We're exhausted

Tony and I have both been working around the clock lately - weekend work, late-night work, work, work, work! We've been passing each other like ships in the night and we can't wait for the luxury of a long holiday together in Europe.

I apologise for the slack updates, but in the rare few hours of free time that I've had, the last thing I've wanted to look at has been a computer (unless it involves holiday planning!)

I'm off to Toowoomba for four days this week - one of our major stakeholder groups is holding their annual conference and my job is to "nework and build relationships". If you read between the lines, that means lots of chat and socialising at the Gala Dinners. I don't mind this kind of work, it's not too bad at all!

I get back on Thursday afternoon, right after Tony leaves for seven days in Melbourne. We've recently invested in a young fashion designer and this will be his first Australian Fashion Week. Tony's role is to manage any business affairs that may arise out of the trip.

So between all this work and these trips, maybe Tony and I can finally catch up on that loooong plane flight to London...

Hello Queenie!

Very exciting news - Tony and I have booked our return flights to London! Woohoo! We're going for seven weeks from September 15 - three weeks yesterday!

We haven't locked in our plans while we're there yet - we have a few countries on our list of must-sees and we're sorting that out in the next week or so.

In a lucky turn of events, Fi's lease is almost up and she's going to house-sit our place while she looks for a new townhouse for her and Chey. So little Zackie will have some fun company :-)

Shhh...mystery shopper on assignment

This past weekend I had the best mystery shopper assignment - a one night stay at a hotel, including breakfast!

So on Saturday afternoon we packed up our staff and took the loooong journey to Garden City Travelodge. We were so exhausted after almost 15 minutes in the car...

We checked in to the almost new hotel and since we were "tourists" we had a look at the gianormous Garden City Shopping Centre (we never get to this part of town, so it was quite exciting!).

To complete the "romantic getaway" we went for dinner that night in a local restaurant.

It's funny, even though we were just down the road, it really did feel like a weekend away.

Birthday girls

Two of my dearest friends are celebrating birthdays in August.

We started weekend before last with drinks at Merthyr Bowls to welcome in birthday week for Fi. It was a fun afternoon but after my Happy-ometer night I was feeling a bit tired and so we called it quits after dinner (so did the birthday girl!). It was a wise decision though, as the next morning Fi and I had a lovely leisurely brekkie at the Moray Cafe, then visited my folks, before hanging out at the Story Bridge Hotel later on Sunday afternoon.

The following Friday night was the surprise party for Cath. Make sure you check out her blog for details and pics.

Happy birthday girls.

The Happy-ometer

There's nothing quite like a bit of self-appreciation. That is why at work, the lovely work-Fiona and I have designed the Happy-ometer for the Marketing and Comms team. It's a thermometer drawing and when our clients thank us for the work we've done, or say we've done a great job, we add stars to our Happy-ometer and eventually reward our efforts with food and drinks. There's nothing like a fun social event to motivate the team! And it's so nice to actually stop and think, "hey, that person just thanked me! I'm doing a good job!"

Anyway, after about two months of studiously adding stars to our Happy-ometer, we finally reached our end goal on Friday 4 August - a night of Sizzlers (we love our food), Strike Bowling (we're just big kids!), and a quiet drink or two (yeah right!).

I was first up at bowling and I managed to get a strike! But it all went downhill from there... I think I finished fourth or fifth?

After bowling the stayers partied on at the Port Office (oh dear) and after Maccas and eight boxes of cookies (thanks Alex) we all stumbled home around 4am. It was a fun night, but I'm keeping Mum as what goes on tour stays on tour.