I Have A Job!!!

Well my DH and I have been in Australia for less than 2 weeks and got the phone call we have been waiting for – we are now employed!!!! It didn’t take us long at all – infact out of over 100 resumes that came in and after about 7 possible candidates going in for an interview, my DH and I were the two chosen and we couldn’t be happier. We will be working for a bank here on the Gold Coast – in two different branches though. I am really looking forward to learning something completely new and moving ahead with a new career goal. We start our jobs next Wednesday in our branches and then we have to commute to Brisbane the following week for 5 days for training in their head office. For those who don’t know, Brisbane is about 1 hour away from where I live. It is the capital of Queensland, which is the State I live in.

That’s enough Geography for one blog……..

This morning my twin sister, Netty and my niece, Olivia came to pick us up and we headed down to a suburb called Nobby’s Beach where I went to surprise one of my very good High School friends, at work. My friend Melissa and her husband own a bakery and we thought it would be a good idea to just walk into the bakery and surprise her. Well, she wasn’t working today but as we arrived her husband was on the phone to her and he called me over to talk to her. She dropped what she was doing at home and came to meet us at the bakery. It was so good to see her………. She is one of the sweetest people I know, a good friend, kind-hearted and such a darling. We chatted for a bit before our busy day continued.

While on the way home my niece had a MAJOR explosion in her diaper ………. I mean MAJOR!! I forgot how stinky diapers can get. So when we got home we put her in the bathtub for a bit and then I got to dress her and do her hair. I know it sounds silly but I love playing hairdressers so I took advantage of doing her hair and she loved it. She looks just like I did when I was her age.

This Saturday we are celebrating Olivia’s 3rd birthday. I am excited that I get to be here for it. Tomorrow we are going to head over to Netty’s place to get the yummy treats ready. Chocolate Crackles, cupcakes, etc…………. all the things that I shouldn’t be eating and probably won’t be eating. I am so worried about putting all the weight I lost back on again so I am being extra careful. Will let you know how the party goes.

We met up with my brother and sister-in-law for lunch at Hooters!! I know, I know………. Hooters!! But they have pretty good food there and I know that my DH can get the hot wings that he likes so much there too. I was surprised to hear that there was a Hooters on the Gold Coast but it isn’t as bad as it sounds – really.

Till next time…………….

Greeting from the Gold Coast

Well my DH and I have kinda settled into our new life in Australia. Still no job, so it feels like we are on vacation right now. We did go for an interview yesterday - fingers crossed!!! I felt it went well but I may not be what they are after. Will keep you posted.

Today it is stinkin' hot - don't know what the actual temperature is but all I can say it is 'bloody hot'. And it's not like the heat starts in the middle of the day - oh no - it is boiling hot first thing in the morning at 6am. That is where you can find me oiled up and tanning in the back yard!!! Check me out this morning!!!!

It has been great visiting with my family and seeing all my neices and nephews. Olivia's 3rd birthday party will be this Saturday. She is into Dora the Explorer these days so I bought a gift accordingly. She is slowly warming up to me......... she is my twin sister's daughter and I am sure it is freaking her out that we look the same. Infact Olivia looks just like we did at her age!!

My DH and I still haven't found a new Dojo to join but we did find a really good gym and will start working out today. It is so easy to get out of routine and I have been fairly lazy since we moved here so I decided today, despite the heat, we have to do some form of exercise today.

That's it for now........... haven't been able to scrapbook or make my cards yet as we are still waiting for most of our boxes to come.

Till next time..................

A Quick Post

I haven't posted in a while ................. sorry but I have been just a little bit busy.

My DH and I arrived in Australia a couple of days ago and I don't have internet access.

So a quick post to say - 'Yeh I'm home'. It is good to see my family, especially my nieces and nephews.

Will post again soon.

Till next time.............

Just when things were going smoothly.....

Only two days till we go now!! I have nearly finished packing my luggage. I have been struggling with what I should take and what I should leave behind. We are planning on leaving alot of our winter stuff behind - we don't think we really need it right now. For some reason I have been stressing over what I should be taking. My older sister called me this afternoon and laid it out clearly - I can always buy things in Australia, it's not the end of the world. True............ it made me feel better about leaving things behind. Also, I have to remember that we will be back next Summer so I can bring more stuff home then.

The end of the world came at about 3pm this afternoon though............. I was on my way to Coquitlam to pick up my final pay check and the car broke down. I was so mad. First the radio just totally went off and I couldn't get it back on. Then the light came up for the ABS breaks and the air bags and finally, I got the biggest hint when a sign lit up that said Check Battery!! At that point I was questioning whether I should continue out to Coquitlam and then the car encouraged me to stop driving by just not working!!!

I think the thing that upset me the most was that people were honking at me - like I could go anywhere. Then I would have cars come right behind me and just sit there waiting for me to go - my hazard lights were on, I don't know what more I could have done to prove that this car was going nowhere. The final straw was a creepy old man on a bicycle came by and stopped by the car. He looked at me all weird and I thought 'great, now what'. I said to him 'is there something I can help you with' and he said something in a foreign language and then pointed to the green light and said 'go'. I informed him that I would go if I could but unfortunetly I couldn't. People are so STOOPID!!!

Before all this took place I actually had a lunch date with my good friend Heather. It was nice to sit down and chat over lunch before I left. We went to Cactus Club and the service and food was really good. The last few times I had been there the service was really bad and food mediocre - it seems to have improved. After a tearful 'goodbye' with Heather I then headed to Coquitlam when the 'incident' happened. We only waited for the tow truck for about an hour. Hopefully the car will be fixed early tomorow morning - we have lots to do.

Day ended on a high - got my final pay and all I can say is 'cha-ching' - this final pay check has really come in handy.

Till next time.............

Thanksgiving #2

Last night we went to our friends place for Thanksgiving dinner #2 and it was sooooo good.

This time the turkey was deep-fried............. now I know that sounds really unhealthy and grose and for the longest time I turned my nose up to a deep-fried turkey. I have now converted...... bring on the deep-fried turkey!!! It was so juicy and not oily or fatty at all. The best part was the crunchy skin - mmmmmm. Sorry for any people reading this blog who are vegetarians - you guys are missing out!! Check out the picture below, it is mouth watering.

In other news, my DH and I are down to our last few days here in Canada. We did a little bit of running around today. All the boxes are basically packed, we are going to send them off on Thursday. Just all last minute stuff.

We have been looking EVERYWHERE for travel scrabble, and can you believe that we cannot find it anywhere. We have looked at Chapters, other book stores, Toys R Us and even Walmart - no lucky finding it anywhere. Yet, about three months ago we saw them everywhere - figures.

We will have other stuff to do on the plane anyways - Ange bought me the new Nicholas Sparks book, I have a Vogue magazine to read, I still have to buy a crossword and I can just bug my DH from here to Auckland anyways. Oh, yeh, don't know if I mentioned but we have a direct flight to Auckland and will hopefully be able to leave the airport there and do a little sightseeing. We are there for quite a few hours and the plan is to meet up with some friends from our Cruiseship days and check out New Zealand.

Finally, I had to say goodbye to Sebastian today. Sebastian is my fish that I have to leave behind. He is now in the loving hands of my dear friend Eleonor and her family. Thanks Eleonor, for taking Sebastian in.

Till next time

Happy Thanksgiving

What does Thanksgiving mean to me..................

1. It means I get my favourite food - HAM!!!

2. It means we get lots of other food too - turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pototoes, carrots, peas, etc.

3. It means all the family get together to enjoy this meal

4. It means our extended family - friends from the cruiseship - also come over for dinner

5. It means good times had by all

Check out the pictures below of dinner - so good!!!!!

We had a lovely day of getting together and chatting before my DH and I head off on Friday. To end the night we lounged on the couch and watched Ironman!!!

I know I ate way too much........... trouble is there is no time for exercising as we had brunch this morning with our good friends Erin and Todd and now we are heading out for another farewell Thanksgiving meal - this time, a deep-fried turkey. I know I will have to go for an extra long run tomorrow.

Till next time.

Day of Tears

As expected today was a hard day......... it was my last day at Clipper Street and I had alot of 'Goodbyes' to give out.

It was lovely to get to say bye to those special customer's who I got to know real well. Some came in to the store just to say bye which was really sweet. Thanks Sharon, for the gift and the magazine to keep me out of trouble on the plane.

My boss Diane took me out for lunch today. We had a great time and nice long chat about lots of different things. She is such a sweet lady and after the first time I met her, back in 2005, I knew I wanted to work for her. It was really hard saying 'Goodbye' to Diane, there were lots of tears (not just from me).

As for my staff and friends at Clipper Street - the hardest people to say 'bye' to.

Heather and Cathy - thanks for calling and saying 'Goodbye' - you girls ROCK!!

Ange - thanks for the Nicholas Sparks book - I am truly going to miss our early morning chats. You are such a strong and wonderful person. I know I am going to see you Down Under soon enough.

Veronica - one of the most hardworking people I know. I'll miss your little visits throughout the day.

Steph - you are going to do an amazing job - Congratulations again on the promotion.

Allison, Danielle, Frances - you girls are AWESOME!!! Thank you for being a great addition to our team.

Maureen - thanks for dropping in and saying 'bye' today. It was great to see you and the kids one last time.

S.A - we were an great team in the good old days - I have missed working with you. Keep in touch my friend.

Allan - my 'little brother' - thanks for ALWAYS making work fun. And making me cry again when I checked my email.

And finally Little Sam................. oh my goodness. Did we let open the flood gates or what!!! That was a crying session that was 1 month in the waiting. Keep in touch little Sammy - I'm going to miss you and your gorgeous voice.

Clipper Street has given me LOTS of great memories that I will always have forever. What a great group of women that I got to work with each and every day. How lucky I was.

Till Next Time..............

Coquitlam Clipper Chick Party

Last night Stephanie, the new Manager of Clipper Street in Coquitlam, hosted a going away party for me at her house. It was so good to get together with 'my girls' away from work.

It was really hard to tell my staff that I was leaving but they have all been very supportive and I am thankful for that. I am leaving them in fantastic hands!!

Here are just some photo's of our fun night.....

Here is the whole Coquitlam Clipper Street gang, we are just missing Sarah Anne :(

Thanks Steph, Sam, Ange, Allan, Mona, Allison, Danielle, Frances and Maureen for coming. It was great times.

A picture of some of the girls just chilling out and chatting.

My yummy cake that Frances made - so good!!

I'll miss you all girls. Keep in touch.

Till next time.............

Being Creative

I have made a few more cards this week for upcoming events.

The first one is a 'Thank You' card that I have made for one of my boxing/Jiu Jitsu instructors. The card actually worked out really well and I love the colours that I have chosen too. The paper I used is from Kaiser Crafts - the same paper I have used in a previous post. I also used a stamp from Inkadinkadoo but realized after I had stamped the image that I needed to cut it out in an oval shape - a regular rectangular shape just wouldn't do. I bought one of the Marvy oval punches for this. I really like the look of this card - a little ribbon and a flower, done!!


We actually just got in the Nestabilities from Spellbinder on Friday at Clipper Street. Why did I bring these up - let me explain. Nestabilities work with the Cuttlebug machine (I just got one of these at work too). They are dies of different shapes the fit into each other and I have decided that I am going to buy the square scallop set and the rectangle scallop set - if there are any left at Clipper Street tomorrow. The great thing about these is that instead of buying one sized punch you can buy a whole set of dies - great for if you have a die cut machine.

Back to my cards. I made this card for my Dad's birthday which is on October 12th. I used this really cute stamp from Stampendous - I love this monkey, there are quite a few stamps with this monkey on it. I just water coloured the sky and grass with my watercolour brush - I don't usually like this look because I can never get it right - but I am quite pleased with how this turned out.

That's it for tonight........

Only 12 more sleeps to the move Down Under....

Till next time..........

Oprah - An Overwhelmed Mom's Mistake

I am not a huge fan of Oprah but occaisonally I do like to watch the show - it always depends on what the topic is about.

Last night I was intrigued with the episode entitled, 'An Overwhelmed Mom's Mistake'. My first thought was - okay, something bad happened because this lady is a bad mother. After listening to her story I got a greater understanding of exactly what Mom's have to go through each and every day and how easily something bad can happen.

Now, I am not a Mother - and I like to think that if I do ever become a Mom I would be the best Mom ever. I would be able to hold down a job, raise a family, continue a loving relationship with my husband, etc. After listening to this ladies story it isn't so easy being 'Super Mom'.

Infact, the scary thing is that what happened to this Mom can happen to just about anybody - here is her story:

The Mom in this situation was an Assistant Principal at a school. It was the first day of school so she was busy preparing for that. She had two children to get ready for the day. Usually her husband takes her children to daycare but on this particular busy morning he had to go to the dentist so couldn't drop off the youngest child.

The Mom got the youngest child in her car and went to drop her off at daycare but arrived too early. She realized she had time to run an errand first before dropping her daughter off to daycare. She went to pick up some donuts from a bakery, for the staff at school ,and then headed off to school. During her day at school there were some new teachers so she talked about her two wonderful children to them and had a normal day. At the end of the school day one of the fellow teachers was walking past the Mom's car and to her horror saw the child sitting in the car - not moving. The child had been sitting in the car, in the heat for 9 hours. I don't think I need to go on here.

The scary thought is it can happen so easily. And it is not due to lack of caring for your child or being a bad parent - I think we often try to fit so much into day that is already busy that we overwhelm ourselves and something as tragic as the above story can happen.

I know we have all been in similar situations - for example it is not uncommon for me to drive home from work and totally not remember my drive home. I could be thinking of things that need to get done, or get into such a trance from the same drive that I do every single day that the car kind of leads me home. Another example is that just a couple of weeks ago I was going out to dinner with friends. The restaurant was on the same route that I take to work and I totally forgot to exit at my turn off because again, it was instinct to just continue driving on the road I was on.

Back to the Oprah story - I felt so bad for this lady. I am sure she and her husband will always have guilt over what happened to their child. I am sure it is something that they will both learn from - it is just a shame that a child had to lose their life to learn this lesson.

To read more about this story go here: http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/20080902_tows_moms

A lesson that we can all learn from this story...................... don't overwhelm yourself, life is too precious to always be in a rush, stressed and not taking care of yourself. Look after yourself - your life is precious too.

Till next time.............