The Outback Expat

ABC of Autumn

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I don’t think I have ever done an ABC of Autumn but apparently the 1st March was the first day of Autumn. Autumn in Australia is not like Autumn in the UK but I am looking forward to the change in seasons and what those changes bring.

A – Adventure – now the weather is improving (because it won’t be quite so hot now) we can go out exploring and adventuring which hopefully will include some big walks.

B- Boots – I am quite looking forward to the weather cooling so I can wear boots, jeans, tights, the whole works! I bought some clothes in the UK at Christmas which I am really looking forward to puling out of the wardrobe during Autumn and Winter.

C- Citizenship – I will be applying for my Australian citizenship this Autumn. Once my application is reviewed I will have to take a test and I doubt that I will get a date about the test during the Autumn but it will be nice to get the process underway.

D- Dresser – the elusive blue dresser project remains outstanding! I really need to get my butt into gear and finish removing the paint so I can sand it and we can finally use it in the house!

E- Exploring – more of Brisbane and the surrounding areas. My wish list for visiting places in and around Brisbane is long and ever increasing but we found that it was just a bit too hot to get out there and explore in the summer, plus I burn extremely easily! As autumn heads into winter we will get out and about I think.

F- Find – find out how and when I can have the skin removal surgery which I want to complete as part of my health and fitness “journey”.

G- Goodreads – every year I sign up to the Goodreads reading challenge but I haven’t managed to complete it the last couple of years. I am aiming to read more and so hoping to that I can achieve the Goodreads challenge this year with lots of autumunal reading.

H- Healthy Living – I am excited about continuing to improve my diet and exercise regime so my health continues to get better and better.

I- Inspiration – to write down my weight loss story, to become a greater lawyer, to try and inspire others who want to loose weight but aren’t sure they can or how they would go about doing it.

J- Just – Just enjoy the journey. Loosing weight isn’t easy, particularly if you want it to be long term. It is a whole lifestyle change and some times a hurdle is harder than you can imagine but you get out the other side of whatever the challenge is and the rewards are well worth it.

K- Keep – keep working on the blog. I had a long hiatus whilst I was studying but have been good at keeping on writing for the blog. I have some ideas planned for updating it and moving it forward which should be achievable with the help of the Aussie.

L- Long Weekends – I am really looking forward to the Easter long weekend which is coming up this season. I don’t know what we will do but hopefully it will be an opportunity to explore and / or relax or maybe a combination of the two.

M- Memories – Making many many more memories.

N- New job – I started my new job this month and I am excited to see how the next few months play out.

O- Outside – I am looking forward to getting outside and into the great outdoors again. I love being out there.

P- Park Run – Due to the heat I haven’t been doing park Run during the summer. Instead I have been going out for a walk or run when I get up a bit earlier on a Saturday morning. Now it should be cooling down I can start getting back to Park Run and work towards that 50 runs shirt!

Q- Quality time – with the Aussie. Now that I am excited about getting out and walking I am looking forward to some quality time with him out hiking in the mountains and parks and things like that

R- Running – I recently started trying to get back in to running using the Zombies Run 5K app. I can run about 2km and want to increase my distance and stamina but kept getting frustrated because I couldn’t get past 2km so would stop running. The App is used to help you gradually become a 5km runner so I am giving it a go and hopefully soon I will be running 5km’s.

S- Selling – I have cleared out quite a bit of clothes from my closet which no longer fits me and so I am looking for a clothes sale and trying to sell some bits on Ebay.

T- Training – We have various walking / running events scheduled again for this year year and I am really enjoying my time in the gym so I am excited to keep on training to see how far I can progress again this year.

U- Unplug – I am still not the greatest at shutting off the technology so I want to set myself the goal of unplugging more often to enjoy things like reading and being completely present.

V- Vacation – I’d like to plan some small trips away with the Aussie. We will need to do some saving but hopefully we can make it work.

W- Walking – I love being fit enough to walk and I want to start hiking, I have even bought walking poles. The hikes I’d like to do will be a lot more challenging and hopefully get me over my fear of falling over on hikes!

X- (E)hibits – There are quite a few museums, galleries and art shows in and around Brisbane and I am hoping to get out and about to explore them.

Y- Yoga – I keep meaning to try a yoga class and my gym runs one which I can easily get to on a Saturday morning but I just haven’t made it to a class yet. I need to try and get to one this Autumn.

Z- Zooming – I have borrowed this one from last years ABC again but we will be zooming around on the buses, trains and ferries in Brisbane as we have such good public transport here it’s easy to get to most places in and around the CBD.

ABC of Christmas – Blogmas Day 5

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The Aussie and I will soon be on our way back to the UK for Christmas and Christmas is my favourite time of year (other than my birthday) and so I thought I would compile of my ABC of Christmas.

ADVENT CALENDARS – I usually would have a chocolate one but that doesn’t really go with my health plans. All the way back in August I found an Advent Calendar made of teas and I am enjoying working my way through the daily tea selection.

BIRTHDAY – it is the Aussie’s birthday in December but he is not keen on celebrating. I, however think birthday’s are the best and so will look forward to spending time with him and our friends to celebrate him.

CAROLS – I love love love Christmas carols, both singing and listening to them. My Mum and I have plans to go to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and I am looking forward to singing some carols.

DECORATIONS – I really enjoy putting up the Christmas decorations at home. I know we will be away for two weeks over Christmas but I couldn’t resist this year. Last year we had to have a teeny tree due to space but this year we are in a bigger house and so I have upgraded the tree!

EXCITEMENT – I still really love the Christmas season and the build up to the big day.

FLYING HOME – two weeks in the UK with the Aussie and my family and friends. Nothing more needs to be said.

GIFTING – I managed to start getting organised for Christmas all the way back in September and I am really happy that I have found some gifts in Australia for my friends and family.

HOME – and being surrounded by family.

INGENIOUS ADVERTISING – every year in the UK there is a battle between the different Christmas adverts. I always like to look out for the John Lewi, Marks & Spencers and Aldi adverts although Sainsbury’s and Asda have had some good contenders in the last few years.

JUMPERS – of the Christmas variety. All of mine will be too big and won’t fit this year and so I am looking forward to tracking down the perfect Christmas jumper.

KEEPING SURPRISES – I find it so hard to keep my gifts a surprise because I am excited to share them!

LIGHTS – I love when other peoples houses are lit up and in Brisbane you can actually pay to go on a tour around the houses to see the lights. I don’t think we will pay for a tour but I will try and download the map so we can go and have a look at the houses.

MOVIES – I love watching Christmas movies and usually start with Love Actually around or on my birthday. I will always watch Love Actually, Elf, The Holiday and my all time favourite Miracle on 34th Street. You can read about my Christmas movie selection here.

NEW YEARS EVE – this year the Aussie and I will be spending New Years Eve with my lovely friend Becky & her husband Tom in Yorkshire. I love spending time with Becky and it will be great to ring in the New Year with her.

OPENING PRESENTS – I love to watch my family and friends opening the gifts which I have bought for them, especially when it is something unique or one of a kind.

PARADES – last year we went to the David Jones Christmas parade in Brisbane and I am hoping we can make it again this year. It was a bit strange being quite warm whilst people walk through the streets dressed as snowmen and the like but it really got me in the mood for Christmas.

QUEENS SPEECH – I am definitely a Royal Family supporter and I love to sit down and watch the Queens speech each year.

RESOLUTIONS – I don’t so much make New Years resolutions but I like to put together aims for the next year and what I want to achieve.

SONGS – just like Christmas Carols I love those Christmas songs which drive most people mad in the shops when they start playing in October. I have an extensive play list but you can read about my top 5 Christmas songs here.

TURKEY – Christmas dinner is always delicious and that is not least because of the turkey! I don’t really have roast dinners very often and so I am looking forward to having a nice roast with my family.

UNDER THE COVERS – there is something comfy and cosey about snuggling up in bed especially on cold mornings when you don’t have to get out of bed because it is the holidays.

VISITING – I love to see the Christmas displays in the garden centre near where my family live and that is one of the first things we have planned after arriving in the UK. I can’t wait to see what they do this year.

WRAPPING UP – I am not keen on wrapping up presents but I do like getting all wrapped up warm and snuggly.

XMAS – an easy one but it is the Christmas season!

YES – I am struggling at this end of the alphabet!!!!

ZOOMING AROUND – by plane across the oceans to get back to the UK!

ABC of Spring and Summer

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We are now getting into spring here in Brisbane with beautiful sunny and breezy days and before we will be in the sweltering and humid months of summer!

I thought I would do an ABC of Spring & Summer combined.

ADVENTURING – now the weather is improving we can go out exploring and adventuring.

BIRTHDAY – my birthday is 26 November and this year we will be spending a weekend on the Gold Coast. I am hoping for a relaxing weekend filled with friends and maybe a cheat meal of yum cha and cake!

CHRISTMAS – as strange as it still seems, Christmas falls during our summer time. I always really love Christmas time and we will be in the UK for Christmas this year which I am especially happy about.

DOGS – I have a gorgeous dog called Henry in the UK but he wouldn’t do very well travelling here and so he lives with my parents and is very happy. When we moved into our current home it has an excellent fence and so I asked the landlord if we could have one or maybe two small dogs and we were approved. As we are going to the UK for Christmas we will be looking for a rescue dog or two in January.

EXCITED EXPLORING – I am looking forward to getting out and about to explore Brisbane and the surrounding areas, especially before summer hits and it will be very hot

FAMILY – with Christmas coming this also means time with my family and in the UK. I am very excited about getting home and seeing everyone. Also my Mum and Dad have a new puppy addition to the family and I am looking forward to meeting and snuggling with her as well as Henry and Tess.

GOLD COAST – is about an hour from our home and we are incredibly lucky to be invited to visit with Naomi at her families beautiful home. We have a weekend planned in October and also for my birthday and I am looking forward it it. When we get there it is always just very relaxing, there is no urge to rush around or do anything but spend time together which is one of my favourite things.

HEALTHY LIVING – I am excited about continuing to improve my diet and exercise regime so my health continues to get better and better.

INSPIRING – I haven’t picked up my camera in a long time now and I would like to try and get back into the swing of it and start enjoying photography again.

JACARANDA TREES – These trees are my favourites in Brisbane, mainly because of the beautiful purple blossom. I have a tree outside my office which surprised me by being a jacaranda tree and I can’t wait to have that to gaze upon.

KEEP ON MOVING – I aim for 10,000 steps a day and I will be doing that more and more now that the sun is out all day long.

LONGER DAYS – I get up early for the gym (4.30am) and it is hard to get going when it is still dark and feels like the middle of the night. It is starting to get light now when I get up and I love it. I am also looking forward to the sun setting later so we have time to get out for a walk after work and hopefully some summer evenings in our garden, especially when the dogs arrive.

MOUNTAINS – I have loved visiting the Glasshouse Mountains and Mount Tambourine and I am looking forward to getting out to both places again to explore, hike and get away from it all.

NEWNESS – I am currently in the process of obtaining advice from a surgeon for some weight loss related surgery (not a gastric band or similar) and I am hoping that we can get a date scheduled so we have a plan in place for getting ready for the surgery and recovering from it.

OPEN AIR CINEMAS – there is going to be an open air cinema soon at Southbank which I am hoping we can get too. I would also really like to make it to the drive in cinema that we visited last year.

PARK RUN – we have been going to Park Run fairly consistently during the Autumn and Winter months. Even though we walk/run at 7am I know it is going to get harder because of the heat and humidity but I am looking forward to the challenge and getting closer to the 50 runs.

QUALITY TIME – with the Aussie. Now that I am excited about getting out and walking I am looking forward to some quality time with him out hiking in the mountains and parks and things like that.

READING – I have borrowed this from last year’s ABC of Spring! I love reading so much but just can’t get myself to sit down and read. I have been using Audible whilst at the gym and loving that but I really want to get back into reading.

SELLING – I have cleared out quite a bit of clothes from my closet which no longer fits me and so I am looking for a clothes sale where I can try and get everything sold for my shopping spree which is planned for February!

TRAINING – We have already started scheduling walking events for next year and I am really enjoying my time in the gym so I am excited to keep on training to see how far I can progress.

UNWIND – and unplug. I am terrible at switching off and usually will be watching tv, playing on the computer and / or my phone all the time so I think I need to focus on some down time and time away from technology as well.

VISA – last February I FINALLY received permanent residency in Australia. I understand that once I have had permanent residency for 12 months I can apply for Citizenship (I plan on being a dual citizen) and so I am looking forward to getting the application in.

WARMTH – Apparently this winter was warming than average but it seemed to me to be pretty chilly so I am looking forward to some sunshine and warmth.

(E)XHIBITS – There are quite a few museums, galleries and art shows in and around Brisbane and I am hoping to get out and about to explore them.

YOGA – I have given yoga a go and really enjoyed it but haven’t managed to get to a regular class. I have seen that there is a wellness series being run at Southbank between October and December which includes yoga classes at 8am which is perfect timing if we can make it to Park Run at Southbank on a Saturday. Hopefully this way I will get into the swing of it to find a regular class.

ZOOM – I have borrowed this one from last years ABC but we will be zooming around on the buses, trains and ferries in Brisbane as we have such good public transport here it’s easy to get to most places in and around the CBD.

ABC of Spring 2017

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In Brisbane we have proper seasons. It is just about the end of winter and we are slowly warming up to spring time!

Spring began on 1 September this year and officially ends on 30 November 2017. Below are my ABC of things I am looking forward to this spring.

AQUA AEROBICS – I loved aqua aerobics when we lived in Darwin, until “winter” came along and the water temperature dropped below 25 degrees (teeth chattering weather). When we arrived in Brisbane it was even colder and then the outdoor pools closed for winter. My friend has said her pool has re-opened and I plan to go along with her to get back into it.

BRISBANE FESTIVAL – the Festival runs from the 9th until 30th September this year and is packed with theatre, music, dance, circus, opera and major public events and culminates with the Riverfire Event. There are lots of free events that we plan to enjoy and we currently have tickets booked to go to the Blind Cinema at the Gallery of Modern Art.

CAMPING – I really enjoy camping and I’m hoping we can invest in some camping equipment so we can explore the local Queensland area.

DRACULAS – the Aussie and I will be visiting Draculas on the Gold Coast in October with our American friends and Naomi and I am quite excited and a tad nervous as it is apparently a bit wild!

EXPLORING – I am really excited about getting out and about to explore Brisbane and the surrounding areas, especially before summer hits and it will be very hot. So far we have visited Mount Tambourine and I have a LONG list of destinations.

FLIP FLOPS – or thongs as the Aussies call them and being able to wear sandals again.

GYM – I have not been the best at going to the gym these last few winter months in Brisbane because I like going to the gym before work and it has been so cold I couldn’t get up in time. Now its getting light at 5.30am and not so cold I am back in the habit and enjoying the pre work workout.

HEALTH – I hope to continue improving my diet and exercise regime so my health continues to get better and better.

INK – maybe I will get the tattoo I have been imagining for a while, or maybe not!

JOIN A CAMERA CLUB – I used to belong to Darwin Camera Club and was even President for a while and I am missing spending time with other photographers. There are so many clubs here and I don’t know my way around too well yet but I plan to find one nearby and join up.

KOALAS – I have been in Australia for 4 years now and still haven’t seen let alone met a koala. I’m waiting until my family get here to visit one of the koala sanctuaries and cannot wait!

LIVE MUSIC – and other events. There are lots of outdoor music events in Brisbane all year round, but the weather in Spring time makes it a bit more inviting to visit them. I am looking forward to sampling what is on offer.

MY BIRTHDAY – my birthday is 26 November and this year we will be in Bali with some of our friends. The Aussie and I decided we would go to Bali over my birthday and asked if our friends wanted to join us and they did! We will be travelling with N and our good friends C & M from Darwin. Our trip will begin in Darwin for a day or so and we will have time to meet up with lots of people in Darwin!

NETFLIX – so many shows and movies I want to watch and I am hoping to fit some of that in around our hectic schedule!

OUTBACK EXPAT – trying to keep the blog up to date without the massive hiatus. We have had quite a busy year so I have lots to share!

PUT – more savings in the bank. In the last year we saved to relocate to Brisbane and are currently saving for our Bali holiday in November. Next year my family are visiting us in Brisbane so I will be saving so we can explore Brisbane and Sydney. I haven’t been to Sydney yet and I am so excited to experience it for the first time with my family.

QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY – means a public holiday even though the Queens birthday is really much earlier in the year. In Darwin the public holiday is in June but in Queensland it is in October which actually works out much better because we have another public holiday between the EKKA Show day in August and Christmas.

READ READ READ – I love reading so much but just can’t get myself to sit down and read. I have been using Audible whilst at the gym and loving that but I really want to get back into reading. Our balcony at our house is the perfect spot for this so I need to set this up as my reading nook I think!

SANDING – we bought a dresser on the Facebook buy swap sell groups which was painted quite a bright blue colour. I have sanded down almost the whole of the top of the dresser but I am not very strong and it took forever to do that much. I have bought some paint stripper now so I plan to use that over the coming weeks and then sand and either varnish or stain the dresser which will hopefully look as gorgeous as I have in mind.

TOMATOES – I recently planted some tomatoes in a post in our garden and I’m really, really hoping I manage to keep them alive because I have a bit of a habit of killing plants! I’m looking forward to salads with home grown tomatoes and if they survive will be planting some more plants out there!

UPDATE – the blog, it has been so long since I last regularly logged in and I can’t remember how I set things up like my bio so I need to suss that out! Also now we are in Brisbane I think the blog could do with a new logo and layout.

VISA – we are in the final stage of my visa now and in theory I should be granted permanent residency very soon ecause the Immigration Department requested further information a few weeks ago. That information has been provided and now we wait, again.

WALKING – I never imagined I would love walking, hiking and exploring as much as I do, but I keep looking and planning where our next walk will be. I am also kind of proud of myself that I can manage the walks we have been trying because only a few months ago I wouldn’t have got round them nearly as well as I do and would probably have refused to do them at all.

XAMINE – or examine and edit my backlog of photographs as I have a lot just from our time in Darwin to work on before I get started on the Brisbane/Queensland photos.

YOGA OR PILATES – try one or both of these activities and start building my strength a bit.

ZOOM – (I know its rubbish) around on the buses, trains and ferries in Brisbane as we have such good public transport here it’s easy to get to most places in and around the CBD.

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