Things have been busy here as usual, I have been flat out at work as we are short – staffed at the moment and there is so much that needs to be done in the office. I love my job though so I don’t mind being busy. I am also still running my scrapbooking business and that keeps me out of trouble and gives us a bit of pocket money as well. I have also just started studying again, I am doing my Diploma in Front Line Management and after I finish that I might just go back to university and do my Bachelor of Business. It is great fun being back at school again!
We have had a very enjoyable weekend, my friend Kim and I go to the local spa every 6 weeks or so and shout ourselves a massage and so we both went yesterday and had one of those Hot Rock Massages, which are fantastic, an hour and a half of bliss! So relaxing. After that I took the kids down to McDonalds so they could have a play and they really enjoyed that as a special treat. We went to the Tolga Markets this morning and it was packed full of people, it is a beautiful day today so obviously everybody wanted to get out of the house, Savannah met up with a friend and went off with her and so Rhett and I wondered around and had a look and caught up with a few friends I hadn’t seen in a while. Gary was at Innisfail all weekend playing in a Bowls tournament so I had the house to myself and surprised myself by enjoying it, I was able to catch up on lots of work and get some things done. As soon as I finish writing this I will take the kids up to the park and let them play while I study for an assignment.
The kids had their sports day on Friday and they had a blast, but unfortunately they take after their mother and are not very sporty at all! They don’t seem to care though so that is all that counts. They are both doing really well at school and got excellent report cards, Have put in their latest school photos so you can see how much they have grown. I can’t believe Savannah will be in High School next year. Makes me feel old!

I am still not smoking, it has been almost 9 months and the best thing I have ever done! Gary is doing really well at his new job, the money is excellent and I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes up the ranks in the company and becomes really successful. He has only been their since February and is already Assistant Manager.
Anyway I had better go as Rhett is nagging me to take him to the Park. I will write again next week

I tell you a lot can happen in a week.. so lets start from Tuesday!
Tuesday night - Final of the Poker season, Gary and I both made it to the final table but I was knocked out and Gary ended up coming second so we missed out on the prize but had fun anyway! Had a few drinks with Rayna and Peter and played some pool at the Stump, helped Mick kick people out and he gave us a lift home as the taxis had stopped running because of Anzac Day
Wednesday - Spent the day vegging, was still knocked out from the weekend at Townsville so didn't do much today.
Thursday - Boring day doing the usual stuff
Friday - Kids Fancy Dress, the kids dressed up as a Cowboy and Cowgirl, they looked so cute (see photo) Gary and I helped out so it was a pretty hectic night but it was all good, the kids had a ball!

Saturday - Off to Skybury for a day teaching the ladies a class and having morning tea and lunch. The chicken ceaser salad was horrible but the rest of the day was lovely (see photos)

After I finished there we went over to Mal and Michelles for dinner and drinks and to play Yahtzee which was hilarious because we used the joke cards I had bought for Michelle for christmas for the loser.. some of the things we had to do was sing the national anthem, crawl between everyones legs.. well you get the idea, it was lots of fun and I really enjoyed myself

Sunday - Was another relaxing day, spent the day catching up on taped TV shows..
Monday - Mum tells me there may be a job at Mitre 10 if I want it and I of course say yes. Spend the day at work on tenterhooks and find out that night that I indeed have the job if I want it. So then spend a sleepless night worrying about resigning and stressing.
Tuesday - It takes me all day to resign as I could not get the boss by herself, finally resign she is great and all is well in the world! Finish up on the 11th and start Mitre 10 on the 17th :)

45 minutes to go until the work day ends! I cannot wait for a day off.. I promise to remember the diggers and what they did for us but still enjoy the time with my family as that is what they fought for!
Lest we forget!

What a weekend, it was just what I needed, have been feeling a bit lost lately and this weekend helped me to go back to being just me (a big thank you to Teina and Clare for all their love, support and help this weekend)
We drove down Friday afternoon, I got off work just after 1 and went home and got myself organised, Teina and Claire were ready to go at about 3pm so went and picked them up and we were on our way, we took our time getting there and stopped fairly regularly so Teina could have a smoke and Claire and I could have a stretch. We got into Townsville at about 7.30 and realised we weren't really sure where our hotel was, decided to drive into town and hope we would spot it!! Luckily that is exactly what happened! We sprung some young fellow who was looking after the hotel in his boxer shorts and he gave us the key and showed us where to park and how to get in etc. We were very impressed with the room, it was quite big and put us in mind of a small apartment. Great value! We were fairly hungry so decided to go for a walk and find somewhere we could grab some takeaway, unfortunately the cafes had stopped cooking so we ended up going for a drive and we found both Woolies and McDonalds! Stocked up on munchies and bacon, eggs and croissants for breakfast the next day and then headed to the McDonalds on the mall for dinner. As were walking towards McDonalds, a couple of guys were sitting outside "The brewery" and greeted us and then asked us if we wanted to eat their Big Mac.. jerks! Anyway we finally got food, went back to the apartment, ate our dinner, watched a bit of mindless tv (am devestated Munnalita is out of the Biggest loser..sob..sob) and went to bed!
Woke up early and cooked up a breakfast.. we didn't have any oil or butter and Teina had bought the lean bacon so it was interesting to say the least LOL anyway it turned out beautifully and was very yummy (you can probably tell my diet was completely abandoned this weekend!) We all showered, rang Louise and her mum and organised to meet them at their hotel as Louise knew where she was going for the Craft Fair. Followed Louise to the convention centre, where we bought our tickets and listened to very lame music while waiting for the doors to open (Macarena etc) finally got in there and the first stall we see was Carole Jansen, this lady is not only to down to earth and friendly, she is also extremely talented, loved all of her work and it was just lovely to get to know her! We then proceeded to walk around, look at all the stalls and shop until our cards were burning hehe.. I bought some wool, a pattern for a doll and some material for the doll, some stamps, flowers and ribbon and that was about it so I was pretty good, although it was easy for a paper crafter not to go overboard as the majority of stalls were quilters. Had a yummy lunch there of poached chicken, avacado and mayo.. it was very yummy and am going to try it at home (it sounds healthy!!) By that stage Teina, Claire and I had seen everything we wanted and decided to try and find a shopping centre to do some more shopping!
This was funny, as we thought how hard can it be to find a shopping centre! Turns out it can be pretty hard so after a few wrong turns (we did discover a gorgeous housing estate) we finally found Stockland at about 5 to 4 only to discover they closed at 4!! How uncivilised!! Anyway Big W was open until 5pm and so was Crazy Clarkes so we did get to do a bit of shopping and I found a cute Cowboys shirt for Rhett and an earring and necklace set for Savannah.
Teina and I had a bit of a fight but it was sorted out and I am so grateful to her for being such a great friend to me! We all got ready then to go out for dinner and possibly some dancing.. we ended up getting a table at Michel's which was yummy and friendly and a really nice night was had by all.
We all decided to go to a pub that was a couple of doors down from the restaraunt and had a few drinks, played some pool and met some of the locals, including John a big aboriginal dude with an eye patch and his friend Mick, once they realised we were all married up and not interested they decided we needed protection and treated us like we were their sisters, really great guys!
Claire ended up going back to the room early and Teina and I partied for a bit longer at the pub and then went to a nightclub called Flynn's which had a great atmosphere and fantastic music! We had a great time and walked home holding our boots as our feet were killing us by then! (They are still sore today!)
Got home about 3am and went straight to sleep!
Woke up about 8.00 and had a shower and got dressed, then crawled back into bed for another hours sleep as I was sooo tired.. glad I did I felt heaps better for it!
Had 1/2 leftover McDonalds hamburger for breakfast (best hangover cure) and we headed into town to visit the Mall Markets. Found a car park and went shopping, found a great halter neck dress for just $10, a Quicksilver T-Shirt for Dylan for only $20 and a Cowboys shirt for Gary.. also checked out the local Life line and scored a cowboy looking shirt for Rhett and a denim skirt for Savannah, as well as the book The Magic Pudding and Fats and Figures. So after checking all the stalls and shops out, the girls grabbed some coffees to go and we got in the car to head back home..
had a good trip home got there about 4.30pm, discovered a very cool feature on my car, if you don't stop it within 3 hours, it beeps at you and tells you to rest!! How cool is that!
Dropped Teina and Claire off, got home, gave everyone their presents, felt very missed and loved, which is always a good thing. Watched Big Brother (looooove Big Brother) and fell asleep at 9pm!! I was sooo tired and still am
Lately I have forgotten who I was, and this weekend I rediscovered myself! A huge success!

I am sooo tired today, I woke up 3 times last night and am now feeling the effects. It could have been the excitement of winning poker for the first time last night! Woohoo, am so excited to have finally done it.. had a great game with a mixture of luck and strategy, although I am still way too cautious.
Have had a pretty boring week at work, mainly doing the website and am counting down the hours until the day is over.
Went garage sale shopping with Kim and Gary last Saturday morning looking for second hand exercise equipment, didn't have any luck though. I then took Gary out to bowls and spent the afternoon at Di and Jeremy's having drinks for his birthday.
Paid the price on Sunday and slept most of the day!

Back at work today, boo hoo but actually it was a good day and can't complain as I have a pretty good job!
Played Poker tonight, lost to a new guy who had 3 x 6's when I had pocket Aces!! I don't know why I keep playing, lucky it is free or I would be in the poor house LOL

What a weekend, it is Monday and I feel like I need another 4 days off to get over the Easter break!
Seriously thought it has been great, on Friday we went over to Gary's parents for a BBQ with the family, his brother Alan from Mt Isa came up as a surprise with his wife Eve and so it was lovely to catch up with them. Nearly the whole family was there, the only thing is they ate red meat, the heathens!! LOL Luckily they had some leftover fish from the night before so I didn't have to eat a salad sandwich!
Speaking of food my diet went completely out the window this weekend, it was just too hard with going away and eating out so I am back on track today! Will have to work extra hard this week I think to get another loss, if I break even I will be happy :)
We went down to Cairns on Saturday and met up with Wendy and Ian (and their kids Tess and Mitchell) at the Tropical Queenslander in Lake Street (a really good cheap place to stay) only $80 a night and it was clean, roomy and everything you need!
We caught a taxi to the races, I was all dolled up with dress, shoes and racing hat but felt like a frump compared to most of the girls there! Wowee!
The weather was dodgy but Gary's sister Susan and her boyfriend John had already scored a table under cover so we were ok.
It was an ok day although Gary and I didn't pick a winner, and the one time I did pick a winner I lost the ticket!! The kids all got a free showbag from Toyworld that had some really cool stuff in it! Rhett got a lego kit, a kite, a Thomas the Tank engine watch, a wrestler figurine, a horse figurine, a metal robot thingy.. at least $50 worth of stuff so that was a bonus.
The only problem was the line ups to the bar and to the TAB were just annoying there were too many people there or more than they expected. Although having said that there were no line ups to the toilets, I didn't have to wait once, which is a miracle in itself!
After the races we went back to the motel (Susan gave us a lift) and got changed for dinner, we went to Brothers Leagues club. The food was ok not great but at only $14.95 for 2 adults who can complain. They have a kids club there which is fantastic, supervised with colouring in books and XBoxes the kids were happy to play while we had a few beers and watched the football.
The cowboys game was brilliant, very exciting and thoroughly enjoyed it!
After the game we picked up the kids and caught a taxi back to the motel where we kicked back had a couple more beers and chatted.
Finally went to bed and had a great nights sleep, woke up at about 8 and had a shower, we ended up having to wake Rhett up to see what the Easter Bunny bought. After all that we went to Charlies for breakfast where there was a beautiful buffet of all the great breakfast foods.. bacon, eggs, muffins, cereal etc etc thoroughly enjoyed that and then we went to Muddys.. now I went to the Muddy's that I didn't even know existed, I thought Muddy's was the pool area and didn't know there was just a playground area and am beginning to wonder if that is what happened to Rachael and I that time we couldn't find each other, we might have been at different places!
Anyway was very impressed with the playground and wish Atherton had something similar.
After a good hour at the park it was time to come home as Alan and Eve were coming over for lunch, so we headed up the range. Bought a BBQ chook and some coleslaw from IGA and Al and Eve, came over we showed them around, had lunch chatted and tried to fly Rhett's kite (it was way too windy)
Watched the Warriors vs Manly game (bugger I went for the Warriors in the tipping comp) and they headed off, we promised to come visit them in Mt Isa next year and I am hoping we do as I have always wanted to visit Mt Isa :)
Today I am planning on catching up on a few things, watching a movie and generally taking it easy :)


Savannah made this hat for Rhett's Easter Bonnet parade in about 10 mins! She is so talented!!


Rhett enjoying his football easter egg!

Well Easter is almost here and the temptations have already begun! Ram bought in some Indian sweet delicacy which I just had to try and it was delicious, put me in mind of deep fried ice cream. Veronica helped with the temptation by bringing chocolate hot cross buns! So I can pretty well say my diet has gone out the window today! Oh well what do they say in for a penny in for a pound!
In good news I managed to get an early mark for our trip to Townsville in a few weeks time. Claire, Teina, Kathryn and myself are going down for the craft fair, which should be good fun :)
Went into Mareeba today for work and it was chaos! I have to go shopping tonight in Atherton and I am dreading it as I know it is going to be twice as bad there!
Oh well only 2 more hours of work to go and then it is 4 days off woohoo!

I felt really yucky yesterday when I got home from work, I couldn't figure out my mood, why I was so emotional etc I ended up having KFC for dinner which is fine as I only went over my calorie count by about 300 calories so not too bad but still it is interesting to me to note why I did it and try and watch that I don't do it again.
Poker was a disaster as I could not get any decent hands and so was out and home very early. Cleaned up the house and finished the washing and ironing so at least I was productive that way!
Have a cleaner coming today to clean the two bathrooms, am so happy I finally have someone to do this dreaded chore (I really hate it with a passion)
Am creating a website for my workplace at the moment which is exciting and hard but keeping me busy and learning which is something I appreciate.
Splurged last night on ebay and bought myself a GHD hair straightener, lets hope it does the job as I am hating my hair at the moment!

Wow what a weekend, went to the races on Saturday and had a blinder of a day betting, I think at one stage there I picked 5 in a row! Such fun. I did drink too much though and even though I had a fantastic time I paid the price the next day with the mother of all hangovers! I am just getting too old to cope with alcohol I think!
I lost 2.8 kilos this week, 2 inches off my waist, 1 inch off my hips and 1/2 inch off my neck, so you could say the diet is a success so far.. am hoping I continue to lose at least a kilo a week but any loss I will be grateful for.
Am counting down the minutes to the long weekend, am really looking forward to the break :)

Day 5 and still sticking to my diet! This has to be a miracle as I usually don't last past breakfast I must really want to lose weight LOL. I didn't do any exercise yesterday though because I had poker and I did really well, made it to the final table but then lost it all on one stupid round where I thought the guy was bluffing and turns out he wasn't!! Too funny...
I was very good at the pub too as I drank water instead of my usual crap :)
Busy doing the staff newsletter today..

I have been given a lot more responsibility at work, which is very exciting for me and keeps my days busy. Am doing a lot of marketing and research which is great fun. I am also looking at doing the website! Cool stuff
Still sticking to my diet, so far so good
Poker tonight

Had a nice relaxing weekend, started my diet and really checked out the sparkpeople website and am hooked! On Saturday afternoon Kim and I went and got a nice relaxing massage at Yungaburra's Mountain Spa it was just what I needed and I also got to check out all the renovations they are doing at Eden House as the lady that runs the spa also owns the restaraunt
On Sunday I did a bit of work in the shed in the morning and Teina came over and had a chat and picked up some things. After that I literally did nothing, I vegged and watched TV and relaxed. I wasn't feeling well as I have had the flu hovering around all week so have used that as an excuse.
Rhett spent the day at his Nana's while Gary played Bowls (he won) and Gail (Gary's mum) dropped him back late in the afternoon and so I got to have a bit of a catch up with her which is good as I haven't seen her for ages because of work.
Gary's nephew Scott and his girlfriend Jess came over for a visit and so met their new dog Sheila and had a chat, then I cooked dinner and watched TV (love Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy and What about Brian)
I did exercise both days so not a total slug!

I have the blasted flu and just feel yucky! I have had a bit of a splurge food wise today as I am going to try and go on a diet tomorrow, I found this great website http://www.sparkpeople.com/ that customises a diet and exercise plan and it actually looks like something I can follow, so wish me luck as I don't usually stick to this sort of thing but after giving up smoking successfully I am a little more confident on my ability to follow through on something I need to do.
The shed is an absolute pigsty at the moment and am not looking forward to going home and having to clean it all up for Midnight Madness tonight, hopefully Megan will have come and put a big dint in it for me :)
I can't believe Stingray died on Neighbours, they tried to make it like a Molly moment but didn't quite pull it off, it was still sad though.
Counting down the hours until my massage tomorrow!!

arrgh I woke up this morning with a really sore throat and feeling like shit, of course I took a day off work last week so don't feel right about having another sickie so I have dragged myself to work despite feeling like crap, took some Codral Cold and Flu tablets this morning and they really made me feel better but I think they are wearing off as I feel awful again now and I didn't bring them with me.
I weighed myself last night and I have put on another 3 kilos!! I am so depressed but not surprised, It has now been 4 months since I gave up smoking and I have put on a total of 6 kilos :(
I am thinking of going to the doctor and getting one of those weight loss tablets that speed up your metabolism as I think that is my main problem, it is well known that when you give up smoking your metabolism basically slows right down.
I got on the cross trainer last night for a good couple of hours and did some situps and weights so will try and keep that up as well.

Goodness it says here I haven't updated since December 2006, that is so slack but is easily explained by the fact that I am now working full time and still running my scrapbooking business and still being a mum to my two kids!! Argh I am tired just thinking about it!
Anyway thought I would try and post every day from now on (but don't be surprised if I don't)
Had to start work early yesterday as Veronica (the girl I work with) is away at a course, as is Ann (one of my bosses)so I basically had the office to myself for a while. I was surprised and a bit annoyed to discover that my computer is playing up with a few programs, the IT guy here has restricted anyone putting new programs on so I can't fix it myself so will have to wait until he can get around to it, no big deal but a little annoying. Other than that it was a pretty boring day at work.
Managed to chat to Kim for a while which was fun, we have known each other for 7 years and have only just started to develop a real friendship which I am very excited about (Hi Kim, now stop reading or you will get a big head)LOL seriously she is a very cool chick and we have a lot in common but enough not in common! Looking forward to our massage this Saturday!
Went to Poker last night and got crap, crap, crap hands!! It was funny because Gary got crap as well and we ended up getting knocked out on exactly the same hand, which made life easier as we got to go home at the same time, rather than wait around for the other person to finish.
Couldn't sleep last night though, have no idea why as I was very tired, I think I was worried about work and all the things I still have to do for the business, hopefully will sleep well tonight.
Very exciting today as Nerida (one of the ladies at work) brought down an Echidna for us to look at, have included a photo, I have never seen an echidna up close before so it was a bit of a thrill!