Wednesday 29th September
Sorry I didn't get to do an entry yesterday but Nick was hogging the computer all night!!!
I've downloaded the photos from the weekend.
Here's one of the lads hanging around the BBQ. This is a very normal occurance in Oz - boys around the BBQ, girls in the kitchen!!
We went over to Brighton yesterday to pick up a mini oven that we won on Ebay. Means that we at least have something to cook in!!
Anyway we ended up at the beach. Weather wasn't brilliant, but it wasn't really cold either. Alana loved it and brought tons of shells home with her (and the car ended up covered in sand too!!).
I'm going shopping with my friend Margaret tomorrow. We both need to start looking for something to wear when we go to Oaks Day. Not sure if I need a whole outfit as I do have a couple of dresses that I could wear, if I had to, but it's always nice to buy a new dress!!!
Alana is going to see A Shark Tale with her Aunty Kim and her cousins. Kim generously offered to take her tomorrow, as they were all going. Means I get to shop without all the hassles of taking a 5 year old with me....bliss!!!
Nick has his interview tomorrow as well. I'm sure he's going to do really well, but everyone cross their fingers please!!!
Jules, I still can't do any baby shopping until I know whether you're going to have a girl or a boy....so will you hurry up and get it out....please!!!!
By the way, I bet you go into labour on Friday morning without having to be induced....good luck chook!! Just remember - say yes to the epidural as soon as you arrive at the hospital!!
Monday 27th September
So the weekend went by in a blur.
Helsy, have a great time on your honeymoon. Really wish I could have been there, but I'll catch up on all the goss when I speak to Jules soon. I'm sure it was a great day and I hope that the weather held off for you. Looking forward to photos and video footage.
Went roller skating today. I tried my rollerblades on before I went and they felt a bit tight (and I think I would have fallen flat on my face) so I used the roller skates at the venue. Alana really loves it and has now got her balance so she can go around without falling over too much!! We'll be going again soon and this time I'll take the rollerblades (everyone else is using them so I must fit in with the Jones's).
The BBQ on Saturday was okay. My brother did come over with his 2 girls, and my sister arrived with her 2 girls. Then after the footy, my sister's hubby arrived with their son, so a full house!!
Got quite emotional after talking to Helsy and then Jules on the phone. It made me realise that although we can talk anytime, there's nothing like actually being there!!!
I woke up on Sunday morning feeling pretty crappy, with a massive headache. I think that I'd dehydrated myself at the gym, as I'd done a good workout (running on the treadmill) and although I'd drunk a litre of water at the gym, I didn't drink anything during the day, and then got stuck into the champagne while watching the grand final on the TV.
Happy to report that the team I was barracking for on the day (Port Adelaide) won....so more celebrations!!!
We also went to the cinema and saw "Home on the Range", which Alana was not that interested in. She really wants to see Shark Tales, so I'll have to take her before the start of term next week.
I've also been invited to
Oaks Day with work. They invite a few of their customers and some of the staff, which means me!! Need to go and buy a hat now!!
Saturday 25th September
Time seems to pass by so quickly when you're on holiday.
Anyway we are now the proud owners of a
Food Processor/Blender/Juicer thingy!! Nick really wanted one for grating his carrots and I am now addicted to smoothies, so it's perfect for both of us. We also unboxed the coffee machine that my brother gave me. It's only a little one but does everything that we need for a real cup of coffee!!
So a couple of things have changed with regards to today's social activities. Alli now has bronchitis so she's going to be looked after by her Gran, and Rob and the girls aren't coming now as there is a chance that Caitlin has Head Lice, and I begged Rob not to bring them over if she did, as I didn't want Alana to get it (especially with the length of her hair!!). He says she's still scratching her head, even though he can't see anything, so better to be safe than sorry!!!
So it'll just be my sister and her lot. Which is fine as they make enough noise for 20 kids anyway!!! And her hubby and little boy will be over for a BBQ after the game (they're going somewhere else to watch it)
Now to Helsy:
HAPPY WEDDING DAY
I hope that your day is as perfect as you two are, and that the sun shines for you. I really wish I could have been there, but it just wasn't to be. Look forward to seeing all the photos and the video!!
Friday 24th September
So I went up town yesterday. I really wanted to make the most of being on my own, but by the time I'd got up there I'd managed to acquire this huge headache and really didn't feel like trudging round the shops....oh well.
Helsy we can go up there and have a girlie day while you're here!!
Are you all hanging out for my news??? Okay the real reason I went up town was to change my surname.
Fanfare.....so I now have the same surname as Nick & Alana - please feel free to change your address books!!!
And I am now calling myself MRS!!
And did I tell you about the job that Nick applied for with the Vic Police? Well he had an acknowledgement letter to say thanks for his application and if he was shortlisted for an interview he'd hear within 6 weeks.
But.....last night he got an email asking him to come in for an interview next Thursday......hurrah...yippee!!!
It's Grand Final Day tomorrow (for the AFL Footy) so my Brother Rob and his 2 girls and my sister and her 3 feral kids are coming over to watch the footy and have a BBQ. We're also looking after my Brother Terry's daughter, Alli, as they're actually going to the game, so it's going to be a full house. It was my sister's 40th yesterday so we don't really need an excuse to drink at all, we have lots of things to celebrate!!!
Friday 22nd September
Not feeling too great at the moment. Trying to ignore the cold that's trying to raise it's ugly head, but I keep pushing it to the back of my mind and hopefully it'll just go away!!
I had a couple of hours shopping today. Nick kindly looked after Alana so I could wander round the shops....well actually I ran from shop to shop as I had quite a big list and I had to get back in time to take Alana to the movies.
We went and saw Garfield. It was quite a cute movie and Alana enjoyed it as well.
I'm going up to town tomorrow. Once again Nick is going to look after Alana so I get to cruise all the shops on my own....look out credit card!!
Weather has changed again. It was supposed to be sunny today, but it's been overcast all day and it's going to be showery tomorrow......but that's Melbourne for you!
Thursday 21st September
Firstly I have to clarify a couple of things.
Yesterday when I said that I cleaned the house, it wasn't just me, Nick was there too doing his share.
Also, we hadn't planned to go away for the holidays, and I had absolutely no thought of doing so either.
And also when I said that I'd thought that I might be able to have a relaxing break it was before I actually wrote down everything that we wanted to do over the holidays. The list was quite long and I realised that we wern't going to get alot of time to just sit around the house and relax!! That's why I said "like that's going to happen".
So today I got to sit in the sun and relax!! Nick did all the ironing so that I got some time in the sun.
Here's my favourite spot at the moment.
Alana was happily playing in the sandpit while I was sunning myself.
We were going to go to the beach tomorrow, but there's going to be a cool change in the afternoon with thunderstorms and rain, so we've decided to go to the cinema and see Garfield instead.
I got my results back for my Open University....I failed, which I am not too bothered about as I didn't submit all of the assignment. I can re-sit it if I want, but to be honest I'm not sure if I can be bothered. I've got until next May to decide anyway, so if I get some spare time I may do some revision and try and get to grips with it all again.
I do have some other news but I'm going to keep you all in suspense until Thursday or Friday!!
Monday 20th September
And I thought I was going to be able to put my feet up and enjoy the holidays....like that's going to happen!!!
Saturday was down the gym at 8.00am. Then ended up cleaning the house.
Yesterday we were up early so that we could get to the Royal Melbourne Show before the crowds. Think that the crowds had the same idea as us....we ended up sitting in a huge line of traffic, so we ditched the car and jumped on a tram!! Then the queue was about a kilometre long to get into the showgrounds. We finally left the place at about 5.30pm and decided to walk back to the car as Nick and I didn't think that it was too far away. Strange how the mind plays silly tricks on us. We eventually made it back to the car, tired, with sore feet, a whingy kid, lots of showbags and the need for a big glass of JD & Coke!!! Never again I say.....every year I seem to say this!!
Here's a photo of Alana and her cousin with their tattoos!! Now Alana has one just like her Mummy!
We also had a portrait done of Alana as well. The artist did an okay job, although she does look older in the picture that what she actually is.
Have had the gas man out today to look at the oven. As we feared, it's going to cost us more to get it fixed than it's worth so we're going to look for one of those little mini ovens to tide us over until we decide about the kitchen and what we want.
What a day it was today. Actually got to put my shorts on and sit in the sun reading my book. And it's going to stay that way for the next couple of days as well. Here's to the start of my tan!!
Took Alana to the Doctor today....a much better doctor I might add. He had a good look in her ears and they are both very infected, which is probably why she ignores us half the time!! So she now has something for the bronchitis and something for the ears. He reckons that this will definitely clear it all up!! We shall see!!
Photos
Here are the photos that I took of Alana this morning.
Friday 17th September
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME
Well it's been a year today that me and Alana got on that plane at Gatwick Airport. Hope the next year doesn't go so quickly!!
We still haven't got in touch with anyone to look at our oven so everything is being cooked in either the microwave or on the stove (lots of different ways to cook Chicken Breasts on the stove!!). I'm trying to get the name of the bloke who came and looked at the heaters when we were living in the rental in Kilsyth. Will keep you updated!!
Alana is feeling much better today. My sister lent us this nibulator (sp?) thing. It's like an oxygen mask and she inhales some liquid stuff that makes steam when the machine is turned on. At first Alana wasn't very keen as the little machine is a bit noisy, and also there's all this steam coming out of the mask, but once she saw me put it on my face (always the guinea pig me!!) then she was okay with it. It seems to be making a difference, but she still has a very blocked up nose, but the cough is much better than it was.
It's the last day of school today, so all the kids were allowed to dress casually. I had to put Alana's hair up in plaits...but not just two...no, no, Alana wanted five plaits - well it is her favourite number, so I spent time this morning putting plaits in her hair. I've taken a photo but I haven't had time to upload it yet, so I'll do it tonight.
Today is my last day at work for 2 weeks, and I'm so looking forward to having a break. I'm going to try and get to the gym everyday, but at least I won't have to get up at 5.45am to go. Looking forward to that lay in!!!
It's always the way with work isn't it. I've sat here for the last 2 or 3 months with hardly anything to do, and then in the last 2 weeks, I've been asked to do some Visio stuff, which I've really enjoyed, and they need more done over the next week as well. Me being me, I've said that I'm happy to do it if they need it done, so I've now installed Visio on the computer at home, I've been given a fax machine so that they can fax the changes to me, and I can then email them the finished document. At least I get paid if I do the work, and it's not as if we're going away or anything.
What a great employee I am!!
We're off to the show on Sunday, Alana has a doctor's appointment on Monday, we all want to go and see Garfield, A Sharks Tale, Thunderbirds and Home on the Range at the movies, I'd like to take Alana rollerskating, bowling and I want to go up to town shopping one day as well, so that should keep us occupied for some of the holidays. I'm probably going to need a proper holiday when I come back to work!!
Thursday 16th September
I've just realised that a year ago tomorrow I left the UK to fly to Oz.
Can you believe how quickly the time has gone!!!
Thought I might list some of the events over the last year as it seems like I haven't really done that much over the year, but thinking about it, maybe I have!!
Survived plane journey to Oz
Moved in with parents
Alana started Kindegarten
House Sat for ex's parents
Xmas in Oz
House sat for Brother in Sydney
New Years Eve (alone!!)
Bought a car
Alana's 5th birthday
Alana started school
Moved into rental house
My Birthday
Nick arrived
Got a job
Julia & Pete came to stay
Furniture from UK arrived
Bought a house
Nick's Birthday
Bought another car
Nope, writing it all down, there's not that much to show for my year in Oz. Suppose there's lots of little things that have happened as well that don't really merit a mention.
Oh well, roll on the next year!!
Joined a gym
Wednesday 15th September
Forgot to post yesterday. Not sure how that happened, but when I got home last night I realised that I hadn't made a post, and as Nick was using the computer, didn't actually get a chance to add one....sorry to anyone who was hanging out to read it.
Anyway we've had a bit of a catastrophe in the kitchen. The oven has decided that it doesn't want to work any more. It's a gas oven. The spark still works when it's turned on, but there's no gas getting through.
I was happily cooking some roasted vegies, added some more, left them for about an hour (pumpkin takes that long to roast!!) and when I opened up the oven door.....nothing. It was cooling down rapidly. Nick did take a look, but just can't seem to see what the problem is.
We now have to call out a plumber. I may even get a new oven out of it yet!! This then means that we have to look at putting in a new kitchen, 'cos the new oven I want isn't going to fit into the space that the old oven is in and we will have to pull some of the bottom cupboards out to fit it, and we will then have to take out the old hotplates and put in a new piece of kitchen bench, so it'll be much easier just to put a new kitchen in and be done with it!!! Just have to figure out where we're going to get the $10,000 to do it!!
Alana is unwell again. She has a cold again and the cough is back again!! I'm going to get an appointment with another doctor that has been recommended to me. She went and saw this doctor originally to get her booster MMR shot done, and he was just wonderful with her. My sister really rates him, so it looks like another trip to the doctor for her!!
I've also got a bit of a sore throat, but hopefully it'll go away soon, as I'm looking after myself, eating well and exercising regularly.
We're going to the Royal Melbourne Show on Sunday, all being well with Alana, and we've invited one of her cousins to come along with us as well to keep her company. I love the show as they have some fantastic rides, great food, and
SHOWBAGS !!!
Monday 13th September
So that was a pretty boring weekend.? Weather was very cold and wet all day Saturday.? Yesterday was a bit better in the afternoon and we did manage to get out and go for a walk around Lilydale Lake.? Alana took her bike so she burnt a bit of energy off as well.
Here's a piccie of Nick & Alana doing her reading.? She brings a book home every night from school and has to read it that night (or sometimes at the breakfast table the following morning!!).? We have a book that we write in with a little area for comments too!!
We....well when I say we I really mean Nick....has now tidied up Alana's room and her new shelving unit is in there so she can now put all her toys, books, and furry animals on it.? Unfortunately she hasn't learnt yet that if you take something off the shelf to play with it, you have to put it back again when you've finished with it!!!? She'll learn!
I did manage to go to the gym on Saturday and Sunday, so that's something I suppose.
Thank god for the internet!? It was Nick's parents 40th Wedding Anniversary yesterday, which I wasn't aware of until Nick's brother rang him on Saturday to let him know.? So there was this mad panic to get some flowers organised and sent in time.? We were lucky that a local florist had time to do them and deliver them on Saturday....phew - that was close!!
Friday 10th September
Been really busy at work today so it's going to be a short and sweet entry.
Decided not to do the spinning class last night...phew!! My calves were just too sore. I heard them sighing with relief!!
Weekend is upon us again. Lots to do, places to go, people to see....all of that!!
Weather has turned crap again. There's supposed to be snow on the hills tomorrow, that's within a 10 minute drive of where we live!! It's only going up to 12 degrees at the bottom of the mountain, so it's going to be much colder at the top. We might go for a drive to see if there is any snow as Alana is really hanging out to see it.
Speaking of Alana, she's decided that she is now a princess and wears her tiara everywhere. She even managed to take it to school today, so I'm not sure what the teacher's are going to think of that!! Even had it on in the bath last night!! You gotta love her though!
Have a lovely weekend everyone!
Thursday 9th September
So the seats at the spinning class haven't got any better since the last time I did it. My calves are also killing me. They were already sore from my doing some skipping, but I've now added to that by spinning too!!! I got up this morning and almost fell on my face as I couldn't put my feet down properly. The pain, oh the pain!!
And to top it all off, I'm thinking of doing another class tonight!!!!
I've been busy at work today. I'm now unofficially the Quality Manager - gone up in the world me!!! Glaxo are in doing an audit of our Quality System, and as I've been updating their documents, I can now be called a Quality Manager!! Don't think there was anyone else around who could do the job at the time, so it was me or nobody!!
Helsy, I so wish I was coming to Barcelona with you all. You must make sure that you get lots of photos and I want the real lowdown on the weekend. Hope the weather's great for you and you have a fantastic time.
Wednesday 8th September
Not much happening at the moment so this'll be short and sweet.
Somehow or another I've been conned into doing a spinning class tonight (thanks Honey...luv ya!!). I know that deep down I do want to go, but I have memories of doing spinning in the UK and feeling like someone had beaten my bum black and blue once I'd gotten off that bike. Maybe they've now invented new seats that are nice and comfy???
Think I need to go shopping and buy some new gym gear. As I'm going most days now, I'm using it all very regularly and it needs washing constantly. Maybe there are some sales on at the moment.....Don't think I've got anything on Saturday afternoon so may wander over to
Chadstone . Great shopping centre with over 400 shops.....what more could a woman want!!
Tuesday 7th September
Got my hair highlighted and cut last night. I'm getting used to the sort of fringe thing now, but it takes more effort to keep it styled as I have to straighten it or else it just goes all wispy and wavy.....not a good look!!!
I'm just starting to get into
Australian Idol over here....same as Pop Idol in UK. This is their second series so everyone is very familiar with it all now. They're down to the last 10 or 11 people and they're all living in a house together.
I haven't been interested until now, but might have to make it a regular watch on TV.
There's a
federal election been announced for October 9th!! I don't think that I have to vote as I'm not on the electoral role, but it is compulsary to vote if you are, otherwise you get fined!! Both of the candidates are idiots in my opinion and I wouldn't have voted for either of them!!
I've got plenty of work on today (well I've done it all now!) so time is flying by quite quickly...thank god!! I'm really looking forward to having the two weeks off over the school holidays. Just need to organise some entertaining stuff for me and Alana to do (and Nick if he's not working).
Monday 6th September
It was Father's Day here in Australia yesterday. It's not at the same time as the UK, so I have to remember to buy an extra card for Nick's Dad for when the UK Father's Day comes around (oops, will have to go and see if they've got any left in the shops!!)
So we went for a lovely drive up the mountain and went to a pub which we'd been to before and had really enjoyed the food. Yesterday was not so good. Food was very average and we won't be going there again. Saying that it was a lovely day and we sat ouside in the sun.
Saturday we went to the Expats Meet Up. It was a really nice afternoon and met some really nice people too. And get this......I didn't have one drink of alcohol!!! Yep, you heard right - drank water all afternoon. Thought I'd save my bottle of champers for the evening instead!! Found another really nice one. It's made by Seppelt and it's called
Fleur de Lys and it's very tasty if I do say so myself!!
When we got back from the Expats Meet Up, we watched my favourite footy team Essendon beat Melbourne to go through to the next round of the final series.....yaayyy. I never get emotional about any type of sport apart from football. Nick can vouch for this, but I was screaming at the TV while I was watching. Can't say what happens but something just changes in me - don't think you'd believe it if you didn't see for yourself!!!
Oh Helsy, Nick picked up a brochure with all the walking tracks in the local area. Not sure if he thought you may be interested when you come over....Yeah right!!
Friday 3rd September
It's Friday....hurrah!!!
Off to the Expats Meetup tomorrow for lunch....it'll be nice to catch up with some of the people I've met before. And the food there is lovely - but have to watch what I'm eating now.....lots of meat and veg for me!!
We may also head over to
St Kilda on Sunday for a lovely day out. It's right next to the beach and there are tons of cafe's and restaurants to hang out in, just to watch people going by....and it's supposed to be a nice day too!!
Enjoy your weekend everyone.
Thursday 2nd September
So I went to see the movie Suddenly 30 last night with my sister. The movie was OK - but I'm glad I didn't have to pay to see it.
BUT - there was this woman sitting in the not next to but one seat. She had taken her shoes off and they absolutely reeked - I kid you not. Me and my sister had to sit through this whole movie with the stench of rotting feet filtering up our noses. It was totally disgusting. Now tell me, have you ever taken your shoes off and NOT realised that your feet stink??? I think not. Anyway she quite happily sat through the whole movie with the shoes off and her feet in full view. Can't believe how inconsiderate some people are!!!
I've now booked the tickets for Faithless. We couldn't decide whether to get tickets for the floor area, where you just dance the whole night, or whether to book some seats on the side of the arena - so we went for the seats - you gotta remember how old we both are and that we haven't been to any clubs for ages, so might not have the stamina to stay standing for the whole night!!! Now the big decision is whether to get a hotel room in town that night, or just jump on the train and come home? Decisions, Decisions!!
Wednesday 1st September
I've finally caught up with a really old friend of mine who I went to school with. I last saw her when I was living in Qld (around 1991).
Anyway, I finally tracked down her parents and they gave me her number. It was lovely talking to her as we were really good friends at school.
She lives in Qld now but is coming down to Melbourne in December so we're going to catch up then.
I'm off to see Suddenly 30 tonight with my Sister. It's a preview showing and it doesn't actually get released until tomorrow. Not sure how I'm going to cope without my bag of lollies to munch on though. Not sure that my Halumi wrapped in bacon will suffice (and it'll probably smell the whole place out too!!).
Thanks girls for your emails. Great to hear from you all. Lisa, have a great time in China.
I've actually got some work to do at the moment and the time seems to be flying past today. Had to sneak this post inbetween my work.
Better get back to it.
