A truly HORRID weekend

Now this has ACTUALLY been the worst weekend of my life. I hosted a going away party for Meaghan (our fab student) this Friday... only to come down with the worst bout of gastro i have EVER experienced. AND I had 3 people staying here... now you all know how public toileting is perhaps my worst nightmare... and hence, made for my WORST weekend!! To cap it off... I accidentally sent a message to one of the footy boys detailing some of the worst moments... it was actually meant for a close girlfriend. I can probably never return to the football oval?!!

Today, I am just starting to get back to my normal self. Aside from hideously sore tummy and neck muscles from vomiting... this is definitely going to be a memorable Tom Price weekend, and not for all the right reasons!!

Tom Price Panthers

In an attempt to get even more into the country life... I have decided to become the trainer for the Tom Price Panthers footy team. I feel however it may have just added to my drinking problem:) It's actually been great fun, as nervous as I was to start with... being the only girl in the change room is quite daunting!!

And who would believe this would lead me to rub shoulders with the rich and famous... in Tom Price?!! One of the players is a mens's health 'man of the year' 2011 finalist... massaging him is definitely a reason to go back!!

And in another crazy move for mons, I have also joined the State Emergency Services... WA's most active branch of the SES no less. Perhaps soon I'll also be saving lives...

Mum and Dad crash Karijini

Writing after a truly fantastic week in Tom Price. Mum and Dad came up to visit over the long weekend and took me out to the Eco Retreat in Karijini National Park... it's like camping in the golden triangle... very squish tents and right up my alley! We conquered Dales, Joffre and Weano gorge... and to reward ourselves, we enjoyed some (read lots) great Australian wine and cuisine, crocodile, emu and kangaroo... Everything is solar powered and because there is not enough power to run a kitchen, all meals are cooked on the bbq... which only made it more of an experience... (Mum particularly loved the kitchen as she made a friend in Francis.. a fellow Saints supporter) I have to say I loved every moment of the weekend... from riding in Dad's truck (even though he looked like a ridiculous ranger in matching beige and an akubra) , swimming in the now freezing gorges (cold ankles!!), the fab barbecued brekkies and take away coffees, nibbles and wine on the balcony, oxer lookout, the outdoor bathroom (frogs and all) and the great company.

Mum stayed with me in Tom Price for the week following this. I couldn't believe it, the one weekend I had mum here was the one weekend Tom Price decided to pour down... in the dry season! It was very bizarre... and meant we got 10m up Mt Nameless before being washed down again. We made the most of it though... we slept in to the rain on my tin roof, were the number 1 customers at Nameless cafe, watched movies and became masterchefs, making some delicious carrot and corriander fritters (even though they may have contained some blood... I was a bit vigorous with my knife work, trying to impress mum, and managed to slice my fingernail in half... in true mons melodramatic style, I then managed to nearly pass out, require a vomit bucket... and utter the words... "this is worst day of my life!" ) Needless to say I was really sad when mum left, I'm even feeling a bit teary writing this... but the good news is... with all the rain, and not being able to experience all we wanted... mum will have to come back!!