Here are a couple of shots from our Wellbeing Day at work on Friday (read: day in the park getting pissed). It was fun. We played lots of silly games, had a BBQ and some beers and the sun shone all day. Beats working for a living.

There was a 'guess the baby' competition. I entered the above shot of me on Scarborough beach... and everyone got it so easily... they were all like: "English beach... must be Kelly"... darn it..!

I have at the last minute arranged to go to Sydney this weekend... woop, woop! Just Fri til Sun, but looking forward to it.

Hello peeps!

How are we all??

No photos... I'm at work. Last client of the day has cancelled. So I am making efficient use of my time :)

Perth last weekend was good. Didn't do much. Just ate out, had drinks etc. But was fun.

My roomie has asked me to 'Compere' the 'Showcase' at the gym on Saturday. This is where they introduce the clients to all the new releases of the fitness programmes. It involves me getting up on the stage with a mike and introducing all the sections. Groan! I'm gonna suck. But I'm kind of locked into it now. Practicing my CBT on myself to help me get over the anxiety! I will let you know how I get on... I had a practice shot on the stage and with the mike this morning! Eek! Out of my comfort zone! But good exposure therapy!

We have our 'Wellbeing Day' at work tomorrow. Apparently, this involves sitting in the park drinking and playing games... sounds alright to me!

And Saturday night, I'm heading out with some friends for dinner and drinks in the city... was supposed to have a big cycle race the next morning. But have cancelled this in anticipation of potential hangover.

Nothing else much going on here... I listen to BBC Radio Two in the mornings (I use the playback version on the net) and I heard it is snowing in the North East of Scotland... Brr.. but at least a day off work..?!!

First week back

Here's a photo of me and some of the girls from the gym doing to the City to Bay fun run. This was a 12km run I did just before I came home. I think I did it in 58mins or something like that. I remember not being too pleased at the time. But it did qualify me to go into the 'Elite Runners' entry stage next year. Lol! Not that many real elite runners run this obviously!

I also wanted to comment on the photo of me on Dad's blog. The picture that was taken as I left at the airport. I was actually crying in that shot... so I don't know why I look like I am laughing..?!!

Hope everyone is doing well. I am adjusting to life back down under. Apart from my sleeping patterns are still off. I've been getting up at 3am each day this week. Groan! I'm so sleep deprived now that I am hoping I should crash out properly tonight. But the weather has been good to come back to. Mid 20's and sunny.

Next weekend I am off to Perth to visit a few friends. Looking forward to that.

And today I put in my online entry for the New York marathon (Nov 2011). It's so popular, that they do a kind of lottery system. So I don't know whether I will have got in or not. But I will keep you posted! Two friends have done the same. So we'll see if any, or all of us, are lucky this time round.

Ok... so I hope some of this makes sense.. my tired brain is having trouble making sentences!

So I am writing this because I wanted to communicate with Gary. He doesn't have skype, you know :)

......I saw Kick Ass a couple of weeks ago! I thought it was great too. Mum you definitely need to watch it. It has boys in capes in it :)

Sorry to have missed Lucy on skype this weekend :( but will definitely try and catch you this week.

My dress I have ordered for the wedding has been delayed. O dear. This may be a problem. It's been designed by Nicole Ritchie (Lionel's adopted daughter and American socialite). So if we can all just keep our fingers crossed that she stops doing whatever American socialites do and pulls her finger out and sends it to me, then it'll be alright :)

So I did the Microlighting yesterday. It was good. But not as daredevil as I expected. So next is hang gliding... and then... tandem skydive... eek!

Hope all is well... not long now til I'm home... wooppee!

Here is dress number 2... it's on pre-order, so I am hoping that it arrives in time for me to receive it before I fly home and that it fits/looks good. Fingers crossed.

The other picture is of people Microlighting. It looks like I'll be doing this a week on Saturday.
There is a place down south from here where you can do it. You fly across the coast line.

3 weeks til I come home! Yippee! I hear mum and dad are flying business class to Oz next year. Wowsers! That should be fun. I am travelling in the hold of the airplane when I come home... ;)

In case you have forgotten what I look like, here is a picture of me taken when I was doing the Barossa Half Marathon a few months back.

I took part in the City to Bay Fun Run last weekend (12km or 7.5miles). Finished in 58mins. So at least I got in under the hour, but would like to shave a couple of minutes off that next time. I've got some work to do! :)

Less than 4 weeks til I come home... yippee!

Did two things this weekend that I have never done before.....

On Friday night I went to watch a Muay Thai fight... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muay_Thai

and on Sunday I went out with a friend on the back of his motorcycle into the Adelaide Hills. We visited this microbrewery, which was really good. If mum and dad make it over, I visit there would be a good day out... http://www.ahcb.com.au/

I went out for a night out on Saturday night.... and bumped into someone I went to school with! He lives in Adelaide with his Australian girlfriend. His name is Scott. I didn't know him at school, but started chatting with him because he was wearing a kilt. I asked him what part of Scotland he was from and just about died when he said Banchory! Small world! :)

So I overcame my avoidance towards dancing this week and tried out Zumba for the first time! This is a latin insprired dance class, that involves lots of butt shaking. My friend assured me that I did not look like a giraffe having an epileptic fit! :)

I also tried Body Jam which is a hip hop style dance class. And I expect that I was equally proficient at this!

But I will persevere...!

Aside from this Gary and Carole's invitation to the wedding arrived. Phew! So I definitely am invited! :)

I went to Melbourne at the weekend. Eating, drinking and shopping were the activities. On the way home from the pub on Friday night, I ate a McChicken Nugget! But I am consoling myself that this doesn't necessarily mean I fell off the vegetarian wagon, as I reckon there was probably no chicken in it anyway.

Here is the dress that I have bought to wear at Gary & Carole's wedding. It is greyish-brown and has leather straps.

I'm thinking orange or turqoise accessories..... and a little jacket for wearing outside.

Bikram Yoga: bending yourself like a pretzel in 40degree heat= mental!

My legs are tired.... just finished the Adelaide Hills to Henley Beach run. 30km (about 18 1/2miles) in the pishing rain took me 2:32. Pretty happy with that. I ll need to check the official website later in the week for the results but according to the officials on the day I was placed 4th female over that distance (there had been a shorter run on at the same time). And there were more than 4 of us!! ;)

Will keep you posted.. but for just now I am going to put the fire on, get my book and put my feet up... stiff legs here we come!

My new bike!

I now own two things.... a bike and a blender. Woop, woop! ;)

I went to a zoo!!!

Hoose in the Country n Jersey the Dug

A couple of pictures of the house that I am staying in at the moment. And Jersey, the dog, who I am dog sitting.

It's cold! I'm wearing a silly hat!

Howdy! As they say in Australia. I'm aware I've been a bit quiet of late, so I thought I'd send you all a little photo of me in case you had forgotten what I looked like. This was taken at 5am this morning, as I was heading out the door to the gym. It's bloody freezing here at the moment. Through the day it's not so bad, maybe about 18 degrees. But first thing in the morning and last thing at night it's chilly! So I have been out buying myself some winter weather gear. I obviously didn't pack any when I came over. So in the photo, I am wearing my new winter jacket. Yes, I have delusions of being Red Riding Hood. And my new silly, fluffy hat. A-la Gary. Yes, never to be outdone by my siblings, I have my own ridiculous headwear now. And very cosy it is too! I know I look ridiculous, but I like it! :)

You can see part of my new house in the background. The big one in the country with the pool. Which I am obviously not using just now! When I looked at this house it was summer, and I was excited about the prospect of living somewhere with a pool. But now it is winter, I am questioning why I have moved myself way out into the country. It seems a bit nonsensical to be doing all this driving. And I have been staying over at Brad's at the weekends so that I can still go out and have a drink with my friends. So I am wondering whether I should persevere with this house and see if I adjust, or email the family and let them know it's not working out for me...? I would feel bad about letting them down. But not sure if this is really going to work.

On the plus side, me and my new buddy, Jersey the labrador, are getting on well. (I'm dog sitting her for the year whilst the house owners are in England). She's pretty unfit at the moment, I guess she wasn't walked much before. But I have taken her out on a few runs and plan to build up her fitness. We went out the other day and got half way up a big hill when she just sat down and refused to go any further. She looked at me with eyes that seemed to say: 'sod off, I ain't going any further!'. So we eventually had to turn back!

We have a long weekend here this weekend....we get Monday off.... for the Queen's Birthday!! Do we get that at home?? I don't ever remember having it off? I have a Quiz night one night of the long weekend... I hope they have lots of questions about the UK or the gym... else I'm stuffed! :) and I'm going to a friends house to play Poker the other night. I'm hoping that beginners luck will be on my side!

I've signed up to do a 30km run in the next few weeks. Should be trying to up my training to prepare. But can't seem to find any more time in my day at the moment. I may give up eating and sleeping. Then I should be sorted. :)

Hope all is well on the other sides of the Earth..?? Do you know it is only 4 months til the wedding and the Lesina/ Stewart invasion of the Motherland!

Can't wait to see you all!

Take Care. Lots of Love,
Kelly..... and Jersey!!!!!!!! xxxx Woof!

Happy Birthday to Lucy!

It's Thursday here so I thought I would put a quick post up to say Happy Birthday to Lucy! Will try and Skype you v soon sissy! Hope you have a great day xxx

Perth Birthdays!

Some pictures of this weekend's trip to Perth. Some were taken from the revolving top floor restaurant we went to for my bday on Thursday. I won't tell you how much we spent on cocktails. But. It. Was. A. Lot...... I may have to reconsider my trip home in October... ;)

Only joking.

The others were taken from the boat we hired on Sat for Soph's bday. We had a posh BBQ on board, drinking and lots of dancing. Good times.

Picture taken whilst out walking the other night down the beach....

2 days til I go to Perth. It's Sophie's 30th birthday so we are going out on a private boat. Here is the menu for the food and drink we will be having on board.

I have also arranged to meet up with Paul Symons, he used to live next door to us. He lives in Perth with his girlfriend. Last time I was over I caught up with Mikey Aitken (his mum used to own the jewellers in Banchory) and he put Paul and I in touch again.

Did the Barossa Half Marathon yesterday.... very scenic running around the wine region just north of Adelaide. Did the run in 1:49... which is a PB for me... :)

Official race results for the Mothers Day Classic Run I did on Sunday: I did the 7.5km in 36:09.... and was placed 248 out of 1400.....

Explaining my facebook posting.....!!!

OK... so here is today's lesson in Australian.... for every word... shorten it. And then add an 'O' on the end... so 'smoke break' becomes 'smoke-o' and 'Freemantle' becomes 'Free-o'.

Alcohol is sold in the 'bottle shop' so it's called the 'Bottle-O'. The bottle shops are drive thru...which I think is genius! ;) Why don't we have that in Scotland..?!!

Bundy is a type of rum made in Bundaberg in Queensland. Its potent. I like it.

So my FB posting was questioning whether it would be a step too far to go to the bottle shop for rum in my pajamas....? The answer of course is 'yes, it probably is!'

But I still did it..... ;)

........

Other news: I have now had both ears pierced for the third time on each side. I think it looks nice. You ll all need to hold on to your excitement until you can see it in October....! I hope you will survive.....!

And.... I got my first speeding ticket this week. I was doing 94km/h on a dual carriageway which was 80km/h. Oops. $220 fine. And demerit points. Boo :(

So who would have thought that moving to Australia would mean an increase in my drinking habits...??! ;)

Not much to say this week, so I have attached a couple of photos from a girls night I went on on Saturday night.

Would you credit it that some other British people made it over to Australia before me...?! All these ladies pictured are Pommes!

No half marathon for me the next day. Although I rather ambitiously tried to get up to do RPM (the cycle class at the gym) the next morning. I knew as soon as we had done the warm up track that I was in trouble.....! I didn't spew. But it was close :)

Here is the whole motley crew from Sat's hen nite. Someone forwarded me this picture so thought you might like to see it....

Some pictures from the weekend. I was channelling my 'inner Chav' this weekend and went in a stretch hummer. This was for a Hen's night for one of the girls from work. I mentioned to my flat mate that I thought this was a bit chavvy, and he said he's done it as a surprise for his girlfriend a few years back... ooops! :)

But saying that, it was actually quite fun. We went out to a restaurant called British India for a meal after and then onto a bar for drinks. I left after that whilst the girls went on to a gay bar for dancing.

I had my half marathon the next morning. And despite getting to bed at 1am and then up again at 5am, I managed to do a personal best.... 1hr and 56mins... so pleased with that. The picture of athletic looking people on grass is from the run. I took that photo sitting down after the race. I was too tired to get any others!

I have been mounting up the evidence of my stupidity this week! Last night I woke to feel the house shaking. In my dozy brain I thought, 'bloody hell, it's windy tonight'... only to be told this morning by my flat mate that there had been an earthquake!

Apparently they are not too uncommon in the north here. This one only measured 3-4 on the richter scale, so no damage. Biggest one recently, according to what I've been reading on Google, was 5.4 and caused a fair bit of damage. So there you go! I didn't realise that that was something else that could get you in Australia. I must add it to the list of sharks, snakes, spiders etc etc...!!

Also, I have signed up to do a half marathon tomorrow morning. And I have a hen night tonight. Now that's stupid! Will let you know how I get on....

Some pictures of Stella and Lula, the dogs I am living with. Lula is the little black Staffy. She's holding her toy hoping that I'll play with her in this shot. Stella is a German short haired pointer.

I woke the other morning spooning with Lula! She had crawled into my bed in the night. For one very brief second I thought I had gone to bed with a very short, hairy man! :)

The other picture is of Salisbury: one of the areas where I work. I took this shot because it had been raining. Which is kinda unusual for here. I reckon I could count on the fingers of one hand the amount of times it has rained since I got here. But now Autumn is here I wonder how much more it will rain?

OK, so maybe not the most attractive shot of me ever. But let's face it. You've all seen me looking a hell of a lot worse too!

I got an iPhone this week and this is me testing out the camera on it. It looks like I am at a call centre, but actually this is me at our new offices.

Do not expect any birthday or Christmas presents this year, as I will be spending all my money on Apps for my iPhone. Today I downloaded 'Press Up Fu'. This is a program designed to get you to be able to do 100 press ups in 6 weeks. O yeah! Look out chest and shoulders! :)

One of the GP's I work with is moving to England for a year. She is looking for someone to stay in her house whilst she is away. She has a labrador that she needs looking after. So as a deal, she has offered me the house for cheap if I agree to take the dog on too. Went up to look at it today. House is great. 4 bedrooms and a pool. Dog is a cute slobbering mess of a thing. Where I am staying just now is only short term as Brad is renovating top floor of gym into a studio apartment. So as I will have to move out of here at some point in the next few months probably anyway, I have agreed to take on Naomi's place. Move in in 8 weeks. The house is in between Adelaide and a small village town called Gawler (pictured).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gawler,_South_Australia

I work in one of the surgeries in Gawler. It is north of Adelaide. Just before you reach the Barossa wine region where they make, amongst others, Jacobs Creek wine.

So that means there will be plenty of room for visitors! And lots of wine! If anyone fancies popping 24 hours in a plane down under! ;)

No Bali for me :(

http://sa.cancercouncilfundraising.org.au/TeamPage.aspx?teamID=33460&langPref=en-CA

This weekend I am doing a 24 hour Relay Race for Life. As the name suggests it's a 24hour relay race.... in aid of cancer research. We start at 1pm on Saturday.

If you think you can donate, please click on the link above. If you think you have any friends or colleagues who would like to give money towards my foolishness too, please forward them the link!

Just away to put my leave application form in... if it's accepted, I am planning to go to Bali next month! O yeah! :)

Election time here in Australia. Did you know that it is compulsory to vote here? Failure to do so result in a fine. They of course are not interested in my opinion, not being a resident... so I am excused.

I have posted off my visa application forms. This is to apply for the longer stay business sponsored visa. I am currently only on a short stay working holiday visa. So fingers crossed I have filled it out correctly!

Should be moving house this week. Keep you posted how it goes.

http://svc125.wic022v.server-web.com/features/port_info.html

Check out this link to see the website for Port Adelaide. This is a suburb of Adelaide where I viewed a nice house this evening. It would be sharing with a girl who is a Psychologist and her younger brother who is a Paramedic. Port Adelaide is a bit like Fittie in Aberdeen. But sunnier. A lot of the buildings there are heritage listed. It has lots of character. House was nice.It has 6 bedrooms. But they want to split it 3 ways. So that means as well as having 2 living areas and a large kitchen, we would all have 2 rooms each. One bedroom and another room to do with as we please. Roll top bath, open fire places, exposed floor boards. Courtyard out the back, and a small balcony on the front. Sounds good, huh? 5 mins from the beach, 20 to the city and about 35 to work. £5 a week more than I am paying currently. So not going to break the bank. Having a couple of days to think about it. But reckon I will probably go for it.

I've been to a few comedy shows this week. Ross Noble on Wednesday night was the highlight. He was hilarious! I've not laughed so much in ages. He's a Geordie. And someone I was with that night, asked if I still found him funny even though I would be used to hearing that kind of accent! She just thought he was hilarious because of the way he talked! :)

Talking of Geordies, one of the girls at work was telling me that her sister has just called her baby Geordie! I didn't explain what it meant in the UK. But it did remind me that I used to think that Milo was a good name for a boy. Until I got to Oz and found that it is the name for a Malted drink here. In fact you all got some for Christmas!

Veering back to Fringe events I've seen this week, I also went to see a comedy musical which was quite good. Although I was tired from being out the night before, so I may have been hard to please that night. And last night I went out to see a female only troupe of comedians, called Titters. They were an International group with acts from the UK, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Some of which were really good. We ate at a really good noodle bar in the City beforehand, so it was a really nice night.

That's the Adelaide festival drawing to a close soon. So my recent splurge of night's out will be drawing to a close. Which I'm sure my bank account will appreciate! :)

Which got me thinking about my reading matter. I finished Slumdog Millionaire. Which I really enjoyed. Mum had thought the movie was good but harrowing. Although I didn't feel that about the book. From what Dad said they maybe dramatised bits of the book for the movie and played up some of the upsetting scenes. I'll need to watch the movie to compare.

I've started reading the book 'Eat, Pray, Love'. Which for some of you may mean nothing. But Lucy has read it. So thought I'd mention it. It's about a woman who hits 30 and looks at her life and relationship and thinks 'this isn't me' and then up sticks to try and find herself. Sounds highly improbable, don't you think? Who would do something like that? :)

Hope you re all having a good week. Happy Mother's Day to mum. xxx

I got an email from Gary this morning, reminding me to update my blog! Its been a week since I did... I'm trying to recall what has been happening...?? I think I told mum and dad all my news on Skype at the weekend. So you guys may want to skip reading this!

HOUSES! I've been to see a few houses this week in my quest for my digs. Saw a good one at the beach yesterday. Living with a 40yr old woman and her 9year old son. They fed me hot cross buns and coffee as soon as I arrived. So that's always a good start! House was lovely too. Built in 1910, which by Ozzie standards is positively ancient I think. Nice exposed floorboards etc. Lots of character. If I live at the beach, I need to drive about 35-40mins to work each day. So just trying to decide if I want to do that. Or hang out a bit longer and see if I can find something suitable closer to work.

Another place I saw close to work had a pool, but it was in a terrible state and the guy said he had poker nights 4-5 times a week. So that was a definite turn off for me!

FRINGE FESTIVAL! Went out to the Fringe festival on Saturday night and saw The Red Bastard (pictured). Quite funny in parts. But his main thing was to pick on the audience, so I spent most of the time trying to avoid eye contact. We were sitting in the second row from the front. I was sure that as soon as I opened my mouth, I'd be a gonner! The accent would be an easy target! (I know! What accent..?!) But he picked on the guy to my left and the one to my right and I managed to avoid being talked to. Result! :)

Going to another comedy show tomorrow night. Ross Noble is a UK based comedian. He's sometimes on shows such as Mock the Week (is that still on?). Very funny. So will let you know what I think of his live stand up.

And on Saturday I going to see a show called Titters. No idea what it's about (breasts maybe..?!). Folk at work have organised it. But again, it's comedy. So hope it's good.

RUNNING! I went for a run on Sunday morning with a few folk from my gym. Really surprised myself. After not running properly for about a year, I managed to do a half marathon in about 2 hours! Yeeha! My ankle is a bit stiff and sore just now. But otherwise I feel great. I see that Lucy has been upping the miles too. How did you go sis? For someone who doesn't like running, you have some dedication!

And more talk about running. Gary, you may want to skip all this talk about running! I have a 24hour relay race coming up soon. In aid of cancer research. Group of 10. Deal is someone has to be running at all times during the 24 hours. So we take it in turns over the 24hour period. Doing about 30mins at a time each. End of March I think it is scheduled for. So I will be looking for some sponsorship in due course. Get those wallets out!

WEATHER! And lastly, the obligatory weather update. It is autumn here now. So it's about 22 degrees today. Brr. Heating up to 30 at the weekend. Much better. But the upside of the cool change is that I am sleeping at night again. Hurray! Mum and dad said they were a bit over the snow at home. Hope it clears soon. But not long til you will be in the USA anyway. So maybe you don't really care what it does in the UK in the next wee while!

OK... so that is all I can think of just now. Hope you re having a good week. Speak to you soon. Those of you who have Skype. Gary, HINT, HINT!

Lots of love, K xx

So I suck at beach volleyball! :)

We are straight into playing against other teams... not even a chance to learn how to play. So my shame and embarrassment is there for everyone to see!

My roommate's girlfriend has started to move in this weekend... so I am now getting ready to start moving out. End of an era. But staying here has been helpful to let me find my feet.

Have booked my LHR-ABZ flights. So will arrive in Aberdeen on the 22nd of Oct at 11.10am. Just a few hours before the Lesina's.

Oh dear.... I have managed to get myself talked into playing beach volleyball tonight. Despite my best protestations that I have never played it before, or have any co-ordination at all. I imagine I will add something 'special' to the team.

The photo is obviously for illustrative purposes only. I will not look like this....! :)

I have booked my flights home for Gary and Carole's wedding! I'm flying with Virgin Atlantic. I leave Adelaide on the 21st of October. Arrive Heathrow at 5.25am on the 22nd of October.

I have not booked my connecting flight to Aberdeen yet. Lucy et al arrive in Heathrow at 11.50am that same morning. And are taking the 2.15pm flight to Aberdeen. So I am wondering, will I just get on an earlier flight and get home to mum and dad's asap for lots of mummy and daddy loving... to bagsie the best bed and perhaps a little kip.... or will I wait at Heathrow and get the same flight up as the Lesina's...??!!

Hello, just a quick post to let you know that I am still alive. I am heading out tonight to have dinner and to watch the opening parade of the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

http://tix.adelaidefringe.com.au/ticketing/home.aspx

Will try and get some pictures for you to see.

Some pictures from my weekend in Melbourne. There is one of the place where Andy Murray was recently playing in the Australian Open. And quite a blurry one of us on our first night. Will write more later....