Getting back to those I love

Day 46 (Sept 3)

Where flying into Darwin a few days ago felt anything but like flying home, flying into Broome felt exactly like I was heading home. The excitement and anticipation of seeing my babies was sky high.

The first part of the morning dragged on for what felt like an eternity while I not so patiently waited for it to finally be time to leave. Only to discover that in my eagerness to depart I had actually brought forward the time in my mind. Thankfully though eventually the right time to leave arrived and much to mum’s disappointment she drove me to the airport.

I had been hoping that mum would just do a kiss and go drop off but she insisted on being able to spend every last possible minute with me. Which I guess I can kind of understand. Though it did mean I missed the chance to sit in the airport lounge tapping away on my laptop which always makes me feel all kinds of grown up.

The plane ride back to Broome felt much quicker than the one to Darwin, despite including a stop over in Kununarra. I guess my excitement and chatty passenger next to me probably had something to do with that.

Seeing our car outside with the girls faces beaming inside filled my heart with joy and soon had me beaming as well. They had been beachside camping without a whole heap of fresh water so had stopped in at some public toilets near Cable Beach to clean up before picking me up. 

The lack of fresh water also meant that there was a rather large pile of dirty washing to also great me. Thankfully though Broome has a laundromat near the supermarket so we were able to put the washing on while we stocked up with supplies.

Heading out of town towards camp made my heart feel like it was going to burst. I had no idea just how much I was loving this nomadic life of ours till I was removed and then returned to it.

Our destination was a free campsite called James Price Point. Where we sat on the edge of a cliff and overlooked the sand and ocean below. It was all kinds of perfect, topped off by the fact I got to see some whales off in the distance.

Day 45 (Sept 2)

Another morning where I could have happily spent the morning with my eyelids closed, only my mother had other plans. Where I wanted to sleep the day away so it felt like I returned home to Mr Awesome and the girls sooner Mum wanted to make the most of my last day there. Which I guess I can understand.

Only with neither of us having any money to spare there was little to do.

We took the dog for a walk and I tried to go for another run only to discover my legs had other ideas and said that walking was plenty exercise enough.

After that we dropped back round to see Mr Awesome’s Mum and then spent the afternoon watching TV and crocheting. Well I crocheted and mum knitted. Fun times.

For Mr Awesome and the girls it was another moving day. They were leaving one free paradise spot for another a little further down the coast. Though the new one had not nearly as much phone coverage so they weren't able to keep sharing with me just how beautiful their new home was.

Which in some ways I was kind of glad about I was all kind of jealous when he was sending me photos of their camp over looking the beach while they watched for whales.

In what felt like one of the longest days ever I managed to sort out most of the tax paper work and finish copying driving music. All the time wishing I was back on the Western Australian coastline with those I love most.

Day 44 (Sept 1)

Without being too dramatic today felt a lot like D day. Anxiety levels were all over the place and not snapping unnecessarily at Mum took more patience than words can adequately describe.

My appointment with the specialist was not until after lunch. Which of course made for a longer than long morning. To help ease the wait and my nerves I had booked in for a morning appointment with McDreamy. Best idea ever.

I was meant to have had my levels checked while I was away but the only time I tried it felt too difficult. I had to have a doctors appointment then go to the hospital for the test then back to the doc for the results. Based on my bruises and bleeding gums I felt it was pretty safe to say that my levels were where they needed to be so I didn’t bother.

I did however want to have them checked before I saw the specialist so the morning appointment with McDreamy allowed for that. It also allowed for us to have a quick catch up on all the exciting things we have both been up to since last we met. In so many ways it felt like I was catching up with an old friend.

The other great thing about seeing him was that he was able to organise for me to have the blood tests before my specialist appointment. This meant that when I saw the specialist my results were already in.

Apparently my clot has now dispersed and I was given the all clear to stop taking the blood thinners. Best news ever. 

Though I am not completely out of the woods yet. I still need to have a heap of tests in a month or so to ensure the clot was caused by the lightning strike (through a tap) and not some other sinister thing. Thankfully though I can have these tests done anywhere and have the results sent through to McDreamy.

To celebrate my return to normal I insisted on the biggest bowl of green leaves Mum could muster. Salad has never tasted so good. (Too many green leaves would stop the blood thinners from working so I haven’t had any for six months)

The relief of my appointments combined with a fast run in my new sneakers meant I was ready for bed super early. However an early night was not an option as my brother was flying in just after midnight and while I knew I would only get to see him for ten minutes or so (he had to get some sleep before his next flight in the early hours of the morning) I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see him.

Day 43 (Aug 31)

Unlike my early rise of yesterday, today saw me sleep in much later. Well till nearly ten o’clock, which these days is well and truly a late sleep in. All of this was much to my mother’s disappointment though as it meant we were unable to walk to the local markets. Not that I was in anyway heart broken by this and nor had she previously mentioned to me her desire to go there.

As much as my run the day before had been awesome I couldn’t help but feel my sneakers were on their last legs. Mum’s printer needed a new cartridge so I could print out my group certificate so a quick trip to the local shopping centre was soon underway.

The rest of the day was then spent with me staring blankly at tax forms while making new CD’s to listen to in the car. Actually only the early afternoon was because the late afternoon was spent at the park with a bottle of wine and friends.

The real highlight of the day though was returning to Mum’s where a three course meal was waiting for me to devour it. Mum had gone all out and cooked seafood crepes with a creamy sauce, followed by roast beef and all the trimmings and a creme brûlée type thing for dessert. Yum, yum, yum.

Again though sleep eluded me.

As much as a knew I needed to get a good night’s rest for the big day that was to come I couldn’t help but worry exactly what that might entail.

Day 42 (Aug 30)

I had never intended to get so far behind in updating where we where at. Those who know me well though are probably not in the least bit surprised. Deciding how to catch up has been given a great deal of thought with little to no resolve. For now I am just going to put up what I have and take it from there. Hopefully before too long I will be back on track. In the meantime though there will be a few days that jumbled up along the way as there were a few times where I managed to actually post on the day that it happened, or close to it. Which is why yesterday I shared Day 40 and today I am sharing Day 42.

If you are interested in reading Day 41 now you can. Sorry if there is any confusion and thanks from the bottom of my heart for stopping by, it really does mean a lot to me xx

Flying into Darwin was a strange feeling. Normally watching the city unfold before my eyes makes my heart swell and I am overwhelmed with a feeling of returning home. This time there was nothing. There was no sense of excitement or pleasure at going home. In fact it didn’t even feel as if I was home.

Home really is where the heart with and my heart is where Mr Awesome and the girls are. Which in this case happens to be homed in a little old Edna parked up on some cliff edge on the Dampier Peninsular overlooking the Indian Ocean.

Home is where the heart is and my heart is here

Surprisingly I slept incredibly well and woke feel almost as fresh as a daisy. I had expected to find sleeping without Mr A by my side a little lonely but the single bed in my mum’s house was a snug fit so there no excess room to remind me of his absence.

As much as I was technically in my childhood bedroom it no longer feels anything like it. The girls now affectionately call it The Princess Room. Before Dad passed away the room was his. To ease the pain of him no longer being there mum had my sister paint a mural of a princess and a castle. It is bright and cheerful and nothing like I ever had growing up.

While I could have happily spent the morning in bed there was much that needed to be done. Aside  from that Mum had began to bang and clash around in the kitchen ensuring that sleeping in was the last thing that happened.

My drivers license had expired a few weeks ago. Thankfully the motor vehicle registry office is now open Saturday morning so I was able to get that sorted and out the way. After that I stopped in for a quick catch up with Mr Awesome’s parents.

I spent the rest of the afternoon wondering how moving day was going for my loved ones. Of course when they sent me photos of their beautiful new location I then began pining even more to be there with them. Made worse when they texted to say they were busy watching whales frolic in the ocean below them.

To ease my frustrations Mum and I went for a walk along the foreshore. A place where I can normally find comfort. Today however it felt like a poor substitute. Deciding I needed more than walk I choose to run home. Which left me feeling all kinds of both exhausted and awesome as I was slightly faster than last time I went for a run.

Sleep didn’t come nearly as easily as the night before. Though there was something nice is still being up at midnight, something that has not occurred since #ouradventureofalifetime began.

Day 40 (Aug 28)

After all the fun and excitement of the beach the last few days today has been declared a nothing day. All three of the girls asked if we could just have a quiet day which fitted in perfectly with my plans.

Having been in the one spot for nearly a week means that the mess factor is almost out of control. With me leaving on a jet plane tomorrow and Mr Awesome and the girls moving on Saturday getting things sorted today is kind of a brilliant idea.

It still continues to bug me that washing is a never ending chore. Why can’t clothes just clean themselves or better yet have some kind of spray that prevents them from getting dirty in the first place?

Though I must admit I do kinda love hanging out the clothes on my cute little line. Actually what I like even more is the fact that the girls can actually use the cute little line as well. Though Teapot is only able to use the part for knickers and socks.

Apart from getting on top of the washing and sorting crap out today also provided an opportunity for the girls to do some school work. Which they were not exactly pleased about. Grrrrrr.

After the jobs were done and school work sorted we headed out to explore the wharf and surrounding areas. Though there was not really a great deal to explore. Watching the boats get loaded was momentarily of interest but the novelty quickly quickly wore off.

There was however a rather quaint little cafe/restaurant that just so happened to half priced oysters. A novelty that most certainly would not ever wear off. Mr A and I have been hanging to get to the coastline to sample delicious seafood at reasonable prices. 

Snapshots of us - Weeks 43-47

Naturally I no sooner say one thing on this little Snapshots of Us and another thing completely different happens. Confused? Yeah me too.

When I last posted a snapshot update I noted how it had appeared to take on a bit of a fortnightly feel. Of course that was well over a month ago now. Luckily I have a it's my blog and I'll do what I like kind of mentality.

Anyway here are a few snaps of us over the last few weeks.

As I type I am lounging around in the idyllic coastal town of Coral Bay. Yes that's right, we finally moved on from Karratha! Yayyy!!! Though according to the posts here on the blog we are still back in Broome. Again a case of it's my blog...

Having said that though I am currently in the process of getting some of the old news out the way so stay tuned for a heap of updates.

There has been ice-creams...

Teapot having ice cream at Port Walcott where
we went for lunch for Mr A's birthday

...fishing...

...sight seeing...

At the heritage town of Cossack

...duckfacing...

Dampier

...cuddles...

Exmouth

...smiles...

Cape Range National Park

...lots of them...

Cape Range National Park

...from everyone...

...especially from me when my replacement phone arrived

Cable Beach - Broome - Western Australia

Day 38 (Aug 26)

Today was all about the beach baby. We decided to hit Cable Beach and try our hands at some boogie boarding. As we didn’t actually own boards of our own you can imagine the relief we felt when we discovered that there were some available for hire at a rather reasonable rater. 

Sadly for me Aunty Flow had decided to stop on by so I was left watching on the sidelines. Which in some ways was actually a bit of a blessing in disguise because I took great delight in being able to watch and photograph the girls and Mr Awesome. It is such a fine line between living in the moment and experiencing with them and taking time to capture the memories as well. 

I have always said that if we lived near the surf the girls would be perfect surfer chicks and today just confirmed that for me. They were naturals. They so loved being able to frolic in the water without worrying about what might come out and attack them. The downside to Darwin is that most water ways have a relatively large risk of there being something nasty lurking about it. It feels awesome to no longer have to worry so much about such things.

After our four hours hire with the boards expired we decided to head to the other end of Cable Beach. It was with great delight we teased the girls about how it was a nudist beach and how we would all need to strip down once we got out of the car. Much to their horror I might add.

Naturally though we had no intention of actually getting out of the car so they had nothing to worry about. It was nice to go for a drive on the sand though and we were even lucky enough to see the camels arriving in preparation for their next tour.

On the way home Mr A managed to convince me that we should stop and get a Go-Pro so that we can record all our water fun activities. As Father's Day and then his birthday are just around the corner it all seemed like a feasible idea.

Day 39 (Aug 27)

We had so much fun at the beach yesterday we decided to come back and do it all over again. Plus Mr A needed an opportunity to try out his new toy.

This time however we decide to do it in style and hire not j

ust some boogie boards but also an umbrella, chairs and beach toys. At fifty bucks for the entire day it is certainly a bit of a bargain and based on how much fun we had yesterday it is definitely money well spent. Especially given the shade factor.

Today I refused to let old Aunty Flow keep me high and dry. While tampons are not usually something I am a fan of (and please excuse the TMI) I made and exception to that today. And boy am I glad I did.

Mind you, as much as the girls are naturals on the boards I am not. At all. 

There were quite a few more mature than I people giving body surfing a go so I thought perhaps that was more up my alley. I was wrong. Apparently my aqua capabilities are limited to swimming. That is not to say I didn’t have fun trying though!

H.O.P.E - Have Only Positive Expectations

Back in 2013 when I went to #DPCON13 I was fortunate enough to meet lots of wonderful people. One of these wonderful people said something to me that has stuck in my head ever since. She told me how reading my blog made her feel happy. In her darkest days when she was feeling blue she would pop over and have a read of what I had to say because my positivity picked her up.

My heart filled with so much joy then that my eyes started to leak a little. I had no idea that my words could make such a difference to people, especially people I thought so highly of.

Recently I have felt less than positive.

The reasons for that are many and varied and mostly elusive to me at the moment. By all accounts I should currently be a shimmering ray of positivity light. You know given that I am on #ouradventureofalifetime and all. Apart from the fact that is has been put on pause. Though all of this is a discussion for another day.

Because today I want to share with you a woman who despite the bleakest of possibilities is still a shining tower of positivity and H.O.P.E. (Have Only Positive Expectations).

Jennifer and her boys, image via H.O.P.E for Jen Facebook Group

Jennifer Fitzgibbins is a 29 year old mother to four who within the last month has had her entire world turned upside down. Doctors have given her three to six months left to live as her body has been invaded by aggressive cancers.

Rather than just roll over and let those precious months slip by Jennifer is determined to show cancer who is boss and refuses to go down without a fight. She is determined to do everything she can to prove the doctors and statistics wrong. 

A feat that she has already mastered once before.

In September 2010 as a young mum of two, she was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. After a double mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and reconstructive surgeries Jennifer was only given a less than two percent chance of ever having more children. In 2012 she gave birth to her third son and earlier this year welcomed her fourth.

A Canadian by birth Jennifer travelled to Australia in 2005 where she met and fell in love with her now husband Scott. The family have recently gone on a holiday to Jennifer’s home town so that Jennifer has the opportunity to show them where she grew up and experience the boys’ first time in the snow with them. Jennifer will also receive further radiation treatment with the extra support of her extended family.

To help raise funds and show support for the Fitzgibbins family a Facebook group has been established. They are currently aiming to reach 1000 members so please pop on over and say hi. As much as old Facebook can get a bad rap at times it does have an amazing ability to rally troops and make people feel loved and supported.

If you are in a position to donate money you can do so here.

Not existing, trying to focus, and galahs

With less than a week to go here in Sunny Karratha it is fair to say I am just a little bit excited. I mean don’t get me wrong Karratha is a lovely little place but for now my time here has just about expired. 

one thing I will miss when we leave

Mr Awesome’s temporary return to the workforce was a brutal reminder of just how much I like having him round 24/7. And not just me either. While the girls haven’t said anything their behaviour suggests that they had become accustomed to having him around all the time as well.

The fact that our days of late have involved whole stacks of nothing may of course have something to do with all of this as well.

In a bid to conserve money we have been trying to spend as much time as possible at home. Which is all well and good apart from when home is a tiny little caravan and most days the temperature reaches forty degrees.

Thankfully there have been a few other kids around so the girls have been able to make a few friends here and there to break up the boredom. Of course their friends inevitably move on though and then devastation ensues because they will never be seen again. Devastation that lasts only till the next van of kids come in I might add. It’s a later, rinse, repeat thing.

Rather than making most of the available downtime and catching up with all my words still waiting to be written I have busily been telling myself of for my lack of productivity. Why I don’t just use the energy to actually do something I have no idea. I guess it is much easier to come up with pathetically weak excuses and then chastise myself for my stupidity.

As much as I try and tell myself that it doesn’t matter if no one reads the blog any more, it does. It makes me all kinds of sad to think that I have failed to find a way to entice people in. But that is perhaps just the story of my life. I somehow fail to entice people in on all kinds of levels.

There are only two people from home that have contacted me since I left. Mind you I have not exactly been writing letters home either, but I did have a fanciful notion that the odd person might have left a little Facebook message here and the inquiring about my travels. Of course I also thought a few might have wished me well before I left but they didn’t. It’s almost like I just ceased to exist.

But enough of all this poor bugger me.

There are people out there fighting real battles, two of which have recently approached me to share their story. Neither of which I have done yet. The thought of failing NaNoWriMo (yet again) has had me avoiding the laptop like it is the plague. 

Today however is a new day and I will treat it as such. I will let go of all my preconceived fears and ridiculous thoughts that continually hold me back and I will take action.

Starting now.

Stay tuned.

Birds, Dinosaurs and Magical Sunsets - Day 37

After yesterday involving so little we thought that today would be the complete opposite and see how much we could fit in.

The first port of call was to the 12 Mile Bird Park, which crazily enough was about twelve miles out of Broome. At $40 for a family it made for a perfect starting point for our day out and about. 

Lovely and the Emu having a stand off

Conscious of being out in the heat of the day we set out early and arrived a few minutes before opening. Sometimes I don’t even know who we are any more. Generally we struggle to get somewhere on time, certainly not ever early!

The girls loved looking at all the birds. There was something 80 different species and 600 birds in total. After a while I struggled with looking at all the birds in the cages. Birds are such intelligent creatures that it just doesn't seem fair for them to be stuck inside a cage all day long. I tried to find comfort in the fact that if it weren’t for the owner of the sanctuary some of the birds wouldn’t even be alive as they were rescued animals.

The sanctuary is still relatively new, maybe only twelve months old, so a lot of it was still quite bare. There was also a lot of work being done, with new enclosures in the process of being made so chances are that in years to come the cages that made me a little sad, will slowly disappear.

Lunch was a homemade chicken and mayo roll in the car. The girls were too starving to wait for us to go anywhere else. Having a fridge in the back of the car is one of the most coolest things ever.

After lunch we had a little drive around looking at Broome and headed back to Edna to put our feet up for a bit while we waited for the tide to go out.

One of the things I was most excited to see in Broome were the dinosaur footprints out at Gantheaume Point. Due to where they are located on the beach though they can only been seen at tides lower than 1.6 meters. 

On the hunt for the footprints

It just so happened that low tide today was a little after five o’clock so we decided to take a picnic dinner out with us to have once we had finished exploring.

When we got out there, there were a lot of signs saying that searching for the footprints was not recommended as it was a tad dangerous to be climbing of wet and slippery rocks. We decided it was a risk worth taking.

Yay! We managed to find the dinosaur footprints!

Thankfully as we were heading out along the rocks we encountered a small group of people who had found the prints and were heading back. They pointed us in the right direction and gave a few clues as to where to look. There was a lot of open space to look and only a few prints to be found.

Finding them was pretty cool though and the girls were suitably impressed to see them. The tide was still on it’s way out which meant there were more fossils to be seen but as the light was fading we decided to head back. There is a hovercraft tour which gives detailed tours of all of the footprints but sadly it was a little out of our budget.

The beauty of a sun set over water never fails to amaze me

The final highlight of the day was watching the sun set over water. There is something magical about watching the golden ball gently submerge into the water in the distance. I hadn’t realised how much I had missed seeing it until I saw it.

Zany with the sun in her palm.

Hello Broome!

Having a beach to walk along was pure bliss

 Today was a bit of a recover and supply day. When we finally ventured out it was to gather more food and little else. The girls were a bit overwhelmed with the thought of being able to go inside a shopping centre so most of our time was spent wandering around in the air conditioning.

As a special treat we thought it would be nice to go out for breakfast/brunch (read as we didn’t have anything I felt like cooking or eating at home). Over one hundred dollars later we were all fed and I was rudely reminded as to why we don’t eat out. 

Our original plan after Windjana Gorge was to head back to Derby for a few nights and then hot tail it down the coast to Broome. I am hesitant to cover much more than two hundred kilometres a day. We are after all in no rush and there is so much to see. I am particularly keen to take it extra slow at the moment because I need to fly out of Broome at the end of the month to duck back to Darwin to see McDreamy.

However having been to Derby already it really felt like there was nothing worth going back to look at again. So we settled ourself up for a big day in the car and went straight to Broome yesterday.

Initially we were just going to take our chances and rock up at a random van park and hope they had a vacancy but twenty minutes or so out of town I decided that I couldn’t handle that type of rejection and rang ahead. Which turned out to be a rather wise move.

Due to it still being peak season vacancies were in short supply and it was only my phoning ahead that secured us a spot. Actually secured us the last spot.

By the time we arrived it was well past lunch time and the kids were well past needing food. Rather than make them wait till we had unpacked (which takes approximately ninety minutes) I had the brilliant idea to just unpack enough to turn the fridge on in Edna and then go find some take away for lunch. And by takeaway I meant Maccas. As awful as it can be I was pretty starving and in need of food pronto.

Camp Broome - Roebuck Bay Caravan Park. The oldest van park in Broome.

A quick stop in at Woolies for milk and something for dinner and we headed back to the van park to finish unpacking and have an early night. As much as driving doesn’t actually use much energy it is still incredibly draining.

We are staying at the Roebuck Bay Caravan Park which overlooks the Town Beach. Our site is a row or two back from actually being on the edge of the beach but it didn’t matter much as we could see the water perfectly from where we were. It was only a short walk down to the beach though and before long we were all wandering the beach feeling the sand between our toes. It felt nice to be back on the coastline.

I Hate The World Today

I mean I have no real reason to, but I still can’t get the words out of my head. As I sit here sipping champagne and nibbling on caviar wrapped in smoked salmon it doesn’t seem right for the words I hate the world today, to be swirling around inside me, but they are.

Taking photos makes me stabby at the moment because it is

a horribly blatant reminder of the fact that I still

don't have a phone

Traditionally Melbourne Cup Day is a day I spend at my mum’s making small bets and watching the horses race. We have champagne and all kinds of lovely foods. It has been that way since I was thirteen. Well maybe not the champagne part since then but the rest of it. 

I can only recall one year in all that time we weren’t together.

It was way back last century. The year was 1999 but I like the idea of being able to use the term last century. It was an incredibly sucky year for me actually. I had been sent down to Alice Springs for work and knew not a soul. Actually I knew one couple but felt they currently hated my guts on account of being friends with the man who’s heart I had recently torn to shreds. That however is an entirely different story.

Anyway it was hot and I was lonely and life just felt incredibly crap. Not unlike today actually. Which is kinda weird just quietly. I can’t help but wonder if my mother has put some kind of curse on me. If I am not with her on Melbourne Cup Day I am destined to be to spend the day in a grouchy mood.

Mr Awesome even toyed with having the day off so I wouldn’t be alone today. Bless him. Given he only has fourteen more working days left though it just didn’t seem right. Besides the girls are constantly with me. I don’t even know what alone is anymore.

I was adamant that today would be a good day.

It was a chance to start the Melbourne Cup Day traditions with Lovely. Seeing she is thirteen and all.

We went to the shops bright and early this morning to get some treats for lunch. Frankfurts for the girls, smoked salmon and caviar for I. Plus a few little extras here and there. It was going beautifully until Lovely asked for a particular drink. There was already soft drink for her at home so I politely declined the request.

She sulked. Actually she huffed and she puffed and threatened to blow the house down. She told me she would ruin my day. I told her not to bother because that was already taken care of.

In the end the drink came home with us. She told me she didn’t want it any more because it meant I would be grumpy with her the whole day through. Just between you and me I may have felt like tipping the stupid drink over her head. I’m mature like that sometimes.

Tears rolled down my cheeks on the drive home.

For right or wrong I have always tried to make my mother happy. Yet my own daughter is the polar opposite. In fact sometimes I wonder if her life mission is to see how much angst she can cause within me. 

Upon arriving home I set about preparing lunch. Determined that a nice day would still be had. And for the most part I guess it was. There’s just this niggling thing. I can’t even put my finger on it properly I am just bugged. Or sad. Or fed up. Or perhaps just hot and bothered.