Fun in the Summer

Friday Mom stayed in. Her neck was a bit shaky and she was fine with some relaxation. Dad, Dave and I went to City Beach. The waves were great! Usually I hesitate when it comes to swimming in the ocean if it's cold, but the waves made my decision - I couldn't miss out on that much fun! Beautiful, fun day. That night, Richard and Ash came over for dinner, I made a vegetarian pasta with Rose sauce. Mom gave Ash a bag of buttons, which Ash loved.

The next day the gang went to the Art Gallery. That night was Liz's birthday party. Dave and I met up with Renee, Owen, Rich and Ash, got take away from Goreng, and took a maxi taxi to the party. It was a great night, but weirdly cold! The punch was deceptively deadly, meaning the next day was a bit of a nothing day. dad whipped up a delicious lamb chop BBQ, and we watched movies.

Monday we all went to AQWA, which was incredible, I'm really fascinated by life under water. Afterwards we walked around Hillary's and had a beer at the Breakaway. That night we all went to The Sparrow for dinner. It was so much fun, Mom and Dad loved the food and of course, the owner and his jokes. Great night.

Dave was in the city the next morning, getting fitted for a suit - he's a groomsman at JP and Kerry's wedding. Mom, Dad and I went to Caversham! I love caversham. It still gives me a thrill to see an Emu. And I know it's lame, but I just love the bunnies. I tried to avoid looking at the sign that said I could take a wonderful bunny home for $20.00. We went to the farm show, and Dad got on the stage and had a go with the whip! It was great fun! I got frustrated on the way back because I missed my exit and kind of got lost. I have no sense of direction and I hate that. Mom and Dad were blown away by Stones pizza....mmmmmmm!

Mom, Dad and I wandered into Perth the next day, to look around and even do a bit of shopping, and Dave went rock climbing with Kok Wah. I took Mom and Dad to Utopia for some bubble tea, something that Dad resisted because of the sissy name, but he loved it! Yay! On the way back home we stopped into the Brisbane and shared a Pimms Cup, and now Mom and Dad are real Pimms converts! After we wandered home we all went for a tasty dinner at Koinonia, we had such a lovely time. We also checked out a new place in the area, Clarence's, and had a drink. Definitely a place I want to check out again.

The next day was Mom and Dad's last day in Perth. We went to the beach, and Mom swam in Australia for the first time. :). I was a little teary that day, because I knew Mom and Dad were leaving. After the beach we all went to the Brisbane for a Pimms Cup, then we had a picnic. Watched Mom and Dad pack, and she spoiled me by giving me beautiful Lancome and Dior, Armani and Betsey Johnson Perfume. Sat with Mom outside and talked, and bed was a little early, it was time for the airport in the morning.

I am so, so happy that Mom and Dad came to visit...I already miss them.

Rottnest

Rottnest Island!!

Drove to Freo to get the ferry and when we got to the island we got our bikes. I hadn't ridden a bike since I was a teenager I think, but it was fine. The only problem was that the bike they gave me was in pretty poor shape...the gears were suck but would change without notice, jerking the bike - I almost fell off a few times. Dave ended up taking that bike, and dad rode the other one. Dad was so great, and rode the bike all day, better than I would have done!!! Mom and I walked around the island and hopped the bus. I felt bad for Mom. She was fighting a migraine, but was so strong. She didn't even complain about it, even though we lost the boys at one point. I couldn't believe how well she did. We saw Quokkas, so cute, my sister would have loved them. They were so tame and used to people that one lady had to remove one of them from her bag! The beaches on Rottnest Island are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. We saw Salmon Bay, Parkers Point and Little Parakeet Bay. Dave and I snorkeled there, it was fantastic! Mom and I missed the bus to Thompson Bay and had to walk quite a long way. When we all got to the pub for some eats it felt pretty good! We hadn't eaten all day and I devoured my steak sandwich! The Kingston Barracks was our accommodation - we were pleasantly surprised to find that our room had its own bathroom! Dave and I got bunk beds, a double for Mom and Dad. Exhausted and sunburnt, we were all asleep by 9:30.

Day 2 of Rottnest:

A less intense day than the one before. Unfortunately Mom woke up to find that her head was still hurting and on top of that she was unable to move her neck. The flies outside were terrible!! We took the bus into town (there were some pretty entertainingly annoying ladies on the bus!), had breakfast pies at the bakery and Mom opted to stay in the little village while Dad, Dave and I went to the Basin. The Basin was lovely. I spent most of my time reading on the beach. It was a hot day, but I had the chills a little bit from overexposure to the sun the day before. Dad and Dave swam and snorkeled, and though the water was beautiful, it was cold. We met up with Mom in the afternoon, went to the pub for a beer and hung out before catching the ferry back to Freo. Great trip, and it was nice to get home.

The New Year

Maureen and Allen decided to come visit us in Perth for a few days and for New Years. On New Years Eve Dave made everyone a delicious green curry, and we all got dressed up, listened to music and drank champagne. For a celebration we went to the Upstairs bit at the Flying Scotsman, where Cutter and Pete were deejaying. We danced and brought in the New Year together. Unfortunately I overdid it with the champagne. I felt really bad about that. I wasn't feeling so well the next day. Maureen, Dad and Dave went to Scarborough Beach, while Mom and I stayed in and I had a nap. Mom made pasta for dinner, which was yummy.

The next day we all went to Fremantle. We took the ferry, which was fun. It was a very hot, sunny day, which I love. We wandered the streets, saw the Round House, ate fish & chips, walked through the markets and had beers and Mad Monks and Little Creatures. I really enjoyed Mad Monks, we got to try everything. Early in the evening we took the train back, had gin and tonics while watching comedy on youtube, had dinner at Goreng.

On the 3rd Maureen and Allen went back to Bunbury. Mom and Dad went to explore Kings Park. Things were a little tense for me; I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself and it had built up. Alex's surprise birthday party was on this day, but I was in no condition to go. Dave went with Jack and Nat, and I stayed home. It was good to be alone. I find I really need that periodically. I tidied the house and watched some trashy TV online and felt better. When everyone got back we had sushi and watched The Ugly Truth (terrible film!) and The Hangover (pretty funny).

The next day started off lazily, with a sleep-in and Mom, Dad and I hanging about the house. We were listening to Dave doing Morning Mag on RTR - he was really good! He deicated an Elvis song to us. Finally, we all decided to drive to Cottesloe Beach and see the sunset. What a great decision! It was beautiful. As the sun went down a familiar movement caught my eye in the bush and sure enough, it was a wild rabbit! Yay! then, as we walked back along the beach we passed amazing screaming trees filled with Rainbow Lorkeets. Dave took us on a driving tour of his old Uni haunts and we had Pide for dinner. Episodes of The Office at home followed before bed, a great day.

Arrival, MR and Christmas in Bunbury

Mom and Dad were here in Perth for the last three weeks. I am so, so happy that they came to Aussie Land. I already miss them.

The day they arrived there was a lot of catching up to do. When we got to our place Mom had a lot of surprises for us. Lots of Clodhoppers for Dave, and some delicious vodka...I got some clothes, shoes, a great mug for my tea and Twizzlers and Tostitos nacho cheese galore! That day Mom and Dad crashed early and we headed to Jack's housewarming party. It was a beautiful night, balmy, which is a wonderful rarity for nights in Perth. Dave and I hadn't seen our friends in a while, and it was awesome to catch up with everyone.

We all spent the next few days hanging out, going for walks around Mount Lawley and Hyde Park, going out for dinner. After a couple of days we packed up the car and headed for Bunbury. Would our parents like each other? Get along? I hadn't particularly thought about it until we were in Bunbury, climbing the stairs in the Tower (Mom was too scared to go up, hee hee). It was late afternoon when we pulled into the driveway, and we all got such a warm welcome! I could tell that everything was going to be fine. Maureen prepared such a delicious spread of food for dinner, and we all had a great time.

The next day, Mom, Dad, Dave and I got back into the car an went to Margaret River, where we were staying for one night before coming back to Bunbury for Christmas. We visited wineries and beaches, went to the Lake cave, which was beautiful, and stayed in an adorable cottage, where we enjoyed our Margaret River wine and food. One winery we went to, Eagle Vale, had some of the best wine I had ever had, and was run by this funny French guy who really knew his stuff, he was pretty fun to talk to. The surroundings at the cottage were spectacular, a bush setting where you could see amazing birds, kangaroos and adorable bunnies! It would have been great to spend more time, but it was great to get a taste of Margaret River.

The next evening we were back in Bunbury and it was Christmas Eve. We had another delicious meal, and the table looked so lovely. We also now had some Margaret River wine to share! We also played board games!

The next day, Christmas day, was unlike any Christmas I had experienced. We got up, had some breakfast (I manned the BBQ much to the distress of Allen, hahaaa) and then got in the car because we were going to be singing Christmas Carols at a Christmas lunch put on for the underprivileged and homeless. It was good fun! When we got back to the house it was almost time to give each other presents. We made delicious Cosmopolitans and sat around the tree. I think everyone got really spoiled! Dave's parents gave Mom and Dad a package full of Aussie goodies, and for Mom, Dad and I, a boat trip to see dolphins! Mom and Dad got Maureen and Allen Canadian goodies. Dave and I spoiled each other, and we both got Mom and Dad a bunch of stuff, including a wine tour in the Swan Valley. The worst thing that happened was in my excitement I fell down the stairs into the living room and gave myself a pretty nasty bruise. Having had only one Cosmo, I didn't even deserve it! Oh well. We went to the beach and for a swim in the afternoon, it was lovely. The Christmas trip to Bunbury was a real success.

The day after Boxing Day Mom, Dad and I went on our boat trup. It was so much fun! We had perfect sunny weather and saw heaps of dolphins. That night we all got Joe's pizza with Joe's chilli dogs and watched movies. Driving back to Perth the next day, we remembered the last few days happily.

Mom and Dad are here!

Mom and dad have arrived in Perth! Yay!

School's Out For the Summer!

Well I survived. Survived what? My first year of teaching! I do admit, I'm a little proud of myself. There were some hard times, but some great times too. I'm going to miss a lot of the kids who I won't be teaching next year.

So since I love lists, I'm going to list some of my favourite memories from this year in teaching. As I think of them I will add more. So, in no particular order, of course:

1. Getting thrown into going on year 8 camp in the second week of work, getting to know the year 8s in another place, other than La Salle College.

2. "Anne Hathaway was Shakespeare's wife? But...How...is she still alive?"

3. STOMP costumes and day of fun.

4. All the funny stories from the kids and their lives.

5. Listening to music with the year 10s in the last week.

6. When certain students would thank you for a good lesson/term/unit.

7. Seeing the things you say appear in essays, assignments, etc.

8. Feeling like you've earned that weekend!

9. Kids opening up to you about what's going on with them.

10. Being told I was in serious consideration for the LAC assitent job.

11. Having honest talks about drugs and dangers with the year 10s, and that they were comfortable enough to talk to me.

12. When Dave and Katie decorated my room and desk with Canadian things on Canada Day.

13. Taking pictures with the kids on the last day.

Things That Suck

When I made a web page back when I was a teen, I made a list on it of "Things that Suck" and also a list of "Good things" (I think there were 69 of each. Wow, I was funny). I am going to make new lists! I bet some things will be the same.

To view the (slightly embarrassing) original "(More than) 69 Things that Suck" page, click here:

http://members.tripod.com/~Angie_V/sucks.html

All right! So here goes!

In no particular order...

Things that Suck

1. Being allergic to cold

2. Marking assignments

3. Paying bills

4. Being uncertain about the future

5. Bugs

6. Being shy

7. Our neighbor upstairs and his "Friends" marathons in the middle of the night

8. Not being a kid anymore - all the responsibility!

9. Missing people

10. When peoples' true colours come out, and it's disappointing

11. Buying shoes in Perth

12. Guilt

13. Realizing that you don't know someone anymore

14. Not having a bunny

15. The majority of techno/house music

16. Being tired

17. Not having enough time

18. Poor grammar

19. Hangovers

20. Waking up early

21. Stress

22. Making decisions

23. Waiting

24. Feeling like I wasted the period in my life when I had the most time to be creative

25. Having trouble expressing my feelings

26. Unresolved situations

27. The dentist

28. Eggs. Yuck.

29. Not knowing when I'll be seeing some people next.

30. Being on duty

31. Rent inspections

32. Having too many drinks

33. Feeling overwhelmed

34. When your partner is sick or sad and you feel helpless

35. Choosing a band name

36. Cutting onions

37. Sunburns

38. Rat tails

39. Workplace politics

Well, that's it for now! More to be added very soon.