Two More Sleeps

Just two more sleeps until we open the shop to the public!

Today was full on, pricing stock and working out how to display it all.

Right at this moment in time, the shop is a cross between 'a shambles' and 'a fabulous space' but by Monday morning, it should have all fallen into place perfectly.

It's well after 11pm and we worked for almost ten hours today. No doubt tomorrow will be the same, so I'm off to bed to get some sleep to regenerate and rejuvenate.

There's nothing else to report really.

The same CD played over and over all day and we sang stupidly to most of the songs..

We had a couple of visitors including two happy fur babies that loved to cuddle.

We had an early lunch at 'A Taste of Burrum'  and I had grilled barramundi with salad, which was DELICIOUS!

It was a happy day and we are still enjoying this process!

I'm working on my dream :)

Nite all.

Nowhere Fast

Today was one of those days where it took a long time to do not much!

We spent a lot of time on the phone with the bank creating a business account, then a lot of time online printing out and completing all the paperwork, then a lot of time at the Post Office processing the application. Then a lot of time scanning all the paperwork and emailing it, before snail mailing it.

We spent some time reviewing the new logos so that I could message the designer to make some minor changes.

Adoring Husband removed the old blinds and replaced them with the new ones. He drove into town and collected the clean rugs from the dry cleaners and he drove to Craignish to collect our FROG box.

I don't know how we would have managed this last month without him. He has been crazy amazing, continually putting his hand up to help in so many different ways. Sometimes he's been a pain in the butt too, but mostly he has been our saviour.

The weekend is going to be the making of us as we attempt to stock the shelves and do the pricing and make an inventory and create the display cabinet door bells and the front glass door cover and the cushions and hang the wall hangings and OMG the list goes on!

We'll do our best work under pressure! I have faith in us :)

Adoring Husband is going to be at the shed assisting at this weekend's first aide course.

I took photos with my camera today, which I haven't downloaded or edited yet. I'll take some more photos on Sunday night or Monday morning to show the work that we've done.

So much fun to be had!!

Oh and I won $38 in Powerball this week ... a pleasant surprise ... and the first prize has jackpotted to ten million dollars, so I'm going to win that next week. Haha!

It's already after 11pm, so I'm off to bed. So much to do! So little time!

Nite all.  

So Little Time!

We left home at 8.45am.

We returned home at 5.30pm.

We spent that time in The Bay and today's check list goes like this:

• Appointment at the bank to discuss business account options
• King Kong to get big bells for the front door and little bells for the glass cabinets, journal stands, a big white vase and some big artificial sunflowers for beside my desk.
• Stocklands for more journal stands, check and buy this week's lotto tickets, change the lenses of my distance glasses at OPSM, drinking glasses and teal rugs from Kmart and beanbag beans from Target.
• Spotlight for material to cover the training chairs, blinds for the front windows and back door.
• Bunnings for a bracket to replace the broken one, check the prices of wet/dry vacuum cleaners and find a dead bolt.
• Aquavue for lunch.
• Go Natural to get ice cream and yoghurt.
• Office Works to pick up an order and to buy any other lovely office stuff that our hearts yearned for - because, well you know, it's Office Works!
• The security shop to check out deadlocks.
• Big W to get a vacuum cleaner.

That's about it for the day! We dropped off all of our goodies at the shop and checked our mail at the Post Office and finally headed home.

I DID remember to take photos of the shop this afternoon!

Now I'm off to bed so that I'm alert and ready for another big day tomorrow!

Nite all.

Coming Together

It's all coming together nicely and I still forgot to take photos!

It's been such a long day, I can't even remember what we filled it with.

Adoring husband fixed the door and the leg of the big counter that the previous owner left for us, but then we changed our minds and decided to get rid of the big counter.

Unfortunately, it was too big to move, so Adoring Husband had to destroy it, which was no mean feat. It took a long time, a lot of noise and a big mess to get it into pieces small enough to move and dispose of.

The Motivator received a surprise parcel of stock that she ordered a LONG time ago. Beautiful colourful timber jewellery that we displayed on our new ladder-style cabinets and which look lovely with the Cenzoni leather bags and wallets.

We rearranged the glass top counters and the small cube units. I displayed some of my journals and notebooks on one cube unit, but we ran out of the little display stands, so that's on our list for tomorrow.

Our glass column cabinets look great in the window and it took us a while to figure out where to put the big table.

Tomorrow, we have another day in The Bay with a 'to do' list a mile long, so I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Ticked Off.

Two amazing things happened this morning.

1. The real estate agent actually came to the shop to answer our enquiries.

2. Telstra said they would be at the shop between 8am - 12pm and they turned up at 8.15am!

We now have phone and internet connected!

The Motivator and I had a business meeting.

We had just started to assemble some furniture when the cleaner arrived.

Before he even started, there was an issue about the equipment that he brought with him - this young guy (Josh) was sent to us with specific equipment, that just wasn't capable of doing the job that was required. He apologised profusely and did the best he could, but the carpet did not get cleaned as well as it should have.

I sent both a private message via their website and then an unfavourable review via the survey email that they sent me this afternoon.

Josh did a great job of cleaning our windows and doors. He was a lovely young man, very polite and courteous.

Before he cleaned, The Motivator and I moved as much furniture into our office area as possible - this part of the carpet is the cleanest in the building, so we decided not to clean it - mostly because we had no way of moving everything out of the space to have the entire carpet cleaned.

So while he was cleaning, The Motivator and I bought some lunch at the fish and chip shop - grilled fish and salad - then sat in the lounge chairs outside our shop in the shade and enjoyed the cool breeze while we ate said lunch.

It was a very pleasant couple of hours.

When Josh left, with yet another apology, we began assembling the table and chairs that The Motivator bought yesterday, but then we were interrupted when she remembered a Skype interview that she had made an appointment for, so I finished assembling the chairs, while Adoring Husband put together the table.

The whole set looks fabulous under the down lights in front of the yellow wall.

We selected the material that we'll use to cover the training chairs.

Adoring Husband and The Kiwi (who stopped in for a visit and offered some help) broke one of the legs off the big counter when they attempted to move it ... truth is, it was already damaged badly, so it didn't take much to break it completely.

We re-hung the blinds for some privacy/security for the night.

By this time, it was after 6pm, so we packed up and headed home.

I made a quick curried mince with rice for dinner, followed by fresh strawberries and coconut ice cream with home made strawberry sauce for dessert.

It's now rapidly approaching 11pm so I'm off to bed so that I can be fresh for a big day setting up shop tomorrow.

Things should move along quickly now!

I will take a video tomorrow to show how the shop is coming along.

Nite all.

Checked Off

Today's check list ...

• Confirmed with the logo designer to create two logos as described.
• Looked for the Estate Agent to verify some information - message left.
• Two shop counters repaired by Adoring Husband, assisted by me and then painted by me.
• Training room cleared of most paint gear, i.e. ladders, drop sheets, paint tins/brushes etc
• Shop vacuumed.
• Paint scrubbed off the carpet.
• Cleared stuff no longer required in the shop.
• Blinds attached to front doors. One then broken and removed! Newspaper reattached to door!
• Explained what the shop was about to 3 random visitors.
• Showed Brad through the shop describing our plans.
• Participated as a guinea pig for local fish and chip shop, being the first to taste and review their new grilled fish recipe. Bloody bewdiful!

Did a quick savoury mince dish for dinner.

My body is feeling a bit the worse for wear tonight. It's already approaching 10pm and I'm off to bed right now!

Telstra technicians are coming tomorrow to connect our phone and internet. The cleaners will be here after that to clean our carpets and windows, so we need to move some stuff out of the shop and clear the floor for them.

We'll be taking my swinging pod chair to the shop at some stage tomorrow or Wednesday.

Still so much to do.

Time now for sleep.

Nite all.

One Down, A Few To Go

Another day down and one day closer to opening the doors!

Today, all the painting was done and dusted. I did the skirting boards and a tricky strip between doors. I cleaned the toilet and hand basin. Cleaned the other room divider, emptying out the drawers and cleaning out all the fine dust that floated and landed in them from the sanding and planing.

We cleared a lot of rubbish and The Fisher King did a tip run. He also finished painting the architraves and the doors, as well as filling more holes.

The Motivator and I moved some furniture and cleared some space so that the cleaners can do the carpets on Tuesday, although we MAY get them in earlier yet.

The Motivator vacuumed the carpets and cleaned a few of the bigger items in the space and we figured out what we didn't need, so that we could remove it from the space.

We planned our launch day for 2 weeks after our opening day, to give us time to make it enjoyable instead of rushing it for this weekend.

At 4pm I did a coffee run and came home to cook dinner.

I'm feeling a bit weary tonight and I don't think I'm capable of any further brain work. It's time to rest.

Nite all.

Busy Weekend

I only spent four hours at the shop today.

The Motivator and The Fisher King were there when I arrived at 10am and only left at 8pm!

Progress today includes all the holes in the walls filled, more skirting boards and architraves painted, one door painted, white walls received their final coat, shelving painted, 30 odd hooks attached to cabinets, one side unit cleaned from top to bottom, some dusting done, 2 logos designed, table and chairs selected for meeting area and all the sheets and covers removed from the furniture.

There is still some painting to do tomorrow including some skirting boards and a door.

The chemicals in the paint are really affecting Adoring Husband and his tremor has been off the charts for the last three days, getting worse with each day, so I am banning him from the shop tomorrow.

We left early to attend Dirty Old Man's 80th birthday party at the club. It started at 3pm and we were home before 7pm. There was no gluten free food for us to eat and the music was so loud, it was impossible to have a conversation.

The entertainment was very good, but too loud. Everybody was up dancing and seemed to be having a fabulous time, but we just couldn't get into it. We chatted with everybody that we knew and there were lots of questions about the shop, so it was fun catching everyone up with that.

We've watched the football tonight and it's only 9.30pm, so I may have an early night. I have some paperwork to catch up on, but I might leave it til morning.

I'd like to stop thinking for a little while - rest my brain. I'm going to start the day tomorrow with some meditation.

Nite all  

Breathless

We've all been breathing in paint fumes for two days. This is not a good thing!

One more day of painting and we should be done!

The name of this paint is 'Good Karma' and the white paint is called 'Love Story'.

How can we go wrong with names like that?

The Motivator and I painted eleven chairs today. Adoring Husband was at the shop before everyone and did stuff that I don't even know about and he and I also painted the yellow wall. The Fisher King painted the white walls, started the gloss on the architraves and filled all the holes in the walls.

I organised cleaners to come in and do the carpets and the windows on Tuesday, because I just can't bear the thought of doing all that myself.

We had visits from five different people during the day, which slowed us down a bit, but it was great to show off what we've done so far and I love that everyone is so interested.

I left the shop at 3pm.

The Motivator and The Fisher King drove into The Bay for supplies.

I enjoyed an alcoholic beverage at the club. Didn't win a thing on the pokies, keno or the raffle.

Adoring Husband had dinner ready when I returned home, which was lovely.

Tonight, I've been writing up some of the course material for the photography course that I'm putting together. I'm quite excited about that, but I'm looking at the time, which, as always, is approaching midnight, so I'm putting everything away and I'm off to lay my head down.

Nite all.

Wiped Out

My body is feeling a little weary and a bit the worst for wear.

End of day two of painting, although I did have a big break in the middle where I went into The Bay with Best Cousin in the World to get more supplies from Bunnings (my favourite shop - NOT).

I also acted as gopher and did a morning tea run and a lunch run, so I didn't do as much physical work as everyone else. I washed the lunch dishes,  put undercoat on four walls, helped paint one wall and then undercoated the treated pine frames with The Motivator.

The electrician arrived today and did the work we needed on the lighting. Thanks to The Motivator who knew exactly where to put lights and which lights to use, the job was pretty straight forward.

The Telstra modem and other paraphernalia arrived by courier today too!

Marco Polo assembled all the flat pack cabinets - because he hates painting lol - but they look fantastic. 

The Fisher King helped The Motivator sand the legs of our training room chairs and then undercoated them all ready for the final coat tomorrow (all 11 of them) plus he did lots of undercoating and sanding walls.

The Motivator didn't stop all day and pushed herself probably beyond her limits.

Best Cousin in the World did lots of undercoating and driving and helped me with the lunch run.

Adoring Husband worked hard, as he always does with paint brush and/or edging tool in hand.

We hope that it will only take one more day to finish the painting.

We will definitely need to have the carpet professionally cleaned before we open the doors and even with sheets covering all the furniture, there is so much fine dust on everything, it will take some cleaning.

So, tomorrow is another day which we will attack full on after a good night's sleep.

Nite all.

Wipe Out!

I had a list of six things that needed to be done today.

Yes! For the first time in ages, I had a 'to do' list!

How much of my 'to do' list do you think got done?

Well, you are all very clever aren't you? You are correct! Zip!

Adoring Husband phoned me quite early in the day and asked for some help. I got ready fairly quickly, but one of the Psychotic Dogs had a pooping accident and required bathing immediately! As you can imagine, that delayed my arrival at the shop.

I checked the mail first and then stopped at the Butcher to see if my usual order of chicken was ready, which it wasn't.

I walked into the shop and all was quiet. I called out to AH, but there was no response. Then I heard some hammering coming from the Treatment Room, so I waited until it stopped and then called out again, louder. No response.

I stood for a minute or two expecting him to leave the TR, but all was quiet and there was no movement.

I looked across to the older counter and saw 3 bells. A blue bell with a plastic ringer, a brass bell with it's own ringer and a little chrome shop bell so I stepped across and hit the shop bell.

I waited.

Nothing.

The reason I did this, is because AH is VERY jumpy and if he walks around a corner and I'm there, he jumps in fright and grabs his heart, so I didn't want to scare him - especially since he is working with tools!

I rang the bell again, louder.

Nothing.

*sigh*

Just as I was trying to figure out my next move, AH came out of the room. He saw me and said "Oh you snuck in didn't you?"

Um ... well ... no actually lol

Anyway, from there, we went into the training room and he showed me what needed to be done. I had to sand the lumpy putty where the nail holes were filled, so we attached the sandpaper to the electric sander (a very tricky job that one), and then I spent about an hour climbing up and down the ladder and sanding all the lumpy bits.

I also had to sand the architraves and AH suggested that hand sanding with the little manual sander would be easier, so that's what I did, but thought it was pretty stoopid advice!

After the sanding was done, I got the big brush and once again, climbing up and down the ladder, brushed all the dust away from the wall and architraves.

This is what was left when I headed off to 'A Taste of Burrum' to order some fish and chips and salad for lunch.

We sat down to enjoy lunch before getting stuck into the work again.

Two undercoats later, with a roller on a long handle, but a paint tray too narrow for my roller, I was absolutely done!

All that climbing and arm lifting and muscle using and being down on my knees. My stomach muscles are hurting (who knew I even had stomach muscles????!!) and the rest of my body is seizing up. I can't remember the last time I performed manual labour!

So, as you can see, it's only 8.30pm. Adoring Husband has been in bed since 6.30pm! I have to clean the kitchen and do a couple of things before I can climb into bed, but I'll be there as soon as I am capable of doing so!

Tomorrow will be a big day on a working B at the shop with a few people who have generously volunteered their time for the cause. I have also posted a shout out on Facebook with the hope of recruiting some more help. There is a LOT to do.

So I'm off.

Nite all.

Voluntarily There

I voluntarily went to Bunnings today.

It was a long and very expensive visit!

Aside from the usual tools that you need for painting ... of which we needed little, because between us, we already have some of the tools of trade ... we got a lot of undercoat, a lot of white paint, a little yellow paint, some gun metal grey for the chairs in the training room and some gloss white for the doors.

Unfortunately, we were served by a young girl new to the paint section, so she had to ask her work buddy lots of questions. We asked her work buddy a lot of questions too!

By the time we got the paint, the belt for Adoring Husband's sander and unsuccessfully sourced some metal hooks, we were in that painful store for about 90 minutes! Ugh.

We drove to Stocklands where the Motivator had her eyes tested while I picked up my new glasses that I ordered last week! I bought some new knickers and put Ozlotto on (I've won twice on the same ticket!).

We had a light lunch at The Coffee Club.

We went to Office Works for some printer ink and some pretty new desk decor - a pen holder, some pens, a notebook and a book/folder holder.

I got some new new shoes.

We visited Go Natural where I stocked up on my ice cream, milk kefir, fresh fruit and veg and some wild caught salmon.

I purchased some beautiful sunflowers from the nearby florist.

Before we returned home, we managed to secure the last appointment for the day at Shine Nails at Stocklands. I selected gold for my nail colour - to reap in abundance!

It was 7pm by the time we pulled into the driveway and it took ten minutes to unload all of my purchases from the back of the car.

After we exchanged pleasantries, I cooked up one of the wild salmon steaks for Adoring Husband to eat with a fresh salad and then we ate fresh strawberries and chocolate coconut ice cream for dessert.

As the time rapidly approaches 11pm, I'm pretty much done in, so I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Hammer Time

I did a bit of hammering today. Cleaning up Adoring Husband's mess with the nail gun haha. All my fingers are still intact, no breaks, no bruising!

The Motivator and I put together an Office Works chest of drawers on castors. That was interesting and much less stressful than doing the same thing with a male ... in my experience! Sorry AH.

We discussed the different logos that have been provided by 4 different designers - none of which are close to perfect, but we have learned a lot and know exactly what we want now. We just need to find a designer who can see our vision.

AH measured the walls, so we know how much paint to get tomorrow ready for the painting on Thursday.

A list was made so that we can make the most of our trip into The Bay tomorrow.

I covered all the furniture with sheets so that when Adoring Husband is sanding the walls tomorrow, the dust doesn't land on everything.

The Motivator contacted Telstra, who were supposed to connect our landline and internet last week (surprise surprise), to find out that they can't find a port for our address. They were supposed to get back to us by close of business today, once again, surprise, surprise, they haven't.

We left a message for the Real Estate Agent to come into the shop to discuss the dirty carpet, the holes in the walls and the signage that should have been removed by now. She came and went without a word ... she has to walk right past our door and didn't even have the decency to say "I'm too busy, but I'll catch you tomorrow".

I picked up some crab from The Motivator's house on the way home .. you can guess what I had for dinner. For Adoring Husband, I cooked up some duck breast with orange sauce (which surprisingly, he loved!) with a salad.

I can't believe that it's already 11pm! Far out, time flies when you're having fun.

Nite all.

A Perfect Ending

It was a perfect ending to the day...

Lady Lynn, Happy Harry, Rebel Mardi, The Lifesaver, Adoring Husband and I met at the park for fish and chips at sunset to witness the beautiful light on the still water and enjoy each other's company. Just like old times.

Love you guys so much.

I worked in bed this morning until Adoring Husband came home for lunch, so I prepared some food before he returned to work at the shop and I continued with my work on the couch.

At 3pm I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, so I reclined my chair right back and napped for about 20 minutes.

AH came home and sat watching TV with his earphones on, while I continued to work until it was time to get ready for our date at the park.

It's a bit tricky now that I don't have an office at home to work in!

So, it was quite uneventful. Nothing to brag about. Nothing to report.

I've written up a story to go into the local newsletter ...


“The Happy Abode” is coming!!

“The Happy Abode” will soon become a favourite drop in point for residents and visitors of Burrum Heads.

Roz Griffin and Tracey Hemmy will be opening this space, which is located on Burrum Street (behind Elders) and they hope to provide a variety of services to benefit the community.

A bit about the girls …

A lot of you know Roz from her photography, her red trike and her hat! Roz has lived in Burrum Heads for 9 years with her husband Barry, who holds the position of Deputy Local Controller for Fraser Coast SES.

Roz exhibited her photography at Gattaker’s Art Space in Maryborough in 2012 with local celebrity artist Jackie Brennan. It was a record opening night, many in attendance being supportive Burrum Heads locals.

Roz’s work history includes conducting public seminars and in-house training within government departments, but the last ten years has seen her being more artistic and creative with jewellery creation and photography.

Roz brings her love of photography, social media, shopping, personal development and Burrum Heads to the table in this venture.

A lot of you know Tracey from her fiancé, Tony Simpson’s seafood operation out of Riverview Drive, but not many of you know that she is very accomplished in lighting, styling and design, with 27 years experience behind her.

Leaving her busy and well-established business in Sydney, her impressive resume includes massive projects like Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney Theatre Company and the Presidential Suites of the Portman Ritz Carlton in Shanghai China, as well as a number of hospitals including Westmead and Concord in Sydney.

Her achievements are too numerous to mention here and since moving to Burrum Heads 10 yrs ago, she has designed and run Interior Styling courses in Hervey Bay and in Sydney.
She also has 12 yrs experience in Natural Healing mediums such as Reiki, NLP and Journey work.

Tracey brings her love of lighting, design, styling, personal development and natural healing to the table in this venture.

At The Happy Abode, there will be a training room where courses and fun workshops will be available.

In the pipeline are beginner’s workshops in photography, photo editing, social media, journaling, meditation, creating dream or vision boards and mini courses in using devices such as tablets and smart phones.

Other courses include an 8 week Interior Styling course (with homework!).

If you have any ideas about workshops that you would like to see and do, your suggestions are welcomed and encouraged.

A treatment room has been built in The Happy Abode space, where Reiki, Journey work and other healing treatments can be accessed.

For your shopping pleasure, a wide variety of jewellery, purses and handbags, journals and notebooks, Roz’s photography and other bits and pieces will trickle in over time.

Finally, a small comfort area. Grab yourself a tea or coffee from one of the nearby shops - Foodworks, Burrum Heads Bakery or A Taste of Burrum - and head over for a relaxing chat about what’s happening with the girls.

Roz and Tracey’s friendship has flourished in the past three years, and they decided when this space became available, to combine their skills and bring something new to the community.

This space will be filled with love and friendship and kindness to hopefully strengthen the community bond that currently exists.

The girls are aiming to open the doors around 28th August.

So now you don't have to get the newsletter to read it haha!

I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

In The Dark

It was a funny way to start the day.

Just as I was about to walk out the door, I received a phone call from Adoring Husband who was already at the shop.

"Where are you?" he asked.
"I'm just about to walk out the door" I replied.
"Good!" he sounded relieved.
"Why?" I responded.
"Because I've shut myself in the treatment room and I can't get the door open." there was an almost frantic tone in his voice.

Adoring Husband is claustrophobic.

I laughed.

"It's NOT FUNNY!!" he shrieked.

I laughed again.

"Hold tight. I'll be there in a minute." I tried to sound reassuring.

My ride was uneventful until I was about 2/3 of the way there.

The markets were on this morning and there were people strolling along the path that I was trying to ride along. The road was busy with market traffic, so I couldn't detour via the road. So I had to ride at walking pace for a good portion of time .. all the while wondering if AH was climbing the walls yet!

Suddenly I saw Rebel Mardi walking quickly towards the path and saying "Look at you go!"

I called out that I couldn't stop because I was off to rescue AH from his prison, so she waved me on calling out "I'll see you tonight then!"

Finally, I reached the shop and as I opened the door I hear AH mutter "Hurry up!"

I gave the door a nudge and he pulled it from it's position and took a deep breath, almost like he had been holding his breath since he called me!

Considering his fear of enclosed spaces, he did very well to remain so calm. Later, I changed position with him so that he could see how well the door closed from the outside. There is no light in the room yet, because we are waiting for the electrician to do some work for us, so the room is completely black. Even 'I' felt my heart flutter with just a touch of fear and I don't even consider myself claustrophobic.

Because I left the house in a hurry, I didn't take any work stuff with me so no work got done.

I assembled The Motivator's yellow chair, played tradies assistant for a bit, then rode to The Motivator's house to buy some crab and spend a bit of time ... always enjoyable.

At lunch time I returned home, where AH had already arrived and I made some lunch. We watched a movie and then some football, until it was time to get ready for Tweedle Dee's birthday party.

We were running late ...  because of me ... but it was ok. Everyone was there and we were sitting at the best table, with all the funniest and most beautiful people! It was a fabulous night and AH got to dance the night away with Rebel Mardi, while I laughed my butt off with Tweedle Dum who tells the most hilarious stories with her cheeky accent. My cheeks are still aching from laughing and smiling so hard.

Happy Birthday was sung. Candles were blown out. Speeches were made. So much love was shared. I had a thoroughly enjoyable time and we left a bit after 10pm.

Here it is after midnight again and I need to sleep.

Nite all.

Frantic Friday

It may have been a frantic Friday for The Motivator, but for me it was highly unproductive.

Apart from some more Trades Assistant work and waiting in line for a long time to get grilled fish and chips for lunch, I didn't get a lot done.

I completed an online quote form on an insurance company website and when I finished, it gave me the message "Thank you for completing our survey. We value your opinion."

What the???

So I back pedalled all the way through it and there was nothing anywhere mentioning a survey. The heading definitely said "Get a Quote". All the questions were definitely relevant to insurance quotes - just like all the other websites.

If I haven't heard anything by Monday, I guess I'll email them OR (heaven forbid) phone them and speak to an actual person 😲😳.

Some jewellery that I ordered a few weeks ago FINALLY arrived today, although only about one third of it came in today's mail. The remainder should turn up next week, which is good timing for our opening.

I had a couple of visitors today. Tweedle Dee popped in for a hug and to purchase a pearl and diamonte button to go with her birthday outfit for tomorrow night. Lady Lynn popped in for a hug and to say hellooooooo.

It took me about an hour, fiddling with all sorts of buttons on my iPhone and my laptop, to get my 'hotspot' to work so that I could get internet on my laptop. That was annoying! My hotspot has always appeared on the dropdown list in the past, so I don't know why it was such a difficult task when I needed it most.

Adoring Husband and I caught the courtesy bus to the club tonight and what a lovely surprise to see Rebel Mardi and The Lifesaver there! They have travelled up to attend Tweedle Dee's birthday party tomorrow night (or tonight as you are reading this) so we'll get to catch up properly tomorrow.

I hope that they can squeeze me in, between their many social engagements, and come to see the shop tomorrow morning. Such busy possums trying to catch up with everybody over just a few days.

Having cooked dinner and then given AH his nightly massage, I've watched the football and I now have to clean the kitchen and then climb into bed. I wonder if I'll get there before midnight?

Weariness has descended upon me!

Nite all.

We Love Our Space

It's going to be a while before we can open the shop and we are not even close to having everything the way we want it yet.

The new room and walls are almost finished (thank you Adoring Husband) and then we need to paint a couple of the walls. Today, we decided on the colour. We also have four IKEA cabinets to assemble, three of them being all glass.

Our office area needs some work - we rearranged the furniture into a configuration that looks quite presentable, but we have to figure out some storage ideas and we're still unpacking our gear. We're also waiting on some wall art to arrive which will bring one wall to life.

While Adoring Husband is still drilling and sawing and hammering and making a dusty mess, we can't put too much out in the open yet.

The Motivator is going to re-cover two of the chairs.

Then we need to figure out how we want the layout of the shop. That part is going to be fun!

We had an elderly couple wander past our door today and I called out to ask them what they were after. They assumed, by the signage which belongs to the previous tenants, that we were opening a craft shop.

We explained what we were doing and the women told us that she grew up in Burrum Heads and then described what the town was like back then. She knew The Motivator's parents-in-law from those days too!

The couple didn't stay long. They didn't seem too interested when they realised that we weren't selling craft lol.

Anyway, The Motivator and I both agree that WE LOVE OUR SHOP and it's not even open yet!!

Far out, it's already after 11pm. I need sleep.

Nite all.

Neglectful Me

My poor website romanceyourlifewithroz.com has been on the back burner for quite a few weeks now and I'm feeling like a very neglectful mother.

Hopefully, once we've settled into the shop, I can devote more quality time to that baby of mine!

I spent a few hours this morning getting online quotes for small business insurance. There is quite a wide gap between the most expensive and the least expensive, even though the cover is exactly the same.

I spoke to one insurance company 'in person' because our diverse range of services makes cover pretty tricky. What they come back with tomorrow, will be interesting.

I've written up a rough draft of a story for the newsletter and a also a rough draft for a flyer to pass around to different shops, clubs, groups and organisations in town.

Got a meeting tomorrow morning with my biz partner to discuss our next moves this week.

Still trying to get a decent logo designed before any of our flyers or stories can go out anyway, so I hope that doesn't take too long!

I did some more trades assistant work today, not much, but worth mentioning lol.

I cooked up a nice lunch for Adoring Husband and delivered it to him, before sitting at my desk to write, then I bought him a coffee before heading home.

I packed some more stock ready to deliver to the shop. I worry that I won't have enough to fill our space, but I'm worried about buying more stock in case I have too much already. Ha! What a dilemma!

With both AH and I working on getting the shop ready, our house is looking decidedly messy, so I did some washing and tidying up this afternoon before cooking up a tray of baked veggies with chicken and gravy for dinner. We enjoyed berries with citrus sorbet for dessert.

After cleaning up the kitchen, I gave AH a shoulder, back and leg massage to calm his muscles before he went to bed.

It's been a fairly busy day, although I must admit that while getting all the online quotes, I was sitting up in bed!!

The Motivator found some more display pieces today. She's incredibly busy with her own business at the moment and it's fabulous that she is busier than ever, building a good reputation and being recognised for her good work.

Anyway, I'm off to bed. Need to be up early for the biz meeting. I'm a workin' girl now!

Nite all.

Weirdsville

It's been a strange kind of day.

I started my Business Bootcamp this morning by watching the opening webinar while I got ready for the day and continued to watch it while I rode my trike to meet the girls for coffee. It finished just as I pulled up to the shop, which was lucky!

I enjoyed my morning with the girls and I visited the shop when everyone left. Before I reached the shop, I ran into The Yachtsman, who is the husband of Queen of Arts.

Queen of Arts was the lady with whom I shared the Art/Photography Exhibit five years ago.

So I took him to the shop and showed him around describing what we were planning for the space. He was surprised and impressed with the size of our premises and wished me luck before leaving.

I decided to head home and pack the big tubs that I bought at Office Works yesterday with the remaining stock and other items that I need to take to the shop.

I jumped online and ordered the glass cabinets from IKEA and arranged for them to be delivered to the pick up point at Dundowran.

I made lunch for Adoring Husband and delivered it to him at around 1pm.

I attempted to get some work done on my laptop, but the mobile hotspot kept disappearing and I didn't get anything completed, so I played Tradies Assistant again for AH, climbing the work horse to hold things while he nail gunned and holding sheets of timber while he hand sawed or chiselled.

Just before I left to come home and feed the dogs, I bought AH a coffee, then gathered my goods and rode home.

I tidied the kitchen, cleared some old food and drinks out of the fridge, did two loads of washing, tidied the lounge room, photocopied some receipts and printed out some invoices, emptied the garbage, packed some more 'stuff' into the tubs.

I had just sat down when Adoring Husband returned home, so we chatted about the work he'd done and our plans for the week before he turned on the television.

It was time for me to make dinner so I cooked some lamb loin chops with a huge array of salads. Tonight's meal was the biggest I've eaten for quite some time and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I cleaned the kitchen, served AH his dessert, hung out some more washing and loaded the machine with more clothes ready for tomorrow and then made the bed (yes a bit late, I know).

I began researching small business insurance, but was distracted by a movie on TV called 'Swiss Army Man' with Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano.

I won't share the video, because you have to input your date of birth before it will allow you to watch the trailer and frankly, it's one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. I almost turned it off about 30 minutes in and I really should have because it got weirder ... but it was like a train wreck and I couldn't take my eyes away from it!

I saw the interview that Graham Norton did with Daniel Radcliffe when the movie was released and I wrote down the name of the movie so that I could search for it and watch it ... but I never did ... so when I saw the title come up on the screen tonight, it was a must see for me. Haha.

I would really like to meet the person who wrote the story and ask him/her what drugs he/she was on when it was written!

So it's rapidly approaching 11pm and I am off to bed. I'm feeling decidedly weary and I have a lot to do tomorrow. Beauty sleep is essential!

Nite all.

PS I began all of those sentences with 'I' on purpose!  

Upgrading the Specs

So The Motivator and I spent the entire day together in The Bay.

We had a long list of business to attend to, and we got quite a bit of it done, but not all.

We organised our phone and internet to be connected ... goodness only knows IF and WHEN it can be done, but they'll let us know sometime inside the next 21 days.

We bought landline phones, so let's hope we haven't wasted our money!

We gathered information regarding business partnership bank accounts.

We bought some storage tubs and other minor accessories for the shop.

We bought some work clothes!!  Eep! WORK!!

I've been wearing a pair of prescription sunglasses that are nine years old and my other glasses for distance and for reading are five years old, so my eyes desperately needed testing and my glasses updating.

So I was lucky enough to land an immediate appointment at OPSM where the optometrist was incredibly thorough, paying special attention to the eye that received a minor injury a couple of months ago.

Apart from a lot of deterioration to the sight in in my left eye, both of my eyes are healthy in every other respect, including the injured one. I was even able to see the floater in my eye, which, she tells me, probably won't go away now, but doesn't and shouldn't affect my sight or the health of my eye.

I spent some time choosing three different frames for my three pairs of glasses. Prescription sunglasses, distance glasses and a pair of reading glasses with graduated lenses so that I can read my monitor AND any paperwork on my desk without changing glasses.

We were there for more than an hour!

We were able to sneak in an Aldi shop and a quick trip to Office Works before heading home and it was about 7pm by the time we pulled into my driveway.

I had little time with Adoring Husband before he headed to bed and I gave his back and sore shoulder a good massage before leaving him to sleep.

It's now well after midnight and I have spent the evening editing and playing with our business logo.

I'm feeling quite weary all of a sudden.

Nite all.