Life is a Journey not a Destination

Well, we’re off on the first part of our holiday. First stop Sydney for my cousin Chris’ engagement party to the very lovely Mel.

Kevin rode up on his motorbike as he’d be leaving us on Sunday. We met at the hotel and then went to the party. Was a nice night and good to catch up with some of the relatives I hadn’t seen for a while. No-one could get over how good Kevin & I are looking (don’t mean to sound stuck up but we’ve come a long way). I mean who is the sexy man I went to the party with? Doesn’t look much like the man I’ve been married to for 16 years.

Loved the fireplace - candles on a mirror - how effective!!!

On Sunday morning we took the girls to Lollipops play center for an hour before heading over to see High School Musical on Ice. Was a good show - I think the second half (HSM2) was better but then I prefer the music from that one. The girls really enjoyed it and though we were in the second row we really didn’t have the best view. I had a Mum in front of me (which was bad enough) and she kept on holding her camera out to the side which further ruined my view. Oh well, it was still good.

From here we hit the road, driving for a couple of hours to Bulladelah, then for another few hours to Kempsey. The second half of the trip we had lots of rain. It wasn’t too bad though. I much prefer driving on these sort of roads - it’s what I’m used to - instead of the traffic in Sydney.

We got to Kempsey around 6pm, found a hotel to stay out, got some take out to eat in our room. The girls watched a movie and I read, then we all went to sleep around 8.30am.

It’s been such bad weather all week - not good for school holidays but we’ve kept busy.

On Wednesday we went shopping at Miranda with Nanny and to see “Horton Sees A Who” - which was very cute and funny.

Thursday I went to exchange some clothes I bought for Kevin yesterday (they were too big), then Mum joined us at the Stampin’ Up open house. Had some lunch out and got a few groceries for our trip. Felt very inspired from the stamp day and scrapbooked till 7pm - you’ve already seen the results.

Then yesterday, Friday, I took Rosie into the vets - she had her drains removed, then went to the beauticians to get my nails done, then drove up to meet Leanne & the girls at Mt.Annan indoor pool. The girls had a great time on the big inflatable slide - though only Sarah and Christy managed to get to the end.l They were in the water for 4 hours - stopping only for lunch.

Home again we decided to take Rosie back to the vets to get her wounds checked. This time she came home looking like this…

Went to see the new Stampin’ Up catelogue and have a play with the new stamps (Hi Vicki!!!). Lots of fun. Above are the two cards we made.

Came home all inspired and made a card for my cousin’s Engagement Party on Saturday night (close your eyes if you’re reading this Chris & Mel)

Some more cards I made last week.

Layouts I did tonight (now I NEVER scrapbook at night) for the title pages for my Library of Memories albums. I’m pretty pleased how they turned out. The colour is the same as the album.

And finally a couple of layouts I’ve done this week. This one was inspired by Laura Vegas’ layout ‘My little Ballerina‘ (not that mine looks as cute as hers).

I actually added a couple of photos the side of the sisters layout afterwards - from when the girls were younger - just felt it needed something else.

Today after dropping Rosie at the vets, the girls and I headed up Mt. Keira to go on a little bushwalk. We weren’t sure we’d be able to cause it was drizzly, but by the time we got there it had cleared up, we could even get a pretty good view up and down the coast. We went on a little walk - about 20mins - then stopped for some morning tea. The girls had a milk shake, I had a hot chocolate (it was rather cold and windy out) and we shared some scones. It was a lovely morning and when the weather clouded in again I was glad we had managed to get out for some fresh air and exercise.

While at the cafe I was amused at the girls “playing” with the salt, pepper and sugar. Kids!!!

Rosie is home again now. This time she looks very Christmassy.

Well, it’s that time of month when I join Little Jenny Wren in a day in my life. Today it’s school holidays and the main plan is the clean downstairs, take Rosie to the vets, then do some fun things this afternoon. It’s a wet, cold, drizzly day so perfect for being indoors.

I was up bright and early at 4.30am this morning. And once I wake there’s usually no going back to sleep so I got up and spent the next few hours on the computer reading blogs, uploading photos, working on my own blog and adding some blogs to google reader - this morning I added pickelbums (not too sure where the title comes from yet), vanilla joy, and whimsy & wonder (a great gal from the Frugal Aussie yahoo group).

At 7.20 I pried my backside off my seat. Both girls were now awake (Amy was up before me and Christy had just woken). I ran them a bath, made beds and went off my have my shower. Being Monday morning I hopped on the scales for my weekly weigh in and took my measurements. Not a lot happening on the scales but my measurements are continuing to drop.

At 8am I was all dressed, back downstairs to put on the girls clothes to be washed.

Amy made our breakfast, scrambled eggs and baked beans, and I made French Toast for Christy.

After breakfast I tidied the kitchen, put on some bread to bake for lunch, and got back online to get us tickets to go see Disney on Ice in June. After 15mins I managed to get us front row tickets - hurray!!!

Next up the girls helped me to clean downstairs - this includes tidying, dusting, cleaning glass surfaces, vacuuming and mopping the floors. With their help I was done in just over an hour.

I then hung out the washing and the sun was just trying to pop out through the clouds. I did our menu plan for the next 5 days.

At 11am we took Rosie into the vets. Poor girl had her bandage (and a bit of fur) taken off and has to go back tomorrow to have a drain put it, as she’s gotten a bit of an infection. Gee, do you think Rosie actually knows she’s a dog? She taken to hoping up on the seat beside me when we go the vets - too funny. One man was in stitches watching her today, then she tried to sit on my lap :-).

Stopped to get some rolls for Christy on the way home and treated myself to some fresh flowers (since the house looks so nice and tidy).

We had pumpkin soup and fresh bread for lunch.

Then cleaned out the guinea pig and bird cage. Decided to give the guinea pigs a bath while we were at it. I then had the pleasure of getting a delivery of scrapbook supplies. LOTS of goodies - so yummy I could eat them :-).

Next up was taking Rosie for a walk down to the lake. It was a windy and a bit chilly but nice to be outside. The girls rode their bikes and had a bit of a play at the park.

We got home around 2pm and after a drink of water (and a little rest) we made some homemade ice-cream to have for desert tonight. Next was some craft. The girls made some ribbon creatures and did some painting. I helped, enjoyed a cup of tea and a piece of choc. brownie slice that I made yesterday, while I unpacked my new scrapbooking supplies.

Time for working on a jigsaw. This is one I got for Christmas - boy is it going to be hard.

About 5pm I bought in the washing and folded it ready for ironing (probably tomorrow), then started to make dinner (Cherry Tomato and Feta Frittata). Kids were playing “camping” so I thought I’d sneak into the scrapbook room (while I have to myself) to do layout. That didn’t work out too well so I ended up doing a bit of ironing.

Kevin came home about 6pm so I finished off dinner and we sat down to enjoy it.

Cleaned up the kitchen, uploaded my photos for this post, then went to watch some TV with Kevin (at the moment we are watching season 1 of the Vickor of Dipley. Still so funny after 14 years) and enjoy the homemade ice-cream.

Feeling very tired. Up early and it’s been a VERY busy day. I think I’ll be asleep rather early.

Girls are on school holidays plus I’m trying to use up as much as possible before our two week holiday.

MONDAY : Lunch - Pumpkin Soup with home-made bread

Dinner - Cherry tomato & Feta Frittata

TUESDAY : Lunch - Rolls with cheese & Pasta Salad

Dinner - Veggie Roast with veggies

WEDNESDAY : Lunch - OUT (going shopping and to movies)

Dinner - Mandarin Veggie Roast with steamed rice

THURSDAY : Lunch - Mexi-bean wraps/burritos

Dinner - TVP Chili Con Carne

FRIDAY : Lunch - Picnic - take our own rolls (meeting up with friends)

Dinner - Freezer or leftovers

SATURDAY - Leave in morning so all meals out over weekend. Once we get to our apartment on Monday night we’ll be having breakfast & dinner (easy meals) in room and packing a lunch MOST days.

For more menu idea please visit the organizing junkie. I’ll be back in 3 weeks and probably desperate to do some proper cooking.

Yesterday we celebrated my Granny’s 86th birthday at Mum’s. We had a lovely afternoon - sitting outside in the sunshine, eating, chatting and being entertained by the kids (mind you they were in a bit of a mood yesterday). My Aunt and Uncle were there as well so it was nice to catch up with them.

Kevin is loving his new toy, or should I say new baby :-). He’s got himself a new jacket (and just ordered new pants) as his was way to big (he’s now lost nearly 40kg), so he looks more like a “biker” now.

Here’s some photos of his very first bike back in 2002- I remember Amy thinking he was off the deliver the mail :-).

The girls also got new toys this week - Nintendo DS’s - which they have been wanting for ages but we bought mainly for the big trip to Ayers Rock. Of course, Kevin didn’t want to make them wait so they’ve gotten them early to have on the 12 hour drive to Queensland next weekend.

Whosh… there goes another month. It’s now 5th months since I had WLS. Can’t believe it really. I’ve lost another 3kg (I think) for a total of 31.3kg (69lbs). I know I could do better with the weight loss (just need to give up the few “treats” I have every day), but overall I’m pretty darn happy with how I’m going. School holidays start today and next weekend we’re headed off for a 2 week holiday to Surfers Paradise. It’s going to such a different experience and I so can’t wait to ride a roller coaster and see how well I fit in the seats (instead of squeezing in). It’s going to be so fun being a “normal, though still overweight” person on holidays.

Anyway, here I am today - not looking terribly glamorous as it’s an at home day - weighing 93.3kg (205lbs).

Poor Rosie. I took her back to the vets today and they had to drain all the fluid that was under her stitches. Then they wrapped her up to help it heal better. Suprisingly it doesn’t seem to bother her all.