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!