A pretty casual day around KL

This morning we had breakfast at home and then Tara and I walked over to KLCC in time for our nail appointment. Sonja met us over there and we all began a couple of hours of pampering. We opted for the cinnamon and pumpkin masque treatment with the heated booties. It was great!

Sonja headed off with Emma and Maddie to go see Inglourious Basterds. Tara and I wandered around KLCC for a while looking in the Petronas Gallery exhibition. We had some lunch at The Apartment before picking up a couple of things from the supermarket before walking home.

Later in the afternoon, Tara and I took Eddie over to the park as JB was not feeling well. We spent an hour or so over there watching Eddie play on the equipment before heading home. We rang up the Magnificent Fish and Chip Place and ordered some fish and chips for dinner. Ross and I drove up and picked it up. It took forever because the traffic was so bad!

We ate our fish and chips and watched MILK before heading off to bed.

The Bartons arrive

This morning I woke up a bit foggy but OK considering. I dropped Ross off at work then came home to sort out the house before the Bartons arrived today. Just after 12 I set off for the airport to pick them up.

I managed to get lost in Cyberjaya but finally found my way to the airport. I loitered in the car park for ages without being able to find a space so I drove back outside and parked illegally just to find out if their flight had landed yet. Looks like it was delayed. So I jumped back in the car and headed for the car park again. This time I begged the guys sitting at the entrance to the staff car park to let me in - which they did.

I waited a while but finally Tara and Eddie came out! Soon after JB with all the luggage also appeared. It was great to see them! We packed up the car and headed home. When we got there, Daisy and the other cleaning ladies were there so we dropped off the stuff and walked over to the park to let them clean the house.

Ross came home about 5 and we ordered pasta for dinner and watched The Dark Knight before heading to bed. As you can see from the photo, Eddie made the most of the rocking camel.

Netball night out

This morning, I headed over to Pavillion to go to the gym. I hadn't been there for a few months! I worked out on the cross trainer for 30 minutes before moving to some of the weight machines - chest, shoulders and back. I did about half an hour of weights before spending another 20 minutes stretching. It felt really good!

Back at home I had a shower in time for Annie our landlord to come with her workmen to look at the leak in the dining room ceiling. Ross came home to be there too and they cut a hole and saw that water was leaking from the bathroom above. So they are going to fix that then patch all the holes and paint the entire apartment.

I dropped Ross and work and then headed to the chiropractor. Nick did the usual adjustment and I was out pretty quickly. I had a little bit of time to kill before going to my hair appointment so I popped around to see Julia.

I drove back to Pavillion and parked the car before walking up to Lot 10 in time for my appointment at Tony and Guy. I had booked the artistic director, Gary, as I have finally worked out you get what you pay for with hair dressers. He was really good, listened to what I wanted and did a great cut and colour. I walked out with a fresh lease on life.

Back home, I had enough time to shower and start getting ready for the netball night out. Ross headed to the gym and then we drove to Julia's place. Her friend Chintzia was going to drive us over to Bangsar. We met up with the rest of the girls at Chutney Mary's, an Indian restaurant. Sam had organized pink champagne and we enjoyed a great meal with great company.

A few of the girls left after dinner and some of us headed to The Social for a drink. The Social was a bit dead so more people left and then we headed onto a dodgy nightclub called School Bus. Julia and I stayed dancing and drinking with Sam, Marnie and Olivia until about 1.30 when we decided to head home. The taxi dropped Julia off first and I finally got home about 2. A good night out!

Back to beading lessons

This morning I had to catch a taxi out to PJ to go to my beading lessons because Ross needed the car to get to Ipoh (3 hours away). He had a meeting with the Dean of the university out there. I got to my lesson ok and caught up on the couple of projects I missed while I was in Aus. I finished the Desert Rose broach and the Gypsy Necklace.

From beading, I walked back to the main road and caught a taxi to Ikano. I made an appointment at Strip and then went and had some lunch at the Apartment. I took a table outside but within a few minutes had to move inside as the heaven's opened and I was getting wet! I enjoyed my lunch and finished just in time to go to my waxing appointment.

After waxing, I walked over the road and had a Starbucks while waiting for the bus to take me to the train station so I could get home. I also picked up some more containers for my beads and a quick bit of shopping before it was time to catch the bus.

A half hour bus ride and a half hour train journey and I was back at KLCC. I rang Ross to see if he could pick me up as I was exhausted. After we got home, we relaxed for about half an hour before I started to make dinner. I thought I would use all the leftovers from yesterday and the roast we had on Sunday to make a quiche. I even made the pastry from scratch! It turned out really well with pumpkin, corn, caramalised onion, goats cheese and camembert.

We ate the quiche (which actually took ages to cook as I had to chill, roll out, chill then blind bake the pastry before even cooking the quiche) and then made the most of the left over scones and cake.

Morning Tea with the girls

This morning I was up early doing some last minute things to get ready for the morning tea. Sonja came over just before 10 and then Debbie arrived not long after. Rimma and her sister-in-law Michelle arrived next followed by Lettie and then Kiki.

I hadn't seen a lot of the girls for a long time - it was great to catch up. Debbie hadn't met any of the other girls before so we spent the morning chatting, eating and drinking. I also showed the girls my beading so I could get their feedback. They gave me some good ideas. About 12, everyone slowly started to head off home. It was a great morning and made me realise that I should catch up with these girls more often.

After I cleaned up, I spent the rest of the afternoon doing some more beading. Ross came home about 6 and we got changed and headed to KDE for our golf lesson with Eric. It was such a great lesson! Eric showed Ross a couple of things to change and before you knew it, he was hitting the balls further and consistently straighter. Same with me! He sorted out my posture and then I was back in the swing of things. Ross and I both agreed it was great to be back at lessons.

From golf, we drove up the road to Tamarind Springs and although we weren't really dressed for the occasion, we had dinner at the Thai/ Malaysian restaurant. We were both so hungry and it was so good!

We drove home, showered and pretty much went to bed.

Prep for tomorrow - 300th Post!

This morning we walked FRIM as usual. Sonja and I did the canopy part while Julia walked the flat path and waited for us at the waterfall. After breakfast at Blue Cow, we did a bit of shopping in Plaza Damas (where my visa card was eaten by an ATM machine!) and then headed home.

I had a quick shower and walked over to KLCC in time for my dermatologists appointment at 12. My wart had come back so he froze it again and I also asked him about the scars on my leg from the folliculitis. He gave me some cream for them and asked me to come back in two weeks. I made nail appointments for Tara and I for Saturday, did a bit of shopping (I bought some jeans and a handbag) before walking home.

Back at home, I text Sonja and she came over to help me cook some things for tomorrow's morning tea. We made mini quiches (smoked salmon, dill, camembert and caramlised onion with rosemary and goats cheese), scones (both plain and fruit) and also a zucchini loaf. It was great having Sonja there as it definitely took less time!

We were supposed to have a golf lesson tonight but Ross wasn't feeling well and I was pretty tired from everything to day so we changed it to tomorrow and ordered a pizza from California Pizza Kitchen. We spent the rest of the night on the couch watching mindless TV.

A good Sunday

Today got off to a pretty lazy start. Both Ross and I slothed around the house until midday before finally getting organized to do something. We drove over to Pavillion and had some sushi for lunch before going up to the Canon shop to look at new digital cameras.

From Pavillion we walked to Lot 10 and had a look in a few stores and I tried on a couple of dresses from Impa-nema - just gorgeous. They were the same brand that I had seen in Hanoi which I loved.

We walked back to Pavillion and then drove out to Great Eastern Mall to do some shopping and to pick up my contact lenses. Back at home, we busied ourselves getting a roast chicken ready for dinner. Yum! We had so many veggies - it was so good! After dinner we just relaxed and listened to music. I did some more beading.

Finally getting down to beading

This morning, I cooked eggs with feta, basil and mushrooms for breakfast to surprise Ross who was still asleep. After breakfast, we got ready and headed out to Great Eastern Mall so I could buy some contact lenses. Although we got there at 10.15, hardly any of the shops were open - including the optometrist!

So being unsuccessful there, we drove to Sungai Long Golf and Country Club where Ross was playing the in the Baker Hughes Golf Tournament. Thank god for GPS! It actually wasn't that far but it was in an area that we had never been before.

I dropped Ross off about 11am and then rang Julia to see if she was home. I had some time to kill before my chiropractor appointment at 12.30 so I went around to Julia's place to catch up before heading to my appointment.

At the chiropractor it was super busy! They called me in and I laid down with a heat pack on my back before going in to see Nick. Once I got in for my appointment, Nick did the same adjustments as last time and I was out again within 15 minutes! I saw his assistant afterwards who fitted my trainers with some orthodics - wow, they make a big difference.

From Mont Kiara, I drove back to Great Eastern to try and pick up my contacts again. This time I was in luck. I finally got home about 2.30pm. I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening beading. I had wanted to see if I could copy some earrings that I had bought so I worked at making 5 pairs of earrings - I was happy that I could make them all!

Ross got home about 11.30 just as I was packing up my beading stuff. He'd had quite a few beers! We pretty much fell into bed.

Final root canal! Yay!!

This morning I headed to Dr. Tan for my last root canal treatment. Today, he cleaned out the canals again, checked their lengths with an X-ray and then packed them with rubber before filling the tooth ready for my crown. It took about an hour and a half and although it wasn't necessarily painful, there was a lot of pushing and pulling as he packed the rubber down into the canals. But at least it is all finished!

From the dentist, I drove over to Mid-Valley to buy some cleaning stuff and also do a quick bit of grocery shopping. Before I started with all that, I had some brunch at Delicious - spicy zucchini spaghettini. After doing the shopping, I got home about 2.

Daisy and Sheila were cleaning the house when I arrived. I spent the afternoon sorting out my beads (still!) before Ross came home about 5. We spent some time cooking a spinach and paneer curry for dinner. I had bought some mixed rice and grains which we mixed in with ordinary brown rice - it was so good!

We spent the night chatting over dinner and a beautiful bottle of Adelaide Hills Shiraz. It was a great Friday night!

Beads, beads and more beads!

This morning I did a few things around the house before walking down to the train station to catch the train to Chinatown. I got out there about 11 and went in search of the bead stores that the girls in my beading class had been talking about.

I came across one store that sold strings of semi-precious stones. I asked the lady if she did wholesale prices and she said yes. The price came down to one quarter of the retail! But the catch was I had to buy quite a bit. I ended up with strands of red agate, carnelian, garnet, lava stone (basalt), shell, bloodstone, black onyx and a few others.

From there, I had a look in one of the other bead stores up the road. I didn't find anything to my liking there so I walked back to Peter Ho for some lunch and a look around. I made it before the lunch hour, expat lady rush and managed to snag a piece of Chinese mushroom and tomato quiche - so good.

After a bit of a look around Peter Ho, I walked back down the street to find some more beading stores. I found one that sold Chinese crystals and went a bit nuts buying 22 strands of various colours and sizes. I also bought some headpins with little balls at the end of them - a bit different from the normal ones - and some ring frames.

The lady told me they also had another store and she took me over there where I filled up my basket with various findings - earring charms, chain, earring hooks and other bits and pieces. By this time, I was pretty much done.

I caught the train back to KLCC and then walked under cover back to the house. Again, I got home just in time before the storm. It pelted down! I had a bit of a break before having to head out in the rain to go to my chiropractor appointment.

I finally got in to see Nick the chiropractor. We talked for a bit about my lower back pain and shoulder pain. He asked me to stand up and he had a look at my feet. Immediately, he could see that my right foot had collapsed making my foot collapse in and therefore my alignment was out from my foot all the way up to my neck.

Next he checked my spine and said that I have a little bit of scoliosis - which I think I knew anyway - and also a pronounced curve in my spine. He asked me to lay down on the bed and he did some simple stretching and massaging before strapping my feet to the table. He then made the table go and and down at my hip level. This stretched my back again.

Next he did some manual adjustments (i.e. cracking) to my lower vertebrate and my neck. It was freaky how easily everything cracked. I stood up and felt a bit "lighter". Nick said that I should really come in twice a week for 6 weeks to get things aligned properly again. He also said that I should bring in my trainers so he can fit orthodics to help correct my collapsed arch in my right foot.

So I made an appointment for Saturday and drove home in peak hour traffic. I messed about with my new beads while waiting for Ross to come home. We made a chicken salad for dinner and then watched Transformers.

Not much doing today

This morning Sonja and I drove out to FRIM. Julia couldn't make it today so Sonja and I trudged up the canopy walk - it was not easy today! I had to be back at the apartment by 10 so we skipped breakfast and headed home.

At 10, repairmen came to fix the water heater and also our land lord Annie came with the Stonor maintenance guy to look at the water damage through the roof in the dining room. Not good. Ross came home too to talk to Annie about the damage.

I drove Ross back to work and did a couple more things around the house. I booked appointments with the chiropractor and dermatologist and also rang Singapore to find out if they could send me some more of the supplements that the naturopath prescribed.

In the afternoon, I walked over to KLCC and had a manicure and pedicure. They used a mint masque on my feet and then put on the heated booties. My feet felt really weird - kind hot and cold at the same time. I walked out feeling a lot lighter and cleaner.

I walked home just in time to miss the storm. I did some more laundry before Ross got home. We changed and headed out to the driving range. We hadn't been out there in months but Ross has a golf tournament on Saturday so he wanted a bit of a practice.

I was a bit nervous about swinging the club again because I was not doing so well last time. But tonight I didn't do too bad. Not great but not too bad. After slogging 100 balls each, we drove to KLCC for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen before ducking to get Ross some golf supplies and then heading home.

We showered, had some berries and yoghurt and headed to bed.

Getting on top of things again

This morning, I finally unpacked my suitcase. I sorted out all the laundry and then had a blitz on the bedroom and bathroom completely tidying things up and chucking stuff out. I also managed to get downstairs in time to do some shopping at the grocery van.

Before I knew it, it was lunchtime. After lunch, I started on the computers, updating them with Norton 360 and running any Windows updates that were needed. Daisy and her girls came in to clean the apartment. It was good to see Daisy again after so long. She has now left Butlers and Groomers and started up her own business.

I messed about some more in the afternoon before giving Sonja a ring and going over to her place. I had some old nail polishes and a curling iron that I thought Maddie might like and also some gifts that I had bought them from Aus. Brian's mum Vicki was there also.

Back at home, I waited for Ross and we cooked up salmon and grilled veg for dinner. We played backgammon on the balcony for a while before heading to bed.

Tonight's photo is of the "Oval" across the road. I took it during the storm that we had tonight so the sky was lit up by lightning.

Back to the old routine

This morning, I met Sonja downstairs and we made our way out to FRIM. Julia is on the Atkins diet so her energy level was a bit lower than normal. Instead of doing the canopy climb, we did two laps of the less steep path.

We went back to the Blue Cow for breakfast. I went all out and had poached eggs, bacon, mushrooms and hash browns - yum! By the time we finally got home, it was almost midday. I had a bit of lunch before heading back out to Julia's place to spend the afternoon with her in the pool.

We lazed around for a few hours before heading back to her place where she got organized and we drove back into town where we were going to meet up with Phil, Ross, Sonja and Brian and go out for dinner.

The boys came home about 6 and Sonja and Brian dropped over shortly afterwards and we had a drink together before walking over to the Pavillion for dinner at the new German restaurant - Brauhaus.

The manager came over and talked us through the dishes. The restaurant had only been open 10 days. We all enjoyed our meals, except Ross' ribs were a bit light on for meat. It was great to be back with the 'gang' again!

We walked back and then Ross and I drove Julia and Phil home. A great day with great friends.

Back home

This morning, Ross and I woke up about 8 and headed out straight away to walk up at FRIM. On the drive out there, we noticed the big lake just before the final turn off to go to FRIM. We decided to go and have a look. As it turns out, there was a huge walking and bike path around the outside.

Ross and I walked around the lake which must have been a good 3 1/2 km. It was a good walk as there were a lot of changes in elevation along the track. There were a lot of other people out walking and riding their bikes.

After our walk we headed to Marmalade for breakfast - yum! From there we headed home. We spent a bit of time relaxing at home (actually we both had a nap!) before Sonja rang to say that her and Brian were heading over to Santini's. Ross and I walked over to KLCC to meet up with them.

It was so great to see Brian again! I gave him a hug with a lot of caution! He looked pretty good considering what he has been through. We had a drink and some food with them before going our separate ways. We walked back home.

Later in the afternoon, we drove over to Changkat Bukit Bintang for dinner and a massage. We ate at the Fish and Chip restaurant - Ross had the roast lamb and I had grilled butterfish. From there we headed to the Thai massage place and had an hour foot massage - a great way to end a good day! We drove home and pretty much headed straight to bed.

Today's photo is of Ross and I at the fish and chip place. Dee - you will note I am wearing my Gorman dress I bought with you in Melbourne!

A day in Perth before heading home

Well, this morning was an early start. We left the house at 5.15 to get to the airport on time to make my 6.30 am flight to Perth. At the airport, I had to pay $10 for 1kg of extra baggage but I didn't think that was too bad. As Dad and I were going through the scanners, the Virgin check-in guy came running up to give me my passport wallet - thank god he did otherwise I would not know what to do!

By the time we got through, the plane was pretty much ready to board so we headed to the gate and I said goodbye to Dad. The flight was pretty painless and I enjoyed my yoghurt and blueberries that I managed to smuggle on board :-)

We arrived 45 minutes early in Perth so I sat myself in Dome and had a coffee while waiting for Lisa to pick me up. It was already hot by the time we left the airport at 7.30. It was so nice to see her again and also Colin and Alita who had turned 1 not too long ago. Lisa's other daughter Ashlee was at her grandparents place.

We chatted for a while and played with Alita before heading out for brunch at one of the cafes in the Swan Valley. It was an awesome breakfast! And the weather was great for sitting outside - not too hot yet. Colin took Alita home and Lisa and I went to have a look at a few galleries around the Swan Valley.

At one gallery, this guy was making 3D art out of stainless steel. It was quite amazing! As you walked from left to right past a piece, the landscape or patterns seemed to jump off the metal. Incredible! But definitely out of our price range with nothing under $4000.

We also went to an Aboriginal gallery and I picked up some gifts for Sonja and Brian. By this time it was so hot - 36 - so we decided to go home. We sat chatting for a bit longer, I took another shower and then we headed back to the airport for my flight back to KL.

Lisa came in with me and we sat chatting again at Dome before it was time for me to board. I said goodbye to Lisa and headed through immigration.

On the plane, I ended up sitting next to a Belgian lady. Although she had lived in Perth for 38 years, she still had a strong Belgian accent. I normally don't talk to people on planes and prefer to listen to my iPod and read a book but from the second I sat down, we were chatting away about everything from organic food to the oil industry. We talked non-stop for 5 hours! The only break we had was when she went to the bathroom! It did make the flight go quicker though.

Back in KL, I was so happy to see Ross again. We drove home and I pretty much collapsed into bed after my 21 hour day. So great to be home.

Today's photo is of sunrise over the wing on the plane to Perth.

Last day in Adelaide

This morning, I headed back to Michelle at the naturopath to see my progress. She did the same tests as the first time that I went to see her. We talked for a bit about how things were going for me on the diet. I told her it was all going really well although I was glad to finish the green drink last night!!

She took me through the results of the tests. I had lost 2 kg since the first time I saw her two weeks ago but I guess this is not surprising considering I had cut out all sugar and wasn't really eating too much. My toxin levels had decreased and she was really pleased with this. She had expected them to be higher than last time as the toxins come out of my organs into my body but apparently my liver and kidneys have been doing a good job eliminating them - I was pretty happy with that! My water levels were also looking better - as they should since I'm drinking 3L a day!

So she gave me a tablet to help support my kidneys to get rid of the rest of the toxins (this replaces the drink). She also gave me all the information on how to order more supplements if needed. We said we would keep in touch by email and that I could email or call her anytime. So overall it was a great experience. I really do feel healthy and I definitely have more energy.

After I got home, I picked up Dad and we drove to Wayville showgrounds to go and have a look at the Home Show. It was $12 to get in and neither of us had enough money to cover both tickets! Dad paid for his ($9 for pensioners :-)) while I waited for him to get money from the ATM. Anyway, we finally got in and walked around. Lots of water tanks and solar panels - and not much else! So much for a home show! It was a complete rip off - we ended up paying $21 + $6 for parking for nothing!!

So we left in disgust and drove into town. We parked at Harris Scarfes and then walked to the Central Markets for some lunch. It is always so nice to be in amongst all the hustle and bustle and great food! After lunch, we walked back to the car and headed home.

I packed up my suitcases and panicked a bit about being over my luggage allowance so I had to leave one of the sets of sheets that I bought behind for Dad to bring up with him to Brisbane. I had a bit of time to finish reading Mao's Last Dancer so I could leave it behind for Dad.

About 5.30, we drove over to the Marryatville Hotel for dinner with Stan, Kate, Josh and Luke. We arrived a bit early and had a drink at the bar before Stan arrived straight from work. We joined him at the table and before long Kate and the boys arrived also. We enjoyed a great dinner. It was so nice just chatting with good friends. It was nice to see Josh again too. We hardly saw Luke as they had free video games - which was where he spent most of his time.

We left about 9.30 and headed home so I could get to bed to have some sleep before tomorrow's early start!

Today's photo is actually a photo from yesterday of Dad driving his new car off the lot!

Dad gets his new car and Patrick turns 1!

This morning I didn't do too much and about 10.30, Dad and I headed over to Sefton Plaza to run a few errands. They had rung up to say that Dad's car was ready so we went to get a bank cheque from CPS for the remainder of the amount owing. We also dropped off the last bit of paperwork for Dad's pension payments and he should receive his first payment on Monday! Pretty quick!

I ducked into to Target to find a present for Patrick who was turning 1. We bought him a cloth book and some bath toys. From Sefton Plaza, we drove over to Stillwell Hyundai to see Ron about Dad's car. It was almost ready, they just had to do the window tinting and a final inspection before Dad could pick it up. So we finalized all the paperwork and Ron said that it will be ready to pick up at 5.

After that, I dropped Dad home and headed over to Kate's place again to pick her up to go see a movie. We went to see "Julie and Julia" at the Chelsea Cinemas. I had forgotten how nice those cinemas are. There was talk that they were going to be shut down and there is an action group that is helping raise funds to keep it alive.

As for the movie, Meryl Streep was fantastic. She played the quirky Julia Childs character so well. The actual plot of the movie was a bit boring but it was still a nice movie to go and see. Definitely a chick flick. Afterwards, I dropped Kate home, picked up Dad and we went to Stillwell again to pick up his car.

It was pretty exciting driving a brand new car off the lot! I think it may take Dad a while to get used to the fact that he has a new car and also get used to driving a manual again. From the ca yard, we drove straight over to David and Donna's for dinner to celebrate Patrick's first birthday. It was the first time that I have seen David this trip and he was doing really well. Patrick was up and about and wasn't quite sure what to make of his birthday. Donna's parents, Andrea and Gary also dropped over to see the birthday boy.

In a couple of weeks, Timothy and Annabelle turn 10 - amazing! I left a couple of cards with Donna for them too. It was so nice to catch up with them all again - what great friends! It's amazing to think I have known David and Donna for over 20 years!

I drove the new Getz home and Dad and I both headed straight to bed. I spoke with Ross for a while before finally getting to sleep.

A day of luxury!

This morning I woke up and drove over to Kate's place in time for us to go to the spa for our three hour "romance package". We arrived at Nourish and were given peppermint tea before being shown to the couples treatment room where I would have a massage first and Kate the facial.

Chris did the massage and was wonderful. It was nice just to have a relaxing massage for once rather than a full on deep muscle massage. He still managed to work on a few sore spots. Half way through, Chris switched with Kelly who had finished Kate's facial and now moved onto mine. The products that they used were beautiful! All organic and the facial was very relaxing and nourishing.

After the two hours, both Kate and I were in dream land. We donned our togs and robes and were shown outside to the sauna and jacuzzi. Despite being a miserable day outside, we felt pretty warm after the massage so although everything was out in the open, we didn't feel cold. We jumped into the sauna first to work up a sweat and get our core body temperatures up before moving to the jacuzzi where a fruit platter and bottle of champagne were waiting for us (the romance bit of the romance package!). So we lazed about in the bubbly warm water eating fruit and a few squares of chocolate and enjoying our champage.

I think we were in there for well over an hour as it was 1.30 by the time we got out. We got changed and said goodbye to Chris before walking down the road to The Black Olive for some lunch and to walk off the effects of the champagne! We enjoyed a healthy lunch and we both felt really relaxed and warm despite the gale forced winds outside.

I dropped Kate back to her house and headed home. I pretty much walked in the door, crawled into bed and started reading my book. Before long I was asleep. I slept for a good hour or more before waking up in time to get ready for dinner. About 5.30, we drove up to the Tea Tree Gully Hotel to meet up with Anne and Kristie for dinner.

It was great to see them again. Kristie is 5 months pregnant and as cute as a button although she says she feels as big as a house (so not true!). We caught up over a great dinner and coffees afterwards before heading home about 9. We watched a bit more TV before heading to bed.

A wet and windy day in Melbourne

This morning Dee woke up in time to go to her yoga class while I lazed around in bed reading my book until 11. It was just too miserable outside to contemplate getting up! I managed to have a shower before Dee came home and we had breakfast together and then pretty much spent the rest of the day on the couch watching daytime TV and episodes of Flight of the Conchords.

About 3.30, we left for the airport. Dee had to start work at 4.30, so we had a coffee before she started her shift. I headed down to the boarding gate where I saw Dee again not long afterwards as she was the cabin supervisor on my flight back to Adelaide.

Dee had briefed her crew and amongst other things, told them that she had a friend on board in seat 23 "Charlie" and that if they were serving me, they should just call me C-dog. About half way through the flight, one of the crew, Jeremy comes up and says 'How is your flight going today C-dog?" I pissed myself laughing! I told him that he had obviously been chatting with D-dog and so we chatted for a while before he had to get back to work.

Dee threw in the usual gag over the intercom as she was giving her instructions for departing the aircraft "Please watch out for the items in the overhead lockers as they may have moved during the flight and if you are traveling with small children please make sure you take them with you". There was a brief second of silence as people processed what she said and then a lot of laughter. Ah, an oldie but a goodie!

On the way out, I said goodbye to my new mates J-dog (Jeremy) and S-dog (Steve) the other two crew and made my way up the plane to be the last passenger off so I could say goodbye to Dee. We hugged goodbye in the crew galley before I headed off to meet my Dad. The weather was miserable in Adelaide as it had been in Melbourne so we headed home, curled up on the couch and watched TV.

I had a great time in Melbourne catching up with Dee and her friends! Hope we can catch up again some time soon.

Hitting Chapel Street

Dee and I woke up about 9 and headed to Carlisle Street for an awesome breakfast at Las Chicas. Dee recommended the Baked Bean Brekky which was a poached egg on pumpkin polenta bread with home made baked beans. Yum!

From there we drove down to Chapel Street. Our first stop was Lulu Lemon, a groovy yoga clothes store. I went a little nuts and walked out with three workout tops, one pair of crop pants and one pair of full length yoga pants. A pretty good start to our shopping expedition!

We drove further down the street and then wandered up and down Chapel Street. I bought a present for Ross in one of the stores then we continued on down the street looking at the cute boutiques. We stopped at one of Dee's favourite stores, Gorman, and we both walked out with dresses.

We had worked up quite a thirst so we stopped in for a herbal tea (a bit different to our usual cocktails!). We continued on our way for a bit longer. I stopped into Rebel Sport and picked up a few more things. By this time we were exhausted.

On the way home, we picked up some shopping for dinner with the girls tonight. Back at Dee's place, we had a quick bite to eat, relaxed for a while and then started preparing dinner. We had tried to get a whole fish but ended up with fillets of rockling. We made up individual packets for each person with lemongrass, chilli, garlic, ginger, spring onion and fried shallots. Dee made an Asian coleslaw and I made Thai potato salad. Dee also stir fried some greens.

Dee's friends Kendra, Lydall and Anna came over and Dee's housemate Nana was there also. We spent the night chatting, eating the great food and watching a dodgy youtube video of Arni in Rio (very funny!). It was a great night - so nice to see Dee's mates again, great girls!

Off to Melbourne

Dad and I walked down to the cafe this morning for breakfast. After brekky we walked around the lakes and then headed back to the house. I spent the rest of the morning trying to get organized for Melbourne and also sort through the stuff in my room.

Once I was packed, I laid on my bed and read more of my book before having a shower and then heading to the airport. I was on a standby flight but I got a boarding pass easily. Dad and I had a coffee while we waited for my flight to board. I hugged Dad goodbye and headed to Melbourne.

I landed about 5pm and headed to the bar to have a drink and wait for Dee to finish work at 5.30. Dee picked me up and we drove home to her place. On the way, we drove down Acland Street and ran into her friend Kendra having a drink at one of the cafes with a couple of her friends. We drove home, got changed and headed back out to meet Kendra and her mates.

We chatted, had some dinner and a couple of drinks then parted ways. Dee and I headed home to her place to put on our PJs, watch some crap TV and catch up on things since last time I saw her. We were in bed reasonably early. It's nice to see a good friend again!

Dad's new car!

Both Dad and I slept in late this morning. Dad didn't wake up until 10 - unheard of for him! I had some breakfast and then we headed out to go car shopping for Dad. We started off at Hyundai as the Getz was on the top of Dad's list.

Ron, the Hyundai dealer, showed us the various models and we took one for a test drive. It was amazing how many features they included in such a small car - ABS brakes, power windows and mirrors, MP3 player connection and Bluetooth, 5 year warranty, volume controls on the steering wheel, leather wrapped steering wheel and gear shift, and the back seats not only fold down but they fold up again to make a huge back space area which is completely flat.

On the test drive, it was really nice to drive. Quiet and pretty zippy especially considering that we drove the 1.4L and Dad was interested in the 1.6L. The drive away price was $15380 but when we sat down with Ron and we did the numbers, the price came down to $14500 which included window tinting. Pretty good!

Although we were pretty sure that this was the car for Dad, we thought we should go and have a look at a couple of other dealers. We drove out to KIA and Suzuki but neither of them could match what the Getz was offering.

We went and had some lunch at Mawson Lakes and Dad made up his mind to buy the Getz. We drove back to Hyundai and sat down with Ron to do the paperwork. Dad wanted the metallic green colour and Ron said it would take probably a week to have it delivered.

We drove home pretty happy! I dropped Dad off and then headed up to Tea Tree Plaza to look around the shops. I didn't find anything so I drove home, changed into my workout gear and then walked around the lakes three times while the sun was still shining.

In the evening, we walked across to Blockbuster and borrowed Angels and Demons on DVD. Dad cooked us a stir fry and we settled in for the movie. Pretty good but a bit predictable.

I'm really happy for Dad getting his new car - it was a good day!

Out for dinner with Val

This morning I didn't do too much. I ran a few errands and then popped over to catch up with Donna before headeding home. At Donna's place, I met the newest addition to the family - Maggie (short for Magpie because she is black and white!). How cute is she! Only 8 weeks old, she came from a Border Collie breeder on Kangaroo Island. She is just adorable!

I spent the afternoon curled up on my bed reading Mao's Last Dancer. After seeing the movie, I thought it would be good to read the book. So far, it is pretty good - obviously there is a lot more detail than was in the movie and also it is nice because it is actually written in Li's own words.

We were going out for dinner with Val so around 5, he drove up to Elizabeth North and picked her up. On their way back, they picked me up and we drove over to the Maylands Hotel (again :-)). We had a drink in the front bar before heading through to the dining room for dinner. As usual, the food was fantastic but my only criticism would be that everything that comes out is smothered with sauce. I had salmon with potatoes and it was drown in a garlic cream sauce - far too much.

We chatted over dinner and Dad and Val each had sticky date pudding for dessert. I, of course, had my skim decaf cappuccino and no dessert as I am still on my detox diet. After dinner, we drove Val home and headed home ourselves. It was nice to catch up with Val again.

A really good day in Adelaide

This morning I went back to the naturopath to find out the results of my iridology analysis. When Michelle brought up the photos of my eyes I was struck again by how beautiful the human eye really is. She took me through the images and pointed out brown splotches which indicated a build up of toxins in certain areas in my body. She also pointed out a whitish area which indicated that my kidneys were irritated and the top of my iris above the pupil was a bit murky indicating problems with digestion.

She also mentioned that the shape of my pupils indicated that I have problems with my shoulders - but she did say that she was no pupil expert! So we talked through these things and also the questionaire I filled out relating to stress and anxiety. She asked me to stay on the detox diet for one more week and prescribed two other herbal supplements - one general one that will work on shifting the toxins and aid my digestion and the other one that helps relieve tension and anxiety. I booked in to see her one more time before I leave where we will do all the tests again to see if there has been an improvement in two weeks.

Once I got home, Dad and I were both ready for lunch. We walked down and around the lakes before going to the cafe for lunch. Dad had brought his paperwork for the pension with him so we could go through it.

After we walked home, we got in the car to do a few errands. First we stopped at Sam's Warehouse where I bought Dad a 35mm slide scanner so that he can transfer all his slides into a digital format. Next, we drove down to Enfield to go to Centerlink so that Dad could submit his paperwork.

While Dad went there, I walked around the shops and bought some neat placemats and table runners as well as a spiral peeler which makes long strands of vegetables such as zucchinis, carrots or cucumbers. I had heard about these things before and my friend Elyse has one and makes "pasta" out of peeled zucchini - yum!

I met Dad again in the coffee shop and we drove into town to go to the museum. We wandered around the exhibits and I was particularly interested in the minerals exhibit - just beautiful! We left the museum at closing time and walked back to Rundle Street to have a look at the shops and then go to see a movie.

I bought a pair of earrings in one of my favourite boutiques. At the cinemas, we decided to go and see Inglourious Basterds (yes, that is how it is spelt :-)). We bought our tickets and then went to the Stag Hotel to have something to eat and drink. The naturopath told me I could drink things that weren't sweet like vodka, lime and soda so I had one of those and we ordered some hot chips to tide us over.

Back at the movies and we both really enjoyed Inglourious Basterds. You could definitely tell it was directed by Quentin Tarantino. It was a dark subject (Nazi occupied France during WWII) but in true Tarantino style, the quirky characters, over the top violence and comedic plot made it a great movie. Brad Pitt was really good and it was suprising to see Mike Myers in a serious, albiet small, role.

We had a quick coffee at Scoozi before heading home. A great day in Adelaide and I think the weather is finally warming up! (Or maybe I am finally getting used to it!).

A slow day

Today I didn't do much until lunchtime. Dad and I walked down to Oakden Central and had a meal. My lasagna was not much chop! After walking back home, we grabbed our stuff and headed out to do a few things.

We drove down to Gepps Cross where they have just opened a major home center with all sorts of stores like Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, HS Home etc. We went into Barbeques Galore to see if we could find a rotisserie for the BBQ. Unfortunately they did not stock Beefeater BBQs.

From there we wandered around a few furniture stores as well as Harvey Norman. Finally, we drove over to HS Home. I ended up buying a new quilt cover set and two sheet sets that were on special. I ended up with 1000 thread count king-sized sheets for $120 - I thought that was pretty good seeing as the crap ones usually cost this much!

Back at home, I dropped off all my stuff and got ready to head over to Kate's place. She had invited me for dinner and a DVD. I arrived at 5 to find no-one at home. I gave Kate a ring and she was only a few minutes away so I let myself in the backyard to play with the dogs.

We went down to the shops and picked up a beef tenderloin to roast and picked out Revolutionary Road for our DVD. Kate put the roast on and we watched Celebrity Master Chef while we waited for it to cook. After dinner, we put on the movie and curled up with the heater and blankets.

The movie was really good. Interestingly, it was pretty captivating despite the fact that actually nothing much happens with the plot. Both Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet were amazing.

After the movie I headed home but on the way I couldn't help but stop and take a photo of the beautiful moon.

Bits and Pieces

Dad and I walked over to Woolworths at Gilles Plains this morning to get a few things from the shops. On our way out we stopped for a coffee. Back at home, we sat down and worked out what Dad was looking for in his new car so that we would be prepared when we went out to have a look.

About midday, we drove down to the trophy store opposite the ABC to have the plaque made up for the "Best mobile campfire award". We waited while they did it and it only took them 5 minutes! From there we drove to Main North Road to have a look in Ray's Outdoors for a rotisserie for our BBQ. Although they didn't have one in stock, they said that they could get one in.

We then headed up to Tea Tree Plaza to have a bit of a look around. I needed a new Medicare card so I went to the office and sorted that out. Dad and I wandered about the shops for a while and I bought a small handbag very similar to my existing brown one that is falling to bits. We also picked up our movie tickets for Mao's Last Dancer.

Back at home I lay in bed reading my book. After another sunny day, it was already freezing again. About 6, we headed back up to Tea Tree Plaza to watch the movie. It was a great story and I am now looking forward to reading the book.

We headed home and after watching a bit of crap TV we headed to bed.

Today's photo is of the ammonite I bought at the markets yesterday.

A sunny Monday long weekend

This morning, we drove down to Port Adelaide to have a look around the markets. We stopped to have breakfast as a little cafe before walking down to the Port River. The weather was actually pretty good today and although the morning was pretty cool, once the sun came out, things started to warm up.

We wandered around the markets and I bought a few beading supplies as an ammonite fossil which shows the suture marks of its shell beautifully. There was plenty of stuff in the markets: lots of second hand houseware stores as well as some 2nd hand clothing stores but most of it was pretty junky.

From the markets, we drove out to Outer Harbour and followed the coastal road. We stopped near Henley Beach and took a quick walk along the beach as the breeze was still cold. We ended up at Glenelg where was parked and wandered about.

We walked up and down Jetty Road looking in the shops. I bought a top at Jeans West which was on sale. Once down into Mosley Square again we thought we would go and have a drink at the Grand. We walked into the bar and the smell was awful - stale booze - and our shoes stuck to the floor. We decided to give it a miss and went instead to a new pub across the road - some kind of Irish pub. We found a spot up on the balcony in the sun and Dad enjoyed his beer while I stuck to my sparkling water. We watched the world go by below.

As it got a bit cooler, we decided to head home and walked past the new Magic Mountain theme park. It's pretty different to what it used to be! We drove home along Anzac Highway.

Back at home, I wanted to make the most of the sunny weather so I headed out for a long walk. I cranked up my iPod and did 3 laps around the lakes before walking home. It was good to be out and about. I actually managed to work up a sweat! Everyone and everything were also making the most of the good weather. There were comerants out on the rocks drying their wings, cats laying in sunny spots amongst their gardens, and lots of people walking their dogs.

Back at the house, I showered and then cooked up some fajitas for dinner using up some more of the roast lamb from last night. After dinner, we watcher "My Father, Romulus" with Eric Bana on DVD. It was a good movie but a bit slow. Ross text to see if I could Skype him so we chatted for quite a while. Dad was watching the second Harry Potter movie so I settled in with my blanket to watch it. We headed to bed after midnight after a great long weekend Monday.

A super lazy Sunday

I made scrambled eggs this morning for breakfast for Dad and I. After brekkie, we walked down to Bunnings so that Dad could get a couple of things to finish his "Best Mobile Campfire Award" for his mate. Apparently, during one of the last scout camps, they had packed everything up and headed to the pub for some lunch. They went inside and ordered and shortly after they heard someone shouting about a trailer being on fire in the carpark. They went out to have a look and sure enough it was their trailer! They had been using a smoker on the BBQ and although the fire was out, obviously there were a couple of live embers that sparked up as they drove down the road. Apparently it was quite a fire! The publican even called the fire brigade. Hence the award for his mate.

So we walked down and found some paints and a plynth for the "mobile campfire" to be mounted on (see photo) before walking home. Dad headed up to Woodhouse again and I took up my position on the couch with my book and blanket (still bloody cold!). I whiled away the afternoon reading and watching the SANFL and NRL Grand Finals before Dad got home about 6. I had just put the lamb roast on to cook as he got home.

About an hour and a half later, we sat down to a good ol' Sunday lamb roast with roast pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots and broccoli, brussel sprouts and onion. Yum! So this detox diet is not all too bad when you can still eat a roast! I just couldn't add any sauces, mustards or gravies but that's no big deal.

After dinner we watched The Full Monty before heading to bed.

Although Sonja and I had played phone hockey for most of the day, she left a message to say that he was doing well but there was a slight chance that he would need to have another surgery as his lung was still bleeding. If that is the case, he will lose some of the lining of his lung.

Health and Fitness Check:

Weight: no idea but at the naturopath I was 70.6kg

Exercise:

Walking: 30mins + 40mins + 30 mins + 40mins

Saturday in Adelaide

This morning Dad and I went for a walk around the lakes before having breakfast at the Lakeside Cafe. We walked home, picked up a couple of shopping bags and walked over to Woolworths to pick up some things for a Sunday roast.

Back at home, we spent the rest of the morning doing our own things and about midday, Dad headed off to Woodhouse to see how the Shakedown Camp was going. About 1.30, Kate came to pick me up and we drove over to Norwood to do some shopping. Kate bought a new handbag and I had a look in the sports store for some new trackie pants - with no luck.

We walked over to the mall and had a coffee before heading to the bead shop so Kate could pick up something to finish off the bracelet she was making. We picked up a few things from the supermarket before heading back to her place.

Stan was there when we arrived and it was great to see him again. The house smelled fantastic as he was cooking Beef Rendang for dinner - a Malaysian classic. Despite being suprised and disappointed that I couldn't drink on my detox diet, he had bought a non-alcoholic sparkling wine which was really quite nice.

While dinner was cooking, we took the dogs out for a walk. So with Kate, Stan, Luke, Whistler and Jessie in tow, we headed off around the neighbourhood. Whistler had his harness and coat on which was pretty cute but I think he was still pretty excited to have so many people and Jessie along with him.

We walked for quite a while looking at the new houses being built close to the reserve. Back at home, we waited for dinner to finish cooking and caught up with Stan on the latest Geoservices news amongst other things. Josh was home but was tinkering about with his new RX7 putting in fluoros and under car light. He joined us for dinner and I couldn't get over how much he had grown up.

After dinner, Luke wanted to watch Charlotte's Web so we took up our places on the couch to watch it with him. It was the latest version made with the voices of Julia Roberts and many other huge stars. It wasn't a bad show!

About 9.30, Kate dropped me home after a great night catching up with friends. Today's photo is of Jessie who found a comfy spot sleeping on Luke's pillow.

Photography and friends

This morning Dad and I went into the SA Museum to have a look at a new nature and wildlife photography exhibition that had just opened. The photos were amazing and ranged from landscapes to potraits of animals. There was also a section for photographers under the age of 18 which included one of my favourite photos of a multi-coloured starfish with ripples on the water. It was a beautiful shot.

From there we walked into the mall and had a coffee before heading to JB Hi-Fi to get Dad an FM transmitter for his new iPod. We wandered around a bit longer before heading home. I dropped Dad off and headed over to my friend Donna's place for lunch.

Although I had seen them all in February, I was suprised how big Timmy and Annabelle were now! For 10 years old they are huge - up to my shoulders. It was great to see little Patrick again too who will be turning one in a couple of weeks. We spent the afternoon catching up and playing with Patrick before I headed home about 3.30.

On the way home I dropped off the questionnaire to the naturopath that she had asked me to fill out. Back at home, I spent the afternoon reading my book and actually had a bit of a nap. I think the detox diet is giving me less energy at the moment. Dad and I didn't do too much in the evening - watched some TV and had some dinner. Soon I was too tired and headed to bed.

I chatted with Sonja about 10pm. Brian had been transferred to Prince Court and had also had the breathing tube removed. She was really happy that he was doing better and now they were waiting for another cat scan to be done on Saturday to see what they need to do for his recovery. They did say that they would expect him to make a full recovery - great news!!

A new way of looking at health

This morning Dad and I got up and walked around Northgate Lake. Despite the cold it was good to be outside walking. As we walked around the lake we saw that a lot of the water birds had been breeding as there were chicks in amongst the rushes around the edge of the lake. We walked back through the housing estate and ended up at the shopping center. I popped into the chemist and picked up some cream to help stop the scarring on my leg and then we went to the cafe for a coffee.

Back at home we pottered about before Dad headed off to have lunch with a few work mates. I spent the afternoon on the couch with my blanket and my book. Dad came home about 2.30 and we drove up to St Agnes Shopping Center in time for my appointment at the Naturopath.

It was the first time I had been to a naturopath. My friend Kate had said that her friend had had a really good experience with this lady, Michelle, at St Agnes so I thought I would give it a go. To start with, Michelle's assistant took me through a few tests. She measured my weight and height, my body mass and muscle proportions and then did a test with some electrodes attached to my feet and hands.

From there, Michelle met me and we went into have my irises scanned for iridology analysis. It was amazing to see the photos of the iris - beautiful really! Although mine did not fit on her screen. She explained that the irises are believed to have nerve endings that connect to various organs in the body and through looking at the iris, you can pinpoint problem areas and areas of weakness. I guess the idea is similar to foot reflexology. She said for someone like me with no obvious symptoms, iridology can help identify areas that are weak and that could potentially create problems at a later date. This way, you can address these issues before they become problems. This is the main philosophy of naturopathy; to identify and treat the root causes of problems rather than addressing merely the symptoms.

After this was done we went into her office where she asked me a lot about my past health history. Then we went through the test results. She said that for my height, the body composition test was fine. Despite the fact that it showed that I needed to lose weight, she said that it wasn't very accurate for tall women and she was happy with my weight. She said that my muscle composition was also very good; a lot better than most people she sees. She said that most people are 2kg under their ideal muscle composition weight. She said if I really wanted to I could work on putting on half a kg more but I was in a good range. This was good to hear as it meant the weight training that I had been doing was paying off.

The last tests measured the health of my cells. She was a bit suprised to see that my cell quality was poor and my cell toxin levels were slightly in the positive range. She asked me a lot of questions about my use of antibiotics and explained that using antibiotics can leave a lot of toxins in the body and that in women these tend to accumulate in the uterus and abdomen area. One of the tests also measured my intracellular water level. My reading came up as 51.8%. She explained to me that ideally a well hydrated cell should contain 60% water and that a cell containing 50% was dehydrated so she recommended that I up my water intake from 2L to 2.5L+ per day.

She also recommended that I go on a week long detox program with includes a sugar, yeast and malt free diet as well as taking a detox supplement drink that helps to flush the kidneys and support the gastrointestinal system. So basically I have to cut out all sugars including fruit and fruit juice, anything with yeast in it and no alcohol. It really isn't too bad seeing as I can eat meat, chicken, fish, pasta, brown rice, yoghurt and fresh vegetables. I also have to limit my intake of dairy.

We also talked a little bit about the affect of stress on the body and she explained that the body uses up Magnesium as a result of stress so she also placed me on a Magnesium supplement. I will go back and see her next week after the week of detox.

I walked out of there feeling great. It was a really interesting way to look at your overall health and it was nice to have a medical practitioner looking at your health in the long term rather than simply plying you with drugs when something is really wrong. So I am interested to see how it goes. I will have two more appointments with her before I leave.

Back at home, we didn’t do too much. I made spinach pasta with a vegetable tomato based sauce for dinner and chucked in the leftover lamb from last night. We watched a DVD but I was too tired before long so I headed to bed.