Merry Christmas Everyone

Hello everyone,

Couldn't let Christmas arrive without me wishing my'Blends' all the very best of everything for the festive season.

Life's still a bit crazy - we had a wonderful weekend in Brisbane then back to work for four days - did the final presentation for Dip Bus - that went well so all over Red Rover! A mad hatter Christmas party, a Secret Santa luncheon, another day off and then Christmas shopping with my Mum, back to work for two days and then off from today for four days - bliss!

Everyone else is at home today so left them a list of jobs to do - build the water slide for the pool for my grandsons, cook the turkey, pick up the prawns, erect the camper trailer for son, DiL and family to sleep in on Christmas night, phone the friend we're having breakfast with tomorrow to see what to bring and so on.

Other than that all the presses are wrapped, the rest of the food is organised and tonight we go to son and DiLs for tea - dressed in Christmas colours.

Tomorrow breakfast at our friends, home for a lazy afternoon with a few visitors dropping in then everyone at our place for dinner.

So my friends I hope you all have a peaceful, happy Christmas with your loved ones. Thank you all for your unfailing support through the year - and I might add that I'll need it again next year!!! I haven't been very diligent or good lately!!

Enjoy my lovelies!

Love

Zanna xx

Glug, glug, glug

That's me coming up for air! So sorry guys – there just aren’t enough hours in the day for me at the moment. All still well chez Zanna – in fact even better than that I’d say. My family arrived yesterday – all looking incredibly well despite have travelled a total of 38 hours from door to door! I had yesterday off work, I’m back today through to Thursday, then off Friday and Monday and will follow a similar pattern over the next few weeks. This Friday we’re off to Brisbane – my D in L’s parents have a unit down there and have offered for us to stay there. So we’ll have a leisurely drive down on Friday, and spend Saturday and Sunday down there and drive back on Monday. Saturday night we’re planning to go to the Australian Outback Spectacular and possibly the Australian Zoo on one day – and perhaps a winery or two! Still ‘gymming’ 3 days a week, eating reasonably well but probably enjoying the fruits of the grape a bit too frequently! Study – I’ve completely finished my last assignment for my Dip Bus so awfully happy about that. Careerwise – I’m about to have a change of role – moving from reporting to the site HR team to Rio Tinto Shared Services as a Capability Development Adviser. I was offered the role originally as a leader – still looking after the two people who report to me currently. But in the new structure it was a huge overkill to have an additional level of leadership in such a small team. I’ve been looking for a bit of a change in focus recently so asked that they remove my level of supervision so that for the time being I can concentrate on me and further developing my skill set. So that all came together this morning and I’ve got my offer/ transfer letter. For the time being I’ll still be working out of the same office but will probably move to the local Uni campus sometime next year. So exciting and challenging times ahead for me. And now I’m sorry this is so brief but I’ve got a heap of work on but just wanted you all to know that I haven’t forsaken you all completely. I’ll try and do another post before Christmas when I can wish you all good things. Take care possums Love Zanna xx

Been AWOL

Sorry my friends Ive been lacking both time and inclination this past couple of weeks - Ive been haphazardly reading but been mostly too slack to comment and just couldn't get round to actually posting myself. Ive given myself a kick in the bum tonight and forced myself to do a quick update. All is well chez Zanna but just so busy between work, home and study. Theres nothing like impending visitors for getting your A into G and catching up on all those jobs you've been putting off. So theres been lots of tidying of cupboards, - linen, under the stairs, wardrobes (my clothes are spread over three wardrobes in three rooms!) So its now only about two and a half weeks till Mum, Linda and Frank arrive (Linda is my sister and Frank my B-in-L)so getting quite excited. No 1 son got a promotion at work - well deserved I think and needless to say I'm bursting with pride. No 2 son just got back from Brazil earlier this week. I haven't seen him yet as hes staying with a mate down the Sunshine Coast but will probably be back up here early next week. Eating has been quite good apart from this need to have a bit of chocolate now and again - strange as its not normally something I crave. Drinking has been good too - settled into quite a nice routine of having a wine or two on Friday and Saturday nights but nothing the rest of the week. However the weight doesn't seem to be going anywhere very fast - I'm down a further .5kg since I last posted - so that's 1.3kgs since I started trying properly. Hardly setting the world on fire and finding that its becoming very hard to shift that middle roll - think its one of the perils of menopause! However I have been going to the gym three mornings a week and really enjoying it. I do circuit with weights on Mondays and Wednesday and Thursday I do cardio - one day interval walking on the tready and then the cross trainer, the other day the bike and the rowing machine. Definitely feel better for doing it and although the weight not moving much - I had lost 2per cent body fat when I was reassessed last week. And now a couple of photos to finish off Hairdo from a couple of week ago - love it when hairdresser does it but cant replicate it to save myself Down the beach last Friday night for Curtis 3rd birthday Josh with his scary monster face

Apologies for the lack of apostrophes - that key doesn't appear to be working - but just been able to get the spell checker to fix most of them. Hope everyone is happy and well and having a good week

Love Z xx

In a Word

Stayed the same this week - after being 300g down on Friday - maybe I should weigh in on Fridays??!!! Nanette (aka Wanna) sent me an email this week asking me to describe her in one word, send her my reply then forward the email to a selection of friends asking them to describe me in one word. Here's what I got Traveller, Wisdom, Vibrant, Classy, Adventurous, Admirable, Superlative, Vivacious, Kind, Groovy, and Gorgeous. Thank you all you've made me feel very special. This was such an interesting exercise as I sent the email to blogger friends I've met and blogger friends I haven't as well as close friends and even a relative. So this week - well I've once again managed three gym visits although not much other exercise. Eating and water drinking has once again been really good. I relented on my no alcohol for the last two nights - Friday night Bloss and I just shared a quiet bottle at home and then last night we decided to go out for tea at a local restaurant so shared another bottle but I've already decided that it for now - back to alcohol free evenings. We're heading off shortly to an work team BBQ - the whole HR team and families are getting together at the park at the marina - so that should be fun then at night No 1son and family are coming down for tea so looking like a fun sort of a day. I've already been a good girl and made my huge bowl of salad for the weeks lunches and I made my little jellies and fruit last weekend and still have enough in the fridge for this week. Going to be a bit of a part timer at work this week - I'm there on Monday, spend Tuesday morning presenting my assignments and supporting the rest of the class as they present theirs then Wednesday and Thursday I'm at our offsite training facility doing the final workshop for my diploma then back to work again on Friday. Fortunately I'm pretty up to date with my workload so should be able to keep things ticking over. Well the kids came down and since it had been such a warm day they headed for the pool

Curtis in a little floaty car we brought back from Penang a couple of years ago

Grant, with Josh and Curtis

He's a cheeky one this one!

Chilling out with Porter (that's what they call Bloss) There's a bit of a story to this but it actually sounds really endearing hearing this two calling Porter to come and see something etc That's the news for this week - off to paint my nails now. Have a great week everyone. Love Z xx

Sofa??

200g down this week - it was 500g on Friday but you get that! Sofa so good! I've managed to maintain the focus again this week - exercise 5 days out of 7 with 3 mornings at the gym, been eating all the right things, not drinking any of the wrong things (that translates to another week alcohol free) and been drinking my water every day. We'll see what tomorrow morning brings. Not a lot else been happening this week - quite a quiet one really. Work has been good - really busy but challenging and fun so I don't mind that. Need to finish off my two assignments for my Dip Bus this week - presentation and review day next Tuesday. Spent yesterday in the garden doing a bit of trimming and pruning and hired a big trailer to cart it all off to the dump - that was yesterday's exercise and I can tell you I've found new achy muscles today! But it's looking quite good - the lawn could do with a bit of water but we're quite water conscious (and lazy) so tend to let the lawns take pot luck with whatever weather we're having - it get's really dry sometimes but perks up instantly whenever it rains. Tonight No 2 son flys in from Brisbane after his three week shut down in the south west - so I'm picking him up at the airport at 7.45 tonight. No 1 son and family arrived back in town this morning from their trip to Fiji so will go and have tea with them (takeaway since they've nothing in the house) and hear all about the holiday. And now a couple of photos to relieve the boredom ......

This is the downstairs area which we've been renovating - starting to come together quite well but still need to get the pool table back in - will have to round up the strong men first.

We put a new vanity into the downstairs bathroom - certainly flashed it up a lot.

View of the pool - after the tidy up

The other part of the garden by the pool

Shit - I'm boring this week - must be the lack of alcohol!!! Anyway onwards to another focussed week - and wishing the same to all of you.

Cheers,

Love Zxx

Squeaky Clean and a New Look

600g - n0t oustanding but my losses seldom are - slow and steady gets there in the end!! I've had such a good week - I do believe I might have some focus back. I started being serious last Monday - in other words doing it properly rather than kidding myself on I was doing it properly. I don't weigh in till tomorrow morning so will post my result then but it's been going good so far. And as you'll see I've given my blog a bit of a facelift - I get bored with it and need to liven it up! This week I have eaten properly - haven't actually tracked physically but have done a mental tally every night and I'm either under or bang on - I guess after all the years on WW I know what I should eat (and more to the point what I shouldn't). I've also sworn off the fruit of the grape - and doesn't that make a difference! So recapping - I've eaten properly, drunk my 2 litres of water every day(even on the weekend), had no alcohol (even though we went to a 50th last night) been to the gym three mornings and walked one night and am altogether feeling quite pleased with myself. I just need to keep it up now! Only 7 weeks tomorrow till Mum, Linda and Frank arrive so there's an incentive for me! Mum doing OK - was a bit down when I spoke to her last night - the funeral had gone smoothly but had been quite hard on her. So she's now focussing on her trip here to give her happy thoughts. No 1 son and family leave tomorrow for Fiji for 5 days - going to a wedding over there - so lots of excitement in that house when we went there for tea on Friday night. No 2 son was on the phone today from the Sunshine Coast - had popped over there for the day to catch up with a friend and catch a bit of sunshine at the beach. He's back here next Sunday then off a couple of days later to Brazil. It's like an international airport round here lately! Went to the hairdressers the other night - still persevering with growing my hair although it's so bloody slow - and so fine. Anyway had a light body wave which has given it a bit of oomph. Must admit I do like it a bit longer when I'm going to the gym - it's a sweaty drippy mess especially on the days I do cardio but I don't have time to wash it before I go to work so I just pull it up in a little band (which would look pretty silly on its own) but then I stick a big clip over it and it looks fine. Anyway here's a pic taken when I came back from the hairdresser on Thursday night

A little break there - Bloss and I zipped down to the beach with Zanna for a brisk walk - it was beautiful - we got up a bit of speed and now feel good (and virtuous).

Got out in the garden for a while yesterday and did a bit of tidying up - the golden cane palms were looking quite straggly and the 'Aussie Gold' bush was running rampant

So here's one garden bed - you can see the river in the background - not looking that good as the tides well out tonight

And here's the other one - just need to top up the straw mulch and we'll be right

And here's Zanna surveying her empire from the deck - lots of people walk their dogs along the path across the road so she takes a keen interest in every four legged friend who passes by! Her ear is almost completely healed up now and most of the swelling gone.

And thats the news for this week - will stick a line at the top to let you know how I go tomorrow. Have a great week possums!

Love Z xx

At peace

Just wanted to let you all know that Aunt Jean slipped away around midnight last night. I had a long long phone call to my mum last night and I kind of worked out from what she said and what I'd read that the end couldn't be too far away. Then this afternoon just as I got in from work Mum phoned to say that she'd just slipped quietly away. Guess we’re all glad that it’s over for her but just feeling the big hole she leaves behind. So just a bit down tonight - times like this you feel so far away from your family - although when I phoned No1 son and told him he listened to all I had to say about how Mum was and my Uncle and cousins and then in his usual caring way asked how I was - the tears fell then! And inside I was so proud to have such a wonderful caring son. Love Z xx

What's been happening?

Well it's sort of everything and nothing. There haven't been any major events in the last week or so but life seems to be busy nonetheless. Food and exercise? Well after my 10 days off with my sore throat and cough I started back at the gym and managed three visits last week - had been doing 2 days circuit and 1 day cardio but swapped last week and did 2 days cardio and really enjoyed that. Food - was fantastic during the week but had a few wines on Friday night and was out for dinner last night and had a few wines then plus yesterday I had a chocolate crave - fortunately not something which hits me too often - so I attacked the Rollos which I keep in the fridge for my grandchildren coming! Damn but that's it over! So weight really just holding steady and I really need to get my ass into gear and move a few kilos and I'd feel so much better. Work news - well my boss who was moving on decided that he didn't really want that move after all and had the courage to say so. Had a week of me stressing out as I had to act in his position (but because of the all his internal turmoil he hadn't been able to give me any kind of handover) so I was trying to keep my job going and his too. So major happiness when he decided that he's staying with Learning and Development rather than going to a Production role. I've been in fairly frequent contact with Mum in Scotland these past few weeks. We got the dreadful news about 4 weeks ago - totally out of the blue - that my aunt (Mum's younger sister) has advanced cancer - secondaries in her hip and lungs - haven't actually found the primary). She and her family have been key figures in my life - she's actually only 14 years older than me - so played with us as kids, I was flowergirl at her wedding, used to spend all my school holidays with her and my uncle on their farm, then once I was married her boys used to come and stay with me - including coming to Australia to stay once I moved here. She was the one who stayed with Mum at Christmas after her hip operation until I got there. She has tremendous faith so is quite calm but of course it's awful for her husband and family and so unexpected and sudden. Mum's coping well - helping as much as she can but the other dilemma she had was that they were told it was a matter of months, a few days before Mum was due to make full payment for her flight here at Christmas. Mum was in a real quandary - if Aunt Jean didn't make it till Christmas, then a holiday out here would be just the best thing for Mum, but on the other hand if she's still around Mum couldn't leave her little sister for 5 weeks and come to the other side of the world. However she's paid her flight anyway and will see what happens. My aunt is home with her family but is confined to bed and now has a catheter in as using the bedpan was too painful. She's been very confused and agitated these past few days and they've been trying to adjust her medication to see if that helps so such a terrible time for her family. She said to Mum last week "I hope it's not too long" and for everyone's sake especially hers I hope so too. It just doesn't seem right that you're subjected to such pain and indignity at the end of your life. It always seems bizarre to me that we're able to make loving decisions for our pets but can't help our nearest and dearest. No 2 son has gone off to do a 3 week shutdown at a power station about 5 hours from here. After that he’s heading back to Brazil for 3 weeks holiday to see his girlfriend. They’ve been in almost daily contact since he got back at the end of August and missing each other so much so he decided to do this shut which pays quite well then he’ll head off to see her. It definitely seems to be pretty serious – maybe Tiffany and I will get some more female support soon! She sound lovely anyway. And since posts without photos can be a bit boring, I thought I'd just do the bragging Granny thing - here's my younger grandson Curtis - taken at his Daycare Centre. The original is fantastic - I've just scanned it to share with you all.

OK guys I’m outta here – have a great week everyone Love Z xx

Slack

Yep - that's me just downright slack - I just can't seem to be bothered this week - I've been reading but not commenting and now almost forcing myself to do a post since there will be some of you who are wondering where the hell I am (I hope so anyway!) So what's been happening? Well I did the fun run - actually more walking than running but imagine my surprise when my name was called and I was presented with this......

2nd Masters Female

Now before you all faint in awe and amazement I think there were only three of us in this category! But you don't have to tell everyone that. Other news - it look like my boss has a promotion and while I'm delighted for him I'm not very happy for me. I've been asked to act in his role meantime - there's a bit of rationalisation happening with the other two Rio sites in our area and until they have the structure for that decided they won't put someone permanent in the role. I've been asked by a few people if I'm going to put in for it - it did cross my mind - but it's a big job covering all the onsite training, apprentices, graduates, a pilot programme for national competencies, all the technical training, traineeships, trade training etc etc - and if this all isn't enough - it has 19 direct reports. I discussed it with Bloss the other night and no I don't need that much stress and hassle in my life - I like my work but if I had all that lot to contend with then I probably wouldn't and of course they may not consider me the right person anyway. So I'll help out in the meantime till we see what happens. Been feeling a bit ordinary this week - Bloss's sore throat and cold has been stalking me - so far I've managed to keep it at bay but because of that haven't been to the gym since Monday and because I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself my eating hasn't been as good as it should have been - not dreadful but marking time stuff rather than losing stuff! And that's really it peoples - not that much to talk about this week. Zanna's ear is coming along OK - still quite swollen but we head back to the vet on Wednesday to get her stitches out so we'll see what he has to say then. All right sweet ones - have a great week. Love Z xx

Sick Puppy!!

Yes I really do have a sick puppy. But she's going to be fine. I came home from work last night and Bloss (who also has been sick and has been at home) said "the dog's crook - somethings wrong with her ear" Poor Zanna had one ear hugely swollen and her whole head was lopsided. So I phoned the vet (who I've known for the last 15years - he's been with me through dogs and horses) who said just bring her in. She had a haematoma on her ear. She suffers from an auto immune problem which causes her to scratch a lot and can result in rashes etc all over her. We've managed to find a spray which has improved her heaps but at this time of year all her extremities itch terribly so she scratches at her paws, her head and ears and sometimes the tip of her tail. Anyway she'd had a good old scratch and burst a blood vessel in her ear which had filled up her whole ear flap. So surgery was in order. They can't just aspirate as it would just fill up again. So she's home tonight still pretty dopey from the anaesthetic with a multitude of stitches in her ear and an opening left to drain over the next couple of weeks.

And Bloss - well he's had a throat infection and a dreadful cough and has been off work all week - an almost unheard of occurrence in his 25 years with the company. He's coming good now but will probably still have tomorrow off to make sure he's fully fit. Me - well I'm doing just fine - making some very sensible eating choices - back to making up my big bowl of salads to last me a few days - I'll list below the ingredients in this particular batch - absolutely awesome. Have also been going to the gym three mornings a week and just loving it and minimising the wines of an evening too. I lost 700g last week so pretty happy with that. Mixed lettuce and herbs (the bagged mix) Red, green and yellow capsicum Lebanese cucumber Celery Grape tomatoes Sugar snap peas Cabbage Green grapes Black Grapes Orange Avocado Basil Mint Mung beans Snow pea sprouts Alfalfa then just had some "Praise" low fat Balsamic dressing and the protein of your choice - tuna, prawns, salmon, ww ham and you have just the yummiest lunch imaginable. Great weekend ahead - No 2 son back from Melbourne again tonight and No 1 grandson coming to stay on Friday night. Sunday we have the Turtle Way Challenge (this is the name of a local walkway which in fact runs between our house and the river). All the local big companies submit teams who have to run/walk 4kms. We've managed to scrounge up 4 HR teams and I'm a member of the 'The Bullied' - we were all coerced into participating! Anyway I'm not up to running 4kms but will walk/run my way round and hopefully have lots and fun and laughter along the way. If I get any good pics I'll post them next time. Till next week possums - have a good one Love Z xx

A Meme with a Difference

Well I was cruising around Blogland following links from blog to blog and I found this at The Lavender Loft. She kindly offered it up to anyone who was interested and I can never resist. Challenge to my 'blends' - go on give it a go! Finish the sentence - keep the bit in bold and add on your ending. 1. My uncle once bought me a very expensive doll when I was 5 – I’d admired her in the shop and he was young and single and spoiled me. Her name was Carol and up until a few years ago she was still in Mum’s loft. 2. Never in my life have I taken strong drugs – dabbled with marijuana twice and that’s it. Smoking and drinking - well now that's another story! 3. When I was five my parents were the centre of my universe 4. High school was a means to an end – I enjoyed it but wanted to get out and get on with my life 5. I will never forget to be grateful for the gift of life – it’s wonderful 6. Once I used to have a pet rooster who came when I called him and would submit to being wrapped in a blanket and trundled round in a dolls pram. His name was Tarty! 7. There’s this boy I know who is a little scallywag with a heap of attitude – he’s my younger grandson and there’s this other boy I know – my other grandson who’s a ton of fun and one very smart cookie. 8. Once, at a bar, I drank mojitos where Ernest Hemingway used to drink. 9. By noon tomorrow I hope I’ll be having lunch with my friend 10. Last night I spent quite a while on Facebook – love the word games and play, sometimes in real time, with my cousin in Scotland 11. If only I had been born with a lean metabolism . 12. Next time I go to church it will probably be for a wedding or a funeral! 13. What worries me most is – not much – I try not to but I guess you never stop worrying on behalf of your children.. 14. When I turn my head left I see Bloss with his laptop on his knee. 15. When I turn my head right I see the light flashing on the answering machine 16. You know I’m lying when you look at my face – I always have a guilty look. 17. What I miss most about the Eighties – not much I believe in always looking forward and life just keeps getting better – but hey the music was good. 18. If I were a character in Little Women I’d probably be Jo. 19. By this time next month I plan to have my next two assignments finished 20. A better name for me would be Mrs Organised – I really value a sense of order 21. I have a hard time allowing other people to be disorganized! 22. If I ever go back to school it will be to study something in the field of human resources or psychology. 23. You know I like you if I stay and chat – I’m not good at pretending so if I don’t like you I’ll smile, murmur and move on. 24. If I ever won an award, the first person I would thank would be my Mum – she and Dad gave us such a good set of values and grounding in life and a great sense of self belief. 25. Take my advice; if you believe you can do it – you’re right – you can!!

Short Story this week

Well when I reread last weeks post it was really a bit of a waffle - sorry about that folks must have got a bit carried away. Much quieter week this week. Weight stayed the same and don't know how this week will go as I didn't manage to get to the gym last week. I developed some severe cramps last Sunday afternoon and ended up having to go to the doctors and being off work for two days. Still don't know exactly what the problem was. Didn't get to see my own doctor who was away so saw the new lady doctor - very nice but a bit wishy washy - she reckoned it was either TOM going to turn up after another long absence and making its presence well and truly felt or a low grade bowel infection. Either way it finally came good around Wednesday afternoon but I was going around bent in the middle for a couple of days. Had a three day workshop for my next two units in Dip Bus this week so enjoyed that. Last night was the awards dinner for work - we get to go every year now since Bloss is a member of the 25+ years club. So the photo below shows us just ready to leave. I'm wearing a top I bought in Malaysia a couple of years ago and had never had the opportunity to wear - it got quite a few compliments since it was just that bit different. I also decided to sport a few curls for a change - so got the old heated rollers out and tizzied it up a bit - it's a bloody mess today mind you - had too much product in it! This photo is of two of my greatest achievements - my two wonderful sons both of whom I am immensely proud of and love dearly. This was taken last week when they were at their step brothers wedding in Melbourne. So that's it for me - short and sweet this week for a change. Hope everyone's having a great week. Take care Love Z xx

Busy Week

It's been an incredibly busy week chez Zanna but will say that at the end of it I felt I had managed to achieve lots. Work has been just so busy - lots of project son the go, several VIPs visiting plus my assignment for my Dip Bus was almost due. I haven't really enjoyed this unit - the presenter for the workshop wasn't very inspiring, the subject Continuous Improvement is OK but for our organisation because we use Six Sigma and Lean (which won't mean anything to you unless your organisation happens to use these business tools) the focus of the unit is these two business tools - which happen to be brilliant if you're actually involved in the process side of things - like making aluminium - but harder to get your head round when you're involved in service and support! I normally come home after the three day workshop and do the bulk of my assignment so that by the time the coaching day comes up - about half way through the 6 weeks we given to do the assignment - I just take on board the advice from our facilitator and tweak it all a bit and it's ready to hand in. Of course this time we had the 3 day workshop then the very next day we took off for Vietnam so by the time got back from there it was coaching day and I hadn't even looked at it, then I was sick for a couple of days and work was full on and I was starting to feel very negative about the whole thing. However this past week I had a couple of sessions with the team who are helping me with my project and also a couple of meetings with my boss (who happens to be a Six Sigma Black Belt (a guru) so I got lots of direction and assistance from him and the net result was that I wound up my assignment on Friday afternoon at work - meaning I didn't have to spend all weekend finishing it off. Phew - lovely feeling. I also had my annual work performance assessment this week - the first with my new boss - it was really good and he only had good things to say about me (in fact most of them were actually excellent) so that always spurs you on when the going's getting a bit tough. Friday night we went to a Cheese and Wine night with some of the team Bloss works with - lots of fun. I'm trying to keep off alcohol as much as possible so I opted to drive so only had tiny sips during the tasting and two half glasses during the rest of the evening. The photo below shows Jess who raided the hostess's hat collection and I - we were all trying on hats - I adore hats!

Saturday morning was the final day of footy for Josh so we went along to watch him play. Curtis was in a foul mood but I managed to catch one pic of him looking reasonable happy

Below we have Josh intent on the game from the bench - the entire team take it in turns to spend five minutes or so off the field

His mum had said to him to make sure when he was presented with his trophy that he turned and looked at her and smiled so she could get a photo - so like the good guy he is - he did!

No 2 son is back - he got here last Sunday afternoon - very sick - think (in fact know as he freely admits it) he'd been burning the candle at both ends for the past 3 months and it had all caught up on him - end result a visit to the doctor and a diagnosis of bronchitis. He's coming good now and he and No 1 son have gone to Melbourne this weekend to their step brother's wedding. Be nice for the two of them to spend time on their own and also to catch up with their Dad. He also has a girlfriend in Brazil - first serious sounding relationship he's had in years - no shortage of female company but nothing beyond a couple of nights out. This girl looks and sounds delightful and of course this means that he's trying to source more work in Brazil but the commissioning job he had in mind for October has fallen through so he's having to explore other avenues and countries which might mean that in the short term he'll get Luana (gorgeous name) to come here for a couple of weeks. Her mother is Brazilian and father English so she's bilingual and has travelled around the world a fair bit with her father's work - went to an English speaking school in Portugal and spent two years in Miami. She's just finished a business degree at Uni and is looking forward to using her qualification - she's been working on this project for the past couple of years (the project Clive was working on) as a bilingual secretary to see her through uni but she agreed she'd stay to the end of the project which is running way behind schedule so she's 'over it' now and can't wait to start looking for more challenging work. So I'm really happy for Clive - and it looks like Brazil might come rattling up the list of places we want to visit!!

Health and exercise - well like I said I've been keeping away from the alcohol all week - had a couple on Friday night as I said and another couple last night but will stop again now. Last week the scales stayed the same but given the birthday weekend I was quite happy with that. Doesn't look like anything exciting happening so far this week but weigh day is tomorrow. I've been going to the gym three days a week for the last two weeks. I do a circuit programme Monday and Friday mornings and cardio on Wednesday. Worked quite hard on Wednesday and had lots of pain for the next two days so Friday morning was a struggle but all good again now and ready to go again tomorrow. I'm finding that getting up half an hour earlier and going then is working out pretty well for me - although I'm finding it best to come home for a shower before work rather than showering there - it gives me the opportunity to do something with my hair which otherwise would look dreadful for the whole day at work and I hate that!

Just about finished all the renovations downstairs and guess what - the upstairs shower is leaking and it's coming through the nice newly painted ceiling downstairs! Give you the shxts. Renovating the upstairs bathroom was on the master plan but not till next year - my mum, sister and brother in law are coming for a month over Christmas so thought we'd leave that particular mess and upheaval till after they'd been. But it's not to be - so need to get things moving this week to get the job underway.

And that my lovelies is what my week has been like - a biggy but a goody!

Love Z xx

Birthday Girl

Hi peoples, Just a quick hello from me today - too busy enjoying myself. It's my birthday today and I'm having a lovely day. So far have had a lovely card and voucher for a facial from Bloss, then the florist arrived with a gorgeous arrangement of flowers - isn't he a love!! I've had phone calls from my grandson and both elder and younger sons - the youngest one from the airport in Brisbane - he's arriving home at 1pm this afternoon after his 3 month spell in Brazil - and isn't that just the loveliest thing to have happen on our birthday. It's been a great weekend so far - started with mudcake with the team at work on Friday - we always have a cake for people's birthdays. Then yesterday I had lunch with a couple of friends at the Yacht Club - and while there got a beautiful pair of gold earrings from Shaz - my bestie. Last night Bloss and I went for dinner to a local restaurant where I got a single red rose and a balloon! Tonight Grant, Tiff and the boys and Clive, Craig and I are heading off to one of the Chinese restaurants in town for tea - so how's that for celebrating in style! In other news - got back to work for a couple of days then was sick - have had a good run this winter but finally got caught! So was off work for 2 days. But fine again now. This meant that I had to delay my start at the gym - but only by a couple of days. So I started last Monday and managed Mon, Wed and Fri - and the timing fits well (go when the gym opens at 5.30am and am finished in time to shower and be at work for starting time at 7am) so planning on this becoming a routine part of life from now on. Weightwise since coming back from Vietnam I'm now down 1.6kgs with tomorrow being weigh in day again - not sure how that will go - have been a bit wicked this weekend. Although on reflection not really evil - had a couple of wines on Friday night and last night with Bloss and shared an entree of battered cuttlefish with chilli plum sauce - always a favourite at that restaurnt, had chicken breast stuffed with a yummy cheese (forget the name of it) and chive sauce, and then Bloss and I shared lemon meringue cheesecake - and that was to die for! But other than that meal everything else has been on track so shouldn't be too bad! And now a few photos for you - At the yacht club yesterday with a friend My gorgeous flowers from Bloss This was the painting I got a while ago which was destined for the entry hall once the tiling had been done. And this is the painting we bought in Vietnam which I just picked up from the framer's yesterday - really happy with it. I just love abstract paintings - you can see so many different things in them.

OK - that's it for me for this week - hope everyone is having fun. Take care Z xx

Views of Vietnam - Long Newsy Post

Alright chaps -now to give you a bit of a rundown on how we found Vietnam and what we got up to. We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC or Saigon as it was formerly known) around 9pm on the Saturday night. Our transfer was waiting for us and off we went into our hotel. HCMC has a population of 9million and 5million motorbikes! So our first impression of driving in the city was that it was bedlam - an accident waiting to happen. However after a day or so we realised that although the bikes swarm around like bees (Bloss's description) and everyone beeps their horn constantly - they are actually driving quite slowing at only around 25/30kph and they are fully aware of their surroundings, and in fact there are apparently hardly ever any accidents in the city. Certainly there was no evidence of prangs and bangs on the cars (not like say Bali). Crossing the road is a mastered art - I had read in the Lonely Planet that the worst thing you can do is make a run for it - the best way is just to set off from the pavement when there seems a slight slackening off in the traffic and then just slowly make your way across the road thus allowing the traffic the opportunity to divert around you! We actually got quite good at it.

Here come the swarming bees!

Street scene in HCMC Our hotel was really nice - quite old - built in 1930 but had been refurbished and was quite lovely. Even had a fresh orchid growing in our room. The staff there and in fact everywhere we went were excellent - incredibly friendly and keen to help you. The next day we headed back out to the airport around lunchtime and flew to Hanoi. We were staying in a lovely little boutique type hotel in the Old Quarter. This is an area that had 36 streets each of which was devoted to selling a different commodity eg flowers, lacquer ware, shoes, tinware, wood, embroidery etc. This is still pretty much the case today. The streets are quite narrow with lots of activity. Because houses are rated on the size of their frontage, they have very narrow fronts but go quite high and a long way back - looks quite weird!

One of the tall skinny houses After a night in Hanoi, we were picked up the next day where we had private car transport to Halong Bay (about 2 hours away). There we were taken out at about 12noon on a tender boat to a beautiful big junk moored in the bay. This was home for the next 24 hours. We had lunch, dinner, breakfast and lunch the next day on board. There were about 30 of us on board with some magnificent staff who really looked after us - there were several different nationalities (Spanish, Dutch, German, Japanese, French and Australian) and it was amazing how well we all got to know each other in the space of 24 hours. As well as the meals we visited a huge grotto with magnificent stalactites and stalagmites, an artificially created beach, a hidden bay which could only be reached by sailing through a small gap in the rock. We also cruised around the bay - over 3000 limestone islands - quite beautiful. We had a lovely cabin with double bed, aircon and our own bathroom. This little treat including all meals cost us $145 each including our private car transport to and from Hanoi.

Taking home the shopping!

The entrance to the hidden bay

The view from the cave at the top of the Grotto Next day it was back to Hanoi for another night - we had only taken backpacks with us on the junk and left our cases at the hotel. We spent the afternoon walking around the Old Quarter and down to the Lake and the Temple there. We had a nice meal that night in a little restaurant just down from the hotel.

At the temple by the lake in Hanoi On the plane again next day to Nha Trang. This is where we had treated ourselves to a bit of luxury and as you'll have gathered from my earlier post it certainly lived up to expectations. We didn't get up to much here - we took full advantage of all the comforts and lazed around the pool, had a jacuzzi, enjoyed the fabulous breakfasts and I had a wonderful holistic massage - felt just great. We walked around the town one day and another afternoon we went to the markets there - they weren't that great but fun to visit anyway. There is a very nice sailing club there - great favourite with the backpackers and tourist alike. We had a lovely cold beer there one lunchtime and dinner there on the beach one night.

The entrance to the spa All too soon our three nights there were over and it was time to head back to HCMC. We stayed at the same hotel where they greeted us like old friends - a lovely touch. There is no doubt mind you that Aussies (even if not by birth!) seem to be pretty well liked around world. On the next day, Sunday, we hit the pavements and explored the shopping possibilities. We found a large department store where although the prices were fixed, they were open to a bit of negotiation. We then continued walking and found the Ben Thanh Market - this is a huge area of market stall - under cover - but a lot of tarps and corrugated iron so hot as hell. There were many bargains to be had here and you've seen most of mine. Prices were pretty good and the people great fun to barter with. That night we headed out to the Vietnam House for dinner - you've seen the pics. Monday we had arranged to have a tour to the tunnels at Cu Chi. I had full intentions of going into the tunnels (and Bloss was the one who wasn't sure about it) but when it came down to it - climbing 10 metres down stairs underground then having to stoop and keep my elbows by my side and follow one guide, with Bloss behind me and another guide behind him, and pitch black - claustrophobia kicked in - I didn't even realise that I had that tendency. Anyway the idea of being confined like that for 30 metres before I could get to the surface again freaked me so I didn't go. And Bloss said thank goodness 'cos he didn't want to go either! But nonetheless our visit was fascinating - we had a brilliant guide who was very knowledgeable and it gives you a different perspective on the whole thing. The Vietnamese people were very wily, clever and full of initiative as well as being very small and the Americans must have really struggled to cope with their ingenuity.

One of the hidden entrances to the tunnels - check it out alongside Bloss's Size 12

I got just inside here before I freaked In the afternoon after we got back to HCMC we visited the War Remnants Museum. I found this a very unsettling experience. There are old plans, weapons etc which didn't bother me. But there are also lots of pictures and information on those who were burned with napalm and then the aftermath of Agent Orange. We had already seen at first hand (we visited a couple of large centres for handicapped people where they make lots of crafts) the effects a generation on of this defoliant. The handicaps are dreadful - young people with no eye/s, partial limbs, or no limbs and on it goes. Seeing those photos in the museum just made me so sad and left me questioning why - that war didn't appear to change anything but left this devastation in Vietnam and hundreds of families in US, Australia and New Zealand either lost loved ones or had them come home severely injured sometimes physically but more often with terrible mental scarring. I don't have any answers but it certainly was a humbling experience for me and made me more aware than ever of the terrible waste of war - I acknowledge mind you that this is not a black and white subject and I don't want to get into a debate over it. Our little guide who was the son of a peasant farmer in the Mekong Delta who had gone to uni and was now extremely proud to be a tour guide (and who had fantastic English) had recommended a French restaurant (remember Vietnam was formerly French) called Le Mekong - so we went there for dinner and it was wonderful.

Lots of lovely bonsai around Our last day - we paid for an extra half day so that allowed us to check out at 6pm - money very well spent - otherwise you have to be out at 12noon and our flight wasn't till nearly 10pm at night so you end up losing that day. We didn't - got ourselves organised then went off shopping again then ended up lunching at a little cafe we'd found a couple of days earlier where the staff were just lovely. Then after a few final Tiger Beers we headed back to our room to do the final packing and have a shower and change and off to the airport.

The lovely guys at the Ciao Cafe

Another wonderful holiday in the annals of the Travelling Tart!! Whilst I've enjoyed everywhere we've been in the past on holiday and would happily go back again we don't usually as there are too many other place in the world we want to visit but could maybe make an exception this time - we still haven't visited the Mekong Delta or Sapa in the north and of course we're just next door to Cambodia and the magnificent Angkor Wat. I've peppered this with a few photos but if you want to see them all click on the link in my sidebar and it will take you to my Picasa web albums where you can view them as a slide show. Changing the subject completely - eating has been spot on since I got back, no alcohol and I signed up for a year's membership at the gym and did my assessment tonight and have a neat program which I plan to start Friday morning before work. Smokin!!!! Take care everyone Love Z xx