2018 in a nutshell

Well again i've been slack and let this blog go! Can I do a whole year in one blog? Eek! Whoops! November 2017 was the last post! I am committed to doing a few more posts this year as I don't want to let this go too much it will be so fun to read in the years to come. So a catch up post now and then the year 2019 will start properly in the next one. So here is our 2018 in a nut shell.

JANUARY 

-We started the year with some drinks at Di's house (soon to be our house) and a drunken count down at the Griffith Leagues Club with good friends and lots of champagne. 

-Damien and I went down to Durras near Batman's Bay to stay in his business partner Brad and Donna's holiday caravan right on the water, picking oysters from the rocks in the back yard! It was a really awesome relaxing holiday, and one of very few we had this year. 

-Ruby started year 3 and turned 8 in March. She loves her drawing and is proving to be very talented in art and reading. Needs a little more practice in the art of listening to adults sometimes but we have had a great year seeing her more often then we used to. Staying from Friday's through to about Wednesday the following week. The school bus system helps immensely by dropping and picking her up right from our front yard! 

doTERRA - DIAMOND CLUB - GETTING TO GOLD  - GOLD COAST LEADERSHIP RETREAT - MARCH CONVENTION - WHATS NEXT!
It was a year of doTERRA and reaching goals. I focused a lot of my attention on building the essential oil business starting a program called Diamond Club in February, a travel and business building incentive. I certainly did some KMs around the country side running oil classes and educating on how to use them, and of course selling them. I also spent a lot of my time training others for the business, and advertising! Even doing a short social media course for advertising, which has been and still is very helpful for massage as well.

doTERRA also took me to some big events away such as Sydney for the Australian Convention, and the Gold Coast for Leadership Retreat. Very exciting to be around like minded poeple and merch! I did manage to reach the very sort after rank in the biz GOLD, only 23% of leader get to this point and it is usually the point where you could go full time with it. The income is quite good at this level and was something I did want at the time, solving my self employed problems of no sick pay, holidays pay etc as the income covered me for theses times etc. The income also put me up in a few tax brackets and GST requirements! Making me feel  like a "real business". HOWEVER I have decided to put it aside at this point (a bit weird when I had only just reached a leadership position). I decided I do love my massage work and want to have a few more weekends to myself with Damien etc. It is
still there if I decided to pick it back up down the track one day and still brings in some income.

80s theme disco at leadership retreat

Jessie Reimers (doTERRA leader) seating in middles and her Diamond Clubbers and beer on the way home 

 

 

THE 30ths/60ths/Wollongong
Well it sure was the year of the 30ths, a few quiet dinners have been had, a baby shower/30th for Sarah Fitz and a trip to Wollongong for Kate's 30th. We went to an Escape Room for some delish cocktails then locked in 'an asylum' to try and break out of going off the many clues in the room. 

Di's 60th out to dinner followed by camping out in Wilandra station

We ended up in the add for this restaurant that night

Paula's 30th dinner at Zecca

Mum's 60th at Rivadestra in the Point, she ended up in hospital after this!! 

How thin can you cut the cake competiction!! 

got milk, shots

traditional opening presents in bed

Sarah's 30th at the usual Zecca

Katherine's 3oth Coolamon cheese factory 

Sarah Fitz and Besty the first to have a baby/at her 30th and baby shower

Escape room including cocktails 

HAPPY WANDERER FESTIVAL

Went to Balena for some festival fun with the girls. Bec Byrne had been there before and recommended it. Very much like Peats Ridge, very chill, hippy, lots of folk music, BYO drinks and cup, yoga and camping. The owners used to have it on their farm back in the 70s like a Woodstock vibe and the kids, now grown up decided to revamp it. We camped by a creak on their farm in the middle of a wheat field hence living off Phenergan the whole weekend (no need for marijuana here we just blissed out on antihistamines). It was so nice being apart of what i would call my old scene. 

MY 30th BOHO TEEPEE
Then it was my turn to turn 30! I was looking up party decor ideas on pinterest and wanted to do a canope of some sort and the TeePee idea was created for a Boho themed 30th. I advertised on buy swap for some bamboo to cover the teepee frame and a lady had some on her farm growing wild, we collected for free!! Was a huge trailer load, illegally hanging off the back BUT we made it home ok! Damien whipped the frame together and we zip tied the bamboo on. Damien just LOVED putting the fairy lights up on it... The house just happened to be evaluated while the teepee was up, and will now forever be in the evaluation images, I reckon it added value!

We hired a bar and keg from the Coro, and I made up 2 jugs of cocktail, mojitos and a white sangria, recipes fro our mate Sumi who is a bar tender. It was a bring a plate for the food and mum made the cake, my fave MUDCAKE displayed on some driftwood and decorated with succulents... so boho. 

I wasted a lot of Bacardi that day!! About 2L ended up down the drain whoops! I pommeled the limes too hard and it cracked the glass then I wad trying to strain the passionfruit seeds out so they didn't get stuck in the tap and ended up straining most of the cocktail down the drain... :-( 

Em of course had a lot to add bringing her beaded and pom pom doorways!! We threw all of my rugs and bits and bobs under the teepee just in time for the RAIN! Damien brought a MASSIVE tarp from work which was perfect to cover it, though thankfully the rain settled down just as people were arriving... phew! Dressed in feathers, Swede, pom poms, beads and boots we enjoyed lots of cocktails, cake and sesha before ending up in the overly bubbled bathed spa! A lot of fun! I wish we had planned it for our wedding!! Clean up was easy with Em and Damien, after some bacon and eggs of course.

 

THE GRIFFITH RACES and SOME BITS AND BOBS

tried my luck in the fashions, and matching my cocktail with my hat is a must 

Em and Steve in Griffith enjoying a freak shake at the You Me Happy Cafe

Musos ball pre drinks 

Kates bridal shower

Damien all ready for his sleep apnea test 

Still massaging full time

Did a cupping course in Wagga on the same weekend that we moved house

FInally got us a new couch after moving into Blumer ave, kicking Di out. No couch for 2 months was hard!

Doing fathers day right

Spoilt

and the fishing continues

Ruby offering green soda water to the ids for Halloween

cool kids at a bonfire

apple doughnuts afternoon tea

When I got to help run a chakra, essential oils and yoga workshop at my yoga studio!! A life long dream to be at the front of the class, I was pretty nervous. 

MRS KATE AND MR DREW FRASER
The much anticipated wedding of the year in Woolongong arrived. Was a great long weekend away on the beech with all the faves. Arriving Thursday night we stayed in an Air BnB around the corner from the main drag, 1km to the wedding venue and shops. It was a small granny flat in a families backyard, literally walking over the kids toys to get to the back, but had all we needed for cheap. being a Friday wedding we spent the day shopping and getting hair and make up done, running in to other wedding guests around the shops all day. Then meeting at the Novotel Terrace. Was awesome to see my old friend walking down the isle. Was also awesome to be altogether with my group of gals dressed in our best. Damien and I scrub up alright! With a new suit and all.

 

2018 CHRISTMAS TRIP/NEWY RELAXING and NEW YEARS

the usual daggy MS Christmas party

Ruby and I on the road to Canberra

our fishing elf on the shelf

Stopped off at Lisa's to drop off Ruby and give our Christmas gifts

Arriving at Grandma's

Turning our drink bottles into mojito jugs!!

This is holidays

Jasper enjoying his fishing game from us

A spot of the usual Balderdash, we really are getting too good at it

Good ol' Nanna. Boxing day lunch at Nanna's seeing cousin Ben!! For the first time in years. 

Bonsai master!

Dad's local coffee spot after a ride