I'm on NIGHT SHIFT LADY!

So it means I will be sleeping between the hours of 0900 and 2000. Beware my wrath... I've had one phone call every hour since 1400 and it's not even 1800 yet. And I'm damn bleeding hell awake!! I take comfort in knowing I get to see Phil tomorrow night *sighs*.
So tonight I will be working, then sleeping during Thursday day, then Janene's birthday dinner, then Bourne Ultimatum, then sleeping Friday day, then working, then sleeping Saturday day and working, then sleeping Sunday day, then Church Sunday night. And then I'm back on morning shift on Monday. My roster sucks.

In other news, I got my tax returns back, Thank you Phil for helping me do it! :) I mourn at the fact I will never... ever... get so much back again. So I'm paying (waiting for ME to transfer the money out) off my debt to my parents (you know, do your parents ever bring up the cost of PLC, and then say "no no I don't want you to pay us back" but keep bringing it up again?? Their words and thoughts seem not to match up there).

So the BBQ we had was good, Josh used the recipes from the little BBQ food I lent him. So it was Lamb kofta with babaganoush & pita bread, bbq'd olives, Lebanese chicken (if it was thigh, it would've been juicier though), eggplant & tomato salad. Then for dessert, there was a HUGE bowl of jelly (by yours truly) and cookies & cream cupcakes (also by yours truly, from 500 Cupcakes {thanks Alex!}) , lemon & lime cheesecake (oooh soo good), chocolate Bavarians, ice cream and strawberries.

So Phil and I have sent one engagement present off, yays! I lurve Peter's of Kensington. And I know very dangerous, I have applied for a credit card, AND I still have to activate it. Haven't done it yet.

Okay, have to have dinner now, before I start packing for work. I'll see you guys, maybe at the Rehearsal wedding ;) BTW, how do I make Phil not come to the wedding? Any ideas ladies??

What events have happened this past week?

Phil & I's dinner at Swissotel, mmm... you guys would love it:
- boiled potatoes
- potato soup & lotsa bread rolls and butter
- roesti & raclette - sooo goood
- veal Zurich style - veal pieces with mushrooms in cream sauce
- panfried trout in herb sauce
- pork loin with sauerkraut
- macaroni cheese with apple sauce
- carrots and beans
Then the cold stuff
- butter lettuce
- green bean salad
- beetroot salad
- pasta salad
- cold cuts including pate
- tomato salad
- smoked salmon & horseradish sauce
- steamed salmon pieces

Then dessert...
- chocolate fondue!
- Toblerone mousse
- creme brulee
- fruit platter
- apple strudel with vanilla sauce
- Lindt opera cake
- meringues with cream
- macaroons & Swiss cookies
- chestnut and cream
And more!
Must go next time it comes back to Sydney for lunch!

Double date with Shell & Andrew
W00t! Shell & Phil got their own entrees of escargots. I'm being a wonderful gastronomic influence ;) I had the beef fillet (rare of course) with green peppercorn sauce, Phil and Shell had lamb shanks with ratatouille and mash, Andrew had chicken fillet wrapped in bacon in cream sauce. No wine this time, had to drive home from the train station and then onto Leach's. The lemon meringue pie didn't agree with me though. Had to go trotting to the loo...

Kat's Hen's night
Well Leach and I arrived at wagamama to join them for La Cita. Drinks and dancing yea... sooo... good. I had Pisco Sour, Passion for Pisco and La Cita Iced Tea, Al and I got jipped, our ones didn't taste like Leach's or Angi's. :(
I want more La Cita Iced Tea!!!

Have to go to work in 40 minutes. Sigh, want some more food... oooh I have slices of cake, the sago and various flavoured slices from Helen's cake shop. Mmmm... Taro & Sago cake, mmmm... okay I'm gonna get one now.
Gotta remember to call grandma after I get back from work tonight. Gaaaahh... it's her 80th today.

Recent purchases:
- Return to Paris: Memoir with recipes - Colette Rossant. The sequel to Apricots on the Nile. Can't wait to read, I may bring it to work tonight. Or leave it to night shifts next week.

You guys are right about the saving.

Ok ok I'm a big spender, I put $1000 in my Savings account every month, but I don't want to scrimp and scrounge just yet. I'm not desperate and not grasping the last straws yet. Let's see, based 4-weekly:

Tithe: $200
Gym: $92
Petrol: $150
ME savings account: $1000
Commbank fees: $10
Groceries: $200
Consumables at work: $80
Total = $1582 $1732 thanks Trees, I'm a terrible mathematician
Out of ~$2700/month
Leaving $1118 $968 damn that's worse

Just brainstorming here
1. Scrap buying food at work and try to remember to bring lunch, dinner, morning tea and arvo tea everyday. But when you forget, you have to eat something. Bring more food from home, but I can't give up my coffee, I neeeeeed it to work otherwise I don't have the energy to run on.
2. I tithe less than 10% already so I'm continuing at the same amount.
3. Considering I go big grocery shopping twice a month, I can't change that amount.
4. I need to make an appointment to quit the gym, or at least get the fee lowered. It's too much. And you have to give one month's notice before quitting, and of course during that time you have to pay for it anyway.
5. I like to have a minimum $1000 in the account for emergencies, and yes dammit random shopping. So I always have minimum that in the account. I haven't ventured below this year.
6. I owe my parents A$2500. Which will come out of my tax returns this year, oh yea, can someone pretty please teach me how to do my tax returns? I'm completely at a loss, ok not a complete loss. And no you don't get access to my tax file # but yes you get access to my payslips, also a homecooked lunch plus dessert.
7. I guess with me saving more, it'll show more commitment to the deed eh? I can up the deposit to my savings by $500 (just changed it now).
8. But you know, I never knew how much dating can cost, and there's no way in hell I'm gonna have Phil pay everytime, if PLC taught us anything, it's independence. And you know, it's easy to say "Don't go out so much" but I can't stay at home (otherwise I'd rather sleep), can't be at his coz you get no privacy, and winter's too cold to hang around outside. You tell me what to do whilst dating.

The sucky thing is, from next month onwards til January (or until I start working penalties again), I will be getting around a couple hundred less in my paypacket. Solely because I won't be working lates, nights, weekends, nor public holidays. 12.5%, 15%, 50%, 75%, 150% extra is a big change in $$.

Argh!!

So I recently had a my block of night shifts, I like night shifts on CCU, I don't have to get up every 10 minutes to wipe someone's butt. Truly. It's more relaxing but I was about to conk it on Friday. As a treat for a rushed and sucky last night shift I had Maccas for breakfast, Sausage & egg mcmuffin value meal, mmmm...
Then that Saturday, one of the gals had her 20th birthday party so it was a fondue night. Smelt like oil when I got home, had to take another shower and rub my hair gooood. Delicious though, definitely for beef. The chocolate fondue however was a bit runny.
Last Wednesday, Phil and I went to see The Hours, Latin American art exhibit at MCA. Not too bad, I wish I knew more South American history other than the bare basics. And yesterday was Kat's Kitchen Tea, Yays!!

Also noted, I will never ever ever do OT again unless they are incredibly desperate, we had 4 RNs out of 7 call in sick on Friday, so I volunteered to do OT, 0800 - 2000. Our Clinical Liaison nurse and our educator worked the floor as well, and our NUM was doing bed managing so we were still one RN down. And I took yesterday off coz I could feel the tickling in the back of my throat which means sore throat a-coming. Codral Day and Night to fend it off. But it's going around the ward so I have to be prepared for overload and OT this week.

In other news, ER is back on tomorrow night!! 2130 on channel 9! Yays! Must find video so I can tape.
I am looking forward to this week, especially Saturday for Kat's Hen's night. And of course out 6mth dinner. And our Double date Saturday lunch. So shopping has been changed to either Friday or Sunday arvo. There's been some miscommunication, sorry Kat!

Recent purchases:
- 2 dresses - and mind you they were cheap as in $35 for 2
- Janene's birthday present - Phil and I went shopping as well after MCA so picked up a present as well.