Where has the time gone................

3rd November 2012

Wow I cannot belive that it is 3rd November already! It has been a few months since my last blog and life as usual has thrown in some ups and down but all in all still good.

The weather is beginning to warm up here in Sydney which is nice, and it looks like it is going to be a hot summer. It was a little strange to here that it was snowing back in the UK at the weekend when it is so warm here, not sure if I will ever get used to that.

I have started getting ready for christmas, bought my christmas cards and already bought a couple of presents and am having them delivered to the UK. Can I say thank you ahead for the people who will be helping me with my santa deliveries.

In the past couple of months I have had some great experiences and fun, from watching Legally Blonde the musical, Whale Watching, Swan Lake Ballet, Madam Tussauds in Sydney to a fantastic Halloween party.

On the 22nd September I went to see Legally Blonde Musical with Monica and Karen at The Lyrics Theatre it was a great musical and I would recommend it to anyone.

Whale Watching on the 6th October 2012 was excellent apart from the the sea sickness that came along with it lol, but the experience and the pictures were worth every single second. 

On the 15th October I crossed another item off my bucket list with going to watch Swan Lake Ballet, it was a lovely evening with Karen and Sue.

Over the bank holiday I decided to test out my new camera by attending Madam Tussauds in Sydney, it is a shame that they let so many people in at a time as you really cannot get great pictures as people are forever walking in front of your camera.  

Last weekend started with a Retro dinner and dance cruise in Sydney Harbour, and then Saturday was my first Aussie Halloween party. It was an amazing party and everyone made such an effort with their costumes.

 

 I am so excited as I have booked a 5 day trip to Auckland in New Zealand over the xmas period, it is always somewhere that I have wanted to go. Will ensure that i take some pictures and upload them onto blog.

Will keep you posted on everything else as well, including my first Aussie christmas.

Karaoke and Michael Jackson Show

Karaoke and Michael Jackson Show ......

Firstly I would like to say Congratulations to Lisa and Pete on the birth of their son Howie Daniel.

The last couple of weeks has been busy, with Podiatrist and Physio appointments trying to get my foot sorted. It is a slow process but hopefully now on the right track, should pick up my new orthodics on Thursday next week.

Thursday evening I had a wonderful catch up on Skype with H from the UK, it was great to see you and catchup. If anyone fancies a Skype call the best time is either Saturday or Sunday morning UK time ((which is Saturday night (as long as I am not already out or Sunday night in AUS.))

Socially I have also been busy getting out and about meeting new people. The highlights have been Girls Night including Karaoke Private room this Friday, thanks Karen for inviting me.  Friday was a blast, we went for dinner at Encasa on Pitt Street which is a Spanish restaurant that offers Tapas, Pizza and Pasta options and we managed to get 2 free jugs of Sangria (well played Karen). Couple of drinks at Malloys and then headed to K2 Karaoke club, 8 girls singing and dancing in was an absolute blast. Then the final stop was the Three Monkeys for a few drinks and listened to a band, finally arrived home at 3am.  Met Sue (Barbie girl), she is such a blast and originally from Plymouth will definitely be planning more nights out with Sue, Karen, Ros and the others was good fun.

Last weekend I was checking out the Theatres to see what shows were on, and found out that Michael Jackson History II show so decided to book myself a ticket.

History II - Program and ticket

My view was I that when you are watching a show you are not talking to anyone, so therefore why not go on my own. I am so pleased that I decided to go it was amazing, the atmosphere was electric.  While I was there I saw that the Ballet was on this coming weekend, so I have booked to see Sleeping Beauty by the Imperial Russian Ballet Company.

Sleeping Beauty

Also booked to see Swan Lake in October and going with Karen and Sue, that should be good as always wanted to watch Swan Lake so excited.

Organised my first Meet up 'Man in the Mirror' show is on at the local RSL and so far got 8 people coming along.

Catch you laters, hope all is well back in old Blighty....

Settling into Sydney

5th August 2012

It has been just over a month since I arrived back in Sydney and I am beginning to feel like I am settling back into the swing of things. Getting back into exercise and starting to get a social life as well, which is nice. 

Well what can I say about the Olympics, apart from Well Done to all the competitors competing on our behalf in the London Olympics 2012. Yesterday was such a good day for us with 3 Gold Medals, it was a nice feeling to here that first thing this morning. Keep up the good work it is nice to be third on the medal table, would be nice to get higher. 

Since my last blog my social life has gone from zero to a steady pace of activities. Starting with a After Work Drinks and Nibbles at the Crown Plaza in Norwest on Friday 27th July.  This was with a group called 'The Hills Social Group + 30', this is based in the Hills area and therefore gave me a chance to meet people who live near me. On Sunday 29th July I met up with the Sydney Diners Club to go round 'The Rocks Aroma Festival', this was another really nice meet up and a lovely group of people.   On Wednesday 1st August I met up with a group of ladies at the local Coffee Club, this was a great evening and exchanged numbers with a few people.

Yesterday I joined the local RSL Club, and had a girls night out with Karen and Roslyn. We headed to the RSL to see the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons Show (and the Beach Boys). It was a good night we were up dancing away to the music and had a few drinks which was nice.

I am surprised that I am still able to type as I have written 8 letters this weekend, all of which will be posted tomorrow. Writing that much bought back memories of my exams and getting cramp in your hands for writing so much.

Will keep you posted on my adventures, to those that I have written too and others if you feel like putting pen to paper it would be much appreciated.

Finally would like to sign off by singing Happy Birthday to my friend Amy Batchelor who celebrates her birthday on Monday 6th August.  So here goes:

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Amy, Happy Birthday to you...... Love and miss you loads


  Happy Birthday Babe, Enjoy your Day

Ups and Downs

Ups and downs Down Under

This week has had it's ups and downs emotionally, which is to be expected when you are so far away from your friends and family.

Beginning of last week I decided it was about time I increased my social circle so starting looking for social groups in and around Sydney. I found Meet up.com for Australia and joined 15 different Meet Up Groups [Professional Female in Engineering & IT, Belles and Bubbles, The Hills Social Group (this is my local area), The Girls in the City, Sydney Dinners club and a British Expat group]. It was a good feeling seeing so many groups and social activities in around Sydney so I reserved some places.

On Friday night I decided to try out the Gold Class Cinema experience, this was great as they have a restaurant menu and a bar. The idea is that you order your meal and they bring it to you during the film, while you relax in your leather reclined seats. If you need anything else you press a button and someone arrives to take you order, all in all very nice. It is not something you would do every time you go to the cinema as it is more expensive but it is nice to spool yourself or make a night of it with your friends.

The film was a great experience but left me feeling a little home sick as I could image doing the Gold Class Cinema experience with my girlfriends from back home. An alternative to a girls night in, I could even imagine Amy falling asleep in the Leather reclined seats lol.

Sunday morning was a lazy day, again initially due to my home sickness, but I kicked myself up the proverbial and decided to get out and about. I decided to go and have my nails done and then went shopping and met a lovely lady called Becky. Becky and her husband moved from the UK some years ago and regularly meet up with other English people (Becky affectionately calls it the Pommes in the Park social), she has kindly given me her number so I can meet up with them and also become a member of her book club.

Looking forward to going to the first book club as they are talking about the first of the Fifty Shades Trilogy, so I can imagine the giggles that will bring.

Last night I attended my first Meet up with the Professional Females in Engineering and IT, and don't worry it was not as dull as it sounds. There was 8 ladies and we all came from different parts of the world England, Malaysia, Italy, France, Poland and Spain. At least 2 of the group have been in Sydney less than 6 months same as me, so it was nice to meet some people in the same situation. 

This weekend should be good as I have going to 2 other meet ups, the first is on Friday for After work drinks and nibbles and then I am attending the Rocks Aroma Festival with a group of people from the Sydney Diners Club.

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your support in the past week when I was feeling low, it was great to receive your messages of support and encouragement.

Photography Day

Photography Day ...............

I had a lovely day wondering round Sydney taking pictures and found Hyde Park again (long story I have been wanting to go back there and could not remember where it was). Thought you might like to see some of the pictures I took.

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the pictures ....

Beginning to feel settled ....

Beginning to feel settled........

It has been 9 days since I arrived back in Sydney, the jet lag is beginning to ease now. Already back into my routine of daily commutes to the City, now need to add some social and exercise aspects into my life again.

I joined the local gym last night and am looking forward to starting Body Balance, Pilate's, Zumba, Body Pump and general work out to.  Got my first PT session this weekend to try and get my exercise plan in place with the aim to build up my muscle and flexibility to start running again. So looking forward to the feeling of being out running again enjoying the great outdoors in the process.

When I arrived I only had 2% free space on the Fox tel box, I have managed to that up to 39% so give it another week and I should be all up to date with my Aussie programs.

I have joined some Walking groups and other social groups on the Meet up website so looking forward to attending some meet ups and exploring with new people.

Well that's all for now folks

First day back at work

First Day Back in the office..........

Managed to stay awake yesterday until 9pm and sleep through till 3am and then on and off again until 7am. Just back home from my first proper day back in the office, as did pop in to say hello yesterday. The day went surprisingly quickly with discussions and handovers, my brain started to get con fuddled from about 4pm so decided that was the time to head home.

It is funny how quickly you get back into the routine of things, already feel at home again in the house with food in the cupboards and everything unpacked. I think I over did the recording on my planner as when i got back I only had 2% free space, so now busily trying to catch up. Managed to catch up on all my New Girl episodes, now got Lost Girl, The Mentalist, Supernatural, Once Upon a Time, Fringe, NCIS, CSI Miami to catch up on .......... do you think I will be busy lol

Will start looking for Gyms next week and possible social groups, also going to sign up for Rosette Stone Online to learn Italian as one of my Bucket List items is to learn a couple of languages.

Best be going before I bore you all to sleep, catch you all soon

Jet Lag - at least I was not as bad as this ...