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Yes this weekend has certainly had so much crammed into it - I'm absolutely exhausted and it's back to work tomorrow - going to be a long busy week!

Weight first - I've been a good girl still and managed to get rid of another 700g this week so that puts a smile on my face!! Keep on pedalling!

Well I don't know where to start there's been so much happening chez Zanna. I'll back track to mid last week when I was formally offered the Recruitment Advisor position which since I'd already given a lot of thought, I was able to accept on the spot. Instant assumption of the accountabilities plus handover a heap of my previous stuff to our new graduate - a delightful young man who is I think a pretty smart cookie but nonetheless - as well as needing to get his head round the work conceptually has had no previous experience of that wonderful software system called SAP so has had a pretty steep learning curve this week. I thought it was quite special that he sent me an invite to be his Facebook friend which I accepted, then on Friday evening posted a message on my wall thanking me for all my help this week and for making him feel so welcome.

So half day Friday - although I had a training course to attend for another software system being introduced for contractor management - and I look after supplementary labour on site so needed to know how this would interface with me - so instead of finishing at 11 as I should I was there till about 12.15.

So home, quick change and then off to the dentist for an appointment with the hygenist -have a bit of trouble with my gums so go every 3 months for a scale and polish. Left there and went off looking at bedroom suites - we currently have a queen size ensemble which is past it's best and we had decided we'd go kingsize this time but I was thinking about having a mattress in a frame rather than an ensemble. Got a couple of prices then headed for Harvey Norman to see what they had available. Sign out the front said 60 per cent off mattresses. So I engaged the young man in a bit of conversation - probably not the sharpest pencil in the box but very obliging and eager to please. I spotted a bit of a special going on a Sleepmaker ensemble and asked about the price for just the mattress - wouldn't get the benefit of the special $1599 for a queensize ensemble and wait for it $1099 for a kingsize ensemble. I asked how come a kingsize was cheaper than a queensize - dropped jaw and oops someone has made a boo boo. Raced off to see the manager but agreed that I had the right to buy it at the advertised price. So ... long story short - I bought a kingsize ensemble for $1099 which has a normal retail of $3299!!! Was that a bargain or what! Could take up to 6 weeks to get it - but I can live with that.

Saturday - I had decided to get up early and head for Rockhampton to see if I could find an outfit suitable for the wedding. It was kind of an off chance as I had booked flights via frequent flyer to go to Brisbane next weekend to get an outfit but thought I should just check out Rocky first in case I could find something.,

So I headed off to Rocky - went to Stewarts first -found a dress that was .... pretty good - but wasn't absolutely certain so got them to put a hold on it while I checked out a few other places. Went to a few other shops - nothing doing .... then wandered into Noni B - cased the joint and was just about to leave when I spotted a short rail with a few after five type outfits on - and there was this dress....... Tried it on and the rest is history. Fitted perfectly - and still will if I lose a few more kilos. So bought it and headed to Suna - a shop where thet have all sorts of shoes and bags - and I got both to match with the outfit perfectly. Back to Noni B to get a necklace and earrings which just finish it off - and I'm set!!! A few pics below - I look kind of ordinary - flat hair, no makeup and the nails both hands and feet definitely dont match but you'll get the drift.

So finally back home late Saturday -got Indian take away on the way through Gladstone as I was too tired to think about cookingl.

Today - well can't remember if I've mentioned that we're getting the three upstairs bedrooms renovated - -paint job,new carpet and a total re-arrange of the furniture. The painter arrives on Tuesday this week so needed to get most of the furniture out - curtains down etc ready for him to start. Our desks in the study have posed the biggest challenge so Bloss was busy working on that most of Saturday. So today - a clean of the drawers of some of the furniture and a move downstairs for us till the work is all complete. I reckon that conservatively I have climbed up and down those stairs at least 150 times today so feeling quite virtuous. Also did a bit of a wardrobe cull and filled two and half bin bags for the local charity and dropped them off.

Tonight we met Grant Tiff and the boys at the local pub for tea to have a pre-celebration of Grant's birthday which is on Tuesday - 33 - OMG how did I get to have a son that old! So first day of school tomorrow - Josh into Year 6 and Curtis Year 1 - another exciting year begins.

So a couple of photos below of the outfit:

Hanging one the back of the door

With bag and shoes

The shoes

Me with it all on - but no makeup, flat hair and a sadsack expression on my face

My delightful family - Josh, Tiff, Curtis and the about to be 33 year old Grant

Love Zxx

Birthdays Galore

That's definitely the case for January - it started on 9th with Deb's, then 11th was my Mum, 13th was Tiff (my DiL) and today 15th is the wonderful Shaz.  I have a short break then it's Grant's on the 24th.  It's not just the effect on my pocket but the challenge of trying to choose presents for them all.  But I've conquered them all apart from Grant - and Tiff is usually good for a few suggestions.

Well if you have a look at my little pedalling lady at the top you'll see that I've had a good week and dropped 1.1kgs so feeling very focussed and positive.

I don't actually have a real lot to say today - after all it was only 4 days ago that I last posted.  So work busy busy - especially when you've had two days leave and a day off site - you arrive on Thursday to 125 emails in my inbox!  I was wondering when my next hairdressing appointment was as I didn't seem to have noted it on my Iphone and I kept meaning to text her to find out - but since I don't have mobile reception in my office and I have to don safety glasses and go outside to get it I hadn't got round to it.  I got home on Friday - my half day and started in to the massive pile of washing we had after our weekend away.  One of the problems with Merlin the marvellous is that he delights in pulling washing off the line so I have to do it and hang it out while we're home and bring him up on to the deck.  Anyway I digress - I got the washing on, had some lunch - and then a little nap in the chair and then remembered I was going to text Rob - I picked up my phone and there was a text from her asking why I hadn't turned up at 12 for my appointment. Dohhh!!!  She is so good to me and was able to fit me in on Saturday morning instead - so I've had a bit of a trim, had my regrowth done and just for a change as well as blonde foils, have had a few copper ones blended in there too.  And like the result!

We're having new carpet laid in the three upstairs bedrooms and having them painted as well, so yesterday afternoon I piled all the furniture on the bed in the middle of the spare bedroom in preparation - the painter is coming in the next couple of weeks.  Our bedroom won't be too difficult but the study will be a different story since we have two large desks in there which were erected in situ so it's going to be a bit of a challenge getting that room emptied for the carpet to be laid.

Yesteday Deb texted me saying that one of her sons had caught a heap of mudcrabs and did we want to go round there for tea.  It's ironic that both her boys love crabbing but neither of them eat crab.  So we feasted on mudcrab with some fresh crusty bread washed down with Moet!!  How decadent.  Deb had a bottle which we hadn't found the opportunity to drink on the birthday trip and I had a bottle we'd been given by the friend who stayed in our house back when we went to the US.  So why just have one bottle when you can have two - and we did!

Well for someone who didn't have a lot to say I've managed to waffle on quite a bit.

For those of you who asked about the dress - this was the dress I chose - but had it made in tea length.
But what you don't see in this pic is that the lace has sequins and also interwoven with silver thread.  In the green it was just too much.  Also the way it has been made makes it very heavy - the bodice has a double lining of satin and it's boned - not something I need and the chiffon skirt is also double lined - no idea why but it makes it really heavy.  I've included a couple of pics of the dress I received - the colour doesn't look too bad in the photo but in reality it's really quite lime in colour.  The second one shows just how ornate the lace is.

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Ok must be off and do some food shopping - kids coming for tea tonight and the cupboards seem to be quite bare!  Last day I think of obedience training for Merlin today. Have a great week everyone

Love Zxx

Frolics on Fraser

So my first week of being back on a very defined track went really well. However we had a few days away planned to celebrate my friend Deb's 50th birthday. I went with the intention of not having any alcohol at all. Silly girl! I got through the first night till our meal was served then I weakened and had two glasses of wine. But after that I had beer and wine over the next few days. But on the plus side I had heaps of exercise and I was pretty careful with what I ate. We got back late this afternoon so the moment of reckoning will be when I step on the scales tomorrow morning. I'll add a tailender to this before I publish telling you how I went.

On Friday - we both now only work half a day - I finish at 11am and Bloss at 12 - we had a new day work roster introduced and so I now start at 6am and finish at 3.15pm and knock off at 11 on a Friday - would be better to have a full day off every second week - but that wasn't up for grabs so I'll settle for this meantime. Anyway I raced in and took Merlin to the kennels and then home, grabbed some lunch and we took off for Hervey Bay - about a 3 hours drive south of us - still on the coast. We caught up with Deb and Ian on the journey and followed each other down to the unit we had booked. This whole trip was to celebrate Deb's 50th. There were 3 couples sharing a unit at this really nice apartment block - I think we got the penthouse - it was fabulous. Anyway we had a few drinks on our massive deck. We were joined by another couple of friends of Deb's who couldn't make it for the rest of the weekend but had driven up from the Gold Coast and Brisbane to join us for dinner. A great night with many laughs.

Saturday morning we caught the ferry across to Fraser Island - about 45 mins and we were staying at Kingfisher Bay resort. There were 11 of us in the party - Bloss and I, Deb, Ian and Deb's two sons with their girlfriends and Nola and Lex and their daughter. Deb and Nola each had booked an apartment - Deb with 3 bedrooms and Nola a two bedroom whereas Bloss and I were in a hotel room - but all on the same resort. But the resort is massive and very hilly. Bloss and I were on the flat but every time we wanted to catch up with the other we had a good 10 minute walk - much of it up a very steep hill. Saturday afternoon we lounged around the pool and generally explored what the resort had to offer then got together for BBQ tea. Sunday we took off in two 4WDs and explored some of the island - you can only drive around in a 4WD and some of the tracks are quite hairy - so we had lots of bumps and laughter. We visited two different fresh water lakes and had a swim in them - fabulous. Wraps for tea that night. Monday was Deb's birthday so we all met for breakfast and she got some of her pressies then but we decided to keep spinning out her birthday so I held on to our gift. Then we took off exploring again - this time to Lake Wabby - this is a lake which is surrounded by sand dunes. It was a 3km hike to get there - down hill most of the way then at the very end - a very steep climb up a sand dune then down the other side to the lake. And the walk back was a real challenge - back up that same dune - which was bloody hot underfoot then a steady climb back up to the lookout and back to where the car was parked. We had a swim in the lake and then opened a bottle of champagne and toasted Deb whilst sitting in the water! That was when I gave her our gift - a matching set of pedant and earrings in silver with pink pearls. And I'm thrilled to say she liked it. Headed back to the resort - and a nanny nap then down to the pool for a swim and a cocktail. Home to get dressed up and back for dinner in one of the resort restaurants. We didn't last long after that as it had been a huge day and we were all shattered.

Today we came back from the island on the 10.30am ferry and then headed back home, went via the kennels to get Merlin and then home - with a mound of washing!!!

The dress had arrived while were gone. Well what can I say - it's beautifully made - a bit on the tight side - but if I lose a few kilos would be OK. But that's not the problem - whilst in some lights it might look like sage green to me it's lime green and so not the shade I was looking for. But I think the worst thing is the lace - I thought it was just a plain lace - but it actually has sequins and silver threads which is just far too ornate for me. In addition the jacket is miles too small - measure two inches side to side smaller than the dress! and is lined whereas I asked for unlined. I've been communicating with the site and they would make me the jacket I ordered FOC but it would be a waste of time - I don't like the look - it's got that very ornate Asian look - which looks fabulous on Asian ladies but is just not what I'm after for Clive and Jo's wedding. So I'll chalk it up to experience and instead do the sensible thing - find a dress - know exactly what it looks like, try it on and know that it fits! Ce'st la vie - it could have been fabulous - but it isn't! I'm not going to complain or cry about it - I always knew it was a gamble.

Now the photos :

Deb (the birthday girl) and I at dinner on Friday night

Bloss and I at dinner on Friday night

Our little deck out the front of our room at the resort

The view from the boardwalk as we walked from our room to the main part of the resort

Wildlife galore

Bloss and I at Lake McKenzie

The beach on the ocean side of the island

Part of a shipwreck - the Maheno - love the textures in this

Me beside the Maheno

This is the view from the lookout at Lake Wabbyn- can you see that little person on the left hand side of the beach - well that's roughly where we were headed for

Bloss and I with Deb and Ian on the night of her birthday

Bloss and I strutting our stuff

Me just outside our room

Me on the shores of Lake McKenzie

Bouncing along the beach - check my wonderful hairdo!

On the beach with Bloss and Ian

Deb and I peeking through a porthole on the wreck of the Maheno

Me halfway down the sand dune on the way to Lake Wabby

The present giving ceremony at Lake Wabby

OK it's Wednesday morning now - did the scale jump - 500g off  (that's in 10 days)- on Friday last week I was over a kilo down so hopefully it will drop down again in the next couple of days as I get back on track proper.  Off to work now - am off to coordinate a recruitment assessment centre - riding shotgun today but need to take it all in as if I take on the Recruitment Adviser role - it'll be me in the driver's seat next month.

Have a great week everyone.

Love Z xx

Time to get serious

Och I know -you've all given up on me and decided that I have defected to Face Book - and that's partially true.  However I have been reading your blogs whenever I get a minute and occasionally commenting but I just haven't had my sh?t together to settle down and lose weight properly or to blog regularly.

So what's the goss - well that 1.6kg I was down last post has been reduced to only 700g down.  I managed to get 2.5 off at one stage then faffed around again and then of course there's been Christmas but on the plus side I'm still lighter than when I came back from holiday.

But the pressure is now on - Clive gets married in about 14 weeks and I really want to lose 5 or 6 kilos before then.  So today marked day 1 of a 12 week challenge.  I've done it before and I can do it again - I just have to have the right mindset and I think I've finally got it.  Not going to do anything unusual - just count points, cut out the alcohol and up the exercise.  I'll make myself a nice wee record on the sidebar to keep me honest.

So what else has been happening.

Work - still really busy.  We've had a few changes - the major one being that Rio Tinto has decided to divest a group of companies - one of which is ours.  It's not making much difference to us right now - still business as usual.  But it will mean that we'll do our own recruitment rather then it being done by a centralised team.  Both my immediate leader and my manager have suggested I take over one of the Recruitment Adviser roles as they feel I would be really good in that position so I'm giving it serious consideration and may well move to recruitment later this month.

Family - Grant, Tiff and boys all really well - hard to believe that Josh is going into Year 6 and Curtis into Year 1 after the holidays.  Since I last posted we went down to Melbourne to Clive and Jo's engagement party and housewarming - it was a great night and they are so happy together.  Clive finished up in Korea just before Christmas.  He has a break of 6 or 8 weeks while they float the rig from Korea down to off the coast of WA.  After that he'll do fly in fly out of Melbourne to Karratha in WA - two weeks on/two off.  The wedding is all organised for 14th April - will be at Peppers Moonah Links Resort which is on the Mornington peninsula.  And the really exciting news is that my mum and sister are coming over for the wedding.  They arrive to us on 25th March then the week of the wedding we all fly down to Melbourne - overnight there then we've rented a house in MacCrae for five nights which will accommodate Bloss and I, Mum and Linda as well as Grant Tiff and the boys.  After the wedding they come back to Queensland with us and are here till the 30th April.

Friends - Our friend Deb turns 50 next week and so a group of family and friends are going over to Fraser Island for a few nights - we'll drive down to Harvey Bay on Friday, stay there one night then over to Fraser on the ferry on the Saturday and stay there till Tuesday.  Will be a lovely wee break.

Merlin - has settled in so well - took a bit of work in the first few weeks till he realised that I was alpha dog - not him!  But these past two or three weeks it all seems to have come together and he's responding and behaving beautifully.  We of course are going to dog obedience classes which are so well worth the effort. I'm walking him twice a day so if I start eating properly that should help bring the kilos down too.

Mother of the Groom dress - I've order one online - supposedly from the US - but then I discover that it's actually a bit of a scam that it's in the US - it's actually China.  However as well as bad press about them being in China there's also some really good reviews from satisfied and happy customers.  Anyway I've ordered the dress - provided all the measurements and the latest email from them says it was shipped last week.  So fingers crossed it works out.  It was incredibly cheap - only $150 all up including postage.  My thinking is that worst case scenario I'll still have to make a trip to Brisbane to buy something which will cost me an awful lot more and I'll have lost $150.  But I'm an optimist so hoping that I'm just about to receive the bargain of my life.  Watch this space.

King of the deck

At the beach

Having fun at the beach

Wishing you all - if anybody is still reading - the very best for 2012 and I hope it's a year filled with wondrous things for you.

Take care
Zanna xx