So here we are at Coffs Harbour and it is a bit chilly! Brrrr!
The last full day at Q1 was a non eventful. Tony slept, I watched tv, Josie did some school work. That was pretty much all morning till Tony got up and went down to the Q1 Business Centre to do some work. The weather that last day was fairly dismal actually. It was the first day that was anything but bright and sunny, so it felt great staying put all day.
In the afternoon the Lee Family came to sleep over and we had a lovely dinner of Beef and Bean Stew that Tony prepared, which was scrumptious, and also as much of the left over food as possible. They ended up taking quite a bit home with them :-) The girls had a great last day playing together, and Josie spent a lot of time playing with 9month old Jakob. Good practice I say :-)
Sometime during the night, Sam had to change Jake and for the first time in about 8years I woke up to a baby crying. And wow that was a memory that made me twitch, better get to used to that I reckon!!
The next morning we packed up, took everything down to the car and said goodbye to Q1 for another year or two. And then we all went to our traditional final breakfast at Pancakes in Paradise, which was, as usual, lovely.
After breakfast we went over to Billy & Sam's to pick up a whole heap of baby stuff! Clothes, blankets, BUMBO, travel bed.. Somehow managed to squeeze it into the car too! Josie was well padded on both sides :-) Thanks so much Sam, this will be a huge help!
And then off we went! It took about 4hrs to get to Coffs. We got in about 730pm, had a quick dinner and then sent the kid off to bed. She has school tomorrow so needs to get back to normal sleeping patterns.
We managed to finish Season 3 of Smallville (what a season finale!!), and then I berated my husband for not bringing Season 4!!
So this morning Josie is doing her final bit of school work, I am about to get Tony up and then we are off to Sydney. I go back to work Monday, have given myself a couple of days to unpack, shop, sort through and wash a mountain of baby gear!
It's gonna be a long drive today.. I think we may start with a final bit of Cold Rock to get us going :-)
Mari
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Seaworld, Mother's Day and The Eye
So yesterday we went to Seaworld. We got there just before lunch and managed to catch the Sea Lion Show and the Dolphin Show. Both were great, although the Sea Lion Show gets a little more dull every time we see it. In between snow cones and stingrays we managed to score not one, not two but three toys for Josie! I don't think we have ever had such a haul. First Tony played hoops and got two balls in so Josie got a pink dolphin, then Josie won herself a giraffe and then somehow I managed to get two balls in a bucket and scored a purple monkey! Woohoo!
We walked around and saw as much as we could and while we brought some swim gear, we left it in the car so we didn't have to drag it around with us everywhere, but by the time we got to the pools and watersides it was well after 4pm and just too cold. Josie was very disappointed but it's just what happens when we come in May.. It's just not as warm as October.
So around 5pm we caught the monorail back to the front and off we went home to wait for the Lee family who were coming for dinner. Tony made a lovely lemon roast chicken with roast veges that were to die for and then we had Cold Rock for desert. It was yummy!
After dinner Josie went to sleep over at Jessica's places so Tony and I watched some Smallville and went to bed. Yeh I know, we are boring :-)
Today I relaxed and watched tv all morning before we got ready for lunch. Lunch with the Lees (and with our daughter back) was at the Hard Rock and it was a great Mothers Day lunch. Serving sizes were still massive but the food was great. After lunch we walked up to the Wheel of Surfers Paradise which looks like a mini version of the London Eye. It was really fun, we had 15 mins of going round and round and round :-)
Then we walked back to Q1 before saying bye bye to The Lees and having a few hours relaxation in the rooms. Around 6pm we went for dinner at a Serbian place called Balkan on the Board. Again the serving sizes were just MASSIVE and we took a lot home but it was delicious! Josie declared her pizza to be the best ever, even better than Pizza Hut!
After dinner we went back to the Wheel of Surfers Paradise to take a turn on it at night. It was spectacular and we had a great time!
So now we have one and a half days left here before heading off to Coffs again. It has gone fast again, but with 7nights here this time it feels like more of a holiday than previous times!
Till next time!
We walked around and saw as much as we could and while we brought some swim gear, we left it in the car so we didn't have to drag it around with us everywhere, but by the time we got to the pools and watersides it was well after 4pm and just too cold. Josie was very disappointed but it's just what happens when we come in May.. It's just not as warm as October.
So around 5pm we caught the monorail back to the front and off we went home to wait for the Lee family who were coming for dinner. Tony made a lovely lemon roast chicken with roast veges that were to die for and then we had Cold Rock for desert. It was yummy!
After dinner Josie went to sleep over at Jessica's places so Tony and I watched some Smallville and went to bed. Yeh I know, we are boring :-)
Today I relaxed and watched tv all morning before we got ready for lunch. Lunch with the Lees (and with our daughter back) was at the Hard Rock and it was a great Mothers Day lunch. Serving sizes were still massive but the food was great. After lunch we walked up to the Wheel of Surfers Paradise which looks like a mini version of the London Eye. It was really fun, we had 15 mins of going round and round and round :-)
Then we walked back to Q1 before saying bye bye to The Lees and having a few hours relaxation in the rooms. Around 6pm we went for dinner at a Serbian place called Balkan on the Board. Again the serving sizes were just MASSIVE and we took a lot home but it was delicious! Josie declared her pizza to be the best ever, even better than Pizza Hut!
After dinner we went back to the Wheel of Surfers Paradise to take a turn on it at night. It was spectacular and we had a great time!
So now we have one and a half days left here before heading off to Coffs again. It has gone fast again, but with 7nights here this time it feels like more of a holiday than previous times!
Till next time!
Friday, May 06, 2011
More Gorgeous Weather..
Proudly brought to you by the letters Q, L, D, and the numbers 1 and 26.
Yes the weather continues to amaze.
Thursday was a long day that started out with an hour drive to Brissy to see Jacqui and her new diggs. First we went to lunch by the river and had an awesome meal. Then we had some ice cream at MovenPick?! And then headed back to Jac's place. She is staying in a lovely apartment that managed to escape flood damage because it's on top of a hill in Toowong. She moved up to Brissy the day BEFORE the big floods! We hung around and chatted for a while before braving the traffic back to the Gold Coast. We of course managed to catch the worst of the traffic and it looked like it was going to be a three hour trip back, and then Josie started to complain about having to pee! It was all happening! At that point we were stuck on a bridge or freeway and couldn't get off either. We eventually managed to get out of the traffic and find a MacDonald's, of course.. I reckon Tony must have some homing mechanism for Maccas. So we had dinner at Maccas, Josie went to the loo and all was well with the world. When we did get back on the road the traffic had cleared up and we had a nice drive back.
Today was a great day! I left Tony to sleep and after some more school work I took Josie down to the pool. The outdoor pool was way too cold but the indoor pool was great and Josie and I swam laps and races for a while before I got out and dried off and she hit the spa. She had a great time down there, and I even managed to squeeze in a business teleconference. When we came back up she jumped in the bath for a while, while I made some lunch and woke up Tony. Then after lunch we went off to Pacific Fair so I could do some shopping. Managed to get myself a nice winter jacket, and Josie a whole bunch of long and short sleeved tops, a couple of dresses, a couple of skirts and a couple of tights, all of which were on sale! I had found that we are very lacking in winter gear this year so it was good to stock up on sale items! Tony, meanwhile managed to do some work, have lunch and then we came home. Before going up we all went to Cold Rock to stock up on ice-cream and then went up where Tony started preparing dinner for tomorrow night when Billy & family would be coming over for dinner.
And that's pretty much it for today! Sea world tomorrow! Woooo!
Mari
Yes the weather continues to amaze.
Thursday was a long day that started out with an hour drive to Brissy to see Jacqui and her new diggs. First we went to lunch by the river and had an awesome meal. Then we had some ice cream at MovenPick?! And then headed back to Jac's place. She is staying in a lovely apartment that managed to escape flood damage because it's on top of a hill in Toowong. She moved up to Brissy the day BEFORE the big floods! We hung around and chatted for a while before braving the traffic back to the Gold Coast. We of course managed to catch the worst of the traffic and it looked like it was going to be a three hour trip back, and then Josie started to complain about having to pee! It was all happening! At that point we were stuck on a bridge or freeway and couldn't get off either. We eventually managed to get out of the traffic and find a MacDonald's, of course.. I reckon Tony must have some homing mechanism for Maccas. So we had dinner at Maccas, Josie went to the loo and all was well with the world. When we did get back on the road the traffic had cleared up and we had a nice drive back.
Today was a great day! I left Tony to sleep and after some more school work I took Josie down to the pool. The outdoor pool was way too cold but the indoor pool was great and Josie and I swam laps and races for a while before I got out and dried off and she hit the spa. She had a great time down there, and I even managed to squeeze in a business teleconference. When we came back up she jumped in the bath for a while, while I made some lunch and woke up Tony. Then after lunch we went off to Pacific Fair so I could do some shopping. Managed to get myself a nice winter jacket, and Josie a whole bunch of long and short sleeved tops, a couple of dresses, a couple of skirts and a couple of tights, all of which were on sale! I had found that we are very lacking in winter gear this year so it was good to stock up on sale items! Tony, meanwhile managed to do some work, have lunch and then we came home. Before going up we all went to Cold Rock to stock up on ice-cream and then went up where Tony started preparing dinner for tomorrow night when Billy & family would be coming over for dinner.
And that's pretty much it for today! Sea world tomorrow! Woooo!
Mari
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Day 2-3 In Sunny Queensland
So on Tuesday morning off we went to Queensland. The drive was nice and short, comparatively, it rained a bit, and when we were about 30min out of the Gold Coast it really started to pour and the clouds rolled in and we had some spectacular lightning. We got in around 330pm, got into our room at Q1 and then went shopping.
Our room this time was not as good as we were used to. We have truly been spoilt by our Q1 experiences. This year the three bedroom was actually a two bedroom where the enclosed balcony was made into a third bedroom with a queen bed and curtains. But aside from that, and no dishwasher, it's all good. Lovely views of the river, And a bathtub to sink into :-) I am a happy camper.
So we went out shopping and bought up groceries for the week. And then Tony dropped me off at a nearby medical centre to get my eye checked out, while he took everything back to the room and put it away and fed the kid.
My eye was really bothering me by that stage. I didn't even need to sneeze or do anything to set it off. And it was so painful. So I waited to see the doctor for an hour or so, managed to check my work mail.. Finally went in and was told I had hit a nerve when when I hit the eye, a neuropathic nerve or something. The nerve that runs up and out from the top of the nasal bridge, and I had irritated the poor thing, and it was letting me know it was irritated. Poor diddums.
So he gave me a prescription for cortisone for three days, assured me it was safe in pregnancy, took my $70 and wished me a happy holiday.
After confirming with the pharmacist that the cortisone is safe in pregnancy, I filled my prescription, Tony picked me up and off back home we went. It was a horrible evening. Every time my eye exploded I felt more and more exhausted, and it was happening more and more often. After struggling through a couple of Smallvilles, I finally went to bed.
In the morning I took my first lot of cortisone, and within a few hours I was already feeling better!! Throughout the day I had another couple of eye explosions, but it was heaps better, thank god, and Category A drugs :-)
So Wednesday was a great day. I started the morning with doing schoolwork with Josie, and then we went to the Top One restaurant at Australia Fair for Yum Cha with Billy and Sam and Jess and Jakob. This was our first time meeting Jakob and omg he is so gorgeous!! Such an easy baby, I want one of those!! He was happy and sunny and went to anyone without a fuss. He sat and played on your lap or in the pram, there was no fuss at all!! I need one of THAT variety!
So Yum Cha was fab as usual, and afterwards off we went to Dreamworld.
The girls went on a bunch of rides, got their faces painted and we saw the new White Lion display, which was just amazing.. They built the enclosure so that there was a platform right above your head where the Lioness sat looking regally down at us. It was simply spectacular. An absolute highlight of the day. Then of course we went and saw the Tiger show, where Tony reacquainted himself with his pals Taj and Sia. The first time we came to see the tigers, Taj and Sia were 3month cubs and they were so so cute. So now every time we come, Tony goes and spends most of the time we have there with his pals.
By the time we left we were soooo tired, but the day was not done! off we went for dinner at the Jupiters Buffet. It was soooo yummy! We sat around chatting and catching up till well after 9pm before we finally went home with a very tired child. Billy and Sam went home with two very tired children so they trump us :-)
After getting home I jumped straight into the tub and soaked the tiredness away for a good hour or more.. With a view of the Gold Coast to entertain me. It was soooo lovely. After one episode of Smallvilles I collapsed in bed and slept till 9am!!
So now we are off to Brisbane to see Jacqui and her new digs, as she studies medicine up here. My eye seems to be all better today, which is fabulous! You don't know how awesome it is to be able to sneeze in peace!!
Mari
Our room this time was not as good as we were used to. We have truly been spoilt by our Q1 experiences. This year the three bedroom was actually a two bedroom where the enclosed balcony was made into a third bedroom with a queen bed and curtains. But aside from that, and no dishwasher, it's all good. Lovely views of the river, And a bathtub to sink into :-) I am a happy camper.
So we went out shopping and bought up groceries for the week. And then Tony dropped me off at a nearby medical centre to get my eye checked out, while he took everything back to the room and put it away and fed the kid.
My eye was really bothering me by that stage. I didn't even need to sneeze or do anything to set it off. And it was so painful. So I waited to see the doctor for an hour or so, managed to check my work mail.. Finally went in and was told I had hit a nerve when when I hit the eye, a neuropathic nerve or something. The nerve that runs up and out from the top of the nasal bridge, and I had irritated the poor thing, and it was letting me know it was irritated. Poor diddums.
So he gave me a prescription for cortisone for three days, assured me it was safe in pregnancy, took my $70 and wished me a happy holiday.
After confirming with the pharmacist that the cortisone is safe in pregnancy, I filled my prescription, Tony picked me up and off back home we went. It was a horrible evening. Every time my eye exploded I felt more and more exhausted, and it was happening more and more often. After struggling through a couple of Smallvilles, I finally went to bed.
In the morning I took my first lot of cortisone, and within a few hours I was already feeling better!! Throughout the day I had another couple of eye explosions, but it was heaps better, thank god, and Category A drugs :-)
So Wednesday was a great day. I started the morning with doing schoolwork with Josie, and then we went to the Top One restaurant at Australia Fair for Yum Cha with Billy and Sam and Jess and Jakob. This was our first time meeting Jakob and omg he is so gorgeous!! Such an easy baby, I want one of those!! He was happy and sunny and went to anyone without a fuss. He sat and played on your lap or in the pram, there was no fuss at all!! I need one of THAT variety!
So Yum Cha was fab as usual, and afterwards off we went to Dreamworld.
The girls went on a bunch of rides, got their faces painted and we saw the new White Lion display, which was just amazing.. They built the enclosure so that there was a platform right above your head where the Lioness sat looking regally down at us. It was simply spectacular. An absolute highlight of the day. Then of course we went and saw the Tiger show, where Tony reacquainted himself with his pals Taj and Sia. The first time we came to see the tigers, Taj and Sia were 3month cubs and they were so so cute. So now every time we come, Tony goes and spends most of the time we have there with his pals.
By the time we left we were soooo tired, but the day was not done! off we went for dinner at the Jupiters Buffet. It was soooo yummy! We sat around chatting and catching up till well after 9pm before we finally went home with a very tired child. Billy and Sam went home with two very tired children so they trump us :-)
After getting home I jumped straight into the tub and soaked the tiredness away for a good hour or more.. With a view of the Gold Coast to entertain me. It was soooo lovely. After one episode of Smallvilles I collapsed in bed and slept till 9am!!
So now we are off to Brisbane to see Jacqui and her new digs, as she studies medicine up here. My eye seems to be all better today, which is fabulous! You don't know how awesome it is to be able to sneeze in peace!!
Mari
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
And We're Off!
So off went went yesterday on our big adventure. Well not so big, but exciting nonetheless.
We left for Coffs Harbour around 11am yesterday, car loaded, child loaded and the cats prepared (physically but not emotionally). It wasn't an epic a drive as Wisemans Ferry (for those who know that story, for those that don't, check the blog from March 2008), but it was fairly long. And I hate to say it, but thank god for Telstra. When Tony got the iPad 2 he signed up for a month on Telstra for the data, to see what it's like, and well it shits the pants off Three. We had data coverage almost the entire way, even in the middle of nowhere. And even when it lost signal, it picked it up again within a few minutes, literally. In comparison, I sit here in Coffs Harbour with absolutely no Three coverage at all, and only the free hotel wifi to save me.
So anyway, the drive was good, long but good. I emailed, I facebooked, I napped, I played secretary to Tony while he drove and I typed out his work email as he dictated.. It actually went quickly. Towards the end I started to feel the lower back pain. I've always been perfectly happy in the car for hours. I can live in the car, and I love napping in the car. But this time I was expecting the lower back pain because of the pregnancy and it didn't disappoint. But it was only in the last hour or so so that was good..
Oh and I have another ailment. The other night we were out at friends having dinner and you know when you are laughing really hard and you laugh with your whole head? Well I was laughing, I was laughing so hard that I swung my head down, full force, onto the corner of the Tasmanian Oak hard(hard)wood chair next to me. It connected with the corner of my right eye socket. It hurt. It hurt for a while, but then it was ok.. That was Saturday night. Sunday it felt a bit bruised but only to the touch. Monday morning I sneezed and OMG. It felt like my eye ball was going to explode. It didn't help that I am feeling a cold coming on. So now every time I sneeze, yawn or in any way put pressure on my eye, I get about 4-5seconds of intense sharp pain from the corner of my eyeball that radiates outward and then releases. It's fun. Not.
So we got to Coffs around 7pm, and to our nice surprise we found that the hotel had upgraded us to one of their suites. It's a small hotel so it's not like it's a 'suite' suite, but it is a bigger bathroom and the bedroom has two massive windows that look out at the water. It's lovely.
We brought up some of our stuff, had dinner, put the child to sleep and then watched a few episodes of Smallville which Tony brought on the laptop and then managed some elaborate setup with the laptop, the iPad and some cables. I didn't get any of it, but was impressed nonetheless.
The sleep was comfy and I am now up and blogging, waiting for the man of the house to wake up so we can get going to the Gold Coast :-)
I will try and blog each day :-)
Mari
We left for Coffs Harbour around 11am yesterday, car loaded, child loaded and the cats prepared (physically but not emotionally). It wasn't an epic a drive as Wisemans Ferry (for those who know that story, for those that don't, check the blog from March 2008), but it was fairly long. And I hate to say it, but thank god for Telstra. When Tony got the iPad 2 he signed up for a month on Telstra for the data, to see what it's like, and well it shits the pants off Three. We had data coverage almost the entire way, even in the middle of nowhere. And even when it lost signal, it picked it up again within a few minutes, literally. In comparison, I sit here in Coffs Harbour with absolutely no Three coverage at all, and only the free hotel wifi to save me.
So anyway, the drive was good, long but good. I emailed, I facebooked, I napped, I played secretary to Tony while he drove and I typed out his work email as he dictated.. It actually went quickly. Towards the end I started to feel the lower back pain. I've always been perfectly happy in the car for hours. I can live in the car, and I love napping in the car. But this time I was expecting the lower back pain because of the pregnancy and it didn't disappoint. But it was only in the last hour or so so that was good..
Oh and I have another ailment. The other night we were out at friends having dinner and you know when you are laughing really hard and you laugh with your whole head? Well I was laughing, I was laughing so hard that I swung my head down, full force, onto the corner of the Tasmanian Oak hard(hard)wood chair next to me. It connected with the corner of my right eye socket. It hurt. It hurt for a while, but then it was ok.. That was Saturday night. Sunday it felt a bit bruised but only to the touch. Monday morning I sneezed and OMG. It felt like my eye ball was going to explode. It didn't help that I am feeling a cold coming on. So now every time I sneeze, yawn or in any way put pressure on my eye, I get about 4-5seconds of intense sharp pain from the corner of my eyeball that radiates outward and then releases. It's fun. Not.
So we got to Coffs around 7pm, and to our nice surprise we found that the hotel had upgraded us to one of their suites. It's a small hotel so it's not like it's a 'suite' suite, but it is a bigger bathroom and the bedroom has two massive windows that look out at the water. It's lovely.
We brought up some of our stuff, had dinner, put the child to sleep and then watched a few episodes of Smallville which Tony brought on the laptop and then managed some elaborate setup with the laptop, the iPad and some cables. I didn't get any of it, but was impressed nonetheless.
The sleep was comfy and I am now up and blogging, waiting for the man of the house to wake up so we can get going to the Gold Coast :-)
I will try and blog each day :-)
Mari
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