Time to turn pro, Bob?

My first training session as assistant coach went well on Wednesday. Bob had been my guinea pig for the fitness test a few days before. He managed to run 6 minutes round the oval before coughing up goodness knows what for the next 10 minutes! Think that was the most air his lungs had breathed in in a looooong while, they got a bit of a shock! He did well though. He managed to complete the hop test (well done Knees) and he didn't do too badly at the core test either.

Our engagement party on Friday night was a rather random but fun affair! We had a table booked for 20 people at the local tapas restaurant, with an age range from 3 years old to mid 40's! A mixture of netballers, work colleagues and golfing friends along with Bec, our old housemate. The fizz was flowing and the food was good, Bob even decided to make a small speech which was very sweet. Our friends were very generous in giving us lovely gifts including vouchers for rally driving in Victoria! Sadly didn't take any photos at the party, wish I had now! Ah well, lovely memories. We now have a "Congratulations on your engagement" balloon tied to Bob's golf tankard on the telly. Classy.

Saturday was a big day for Bob, the Pro-Am at Warragul Country Club. He was teeing off at 12.30pm with a fellow Warragul golfer, an Australian pro and an English pro. He played amazingly well finishing 1 over par, beating the English pro, hurrah! He was quite chuffed. Sadly, although he was best amateur overall, he was beaten in the countback and missed out on winning a 50" plasma TV. Boo! I watched a few holes, he had a few fist pumps when the putts were going in!! He was most definitely "In the zone". He was asking the English pro lots of questions on how to turn professional, apparently you only need a handicap of 3......watch this space!

I tried a spot of golf myself today, I was hitting it not too badly in the practice ground, I even managed to hit the ball with a driver today, woo hoo that's progress. However, when we sneaked onto the 11th hole to try the golfing for real, I had to take 5 shots to get only 100 yards from the tee. Toys were most definitely out of the pram at that point! Game over. Hometime.

This week we have the usual golfing and netball goings on, with netball trials being held on Saturday with a BBQ to follow. Apart from that, nowt much other than preparing for the family to arrive! Don't worry, I checked the weather for the next 14 days, it's looking like 27C and sunshine for the most part! Hooray. xxx

Where for art thou, Romeo?

Hello everyone back home!

Bob and I have had a quiet couple of weeks getting back into the swing of things now that our visitors have sadly all departed. They managed to put up with the sauna of the spare room and the squeaky bed (don’t worry Helen & Steven, we’ll give you our bed!). We gave them a taste of country living which made them all realise that they couldn't live here in the long term! Yes, I know what you mean.....but it's fun at the moment! Heather in particular couldn't handle the 1.5 hour train journey to get into the city. Bob is back golfing for the Dingoes although he hasn’t been on a winning streak of late, don’t know what’s been happening; he does grumble every now and then at the inaccuracy of his opponents’ handicaps......Ah well, he is still satisfied with a round of golf, beer and a barbequed sausage of a Thursday evening, especially if the sun is shining!
I'm sure you've all heard that the weather in Australia has been erratic to say the least! Queensland has been hit hard, first by the floods and then by Cyclone Yasi. The cyclone was originally meant to be a severe grade 5 but calmed to a grade 3 when it hit the coast. Needless to say, it still caused massive destruction but no deaths apparently. The north of Victoria has been hit by flooding too however we have escaped the worst of it. We had a flash flood yesterday which caused the river in Warragul to burst its banks and the shops in the town were sandbagging and sweeping water from their doorways. Our wee hoose is still dry, think it helps to be on a hill! Let's hope, by the time the family arrives in a couple of weeks, that the weather has picked up!
We ventured into Melbourne last Sunday to cheer on Andy Murray - the final was showing on the big screen in Federation Square. Half an hour into the match, we wish we hadn’t bothered. Not even his scary mum could gee him up to give Djokovic a decent match. There was no aggression there, just the hanging of the head, he looked like he expected to lose. He definitely lost his bottle, shame really because he had a really good chance. Argh!
Netball training has resumed and I’m enjoying getting into the way of coaching, even if some of the girls still can’t understand what I’m saying! I’m trying out some new fitness regimes on the girls this week, hope I don’t kill them. Bob is being my guinea pig and I’m glad to say that he has survived so far. Trials are due to take place over the next two weeks and I’m on the selection panel woo hoo. It’s all going well so far, fingers crossed we get super fit and kick everyone else’s butts! Look out Ellinbank!!
This weekend, we attended the Shakespeare in the Vines at Wild Dog Winery. Well, it was meant to be in the Vines at the winery but the flash floods moved it to the local Exhibition Centre which was still a good venue. The small theatre company were clever in that they made their production of Romeo and Juliet quite comical and interactive, a good idea to keep everyone entertained. Everyone had brought picnics with them and of course the winery had their wines for sale – a bit of Art and Culture was a welcome change to the usual sporting weekends for us! The play finished at 9pm so we ventured onto the Dusties footie rooms for a birthday and leaving party for A grade shooter Jess. It was meant to be a Masquerade theme but the furthest the country bogan boys were willing to go to make an effort was to put on a clean pair of jeans so didn't quite turn out as Jess hoped! 80’s and 90’s disco tunes though, never fails to get me on the dance floor!
And finally, wedding plans coming together nicely. The parental gathering in Cramond at the end of January appeared to go well and think my parents are feeling happier to have seen the church hall and know what they are working with. Hotel is booked (thanks Dad) and now we have to get the catering side of things sorted. Dress shopping still ongoing and yes, I have just bought another wedding magazine – this is getting out of control!! Hee hee, fun though.
We have our engagement party this Friday in the local Tapas wine bar in Drouin, yippee! Will post some photos of that next week
Wrap up warm everyone, get your slankets on, will speak soon xxx