another web design

Just finished this years GBC layout. The rest of the content still needs to be added. The hard stuff is done though. Need to get everything else finished before we move.  Internet might be down for 20 days *yikes* at that point. Yes we are finally moving to McKinnon area. Talk more about that soon.

If you like looking at interesting websites read this article.

Conversations with a toddler and preschooler cont.

Adele: "I do not like to play winning games."

Me: "What do you mean by 'winning games'?"

Adele: "I want to win."

Adele: "Someone wins and that is not fair."

Meaning she does not like to lose. She would rather not play than play and lose. Another insight into the mind of our little 'del.

House hunting take two

House #2 Huntingdale

Cons-

• Price was over 400/wk.
• No dishwasher
• Built in wardrobes in only one bedroom
• The other two bedrooms were tiny!
• Not very close to train station

Pros-

• Has a bungalow out back - No heat but a space heater would warm it up quickly.
• Two living areas
• Smallish backyard but fenced in
• Close to park

House #3 Huntingdale

Too small all around, not interested.

House #4 Glen Iris

Too bad all of you couldn't come with us for this one. This house has awesome character.

Pros -

• Old wood work
• The bath tub facet was shaped like a fish (Brandon says it was a Tiger hmmmmmm). The water spouted out of the fish's mouth
• Little led light windows
• A lovely little reading nook
• Four bedrooms
• New stove
• The tram line runs by on the street out front.
• A huge back and front yard
• Close to park
• Close to train station and trams

Cons- hold on to your seat for these : -)

• The only heat in the house was a fireplace in the lounge
• No built in robes...at all
• The toilet was outside of the house
• The toilet did not have a light in it
• No dishwasher, big surprise there
• No gardening in the yard for at least the past year
• The flower boxes out front were rotting off the windows
• Spooky pet tombstone in the back yard of a pet "Bill" that died in 1959
• All this for $450/week

I would love to live in this house...if it had true heating. We were talking about how great it would be to pay $300-350/wk and fix the house up. It could be a beautiful house if someone actually took the time to fix it up. We might give them a call and see what they think. I seriously doubt that they will be interested.

House #5 Oakleigh South

I quite like this house and we will probably turn in an application.

Pros-

• 3 bedrooms (all with built in robes) + study
• 2 living areas
• Hardwood floors
• Just painted
• Lots of closet space
• Under $400/wk
• Entire property fenced in. So the kids can play in the front and back yard
• Park a block away

Cons-

• No dishwasher
• Our washing machine is too big for the space allotted
• Our fridge is too big as well
• Train station about 3kms away

Cycling and more cycling

All in all we went to the cycling five out of seven days last week. I had a blast and the kids enjoyed themselves from time to time.

Sadly the culture hubs were non-existent. I did not find any other Americans :-/ I did meet a Brazillian. He is over here for 10 months, probably for studies. His English was broken but we managed.

We were able to pick up a few souvenirs, some free some not. Cow bells and whistles were the favourites. I thought the Belgium flags were cool. We also picked up a water bottle that a Russian threw away during the U23 men's race. The water bottle almost smacked me in the head. Thankfully it didn't because it was quite full and would have left a major lump.

During the women's race the girls, Gids, and I were on Chalambra. It is a section of the longest climb on the course. We had a great view. During all the races there were four helicopters following the peleton (the mass of cyclists). It was very exciting as we would watch the helicopters getting closer and closer knowing that the riders were as well. In all the cyclists went around the course 8-11 times (depending on the race). This was nice because it gave us several opportunities to see the athletes in action.

Gid's now goes around the house saying "o ewwwssssay! oewwssay!"
Translation:(Go USA! Go USA!)
He was often yelling "Go USA! at the cars driving past more so than the cyclists. The girls would just yell "Go faster go faster!"

If you want to see some pics go here and here.

A video of the cheer squad



and here is a video of the Mens peleton

House hunting

House #1

Cons -

• By a busy street - as in, if you step off the curb you will be hit by a 60kph piece of metal/plastic.
• All the outdoor buildings were dilapidated.
• Majoring gardening need to applied to the yard. My fingers were a little excited about the prospect. Thus you will find this under the 'Pro' section as well.
• Our fridge would not fit in the kitchen. It is too tall. We would have to buy a midget fridge. I am not fond of midget fridges due to the rather large amount of food we consume.
• Only one bedroom had a BIW (built in wardrobe) and of course that was the biggest room.

Pros -

• Just painted
• Hardwood floor just cleaned and sealed
• Lots of gardening to do
• Nice sized yard, which included a "secret garden". Or a hang out for all the local poisonous snakes.

We did not apply for it. The road issue was too great. I do not want two dimensional kids.

This Saturday we are looking at two more houses. Then another one the following Tuesday.