Yes, I am still here!

Whew, it's been a while! Just wanted to let everyone know that I AM still alive :)

So, I'm probably not going to get time to properly update about Yosemite or Arnie, but Andrew blogged about both, so have a read on his blog if you're interested :)

A couple of weekend ago we went to Pacifica which is a town near San Francisco which has a beach, so we met friends there and went boogie boarding. This is a Californian beach in summer - looks lovely huh?? :)




The weekend before last a friend of ours who has his pilot's license flew us to Reno, Nevada in a little 4 seater plane for air races/an air show that was on out there. It was great fun - the plane trip and the air show were both fantastic!!!






We got home from that and I had a message from my mum saying my new nephew had decided it was time to come out, so say hello to the gorgeous Mason Derek Roper.



Speaking of babies, our neighbours Christina and Gavin had their baby on September 12, and he is just gorgeous also! When we first had them around for dinner, Christina said she couldn't drink because she was pregnant and very excited, and if I remember correctly, they'd only just found out, so we've been able to see her grow over the time which has been nice!

Uni-wise, I had my third online test for accounting last week, and am currently doing an essay due in a couple of weeks, and have another online test due in a month, then end of year exams start on November 6, so I'll be kept very busy!

Work is still very busy as well, and keeps me run off my feet. I study when I get home, but feel exhausted when I get home, and don't get my second wind study wise until 8/9pm, so by 11pm, I feel as though I'm just in the middle of everything and don't want to go to bed. Unfortunately, at work I support the East Coast sales team, so if I don't get in to work until 9am, it's midday on the East Coast, and half their day is already gone! So, it's all a bit crazy!

Our friends Kynan and Shona have now arrived in the US - Kynan scored a job with Google also, so we've been been showing them the local sights, and all the important things such as the good grocery stores, and how this crazy country works :) It's fun playing tour guide!!

Our little foster kitten Smudge is doing very well. Her first week was rough, and she lost an ounce, whereas kittens should be gaining about 4 ounces a week (I don't know what this equates to in grams, this is just what the shelter people told me...). she was also about half the size she should have been. They thought she had some sort of congenital defect that was stopping her from processing food, because she was eating fine, just not gaining weight. They didn't think she was going to make it, and I was very upset! But they wormed her then, and I changed her diet to a mix of human childrens elecrolyte replacing fluid mixed with Kitten Milk Replacement, tinned cat food, dry kitten food, human baby food, high calorie kitten supplement and Bene-Bac - a tube of stuff tht contains beneficial bacteria to help with the diarrhea she was having. She had this 3 times a day, and she started looking better, and then every day she seemed healthier and stronger. It was very exciting to see her change from a weak, sickly kitten, to a strong, happy kitten.

She's now gaining 4 ounces a week, but is still about 2 weeks behind growth wise, so we'll keep her for another 3 weeks or so before she's old enough to go back to the shelter to be spayed and put up for adoption. She's a great kitten - very playful, very cuddly - LOVES people, and is very well behaved. She'll definitely make an amazing pet for someone :)





I think that's about all that's happening with us at the moment. Coming up, we have our trip to Australia planned, and will be spending 5 days at Heron Island on the Barrier Reed which will be LOVELY, and we've also just planned christmas in Las Vegas with our friends Craig and Sarah who live in Phoenix, Arizona which will be fun!

I'll update again in another few weeks probably :)

The last week in photos

Long weekend at Yosemite



Picked up new tiny foster kitten on Thursday



Went to a Republican rally promoting Arnie and got to shake his hand!



More details when I get time!