Given Up on Me Yet?

Gad, I'm here , I'm not, what am I doing??? Well I'm actually busy for a change. I'm doing an awesome online writing course (with homework), that I'm squeezing in between my actual writing, as well as spending about a zillion hours and dollars at the dentist (that will learn me for not having gone to the dentist for about 10 years - I have a clean slate now, as well as almost exceptionally excellent teeth!!!). Anyhow free time that doesn't involve children, teeth, training, house stuff or writing have been scarce. But hang in there, I haven't even begun to bore you about Vietnam, although I have some awesome photos from our new flashy camera to show you! Also if you're interested in checking out a new blog I've started for our Oxfam walk then go to www.keeponmovinggirls.blogspot.com and check that out weekly where I'll update on any walks we've been doing. Become a follower, even maybe make a donation and we'll love you forever!!!

I'm Back

Vietnam. What an amazing trip. I'm officially back and have a heap of stories to share, but no this isn't a travel blog so I'll cut to the chase and keep them relatively free of all that kind of stuff. The Husband and I had an awesome time, we travelled like backpackers, we tried all the local foods, drank heaps of Bier Hoi's, meet some great people, walked and walked and walked, drank heaps of water, didn't get run over by the zillions of motorbikes and got home safely to our happy and healthy boys. My second day back now, with bags to be unpacked, e-mails to catchup on and training to start again for Oxfam. I have a slightly dicky tummy, but could put that down to umm, maybe the icecubes in a glass of lime tea we had on a street cafe (think tiny plastic stools, even tinier table, a sea of vietnamese students, motobikes and me and The Husband in the middle of it), no matters, it's nice to be home! Stay tuned, got some good yarns to share.....

Supermarket shopping

So we head off tomorrow, just me and The Husband for 10 lovely days in Vietnam and with the in-laws arriving, Smith and I headed off for The Grocery Shop. The one where you put as much as humanly possible in the trolley to cover any contingency. Our trolley was so full that a rogue packet of frozen veg kept falling off dodging the trolley wheels every couple of minutes and the bumper 18 pack of loo paper was balanced precariously on top, limiting all vision to a slither. All the checkouts were full with queues, so thinking, I'm a 21st century girl, I'll do it myself. I've always had a thing about pushing buttons and wanted to work in a bank (s) or library and in the last 10 years or so, those swipe things have been more my passion. So I rolled up to the Self Service checkout and proceeded to get underway, swiping my groceries and packing them myself. A couple of swipes into it, I started to think "what was I thinking? Why am I doing this? This is going to be a disaster!". And so it was. For what seemed like 30 very long minutes and one super sized overfull shopping trolley, I proceeded to swipe and pack my way through The Grocery Shop. And lets not forget I had a increasingly bored 3 year old with me. I know, what was I thinking? But once you start, you can't abort. there's only one outcome and that's an empty shopping trolley. Now these self service machines aren't completely error free and if you hold your tongue the wrong way or are a smidge quick you get the "Item removed from bag" message that can only be erased by a staff member. The Self Service Assistant who had started off ok with me became quickly frustrated and extremely unhelpful. I was in a state. I cried out to her, "why didn't you tell me it wasn't a good idea to bring a full trolley through, I thought I was helping you guys by doing this" (cleverly apportioning blame and covering my wee fetish for button pushing and swiping). She came back slickly with a "well, I thought you knew what you were doing". Point taken.

And only 2 days later, there I was again at the Self Service checkout at Big W with slippers, big lego boxes, jersey caramels, and undies. I had managed my trolley and everything went well, until the time came to put things in a bag. Because there were no bags in the shop at all. And I had a heap of stuff. So I wandered off through the malls with everything sticking out of my handbag sort of. Next year I'm going to buy decent slippers (and not the cheap $12 Big W kind), you never know who you might bump into when you have a pair of slippers in your handbag.

Off tomorrow folks, back on the 18th. Take care y'all!

Overwhelmed

Where have I been? I've been in Trip Advisor Hell, and I'm still there. The Husband and I have been lucky enough to have the grandparents to stay offering babysitting services, so we have decided to scamper off to Vietnam. All very well and good if you don't have a small problem with managing an accomodation addiction. I have 3 hotels and 1 cruise thing to arrange (that job seems to have been delegated to me), and there is a choice of maybe 1 or 2 zillion hotels to choose from. Not only is there a large number of hotels, but the prices range from like USD$15 per night and upwards. So I turned to my trusty ally www.tripadvisor.com to help narrow down the search. And has this helped??? No, suddenly I'm confronted by bad reviews of hotels I thought looked fine, excellent reviews of cheap little dodgey places. The variables have increased manifold, suddenly I'm considering location, bed hardness, shower curtain cleanliness, breakfast buffet range, Trip Advisor rankings....and worse, price. I then got carried away on a tangent of trying to find that perfect best deal, the USD$15 per night with garden views, rooftop pool and boutique feel - naaah, doesn't exist, I should bloody know because I have checked them all!!! And then after making a couple of sensible mid price range choices, The Husband throws in a curve ball. He says 'This is one of the only holidays I get each year, make sure the places are ok". Does that mean my budget has crept above the USD$40 mark I was aiming at. So my last city, I'm going cold turkey and looking at a place that has a bad Trip Advisor ranking and bad comments. But it looks nice and like the kind of place I think The Husband meant. But I have a backup option also booked (yes I know), and this one fares better on Trip Advisor. What to do? The Sister wisely asked me tonight if we were using a travel agent for our bookings. Now there's an idea!!!!