In this blog:  I was as busy as always, the circus came to town and I got welcomed to Australia (only 3 and a half years too late!🙊)

Monday:

The general Monday-itis but I won’t go into my day at work!😩

Tuesday:

Work, tutoring, gymnastics, Pilates.  Ricocheting around like a crazy woman at the moment!😴

Wednesday:

I was meant to be meeting a student at one of the schools I train at regularly and arrived to be told that she had other staff training and didn’t have time!  I was a bit put out as I had driven across town and she hadn’t let me know, so had a bit of a whinge to the supervisor.  She was very sympathetic and said “Listen, do you want to go to the circus tonight?”  It turned out that she had been given a heap of free family tickets and was probably a bit of a softener to my mood!🎉

I excitedly called GH, who promptly rained on the circus parade by saying it “wasn’t his thing”.😒  I am honestly searching for anything which is his “thing” which involves us being a family!😒😒  Does he really think that most parents take kids to events because they enjoy them, or because it makes the kids happy?!  I am, of course, excluding myself from this, because I am still a big kid at heart and will happily go to any kids event and damn well enjoy myself!😝

“Fine!”  I stropped.  I will find someone else who wants to go with us.  Luckily, my friend, Dani, loves kids events too, so her and her daughter Lucy were happy to be part of “our family”.❤️

Ian called back.  “Okay, fine.  I’ve thought about it and I’ll go because Mia will want me to.”

😲”You’re too late.  Dani and Lucy are coming with me now.  You snooze, you lose!”

“Oh great, so now you’re punishing me!”

😤”No, you said you didn’t want to go, so I found someone who did!”

Cue a GH strop!  I rang him back to check if he really did want to go and he confirmed that he wanted to spend time with Mia.  I gave him the reality check that it would be full of people (his least favourite thing) and probably hot and stuffy, with overpriced refreshments.  He agreed that he wouldn’t come.  I’m a bit indifferent as to whether this makes me happy or sad because there is nothing worse than someone who doesn’t want to be somewhere, moaning about something they don’t want to do when you’re really excited.  However, I would really like some enthusiasm about family time too!😐

I got my required enthusiasm from Miss Mia when I told her where we were going.  She was crazily excited, which made up for areas where it was lacking!

There was no time for cooking, so grabbed a McDonald’s drive-thru, got to Queens Park and parked up to cram it in, before going to the box office to get our 4 free tickets.  Dani and Lucy arrived and Dani bought the girls show-bags, which kind of negated the free tickets, but hey ho!  More plastic crap for Mia’s collection, but she was ecstatic!

I saw a few people there that I knew, including the student who had stood me up, who came over and apologised, so I think she must have got a serve from her supervisor!🙊

During the interval, there was an opportunity to go and get photographs with the trained African parrots but it was $20, so was happy to leave it, but Dani was insistent that we do it.  Mia wanted to have one on her arm and wasn’t fazed at all.  Little Lucy’s face was a picture though.  She was not into it at all!😂

In the second half, some audience members were picked out of the crowd to go into the ring and be totally embarrassed.  I don’t think I even have to tell you who one of them was, do I?!?!  I’m so glad I lost my embarrassment chip a very long time ago, although I did inwardly (and most probably outwardly!) groan and think “Why me?!?!”  We all had to play an invisible instrument when our section of music came on.  I had to play an invisible violin, so I am aware it could have been way worse!!!😅

It wasn’t the best circus in the world, but it wasn’t the worst way to spend two hours either, especially with free tickets and Mia loved it, which was the whole point!  I know there are only certain animals that they can use in circuses these days, but performing llamas, camels and water buffalo were a bit bizarre!🤷🏼‍♀️

Thursday:

VERY tired:  work and tutoring were both painful, but I survived!😅

Friday:

Ian had asked me to pick him up some Wild Boar rum and cola bottles after work.  He had recently discovered that they were discontinuing them in Queensland and was pretty devastated as it was his favourite drink.  I carried it from the car into the kitchen and it just flew out of my hands in slow motion!😲  I watched it smash all over the floor and thought “Bollocks!” and then  took a photo of course, for my loyal blog readers.🙈

GH actually took the news quite well and wasn’t GH at all, which took me aback.  He did insist I go and get him another one, which really was the least I could do!  The guy at the servo said “Back again?!” clearly thinking I had an alcohol problem, so I relayed the story and he let me have another for free!!!  “Are you sure?!” I asked.  “It was my mistake!”  “Yeah!  He’s the only bugger that drinks them anyway!”  Hence why they are being discontinued I suppose!🤣

Saturday:

We were running really late for Mia’s swimming lesson and when we arrived there were no car park spaces, so I asked Mia to jump out and go in and start getting changed while I found somewhere.  She is not ready for that responsibility!  She ran out of our car and almost into another one!😳  I put my hazards on and just left the car in the middle of the car park.  Well, rather that than a flat Mia!!!  I turned around to put something in my bag and turned back around to a naked Mia!!! 😵 She had stripped completely nude instead of keeping her swimsuit on, much to the amusement of parents nearby!

On the way home, we stopped off at Grand Central and Mia got to choose a new toy for being student of the week.  She chose some light-up plastic crap this time!  Yay!😐

In the afternoon, I went to a Rodan & Fields party at Dani’s house as she had signed up to become a sales rep.  It was way out of my price range for skin care right now, but it was good to catch up with Renee, who has moved to Brisbane recently, and other friends and get baby snuggles.  Renee was as lucky as ever and won the raffle prize!👏🏻

I hadn’t brought Mia with me, as I didn’t think it was a “bring your kids”event, but one of my friends had purposely brought their daughter to play with her, so I felt a little bad!  Perhaps, I had subconsciously blanked out the “kids are welcome” line, but goddammit, it’s nice to get out of the house alone every once in a while!

The lady who was hosting everything turned out to be English too (even though she sounded completely Aussie to my untrained ears!) and was really lovely.  She lives on the Gold Coast and said I was welcome if I ever wanted to come and stay.  I wonder how surprised she would be if I actually turned up!😆

Sunday:

We went to the Coo-ee event at Cobb and Co. museum today, which promised lots of Aussie-themed events for newcomers to the region.  I chose to ignore the fact that we have been here for 3 1/2 years already and lapped up the freebies!  It was great!  We met koalas, black cockatoos, crocs, snakes, watched sheepdog trials, threw thongs and were given a week’s supply of Lamingtons by a lady who had clearly over-catered!  They were huge too and they made GH’s eyes light up when I got home, which only happens once in a blue moon!

Lamingtons in everybody’s lunchboxes for the week!

Thank you for reading and talk to you next week! 🙂