The official weather forecast is....

Very Fucking Hot!

Today we're expecting 41 degrees, and high 30s for the rest of the week. Man it's hot. Thank God for air-conditioning, but we've had to start thinking of things to do outside the house because we've all been going stir-crazy being locked up inside for the whole afternoon. It is just way too hot to go outside.

Yesterday we found the Adelaide Aquatic Centre and took Annabelle there for a splash in the baby pool. I think everyone else in Adelaide also had the same idea! At $6.20 per adult, they must be making a killing. Anyway.. she was hesitant at first but in the end we couldn't drag her out. It filled an afternoon, wore her out and we stayed cool. Excellent. :)

Another day we got in the car and drove up the coast. But even in the car with the air-con on full-blast it's still bloody hot. Westfields are a good option, except that I end up spending money I really don't have. Shame we can't take her to see a movie. Any other ideas..??

Run, run, run!

I've started running. Except technically it's more like jog/walking but hey.. it's a start! I've done a bit of running before but not very consistently. I'm definitely not a 'natural' runner.. it's something I need to work at. Painful as it is, there is just something satisfying about running.

It's hard not to be motivated to get fit down here. Every morning when we walk to the beach we see runners and triathletes and of course every cafe has thousands of dollars worth of bikes leaning against the walls. Forget churches, they should call this place the City of Lycra.

So I got onto the Couch to 5km website and had a look at the program. Couch to 5km is a really easy running program designed to get you running 5km after about 9 weeks. It's easy-peasy so that you don't go too hard and burn out like I've done in the past. The best bit is that a dude called Robert Ullrey has created podcasts for all the weeks so you don't even have to look at your watch to know when to walk and when to jog. Cool.

I've downloaded them and started Week One. It's so easy.. I just run along with my iPod and listen to the funky music while Robert says "ok, you can walk now".. (more music)... "ok it's time to pick up the pace. Remember to stay loose and don't overdo it". Yay for Robert and his free podcasts!

So I'm off the couch. Or in my case the computer. And becoming a runner again. I'll let you know when I sign up for my first marathon. :)

She wants to go outside

That's "outsi.." "outsi..". (She drops the last consonant of every word). But it's fricken 39 degrees in the shade out there!! She also wants to go in the "gar" to the "beeee" (beach), and will not be persuaded that it is actually far too hot.

Finally, we strapped in her "bare" (pram), rolled her outside and sat her there for five minutes while we watered dying plants (and sweltered). We then rolled her inside and she immediately asked for "wa-wa! wa-wa!" (water).

We think she'd rather stay inside now. :)

Princess Annabelle

I can tell already that this blog is likely to turn into a place for me to post photos of Annabelle and nothing else. But that's ok. She's fun to look at. :)

We went to some of Mel's rellies for Christmas lunch. I have to say I was looking forward to Christmas being just the three of us, so when we got the invitation I wasn't thrilled about going out at lunchtime (Annabelle's sleep time) to socialise with virtual strangers, but it turned out to be quite pleasant. They have a daughter/grand-daughter who is like Annabelle's seventh cousin six times removed or something...? (Their great-grandmothers were sisters if you can work that out.) Her name is Georgia and she's almost 8. She just loved Annabelle of course and they got along like a house on fire. Here they are in the finery Georgia got for Xmas.



Annabelle began with the tiara on her face like sunglasses. A kind of "Xena the Princess Warrior" look. We eventually convinced her that it's designed to go on her head. She liked it very much. :)

Did I mention...?

That for the five subjects I studied this year (two of which were year-long subjects so more like seven), I achieved four High Distinctions and one Distinction. Impressed?? I was! Man.. I'm a freakin' genius!!

And if I really wanted to blow my own trumpet (who me? :-) I'd also mention that I did it as a single parent, while maintaining a coaching caseload and with Princess Annabelle only in daycare for 3 days a week for most of the year (I upped it to four days towards the end of each semester). Sheesh. No wonder I was so grumpy most of the time. Clearly I was working too hard!

The sucky thing is that those results would most likely get me into any Masters course I want. And most 4th yr graduates want to get into Masters. But for me another 2yrs of full-time study is really not feasible so I have to bang on doors and try to get someone to employ me as an intern and get my registration through two years of supervision. A 4th yr trained psychologist doesn't have the same status or benefits as a 6yr (ie Masters) trained one so I'm quite a bit disappointed about that. I'll do it eventually for sure.. but not right now.

Ah well.. best stop my whinging and go polish up my CV. Hopefully those four HD's will help get me a job!

Photo update...

At the airport in Sydney, ready for the big trip..

Arriving in Adelaide. Miss Annabelle insisting on walking after too many hours cramped in a seat. Plane delayed blah blah. But she slept for most of the flight which was good.. she's a good traveller.

The view from the fancy hotel where we stayed for two nights. Nice. This is just twenty minutes walk from our home.

La Cassa Bella Vista. That's the new name I've given our house. I think a Beach House needs one of those beach housey type names. Whaddya think? (note: this photo is pre-furniture arrival. That furniture is what Mel borrowed from his workmate while he was minus furniture).


Already at home in our new kitchen...


Boring house photo.. but this is where we live. La Cassa Bella Vista. I think I'm going to get that made into a sign.

Miss Belle and I getting a morning coffee at Jetty Road, Glenelg beach, just a short walk from home. Did I mention that?...


Annabelle befriending the local seagull population. She sure does love those birds. I'm not sure the feeling is mutual.


Mel and Belle at Glenelg. See fancy hotels in background? That's where we stayed. I dunno which one, but one of them!


Mel the BBQ King. He's got his whole outdoor "kitchen" set up and we've bbq'd every night. No complaints here.

My new potplant collection. Yes, just the three blue pots.. it's a start!


So far, so good. More later. And Merry Christmas! x

We've arrived

Phew! What a week it's been. We've slept in four places in seven days, but now we're here and getting settled and loving our new home near the beach. It's a 20 minute walk to the water and another 5 minutes along the beachfront to coffee and shops. Nice.

Annabelle keeps wanting to go "outside" and in the "gar" (car) and I have a sneaking suspicion that she actually wants to go home, ie. home to Sydney. Yesterday she kept pointing over the back fence and saying "baby?". That would be Julien, who is the baby who lived next door to us in Summer Hill. At home in Sydney, she constantly wanted to be held up so she could talk to him over the back fence and she obviously thinks that maybe if we hold her up over this fence, she'll see Alex and Sophie and Nathanial and "baby" next door. Poor little chicken. Apart from that, she seems to be settling in quite well. Her sleeping habits are a bit all over the shop, but I guess that's to be expected.

The pluses of living in Adelaide are becoming apparent fairly quickly. Our premium for contents insurance has reduced by $20-30 per month. I'm expecting at least that much reduction in our car insurance. Sydney is so expensive for those things. The other plus is the amount of space we have. I swear this house has more cupboards in the laundry than our whole house had in Sydney (well, maybe not quite but it has huge laundry cupboards :-). Laundry cupboards, linen cupboard, huuuuge pantry, walk-in wardrobe and built-ins in the other rooms, shed out the back AND a lock-up garage. I'm in storage space heaven. I couldn't fill the cupboards if I tried.

So it's all good so far.

On the downside, I had to leave my entire potplant collection in Sydney, as well as all my empty pots. I had spent much time, energy and money building my collection up again, having had to leave them all in Qld 5 years ago when we moved to Sydney. *sigh* But we've already found the local Bunnings and I've got some cute new blue pots and a chilli and basil plant to start my new garden. I should have a healthy new collection again just in time for Mel to get a job in some other state so I can farm them out to new homes again.... :)

Will be back later with photos!

Poor planning

We've had the packers here all day today, putting all our worldly possessions into boxes. It's been a long, long day with lots of thinking ahead to be able to tell them what not to pack, such as coffee cups for tomorrow morning, Annabelle's plate for dinner tonight etc. As well as that, we've been cancelling insurance, redirecting mail, organising bank details with the real estate agent... lots and lots of things to think about.

It's 4.30pm now. The packers have just left and Mel and I decided we really deserve to sit down, relax and have a drink.

hmmm.... wine glasses? Packed. Bottle opener? Packed!!

And we thought we were so organised. Thank goodness our next door neighbours came to the rescue. Cheers! :)

Alpha Beta

That wedding was the most beautiful thing. It was magical. I'm so glad I went. Everything about it was uniquely personal to the couple.. from the amazing poem written by the groom for the bride (about the Alpha Centauri star), to the bride's father singing "Love me Tender" at the end of the ceremony (he was so nervous, but did a great job).. and the bride dressed in gorgeous cobalt blue, entering the reception and immediately launching into a hearty rendition of "Sway with me", together with her dad. It was laughter and singing and dancing and fun.





Sometimes you meet two people and can sense that their connection goes way beyond the standard boy meets girl, falls in love and marries her routine. Much more than the expected criteria for a lasting union, i.e., complementary personalities, shared values & common goals. All those things are important for sure, but for some couples, the connection is (dare I say it?) a spiritual one. At the soul level, you know they've shared many lifetimes before and will share many more after this one. Jacqui and Oliver are one of those couples, and being present during their wedding was an honour and a privilege. Congratulations Jacqui and Oli. x

Flying solo

I'm going to a wedding by myself this afternoon. Seemed like a great idea when I was stressing about leaving Annabelle with a babysitter for several (awake) hours and Mel suggested he stay home with her. But now that I'm all dressed up and ready to leave, I'd much rather that we were going together. I'm looking forward to seeing the bride and enjoying the ceremony, but the mixing and mingling with strangers is a bit *eek* given the most excellent mood I've been in this week.

Maybe I shouldn't fret so much about Annabelle, but she is sooo clingy with Mel these days. As soon as he's home she won't let him out of her sight. And I do think that she's only this little for a very short time and a few sacrifices won't kill us. Some people have said I should make the most of a solo night out and whoop it up but it's the last thing I feel like doing. Apart from anything else, who wants to wait for a cab home at this time of year??!! Far out.. when did I get so old and boring?

I'm off then. It is a beautiful day for a wedding in the park, that's for sure.

here we go again...

Starting a new blog is always hard. How do you start? It feels like you have nowhere to pick up from...

Anyway, I wanted a place to talk about what's going on with me because my other blog doesn't really allow me to do that. We are moving interstate in a few days and it feels like my whole life is about to change. I'll need to get a new job, make new friends, find my way around a new city, ease my daughter into a new daycare centre... lots of change. This past week I've fallen into a big black hole - crying a lot, not wanting to talk to people or deal with any of it. I guess it's all part of the change process, but it was unexpected. Thankfully I seem to be coming out of it now and focusing a bit more on the positive aspects again. There's a lot to look forward to... I know that. It will just take some time.