I'm Sorry!

Dear Loyal Blog Readers,
I would like to take this time to apologize for my lack of writing lately. Life has been mighty busy down under and I feel like now is the time to catch you all up on the events in my life.

Since we last spoke, I have moved, learned how to drive a manual car, got a job and attempted to put my winter coat away.

Since it is still fresh in my memory, let me start with our move. The BF and I have our own place...AT THE BEACH! Now, this will be amazing when it's not pouring rain. The beach neighborhood happens to be in a pretty trendy part of town as well, so we are now the coolest people you know. Luna Park is around the corner from us and once a month there is a farmers market maybe 200 meters from our front door. HOW COOL ARE WE!?!

Now, in the midst of looking for a place to live, I landed a job with a performing arts school here in town. They have over 3000 students. CRAZY! My job is to manage 3 of their venues around town. Part of the job requires me to drive the company van around. Well, it is a manual, so guess who had a crash course in stick shift driving!? Yeah, well I'm a pro now. Plus, the van came in handy when it was time to move.

Its officially spring here in Australia. I have been told that Melbourne is fashionably late when it comes to spring. It will go straight from winter to summer in a few months. Meanwhile, I'M COLD! BRING ON SUMMER TIME!

Re-cap

A few weeks ago, Simon, our friend Flip and I went to see the opening night of Mary Poppins here in Melbourne.
It was a beautiful night. We got all dolled up and painted the town.
Not only did we get to see a bunch of friends and see this amazing show, but we got to crash the opening night party (thanks Disney :))
The party was beautiful. They had live music, a candy bar, a chocolate fountain,made to order food bars, and mini-pies etc. It was practically perfect.
They also had traditional London cabs. AMAZING!

Home Sick

In the past couple of days there have been a few events that I haven't been able to be at...because I'm in Australia.

I would like to pay a little tribute to the new Mrs. Lauren Bryan.
She was married to an amazing man, Joshua Bryan!
I adore this girl.

Of course, she made an absolutely beautiful bride.
I wish all the best for this wonderful couple and all of the adventures they will have in the future.

The day after the wedding there was a massive get together at a dear friends home in Portland. Because I like to torture myself, I decided to skype with them. Not going to lie, I almost cried when I had to hang up.

LOVE YOU ALL!

The day after said party, I decided to skype with my mamma and niece. Every time I skype with my mom I get painfully homesick. Makes me feel like a 12 year old girl. I WANT MY MOMMY!


Today, after I got home from an extremely long day, I had a beautiful message left for me on my Facebook page. The title was "Hello from Jonah" with a picture of my favorite little boy. Not only was this video taken at my favorite time with the Bonnett's (DINNER TIME), but little J was eating his din din out of a coffee filter while wearing a bicycle helmet (100% AWESOME SAUCE!). Thank you Jason for letting me see my favorite little man.


On that note, I'm having a great time in Oz right now. I have started some part time work with some promo companies, which has proven quite fun. I am meeting some amazing people and getting to see parts of Melbourne I haven't seen before.

250 days until I see American soil again. :)

Super Goat!

Hey Guys!
Sorry I have been lacking posts lately. More to come soon. I promise.
In the meantime.

I stole this from a friend, but its me...

***Capricorns are ambitious, disciplined, humourous, materialistic, elitist, grounded, prudent and serious.
I am a Capricorn, and I am trying to let my super goat out.

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!

il cioccolato ha coperto l'uva passa

Just a quick little update before I head to my 5th day of Hot Box Yoga...yes, it is as amazing as its name.

- Bulk! Shopping at Costco was a little taste of home. Bought some chocolate covered raisins...in bulk and have devoured about half of them already. OOPS!

- YAHOO! I am officially a licenCed driver in Australia. All I had to do was prove that I am a resistant / citizen, show them my current US licenSe and pay them a little mulah. It is easier for me to get a drivers licence here, 8000 miles from home than it is for me to get an Oregon drivers license. Crazy? I think so.

- Canberra. I am going to Canberra (the country's capitol) on Friday for a little family time. 2 weeks with some pretty awesome folks and their kids. Family time is just what the doctor ordered. I am 150% positive that I will update you all on the cuteness of dance classes, birthday party(s), football games, rugby matches and beach time in the next week. Stay tuned.

- Jobs! I'm still on the hunt. BF and I decided not to move to Sydney for the job I was offered, so the hunt in Melbourne was been a roller coaster for the past few weeks. Yesterday, I went on a job interview for a marketing team member position. Yeah, the interview was a giant scam. They wanted me to stand outside of the train station handing out flyers and bugging people about certain company's. I walked out before the interview was complete.

- Yoga! The studios here in Melbourne are gorgeous. It is a nice break from the stress of living in a new country and finding a job.

- Friends! My friends her in Australia are great but I can't help but miss all of my friends back home. I just spent 2 hours on skype with my best friend. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

That's all for now folks...
Peace out!