Excited cat!

For some reason the cat get's massively excited at the prospect of the kitchen counter. Maybe it's forbidden fruit?

Mobile blogging...

Jeni's the star of my first mobile blog! Let the privacy invasions commence!

My family and other creatures

I went back to Hartlepool with mum and dad after their trip to Scotland. My school friends and I had planned in advance to meet up for a reunion this weekend, so the timing was perfect.

I have noticed, that each time I go back home, David's behaviour is becoming stranger and stranger. Perhaps he's just a little eccentric, or perhaps there's something not quite right. You decide...

• On arrival, David was dressed like this:
  
  

As the picture isn't so clear, I'll explain that he's cut the sleeves off his t-shirt, and is wearing the sleeves around this neck, ready to pull up over his face to make him look like a ninja/terrorist.

• He then appeared from the kitchen drinking this ambiguous liquid from a jam jar:
  
  
  

He claimed that this was chilled urine, and is part of his new fitness regime. The scary thing was, that I didn't actually feel suprised by this!

So I decided to go out and spend some time with some slightly saner people.

NB. Just so you don't all feel nauseated, it was apple juice, not urine.

Captain Neurotic's Wedding Plan

Whilst cleaning out wedding files from the computer, I came across this painting, which my brother Alex designed whilst "helping" me to arrange the seating plan in the chapel. I thought that seeing as he worked so hard on it, it would be a shame to delete it. So here, preserved forever, is Alexander's contribution to my stress levels before the wedding. Just click on it to see it in better detail.

Key:

Pink blobs = Women

Clear squares = Men

Black circle with weird white squiggle = Minister

Please not the beautiful depictions of my veil and train of my dress, and also the musical instruments which were so accurately drawn.

Alexander's talent is wasted doing a biology degree. Perhaps he should put his efforts into architecture, or perhaps become a wedding planner?

Oh and finally- just so you can all know how much Colin enjoyed my wedding planning, he put all these files into a folder on the computer named "Wedding crap."

Kitty learns a new trick!

So we left our cat's in the safe hands of a qualified Vet and her medical/army trained husband thinking they could have a nice tranquil (well, as tranquil as they get...) holiday whilst Jeni and I went on honeymoon. Our first mistake was forgetting the mischievous streak present in almost all our friends....

When we went to pick them up they were hiding in a cupboard 8ft off the floor, which at first sight looked impressive, but there was a nice easy entrance at the back, so we passed this off as entertaining. Picking the cat's up was nice and easy with a vet helping pack them into the carrier, and even though there had been mention of teaching the cat's to climb we thought nothing of it and carried on our merry way.

So, one day when we were unpacking/relaxing on the sofa, Neko (the more adventurous) was doing her usual ritual of attempting to reach the purposefully out of reach plant pots to dig up the soil and eat the leaves. We of course thought nothing of it as it's generally fruitless and sometimes entertaining as the cat overreaches and falls off her perch. On this occasion, however, the aforementioned new trick was demonstrated as after a particularly high reach Neko decided that the plant pot's were possibly a lost cause, but the top of the door seemed quite appealing.

I laughed as I saw her eyeing up her new target, and decided to keep the camera handy in order to catch the failed attempt. My laughter soon faded however as the death defying leap paid off and the cat now looked at me triumphant from her new vantage point.

This new look afforded Neko other advantages of course. The before out of reach plants now an easy stretch from the door. The lookout provided a nice platform, apparently, from which to discover other new favourite seats as her curiosity didn't stop there. The next test was to sit on my projector shelf, luckily strong enough to hold her now ample weight as well as my projector!

Hopefully this is the extent of her new exploration, as there certainly isn't anywhere higher in the flat, and definitely nowhere as hard to reach as the door frame!


I'll have to have a word with the "innocent" cat-sitters.....

Day 14 - Jet ski fun

Today we had a bit of a lie in because we were tired. After another delicious breakfast we had some "mocktails" by the pool, (very tasty non-alcoholic cocktails!) Other guests were chugging proper cocktails, I don't know how they manage strong drinks at that time in the morning!

After the cocktails, we went to the island wildlife park. It's quite small, and they only have a few species of animals living in it, but it's really cool because it's interactive. The park woman came and asked if we wanted to go on the tour. She let 3 dingo's out of the cage and we got to pat them and Colin even got to hold one! They were so cute and friendly, but apparently wild dingo's are very dangerous, and will attack humans if they come across them. However, these ones were just like giant puppies.

We also got to meet and touch a 28 year old cockatoo that talks, and stroke a baby koala. If you paid you could hold him and get your picture taken, but it cost about £20.

In the afternoon we went on a Jetski tour of the island. It was so much fun! Colin and I shared a jetski, and I was in the drivers seat first. The instructor took us out around the island in a zigzag path so we could get used to controlling the machine. You can pick up a really fast speed, it was very exhilerating! At first we were stuck behind this girl who was on a jetski by herself - and she wouldn't go any faster than walking pace. We weren't techically meant to overtake each other, but we'd have ended up falling off with bordom if we'd stayed behind her. So I was very naughty and sped past her...

We got really sprayed with water, but it was brilliant! Half way through the tour we swapped places so that Colin could drive for a while. He was able to go a lot faster than me (as it was a bit less choppy on the sea at that point), but when we did hit waves he floored it, so that the setski was jumping through the air! It was so much fun!

After a quick shower, we went for an early dinner at the Manta Ray Cafe, where I had an AMAZING pork chop with sweet potato mash. It was so delicious! That night, we decided we'd watch a film in our room, but when we tried to work the tv, it wouldn't switch on. So we went and asked the reception to sort it out, and were given a free drink each while we waited. Colin taught me how to play chess. I almost won, but then he kicked my ass right at the end.

When we got back to the hotel room, Colin was delighted to discover that there was a Steven Segal film on tv. So he watched that while I fell fast asleep!

Day 13 - Relaxing on Hamilton Island

We got up and had a delicious breakfast. There is a continental breakfast buffet, which has cereal, fruit, pastries and cakes, and then you can also have your choice of hot food made fresh for you! Colin had pancakes with fruit coulis and I had Eggs florentine, it was amazing, but so filling! You eat by the pool so you have the gorgeous morning sun on you, as well as the lovely view over the bay.


We wanted to go snorkelling this morning, but didn't realise it depended on the tides, so it was the wrong time of day to do it unfortunately. So we went and sat on some sun loungers. I read, whilst Colin took loads of pictures! We had a swim, and then a paddle in the sea. We also went and booked some of the activities that we wanted to do in the following week.

If you're a beach club guest you can get a lift wherever you want to go on the island by the staff in a golf buggy. And if you're away from the hotel, you can just go into any retailer on the island (even if you haven't bought anything!) and get them to phone for a buggy for you! So in the afternoon we decided to get a lift to the marina, where we had an explore and an ice cream!

The hotel had a drinks reception for all the guests this evening, with complimentary beer, wine or champagne. So we went for the champagne! It was quite nice, and the managers came and chatted to each couple individually. Guests also mingled, but everyone was was real grownups and just said things to us like "Awww - are you on your honeymoon?" We'd say "Yeah..." and they'd go "That's nice!" It was quite entertaining. Although there was about one other couple there who was nearly as young as us!

In the evening, we decided to go for fish and chips at the marina, and then went along to a local bar/nightclub for a drink. Unfortunately they had a strict dress code for the nightclub, so I don't think we'd have got in due to Colin's shorts and tshirt. We weren't that bothered though, as the atmosphere in the place was similar to that of a nightout in Hartlepool town centre - if you've ever experienced that then you'll realise we weren't to disappointed to go back to our 5* hotel for the evening!





When we got back, the hotel staff had left us a bucket with champagne and chocolates, with a card to congratulate us on our wedding and honeymoon! We were very touched!

Day 12 - Journey to Hamilton Island

We got up early and went to Paddy's market to buy some tourist junk! I got a boomerang for Alex's birthday and some long socks. But we didn't realise that we'd spent almost all our cash yesterday so we couldn't really stay there that long! After returning to the hotel, we checked out and got the monorail to the town hall station, then got on the train to the airport. We had a massive luggage bag which we'd bought in the shopping centre in Sydney. It was so big I can fit inside it, and as we don't have enough stuff to fill it, we just put our existing suitcase inside it. It was heavy, I couldn't really move it, so it was down to Colin to wrestle it through the crowds!

On the plane to Hamilton Island, I asked for a Gin and Tonic, and it came ready mixed in a can! It tasted like lemonade. There's definitely a market for this in the UK I think.

We arrived at the Beach Club accomodation where we were greeted with a cocktail. The room is spacious and has a balcony. You have to keep the door closed or cockatoo's come in and open the minibar and eat everything they can.



We had a paddle in the sea, but it was starting to get a little cold so we came in. We had dinner at a Steak house that night, which was delicious! The temperature in the island is about 25-27 degrees, very comfortable most of the time!

Day 11 - Harbour Bridge

We got up and walked over the the Paddy's Market, but unfortunately it was closed. As we walked back towards the harbour, there was a torrential rain storm and we got totally soaked through. I was so cold and wet, that we stopped in the shopping centre next to our hotel and bought a dry jumper and a top, as well as an umbrella!

As we'd had a late breakfast, we weren't very hungry by lunch time, so we just shared some chips and had a drink in a bar by the harbour. We then went along to the IMAX theatre for the 2pm showing of "Sea Monsters". The IMAX is a 3D cinema, you wear big grey glasses which make the pictures come to life. It was incredible, people were actually reaching out to touch the fish that looked as if they were swimming right past you, it was weird!

We walked up to the Harbour Bridge after that, where we went to the South Pylon. There was a museum inside, which told you about how the bridge was made, but also had a viewpoint from the roof which looked over the bay and the bridge. It was a great photo opportunity for Colin, who took another million pictures.

We went to a German themed bar as the sun started to go down as we were feeling a bit weak and thirsty. I had a coke for some energy, and Colin got a litre stein of beer! It was about the same size as my head!

We then went to a very posh restaurant for tea, which was a loosely Japanese themed restaurant. It was one of those places that made tiny portions and charge you about £25 for it! But then we ordered a pudding, and it was the best one that either of us have ever had! It was a chocolatey creamy minty honeycomb delight. Mmmm!

After that, I proved what a dedicated wife I am by walking miles in the rain so that Colin could take a night time panoramic shot of the Opera House and the harbour bridge. To be fair, he did tell me to go back to the hotel, but I was too afraid to separate, incase one of us got lost or mugged. I can't believe how reliant I am on mobile phones!

It was late when we got back and our feet were so sore! We packed and fell fast asleep.

Day 10 - The Opera House

Today we went to the Sydney Wildlife World early, in order to miss the crowds. It was really good fun, and really interesting. It was such a contrast to the Aquarium yesterday, where we had to fight to see the exhibits - this time we bearly saw another human being for the whole morning! We saw lots of koalas, wallaby's and hopping mice, they were so cute! Colin took about 5 million pictures.

For lunch we were to a bar where Colin ordered a bucket of prawns. There was 400g in it, and he had to peel them all by hand, so he had to work hard for his dinner that day!

In the afternoon we went for a walk around the city. We then got a water taxi to the Opera House via Toronga zoo - the driver gave us a mini tour of the harbour too. The Opera House is amazing! We got a tour of it, and got to go inside the main sails of the building. The interior is incredible, every carving into the walls is designed to produce the purest and best quality sound. We also saw the largest pipe organ in the world, which takes 2 years to tune.

We had a walk through the botanical gardens as the sun began to go down. Colin managed to get some gorgeous panoramic pictures of the opera house and harbour bridge together as the sun went down behind them. After the good light for pictures had disappeared, we walked back to an area called "The Rocks", an are just by the harbour bridge.

We went to an italian restaurant for dinner, yet more lovely wine and food. After we walked back towards Darling Harbour, and stopped in a nice bar for a drink. Unfortunately, Colin spilled his "Schooner" of beer onto the seat and I sat in it, so we had to go home because my pants were wet.