Catch up photos

I have no idea what is up with blogger this morning but it just took 20 minutes to load the below photos and move them around. I was going to put the christmas dogs on here as well but that will have to wait until blogger is working faster. It could also be my computer or the internet link I have.

On the 23rd of December we had our main office party (my floor had, had one the week before considering we were told that was the last day to work). For the first time I actually had fun at this Christmas party. Not sure if it was because only half the staff were there or if it was because there was more to do. We had Karaoke (yes I sang), fake tattoos (I got 3), and a photo booth that came with props if you wanted them.

Dxx at the office showing how cold it can get inside when it is 37 degrees outside.
Mal and Mark showing off their new tatts.

Dxx with her sticker boob tatt, Simon as a viking (apparently becoming peoples desk top at work) and me and Dxx in one of the the photo booth shots.

The photo booth took 3 photos. This one was a heap of fun. It is the Agreements team (Dxx, Me and Mal) with a Support ring in, in the form of Noelle (also an Oprah buddy).

Love these photos of Mel and me. I am going to have her figure next year. She tied first in the Karaoke, even with the dance off to claim the winner. I have video footage of the dance off but will keep that limited to facebook.

Xmas Special

I hope that every one has had a safe and a happy Christmas. Mine was certainly a lot better than last year.

My Aunt and Uncle have moved to WA and are currently living with us until their stuff arrives. This meant we had a Christmas day and then another Christmas day with the rest of the family on boxing day (Dec 26 for the non Aussies).

My Uncle is a bit of cheek so I devised a special gift for him. On Christmas morning I knew something was up because he was dying for me to open my presant from them. A whole newspaper later I found it. I also found out it was my Aunt's idea so I began to think I did the gift thing to the wrong person. Anyway it came his turn and he got a box, full of paper and then a tiny little note that went like this:

1. If you want your gift, you will have to hunt for it - next clue was taped in the lid of the box
2. I live high amongst the fir, though this year it is rather short - in the top of the Xmas tree. We only used to top of the larger tree this year.
3. You will need to use this after Chrismas this year - next clue on the treadmill
4. Think I will catch 40 winks first - taped to the bed under his pillow
5. Time to freshen up - Taped to the shower
6. I wonder where you will find me? I am one of three - Tucked under a dogs collar
7. Make sure you tell me how good I have been, before you look under the real Christmas tree - he was to tell the dog it had been good and the real Christmas tree was outside.
8. It's in a dark and purple place in which I am caged - A purple box in the lounge room with purple written on it.
9. I live in cold conditions until I am needed - the fridge
10. I am a stirrer - Under stirfry vegies in the freezer is where he finally found his chocolate.

I also took photos of all the dogs looking christmassy but you will have to wait for another post on that one.

My Uncle at the second Xmas day with the fake moustache he got in his bon bon

Uncle and Aunt

See how many men it takes to get a remote control car working. In the end it was Kathy who figured it out. The men then went and crashed it into a building. Luckily spare parts are readily available. Oh there excuse is that it went out of range and out of control even though the manual stated that going out of range it will switch off! Who do you believe?! LOL

2 sisters

You may remember this photo from a sneak peak a couple of weeks ago. It was part of a bag I made for my niece who is currently living in Africa. Well Christmas has come and gone, and she now has it and apparently loves it.

This is the satin inside which I stole from a shirt my cousin had started making me back in 1986 when she lived with us. It never got finished and has been sitting in the material bag all this time. Memory lane for you Maree, though I know you won't remember! ;0)

The handle is plaited. Don't like how I stitched it to the bag though (hence no photo) as it is a bit messy. Considering I made the pattern up myself though I am rather chaffed at how it turned out.

Of course no bag is complete without a dangly.

And here it is

Now considering my niece has barely been on this planet long enough, she seems to have developed a liking for bags. Unfortunately I found this one in the shops 3 days before Xmas so it is still with me and not with her. I also know that one of her favourite toys is a hand knit zebra, so considering this is a backpack made by Zebra Crossing, and includes a Zebra, I think I hit the jackpot. I fell in love with it at first glance and bought it on the spot. It wasn't until I was back at the office (yes I was working) that I realised a few secrets about it.

The backpack

has a zebra dangly to one side

The straps over the Zebras shoulders are attached to the nappy like seat by velcro. This allows you to pull the zebra out with ease.

he is sooo cuddly

and he is a bag himself!

I wanna keep him he's so cute, but he must return to Africa.

Well I just realised I haven't blogged about my work Christmas party (we had 2), or about my weight this week (that was intentional as I did not get on the scales), so my next blog may be a little catch up one. Right now I have a brandy snap with cream waiting with my name on it.

Turning a dog into a dog

My Aunt and Uncle arrived safely yesterday with their dog Napoleon. Hmm did I say dog? He looks like a dog but won't do dog things like: eat food from your hand; eat dry dog food; walk through dog doors.

Well that was just over 24 hours ago. He is a changed doggy. Even at 13 you can teach new tricks. I was eating turkey last night and went to give him some. My Aunt said he wouldn't take it ... but he did and asked for more (my dogs are teaching him).

This morning I fed my dogs and tried to had feed him some dry dog food. He turned his nose up until my Uncle started playing a "throw the food" game with Bo. Jealousy took over and he decided to try it.

My Aunt and Uncle have been out all day looking at houses so there has been no "mum" really to let him out to the toilet. I had barely been home when a I heard the dog door go. It sounded like a dog had jumped through it. Sure enough Napoleon was desperate enough to put his head on the door and jump, so I recorded him coming back in. Here you are you sceptics!!! LOL

Week 6 & 7

Week 6 was obviously Oprah week so I didn't get to weigh myself. I have not been going too well in the food category. Got back into some old habits. Christmas is here, which means chocolate and shortbread (yum) and parties and all my favourite foods. The band has helped me to keep consumption in check though so that is good.

Last week in Sydney was a little difficult to find something I could eat. For example, lunch is mainly protein for me and dinner is protein and veg/salad. I was lucky to get lunch that didn't involve bread (it was left by the side most of the time) and dinner was even harder. The issue with dinner is that I was paying $25 + for a huge plate that I could only eat a quarter of. I did take a doggy bag home one night, or attempted to, but it was a pain to carry so it ended up in a bin with a prayer that a homeless person would find it while it was still ok.

Darling Harbour also introduced us to the Lindt shop so I have had more than my fair share of 60g of chocolate. However I did walk alot around Sydney.

At the end of last week was the christmas party for my floor and the end of this week is my christmas party for the whole of work (long boring story as to why we have 2 this year). If previous work ones are anything to go by then a fondue fountain will be the main feature. Hmm I need to occupy myself elsewhere: Karaoke ... maybe; photo booth ... only so many photos you can have of yourself on the same day; fake tattoos ... gonna cover me body instead of eating! Wahoo. Yes Ruth I will get photos. :)

So in summary I have put on around a kilo. I have also lost more around my butt so I am hoping that kilo gained is more muscle than fat. I am however still on track to lose 50kg in 50 weeks as I was ahead. At least I still think I am. Gotta get back into doing some exercise.

My Aunt and Uncle are moving to Perth today. In fact they should already be at the airport trying to find their dog. They will be staying with us until they can find a place to rent. That means we will have 3 little 3 legged ankle biters running around the place. Not sure how that is going to go as Tess is so territorial. Luckily Napoleon is a boy so it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Oprah Fest Day 3 - O Day

Here is the post you have been waiting for. I am thinking point form might just be the easiest to get through the day.

• watched the morning shows and the hype around the first taping. Our other colleague from work, Noelle, had been in line since 4:30am and messaged us to tell us we need to line up early.
• Took Noelle's advice and even though our instructions from Harpo were to line up from 2:30pm we got there at 11am. There were already 100 people in front of us.

Corinne in queue at 11am. The morning show is still being taped in the background. You can see people sitting on the steps.

A photo I nicked from the internet cause I am in it. Can you see me? Let me help. Look where the first tree is in the centre of the photo; just to the right of where it comes out of someones head, you will see a white hat ... that is me. I stood there for 4 hours.

• Bon Jovi sang at the end of the morning taping and our queue joined in with the audience to sing with him.
• When Oprah left, she drove straight passed us and unwound her window to wave. Didn't have my camera ready for that. :(
• Eventually the American Audience left and walked passed us. They love our Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie Oi Oi Oi and you could hear them calling out the Ozzie part while our queue answered with the Oi. This moved in waves down the line.
• At 3pm the shove was on to get in. I really mean shove. Seriously know what animals feel like when being herded. Its kinda hard to tell 6000 people behind you to stop pushing.
• My gate was on the other side of the Opera House and we had to walk under the stairs to get there. We patiently waited for the gate to open when 3 guys came out from behind some side fencing. No one had cameras ready and if they did we were all in a little shock to actually take the photo considering Russel Crowe walked through the line. Yep, he was within 2m of me. An older lady ran up and gave him a hug and a kiss before running back in line. He smiled and walked off and she jumped up and down with excitement.
• Managed to get really good seats on the steps once we got in. Still had to wait till 5pm for Oprah. Got to know everyone around us. Kinda makes you understand how people become such good friends in a short time on a reality show.
  

Practice for the finale when the flag had to be pulled by the audience in the forecourt. Got the real finale on video as well but haven't decided if I can really show that or not yet.

• First guest was Bono
• Second guest was Hugh Jackman who did his flying entry, forgot to break while looking for his parents, and came to a jolting stop cutting his bottom eyelid (he needed 2 stitches). He taught Oprah how to eat Vegemite. Oprah asked if we eat it like they do peanut butter, to which the 6000 strong audience shouted out in unison "NO!" Hugh put a tiny amount on a cracker before asking if she liked salty things. She said yes and took a bite. She loved it. Grabbed the knife and plastered more on. Hugh commented on how brave she was. She decided less was best.
• Third guests were Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban. Nicole can't half talk. At one stage she told herself to shut up and let Keith speak. You could really see the love these two have for each other. It was lovely.
• Fourth guest was Olivia Newton-John and she brought her Sandi Pants in from the final scene in the movie Grease. OMG they are tiny.
• Finale scene was all the celebs plus Russel Crowe and the Qantas Youth Choir singing "I Still Call Australia Home."
• Oprah was great between takes. She is so down to earth and has the best Aussie sense of humour I have heard in an American. To be honest I wasn't a fan before this. I liked her but wasn't mad on her. After seeing her interact with everyone between takes and working with her staff I can see why she is much loved.
• Oh yes I was there for the giveaway of the Argyle pink Diamond necklace ... no I do not have it yet. Won't be until next year.
  

In this picture: Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Hugh Jackman, Olivia Newton-John, Russel Crowe.

To prove I was there. Just above the guy in the blue shirt you can see Orpah walking off stage. :)

If anyone asks, you never saw these photos, they do not exist, it is just your imagination. Photos were forbidden. :)

At 3:30am the next morning we woke up and headed to the airport. Had to put this in of Corinne. She switched off so I switched onto facebook, only to see a comment under my status 5 minutes later of "get off FB, Sydney airport is boring." I told her the coffee shop was open then and she raced off!

Oprah Fest Day 2 Take 2

Lets try and get this blog post out again. Must apologise, but I took mum's little camera with me which is good until you have to zoom. OMG it is a shocker. You will see what I mean when you see the photos.

Day 2 was Toronga Zoo (Australia Zoo is better). Oh it was open!!! You had to catch a Ferry to get there.

Me on the Ferry waiting to go

Corinne with Sydney and the Opera House in the background

The Koalas were quite active. Two in particular were jumping from tree to tree to get to the freshest leaves. The bigger one kept bullying the little one to stay away!

"I want some!'

Got chased up the branch

They bully

Old man watching from above couldn't care less

This one just wanted to sleep

Oh look they are buddies now and sharing.

I made Corinne pose for this because she doesn't like lizards. She will kill me when she sees this on here ...

...so to balance out the embarrassment here is mine.

With a view like that I am moving in with the Giraffes

There are three baby elephants, this one is the littlest and he loves water.

So much so that he fell in feet first and couldn't get out.

The only way out was in. I assumed that is mum with her legs in trying to help out. The other adults came running and were trumpeting away trying to help.

Eventually he got his front feet out and was pushed the rest of the way but trunks. Poor little thing probably has grazed knees now 'cause he is on his knees being pushed here.

And like all children he is right back up to where it all started in the first place.

Until Dad (gotta be dad, it was the only adult male) pulled him back down with his trunk and forced him away from the pool.

This poor, malting Kodiak bear looked so bored.

Love my Mere Cats

The seal show was great and this is my one good photo (damn camera).

This is a little package dropped by an ungrateful seagull after I gave it a chip. It flew up and plonked it one right on my spare tomato sauce. Luckily it didn't go into my lunch. And its only lucky if it lands on you.

Corinne in the Skyrail. She hates heights so posed for this photo for her kids.

On the way back to our hotel to freshen up I could see a sparkly white thing inside a the Queen Victoria building. It was the base of this tree. Isn't it gorgeous.

We freshened up and took the monorail to Darling Harbour for Dinner. This was the view from my table. Corinne did take a photo of me hugging the lamp but it was too blurred. It took 5 minutes of hugging to get it to thanks to the numerous people walking by, stopping in the way, and saying "oh look, she's hugging the post, must be getting her photo taken." Move out of the way people!!!!

And so ends Day 2. Tomorrow you shall get "O" Day!!! LOL