Home Again

Hey ya'll. Colin and I just spent a week traveling around the state of Victoria, and arrived home this evening. I'll probably put together a little video of our trip and I'll definitely write a blog about it, but here is a picture for you to enjoy if you're even remotely considering coming to visit us.

Oh, and we also saw an albino kangaroo.

Danish

I haven't been baking much lately but last week I felt motivated to try something new: The Danish. I hadn't ever thought of making them before and it turns out they're a surprising butt load of work. I started them Wednesday but the weather was too hot to actually roll them out. Thursday nights are our new yoga night so I didn't get a chance to try. Friday evening was rainy and gross which made it a perfect recipe for danish making. In hindsight I wish we had put a little more effort into the filling, but we wanted to eat them so badly we just threw some fruit in the middle. They were pretty fantastic. I ate 3 as soon as they came out of the oven. This is what they looked like:

We made blueberry, apricot and raspberry. Colin had made a blueberry sauce as well. We mixed icing sugar & water together and drizzled it on top. It was great.

Thursday is Australia day (public holiday, woo!) and tonight we're going down south to Gerringong so Colin can surf with our friends in the morning. We have to be back for work Friday so it won't be an extended long weekend.

Colin is at a job interview right now, fingers crossed!

E.

NYE

Colin and I rang in the new year last night, Australia style. I never imagined myself doing this but we got up early, took the train to Circular Quay, and waited in line outside of botanical gardens so we could nab a spot to watch the fireworks. They only let 6,000 people into this specific section of the gardens and you have to be there when they open it to the public, at 10am, to get a premium viewing location of the harbor bridge and opera house. Jenna & Willy got there right before 10 and Colin and I didn't arrive until almost 11 due to trains and last minute food prep. They had saved ample room for us. In the area we were in there were no trees close enough to shade us so we roasted in the sun like idiots until it went behind a building at 6pm, then it got super cold. We weren't really prepared for either of the 2 extremes which made for a fairly uncomfortable day.

At 9pm the first fireworks go off for the Family Show and last for about 10 minutes. Sydney does an incredible display. We felt dumb at 8:50pm when our sweet area was trampled by all the smart people who had spent the day under trees, who came rushing up through the carefully blanketed area us foolish people had "reserved" for the previous 11 hours. I didn't enjoy those fireworks as much because I felt indignant about my zone being intruded on and strangers standing in front of me.

At 11:30pm we packed up all our stuff and just stood up to wait for the fireworks. We learned our lesson the first time. Our friend Willy had broken his wrist and toe the day before and we got a bit antsy when the pushing started. It was hard after such a long day and much anticipation not to get angry with everyone rushing in to get a closer look. Fortunately we weren't trampled and Willy escaped with his broken limbs still in tact. heh.

The midnight fireworks were amazing but it was a once in a lifetime experience for this girl. No fireworks display is worth a 14 hour wait exposed to the elements and trying to train it home with a million other spectators. I made a little video of our day but if you're interested in seeing the full scale of Sydney's fireworks, I'll throw in the link for the midnight fireworks they show on tv. It's spectacular.

My Video

Full Midnight Fireworks

E.

Santa Paws & Fruit pictures

A lot has been happening lately and we're just starting to slow down which feels amazing.

Neil, Anita & Aliza arrived safe and sound, stayed in Sydney for a week while it poured everyday, then left for Brisbane/Ipswich to find a home. We're leaving tomorrow morning to join them for Christmas. Aliza is super fun and I enjoy being around her very much.

Colin graduated and is now done school forever! We went to his grad ball last Sunday and it was exciting to commemorate his achievements but also alleviating to celebrate the end of our commitment in Australia. We're still happy to stay longer but it'll be on our own terms. Visa pending, heh.

We spent this last week moving into an apartment with our friend Erin and it was crazy the amount we've accumulated. We seriously need to downsize this year or it'll be a nightmare packing a few suitcases at the end. The move out of our house was difficult because a) living in a house is awesome, and b) we had to get rid of all the furniture. Due to a miscommunication with the people who were moving in, Colin and I spent the entire day today sitting in front of our old place with a couple of garage sale signs posted around the neighborhood and furniture all over the lawn. We managed to get rid of a couple things over the course of 7 hours for very little monetary gain, then borrowed a friends trailer to drop the rest off at a salvation army, who were closed. They didn't have a sign saying that we couldn't leave it at their door, so I hope that was cool. We tried dropping it off at this neat place called Reverse Garbage but they were full of what we had to offer. It was a long day of selling/hauling crappy furniture.

And last but not least, here is a picture of our (old) roommate Drew with a lost dog that he found on Friday. Drew spent a long time walking him around on a leash he had made out of shoelaces hoping that the dog would find his own way home. That didn't work so we drove him and the dog to a vet hoping that he was microchipped. It took us half an hour to find the vet and they told us to take him to the RSPCA which was too far away, so we took him to a different vet who said they'd take care of him. They asked Drew if he had put the jumper on the dog or if the dog had previously been wearing it. Fantastic!

E.

Oh and I took some pictures today of all the fruit trees in our old backyard:

Orange tree

Lemon Tree

Kiwi plant (non-producing)

Pineapple plant! (just discovered recently)

Mango Tree (non-producing)

days

Time is flying by, Neil, Anita & Aliza arrive in 6 days, Colin's finished school in 12, and we move in 20. Christmas is in 28 and the new year in just 34.

Colin didn't end up running his half marathon this weekend because of an injury. I know he was disappointed.

I don't have much to say, just wanted to let you know we didn't fall off the map.

E.

Summer time

Normalcy is slowly starting to return to our little home after a sad week. Colin finished his last exam Thursday and we celebrated Friday night at our favorite Thai place with our friend, and future roommate, Erin. Saturday we had a picnic at Coogee beach with Jenna & Willy and ran into a bunch of Colin's classmates, then we spent the afternoon lying in the sand with them. I was amazed that my first beach trip of the summer resulted in very minor sunburns; just a tiny bit on each shoulder. Colin went for a run later that night with his friend Jason. They're training for a half marathon on November 27th (happy birthday, Pete).

Today was an awful day heat wise. It was 30 with no wind and incredibly humid. After church we went grocery shopping to escape the outside air and it resulted in us buying a lot of goods from the frozen foods section. We skyped a bit and then made an incredible dinner. We ate baked stuffed potatoes, green beans, and pork roast. I made scones for dessert with raspberries and whipped cream. It was the first dinner I've made in months and I forgot how much work food can be. If you want the best pork loin roast in the world, use this super simple recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/maple-baked-pork-loin-roast/detail.aspx

It wasn't genius using the oven for two hours on such a hot day, but I didn't start cooking until 5 so it wasn't too bad.

Colin's final practicum starts Monday and runs for the next 5 weeks. He's been placed at Canterbury Hospital which is a 10ish km bike ride from our house. Neil, Anita & Aliza arrive here in 27 days and we're so excited to see them! I had forgot how painful summer here can be, hopefully I can acclimatize in the next month so I can seem tough.

E.

Announcement

We are being audited.

I was soooooo looking forward to getting our tax return back because, as you know, we are poor people. Yesterday we received a delightful letter from the Australian Taxation Office telling us that our highly anticipated $$ won't arrive for a minimum of 12 weeks while they review our return. Seriously!!?? We have the easiest tax filing gig ever. We write down how much I make, the fact I have a dependent husband, and then they pay us. What's to audit?

Lame.

E.