Saturday was the big Wedding day and it started out with a
massive thunderstorm at about 4:30am which woke me up and kept me awake with my
mind racing about all of the things I had to achieve on this day and how this
weather would impact on those things, the rain was torrential and I had pretty
much written off any chance of exercise, but low and behold by about 6:30am it
had eased up, so my friend and I went out for a bit of a walk/run, she is only
just learning to run which I am very proud of because I know how hard it was
when I first started, so we did some interval running and then I got to work up
a bit of a sweat by running home. Felt good that I could burn a few calories
before the wedding seen as though I knew there would be a few extra indulgences
and a few champagnes being consumed. Got on the scales this morning as well and
I had hit the 27kg lost mark, so I was super happy with that! Managed to fit in
another catch up with a friend at Chermside before getting my hair and make-up
done for the wedding, was a little stressed as the time was ticking on but only
really had to put my dress on once we got home and then jump in the car. Was so
great to spend time with all our old friends together and frocked up and it
felt so good to be looking more the way that I want to be looking and to have
not seen a lot of my friends in the time that I have been losing weight and
then get to present myself looking all shiny and new made it all worthwhile and
certainly gave me the motivation to keep going and get to my goals. Even the
extra energy that I had to be out on the dance floor most of the night and not
be puffed out and have to go and sit down felt amazing. All in all it was a
great night and Brisbane really turned on the weather we had almost all the
seasons in on day – thunderstorms, lightning, rain, hail and then beautiful
sunshine. I am so happy for my
friends to have tied the knot and start their married life together, god knows
it can be a hard journey but totally worthwhile and to have someone by your
side throughout your life who will love and support you is the best thing ever.
Sunday was another day of catch ups and good byes, and even
managed to fit in some trash on the tele as my friend had taped the latest
Kardashian Wedding for me to watch, - I know it’s crap, but don’t hold it
against me, it is one of the few vices that a stay at home, running her own
business, mother of 4 has in this world.
Monday, the kids got to have a last playdate with some of my
closest girlfriends kiddies and then it was pack up the car and hit the road –
onwards for an overnight stay in Toowoomba with some more close friends and
then it was all guns blazing to Dubbo the next day. After stopping in and
exchanging the DVD players as one had stopped working- I am sure this could
have had nothing to my sweet children (!), and enough time for Oscar to vomit
in the car (yuk!) it was on to the Western Plains Taronga Zoo in Dubbo.
This is
a fantastic zoo and it is a safari park, so you can drive your own car around
and hop out as you go, or hire bikes/buggies. We drove as not too keen on the
buggy option with so many kids to make sure they are hanging on and sitting
still. It means you can spend a long time at certain enclosures and just pass
by others. The weather was really warm and about 4.5kms into the 6km path the
kids were getting a bit restless, but we had seen Giraffes, Tigers, Elephants,
Camels, Hippos, Ponies, Monkeys, Lions, Zebra, Meerkats, Goats, Koalas,
Kangaroos, Turtles, Ducks, Cheetahs or were they Leopards, I can’t quite
remember! And a multitude of other animals, all in all it was a great Zoo and
the kids really enjoyed it. After the Zoo we pushed on and made it to Albury,
which was much further than we had thought, but it meant that we would not have
so far to go the next day to get to Melbourne. Got up in the morning and went
for a run around the local cricket oval which felt good, did 5kms and then
headed back as the sun was getting quite warm by then. Jumped back in the car
and headed for Melbourne, did a bit of shopping and then everyone dropped me in
the city where I got to stay for a night by myself before my Pro Blogger
Training Day the next day. Went out on Friday night to a networking night, and
met a few people prior to the big day, felt very out of my comfort zone, but
was good to challenge myself in this way. The training day was fantastic, the
content was so beneficial and I learnt so much about effective blogging and how
to take things to the next level, I am so glad I did it.
The thing that I found
not so great was trying to make connections with other bloggers, I have read a
lot of blog posts since the day about how great it was to meet so many other
bloggers, but in my opinion, I found it quite difficult as a very small-time
blogger to be noticed by a lot of the bigger bloggers that were there, I also
found it to be quite clique, which I found odd because everyone of these people
started off small yet, they seemed like they didn’t remember what it was like
to be the new person trying to fit in. I think in future I will try and have
someone there who I do have some sort of relationship with, as there is always
safety in numbers and that way you always have someone to talk to. I am still
debating as to whether I will write a post dedicated to the day as even though
the sessions were very valuable I was not left with a feeling of overall
satisfaction from the day. I will ponder…
Saturday morning we were up and packed, goodbyes were made
to my sister and then we headed down the Mornington peninsula to Sorrento where
we caught the ferry across to Queenscliff and then headed down the Great Ocean
Road. The weather was not very nice at all, so the beaches were not in all
there glory but still we got to see a lot of surfers doing their thing. I never
realised how windy and twisty the road would be, and it gave me a real headache
and was too much for poor Stellsy who had to be sick. After this, it was good that the 12 Apostles were not too
far away as it meant that we got to get out of the car and take a walk and get
some fresh air. The Apostles were amazing, and the view was spectacular, so
glad that we had pulled out the jackets and warm clothes in the morning, as it
was freezing and very windy. Can now say that we have done the Great Ocean
Road, so can tick that one of the list. Stopped in Warrnambool for dinner, this
was a lovely little town, and would love to go back there one day – great
restaurants too for such a small place. There we headed on to our overnight
accommodation in Mt Gambier.
Had a bit of a drive around in the morning including heading
up to the Lake area, and checking out the amazing Blue Lake, what amazing
colour it has. Then we were off via Coonawarra, where we had a snake slither
across our path while we were driving, first (alive) one I have ever seen just
out in the open. We had hoped to stop in at Jamiesons Run Winery, but the
cellar door is now closed and we had missed the place that they now sell from,
so never mind. It was our 7
th wedding anniversary today and we have
shared many a bottle of Jamiesons Run on our previous anniversaries hence why
we wanted to stop there. But we kept pressing on and had to stop in the middle
of the road for our first encounter with a Kangaroo and wouldn’t you know it,
it was at Stirling about 15minutes from Adelaide CBD, so after 7000kms of open
roads, this is where we meet our first Kangaroo – crazy! Pulled into the
driveway at about 5pm and so happy to be home! What a great trip and a
fantastic adventure, and with 4 kids in the car it really wasn’t that bad! Can
you believe it. I would certainly do it again and would definitely recommend it
to others.
