Overheard on the train the other day...

... and I quote,

"She has the attention span of a retarded goldfish"

Lol.

Eavesdropping can be fun.

Hi Dad!

Well, we're back from Tasmania, and as soon as I can figure out how, I'll do so... but we had a great time hiking, spending time with family, visiting wineries, and seeing echidnas :)



I did end up quitting my job. It just wasn't worth it. But, being a nice/lazy person, I agreed to stay on until she found someone else, and she has interviews lined up for Friday.

It's October.

Yeah, no shocker there. But funny how it works - my brain keeps thinking of delicious fall-ish/autumny recipes. Like applesauce. And apple pizza. And pumpkin pie spiced everything. That's swell, Julie... what's the deal? Uh. Here in OZ it's spring. Or so they tell me, it's still pretty cold.

I tried to quit my job today. It was just getting to me too much and making me cranky all the time. I told the mother of the kids and she asked me to think about it. I'm so non-confrontational I said ok.

I'm super-excited about this weekend - we're going to Tasmania :)

Oh, and has anyone been to New Zealand? I'm looking for travel tips!

The list is out.

THE list. You know, the one we get to look at, analyze, and choose where we want to be for the next few years. THE LIST.

What do you do if you don't really like most of the options?

CO has always gotten cool assignments. This time, Alabama's on the list. Uh (pause). I'm not sure I'd be suited for Alabama. There's one good place on the list - we'd be happy to live there. We'd already have a house, a church, friends within a few hours...

sigh.

You could win a trip to...

CO and I watch travel shows. It cracks us up because one is offering a series of free trips that you can win. And the destinations? France, Italy, the Mediterranean and a great US destination - Texas! Ha! Really, Texas is the best they could come up with for the US? Heaven help us.

Picture Pages

Here are a whole bunch of pictures... some seem to be missing still and I can't find them on my computer :(

The Prahran Market - where we get fresh pasta

Cook's Cottage
(as in Captain James Cook, explorer)
why they moved it to Melbourne from England, I shall never know

Statue of Cook close to his house

Conservatory in the same garden - great place to read!

St. Kilda sunset on the way to see little penguins

Melbourne

Little penguins - no flash is allowed, so I edited the pics so you could see the birds

Flat Stanley project for my cousin's kid -
Yes, there really are koala crossing signs.

Visiting Sovereign Hill - set in the period of the gold rush

Panning for gold. I didn't get any :(

Daylesford Lake - very calm and relaxing!

My host on our girls day
Louisa at Daylesford Lake

Mineral water at Hepford Springs
It was disgusting to drink!

Lavender farm

CO heading out to surf with Manuel (from Spain) and Dan (from UCLA)
They have nearly weekly trips out to Bells to surf.

Another perfect day at Bells

Hanging out in Federation Square with John and Buelah
and Peter and Fiona (from Sydney)

Today I'm thankful for...

- a pasta shop within walking distance of our current apartment. It makes heavenly pasta - fresh and cheap. Hallelujah!

- my absentee ballot arriving! CO already mailed his back to his state of residency. I got my ballot in the mail yesterday from Hawaii and am researching the issues on the ballot. Hmm... I have to figure out what I think about cannabis enforcement?

- chocolate. It makes me happy.

- the fact I don't have to work tomorrow! Woohoo! No screaming at me by some little "ankle-biter" tomorrow!

- all the friends/family having babies.

- my family's health. I'm reading My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. It's really interesting.

- the chance to live in Australia. We're loving it! (As evidenced by the fact my husband got to go surfing at Bells AGAIN today!).

- my CO having a stable, good job that he enjoys. He really believes in what the Coast Guard does and really likes his job. I'm thankful they sent him to grad school and consented to let us go to Australia for part of it.

- my birthday being a short time away. Well, I might as well celebrate it!

We finished :)

We did it! CO and I ran the entire 10K race - even without training adequately! We finished at a not-so-glamorous time of 1:06, but hey... not too bad!

I'm Miss Grumpy Pants right now, as I often am on Tuesdays after I spend my first of three days nannying. Today was mostly good, but in the last hour, he tried to bite me because I wouldn't do something. That makes me cranky.

In other news, I'm reading Cry the beloved country. And loving it.

Nobody likes a grumpy pants, so I'm going to go and get some food. Adios, keiki.

Spring is in the air!

Today was a lovely day in Melbourne (as was yesterday!). Yesterday, CO and I headed out to Bells Beach and he went surfing. I was content reading on the beach with the sun warming my skin and a slight breeze on my face. It was delightful!!

The trees are in bloom (and allergy season is in full swing) and St Kilda Road is absolutely gorgeous. It's lined with elm trees and is one of my favorite parts about traveling around the city. The Yarra River was lined with people out enjoying the sun, and people were basking on the steps in Federation Square.

Tomorrow, CO and I are going to run 10K as part of the Melbourne Marathon races. Let's hope we don't die. :S It should be gorgeous, but we haven't trained as well as we should have... oh no!

Happy Tuesday to me!

Oh, my CO is so cute!! He's the perfect little student. It's so cute to watch him prepare for class. He's so organized, with notebooks and color-coordinated folders (I bought him those). He's more into it than I was for my master's... oops.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. The boy that I nanny for was pretty good today, and we only had a few minor screaming incidents (him, not me). I stood my ground (if you keep screaming, we're going to leave the park right away) but it was hard.

We moved into our new apartment yesterday and it's pretty good. The rent is only 3x what we pay for our monthly mortgage payment, but it's short term. Plus, CO really likes the area we're in. I liked our last one better, but hey, we still live together.

Well, I'm off to buy an iron.

Cheers!

No oven.

My limited menu of things that I can make that CO will eat has now been blown to bits (fine fine, perhaps I exaggerate just a little). We moved into an apartment today that does not have an oven/stove. It does have a hotplate... uh... ok. Perhaps I'm just too tired to think correctly. What in the world will I cook???

Semper paratus, I guess... no, it's more like semper gumby.

You'd think that this close to China...

... we'd be able to find something that CO likes. He loves Moo Goo Gai Pan, and asks for it in Australian Chinese restaurants. And they look at him like it means "Stupid American hates your mother." Does anyone know what it is and how we can describe it to someone??