Bend in the Weather

How time flies.

Tomorrow (2^nd May) Pauline and I will have been married for 10 years!
It only seems like yesterday that we were two scared kids wondering what the hell we were getting ourselves into.

We can honestly say that it's been a great 10 years. Whilst like every couple we have our ups and downs, we generally have more ups then downs. We've both grown together and stronger as individuals.

This year, is a big year for us. We are building our first house, and potentially may start a family after that. So life moves on, always throwing more challenges and adventures.

To celebrate the milestone, we're heading away for the weekend.
I'm taking a few days off work to extend the stay. We're not heading too far, but enough so that we're out of mobile phone range and the hum of computer power supply fans for a few days.

We've decided to head up to Healesville. For those unaware, it's located North-West of Melbourne in the Yarra Ranges.


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There is tonnes to do there, and we indeed to make good use of our time! We're hoping to get to Healesville Sanctuary (Pauline is an animal loving nut - this is a must stop for us!), The Hedgend Maze, The Yarra Valley Railway (time permitting), as well as visiting a bunch of wineries in the region (Map here) (I wish to stock up the ever diminishing supply of good Australian Red/White wine I have.)

It will be good to get away for a quiet retreat and leave computers, mobiles, television and most of the usual suspects that distract us.

As I've already blogged, I got Pauline an eternity ring to mark the occasion. Pauline returned the favour by surprising me today with my own present!

She came home with a lovely watch. My existing watch had been banged up quite a bit and was in need of a new battery (though it did tell the time correctly twice every day!).

She couldn't wait to give it to me (she was planning on surprising me on the day and had to show me straight away!

It is indeed lovely, it's quite easy to read, balanced beautifully and quite an attractive piece of jewelry. I'm extremely happy with it. (I would of personally picked something like this - she has got my taste down pat!).

It's fantastic, we now both have something lasting to remember the milestone.

So we've packed our bags, getting the dog looked after and heading out early tomorrow. (Friday).
The camera has been thrown in so we will hopefully take some photos of the picturesque country that is the Yarra Valley.
Pauline's selected a lovely apartment for us to stay in, and it's been furnished in a lovely traditional Japanese style. I'm looking forward to staying there, as it looks divine.

I won't be near a computer or Internet access for half the week, so I suspect the Email will still keep rolling in.
For those of you wanting a response, please SMS me (I'm not sure when we'll have coverage), or wait for our return.

Whilst the weather forecast isn't ideal, it is strangely very similar to the weather we had on our wedding day! In any event we have a number of indoor and outdoor activities planned so I'm sure we'll have a blast.

This tale started back almost 10 years ago... when Pauline and I got married (many said we wouldn't make it!)

We got her an eternity ring to mark the anniversary milestone. The actual anniversary isn't until the 2^nd of May, but we thought we might have to resize the chosen ring. Luckily, we didn't so she's now walking around everywhere shoving the ring in everyone's face!

She chose it out and it looks lovely. It goes well with her wedding and engagement ring and finishes off the set beautifully. For those inclined, it's an 18ct ring, with 6 diamonds in a channel setting. (If you can't tell from the picture!)

Pauline being the shrewd shopper waited til there was a sale on, and managed to pick up a $300 discount off it. We only ever buy jewelery when it's on special, as we feel it's closer to the real price.

Pauline didn't want me to miss out for the anniversary. She really wanted to get me something.

At Christmas we all normally give and receive gifts.

This year I've been given the best gift of all. Better Health.

It's a gift I've given to myself, as well as being received from Pauline.

Without Pauline's constant encouragement and commitment to prepare meals that follow the diet, I would have fallen off the wagon a long time ago!

It's more than a diet... it's actually a lifestyle change.
The high fibre, high protein, high dairy, low sugar, low carbs diet that works.
I thought I would never survive without the pastas, potatoes and other carb rich food, but I've replaced them with much, much more! I don't miss them now.

Whilst, I'm not near my ideal weight I'm heading in the right direction. In due time I'll reach it!
So far I'm close to losing 17kgs! Yup... that's like carrying a large fish on your back all day. (The fish shown below is actually 17kgs!)

Pick up 17kgs yourself and realise how much it is... no wonder I have so much more energy these days.

I'm losing at a nice constant rate... around 1kg a week... so I'll continue until I reach my goal weight.

So for those of you carrying a few extra kilos, and struggling to lose it, I recommend you pick up a copy of the book, and try it yourself! Believe me if I can have results... anyone can!

Pauline also has been doing the diet, and looks fabulous! She's shed some serious kilos and looks trim and terrific! I'm unsure just how much she's lost, but I do know it's quite a lot! She's an inspiration to me... as she's much closer to her ideal weight than I am. She also shows me that it is possible to achieve.

I'm looking forward to a much more active lifestyle next year, with loads more energy and a toned and healthy looking body. We only get one, so lets look after it.

I've officially coined today.... 'Backwards Day'.
Why you might ask?

Ahhh it started with Pauline booking our car in for a service today.

That was fine... however Pauline stressed that our car was 'too dirty' to take in for a service. (Well it's been a very long time since we washed it!)

So guess what we were doing around 10:30pm last night?
Yup... washing the car..... so it's clean to take to the garage for a service.

Hence... Backwards Day!

We had an interesting time on the weekend.

My folks came over to visit, to show us some photos of their recent trip to New Zealand. Unfortunately one of our dining room chairs gave up the ghost.


Whilst we could have used some wood glue and a screwdriver to repair it, it was a good time to look at upgrading. One of the things that had bugged Pauline and I was it was only a 4-seater, thus making it hard to entertain with more than a couple. So we thought "Something we'll need to do".

As luck would have it, Pauline was out shopping with her Mum. Her Mum was after a small display table and headed into a furniture store.

I got an SMS at work with a picture attached and a rather excited Pauline saying she had found 'our table'.


It did indeed look good.. though I was not wishing to hear the price.
I was pleasantly suprised to here $499 for both tables and chairs.

Now that was better than I was expecting! So Pauline snapped up the setting!

The new setting is so nice! The padded seats are also able to be removed so they can be washed. The chairs are very comfortable and we have loads more room on the table.

Now... what to do with our old table?! We considered selling it on Ebay, though wondered about shipping, and then Pauline said "Let's ring your sister". So we did, and as luck would have it, she was after a dining table!

We informed her of the dodgy chair but she was happy with that and said she'll take care of it.

So everyone is happy!
We got our new table for holding more, and my sis' got a free dining table!

I'm just hoping Pauline's Mum doesn't need to head into a car dealership!

PS: For the record... I don't think Pauline's Mum found the table she was after.

Today the Toothpaste wars finished...for the time being.

For weeks I've been battling with a tube of toothpaste getting the last scrap of paste out of the tube. I've found numerous ways to get the last dollops out of the tube.

Though, the battle is now over.

I walked into the bathroom this morning to find a new pristine tube gleaming in the morning sun sitting in the toothbrush cup.

It appears my wife finally gave in, and swapped it over. Such a shame, I was only just mastering my 'paste search-n-rescue' methods!

Looks like the battle is over... though I suspect the war will be back in a month or so.

This weekend (Sunday) was my gorgeous wife's birthday.
I've been buying pressies for her for weeks, and giving some of them to her leading up to her birthday (I'm hopeless at waiting until the day!). Though I did leave the largest until the day.

So Pauline ended up with some digital scales for the kitchen, a ceramic hair-straightener, a latte coffee set, and a George Foreman Grill.

EBay is excellent to pick-up some good bargains, particularly if you aren't in a hurry and plan in advance. You'll notice I got some very good bargains.. which meant I could stretch the dollar further and get more stuff for her. All items were brand new, and shipped/packed extremely well.

I'm happy to say so far everyone I've dealt with on E-Bay have been sensational.

Pauline's happy with the pressies which is the main thing!

On Saturday night we had dinner at Pauline's folks home, and had a fantastic meal made by her Mum. She even spoilt Pauline by baking a and making some very yummy chocolate mousse!


Pauline wanted to go to the Melbourne Zoo for her Birthday, and she was lucky... as the weather was perfect for it.
We headed off at around 11:00am (Yeah we slept in!).
We stopped at Subway on the way, and picked up a 6-inch Sub each for lunch, and brought some bottled water and some fruit.


The monkeys were good, though many of them were either hiding, sleeping or out of plain sight. Being around midday I imagine that they had decided to take a midday nap.
These two were most of lively of the lot. It looked like we were their entertainment, with them perched in front of the viewing platform watching the various people come past.











This is probably one of the best photos. You can get up nice and close to thousands of Butterflies in the Butterfly House.
The butterflies fly around you, and if you're lucky will perch on your head, shoulders or hands. We spent ages in there just watching the various butterflies with their rich colours and patterns.




Pauline demanded I take a shot of the sign. She found the phrase "Platypusary" quite humorous. I must admit it does sound rather funny.
The platypus inside was quite interesting, and it's set up so you can see above and below water.
The platypus is an animal unique to Australia and quite interesting. They are worth reading up on...particularly if you've never seen or heard of them.

We also saw the lion's. We were perfectly located in front of one of their drinking containers when one came past from a drink.
It was quite funny as the lion sneezed prior to taking a drink, and I watched as about twenty people jumped back in fright. I think they forgot there was a fence between them and us!

My most favourite exhibit was the seals. You can view them from above and below.
We timed our visit perfectly as the zoo keepers came in and fed them as well as played with each of the seals whilst we were there. They are remarkable animals and quite intelligent. On such a warm day I was a little envious of them jumping and swimming around!

We headed home shortly after and got home around 3pm.

At 6:00pm, we have Paul and Susan (with their two kids) come over to see Pauline for her birthday.
We had some birthday cake after singing after Pauline blew out the candles.
It was good to see our former next-door neighbours, and we had a chat and caught up.
We all headed out for a bite to eat at LaPorchetta around 7:30pm.

We each had pizza (yummy!) and then called it a night (was getting late for the kids around 9pm). Pauline and I headed to the cinema, but there was nothing we wanted to see... so we headed off home and finished the night with a McDonald's McFlurry (it was Pauline's birthday after all!).

So an action packed day, and lots of fun.

I hope you had a fantastic day Pauline... cause you deserve it.

Every child wishes their parents remain together; particularly more so with divorce rates at all time highs and seemingly continuing to climb.

I'm happy to say my own folks are still together.

This week they celebrate their 36^th wedding anniversary. It's an wonderful achievement in anyones book.

I wish them the happiest of celebrations and hope many more come their way.