Ringin in the New Year Geratic Style!

Today is the last day of 2009, which funny enough comes a day earlier then ol Canada. So every man and their dog has been asking me what fantastic thing I am doing for New Years Eve. I am here to tell you all to stop asking. I am have decided to much of nothing. The thought of spending $300+ in the city to be shoulder to shoulder with drunk idiots puking on themselves is not appealing. Seeing as they are charging a minimum of $60-$110 to get into any venue or club in the city I decided I will watch the fireworks here at home on the projector. Despite what some of you may think, I won't regret this desicion seeing as I am just not into that. If I were to go into the city I would be spending heinous amounts of money on something that I may or man not remember or enjoy just for "the experience". Frig that! I might venture out to a smaller club in Castle Hill, but since I am going to Melbourne for a the week on Monday, I want to spend the least amount of money as possible. Besides, the new year is going to come whether or not I go 'clubbing'. I don't know what this obsession is with going somewhere and getting shithammered to ring in the new year. I am going to go to Woolies, buy some beer and chips and watch the fireworks on TV. Plus the family has friends coming over so it's not like I am eating myself into a food coma and getting drunk in a basement by myself. So from now on you are done asking me what I am doing for New Years......capeesh!

Side note, it has been a super great short week and I am really looking forward to my week off. The picture I posted is of the sunset on my way home from the gym lastnight. I am standing at the end of my driveway. I am hoping the weather is nicer this weekend, and I plan on beachin it up. I will keep you all posted!

The end of a long weekend....onto a short week!

Sup! So today is my last day off. I, like most of you, have to return to 'work' tomorrow. However I am off all next week so that will be grrrrreat! The holidays are now over, and I am glad so that I can be done with hearing about all of your wonderful damn celebrations! Oh how great the tree looks, how good the turkey tasted, how wonderful it was to be with the family........you can all shut up about it now. Christmas was wonderful I get it. Of course I am joking. I am happy for all of you who had a great Christmas, and thanks to the messages from home.

The rest of my holiday weekend was pretty low key. As soon as I got over myself and forgot it was the holidays it got more managable. Boxing day was super lazy and then when the kids went to bed we stuffed ourselves with chocolate and champagne. It was pretty good. Then Sunday I went shopping a bit. Didn't buy anything and continued to bum around the house. The rain really has been putting a damper on things, and I am soooo ready for it to go away now.

Today the family was going to Akuna Bay to meet up with some friends. So since it was pouring so hard when I woke up I thought there was an airplane flying over, I decided to go with them. I wanted to get out of the house, and that would be super shitty if I was going public transit on a day like today. By the time we got to the bay the rain had let up some, which was good. It was really nice in there and the drive in was beautiful with little bits of fog rising up from the hills. We stayed there for a chunk of time and ate lunch at a little cafe at the marina. It was really very nice. The people we were meeting up with were a really nice couple who are old friends of Charli and Peter's. They are a young couple sans children that live in the city. We have arranged to go camping with them the end of January. I am looking forward to it. After lunch we walked around a bit, and then they decided we would drive into St. Ives and go to Max Brenner. So down here they have lots of Chocolate Bars (I know what your thinking, we have those too dummy, but not like a candy bar but as in an establishment usually known for alcohol) or Chocolate Lounges. These are magical places! Really though they are little lounges where they serve only chocolate and things made of chocolate. I have walked by many of them, but this was my first experience with one. A person could gain a lot of weight in a place like that! It was incredible! The whole time I just kept thinking: "So this is what Amy's heaven looks like. hmmmm I like it." I kept trying to figure out how I could mail Amy some chocolate that wouldn't melt in the 40 degree heat. I haven't worked it out so far. Anyhow we went in and it was all things chocolate. I wasn't convinced that the tables and chairs weren't made of chocolate. They even had lotions and body washes derived from cocoa! I had a Danish Toffee hot chocolate, served in a Hug Mug. The Hug Mug is a neat little mug that is shaped perfectly for you to cup both your hands around it (as if you were hugging the cup) to drink. It really enhances the drinking of the chocolate. It was the most fantastic tasting hot chocolate I have ever had in my life! Peter aslo bought chocolate marbles, which were little marble sized truffles. They were soooo good. I could really spend a lot of money and get very fat at these newly discovered gems. Frig going to a regular bar for new years, I am getting drunk on chocolate!

So.........could someone look up the number for Ripleys for me? I can't seem to find it in the yellow pages, either that or a good exorcist please. The war has not been won! I thought for sure that the spikes on the fence would end this epic tale of neighbor woman vs magpie, but alas, it has not! I was flabbergasted to see the bird hard at work yesterday morning. While I haven't been able to catch the bird in action since the spikes have been erected I have created a small hockey night in canada type diagram for you. I know it is small but if you click on the picture it will enlarge. If you cant get it to work, then know this, the yellow indicates the area where the spikes are and the red indicates the birds new flight path. As you can clearly see this possessed magpie is back with avengence! Not only is it flying into one window, but it has started flying into a completely new window that it previously had not even touched. It sits beside the spikes and flys to the left and back to the fence. It then flys to the right, back to the same window and spot, and back to the fence. I am not joking people! This is crazy I know, but this really is happening. The bird is still there. I think we will soon see the poor neighbor woman rocking in a chair holding a shot gun if this persists. I know that she is going to loose it, I can see it in her eye. So I don't know what will happen next, but I know this for sure. I am keeping the children out of the back yard and will hang the laundry as fast as I can to avoid the crossfire! I will try to get a picture of the bird in action, because I can feel your skeptical eyes looking at my diagram.

Well folks that is all. From my colleagues on both sides of our cameras, thank you and goodnight!

Merry Whatcha Call it......

As Boxing Day winds down I find myself reminding myself that it is in fact the holidays. You see the family I am living with thinks that Christmas is purely a commercial holiday, and therefore do not participate in anything Christmas related. They call it "Christmas" and give a present out, but it just isn't the same. My intent was to write an entry yesterday talking about my first Aussie Christmas, however I couldn't bring myself to do it. I am not going to lie to you people. That was probably the shittiest Christmas that I have ever had, and one year when I was a kid were nearly didn't even have Christmas. I didn't think it would bother me so much being away from my friends and family for the holidays, and I still don't think it would have if the family I was with actually did some sort of tradition or celebration of some sort. The kids don't have Santa and their gifts are strange. They gave their 18 month old a digital wall clock, and apart from the T-shirt he got from his Auntie, that was it. I mean I agree with not focusing on material items at Christmas, but I geeze guys some sort of recognition of a holiday would be a little more comforting. So I spend a chunk of Christmas day feeling shitty about being away from home (it didn't help that it was raining and shitty outside) but this morning I decided that the situation is what it is and I can't change it so there is no sense crying about it. I guess I will just have to double up next Christmas! I did however get a very nice gift from the family. I got a gift certificate for a Camel ride in Port McQuarie. That is pretty cool, I mean where else can you get a camel ride for Christmas? I bet none of you in Canada got that! lol

We did go for a drive through the Blue Mountains on Christmas day. Although it was pouring rain you could see that on a nice day it would be just beautiful. I already have a 4WD tour planned as well as some personal hiking trips in the mountains, so now all I need is for damn rain to stop. It is forecast to rain right up until Tuesday. That means that my entire holiday weekend was blown to shit by shitty weather. I would much rather be on the beach! The last thing I would like to say about Christmas is thank you to the people I was able to talk to from home. It helped me through the day.

Today on boxing day, although shitty weather, I had a decent day. It was kind of a lazy day, but I felt better then yesterday. I think this is because I decided to forget it was supposed to be holidays of any sort. Charli and I went to a movie (Lovely Bones, based on the novel by Alice Seabold) that I really have been dying to see. I read the book and love love loved it, so I was excited to see the movie. It was good. It was really good. Of course the book is always better but I have to say that if you are a fan of the book, the movie really does do it justice. After the movie I lounged about the house until supper. Ate supper, then after the kiddos went to bed we played Wii drank champange (the good kind), and ate Belgian chocolates (the good kind) so tonight was pretty good. I have a mellow day planned for tomorrow, because it will be raining again! I am heading to the gym bright and early, then markets then boxing day sales or vice versa I haven't decided yet.

Thanks again to my peeps at home! Merry Christmas to all!

Hump Day

Today I finally got to go to the wave pool with the kids. I wanted to take them last week, but well as you might already know, I ended up cleaning poop out of underwear instead. So we went today. It was a really neat set up and really great for kids of all ages. The kids had an absolute ball, and I had to make the oldest one get out of the water so that we could leave. The youngest one would have stayed in all day too, except his lips were turning blue and he was shivering and shaking, so I took him out. I think that we will be frequenting that pool quite often.

So Ian (Matt's Dad) totally got me hooked on Skype. It is like the single greatest invention in the world! I love it like a fat kid loves cake! I had heard of it before, but never used it. I downloaded it and we talked on it today. It was great! The sound was better then on the phone, and the best part is it is all free! It was like we were sitting in the same room! I couldn't get over it. I will be using the hell outta that now. Thanks Ian!

I also ate my first passion fruit today. I know, I know you can get passion fruit in Canada too. However since they don't grow in Canada they aren't as available as they are here. So I had

my very first one here in Oz. For those of you on my facebook, you can check out the pictorial documentation of such event very soon. I have to say that although it was good, I was left feeling slightly unsatisfied. There is not a lot of seeds to eat in them, and it is a lot of hype for just a little fruit. So it was a positive experience, but left me wanting more. Also does anyone know if we can grow apple cucumbers in Canada? Cuz we had one here tonight, and I don't think they are readily available either, but you never know.

Well before I depart for the evening I would like to give you an update on the Magpie vs Neighbor Woman saga. I know it has been a while since you last heard of them, but until today it has basically been the same thing. Bird flys into window, woman gets mad, woman chases bird away, bird comes back, bird flys into window.......you all know where this is going. So Monday I saw her and a man out and about in the yard. They were doing yard work and cleaning etc. I noticed that she removed all the CD's, boats, balloons, bags etc from her windows. I thought this was odd. Had the neighbor woman finally given in to the magpie?? Then I saw the man cleaning the windows. I thought this a silly act, as the bird would just dirty them again anyway. The bird even taunted them while they worked around the house. Sitting on the fence, making the occasional pass at the window. Making the woman even angrier. Then today! Today came the coup d'etat! I looked out my bedroom window and noticed that they had ever so slyly placed a row of spikes along the fence in front of all the windows of the house. I would say "check and mate" for the neighbor woman, but this is a special bird. If the bird persists I am going to call Ripleys, because that would mean that the bird for sure has some other motive for flying into the window. I will keep you posted, but I think it is safe to say that the neighbor woman fought the good fight, and won!

Well that has been my hump day in a nutshell. Tomorrow is Christmas eve, but I don't think that means anything around here. I don't even think Santa comes to this house. Anyways I will post again on Friday. Peace!

I fish you were here!

Today was aquarium day! Today I took the kiddies to the Sydney Aquarium. It was pretty neat I must say. This was my first time at a bonafide aquarium as well as the kids. I wish I had more time to actually enjoy everything in the aquarium, but the kids were..........well it wasn't a super wonderful day on that front. Oh well I am glad that I got to go though. Where they had the Dugongs (Manatees) and Sharks was really neat. They had a big glass dome that you could walk through and all sorts of animals would be swimming all around you. I think that is the closest you could be to those animals without actually being in the water. It was neat to see the big rays, sharks, dugongs, sea turtles, and heaps of little fish swimming around. Also in the reef part of the aquarium there was an area that was all glass, even the floor. That was really neat! I got some good photos, and some so-so photos because you weren't allowed to use your flash, and the lighting wasn't very good. You will have to check out facebook for more photos soon. However I did learn that our big trips like that will be few and far between. I am not going to waste time and money if the experience isn't going to be fully appreciated.

Next to the aquarium is Wildlife World. It is similar to like the Montreal Biodome, or an indoor zoo really. I thought about going there by myself, but honestly I don't know if it would be worth the money. Anyways, outside Wildlife World was a big dinosaur. They were promoting a new exibit they have for the holidays. Well I have to say that this was the most realistic dinosaur that I have ever seen! I wasn't around when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, but if I was I am certain that this thing would have given me flashbacks (despite the womans legs and feet showing). Although it was obvious that there was a human person in there, if it wasn't for the legs hanging out the bottom, you would have never known. It made creepy noises, and the actual costume moved in a way that a dinosaur would have. I know it doesn't look that great in the picture, but trust me, children and asian tourists alike were running and screaming from this thing.

I thought I would have more to write about the aquarium, but I guess I don't. So my leg is doing much better now, for those of you who were asking about it. I stand by my original statement: Friggin jerk lizard! It still hurts to bend it but other then that it is fine. I also noticed that I did some sort of damage to my shoulder as well. I am tellin you, it was a wipe-out for sure!

I was hoping to get out to the mountains or something exciting this weekend, but they are forecasting rain for Saturday and Sunday. So I will have to find something inside to do. Actually I might go out on the town with the German Nanny. We will see I guess. I have decided to wait to head up north for the reef until a later date. I think that in January, on my week off, I am going to go to Melbourne. There are some interesting things I think I would like to check out there. So I will keep you posted, as I know.

So my final words for today are this: When I first came here everyone read my blog, and send me messages on facebook, and commented on my link, etc. It seems as though that was all a front, or you people are lazy! Please don't be afraid to comment or send me a message, I always love hearing from people from home.

Well folks, that is all......I'm out!

Bargins and Bails.....My Sunday.....

Well sir what a day! Well actually it has been a pretty slow day, no real big crazy adventures or anything. This morning I got up and I went to Rouse Hill, which is one of the huge (and I mean HUDGE!) shopping centres very near here. I went to get some bubble wrap for the parcels that I am sending out, and wanted to check out a few things. So I was walking by the Kathmandu store, and for those of you in Halifax, it is the same as MEC. I have been wanting to get a new back pack since before I got here, so I went in to have a look. Well super luck struck again! They were having a huge Christmas sale, and I got a great backpack that would have normaly been $109 for $39!!! This is the first bargin I have come across here in this expensive city where people seem to be made of money. So I snatched it up. I wasn't intending to get a new backpack today, but hey, a bargin like that doesn't come around too often around here. So I thought it was quite exciting so I decided to share it all with you folks!

So I was going to go to Luna Park today with a German Au Pair that I met, however she got sick yesterday, and it was cloudy all day. So I ended up not going to Luna Park today, but I will get there soon. So I really didn't know what else to do today. I kinda bummed around the house with Gran, Gramp and the boys for a bit, took a nap, and hummed and hawed about what I was going to do. It was noon by the time I got home from Rouse Hill and if I was going to go anywhere significant I would have had to leave in the morning. So after a while I decided to go for a bike ride. I googled some of the local bike paths, and chose a route that tickled my fancy. So I headed out to have a ride. Well I was cruising right along at a pretty good pace, when a very Australian thing happened to a very Canadian girl. As I was hummin along the bike path a friggin lizard (probably a skink) ran out in front of me! It darted from one side of the path to the other right infront of my front wheel. So as a Canadian I am not particularly used to lizards running in front of me, so what did I do......hit the brakes! Well this caused me to go arse over teakettle off the bike and into the concrete bike path. I skinned the hell out of my leg, barked my knuckle and smashed the hell out of the really cool ring I bought yesterday at Bondi. Frig I was mad when I got up! Not to mention I must have looked like a real knob to all the motorists on the freeway, because to them it would have looked like I hit the brakes for nothing. But I got up, got back on and continued on my way. Thinking all the way that any Aussie would have run the damn thing over! I hope that lizard runs onto the M7 motorway, friggin jerk lizard! So now my leg is bruised and skinned and I am sure it will be a real beaut tomorrow!

So what I thought was going to be another lazy type Sunday turned into a day I will probably have scars from. I hear you are getting snow tomorrow in Halifax suckers! I will be chillin in the sunshine then Tuesday is aquarium day, whoop whoop! Well that is all for today, over and out!

Life's a Beach!

So today I ventured off to the famous Bondi Beach. It was quite a trek to get there, and I had to take a bus to the train, then another train, then another bus to the beach. I was a bit nervous at first, because I had never taken a train here before, but it turned out to be surprisingly easy. I made it there and back without a hitch, and made all my connections without a single problem. I think that is a pretty good feat for me. Maybe the Moreeeny curse only applies within the borders of the homeland?? Well whatever it is, I was very glad to have a seamless ride to the beach and back. However I have learned something that does carry over from Canada, and that is my terrible transit narcolepsy. As many of you know I routinely went to sleep on the metro buses in Halifax when traveling to and from work, and even managed to fall asleep on the ferry in the 7 minutes it takes to go across the harbour. Anyhow I found myself falling asleep on the ferry coming back from Circular Quay the day I went there, but that isn't so bad, because there is only one stop so there was no worry of missing your stop. Today I found myself falling asleep on the train which could be risky business, seeing as I had to watch out for my stop. Lord knows where I would end up if I had fallen asleep. I really do enjoy a city with a decent transit system tho. It sure makes it easier to get around. I just wish it wasn't so damn expensive. I spent almost $20 on transit today. Although I did go a fair distance, it is still a lot.

Peter and Charli had warned me about Bondi, and that it is usually packed full of old people in bathing suits too small for them, with handbag-esque skin, and droopy bits. Now although I did see plenty of sights, thats for sure, I was happy I went. Today was a perfect day for chillin at the beach. I swam in the clear blue water, jumped in the waves of the surf, and lounged in the sand of one of the most famous beaches in the world. Although there was tons and tons of people there it seemed as though the beach was sooo large that it wasn't too packed. People weren't laying on top of each other and still had a reasonable amount of space to themselves. The water was beautiful. Just crisp and clear, and when you looked out it was nice and blue. I went in and it seemed cold at first, but it was just really cool. It was very refreshing to swim in the cool water and bob in the waves. Then I spent some time lounging and drying off. After that I walked the Bondi strip along the beach. Lots of restaurants, cafes, shops etc. I bought a really neat ring there, and it had shells embeded into the ring. After all that I headed home on the same two buses and two trains that took me there. When I got off the bus I grabbed a few beer from the liquor store before I walked home. I walked through the park drinking a beer in the sunshine happy as a pig in shit. This really is the life I thought, as a strolled home. When I got home it was time for a quick shower, then Christmas dinner at the Wenham house.

Proof that I was at Bondi ;)

So.........my first Christmas dinner in Australia. Well it seems as though this family doesn't particularly enjoy the holiday so I am not sure that we will be celebrating in any other way then we did tonight. It kind of makes me sad, but then again it will only be this one Christmas, then my other ones I can spend in different ways. So Gran and Gramp came over as well as Aunti Aureen. Auntie Aureen is a teacher. She teaches young children english as a second language. She is very much what you would think of when you think of a typical schoolmarm. She is very proper, and is concerned about the learny bits. I had to bite my tounge a few times when she was talking about how important it was for children to recite their times tables and other things. However she is a really nice lady. So we all gathered around for dinner, and despite there being no meat it was a pretty good meal. The menu consisted of nutaline loaf, mushroom and carrot loaf, roasted potatoes and squash (which they insist on calling pumpkin, and I keep trying to tell them that it is not a damn pumpkin), mixed salad, green beans, vegetarian cold cut subsitute, and gravy. It was all very good, and to top it off for dessert we had a wonderful black forest cake made by Charli, and a Brandy fruitcake. I gotta say that I was a bit skeptical about the veggie Christmas dinner (so much so that I stopped at Hungry Jacks (Burger King) at Bondi to grab a whopper before heading home) but in the end it was a very nice meal. I may have prefered a little tofurkey, but I understand that no one wants to cook that much when it is 30 degrees out. After supper we sat and chatted and the kids played with their toys. Then we watched the Carols in the Domain. This is an even that takes place every year, and in the centre of Sydney people gather and they put on a big Christmas concert. We just watched the televised version at home, but the picture on here is of the almost 1 million people that turn up in Sydney for this event. All I gotta say is.....them bitches are crazy! The big yellow light on the right hand side is the stage, and all the lights around it are people!! And don't you worry, the crowd extends far beyond what is in the picture when they do a wider pan. It was nuts how many people are there. I was very happy to watch it at home in the comfort of the living room.

Well that is all for today. I am unsure what I am going to get up to tomorrow. I will keep you posted, and that folks is how the cookie crumbles, good night!

Heading into the weekend

TGIF!! That is for sure! Well the week started out solid. I was pretty please with the way things were going. I had plans for the week, the kids were being great, and the weather was beautiful. Not that the rest of the week was terrible, just not great.

Our picnic in Parramatta was good though. We went to a big park, and I mean big! We didn't even cover half of it, it is really big and pretty nice. We hung out under the trees, and by the river. It was so hot on Wednesday, and then got even hotter on Thursday. It was about 35 degrees on Wednesday I think. So we ate our lunch and headed for home where it was cool. I didn't get Peter's text asking if I wanted a ride back from the park, to get out of the heat, until after we got home! lol. Oh well it was nice to have a look around and the boys enjoyed the picnic. The picture is of the river in the park, as we crossed over the walking bridge. Oh and I would just like it to be noted that people who go jogging when it is over 35 degrees need their damn head examined! They should be assessed, along with the people I say wearing jeans!

Thursday was mega hot! It was over 40degrees. People around here can't comprehend what -40 would feel like, and many remark that even freezers don't go that low. However +40 is another story, I am pretty sure that is the same temp as Satans armpit. So I had planned on taking the boys to the local wave pool before locking ourselves in the air conditioned house. However after going to the playground and the oldest boy pooping in his pants we had to return home instead of going to the wave pool. So I guess it will have to happen on another day.

Today I had the pleasure of spending the day with Gran and Gramp, along with the two boys. Gramp and I got along just dandy. He is an older fella that told me stories of his travels, and getting drunk, and crazy stories from a time long ago. He teased me about being Canadian, and really was just good people. Gran is well.....Gran is very involved in her church, and often takes time to properly 'save' the children and teach them about jesus. Hence the reason the oldest one goes around saying things like "Jesus is the life of your hair!" Gran, like most typical church hens loves the gossip. I heard stories and business from about 25-30 people I didn't know today. You know it really is a sin that so-and-so's, brothers, uncles, neighbors, babysitter that one time they went to the anniversary party, where her husband got too drunk, dad has a screw loose you know. I really feel for her or him or I dunno, after a while I just smiled and nodded. They both really care for the children, and that is all that really matters. We get to have Christmas dinner with them tomorrow night............that is if I return for supper. I haven't decided.

I am hoping to get up to some sort of adventure this weekend, so don't worry you will hear about it soon enough. I leave you with this..........

This is as close to building a snowman that I will get this year! :)

Another Good Day!

So today it is going to be breif, cuz I don't really have too much interesting things to talk about. Although today was another good day. I think that my body is finally settling in here. I think the first week was horrible horrible jet-leg, then the second week was getting/got sick, now the third week I am starting to feel better. I have had more energy in the evenings, and am feeling better physically. The kids have finally stopped testing me (for the most part), and things are lookin wayyyy up.

So I had a little moment today when we were walking through the park from the bus stop. The oldest boy Liam loves feathers! He picks them up from the chickens, from the park, from wherever. So often as we are walking I am looking for interesting feathers. We always find white feathers and duck feathers in the park across from the house. I have notice however that there is a lot of different types of birds around here. They seem to have a much larger variety of wild birds then we do. Anyhow, as I looked down I saw a really colorful feather, and my first thought was that a child or somebody had dropped one of those craft feathers you can buy at the dollar store. I bent down to pick it up and noticed that it was not a craft feather, but a real feather from a bird. It was at that moment that I remembered where I am. Parrots are native here, and I often see groups of wild colorful parrots in the park. It is just strange to think about the small differences like that. I mean you very quickly get used to the big things like accents, driving on the other side etc. but it is at those moments like today in the park when you remember you are in an exotic, interesting and exciting place.

Oh so.......new development in the neighbor woman vs magpie war! Geeze this has become like a mini series. So while the boys were sleeping this afternoon. I was sitting in my room, researching bus routes for our picnic and trip to the aquarium, when I looked out to see the magpie hard at work. Then I saw the neighbor woman come flying out the door with a look to kill. I sat, intently watching the bird taunt her and just hop down the fence just out of her reach. Then she reached up and.................taped a small boat to the window!! Strangest thing ever! I am begining to think that the woman is as crazy as the damn bird. Why the hell would you put a frikin boat on the window. The CD's I can see because of the reflection, the balloon yes, because it moves and is big. But a boat??? Maybe her plan was that the bird would take the boat and sail somewhere far far away. Anyhow the magpie knocked the boat off the window with the constant flying into the window it proceded to do, and continued to fly into the window. Later I was talking to Peter about the woman and the saga that takes place in our own back yard. Then he said something interesting. He said, "I am begining to think that bird is the reason the old neighbors left. That bird has been doing that longer then those people have lived there, they just moved in before you got here." Could it be that this crazed magpie drove the old neighbors away?? This what seemed to be a funny little story has morphed into a possible mystery/terror novel. It certianly is peculiar. I mean why does it fly into the window to start with? How long has it been doing it? Why that house and no other? Why won't anything work to scare it off? Will the neighbor woman snap? Hmmm.........dunn, dunn, dunnnnnnnnnnnnn!

So breif?? Maybe not so much, but you all read to the end...haha

Just Another Manic Monday

Actually the title of this is untrue. I actually had a pretty great day as far as that goes, I just thought of that song. So I had made all these tentative plans for the week so that we would be busy busy busy! Well all those plans basically went to shit today! Not really in a bad way, but just moving somethings around etc. We will still be busy I just don't know in what order yet.

We couldn't go to the grocery store because it was raining this morning. So instead we went to the play centre. (See photo) This place is a gold mine for the people running it. So this women leases this little area from her brothers arena (probably getting a hefty family discount), got a bunch of ride on toys, a few foam blocks and a bouncy castle. Then she fleeces parents for $10 a head for every child. Frig I should just move here and open myself a damn play centre. I mean don't get me wrong, the kids had fun and it was a great place to go and play on a rainy morning. However the equipment that was there was not worh $10 per child. So we stayed there for like 4 hours, ate lunch and then Peter came and picked us up. The kids had a late nap, and then shortly after they woke up it was time for supper to get started and the parents take over from that point. So it was overall a pretty chill day.

Tomorrow I might take them into Parramatta for a picnic, and then swimming on Wednesday. You see part of the reason my plans went to shit is because Peter is going away for work on Thursday and Friday so he won't be able to drive us to or pick us up from the aquarium, but I do still want to try to get there by the end of the week. School holidays start Monday and I would like to do that stuff before the kids are on holidays, it will cut down on the lines/crowds. The other thing is Peter's parents are coming into town from New Zealand on Thursday, and are going to want to spend time with the boys, they just don't know when or how long or anything for that matter. So I guess I am back to flying by the seat of my pants.

Before I depart for the evening there is one more photo I took. I took this one for all people in Halifax that get all nerved up everytime they must drive the Armdale Rotary (ahem..Andrea....ahem!) Here in Sydney there is no such thing as a 4way stop. Instead they have rotaries at every intersection without lights. So from small one lane suburb rotaries or two and three lanes in bigger intersections, you can't go anywhere around here without driving a rotary. I thought that was interesting. Oh and also if you are crossing these rotaries as a pedestrian (which is like crossing at a 4way at home, and usually unavoidable).....well the protocol goes as follows:

1. Pray

2. Look for oncoming traffic in the first lane you must cross(incoming or outgoing)

3. If there is a big enough gap, make a run for it!

4. If you make it to the median inbetween the incoming and outgoing traffic, praise alah that you made it this far.

5. Check other lane for oncoming traffic.

6. See step 3

7. If you make it safely to the other side of the street get down on the ground and kiss it, because you are lucky you didn't get killed by those crazy Aussie drivers!

I am tellin ya, being a pedestrian here in Sydney is risky business.

That is all for today. Word to your mother!

Lazy Sunday in Oz

So here is the deal. I used to love lazy sundays! Matt and I would get up way to late, have breakfast for lunch and do nothing the whole day. I do not like having lazy Sundays in Australia! Today was very boring and I wished I could have done more. I am getting over my little bug that I caught, but I didn't want to completely wear myself out so that I would feel more run down next weekend. So I took er easy and layed low for this weekend. It killed me to do so, especially because the weather was beautiful all weekend, but I think in the long run this was the better choice. I want to be able to do great and wonderful things on my time off so it is important to stay healthy!

I walked over to the Parklea Market this morning for about an hour. I went for fruit, because they have tons and tons of fresh fruit over there for super cheap, but of course I couldn't just go and not look at everything else :) It was really funny because at one point I stopped to look at these handmade earrings with really pretty stones. The lady there was pitching like no tomorrow, telling all about her goods. I told her that I would have a look and let her know if I needed her, but she persisted. I told her that I was looking for a gift for my mother. She started to show me lots of different jewlery, and saying well if she is a mum she would love this about several different pieces. Then she said "Oh you should get her this one (pointing to a large flashy necklace and earring set) for when she goes out. You know...she likes to go out and party?" I laughed right out loud (sorry mom)! So I looked around a bit more, didn't buy a whole lot but a few little things and a really nice dress. Down here the trend is really long flowy dresses. If you know me, then you know this is one trend I wouldn't mind following. I have always loved that look and it is nice that they have lots to choose from here (even if they are super expensive). I bought one from one of the stalls that is cut in a V in the back and front, it really shows off my tattoo well.

The first photo I uploaded is just a shot of the path back to my house. These are the people in my neighborhod....tra la la la, la dee da da da! I just thought it would give you guys a little look at a bit of my surroundings, ya know. All the houses basically look the same with varying sizes and color of tile etc. Some houses around here have really nice designs in their driveways made from concrete. These nice designs wouldn't last one winter in Canada, the frost would have them heaved up in no time! I guess that is another advantage of living here in beautiful Australia.

This week I have a few things in mind for the boys and I to do in the mornings (we do most of our outside activity early in the morning before it gets too hot. People here actually don't start coming to life until the evening when it is much much cooler). Tomorrow we are going to the grocery store and buying a few things to make a picnic lunch. Tuesday we will make the picnic lunch and find somewhere cool to go and have it. Wednesday I am going to take them to the wave pool that is very close to here. I haven't really planned anything yet for Thursday, and then on Friday I am going to take them to the aquarium! I think this trip is going to be sweeeet! I think that will make the week fly by if I keep them and me busy busy busy. Then weekend is beach and hiking time, boo-ya grandmother!!

So you will never guess what happened at like 9 o'clock this morning! I was sitting on my bed talking to Matt about this that and the other. We talked breifly about my blog and how that magpie was crazy, and he thought it was funny. Then no sooner did we stop talking about this when I turned, looked out my window, and BAM!! There was that damn magpie flying into that poor woman's window, despite the now deflated balloon and CD's taped to the window. I guess he just took a little holiday and now is back and ready for battle! It is funny that just yesterday I had wrote that I thought for sure the war had ended, but alas Neighbor Woman vs Magpie rages on. I should just kindly throw a note over the fence that reads: "Dear Neighbor Woman, I have watched you for 2 weeks now fighting with that bird. I don't know why it is flying into your window and more then you do. However it is evident that your efforts have failed. Although I am sure that you are a wonderful person with a big heart and a kind eye for nature, my advice to you is as follows: Get a gun and shoot the damn thing already! Your CD's are burning my retnas while I play in the back yard! Sincerly the lovely Au Pair from next door :) I will keep you updated! haha

Well as always thanks for havin a read. If you want to make comments, I always love to hear what you think, just comment on the link on my facebook page. I will let you know how the week pans out! Peace!

There will be no great adventure this weekend!

So here it is Satuday evening and I am sitting here blogging....whoo hoo! The reason is because as of Thursday I caught a cold from the youngest child and it subsequently knocked me on my ass. Thursday and Friday I felt like 10lbs of shit in a 5lb bag (I also taught that expression to the Aussies) but today I feel much better then I did, that is for sure. I went out for a little bit today but have to take er easy this weekend so that I am able to fully recover and have great adventure next weekend. That is why "there will be no great adventure this weekend." I am hoping next weekend to do something great, and pretty soon I will have a week off so I need to start planning for that. I think I will head north and check out the reef while I have the time off, but we will see. So for now I just have a few random bits of info and minor rants to keep you entertained :)

The picture I have uploaded is quite funny actually. You remember the special magpie I took a picture of flying into the neighbors window?? Well seems as though the neighbor got tired of this too. So I have spent the week watching this poor woman go to war with this damn bird. She first tried a few CD's taped to the window, but the bird flew into the spot where there were no CD's. Then she moved them to the spot where it was flying, and the bird moved down the fence to the third window down. So she put up CD's on that window too. This caused the bird to disregard the CD's totally. I would watch her come out with a broom as the bird flew back and forth and desperately try to shoo it away. It would leave for 10 minutes but then promptly return. So then she taped bags to the fence, that when the wind blew would make a little noise and move a bit. However the issue is, only when the wind moved. So the bird just landed on top of where the bags were and continued his flight to and from the window. This frustrated the poor neighbor woman and you could see it in her face as she began to throw open the door and swat angrily at the bird on the fence. Then she taped balloons to the windows beside the CD's and since she did that I haven't seen the bird around so hopefully, for her sake, she won the war of magpie and neighbor. I know it might seem stupid to write about this, but I have found it ever so amusing, and I also felt bad for this poor woman, who should have got a 22 and shot the damn thing to start with, but persisted for success. Even the vegetarians said they would have shot the damn thing long ago! So the picture is the last of the neighbor womans window deterrents still up.

I have posted a bunch of photos on facebook for your viewing. Some have been on here, but some have not. So if you are my friend on facebook you can check those out.

Now one of my pet peeves about being down here is that they require bag checks as you leave most stores in the major shopping centres, even small purses. In Canada a store clerk has the right to check your backpack or large bag, but is not allowed to check your purse. Not that I particularly care because I am trying to steal anything. I just find it funny that the bus drivers have an open cash drawer 24 hours a day when you board the bus, but you think everyone is shoplifting from K-mart???? There seems to be little to no logic behind some of the rules and things around here, and since I often carry a backpack with my own water, camera, wallet, phone etc. around with me when I go out, I have become subject to the constant bag checking. Again it is not that I am trying to hide something, but it sure does get annoying having to show my bag to everyone as I exit the store.

Anyways moving on..... I had two different experiences today, neither I would call bad, just funny. I went to one of the shopping centres to see if the post office was open. I needed some shipping materials for presents :). While I was there I was browsing in a cosmetic store. I just went to have a look, it looked interesting from outside the store so I went in. It was funny because one of the women selling the horribly over priced, supposedly designer cosmetics (I don't know how a designer can make cosmetics seeing as it is all basically the same damn thing anyways) who obviously had her make-up gun set on whore, asked me what make up I used. She was very impressed with the look of my face and said that I looked so pretty. Anybody that knows me knows why this is funny. I don't wear make-up! So I was quite surprised, and flattered by the compliment. I do think it was genuine because she wanted to know what I used that made me so pretty, not trying to sell me something. So I guess Matt is a lucky man, lol.

The second experience I had was getting on the bus to return home. Yes that's right, a bus story! Is anyone surprised?? Well thankfully this one isn't about crazy people with guns or threating to stab me. I got on the bus and asked the bus driver if he went to the "Stanhope shopping centre, by the Blacktown Leisure Centre" (I had to stop there for a minute before finally returning home). He sat back in his seat and looked up at me with a weird look and said "What??" as if I was speaking Japanese. So I repeated myself to him. Then he said "Where are you from??" In a quizzical interested way. I told him I was from Canada and some what new to the area. At first I was afraid that I had confused the place I wanted to go with some other place, or something that didn't exist. Then the bus driver said "Oh! It was the weirdest thing. You spoke like english was your first language but I had no idea where THAT accent was from." to which I replied "Haha well to me you all have accents. How much to Stanhope??" I think this is the first time that I have been here that someone has commented on my accent. It is weird for me to think that I have an accent, and I wonder what I sound like to these guys. Anyways those are a few little experiences I had today. I am signing off for the night, and am going to get some much needed rest. We will see what tomorrow brings. Oh and I would like to mention that at 8:02pm I am sitting with my window open, lying in bed (in shorts and a tank-top) listening to the locusts still making noise. Take that to all you people that insist on telling me about the snow and cold!

Random bits of Info

So today I have decided on a mish mash of information for you to enjoy. I am first going to take a suggestion from one of my followers, and give you a brief profile of the people I am working for. I hope this will help you better relate to my stories. So...

Peter (Dad): Peter is a early thirties engineer. He works for Philips medical electronics. He holds a pretty high postition in the company, but often can work from home for parts of the day. He is tall (about 6'2" ish) semi geeky looking with a New Zealand accent. He is an engineer, but has has been a paramedic and helicopter pilot. He is very smart, and has bits of peculiar knowledge about a variety of subjects. He is much like my father in the way that he really enjoys jimmy rigging random contraptions together (although always useful) for a variety of purposes. Peter interested in having the children absorb as much information as they can at this age, and be successful in life.

Charli (Mom): Is a about to be thirty registered nurse working in a seniors care home as the care manager. She is average height and really skinny, with short aburnish hair. She too is from New Zealand, and therefore speaks with a New Zealand accent. She is easy to get along with and super down to earth. Charli appears to want the children to feel secure, comfortable and confident in life. She is a very optimistic person whom, I can get along with on a sisterly type relationship. Charli and Peter also have their own business here in Australia and the USA distributing baby monitors.

Liam (Oldest Boy): Liam is 3 years old, the end! Haha he acts like a typical 3 year old boy and since the boys are used to different nannies in and out of their lives he tests to see what your made of. He is very well educated with ABC's and 123's, he just needs to focus his attention.

Jake (Youngest Boy): Jake is 17 months. He is pretty average, and easy going. He will try to play up the "but I am just a baby" thing to try to get you to do things for him, and can at times have strong stubborn side. He is pretty cute and fun loving.

Also the whole family is vegetarians, who are aware of the environment (to a certian degree).

We all live here in this four bedroom house quite happily at the moment, with Tyler the cat and Maxie and Blondie the two chickens. I hope that helps to better understand the peeps. If you have any questions just TV they have here. If you'll notice it is friggin huge. It is actually not a TV we have a projector, so it is like I am at the movies all the time! lol. Although I don't watch much TV here and I don't miss it either.

The other picture I posted is of a magpie. These birds are very common and all over the place. Well the one that I took a picture of is very special, and I mean that in the most olympic way. Every day this thing comes and sits on the back fence, and everyday this damn bird flys back and forth from the fence into the neighbors window and back to the fence. It does this for half the afternoon. I think it hit the window too many times, and obviously has some sort of brain injury! I just thought I would share the oddity that is that bird that I watch everyday. Also speaking of stupid! The damn flies here are SOOOOO annoying! I think they must be stunned by the heat (it was 35 degrees today while you suckas were having a snow storm) because as you are walking they will land on your face. When you shoo them away they fly up and and then land on the exact same spot you just shooed them from. It is enough to drive a sane person crazy!

My final tidbit for this evening is evidently being environmently conscious and walking in this place is like sacrificing your own life for the earths! Being a pedestrian around here is taking your life into your own hands. Drivers don't give a shit if you would like to cross the street at a marked crosswalk, maybe you should think about doing that in a car, if you'd like to cross the street. And you can forget crossing at an unmarked but still legally binding crosswalk. Forget it! Unless there is a large metal wall shooting up from the ground these Aussies willlllll NOT stop for you to cross the road at anytime.

Well that is all for tonight. I am hoping to take the boys to the Aquarium in Darling Harbour either on Friday or at the latest early next week. I will keep you posted!

Day trip into the city

Today I took a trip into Circular Quay (pronounced Key). This is where the famous Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge can be found. It was good to get out and see around a bit more, and negotiate the transit system a bit more. It is actually proving to be quite easy to get around via public transit. Although today as I ventured out for my day trip I made a very Canadian mistake and waited for the bus on the wrong side of the road....duh! I don't know why I did this because it was not my first time taking the bus, but I guess just a slip of the mind. Oh well about 1/2 an hour later another bus arrived to take me to Parramatta. Parramatta is a suburb type place not far from here, and from here you can take a ferry ride into the city, for a realitively low cost......well what these crazy Aussies consider low anyways. The other thing that I LOVE about taking the transit here is the bus lanes! There are whole seperate roads that go beside or under the regular roads just for buses. So it really is quite quick to take the bus. Something I am not familiar with traveling the transit in Halifax. Also you should have the correct fare, but it is not necessary. The driver can make change for you right there as you get one. Some of the buses in the city are prepaid only but all the buses around here you can get change. Although the super shitacular thing is that it is bloody expensive. Here you pay for how far you want to go. So it can cost quite a bit to use transit depending on where you are going. Then again there are various options such as buses, trains, ferries etc to choose from.

Anyhow on with the day trip! I made it to Parramatta, despite my error to start. When the bus stopped at the interchange I asked the bus driver where I should go to catch the ferry to Circular Quay. To which he replied "umm the ferry....I dunno" So with that helpful information I headed off the bus at a transit interchange (bus/train station) to try to find my way to the ferry. I walked the wrong way for about a block before finding a map that instructed me to turn around and go back the way I came. After a few map consults and a smidge of wonder I finally found the ferry. It was located on a back street, and I must say, not very well signed. I still had 1/2 an hour before the ferry departed so I took a few pictures and just mosied about looking at the art work and such. We boarded the ferry and off we went. As we cruised along I took notice of the beautiful, huge fancy homes along the edge of the Parramatta river. I thought to myself..."I wonder how someone gets a nanny gig with those people??" However I doubt that those people would be as down to earth as the family I am with now......well that's how I justify it anyway ;). It was a semi nice ferry ride. I mean nicer then the Halifax-Dartmouth ferry but jammed with families of tourists taking billions of photos and videos and letting their children act like idiots none the less. I did enjoy the sights and plan on going back soon, and planning a better trip. Today was more about finding my way around rather then sightseeing per se. I did get to see the bridge and the opera house. I saw some people doing the bridge climb, which will be me in the coming weeks. I marveled at the sight of a harbour connected to a city of millions of people that doesn't have turds and tampons floating in it. That must mean the Aussies have some magical place to put their sewage, that is not their cities harbour. What a weird concept eh? Then I hit the city and walked until I thought my legs would fall off. I got all turned around and missed the ferry that I was going to take, but it gave me an extra hour in the city. I didn't go and see too much, I just peeked around and got a feel of the city. The real sight seeing will happen another day.

Part of my shopping excursions since I got here have been to find Australian Christmas ornaments for my nephews. I have started the tradition with them that every year for Christmas, along with their other gifts, I buy them an ornament for the tree. This way they will have an ornament for every year once they get their own tree. So since I am here for christmas I thought it would be nice to send them an Aussie ornament. Well who knew Australians don't believe in having their own take on Christmas. All over town there are plenty of ornaments with Santa, snowmen, reindeer, penguins, ice, etc. on them. Except for Santa what the hell do any of these other things have to do with Australian Christmas!! Where are all the Koalas and Kangaroos with Santa hats on??? Where are all the Wombats in stockings?? You know Australian stuff. I have looked all over this place since I arrived, from gift shops to department stores, and nothing! I even looked online. But TODAY! Today was the day that I found an Aussie ornament. They are semi ugly and definately wouldn't be my first choice if I had a choice, but since I don't they will have to do. So I bought two and will be mailing them later this month. Oh and come to find out $30 is pretty cheap for a Kangaroo scrotum Seeing as in the city the can go for up to $50! Geesh those are expensive nuts!

So now I sit writing to on here and thinking of what new things I will do next weekend! I am sure me and the boys will do something cool this week, I will keep you all posted. I wanted to say thanks to everyone that is following this and giving me feedback. It makes me smile knowing the people I care about are following along my adventures a world away.

First day off.....ahhhh!

So today was my first official day off since I arrived. It was great! I am looking forward to another tomorrow :). I slept in (til 7:00am) and when I heard the children getting up I didn't move, because it was my day off! Whoop Whoop! I got up and had a long shower, took the time to dry my hair and straighten it and then had breakfast with the family to start my day. Now let me tell you.....just because you have a plug converter doesn't mean that all things are able to be used elsewhere! I nearly turned my hair dryer into a frikkin flame thrower! I plugged my converter in, plugged my hair dryer in and began using it as normal. Then I began to smell this strange smell. Then as I moved my hair dryer a bright orange hue inside the barrel of the hair dryer caught my eye. It was then that I realized that the smell was coming from inside the dryer! I turned the hair dryer and looked down the barrel, and it was at that moment that I saw a small blue flame inside the hair dryer along with a red hot element. I then decided it was a good idea to stop what I was doing. Turns out Australia has wayyyy more voltage then we do in Canada. So moral of the story: the low setting on my hair dryer is like high at home, and even then you should give it a few cold shots to cool down the element...geesh!
After breakfast I hopped the bus to the nearest shopping centre, Rouse Hill Town Centre. I walked around aimlessly without a care in the world, it was great! I went from shop to shop browsing and looking. I ended up only buying a phone card to call home with but enjoyed seeing everything. I also learned two things. 1: I am soooo not trendy enough for most of the shops at Rouse Hill. 2: If I lived in Australia on my own I would be dirty, smelly, hairy, hungry and homeless. Everything here is sooooooo expensive! I went to the department store (Big W), very very similar to Wal-mart, and I bought 1 bottle of shampoo, 1 bottle of conditioner, 1 bottle of body wash and 1 small 100ml bottle of nail polish remover. I payed $31 for just that! It is nuts! The shampoo that I buy at home I pay 6 something for it because it is organic. I was surpised to see that they had it here, but here it is over $13! Just crazyness. I doubt I will be buying a lot while I am here.
After I came home I chilled with the fam for a bit then they were going over to a friends place and bowling. I opted not to go and spend the evening by myself. I think this was a great plan! I walked up to the Parklea Market that I went to last weekend. It is so close that I might just go back tomorrow. I took a picture of the the outside of the market as I approached it. I hope you notice that the white roof is all the market and extends far more then in the picture. While I was there I was looking for things to send to people at home. I know...how generous of me, not buying anything for myself and only thinking of others...I know, I know, but its what I do ;) So Matt told me to send him something 'quirky' from Australia. So Off I went for something quirky. Well I found the most wonderful thing at the market! However I did not buy it :( Sadly it cost too much. How can you get more quirky then a bottle opener made from a Kangaroo Scrotum!?! Hahahah I laughed right out loud in the little shop. It was the funniest thing I ever saw! "Here open your beer with my Roo nuts!" They also had a letter opener made from Kangaroo nuts, and just a scrotum with a hollowed out spot for a lighter! Haha. If it wasn't $30 I would have bought it for him! I still might decide that the funny factor is larger then the money aspect and under the Christmas tree will be a pair of Kanga nuts! Hahaha I am still laughing about it!
After the market I decided it was time for meat! The family I am with are vegetarians. So although I have been eating well since I arrived I couldn't help but notice there was a steakhouse just up the road. So they went out and I went in search of meat and beers! I went up to the local steakhouse and felt like an ass when I said "table for 1" but hey who cares anyways. My only regret is that I didn't bring my book or something to do while I was waiting. The service was terrible! I sat and waited nearly 20mins before I had to ask the hostess if someone was going to wait on me or if I had to make it myself. If it wasn't for the fact that the only other place close that serves meat is Hungry Jacks(Burger King) I would have left. However it was lucky for me that I stayed. They offered to buy my drinks for the evening and gave me a voucher for a free entree on my next visit. So I had 2 big bloke beers (about the same as 4 draught beers at home) that weren't that great but I chose a cheap beer anyway, and had a big steak. They were pretty good after I got slightly boshey (a word I picked up meaning crotchety or bitchy) with them about their poor service. After my meal I walked home, taking notice of the slightly humorous street sign and stopped at the lake to watch a wild pelican (See photos). It was overall a great day. I really didn't mind spending most of my time by myself, it actually was rather nice.
Tomorrow I think I will take the bus to Parramatta and a ferry ride into Darling Harbour (the classic view of the opera house and bridge harbour). Things are looking up the more I stay here and now I really do think my time will fly by. I know this is long, but hey, I have had a good day with lots to talk about :).

Settling In

G'Day peeps! I know I have been slacking in the blog department. I haven't updated all week. However I have spent this week settling into my surroundings and getting comfortable with my family. I still miss people from home, but it is becoming managable through facebook and phonecalls.
I have spent this week playing the role of Nanny Hard Ass. I mean not in a terrible way but the kiddies have been testy, and I have spent the week setting my boundaries so they know what to expect. I have seen a significant drop in testing from the older one, and the younger one is pretty easy going anyways. I have had to lay down the law firm this week to establish a base for the next 6months. So far it is has been working. I have been getting out and about with the kids and finding out what is around me. Today we took the bus and it was actually pretty easy. I think once I get to know things a bit better it really will be a breeze. I am,, however, very much looking forward to having the weekend off. It will be really nice to strike out on my own and have a little peek around. There is only so much you can do toting two kids along with you.
Today I had an interesting thing happen. Some might say I 'erred' as a Nanny, but if you have sense then you will see why I am right. So we went to one of the huge shopping centres not far from here today. We went to get Christmas decorations. The kids really wanted to, and it was a great first little bus trip so off we went. So the 3 year old brought his cell phone. Yes, that's right his cell phone. I had told him to leave it at home, but wasn't about to fight with him about it. I had warned him before we left that it was to stay in his pocket. So throughout our time at the shopping centre he had taken it out of his pocket several times and even dropped it a few time. Each time this happened I told him to put it in is pocket or he was going to loose it, and when he did, I didn't want to hear it. So I think we all know where this story is going. He lost his cell phone! Some may say that I should have checked the bench before we boarded the bus, but I say that is the exact reason why you don't give a cell phone to a 3 year old. I mean the parents were dissapointed but not angry with me (well at least they didn't express any harsh feelings about it). But I mean COOMMMMON! I think it was a lesson learned. I said it would get lost, and ta-da no more celly! That is my little rant for the evening.
I am finally getting used to the differences around here. One major one is even their damn crows have accents! I am not lying. Their crows sound like they are slightly laughing/crowing at the same time. It is wierd! Also there is a lot of different birds around here. I wouldn't think that anyone coming to Canada would think that much of our wildlife is 'exotic' but it is around here. I have seen small groups of wild parrots and cockatoos flying around the park, and each different bird makes a strange noise that it takes some getting used to. Also some of the words for things that I have to get used to and feel silly saying, but the children don't know what I mean when I say 'sidewalk' instead of 'footpath'. That is just a few examples of many things that take a minute to get used to.
Well I am headed to bed for now, but I may update again tomorrow depending on what I end up doing. Peace from down under!

Camping..

Today I am feeling much better about being here. I had a very welcomed phone call this morning and it really lifted my spirits for the day. I am still very jet-legged and I am hoping to get over that soon. I do feel better each day, but it is a big adjustment for sure.
The picture I posted on here is a picture of the river where we were camping. It was really quite nice there, however I think I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't reeling form such a long trip and being plunked in the middle of a country I have never been before and barely know the people I am with. We drove at night to beat the heat of the day so that meant me staying up late into the day(about 1 am). I was so freakin tired I couldn't see straight. The family I am staying with are members of a 4 wheeling club. Although we actually didn't get to go 4-wheeling on this trip (I was a smidge dissapointed) we did go down a really windy dirt road with a large drop off on one side. The area was nice with a river for swimming in, and there were heaps of nice people around with there families. So funny story...before we went Peter assured me that on this property there were lots and lots of Kangaroos. I would be able to see a Kangaroo on the first weekend in Australia. Well the only kangaroo I saw was flying under the passenger side tires at about 75 clicks as we mowed it over! No before you go making comments, the reason we hit the kangaroo was because we swerved to avoid a really big wombat and the kangaroo jumped out in front of us. However that was the only Kangaroo I was able to catch a glimpse of that weekend. I would have like to explore the property a bit more, but maybe some other time.
I am still feeling rather homesick, and it already feels like I have been here for a long time. Although I can hardly believe that it is almost December and soon enough it will be the new year. Charli(mom) told me that I would have a week off in January because her mom is coming to stay. Hopefully this week I will be able to head up to the Great Barrier Reef.
Yesterday I went with the family to Parklea market. It is a HUGE weekend market near the house. It was so much to take in and the kids were tired and hungry so I didn't get a good look at a lot of stuff, but I plan on walking up this weekend, sans kiddies. They had everything and anything you could ever want at this market from budgie birds to bras, veggies and electronics. It was pretty intimadating when we first went in. All of a sudden people are hollering at you from their booths, showing you things and trying to sell their goods. It was crowed, noisy and smelly (some good smells, such as the spices and such) but it really was an interesting place with great deals. So some of you should possible expect purchases from Parklea market ;).
Today I have spent more time with the boys. They are testing me, as I expected, but so far nothing I can't handle. The other thing I am adjusting to is the weirdo noises their weirdo birds make outside the window and in the back yard etc. They have some strange creatures around here that is for sure.
Finally today I would like to say thanks to the people that have been sending me messages on facebook. It really means a lot to me and helps me to get through the tough days. So keep em comin!

Made it!

So here I am....I made it. I wish I could say that I was more excited to be here, however at the moment, I am not. I have only slept about 8 hours in the past 3-4 days, so being over tired does not help. Plus I had no idea how homesick I would be right away. I am having trouble with the time difference and not being able to talk to people on the phone very often. I have only had a breif conversation with my Mom and thats it. I tried to call someone else, but miscalculated the time difference and gave them a shitty wake up call (still sorry about that). Not to mention that I had kinda a shitty send off, and just have a lot on my mind. So all those things combined make me want to curl up and sleep the next 6 months away. I am sure I will feel better in time, it is just different. Oh and to top things off we are going camping this weekend, actually in like 45mins we are leaving to drive to the campsite. Not that I am complaining about being here but geeze louise I just got here, I have the worst jet-lag ever, I miss my family and friends, so hey lets stay up late, drive into the night so that I can sleep on a camp bed in a place with no cell coverage or internet! Sounds like a perfect plan to make me feel comfortable eh? I think that I am being more harsh because of the lack of sleep.
On another note, my travel here went okay but not great. Since I only had a short time between flights anyways I knew it would be tight. Then we were 45 minutes late leaving Halifax so all my connections were made Amazing Race style with me running across strange airports and arriving at my gate as they were bording. But the main thing is that I made it! I am very tired so I am keeping this breif, I will let you know how the camping went on Monday.