More pics...

...from our engagement party available here.

Our engagement drinkies...

Tony and I had a bit of a bash recently with some friends to celebrate our engagement. Not an "official" party with cake and speeches etc...just drinkies at a pub with our mates in Bris Vegas.

For all you kids out there who are NOT yet on Facebook, you can see the photos here (and no, you don't need a Facebook account to see these).

Yeah I know...

...I've been slack again.

In betweed dodging the flu, working some serious overtime and planning a wedding we've been pretty busy!

I also have to admit that I've found a new online hobby....Facebook. Yes, I've joined the revolution and it's addictive. Try it sometime.

Our wedding date has been set for Saturday 19 April next year. Cripes, that's not very far away!

We've booked our wedding venue and I think I've found a dress. But that's about it. Oh, we've also found a photographer and had some engagement photos with her. I'll post them soon.

Next item on the list is our engagement party. It's planned for mid-October, really looking forward to celebrating with you all.

Bye for now.

Ken and Barbie wish Tony a happy birthday

On Saturday 30 June we threw a party to celebrate Tony's 40th birthday. And not just any old party, but a Ken and Barbie themed extravaganza complete with jumping castle!

A kiss from the birthday boy

Barbie and still-in-the-box collector's edition vintage 1967 Ken

A few too many Ken and Barbie's on the jumping castle

To see all 250+ photos from the party, please visit our photo site. You'll need to type in the password which is our puppy dog's name in all lowercase. Click on the album and peruse the thumbnails, clicking on one if you wish to see it full size. You can then click through them or return to viewing thumbnails. The images are low res and may be grainy, so let me know if you want any at full size. Happy viewing :-)

If you've got any other photos from the night, please email them through. Thanks! x

It's official...we're engaged!

Thursday the 28th was a special day for another reason...Tony proposed :-)

After taking the hire car for a spin up the coast we stopped in to see Mum and Dad. I didn't realise this, but while Tony was taking my Dad for a lap around the block he asked him if he could propose. What a sweetheart! I had no idea - I mistook his nerves and him being anxious to pick up some party supplies from a mate's place before it was too late.

After we left the burbs, Tony said we needed to stop in to Riparian Plaza as his mate Andrew had a present for him. I didn't think anything of this - Tony has the work contract for Riparian and I just thought Andrew was working late. I started to think things were a bit weird when Andrew met us at the car, told Tony where his present was and then left. Hmmm....

Riparian Plaza is currently the tallest building in Brisbane with 38 office floors, topped off with a pool deck and then another dozen or so levels of exclusive apartments. It's a beautiful building. We caught the private lift to the pool deck - floor to ceiling glass windows with breathtaking views of Brisbane by night, the Story Bridge and suburbs twinkling in the dark.

By this time - after a long day of hair blowing in the wind, too much food and wine and seeing family - I was pretty exhausted and not feeling terribly romantic. And I was busting for the loo. So after a short intermission while miss jen attended to nature, Tony resumed his "present unwrapping".

The present from Andrew turned out to be a long stemmed red rose and two mini-bottles of champers which we enjoyed while admiring the views and million-dollar fancy swimming pool lit up at night. Hmmm... Couple that with Tony saying something romantic and then...holy crap...he's getting down on one knee...*this is where my memory completely escapes me* I think I started crying and laughing at the same time.

Tony pulled out a ring box and I remember thinking "oh my gosh, this is really real! And what if I don't like the ring!" Crazy brain! Tony popped open the ring box and I could just make out the sparkle in the dark. Realising we weren't in the best light, Tony's grabbed me and dragged me to under some better lighting and re-opened the box.

Tony: Here it is...

Jen: Oh my gosh........sob, laugh, sob

Tony: Do you like it...?

Jen: It's beautiful.....sob, laugh, sob

Tony:.......well?

Jen: Get down on your knee again....sob, laugh, sob

Tony:....groan as lowers onto aging knees...

Jen: Put the ring on my finger....sob, laugh, sob

Tony: Well, what do you say?!?! Will you marry me?!

Jen: YES!!!

Ring goes on finger, hug, sob, laugh, hug etc...

It was such an incredibly special moment for us. And the comedy was so very Tony and Jen.

After ringing my folks and my sister, we dropped in to see Fi with the special news. I think she just about died of shock. And other than telling Tony's Dad and my grandmothers, we managed to keep it quiet until after Tony cut the cake at his birthday party on the Saturday night. It was a long two days to keep my mouth shut...

Happy Birthday Tony!

On Thursday 28 June we celebrated Tony's 40th birthday.

Originally I'd planned for us to go for a hot air balloon ride, but those gusty westerlies we had put an end to that. So on the morning of his birthday we hastily arranged an alternative adventure - a drive up the coast in a BMW Z4 Roadster convertible, lunch at the Terraces in Maleny and a few pit stops to show off the wheels to friends and family :-)

Some news and pics from the past few months...

Some memorable moments since April...

• We bought a new couch, plasma TV and rug for our newly painted loungeroom. Am I really this old...
• I went to Blackall for work. Can now strike that off my list of must-see places...
• Went to too many Tupperware parties. Got a shite-load of free stuff...

• Joined Matt and Vanessa in celebrating their daughters', Breyana and Julia's, christening...

• Took my eldest niece, Sharda, to Dreamworld for her sixth birthday. You did not grow up in Brisbane if you don't have one of these photos...
  
  

• Was the "12th man" (or similar netball equivalent) for our team in the corporate games. These guys actually won! And even though I never actually played, I managed to get myself a medal :-)

• Went to a bling party for Paul, Mikey and Loz's birthday party. Check out those eyelashes!
  
  

*sigh*

Yep, I'm officially crap at keeping a blog. It's been almost three months since my last entry. I just couldn't be stuffed sometimes :-)

Oh what a feeling

I so totally agree with Jaimee's recent post about dancing in a nightclub. Last weekend I hit the dancefloor with Davo and Fi and I just didn't give a damn what anyone thought. We only went out for an hour or two - just a quick dance before all the beautiful people were out. I stayed in what I was wearing (daggy, round-the-house jeans and cotton singlet), threw on a pair of my fave comfy cute sneakers, fluffed up my hair-that-hadn't-been-washed-for-two-days, shoved some cash and cards in my pocket, dabbed on some lip gloss and voila - disco diva! My hair still smelled like BBQ lamb chops and I don't even think I got rid of the garlic breath. None of this over made-up bullshit that some girls do - they spend so much time putting on the spak filler then don't even dance, just in case they get a hair out of place. Not too mention those ridiculous handbags that keep them chained to the table all night. Not this little black duck! I was shakin my booty and flicking my hair on that dancefloor and was loving it!

Quick trip to Sydney

Weekend before Easter I made a quick trip to Sydney to see my Grandma and Auntie Jill. I timed my trip the same time my parents were down there too. We had some lovely weather, although we didn't get outside much as my Aunt has broken her knee cap - ouch! It's terrible when your relos get plastered.... ;-)

My Dad was playing with his new digital SLR and all it's gadgets...

You may recall from an earlier entry that I've been involved on a project at work where Pat Rafter has been the face of our healthy eating/active lifestyle campaign. I saw this in Sydney airport and decided I much prefer the Bonds active campaign materials...the girls at work also thought this campaign was better than ours!

I see BaM, I see BaM, I see BaM

It was so good to catch up with old friends Ben and Michelle during their quick stop-over in Bris Vegas. The Brissie contingent of the uni-gang met up for a feast at our fave haunt, Pane e Vino.


And then later in the week, I caught up with them at the Normanby....although I was a little worse for wear after a few too many drinkies in the office. Whoops.

Congratulations to our friends...

Mickie and Nell, after they welcomed their first child, Jayden Riley, into the world on Monday afternoon. Jay was a hefty little fella at over 9 pounds, and he's certainly his Daddy's boy. Luckily though, he gets most of his good looks from his Mum.

The year so far in photos...

In typical Jen-style I haven't updated the blog in a couple of weeks. I seem to go through ups and downs in my blog posting - one week you get lots of entries and then nothing for a month. Sorry!

I've gone through our photos and picked out a few that show what we've been up to this year (and also a few photos that I never got around to posting).

We'll start with some happy snaps from Lisa and Mark's engagement party the weekend we arrived home from Vietnam (yes, I know that's almost two months ago!)

Tony, me, Mark, Lis and Fi

Us girlies don't often get a chance to catch up, so it was non-stop gas-bagging all night!

We finally managed to get a photo with the Bride-to-be. L-R Bek, Cath, Fi, Lis, me, Em (and by the way, we didn't plan to line up in height order, it just happened - way too many years of posing for photos together!)

Occaisionally Tony and I actually manage to step out from behind the camera and get a photo together, but it doesn't happen very often so enjoy!

Same goes for Fi and I - neither of us are blinking in this one so I had to share it. Not too bad for two old chooks.

Celebrating Chinese New Year with two great girls that I used to work with - Danielle and Fi. They've both moved on to other Departments and I really miss working with them - but we still have a great time together!



Just another day in the office with my mate Pat. He's much better looking in real life. Damn shame that I didn't get to see his really comfy Bonds undies though... Make sure you visit www.eatwellbeactive.qld.gov.au

Can strike this one off my list of things to do before I die. Those handcuffs sure are heavy! P.S. We were just mucking around!



Saying bon voyage to Mum and Dad in February.



Check out the concentration on Miss Sharda's face while she licks the bowl clean...

...while Annika looks on, happily munching a Vegemite sandwich.

Fi and I enjoy a lovely picnic lunch by the river at New Farm. Even though we were in the shade we both got burned!

Ahhh....just another night with a few quiet drinks with my work buds. I think we started around 4'ish in the office. Here I'm with the lovely Angela, and I must say that we're still looking quiet respectable.

The talented Bree draws some tattoos on Alex's arm. These guys are so much fun to work with!

My "tough sticker" - just ignore that lime wedge in the background, must have fallen out of my drink...

Ange and I getting up to a wee bit of mischief...who us?! What?!

Ah yes, the night is progressing very well indeed. I love you Ange!! (I'm sure that's what we're saying in this photo!)

Just some of the great team that I work with - Alex the A-Train, Breezy and Ange. The photos are starting to look a little fuzzy and so were we! I think we finished somewhere around 3am...not exactly sure though.

That same weekend, Tony and I took Sharda and Zackie to the park to see some friends. Sharda had a ball dragging Tony and Zack all over the park and convincing me to go in the egg and spoon race with her. Fun times!

Sharda and her "cousin" Zack (that's what she calls him!)

One of my favourite girls (the other one was too young for the park)

The isolation ward

Poor Tony was feeling a bit under the weather last week with nasty flu symptoms and a fever that kept coming back. Since we've recently been in Vietnam we thought it best for him to see a doctor pronto. The doctor shared our concerns and sent him straight to the RBH on Saturday.

It's amazing what suspected infectious diseases can do - Tony was seen straight away at the hospital and he even got his own "Avian bird flu" air-tight room. The doctors did some chest x-rays and blood tests for malaria and other nasty tropical parasites. Thankfully, it turned out to be just a vicious little flu-type virus! Phew...

Dreaming of Vietnam

Late last year Tony and I spent two gloriously long weeks in Vietnam. It was a bit of a spontaneous holiday (like most of ours are!). We purchased the return flights mid last year when JetStar launched their international routes. We got such a bargain on the flights - a fraction of the normal tickets.

We decided that this holiday was going to be very "selfish" - no postcards sent back home, no touristy things, no souveneirs, just a holiday to unwind and do nothing. It was fabulous - and because Vietnam is so cheap, we wined and dined like royalty and spoiled ourselves with massages, facials, manicures etc (a one-hour massage cost US$3!).

We spent a few days in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), flew north to Nha Trang (seaside resort town), and then bused it south through the highland town of Dalat and then back to HCMC. A few of our happy snaps are posted below.

View from our hotel room in HCMC. It was hot and smoggy and during the day you could hardly hear yourself above the honking of motorcycle horns.

Check out the motorcycles everywhere!

Spring rolls, $1. Exotic cocktail, $3. Knowing you've got another two weeks of indulgence, priceless.

View from our $15/night hotel room in Nha Trang.

Drinks by the pool at the Lousianne Club - the $3 beer prices are too expensive for the locals. The place is owned by an Aussie.

Another exotic cocktail and samosas. Maybe this is why I've put on a kilo or three...

Floating homes (shacks)

We did two "touristy" things on the whole trip - the first one was a boat trip around the islands of Nha Trang.

And the second "touristy" thing - we hired a driver, his 4WD and a tour guide for the day in Dalat. Cost $40.

Yup, they do wear those conical hats.

Check out the pot plant!

That's a 300-year-old bonsai!

Our tour guide took us to this place where we could elephant riding by the lake. Much cooler than the jungles of Thailand (Dalat was so cold at night that we bought a beanie each!)

I even got to feed him sugar cane treats.

There's always a chicken - and check out the size of him!

Some lovely waterfalls - and that's Tony standing on the rickety bamboo bridge in the foreground.

A very big, fat, happy Buddha.

There's no place like home - we had a great view of the Harbour as we flew over Sydney.