Goodbye Australia!!!

Well, this is the final day in Australia....its nearly 11pm and in ten hours time Matt and I will be on the plane home! We've had a mad day packing, trying to squeeze everything in, choosing sacrificial clothing, for in case there was no room. It was a hard job! Walked to the St Ives shops for the last time (for a few years anyway!) to sort out my bank account. For some reason, I attract problems when it comes to banking. The banking assistants tried to tell me I needed signed persmission from a Justice of Peace to close my account....ahem....not quite sure thats true....so instead, I managed to negotiate three pages of forms, a signed letter and a fax (??) instead...apparently Matt can just ring his bank from the UK and they close it over the phone...just my luck! We've had a nightmare organising forms to reclaim our tax which will be a nice gift in 6-8 weeks time, and last night, a rogue possum on the roof making such loud noises we thought the car was getting broken into. Then we spotted the culprit just watching the chaos he created from the roof, the little bugger! Yesterday was our final visit to the Maquarie shopping centre....we bought Candy and Mark a nice biscuit barrel (to replace the one the ghost broke!) and a bottle of wine, Jade and Travis, we bought a bottle of Curaco, and Sapphire got the movie of Spongebob Squarepants....all went down amazingly well! They were just little thank you's for letting us stay with them for 4 months. Still cant believe its time to go home.

We have ended our trip in style though, with a visit to Max Brenners. Scrummy! On the brightside, a few jobs have come up in the last few days, which I have applied for, so hopefully won't be too poor for too long....I feel we're in for many reunion nights when we get home! Oh and I almost forgot, Asiana Airlines have arranged a hotel for us tomorrow, including dinner and airport transfers....loving Asiana's customer service skills!

Anywayz, the next blog I write will more than likely be done in the sunny realms of Grimsby rather than Sydney, but its been a fabulous journey!

What a weekend!

Well, our last weekend of our Australian adventure has certainly ended in style. Friday night, Matt and I drove up with Jade, Travis and Sapphire to meet Candy and Mark in Hunter Valley - wine vinyard country. We arrived late, so the weekend really began on Saturday. We had a nice relaxed morning in the story book gardens, then spent the day touring various vineyards wine testing. I have decided im a big fan of Moscato wines. One in particular that Matt and I would recommend is Tempus Two Moscato; selected as one the top 100 Australian wines by the famous wine critique Matthew Jukes. Its very easy to drink, and reasonably priced. The tempus two tasting area is also designed like a high class club (not like you get in Cleethorpes!) so the whole experience was fantastic! We of course had to buy a bottle. And a spare of course!
We got home early evening, and watched an Australian movie called 'The Castle' which is hilarious! I would tell everyone to watch it, if only for two lines by a gentleman called Farouk! This was enjoyed with a chocolate fondue....scrum! Croissants, strawberries and marshmallows combined with belgian chocolate...im drooling again already!!
We played two of our three boardgames - imagineiff , because you get some really funny answers....Them and Us...coz its just fun to try (and succeed) and beat the boys! The third option was game of knowledge, which since we struggled with 10-15yr old questions whilst sober, we realised we had no chance drunk!
This morning, we started the day with a nice hearty bbq brekky! Including good old tottie scones, hand made by moi :) We stopped at Morrisette on the way home to check out the markets, and after a small detour to see the Kings old house, we headed down to the Entrance, totally worth it just to see the pelicans feeding time! A few volunteers feed the hand reared and injured pelicans every day. The tradition began in the 1970's when one one the employees of the local fish shop started feeding them during his lunch break. However, if he was ever late, the pelicans would come across the road and wait outside the shop until he was free. Nowadays however, theyre a bit cheekier, and will wander all the way into the kitchens. One particular pelican has aquired a taste for KFC!
Anyhoo, i think matt and i are having a quiet last couple of days, but of course all pics will be going on facebook very soon!!!

A day isnt fun if it isnt challenging...!

What i thought would be two days off work has now turned into four, not that its a bad thing. After all, Matt and I only have 8 days left in Australia. Working is really last of our priorities now.
Yesterday was a nice chilled day at home. Matt was a bit unwell, but i got to spent a bit time catching up on the scrapbooks we're making as momentos for Bethany and Sean. Its my first scrapbooking attempt but dont think its too bad and hoping they arent old enough to judge me! Had a nice chat with my new mother in law who I beleive will be happy to see us. We have asked to stay at hers the night we arrive home. Which leads us to the first problem of the day. What should have been a simple task has ended up as a 24 battle with a sky high phone bill to boot! We checked online to see about train tickets to take us from Heathrow to Derby. Found some at seventeen pounds. Very overpriced in Aussie terms, but very reasonable in terms of national rail. We rang to book tickets, but my card was declined. Very strange. I eventually got hold of my bank in the UK. The nice bloke said ''yes i see the problem. We have here that your address is no longer correct' 'ah'i say, 'no worries, well there has been a mistake, that is still my address, im just temporarily out of the country. Can you please update that so that i can book my tickets home?' The young man cheerily replied 'certainly, but you need to call back with the 5 digit code i have posted to you.' 'right i see....only....im out of the country, so cant get my mail, and in fact, until you sort out my account, im stuck at the ariport, and cant get home, so you need to do it over the phone.' 'im sorry Ma'm i cannot do that....but you can do it in person in one of our branches.' logical thinking, eh? 'ok, well do you have a branch either in australia, or at heathrow airport which is open after 5.30pm?'.....'no Ma'm'.....'right...so how exactly can i do that then?'
It took three international phone books and a lot of patience before they magically orked out how to take the block off. Slightly shaken faith in my bank now!
So, a rather upset me searched the internet to see what exciting events are happening around Sydney today....sadly high emotions and a late night meant we missed half the day! We were woken up by the dogs Zac and Benji, jumping and rolling on the bed, then making themselves at home on the bed. After we were up and about, we found out Zac had rolled in wallaby poo before waking us up....pleasant dreams we shall tonight then! This evening, Matt and I, Candy, Mark, Jade, Fire and Travis played a couple of games. Firstly we played 'game of knowledge'. After the first round, we all, quite shamefully, had to ask for 10-15yr old questions....the others were too hard...ahem! Even with those, there were a few struggling moments! We then played 'Them and Us', a battle of the sexes game...needless to say the boys won....but when we challenged them to answer boys questions only, and us on womens questions only, we totally kicked butt! Nice to end the evening on a good note!
Tomorrow, Matt and I plan to visit the fairtrade exhibition in Surry Hills, where different tribes have produced bags, jewellery etc in an eco friendly manner. The state library is also hosting a photo journalism exhibition of the best photo journalistic images from 2008. Then our evening will be our last night out with the Your Source work team, who are throwing a leaving party for us. Should be a very interesting day all round....very excited! Remember any photos will be on facebook shortly.

Thanks for listening!

Happy Australian Mothers Day!

Ok, so I have around 6 days to catch up on. Firstly, a big Aussie Happy Mothers Day to all mumsies out there. Not quite sure why they celebrate on a completely different date, mind, but thats neither here nor there.
The first couple of days after my previous blog were fairly quiet. I had no work on, seemingly as a 'lesson' for me for leaving early one day, despite leaving at the time I was told to...supervisors mistake! I used this time to start reading Dan Brown's 'Angels & Demons', which until this morning I presumed was a sequel, not a prequel. I also had to update my CV, and start the process of job hunting. Depressing, but fun trying to make market research sound a fascinating role! I also, for some reason, slipped my domestic goddess mask on for a couple of hours, in order to whip up an over indulgent chocolate and banana cake....it was beautiful! And a tip for any bakers who find themselves without grease proof paper - use chocolate! I laid slabs of chocolate on the bottom of the cake, which meant very little mess to clean up, plus makes a scrumptious topping! This was the same evening that Matt went to Star City to support Arsenal against Man U...apparently I shouldnt ask about how this went...ahem! Being on at 4.30am Aussie time, meant I had to sleep alone. This wasn't fun in a house with 4 additional spirit guests, including a small boy who cries in our room. The next day, a very tired Matt took me into the city for a day, to check out the galleries and museums, pics of which can be seen on facebook. I particularly enjoyed Matt teasing fitness freaks with a Big Mac, as Maccas has been built facing the window of Fitness First....oh thr irony...!
The time I enjoyed having off was quickly wiped from memory after spending two days working 11 hours, and working on a Saturday. I was ready to walk out at 2pm on Saturday after a very stressful 3 days! But I stuck it out, and Matt and I spent the evening in Epping. Lunch at the RSL, which incidently is probably the only place that gives you more meat than veg on a roast dinner, and then to church to see one of our new Aussie mates, Ash, in a play. Super funny, with a fab cast and some very clever moments....although not sure how they got away with certain parts of the script in a church! We then ended the night with a few drinks in the Epping Hotel, which has become a bit of a regular haunt for us during our working holiday.
Right, well with a true british sunday roast to eat, I had better get going for now....more to come later...

Where did the time go?!...

I've decided to reactivate this blogging page. My theories are still the same, but a few things have moved on since my last entry a year and a half ago!

Matt and I did get married on January 31st, in a smaller than originally planned ceremony in Grimsby. I am currently enjoying the last leg of our Australian working holiday honeymoon in Sydney. We land in the UK at 5.30pm on May 21st '09. Very mixed emotions about our return home, but it will be great to see everyone after 4 months away.

The diet thing....well....that has kind of been pushed aside...I told you I have no will power! I do weigh more though, although the exact number is still unknown.

I'm following through on one plan at a time at the moment. So here goes the plan -

(although it may need confirmed by my husband first lol)

1) Get home to Grimsby and enjoy a few days with family and friends.

2) Get either my old job back, or something else that at least pays!

3)Pay off the rest of those pesky store and credit cards.

4) Raise the funds for Matt and I to finally have our own place - possibly with a granny flat lol!

I've decided that Matt, the kids and I are going to make a dream book when we get home. A list of things that we want to do. Mine will include things like go see Stonehenge. Matts will no doubt include things like go see the new Emirates stadium. The kids will no doubt include things like go to playtowers or macdonalds.

So bearing all this mind, Ill keep everyone posted on the last few days of our Aussie adventure, then see where things go from there!

Thanks for listening, you've been a great audience :)