OUR HOLIDAY

It's gunna be a normal day today, kids to school, gym, walk the dog...

Right, as promised... the monster Photo Post:

Me on the plane.. showing the excess seatbelt strap!!! I fitted into the seatbelt with spare!!! AND the loo!!! AND the tray came down with no belly to sit on or stop it!!!!

The kids and Stew in the pool on the Gold Coast.

Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast....................Rollercoaster at Dreamworld, Stew and Griffin were on it in this photo.

The Ferris Wheel at Seaworld............Stew and Bry at Dreamworld

Views from the Ferris Wheel at Seaworld. That Ferris Wheel was soooo huge!

Rollercoaster at Seaworld, and below it the Log Flume which we went on about 8 times! Stew and Griffin on the Ferris Wheel, I love this photo!





















On the Ferris Wheel..... awesome views... scary! Don't I look scared!

The aquarium at Seaworld, it was amazing!





























Stew and Griffin on the rollercoaster at Seaworld, me and kids, with a huge shark behind us.... ewwwww.

Getting dinner at Grandmas, with Uncle Ron too.



















Griffin and Uncle Ron with fire hose, Mum and Ron's House.(Coffs)

Mum trying out her massage cushion, the house from a distance on the hills.... theirs' is the house on the right, white.
















Mum getting a cuddle from a New Zealand Fur Seal on her 70th Birthday, at the Porpoise Pool in Coffs Harbour! Me having just fed a dolphin.

Kids and dolphin..............Mum doing a Haka ..... ha ha ha.


















Kids playing ball with the dolphins! How cool is that?

Mum's 70th Birthday dinner and cake.





















Griffin bored and watching the washing going around..... and blowing bubbles in the back of Diane's convertible Peugeot, we were on our way home from having dinner, it was drizzling and we had the top down anyway, it was fun!

















Me and the kids on the Jetty at Coffs Harbour, a view of Coffs Harbour.

Griffin in bed on the train trip from Coffs to Sydney. Diane (Ron's daughter), Me and Mum on our last night in Coffs Harbour. I grew up with Diane as a childhood friend, along with her two sisters and brother.



















Griffin sound asleep in a shoe shop in Sydney! Brylee in bed on the train.

Sydney Opera House, from the ferry. Kerry (Celtic_Girl), and us in Sydney.

Kerry and I on the ferry in Sydney Harbour, on our way back from the Zoo... no photos of zoo!...... a Harbour View.

Briony (from Newcastle) and Me in our Hotel, our Hotel view from the window.... 'city scape'......... awesome .

Our pretty plane (Freedom) and Me and Belinda (Cranky Bee) and Catherine (CKK) at a dessert Restuarant in Sydney, where we were all evil ! But it was yummmy!

Right, that's it!

THE CLOCK SAYS 7.30AM

Well it's 7.30 am, and of course it feels like 5.30am..Aussy time. I am not looking forward to waking the kids up shortly... they are still sound asleep! Hope it doesn't take long to get back into our time zone.

Today is going to be full on, with the ultrasound, and getting all the unpacking sorted, the washing done, floors vacumed and washed, and air my house out! The teenagers obviously never opened a window for two weeks, the place smells..eeewwww.

I didn't get a good sleep either, my darn cough came back and of course I am worried about the test results, so my mind was going around in circles with the possible scenarios.... I just want today to be over really! Better get outta bed and make a start eh?

THESE KIWIS ARE GOING HOME...

HOW COOL IS THIS? We are at the Sydney airport, and I've found a free internet computer to use... trust me to be able to post from anywhere!

We are an hour off leaving this neat place for home... where it will be bloody freezing I'm sure! I will miss this country, I loved it here.

Hope all is well at home, I think the first thing I will be doing is checking out my van and scooter for damage! They better not have dinged them ... or they are dead meat... then it will be unpacking... something I just hate with a passion. We came over here with about 45 kilos of luggage, we are going home with 75 kilos.. hmmmm, must have done some serious shopping eh? Too cool. Better go... later....

WE.......ARE.......HOME! So tired, but so happy! Ok, the house was a mess, but not a tip..... the dog is alive and actually looks fatter... so all good!

Unpacking awaits, we have done some of it, but there's still heaps more to do.... so tomorrow will be a day to stay home and get it all sorted out, get the washing up to date, and .....

GET MY ULTRASOUND DONE.... 10 am tomorrow I have the ultrasound to have a look at the girlie bits "inside".... and I suppose I had better ring the Specialist and get the results of the biopsy too... fingers crossed all is ok.

Stew, trying to sort out who's is who's..... from the shopping haul!

Below... most of the purchases, but not all.... hee hee he.

THE SHOES : MINE on the left, HIS on the right.... sooooo cooooool !!!

Ain't they just gorgeous?????? Stew wore his today with jeans... and he looked awesome. Well, the shoes did anyway !

Above... the suitcase we had to buy in Coffs Harbour to put all my new clothes in..... and I couldn't close it, so had to put some of my clothes in Stew's bag..... did'nt I say I loved shopping???

Tomorrow, once I've been to the ultrasound, I shall do a MONSTER photo post.... and try to catch up with all my blogger friends and what you have all been doing while I've been away! It might take me a while, but I WILL DO IT ! Until then, nite nite.

OUR LAST DAY IN AUSTRALIA...

Saturday night in the heart of Sydney... don't expect to get much sleep! It is so noisy, people out drinking and yelling, cop cars screaming aroundl... what a place!

Woke up this morning (after bugger all sleep) to another beautiful sunny day, and we hit Paddy's Market again proper.... and spent a good amount on t-shirts, sweatshirts etc... the usual type of tourist stuff!

We are now taking a breather before we go downtown and check out some of the shops on Pitt Street.... I do believe when we get home I will not want to go near a shop again for months (nah, weeks!)....

Brylee has been a monumental pain in the butt since we got here, she simply won't eat ... she had decided that she can't swallow without choking, so she puts food in her mouth and chews it for 20 minutes.... without swallowing a bloody thing! I could throttle her.... we have wasted so much money buying her food that is then thown away.... and I think she's dropped at least a kilo or so.... the Doctor weighed her the other day and she was 16 kilos, so if that's correct she's lost 2 kilos! Way too much for a skinny little girl... hope we don't have this shit for too long, cos it drives me nuts. She has been "anorexic" all her life, even as a baby.... I am at my wits end with her.

ITS A GORGEOUS DAY....

We all have had a wonderful sleep, even though it is very noisy down in the heart of Sydney! Brylee's hand is already looking much better, thank goodness.

This morning we are meeting Kerry and her husband and taking off on a tiki tour (look around) of Sydney harbour and the zoo, the kids should love that.

I'm feeling nervous (again) about meeting these blogger girls... how silly ! I am sure I will get on with all of them, as long as they don't mind a swear word or two.... my Mum kept telling me off ..... I really must try to watch my mouth I suppose! But bugger me, they just slip out!

I am thinking maybe I have put a kilo on or two.... darn it! I was soooo very good in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, but kinda lost the plot since then! And why is everything served with chips here ?????????? I ask for a chicken sandwich, and it comes out with a huge pile of bloody chips, and who's gunna just leave them there??? I shall try my hardest to not eat ANY today! Right better go get beautiful for the day.....

TRAIN AND RAIN...

Caught the train bang on time last night, found our sleeper carrriage and put the horrors to bed.... they slept all night, thank God! WE slept on and off, it wasn't that bad actually! Our breakfast was brought to us in bed!!! Hot ham and cheese crossoints (sp?) and hot chocolate and orange juice, can't complain about that eh???

Arrived in Sydney to rain and wind, and as we were early had to wander the streets till about 1pm... not a problem for a shop-a-holic like me, but a bit hard on the kids.... Griffin actually fell asleep sitting up in a chair while Stew and I tried on shoes!!! I made the man buy the most outlandish Doc Martin shoes.... bright colours and stars!!! Heee hee he, wait till you see them!

I have left him and the kids up in our hotel room for now, so I can pop on the computer here on George Street (somwhere!)... it's only a dollar for half an hour... shame most of the prompts etc are in chinese though! I'm having to do a lot of guessing......

I have talked to Celtic_Girl and we are meeting up tomorrow morning to go do some sightseeing... the zoo etc. Should be neat. Am waiting to hear from Briony about tomorrow afternoon, and CKK and Cranky about tomorrow night, so girls if ya reading this...... get back to me at the hotel, we are in room 310.

Right that's about all for now... till later!
Right, what did I forget.... yep got it.... Brylee got bitten on the hand last night at the BBQ by a cat... and this morning her hand was looking rather swollen and red... so we spent an hour at least in the Sydney Central Medical Centre waiting to see a doctor... which we did eventually, she is now on anti biotics and not feeling very well at all.... poor little bugger. She has hardly eaten a thing all day, and spent a good 2 hours this afternoon asleep on the bed in our hotel. Hope she is a lot better tomorrow, cos we are off to the Ferry across the harbour and the Zoo with Kerry (Celtic_Girl) and her husband..... can't wait!

We went out again this evening to have dinner, Griffin insisted on Hungry Jacks, which is called Burger King in New Zealand.... it was blah, but he liked it. Brylee had one chicken nugget and that was a struggle.
On our way back to the Hotel, we passed Sydney Town Hall, where something was on... there were people in Tuxedos and evening gowns going in and outside they had chinese dragon dancers and fire dancers.... Griffin was enthralled... and the dancers came over to him and tried to "eat" him with the dragon... he was thrilled, Brylee nearly shit herself, lol !!!! WE are back at our Hotel now, knackered as you can imagine after spending the vast majority of today shopping and looking around central Sydney... what an amazing place! I LOVE ALL THE SHOPS.
Better go, Stew is up there all alone with the kids....AGAIN. nite nite.

LAST DAY IN COFFS HARBOUR

I have to admit to heaving a huge sigh of relief.... today we leave Coffs Harbour... well, late tonight anyway...

While it has been wonderful to see Mum and visit with her, it's had it's ups and downs.... mostly due to the kids being rather bored and Griffin being so hyperactive.... he has driven all of us nuts!!! Poor kid, expected to sit and be quiet all of the time, no toys to play with, no television to watch... what did they expect?

Today we did some last minute shopping, bought another travel suitcase.... for the purchases !!!, went for a walk along the jetty, and had a drive around looking at some of the different suburbs, all very interesting to adults.... not so for the kids.

We catch the train at 1`0 pm tonight, and travel all night to Sydney, we have a sleeper carriage, so we can hopefully sleep most of the way. We get into Sydney tomorrow morning bright and early... and then have the next 3 full days to explore Sydney and catch up with a few bloggers!!!

I CAN'T WAIT !@!!! Sydney.... is sounds so exciting, just saying the name... how weird am I ???? Sad and sorry small town girl me thinks. We are at Diane's (Ron's daughters') home tonight for a BBQ.... I have sneaked downstairs to use the computer .... Mum and Ron just don't understand why I need to go on the computer at least once a day !!! LIttle do they know how often I use mine at home... lets not tell them !!! Anyway, I better get back upstairs before I'm missed and have to explain yet again..... nite nite from Coffs Harbour..... next time I'll be in Sydney !!! woooo hoooooooo.

FINALLY GOT TO THE BEACH TODAY.

This will be short and sweet! We finally got to the beach today, the kids loved it! Stew went swimming as well, Mum and I sat on the beach and yakked and watched them for quite some time.

It has been a very stressful day, I packed a wobbly this morning and at 11am I gathered up the kids and walked half way to town in the blistering heat.... cos them that own the car (Mum and Ron) were dithering around and in no hurry to go anywhere... so I stormed off in a major huff. Not the wisest thing to do cos they are bloody miles away from town!

I think next time we come here we will hire a car so we are independant and not totally reliant on them to take us here and there.

Sadly, I took no photos of the family on the beach, as I kept thinking.... they could be on any beach, anywhere, it would look the same..... maybe tomorrow. The beaches here are just gorgeous, pristine white sand, beautiful clear water..... and the water is not even that cold! And it's almost winter here. It got to 24 degrees today, lovely !

Tomorrow night we catch the train at 10.15pm for Sydney.... we have a sleeper compartment, so we can sleep on the train and get into Sydney bright eyed and bushy tailed... ready to have some more fun.... whooooop! Better go for now.... have to get back to the house and get Griffin to bed, Brylee is already asleep .... nite nite.

ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY

Woke to another lovely day here in Coffs Harbour.... can you imagine listening to bloody Kookaburra's squawking their heads off at 5 am in the morning? !!!! It sure is a new experience I tell ya!!

Anyway, today.... we decided (no Mum decided) that we'd pile in the car and go to a place called Bellinger where there are some neat shops... so off we went.

Well, Bellinger is about 40 minutes out of Coffs, and a very old town.. with some lovely shops for sure.. but talk about bloody expensive! I saw the MOST GORGEOUS knickers in this fancy shop, took them in my hands, glanced at the price and nearly dropped them right there and then! They were $56 friggin bucks!!! For a tiny slip of material..... not on your nelly man! I took them over to Stew and showed them to him... and said how much I loved them, he said "ok get them then" and then I told him how much they cost.... he (being the darling he is) said I could still get them if I wanted them ! I didn't...... even I am not that mad.

Onward, had a lovely chicken sandwich and Latte for lunch, then we headed back to Coffs, went for a walk around the property etc.... and that's been about it for the day.

Stew and I are really looking forward to heading to Sydney.... it is quite a strain staying with the "olds"... they are finding Griffin a real handful, what with his noise and his constant exhuberance (sp?)..... they are just not used to little kids. Right thats me for another day.... nite nite.

WONDERFUL DAY !!!

The house has no curtains... and this morning I opened my eyes to the most gorgeous view ever... the city spread out in front of me, the sea, and a beautiful clear sky and the sun rising.... all without lifting my head off the pillow!!! What a wonderful start to the day...

My Mum is 70 today!! We got up and gave her our present, a really neat massage cushion that massages your entire back and butt... and she loved it... so much in fact that she has used it several times already today.... so neat.

Ron and I went into town this morning and he got my Mum a lovely dressing gown for her birthday... and we had a look around the headland... amazing water views....
then we went back home.

Lunchtime, Mum, Stew, the kids and I went into town and visited the Porpoise Pool, an aquarium with dolphins, penguins, seals, sea lions etc..... we kissed the dolphins, the sealions kissed us, we fed them, petted them, we had a ball !!! It had an interactive show where people participated in the show, and I think every one of us got us at some stage to "help" the handlers with the animals.... I tell ya, it was so neat!!! Mum had a wonderful time, I made sure the handlers knew it was her 70th Birthday, so she was hauled up to have a cuddle with a Sea Lion.... wait till I get home to show you the photos!!!

After that we had an evil lunch of fish and chips and ice-cream (forgive me my hips!).... and had a walk around the marina. THEN.... we all got glammed up and went out to dinner at a local place called The Hogs Breath, where we indulged in steaks, fish, chicken etc followed by Chocolate birthday cake..... and now we are having a coffee before heading home to veg out and gain 2 kilos!!! ha ha ha.... ah, ya only live once!

Can ya tell I'm having a wonderful time???? Cos I am! I love this place, it is so warm, the people are so nice and friendly, and it's beautiful here! I wanna move ..... Stew would melt though... so I suppose it won't happen, boo hoo.
Right chicks, that's me for another day.... nite nite.

MOTHER'S DAY... AND LEECHES

Ah it's Mother's Day... and I got up and made me own breakfast, fed the kids and made the beds! Ha ha ha.

Another wet day in Coffs Harbour!!! It hasn't rained so much in weeks/months.... till we arrived. Typical, and the forecast is for more rain.... bliss! Might have to go to the movies tomorrow just to get out of the house and amuse the kids.

They have bloody leeches here! We go for a walk around the house, it's in the bush ... and we get leeches latching on to us! Griffin has had two on him, nasty little things they are! They give me the creeps... and last night I was standing beside a window yakking to Mum and I glanced towards the window and nearly leapt outta me skin, shrieked and leap away cos there was a bloody huge spider on the window! Turned out to be a Huntsman (?) .. gawd they got some nasty critters here! Now I thought it was huge, the locals reckon it was just a baby.... stuff meeting a grown up one then! lol

With the weather being so crappy, it's becoming a bit of a strain in the house with two older people who are used to peace and quiet, and two little kids who are not used to being cooped up inside... so my stress levels are climbing slowly but surely.... but at least it's taking my mind off some other stressful things, like waiting for my biopsy results eh! We get home on the 21st and I have an Ultra Sound on the 22nd, and should have the biopsy results by then too..... so I hope it all turns out ok. Anyway, I better bugger off again, sorry for the lack of photos, makes me blog darn boring ..... but will go nuts when we get home and puts heaps on! nite nite.

COFFS HARBOUR AND SHOPPING..........

Had a wonderful sleep last night, my head hit the pillow and that was it!

Today we went with my Mum into some shopping Plaza, and 5 hours later..... we left..... we shopped and shopped! So much fun.... nothing like shopping with the Mum's wallet !!!! Didn't even see mine all day!

Had an evil lunch... chinese... and even had some lollies too!!! Ron (Mum's partner) has got a roast of pork in the oven for dinner, and I don't have the heart to tell him I am not in the least bit hungry! Oh the quandry .... this is where one has to invent some amazing excuse why one can't eat it!!! Might have to get a really bad stomach ache I think.... or a headache... either way, there is no way I can have roast pork tonight! Such a shame, cos I LOOOOOVE roast pork.

This country is in the grip of a 100 year drought, and what happens when we arrive? It's raining.... ha ha ha. Brylee and Griffin are being such good kids.... a bit hyper on occassions... but I am so proud of them... Griffin says "Hi" to everyone he can, the janitor at the mall got shown his new shoes, so did every shopkeeper, the police officer in his office... etc etc.

Right, that's me for the day..... later. nite nite.

Almost forgot, Cranky Bee, come visit us with CKK on the Saturday night we are in Sydney !!!!!! Would love to meet you!!! Bring Chops too !!!! wooo hoooo, am loving this place.

TRAIN TO COFFS HARBOUR TODAY....

First and foremost... last night Arron't Kiwi Girl came into Brisbane city to meet us... and we got on like a house on fire!!! We yakked together lounging on a bed for over 2 and a half hours!!! Stew looked after the kids, bathed them, topped up the diet cokes when needed and earnt his Name : Saint Stew that AKG gave him! lol. I was nervous about how we would get on, what we would talk about etc etc, so was so relieved when we just clicked and go on so well... another real friend!

Now, today we were up and at the train station by 6.15am, had a bite to eat and onto the train and off at 7.30 am.... 5 and a half hours later.... no one was dead... and I was feeling like a block of ice! The darn thing was air conditioned and I didn't have a jumper with me, so I froze! Griffin talked non stop the whole way , the only time he stopped was when he was feeding his face! On a whole, they were fantastic kids.

The train trip itself was uneventful, lots of scenery, if you like trees and grassland? For over 5 hours???? ha ha ha.

We were met at the station by Mum, her partner Ron and Ron's daughter Diane, who I grew up with in Tokoroa.... Ron and his family have been a part of our family's life for over 45 years! His late wife and my Mum went to school together. So it's lovely that Ron and Mum got together after all that time knowing each other.

We have had the grand tour of their property, they have about 30 acres of native forest, of which Ron has cultivated about 5 acres into gardens etc. Very beautiful, up in the hills overlooking the city, gorgeous views!!!

I have snuck away to Diane's house to use the computer, left Stew to put the kids to bed... wonder how long I can stay away? Naughty me!
Not much else to report about today, except I am darn tired! Better go for now, nite nite.

BACK IN BRISBANE...

Up early this morning, packed our bags, caught the shuttle bus back to Brisbane... are now in our Motel twiddling our thumbs till we catch the train to Coffs Harbour tomorrow morning.

We had a lovely time on the Gold Coast, everyone was lovely and helpful to us silly tourists.... and yes, we found it hot! 27 is hot to us poor Kiwis!!! At home now the temperature is around 10 - 16 on a good day, and getting colder!

I have been very good with food on a whole, only having a tiny breakfast, a decent lunch and a tiny dinner, so am really hoping for a 1-2 kg loss by the time I get home. I have noticed my fitness has dropped considerably since I got the cold, followed by the TOM from hell again... and all the stress involved with the Biopsy etc.... so have a lot of work ahead of me when I get home to get it back.

We went out shopping when we got here to Brisbane, bad mistake .... it was 12 noon and every bugger in the city was on the streets having their lunch break.... I swear if I'd had a big stick I'd have been using it! I am one of the most inpatient people I know when it comes to moving about fast... I hate crowds and dodging people in my way.... I can feel myself building up to wanting to scream I tell ya ! Not a nice person eh? lol
The sooner we are out of this rat race the better.

What else? Well, the kids are having a ball, Griffin has taken to sleeping away much better than I thought he would... he sees our current Motel and says "there's our home", it's really cute! Brylee has the cold now, but isn't too miserable with it thank god. Stew is enjoying the break away too, even though the kids can get up our noses with their demands ... all in all, it's going great! I'm having a great time..... and looking forward to seeing my Mum tomorrow.

She moved here about 2 years ago, and this is the first chance we have had to come over and check out her new home.... I am sure it is lovely. Hope the shops are good in Coffs !!!! Have done bugger all shopping so far.... anyway, enough for today... am hoping Arron's Kiwi Girl calls in tonight... more tomorrow when we are in Coffs. bye bye

TWO KNACKERED KIDS, HEE HEE

Well the kids finally crashed ! They went to sleep last night in about 1 minute, and woke up this morning at 7am.... ah bliss! Today we are off to Seaworld, where they have this most enourmous ferris wheel, and I am going on it.... and I hate ferris wheels! The last time I was on one I was about 5 and and threw up!

We are getting the hang of getting around this place, the bus systems are really awesome and so easy to use. It's far far cheaper than hiring a car and all the associated hassles... insurance, petrol, finding out where to go, etc. Today it's already hot hot hot, so should be a neat day... for me anyway! Stew is finding it a bit too hot for his liking, so I suppose I won't be getting him to retire here, bugger! I love it here! Right, I'm off for another fun day....

Wooo hooo, another day we've had a blast! Seaworld is really neat, we went on EVERYTHING again.... even the biggest ferris wheel you have ever seen... and I did not throw up! Griffin and Stew went on the corkscrew rollercoaster... Griffin only went on once ... think it freaked him out! I decided not to go on, was feeling a bit jaded! WE did go on the Log Flume ride about 8 times though.... and according to Stew I said "OH FUCK" rather loudly for the first 5 times.... I can't remember saying that! Honestly ! Was not so good with the food today, had some hot chips and a cake... will be better tomorrow.

Tomorrow we catch a shuttle back to Brisbane and spend the night at an inner city motel so we can catch the train to Coffs Harbour first thing Friday Morning. We are meeting up with Arron's Kiwi Girl tomorrow night too, that is going to be fun! Meeting my first Aussy Blogger..... even if she's a kiwi ! lol

Well, am off for a swim with the kids now... might not be able to update tomorrow.... will wait and see if me laptop will work in Brisbane? nite nite

DREAMWORLD TODAY, OOOOO ROLLERCOASTERS !

It's drizzling here, but still lovely and warm... the kids woke at 5 this morning... so it's getting better!
We are off this morning to Dreamworld... the last time I was there I was so big I could hardly fit on anything, this time will be different eh? And I won't suffer from the heat so much either.

The kids can't wait .... it's like, is it time to go yet? every 5 minutes, lol.

What else? We are spending a fortune on food, I am gobsmacked at the prices of stuff here, but in saying that, yesterday was a public holiday and we couldn't get to a supermarket and had to buy from food malls etc. So I shall probably do some grocery shopping tonight. Well, better go , Dreamworld awaits.....

OH MAN...what a day! Caught the bus out to Dreamworld at 9am, and stayed there all day... we had a most wonderful time.... rode on everything we could, and even went on the rollercoaster again..... I went on with Griffin ... who was tall enough to go on the huge one! I was petrified he would be thrown out the whole time, but he was fine... he absolutely loved the ride, except when we went throught the loops and went upside down, he got a bit white for a minute there! But when we finished our ride he went for another one with Stew! I didn't have another ride on it, I was shaking like a leaf!!! All in all an amazing day, now we are back at our Motel and Stew and the kids are in the pool. I'm getting the washing done cos we all got soaking wet on the Log Ride.... ooooo I love that one! hee hee he.

I am still 110% on track with my eating, nothing evil has passed these lips... I'm so proud of myself. Well, better go before some smart arse tells me off for being on the computer when I should be having my holiday!!! nite nite

THE KIWI HAS LANDED ....

It's Monday, we are here safe and sound! Yesterday was long and stressful, but fun. The plane trip took 3.5 hours, Griffin is lucky to still be alive.... he drove us nuts on the plane!

Today, kids woke up at 4am!!! And we managed to keep them in bed till about 5.30, then is was up and lets get going... we have been to Pacific Fair Shopping Centre, where a lot of the shops were closed cos it's a public holiday! Caught a bus to there and back to our motel.... which is quite nice. Stew and the kids are now in the pool..... and I'm in the basement using their internet kiosk cos me laptop refuses to connect to their hotspots.... bugger damn and blast. The motel owner is going to ring some chap to come and sort it out for me hopefully.

I am feeling kinda awful, TOM has arrived with a vengence, I'm still coughing and STILL have a headache! I am sure it's just from all the lead up to going away, and last week being stressful too... nothing that will bring me down too much though. I am gunna have a NANA nap this afternoon to catch up on some lost sleep, that should help.

Also... I am doing sooo well with my eating lately, I am bloody sure... NO POSITIVE, that I am going to get home lighter than when I went.....I can't wait to get on the scales !!! woo hooooo

Now, I'm going to say sorry right now, cos there is no way I am going to read anyone else's blogs while I am away..... it would take up too much precious time on holiday! I will endeavour to update daily, but if it doesn't happen... SORRY ALREADY ! And photos will be posted when I get home, unless I can get my laptop to work over here. Right that's me for today, I am going to join my family in the pool.... heee heeee he.

3.28AM....IS IT MORNING TIME YET???

The kid from hell woke at 3.28am and wanted to know if it was morning time yet, then proceeded to ask us again at around 5.40, 6.00, 6.05, get the drift? We finally let him up at 7am.

Did not have much sleep, due to big kids being noisy half the night, and persistant coughing on my part.. such a pain. BUT.... today is finally here and we are off this afternoon on a two week break, with lots of exciting places to visit!!!

I had so wanted to go to the gym this morning, but I think I will give it a miss afterall.... TOM is here, I have a headache still and I think my body has been telling me for a while now to take a break... so I will ... I want to have a fantastic time in Aussy and not feel like crap.

You know that feeling you get when you suddenly remember about something about to happen that you don't like, and your skin crawls and your stomach churns? Well, it just happened to me... cos I really don't like flying and it has finally dawned on me that today we are fllying .... doh! I have been so preoccupied with other stuff and actually getting ready to go, I've not really given the flying much thought! I wish I wasn't such a sook sometimes. I know we will have a fantastic time.

If I don't get a chance to update again today, bon voyage to us!!! Catch ya all in Aussy I hope. Bye for now.

ONE MORE SLEEP...

Our Holiday Plans:

Sunday 6th May :Fly to Brisbane, bus to Gold Coast
Mon - Wed :Gold Coast, Dreamworld, Seaworld, meet Kiwi Arron's Girl ?, etc
Thurs : Bus back to Brisbane, stay night there
Fri- : Morning Train to Coffs Harbour
Sat - Thurs : Visit with my Mum in Coffs Harbour ( Mum's 70th Birthday on 14th May)
Thurs Night : Overnight Train to Sydney
Fri - Sun : Sydney, Zoo, Harbour Cruise, shopping, Meet Celtic_Girl and CKK !
Mon 21 st May : Fly Home.

AND ..... when we get home I am going to weigh LESS than when I went, if it kills me! I am not going to go into "holiday mode" and just pig out... I think my lightbulb has started to flicker again, ok, it's not fully on yet, but it's getting there! And I'm going to make sure Stew doesn't pig out too, even if he gets shitty with me. He has come a long way too and is looking fine!

Today: morning tea with WW girlfriends, then probably start packing!
Now, for those of you wondering, I am taking my new laptop with me, so as long as I can plug into the internet (should be able to!) I will endeavour to update ONCE a day! And I promise to try not to post too many friggin boring photos of places we have all seen before! Like, kids on rides, Mum in front of Sydney Opera House etc etc! Maybe you will just get me foot again! Too funny! later..

Went to lunch, got some groceries, then took Griffin to the Dr's, he's come down with my cold and knowing our luck he'll get really sick on holiday so have got all the pills and medicines needed to keep him on top of it while we are away.

I'm feeling kinda ok, still coughing a bit, and to just make my day TOM is trying to arrive too... oh bliss. At least now I have my pills to help ease the floods! Better go and start the packing now me thinks!

We are getting there! Got most things packed, tomorrow it will just be all the last minute things, toothbrushes, computer etc....

I don't have to cook tonight... cool... Lisa is buying the family Pizza... ooooo yum.

Just had pizza, first food in quite a few days that went down and stayed down... still can't drink much, don't know whats going on there? Have a constant headache from dehydration now I think. Oh well, shit happens, tomorrow is going to be a great day. Am gunna bugger off now and finish a few important things, like shave the legs...... nite nite.

BETTER NIGHT, GUNNA BE A BETTER DAY!

Good morning! You up yet Lyn ? I have been awake since 2am.... but I feel much better this morning (5.30am)... I'm up, have rung the gym to book into the RPM class on sunday morning, and shortly I'm driving Mike to work in the once again damaged company car. lol

You have to laugh, cos if you didn't, you'd cry. It's still to dark out there to take a photo, but it's gunna be a goodie!

I have a Personal Training Session with Cat this morning, but I think we will be taking it easy today, me nether regions are not very happy! But, at least I'm going, for sure. Positive thinking... and I am feeling positive for some reason... two more sleeps till we go on holiday, yee haa!

There ya go..... done like a dinner! And so much for side intrusion air bags , they did not activate for some reason. What happened? Mike was driving to netball, he stopped at a give way, looked both ways and saw nothing, so took off and was hit in the side by a car outta nowhere! He reckons they did not have their lights on, otherwise he would have seen them. Hopefully the police can find out if they had their lights on or not, but it's a long shot.
I went to the gym.... and yakked! No workout at all, how's that for "taking it easy" ha ha ha.
Went into town and got a few colouring in books, puzzle books etc for our holiday ............ then I went home and did the washing..... and nothing else!

In fact, I got a hottie bottle and my blankie and I lay in my lazyboy and just did nothing. Steve picked up the kids from school for me, and now I'm sorting out their afternoon tea etc.

Later on I suppose I will cook dinner and get the washing in .... but that will be later..

Dinner - On, washing - IN. How come I don't feel like drinking ANYTHING?? I thought when you got a cold you were even thirstier than usual? Not me, for the last few days I have struggled to drink even 1 litre of fluid, and today so far I have managed about 1 glass full of orange flavoured water, and that was a struggle. I just don't feel thirsty. Come to think of it, I don't feel very hungry either.... this is good me thinks.

As for the cold, it is much much better, the nose has almost given up the ghost, and the cough is managable. So it's looking good for a full recovery by the time we go... yee ha.

It's the end of the day, I'm on my bed, been having a nap, then watched American Idol, chatted to the lovely Janene, and am finally ready to say.... nite nite !

VIRTUALLY NONE.....

I did not cough much yesterday... but when I went to bed... I coughed and coughed till I felt like vomitting!!! So, I spent pretty much most of the night sitting up so I didn't cough. whenever I tried to lie down.. you guessed it, I coughed. Luckily Stew slept through it!

It rained something fierce in the night, a hedgehog visited our yard and make a ruckus, Izzy chewed a friggin bone right outside my bedroom door (noisy tart) and Griffin mutters in his sleep... all things I did not necessarily want to hear.

My mind was so tired I did not dwell on upcoming events (fortunately), but now that I am up..... I'm going walking first thing with my gym buddy, then it will be home to shower and make me nether regions "presentable" .... hmmmm .... then off to the hospital for the 12 noon appointment. I am sure it will be fine, and hopefully we will get the results in the next few days, maybe even before we fly off on holiday. later....




Am home from the walk... got really puffed and tight in the chest, but it's ok... now onto the getting "presentable"... No, don't think I'll go for glitter, pink bits or fancy shaves... and I certainly WONT BE GOING BALD !!!! lol

And No Plaits either ! later people....

Ok.. The Doctor was a really lovely guy, lots of jokes to make one relax ... he even got so cheeky I hit him one (lightly of course) which just made him laugh more!

The verdict: I have two "areas of concern", and so he took two biopsys, then he went up into my uterus and took a sample from there too... that hurt like hell I can tell ya! He needs blood tests and an ultra sound of me uterus as well.... he believes that I have two areas of either low or high grade pre-cancerous tissue... and combine that with my extremely heavy monthly bleeding means he will most likey recommend a complete hysterectomy. I will not have the results of the biopsy until we get back from holiday, and the ultra sound won't be for at least a month.

So, while I have to wait for results, I am not freaking out... if I need the whole lot out, so be it... I will just go with the flow for now. I am not going to spoil our holiday over this, NO WAY, JUST AIN'T GUNNA HAPPEN.

I choose to look on the bright side, thank you very much.

I had a evil lunch with Stew afterwards... and now we both feel ill.... we shared a piece of Bonoffie Pie and it was just tooooo rich. Serve us right! Thats me for now, am feeling really YUK and am going to go lie down for a while.

Banoffie Pie: A biscuit base, a layer of bananas, then a layer of butter, cream and boiled condensed milk concoction, then fresh cream and chocolate on top... extremely rich and sickly.

Today has been an awful day.... and I didn't think it could get any worse... I WAS WRONG!

Our 17 year old son Mike took Stew's company car to get to his netball game an hour ago... and had a car crash!!! He is Ok, but once again the car is NOT.... this car is totally jinxed, it is now the third time it has had to go to the panel beaters in the 6 months we have had it.... my stomach is churning I tell ya. It would appear Mike was in the wrong, so he is going to have to pay the insurance excess, about $1500 and I have just begged Stew to never ever let the boys use the company car again! I just want to cry ....cos I have been telling Stew not to let them use it for bloody months. I am over it now... I just feel sick.

You've just gotta know..... tomorrow my post will have a photo of the latest damage to the car! For now though, I'm going to have a sauna to relax me, then try to get some sleep tonight. nite nite and thanks for all your kind and caring comments and thoughts today...... Life in never boring in this house FOR SURE!

RPM TODAY????

Well, wadda ya reckon??? I think I will go to the gym, do my weights session before the RPM class starts and see how I feel before committing to it. Maybe I will, maybe I won't.

Maybe I'll go to the chemist and try and get some more "stuff" to try and knock this cold on the head before it gets any worse... have started to bloody cough now... hurts me chest, but my temp has gone down, so that's good.

I so want to be 100% when we go to Australia, I want to enjoy it to the max, and go on a Rollercoaster again too!!!! Imagine trying to do that with a pounding headache and a streaming nose... no I don't think so mate!

Common sense prevailed.... I went to the gym, I did the weight session and a whole lot of lunges (forgive me legs!) but I did not do RPM.... and I feel good about that. Some other poor bugger who had not been able to get in DID! So that's me good deed for the day taken care of.

Picked up the last of our travel documents from the Travel Agent, so all is in hand for Sunday's departure.... oooooo can't wait.


Some things I am really looking forward to on our holiday:

1. When the seatbelt light comes on in the plane, I will actually be able to do it up! Last time I "pretended" it was done up, I was too ashamed to ask for an extenstion, actually , I didn't know you could get one, but I still would have been too embarrassed to ask.

2. When I want to eat some foood, I will be able to lower the lap tray right down and actually use it.. last time my belly was in the way so much that I simply couldn't use the tray at all.

3. I will FIT in the toilet, so If I need to pee ... I can.... last time I had to hold on for hours cos when I tried to get into the loo I wouldn't fit.. well I did, but the door couldn't shut... it was mortifyingly embarrassing !

4. When I get on the rollercoaster, the attendant won't have to come around and literally sit on the safety harness to get it to lock into place.. I will fit easily !!! And I won't be shitting myself every second thinking it is going to pop open and chuck me out!

And... I can go shopping, I can swim, I can totally enjoy myself and not feel like everyone is looking at me and thinking "Look at that fat ugly woman"...... God I can't wait!

My appetite came back, with a vengence! I think though, I am stress eating for sure! Tomorrow is "Biopsy" day of me nether regions..... and I'm am once again shitting myself... am trying to keep busy to take my mind off it, but every time I remember I get the chills and my hair literally stands on end! I hate this feeling big time!

Right, it's the end of the day, one more sleep till I can Hopefully put the most stressful time in my recent history behind me... I'm off to have a sauna, then nite nite.

HAIR APPOINTMENT TODAY.... OH YEAH

Bugger, damn and blast, I feel even worse this morning! I've taken two headache/sinus type pills and a huge Vitamin C and echinacea drink... hope that helps cos I've got my hair appointment this morning. It usually takes a good 2.5 - 3 hours to finish my hair... don't think I am going to enjoy it today.

Hee hee, gunna get the pink strip hopefully !!! Talk about mutton dressed as lamb, but I don't care!

Food yesterday was great! I had some meat and veges last night, and then felt ill.... and then I felt like marshmellows! Weird, so Stew being the darling that he is went and got me some... they are very low in points so I didn't feel guilty..... but I did feel darn ill after eating some. So think I'll avoid food today, and just REST.... I will, I will ! later...

So, 4 hours in a hair salon and ... I have a pink strip !!! And I love it! And I am feeling marginally better... woo hooo !

Not much else to report on this day... been sitting on me bum all morning.. so I got a rest... I have 2 RPM sessions booked for tomorrow! Yaaaaa. Hope this cold buggers off by then... wishful thinking I think, but never mind.

I just woke up! Had a nanna nap, and must have needed it cos I slept for 2 hours! Lucky I got the dinner in the oven first eh?

Someone asked how long my pink strip will last? Well I have no idea having never done it before, I expect it to fade a bit, but it is done in "permanent" dye, so might be a while! Wait till my Mum sees it! I can just hear her now...."What are you thinking? You are not a kid anymore!" too bad, it is fun, and I am going to have fun from now on... you only live ONCE.... so get everything outta life FULL STOP END OF STORY !

It's official, I'm a sook! I have a temperature of 38.5 and I feel awful.... it's so long since I have anything even remotly like a cold I'm full of woe. It must be so awful to get them often for sure! I am going to bed to wallow in self pity over a silly little cold! I'm pathetic, even to myself. nite nite !