Getaway!

Well after my op-shopping on Saturday we got home and decided we'd head off to the coast for the night - usually happens that way - last minute decision. Benjamin was at work, and as usual he had a ride home and was busy for the weekend so that was our passport out of here, so to speak.

Darren and I haven't stayed at the Marriott together (I've been there years ago and it really is lovely... expensive...but lovely) so we thought 'What the heck!' Let's call it a celebration of his new job AND his 50th. Sometimes it's good to have excuses :-)

Funny thing ( Darren's recently been appointed mobile banker for Bankwest - starts a heavy two week training stint in Brisbane next Monday)... anyway... we were stopped at traffic lights not far from the Marriott and what should pull up next to us but the coast's Bankwest mobile banker's vehicle.

We've never seen one before, anywhere, and now here we are stopped at lights and it pulls up next to us just days before he starts working for them. In a big rush before the lights changed I took two really good photos.... check this one out... very 'loud!' colours indeed - Darren definitely won't get lost in Toowoomba driving something like this!

Our room for the night was just lovely. A corner room on the 14th floor with great 180 deg views. We never have views like this when we stay
at the coast.


Now to me a pillow is a pillow (need a couple, but doesn't really matter if they're flat, squishy, hard, soft etc) - now Darren's different. Usually he takes his own but this time we forgot, in our mad rush to leave. Well let me tell you I was in heaven with a capital 'H'! We had two double beds which were adorned with 4 feather pillows each -talk about awesome! They are always listed at the top of the pillow chain! The beds were so so snuggly and with 4 pillows I had the best sleep. (Darren on the other hand commented last night at home 'Gee it's good to have a decent pillow!')

We headed off to Jupiters Casino for the show Saturday night and it was pretty good - not as good as the one years ago we saw when Benjamin was about 8. It was fantastic. (My friend Wendy Mollee (Uncle Aussie's sister) was one of the dancers in the show back in about 1988 and we loved! having front row seats watching her. Unbelievable...) Anyway, the casino itself is so different now. Massive - only one level instead of the two original ones. (The top level is only for members now, and that is definitely NOT us). We watched a few tables then headed on back to the M. and slumberland was soon the order of the day.

Sunday morning (being woken up by people in the next room before 6am) we decided we'd go for a walk on the beach - walking across the highway, then up a side street to Main Beach what did we come across but our favourite Bankwest vehicle again :-) We had brekky at Tedder Av. at Main Beach,which was nice, then headed to Robina Town Centre (never been there before and jeepers it's big!) then after that headed for home. Well we thought we were heading for home....

Detoured to Mt. Tamborine and checked one of the wineries out - hmmm... the Shiraz which was supposed to be their number 1 didn't taste like Shiraz and the Merlot, well.... don't know.... We did buy two bottles that we liked and as I write they are still sitting in the wine rack, unopened, which is unusual :-)

Next - headed to the Cheese Factory and Brewery. Interesting beers to say the least - the one I had definitely had a grapefruit taste to it. Sounds strange, but was very refreshing. Had a cheese tasting-plate which always goes down well with me, THEN we really did head for home. The deal was, Darren drove up and down the mountain and I did the rest :-) so I stuck to that deal and by 5pm (and 8 degrees cooler than the coast) we pulled up. Always good to be home and our little impromptu 'getaway' was done and dusted... until the next one...

Op-shoppin time

Oh! to buy cheap clothes! (just don't tell Benjamin his Mother frequents these shops more than he knows)

There is nothing better (well there is, but hey for the purpose of this blog let's just go with that) than sifting through heaps and heaps of clothes and actually finding not only sizes that fit, but some colours that might look ok too. This wacky weird warm Toowoomba weather has MADE me go in search of shorts as I only have one pair at home. I live in jeans and when I move to Hobart down the track they will definitely come in handy :-)

So off to the Lifeline Emporium this morning after my chiropractic appointment and started looking at summer dresses. There was actually a line-up to pay when I finally made it to the counter - just shows how popular our sacred second-hand shops are. I ended up with two pair of shorts, summer dress (definitely! for just around the house) and two 3/4 pants so I'm a happy chappy.

But!!! as we know there is always a cloud with every silver lining and today at Lifeline it was KIDS.
Rowdy, rude, obnoxious little kids running up and down the stairs and just making an absolute nuisance of themselves. The only one not causing trouble was about 2 months old.... thank goodness for 'small' mercies.

Anyway, that's my clothes shopping done for at least 2 months so all good. (I saw a pair of shorts that would fit Benjamin but decided it's not worth buying them. If he won't wear Rivers shorts because of the brand, don't think I'm going to get him into a pair of my 'best buys' from Lifeline!)

Toowoomba Hospice race day 15th Aug

How strange..... forgot to post some photos from the race day, which was fabulous. So here they are albeit a few weeks late :-)

'Best Hat' Tahlia with her winning towel set

Dave and Steve

The 'boys'

Darren

Fremantle it is!

After much 'google' searching and review-reading we finally decided that on completion of our cruise in December we'll stay at Fremantle instead of in Perth itself. Wow! You should see this lovely place we've booked. 'The Harvest'... is going to be fantastic. http://www.fremantleharvest.com.au/index.htm

Just can't wait now... it's been a long time coming. Bring on December 5!

ps. we just might come back from the cruise being able to jive too :-)

18th of the 8th

...... gee it always seems to come around so quickly .....
38 years ago today (I wonder what time?) my Mum passed away, when I was 2 and Bub was just a few weeks old. Over the years all the normal quotes have been made about being 'so young', and 'oh she was so beautiful' and numerous others. Yes, she was young and yes she was by all accounts 'beautiful'... but she also was 'my Mum' so anything that's been said in the past can keep being said, because it keeps her close to me somehow.

I remember when her 25th anniversary came round, I did up a little memorial card, so to speak... her photo on the front, a really nice verse inside, then something I just wrote myself. A copy of this was given to my Uncle's and Aunty Carmel and Dad also. I always say photos are so important, dates are so important and they are. My fear is that one day I can't remember all these special days and times.... I suppose if I can't.... well I won't know I can't hey so it will be all fine :-)

Our whole life is just one memory added to another really and today my blog just says 'Mum I remember you' and that the 18th of August 2009 has not slipped by without my thoughts going to you.

Double decker birthday + a Wombat

What do you get when you have two girls, double decker 'cookie' birthday cake, heaps of lollies!, both girls playing guitar at different times, lots of people, drinks & Mill Street function room?

The twins 25th birthday party was last Friday night and was a hoot. Funny - their combined ages add up to be Darren's age this year. So Teen and Melissa are a quarter of a century and yep, Darren must be (1/4 times x 2.3 take away the 5 minus the 3....) 50!

There is something to be said for live music, especially when it's the girls playing. Was great just chillin (talking to Ann from newsagency all night) having a few wines and listening to some great songs at the same time.

True to Smith tradition a Wombat (named Russell) was one of the gifts of the night - not your average digging, burrowing, snoozing one.... just another little fat one that doesn't move but looks so bloomin cool!

Now the cake was awesome - it was a huge cookie with little cookies around it... It was bigger than a normal birthday cake but a typical 'cake' for the girls to choose. Tasted yummo too!

Birthdays are always great but this one was different for us - seeing both girls at the same time. Usually one is away etc so was good to get some photos and celebrate their quarter of a century with them both.

Squashing or Flattening + Pizza!

That special age of 40 means yesterday I lined up for my first mammogram...yee haaarrrr!

They tell you it's an uncomfortable feeling, which is probably right, but when you have to go BACK into that room for the 3rd time and they're really looking for a certain something the squishing, squashing, becomes bloody flattening what is already quite a non-event as far as boobs go :-)

Anyway, here's hoping (after * 3 times in the mammogram room * 1 ultrasound with fine needle biopsy by a very super-efficient Doctor * 3 hours up at St. Andrews + a mammoth bill at the end!) that the result on Monday will be it's just another cyst. The staff at the Breast Diagnostic Clinic are great - fantastic! up-to-date magazines, yummy fresh sandwiches, tea, coffee etc and along with that you know everyone gowned up in the waiting room with you is about to have the same thing done and no-one is better than anyone else.

Okay - all that done - home I went and slept for about 2 hours :-) needed it ...then Michael brought Benjamin home and the talk of dinner came up. Initial plan was for Benjamin to drive me to buy some meat from Woolies, but changed our mind when we got to 'The Ridge' as a new place called Pizza Capers had opened.... awesome! A really innovative, interesting-looking place with an extensive menu. We ordered a chook pizza + a 'serenDIPity' which included one dip plus about 8 little pieces of herb pizza bread. 15 minutes later (after we'd been to the bottle-o) once 'Grainger' hit the screen and said 'NOW' we were on our way home to really enjoy a good 'pig-out' as Dad would have said...

Winter in Toowoomba?

20 degrees - now it's getting just TOO hot, especially for early August - hate to think what Summer is going to be like this year. I said to Darren the other day I'm going to move to some place where the average Summer temp is 18 deg. I'm guessing that means heading south, way south...Tasmania here I come! The heat never used to bother me growing up, but now a wonky thyroid means a 'wonky thermostat' as Darren puts it. Oh well.... c'est la vie....

In my uni days Winter in Toowoomba meant major fog, cold, drizzle, sometimes wind... yes, I'm sure I complained about it back then when I had to set off for our Friday 8am Aural class with Gabs, but now, I wish this crappola weather was back.