Busy & Fun

Hiya! Been kind of quiet on my end. Just getting through the day to day stuff at the moment. I have 16 more work days, until I am unemployed. I have an appointment with a Temporary staffing agency in a couple weeks. Hopefully they will be able to get me into work, shortly after I get home in January. Had a Dr appt yesterday, and have an RDO (rostered day off) tomorrow.

Also, tomorrow 31 October 2008 is Ralph's Birthday. Ralph will be two. He is such a cute little guy. And GM loves him to bits too. I do not know how GM is going to deal w/ leaving him here, when we go on our trip. In celebration of his birthday, and our day off, we are going to Vaughn Springs as described in a previous blog. On Saturday, we are going to The Victoria Market, and then to a bbq at a friends house. Sunday will hopefully be quiet. Monday I have another RDO- hopefully I can get more stuff organised for our trip. 24 days till we touchdown in Seattle. And Tuesday is a Public Holiday for Melbourne Cup Day. What a lovely five day weekend I have ahead of me. Oh, and I think on Tuesday we are having a bbq at our house with the neighbours. So, all in all a great time is coming.
Oh, tonight I am going to get some prescriptions filled, and then meet GM & Ralph to go for a walk around a place called The Nook. It is a beautiful place, next to a vineyard, a waterhole, and a nice long walking track. Then we will get fish & chips for dinner, and go home. I think it will be great!

Okay, guess I gotta work now. Back soon!

~Melissa

The Fruitcake!

Okay, Here is the Fruitcake I made. A pic of the Recipe, and the book is above. I think it turned out okay, but my mother in law must have liked it, because she has gotten all of the stuff to make this recipe too.

I think it is pretty yummy. Lots of Brandy mind you, but very nice! There is a bit of work involved in it, but it is so worth it! I altered the recipe a bit, because I used a bag of dates I had, instead of the raisins. But it is very nice! Too bad I can't take some to the USA with me.

Anyway, hope everybody's day is going well!

~Melissa

Vaughn Springs & Fruitcake!

Okay, I was able to find the pics of my last Vaughn Springs experience.
Here goes:

I am Really not up myself, GM just had the camera most of the time. lol It is a beautiful place, and I am looking forward to going there again. Yeah!

We got our suitcases out of the attic over the weekend, and have decided which ones we are taking, as this is our last big trip for a long while, we are going to borrow another case, rather than buy a new one. I do hope the dollar recovers a little before we head overseas, but I do not really see that happening. So, it will be a tight, but GREAT holiday.

I made my first Christmas Fruitcake last night. I hope it turns out well. I will check it out when I get home today. I took it out of the oven and put it on the counter just before I went to sleep last night. I will try to take a photo too, if it turns out okay. I will try to get a recipe & post it, just so you can see all that goes into making it. They are LOVELY to eat. hehehe Evidently you can store them for up to a year. WOW. But I think mine will only last a few months. . lol

Anyway, gotta run! Talk soon!
~Melissa

20 October 2008

Monday Again! Had a good weekend, and watched The World According to Garp yesterday with GM. How funny, haven't seen that movie in ages. Also saw Elizabeth with Cate Blanchett on Friday night- Was a really good movie.
Nothing too exciting going on. Just going along as per normal I guess. I have 24 more working days left, till I am unemployed. And have sent my name and details to a few Temp agencies for when we get back. I do hope I can get something pretty easily when we get back from holidays. I would hate to be out of work for too long.
Had most of last week off, and tried to spend that time on me. Loved it! I like getting to do what I want when I want. Got to talk to my sis, and that is always a bonus. Talked to my mom a bit. Bought a few things to take overseas with us. Watched some shows, got the craft room cleaned up a little. And made biscotti last night.
Let's see, tomorrow night we have Michelle & Daniel coming over for dinner, and to watch the Ice Hockey. Then on Thursday night, we(Milner clan) are all going to go out for Chinese as our last 'get together' before everyone starts leaving town for the holidays or just before. I think it will be nice. And I always like Chinese food, and the left overs you get the next day!
In-Laws, Sis-in-law & Hubby & other Sis-in-law & Niece all go out of town on 31 October (Halloween).
GM & I were going to go out of town too, but just took the day off, to go on a picnic with Ralphy instead. We are going to a place called Vaughn Springs. GM took me there several years ago, and we walked and played on the slide, and had a great time. I think Ralphy will like it too. I cannot wait. If I can find the pics from last time, I will post them.
Only babbling today. . .lol
Talk to you soon!
~Melissa

Here we are again!

Okay, it is Monday. Had a very busy weekend, and am not feeling the best as it is. Nothing dreadful, just stress I think. With any luck, the rest of the day will float by nicely.

Friday I had a Dr appointment, so did my sis-in-law. We went together, and then came back to the city together. Then went to dinner with our husbands in Sunbury. It was kinda cute. We ended up having lunch at the train station, before we went out to our Dr's. Then Saturday, I was at work by 8am, and worked until 1:30pm. Went home, and hung out with GM for a while, until we did some running around. I think we ate dinner at 9pm that night. Then Sunday, we went to The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Theatrical Production). I thought it was fantastic. Then we went to dinner. Turned out to be a lovely day with just a hiccup or two.

We played Wii in there somewhere too. I guess there is not too much going on at the moment, which is not bad!

Hope you all have a great day!

Sadie Arlene Vaughn

Fantastic news, my brother and his wife have had a beautiful little girl. Her name is Sadie, and she is gorgeous!

Born 7 October 2008 @ 8:43pm.

Weight 6lbs 1oz

Length 18.8 inches long

I think I have a hole in my heart, just like I did when Tommy was born, because I wanted to be there. But I am glad all has turned out okay, and from what I hear, mom & baby are doing fine. I am so thankful!

Here are the pics so far!

I feel very blessed, and very happy to have this lovely little girl in our life!

More Train Pics

Of course, I pick a potty to start my blog with. . .lol

The potty. if you look down in the toilet, you could see the train tracks as you went.
The sign above the floor push button in the pic above
The Washroom- boys
The Toilet- girls

the blinds- those are hooks to pull them up and down
An oasis out the window
Sleeping quarters
About The Parlor Car

GM & I after lunch
A skink on the railroad track
Man what a gorgeous smile!

A bottle brush tree
Up close and personal with a bottle brush!

Check out all of the warnings on the river where we were.

Again viewed from our lunch table- It's a concrete wall painted.
The view of the river from where we had lunch

GM- Almost to Tocumwal

The Train on the station at Tocumwal