Grays still on nights this week (and will be next week too) so I've been busy on the website. Decided to register for an ABN today (Australian Business Number) - been meaning to do it for a while but I finally got around to it. Only took about 10 mins and didnt cos anything so I dont know why I havent done it sooner. I also realised that the Shops in Oz website I've set up is set up using a US server and is .com rather than .com.au - not ideal when you're trying to hit the Australian market. Anyway to combat this I decided to sign up for the domain name shopsinoz.com.au and completely re-do the site - well that was my plan! The web hosts advertised as having a great Site Builder but I was soon to find out that it wasnt that great - not for someone like me with very little website building knowledge. I thought that I actually knew more than I did. Needless to say I'm going to get my money back from the Web Hosts but that means that I now have a .com.au URL but dont know what to do with it! Queue my next bit of info!
I enrolled at TAFE (college) today for Cert 4 Web Design. Its classed as full time (16 hours per week) but I'll only actually spend 10 hours there because it runs over after pick up time for Danielle. They've said it'll be fine for me to finish early each day though and work on what we've learnt at home - that works well for me. Hopefully I'll pick it up quickly and be able to do something with my new domain! Initially I want to just redirect the URL but I'm not even sure how to go about that! Its all fun eh?!
Danielles been off school the last two days too. Just had a bit of a temperature - nothing much but all her class have been having time off ill so I thought it best to keep her off. Its also her gymnastics grading on Saturday and I really want her to be well enough for that because she was ill last time and missed out. Chances are she'll be moving up a grade this time - the down side to this is that it'll probably mean me sitting around for 2 hours on a Wednesday while shes training rather than the 1 hour I have to do now!
That'll do for now anyway!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Danielles had her first sleepover party!
Mums op is scheduled for 3rd July so until then (the wait is awful obviously) I'm trying to get on with life as normally as possible. She seems to be pretty upbeat whenever I speak to her, and she tells me shes fine, but I know that deep down she must be in turmoil (as we all are). All we can do is hope that things all turn out good.
Danielle was invited to a sleep over party a few weeks ago and got upset at the fact that she couldnt bring herself to go (shes very clingy to me at night time) so as a way of making her feel a little better I told her we'd have a sleep over party here. Initially she had 5 friends coming but due to two of them not feeling too well yesterday it ended up with just 3 of them. This actually worked out better because they all fit in the one room.
It wasnt as chaotic as I'd imagined it would be which was good. They pretty much entertained themselves all the time. I told them they had Danielles room and the spare room to do with as they liked - this left the TV and living room all to me - I'm not stupid! Gray managed to get himself rostered onto nights - hes not stupid either!
The girls went home at 10am this morning and 2 hours later Danielle is already bored! Gray is still sleeping so theres not really a lot we can do so I think I'll do a bit more work on my website. Things have been going pretty well for both sites. The Expat Store is looking really good and there is a lot of interest in the Australia Online Shopping Directory which I'm very pleased about. It is very very time consuming though which I didnt expect at all.
Off to take my laptop and sit in front of the TV while doing a bit of online work.
The fun never ends here!
Danielle was invited to a sleep over party a few weeks ago and got upset at the fact that she couldnt bring herself to go (shes very clingy to me at night time) so as a way of making her feel a little better I told her we'd have a sleep over party here. Initially she had 5 friends coming but due to two of them not feeling too well yesterday it ended up with just 3 of them. This actually worked out better because they all fit in the one room.
It wasnt as chaotic as I'd imagined it would be which was good. They pretty much entertained themselves all the time. I told them they had Danielles room and the spare room to do with as they liked - this left the TV and living room all to me - I'm not stupid! Gray managed to get himself rostered onto nights - hes not stupid either!
The girls went home at 10am this morning and 2 hours later Danielle is already bored! Gray is still sleeping so theres not really a lot we can do so I think I'll do a bit more work on my website. Things have been going pretty well for both sites. The Expat Store is looking really good and there is a lot of interest in the Australia Online Shopping Directory which I'm very pleased about. It is very very time consuming though which I didnt expect at all.
Off to take my laptop and sit in front of the TV while doing a bit of online work.
The fun never ends here!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Hangover from Hell Today!
Well to try and keep myself busy last night (rather than sitting in brooding) I decided to go out for a few drinks with the girls! Needless to say I didnt know when enough was enough and ended up getting pretty slaughtered (which I havent done for a long long time!). As I was drinking I knew I was gonna feel rough the next day but I really didnt give a damn - I managed to have a laugh at the same time which was very much needed.
I was right anyway - shocking hangover today - I'll be glad when today is over so that I can hopefully wake up tomorrow feeling better!
Feeling really weird about the 'mum' thing. Dont really know what to feel at all. She tells me that shes dealing with it OK and as I only have her word for it I just have to believe her - nothing I can do about it from over here anyway.
The next 3 weeks are gonna be a very anxious time for all of us. Waiting for the Op to be over and done with and then waiting for the results.
Off to watch a bit of TV now I think.
I was right anyway - shocking hangover today - I'll be glad when today is over so that I can hopefully wake up tomorrow feeling better!
Feeling really weird about the 'mum' thing. Dont really know what to feel at all. She tells me that shes dealing with it OK and as I only have her word for it I just have to believe her - nothing I can do about it from over here anyway.
The next 3 weeks are gonna be a very anxious time for all of us. Waiting for the Op to be over and done with and then waiting for the results.
Off to watch a bit of TV now I think.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Terrible News
I got a phone call from mum this morning. Her annual mammogram has shown up a small cancerous lump - breast cancer. I struggle to even type those words in the same sentence as 'my mum'. At the moment I'm just in shock I think - really cant get my head around it. This is the news that every Expat dreads and I thought I was gonna be lucky enough not to get a call like this for a very long time.
Apparently the lump is only very small. She is having it removed on 2nd July and hopefully will only need radio therapy afterwards. The horrible thing though is that any dealings I (or rather those close to me) have had with Cancer have never had good outcomings. I know too much about this horrible disease and I just wish I didnt.
My mum sounded ok on the phone and kept telling me not to worry - but how can I not worry?? Its my mum, its cancer.......and I'm living on the other side of the world.
Life f***ing sucks!
Apparently the lump is only very small. She is having it removed on 2nd July and hopefully will only need radio therapy afterwards. The horrible thing though is that any dealings I (or rather those close to me) have had with Cancer have never had good outcomings. I know too much about this horrible disease and I just wish I didnt.
My mum sounded ok on the phone and kept telling me not to worry - but how can I not worry?? Its my mum, its cancer.......and I'm living on the other side of the world.
Life f***ing sucks!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
The rain has finally ended!
The weather has been absolutely awful here the last few days. Unfortunately 9 people lost their lives in total. Very very sad.
Thankfully it seems the worst is now over and the sun has come back out.
Yesterday was a very lazy day. We couldnt go anywhere because the rain was so bad and so we spent the day in front of the TV and PC! It actually worked out quite well because I got a lot of work done on my websites.
There has now been a store added to the Expat Forum (http://www.expatforum.com/expatstore/) which links to products from my site. Its looking really good and I'm really pleased with it. Its great for Expats too because it saves them having to try and find UK Shops which deliver overseas - I've done all the hard work for them (and trust me it has taken a looooooonnnnggggg time!!).
We went out for a meal this afternoon and our friends son Jordon came with us. A couple who moved out to Australia from the UK 2 years ago are returning to the UK so it was a farewell to them. I've got a feeling they'll be back in time but they're quite young and miss family which is fair enough.
Jordon is here for a sleep over tonight which has made Danielle very happy. As yet shes not managed a sleepover at anyones house but we're hoping she'll try to stay at Jordons sometime soon - shes pretty clingy to me in the evenings (cant blame her though I suppose!! haha).
No work for Gray tomorrow and no school for Dan. They've got a Queens Birthday Day off!! Not sure what we're gonna do but I'm in the mood for spending money (that we dont have!!).
Well as we havent done much over the last few days I dont really have much more to say.
Bye for now :-)
Thankfully it seems the worst is now over and the sun has come back out.
Yesterday was a very lazy day. We couldnt go anywhere because the rain was so bad and so we spent the day in front of the TV and PC! It actually worked out quite well because I got a lot of work done on my websites.
There has now been a store added to the Expat Forum (http://www.expatforum.com/expatstore/) which links to products from my site. Its looking really good and I'm really pleased with it. Its great for Expats too because it saves them having to try and find UK Shops which deliver overseas - I've done all the hard work for them (and trust me it has taken a looooooonnnnggggg time!!).
We went out for a meal this afternoon and our friends son Jordon came with us. A couple who moved out to Australia from the UK 2 years ago are returning to the UK so it was a farewell to them. I've got a feeling they'll be back in time but they're quite young and miss family which is fair enough.
Jordon is here for a sleep over tonight which has made Danielle very happy. As yet shes not managed a sleepover at anyones house but we're hoping she'll try to stay at Jordons sometime soon - shes pretty clingy to me in the evenings (cant blame her though I suppose!! haha).
No work for Gray tomorrow and no school for Dan. They've got a Queens Birthday Day off!! Not sure what we're gonna do but I'm in the mood for spending money (that we dont have!!).
Well as we havent done much over the last few days I dont really have much more to say.
Bye for now :-)
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Its been raining for 2 days solid :(
Firstly........sorry.........I forgot about the photos again!! My memory is shocking!
Well its been raining very heavily for the last two days.......non-stop!! This wasnt in the brochure! Whenever it rains every Aussie says 'Oh we need it though dont we?'!! This may be true (well its very true actually) but I DONT LIKE RAIN!
I've been keeping myself busy this last few days setting up a new website. Its still in the very early stages at the moment and I'm really just playing about with it - feel free to check it out though www.shopsinoz.com - its a directory of Aussie online shops. Its taking quite a long time just to get everything on there at the moment - then it'll be time to work on getting traffic to it! its all good fun though :)
I applied for a job today - it was advertised in TAFE so I thought I'd give it a go. Just part time casual (as needed) during school hours - admin work in an accountants I think (dont really know too much about it to be honest). The only problem is that Aussies arent generally in any rush to let you know if you've been successful or not so it could be a few weeks before I get the 'thanks but no thanks' reply! :) You never know though.
Gray and Dan went to see Shrek 3 last night at the flicks. Said it was good but not as good as the first two apparently? I wouldnt have minded going but they never get any time on their own together so its nice for them to have that for themselves.
Grays been working loads of overtime lately. I dont complain when the money comes in but I wish he didnt HAVE to. Thats why I'm working on the websites and trying to get a part time job. That little bit of extra money would make such a bit difference to us.
We still dont have any tenants in our UK house. For some reason our agents were slow getting it all cleaned out but they've said it should be ready by 9th (which is tomorrow) so hopefully we'll get someone in soon. If we dont then our money worries are going to become a lot more serious. Dont even go there!!
Right its time for the school run now.
Cya!
Well its been raining very heavily for the last two days.......non-stop!! This wasnt in the brochure! Whenever it rains every Aussie says 'Oh we need it though dont we?'!! This may be true (well its very true actually) but I DONT LIKE RAIN!
I've been keeping myself busy this last few days setting up a new website. Its still in the very early stages at the moment and I'm really just playing about with it - feel free to check it out though www.shopsinoz.com - its a directory of Aussie online shops. Its taking quite a long time just to get everything on there at the moment - then it'll be time to work on getting traffic to it! its all good fun though :)
I applied for a job today - it was advertised in TAFE so I thought I'd give it a go. Just part time casual (as needed) during school hours - admin work in an accountants I think (dont really know too much about it to be honest). The only problem is that Aussies arent generally in any rush to let you know if you've been successful or not so it could be a few weeks before I get the 'thanks but no thanks' reply! :) You never know though.
Gray and Dan went to see Shrek 3 last night at the flicks. Said it was good but not as good as the first two apparently? I wouldnt have minded going but they never get any time on their own together so its nice for them to have that for themselves.
Grays been working loads of overtime lately. I dont complain when the money comes in but I wish he didnt HAVE to. Thats why I'm working on the websites and trying to get a part time job. That little bit of extra money would make such a bit difference to us.
We still dont have any tenants in our UK house. For some reason our agents were slow getting it all cleaned out but they've said it should be ready by 9th (which is tomorrow) so hopefully we'll get someone in soon. If we dont then our money worries are going to become a lot more serious. Dont even go there!!
Right its time for the school run now.
Cya!
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Another thing
A lot of people have been asking me for photos - rather than email individually I thought I'd post here - I'm going to have a good look through my photos sometimes this week and starting posting a few.
Be patient - they're worth waiting for - honest gov!
Be patient - they're worth waiting for - honest gov!
Another gorgeous day in........paradise apprently??
I've woken up a lot happier today - the wine definitely helped last night - I can highly recommend it to anyone feeling the same! :)
Today I've just gotta do the normal everyday boring stuff.......shopping.........washing.........cleaning........and sorting out Danielles TIP of a bedroom! She spent almost 5 hours in there yesterday, apparently tidying it, but only managed to clear the top of her cupboard - in fact I'm sure its messier in there now than when she started! Not really sure if I'll tackle it today or not actually because I just know that it'll take all day.
Might do a bit more work on my website actually (www.ukshoppingworldwide.com - for those who've forgotten!). I'm really enjoying doing it and I'm sure that when I start this course in July I'll enjoy it all the more. I didnt realise just how much there was to know about setting up a website - all good fun though!
Ok....the shops are calling.......back soon :)
Today I've just gotta do the normal everyday boring stuff.......shopping.........washing.........cleaning........and sorting out Danielles TIP of a bedroom! She spent almost 5 hours in there yesterday, apparently tidying it, but only managed to clear the top of her cupboard - in fact I'm sure its messier in there now than when she started! Not really sure if I'll tackle it today or not actually because I just know that it'll take all day.
Might do a bit more work on my website actually (www.ukshoppingworldwide.com - for those who've forgotten!). I'm really enjoying doing it and I'm sure that when I start this course in July I'll enjoy it all the more. I didnt realise just how much there was to know about setting up a website - all good fun though!
Ok....the shops are calling.......back soon :)
Happier now! :-)
After a lazy day in front of the TV.......and a glass (or 3!) of wine.......I'm feeling a lot happier! :-)
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Feeling a bit flat today :-(
Not really sure why but I'm feeling really flat today. Its 2 weeks today since mum went back after her six week stay and I think all the stress of it has suddenly hit me. It'll pass I'm sure but at the moment I feel like crap!
Forgot to mention about our property in the UK!! Nightmare!
When we left the UK we left our property being fully managed by an Estate Agents. They gave us the impression that they had a family all lined up ready to move in. Anyway it turned out that that family fell through and so they ended up putting a different family in who were on Housing Benefits!! Not that I have a problem with housing benefit tenants.....but it would have been nice to be consulted first.
Everything was going smoothly with them for the first 6 months. Housing benefit paid around 2/3rds of the rent leaving the tenant to pay the remainder - simple you'd think, only the tenants changed their minds. Instead they decided not to pay anything! Cutting a long story short we gave the tenants notice in January that we wouldnt be renewing their tenancy agreement at the end of March. They were fine with this and made lots of promises to repay all their arrears by the time they moved out. Moving day came and they didnt answer the door......and didnt move out. After lots of pestering by our agents they finally moved out leaving behind a garden and garage full of furniture and garbage and a dirty house with stinking carpets. Thankfully they didnt trash any of the fittings and fixtures!
By the time they left we were down by about 700 pounds (sorry no pound sign on this keyboard) - we managed to use their bond of 550 pounds to get most of the work done so all in all we're probably down by about 1000! We're just waiting for the house to be cleaned right through now and hopefully we'll have tenants in by the end of the month!
The joys of being a landlord from the other side of the world!!
Everything was going smoothly with them for the first 6 months. Housing benefit paid around 2/3rds of the rent leaving the tenant to pay the remainder - simple you'd think, only the tenants changed their minds. Instead they decided not to pay anything! Cutting a long story short we gave the tenants notice in January that we wouldnt be renewing their tenancy agreement at the end of March. They were fine with this and made lots of promises to repay all their arrears by the time they moved out. Moving day came and they didnt answer the door......and didnt move out. After lots of pestering by our agents they finally moved out leaving behind a garden and garage full of furniture and garbage and a dirty house with stinking carpets. Thankfully they didnt trash any of the fittings and fixtures!
By the time they left we were down by about 700 pounds (sorry no pound sign on this keyboard) - we managed to use their bond of 550 pounds to get most of the work done so all in all we're probably down by about 1000! We're just waiting for the house to be cleaned right through now and hopefully we'll have tenants in by the end of the month!
The joys of being a landlord from the other side of the world!!
Friday, June 01, 2007
Its a beautiful Autumn Day!
Not long woken up to a beautiful Autumn day! Grays working today so I'm thinking of things to do with Danielle. She wants to go Ice Skating but I dont think its fair for us to go off spending loads of money while Grays in work trying to make us some for next weekend - its a public holiday next weekend - they get a day off in Australia for the Queens birthday would you believe!
I'll probably end up taking her swimming and then maybe for a bike ride. Its great for riding around here because its so flat and the roads are pretty quiet.
Although the sun is shining it is still really cold - well cold for Australia anyway. Theres a real bite in the air. Having said that I very rarely have to wear any sort of coat/jacket and if I do its usually just on the school run in the mornings. At most I get away with a long sleeved top and a padded gillet. We are gonna head to the shops in a little while to get some gloves for Dan and a scarf. Kids are quite funny here. They go to school in just their normal clothes (no jacket etc) but have scarf and gloves - so Dans jumped on the band wagon too. Last year she also took to wearing black tights to school and.......get this.......white sports socks over top!! God the Aussies really do do fashion!! haha. Anyway I thought that phase may have past but unfortunately not. Shes back on it this year too. Kids will be kids eh?!
Its strange (and nice) in Australia because they really dont seem to have the 'class' structure that we have in the UK. It doesnt matter what you own, wear or drive....you're not judged for it. Us Brits should hang our heads in shame really because that seems to be what we live for - what we own and look like. Sad really.
Right I'd better get myself sorted and do something constructive with this beautiful day.
Have a good one everyone and I'll catch up tomorrow - see arent I being good now! :)
I'll probably end up taking her swimming and then maybe for a bike ride. Its great for riding around here because its so flat and the roads are pretty quiet.
Although the sun is shining it is still really cold - well cold for Australia anyway. Theres a real bite in the air. Having said that I very rarely have to wear any sort of coat/jacket and if I do its usually just on the school run in the mornings. At most I get away with a long sleeved top and a padded gillet. We are gonna head to the shops in a little while to get some gloves for Dan and a scarf. Kids are quite funny here. They go to school in just their normal clothes (no jacket etc) but have scarf and gloves - so Dans jumped on the band wagon too. Last year she also took to wearing black tights to school and.......get this.......white sports socks over top!! God the Aussies really do do fashion!! haha. Anyway I thought that phase may have past but unfortunately not. Shes back on it this year too. Kids will be kids eh?!
Its strange (and nice) in Australia because they really dont seem to have the 'class' structure that we have in the UK. It doesnt matter what you own, wear or drive....you're not judged for it. Us Brits should hang our heads in shame really because that seems to be what we live for - what we own and look like. Sad really.
Right I'd better get myself sorted and do something constructive with this beautiful day.
Have a good one everyone and I'll catch up tomorrow - see arent I being good now! :)
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