Must Be Christmas!

Here I am, back after a short hiatus while vacationing with some awesome family.
I must say that this little jaunt I took around Australia was a nice breath of fresh air. Melbourne is wet, cold and leaving me jobless at the moment. Getting out of the city was a nice way to take some weight off my shoulders. I have to say that living in a big city is something to get used to. Public transport, people everywhere, everything available at your fingers with no idea how or where to get said things. I have always had the freedom to jump in my car and go wherever I want, whenever I want. Now, there some restrictions. Need something from the supermarket? TOO BAD! You'll have to wait until its not pouring rain outside!

Yesterday, BF and I decided to have a little dinner party. The theme? Christmas in July! Everything was screaming Christmas, minus the presence of Santa Clause...and maybe a sailor or two.

Anyway, the grand plan was to have a traditional Christmas/Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, etc. Well, we were able to get everything BUT the turkey. Who knew it would be so difficult to find turkey breasts in Australia. Kangaroo mince? sure! Lamb? plenty! Turkey? DREAM ON! I ended up cooking a delicious (if I say so myself) pork roast.
So the menu was as follows:

Pork Roast cooked on bay leaves with a rub consisting of onions, garlic, butter, white wine, lemon zest, thyme and sage.

Gravy with said pork roast drippings

Mashed potatoes with garlic (duh), milk, butter, parmesan cheese

Roasted carrots, parsnips and sweet potatoes with thyme, garlic and olive oil

cranberry sauce made from cranberry's, reduced balsamic vinegar, sugar, cinnamon and sweet chili sauce

and my new friend, who I foresee myself having way too much fun with in the future made a wonderful salad with avo, feta, sun-dried tomatoes and balsamic. YUMM!

For dessert, some Hot Buttered Rum and Pumpkin Pie.
PS - Pumpkin Pie was a new treat for all of the guests last night.

Looks like I'll be cooking thanksgiving dinner down under this year.
I'm also not eating for a week...TOO MUCH FOOD!

Exhaustion...

I feel like I've been a bit under the radar the past few days. Well, it seems as though being surrounded by children 24/7 makes not really care about the internet, phone and your own life much.
This past weekend I flew up to Canberra to see my cousins and all of their amazing, wonderful offspring. In Canberra alone there are 5 kids...all under the age of, now 7, since we had 3 birthdays on Sunday. Since I have arrived activities have included dance classes, birthday cakes, school pickups, birthday party, museum, Wii, arts and crafts, lots of french braids, sleepovers, etc...
I am only on my 4th day of the trip and I'm already tired.

Tomorrow, we go up north to see 3 more of the baby cousins, plus 2 more this weekend. Yes, with the clan that is traveling up tomorrow that makes 8 children...under the age of 9...
Wish me luck!