JoJo and Chick at WetSide
Kangaroos
Mother and Baby
JoJo and I at Bundaberg...hic!!!
Bats
Chick moonlight paddling
Chick's new hair do....yes Mum I know it's short but it'll grow back ;-)
Happy New Year!!!
Thursday, 31 December 2009
Pictures at last!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I finally found a solution to my technical problems (with a little help from Peter!!) so here are some random shots of our trip so far:
JoJo and Chick at WetSide
Kangaroos
Mother and Baby
JoJo and I at Bundaberg...hic!!!
Bats
Chick moonlight paddling
Chick's new hair do....yes Mum I know it's short but it'll grow back ;-)
Happy New Year!!!
JoJo and Chick at WetSide
Kangaroos
Mother and Baby
JoJo and I at Bundaberg...hic!!!
Bats
Chick moonlight paddling
Chick's new hair do....yes Mum I know it's short but it'll grow back ;-)
Happy New Year!!!
Bundaberg
So yesterday saw us on a mini road trip a couple of hours North to the Town of Bundaberg. To be honest it isn't the nicest of towns but JoJo suggested that we go there to visit the rum factory. Well you know me....typical English girl throw any kind of alcohol into the equation and I'm pretty much there!!! It was a bizarre place. As we drove up to the visitors centre you could see the factory which basically looked like some old rusted farm buildings, a couple of which were painted yellow with the Bundaberg sign on it!!
The Visitors Center itself was a lot more attractive and modern. There were a couple of different tours to choose from but because we were only wearing flip flops we had to go on the museum tour. It was ok but I'm sure the Factory tour was a lot more fun!! I can tell you now how rum is made although I won't bore you all with the details here, I'll save it until I get home!!! The tour ends at the bar which actually is a fabulous idea and I think more Museums should take this approach!!! Then we chose our rum and sat and chilled in the gardens for a while. Unfortunately as designated driver I was limited to one....booooo!!!! We then took lots of silly pictures with us all licking the twelve foot Bundaberg bottle and generally goofing around!!
Chick has developed a new passion in life for the beach. All she wants to do is jump the waves, swim and generally be wet so when we got back from Bundaberg we headed to the beach just before it started to get dark!! It was pretty cool to be on the beach with the moon out and reflecting off the sea and as we got back to the car there were thousands of bats flying overhead. It was a pretty amazing sight as some of them were as big as birds. Bats it turns out don't scare me....I know I'm a weird kind of freak when birds make me scream like a girl!!!
So with her obsession for the beach and swimming Chick's hair has pretty much been like straw and getting tangled and horrible so yesterday we made a radical decision and cut all her hair off....aaaarrrgghhhhh!!!! For those of you that don't know Chick's hair was long, almost all the way down her back and blonde at the ends.....well no more!! She now has a kind of shoulder length curly bob I guess and oh my goodness how grown up does the girl look....think my Mum will probably freak when she see's it but it's much more manageable now!!! I wish I could share pictures with you....it's sooooo frustrating.
Tomorrow we are taking off from Hervey Bay and working our way down the coast towards Surfers Paradise and Byron Bay and then onwards to Sydney to stay with my friend Dori so I'm not sure when I'll get chance to blog again. Until then a Happy New Year to you all xxx
The Visitors Center itself was a lot more attractive and modern. There were a couple of different tours to choose from but because we were only wearing flip flops we had to go on the museum tour. It was ok but I'm sure the Factory tour was a lot more fun!! I can tell you now how rum is made although I won't bore you all with the details here, I'll save it until I get home!!! The tour ends at the bar which actually is a fabulous idea and I think more Museums should take this approach!!! Then we chose our rum and sat and chilled in the gardens for a while. Unfortunately as designated driver I was limited to one....booooo!!!! We then took lots of silly pictures with us all licking the twelve foot Bundaberg bottle and generally goofing around!!
Chick has developed a new passion in life for the beach. All she wants to do is jump the waves, swim and generally be wet so when we got back from Bundaberg we headed to the beach just before it started to get dark!! It was pretty cool to be on the beach with the moon out and reflecting off the sea and as we got back to the car there were thousands of bats flying overhead. It was a pretty amazing sight as some of them were as big as birds. Bats it turns out don't scare me....I know I'm a weird kind of freak when birds make me scream like a girl!!!
So with her obsession for the beach and swimming Chick's hair has pretty much been like straw and getting tangled and horrible so yesterday we made a radical decision and cut all her hair off....aaaarrrgghhhhh!!!! For those of you that don't know Chick's hair was long, almost all the way down her back and blonde at the ends.....well no more!! She now has a kind of shoulder length curly bob I guess and oh my goodness how grown up does the girl look....think my Mum will probably freak when she see's it but it's much more manageable now!!! I wish I could share pictures with you....it's sooooo frustrating.
Tomorrow we are taking off from Hervey Bay and working our way down the coast towards Surfers Paradise and Byron Bay and then onwards to Sydney to stay with my friend Dori so I'm not sure when I'll get chance to blog again. Until then a Happy New Year to you all xxx
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Woodgate Beach - Burrum Head National Park
Yesterday was all kinds of awesome as the sun came out properly for the first time since our arrival. We started off the day at the local Water Park called Wetside. I say Park but really it's more of a huge paddling pool with lots of fountains and falling water...a great aid for cooling off when it's 30 degrees (sorry to make you all sick when it's snowing in England!!!) The downside of course of it being so hot is that my lilly white skin burns to a crisp. I had Factor 50 on all day but by the time we got home I was so red and burnt that I looked like a big piece of raw beef!!!! My feet today have been so sore that I could barely wear Flip Flops although they seem to be calming down a little now!!! Chick really enjoyed being at the park and for the most part she managed to avoid being burned....must get it from her wonderful Father!!!
In the afternoon once we'd had a nap our host Peter asked if we fancied going on a trip to try and see some Kanagaroos, so of course we jumped at the chance. We went to a great place called Woodgate Beach up towards Bundaberg about 150km North of where we are staying. The beach there is unbelieveably lovely...great sand and just the right amount of surf which amazingly was almost deserted. So I sat in the shade (stupid lilly white English skin!!!) whilst everyone else swam and rode the waves and played Cricket. About 4.30pm Peter said it was optimum time for Kangaroo spotting so off we went to the National Park. As we were driving there we saw our first Kanga just sitting in somebody's garden munching on the grass!!!! We pulled over and took a couple of pictures and carried on until we came to a spot where there were just too many Kanga's to count.
They are so tame that we managed to get right up close to them. So close in fact that Chick and Peter were almost touching them (I'm obviously too much of a girl to get that close!!) I got some amazing pictures although they were much smaller than I imagined them to be. As we were leaving the park a different Kangaroo jumped out in front of us and Peter saw that it had a Joey in her pouch. We pulled over the car and managed to get close enough again to get one of the best pictures ever of the Joey with it's head out of the pouch and them both looking at my camera!! It was such an amazing experience and we are so lucky!!!
I'd love to be able to share these pictures with you but unfortunately I have a couple of problems. First is that my shiny new laptop that I wrote about a few posts ago is bloody rubbish!!!! There is something wrong with the security settings on it and I need a professional to take a look at it. Second is that when I was trying to be Technical (read - forcing the damn thing to work) I snapped my camera memory card!!!! On my normal laptop at home I insert the memory card and the pictures just pop up and I presumed this one would work the same way so I didn't bring any of the camera leads with me!!!! I'll try and figure something out as we go along but for now words alone will have to do!!!
In the afternoon once we'd had a nap our host Peter asked if we fancied going on a trip to try and see some Kanagaroos, so of course we jumped at the chance. We went to a great place called Woodgate Beach up towards Bundaberg about 150km North of where we are staying. The beach there is unbelieveably lovely...great sand and just the right amount of surf which amazingly was almost deserted. So I sat in the shade (stupid lilly white English skin!!!) whilst everyone else swam and rode the waves and played Cricket. About 4.30pm Peter said it was optimum time for Kangaroo spotting so off we went to the National Park. As we were driving there we saw our first Kanga just sitting in somebody's garden munching on the grass!!!! We pulled over and took a couple of pictures and carried on until we came to a spot where there were just too many Kanga's to count.
They are so tame that we managed to get right up close to them. So close in fact that Chick and Peter were almost touching them (I'm obviously too much of a girl to get that close!!) I got some amazing pictures although they were much smaller than I imagined them to be. As we were leaving the park a different Kangaroo jumped out in front of us and Peter saw that it had a Joey in her pouch. We pulled over the car and managed to get close enough again to get one of the best pictures ever of the Joey with it's head out of the pouch and them both looking at my camera!! It was such an amazing experience and we are so lucky!!!
I'd love to be able to share these pictures with you but unfortunately I have a couple of problems. First is that my shiny new laptop that I wrote about a few posts ago is bloody rubbish!!!! There is something wrong with the security settings on it and I need a professional to take a look at it. Second is that when I was trying to be Technical (read - forcing the damn thing to work) I snapped my camera memory card!!!! On my normal laptop at home I insert the memory card and the pictures just pop up and I presumed this one would work the same way so I didn't bring any of the camera leads with me!!!! I'll try and figure something out as we go along but for now words alone will have to do!!!
Monday, 28 December 2009
Hervey Bay
I was expecting life in Australia to be different and more laid back but what I wasn't prepared for was the hours they keep. The sun comes up at around 5am and once it's up and shining it's pretty much impossible to sleep....especially when I have a seven year old that doesn't much like sleep anyway. The past couple of days has found us awake at 5am and 5.30am which is cool but means I can't stay awake past 8pm!!!!! (I thank God that Santa bought Chick a Nintendo DS for Christmas 'cos it means that I at least can nap on and off for an hour whilst she is entertained!!)
On the days when it's raining, we aren't woken up by the sun but by a cacophony of animal sounds. We have frogs that live in the hanging baskets right outside our window and man they are noisy especially considering how small they are. The other thing that starts making noise at the butt crack of dawn is the birds. Again it's like having my own personal avairy outside the window to keep me entertained.
I should probably mention at this point that I really dislike animals of every kind. I don't even like cats/dogs/cute bunny rabbits although I can suffer them if I have to but what I hate with a passion is snakes,frogs and birds....imagine if you can my joy at being surrounded by them at 5am!!!!! Everywhere you walk you see some kind of wildlife which for the first day freaked me out and then I decided that I can't spend the whole of the next month get scared every two seconds, so I'm gonna have to be brave and just suck it up!
It's working so far as last night I sat out with JoJo and let the frogs jump around us (it was horrible....uuurrrggghhh!!!) but I didn't freak out (too much!!). Watch this space though as I'm sure the second I see a snake or a huge bird I'll be back to quivering in my flip flops!!!
We have quite a chilled out day planned today and are off to explore the Hervey Bay Esplanade and maybe swim in the sea again. The rain has stopped and the sun is trying very hard to come out thankfully, so maybe today we won't get soaked to the skin!!!!
On the days when it's raining, we aren't woken up by the sun but by a cacophony of animal sounds. We have frogs that live in the hanging baskets right outside our window and man they are noisy especially considering how small they are. The other thing that starts making noise at the butt crack of dawn is the birds. Again it's like having my own personal avairy outside the window to keep me entertained.
I should probably mention at this point that I really dislike animals of every kind. I don't even like cats/dogs/cute bunny rabbits although I can suffer them if I have to but what I hate with a passion is snakes,frogs and birds....imagine if you can my joy at being surrounded by them at 5am!!!!! Everywhere you walk you see some kind of wildlife which for the first day freaked me out and then I decided that I can't spend the whole of the next month get scared every two seconds, so I'm gonna have to be brave and just suck it up!
It's working so far as last night I sat out with JoJo and let the frogs jump around us (it was horrible....uuurrrggghhh!!!) but I didn't freak out (too much!!). Watch this space though as I'm sure the second I see a snake or a huge bird I'll be back to quivering in my flip flops!!!
We have quite a chilled out day planned today and are off to explore the Hervey Bay Esplanade and maybe swim in the sea again. The rain has stopped and the sun is trying very hard to come out thankfully, so maybe today we won't get soaked to the skin!!!!
Sunday, 27 December 2009
Would you believe it?......
......we've flown to the other side of the world and it's bloody raining!!!!! I kid you not! Although it is about 29 degrees so no real complaints as I sit here typing in my shorts and vest and praying that the sun will come out at some point. My Australian hosts keep telling me to make the most of it as when the sun comes out I'll be moaning that it's too hot...quite true I'm sure.
We managed to make it to the beach yesterday though and I swam in the sea for the first time in about 10 years. I don't do well in the Ocean mainly because I have an over active imagination and in England the sea is normally brown and 10 degrees below. A combination of these things just makes me freak out so I tend to avoid it!
The flights here were generally ok. On the first flight the entertainment system didn't work for the first 5 hours which tested my patience some what but Chick was luckily behaving like an Angel so I didn't have a complete breakdown. The 5 hour wait in Hong Kong was a lot less fun and I think I added a few more grey hairs. On the second flight we had some kind of medical emergency which sent all of the cabin crew rushing to one place but thankfully we were almost in Brisbane by then and the lady survived!! Quite a bizarre experience to be stuck on a plane watching someone fight for their life without any medical staff on standby when you haven't slept for 2 days!!!
First impressions of Australia (bearing in mind that we haven't seen much yet!) are that it's like a bizarre cross of England and California. So we have the warm weather, wide open streets, 7Elevens and air con on the CA side. (on a side note it's odd being somewhere so like Cali and not seeing my American family....makes me sad!!) On the english side we have architecture, crap roads and Woolworths. We have yet to see any Kangaroos or Koalas but apprently we will later on today....yippee!!! Also hoping to head out to Fraser Island later on this week...maybe the sun will be out by then!!!
Have to dash because apparently we are going shopping. Hope you all had a fabulous holiday season!!!
We managed to make it to the beach yesterday though and I swam in the sea for the first time in about 10 years. I don't do well in the Ocean mainly because I have an over active imagination and in England the sea is normally brown and 10 degrees below. A combination of these things just makes me freak out so I tend to avoid it!
The flights here were generally ok. On the first flight the entertainment system didn't work for the first 5 hours which tested my patience some what but Chick was luckily behaving like an Angel so I didn't have a complete breakdown. The 5 hour wait in Hong Kong was a lot less fun and I think I added a few more grey hairs. On the second flight we had some kind of medical emergency which sent all of the cabin crew rushing to one place but thankfully we were almost in Brisbane by then and the lady survived!! Quite a bizarre experience to be stuck on a plane watching someone fight for their life without any medical staff on standby when you haven't slept for 2 days!!!
First impressions of Australia (bearing in mind that we haven't seen much yet!) are that it's like a bizarre cross of England and California. So we have the warm weather, wide open streets, 7Elevens and air con on the CA side. (on a side note it's odd being somewhere so like Cali and not seeing my American family....makes me sad!!) On the english side we have architecture, crap roads and Woolworths. We have yet to see any Kangaroos or Koalas but apprently we will later on today....yippee!!! Also hoping to head out to Fraser Island later on this week...maybe the sun will be out by then!!!
Have to dash because apparently we are going shopping. Hope you all had a fabulous holiday season!!!
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
Sabbatical
As most of you know on Christmas Day, Chick and I will be heading to Australia. As a Christmas present to myself I have purchased a shiny new blue, easy carry, 10" mini laptop with a 9 hour battery, mainly for blogging whilst I'm away:
I'm not sure how often I'll get to update my blog but it'll be my primary tool for keeping in touch with people whilst we're away and I'll try as often as possible, although it will depend on internet connections.
Regular readers may also notice over the next few days that I am amending or even deleting the odd post!!! Since I started writing this blog I have let very few people in my real life know about it, mainly just my friends and family that live abroad and a couple of my best friends. As I'm now going to be gone for a month everybody wants to have the link to my blog so that they can follow our travels and I thought I'd better remove some evidence from previous postings so as not to upset anyone!!
The plan at the moment is to fly from London to Brisbane on 25th December (if all the snow has melted and planes are taking off again then!!!) From Brisbane we will drive North to Fraser Island to meet JoJo and to chill out on the beach for a couple of days. We are then going on a huge road trip with an itinerary that will probably go something like this:
Brisbane - Gold Coast
Stay for a couple of days to go to SeaWorld and swim with Dolphins
Surfers Paradise
Drive down Coast randomly stopping wherever we fancy and enjoying the sunshine!!
Meet JoJo's Dad & Partner for some wine tasting in Hunter Valley
Relaxation
Sydney - Opera house, harbour bridge, surfers....I'm all over it ;-)
Melbourne
Hang out with Sam & Jo
Hen Party
Melbourne - Hervey Bay.......1081 mile drive just me and a 7 year old!!!!!
My Best Friends Wedding.....Awwwww
Soak up as much sun as possible before returning back to cold, grey England!!
Return home.....Boooooo!!!!
It's only today that I'm finally beginning to get excited about going. Up until this point I've been stressing about things in my usual whiny way!!! Stressing about how we'll pay for it, about the dresses for the wedding, about where we'll stay. Also when I'm this stressed and planning to travel my OCD kicks in big style which doesn't help!!! Anyhow today I finally finished all my Christmas stuff, got mainly done at work, have some funds to pay for fun stuff like for Chick to swim with Dolphins and also got to relax a while with JoJo's Dad. So now I'm all set the countdown can begin.
Happy Holidays and Good Wishes to you all xxx
I'm not sure how often I'll get to update my blog but it'll be my primary tool for keeping in touch with people whilst we're away and I'll try as often as possible, although it will depend on internet connections.
Regular readers may also notice over the next few days that I am amending or even deleting the odd post!!! Since I started writing this blog I have let very few people in my real life know about it, mainly just my friends and family that live abroad and a couple of my best friends. As I'm now going to be gone for a month everybody wants to have the link to my blog so that they can follow our travels and I thought I'd better remove some evidence from previous postings so as not to upset anyone!!
The plan at the moment is to fly from London to Brisbane on 25th December (if all the snow has melted and planes are taking off again then!!!) From Brisbane we will drive North to Fraser Island to meet JoJo and to chill out on the beach for a couple of days. We are then going on a huge road trip with an itinerary that will probably go something like this:
Brisbane - Gold Coast
Stay for a couple of days to go to SeaWorld and swim with Dolphins
Surfers Paradise
Drive down Coast randomly stopping wherever we fancy and enjoying the sunshine!!
Meet JoJo's Dad & Partner for some wine tasting in Hunter Valley
Relaxation
Sydney - Opera house, harbour bridge, surfers....I'm all over it ;-)
Melbourne
Hang out with Sam & Jo
Hen Party
Melbourne - Hervey Bay.......1081 mile drive just me and a 7 year old!!!!!
My Best Friends Wedding.....Awwwww
Soak up as much sun as possible before returning back to cold, grey England!!
Return home.....Boooooo!!!!
It's only today that I'm finally beginning to get excited about going. Up until this point I've been stressing about things in my usual whiny way!!! Stressing about how we'll pay for it, about the dresses for the wedding, about where we'll stay. Also when I'm this stressed and planning to travel my OCD kicks in big style which doesn't help!!! Anyhow today I finally finished all my Christmas stuff, got mainly done at work, have some funds to pay for fun stuff like for Chick to swim with Dolphins and also got to relax a while with JoJo's Dad. So now I'm all set the countdown can begin.
Happy Holidays and Good Wishes to you all xxx
Monday, 21 December 2009
It's behind you!!!
Now as you all know I don't have much Christmas spirit this year.....bah humbug and all that, but one of the best things about this holiday season is the Panto. Tonight we've been to see Beauty and the Beast with Lesley & Nat at the local Town Hall. This is them all dressed for winter as it's about -2 and not really fit for being out in:
Obviously Chick needs a flashing rose and a Tiara to be a Princess as well as a big thumb to give her enough courage to boo loudly at the bad guys (who fyi in Panto are generally hot!!!!):
These guys were the stars of the show although it took Chick about 10 minutes to stop giggling 'cos one of them was called Willy:
What a fab night full of laughter, cheering, jeering, booing and lovely company. Chick wants to go back tomorrow and I'm not sure you could get a higher accolade than that!!!
Obviously Chick needs a flashing rose and a Tiara to be a Princess as well as a big thumb to give her enough courage to boo loudly at the bad guys (who fyi in Panto are generally hot!!!!):
These guys were the stars of the show although it took Chick about 10 minutes to stop giggling 'cos one of them was called Willy:
What a fab night full of laughter, cheering, jeering, booing and lovely company. Chick wants to go back tomorrow and I'm not sure you could get a higher accolade than that!!!
Sunday, 20 December 2009
Friday Foto
Yeah so I guess it's not technically Friday but anyways I took this picture of some of my Family yesterday after a huge snowball fight and it makes my heart warm so I thought I'd share it with y'all:
From l-r: My Grandma, Mum, Cousin, Auntie & Chick at the front.....dressed in a combination of party dress and everything warm I took with us!!!!!
From l-r: My Grandma, Mum, Cousin, Auntie & Chick at the front.....dressed in a combination of party dress and everything warm I took with us!!!!!
Friday, 18 December 2009
Friday Questions
I kinda borrowed this Meme from Jenna over at All About Avacakes. Feel free to add your own answers in the comments. Happy Friday Everyone:
Name someone with the same birthday as you?
Meryl Streep and Cyndi Lauper according to Google!!!
Where was your first kiss?
On the park near my house when I was 14 with an 18 year old!!!! Always was a hussy!
Have you ever seriously vandalized someone else’s property?
Not that I remember? I was kind of part of a party that ruined a wall in JoJo’s parents house with a food fight when we were 16 but it wasn’t malicious
Have you ever hit someone of the opposite sex?
Errrrmmm…….yes I have….got caught in between a couple of Army fights when I lived in Germany and couldn’t keep my mouth shut (I know…..surprising huh???)
Have you ever sung in front of a large number of people?
Only when I was a Camp Counselor or when extremely drunk at Kar-e-oke and only ever very badly!!!
What’s the first thing you notice about your preferred sex?
If they have a pulse! No….erm…..not really sure to be honest!
What really turns you off?
Rudeness…urgh and Arrogance that can’t be backed up!
What do you order at Starbucks?
Cake because I hate coffee.
What is your biggest mistake?
Wouldn’t want to admit it here…..you live and learn and all that!
Have you ever hurt yourself on purpose?
No, why?
Say something totally random about yourself.
I have OCD at work but am very messy at home, I hate pickles and I whine a lot!!!!
Has anyone ever said you looked like a celebrity?
Only Mandi Dingle or Dawn French…..flattering I know!
Do you still watch kiddie movies or TV shows?
God yes….we are all about Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus at the moment but it also means I get to watch Saturday morning kids t.v. guilt free!!!
Did you have braces?
Nope, but I should’ve done when I was younger ‘cos my teeth are awful now!!!
Are you comfortable with your height?
Yep, I love being 5’ 11” and wouldn’t change it for the world!!! Hope Chick feels the same ‘cos it’s looking like she’s gonna be huge!!!!
What is the most romantic thing someone of the preferred sex has done for you?
A certain person who will shall call ‘The Organ Grinder’ (because his staff are in fact Monkeys) (who has been wanting a mention on my blog for ages!! Hey you….consider yourself mentioned!!!) Last year on St. Valentine’s day excelled himself and had delivered to my work one of the biggest bouquets of flowers that I’ve ever seen. The best thing about them???? They were all white because he knows that I hate roses, hearts and uninspiring flowers….bless him!!! I was overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness and how well he knew me!!!
Second place (for thoughtfulness not romance) goes to ‘Ghost’ for the hand-made Tom Jones compilation he took the time to make for my birthday this year……you are awesome xxx
When do you know it’s love?
Pass!?!
Do you speak any other languages?
My honest answer should be no but I do speak a very small amount of school girl French and I can order a beer and say excuse me in German!!! Not very impressive when I lived there for 3 years!!
Have you ever been to tanning salon?
Unfortunately when I was younger, sleeping on tanning beds used to be my way of relaxing. May account for the reason that the sun only has to wink at me now and I turn into a red, sore mess!!! Oz is gonna be a lot of fun!
Have you ever ridden in a limo?
No, but the next time I go to Vegas I’m determined to get one from the airport to the Bellagio!!! (I like to delude myself that I can afford to stay there when in reality it’ll probably be Circus Circus!!!)
What’s something that really annoys you?
Rude people, bad customer service…..I think everyone in England should be trained like the Greeters from WalMart, people hiding behind anonymous comments on the internet, Christmas songs!!
What’s something you really like?
Vodka, sunshine, snuggling with Chick, laying in on the weekend, sunshine (sure I lived in CA in a past life!!).
Can you dance?
Physically? Yes! Without looking like a dumbass? Not so much!!!
Have you ever been rushed by an ambulance into the emergency room?
Yep, when JoJo fell down my cellar stairs after a Lambrini night and broke both wrists. On the plus side the ambulance man was hot, hot, hot!!!!
Name someone with the same birthday as you?
Meryl Streep and Cyndi Lauper according to Google!!!
Where was your first kiss?
On the park near my house when I was 14 with an 18 year old!!!! Always was a hussy!
Have you ever seriously vandalized someone else’s property?
Not that I remember? I was kind of part of a party that ruined a wall in JoJo’s parents house with a food fight when we were 16 but it wasn’t malicious
Have you ever hit someone of the opposite sex?
Errrrmmm…….yes I have….got caught in between a couple of Army fights when I lived in Germany and couldn’t keep my mouth shut (I know…..surprising huh???)
Have you ever sung in front of a large number of people?
Only when I was a Camp Counselor or when extremely drunk at Kar-e-oke and only ever very badly!!!
What’s the first thing you notice about your preferred sex?
If they have a pulse! No….erm…..not really sure to be honest!
What really turns you off?
Rudeness…urgh and Arrogance that can’t be backed up!
What do you order at Starbucks?
Cake because I hate coffee.
What is your biggest mistake?
Wouldn’t want to admit it here…..you live and learn and all that!
Have you ever hurt yourself on purpose?
No, why?
Say something totally random about yourself.
I have OCD at work but am very messy at home, I hate pickles and I whine a lot!!!!
Has anyone ever said you looked like a celebrity?
Only Mandi Dingle or Dawn French…..flattering I know!
Do you still watch kiddie movies or TV shows?
God yes….we are all about Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus at the moment but it also means I get to watch Saturday morning kids t.v. guilt free!!!
Did you have braces?
Nope, but I should’ve done when I was younger ‘cos my teeth are awful now!!!
Are you comfortable with your height?
Yep, I love being 5’ 11” and wouldn’t change it for the world!!! Hope Chick feels the same ‘cos it’s looking like she’s gonna be huge!!!!
What is the most romantic thing someone of the preferred sex has done for you?
A certain person who will shall call ‘The Organ Grinder’ (because his staff are in fact Monkeys) (who has been wanting a mention on my blog for ages!! Hey you….consider yourself mentioned!!!) Last year on St. Valentine’s day excelled himself and had delivered to my work one of the biggest bouquets of flowers that I’ve ever seen. The best thing about them???? They were all white because he knows that I hate roses, hearts and uninspiring flowers….bless him!!! I was overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness and how well he knew me!!!
Second place (for thoughtfulness not romance) goes to ‘Ghost’ for the hand-made Tom Jones compilation he took the time to make for my birthday this year……you are awesome xxx
When do you know it’s love?
Pass!?!
Do you speak any other languages?
My honest answer should be no but I do speak a very small amount of school girl French and I can order a beer and say excuse me in German!!! Not very impressive when I lived there for 3 years!!
Have you ever been to tanning salon?
Unfortunately when I was younger, sleeping on tanning beds used to be my way of relaxing. May account for the reason that the sun only has to wink at me now and I turn into a red, sore mess!!! Oz is gonna be a lot of fun!
Have you ever ridden in a limo?
No, but the next time I go to Vegas I’m determined to get one from the airport to the Bellagio!!! (I like to delude myself that I can afford to stay there when in reality it’ll probably be Circus Circus!!!)
What’s something that really annoys you?
Rude people, bad customer service…..I think everyone in England should be trained like the Greeters from WalMart, people hiding behind anonymous comments on the internet, Christmas songs!!
What’s something you really like?
Vodka, sunshine, snuggling with Chick, laying in on the weekend, sunshine (sure I lived in CA in a past life!!).
Can you dance?
Physically? Yes! Without looking like a dumbass? Not so much!!!
Have you ever been rushed by an ambulance into the emergency room?
Yep, when JoJo fell down my cellar stairs after a Lambrini night and broke both wrists. On the plus side the ambulance man was hot, hot, hot!!!!
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Busy
So, you know how I like to be busy right? Yeah, well this is kinda what the next couple of weeks look like and it just makes me want to take a nap:
Today – 3rd Christmas dinner....mmmmmm Turkey & stuffing, Christmas pud and copious amounts of wine at lunchtime.......can’t really complain!!!!
Tomorrow – Work and Christmas night out (again)(must find babysitter!!)
Saturday and Sunday – Mum’s for Family Christmas. 2.5 hour drive, lots of lovely presents, try not to get drunk and fall over or dance on tables topless......don't really want to give my Grandma a heart attack!!!!
Monday – Drag ass out of bed for work and then Panto with Chick, Lesley & Nats (yee ha can’t wait....I lurve Panto ever since the baddy a couple of years ago.....can anyone say HOT?????)
Tuesday – Work again and then a present-less Christmas visit with Chick’s Dad (yep......REALLY looking forward to this one......NOT!!!!)
Wednesday – Prise eyelids open for work and then drive an hour to Miley Cyrus (Wooooo.......or not!!!), arrive home around midnight, deal with over excited, overtired child, wonder why the bloody hell I bother, then try and speak to everyone we aren’t gonna see for the next 5 weeks and wish them Merry Christmas, finish packing....remembering bridesmaid dresses and Spanx (can’t do Oz without these!!),try to keep eyes open, wrap Chick’s presents from Santa, try and sleep for an hour!!!!
Thursday – Santa is coming early so wake up after 3 hours sleep. Unwrap presents with Chick, visit everyone we’ve missed so far and deliver presents, finish packing, take down tree and decorations, field phone calls from all we haven’t visited so far, re-check passport, money, bags for Oz, try not to let OCD take over. Arrive at Train Station at 2pm, Sit on train and take Valium, trek through London on Underground with 2 huge bags, 1 small bag and and a 7 year old, arrive Heathrow, take more Valium, find hotel, mix mini-bar with valium, relax and watch crap T.V.
Friday – Santa is bringing stocking today so wake up after 3 hours sleep, finish Valium & mini-bar, open last of presents, trek from crap cheap hotel to airport, buy champagne to celebrate the fact we are getting the hell out of England in December and January and because we are now on holiday after all, pretend we are rich enough to shop in Harrods at airport and buy prezzies for the lovely Angels who are putting us up in Oz, find gate, drug daughter so she doesn’t bug me for 36 hours.......oh, I joke people, I joke....honestly!!! Sit on flight for 36 hours apart from a 5 hour break in Hong Kong. Try not to lose plot completely.
Saturday/Sunday - Arrive Brisbane, taxi to hotel, sleep and then sleep some more, pick up hire car, drive 4 hours to Jolene and Mike, lots of hugs, drop off daughter for quality time with her Auntie JoJo and Uncle Mike, go to beach and sit in the glorious sunshine ALL ALONE for a couple of hours (at least!!) with only a book (and maybe a hunky Lifeguard) for Company!
Monday 28th December until 21st January – RELAX!!!!!!!!
Today – 3rd Christmas dinner....mmmmmm Turkey & stuffing, Christmas pud and copious amounts of wine at lunchtime.......can’t really complain!!!!
Tomorrow – Work and Christmas night out (again)(must find babysitter!!)
Saturday and Sunday – Mum’s for Family Christmas. 2.5 hour drive, lots of lovely presents, try not to get drunk and fall over or dance on tables topless......don't really want to give my Grandma a heart attack!!!!
Monday – Drag ass out of bed for work and then Panto with Chick, Lesley & Nats (yee ha can’t wait....I lurve Panto ever since the baddy a couple of years ago.....can anyone say HOT?????)
Tuesday – Work again and then a present-less Christmas visit with Chick’s Dad (yep......REALLY looking forward to this one......NOT!!!!)
Wednesday – Prise eyelids open for work and then drive an hour to Miley Cyrus (Wooooo.......or not!!!), arrive home around midnight, deal with over excited, overtired child, wonder why the bloody hell I bother, then try and speak to everyone we aren’t gonna see for the next 5 weeks and wish them Merry Christmas, finish packing....remembering bridesmaid dresses and Spanx (can’t do Oz without these!!),try to keep eyes open, wrap Chick’s presents from Santa, try and sleep for an hour!!!!
Thursday – Santa is coming early so wake up after 3 hours sleep. Unwrap presents with Chick, visit everyone we’ve missed so far and deliver presents, finish packing, take down tree and decorations, field phone calls from all we haven’t visited so far, re-check passport, money, bags for Oz, try not to let OCD take over. Arrive at Train Station at 2pm, Sit on train and take Valium, trek through London on Underground with 2 huge bags, 1 small bag and and a 7 year old, arrive Heathrow, take more Valium, find hotel, mix mini-bar with valium, relax and watch crap T.V.
Friday – Santa is bringing stocking today so wake up after 3 hours sleep, finish Valium & mini-bar, open last of presents, trek from crap cheap hotel to airport, buy champagne to celebrate the fact we are getting the hell out of England in December and January and because we are now on holiday after all, pretend we are rich enough to shop in Harrods at airport and buy prezzies for the lovely Angels who are putting us up in Oz, find gate, drug daughter so she doesn’t bug me for 36 hours.......oh, I joke people, I joke....honestly!!! Sit on flight for 36 hours apart from a 5 hour break in Hong Kong. Try not to lose plot completely.
Saturday/Sunday - Arrive Brisbane, taxi to hotel, sleep and then sleep some more, pick up hire car, drive 4 hours to Jolene and Mike, lots of hugs, drop off daughter for quality time with her Auntie JoJo and Uncle Mike, go to beach and sit in the glorious sunshine ALL ALONE for a couple of hours (at least!!) with only a book (and maybe a hunky Lifeguard) for Company!
Monday 28th December until 21st January – RELAX!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Christmas Carols
One of the hard things about being a parent that works full time is that occasionally I have to make a choice between work and Chick. Take yesterday for instance. It was Chick's christmas carol concert at the local church and I had offered my services for the walking bus so that they had enough Parents to help with the kids. My plan was to walk with them and then sit and enjoy the concert before returning them to class and going back to work. I then had a huge problem with the payroll and if I didn't go into work then 900 people wouldn't have been paid in time for Christmas.
Really awful decision to have to make but unfortunately on this occasion work had to win. I made it to the church just in time to see Chick's class to sing 'When Santa got stuck up the Chimney' which was all kinds of cute!! Also as she is part of the school Choir she got to sing another song (excuse my shaky camera work!!!) :
It's an Italian Christmas song and I'm not sure if you can tell by the sound quality just how beautiful it was!!!!! I'd kinda forgotten that she is even in the Choir as she can never remember anything that she's done at school by the time I pick her up so doesn't really tell me what goes on at school!! I looked like the worst Mother in the world as all the other Mum's were singing along and I was standing there with a look of complete shock on my face at how awesome they were!!!! I just hope that chick remembers that I was there when she's a World Class Opera singer and not the fact that I arrived late and left early!!!!!
Really awful decision to have to make but unfortunately on this occasion work had to win. I made it to the church just in time to see Chick's class to sing 'When Santa got stuck up the Chimney' which was all kinds of cute!! Also as she is part of the school Choir she got to sing another song (excuse my shaky camera work!!!) :
It's an Italian Christmas song and I'm not sure if you can tell by the sound quality just how beautiful it was!!!!! I'd kinda forgotten that she is even in the Choir as she can never remember anything that she's done at school by the time I pick her up so doesn't really tell me what goes on at school!! I looked like the worst Mother in the world as all the other Mum's were singing along and I was standing there with a look of complete shock on my face at how awesome they were!!!! I just hope that chick remembers that I was there when she's a World Class Opera singer and not the fact that I arrived late and left early!!!!!
Monday, 14 December 2009
Dear Santa
I have been an especially good girl this year so I’m sending you my Christmas list. Please could I have the following:
- A big lottery win. Preferably around £10,000,000 but I’d settle for £7 Million!!!!!
- If you are unable to manage the above could you please give my Bank Manager a heart and persuade him to lend me some money!!!!
- I would really like to swim with Sharks whilst in Oz so could you please magic me a babysitter for the day so that my daughter doesn’t have to watch!!! I’m not sure that watching your Mum face-to-face with Sharks would be fun at 7.
- It would also be very helpful if you could arrange for Chick’s After School Club to not close down as I don’t have enough time to sort anything else out!!!
- I’d also be a more than happy girl if you could leave me a pair of Christian Louboutins under my tree. Any shiny or sparkly size eights would do. Could live with Manolos or Choos if you can’t get the Louboutins in time!!!!
I know when Chick saw you yesterday she reminded you of the need to come early before we go on holiday and said she wasn’t sure what she wanted as she knows all the Miley tickets have sold out. She has now written a Christmas list (as you suggested) which I’ve taken a photo of and put below as I don’t think you’ll receive in time if I send by snail mail....Apologies for being so unorganised:
Thanking you in anticipation
Emma
- A big lottery win. Preferably around £10,000,000 but I’d settle for £7 Million!!!!!
- If you are unable to manage the above could you please give my Bank Manager a heart and persuade him to lend me some money!!!!
- I would really like to swim with Sharks whilst in Oz so could you please magic me a babysitter for the day so that my daughter doesn’t have to watch!!! I’m not sure that watching your Mum face-to-face with Sharks would be fun at 7.
- It would also be very helpful if you could arrange for Chick’s After School Club to not close down as I don’t have enough time to sort anything else out!!!
- I’d also be a more than happy girl if you could leave me a pair of Christian Louboutins under my tree. Any shiny or sparkly size eights would do. Could live with Manolos or Choos if you can’t get the Louboutins in time!!!!
I know when Chick saw you yesterday she reminded you of the need to come early before we go on holiday and said she wasn’t sure what she wanted as she knows all the Miley tickets have sold out. She has now written a Christmas list (as you suggested) which I’ve taken a photo of and put below as I don’t think you’ll receive in time if I send by snail mail....Apologies for being so unorganised:
Thanking you in anticipation
Emma
Sunday, 13 December 2009
Seriously?
You know sometimes when you have to deal with people or see people on T.V and what you really want to say to them is 'Seriously? WTF?' so I'm going to get them all off of my chest in one go:
Tiger Woods - 'Seriously? WTF?'
Simon Cowell - 'Seriously? WTF?' If you are going to fix the results at least make it look like a competition you do actually have enough millions to be able cover it up!!!!
Chick's Dad - 'Seriously? WTF?' If you can't afford to buy your children Christmas presents then that's fine but don't buy for one and not the other you stupid, stupid man!!
The Bank Manager - 'Seriously? WTF?' I understand that you have a job to do but it would be nice if you weren't such an arse about not lending me any money. Please remember that I do indirectly pay your wages!!!!
My Body - 'Seriously? WTF?' A sickness bug and voice loss all within three days....you are actually having a laugh and I'm fed up of being ill now!!!!
OK I'm all done...I feel much better for getting all that out!!!!
Tiger Woods - 'Seriously? WTF?'
Simon Cowell - 'Seriously? WTF?' If you are going to fix the results at least make it look like a competition you do actually have enough millions to be able cover it up!!!!
Chick's Dad - 'Seriously? WTF?' If you can't afford to buy your children Christmas presents then that's fine but don't buy for one and not the other you stupid, stupid man!!
The Bank Manager - 'Seriously? WTF?' I understand that you have a job to do but it would be nice if you weren't such an arse about not lending me any money. Please remember that I do indirectly pay your wages!!!!
My Body - 'Seriously? WTF?' A sickness bug and voice loss all within three days....you are actually having a laugh and I'm fed up of being ill now!!!!
OK I'm all done...I feel much better for getting all that out!!!!
Friday, 11 December 2009
A-ok
Today we’ve been for Chick’s 18 month check up for her ears and thankfully everything is fine and she now has perfect hearing. I was beginning to think that her hearing was deteriorating again but the Doctor reassures me that it’s just 7 year old selective hearing rather than an actual problem!!
When I was young I had exactly the same problem as Chick and I always tried to fool the hearing test machine. When we go to the Docs and she has the test it makes me cringe and takes me right back to the 5 year old that I was, sitting in the Headmistresses Office thinking I was clever enough to fool the test. Obviously didn’t work as when I was about 6 I had to have grommits. I remember my Mum had to leave me at the Hospital because back in (*ahem1981*ahem) the day they didn’t have beds for Parents or have day patients like they did for Chick.
So, now she only has selective hearing we don’t have to make our 6 monthly visits and I no longer have to deal with regressing to a 5 year old. I think that’s a pretty good note to end the week on!!
When I was young I had exactly the same problem as Chick and I always tried to fool the hearing test machine. When we go to the Docs and she has the test it makes me cringe and takes me right back to the 5 year old that I was, sitting in the Headmistresses Office thinking I was clever enough to fool the test. Obviously didn’t work as when I was about 6 I had to have grommits. I remember my Mum had to leave me at the Hospital because back in (*ahem1981*ahem) the day they didn’t have beds for Parents or have day patients like they did for Chick.
So, now she only has selective hearing we don’t have to make our 6 monthly visits and I no longer have to deal with regressing to a 5 year old. I think that’s a pretty good note to end the week on!!
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Love
As you know at the weekend we went to Andrew and Roxie's Wedding which was a lovely low key affair attended by family and close friends so here as promised some pictures. Neither Sarah or I are particularly photogenic but we managed to get an ok picture together:
And of course the Bride & Groom:
The image of the day for me though was this:
The Punk's first time being a Bridesmaid and she just looks like a Princess. I almost cried when I saw her looking so beautiful and grown up!
Huge Congratulations and love to Andrew and Roxie as they set off on married life together xxx
And of course the Bride & Groom:
The image of the day for me though was this:
The Punk's first time being a Bridesmaid and she just looks like a Princess. I almost cried when I saw her looking so beautiful and grown up!
Huge Congratulations and love to Andrew and Roxie as they set off on married life together xxx
Monday, 7 December 2009
Sick
I know that my last post was lame and unfortunately this post is heading the same way. I spent a lot of the weekend being extremely sick with a dodgy stomach bug that I've picked up from somewhere and no it isn't alcohol related!!!!! I still feel kind of off today and have had a terrible day at work. I can't even blog about work because I'm so furious that anything I write today before I calm down will probably see me getting the sack.
I was going to write a post about the wedding that we went to at the weekend and show you some pictures of The Punk looking like a Princess but then Chick came home from Brownies and was violently sick so the nice stuff will have to wait until tomorrow!!! Aren't you glad that you came by today to listen to me whine again???? I promise tomorrow there will be a shiny, upbeat post to read but until then I'm gonna go do the Mummy thing!!!!!
I was going to write a post about the wedding that we went to at the weekend and show you some pictures of The Punk looking like a Princess but then Chick came home from Brownies and was violently sick so the nice stuff will have to wait until tomorrow!!! Aren't you glad that you came by today to listen to me whine again???? I promise tomorrow there will be a shiny, upbeat post to read but until then I'm gonna go do the Mummy thing!!!!!
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
Lame
Today I have nothing. I only got done with work about an hour ago and I'm so tired that I can barely keep my eyes open. My new shiny hard drive arrived today and being so Rock 'n' Roll I was planning on spending my evening backing up all my precious documents and pictures.
As I'm so knackered I'm going to be super lame and send you all over to Chanel's blog. Chanel is my American Sister-in-Law and she is tryng to post every day during December to raise some money for the Salvation Army to help people that won't get a Christmas this year because they are too busy trying to survive. Swing by and say Hi to her or throw some money in her Red Bucket I'm sure she'd love to see you:
http://overactiveovaries.wordpress.com/
As I'm so knackered I'm going to be super lame and send you all over to Chanel's blog. Chanel is my American Sister-in-Law and she is tryng to post every day during December to raise some money for the Salvation Army to help people that won't get a Christmas this year because they are too busy trying to survive. Swing by and say Hi to her or throw some money in her Red Bucket I'm sure she'd love to see you:
http://overactiveovaries.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Ok I give in......
......we are doing Christmas after all. You know I used to love Christmas right up to the point where I got old enough that it all became about the money. With us going to Australia this year I decided that apart from a few presents for Chick we wouldn’t do Christmas at all. Like no tree, no decorations, no cards and definitely NO Christmas tunes. Again I used to love Christmas songs but my problem with them is that we hear the same 20 songs every goddamn year....why can’t we have some new ones???
But I appear to have had a change of heart. I’m not sure if it’s because we went to see Dora The Explorer turn on the Christmas lights on Sunday or if it’s the fact that actually it’s now December so it’s ok to feel Christmassy? Maybe it’s because I finally got my hand on tickets for Chick to see:
Yep that’s right....another thing that I gave in on. It may have taken me 3 months of surfing the internet every single day to look for them but I have them. I hope that Chick will be VERY excited as I almost had to re-mortgage the house to pay for them!!!
So with all that said and after being tortured by my colleagues with Christmas songs I figured that I may as well stop being all Bah Humbug and at least try to make some effort for Chick’s sake if not mine. We started by putting our new (very complicated) Tree up and then Daddy came for Chick’s usual visit and she must have told him about my aversion to the songs because I went to hunt out the lights and when I came back down the stairs Slade was blaring from the stereo and they were both dancing around the Lounge like idiots. I’m happy that after everything they get on so well and are as Goofy as each other!!! We've also been playing a Christmas CD that Red bought when Chick was little that sings a special Christmas song with Chick's name in it....we had lots of fun singing along!
So we finished decorating the tree reminiscing over the decorations that we’ve bought, been given or have been handmade and I’m really pleased with how beautiful it looks:
Happy Holidays!!!!
But I appear to have had a change of heart. I’m not sure if it’s because we went to see Dora The Explorer turn on the Christmas lights on Sunday or if it’s the fact that actually it’s now December so it’s ok to feel Christmassy? Maybe it’s because I finally got my hand on tickets for Chick to see:
Yep that’s right....another thing that I gave in on. It may have taken me 3 months of surfing the internet every single day to look for them but I have them. I hope that Chick will be VERY excited as I almost had to re-mortgage the house to pay for them!!!
So with all that said and after being tortured by my colleagues with Christmas songs I figured that I may as well stop being all Bah Humbug and at least try to make some effort for Chick’s sake if not mine. We started by putting our new (very complicated) Tree up and then Daddy came for Chick’s usual visit and she must have told him about my aversion to the songs because I went to hunt out the lights and when I came back down the stairs Slade was blaring from the stereo and they were both dancing around the Lounge like idiots. I’m happy that after everything they get on so well and are as Goofy as each other!!! We've also been playing a Christmas CD that Red bought when Chick was little that sings a special Christmas song with Chick's name in it....we had lots of fun singing along!
So we finished decorating the tree reminiscing over the decorations that we’ve bought, been given or have been handmade and I’m really pleased with how beautiful it looks:
Happy Holidays!!!!
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