Here's an idea...

Work is still a bit slow at the moment so I chat with my friend Luke (a fellow recruiter) over email. Luke got engaged last year and is looking to get married somewhere really swanky in the next 12 months. He mentioned that he had to stick to a guest list of 100 people. I started having a whinge that it would be very hard for me to stick to only 100 guests when the time came.

This is what he suggested:

“Hold interviews with every potential guest to screen for their levels of motivation.

Obtain references from previous weddings that they've attended

Maybe an admission fee should be charged? That would deter the stingy people

Not that hard to get to 100 then... : )”

Nice Luke Nice.

Breakfast @ Mezes Brighton

We've always been close, even after high school everyone kept in touch. Something that we do on a regular basis is meet up for breakfast in Brighton, so when I got the call this morning I expected it to be like any other breakfast. A few of us couldn’t make it, but if they knew what I know now I don't think anyone would have missed it!

No, I'm not talking about the good food.....

And I'm not talking about the good company...

I'm talking about the fact that Roula was sporting a massive 1 carat diamond on her finger and sprung the suprise that Andre proposed on New Years Eve!! Oh-My-Gosh! Congratulations!!!! The wedding is set to happen before the end of this year!

That now makes 2 engaged girls in the group with Roula & Chrissie the brides to be (is this a sign that we are all growing up!?!?)

Andre & Roula (Taken @ Christina's engagement earlier this year)

Congrats again! This is so exciting!!

New Years Eve 2005

10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!

Number 1, Macquarie St (aka The Toaster) was the place to be on new years eve 2005. Great people, fabulous food, all you can drink and a magnificent view! Big thanks to Dee and Family for such a great way to end 2005.

Looking Lovely ladies!

The crowd below

The view...

9:00pm fireworks

When you go to a party hosted by Italian's you can guarantee great food.

Home made antipastos (perfectly roasted with a hint of garlic and a generous amount of olive oil), homemade lasagne (you just can't compare homemade to what you eat when you go out!) there was also schnitzel, chicken skewers, a meat wrap with bread crumbs plus a lot more.

The desserts...I was having such a good night that I forgot to pay attention to what I was actually eating, one word...YUM!

I liked the theme - It meant something... all the little boats on the harbour also had love heart lights, it was a beautiful sight.

This was taken as we were making our way back to the car; the crowd drew my attention for a few reasons. It reminded me the time Jacky and I walked back to our hotel hand in hand after celebrating new years in Time Square, New York. What the photo doesn't capture is the music and excitement of everyone dancing in the street; all races all ages. It was such a fabulous sight, it’s what the real Australia is all about.

Happy 2006 everyone!!

Michelle's Farewell

Michelle is heading off to travel Japan for 1 year, so a few friends gathered to wish her an excellent trip.

The night involved a lot of games, who knew Pictionary could get so intense!

Then there was Jenga and the poker game that never really happened because no one knew how to play.

I left at about 10pm only to head off to a night of learning to play poker with Jacky and the WoW boys. Jacky didn't have much beginner's luck and lost 10 bucks. We left early but I heard that Glen cleaned up the night $250 richer (Glen I really think that you can afford to buy me a pair of shoes with your winnings) =P

Did someone say SALE?

I love shopping. Today I must have made up for any shopping that I didn’t do earlier in the year. It was the first time in years that we’ve been to the sales; usually we’re overseas or working but today I was prepared. I woke up at 6:00am, Jacky picked me up at 7:20am and we hit the city shops before 8:00am. Let’s not talk about the fact that between the 2 of us we spent over $1000, instead let’s focus on the money that we ‘saved’.

What we bought:

• 1 Colourful Billabong Bikini (to add to the other 5 bikinis that I own)
• 2 Rusty Singlets (one black, one aqua- $10 each down from $26 how could i not?!?!)
• 1 White MCD board shorts for JC (sure beats him swimming in his bball shorts)
• 1 Surf Dive and Ski beach Towel (they gave it to us for free because they made a mistake and we had to wait for ages for them to correct it RRP $40)
• 7 Business shirts by Kenji (French cuff of course!)
• 1 Black dress by Seduce (I had a $50 voucher I was trying to use)
• 1 brown pair of shorts for Sophia
• 2 pairs of Man styled shorts for me (pinstriped)
• 1 Brown pin stripe suit jacket + matching skirt
• 1 Black suit jacket + matching skirt
• 2 300gig hard drives (one for JC one for Sophia)
• 2 spindles of 50 blank DVDs (also JC & Sophia...and you wonder why they get along so well...)

Full price - sale price we probably saved around $500.00

We decided to call it a day at around 3:00pm when we were both tired and couldn’t physically carry anymore bags. Lucky for me (and Jacky) Cue sold out of size 6 and 8 or I would have easily spent another few hundred on work clothes. I got some really great bargains today and guess what?!? I didn't come home with 50 pairs of shoes.

However I am suffering from an extremely sore elbow. Whilst I was putting away a skirt in Myer I accidently banged my elbow on the shelf, it made such a loud noise that EVERYONE turned to look at me; it hurt like crazy!! but because everyone was staring I pretended nothing happened and that it didn't hurt, I'm sure you all know the look. I think that I smacked the nerve right behind the elbow, ahhh well I lived to tell the story.

Happy Shopping Everyone!

7.5 Years!

Happy Anniversary Jacky =)

Murder Mystery

What: Schneider Electric X'mas Party 2005
When: Saturday Night 17/12/2005
Where: Dockside - Cockle Bay Wharf
Theme: Black Tie -Murder Mystery

I accompanied Jacky to his Schneider Christmas party tonight where upon arrival we were pulled aside by a ‘policeman’ who informed us that a murder had occurred. The victim ‘Santa Claus’ was brutally hit on the head by an object and 12 suspects from Schneider were under suspicion. We were handed a clue and asked to assist the police in solving the case.

The aim of the game was to mingle with the crowd and swap clues to solve the crime. The first person to guess the correct suspect, room, weapon and location would win a $600 Harvey Norman Voucher. In theory this sounded like an excellent idea for a Christmas party.

The problem?

It was a very formal black tie event where partners were invited and everyone kept to themselves. As lovely as everyone was, it was a room full of engineers; to say that they were a little introverted would be an understatement.

The Food

The service was quite good with waiters bringing out cocktails and canapés for most of the night. They had everything from dim sims, to curry puffs and tasted a lot nicer than your usual finger foods. The Main meal was a self serve buffet style selection of pastas which included Spaghetti marinara, Pesto Ravioli and Cannelloni. The pasta's were very average which I guess is to be expected when food is made in bulk this way. However, the great canapés and daiquiris certainly compensated for this.

The Love Boat

What: Hudson Christmas Party 2005

When: Friday Night 16/12/2005
Where: Customs House Circular Quay
Theme: The Love Boat (our team was allocated Hawaii)

Was an excellent night! many funny things happened but I'm too tired to report (May be Later). Here are some pics from last night.

The Rest of the pics Here