Nice to see you!

Three major events occurred for me last year (2010), all in the space of about 2 weeks. I turned 50. The following day I got married. Two weeks later, my oldest daughter became pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.

Most middle-aged people will tell you that in their minds, they still feel 20 something. It's the same for me.

Wasn't it only yesterday that I was planning a night out with guys from the surf club? That gorgeous new perm. Flaired, cuffed denims and the red t-shirt with the off-the-shoulder frill. Corked platform wedgies. **sigh**

Suddenly I'm looking in the mirror and wondering how 30 years can flash by so damned quickly!

So here I am in cyberspace, sharing my genuine shock and horror with anyone who'll listen and maybe I'll even meet some other over 50s who find themselves in the same predicament!

Welcome to my dilemna!!

Friday, March 3, 2017

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.

Thursday, March 2, 2017

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.



Wednesday, March 1, 2017

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.  





      

Monday, February 27, 2017

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.

Sunday, February 26, 2017

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.