16.12.2011

Shaun and I went to the shops yesterday to purchase some things for dinner – we made falafels – and look what I found at Coles! If you look closely in the bottom left corner, you can see the cow's name is Heather..... it made me laugh!

Anyways, will write something longer this weekend. We have been in Perth for several days now, and I am so happy to be back. Have been to the beach for the past 3 days in a row, and will be going again in a couple of hours! I am taking heaps of photos, and will start up a new set in Flickr soon.

Can't believe Christmas is coming up so soon! Shaun and I have decided to not buy gifts for each other this year, and I am actually quite happy about this. People get so crazy about spending so much money on meaningless things this time of year – there is so much more in this world that is important!

15.12.2011

I always feel like a badass when I wear this shirt.

9.12.2011

Happy Friday, everyone! Although, for most of you reading this, it is probably still Thursday. This week has been so very busy.... I have had so much uni stuff to do; this is going to be a very busy semester for me! On Tuesday, I had my interview with the Director of the pre-school I will be interning at in January. That all went well and I will start on 9 January. I looked at a couple of flats, and will be turning in another application today. Still haven't heard about the application I turned in a couple of weeks ago.... not too sure what is going on with that. Our flight for Perth leaves later this arvo (another Aussie term for you: short for "afternoon"), so I am busy getting everything cleaned and packed and ready to go. Can't wait to get there!

Sorry for the quick post, but I don't have much time today. Mainly, I just wanted to show you these pictures! I have recently discovered all these wonderful things growing in the back garden at Dryandra. You may remember my post with pictures of the orange tree, and in addition to that, there is a pear tree, mint, oregano and rosemary! How great is that?

Anyways, gotta run. Need to run a few errands and stop by Shaun's office to use the fax machine. Next post location: Western Australia!

Much Love

6.12.2011

More travel photos added to Flickr: Peniche/Porto and Strasbourg

5.12.2011 v.2

Cookie-making day was a success! We made soft sugar cookies with 100s and 1000s (hundreds and thousands – what Aussies call sprinkles!) and cherry-almond butter cookies with chocolate buttons. YUMMY! We listened to Christmas music while we baked, and it was a really nice afternoon. I packaged the cookies up in cute little boxes and delivered them to friends today! I also made extra cookies to take to my trivia team tomorrow night. Did you all know I was on a trivia team? Well, it is true...... we are called The Meerkats and we play trivia at the pub every Tuesday night. We have been on the team since we moved to Canberra, and it really is fun. So, tomorrow is the last trivia night until the New Year, so I thought I would bring some cookies for the team. I hope we win!

5.12.2011

This post is for my sisters – some of my favourite girls in the whole world! So, Coca Cola is doing this marketing campaign here..... not sure if they are doing it anywhere else or not. Anyways, the new campaign is "Share a Coke with _______ ". It could be "Share a Coke with your Nan" or "Share a Coke with Jonathan". They have lots of different names and they are printing this slogan on Coke cans and bottles.

My sisters and I have called each other "Sis" for as long as I can remember, and I really do love the nickname we all share. So, as you might imagine, I was quite delighted when this can (featured in the photo) rolled its way out of the vending machine! It made me think about how lucky I am to have 4 amazing sisters and put a smile on my face. Adrienne, Erika, Jamie and Julienne – I love you all more than you could know!

4.12.2011

On Monday, I started three new classes, so it is back to being extremely busy again. I don't know if taking on so much was really a great idea during the holiday season, but I really want to finish my degree in as little time as possible. The classes I am currently taking are: Numeracy – Birth to 8 Years; Health, Child Protection and Physical Education; and Professional Practice in Early Learning Centres. The last class is pretty much exactly what it sounds like..... I will be working in an early learning centre, full-time for 4 weeks in January. It is going to be a pretty full-on work load, and I hope I don't stress too much.

We leave for Perth in 5 days, so I am pretty excited about that. It will be so nice to be back on the coast! And seeing friends that I haven't seen in a long time is very exciting. Can't wait! But, if I had the choice, I would much rather be back home with family and friends in Tulsa. I can't believe this is my third year to be away from Christmas. As much as I love living here in Australia, it is always hard to be away from home at this time of the year.

I've added more of my travel photos to my Flickr account if anyone is interested in viewing them. Malaysia and Lisbon are now there.

Not much new from me. The weekend has been nice so far. We had dinner at my friend Fatima's house last night, and that was quite nice. Met some new people who seemed really cool and exchanged numbers; I look forward to catching up with them again in the new year. Today, Shaun and I are going to listen to Christmas music and bake cookies to give to our friends as little gifts. I'm actually really looking forward to that, as I haven't really gotten much into the spirit of it all this year. Not sure why, as I generally love the holiday season. Maybe this will give me a kick start though.

Lots of Love

28.11.2011

Just a photo of me, in case any of you forgot what I look like. xx

27.11.2011

This has been a pretty decent week overall. I had a nice break from studies, I put in an application for an apartment that I quite liked, I had a lovely picnic with Shaun, went to a nice dinner out with friends and saw some pretty cool bands at The Phoenix (one of the few pubs I actually like here). And, of course, I am now the proud Auntie of my new nephew, William Joseph Bartel (I'll post some pics of the little bub next time). Oh, and I also had a job interview.... the one I mentioned in a previous post. So there are some promising prospects in the air as far as jobs and houses go.

Today's pictures are from the picnic. As you can see, it was a gorgeous day and the afternoon was perfect for lounging down by the foreshore, eating some yummy treats and listening to some tunes (Broken Social Scene was album of choice). We had fresh pineapple, sugar snap peas, garlic toast, pumpkin and basil dip, fresh mini roma tomatoes and with garlic and olive oil , chili and garlic olives, and honey roasted macadamia nuts. And of course, some sparkling mineral water!

I am so glad I was able to speak to some of you on Skype over Thanksgiving. I even got to see my wonderful grandparents! My Papaw was a bit under the weather, and I hope he is feeling better now. My brother Joe did most of the cooking for this year's turkey day celebrations, and I wish I could have been there to sample his culinary delights.... I am sure it was all fantastic. So proud of you, bro! It's always hard being away from home during this time of the year, but being away has certainly given me a whole new appreciation for family and friends. You all mean SO much to me!

I can't believe another week has come to an end. It was a typical Sunday for me – doing the washing, going to the supermarket and doing a bit of cleaning around the house. Tonight, I am making pasta puttanesca for dinner, and I have to say, I am already pretty excited about eating it. This particular pasta dish contains sardines, and typically, Shaun would not eat any fish products. However, I have been craving this dish for several days now, and he said that he would eat the sardines just this one time. What a guy, hey?

Hope you all had nice weeks also, and I would love to hear from any of you!

21.11.2011

As most of you know, I was lucky enough to be able to do some traveling this year. Shaun and I had an amazing journey, and I feel so blessed to have been able to see so many different parts of our world. It definitely put a spark inside my heart to see more! Many of you have already seen my photos; however, I have put up some new photos on Flickr for those who have not. So far, I have made sets for Aix En Provence, Amsterdam and Brussels. There are heaps more, so stay tuned!

In other news, I have a job interview on Wednesday! It will be at the ANU (Australian National University) again, but in a different area than my last job there. The position I will be interviewed for is as a coordinator for one of the colleges on campus. In Australia, a college refers to student residency..... similar to dormitories in the US. Anyways, I think it would be a really fun job, the pay is great, and they are offering part time hours which would be perfect and allow me more time to focus on my studies. My only concern is that I can't start until February because of the placement I have to do for one of my units. So keep your fingers crossed for me!

Hope you all are well! Love to you all!

17.11.2011

Currently, I have no job and no permanent home and I have just spent thousands of dollars on my next three units and book fees. To add to the lack of job and home, I can now also add "no money" to the mix! Slightly sickening, to tell you the truth. Is it worth it? Am I making the right choices? I feel very stressed right now; there is not much structure in my daily life and that is something I really need. Sorry this is all a bit depressing. Despite it all, I am still trying to stay positive about the whole situation. I am just very anxious to get settled again. Please keep your fingers crossed that the right apartment and the right job comes along in the very near future! And I promise that my next post will be much more positive!

9.11.2011 v.2

Overall, this past weekend was absolutely wonderful. I decided to take a much needed break from studying and enjoy the gorgeous weather instead. As you can see, Shaun and I enjoyed a lovely afternoon game of Scrabble, complete with a bottle of red wine and Cheezels (a weird Cheeto-like product). I actually won this round too! We also went on a nature hike, as there is a great nature reserve right across the street from Dryandra. No good animal spottings, but I did take some photos of a couple of trees, which you can see here on my latest Flickr set. As you will see, the trees appear to etched with little squiggly designs. These designs come from bark-boring insects, and these trees are commonly referred to as "scribbly gums". They can be seen everywhere, and I find the designs to be quite beautiful.

There are also a few pictures of the sunset in the Flickr set. There is a gorgeous sunset almost every night here, and these were from the recently passed weekend. Gorgeous, don't you agree? We spent an evening down by the foreshore, and enjoyed seeing one of these sunsets over the lake. On Sunday, we drove out to one of the Canberra region wineries, where a friend's band was playing. He plays the didgeridoo, and is extremely talented. I never knew all the sounds that instrument could make until I met him.... it is truly a beautiful instrument. It was a lazy, overcast day filled with good friends, good wine and good music. You will find a photo of the Australian countryside, where the winery was located, on Flickr.

Hope you all had a great weekend, too! Much love......

9.11.2011

Oh, the joys of doing laundry in Australia. As I have told many of you, using dryers here is not very common. Many people do not even own a dryer, and if they do, it is rarely used. The washing is pretty much always hung outside on the line to dry. If it is raining, the washing is either left for a sunnier day or hung inside on small clothes racks. Seriously, even those who own dryers do not usually use them when it is raining! I mean, I know that hanging the washing out to dry is much more environmentally friendly than using the dryer, but the dryer is oh-so convenient and I miss it. Clothes just don't feel and/or fit the same when they are hung out to dry instead of dried in the dryer..... jeans get stretched out, towels feel a bit scratchy..... you see where I am going with this?

Well, over the weekend, I developed a new reason why I am not really keen on hanging the washing out to dry. See the pictures I posted? Well, I was literally about 10 centimetres away from stepping on this fellow while hanging out the washing. I nearly had a heart attack. This type of lizard is called a Blue Tongue (yes, it is called that because it does have a blue tongue) and is very common here. They are not dangerous, but can certainly give you a fright if they sneak up on you. He was obviously much more terrified than I was, as he stayed still long enough for me to dash into the house, grab my camera and snap these shots. The house where I am staying, which I will refer to as Dryandra (the street name), has a large back garden full of creatures. There are beautiful birds, lizards, snakes, and possums. And yes, I have seen all of these in the past several weeks. Oh, and to give you an idea of the size of today's featured lizard, he was about as long my arm (from nose to tail end) and the widest part of his body was about the same size as a can of soda. He looks like a snake with legs, don't you think?

Anyways, I will conclude by saying: Be happy you don't have to deal with this anytime you may want to do some laundry!

4.11.2011

It has been a few days since my last post..... I have been so busy with uni stuff lately. I have spent the entire day indoors, working on a case study for one of my classes, and it's a shame because it is an absolutely gorgeous day outside. And I am really starting to stress over the house situation (or lack there of). I don't know how much longer I can last without having my own space. And I am pretty tired of wearing the same clothes over and over and over again! We are putting in another application this weekend, and viewing another apartment next Tuesday. I am really, really hoping something works out soon, otherwise I fear I will go completely mental. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

But I have accomplished one thing – I set up my Flickr account and uploaded my first set of photos! Hope you enjoy them! I have added a few teaser photos in this post. If it doesn't work, let me know.

It is Friday here, and I am having dinner with friends tonight, which should be really nice. No big plans for the weekend, but the weather is supposed to be wonderful. Once I get my case study finished, I will have heaps more time and hope to catch a few of you on Skype!

Lots of Love

29.10.2011

This will be the last weekend in the ACT (Australian Capital Territory – the state I live in) where you can go to the shops and have your purchases packed up in plastic bags. That's right, in attempts to reduce litter in the environment, the ACT government is banning plastic bags as of 1 November. I already use recyclable bags, so nothing really changes for me.

In other news, we have still not found an apartment. It is so hard here; nothing like finding a place in the States. I am really starting to go a bit mad..... I really need my own space! Unfortunately, we were turned down for the apartment in Lyneham. I am not sure why, and the real estate agents do not give the reason for it. Trying to stay positive though.

I am really busy with uni at the moment. I have a big project due on 31 October, and then another due on 7 November. We leave for Perth on 9 December, and I am definitely looking forward to being back. It will be great to see friends and family and spend heaps of time at the beautiful beaches there! Can't wait!

26.10.2011

This post is dedicated to my dearest and best friend, Kate. We have been friends for absolutely ages now, and I love and appreciate her friendship more and more as the time passes. I feel like she is the only person in the whole world who truly "gets" me and she never judges me, even if I make stupid mistakes. I know she always has my back, and I hope she knows that I will always be there for her.

A lot of things have changed throughout our friendship: switching careers, going to university, moving overseas, getting married, growing older, having children...... all life-changing experiences. And although we have changed, our friendship hasn't faded. We may not get to talk as much as we used to – like the days when the only thing separating us from a conversation was a hallway – but she is always the one who I want to share everything with.

Words cannot express how truly grateful I am to have such a friend. Even just typing out these few short sentences overwhelms me with all sorts of emotion. I know we will never again be just a hallway apart, but someday, I hope that there are not thousands of miles between us!

24.10.2011

Over the weekend, we went to the Nara Candle Festival with some friends. This festival is held every year to celebrate the sister-city relationship that Canberra holds with Nara, Japan. The festival consists of various Japanese food stalls, artwork, cultural displays, music and other things of that sort. At the end of the night, thousands of candles are lit in a closing ceremony – it was very beautiful. Also, to top things off, a group of Japanese school girls sang We Are The World, complete with an amazing solo by a random Japanese guy. It was truly a wonderful evening.

23.10.2011

Recently, Shaun and I went to Floriade - an annual flower festival held here in Canberra. We went last year as well, and this year was just as beautiful. Perhaps even better because last year, the weather was gloomy; this year the weather was fantastic. In addition to thousands of colourful flowers, there was also a bonsai tree collection. The bonsai trees were beyond incredible; I had never seen so many different varieties.

Actually, now that I think of it, we went to Floriade this year on my 28th birthday! It was a gorgeous day - breakfast in Kingston (another suburb in Canbs) with friends, then a stroll through the flower festival, followed by a nice dinner at our favourite dumpling house. Oh, and Shaun made me some delicious triple chocolate brownies after dinner! And, since he is the best guy around, he bought me tickets to see RocKwiz! RocKwiz is this great, music-trivia television based in Melbourne, and I love watching it. So we get to go see a live filming in December, and I could not be more excited. Overall, a pretty great birthday.

22.10.2011

Since Shaun and I have returned to Australia from our holiday, we have been homeless. We packed up our things and left our apartment in June, in order to do some traveling, and now we are home and looking for a new place to live. Thankfully, our good friend Dave is letting us stay at his until we find something. Today's picture is me, in the back garden at Dave's, picking some oranges from their tree. I personally do not like oranges – it is a texture thing, not a taste thing – but Shaun loves them! It was another beautiful day here in Canberra, and the smell of the oranges, mixed with the warm sunshine and soft breeze made for a gorgeous afternoon.

Looking for a new flat has been annoying, for lack of a better word. The rental market here in Canberra is so competitive and rental prices are so expensive! For Shaun and I to live on our own (not in a share house), we will not get away with paying less than $1400 monthly in rent. And that doesn't even get us something super nice – just an average apartment! Granted, we get paid more here, but still, it is pretty outrageous. We have put in an application on a nice apartment in Lyneham (a suburb in Canberra), so we will see what happens. I quite liked the place: it was spacious, clean and in a nice complex. The downside is that it is slightly out of the budget, and not as close to uni the CBD as I would like. Oh well; we will see what happens.

I hope the right place comes along soon though, as I have now been wearing the same clothing options for over 4 months. Living out of a suitcase definitely has a downside!

21.10.2011

So this is my first ever blog post, and I am not sure how I feel about it. I have always thought blogging was a bit lame, to be quite honest. And look at me now - I have my own blog. I suppose the main purpose of this is to give my family and friends a peak into my Australian life.

After having been away from Australia for four months, it feels good to be back. This photo was taken after a brief trip to the supermarket, and the "welcome home" sunset was lovely. However, I have to tell you that right before this picture was taken, I was elbowed in the ribs by a strange, old lady. As I was walking towards the entrance of Coles (an Australian supermarket chain), I noticed a crazy looking woman headed quickly towards my direction. As she approaches closer, I realise that she is not going to move over in order to not run into me. She basically gets right up in my face, mutters some quick words, and then, with an angry look on her face, she elbows me as hard as she can (at least it felt that way) in my left side. She hastily walks off as if nothing had happened. I am shocked, obviously, and start to cry because it actually really hurt. No one saw this occurrence, and I was just left there, standing outside of the shops, crying like a wimp.

Although the sunset that night was beautiful, my "welcome home" assault was far from it. I have to say it was one of the craziest experiences I have encountered. But what a fun story for my first entry!