Open Up the Tired Eyes

View from our table at our favorite restaurant

Well, I did it!  I got the job!  I start in about 2 weeks.  They pulled some strings and were able to get me all the leave I need off for the wedding and everything.  Although it's a substantial pay cut, I think this job will bring me more satisfaction and happiness and I'll finally put that degree I got to some use.  Plus, I hope that this job will start me on a great career path and it's the type of job that I could do anywhere in the world through any university, which is part of the reason I chose teaching in the first place.

I've taken a sick day today because I woke up with a headache and my ears have really been bothering me lately.  I'm going to the doctor's later today to have them check my ears and discuss an ongoing issue I've been having:  for the past 3-4 years a few days a month I get really nauseous or have other unpleasant stomach issues and up until now the few doctors I have seen have said it was probably a gluten allergy.  When I cut gluten out, my life wasn't magically transformed.  And believe me, I know it would've been since my Mom cut gluten at the same time I did and her stomach issues have all disappeared.  After telling some friends about my symptoms, two suggested it might be this other problem that is fairly common in women.  I'm hoping when I speak to the doctor today and suggest that this might be the cause of my problems, they will refer me on to the right person and I can finally get to the bottom of this. I wish I was the type of person who could just "chuck a sickie" but I have so many days off where I'm actually sick that there are never very many days left over to use because I just want to lay in bed and watch Revenge all day.  (P.S. Are you guys watching Revenge?  I know it's cheesy and girly, but I'm totally sucked in!)

I'm hoping that I'll be able to schedule in an appointment next week for a skin cancer check, too, since they also offer that service at the medical center I'm going to this afternoon.  I've never had one done and with my Mom's history of having skin cancers removed, my love of bronzing, and the intense Aussie sun, they'll probably find more than a few things to cut off of me.  I just hope they don't find anything serious.  MOTH has a few sketchy looking freckles and moles that I've been on him for forever to have looked at so hopefully my appointment will motivate him to get it done soon.

Speaking of my MOTH...the big man turns the big 2-9 on Saturday.  Tomorrow we are going out to dinner with his parents and his brother to our favorite restaurant on the water (see the picture at the top of the page).  Have I mentioned this place before?  To be honest, I'm too lazy to read back through my last few blog posts to see if I have so if I have, sorry for the repeat!  It's called Fisherman's Warf in Woy Woy.  The decor is really cute and beachy and laid back and the huge windows overlooking the water open out so I always spend at least 75% of our meals with my head hung over the rail looking in to the water below.  We've seen tons of fish, starfish, and a few stingrays while we've sat there eating.  Last time a momma duck came by with her 12 ducklings and we saw two sea eagles fly by.  They also serve fish, chicken, veggie, and shrimp tacos.  I am obsessed with the shrimp ones.  The only thing they get wrong on them are they chop parsley to serve on top, not cilantro, other than that the whole place leaves me feeling like I'm in California having dinner.

Saturday night for his actual birthday, we are going out for teppenyaki with some friends and then probably hitting the bar for St. Patty's day festivities...I don't like beer, but I've never had green beer, and while I know it's just food coloring added to normal beer, I want to try one anyway!

Sunday, we are headed down to this fake Crate and Barrel place: Wheel and Barrow to do a mini wedding registry.  We weren't going to register anywhere since a) lots of our guests are doing serious travelling to come to our wedding so we weren't expecting gifts anyway and b)we didn't know where to register at for the people who may want to get us something since the wedding is in California, but we'd have to bring it back here to Aus with us.  This place looks good since it is just like Crate and Barrel and they let you register in store and then people can look at your registry online and buy stuff and they accept American credit cards.    We are then hopefully meeting up with one of MOTH's cousins and her husband for dinner in the City that night.  She loves all things wedding and has actually become a wedding officiant and we'd like to ask her if she'd do a reading at our wedding;  I hope she'll say yes!

Speaking of wedding related stuff, we ordered our invites over the weekend and approved the proof yesterday.  Wedding Paper Divas was having a 30% off sale so we jumped on it.  We had had a certain design in mind for the last 6 months but when I went on to personalize it the other day, I came across this other design that caught my eye and when I showed it to MOTH he loved it and had such a gut reaction to it that we knew it was the one.  We're using the flowers on the invite as our main wedding flower.  They are called craspedia or billy buttons/balls and they are an Aussie native.

We also put a deposit down on a house we are renting a few hours outside of Puerto Vallarta for a week for our honeymoon.  I can't wait to get there!

That's about all from here.  I thought for sure I'd posted the recipe for Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies before, but going through all my recipe posts, I haven't.  I know throwing Oreos in to chocolate chip cookies sounds like overkill, but believe me, it's not, no one has ever complained and I get requests to make them all the time.  Make sure you use dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips, though, so they aren't sickeningly sweet.  I'll be making them tonight for my workmates since one of the girls has put in a request for them.  I will also try and take some photos of the coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting I've just started making over the last few weeks since they are amazing (and I'm not even usually a coconut dessert loving girl) and my workmates have requested them 2 times since I originally made them a month ago along with the recipe I threw together for them some time next week (I'm trying to bake everyone's favorites before I leave).

If I have time this afternoon, I'm hoping I might finally get around to a blog post with links to all the recipes I've been loving lately, too.

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!

Happy Birthday to You

Today is my Mom's birthday- Happy Birthday Mom! A combination of bad weather here, summer there, missing loved ones' birthdays, and the 4th of July makes me miss home. It's hard to hear about all the fun I'm missing out on and all the changes that are happening at my parents' house- kitchen remodel, things that were planted in the garden while I was there are fruiting now, my sister is back living with them, and just the day-to-day stuff you don't think of while you're there.

I've got too much time on my hands to think about these things, though, and the crummy weather has been keeping me inside, rather than out on my walks. I still haven't heard back about the job, but know they are still contacting my references and waiting to analyze the results of my physical (great hearing, perfect vision, and yes, I can touch my toes, thank you very much! but surprisingly the urine sample I gave was only going to be analyzed for blood, protein, and sugar, not drugs as is normal for most jobs in the U.S. these days).

I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but I think I may have gotten one of the positions so once I start training full time I won't have time to sit around and be sad. We also seem to have a really full rest of the month in terms of our weekends. Lo turned 1 on the 6th and tomorrow we are all getting together to celebrate her birthday. I know LC has been running around like crazy organizing and cleaning for the party for the past few months so I'm sure she'll be excited when tomorrow is finally here. Next weekend won't be busy for me, but MOTH Dude is flying up to Queensland for his cousin's wedding. I was invited, but we didn't know what my job situation or our money situation would be like when it was time to book the tickets so I opted to not go. Plus, once again, I'm a princess and I might have had to sleep on the floor for a few nights and I just can't handle it, and no one else in the family was getting a hotel room so it would've looked weird if we had. Lastly, the weekend after that we are celebrating Christmas in July with all of our friends over at The Soccer Player and the Hairdresser's place and it'll be fun to come up with a few recipes to try out for then.

August and September we don't have a lot planned for yet, but there is Nae's birthday to buy for and both of MOTH's parents have birthdays then, as well as Australian Father's Day so I'm sure we'll be kept busy with those events.

I'm also pretty excited because we are going to have our engagement party in October and MOTH Dude has agreed that a luau sounds like a fun party to throw (thanks for the suggestion LC!). I've already found a bunch of recipes that I'd like to make and Croc made the suggestion last night that we should turn part of our backyard in to a beach since MOTH's uncle can get us sand for really cheap. It sounds fun and crazy, although, I'm not sure if it's a good idea since we've been having trouble with a cat in our yard and wouldn't want our sand to turn in to a giant cat box.....yuck!

After writing all of our plans out, I've actually cheered myself up a bit. I'm missing out on things back home, but it's nice to have friends here who keep us busy and with plans of our own.

Hello, I Love You, Won't You Tell Me Your Name

The Hairdresser and the Soccer Player finally had their baby! He was born on Dec. 31st and weighed in at 7lbs 1 oz. I've heard from the Hairdresser and she is doing alright and that the baby is beautiful. LC says he looks like the Soccer Player and has feet already as big at baby Lo's, who is 6 months old now. I'm so excited for them and can't wait to meet the little guy. Welcome to the world baby CJ!

And a Happy New Year

We are in San Francisco with our friends Bun and Markie, her boyfriend. We spent the first few minutes of 2010 under the Bay Bridge watching the fireworks and then we walked in to the bar you can see in the bottom right of the picture. It was called the Hi Dive and it's a total divey, neighborhood bar. It was the perfect place to ring in the new year. We also ordered Chinese earlier in the night and had it delivered because none of us had ever done that and it seems like something you always see them do in movies when the characters live in a big city.

We've walked around AT&T Park (home of the Giants), went to the highest point in the city to look out over the Bay, explored the zoo, and ate down near Fisherman's Warf. All in all, a very fun couple of days! We leave in the morning, Bun and Markie, back to Orange County and me and Boyfriend back to Santa Cruz to celebrate Dad's birthday. We are also headed out with Nae to a concert tomorrow night. Then Monday we are making a quick trip down to Orange County to see a few of Boyfriend's friends who are coming out from Utah (they are Aussies, working as ski instructors for the season there).

I'm exhausted! I feel like I need a few days to recuperate from all the fun and exciting things we've been getting up to.

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)?

Celebrate Good Times!

On Thursday night Boyfriend got a text from the Hairdresser and the Soccer Player saying "Dinner at our place tomorrow night, 7pm, attendance is mandatory" So last night we arrived and LC, Bob Marley, Croc, and the Teacher were already there. The Hairdresser announced that she was going to be having a baby!!! Yay!

It is like baby mania around here these days: Junior's 1st birthday party is on Monday (it's the Queen's Birthday Long Weekend here), LC is due on the 26th of this month but is considered full term as of yesterday and could pop at any moment, and now the Hairdresser and the Soccer Player will have a new baby around Christmas time!

So exciting and so much to be thankful for!

Stars Are Blind

I got back to Australia and had been lucky to meet a blind guy at my bus stop before I left. I say lucky because he happened to live in my building and happened to have a room for rent when I needed it. I had no idea what it was going to be living with someone who was blind, but I shouldn’t have worried. Benny Boy is an amazing guy. He gets through life better than I do. He’s got a rockin social life, makes his way around town to the gym nearly everyday and has a fulltime job. It probably sounds naïve, I just didn’t know blind people could be so self-sufficient. He made being blind look easy! We became friends over the course of the year, but I drove him nuts because I wasn’t as tidy as he is. The guy is a neat freak, but I guess you would be, too, if you couldn’t see if you were about to touch something gross on the counter or trip over something someone had left laying around. He had a psycho girlfriend for part of the time I was there and that was interesting. He dumped her and she went crazier! His friend, another S, from work is like the sassiest guy alive and I loved listening to him talk. It was great living with a blind guy cause I could walk around naked or semi-naked and not have to worry about him catching an eyeful. The only other problem I had living there was this time I didn’t have the ensuite room, I at least still had a bathroom to myself, but it was the bathroom across the hall, so I always had to time going to the bathroom when Benny Boy was away. I know it’s not normal, I know I’m a freak, S and my family and my friends tell me all the time. I just can’t help it.
S and I had a fun year. We went horseback riding and did some cave exploring in the Blue Mountains for my birthday. We stopped in Penrith for Pizza Hut and ate it in the parking lot and this has become known as our “spot” It’s a big joke though as Penrith is a few hours from here and one of the biggest holes in the world. But when we are stressed I say, “Hey S, let’s hit up our spot” We haven’t gone back yet.
S’s birthday is right after mine and I got him a surf lesson since he had so much fun in Kauai doing it and then we went for a 4 wheel drive trip around the Stockton Dunes. Our driver said he’s seen Great White Sharks from his car in the surf line there. We saw some kind of big eagle on one of the dunes and we got to go sand boarding. It’s like snowboarding, but on your butt and on sand rather than snow, and then you have to hike all the way back up the dune yourself.
We also did a 2 night trip to Hawk’s Nest, in Port Stephens, and that was a nice, relaxing time away. It was getting to be winter so hardly anyone was there. We just went for long walks on the beach and ate good food and chilled out. It was good to get away as S is always stressed about work and I was stressing about the next 6 months and doing internship, interviews, and senior projects, as well as a mini senior thesis.