From Here to Infirmary

It's been a pretty eventful week.  We met the favorite cousin and her husband in the City last Sunday, even though they weren't feeling so great and we had a really nice catch up dinner with them.  Monday MOTH worked from home as he had pulled something in his shoulder/back and couldn't face the train commute.  I went back to the doctor that day for a skin cancer check and because I still had a headache.  My head hurt so bad on Friday at MOTH's birthday dinner, that I was actually sick in the bathroom...not cool!  I had taken two rounds of codeine pain killers and not even they could kill the headache.  The doctor on Monday said that this was normal and wouldn't even prescribe me real migraine medicine.  He is obviously a dud and I won't be going back to him!  I swear doctor's here act like I'm some hysterical woman when I go in to see them, but I don't think constant nausea, stomach cramps and other issues, vomiting and headaches are normal.

The last week of work flew by and I was trying to soak it all up.  I didn't have any nasty customers or any really difficult situations so that was a nice way to end things on.  I just tried to spend as much time as possible with my team mates and luckily we had a few minutes available time between most calls to be able to chat.

Thursday after work I packed for our trip to Wollongong.  The plan was I'd have my last day of work and be off at 2 and then I'd drive down to Neutral Bay, pick MOTH up around 4-4:30 and we'd head down from there.  I had booked us in to two different hotels (both were booked out for one of the weekend nights) and had looked up activities nearby (blow hole, stand up paddleboarding) as well as a bunch of places that were breakfast and dinner potentials.  I'm sure I've mentioned this previously, but in the 7 years I've lived here, I've still never made it south of Sydney and I was really excited to be heading out of town (a birthday gift to us from my parents).

MOTH got home around 9pm Thursday night and he was complaining because his thumb was infected and really sore.  He had asked me to grab him epsom salt so he could soak it and he did but it didn't provide any relief.  I was getting frustrated as it was now nearly 10:30 and he still hadn't packed or done the dishes.  He decided to cut his finger to try and relieve the pressure but it didn't and nothing came out but blood.  After he stopped bleeding, I told him I'd do the dishes and he started packing.  We finally made it in to bed and for the next hour and a half neither of us slept-MOTH because he was in so much pain that even the sheet brushing against his thumb was excruciating and me because MOTH kept tossing and turning.  He got out of bed and started wandering back and forth through the house.  I suggested he try and soak his finger again.  He said the pain was getting too much to handle so I called this nurse on call hotline and the recommended we go to the ER.  After waiting for about 3 hours (there were hardly any other patients there so don't know what took that long, but anyway) they finally drew some blood to make sure the infection hadn't spread, looked at the finger, gave him a shot of antibiotics and sent us home with a prescription for more antibiotics and some codeine.  I emailed my manager at 6:15am when we finally got home and advised that I would be late for my last day of work and actually needed to take it as a sick day, but I knew my team was doing something for me and I didn't want to miss it.

At a few minutes to 9, I woke up as I heard MOTH go out to our car and come back in.  I called out to him to see what was up.  When he called back to me, I could tell he was in tears and that really freaked me out. He said the codeine was only helping for about an hour and his whole hand felt like he was resting it on a hot plate and the pain was now radiating up towards his elbow.  I didn't want to wait in the ER again so I tried calling some local medical centers to see if they could get him in, they couldn't.  I called his Mom at work and she said go back to the ER and she'd meet us there.  I called my manager and told her I had to miss my last day completely and I started crying and asked her to apologize to my team if they had gone to any effort for me and that I was really sorry I couldn't be there.  She said they'd understand and to just focus on MOTH.

We got to the ER, about a 3 minute drive from our house, and the parking lot was packed and the entrance was swamped with people in suits.  I saw someone holding a sign for one of the local politicians and said to MOTH, "Oh great, so actual patients have to hike a mile to the hospital because some local politicians is here to make an announcement about something."  We did end up having to hike about a half mile away and at the bottom of a hill, luckily MOTH was able to walk it.  We found out it was actual the prime minister who was visiting the hospital and announcing that there were plans to build a new cancer center there.  Had I seen her, I would've recommended to her that she also add a new parking structure to her budget, haha!

This time we were called back within 20 minutes of waiting, which was good because I don't know that MOTH could've waited another 3 hours to see someone this time around.  The doctor decided they needed to cut his finger deeper to get to the infection and that they would also put in and keep in an iv port on the back of his hand and over the next few days we'd need to come in everyday to get an iv drip so Wollongong was out.  We were both really disappointed but focused on getting him better.  They gave him a local shot to numb the thumb and a morphine pill, even still his Mom and I heard MOTH screaming from across the hall; poor guy.  Shortly after that, he was feeling much better and said his hand was only slightly throbbing.  We came home and MOTH slept until the next morning, only waking for an hour to eat dinner and check in with his parents.

I did manage to get back in to work on Monday to say good bye to everyone and to clean out my drawer and hand in my swipe key.  I was pretty sad to be leaving, not the job but the people there (and the pay!).  I got lots of hugs and my team wrote the nicest messages on my good bye card.  They also got me a bunch of stylish office supplies I can use at my new job which was really thoughtful of them.

It'll be weird going from a team of 16 people, in an office of about 100 people, to an office of 3-4 other people max, BUT I'm looking forward to it.  I'm nervous and excited and can't wait to see what the role is all about.  I haven't gotten official confirmation, but I'm tentatively due to start this Thursday.  I'm using these few days off to play Nurse D, sleep in, and run errands like getting my work pants hemmed so I look respectable at the new job and sending my passport off to be renewed.  Hopefully nothing more "exciting" happens between now and then.  Wish me luck for Thursday!

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.

Career Opportunities (The Clash)

So I'm back again and only with a day gap between posts-that hasn't happened in at least a year!

I'm hoping for your help;  I need some career advice.  Remember when I went for that dream job and I didn't get it?  Well, the most amazing thing happened yesterday.  The lady that I interviewed with back then sent me an email to let me know that that position had just become available again and that she encouraged me to have a look at the job posting again.  Not that that means it is a sure thing, but when does it ever happen that you put in for a job, don't get it, and then they contact you 6 months later suggesting that you try again for the job??  I'm really excited!

The help that I need from anyone reading this is:  I have to resubmit a cover letter and my resume.  What can I do to my cover letter to make it different from last time?  Do I just give a general overview of the last one to remind her why I am the best candidate for the job?  Do I change it completely and say different things?  (For background-the job is helping US students get settled in Australia in a uni program and fielding any questions they might have about life here, helping them get in to internships, showing them around the City, etc.  So on my last cover letter I spoke about the fact that I can relate to these students as I originally came out on a study abroad program myself, I faced and continue to face the same feelings of homesickness and of being foreign in a new country, that I have a teaching background, that I enjoy meeting and working with new people, and that I want to help make these students time here the best that it can be so they love Aus as much as I do).

I also did a mock up of a weekly newsletter that they send out to all of the students after my first interview- should I resubmit that?

Thanks in advance to anyone who has advice!

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!

Jai Ho

How awesome am I? I just made a Slum Dog Millionaire joke at a call center job interview and got a call back! I also was the only one or one of 2 in the group interview who had never worked at a call center before, woohoo!

Just Around the Corner There's Heartache.

Grrrrrr, f*ing grrrrr!

I just got a rejection letter from the university. I'm really upset. After having no luck finding a job last year here I thought coming across a job ad for an International Student Support Officer at my old university was serendipitous. I thought who better to help other international students than someone who has been one? Who better to help people work through their frustrations at being a foreigner in Australia than someone who still gets frustrated being a foreigner themselves? I guess the university didn't see that.

I'm embarrassed that I told everyone that I was going for this job because now they are all waiting to hear that I have gotten it and I haven't. What if Boyfriend's parents are right- "What if she never finds a job here?" My hope is feeling a little worn and I'm missing home right now and have visions of myself in some awesome job right now if only we were living there and not here.

Here's the thing, though- everyday is a choice. Today I'm going to choose to be sad and have a good cry about not getting the job I really wanted, but tomorrow crying and being sad isn't going to help me. Tomorrow I have to choose to move on, to put on my happy and determined face and start the search again. (Jesus, Allah, Buddha, and the Rainbow Serpent give me the strength to put on that happy face tomorrow, I'm gonna need it!)

You Can Have the Best of Me

I got up with Boyfriend at 5:15 this morning...man, I had forgotten how early 5:15 is! Only a couple of weeks ago I was getting up on my own at that time while I was adjusting to being back in the time zone, but this morning it was a definite struggle and man, oh man, was it cold! I took a train and then a bus out to my old university and had over an hour to kill so I did some wandering around. I also went to check in at the graduation office to ask them how I go about getting my diploma (a year late, but minor details). Apparently it had been mailed over last May to my parents' new address, but we never received it so they are looking in to it for me.

Soon enough it was time to head to the HR Department and do the interview. It was held on the Aussie 1st floor (but what I would call the 2nd floor) and it was sweltering in the waiting room. I thought maybe it was just me, sweating bullets, nervous about the task at hand, but then I overheard a few ladies walking by commenting on the heat, as well, and felt better. Luckily, when the main interviewer came to get me she assured me the interview room was much cooler and it was, though when I stood up after the interview I was sweaty behind my knees from being nervous!

I think the interview went fairly well. All three of the interviewers were really nice and gave reassuring smiles and head nods as I spoke so that made me feel more comfortable, too. I don't know if all of my answers dazzled them, but I did my best and answered truthfully and tried to dazzle them with my personality because I figure in a customer support role like that, that will be a deciding factor. As you always do after an interview, I analyzed every thing I had said and realized there were a few things I had wished I had added, but hadn't so when I sent my thank you email to them this afternoon I added those two clarifications. I've never sent a thank you note after an interview, but I have read a lot recently about what a good idea they are. If nothing else, if they hadn't seen my enthusiasm in the interview, they could see it in my follow through. They ended the meeting by saying they had a bunch of candidates to interview today (yikes!) and that tomorrow they would check our references and that I could expect to hear back later in the week or more likely, early next week. I'll be anxiously waiting it out and trying to think positively until I know. This job would do a lot to help me finally, finally feel settled here- I've got the family unit, I've got a little house we're settled in to, now all I need is a job like every other person my age has and I'll feel normal. Keep those fingers and toes crossed for me!

After I left Newcastle, L.C. and Lo came and picked me up from the train station since I can't get a car until I have a job (and getting a job would be easier I think if I had a car to easily get me wherever I needed to go, but oh well, that's how it goes I guess) and we went out to lunch at our local club. Getting to catch up with L.C. over good food and seeing little Lo's cheeky, smiling face was the perfect way to destress after the interview so thanks girls! And I seriously don't know how Boyfriend functions-getting up at 5am, not getting home til after 8pm- because after I got dropped off, I checked emails, sent the thank you email and then was out cold for about 2 hours! Haha, I'm in for a rude awakening when I get a job and can't sleep off my early mornings in the middle of the day anymore!

And You'll Show Up for Work with a Smile You'll be Better and You'll be Smarter and More Grown Up...

Woooooooo! I got a call this morning telling me I had made the shortlist for the University job I really want! I'm going in for an interview on Monday so now I have plenty of time to psyche myself out/up for it ;) I'm obviously very excited and hope that you all will keep your fingers crossed for me.

I also had a phone interview with another company after sending them in my resume earlier in the day and it is nice to have a potential backup option, as well.

I've got some recipes I should post up soon (I might attempt to make donuts this afternoon!) and also some pictures from my walks over the past few days.

A New Hope

Image via http://www.indesignlive.com/articles/projects/mexicano-nuovo

I finished my resume earlier today and submitted it to the University for that job I mentioned last week as an International Student Support Officer. I am actually really, really excited about it and after I read over the job ad again I thought to myself, "Yep, this is it, this is the job for me" so I am hoping I get an interview for it and with any luck will get the position. Keep thinking positively for me. I am trying to and I am even starting to have dreams about myself in the position so hopefully my mind is giving me a sign, somehow, that it is meant to be. We are getting way ahead of ourselves (and I know I'll be majorly disappointed if I don't get this position) and have already thought about what we'd do with my paycheck (save for a house, wedding, and honeymoon, as well as emergencies) and try and continue just living off of Boyfriend's paycheck. It would be such a great thing to happen for us. Plus, I could really use the confidence boost after having such crappy luck finding a job last year.

Boyfriend and I saw Robin Hood this weekend; it was pretty good. I liked it; didn't love it, didn't hate it. I agree with the one reviewer who Russell Crowe got mad at for saying his accent sounded Irish at times. The other big excitement from the weekend was that we went down to our local mall and they now have a decent Mexican fast food place there called Mad Mex. We both had burritos, which at $9.90 are pretty steep if you're thinking in terms of American pricing, but not bad for here. I liked that they actually had black beans and their chicken was seasoned decently. They put a lot of rice in their burritos and it is plain tasting white rice and nothing special so I'd probably skip it next time. Boyfriend got 2 different kinds of Dos Equis beer and they were $7 but worth it he said. We also ended up scoring free churros and some really good hot fudge dipping sauce. I think we'll be eating a lot of Mad Mex from now on because it's only a little bit more expensive than going to KFC or McDonald's and a lot tastier! I also see that Mad Mex are selling franchises right now so maybe if the University job doesn't pan out I could get my parents to invest in a Mad Mex with me and put one in up near the University and all those American kids desperate for some somewhat authentic Mexican food.

Oh, Mexico....Baby's Hungry and the Money's All Gone

We've been eating very healthily around here for the past week and Dad and I have been trying to get our 10,000 steps in a day (he's been doing better than I have, sometimes getting as much as 16,000 a day, but I am at least doing 30 minutes of working out each day) and since I do the cooking around here, I also do the menu planning. One night I made fish tacos, another night I made lettuce wraps, and one night I did Mexican chicken and rice, which I had never made before and that turned out amazingly! Since I thought it turned out so well I wanted to share what I threw in to the pot with you in case you want something delicious, healthy and super cheap some night. (Skip to the bottom of the post if you could care less about the recipe because there is more news from me down there.)

Mexican Chicken and Rice

You will need:

4 Chicken Breasts

White Rice, I used what we had which was basmati...probably about 2 cups (I just dumped part of the bag in to the pot)

1.5 tablespoons of minced garlic

2 Large Chicken Stock Cubes...I used the Knorr brand which are bigger than stock cubes I've seen in Aus, so might need 3 if you don't have access to Knorr

3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil (this is approximate, I just dumped some in to the pan that I thought was right for the amount of garlic and onion I had)

3/4 of a brown or yellow onion

1/2 red bell pepper

A couple of shakes from No salt Mrs. Dash or whatever multipurpose seasoning you use for cooking

A couple of dashes of cracked black pepper

A 28 oz (794 g) can of tomatoes

Water, about half of the empty tomato can's worth

1/2 Can of Diced Green Chiles (I used Ortega Fire Roasted Chiles, these are mild), you could probably use fresh green chiles, just a lot less

Instructions:

1. Dice up your onion and red bell pepper fairly small.

2. Pour olive oil in to a large pot and start heating it up. Add garlic and onion and saute for about 2 minutes, you just want to sweat the onions, not get them brown.

3. Add the red bell pepper to the pot and saute them for a minute, before adding the green chiles and sauteing them for another minute.

4. Add the can of tomatoes, water, the stock cubes, and the spices and let cook to boiling for 5 minutes. Make sure you keep stirring the sauce so it doesn't burn on the bottom.

5. Add the chicken breasts whole to the sauce and turn down to simmer. Cook for approximately an hour and then try to shred the chicken breast with two forks in the pot. Let the sauce and chicken cook for another 30 minutes and then shred it further if you couldn't get the chicken to shred in to small pieces before.

6. At this point, you should have a lot of sauce in the pot still. Mine looked pretty watery. I was going to originally serve this as a stew over rice, but when I noticed how runny the sauce looked, I decided to pour the rice directly in to the pot and let it simmer for another 20 minutes.

7. After 20 minutes all the liquid should be absorbed and you should have a delicious pot of Mexican Chicken and Rice.

I was surprised how good this turned out. My Mom ate it for lunch and dinner the next day in San Francisco and called me raving about how good it was. I'm already craving it again so it's a good thing that I have all the ingredients in the cupboard still because we will be having this for dinner again this week at some point!

Still no ETA for when I'll be back in Australia, but Boyfriend and I have both been working on my visa stuff this week. Hopefully his stuff will arrive by Thursday next week and then I can send off all the paperwork to the Washington office on Friday and then fingers crossed that I have a quick turn around time for my visa being granted and can be back in Australia by April.

Tonight Boyfriend is headed down to Sydney with Bob Marley, the Miner, Croc, the Teacher, Tinkerbell, and the Farmer to see ACDC. I'm bummed that I am missing out because I think it would've been a really fun night with everyone, but I'm glad that my ticket could go to Bob Marley in my place.

Also, GREAT news: Boyfriend went in for an interview this week and he got the job!!! Woohoo! He is really excited about it and the company seems pretty cool: they are an engineering company who focus on building sustainably. I'm so happy for him and can't wait to hear all about his first days there.

C is for Cookie

Wahoo! I got a job! I'm working for a local cookie company. They have a storefront downtown and a second location, where I will be working, where they actually make the cookies and have their offices. I will be helping them with their holiday internet orders. I'm excited and the woman who hired me seems really nice and so is the admin so I think it'll be a great place to work. And you should smell the place...pure heaven! This will not be good for my diet as they sell cookies there, too!

It will be great to have some Christmas spending money and to have some money to take back to Australia with me and be able to contribute to our household once again.

I don't start work until after Thanksgiving, but when I do, I will have diet friendly cookie pictures up on the site.

Twinkle, Twinkle

I don't know if any of you guys got up to see the meteor shower the other night or not, but around here it was more like a meteor sprinkle than a shower! I mean I did end up seeing 11 shooting stars in the hour I was out, but I was thinking this would be what it was like: "Whoa! Whoa!..Whoa!...Whoa!" and this is what it was really like: "...Whoa......Whoa.....Man, it's cold....Whoa............................Whoa.....Have I already said how cold I am?..Whoa......Ok, time to go inside I can't feel my face anymore" A few of the ones I did see were pretty spectacular with big, streaking tales so it was still neat to see, I was just thinking that the sky was going to be dancing with shooting stars.

Anyway, I'm off to go get ready for my big day. Have I mentioned I've got 2 job interviews lined up for today? No? Well, I have 2 job interviews lined up for today and I'm excited and nervous. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Well We've Got the Land, But They've Got the View

Here are just a few shots from around the place. I really should have brought Boyfriend's camera over with me so the quality would be better on these, but I guess we'll just have to wait until next month when he's here for really sharp and clear photos.

This is the back of the house. We've got a fairly big saltwater system pool and the deepest jacuzzi I have ever been in. The big structure is obviously the main house which has a huge master suite upstairs, a big open living room and kitchen, and a half bath. Downstairs there is an office, another big bedroom, and a full bathroom, as well as some really big closets, a 2 car garage and a laundry/mudroom. The white low level building to the right is the poolhouse where I stay. It has a sitting area and a full bathroom downstairs and then the upstairs loft part has a bed. Below the poolhouse is the RV garage that my parents currently just keep boxes and stuff in. Out of picture to the right is my Mom's garden. She grew green beans and lettuce there this year, as well as tomatoes that didn't do well because the whole summer was foggy and they never got any sun. Directly behind me is this:

Although we are only steps from the beach, the land behind us is all agricultural area. Those fields are all heather fields and soon they will be a bright fuscia or orange color. The buildings you see are tons of different green houses holding the littlest of the heather plants. You can also see our pomegranate tree and one of two lemon trees we have. There is also a little lime tree back there that hasn't really taken off yet, but boy we sure do have lemons:

Year round you can go out to our one lemon tree and probably get about 50 lemons off at a time! It is so prolific. While I'm home I like to make fresh lemonade all the time and Nae makes lemon bars that my Mom, who normally has some pretty strong self control, goes nuts on.

That's the view around here for today. Not much else is happening. I'm still job hunting and turning in applications online everyday and have yet to hear back from any shops. Keep your fingers crossed for me because I really, really need a Christmas job and the money that comes with it.

Who Says You Can't Go Back, Been All Around the World and As a Matter of Fact There's Only One Place Left I Want To Go, Who Says You Can't Go Home

Friday, Mom and I spent the day hitting the shops on Market St. in San Francisco. I got a new shirt at Old Navy and a really cute beanie for $7 at H&M, it's one of those beret beanies that sit on the back of your head and I've been wanting one for about 3 years now. We also hit some expensive market and got supplies so that I could make the "Nicole Richie Chicken" for my parents. They both thought it was really good, too.

Saturday morning we got up and cleaned the apartment before making our way down south in to Santa Cruz. My Dad drives the 17 (a really winding highway that goes up over a mountain from San Jose in to Santa Cruz) like a maniac now that he has his fancy TT. We met up with Nae at Costco and ate a quick and ridiculously cheap lunch there. Nae then dragged me all over downtown Santa Cruz looking for pieces for her Old Greg Halloween costume. They had closed off the street and all these little kids were out trick-or-treating at the shops and there were some super cute costumes, like this one little boy who could barely walk who was dressed as a little chick and he toddled around and had the perfect body proportions so that he really did look like a 2 foot tall chick walking down the street!

If you haven't seen Old Greg and have no idea what I'm talking about, here is the video. It is a little rude and quite bizarre!

After we had all the pieces, we went back to her place where her roommate, the Camp Counselor, was out back drinking her favorite beverage of all time, Coors Light, and who gave me a big welcome back hug. I'm still trying to get her to come out and meet and marry Boyfriend's brother Bob because I think they are made for each other. We then headed out to Mom and Dad's house. It was as beautiful as I had remembered it and there were some new additions to the place that made it even nicer. The parents and Nae all had Halloween plans so I stayed in and had a mellow night of watching the World Series Game and Tool Academy 2.

Yesterday, Mom woke me up way too early and we went down to the beach with Dad and I made them do some bootcamp workout moves on the park benches. Mom wanted us to go down because she had seen a sick sealion on the shore and wanted to see if the rescue service she had called had come down to pick it up yet. As we walked up to it, there were these two tourist ladies circling it and taking its picture and nearly touching it. The poor thing was really agitated so Mom yelled at them to back off and finally they did. (Mom and Dad just got back from another walk down to the beach and said that the sea lion was gone so it either swam away or was picked up by the service, which is good because lots of times they just come up on shore and aren't rescued and die there.) After that, Mom was nice enough to take me to Target, where we got lots of bathroom/beauty supplies for me and some tacky Christmas earrings and brooches from the $1 section for all my friends back home for our Christmas in July party next year. Then we went to Trader Joe's and did the grocery shopping for the week. I was in heaven, but I tried not to go too overboard and kept in mind that I'm still on a diet until Boyfriend gets here. When we got home, Dad was gearing up to paint one of their patios and as it was gorgeous weather, I offered to help him.

Today I spent my morning applying to jobs in the area and figuring out how I get on to substitute teaching lists. I was told by one office that the list of subs is pretty long right now and it's near impossible to get work unless you know teachers who can recommend you. When I phoned another school district's offices they told me I might be able to get some work, but first I'd need to go get a TB test so I spent part of my afternoon down at the County Health Office getting the test done and I have to go back on Wednesday so they can look at it and tell me whether or not I am in the clear.

Tomorrow is supposed to be another gorgeous day around here- sunny and temps of about 80 so I think I will do my online job applications out by the pool and help Dad put another coat of paint on the patio. Life is good!

So I'm Sitting in the Classroom, I'm looking like a Zombie

This morning I slept in and I was just waking up when my phone rang at 9:30. I didn't recognize the number and I wasn't expecting any calls, but I picked it up anyway. On the other end was a lady from a service called "Casual Direct". It is a service you sign up for when you graduate saying what schools in your area you'd be willing to do substitute teaching days at. Now, they've had my info since last November and I've never gotten a call from them once before today so I was shocked. She asked if I could make it out to a school that morning. They had already been in session for nearly 30 minutes at that time and it'd take me at least another 30-45 to get dressed and get over there. At first I said, "No, I don't think I can," but then I changed my mind (and thought about how me and Boyfriend could use the $200-250 for 5 hours worth of work. Sidenote: are you U.S. subs and teachers totally mad that we make that much here? Last time I looked, in Santa Cruz you only make $85-$100 a day!) and decided "What the heck, let's do this!" So I scrambled to throw together clothes and make sure everything was ready in my substitute teaching kit I've had all year, but had no use for, and Boyfriend and I were out the door.

The kids were overwhelming and on their worse behavior. I had fun activities and bribes and prizes and it just did not matter. They were in 5/6th grade and too cool or something. It was a hard day, made even harder when for the last hour I was given a whole new group of 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders to do an art project with. The project was one they had already started and basically consisted of turning bits of foil in to a sculpture. The foil instead ended in balls being flung across the classroom! I got them to stop the project because they weren't doing anything anyway and wanted them to clean up and we were just going to do another activity I had up my sleeve, but getting them to clean up and be quiet was the mission from Hell. I have never yelled so much in my life. I was definitely glad when the day was over and all I could think about was, "Woohoo, money!" I was exhausted and dejected. I thought, "I can't do this again." I went up to the office to return the classroom key and sign out for the day when they asked me if I could do a half day on Monday. I said, "Sure!" At least I know what I'm in for this time. Next week's assignment consists of one hour on the other 5/6th grade mixed class and two hours on Kindergarten. Wish me luck and say a few prayers for me!

I Wonder What They're Doing (In Sydney Today)

Yesterday Boyfriend had a meeting with a recruitment agency down in Sydney and asked if I'd come down for the ride with him. I said sure and got excited because only the week before I had gotten a coupon for 30% off of lunch at Tony Roma's down near Darling Harbour (I think the area is technically called the King St. Warf area?) so we decided he'd do the meeting and then we'd go eat some ribs. Once his meeting was done we had about a 10 minute walk up to King's Cross Station and stopped at a convenience store to see if they had any Reese's products. They did and we got a standard back of peanut butter cups (i.e. 2 cups) for nearly $3! I couldn't believe it! While we were in the area, we decided we might as well stop in at Gomez y Guerrero and pick up another pack of tortillas in case we weren't back in the area for awhile. Then we hopped on a train to Town Hall to walk down to the restaurant.

I don't really eat red meat or pork, but when I was back home at Christmas time, my Mom and Nae made ribs one night and it smelled so good that I decided to try a bite. That bite turned in to 3 or 4 and I've had a craving for ribs ever since! Figuring I shouldn't push my luck too far with my stomach not being used to meat, I ordered the half slab of baby backs (in my Dad's opinion the only ribs worth getting and I certainly like how they taste) with french fries on the side. Boyfriend went for the full slab and while he techinically only got 3 ribs more than me, his were all a lot bigger and meatier than mine. He got his with mash potato and the cole slaw. The sides were all just "Meh"- the french fries were undercooked and cold, the mash doesn't come with any gravy or anything and is fairly bland, and I'm not a coleslaw person anyway, but their's looked pretty watery. But we weren't there for the sides, we were there for the ribs, and they were AMAZING! Haha! It was a really good lunch and if you're a local, I'd say to definitely sign up for the Tony Roma's website because you'll immediately get a coupon for a buy one get one 50% off meal and then quarterly they send out emails with good deals, like the coupon I got last week for 30% off lunch or 15% off dinner, Monday-Thursday.

Rather than walking back up George Street and just passed stores and businesses, I suggested that we go for a walk along Darling Harbour since it eventually ends down near China Town and a short walk from where we needed to get back to-Central Station. What a great idea that turned out to be! It was a beautiful and sunny day, with just enough heat to make walking comfortable. I always have to run to the side of the walk and peer into the water and yesterday the view was gorgeous-you could see down all the way to the bottom-probably 10-15 feet in some spots! We saw some fish and it was just pretty to see the seaweed swaying on the pier pilings underwater. There were also a bunch of tiny jellyfish swimming around and they looked so neat doing their funny, undulating little swim that they do. They were clear and seemed to be glowing from even far depths from just the little sunlight they could pick up from down there. Further down on the walk, the water was still clear below but on top there was lots of gunk. I thought maybe someone had chucked over the side or had let their bilge out, but as we saw more and more of it, I'm thinking it was an algae bloom. It was red and red algae blooms are neat because at night, if disturbed, they glow, but aren't cool as well because they are a neurotoxin to animals like dolphins.

I remembered that their was a Starbucks before you start walking in to China Town and got a craving just to go in to the place. Boyfriend said let's go pick something up so I got an ice tea and he got a Grande 4 espresso shot carmel macchiato...I think I'd have a heart attack! Then we continued on our walk and came across a mother duck with 9-10 little, fluffy babies swimming with her. I have been looking for ducks with chicks for the past couple of weeks, hoping I'd see some and know that spring was finally, nearly here and now I've seen them! They were so cute and darted across the water so quickly. You can see one little one has the cutest, tiniest wake behind it.

Directly behind the ducks was a huge ferris wheel, with completely closed in buckets. We contemplated going on it, but figured we should get going to our train, plus they set it up kind of dumb, the buckets face in towards the city, when I think they should've faced them so when you are at the top you are looking straight out over the Harbour. Oh well, it was still really big and

would be a fun ride.

After that stop, we figured we should hustle to the train and the gods were on our side because we made it on to an express train with about 4 minutes to spare! All in all it was an awesome day out in the City. Boyfriend has a couple of meetings next week with companies and other recruiters and I said, Ok, I'll come with you on Tuesday and we'll hit up our favorite spot Malaya, then Wednesday we can go back for Flying Fajita Sisters, then Thursday...Boyfriend just laughed and said let's wait til he technically has a job and money to spend...sensible that one!

Working It Out

How is it possible that I still don't have a job? I've put in my resume at a bunch of stores (grocery, clothing, discount) and emailed out resumes to schools for admin positions and I don't hear back about any of them. It's been two months since I went to all the local schools and put in my substitute teaching resumes and I still haven't gotten any calls to substitute teach. I think I should call them back and remind them of my existence and the fact that I live super close to the schools so they can call me late in the morning and I can still be there on time.

Anyway, because of not working, sometimes I get a little restless. It doesn't help the fact that it is freezing and raining outside. We all also know by now that I've got a bit of a sweet tooth. So what does one do on a boring, cold and rainy day when they are poor? They think about what they've got in the cupboard and how they can bake something fabulous out of those ingredients.

Today I bring you Microwave Chocolate Cake! (I know it doesn't look lovely in my picture, make fun of it all you want, but it's good and it only took 5 minutes to cook and you can't beat that can you?)

Mine wasn't as chocolatey as I like it so I will tweek the recipe down below and hopefully that will help you when you try and make it. I also added some Betty Crocker Vanilla frosting to mine and that could be why the cake didn't taste so sweet because that stuff is super sweet.

3/4 cup of flour

1/2 cup of sugar (I used brown cause it's what I had and it worked fine)

1/4 cup of oil

2 teaspoons of cocoa powder (I used this fairly unsugary italian style hot chocolate powder I had)

1 teaspoon of vanilla or vanilla essence

2 eggs

1/4 cup of water

1.5 Tablespoons of baking powder

(pinch of salt....that's what the recipe I based this off of said but I didn't use any salt and it was fine)

(2 big squirts of chocolate syrup or another tablespoon of hot chocolate to get that bigger chocolate cake--I didn't do this, but I will next time)

So mix your flour, sugar and baking powder together. Sift it if you want to be fancy, but I don't think it's necessary.

In another bowl, mix the cocoa, vanilla, water, and oil together til well blended.

Add the eggs to the flour mixture and combined well.

Pour in the liquid mixture and mix the wet and dry together til all of the liquid blends in to the dry stuff and it looks like a regular cake mix (my liquid sat on top for awhile, I really had to mix it through for it all to combine).

In a separate, large microwave safe bowl or dish, coat with oil or butter and pour the cake batter in. (Make sure the bowl is pretty big, as my cake started to spill over the sides a tiny bit when it rose.)

Put in microwave on high power for 5 minutes.

And that's it, after 5 minutes the top of the cake should feel spongey and that's how you'll know it's done.

Eat it as is or throw some frosting on it to make it even more cake like.

You can make Aussie frosting (actually icing) by mixing together some milk and powdered (aka confectioners) sugar together til you get a thin icing consistancy....I think it takes lots of sugar to make.

If anyone wants to send me money or offer me a job, that'd be awesome!!

Sad Story

I know that I still need to finish the Costa Rica adventure, but I thought I'd give everyone an update on what's going on around here these days...

I still don't have a job, though I put in resumes for two jobs in schools last week so I hope I get a call for interviews for them soon.

My Mom officially got a job offer from where she has been doing consulting work and so she and Dad are bidding on condos in San Francisco.

My Dad went out and got himself a new Audi TT a few weekends ago. Talk about living the good life!

He and Mom are on an Alaskan cruise this week and I talked to Mom for a minute today and she was so excited because they had been to a glacier and had seen a porcupine up in a tree!

Nae is trying to work out an internship on a shark cage diving boat at the Farallone Islands for September.

Boyfriend and I had a relaxed weekend: we went and saw Angels and Demons on Saturday and grocery shopped and bought something for Junior's 1st Birthday, which is coming up in a few weekends. I was craving those Animal Style Fries from In-N-Out so we made our own In-N-Out at home-the fries, chicken burgers with cheese, and Oreo shakes. Sunday LC came over for a hang out and then Boyfriend and I went for a walk to the lake to feed the ducks and fish. We are a little bit worried about what they put in Jatz (like American Ritz) crackers because neither the fish nor the ducks would touch them!

When we got back from the walk, Boyfriend had gotten a text from his Mom about his Nan (grandma). She had been in the hospital for awhile and had just been recently moved to a nursing home. Boyfriend's Mom got the terrible news while on vacation in Queensland that it looked like Nan might not make it much longer. Boyfriend, understandably, was pretty upset. Bob called and asked if Boyfriend would like to go visit her and so they did and Boyfriend said it was a pretty sad time, but nice because a lot of the family was there with her visiting.

Boyfriend got the call yesterday morning that his Nan had passed away so I am really glad they all got that one last chance to go visit her. Everyone is pretty broken up about it. She was a really nice lady- from the moment I started dating Boyfriend I became a part of her family...she sent me Christmas cards in California and made me birthday presents. From the stories I've heard she was also a pretty feisty lady in her time, too. She was a big partier, loved the pokies (slot machines) and was a true country girl...Boyfriend said she was pretty handy on a ride-on mower and used to mow her whole huge property back in the day. She won't soon be forgotten by anyone who knew her.

Boyfriend and I have often talked about this and my Mom and I have also talked about it, too...his Nan and my Grandma on my Dad's side were like the same person...They were both partiers, they both had lost a child, they both took in "stray" children and made them part of their families, they both could meet a person once and become life long friends with that person, and they both smoked and died from complications due to their smoking. It is really incredible to us how much they had in common.

Boyfriend said the other day that he is glad that we got together when we did because he had the opportunity to meet my Grandma once before she passed away and because I got to know his Nan pretty well and my parents got to meet her and know her on their last trip out here, too. Our grandmothers will never just be people in stories to each other; we both knew and loved them and it just feels like an extra bond that we now share between us.

The world lost a good person yesterday...