From my fantastic family newly resident in Oz to friends who are far and near;

I hope everyone has a great Christmas xxx

seventeen already and looking gorgeous xxx have a fantastic birthday in Australia xxx

i´m well aware there are very few people who read this section...its just for me to stay in touch! but im not slacking, regardless! Im busy. very busy and I love it!

the job is great - the promotion makes it all worthwhile. my home life is stunning...calm apart from crazy cats and yes it can change but thats life! its ace at the moment in fact, ive decided to look for somewhere to buy after christmas!

we had a visitor in the form of the inlaw...which meant going to restaurants, spas and doing tourist things which is great when you live somewhere. it brings out the child in you i guess! it was an ace time. my sister is doing amazingly well in Oz...despite trying to get tvs to work without an arial - it is all going great! she´s seen baby koalas and everything! i cant wait to go and visit in feb/march.

i´m preparing for NANO, and have a very exciting storyline afoot so im getting into it..good job seeing as you have to write 50,000 words in 30 days! then on the last day (nov 30th) im celebrating my going to valencia for the weekend top see a Giger exhibition plus whatever else there is to see...

meanwhile my better half is being forced to go to a boxing event (shame, seeing as its his favourite sport ever!!!) for work and is busy preparing for his driving theory test. and not to mention the fancy dress party this weekend which will see me donning a snow white outfit with a hint of psycho/porn star. dont even ask! its all go...its all great!

Another odd week! It started with a girly sleep over which was (in the words of my friend Carmen "hella fun") and included talking till early hours, wine and films and of course food. fried green tomatoes. yum.

lots more responsibility this week seeing as ive been promoted so its been much more challenging and just generally a great working week.

moods seem to have been up and down everywhere, and im putting down to erratic weather. or just the fact that people are nuts. you decide!

well....its our two year anniversary and so myself and geoff are heading to a spa weekend for, well...a spa...all weekend! its always good to relax.

What a strange month its been...all up and down and seemingly unsettling though why i can not say! its actually been a very good month but one of those sit and let it come to you months which i have so rarely as im so independent and determined to enjoy life.

i guess in the last 30 days theres been the anniversary of my fathers death, also his birthday, my sister emigrating to Oz, my (still to be officially) ex husband having a baby and naming him the name we had decided upon (we´re still friends, its just odd), a promotion, a writing holiday, plus the usual trials and tribulations of existing around other people and living with a partner who hates morning (which you love) and is the least organised man you've ever met! (I consider myself disorganized if i havent got my clothes and bag laid out ready for the next morning. lol.) So there´s nothing bad, in fact its all mostly good and some is just fact which needs to be dealt with! perhaps its the change in the weather? Even Spain gets cloudy and rains when its not supposed to!!!!

My sister has turned turbo charged in Oz and has a car, a mobile, an offer on a house already! My ex should now have everything he ever dreamed of, so im very pleased for the both of them. My promotion came at the best possible time (title pending but managerial level!)which means i can free up more time outside of work. This is particularly good seeing as the writing holiday was wonderful, but taught me mainly that i dont know anywhere near enough and so should practice writing more before worrying about finished pieces and sending them off. You can read about it more on the poetry site.

i dont know what it is about wandering in the countryside but its just wonderful. The air is heavy, about to burst with rain (or so i hope). This meant the figs trees were wafting wondrous smells along the lanes. We saw vultures, bulls, dogs, cats, hens, horses...the usual. But after feeling so rubbish on friday it all felt extra fantastic.

well ive sent three submissions and got a first draft for another. so im pleased with my output this weekend...ive also finished my kurieshi book which was excellent (Gabriel´s gift), exercised, learnt more about poker, casinos and writing, and had a rather funny drunken night in!

and ive had a revelation. ive realised, here in spain you have to live backwards. ive climatised pretty well, and can endure the heat etc. but its summer when you feel stodgy and podgy and bvloated and insular...because of the heat! its only taken me 2.5 years to realise this! too hot to exercise, late meals, broken sleep, extra lazy days...tempers heated by the sun.

so...im looking forward to the winter with gusto! previously ive found them a bit constricting...but ive realised ill make the most of it with writing, painting and running. live in reverse! of course!

 

Friday was a wierd wierd day. The internet went down at work and it was like the world ended: turning everyone either into bad tempered fiends or purile idiots. Can we really not survive without the internet any more? It appears not...esepecially seeing as i´m typing into here with the sole purpose of reaching friends and family who are far (or even not so far) away.

I´ve avoided a facebook for ages but the fact that my boyfriend needs some support for his work based facebook group and that my beautiful niece Natalie is moving to Australia in 6 days has forced me to open yet another internet based account. Welcome to more cyber life!

So, there were bad tempers and a crazy amount of complaining. Does any nation complain more than Brits? we´re living in the south of spain, with cheaper living, new cultures, fantastic weather and the opportunity to learn a nrew language a dn join a new culture and all everyone does is moan. she says... moaning! But seriously peoples...put a smile on your face!!!

The weekend has never been more appreciated and its been a mish mash of making cards, writing fiction, brain storming, making money, relaxing, watching films, and its all been without complaint, despite the cloudy skies. i hope it rains so i can dressed and go for a good pounding walk around the village. that would be the best accompaniement to such a good weekend.

but i´d rather work than have balls thrown at my head. thanks.

The band were great and everyone had sucha great time...dancing in the open air to old favourites. Our friend damian followed an urge and did a semi streak across the front of the stage, there was lots of swaying, singing, bouncing and drinking. the night finished by sneaking into the VIP section and stealing all the untouched deserts! LOL. but the most important part: it was very very fun.