I didn't really have the best weekend. I had a huge row with my flatmate on Friday night, she has been driving me crazy since I've lived there. I haven't mentioned it before cos she is going out with my friend (but now I don't care!) Basically what started off as me just asking if she could use her key and not always buzz on the door when she gets home (I'm trying to be assertive)turned into a big argument when for some reason she started having a go at me, she said some really nasty things to me and also about me to Jason, she really was below the belt. She really upset me. So anyway I moved all my stuff out on Saturday morning, it was a bit like a prison escape, we got up early cos I didn't want to see her!! Luckily a friend of ours has just gone away for 10 days, so he said I could stay there until we get a flat sorted out. I'm still in a bit of shock about it all, I can't believe she was so horrible, but to be honest, I'm so glad to be out of there, she makes mine and Jason's life hell, she's so miserable. It was so great to have a flat to ourselves over the weekend, it feels a bit weird at the moment, but it's really nice.
So on Saturday after that debacle Jason and I went flat hunting. We looked at about 8 properties, only 2 of those were ok, but still not perfect. Some of the places were such dumps, we realised we'd have to put our budget up a little bit to get somewhere half decent! We've applied for one of them, and they have offered it to us, but now I'm not so sure as there isn't much storage space...and you have to go through the bedroom to get to the bathroom...not so good if we have people to stay. We're still looking anyway.

Here are a couple of pics of the cavoodle

I know I keep going on about time, but really, I can't believe it's Thursday already, time seems to be going exceptionally fast since I've been back at work...and it's not because I'm having fun, that's for sure!! It's been a pretty busy week, I've been trying to sort out things for my residency application to New Zealand and also trying to look for flats (we've only got 2 weeks to find somewhere decent and I'm a bit worried). Tuesday night we went around to Sean's for dinner and did a photo slide show of our holiday pics...I hope we didn't bore him too much! Today I went out for lunch with my old work colleagues from another department, it was nice to finally catch up with them again. Tonight we've got a flat viewing, it looks really nice on the internet, it's a little bit more than we want to pay, but it's either that or moving somewhere not so nice. We'll see. I'm thinking about getting a kitten if we're allowed pets...we both really want to get a puppy, but we're both working and unless we get a garden at our new flat, it wouldn't really be fair on it. I've seen so many cute ones at the pet shop, it kills me to leave them there. We like the designer crosses, like cavoodles and beagliers, our immigration agent has just bought a cavoodle, Jason showed me some pics he took with his phone when he went around the other day...it was sooo cute ;o)

I can't believe another weekend has passed us by...where do they go?! I should try not doinganything one weekend and maybe it'll go a bit slower! As it was, this weekend was quite busy. I met up for a night with the girls on Friday after work. We went to a pub at the Rocks first, then we walked up the road to the Shangri-La hotel. I've been wanting to go there for such a long time, but this was only the first opportunity to go. It didn't disappoint either, the bar is on the 36th floor, and the hotel is right on the harbour, so there are some fabulous views, it really is a cool place to go for a drink...and it has to be just for one drink cos it's so bloomin expensive! The cocktails cost about $25, I just stuck with a glass of wine, which I could have bought a bottle for the same price, but who's complaining, it was well worth it for the view! So, as I said, we had one drink there, then we jumped in a taxi and headed to Surry Hills to Hollywood, then to another pub for some live music and a boogie. It was such a good night, there were 6 of us that came out, a couple of them I hadn't met before, but we all had a real laugh.

By the next day I'd managed to lose my voice, I guess I shouldn't have gone out drinking Friday cos I didn't feel that good, but I'd been looking forward to it all week, and it was worth losing my voice for! So, Saturday we had to get up early to see the tax man to do our tax returns. I thought I wouldn't be as lucky as I was last year, but I was, I got loads of $'s back, really happy about that, so it's going towards our wedding. Jason got a bit, but not as much as me ;o)

After that we did the usual shopping and cleaning and then Jason and I went out for dinner in the evening. We went to our local Mexican restaurant, the food was yummy. We saw one of the Big Brother evictees there, I've seen so many of them around about town, they pop up everywhere....apparently one from last year is working in a shop around the corner...being on Big Brother obviously brought her lots of opportunities...not!!! They are having lots of sex scandals too, 2 of the guys got evicted from the show a couple of weeks ago....now everyone is trying to ban it, even John Howard..funny! Anyway, back to Saturday...we went down to the Palace after dinner, but I tell you we were the oldest people in there, we felt like we were teachers chaperoning at a high school disco.... not good!!

Yesterday was a lovely day, so we went for a walk along the coast. The beaches were packed, it was very warm considering it's winter, it was nice to get some fresh air. I was busy taking lots of beach pics on my new phone, although I've no idea who's got a camera phone for me to send them to.

That's about it really...back to work today, my sore throat has turned into a cold now, but I'm feeling a lot better than I was.

I've just realised, it's a year ago since I went up to Cairns for my east coast trip....wow I can't believe that it was that long ago, where does the time go??!!
Not much going on this week, I was a bit sick on Tuesday, I had a funny spell at work, it must be this place, this is where I had the migraine when I worked here last year - perhaps I'm allergic to it!
My mobile phone died yesterday....absolutely gutted...it's not so much the phone that I'm worried about, it's that fact that I've lost everyone's phone numbers :-( I stupidly saved them to my phone and not the SIM, then even more stupidly didn't write the numbers in an address book...doh!! (So expect an email asking for your phone numbers!!!) Looks like the money I saved this week will have to go towards buying another phone, but I guess I can't complain, my one has lasted a good 3 or so years, about time for an upgrade.
On another note, I've found out that our passage to New Zealand will probably not be as easy as we anticipated. Apparently it can take up to 2 years to get my visa granted, so we have to start applying very soon. I have to get police certificates from UK, Aus and Germany (and get the German one translated)then we have to provide evidence on our relationship and I have to have a full medical (loads of money!) I don't want to go through all this again, we've only just got over applying for the last visa, what a nightmare!! Can't I just come back and live in England??!

Had a nice weekend. Jason and I went for a quiet drink on Friday night. Saturday we got some cleaning in the flat and washing done, very domesticated! In the evening we went into the city to meet Gemma and Garry, we hardly ever get a chance to catch up with them, so we had a fun night. We went to a few different bars, then Garry had to take Gemma home, so Jason and I went to the old favourite, Burdekin bar.
Yesterday had a nice lie in, then we went to see Click at the cinema. I would recommend seeing it if you can, it was a really good film, and suprisingly deep (for an Adam Sandler film!). It really made me think about my life (and made me blub too!). In the evening Jason met up with some friends for dinner and I stayed in and phoned my Mum and Chris for a catch up. I'm really happy, my Mum has said she'll probably come to visit in February next year, and my brother and Martina are thinking about coming over too...which would be great! It'll give me something
nice to look forward to. Actually Jason and I have come to the decision that we will only be in Australia for another year (so if you want to visit OZ, keep that in mind!). We are going to move to New Zealand next August and look for a house as you can get a really nice house there and it's lots cheaper. Well, that's the plan anyway!

I got my first wages today....yaay!! I'm so happy to be getting paid again, and the money is great, I've got the same for 3 days that I normally get for 5, so I can't wait until next week to get paid, I'll be loaded!! Work is going ok, it's not that exciting tho. I actually had a phone interview for a travel agency yesterday, I really want to try something a bit different careerwise, so I thought I'd apply. It was quite a funny interview, it's a really sales orientated role so it wasn't what I was used to. I had to do a role play with the interviewer, I had to chose to sell either a camera, a backpack, or some sunglasses....I chose the backpack and I did quite well, I guess cos I only bought one last year so I knew what questions to ask...I think she was quite impressed, she asked me back for another interview in person next week! I've been thinking about it though and I don't think I will pursue it, the basic wage is very very low, you have to earn on sales (which I've never done before) and also, you have to work 10-12 hour days and 2 weekends a month, so altoghether it's not really what I want, especially as Jason and I really need to save as much money as we can for weddings and the future. Oh well, maybe something else will come up soon.
Apart from that, the weekend was quite good, I met Sue on Friday night, then on Saturday we had a couple of birthday parties to go to. Sunday we went to see Pirates of the Carribbean 2, it was really good. I went for a run on Monday night with Jason...I'm still aching now, but I'm going to try and go again tonight. I have to get my Europe photos put online at some point too, I have loads of them, it's gonna take ages!!

I've just finished my first week back at work (well half a week!), it's the first job I've had in about 4 months, so I'm really tired. I'm still suffering a bit from
jet-lag too, I'm getting really sleepy from about 6pm every night, it's really hard for me to try and stay awake until bedtime...I've been going to bed at 9.30 most nights! Work is going ok, it's always a bit difficult doing someones job when you haven't had a proper handover, but so far so good. On Wednesday I even got 2 massages....they employed a company to come over and massage everyone's shoulders as it's the end of financial year (I'm in the finance dept) they were a bit painful though, I felt like I'd been bruised!
We managed to go out last night, a friend of ours had organised a launch night at a club, we were VIP guests, so we were treated to free drinks all night...not that I made the most of it, we left earlyish as we both had work today...I'm so well behaved!! It was a good night,it was at the same place I'd celebrated my birthday last week.
I'm meeting Sue tonight for a catch up, I'm sure we'll have lots to gossip about!! I'm quite chuffed as well, lots of people have been saying I've lost weight...I can't quite understand how, I always put on lots on holidays,especially when I go back home...can't complain tho!!

Another update....
On the Monday morning, Jason and I sad our sad goodbyes to Mum, Chris and Martina caught the boat up the Danube from Bratislava to Vienna. It was nice way to finish off our Slovakian trip!

it was a bit windy on the boat!!


Vienna was really hot too, we managed to lug all our bags to the hotel which was a lot of effort, then we walked to the Prater where we looked around the funfair and then hired a 2 person bike... for a ride around the park.


After that it was a shower and change then we walked to the city to find somewhere to watch the Australia v Italy match, we found a great big outdoor screen which was good..but we weren't impressed with the result of the match. Afterwards we walked around the city to find somewhere for dinner. It was great to look around...I've been to Vienna before, it still amazes me what a fantastic city it is, all the beautiful architecture is amazing, I really could live there if I had the choice. We had a great dinner, we went for the authentic Austrian food, Jason had Wiener Schnitzel and I had Kase Spatzle...yummmm!! We rolled back to the hotel...we were very full up!
Next day we were up early, we had a very cultured day. We walked around some of the historic buildings, then we went to the Vienna Arts and History museum for a couple of hours (I would definitely recommend the museum). In the evening we went to a Mozart and Strauss concert at Schoenbrunn Palace....



The recital was very good, we thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a storm brewing at the end of the second half, it was a mad storm...it added to the passion of the music!
Weds it was time to leave :-( We were up early to get to the airport...Jason had to practically drag me on the plane...I really didn't want to leave and was very upset. The trip back was ok, it seemed to go a bit quicker than on the way there. There was a few big bumps tho which was a bit scary. So we got home on Thursday afternoon absolutely shattered.
Friday was my birthday, I had a really lovely day, Jason really spoiled me, and took me out for lunch. In the evening, we went to Cherri jam, we had the best night, and it was nice to see Sue and everyone again, we had a good catch up. After the club we went to Rach and Stu's to watch a footie match they'd taped, we didn't get home until 6am, so Saturday was a bad day, didn't feel well at all, was in bed most of the day!! We managed to stay up until midnight on Saturday, then we walked to the pub to watch England's last football game (which I don't want to talk about!) Got back home about 4am, so another late night, again Sunday was a write off!
Yesterday was busy, speaking to agencies about work etc and sorting some bits out. I've got a job today, I start tomorrow, just for 2 months to get me back into the swing of things, but the pay is great. It's at Sydney Water again, so it's a bit familiar to me.

This is the first chance I’ve had to update my blog since last week, things have been really mad!

I’ll start with the Wedding…

Last Friday morning, Chris, Martina, Mum, Jason and I drove to Martina’s parents house in Komarno, which is an hour from Bratislava. We had lunch there and Martina finished a few bits and pieces, then we left for Palarikovo to the place of the wedding. It was nice to see Martina’s parents again, although we cannot communicate very well as they don’t speak English…but we managed as best we could. When I saw the place where the wedding was to be held I thought wow, this is going to be cool, it was a huge hunting lodge, which looks more like a palace or something similar, and inside, the bedrooms were so huge it was unbelievable. We managed to get unpacked and sort out some things, then everyone that had travelled from Germany and England arrived on the coach. It was great to see them all again, it was a bit hard to chat with everyone though as they all arrived at the same time. It was so nice to see some family whom I haven’t seen for a few years. Most people went to find their rooms and then we all met up in the evening for dinner. I managed to do a lot of my catching up then, so it was cool. After a few drinks, I managed to persuade Martina that she should really go to bed so she wasn’t knackered for the next day, as I was her bridesmaid, it was my job to boss her around and make sure she was ok. So we got an earlyish night (I was staying in the wedding suite with her, as of course her and Chris were not allowed to see each other in the morning).

Saturday morning we woke about 7am because of the church bells and all the excitement. It was a busy morning running around making sure some last minute things were done, and of course most importantly, getting ready. I was really impressed with Martina, she managed to stay really calm and didn’t really panic at all, she held herself together better than I did! It was an absolutely scorching day, so we did get a bit hot and bothered trying to get Martina’s dress on, and then mine after that, but we got there in the end! Seeing Martina in her dress and all her veil made me choke, she looked so beautiful, a really stunning bride. I had to leave a bit earlier than her with Chris and Mum (who both looked amazing) in the car, this was the point I started to get really emotional, it didn’t help that my dress was so tight, I could hardly breathe, so I started hyper-ventilating in the car…..Mum managed to sort me out tho and calm me down a bit luckily!! (I do get very emotional!!) When we arrived at the church, Chris, Gary (the best man) and I had to stand at the front of the church, again, I started crying, I looked over at Mum and my aunties and started all them off too, it was a bit like a chain reaction (god, I don’t know what I’m going to be like at my own wedding!!) and there were loads of cameras and a video camera there, so I’m dreading seeing that footage. Anyway, Martina arrived shortly after with her Dad, everyone was in awe seeing her come down the aisle (especially my brother!!). The ceremony was pretty short, even considering it was all being translated (badly) into English (the translator guy is another story!). After the ceremony, Gary and I signed the book as we were both witnesses, then we all went outside to wait for the bride and groom. In Slovakia it is a tradition that guests bring the bride flowers, so when they were congratulating them, Martina accepted all the flowers (I’m not sure what happened to them after).
We went back to the hunting lodge after where the pictures were taken and then a few toasts, then it was off to the reception. The room was decorated beautifully, they really did an amazing job, I think everyone was impressed. First off, Gary did his best man speech, which unfortunately went on for ages because of the translation, I felt really sorry for him, but he managed to get through it. He also said some really nice words about Dad, which made us all emotional. Then it was time for the food, and my god, there was lots of it! I think over the whole night, there were seven courses, and the portions were absolutely massive, we had 4 or so meals that were like main courses, and tons of cakes too. Another tradition is that the Slovakians bring cakes to the wedding, these weren’t even touched, but put on table for everyone to see, they were beautifully made cakes. I was actually quite relieved my dress was so tight, it meant that I couldn’t actually eat much at all, I think otherwise I might have been sick from eating so much food! In the midst of all this food, Chris said his speech, Martina ended up translating in the end (otherwise he may have been there all night too) and it worked out really well like that, it was a lovely speech, and funny. Chris and Martina gave me a lovely necklace for being the bridesmaid and some flowers to our Mums etc.
After all the formalities had taken place, it was time for the real party! Chris and Martina had their first dance, then Chris also had a dance with the flower girl, who was such a sweet girl, it was hilarious, he was picking her up and throwing her around the dance floor, very amusing! Then we all joined in the dancing, trouble was it was so hot in the room, noone really lasted for too long….most people had to go outside and risk getting eaten alive by all the mossies! Later on during another meal (I think this one was about 1am) there was another tradition….a group of folk singers came into the room up to the top table. First off they had to ask Martina’s Dad if he would give her away to Chris, they asked him 3 times (he had to say no twice, then yes the third time), then they asked my Mum the same about giving Chris to Martina, then when she said yes on the third question, everyone was really happy. We went to the dance floor after that for the next tradition. Chris and Martina had to sit down opposite each other, then they took Martinas veil off and put some funny hats on them and then drink some boravichka (?) a Slovakian shot and the folk singers sung some more (not sure what about) then everyone stood up, then all the guys had to put some money into the hat to be able to dance with Martina. After ages, and lots of dances, Chris in the end put his whole wallet in the hat to buy Martina back, I think it was after that that he took off her garter with his teeth! It was a really nice tradition, it was so interesting to watch all these differences in cultures.
The whole night was great fun, we were in and out of the house, we did lots of dancing too. Even Mum was up for a great night, I've never seen her have so much fun!! When we were outside later on, the video guys came around and asked us all to say something to the bride and groom. I won't say what I said, but it ended up in a singing session with Andy (I'm dreading seeing the dvd!!)
I think thats about all I can remember for now. We had a fantastic day, and I'm so happy for Chris and Martina, I know they'll be truly happy together.
Next day we travelled back to Bratislava (having to say goodbye to most of my Munich friends :-( ) We had a bit of a party at the flat in the evening, a few of the guys came back to watch the England game, then I was given an early birthday cake from my family which was sweet. Having to say goodbye to them all was so hard, especially after such a great holiday, I'm really going to miss them all. Chris was so great, it was really nice to spend so much time with him, as he was in Munich with us too ;o)
Next installment is Vienna, I'll write that up soon....

Here's just a few piccies of the wedding

The bride and groom


Jason and I


Chris, Mum and Martina


Me and Chris