPads and magazines and food and cups of tea all over the place.

I had downloaded the Virgin entertainment app and watched an educational dvd with tips for writing blogs for websites and online readers. At the same time The Motivator went through her iPad finding all of her information for swimming pools to share with me.

Before we knew it, we were clearing everything away and preparing for our landing.

We had been warned that the winds at the airport were gusting at 40kph and that there was low level cloud, which meant it would be a bumpy old landing, but it wasn't half as bad as I expected.

It was a smooth departure from Sydney Airport. We stopped at the loo on the way to pick up our luggage, and by the time we got to the pickup point, our luggage was right there waiting for us on the conveyor belt.

We found our shuttle bus driver quickly and before we knew it, we were on our way through the dreadful Sydney traffic heading towards Mosman.

We travelled through tunnels and over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. So much traffic. So much noise. So fast. So dirty. Ugh.

The house that we are staying in is on a very busy main road, but you can't hear the traffic from inside. It's an old place that has been beautifully renovated. Very comfortable and almost feels like home!

We relaxed for a while on the big comfy couch before deciding to go buy some groceries.

What a FABULOUS market place we found, with so much organic goodness! There was grass fed beef, pasture raised chicken and pork, gluten free everything and the range of fresh fruit and vegetables was amazing ... even plantains, which I haven't found anywhere near where we live or the Sunshine Coast!

There were all kinds of exotic fruit and vegetables. An amazing selection of cheeses, kimchis, kombuchas and coconut yoghurts. A huge range of dips and pates and pestos.

I don't know how long we were in there, but we lost each other a couple of times. It was pure heaven!

From there we headed to the 'bottlo' where we stocked up on some alcoholic beverages.

We drove to Manly, where we stopped and played on the seesaw in the park, then walked along the path that runs parallel to the beach. Manly looks very different to how I remember it 30 years ago!

We then went to look at Balmoral. I do like Balmoral very much!

We didn't get home until about 7.30pm and by the time we sat down to dinner, which was pork steaks, salad and kimchi, it was 8.30pm!!

NOW, it's almost 1am! We have a big day tomorrow, so I'd best get some sleep!

Nite all.

It's Time!

This will be a very short post!

It's almost midnight and I have just about completed my 'to do' list, before departing tomorrow for twelve days.

My brain feels a little mushy, because my 'to do' list wasn't very comprehensive and I keep remembering other things that need doing!

I saw my boys this morning so that I could say goodbye. I probably won't see them again until the end of the month.

I popped in to see The Motivator so that we could discuss our itinerary, the upcoming 'Journey' weekend and to make sure that we remembered everything that we needed to bring, including the right number of outfits!

This will be our first trip away together since our friendship blossomed and we are really excited about what this couple of weeks will hold for us.

From there, I rushed home and got my suitcase out so that I could begin packing. I didn't get very far, before it was time to get ready to go into The Bay.

We had to meet Best Cousin in the World to deliver her LeReve products, and we shared a nice easy lunch at the Sticky Fig Cafe.

I was very excited to see that the shoe shop next door was having a closing down sale, so of course, a new pair of shoes was in order! Yay me!

Adoring Husband dropped me off at Stocklands and while he was enduring a procedure on two BCCs, I pampered myself and had a pedicure and manicure. I was a bit disappointed in my pedicure because the girl wasn't very good at massaging my feet and legs. (It was the salon next to K-Mart)

I will go to the other salon next time because I know that they are excellent - not as friendly or chatty, but so much better at the actual pedicure.

We returned home and I did a little more packing before making a quick dinner and then getting ready to go out to the monthly Trivia night at the club.

We picked up the Blonde Bombshell and met the lovely snorting Tweedle Dee and her husband The Garden Guru for a night of fun and frivolity.

Our night was fun and frivolous and but totally pathetic as far as the trivia goes! We came seventh out of nine teams this week. It seems we slip further and further down the ladder every month! Ah well, that's life. Adoring Husband announced that he is going to get BGWLBH (for my new readers, that stands for Beautiful Girl With Long Blonde Hair, who is my BFF and lives in NSW) to fly up next month, because she will be the answer to all of our trivial problems!! Good luck with that darling :)

Anyway, I have almost finished packing and have made a list of everything I need to add tomorrow morning.

Now it's sleep time.

Nite all.

Brave and Bold

I have been unhappy with my local hairdresser for some time.

She had me so uninspired that I made the decision to grow my hair out to it's natural colour, however,  my natural shade of grey is equally uninspiring.

So I asked around my friends to find out who their hairdressers were and even though I seriously considered them all, I decided that I would find my own hairdresser.

Today, we had to go into The Bay to pick up my six tubs of chocolate chip coconut ice cream (that is NOT a typo) and while we were there, I walked into a nearby hairdressing salon to make an appointment for Wednesday. The woman who served me, who seemed to be about my age and very bohemian, offered me an appointment for right then and there!

I conferred with Adoring Husband who was waiting in the car. He decided to do a Bunnings run and some other errands and I told him I'd be about 2 hours.

I returned to Bohemian Mama and accepted her offer, sat down in the chair and began a twenty minute discussion about what I wanted.

What did I want? No freaking idea. *rolls eyes*

I didn't want to be a 56 year old trying to be 20 and I didn't want to look like an elderly woman. I want to be fairer at the front than at the back, more sun kissed than bleached and as natural as possible.

She showed me some pics in a hair style catalogue and I pointed to a couple that I liked.

Then I sat down and we chatted while she got to work.

We had a LOT in common, even with some of my 'out of the box' beliefs, so our discussions were interesting and in depth with both of us looking wide eyed at various times.

The first ninety minutes went very quickly and I still wasn't even close to finished! Adoring Husband came in and said he would wait in the car.

Thirty minutes later, he came in again and asked how long. Bohemian Mama said "About half an hour".

Half an hour later, I was frantically looking at my watch, realising that she still wasn't near finished and had to politely ask her to move it along!

Another thirty minutes passed and Adoring Husband came inside and took a seat to wait, while she finished blow drying my hair.

$227 later ...

The most I have ever spent on my hair, was $140. My favourite hairdresser in Griffith only charges me $90 and he does a better job than anybody.

I have to say that I do like my hair. It looks much better than before my appointment, but not quite as good as my imagination had pictured it. Bohemian Mama did a good job and next time, with a couple of tweaks, she will do better. I just need to earn enough through my website to cover my hair expenses!!

Sorry I don't have a pic to show you.

I have a scary infected right eye at the moment, which would not be pretty in a photo. I bought myself some colloidal silver gel this morning and I've used it twice during the day. It soothed the savage beast immediately and I hope that it will heal quickly from here.

We had lunch at the Golf Club prior to my hair appointment, which was very pleasant and air conditioned and delicious.

Tomorrow will involve some more pampering when I plan to have both a pedicure and a manicure, while Adoring Husband endures some unpleasantness having a BCC removed from his neck.

I know, right? There's always something!

For now, it's almost 10.30pm, it's been a big day and I need some sleep in preparation for another big day tomorrow!

So, nite all.

Marathon in the Kitchen

I spent enough money at our local shops today, to pay their staff wages for a week!

I came home laden with shopping bags overflowing with meat, vegetables, fruit, coconut oil, lemons and so much more!

Even though Adoring Husband told me not to, I spent the day in the kitchen cooking, preparing a eighteen meals to cover most of the 22 days that I will be absent.

I made 3 meals of chicken spinach parsee, 3 of beef masala, 3 of Hainan chicken, 3 of spaghetti bolognese sauce, 2 of sausages and onion gravy and 3 of lamb shanks with tomato and red wine sauce.

THEN I made lamb cutlets with salad for dinner!

I cleared the fridge and cleaned the kitchen - more than once!

Needless to say, I feel like a high achiever!

Now I have two days to get myself organised. I need a hair appointment and a pedicure.

I still need to make my 'to do' list! Ugh.

I'll worry about it tomorrow. It's almost midnight.

Nite all.

A Working Sunday

Another productive day for me in the website wilderness of my workspace.

I completed my first Recipe post, which took a good few hours, and the only one left to complete now is for the Art and Craft page.

There are still three photos in my shop that are giving me grief and it will take some time to figure that out, but I also have to do some alterations to the shop because there are a couple of things bugging me about it.

Anyway, I got enough done today, that I was able to knock up a quick and nourishing dinner of chicken spaghetti bolognese sauce with zucchini noodles and be sitting comfortably ready to watch Federer play Nadal in the Final of the Australian Open Tennis Championships.

What a fabulous match it was! They are both such gentlemen on the court and the crowd was electric! Especially in the fifth and final set when Roger Federer found something extra and won quite convincingly.

I felt very emotional on his behalf!

And then I found this ...

Roger and Rafa

A well earned and well deserved win. Go Roger!!

I only have three days left to get myself organised for a very full and busy February! I must make a 'to do' list!

But not right now, because it's after 11pm and I need some sleep!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Nite all.

Midnight Hour

Here I am, right on the stroke of midnight, just starting to write this post.

Where the heck has this day gone?

I guess three unplanned hours with The Motivator and her friend The High Flyer took a chunk out of the day that I hadn't planned, but I had a fabulous time!

This morning I designed some business cards and ordered them online and some stickers with my logo on them to put on the jewellery packaging.

It has taken me 45 minutes to write these seven lines.

My brain is far far away.

So, for the ladies who have recently acquired some essential oils from our parties, check this out ...

100 Uses for our ten most popular oils and blends

... it's written by Jessie Reimers, who is one of the top salespeople and trainers for Doterra Essential oils, but five of these particular scents are available in the LeReve brand as well.

To finish this short post, and so that I can get some sleep, I really liked this quote that I found on Facebook this evening.

On that note, I am off to bed.

Nite all.