Merry Christmas

So only a couple days until the big man Santa himself arrives. Although, he does not make a stop at my house, since my older siblings found his stash when I was a kid. Poor David, hardly got a chance to believe in him. Anyway, with Christmas upon us I made it my goal to loose 30 pounds before Christmas. Well I am so close I can almost taste it. So far I have lost 29.4 pounds. My next weigh in is on Thursday morning, and I think I can do it. I just have to stay focused and get threw it. I have decided my plan for Christmas day will be to take the day off. I am going to eat whatever I want and worry about taking it off later. On the 27th, I am going to Estevan to have Christmas with Janet and her family. My cousins will be there, and I really do hope they notice the 30 pound difference. (cross my fingers that there will be an actual 30). My little cousin Dylan is coming back to Brandon with me to stay for a few days. I hope he won't mind eating healthy like me lol. We also have plans to go skating and snow shoeing. I want to take him to Play Time as well, so that should burn off that Christmas fat! Good luck!

Dallas and Shannelle are not coming home for Christmas this year. They are spending Christmas in Arizona with Shannelle's family. I must admit I am a bit jealous. We never go away at Christmas because mom always has to work Christmas day. Maybe in a few years when she is retired we can do things like that. We are supposed to be planning a cruise for September. The whole family on an Alaskan cruise, should be interesting. Problem is, when your single you end up paying almost twice the price. I have to pay for two people if I want my own room. So I am currently looking for volunteers to hang out with me and my family on a cruise. Any takers? I also really want to go to Europe this fall after my birthday. I really need to win the lottery or something. lol.

Well I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, and I won't wish you a Happy New Year yet. I plan on posting something before then so I will do it then.
Happy Holidays!
Until next time,
Cindy

Alright, so I haven't been updating, I know it is a problem. I get so busy with life that I don't get time to write down everything I'm thinking. I have been very stressed lately. I feel like I am at a cross roads in my life. I don't know if I want to do hair anymore, but I am not sure what it is I want to do. I would like to win the lottery so that my decisions would be easier to make. Money seems to be a huge problem when your trying to decide what to do with your life.
So besides, the quarter life crisis, the rest of life has been okay. I am referring to the weight loss. As of Thursday I was down 25 pounds, but I got weighed this morning and gained 2 pounds. Today hasn't been good either. When I am travelling I have a hard time keep my eating on track. I will try my best to get that 2 pounds off, and a bit extra too. I am currently in Thunder Bay for work, so I will try to keep you more updated.
Until next time,
Cindy

Frustration

Okay, I will start by saying that I am sorry for not keeping up with my blog. When I am having a rough day I think about writing it down, but then can't be bothered. So I apologize for my laziness.
Life has been tough lately. The weight loss is pretty much non existent in October. I have been bouncing up and down between two pounds for most of the month. Today, I was up. It seriously sucks. And the worst part about it was that I had done some exercise in the last 2 days so that I would avoid the plus sign. Then when I went for weight in, I was told that was the reason I had gained weight. Can you believe that??? Who would ever exercise if you were told that would be the reason for your gain. Anyway, I am still sticking to the program. I can tell my clothes feel better and I am less frustrated with the food. But I am still not completely satisfied. I am still wondering if I made the wrong choice, and should have just hired a personal trainer who could also help me with my diet, instead of this. So I will keep on trying and thinking positive. As far as the rest of my life goes, well its a mess too! I am hoping to move but am not sure how I will afford it. I am also thinking of going back to school. My life always seems to be a waiting game and then before I know it five years have past and I'm still stuck in the same old rut. I read a book on the weekend that I was sure was about me. Okay so I don't live in Toronto or work at a cosmetic surgery clinic, but still it was so similar to my life I felt like it was me. It was called "Stuck in downward dog." I would say that pretty much sums it up.
Until next time,
Cindy

And then life happened...

Well things were going well, and then life happened. I went to Calgary for 5 days to first visit Dallas and Shannelle and then to work at a hair show. I went shopping for food the first day that I got there so that I would be able to stay in control. That worked great for the first two days. Then my lunches were pre made, and given to me at lunch. I tried to make the best decisions I could, as well I tried to bring along some extra veggies I had with me. But it was tough to stay on the plan when I didn't know what I would be eating. Also eating out in the evening was hard, because I wasn't always sure what I would get. But I think I did okay. In fact I know I did okay. because when I got back I weighed in exactly the same as when I left. I then lost another 2 lbs that week, which brought me down to about 14 pounds. I then weighed in last Saturday to find out I had gained a pound. I wasn't sure why, but I wasn't that worried about it. Then thanksgiving happened. I was given the advice of eating all my free veggies during the day and saving my meals to combine into one big meal. This was awful advice. By the time I got to eat my big meal, I was so hungry that I felt totally deprived. I did not cheat, but I was also getting grouchy about trying to eat so well. On the Monday I lost it. I cried because I felt so unsatisfied. I wanted to badly to enjoy a few more starchy foods. So I did. And when I went to get weighed in this morning It was obvious, because I gained another pound. I hate feeling like I am still hungry when I know I am just not satisfied. I am back on track, but wish that instead of taking the advice of eating the free veggies I would have actually scheduled the meal into my day or even eating what I wanted and then got back on the next day. But instead, I feel like I missed a yummy Thanksgiving supper. I just hope that I can get back on the losing train soon.
Until next time,
Cindy

Quickie

Just wanted to share that I am still doing really well with my weight loss program. I went in to get weighed today and was down another 2 lbs, which is 9.? lbs in total. I am ecstatic, but am starting to crave anything other than vegetables. Maybe I just need a change of veggies.
I have been watching the biggest loser Australia. This has helped keep me motivated to keep going. It has inspired me to try and fit more exercise into my day.
Until next time,
Cindy

Take Off!

Well I am still doing well on my diet program. I have lost another 1.8lbs since Saturday. I was happy to get weighted this morning just because I knew I did well. I had a few obstacles this week. On Saturday I was upset because I hadn't lost any weight. I also was having a rough day at work. On Saturday night Mom and I headed into Winnipeg to go to Sandi's wedding reception. I was late from work, which meant I didn't have much time to prepare what I would eat that evening. Luckily, mom was on top of things and made me something to eat for the ride to Winnipeg. Although I missed a fruit for that day, I did well. We stayed over in Winnipeg and I ended up eating a big breakfast in the morning. On the way home we decided that we would celebrate Bobbi's birthday that night. Happy Birthday sis! So Since I had eaten a big breakfast I was limited to what I could eat the rest of the day, and Bobbi was bring over sushi. But I tried my best to plan it out so that I could eat, and even have desert. I think I went over a bit on my carbohydrates, but otherwise I nailed it. I only ate 5 sushi rolls! After supper I had some low fat frozen yogurt with cut up fruit on a waffle as my desert. Then Bobbi, Nick, London, Mom and I went Geo caching. It is like treasure hunting with your GPS. It was fun, and we walked so we got some good exercise.
Monday went well, I ate everything I was allowed. Now for the next two days I drink juice, eat protein and green veggies only. I am finding the days that I am not organized are the days I am wanting to eat badly. If I plan my menu the night before then I can look forward to eating it. Plus then I will take out any frozen meat or even precook something so that it is easier to just go in the morning. I sometimes get annoyed that I have to spend so much time in the kitchen. But I know it will be worth it.
So the rest of my week should be busy so I am not sure when I will get back on here. I am headed to Calgary for the first weekend in October. I am of course nervous about my eating, and about working the hair show. I feel a bit overwhelmed about the whole thing. But I know if I am prepared I will do my best.
Until next time,
Cindy

Not a great day.

Today was not a great day. I started out alright, but then I fell off the weight loss wagon. I met up with a friend in the afternoon and we did some shopping. We then decided to go for a drink and she hadn't eaten lunch. Of course we went to one of my favorite places and I ended up having a beer and clamato with spinach dip. I was so disappointed in myself I have only been eating cucumbers and celery the rest of the day. I have also been trying to drink some extra water. I hope this will not ruin all my hard work. I have even gotten prepared for tomorrows meals so that it won't happen again.
As far as how I feel and how my clothes fit, there is no change. Which I am not really expecting yet anyway. I know I need to get a bit more active since I am having neck and shoulder pain. This usually occurs when I haven't done enough stretching and exercising in a day. This morning I was in pain so I went for a little walk and did some stretching. It didn't seem to help much, so I had to take something to dull the pain. Tonight I have a headache from my sore neck. I iced it and then took a nice hot shower, so hopefully I will be feeling better tomorrow. The rest of the evening I have been trying to help mom out. She went on a trail ride this weekend and got bucked off her horse. She said he was fine the whole time, and then suddenly bucked. She thinks he was stung by a hornet. She has spent most of the evening in bed icing her back and her behind. Once the swelling goes down I think she will be fine, but hopefully it happens soon. She said she is also starting to get stiff from the jolt of the fall. Unfortunately there is nothing more I can do for her.
Until next time,
Cindy

Update

Well, so far so good. I have lost 3.6 lbs in the last 5 days. I don't think it is a huge acomplishment but I am not being discouraged. I struggle with eating what I am supposed to but I am trying my best. I sometimes feel like I couldn't possibly eat anymore and other times I feel so hungry and unsatisfied. I also find I want bigger portions, mostly of just veggies. But all in all I am doing well. I know when I started eating out I will have some more difficulties. I am hoping I can have that worked out before I go to Calgary for the hair show.
I know this is a short update, but it is all I have for ya.
Until next time,
Cindy

Embarrassing Post

Today I joined a weight loss program. This will be the third time I have joined a program and hopefully the last time. I am a bit nervous about the whole situation. It is expensive and it will take time. I know, I know the weight did not come on over night so it will not come off over night. I just hope this time it actually works. I have committed myself to a whole year, which means next year at this time I should be my ideal size for my height. Now the part that I find embarrassing is that I feel like I can't control myself. I am embarrassed that I need help with something that millions of people don't have a problem with at all. The reason I am asking for help is because I want my 30's to be fantastic. I am really looking forward to turning 30 and want to look and feel great. I also want to be healthier. I have felt that my weight is effecting not only my mental health, but also my physical health. I still do almost anything I want, but I don't want to feel nervous about doing anything either. I want to be able to go for a hike and not worry that I won't be able to keep up. I also want to try new things, and hope I can do them all. I have also noticed that my skin is not as healthy either, and I want that to change of course. I am obviously filling my body with the wrong type of foods which is making everything look bad.

So I am now thinking I will be blogging about how my weight loss journey is going. I hope to have nothing but positive news to share with you in the future.
Until next time,
Cindy

Sorry it took so long.

Hi Everyone,
Sorry it has taken me so long to update my blog lately. I have been very busy with work and life. What's happening? Well I am working Monday, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and every other Saturday. On my days off I am doing work with Nioxin. I really enjoy doing both.
Last weekend I flew to Halifax for my friend Staci's wedding. I arrived there on Thursday evening and come back home on Sunday night. I had a great time, and it was nice to catch up with Staci and Kendall. The wedding was very fun, I just wish the weather would have been nicer on Saturday. I also wish I could have stayed a bit longer.
So this week I am back to work, as usual. I am looking forward to the weekend because I don't have any big plans. I guess I am needing some time off to relax. I have been fighting off a head cold for a couple weeks. I guess that is my body's way of telling me to slow down, or take better care of myself.
Until next time,
Cindy

Happenings in Brandon

I have now started working again. I am working part time at Chatters doing hair. I am also working part time with Nioxin. I really enjoy working with Nioxin and hope that someday it turns into a full time position. I have been very busy with the two jobs as well as working around the yard and helping with the preparation and painting of the outside of Bobbi and Nick's house. I have also been trying to spend a lot of time with Hailey and London. I have missed them and want to see them every chance I get.
Canada Day was pretty average. Bobbi and I spent the morning and part of the afternoon working on the house. David, Monique, Hailey, Bobbi, Nick, and London all came over to mom's for a BBQ that evening. Then later on Bobbi, Nick and I went and watched the fireworks at the discovery centre. They were the best fireworks I think I've ever seen in Brandon.
I am working the rest of the weekend so no other plans.
Until next time,
Cindy

Procrastination

As most of you may know I am home now. I arrived home on May 30th in the morning. I decided to come home because I ran out of money and didn't even have enough to last another week if I had gotten a job right away. I am sad to be home, in one sense I felt ready to come home, yet I also don't want to be here. Not that I want to be in Australia, but I am not that content to be back in Brandon. My flight home was sort of a shit show. The flight from Sydney to LA was delayed by about 4 hours. Because of this I missed my connecting flight to Vancouver. But I did end up sitting beside a nice guy on the flight and we chatted most of the flight. He was going to Phoenix for work. So I highly doubt I will ever see him again. When I arrived in LA the line up at customs was huge so it took a long time. Then they had to redirect a lot of the passengers that were on the flight because we all missed our connections. They had me booked to stay in a hotel and then fly to Vancouver in the morning then Winnipeg. I didn't want to get home to Brandon late Saturday night since it was a surprise and my aunt and uncle were coming to visit my mom. So I asked if they could find me a flight to Calgary, and then I could just stay over there and fly to Winnipeg in the morning. They said they didn't and booked me on a flight at 10:30pm to Toronto. I arrived in Toronto at 7am, and then flew to Winnipeg arriving around 10am. Mom met me at the airport and we rushed home so we wouldn't miss Don and Faye. No one knew I was coming home so it was a good surprise when David and Hailey walked in. David looked completely shocked! Monique didn't come over with him because she had a friend in town she hadn't seen in a while. We met her for brunch the next morning. David didn't tell her I was home so she was surprised to see me as well. We spent the day just hanging out and catching up. Bobbi had been away for the weekend and didn't get home until late Sunday night. On Monday morning I went to her door. She didn't answer so I had to call her and tell her to go to the door. She was still in bed, since they had gotten home so late. She was so shocked to see me she even cried. London greeted me with a big smile, I am hoping it is because she remembered how much fun we had in Cairns. We spent the morning visiting and then went for a Starbucks. I guess I was spotted at Starbucks because the word had reached my Nioxin manager that I was home. I called her after a few days to let her know. I still haven't called all my friends, simply because I'm in denial. It is cold here so I pray that I will wake up in a hostel bed in Cairns with a wallet full of money. I know crazy dreams. Anyway this is my official "Hello" to everyone. I am back in Canada. See you all soon.
Until next time,
Cindy

My two weeks with Mom.

Mom is packing her stuff tonight because she leaves for home tomorrow afternoon. We started off in Sydney and then went to Wollongong for a night, to stay with Jim and Anne. We then came back to Sydney and did all the touristy things. We took a tour of the Opera House as well as walked over the Sydney Harbour bridge. We spent a day at Darling Harbour, saw the Sydney Aquarium, as well as the Chinese Gardens. We walked threw the botanical gardens as well as the Queen Victoria Markets and Paddy's Market. We wondered around The Rocks and over to Luna Park. We also took a day trip to the Blue Mountains which also included a look at the Olympic site as well as a ferry that went to Darling Harbour then dropped us at Circular Quay. We wanted to go to a performance at the Opera House but the last minute tickets that came up for grabs were a little out of our price range. On Friday we caught a bus to the Pacific Palms resort. Unfortunately the weather wasn't that great so we didn't get to go on either of the boat cruises we were interested in. We also didn't spend that much time at the beach or in the pool since it rained and was cold a few days. We did, however go see a few sights and met a couple from California. The woman, May, gave us a few laughs for the rest of our stay. On the following Friday we caught a bus to Newcastle. Once again the weather was awful so we didn't get a chance to see much of the city. We then caught a train in the morning back to Sydney. After lunch we went back to the markets and mom did all her shopping to take back with her. Then we came back to the room and had a rest before we went out for the evening. We went to Darling Harbour and had our supper on a boat. It was so so good. We got to look out onto the harbour as we ate. Just after we were finished eating, we found a place to sit along the harbour. They had fire works to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Darling Harbour. They were awesome. They had four jet ski's with fireworks attached to the back as well as two boats loaded with fire works in the middle of the harbour. I think they were better than the July 1st fireworks in Brandon. After that we took our time and wondered back to our room. It was really a very nice night. Today we decided to go to the Maritime Museum, which is also on Darling Harbour. We got there around 11am and didn't actually leave until about 3pm. We toured the building as well as three different ships out on the wharf. One was a Navy ship, one was a submarine, and the other was a tall ship. Mom also went up the light house. I didn't go because I had a bad headache and was feeling dizzy. I thought the height might make me sick so I stayed down below. We also ate lunch at a nice little harbour side cafe. Then we wondered threw a few random shops and headed back to our room. We ate our supper here at the hostel and I went to the movie showing in the "cinema" room. Mom is leaving tomorrow so we will catch a shuttle to the airport to say our goodbyes.
Until next time,
Cindy

A little more personal.

Lately my posts have been really impersonal. I haven't written about how things have made me feel or what I've even enjoyed. It has felt more like an obligation than a privilege to tell everyone about my journey. The last few weeks I've been completely lost. I sometimes find myself hard to be around. I believe that things happen for a reason. That there are people we meet at certain times because they have something to say that we need to hear. I believe that there are actually road signs telling us "yes, your on the right path." I have also seen the ones that say "wrong way, go back." I even believe that when you put your money into the candy bar machine and the bar gets stuck its God's way of saying, it's not meant to be. I even wonder if that 30 seconds or minute we sit and ponder what to do or ignore the signs and find more change to put in actually saves us. I mean that minute could have been the difference between a life and death car accident or running into someone you don't want to see. Or maybe none of it has anything to do with any of it. Who knows, I don't think I will know until I sit with God and he tells me the purpose of his plans. Now back to me being lost. The last few years have been really off for me. I almost feel like God has stop sending me signs. I am desperate to see them, yet I am in a fog. Now as I was just saying that things happen for a reason, God threw me a sign. Well actually a book. I have been carrying this book around since Bobbi left. I found it at the house we were staying in. I took it because I briefly read the back and thought it was a murder mystery. I carried it with me to the farm, and down the east coast, but didn't start reading it. I guess I wasn't ready. Lately I have been wondering what I should be doing with my life. Again, feeling like God isn't sending me the signs I need to help me get where I want to go. The book is "The Shack" by William P. Young. It is about a man who goes threw "the great sadness" and gets to spend a weekend with God. It is a true story, at least the author claims his friend experienced it. I believe it is true. Of course, I was to read it to get a message about my own life. It talks about relationships a lot. About how your relationships with God, people, and everything else around you is all that matters. Building on those relationships is what is important. The three words I would use to describe what I got from the book are trust, love and faith. I am sure that if you were to read the book there would be a totally different message for you to see. So I need to work on my relationships. Well I've known this for awhile. Like I said I have been awful to be around lately. I am finding it really hard to be nice. I know, isn't that stupid. I'm find myself getting my back up over anything anyone says. I find myself not wanting to get to know people for fear I might like them and have to build a friendship with them. I find it hard to just say "good morning" or "thank you." I find myself feeling very alone but not wanting to let anyone in anyway. I don't know why this is, never mind trying to change it. I have been given advice by plenty about things like "the secret" and such. But I keep feeling that I am not even at a place where I know what I want. How can I think positive when I can't even say "good morning" without faking it? So basically I am feeling very lost. I thought coming to Australia would show me a few new signs. It has been a wonderful experience so far. I have needed every single day, yet worry I haven't even come close to finding my way. In fact I feel even more confused than I did eight months ago. And going home, its terrifying. I keep telling myself to let future Cindy thinking about it. I worry I haven't grown as much as I want to. Maybe I haven't even changed. Will I go home and settle back into the life I was so miserable in, because it is comfortable? Or will I just know what I am supposed to do with my life? If there is one thing I need to remember about this book it is about the future. I need to stop worrying about it. I need to live today instead of trying to imagine a future that hasn't happened yet. I mean it would be stupid and naive to not think about the future, like how will I feed and shelter myself. But I need to realise that God will take care of me. I need to trust that he will provide what I need to survive. I need to trust that he will keep me and my family and friends safe. Trust that he will lead me to all the right signs and people I need to see and meet. Trust that I am loved. I have complete faith in my God and I trust and love that he will take care of me. Okay okay I know it sounds strange to hear me talk about God this way. Honestly I have always thought about him. Plus I really don't care what you think of God, that is for you to figure out.
This post is about me trying to read the signs. It is a really selfish post since I think I've used "I" in every single sentence. I just want to say that I am really trying to figure out what path I am on or should be on and I am sorry for those who have not gotten the best of me.
Until next time,
Cindy

Mothers Day in Sydney

Mom arrived on Saturday morning safe and sound. I met her at the airport early in the morning. Thank goodness her flights were all late because I was late getting to the airport. I had booked a shuttle to take me to the airport at 5:30am but it didn't show up. Finally it showed up just before 6am, but mom's flight was scheduled to arrive at 6:10, and the shuttle was supposed to take 30-45 min. Luckily the shuttle didn't take to long and I arrived about 6:15. Mom didn't arrive until closer to 7am so she wasn't standing there waiting for me. We then caught the train back to central station and walked to our hostel. We went down to the kitchen and had breakfast and checked out the lonely planet about what we wanted to do. Mom was a bit tired so she laid down for a nap. After about an hour she felt better so we went to Darling harbour, to the Sydney Aquarium. We spent the rest of the morning there and then found a place to have lunch on the harbour. We also stopped in for a visit at the Lindt Chocolate Cafe. Mom did a bit of shopping. We were going to the opera house but mom wanted to go back to the room and put her bags there. Once we got there she was tired and decided to have a nap. I hung out in the room for awhile but then decided to take my computer and go sit in the lounge area of the hostel. I let her sleep about 3 hours and then got her up so we could go for supper. We walked around for about 20 minutes and decided on Subway. I know as if that is what you want to eat when you come to Australia, but mom was still a bit tired and not that hungry. After supper we came back to the room and I was showing mom some of my pictures of the trip when she decided she was ready for bed. I went back to the lounge room and hung out for another few hours. I did go to bed early as well since I was up around 5am.

On mothers day mom was awake fairly early. We had our breakfast and checked out of the hostel. We caught the 10:30am train to Wollongong to go and stay with Anne and Jim. When we arrived we ate lunch and then went for a tour of the city. Mom, Jim and Anne seemed to hit it off well. We stayed up that night drinking Bailey's and playing dice. I could tell that mom was exhausted so I said I was going to bed so she wouldn't feel bad for following me.

The next morning mom was awake early because of the time difference. We didn't do a lot in the morning and after lunch we caught the train back into Sydney. It is about a hour and a half train ride, so we have lots of time to catch up. Once we got checked into our room we went down to the grocery store to grab a few things for breakfast the next morning. We also decided while walking around that we would go to see a movie, but plans changed. When I got back to the room I checked my email to find I was invited out to diner with a friend. Mom and I had picked up a few things for supper so had an early meal. I had a snack since I wasn't meeting my friend until 8pm. By the time I left the room mom was just reading a book and planning on checking her emails before bed. I caught a train to Circular Quay, which is where the opera house is located. I met up with my friend Dean who I met on Fraser Island. We walked around Circular Quay to get some good photos of the opera house as well as the Sydney harbour bridge. Dean had spent the afternoon climbing the bridge, so I was excited to hear all about it. We went for a quick bite and a few drinks at a pub and then spend the rest of the night walking around. Dean then walked me back to Sydney Central even though he was staying in Kings Cross. What a gentleman! I felt a bit bad that he had so far to walk and it was almost midnight, but he didn't seem one bit discouraged. He claims he loves to walk threw cities.

This morning was an early morning. We took a tour to the Blue Mountains and it left at 7:30am. We were up and ate breakfast and waiting outside by 7:15am. I was a bit tired since I didn't get home until 11:30pm the night before. I also felt bad since Dean was taking a tour of the Blue Mountains as well and his started at 7am and he got back to his hostel after me. Our first stop was an animal sanctuary. Mom was delighted to see kangaroos, koalas and all sorts of different animals. (Wombats are by far the cutest.) We then went out to the mountains where we stopped at a lookout for some nice photos. We then had our lunch at a little hotel with a restaurant. Our next stop was a small hike to see the wentworth falls. I was really hoping to write something about how the falls were almost as beautiful as Wentworth Miller but I would be lying if I said they were even that nice. It was about 200 steps down to the lookout and it felt like 2000 coming back up. From there we went to check out the "three sisters" and we lucky to have a clear day to see them so well. After that we went to the scenic railway which is the steepest railway in the world. It felt like a roller coaster ride that only lasted a minute. Then we hiked around the bottom for about 30 min and took the sky cable back up. This was not fun for me and I didn't look out at the view even once. Thank goodness it only took about 3 min, unlike the one coming back from Kurranda. We then got back onto the bus and came back to Sydney. We stopped to have a look at the Olympic stadium. We then boarded a fairy that took us to either Darling Harbour or Circular Quay. We decided to get off at Circular Quay so we could see the bridge and opera house from the water. Although Darling Harbour is closer to our accommodation it was still worth the walk. Since it was just after 6pm we walked threw the city back to our room. It was a nice walk except for mom questioning my navigating skills. We didn't have a map so she didn't believe I actually knew where I was going. We made it back just fine and are now both knackered from our long day. Mom is already asleep and I will be shortly after I post this.
Until next time,
Cindy

Back to Wollongong

I took a bus from Brisbane to Sydney on Monday night. I didn't arrive in Sydney until noon on Tuesday and then had to wait at the train station for a train to Wollongong where I have been staying the last few days. I didn't arrive in Wollongong until 5pm, so I was exhausted by the time I got here. I am staying with Anne and Jim. Anne is mother of the girls I lived with in Melbourne. They have taken me in and spoiled me rotten, as all my Aussie moms have done.
On Wednesday we went and had a picnic at a local waterfall and then went for a tree top talk. That evening we went to a rotary meeting and I met plenty of their friends. On Thursday we went into the Royal national park and had a picnic at a beautiful beach and waterfall spot. It was a very nice afternoon. We spent the afternoon driving around the park. We then ended up in Sydney because Jim had to go to the dentist. We didn't get back to Wollongong till close to 7pm. We just had a quick meal and then watched a bit of TV and played a few games. I had a great time, but was exhausted once midnight hit. Today I am packing my stuff and catching the train back into Sydney. Mom arrives early tomorrow morning, so I am getting a room so that she can sleep if she needs to once she arrives. We haven't got official plans of what all we will do while she is here, but we defiantly want to see all the sights of Sydney. I can't wait till she arrives so she can experience what I have been doing this last 7 months. I will update you on all the fun we are having once she gets here.
Until next time,
Cindy

Fraser Island, The Australian zoo and now Brisbane.

Well I have been one very busy girl the last week or so. We arrived in Rainbow beach for our meeting and briefing about our Fraser Island tour. Basically they put 11 people from the hostel in one group and then we rent a 4x4 with camping equipment and food (they supply it all). Our group consisted of Ruairi and Ruadhan (the Irish guys) and Marco (the German) as well as Sabine, Johanna, and Valarie (French girls), Skippy (Swedish), Taylor (USA), Scott (Canadian), and Leo (Italian) as well as myself. So that day we ordered our drinks for the trip as well has rented any sleeping bags and stuff we needed. I was a bit nervous about this trip. It is a self guided tour and about 10 days before that one of the self guided tours had an accident and 2 people died. The Scottish guy I met on the farm was friends with one of them. The next morning we had to be up early for breakfast and get our vehicle ready for the trip. We had to count all the equipment and load the vehicle as well as check it over. We didn't actually get on to the fairy for Fraser Island until 11am. We then went to Lake Mackenzie right away and had lunch. We spent most of the afternoon there, then headed up the beach and found the rest of the vehicles that had left with our group. We all camped in the same spot for the night. It was like one big party in the sand. We were camped not too far off the beach. Since the beach is the road, we had to go behind the sand dunes and camp, also this way our tents and vehicles wouldn't get washed away in high tide. There are not really good roads on the island. You can drive along the beach, but you have to be careful because the sand is always changing, it can be too loose or too wet and slippery. When you are inland the roads are also sand and they are usually up and down hills. They are very rough, and a bit scary.
The next morning we had to get up at sunrise because we couldn't drive after 7am because of the high tide. We drove as far up the island that we could because some of the roads were washed out. We parked and walked up the beach a bit. Some of the other groups walked the 10km to the ship wreck, but our group got about half way and decided we had had enough. We then headed inland to another lake. We went for a quick swim, had lunch and then went for a hike in the trees. We hiked for about and hour and half threw the bush. We then headed back to the camp and settled for the night. The nights were so cold and it was hard to get comfortable in the tents. There was also sand everywhere which was so annoying. The whole time we are on the island we are keeping an eye open for dingos. That night while the guys were playing a game of rugby we had a visitor. A lone dingo was walking threw our camp looking for food. You can be fined for feeding a dingo, so we basically just scared it off. But at night, since there are no toilets you have to pee in the bush and pray you don't come across a dingo. We could see them wandering around the outsides of the camp. So you always had a pee buddy.
The next morning I was awaken by the howling dingos out on the beach. We got up around 6am and got our camp packed up. I had heard from some other campers that someone in our group of 55 fell asleep on the beach and was bitten by a dingo on the leg. I don't understand why this stuff happens, likely because people drink too much and don't listen. We then headed to lake Mackenzie again where we had breakfast and spent the day. After lunch we headed out to make our way back to the fairy. Apparently we took the longest route possible since we were an hour and a half late getting back to the shop to turn in our vehicle. I was very glad to be done the trip. I was tired of being in that vehicle with the loud music and drunk people. I was also excited to get a good nights sleep.
The next morning we left for Noosa. We got there just after lunch, to find out there were no hostels available. We then found a place that was like an apartment. It was cheap for the four of us and we had our own space, including living room and kitchen. We were all still tired so we just spent the day relaxing.
We got up early the next morning to hit the road. We went to the Australian (Steve Irwin) Zoo. We got there about 9:30am and stayed until 3pm. It was a very beautiful zoo and all the animals had very nice living areas that were very large. We watched a crocodile feeding and a bird show. We also got to feed the elephants. But the best part of the zoo was the tigers. We watched a show where the trainers played with the tigers. They would jump in the water with them and give them toys to play with. There were 6 tigers at one point trying to play with a big barrel in the water. The trainer had fun trying to get it away from one of the tigers. After the zoo we drove straight to Brisbane. We arrived just before 6pm. Seems to be a difficult city to drive in, luckily I didn't have to drive. We got settled and then went for a slice of pizza. We got a few drinks and then came back to the room. A few of the other guys were off to watch a rugby game in a pub so we followed. I couldn't afford to drink much so I only had one drink and went back to the hostel about 11:30pm. I guess the guys had a good time since they are all feeling awful this morning. Today I have just been booking my bus ticket and getting some things organized for when I arrive in Sydney. The only thing I am not looking forward to is the weather. It is cool in Brisbane and I know Sydney will be even cooler. It is a huge shock from Cairns, where you sweat just sitting still. Guess I shouldn't complain.
Until next time,
Cindy

The latest...

I have been on the road since Tuesday, as I mentioned in the last update. On Wednesday afternoon we arrived in Airlie Beach. It is a small little place with tons of backpackers going to the Whitsunday Islands. On Thursday we went on a sail boat out to the Whitsundays. We went snorkeling in two different locations. Although the water wasn't as clear as when I went snorkeling in Cairns. From the boat the water was the most amazing aqua colour. It was absolutely beautiful. We spent the night on the boat in small little bunks. It was also very hot. I definitely improved on my tan while sailing. On Thursday we went onto this amazing beach and spent the morning. We then just sailed back to Airlie Beach all afternoon. That night we got back to our hostel and made our supper and chatted with our other dormates. Two of the girls wanted haircuts so I promised to do them in the morning before we left. So I got up bright and early and did two haircuts and then we hit the road. Today was a long day of driving. We drove from Airlie Beach all they way to this little town called 1770. We are planning on spending two nights here and then going to Rainbow Beach and then Fraser Island. After that I am not exactly sure what the plan is. I know I will be in Sydney on the 9th to meet mom, but I am not sure if I will arrive earlier or not. I would love to visit with Helen and Diana's mother and partner while I am there. I guess we will just have to see how it all works out.
Until next time,
Cindy

Sweet sweet sweet potato.

I must apologize for not keeping up with my blog. I have been away working on a farm for two weeks after Bobbi left. I was at a farm with no telephone or Internet service. I didn't think I would be able to handle it but after a few days I didn't even notice.
On the farm I was planting, picking and packing sweet potatoes. On my very last day I got to pick passion fruit, and capsicum and pack limes. We would get up every morning at 6am and start work between 6:30 and 7am. It was sometimes really hard work, but other days I really enjoyed it. The job I hated the most was digging potatoes on "the sweet potato express." It was such a dirty job and some of the positions on the digger were really fast so it was hard to keep up. I did however enjoy packing potatoes. Mostly because we weren't out in the hot sun all morning. We would have a break about 9:30 for 45 min or an hour and then we would work until noon. Afternoons were too hot for us to be working in the fields. Occasionally Graham would have some odd jobs for people in the afternoon. I arrived with another girl from Japan, the two of us made 12 wwoofers. A couple days later another girl came and made us to 13. I really enjoyed the people I met on the farm. I spent a lot of time with Keith from Scotland, Michelle from Ireland, Jim from Holland and Ruairi from Ireland, as well as Hannah from England, and Kenny from Sweden. There was also Gemma from England, Ritchie from England (but was living in Scotland), Martina from Sweden, Mikako, Myomi, and Nahoo from Japan. Everyone got along very well, and I definitely made some great friends. I am hoping to meet up with Jim and Michelle again in Australia. I also really loved the owners of the farm Graham and Jan. They had three children; Jordan, Hannah and Neve. The only thing I didn't like about the kids was they had a rule about swearing. If they caught you swearing in front of them they would yell out "chili" and you would have to eat a chili. Luckily I only had to eat one, and it was so hot that I swore I would never say another swear ever again. (that didn't last long). It was very enjoyable to watch others eat chillies as well. lol. On the one weekend it was Kenny's birthday so we had canoe races in the damn. The best three teams had to compete again for the championship prize of a 5 kilo sweet potato. Luckily I think Ruairi and I got 5th place. Not last but not in the top 3. I would go back to the farm again anytime and I will really miss the friends I met there.
I came back into Cairns with Ruairi on Friday. I had heard on the farm that he was planning on renting a car and driving down the coast with a friend of his. His friend, Ruadhan and him decided to buy a car instead of rent one. The three of us are driving down the coast and hopefully picking up another passenger along the way. We just left Cairns this morning and are now in Townsville. It has been an adventure already. I enjoy the company but sometimes feel bullied by the two guys. I am looking forward to having another girl to talk to. Townsville is really nice, but unfortunately I am on a really tight budget and cannot afford to go see anything. I may take a walk in the morning and check things out a bit.
Tomorrow we are driving to Airlie Beach and on Thursday we are taking a two day 1 night tour of the Whitsunday Islands.
Once again I apologize for not keeping up with my blog and hopefully it won't happen again,
Until next time,
Cindy

Back to backpacking.

Today Bobbi, Nick and London left to go to Sydney and meet up with Gord and Diane. I woke up feeling good, but a little sad that our vacation (my vacation from my vacation) was over. I went for a quick dip in the pool and then had a shower and finished packing up my things. After my shower I obviously moved wrong or something because I have a ridiculously painful knot in my upper back near my shoulder blade. This used to be common when I was doing hair, but I haven't had a pain this bad in over 6 months. Bobbi felt around, but didn't have time to give me a massage. She figured from the way I jumped that something was almost out of place. I spent the rest of the morning entertaining London and trying to relax enough to get threw the day. It didn't work. Bobbi and Nick dropped me off at my hostel just after 10am. They had to catch a flight around noon as well as drop off the van. I was in tears most of the way to the hostel. Mostly because my back hurt so much it is actually painful just sitting and secondly I was so sad they were leaving and I had to go back to being a backpacker all on my own. I will miss having Bobbi as my sounding board and Nick keeping Bobbi in line (ha ha just kidding) and I will miss London. I was teaching her paddy cake. Hopefully when I get home she can sing it to me. She is still working on clapping throughout the whole song. She also enjoys when you whisper. She would put her ear right up to my lips just to hear what I am saying. Sometimes she would just watch my mouth to figure out how I was doing this whole talking thing. I will definitely miss them all. Since it was too early to check into my room I just dropped my bags off at the hostel and decided to check my emails. I was trying to line up a job or a place to stay. I have signed up to try WWOOFing. (Willing Workers On Organic Farms). I spoke with a man yesterday about going to their farm. I don't get paid to work but you are expected to work 4-6 hours a day and you get free accommodations and meals. This is great since you don't need to spend any money. Some hosts even show you around the area. Most hosts claim their are lots of things to do in the area like swimming, canoeing or fishing. I also applied for a few jobs online around Cairns. Doesn't seem to be a shortage of rooms available here, but the jobs aren't as available. I guess everyone wants to stay where it is warm all year. I finally gave up looking and got myself some lunch. After lunch I checked into my room and called about the WWOOFing. The guy I spoke with said he would call me back to see if they had room for me to come. I then decided I would go to a movie to see if I could relax since my back still hurt so much. I went to see Confessions Of A Shopaholic, since I just finished reading the book. This didn't relax me as much as I had hoped so I went to find a massage. I luckily walked in at the perfect time. I got a half hour massage at a nice spa. I told the girl I was having pains and that I hadn't had a massage in over 6 months. She worked hard to get out the huge knot but failed to relieve my pain. She also couldn't believe how tight my muscles were. I explained that this is what happens when you backpack and don't have a regular bed to call your own. I don't know what has set off my back but I am even having trouble moving to stretch it out. I felt a bit of relief from the massage, but not as much as I was hoping for. Once back in the hostel I decided to read a bit more about WWOOFing and see if there are any other farms I would like to go to instead, since I hadn't heard back from them. While I was eating my supper and reading my book I got a call from Graham whose farm I want to go to. He said they have room and that he is coming into Cairns tomorrow and will pick me up. I am relieved because I have somewhere to stay at least for the next week. If I don't like it I will either keep looking for a job or try a different farm. I have about 5 weeks before mom comes to visit. I would love to work and make some extra cash but if it doesn't work out, oh well.
So tonight I am just taking it easy trying to relax my sore muscles. Cairns seems like a pretty happening party place. All of the girls staying in my hostel went out drinking with their friends. So we will see how many times I am awaken in the middle of the night. Hopefully no one decided to turn the lights on for an hour and eat potato chips.
Until next time,
Cindy

Can't help but relax.

Ok, I have a problem. I have been so lazy and relaxed the last few weeks. I mean I have been doing things and seeing stuff around Cairns but I haven't been as active as I normally am. Plus I am having trouble focusing on what I am going to do on Friday. That is when Bobbi and Nick leave. I would like to find a job, but I worry that I won't find one since I will only be working a few weeks before mom comes for a visit. I am thinking that after mom's visit I will settle somewhere for awhile and work. But of course, I have no real plans. I might even go back to Western Australia.
But as far as the rest of my time in Cairns it has been amazing. The house where we are staying is beautiful, the pool is beautiful, and of course the company is perfect. We went white water rafting last week and I really enjoyed it. Okay it wasn't the biggest rapids, but still it was pretty fun. And Nick the very experienced rafter even enjoyed it. We also went up to Port Douglas once again. I spent the afternoon with London while Gord and Diane got pampered. Bobbi and Nick went on a two day cruise on the reef. Unfortunately they didn't enjoy themselves, but we had a good time with London. Bobbi and I also had a girls night and went to a chick flick. Once again it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. But still we had a good laugh about how much of a gong show we can be together. Gord and Diane left for Sydney on Monday. So the four of us spent a quiet day at home yesterday. In the afternoon Bobbi and I went into Cairns and looked at a few shops. We picked up some pizza for our supper. Today all four of us went to a crocodile farm. We spent most of the day there. London was really good even though it was really hot. We got amazingly close to some big crocs.
So the rest of my week will be filled with more swimming in the pool and enjoying the company of London, Bobbi and Nick. I will also find a job and figure out where I am going on Friday.
Until next time,
Cindy

Great Barrier Reef

The last few days have been so busy with activities I have not been able to update on here quick enough. Also I have been a bit lazy enjoying my time with Bobbi, Nick, London, Gord and Diane. Basically I have been shopping, going to aboriginal displays, visiting national parks and today I went to the Great Barrier Reef. This morning Gord, Diane and I went into Cairns and got on a boat to the reef. The ride out was very rough!! Before we left I took two ginger tablets to help calm my stomach, and I am so glad I did. I thought I was going to be sick! At one point even Gord wanted a bag, because he turned a little green. There were people all around us filling their bags. That wasn't pleasant but the boat wasn't full of people so it wasn't so bad. Once we got to the reef I rented a Lycra wet suit. There are still box jellyfish in the water and they can sting you badly. I am glad I did since I also didn't have to worry about sunscreen since I was covered head to toe. I learned from experience that you should always have sunscreen on when your snorkeling, especially on your butt. So the three of us went out and we all decided to take purple noodles so we could spot each other if we got too far away. I was worried because it was a bit choppy out there and I am not the greatest swimmer. I did awesome. In fact, I stayed out longer than Gord and Diane. It was very beautiful coral. It was a little brighter and more colourful than the ningaloo reef in WA. But most of the fish were the same. We made three different stops to snorkel. Some people were diving as well, (none of us). On the second stop I saw a shark! It was pretty big, about 5 feet long. It was just on the bottom in the sand. Once everyone spotted and the divers got close it swam away. They are reef sharks and they are very shy and scared of us. Unfortunately I didn't see a turtle, I was really hoping too since they live in this area. But since I saw one at the ningaloo reef I wasn't that disappointed. The third stop I was having trouble with my goggles. I think I somehow got switched with someone and they weren't fitting properly. At one point when I was far away from the boat my goggles came apart and I had to try swim back to the boat. Luckily the lifeguard on the top of the boat was watching me after she signaled to me asking if I was okay. I got back on the boat and fixed my goggles and headed out again. I met Gord and Diane coming back onto the boat. Diane thought there were too many jellyfish for her since she didn't have on a wetsuit. On the first stop she was stung on the finger. I was glad I had my suit because there were alot of jellyfish. I seemed to still be having trouble with my goggles so I went back in. I was one of the last in. I then took some ginger tablets because I didn't want to toss up my delicious lunch. Thank goodness it was a smoother ride home. I also purchased a picture from the underwater photographer. I have decided that is what I would like to do. Diane joked that I would be the only one with a noodle.
All in all I had a fantastic time. I think Diane and Gord also enjoyed it very much.
Tomorrow is white water rafting so hopefully I have just as much fun.
Until next time,
Cindy

Cairns

On Thursday March 12th I finished working at the hair salon. I left Southern Cross on Friday morning and caught a train back to Perth. It is a 4 hour train ride from Southern Cross to Perth. Robyn picked me up from the bus station and we went over to Lulu Lemon to do a bit of shopping. We then went back to her house and spent the afternoon catching up. In the evening Kent, Robyn and I went to the markets for Friday night supper, this is a tradition for them. It was very nice because I got to see their friends again, and I really enjoy their company. Right after the markets they dropped me at the airport to catch my 10:55pm flight to Cairns. I wasn't even tired when I got on the plane. But I had an isle seat and was unable to get comfortable so I didn't sleep much on the way. I also think I was just excited to see Bobbi, Nick, London, Gord and Diane. I arrived in Cairns at 4:10am. Bobbi and Nick picked me up from the airport. Since they were not used to the time change it didn't feel too early for them. We got back to the house and I gave London a big kiss although she was sleeping in Grandpa's arms. We spent the morning catching up and then had an early breakfast as the sun came up. After breaky everyone went for a sleep. Since I wasn't tired yet I unpacked and then went for a dip in the pool. It is very humid in Cairns and I love the heat. We spent the day just around the house since we were all tired. We did go into Cairns in the afternoon and bought some fresh fruit at the market. Everyone had an early night.
On Sunday we got up fairly early (they still haven't adjusted to the time change yet) and had breakfast. Since it was nice and hot we went for a swim in the pool and did some pool yoga. In the afternoon we took a drive to Port Douglas. Bobbi and Gord went for massages and Nick, Diane, London and I hit the shops. London, of course got a few things while shopping with Grandma. Nick and I bought her a floating toy for the pool so she can sit and relax like the rest of us. We also bought Bobbi and floating bed so she can lounge in the pool. We then headed to a supermarket and got some groceries. That night Nick cooked an amazing pasta and chicken dish. Between him and Gord there is no way we will even need to eat out. They are fabulous cooks. I decided that I would do the cooking on Monday night. I had been planning a nice meal for them as a token of my appreciation. So I made my list and planned out where we would go to get it the next day.
On Monday morning I slept a bit later, but was still up fairly early. They are starting to get used to the time difference so everyone is sleeping later. Bobbi seems to be having the most difficulty with it. I have noticed she doesn't go without a nap in the afternoons. In the morning I went to the beach and did some yoga. I am loving my new yoga DVD and book Robyn gave me. By the time I got back to the house (the beach is across the street, you can see it from the pool) I was hot and needed to have a dip in the pool. Gord, Nick and I decided to have a game of Settlers of Catan, and I won!! I haven't played in 5 months but my skills are still good. After lunch Gord, Diane and I decided to go into Cairns and have more of a look around. But on the way we found a fish shop and I picked up some barrimundi and prawns for my supper. Once in Cairns, Diane and I checked out some shops and we had a agreed to meet up with Gord at 3:30pm. We spent about 2 hours shopping and enjoying downtown Cairns. The last stop downtown was a Cold Rock ice cream. I had Cheesecake flavoured ice cream with Tim Tams in it..... YUM!! Also helped to cool me off. We waited by the van for Gord who was late. Turns out he felt the need for another massage. We then headed to the grocery store to get the items for my meal. We headed home and I got straight to work. For our meal we had Barrimundi fish fried in oil with a little bit of seasoning. Roast (Aussie) pumpkin, carrots, and potatoes. At the store we also picked up a Greek salad. And for desert we had pavlova. It was my first time making it and it was a total success. The entire meal was so good!!! After supper we just sat around outside and enjoyed the warm night. We also got a visit from a toad that wanted to come into the house.
Today we slept in a little bit, but London doesn't allow that to happen for too long. This morning her and I played in my room and we decked her out in an Aussie bandanna. She looked like a pirate when Grandma and Grandpa got up. In the afternoon Bobbi, Nick and I went to Crystal Falls and took a short and easy hike up to see all the different falls. We then got down and went for a quick swim. There were a lot of different fish in the water, and it was very cold. Before we got down there we saw something in the water that looked like an eel. We also saw a dragon type lizard and the most beautiful butterflies. They flew all around us as we were walking and when we went for a swim we saw four of the prettiest ones ever. We then headed back for the van and stopped at a few shops on the way home. I needed to get some ear plugs since I am getting an ear ache from the pool. I also bought London an Aussie outfit, that I am hoping she will wear tomorrow.
So far I am having a blast in Cairns. It is very nice here, but the water is no where near as beautiful as in Western Australia. That Indian Ocean just has such a gorgeous colour to it. Tonight Nick is BBQing steaks, so it will definitely be amazing.
Until next time,
Cindy

Kalgoorlie

On Saturday I made plans to "knock off" early from work and catch the train to Kalgoorlie. It is a two hour train ride there so I arrived around 2 in the afternoon. Once I got off the train I walked to my hostel which was only a view blocks from the train station. Kalgoorlie has a population of approximately 35,000. I spent the afternoon wondering around. I wasn't thinking and didn't go to the supermarket until after 6pm and it was already closed. Since I didn't get there I didn't have any breakfast for the next day or any super for that night. I ended up with some fish and chips and spent the evening back at the hostel reading and chatting with others. I went to bed around 11:30 but was awaken around 2 am by the other girls staying in my room. Apparently people don't have respect for others staying in the room since they decided to turn the light on and stay up reading and eating chips for over an hour. Needless to say I didn't get a very good sleep that night. I was totally planning on being loud and turning on the light when I got up, but they just happened to be up and around by the time I got back from my shower. I had a tour booked that started at 9:30am. They picked me up at the hostel and took us for a tour of Kalgoorlie. We then went to the super pit lookout. We also went to the Kalgoorlie 2up. I don't know much about the game except that it sounds like heads or tails and you place bets on it. It is illegal to play on everyday except ANZAC day. The place they play is actually in the middle of no where with a big circle that has benches all around it. There is sort of a patched up tin shelter around it, definitely nothing special. After that we went to Boulder for a wonder around and had lunch. We also stopped in a pub to check out the old mine shaft that was in the floor. After lunch we went to the Mining Hall of Fame. We also took a tour of an old mine. We went underground about 30 feet. It was a working mine until the 1950's. We spent about 45 minutes under ground. It was very interesting. We spent the whole afternoon wondering around the hall of fame. Since I didn't sleep very well I ended up with a terrible headache. I got back to the hostel around 5pm. I spent the evening trying to get rid of the headache so I didn't even leave my room. When I woke up this morning I was feeling much better. I went for a big breakfast since I didn't have supper the night before. I then went back to the hostel and checked out. I left my backpack there and then went to the Museum of Western Australia. I spent about an hour and half checking out the place. After that I went over to one of the brothels on the famous Hay Street. My hostel was actually not to far down the street. There are three working brothels in Kalgoorlie. I wanted to take a tour but only one offered a tour in time for me to catch my train back to Southern Cross. It was actually very interesting. I would have liked to tour the other brothels to compare. This one had been rebuild not too long ago so it was fairly nice. It is amazing to think a city of that size can support three brothels. The other brothels both claimed to be the oldest in town. I'm sure if the walls could talk, they would have some interesting stories. After the tour I went back to the hostel to grab my bags and then walked over to the train station. The ride home wasn't so great since I had to sit beside a stinky old man. I was happy to get back to Southern Cross to my own bed.
Until next time,
Cindy

NASA Poll

I have added a new poll to the bottom of the page. When I was on my Exmouth tour I heard a story about how people in Western Australia weren't sure about NASA landing on the moon. There is a huge satellite dish in Exmouth that helped with the moon landing. Our tour guide told us a story about how Western Australia was broadcasted the footage of the moon landing before the rest of the world. He then told us about how that footage was edited and shown to the rest of the world. There are claims that there was a coke bottle seen in the footage before it was edited out. I don't know much about this, so I did spend an evening researching it on the Internet. I am curious to know what the rest of my readers think. Please vote!

My days off.

This past weekend was pretty fun. I only worked until 11am on Saturday. It wasn't very busy so we just did some cleaning, then finished for the day. It was a nice sunny day so I went for a walk before I had lunch. After lunch I was hot from the walk so I decided to go to the pool for a few hours to work on my tan. I got home late in the afternoon and decided to do some yoga in the back yard. I then watched some TV and had some supper. I felt good about getting outside and getting active. I slept well that night from all the fresh air.

On Sunday I started off slow then went for lunch over at the coffee lounge. I helped Lyn with a few things she needed moving. I was there for a few hours visiting with Harry, Cheryl and helping out Lyn. I then decided to go for a walk to see some more of Southern Cross. It was hot so I didn't walk to far, but to a few places I hadn't seen yet. I like walked near the eucalyptus trees in the heat since it makes them smell so good. After the coffee lounge closed Harry, Lyn and I went out to Kelly and Marks place to go quading. We took Alexa and Felicity with us. I had so much fun. Harry likes to drive fast when Felicity rides with him. But since it is dusty Lyn and I didn't go as fast, but still fast enough for me. It felt a lot like home except the dirt was red and we saw a few kangaroos. I was so dusty when we got back I felt a need for an immediate shower. I ended up putting it off and staying at Lyn and Harry's for supper. By the time I got home it was about 9pm so I just watched a bit of TV and went to bed. I also slept well since I got lots more fresh air.

Today has been not as exciting. I have spent the day cleaning and doing laundry. I did a bit of yoga and went for a little walk. I forgot that I wanted to get to the library until after 4pm which is when it closes. I will try and finish work early and get there sometime during the week. I am looking for a book on yoga since I don't know enough about it. Tonight I am just hanging out with a book and maybe a little bit of TV. It has been a more active and fun weekend then I have had in a long time. I am wondering about venturing to Kalgoorlie to check it out. I wish I had a car so I didn't have take the train and spend the whole weekend there. I guess I will spend the week figuring it out.
Until next time,
Cindy

Poll

Does anyone have any poll ideas?

Nothing new

Well I don't have much to write about on here. I have just been working working working. I don't feel like I have even been working hard. It is not that busy at the salon so most days I clean or sit and watch the traffic go by, even that is not very exciting. I work Tuesdays to Saturday and then have not a lot to do on Sunday and Monday. Yesterday I went to the pool for a couple of hours. I also rented a few movies to watch and came for a visit with Lyn across the street. Today I am just doing laundry and hanging out at the coffee lounge updating my blog. It isn't sunny so it doesn't seem like a good idea to go to the pool since yesterday it was hot out and that pool was freezing! I will likely just finish my laundry and watch a movie. I have also been watching the tv series "Charmed", I don't really like it but its something to watch. I would love to be doing some yoga to keep myself active but I don't know much. I can't even remember the wii fit yoga all that well. I have been checking out a few things online and may just try a bit in my back yard today. I tried to sit outside at the coffee lounge but was attacked by flies. I hate bugs! It is so frustrating to try and sit with a coffee and a book or computer and constantly have to wave flies away. I have tried piling on the fly spray and it doesn't even seem to help. I have yet to encounter many mosquito's but the flies are relentless. Well this is my exciting life at the moment.
I am really looking forward to going to Cairns. I want to go snorkel on the great barrier reef. I enjoyed the ningaloo reef so much and really hope it is better. I also look forward to seeing Bobbi, Nick, London, Gord and Diane. I haven't decided on any plans for what I will do after that.
Sorry this post was so short and boring. Hopefully something exciting will happen so I will have more to write about.
Until next time,
Cindy

Goodbyes, Cards, and Fires

I move into my new place tomorrow. I won't likely get in until the afternoon, since Sam and Brad are leaving in the morning and Lyn wants to go clean shortly after. I haven't unpacked much of my things while here since I know I will be moving over there. It is just across the street. I am starting to really enjoy Southern Cross. I mean I am excited to have my own space that is for sure, and I think once that happens I will feel very comfy here. Sam and Brad are very well known and liked in this town. Harry, my boss, adores her. I have some pretty big shoes to fill. Last night we went to the local motel for a going away supper. We had some drinks and appetizers and then a delicious meal. We came back to the coffee lounge and played a serious game of bullshit aka cheat. Harry was pretty funny to watch, he figured it was the game for him all he has to do is mumble when he throws his cards down. Then we played a game of shithead, which is the usual game we played. I helped Harry since he didn't know how to play. Ray didn't like this because he figures I have a mean streak in me especially when I play cards. I am not a sore loser but enjoy bugging him about pouting.... I actually tell him a bird will poop on his lip.... I recall my cousin Laurel telling me this when I was a kid, likely because my dad told that to her. I have a lot of fun playing cards with everyone, it is very entertaining. It wasn't a very late night since Sam and I had to work in the morning. On Saturdays the salon is only open from 9am until 12pm, so it is just a short day. We were busy this morning, but nothing like a Saturday at home. After work Sam packed up her stuff and we headed back to the coffee lounge for lunch and a few games of cards. This evening we went for a BBQ at Mark and Kelly's. Mark is Harry and Lyn's son. It was another going away party for Sam and Brad. There were a lot of people there that I haven't met yet. I came back early with Harry and Lyn, since I didn't really know anyone. Now the three of us are watching the news. There are a bunch of fires around Melbourne. There are 14 people confirmed dead but they think there could be as many as 40 dead. It is very hot and windy there so the firefighters are working hard to get all the different fires under control. Canada plays its part in this by lending our water bomber helicopters to help. Since Canada doesn't need them this time of year they are almost always in Australia to help with the bush fires. I am hoping my friends in Melbourne and the anywhere in Australia are alright, and hope to hear from them soon. None of the places named on the news were near where I lived, but still it is close to Melbourne. I pray for all the people who have lost family and friends as well as homes. I also pray there is an end in sight.
Until next time,
Cindy

Southern Cross

Not only is Southern Cross a constellation in the sky as well as the stars on the Australian flag, it is also a small town in Western Australia. I am living in Southern Cross. The town is located about 3 1/2 hours east of Perth. I arrived on the train on Monday February 2nd just before lunch. Cheryl, a friend of the salon owners picked me up at the train station. She brought me to the local cafe which the salon owners also own. Lyn owns and runs the cafe. Harry owns the salon, and his daughter, Bec, manages it. Sam, another backpacker from England, is currently working at the salon. I am her replacement. She and her boyfriend Brad are leaving for Perth on Sunday morning. Right now they are living in the suite behind the salon where I will be living for the next 6 weeks. Currently I am staying with Lyn and Harry, and their son. Sam is showing me what I need to know for the salon since I will be there mostly on my own. Bec just had a baby a few months ago so she isn't real up to leaving her little one to come to work. Doesn't matter to me, I am fine working on my own. The salon is nice, and there is lots of room. I look forward to moving into my suite so I can have my own space. My accommodations are included with the job, as well as lunches. So far I am enjoying the town. It seems like a very friendly place. There was another Canadian working at the salon before Sam started. Everyone really liked her, so they are excited to see another Canadian. They already have to start looking for another stylist because I won't be here long and it can take awhile to find someone. So far it has been hot! On Tuesday the temperature got up to 43 degrees and even today seemed close to 40. I can tell I will be spending my days off either inside or swimming at the local pool. Everyday after work Sam and I go over to the cafe and play cards with Ray, a local. Sometimes Lyn joins in as well. Diana and Helen taught me the game while I was in Melbourne (can't even remember what it is called) so it didn't take me long to catch on again. Each of them thinks the others cheat so it is pretty interesting. After today, Ray is sure I am a card shark. He saw me deal and now thinks I count cards and worked in a casino. I didn't want tell him I learned from watching my big sister deal. But I don't do so bad at the game so he can think whatever he wants. Other than that, I haven't met too many people yet. I have done a few men's haircuts, mostly #2 clipper cuts to either miners or farmers. Everyone is really friendly. So far so good, even though I am counting down the days until Cairns.
Until next time,
Cindy

Perth to Exmouth to Perth

Hey Everyone! I have been very busy this last week. I took a tour from Perth to Exmouth then back to Perth. It was 7 days and jam packed with activities. I even took notes so that I would remember what day I did things so that my blog was accurate. So here goes the story of my week.

I was up bright and early on Saturday morning. Robyn and Kent dropped me off at the tourist coach stand in Perth. I was there about 7am and the bus arrived around 7:20am. There were so many people there I am sure Robyn and Kent were worried I would get lost in the crowd. But I got myself to the right place and got on the right bus. Instantly I met Vanessa who was on my tour. I could tell she was a Canadian because she had Lulu Lemon pants on. She is so fun and we hit it off instantly. Vanessa is from Toronto and has been living in Brisbane the last two and a half years. She has just finished her schooling to become a physio therapist. She is moving back to Canada the beginning of February. Vanessa and I spent most of the morning chatting on the bus. We also met Martin from Germany as well as Vincent from the Netherlands. There was another German guy who didn't speak much as well as two Italian couples who were not your typical backpacker age. They were retired and travelling Australia. Only one of them spoke English. There was also Ben from England who is currently living in Melbourne. Our tour guide/ driver's name is Pete. It was an interesting combination that turned into loads of fun. Our first stop was the Pinnacle Desert. I have never seen anything like it. They are these strange looking rocks out in the middle of the desert. We jumped on the bus again and drove a very long way. It was pretty hot on the bus and it didn't feel like there was any air conditioning. I was hoping we weren't in for a long trip on a hot bus. We decided to skip the sand boarding we were supposed to do in Geraldton but will stop on the way back to do it. We also stopped at the pink lake. The water is pink from the algae in the water. Strange, but true. We stopped for bathroom breaks along the way. At one point I asked Pete if the vents on the roof were just there to tease us. Turns out he didn't put the air on in the back only in the front. He felt pretty bad, I could tell by the way he laughed. lol. For the night we stopped in Kalbarri. Vanessa, Martin, Vincent, Ben and the other German which I now know as T-bone all stayed in a room together every night. The guys, Martin, Vinnie, and T-Bone cooked our diner that night. It was very good! We had rice and teryaki chicken as well as noodles with a stir fry. While the guys were preparing supper Ben, Vanessa and I went and watched the sunset on the water. After supper we went to check out the stars to see if we could spot the Southern Cross which is the constellation on the Australian flag. The stars were awesome, just like at home. I feel bad from people who live in big cities and never end up seeing them. It was a great way to end the day.

Day 2 started pretty early. We were up and bags packed and ate breaky and on the road by 8am. Our first stop was the Kalbarri National Park. We hiked down to this gorge to see the Murchison River. It was a big hike and it was very hot!! The way down was much harder than the way up, but I did just fine. We then stopped at the Billabong roadhouse for lunch. It was so stinking hot it was hard to breath outside. I would have guessed it was about 40 - 45 degrees. In the little roadhouse they had pictures of peoples tattoos on the wall. I asked if I could get my picture taken and be placed on the wall as well. Pete was pretty excited to now be able to say he knows those two tattoos. Next we went to Shark Bay. There I saw two small sharks and a sting ray. The water is so blue and clear it is easy to spot things. It was so beautiful and calm. I wanted to just stand there and take it all in for hours. After Shark Bay we headed to Monkey Mia where we stayed for the night. Monkey Mia is very nice, but not much there. In fact after leave Perth the only city you come across in Geraldton. After Geraldton it is all small towns, but very beautiful. It was a real hot day so we went for a dip in the water as soon as we got in. We have a habit of eating late so after swimming we team commonwealth started on supper. While we were swimming Martin found some beautiful shells and gave me one. I called it the love shell. Unfortunately the guys convinced me to throw it back since there was something living in it. Team commonwealth BBQ'd for our meal. We had sausages and steak which Ben BBQ'd. Vanessa and I cut up veggies to grill on the barbie and made a salad. It was all very delicious. Of course, the boys who cooked the night before said it was almost as good as theirs. After Ben, Vanessa and I cleaned up we grabbed a few drinks and went down to sit on the beach and enjoy the stars and good conversation. Martin, Timo (T-bone), Vinnie, Ben, Vanessa, Pete and I had a great time just laughing and enjoying the moment.

Day 3... Happy Australia Day! We were up at about 6:30am to go see the dolphins of Monkey Mia. Every morning the dolphins come up near the beach to be feed. They also enjoy the human interaction and stick around for a couple hours. We counted about a dozen at one point. We stood out and watched until about 8am, then went into have breaky. After that we went on a catamaran to look for dugongs. They let us go behind the boat on a net and told us it would be like a hot tub. Well it was full on scary. Both Vanessa and I were hanging on to our bottoms so tightly, it was awful. Of course the boys laughed because they weren't having the issues we were having. Once we got outta there the rest of the boat ride was much better. We saw about four dugongs and a couple Germans acting like gay lovers. Martin and T-bone posed for me a few times just to make the trip even more interesting. While on the boat I was goofing off showing Vanessa something and I fell on the boat. I slipped into this net onto the front of the boat and hurt my wrist. It was so funny I could hardly get up from laughing so hard. Once we got back to our hostel we packed up our things and went to Denham for morning coffee. Once there we put on a few Aussie tattoos, to celebrate Australia day. We did this while we drove to see the stromatolites. They are very old rock looking things that create oxygen. It was really interesting to see. We also had a our lunch there, but it was very hot, so it wasn't very enjoyable. After lunch we went to Shell beach. It is a very beautiful white beach with shin deep water for about a kilometer. The beach is made up of little tiny white shells. It was so cool, but very painful to walk on with bare feet. I walked a fair distance out in the water and had some tender feet by the time I got back. While I was walking in the water I lost my toe ring. I have been wearing that ring for 12 years so I was a little sad. We got back on the bus and drove for a couple of hours. One of the Italian men was complaining (in Italian) that he had arthritis in his toe and hurt. It predicted it would rain. Well it did rain so we ended up stopping the bus and dancing in it. It was such a nice relief from the hot weather we had been getting. It was so fun to dance on the side of the road in the red dirt! We got back on the bus for a long trip. We didn't arrive in Coral Bay until about 8:30pm. Vanessa and I had a shower and then went downstairs to join the guys for dinner. The hostel provided the meal for us that night so no one had to cook or do dishes. Martin, T-bone, Vinnie, Ben, Pete, Vanessa and I had a good night just chatting and laughing. Most of the talk was about Borat so as you can imagine it was tons of laughs.

Day 4. I got up early this morning because I was having trouble sleeping. The room was very cold with the air conditioning on. Vanessa also claims she didn't sleep well since Martin was yelling in German throughout the night. I helped out with dishes in the morning and then got myself signed up for a snorkeling tour where we also go see sea turtles on a glass bottom boat. We got our snorkel gear early and headed out to the beach to see what we could find. I was having trouble getting my goggles to fit my face without leaking water so I didn't do well. It was also a very windy day and a bit cold. It turns out there was threat of a cyclone in Exmouth so we were feeling a bit of weather from that. Luckily the cyclone missed Exmouth and we still were able to get there. But Coral Bay was not very nice weather. Once I got on my boat tour you could see how close the Ningaloo reef was to the shore. It was very cool to see it from the glass bottom boat. I was expecting the coral to be a lot more colorful, but the fish were colorful so I wasn't disappointed. We then went looking for turtles and ending up spotting a lot of them. About 10 of them swam under the glass bottom of the boat and they were easy to spot off the boat since the water was such a clear blue. We then stopped and went snorkeling. Since I am not a very good swimmer I asked one of the guides to help me. She helped fit my mask and gave me some great hints. It was so rough out there so I decided to take a noodle just to be safe. They also had a rope off the back of the boat that I hung onto. Everyone else was a great swimmer and didn't seem to need it so I would swim all around with comfort of knowing I could always get back to the boat. I got to see lots of fish and it was really cool. I enjoyed it. As we were getting off the boat it started raining and it was very cold. We got back to the hostel and I went for a swim in the pool instead of taking a shower. The shower water was salt water so I figured it was the same thing. After my swim I got changed and ate a late lunch. We then drove to Exmouth. We got there around 6pm. It was the Italians night to cook, so we were all looking forward to it. They made us spaghetti with tomato sauce with tuna in it. And a chicken mushroom dish with garlic toast. It was wonderful! Not too much talking around the dinner table since we were all enjoying so much. The cyclone had passed Exmouth so it was nice but not too hot.
Day 5. Today we just toured around Exmouth. We had breakfast and headed off around 8:30am. Vanessa and I prepared potato salad for our supper and a pasta salad for our lunch before we ate our breakfast. It was a busy morning, but the pancakes Pete made for breaky made up for it. Our first stop was to the edge of the peninsula to a look out. Then we went to a discovery centre where I bought a few gifts and post cards. Next we went on a hike to see a river in the Yardie Creek Gorge. I was happy it was cooler out since I hate hiking when it is too hot. It was a very pretty and easy hike. We then went to Sandy Bay. We rented some snorkel gear the day before when we first arrived in Exmouth. I also bought an underwater camera. I let Martin take it since I wanted to take my time and get used to this snorkel gear after all the trouble I had had the day before. It was instantly better. I was out snorkeling in no time. Since the reef was a little farther from there I didn't get see much because I was worried my swimming wasn't strong enough. But it was such a beautiful beach I had a great time with what I did see as well as sitting on the beach and taking in the moment. After lunch we went to Turquoise Bay. WOW!! This is the place you see in pictures but don't actually think exists. I got out and went snorkeling right away. I took a few pictures then gave my camera to T-bone to take a few of what he saw. I saw so much and loved that the reef was so close. The fish were so colorful and I really enjoyed myself. I was really excited that I saw a sting ray. I came back in a sat on the beach for awhile. I heard that T-Bone, and Pete saw a turtle so Ben and I decided to go check it out. But while I was sitting on the beach I could see a big sting ray in the very clear water. I watched in swim all along the shore, it was so cool. Ben and I headed out and after about 20 minutes of just floating around and watching I finally spotted a turtle. It was so amazing. I flagged down Ben and we ended up following the turtle for about 15 minutes. It saw us and just kept on doing its thing. It was really special that I saw it. We left the beach around 4pm and went back to see a ship wreck. It was close to the shore and you could see the ship above the water. After that we headed back to the hostel. Martin had a lovely burn from falling asleep on the beach so we all had a good laugh at his expense. Of course shortly after I realized I burnt my bum and back of my legs, although it wasn't nearly as bad as Martin. For dinner Pete hooked us up with some fresh fish. He grilled it up and the Italians made us some french fries. Vanessa and I made a potato salad. The clean up was a little intense since Martin's mom called and he didn't help. He was on the shit list for his laziness. lol. We had planned to watch Borat that night but were unable to find a DVD player. So we ended up just sitting around talking and having a few drinks.

Day 6. The morning was tense. Martin once again refused to help out so we gave up on him. I didn't sleep well since someone in the room was snoring, so I was already a bit grumpy. We all got on the bus and were quiet because of the lack of team work. Today is mostly driving, but we are stopping at Coral Bay to drop off Vinnie and Martin. I was uncomfortable most of the day from my sun burn and my feet were puffy from riding on the bus. I sat near the front and put them up which helped. I eventually ended up sitting in the front since I don't sleep much on the bus and I figured Pete must be bored with no one to talk to. We stopped for lunch at 1 mile Jetty in Carnarvon. We picked some fresh mango's before so we had burritos and mango's. It was delicious. After lunch was just more driving. I enjoyed sitting with Pete and hearing his stories of his travels. We stopped at the Billabong roadhouse again and I checked out my tattoo pictures on the wall. While we were driving I told Pete about Marley and how I was bringing her with me on my trip and what it meant to her family and how she was such a special girl. He must have felt really touched by my story because about an hour later we stopped at this place near Shark Bay. It had piles of rocks with writing on them. He told us to find a rock and grab a marker and write whatever you want to your loved one. I wrote one for Marley and got a picture of her picture with it. I also wrote one for dad. It was so beautiful, I had to go have a tear because it was so special to leave a piece of both of them in such a beautiful place. There were also some shoes in the pile and Pete told us it was for the lost souls. Before we got on the bus we took a group picture with Marley and the whole bus gave me a big hug. It was very special. That night we stayed on a farm for the night. Pete took me into Northampton, his home, and introduced me to the owner of the local pub. He is trying to hook me up with a job if I decide to come back to WA. I think I will be back since I want to go to Broome. Plus living in a place like Northampton, you can work lots and save money easily. Once we got back to the farm, we enjoyed a delicious roast lamb and veggie dinner. We cleaned up and the owner of the farm thanked Vanessa and I by telling us he wanted to bottle us up. It was a strange compliment, but normal saying around these parts. The plan for the rest of the night was to get drunk and play ping pong. We started drinking and there was just Ben, T-Bone, Vanessa and I. We had some drinks and were playing ping pong when we realized how the scene of the whole farm was very much like Texas Chainsaw Massacre. We weren't scared until we started hearing some strange noises coming from the building. They were so weird and the owner Reg said he was going to bed around the same time everyone else did. It was pretty creepy. Then I noticed a tripod out in the middle of the yard and I was convinced it was a video camera watching us. At that moment Vanessa mentioned the comment about Reg wanting to "bottle us up". Well we were freaking out. Then one of the boys farted and we both screamed and jumped. Of course they just laughed at us. We went into the bathroom and as I was coming out I saw two mice. Well anyone who knows me well knows how I feel about mice. I was locked in the stall standing on the toilet crying. Vanessa wasn't sure what was going on so she was also locked in the stall. Once I calmed down we came out and checked for more mice. This put us over the edge and we decided to go to bed. The boys didn't even hear us screaming in the bathroom. They decided to stay up and keep drinking and playing ping pong. We finally got settled int he room and agreed on an escape plan if something should happen. We slept with the lights on until the guys got there. They came into the room about 2am. After that both of us ended up sleeping fairly well. We had threatened to jump into bed with the boys if they tried to scare us. They weren't too keen on the idea.
Day 7. I woke up and looked at Vanessa. The first thing I said was "we are alive!!" we both had a good laugh and got ready to go. Over the coarse of the morning I told Pete about our evening and he couldn't stop laughing. He has now decided to tell Reg, the owner of the farm our story and make it a scary part of the tour. Everyone got a good laugh at Vanessa and I. Pete was actually laughing so hard he missed two turns while he was driving to The Hutt River Province.
This is a principality within Australia. It is its own country so I got my passport checked for authenticity as well as stamped. I got to meet Prince Lenord and Princess Shirley. I also purchased some money from them and a pen and post cards. I was sold on the pen when Prince Lenord told me it had a computer in it which allowed it to write in different languages. This was a really cool place. They have their own licence plates and currency and passports and everything. It was also a very interesting story. Goggle it if your interested in knowing more. I am sure there is alot of info on there. We then made our way back into Australia and headed to Geraldton. We hoped on our sand boards and slid down the sand hill a few time. It was like tobogganing without snow. It was so sandy and I still have sand in my ears. We then went to an animal sactuary. We got to feed kangaroo and camels and horses and emu and donkeys. It was really great. T-bone and Ben also held some snakes. We had our lunch there and then headed back on the bus for the final leg of our journey. I was the first to get dropped off. We pulled over and unloaded all the bags off the top of the bus and I said my goodbyes to everyone. Robyn and Kent picked me up about 10 minutes later. We then went to the markets for their weekly dinner with their friends. I really enjoy thier friends and had a good time telling them about my trip. When we got home I showed Robyn and Kent all my pictures.
Today. I have spend the day doing laundry and I went shopping with Robyn. I didn't get any reception with my phone while on my trip so I switched networks so that I would have a phone that worked while I was living in Southern Cross. I ended up getting a new phone and a new mobile broadband stick. So I am now set for the outback for 6 weeks of work. Tomorrow night Robyn and Kent are having a goodbye bbq for me. I am looking forward, yet sad that I am leaving on Monday.
Sorry this was such a long one, but I didn't get a chance to update while I was on my tour.
Until next time,
Cindy

Sorry

Sorry everyone! I am on a tour from Perth to Exmouth and back to Perth. It is a 7 day tour and I will be back on Friday evening. I will update you on all my adventures... I have lots to tell.
Happy Birthdays to Shawna and Dallas.... sorry if I couldn't speak with you on your big days!
Until next time,
Cindy

Southern Cross

Well I have been having a great time in Perth the last few days. On Sunday Kent, Robyn and I went to a friend of Robyn's to have Kent fix a few things for her. We had coffee and visited while Kent worked, we were such typical women. lol. After that we went to this huge damn that I cannot remember the name of. But it was beautiful view. We then went for lunch at a nice little pub. All in all it was a great day. That night we decided not to eat dinner since we had a later lunch. Their son, Regan came over and I went for a little swim in the pool to work off my huge lunch.

On Monday it was Regan's 25th birthday so we went out for a family supper. It is so nice that Robyn and Kent treat me just like family. I also have met their daughter and son in law as well as 18 month old grandson. He is adorable! We had a very nice evening and I thoroughly enjoy spending time with them all. Earlier in the day Robyn and I went into the city and saw a few sights of the city as well as check out some bulletin boards in the hostels. In the second hostel we went to their was a poster for a hairdressing job in outback Australia. We were in the area of the office of the company that was looking for the employees. I went in and handed in a resume and ended up getting an interview. She also tried to call the salon to give them my number, but was unable to get a hold of them. The woman I talked to was very confident that I would get the job but told me to wait for the phone call from the salon. I was starting to get worried since it was evening and I hadn't heard from anyone. I decided I would call again in the morning.

Today I called in the morning to see what was happening with the job. Turns out the salon is not open on Mondays so they didn't get the message. The woman again said you should be hearing from them soon. Later on today I received a phone call from Lyn in Southern Cross. I got the job and will start on February 3rd. I get a weekly paycheck and my accommodations and some food is covered. Southern Cross is about 3 hours from Perth and is about an hour from a mining area, so there is lots to see there. I look forward to starting work. Since I don't start until February I have decided to take tour to Exmouth and back to Perth. It is a seven day tour and I will get to see the Ningaloo reef, which I am most excited about. It will be seven days of jam packed activities. I will be able to go snorkeling and I am sure a ton of other things. I can't wait. So I leave on Saturday, Robyn will drop me off at the bus station and she has also offered to pick me up on Friday when I get back. I am also going to leave some stuff here so I don't end up carrying around things I won't need. Then once I get back here I will just spend the weekend and then go to Southern Cross on the train on Monday. I look forward to starting work and even more forward to getting to Cairns to see Bobbi, Nick, London, Diane, and Gord. I miss my sister so much I get butterflies every time I think of seeing her. I can't wait!
Until next time,
Cindy