Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

That's one of my favourite sayings at the minute. For Pauls birthday I bought him a Wii (the girls persuaded me he really wanted one!). He never used it and, in fact, it was in the box for weeks before they bullied him into setting it up for them. After that it had the odd bit of use but that was it....until now !!!!

Wii fit is the funniest thing I have ever seen. I have been in hysterics at Pauls attempt to hula hoop, Tallulah's fitness age and Nakita pretending to be a penguin capturing fish. Every school day Nakita gets up with Paul at 6am. She's always dressed, ready to go and watching telly when I get up which I have never liked. However now I never know what she is going to be doing ..... jogging, step aerobics, yoga, heading a football, skiing ........ it's incredible. After I've got them off to school it's my turn and I've seen my Wii fit age reduce from 57 (Paul told everyone he met about this hysterical fact) to 31 (I have the best one in the family) and even had to change into a sports bra for the jogging which left me pretty breathless. I love it !! If you are undecided  - get one, you won't regret it !!

One thing I have always done since we arrived in Oz is read The Sun online. To begin with it was so that I knew what my dad was on about when he rang but now I just like reading it to reinforce that we have done the right thing and keep the rose tinted specs off ! Well, yesterday I was reading it and came across an article on dyslexia and that a celeb guy promoting a form of treatment was actually on the board and paid to say the treatment was good. Anyway, I thought I'd check it out and stumbled upon the little known fact that the Dore centres have gone into receivership !! Nakita was due to be tested next week which is the first I'd have known when the centre was closed !! This has now thrown everything up in the air. We paid up front and are unable to claim any money back and Nakita can't be tested for improvement or given the next set of exercises. Paul and I had a big discussion about this last night. It's not as simple as 'oh well, nothing we can do, get over it' Nakita has never got a merit certificate or any other kind of recognition in school and really feels this. Dore was her opportunity to work towards, finish and truly achieve something that Tallulah couldn't. She would have got an award and a certficate which would have raised her self esteem incredibly from the very low level it's currently at.  So we have decided to act as if it hasn't happened. She is continuing her exercises and I will take her to the centre next week as she is expecting this...at that point I will just tell her it's nothing to worry about and I will ring and sort it out. We have enough exercise to last until the end of June, so another month. If nothing changes in that time then we will decide whether to restart the month or end it there and sort out a trophy for her and put a certificate in the post. It certainly won't be the same nor will she have the euphoric feeling she would have got but at least she won't be crushed.

Roll on the next challenge....I am ready for it !!

03:49 - Sun 1 June 2008 - comments {0}

Nice neighbours..

... or not. Our fabulous next door neighbours (those of plant cutting, trespassing, grass killing fame) stepped up the action against us last week by complaining to the council about us. Apparently rainwater came from our property onto theirs !!

Now, bare in mind we live on a steep hill with him below us and when he built the property he didn't put in retaining walls and the day he complained about it was when we received the whole monthly rainfall in a couple of hours and Paul was out there all day pumping out the garage and stopping everything flooding. Petty is a word that springs to mind.

Anyway, all turned out good. Paul used to play football with said council guy who was a pom so they stood outside, close, to the neighbours open window and chatted about everything and anything except rainwater, had a good laugh and council man drove off just saying "put some pipes in when you can"

Don't you just love it when melicious acts backfire Unfortunately they obviously weren't happy as the next day my bourgainvillea was completely hacked back again (I think it's only managed two flowers all year !) and now they spend their time hanging over our fence checking what Paul is doing and reversing up the road as they come out of their drive for a better look !! It's a shame really that on putting the pipes in Paul has to raise the level of the ground to half way up the fence !! Why did we have to get them as neighbours !!!

Saturday we all travelled up north to Joondalup (about an hour and a half away) for the girls' birthday treat (I know, a bit late !) They had managed to save most of their birthday money so went on a bit of a spending spree. It was great spending the day as a family and we hit every shop, I think. We even managed to bump into someone we'd met from Yatton when we were in the UK !! Getting the train there and back was a doddle and took all the stress out of the day. I now need to set a date for my birthday treat (Paul had his on the day - suprise !)

Talking of dates - we've booked our tests for citizenship - 4th August. I can't believe we've been here nearly two years already. Paul and I have to sit a 45min multiple question test on history, values etc. It's not easy, there is quite a thick book we have to read and digest, but luckily the pass mark is 60% so fingers crossed ! If we pass we can apply for our citizenship and then, finally, will belong somewhere. It's funny really but it's not nice not having a voice. We can't vote in either the UK or Oz until we get citizenship.

07:22 - Tue 27 May 2008 - comments {0}

Cats

The hunt for a new cat began on Monday. Robyn and I went up to only sole cat sanctuary in WA. We looked at the 'hold' where new cats were put, the section where cats were up for rehoming and also the kitten section. We were then shown the sick bay and a lovely persian called Benny. It was then explained to us that Benny would be put down as he was sick (cat flu) and they didn't have room for all the cats as so many new ones were coming in every day. To say Rob and I were sick to our stomachs was an understatement. I cannot abide animals being put down unless it's absolutely necessary. One cat, Ullrick, caught my eye and we vowed to come back.

On Thursday we went back, this time with Talluah in tow and did the same tour as before. Loads of cats that we had seen on Monday were missing (turns out 27 had been put to sleep) including Ullrick so I plucked up the courage to ask about him. Apparently he had sneezed so he had been carted off to death row and was due to be killed that afternoon. Upset doesn't begin to describe how I felt. Tallulah immediately jumped in and said we'd have him (without even seeing him) and we were then taken to death row to see the others. There were 8 in total and we ended up with two - Ullrick is now renamed Jaffa and Nina. Both are less than a year old and absolutely stunning. Robyn worked on her family (they never intended to get a cat) and she went back yesterday and saved Spike from death row (if only it wasjust a row and not a room).

Each time we've been there people keep coming in and dropping off their cats as they don't want them anymore........all this because the pet shops sell these cute bundles of fur that people impulse buy and then regret. The same happens with dogs. So now I am going to do my best to add my voice to campaign to stop pet shops being allowed to do this.

If you want to join me the website is :http://www.saynotoanimalsinpetshops.com/index.html

05:39 - Sun 11 May 2008 - comments {1}

Casper found

Unfortunately it wasn't good news. Casper was found dead Thursday night. He'd been missing nearly a week and, despite many posters and phone calls being made there was no sign. On Sunday Paul had searched the attic but he wasn't there, on Thursday he looked again and he was there and dead. We have no idea what happened but suspect he was bitten by something. It was horrible. Tallulah ran around screaming and crying and Nakita just kept talking about him and crying. Paul (bless him, he hates dead animals more than live ones !) buried him and on Friday the girls and I went to the garden centre and bought an hibiscus to plant on the top. It's not really the right position for it, but, fingers crossed, it will survive. I did prime Paul that I would be wanting another cat, it's the only way I can deal with the death of a cat, so today we went to the Animal Protection Society fete and looked at all their cats in the shelter.

I am completely shocked at the attitude most people have towards cats here. In the whole of WA there are only 2 shelters that take in cats and a few other foster carers - so many healthy cats must be put to sleep here it's heart breaking. Tomorrow I am off to the other cat shelter and will contact some carers. Whilst it's not always easy to introduce a new cat to an existing one, we have the added disadvantage of having to introduce it to a beagle who thinks it is a cat (allbeit a large, heavy one !!) and tries to jump out on them to play ! Tallulah saw a cat today that she liked, but which wasn't suitable, and got quite upset when I said no so I think I'll do this search on my own.

Whilst I was still looking for Casper, Mutley kept going to a palm tree out the back and staring up at the top. I couldn't work out what was going on so got a step ladder to look. I hadn't even made it to the top when two birds flew out and one flew straight, smack, into the glass pool fence. It was then a race as to who would get to it first - Mutley or me - I won !!!! I picked the tiny silvereye up, it was breathing heavily, eyes closed and feathers everywhere so I just held it in my cupped hands and gradually it opened its eyes and sorted its feathers out so I put on the wall and Nakita took care of it (whilst being bitten to death by the mossies) until it managed to fly away. The same thing happened last year with the study window......... I hope it wasn't the exact same bird !!

The girls have shocked me this week, no, they are still arguing, but they spent most of the week playing with lego !!! Even Tallulahs 12 year old friend spent Friday evening building houses !! It was fantastic watching them and I'm glad I kept it all. Let's hope they are still playing with it next year too ! Mind you, I quite fancied having a go myself !

Today, after the APS fete, we visited Serpentine Dam and Serpentine Falls. The dam was lovely - gorgeous scenery and a lovely walk (although there were lots of steep steps) and there looked a fantastic restaurant at the top - we peeked in but didn't buy anything but the food looked lovely. It did look pretty full but the stats in the restaurant stated it was only 37% full.

The Falls were fantastic too, it cost $10 per car and there were lots of free bbqs, wild roos and streams. The girls wanted to go into the water and stay all day but we, as usual, weren't prepared. So we plan to go back and spend a day there...this time with towels and sausages !!

10:01 - Sun 4 May 2008 - comments {2}

Birthday week and a sad loss

Thrusday was Nakita's 10th birthday and, luckily for her, it was school hols. She had some great gifts curtesy of ebay and mum & Mike, Aunty Gaynor & Uncle Brett & co, Nanny Pat  & Aunty Lynne all sent gifts too so she had a great day. Tallulah had to go to hip hop so Nakita and I went down to the foreshore and grabbed an ice chocolate. It was a lovely sunny day and, despite Paul having to work, was a fab one.

Friday was the joint party. Nakita had 3 friends and Tallulah had 4 over for the afternoon, sleepover and next morning. Paul was, once again, working so it was left to me to entertain. Luckily the weather was stunning and it went to 26 degrees so they all dived in the pool for a few hours. The water was freezing but they didn't seem to notice, they all then got out, had a hot shower, stuffed their faces with goodies and then hit the pool again in the dark, mad things. Unfortunately it was at this point that we lost Casper, our youngest cat. He was last seen in the afternoon and there has been no sign since. We've door knocked and checked the scrub and empty blocks and the attic but there is no sign of him. Honey and Mutley aren't the same and Muts keeps looking out the window for him but I fear he is now gone forever. Last night and today we have had a lot of rain which hasn't flushed him out. It hasn't been helped that the neighbour threatened to throttle our cats a few weeks back.  There has been quite a few tears from me but the kids are very philisophical about it all !!

Today is Tallulah's 12th birthday and she has had a great day too, plenty of gifts once more and, despite the rain, we went down to Dolphin Quay for a coffee and hot chocolate. There we saw 6 dolphins which was wonderful - not to mention unusual ! We generally see 2 at a time but never 6 in one area. They weren't all together but three lots of pairs - so that was another present for Tallulah ! Lucky girl.

Tomorrow is the last day of the school hols and I think we all need to sleep....what's the betting someone rings early as usually happens ??? After that I need to get out there and apply for every job advertised whether I am qualified or not, on Friday I received a rejection letter from the council job so am going to ring and find out why I am not getting interviews. I know it's because I'm a Brit. I have been told that now...appparently most jobs are already taken before advertised and Aussies are employed over Brits whether they are more qualified or better for the job or not. It's a case of knowing someone here gets you a job. I am still working on Paul to move but failing still !!

08:46 - Sun 27 April 2008 - comments {0}

Aarrgghhhh

Why is it that when you haven't got any money everything goes wrong ???

The dishwasher has finally given up the ghost. I know it's not a biggy and we can wash up by hand but if I do ever get a job this will be a pain in the neck !

Tallulah has also been complaining that she can't read some writing on the tv and school white board so off we went yesterday for some eye tests. Turns out she's slightly shortsighted in one eye and has a stigmatism in the other so will need glasses. No NHS here for kids eyes either.

To top it all my Body Shop parties are cancelling as the hostesses are feeling the financial pinch too which doesn't help.

The weather has now got colder. We are obviously now used to Oz weather as nights are down to 7 degrees and it's freezing. Day times are about 22 so not too bad but it is warmer outside than in and not warm enough outside to heat up the house. We only have one small box on the living room wall which only heats the sofa area and costs a fortune to run so is never on so the bedsocks and thick thermals are coming out. Outside you can smell everyone elses woodburners and it smells wonderful. We 'd love one for our house, we have the space, just not the dosh. Oh well, there's always next year, I'd better get the hot water bottles at the ready.

Sorry it's always such depressing news from us. It's the girls' birthdays at the end of the week so we hope it will lift the mood a bit !

11:22 - Tue 22 April 2008 - comments {0}

Bribery

Who says bribery doesn't work ?

We have had three visits back to the Dore centre to check on Nakitas progress and the results are always mixed, she yo yos up and down in all areas. This time I promised her a chocolate from the specialty choc shop at Booragoon for each area she improved in - well it was only all 4 !! All areas were green with an improvement - finally !! Let's hope this continues.

I heard back from one of the jobs today, finally, rejected for even an interview at the petrol station !! No idea why. Over qualified, old, female, English, take your pick. Back to the drawing board.

One last thing for today - why can't I get packets of instant custard here ??? I love custard but there's no diet custard here nor instant. So far I have tried the microwave method which only succeeded in flooding the microwave and tonight was the hob method. So now I am sat here drinking custard. I give up.

10:34 - Mon 14 April 2008 - comments {0}

Still job hunting

So another week and another job application has gone in. This one is for the night shift at a petrol station which is the last thing I want to do but needs must !! Still haven't heard anything from the other job applications but I'll keep trying. In the meantime I have managed to reduce the food bill to under $100 a week much to the childrens' disgust - still it makes you appreciate food a lot more !! Prices of everything keep rising and there are so many houses on the market now, it's definitely a buyers market. Yet again we bought at the wrong time !!

Tallulah is in her final year at primary school and so they get the chance to wear the leavers shirt as their uniform. This is a fantastic idea and is a black polo shirt with the names of all the students in their final year. They also get to earn badges each term which are sewn onto the sleeves. So far Tallulah has earnt her Leisure badge, more sewing.

Luckily the weather has improved now the school hols are here and, today it is really hot again, back to the 30s so Nakita and Paul have hit the pool. Tallulah is once more awol, she's joined at the hip to a girl at the end of the road and they are either in our house or theirs all day and night which is always good news for us as a bored Tallulah is horrible to live with ! The countdown is now on until their birthdays - I'd better save up for a bottle or two of wine !

04:08 - Sun 13 April 2008 - comments {0}

Busy week

I said goodbye to Debs on Monday which was pretty sad. She arrived in Oz only a week or so after we did and we met up early on and clicked and became good friends. Unfortunately, less than 5 months later her husband drowned at Pyramid beach and, since then, she has really struggled with whether to stay in Oz or return to the UK. After Christmas she finally reached the decision to return and Monday was D Day.  It was sad, but understandable, but has once again left me with a lonely feeling. You do struggle to make friends here and it's hard when those you do click with leave but I guess it is a fact of life. I am sure Debs and I will keep in contact and I hope she'll be back for a holiday sometime soon !!

Good news with high schools though, Tallulah got a place at Frederick Irwin High School. This is fantastic news, the school has an excellent reputation and gets great results so we are very pleased. http://www.frederickirwin.wa.edu.au/home.html      the only downside was, in the offer letter, receiving a request for an enrolement fee of $960 which went into the building fund and only 4 days to find the money !!!! We now have to put a budget into plan to save hard for the first terms money, uniform and stationery. I hope it's worth it !

The search is on for me to get a job in order to save for this. I have applied for four jobs now and, in normal Oz fashion, haven't even received an acknowledgment despite one having a closing date of over a month ago. I will keep on applying and assume I haven't got any of the jobs just to be on the safe side. Other people have told me that you can wait months for interviews and even months after that for a job offer, nothing happens quickly here. In the meantime Rob, Karen and I are looking at setting up a business, nothing spectacular but my goal is to pay the school fees. We are in the initial process and the tax and legal side is mind boggling as is trying to get some time of peace and quiet to sort it all out in my head ! Will let you know more when things are more concrete. I am still Body Shopping though as I do enjoy it and have now taken on my second consultant, yippee !!

We are in autumn now and the weather shows. Monday we had tremendous storms which flooded our garage. As Paul was trying to save our things, the beloved next door neighbour comes round moaning that the water is coming off of our side into his precious yard  which, seeing as his house is lower than ours and we had that much rain wasn't a shock ! Paul was still trying to sort out our garage but when he saw the guy coming back with a shovel he had to stop that and sort out the side. Needless to say we were pretty mad and we won't be bbq buddies with them any time soon. We had a big clap of thunder right overhead which was shocking and the electricity all went out for a few hours. I had to pick up Mutley from Robyns and all the roads were flooded (and I mean ALL), some pretty high and all the traffic lights were out too. Hats off though, no breakdowns or accidents, Ozzies are good in a crisis.

Tuesday onwards were gorgeous days until Friday night when the storms were back, then gorgeous again. In fact as I write the kids and Paul are in the pool which is now filled up to the top so they can splash to their hearts desire ! Funny though, that day and night have made April three times wetter than average and is set to break records. I'm not sure if I prefer it to be short and torrential or days of less heavy rain. Actually I think I prefer the torrential bit, much more dramatic and makes you appreciate the next day of sun.

Next week is the last week of term before the much needed holidays, although I have to say this term has flown past, but I am looking forward to grabbing at least one lie in !

05:52 - Sun 6 April 2008 - comments {0}

Weekend away - Sunday

Next morning we were all up and about by 7.30am. We breakfasted at the resort and stuffed enough to last us all day.

We set off for Augusta, another long, deserted road surrounded by trees ! After 3/4 hour driving we passed a cyclist in the opposite direction - how far was he cycling !!!! We popped a cd on and all sang along until we started to see houses.

Augusta was lovely, I like national parks but coasts are definitely where I feel most at home. August is the most south western point of Aus and two oceans meet (the Southern and Indian) and it was very, very windy. We saw the lighthouse and water wheel and spent a while taking pics and staring in awe.

Then on to Margaret River and another lolly shop and a market. We didn't stop too long as Paul and I had visited before and we have every intention of going back for longer as soon as we can. Next stop Cowarumup (I love it there), the girls (and Paul!) loved the Candy Cow (lolly shop) and Moon Haven (fairy and organic lotions and potions).

The only other stops were the cheese factory, chocolate factory and jam factory and then home.

Another 8 hours travelling and a total of 1,200 kms (and an horrendous cost of over $200) but we had a fabulous weekend and we can't wait to go back.

11:14 - Tue 1 April 2008 - comments {0}

Weekend away - Saturday

We were all up by 7, woken by Nakita's squeaky bed !

We decided to go to Walpole and do the tree top walk. After driving for 1.5 hours it hit us that we hadn't seen any houses, petrol stations (road houses) or anything except trees.........trees as far as the eye could see in all directions with a straight road running for miles through the middle. All of a sudden we came upon Walpole, a buzzing little place, a small street with a few cafes and shops. Just outside we found the valley of the giants treetop walk. This is a part of the forest where narrow walkways have been built leading up to the top of the trees allowing you to have a 'birds eye' view. It was incredible and some found it scary ....Tallulah and Nakita ploughed on and loved every minute, no one scared of heights here !!

We then went on towards Denmark, calling into a toffee factory along the way. On entering Denmark I realised that, after travelling for miles through forests, the first thing you come to on arriving at civilisation is always a bottle shop, no matter what town it is, always a bottle shop ! We stopped in Denmark for a lovely lunch but everything else was shut for a Saturday afternoon (of course!) so headed back.

I saw a sign for 'Peaceful Bay' which sounded good so I made Paul stop and it was worth it, the scenery was lovely and the sand a wonderful white. Back at Walpole the place that on the way in was buzzing, was now dead !! It was like those country and western movies where you know a big fight is about to happen !

Along the way you come across a few roos in varying stages of decomposure (roadkill isn't removed) and Paul and I tried to convince the girls that the bones were those of naughty children who squabbled in cars and whose parents had thrown them out. The girls did bicker a bit during all the time spent in the car but in the UK they couldn't do a 20 minute journey without killing each other and here we are talking hours after hour travelling, so they were pretty good.

On the journey back to the resort  http://www.karrivalleyresort.com.au/index.html we decided to take a short cut across an unsealed road ie no tarmac. Nakita thought it was a wonderful massage and Paul thoroughly enjoyed bouncing the ute up and down, although, by the end, the black ute was completely red !

At the resort Nakita kept bugging us to take a walk up to the falls so off we set, a little late, which wasn't a good thing to do as it was getting dark by the time we reached them....and there were no falls as we hadn't had any rain ! Still it was good exercise, Nakita did struggle quite a bit and Tallulah kept reminding her that if she was on 'The Biggest Loser' it would be tougher than that !!! Nakita then got scared on the way back as it was dark and spooky and there were lots of strange noises but it was good fun, I'm glad we did it and we all were soundly asleep by 9pm once again

11:11 - Mon 31 March 2008 - comments {0}

Weekend away - Friday

After two long years without a family break we finally made it away down south for a weekend. This was my birthday present from Paul and a much needed family holiday !!

We made the big decision to let the girls have Friday off of school, we do know that the aussies take their kids out for anything (reasons used - kids tired, their birthday, they want to stay home, picking someone up from the airport, there was a 'y' in the day ) which does shock us and I certainly do not want to join that culture, but it meant that we got three full days in as we had to be back Sunday, so we wrote the note and set off at 9am !! Robyn very kindly had Mutley for us and Debs, on her last weekend in Oz, fed the cats.

Our first stop was in Donnybrook, which is the home of Granny Smiths apparently, and biy do you know about it. Unfortunately we had missed the apple festival but there was row upon row of orchards as you came into and went out of Donnybrook and, right outside the tourist information, there were some big apple structures. It was at this point that we decided a map may be useful so picked one up. What a revelation that was !! You could travel for over a hour but on the map you've barely moved 1cm, this is truly a massive country !

Next stop was Bridgetown. It resembled an old country and western town despite the fact that we found a Christmas shop, open all year around, which lit up my eyes !! We also found a lolly (sweet) shop which sold black jacks and fruit salads ... and this kind of set the theme for the weekend. The other thing that we noticed at this stop was the distinct lack of flies and the fact that there were absolutely no mossies whatsoever, Paul was a happy chappy. No wind though, which did make the temps higher and hotter.

We wandered around Bridgetown for a bit, popped into a gift shop which also included a pharmacy and Westpac (bank)  ! Pauls eyes were drawn to the real estate windows where he found a 1000sqm block of land for $45k. If only we hadn't built that pool !

Next stop was Manjimup which didn't impress us so we didn't stop long and finally Pemberton, which was cute but not a lot there.

Finally we made it to the Karri Valley Resort. All in all we had been travelling for 6 hours and were exhausted. The resort itself was fabulous, unfortunately the chalet needed a good clean (it was filthy and lots of lights weren't working) and the bathroom and kitchen needed ripping out and replacing. It was a shame really as everything else there was outstanding. Not sure I'd go back unless they refurbished. It was a lot of money for what it was. We ate that night in the restaurant and the food was absolutely gorgeous, a bit pricey, but worth it, the best meal we have had in Oz. That evening as we settled in for the night we had a visit from a kookaburra who sat on our balcony, he didn't say a word, just opened and closed his beak. He looked at us like we were stupid when we offered bits of bread and weetabix, we've since found out that they eat meat, duh ! We were also visited by wrens, green parrots and there were wild roos and emus around the resort.

Like true aussies, we were in bed by 9pm and slept soundly. Only I was woken at 2am by whatever it was scratching around on the roof !

04:17 - Mon 31 March 2008 - comments {0}

Kayaking...............finally.

So Monday I finally went out in my kayak that Paul bought me for my birthday over a month ago !! I had been pretty nervous about using it......mainly because I had no knowledge of the water rules but also because I didn't really know the best places to go. A lady who I have become friends with, Karen, who has recently joined our church is a seasoned kayaker and she took me under her wing.

Our first trip was for over an hour and we paddled around the estuary and the million dollar canal homes. The water was fairly quiet and the weather wasn't too hot or too cold or too sunny so it was perfect. The one thing Karen didn't tell me was how wet you got though !! So I was without a towel, cossie or change of clothes but by the time we got back it was hot and sunny so I dried fast ! It was brilliant, no photos though I'm afraid ! I didn't fall in and the only worrying moment came on the way back when we were joined by a couple of dolphins - mother and baby. Karen told me that they liked to play and when they went under right by my kayak I was expecting to be tipped but luckily they thought better of it. So over an hour's exercise, saw two dolphins, 6 black swans and a pelican and no aching muscles the next day - awesome fun and will definitely try and do it again soon !

On Thursday the girls had an 'expo' at school. Sport in schools here is pretty big but it does seem to revolve around boys more so than girls with netball being the big one for girls. The school's deputy had won an award last year and used some of his prize money for this day. All girls in years 4 to 7 were treated to a morning of sports, they had tasters in lots of different things including fencing, soccer, tennis and hip hop. Tallulah has now decided to take up commando training (for a girl that hates exercise this is amazing) and Nakita wants to do fencing...........I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not ! They also had a lesson is nutrition and in recess (break time) they had sugar free muffins, fresh fruit and juice which were all devoured very quickly !!

This weekend is Easter and there's no rest for the wicked. Paul is replacing all the guttering after a demand from the nasty neighbours and I'm in the process of moving 5m3 of mulch. Luckily all of the garden is now mulched (and most of my body is covered in mossie bites) with the exception of the new garden bed by the pool so I hope to finish that off and then start the hard task of mulching the church before offering any leftovers off for free recycle. Then at least one job can be ticked off for the year. We managed an Easter egg hunt tonight too when it was cooler and the girls managed to find all of the chocolate before the dog did ! I treated us all to some english Easter eggs but I have to say our taste buds have definitely changed as they weren't that great and I have now found that I can take or leave all chocolate and sweets - which is a miracle for me !

Next weekend we are away. For some strange reason the schools are closed on Tuesday for Easter (I still haven't found out why ?!!) and with the girls off school on Friday as we travel south, they will manage just two days in school. They are gutted as I'm sure you can imagine ! Still, a family holiday, even if it is only a weekend, is well over due. It's been two years and two months since we last went away as a family and who knows when we'll get to go again !

09:04 - Sun 23 March 2008 - comments {0}

schools again & crab fest

Good news this week - Tallulah has got an interview for Frederick Irwin high school on Monday. After the tour we were all very impressed by the school and would love Tallulah to go there so this is fantastic. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Still no news from Mandurah Baptist though, although I have heard that they were also oversubscribed with 76 more applicants than spaces. This high school search is hard work and nerve wrecking !!

This weekend was the 10th anniversary crabfest in Mandurah. It was on all weekend and involved lots of market stalls, cooking demos, music, water carnival and loads of other entertainment. We decided to go down to the foreshore just for the late night fireworks, due to a delivery of 5m3 of mulch, and they were out of this world - every firework display put on by Mandurah just gets better, I have no idea how they do it. In fact when we saw what was going on we wished we'd gone down for the day ! Will make sure we do next year.

Just one downside - we went to a pool convention today and, in our absence, our malicious neighbour without a life, decided to come over our fence and hack our plant for the nth time despite being asked nicely not to - so tomorrow I'm off to the council to see what I can do - busy day !!

12:47 - Mon 10 March 2008 - comments {0}

One of those days

Today I have had one of those 'love it here' days.

Tallulah is doing her leisure badge in school and this has consisted of lots of research and projects on sunscreen, surf logos, history of swimming costumes just to name a few.

Well, today was the excursion and I was down to help. It was really tough to spend the day at the beach - fishing, snorkelling, swimming, reef walking, beach volleyball and learning the history of the beach. It's a gorgeous, warm (30) sunny day, we had a sausage sizzle for lunch and were joined by a sea lion in the sea when I was helping out with the snorkelling. That was my first ever sighting of a seal here and it came in pretty close as it was basking - add that to the regular sightings now of dolphins and roos and I am still in awe of the wildlife here. Only thing left to see is a whale, and they do pass by when migrating, you just have to be in the right place at the right time !

Up until today it's been a bit of a downer, money is stupidly tight, work seems to be drying up for Paul again, interest rates keep rising and I can't get a part time job, every Brit we speak to is either in the same boat or worse off too. But today none of it mattered. Time to dust off the kayaks and get ourselves out for all those free daytrips on our doorstep I think !

01:41 - Wed 5 March 2008 - comments {0}

The pool is finally finished !!!!!!! Well, ish.

The search for high schools has been made a little bit easier this week as we received a letter to say that Tallulah didn't get a place at Mandurah Catholic College. To be honest with you I was not down hearted. The school has got a very good reputation but it is Catholic which I just don't agree with - I like the curriculum etc but not the religous side at all so it was bottom of my list. Lets hope that she does get an interview and offer with the top two now or I will be gutted !!

The pool was finally finished on Tuesday and, with temps still in the high 30s/40s (it's been the hottest summer for 30 years) the girls have been swimming daily. Nakita has slimmed down (helped by the Dore exercises too I'm sure) and is way fitter now and Tallulah has given up  straightening her hair for the most part so good results all round. We didn't part on good terms at all with the pool co so they have lost quite a bit of business through recommendations as I have a real estate agent mate who was after names of good companies for all her buyers who want pools - luckily for them we have now found a good company, unfortunately it was after we had signed the contract for us !! Still, a very big lesson learnt and, should I ever build anything again, I will continue to research even after I felt I'd researched enough and will not jump in just because of time factors - we signed the contract on 14th March and it was finished on 26th February despite being told we'd be in it for Christmas !! At least we are getting some use of it before closing it down for winter. It is Autumn now officially but still warm luckily. Now we just need to investigate ways of heating the pool so we can get more use out of it and save up the money to finish it off completely (still no pool blanket, aesthetics etc)

Last night we ventured off to the Kelly Clarkson concert - our sixth since arriving 18 months ago ! Finally an old fashioned concert - no costume changes, special effects, pyrotechnics, backing dancers etc, just plain old singing solid for just under an hour and a half and boy could she sing. We had a fabulous time. I just wished we lived closer to Perth so didn't have the hour plus journey home ! No more concerts booked or planned now, so hopefully no one we like will come over until we have replenished our 'going out' fund !

02:52 - Sun 2 March 2008 - comments {0}

Joondalup & the search for high schools

A few eventful things have happened this week, worthy of a mention;

Firstly we managed to get quartz guys from a different pool co, Balmoral Pools, to come and put the quartzon on the pool which has meant that we now have a pool filled with water !! But (there's always a but !) our own pool co haven't yet fitted the pump and filter so we STILL can't use the thing. This supposed to be happening on Tuesday, time will tell !

Secondly, with the train line now being in, the girls and I (Paul was working) decided to go from one end of the line to the other. The train actually stops in Clarkson so we got off slightly early in Joondalup and went straight into the Lakeside shopping Centre. It has certainly changed a lot since we were there last when we arrived but it was nice to see some different shops and both girls decided that they needed to new clothes, luckily the sales were on  so Nakita got 4 tops and two pairs of leggings and Tallulah got a skirt, pair of jeans, pair of pjs, shorts and a couple of tops all for the sum of $185 (about 85 pounds) so it was pretty good - we then had to figure out how to get it all back on the train ! - but we are now planning our next trip up there - when we've saved up some dosh !

Finally, today was the start of the high school search. Tallulah's name is down for three private high schools and we are looking at a couple of state schools too but I'm not sure about those, I have heard lots of bad stuff and rarely any good. Today we visited Frederick Irwin school, this is a private school and is very highly rated (it's in the top 50 schools for WA). Before we went I was a bit apprehensive, it wasn't my top choice as they are highly academic and Tallulah isn't ! However, the facilities are superb and the arts area awesome, I have never seen such good facilities at any school before and I have kind of changed my mind. The down side is that this year there are 350 applicants for only 100 places so I have no idea if Tallulah will be invited for an interview let along offered a place. Even if she is there is the question of school fees. Private schools here are a lot cheaper than in the UK but they are still $3,600 a year (1,600 pounds) but you also have books, uniform (a lovely dress for summer and skirt, blouse and tie for winter with blazer, sports uniform, none cheap), camps, trips, parent fundraising fee, school building fund ............. need I go on ? Obviously if she is offered a place and wants to go and it's right for her then we will somehow find the money. The we have two years before we get hit with this all over again with Nakita. Argh !!

03:56 - Sun 24 February 2008 - comments {0}

misc

I haven't been on for a while, mainly because I've been extremely busy. I haven't even had a chance to reply to a lot of emails so I apologise to everyone who is still waiting to hear from me !!

The children are now back at school, Tallulah has a brand new teacher to the school and, so far, I am very impressed. She believes in discipline which is always good news and has lots of plans and great ideas so I am expecting a lot from Tallulah in this final year of her primary school. Nakita's teacher isn't quite so impressive as yet but she likes him and time will tell how she gets on. They have both had a week of swimming lessons in the sea which must be good with the temps in the high 30s and they have another week of the same next week. Tallulah is having to complete run, swim, runs with her group too - never easy to run on soft sand ! - so may be ready to try out for the ironman comp soon (in theory, in practice she hates any form of exercise!). The school has brought forward the school start times too so I have to drop them off for 8.15am and pick up at 2.50pm. With the exercises Nakita has to do too, it's proving a killer at getting up in the mornings and I'm already exhausted as are the girls !!!

My friend Debbie is finally back from the UK (she was gone most of the summer hols) and has made the difficult decision to move back there permanently. I will miss her when she's gone but I can understand her reasons and just hope she doesn't regret her decision as it's irreversible. it's quite hard making friends here as some turn out to be more of acquaintances than friends and others head back to the UK and you always seem to be starting over making friends again and it really is quite a lot of effort. Paul doesn't really bother and just chats to my friends' husbands and seems happier that way - maybe I should take a leaf out of his book !

This week has been eventful with a checkup at the dentist. No work was needed this time (phew!) so the cost was only $128. Now we have insurance I can claim $55 back so not too bad as long as all visits to the dentist are like that. I was hoping to have the bridge put into my gap now but we can't afford it so it looks like the gap will be permanent, not nice but that's life.

I've also had my hair cut short. I didn't want anything drastic but it's been so hot and sticky and the long hair (it was half way down my back) made me hotter and sweaty. So now it sits on my shoulders and no longer needs straightening or drying and all the grey is gone, yippee.

So finally it was my 40th yesterday. Paul threw a party on Friday and he and Deb did the catering. It cost him way more than he was expecting so, unfortunately, it's meant that the day trip and meal out in the Swan Valley we'd planned for today has had to be cancelled. I did enjoy the party and tried not to 'analyse' it afterwards but Paul did that for me and pointed out that some people who I thought were friends, probably were more acquaintances after all. The last person left at about 11pm and I was up until 1.30am clearing up. Yesterday, on my actual birthday, Paul spent most of the day cleaning up, the children were horrible in many different ways which has resulted in them losing their pocket money forever and they will have to work very hard if they want a party on their birthdays too. The only really good highlights were all the flowers I recieved from florists delivering (thanks Jo, Kenrina & Sue, Angeli, Deb, Anne & Rob), it's been 10 years since I've received flowers so I was very moved. Also, Paul came up trumps with my gifts - a kayak and a weekend away at the end of March so I'm really looking forward to that. Just wish I could leave the kids at home !!

10:03 - Sun 17 February 2008 - comments {2}

Pauls birthday

Paul was 39 this week and it was a bit of a subdued affair due to lack of finances. Today Paul fancied going to Fremantle on a budget....so off we went !!

We caught the train from Mandurah, free parking, $8.10 train ticket for the whole family (it covers 7 people with max of 2 standard rate passengers) on all trains, buses and the ferry from Perth to South Perth for the whole day which is awesome. No waiting at Mandurah...the train was waiting for us ! The train was clean and we went through Kwinana where the forest fire was earlier.....you could see the blackened trees on both sides of the track and we were told that the train continued running through the fire, it just didn't stop at the station !!! We changed at Perth and caught the Fremantle line which went through some lovely older locations and, at one point, followed the sea.

At Fremantle we visited the Esheds for lunch (approx $30), looked around the markets then wandered through Fremantle stopping at whatever took our fancy before stopping at the Ferrari cafe (named Frarri cafe) where there were lots of pics and memorabilla of Ferrari F1 all for sale. Paul managed to restrain himself and we headed back to the station. At the last minute we decided not to get the train back to Perth but to take the boat, this was $56 for all of us but was really worth it. Paul liked the free tea and coffee, I enjoyed the free wine and we all enjoyed the views on the hour and 15 min trip. It's been a gorgeous day weather wise, in the early 30s so not too hot and a nice cool breeze in the afternoon which is always welcome in the summer. At Perth we had a bit of a wander round before heading for the train back to Mandurah. We left home at 9am and arrived back at 7pm absolutely shattered, blissfully happy and the whole day only cost us $110 (under 50 pounds ) and that included all transport, drinks and food all day long ......and we could have done it even cheaper if we wanted to !!

Thats just one of the many things I like about it here

10:33 - Sun 27 January 2008 - comments {1}

Boring Update

I can't believe the school holidays are nearly over....only two weeks left and we've done and achieved absolutely nothing !!!

Still no pool, we haven't heard from the pool co. for months. I know it's WA (Wait Awhile) but even this is taking the mickey.

We have new tennents in the house behind us, they are skater boys and have already knocked a large hole out of our fence and their music starts up every night without fail at 10.30pm and goes on until at least 2.30am. So far our polite requests have gone on deaf ears so now I'm resorting to writing to the landlords. We are all shattered, the girls more so as their bedrooms back on directly to the house and it doesn't help that the weather is hot and sticky. So now I am wanting to move, I do love Halls Head but I want more space and no close neighbours (and we're on bigger blocks !) I have no idea how other people cope with all the houses jam packed in. Paul does love it here though so we're giving it a year to see if we can get the pool finished and the tenents ousted and then may just move into rented somewhere and let this house out which would make more sense than selling at the moment. Who knows, I may feel differently in a years time.

 On the plus side, Paul finally starts work tomorrow !! It has been a long time since he worked properly so I know he will struggle physically for a bit but at least we'll have regular money again. Interest rates keep rising and the mortgage is now much higher than we had in the UK which is scary and there are two credit cards on the go which need clearing but with regular income we should be able to start bringing it down again, fingers crossed.

Other than that there is no real news, we have been busy helping out Nic, Marc and the children, the Body Shop parties are starting up and I have a list as long as my arm of things to do with promoting it. In fact I have many 'to do lists' these days and am rarely completing any ticks !!! Still, Pauls birthday this week so we're off to Fremantle on the train on Sunday, wa hoo !!

09:04 - Sun 20 January 2008 - comments {1}