Happy Holidays!

I had a wonderful Christmas. So laid back. And I got a beautiful set of pans from Eric! Poor guy everyone gives him a hard time for getting me pans but they are what I really wanted. Cuisinart brand, with a lifetime warranty! Now I don't have to bitch about the food not cooking evenly on our gas stove. Maybe tomorrow I can get my picture up of them sitting on my counter- Eric laughed really hard when I took pictures of them. I just stuck out my tongue. All I need now is an apron, cause I can't cook without making a mess of myself. And Eric loved the MP3 player I got him, he's already put tons of songs onto it.

We also got some presents from family- Some ornaments for our tree, clothes for me, and lots of DVD's, which I can't wait to watch! Hopefully this weekend- maybe while I am taking it easy after New Years. We are planning on going out that night! The first time in 4 years, and I am excited! It will be so interesting to ring in the New Year in Aussie fashion. Personally I plan on having a couple of drinks and shaking my booty- it has been too long since I've gone out and partied! One of my friends wants me to call after midnight and tell them what the future is like. I laughed, but I will call.

Well I am up way past my bedtime, so better get hopping into my bed.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas, boys and girls!

Its about 22 minutes to Christmas here in Oz. We are celebrating tonight, because Eric has to work tomorrow. Yay for presents! Just finished watching the Disney Christmas Carol. I love the Christmas Carol. Too bad they aren't playing any of the classics, like "Its a Wonderful Life" or Miracle on 34th Street. Eric's personal favorite is A Christmas Story and I haven't seen that advertised, either. Ah, well.

I guess I am missing the over-commercialized American Christmas that I am used to. Funny, though- last year for Christmas we had about a foot of snow on the ground! This year its going to be around 90 degrees! I could even go to the pool if I wanted. Which I might do on Monday or Tuesday, but that would mean getting in a swimsuit- hmm.

I have a four day weekend, since Australians celebrate Boxing Day. So Boxing Day is Monday, then the Public Holiday for Christmas is Tuesday.

Well I hope whoever reads this is having a very wonderful holiday. I am yearning for a "regular" Christmas but will be happy with what we have here. And, I'll be heading into the cold in January with my trip back to the US, so that will be fun! Now its almost time for presents and hot chocolate and gazing at my Christmas tree.

God bless us, every one!

An Aussie Cold

Yup, I have finally succumbed to the bird flu. Oh my goodness... I am too young to die! Oh wait, no, its just a regular cold. Sorry the media hysteria caught me in its grip. But I have spent the weekend nursing a lovely little Australian bug. Yummy. Its pretty standard- runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, headache, sore throat. But I actually feel a lot better today.

Which is good since I went to work. Not that I was nearly as productive as I could have been- was doing some extremely boring data input and had a hard time staying focused. I guess that's a bullet for my review at the beginning of January! But I have tomorrow off, which is nice. I have a doctor's appt (nothing serious just this cold and I haven't been since we came so I have some paperwork to fill out. And I think I totally missed my booster shot for Hepatitis. So might be getting another shot tomorrow. Yay) and I think we might go see King Kong. Tuesday is the cheaper day at the movies and since Eric and I both have it off, might be something fun to do. I did listen to the radio for an hour yesterday about KK and Peter Jackson, the movie and the videogame. I learned so much more than I ever needed to know about it!

Another fun Oz fact I picked up today (one day I am going to make a book of Oz facts) In this country its mandatory that you vote. I was like, wow. Seriously, even in the local elections for council and stuff. If you don't vote you get a letter in the mail and a fine. I got a strange look when I said that I think only around 20% or so of Americans vote. I really don't know the statistics but I know that a lot of Americans don't vote. Its funny to me when I get those strange looks sometimes.

Also, you get speeding tickets in the mail. I have heard of this in the US but always like a rumor. Nope, here you get a letter with a picture of your vehicle, and the notice of your fine. My neighbor got one just the other day. Her husband thought she must have been driving- then she got out the calendar and said "Nope- I was at a meeting that day!" Pretty funny that they send you the time and date so you know exactly who to blame.

Someone imitated my accent today. Well, they did a general "American" accent but were pretending to be me picking up the phone for the company. Anyhow, although it was pretty funny at the time, I have never before realized how obnoxious it sounds to the person with the accent (me!) when another person imitates it. Weird. I am going to so steer clear of ever doing another country's accent outside the comfort of my own home. But hey, I'm just a bloody Yank, LOL.

Well I better go make some more soup and chill on the couch for a while. Have a ton of knitting to do... trying to get a baby blanket done. Once I am finished I'll take a picture of it and put it up here.

My Reindeer

You Are Comet

A total daredevil, you're the reindeer with an edge! Why You're Naughty: You almost gave Santa a heart attack when you took him sky diving Why You're Nice: You always make sure the sleigh is going warp speed

Cookies

I would like to start this blog by saying (to anyone who actually reads it) that I have tried 4 times this week to post and each time I would be halfway through and my *&^%ing computer would kick me off the internet. So I will try again!

This week I worked M,T,W. I have also baked about 12 dozen cookies- Around 9 dozen yesterday and 3 dozen Monday. We had a Christmas cookie exchange Tuesday morning, then I took the cookies in to work. I got to learn the difference between cookies and biscuits- the Aussie word for cookie. One lady told me that if you buy them at the store its a biscuit, but if you make it at home its a cookie. Sounds good to me! But another lady told me "thanks for the biscuits" so I think its pretty much interchangeable. But I still call them cookies.

Went to Eric's work Christmas party last night, and that was fun. It took FOREVER for the food to be set out, but it was good. Had potato soup, then peas and carrots and turkey and potatoes and gravy. I was so sleepy by the end. Also, they serve pumpkin here as a side dish- I guess kind of like sweet potatoes? I personally prefer it in a pie. Oh and they eat pumpkin soup, which I haven't tried yet.

Not a whole lot planned for today- just have to deliver the cookies I baked yesterday. We are making bags for all the single guys at Eric's work, as a holiday gift. I have to run by the bank, too because they totally screwed up my pay last week. I hope that its fixed- the lady I talked to last week said she fixed it all but I'll believe it when I see it.

Better run- gotta wake Eric up and get this posted before the puter kicks me off!

Birthday Cake

I baked Eric a birthday cake this morning. Devil's food cake- with chocolate buttercream icing. Need to get a cheap mixer- my arm is sore from mixing with a wooden spoon! Burns the calories from eating it, though. It turned out to be pretty tasty. I sure made a mess in the kitchen, though. I'll have to go clean it up in a few minutes. And my Tupperware came in- whoo hoo! :)

Eric slept in while I was baking, and is now downstairs watching Southpark. We are taking it easy today- just like he wants. Might go driving around looking for critters later. And apparently there is a demolition derby tonight that we might go to. Some guys from his work are going. I've never been to one, and I'm really not that interested but it's his birthday, not mine!

I kept telling him we should go to the pool, cause it would be the first time he could go swimming on his birthday! But he's not really interested. Ah, well.

I finished the book I have been reading. Eldest, the second book in the Inheritance series. It was really good. If you like LOTR but want a little bit of an easier read, I think you would like this series. Its about a farmboy who finds a dragon egg. The author wrote the first one (Eragon) when he was 17. I can't wait for the third one!

Well I better let Eric have the computer so he can get his World of Warcraft on while I get showered. He loves it when he can play without getting nagged!

Tired...

I am tired right now so this will probably be short. I think I am going to take a nap before Eric gets home so that I can stay up tonight and call people.

His birthday is Saturday- don't know yet what we are doing for it. Whatever he wants, he gets! Well... Maybe not EVERYTHING, but you know what I mean.

Uluru- the trip was fun. I will try to attach a pic to this post tomorrow. That will be trial and error but I am off for the next three days so should be able to do it. Yay I did it!!

It was an expensive trip, but fun. The resort there has a monopoly- you either stay there or in your car. But "the rock" (as I call it) was an amazing sight. We cooked out by the cultural center and watched it reflect the sunset our first night there. Monday we went back out, took more pics, then went to the Olgas, which are nearby. They were neat, too. I got a little sunburnt- even with sunscreen on! They weren't kidding when they said the sun is strong here. I didn't even realize the UV index went over 10, and most days at Uluru its between 12-15. I hope to go back when its cooler, and do more hiking.

We saw Harry Potter Saturday night! It was good, but I want to see it again some time when the theatre isn't so packed. And I ate a humoungous steak before we went, so I was focused on my tummy for some time.

Well I've got to go take my nappy. Work is going well, I am feeling really productive but my body isn't used to getting less than 9 hours of sleep every night. But its getting better this week! Uh-oh- Thunder. Gotta run before the computer fries!!

Crazy. That's what I am. When did I ever say I was bored? Now I can't remember what that feels like. Well that's probably a good thing. Got my 24 hours in this week, in 3 days. Not too bad but considering I haven't worked in over 6 months, a lot for me. And every night that I worked I had something to go to! Yay for sleeping in tomorrow.

Wait- I can't sleep in. Eric has to have slacks for Tuesday, and did he pack any when we moved here? No. So we are going shopping early, because all the stores here that are open on Saturday will be closed by 1pm. And I'm dropping off cookies for a Christmas party, and I think we are going out to dinner and MAYBE see Harry Potter. Which I am excited about (because I am that geeky girl) but I am having doubts about our ability to get tickets. Which is why the theatre is my first stop tomorrow morning. *sigh* I won't mention that I walked right past the place today, when I had NO IDEA there was a chance we were going this weekend.

Anyhow- Sunday we are going to Uluru, aka Ayers Rock. So we will leave early for that, spend the night and drive back Monday. I think its like a 5 hour drive. And we are sharing a rental car with 6 other people to save gas money. It will be interesting since I don't really know these people that well. So I'm taking my book, but hopefully it will be a wonderful adventure. I am looking forward to the swimming pool that is supposedly by our apartment. And seeing the rock, of course. I just pray that it will be cool- today was kind of nice.

So that is my "how did I get so suddenly busy? But I'm not complaining" life. Time to go see how well I can make sugar cookies! And pick up my house, since I still have things strewn around from when I had the Tupperware party Monday night!

Later!