Feel the Silence

Still not a lot to write about around here. It's amazing how the weeks are flying by now that I'm working. Sure, each day feels long, but I get to Friday and wonder where the week has gone. So yeah, work, work, work and then it's the weekend and we have been having some pretty lazy Saturdays where we fit in a trip to the beach for a walk or to sit up on the cliff and read and then grab some dinner. Last Sunday we had our friends over for a barbecue but it wasn't anything wild- just sitting around eating and talking.

We finally ordered our engagement party invitations last Saturday and they were here by Wednesday so I need to get on mailing those out. I'll try and get MOTH Dude to do some Photoshop magic on them so you guys can see what they look like. We really like them because they look like postcards from Hawaii and our engagement party is luau themed. I should probably try and do some trial runs on all the recipes I've found before I make them for 80 people because I wouldn't to have gross food that nobody touches on the day. I'm a little bit nervous to try and cook for so many people with our tiny little stove, but luckily most of my girls have said they'd be willing to pitch in a make a dish or two! I really wish my parents and Nae could come out for the party and for a visit, but it's just not going to happen so I'm sad about that and know they are, too.

Anyway, sorry for the snooze-fest that is my life these days and sorry for the lack of postings, but as you can tell, there isn't much to post about. I'll try and get the invite up soon and share any Hawaiian recipes we end up loving.

Motionless Wheel Nothing is Real Wasting My Time In the Waiting Line

Still waiting to hear back on the job. I got a call from the recruiting company on Friday morning that woke me up asking about the people I had put down as references, making it seem as if he had given them a week and they still hadn't gotten back to him. I explained that Monday was a holiday in the States so maybe people had the week off and I'd email them to see if they had gotten the email from the recruiter. Well, I open up my email and there was an email from one of my references asking what type of role I had applied for so she could use key terms about me suited to the role. She had gotten the email that morning when she got to work and started on it then and there. This guy knows he is emailing people in California, does he not understand how time zones work? E said she emailed the form back to him that night, which he probably got when he came in to the office yesterday and since then I haven't heard anything from him. So I still don't know if I've gotten this job or not. It's been a loooooooong process though! I've started to check the job boards again just in case this one doesn't come through. It's frustrating having it all be up in the air for so long. My bank account is getting painfully low again and I would love to not have to depend on MOTH Dude solely for money. I mean, we share our money and don't keep track or anything, but when one person isn't bringing in ANY money, it's pretty obvious who is doing most of the "sharing".

Friday night I made Thai Yellow Curry with Chicken and we watched "She's Out of Your League". Saturday MOTH Dude got up before me and read out in the yard. I got up and wrapped Lo's birthday present and then we were off to her party. We got there about an hour late, but even still ended up being there from about 12:15 to 8:30! She seemed like she had a great day and it was so cute to watch her smash a whole chunk of cake in to her face. We came home and were exhausted and asleep by about 10:30.

Sunday Moth got up before me again (miracle!) and was out in the yard reading when I woke up. I went on Facebook to check something my Mom had posted when Tinkerbell messaged to see what we were up to later. I had felt bad because the night before she left the party with Junior at around 6 and I said if we were going out later, I'd be the DD and come pick her up and she seemed excited to have her sister-in-law watch Junior and have a night out, but then we all got old and lazy and didn't end up going out so she stayed at home, too. So anyway, she suggested that we go get a drink Sunday afternoon. We ran out and did our grocery shopping and then I came home and baked cupcakes for the Sunday Family BBQ. We then met her, Croc, and the Teacher at a local pub and had a couple of drinks and it was a fun hour and a half sitting around laughing and talking and they had a really good guy singing and playing guitar and time was slipping away from us so we had to get going because Moth's Pop is a stickler for being on time and we were already late.

Tomorrow I've got a hot date with the Runner to go get our hair did by the Hairdresser and to check out her and the Smooth Talker's new house and puppy! The Smooth Talker suckered me in to making him cupcakes and since he and the Runner finally got engaged and it was just his birthday, I figured "why not?" so I'll be baking them fresh in the morning before I see her. Thursday is trivia night with Croc and the Teacher and Croc's parents. Did I mention we won the jackpot last week, but had to split it with another team. Still, we ended up winning $73! Friday night, MOTH is off to Queensland, as I have previously mentioned, for his cousin's wedding and I might have a night out with Tinkerbell, Potential Sis In Law, the Teacher, and the Hairdresser and LC if they are around. Tinkerbell wants to dance. I'm not a dancer, but I'll go to hang out and to be the DD for everyone so they can have a big night if they want to. I've also started a diet this week (basically just trying to eat less, no dessert through the week, and eating as much organic fruits, meats, and veggies as possible) and am working on a 30 before 30 list that I'll share with you guys soon.

That's about all from here, keep those fingers crossed about the job for me!

You Taste So Sweet For Only Me

Image courtesy of Annie's Eats

Pretty much every Sunday night we go over to Boyfriend's Grandparent's house (Nan and Pop's) and before I left and since I've been back, I try and bring something to contribute to the dinner. Over the last three weeks I've made bread rolls twice that one of Boyfriend's cousins said was just about the best thing he's ever eaten, that lemon cake I put the recipe up for in April, chocolate chip peanut butter cookies, and tonight I brought bread and brownies. Seven of the local cousins were there tonight, along with an aunt, two uncles, and three baby second cousins; the crowded nights like tonight are always the most fun there.

It was my first time making brownies from scratch and I was pretty nervous about how they would turn out, but they were so good. They were a lot richer than store bought brownie mix brownies and by the time I got out to get a real serving (compared to the tasters serving I had before I put them out ;D ) they were all gone! Make these as soon as possible, you won't regret it!

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats recipe for Chewy, Fudgy Triple Chocolate Brownies:

Chewy, Fudgy Triple Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:
5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (For the first two ingredients I used a 100g-about a third larger sized bar than a regular sized Hershey's bar- organic, dark chocolate bar, chopped)
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into quarters (I used salted and omitted the salt later in the recipe)
3 tbsp. cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder I brought from home...yum!)
3 large eggs
1¼ cups (8¾ oz.) sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract (I added a 3rd tsp just because I always add extra vanilla)
½ tsp. salt (remember to omit if you used salted butter earlier)
1 cup (5 oz.) all-purpose flour

1 cup of dark or milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Place an oven rack in lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 350° F. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. (I lined my baking dish with baking paper instead.)

In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt; whisk until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the warm chocolate mixture until incorporated. Then stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until just combined. (Stir in cup of chocolate chips.) (It took me a while to get the flour evenly incorporated and I was worried it would affect the texture of the brownies, but they turned out fabulously – no need to worry.) (Unlike the original author, I found that everything incorporated very easily and I only stirred for about 20-30 seconds by hand.) Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a spatula to make an even layer. Bake until slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, 35-40 minutes (Make sure you watch your brownies! I set my timer for 25 minutes and I think they were pretty much done then. I left them in for another 3 minutes and they came out with a slightly crunchy top and were thick and fudgy in the middle). Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours (I was in a hurry so I just left mine in the baking dish and they were easy to cut and remove when we had them a few hours later).

Remove the brownies from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into squares as desired. Store in an air-tight container. (I've never had brownies last long enough where I needed to store them in an air-tight container!)

I'm still waiting to hear back on the job. I'm not worried yet because the job only closed last Wednesday so I'm hoping I will hear from them by this Wednesday and if not, I will call and ask if there is anything else I can provide them with to help make their decision easier. I still really, really want this job!!

It's supposed to rain again over the next few days. I think it's rained for about 12-14 of the 17 days I've been here so far! If it's not raining, I'll get my walks in (though they aren't as nice without my Dad to walk with) and I've got lots of good things on the menu for Boyfriend and I for dinner this week so I'll be busy every night in the kitchen: Mu shoo Chicken, Roasted Chicken and Mashed Potatoes, Fajitas, Spring Rolls, and something else that I can't think of off the top of my head but is asian inspired.

Hope you all have had/are having a nice weekend. Enjoy that summer weather everyone in the Northern Hemisphere; I'm down here super jealous of you!

Took My Chances on a Big Jet Plane

So....Surprise! I'm back in Aus! This has actually been in the works for about 3 weeks now (I finally got all of my paperwork sent in to the Embassy, got and passed my phone interview, celebrated Mother's Day with my family, and then booked my tickets down here), but we wanted to surprise our friends and Boyfriend's family so we've been keeping it a secret.

I arrived at 6am on Thursday morning after an empty and uneventful flight and stayed the night at Crowne Plaza Darling Harbour. Luckily, they had a good rate going for the night because I find staying at nicer hotels when I first arrive, they are more apt to let me in to a room as soon as I arrive, which is what happened when I walked in the door there at 8am. After having a nap, I walked down and met Boyfriend for lunch near his work. It was so good to see him again and of course he teased me for being awkward and nervous on seeing him again. I then sat along the harbor for a while and watched a guy catch 3 fish in not more than 15 minutes before going back to the hotel to sleep some more. Boyfriend came to the hotel after work, got changed and took me out for a special dinner to one of our most favorite restaurants- Malaya. At about 8:30 (0r 3:30 am CA time) I was ready to pass out. The next morning we got up, hit Starbucks, then walked the length of the harbor down to Boyfriend's work. I spent the day shopping at a little asian grocery store and in the fruit and veggie section of Paddy's Market, loading myself down with even more stuff to try and lug on the train with us later! I also brought Boyfriend the other half of my lunch and found a Medicare office to sign up for the free healthcare I am now entitled to. Overall, doing all that walking back and forth across the city, I did about 18,500 steps for the day...over 9 miles! Friday night I was exhausted by the time we made it back to our house on the Coast.

Saturday, I was wide awake from 5am so I started unpacking all of my luggage while Boyfriend slept. We then went to visit his Grandpa and bring him some American souvenirs. Arushed fter that we rushed to the grocery stores because Boyfriend had invited our friends over for a barbecue that afternoon. When they arrived, I stayed hidden in our room for 15-20 minutes and I heard the Teacher and the Hairdresser ask Boyfriend if there was any word on when I was coming back. Once they all got settled and weren't expecting it, I jumped in to the doorway and they all looked at me stunned for a few seconds processing that I was actually there. I think I yelled, "Surprise!" before everyone jumped up to hug me...only the Teacher had hypothesized a few days earlier that I might be in town. It was a really fun night, with much to celebrate- my return, our engagement, and I finally got to meet the Hairdresser and Soccer Player's baby and he is gorgeous! We even discussed the possibility of having our wedding in California because our friends said they'd love to have the excuse of a wedding to come out and finally see some of the U.S. It is all so exciting to think about and the boys are really pumped to come over and buy guns (OMG!) and start hunting raccoons, haha!

After we ate and the baby was asleep, we sat outside around our barrel fire. We weren't super loud, as there were only 6 of us (the other part of the group was at a motocross thing) and our fire wasn't particularly raging, when we heard fire trucks in the distance. They got closer and closer and we said, "Imagine if it was for our fire" when 2 fire engines and a police car pulled up in front of our house! When the boys went out to meet them, the firemen asked if they were at the right house because they couldn't see our fire, but someone had called 000 (the Aus version of 911) to report it. They came in to the backyard, took one look at it, and left. I just wonder which neighbor a) could see it to begin with and b) called emergency services without coming over to check it out up close? As I said, we weren't too loud because there wasn't a lot of us and we had a baby inside sleeping and it was only about 9:30 so I don't think we were bothering anyone. Oh well, it added even more excitement to the night!

Anyway, I am really missing my family, but it has been nice to be back with Boyfriend and to see my friends after so long. Later today, L.C., Lo, and Bob Marley are stopping in for a visit then we have Sunday dinner at Nan and Pop's and they nor any of the aunts, uncles, or cousins know I'm back so it'll be another fun surprise!

Tomorrow, I join the real world again and begin the job hunt.

Get the Party Started

Saturday morning I got up and got to work on the Oreo truffles (see the link in the earlier post for the recipe) and clean the house. Our friends started arriving at 6 and so did the rain showers! Not good when you're trying to have an outdoor party with a fire, but luckily it wasn't hard rain and it was off and on so we were still able to sit out for most of the night. Everyone brought something (starters, garlic bread, and salad) and that was a big help. I finally got dinner done at about 8 and noticed that Bob, Boyfriend's brother, and 5 of his cousins who had RSVP'd hadn't shown up yet. I got Boyfriend to message everyone and Bob said he had honestly forgotten and couldn't come over then because he was too drunk to drive after being at the races all day. We never heard back from the cousins and still haven't a few days later. My feelings are/were a bit hurt and I thought it was rude and lazy of them to not at least call or message with an excuse as to why they weren't coming. I wasn't making hot dogs or anything, either. I made three different types of pasta and made double what I would've made had only our friends RSVP'd, but the cousins said for sure they'd be there when we messaged on our way to buy food. I tried not to let the rudeness ruin my night and I sent all the leftover dinner and dessert home with our friends so it turned out ok in the end. It wasn't a rager of a party or anything, but just a nice night hanging with the friends one last time before I left. The Runner caught me plating things up and told me to sit down and relax and I wish I would've listened to her because later in the night I was cleaning up some more and doing dishes when I realized "Hey, I'm not going to see these guys for nearly 4 months, the dishes can wait, go out and hang out with them" so I did. Peter the Possum was super curious about the fire and party and kept sitting in the branches above our heads all night watching what was going on. When he would get tired of watching from one angle he would run across the yard and up in to another tree or in to the garage. Everyone said how big he was and how I must be making him obese by feeding him Pop Tarts. The night ended with the Soccer Player giving me a hard time for my post 5 months ago about our Sing Star Party night and how I had said we were both really bad singers and fairly evenly matched in badness so I got out the laptop and updated that post to say something like "The Soccer Player wanted me to say that he kicked my ass at Sing Star and is a way better singer than I am" and that seemed to satisfy him. He then proceeded to show us his new dance move called "The Leach". We got video of it so hopefully we can upload it to YouTube soon and post the video on here and make the Soccer Player an internet sensation.

I'm really going to miss hanging out with these guys while I'm away...

Party Like a Rockstar

Boyfriend, like me, is an energy drink FREAK. For awhile there, he was having 2 a day everyday, but then when he went in for his scuba course's doctor's examination he learned he has slightly high blood pressure and figured 2 energy drinks a day weren't helping that. And I was just as bad; I used to drink between 1-2 sugar free Rockstars everyday while working at the surfshop. When I moved out here I was disappointed in the taste, variety, and size of the energy drinks available. We went to this one concert series called "Rockstar Presents the Taste of Chaos Tour" in Sydney the first year after I moved here and we were all excited to have some Rockstar at the show because if they were sponsoring it, they must also be selling their product at the show, right? Wrong!

After visiting California for the first time, Boyfriend was blown away by the variety of energy drinks we carried....Rockstar, Monster, Lost...and the flavors...punch, cola, random, different coffee flavors, that it was a let down to rely on "V" and RedBull once we got back here. Last year we noticed Coles was finally carrying RockStars: my favorite the sugar free, the regular and a juice one. We went nuts at first and bought one for everyday of the week. Those were what Boyfriend had been drinking 2x daily when he had to slow down for fear of a heart attack.

Just yesterday we went to our local Coles which is pretty small and known for its lack of variety when Boyfriend started pointing at an endcap. There were cans of Monster Energy Drink! We went down the soda aisle and there was the regular, sugar free, and then two other flavors that I didn't recognize...an orange one and a yellow one I think. Anyway, we immediately loaded up our basket with about $15 worth of energy drinks. Boyfriend said he had been waiting for this moment to start drinking energy drinks again. I had my sugar free one at the family bbq last night and it was like sweet heaven on my lips!

Haha, anyway, a dumb thing to post about, I know, but just thought I'd let other energy drink aficionados out there know that Monster is in Australia now and there is something totally comforting about seeing a familiar product on the shelves here.

My Country Tis of Thee

So it's 4th of July...a day where if I was back home, I'd be bbqing, drinking, hanging out at the beach, lighting sparklers and watching really awesome firework displays. Instead, Boyfriend and I celebrated the day by hanging out in doors mostly because it was just so darn freezing around here. We did make it out just before sunset to feed the ducks and walk along the lake before finding a nice bench along the water to sit and watch the sunset. We didn't even have anything traditional this year for dinner or dessert...we had Thai food. Last year I at least made us all strawberry shortcake for dessert, but this year I didn't have the money for all the ingredients and just didn't feel like it. I guess this posting will be an ode to all things American I'm missing on this day.

I'm missing warm summer weather. I'm missing the smell of hot dogs (not snags) and hamburgers grilling on the bbq. I'm missing our annoying radio djs playing marathons of the greatest classic rock songs. I'm missing seeing people running around in american flag bikinis or those $5 4th of July shirts that Old Navy brings out every year (so white trash, yet so American). I am missing seeing our flag flying in general. I'm missing Taco Bell and Carl's Jr and In-N-Out and Rubios and Pick-Up Stix. I'm missing good sushi rolls. I miss Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Cheese-its. I miss being able to ask for a lemonade and being brought lemon, water, and sugar rather than a Sprite. I miss cake mix that costs $1 on special rather than $4. I miss choice at the grocery store. I'm missing being able to use coupons at the grocery store so I can shop for everything I need for a reasonable price. I miss Trader Joe's and Safeway. I miss having a car to drive around in. I miss the sounds of the sea lions barking at the warf. I miss the view from my parents' deck. I miss the lemon tree in the back yard and the deep jacuzzi to soak in. I miss the smell of the chapparal and sea air mixing together. I miss the scary sound of the coyotes at night and the soothing sound of the owls calling to each other. But most of all I miss my family. I miss the teasing I received from my Dad and Nae. I miss my Mom nagging me to get my butt out of bed and go with her on a beach walk. I miss dinners with them. I miss going to farmers' markets with them. I miss just hanging out and talking their ears off. I miss being able to see them face to face. I miss laying in bed with them and watching tv. I miss cooking for them. I miss them PERIOD (not full stop like they say here, period, damnit)!

Mom's birthday is this week, too, and Nae's is exactly a month after. I hate missing their birthdays. I've sent them presents, but wish I could be there with them on their special days. I haven't seen them in about 5 months now and if all goes to plan, I won't be seeing them for another 5 months. That is a really sad pill to swallow, but it's not all doom and gloom. I'm here with Boyfriend and I've got wonderful friends here to see me through my down days. I've just got to think positively and be thankful for the things I do have in my life right now.

Just as an update from around here, too: LC is more than a week overdue now and will be induced on Sunday afternoon/Monday morning and I am bursting with excitement to meet her baby! Even seeing her belly all the time, I still don't feel like the baby is real so it will be so different when she is finally here. I'm praying for LC, Bob Marley, and the Baby that they have a safe, healthy, and speedy delivery. I'm wondering what I will call the baby on here...I'm thinking "Lo" as she is LC's sidekick on The Hills (where I get the LC from, as me and LC love that trash and is one of the things we first bonded over)?

To A Party

S’s birthday is coming up. He’s going to be 26. I have no idea what to get him, he has no idea what he wants. Normally we don’t get each other stuff. We go on adventures instead and they always turn out really fun. It’s less than a week before his birthday and I still have no idea if he wants stuff or an adventure. I’m letting him tell me what he wants this year because normally I just plan something and surprise him.
I think I already mentioned, last year I got him a surf lesson and a 4 wheel drive trip. The year before that we rented surf boards at Manly and just played around in the whitewash. Then we stayed in Sydney for the night at a hotel I thought was going to be nice, but was not at all. Then the next day we went and got facials and massages at an area of Sydney I thought was going to be nice, but wasn’t. At least the hotel where the spa was was nice and we still had a great weekend, anyway.
The year before that I found out that you could spend the night at the zoo and they’d give you behind the scene tours of the place. It was a pretty cold night, but it was an unforgettable experience. You show up and you are let in to this courtyard where they have tents all set up and a big picnic table. They provide dinner and it was bbq chicken and stuff, plus there was beer and wine. As you eat, they brought around a wombat and some other animals for everyone to pet. After dinner, we went on a night tour of the zoo. The views over to Sydney were stunning. When we got back, it was time for dessert and then bed. It was fairly cold and uncomfortable in the tent. If I remember correctly, S and I giggled cause we could hear someone in another tent snoring, but we managed to get some sleep. At about 6:45 you are woken up for breakfast. Then they brought out a koala and you could pat it and get your picture taken with it. Following that, we got to go back in to the animal area and see all of the animals waking up and being fed before the zoo was open to the public. We got to go in to the giraffe exhibit while they were still in their barn and feed them carrots for breakfast. There was one that S and I just had to feed, she was old and blind so she’d just come to the door, lower her head down and stick her tongue out waiting for someone to place a carrot in her mouth! Giraffe’s have huge, long purple tongues. She looked hilarious and drunk. It was so funny to watch her. Next, we were taken in to one of the kitchens and shown how and what they prepare for some of the animals to eat. After that, our tour was over but then we stayed at the zoo for the whole day checking out all the places we had missed on the tour or had only stopped briefly on and wanted to see more of. When we were ready to leave, we hopped in a sky bucket thing that takes you over some of the enclosures and gives another great view of Sydney and the Harbour and down to the ferry building. We do pretty fun stuff.
S and I are thinking we’ll have a backyard barbeque for him once Croc and the Teacher get back from their honeymoon. Only LC and Bob Marley have seen the house so it’ll be good to have everyone over. My backyard is huge so people can camp out back if they want and if not, at least we have a big space for people to hang out in. S’s parents have a bum fire can at their house that we can hopefully bring over. S hates that I call it a bum fire, but it’s exactly what it sounds like. Well, wait, you’re bum doesn’t catch on fire, so maybe not. But you know how in movies there are homeless people who are always standing around a trashcan that has it’s trash lit on fire? That’s what this is, an old, metal trash can that we throw some logs in and light up. So we stand around when it gets cold warming our hands, like bums in the movies do.
It’ll be for S’s birthday and it’ll be a BBQ but I’m hoping S agrees that it doesn’t have to be a proper Aussie BBQ. I hate proper Aussie BBQ’s. Here’s why, I thought Australia was known for it’s barbeque….Put another shrimp on the barbie and all that (which by the way, wrong, they call them prawns not shrimp) but they are soooo uncreative in their barbeques. We do it way better in America. If you are invited to an Aussie BBQ you will find 1) snags, sausages, and not good ones like you’d get back home, not even as good as cardboard, they taste funny and they are mostly made of breadcrumbs 2) rolls of bread with butter, they have hot dog buns here but no one uses them 3) An aussie salad- iceberg, tomato, tasty cheese, cucumber, and some onion 4) maybe pasta salad or a potato bake or some rissoles (like really gross homemade hamburgers or something). I could pretty much guarantee 99% if you were going to a bbq here that’s what you would get. Not steak or ribs or chicken or hamburgers or hot dogs or shish kabobs or any of the variety of stuff you’d get in California. I’m not a huge fan and we have A LOT of bbq’s in our group. I just normally try to bring something for myself, I don’t mind the bread or salad or whatever, but the meat really kills me. So I’m hoping S will let me do simple appetizers, hamburgers and chicken burgers with potato chips, and aussie salad for dinner, and cupcakes and marshmallows to roast on the fire for dessert. The group seemed to love the Mexican food and whatever else I made at the last party so hopefully they will like this, as well.