27.02.2012

Check out the new additions to my Sunset Series on Flickr – You won't be disappointed!

22.02.2012

Is it overkill to make the last three posts about Shaun's birthday? Yes? Well, too bad..... I am doing it anyways. For those who are interested to know, here is how the day went down – Monday morning, we both get up and go to work. I get off work early, rush home to bake the cake and then leave to pick up Shaun from uni at about 6.30pm. We head over to our favourite local micro-brewery, The Wig and Pen, for a delicious pint or two. They had just tapped their newest brew, a lambic beer called Lamb-Go-Baa. One word to describe it? Heavenly. Seriously, one of the best beers I have ever tasted In.My.Life. The brew master at The Wig reckons it is the best brew he has ever done. If you check out the birthday pictures, its the beer in the little glass. Just typing this makes me want to head over there right now and have another. Anyways, after having a few drinks and running into some friends, we head back to the house for dinner. At Shaun's request, I made a curry (chickpea and potato) with pappadums and naan. I forgot to take photos, so you will just have to imagine that part. Then after dinner and dishes, I surprised Shaun with his cake – complete with sparkler candles! Overall, it was a lovely evening.... and I promise no more posts about the birthday!

21.02.2012

Look what we made! For part of Shaun's birthday celebrations, we made some super delicious sugar cookies with almond icing, and Shaun picked the colours to use. We will be taking them to trivia tonight to share with our team. Yum!!

Also, I would like to wish a very, very happy birthday to my dear sister, Erika – you are such a wonderful person and I miss you so much every day. I love you!

20.02.2012

Wishing a very happy birthday to my best friend and love of my life!

19.02.2012 v.2

And here is a creature that I do not feel as lucky to see..... and I do see them quite often. The photo with my foot is for size comparison – not the smallest lizard, as you can see!

19.02.2012

Feeling very lucky to live in a country where I get to see beautiful creatures like these on a regular basis.

16.02.2012

Wow.... I am pretty terrible about keeping this blog regularly updated. But on my behalf, I am just so busy all of the time these days. I finished my prac at the pre-school, and I suppose the director was quite impressed as she offered me some casual work as a relief teacher. Basically, I will go in whenever another member of the staff is sick, on holiday, etc. I have already worked 5 days, and it is pretty great to be earning some income! I am waiting for my results for my last three units at uni – actually, I have gotten my final marks for one unit, and I earned HD (High Distinction)! I'm quite chuffed, I must say. I will be starting three more units at the end of February. At this rate, I will be finished with my degree in 2.5 more years!

Still no updates on the housing situation. We have been turned down for every application we have submitted so far. Pretty soul-crushing. I just want a place of my own to live – and I am a good tenant! I always pay rent on time, I am clean, I am quite, no pets, no children – I would think that would be good enough.

Haven't had much time for socialising lately, but we did go to an amazing wedding a couple of weeks ago. My dear friends Nic and Jen had a beautiful ceremony down at the coast, complete with dancing, live music, fire twirling, roast pig on a spit, and super delicious chocolate cake. It was an absolutely wonderful day, and I am so happy that I was able to be a part of it. Check out my Flickr account for some photos of the celebrations.

Not much else to report.... oh, I should be granted permanent residency here in Australia very soon. I am submitting my documents to the immigration department this week, and hopefully will hear back in the next month or so. Next step – citizenship!

Hope everyone is well. Miss you all and hope to catch up with you soon. xx

29.01.2012

I just wanted you all to know that I have just eaten the best kangaroo steak ever. Seriously. I want more.

28.01.2012

There is nothing I love more than spending my entire weekend studying and working. Not! Actually, I really dislike the idea and feel a bit spiteful that this is what I must do. Oh well, what can you do? It is only about 10.45am on Saturday morning, but I have already eaten breakfast, done 2 loads of washing, vacuumed the car, washed the car, waxed the car, and now I am about to get cleaned up and head into uni for a long day of study. What a fun life, hey?

This week has been okay... finished the third week of my prac and I am excited that next week will be my last. It has been a great experience, but I certainly do not want to work with children than young (2-3 years). Plus, I work my arse off for free! So that makes it a bit more difficult as well. Can't believe the end of my prac marks the entrance into my second year of uni, though. 1 down, 3 to go! Maybe a bit sooner if I work extra hard.

Australia Day was nice. At least I had the day off from the pre-school. We went to a BBQ at our friend Cam's house, and that was pretty fun. We have recently made some new friends and it was great hanging out with them. We have planned a mexican-themed dinner night in the near future, and I am always happy to host a taco night!

As some of you may know, the Chinese New Year has just recently passed, and we went to a pretty cool celebration at the Sakyamuni Buddhist Centre near Dryandra. Here are a few pictures from the evening....

27.01.2012

Here are a couple more photos from our trip to Perth. On a beautiful sunny day, we went for an amazing motorbike ride through the Perth hills. We rode for about 150 kms, and it felt so nice to be on a bike again. Maybe some day, I will have one of my own!

26.01.2012

Happy Australia Day!

25.01.2012

Wow, life is so incredibly busy. Between a full-time prac, 3 units for my course, looking for a job, looking for a flat, and trying to maintain a bit of a social life – there is just hardly any time left! Every single day is crazy busy, and I am exhausted! And honestly, there is no end in sight.

So, because of the reasons listed above, this post will be very brief. Sorry I have not had much time to keep this blog updated as much as I would like. I really don't even know if anyone reads it! But for those of you who do, I hope you enjoy my sunset series of photos of Flickr. I am in love with the beauty that surrounds me almost every night, and I wanted to share it with all of you! I will try to keep updating this set over time.

Much Love

15.01.2012

I think it is going to rain soon!

7.01.2012

Well, it certainly has been awhile since my last post! To any of you who regularly read this, sorry for the lack of updates. The past few weeks have been insanely busy for me. But, I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and that your new years are off to a wonderful start.

I have been in Perth for about a month now, and I am sad to say I will be leaving tomorrow. I don't like Canberra much anyways, and still not being able to go back to my own home has really got me down. Between that and the nervousness of starting my prac at the preschool, I am not looking forward to the return. Plus, it has been so nice to see friends here in Perth, and I will miss them heaps! Our stay here has been pretty great though, and here are some highlights:

• Seeing the total lunar eclipse
• Living 5 minutes from the sea
• Eating at my favourite kebab shop
  
• Going on the Annual Camp Trip #3 with my dear friends, Erica & Andrew
  
• Getting a Wii for Christmas
• Hanging out with good friends

Photos from Perth have been uploaded to Flickr if you would like to have a look. Uploading other photos from our holiday as well: Iceland, London, Oxford and Switzerland. Happy looking!

In other news, school has been full on and I am pretty much over it already. The three classes I am taking right now are so intense and there is so much to do. Shaun has been crazy busy as well, and we have spent a lot of our time here in Perth working. I never heard back about the job I applied for, so I guess that means I didn't get it. I wish the HR department would just let you know either way. If I didn't get the job, just freaking tell me! So I am still on the hunt for a new job and new home..... can't wait to get that all settled.

Not much else going on at the moment. I am sure I will have a few stories to share once I start work at the preschool. And I will actually try to be better about updating more frequently!

Much Love
xx