First day back at school

Ok I know I haven't finished blogging our trip yet but I just bawled my eyes out driving home (all of 2 mins) from dropping DS off at school. Its his 5th grade year. The last year he has at that elementary school where he has been going since Kindergarten!! Not only do I feel old but it also means he is getting older and no longer my baby but the young man he is growing into.

Day 4 - Arrival at HKG

Well as expected we arrived in Hong Kong on time, luggage was there waiting for us. We caught a Taxi back to Tai Po where my parents have a condo. It was a beautiful drive and DS got to catch a lot of the Hong Kong scenery.

Space is at a premium here in Hong Kong even in the New Territories. My parent's condo was a 2 bed but converted to a one bedroom with a sleeper sofa in the living room. Its ideal for somewhere to store luggage and and crash on a night but that's about it.

Nonetheless we didn't sleep there for the first 2 nights because we headed to the coast to my Aunt's condo which was twice the size and much newer but also much higher up! Check out some of these views.


I can truthfully say my knees went a little wobbly up there!!

Our first meal was Sushi!! Sushi is so cheap in HK it's unreal and oh so good! We met with my sister, her fiance and my aunt from HK.

Two very much jet lagged boys.

Mom and her sister.

My sister and her fiance.

Day 3 - LHR to HKG

So after I lovingly repacked the night before I wake the next morning to find my mother has not only repacked my cases but she has pressed and folded every item too! You know I am beginning to think my mom is getting very OCD in her old age.

The flight was at midday so the taxi service dropped us off at 9am at LHR. Check in and the wait was rather uneventful other than that mom had already sank a large amount of cash on 'gifts' of handbags etc... at duty-free. This woman likes to shop and I KNOW I inherited that ability now.

Qantas was wonderful, we had wings for head support so you weren't bent over like a pretzel for the entire 12 hrs flight time. The kids had games and I watched a few movies which I thoroughly enjoyed. The Australians are a very health conscious nation. The food they serve reflects that and even their duty-free cart reflects it with the absence of cigarettes.

I think DS's highlight of the flight must have been their generous cup of hot cocoa served with a big dollop of marshmallow. I opted for the organic chamomile tea.

Day 2 - England

So after a night at my parents in my sister's room I wake the next morning hacking my lungs out. It seems I either have a cold or serious allergy issues. 2 antihistamines and a sudafed later I can finally breathe again.

I spent the day with parents and at the lawyers. My parents are wonderful people who believe in death. They are making preparations for their not so imminent deaths. And so they are insisting I write my will too *eye roll* I know, I know, I should have had that done years ago.

Dad left me with the keys to the little Micra (in case I felt like driving somewhere) but I declined and hitched a ride with my cousin instead to visit with my aunts, uncles and cousins who also live near my grandparents.

After MANY phone calls I finally hear from Delta, my travel insurance company AND the courier service that is delivering 80 pieces of luggage that day 2 of which were mine!!! I am wondering at this point clothing, underwear and toothbrush sales in England must of skyrocketed the previous day.

8pm GMT, 36hours late my luggage finally arrives at my parent's house. Just in time for me to repack *raised eyebrow* for the trip to Hong Kong the next morning.

Day 1 - England

This was no doubt the most hilarious (not!) of my trip. First of all DH dropped DS and I off at CVG on time, we checked in and went to the gate. Waited 30 mins only to hear the announcement that they have changed the gate to the one behind us. Fair enough we move to said gate, we're there maybe 10 mins then comes the announcement. The flight is delayed. The are going to wait for JFK to let them know the status, soonish~

So I wait patiently and after a lot of waiting they finally board us. No soon as we are at our seats and buckled in they announce we're being delayed again for 3 hours so we need to get OFF the plane.

Back at the gate we wait another hour before they decide lets board everyone and make a dash for it! We arrived at JFK 2.5hrs late with a 2.5hr connection time it means DS and I are literally RUNNING to the next gate. fyi, JFK sucks, NEVER ever go there.

SO we made it onto the plane oblivious of course that our luggage didn't actually make it. We arrived at MAN on time, waited patiently at the carousel and realized our luggage never got loaded.

Off to the lost baggage counter, file a claim and we're told it will be at least 24hrs before we get our bags because of the fact that only one flight from JFK lands per day. *smile sweetly*

My dad and brother picked us up REALLY surprised I have NO luggage at all (HA!) I explain the saga, it also meant I had to go shop for undies, clothes and the obligatory toothbrushes.

Laptop woes

This really ought to be in my Hong Kong - England trip posts but I thought it deserved a post of its own. My trusty HP pavilion dv1000 has finally bitten the dust. I am currently running the hd wired into DH's PC. Here's how it all began.

Day 5 in Hong Kong my LCD went out, or the back light. Anyhow, mom had a HD LCD monitor for a TV so I used it as a monitor so I could still be online while we were away. Back in England I used my brother's old PC monitor. When I got back, that's where it got tricky. DH insisted on taking apart the thing to make sure if it was the inverter or whatever it was and see if it was fixable. It turns out the ribbon connecting the LCD to the motherboard was severed. (At this point the laptop still worked albeit plugged into a monitor) DH then proceeded to 'fix' the ribbon by stripping and reconnecting said severed wires. Unfortunately that was the point where the laptop stopped working. It was dead as a doe-doe. No juice flowed Nada.

So he ordered me a new one, which won't be here for another month. He of course won't take the blame for it, it was my fault for the wires severing or the laptops fault for be crap. I meanwhile am fuming inside. Instead of having a working laptop and maybe having to buy a $200 monitor I know have to shell out $1400 for a new laptop I didn't even really wanted. DH of course can't see why I am mad because...you guessed it. It wasn't his fault!@!

Someone please give me strength NOT to kill my husband anytime soon.

Ups and Downs

Well 3rd day in HK. Lots of yummy foods and the usual family dramas!

I made it...barely!!

Ugh. We left for CVG Sunday morning for our flight only to get checked in and at the gate to find they weren't allowing any flights into JFK!! We were put on a plane 15mins behind schedule and then ferried off again so they could delay us for another 3 hours. We finally made into JFK with 20mins to spare. When we finally got onto the plane to the UK I was relieved, tired and frazzled.

We actually arrive in Manchester on time and made our way to babbage reclaim.....to find uour baggage was still in JFK!! HAHA

Its Tuesday afternoon here now and I finally got a hold of the courier and apprently we get the bags tonight. Unfortunately I leave again in the morning for Hong Kong. STRESS!!

This is what I do.

Ever wonder what a MK consultant does? My business is beauty and how to bring it out. Check out some of my recent face models I am entering into our National model search contest!!

All my models are in with a chance to win one of 4 trips for 2 to NYC, $500 shopping spree, professional makeover and photo shoot AND will be featured in the 2008 issue of The Look. Also in celebration of 2008 being the 45th anniversary of Mary Kay Cosmetics 45 runner ups will win a $50 value Spa set.

I LOVE my job!

Blogging while in England..

I can't wait to start my travels so I can blog all the cool stuff I want to show DH. I will concentrate on architecture and food. DH's two fave things!! Keep checking for updates while I am away!

Miss Go-Give 2007

For those of you that don't already know, I have been with Mary Kay now for 2.5 years. Every year our unit holds an awards night at the beginning of the next Mary Kay year to celebrate and recognize our achievements over the past year.

Last year I was Queen of Unit sales. Pretty flash huh? Well this year I was nominated Miss Go-Give 2007. This award is VERY special. What in the world is Miss Go-Give I hear you ask. Ahh well let me tell you the story of how it all began.

The concept of the Go-Give® Award was born in the image of Independent National Sales Director Sue Z. Vickers. Sue Z., as she was fondly known, started her Mary Kay business in 1965 and quickly climbed the ladder of success, debuting as an Independent Sales Director within eight months. In January 1974, she debuted as the Company’s sixth Independent National Sales Director.

From the beginning, she was famous among the independent sales force for her enthusiastic, loving personality. At Seminar 1971, she was honored for her willingness to inspire and motivate all who came to her for help, earning her the distinction of being named the original Miss Go-Give®. The Go-Give® Program was officially organized in June 1973 with one Independent Sales Director per month being recognized for her willingness to help any Beauty Consultant or Sales Director climb the ladder of success. Each award recipient is chosen because she possesses the qualities which Sue Z. brought to her area — warmth, love, giving and caring.

In 1978, the first annual Go-Give® Award was presented at Seminar as a memorial to Sue Z., whose tragic and untimely death that same year at the age of 37 left a tremendous void among the independent sales force. Sue Z. Vickers has been described as the most "go-give person you'd ever want to meet." You could stop her anywhere, anytime, and she was not too busy to answer a question or share an encouraging word. She truly cared about others. She led with love, calling her unit "my beautiful bouquet of roses." She believed every single individual was valuable and deserving of praise. And she gave it generously and genuinely. That was her gift. And everyone can share it. By giving of yourself and being sincerely interested in the total person, you not only bring out the best in others, you also bring out the best in yourself.

I am very honored to have been given this award, I hope I can pass the Go-Give spirit on and enrich more women's lives. Thank You Dream Suppliers.

Getting ready...

So less than a week to go and the boy and I are flying to the motherland to visit my family. DH can't come because they do not have vacation time this year. At least next year he will have at least 3 weeks.

My mom and dad left for their cruise already and when they get back I will be there. Mom, me and the boys will be jetting off to Hong Kong for 9 days from there and then I get to spend 4 days at home in England before coming back to my husband who I KNOW I will be missing!

I plan on packing light, mom has already planned on a lot of shopping. On the plus side the boy's school shopping will be done by the time we get back :) I can't wait. I will take a LOT of piccies to show DH. I just wish he could come with us.

I slacked

It's been over 3 years now since my husband presented me with my beautiful ring. If I had been half the wife I should have been I would have taken it every 6 months to be cleaned and every year or 2 to be refinished....so here we are 3.5 years later I finally went and had it cleaned and refinished. Let me say I will not be waiting this long next time. It's like having a new ring all over again!! It is even more beautiful than when he first gave it to me!!

Kellie Coffey

I found this posted on a TTC group I am in.
I Would Die For That

Add to My Profile More Videos

Kids are OUT!!!

So you know what that means. Mommy's job is to entertain for the next 3 months!! It's wierd because before when I was working he would just goto daycare and they would entertain him. Well now it is MY job to entertain and keep them busy.

I have planned on a few things like swimming a couple of times a week, the Zoo, park, PKI etc... I also want to do crafts and cooking/baking with him. The child has an innate ability, DH swears up and down he gets the genes from me ;)

I've resortesd to to making huge batches of cookie dough and freezing half. That way when they want cookies I have some ready! Ingenious. I made a huge cheesecake last weekend for a friend. Her son was habving a party and she loves cheesecake so I baked a 13x9 New York Cheesecake and topped it with cherries. It was delicious!!

Reminder to self : Rememeber to take pictures more this summer...

And here we go again...

Just got off the phone from ob/gyn's office. My results came back all my levels are normal meaning we can try again. However they want me in to see tham as soon as I get the BFP. You never imagine making a baby would be this much hard work and drama but I guess it just shows you can't even take that for granted.

I swear I wasn't trying to kill him!

So DH and I walked DS to school this morning. He walked with me the route I have been doing for the past 3 days. Over 3 miles. I normally complete in 45 mins or less. DH at 2.9 miles decided that was enough and we headed home. It took us almost 50mins! And on top of that he spent the entire day complaining of being tired and his feet hurt. I warned him ahead of time and he did it willingly I SWEAR!! *giggle*

I did another oopsie (What's new)

This morning I went walking, I wanted to do a slightly longer route, 2.3miles or something like that. Anyhow, 3/4th the way around I realize I dropped my garage door opener....somwhere!!?

SO I had to back track and was halfway back gain when I found it!! SO 54mins later I have broken the 3 mile barrier!! Unintentionally and I am going to be sooo sore tonight *sigh*

I NEED a new Pedometer!

I mapped out my walks on www.communitywalk.com this morning. They use Googlemaps as their base and all in all they are generally reliable. So was I suprised when I saw yesterday's walk was actually 1.8 miles and today's was 1.91 miles!

Time for a new pedometer if you ask me but I am floored by my times too. I thought I was slow I guess I am speedier than I thought!

05/10 1.8miles 30mins
05/11 1.91miles 32mins

Walking, kids and the elusive size 6

Well I have finally started walking again. Every spring and summer I walk and ride and although we haven't got on our bikes yet the walking has started. This year I am doing a mile progressing to 2 over the next few weeks. Right now I do a mile in 30mins, I plan on doing 2 miles in 40-45mins. I like power walking, none of the leisurely saunters I have with DH but the nice steady power walking where you feel the muscles working.

Back in my day I used to jog in the morning, now I am older I know running isn't good unless you have major scaffolding for support! The overall plan is just to tone up and lose 10lbs. That means 2 more dress sizes. Last year I went from a size 14 to a size 10. This year I want to be a size 6 again. I haven't been that size since before I had DS.

We start our testing here in a week or two. I want to be at my healthiest before we start. I pray every night it will show we are both healthy and that will will have more children soon.

Brainstorming...

So I've been busy the past week. Baked a lot and I think I am going to post recipes too with my creations. Last week's bake list is as follows:

Madeira Cake

Coffee Madeira Cake

Lemon Madeira Cake

I think the theme was definately Madeira Cake. I used a Simple recipe and just added coffee or more lemon.

Rich Madeira Cake Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
Grated rind of 1 small lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 strip candied citron peel (optional)


Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Cream the butter with the sugar, lemon rind and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a tablespoon of flour with each egg.
Fold in the remaining flour.
Pour into a greased and lined 18 cm/7 inch round deep cake pan or a 1 kg/2 lb (9 X 5 X 3 inch) loaf pan.
Place the citron peel on top, if using.
Bake in a preheated moderate oven (160 C / 325 F, Gas Mark 3) for 1¾ to 2 hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Ain't mishavin'

Tonight's dinner is a simple affair. DH is home so we will have his fave.

Ahi Tuna Steaks

Green Beans

Rice (not sure what kind yet)

I will also be making Chocolate Biscotti. The Almond ones were a hit with both DH and my girlfriends!

Shoes!

The reason why I NEED new shoes.

Ain't no sunshine...

What a miserable day!! When I got DS up for school the sun was shinning and it looked like it was going to be so beautiful!! Now it's overcast and fixing to storm :( Ah well what better day to stay home and bake!!

I went out did some errands came home, glorious sunshine again. I was home no more than 30 minutes and I guess it rained...and I missed it!!

So I am baking Almond Biscotti. I've never tried biscotti before, I don't know why, it's not like it is hard or anything. I consider myself a cookie master or close to. So I am waiting patiently to see how it turns out. Maybe I will post a pic tomorrow. Depends on if DH has devoured them all or not!

Quick Pic before they disappear!

Sunday feast!

Today DH is home and rested. He leaves for work right after lunch so I will get like a busy housewife and cook him a delicious lunch before he leaves :)

Today's menu:

Tofu & Shitake Miso Soup

Black Bean Mussels on the half Shell with green onions and garlic

Pork and cucumber stir fried in a light oyster sauce

Jasmine Rice


This will last us a few days I am sure but the plan is to spend the next two days baking so I don't end up buying a whole new wardrobe while out looking for some cute summer sandals. To replace the ones I broke the other day, I'll have to post a picture of the sad sandals.

All work no play.....

So DH called last night after I had passed out on the couch (sugar crash) Apparently a transformer blew at work...everything shut down. So he had to work another 8 hours. He got home this morning at 7am and he is now laying comatose in our bed. He has to go back in at 2pm so all he really has time for is sleep.

I really wanted to cook a good traditional lunch today but seeing as he is sleeping I will have to post pone it until tomorrow maybe. I have to go to Jungle Jim's to get the lunch meat for DS's lunch next week and maybe get some sushi.

D & R are car shopping up this way so they might stop by later. I'm going to run out for a while. The last 4 days being holed up at home has made me very claustrophobic!

Blogging what I enjoy...

A bit of cuisine, life and a splash of fashion. These are the very ingredients of what makes me tick..