Last post of the year!!

This morning, Ross and John headed out to finish off the shed. ABout 9.30, Ross dropped me into the city so I could wander around the shops. It was a beautiful day and still pretty quiet when I first arrived. I looked in a couple of stores and then headed to Myer. I looked at a lot of clothes although they had been completely picked through. I did however find 3 pairs of shoes that I ended up buying - the start of my spree!

I did a bit more in Myer before heading into the Myer Center. I wandered about there for ages and bought a few pairs of shorts which I needed as my old ones don't fit anymore. I tried on some jeans but none were doing it for me. I finally stumbled back out into the daylight and down one of the side streets in the mall where I found General Pants Co. I grabbed two pairs of jeans - one Levis pair and one from Sass and Bide. I tried the Levis first - no good - but the Sass and Bide jeans were perfect! I was so excited to find a really nice pair of jeans although they were the most expensive pair I have ever bought.

By this time it was around lunch time so I had a little pit stop at a sushi train to refuel before heading to Target for everyday necessities like underwear etc. Ross rang me and said he was on his way back from having lunch with his mate Scotty and he would pick me up so I wandered around for about 10 minutes more before meeting him and driving back towards John's place.

On the way I gave John and Caz a call and we agreed to meet at DFO near the airport to do some more shopping. We wandered around the various factory outlet stores and I ended up with 3 more pairs of shoes including a pair of black boots from Rivers that I got for $20 and a pair of light weight and water proof walking shoes from Colorado. Ross also picked up a pair of leather slides for next to nothing.

BY about 4.30 we were exhausted and headed home. We sat outside with a drink and some snacks before deciding to head out to find a pub so we could play some pool. We drove to the Newmarket Hotel which didn't have any pool tables but we had a couple of drinks anyway. From there we drove into the city and ended up in the Valley where we found an Italian restaurant for dinner.

It was quite a sidewalk show sitting there eating and watching the crowds of people walk past. It kept us entertained for ages. Eventually we decided to move across the road to the pub which did have pool tables. We staked our claim on one of the tables and proceeded to play pool for hours. It was not that busy in the pub which was good and the DJ was cranking out classic 80s tunes which was great! We ended up playing 7 games of pool - Ross and I won 4 although 2 of those were by default when John and Caz potted the white after the black. One game we still had 7 balls on the table and JOhn managed to sink the white after potting the 8 ball - hysterical!

About 11 we walked back to the car and tried to dodge the incredibly drunk crowds on the streets. We got home about 11.30 and put the TV on to watch the Sydney fireworks. Ross grabbed the sparkling wine from our visit to the Treehouses which we cracked at midnight. We watched the fireworks and then all of us headed to bed. It was a great night - Happy 2010!

Back in Brisbane

This morning we woke up with the damn crows at 5am - not happy! Ross got up but I put my eye covers back on and tried my hardest to sleep some more - not very succesfully. I got up about 7.30 and we had breakfast with the family.

Ross and I headed out to meet with our financial planner at 9. About an hour later we walked out with an update on our finances. Thank god the market is making a bit of a recovery!

We headed back to Ann's place, watched the last of the test match, had some lunch and then headed up the north coast again to see Ross' mate Matty and his wife Charlene. We hadn't seen them for a couple of years and their three girls, Sophie, Ella and Mollie had grown so much. We spent the afternoon catching up and talking about old times.

We drove back to John's place about 4.30 and spent the evening chatting, watching TV, playing Wii and eating Thai before heading to bed.

Last day in the Hinterland

We tried to sleep in this morning but nature conspired against us. Ross headed out to the hammock while I tried to get a bit more sleep. Once I finally surfaced, we showered and got organized to leave the resort.

We headed into Montville again and this time we had breakfast at a cafe next to the bakery. It definitely didn't match up to yesterday's brekky! From there we headed out and left the hinterland behind us. Once back down on the flat we thought we might stop into Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. As we drove close, we could see the traffic was nuts so we decided to drive on. A good decision considering the traffic was backed up for 5 kilometers coming the other way and all of them were going to the zoo!

Instead we turned off and went to the Mt Beerburrum lookout. We thought it would be good to have a walk so we headed out of the car. We read the board which said the walk was 700m to the top and steep. We were suprised it said 1.5 hr return journey for 700m - we should have known better!

We started up the trail and after about 50m of steep walking we looked at each other and asked if we should continue. How hard could it be? So we kept going. It was honestly the steepest trail I have ever walked up without steps. About 100m into the walk, our calves were killing us so we switched and walked up backwards for a while before our quads hurt too much and we had to switch back.

By this time I was swearing and muttering. I had worked up such a sweat. Each time I thought we were there, the trail simply turned and continued even steeper! But we finally made it and climbed the landing for a fantastic view over the Glasshouse Mountains. We took our time getting our breath back before heading back down which was just as painful as going up!

Once we were back in the airconditioned car, we were glad we had made the effort although I don't think we would have if we had known how hard it was going to be. From there we drove straight back to Ann's place to spend the night there.

We arrived about 12 to find Dad by himself as Ann was at work. Ross' foster brother Dennis and his wife Rhonda arrived not long afterwards. It was nice to catch up with them again as we hadn't seen them for 2 1/2 years since John's wedding. Ann came home from work about 1.30 and we had cold chicken and salad for lunch.

As usual for this time of the year, we continued to watch the cricket. I headed off for a nap in the afternoon and then we headed out to the Runcorn Tavern for dinner. On Tuesdays, they had a deal going - 2 meals for $25 including the salad bar - a bargain. We enjoyed dinner and a couple of bottles of wine while telling traveling stories.

About 9 we headed home and cracked the liquers we had bought for Ann and Dad. Ann broke open the Ferraro Rocher's which didn't last too long. We all headed to bed at 10 after a great night.

Second day in the Hinterland

We were up super early this morning as the wildlife woke us up. We decided to get up and make the most of it by walking in the National Park to the Kondalilla Falls. Although it was drizzling rain, the walk was still really nice. It took us about an hour to walk all the way down to the base of the falls. They were over 180m high.

The walk back up was a bit tougher but still beautiful. We ended up walking for a total of 2 hours - so a good morning walk. Back at the room we showered and headed into Montville to find somewhere for breakfast. We ended up at Poet's Cafe, a cute old cafe overlooking the valley. The food was amazing!

From there we spent the day walking around the quaint little shops in the village. We bought some liquers for the family - passionfruit cream for Ann, Chocolate rum port for Dad and Jaffa liquer for John and Caz. We also bought some fudge at Fudgebombaas for gifts also. Believe it or not they made sugar free fudge so I picked some of that up for Ross and I.

After we got sick of walking around, we ducked into the bakery, picked up some sausage rolls and ice coffee and headed back to the room for lunch. Again we spent the afternoon in front of the cricket before heading out to make the most of the brief break in rain and fog to go to one of the lookouts. The first one we went to was pretty crap but on the drive back we stopped at the top of the ridge to get great views of the valley and farms. We stopped at Mapleton for a coffee and chocolaye before heading back to the room.

About 5, we headed out to the double hammock on the porch to chat and make the most of the surroundings. I headed back to the spa while Ross watched TV and then we got ready for dinner. We thought we would try this little French restaurant we had seen in Flaxton. Unfortunately it was completely booked out so we headed back to the Bar and Grill at Montviolle where we had a great dinner of snapper before heading home.

Off to the Sunshine Coast Hinterland

This morning Ross and I went for a walk down to the shops to pick up a few things for our trip. We had a coffee because the shops didn't open until 10. We picked up our groceries and then walked home in time for John's turkey omellettes for breakfast.

We packed up our stuff and about 11, we headed up the coast to the Kondalilla National Park in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland to the Tree houses resort where John and Caz had booked us in a deluxe treehouse for two nights.

We arrived about 12.30 and had some lunch as soon as we got into the room. The room was pretty cool on two levels with the lounge, dining and kitchen area on the top level and the bed and double spa on the bottom. The whole thing was open plan with beautiful 360 views into the surrounding bushland.

We spent the afternoon in the spa and then lazed on the bed watching the cricket. I fell asleep for a couple of hours and then we decided to get up and do something. We drove into Mapleton and had a drink at the pub which had been there since 1916. It had a beautiful view. We decided we were happy just relaxing so we drove into Montville and picked up a pizza for dinner to take back to the room. We watched a movie and then we were in bed early with the sounds of the bush all around us - beautiful.

The recovery

This morning I got up and considering it was raining, I jumped on the cross-trainer for 25 minutes. It wasn't easy and I had sweated up a storm by the end of it. We had some breakfast and then headed to Chermside Shopping Center to hopefully go and see the new Sherlock Holmes movie.

We walked around for a while and then tried to get tickets but the upcoming shows were sold out. There were seats available at the 3pm show so John, Caz and Hazel headed home and Ross and I stayed to buy the tickets, wander around a bit more among the throng of Boxing Day bargain hunters and ended up in the pub watching the Boxing Day test match.

Just before 3, the rest of the family arrived and we headed upstairs for the movie. It was a packed cinema and the movie was pretty good. It left itself open to plenty of follow-on movies.

Back at home, we had (surprise, surprise) ham and salad for dinner. We played some Wii in the evening before heading to bed about 10 after a lazy Boxing Day.

Christmas Day at the Moore's!

We woke up reasonably early at Ann's place and Dad cooked up bacon, eggs, tomato and hashbrowns for breakfast which we ate with champagne seeing as it was Christmas and all. We just chilled out watching some TV until about 10 when we headed in convoy to John's place for Christmas lunch.

Caz's mum Hazel was there when we arrived along with John and Caz obviously. John played Santa and handed out all the presents. We did pretty well with a heap of stuff for the BBQ for Ross and a two-night getaway from John and Caz for the both of us. John and Caz had bought us all Christmas T-shirts which we all donned in the festive spirit.

After the present giving, we set up camp outside with some hors d'eouvres and some of Caz's mixed berry punch. Kelly and Alvin, John and Caz's tenants from Estonia, came over soon after with a platter of anti-pasta. We sat outside for a while before moving in for the main meal.

Caz had done well with lunch - ham, turkey breasts, salads and other bits and pieces. As always we pulled our crackers and cracked the wine, undid a notch in our belts and settled in for an afternoon of gastronomic overindulgence.

After the healthy lunch, out came the desserts. Brandy and macadamia Christmas pudding with custard, Ann's trifle, rum balls and apricot balls and of course the homemade Baileys. Needless to say we were stuffed by the end of it.

I took up my position on the couch for the afternoon and everyone else found suitable places to lounge. Dad and Ann headed home reasonably early and by about 4, everyone had left except for John, Caz, Hazel, Ross and I. I can't say any of us moved too much in the afternoon.

Ross and I felt obliged to get off our butts and go for a walk just before sunset. We walked for ages and it was great because we had been so full. Believe it or not, we were ready for food again in the evening. Plenty of meat and salad was left along with the desserts that we made the most of again. I think we all headed to bed pretty early full as very full things.

Christmas Eve

This morning, Caz and I went for a walk down to the shops while the boys got busy building a garden shed. The walk was pretty good with some good hills to get the heart rate up but nothing too strenuous. Once we got to the shops, we stopped and had a coffee at Zarraffa's before walking back. The hills on the way back were a bit tougher but it was still good.

By the time we got home, the boys had done well on the shed getting everything except the roof put on. About 11, the boys called it quits for the day.

In the afternoon, Ross and I drove over to Ann's place to spend the night with her and Dad. Ann cooked up corned beef for dinner and then we went for a walk around the suburbs to see the Christmas lights. A few houses had gone all out but on the whole the showing was pretty poor.

Back at Ann's place we had a rum ball and tasted the homemade Bailey's even though they were meant for Christmas day we snuck some anyway. We all headed to bed pretty early.

John's 38th Birthday!

This morning, Ross and I headed into the city to visit a Chinese medicine practitioner, David McCleoud. He prescribed me some herbal medicine that I could take in tablet form and I also had half an hour of acupuncture. The acupunture was incredibly relaxing even though I had a needle in my left ear, the top of my head, both hands, both feet and my tummy.

While I was having my acupuncture session, Ross chatted with David who prescribed some things for him too. We walked out an hour later with a big bag of medicines.

Back at John's place, we had some breakfast and about 12, we drove into Southbank to meet up with Ann and Dad at the Ship Inn for lunch. It was a beautiful day so we sat outside enjoying watching the people walk past whilst sipping our drinks. We had lunch and chatted for a while before Dad and Ann headed off to catch the train home again.

Shortly after, Dee arrived. She had just flown in from Melbourne and was spending the night in Brisbane before heading off to Wellington for Christmas Day. Unfortunately, all this travel was for work :-(.

We walked to the Pump Hotel and found a spot on the balcony upstairs to continue having a drink or two. After finding out that they didn't serve food, we moved on and ended up driving to another spot on the other side of the river. We found a great spot at one of the restaurants/ bars with open air seating. The place was packed with after work drinkers celebrating their last day or two of work.

We sat there and drank two bottles of wine between us and had some snacks while watching the sunset and the lights come on on the Story Bridge. It was really nice.

About 8, we were all pretty shattered so we dropped Dee back to her hotel and headed home. We sat up for a bit before all of us head to bed full of too much alcohol and crap food.

Heading up to Brisbane

This morning Ross and I set the alarm for 7 and got up to go for a walk. We walked for about 50 minutes along the coast, up hills and back again. It was beautiful this morning and heaps of people were out and about. It was a great walk and we ended up back at the apartment around 8.30 to find John and Caz having breakfast on the balcony. We had some breakfast with them before packing up our stuff and checking out of the apartment.

Caz drove us up to Pacific Fair where we stopped for coffee and and some food. Caz and I wandered around the shops for about an hour before meeting up with the boys again about 12. I did some last minute Christmas shopping before we headed back to the car.

We drove back up to Brisbane and stopped off at Ann's place. She pulled in the driveway 3 seconds before we did! We had some lunch with her and Dad and caught up on the latest news. Ross and I hadn't been to Brisbane since 2007 so it was nice to see all the work that Ann had done on the house. The new kitchen that Dad helped her with looked great and they were working on the laundry the day we arrived.

In the afternoon we went to an electrical store to sort out one of the Christmas presents before leaving Dad and Ann to drive to John and Caz's place. This was the first time that we seen their place and the renovations. They have put so much work into the house and it is looking really good.

We spent the night watching Inglourious Basterds after Caz cooked a yum meal of turkey steaks with cous cous and carrots. We stayed up for a while longer before heading to bed. Zeus the 3-legged cat decided to spend the night in our room but about 2.30am I kicked him out as he was licking Ross on the head and being a general nuisance :-).

First day on the Gold Coast

Ross and I slept in until 10 this morning - it was wonderful! John and Caz had headed out so we called them to meet up. We headed out to the Tweed Heads shopping center (in NSW) to run a few errands. I needed to post some Christmas cards, get my mobile up and running and get some money.

We had a coffee and wandered around a few of the shops before heading back to the apartment. From there, we walked down the street and had lunch at Grilled - a gourmet burger place. I had a chickpea burger - yum! We wandered on to a pub and played a few rounds of pool while having a beer (score check - Cherie and Ross 3 vs John and Caz 1).

We headed back up stairs to get changed and then walked across the road to the beach to go for the swim. It was a bit chilly initially but once you were in it was quite nice. We floated about for a bit before I got to cold and headed in with Caz.

We got back in time to shower and change before catching a taxi up the coast to go to Dracula's dinner theatre. We had VIP tickets and lined up with a few others before the venue had opened. Once inside, we gathered with a whole bunch of other in the foyer before being allowed through the crypt door into the house. We had a glass of champagne and looked around while waiting for our ghost train ride to the theatre. About 20 minutes later, we boarded the train in couples.

As predicted, it was pretty lame but there were a few scary moments where they either snapped photos or took video of us. Once upstairs, we found our seats and ordered a drink. Our appetisers arrived pretty quickly and we were entertained by the 3 piece vampire band for a while before the main meal came.

The performers finally came out and did some introductions etc. Then we had our dessert - yum! We ordered more drinks and then settled in for the show. It was the longest build up to a production I had ever been a part of!

The performers came out and performed Vampirates which was basically a bunch of skits with no real plot but mostly they were pretty funny. The waiters also kept us entertained. About 10 the show finished, we settled our bill and then headed out to find a taxi home. We got back to the apartment about 11. It was a good night out although it was a little random and definitely dragged on a bit.

Off to Queensland

This morning we were up reasonably early to get our ride to the airport. We arrived at LCCT about 8.30 and our flight was at 10.20am. Because we had the premium seats, we sailed through check-in and then headed to The Coffee Bean for a drink. We did a bit of duty free shopping and then headed through immigration in time to get to our boarding gate.

We boarded the plane and settled in for the 8 hour journey to Coolengatta. We sat on the runway for half an hour while someone was looking for their passport so we took off half an hour late. I watched an episode of Fawlty Towers (a true classic!) on my iPod before we even took off and then once we took off I watched The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas - definitely not a comedy!

We had some lunch and then I pretty much read my book for the rest of the flight and by the time we landed I was half way through My Sister's Keeper. The flight was painless but long.

So we waited for our bags which took over an hour to arrive because the conveyor belt broke down twice. The first time it stopped, about 50 bags had come out and had been collected so when it stopped, about 150 people that were left were standing around wondering, like us, if they had managed to lose that many bags! Eventually our bags came out and we moved on to customs.

Unfortunately we had decided to declare a packet of M&M type chocolates. This meant that despite showing the customs officer the chocolates, we still had to line up with 100 other people to have our bags scanned. Luckily, we were not in Line 3 where all the people were having their bags searched. Out of all the people on the plane, only about 3 people we saw walk through without undergoing some kind of scan. Ridiculous! Obviously this meant that we were really late meeting John and Caz. It took us over two hours from when we landed to when we got out. We figured the customs officers were getting paid overtime if they worked past 10pm.

Anyway, we finally made it and Caz and John drove us to the apartment on the Coolengatta beach. We sat up for a while catching up before heading to bed about midnight. Finally home in Aus.

Bye, bye Millers and packing for Aus

This morning we were up early for some reason. We had breakfast and then got organized by making a list of things that we still had left to do before traveling tomorrow. We worked for a couple of hours before heading out to Great Eastern to pick up a bit of shopping. We had to go in the morning because our car was being picked up this afternoon to be serviced and cleaned.

Back at home we had some lunch and continued on with our tasks. About 3.30 Brian and Sonja popped over for one last time. Brian had to give back all his work stuff and Sonja just wanted to say goodbye. We chatted for a while and then said goodbye accompanied by tears from Sonja and I. It was really hard to see them go. I will miss them a lot.

Obviously after that I was feeling a bit flat so we watched Black Adder's Christmas Carol to try and cheer up. It was pretty funny and did work a little bit to make me feel better. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening pottering around doing last minute things. As you can see from the photo our bag is nearly packed.

Ross made spaghetti to use up the last of the fresh veg in the fridge for dinner and we watched some crap TV. I made some last minute Christmas presents for friends before putting away all my beading stuff for the first time in a couple of months. It seems weird to be able to see the dining room table again!

We didn't do too much else before heading to bed.

Holiday Friday

Today was Islamic New Year and therefore a holiday. Ross and I woke up reasonably early and decided to go for a walk around Lake Titiwangsa. It seems that a lot of other people had the same idea. It was nice to be out in the cool of the morning and always interesting to see what the locals are up to. We walked for about 40 minutes before heading home.

At home we showered and then drove to Pavillion for breakfast. We ate outside at the Coffee Bean which was really nice. From there, we went up to the bookstore so I could buy My Sister's Keeper. I then walked over to Starhill Gallery for my massage appointment at Kanebo. My favourite masseuse, Azura was there to great me and gave me a great 2 hour hot stone massage and worked out some of the knots in my calves and shoulders. I hadn't been for a long time so the staff hadn't seen me since I lost the last couple of kg and they all commented that I looked much slimmer. I took it as a compliment and not that they thought I looked fat before :-)

I rang Ross when I finished and he came to pick me up. We spent the afternoon doing some things around the house before he dropped me over at KLCC to meet up with Sonja so we could get our nails done. We spent an hour and a half getting a mani and pedi and walked out with much nicer looking nails. Mine had been so long they almost looked like talons but I didn't want to cut them because I knew I would get them done before going back to Aus.

From there, Sonja and I walked up to Changkat Bukit Bintang to meet up with Ross who had gone for a massage at the Thai place. We met him at Havana Bar which had been recently renovated - it was really nice now and had been a bit of a dive before. We had a drink before Brian arrived and so had another round with him.

We walked next door to Ciccio - an Italian restaurant for dinner. Sonja and Brian's daughter was there with her friend and their family. It was quite a coincidence that out of all the restaurants in KL we both ended up at the same one! We enjoyed our dinner - the food was amazing and it was nice to just have a casual night with the Miller's before they left. Sonja had the pumpkin ravioli - yum! Brian had gorgonzola gnocchi - unbelievable! Ross had chicken ravioli which was nice and I had the most tender lamb shank I have ever had! About 11, we drove them home and dropped them off at the Prince before heading home ourselves after a great night.

Ross and I read for a little while before going to sleep after a good day with friends.

Last day of work for Ross

This morning I woke up, showered and headed out to Ikano for a waxing appointment. I had breakfast at Dome first and wandered around the shops for a bit before going to my appointment. Once that was done, I looked around a little bit more but then decided to head home.

Back at home I had a pretty boring day. I did a few bits and pieces on the computer and tried to start updating my CV but soon lost interest. I rented some movies off iTunes for the plane. I then laid on the bed and read my book until I had finished. It was a great series - all three books were good and I really enjoyed reading them. I had it when you finish a good series or book because you know the next thing you pick up will not live up to your expectations. I plan to read My Sister's Keeper next so then I can watch the movie.

By about 3.30, I was incredible bored so I text Ross to see what he was up to - no response. I sat on the couch and watched crap TV for a couple of hours until he came home. It was so nice to have some company again! We spent the night making portobello burgers, having a glass of red wine and watching Shawshank Redemption on DVD - a great show. It's so nice to have Ross back home.

Since I finished my book this afternoon, I started reading "Malaysia at Random"; a book that was recommended to us by the Millers. Maddie had gotten it as a going away present from one of her friends and it is filled with interesting and unusual facts about Malaysia such as the fine for killing a tiger is 15,000 ringgit and how to artificially inseminate an Asian elephant!

Afternoon tea at Carcosa Seri Negara

This morning I woke up about 8.30. Around 10, I heard a knock on the back door. The contractors were here to fix the holes in the ceiling... an hour early. So I showed them what they needed to fix and they got busy. I made myself some breakfast and sat around watching TV and doing a few chores. There wasn't too much else I could do with the workmen in the house.

By about 12.30, the maintenance guy from Stonor Park, Mark, finally showed up. They were still working on fixing the holes and none of them had been completed yet. Around 2, they were still working and I knew that I had to leave soon. Our landlord's niece was supposed to have been here all day with them so that I didn't have to sit there but of course she didn't show up. When the workers said that they would be there until 5, I called her and asked her to come so that I could go out. Ross was also on his way back from Vietnam so he would be there around 3.30.

Kelly hadn't arrived before I had to leave but I left anyway about 2.30 to pick up Sonja so we could go to Carcosa Seri Negara for afternoon tea. Carcosa Seri Negara is the old Governor of Kuala Lumpur's house back in the day of British rule. I had been there once before with the netball girls and it was beautiful. It is being shut down on the 26th of December for "renovation" and no-one is quite sure what is going to happen to it so we thought we would make the most of our last opportunity to go.

We went to the building where I had had afternoon tea last time - it was deserted. So we tried the other building which I hadn't been to and sure enough that is where we were. We sat on the verandah with our tea and sandwiches and cakes chatting for a couple of hours. I did try and get us a gin and tonic but although I asked twice and the staff said yes, it seemed we were not destined to get a drink.

We left just before 5 and got stuck in traffic and completely lost but somehow we got home by 5.30. Ross was home but on his way out again when we arrived. We had a gin and tonic together with Sonja before she left to check on the apartment with Brian. Ross headed out for Christmas drinks with his work mates and I settled in for another boring night by myself.

I went to bed about 9 because there was nothing else to do. I kept reading my book until 12.30 and then finally I couldn't keep my eyes open any more. Ross must have got home some time after that.

A pretty crappy Tuesday

I woke up still with the headache this morning. Not impressed. I put on my workout gear to go for a walk but just did not feel up for it. Instead I spent the morning scraping rubber bits of the spare bedroom floor where the rubber backing for the rug had stuck to the wood. Not that much fun.

I had some breakfast still feeling like crap. I took some Panadol but still no relief. Sonja text to catch up but I just didn't feel up for it so instead I plonked myself in the bath with my book and lazed about for and hour and a half. While I was in the bath, Daisy and Sheila were busy cleaning the house. When I eventually got out, I chatted with Daisy for a while about the jobs that I would like her to do while we were away.

I did some more beading in the afternoon before Sonja called again and asked if she could come up. She dropped off a gift for us - a beautiful ceramic lamp that we had seen together at the Craft Complex late last week. Such a nice gift! She was on her way to the dentist but we made plans to catch up for dinner.

About 6.30, Sonja came by and picked my up and we went to the Prince where they were staying. I caught up with the whole family before Brian headed out to drop Emma at a party. Sonja, Ian, Maddie and I went downstairs to the buffet and Brian joined us not long after. The food was really good but as always I ate too much.

Sonja offered to drive me home about 9. It was a nice night out and got me out of the house. My headache was finally gone and I walked in the door and went straight to bed.

Today's photo is of the construction site. A lot has changed since the last time - see September 4!

Mondayitis

This morning I made myself get up and go for a walk around KLCC. Ross headed off for Vietnam before I left and then I strapped on my iPod and got out of the apartment. I walked for 45 minutes and did 4 laps before walking home again.

I showered, had some breakfast and then text Sonja to see if she needed any help or company with the packers being there today. I went around and picked up the booze that they couldn't take with them and also scored a couple of bedside lamps and a toaster. Brian came home while I was there so I left them to it.

In the afternoon I didn't do much at all. I tried out some more beading, had a nap, did a couple of things on the list and then cooked myself a sausage and bean casserole using up the sausages in the freezer, a can of baked beans, some kidney beans and some refried beans. I chucked it all in together with some onion and smoked tabasco sauce and cooked it for 30 minutes. It turned out pretty well although it was super filling.

I watched crap TV until I went to bed. I had a stinking headache by the time I got to bed but I managed to fall asleep anyway.

Today's photo is of the rug that we swapped in Singapore for the one that I bought at the rug auction.

Sunday roast again with different friends

We woke up late this morning and pottered around the house for a few hours. We then walked over to Pavillion to have a look at some furniture and also to pick up Ross some new shorts from Espirit. From Pavillion we walked via the convention center in time to meet Debbie and Dan at Chinoz for lunch.

It was nice to see them again as it had been quite a while - since the rug auction. We spent about 3 hours, chatting and eating outside. It was really nice. In the morning I had made Debbie a bracelet as a gift for Christmas. Coincidentally, it matched the top she was wearing. About 3.30 we parted ways and promised to catch up in the new year.

Ross and I walked home and spent the afternoon on the couch watching TV. Well, that lasted about 10 minutes before Ross fell asleep. I went and did some more beading and managed to create a pair of earrings that I had been wanting to try for a while using wire and beating it with a hammer to make a matte finish. I think they turned out quite well.

In the evening, we dropped over to see Sonja and Brian to give them their gift. We didn't stay for too long before we walked over to KLCC to look around for some DVDs and to buy some books and magazines. We ended up having dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen but we were both so exhausted that by the time we got home, I was ready for bed.

Ross packed for his trip to Vietnam and I laid in bed reading my news mags before falling asleep.

A productive Saturday

Although we slept in this morning, we were pretty busy for most of the day doing bits and pieces around the house. We drove out to Great Eastern and bought some cat litter and some food before stopping for a coffee at Starbucks.

Back at home we did some more chores and then spent the afternoon on the bed relaxing, reading our books. Of course we both fell asleep. I woke up about quarter to 6 and decided to have a shower and start getting ready for our night out. Ross woke up while I was in the shower and we both got ready to go to dinner out in Bangsar with colleagues from Ross' work.

About 7.20 we jumped in the car and drove out to Bangsar. The traffic was pretty good - we were surprised. We parked in the shopping center and then walked until we found the restaurant, Planter Jim's. A massive table had been booked and we were the first to arrive so we went down to La Bodega for a drink while we waited for the others.

After we had finished our sangrias, the table was starting to fill up at the restaurant. We sat next to Chris and Mary-Lou (Aussies) and Paul and Janet (Brits). It was a nice night with great food and company. It was good to meet more people that work with Ross as I hadn't met many before.

About 11, we headed home and again the traffic wasn't very busy. We fell into bed exhausted.

More of the list and dinner with good friends

Today I spent the day slowly working my way through the list of things to do. I managed to get through quite a few things. I searched around online for some more Christmas presents and things, sorted out the spare bedrooms, fertilized and trimmed the herbs, tidied out "the top drawer" and went through all the DVDs to see which ones the Millers still had (only 1!).

In the afternoon, I watched some TV until Ross came home. At about 7, we met up with the Millers and walked over to the Bavarian Beirhaus to have dinner with Phil and another friend Brian and his wife Eleece. It was nice to go back to one of our favourite restaurants again. As you can see from the photo, the boys enjoyed their pork knuckles while Sonja had pumpkin soup! Brian and Eleece joined us after dinner for a few drinks.

By about 11, I was being bitten alive by mosquitoes - it was time to go. We walked home with Sonja and Brian. It was a nice night out with good friends.

Lunch with the girls

This morning, Sonja and I went walking around KLCC. We did a few laps and then headed home as Sonja had the moving company coming for a quote. After a shower, I drove over to Pavillion where I picked up a couple of things before stopping at The Coffee Bean for a coffee and scone.

Just before 12, I left and drove to Delicious. I was the first one there but before long, Kiki and Rimma turned up. Sonja was next and we moved to the table to catch up while waiting for Julia to arrive. Julia text her order through before she arrived so by the time she got there, the food was almost ready.

We spent an hour or so chatting over lunch. The place was completely full so it took forever to get our food. It was nice to see the girls again before the end of the year. We hardly see Julia now since she has started working and it would be the last time that Sonja would get to see Kiki and Rimma. I gave the girls their earrings that I had made for them which I think they liked.

Julia headed back to work and slowly we all made our own separate ways. Sonja and I didn't have anything else to do for the rest of the day so we thought we would go and have a look at the craft complex which despite being just down the road, neither of us had been to. It was basically just a bunch of shops selling traditional Malay crafts but there was also a small museum of textiles and ceramics. We wandered around for a while before heading back to the car.

From there we drove to AmpWalk mall to have a look in a couple of houseware stores and then finally we ended up at Great Eastern where we had a coffee at Starbucks before driving home.

Ross made us spaghetti for dinner and we didn't do too much for the rest of the night.

Working on "the list"

In preparation for the end of the year and also before we head back to Aus for Xmas, Ross and I have been making a list of all the things we need to do. This morning I did a few things on the list around the house before picking Ross up at 12 for lunch.

We drove over to Pavillion and went to a photo store so that Ross could have his picture taken for his work passes and things. The guy took us in the back room, pulled down a white backdrop and pulled out a dodgy old digital camera and took a photo of Ross, of which most was white background! I asked him if he could take one with a professional camera and with less background. He pulled out one of the display Nikon digital SLRs and snapped off a photo with awful lighting, shadows and still too much background. So we just left. I knew I could do that!

So after our misadventure, we went to Yo Sushi for lunch then bought Ross a hairbrush - also on the list - before I dropped him home.

I went home and did a couple of things before driving over to KLCC to pick up a present for Sonja and Brian. I ended up buying a pewter hand in a gesture signifying protection (hard to explain). But I figured it was Asian, from Malaysian and also pretty meaningful. I also picked up some Christmas cards - not easy to find - and a bit of food shopping before heading home.

At home I got busy organizing Xmas presents. I sorted out Dad's and Ann's as well as the Miller's going away present. I knocked up some gifts for the girls as we were having lunch tomorrow at Delicious and I wanted to give them some of my jewellery.

By this time Ross came home and we tried again to take a photo of him. I set up the tripod, pulled the curtains so it was dark and posed him in front of the white wall. We did quite a few shots (as you can see from the photo) but in the end we had a good one.

For dinner, I had made salmon patties which Ross cooked for us. They were pretty good and also used up more stuff from the pantry. In the evening I did some research into how to take good photos of jewellery. I realised that the best way was to have a light "tent" or box so I will have to get Dad onto this when he comes over in January.

Back in the swing of things

I met Sonja early this morning and we drove out to FRIM. It had been about 5 weeks since I had been out there. We decided not to do the canopy walk as we were both knackered simply from the steep path leading up to the canopy walk! It was still a nice walk and we felt like we had worked out and sweated when we finished.

We drove to the Blue Cow and had Eggs Benedict for breakfast. As you can see from the photo, the table was a little small for us :-)

We drove back home and Sonja came up to the apartment so I could give her some stuff. Daisy and Sheila were there cleaning the place. After Sonja left, I did a few things on the computer and had a shower before walking over to the dentist.

Today marks the finale of my root canal. I had the permanent crown put on the tooth so now I can eat properly again after more than 6 months! I also asked Dr. Su to give my teeth a good clean - they felt so much better. 2700 ringgit later, I walked out with a brand new feeling mouth.

On the walk back I called Ross to see what he was up to and he said he was just going down to get something to eat. I suggested that he walk home with me and we could have last night's left over pasta bake. So we walked back together. Half an hour later, I dropped Ross back at the office.

In the afternoon I did the washing and also did a bit of beading. I tried a new technique using heavy gauge wire and hammering it into coils. I made a bracelet with big turquoise beads and the coils. I think it turned out quite well.

By the time Ross came home, I was just starting dinner. In my quest to use up things in the pantry and the freezer, I decided to make prawn fajitas. They were really nice. After dinner, we did a few things around the house.

Not much happening today

Today I felt a bit low so I hung around the house for most of the day. I watched crap TV, laid on the bed and generally just kept to myself. I did manage to get some things done like book our return flights from Japan and pay the deposit for our Cambodia trip.

About 3 Ross came home to meet the workman that came to look at the lights in the bathroom. As usual they were useless and basically after 30 minutes they left saying that they needed to get an electrician - no shit!

I dropped Ross back at the office and drove to Great Eastern. I picked up some contact lenses and tried to do some other things but it was all a little to hard so I picked up a sandwich from O'Briens and a coffee before driving home. I spent the rest of the day on the bed or on the computer.

Ross came home and cooked a tuna pasta bake for dinner while I busied myself with organizing my new beads. We watched TV and I did some more work on my jewellery blog (www.cheriesbeads.blogspot.com) before heading to bed.

Today's photo is of my earring tree.

Roast lunch with friends

After the shenanigans of last night, we slept in until 8 and then I dozed on and off until 12. We quickly got organized and then drove to KLCC to meet up with Rimma and Simon and their three kids Amy, Hayley and Luke for a Sunday roast.

As we arrived, Rimma was on her way out to pick up Hayley from a party. We walked to Chinoz where Simon, Amy and Luke were waiting. While we waited for Rimma, we had some food from the salad bar. The food was amazing! As soon as Rimma got back we tucked into the roast meat, veg and Yorkshire puddings. It was certainly a full meal. The dessert table was also good.

About 3.30 we rolled out of there full and happy. We said goodbye to the Cornell's and headed home. We spent the rest of the afternoon reorganizing the study - no small task! First we started with all the bookshelves and drawers and then we decided to reorganize the computer tables. This took the most time as we switched the tables around and the unplugged and replugged all the computer stuff. We finally finished about 7.30.

Although we had had such a big lunch, we were hungry again about 8 o'clock so we drove over to Pavillion and had Nando's for dinner. It hit the spot. We pretty much drove home and headed to bed.

Today's photo is off the Christmas display in KLCC.

Miller's Thank-you party

This morning we were up early and were super busy sorting out the cupboards in the spare bedrooms and organizing the sheets and winter clothes. We threw a heap of stuff out and put a lot aside to give to Daisy our cleaner.

Before we knew it, it was time to take Blue to the vet. We drove out to Ikano with Blue in the back and he was pretty quiet. Ross went up to the vet with him while I did a few things around the place. I bought some candles from IKEA and did some food shopping before Ross met back up with me.

We went to Starbucks for a coffee before running some more errands. I bought a new iron, Ross picked up some water and I also picked up some memory sticks before we decided it was time to head home.

We had about an hour before I had to go to my hairdresser appointment. Ross came with me and got his hair cut too. He left after about half and hour. Gary and Roy were very busy with my hair. Gary cut it while Roy did the colour. While I was waiting for my colour to go on, Gary and I chatted for ages.

About 5.30 I was done and rang Ross to pick me up. Back at home we relaxed for about an hour before getting ready for Sonja and Brian's thank-you party. Sonja had hired the function room downstairs and had a party planner organize food, activities and other things for the evening. She had invited everyone who played some part in helping out the family during the crisis with Brian.

We went downstairs to meet up with Sonja and Brian before the party started. Slowly people arrived. It was amazing to see 140 people arrive - everyone from the Aussie paramedics that Emma ran into in Starbucks just as her Dad had been shot to the nurses and doctors who looked after him in Prince Court medical center during his recovery.

It was such a great event. The Miller's did so well to get everyone together. I don't know too many other families that would be able to do this let alone think to hold an event like this. It was a great closure to the whole event with Brian.

As usual, at the end of the night, Brian, Sonja, Phil, Julia, Ross and I ended up sitting around drinking the remaining wine and chatting until the wee hours of the morning.

Rainy Friday

This morning was supposed to be netball but we didn't have enough players and by the time I woke up it was pouring rain so we wouldn't have played anyway. We did however make plans to meet for breakfast for one last final goodbye to Sam.

I drove out to Plaza Damas early and did a quick bit of grocery shopping before heading to the Blue Cow to meet up with the girls. There were about 8 of us who made it in total. It was a nice morning and Dino, the Kiwi guy who owns the Blue Cow, sent us over two bottles of champagne because he knew Sam was leaving - how nice! Needless to say, breakfast lingered on until lunchtime.

As you can see from the photo, Sam liked her caricature that we had organized. It really is a great gift for someone who is leaving!

After "brunch", we had a walk around the shops as Sam wanted to buy a Korean medicine chest from one of the stores so we all traipsed down to look at the furniture with her. From there we all went our own ways.

It took me about an hour to get home - traffic was nuts! Normally it would take 15 minutes but I forgot it was Friday prayers. Anyway, I finally got home and for some reason I was exhausted. I put my PJs on and got into bed to read my book. Obviously this led to me napping for a couple of hours. I finally woke up about 4.

Ross surprised me by coming home early - about quarter to 5 - and we made chilli con carne for dinner. During dinner we watched Ross' favourite show - Wipeout Australia - and then played a long game of Upwords (which I won) before heading to bed.

A lot of beading

This morning I busied myself with getting the house tidy. Over the past couple of weeks, bits and pieces have been piling up around the place. It took me a few hours to get everything straightened out again. I did some more washing and other bits and pieces before sitting down and having the leftovers of last night's salad for lunch.

After lunch I got busy beading. I finally made the other earring of the designs I had been trying out and I also started making some for gifts. It's so hard to decide what people might like! I ended up making 8 new pairs of earrings including some red and green Christmas stars and some flower earrings for kids.

I started photographing all my designs so that when I give them away for presents at least I will remember what I have done. I am thinking I will use the photos and start another blog - kind of like a catalogue of my designs.

After finishing the earrings, I got busy making a fritatta for dinner. My goal is to use up all the stuff in the freezers and cupboards before we head home. I used frozen spinach, feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, the left over chicken from last night, eggs and cheese. I did have to borrow an egg from the Miller's though. I had never made a fritatta before but it was so easy - just like a big omellette. I cooked it first on stove top and then finished cooking it under the grill.

Tonight we didn't watch any TV and headed to bed early which was nice.

A great day watching New Moon

I woke up with Ross this morning and text Sonja to see if she wanted to go walking around KLCC Park. I met her just before 8 and we walked for about an hour before having breakfast at Chinoz. We did a couple of errands before walking back to the apartment to shower and then head out again.

I met Sonja again about 10.30 and we drove over to the Gardens to go and see New Moon at the Gold Class cinemas. We bought our tickets and then went to have coffee at the Starbucks in Borders. Just before 12, we headed back up to the cinemas, made ourselves comfortable with our doonas and pillows and settled in for the movie. As you can see from the photo, we were the only ones in the cinema.

Basically, the movie, just like the first one, followed the book pretty well. This movie had a lot more action than the first but the acting and script writing was still pretty crap - laughable at points. But it was still a pretty good show.

After the movie, we looked around a few shops and then headed to Yo Sushi for some late lunch. We did a few more bits of shopping before heading back to the car and driving home.

I didn't do much in the afternoon and when Ross got home I was too tired to cook so he picked up a salad from California Pizza Kitchen for us for dinner.

As usual, we watched some TV before heading to bed.

Bits and pieces in Chinatown

This morning I woke up around 8.30 and got ready to head out. Before I went, I caught up with Daisy to ask her to do a few things around the house. Then I drove over to Pavillion where I had some breakfast at The Coffee Bean. All the Christmas displays were up. After breakfast I picked up some batteries and some vitamins for Ross before heading back to the car.

I drove to Chinatown and parked in the Central Market. Julia had asked me to get a caricature done of our friend and netball captain Sam who is leaving KL in a couple of weeks to go to Abu Dhabi. I found the caricature guy and dropped off a photo of Sam and also an example of a caricature netball player for him to copy. He said he would drop it off tomorrow at my house.

From there I walked to Peter Ho and picked up a couple of presents before going to a new bead store. They were selling tiny Chinese crystals so I picked up a bunch and also bought a display for my earrings in the shape of a palm tree (sounds cheesy but it is actually pretty good). I then headed down Petaling Street to try and find a back for my friend Kate but without success. It was like Xmas had thrown up in a lot of the stores along the back streets as they were all selling tacky Xmas decorations and gifts.

On my way back to the car, I picked up some orchids and had some lunch at Central Market. I drove home and spent the afternoon doing some beading before Ross came home about 6. We made mushroom and onion pasta with the 2 leftover portobello mushrooms. We watched some more TV and then headed to bed about 9.30.