Monday Holiday

Vegan Chickie left for her world adventure at 7am ... and so MY adventure begins with Chicklet.

Today is Labour Day in Victoria, which means of course, it's a public holiday.

The excitement of having a coffee shop right next door to this building soon waned when we got to the front door and saw the "closed" sign.

Chicklet said "Don't worry Bozzy Wozzy, there is one across the road!"

Also closed.

She dragged me to six more shops on the street, all closed due to the public holiday.

We finally found an open coffee shop two blocks away and around the corner, but so did a lot of other people! We were about 6th in the queue and had to wait about fifteen minutes for coffee. I didn't mind the wait, but Chicklet wasn't very happy about it.

I'd only had three mouthfuls of coffee in the last 48 hours and I am by no means addicted to caffeine these days, so it wasn't such a bother.

Chicklet and I spent the morning being Arty Farty ...

I drew the Pokemons and she coloured them in.

When she got bored with colouring in, she decided to make the miniature lego style T-Rex that I'd brought with me yesterday. I have to say that she did make a solid attempt, but eventually decided that I should do it!

Me! Of all people!

The instructions were painful and I definitely required reading glasses to see the diagrams properly!

In the middle of my construction, Chicklet had a face time lunch date with her Dadu, so I set her up at my laptop and she chatted away while I completed the T-Rex.

I was quite proud of myself for my persistence and the blossoming of this hidden talent!

Once that job was done, and Chicklet finished her call with Dadu, we put our shoes on and went for a walk to Coles, which is only about 5 minutes away. Chicklet was annoyed that I wanted to walk the 5 minutes to Coles, instead of the 2 minutes to the 7-11, but she soon got over it.

What a busy little supermarket that one is! The Asian supermarket directly across the walkway just adds the congestion. It only has four assisted checkouts, the remainder are self serve. I stood in a queue for an assisted checkout, when a young lady came up to me and asked me to follow her to her checkout, which was all the way at the other end of the shop!

I got some unhappy glances from other shoppers who were also waiting in line. I don't know why she singled me out. Maybe it was because I had the only child within a 15 km radius???? She had a lovely conversation with Chicklet as she served us, so perhaps that really was the attraction.

We returned home and munched on some chippies while we did some more sticker pictures, planned our Tuesday and then decided it was time to play Minions in the bedroom. Minions were soon followed by Minecraft until, thank goodness, the batteries went flat on my devices!

By now it was dinner time and bath time and book time and bed time.

Now I sit here at Vegan Chickie's desk, at 10pm, watching people STILL working in the office block across the road and feeling like a fish in a fish bowl. Yes, there are curtains to close, but when everything is shut, I must admit to feeling a little claustrophobic.

When the blinds are open, in the day time, I feel like I'm flying, or floating ... or something. I love that one wall is completely covered with glass. There is so much light! It's long way down from the 22nd floor.

Now I'm off to bed. We have another big day planned for tomorrow.

Nite all.

Happy Landings

I had a fabulous night's sleep in the motel.

I set the air conditioner on 22C AND I turned the fan on low, pulled the doona up to my chin and settled in for a deliciously cozy night.

After about 7 hours of solid sleep, I lazed in bed with my iPad for an hour before preparing for my long day of travel. It was a pretty cruisy start to the day.

When I was ready, the motel manager drove me to the airport, which was a bonus I wasn't expecting!

Sunshine Coast Airport was surprisingly busy. I browsed the shops and saw lots of things that I wanted, but I didn't buy any of it. I think some of my "Journey" work in Byron Bay, may have had a positive effect on my spending.

The plane was pretty packed, and unfortunately, there were a LOT of children ranging in ages from about 6 months to about 12 years. Most of them were loud and cranky for the entire trip.

I tried to drown out their noise by opening the Virgin entertainment app, but it told me that entertainment was not available on this flight .. ugh!

My other dilemma was that my seat was 3 seats from the back of the plane, where the toilet was, so for the entire trip, I had a queue of people standing beside me as they waited their turn to use the dunny. The continual flushing was most off putting.

It was a smooth flight all the way until it was time to land. The pilot warned that the winds were in excess of 25knots, but oh what a ride it was til we hit the ground! I looked along the aisle and saw that at least ten men had their hands firmly grasping the back of the seat in front of them, and the closest three to me, gave an audible sigh of relief when we touched down safely.

While I waited for my luggage to appear on the carousel, I downloaded the Starbus app and ordered a bus that would take me directly to Vegan Chickie's front door. $18 for the 20km trip was definitely good value, even though my anorexic Indian bus driver spent most of the drive looking at his phone or talking on it. I felt less safe in the bus than I did on the plane during our hairy landing!

Vegan Chickie didn't tell Chicklet that I was here and as the lift doors opened and she saw me, I got the best greeting EVER! She yelled "BOZZY WOZZY!!!!" and ran into my arms. What an emotional moment for me!

We had about 90 minutes catching up before we walked to a nearby Vietnamese restaurant and ate the most delicious bowl of noodle soup with chicken and beef. So much flavour! Chilli oil on the table and fresh herbs in pots to cut and add to our bowls. So yummy and only $10!

Chicklet and I had a bedtime story and then Vegan Chickie and I sat up talking until 10.30pm. She has to be off early in the morning for her flight, so it's time to sleep now.

I love their little cuddle house. Very small and compact, but has everything they need and there is lots of light and windows and fresh air here on the 22nd floor. I think I'm going to be very comfortable here for the next week or so.

Nite all.

Uphill Climb

Worst night's sleep ever - stoopid psychotic dogs had us up 3 or 4 times - I've threatened them with losing their prize position in our bedroom if they keep it up.

Our car got us to the train station on time and Adoring Husband made it home safely. Whew.

There weren't many on the train today, so it was a peaceful trip and the 2.5 hours seemed to fly by.

When I arrived at Nambour Train Station, I checked google maps and it told me that the hospital was only 1.2kms from the station, so I stopped at McCafe for a coffee and instead of calling a cab, I decided to walk the short distance to the hospital.

BIG mistake!

I planned on visiting Mum H before making my way to my motel near the airport.

It was hot today. It's always hot in Nambour. I was dragging my full suitcase, my laptop, my handbag, my half litre water bottle full of water and a small bag of food. Combined, it probably weighed 20kgs.

I walked 1/3 of the distance on reasonably flat ground and some even went downhill, but then I reached the little bridge and looked ahead of me.

By this time, perspiration was dripping from my face and body. I stopped in the shade and looked up the hill. I could see the hospital and I knew that if I called a taxi or Uber, the fare would cost about $4 and I doubted whether any of them would even accept the fare.

It seemed that my only option was to attempt the hike, so I tossed my coffee away after only 3 mouthfuls, took a deep breath and moved forward.

I figured that if I had a heart attack half way up the hill, or even once I reached the summit, I was in the right place to get help!

That is an effing steep hill. So steep that I couldn't pull my suitcase behind me. I had to push it ever so slowly, in front of me, stopping about 5 times in the shade to catch my breath and cool down a little.

Half way up the hill, a bunch of teenage boys passed me going in the opposite direction. One of them came back to me and asked if I had a spare $2 so that he could catch the bus. If I'd had my wits about me, I'd have offered him $10 or $20 to walk my suitcase to the top of the hill! But by then, I was in the survival zone, so I was grateful to stop in the shade and actually found $5 to give to him. He was very grateful and thanked me profusely.

By the time I reached the hospital, I was huffing and puffing and was drenched with sweat. I walked inside and found a bathroom. I was literally glowing - almost fluorescent red! The last time I looked like that, was after a 2 hour squash grand final that went to five sets!

I decided that I needed to sit down in the air conditioning, catch my breath and bring my body temperature back to normal, so I found a comfortable seat in a quiet corner and sat down for ten minutes.

Eventually, I walked what seemed like another kilometre inside the hospital until I reached Mum H's room and there she was sitting on the bed talking on the phone. All things considered, she looked very well! She showed me the bruising from where the paramedics had resuscitated her. This is day 9 and she is still black and blue and lots of other colours.

She was giving the medical staff and other patients lots of cheek, so this tells me that she is doing ok. We chatted for about 90 minutes before I said my goodbyes and called an Uber driver to come pick me up.

A very friendly young Indian gentleman picked me up in his Mazda 2 and drove me the 18 kms to my motel for the very reasonable price of $27. The last time I caught a taxi from Tewantin to Cooroy (15kms), it cost me $45. Uber ROCKS!

My motel room is very nice. The owner, Michael, had just had a run in with one of his customers because the customer was a smoker and this motel is a non-smoking establishment - NO SMOKING ANYWHERE ON THE GROUNDS.

The customer complained long enough and loud enough, that Michael offered him an ash tray and a patch of ground as far away from the rooms as possible. When I arrived, Michael was still a bit ruffled by the altercation so we shared our dislike of nasty people and he debriefed.

He showed me to my room and carried my suitcase, lifting it onto the luggage rack for me. He gave me directions to the Ramada Hotel, where I could get an alcoholic beverage and a nice meal and then returned later with a little jug of milk for my tea/coffee.

I walked the 100m to the Ramada where I was immediately accosted by a tutu wearing, glittery faced gentleman holding a cork board with a list of 'dares' on it. It was his buck's night and he had 20 dares that he had to complete by the end of the evening.

His dares included riding a male like a bucking bull, smashing a shot glass after drinking the contents, chatting up 6 different men and getting their phone numbers, singing 'It's Raining Men' at karaoke and getting 20 women to sign their names somewhere on his body. I can't remember the other dares.

I signed my name on his arm under the tattooed name of his son. He told me that his 10 yr old son was going to be part of the wedding party and he was very excited about it.

Later I heard him singing 'It's Raining Men' in the karaoke bar.

I feel that he is going to be pretty much under the weather tomorrow morning!

Now I am sitting in my motel room, about to climb under the covers and make up for last night's lost sleep!

The weather in Melbourne is looking ominous for tomorrow, so I'm not looking forward to the flight. Fingers crossed, that it clears by the time my flight arrives!

Nite all.

Fabulous Friday

So much to do, so little time.

Our original plan was for Adoring Husband to drive me to the Sunshine Coast on Sunday morning so that I could catch my plane to Melbourne at 11am.

This week, our car had a hiccup and requires a new part that will not be available for about a month. In the meantime, we are not allowed to drive long distances and have been advised to use the car sparingly.

At first I figured that it didn't matter much because I could catch the early train on Sunday morning and still be on the Sunny Coast with plenty of time to get to the airport for my flight.

Then I discovered that there is no early train on Sunday morning.

New plan.

I now have to miss my art class on Saturday morning *sobbing tears of devastation* and catch the 10.40am train to the Sunny Coast, stay overnight in a motel, and then catch my flight on Sunday morning.

Sheesh. These things are sent to test us.

So I have made all the bookings, and as it happens, Mum H, after suffering a serious heart attack a week ago, is in hospital on the Sunny Coast, so I will get to visit her before I fly to Melbourne.

My original 'to do' list had to be modified and prioritised.

Adoring Husband has no meals prepared. One psychotic dog did not get groomed and will have to walk around blind for another 2 weeks.

I'm sure they will survive.

This is what it looked like at the Seat of Knowledge this morning...

Adoring Husband attached my rod to the wall in my workspace. I can now hang my vision board and other bits and pieces as I see fit.

The Bowls Club opened the new renovated area this week and this is what it looks like ...

I got to play poker machines for the first time in four months and had a very successful night haha!

My bags are partially packed and now I should get a good night's sleep in readiness for a big day tomorrow.

Nite all.

Back Breaker

I'm annoyed that I forgot to take a 'before' shot of my workspace before I started the decluttering and clearing today.

I moved my mess into the next room, vacuumed the floor and then Adoring Husband helped move some chests of drawers into the room. One small chest is inside the wardrobe, and now holds the wallets and purses, the games, and the top of it is now home to my Photography magazines and an assortment of books.

We started at about 9.30am.

AH used his time to clean out the double garage while I worked on my room. We stopped for an hour at lunch, then AH cleaned the kitchen while I continued in my room.

I got myself into a really good rhythm and made some great headway before The Motivator arrived at 2pm. She was surprised at how much I had been able to get done, but there was still a lot to do. She was head down and bum up almost immediately, and between us, we worked for a further 3+ hours.

It's STILL not completely finished, but it shouldn't take long to find a home for what's left on the floor in the other room.

My back and my feet are suffering considerably with all that lifting and bending and walking through the house with bare feet on the tiled floor.

The family room is now full of empty boxes, a broken clothes basket and two bags of rubbish, all ready to be tossed tomorrow. The recycle bin is 'chockers' full of old magazines, recipe books, out of date paperwork and printouts of no longer required recipes.

I think I deserve an early night after all of that.

So ...

Nite all

If The Cap Fits

I put my 'business' cap on today!

I managed emails and made phone calls and paid invoices.

I checked some invoices against some of the stock I've receive, which was pretty exciting.

I love all of the journals, notebooks and books that I ordered at the gift fair and today I discovered for the first time that I received a free package with one of my orders, which I know I can use in a positive way.

I haven't even touched my website since I returned from my trip away, because there is so much OTHER stuff to do!  I will save the best for last.

I have accepted The Motivator's offer of help to get my workspace organised. She is the storage master and with all the extra stock and paperwork in my life now, I need all the help that I can get!

I hope that by the end of tomorrow, I'll be feeling less cluttered and more organised, which will give me the motivation to move forward at a more rapid pace than I have in the last week!

I have successfully begun very paragraph in this post with 'I'.

I now need to go to bed.

Nite all
 

Another Fun-filled Day

It all started with the bloody vacuum cleaner not working when I needed it the most!

GRRRRRR

I had a well scripted, well co-ordinated plan to get some 'stuff' done before I went for coffee this morning, but the first hurdle caused the whole plan to go out the window.

My frustration was overwhelming.  My rage was excessive.  My demands on Adoring Husband were unreasonable.

I was a bitch on wheels. Bitter, twisted and ugly.

I'm certain that Adoring Husband was feeling monumental relief as I left the house to meet the girls for coffee.

All of the girls, except the lovely snorting Tweedle Dee, were unavailable for coffee, but we had a great time and we both felt quite disappointed when I had to leave for an 11am appointment.

I really must stop making arrangements for Tuesday mornings, so that I can spent time lavishly enjoying good coffee, good conversation and good snorting laughter!

At 11am, the Narellan Pool guy arrived at our doorstep to take a look at the back yard and give us a quote for a ... yes you guessed it ... POOL!! The quote was as expected and now the discussions and negotiations begin (between AH and myself).

Watch this space.

AH and I enjoyed a quick lunch of leftovers before The Motivator came for a visit.

We had much to discuss and plans to make for the resurrection and reconditioning of my workspace. It's a big job ahead of me and a big job ahead of her to supervise me in this huge task! I must take a 'before' photo tomorrow ... I feel that the changes will be like Adoring Husband's relief ... monumental!

I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Gave Myself a Kick (You-know-where)

After a great trike ride this morning, I checked the mail, made a withdrawal from my bank, got some groceries and then visited The Motivator for two hours!

It didn't seem like it at the time, but it turned out to be a motivational visit, because I returned home in full productivity mode!

Do you remember the 'to do' cards that I made last year (one year ago to the day!) and pinned on the cork board? Adoring Husband and I selected a card every day or two and completed one chore each time. Within a month, we had finished all the major chores and the house was happy, decluttered and cleansed.

Well, today I made some more 'to do' cards for myself. There are 28 cards at this point, although I have completed some of them this afternoon, so that number has already reduced.

After I made the cards, I emptied my coloured drawers of jewellery making paraphernalia, gave the drawers a good wash and then filled them with gift boxes and the new jewellery that I bought at the gift fair last week.

The dining table was cleared of all my crap, but is now covered with the tackle boxes full of jewellery making gear, which I am going to bag and sell ... somehow.

I filed my catalogues and price lists, although not alphabetically or in any order. I threw them into a mini concertina file to get them out of the way, so that chore is only partially complete.

At least I feel a small sense of achievement at the end of today, and that puts me in a much better place than the last few days!

I'm looking forward to coffee with the girls tomorrow, although I'm not sure how many of them will even be available. There is a lot happening in all of our lives right now! Whoever turns up, I'll be happy!

Early to bed tonight.

Nite all.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

I started out with big plans for today.

Those plans did not come to fruition! I can tell that you're not surprised!

My 'to do' list is somewhat overwhelming and I am intimidated by the enormity of it. I don't know where to start and most tasks will take time ... hours in fact.

I sat down on the couch to drink my coffee this morning and Adoring Husband asked me what my plans were for the day. I recited what I wanted to get done today ... and then proceeded to sit on the couch watching more of the recorded TV shows from while I was away.

There I stayed until it was time to get ready for a Le Reve party that I had to attend at 2pm.

So, another day wasted where none of my tasks were completed.

I've had an offer of help, which I have accepted, so hopefully, by Wednesday night I will be feeling a lot more positive about my progress.

The Motivator and I spent a pleasant afternoon at Sirenia Beach attending a Le Reve party. We sat outside where there was a beautiful cool sea breeze blowing and our hostess provided healthful snacks and refreshing drinks. We laughed a lot and got to know some new people and spent a little money.

I've booked another Le Reve party for the end of March, so expect an invitation.

You know who you are :)

I'm going to bed now, The storm last night kept me awake until about 2am .. mostly because the psychotic dog's PTSD kicked in and there was much barking and panicking going on.

I need to catch up on missed sleep.

Nite all.

Art for Art's Sake

Wahoo!!

The art class finally happened!

Saturday morning is going to be my new favourite time of the week. 

There are no words to describe how it makes me feel when I'm being arty farty, and when I'm using my hands to create something. I completely lose myself, and today, I lost myself for three hours.

There are usually four others in the class, but there were only two today because one is in hospital recovering from surgery gone wrong and another had other had private matters to distract her.

I've never used clay to create art. None of us have.

It's amazing and fabulous and wonderful and consuming and cathartic.

So we were all clay virgins today and this is the beginning of my bust sculpture...

Obviously, there is a lot more to be done yet. Lots of contouring and defining and moulding and finding the personality within. I'm leaning towards Jasper right now, but that could change when I see his face again next week. He could even possibly become a she after next week. There is potential for change there.

The sad thing about my new found love, is that I have to cut my nails off! For the first time in years, I have grown my nails quite long, but they are not conducive to easy sculpting and need to be cut right back. Bugger!

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The other girls are great fun and the teacher is patient and caring and helpful and talented.

I can't wait until next Saturday!

The other exciting thing that happened to me today, was talking to Chicklet on the phone. I can't wait to see her in less than two weeks now! She's the cheekiest, funniest, smartest little Chicklet in the universe and we have big plans for our time together!

Vegan Chickie always creates and provides a multitude of tasks full of education, fun and frivolity for the two of us to fill the days that she is absent. We are going to have a ball together.

There is a fire burning tonight on the outskirts of our town ... 

I think the volunteer fire brigade have it pretty much under control, but it looked awfully close this afternoon. It just started raining, so hopefully, it will be enough to assist in putting it out.

Look at this, well after midnight again!

Nite all. 

A Tiny Bit Productive

I ticked a couple of items off my 'to do' list

I finished unpacking, filed my collection of business cards from the gift fair, gathered my catalogues ready for filing, found a home for my new dessert glasses and I partly cleared the dining table of my crap.

Clearly, my 'to do' list is still very long!

My priority today, was to finish watching the recorded TV shows from while I was away ...  and I also did some cooking.

Tomorrow is my first Art Class, which I am very excited about.

I had a nice night at the club catching up with the girls ... especially Lady Lynn whom I haven't seen in what feels like FOREVER!

Now I'm off to bed. Short and sweet tonight.

Nite all.

A Day of Rest

Today I combined 'rest day' and 'together time' and enjoyed a day on the couch with Adoring Husband.

Taking into consideration that I have only been home for five days in the last month, and yesterday was a very full 'date day', I sat on the couch for most of today watching many of the TV shows that Adoring Husband very kindly recorded for me while I was absent.

I started the day with a short trike ride and returned home to make a big Vindaloo Curry which slowly bubbled away for a couple of hours while we lazed in front of the telly.

It was a good curry, to which I added thin slices of broccoli and cauliflower, as well as big chunks of sweet potato. It was very nutritious.

I still haven't completely unpacked from my trip and both of my suitcases are sitting on the floor in the dining room with bits and pieces still in them. The dining table is covered in paperwork, business catalogues and price lists, boxes of journals, empty stock bags, clothes, jewellery, a kefir kit, post packs, dvds, cds, glasses, wall hangings, the list goes on.

There are seventeen items on my 'to do' list for tomorrow, and I have to say that they are not small items.

One of them is packaging up all of the beads, accessories and jewellery making tools from my workspace. That job alone will take a day.

Another is cataloguing all of my stock, which will take at least a whole day, perhaps two, and then storing them where the beads and jewellery making stuff is currently stored.

I have to finish the website, groom the dogs, clear out the pantry, do my filing, do some housework, a basket full of ironing, clear 300+ emails, clear my desk and so much more.

Where do I even begin???!

Anyway, it will all get done eventually. Small steps.

Thirty eight years today since I lost my son, Jamie, to SIDS.

That's a bloody long time. It doesn't feel that long.

Thank you for the messages of support ... you know who you are xo

I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Christmassy

The day was a little Christmassy for me!

I saw the boys at The Seat of Knowledge, did some grocery shopping and checked the mail. I had two parcels to pick up. One full of jewellery and the other full of games. Both items will be for sale on the site.

When I arrived home, I unpacked the groceries and then got ready for date day with Adoring Husband.

Just before we left, the courier knocked on our front door and delivered two boxes of goodies for Romance Your Life! I didn't have time to open the boxes before we left, so I had to wait until tonight.

Our first stop in The Bay was at Office Works. I needed a book to hold all the business cards that I collected at the Gift Fair, some manilla folders to hold invoices and a concertina folder to hold all the catalogues!

We decided to have lunch at Aquavue before our movie, which was lovely. We had beautiful views of the water which was the most vibrant blue I've ever seen.

This photo really doesn't capture the amazing colour properly.

From there, we headed to the cinema where we watched the final viewing of "La La Land".

I LOVED it!! We LOVED it!!

After the movie, we drove to Stocklands to buy some dog food and then raced home to make dinner and get ready for trivia which was on at the club tonight.

Adoring Husband tells me that we came 3rd, but wherever we came, it was, as always, a lot of fun.

I got to open my earlier delivery when I returned home from trivia and it was just like Christmas! Two boxes full of lovely journals and notebooks and message books.

Now the dining room looks like a bomb hit it because I still haven't completely finished unpacking and all of the goodies that have been delivered in the last two days are spread out everywhere!

I need to take tomorrow to get somewhat organised and at least finish unpacking! Then I need to make a long 'to do' list because my brain is totally muddled and discombobulated with a million thoughts about what needs to be done over the coming days before my trip to Melbourne and then what is required after that!

My organisational skills and time management skills need some honing, that's for sure.

For now, before it hits midnight, I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Home Sweet Home

Well, it's been a fabulous month, absolutely jam-packed with family time, workshops, business, me time, shopping, health revelations, good food, comfy beds, friendly people and road trips.

The Motivator was a great travelling sidekick, business associate, workshop partner, shopping accomplice, dinner companion, roomie and personal driver!

We didn't slap each other even once. We played fair. We sang. We cried. We ate delicious, healthful food. We enjoyed some beverages. We supported each other. We laughed a LOT.

Our final night was incredibly comfortable in the beautiful resort room at the Oaks. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast this morning at the restaurant and because we were given a complimentary late check out, we took our time and really enjoyed the location.

After we checked out, The Motivator wanted to see the beach of Caloundra and this is what we found ...

The photos don't show just how spectacular the colour of the water was!

We went in search of a car wash because the car was still covered in dirt and dust from our hair raising adventure across the horror track going into Byron Bay. During the search, we discovered some Op Shops, so of course, we just had to browse and buy!

I got some shoes, two tops, some little crystal perfume pots and a beautiful Mikasa spun silk bowl for which I paid $30, and a quick Google search shows that it's valued at $68+

From there, we headed to Kunara Organic Markets for lunch and some shopping. The food was delicious! We bought bulk take-away treats to bring home, along with other gifts. Those gifts pretty much completely topped up the car and there was definitely no room for anything else.

We had no option but to return home and offload our booty!

We almost got hit by a storm in the West ...

... but luckily, we skirted around it.

We had to stop at The Motivator's house first to offload some of HER goods, so that we could access MY goods! So much stuff!

We bid our fond farewells and after a warm welcome home from AH, I began to unpack. I've still not finished unpacking, but I've put a good dent in it.

It's good to be home and here it is, almost 1am and I'm still sitting up!

I need sleep now.

Nite all.  





      

I Know Everything Already

That's what IKEA stands for ... sometimes.

Did you know that IKEA are the initials of the founder of IKEA? Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd.

I'm telling you this because we spent more than 4 hours in IKEA today. The car is now laden with goodies from there!

During the night in Byron Bay, there were huge storms that literally shook our little cabin and woke us up a few times. We weren't badly disturbed and easily fell back to sleep, but there was plenty of rain and the temperature dropped considerably. The Motivator even wore a light jacket at breakfast.

After a delicious and nourishing breakfast in a Byron Bay restaurant, we wandered into a neighbouring shop where we looked at a $24000 couch and a $1200 evening bag before quickly departing to find a less expensive store! We didn't buy anything anywhere.

We then drove through the Gold Coast and Brisbane to the North Lakes IKEA centre where we spent a luxurious 4 hours strolling through, testing furniture, taking a million photos of everything that we wanted (for now and in the future), filling our trolley with the 'now' stuff and thoroughly enjoying decorating our imaginary new homes.

They kicked us out of IKEA at 5.30pm and it took us 30 minutes to find our car *rolls eyes* because we went to the wrong level twice!

As we drove north, I was trying to find some accommodation in Mooloolaba, but the only available rooms were more than $280 for the night. I found one in Caloundra for $188 and so I phoned up to make the booking and the woman on the line, who I struggled to understand through her accent, told me that the room cost $468 for the night!! I thanked her, hung up and then booked the room (at $188) online as we drove along.

This is it ...

Two queen sized beds in the room! A 5 minute walk to the on site restaurant where we enjoyed Calamari, Pork Belly with an Asian salad and then Crispy skinned salmon with Zingy rice and quinoa. All accompanied by a couple of alcoholic beverages of course.

Now we are curled up in bed ready to sleep and have been afforded a late checkout, so we will take our time over a buffet breakfast in the morning and before we head home, we will stop at Kunara Organic Markets for a spot of healthy shopping.

Why yes! We are having a lovely time! Thank you for asking :)

Nite all.

The Party is Over

What a draining, exhausting, exhilarating, remarkable day!

We are now full of positivity and light and we're ready to push forward and create a life of abundance. We have plans that are already taking shape and I'm excited about my future. Adoring Husband had better be ready, because I'm coming to get him!!

After some fond farewells at the end of the course, we drove into Byron Bay and found a little Thai Take Away place where we bought some Pad Thai with Duck and some Prawns in Basil Chilli sauce. It was bloody delicious!

We got home, poured a Vodka and Tonic each and sat outside in the barbecue area, eating dinner, debriefing, making plans and sharing our excitement about what lies ahead.

The Motel owner dropped by to say g'day as he prepared for new guests to arrive.

After dinner, we both phoned our Adoring partners.

Now, we are feeling our bodies beginning to complain bitterly.

Time to rejuvenate and regenerate with some deep sleep.

This is a bit of fun to start your day ...

Animals that look like they're about to drop the hottest albums of the year.

Welcome to a new week!

Nite all.

Abundantly Clear

I slept very soundly in this comfortable bed.

We've had an amazing day at the retreat and boy did I clear some crap! This crap clearing is fantastic! So many issues. Some obvious. Some surprising and unexpected. Some long standing.

As fantastic as crap clearing is, it is also freaking exhausting and draining. So many tears! Not just mine. There was a lot of heavy stuff happening in that room today and at the end of the day, you could feel the shift, feel the change in the air and see the lightness in people's steps and the light in their eyes.

Tonight before we left, we had a bonfire where we all stood around in a circle and threw the papers with our limiting beliefs written on them into the fire and watched them burn. We sang songs, we made jokes, we swayed, we danced and we hugged.

You know that I'm not usually a 'hugging, touchy feely' kind of person. I'm not one to easily shed tears or show any extreme emotion. I like to suppress my emotions, put a lid on them and pretend that I'm strong and tough.

I think I've done enough work on myself this month to let all the tough stuff go, feel ok about shedding some tears and to now feel the love and enjoy some warm hugs.

Not only that, I now know that I'm capable of, and that I'm good enough to create an abundant and fulfilling future for myself. There'll be no holding me back now.

Look out world! Here I come!

But not tonight because I'm buggered!

I'm going to have a lemon myrtle tea and then climb into bed so that I'm ready for another abundantly fulfilling day tomorrow.

I'm going to take some photos of the resort tomorrow. It is a beautiful place and one day I'm going to come back for a week, to just spend some time and 'be'.

Temple Byron

Have a lovely Sunday.

Nite all.

Beyond Tired

We are exhausted.

The Motivator is sound asleep in bed and I can hear a few snores through the bedroom door lol.

It has been a huge day, including a Google Maps detour that almost ended our lives!

Maps sent us up this narrow, winding, white gravel road with a 200 foot drop down the left (yes that's the passenger side!) and cars were driving on it at astronomical speeds. Twice we genuinely feared for our lives and in one instance, a ute appeared around a bend in the opposite direction at about 100kmh and came horrendously close to wiping us out.

We thankfully arrived at our destination safe n sound, but once the adrenalin stopped pumping, I think we both experienced a little bit of shock.

We had 40 minutes to unpack the car, freshen ourselves up and head out to the resort for our workshop.

It started at 6pm and finished at about 10.30pm. We had to drive home and make some dinner because we hadn't eaten since lunch time and now I can hardly keep my eyelids open!

I must sleep.

It's now midnight and we need to leave here to start a 12 hour day at 8.30am.

Have a great Saturday!

Nite all.

Another One of Those!

Yes, another 'hell of a day'!!

After falling into bed well after 1.30am, the alarm woke me at 6am.

I had a shower and cleaned the bathroom then methodically went through the remaining items on the checklist.

We left the house just after 7am to have our host's car cleaned, to get those last basic groceries that they would need upon their return and to buy some 'thank you' flowers.

We returned to the house, put flowers in vases, collected the rest of our belongings and finished packing the car.

It was a hectic 2 hours!

We decided to do breakfast on the beach at Manly, where there is a lovely little eatery right on the water. We were served by the most attentive and kind waiter on the planet, who tended to our GF dietary requirements with precision and care.

It was a delicious breakfast which we took our time over while admiring the view and enjoying the cool sea breezes.

We tipped our waiter and thanked him for his kind service, before heading to The Motivator's old stomping ground at Fairlight Beach. We sat on the grass in the shade of some big old trees and wondered out loud why anybody would want to leave such a beautiful spot.

It's so pristine, with deep blue water and the people were so relaxed and 'at home' there. I didn't want to leave!

Eventually, common sense prevailed and we decided to make a move.

We had to return to the house to catch up briefly with our host and about 90 mins later, when we were ready to leave Sydney, the car told us that the battery in the key needed replacing! Ugh!

This meant a trip back to Manly where the serviceman took an hour to fix both keys.

By now it was 3.30pm.

School time = 90 minutes to drive 42 kms.

So frustrating!

We finally made it out onto the highway and the traffic dissipated to give us a clear run.

Then we required a pitstop for peeing and eating (in that order) and found a fabulous organic take away food joint at a big service centre! What a find!! We stocked up on salads and GF chocolate brownies, all of which were bloody bewdiful!

From there, we drove and we talked and we sang and we drove some more, followed by lecturing other drivers, more talking and more driving.

It was 8.30pm by the time we drove into the motel carpark in Port Macquarie and not a moment too soon. It was the last 2 bedroom apartment available at a bargain price of $125 for the night.

It's a bit dated and one bedroom doesn't have a fan or air conditioning, but it's clean and tidy with good beds and a kitchen so that we could cook up our chicken and pork, which will be our protein over the weekend when they are feeding us vegan meals.

So it has been yet another long and tiring day. We are looking forward to getting a solid night of sleep and will head off between 8-9am tomorrow.

It will take about 5 hours to reach Byron Bay and hopefully we'll have a couple of hours rest before we need to register and begin our workshop.

Right now ... I need sleep.

Nite all

Moving On

This is our last night in the big smoke.

Time to move on up the coast.

The Motivator picked up her new car today and we begin the drive to Byron Bay tomorrow morning.

It was another hectic morning at the Gift Fair.

Because the participating businesses sell off all the goods on their stalls on the last day, people come from all directions to get the final bargains. It's a mad house. Security stand at the door checking that everybody has a receipt for the items they are carrying.

We had a checklist of stalls that we wanted to order from, and a list of stalls where we had made purchases but weren't allowed to take them out of the centre until after 1pm on the final day.

Even though we were very organised, it still took The Motivator 2 hours to complete her 'to do' list and it took me 4 hours to complete mine.

The Motivator then had to navigate her way across Sydney, on public transport, to pick up her car, while I finished up at the Gift Fair.

When I left there, I found a nice quiet spot in a restaurant to enjoy a coffee and watch the world go by for about 45 minutes.

I dragged my goods up four ramps in the carpark to our motel, where our luggage was being stored until we could take it.

I settled onto a couch in the bar area of the hotel, where it was air conditioned and comfortable. It was a very pleasant hour and I sipped on a Vodka and Tonic with a twist of lime while I waited. When The Motivator arrived, she parked the car and we debriefed over a beverage before heading back to Mosman.

We ran some errands and bought some basics for the generous people who allowed us to use their home while we were here. Scoffed down a delicious dinner at the Mosman Pub and then came home to reorganise and repack our luggage so that it all fits into the car easily tomorrow.

There was mail to pick up from the post office, the car had to be fuelled up, there was washing to do, food to cook for our meals tomorrow, cleaning, blogging and so much more.

I'm exhausted. My back hurts from today's heavy lifting and my head hurts from thinking too hard.

We are not finished yet and it's almost midnight. So I'd best go and help The Motivator get the rest of this crap done.

Oh for a pillow to lay down my weary head.

Nite al.  

Moan Groan Grunt

Nine hours on my feet, in heels!

What a day!

The gift fair was amazing. Two full floors of the Exhibition Centre. Nine hours and we still did not see all of the stalls. So much beautiful 'stuff'.

Clothing, home decor, shoes, jewellery of every description, artwork, stationery, linen and Manchester, toys, games, packaging, glassware, candles, watches, hats, party ware, silverware, cutlery, electronics, souvenirs, lighting, mirrors, fashion accessories, apparel, baby products, educational, cookware, kitchen utensils, tableware, storage, Christmas and the list goes on and on and on.

It was like being at a bigger, less expensive version of Eumundi markets!!

My idea of heaven.

I ordered beautiful journals and stationery and books. I bought gorgeous jewellery. I found fabulous packaging to colour co-ordinate with my brand. I plan on ordering some amazing educational resources for kids. I've taken information for colourful leather purses, wallets and handbags.

I'm so excited!

We are returning tomorrow morning in an attempt to see what we missed today.

By the time we were kicked out at 6pm closing time, our feet were so sore, we limped our way into a nearby arcade, found a nail shop, plonked ourselves down in their massage chairs and thoroughly enjoyed a pedicure and foot massage.

I can't even tell you how wonderful that was. I asked the girl who massaged my feet, to come home with me. She said that she would if I paid her a LOT of money.

We couldn't even bear the thought of walking back to our motel to get ready for dinner, so we hobbled our way to the closest restaurant on Darling Harbour, sat down and ordered a couple of cocktails and a delicious meal.

Two alcoholic beverages, a main meal each and two hours later we were climbing the carpark ramps to reach our motel room.

We didn't even collapse when we reached the room! Instead, we began sifting through all of our catalogues, price lists and business cards as if it was Christmas, and opening all the bags of jewellery that we'd bought on site, to drool over again.

We planned our outfits for tomorrow.

Repacked and reorganised our suitcases.

Changed into our pyjamas.

Climbed into bed with all of our catalogues and worked out which stalls we will order from tomorrow

Checked our emails to discover the invoices from today's orders.

Complained loudly about the aching feet and the seizing up muscles in every part of our body.

Made fun of ourselves for still being awake at 1.30am after such a ridiculously full day.

Found our essential oils to help ease our stress and sleep well.

And now ... it's time to give up and go to sleep.

Nite all.    

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.