I can't believe it is 2010. For some reason I recalled a random conversation I had with a friend back when we were about to start 7th grade. We talked about how crazy it was going to be when we graduated high school in the year 2000. It has been 16 years since that conversation - how funny that it was randomly dredged up by my brain!
2009 was a year of immense change so I am looking forward to a more stable year. The year started out well with a nice raise and also the news that Brent got a great job at The Smith Family - the largest charity organisation in Australia. He will be starting on Monday and we are both very excited.
It was a very rough year for Brent having to move to a country that he had only visited once before for two weeks, leave all of his family and friends behind, get used to the crazy accent and all the even crazier words we use, the prejudice against Americans, the lack of recognition of his educational qualifications, a first job that turned out to be very bad, etc etc.
So this year already looks promising for us. We will be moving to a new place at the end of February and that is enough to keep us upbeat! Our current apartment has been trouble from the beginning - it was infested with cockroaches upon moving in, the kitchen benches began falling apart, the taps broke one after the other, the winter came and we froze then summer came and we roasted, the neighbour below smokes on his porch all the time and lucky us get all the smoke, the apartments across the parking lot are public housing - bringing with it so many fun things, the neighbour next door wakes up every morning at 8:30 with a disgusting hacking cough. Oh I can't wait to move, can you tell?! :)
I have two overarching goals this year: my physical health and my finances. I have allowed myself to get so overweight and out of shape, so I need to focus and get back on track. I want to get back to where I was just over 3 years ago - super hot!
With both of us working, I can now start to sort out all my finances and get my debts paid down. We also want to start saving for a house with a goal to be able to buy within 2 years.
We will also finally figure out when we are getting married - preferably after making considerable headway on the first two goals!
So I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years. I am looking forward to this year!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Thanksgiving Down Under
Thanksgiving is my all-time favorite holiday so I am always a bit bummed when I am not in the US for it. It is also hard to get into the spirit of things when it is hot, but I managed!
My cousin Luke and his American wife Ali invited us over to have dinner with them. We had to do it on Friday though because Thursday was the last sitting day of the year for Parliament so I was at work until 7pm.
My cousin said they would do the Turkey and a few other things and I took up the rest. Now there are a couple of issues when trying to do it right here:
One, not only do they not do pumpkin pie here (so no canned pumpkin) but it is also an extremely rare site to even come accross a pumpkin. Apparently they had a few at a local market around Halloween time, but they were about $30 each. I assume only Americans really missing home fork out this kind of dough. So I made a pumpkin pie out of a butternut squash. With the right seasoning it actually tasted quite close to the real thing! I now also know how to make one from scratch.
Two, Turkey is also rarely eaten and a mid-sized frozen turkey costs about $60 to $70. My Dad enjoyed taunting me by calling me each time he saw a cheap turkey. The lowest was a 12-pounder for $3.85 (which he bought).
Third, the heat. With no A/C in my apartment and blazing hot outside, I was very tempted to skip the whole ordeal so as not to add to the heat with the oven. But I figured a few hours of extra hot would be ok for the bliss of a Thanksgiving dinner. So I cooked up a storm!
I made stuffing, which turned out to be really good even though we just made up a recipe for it, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and corn bread. It was all delish!
After cooking, we piled everything in the car and drove to my cousin's house about 20 minutes away. I was so excited for dinner only to find out that my cousin had succumbed and only bought a turkey leg to cook up. They also bought some chicken too, which is so wrong! I was really disappointed not to have the full shebang. They also hadn't made gravy! I whipped some up because Thanksgiving dinner just doesn't exist without gravy.
So depsite my disappointment over the turkey, it was a good dinner and of course lots of leftovers!
I hope everyone had a fabulous Turkey day and weekend!
My cousin Luke and his American wife Ali invited us over to have dinner with them. We had to do it on Friday though because Thursday was the last sitting day of the year for Parliament so I was at work until 7pm.
My cousin said they would do the Turkey and a few other things and I took up the rest. Now there are a couple of issues when trying to do it right here:
One, not only do they not do pumpkin pie here (so no canned pumpkin) but it is also an extremely rare site to even come accross a pumpkin. Apparently they had a few at a local market around Halloween time, but they were about $30 each. I assume only Americans really missing home fork out this kind of dough. So I made a pumpkin pie out of a butternut squash. With the right seasoning it actually tasted quite close to the real thing! I now also know how to make one from scratch.
Two, Turkey is also rarely eaten and a mid-sized frozen turkey costs about $60 to $70. My Dad enjoyed taunting me by calling me each time he saw a cheap turkey. The lowest was a 12-pounder for $3.85 (which he bought).
Third, the heat. With no A/C in my apartment and blazing hot outside, I was very tempted to skip the whole ordeal so as not to add to the heat with the oven. But I figured a few hours of extra hot would be ok for the bliss of a Thanksgiving dinner. So I cooked up a storm!
I made stuffing, which turned out to be really good even though we just made up a recipe for it, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and corn bread. It was all delish!
After cooking, we piled everything in the car and drove to my cousin's house about 20 minutes away. I was so excited for dinner only to find out that my cousin had succumbed and only bought a turkey leg to cook up. They also bought some chicken too, which is so wrong! I was really disappointed not to have the full shebang. They also hadn't made gravy! I whipped some up because Thanksgiving dinner just doesn't exist without gravy.
So depsite my disappointment over the turkey, it was a good dinner and of course lots of leftovers!
I hope everyone had a fabulous Turkey day and weekend!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
November Update!
Despite my efforts, I have yet again fallen behind in keeping up with my blog. Not that there is much to update on, but I really need to try harder!
I have had a couple visits since my last posting: my parents came for a few days and though it was a quick visit, it was fun. They were in Australia for quite a few weeks, but I was sick for the first few so didn’t make it up to Sydney to see them. Luckily we were able to match up some dates! My Dad brought me all sorts of goodies ranging from enchilada sauce mix to Rescee’s to pop tarts. Most of it has been used up by now, so another visit is in order!
My friend Liz also came to visit a few weeks later and it was so much fun to have her here. It was her first time to Australia and though she only came for a week, we tried to fit in as much as possible. We spent a couple days in Sydney where we took a ferry across the harbour to Manly Bay, walked around the opera house, dined at Darling Harbour and hugged koalas and kangaroos at the local sanctuary.
In Canberra, we hit up the fantastic War Memorial, the massive wildlife preserve where literally hundreds of kangaroos bound all around you, the NASA deep space station (where the first images of the moon landing were broadcast from) and hit up a few of the many great wineries in the area. It was a ton of fun and I can’t wait for her to visit again – eventually!
I am almost done with my first year here at Veterans Affairs and I have loved it. I have been able to work in some great areas and am currently working up at the Parliament House for the Minister of Veterans Affairs (a cabinet member). It is has been so interesting to be here and all the craziness that comes with working at the center of politics. It has been a great way for me to combine my interests in politics and the service delivery side of things from within the Department. I take all the phone calls that come in, mostly from angry veterans. It can be quite rough and emotionally draining at times, but I always get a big boost when I am able to really help someone.
As I joined the Department as part of a “grad program” that ends this week, I now have a lot of opportunities ahead of me. I have applied for a range of positions within the Department and am looking forward to wherever I will end up on a permanent basis. I will be sure to keep updated on here – hopefully in a timely manner!
Brent is currently working for a company that sells steel kit homes. It has given Brent a chance to look into a new industry and learn a lot, but as it is a commission only job, he is still on the look-out for a more stable income job. This job has at least kept him busy though so he isn’t sitting at home bored out of his mind and messing with the cat.
The weather has turned incredibly hot and there was no nice interim time from the cold winter days. The other day it was almost 100F, which for only Spring is incredibly hot and it is predicted to be a very bad summer. Unfortunately, we live in an old apartment that has no A/C as was not designed in any kind of way that promotes air flow. So pretty much it is a heat trap and we have not been able to get it any cooler than 86F even with two fans and an evaporative cooler and generally some cool wind at night. Our place just refuses to cool down! Our lease is until February, so looks like we will have to try and survive the summer in there.
So that is pretty much the update from this end of the world. Not too much exciting, but we are getting by. I miss everyone a lot and always welcome visitors – hint, hint.
PS – I will try to get some photos up soon.
I have had a couple visits since my last posting: my parents came for a few days and though it was a quick visit, it was fun. They were in Australia for quite a few weeks, but I was sick for the first few so didn’t make it up to Sydney to see them. Luckily we were able to match up some dates! My Dad brought me all sorts of goodies ranging from enchilada sauce mix to Rescee’s to pop tarts. Most of it has been used up by now, so another visit is in order!
My friend Liz also came to visit a few weeks later and it was so much fun to have her here. It was her first time to Australia and though she only came for a week, we tried to fit in as much as possible. We spent a couple days in Sydney where we took a ferry across the harbour to Manly Bay, walked around the opera house, dined at Darling Harbour and hugged koalas and kangaroos at the local sanctuary.
In Canberra, we hit up the fantastic War Memorial, the massive wildlife preserve where literally hundreds of kangaroos bound all around you, the NASA deep space station (where the first images of the moon landing were broadcast from) and hit up a few of the many great wineries in the area. It was a ton of fun and I can’t wait for her to visit again – eventually!
I am almost done with my first year here at Veterans Affairs and I have loved it. I have been able to work in some great areas and am currently working up at the Parliament House for the Minister of Veterans Affairs (a cabinet member). It is has been so interesting to be here and all the craziness that comes with working at the center of politics. It has been a great way for me to combine my interests in politics and the service delivery side of things from within the Department. I take all the phone calls that come in, mostly from angry veterans. It can be quite rough and emotionally draining at times, but I always get a big boost when I am able to really help someone.
As I joined the Department as part of a “grad program” that ends this week, I now have a lot of opportunities ahead of me. I have applied for a range of positions within the Department and am looking forward to wherever I will end up on a permanent basis. I will be sure to keep updated on here – hopefully in a timely manner!
Brent is currently working for a company that sells steel kit homes. It has given Brent a chance to look into a new industry and learn a lot, but as it is a commission only job, he is still on the look-out for a more stable income job. This job has at least kept him busy though so he isn’t sitting at home bored out of his mind and messing with the cat.
The weather has turned incredibly hot and there was no nice interim time from the cold winter days. The other day it was almost 100F, which for only Spring is incredibly hot and it is predicted to be a very bad summer. Unfortunately, we live in an old apartment that has no A/C as was not designed in any kind of way that promotes air flow. So pretty much it is a heat trap and we have not been able to get it any cooler than 86F even with two fans and an evaporative cooler and generally some cool wind at night. Our place just refuses to cool down! Our lease is until February, so looks like we will have to try and survive the summer in there.
So that is pretty much the update from this end of the world. Not too much exciting, but we are getting by. I miss everyone a lot and always welcome visitors – hint, hint.
PS – I will try to get some photos up soon.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy 4th!
Aren't we a patriotic family - kitty and all!
I was very disappointed that the embassy had nothing planned here for the 4th - but then again I'm not surprised because Canberra isn't that of a happening place. Next year we will have to go to Sydney, that's where the celebrations happen!
Last year we spent the 4th on an army base in Germany and that was really fun. The year before there was a huge bash at the embassy in Bangkok and that was a blast. And in true Thai style it was a gorgeous day then rained buckets in the evening as we left and there was not a spot on us that wasn't soaked to the bone. Good times. So, as most other things, it was much quieter this year.
Last night I made a bbq sauce marinade that is oh so good and soaked the ribs in it overnight. I got a recipe for baked ribs because we don't have a bbq and though I was skeptical, they turned out really good! Finger lickin' good! We also had some baked beans and potato salad, mmm. The apple pie will be later tonight, yum!
Brent ready to dig into the spread (still no table) and patriotic ribs!
So a happy 4th to everyone, hope you have a much warmer one than me (it is 36F outside)! It is strange to be all rugged up, but you can still feel some patriotism on a cold night! I won't deny I love my socialized medicine and other benefits, but it doesn't diminish my love for the good ol' USA. I am grateful for those brave enough to start a revolution and to start rolling a country with all sorts of cheap stuff! :) I do miss the cheap stuff. But I love Australia too even with it's high taxes and deadly animals.
I hope you all have a great 4th - enjoy some fireworks and a hot day for me!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Picture Time
Here are a bunch of pictures - all taken with my phone so they aren't that great quality.
Hanging out at the Ice Rink
Couldn't resist...
Auska jumped up and settled in on Brent
Auska the Angel - our sweater kitty!
Aww, she loves me
Auska found a comfy spot in Brent's jeans on the floor
Random llama in the city!
Its cold, so she needs a sweater!
Ice Skating! (blurry...)
Brent and I enjoying an evening of ice skating
Hanging out at the Ice Rink
Couldn't resist...
Auska jumped up and settled in on Brent
Auska the Angel - our sweater kitty!
Aww, she loves me
Auska found a comfy spot in Brent's jeans on the floor
Random llama in the city!
Its cold, so she needs a sweater!
Ice Skating! (blurry...)
Brent and I enjoying an evening of ice skating
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Happy Birthday Brent!
Cake & cat!
Brent's birthday was on the 22nd and unfortunately we weren't able to celebrate in style like we have in the past. Last year I took him Paris, the year before was in Bangkok. I wish I could have done more, but things are tight so we had to call it a quiet, lame birthday.
I bought Brent a brewing system and we are having fun with that! I also got him a martini set, which he is loving! I made him breakfast in bed before I went to work and then we enjoyed spending the evening together and watching over the new brew kit. I wanted to take the day off work, but it was an intensely busy week and I had to work overtime every day just to barely get everything done.
Brent with brew kit
I made some delicious NY cheesecake for dessert and that was definitely the highlight of the day, Brent loooves cheesecake so I am glad it turned out so well!
Next year we will get back to celebrating in style!
Just Another Day's Work...
As part of the program that I am in at work, we were in charge of organizing and carrying out the annual trivia night. We started planning back in February and the big night was 25 June. All was set, we went to a lot of work and got a lot of great sponsors to donate prizes, good location, great questions, etc. The night went really well, I was the MC and had fun along with everyone else and was generally very satisfied with the evening.
So the next day, of course everyone at the office is talking about the trivia night, picking it apart, etc. I get into the elevator at lunch and a lady from my floor gets in with me (I hadn't met her yet), and she turns and says, "so there is a theory going around about last night." I respond, "oh, whats that?" And then she says, "well don't you think it strange that you knew people on both the first and second place teams?" I looked at her with disbelief, I really thought she was joking, but one look at her let me know she was dead serious!! I said, "umm, no not really, I knew people on almost all the teams." She just continued to look at me very seriously and as she walked out of the elevator said, "prove me wrong'" I just gave a little laugh and looked at her like she was retarded. How the hell do you respond to something like that?! Sore losers will do anything to make themselves feel better!
But that isn't all!! When I got back from lunch, one of my fellow trivia-organizers emailed me and said a lady in her area told her she thought that I "had too much influence because the questions were too American." Funny! There were 8 rounds, 8 of us organizing it, and I wrote 1 round. Australians love any chance they get to display their extreme jingoism.
So I am the center of quite the libelous scandal at DVA at the moment. I just makes me laugh because had I not been the MC, no one would have even entertained the thought! Too funny.
So the next day, of course everyone at the office is talking about the trivia night, picking it apart, etc. I get into the elevator at lunch and a lady from my floor gets in with me (I hadn't met her yet), and she turns and says, "so there is a theory going around about last night." I respond, "oh, whats that?" And then she says, "well don't you think it strange that you knew people on both the first and second place teams?" I looked at her with disbelief, I really thought she was joking, but one look at her let me know she was dead serious!! I said, "umm, no not really, I knew people on almost all the teams." She just continued to look at me very seriously and as she walked out of the elevator said, "prove me wrong'" I just gave a little laugh and looked at her like she was retarded. How the hell do you respond to something like that?! Sore losers will do anything to make themselves feel better!
But that isn't all!! When I got back from lunch, one of my fellow trivia-organizers emailed me and said a lady in her area told her she thought that I "had too much influence because the questions were too American." Funny! There were 8 rounds, 8 of us organizing it, and I wrote 1 round. Australians love any chance they get to display their extreme jingoism.
So I am the center of quite the libelous scandal at DVA at the moment. I just makes me laugh because had I not been the MC, no one would have even entertained the thought! Too funny.
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