BIG news!!

I found out last week I got the job in Australia! I am totally excited. It is with the Department of Veteran Affairs and it starts February 2 in Canberra. I am busy working on Brent's visa and getting everything all ready to move across the world (again). Hurray!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I can now no longer deny that I am in my "upper" twenties and though the thought of getting even older is a bit depressing, I managed to have a great day! My birthday was on the 19th and I decided I wanted to go surfing so Brent and I drove to the other side of Florida to Cocoa Beach (only about two hours or so from Tampa). It was a nice day, but crappy waves. I was a bit bummed out, but still got a board and headed out. It was so nice just to be out in the water paddling around and on a board. The current was crazy strong and the wind brought in some funky sideways waves as well so it was altogether bad surfing conditions combined with my now muscle-free upper body. I need to do some serious working out! But it was a really fun day and Brent stuck it out for me even though he really hates the beach. Love him! I also went to Ron Jon's, the largest surf shop in the world, it was awesome. If only I had the money to buy lots of stuff! In the end, I settled for a little surfboard keychain at $3 a pop - boy to I love to splurge!

Cupcake Mania

I have been bored lately, so I bought a cupcake book and have been trying it out. So far I have made two, here are some pictures. Sorry that this is sooo not exciting as my past adventures and travels, I don't like normal life.

Spaghetti Cupcakes


Looks like real spaghetti, but they are cupcakes!


Shark Attack Cupcakes


I love the sharks, can you guess what they are made of?

A Quick Oz Trip

About 8 months ago, I applied for a job with the Australian Department of Veteran's Affairs and last month I finally heard back from them! I successfully gained an interview and I had a week and a half notice to get a ticket and everything together and go to Sydney for the interview.
I actually got a pretty good price on the ticket so I was happy for that. It is such a pain flying from the east coast, usually I just go straight from California (I am currently residing in FL). It was a lot of travel time in bad seats.
The interview went really well and I am waiting to hear back from them by the end of this month - keep your fingers crossed! It was a fast trip, I was only there 5 nights, but I got to see my Aunties, some cousins, and my Grandma. It was great to see my Grandma especially, since when I saw her last year she wasn't doing too well and didn't know who I was. This trip was great just for that, she was so excited that I came to visit her.

My Auntie Barb and baby Samara
My cousin Ellie and I

I also got to hang out with one of my best friends, Holly, as she flew in for the day down from Brisbane. It was so great of her to come in just for the day just so we could hang out! It was fun to catch up and we had a great time as usual.

Holly and I by Harbour Bridge

It was a whirlwind of a trip but hopefully worth it. I missed Brent like crazy, it was the longest we have ever been apart! We are usually together literally 24/7 (for over 1.5 years now) so we both had a tough time, but we managed.
So here's hoping I get the job!

Back Across the Atlantic

I have been out of the blogging loop for a bit, but time to get back to it. No excuse, just laziness. Brent and I returned to the US at the end of July and since we have done a lot of traveling, we decided to take a new mode of transportation back: The transatlantic ocean liner crossing on the Queen Mary 2. It was awesome. It took 6 nights, all of which were so much fun, elegant, grandiose, and downright royalty-like. It was black tie attire, high tea every afternoon, fancy balls, and out of this world food. Brent and I had an absolute blast and made some great friends too.


Embarking from Southampton, England
The elegant QM2 entryway


Look at me wearing heels!

The ship was elegant from top to bottom and I felt like royalty for a week. There is one crew member for every two passengers so the service is incredible. Drop your napkin and they pick it up a second later. They clean your room numerous times a day, leave little chocolates on the bed each night, and of course 24 hour (free) roomservice! They even slowed down and made an announcement as we passed over the Titanic site, it was pretty cool. It was a great week and definitely beats sitting in economy for a couple hours on a plane, can't wait to do it again!


Me enjoying the ride
Coming into New York harbor