And the world’s best photo bomb courtesy of my sister in law 🙂
The Dress
The next night
Wow. That’s what a dinner out is supposed to be like. We met some friends at a place at Southbank called The Point and it was a great night out in every way.
The food was delicious, (I had prawns and gnocchi and Hubs had the brisket) the service was friendly and prompt, the ambiance was hip and happening, and as usual the company was wonderful. My dinner was simple yet so full of flavour, and not something I could easily make at home.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post about The Wedding!
The Japanese Meal
When I was down this way a couple of months ago, we got some takeaway Japanese from a local cafe/restaurant and it was quite enjoyable, so I was looking forward to taking Hubs there next time we were staying here. As soon as I made the plans to come down, I started looking forward to taking Hubs for a nice dinner out. You see, it took us 8 months to find a really nice place to go out in Townsville. We were recommended this Japanese restaurant and it did not disappoint. In fact, it was one of the best meals Hubs and I had had out all year. Although the ambiance was a bit lacking, the service wasn’t great, and the clientele was varied, the food was fresh and delicious. Like, seriously amazing. Every dish that came out was a work of art, and was hot and so tasty.
Tonight’s meal? Not so much. The entrees were pretty nice, but they just didn’t have that light, freshness that this other place had. And the main meals were huge and heavy, rather than light and delicate. There were some lovely flavours there, and the ambiance, service, and company of course were lovely (Hubs’ Mum joined us) so overall it was an enjoyable evening, but I won’t be rushing back for the main courses unfortunately.
Regardless, it’s lovely having Hubs with us again, and we have a whole week of holiday to look forward to. And I’m sure there will be lots of lovely meals, not to mention coffees, shared in that time.
The first 24 hours
The kids and I touched down in Brisbane 24 hours ago. My head is still quite fuzzy and my eyelids are heavy, but after a lovely big, snuggly sleep in, I’m feeling a bit more refreshed. Yesterday afternoon, all I wanted to do was to curl up on the couch and have a snooze, but I decided to go for a walk instead. I’m really wanting to make good use of my time down here; to recharge and reset, and I knew that if I went for a walk yesterday, I’d be more likely to go for a walk today.
On my hour long walk, I decided that this would be the perfect month for another NaBloPoMo, as per #75 on my 101 in 1001 challenge. There are a number of things I want to achieve in this month, mainly focused on my health, both mental and physical. For instance, I’d like to aim to walk 5 times a week, do my sit ups and push ups challenge (#3) and stretch for 10 minutes each day (#4). Yesterday I went for a walk and did the sit ups and push ups. I think first thing in the morning would be good for my stretch, so I need to incorporate that into my morning routine.
I also just want to write more. I want to write about things that excite me and fulfill me, instead of whinging about my life at the moment. I’ve done enough of that and I’ve had enough of that. My family and friends nourish and fulfill me, so there will be a lot about them featured on the blog this month. Hubs joins us tomorrow for 9 blissful days. We are having 2 nights away, just the 2 of us this weekend (#29 on my challenge list!) and I can’t wait. Hubs has been working very long hours for a while and we just haven’t had time to connect which isn’t any good for anyone.
I’m going to try and tick a few things off my 101 in 1001 days list, as I’m falling a little behind. This will also give me some good content for my NaBloPoMo. So today is day #1 and I will finish on the 6th of June. I know it’s a little unorthodox not to start on the 1st of the month and finish on the last, but that’s how I roll. Sometimes rules need to be stretched a little, and since I hardly pushed the limits growing up, I have some catching up to do.
See you tomorrow.
In case you’re wondering…
… here’s what we will be up to for the next few weeks:
The kids and I will be flying down to Brisbane on Tuesday thanks to relatively cheap flights. We were going to drive down but circumstances changed so I booked flights last week. I must say it’s a bit of a relief. That drive was going to be long and boring! And it really would have eaten into the short amount of time Hubs has off to visit. He will fly down on Thursday, and then we’re leaving the kids in the capable hands of grandparents while we live it up in an apartment in South Brisbane for a couple of nights. We have a wedding to go to Saturday arvo/evening – the reason this trip came about – which will be a lovely excuse to doll up and have a dance. (As if I need an excuse!)
Hubs will be staying until the following Saturday so we’ll just be catching up with friends and family in that time. After we farewell him Saturday morning, the following few weeks will be filled with socialising and a good old relax. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to all that sleep! I can barely keep my eyes open as I type this.
We’ve had a lovely few days with Hubs’ Dad and our nephew visiting and working on the kombi. They are driving it back to Brisbane and left this morning. It was a little sad, but for the last 6 years, it’s just been sitting outside our various houses and not being driven, so hopefully that will change in Brisbane.
I should really go and pack now! Might see you soon.
What a difference a day makes
Okay. So I’m not out of the ditch yet, but I’m finding a way. I’m looking up and seeing where I need to go, and figuring out how to get there, instead of sitting down, throwing my hands in the air and giving up. This is progress.
After my revelation on Friday, my day didn’t really change that much. It was nice to acknowledge where these feelings were coming from, but it didn’t really help with how to change my situation. I had a planned playground meet-up on Saturday morning, with a girl I met through playgroup not long after I arrived, and we clicked quite quickly. I was excited by these plans, and organised with Hubs that I would walk to the park (about 3.5km) and he could bring the kinds once I arrived. Getting in exercise has been difficult lately for a number of reasons, so I knew this was a good start to my weekend.
I spent almost 2 hours there with my friend and her 3 kids. Her daughter is 4 and is very strong-willed, so she can hold herself with Chance. In fact, the 2 of them played beautifully together. I hardly had to intervene which was so nice. Her 2 year old son was happy to follow the bigger kids around, and her 7 month old little boy was happy to chill out with us, while Quinn made her way around to all the food we had on offer. It was such a good visit. I really needed to see Chance’s good side that day, and boy did I ever see it. My friend is very honest and down to earth and I felt comfortable spilling my guts to her. It was nice to have a friendly ear to listen and empathise.
I came home at lunch time with renewed energy and got quite a lot of housework done before another friend came over for afternoon coffee. Again, it was such a great therapy for me to just be able to be myself and not try too hard. The kids were great and by the time my friend left around 4:30, I was again topped up. It’s so easy to play with Chanbe when I’m feeling that way. I hung out with him and Quinn out in the open area of the townhouse complex where he rode his bike and Quinn played with the ball and toddled around. Only twice in an hour did we have to stop for cars. It’s much nicer out there now that it has cooled down ever so slightly.
I went to bed happy and exhausted last night. It was one of the best days I’ve had in a while. Now that I know what my “problem/challenge” whatever you want to call it, is, I can be aware of it and not be so down on myself for being unmotivated or lazy.
I had hoped Friday would be a turning point, and now I’m getting a bit more optimistic that it was.
How, did I get here?
I’m not sure how it happened, but I’m finding myself at the bottom of a ditch, looking up, trying to figure out a) how I got here and b) how the hell to get out.
I’m bored.
I’m exhausted with doing nothing.
I’m lonely.
I’m cranky.
I cry a lot.
I’m not myself.
I’ve been blaming it all on Mount Isa, but so much is contributing to this slump I’m in. When I speak to my friends, I whinge a bit (okay, a lot) but can turn it around and have a lovely chat and feel great afterwards. I know I’m an extrovert, but I sometimes forget what that actually means. I was reminded when I read this blog post today. Yes, I like to be the life of the party, but more importantly, I get my energy from other people. And when I don’t have close friends or family who I get to see every day, my energy levels are not being topped up.
And Hubs. Poor poor Hubs. I don’t think he knows quite what to do with me at the moment. I’m sure he wishes I could suck it up and get on with things, but I also know he understands the importance of feeling your feelings and working through them. I’ve been expecting things to change; hoping things change as I’m here longer, but they are not changing for the better. I’m sinking deeper in apathy and self pity.
And the problem is, when social opportunities do come up, I’ve started wondering if I could even be bothered. That is not like me. I told Hubs the other day that I am so much more productive around the house when he is home. Even if he is sitting on the couch playing computer games, just having him around energises me. Having anyone (adult that is) around helps. So having my mother in law around last week saw me happier than I’d been in weeks.
But as soon as she left, there was the emptiness again. And because I hadn’t recognised the extrovert-needing-energy connection, I have been a cranky pants whenever Hubs comes home, and taking my mood out on him. As if it’s his fault somehow.
So how do I get out of this? Well a month-long trip to Brisbane sure will help. I’m seeing this month away from here as a bit of a retreat. To recharge and hopefully find a bit of myself again. I miss old Wifey. I want her back. This new cranky, tired, yelling, impatient, self-pitying Wifey does not belong here. Not long-term anyway.
I feel like this realisation might be a bit of a turning point. Okay. I hope it is. Because I’m getting sick of the whingeing and picking fights with Hubs because I’m bored. I wish Hubs could stay the month as well, but the reason I’m staying so long is because he is working for 18 out of 21 days after he gets back, so he suggested I just stay down. (We are both going down for a wedding for the first week.)
I really can’t wait to get down there and unwind, then recharge. I’ll be doing a lot of walking along the waterfront, going out for coffee, and getting my fix. Join me sometime?
My greatest joy and my biggest challenge
My son.
How my heart bursts with love for this little guy. He makes me laugh so much with his funny games and silly jokes. He tells me he loves me and gives me hugs and kisses.
He always wants to help me in the kitchen, or with the washing and folding.
He is Quinn’s biggest fan, and also her biggest pain. I can’t tell you how often I’ve had to say “can you please just leave her alone????” This is a photo of me after a really bad few hours with my Chanbe. He was just having a bad day, and as my emotions escalated, so did he. I just couldn’t stop crying. It broke my heart that my little man was being so hurtful to his sister, and to me. I was at my end. So what did he do? He came over, sat on my lap, gave me a cuddle and said “Mama, why are you crying?”
I told him I was sad that he wasn’t making good choices. He thought about this and assured me he would start making good choices. It was a bit hit and miss for the rest of the day, but we got there in the end.
I know that this is just a phase he is going through, and I am comforted by the fact that 80% of the time he is amazing and a delight to be around. I have to remind myself of this on the hard days. Today started as one of those hard days, but we are both determined to turn it around. The more calm and patient I am, the better he responds. Duh.
I feel so blessed to have this son of mine, and I know that one day, we will be great friends. And once Quinn gets bigger and is able to hold her own, I’m sure they will become best buddies too.
In the mean time, we will just have to take it one day at a time.
Continuing with the theme…
… of late blog posting, here is a photographic run-down of our trip to Brisbane. A month ago. Oops.
Waiting at Mount Isa airport
Fun in the park with Poppy
Cuddles with Nanna
Bottle rockets and flying a kite with Gran and Grumpy
Fly fishing practice with Grumpy
Super fancy High Tea for Nan’s 80th
So many more memories without photos, but always in our hearts. Our next trip to Brisbane is a mere month away, and already I’m excited 🙂
Racing around
I’ve been a bit slow with blogging about stuff as it happens, so here’s a post about what we got up to 2 weekends ago. Hubs and I have been whinging a little that there’s nothing much to do up here, so when opportunities get presented to us, we really try and take advantage. So when we heard that the races were on, we thought we’d go along and check it out. They started around 2pm on the Saturday, so after Quindy had her nap, we all got dolled up and hit the tracks.
Isn’t it fun trying to get your 3 year old to pose for a nice family photo?
We had NO idea what to expect – how big it was going to be, how much it would cost, what the place was actually like – so we just went in head first and hoped for the best. We knew there were going to be a few doctors there that Hubs works with, and a few of the mums I’ve met through playgroup were heading in too, so we would at least know a few people.
By our standards (we had only really ever been to the Wang races on Melbourne Cup Day) it was quite small, but that suited us just fine. Quinn was happy to wander around looking cute:
And Chance still had a bit of a cold, so he was happy just to chill out and watch movies on my phone:
We’re really glad we went along and had a great time meeting new people and spending time with new friends. Speaking of which, Hubs met the friend of one of the doctors he works with and he mentioned a group of his friends were going 4WDriving the next day, and that we would be most welcome to come along. So in the spirit of taking people up on their offers to do things, we said yes!
We met the group around 10am Sunday morning and after a little rendesvous, we put the kids in the car…
and headed off! (ha ha.)
We headed north about 40km before we turned off onto the track. It was a pretty tame drive, but there were a few squeals of excitement/fear from me at a couple of creek (dry) crossings.
There were 6 cars in the convoy and a lovely bunch of people emerged at the swimming hole we arrived at:
Unfortunately our friend hadn’t mentioned to bring togs, so Hubs just jumped in with his clothes, and the kids had spare clothes so they went in too. It was so lovely. I was very sad I hadn’t brought my togs 🙁 Next time! It was a really lovely few hours and we hope to head out with the group again sometime soon.
We arrived home to unpack, change, and head out to a friend’s place for a BBQ. So yeah, a very big weekend for us! The following weekend, Hubs had to work, so this is his first full weekend with no plans for some time. We are thinking about heading out to Lake Julius tomorrow just to check it out, but no firm plans at this stage. The weather is finally a little more bearable today (only getting up to 32 today! Woo!) so a trip to the park might be nice too.
We’re trying to make the most of it, and slowly getting there.