What's going on

It has been a busy few weeks since I wrote last. We are in fall, which is still odd for me being it is April and had my daughter's first birthday party here in Oz. She was 5 on the 24th and funny thing was the weather was exactly the same as it is in April in Va. Sunny then showers and cooler at night. Preparing for the birthday party was a helluva lot harder here though than it was in VA. For starters, we only had Saturdays and Thursday nights to shop for all the supplies for the party. That is the trading hours here, Mon thru Friday 8-5 except Thursday when stores are open til 8 and Saturday 8-5. What a JOKE! I think we drove more on Saturday than we have the whole time here because you can not go to just one store and buy all you need. No, no. That would be too easy. So we ran from one shop on one side of town and worked our way to the other end of town. In 9 hours we made 7 stops in about as many suburbs. we finished our grand shopping day at 4:58pm. The only real rant I have tho is we drove about 15 km to go to the Toys R Us and as soon as I walked in the door to run in and grab the toy I wanted to get for Sarah, the power went OUT! We left and planned on running to the mall next to it and the lights were out in the WHOLE DAMN AREA! So we had to fight all this traffic with no stoplights and head all the way back down south to hit our area and try and find some substitutes to her birthday present.

She had a great birthday and played with many of friends. And lucky for me the birthday cake I made with very few tools turned out a success. I am just glad that we have a few months to recover from the birthday party til the next one in August. This one will be simpler and hopefully I will have a car by then so that I can run errands during the week.

Tomorrow Sarah ends her long 2 week "fall" break and heads back to school. And I survived!!!

Why I never became a journalist

Journalism is not a glamours job. This is why I never wanted to be a journalist. But it sure makes for a good laugh. Enjoy.

Oh Lord won't you buy me ...

I am having a very whingie day today. Actually for the past few weeks I have been feeling blue. I am not really homesick but just feel sad. I can not quiet put my finger on the feeling I have. It is this empty dark feeling in my heart. I try and keep a smile on my face for everyone around me but it can be hard somedays to do that.
We have been here for almost 5 months and still we are setting up house. I am having some serious sticker shock at the price of getting all the little things in our house that I took for granted in the past. Little things that I miss like a cheese grater, cookie sheets, cake pans (and I had lots of cake pans), my KA mixer, skillets of various sizes, a cd player and radio, etc. The thing I miss the most is a car though. I have been a very independant and mobile person since I was 16. I have driven thousands of miles by meyself and never thought twice about it. Now, it is a challenge to go anywhere. Not having a car here in Perth is like missing your leg. And also using city transit with 3 kids under 5 is nearly impossible. I am sure it IS possible but I have not been brave enough to attempt it. Getting a double stroller on a bus is got to be a feat in itself. So now that Sarah is on her fall/spring break, we have very little to do except sit here at home and I try to think of crafts to entertain her and her sisters for t he next two weeks. This pisses me off like you would not believe! It pisses me off that I can not go to the library or to the craft store with them. It pisses me off that we can't go to the beach on the pretty days. It pisses me off to be so dependent on others to take me places (which others mainly means my hubby when he gets home from work). It pisses me off that shops close at 5!!! Am I homesick? No. I am just sick of BEING AT HOME!!! Oh Lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz... Hell, a moped at this point would be nice.
Enough whinging.

Easter report... just a bit late

Easter came and went here in Perth and the kids had a great time. Unlike in the states, Easter is almost as big as Christmas here. The grocery stores are LOADED with tons of Cadbury and Lindt chocolate eggs. And instead of just having 1 day for a holiday, they take 4! Everything shut down on Friday for the obscervence of good Friday. Obviously no seperation of Church and State going on here... And most places did not get rolling again until The Tuesday following Easter. They take off Easter Monday which totally confused Rob for some reason. He kept thinking Easter was on Monday until I told him it was just another reason for the Ozzies to take off to recover from all the BBQ's on Sunday.

They also have the Easter Bilby here. And in our house, the Bilby came on Friday night and left lollies. The kids thought that was grand. I have more to say but not enough time right now. Enjoy!

A little general Information

I was just reading an email from a friend of mine back in Virginia and she said something that really struck and I feel I need to just take a minute to inform some of my readers a little bit about my new hometown of Perth. She said she was not sure how big it was. I think this is the general consensus. This is not bad at all but many people think Perth is like the bush country. They know Sydney and Melbourne and many cities on the East Coast but know very little about the West coast so, time to have a little tutorial on what I know about Perth.


First off, It sits on the Indian Ocean in the southwest of the coast. The population of Western Australia, the state in which Perth is located roughly 2 million and 1.5 million of these folks live in the metropolis of Perth. 1.5 million. This makes it the third largest city in Australia and about the size as Philedelphia. It is spread over 752 sq miles. People here speak English as the primary language but there are over 250 nationalities that call Perth their home. Perth has some of the most beautiful beaches in all of Australia and Scarborough Beach has the best white sand surfing in the world. It was also voted the cleanest beach in Australia. It is home to the University of Western Australia, Murdoch University,University of Notre Dame and Curtain University of Technology to mention a few. Fremantle Harbor is the port city of WA and is located 19 km south of Perth. It is the largest port in WA and second only to Sydney Harbor.


Although we live in a drought, the average rainfall in Perth is greater than London England.


The number one industry in WA is mining. Since 2000 the population of Perth has grown by almost 50%. This is due to the influx of migrants working in the mining industry. With this influx of migrants, the economy has boomed as well.


There are a large number of national parks here, zoos and a huge aquarium.

If you want to learn more about Perth, here are a few good links.

City Of Perth

Today is my Birthday!!!

I know, who cares really but I DO! It is my first birthday in Australia and I am totally enjoying it. One of my girlfriends brought me a yummy strawberry torte to eat and we are having spaghetti for dinner. The real celebration will be this weekend with a tru Ozzie BBQ with me mates.
It has been a while since I have blogged and I do apologize but since S. has started school, I have been flat out like a lizard drinking. She goes to school 5 days a week full time and is taking intramural sports in the afternoon one day a week to see if she likes cricket or footie best. My daughter the Ozzie. She even came home and corrected me on how to properly say her teachers name ( No Mom, her name is not Ms. Barnes, it is Ms "Baah-nz".) Pardon me.
We have also started furnishing our home all thanks to the new Ikea here in Perth. And this is a HUGE deal around here. Not only is it the largest Ikea in the Southern Hemisphere, it has totally changed traffic patterns around where we live. The community paper has had nothing but negative things in it about the new Ikea BEFORE it was open like how large the sign is, how much dust they have been stirring up, etc. I can't wait to see what the locals have to say about all the un wanted traffic it has brought into the area. Bloody Hell people.
Anyway, we now have a new bed, a new "cot" for R. (crib for American readers) and soon 2 new beds for S and Z. We also have a new fridge and Table and chair thanks to the Quokka (local paper). But the big thing is the Weber kettle grill that we rescued from curb day. Curb day is when all the people around here put out their large items for what we use to call the junk pick up but here it is far from junk. This grill is fine. Hardly any rust. It helps to hit the really rich neighborhoods too. We have also found a shop vac, an industrial grade grill for a kitchen that even came with a tutorial from the nice mate that lived in the house that was disposing of this item. We are going to convert it into an outside grill. We also found a large eveporative cooling fan for inside too that we use in the bedroom. I love curb day but I have usually have 2 things going through my mind as we ride around looking at the "junk". 1) The theme song from "Sanford and Son" and 2) Monty Python. "Bring out your dead" "I'm not dead yet. I'm feeling much better".
Well, I am off to enjoy my spaghetti dinner. Yummm.

Edit*

After dinner, we loaded up the kids and took a trip to Trigg beach to catch the final voyage of the QE2 as she was leaving Fremantle boat harbor. What a sight. This was a wonderful birthday!

Yanchep Park, Two Rocks

Photobucket Album