Turning 25

Being the youngest of a lot of my friends it was finally my turn today to turn 25 today, a quarter of a century, closer to late 20's than early!

Most of my presents this year were travel related.

I got some new pants, pack cover, pj's, pocket knife, laptop bag, travel journal, tripod for my camera.

For dinner we decided to dress up and go out for to the Casino's all you can eat buffet. It was a good meal and selection but some of us may have overdone it though with the dessert bar ...

Thanks everyone for your texts, cards, emails, face books, bebos, phone calls and any other communications used to wish me a happy birthday!

Toni

I WON THE LOTTERY... in spain ...

I got this letter in the mail on Wednesday, post marked all the way from Spain!






Toni

Caitlin Allen

This weekend I went and saw Dustin and Nicola and their new arrival, Caitlin. She was born 1 April 2008.

She was so teeny and oh so cute. She cried a little bit but I had quite a long cuddle when she went to sleep.

Here are some pictures!

Check out my photo gallery for more.

Toni

ps. sorry no pool photo, it was way too cold this weekend.

NEW CAMERA!

Hey everyone!

Just a blog to let you know that I brought the pink camera. Its sooo pretty!!

I just love it, I thought my old camera was ok, it worked fine, just a little on the heavy side. Well this one is fabtabulous!!! It has so many more features (besides the wonderful obviousness, its pink, water and shock proof), my favourites include:

-A light. When you turn the camera off you press this button it gives you 90 seconds of light. Its very handy!

-A clock. Also when the camera is off you can press a button and the clock will come on I think it also has an alarm.

-Very cool panoramic setting which combines the picture on the camera.

- Auction setting. Takes three pictures of something in a size suitable for online auctions (ie trademe) and you can choose the best one.

- A bazillion different settings - portrait, fireworks, sand a snow, underwater moving, underwater still, macro and many more.

Document Setting

Landscape Setting

Macro setting

Night time

Self Portrait

I even tried it under water today. Unfortunately the sink doesn't really hold that much water and I wasn't able to get any good shots but might try in a pool sometime. Here are some pictures.

Picture of Zac when I was talking to him on webcam

Toni

P.s - Don't forget to leave a message in my guest book!

All booked!!

Hey guys

Just wanted to let you know... I booked my tickets!!

Yip, I leave Brisbane on 21 April and arrive at Heathrow airport on 22 April 2008 to start my two year working visa adventure!! Woo hoo, can't wait!

Toni xoxox :)

IT ARRIVED...

Yah, my passport and visa arrived today.
Woo hoo.

News

Your application has been approved and the visa has been issued. Your passport and visa should be depatched within the next 2 working days.

My story

I have been looking at buying a new digital camera for some time as I have had my old one since before I left NZ and its big, bulky and heavy (and everything counts with only 20kg of luggage) and... I just wanted a new one.

So I decided on the MJU790. Its the shockproof, waterproof, snowproof camera its on the ad with the dog drulling and Pam has one also and said it was real good. These are some of the underwater photos from Pam's Camera.

When I started looking last year the prices were around $450.00 and I was like ahhhh no I might just wait a while and then I wondered if duty free had it cheaper and they did for like $400 but they didn't really have them readily available at the aiports that I was flying to/from so I didn't bother and it sorta went to the back of my mind and I got on with life without a new fancy camera (I brought a laptop instead!)

Then the other day I was looking around at Dick Smith for some new cartridges for my printer and I went to see if they had my camera and if so how much it was and there it was for $328.00 the cheapest I had ever seen it and it is also going out of stock as a new model is coming in and they are on clearance. I almost brought it but decided to look around in case other places had it cheaper and so today i looked around. It seems that most places don't have it that cheap but are willing to lower their price to $328 so I went back to work and ponderd whether I would get it as a lot of shops didn't have it in stock anymore but before I had made any decisions I decided to look on Teds Camera House to see if they had it and then i saw this the OLYMPUS Mju 850SW Digital Camera. Isn't it pretty!!!! It is the same model but is a slightly higher mega pixel and it is PINK!!!!

I fell in love immediately!!! The only issue was that it was about $70 more expensive that the camera which is just as good that I could have today (this one is on back order).

When I brought my laptop pink ones were about $500 more than the regular ones, so I decided to get a regular one because I couldn't justify paying $500 plus more but can I justify paying an extra $70 for a pretty pink digital camera ... and then I get called into the bosses office (cringe - Zac will know what I am talking about!) fortunatley they were giving me a pay rise (I haven't yet told them I will be leaving in a couple of months). I walk out excitedly (and proceed to do nothing for the next hour gossipying about it and other things - what a wonderful employee!!) so my questions to everyone who reads my blog (probably only Zac, Jason and Alie oh and Hayley) are:

- Is my payrise a sign that I should get the new pretty pink beautiful camera?

- Can I justify the extra $70.00?

- Should I wait a little while longer to see if it comes on special?

- Or do I just go with the cheaper one and save the extra $70????

Your comments would be much appreciated in this hard decision proceess!!!!! Please vote in the top right hand corner and leave a message in my guestbook! Thanks

Toni

Dreamworld 2008 - Sara's 22nd Birthday

It was Sara's birthday today so we decided to head to Dreamworld to celebrate.

Dreamworld is a little different now than it used to be. It has a new ride called the motor coaster. It supposed to be one of the new six big thrill rides but I didn't think it was that great. You just rode alone on this motorbike contraption thingee that was kinda uncomfortable along this track.

They also have the flowrider which you pay like $5 extra and you get to surf on this wave thingee. We didn't do it, but it looked kinda cool.

Mum refused to get on any of the "big thrill rides" since movie world. So I made her sit in all the props and get pictures!

They have also taken away the gold mine ride which I thought was dumb.

About 1pm it started raining, we had just started lining up for the Giant Drop when there was a "delay" some people had got left at the top of the tower!!! and had to be slowly brought back down to the bottom!!!!!! How scary, can you imagine!

After about an hour it was up and working again so we decided to give it a try! I am here writing this blog so I made it back down safe and sound!

Toni

Back in the working world

Well after my trip to New Zealand I am now back in the working world.




I am now back on Gold Coast in the rain and awful humid rain heat (i think it has rained 4 out of the 5 weeks of the year), back at the 8-5 job wishing I was anywhere than here!!



I have decided to go on my “big OE” this year and over the next couple of months start planning for it. I am also trying to get Nicky to go with me!



If you have any suggestions let me know.



Having really being doing a lot lately as trying to save! So keep updating your blogs, sending emails and writing in guestbooks to help me whirl away my time :)



My msn is toni_oneill@hotmail.com if anyone wants to chat.



Here is a picture from the past for something interesting ...



New Years Eve 1999


Bye for now





Toni

Trip to New Zealand

Trip to New Zealand

27 December 2007 to 12 January 2008

Me on New Years Eve

This trip got from bad to pretty bad to good to worse!!

I awoke at 5am this morning to be at the airport in time to catch my 8am flight. As I got out of bed my tummy was feeling funny. “Its just early” I told myself. But no unfortunately I had the tummy bug that everyone got on Christmas. Uggggg, “can I have an aisle seat” I told the check in lady. I can tell you one thing flying with the most upset stomach at 8am is not fun!!! I couldn’t wait to hit ground and then to make matters worse I had to be a passenger in a car to Tauranga. “Stop now, I think I might throw up! Oh, nah I’m good”. My illness just kept coming in waves!!! Fortunately the next day I was feeling better and headed out fishing on the boat with Darryl and some of his friends.

Unfortunately, two days after I started feeling good I started feeling bad and after a $100 trip to the doctor and prescriptions was feeling better for New Years Eve.

Sadly, this year my New Years wasn’t as exciting as I hoped. I had come back to New Zealand especially to have New Years with all of my friends, I can’t even remember the last time I spent it with them all. But after various emails with no replies, or yeah I’m keen (not) or I don’t think anyone is even going to be in Hamilton. I was extremely upset and disappointed that most of my friends had decided to do something else. I guess maybe if I had lowered my expectations I wouldn’t be so disappointed right. Lucky though I didn’t let this spoil my night; myself, Darryl, Kim and Quentin had a fabulous BBQ where we all ate too much, we had scrumptious cocktails and only had to share Singstar amongst the four of us! Bonus!!



Katie and me on New Years Eve

Quentin after a few cocktails!
On the 1st I decided to head back to Tauranga as I wasn’t really in the mood to hang around and this is when my phone went on strike for three days dumb!!

The rest of my holiday was filled in with various events such as Darryl’s birthday where we had a BBQ with his friends, Nicky’s birthday in the Mount where I got to catch up with her and went out for a boggie (I don’t recommend going out in Tauranga!!) and try to convince her to come to the UK with me. We then went camping down to Omio (just past Opotiki) for 2 nights where we went fishing, near death experience boating, bush walking along extremely overgrown tracks and the boys went snorkelling for Crayfish. They got 17 in total. Yum!! The 10th was spent at Blues, Brews and BBQs where I ate – a lamb shank,an ostrich sausage, kangaroo kebabs, pork ribs, white bait fritter, German pretzel and donuts! and caught up with Rachel, Cam and Nicky.

Nicky and me on her Birthday

Darryl and me on Nicky's birthday

Nicky and me and Blues Brews & BBQ's

Me and the pretzel

On the 11th it was time to head back to Hamilton for dinner out with friends and then a drive to the airport at 4am, for the saddest moment of my trip, I had to say goodbye to Darryl as he wasn’t coming back to Australia with me. He had decided to stay in Tauranga for two years to start a uni degree. (yes that means we have broken up)

Toni

Christmas 2007

This year was our first family Christmas in Australia. I got woken up at 6am from a call in New Zealand allowing me to open my Christmas presents from Darryl.

I tired to go back to sleep but it was light out and I was excited so I ran upstairs to get the family up. As the kids had been out the night before and weren’t in the mood I stomped back downstairs to wait FOREVER for them, especially Sara (the Christmas grumblebags from way back) to get up. When they finally rised we all got to open our presents. This year I got a pretty good haul – a ring, teddy bear, toothbrush, rock, scorched almonds, necklace, bag patches, pack, pacsafe, towel, bag, ipod charger, drink bottle, scratchies, money pouch, mobile phone holder, frame, bubble gun.

The morning started off good with us preparing Christmas lunch etc and we sat down to lunch and things started going down hill firstly for Courtney who disappeared into her room in the middle of lunch and then mum. Me and Sara tested out the new singstars she got and then she headed off for bed as well. They had all come down with a tummy bug, lucky I didn’t get it …

Toni

Yes, that is a NZ flag and not an Australian one.

- See more pictures in my slide show and photo gallery!

9 December 2007

Courtney’s 19th Birthday

Today was Courtney’s 19th birthday so we thought we would make the effort and dress up for a nights partying. We dressed up in our best gears and went upstairs for some drinks and singstars. After bazillions of photos (check my photo gallery or my bebo for more), me having to stand in the middle to break up the colour!! We headed to town. First stop was Cocktails and Dreams– boring (they have one sort of music that just keeps going on and on and on) so me and gramps (aka Darryl) headed off to an “old person’s bar” where they play music you can sing and dance too and that was also airconditioned (bonus!!) after a while there we decided to head home. Mum came and picked us up and we picked up Sara on the way past, where she then proceeded to lay on the deck all night and was still cronically hung over on Sunday!

8 December 2007

Fishing Charter

I had booked a fishing charter on Saturday afternoon from 12pm to 5pm (five hours) for me Darry and Dustin. After paying the full price of $120.00 us along with six other passengers boarded the boat ready for our day ahead. We were told that some people were running late and had got lost and that we would be waiting for them. So we sat on the boat in the heat waiting for them being told every 5 minutes that we would wait just five more minutes. After an hour of waiting they finally turn up saying that they thought it started at 1pm. So naturally we thought, well we are FULL paying customers we paid for FIVE hours of fishing we would just stay out an hour longer as we had paid for five hours of fishing.

I can tell you I was extremely annoyed that they totally ripped us off an hour. So I sent them a crappy letter (most of which is above) and am waiting upon a reply (which I doubt I will get). Aside from the above, it was a pretty good day, not many fish caught though. Although we saw some spectacular dolphins jumping out of the water and we took home 1 fish each.

This photo is off me in the harbour, it was probably the biggest fish caught!

.

Toni

17 November 2007

Ice Skating Show



For some weeks we had been learning a routine to do in the annual ice skating show/competion and the time had finally come. We donned our outfits, sparkly skirts in different colours and took to the ice. Fortunantley, no falls were had and a great time had by all. It was a really great day and after all our work we came second and got medals to show for our hard work.




Toni

Sorry, I know I am a slacker!!

I know I am a slacker! Haven't posted in ages.

Well, that is because I am really busy at work at the moment (funny, I know) and I haven't had time to post my blogs and the computer at home is soooooooooooooooooo slow.

So when I can will post.

I do have news however, I will be back in NZ from 27 December 2007 to 12 January 2008.
Hope to catch with you then.

Love Toni