Merlot

Jill

I do feel for you as like many in Australia, been there and done that. It is bloody horrible to say the least, hard to describe and was with me for 7 years. If there is a book on it and the cure, that author would make a killing.

Trust me, and I never thought I would say this, try and stick with it, I for one can see the decline in the UK after 7 years away, it is not my true home anymore and now going to work like mad to save the pennies to return to Australia. It is going to be a fresh start in a new town, embracing things I didn't the first time around. I had to come back to realise this.

I don't regret coming back to the UK for a short while, many pluses and enjoyable family things happening BUT my home is Australia.

Keep smiling and get someone to send you a huge box of Thornton's chocs to gorge on.

M

Go Banana's !!

Morning of the 17th Feb

Awwww Bix you big soft lion you, get yourself over here for coffee with the girls!!!

Thanks everyone for your kind words.

Feel a bit silly now, didn't mean to spill me guts on here, man I can be a drama queen!!

Anyway, not sure how I feel today, I'll let you know when I wake up

The mere fact that I have 1,000 hits on the page in 24 hours does my ego the world of good.

Speak soon guys

Jill

oshel

Jill


I have a huge complaint or rather my boss does! I didn't do any work yesterday or an hour and a half this morning as I have been far too busy reading your thread from the start!

What an excellent way to record your new life or "dweem". Sounds like you are having a fab but exhausting time! I basically retold your story to my family last night and we couldn't believe all that you have achieved in such a short amount of time!

In terms of getting a job, have you thought of being a personal shopper or how do you feel about being a wedding planner? Obviously making sure you know exactly where the location is first!

The house sounds great and what an exicting time it must have been for you to organise it all. I love organising but obviously have to have the correct stationary to hand!

One of your earlier comments has puzzled me - saying that you were not very paternal, how do you feel this has changed? It sounds like you now spend so much time with your daughter, it must be a completly different relationship.


It must be so nice all being together now - a whole complete family and I'm sure it won't be long until your mum comes over. As you are close to your mum it must be incredibly hard to be without her but on the positive side, it doesn't sound like you have had that many down times as you have been far to busy!!! Remember missing mum = tons of shopping to be done!!!


Now how is Warren getting on with his new job? I know he has been on lots of interviews but what a great experience and a fantastic ending/beginning!

How is Imogen getting on at school now?

worzel

That must be a record! I read it from the start a few months ago when there must have been 20 less pages and it took me 3 and a half days over lunchtimes, first thing in the morning etc. My wife keeps promising to read it but keeps opting for something more manageable like War and Peace

Bix

Tell her to read the encyclopedia Britannica next

Go Banana's !!

17th Feb

Awwww sent this very nice poster a pm answering all her questions.

Just to let you all know I am alot better today, mainly due to a fab time at Jen's - what a hostess!!!!! It was like a flippin banquet, you are a star. It was great to catch up with the girls and we had a good laugh, just what the doc ordered. Great to meet a newbie too. It's amazing how better I feel just from being around the girls, you do have to force yourself sometimes, but the effort was well worth it.

I am officially the best mum in the world as littlen' and I have made gingerbread men this arvo and according to her they taste just like the Marks and Spencer ones, Gary Rhodes you are my hero!!!

Another bit of news I forgot to brag about, is the fact that littlen' has been selected for a gifted children programme and has to attend another school one day a week, which means Taxi Mom will be at the ready.

Warren is loving his job sooooooo much, which is great to see and he is home by 6:30pm and he said that was late ha ha ha.........

Been to check progress on the house and that is coming along great apart from the fact our proposed roofer has broke his leg ski-ing which shouldn't delay things - but I thought it was going too well.


Anyway off now to cook the main man's tea

Jill

Go Banana's !!

23rd Feb

Need to try and make this short, yeh right as I am 'woman making meal for hungry man who at work'. The lucky lucky boy is coming home to roast beef, with all the trimmings and I have made him his fav dessert, but shhhhh.... he doesn't know yet.

I am feeling much much better. We had a fantastic day at Perth Zoo on Saturday. What a lovely zoo !! So clean and you get right close up to the animals, addmittedly behind glass screens, but I was thrilled as Tigers are my fav animal and I have never seen one up that close before. Most of the time they are asleep and you have to get the old binnocks out to see them. It really is a very nice day out and the sandwiches are yummy too, which is pretty impressive compared to the usual junk food.

Slowly but surely each day I felt better, until I realised I hadn't really thought about the UK yesterday and today, because I have been far too busy. I have never been this busy in my life. Now it's getting down to the nitty gritty with the house it is just going crazy, mental infact. What with lighting quotes, garden quotes, paving, flooring, alarms, sofas, beds, decorating and geeze don't mention blinds, I see them in my dreams :scared: . Having said all that I am absolutely loving it as it is now all coming together. I have a list of a million things and it just keeps growing. My goal is to have as much done as possible before we move in, then we are not living out of boxes forever. I am having to make sure it is all done in the right order and being mindful of furniture lead times. I feel like I am at work and managing a NPD project (which is what I used to do) However this is slighly more crazy than designing a lasagne for Waitrose and at least the house won't get destroyed due to an illegal dye . Oh how we gasped at the TV the other night as we can just imagine the mayhem going on in the UK Food Industry at the mo, the suppliers will be brickin' it.

I'm fairly sure that after the house is built that I want to work or study, but in a different field. I am ready to get my teeth into something. I'm looking at the courses open to me and am pretty sure what I want to do, until then I will carry on with the Bucket Residence.

Imogen's horse riding is coming on a treat. Warren left work a little early to watch her as a suprise yesterday and both of us were very impressed with what she can now do. I could hear Warren's wallet screaming from inside his pants!!!!! It's stunning place where she goes and they are excellent teachers.

So all in all I am back on an even keal. I just have to keep reminding myself of all the fab things we have here and not what we don't have, which isn't much really. The things I do miss Warren can get for me on his various jaunts around the globe.

Better go before I burn the dinner.

You are honoured that I have squeezed a post into my busy schedule

Tatty bye and toodle pip

Jill

johnnie7au

U guys are an inspiration ...

ups

and

downs .. (not many of them!)

More than 70 pages .. a great read.... Magic....

I don't read novels anymore ... Hee hee

Kudos to ya! My cousin is coming out soon I think ... I reckon she gotta read this!

Hopefully another meet up .. soon ... (I keep missing them ..)


CYA

Johnnie

Bix

You know how to hurt

Go Banana's !!

3rd March

Truely wish I had time to do a huge update, but I don't. Just flicked on here quickly before taking littlen' to school and I know this will throw my morning routine out, I need to go and make her sandwiches.

Everything is going really really well. Warren is loving his new job, Imogen is loving school and I am loving well, life really. Got over the last bout of homesickness, which when I read back, feels like I am reading about someone else! I'm sure it won't be the last though, but I know exactly how to deal with it.

They should be starting the roof today on the house and I still have a million and one quotes to get. I can't stress enough how important it is to get at least 3 quotes for everything, you would be shocked if you knew just how much money I am saving Warren

I'm sorry I have to go, I would love to sit and chat and tell you all about the funny things that have happened, like coming back from Simones and finding Smudge sitting in a pool of dog vomit mmmmmmmm lovely and NOT funny.

Inside my head is a scary place :scared:

Jill

Go Banana's !!

Hopefully I will find time to do a proper update soon as well but am really busy with work !!

In a nutshell though:

• I have started work - really enjoying it and I can honestly say that I have had the best welcome by any business I have ever worked for - UK or Europe !
• I have already had a few nice trips courtesy of work and have more planned. I played golf at the Vines the other week (awesome golf course if any of you get chance to play it), have just got back from a trip to Adelaide where I went hot air balooning over the Barossa Valley, visted the Cleland Wildlife Park and had lunch in Victor Harbour ! And coming up I am going to Adelaide again next week, Sydney in a couple of weeks, Shanghi in April and 3 trips to Europe between May and October - two of which will entail going back to the UK !!
• Although I have a dream job, better than I could ever have got in the UK and one requiring a bit more grey matter exercise, I still leave the house later and arrive home earlier than in the UK. The traffic compared to the UK in places eg the Mitchell Freeway is bad at certain times of the day BUT if you take the short cuts it is alot easier to get to work - no more 2hr drives each way for me like I used to do, i do it in 20 mins !!
• Due to weather and travel I haven't done much diving but hopefully will be buddying Mr Swift soon when he should complete his Padi course and then I want to do my advanced.
• On the golf front I have had some great days out with Mr Vegemite Kids and Mr Siren whilst not working and will have to plan some more soon.
• I love Perth as a city and had a great Australia day and several other days out with the family. We have only scratched the surface and can't wait to explore more of WA (especially the South) and with my work trips taking in much of Oz, I am already compiling a list of must see's.
• I have a great bunch of friends - a real mixture of Expats and Aussies and believe I good balance is essential, at times we are too busy and have to put the breaks on otherwise we wouldn't get any of the domestic things done !

All in all, as Jill says, we are living the dream and I for one love it. Just getting quality time with the family at weekends for for first time in years is worth its weight in gold, something which never happened in the uk. Jill has had her ups and downs but I have been lucky so far I seem to have escaped - maybe I'm just insensitive or don't have as many hormones ! I still miss my mum and dad and the rest of the family but they're not that far away and with Skype and a Webcam the world seems to shrink and I see more of them now then when I was in the UK !!

OK, can I take my rose coloured spectacles off now !!

My advice to all those coming out to Perth is be realistic in your expectations, allow plenty of time to look for work, it is out there if you focus on it, and ride with the changes the culture throws at you at here.

Shucks, it ended up being a long one anyway, better get back to work !!

Best wishes

Warren

jas_uk

Guys I have just about (over the last few weeks) managed to read through your whole thread/life experience - and im so glad everything has all worked out for you... Thanks for doing the thread/updates etc, its always great to read about someone who has been there, done it, had the problems but worked through them, and come out on top! As previously posted, you guys are an inspiration!

Go Banana's !!

Not having this, my husband doing better updates than me, glad you are happy here hunny bun .

Now just get ya ass home, where a hot bit of totty is waiting with a curry and a beer (the wife has gone out )

I will do a nice long update over the weekend.

Jill

Stormz

So what`s your dream job about then?

louise

I know it has been said before, but "Fantastic Post"...... keep the updates coming, they make great reading.....

Louise