BabyMoon

Like a honeymoon, the babymoon is a holiday. It is a last hurrah for a couple before the birth of their child.

Natalie organised a really nice week away for us up on the Sunshine Coast at Coolum back in September.

During the time up there we soaked up the early spring sunshine, went wine tasting (only a little for Natalie) and went to the Australia Zoo, the legacy of Steve Irwin.



Above: The southern end of the main Coolum Beach.



Above: Natalie enjoying an ice cream sundae at the Big Pineapple.


Above: Just how much can a koala bear? One of the furry critters at Australia Zoo.


Above: Natalie meets one of the locals



Above: Peter finds a new friend.


Above: Feeding time at the Zoo.

A year on

I have now been in my job one year.

It feels good. I feel settled and the company is going well.

My role is a really good one and I am confident in it.

Happy days!

The countdown is on!

Natalie is due in less than three weeks.

It is an exciting time for us.

Natalie finished work last week and so is a lady of leisure - as much as you can be when you feel like a whale (her word, not mine).

We don't know whether it is a boy or a girl, so that adds to the excitement. And with Christmas only a month away it means an exciting Christmas for us.

Cricket for me is now on hold. I have played four matches and had a pretty good time with the bowling taking 9 wickets in about 19 overs (spread over the four matches). With us winning our grade last year and going up a grade I thought my bowling would be less effective than in the past. It seems though that I might be a little more accurate this year and the batsmen a little less patient when facing me.

Anyway, with regards to the baby: stay tuned...

New House - finally

Finally we have pictures of our new place here.

For the last few months we have been busy painting and preparing the place. If moving house is a big job we made it significantly bigger with us painting all rooms of the house apart from the laundry and garage.

It has taken longer than usual because we have been painting primarily on the weekends. But the place looks great now that we have it done.

Next job is the garden, which while not too bad requires some TLC.

Above: The Nursery - which will be getting a work-out soon enough.



Above: The front of our place.



Above: Our backyard - which is surprisingly large for a duplex.

Bump!

Natalie and I have some exciting news: Natalie is pregnant and we are expecting our first child in mid-December.

It is very exciting for us and we are both looking forward to our family growing at the end of the year.

Natalie has suffered some morning sickness but now appears to be over that phase pretty much. However, the pregnancy does seem to be wearing her down with her tiring a lot more easily in the past. It has been frustrating for Natalie as she loves to run and has been unable to do so for a couple of months.

The pregnancy though, seems to be going well with tests so far being positive.

Let the countdown begin.

Who's that?!

My friend, Jillian, sent me an email telling me I needed to check out her blog to guess who one of the people in some new photos was (apart from her or her husband, I presumed).

It seems with the IPL going great guns in India Jillian has bumped into an old acquaintance of hers from a previous tour to India by the Australian cricket team: Warnie!

Perhaps at this point I should point out that Jill was not a text messaging friend of Warnie's (like so many women, it would seem) but met him at a bar once, along with 'Pup' Clarke, umpire Billy Bowden and a few others associated with cricket.

Anyway, Warnie - ever the charmer - has told Jill on this latest encounter that he remembered her from several years back. Maybe, maybe not. But it looks like everyone had fun at the party.

A home

We have recently bought a house.

At present we are going through the process of filling out paperwork, organising payments, etc. Settlement is a few weeks away but things are going along nicely.

We have been looking around the area we live in at the moment but in the end found a great place over in the Sutherland Shire. So it will be a return home for me.

We wont be moving in straight away once settlement is complete as the place currently has tenants in it. We have agreed to give them time to find a new place.

Nonetheless it is very exciting and we are looking forward to the move when it does happen.

So what is the place like?

It is a duplex (a single building with two dwellings in it). We have bought one of the dwellings. Now with many duplexes around the backyards are tiny. Not in this one. It has a backyard typical of a normal house. So we are very pleased with the opportunities it offers us. The building is seven years old and needs a bit of a paint but is otherwise in great condition.

Once the place is ours we will take some photos to share on here.

A successful summer

It has been quiet around here. That is for many reasons. Firstly, I have a new job, which I started in November. Secondly, I have been playing cricket on Saturdays. Finally, Natalie and I have been enjoying getting back into the Sydney life and our blog has thus suffered.

Now I mention cricket because it has been a long season and it drew to a close today.

The team I play for won its grand final today. I didn't contribute much in batting or bowling, but collectively we were the best on the ground and won by 63 runs. So in tribute to our fine team, here is a photo taken after the match. Well done everyone!



I think what is truly special is that my brother, father and I got to share in this feat, with us all competing for the team most weeks and getting to play in the semi and grand finals. It is probably the last time we will play competitive cricket together.

That's special!

Slowly getting it right at crickert

After a terrific season with the bat in the UK I returned to Sydney cricket with a knowledge that conditions may not suit me quite so well as they did in the UK. The tamer bowling in London, combined with less bouncy pitches suit my batting style.

My efforts at GWRCC for 2007 were 212 runs @ 35.33, ending up eighth for the club for those who had batted a minimum of 7 innings.

Now in Sydney after four batting efforts I have a total of 14 runs. But things are starting to come together. With a bit more concentration and effort over the coming matches I should start to score alot more runs.

But in spite of my efforts with the bat the team is looking good. We recorded another win this weekend, which gives us four on the trot, and play the comp leaders next weekend.

My holiday is over

The last time I was officially employed was early to mid July. That was in the UK. Since then, we have packed up our lives, toured part of the midwest USA and headed home. We have also caught up with family and friends here in Australia.

Now, I start work.

Since the false start of almost a month ago I have worked hard to find another job quickly. And now I start on Monday for a leading IT distributor here in Sydney. It should be a great role, focusing on marketing the products of one of their key vendor partners.

It is going to be a little strange getting up Monday morning to head into work for the first time in ages but I am looking forward to sinking my teeth into it and I am sure Natalie will be pleased to see me productive again - though I should point out that we may have a slightly different opinion of productivity where high scores on the Nintendo Wii are concerned. :)

A win? Not so fast!

What a crazy way to finish a college football game!

A job? Not so fast!

Last week I wrote about how I had a new job lined up to start in early November. That was before I got a phone call on Friday to say that the company, due to some unforeseen circumstances, was pulling the offer from the table and leaving me unemployed again!

Crazy!

I am going to get a severance payout, which is nice, but I am now in the position of having missed out on another job because I chose this one instead. So it is back to square one for me.

D'oh!