Monday, January 31, 2005

Monday 31st January

Can you believe that there's only 2 days till Helsy & Steve arrive. I'm getting that Christmassy feeling when it's almost too exciting to sleep....not that I have any trouble sleeping!

I've now got everything organised....just. Had a big spring clean of the guest bedroom, washed all the sheets, we got rid of all the stuff that we've just chucked in the room because we had nowhere else to put it, or we were too lazy to put it out in the garage!! Nick has now put up the new light fittings that we'd bought for Alana's room, the guest bedroom and the hallway, so we've been quite productive this weekend!!

Just need to fill the fridge with food and booze now!

My older brother Rob and his two girls came over on Saturday and stayed the night. Now I love my brother but sometimes he's more dippy than me!! He forgot to bring the girls PJ's and toothbrushes. I gave them a couple of my XL t-shirts to sleep in but we didn't have any spare toothbrushes, so they went home with very dirty teeth!!

We went for lunch at a lovely pub called the Coach & Horses. Luckily the childrens play area is soudproofed, otherwise I think some of the other diners might have complained about the noise. Robs girls are a bit excessive with their noise sometimes, which is a shame as they are quite nice girls. I'm a bit concerned about their weight though. They are very overweight. I couldn't really say anything to Rob, as it's not my place, but I have to wonder what they are being fed to be that overweight.

Weather has been a bit up and down, but still warm. Yesterday was a lovely day, as is today and tomorrow. Click on the weather link on the right and see what the weather is for Wednesday (when Helsy & Steve arrive). They're bringing the english weather with them....can you believe it!! Poor Helsy, I know she was hoping to top up her tan a bit. But that's Melbourne for you!

Thursday, January 27, 2005

Thursday 27th January

Happy belated Australia Day to everyone. We did nothing at all yesterday. I went for a run in the morning, did a bit of ironing in the afternoon, then had a BBQ in the evening.

It was too hot to do much (35 degrees). Just sat outside on the decking with a good book, a big bottle of water and the occasional icy pole.

Have you all been watching the tennis? We've got sport on just about every channel at the moment. If it's not tennis, then it's cricket. Pretty boring if you ask me. Means that I don't just sit in front of the box in the evenings. I get to sit in front of the computer instead! (don't know which one's worse!).

Alana started her first day of school today. She was really excited too (which was a relief). She couldn't wait to get into the class and see all of her friends from last year. She's already made herself known to the teacher as her name was spelt wrong, which she promptly told her teacher about!!

Nick's also enjoying his job. They're holding an auction today of some of the confiscated stuff that can be sold off. The public can go and bid for it, so that'll be an eye opener for him.

We've got my older brother and his two girls coming over on Saturday. It's his birthday today "Happy Birthday Rob" and it's mine on Tuesday so he suggested meeting up for lunch somewhere local. BUT he doesn't want to invite the rest of the family. I think the shit's going to hit the fan when my sister and my mother find out. I'm saying nothing!!

Alana's quote of the day: "Yeah, yeah, whatever!"

Monday, January 24, 2005

Monday 24th January

It's going to be HOT tomorrow and Wednesday.

As Wednesday is a holiday (Australia Day) the local pool is beckoning. Will just need to find a bit of shade quite close to the pool to lay the towel out so I can just hop in and out when I get a bit warm!

Went to a Brit Expats meetup on Saturday at St Kilda. Was lovely to hear a load of pommies and scots voices. Felt like I was back in the UK (apart from the fact that it was sunny and warm in St Kilda).

Can you believe that I'm going to be 42 (shhh) next week! I still feel like I'm 21, but with a few more aches and pains in the old bod! Looks like the liver is going to be in for a beating next week. Out on Monday night with Margaret to celebrate my birthday. Out on Tuesday night with Nick to celebrate my birthday, out on Wednesday night to celebrate my birthday with Helsy and Steve as they will have arrived that day. Then I'm off work for the next 4 days, which includes the cruise up the Yarra on Saturday night.....more alcohol!

Have booked a hotel for the night so that we can all have a few bevvies and not have to worry about driving home. Staying here. And of course I'll have to show Helsy & Steve the Casino while we're up there.

I'm such a good hostess!!

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Thursday 20th January

Haven't really done much this week, so haven't bothered posting anything.

Alana starts back at school next Thursday (thank goodness). At least we'll get back to a normal routine.
She's really enjoyed going to Vacation Care, although there were a couple of days where she got a bit 'clingy' and she wouldn't let go of my leg (not a very good look!!).

Weather's been a bit up and down this week. There was lots of thunder as I was coming back from the gym at 7.00 this morning and it looked like rain, but being Melbourne, it all blew over and it's now blue sky and sunshine!

Did some major clothes shopping yesterday. Alot of the shops are still reducing clothes and there are some real bargains to be had. Don't want to look at how much the credit card is going to be this month!!

It's countdown to Helsy getting here now. 13 days to go...yippee!! Do I sound excited? Well I am! Can't wait to see a familiar face. Someone to go shopping with me, drink alcohol with me, laugh at stupid things with me, have girlie chat with me....yep, definitely looking forward to it. Not looking forward to getting up at stupid o'clock to pick her up from the airport though. But what are friends for if not to get out of bed at 5.30 in the morning!

I'm now totally addicted to "Outback Jack. There's only one more show left and he picks the girlie he wants to keep. Love it!

Monday, January 17, 2005

Monday 17th January

I have 4 GMail invites to give away. Does anybody want one?

Nick got up on the roof yesterday afternoon and pushed some of the tiles up so that the possum could get out (that's if it was still alive!!). Haven't heard a peep from it since then....so the likely conclusion is that it's gone, but we could be faced with the prospect of a rotting animal in the loft! Nick has put all the tiles back in place, so it had the chance...hope it took it!

Alana now has a new friend. A kitten . She bought it with her birthday money. We originally went to KMart to buy Connect 4. It's Nick's favourite game and he thought it might be good to have in the house so that we have some games if other kids come around. While I was in KMart I also managed to pick up Alana's winter wardrobe of pants for under $40. Yep, 5 pairs of pants (trousers to UK people) for under $40. Couldn't believe my luck!!

I also managed to find a game that I wanted too. It's called Triominoes . So when we got back from Shopping, we all spent the late afternoon on the back decking, playing Connect 4 and Triominoes. Quality family time....aaahhh!

My all time favourite game is Scattegories . Unfortunately I think Alana is a little bit young to play and we haven't had enough adults over, so I probably won't buy it just yet!

Nick started his first day at work today. I think he was a little nervous, but also excited by it all. Had a phone call at lunch time to say that everything was going well, which is a good sign.
Sounds like it's a very laid back workplace, maybe a little dated too, but I'm sure it won't take Nick long to get it all in order!!

Sunday, January 16, 2005

Sunday 16th January

Oh my aching head.....I hang my head in shame - my willpower just wasn't up to it. I gave in to the champagne!!

Kids have now made the house a complete mess. There are chips, and bits of cake all through the house. Luckily we kept them out of the front part and made them stay in the back half, and it's mostly vinyl so fairly easy to clean.

Won't bother you with all the scores from the bowling (okay, I lost!!), but here's some of the photos. The kids all had a great time!











And here's all the cousins back at our place. They're all growing up so quickly!



It rained for most of the day, but stopped when we got to the bowling alley, and it cleared up once we got back to our place.

Looking forward to a very relaxing day today. Don't want to do anything, but have to go and clean up the kitchen as it looks like a bomb's hit it!! I may venture out later for a walk, but only if the weather stays clear.

Ta ra for now!


Friday, January 14, 2005

Friday 14th January

Well it's nearly the weekend (1 hour to go!) and I've still got a ton of things to do after work. Got to go and pick up this plasma ball for Alana's birthday, then go and pick her up, then take her to the shopping centre to get her new school shoes, and then go and do some food shopping for her party tomorrow! Phew!

Not really sure what to do for the food though. Probably just buy crap, which I'm sure all the kids will eat!! My biggest problem is that I don't have an oven at the moment (apart from my little weeny one) so hot food is out of the question. I suppose chips, cakes, biscuits, sandwiches will have to do!

Our resident possum has returned, either that or he never left the house at all!! We can still hear it shuffling around in the loft, and of course it can't get out now as Nick has filled up the holes! What to do?

Nothing much to say today, so have a good weekend everyone!

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Wednesday 12th January

Well it was a bit warm yesterday.....37 degrees warm!! Still 37 degrees at 7pm! And there was a really strong wind as well....it was a hot wind - can you imagine it??

Much cooler today - only 27 degrees, but back up to 35 tomorrow. Summer has arrived! Hope it stays for at least another month so that Helsy & Steve can enjoy it too (maybe not 37 degrees though!).

We think our resident possum has now been evicted permanently (pat on back to Nick). We did however have an uninvited guest in our bed last night. A power cut at 4.20am gave Alana the chance to see how loud she could scream! No further sleep followed! Nick and I, as you might gather, are both very tired today!

We went shopping (again) today. Have now made the decision on which lounge suite we want, so we went and ordered it. Sorry Helsy, but you won't actually get to sit on it as it's going to take between 12-14 weeks for it to be delivered (think it's being made in Italy!!).

So our next task is to decide what colour flooring we want - we're going to put laminate down - and then Nick's going to design the new kitchen. We've already picked out the colours for the bench tops and the doors, so it's just a matter of deciding where we want everything.

Alana has her mind set on getting a Plasma Ball for her birthday. It's one of those balls where you put your hand on it and there are lots of little laser lights inside and they respond to heat (did I explain that okay?).
We've already bought her a portable CD Player/radio/cassette, but Nick's going to try and get her one tomorrow....spoilt or what?

Can't believe that she's going to be 6 years old on Saturday!!

Alana's quote of the day " It tastes excusting" (meaning disgusting!)



Monday, January 10, 2005

Monday 10th January

I'm hot, I'm tired and I need another holiday already!!

Weekend was quite productive. We have now decided on the lounge suite that we want. Just need to haggle with the nice salespeople to get the price we want!
Also went out and spent over $800 (gulp) on lighting!! I got my dining room light too!! Had to choose this one though (which I'm just as happy with) as the other one I liked was too expensive and also hung down too low to the table. Helsy you'll be happy to know that we have also splashed out and bought a shade for the guest room. Didn't think that you'd look your best in the harsh glare of the light globe!!

Have come home from work this evening and we now have 32 holes in the ceiling!! Nick has drilled them all out so that he can put the downlights in. He had even cleaned up all the mess by the time that I got home (bless him!!).

He has been very brave - he ventured into the loft to cut out the insulation for the holes. I was sure he'd meet up with the noisy possum, but it didn't seem to be around (luckily). Lots of poo pellets though - apparently (yuck!)

Alana started her Vacation Care today. I arrived to pick her up and all the kids were having water fights!! They all had those spray bottles. One of the little shits even had the cheek to spray me!! Luckily it was 30 degrees today so it didn't take long for her (or me) to dry off!! We went to see Spongebob after that as Nick was still busy doing his cutting out, and we didn't want to get in the way so we didn't get home till about 7.30pm.

Lovely day yesterday. I did all my ironing on the decking in my bathers (can you picture that!!). Kills two birds with one stone. Just had to be a bit careful that I didn't burn my stomach with the iron!!

Alana's quote of the day: "Hey Guys" (calling out to me and Nick!)

Thursday, January 06, 2005

Thursday 6th January

Quite a bit of rain this week, in fact there's been torrential rain, and it always seems to happen when I'm about to get into my car!! I drove home in it yesterday, and it was really scary. Had the wipers on full pelt and I could still hardly see in front of me!

But we're heading for a nice weekend at least. Haven't really got much planned either. I'll probably go to the gym early on Saturday, then I've got an appointment to get my bits waxed!! We'll probably take Alana to see Spongebob at the movies, then maybe go to Lilydale Lake for a wander. I'd love to play Squash with Nick on Sunday if we get the time. I've really got hooked on it again.....note to self: remember to stretch before playing!!

You'll be happy to know that I can now walk normally again!! My calves are not sore any more, even after doing a Combo class yesterday morning, and running this morning!! Hooray!!

Alana wants to go ten pin bowling for her birthday, so we've invited all the cousins. Should be fun as we've also booked for the adults to have a game too (I love bowling!!). Camera will be there, so I'll try and take lots of photos!

Nick's off today to buy the downlights for the house. We've also seen a great light to put over the dining table...just noticed the price (gulp), but it looks fantastic doesn't it! Also found a link to one of the lounge suites that we liked. What do you think? Not in white of course!!

I've done alot of cooking over the last few days. You know sometimes when you just get the urge to do something - well that was how it was with the cooking. I now have nearly 2 weeks worth of meals in the freezer, for when I get lazy and can't be bothered cooking!!

I've found the dishwasher that I want to put in the kitchen. How cool is it? Two drawers!!

Nick and I have got hooked on a TV program called Outback Jack ......yep, more reality TV, but it's a real laugh!!
They haven't shown any of the "Get Me Out Of Here" series over here. I read that they've just finished taping the 6th one!! I bet all the celebrities are clammering to get on the show to increase their popularity and probably to revive flagging careers!! (look what it did for Jordan and Peter Andre!!).


Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Tuesday 4th January

So my first day back at work. It was busy enough for me not to be bored out of my brain!! There was post to sort and all the Christmas decorations to take down and put away. There were also invoices to enter onto Quickbooks, so I was kept busy for half the day anyway!

So is everyone else back at work too?

Helsy I can't believe you're going to be here in 4 weeks. God I'd better do something about this weight. Can't have you see me looking this out of shape!! I've made a pact with myself that I'm going to keep off the alcohol and crap food until my birthday, and then you're here so that's a good excuse to pig out and drink lots too!!

Alana's quote for the day

"Daddy, why do you like Prawns so much?"


Monday, January 03, 2005

Monday 3rd January

Hi everyone. Hope you all had a great New Years Eve. We did as I said we would. Sat at home and watched the TV. Can't even remember what was on now. Oh yeah, Robbie Williams Live at Knebworth, Moulin Rouge and something else.

The fireworks in Melbourne and Sydney looked absolutely amazing and I would have loved to have been there, but we had to think of Alana as she really doesn't like the noise.

We've been out looking at lounge suites for the back room. We're also off out today to look at Kitchens.

Here's a piccy of the renovations so far. You'll have to excuse all the crap on the table, and Alana was playing house with the two couches at the end of the room, so it's all a bit of a mess!!



We are going to put downlights in this whole area, so Nick will put them in the ceiling and then we'll get the Electrician to come and wire them up and also fix all the wiring for the light switches that were already there at the same time. Saves us a bit of dosh!! The Electrician is the guy who came and installed our Cable Internet. Seems he's a lovely Scottish guy who's been living here for 15 years or so!!

Forgot to add a photo of the bed......



The Doona cover is so lovely. It came as part of the package. Wish they had one in a King Size as I would have bought one to put on our bed too!!

I'm back at work tomorrow. Time has flown by since the 23rd (last day at work). At least it'll be quiet and there won't be too much work to do.

Well I'd better go and get ready to shop for kitchens!!

Oh, thought I'd let you know that I'm now no longer walking like an 80 year old, now walking like a 60 year old!!