Hi, you're still here!

Hi Blog, glad to see you're still here. I'm still here too! Australia that is -3rd year at the Beautiful Leura garden festival this year, oh and I'm finally allowed to stay in the country -well at least for 5 more years, then more paperwork... I think it will not end until I'm dead -and then it'll keep going but be someone else's paperwork. We are on house #4, year #2.5, visitors from the USA: 3 family, 2 friends so far, and once again it's springtime -hooray for beach weather!

Leura Garden Festival

Last year I went to Leura in the Blue Mountains for an annual Garden festival. I got to hear a Flute group, see an art exhibition, and visit 7 gardens, all flowering in God's beauty. I also experienced a bit of rain, some gorgeous waterfalls, and a teapot museum that sold more coffee than tea.

And it's that time again! It feels very strange to be going again to something that happens annually in Australia. Almost like I actually live here.

My good friend and her baby are coming along this time and I'm so excited. Well, I was excited until I saw the forecast is for rain and 8-13 degrees C (~46-55 F). I am going to be optimistic though and hope tomorrow works out and I'm enjoying a beautiful day trip outside of Sydney. That's what long weekends are for right?

This time last year I was boarding a plane for the USA

Has it already been a year since I left for the USA and my best friend's wedding? Happy 1st anniversary to you two! Has it been nearly a year since I've seen my family and friends in person? Thank goodness for Skype. I'm a big fan, and am constantly amazed how I can make a video call to a foreign country cheaper than I can call on my mobile to a friend only 5 minutes away. Winter already seems like it's slipping by too, but maybe that's just because it was really sunny today.

Time is the longest distance between two places. ~Tennessee Williams

I'm not really sure what to post here now, but I hope to figure it out. One of the people I wrote this blog for is gone now. I miss her very, very much. But I have to be sure and not take my days, my family for granted.

I've got a lot of projects going right now to keep me from zombie-ing out in front of the TV in the evenings after work. Sometimes it seems like too many projects, and so I'm going to set myself to a different task every 2 weeks. I'm starting with scrapbooking and I'm very excited to be accompanying a friend to a scrapbooking class day on Saturday for making cards, a scrapbook page, and to have lunch and tea together. Hopefully I'll learn some new techniques and get even more inspired to work on my albums.

2008

I can't say I'm sorry to see the end of 2008. I hope this new year brings happiness and good health to all despite all the crazy American financial situation. Hey, it's still January. I can still be optimistic. :)

My mother always used to ask my sister and I to write a year-in-review every year. They were typically about a page long and written in pencil on lined school paper when we were little and in strange-colored pens when we were older. I usually was working on mine frantically up until the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31. (It might have helped that Mom bribed us with a small amount of cash so that we did this every year.) They are so fun to look back and read now that we're a bit older.

I won't bore you with a whole page of details, just a little list of some things I'll probably never forget about 2008. And yes, it's already a bit into 2009, but some things (like me being late) never change.
Without further ado, 2008 in review:
*Moving to Australia in January with just 2 suitcases!
*Our puppy Roland snapping a tendon in his leg *groan*
*Getting involved with the wonderful church here in Australia
*Moving into our very first rental house
*Hosting my first Australian BBQ -American themed!
*Celebrating our first wedding anniversary
*Getting my first "real" job in Australia
*Flying back to the USA and seeing all my beloved family (Parents, Sister, Grandparents, Aunts, Cousins, etc. you know who you are) and heaps of friends!
*My best friend finally got married
*Meeting 2 new little cousins for the first time and being with my cousin after his open heart surgery
*Walking along the beach with my husband and dogs
*Camping trip with my husband's cousins
*Moving into our second rental house, and 4th house lived in during 2008.
*Worrying about my family back home, especially my grandparents health and happiness
*V's work-injury surgery
*Buying our first car together (and my first non-Mustang, sniff!)
*Planting our first garden
*My sister's beloved Moonshadow passing on to kitty heaven
*Choosing our first Christmas tree and decorating our home for the holidays
*Spending New Years eve at the Sydney harbor fireworks where V proposed to me 3 years ago

Happy 2009 everyone!

Quick Hello

I'm quite happy this week -I finished my coding project at work -woohoo! I'm learning heaps about C# and Xaml. Hopefully the next project will get done even quicker now.

V and I are enjoying having some American backpacker visitors from back home with us. V's been playing tour guide and I tag along when work permits. It's been great fun reminiscing about old friends and the Mexican restaurant we always ate at Sunday after church... Great fun -but we are so going to need to catch up on some sleep after they leave. Backpackers like to get up by like 6 or 7 am to go see the sights! They've been on ferry rides, to the Opera house, hiking, to lighthouses, and today they are in the Blue Mountains. I hope they're enjoying themselves as much as we are.
I'm not going to get political on my blog, but I wanted to share with you an article I really enjoyed...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7600000/7600592.stm

Long Overdue Update

Hi everyone!
Has it really been several weeks since I last updated? Sorry.. Life has been good. We officially had the first day of spring a few weeks ago and suddenly "boom": perfectly gorgeous weather that makes you ache to go outside all day long. The time of cold is over and won't be around again for a long time... I'm already wearing t-shirts and it's only spring. *fingers crossed that summer is mild*. Other than beautiful weather, spring has brought with it allergies. I've never really had spring allergies before, but now I've got really itchy eyes. Thanks weird Australian pollen.

I work all week and keep meaning to update blogs/e-mail family and friends on the weekends but I keep having interesting, event-packed weekends. One Saturday I went on a bus with the church group to Canberra -Australia's capitol (about 3 hours away). It was great fun. We went to the national war museum, ate a picnic lunch in the park with black swans and pink cherry trees blossoming, took pictures of the parliament house (which they do not like you calling the Capitol building, by the way), and a lookout stop at Mt. Ainsley. The drive home was a treat also as we saw HERDS of wild kangaroos! I loved getting to be a tourist for a day. I've got heaps of photos and will upload some of the better ones when I get a chance. Unfortunately, all the kangaroo pics were out a bus window moving at around 60 mph as we drove by.

This weekend I'm looking forward to Mountain biking in the Terry Hills area with the church group. It's lovely weather, and it should be beautiful in the scenic bike trails around there. Australia has lots of national parks and scenic protected areas, which is nice.

The other main thing I've been occupied with is house hunting. Our lease ends next month and we needed to find somewhere to move to. Considering how big of an effort it was last time, I was very anxious. This time, with the help of a good reference from our current real estate company and my super-organization of necessary documents, we got in at the first place we applied! It's a long lease too which means we won't have to move again soon, thankfully.

Next stop, car hunting....
Cheers and have a great weekend everyone!

SciFi into reality

I'm at work facing the same problem experienced in nearly every other office worldwide, and most homes too.  I'm freezing!  I'm wearing an undershirt for warmth, a long-sleeved sweater, and a jacket -while drinking a cup of boiling hot tea even.  Meanwhile, the guy next to me is wearing a t-shirt and has turned the airconditioner on.  

Yes, I could bring a portable heater from home up to work.  But, it just doesn't make sense to turn on both a heater and airconditioner in one room does it?  Not to mention, quite a waste of electricity.  

So, someone smarter than me please hurry up and invent personal space bubbles that each individual is in control of their own surrounding temperatures please.  I don't want to dress like I'm going skiing just to go into work!  

The taste of home

Wow, I can't believe it's September already! I'm back in Australia now, and have had enough time to unpack, do some house cleaning and mostly to get back into things at work.

I've been waiting for my mom to send me this picture since I moved here last Jan. It was our last meal out in Oklahoma. Mmmmm, good inexpensive Mexican food -and definitely not skimpy on portion sizes. Now this is a burrito!

Cheers everyone.

Home Safe

Hi everyone! What a whirlwind trip. I'm just now back in Oklahoma after seeing many friends and of course wonderful family in Texas. Boy it was hard to leave, but it sure was nice visiting everyone. I should have done more of this stuff before I left the continent. I guess you never fully appreciate what you have until you have to work for it, and that includes family and friends close by.

Only 4 more days here *sniff*! I'm looking forward to more friends to catch up with, a little more shopping left to do, and some good quality time with the folks. I can't believe how fast it's gone by already.

That's right you're not from Texas, but Texas wants you anyway....

I've been having the best time here in Austin, and Texas as a whole. I'm so happy to be around my cousin, who is like a big brother to me. He and his amazing wife and 3 lovely kids are always such a blessing and a comfort to me. He finally got to come home after nearly 2 weeks in the hospital. There was much rejoicing. Home is wonderfully healing medicine compared to a hospital room. I've finally gotten to meet my new little cousins. I think it may take a few trips for them to know me, but for now I'm just pleased as I can be to be around them and to love on them.

I've also gotten to visit with some very good friends here in Austin. Last night I had a wonderful time at the Melting Pot with 2 very dear friends, and we even had a violin solo played just for our table!

What great people, they always inspire me and challenge me to do my best at everything while still just being wonderful fun to hang out with. You all are so cute together, you made me think about how much I miss being around V. And yes, someday it would be nice to call Austin home and see you all more than just a dinner passing through. Right now it's a growth opportunity for me to live in Australia and I need to wake up and take greater advantage of it if I can. But thank you for making me feel so at home here and for keeping in touch over the years. And the offer still stands if you can make your way to Australia, you've got a place to stay and a tour guide at your service.

Tonight I just drove back from meeting up at Starbucks/dinner with another very dear friend, who will probably laugh at me when he reads this, but who seems to really have grown since college. He's always been a fantastic and interesting person, but he's only gotten deeper and even more caring over the years. It's been a long time since he threw my books into the hall when the teacher wasn't looking. (And there may have been some retribution in the form of a baby picture.. but it wasn't me! :) ) Now the guy who sat and doodled through Calculus is a math teacher -oh the irony. But he's a wonderful person and I'm so grateful he took time out to visit.

Makes me wonder if I've changed very much since college. It doesn't feel like it, even despite all the momentus events in my life -a doctorate, marriage, living on a new continent -I still feel like I was just in college yesterday and I'm still a kid. Maybe that's because I just left grad school last year so I really have mostly been in school and not 'the real world' very much yet. Maybe it's just easier to see when I look at other people. Being around my friends now, it's like somehow they're like adults now. People with kids! Owning houses! Years at jobs and work! It all happens so fast and when you're not looking.

Seeing all these old friends has brought back lots of fond college memories. Those were some great years because of the great people I was surrounded by. I'm looking forward to seeing more friends and reminiscing about more stories tomorrow night as well.

I'm so lucky to know so many thoughtful and gifted people who really make other people a priority in their lives. I'm treasuring these moments as best I can, soaking them up. On a bad day, I want to be able to remember sitting in front of the speakers with my cousin listening to amazingly clear music with nuances and soul. I want to treasure the laughter of my friends and the happiness in their eyes. I want to 'feel' hugs from my family.

If only I could transport my new Australia friends, and maybe a bit of the beach, to Austin..... But I'm leaving on a Jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again. Listening to that song today -I don't know of my cousin, a John Denver fan, knew how much that song really hits home with me right now in my life. It still feels like I just arrived in the states yesterday, but I have to fly out again in one week already. Shortest month-long vacation ever.

Biscuits N Gravy

Austin or Bust!

I'm so busy catching up with old friends now, cause yeah they all still live in Texas! I'm heading to Austin in a day to visit friends and family. So if you're around Austin (this includes San Angelo!) send me an e-mail! I've already gotten to see a really good friend from college and meet his adorable lovely wife finally, and I just happened to be eating at the same restaurant after church as them! Very happy coincidence.

Only thing that worries me is when people I don't know well tell me "They've heard stories about me". Oh my. Whatever it was you heard, it wasn't me! :) I guess one good thing is people in Oz don't know all my fun college stories!

Did you know Harry Potter was born July 31?

Well he was, and so was I! He's probably one of he most famous "people" to share my birthday. Thanks everyone who remembered and sent me birthday wishes. You are all far more oragnized than I, and I appreciate your thinking of me.

At both grandparents houses I got to open birthday cards and presents, eat fantastic birthday cakes topped with chocolate covered strawberries and brownies, birthday burritos with fiery hot salsa and birthday homemade green chicken enchiladas. I don't think I need to eat for a week after all the celebrating! Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate -your being here with me was the best present of all.

Sadly, the days are sailing by and my big sis goes back home tomorrow. More time in Texas for me still though. My thoughts and prayers are with my cousin today as he recovers in the hospital from open heart surgery. I guess you won't be wrestling with me and sitting on me this visit cousin!

If I were still in Australia it would be a High: 62° and Low 48° F today. Instead, here in the states it was 102°F today (39° C), and by Monday it will be High: 107° and Low: 81° F (High 42°, Low 27° C).

I'm waiting on my grandad and sis to call back with their latitude and longitude, as we are currently playing "an adult form of hide and seek" according to my mom. If you didn't guess, they have a new gadget, a GPS.

Howdy, Howdy!

Hi all!
I'm LOVING being back in Texas! Abilene is, as usual, hot and dry. I have been having a wonderful time visiting with my Aunt B who kindly took off work, my wonderful grandparents, and my mom and sis who also are on this adventure with me presently. My grandmother even showed my sis and I how to make tomato preserves today. It was really easy too! Watch out -I may attempt to make some when I get home.

More great Mexican food, and just great food in general. Nothing beats Granner's mashed potatoes. MMmm.... Tomorrow Aunt B is treating me to all the burritos I can eat from the "Snot-nose burrito place" (otherwise known as La Popular, but the salsa is so hot it makes my nose run) and all the freshly made lemonade I can quaff. I'm getting to be spoiled rotten here.

So, some musings this time instead of pictures... courtesy of recent experiences by yours truly
You know you're in Texas/Oklahoma when:
5. You get bit by a fire ant
4. Your chapstick melts in the car -not because you left it, but while you are still riding in the car!
3. You eat breakfast at 11:30 pm in a restaurant, and are served by a waitress with no front teeth but a big smile and a kind attitude.
2. You can buy a key chain in the shape of a bullet at a gas station -and you have a good look at it to make sure the bullet isn't real.
1. You see signs advertising "You don't need teeth to eat our beef!"

Living each day to the fullest

Hi everyone! The wedding went so very well... here's my lovely dress so many people helped me shop for and get thread to match and one kind friend even hemmed it for me while I stood on her kitchen table! It worked out well I think and maybe when I get back to Oz my husband will take me somewhere nice so I can wear it again. Also, I got to spend some time after the wedding with my good friends who came back from Georgia! And look what they kindly bought me for my birthday! A 24 case of Dr. Pepper -oh yeah. My mom met me at the airport with Dr. Pepper, T-girl had a 2 Liter in her fridge for me, and now my very own 24 cans! I'm in Dr. Pepper Heaven.

Wondering what I'm up to?

The parties are done, but the biggest party is yet to come -wedding tomorrow! Congrats Tulsa Girl and Memphis man!

Survivng a wedding requires the help of... Wonder Woman! Everyone invloved (especially the bride!) has been a wonder woman lately. But since I haven't asked them permission to post their pictures, here's me and one of my latest craft projects to help with:

And for my friends in Australia

I thought of you all today when I was at Sams and all your questions about big American stores that have everything and about what the Costco in the USA is like. It's a lot like this:


I took a few videos in the store too, I'll show you when I come back. I'm sure you'll be amused.
Cheers!

I'm baaacccckkk!

Hi everyone! I'm baack in the states and living it up with my friends and family. I wanted to share a few photos of my trip so far. It's only been 1 weekend so far and I've been to 3 towns, all dressed up and out to dinner, swimming, shopping, lunch with my great aunt, visiting with friends, movies, listening to live jazz piano, and tomorrow I'm painting and going to Hobby Lobby! Wohoo! The only thing I haven't done much of is sleep.

Wanna see some pictures?

Dinner out with the girls!











It was winter in Australia, but it's summer here in Oklahoma for sure! Chocolates melt in your hand, chapstick melts in your purse, and QuickTrip 32 oz drinks are just 0.49 cents!

Cheers!

Pictures!

I'm coming to the USA in just 3 days now! Yea! But, I promised some pictures. It's late, but I just wanted to post some of these. Pictures say a thousand words right?

These are a few from our day trip into Sydney. We went into the city to see the Botanical gardens, dinner, and a movie.
















Happy America Day Everyone! These are some pictures of me in my special party hat (Thanks to my sweet hubby who got it just for me), some decorations including the coolest USA flag balloon, and our cheesecake for our big cookout party.

Okay, so some explanation is probably needed here. The person doing the writing should have written "Farewell" not "Frie well", but well he was from India and V thought it was funnier to leave it this way. :)

Happy Anniversary to V and I!

Well, we've made it to one year. Wohoo! Life is good. V bought me some beautiful yellow narcissus blooms today in a pretty glass vase, a donut for breakfast , and some "get well soon " tea, because I am on day two of being pitifully sick. :(

We did have a great time celebrating last week already with our friends. V managed to get off work for Friday July 4th, so we had everyone over for a Happy 1st Anniversary, House Warming, Happy Birthday, Farewell, Congratulations, Happy Independence Day cookout to celebrate! It was great fun -about 12 people, plus a few kids and we ate real American food.

I promise, pics of the party and more details later, but tonight I'm sick and really should be sleeping instead of staying up typing. I've got work tomorrow after all.

Oh yeah, so I've got a new job too. *Grins.* Unfortunately, I think grad school opened up my head and tipped out all of my programming knowledge... Or maybe it's just my head cold. Anyhow, I'm now a programmer again. A rusty one, but a programmer. And work starts at 10am. Hooray!

G'night all! You're sorely missed and I hope to catch up with a lot of you in person when I come back, oh, next week. :) Okay, so it'll be a bit longer than that before I reach Texas, but I will be flying to the USA on July 18th. Cheers!