winter my a..e!

apparently its winter in australia?! this is the sky yesterday, i spent the morning sitting in the garden topping up my tan. because there is no ozone layer it gets bloody hot bloody quick. needless to say today is pissing down rain!!! its still not cold but i was hoping for both of my days off to have good weather. last night we went to the theatre, we saw a musical type play about the eurovision song contest. it was fab very interactive. there were 12 acts from various european countries, each act had a little something from previous years contests. iceland was like bjork, britain was like gemini (apparently they were pissed when they competed), and greece was a nana miskouri type. at the end we had to vote to who we thought should win. last night russia won, their act was a boy band type act. with the music a bit backstreet boys. each section of the audience is allocated a country to support, we were estonia. their act unfortunately was a gay cowboy act but very funny. it was good fun and well worth the $55 each to see it. it was all in aid of nats 30th birthday and she got the actors after the show to sign her estonian flag!!! she is such a groupie!!!!! it was performed by australian actors so sorry it wont be touring the uk. but if by any chance that it does we would highly recommend it.

We have sofas!!!!!!

well at long last we have sofas!! Was getting fed up of sitting on the cheap ikea chairs. Its nice to have real seats to sit on! Finally i can sit on the sofa and fall asleep in michaels lap! the big one is a sofa bed so there is somewhere for our mega!!???? amounts of visitors we are going to have!! mmm. will wait and see just how many people actually get here! notice that we have ended up buying yet another hyundai!!! we almost bought one exactly the same colour as our old one!!!! Surprisingly enough the colour of this one on the documents is 'pink'!!!! i find it quite amusing at the thought of Michael driving around in a pink car!!!!! he states that its cherry red!!!???? Yes ok but i know what the documents say!!!

just a well the sofas came to day i have the hangover from hell. Went to works fundraiser cheese and wine night, it was good and the wine was lovely but you know me, its just never enough!!! Ended up in town with Nat and got blootered. she was talking to some aboriginal in the park and i got fed up waiting so just wandered off!!! Ended up walking around bubbling cos i didnt know where i was. i lost my phone so i couldnt even phone michael, not that i would have been able to remember the phone number!!! finally got a taxi and got home around 4.30am. feel like a complete arsehole the day like!! its not big and not clever to get bladdered in a strange city!!!! so ended up having to go and buy yet another new phone today! when will i learn??? at least no one knows me and the girls at work didnt come into town so they dont know what an arse i made of myself!!!! but i am sure there will be plenty time for me to do that again!!!!!

the new bikes

we got our new bikes today! now bearing in mind that i havent ridden a bike for about 20 years let me tell you it was rather entertaining!!! it was good fun tho. i will have to slowly build up my stamina tho was knackered just riding it back from the shop and its only a 15 min WALK away!!! murrae almost got himself killed, the kid has no road sense! guess thats what comes of living at the edge of the school playing field where there is little or no traffic. we will have to watch him like a hawk. stevi and i were pulling out of a junction so he just followed mikey who was sailing a bit close to the wind! he didnt realise that the car was coming up behind him! kids under 12 can cycle on the pavement but thats it. AND it is a legal requirement that we have to wear helmets! bonnie!!!!!!. wont be cycling anywhere that i have to worry about the state of my hair!!!
michael has gone crazy, speeding around the courtyard and up and down the drive like a maniac, these pictures of him are titled 'bam on a bike' 1, 2 etc!! hopefully the rain will stay off at the weekend and we can cycle down along the beach as there are cycle paths, its all very busy here, people are out speed walking when i am on my way to work at 6 in the morning!!!! are these people mad!!!! sorry its taken so long between posts but whoever has the unsecured wireless connection rumbled us and cut us off so i have had to resort to dial up until our broadband is set up but that takes 10-14 days. notice the absence of single photos of me on my bike!!! dont think i will get away with that so will post single photos of the rest of us soon!!!!

glitz and glamour

well before you all get confused about my new life down under let me tell you that its not all GLITZ and GLAMOUR. its saturday night and i am on the computer. had to get michael to drive me to the bottle shop for a bottle of plonk to keep me sane. my one and only friend in oz couldnt make it out tonight so i am destined to sit regularly checking to see if there is anyone on msn!!! not that its a great chav cos i am knackered. michael was on the piss last night wetting the head of baby eden. he staggered home around 2.30am, pronounced he was fxxxed and fell into bed, wailing 'help me' when unfastening the buttons on his jeans proved just too much! he then fell totally unconscious. that was friday night! i was on the msn giving power of my lifeline (laptop) to my sister in law so that she could fix my webcam which had decided that it didnt want to work in oz! it got to 3 am and the snoring could be heard down the street and i was getting a little tired so it was off to bed for me. today was a total write off cos the hungover person just dozed on and off in one of the only two chairs in the house, much to the annoyance of the kids who wanted to be driven to A, B or C! i however, procured my place on my deck chair in the garden and worshipped the sun god, finished harry potter and the half blood prince (nat you never said it was dumbledore that died!!!") and every available magazine in the house. eventually michael and the kids emerged from the house and had a rather laughable game of piggy in the middle aussie rules of course. as per usual it ended in tears, murrae cos he couldnt win and stevi cos mikey threw the ball and it hit the tip of her fingers. time to shop for tea me thinks!!!!!!

the 'backie'

this is the view of the back of our house and our garden, its not very big but its fine for us. the path extends round the back of the house and into the garage. dad i will be depending on you to help me sort it out when you come over. i havent a clue about plants and flowers. i want to grow lemon, lime and orange trees and we did look at them at the weekend but michael hasnt got a clue either so he wasnt keen!!! there are some flowers in pots but i am buggered if i know what they are or how to look after them! the itinery of the house lists the plants as healthy and viable but i havent got a clue they could all be bloody weeds for all i know!!!!

the ootside of oor hoose

this is the outside of our house. the first one is the view of the house from the edge of the courtyard at the top of the drive. the 2nd is reverse, the courtyard from the house and finally the drive with the bowling green in the distance, the white fence down the side is our garden.

and the princess!!

and here she is!! she doesnt mind the uniform or the actual school but hates the bus home. its really rowdy and there are not enough seats. there is nothing we can do about it she has to get the school bus theres not a public service from the school to our house. she could walk it in about 30mins but theres not a hope in hell of that happening!!! we have also offered her a bike but thats a no too!!! i was a good girl today walked to the shopping centre in the next suburb. its like the trinity centre but with supermarkets too. it took me 20mins to walk it and i was intending taking the bus back but i chickened out and walked back too. i took a different route as the way there was all up and down hill. i walked along scarborough beach road looking at all the pretty houses. it took a little longer but i was dawdling and it basically flat!!!! if i can do that a couple of times a week then thats my exercise!!!!

oor hoose 2

well this is the rest of our house. stevis room, our room and the utility room. i will take photos outside of the front and back when its stopped raining and the wind has stopped blowing!!!!!!

oor hoose

these are some pictures of our house. notice the absence of tvs in the kids rooms and the suite in the living room. the kids are getting their tvs at the weekend and our suite is on order and will be here in about 4 weeks. this is our livingroom, dining room and kitchen area. its all in one big room on an open plan basis.

murraes 1st day

well murrae has had his first day at his new school. the school system is a bit different here, we have to pay contributions to the school (£25 a year!) and we provide their tissues, soap and hand towels. their bags are on pegs outside, guess their not going to get snowed on etc! and we also have to provide all folders, jotters, pens, pencils (they stipulate which type and where to get them from) scissors, glue and even a hole punch. just as well its really cheap here!!! he seemed to have a good day and made a few friends. the kid he is sitting next to was born in england, father is scottish, mother irish but has been here on and off for a few years, he sounds aussie. murrae is totally confused!!! we had a meeting tonight about the end of year camp. its a fantastic camp. they are going inland to kalgoorlie for 4 days. they will have the opportunity to pan for gold, visit the mines and museums and loads of other stuff. its only $300 thats about £140 and some of the parents were questioning the cost! we couldnt believe it!! mikey went to france at the cost of £325 wonder what they would say about that ($750) and stevi went to dalguise in perth scotland and that was £275!!! michael and i just sat there biting our tongues!! these people dont like spending money! the cost of living is so much cheaper here and the wages either better of just the same! i REALLY think we are going to like it!!!

ahhhh cute

i was trying to post some photos of murrae in his new school uniform but the computer keeps freezing. he looks really sweet. it was so funny when we went to the school the head boy of the school is the same age as murrae but was bigger than michael. murrae looks so small compared to the rest of the kids. he is looking forward to starting tomorrow and we will take him down at 8.50. he saw his teacher today but didnt actually meet her. she looks nice tho. it seems like a nice school so hopefully he will settle well.
stevi has also been enrolled for school, she doesnt start til thurs cos her and murrae both start at the same time and we cant be with both of them at the same time. that and we couldnt get her uniform today cos the uniform shop wasnt open. she is not a happy bunny, michael cant pick her up on thursday so she will have to get the school bus, not that its that difficult. it drops her off at the bottom of the drive!!!
well aberdeen royal infirmary gave me a nice leaving present!!! i had to be swabbed prior to starting my new job and it turns out that i am MRSA +ve in my throat! the infection control nurse said that its very rare to have it in the throat without it being anywhere else!!! i was so embarrassed, i had to be taken by the infection contol nurse down to the pharmacy dept to get body wash, bactroban nasal cream and mouthwash!!! i just wanted to cry!!! i was totally mortified! i dont think she believed me when i said that surgical patients or staff arent routinely swabbed! i think she thinks that i am dirty scrubber! and before you kenny say a bloody word remember who you will need to stay with in australia!!!!

home sweet home

we have now moved in to our house. its bloody cold!!! houses here arent insulated or heated. so we have invested in some oil filled radiators for the bedrooms and an electric 3 bar radiator/fire thingy for the livingroom. it all looks rather bare and impersonal at the moment but am sure once the crate arrives in september it will be more like home. everything here is spread out and am beginning to stress about commuting to work. ari was hop skip and jump from our flat in aberdeen so it will all be a new experience. am hoping that michael starts work after me and can take me in getting home wont be such a problem. when on a late shift i can leave home early and michael will be around to pick me up at 9.30pm. the plan for tomorrow is to explore the route to work from two directions and then see what the public transport system is like. my provisional is not transferrable from the uk so i have to apply for a learners permit and sit a theory test to drive a scooter. same for mikey!!! i am going to need to learn to drive!!!! i cant get over how friendly people are here. in shops they go out of their way to help even if you are just looking. some shops even give you money off for paying cash!!! and you dont have to pay everything up front as long as its paid in full before its delivery date! its a bit like the 1970's in the uk before everyone got up their own arses!!! nothing is done in a hurry which in one way is refreshing after the rat race but is infuriating cos your used to getting things immediately!! think we are going to like it here.

so far away from home!

hey peoples!!! sorry its been so long since the last update but murrae managed to bugger nats internet connection so we have all been internet cold turkey! we have a house. its not big cos the area we went for is a bit posh and very very expensive!!!!! its nice tho. no pool i'm afraid just a very small garden. theres a bowling club right across the road and its 5 mins walk from scarborough beach. the area is called doubleview, think its cos at one time there were views of both the ocean and the city. dont worry we have bought a sofa bed for when visitors come over!!! its supposed to be winter but during the day its like a normal summers day in aberdeen. it bloody cold at night tho, last night it went down to 1 degrees!!!!!! now i know thats not as cold as we have experienced before but when none of the houses have heating in them its bloody bloody cold!!!! almost heart attack when you first climb into bed!!!!! michael has found some work, little jobbies just to start him off!! we have met some people from aberdeen, michaels friend grahams wifes sister! (sorry long winded!) and her family and another guy from torry!!! we all met up on sunday at kings park for a picnic, it was nice to meet and talk to other people who have made the move. we were so obviously the british people, kids had on shorts and t shirts and me with the strappy top and skirt! all the locals were going around with jumpers and scarfs on!!!!!!!!!! oh and the fact that murrae and stevi are completely milk bottle white!!!!! well better go folkies, off to find a car today. michael wants an 7/8 seater van type thing so that when you come over dad he can drive us all around!!!!! knew that he was a keeper!!!!! speak soon, love and miss you all.

we're here

we have arrived and spent our first day in oz! the flight wasnt that bad, so much better than we expected and that was with murrae vomiting on our last leg of the journey and a 6 hour delay in brunei!! today we went to see one house, it was ok, the garden was a bit on the small size but considering we have just left a flat 3 floors up, not bad at all! however, stevi hated it!!! and of course we have to do what the little princess wants!!! have another couple in mind so we will have to phone on monday to try and view. 1st impressions of perth? fantastic and its supposed to be winter!!!!!!! yes it is bloody cold at night but it was definately shorts and t-shirt material during the day! nat thinks its freezing but then we have just left deepest darkest aberdeen!!!!! will update when we have more news! everyone we miss you already!!!

this is it, this time i know its the real thing.............

well this is definately it! we fly to london tomorrow, spend the night in a hotel in heathrow and then we tackle the mammoth journey to perth WA. the nice gp that i have has given me 4 sedatives for the flight and a whole months supply of nicotine patches. surely this and the copius amounts of vodka will get me through it!!! enough of the jest tho, its extremely sad leaving friends and loved ones although exciting and scary at the same time. you guys know who you are! we're sorry that we're leaving you all behind and we love you all bucket loads. part of our hearts will always be in aberdeen but we are out to make a new life in oz. hopefully one day we will be able to feel like its truly a home from home. we will try and update this as often as possible but suspect that nat has plenty of plans for us!!!!!

AAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH

stress what stress?????? i am now officially stressed. we move out in 2 days and the only person that seems to care is me!!!!!!!!! there is enough washing to be done to keep a chinese laundry in business for a month, the shipping company are coming today and the pile for them just keeps growing!!!!!!! i cant eat i cant sleep and my smoking has increased ten fold! michael keeps finding homers to do, the kids social lives have taken on new meaning while i just sit smouldering away!!! oh anyone want a lilac fronted chest of drawers and matching entertainment unit oh and of course a 6 month old light beech tv and video cabinet??? free to good home as long as it can be removed within two days!!!!!! i have just realised that we have only two hours between each flight, shit now i am totally frantic, what if any of them are delayed???? we could be stranded in a foreign country!!!!! now i know that i MUST visit the doctor to get something before i explode! natalie help me please!!!!!!!

clock

hooray, natalie has posted a count down clock for me!!!! way hey!! now everytime anyone logs on they can see how long i have left in this country!!! its really stressful trying to get round everyone that you want to see before you leave. so little time so much to do!!

finally

well this is definately it. our flat is sold, my notice is in and the flights are booked! we leave aberdeen on wednesday the 5th of july, drive to heathrow and fly to perth on thursday the 6th of july. we will arrive on friday the 7th of july at 5pm. now all i have to do is get packed and visit the doctor for some valium and a shed load of nicotine patches!!!!! 20 bloody hours with no fags!!!! it will be a toss up as to whether michael and i kill each other or the kids!! this should be fun!!!! am off to the aberdeen highland games today, we go every year and as with every bloody year the weather is crap!!!! never mind last one to be enjoyed!!!!!

Perth here we come

Well this is it. We have had what my solicitor calls a 'clean' offer on the flat which we have accepted. It will be all legally binding come 5pm tomorrow. We will be homeless on the 30th of June so I guess that means that we will be moving to Australia the 1st week of July. Its all a bit scary, exciting and sad all at the same time. We will of course miss our friends and family heaps. I wish that I had magic powers so that I could just wiggle my nose and flit back and forth between oz and the UK whenever I wanted. Of course this is what Michael and I want, the chance to change our life and improve the opportunities for our children. It is a huge thing for us, neither of us have ever lived far away from our families but as everyone keeps telling me, its the right thing to do. It really hit home when I phoned my gramma to tell her things were finally coming together she said that she wanted me to visit before I left and she knew it was the right thing to do but she knows that once we go I will never see her again. shes 87 and failing year by year, it really hit home that there will be people who I will probably never see again and this makes me sad. But we cant live our lives wondering what if, rather feel remorse than regret. We have been talking about this for nearly 20 years and would rather try and fail than sit here in another 20 years wishing that we had done it.

so nat be prepared for me to be a pain in the ass since i wont know anyone else but you and davo! i am sure that we will not regret this decision and that this is the 1st chapter of the rest of our lives!!!

and how the night goes on

see how easily we lose the plot and get drunk. a good night was had by all. we will have to have another one to say goodbye. we will miss everyone muchness but you can all come and visit!!!!!!