As of 17th September 2007 I am officially an Australian Citizen. Coincidentally it was also Citizenship Day which made it all the more special, 606 people from different parts of the world became Australians.

My family and friends were seated at balcony of the Brisbane City Hall Auditorium, it would have been great if we were all seated together I suppose it makes more sense that the candidates are all seated together, it makes the ceremony flow more efficiently.

 

DIAC put on a show, an aboriginal dance group welcomed the candidates, they even made fire (the old fashion way) inside the auditorium, at one point I thought it wasn't going to happen, but it did! Hurray! There was also a cuban dance group who entertained us, I thought one of the drum players was an acquitnance and the same lot who played at the Food and Wine Festival at the Gold Coast, I could be wrong.

 

After Lord Mayor Campbell Newman asked the candidates to say their Australian Citizenship Pledge we were showered by confetti. That bit I loved. It's like being in the movies! We sang the national anthem, the official party left the auditorium, then we were ushered out.

 

We ended up having a very late dinner at Jojo's at the mall. Lucky for us the kids were able to entertain themselves. I had reef and beef and a crownie, it couldn't get more Australian than that eh?

 

Thanks to H and P for supporting me.

Thanks to the rest of the clan for being there and celebrating with me.

Thanks to I's family, the boys had a good time as well.

Thanks to M and N for coming as well.

 

What does being an Australian mean to me? I can now vote and help find the "right" people to run the country, I can apply for an Australian passport, I can run for office if I wanted to, but most of all, it is being lucky to be living in a great country with the people I love and made a family of my own.

 

The goal is to loose 5 kilos asap. I am a bit sore from yesterday's workout with the trainer, not as sore when I first came in and attended a class,  I do feel a little less sluggish. Thats the upside to it. The classes that I've been going to are quite enjoyable. For the past two days I've been telling P about spending an hour or two at my gym's creche tom am. He doesn't like it, calls it the "baby gym" because it's mostly babies and toddlers. But he's getting his head around the idea, provided that I pack morning tea for him, specifically vegimite sandwhich cut into triangles! I did say tht he has to  get used to playing with babies so that when his cousin is a bit older her can play with him, or if we have another baby he can entertain the little one.

 

So far so good, after all it's only been a week. Crossing my fingers that I WILL loose a bit of weight in time for summer.