OOPS, I Did It Again!

I talked to my sister last week and she commented on how much she laughs when she reads my blogs. I told her that I was considering renaming my blog to “I am not funny, I am just an idiot.”  This weekend confirmed that thought…

 

We had our first Australian wedding to attend this past weekend at Caloundra Beach (about an hour from Bulimba).  The wedding was for a couple that Tony met when our friend Lee was here back in March.  Patrick and Shelley are from Canada and Tony loves hanging out with them. Unfortunately, our schedules have been so busy that I had not met either of them before their big day. 

We woke up early Saturday to head to Caloundra. The kids and I have been so excited to go to the beach, so we wanted to get there in time to splash around before the 3:30 wedding. We wore our swimsuits in the car, so that we wouldn’t waste a minute before jumping in! We were about 45 minutes into our trip when I got those bug eyes, looked at Tony, and could only muster up an “Oh my gosh”.  I don’t know why it hit me, but all of a sudden I had a vision of the clothes at home that I had forgotten to grab on the way out the door.  Remember now, I was wearing my swimsuit in the car.  As much as I like my swimsuit and cover-up, I was certain that I would not make a good first impression with the bride if I wore that to her wedding.  Tony had a good laugh and kept driving towards Caloundra. 

We arrived at our hotel, Tony and the kids went to the pool, and I headed out to the street in hopes to find an appropriate dress for the wedding that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. It took a little over an hour, but the trip was successful. I found several things, including a dress that went perfectly with my black Nike flip-flops that I wore on the trip over. I can only imagine what people must have thought about my taste in dressy shoes.

The setting (Shelley Beach) was beautiful for the wedding!  It was a rocky beach that created huge sprays when the waves crashed up against them.  We took our seats along with the handful of guests in attendance.  At one point, Patrick and Shelley sat at a table that was positioned directly in front of my seat.  As I said earlier, I had not met Patrick and Shelley before now.  I so desperately wanted to lean over and whisper, “It’s so nice to meet you.” I didn’t know if she would think it was funny, so I refrained.  Luckily, the wedding ended before the sandcastle that Ellis was building with his feet could get any larger.  We chatted with Patrick and Shelley and gave them our congratulations before heading to the rocks to try and get a picture of the kids. I imagined it would make a great picture for our Christmas card.  I believe Ellis made it to the second rock before sliding on his bum the rest of the way.  Meanwhile, the wedding guests posed for a group picture with the bride and groom.  Not to worry, the photographer said she could crop us into the photo. So, there we were, standing on the beach with several feet between each of us, posing for a photo we had completely missed. Hopefully my flip-flops and Ellis’s pants didn’t make the cut!

 Yes, that is how close my chair was to the bride and groom. There were actually a row of chairs, but we moved per photographers request. Everyone else moved their chair. I left mine (along with the flops) as I darted out of the way.

                     Hannah Grace said it looked like Ellis pooped in his pants.

                                      It pretty much did.

This picture was taken the next day when we went kayaking and swimming at Caloundra Beach.

A week of driving under my belt

I survived a week of driving without anyone being hurt or any damages being done to the car.  Thank goodness!  Hannah Grace started her golf lessons, so we were out and about each morning.  It still baffles me that these sweet Australians trust me to drive a car without taking a test. The following describes the events throughout the week.

 

Day One: It was the Queen’s Holiday, so not many cars were on the road. It was rainy out, so I was very thankful for the lack of cars.  My hands were holding on for dear life at 10 and 2.  I was sweating, despite running the air condition.  We didn’t listen to music and no one was allowed to talk while the car was moving.  My friend from Texas, Janelle, told me to sing, “To the left, to the left” (Beyonce’s lyrics) to remind me what side of the road I should be on.  The song ran through my head the entire drive. I think I went to bed singing it.

Day Two: The sun was out and so were the cars. Everyone was back to work and back on the roads.  Hands still at 10 and 2, but I was no longer strangling the steering wheel. “To the Left” was still echoing in my head.  After dropping off Hannah Grace at the golf course, Ellis and I went to the grocery store.  I managed to get in on the wrong side of the car…AGAIN! It wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t squeal with laughter, yelling at Ellis “Look what I did”, drawing the attention from all of the people passing by. 

Day Three: One hand on 2, the other by my side.  We listened to music and had conversations.  I was getting the hang of it.

Day Four: By day four, man was I feeling good.  I had a hand at 2 and then I would change and have a hand at 10. I changed lanes. We sang along to songs. I actually changed the radio station. We had great conversations.  It was during one of those conversations that both hands went back to 10 and 2 and I sang, “to the left, to the left”.  Don’t worry, I was on the left side of the road. I just had to remind myself. I had become so relaxed that for a split second, I thought, “WAIT, am I doing this right?” 

 

Day Five:  Tony took the day off from work.  He took Hannah Grace and I haven’t driven again.

Hervey Bay

Ever since Tony told me we were going whale watching, I envisioned the wonderful blog that I would write. No funny stories, just wonderful memories from our trip.  Hmm, I should have known it would not be that rosy.

 

Tony planned a memorable trip to Hervey Bay, just north of Brisbane. Hervey Bay is a four hour drive, so we made it a weekend trip. Just before 7 in the morning on Saturday, we ventured out to catch the shuttle to our boat. The moment the captain stepped off the bus to greet us and said, “The conditions could not be worse for a boat tour”, we should have turned around and walked away.  No, we didn’t.  We continued on to pick up two more families and then off to the marina.  As we stepped on the dock, despite the calm seas at the marina, you could see the rough waters out past the jetty.  I shot a quick glare to Tony, but we marched on to greet even more families already on the catamaran. The captain stressed again how rough the water was and gave us multiple opportunities to back out.  I tried oh so hard, but little Ellis’s eyes batted up at me and he said, “Please, Mommy, let’s go.”  My mind told me to load everybody back in the van, but I couldn’t deny my little fella the opportunity for this adventure.  So, we set sail.

To say the water was rough might be a bit understated.  When I asked Tony to go and get me a life jacket, Hannah Grace’s eyes alone showed how mortified she was at the thought. “NO, MOM!” leapt from her mouth.  No turning around and no life jacket.  I am pretty sure we were not 2 hours into our SEVEN hour trip when Ellis began feeding the marine life with all that was in his tummy.  No turning back, no life jacket, and a sea sick child. *yippee* Although, I did not like the idea of my child being sick, I could handle his throw up. The sound and sight of everyone else throwing up, however, didn’t do so much for me. At that point, I didn’t care that I wasn’t wearing a life jacket. I was ready to hurl myself into the bay and offer myself as breakfast to the whales. 

The seven hour trip (I kept singing Gilligan’s Island theme song using “seven hour tour” in my head) was not a total loss.  Because the waters were so choppy, the whales were very active.  I loved seeing them fly in the air.  That part was thrilling.  Once we had seen several pods of whales, we moved to calmer water blocked by sandbars and used the sails to guide us.  At this point, everyone seemed to be feeling much better.  Ellis became a new child, running and jumping across the catamaran. I decided his seasickness probably helped with my nerves. I don’t know that I could have handled running and jumping when the boat was being tossed from side to side.  So, in the end, all was good.  We ALL agree, though, next time we will commit to half a day only in calm waters. 

 

 

 

 

 

Holiday

This week began the two week “holiday” for the children. I feel a little guilty that the children are already on break after such a wonderful summer. Just a little guilty, though. I think I will really like this “alternative schedule”, “modified calendar”, or whatever else you would like to call it.

We are only on our fourth day off, but we have stayed quite busy. One of the things we did yesterday was meet some other “mums” and children at one of the many parks in Bulimba. We were halfway there (of course, we were bike riding and walking) when I realized that I didn’t think to bring a water bottle. No problem. We stopped by the Fish and Chips Take-Away on the corner and picked up two Gatorades and a water.  Ten dollars and twenty cents later, we were on our way! When we arrived at the park, I realized quickly that meeting at the park on a Wednesday morning at 10 was a lot different than what I had ever done before. Let’s just say, I was quite unprepared. They all had their blankets and baskets that were full of goodies. One mom brought homemade mini quiches, another brought homemade cupcakes, one brought an assortment of fruit, and another brought a variety of finger foods on fabulous display in a sectioned container along with a thermos of coffee and REAL coffee cups to share. Shew, thank goodness I stopped and picked up those drinks.  All I had to offer was gum.  “Dentyne, anyone?”

 

Next week, Hannah Grace is participating in a golf camp.  That is the great thing about two week breaks throughout the school year. The community gets involved and offers all kinds of activities for the children.  Anyway, she starts golf which means I start driving. This should concern anyone on the roads in or near Bulimba considering I went to practice driving yesterday, hopped in the car, shut the door, and stared at the dash in front of me. Yep, that is right; I was in the passenger seat.  Perhaps I should get one of those signs for my car, “DRIVER IN TRAINING”!

Buffett in Brisbane

I was a young 14 years of age when I attended my first Buffett concert.  It was at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson and I was with my best friend, Amy Sefick.  Many, many concerts would follow over the years.  I married a “parrothead”, so the trips to concerts continued. I have seen him in Charlotte, Atlanta, New Orleans, Birmingham, and now Brisbane.  The acoustic concert with Mac MacAnally last night may have been my all-time favorite.  It was not a typical Buffett concert. A stage was literally plopped down in the middle of the botanical gardens. The setting could not have been more beautiful! Instead of the usual crowd of thousands, I would be surprised if the crowd last night reached one thousand. Lawn chairs were tied together for the seating area. Instead of a huge band with dancing girls, the stage held Jimmy, Mac, their guitars, and a percussionist.  The stars were glistening, the moon was shining, and the music was incredible. I have to say, it was a perfect night.

The pictures below don’t do the concert any justice, but I thought I would share. I had to pick the video clips carefully. I need to remember NOT to sing when I am recording a video! I have attached a video to my facebook page of Jimmy's additional lyrics to Margaritaville. The video was too long for me to download to my computer...well, I couldn't figure it out.

 

 

Lunch at Myriam's

Yesterday I was invited to a lunch hosted by the wife of Tony’s boss, Myriam.  My chauffeur (haha, Julie!) had to cancel because her child was sick, so I had to quickly figure out how to get from Harrison St. to Moray St.  Lucky for me, the City Cat (river taxi) was able to drop me just a few blocks from Myriam’s apartment.  Apartment, mind you, does not seem to appropriately describe where Myriam and her husband reside.  It is located just off the river on the top floor of a five floor building with amazing views of the city. Stunning!  Just as wonderful, were the ladies (other wives of Fluor employees) that were there and the food she served!  Of course, having lunch with the wife of Tony’s boss made me quite a bit nervous. I wanted to make sure I was on my best behavior. My only mishap of the day was when I locked myself in the restroom.  When the door did not open after two tries, I glanced over my shoulder to see a look of horror in my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were wide and my mouth more than open.  I cupped my hand over my mouth, holding back laughter and screams.  I thought, “What now, Sherlock?”  I honestly thought I would have to bang on the door for someone to come to my rescue! Just before I yelled for help, I thought, “Surely, I can figure this out.” Thankfully, I did. Who knew that if you pushed the button down on TOP of the doorknob, that you would then push the button UP on the BOTTOM of the doorknob?  Good grief, you can’t take me anywhere!

The following pictures include the view from Myriam’s “apartment” and a group picture. I wasn’t in the picture because I was still trying to decide how to make my escape from the bathroom! (Just kidding, I took the picture)

 

Bulimba Fete

We had a fabulous afternoon on Saturday at the Bulimba Fete (the children’s school festival). As with all school festivals, it was chaos and madness for me and PURE JOY and EXCITEMENT for the children! By the end of the day, we were all pooped! Below are some pictures taken at the festival.

                                         A view from above. Tony wanted me to point out

                                         the 4 X gold tent in the mix. It was a BAR! I don't

                                         know about everyone else, but our school back home

                                         does not serve alcohol. It was a HUGE hit, though!

                                      Hannah Grace working hard at "Cupcake Evolution"!

                                      Sure is a good thing she is wearing those gloves while

                                  she keeps track of the money! The Cupcake Evolution was 

                                      run by Hannah Grace's class. They brought in $3,000!!!

                            

 

                           Hannah Grace and her friend from school that lives down the street.

Ellis made this flower arrangement for me at the flower stall!

Too sweet!