I really shouldn't be writing this, I really should be using abseiling gear to climb on top of the mountain of paperwork which has bred on my desk during the past week... but blogging is just so much more fun than actual work. Anyway, I can't establish a connection to the bank to make some important payments so I need to while away some time somehow...

Last week was really, really bad. There is a good reason I never considered a career in nursing - I hate sick people! Including myself. In fact, myself more than anyone. Being sick sucks. It is boring and annoying and really just a waste of time. I'm not much of a laying around in bed person... unless it's with John Cusack or Anthony Keidis or... oh, ok my husband, sheesh! Bed is for sleeping and occassionally for reading on a Sunday morning and very occassionally for ... well, you know, the other stuff.

Will came down with the flu first. He was sick by Sunday lunchtime and was really bad on Monday and Tuesday. High temps (is there anything scarier for a parent?), coughing, runny nose, the whole shebang. By Tuesday afternoon he was on antibiotics and I was feeling like we might get on top of things. Tuesday night I was feeling decidedly crap but didn't want to deal with the idea of getting sick myself.

Wednesday morning I went to work for the first time that week, leaving Jason at home with Will. I managed two hours' of work and I was home in bed by 11:30 am. It was terrible. I must have had a really high temp because I was shaking uncontrolably, I couldn't even talk (hard to believe, but true). I somehow managed to drive myself home and fell into bed. Thursday I was somewhat better but still unable to get out of bed or do anything useful. Will and I spent the day in bed watching the three Harry Potter DVDs. As Will would say "We like Harry Potter, don't we!".

By Friday I was getting better but Will had developed a horrible, non-stop cough - all day, all night - it just didn't stop and I was getting scared he would do himself an internal injury. Nobody in the house was sleeping - it was like the Land of the Living Dead, but not as pretty. The stuff from the chemist was as good as useless. Back to the doctor we went. She gave us a brilliant cough syrup and we had our first, in a week, good night's sleep on Friday night. I felt like a new person Saturday morning.

Now it's my big boy's turn. Yep, the big Jay is sick. I was amazed he lasted this long with Will and I contaminating the air for a full week. He's been in bed since yesterday and will be going to the doctor (who must be heartily sick of our family by now) this afternoon. At least I'm at work and I don't have to look at his sick face all day. Gee, I hate sick people!

OK, enough sickness for one blog. Well, at least the physical kind. Let's backtrack a little...

The weekend before last was amazing, the best we've had for a while. We dropped Will and mum off at the Opera House, where she was taking him to see a children's production, and headed off for a "couple" day. The sun was shining and it was a totally beautiful Sydney winter day (bring on global warming, I say). Driving through the city we made an on-the-spot decision to have lunch at Jackson's Landing, a new harbourside development at Pyrmont, near the Casino. We hadn't been before and I had heard that there was a fabulous gourmet (isn't everything these days?) fish and chip cafe opened up down there.

As soon as we drove down there we were in love. It's a spectacular part of town and the park on the water down there affords a breathtaking view of two of my favourite Sydney landmarks - the Harbour Bridge and the Anzac Bridge. We bought our super yummy fish and chips and sat in the park gazing at our beautiful city. Why would you live anywhere else? After lunch we went for a walk and made a pact that within five years (unless we change our minds and/or get distracted by something else... oh, look what's that pretty thing...) we would buy an apartment down there and enjoy a city lifestyle. I've been playing this tune for some time but Jason's been reluctant, not wanting to swap our slice of suburbia (a pretty nice slice I must say) for the delights of city living. I get butteflies in my stomach just thinking how mindblowing it would be to sit out on our deck and have that stunning view every day. We'd be able to walk to Chinatown for yum cha every weekend (if that's not heaven then I don't know what is), Jason would be able to walk to work and we'd have the beautiful city of Sydney as our backyard.

After this little bit of daydreaming was over we went to the movies. I was really starting to despair of ever being entertained at the cinema again. But then we saw Sin City and my faith in film making was renewed. It had everything that's been missing for me at the cinema - i.e. entertainment. I want to fall into a movie and go for a ride and with Sin City that's just what I did. It's very violent and brutal but also funny and quite original - it left me with a very similar feeling to when I first saw Pulp Fiction - WOW! I wouldn't say I enjoyed it as much as Pulp Fiction - I really loved the multi-layered story line and the twists in the narrative - but it was certainly in the same league and with a very similar flavour.

As a quick aside, my sister and I went to see Me and My Sister on the Friday night. It was a French comedy-drama and I really quite enjoyed it. It's wonderful that Julia and I can work together all week and then still enjoy each other's company enough to socialise together out of work as well. (Most of the time) we get on so well and make each other laugh - it's like having my best friend with me all the time. Cool! [Don't get a big head when you read this, JB]

OK, in case I hadn't had enough movies for one weekend, when we got home from Sin City we had some dinner and decided to watch a movie on Home Box Office (without Will to entertain us there is so much time to kill). So we picked The Village. I was hoping I could still enjoy it even though I knew what "the twist" was, but I didn't really. It was a half decent movie but because I knew what was going to be revealed at the end I just couldn't get into the suspense of it.

Sunday we met up with Mum, Boris, Will (who had stayed the night at mum's) and Julia at The Summit for lunch to celebrate Jason's 36th birthday (yes, that's right, he's my toy boy!). The Summit is a revolving restaurant at the top of the Australia Square building and while my general theory is to avoid revolving (read: revolting) restaurants, this one is an exception. Jay and I went there for our anniversary in January this year and it was spectacular. One of those restaurants that does wonderful food, has amazing service and garnish the whole lot with a breathtaking view. We had been raving about it for months which meant that this lunch was bound to be a disaster - but it wasn't!

On a clear sunny day the view is forever and it really was gorgeous. As before the service was lovely - attentive but not in your face like some silver service restaurants can be. The menu reads beautifully and the best part is that the food tastes and looks as good as it sounds. As before I went for Oyster Mania to start. It's a half dozen oysters done a different way each - but not cooked (Oysters Kilpatrick are a crime against humanity and whoever Kilpatrick is, he ought to be ashamed of himself). IMHO an oyster should not be cooked - it should be served naturally with a wedge of lemon or, if you have a very confident chef, it should be served with a few select dressings which enhance the beautiful oyster flavour. This is what Oyster Mania is - the oysters are presented on a long plate, three on the shell and three in shot glasses - each with a gorgeous dressing. A must for the serious oyster fans.

Then I had the chicken which was served with rare scallops and a seafood bisque. Again this was a stunning main course - except the waiter told us the chickens were a month old which made me a little sad ... only a little, I'm such a carnivore I'm sure it would only be minutes after the plane crash in the Andes before I would be tucking into my fellow survivor's thigh with a half apologetic smile.

I was going to have the hot chocolate pudding for dessert but that would have taken 20 minutes and we were all over it by then so I decided on the dessert selection plate (is there a better combination of words in the English language?). What a work of art! Four tiny sweet morsels beautifully arranged on a long plate. Too good to eat! Well, not really - I managed. As my boss Bob would say - "I love food! I wouldn't eat anything else!"

So now we come to the end of the nice part of the weekend and the beginning of the bad, bad part. The part where this blog starts - the SICK part. After that beautiful weekend of warm weather, Sydney sights, great movies and fabulous food - the crowning glory is a very sick child, soon to be followed by a very sick mother, a very sick dad and a patridge in a pear tree!

I don't know about you, but I need a Bex and I good lie down!