It is Spring here at the moment and the birds are doing their thing. Unfortunately the magpies here are EVIL especially at this time. Thank God I got my phobia sorted out (Thank you Pam Birchall) because I can honestly say if I hadn't I would never dare leave the house again after seeing what I saw … read more

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I thought it was about time that I posted again as I've neglected this blog over the last few weeks due to other distractions. The truth is I've been obsessed with working on my internet 'projects'. I've got two projects on the go: 1) I'm still a partner in Autonomy Business Solutions Ltd of which … read more

I had the phone call I've been waiting for - I got the job. This is where I'll be working doing admin, Monday to Friday 9am - 3pm. http://www.mbtbc.com/ I'm really looking forward to it. The best of it is Lauren breaks for 2 weeks holiday on Thursday and they're willing to wait till after that to … read more

Yesterday we had our first snake in our front garden. I didn't actually see it, but the gardener almost stood on it. He told me where it was so I went out armed with my camera but it was really well hidden in a big bush and I couldn't see it. Needless to say I wouldn't let Lauren play out (much to … read more

It seems that the winter has passed and we are now head first into Spring. We decided to make the most of our weekend and went to the beach on Saturday. We really must get more into the swing of beach visits. We forgot Lauren's hat, bucket and spade so had to go and buy yet another. Then there's the … read more

A couple of reasons actually, small but when they add together it's what make this place what it is. We got a leaflet through the door saying there would be a collection for garden clippings etc with details on about what size the clippings could be. All people need to do is leave their stuff in a … read more

It's unusual for me to be posting but Daryl thinks I should. I walked out of my job on Wednesday. I've been very disappointed by how things have turned out, I'll explain. When I went for my interview John (my now ex boss) explained that for the past few years they had had people running the branch … read more

It was raining constantly over the weekend which meant any plans we might have had were thrown right out of the window, although it was quite nice not to have to do anything, especially after last weekend's exertions. It at least gave me the opportunity to make some good progress on my first … read more

Just to let you all know, Mum the Jack Vetriano picture and figurine both arrived unharmed. Phil the music box you gave Lauren did too, "The Mum's"! my framed photo also arrived safely and is now on my desk at work! It's these little things Daryl forgets to mention. There were however some … read more

Lauren's first 'wobbly tooth' finally came out today. She's very excited. I suggested to her that instead of putting it under her pillow for the tooth fairy she might want to keep it as a souvenir - something she could show her own children one day. She knocked back my suggestion. She'd rather have … read more

Yesterday was Lauren's birthday. We had work and school as normal but afterwards we had a little party for her. The neighbours came round as well as Cath and Bonny. And tomorrow we're taking her to Sea World. Again. It doesn't seem like two minutes since the last time we went but we gave Lauren the … read more

With the weather nice again we went out and bought our first proper aussie BBQ yesterday. We couldn't believe how cheap they are. We bought a 4-burner gas flat-top barbie for only $119 (£48). We bought it from Bunnings, which is basically the equivalent of B&Q in the UK. In fact, it seems to be … read more

The aussies like to say 'drama' a lot. Everything's a drama. If something's a bit of bother, it's a drama. I had a 'drama' of my own today. A woman fainted on me in the lift today at work, although I don't think it was because she mistook me for Brad Pitt. As I was travelling down to the ground … read more

After constantly being busy with one thing and another since arriving in Oz it was really nice to be able to relax this weekend. Sunday in particular was lovely. We spent the afternoon relaxing in the garden reading whilst basking in the warmth of the sun. I keep having to remind myself it's the … read more

We finally returned the hire car tonight. The company we're buying the car off have gave us a loan car until we return with the bankers cheque and pick up the car which we plan to do tomorrow. In fact we've been surprised how good they've been. The car we're buying is only cheap, yet they've been … read more

I've got a job! On Monday I received a phone call from an agent I've been dealing with telling me that while the Security Consultancy he's been speaking to about me are impressed with my CV, they don't have any work for me at the moment. 24 hours later I received another phone call saying that … read more

After a busy couple of days I packed my two girls off ready for a day of firsts this morning - Rach for her first day at work and Lauren for her first day at school. Now that one of has got a job we decided it was safe to get Lauren into school. We hadn't done it yet because we worried we may have … read more

Some good news - Rach went for her second interview (not for the same job) this morning for a Branch Manager position for a Home Services company. The company provides carpet cleaners, upholsterers, that kind of thing. She came home from the interview feeling that it went pretty well and after … read more

We've just realised that it's the end of the financial year here which may account for why it's so slow in the job market at the moment. When we came over in January there were tons of opportunities but I've hardly seen any this month. I'm just hoping it will pick up in July with the start of a new … read more