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The Family Bandwagon

Our family is spread out across the country and across the world, and what better way to keep in touch than a collaborative digital journal?

Saturday 31 December 2005

AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

Monday 26 December 2005

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Wednesday 21 December 2005

Those pictures from Mum

Reading the Blogger help pages and found that uploading images by email doesn't work as it turns out. So instead, here are the pics:




Monday 19 December 2005

Will I be 100?

Great to hear from Glenn this morning.
Carolynn's party did go well despite the weather. Who'd have guessed a cold windy Saturday? Jared had his sleepover with Nana and Poppy afterwards, so we made biscuits, played pool, had a spa and watched Godzilla. Sunday morning we went to the market. we were to meet Lisa there but it was too cold to take Trin out so we took Jared home after our shopping.
I can't believe how fast Christmas is coming Today I'll wrap presents then go shopping for whatever else I need.
I did have a lucky experience last week. I went shopping and the prices were all wrong. I'd picked up on a couple but missed heaps. When I checked the docket at home and found how many were wrong(all the specials) I emailed IGA to point out the problem. The acting manager came around, apologised ,refunded $25 (i thought I'd been overcharged $4.50) and gave me a $50 voucher, so I'll be shopping on them this week.
I really did only decide to write this when I saw we were up to 99.
Hope you're having fun in Melbourne Dayna and we're looking forward to seeing you and Damien and Cheryl on Wednesday.Take care all who travel. Love to all

Sunday 18 December 2005

Hello from Glenn

So I don't think I've quite established the work-life balance yet.

These last couple of weeks have been extremely hectic for me, and I've rarely had time to read the Bandwagon let alone contribute to it. It's really good to read what people are doing however -- parties, renovation, Harry Potter and the quantum Dayna Inversion experiment -- and it was also good to video conference with people. (Actually, we've only really seen Dee's brother Chris. You guys will have to get web cameras! It would be nice to see people for Christmas. Lisa, maybe Mum and Dad and Nanna could come over to your place?)

Anyway, work is going well and I'm enjoying it, but as I say there has been very little time for anything else for the last couple of weeks. If it wasn't gongfu, it was Christmas parties! Storytime.

I went to the Microsoft Christmas party last Tuesday. Microsoft. Me. You wouldn't think it would work, that I'd be rambling and ranting about how good Linux is and how bad Microsoft is, but it turned out okay. Well, I say okay, but I really mean I got drunk on Bill Gates tab with a Scotsman, an Indian and an Irish lass and then barely made it into work the next day. Who has a Christmas party on a Tuesday??

(It's all the makings of a joke I think -- an Aussie, a Scot, an Indian and an Irish(wo)man walk into a bar. Anyone know a punchline?)

Luckily for me the Irish lass is our manager -- the Indian started late, the Scotsman really late (i.e. afternoon), and although I was physically there by 9am I wasn't mentally there for much of the day. I will never drink again.

It started because the Scotsman was talking about possibly moving to Australia for a while. I was drinking a lager, which are obviously pretty easy on the way down so I tend to drink it quickly. Something about Aussie heat and the perils of warm beer and all that. So I drank that first drink, and someone commented upon my rate of consumption and foolishly I said, "That's how we drink them in Australia. You better get used to it if you're going to move there."

Ooh I'm a cheeky sod.

The Scotsman could not be outdone of course, and immediately started getting Scotch, neat, for the two of us. Mea culpa! It is strong! I just wanted a few beers, then to slip out quietly, but the whiskey hit me all of a sudden and I was drunker than a French politician in no time. The situation was made worse by the Aussie bartender who, upon hearing who and what the drinks were for, starting pouring from the 12-yro bottle underneath the bar. Evil, I say.

So, although we didn't pay for a drink all night, we all certainly paid for it the next day.

Other than that last dance with intoxication I've been trying to look after myself. Kungfu is going well, and I should make the grading early next year. I've order the outfit (I don't know what you call it, since "gi" is a Japanese word) and I've learned half of the Four Winds form. My stamina for horse-stance probably still needs practise! I may join the gym before the end of the year so I can swim in the pool and use the weights.

We are slowly getting on our feet I think. It's just taking a long time! I can't believe we've been here for nearly 6 months now.

Of course I'm missing you all! :-) Lets get the video conference stuff going!

PS: I can kind of see why Crazy Lady mistook Damien for Harry Potter ...

Me, Harry Potter and some crazy woman at Foodland

I just thought I'd share an amusing story with you all. Cheryl and I were grocery shopping in Foodland just near our house, when I heard a woman say "Hi Harry Potter". I looked up and saw this lady staring back at me smiling.

I figured it was some weird joke I didn't understand. However, when she next crossed our path she said (quietly, without making eye contact) "Now I'm sure it's you. I'm really glad I was able to meet you. My name is [insert crazy lady's name]. Be good" and she was off. And I just thought "huh??".

Finally, she walked past us again and said "Thanks Harry". Again, quietly without eye contact. Maybe she was trying to help me stay incognito.

I don't know what's weirder. That she thought I looked anything like Daniel Radcliffe (who's what, 8 years younger than me? Nine?), or that she thought Daniel Radcliffe, at Kangaroo Island shooting a film, would be grocery shopping in Foodland Frewville. Maybe she thought Cheryl was Cho Chang :)

Still, while I have the amusing story to tell about the crazy woman, she gets to go home and talk about how she saw Harry Potter at the supermarket!

Just in case you think I do kinda look like him, here's a photo for comparison.

Saturday 17 December 2005

photos...






hopefully this gives you an idea of the kids costumes, and the weather...Monique always wears shorts, you can see her in the blue jacket in the photo above. and Carolynn is wearing a jacket over the nice dress she has on.

Cold weather and Birthday Parties

Yes, we had Carolynn's birthday party at the park, and it was cold and rainy...what happened to summer anyway?? But the kids had fun. Carolynn was the only one who stayed in costume, she had a cartoon character theme. She was Sailor Moon as the Moon Princess, I hemmed up my deb dress for her to wear. Jared was Bender, but the costume was too hard for him to be himself in :)
Rhonda only remembered it was a costume party before they left, but Jamie came as Darth Vader, I think because it was his birthday too, and he got a "life saver" from his parents. Rhonda said they cut holes in a sheet and Jacob was going to be Casper, but he left it at home :)
Monique came as "evil hula girl", Rechelle was Lizzie McQuire (? spelling?) and Emma came as Emma :)
So it was a small party, Adam cooked a BBQ, mum and dad came, and we'd asked Rhonda and Ian as well...(Jacob and Jamie's mum and dad btw) The kids went on a treasure hunt, tried passing cheezels on straws, played "lap stack" (a yes and no game), and tried to get inflated balloons to deflate and go into a tub. Jared and Jamie played in the rain. When the wind stopped it was almost warm...and the sun did come out occasionally...such strange weather!

Friday 16 December 2005

phone problems

Our phone wasn't working on Thursday. Dad reported it to Telstra and it came back after the power was out on Thursday evening. There's lots of work going on up the street so maybe that was where the problem was. I tried to send emails on Wednesday evening including the Dad Santa photos,but they wouldn't go. Your birthday money is now on the way Danielle and Christmas as well. If the email sorts out you'll get our email explaining it. Hope you had a good trip to Melbourne Dayna. I was thinking about you when it became stormy here. I still have a little Christmas shopping to do. Looking forward to Carolynn's birthday on Saturday. Jared is coming for a sleepover here afterwards, so Carolynn will have a friend stay there.Damien and Cheryl,I hope you have a good trip on Wednesday and it's not too hot. Thank you for your card.
Lots of love to all

Monday 12 December 2005

Saturday 10 December 2005

Birthday wishes

and PS thank you so much for the birthday wishes it was great!! I felt very loved!!
Love dee xoxoxoxo

Birthday Hangover

Heya Guys
It was my birthday on the 7th which was a Wednesday here! And I was dreading it! I was waiting desperatly for a result on an interview which I have yet to hear about with the potential for 2 interviews! one on the phone and one in person! Well the worst happened! I didnt hear about the interview so I had to attend the two on the day! the first one was a phone interview, I had set aside an hour for it, it was at 2pm and I had another at 4pm. The interview consisted of 2 independent phone calls that went for 1.5 hours! By 2 people! so far for this particular employee I have had 3 technical interviews and 2 HR based interviews! sheesh whats the go! and to make matters worse the taxi was late and the cab company thought I said "place" instead of "street" which means it didnt turn up! so after a complete screw up, I had rang the company for the second interview, they were happy to see me at 4:30pm instead and I had cleared up the mix up with the cab company! So at last at the interview it was fun! the company rocked but I was glad to be on my home! finally! Glenn rocked my world! It was incrediable! in the morning I got a fantastic card! I also got a gaelic necklace and a cashmere scarf! it was fantastic! then in the evening he took me out for dinner and then to a bar that has just opened which we love! unfortunately we over indulged!! I think (even for me) I am going to skip wine for a few days! It was great though! we ended up drinking alot of red and talking to the manager of the bar! I think we got carried away with actually talking with someone different! it was great though, one of the best birthdays ever! :) Glenn I love you baby!

Thursday 8 December 2005

high school

ok, I was going to call this Secondary College, but it just doesn't sound the same. :)
Carolynn had an Orientation day at Eaglehawk High, or more correctly EHSC (like Eaglehawk is 2 words) She met up with a friend for bbq brekky, and then 3 other girls joined them. They were put into their (supposed) home groups for next year. The 4 girls Carolynn was with went into 7B, and Carolynn sat by herself until 7E...a bad start, I felt terrible for her! There was 1 girl from Comet Hill in with her, so I thought I'd see how she'd go. I picked her up at 3.30pm and asked how her day was...she looked very upset. She'd had no-one to find classes with, no-one to sit with, the other girl had a friend from another school...so I spoke to her teacher the next day. The kids had been asked to write down who they'd like to be in a class with, and we'd also requested Carolynn go in with someone. I told Carolynn's teacher I'd taken Carolynn home in tears because she'd had such a bad day. He said he couldn't make any promises, but would speak to someone at EHSC. That afternoon Carolynn said her teacher wanted to see me, and he said they were moving Carolynn in with her friends! yay! ok, she will probably make new friends, but High School is hard enough without starting off with someone you know. And she's already been dumped by one group (including Laura, who's been her best friend for so long), so orientation day was the last thing she needed right now! But now she can at least not dread starting next year.

Monday 5 December 2005

Anti-dayna

hello..

yes, it's been a while since i've posted.. but since the general "hey, Christmas is nearly here" posts are going up, i guess i can post a picture of what i wore to the Q Christmas party.. the theme was Black and White (which meant that most people just turned up in clothes that were one or the other colour.. but i felt that would have been far too easy... *grin*) so here is the anti-dayna.
anti-dayna
since the Christmas party, i feel like i've been going flat out.. i've been out for dinner, in for dinner, out for coffee (and sightseeing.. and cake..), watched dvds, gone to more belly-dancing (but i've not practiced at home yet.. oops), had friends over, had a Soiree (reclaiming my house as my own.. and lots of people like your artwork Damien), and more (i'm sure..).

tonight my friend Euan is over (from Perth) and we're going out for pizza with some of my mates, tomorrow night is belly-dancing, wednesday is the DEST family night at Q (so i can buy some cheap stuff from the Q shop) and i'm going out for coffee, thursday i've got an appointment after work and then i'm going to catch up with another old friend, and then Penny and Matt are coming from Melbourne on Friday - for the weekend. *phew*

so i'm definitely keeping busy. hope all is good, and i'll see everyone on wednesday 21st december.. except glenn and dee, and hopefully i'll see them next year (possibly august, but i'm still sorting that out).

*hugz*

Sunday 4 December 2005

gearing up for Christmas



We put the tree up this weekend, and lights in the lounge room :)

Friday 2 December 2005

Thursday 1 December 2005

me again :)


yes, I've gone from no posts for ages to 3 close together, but this is a Trinity update :)

Took her to the health centre yesterday afternoon...she has put on 1020g this month and now weighs 7500g (7 1/2 kilos) she has grown 3.7cm and is 65cm in length, and her head is 44cm in circumference. Everything is on track, she isn't quite rolling over yet, but she's getting there.