Go Banana's !!

Thanks guys, Jill's the thread wrtiter in the main as she keeps telling me I'm not witty enough !! Good luck with your application and if we can do anything to help just ask.

Going to take some painkillers now and a bottle of whiskkey as my gob hurts !....and its only 7am. I need to be on top form later as I am cooking a BBQ at a certain other Expats house for the kiddies as the mums get sloshed and discuss shoes.

Warren

PS: Got feedback on one of the jobs last night. Have a second interview in the New Year.

Siren & Brian

But we LOVES you for it, Warren And at least we are DISCUSSING shoes and not BUYING shoes...

Looking forward to it!!

Siren

Go Banana's !!

I'm surprised you don't bring shoe catelogues to drool over....

Warren

Go Banana's !!

No darling you have to feel them, pics are no good

Jill

Bix da Boss

While I am online - just wanted to wish you guys a really Happy Christmas - it was great reading your posts before we got here and they are still entertaining even though i'm now sitting in an apartment in Cairns typing this - cheers!

Have a - well deserved - great first Christmas in Australia - good luck for the new year.

da boss

Go Banana's !!

27th Dec

Hang on in there, there will be an update, when I can find a space in the hectic schedule, loads of stuff to tell you which will make you laugh and cry.

Please bare with me, but on here less and less.

BTW Christmas is what YOU make it, it is different here, but doesn't mean it isn't any less enjoyable, hold that thought.............

Jill

Siren & Brian

Come on! Come on!! Waiting on baited breath here.....

Siren

Go Banana's !!

30th Dec

Warren keeps telling me I have been nominated several times for 'Funniest poster' - which at present I feel unworthy, as I have not put an update on. Seriously too busy and I've loads to tell you all that I have made notes, how sad is that????

Just got 5 mins, cos we are out to the pics as the luuuurvly Mr and Mrs Siren have adopted my daughter for the night, or to put it another way, she has refused to come home, as she was having too much of a good time.

Please please bear with me, the update will be a long one. I have had a pretty hefty downer, but I'm coming back on top again. I said it was going to be warts and all and my update will be. I so want to write it now, but I'm being dragged by the hair to get a move on.

I'll try and post when I get back, as it will get maximum exposure UK time.

Just want you guys all to know that even Mrs Bucket, however wonderful it is out here, has missed her Mum.

Had a great day at Siren's BTW

Jill

Go Banana's !!

31st Dec - just

Well go get yourselves a drink, 'cos this will probably be a long one.

Just got back from 'Meet the Fockers' which was seriously funny, made even funnier by the fact that the 'old banana and I probably laughed the loudest and I happened to be the only one laughing at the wipped cream moment.

Anyway, let's recap.................

Christmas Eve: That was lovely. Alot of the houses in the suburb where we will be living are very well decorated, so we had a drive around, after we had delivered all the presents to the family. It was really nice as alot of the 'grottos' have little elves sitting on the lawns offering glasses of wine, all very neighbourly.

Warren and I actually didn't get to bed until about 1am, as we where totally disorganised this year and were still wrapping littlen's presents. She commented this year that Santa hadn't put tags on the gifts!! (we'd forgotten to buy some).

Christmas Day: The Banana's unwrapped their gifts and I set about making some loaded skins and lime, corriander, ginger, garlic and chilli prawns, to take to Madame Sins for lunch.

I tried to hold it all together, but as soon as I unwrapped the gifts my Mum had sent Imogen, Warren and I from the UK, that was it, the tears just rolled and rolled and rolled. My Mum had gone to so much trouble and had obviously got alot of pleasure from making up the parcels and I felt so sad that this was the first year that we had not been together at Christmas in my 35 years of existance (I'm crying as I write this, so I hope you appreciate this guys).

Much as I would, at this point, never go back, as we have a life built here and a home under construction!!!, I just missed my Mum so much and if I could have gone back for one day I would have. Mum had gone away for Christmas and luckily had had a fab time, so that made me feel a whole lot better. I couldn't have coped thinking of her crying over her Marks and Spencer Christmas pud for one.

I composed myself and left putting on the make-up 'til last.

We had a fab day at Madame Sins, food and wine galore and I think we drank ourselves sober. Took Smudge with us, who was great, very portable!! No tears just a great time with great friends (thanks Tereasa ).

The day was however not without it's drama's. We had to mad dash into the house as a freak thunderstorm hit us and a bolt of lighting crashed onto the tin roof of a house two doors down, sending the respective husbands scuttering for cover, looking like scolded cats. The look on thier faces was quite funny, if it hadn't been actually quite scary, sounded like a bomb going off. We later found out that Warren's couisins house in Morley was actually struck by lightening and they have been without power for 5 days, up until today.

Then to add to all this, just as we were all going to bed, the house behind us, decided to start their Christmas party about 11:30ish. The music was so loud that our ears bled, the house shook. We tried to sleep and at one point Tereasa was seen wandering around in her dressing gown with a knife in her hand. After 4 hours of seriously loud music the Police were called and finally we had peace. Luckily the children slept, but as you know Mrs B doesn't work very well on no sleep, so awoke feeling pretty crap.

Boxing Day: Imogen on the other hand didn't wake until 12:30pm and the little mite didn't look at all well. They had gone to bed at 9 ish, not too late for Christmas night, so Imogen was just obviously totally wacked.

She was very pale and just kept saying she wanted to go back to bed. So we scooped her up and she fell asleep on the way home. We put her straight to bed and she didn't wake until 4 pm. She then went back to bed at 5pm, woke at 8pm, went back to bed at 9pm and slept through until 8:30am the next morning!!!
So boxing day was a bit of a wash out, as we were supposed to go to a family party, but Imogen being in a coma rather put pay to that!

I didn't fair too well either. The weather was really humid, I was suffering from lack of sleep, missing my Mum and so the flood gates opened. I actually found that I couldn't sleep, not helped by the fact that my ever so silent Banana Man has developed a rather irrating snore.

I sat up from 12:30am until 4:30am and just sobbed and sobbed and sobbed my little heart out. During that time I mananged to finish Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, which is a seriously good book and got me through the night - thanks Dan!

I tried in to block out what I was missing, but in the end just gave into it. It seemed daft over one day, when the other 300 odd days I love it here. It was alot harder than I expected it to be, call me naive, I tried but in the end I had to give in.

I've begged my Mum to come out for Imogen's birthday in July, we should have just moved by then, so she can do her favourite and help sort out (her words not mine), she didn't need much begging. Then she is gonna come out for Christmas, as if she is going to live here she has to see it hot and cold. Plus the fact I don't think I could do another one without her, me being an only child and all that.

27th Dec: After 2 hours sleep, I dusted myself off and got up to start a new day. We had a Banana family day out planned and although I could have quite easily stayed in bed all day and my eyelids felt like they had been sandpapered, I forced myself out.

And am I bloody glad I did? too right. We had a loverly day at Aqwa Aquarium. Imogen loves it there and loves the 'touch pool' the best. I could stand and watch the fish for hours, I find it so relaxing. (BTW we are having an aquarium in the house purely for that reason).

We then went off so Warren could get his haircut as he had an interview the next day and Imogen and I had a mooch around the shops for an hour.

28th Dec: Warren had his interview and Imogen and I had a great day together in Perth City, spending her Christmas money. It really was a joy, talking to her and working out what she could afford with her money and doing the calculations at the sales counters with the assistants.

She bought loads of stuff and all very sensible too!! Great things for us to do together and she was thrilled with a hair braiding kit that she bought, when she realised I could do it. She is now sporting a dangly bit of string from her head with beads hanging off and for a few days at least, I am back to being the best Mum in the World.

That evening we had Madame Sin's little poppet over to stay and we took them to see 'The Incredibles' - which was alot better than I thought it would be, a real laugh. Oliver is a darling and was so well behaved, he looked so cute in the cinemmma (as he calls it), with his little Clarks sandals on, sticking out off the end of the seat, totally transfixed by the movie.

Today has been coffee day with the girls and I feel I have climbed the mountain and I can at last see the sun again.

As we crash into the new year Warren had so many interviews I have lost track, which are all coming up to the final stages now, so at least one should come up with the goods, we hope!!

We have loads to look forward to in the New Year and if I am honest I am quite glad Christmas is over and done with. I am shocked I felt this way, with all my positive thinking an' all, but it can happen to the best of us all.

Do not under estimate the power of Christmas to completely floor you. It is only one day, but a damn powerful one.

I hope the New Year brings you all health and happiness, but most of all, be honest with yourselves.

Jill
P.S. If you haven't all fell asleep by now, just think of me providing this public service, so you all get an insight into real life. It's 1:30 am and my poor Banana man has fell asleep waiting....................

sallybee

Brilliant as always.

I had a few tears in my eyes reading it though. I'm still in the UK at the moment and spent Christmas day with my family (mum, sisters etc) but I got upset - just at the thought of not being with them next year - God knows what I'll be like when I'm actually not with them. That's it, I'm not going, I've decided - just kidding, you've not made me feel that bad!!

Looking forward to the next instalment.

Happy New Year.

Sally

Go Banana's !!

Well good old Mrs. B, she's finished her post but is still comatosed at this time (its nearly 8am)!!


She's forgotten that we have friends over for a BBQ in 4 hours, no food and a child to pick up a couple of suburbs away......I better go see if I can wake sleeping beauty !!

Warren

mlbonner

I'm not surprised she's asleep if those are the hours she's been keeping recently

Just had my second Christmas here, and although I desparately missed my family (called them Christmas day morning and night UK time) it was a lot easier than the first. For several reasons I think; firstly we had Christmas down the coast, so everyone there was feeling a bit 'different'. The people, partners family, who I spent it with I now know a lot better. Thirdly, and bestly (don't think thats a real word!) they made me a roast Turkey dinner on Boxing Day, which was just so nice of them, I didn't feel I had the right to be sad after their efforts

Hope the New Year brings all the Banana's everything you deserve

Gill and Rob

Thanks for that last great installment !!
This has been our second Christmas in NZ and it was certainly easier than the first one.

Take care
Gill and Rob ex Co-Durham

SHEETY

Yeah keep it up I am only reading not posting

SHEETY

Doh! should have looked at the date shouldn't I just ignore me most people do