I'm coming back Homeeeeeeeeeeee

Well Groover's as the saying goes all good things must come to an end and this morning Barb "Am I Brown Yet?" and myself checked out :(

You can see how sad I was with this pic below....

We decided that it is never ever too early to have an ice-cream and sooooooo we did a Farewell Toast!

And I have to tell you a little story just after we checked out and went our separate ways, I pulled over to get something out of my boot and across the road at the beach this guy yelled out "Ohhhhhh Hot Mumma" hehehe. Of course I was shy but geez it made me smile! Funny isn't it..... but nice to know I still got it!

Of course it's always sad to leave but it's also exciting to return home to Baby Jake and Embee Louise! And of course at the moment Ashlee is living with us and we have my friend Deb's two little dogs Star & Bella as poor old Deb is now onto Day 4 waiting to have her foot operated on!

Here are Star & Bella missing their Mum :( Come home soon Mummy....

And I have to tell you that it has me considering to take out private health cover after what she is currently going through, because kids you just never know.

So homeward bound I was and this afternoon I had a lovely spa in the sun, not the same as our "Holiday Pad Pool" Barb :( but hey it's better than nothing.

I always find it funny readjusting to real life after a good holiday. You miss having the great company, the laughs, the food & drinks! but I guess this is what makes a Fantastic Holiday and this kids is what gets me to book things wayyyy in advance because I don't know about you, but I myself need that little light at the end of the tunnel to keep me going day to day!

So as I sit on my lounge with little Embee Louise, who I had to bath today (so that she didn't smell like a dog but A GIRL!) sits beside me, air con on, dirty washing being washed in the washing machine, catching up on some television shows courtesy of Foxtel IQ! and feeling happy and content..... I am counting down the days to the next little adventure hehehe.

Come onnnnnnnnnnn surely you kids know what I'm like by now. And let me just say this - it isn't too far away! (insert evil laughter here: hahaha hohoho hehehe)

So for the last time (well this year anyways....) let me share with you just a few more pics of where we stayed:

Ohhhhhhh and we made it to 11,000 this morning just as I arrived home! It sure was a nice homecoming :)

love

Me xxx

Do you like Pina Colada'ssssssss.....

So today has been both an eventful day as well as (for Barb & I) relaxing too. Strange combo that one!

The morning didn't end up being the morning we had planned because you see my friend Deb was down this way working and was going to pop in for a swim and a coffee, as you do.... But instead she spent the day in two different hospitals with this!

and then she moved hospitals and got this little beauty!

Nowwwwwwwww it's a long story but in a nutshell hopefully she will be operated on tomorrow as she has broken her foot in a very very bad way!

And of course Groover's we allll know how caring I am! And when I saw this little pic

I thought well at least she has nice toenail polish! But here was her reply and I quote "Hmmmm that nail polish is blood from the toenail that is missing". OMG how bad did I feel when I read that comment. As I was only looking on my iPhone and it was tiny I thought she had a beautiful manicured foot!!!!

Lucky she loves ME :)

And both Baby Jake and Ashlee have been wonderful as they have gone and collected Deb's babies Star & Bella and taken them home to Embee Louise to look after until she is better.

So Deb hang in there my friend and see you soon xxx

So as bad as I felt, Barb and I continued on with our holiday (as Deb would have wanted) and headed of course to the resort pool.

I also went for a small walk today and took some pics of the resort and all things Salt Village, which is the seaside village where the resorts are based.

I also went into the main resort at Peppers to show you kids what it looks like in there as well. We have access to both Peppers and Peppers Bale.

So it was a new day! With a new pool pic (just for something different...)

Those little holiday feet sure get around!

And on the Menu today was Club Sandwich & fries for Barb and I had the good old Steak Sandwich & fries. Drink of the day was Pina Colada! Just the nice creamy tropical taste you need on a hot day by the pool!

And my brand new book to read poolside is this little beauty!

Of course the afternoon ended with a nice little nana nap and then tonight my lovely beautiful friend Carly came down and we went across to the Salt Bar for a very scrumptious dinner!!

Carly and I go way back and she is such a wonderful, loving and caring friend and I count myself lucky to have her in my life!

Andddddddd she has a brand new little car car.

And sooooo as we love it that much here at Peppers Bale that we have decided to book again for next year! It's funny how it's only been a few days but it feels like we have been here six weeks. That's when you know you are onto a good thing!

Now I would like to end tonight's Morley Report about a good friend of mine's son, Jack Yorston who has Juvenile Diabetes and both he and his family do many fund raisers throughout the year and have a fantastic Trivia Night every year to raise money for the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation).

And right now he needs our help! You see kids he is trying to raise $2,800 which is the entry fee to participate in the JDRF Ride for Cure and the money will help to fund a cure for diabetes.

If you are able to help even just a little bit that would be wonderful as it would bring a smile to Jack's face and help him with his dream to help raise money for this wonderful cause.

Here is the link:

JDRF - Ride to Cure Diabetes - Jack Yorston

And tonight of all nights I find it quite fitting to leave you with this wonderful quote that Barb shared with me today, something that Chrissie Amphlett (lead singer with iconic Australian band The Divinyls) said last year when discussing her Breast Cancer.

This is what she said:

I had two choices to make,
I could choose to be a victim
or choose to be a Warrior
And I choose to be a Warrior!

I guess in life we can be faced with many different things, at different ages & stages in our lives and it's all about how we deal with them and our mindset!

On that note kids, nighty night!

Me xxx

Karen it’s your birthday. Happy Birthday Karennnnn

Well Groover’s there is no beating about the bush… it is in fact my 45th Birthday TODAY! Or as I like to say I’m really only turning 9, because you just add the 4+5 = 9 ☺

But let me take you down good old Morley Memory Lane through a few of little Karen Cheryl’s birthdays...

Here are couple of pics of “The Birthday Girl” that I have recently come across.

I'm the one with the teddy bear!

As mentioned in a recent blog prob the very first vague memory that I have of my own birthday would be a party we had when I was around 4/5 and my Mum made those very cute pink iced Arrowroot biscuits with lollies to form faces.

I was never one to have many birthday parties when I was younger. There was this one when I was around 10. It's not the best and a bit blurry....

And only just the other day I had a text from an old school friend who actually got the date wrong (by a week) wishing me a Happy Birthday, and had remembered that when I turned 13 both her and I went into the city (in Brisbane) on our very first “big grown up” trip without parents to go see a movie. Which movie I hear you ask? The Amityville Horror.

Now to this day I hate horror movies and I do remember reading the book on The Amityville Horror, as I read this book when we were on holidays down the Gold Coast and do you know that I could only read that book during the day with people around me! It freaked me out big time!

On a side note, just to show you how much of a sook I am. When Jake was younger maybe 10 we were watching “I Know What You Did Last Summer” on TV. Well when I say watching it I mean I had my hands over my face saying to Jake, what’s happening? What’s happening? I can’t lookkkkkkkkkk. Then I look over at him and Jake has his eyes covered TOO! So we decided to tape it on our video and watch it the next day in the daytime! What can I say, I’m still very much the same although Jake is a lot better now watching them! Well to a degree...

Now back to birthdays:

I did have a small 18th birthday party that my then boyfriend (soon to be ex-husband) threw me.

Check out the outfit! I knowwwwwww - but a friend made it for me so I had to wear it!!!

Another birthday when I turned 20, on that very same day, I left on my first ever Cruise on the Fairstar Ship with P&O - 14 days of sooo much fun and laughter…. Now the birthday itself was a bit sad as that night I was missing my boyfriend, the people I kinda knew on the cruise I found out were boring, the ship was rough and I thought I was going to die aka Poseidon Adventure movie style and that night in bed I decided that at the first port (in 5 days’ time) I would fly home. I didn’t care how much it cost.

But someone was looking out for me as I made friends with the girl in my cabin and all of her friends. So we changed my restaurant (so I didn’t sit with the boring acquaintances) and at the new restaurant at the new dining time I got to sit with some wonderful “new friends” and from that moment on I wasn’t going anywhere ☺ I had the best holiday and to this day I have fond memories of this time, in my 20th year!

When I got engaged just before I turned 21, a decision was made that there would be no 21st party for me as we were also getting married two months later in the following January!

The next thing I can remember was when I was turning 30 and my friend Elaine threw a small party and this was during my “too poor to have a camera” days, so I am afraid there are no pics. Now this may be a good thing! LOL

And when I had a birthday turning 39 my amazing friends Jo and Al surprised me with announcing they would pay for me to fly to LA and Las Vegas to see our friend Michael Buble in concert! I was def a happy chappie that night and even cried when they told me!

When I turned the big 4 0! I decided to throw a party and invite friends from all over the years. It was such a great night and so amazing to see everyone in the same room! ☺

Over the last so many years I have taken my birthday off from work on Annual Leave. You know kinda a present to me for being such a good girl during the year! Or so I tell myself..

I’ve been at Club Med Lindeman Island, at The Mantra and Peppers Resorts at Salt, Kingscliff so many times I have lost count...

And I have one good friend that I have known since High School who celebrates his birthday on the 13th November, a day after mine! And I know this is a sad "blonde moment" but it wasn't until we turned 40 that I realised - get this one! Thattttt he and I were in the same babies room in the Royal Brisbane Hospital when we were born. I am a day older so I always say that I showed him the ropes on how the Babies Room worked.... because I was the more experienced one! LOL

Here we are at Xmas Drinks from the last two years!

And this now brings us up to date and to today!

This year’s little Birthday Adventure is a week longs holiday at Peppers Bale at Salt in Kingscliff. Many years ago I stayed here at the same resort, but back then a friend paid for the three nights and it cost a pretty $750 per night for a 3 bedroom apartment!! And we stayed 3 nights back then.

And I loved it soooo much that I really wanted to stay another time, so it then went onto my “Bucket List”. But I never ever thought that I would be able to afford to go back and stay. And then last year I came across an amazing rate and here we are!

So today is the first day of my holiday. Ahhhhh I can smell the ocean, hear the ocean and I have the most amazing pool & spa to spend my week in.

Now Groover's I have had the most amazing birthday this year! :)

Last year it was a different story, I was very sad, stressed and grieving for my Grandad who had only recently passed away. But today I find myself in such a better place. Surrounded by all of you guys that take the time out to read my Morley Report and who have sent me such lovely Birthday Wishes, by text, Facebook, & Twitter.

I even went out to dinner tonight with my friends Emily, Lucan, Alan and Barb and had the best time!! :) (hence why this late tonight... Oops!)

You know what Groover’s? I kinda like my 9th birthday present to me this year! ☺

So on that note I best be off! I gotta catch me some beauty sleep!

Love

The Birthday Girl xxx